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Village Technologies 5

An accommodating intraocular lens is provided having optical parameters that are altered in-situ, wherein an optic portion of the lens includes a lens piston that alters the shape of a lens element of the lens to alter the optical power of the lens, responsive to forces applied to a haptic portion to the lens by contraction of the ciliary muscles. Forces applied to the haptic portion are concentrated by the lens piston to provide a greater dynamic range, and may be further augmented by the use of haptic pistons disposed in the haptic portion of the lens. This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/971,598, filed Oct. 22, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,261,737; which application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/734,514, filed Dec. 12, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,122,053; and claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/433,046, filed Dec. 12, 2002. These applications are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The present invention relates to intraocular lenses (“IOLs”) having optical parameters that are changeable in-situ. More particularly, the invention has applications in IOLs for in-capsule implantation for cataract patients, wherein forces applied by the ciliary muscles in the eye induce movement of fluid media within the interior of the IOL, thereby altering an optical power of the lens to provide accommodation. More specifically, the imaging properties of the human eye are facilitated by several optical interfaces. A healthy youthful human eye has a total power of approximately 59 diopters, with the anterior surface of the cornea (e.g. the exterior surface, including the tear layer) providing about 48 diopters of power, while the posterior surface provides about −4 diopters. The crystalline lens, which is situated posterior of the pupil in a transparent elastic capsule supported by the ciliary muscles, provides about 15 diopters of power, and also performs the critical function of focusing images upon the retina. This focusing ability, referred to as “accommodation,” enables imaging of objects at various distances. Isolated from the eye, the relaxed capsule and lens take on a spherical shape. Within the eye, however, the capsule is connected around its circumference by approximately 70 tiny ligament fibers to the ciliary muscles, which in turn are attached to an inner surface of the eyeball. The ciliary muscles that support the lens and capsule therefore are believed to act in a sphincter-muscular mode. Accordingly, when the ciliary muscles are relaxed, the capsule and lens are pulled about the circumference to a larger diameter, thereby flattening the lens, whereas when the ciliary muscles are contracted the lens and capsule relax somewhat and assume a smaller diameter that approaches a more spherical shape. This mechanism, called the “ciliary process” increases the diopter power of the lens. Although previously known workers in the field of accommodating IOLs have made some progress, the relative complexity of the methods and apparatus developed to date have prevented widespread commercialization of such devices. Previously known these devices have proved too complex to be practical to construct or have achieved only limited success, due to the inability to provide accommodation of more than 1-2 diopters. Although fluid-actuated mechanisms such as described in the aforementioned patents have been investigated, accommodating lenses currently nearing commercialization, such as developed by Eyeonics, Inc. (formerly C&C Vision, Inc.) of Aliso Viejo, Calif., rely on ciliary muscle contraction of the IOL haptics to move the optic towards or away from the retina to adjust the focus of the device. These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing an intraocular lens responsive to variations in capsule shape and/or forces exerted by the ciliary muscle to actuate one or more transducers. The transducers are coupled to a lens piston that deflects a surface of the lens, e.g., from a moderately convex to a highly convex shape. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the lens piston provides a significant volumetric mechanical advantage in effecting deflection of an anterior or posterior surface of the lens, and greater dynamic range, compared to previously-known fluid-mediated accommodation systems. In the context of the present invention, “volumetric mechanical advantage” means that a motion of the ciliary muscle, e.g., 100 microns, is amplified by the ratio of the transducer area over which force is applied to the area of the lens piston. It is expected that ratios of two or more may be achieved, but a ratio of one also is expected to be adequate for most patient populations. Operation of the lens piston may be enhanced using one or more haptic pistons that provide a further volumetric mechanical advantage compared to previously-known fluid-mediated accommodation systems. The haptic portion is disposed at the periphery of the optic portion and may comprise one or more arms that extend outward from the optic portion, each arm including a fluid channel coupled in fluid communication with the fluid channels in the optic portion. The haptic portion includes one or more transducers that engage the interior of the capsule and/or ciliary muscle, so that action of the ciliary process is communicated via the fluid channels to the one or more lens pistons. More preferably, the transducers further comprise a haptic piston including a force-concentrating element operatively coupled to a diaphragm. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the transducer may be biased to maintain the lens piston in an accommodated state. For such embodiments, relaxation of the ciliary muscle causes the zonules to transition the capsule to an ellipsoidal shape. The capsule thereby applies compressive forces that deform the transducer, reduce fluid pressure in the lens piston, and cause the lens to transition to the unaccommodated state. Alternatively, the lens piston may not be pressurized when the transducer is in the undeformed state. In this latter case, the lens may be configured so that contraction of the ciliary muscle induces thickening near the capsular equator, which in turn compresses the transducer to pressurize the lens piston and transition the lens to the accommodated state. The haptic pistons, lens piston(s) and fluid volumes may be manufactured so as to provide predetermined actuation forces appropriate for predetermined populations of patients, or alternatively may be tailored on a patient-by-patient basis, thereby enhancing the ability of the intraocular lens to adjust to different optical focusing powers and force magnifications. In addition, the haptic portion may include one or more features, such as flanges, that apply a force on the capsular bag to maintain tension on the zonules. This arrangement enables the transducer to follow the equator of the capsule. FIGS. 12A-12C are, respectively, a perspective view and side sectional views in the accommodated and unaccommodated states of yet another embodiment of the intraocular lens of the present invention. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an intraocular lens is provided having a haptic portion and a light-transmissive optic portion. The optic portion contains one or more fluid-mediated pistons arranged to apply a deflecting force on an anterior or posterior element of the lens to provide accommodation of the lens. As used herein, the lens is fully “accommodated” when it assumes its most highly convex shape, and fully “unaccommodated” when it assumes its most flattened, ellipsoidal state. The lens of the present invention is capable of dynamically assuming any desired degree of accommodation between the fully accommodated state and fully unaccommodated state responsive to the ciliary process. Forces applied to a transducer disposed in the haptic portion by the ciliary process are communicated to one or more lens pistons that control deflection of an anterior or posterior element of the lens, resulting in a larger dynamic range of accommodation than heretofore is believed to have been available. The lens piston and surrounding fluids all are index-matched to prevent the occurrence of optical aberrations throughout the range of motion of the lens piston. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the transducer may include one or more haptic pistons that provide a volumetric mechanical advantage with respect to forces applied by the ciliary process to the lens piston. Accommodating lenses currently nearing commercialization, such as the Crystalens device under development by Eyeonics, Inc., Aliso Viejo, Calif., typically involve converting diametral movements of the ciliary muscle into forward and backward movement of an optic portion of the IOL relative to the retina. This approach is thought to be required because, following extraction of a cataract-effected lens, the capsule is very loose, and the zonules that couple the capsule to the ciliary muscles are no longer in tension. Devices such as the Crystalens thus do not employ the natural accommodation mechanisms described above, but instead rely directly on radially inward compressive forces applied by the ciliary muscle to the haptics of the IOL. By contrast, according to one aspect of the present invention, an intraocular lens is designed to engage capsule 15 and to transition between the accommodated and unaccommodated states responsive to forces applied to capsule 15 by ciliary muscle 13 and zonules 14, thereby more closely mimicking operation of the natural eye. Alternatively, the haptic portion may be disposed directly in contact with the ciliary muscle. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, an exemplary embodiment of an intraocular lens constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is described. IOL 20 comprises optic portion 21 and haptic portion 22. Optic portion 21 is constructed of light transmissive materials, while haptic portion 22 is disposed at the periphery of the optic portion and does not participate in focusing light on the retina of the eye. In FIG. 3B, transducers 30 are in an undeformed state in which force-concentrating fins 31 apply a maximum deflection to diaphragms 32, thereby fully deflecting end wall 41 and driving anterior element 23 to the fully accommodated position. This corresponds to a fully-contracted state of the ciliary muscles, as described herein below. Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, haptic pistons 42, constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention are described in greater detail. Haptic pistons comprise flexible and resilient transducers 30 that support force-concentrating fins 31 biased against diaphragms 32. Each diaphragm 32 comprises an elastomeric cover for a corresponding reservoir 33 filled with fluid 38. As described herein above, fluid 38 communicates through channels 34 into well 35 and the interior of lens piston 25. Transducers 30 are constructed from a resilient, elastomeric material that changes shape responsive to forces applied by capsule 15 from the ciliary muscles 13 and zonules 14. In FIG. 5A, haptic piston 42 is shown in an undeformed state (as in FIG. 3B), corresponding to the ciliary muscles being fully contracted. In this state, the apex of fin 31 bears against diaphragm 32 to develop the maximum force resulting from the bias of transducer 30. Inward displacement of diaphragm 32 in turn displaces fluid through channels 34 (see FIG. 3) to well 35, resulting in expansion of end wall 41 of lens piston 25. When transducer 30 is in the undeformed state, fin 31 displaces the maximum volume of fluid from the haptic portion to lens piston 25, resulting in the maximum deflection of anterior element 23, and thus the maximum degree of accommodation of the lens. This corresponds to the state in which the ciliary muscles are fully contracted, and zonules 14 and capsule 15 apply the least amount of compressive force to the anterior and posterior surfaces of transducer 30. When the ciliary muscles relax, however, the tension in the zonules increases, causing capsule 15 to assume an ellipsoidal shape (see FIG. 2A) and the lens to transition to its unaccommodated state. When the capsule becomes taut, it applies compressive forces F to the anterior and posterior surfaces of transducer 30, causing the transducer to deform to the elliptical shape depicted in FIG. 5B. Deformation of transducers 30 moves fins 31 away from diaphragms 32, thereby unloading the diaphragms and reducing the fluid pressure applied to lens piston 25. This in turn permits lens piston 25 to move to an undeflected state, reducing deflection of anterior lens element 23 and returning the lens to an unaccommodated state. Referring now to FIGS. 6A to 6C, IOL 20 is shown implanted into capsule 15 of human eye 10. When so implanted, haptic arms 28 and 29 support the IOL within the capsule, while transducers 30 engage the interior of the capsule at locations adjacent to ciliary muscles 13. In FIG. 6B the ciliary muscles are shown in a contracted state, in which the compressive forces applied by zonules 14 and capsule 15 to transducers 30 is lowest and transducers 30 assume the undeformed position. This also corresponds to transducers 30 applying the least tension to capsule 15 and zonules 14. As discussed above, in the undeformed position, fins 30 are biased against diaphragms 32, displacing fluid 38 from reservoirs 33 to the lens piston. In FIG. 6C, the ciliary muscles are relaxed, and zonules 14 pull capsule 15 taut into an ellipsoidal shape. As noted above, in this state the capsule applies compressive forces to the lateral surfaces of transducers 30 that ensure that lens piston 25 is drawn to its fully retracted position. Referring now to FIGS. 7A to 7C, an alternative embodiment of the IOL of the present invention is described. IOL 50 comprises optic portion 51 and haptic portion 52. Optic portion 51 comprises anterior lens element 53 and substrate 54 formed of light-transmissive materials. Substrate 54 includes lens piston 55 having expandable end wall 56, and fluid channels 57 in fluid communication with the interior of lens piston 55. Expandable end wall 56 contacts the inner surface of anterior lens element 53, so that deflection of end wall 56 causes anterior lens element 53 to assume a more convex shape. The thickness profile of anterior lens element 53 is tailored to a desired degree of optical correction when deflected, as previously described. Channels 57 and space 58, disposed between anterior lens element 53 and substrate 54, are filled with fluid 59 having an index of refraction that is matched to the materials of anterior lens element 53 and substrate 54. Substrate 54 may include integrally formed posterior lens element 60. Haptic portion 52 is disposed at the periphery of optic portion 51, and includes transducers 61 that include force-concentrating fins 62 coupled to diaphragms 63. Fluid channels 57 extend circumferentially along the edges of substrate 54 for an arc-length corresponding to the arc-length of haptic portions 52 to form edge recesses 64 that function as reservoirs. Transducer 61, fin 62, diaphragm 63 and edge recess 64 together form a haptic piston that adjusts the deflection of end wall 56 of lens piston 55 responsive to contraction and relaxation of the ciliary muscle, zonules and capsule. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 3-6, transducers 61 are constructed so that, in the undeformed state, they bias force-concentrating fins 62 to cause the maximum inward displacement of diaphragms 63. Because diaphragms 63 of the haptic pistons are coupled to fins 62, compressive forces applied to the anterior and posterior faces of transducers 61 by the capsule during relaxation of the ciliary muscles urges the IOL to its unaccommodated state by deforming transducers 61 and withdrawing fluid from lens piston 55. As illustrated in FIG. 7B, contraction of the ciliary muscles causes the zonules and capsule to relax, thereby reducing the compressive forces applied by the capsule to transducers 61. This permits transducers 61 to return to an undeformed state in which fins 62 extend radially inward to displace diaphragms 63 into edge recesses 64. This in turn displaces fluid 59 to the lens piston, causing end wall 56 to deflect anterior lens element 53 to the accommodated state. Relaxation of the ciliary muscles causes the zonules and capsule to become taut, thereby compressing transducers 61 to deform to the position shown in FIG. 7C. More specifically, the compressive forces applied by the zonules and capsule deform transducers 61 to an elongated shape. This in turn causes fins 62 and diaphragms 63 to deflect outward away from edge recesses 64, and draw fluid from lens piston 55, returning the lens to its unaccommodated state. Referring to FIGS. 8A-8C, another alternative embodiment of the intraocular lens of the present invention is described. IOL 70 includes optic portion 71 and haptic portion 72. IOL 70 differs from the IOL 50 primarily in that haptic portion 72 is disposed around the entire optic portion, and in addition haptic portion 72 omits the use of haptic pistons, as in the preceding embodiments. Optic portion 71 comprises anterior lens element 73 and substrate 74 formed of light-transmissive materials. Substrate 74 includes lens piston 75 having expandable end wall 76, and fluid channels 77 in fluid communication with the interior of lens piston 75. Expandable end wall 76 contacts the inner surface of anterior lens element 73, so that deflection of end wall 76 causes anterior lens element 73 to assume a more convex shape, as in the preceding embodiments. The thickness profile of anterior lens element 73 is tailored to produce a desired degree of accommodation when deflected, as previously described. Channels 77 and space 78, disposed between anterior lens element 73 and substrate 74, are filled with fluid 79 having a matched index of refraction. Substrate 74 may define a posterior lens surface 80, or may include a separate lens element. Haptic portion 72 is disposed surrounding the periphery of optic portion 71, and includes transducer 81. Transducer 81 comprises diaphragm 82 including elastomeric ring 83 disposed along the midline of the diaphragm that biases the ring to the radially compressed state depicted in FIGS. 8A and 8B. This state corresponds to the maximum deflection of lens piston 75, and thus the state of maximum accommodation of lens 70. Ring 83 also ensures that diaphragm 82 engages and applies tension to the capsule. Transducer 81 adjusts the deflection of end wall 76 of lens piston 75 responsive to contraction and relaxation of the ciliary muscle, zonules and capsule. More specifically, contraction of the ciliary muscles causes the zonules and capsule to relax, thereby reducing the compressive forces applied by the capsule to transducer 81. This permits the transducer to return to an undeformed state, in which ring 83 biases diaphragm 82 to displace fluid to lens piston 75. This in turn causes end wall 76 to deflect anterior lens element 73 to the accommodated state. Relaxation of the ciliary muscles causes the zonules and capsule to become taut, thereby applying compression to the anterior and posterior surfaces of transducer 81 to deform to the diaphragm to the position shown in FIG. 8C. In particular, the compressive forces applied by the zonules and capsule deform transducer 81 to an elongated shape that reduces the pressure on fluid 59 and permits end wall 76 of lens piston 75 to transition to the undeflected state shown in FIG. 8C. This in turn reduces deflection of anterior lens element 73 and returns the lens to its unaccommodated state. Referring now to FIGS. 9A-9C, a second family of embodiments of intraocular lenses is described. Unlike the preceding embodiments, in which action of the ciliary muscle is transmitted to the IOL via the zonules and capsule, in this embodiment action of the ciliary muscle directly against the transducer is communicated to the lens piston. As depicted in FIG. 9A, IOL 90 may be implanted anterior to the capsule, and includes optic portion 91 and haptic portion 92. Optic portion 91 comprises anterior lens element 93 and substrate 94 formed of light-transmissive materials. Substrate 94 includes lens piston 95 having expandable end wall 96, and fluid channels 97 in fluid communication with the interior of lens piston 95. Expandable end wall 96 contacts the inner surface of anterior lens element 93, so that deflection of end wall 96 causes anterior lens element 93 to assume a more convex shape. As in the preceding embodiments, the thickness profile of anterior lens element 93 may be tailored to produce a desired degree of accommodation when deflected. Channels 97 and space 98, disposed between anterior lens element 93 and substrate 94, are filled with fluid 99 having a matched index of refraction. Substrate 94 may define a posterior lens surface 100, or may include a separate lens element. The optical power provided by posterior lens surface 100 may be used to provide the base power of the device, and may be tailored for specific patient population. The profile of posterior lens surface 100 also may be chosen to provide optimal performance of the optical system in concert with the optical correction provided by anterior lens element 93 throughout its range of motion. In addition or alternatively, any error of the refractive surface of anterior lens element 93, for example 1 or 2 microns or less of wave error that the surface experiences throughout its range of motion, may be further reduced by adding a small compensating thickness to anterior lens element 93, in exactly the reverse sense of the error, e.g., corresponding to the average error incurred at each point on anterior lens element 93 through its range of motion. Haptic portion 92 includes a plurality of transducers 101, each transducer comprising diaphragm 102. Transducers 101 are designed to directly engage the ciliary muscle in the area of the sulcus, and comprise resilient, flexible diaphragms 102 that have an undeformed shape depicted in FIG. 9C. The interiors of diaphragms 102 form reservoirs 103 communicate with channels 97, and are filled with index-matched fluid 99. Contraction of the ciliary muscles applies a radially compressive force to the transducers that transitions the diaphragms to the shape depicted in FIG. 9B. This causes fluid to be displaced from reservoirs 103 of transducers 101, pressurizing the fluid in channels 99 and lens piston 95. Responsive to this pressure increase, end wall 96 of the lens piston expands anteriorly, deflecting anterior lens element 93 and transitioning the lens to the accommodated state, as shown in FIG. 9B. When the ciliary muscle subsequently relaxes, the radially compressive forces applied by the muscles diminish, transducer 101 returns to an undeformed state of FIG. 9C, and lens piston resumes its unexpandable position. This in turn reduces deflection of anterior lens element 93 and returns the lens to its unaccommodated state. While the design of the haptic portion of the embodiment of FIG. 9 is similar to those of previously-known fluid-mediated accommodating intraocular lenses, such as those described in the aforementioned patent to Christie, the presence of lens piston 95 is expected to provide significantly greater volumetric mechanical advantage and greater dynamic range than could be achieved with prior art designs. Whereas previously-known designs distribute a pressure increase resulting from action of the ciliary muscle over the entire surface of the lens, the lens piston of the present invention amplifies motion of the ciliary muscle, e.g., 100 microns, by the ratio of the transducer area to the area of the lens piston. It is expected that ratios of 2 or more may be readily achieved, however, a ratio of one may be sufficient for many patient populations. Accordingly, the amount of fluid that must be displaced to optically correct axial displacement of the refractive surface of anterior lens element 23 is relatively small. With respect to FIGS. 10A-10C, a third family of embodiments of the intraocular lens of the present invention is described. Like the embodiments of FIGS. 3-8, IOL 110 is implanted within the capsule, includes haptic pistons, and is actuated by action of the ciliary muscles, zonules and capsule. However, as in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the lens is unaccommodated in its unstressed condition, and transitions to the accommodated state upon application of radially compressive forces. In particular, whereas the embodiments of FIGS. 3-6 transition from the accommodated state to the unaccommodated state by virtue of lateral (anterior and posterior) compressive forces applied during the capsule during relaxation, the embodiment of FIG. 10 transitions to the accommodated state upon thickening of the capsular equator during contraction of the ciliary muscles. The structure of IOL 110 is similar to that of IOL 90 of FIG. 9, with like parts identified by like-primed numbers, except that transducers 101′ are surrounded by force concentrating elements 111, and haptic portions 92′ further comprise flanges 112 that orient IOL 110 within the capsule and maintain tension on the zonules. More specifically, IOL 110 includes optic portion 91′ and haptic portion 92′. Optic portion 91′ comprises anterior lens element 93′ and substrate 94′ formed of light-transmissive materials. Substrate 94′ includes lens piston 95′ having expandable end wall 96′, and fluid channels 97′ in fluid communication with the interior of lens piston 95′. Expandable end wall 96′ contacts the inner surface of anterior lens element 93′, so that deflection of end wall 96′ causes anterior lens element 93′ to assume a more convex shape. As in the preceding embodiments, the thickness profile of anterior lens element 93′ may be tailored to produce a desired degree of accommodation when deflected. Channels 97′ and space 98′, disposed between anterior lens element 93′ and substrate 94′, are filled with fluid 99′ having a matched index of refraction. Substrate 94′ defines posterior lens surface 100′. Haptic portion 92′ includes transducers 101′, with each transducer having diaphragm 102′. Arcuate force-concentrating elements 111 are disposed radially outward of transducers 101′ and illustratively have fixed end 113 connected to haptic portion 92 and free end 114. Elements 111 contact the equator of capsule 15 and flex radially inward or outward to follow thickening or thinning of the capsular equator responsive to contraction of the ciliary muscles. Elements 111, diaphragms 102′, and reservoirs 103′ together form haptic pistons. Elements 111 and diaphragms 102′ have an undeformed shape depicted in FIG. 10C. As in the preceding embodiments reservoirs 103′ communicate with channels 97′, and are filled with index-matched fluid 99′. As noted above, laterally-extending flanges 112 apply tension to the capsule to orient the IOL within the capsule and maintain tension on the zonules when the capsule changes shape responsive to action of the ciliary muscles. As described herein above with respect to FIG. 2, contraction of the ciliary muscles causes the capsule to become more spherical and thicken along its equator. This thickening applies a radially compressive force to elements 111 of transducers 101′ that compresses diaphragms 102′ to the deformed shapes depicted in FIGS. 10A and 10B. This causes fluid to be displaced from reservoirs 103′ of transducers 101′, pressurizing the fluid in channels 97′ and lens piston 95′. Responsive to this pressure increase, end wall 96′ of the lens piston expands anteriorly, deflecting anterior lens element 93′ and transitioning the lens to the accommodated state, as shown in FIG. 10B. Frames 112 retain IOL 110 centered on the capsular equator as the capsule transitions to a more spherical shape. When the ciliary muscle subsequently relaxes, the radially compressive forces applied by the muscles diminish, the capsule becomes more ellipsoidal, and the capsular equator thins. Frames 112 become compressed by the lateral forces applied by the capsule and zonules, and transducers 101′ follow the elongation of the capsule, with free ends 114 of elements 111 deflecting outward to the undeformed state depicted in FIG. 10C. This in turn relieves compression of diaphragms 102′, so that fluid moves from channels 97′ back to reservoirs 103′, and lens piston 95′ resumes its unexpanded position. Consequently, anterior lens element 93′ returns to its undeflected state and lens 110 transitions to the unaccommodated state shown in FIG. 10C. Referring to FIGS. 11A-11C, a further alternative embodiment of the intraocular lens of the present invention is described. IOL 120 is similar in construction to IOL 110, and like components are designated by like double prime numbers. Thus, for example, while the anterior lens element of FIG. 10A is designated 93′, the anterior lens element of FIG. 11A is designated 93″. IOL 120 differs from IOL 110 of FIG. 10 in that diaphragm 102′ is omitted, and reservoir 103″ is defined by an internal lumen of element 111″ that communicates with channel 97″ via opening 121. In IOL 120, element 111″ therefore defines transducer 101″. As in IOL 110 of FIG. 10, IOL 120 is disposed within the capsule and transitions to the accommodated state upon thickening of the capsular equator during contraction of the ciliary muscles. Flanges 112″ that orient the IOL within the capsule and maintain tension on the zonules. IOL 120 includes optic portion 91″ and haptic portion 92″. Optic portion 91″ comprises anterior lens element 93″ and substrate 94″ formed of light-transmissive materials. Substrate 94″ includes lens piston 95″ having expandable end wall 96″, and fluid channels 97″ in fluid communication with the interior of lens piston 95″. Expandable end wall 96″ contacts the inner surface of anterior lens element 93″, so that deflection of end wall 96″ causes anterior lens element 93″ to assume a more convex shape. As in the preceding embodiments, the thickness profile of anterior lens element 93″ may be tailored to produce a desired degree of accommodation when deflected. Channels 97″ and space 98″, disposed between anterior lens element 93″ and substrate 94″, are filled with index-matched fluid 99″. Substrate 94″ defines posterior lens surface 100″. Haptic portion 92″ includes transducers 101″ in the form of arcuate elements 111″ having fixed end 113″ connected to haptic portion 92″ and free end 114″. Elements 111″ include internal lumens defining reservoirs 103″ that are in fluid communication with channels 97″ via openings 121. Elements 111″ contact the equator of capsule 15 and flex radially inward or outward to follow thickening or thinning of the capsular equator responsive to contraction of the ciliary muscles. Elements 111″ have the undeformed shape depicted in FIG. 11C. Reservoirs 103′m, channels 97″ and lens piston 95″ are filled with index-matched fluid 99″. As noted above, laterally-extending flanges 112″ apply tension to the capsule to orient the IOL within the capsule and maintain tension on the zonules when the capsule changes shape responsive to action of the ciliary muscles. As for IOL 110, contraction of the ciliary muscles causes the capsule to become more spherical and thicken along its equator, thereby applying a radially compressive force to transducers 101″ that compresses elements 111″ to the deformed shapes depicted in FIGS. 11A and 11B. This causes fluid to be displaced from reservoirs 103″ of transducers 101″, pressurizing the fluid in channels 97″ and lens piston 95″. Responsive to this pressure increase, end wall 96″ of the lens piston expands anteriorly, deflecting anterior lens element 93″ and transitioning the lens to the accommodated state, as shown in FIG. 11B. Frames 112″ retain IOL 120 centered on the capsular equator as the capsule transitions to a more spherical shape. When the ciliary muscle subsequently relaxes, the radially compressive forces applied by the muscles diminish, the capsule becomes more ellipsoidal, and the capsular equator thins. Frames 112″ become compressed by the lateral forces applied by the capsule and zonules, and transducers 101″ follow the elongation of the capsule, with free ends 114″ of elements 111″ deflecting outward to the undeformed state depicted in FIG. 11C. This in turn relieves compression of transducers 101″, so that fluid moves from channels 97″ back to reservoirs 103″, and lens piston 95″ resumes its unexpanded position. Consequently, anterior lens element 93″ returns to its undeflected state and lens 120 transitions to the unaccommodated state shown in FIG. 11C. In FIGS. 12A-12C, still another embodiment of an intraocular lens constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is described. IOL 130 comprises optic portion 131 and haptic portion 132. Optic portion 131 comprises anterior lens element 133 and substrate 134 formed of light-transmissive materials. Substrate 134 includes lens piston 135 having expandable end wall 136, and fluid channels 137 in fluid communication with the interior of lens piston 135. Expandable end wall 136 contacts the inner surface of anterior lens element 133, so that deflection of end wall 136 causes anterior lens element 133 to assume a more convex shape. The thickness profile of anterior lens element 133 is tailored to provide a desired degree of optical correction throughout its range of deflection. Channels 137 and space 138, disposed between anterior lens element 133 and substrate 134, are filled with fluid 139 having an index of refraction that is matched to the materials of anterior lens element 133 and substrate 134. Substrate 134 includes posterior lens surface 140. Haptic portion 132 is disposed at the periphery of optic portion 131, and includes transducers 141 having segments 142 slidably disposed in edge recesses 143. Edge recesses 143 are defined by extensions 144 of fluid channels 137 that extend circumferentially along the edges of substrate 134 for an arc-length corresponding to the arc-length of haptic portions 132 and function as reservoirs. Segments 142 are coupled to diaphragms 145 so that force applied to the outer edges of segments 142 by the capsular equator causes the segments to be displaced radially inward. Laterally-extending flanges 146 apply tension to the capsule to orient IOL 130 within the capsule and maintain tension on the zonules. Segment 142, substrate extensions 144, diaphragm 145 and edge recess 143 together form a haptic piston that transfers fluid to lens piston 135 responsive to contraction and relaxation of the ciliary muscle, zonules and capsule. Specifically, inward movement of segments 142 causes diaphragms 145 to displace inwardly into edge recesses 143, thereby transferring fluid to lens piston 135. As in the preceding embodiment, fluid entering lens piston 135 expands end wall 136, thereby deflecting anterior lens element 133 to its accommodated shape, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. In FIG. 12C, when the ciliary muscles relax, the capsule elongates and applies laterally compressive forces to flanges 146. As the capsule elongates, the forces applied to segments 142 decrease, allowing end wall 136 to return to its unexpanded state and permitting anterior lens element 133 to return to the unaccommodated state. 1. An intraocular lens configured for implantation in a capsule following extraction of a lens, the intraocular lens accommodating responsive to contraction of a patient's ciliary muscles, the intraocular lens comprising: a substrate having a portion defining a fluid channel; a lens element; an actuator layer interposed between the lens element and the substrate, the actuator layer having at least one lens piston disposed in contact with the lens element, the lens piston coupled in fluid communication with the fluid channel; a haptic portion having a reservoir coupled in fluid communication with the fluid channel; and a fluid disposed in the lens piston, fluid channel and reservoir, wherein movement of the patient's ciliary muscles induces a transfer of fluid from the reservoir to the lens piston to deflect the lens element. 2. The intraocular lens of claim 1 wherein the lens piston is disposed in the center of the actuating layer. 3. The intraocular lens of claim 1 wherein the lens element has a non-uniform radial thickness selected to maintain a desired degree of optical correction throughout a range of deflection of the lens element. 4. The intraocular lens of claim 1 wherein the fluid has a refractive index substantially the same as a refractive index of the lens element, substrate and actuator layer. 5. The intraocular lens of claim 4 wherein the haptic portion comprises at least one haptic piston. 6. The intraocular lens of claim 5 wherein the haptic piston comprises: a diaphragm disposed in contact with the fluid to define a flexible boundary of the reservoir; and a force-concentrating element operatively associated with the diaphragm that communicates forces from the ciliary muscles to the diaphragm. 7. The intraocular lens of claim 6 wherein the force concentrating element is disposed in contact with the diaphragm. 8. The intraocular lens of claim 6 wherein the force concentrating element is coupled to the diaphragm. 9. The intraocular lens of claim 8 wherein the force concentrating element comprises a segment slidably disposed in an extension of the substrate. 10. The intraocular lens of claim 1 wherein the haptic portion further comprises one or more flanges that apply tension to the capsule. 11. The intraocular lens of claim 1 wherein the haptic portion comprises two or more arms extending from the substrate. 12. An intraocular lens comprising: an optic portion having a lens element; a haptic portion coupled to the optic portion; an actuator layer disposed in the optic portion, the actuator layer including a lens piston; a reservoir disposed in the haptic portion, the reservoir in fluid communication with lens piston; a fluid disposed in the lens piston and reservoir, wherein forces applied to the haptic portion move fluid between the reservoir and the lens piston to control expansion of the lens piston, expansion of the lens piston deflecting the lens element. 13. The intraocular lens of claim 12 wherein the optic portion comprises optically transparent materials. 14. The intraocular lens of claim 12 wherein the lens element has a thickness selected to maintain a desired degree of optical correction throughout a range of deflection of the lens element. 15. The intraocular lens of claim 12 further comprising a substrate including a portion defining a fluid channel that couples the haptic portion to the lens piston. 16. The intraocular lens of claim 12 wherein the lens element is an anterior lens element and the optic portion further comprises a posterior lens element. 17. The intraocular lens of claim 16 wherein the posterior lens element is integrally formed with the substrate. 18. The intraocular lens of claim 12 wherein the fluid has a refractive index substantially the same as a refractive index of the lens element and actuator layer. 19. The intraocular lens of claim 12 wherein the haptic portion comprises at least one haptic piston. 20. The intraocular lens of claim 19 wherein the haptic piston comprises: a diaphragm disposed in contact with the fluid to define a flexible boundary of the reservoir; and a force-concentrating element operatively associated with the diaphragm that communicates forces from the ciliary muscles to the diaphragm.

2019-04-21T03:39:20Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20080046075A1/en

Crowd funding seems to be growing in China according to this CaiXin article, highlighting DreMore and DemoHour. Both of these sites are in Chinese but if you can view the pictures and if you are using Chrome you can see the translations. Tagged with china, crowd, funding. Neilson and Comscore have both released cell phone data today. Neilson have a nice graphic showing US phone usage. With 30% now using either iPhones or Android and as result having access to a more extensive range of applications. It isn’t clear what proportion of consumers still have no cell phone at all but it does also mean that 70% of consumers don’t have access to an application store worth mentioning. Things are more promising for 25 to 34 year olds where 62% have a smartphone. While it isn’t stated their is probably a higher proportion of iPhone and Android phones among that 62% as well. Probably something around 50% of consumers in the age range have access to an effective application store. There is a graph of the usage by age range here but the full text requires payment. Comscore, who surveyed 30,000 mobile phone users has figures for the proportion of cell phone users (87%) and shows Android with a very similar 48.8% of smartphones of which 25.3% are from Samsung the largest manufacturer. LG have 20.6%. Apple added 1.3% of all mobile subscribers in the preceding 3 months. Android’s growth of 4.6% of smart phone subscribers coming at the expense of RIM. The iPhone 4S won’t be reflected in these numbers yet as they show until the end of September. 43% of all mobile subscribers use their web browser and the same number also have downloaded applications. 71% have sent a text message. This is similar to the proportion of people who use Facebook at least once a month. Comscore’s released information can be found here. My conclusion would be that about 40% of people are actively using digital mobile technology and that this is going to continue to increase as people replace phones and become aware of benefits at a rate of a couple of percent per quarter. Maybe hitting 55% over the next 18 months (The numbers we have are 2-4 months delayed). After that its going to be a slower haul to get the next 15%. In addition, online now competes with press and outdoor when it comes to reach, GfK found. Digital campaigns reach on average 33% of the online population, while press reaches less than 40% — and outdoor just 30%. The nice thing about the published uplift numbers is that it gives a way of assessing what the different channels are likely to be worth to you. They also point out that 25% were reached by online advertising but not by television. If a TV CPM were costing you $20 your might be willing to pay some proportion of $120 for a Google Search CPM. However there are only a limited number of people being reached by effective Google Search CPMs so your budget is then going to sill over into display advertising at some discount on $25 until you weren’t reaching as many additional people and were spilling over into the world of outdoor and TV advertising. Even if people don’t believe these numbers if gives some heart to only advertising based sites that advertisers are going to read reports like this and start to be willing to increasingly spend more significantly on display advertising. If you are advertising online yourself it’s worth noting that the short term sales uplift was over five times greater with Google Search (Presumably discriminatingly spent) than with display advertising. The long term brand benefit tends to still be discounted. As of the end of October 2010 Subtle Tea is closed. They have lost their lease and the fittings and fixtures laying abandoned in the space. Should Your Web Startup Avoid Providing Telephone Support? There are many apparently very important web businesses which don’t provide customer support. At least not the expensive telephone variety of support. Facebook or Amazon for example. Even consumer websites do provide telephone support when they deal with more urgent and financially significant transactions though. Services such as airline ticket or even theater ticket sales. Admittedly they use the airline’s support number during travel, in the same way as retail store travel agents did. Another example on the consumer front is Intuit’s Turbo Tax product which again, because it is a more important, finds itself providing telephone support. Some of these services are so important that customers are paying for the service unlike many well know websites which succeed through scale but have very little revenue per user. It is no coincidence that the paid for services such as travel agents or tax preparation services provide telephone support. If it is important enough to pay for, then most people are going to want recourse to a phone number as a last resort. If the service is free then they don’t expect somebody to be paid to talk to them about it but, particularly if they have paid a significant fee, they expect support to be available. So maybe startups shouldn’t be shying away from businesses which require telephone support. Maybe these needs are an indicator of the types of service that people really care about. Enough to make a phone call. If a service is used in day to day business, such as a reservation system, order taking system, or other client facing website then there needs to be some kind of support if the client’s business can’t function without it. And that is the kind of thing they are going to actually want to pay for. They are going to be concerned if it is free. The reason Facebook or Twitter don’t need a support phone number is because they aren’t part of anybody’s business workflow. Back in the days of packaged applications being installed on the client’s machine the client was in control. The user was part of the release process and chose when to install a new version. They waited until they believed a business benefit would result and there was a convenient time to incur the learning curve. They chose to not make changes at month or quarter end or while staff were on vacation. With software as a service the service provider is in control. As a result if an issue occurs there is a stronger need to communicate and an increased value to support in the software as a service model. The connected nature of the applications means that the service provider is needed to rectify any issue. The client is in a very vulnerable position unless they pay. There are applications which are very generic and as a result don’t require telephone support. The assumption is that the provider is managing their release process effectively. Nobody needs to phone a Google like company to tell them that their home page is down, because if it were their monitoring would have picked up on the redundant components as they failed and obviously everybody else would have the same problem. The same problem. When it is a different problem — things change. As services become more specific to an industry or integration points with other providers multiply the chance of an issue being unique to a small client group increases and the needs of the client to have a customer service relationship and to pay to have influence over the product increase. They will wish to even control the release of the software in use. Something that is occasionally provided on consumer products but is the norm for business applications. To be rapidly scalable the sales process needs to be light which is why startups and their investors tend to focus on consumer products (b2c) but there isn’t a reason to avoid needing to provide support it is just that the managing of the support at scale is a significant part of the business. When it comes to b2b applications then the more widely used applications such as Excel, CRM systems or Quickbooks obviously have more growth potential and a better chance of a rapid multiple, but there are many very viable businesses where much of what the client is paying for is the support processes, and partnership over the product release process. In the extreme cases leading to visibility into the product roadmap but more commonly solutions which allow a selection of modules and defined version points. The habit of hiding in the world of rapid unannounced releases and no direct client interaction is convenient, scalable and maximizes the technical component of the business, but it may be avoiding the software applications that clients are actually willing to pay money for and that would be a missed opportunity. Posted in Business Models, Technology. Tagged with business models, profitable, support. This is more the kind of startup location that makes sense to me. Cheap living for those from out of town and around the clock contribution. It reminds me of the gaming company Code Masters which in the early 90s operated a series of portable trailer sheds in the back yard of the Darling brothers’ parent’s farm house near Gloucester in the UK. They leased these sheds out to independent coders who then contributed their efforts to projects like a row of bungalow occupants on the Universal back lot. Planning permission at that time, and maybe still, allowed you to do this as long as the location was a farm! All part of the fun. Toys there consisted of people clubbing together to buy a power boat as well as a hundred and one video games that were in development around the site. Given the cost of living space in New York it surprises me that only a couple of startups have used residential space. Living costs are much more of an issue for people than office space and it would seem to kill two birds with one stone. It’s literally a sweat shop but it’s a way of getting things done. Posted in New York, Space, Staffing. Tagged with codemasters, home, newyork, office, Space, startup. McDonald’s, the New Starbucks for Laptop Users? McDonald’s has refurbished a Manhattan store at 85th and 3rd Avenue in a style that I have never seen before. Not only is the interior far more design conscious, it also satisfies many of the needs of the modern day 3rd place. That place which is not the home, nor the office — a market that has so far been dominated by Starbucks. Passersby are looking into the window of, what is after all just a McDonald’s, starring at it and trying to figure out what it is. It is actually fun seeing people’s reactions as they walk past. The expressions are a combination of confusion and delight. It is great to see a shop front having that effect. Why the light green colors? Why the swirling thumb prints of words on the store front? Even from the street it is clear that the interior is something that we are more likely to associate with an airport in Europe than the familiar fast food brand. Looking out towards the entrance. Lighting and color surrounds you. Bright colors are used throughout in a way that reminds me of Migros (A Swiss and Turkish supermarket chain which uses orange) or Coffee Day (A fun Indian coffee chain where there is a lot of red and chrome) or even Mexican calendar posters of hillside houses or maybe just the Ikea restaurant. The light wood screens are used both downstairs, before the counters, and upstairs to break up the line of sight and give a feeling of separate spaces. It is a stark contrast to the less-welcoming orange plastic seats we may remember from traditional McDonald’s stores. The lighting also adds to the color, highlighting alcoves, condiment areas and bins. The real surprise though comes when you go upstairs. In front of the floor to ceiling plate glass are circular tables with loose colored seats. Loose seats are unusual in a fast food store because they need to be repositioned and could become victims of horse play. Loose seating is provided at circular tables with a view of the street. Then as you turn around a long room awaits you, with a series of booths. The restaurant reopened only two weeks ago and the facilities have yet to be found, so there have only been three or four people there on the two occasions that I have visited. The second floor interior which is divided into four spaces. The second floor is divided into four spaces. Firstly the circular coffee tables already mentioned, then a series of booths, again with the slatted wood dividers breaking up the space. Then a second series of smaller tables around, of all things — a laptop lane! More of that later, but the room ends in an alcove room beyond the main room and alongside the restrooms. During my visits this space has largely been used by the staff, to take a break, but provides almost an anteroom feel. The laptop lane is of course the more important feature for those meeting others or working from adhoc locations between appointments. It is a long counter table that seats sixteen people. The laptop lane has lighting, power and hooks for bags. Now, if you haven’t heard, McDonald’s has been providing free Wi-Fi using AT&T / Wayport as its provider for several months now. The service is adequate though using it for a video Skype connection I was told that it was more jittery than on my usual connection. Now that the internet needs of the mobile worker are met, what about power? This is where the laptop lane really steps the pressure up for Starbucks. Between each of the light units of that lighting strip that you see over the counter are a pair of power outlets. It was after finding these lighting strips that the location really started to have more potential. If you have travelled from coffee shop to coffee shop, you know that so many locations tease the laptop user by providing Wi-Fi connectivity but not power. Making real work of any duration impractical. Starbucks, and a very small number of independent locations, have a Wi-Fi service that has adequate bandwidth and is maintained effectively enough for the trip not to be a very chancy potential waste of time. The combination of a reliable internet connection and power is the key. Barnes and Noble, for example, do not provide power. Independent locations tend to have fewer tables in NYC, so at the weekend it isn’t really considered polite to be hogging them for hours at a time. Other niceties are that the second floor is largely empty so far, and the fun way the designed interior is completed with friendly signage. There are no signs asking for a maximum 20 minute seating time. The environment is positively welcoming. While the location is very nicely designed, it leaves one obvious area which may be an insurmountable barrier in attracting the beautiful people from Starbucks. Yes, the food. Having now tried both the breakfast menu and an angus burger in good faith, I can’t say that I want to eat them more than I have to. The food is really too salty, and the fat and sugar levels make it incompatible with a regular laptop location. McDonald’s have succeeded in building a location which fits with the attempt of the McCafe branding to broaden the audience (this location is no longer a McCafe) but the location, not only would allow McDonald’s to sell a healthier set of meals, more suitable for regular consumption, but actually seems to call out for it and even to need it in order to be popular. It runs the risk of attracting a non McDonald’s customer who isn’t going to be able to buy more than a coffee. One other potential problem is that the stools in the laptop lane area are fixed to the floor, which can become uncomfortable over time. I was certainly finding that I desperately wanted to drag the stool around a bit to adjust for comfort while using the laptop at an effective angle. Having said this, it was workable, and could even be used for small group meetings or as a coworking space and will definitely give Starbucks a run for its money. One also has to wonder how many people will pay $30 per day, or $50 and up per month, for a coworking space elsewhere, if they find like minded friends migrating to quiet second floor facilities like this which are free and at a more local location. For McDonald’s the store design would appear to be more about winning customers from Starbucks than it is about maximizing the bottom line from existing customers. As such it is a gutsy move in the current market. So, very much to my surprise as somebody who is health conscious and has watched Super Size Me, I am adding a McDonald’s to the list of coffee meetup places in Manhattan with both Wi-Fi and power. And yes, some people do just eat burgers here. The store at 1499 3rd Avenue and 85th Street (2 minutes from the 4,5,6 at 86th Street) is open twenty four hours a day though the second floor is only open from 8am to 8:30pm. The location is a 7,500 square foot company store, leased by Golden Arch Realty Corp., IL. The 'before picture' from Google. Compare it with the first picture above of the same store. Posted in Coffee, New York, Space. Tagged with 3rd place, coworking, laptop, laptop lane, mcdonalds, starbucks. People often pitch ad-based revenue models for sites with very small niche markets without acknowledging that the business will only be viable once the market has been greatly expanded. Sometimes this is just a simplification, but often it is because it just isn’t obvious how small the ad-based model revenues can be. These tables provide a basis for estimating the revenue through the value of 1000 unique visitors per month. The revenue needed to sustain the business is then divided by the value of 1000 unique visitors to give an estimated necessary number of visitors and the total available market required. The Total Available Market (TAM) is the number of potentially profitable customers who could make use of the product or service. In the case of web advertising, the number of potential users in the target audience of the website. Obviously, there are a large number of variables, so the value is only an indication for a generic business, but should allow a reality check, and in some cases for a more realistic TAM to be planned. Your entire website and the individual pages are considered by search engines and ad networks to be about a list of keywords. The number of keywords is quite limited, so consider the couple of search engine queries which you would most like to be the recipient of. Then list the four or five distinctive keywords from these queries. Google Webmaster Tools offers a method of viewing keywords associated with your site by Google. These keywords are a factor both in organic search traffic as well as ad placement. Consider how closely they match high-valued purchase decisions. For example, does your site review new cars, a classic high-value purchase decision, or is it about pedestrian safety. Clearly the auto reviews are closer to a high-value purchase decision. Think not only about the initial purchase but about the lifetime value of the customer to your advertiser. For example if a consumer purchases cable TV every month for three years then the decision has a considerably higher value than the initial purchase. Other examples which need replacing after use are replenishment items such as vitamins, diapers or books which can total a significant value over a period of time. The majority of online advertising is attempting to solicit a direct response from the viewer. A click on an advertisement which leads to a purchase or registration. As a result if your page is a good home for purchase related topics your advertisers are obviously going to have a higher response rate to their placements. The higher value those responses are to the advertiser the more they are going to be able to spend on competing for your advertising space. Based on your estimate of the lifetime value of customers who are on your site, select a value per 1000 unique visitors below. If your website is not directly related to a spending decision (e.g. pedestrian safety) then use the initial value of 25 cents. Estimated value (V) of 1000 unique visitors per month based on live time value to the advertiser. The majority of websites are not directly purchase-related so in most cases you should be selecting the first row of the table above as the estimate. Compare the value of 1000 visitors to your site with the spread of values within the Google ad network. An advertiser may have paid Google AdWords over $1.00 for 1000 individual impressions where as AdSense will have paid out to the average site less than 25 cents for those 1000 impressions. Sites more in demand by advertisers will be paid a higher proportion of the AdWords revenue. The fluctuation of this demand in the auction-like algorithm from time slot to time slot across the week makes predicting the revenue an inexact science. Affiliate networks will provide a greater return (V) than ad networks, often due to the web site content being more closely related to the advertisers proposition, and as a result providing a more effective funnel for customers. The content needs to be more tailored to the advertiser to get the full benefit. The affiliate model can also be used to avoid the margin taken by an intervening ad network. For example, most marketing on Facebook is priced on an affiliate basis and manages to be targeted using the additional information about the user, including their reaction to other advertising, their networks reactions and memberships. Note here that V is related to, but different from the CPM, the value of 1000 impressions. There are likely to be multiple advertisement impressions shown to a visitor over a month, and on a single page, however you will not have many effective advertisers for any individual so the benefit quickly diminishes unless the site has time to learn about the user and place better advertising. A single well-targeted advertiser is more valuable than showing twenty different advertisers to the user across the month. Subsequent impressions of the same advertiser have a diminishing chance of being clicked upon or at least have a probability as a sequence, that may build with credibility for a less known brand, but which doesn’t grow linearly with the number of impressions. Here, we are using a simple model based on the number of unique visitors regardless of the number of impressions or different advertisements displayed. Most websites have an average of less than five page views per unique visitor per month as approximately half of visitors will view only a single page. If you can command your user’s attention for periods of time – or even a few hours per month – then your value (V) from the table above may be a multiple greater than that shown. Facebook, for example, made a revenue of $700 million in 2009 from approximately 400 million registered users. If we assume an estimate of 350 million unique visitors per month then their value per 1000 unique visitors was approximately ($700 million / 12 / 350 million) * 1000 = $167 per month per thousand unique users (V). This is due largely to the fact that they achieve many hours of usage per month from their median user. This is extremely unusual – if not unique, but still only $2 per user per year. An average site as generic as Facebook is receiving below a dollar as the median user leaves within a few seconds and does not often return. Many parked domains actually have a better defined audience than normal websites and can receive $5 to $10 per 1000 unique visitors. The lack of content makes following an advertisement actually more likely. Sites which have users returning to them rather than being driven by search results can have heavy monthly usage per user and as a result require a second method of establishing the value of 1000 unique visitors based on the number of pages viewed or the amount of time for which they can be held on, or caused to return to, the site. Having the user on the site for longer allows greater opportunities to gather data on the user and to fine tune the advertising. It also implies a stronger bond with the site and allows the sale of advertising space in greater quantities to more significant advertisers and possibly by a more direct sales process. For sites with significant user stickiness, which implies loyal readers, or addictive games, there may be significantly greater revenue opportunity, and it would be fair to use the greater value for V of those shown in the tables above and below. Estimated value (V) of 1000 unique visitors per month based on total monthly stay. Very few sites have a median visit of greater than five minutes but it does occur for popular newspapers and for the most popular online games. For the largest of purchase decisions, of a house, car, medical plan, or cell-phone plan, it may be reasonable to assume that a site may have significant duration of reading, in addition to being related to the purchase decision giving a high valuation. The difference between obtaining value from effective strategies, such as the duration of usage or closeness to a purchase decision, rather than less effective ones, such as large numbers of transient users, is key to debates such as Rupert Murdoch’s preference for loyal readers and shunning of search-driven momentary visitors. Typical newspaper content isn’t directly focused on a purchase decision but it also illustrates the ability to play both the high duration and high value purchase decision strategies simultaneously. It isn’t a coincidence that major newspapers have supplements for real estate, automobiles and high-end travel as these are all high-value purchase decisions. The higher end of the range of unique visitors needed is more typical but the range is based on the value (V) of 1000 unique visitors. The model also assumes that your visitors are organic and that you have no other significant costs other than your sweat equity. Obviously if you are, for example, using paid search marketing with costs typically of $0.25 to $2.50 per visitor you will be paying out far more than you are receiving. Based on your expectations above, take the value of revenue (R) above and divide it by the value of 1000 unique visitors in the first table (V) to achieve an estimate of the number of thousands of unique visitors needed (U). Say $25,000 for a commercial office sized business / $0.25 per thousand to give 100 million unique visitors per month being needed. There are sites which achieve this, but not many. In fact only Facebook, Google, Yahoo and MSN. You need more traffic than e-Bay! Take a look at Compete for a list with unique visitor counts. (Unfortunately they now charge for the full list but you can also query individual competitor sites). Remember that it isn’t reasonable to expect to have every member of your chosen market demographic. It gets increasingly expensive to obtain the more reluctant members of any demographic. For arguments sake, lets say, that you are very optimistic and believe that you can reach 5% of your chosen demographic. Your demographic had better be small and reachable with your message. Lets say bicyclists in Brooklyn. We need to multiply the number of unique visitors (U) by twenty to see the Total Available Market (TAM) size required to support your site. Do remember that not everybody is like the people you know, over 99% of people on Earth do not own an iPhone, the majority of people are not between 18 and 30 years old, etc., etc. For our example of a business wanting to pay for a commercial-office sized business we would need a TAM of 2 billion people. Since the number of bicyclists in Brooklyn, is significantly lower you may conclude that you need to plan to target a broader market. There may, barely, be 2 billion cyclists on Earth. Alternatively you could accept that your business will be part time unless you are able to finance going to a wider geography or develop a different business model. The aim here isn’t to be exact but to have approximately reasonable expectations and to select a business model and total available market which are plausible. You can expect to have difficulty obtaining funding if the TAM required exceeds the available market which the business can be expanded into. Wider understanding of the limitations of the ad model are an important reason why other business models such as subscription services or data monetization have become increasingly prevalent. Your business’ growth is also restricted by the fact that there are just under 2 billion internet users – with only about 300 million preferring to read English – and you can’t generally assume that you have more than a fraction of 1% of them visiting your site any time soon. For websites with longer time being spent on the site, the amount of available free time on the part of users is a limitation. It would be possible to show that currently, globally, less than 2000 sites are likely to have over ten million people spend more than an hour per month with them. The public usage statistics would appear to show that fewer than fifty are actually achieving this, and that usage is far more fragmented down below a level at which a VC would find it attractive to fund any but the most popular sites based on an advertising model. As a result, the most viable advertising model based sites would appear to be those with content closely related to purchase decisions. They can have modest success with advertising and be able to sustain themselves as corporations if they can reach over ten million people per month. Greater success, of the size that might attract VC funding, (over ten million revenue per year) would appear to require very broad usage indeed. Reaching over ten million people for more than an hour per month. This is currently achieved by sites such as news outlets CNN and the New York Times, and more general sites such as Facebook. Not that these news outlets could be sustained by these amounts of money. Facebook is also making considerably more money with its exceptional usage levels. Sites with addictive games and entertainment with a broad appeal might also achieve the same usage at a modest cost. The long tail of general content is unlikely to be supported, as a corporation, by advertising other than by very large, low cost, content farms that can achieve the number of visitors necessary to cover their overheads. Advertising isn’t a model which can sustain long tail sites. It is only going to be significant for the largest of sites and almost none of those will be large enough to give a sufficient return on a classical VC investment. P.S. I would be very pleased to hear of additional data points which can be used to verify, adjust or disprove the tables in this post. Tagged with ad, business, models, revenue, startup. A recent meeting on behalf of the Center for Digital Media underlined why office environments are laid out the way they are. Lets start with the walls. The walls can either be built of plasterboard and be solid objects or constructed of prefabricated reusable panels that are held in place by metal trim tacked to the ceiling and floor. The solid walls are far cheaper than the reusable movable panels to purchase but the solid walls are a capital purchase. Something which is part of a building structure has to be depreciated over decades where as movable walls can be depreciated within ten years. An 8 foot partition may cost $200 per linear foot where as a full height partition wall will cost $300 to $600 per linear foot. Compare that with a permanent wall which might be as little as $40 per linear foot. Given that two walls are needed to enclose an additional room the length involved can be around 45 feet. So the cost of a fixed wall is only $1,800 where as movable walls could cost around $20,000. Contrast these costs of $1,800 to $20,000 plus furniture and the cost of 400 square foot of real estate ($12,000/annum) with slick open plan office furniture which can be moved at a fraction of the cost and are likely to take up 100 square feet ($3,000 / annum) and will cost just under $1000 per seat. The footprint on the floor area obviously varies depending on the layout and there are options such as three table 120 degree clusters rather than rows which add interest but cost floor space. While in theory full height movable walls can be moved in practice this involves shuffling the displaced area so it is a rare event. It is far more practical to minimize the use of conference rooms and offices and potentially use prefabricated fronts to achieve a dramatic look while using open plan as much as possible. The density of the open plan is really cost driven. Desks can be packed in, even to the extreme of the rows of benches we see in some of the startup spaces. All the layouts have a roll and a price bracket and within an industry there are well defined styles of office which are dictated by the cost of the materials and infrastructure. The challenge is in working creatively with the cheaper fixed wall structures to achieve acoustic privacy where it is needed and to choose flexible furniture which can meet the cost demands of the business in an attractive work environment. Tagged with layouts, office, Space, walls. There are a lot of myths about the subject and with 6,000 audits of mainly small businesses planned for this year the potential costs of 150% of the tax not deducted can be significant. So you need to understand the boundaries a little to avoid your staff being unexpectedly classified. Just a hint, the idea that you are safe as long as they aren’t in the office or are labeled as interns is purely a myth though having to work in the office is an important factor as it often leads to you controlling many aspects of their work. Lawyer Albert Rizzo gave a presentation at Brooklyn Business Library for NY State Small Business Development Center which covered some of the key concepts. The costs to the business are higher for employees though basic income taxes have to be paid in the end for both situations. The apparent costs are also more obvious as you have to deduct tax before paying people and just the sheer form counts are much lower if you can keep everybody as an independent contractor so most small businesses try to classify people as independent contractors where possible. If they are employees then it isn’t the end of the world, you can use ADT or PayChex to handle the processing of deductions for much less than $100 per month per employee. You do have to make sure that you can manage to make the regular payment schedule associated with employees that these services will need to take from your account on schedule. For the IRS the concept is in summary that the person is an independent contractor if the business has the ability to direct or control the end product but not the way the work is done. Now what does that really mean? The type of instruction given: Does the business control: Which tools to use, workers to hire, where to purchase supplies, who does which tasks, the order or sequencing of tasks? The degree of instruction given by the business – How specific is it? Are the financial aspects controlled by the business owner? In addition there are some exceptions, largely created by case law. So for example you tell a building contractor to build a kitchen that has certain characteristics (The end product of the work) but you do not tell them how to do it (Where to buy grouting, in what order to build, who to hire) so they are not your employees. The plasterer owns his own equipment but his tasks are controlled by the contractor so he is an employee of the contracting firm. It was clear from the Q&A at the end of the presentation that for a large proportion of startup businesses there have been oversights in classifying workers. One business owner had concerns about her interns who had not had deductions made and for which the business could potentially be liable. Another had brought a group of performers in from Canada and paid them without deductions and was now being asked to pay the tax on the full amount She had been paid. Clearly she was going to have made a significant loss on the venture and had no way or right to recover the money paid to the performers. I don’t suppose I need to spell out the moral of the tale! You can find similar events through the events list on the IRS site or Brooklyn SBDC. Further details on the question of independent contractor status are discussed at this page on the IRS site. Tagged with Brooklyn, Compliance, emloyee, independent contractor, nyssbdc, payroll, self employed, tax.

2019-04-22T08:20:14Z

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Accurately diagnose clients using new diagnostic criteria for bipolar spectrum disorders. Identify the three primary goals in medication treatment of bipolar disorder. Discuss the seven major classes of psychiatric medications which are effective in treating various symptoms of bipolar disorder. Describe typical side effect profiles for medications used in treating bipolar disorders. Explain the role of lifestyle management as a critical ingredient in effective integrative treatment. The materials in this course are based on the most accurate information available to the author at the time of writing. New developments in the field of psychopharmacology occur each day and new research findings may emerge that supersede these course materials. This course is updated regularly as new practice guidelines are developed. However, it should be noted that 'official' guidelines (e.g. offered by the American Psychiatric Association, and other groups), as of the current update, are significantly outdated. The material in this course is derived from such guidelines, but is augmented with a number of guidelines drawn from more recent clinical and research studies. This course will equip clinicians to evaluate the needs for medical treatment for their psychotherapy clients, to assess responses to treatment and to more effectively collaborate with primary care physicians and psychiatrists. Bipolar disorder is a common type of mood disorder affecting between 3.5-6% of the population (lifetime prevalence: Akiskal, et al. 2000). Previously, it was thought that the lifetime prevalence was 1-1.5% of the population; however, more recent epidemiological studies and new, refined diagnostic criteria have revealed the larger prevalence rate. It is now appreciated that there are a number of different types of bipolar disorder and together these are often referred to as bipolar spectrum disorders. Bipolar disorders are a group of genetically transmitted illnesses that result in recurring episodes of depression and mania or hypomania (see below). This is a lifelong disorder that requires ongoing medical treatment. Mood-stabilizing medications can effectively reduce episode severity and frequency. Nevertheless, there is currently no cure for bipolar disorders. Note: To the best of my knowledge recommended doses and side effects listed herein are accurate. However, this is meant as a general reference only and should not serve as a guideline for prescribing. Please check package inserts and the PDR for specific information on prescribing. Brand names are registered trademarks. In adolescents and adults 60-70% of manic episodes are classic manias (i.e. euphoric mania). 30-40% are referred to as dysphoric or mixed mania (mania with mixed features: DSM-5). Hypomania is a milder version of mania that typically involves much less intense mood symptoms. The duration of hypomania is often only 2-4 days, (although it may last for longer periods of time) and is frequently not noticed as being a sign of illness by the person experiencing hypomania (although, in most cases, family members are more clearly aware of the mood changes and increased energy). During some hypomanias the person can feel highly motivated and productive, is witty, gregarious and “upbeat” (although there is often underlying irritability). One very common sign of hypomania is a decreased need for sleep with no daytime fatigue. DSM-5 requires a minimum of 4 days of hypomania to diagnose bipolar II disorder; however, the most common presentation of hypomanias is 2-3 days (Goodwin and Jamison, 2007). DSM-5 has a new category: Depressive Episodes with Short-duration Hypomania (requiring 2-3 days of hypomania). Experts working on the development of DSM-5 disagreed on the criterion for Bipolar II hypomania duration. For practical purposes, Bipolar II and Depressive Episodes with Short-duration Hypomanias can be seen as simply two versions of the same disorder. (Note: ICD: International Classification Diseases, does not use the terms Bipolar I or II. Rather, they have adopted terms: bipolar disorder current episode mania, bipolar disorders current episode mixed, bipolar disorder current episode mixed, and so forth. Most research studies and treatment guidelines still refer to the DSM nomenclature, [i.e., Bipolar I and Bipolar II]. DSM-5 terms are presented here because they are more familiar). Bipolar I: severe manic (classic or dysphoric) and depressive episodes (often with periods of normal/euthymic mood between episodes). It should be noted that between episodes there often is a persistent, low-grade mood alteration sometimes referred to as dysphoric hypomania: the person always seems “revved up”… manifest in impatience and a tendency towards irritability. This state is not clinically relevant; there is no significant impairment, but this type of mood change is noticeable to family members and fellow workers at their place of employment. Bipolar II: characterized by frequent severe and prolonged depressions with periodic, brief episodes of hypomania; a normal/euthymic mood can occur between episodes, but often during these in-between times, there is a low-grade/mildly depressed mood. Judd, et al. (2003) studied the course of bipolar II disorder for a period of ten years and found that 15% of days were spent in major depressions, 40% in minor depressions, and only 1.4% in hypomanias. Bipolar III: severe, highly recurrent unipolar depressions with no manias or hypomanias (note: this subtype of bipolar disorder did not make it into the final version of DSM-5). However, if the patient is treated with certain drugs (e.g. stimulants, antidepressants, or steroids), there is a likelihood that the medication will either increase episode frequency (i.e. cycle acceleration) or provoke a switch into mania or hypomania, and from that point on, manic episodes may begin to occur spontaneously, even if unprovoked by the use of the aforementioned medications. This subtype of bipolar is fairly rare, and is also characterized by early onset depressions (in childhood or early adolescence) and a positive family history of bipolar disorder. It is commonly misdiagnosed as recurrent unipolar depression. Treating with antidepressants can contribute to a significant worsening of the condition. This diagnosis is not in DSM-5 or ICD-10 and is rare but should be considered when evaluating patients that appear to have highly treatment resistant depression. Pre-pubertal or early adolescent bipolar disorder: likely to be a more severe variant of bipolar disorder. Manias tend to be non-episodic (i.e., more chronic; may last for months to years) and 95% are of the mixed/dysphoric variety. Recent epidemiological studies conducted in many countries show that actual pre-pubertal onset of bipolar disorder is rare. It is during adolescence that the emergence of first episodes begins to be more prominent. It is important to recognize that a large number of children with psychiatric disorders exhibit affect instability which may be unrelated to bipolar disorder (e.g. PTSD, anxiety disorders, etc.). Cyclothymia: mild depressions and hypomania (note: this less severe version of bipolar can become worse with time and more than ½ of these people with cyclothymia eventually convert to Bipolar I or Bipolar II). A complication of bipolar disorder affecting about 20% of suffers is called rapid cycling. This represents a time-limited worsening of the illness in which episodes occur with greater frequency (i.e., 4 or more episodes of depression, mania, or hypomania per year). Most cases of rapid cycling last a few months to a year and a half, and then subside. The most common cause for rapid cycling is substance use/abuse. Rapid cycling has also been attributed to the use of antidepressants by bipolar patients. Antidepressants, as will be discussed shortly, are medications that can be problematic in treating bipolar disorder. If more frequent episodes are evident, it is referred to as ultra-rapid cycling or ultradian cycling bipolar. Treatment must have a two-pronged focus: bringing to an end the current manic or depressive episode and relapse prevention. With proper medical treatment, most people can experience a marked decrease in episode frequency and severity. Maintain regular bed times and awakening times. Such regularities in sleep patterns are crucial. Keep the amount of bright light exposure (e.g. sunlight) and the amount of physical exercise stable year round. Ketter, T.A. (Editor) (2005) Advances in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder: Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. Goodwin, F.K. and Jamison, K.R. (2007) Manic-Depressive Illness: Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. American Psychiatric Association: (2002) Bipolar Disorder Practice Guidelines: Second Edition. Please note that official treatment guidelines listed above are dated. Updates are in progress. In this course we will include information from these sources as well as adding information from more recent experts and research in this area. The choice of medications used to treat bipolar disorder depends on the mood state the patient is currently experiencing (i.e., mania or depression). In addition, the medication choice always must take into consideration the ultimate goal of preventing recurrences. Currently, there are fourteen medications that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of bipolar disorder: lithium, Thorazine, Depakote, Equetro, Lamictal, Symbyax, Risperdal, Seroquel, Geodon, Abilify, Latuda, Saphris, Rexulti, Vraylar, and Zyprexa. However, a number of other effective drugs are in common use. The use of medications not approved by FDA for the treatment of certain conditions is referred to as “off label use.” It is important to note that off label use of medications is a very common practice in every branch of medicine. Recent surveys reveal that, in the United States, only 11% of people being treated for bipolar disorder are taking just a single drug (mono-therapy); thus, this is the exception and not the rule. On average, most people being treated are taking three or four medications simultaneously. The reason for this is simple – medication combinations are often clearly superior to mono-therapy for most people suffering from bipolar disorder. All medications have side effects and, unfortunately, the drugs used to treat bipolar disorder are known to produce significant side effects for the majority of people being treated. Side effects can be mild and easy to tolerate. However, often they are more noticeable and, in rare instances, they can be dangerous. In every single case, once the current mood episode has subsided, people with bipolar disorder must continue to take certain medications (mood stabilizers) to help prevent or reduce the likelihood of recurrence. This is absolutely essential! However, some estimates suggest that as many as 90% of people who start medical treatment for bipolar disorder will recover from their first episode, but within weeks or several months will stop taking their medications (against medical advice). The most common reasons for doing so are understandable: 1) the patients is plagued by unpleasant side effects and/or, 2) it’s the negative stigma associated with having a psychiatric condition, and/or 3) the person suffering from bipolar disorder concludes that the episode he experienced is not really bipolar disorder, but was just a single episode and that there will be no recurrence. This conclusion is borne of hopefulness that this is not really going to be a recurring illness (Pope and Scott, 2003). These reasons for discontinuing the medication are entirely understandable, but they almost invariably lead to the emergence of another episode (this may occur within a few months following the initial episode, but more commonly occurs several years later). Many side effects can be managed by dosage adjustments or by switching to other medications. This is one reason that most times people will need to go through systematic trials on a variety of medications to determine which ones are the most effective, and which drugs are best tolerated for the individual. Every effort should be made to find the right medication or medication combinations in an attempt to minimize side effects. Moreover, this is often something that can be accomplished. However, it is frequently the case that it takes a year of trials on various medications to finally discover the specific medication or medication combinations that will be effective and that will be best tolerated. This is the rule and not the exception. It is very important for patients to not feel too discouraged if the first medications used are less than optimally effective or that there are problematic side effects. A sign of a competent and compassionate psychiatrist is her willingness to be persistent in carrying out systematic medication trials until the best treatment is finally identified. Sometimes side effects can be minimized; however, many people end up having to find ways to tolerate some side effects. Obviously, this is not pleasant, but is ultimately necessary to reduce or eliminate severe mood swings. Unfortunately, a very small number of people are simply unable to tolerate any bipolar medications. Bipolar disorder is like a number of other chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, asthma, arthritis). It is not a condition that can be cured by currently available medications. However, the medications discussed below are effective in relieving many of the more serious symptoms of bipolar illness. They often can reduce the frequency of mood episodes for most people, if patients receive appropriate treatment and stick with it. The good news, but also the not-so-good news is that, with aggressive, appropriate, and ongoing medication treatment, and if the treatment is started during the first or second mood episode, about 30% of people will not experience recurrences. That is, in about one out of four people the medications are successful in preventing relapses (please note that if the first appropriate medical treatments begin after the second episode, typically treatment becomes somewhat more challenging and the outcomes are not quite as robust). However, for the majority of other people receiving treatment and taking medications as prescribed, the recurrence rates for severe episodes can be reduced by about 75% and hospitalizations can often be avoided. Subsequent episodes that do occur tend to be mild depressions and hypomanias (Gitlin, 2002; Bowden, C.L. and Singh, 2005). Medication treatments are far from perfect, but they have the kind of effectiveness that can substantially reduce suffering, keep families together, avoid catastrophes, and save lives. The material below begins with a brief overview of bipolar medication classes and specific drugs. This is followed by a discussion of treatment guidelines. Finally, detailed information is presented regarding specific medications (e.g. doses, side effects). There are seven major classes of psychiatric medications that have been found to be effective in treating various symptoms of bipolar disorder. Generic and brand names (registered trademarks) are listed below. Antidepressant and Atypical Antipsychotic Combination: Symbyax, a combination of Prozac and Zyprexa approved by the FDA for the treatment of acute bipolar depression. In addition, antidepressant medications are often used in treating bipolar disorders. However, their use often results in ineffective outcomes or the provoking of significant emergent symptoms (e.g. provoking mania). In this course we will look at the controversies and risks of using antidepressants. Currently, even though they are often prescribed, the current thinking is that they should rarely be used and only in treatment resistant cases. There is a general lack of knowledge that antidepressants are ineffective and can cause significant problems. There are a number of other medications that are used occasionally, including some experimental drugs (e.g. Omega-3 fatty acids) and Topamax (to help reduce weight gain; note: Topamax does not appear to be an effective antimanic). This CE course will provide a brief overview of standard treatment guidelines that have been developed primarily by the American Psychiatric Association and findings from the STEP-BD Program. There are three primary goals in medication treatment of bipolar disorder: dealing with potentially dangerous emergency issues (e.g. extremely severe agitation or suicidal impulses), resolving the current episode (mania or depression), and relapse prevention. The choice of medications used will always be influenced by these goals. In addition, of course, the medication choice will also be dictated by the need to minimize side effects. Sometimes, there is a need for emergency treatment, such as when a person is experiencing a sudden onset of severe manic agitation (which may include extreme restlessness, impulsivity, severely impaired judgment, and/or aggression) or serious suicidal impulses during a depression or dysphoric manic episodes. At such times, acute medical treatment may be necessary. Emergency medical treatments for agitation include the use of either benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety tranquilizers, such as Ativan, Klonopin, and Valium) or antipsychotic medications (such as Zyprexa, Risperdal, Geodon, Abilify, Haldol, or Seroquel). These two classes of drugs are often very effective in rapidly reducing agitation. On occasion, there is a need for emergency medical treatment for very severe depression (where there is either a grave suicide risk or refusal to eat accompanied by severe weight loss). In such cases, Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT also known as shock treatments) can be used successfully. ECT is also very effective for the emergency treatment of severe mania. If the situation is not extremely urgent, then it is commonplace to order some pre-treatment laboratory tests. This is done for two purposes. The first is to rule out the possibility that the mood symptoms may be caused by a primary medical illness (such as thyroid disease) or substance abuse. The other reason has to do with the tendency for many of the bipolar medications to cause significant changes in a variety of bodily functions. Mood stabilizers in particular are known to affect a broad range of organs and glands, especially when they are taken for prolonged periods. Thus, pretreatment labs typically include measures of cardiac, kidney, liver and thyroid functioning, as well as a complete blood count. Laboratory monitoring of blood levels of certain medications may also be required. This is routinely done for the following mood stabilizing medications: lithium, Tegretol, Trileptal, and Depakote. For each psychiatric medication listed in the Appendix, you will see listed the typical adult daily doses. In many instances, the “therapeutic dosage range” is broad. For example, daily dosing with lithium is between 600 and 2400 mg. It is important to know that the amount of medication required to effectively reduce and eliminate symptoms often has little to do with how severe the mood episode is. What matters is not so much how much is ingested but rather, how much of the medication enters the blood stream. There are three primary factors that influence the amount of drug that finds its way into the blood stream. First is the rate of liver metabolism. Bipolar medications are absorbed through the walls of the stomach and intestines, and go directly to the liver. Here the drug molecules are acted upon by liver enzymes that begin a process generally referred to as biotransformation. Liver enzymes chemically alter the medication in ways that allow the drug to be more readily excreted from the body. The liver’s function is to detoxify the body. Thus, in this so-called first pass effect through the liver, a good deal of the drug is transformed and then rapidly excreted. However, some of the medication initially escapes this process, makes its way through the liver and into circulation, and is therefore allowed to begin accumulating in the blood stream. How rapidly the liver metabolizes drugs depends on a number of factors. This resulting blood level is what matters when it comes to reducing symptoms. (Note: two bipolar medications are not metabolized in the liver, lithium and Neurontin). Genes play a significant role in this process. A small percentage of people are known as rapid metabolizers. They take certain drugs and then eliminate them very quickly. The result is that, even though they may be taking what seems like an adequate dose of the medication, little actually gets into the blood stream. Once it is discovered that someone is a rapid metabolizer, usually he is prescribed very high doses of medications, and eventually enough gets into the blood stream to be effective. Again, this has nothing to do with how severely ill the patient is – it’s just a matter of the liver’s metabolic rate. Conversely, some individuals are hypo-metabolizers. This small percentage of people has fewer than average liver enzymes. The effect is that they can take a very small dose of a medication, and on its trip through the liver, only small amounts are transformed and excreted. The result is often very high blood levels of the medication and severe side effects or toxicity. The ultimate solution for hypo-metabolizers is to use very small doses. Sometimes, when a person is first treated, she will experience serious side effects that may be due to hypo-metabolizing. It is often hard to know ahead of time if this will happen with any one given individual. Thus, if your patient has experienced very intense side effects with other medications in the past, it may be anticipated that she is a hypo-metabolizer, so initial dosing is done gradually. A second factor determining blood levels of medications is the functioning of the kidneys. Sometimes genetic factors play a role here too, but more often problems can occur due to kidney disease. For some bipolar medications, pretreatment labs will include an assessment of kidney functioning (this is especially important for patients being treated with lithium). Finally, a number of drugs can adversely affect liver metabolism and thereby alter blood levels. This is where drug-drug interactions can cause significant problems. This applies to some prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, herbal and dietary supplement products, and recreational drugs. The use of prescription drugs must be carefully monitored by the treating physician. In addition, even modest amounts of alcohol can have significant effects on the liver. St. John’s Wort, a popular herbal product for the treatment of depression, is known to cause some very significant changes in liver metabolism. Caution The use of Tegretol, Trileptal, Topamax, or St. John’s Wort can interfere with the effectiveness of birth control pills. This is especially important to monitor since some mood stabilizers are known to cause birth defects. Verapamil (generally only used for treating mania in pregnant women because it is the safest mood stabilizer for use during pregnancy). Nimodipine is another calcium channel blocker that is showing promise in treating bipolar disorder. Benzodiazepines and antipsychotic medications are given initially to reduce agitation, which can often be achieved within a few hours (note: for reasons that are not well understood, the tranquilizer Xanax can sometimes aggravate mania, and thus is generally not used to treat acute mania; other tranquilizers such as Ativan do not provoke mania). The anti-manic medications (e.g. lithium and anticonvulsants) require 7-10 days of treatment before there is an onset of action and symptom reduction. Once symptoms begin to be reduced, continued treatment for several weeks will often be necessary to eliminate acute manic symptoms. As noted earlier, most people will ultimately be treated with three or four medications simultaneously to achieve the best outcomes. Reduce extreme agitation (the goal is to get agitation under control within a few hours). Severe agitation can be dangerous to the patient as well as to others around them, so this must be addressed as soon as possible. Stage One: As mentioned above, antipsychotic medications and benzodiazepines (with the one exception of Xanax which can aggravate mania) are the best medications for treating acute agitation; they quickly produce substantial sedation, calming, or sleep. It is important to note that, although antipsychotic medications do successfully treat psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations), the more recently developed drugs (i.e., atypical or second generation antipsychotics) have also been found to be effective mood stabilizers and are commonly used to treat mania. Most mood stabilizers require the 7-10 day period before symptom reduction, with one notable exception – the anticonvulsant mood stabilizer, Depakote, when given in large doses, can begin to show anti-manic effects in about 4 days. Once severe agitation has subsided, benzodiazepines are often gradually reduced and, within a few days, are discontinued. This may also be true for antipsychotic medications. However, there are times when antipsychotic drugs may continue to be used for a more prolonged period. During stage one of treatment, as mentioned above, a number of lab tests are frequently done to monitor the early effects of the drugs. Stage Two: The choice of medications used to treat core symptoms of mania is important and often complex. As noted above, there are several different types of mania, and a considerable amount of research has been done to discover which medications are best suited for treating particular subtypes of mania. Dozens of large-scale research studies have been conducted in recent years, and specific treatment guidelines have been developed that are useful in helping physicians to decide on initial medication choices (see below). However, the fact is that each person will have a number of factors unique to him that will influence the choice of medications, such as age, gender, body weight, history of allergies to medications, liver metabolism rate, the presence or absence of other medical conditions, and other medicines being used to treat such conditions. Patients must anticipate that it is extremely common for psychiatrists to make initial medication choices, begin treatment, and then during the following weeks or months make what are often frequent changes in the doses or medications prescribed. There is an important reason for emphasizing this. Many times people being treated for bipolar illness, or their family members, become worried as they begin to encounter side effects, or they must go through what seems like an endless number of lab tests or changes in medications or medication doses. Many people become concerned that these medication changes suggest that their doctor may not be competent or that their case of bipolar is especially treatment-resistant. This can lead to discouragement and feelings of pessimism. Here is the truth – the pathway to recovery and good outcomes, more often than not, is complicated. The rule, not the exception, is that people will be tried on several if not many medications in the search for the right drug or medication combinations. It is so important to help patients understand this so that they don’t conclude that the frequent changes in medications are necessarily a reason for concern. The fact is that bipolar disorder is challenging to treat and often requires a considerable amount of time systematically trying various medications before the right medications combinations are found. “Classic Mania” (with euphoria, expansiveness, upbeat mood, occasional irritability, etc.) has been found to respond best to treatment with lithium or Depakote (other anticonvulsant mood stabilizers or atypical antipsychotic medications often can treat classic mania, but in head-to-head comparisons, lithium and Depakote appear to be the best first-line medications for this type of mania). Generally, during stage two of treatment, especially if this is a person’s first episode of mania, just one of these medications will be prescribed. Assuming that the medication is tolerated (i.e., that side effects are mild or manageable), treatment will continue for a period of several weeks. As mentioned earlier, 90% of people being treated for bipolar disorder ultimately must take two or more medications at the same time to adequately treat mania. Thus, it is possible that the one medicine initially prescribed may be tolerated and may eventually be effective. Decisions to increase the dose or to change or add another medication in the ensuing weeks will depend on tolerability and effectiveness. Since there are always possible drug-drug interactions, the generally recommended approach is to first optimize treatment with one medication (which means to progressively increase the dose while always being watchful for the emergence of side effects). What is hoped for is that the first signs of symptomatic change will occur during the initial 7-10 days, and that symptomatic improvement will continue to unfold over the next few weeks. Just how long it takes to fully resolve a manic episode varies from one individual to another. It should be noted that a current trend is to initiate treatment with one mood stabilizer, and then relatively soon add a second antimanic agent (e.g. lithium and a second generation antipsychotic) since it has been found that the use of two agents is often more effective and since this combination treatment can involve lower doses of each medication, there are often actually fewer side effects. Should side effects be significant, there will typically be either a dosage adjustment or possibly a change to another medication. If side effects are mild to moderate and tolerable, but there is only partial improvement in symptoms after several weeks of treatment, then a decision will be made to either change to a different medication or to add another medication (the addition of medications is commonly referred to as augmentation). Medications typically used for augmentation include anticonvulsant mood stabilizers and/or antipsychotic medications. Mania with Mixed Features: (agitation, decreased need for sleep, rapid speech, feelings of despair, hopelessness, etc.). There is some controversy regarding the treatment of mixed mania. However, most experts agree that the best first-line medication is Depakote. Many people experiencing mixed mania do have positive responses to lithium as a mono-therapy. Again, the use of just one medication initially is the typical strategy, and before adding or changing medications, the drug used will be optimized. As in the treatment of classic mania, we are looking for the first signs of improvement within the first 7-10 days. If after several weeks of treatment, and if increased doses of the medication yield only partial symptomatic improvement, then augmentation can be used. Often the first augmentation strategy is to combine Depakote and lithium. If other medications are required, then the addition of the following are commonly prescribed: the anticonvulsants Tegretol, or Trileptal. The anticonvulsant, Neurontin, has been found to be ineffective as a mono-therapy, but it is often used as an augmenting agent, and is especially helpful in reducing anxiety. Other choices include atypical antipsychotics, also known as SGAs. The treatment of childhood-onset bipolar disorder is beyond the scope of this CE course; however, a few brief comments will be made. At the outset, in must be acknowledged that there are not well established guidelines for diagnosing pre-adolescent bipolar disorder. Mood instability is seen in many other disorders and some experts have commented that bipolar disorder in children is often misdiagnosed. When mania occurs in pre-pubertal children, it most commonly presents as a form of mixed mania with rapid cycling and marked irritability. With adults, the general strategy is to begin treatment with one mood stabilizer and only later add additional medicines if they are needed. This is done with the intention of avoiding unnecessary side effects that occur when multiple drugs are prescribed. Obviously, there are compelling reasons for wanting to minimize side effects in children as well. However, preliminary research has rather strongly indicated that most children suffering from mania ultimately end up taking two or more mood stabilizers (this is required for most to effectively eliminate manic symptoms). Thus, there currently is a trend to begin treatment with children using two mood stabilizers (often this combination is Depakote and lithium). It is generally felt that the much higher success rate with two mood stabilizers outweighs the added side effects of using two drugs. In addition, it is felt that the earlier a lid can be put on mania and its development, the better – to do so matters not only in regard to the current episode but may also have a positive effect on reducing the severity of future episodes. As mentioned above, rapid cycling generally is a period of time lasting anywhere from a few months to a year or year-and-a-half where there is a significant increase in the frequency and (often) severity of mood episodes. In only about 2% of people is rapid cycling continuous for very prolonged periods. Three factors account for the majority of cases of rapid cycling: substance abuse (including alcohol), the use of certain prescription medications (e.g. antidepressants, steroids, stimulants), or disorders of the thyroid gland. Thus, it is very important to determine whether any of these factors is present, and take appropriate action to ameliorate them. Special attention must be taken to stabilize the patient’s lifestyle, especially making sure that there is regularity to sleep patterns and making every attempt to reduce or avoid sleep deprivation (e.g. establishing regular bed and awakening times; completely avoiding sleep-destroying substances such as caffeine, alcohol and decongestants; no all-nighters cramming for exams; no late night partying). Beyond these approaches, the following medication strategies have been found to be helpful. Preferred mood stabilizers include Lamictal, Depakote, and Tegretol. Atypical antipsychotic medications are also frequently prescribed. Finally, the most common mood symptoms seen in rapid cycling are depression or a combination of depression and irritability. Unfortunately, antidepressants can contribute to cycle acceleration and rapid switches in mood. Thus, the use of antidepressants in rapid cycling is not indicated. For people that experience very severe mania that does not respond to more traditional treatments, there are a number of options. The antipsychotic medication clozapine (brand name Clozaril) has been found to be effective in some cases of treatment resistant mania. This drug has antipsychotic effects (e.g. for treating hallucinations, delusions). It also is proving to be effective for treating not only mania but for relapse prevention. Unfortunately, Clozaril is plagued by numerous, significant side effects, some of which are potentially dangerous. ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) is a safe and highly effective treatment for severe mania. ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) was developed in the late 1930s and has experienced a checkered history. ECT involves the use of an electric current that is delivered by way of two electrodes placed on the frontal area of the skull. The electrical current produces a grand mal seizure and there is evidence that the seizure is responsible for rapidly altering the chemistry of the brain. The changes in brain chemistry are remarkably similar to that seen as a result of psychiatric medication treatments, although such changes typically occur after only a few days and a few treatments, when medications generally require a number of weeks to yield such changes. In the early days, ECT was a very crude medical technology. The treatment, unfortunately, was administered in ways that resulted in a multitude of serious medical and neurologic consequences, including spinal fractures, cardiac arrests, and persistent memory problems. However, it was also clear from the outset that this was a powerful treatment that often resulted in rapid and significant improvement in patients suffering from very severe mania and depression. There have been significant advances in the way ECT is administered. Currently, ECT is administered to the patient under a general anesthetic while being monitored by an anesthesiologist. The procedure is completely painless and is judged to be safe. Muscle relaxing drugs and the anesthesia help to prevent the medical problems encountered in the early days of ECT. Memory loss does occur following the treatments (primarily forgetfulness), but almost without exception, memory problems completely remit within six weeks after the final treatment. ECT can resolve acute, severe mood states; however, once the treatments end, most patients will slip back into a depression or mania within a few weeks. The preferred strategy is to give ECT while also administering mood-stabilizing medications; the drugs help to prevent acute relapse. ECT is considered a treatment of last resort, primarily because of the costs involved, but it remains an important and often lifesaving technique for treating both manias and severe depressions of bipolar illness. Once the current manic episode is completely controlled, it is common practice to continue medications, even though there are no obvious symptoms. This is necessary because it is clear that once symptoms subside, if medication is then discontinued, the acute relapse rate can be as high as 85%. Therefore, for a period of several months, medication treatment is typically continued, often at the same doses used during treatment of the acute phase of the episode. This phase of treatment is appropriately called continuation treatment. After several months, assuming there have been no “breakthrough” symptoms, then the next stage of treatment – maintenance treatment – begins. Here, the focus of treatment is on the prevention of recurrent episodes. Often, if a person has been receiving lithium, the dose is gradually reduced (which often results in fewer side effects). The doses of other medications may also be reduced. However, such a decision is highly individual and is influenced by a number of factors including a person’s clinical history and the presence of particular side effects. In general, the medications used to treat mania are considered very effective for most people experiencing a manic episode (note: this is true for bipolar mania seen in patients who have a late adolescent or adult-onset illness. Mania in pre-pubertal children is significantly more difficult to treat). However, the more long-term goal of preventing recurrences is more challenging. Despite the fact that there have been decades of experience in treating bipolar illness, there are no good long-term studies on relapse prevention (the longest studies available only extend to about a year). Yet this is a lifelong illness, and all experts agree that lifelong treatment is required. It is important to know that most medications used to treat bipolar disorder do have side effects that may emerge with very long-term use, thus necessitating periodic lab tests to monitor blood and various glandular and organ system functioning. It is clear that failure to treat (or to adequately treat) bipolar disorder almost always leads to disaster. The medications for which the best data exist for long-term maintenance treatment are the following mood-stabilizers: lithium (the best data), Depakote, Tegretol, and Zyprexa. Most people on maintenance treatment will continue to take several medications. However, longer-term treatments generally do not include treatment with benzodiazepines. The combination drug, Symbyax (Prozac and Zyprexa), is FDA approved for the treatment of bipolar depression. The anticonvulsant, Lamictal, has antidepressant actions and is FDA approved for preventing recurrence of bipolar depression. The atypical antipsychotics (SGAs), Seroquel, Abilify, and Latuda, have antidepressant actions. It is important to know that bipolar depressions are often difficult to treat. Treatment guidelines have been developed by the American Psychiatric Association. However, there is a significant amount of controversy in the field regarding the best approaches for treating this aspect of bipolar disorder. The biggest issue is that many treatments that ordinarily are effective in reducing depression (i.e. antidepressants) carry a risk of provoking manic episodes (a phenomenon referred to as switching) or causing cycle acceleration (this refers to a gradual, over-all worsening of bipolar disorder in which, over time, there is an increased frequency of episodes, and episodes tend to become more severe and more difficult to treat). Switching and cycle acceleration have been clearly documented with the use of antidepressants (see below) and thus these drugs are not advised in the treatment of bipolar depression (Ghaemi, et al. 2001; Post, et al. 2001; Goodwin and Jamison, 2007). Excessive bright light exposure (which can treat some types of seasonal depression) has also been associated with provoking manias. Additionally, three popular over-the-counter products that have antidepressant properties can, likewise, cause switching or cycle acceleration: 5-HTP, St. John’s Wort and SAM-e. Stage One: In the event of life threatening symptoms such as strong suicidal impulses or refusal to eat, ECT is a highly effective treatment. The treatment approach is much the same as used to treat acute mania (see previous box titled ECT: Electro-Convulsive Therapy). The other emergency treatment is hospitalization. Unfortunately, aside from ECT most approaches to treating depression require several weeks before one is likely to see symptomatic improvement. Stage Two: Start with a medication that has been found to have antidepressant actions. The five drugs that have the best track record of effectiveness are lithium, Seroquel, Latuda, Symbyax and Lamictal (however, there is an important consideration when using Lamictal – once treatment is begun, it is required that Lamictal be given in small doses and that dosage changes are done very gradually during the first 4-6 weeks of treatment. This is to avoid inducing a potentially dangerous rash [Stevens-Johnson syndrome] that is more common if there is rapid dose escalation. Since this more gradual titration schedule has been developed, the incidence of serious rashes has been extremely low; it should be noted that the use of Lamictal in pre-adolescent children still carries a risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome). Of these five choices, Seroquel appears to be the most effective, first-line medication choice. Add lithium. Lithium generally is not a first-line medication choice for bipolar depression. It is often effective, but it requires significant laboratory monitoring and thus is more difficult to manage. Additionally, even though lithium has been shown to significantly reduce suicide (with chronic use), during the initial phase of treatment when a person may be feeling suicidal, lithium can be very dangerous owing to its high level of toxicity (e.g. if taken in even small over-doses, it is often fatal). Thus, lithium may make sense as an add-on drug once the patient is recovered enough to be judged to have a low risk of suicide. The addition of an antidepressant to treatment resistant Bipolar II patients can at times be beneficial (when combined with a mood stabilizer). This almost never should be the first line treatment, but only if other treatments fail. However, the use of antidepressant augmentation for the treatment of Bipolar I is not indicated. Bright light therapy (using a commercially available light box that generates 10,000 lux of light intensity for 10-30 minutes a day or going outside into natural sunlight without wearing sunglasses) has been used for treating bipolar depression, especially for those who routinely have winter depressions or who work the night shift. This treatment is typically combined with medication treatments and like all treatments for depression, it too, carries a risk of provoking mania in some people with bipolar I disorder. Exercise therapy has recently been shown to be effective in treating unipolar major depression, however, there are no studies of this approach in treating bipolar depression. Stage Three: This is much the same as stage three treatments for mania. Among the mood stabilizers that have the best record of effectiveness in the prevention of depressive episodes, Lamictal appears to be the front-runner. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: dietary supplements that have some limited research support as effective agents in reducing the severity of bipolar mood swings (Stoll, et al. 1999). It should be noted that Omega-3 treatments appear to be more effective as an adjunct to the treatment of unipolar depression. Studies with bipolar disorder have been much less robust and equivocal. Repetitive Trans-Cranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS): a technology that uses a powerful electromagnet, which is able to stimulate the brain. Treatments generally last from 10-20 minutes during which an electromagnet is placed next to the left frontal part of the skull. During the treatment, approximately 1,000 surges of powerful magnetic energy are delivered, penetrating the skull and affecting metabolic functioning in the brain tissue in the underlying left frontal lobe. This treatment causes virtually no side effects (the exception is that about 1.5% of people experience a seizure). There is no loss of consciousness. Like ECT, treatments are given three times a week for 3-4 weeks. The literature on rTMS suggests that it is a rapid and effective treatment for some cases of severe depression. As with ECT, acute relapses do occur after the rTMS treatments stop so people are concurrently treated with mood stabilizers or antidepressants to avoid relapse. This is a promising new approach, but it is still considered experimental. Vagus Nerve Stimulation: a technique that was initially developed to treat some forms of severe epilepsy, it has been found to be effective in successfully treating about 50-60% of people who suffer from highly treatment-resistant depressions. A pacemaker-like device is implanted in the chest wall (beneath the collarbone) and a wire extends up into the neck where it is wrapped around the vagus nerve. Periodically, a mild electrical stimulation is delivered to the vagus nerve, which causes nerve activity that enters the brain. This also appears to be a promising new treatment for some cases of severe depression, but as yet, it has not been studied for use in treating bipolar disorder. Chronotherapy (targeting stabilization of the circadian rhythm): Partial sleep deprivation therapy (sleeping for 4 hours and then awakened and kept awake until 9:00 pm) and dawn simulation (waking up at the same time each day) have been used for many years in Europe as an augmenting strategy aimed at stabilizing the circadian rhythm. Note: To the best of my knowledge, doses and side effects listed below are accurate. However, this is meant as a general reference only and should not serve as a guideline for prescribing medications. Brand names are registered trademarks. Typical Adult Daily Doses (Eskalith or Lithonate are most commonly prescribed): 600-2400 mg. per day. Note: what matters with lithium treatment is not the dose, per se, but the blood level (which is carefully monitored). A lithium level between 0.8 and 1.2 mEq/l (mEq/l is the technical designation for what is commonly called the lithium level) is generally felt to be in the therapeutic range for treating mania. Once the manic episode is resolved, then it is common practice to lower the dose to establish a blood level somewhere between 0.6 and 0.8 mEq/l. Blood levels above 1.2 are associated with significant side effects, and levels above 2.0 can be dangerous. ECG (EKG)*, electrolytes, complete blood count, kidney function tests (BUN, creatinine, urinalysis), thyroid tests*, calcium*, pregnancy test (optional). Those tests flagged above with an asterisk are repeated periodically. In addition, it is necessary to periodically check lithium blood levels. This is done frequently during the first weeks of treatment and when there are significant changes in dosage. Once a person is stabilized on lithium for several months, lithium levels will then be checked less often (e.g. 3-4 times a year). Here are only the most common medications with which the drug may cause adverse interactions. Safety during pregnancy: Lithium is generally considered to be safe for use during pregnancy, however there is a slight risk for a rare birth defect (Ebstein’s anomaly, a heart defect) if taken during the first trimester. This occurs in 0.1-0.2% of fetuses exposed to lithium. If the patient is planning to get pregnant or suspects that she may be pregnant, contact prescribing physician. Lithium is a very dangerous drug if taken in an accidental or intentional overdose. In the event of an overdose, seek immediate medical attention. Anticonvulsants are medications originally developed to treat epilepsy. It was only by accident that it was discovered that some anticonvulsants also have the ability to treat mania. The anticonvulsant Lamictal is used to treat rapid cycling and bipolar depression. Please note: Lamictal, if used as a monotherapy, may provoke mania in Bipolar I patients. Anticonvulsant Mood Stabilizers: Generic and Brand Names and typical adult daily doses. Uses: treatment of mania. Lamictal does not have antimanic effects and rather, is used to treat bipolar depression. Research evaluating the ability for anticonvulsants to help prevent recurrences of mania and bipolar depression is not yet conclusive. Depakote and Tegretol help to prevent recurrences of mania, and Lamictal reduces the recurrence of bipolar depression. Complete blood count, platelets, electrolytes, cholesterol, triglycerides, sonogram of ovaries (optional for females under the age of 20 treated with Depakote), liver function tests, ECG (EKG), pregnancy test. For Topamax, kidney function tests (BUN and creatinine). Pretreatment labs are generally not required for Neurontin or Lamictal. Tegretol, Depakote, and Trileptal blood levels must be monitored (especially during the initial weeks of treatment). Generally, once a person is stabilized on Depakote or Trileptal, blood level monitoring is not necessary. However, those treated with Tegretol must have periodic and ongoing monitoring of Tegretol levels. Ongoing lab test are generally not required for Lamictal. Infertility problems (seen with some women under the age of 20 treated with Depakote), accompanied by menstrual irregularities. Safety during pregnancy: there is a risk of birth defects when taking anticonvulsant mood stabilizers during pregnancy (especially in the first trimester; significant birth defects seen most commonly in treatment with Depakote). Most psychiatrists do not prescribe these medications during pregnancy. Antipsychotic medications were first developed to treat psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations. The first such drugs were found to be effective in reducing psychotic symptoms, but they were notoriously “dirty” drugs, causing significant side effects. Since the mid-1990s, new and improved antipsychotics have been developed and marketed. These newer generation medications are not side effect-free, but they are considerably safer and better tolerated. The newer drugs are commonly referred to as atypical antipsychotics. Although atypical antipsychotic medications are highly effective in treating psychotic symptoms it has been found that they are also good treatments for mania and possibly for mood stabilization in general. They also have a role in treating aggression. Thus, these medications are currently being widely used to treat BD even in individuals who have no psychotic symptoms. Another antipsychotic medication that is used occasionally is clozapine (generic), Clozaril (brand name). This older-generation antipsychotic medication has significant side effects (e.g. dry mouth, constipation, sedation, seizures, excessive salivation, blurred vision, nausea, heartburn and weight gain) and has been associated with a serious blood disorder (agranulocytosis: which causes soreness of the mouth, throat and gums and a high fever). Thus, it is never considered a first line medication choice. However, despite the problematic side effects, Clozaril is an important medication that can often successfully treat those rare people who have not responded to more traditional mood stabilizers. The typical adult daily doses for Clozaril are 300-900 mg. Please note that all of the following information regarding antipsychotics pertains to the atypical antipsychotics or SGAs (not Clozaril). Uses: treat mania and agitation; treat psychotic symptoms associated with both manic and depressive episodes and schizophrenia. The effectiveness of antipsychotic medications in the long-term prevention of recurrences is as yet inconclusive. Onset of effects: Antipsychotic medications used to treat mania and can begin to reduce severe agitation within a few hours to a few days, however, the reduction of more pronounced manic symptoms, is similar to that seen with other mood stabilizers such as lithium and anticonvulsants (7-10 days or longer). Laboratory Tests: periodic measures of blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, weight, and body mass index should be done with all of the newer antipsychotics. Weight Gain (can occur with all, however minimal with Geodon, Saphris, Fanapt, and Abilify). Note: Not recommended in the treatment of bipolar disorder. The following list is offered simply as a general reference. Antidepressants (all except Wellbutrin) are effective in treating severe anxiety, panic attacks, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Do not take with St. John’s Wort, 5-HTP (dietary supplement), MAOIs, cimetidine (Tagamet) without medical supervision. Safety during pregnancy: most experts agree that some new generation antidepressants are safe for use during pregnancy (e.g. Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, Wellbutrin, and Luvox). Note: the following antidepressants have been only recently come to market, and there is inadequate data to evaluate safety during pregnancy: Vestra, Cymbalta, Strattera, Lexapro, Celexa, Serzone, Pristiq, and Remeron). High doses of Desyrel should not be used during pregnancy. In addition, recent data suggests that Paxil is not safe for use during pregnancy. Special Concerns: If someone has been taking antidepressants for a period of six weeks or more and abruptly stops taking the medications, there can be withdrawal symptoms (this can occur with any of the antidepressants with the exception of Prozac). Withdrawal symptoms include nausea, stomach upset, nervousness, flu-like symptoms, and a peculiar sensation described by patients as electrical shocks going through one’s head or extremities. Withdrawal symptoms are very unlikely if one has been taking the medication for less than six weeks. Moreover, withdrawal symptoms can be avoided almost 100% of the time by reducing the dose gradually over a period of several weeks. Note: alprazolam (Xanax) can provoke mania in bipolar patients. Uses: treats acute anxiety, agitation, and insomnia during episodes of mania. Also used to treat anxiety disorders (such as panic disorder, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder). In the treatment of mania, benzodiazepines are generally used only for the first few days of treatment to reduce agitation; only rarely are these drugs used beyond a couple of weeks. The use of Xanax during manic episodes should be avoided (may increase manic symptoms). Habit-forming / Addiction Potential: Significant risk for people with a prior personal or family history of alcoholism or other forms of serious drug abuse. Rozerem is non-habit forming. At the time of this printing Belsomra is still being evaluated for the potential of being habit-forming). Interactions with Other Medications: When taking benzodiazepines, any other type of medication that causes drowsiness or impaired alertness and reaction time can be potentially dangerous, especially if one has to drive an automobile. In addition, alcohol should not be consumed when taking benzodiazepines. Special Concerns: If benzodiazepines are being taken on a regular basis, the body develops a tolerance for the medication. When this happens, the drugs continue to work to reduce anxiety, but the problem when there is tolerance is that sudden cessation of the medication can lead to withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms usually include nervousness, agitation, difficulty falling to sleep, and on occasion can produce seizures. This needs to be taken very seriously. If a person has been taking a benzodiazepine on a daily basis for more than 6 weeks, and especially if the dose is moderate to high, withdrawal reactions are a very real risk. The patient should never abruptly stop taking the medication without first consulting with his doctor. It is also a good idea to be especially careful to monitor his supply of the medications so that refills can be requested in a timely fashion. Many people find it helpful to keep at least a two-day supply on hand in the event that it takes longer than usual for a prescription to be refilled. nimodipine Nimotop Still considered to be experimental. Clinical doses are not yet well established. Uses and General Considerations: for people who cannot tolerate lithium, for rapid cycling bipolar, or for use during pregnancy (verapamil is considered the safest mood stabilizing medication for the treatment of bipolar disorder during pregnancy). Like most other mood stabilizers it generally takes 7-10 days to begin reducing symptoms. One additional calcium channel blocker is used occasionally to treat mania – nimodipine (brand name: Nimotop). This medication looks promising in terms of efficacy; however, it is very expensive and to date, although there are positive case reports, there are no well-controlled studies. The following medications are used less often in the treatment of bipolar disorder and thus will be discussed briefly. Approximately 60% of the human brain is composed of lipids (fats), and between 30-35% of brain mass is made up of omega-3 fatty acids. These molecules are important in forming cell membranes and synapses, and in facilitating nerve cell actions. The most abundant dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish and shellfish. In cross-cultural studies, it has been found that in countries where people eat a lot of fish and other seafood, the severity of mood disorders is less. This interesting finding led researchers to carefully evaluate the impact of diet on mood. During the past ten years, a number of studies have been conducted with people suffering from bipolar disorder and also with those with major depression. Preliminary findings suggest that adding omega-3 fatty acids to the diet can have a positive effect on reducing the severity of depression (unipolar depression), however, results in use with bipolar patients have been minimal at best. In all studies to date, omega-3 fatty acids have been added to traditional medications (i.e. antidepressants) and omega 3 derived from fish oil has greater bioavailability in the central nervous system than that derived from seed or nut oils. Uses and General Considerations: Omega-3 fatty acids are not effective in treating severe episodes of mania or depression. However, their role appears to be in reducing the severity of episodes and possibly having a positive impact on preventing recurrences (evidence more strongly supports the use with unipolar depression and less positive effects have been seen with bipolar disorder). Studies have found that people treated with omega-3 fatty acids must take these dietary supplements on a daily basis and over a prolonged period (i.e. building this in to an ongoing diet). As noted above, the main sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish and shellfish, and presumably adding more fish to the diet may be a way to enrich levels of these molecules in the brain. However, all of the studies that have had positive results have used dietary supplement capsules (available from health food stores). There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids: LNA (derived from seed and nut oils, principally from flax seed oil), EPA, and DHA (both from fish oil). Most studies have demonstrated that EPA is the most effective type of omega-3 fatty acids used to treat bipolar. The early studies used mega-doses of omega-3 (9 grams per day). However, it appears that much lower doses may be effective (for example, 500 mg. taken twice a day). There are also indications that what may also be involved is achieving a balance between omgea-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (the main omega-6 is arachidonic acid). Unfortunately dietary habits in the United States are notoriously poor, and lots of processed foods as well as snack and junk foods contain significant amounts of omega-6 fatty acids; especially due to the wide-spread use of corn oil in many processed foods (that may throw things out of balance). Thus, a recommended strategy is to reduce sources of omega 6 and add omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids (especially at lower doses) have few if any side effects and are well tolerated (high doses can cause gastrointestinal discomfort). The patient should talk with his/her prescribing physician about the possibility of adding omega-3 fatty acids to existing prescription medications (Stoll, et al., 1999). As noted above, newer generation antipsychotics have been developed during the past ten years. The newer drugs are considerably safer and have significantly fewer side effects than older-generation antipsychotic medications. We are simply mentioning these medications here just as a point of information since in rare instances, some people may be treated with these drugs (brand names): Thorazine, Mellaril, Serentil, Moban, Trilafon, Loxitane, Stelazine, Prolixin, Navane, Orap, and Haldol. Of these, the most common drugs that are still used these days are Haldol (often useful to initially treat very severe agitation seen in some types of mania) and Trilafon. This class of medications is used occasionally to combat side effects of some antipsychotic drugs (such as muscle rigidity or spasms, restlessness, tremor). Again, we will only list these medications (brand names): Cogentin, Akineton, and Artane. Anticholinergic drugs have their own set of side effects including constipation, blurred vision, dry mouth, difficulty beginning urination, and occasionally memory loss, confusion and delirium. Goodwin, F.K. And Jamison, K.R. (2007) Manic-depressive Illness. Oxford: Oxford Press. Preston, J.D., O'Neal, J. and Talaga, M. (2017) Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists: 8th Edition. New Harbinger: Oakland. Akiskal, H.S., Bourgeois, M.L., Angst, J., Post, R., Moller, H.J., & Hirschfeld, R.M.A. (2000). Re-evaluating the prevalence of and diagnostic composition within the broad clinical spectrum of bipolar disorders. J. Affective Disorders, 59, Suppl, S5-530. Bauer, N., Alda, M., Priller, J., and Young, L.T. (2003) Implications of the neuroprotective effects of lithium for the treatment of bipolar and neuro-degenerative disorders. Pharmacopsychiatry, 36(3): S 250-254. Bottern, K.N., Raichle, M.E., Drevets, W.C., Heath, A.C., and Todd, R.D. (2002). Volumetric reduction in left subgenual prefrontal cortex in early onset depression. Biological Psychiatry, 51 (4), 324-344. Bowden, C.L., and Singh, V. (2005) Long-term management of bipolar disorder. In: Advances in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder. Edited by T. Ketter, Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., p. 135. Ghaemi, S.N., Lennox, M.S., & Baldessarini, R.J. (2001). Effectiveness and safety of long-term antidepressant treatment in bipolar disorder. Journal of Clin. Psychiatry, 62(7), 565-569. Gitlin, M. (2002). Depression Myths and Contrary Realities. Continuing Education Series, UCLA. Goodwin, F.K. (2002). Rationale for long-term treatment of bipolar disorder and evidence for long-term lithium treatment. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 63 (suppl 10), 5-12. Hirschfeld, R.M.A., Bowden, C.L., Perlis, R.H., et al. (2002). Practice Guideline for patients with Bipolar Disorder. Washington, D.C. Am J. Psychiatry, 159, 1-50. Judd, L., Akiskal, H.S., Schettler, P.J., Endicott, J., Maser, J., Solomon, D., et al. (2002). The long-term natural history of the weekly symptomatic status of bipolar I disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 59, 530-537. Malkoff-Schwartz, S., Frank, E., Anderson, B., Sherrill, J.T., Siegel, L., Patterson, D., et al. (1998). Stressful life events and social rhythm disruption in the onset of manic depressive bipolar episodes: A preliminary investigation. Archives of Gen. Psych., 55, 702-707. Medina, J. (2003). Lithium and neural interiors. Psychiatric Times, October, 86-89. Medina, J. (2003). Intracellular signaling and mood stabilizers. Psychiatric Times, November, 32-34. Pope, M. & Scott, J. (2003). Do clinicians understand why individuals stop taking lithium? J. Affective Disorders, 74, 287-291. Post, R.M., Altshuler, L.L., Frye, M.A., Suppes, T., Rush, A.J., Keck, P.E., et al. (2001). Rate of switch in bipolar patients prospectively treated with second-generation antidepressants as augmentation to mood stabilizers. Bipolar Disorders, 3, 259-265. Preston, J.D., O'Neal, J., and Talaga, M. (2017). Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists: 8th Edition. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications. Stoll, A.L., Severus, W.E., Freeman, M.P., Reiter, S., Zboyan, H.A., Diamond, E., et al. (1999). Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder. A preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 56, 407-412. Suppes, T., Webb, A., Paul, B., Carmody, T., Kraemer, H., & Rush, A.J. (1999). Clinical outcome in a randomized 1-year trial of clozapine versus treatment as usual for patients with treatment- resistant illness and a history of mania. Am. J. Psychiatry, 156, 1164-1169. Swann, A.C., Bowden, C.L., Calabrese, J.R., Dilsaver, S.C., & Morris, D.D. (1999). Differential effect of number of previous episodes of affective disorder on response to lithium or divalproex in acute mania. Am. J Psychiatry, 156, 1264-1266. Williams, R.S., Cheng, L., Mudge, A.W. and Harwood, A.J. (2002). A common mechanism of action for three mood-stabilizing drugs. Nature, 417, 292-295. Quick Reference to Psychiatric Medications (2018) by John Preston. Updated annually.

2019-04-22T02:07:17Z

http://www.continuingedcourses.net/active/courses/course097.php

Weights for all the items listed on Goods and Services are their filled weights (except where otherwise designated). Adventurers face all sorts of challenges and difficulties, and the right gear can make the difference between a successful adventure and failure. Most of this gear is basic equipment that might come in handy regardless of your skills or class. For objects with hardness and hit points, see Strike an Object. Aspergillum: This lightweight metal device looks like a small club or a light mace. Each contains a reservoir that can hold up to 3 pints (three flasks) of holy water. By shaking the aspergillum as a standard action, you can sprinkle one flask of holy water on a target within melee reach. This action is a ranged touch attack (which does not provoke an attack of opportunity). An aspergillum does not require any proficiency to use. Many adventurers prefer using an aspergillum to dispense holy water rather than throwing or pouring out the contents of a flask. Backpack: A leather pack carried on the back, typically with straps to secure it. Bandoleer: This leather belt has loops or pouches for carrying small items (up to dagger size). It is usually worn across the chest. It holds eight items. Bandoleer, Masterwork: This well-crafted bandoleer holds twelve items. Bedroll: Adventurers never know where they're going to sleep, and bedrolls help them get better sleep in haylofts or on the cold ground. A bedroll is bedding and a blanket thin enough ro be rolled up and tied. In an emergency, it can double as a stretcher. Blanket, Winter: A thick, quilted, wool blanket. Caltrops: Caltrops resemble large metal jacks with sharpened points rather than balls on the ends of their arms. They are essentially iron spikes designed so that one point is always facing up. You scatter them on the ground in the hope that your enemies step on them or are at least forced to slow down to avoid them. One bag of caltrops (the 2-pound unit listed on Goods and Services) covers an area 5 feet square. Each time a creature moves into an area covered by caltrops (or spends a round fighting while standing in such an area), the creature may step on one. The caltrops make an attack roll (base attack bonus +0) against the creature. For this attack, the creature's shield, armor, and deflection bonus do nor count. (Deflection averts blows as they approach you, but it does not prevent you from touching something dangerous.) If the creature is wearing shoes or other footwear, it gets a +2 armor bonus to AC. If the caltrops succeed at the attack, the creature has stepped on one. The caltrop deals 1 point of damage, and the creature's speed is reduced by one-half because its foot is wounded. This movement penalty lasts for 1 day, until the creature is successfully treated with the Heal skill (DC 15), or until it receives at least 1 point of magical curing. A charging or running creature must immediately stop if it steps on a caltrop. Any creature moving at half speed or slower can pick its way through a bed of caltrops with no trouble. Candle: A candle clearly illuminates a 5-foot radius and burns for 1 hour. Case, Map or Scroll: A capped leather or tin tube for holding rolled pieces of parchment or paper. Chain: Chain has a hardness of 10 and 5 hit points. It can be burst with a Strength check (DC 26). Crowbar: An iron bar for levering things open. Flask: A ceramic, glass, or metal container fitted with a tight stopper. It holds 1 pint of liquid. Flint and Steel: Striking the steel and flint together creates sparks. By knocking sparks into tinder, you can create a small flame. Lighting a torch with flint and steel is a full-round action, and lighting any other fire with them takes at least that long. Games: Some games of skill are detailed below, but games of chance are also popular. Wagering on any sort of game is also a favorite pastime. Chess: Faerûnian chess game pieces include kings, queens, priests (bishops), knights-errant (knights), rooks (castles), and pawns. Sets often use famous figures, such as rulers or deities, as kings. A set consists of thirty-two pieces and a board in a wooden case. A fine set has ebony and ivory pieces and a marble board. A common set is made from more humble materials, such as carved and dyed wood. Draughts: Draughts is similar to the modern game of checkers. A set consists of twenty-four clay or stone pieces and a board of alternating light and dark squares in a wooden case. The board is the same as a chessboard in pattern. Old Men's Bones: This game is similar to the modern game of pick-up sticks. The object is to remove the bones from the pile you have dumped them into one at a time without toppling the pile. The set has "sticks" made from bones (usually those of a fowl) and a leather or metal canister for carrying them. Talis Deck: A deck of seventy-eight cards, typically made of lacquered paper or parchment, in a wooden case. The deck is similar to a tarot deck. Grappling Hook: Tied to the end of a rope, the hook can secure the rope to battlements, windows, tree limbs, and so forth. Hammer: A one-handed hammer with an iron head that is useful for pounding pitons into a wall. Hammock: An innovation from the land of Maztica, a hammock is a hemp or linen blanket with sturdy cords woven into it so that it cap be strung up between two trees or other vertical supports. Inkpen: A wooden stick with a special tip on the end. The tip draws ink in when dipped in a vial and leaves an ink trail when drawn across a surface. Insect Netting: These sheets of fine mesh are made of silk from Kara-Tur. When draped around a sleeper in a bedroll or hammock, insect netting keeps away normal insects (Fine vermin, but not magical effects that employ such creatures such as insect plague or creeping doom). Jug, Clay: A basic ceramic jug fitted with a stopper. It holds 1 gallon of liquid. Ladder, 10-foot: A straight, simple wooden ladder. Lamp, Common: A lamp clearly illuminates things in a 15-foot radius and burns for 6 hours on a pint of oil. It burns with a more even flame than a torch, but, unlike a lantern, is uses an open flame and it can spill easily, making it too dangerous for most adventuring. You can carry a lamp in one hand. Lantern, Bullseye: A bullseye lantern has only a single shutter, with its other sides being highly polished inside to reflect the light in a single direction. It illuminates a cone 60 feet long and 20 feet wide at the end, and is burns for 6 hours on a pint of oil. You can carry a lantern in one hand. Lantern, Hooded: A hooded lantern is a standard lantern with shuttered or hinged sides. You can carry a lantern in one hand. Is clearly illuminates a 30-foot radius and burns for 6 hours on a pint of oil. Lock: A lock is worked with a large, bulky key. The DC to open this kind of lock with the Open Locks skill depends on the lock's quality: very simple (DC 20), average (DC 25), good (DC 30), amazingly good (DC 40). Manacles and Manacles, Masterwork: These manacles can bind a Medium-size creature. The manacled character can use the Escape Artist skill to slip free (DC 30, or DC 35 for masterwork manacles). To break the manacles requires success at a Strength check (DC 26, or DC 28 for masterwork manacles). Manacles have a hardness of 10 and 10 hit points. Most manacles have locks; add the cost of the lock you want to the cost of the manacles. For the same price, one can buy manacles for Small creatures. For Large creatures, manacles cost ten times this amount, and for huge creatures, one hundred times this amount. Gargantuan, Colossal, Tiny, Diminutive, and Fine creatures can only be held by specially made manacles. Marbles: About two dozen assorted glass, flawed rock crystal, or clay spheres in a leather pouch. Commonly used as a toy, but also useful for checking the slope in a dungeon corridor (just set one down and see which way it rolls), or as a non-damaging alternative to caltrops. One bag covers an area 5 feet square. Creatures moving through or fighting in the area must make Balance checks (DC 15) or be unable to move for 1 round (or they may fall; see the Balance skill description). Mirror, Small Steel: A polished steel minor is handy when you want to look around corners, signal friends with reflected sunlight, keep an eye on a medusa, make sure that you look good enough to present yourself to the queen, or examine wounds that you've received on hard-to-see parts of your body. Oil: A pint of oil burns for 6 hours in a lantern. You can use a flask of oil as a grenadelike weapon (see Grenadelike Weapons, and Grenadelike Weapon Attacks). Use the rules for alchemist's fire, except that is takes a full-round action to prepare a flask with a fuse. Once it is thrown, there is only a 50% chance that the flask ignites successfully. You can pour a pint of oil on the ground to cover an area 5 feet square (provided the surface is smooth). If lit, the oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 1d3 points of damage to each creature in the area. Paper: A white sheet of paper made from cloth fibers. Parchment: Goat hide or sheepskin prepared for writing on. Potion Belt: This sturdy leather belt similar to a bandoleer has pockets shaped to hold potion vials and is fitted with ties or flaps to keep the potions from falling out. It holds six potions. Retrieving a potion from a potion belt is a free action once per round. Potion Belt, Masterwork: This extremely well-made potion belt holds ten potions. Retrieving a potion from a potion belt is a free action once per round. Piton: When a wall doesn't offer you handholds and footholds, you can make your own. A piton is a steel spike with an eye through which you can loop a rope. (See the Climb skill). Pole, 10-foot: When you suspect a trap, you'd rather put the end of your 10-foot pole through a hole in a wall than your hand. Pouch, Belt: This leather pouch straps to your belt. It's good for holding things that you may need in a hurry, such as potions. Ram, Portable: This iron-shod wooden beam is the perfect tool for battering down doors. Not only does it give you a +2 circumstance bonus on your Strength check to break open a door, but it allows a second person to help you without having to roll, adding another +2 to your check (see Breaking Open Doors). Rations, Trail: Trail rations are compact, dry, high-energy foods suitable for travel, such as jerky, dried fruit, hardtack, and nuts. Rope, Hemp: This rope has 2 hit points and can be burst with a successful Strength check (DC 23). Rope, Silk: This rope has 4 hit points and can be burst with a successful Strength check (DC 24). It is so supple that is adds a +2 circumstance bonus to Use Rope checks. Sack: A drawstring sack made of burlap or a similar material. Scroll Organizer: This long strip of leather has an overlapping series of fifteen pockets sewn along one side, each large enough to hold a scroll of a single spell. When slipped into a pocket, only the top of a scroll shows, allowing you to scan the scrolls' titles. Signet Ring: Your signet ring has a unique design carved into it. When you press this ring into warm sealing wax, you leave an identifying mark. Sledge: A two-handed, iron-headed hammer that is good for smashing open treasure chests. Tent: This simple tent sleeps two. Torch: A wooden rod capped with twisted flax soaked in tallow or a similar item. A torch clearly illuminates a 20-foot radius and burns for 1 hour. Vial: A ceramic, glass, or metal vial fitted with a tight stopper. The stoppered container usually is no more than 1 inch wide and 3 inches high. It holds 1 ounce of liquid. Waterskin: A leather pouch with a narrow neck that is used for holding water. Characters need a way to see in the dark, dangerous places where they often find adventures. Dwarves and half-orcs have darkvision, but everyone else needs light to see by. Typically, adventurers bring along torches or lanterns, and spellcasters have spells that can create light. See Light Sources for the radius that a light source illuminates and how long it lasts. Characters with low-light vision (elves, gnomes, and half-elves) can see objects twice as far away as the given radius. Characters with darkvision (dwarves and half-orcs) can see lit areas normally as well as dark areas within 60 feet. Candle 5 ft. 1 hr. Dancing lights (torches) 20 ft. (each) 1 min. Daylight 60 ft. 30 min. Light 20 ft. 10 min. *cone 60 feet long and 20 feet wide at the far end. Alchemist's Lab: This includes beakers, bottles, mixing and measuring equipment and a miscellany of chemicals and substances. This is the perfect tool for the job and so adds a +2 circumstance bonus to Craft (Alchemy) checks, but it has no bearing on the costs related to the Craft (Alchemy) skill (see the Craft (Alchemy) skill). Without this lab, a character with the Craft (Alchemy) skill is assumed to have enough tools to use the skill but not enough to get the +2 bonus that the lab provides. Artisan's Tools: This is the set of special tools needed for any craft. Without these tools, you have to use improvised tools (-2 penalty on your Craft check) if you can do the job at all. Artisan's Tools, Masterwork: As artisan's tools, but these are the perfect tools for the job, so you get a +2 circumstance bonus on your Craft check. Climber's Kit: Special pitons, boot tips, gloves, and a harness that aids in all sorts of climbing. This is the perfect tool for climbing and gives you a +2 circumstance bonus to Climb checks. Disguise Kit: A bag containing cosmetics, hair dye, and small physical props. This is the perfect tool for disguise and adds a +2 circumstance bonus to Disguise checks. It's exhausted after ten uses. Healer's Kit: This kit is full of herbs, salves, bandages and other useful materials. It is the perfect tool for anyone attempting a Heal check. Is adds a +2 circumstance bonus to the check. It's exhausted after ten uses. Holly and Mistletoe: Sprigs of holly and mistletoe are used by druids as the default divine focus for druid spells. Holly and mistletoe plants are easily found in wooded areas by druids, and sprigs from them are harvested essentially for free. Holy Symbol, Silver or Wooden: A holy symbol focuses positive energy. Clerics use them as the focuses for their spells and as tools for turning undead. Each religion has its own holy symbol, and a sun symbol is the default holy symbol for clerics not associated with any particular religion. A silver holy symbol works no better than a wooden one, but is serves as a mark of status for the wielder. Unholy Symbols: An unholy symbol is like a holy symbol except that is focuses negative energy and is used by evil clerics (or by neutral clerics who want to cast evil spells or command undead). A skull is the default unholy symbol for clerics not associated with any particular religion. Magnifying Glass: This simple lens allows a closer look at small objects. It is useful as a substitute for flint, steel, and tinder when starting fires (though it takes light as bright as direct sunlight to focus, tinder to light, and as least a full-round action to light a fire with a magnifying glass). It grants you a +2 circumstance bonus on Appraise checks involving any item that is small or highly detailed, such as a gem. Musical Instrument, Common or Masterwork: Popular instruments include fifes, recorders, lures, mandolins, and shalms. A masterwork instrument is of superior make. Is adds a +2 circumstance bonus to Perform checks and serves as a mark of status. Scale, Merchant's: This scale includes a small balance and pans and a suitable assortment of weights. A scale grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to Appraise checks involving items that are valued by weight, including anything made of precious metals. Spell Component Pouch: A small, watertight leather belt pouch with many small compartments. A spellcaster with a spell component pouch is assumed to have all the material components and focuses she needs except those that have a listed cost, divine focuses, or focuses that wouldn't fit in a pouch (such as the natural pool that a druid needs to look into to cast scrying). Spellbook, Wizard's (Blank): A large, leatherbound book that serves as a wizard's reference. A spellbook has 100 pages of parchment, and each spell takes up two pages per level (one page for 0-level spells). See Arcane Spells. Spelunker's Kit: This kit consists of a headlamp, head protection, protective clothing (including gloves and kneepads), and heavy boots that aid in all sorts of spelunking. A spelunking kit grants the user a +2 circumstance bonus on Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, and Survival checks made to navigate tough-to-access areas (see Spelunking). Thieves' Tools: These are the tools you need to use the Disable Device and Open lock skills. The kit includes one or more skeleton keys, long metal picks and pries, a long-nosed clamp, a small hand saw, and a small wedge and hammer. Without these tools, you have to improvise tools, and you suffer a -2 circumstance penalty on your Disable Device and Open locks checks. Thieves' Tools, Masterwork: This kit contains extra tools and tools of better make, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Disable Device and Open lock checks. Water Clock: This large, bulky contrivance gives the time accurate to within half an hour per day since it was last set. It requires a source of water, and it must be kept still because it marks time by the regulated flow of droplets of water. It is primarily an amusement for the wealthy and a tool for the student of arcane lore. Most people have no way to tell exact time, and there's little point in knowing that it is 2:30 P.M. if nobody else does. Different characters may want different outfits for various occasions. A beginning character is assumed to have an artisan's, entertainer's, explorer's, monk's, peasant's, scholar's, or traveler's outfit. This first outfit is free of cost and does not count against the amount of weight a character can carry. Artisan's Outfit: A shirt with buttons, a skirt or pants with a drawstring, shoes, and perhaps a cap or hat. This outfit may include a belt or a leather or cloth apron for carrying tools. Cleric's Vestments: Ecclesiastical clothes for performing priestly functions, not for adventuring. Cold Weather Outfit: A wool coat, linen shirt, wool cap, heavy cloak, thick pants or skirt, and boots. When wearing a cold weather outfit, add a +5 circumstance bonus to Fortitude saving throws against exposure to cold weather (see information on cold dangers). Courtier's Outfit: Fancy, tailored clothes in whatever fashion happens to be the current style in the courts of the nobles. Anyone trying to influence nobles or courtiers while wearing street dress will have a hard time of it. Without jewelry (costing perhaps an additional 50 gp), you look like an out-of-place commoner. Entertainer's Outfit: A set of flashy, perhaps even gaudy, clothes for entertaining. While the outfit looks whimsical, its practical design lets you tumble, dance, walk a tightrope, or just run (if the audience turns ugly). Explorer's Outfit: This is a full set of clothes for someone who never knows what to expect. Is includes sturdy boots, leather breeches or a skirt, a belt, a shirt (perhaps with a vest or jacket), gloves, and a cloak. Rather than a leather skirt, a leather overtunic may be worn instead over a cloth skirt. The clothes have plenty of pockets (especially the cloak). The outfit also includes any extra items you might need, such as a scarf or a wide-brimmed hat. Monk's Outfit: This simple outfit includes sandals, loose breeches, and a loose shirt, and is all bound together with sashes. Though it looks casual, the outfit is designed to give you maximum mobility, and it's made of high-quality fabric. You can hide small weapons in pockets hidden in the folds, and the sashes are strong enough to serve as short ropes. Depending on your style, the outfit may be decorated with designs that indicate your lineage or philosophical outlook. Noble's Outfit: This set of clothes is designed specifically to be expensive and to show it. Precious metals and gems are worked into the clothing. To fit into the noble crowd, every would-be noble also needs a signet ring (see Adventuring Gear above) and jewelry (worth as least 100 gp, or as least appearing to be worth that much). And it would be advisable to not show up to a ball in the same noble's outfit twice. Peasant's Outfit: A loose shirt and baggy breeches, or a loose shirt and skirt or overdress. Cloth wrappings are used for shoes. Royal Outfit: This is just the clothes, not the royal scepter, crown, ring, and other accouterments. Royal clothes are ostentatious, with gems, gold, silk, and fur in abundance. Scholar's Outfit: A robe, a belt, a cap, soft shoes, and possibly a cloak. Traveler's Outfit: Boots, a wool skirt or breeches, a sturdy belt, a shirt (perhaps with a vest or jacket), and an ample cloak with a hood. Inn: Poor accommodations at an inn amount to a place on the floor near the hearth, plus the use of a blanket if the innkeeper likes you and you're nor worried about fleas. Common accommodations are a place on a raised, heated floor, the use of a blanket and a pillow, and the presence of a higher class of company. Good accommodations are a small, private room with one bed, some amenities, and a covered chamber pot in the corner. Meals: Poor meals might be composed of bread, baked turnips, onions, and water. Common meals might consist of bread, chicken stew (easy on the chicken), carrots, and watered-down ale or wine. Good meals might be composed of bread and pastries, beef, peas, and ale or wine. Rations, Trail: See Adventuring Gear, above. Horses and other mounts let you travel faster and more easily. *A mount wearing heavy armor moves at only triple normal rate when running instead of quadruple. Flying mounts cannot fly in medium or heavy barding. Barded animals require special attention. You must take care to prevent chafing and sores caused by the armor. The armor must be removed as night and ideally should not be put on the mount except to prepare for a battle. Removing and fitting barding takes five times as long as the figures given on Donning Armor. Barded animals cannot be used to carry any load other than the rider and normal saddlebags. Because of this, a mounted warrior often leads a second mount for carrying gear and supplies. Cart: A two-wheeled vehicle drawn by a single horse (or other beast of burden). Is comes with a harness. Feed: Horses, donkeys, mules, and ponies can graze to sustain themselves, but providing feed for them (such as oats) is much better because it provides a more concentrated form of energy, especially if the animal is exerting itself. If you have a riding dog, you have to feed is as least some meat, which may cost more or less than the given amount. Warhorses and warponies can be ridden easily into combat, light horses, ponies, and heavy horses are hard to control in combat (see Mounted Combat, and the Ride skill). Saddle, Exotic: An exotic saddle is like a normal saddle of the same type except that it is designed for an unusual mount, such as a pegasus. Exotic saddles come in military, pack, and riding styles. Saddle, Military: A military saddle braces the rider, adding a +2 circumstance bonus to Ride checks related to staying in the saddle. If you're knocked unconscious while in a military saddle, you have a 75% chance to stay in the saddle (compared to 50% for a riding saddle). Sled: This is a wagon on runners for moving through snow and over ice. In general, two horses (or other beasts of burden) draw it. Is comes with the harness needed to pull it. Stabling: Includes a stable, feed, and grooming. Wagon: This is a four-wheeled, open vehicle for transporting heavy loads. In general, two horses (or other beasts of burden) draw it. It comes with the harness needed to pull it. Backpack 2 gp 2 lb.*** 1 cu. ft. Barrel 2 gp 30 lb. 10 cu. ft. Basket 4 sp 1 lb. 2 cu. ft. Bucket 5 sp 2 lb. 1 cu. ft. Chest 2 gp 25 lb. 2 cu. ft. Pouch, belt 1 gp 1/2 lb.** 1/5 cu. ft. Sack 1 sp 1/2 lb.** 1 cu ft. Saddlebags 4 gp 8 lb. 5 cu. ft. Spell component pouch 5 gp 1/4 lb.** 1/8 cu. ft. **These items weigh one-quarter this amount and carry one-quarter the normal amount when made for Small characters. Over the course of the campaign, prices for items and services not found in the Player's Handbook may be required. The items found below are particularly expensive or not common enough to be included in the lists above. Use them when needed in the campaign, or use them to extrapolate items not found on any list in either hook. Characters may own ships as traders, ship captains, or smugglers, or they may simply need to travel on them. Rowboat: An 8- to 12-foot-long boat for two or three people. It moves about 1-1/2 miles per hour. Galley: A three-masted ship with seventy oars on either side and a total crew of two hundred. This ship is 130 feet long and 20 feet wide, and it can carry up to 150 tons of cargo or 250 soldiers. For 8,000 gp more, it can be fitted with a ram and castles with firing platforms fore, aft, and amidships. This ship cannot make sea voyages and sticks to the coast. It moves about 4 miles per hour when being rowed or under sail. Longship: A 75-foot-long ship with forty oars and a total crew of fifty. It has a single mast and a square sail. It can carry fifty tons of cargo or one hundred twenty soldiers. A longship can make sea voyages. It moves about 3 miles per hour when being rowed or under sail. Keelboat: A 50- to 75-foot-long ship that is 15 to 20 feet wide and has a few oars to supplement its single mast with a square sail. It has a crew of eight to fifteen and can carry forty to fifty tons of cargo or one hundred soldiers. It can make sea voyages as well as sail down rivers. (It has a flat bottom.) It moves about 1 mile per hour. Sailing Ship: This larger, more seaworthy version of the coaster (a kind of sailing ship) is 75 to 90 feet long and 20 feet wide. It has a crew of twenty. It can carry cargo up to 150 tons. It has square sails on its two masts and can make sea voyages. It moves about 2 miles per hour. Warship: This 100-foot-long ship has a single mast, although oars can also propel it. It has a crew of sixty to eighty rowers. This ship can carry up to 160 soldiers, but not for long distances, since there isn't room for supplies for that many. The warship cannot make sea voyages and sticks to the coast. It is not used for cargo. It moves about 2 1/2 miles per hour when rowed or under sail. The most common methods to get from one place to another in a campaign are by foot or on horseback. But other methods may be more expedient. Ship's Passage: Most ships do not specialize in passengers, but many have the capability to take a few along when transporting cargo. Coach Cab: The price listed is for a ride in a coach that transports people (and light cargo) between towns. For a ride in a cab that transports passengers within a city, 1 cp usually takes you anywhere you need to go. Messenger: This entry includes horse-riding messengers and runners. Those willing to carry a message to a place they were going anyway (a crew member on a ship, for example) may ask for half the listed amount. Teleportation: The cost to be teleported is based on caster level, although the customer will have to pay double because the caster will need to teleport herself back. Further, some casters will charge as much as double to teleport into a dangerous area. Road or Gate Toll: A toll is sometimes charged to cross a well-trodden, well-kept, and well-guarded road to pay for patrols on it and its upkeep. Occasionally, large, walled cities charge a toll to enter or exit the city (sometimes just to enter the city). These buildings and structures provide a baseline for those of their type. Heavily customized structures will doubtlessly cost more. Grand House: This four- to ten-room room grand house is made of wood and has a thatched roof. Mansion: This ten- to twenty-room mansion has two to three levels and is made of wood and brick. It has a slate roof. Castle: The castle is a keep surrounded by a 15-foot stone wall with four towers. The wall is 10-feet thick. Huge Castle: A particularly large keep with numerous associated buildings (stables, forge, granaries, etc.) and an elaborate 20-foot-high wall creating bailey and courtyard areas. The wall has six towers and is 10 feet thick. Moat with Bridge: This moat is 15 feet deep and 30 feet wide. The bridge across it may be a wooden drawbridge or a permanent stone structure. Catapult, Heavy: A heavy catapult is a large engine capable of throwing rocks or heavy objects with great force. When fired, one of the crew makes a Profession (siege engineer) check (DC 20). If successful, where the object actually lands is determined by rolling 1d12 and consulting the Deviation (10 Ft. to 16 ft.) Diagram. The center is the desired target. If the check is failed, the DM secretly rolls and consults the same deviation diagram. The result is now where the catapult is actually aimed. This new result is used as the center to determine the actual deviation of the attack. For example, a catapult is used to attack a stone rower. The Profession (siege engineer) check fails, the DM rolls an 11. By consulting the diagram, she determines that the actual target is 10 feet from the desired target, behind and to the left. Now, a crew member rolls 1d12 and gets an 8. After consulting the Deviation (10 ft. to 16 ft.) Diagram to see where the object goes, the DM ascertains that it falls 10 feet short and to the left of the actual target, which is 20 feet to the left of the desired target. Loading the catapult and preparing it to fire takes the full crew 8 full rounds. Initially aiming (or re-aiming) takes 10 minutes in addition to loading and preparation time. Three to four crew members can operate the device in three times this time. Fewer than three crew members cannot operate the device. Catapult, Light: This is a smaller, lighter version of the heavy catapult (see that entry for how to operate it). Two crew members can load and prepare this device in 5 full rounds and aim (or re-aim) in 5 minutes. One person can crew the engine, but it takes three times the time to aim and prepare. Ballista: The ballista is essentially a very large crossbow. It makes attacks with a straight attack roll (1d20) with no modifications (no character base attack bonuses, ability modifiers, etc.) except for range. Loading and cocking a ballista is 3 full-round actions. Ram: This heavy pole is suspended from a movable scaffold that allows the crew to swing it back and forth against construction. Make an unmodified attack roll against the AC of the construction, with failed attempts dealing no significant damage. (See Strike an Object, to determine the AC.) The ram can be used to make an attack every 3 rounds if fully crewed. With five to nine people, it can be used every 6 rounds. Fewer than five people cannot operate it. Siege Tower: This is a large wooden tower on wheels or rollers that can be rolled up against a wall to allow attackers to scale the tower and thus to get to the top of the wall with cover. The wooden walls are usually 1 foot thick. Armor Lubricant: This nonmagical oil reduces the friction that impedes movement in metallic armor. One application of armor lubricant reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0). Each application takes 1 minute to apply and lasts 1d4 hours. It is not possible to apply armor lubricant to armor currently being worn. Armor lubricant provides no benefit to shields or to armor not made primarily of metal. Creating one application of armor lubricant requires a successful Craft (Alchemy) check (DC 15) and follows the rules outlined in the discussion of Craft skills. Crystal Caltrops: These special caltrops are made out of a tough crystal. These are deployed just like traditional caltrops. When they score a hit, they do normal damage and release a poisonous gas. The victim must make a Fortitude save (DC 12) or instantly fall asleep for 1 minute. After 1 minute, the target must make another Fortitude save (DC 12) or sleep for an additional 1d4 minutes. The gas affects creatures immune to magical sleep, but not creatures immune to poison. Drogue Wing: This pleated cloak unfurls into a gliding batlike wing 15 feet across if the wearer falls more than 20 feet. A drogue wing needs another 20 feet of falling distance in order to arrest the wearer's fall and unrestricted (at least 50 feet in diameter) gliding room. If all three conditions are met, a drogue wing negates falling damage. Once deployed, a drogue wing must be carefully refolded (a tedious task that requires 1 full hour) before it can be reused. There is a 25% chance that a drogue wing is ruined after each use. Drogue wings are popular among the hippogriff-mounted skyriders of the Great Rift. Footsaw Trap: This item is similar to others of its kind that are typically designed to trap large animals such as bears or cougars. Its jaws are fitted with thin saw blades mounted on springs, and the mechanism is designed to cut the feet of any captive who struggles against its grip. The ghostwise hin did not invent this trap, but they have made excellent use of it: When enemies threaten, they salt the ground near their campsites with these dangerous devices, hiding them under thin layers of leaves or soil. A creature can discover a concealed footsaw trap with a successful Search check (DC 15). Once found, the trap can be disabled with a successful Disable Device check (DC 15). Anyone who walks over a footsaw trap triggers it; the trap makes a melee touch attack with a +8 bonus. If its attack is successful, the trap deals 1d6 points of damage to the victim. A victim caught in a footsaw trap can move at half speed if the device is not attached to another object (such as to a tree or boulder by a length of chain). If it is attached in such a fashion, the victim must break the attachment, otherwise he cannot move. The trap inflicts an additional 1d4 points of damage from the saw blades every round that a trapped victim takes any action that involves movement. A trapped creature can pry open the jaws of the trap and escape (Strength check DC 25) or loose himself with an Escape Artist check (DC 30). Failure means that the trap deals another 1d4 points of damage to the victim and that the victim remains trapped. A footsaw trap is a CR 2 trap. They can be constructed with the Craft (trapmaking) skill (DC 20). Mobile Brace: This small staff can extend and lock at any length from 5 to 11 feet. It is commonly used to make a sturdy brace across a passage, granting a sure purchase for one or more ropes. A properly set brace can support up to 400 pounds of weight (less if the walls are soft, slippery, crumbling, or otherwise offer unsure purchase). Setting a brace allows characters to securely set a rope or grappling hook where doing so would normally be impossible. Adventuring groups can send a skilled climber or jumper to negotiate tricky ascents or dangerous falls, set a brace on the far side of the obstacle, and then give less nimble characters something to hang. on to while they cross the dangerous area. Potion Bladder: This is a flexible, narrow-necked pouch, usually made of oiled leather or the preserved stomach of a small animal. Used extensively by water-dwelling creatures such as aquatic elves, these pouches hold 1 ounce of liquid (the same volume as a potion) and can be squeezed carefully to allow drinking of fluids (such as potions) underwater without spilling. Rope Climber: This hand-held device consists of a powerful winch and locking wheel assembly that fits most standard ropes. When threaded with a rope, the winch offers one-way travel with the benefit of tremendous leverage. Using the climber to ascend a rope grants a +5 circumstance bonus on Climb checks, but it halves the rate of ascent. Threading a rope through the climber is a full-round action, as is removing it from a rope. The locking wheels turn only in one direction, preventing the user from slipping back down the rope. However, this means that for two people to use the same rope climber, one must ascend the rope, remove the device, and lower it back down to the next user. Snowshoes: Fashioned of wood and strips of rawhide or sinew, snowshoes are invaluable for movement across deep snow. Snowshoes eliminate the hampered movement penalty for movement across deep snow but impose a 1/2 movement penalty across other types of terrain (see Hampered Movement). Wagon Shields: These are large wooden shields (generally of solid oak) reinforced with iron. They can be quickly fitted together to protect wagons and similar open-topped vehicles. One person can mount a wagon shield as a full-round action. Two people working together can mount a shield as a standard action. Once mounted, each shield provides a Small character in the wagon with three-quarters cover; a Medium-size character gains one-half cover behind a wagon shield. Each wagon shield has hardness 5 and 30 hit points. Some are fitted with arrow slits to allow those inside the wagon to fire on attackers without additional exposure. Most wagons in Luiren are constructed with special racks beneath the wagon bed that hold six shields. The shields are normally sold in quantities of six, as that is the number required to fully protect the average Luiren wagon. Armor lubricant 40 gp 1 lb. Caltrops, crystal 150 gp 2 lb. Drogue wing 300 gp 30 lb. Footsaw trap 700 gp 15 lb. Mobile brace 10 gp 3 lb. Potion bladder 2 gp 1/10 lb. Rope climber 15 gp 3 lb. Snowshoes 1 gp 2 lb. Standard 75 gp 40 lb. Sniper 100 gp 40 lb. Rangers don't need a lot of equipment to survive in the wilderness, but over the years, many have developed items specifically useful to life in the wilds. Druids and rogues also find these specialty tools handy. Camouflage Clothes: Made in three different color combinations, these clothes help to disguise the body's form and make the wearer harder to pick out of his surroundings. These full-body suits grant a +2 circumstance bonus on a wearer's Hide checks while he is in an area the camouflage blends with. The forest pattern has a mix of greens, browns, and blacks that provides its bonus in forest and marsh terrains. The desert pattern consists of dark and light tans with irregular black or blue shapes that provides its bonus in desert and plains terrains. The mountain pattern consists of a white background with black, gray, and green shapes and provides its bonus in hills, mountains, and underground terrains. The listed price for camouflage clothes is for one set suited to a specific terrain (see the terrain types). Compass, Magnetic: This palm-sized device is made up of a wooden block with a metal needle mounted on a tiny metal post. The needle spins freely, and always points north unless obstructed or within 10 feet of 50 pounds or more of ferrous metal (such as iron and steel). Crookneck Lantern: This leather-wrapped metal tube has a shorter glass-covered metal tube at one end. Small mirrors inside the lantern reflect and intensify the light shed by the candle held within the main body. Shrouded air holes line the top and bottom of both tubes. The crookneck lantern also has a weight at the bottom of the main tube so it can be set down and not fall over. The crookneck lantern clearly illuminates a 60-foot-long, 5-foot-wide line and provides shadowy illumination in a 100-foot cone (with the illuminating line in the center of the cone). A single candle burns for 1 hour. Duster Coat: Made of heavy oiled canvas, the duster is a long coat that reaches to the wearer's ankles. Twin rows of buttons run the length of the front of the coat, and when all of them are fastened the wearer is wrapped in a nearly water- proof shell. A fully fastened duster provides a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks made to gain a bonus against the effects of severe weather and on saves against severe weather, but it also imposes a -1 armor check penalty. Finger Chain Saw: A narrow-gauge steel chain covered with small teeth links a metal loop on either end of it. The user simply throws the chain over a branch and pulls back and forth on each end of the chain. It cuts through 2 inches of soft wood and 1 inch of hard wood in 1 round. A finger chain saw is ineffective as a weapon. Kayak, Inflatable: Made of thick but pliant leather forming several air bladders, this vessel looks and acts like a normal kayak once inflated. One character can inflate the kayak in 20 minutes. There are two inflating tubes, so two characters can inflate it in 10 minutes. The inflatable kayak holds one Medium creature plus 100 pounds of gear. By pulling the plugs on the air bladders, the kayak deflates in 5 minutes and can then be folded and carried in a standard backpack. The inflatable kayak comes with a short paddle that breaks down for easy storage. Vest, Tactical: This light vest has a number of pouches and loops covering its front and back. A tactical vest is usually made of green or black canvas. It can hold up to 10 pounds of gear, no single item of which can weigh more than 2 pounds. Any item stored in a tactical vest can be retrieved without provoking an attack of opportunity. Waking Herbs: When waved under the nose ot someone unconscious or asleep (even through magical means), these herbs allow the unconscious or sleeping character another saving throw (made at the original DC) to wake up. After three uses, these herbs lose their effectiveness and must be replaced. Camouflage clothes 150 gp 6 lb. Compass, magnetic 100 gp 1/2 lb. Duster coat 25 gp 7 lb. Kayak, inflatable 150 gp 35 lb. Vest, tactical 5 gp 2 lb. Although magic is the most efficient and powerful force available to help the denizens of the frostfell adapt and thrive in this harsh environment, it remains an elusive factor, available only to those fortunate enough to understand its use, or those rich enough to be able to buy what magic they may need. For the rest of the inhabitants of the frostfell (the majority of them, in fact), mundane items must fill this role. As a result, your equipment can make the difference between life and death. In frontier towns, such items aren't as necessary, but to the explorer, settler, and native denizen, frostfell equipment is incredibly important. Weapons aren't the only objects that the people of the frostfell have developed to aid their lives. Industrious settlers have invented numerous specialized items over the years, most of which are now fairly commonplace in the frostfell. These items are detailed here. Crampons: Crampons consist of a set of metal spikes and hooks that lash on to boots and gauntlets to assist in climbing or walking across icy surfaces. While you wear crampons, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on any Balance checks made to avoid slipping on an icy surface, and a +2 circumstance bonus on Climb checks. Crampons impose a -10 ft. penalty to speed when not walking on snow or ice. Fur Clothing: Fur clothing consists of thick layers of animal furs designed to be worn over a regular set of clothing or armor. Wearing fur clothing grants a +5 circumstance bonus on Fortitude saving throws against exposure to cold weather. Fur clothing can be worn over a cold weather outfit; in this case the circumstance bonuses granted by each item stack, granting a total +10 circumstance bonus on Fortitude saving throws against exposure to cold weather. Fur clothing is cumbersome to wear. Although the furs do not provide an appreciable armor bonus, they do increase your total armor check penalty for any armor worn by 2 points. Hut, Portable: A portable hut consists of a wooden framework that can be quickly assembled into a hut-shaped frame that covers a 10-foot square. The frame's base consists of several iron spikes that can be driven through holes in the frame to affix the hut frame to the ground; further stability is granted by several rope supports that extend out 15 feet from the hut's edge. Once the frame is in place, you simply attach the leather and fur wrappings over the outside of the wall and lash them directly to the frame to finish building the hut. A portable hut provides excellent shelter in the wilderness; assembling or disassembling a portable hut only takes 15 minutes of work. A portable hut serves as an improvised shelter (see Frostfell). Skates: Skates allow full movement across icy surfaces for anyone with at least 5 ranks of Balance, but cannot be used at all on any other terrain. Skis and Poles: Skis allow full movement across snow and icy surfaces but cannot be used at all on any other terrain. Downhill speed can be as a run (x4) on slight grades or as a run (x5) on severe grades. It takes a full-round action to don or to remove skis. Snow Goggles: These wooden goggles have a thin horizontal slit in the middle. They grant a +2 circumstance bonus on saving throws to resist blinding effects, including snow blindness, extremely bright light, or spells that target vision indirectly (such as sunburst but not blindness). While wearing snow goggles, you incur a -4 circumstance penalty on Spot and Search checks. Snowshoes: These allow the wearer to move across snow and ice with increased speed. Snow of any depth is considered a minor impediment (see Movement Impediments). Snowshoes take 1 minute to don and a full-round action to remove. Winter Fullcloth: This is a heavily quilted undergarment that is worn underneath regular clothing to protect the wearer against cold. Winter fullcloth is considered part of the cold weather outfit described above. If worn by itself, it grants a +1 circumstance bonus on Fortitude saving throws against exposure to cold weather. Crampons 5 gp 1 lb. Fur clothing 8 gp 10 lb. Hut, portable 125 gp 75 lb. Skates 10 gp 3 lb. Skis and poles 15 gp 6 lb. Snowshoes 15 gp 8 lb. Winter fullcloth 4 gp 2 lb. Distillation Kit: Water is precious in the waste. This simple kit uses the sun and the ambient heat to evaporate pure water from body or cooking waste, salt lakes, poisonous plant saps, and so on. This "solar still" consists of a sheet of glass fastened at an angle into a frame, with a lip and a small spout (the components are packed separately and assembled when needed). The bottom and sides of the frame are covered with black oilcloth, the edges sealed with grease or tar to make it watertight. To use the still, pour the dirty water into the bottom of the container, then place the glass lid on top. The water evaporates and condenses on the underside of the glass surface, where it runs down and collects in the lip, dripping through the spout and producing about 1 gallon of water per day (if the container is filled to capacity). Drill: Whether they are used to carve sandstone, locate water, or mine salt and other precious minerals, drills are important tools in any wasteland environment. These objects can range from a primitive bow drill, suitable for perforating bone and wood, to a massive assembly of cast-iron pipes and bits, turned by wheels or beasts of burden. The drill described here is made of iron with a wooden handle, about 3 feet long. (In metal-poor areas, the bit might be of hard crystal instead of iron.) Wrapping a cord about the shaft and pulling it sharply sets the drill spinning. It can penetrate roughly 6 inches of stone per hour; the rate of drilling is faster in softer material, such as salt. A drill can be used as an improvised club or shortspear. Filter Mask: A filter mask is a fine cloth mesh, usually of silk or cotton, that covers your mouth and nose. Cords or straps fasten the cloth around the back of your head to provide a good seal. A filter mask grants a +2 bonus on saves against gas-based effects. It negates the effects of suffocation from dust and sand, as well as the effects of supernatural or magic dust (such as slumber sand) for up to 4 hours. After this time, the mesh is clogged with grit and can no longer allow air to pass through freely. A clogged filter mask requires thorough laundering before it can be reused, but most travelers simply replace it with fresh fabric. Parasol: The simplest form of portable shade, a parasol can range from an animal hide draped over a crude framework to a collapsible construction of textile and metal The typical parasol described here is made of stretched canvas over wood or bone. A parasol offers immunity to sun glare and limited protection from heat dangers and some sun hazards. It also grants a +1 bonus on Fortitude saves against dehydration. Sand Tube: When a storm scours the land, the best defense is to escape. Burrowing into the ground is one way to do this, but sand is loose and difficult to stabilize. This handy device enables you to create a burrow beneath the sand, in which you can rest while waiting for the storm to pass. A sand tube looks something like an open-ended sleeping bag, made of treated hide attached to a number of collapsible hoops. After digging a small hole in the sand to get started, you shove one end of this apparatus inside the hole and expand the hoops to stiffen it into a tube. More sand can then be dug from the buried end (usually you crawl partway into the tube and use your hands) and removed through the tube, which is shoved more deeply into the tunnel as digging progresses. In normal sand, it takes 10 minutes of digging to fully bury a sand tube. When fully buried, a sand tube can hold one Medium humanoid. A flap fastens over the exposed end to provide shade and protection from duststorms and sandstorms. Sun Lenses: This item, made of thin slabs of mica or volcanic glass affixed to curved frames, can protect your eyes from being dazzled by bright light, such as glare. If you are already dazzled when you don the lenses, you are treated as if you had entered an area of shade; you recover from the dazzled condition 1 hour if you continue to wear the lenses. Proper clothing can be the difference between survival and disaster in the wastes. Desert Outfit: This outfit consists of loose, billowy clothing to keep the wearer cool and protected from the sun while in hot, dry desert terrain. It includes a caftan, turban, scarf, loose pantaloons, and sandals or high cloth boots. This outfit counts as light clothing and offers limited protections against some waste hazards. The protection it offers against heat is negated if the wearer also dons armor. Heatsuit Outfit: This suit is designed to protect against heat It consists of heavy pants and coat, a specially treated leather apron, thick mittens, a thick hood, and goggles. A heatsuit outfit prevents 3 points of lethal or nonlethal damage per round from hot environments. Although the outfit is heavy clothing, its heat-resistant materials negate the usual -4 penalty on Fortitude saves against damage dealt by hot environments. Hydration Suit: The hydration suit is a masterpiece of water retention, crafted by waste-dwellers with technical skill and unusual materials. Its design allows you to recover nearly all the water your body loses through sweat and exhalation. A hydration suit is made of the skin and tissue of various desert-dwelling beasts and treated with oils or waxes for water retention. It covers your entire body, with a tight-fitting hood over the head and a mask covering the mouth and nose. Inside the mask is a glass plate to collect condensation and a tube fashioned from watertight materials. An inner lining wicks sweat away from your body and collects it in spongelike filtration material that can be removed after you doff the hydration suit. The tube from the facemask twists in loops around your body, through the sponge, to reclaim moisture, condensing it in a reservoir from which you can sip. A functioning hydration suit eliminates the need to make Constitution checks to avoid dehydration. It raises the level of protection from heat dangers by two steps, and its mask functions as a filter mask. A hydration suit offers no protection from magical dessication damage. Distillation kit 50 gp 20 lb. Drill 5 gp 7 lb. Parasol 3 gp 2 lb. Sand tube¹ 80 gp 5 lb. Desert outfit¹ 6 gp 3 lb. Heatsuit outfit¹ 20 gp 15 lb. Hydration suit¹ 1,000 gp 10 lb. In the wastes, if you can't go where you need to by camel - whether because of excess gear or distance - you'll need some other form of transport. Some vehicles, such as the frame wheel and sledge, are moved by muscle power. The Handle Animal skill is used only if that power comes from a team of draft animals. When the team consists of creatures with Intelligence scores of 3 or higher, the operative skill is Diplomacy. When they are forced labor, the operative skill is Intimidate. Cloudskate: Huge vehicle; Profession (sailor) +2; Spd wind x 10 ft. (nautical good) or 20 ft. during daylight; Overall AC 1; Section hp 40 (hardness 5); Section AC 3; Rigging 30 hp (hardness 0), AC 3; Ram 4d6; Space 20 ft.; Height 10 ft. (draft 5 ft.); Crew 4; Cargo 10 tons; Cost 3,000 gp. This vehicle is similar to a small keelboat - it is a 20-foot ship without oars - except that it has stabilizing runners along each side. It has a single mast on which a sail can be set. A blade is sturdily mounted on the bottom exterior of the vehicle, running the whole length of the hull, and similar blades are attached to each runner. The rudder is another blade that drags behind the ship, allowing it to be steered. This configuration allows the vehicle to skate on glass seas at a rate of 1 to 3 miles per hour. An empty cloudskate can carry up to twenty passengers. Frame Wheel: Large vehicle; Handle Animal +2, Diplomacy +2, or Intimidate +2; Spd drawn (poor); Overall hp 15 (hardness 5); Overall AC 3; Ram 3d6; Space 10 ft.; Height 10 ft.; Crew 1; Weight 300 lb., Cargo 4 tons; Cost 15 gp. A frame wheel consists of a pair of wooden wheels constructed around a large, heavy object, such as a block of stone. The wheels cap the ends of the object and keep it off the ground, allowing the object to be rolled along like an oversized log. Like a sledge, a frame wheel can be drawn by beasts of burden or by people and is difficult to steer, but it moves more easily up and down slopes than a sledge does. The major drawback of a frame wheel is that it is usually only good for a single load, after which it has to be disassembled, returned to the point of departure, and built all over again around a new load. When multiple loads are of a uniform size, however, the same set of wheels can be used many times. Sand Skiff: Large vehicle; Profession (sailor) +2; Spd wind x 30 ft. (nautical good); Overall AC 3; Section hp 15 (hardness 5); Rigging 10 hp (hardness 0), Section AC 3; Ram 2d6; Space 10 ft.; Height 5 ft.; Crew 1; Weight 200 lb., Cargo 500 lb.; Cost 150 gp. This lightweight framework rests atop a pair of polished runners and sports a single tall sail. Designed for a single rider, a sand skiff is useful for scouting, carrying messages, and as entertainment. The major advantage of the sand skiff lies in how easy it is to construct, though the major disadvantage is that those with the appropriate skill to pilot them are few and far between in the wastes. A sand skiff moves 3 to 10 miles per hour, depending on the wind, and requires flat, open sand which to move. Sand Schooner: Gargantuan vehicle; Profession (sail +2; Spd wind x20 ft. (nautical average); Overall AC - Section hp 25 (hardness 5); Rigging 15 hp (hardness 0 Section AC 3; Ram 8d6; Space 40 ft.; Height 15 ft.; Crew 15; Cargo 50 tons; Cost 8,500 gp. Though rarely seen, the sand schooner is a popular vehicle among certain deep-desert denizens, who use it as a merchant vessel and as a warship. A sand schooner has enough room on its deck for two light catapults or ballistas. Because ships that travel on sand need not worry about sinking, a schooner's cargo holds have additional hatches located on either side of the hull. These two doors are built to pivot downward and create a simple but effective cargo ramp. A sand schooner moves 2 to 7 miles per hour, depending on the wind, and requires flat, open sand on which to travel. Sand Galley: Colossal vehicle; Profession (sailor) -2; Spd wind x 10 ft. (nautical poor); Overall AC -3; Section hp 25 (hardness 5); Rigging 15 hp (hardness 0), Section AC 1; Ram 10d6; Space 60 ft.; Height 20 ft.; Crew 25; Cargo 100 tons; Cost 16,000 gp. A step up from the sand schooner, the sand galley is specifically designed as a warship. It has sufficient deck space to accommodate three heavy catapults or six ballistas or light catapults. Much of the vessel's cargo space is often used for troops rather than for stores or merchandise. Like a sand schooner, a sand galley has one bulkhead on either side of the hull that opens downward to act as a ramp - in this case, facilitating the swift deployment of soldiers. A sand galley moves 1 to 3 miles per hour, depending on the wind, and requires flat, open sand on which to travel. Sledge: Large vehicle; Handle Animal +2, Diplomacy +2, or Intimidate +2; Spd drawn (clumsy); Overall hp 40 (hardness 5); Overall AC 4; Ram 2d6; Space 10 ft.; Height 1 ft.; Crew 1; Weight 500 lb., Cargo 2 tons; Cost 15 gp. A primitive conveyance still used in many parts of the wastes, especially in sandy areas, the venerable sledge is popular because it does not become mired in sand a easily as wheeled vehicles can. Consisting of a flat expanse of reinforced wood, a sledge is really just a convenient platform for heavy loads; one can stack up to two tons of material on a sledge and push or pull it all at once. The "driver" of a sledge rarely rides upon the vehicle, but instead paces back and forth between groups of workers or animals that are doing the work, coordinating the team. Why settle for a chariot when you can purchase an ethereal tunneler or a gate zeppelin? By using the vehicles described here, characters can go anywhere - assuming they have the cash to pay for such an extravagance. Astral Skiff: Huge vehicle; Profession (sailor) +0; Spd fly 120 ft. (average); Overall AC 3; Section hp 40 (hardness 10); Section AC 3; Ram 4d8; Face 15 ft. by 5 ft.; Height loft.; SA ramming; Crew 1 (carries 3); Cargo 1 ton (Spd 100 ft. if carrying 1/2 ton or more); Cost 10,000 gp. On the Astral Plane, githyanki commonly wage war from astral ships. Such vessels range in size from those large enough for a, single squad of soldiers (the astral skiff) to those far larger. Powered by magic sails that catch the motion of astral energies, these ships are normally useless on the Material Plane, where no such arcane winds blow. However, the vehicle is ideal for journeys on the infinite Astral Plane itself. Ethereal Tunneler: Huge vehicle; Profession (miner) +4; Spd burrow to ft. (clumsy); Overall AC 3; Section hp 40/120 (hardness 20/5); Section AC 3; Ram 10d6; Face 10 ft. by 20 ft.; Height 10 ft.; SA ramming; SQ steering mechanism triggers ethereal jaunt on vehicle and all passengers 1/day for up to 20 rounds; Crew 5 (plus 10 soldiers); Cost 140,000 gp. This tank-like vehicle slowly digs tunnels through earth - and when solid stone stymies it, the vehicle can briefly shift into the Ethereal Plane. When not tunneling into otherwise sealed regions of earth or past undefeatable defenses, an ethereal tunneler can be used for outright warfare. The vehicle is adamantine-armored and large enough to accommodate a squad of 10 soldiers. Its treads have been magically animated to provide propulsion at the direction of the crew, who pull levers while they watch the earth for signs of cave-ins. The massive drill at the front is better than a ramming prow; an ethereal tunneler never takes damage from rams it initiates. Gate Zeppelin: Colossal vehicle; Profession (pilot) -4; Spd fly 40 ft. (nautical average); Overall AC -3; Section hp 30 (hardness 5); Section AC 3; Rigging 200 hp (hardness 0), AC 1; Ram 4d6; Face 40 ft. by 10 ft.; Height 10 ft; SA ramming; SQ steering mechanism triggers gate 1/day through which zeppelin may pass (after which the gate closes); Crew 10; Cargo 10 tons (Spd 20 ft. if carrying 5 tons or more); Cost 160,000 gp. A zeppelin relies on hot air trapped in a massive balloon for lift and animated propellers for propulsion. The balloon that provides lift is segmented so that one puncture isn't disastrous. Zeppelins have no minimum forward speed, and they can hover. A mechanism in the captain's cabin can trigger a gate-like opening once per day that allows planar travel. Living Astral Ship: CR -; Colossal construct; HD 8d10 + 1d10 per 10 feet of length; Init as the pilot - 4; Spd as the pilot (+30 ft. with psychic sails) on the Astral Plane, fly 50 ft. (poor) in a gravity well; AC varies (-8 size, +1 natural per HD); At as cleric of level equal to the ship's HD; Space/Reach 30 ft/10 ft. (or as ram); SA ram, mounted weapons; SQ construct traits, hardness; Al n/a; SV as commoner of level equal to the ship's HD, with no ability score modifiers. Construct Traits: like most constructs, living astral ships have immunity to mind-affecting spells and abilities, poison, disease, and similar effects. They are not subject to extra damage from critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, or death from massive damage. Hardness: A living astral ship is usually composed of different materials but has an overall hardness of 5 to 10. An astral ship composed mainly of wood might have hardness 5, while an astral ship made of iron would have hardness 10. See Smashing an Object, for more information on hardness. Mounted Weapons: A living astral ship can be fitted with heavy catapults, light catapults, and ballistas. An astral ship can have one mounted weapon for every 2 Hit Dice it possesses, although nonmilitary astral ships typically forgo a full array of weapons in favor of having cargo space. A heavy catapult counts as two weapons for the purpose of determining how many weapons an astral ship can carry. Ram (Ex): In any round in which no ship-mounted weapons are fired, a living astral ship can ram a Huge or larger creature or object. If the prow of the astral ship is more than 50 feet away in a straight line from a target, it can move up to double its speed to deliver a ram attack using its regular attack bonus. The ram deals either bludgeoning or piercing damage, depending on the shape of its prow. The damage dealt is idio points per point of the astral ship's hardness. For example, an astral ship with hardness 10 deals 10d10 points of damage with a successful ram attack, or triple damage on a critical hit (threat range 20). Building a living astral ship requires the Craft Construct feat and 10 ranks in Knowledge (the planes). Flying the ship requires the pilot (who must have an Intelligence score of 1 or higher) to sit in a specially attuned chair called a helm. The helm allows the pilot to propel the ship by thought at a speed (in feet) equal to 10 times the pilot's Intelligence score. When the ship passes within a gravity well, such as that generated by a large chunk of drifting matter, it slows to a speed of 50 feet. A living astral ship can move at double speed and running speed. Piloting the ship is always considered a full-round action, and the pilot cannot engage in other activities while controlling the ship. A pilot seated in the helm receives a 360-degree mental picture of the area around the ship, out to normal visibility range. The pilot feels as if he or she is flying directly over the ship and able to look in all directions at once. The helm radiates strong transmutation magic under the scrutiny of detect magic. It serves as a conduit between the pilot and the vessel and is rooted to the ship. Destroying any part of it (the seat itself or the parts connecting it to the rest of the ship) renders the vessel powerless and inert. A helm has the same hardness as the rest of the astral ship and hit points equal to three times the ship's hardness. Rarely sold on the open market, living astral ships can find their way into someone's hands by theft or other means. Planar Sailer: Colossal vehicle; Profession (sailor) +4; Spd wind x 20 ft. (nautical average); Overall AC -3; Section hp 50 (hardness 5); Section AC 3; Rigging 80 hp (hardness 0), AC 1; Ram 12d6; Face 80 ft. by 20 ft.; Height 10 ft. (draft 10 ft.); SA ram; SQ steering mechanism triggers special plane shift effect on vehicle and contents; Crew 20; Cargo 150 tons (Spd wind x 15 ft. if 75 tons or more); Cost 25,000 gp. In most situations, a planar sailer seems no different from a common sailing ship. Measuring some 80 feet in length, this three-masted ship requires a crew of 20 when sailing on water and using the wind for locomotion. A planar sailer has a special ability that allows it to sail celestial seas, following the commands of the captain of the vessel as he stands at the wheel. A planar sailer has enough room on deck for two light catapults or ballistas. It usually uses a launch as a lifeboat (not included in the price). Sometimes, the best way to get from here to there is to hire someone else to take you. Since the player characters are adventurers, such solutions should be the exception rather than the rule, but at times the PCs might prefer to use their monetary resources to advance their agenda. Cubic Gate: Occasionally, a group or individual will offer transport via a cubic gate. These conduits often lead from one well-guarded location in a planar metropolis to a sheltered or protected spot in the same or another metropolis. Passage: Ships (and elsewhales) that provide passage to alternate planes usually do not specialize in passenger service. However, they may have a regular planar trade route on which they are willing to take on passengers in order to supplement their income. Thus, although PCs might not often find passage directly to the plane they are seeking, they may be able to ride on a planar ship for one leg of the journey. Planar Allies: The planar ally spells are common ways to secure travel. Many outsiders have planar travel capabilities either because of spell-like abilities or spellcasting talents. Most are willing to offer the service. A planar ally naturally prefers to bring passengers to a plane that corresponds to its philosophical viewpoint, but one might happily transport a person or group to an opposing plane if doing so furthers one of its causes. Planar Guide: Certain people have a knack for finding the cracks and chinks between planar borders. They know the portals, the vortices, the trade routes, and the other means for traveling the planes that don't involve spells or other magic. Finding a guide is the hard part; after that, a guide worth her salt can lead a party to a plane she claims as her specialty in 2d6 days, or refer the PCs to another guide if the plane they seek falls outside her knowledge. Most guides claim a specialty in the connections between only three to four planes. Planar Ring Gates: Some enterprising wealthy merchant guilds or consortiums have established pairings of planar ring gates. These lead from one well-guarded location in a planar metropolis to a similarly protected spot in another. On occasion, the owner of a pair of planar ring gates may move them to a requested location, provided that the task is easily done and that the new environment is safe. The larger the risk, the larger the cost. Spellcasting: Sometimes the easiest way to reach a planar destination is to pay someone to cast either a gate spell or a plane shift spell. ¹Includes cost for caster's return trip. Air Plant: The air plant is a bizarre form of pond vegetation whose spongy structure produces and stores air, keeping the plant at the surface so it can receive adequate light. This mass remains alive and continues to produce air even after being cut from the plant, provided it is kept moist and well lit. When placed in the mouth, a fist-sized piece of this material can provide enough air to sustain a Medium air-breathing creature for 5 minutes. After that time, the submerged creature must begin holding its breath and risks drowning. The air plant dies after use and can't be recharged - another portion must be procured. Float Bladder: This is an emergency flotation device for those who find themselves cast overboard. It can also be used to support a non-swimmer being assisted through water. A float bladder is a sack of oiled hide that can be filled with air. It has a long neck that is knotted shut after filling and ropes or straps to fasten it to the wearer. A float bladder can keep afloat one Medium creature. Treat this as a leather object (hardness 2); if it takes 5 or more points of damage, the skin is punctured. The round after puncturing, the user must begin making Swim checks to remain afloat. A punctured or deflated float bladder is a burden to a swimmer, imposing a -2 penalty on Swim checks if it is not removed. Sextant: A sextant is a sophisticated device used to determine a vessel's position by measuring the angle formed by the sun or stars and the horizon. It uses mirrors and carefully graduated scales to sight a heavenly body, whose position is compared to a listing in an almanac for the day and year of measurement. A sextant grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (geography) checks to set and hold course. Swimming Goggles: This is a leather frame containing a clear piece of glass (sometimes two) made to fit tightly over the eyes. Wearing a set of swimming goggles improves visibility underwater. In clear water, the wearer's vision extends to 6d8x10 feet. Swimming goggles don't make it any easier to see through murky or fast-moving water. Hat, Bicorne: A bicorne is a semicircular hat usually worn by captains and admirals. It is braided and showy the better to call out the high rank of its wearer. Hat, Tricorne: A tricorne is the classic three-cornered hat. It is generally worn by the upper classes and can be both civilian and military garb. A tricorne can range from a simple leather or felt version to a very fancy silk item with leather. The price given here is for a well-made felt tricorne. Oilskin Suit: Inhabitants of rainy climates and misty seacoasts, and those who make their living from the sea, need reliable clothing to keep out the dampness and chill. An oilskin suit consists of high boots, heavy trousers, a long coat or cape, and a wide-brimmed hat. These garments are made heavy-duty cloth such as cotton or linen, then waterproofed with flaxseed oil. Stinkpot: This is a simple chemical weapon, consisting of a clay jar filled with a mix of noxious substances. When set alight, the mixture produces a foul-smelling smoke fills a 10-foot cube (as a fog cloud spell, except that a moderate or stronger wind disperses the smoke in 1 round). Fa living creature within the smoke must succeed on a 15 Fortitude save or become sickened as long as it remains and for 1d4+1 rounds after it leaves. Each round a creature remains within the smoke, it must make another save. The pot's contents are consumed in 3 rounds, and vapors disperse naturally. lighting a stinkpot is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Float bladder 10 gp 3 lb. Swimming goggles 15 gp 1/2 lb. Hat, bicorne¹ 50 gp 1 lb. Hat, tricorne¹ 15 gp 1 lb. Oilskin suit 10 gp 10 lb. Sextant 250 gp 10 lb. Stinkpot 50 gp 20 1 lb. - No weight, or no weight worth noting. ¹These items weigh one-quarter this amount when made for Small characters. There are basically two types of dungeoneering equipment: highly specialized items that fulfill a narrow purpose, and ordinary objects that can be used creatively. Both are crucial to any adventurer's standard gear. The following mundane items can be put to good use in dungeons. Collapsible Pole: This 2-foot-long wooden pole is composed of six telescoping sections that allow it to extend to a length of 12 feet. Each section can be turned to lock it in place to prevent the pole from collapsing prematurely. The pole can be partially extended to 4 feet, 6 feet, 8 feet, or 10 feet. You can use the pole to jam doors, pass objects across pits, spring traps, or serve any other needed function. The thinnest section of a collapsible pole can be inserted into a second pole, creating a sturdy pole of up to 22 feet in length. Expanding or collapsing a pole is a full-round action. Drill: This simple hand drill bores small holes in wood, metal, or stone. As a standard action, you can use the drill to create a hole in an object if the drill can ignore the object's hardness (see below). The hole is 1 inch deep and 1 inch in diameter. Any Search checks or Spot checks through the hole are made at a -5 penalty. Listen checks through the hole are made at a -2 penalty. There are three types of drills. A wood drill ignores up to 5 points of hardness when drilling. An iron drill, commonly used on metal or stone, ignores up to 10 points of hardness. An adamantine drill, used on only the most difficult surfaces, ignores up to 20 points of hardness. A drill that does not ignore enough hardness of an object cannot bore a hole in that object. Standard drills become dull after 20 rounds of use; masterwork drills last for 100 rounds. New bits can be purchased for 10% of the cost of the drill. Finder's Chalk: Marks made by this red chalk fade from casual view after 1 minute, allowing you to mark dungeon surfaces secretly. The chalk lets you keep track of what areas you have and have not visited without alerting wandering creatures to your presence. To detect a simple mark, such as a line or an X, make a successful DC 25 Search check. To detect more complex marks, make a successful DC 40 Search check. A finder's glass (see below) improves your ability to detect the chalk marks. True seeing lets you detect the marks without making a Search check. One piece of finder's chalk covers a 10-foot-square wall with marks. Finder's Glass: A finder's glass is a 3-inch-diameter circular disc of red glass set in a copper frame. It can be held in front of your eye or inserted over the aperture of a standard bullseye lantern, causing it to emit dim red light. When you look through a finder's glass, you gain a +30 alchemical bonus on your Search checks to find or read marks made by finder's chalk. If the glass is used in conjunction with a lantern, all creatures in the area of bright illumination gain a +20 alchemical bonus on their Search checks to find or read such marks. Flotation Bladder: This item, used to aid in swimming, consists of two sealed, oiled leather sacks attached with a piece of rope. Each sack can be inflated by blowing air into it through a small metal valve as a full-round action. Once inflated and placed under the arms, a flotation bladder grants a +4 bonus on Swim checks to rise to the surface or remain at the surface. The bladder also imposes a -4 penalty on Swim checks to descend deeper into the water. Additional bladders do not grant further bonuses on Swim checks, but the penalties stack. Flour Pouch: This deceptively simple burlap satchel of flour is tied loosely on purpose. While it could be used to bake a loaf of bread on a particularly long expedition, its true purpose is to locate invisible opponents. You can attempt to strike an invisible opponent with a flour pouch as a touch attack. You still must pinpoint the target or choose a space to attack into, and the normal miss chance for total concealment applies. If you hit the target, the pouch bursts open, spilling white flour over a portion of the invisible creature. You can also throw a flour pouch as a splash weapon; any invisible creature standing in the space struck is covered in flour, as are all other creatures within 5 feet. Coating an invisible creature in flour lets you keep track of its position and reduces the miss chance to 20% (instead of the normal 50% for total concealment). While an invisible creature is coated in flour, its bonus on Hide checks is reduced to +10 if the creature is moving, or to +20 if it is not moving. If the creature moves through water, is subjected to a gust of wind, or spends a full-round action brushing the flour off, all the flour is removed from its body. Grappling Hook, Mithral: A mithral grappling hook is lighter than a standard hook but just as strong, and it can be thrown farther. If the hook is attached to a silk rope (not a hempen one), any Use Rope check to seat the hook is made at a DC equal to 10 + 1 per 20 feet thrown, to a maximum DC of 20 for a hook thrown 200 feet. Grappling Ladder: This premade hemp rope ladder has two small steel grappling hooks on either end. Throwing a grappling ladder is like throwing a grappling hook, only more difficult. The Use Rope check to seat the ladder is made at a DC equal to 15 + 3 per 10 feet thrown. A DC 10 Climb check is required to scale a grappling ladder. The price and weight in Table 2-1 is for a 10-foot ladder, but longer ladders are commonly available. For each additional 10 feet of the ladder, add 35 gp to the cost and 6 pounds to the weight. Grappling Ladder, Silk and Mithral: The finest grappling ladders are made of silk rope and fashioned with two tiny mithral hooks. They function as standard grappling ladders but are easier to seat; the Use Rope check is made at a DC equal to 13 + 2 per 10 feet thrown. The standard +2 circumstance bonus on Use Rope checks for silk rope does not apply. The price and weight in Table 2-1 is for a 10-foot ladder, but longer ladders are commonly available. For each additional 10 feet of the ladder, add 150 gp to the cost and 3 pounds to the listed weight. Hacksaw: This blade is designed to cut through thin metal. It ignores the hardness of standard metal objects (excluding exotic metals such as mithral or adamantine), but it deals only 1 point of damage per 2 rounds of sawing. A common blade lasts for 20 rounds, while a superior blade lasts for 40 rounds. You can also buy a hacksaw with an adamantine blade, which ignores hardness 25 or lower. The saw also cuts faster, dealing 1 point of damage per round. Lard: Simple cooking lard can be a great aid to dungeoneers. You can spread it on the floor to make a slippery area similar to that created by a grease spell. Applying lard in this manner takes 1 minute, but the coated area remains slippery for 1 hour. You can also take 1 minute to coat yourself in lard, which grants you a +5 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks and on grapple checks made to resist or escape a grapple or pin. The bonus lasts for 10 minutes. Listening Cone: This iron cone can be placed against a surface, such as a door, to aid in Listen checks made through the surface. The DC for listening through a door when using a cone increases by 2 (rather than 5), and the DC for listening through stone walls increases by 5 (rather than 15). Listening cones have no effect if not used against a surface. Magnet: This magnetized bar of metal picks up small objects of ferrous metal, such as iron or steel. The magnet can lift up to 2 pounds of metal if touched to the object in question. It can also attract metal objects weighing up to one-third of a pound at a distance of 1 foot. You can tie a magnet to the end of a piece of twine and lower it into a pit to pick up objects or manipulate levers. You can also lash a magnet to the end of a pole and slide it under doors to retrieve items. Manacles, Adamantine: Intended for chaining powerful dungeon monsters, these manacles can be broken only with a successful DC 52 Strength check. They have 15 hit points and hardness 20. Otherwise, adamantine manacles function as masterwork manacles. Periscope, Hand: This device consists of two steel mirrors placed opposite each other at angles, separated by a metal tube about 2 feet in length. The periscope allows you to peer around corners without revealing your presence. Because only the end of the periscope protrudes, you can make a Hide check (with a +7 bonus) for the item to determine if the creatures you spy upon notice it. The area visible through the periscope is cone-shaped and begins in the space immediately around the corner. While looking through the periscope, you take a -8 penalty on Spot checks to detect creatures not in the cone-shaped area. Rubber Ball: A bouncing rubber ball can give you an idea of what lies down a corridor. Simply throw the ball at a space or grid intersection as you would throw a splash weapon, though with a range increment of 30 feet. No matter where the ball lands, it bounces directly away from you, traveling half the distance it was first thrown. Then it lands and bounces again, covering half the distance of the previous bounce. The ball continues in this manner until it makes a bounce that would be less than 5 feet in length, at which time it stops bouncing and begins rolling. If the ball strikes a solid object, it reverses direction and continues rolling. Thus, you can throw a rubber ball down a corridor to see whether or not it hits a wall and returns to you. Either way, you learn something about the length of the hallway. When you throw the ball, you can also listen carefully for other cues, especially if the ball does not return. For example, if you hear a splash, you know that a liquid obstacle lies ahead. Rubbing Kit: Adventurers often encounter ancient carvings and runes that they do not understand. A rubbing kit allows them to bring a copy of the runes back to town for an expert to translate later. The kit consists of a roll of thin paper 20 feet long and 1 foot wide, and numerous sticks of fine charcoal. Simply place the paper over the carvings and rub it with charcoal. Creating an accurate copy requires 1 minute for each foot of paper used (in length). Rubbing more quickly reduces the time to a full-round action for the same amount of paper, but it adds 10 to the DC of any check related to interpreting the rubbing, such as a Decipher Script check. Spike, Iron: Iron spikes have a variety of uses, though they are most commonly hammered into door frames to keep the doors shut. If you have a hammer or mallet, you can pound one spike in place as a full-round action. A door with one spike in it is considered stuck, and a door with two or more spikes in it is considered locked for the purpose of breaking it down. (For the break DCs for stuck and locked doors, see Doors). Twine: For situations where rope is too bulky, simple twine is a good substitute. It can be tied around smaller objects and takes up less room. Twine has 1 hit point and hardness 0. Wand Bracer: This metal forearm band takes up space on the body as a bracer and can hold up to five wands. Thin loops of thread fit over your fingers, each connected to a spring mechanism on one of the wand slots. If your hand is empty, you can flex a finger as a swift action to cause the wand of your choice to spring into your grasp. You still must activate the wand as a standard action. Replacing a wand in the sheath is tricky and requires a full-round action Most adventurers just drop the first wand to the ground (a free action) when they need a different one. Collapsible pole 20 gp 8 1b. Adamantine 200 gp 1 lb. Iron 10 gp 1 lb. Finder's glass 400 gp 1/2 lb. Flotation bladder 2 gp 2 1b. Grappling hook, mithral 1,000 gp 2 lb. Grappling ladder 40 gp 8 lb. Silk and mithral 650 gp 4 lb. Adamantine 600 gp 1 lb. Common 5 gp 1 lb. Superior 20 gp 1 lb. Listening cone 8 sp 1 lb. Magnet 20 gp 2 1b. Manacles, adamantine 2,000 gp 5 lb. Periscope, hand 50 gp 2 1b. Rubbing kit 5 gp 1 lb. Spike, iron 1 sp 1 lb. Wand bracer 300 gp 5 lb. The following additional tools can give you a hand in those circumstances when you don't have a proper rogue and Power Attack isn't enough or just won't do. Acid Injector: This simple device resembles a long funnel (generally made of glass or some other acid-resistant material) with a narrow tube at one end and a large storage container at the other. It delivers a powerful acid to burn through the hinges or locks of chests, safes, and other containers, without wasting acid or damaging the contents of these containers. It takes 2 minutes to use an acid injector to apply acid to a surface. When you use it to bypass a lock, hinge, or other vulnerable point on an object's surface, the precise delivery doubles the damage of the acid used. Adamantine Bolt Cutter: This resembles an oversized pair of pruning shears with a serrated inner blade. It is specifically designed to cut through metal bars, bolts, and other obstructions with ease, and allows the wielder to attempt to cut through any bar less than 2 inches in diameter with a hardness less than 20. Adamantine bolt cutters deal 20 points of damage plus 1-1/2 times the wielder's Strength modifier per round. Bolt cutters make poor weapons, serving only as clumsy clubs (-2 on attack rolls). Adamantine Sledge: For the serious basher, this simple sledgehammer is perfectly balanced and crafted from solid adamantine. When you use it to attack a door, wall, container, or other object, it is a 2-handed weapon that deals 1d10 points of damage to the object and ignores any hardness less than 20. Despite its force, however, it is difficult to use as a weapon in combat, and you suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls with it. Adamantine Toolkit: This kit contains an adamantine file, an adamantine drill (with bits of varying sizes), and a small adamantine hacksaw. It is specifically designed to allow nonprofessionals to bypass locked doors and open locked chests, and the tools are simple and straightforward (if somewhat slow). The drill in this kit allows a character to bore 2 1/2-inch-diameter hole in any object 3 inches thick or less and with a hardness less than 20 with a standard action. This is often sufficient to remove the locking mechanism from a door or container. The hacksaw can saw through up to 1 inch of material with hardness less than 20 with a standard action. Ironbane Acid: This special form of acid affects only iron and other metals weaker than adamantine. One flask of this acid deals 3d10 points of damage to a metal object or creature made entirely of metal (such as an iron golem) and ignores hardness. Ironbane acid has no effect on adamantine or magically reinforced or enchanted metal. You can throw ironbane acid as a grenadelike weapon, in which case it deals full damage to any nonmagical metal armor, weapon, or shield that your target might be wearing or wielding. Woodripper Acid: This special form of acid effects only wood and plant creatures. One flask of this acid deals 3d10 points of acid damage to a wood object or plant creature and ignores hardness. Woodripper acid has no effect on magically reinforced or enchanted wood. You can throw woodripper acid as a grenadelike weapon, in which case it deals full damage to any nonmagical wooden armor, weapon, or shield that your target might be wearing or wielding. Acid injector 75 gp 2 lb. Adamantine bolt cutter 250 gp 2 lb. Adamantine sledge 2,500 gp 15 lb. Adamantine toolkit 750 gp 5 lb. Ironbane acid 30 gp 1/4 lb. Stonebreaker acid 20 gp 1/4 lb. Wood ripper acid 20 gp 1/4 lb.

2019-04-23T22:07:15Z

https://www.realmshelps.net/stores/goods.shtml

A fairly strong cyclone developed far off of Northern California on December 25 to 26, 2002, and then raced generally northeastward toward Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The track is detailed in Figure 1, above. With a minimum pressure of about 989 mb (29.21"), the low's center made landfall between 09:00 and 10:00 PST on December 27. Winds escalated south of the low's track as the storm swept inland, with south to southwest gusts reaching 50 to 65 mph at many locations on the coast, and 40 to 55 mph at many places in the interior. According to National Weather Service storm spotter reports, damage to structures and trees occurred in coastal communities, with scattered power outages. From personal contacts in the region, power was also lost at isolated locations in the greater Seattle area, including Bellevue. I saw some trees and large branches down in the Portland Metro area, with brief brownouts occurring at my home during the gale. A wooden fence was smashed by a large limb on E. Burnside near 39th. According to the Oregonian, an Olympia boy was electrocuted to death from a fallen powerline . Outages were reported in Gresham, Cedar Hill and Banks. Two Gresham women were injured when a large branch broke from a tree and landed on them. Highways in the Coast Range, such as heavily-travelled 26, were blocked by fallen trees. The Seattle Times reported that the storm cancelled power to about 260,000 customers in the greater Puget Sound Area . Most outages were in East King County. Two people were injured--one by a pickup canopy that took to the air in the gale. A wind gust threw a tractor-trailer rig onto its side on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, forcing closure of the important commuter link. The Lake Washington floating bridges remained open. 20:37 HRS: (Portland, OR) Rain is approaching heavy--this just escalated. Precip began at 14:20 during the Tabor walk, held steady for awhile, then faded by 17:03, after 0.06" had fallen with generally calm winds. Now the rain is thudding on the window, and gusts are reaching 10 mph out of the east. The baro is 29.81" falling, temp 41.3 F, digirain 6.7020" [for the month] (0.07" since 19:58 HRS). This is the leading precip of a deepening low that was at 42 N 135 W around 14:00, 994 mb, and is expected to make landfall on the Olympic Peninsula as a 985-990 system. This could very well be a windstorm, even for us. There's a chance the low could track further south, say over the mouth of the Columbia, which could really mean wind for us. So the weather folk are watching this one very closely. I'll be getting the latest update from the web soon. 20:39 HRS. 21:44 HRS: OK, according to the 03:00 Z (19:00 PST) surface analysis, the low was down to 992 mb and was located at 43 N 131 W still heading on a NE track. Tight gradients are starting to pack across NW CA at this time, and local barometers are starting to fall more quickly. Gradients like OTH-AST and AST-UIL are going negative right now (-0.9 mb and -1.5 respectively), the mark of a low still off the southern coast and beginning to influence Oregon conditions more strongly. ACV-OTH grad starting to pick up: +8.8 mb, up from +3.3 four hours ago. NWS, Portland, 20:05 forecast discussion says this low is right on track for that WA landfall--surface conditions are falling in line with the model runs. Looks like some fun weather for tomorrow morning! Currently: 29.74" falling rapidly, 39.3 F (and falling, too!), rain w/stratus, 6.8320", and E winds up to 13 mph at times, doing 3-5 right now. 21:53 HRS. 03:30 HRS: We're getting brief heavy showers imbedded in light, misty precip now. Winds are SE gusting to 10 mph, with a 1-min velocity of 7 at 03:11. The temp is slowly rising at 43.1 F. A warm front is approaching as the low continues to race toward the Olympic Peninsula. Temps on the coast have risen into the mid-50s, and winds have escalated significantly. Gusts to 58 mph at Newport this hour, with steady SW 40. Light east winds at Astoria and 43-45 F switched to S at 24 mph gusting to 36 at 01:55, with a temp climb to 55. The 02:55 OBS shows a peak to 41 mph and 56. The warm front has also struck Eugene. At 22:54, the temp was 42 F and it was calm. Winds shot in out of the S at 23:54 and the temp rose to 48; now, at 02:54, S winds are 23 mph gusting to 30 and the temp is 52 (High 53 01:53). The warm front hit Salem around 01:56, and now they're gusting to 30 mph with 50 F. Hasn't reached Aurora yet--calm and 43 F there at 02:53. The low center is nearing the coast--baro at 29.37" at the Columbia River Bar Buoy 46029. Still falling. South winds 34 mph gusting to 40, max 45 at 02:00. Hmmm... After reaching 29.56" about 15 mins ago, the baro is now reading 29.58" here. Back to 29.57" again (03:45). I think the warm front is nearing. Digirain is at 7.1384" now (03:49). I'm printing out the latest surface charts... 09:00 Z (01:00 PST) North America shows the low at 45 N 128.5 W now, with a 990 mb (29.23") center. I'd expect the Columbia River buoy to get close to this minimum pressure as the system makes landfall. Strong gradient south of the low, shallower north. Interestingly, Olympia's METAR showed a north gust to 29 mph last hour. What's going on there? A spotter reported strong winds at Sedro Wooley, too. Things are getting active, it seems. Baro is now at 29.54", digirain 7.1580" with light rain still falling, temp 43.1 F, winds SE at 5 mph. 03:58 HRS. Photo 1, below: Base of a tree that fell over during the windstorm near 62nd and East Ankeny. Saturated soil from nearly 7.50" of rain during the previous 2.5 weeks, and a dead, rotting root system, probably contributed to this windfall. 04:18 HRS: The low is now decidedly going into Washington. At 04:00 OBS, Forks was at 29.34" F, and Astoria 29.41" F, so the AST-UIL gradient went positive in the last hour. What a contrast--south winds 35 mph gusting to 54 at Astoria now, with 56 F. At Hoquiam, E 23 mph gusting to 30 with a cold 37 F (and rain). Looks like the warm front went through Aurora, as they're at 47 F now with light south winds. That pressure change (at 03:45) may indeed have been the front. The cold air may be deeper here at the mouth of the [Columbia River] Gorge, and will take longer to erode. East winds still strong at Troutdale--20 mph gusting to 28. At the rate things are progressing, it looks like whatever wind event we get will be a mid-morning affair. Temp 43.3 F, baro 29.53" F, digirain 7.2436" with a solid, saturating moderate rain still falling. Wind still around 5 mph. 04:27 HRS. Photo 2, below: Wide view of the same tree shown in photo 1, above. 06:04 HRS: The south winds have begun, and with some force. The gust register is now at 27.7 mph and the Nor'Easter (NER) has hit 28 so far. Some of these gusts are rattling the screen doors. This wind picked up suddenly around 05:42, with gusts to 20 mph. The temp has warmed! Now 49.1 F--was 43.1 not long ago. We had one long sustained gust that did 26-26-27-25 [26 mph average for 10 seconds] on the NER, shoving the Vigilant (VNT) gust register ever higher! High wind warnings are up all over Western Washington, and the Oregon Coast/Coast Range. Winds are expected to quickly escalate to 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph mid-morning. This includes Kelso, Toledo and north to Seattle and Bellingham. The Willamette Valley is in a 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 forecast, which is fairly standard for lows diving into the NW tip of the Olympic Peninsula. Looking at the 06:00 official OBS: Astoria S 35G49 mph and 29.40" R, Newport SW 38G58 29.64" R... Aurora S 22G33 29.56" and...and Corvallis SW 30G46! Slamming the Mid Valley. Salem S 20G31 29.56" R. With that Corvallis reading, it looks like there's some potential here. In WA... Forks SE 8 but baro 29.26" F, and Hoquiam joined the southerly club with S 26G39 and 29.35" F. For here, current, 49.6 F, 29.54", 7.3792", and recent gusts to 27 mph. 06:19 HRS. Photo 3, below: Typical branch broken by the windstorm. This plume, which had a 1.75" base diameter, fell at the top of Mt. Tabor. Limbs such as this rained down at many points in the park, with larger ones crashing into the children's play area and on the mountain's southwest side. 12:18 HRS: Wow, we had ourselves a genuine minor windstorm. My peak gust was a slamming 45 mph at 09:44. We've had many gusts of 30-36 mph, some sustained for long periods. The next highest gust was 39.5 mph at 08:47. 'Twas fun, though I'm quite worn out. Not much sleep! The low, which deepened to 989 mb as it landed on WA, came ashore between Hoquiam and Quillayute, and then raced between Everett and Bellingham. Nothing but north winds at Bellingham, with gusts in the 50s out of the SE at Everett. The winds have just escalated in the past few hours in the Puget Lowlands. At 12:00 Sea-Tac had S winds at 31G48 mph, Renton S 28G49, and Boeing Field S18G40. Sea-Tac reported a peak of 52 mph that hour. Looks like gusts of 45-55 up there, while we had 35-45. Max EUG-PDX gradient was +5.8 mb, and the PDX-SEA has reached +10.3--fairly strong for the latter. Peak ACV-UIL was around +23.9 mb. A decent storm! Photo 4, below: A large Douglas-fir branch, with a 3" base diameter, landed next to a trail on the southwest side of Mt. Tabor. 20:05 HRS: A recent isolated shower kicked the digirain to 7.5532" by 19:33 HRS, dropping 0.13" in the hour leading up to the OBS. The rain total is starting to look interesting. Damage on Mt. Tabor was generally limited to twigs and small branches. Quite a few Douglas-fir limbs fell, most of the larger ones "falling" in the range of 0.5" to 1.5" base diameter with lengths of 3 to 6 feet--not my 2" minimum diameter requirement for "major damage" category. Four Doug-fir branches rated major damage, two of which were just barely there with 2" diameters. One long branch still hung from its parent tree by a strand of bark--this one was at least 3" in diameter and about 25 feet long. There was another with a 3" diameter that struck ground and broke in two. I sense brittleness with much of the damage--many a Doug-fir branch, even the smaller ones, broke into 2 or 3 sections upon hitting the ground. Other major damage included a partially uprooted hawthorne above the lower reservoir, and an uprooted dead ornamental from a yard on East Ankeny between 61st and 62nd. Both these trees may have been victims of the heavy rain, which probably weakened the trees' footholds in the ground. It is interesting that this strongest-of-windstorms of the season so far didn't really cause significantly more damage than earlier, weaker, events. Seems like the earlier storms cleaned out much of the material waiting to go. 20:20 HRS. Photo 5, below: This large branch, broken in the gale, still managed to cling to its parent tree. 07:15 HRS: Today I'm going to Renton, to see if any damage occurred in the [Puget Power] Powerlines. 10:42 HRS: (Scatter Creek Rest Area, south of Olympia, WA, on I-5) Windstorm damage up the I-5 corridor was almost nil in Vancouver (I-205), with scattered broken limbs--willow, alder and Douglas-fir--up to about Kelso. Some dead trees from recent drought [and related fires on the freeway's shoulder] broke along the first 50 miles, and beyond. Near Exit 59, a large two-posted highway sign was shoved over (wooden posts), and from that point, a few live trees were broken, usually alder along the narrow greenways. Maybe two or three total from MP 59 to here. On big Doug-fir fell to the right side of the road just a few miles south of here (MP 88 roughly). This is the largest tree that I've seen down, maybe 20-24" diameter, quite tall, green. Its base shattered. A small road sign was also down near Centralia at an on-ramp. Lots of small branches broken here at the rest stop, mastly Doug-fir. 10:56 HRS. Photo 6, below: This large birch broke in a Renton, WA, woodlot located in the eastern highlands. 12:13 HRS: (Phillip Arnold Park, Renton, WA) On I-5, there was heavy branch damage in the Fort Lewis area, then surprisingly little up to about Federal Way. A two-poster highway sign was blown down near MP 147. The single-poster "Entering Sea-Tac" sign was also blown down near MP 151. Both these signs had wooden posts. Wet soil conditions probably contributed to their toppling. I saw one broken alder on the hill just north of the Sea-Tac sign along I-5, and a Doug-fir that had dropped several large branches just ahead of the sign down near MP 147. Maybe a small alder down along the Renton exit from 167. Looks like some tree damage in the Powerlines. I'm going to check that out on foot. 12:20 HRS. Photo 7, below: This is the same birch as in Photo 6. Close inspection of the base reveals discolored wood reaching into the heart right along the tree's braeak. This tree had been dead for some time before the windstorm struck, compromising the trunk's strength. 15:01 HRS: Back to the car from a fruitful trip through the Powerlines. The Northern Woodlot [which borders Phillip Arnold Park] lost two big birches. One snapped at the base, one uprooted. The snapped one was of ill health, with the heartwood breginning to rot. The uprooted tree also appeared recently dead, with brittle roots. Of course, the soil is also saturated. A small birch uprooted next to the bigger--their branches may have been entangled. A large very dead alder also broke near the Phillip Arnold tennis courts. Among the trees that line the rugged (south) road that goes to Phillip Arnold Park, a very large, but dead, birch uprooted and crashed across a mountain bike trail. Next to it, a smaller dead willow also crossed the trail on its way down. These are on the west side of the road, near the Northern Woodlot. On the east side nearby, an alder lost part of its top, and a large branch. The tree was alive, but not in the best of health. Not much more tree damage elsewhere along the road, and the gravel Puget Power road to the Southern Woodlot. Photo 9, below: This fairly healthy alder, in a Renton highlands woodlot, lost its top in the gale. The Southern Woodlot itself had tree damage. The most memorable was two alder trees that broke in close proximity to each other. One was fairly healthy, and it broke high up, maybe 20-25' off the ground. A massive "alder spear," a pointy wedge of wood from the base of the broken bough, maybe 8-10 feet long, sheared off and crashed to the ground with the top. The shattered tree blockaded the main mountain bike trail right near some serious jumps--new ones, in fact, made after my last visit. As I was photographing this windfall, two mountain bikers showed up and needed the tree out of the way of their jumps. We all got together and yanked the massive bough from the trail as best we could. Photo 10, below: This is the same alder as in Photo 8. A large wedge of wood, a fairly common occurrence when alders break that I term an alder spear, sheared off the tree when the top snapped. Close examination of the middle of the spear shows discolored (darker brown) wood, again right in the break. This tree had previous injury, which appears to have compromised the tree's wind resistance. The other alder also lost its top, a big chunk, but it was clearly diseased and ready to go. A dead, rotting, alder covered in ivy also went down. A dead birch lost its top, as did a live willow, at the west (lower) end of the woodlot. 15:33 HRS. Photo 11, below: This large alder, near the tree depicted in Photos 9 and 10, was likewise beheaded by the windstorm. A clear hollow in the middle of the trunk, and degrading bark, reveal that this tree had passed its prime, and had become more wind-prone. It appears that a windstorm from many years ago--perhaps January 20, 1993 or December 12, 1995--broke this tree's original top off, exposing the heartwood to the elements. Over the years, the tree grew a substantial new top, seen to the lower left of the trunk, which added increasing weight to the tree. Simultaneously, the main trunk had weakened from heartwood rot. Finally, in appears conditions had reached a point where a marginal windstorm like December 27, 2002 could break the tree. 17:30 HRS: (Olympia, WA) On southbound I-5, again in the Sea-Tac area, a triple-post highway sign was down near MP 151. This one had metal posts. Looks like the bolts securing the sign to its foundation sheared off. Then, down at MP 143, another sign was down--triple-poster again, but wood. That area seemed to be the hardest hit on my route (MP 143-151). 17:33 HRS. Photo 12, below: A broken, dead, scouler willow from the Renton Highlands. Human homes aren't the only ones that can suffer the consequences of a windfall. In this case, what appears to be a squirrel nest was thrown into some shrubs. The surface map for 10:00 HRS PST is shown in Figure 2, below. These are the conditions at approximately the time of my peak gust of 45 mph (09:44), and when winds just began reaching gale force in the greater Seattle area. Note the closely-packed isobars reaching from central Oregon to northern Washington. The isobars are oriented almost west-east over the region, a nearly ideal situation for strong ageostrophic (jumping the gradient) winds in the south-to-north trending valleys, such as the Willamette and the Puget Lowlands. The pressure gradient was strong, but a number of storms on record have exceeded this storm's highest values (more on gradients below). The 8-km resolution infrared satellite picture, Figure 3, below, shows the cloud conditions at the same time as the surface map above. The dry slot had become somwhat ill-defined by this time, which the storm's center in the gray area over the Olympic Peninsula. This cyclone didn't have a strongly developed bent-back occlusion, as evidenced by the warmer (darker) cloud tops north of the storm's center, when compared to say, the February 7, 2002 South Valley Windstorm and the December 16, 2002 storm. The bent-back was of moderate strength at best, though Bellingham did report brief heavy rain out of this feature from 11:08 to 11:10, then moderate rain up to 12:00, which totalled 0.15" from 11:53 to 12:00. Wind gusts out of 290 reached 18 mph at 11:53 HRS. Source: Satellite photo is courtesy of the University of Washington Archives for weather data. Bellingham's rain data is from the National Weather Service, Seattle office, METAR reports. The peak gusts for this windstorm are shown in the map below, Figure 4. This cyclone lashed the immediate coastline of Oregon and Southwest Washington with 55 to 75 mph gusts, the Willamette Valley and Southwest Washington Interior with 30 to 45 mph gusts, the Eastern Puget Sound region with 45 to 60 mph gusts and Washington's North Interior, San Juans and Strait of Juan De Fuca with 20 to 35 mph gusts. The cyclone's track, which carried the center south of Bellingham, spared Washington's northern regions the strong winds seen in the Puget Sound. For interior sections, the Sound was in the ideal location for high winds with this storm, being south of the center, and very close, where gradients were at their steepest. Source: Peak gusts are primarily from the National Weather Service, Eureka, Portland and Seattle offices, METAR reports, plus some from spotter reports, and National Data Buoy Center, realtime meteorological data. Wind and pressure conditions are plotted for Sea-Tac and Portland in Figures 5 and 6, below. Conditions were quite similar between the two observation sites, indluding wind duration and direction. The differences are in lower pressures at Sea-Tac, with faster winds. And Seattle's barometer climbed at a faster rate as the low pulled away. These differences were probably due to Sea-Tac's closer proximity to the cyclone's center. Source: Hourly data are from the National Weather Service, Portland and Seattle offices, METAR reports. Wind and pressure conditions are plotted for Quillayute and Astoria in Figures 7 and 8, below. Conditions were dramatically different between the two observation sites. Astoria experienced a long period of southerly winds which quickly escalated to 25 to 35 mph with gusts of 50 to 60 as the barometer began to climb. Quillayute underwent a brief period of southeast to south winds which could barely manage 10 to 15 mph with gusts of 15 to 30 at the bottom of the pressure curve. These southerly winds died down as the pressure began to climb. Not shown on the meteograms, the temperature at Astoria climbed from 39 F at 23:29 HRS on the 26th to 56 F by 02:55 on the 27th during the maximum southerly winds, while at Quillayute it escalated from a low of 37 F at 23:53 HRS on the 26th to 49 F by 08:53 HRS on the 27th. Heavy rain accompanied the southerly winds at Quillayute, amounting to 0.19" between 06:53 and 07:53, strongly suggesting that the storm's leading occlusion was to blame for the southerly winds. Astoria, being further south, appears to have been south of the triple-point, and experienced the classic warm-front cold-front scenario outlined in the Norwegian model of cyclogenesis. In other words, Quillayute got a brief diluted taste of the warm air racing northward around the east side of the storm before the center made landfall around 10:00. Landfall, with the storm's center just south of Quillayute, is marked by the brief period of low wind between 08:53 and 09:53. The barometer started rising before this, suggesting that the low had already begun to weaken from terrain interference even before it made landfall. The 10:53 time period is marked by a sudden escalation of west-northwest winds to sustained values of 20 mph gusting to 28. A pressure surge of about 0.12" per hour for two consecutive hours accompanied this wind, and the temperature fell back to 39 F by 11:00. Quillayute was overrun by the cyclone's bent-back occlusion. Astoria's wind shifted to nearly westerly by 10:55, and this continued up to 12:55 with a lowering of temperature to 45 F by 11:55, all the mark of the storm's trailing cold front. A Maximum Vigilant anemometer with a Nor'Easter set as a repeater was used to take wind readings at my home. The sensor is about 26 feet above ground level, with a 250 foot site elevation. The methodology was simple: During a 4-minute observation window starting at the time of record, a set of 20 consecutive Nor'Easter readings were noted, usually during minute one to two, to calculate a single 1-minute average. The Nor'Easter samples every 3.4 seconds, so an average of 20 samples is actually a [(20-1)*3.4] 64.6-second value. Peak gusts on the Vigilant were also noted for the 4-minute period, as well as temperature, pressure, cloud and rain condtions. Between the main observation times, which were typically done each half hour, the Vigilant was monitored nearly continuously, with all gusts of 30 mph or more, and their times, noted. There was no attempt to calculate 1-minute averages between the main observations. Since many of the highest gusts occurred outside the regular obs, the highest 1-minute speeds were not masured. One-minute winds probably reached 22 to 25 mph during times of sustained 30-35 mph gusts, which sometimes lasted 5 to 10 seconds. Wind direction was determined by observing a string--tied to the anemometer mast at 23'--during a brisk wind period, and by the sway of nearby trees. In Table 1, below, the format is similar to the NWS x G y P z notation, with x being the 1-minute wind (NWS 2-minute), y being the peak instant gust in the 4-minute window (NWS peak 5-second gust in a 10-minute window) and z being the peak gust since the last observation. Winds tend to be particularly gusty at this location, especially when compared to the official sensors located among the open runways of airports. Mt. Tabor, who's peak is to the south-southeast, and who's forested western shoulder stretches out to the south, probably accounts for some of the turbulence, as do local trees, homes, powerlines and businesses. The NWS forecast for the Portland area as early as 09:40 on December 26, 2002 was for winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 by the morning of the 27th, almost 24 hours ahead of the actual event. I'd say this excellent job of forecasting verified quite nicely at my home. As did the forecasts for many areas of the Pacific Northwest for this storm. What follows is a brief look at some of the National Weather Service forecast discussions about the December 27, 2002 storm. These were collected from the Portland and Seattle offices as the storm progressed. For the sake of brevity, material that wasn't directly related to the cyclone's development has been cut from these forecasts. .SYNOPSIS...A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPING IN THE PACIFIC WILL TRACK NORTHEAST TONIGHT...MOVING OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF VANCOUVER ISLAND MIDDAY FRIDAY. THE LOW WILL TRACK INTO SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND BRING THE POTENTIAL OF DAMAGING WINDS TO MUCH OF WESTERN WASHINGTON. FRIDAY...NOGAPS AND CANADIAN MODELS RELATIVELY WEAK WITH THE INCOMING STORM WHEN COMPARED TO THE GFS AND ESP THE MESOETA. TRACK OF ALL MDLS RANGE FROM SRN VANC ISL TO CENTRAL WA COAST. NRN TRACKS WOULD BE IDEAL EVEN IF SFC PRES ISN'T AS GOOD AS WOULD WANT...HOWEVER SRN TRACK FORECAST BY CANADIAN REGIONAL AND SOMEWHAT BY THE NOGAPS RUN ARE WORRYSOME AS THIS WOULD CAUSE STRONGEST WINDS TO BE CONFINED SOUTH OF OUR AREA. NOW HAVE SOMEWHAT DISTURBNG TREND OF THE GFS IN WEAKENING THE LOW 5MB FROM 00Z RUN TO 06Z RUN WITH A SLIGHT SHIFT OT THE SE. WAS ALL SET TO JUMP ON A WARNING FOR THE COAST FOR FRIDAY TO GIVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF LEADTIME AND MATCHUP WITH SRN OFFICES...BUT THINK I'LL BACK AWAY AND LEAVE AS A WATCH AT THE MOMENT AND LET THE DAYSHIFT THROW UP THE WARNING LATER THIS MORNING AFTER A LOOK AT THE 12Z RUNS. STILL THINK WARNING WINDS A GOOD BET...JUST NOT QUITE 80% AT THIS TIME. WILL LEAVE THE WIND WATCH ALONE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FA AS WELL AS STILL UNSURE ON STRENGTH OF WINDS AND TIME OF OCCURANCE IS A BIT TOO FAR OUT THERE. The tracks for the computer-model low were all over the Washington coast. In a general sense, the models were producing reasonable depictions of events on December 27, 2002, with a low moving onto the Washington coast. But the fine details of storm track can make a big difference for specific forecast regions. A low tracking over Astoria would mean much lower winds on the South Washington Coast compared to a low tracking across Quillayute. The southern track would tend to spare places like Long Beach and Hoquiam from damaging winds. The northern track would leave the two locations exposed to the low's southern side, the zone of highest risk for damaging winds during these cyclone events. Thus the reluctance to jump on a wind warning for the Washington Coast at this time. The Portland forecasters were in a better position, as the models were showing the storm moving north of Oregon, allowing for better confidence in issuing coastal warnings. .SYNOPSIS...A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPING IN THE PACIFIC WILL TRACK NORTHEAST TONIGHT...MOVING OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF VANCOUVER ISLAND MIDDAY FRIDAY. THE LOW WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL OF DAMAGING WINDS TO MUCH OF WESTERN WASHINGTON. .DISCUSSION...ALL EYES ARE ON A DEVELOPING 997 MB LOW LOCATED ABOUT 50 MILES EAST OF BUOY 46006...AT 41N/137W. WHILE MODELS APPEAR A MB OR TWO WEAK WITH THE CENTRAL PRESSURE AND ABOUT 30-40 KT WEAK WITH THE STRENGTH OF THE 300 MB JET...THE MESOETA AND GFS APPEAR RATHER WELL INITIALIZED. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS GOOD DARKENING TAKING PLACE 41N/139W. WIND DIRECTION ALIASES FROM QUICKSCAT 12Z PASS APPEAR INCORRECTLY APPLIED PER BUOY OBS. BEST TRACK/STRENGTH WITH SOME DEVELOPMENT AS SEEN BY LOOP...MODEL...OBS WOULD TAKE CENTER OF LOW TO NEAR CAPE FLATTERY 18Z FRI AT 985 MB. BUT THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF UNCERTAINTY. WHILE I DISCOUNT THE VERY WEAK CANADIAN SOLUTIONS THAT TRACK THE SYSTEM INTO THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT 995 MB...THE 12Z GFS SHOWS SECONDARY DEVELOPMENT AT THE BASE OF THE 500 MB TROF ALONG 140W AS ANOTHER LOW TRACKS INTO THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER AROUND 998 MB SAT. THIS APPEARS TO BE STEALING ENERGY FROM THE LEAD SYSTEM OF INTEREST AND INHIBITS PRES RISES BEHIND THAT WEAKER SYSTEM AS IT TRACKS INTO BRITISH COLUMBIA. GIVEN UNCERTAINTIES...WILL MAINTAIN THE HIGH WIND WATCH FOR ALL OF WWA FRI. WILL MAKE FUTURE DECISIONS ON WARNINGS BASED ON OFFSHORE BUOY OBS AND SATELLITE IMAGERY. The mid-morning Seattle discussion doesn't show much change in the uncertainty for the Washington forecasters, though a track into Southern Vancouver Island was favored, and the extreme southern track suggested by the Canadian model was thrown away. .SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF PACIFIC STORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE NORTH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT...FOLLOWED BY A COLD FRONT FRIDAY...THE ASSOCIATED LOW PRESSURE AREA WITH THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL PRODUCE STRONG WINDS ALONG THE COAST AND COAST RANGES TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. A PARADE OF ADDITIONAL PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEMS WILL FOLLOW INTO NEXT WEEK. During the afternoon of the 26th, the exact strength of the low was becoming a bigger issue than track, as a wave on the storm's frontal system threatened to sap some of the energy from the lead storm. Oregon, assuming a track into Southern Vancouver Island, would be on the periphery of the storm's strongest gradients. A deeper low could put Oregon under a stronger gradient situation, which could make the difference for high winds being limited just to the coast, or having broader coverage into the Coast Range. A really big storm moving on the Southern Vancouver Island track could even bring damaging wind to the Willamette Valley, but in the case of the December 27th low, this had been determined to be unlikely. .SYNOPSIS...A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPING OFF THE SOUTHERN OREGON COAST WILL TRACK NORTHEAST TONIGHT...MOVING TO NEAR CAPE FLATTERY MIDDAY FRIDAY. THE LOW WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL OF DAMAGING WINDS TO MUCH OF WESTERN WASHINGTON. In the Seattle Area Forecast Discussion, the MM5/MESOETA model struck gold, as thie actual path of the December 27th storm was very close to the one suggested during this model run. Of course, the forecasters didn't know that this MM5's track was close to the eventual real one, and the synopsis still suggests that the low would pass over Cape Flattery and into Southern Vancouver Island. .SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF PACIFIC STORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE NORTH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT...FOLLOWED BY A COLD FRONT FRIDAY. .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...BUOY REPORTS AND S OREGON COAST METARS INDICATE MODELS APPEAR TO BE ON TRACK WITH THE LOW EXPECTED TO TRACK NE TO THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA BY FRI MORNING. CENTRAL PRES AT 46002 DOWN TO 995 MB BY 03Z WITH THE LOW CENTER TO THE W. WINDS AT K4S1 UP TO 41G61KTS S OF THE WARM FRONT THIS EVENING. OVERALL WINDS FORECAST APPEAR TO BE ON TRACK...AND WITH THE WARM FRONT MOVING UP OVERNIGHT THROUGH THE N AND CENTRAL OREGON CASCADES...WILL UPGRADE THAT AREA TO A HIGH WIND WARNING. .DISCUSSION...HIGH WIND SCENARIO STILL ON TRACK THIS EVENING. WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY THE LAST FEW HOURS SHOWS SUBSIDENCE BEHIND THE LOW INTENSIFYING AS EVIDENCED BY THE DARKENING OF THE DRY SLOT BEHIND THE LOW. GFS SLIGHTLY BETTER AS FAR AS INITIALIZATION GOES BUT AT 06Z DEEPER MESOETA WILL VERIFY BETTER. ONLY SMALL DIFFERENCES IN THE TRACK OF THE LOW WITH THE GFS TAKING THE LOW INLAND JUST A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH THAN THE MESOETA. EITHER WAY TRACK STILL KEEPS THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG WINDS ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON TOMORROW. MODEL CROSS SECTIONS CONTINUE TO INDICATE GOOD FLOW REVERSAL EARLY FRIDAY MORNING IN THE FOOTHILLS. EAST TO WEST CROSS CASCADE GRADIENT INCREASING RAPIDLY TONIGHT. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE WITH THE TRACK OF THE LOW. IN ADDITION THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF MOUNTAIN WAVE ACTIVITY. WILL UPGRADE TO HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE FOOTHILLS WITH THE HIGH WINDS EXPECTED TO BEGIN AROUND 12Z FRIDAY MORNING. NEXT CHANGE IN THE FORECAST IS FOR THE NORTHWEST INTERIOR. TRACK OF THE LOW WILL SWITCH THE WINDS TO NORTHEAST OVERNIGHT. DEW POINT TEMPERATURES ALREADY NEAR FREEZING AT 05Z WITH THE NORTHEAST WINDS BRINGING MORE COOL DRY AIR INTO THE AREA. ONSET OF PRECIPITATION WILL OVERRUN THIS SHALLOW LAYER OF COOL AIR FRIDAY MORNING. WILL GO FOR RAIN AND SNOW MIXED IN THE MORNING NORTH OF MOUNT VERNON. LAYER OF COOL AIR WILL BE SCOURED OUT QUICKLY ONCE THE WINDS TURN SOUTHEASTERLY. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA THE WATCH WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL SWITCH TO SOUTHWEST MID MORNING OVER THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR AND MIDDAY ACROSS THE STRAIT AND NORTHWEST INTERIOR. WIND SPEEDS WILL QUICKLY INCREASE TO 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH AFTER THE WIND SHIFT. THE STRONG WINDS WILL THEN BEGIN TO SUBSIDE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO QUICKLY DIMINISH THIS EVENING...BECOMING LIGHT OVERNIGHT. THE WIND IS EXPECTED TO BE STRONGER THAN WHAT OCCURRED ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE INTERIOR AREAS. HOWEVER...THE DURATION WILL BE SHORTER THAN ON CHRISTMAS...WITH STRONG WINDS LASTING ONLY A FEW HOURS RATHER THAN MOST OF THE DAY. SOME TREE DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE WARNING AREA TODAY. There were two regions covered by this high wind warning where the heavy winds did not occur. Washington's Southwest Interior, including Kelso, Chehalis and Olympia, experienced peak wind gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range. This despite the fact that nearby places such as Shelton, with a peak of 47 mph, and Tacoma, with a peak of 51 mph, had gusts more in line with the forecast. The lack of high winds in this region is hard to explain when gusts across the Willamette Valley were equally as high, if not higher, and just to the north, in the Puget Sound region, the high wind warning fully verified. The other region missed by this cyclone's gale winds was Washington's Northwest Interior, including Bellingham, Friday Harbor, Port Townsend, Port Angeles and Sequim. These places appear to have had peak gusts in the 20 to 35 mph range, due to the fact that the low tracked just south the region. This exemplifies the difficulties in wind forecasting--a track difference of just 25 miles either north or south would have altered conditions enough to have changed the actual results, putting new areas under the gun, and sparing others. Overall, despite the nitpicks, the forecast in the 30 hours leading up to the storm were clearly well done. Table 2, below, lists the barometric minimums for the December 27, 2002 storm at selected sites. Many Pacific Northwest windstorms have produced lower readings. The most depressed pressures during this storm were near the Washington shore, and included 29.22" at 07:00 at Buoy 46041 near Cape Elizabeth, and 29.24" at Destruction Island from 05:00 to 07:00. Table 3, below, lists the maximum gradients for some standard measures during the December 27, 2002 cyclone. Compared to big storms in the past, none of these readings are particularly extreme. The PDX-SEA measure of +10.7 mb approached some of the more extreme values in history, but still fell short of storms such as January 20, 1993 with an astounding +15.4 at 10:00, January 16-17, 1986 with +11.7 at 00:00 HRS, November 24, 1983 with +12.6 at 12:00 HRS, December 14, 1977 with +12.3 at 17:00 HRS, March 25-26, 1971 with +11.1 at 11:00 HRS, and November 3, 1958 with a strong +13.6 at 20:00 HRS. The December 27, 2002 storm did, however, exceed the November 15, 1981 storm, which produced a peak PDX-SEA gradient of +9.7 at 15:00 HRS, and the major windstorm of November 13-14, 1981, which produced a peak of just +10.4 mb due to the storm center's distance offshore. Other storms that weren't quite at the level of the December 27, 2002 event include February 12-13, 1979 with a peak PDX-SEA gradient of +7.9 mb at 01:00 HRS, January 19-20, 1964 with +7.2 at 17:00 HRS, and even October 12, 1962 with +9.9 at 20:0--the latter probably for reasons similar to November 13-14, 1981. Another measure for storms that track across the Olympic Peninsula and/or South Vancouver Island is the longer PDX-BLI gradient. Table 4, below, ranks a number of memorable, and not-so-memorable, storms by this measure. The December 27, 2002 storm ranks a meager 14th place in this incomplete list of windstorms from 1934 to present. Some of this has to do with the fact that the storm's center tracked south of Bellingham, which probably had a reducing effect on the peak gradient. The PDX-BLI gradient might have reached +13 to +14 mb if the track had been more ideal, with the low center passing right over Bellingham. The +22.7 mb for the October 21, 1934 storm was taken from spotty pressure data, and could have been higher--the mark of one of the top most powerful storms of the 20th century. Table 5, below, lists the peak wind and gust for eleven key stations in the Pacific Northwest, their direction, and their time of occurrence. "Peak Wind" is a 2-minute average, and "Peak Gust" is a 5-second average. By my own personal methodology, a wind event rates the term "windstorm" when the average peak gust of these eleven stations reaches 39.0 mph (gale force) or higher. The December 27, 2002 cyclone just barely made the cut, and is a minor windstorm. Moderate windstorms have an average of 45.0 to 54.9, and major windstorms are those that reach or exceed 55.0. Only a handful of storms have made the majors, including December 12, 1995, November 14, 1981 and October 12, 1962. Bellingham was the big loser during the December 27, 2002 wind event. The highest gusts occurred with the pre-storm northeasterlies five hours before the cyclone made landfall. Sea-Tac stands out strongly among the interior stations for top winds, and the Oregon Coast clearly took the brunt of the storm. Interestingly, the averages for this event are almost exactly one-half of the average 49.7 mph 1-minute wind and 80.5 peak instant gust velocities achieved by the for the Columbus Day Storm. The Big Blow of 1962, on average, struck with about four times the force! Note, however, that the newer 5-second gust adopted by the NWS muddies the kind of comparison that I describe here. See "Adjustments to Modern Storms." Information for this sentence, and those following, is from "Winds roar over region, toppling trees," Oregonian, December 28, 2002, Metro/NW, pages E1 and E6. Information in this paragraph is from the Seattle Times article, "Windstorm whips region: 10-year-old killed; gusts litter area with debris," from the newspaper's online archives.

2019-04-19T06:53:49Z

http://www.climate.washington.edu/stormking/December272002.html

Shaper Kumena dashed through the undergrowth, his heart pounding. He was barely using his magic—just a nudge here and there so that the undergrowth helped his passage rather than hindering it. Any greater act of spellcraft would have led Tishana straight to him. He could feel it. He was nearing the golden city of Orazca, the resting place of the Immortal Sun. His rivals were behind him, and victory lay ahead. Kumena plunged into a nearby river and swam with the current. The power of the golden city grew nearer, greater, and somehow brighter. He could hear water rushing over some immense structure ahead of him. The waterfall surprised him—the water here felt as if it had only recently been tugged in a separate direction. The river widened. Ahead the water dropped away over the lip of a vast waterfall, and Kumena swam with the current until he stopped himself at an outcropping of gold. The ankle-deep water rushed past, and strange golden spires pierced the treetops of the valley before him. On a shelf of rock across a thin, semicircular canyon, golden spires rose out of the jungle. Kumena made his way around the canyon's rim. Water tumbled into the gorge far below, carried away by a subterranean river. How far and wide does that unseen channel run? he wondered. Does it dwarf the Great River itself? Kumena contemplated what forces lay hidden beneath Ixalan's surface. Orazca itself was massive, but he kept losing sight of it. (Him! A Shaper, the embodiment of his namesake river!) Kumena was impressed at the magic inherent in this place and its ability to remain hidden for so long. He picked his way around its perimeter until at last he reached its entrance: a massive staircase with a great archway at the top. His heart raced and fins quivered. Who else had climbed this staircase in the last few hundred years? Had anyone? What was its original purpose? Why was it built? No, not why. He knew why. They built it for this moment, for him to climb. The stones beneath his feet rippled with power, but it was his own power reflecting back at him. Kumena ascended to the golden city at last. He reached the archway at the top of the stairs, and the sun that shone through nearly blinded him. Gold. It really is made of gold. But gold did not interest him. Eyes watched him from the shadows, animals that made their homes in these strangely pristine ruins. They did not interest him either. He stepped into the golden city. He could feel his power growing already, and he knew with certainty that his rivals were not far behind him now. Light shone from every surface, and the sun warmed his skin. It felt like coming home. Kumena was gripped by a sudden feeling of certainty. He knew where the Immortal Sun sat. It wanted to be found. "Kumena," a voice whispered from the golden walls. "Kumena the Shaper, child of the Great River, leader of your people. Come set me free." Could it be? All this time, the golden city was a prison, not a stronghold? "Who's there?" shouted Kumena. "How do you know me?" He turned, and in the shining golden facades of the city he swore he saw something move. He could not make out what it was—neither animal nor person. He wondered with alarm if it was just a trick of the light. "I know you very well," said the voice, louder now. "Come to me." "How?" said Kumena. "Where are you?" There were reflections in the gold, of a thing that was not there. A face? "Listen," said the voice. "Look. Follow." The voice was deep and commanding, the voice of a leader. It was his own. "Is this trickery?" he asked. "Or am I lost to madness?" The faces were his as well, a thousand tiny golden selves shining at him, eyes alight. "Neither," said the voice. "There is power here, Kumena. The power that was intentionally designed . . . but also an additional, inert power. A still pond. A mirror in darkness. It can do nothing . . ." ". . . without my own power to reflect," Kumena finished. "Is that it?" "Follow," said the voice, and the many golden reflections of Kumena's own face echoed it. "Follow." "I am the Sun, Kumena. As you will be. Follow." It was a command, delivered with all the force of his own convictions. A labyrinth stretched out before him, serpentine corridors of stone and gold meandering off into the distance. Kumena entered the labyrinth and walked steadily, in a meditative trance, following the call of the Immortal Sun around every twist and turn. With every step, his power grew. Every surface was limned in brilliant light. It was too bright, too warm. His fins began to curl and desiccate, his gills grew dry, and still the sun did not move in the sky. Kumena approached a central tower, a gigantic temple. He wandered around it, sensing that this was where the power lay. On one side was a massive, intricate door, its entrance marked with a great seal and a complex lock. But the other side, the side facing a large central plaza, has a simple door leading to a simple staircase. The way to the top. Kumena shivered, though he was not cold, and elected to take the path of least resistance. Up and up, one finned foot in front of the other, until he reached the top. He stepped into the chamber, and beheld the Immortal Sun. It did not look as he expected—a dull-glowing stone surrounded by gold, and embedded in the floor, of all places. A great open window looked out on the city beyond, and if one were to stand on top of the Immortal Sun, one would be able to see the entire city. The Immortal Sun looked like nothing more than a strange decoration in the floor, but it felt . . . it felt like a mirror, not a light. The light was his. Kumena stepped onto the Immortal Sun and took that power, his power. The ground shifted beneath him, and his perspective shifted with it. He was vast, all-encompassing. The shaping magic he dedicated his life to mastering now seemed a fraction of what he was capable of, the digging of children in the sand. He could feel all of Orazca and beyond. What fools the River Heralds had been, to let this power sit unused! The city was hidden, but it was not fortified, and his rivals had no doubt already tracked him to the central spire. Kumena had reached Orazca far too easily, and they would arrive soon. He could feel them, crawling like ants, though they were far too insignificant for him to identify who among them was whom. He flexed his fingers, and the city lurched upward, separating from the rock around it. The ground shook. Spires hidden for centuries reached upward through the jungle, and the little canyon behind the city yawned wider and farther, surrounding the city like a moat. Rivers plunged into it. Veins of gold beneath the earth ripped open—vast riches, not that Kumena cared. It was nothing but useless metal to him, just a part of the city's absurd bounty, for which he had no need or use. The creatures within the city stirred. The ants beyond it shifted and scurried toward it. They had all been racing for the golden city, but the race was over. The fight for Orazca had begun, and Kumena would not see his people wiped from the face of Ixalan. Quite the opposite. Quite the opposite, now that he had claimed what was rightfully his. Outside himself, around himself, bathed in golden light, Kumena began to laugh. His laugh was cut short by a noise behind him. Kumena turned his physical form, the one that stood atop the Immortal Sun, and locked eyes with a vampire. She was grinning, and her collar was covered in dry blood. Kumena curled his toes and centered his weight. "It is not yours to take, vampire," he warned. "One conquistador is no match for me." "How about two?" she teased. "What do you say, Mavren Fein?" she tossed over her shoulder. "I say the Butcher of Magan is right in the eyes of the Church to cleanse that which stands in her path," a voice said in response. Kumena saw a second shape come up the stairs. He was a hierophant, with long flowing robes and a staff taller than himself. Kumena began to feel afraid. The two vampires rushed at him. Kumena began to conjure a defense, but was tackled to the floor. The vampires scratched and bit, and one of their swords sliced a long line into Kumena's side. He tried to wrestle the two of them off, but with each push away they would snap their jaws and attempt to hold him in place. Mavren Fein and Vona yanked him closer and reached with their glistening teeth for his neck. This is not how I end. I will not allow them the satisfaction of my blood! Kumena wrestled, struggling from their grasp, and looked toward the window. Vona laughed above him. "You don't want to assist us in our most holy mission?" Kumena spat in her face, and Vona's smile grew even wider. "Then you will die another way," she hissed. She gripped his flesh with unnatural strength, and before Kumena could react, she threw him out the window. Kumena's eyes went wide, and as he fell through the window he saw Vona above him, grinning with manic malice. Jace lay in agony on the riverbank. His hair was matted with his own blood, and his eyes shone with uncontrolled magic. Vraska swam toward him, spitting out dirty water and squinting over the spray of the waterfall. The rocks at the base of the waterfall were jagged and massive—it was a miracle Jace had survived at all. Vraska knew a serious injury could cause memory loss or make problem-solving difficult. One of her fellow assassins in the Ochran had grown quick-tempered after such a blow when she was younger. Jace was a telepath and an illusionist—his brain was his instrument. Vraska knew she was witnessing what happened when that instrument was damaged, and the result was not a weakening, but rather a dislodging of whatever valve prevented his mind from containing itself. He broadcasted his memories now in bursts and stops, clearly trying to wrestle them back under control. It's over, Vraska thought. He is going to remember everything—our fight, my profession, his title. He will hate me, surely. Gorgons are meant to be despised. Vraska cursed and swam toward her friend with a mournful feeling building in her chest. The image was of a plane Vraska had never visited. There was a massive barrier made of white brick against a turbulent sky. The right side of the gate was tainted with a strange bismuth stain, as if a great brush of disease had been painted across its top. There was a breach at the entrance, and water from the sea poured into a demolished harbor as bits of the destroyed gate floated up and off and into the sky. Vraska screamed in pain as the image tore through her mind. It felt like a migraine magnified, a piercing ache and flashes of aura that threatened to freeze her muscles as she fought the current. It was less of an illusion and more of an immersion. She felt like she was there. The image vanished as her feet touched the riverbed below. She yelled Jace's name to try and distract him, but it was no use. Vraska pulled herself out and clambered toward Jace on the shore. She knelt at his side and tentatively reached out to him with a reassuring hand. Vraska staggered and caught herself with her hands on the ground. Vraska shut her eyes tightly. She wasn't entirely certain which end of the exchange she was on. It was tremendously disorienting. She looked to Jace with a crease in her brow. "Jace, we need to find whoever awakened the city. You need to make an illusion so our crew can find us!" The mind mage shut his eyes and Vraska saw what spilled up and out of his memories. The sound of the river vanished and the hot air of the jungle turned chill. She saw a dark interior, steel-lined walls, and a half-metal man. The air had a metallic tang, and there was just enough light in the room for her to make out the gaps between the metal sections of the strange man's abdomen. Jace was on the ground below. He looked thin and world-weary, just a few years younger than he did now. The man dropped to one knee. He gripped Jace's hair in a shiny metal fist. "I'm going to make damn sure you learn from this debacle." Vraska watched as the man pulled up Jace's shirt and dragged a manablade in long, arrow-straight lines down his back, then one single line down his right forearm. She cringed in horror as Jace screamed. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart beat like a bird caught in a cage. She knew what it felt like to be tortured. She felt hideously guilty—how could she have not recognized that shared hurt in him before? Empathy gripped her chest, and Vraska let out a shivering breath. The sight of Jace and the knife brought back memories of her own she dared not touch, not now, not when their minds were mixed like this. The real Jace gasped, and Vraska's perception of reality flickered back to the sunny riverbank on Ixalan. He was doubled over, hands gripping his own bloodied hair. Vraska had no idea what to do. She wanted to comfort but didn't know how, so she attempted to talk him back to a place of control. "It's a memory, Jace—it's not happening now. You're safe. " Vraska saw bright shimmering lights and felt a deep pain in her head once again. By now she had gathered that this was what signaled another influx of sensory immersion and braced for the impact. She staggered as another illusion took hold. The world rippled, fluid as water, until it settled into an illusion of a dim alleyway. Vraska's sighed in relief. A familiar sight. Ravnica was before her once again. The Jace in front of her was pathetically young. He couldn't have been older than fifteen, and he was seated on a broken chair amid rubble. Vraska recognized the area as one under Gruul control, given the copious amounts of both trees and recently destroyed buildings. Firelight filtered in through ragged hanging canvas, and a haggard-looking Gruul shaman stood nearby busying himself with an enchantment on his own hand. The shaman's arms were covered from shoulder to wrist with tattoos of the city streets. The teenage Jace seated in the chair had the look about him of someone who wanted to disappear and wish someone more imposing into his place. His outfit was disheveled, the cut of it unfamiliar. Vraska sensed in the fabric of the memory that this version of Jace had arrived in Ravnica for the first time only days before. The Gruul shaman's hand was glowing brilliant white. "This your first?" he grunted. It took Jace a moment too long to answer. "Yes," he said timidly. Vraska couldn't help but smile at this memory. He was the wimpiest teenager she had ever seen—no wonder he wanted a cool tattoo. It was incredibly charming. She remembered her own young street rat years and grinned at the thought of how well the teenage her and the teenage Jace would have gotten along. We'd have torn up the town, she thought with mirth. No bookshop would have been safe. "Then take a swig of that," the shaman said in the memory, pointing at a bottle on the young illusion-Jace's left. "This'll hurt like a Rakdos comedy." Vraska chuckled at the simile as Jace followed the artist's instructions. He made a face at its taste (she didn't blame him for that) and put on a look of determination. The shaman leaned over the teenager and drew a line with his finger down Jace's cheek, leaving a brilliant white tattoo in its place. He continued on his chin and arm, and Vraska watched as the shaman diligently painted a braver face on the nervous teenager's own. She caught a glimpse of the paper the shaman was referencing. A series of symbols was hastily sketched on it—symbols she recognized from this Jace's future cloak. An elongated ring, open at the bottom, with a circle floating in the middle. She wondered what its significance was. The illusion shattered, then vanished, leaving the rush of the waterfall and the shimmering gold of Orazca in its wake. Vraska's perception was wavering, and everything had an artificial glint to it, as if the accidental illusions were smearing across reality even now. Her hands were still gripping the mud of the riverbank, physically clinging to what was real. "Jace, you're safe and all right, but I need you to make an illusion so our crew can find us." But Jace was still unreachable. His eyes remained bright with magic, and strength had not returned to his limbs. Vraska could see his chest rise and fall with each shuddering breath. He inhaled sharply as another wave of memory washed over him, then went utterly still in response to whatever he was seeing, his lips parted in shock. The light above them dimmed as an illusion of this new memory coalesced into being, bringing with it the weight of dusk and the scent of too-ripe apples. Vraska found herself in a small bedroom with bare walls and two chairs in front of the fire. She wasn't sure what plane she was on, but that was irrelevant. This room was a world unto itself, the furniture its continents, the rug its ocean, as if nothing outside of the space mattered. Dust clung to the windowsill, and a half-empty basket of fruit sat by the door, boasting a collection of bruised apples. Jace was there, naturally, and his face was lit by the cozy-looking fire. The texture of the memory was velvety and welcoming, but Vraska saw no joy in the scene. Jace was seated in front of the fire, across from a woman in violet. Everything about the woman's body language exuded boredom, but Jace was leaning forward, rapt with interest. Vraska felt deeply uncomfortable. This was an intimate moment. She was not meant to see this. "I never want to play chess again," Jace said, rubbing his temples. The woman regarded him with intense disinterest. "Chess is tedious," she said in dull agreement. Jace's cloak was hanging on the coatrack. His shoes were drying by the fire. Vraska knew she shouldn't watch, yet she knew she couldn't leave. Jace's left index finger was tapping a rapid, unconscious rhythm on his thigh. His voice was tentative. Uncertain. "What you said back on Innistrad, about when I die . . ." The woman's long hair tumbled over half of her face. Her lipstick was end-of-the-day faded and her eyes betrayed an indifference that Vraska prayed this version of Jace would notice. "Hard to forget a conversation like that," said Jace. "You don't meddle in sentiment unless you mean it. So . . . did you mean it?" He paused, cautious. "Will you be sad when I die?" Jace was looking at the woman in violet attentively. Expectantly. Vraska's stomach lurched at the strangeness of the question. He had asked it as if he was unsure, even though the context of the moment around him implied that he and this woman were more than acquaintances. The woman in violet looked Jace in the eye, lids heavy, knees resting to the side. "I expect so," she said. A half sentiment. A bone for the dog. "What we had, whatever you want to call it . . . it's worth that much, at least." Vraska's mouth hung open. That's it? The woman's cruel dismissal of an honest plea for affection told Vraska everything she needed to know about her. Vraska's tendrils knotted in discomfort, but she couldn't look away from this poor man, this woman, this dreadful little room. "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Jace replied. The woman in violet laughed. As though it were a joke. As though he hadn't said it with a desperate yearning for her approval written plainly on his face. Vraska felt like a home invader. This domestic play of profound imbalance wasn't meant for her to see. "You should go back. The others will notice if you don't come home tonight," said the woman. Jace shrugged. "It's just past sunset. I've got time." "Oh." The woman looked Jace over, visibly weighing some decision in her mind. She stood up suddenly and crossed the room toward her vanity. Vraska sidestepped her and watched as the woman opened a drawer. She pulled out a bottle and two glasses and returned to the fireside, deftly uncorking the decanter with one swift motion. "What should we drink to?" she asked. You don't pour a glass for someone you want to leave, Vraska thought as her stomach dropped. Jace was smiling. "A toast, to Emrakul," he quipped, "for doing our job for us." The woman lifted her half-filled glass and clinked it against his. She refilled their glasses to the brim. Vraska couldn't take her eyes off the other woman. For someone who hated chess, she sure looked at Jace with the icy scrutiny of a grand master. At last the woman in violet decided her play, disguising her probe with a lethargic sip from her glass. "Have you seen anyone since?" Vraska could hear the weight implied in that "since." The designation, the shared knowledge. "You got along well with the moonfolk woman," she added deliberately. Pawn to E4. The game behind the statement made Vraska want to claw her way out of the room. Jace swirled the liquid in his glass and his demeanor suddenly shifted. He glanced up at the woman in violet. "She's married." "Is she?" the woman said, superficially pleased at the revelation. She knew full well how aggressive her opening move had been. Knight to F3. Jace's nodded. "She was a scholar. Morally ambiguous. Married, and not what I'm looking for even if she weren't." The woman in violet was watching him closely. "And what are you looking for?" she asked. She's manipulating you into staying, Vraska wanted to scream. You're smart. She doesn't reciprocate your feelings. Don't fall for this. Jace leaned back in his chair and stared at her over his glass. With great trepidation and an uncharacteristic absence of logic, his answer fluttered out. "This isn't so bad." Vraska's heart ached. This was so bad, but he was too far lost to pull back the curtain of affection and see the bored cruelty of her intentions. "This is just two old acquaintances, relaxing after a victory," the woman responded. "Reminiscing about the good old days." Jace absently tugged on his right glove. "Those days weren't all good." "We weren't, either," the woman said in a hushed, dangerous tone. In a moment, the game transformed, chessboard tossed on the floor, metaphorical dice on the table. She was a gambler, floating an offer for one more round, one more bet, just for the hell of it, c'mon, fellas, what's the worst that could happen. "We're not together," the woman in violet added. "But you don't have to leave just yet." Jace looked up from his drink and met her gaze with a hopeful look. The woman topped up both of their glasses and lifted hers. "To new good old days," she said. To Vraska's relief, the illusion dissolved, and the riverbed returned. Vraska felt nauseated. Was there anyone in Jace's life who hadn't tried to take advantage of him or his talents? She was starting to worry. The attack of reminiscence was not easing up. "Jace, I'm so sorry. I wasn't supposed to see that last one, but I'm so sorry that woman . . ." A distant roar interrupted her. Vraska froze, alarmed by the immense noise in the distance. She stood and stared in the direction it had come from. It was most certainly a dinosaur, but of a size she did not know they could reach. "Jace . . . we need to move." Jace gasped in surprise, his eyes still blown out and blue with the flood of his own magic. He choked out a single word. "Vryn—" —and a massive circular structure blinked into Vraska's view. This place was Vraska's kind of beautiful. A gritty frontier on the edge of civilization. She knew without a doubt that this was Jace's home plane. Jace, I'm still seeing what you're seeing, I don't know how to help you! Vraska thought, desperately, hoping that Jace would be able to hear and respond telepathically. All she felt in return from him was a projected wave of absolute despair. Jace was entirely out of control. His older, deeper memories spilled from his mind in a difficult-to-follow torrent. A woman's face. Her skin was peachy and flecked with freckles, her chestnut hair pulled back from her tired eyes. She was reading to her toddler from a notebook as she wandered the tiny kitchen, excitedly explaining a new healing technique while peeling vegetables for dinner. A peel fell onto the page like a bookmark. The scene was awash with the smell of violets. The woman was lovely. Vraska didn't mind her view into this part of Jace's past—it was nice here. The same woman appeared again, this time wrestling a shoe onto a child's foot. Her toddler was whining and kicking before he suddenly reached down to tie his own laces with clumsy hands. The mother startled, as if she had never taught him how to do that. The flashes came more rapidly—the same woman over and over. Checking under her son's bed. A flash of reality—the true Jace was on the ground, his hands in his hair and his forehead pressed to the earth. He was consumed by the act of reliving, and Vraska realized in horror how many times Jace's mind had been tampered with. She saw his psychic mastery by the time he was thirteen (Vraska shivered—how the hell could he do that at thirteen?!), his fury at discovering what had been taken, his desolation as he realized how many times he had been manipulated. Encompassing, overwhelming, dominating it all . . . was a sphinx. The world around them violently lifted up and above to become a rooftop at dusk. Vraska's perception jolted, and she saw the memory through Jace's eyes. The same huge rings from earlier repeated out and out into the distance, the sky turned an angry gray, fat raindrops fell like pellets, and the sphinx Alhammarret was crouched to attack in front of her. She sensed Jace's bruises under his tunic, felt the panicked sweat on the back of his neck despite the biting cold. She felt Jace's past rage roil in her chest. She saw how this mentor had betrayed him, had manipulated and molded him into a tool to be used rather than a student to be taught. Vraska lost herself in the memory. She felt her mouth move with the words of a teenager. Her voice was masculine, young, just past its pubescent breaking point. "Help me find my limits. Pry the information out of me!" The sphinx stood on his hind legs, and Vraska felt it as they dove into each other's minds. Alhammarret seemed to freeze, his mind becoming as accessible as a bookcase. Deep within his brain was an ethereal structure, its construction complex: marble lining a nearly endless well. Vraska was captivated by the strangeness of what it felt like to wield a magic so different from her own. She and the past Jace both felt the strange marble of the well of Alhammarret's mind reach to attack. In a fraction of a second, a moment of instinct, Jace reached out defensively with his own mind. His power invisibly shot forth like a like a fist, like a hammer, then multiplied into a battering ram, aimed all its force at the sphinx's fragile mind, and broke it. That strike, in Alhammarret's mind, was more ruinous than any explosion, more destructive than any earthquake, more calamitous than any meteor. What was a well of weathered marble violently collapsed against itself in a catastrophic implosion that deafened the senses. But Jace had struck out too hungrily, too hard, and his own memories were ripped away in the process of psychic demolition. A long droning whine yanked Jace and Vraska out of the sphinx's mind and back to the rooftop in the driving rain. The massive body of the sphinx was prone, his eyes open wide with confusion. Alhammarret manually sucked in air, pushed it out, and began to scream. It was the terrified howl of an infant. A frightened wail at a world too large and too loud and astonishingly unfamiliar. He seemed unable to manipulate his limbs with any agency and shrieked even more, his massive wings thumping against the hard concrete of the roof. After every howl, he gasped for more air, and with each exhalation, he vocalized his terror and confusion. The past Jace fell to his knees as his own memories locked themselves away, and grasped the sobbing sphinx's head in his hands, feeling for the broken mess of Alhammarret's mind to try to piece it together. I did this, she felt Jace think to himself, I did this. The sphinx's screaming wouldn't stop. He stared with wide unblinking eyes and continuously wailed in horror at his own existence. Vraska shared Jace's alarm. Alhammarret had ruined him, abused him, torn his mind apart time after time, but what the sphinx was suffering now was a fate worse than death. Alhammarret deserved to perish, but no one deserved this. In that moment, Vraska felt as Jace began to instinctively planeswalk away. Jace's own injured mind was still actively locking itself away; it was like racing through a passageway of jagged rocks, and the faster Jace tried to planeswalk away to escape, the more memory was ripped from his sides, scraped from his psyche and torn away from himself. Gone was the face of his mother, his family, his home, his past. All that remained was the image of the sphinx's collar, an elongated ring, open at the bottom, with a circle floating in the middle. In the fabric of the memory—the one memory he would be left with—Vraska realized that symbol would be the only thing that would help him preserve his name, but nothing else. Vraska felt herself yanked up and out of the memory, violently expelled, and the illusions of the world sped by and dissipated. As fast as she had been sucked in, she was back on the rocks and mud next to the waterfall, standing in the sunshine under the spires of Orazca. The current Jace, the Jace she knew, the illusionist, pirate, and companion, was lost in grief on the riverbank. Vraska instantly dove to the ground and scooped him into her arms. He wept a lifetime's worth of tears. She held him tight, and tucked his head into the crook of her neck. It was the first time she had touched another person willingly in years. The sensation was alien and alarming, but utterly necessary. Jace sobbed and sobbed into her arms, and she gripped him all the tighter. He had spent more than half of his life with no memory of his entire childhood. He had forgotten so much. He had forgotten so many times. She held him for all the times she wished someone had held her when she was imprisoned. She hugged him close for every time she had asked for help and been hit in return. She had spent so much of her life alone and shut away, it was impossible for her to deny comfort to someone who, like her, had suffered such an immensity of hurt. Vraska looked up and saw an illusion of herself. The grime of the riverbank was traded for the brisk daylight of Stormwreck Sea. The gorgon had blossomed into a captain, and this Vraska was singing a Golgari folk song at the top of her lungs as her crew cleaned the ship. Everything about that moment was happy and pastel, and Vraska felt it as the past Jace tried to sing along with the strange melody. Vraska smiled, for she remembered that moment too. She remembered being surprised he could carry a tune as well as he did. The illusory Vraska transformed, and Vraska's hope collapsed in on itself. The memory of Vraska became crueler, uglier, snarling and furious. Her tendrils whipped at the air, and her dress seemed to be made of shadow. The grit of Ravnica towered over them, and Vraska saw herself through Jace's eyes. It was the first time they had met. The past Vraska was pointing at Jace, but it seemed to Vraska that her past was pointing directly at her, asking for an ally lest she retaliate with violence. Vraska felt Jace's fear, sensed his trepidation and fury. He didn't know what she meant to ask. He didn't know why she had done what she did. He did not know, and when he had looked at her then, he saw her only as a killer, a beast. Vraska felt sick. She hated seeing herself this way, like the monster the rest of the world saw when they looked at her. The gorgon in front of her was prepared to kill, and Vraska felt ashamed to see herself painted with such malice. It was all over. Jace was remembering everything, and once he was able to understand it all, he would see her as nothing but a monster, no matter how wonderful the last few months had been. The memory vanished and the riverbank returned. Vraska let go and backed away. Jace's convulsive tears were slowing, and fatigue was settling in. The illusions vanished. The glow of magic ceased. Jace pulled his hands away from his head and looked at the mixture of his own blood and the mud of the river that covered them. Vraska wanted to clutch him close until he was whole again. She wanted to planeswalk to the farthest corner of the Multiverse. She wanted both to hold him and to vanish, and she froze in the process of deciding which was the better option. Jace looked up at her, and his eyes were hopelessly red with grief. "You saw everything," Jace remarked in an empty voice. Vraska felt awful. "I saw what you couldn't contain." He looked away, embarrassed. "You're an assassin," he stated as the memory settled into place. "And a friend," she responded plainly, sadly. Jace's awareness was distant. He may have found a way to prevent his memories from spilling out again, but he was visibly struggling to his thoughts internally. His voice remained hollow. "Emmara. Nissa. I have so few friends . . ." Vraska's heart was aching. She didn't know what to say. He shut his eyes, grimacing in pain. The control was back. The lid was on, and he seemed determined not to show any more emotion. Either that or he had simply cried himself out. Vraska sensed it was the latter—he looked like he had run a marathon. She decided it was best to wait for him. Vraska shrugged off her coat and wrung the river water out of it. She checked herself for bruises and sprains, then craned her neck toward the staircase that led to the city above. All the while, Jace tried to calm himself. Every now and then, he sighed with the weight of memory, but the worst seemed to have passed. He shook his head gingerly. "It's not all back. There are gaps. I don't remember how I lost my memory, or how I got here." "Don't pick your scabs," Vraska said quietly, realizing half a moment too late how stupid and mundane her advice sounded. What could she say to someone who had just regained so many difficult memories? Vraska sat, choosing a spot several paces away from Jace. The sun was warm, and she could already feel it baking away the wetness of the river from her clothes. She looked at his tattoos and recognized them for what they were. Alhammarret's collar, the symbol to which he attached his name. Even as a teenager, Jace was clever enough to mark it on his skin to ensure he would never forget it. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you on Ravnica," she said. Jace made a pained noise and closed his eyes, shivering through another wave of pain. "I would have listened if you had explained why." He shifted uncomfortably. "The people you killed to get my attention back then . . ." "A murderer, a defiler, and a trafficker of innocents, with names that sounded like planes." She shrugged and shook her head firmly. "I don't regret their deaths, but I do regret thinking it was the only way to get you to listen to me." "I forgive you for trying to kill me," Jace said softly and honestly in return. "You were doing what you thought was right for your people." Neither of them could think of anything to say after that. Vraska stood up and began to pace the riverbank. For the first time she got a good look at the newly visible city of Orazca. The golden walls and spires reached high above even the tallest trees of the jungle, shining in the light of the sun. Vraska could make out etchings of great men and women on its sides. At the center of the city was a tower that dwarfed all the rest. She pulled out the compass, and sure enough, its light pointed an arrow-straight line toward the tower. From her vantage, she could see an endless staircase crawling from the other side of the brand-new river up to an archway above that would lead into the city. She looked back at Jace. He was extraordinarily still, his eyes looking far away in the distance. He seemed bolted in place on the riverbank, as though he was so heavy that no amount of wind could rip him from his grief. Vraska couldn't help but stare. He had gone from child prodigy to spy to victim only to have it all forcibly exorcised from his heart and mind. He had turned, lost and afraid, to people who preyed on the lost and afraid. He had been tortured, ignored, manipulated, and despite it all he was, nevertheless, intact. He had survived. "I've never known a version of myself with my memories unimpaired," Jace said, breaking his silence with weary honesty. "So many people manipulated me into hurting so many people. And sometimes I've done it of my own volition. It was so easy." Vraska knew firsthand how easy it was. "You have been hurt and manipulated and abused. You should have died so many times, and despite it all you did what you had to and survived. That is a miracle worth celebrating." Vraska's expression turned serious. "Do you remember the last three months?" Jace nodded. He smiled tightly. "It was the best three months of my life." Vraska dared not blink, lest the spell of utter honesty between the two of them be broken. "That Jace is one of the best people I've ever met." His glance turned into a stare. The expression in his eyes was one of disbelief. He was brilliant, sharp as a dagger and bright as a blaze, but he looked as though he did not understand how the compliment could be directed at him. As if he had already disqualified himself from being worthy of her praise. Vraska poured truth into her words as she spoke. "The Jace I met listened to me in a way that no one ever has. Do you realize how special that is? No one has ever listened to my story, or cared that I had one in the first place." She could see the glint of sadness in his eyes as he shook his head slightly, upset on her behalf. She continued, "That Jace believed that everyone has it within themselves to reinvent who they are. That Jace is still in you, and I think that Jace is who you really are." "That is who I would rather be," he said. "Don't you have a say in how you turn out?" "I want to believe I do, but how can I choose to be who you think I am when I remember how many times I've let people take advantage of me? How many people I've hurt . . ." "No one ever chooses to be a victim," Vraska interjected. "You are not weak because you were taken advantage of. And the cruelty of what they made you do reflects on them, not you." "I can't help feeling foolish." "I know. But you're not." Jace went quiet for a moment, remembering something that (thankfully) did not spill over into Vraska's mind. "My mother—" Jace's voice stuttered slightly, and he paused for a breath. "My mother wanted me to move to the city to be a scholar." Vraska smiled. Her words came slowly and deliberately. "You moved to a damn good city. And you became a damn good scholar," she said, pretending not to notice him fighting back the swell of emotion that her simple affirmation had caused. Jace kept his eyes closed. "I used to imagine my parents hated me. It made me feel better about forgetting them if I pretended they were cruel. That way, no matter what I chose to do, I never felt like I was disappointing anyone." Vraska was struck by his honesty. "Do you feel like you disappointed her?" He thought over his words before answering. Eventually, he looked at Vraska. "I feel . . . like I want to make her proud." His voice turned hopeful at the end. Happy, almost. That earnest man who could take apart a telescope and put it back together, could disguise a tall ship with his mind and fight back-to-back in a raid, who delighted in puzzles and piracy, he was there after all. Vraska smiled. "Then I think you know exactly who you ought to be." The golden staircase loomed overhead. Vraska held out a hand to help Jace to his feet. She nodded toward the staircase weaving its way up the cliff to Orazca. He took her palm in his and got up, wincing at his own headache and squeezing her hand in thanks. He looked up at the stairs. "I wouldn't have had the strength to climb this a year ago," Jace said with a little bit of pride. "Or if I did, I probably would have passed out halfway up." "You weren't that out of shape when I last saw you," Vraska teased. "You're ignoring how often I used to use illusions to make myself look like I was in shape." Her brows shot up. "Seriously?" "Oh yeah," Jace acknowledged. His expression was unguarded, eyes still red from emotion, a lighthearted tilt to his lips. Unapologetically human. He grinned. "I used to be a coward." He let Not anymore hang unspoken in the air between them, and Vraska caught his smile as he turned to ascend the golden staircase toward Orazca, one strong step after another.

2019-04-18T12:56:04Z

https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/flood-2018-01-10

Let no man suppose that there is a necessity that he should always be weak in faith, always walk under a cloud, or that he should forever be a Mr. Feeble-Mind or Mr. Ready-to-Halt. Miracles of Grace are for saints as well as sinners! Feeble minds can be strengthened and crutches thrown away. We ought to grow out of the feebleness of our spiritual childhood. We should cry to God for Grace that we may get up “into the hill country” of holy confidence and there, like Mary, sing, “My soul does magnify the Lord.” Oh that we might all attain to assurance, yes, to the full assurance of understanding, so that we should know why we are thus assured and so become rooted, grounded and settled in the faith–for then nothing would, by any means, remove us from the Truth of God or even move us in the Truth. May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds by Christ Jesus. I would to God that you might each realize that promise of the 25 th Psalm, “What man is he that fears the Lord? Himshall He teach in the way that He shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease and his seed shall inherit the earth.” At the same time, we are most painfully conscious that all of God’s people are not in a vigorous condition and we know that there is a large mixture in every Church of those who are sickly, desponding and faint. These we are bound to care for. Common humanity demands it, our sacred office binds us to it and the example of the good Shepherd constrains us. We must feed the lambs. We must “lift up the hands that hang down and confirm the feeble knees.” The voice of God is heard in our heart saying, “Comfort you, comfort you My people,” which voice we dare not disregard! Indeed, the sympathies awakened within us by a similar experience prompt us to be forward in compassion for the weak and the tried. Therefore, at this time I would seek out the weary and wounded and feeble–not with a view of trying to multiply their number–but with the hope of diminishing their number by cheering them till they grow out of their low condition. We would not pamper weakness till we seem to offer a premium to unbelief, but yet we would feed the feeble in the king’s meadows till they become strong in the Lord! I shall now look after those who cannot get beyond desires and groans and let none blame me for this service. If the shepherd spends much of his time among the weakly sheep–if he gathers the lambs with his arms and carries them in his bosom–if he seems, even, to neglect the stronger sheep because they do not so urgently call for his care, no one should, therefore, infer that he delights in feebleness. Far from it! He is trying to remove it by his tenderness! You do not blame the humane for caring for the sick. If great efforts are put forth to build or endow a hospital, you do not say, “Sickness is a desirable thing, for all this money is spent upon comforting and helping those who feel it.” Your feelings are quite the contrary–though these sick folk become the object of care, it is not as a reward to them–but an act of compassion towards them. Let none, therefore, say that the preacher encourages a low state of Divine Grace–he encourages it no more than the physician encourages disease when he tries, by his care and skill, to heal the sick! Whatever your judgments may be, I always mean to look after the downcast and the struggling! Nor shall the babes be forgotten of my soul while I am able to be a nursing father to them. In a large family where there are little children there must always be arrangements for their feeding. Spoon victuals and milk must always be in the house, for if the cupboard contained nothing but meat and biscuits, the tender ones would starve. If it should ever come to pass that a ministry consisted entirely of the higher doctrines and the deeper experiences, it would leave many unsupplied and it certainly would not be like the ministry of Christ which had in it as much of simplicity as of mystery! A true steward cares for all the household and provides milk for babies as well as meat for men. If he forgets anything, he had better forget the meat than the milk, for though babies could not live on strong meat, men can live upon pure milk. To tell the truth, I have known the strong men come into such a condition at times that the milk for babies was all that they could take. Burly Samsons who can carry Gaza’s gates may yet be so reduced that they can digest nothing but a milk diet. Those whose confidence is at its very height, today, may be brought so low that they will prize beyond gold the smallest marks and evidences of Grace and will be delighted to take hold upon those elementary Truths of God which belong to new-born Believers! Even fathers in Christ are glad, at times, to seize upon those simple promises which they left, before, to the most trembling of the saints, or perhaps to desponding sinners. If, therefore, at this present time I speak to the very lowest form of Christian life–if I try to meet the weakest case–I shall not admit that I am neglecting the strong. My giant Brother over yonder can have a drink of milk if he likes–it will not hurt him. Come and try it, my worthy Friend! Receive, again, the simple doctrine by which little children live and you will find wholesome fare! Delight yourself, by all means, in such grand old doctrine as we were singing just now in Toplady’s noble hymn, but do not disdain the plain Truths of God which must always remain the staple food of the household of faith! Come we, then, to the text, “All my desire is before You; and my groaning is not hid from You.” May the Holy Spirit be our Instructor and we shall learn aright! It is of intense, earnest, agonizing desires toward God for spiritual things that I am about to speak. Such desires ought to be made known unto God. It may be said that God knows our desires and that is what the text asserts. I do not doubt the Omniscience of God! But He bids us confess everything to Him quite as carefully as if He did not know it until we informed Him. We are to declare our cases for ourselves, just as David did, for it was not until after he had told out his sad story in the eight previous verses that he said, “All my desire is before You.” We may expect the Lord to treat us as if He did not know our desires if we are negligent in declaring them. Does not the Apostle say, “In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God”? Mark the language–“Let them be made known.” The Lord waits to be gracious, but He tarries till His people have pleaded for the blessing! He knows, but frequently He does not act upon the knowledge till we have laid bare our case before Him. Make known, then, your requests and do so, first, because our whole life ought to be transparent before God. What is the use of endeavoring to hide anything? “All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” The life of every man should be unveiled before the eye of Heaven–but as for those who are believers in Christ, even in the humblest degree they desire no concealment–rather do they cry, “Search me, O God.” We do not wish to hide anything! Our hope lies in our heavenly Father’s knowing all. There should be no wish to hide, even, a stray desire, or to conceal the most doleful groan. All should be open and aboveboard between a sinner and His Savior. What secrets can there be between a soul convinced of sin and a pardoning God? It would have an ill look if we still sewed fig leaves together, or hid among the trees of the garden. No, let us stand forth and let our covering be such only as the Lord, Himself, provides. Take care, then, in prayer, to set forth the secrets of your soul before God. Tell Him your sin and spread it out in all its sorrowful detail. Tell Him your fears for the past, your anxieties for the present and your dreads for the future. Tell Him your suspicions of yourself and your trembling lest you should be deceived. Tell Him what salvation you wish for and what work of Grace it is that your soul desires–make all your heart known unto God and keep back nothing, for much benefit will come to you from being honest with your best Friend. And what is this but to make your desires known to God? It is a great benefit to a man to be able to express his desires and this is an argument for making them known to God! You know your own desires better by trying to express them. They are indistinct till prayer sketches their likeness and fixes their image. Even should you fail to express your desires, their inexpressible character will better make known to you their greatness and their intensity. Sometimes a desire that is in the heart would at once be extinguished if you were to attempt to express it, for you would not dare to allow it to exist after you once saw its true nature. A glance at some desires would seal their doom, for we should feel them to be unworthy to be presented before the Lord. But when it is a holy and pure desire, tell it, for it will relieve your heart! It will heighten your estimate of the blessing sought! It will bring you to think over the promises made to such desires and it will, thereby, strengthen your hope that your desire will be fulfilled and enable you, by faith, to obtain it. The prayerful expression of one desire will often quicken further desires and make a thousand of them where there was but one. If you will make known your desire before your God it will gather strength and soon obtain fulfillment. Desire should not be like a bird shut in within the ark–it should be sent out as Noah sent forth his dove. There! Let it fly towards Heaven! It will come home bearing the olive-leaf in its mouth. The return of prayer brings peace, therefore send it on its profitable errand and never attempt to hold it in the cage of silence! Though it has lain among the pots and is grimed with groans, let it mount towards Heaven and soon its wings will be covered with silver and its feathers with yellow gold! By prayer shoot out the arrows of desire from the quiver of your heart, for every one of them shall smite your enemies. Perhaps you feel that you cannot pray because you are under so dense a gloom–but that is the time to double your desires and your pleading! I am told that the flower, of which the ancients used to say so much because it always turns toward the sun, is said to follow the great lord of day just as much in cloudy weather as when his bright beams gladden all things. What? Though the sun is not visible, yet he is still in his sphere and the nature of the flower seems to tell it in what direction to turn! Be it ever so with our soul in gloomy hours! When we cannot see the Lord’s face, may we still look towards Him with strong desire. O Soul, pray even when God does not appear to hear! When your eyes are blinded with tears, turn your mournful face towards the Mercy Seat and look towards His holy hill! Remember where He was known to manifest Himself to you. If He meets you not today at Zion’s gates, yet remember Him from the Hermonites and the hill Mizar, where He revealed Himself, before, and let your desires follow hard after Him until you find Him again! Let nothing stop you from desiring and pouring out your complaint, for herein is the way of health to your soul. A gracious expression of desire before God will often be to you a proof that those desires are right. A desire that you dare tell to God is sure to be of a godly sort. If I can say, “O Lord, all my desire is before You and I wish it to be before You–I court Your inspection because I hope You will fulfill the desire,” then my wish is such as conscience approves and is right and good! Is there not comfort in this for those of you who think you have nothing more than desires? If you have desires which you wish the Lord to know of, they must be right–you would not dare to bring them before God if they were not good desires! When you are in God’s House and with God’s people, or reading God’s Word, or when you are drawing near to God in contemplation, then these desires are strongest. Now, if they were bad desires, they would not flourish in the best of atmospheres–they would not be watered and nourished by the best of influences–for such influences would tend to kill ill weeds of strange desire. So, then, there is some good thing in you towards the Lord God of Israel after all! You would not have these heavings of your soul, these strivings of your heart, this panting, hungering and thirsting if it were not that there is somewhat in you of the Spirit’s working! God has dealt graciously with you in giving you these good desires! Sparks of everlasting life are alive within your spirit so long as you have spiritual hunger and thirst, your desire must be a good thing or you would not dare to make it known to God and, seeing that it is a good thing, take care you nurture it well and cause it to grow by expressing it with your whole heart before God. II. This leads up to my second head which is this–DESIRES TOWARDS GOD ARE GRACIOUS THINGS. Intense groaning desires towards God are, in themselves, works of Grace. For certainly, first, they are associated with other Graces. When a man can say, “All my desire is toward God and my heart groans after Him and yet I find little in myself but these desires,” I think we can point him to some other good things which are in his heart. Surely humility is apparent! You take a right view of yourself, O man of desires! A lowly esteem have you of yourself and this is well. I would to God that some who are full of bragging and boasts about their holiness could only be as safe as you are with your desires and groans, for there is in you that broken and contrite heart which the Lord will not despise. God has given you this jewel among the rest–a meek and lowly spirit. Yes, and there is faith in you, for no man heartily desires to believe unless he does, in some measure, already believe. There is a measure of believing in every true desire after believing. If you say, “I desire to trust Christ,” why, Soul, you trust Him, already, in some degree, since you believe that He is the kind of Person whom it would be right to trust! Your desire to cast yourself wholly upon Christ has in it the beginning of saving faith! You have the grain of mustard seed within you which will grow into a great tree. I can tell the mustard by its taste–the strength of your desire, its pungency and heat–betray the genuine seed. And you have love, too. I am sure of it! Did ever a man desire to love that which he did not love already? You have already some affection toward the Lord Jesus, some drawings of your heart Christward, or else you would not sigh and cry to be more filled with it. He who loves most is the very man who most passionately desires to love more. Love and desire keep pace in Christians so that the more love, the more desire to love–and so I gather that this desire of yours to love Jesus is a sure evidence that you love Him already! Your desire is the smoke which proves that there is fire in your soul. A living flame lingers among the embers and, with a little fanning, it will reveal itself! Your desire to serve God is obedience! Your desire to pray is prayer! Your desire to praise is praise! I am sure, also, that you have some hope, for a man does not continue to groan out before his God and to make his desire known unless he has some hope that his desire will be satisfied and that his grief will be relieved. David lets out the secret of his own hope, for he says in the 15 th verse, “In You, O Lord, do I hope.” You, my downcastBrother, do not hope anywhere else, do you? You know that every other door is shut; every other road is blocked up except that which leads from your soul to God. I know you have some hope and, therefore, if you have no hope anywhere else I am persuaded that you have a hope in God! That thought of God which makes you cry, “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,” has the seeds of hope and the beginning of comfort within it. I might go over many of the Graces, but these will suffice–as a man is known by his company, so may our desires be known by their attendants–and as holy desires after God keep company with humility and faith and love and hope, I am persuaded they are of like character and are gracious themselves. Another proof that they are gracious is that they come from God. Desires after God must come from some source or other. If you desire to be holy, where did that desire come from? From your own corrupt nature? Impossible! Certain believers in free will may think so, but we are not agreed with them. We believe that none can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, neither can thorns bring forth figs. If there is a desiring and a groaning of the heart after God in your bosom, depend upon it, human nature never originated it! Can sin desire holiness, or death pant for life? Holy desires are plants which are by no means native to the soil of human nature–their seed comes from a far country. Do you think the devil worked these holy desires? Listen, Brother–does the devil make you thirst after God? Does he make you sigh and cry after the light of your Father’s Countenance? Does he make you pray to be delivered from temptation? Does he make you sigh to be conformed to the image of Christ? Then the devil has very greatly altered since I met him, last, and since he was described in Holy Writ, or seen in the conflicts of good men! Who, then, has kindled these heavenly flames of desire? I earnestly acknowledge my belief that every pure desire is as much the work of God as the Grace which it desires! He who sincerely longs to be right with God has already somewhat of a work of Divine Grace within his soul creating those aspirations. Now, as God can say of all that He creates, “It is very good,” I come to the conclusion that these groaning desires after God are very good. They are not great, nor strong, but they are gracious. There is water in a drop as well as in the sea. There is life in a gnat as well as in an elephant. There is light in a beam as well as in the sun and so is there Grace in a desire as truly as in complete sanctification! Thirdly, holy desires are a great test of character–a test of eminent value. You ask, “Can you judge a man’s character by his desires?” I answer, yes. I will give you the other side of the question that you may see our side all the more clearly. You may certainly judge a bad man by his desires. Here is a man who desires to be a thief. Well, he is a thief in heart and spirit. Who would trust him in his house, now that he knows that he groans to rob and steal? Here is a man who desires to be an adulterer–is he not, in God’s sight, already such? Did not Jesus tell us so? Here is a man who desires to be a Sabbathbreaker but he is compelled by his situation to attend the House of God–he is already, in God’s sight, a Sabbath-breaker because he would follow his own works on God’s holy day if he had the opportunity. The desire to commit a fraud and especially the earnest desire to do it, would prove a man to be a villain at heart. If a man were to say, “I want to cut my enemy’s throat. I am full of revenge. I am groaning to murder him.” Is he not a murderer, already, before God? Let us, then, measure out justice in our own case by the rule which we allow towards others. Let me help you to apply the principle. If you have a desire, an earnest, agonizing desire towards that which is right, even though, through the infirmity of the flesh and the corruption of your nature, you do not reach to the height of your desire, yet that desire is a test of your character. The main set of the current determines its direction–the main bent of the desire is the test of the life. It is well with you even though you have to cry with Paul, “To will is present with me, but how to perform that which I would, I find not.” If you earnestly desire to love God, you do love Him! If you desire to be purified. If with a strong, continual, agonizing desire you pine for it–already the work of purification has begun, for your desire has been purified–your wish, your will, your heart have already been purified! Is there not proof enough that there is a measure of graciousness about true desires after God? Note, further, that our desires are a test very much superior to several other favorite modes of self-judging. For instance, many people judge their religion by the regularity of their attention to its outward duties. “I was never absent on a Sunday morning, nor even from an evening service. I attend communion at least once a month. I go to the Prayer Meetings, I read a chapter or half a chapter every day. I bow my knees at my bedside every morning and evening–I have never omitted any part of my duty for many years.” I am very glad to hear it, respected Friend, but if you have no desires towards God, all your regularity of attendance does but liken you to the Church clock which is quite as punctual, or to the pulpit Bible, which never leaves its place. You may be a capital Pharisee, but you are not a true Christian unless your soul is full of living desires! If you cry out, “I am thirsting for God, the living God. My spirit groans after holiness. When I have bowed my knee, I groan before God because I cannot live as I would, or even pray as I desire to pray. I have come to the House of God longing to be fed with spiritual meat. I have always been a hungry soul towards Divine things.” Then I quote my Master’s words, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Living desires are better than dead duties–as a living dog is better than a dead lion. The most regular outward performance of pious duties may be the revolution of heartless machinery, but desires mean life and life is necessary if we would please the living God! Desires are a better test than the self-congratulation I have sometimes met with about the possession of gracious things. I say not better than the possession of Graces, but better than the supposed possession of them. We feel surer as to the Grace in a man’s heart who groans after more Grace than we do of him who boasts–“I am rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing.” A man may be full and dead! But he who hungers is alive. Brothers and Sisters, if your soul is desiring and crying and groaning after God, do not condemn yourself because you cannot speak quite so positively as others as to your safety or your sanctity! Desire on and groan on, but at the same time get nearer to the Cross! Trust more completely! Look out of self and rest more fully in the Covenant promises of God. Your state is not one to cause trouble–it is painful but it is not perilous. I am sure that there is a graciousness about holy desires because they have been very prominent in the very best of men. Look at David! See how his soul longs, yes, even faints! Hear how he pants, like a hart for the water brook, that he may draw near to God! His Psalms are very largely made up of desires–they abound with such passages as, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after.” “Unto You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” “My soul thirsts for God.” All his desires went heavenward, for he said, “Whom have I in Heaven but You?” And in his last hours he exclaimed concerning the Covenant of Grace, “This is all my salvation and all my desire.” Nor must we forget Daniel. In the passage in which Daniel is spoken of as a “man greatly beloved,” which is a very sweet translation–the words may be read, “a man of desires”–I suppose that he obtained that name of the Lord because he much abounded in holy longing and was accustomed to rise from one desire to another. There is a remarkable expression in the second of Daniel at the 18 th verse. When the king had dreamed and none could interpret the dream, the Word of God said–“Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions: that they would desire mercies of the God of Heaven concerning this secret.” In other books we would have found it stated that he asked his friends to pray, but Daniel went to the very soul of things and begged them to desire. His prayers thrice a day were not formal–they were deeply and intensely sincere and, therefore, they were full of desire which is the motive force, the life-blood of prayer! Daniel, then, was a man of great desires and hence a desirable man with God–a man greatly beloved. As for Nehemiah, that faithful servant of God, he began his work by praying for a blessing on those who “desired” to fear God’s name. If you turn to the New Testament, what a man of desires Paul was! He was always desiring this and desiring that for other people, until he desired for himself that he might depart and be with Christ! A part of the inheritance of Israel of old lay on this side of the Jordan, but the major portion was on the further shore–and so the major part of a Believer’s portion for the present lies in desires for things not yet attained. A man of devotion is always a man of desires. Among your acquaintances you will find the best people are full of longing to be better. They know that God has blessed them–they rejoice in every particle of Grace they have ever received from Him–but they are always wanting more. They are, in spiritual things, as hard to satisfy as the king whom Du Chaillu met with in the center of Africa. He gave him a huge present of goods and his gracious majesty was overjoyed and held a great feast over the treasure. But before the week was over his black kingship said to Du Chaillu, “Truly, goods and money are like hunger; you are filled today, but tomorrow you are hungry again.” In one sense he who has obtained Grace never hungers, that is to say, he needs nothing beyond his God. But in another sense he always hungers more and more, the more he obtains. Covetousness of goods is a crime, but covetousness of good is a virtue. “Covet earnestly the best gifts.” He who has little Grace can be content with little. He that has more Grace longs for more and he who has most is insatiable to a still larger degree. He has the greatest esteem for the heavenly treasure who has had the most acquaintance with it and, therefore, he longs to possess all that can be possessed! Time warns me to leave this point, only repeating the fact that desires towards God are gracious things. III. Thirdly, DESIRES TOWARD GOD ARE CAREFULLY OBSERVED BY HIM. Was not that the first head? No, it was not. The first head was that we ought to make our desires known to God–the third head is that they are known. It is wonderful condescension that the Lord should observe so poor a creature as a sinful, mournful mortal. You heard me read the whole Psalm just now. Is it not a terrible description of a horrible sickness? I wonder how many of you would like to go and visit a man who was in the condition which David pictures and watch over him and nurse him? Here was a man who had no soundness in his flesh and no rest in his bones, but was eaten up with a loathsome disease and covered with wounds which corrupted till they stank. The Lord cannot look upon iniquity. He hates and loathes it infinitely and yet He looks upon His poor servant when sin has worked in him all this mischief. Oh, poor, broken-down Believer, your God still looks upon you! Oh you whose wounds gangrene; you who seem, already, to be rotting into the sepulcher of apostasy, still if there is any life and desire in you, your God is watching you! With tender, loving eyes He sees you in your misery and filthiness! The best thought of all is that He sees the good points in us for, while David does not say, “Lord, all my wounds are before You; Lord, all this stench and corruption are before You,” he does say, “Lord, all my desire is before You.” God has a quick eye to spy out anything that is good in His people–if there is but one speck of soundness; if there is a single mark of Grace; if there is any remaining token of spiritual life–though it is only a faint desire; though it is only a dolorous groan, the Father sees it and records it, casting the evil behind His back and refusing to behold it. IV. The last head is that EARNEST DESIRES TOWARDS GOD WILL BE FULFILLED. How do we know this? If men are sighing and crying to God they will be heard–how do we know that? Why, first, because these desires are of God’s creation and you cannot imagine, at least I hope you cannot imagine, that God would create desires in us which He will not satisfy! Why, look even in Nature–if He gives the beast hunger and thirst, He provides the grass upon the mountains and the streams that flow among the valleys for it! There is not a fish in the sea nor an insect in the air but what God has made provision for gratifying its instincts and its desires. If, then, He has put in you a desire after Himself, He will give you Himself! If He has made you long after pardon, He will give you pardon! If He has made you sigh after purity, after eternal salvation, He means to give you these. Do you think that God would act towards us wantonly and torment us with the torments of Tantalus needlessly? Has He made His mercy flow all around you and has He given you thirst and will He never let you drink? If He did not mean that you should drink, why has He created the longing within you? You do not thirst after God by nature and if He had let you alone you never would have so thirsted! You did not pine after His love until He made you pine for it–why, then, this creation of a wish if it is not to be gratified? Has He made you long after faith and yet, do you think, He will deny it to you? Has He given you a groaning after His dear Son, Jesus Christ, and will not Jesus yet be yours? Soul, He is yours! I have seen some treat children very unkindly when, to make sport for themselves, they have exhibited fruit or toys to the children which have excited great desire and they have acted as if they were going to give them to the children and then they have gone away and given them nothing and laughed at them. They thought there was wit in such conduct, but it seemed to me meanness, itself! God has no such cruel ways with men–if He has taught them to desire His Grace, He will fulfill their desire because He is always a merciful and gracious God. Remember, O desiring man, that you already have a blessing! When our Divine Master was on the mountainside, the benedictions which He pronounced were no word blessings, but they were full of weight and meaning and among the best of them is this–“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Blessed while they hunger, blessed while they thirst! Yes, they are already blessed and there is this at the back of it, “for they shall be filled.” Thank God that you hunger! Oh, my Friends, if we could make this city of London to be full of souls that hungered after Christ, we might pray day and night for so blessed a consummation! If we could cause the multitudes of men who go up and down these streets, careless of God and of eternity, to thirst and sigh and cry after God, what a blessing that would be! Time was, perhaps, when you, too, were stony-hearted and had no such desires–the change is a thing to be grateful for. Bless God for your grief, your agony, your anguish–for anything that is like a spiritual feeling–it is better than to be left altogether alone. Here is something comforting for your distressed heart–a blessing is already pronounced upon you. And we may be sure, dear Friends, that God will hear the desires which He has, Himself, created, because He loves to gratify right desires. He would have us rejoice in Him, for He rejoices over us! If you need proof, note well the names He gives us–“You shall be called Hephzibah and your land Beulah: for the Lord delights in you and your land shall be married.” If God delights to fulfill our desires, let us not be slack in desiring! If you need a sure proof that He will grant gracious desires, let me remind you of His promises. Sometimes one promise may stick in the memory and be better than quoting fifty. Here is the 19 th Psalm–take it home with you–“He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will heartheir cry and will save them.” If there is a holy awe of God in your soul, so that you fear Him, He will yet fulfill your desire and your cry shall bring you salvation! His wife, who lamented his deep dejection, will bless God and say, “Lord, I thank You that You have given him the desire of his heart and that You have not withheld the request of his lips.” Godly friends will hear of his deliverance and rejoice, saying, “He who has long been cast down has found the light of God’s Countenance,” and they will also say, “You have given him the desire of his heart.” As you spread your new joy and perfume the atmosphere with gladness, the saints will bless God that He has given you the desire of your heart! I am persuaded that you will obtain your desire since it will glorify God for you to have it. “Whoever offers praise, glorifies God” and you will praise Him and thus glorify Him. Go your way and seek the Lord with confidence through Jesus Christ and He will bless you evermore. Amen.

2019-04-22T22:39:47Z

https://www.thekingdomcollective.com/spurgeon/sermon/1564/

Since the last issue we have welcomed Andrew Tulloch, who joined the partnership in March this year. He is working alongside Andrew Probert in the Melbourne office and has added a great deal of maritime and aviation legal experience to the Transport and Logistics team. Greg McCann has also joined the firm as a partner with particular expertise in work health and safety. The firm now has a Brisbane office following the recent merger with Hemming+Hart. The Maritime Labour Convention came into force on 20 August 2013 and is implemented in Australia by the Navigation Act 2012, which commenced operation on 1 July 2013. (It is substantially regulated by Marine Orders). The Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessels) National Law Act 2012 commenced on the same day. On 12 April 2013 the NSW government announced the long term lease of Port Botany and Port Kembla to a consortium made up of industry funds manager Australian Super and Tawreed Investments Limited. Since then, in the state budget on 18 June 2013, the NSW government has announced its intention to enter into similar arrangements in relation to Newcastle Port. It was reported in Lloyds List Australia on 7 November 2013 that in New Zealand the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill will amend the Commerce Act 1986 and will remove the liner shipping anti-trust exemptions in trades serving that country. It seems to be anticipated that New Zealand's new pro-competition regime will come into effect from late 2015 or 2016, following a two year transition period. Meanwhile the alliances (known as P3) between Maersk, MSC and CMA, CGM and the other alliance (known as G6) between APL, Hapag Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui OSK, NYK and OOCL have come into being. There was a change of government at the federal level in Australia on 7 September 2013. On his election the new Prime Minister Tony Abbott described Australia as being "open for business". However, the recent return of the "APL Turquoise" to Southeast Asia without discharging any of its container cargo, due to alleged breaches of Marine Order 32, may cause some to question the correctness of that statement. The federal treasurer Joe Hockey has recently announced his decision to block the proposed takeover of Graincorp by US agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland. The takeover was opposed by the National Party. It is in Australia's interest to ensure that exporters have access to safe, reliable and cost effective shipping services. With all of that in mind, I want to look at Australia's current regulatory arrangements and work with the industry to ensure that we remove unnecessary burden and red tape and that our regulatory arrangements facilitate rather than hinder competition and productivity. This is part of our broader election commitment to reduce the cost of red tape to the Australian economy by $1 billion each year. At the time the shipping reform package was introduced over 12 months ago I was concerned at the increased red tape imposed on vessels, especially foreign-flagged vessels, trading in Australian coastal waters. During the parliamentary committee processes many shipping companies raised concerns about increasing red tape under the new requirements and I am determined to put the current system under the microscope to streamline processes and foster a vibrant and sustainable shipping industry in Australia. This will include looking at the eligibility requirements around the Temporary Licence application process and applications for a variation to a permit. I know the current system has caused problems for local manufacturers and for the movement of bulk goods around our coast... To put it bluntly there is no point in artificially propping up our coastal shipping industry if it is unable to compete - it will have an impact on our broader economy... I want vessels to be Australian flagged, but most of all I want an industry that is efficient, reliable, safe and doing the job that its customers expect. • whether the anomalous intrusion of the Fair Work Act into coastal shipping will be removed and whether the surcharge levied by the previous government under the Protection of the Sea Levy (Shipping Act 1981) which was extended beyond the period originally announced by former Minister Albanese, will now be removed. Since our last issue in February 2013, on 23 September 2013 we published a case note, Foreign arbitration awards on voyage charterparties enforceable under Australian law, on the Full Court's decision in the Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S v Gladstone Civil Group Pty Ltd FCAFC 107, 18 September 2013. The first instance decision in Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S v Beach Building & Civil Group Pty Ltd 2012 FCA 696 was discussed in our earlier case note Foreign arbitration clauses in voyage charter parties held not to be effective, published on 20 July 2013. We have also published a case note since our last issue on the case ACN 055 378 240 Pty Ltd (formerly Marine & Civil Construction Company Pty Ltd) v SGS Australia Pty Ltd FCAFC 46, 16 May 2013. On 12 August 2013 we published the case note Charterers entitled to withhold hire due to underperformance of vessel, discussing the case Bulkship Union SA v Clipper Bulk Shipping Limited (the "Pearl Sea") 2 Lloyds Rep 533. In a judgment delivered on 30 August 2013, Rares J refused an application for an extension of time within which to file a notice of appeal. The then named Federal Magistrates Court had given judgment in favour of APL Co Pte Ltd against Mr Thomas in respect of his failure to return a 40 foot container. The claim had relied upon contractual rates contained in the electronic input delivery order agreement, which had contained a provision requiring the container to be returned within 60 days of the commencement of the period of free time, being the first 10 days after the first day of availability for collection at the terminal of the discharged cargo. In refusing the application, Rares J expressed the opinion that Mr Thomas had suffered an erroneous entry of judgment in an excessive sum that had no legally justifiable basis, but he was not satisfied that Mr Thomas had a sufficiently arguable case that he was not liable at all for any damages for the wrongful detention, or failure to cause the return, of the container. The plaintiff, who was appointed receiver of STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd on 17 June 2013, applied for recognition as a "foreign representative" of STX and for recognition of proceedings commenced in Korea as a "foreign proceeding" under the Cross-Border Insolvency Act 2008, which gives effect, from 1 July 2008, to the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency of UNCITRAL. The judgment sets out all the relevant provisions of the Model Law. Orders were made that the rehabilitation proceedings by which the plaintiff was appointed should be recognised as a foreign proceeding, that the plaintiff should be recognised as a foreign representative and a further order that "any application for the issue of a warrant of arrest in Australia of any vessel owned or chartered by the defendant be dealt with by a judge of this court and these reasons for judgment be drawn to the attention of the court at the time any such application is made". A criticism has been made of the terms of the Model Law by reason of its failure to recognise and take appropriate account of international maritime law and the operation in Australian jurisdictions of the Admiralty Act. I do not propose to take up those matters in the present Judgment, but those criticisms draw attention to the fact that, for centuries, international maritime law developed its own security regimes for reasons which remain generally observed around the world, including in Australia. 41. I can see no reason at present why an action in rem to enforce a maritime lien would not fall within the operation of s471C (s471C provides that s471A and B did not affect a secured creditor's right to realise or deal with a security. S471A prevents persons exercising the functions or powers as an officer of a company which is being wound up and s471B precludes the commencement of proceedings or enforcement process in relation to such a company's property without leave of the Court when it is being wound up under the Corporations Act, as contemplated by Article 20(4) of the Model Law.) I can see no basis, either, for extinguishing or modifying at the present time any recourse to s471B of the Corporations Act. Those potential rights may require assessment according to the circumstances of particular cases but, to take a simple example, there may be a very good reason why a claim for seamen's wages, normally enforceable as a maritime lien, should not be affected by recognition of the foreign main proceedings. 42. I see no reason at present either to curtail or foreclose the exercise of rights which are recognised by the model law itself. The terms of Article 20 of the Model Law will take effect automatically, but I see no reason why the arrest of a ship owned or operated by the defendant which is in Australian waters could not be sought in appropriate circumstances, without having to overcome an order such as proposed order 5. Whether an arrest warrant would issue would depend on the circumstances, the reason why the arrest was sought and the interests sought to be vindicated by the action in rem. Such an application could be made to a Judge of the Court rather than to a Registrar. Full disclosure should be made to the Court that the foreign proceedings have been recognised under the Cross-Border Insolvency Act 2008 (Cth) and the terms of this judgment should be drawn to the attention of the Judge at the time any such application is made. Svitzer Salvage BV (Svitzer) and Z Energy Limited (Z Energy) and Sea Fuels (Sea Fuels) Limited: judgment of Goddard J dated 4 October 2013. This judgment deals with applications for summary judgment sought by the defendants and/or a strike out of the causes of action by Sea Fuels Limited or a review of the earlier interlocutory decision by Associate Judge Gendall (20 July 2012), which was summarised in the February 2013 edition of Shipping News. The facts which give rise to this claim are the grounding of the MV "Rena" on the Astrolabe Reef off the Port of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Svitzer, as salvor of the vessel, had entered into a charter party to hire a bunker tanker to which it could pump the fuel oil from the "Rena" with Sea Fuels (Sea Fuels having negotiated a temporary release of the vessel from its charter with Z Energy). As between Svitzer and Sea Fuels, Svitzer sought in the proceedings to have the charter party set aside on the basis that it had been entered into under duress; that it was manifestly unjust, inequitable and exorbitant; that it was entered into under the influence of danger, such that its terms were inequitable or the payment made is excessive for the services rendered. Sea Fuels argued that there was no duress, that the Admiralty Court does not have jurisdiction to set aside an agreement between a salvor and a third party for the hire of a vessel, and if that is incorrect, the jurisdiction has been lost since the Salvage Convention was incorporated into New Zealand law and the Salvage Convention does not apply to a charter party. As between Svitzer and Z Energy, Svitzer argued that if the charter party with Sea Fuels was set aside and Z Energy had actual constructive knowledge of the circumstances giving rise to its being set aside or annulled, Z Energy will be obliged to return all sums paid by Svitzer to Sea Fuels and subsequently passed on to Z Energy by Sea Fuels. Svitzer argued that the global daily charter rate of $200,000 plus GST which it was required to pay for the charter was exorbitant. Z Energy responded to the effect that there was no cause of action against it, it did not own the vessel and was not a party to the charter party and that Sea Fuels' separate contractual arrangement with Z Energy was of no relevance, and Z Energy was not involved in the negotiations between Svitzer and Sea Fuels. Sea Fuels was successful in its application for summary judgment in relation to the duress issue in so far as it was sought by Svitzer to have the charter party set aside. However, Sea Fuels was unsuccessful in obtaining summary judgment in relation to the Admiralty jurisdiction and the Salvage Convention arguments. Z Energy was successful in respect of all three causes of action. That therefore leaves open for another court hearing the interesting arguments as to whether the court in the exercise of its admiralty jurisdiction could open up the charter party between Svitzer and Sea Fuels if its terms are "manifestly unjust and unfair" and whether Article 7 of the Salvage Convention which allows a contract or terms of a contract to be annulled or modified applies to agreements such as the charter party, or is limited to salvage contracts. Payment of said hire to be made in London in cash in United States currency, 30 days in advance, and for the last 30 days or part of same, the approximate amount of hire, hire is to be paid for the balance day by day as it becomes due, if so required by Owners, otherwise failing the punctual and regular payment of the hire, or bank guarantee, or any breach of this Charter Party, the Owners shall be at liberty to withdraw the vessel from the service of the Charterers, without prejudice to any claim they (the Owners) may otherwise have on the Charterers. In this case the charter party also contained an anti-technicality clause, requiring owners to notify the charterers of the non-payment and providing them with two further banking days to remedy the position. After a number of defaults and renegotiations, a notice was sent by owners. Payment not having been made, the owners withdrew the vessel, terminating the charter party. The owners claimed unpaid hire due up to the time of withdrawal and damages for loss of earnings from the date of withdrawal until the earliest date when the vessel might have been redelivered, but allowing for the earnings received under the substitute charter which it had entered into for the balance of the charter period with the charterer, but at a reduced rate of hire. Flaux J upheld the arbitrator's decision that the charterer's failure to pay amounted to a repudiation of the charter and entitled the owners to terminate the contract and claim damages. In this case, the question was whether a limitation fund under the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (LLMC) Convention could be established by a letter of undertaking supplied by the P&I Club instead of a payment into court. It was held by Simon J that although the LLMC provides in Article 11 that a fund could be constituted "either by depositing the sum, or by producing a guarantee acceptable under the legislation of the State Party, where the fund is constituted and considered to be adequate by the Court or other competent authority", there was nothing in the United Kingdom which permitted a guarantee to be issued instead of cash. In reaching that conclusion, the judge referred to the Federal Court of Australia decision of Sheppard J in Barde AS v ABB Power Systems (the Barde Team) FCA 1602, where Sheppard J pointed out that there was no such legislation in force in Australia either. The cargo should be brought into the holds, loaded, stowed and/or trimmed, tallied, lashed and/or secured by the Charterer free of any risk, liability and expense whatsoever to the Owners. The Charterer should provide and lay all dunnage material as required for the stowage and protection of the cargo onboard, the Owners allowing the use of all dunnage available onboard. Jervis Kay QC, the Admiralty Registrar, held that the charter party clauses which excluded the shipowners' responsibility for stowage were effective, provided that the shipowner had not intervened in the cargo operations, which he held that it had not in the circumstances of this matter. The bank claimed against a shipowner for misdelivery and conversion of cargo which had been delivered without production of bills of lading. The cargo of 18,000 MT of gas oil had been sold under letter of credit terms. The plaintiff bank had confirmed the prime letter of credit. The gas oil had been shipped in two parcels onboard two different vessels. The receivers rejected the cargo on quality grounds on both vessels. One of the consignees agreed to buy the cargo at a reduced price on one of the vessels. The cargo on the first vessel was delivered against letters of indemnity and not against production of a bill of lading. The plaintiff bank asserted that it was the holder of the bills of lading pursuant to the UK's Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 (the "Act"), on the basis that it accepted delivery of the endorsed bills of lading on 4 June 2010, or alternatively it became the lawful holder of the bills on 7 July 2010 at latest, when it paid the sum due under the letter of credit. It argued that, although the bills had become spent once discharge commenced on 15 June 2010, the plaintiff had become the holder of the bills pursuant to the Act, by virtue of the transaction effected in pursuance of the transfer letter of credit which was a contract made before the bills had been spent; it was therefore entitled to sue on the contract contained in or evidenced by the bills of lading and in discharging the cargo, otherwise than on presentation of the bills, the shipowner was in breach of that contract. Teare J accepted that the plaintiff received the bills into its possession and accepted delivery as the endorsee of the bills on 4 June 2010, and rejected a submission made by the shipowners that there could be no delivery until the plaintiff had decided to honour the letter of credit. It was also accepted by the court that even if the delivery of the bills of lading did not occur until the plaintiff had decided to honour the letter of credit, it must have occurred on 7 July 2010 and although the bills had become spent once discharge commenced on 15 June, the plaintiff had become the holder of the bills pursuant to the Act by virtue of the transaction effected in pursuance of the transfer letter of credit, which was a contract made before the bills had been spent. Accordingly the plaintiff had title to sue. In November 2013 we published a case note by Andrew Tulloch about this case, Court rejects insurance claim of ship owners because of "fraudulent device" used in making claim. This decision provides a salutary lesson regarding the dangers of supporting a claim with a "reckless untruth", as the insured was deprived of an otherwise valid claim of some €3.2 million as a result. The insured had falsely alleged that the bilge alarm on the vessel had gone off but was ignored. A cargo of steel pipes was found to be rust damaged on arrival and the issue was whether fraudulent representations as to the order and condition of the cargo had been made on the bill of lading and whether the cargo owner was entitled to damages. A load port survey had noted that the cargo was "in apparent good order and condition with the following damage/exception" and had then annexed 16 pages of descriptions of the cargo such as "partly rust stained", "wetted before shipment by rain and partly rust stained and slightly scratched on surface" and "wetted before shipment by rain and partly rust stained in white oxidation on surface". These exceptions were noted on the mate's receipt. The bills of lading made no reference to the exceptions but contained a RETLA clause. The evidence in the case was that the shipper had requested that the bills of lading be issued un-claused, against letters of indemnity. Mr Justice Simon held that the decision to issue and sign clean bills of lading involved false representations by the owners which were known to be untrue and intended to be relied on. The claimant as the holder of the bills of lading had relied on the representation to their detriment and had suffered loss and damage to the extent of USD $458,655.69. The judge rejected a submission that on the basis of US authority, the RETLA clause applied to all rust of whatever severity. The Court of Appeal in England has held that a shipowner was entitled to rely on a charter party lien on sub-freights. The facts were that Dry Bulk Handy Holding Inc (DBHH), the owner of the vessel, had chartered it to an undisclosed principal (CSAV) and had then sub chartered it to Korea Line Corporation (KLC). KLC then entered into a trip charter party with Fayette International Holdings Limited (Fayette), (both on NYPE terms which provided owners with a lien on all cargoes and sub-freights), which had then entered into a voyage charter party with Metinvest International SA for the carriage of steel products from Russian ports to Indonesia and Malaysia. Owners' bills of lading were issued, evidencing contracts between the owners and Metinvest. KLC failed to pay two hire invoices, so DBHH sent to Fayette and Metinvest a notice of lien requiring them to pay freight and/or hire to the owners and a further notice purporting to exercise a lien on the cargo. Owners' bills of lading were issued noting "freight payable as per the voyage charter party". The vessel was withdrawn from KLC's service. The first question for the Court of Appeal's decision was whether or not the shipowner was entitled to demand payment for itself for freight under its bill of lading when that contract stipulated for payment to another party, provided that it makes the demand before the freight has been paid to the other party. The second issue was whether or not the two notices given by the shipowners to the shippers and bill of lading holders were effective to require payment of bill of lading freight to the shipowners, rather than to the disponent owners from whom the shippers had voyage chartered the vessel. This therefore required the court to determine the proper construction to be given to the two notices. The third question on appeal related to the construction to be given to two messages from the disponent owners, one addressed to the shipowners and one addressed to the master of the vessel and whether they amounted to an express or an implied request to the shipowners to complete the voyage, thereby generating in the disponent owners an obligation to pay the reasonable remuneration to the shipowners for so doing. The Court of Appeal answered all those questions in favour of the owners. Bank of Scotland PLC v The Owners of the M/V "Union Gold", "Union Silver", "Union Emerald" and "Union Pluto" EWHC 1696. Mr Justice Teare ordered that four vessels be sold, prior to judgment, and dealt with an application for an order that the Admiralty Marshal, instead of appraising and selling the vessels to the highest bidder in accordance with his usual practice, should sell the vessels at a certain price to a certain buyer. His Lordship declined to make the latter order in relation to three of the vessels but granted it in relation to one of them. In essence, the mortgagee bank wanted the Marshal to sell the vessels to buyers found by the bank and at prices which the bank considered were not below the market value. There were two particular concerns expressed by the court in relation to the proposed sales by the bank. The first was that there was no clear evidence that the valuations obtained by the bank took into account that a sale by the court is one which is free of encumbrances and might therefore be thought to be of more value than a sale by the bank pursuant to its rights under the mortgage. If there was no appraisement by the court, there was no certainty that that aspect would be taken into account in the valuation and any such appraisement by the court is treated confidentially. The other concern of the court was that the bank's proposal would not allow the Marshal to advertise the sale and invite offers to buy the vessel. Accordingly the court reached the conclusion that it would be wrong in principle for the court to depart from the usual order that the Marshal sell the vessel by appraisement, advertisement and inviting bids to purchase the vessel. However, there were special circumstances applying to one of the vessels, essentially that it required a prompt sale for commercial reasons, and was an elderly vessel. This case involved a number of different parties, but essentially a consistent legal issue arose under their various contractual agreements. The claims involved the chartering of the vessel "Crudesky" to load a quantity of crude oil from the AKPO FPSO terminal, where the Nigerian authorities required an official from the Department of Petroleum Resources to be present during the loading of vessels. At the time when the vessel arrived, that official was not present. The terminal operator's supervisor sought approval from a superior to sever the padlock on the export valve in its loading operations. The next day the government official arrived. After completion of loading, the vessel was prevented from leaving for some weeks. A fine was levied by the government and paid by the terminal operator. Demurrage was claimed, but the charterer claimed that it was only liable to pay half-rate demurrage by reason of the force majeure clause in the charter party, which provided that where there was "arrest or restraint of princes", one-half lay time or one-half of the demurrage rate would be payable, "provided always that the cause of the delay(s) was not within the reasonable control of charterers". The charterer sought to pass on its liability to the sellers to it under its sale contract, which also contained a force majeure clause containing the words "which is beyond the reasonable control of either party". That seller also sought to pass on any liability to the company which had sold the oil to it. Their contract was also subject to a force majeure clause, which also made reference to causes of reason beyond the control of the party seeking to rely on it. As the terminal was found to be a servant or agent of the charterer, it could not rely on the force majeure clause and say that it was not within its reasonable control or that of its "servants or agents". By parity of reasoning, the seller to the charterer was unable to rely on the force majeure clause in the sale contract. The original seller was in the same difficulty in relation to its obligations under the sale contract. It was the FOB seller's obligation to place the cargo "free on board" the vessel. The Court of Appeal also rejected the argument that the alleged "abuse or arbitrary exercise of power" by the government was an intervening cause, thus the owner's claim for demurrage succeeded and the claim could be passed on down the line to the original seller. This was a claim for a total loss of the vessel arising from a fire which occurred at a Russian port. The claim was defended, unsuccessfully, on the basis of misrepresentation/non-disclosure in relation to the management of the vessel, non-disclosure in relation to port state controlled detentions, non-disclosure in relation to an alleged conflict of interest on the part of one of the claimants, the "designated person ashore" for ISM purposes, breach of the ISM warranty on the policy and illegality under United States law in connection with trading with Iran. The court rejected the representation and non-disclosure defences, largely on factual grounds and expert evidence. It is not proposed in this summary to deal with those aspects of the decision. In relation to the warranty, which read "Vessels ISM compliant", the insurers had argued that that was a warranty of compliance with the ISM code at the inception of the policy and throughout the period of the policy, or at least compliant with the ISM code by reason of there being no "outstanding major non-conformity". The plaintiff argued that simply documentary compliance was sufficient. The judge held that the insurers' construction "would be difficult to apply, difficult to evaluate, and would give rise to commercial uncertainty". Of considerable interest is the defence of illegality under US law. The factual circumstances giving rise to this allegation was the issuance of freight invoices in respect of sulphur shipped from Iran to China, which caused a New York correspondent bank nominated by the plaintiff to process freight payments in US dollars, which it was argued by the insurers was unlawful as a matter of US law. The judge queried why the lawfulness or otherwise under US law for the payment of freight in respect of the charter of the vessel should have any legal impact on the insurer's liability to indemnify under the policy when US law did not govern the policy. It was also common ground that trading with Iran was covered by the policy. The judgment contains a detailed description of the US sanctions against Iran. The court found that the processing of freight did constitute a violation of US law and that the plaintiff committed a civil violation in so doing. The warranty of legality contained in section 41 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 relates to the "marine adventure". The "adventure" insured in a hull policy such as that in question was, the court found, "that the ship is exposed to maritime perils". The fact that the payment of freight was the illegality complained about was within the insured "adventure" and caused the defendants' reliance on illegality to fail. The question for the arbitrators and the court was therefore whether the proviso in clause 49 relating to the acts or omissions of the charterers or their agents had occasioned the arrest. Clearly Cargill had not been directly involved in procuring the arrest order, but Mr Justice Field of the High Court in London held that failure to unload was an act, omission or default that occurred in the course of the performance of the obligation to discharge as delegated to the receiver by Cargill. Cargill, he said, had "set in train the process of delegation and gave delegating parties a free hand to agree terms with delegates." Did the failures to unload within the lay days and to pay the resulting demurrage or provide security "occasion" the arrest of Global Santosh? In my judgment, the words "occasioned by" imported a notion of causation which is broader than the concept of "the effective cause" but is not so broad as to include "but for" causation. Instead, the causal relationship between the act, omission or default with the postulated clause 49 event (seizure, detention etc) has to be such that it can be said as a matter of commercial common sense that the latter was caused by or brought about by the former. He remitted back to the arbitrators for their determination the question of causation, that is whether the failures to unload and to pay the resulting demurrage or provide security "occasioned" the arrest of the vessel. In the case of... any executive or legislative act done by or on behalf of the government of the country of origin of the goods, or of the country from which the goods are to be shipped, restricting export, whether partially or otherwise, any such restriction shall be deemed by both parties to apply to this contract and to the extent of such total or partial restriction to prevent fulfilment whether by shipment or by any other means whatsoever and to that extent this contract or any unfulfilled portion thereof shall be cancelled. Sellers shall advise buyers without delay with the reasons therefore and, if required, sellers must produce proof to justify the cancellation. The GAFTA Board of Appeal had found that it was "always possible" that the export ban might be revoked or modified so as to permit performance before the delivery period under the contract expired. Accordingly the Prohibition Clause did not operate to cancel the contract and the sellers' claim of cancellation was therefore repudiatory. On appeal Hamblen J held that a causal connection had to be proved between the prohibition and the inability to perform the contract. By reason of the GAFTA Board's findings, he held, it could not be said on 9 August 2010, when the sellers purported to declare the contract cancelled, that there was a prohibition restricting such export. The GAFTA Board of Appeal had said: "We accept that the ban was temporary, in the sense that it was of defined rather than indefinite duration but this does not assist sellers since it was always possible that before the delivery period under the contract expired, the export ban might be revoked or modified in some material way so as to permit performance. That this was a possibility is borne out by what has happened with export bans in the past." Reference was then made to a United States soybean meal embargo. Mr Justice Hamblen also upheld the GAFTA Board of Appeal's decision on the question of damages to which the buyers were entitled and gave effect to the GAFTA Default Clause. There were two charter party disputes heard at the same time involving the vessel "Athena", which was chartered by Minerva Navigation Inc (Minerva) to Oceana Shipping AG (Oceana) and sub-chartered by Oceana to Transatlantica Commodities SA, both charters being on amended NYPE forms. The issue arose as to whether the vessel was off hire during the 11 day period in January 2010 when the vessel ceased to comply with an order to proceed to Benghazi and drifted off the Libyan coast instead. This occurred in circumstances in which a cargo of milling wheat which had been carried from Russia to Syria had not been allowed to be discharged when the Syrian authorities purported to find the cargo had been contaminated and forbade its importation. The owners had been reluctant to accept instructions to proceed to Libya because of the terms of the bill of lading and the provisions of Syrian law which required the cargo to be returned to the original shipment port. The arbitrators had found that the vessel was obliged to continue to Benghazi but had wrongfully failed to do so until the end of the drifting period. Accordingly the hire which had been paid in advance by the charterers during that period was repayable to them. ...in the event of loss of time from default of master... or by any other cause preventing the full working of the vessel, the payment of hire shall cease for the time thereby lost... and all extra expenses directly incurred, including bunkers consumed during period of suspended hire, shall be for owners account. The question therefore for the arbitrators and the court had been whether the vessel was off hire under clause 15 merely because the vessel was not efficient for the services then required or whether the charterers had to further show a net loss of time resulting thereby. Charterers had also claimed damages against the owners for breach of the obligations under clause 8 to "prosecute the ordered voyage with the utmost despatch." The arbitrators had found that there was a breach of that clause by the owners, but they also held that no damages were payable for the breach. They did find that there had been an immediate loss of time - thus engaging clause 15 - but not an overall loss of time because the cargo would not, in their view, have been discharged and the vessel redelivered any earlier. The Court of Appeal accepted the arbitrators' views, which were based on the earlier Court of Appeal decision in the "Berge Sund" 2 Lloyds Rep 453, contrary to the opinion of the first instance Judge, who had overturned the arbitrators' decision. As is made clear in paragraph 25.2 of "Time Charters" (by Wilford, Coughlin et al) the ship must render the service immediately required of her, in which event hire is payable continuously, but if she cannot or does not, hire is not payable for the time so lost. As is also made clear in that paragraph the off-hire clause operates entirely independently of any breach of contract by the owners, and a claim under the off-hire clause may lead to a different answer than would ensue in the case of a claim for damages for breach of contract. Byatt, the owner of the vessel "Loyalty", had time chartered the ship to Korea Line Corporation, which had time chartered to MUR Shipping BV, which had, in turn, voyage chartered the vessel to Prism. During the time charter Korea Line became insolvent and Byatt issued a notice of lien to Prism for freight payable under the sub-charter. The Court of Appeal, following Wehner v Dene Steamshipping Company 2 KB 92 and the "Cebu" 1 Lloyds Rep 302, held that the lien had been appropriately exercised, as long as it had not already been paid by Prism, which was the case. • The 2002 Protocol to the Athens Convention on the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea 1974 has now been ratified by a 10th state, which means that it will enter into force in 2014. This substantially raises the limits of liability from 46,666 SDRs to 250,000 SDR per passenger in respect of death of or personal injury to a passenger, which limit could be lost where there has been intentional or reckless conduct. In the circumstances in which a loss exceeds the new limit, there is the possibility of the carrier being liable up to 400,000 SDR per passenger, unless it is able to prove that the incident which caused the loss occurred without its fault or neglect. Increases in the limits in respect of luggage have also been imposed. • The 100th Meeting of the IMO Legal Committee in April 2013 agreed a set of Guidelines which was prepared for submission to the Assembly at its 28th Session dealing with the collation and preservation of evidence following an allegation of a serious crime having taken place on board a ship or following a report of a missing person from a ship, and pastoral care of the victims. The guidelines are to be found in Leg 100/WP.8. • On 24 June 2013 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs tabled its report into Arrangements Surrounding Crimes Committed at Sea, containing 11 recommendations for change. The case Noel Campbell v Rodney Victor Hay NSWDC 11 is discussed in Ross Donaldson's article Civil liability for personal harm - dangerous recreational activity and obvious risk. The case Bootle v Barclay NSWCA 142 is discussed in Andrew Tulloch's article Aerial spraying company found liable for damage to crops on neighbouring property. The case Nguyen v Qantas Airways Limited (2013) QSC 286 is discussed in Andrew Tulloch's article Cramped airline seat not a compensable "accident". The case Lustig v Qantas Airways Ltd (Civil Claims) VCAT 1012 is discussed in Andrew Tulloch's article Air rage incident leads to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). The Court of Appeal in England has found that the administering of a diuretic by a doctor during a flight from London to Melbourne, which exacerbated rather than relieved the passenger's medical discomfort, did not amount to an "accident" for the purposes of Article 17.1 of the Montreal Convention 1999 and could not be characterised as "unusual". Lord Justice Aikens noted that the simple fact that the injection was administered in mid-flight rather than elsewhere cannot provide the circumstances with the necessary "unusual" characteristics so that the event constitutes an "accident" within the meaning of Article 17.1 of the Convention. The plaintiff who was injured on a flight when a cup of hot chocolate was spilt into her lap, scalding the top of her leg, failed to recover against the airline in this court decision in England. Article 17.1 of the Montreal Convention 1999 provides that a "carrier is liable for damage sustained in the case of death or personal injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or personal injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking". The airline in this case admitted that the plaintiff had sustained injury during the course of the flight, and that its cause was the spillage of the hot liquid, but denied that the events which resulted in injury constituted an "accident" within Article 17. The Judge accepted the defendant's evidence that hot water had been supplied to the plaintiff in a lidded polystyrene flight-deck cup and the lid must have been removed by the plaintiff in order to add the chocolate powder which she had brought with her, and that was the most likely explanation for the accidental dislodgement of the cup. It was held that in order to constitute an "accident" there had to be an unexpected or unusual event which "was external to the claimant in the sense of having happened independently of anything done" by the claimant. The European Court of Justice determined that where the possessions of four persons (a family of two adults and two children) were packed as luggage into two suitcases, the air carrier was liable to pay a passenger compensation to the extent that that passenger had sustained damage in the form of loss of items belonging to him, even where those items were placed in baggage checked in by someone else. It followed that both the right to compensation and the limit to a carrier's liability applies to the passenger under the Montreal Convention, which provides under Article 17(2) that the carrier is strictly liable for loss and under Article 22(2) that there is a limit of 1,000 SDRs for each passenger. • The decision of Siopsis J in the Federal Court of Australia on 22 February 2013 in Alstom Limited v Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Ors (No. 2). • The current situation in relation to the Rotterdam Rules. • The first instance decision of Foster J in Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S v Beach Building and Civil Group Pty Ltd FCA 696 (see item 6 above for a report on the Full Court's decision on appeal). • The decision of Rares J in Atlasnavios Navegazao LDA v The Ship "Xing Tai Hai" FCA 1497, 24 December 2012. • Daebo Shipping Co Ltd v The Ship "Go Star" FCAFC 156, 7 November 2012. • The Navigation Act 2012. • The Maritime Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012. • The Maritime Powers Act 2013. • Stuart Hetherington gave a presentation on recent developments in the maritime area in Australia at an international seminar in London organised by our partners in the worldwide ADVOC organisation on 9 April 2013. The seminar was chaired by Nigel Cooper QC of Quadrant Chambers. Other presentations made included John Sharp of Ashfords LLP, England: The Marine Insurance Act - Proposals for Reform; Henrik Kleis of Delacour Dania, Denmark: Arrest of Vessels in Denmark - Pitfalls to Avoid; Danny Chua of Joseph Tan Jude Benny, Singapore: Maritime Arbitrations in Singapore; Charles Hattersley: Ashfords LLP, England: Recent Developments in British Maritime Law; Nadya Price of Patton, Moreno & Asvat of Panama: Registration and Naval Mortgages of Panamanian Vessels - Latest Rules and Trends. • Stuart Hetherington also spoke at the Workshop on Marine Insurance held at the time of the International AIDA Insurance Conference in Sydney on the topic of subrogation. • On 18 September 2013 Stuart Hetherington gave the annual AMTAC address at the Federal Court, in which he gave a paper entitled The Elusive Panacea of Uniformity: Is It Worth Pursuing? • Stuart Hetherington and Andrew Tulloch both presented papers at the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference held in Sydney on 19 and 20 September 2013. Stuart Hetherington spoke on the topic: International Law: Current Issues at the CMI and Andrew Tulloch on Marine Insurance Reform in Australia - Whither, Whether, Wither? • Angus Stewart: Ship Arrest in South Africa: 30 Years of the "Associated Ship" The CMI held a symposium jointly with the Irish Maritime Law Association, at which the latter celebrated its 50th Anniversary in late September/early October 2013. Over the weekend prior to the commencement of the symposium, two international sub-committees met, where great progress was made in the Review of the Rules on General Average and Judicial Sale of Ships. Newly created Maritime Law Associations in Poland and India were welcomed as members of the CMI at the meeting. Dieter Schwampe and Alexander Von Ziegler joined the Executive Council; Chris Davis was appointed Vice President and on the retirement of Nigel Frawley as Secretary-General, John Hare was appointed interim Secretary-General. Shortly after the conclusion of the conference, Richard Shaw, known to maritime lawyers around the world, passed away. As Stuart Hetherington said in the announcement to maritime lawyers worldwide, Richard Shaw was one of the most great foot soldiers of the CMI and will be greatly missed. • The Need for Regulatory Changes Bought to Light by Incidents such as the Costa Concordia by Colm O hOisin SC. • Exploring the Comparative Provisions relating to In Rem Liability in Irish Law by Edmond Sweetman. • Steven Byron, the Managing Director of Canberra Airport on the possibility that Canberra will, by default, become Sydney's second airport. • Dr Rebecca Johnson of the Australian Museum on bird strike and the work done by the Museum in assisting on identification. • Greg Rector of Aerosure Asia Pacific Pty Ltd on the state of the aviation insurance market. • Kirsty Rogers of Gates & Partners, Singapore on various legal issues. • Michael McNamara of QBE Aviation gave an underwriter's perspective in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles. • Nick Humphrey of Emirates on changes to the Standard Ground Handling Agreement. • Kevin Sutherland of Clyde & Co, San Francisco on dealing with attempted child abduction claims by air in the US. • Richard Davis of HWL Ebsworth on the current state of the Australian commercial aviation market. • General Counsel at Air Canada on passenger rights. • Kate Eastman SC on discrimination issues and aviation in Australia. There was also an aircraft casualty mock mediation. Andrew Tulloch is chairing the Organising Committee for the 2014 ALAANZ Conference.

2019-04-20T17:05:13Z

https://www.cbp.com.au/insights/insights/2013/december/transport-and-logistics-news-december-2013

When our trip to Uganda was canceled by my doctor last year due to my unresolved pneumonia, our already-purchased tickets had to be used within the year. But by the time we were looking to rebook them, we found only one 10-day span open before May 2019, so we had to settle for a very short trip to our beloved Mbale, departing Boston on April 2 and returning April 11. With travel days removed, that left us with 5.5 days fully open for ministry, so pack it in we did. As we fly the final leg of this long journey, from Frankfurt to Boston, and reflect on this past whirlwind of a week, we’re amazed at random “only God” moments of this very “short but sweet” trip. And we are oh, so grateful. While California is showcasing the once-in-a-lifetime “Super Bloom” as a result of Super Rains this winter (officially ending the decades-old drought), we’ve been “Super Traveling.” Since my last blog post, written as we arrived in Kauai on Feb. 26, we have traveled 9000 miles by air, and driven over 2500 miles all over Southern California and Arizona. We’ve spent 35 nights away from home. We’ve spoken at three marriage conferences, one church service, two moms’ groups, been unofficial “counselors at large” at another conference, spoken 3 times at the Southwest Thrive Leadership Conference, spoken for a couples’ Date Night in La Crescenta, a Date Night for an Armenian Couples’ gathering, spent 7 days with my mom in San Diego, spent 6 “in between” days with Kari and Gabe and their three children in Santa Clarita, and spent a night in the hospital. Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011: Rain started as we parted ways with Nugents at Zurich Airport and continued for most of the next 48 hours. We drove to Zug, Switzerland, to stay with Campus by the Sea friends who have recently relocated to this adorable town just 30 minutes from the airport. Though much later than expected, the Tobins welcomed us warmly with a home-cooked dinner and lots of love. It was such a gift to find shelter with them, especially on this rainy, messy night. The rain abated temporarily late morning on Sunday so we (Bernie, Lisa, Paul, and I) hiked the Burgenstock overlooking Lake Lucerne. I had hiked this with the girls and loved being able to introduce Paul to yet another experience we had shared. The rain eventually caught us and reinforced what my second grade teacher, Miss March, had told our class the few times we experienced rain during recess: "You're not sugar, so you won't melt. Relax!" It was a great hike with wonderful friends, who welcomed us to stay the night again rather than drive to Salzburg in the bad weather that night. That gave us time to tour their town by foot and with umbrellas. We were soaking wet by the time we finished, but it whetted our appetite to return when the sun is shining. (their daughter Emma was on a weekend trip). On the Burgenstock hike, our banana yellow rain ponchos came in very handy. We took off early the next morning and drove in the rain to Salzburg. I love Salzburg for so many reasons. My love affair with this beautiful place began the first time I saw "The Sound of Music" in 1966 at the Loma Theater in San Diego, CA, with my beloved teacher Mimi Test. That was the first of many viewings of this epic musical and each time I've been in Salzburg, I'm filled with the a desire to run through the green hillsides singing "The hills are alive....with the sound of music" and to relive the romance, drama, adventure, suspense, and beauty of this spectacular place. We found a "zimmer frei" on the Moosestrasse (thank you, Rick Steves!) and headed right to downtown to begin our explore. We had a fresh fish dinner on the banks of the Salzach River and topped it off with . . . yep, gelato! As the sun set and the waxing 3/4 moon rose, we made our way back to our "gausthaus" to a cozy night. Released from the Krankenhaus (hospital), we resumed our travels. First stop, the Untersburgbahn. We did something "unusual" for us in Salzburg and bought the "Salzburg Card" which granted us admission to everything for one low price. As a result, we did many things we never would've "paid" for individually and we loved it. The Untersburgbahn is an aerial tram to the top of the Untersburg, which gave us an incredible view of Salzburg and neighboring villages. From there we toured Hellbrun Castle and the magical water fountains. Hellbrun Castle hosts the glass gazebo used during the "I am 16 going on 17" scene in SOM. We had so much fun trying to avoid getting wet by the craftily hidden spouts of water throughout the grounds. Since the day was gorgeous and warm, the occasional spray which hit us was welcome. We spent the balance of the day walking the Monchberg and eating. Somehow, even with the late start of 11:30 a.m., we managed to log 9 miles that day. Paul's nighttime escapade did catch up with us, however, and we retired early. View from the top of the Untersburg. After a good night of sleep at "Haus Ballwein", we continued our exploration of Salzburg with our Salzburg card. "HohenSalzburg" took up much of the morning, and we enjoyed the castle tour as well as the Marionette Theater. Eventually we did a little shopping and got our "final" gelato before leaving this inviting place. A little shopping—and a final gelato—and we were on our way. Next stop, Hallstatt—but first, a breathtaking drive from Salzburg to Hallstatt via Wolfgangsee. It was the kind of drive that would take forever if you stopped every time you wanted to take a picture. There is nothing that can rival natural beauty. Between the spectrum of greens seen in the meadows and trees, the blues in the lakes and skyscapes (which also played host to white, puffy, squeezable clouds), and the splashes of brilliance accented by flowers—each picturesque scene fed our souls and overwhelmed us with the evidence of God's incredible creativity and personal love for us. I would've happily freeze-framed almost any moment on that drive. Wolfgangsee is behind us and this photo doesn't begin to do justice to it. Just when we thought a more idyllic place than Salzburg could never be found, we arrived in Hallstatt. Oh my goodness. I'm not sure a more Disneyesque place exists (outside of Disneyland....which is so funny, because Disneyland copied these places!). We checked into our little guesthouse perched on the terraced side of the mountain overlooking the Hallstattsee and wasted no time beginning our walking tour of this tiny town, trying to squeeze everything we could out of the remaining hours of sunlight, as rain was forecast for the next morning. View from the porch of our guesthouse in Hallstatt. Another view from our porch . . . how cute is this?? The weather report was right, and the rain fell heavily the whole next day, so we exchanged our plans to hike to the waterfalls for a tour of the salt mines, for which this area is most known. It was quite interesting and certainly worth a one time visit, especially on a very wet day. In our salt mine tour special clothing, we enjoyed this "now we've been there, done that" experience. We left Hallstatt earlier than planned for drier climes and ended up in Oberammergau. This unique town hosts the "Passion Play" every ten years and it's been on my "bucket list" for years now to attend the Passion Play some decade. Even without the play in session (the next performance will be in 2020), this town is so worth visiting. It seemed like every building was adorned with fresco paintings depicting different scenes from the life of Christ. Flower boxes. Cobblestones. Chalets. Quaintness redefined. We found a room in Herr Anton Zwink's guesthouse. Turns out that he's been in every Passion Play since 1950 and he has photos of each one hanging in the hallway. It was very cool to be in his home. Herr Anton Zwink in three of the Passion Plays. He's now performed in seven productions of the play, spanning the past sixty years. Paul poses with Herr Zwink. We spent the next morning hiking to the top of Laber, one of the high peaks around Oberammergau. It was a great hike, until we came upon a herd of grazing cows. Our long held belief in the passivity of these creatures was turned over by an aggressive bovine who decided he didn't want us to walk across his pasture. This near-death experience had a happy ending, because Paul turned tail and ran from the oncoming beast and we chose to circumvent the field rather than cross it. Our hearts were wildly pounding for awhile after that, and not from the exertion required by the climb. The view from the top was well worth the risks taken. We poked around this makes-you-not-want-to-leave town, but we resisted the pull and continued on to Stuttgart, stopping briefly in Ulm en route to buy some lebkuchen at the Weiss factory. I bought as though everyone I know loves this German gingerbread, only to be reminded that I'm alone in our family with a desire for this confection. Oh well, I got great deals. Our dear friend Gertrud and her sweet dog, Kuti, warmly welcomed us to Stuttgart with a yummy dinner and great conversation. We've been friends with Gertrud since she volunteered at Campus by the Sea with her friend Elfriede in 1988. We're always happy to reconnect with her; she's a wonderful friend. Gertrud served us a delicious dinner and opened her home to us again. Gertrud planned a full Saturday, which started with a hike in the Schwaibese Albs in Bartoloma and continued with a tour of the Steiff factory. Steiff makes very high-end specialized stuffed animals and we had a great time touring the factory and posing with some of their larger products. Very fun. On to a beautiful monastery which is home to a spectacular cathedral, and then to a castle which set in view of our outdoor dinner. We were joined at the Steiff factory by Elfriede and Uwe and the five of us had a grand time together. Gertrud, Elifriede, and I also had fun. Sunday dawned beautifully and we met up with the Maiers again for a hike overlooking Hohenzollern. Everything was beautiful about this hike and the company could hardly be improved upon. We enjoyed a hearty meal of sauerbrauten at hike's end and then paid a visit to Uwe's mother's house for some homemade plum cake and coffee. :) We said our good-byes and sadly left our German friends for parts further south. Kuti kept up with us on our hike on this gorgeous Sabbath. Gertrud, Elfriede, and Uwe extended such warm hospitality to us! Final stop of this excellent journey: Titisee. This sweet Black Forest village surrounds a beautiful lake (there is a theme! We like bodies of water!). Julie and I had hiked around the lake in 2006 so Paul and I hiked the highest peak in the Black Forest, the Feldberg, as recommended by Elfriede and Uwe. Initially we thought twice about doing the hike when we saw the cool temps and cloud cover, but a look at the weather cam in the visitor's center gave us the assurance that within an hour, it would be warmer and clear. And it was right! "Highest peak" might give the wrong impression. Though true, the reality is that there aren't many high peaks in the Black Forest and this one was less than half the height of the Schilthorn, coming in under 2000 meters. What it lacked in height, it made up for in distance and nine miles later, we made it back to the car. We did stop at the Feldbergsee for lunch and we drank in the beauty of this pristine lake hidden in the valley of the mountains surrounding it. Lunch by the Feldbergsee was a welcomed refueling stop during our 9-mile hike. Back to the town of Titisee, we briefly considered walking around the lake, but easily gave in to the seduction of shops and eateries as we sampled our way through the town. All the while, we willed the millions of ticking cuckoo clocks to stop to make time stand still. We were both very aware that our excellent adventure was coming to a close. almost through the hour glass of this excellent adventure. We spent our last night on the border of Germany and Switzerland, in Waldshut, to facilitate our early morning flight from Zurich. Under a full moon sky, we wandered through a meadow full of grazing cows and then ate cheese and bread on the balcony of our room. It was a perfect end to an unbelievable trip. The full moon rose over Waldshut on our last night in Europe. Packed and ready, we board our flight in Zurich. Our hearts were as packed with gratitude and joy as were our suitcases. So many great moments. So many beautiful views. So many God-sightings. And about that fresh new leather-bound journal I gave Paul on the first day of the trip? On the plane as we returned to America, Paul pulled it out of his backpack and began writing fast and furiously. I smiled. We are so different in so many ways—but there's no one in the world I would rather have made this trip with than him. Part 1: The hills were alive . . . From the Lauterbrunen Valley in Switzerland—views like this were the rule, not the exception. We've been home from Europe for just over a week now and I've had a curious avoidance to writing about this beyond-our-expectations trip. Not that we’ve been sitting around eating bonbons—nor wondering what to do with all our free time since returning—but I finally realized last night that writing a blog post about the trip officially makes it “over,” “finished,” “done”—part of our history—and there’s a part of me that doesn't want to acknowledge that this long-awaited trip is now in our rear view mirror! The vast majority of me, however, simply delights in the reality of it and relishes the memories, which I’ll now transfer from iPhoto and my mind (with what I know will be inadequate words) to offer you a description of Paul's 60th (plus 1) rite-of-passage journey. The idea of doing this trip was launched by our dear German friend Gertrud, who had hosted the girls and me on each of their rite-of-passage journeys at age 21. After my third and final daughter trip with Julie, Gertrud asked, “And what about Paul? When will his rite of passage journey be?” That set the wheels in motion five years ago and his 60th birthday was deemed the appropriate milestone. The trip came on the heels of an intense summer, as previous posts record. Ten weeks were dedicated to family camp (including orientation and other preparations), followed immediately by Julie and Derek’s wedding on August 21. Only 2 days after returning to Bedford from the wedding, we flew to Zurich. We briefly considered postponing our departure when the doctor said I had a touch of pneumonia along with a lot of bronchitis, but with Hurricane Irene making her way up the coast, we knew we had to get out before she arrived. And we were so glad we did! Thankfully, the Z-pack antibiotics combined with lots of prayer cured what ailed me, so our trip was unhampered. The first week of our 17-day trip was shared with our chosen family friends, John and Marilyn. Starting with renting a car, we replicated the trip I made with the girls, with one major adjustment: maps were replaced by a GPS system. I must say, that change alleviated most of the “breakdown” moments I had had navigating in unknown lands, guided with little more than poor maps in hand. What a gift to be GPS-directed!! The 21st-birthday rite-of-passage journey focuses on clarifying life purpose, so the girls were each given a new leather journal in which to record God-sightings and life lessons learned on the journey, as well as Gail MacDonald’s book A Step Farther and Higher which has an excellent chapter on how to write a life-purpose statement. (More details are found in my book Raising a Trailblazer: Rite-of-Passage Trail Markers for your Set-Apart Teen.) I did give Paul a new journal—possibly his first ever, since journaling is not his cup of tea :)—and suggested he record reflections of his journey to date and thoughts about his “second half.” He smiled and put the journal in his backpack. Our first stop was Interlaken, and on a indescribably gorgeous spring-like day, we took the “Jungfraubahn” to the “Top of Europe.” The trilogy of snow-topped Alps—the Eiger, the Monch, and the Jungfrau—are well known ice-climbing peaks, as well as hosts to a cogwheel rack railway to the Jungfraujoch, billed as the highest railway station in Europe. From the top, on a clear day. you can see forever—360 degrees of forever—and we took it all in. We were overwhelmed, to be honest, by the majesty of God as shown in creation. Being able to hike in light clothing to the backpackers "hut" was a real treat. Great time! Our stop in Grindlewald on the way back to Interlaken was also quite magical. That sweet town is everything you imagine when thinking of a little Swiss hamlet at the base of gianormous Alps, with flower-bedecked chalets dotting the velvety green meadows and the sound of cow bells in surround-sound. LOVE it. Also taking advantage of the day were hundreds of para-gliders, whose colorful chutes made a garden in the sky. We were mesmerized by it all. From the “Top of Europe” on the Jungfrau, we enjoy incredible views from every angle. Hiking to the JungMonchHuitte, we enjoy very balmy weather as we walk on the glacier. Loving every minute of it . . . Arriving at Walter’s Hote-L in Gimmelwald . . . . . . we’re amazed that 87-year-old Walter is still running the place. Our hike to the top of the Schilthorn starts out under clear blue skies. We loved walking behind this waterfall. Still clear, the views of the opposing Alps are spectacular. We were glad to get these cloudless photos early in the hike. Though it looks like we've made it to the top, we still had a long way to go. The top at last! The clouds and we arrived at about the same time. Making it to almost 4000 meters, we were thankful, spent, and only mildly disappointed that we couldn't see a thing. I think Paul breathed a huge sigh of relief once we had conquered the Schilthorn. Sort of like taking a final exam. Once done, the rest is easy. On to the Cinque Terre on the northern coast of Italy we went, after hiking down from Gimmelwald, through Steckelborg, and across the unbelievably alive-with-natural-beauty Lauterbrunen Valley. From waterfalls to wildflowers and everything in between, we were constantly “oohing” and “ahhing” and snapping photos like crazy. Absolutely lovely! Our drive over the Susten Pass was likewise spectacular on that springlike day, and such a different experience than when Lisa and I had decided to take that route in 2004 since it was clearly the shortest distance between two points on the map. That day was not springlike, but rainy and foggy, and making the drive on the two-lane road (without guardrails in many places) was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done. With trucks as our only real companions on the road, we had a white knuckle drive I hope to never repeat—and we couldn’t see a thing. How different it was to drive the Susten Pass on a clear, beautiful day! The vistas were incredible, and though the roads were the same narrow two-lane unguarded windy ones Lisa and I drove, we enjoyed every minute of the 45-minute journey because we could see everything. A great spiritual lesson recorded in my journal. We arrived in the Cinque Terre just after sunset on Tuesday, August 30, and settled in to a great hotel overlooking the water. After a good night’s sleep, we hit the trail, hiking between the towns of Monterroso, Vernazza, and Corniglia. It wasn't lost on us that we were overwhelmed by the beauty of God's creation in the Cinque Terre—though it stood in sharp contrast to the kind of beauty we had loved in Switzerland. From the ice peaks and glaciers of the Alps, to the warm “liquid ice” of the Ligurian Sea . . . From the verdant green meadows and blossoming flowers growing wildly or meticulously placed in window boxes, to the dusty, cobbley footpaths which wended through vineyards and terraced gardens producing fresh basil or rosemary—or orchards of olives, fig, or apple trees, we were reminded over and again of the amazing diversity of creation, and of the vast spectrum of what we consider “beautiful.” We drank it in as we hiked a good 10-12 miles that day, interrupting the sweat-producing exercise with dips in the refreshing sea at least twice, and indulging in gelato the same number of times. We capped the day with fresh caprese and delicious seafood eaten on the porch of our hotel room as the sunset melted into the western horizon. It really doesn’t get much better than that. In Cinque Terre, we begin our first hike from Monterroso to Vernazza on a gorgeous day. What a difference 24 hours makes! arduous and quite warm hiking in the Cinque Terre. We continued the reward with gelato . . . the best!! We delighted in the sunset from our balcony in Manarola as we ate our dinner. More hiking in the Cinque Terre, with unbelievable sights along the way. We had a full day in Florence, and we packed it in. We toured the Uffizi Museum as well as L’Accademie, which houses Michelangelo's statue of David. We also walked almost 20 miles as we explored this historic, artistic city. We continued our love affair with gelato in Florence. :) We had a great time, but preferring hiking mountains and swimming in oceans to museums in general, we weren’t sorry to drive out of Florence on Saturday morning, Sept. 3, only 36 hours after arriving. From the Piazzale de Michelangelo, the overview of Florence was amazing. A great dinner outdoors was a fitting end to a great day of touring Florence. The drive from Florence back to Zurich was the only part of the trip we'd rather not remember. Apparently everyone in Europe decided to end their holiday on the same day and through the same route, which also happened to be on a day that several key roads were closed for repairs. So the 6-hour trip ended up taking 11 hours, and our small window to explore Zurich closed as we made a painfully slow trip to the airport. Fortunately, the Nugents weren't flying out until Sunday morning, so their return flight was unaffected. We took advantage of our setting by talking endlessly about our family histories, our hopes and dreams, and eventually even defaulted to singing. It seemed fitting to break up the challenge of being held captive by traffic by singing “The Grumbler’s Song” and that definitely added levity to our situation. This was our view most of the 11 hours it took us to get from Florence to Zurich. Yikes! We sadly parted ways with the Nugents at this point, and they returned to the States to rest their weary muscles and sore feet and to revel in the accomplishments experienced and the beauty seen. Our days together were packed with wonderfully unforgettable moments and we'll cherish them always. We headed to the small town of Zug to hang with some dear friends . . . and part 2 will pick up there! Cruising at an altitude of 35,000' en route from London to California, this 11-hour flight affords me opportunities to catch up on some neglected quiet activities . . . like my through-the-Bible-in-a-year-with-D.A.-Carson readings, journaling, and now blogging. No complaints from me regarding this long flight. I love enforced quiet and stillness, since I seem to have a hard time making it happen on my own. It’s been quite a month since my last post. Our days in Vero Beach came to an end and we returned to the saddle refreshed and ready to go. Which was a good thing, because we arrived late Thursday night, May 20, and Paul spoke at a men’s event Friday night. This is the second year in a row he has spoken for this group, which is lead by Alan Siegel, and he loves the spirit of the group. He was very well-received. You and Paul were probably the best speakers I’ve ever heard. I looked at my husband’s outline and was surprised at his honesty and felt he tried to treat me nicely yesterday. He, too, thought you both were very good speakers. Thank you. We’ve had an ongoing dialogue with this couple and God is at work in a big way in their marriage. Praise Him! We drove from Easton to Hingham and were privileged to speak for a Couple’s Coffee House hosted by South Shore Baptist Church. Bill and Rebecca Haeck spear-headed the evening and did a masterful job transforming their social hall into a welcoming, candle-lit, cozy coffee house. We always love partnering with SSBC and this was no exception. Bill and Rebecca Haeck hosted the Couples Coffee Shop at South Shore Baptist Church on Saturday, May 22. In the meantime, house guests arrived! Our very dear friends, John, April, and Lizzie Aleman, came to town for a graduation and we were thrilled to have them crash at our house. We spent all of Sunday together, first worshiping at our home church, Highrock Church in Arlington, and then relaxing over Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and home-grilled bbq. We thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with them and building on our almost three decades of friendship through Campus by the Sea. Their kids, Nathan and Lizzie, have both served on staff at CBS in the past, as well as on family camp staff in New England. Their family is a great encouragement to us personally. The Aleman family (far right) joined us for worship at High Rock Church in Arlington, and reconnected with family campers Tim and Linda Brown and family and Heather and Lydia Dietz. Monday and Tuesday we both had a variety of appointments and “stuff” to do before counseling all day Wednesday. And then off again, this time me alone, to surprise our daughter Kari on her 30th birthday, May 27. What a fun surprise! By Friday night, all three girls were together celebrating her and we snuck off to a hotel in downtown Sacramento to further the celebration as a last getaway before baby arrives. Though everything didn’t exactly go as planned, it was a memorable and honoring time. Hardly 48 hours passed before I was flying back to join the H.I.M. Memorial Day Family Tenting Weekend! In honor Kari’s 30th, Baby Garcia received some Red Sox garb from us . . . and some Giants garb from his dad! I joined the party on Sunday and everything was going swimmingly. In fact, many were swimming . . . or fishing, or biking. Regardless of the activity, everyone was clearly having a grand time. As it goes, each evening the community gathers around a common meal (planned and prepared by Big Jim Martis of MJM Catering) which is followed by a time of worship, devotions, and s’mores. Mike and Seth Allen sacrificially drove to the campsite every night to lead worship and did a wonderful job again this year, and Paul lead the devotions in the inimitable Paul Friesen fashion. It was a recordable moment. Thora is the poster child for the truism: “Life is 10% circumstance, 90% attitude.” Thank you, Thora. We were all so blessed by her presence! The weekend wrapped up on Memorial Day with our second annual Memorial Day parade, organized by the Barkers and the Cranes. Glenn Franks was selected to be the Grand Marshall in recognition of his service to our country. With most of the children mounted on their bikes and sporting patriotic colors (including glittery tattoos), and accompanied by the voices of an approximate 20-voice choir singing patriotic melodies, two laps were made around the camping circle to commemorate those who have protected our many freedoms, including the freedom to worship. Glenn Franks served as the Grand Marshall of the second annual Memorial Day parade. And the 2010 Memorial Day Family Tenting Weekend came to a close, with some families adding extra-curricular activities afterward, like picnicking at another lake and then making an ice cream stop as the exclamation point to an already great time. The carefree escape from the worries of life came to a screeching halt Tuesday morning as we spent the day in our office counseling. We’re never far from the painful realities of life, which show up in so much brokenness relationally. By God’s grace, however, we’re privileged to seen much growth and healing in many marriages. Early Wednesday morning, June 2, we drove to Cornwall, CT, to join the pastoral staff from Valley Community Baptist Church (VCBC) for the fourth year in a row. We’re so honored to be re-invited to speak into the lives of this amazing group of fellow ministers, lead by Jay Abramson and Tim Ponzani. We feel very personally connected to each of them by now and love just being with them. We led four sessions, dealing with ministry and personal issues connected to family and marriage, but mostly we just hung out, played games, took walks, and ate fabulous meals. It was as refreshing as it was productive, and we were most touched by them sending us off by praying specifically for us as we prepare for a very full summer. We’re so pleased to be looking forward to spending another week with Jay and Liz Abramson as they’ll be speaking at one of our H.I.M. Family Camps at Camp Berea in August. They are salt of the earth people. The pastoral staff of Valley Community Baptist Church gathers for a photo op at retreat’s end. Someone recently asked if I’ve really ever read the book Margin by Richard Swensen (since I often recommend it) and my emphatic “yes” confirms that just because you’ve read something doesn’t mean you’ve been changed by it. The question was prompted by the description of what followed our conference for VCBC. We got home Friday early afternoon, and spent the balance of the day packing and preparing for the weeks ahead. Saturday was the annual H.I.M. Pool Party, hosted by servant-hearted and unflappable Doug and Julie Macrae. I (along with daughter Lisa, and friends Pam Barker and Kelly Plosker) left the party early to drive to Woodstock, Vermont, to run the Covered Bridges Half-Marathon Sunday morning, June 6. Richard, Kit, and Beth Hendricks, and Lisa Friesen were some of the pool party attendees. Which we did. In pouring rain (I had prayed specifically for it not to be a hot race, and it wasn’t!), we ran the 13.1 absolutely gorgeous course, and then made the 3-hour drive home to shower, finish packing, and fly out of Logan at 10 p.m. for London. It does seem kind of crazy now, but losing a whole day of the London trip for rest and sanity seemed like a terrible trade-off when we made the plans. And besides, when we made the plane reservations, we thought the race started at 7 am. When we found out it didn’t start til 10:15 am, we felt a little bit of pressure to set a new course record. Even though we didn’t, we made it with plenty of time to spare. Thankfully, it all went like clock-work. Lisa and I cut 7 full minutes off our last half-marathon and definitely didn’t overheat. And I even talked during this race. Back in November when we did our first half-marathon together, I stunned Lisa by not uttering a single word during the entire 13.1 miles. I couldn’t afford to give up any breath for non-essentials. Pre-race photo: Lisa, me, Pam Barker, and Kelly Plosker. This was a wonderful experience all around. Beautiful course, great friends, and a wonderful husband who drove up Sunday to ferry us to the start and from the finish, as well as to cheer us on and get finish line photos. We’re already eager to do it again. The past week, we’ve had the great delight of experiencing London for the first time. This trip was a graduation gift to Lisa, in honor of her successfully completing her master’s degree, and London was the destination because her best childhood friend, Kelsey Offield, is studying there. Kelsey’s mom, Wendy, is one of my dearest friends, so the four of us spend the week together, dredging up unforgettable moments from our life’s journey together over the past 27 years, as well as making many new memories together. Add to that the “only God could’ve made this happen” moment when we found out that our chosen family friends John and Marilyn Nugent would be in London at the same time, and you have two women who feel very, very personally loved by our gracious heavenly Father. So we’ve spent the last six days exploring a new land and seeing come alive the photos and stories related to the UK we’ve seen and heard all our lives. We experienced most of the sights and sounds by foot (and my pedometer kept track, informing us that we averaged 10 miles a day) and loved most every minute of it. We ate great food, saw great theater, saw historical sites, and fell in love with the quaint charm of this country which served as a prototype for New England over 300 years ago. We visited Stonehenge and Bath. We had afternoon tea. We were privileged to be in the country for the “Trooping of the Colors” in honor of the Queen’s birthday, and we stood on the parade route, 20 yards from the Royal Family as they rode by on horseback or in carriages. We were quiet about our heritage Saturday night when the USA tied the UK in the first round of World Cup Soccer but secretly thrilled and so proud of our team. :) Along with the Nugents, we worshiped at the Holy Trinity Church of Brompton, the home of the ALPHA course developed by their senior pastor, Nicky Gumbel. Lisa and Kelsey in front of the Jane Austen Centre in Bath. They never did find Mr. Darcy, though you can be sure they looked! At the “Trooping of the Colors” - Queen Elizabeth parades by in her carriage. Kelsey and Wendy were wonderful hostesses, and John and Marilyn were great traveling companions. It would be hard to improve on the trip, unless it would be reclaiming the day Lisa was side-lined with the stomach flu. Even there, God was so gracious to protect the rest of us. Though there were many highlights, the highest light of all was seeing “Les Miserables.” We’ve seen it multiple times by now, but never have we been more moved by the clarity of the message of grace. Maybe its because I’ve lived so much more of life now than I had 20 years ago when I saw it for the first time - and am so much more aware of how completely dependent I am on His grace - or maybe its because I’ve seen His grace be so transformative in my own life as well as in the lives of so many we come alongside. Whatever, I was profoundly touched by the play and challenged anew to walk in grace in a deeper way. So now, the UK is in our rear view mirror, and when we land in several hours, we’ll head directly to Campus by the Sea for our 35th summer. That’s beginning to sound like a long time. We believe we have a wonderful summer staff assembled and can’t wait to see what God will do in our midst in the next seven weeks. HIM Team Trinidad 2008 Returns! We’re safely home from our Family Missions Trip to Trinidad and so full of blessing and thanksgiving. Words will fail me, surely, as I try to express how God met us and used us these past eight days, so read between the lines if you can. This trip had more “this is the first time . . .” moments in it than any other in our ten-year history of doing family missions trips (except the first)! Our day of departure heads the list—and apparently it was a harbinger of things to come. We gathered at Logan last Saturday, March 8, on a rainy, cold morning . . . giving thanks that it wasn’t snowing (yes, even me—I knew that snow would have an unwanted affect our departure, so I gave thanks for rain). Nine hours later, after incremental delays attributable to “low visibility” in Boston and NY-JFK, where we were to connect with a direct flight to Port of Spain (POS), and, after boarding once, only to deplane 45 minutes later, we were re-booked for the next day. A big first. Back home we all went, to clean houses and empty refrigerators, to water turned off and water heaters turned down, with no suitcases (since all had been checked in already, Delta chose to keep them for the night), we spent the night in our own beds. Our greatest disappointment was knowing we would miss our only real chance to attend a Sunday worship service with our Trinidadian brothers and sisters, especially those in Campoo who are continuing the church we helped plant years ago. That really was our sadness. The next two hours were spent locating the 13 (out of 31) pieces of luggage that did arrive, and filing claims for the pieces that didn’t. It was a rather wild time which delayed our arrival at the TTUM compound to around 10. Once there, we were warmly embraced by those who have become so dear to us through the 9 years we’ve partnered with them. Ashoke and Stephanie, Javed and Jenn, John and Donna, Tony and Annette, Maltee, Kelvin, Joshua . . . such precious folks! We also were thrilled to connect with Sarah Hathaway, one of our team members who joined us from Calvin College. We had spent hours on the previous Friday trying to re-route Sarah so she wouldn’t be hampered in getting to Trinidad due to the winter storm which hit the midwest on Saturday (the one that eventually caused our delay!). Ironically, she arrived in Trinidad on time on Saturday—while we all were stranded! Interesting twist. After a wonderful Trinidadian breakfast of “bakes” and cheese, we assessed our limited supplies to see what we had to work with for the launch of Backyard Bible Club (BBC) that afternoon in the little village of Bellamy. By God's grace, we had all the props for the “Sower and the Seeds” skit and part of the corresponding craft, so we went with it. We rehearsed the skit, worked out team dynamics, and prayed. Each night our team met for debriefing and praying together. We experienced deep bonding quickly, in part because “crisis” aids such solidarity and in part because of the previously existing relationships we had all forged through the years. Each person was so important to the team and stepped up in making their own unique contribution to our collective effort. We felt like one big family and Paul and I truly loved “leading” them. Our prayers were answered Monday night when Paul and Javed returned from the airport with all 18 pieces of missing luggage in tow. PTL!! After having spent three days in the same clothes, we were really happy and grateful for things easily taken for granted. Tuesday a.m., freshly showered and in clean clothes, we spent the morning visiting two Hindu temples on a fascinating tour led by Jenn Bachew. The importance of this piece can’t be underestimated as it sets up the obvious contrast between a life dedicated to worshiping an idol and a life dedicated to worshiping our living Lord. We watched a pundit sincerely offering alms and chanting prayers to the “monkey god” at one temple and we observed thousands of fragments of broken “deias” offered at the “water temple.” We saw four funeral pyres set and waiting dead corpses, which would be burned to ashes, which would be scattered in the river, which according to Hindu belief would eventually make it back to the Ganges River for reincarnation. It was very impacting. While at the water temple, Melanie accepted the invitation offered by a Rastifarian-looking fisherman named Balam, to tour his home and business. What a unique opportunity to have an insider’s view into the life of a very entrepreneurial local! We saw his catch of the day: beautiful looking, plump shrimp and small fish, but we also unfortunately saw the murky, muddy waters from which they came, which dimmed their appeal. He took us inside his “home”—a squatter’s dwelling made of corrugated metal roofing and other discarded components fashioned into a suitable-for-him abode. He proudly showed us his “tauer” (incorrect spelling - it’s the flat skillet used to bake roti), his bbq, and his kitchen.” His home was nestled right on the shore line of the viscous water and couldn't have been more hospitable, extending an invitation to all of us to return for a fishing excursion with him. “Just bring your hammocks,” he suggested. Jenn said that kind of an experience was a first for her—and obviously for us, as well. That day was so clear we could easily see Venezuela, which sits just 7 miles from that part of Trini’s coastline. What a gift to have such a lovely day! On the way back to the compound, we bought fresh fruits and veggies from a small farm stand to supplement the very high-carb, low-fresh fare at TTUM. Back to the compound for lunch and preparation for BBC. Fortunately, now flush with supplies from the suitcase reunion, we had everything needed for the remaining three days of club. At 4 p.m., the savannah in Bellamy was flooded with kids within moments of the maxi’s arrival and we increased to 50 kids. Pastor Paul’s promise of an extra treat for any who brought someone new to club created quite a stir, and a good bit of lying and conniving by children who all wanted an extra lollipop. :) The afternoon went very well and culminated with the kids enthusiastically decorating Prayer Journals with really cool foam stickers. We returned to the compound very encouraged, satisfied, and thankful. That night, after our team meeting, we celebrated Melanie’s birthday with cake and ice cream, which was a treat for all. Wednesday we were up and out early to do a program at a local high school. We had very little information regarding what to expect prior to going. Typically at the high schools, we present for one classroom during their period of “Religious Instruction” (RI). We were all delighted and somewhat relieved when Javed climbed on the maxi to accompany us to Cunupia HS that morning. Upon arrival at the security shack for the high school, Javed was told by the security guards that the school was in upheaval due to a student stabbing a teacher the day before, which had caused the teachers to strike. Their grievance was against the government’s changed policy regarding student discipline (that a teacher couldn't really discipline a student, taking their cues from America . . .) which they felt left them unprotected as teachers. In the absence of teachers, the principal requested that our team present to the entire student body. Yikes! Not only were we going into a school which had experienced some form of violence the day before, but we would have the whole school! (The newspaper account of the incident was different from the verbal accounts, so we really don’t know what happened—it was enough to know that something bad happened to cause the teachers to refuse to teach.) Feeling thoroughly unprepared and some degree of terror, we filed into the open-air auditorium and experienced God’s grace and provision in some remarkable ways. We were all very aware that God had gone before us by having Javed with us that day; he was the right person for addressing that audience and did a great job, connecting with the students as only another Trinidadian could. Paul did the “iodine and the cross” illustration, and brave Talene spoke forthrightly about her faith and how it makes a difference in her daily life as a high school sophomore. Their chaplain opened in closed the time by leading several Christian choruses with his booming, rich voice, relieving us of the need to inadequately and anemically lead them musically. And then it was over. We were all relieved and thankful to return to the bus safely. The Cunupia experience was full of firsts. We all left with a much deeper awareness of God’s presence and protection. On to an elementary school for our second school that morning, and that was also full of firsts. Usually we have the whole school at the primary schools and were joyfully welcomed. At Madras Road Government Primary School, we had one classroom of students, and were not even introduced by the somewhat dour teacher in charge. We usually get to interact with the kids after a presentation, but they were sent straight back to their classes and we left. We prayed that God will water the seeds sown. Day three of BBC happened that afternoon. About 60 kids arrived for a somewhat raucous time of singing, performing, crafting, and playing. The best part for us is loving on these kids and letting them know how loved they are by Jesus. We knew many of their names by this point and each had bonded with different ones. It’s amazing how deep our hearts were for these children in such a short time. That night was Prayer Meeting at the compound and Ashoke asked Paul to teach on relationships. We were sharing the compound with a great group of high school students who attend Whitfield Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, and since they would be attending Prayer Meeting also, Paul worked to cover the varied generational needs of this important topic. He did a great job and received a ton of affirmation especially from the Whitfield kids. We were so thankful. The cap of a very long but good day was a definite highlight of the week: John and his steel pan band performed an hour-long concert for the American contingent. It was phenomenal. We worshiped, rejoiced, and praised through music, singing, and dancing. Yes, even Paul. The Whitfield kids pulled him on to the floor to “boogie” with them, I guess figuring that if he was hip enough to speak the way he spoke, he must be hip enough to dance. I wish you could’ve seen his face as they forced him to join them. :) We went to bed that night exhausted, but so, so aware of the goodness, presence, and power of God. We would clearly need it for the next day. Thursday a.m. was challenging in many ways. We descended on Auntie Pearl’s orphanage to clean, since most of the children were in school. Our main project was to clean the laundry/freezer room, which we discovered had a population of roaches that would qualify it as a small city. I can still feel roaches crawling on me today. To say it was a stretch would be a gross understatement, but since the adults were committed to modeling servanthood with a smile to our progeny watching us, we attacked the disgusting, dirty, and “living” area with smiles on the outside and revulsion on the inside. Seth and Richard led the charge nobly and fearlessly; I did the best job of appearance management I could possibly muster, only once shrieking in terror as a roach ran up my leg. We developed the “roach rumba”—a dance that evolved as we stomped the scattering roaches that emerged as objects were moved or clothes shaken out. Meanwhile, most of the team was caring for the dozen or so younger children not of school age, changing diapers, bathing, holding, and loving—while others were reducing the trash strewn about the back yard. Each team member stepped up incredibly, jumping in with hands and feet and mostly heart. It was a morning none of us will forget. We left there with aching hearts, honestly, so aware that our efforts would make very little difference, really. We prayed that God would somehow multiply what we had done, like loaves and fishes, and that He'd show us how to respond to what we’d experienced even as we return to the U.S. Day 4 and grand finale at BBC that afternoon brought all 60 children out even before our maxi arrived. We had a great afternoon, presenting the gospel, finishing projects, and wrapping up with the iodine and cross illustration. Sarah did a great presentation on the “wordless necklace” and Paul explained how to ask Jesus into your heart. Most of the children prayed the prayer with him, and only heaven will sort out who did so sincerely. We parted after many hugs and promises of prayers and left the little village of Bellamy in the hands of God. After our team meeting that night, we broke out “Catch Phrase,” one of our favorite games, and had a rousing match which pitted the men against the women. The women ultimately prevailed, but only by the skin of our teeth. It was a highly competitive, sometimes ruthless match which provided lots of laughs. Friday was full of more firsts. We started the day visiting New Haven Elderly Home and with no knowledge of what to expect, entered with a degree of trepidation. We found about twenty elderly folks in various stages of mobility and mental acuity who were delighted to feel not forgotten for an hour that day. We sang hymns with them, some of whom didn’t miss a word. We did a drama, made them cross necklaces, and spent time talking with them individually and touching them, physically and emotionally. It was sacred time. On to a primary school in the early afternoon, we had a wonderful time presenting to a very appreciative audience and then “limin’” with them after we were done. From there, we were thrilled to go to Campoo to reconnect with some of our longtime friends there as well as to see the progress on the church building. TTUM has decided to build an orphan home in conjunction with the church, which is a very exciting development. It was such a joy to be there and to see the work of God being faithfully carried on. The highlight for several of us was to reunite with Preema, our Hindu friend from our very first BBC in Campoo. Preema had the keys to the community center we used for our first BBC, so we got to know her and her four boys well. At week’s end, she responded to Ashoke’s invitation to receive Christ and wept for thirty minutes after. We had made contact with her each time we’ve been there since, and though it doesn’t appear that the seed fell on fertile soil, she always seems to glad to see us. It was a joyful reunion with her, which prompted many tears from her again. We prayed for her and were so thankful to have had those moments. We rounded out that afternoon by spending some time at “Angel Michael’s Orphan Home,” another first. An unknown entity to TTUM, Jenn had set it up hoping it would be a good place for ministry. It turned out to be a very sketchy place, with lots of evidence of being Obea Baptist (a curious mixture of witchcraft, voodoo, and Christianity). There were only school-aged children there and only one expressed an affect. The rest were relatively void of expression and very unresponsive. It was sad. Saturday was our last full day there and we had an unrestful but fun day of rest. The day started with yet another first: turns out that a drunk young man had trespassed on the compound in the middle of the night and found a place to sleep in one of our rooms, which was occupied by three young ladies. The youngest wakened and, unable to waken her two sleeping sisters, took it on herself to command him to leave their room. After some resistance, he did, only to wander down the hall to another room with an unlocked door. The two guys in this room thought his snoring was from someone on the team, so there he slept there ’til morning. The first we all knew about it was when armed officers (uzzi-armed) arrived at the compound to arrest this guy. No small amount of drama ensued, and our departure for Maracas Bay was delayed slightly. Off we eventually went, stopping first in Port of Spain for one hour of mostly fabric shopping, and then on to Maracas Bay. We indulged in the inimitable “Bake ’n Shark” lunch delicacy before enjoying the “just right” ocean (in terms of temp and wave action). We couldn’t have had a nicer time. From there we made a quick stop at a market for edible souvenirs, and then spent a couple of hours on the river cruise to watch the nightly migration of the Red Ibises, Snowy Egrets, and Blue Herons to their wildlife preserve. It’s a rather magical show they perform and such a confirmation of Creator God, who sets such things in motion. Everything was perfect about the experience, so we felt very blessed. Our evening was spent wrapping up and we shared a very sweet time of sharing and prayer together as a team. Packing, “liming,” and sharing filled the evening, and then we went to bed for our final time at TTUM. Sad farewells were exchanged early the next a.m.—we left with hearts so full of love and gratitude. The above photo was taken at Logan Airport, Boston, just after our arrival back home. Our team was delighted and honored to be met by a precious group of family and friends who gathered to welcome us home. Not on the trip, but included in this photo, are Robie and Donna Gould with daughter Anna; Dan, Liz, and Timmy Yardley; Guy and Barbara Steele; and Rick Welles. We felt so loved!

2019-04-19T18:47:38Z

https://himweb.org/himweb-blog/tag/vacation

Liu Xiaoyuan (刘晓原) stands prominent among China’s human rights lawyers. In 2004, he came to Beijing to practice at the age of 40. In the roughly one decade up to mid-2015, he represented countless rights cases. Some of the more notable of these include the appeal of a death sentence by farmer Li Zhiping (李志平) in Dingzhou, Hebei Province; the Yang Jia (杨佳) police murder case in Shanghai; the case of the three netizens in Fujian (福建三网民); the case of journalist Qi Chonghuai (齐崇淮) in Shandong; and the case of Ji Zhongxing (冀中星), the migrant worker who threw a homemade bomb at the Beijing Capital Airport in 2013. Cases Liu Xiaoyuan has taken on in recent years include the “separatist” case of Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti (伊力哈木▪土赫提), as well as numerous dissidents and activists charged with offenses like incitement, subversion, picking quarrels, or disturbing public order and obstructing official business. Among his clients, the artist Ai Weiwei (艾未未) is probably the most well-known. But from July 2015 till now, Liu Xiaoyuan has been out of work for three and a half years. In 40 days, he stands to lose his practicing license. At least two other lawyers of Beijing Fengrui Law Firm, Zhou Lixin (周立新) and Wang Yu (王宇), are facing the same deadline. Lawyer Huang Liqun (黄力群), a government official before becoming a lawyer, possibly faces the same situation. This is obviously due to the machinations of the Chinese Communist Party. On July 9, 2015, the Chinese government carried out mass arrests of human rights lawyers in what became known as the 709 incident. At the center of this crackdown was the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm (北京锋锐律师事务所). That night, the firm’s lawyer Wang Yu (王宇) was taken away from her home; the next morning, on the 10th, Fengrui director Zhou Shifeng (周世锋) was detained at a hotel in Songzhuang Town of Beijing’s Tongzhou District. More than 10 other Fengrui lawyers and staff were also rounded up. Over the following two weeks, up to 300 lawyers around China were interrogated, held in short-term detention, or given warnings. The 709 Incident is regarded as a movement by the authorities to stamp out human rights lawyers. Official mouthpieces played their part in this effort, labelling the Fengrui Law Firm and the community of rights lawyers as “horses bringing trouble to the herd” (害群之马) and representatives of overseas anti-China forces bent on engineering a color revolution. Liu Xiaoyuan is one of Fengrui Law Firm’s three partners. During the 709 crackdown (Liu himself doesn’t approve of and avoids using this term), at the time he was out of town and was placed under control for three days. Following the incident, around 50 lawyers employed by Fengrui who were not implicated left to work with other law firms. A manager with the Beijing Justice Bureau’s oversight office (监管处), which deals with lawyers, told Liu that being a partner to Fengrui, he could not transfer to another law firm until the cases involving those arrested in connection with the 709 incident were settled and the matter of Fengrui Law Firm resolved. Only then would the office let Liu transfer to a new firm. Lawyer Zhou Shifeng, after being put under six months of residential surveillance, was formally arrested on January 8, 2016. On August 4, he stood trial and was sentenced to seven years in prison and five years of deprivation of political rights for the crime of subversion of state power. In March 2018, the Beijing Justice Bureau suspended Fengrui Law Firm’s law license. On November 9, after the firm’s sub-branch in Nanchong, Sichuan, was closed down, Fengrui’s business permit was revoked. Since that point, Feirui has ceased to exist. Liu Xiaoyuan with clients. Unclear which year. Photo: online. According to the Ministry of Justice’s “Regulations on Law Firm Management” (《律师事务所管理办法》) and the “Beijing Municipal Guidelines for Implementing the Management Regulations of Law Firm Operation” (《北京市律师执业管理办法实施细则》), after a law firm is closed, its partner lawyers are allowed to transfer out. Starting from November 9, 2018, Liu Xiaoyuan and another partner lawyer, Zhou Lixin, as well as lawyer Wang Yu who is the first 709 detainee and released without charges, have six months —or until May 9, 2019 — to transfer to a new law firm. If, by the six-month deadline, they have not transferred to another firm, the lawyers will have their practicing licenses cancelled. It isn’t the first time that Liu Xiaoyuan has had to deal with firm shutdowns and transfers. On April 3, 2011, artist Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Airport and charged with tax evasion. As a friend and lawyer, Liu Xiaoyuan gave interviews with the media voicing his opinion about the legality of the matter. Afterward he himself was taken away with his head covered under a black hood and detained for five days, during which he was subjected to a strip search and interrogation, then released after writing statements of repentance (悔过书) and guarantee (保证书). In 2011 and 2012, the Beijing Justice Bureau found excuses to obstruct the annual inspection of his firm Qijian Law Firm (旗舰律师事务所), forcing the firm’s several lawyers to transfer. Liu Xiaoyuan was compelled to close the firm, but allowed to transfer to a new firm and continue his practice. On November 28, 2012, Liu officially transferred to the Fengrui Law Firm, and became a partner attorney in 2013. By regulation, when lawyers transfer from one firm to another, they must first apply for two documents from the Beijing Lawyers Association (BLA). One is the certificate showing which firms they have worked at, and the other is a certificate confirming that they have not violated lawyer codes. Under normal circumstances, a lawyer can use a member’s login to access the BLA’s website and submit an application. The check will be done using the information on the website and the two documents will be sent to the lawyer, who can then take them to the new law firm that accepts him or her. A proof of employment will be issued by the firm, the local Lawyers Association will issue a certificate. These documents can be submitted online and the transferral process can be completed. The process is fairly easy if it involves just a regular transfer. Liu Xiaoyuan speaking to media during the case of Fujian three netizens in 2010. But in November 2018, around the time Fengrui Law Firm had its business license cancelled, Liu Xiaoyuan found that his information had been deleted from the lawyer management system on the Beijing Justice Bureau’s official site. Entering his name, ID number, or practicing license number produced no results. This meant that the new firm that had accepted him was unable to apply for a transfer number. As this was happening, the BLA’s website updated the status of his practice to “unregistered,” preventing him from logging into the website and retrieving the two documents he needed for transfer. Lawyers Zhou Lixin, also a partner of Fengrui, and lawyer Wang Yu, find themselves in the same situation as Liu Xiaoyuan: they are also facing the possibility of their practice licenses being revoked if they do not transfer by May 9. It would seem that this is precisely what the Beijing Justice Bureau and the BLA is aiming for. Last year, on November 12, Liu Xiaoyuan signed the cancellation documents for the business license of Fengrui Law Firm in the certification branch of Beijing’s Chaoyang District Justice Bureau (朝阳区司法局证照科). The next day, he went to the Beijing Justice Bureau to discuss his transfer. The staff who received him said they had to make a report to their higher-ups and the discussion ended there. The subsequent talks turned into small talk. One of the staff said: “most of the cases you’ve taken on are in other provinces, you can go somewhere else to practice.” Another said: “Why don’t you develop in a new direction and handle economic cases instead?” Liu Xiaoyuan responded: “As a lawyer, the clients come to me. No matter what type of case it is, as long as I think I can take it, I will take the case. I don’t have defined boundaries.” However, he told the three staff members, some cases he took on involved people from vulnerable groups whose human rights had been infringed upon, such as those expropriated of their land and victims of forced demolition. When he went to court, many people would come to attend the hearings and express their approval of his argumentation. That led to similar cases coming his way. He didn’t know that the 40-minute chat he had with these three Justice Bureau staff would be his last time of being received at the Bureau. After that he has had no more such good luck, even though the chat didn’t resolve any of his problems. Over the past few months, he has called the Beijing Justice Bureau’s supervision office practically every day or every other day. No one has ever picked up. He called Xiao Lizhu (萧骊珠), secretary-general of the BLA, and got no response either. His calls to the deputy director of the Chaoyang District Justice Bureau didn’t get through. Looking through Liu’s Twitter posts from the past months, you get the impression of a neverending string of unanswered phone calls. One time a miracle occured: Liu got through to a Justice Bureau deputy director, who listened to him long enough to realize who was calling, then said he had a meeting to attend and immediately hung up. Apart from making phone calls, he wrote to all the relevant addresses he could think of. This included four letters to Justice Bureau chief Li Chunying (李春莹), one to the bureau’s Communist Party secretary Miao Lin (苗林), two to Beijing Mayor Chen Jining (陈吉宁), and one to Yuan Shuhong (袁曙宏), Party secretary of the Ministry of Justice. He sent multiple inquiries to the online box of civil-administrative relations of the Beijing Justice Bureau, and also petitioned at the Bureau’s Letter and Visit office. Faced with this sort of non-answer, Liu didn’t know whether to react with laughter or tears. Already in late November last year, Liu expressed doubt as to whether he would be able to transfer, thus continue his career as a lawyer. Indeed, in the course of the past year, he has seen how many of his fellow human rights lawyers have had their licenses revoked: In January 2018 it was Sui Muqing (隋牧青) and Yu Wensheng (余文生); Zhou Shifeng (周世锋) in February; Xie Yanyi (谢燕益) and Li Heping (李和平) in April; Huang Simin (黄思敏), Wen Donghai (文东海), and Yang Jinzhu (杨金柱), and Qin Yongpei (覃永沛) in May; Cheng Hai (程海) in August; Chen Keyun (陈科云) in October; and Liu Zhengqing (刘正清) that December. Lawyer Zhang Kai (张凯) faces the same problem with his transfer. Lawyers arrested during the 709 Crackdown were subjected to secret detention and brutal torture. Aside from Zhou Shifeng, Fengrui lawyer Wang Quanzhang (王全璋) was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being held for three and a half years without trial. On the eve of China’s annual National People’s Congress that began on March 5, Liu Xiaoyuan launched a countdown on Twitter: 67 days until May 9, the day when he will lose his license if the stonewalling continues. He tweeted the phone number of the Beijing Justice Bureau’s supervisory office: 010-55578662. He knew that the bureau must have put him on a no-call list, but others could call and ask why lawyers like him, Zhou Lixin, Wang Yu, or Zhang Kai were being treated so maliciously and prevented from practicing. Liu asked the media to pay attention to the situation they faced. On March 18, Liu Xiaoyuan dialed the mobile number of Gao Zicheng (高子程), president of the BLA. Gao said that he was aware of the situation, and that he had already told the Secretariat four times and would continue to ask about the matter. The reader may wonder: how is it that the president of the lawyers association asks his subordinates repeatedly to solve this matter, and still with nothing to show for it? This is the lawyers association with Chinese characteristics, not the bar association that you know. Lawyer Tang Jitian (唐吉田), disbarred in 2010, explains it: After the Cultural Revolution, the lawyer system was restored with lawyers being state officials. Beginning in the early 1990s, the profession of lawyer was gradually separated from the state system, and became private, yet remained under the supervision of the Justice Bureau and the Lawyers Association. For years, the president of the Lawyers Association had been held concurrently by the head of the Justice Bureau. It was the same throughout the hierarchy of the Justice Bureaus. By the early 2000s, though lawyers began to serves as presidents, vice presidents, and supervisors of many lawyers associations, the secretariat held real authority, and the staff of the Secretariat were appointed by the the Justice Bureau. These personnel, especially the secretary-general, are actually cadres of the Justice Bureau. Some lawyer associations also have such a position as Party secretary. In these cases, the position was held concurrently by a deputy director in the Justice Bureau office that supervises lawyers. Therefore, actual control over the Lawyers Association lies with the secretariat — that is to say, the Justice Bureau. This is why, though BLA chief Gao Zicheng is aware of Liu Xiaoyuan’s situation, he can do nothing to help even if he answers his phone calls. The current BLA secretary-general, Xiao Lizhu, has been in this position for at least ten years and has a long record of suppressing human rights lawyers. “A lawyer’s right to practice is a human rights, and obstructing my ability to transfer to a new firm and continue practicing is a violation of my basic human rights,” wrote Liu Xiaoyuan on Twitter over and over again. Who says it is not? But this is a normal, rational and modern concept, and the Chinese regime operates neither normally nor rationally; it is still a barbaric rogue state in terms of human rights and the rule of law, the world’s second largest economy though it may be. There are few persons more aware of this painful truth than a Chinese human rights lawyer. As of March 31, there are 40 days until Liu reaches the May 9 deadline to transfer to a new firm. He said he has written (unclear whether it’s filed) a complaint with the Beijing Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Commission, in which he accused the Beijing Justice Bureau of abusing its power. Hope may or may not be on the horizon, but this short-statured lawyer isn’t about to give up just yet. Email subscribe to China Change to have every post delivered to your mailbox. Follow us on Twitter @ChinaChange_org. #2Feb ASI SUENA LA ESPERANZA. On January 23, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the Venezuelan capital to protest the ruling party and President (Nicolás) Maduro. In front of a dense cheering crowd, waving their arms in support, the 35-year-old opposition leader (Juan Guaidó) proclaimed himself “interim President” and immediately received recognition from Western countries led by the U.S. and Latin American neighbors. The current Venezuelan administration faces severe challenges, and an alternation in regime will very likely succeed peacefully. What happened in Venezuela once again tells us one thing: that is, it is only when people take to the streets that regime change is possible. Why, you might ask? Simply because in countries with authoritarian dictatorships like China and North Korea, there’s no mechanism for people to change the regime through elections and other means within the system. Even in democratic countries, people taking to the streets is the most effective and direct way to effect a change in political power. Venezuela is not a completely authoritarian state. It has long possessed a constitutional democracy. But a democratic system cannot guarantee that a corrupt regime will, on its own accord, correct its own mistakes. During Chavez’s four-term presidency and the tenure of his successor, Maduro, it’s not that the opposition did not try to overthrow their rule through elections, but they could not shake the entrenched power. This was in part due to the irrational choices of Venezuelan voters, and in part due to the fact that the opposition could not come together and jointly agree on a leader to put forward. But in recent years the Venezuelan opposition party has continued to explore ways to solve problems within the system, and the majority of public opinion supported the opposition. In the December 2015 parliamentary elections, the opposition won 112 seats of 167 seats and took control of the National Assembly. The outside world thought that this would effectively check the anti-democratic behavior of the current government. However, on August 18, 2017, Maduro also used a method from within the system to announce the establishment of the Constituent Assembly. This Constituent Assembly, with direct legislative power, meant that the National Assembly was deprived of its main powers, making it impossible for the will of the people to be expressed through the system. Through manipulation by the government, the judicial system– another built-in check and balance mechanism – was, likewise, unable to play its role. The Supreme Court opposed the National Assembly’s exercise of its right to effect change in political power. It was only when all means within the system were exhausted and there were no other ways to force a regime that had lost popular support to step down, that the people took action. Heeding the call of the opposition party, tens of thousands of people took to the streets. And this led to the moving scene witnessed by the whole world: the self-proclamation of a takeover of the regime by the young opposition leader. It remains to be seen whether the alternation of political power in Venezuela will be realized smoothly. In addition to the crucial factor of whether the military’s support for the current government will change, the attitude of the United States and Latin American neighbors, such as whether or not to intervene militarily, and their influence, is also crucial. Regardless, at present we can already see there is hope for solving the political deadlock that has long troubled Venezuela. Losing the recognition of the international community and facing large-scale street protests, the future prospects for President Maduro don’t look good. Even if he can manage to hold onto office, it’s unlikely that his rule will proceed smoothly. All that has happened is predicated on the people taking to the streets in large numbers, and peacefully displaying their desire for change. It is often said that street demonstrations are a radical form of protest, which can easily lead to large-scale violent conflicts and undermine the democratic process. But in fact, throughout the ages, the vast majority of regime change took place when people went to the streets. Without the pressure of people taking to the streets, few rulers will take the initiative to step down on their own. At the same time, we also have seen that, without the support of street demonstrations, mechanism from within the system can easily be defeated by all manners of political manipulation. Although people taking to the street may lead to large-scale violent conflicts, there are many examples of peaceful demonstrations that have forced a peaceful change in the regime. The resistance on the street, which occurs outside the system, will provide an opportunity for the opposition party within the system, and it is only such an opportunity that can lead to success for the opposition within the system. This is root cause for why street demonstrations are the only method to change a regime, and what happened in Venezuela proves this point again. Twenty-Eight Years After – An Interview With Wang Dan, October 25, 2017. The Chinese Communist Party Should Fade Into History Peacefully, Avoiding Violence and Minimizing Social Unrest, Zheng Yefu, January 25, 2019. 1. It took about four years from Schellenberg’s detention to his being sentenced to 15 years in prison by the e court of first instance. Schellenberg was apprehended on December 1, 2014, and his case was heard by the Dalian Municipal Intermediate People’s Court i (大连市中级人民法院) on March 15, 2016. On November 20, 2018, at the court of first instance, he was found him guilty of trafficking illicit drugs. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by expulsion from China, as well as a fine of 150,000 RMB. Schellenberg appealed the sentence. 2. The time it took for the case to be returned to the first-instance court with supplemental prosecution was just four days. On December 29, during the review of Schellenberg’s case, the Liaoning High People’s Court (辽宁省高级人民法院) ruled that the original sentence was overly lenient and “obviously inappropriate” [in consideration of the crime], and sent the case back to the Dalian Intermediate Court for retrial. On January 2, 2019, the Dalian Municipal Procuratorate (大连市检察院) submitted a supplementary indictment to the Dalian Intermediate Court. 3. On January 14, 2019, the Dalian Intermediate Court began the retrial at 8 a.m., with proceedings lasting until around 7 p.m., at which time the court adjourned for one hour. After the collegial panel deliberated and submitted its decision to the adjudication committee for discussion, at around 8 p.m. the court resumed the hearing, at which time it, it announced Schellenberg’s death sentence. This was all done in less than a day, deftly and expediently. DW: Robert Lloyd Schellenberg’s case was retried and a new verdict was announced in no more than 15 days. What is your view on this? Zhang: This is indeed a very unusual situation — though the proceeding is in accordance with the law. But it is indeed quite unusual for a case involving the death penalty to finish in just 15 days from court proceedings to delivering the sentence. DW: In increasing the sentence from a 15-year prison term to death, do you think that this verdict was made fairly and in accordance with the evidence? Zhang: I can’t comment on whether or not it was fair. I can only say that in my view as a defense lawyer, the evidence available is insufficient to prove that Schellenberger engaged in smuggling of more than 222 kilograms of drugs in Dalian. This is the first point. Second, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that he participated in organized international drug trafficking. Third, the prosecution provided no new facts in its supplementary indictment about the alleged crime. Therefore, even if the charges are accepted by the court, they cannot be used to increase the severity of Schellenberg’s sentence. These are my three main arguments. But it is regrettable that the court completely disregarded the arguments of the defense. DW: What remains now is for the case to be appealed, correct? Schellenberg has the right of appeal. Only after he files an appeal — we have two lawyers, I am the primary defense attorney, and Zhong Qiang (钟强) is the secondary defense attorney — will we continue to defend him during the appeal period. I guess that he will formally file an appeal in the middle of next week. Mo Shaoping: As defense lawyers, we pleaded not guilty on his behalf. I believe that the evidence provided by the prosecution does not exclude all reasonable doubt, so he should be acquitted. However, the court did not accept this argument and claimed that there were so-called new criminal facts submitted. The defense attorneys believe that the so-called new criminal facts provided in the supplementary indictment are wholly nonexistent. However, if the prosecution did not supplement the indictment, the court would definitely not have issued a death sentence. Therefore, the so-called new criminal facts were meant to take advantage of the procedure of supplementary indictment and retrial to increase the severity of the crime, and warrant the death penalty. Reporter: How did Schellenberg react to [the announcement of the verdict] in court? Mo Shaoping: From beginning to end, Schellenberg denied the charges against him. He denied them then and denies them now. He says that his purpose for travelling to Dalian was purely for tourism, and has no knowledge of drugs. However, the witness Xu Qing (许清), who later appeared in court, may have indeed been involved in the crime. But the authorities considered him to be a witness, rather than a suspect. As attorneys we suspected that at one time this person may have been a public security agent. Later, the public security [Chinese police] produced evidence to show that he wasn’t their agent. So the facts regarding this case were unclear and inconclusive from the start. The evidence as provided could hardly substantiate the charge that Schellenberg was involved in drug smuggling activities. Reporter: The court didn’t accept your arguments? Mo Shaoping: It didn’t, the court issued the death penalty. We have never seen any precedent for this case, in which the death penalty was announced at the hearing. Usually, death sentences are announced on a later date after court has been adjourned and the adjudication committee has deliberated. I’ve never seen a case where the death penalty was announced right after the conclusion of the trial. It’s unprecedented. Reporter:Many people have linked this matter to the case of Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟). Do you think there was a political motivation in Schellenberg’s sentencing? Mo Shaoping: I will leave the analysis to journalists. Schellenberg was held for more than four years, and the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court made a first-instance judgment and sentenced him to 15 years. Why did it take four years to sentence him? Because the court thought that the evidence was insufficient and sought instructions all the way up to the Supreme People’s Court (SPC). The SPC said Schellenberg could be convicted and the sentence should be 15 years. So Schellenberg was sentenced to 15 years in prison according to the SPC’s instructions, and he was also considered an accomplice. As a general rule, after an appeal is filed, the court of second instance will not hold a court hearing; instead, the court rules just based on the written documents in the case. It’s very unusual that a second-instance court would suddenly hold a hearing, and then suddenly remand the case for retrial. It took the Dalian Procuratorate only one day to produce and submit the so-called supplementary indictment to the court after the retrial order had been made. Just 16 days later the court tried Schellenberg again and announced the death penalty right after the trial. Everything about the proceeding was unusual. It is clearly stipulated in law that there is to be no increase in punishment when a case is sent back for retrial. Without new facts or new evidence, there cannot be an additional penalty. If a new crime is discovered, after the original sentence has taken effect and the case remanded, then the new criminal facts should be re-indicted in accordance with the adjudication supervision procedures. Increasing the penalty on remand is not permitted, so as not to deter the defendant from appealing. Article 237 of the PRC Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) stipulates that second instance people’s courts handling appeals submitted by the defendant, his legal representative, defender, or close relatives, must not increase the defendant’s punishment. Cases that second instance courts remand to first instance courts for retrial, except when there are the new criminal facts and the people’s procuratorate provides a supplemental indictment, the original people’s court must also not increase the defendant’s penalty. In instances in which the people’s procuratorate lodges an appeal or where there is a private prosecution appeal, the aforementioned restrictions do not apply. Per the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of the PRC Criminal Procedure Law, Article 327: After the defendant, or his legal representative or defender, or a close relative, files an appeal, and the second instance people’s court remands the case for retrial, except in cases where there are new criminal facts and the people’s procuratorate files a supplementary indictment, the original people’s court must not increase the defendant’s penalty. When courts of second instance send various cases back for retrial on the grounds of unclear facts and insufficient evidence, purporting they have a new understanding of circumstances that were already discovered during the original trial, and result in supplemental prosecutions and an additional penalty for the defendant through retrial by the court of first instance, it is a disguised violation of the principle of “appeal without increased penalty.” The result is that the appeal system will inevitably be damaged the defendant’s right of appeal will be impaired and constrained; the second-instance final appeal review and correction mechanism will be forfeited. There’s no way around this. Regardless of the case, it is very easy to find a few pages of new evidence, and have a new understanding of the details of the case. As long as a judge is allowed to remand a case with supplemental charges, a reason could be found in any case to support a sentence increase. Accordingly, defendants would not dare to appeal. The system of China’s second-instance final review would be fundamentally destroyed. The Canadian named Schellenberg was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court on November 20, 2018 after being detained for more than four years. In addition, the court confiscated 150,000 yuan of his assets and ordered his deportation. He insisted that he was not guilty, and filed an appeal. It really was a strange coincidence that just at this point in time, in early December, the Canadian police arrested a high level Chinese business executive named Meng [Wanzhou] based on the extradition treaty between the United States and Canada. This move triggered an angry protest from China, which threatened Canada, telling Canada it would pay for what it had done. Soon after, on December 29, the Schellenberg appeal was heard in the Liaoning High People’s Court. It is worth noting that the procuratorate did not file a protest after the trial in the court of first instance, but this did not prevent the High Court from remanding the case to the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court for retrial. Meanwhile, the New Year’s holiday intervened, and so it was on January 14, 2019, in less than ten work days, the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court unexpectedly and, in lightning speed, tried the case, and in a shocking move, changed the defendant’s sentence to the death penalty, and confiscated all his assets. Some people have asked: Doesn’t China’s Criminal Procedure Law stipulate the norm of “appeal without an increase in penalty”? A local scholar who attended the retrial responded that the rule prohibiting an increase in penalty does not include cases in which the procuratorate discovers and raises new criminal facts after the defendant appealed, or cases in which the procuratorate did not lodge a protest. “appeal without an increase in penalty.” As long as the defendant refuses to accept the original judgment and appeals, all that awaits the defendant is the procuratorate’s protest (even a protest is not actually necessary) and a subsequent increase in punishment. So who would dare to appeal? Furthermore, now that the procuratorate produced new facts so quickly in such a short period of time after the first instance trial, one wonders why they didn’t discover these facts during the four years of Schellenberg’s detention, facts that have caused the outcome of the case to change so drastically? Even though the PRC’s Criminal Procedure Law does not have the “double jeopardy” clause that prohibits anyone from being prosecuted twice for substantially the same crime, we have reasons to expect that the procuratorate had learned all the facts and made all the preparation before the first trial, given that the investigation had gone on for four years and had been through all sorts of pretrial procedures. How could it be that as soon as the defendant appealed, the procuratorate “discovered new facts” and that the defendant changed from being an accomplice to the principal culprit? Isn’t that just bizarre? In this country, administrative officials can make wrong decisions and diplomats can blatantly lie, but if judicial organs also take part in such a farce, succumbing to external interference and treating the law like a toy, that’s really a despairing and perilous situation. He Weifang and Zhang Jianwei’s comments on WeChat. In the case of supplementary indictment, the court could alter the sentence and increase the penalty. Here, supplementary indictment should be understood to mean that the supplemental crimes are crimes in addition to what has already been tried; if the prosecutors supplemented certain facts that fall within the criminal facts that have already been tried in the first instance but may affect the penalty decision, it is still a violation of the principle of no increase of sentence on appeal. The thinking behind the principle of no increase of sentence on appeal is to allay the defendant’s fear of a worse outcome on appeal. In Schellenberg’s case it was the defendant who appealed, and increasing the penalty through spurious reasons is a violation of the principle of no increase of sentence on appeal. At the moment when China and Canada is locked in a diplomatic row, such a judicial re-sentencing rouses the suspicion that the judiciary in China is merely a servant of politics, and it hurts the international perception of China being a country governed according to the law. As such, there is more to be lost than gained. You may think you are doing good for the country, but you are in fact ruining it.

2019-04-20T18:12:35Z

https://chinachange.org/category/government/

B.Sc. (Distinction with Honor) Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, 1986. M.Sc. Civil Engineering (Specialty: Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing), Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, 1989. M.Sc. Geodetic Science (Specialty: Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing), Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 1993. Ph.D. Geodetic Science (Specialty: Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing), Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 1994. 2017: Outstanding Achievement Award presented at the 10th International Conference on Mobile Mapping Technology in recognition of pioneering contributions in developing and promoting Mobile Mapping Technology. Outstanding Achievement Award presented at the 10th International Conference on Mobile Mapping Technology in recognition of pioneering contributions in developing and promoting Mobile Mapping Technology. 2017: Second Place for the 2017 John I. Davidson President's Award for Practical Papers in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing - He, F., & Habib, A. (2016). Automated Relative Orientation of UAV-Based Imagery in the Presence of Prior Information for the Flight Trajectory. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 82(11), 879-891. 2016: Purdue's 2016 Seed for Success Award for the project "Automated Sorghum Phenotyping and Trait Development Platform". The Seed for Success Award is given in recognition of the accomplishments of single investigators and teams of investigators for their efforts in obtaining a $1 million dollar or more external sponsored award. 2016: Grand prize winner for the 2016 Talbert Abrams Award for the following paper in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing: Mazaheri, M., & Habib, A. (2015). Quaternion-Based Solutions for the Single Photo Resection Problem. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing,81(3), 209-217. 2014: Second Honorable Mention recipient for the 2014 Talbert Abrams Award for the following paper in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing: "Al-Durgham, M. and Habib, A., 2013. A Framework for the Registration and Segmentation of Heterogeneous LiDAR Data," PE&RS, 79 (2), 135-145". 2013: Recipient of the 2013 Innovation in Mobile Mapping Award for the following paper "Kwak, E., Habi, A., and Tseng, Y., 2013. Comparative Analysis of Different Approaches for Multi-Camera System Calibration. 8th International Symposium of Mobile Mapping Technology, Tainan, Taiwan, May 1-3, 2013". 2013: Recipient of the 2013 Best Paper Award for the following paper "Lari, Z., Al-Durgham, M., Wang, M., and Habib, A., 2013. Comparative Analysis of Region Growing, Octree-Based Split-and-Merge, and Parameter-Domain LiDAR Segmentation Techniques. 8th International Symposium of Mobile Mapping Technology, Tainan, Taiwan, May 1-3, 2013". 2013: Recipient of the 2013 Best Paper Award for the following paper "Armeshi, H. and Habib, A., 2013. Automated extraction of specific features/objects from imagery of electrical substation. 8th International Symposium of Mobile Mapping Technology, Tainan, Taiwan, May 1-3, 2013". 2012: Recipient of the President's Citation Award from the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) for his four-year service as the Chair of Working Group I/3 - Multi-sensor multi-platform inter-calibration. The citation is awarded in recognition of special, personal and meritorious contributions to the operation of the working group's activities and advancement of its interests. The award was handed in during the closing ceremony of the XXII ISPRS Congress in Melbourne, Australia (Aug. 25 - Sep. 1, 2012. 2011: Recipient of the 2011 Third and Fourth Year Dinner Teaching Excellence Award for Geomatics Engineering. 2011: Recipient of the Best Oral Presentation Award from the 2011 ISPRS Laser Scanning Workshop for the following paper "Al-Durgham, M., Detchev, I., and Habib, A., 2011. Analysis of Two Triangle-Based Multi-Surface Registration Algorithms of Irregular Point Clouds. Proceedings of the 2011 Laser Scanning Workshop, Calgary, Alberta, August 29-31, 2011". 2011: Recipient of the 2011 American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Photogrammetric (Fairchild) Award. This award was established in 1944 to stimulate the development of the art of aerial photogrammetry. 2011: Best Paper Award from the 2011 International Workshop on Multi-Platform/Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing and Mapping for the following paper "Kersting, K., Habib, A., Bang, K., 2011. Mounting Parameters Calibration of GPS/INS-Assisted Photogrammetric Systems. Proceedings of the 2011 International Workshop on Multi-Platform/Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing and Mapping, Xiamen, China, January 10-12, 2011". 2010: Plaque of Appreciation from the 14th Saudi Technical Exchange Meeting, May 31 - June 2, 2010, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). 2009: Certificate of Appreciation from the Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National Central University Taiwan. This certificate is presented in recognition of substantial contribution to the 2009 CSRS 2009 seminar series. 2008: Third Place for the 2008 John I. Davidson President's Award for Practical Papers in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing "Habib, A., Kim, E., and Kim, C., 2007. New Methodologies for True Orthophoto Generation, PERS, 73 (1), 25-36". 2008: First runner-up for the 2008 Talbert Abrams Award for the following paper in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing: "Habib, A., Kim, E., and Kim, C., 2007. New Methodologies for True Orthophoto Generation, PERS, 73 (1), 25-36". 2008: Grand prize winner for the 2008 Talbert Abrams Award for the following paper in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing: Morgan, M., Kim, K., Jeong, S., Habib, A. Epipolar Resampling of Space-Borne Linear Array Scanner Scenes using Parallel Projection. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing; 2006, 72 (11): 1255-1263. 2008: Certificate of Nomination for the GSA Teaching Excellence Awards for "Consistently facilitating a positive, proactive and empowering environment for lifelong learners at the University of Calgary". Presented by the Graduate Students' Association Teaching Excellence Awards Committee. 2008: Recipient of the 2007 Geomatics Engineering Graduate Educator Award for outstanding contributions to graduate education in the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. 2007: Second Place for the 2007 John I. Davidson President's Award for Practical Papers for the "ASPRS Report to the U.S. Geological Survey on Digital Ortho-imagery. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 72(2) 95-108". 2006: 2005/2006 Recipient of the Research Excellence Award from the Department of Geomatics Engineering, University of Calgary. 2005: 2004/2005 Professor of the year as chosen by the students of Geomatics Engineering, University of Calgary. Habib, A., Al-Ruzouq, R., and Kim, C. Semi-Automatic Registration and Change Detection using Multi-source Imagery with Varying Geometric and Radiometric Properties. XXth ISPRS Congress, Istanbul, Turkey, PS ICWG II/IV Change Detection and Updating for Geo-database, pp.445, (12-23 July 2004). 2004: Recipient of the Talbert Abrams Second Honorable Mention from the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) for the following paper in the PE&RS journal. Habib, A., Lee, Y., and Morgan, M. Automatic Matching and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Free-Form Linear Features from Stereo Images. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 69, February 2003, pp. 189-197. 2002: Recipient of the Talbert Abrams Grand Award from the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) for the following paper in the PE&RS journal. Habib, A. and Kelley, D. Single Photo Resection Using the Modified Hough Transform. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 67, August 2001, pp. 909-914. 2002: Plaque of Appreciation from the Korean Society for Geo-Spatial Information System, November 11, 2002. This award has been presented for the esteemed cooperation and the international relationship between the University of Calgary and the Korean Society for Geo-Spatial Information System. 1996: Recipient of the Duane C. Brown Senior Award that was established to "promote and stimulate scientific activity on Photogrammetry." The Duane C. Brown Award is presented to a person who has most successfully forwarded the cause of Photogrammetry and strengthened the reputation of the Department of Geodetic science and Surveying (currently, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science) of The Ohio State University in the field of Photogrammetry. Habib, A., Kim, E., Wang, S., Kresting, A., 2009. Registration Quality - Towards Integration of Laser Scanning and Photogrammetry. Submitted to the EuroSDR (28 pages). Habib, A., Kersting, A., and Bang, K., 2009. Calibration of LiDAR Systems. Submitted to Institute of Technology and Development, located in Curitiba, Brazil (73 pages). Habib, A. and Rens, J., 2008. Quality Assurance and Quality Control of LiDAR Systems and Derived Data. Submitted to the ASPRS LiDAR Committee (15 pages). Habib, A. and Kersting, J., Kim, C., 2008. 2D-3D GIS Updating and Change Detection using LiDAR Data. Project Report Submitted to the Sejong University for the Seoul City Project (66 Pages). Habib, A., 2008. Technology Development for the Generation and Updating of Next Generation Digital Base-Maps, Project Report Submitted to the Korean Land Spatialization Research Project (22 Pages). Habib, A., Kim, C., Bang, K., Kersting, A., Kersting, J., Jarvis, A., Zhai, R., and Detchev, I., 2008. Semi-Automated 3D Complex Building Extraction from Multiple Aerial Images and LiDAR Data. Submitted to the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), April 2008 (113 pages). Habib, A., Bang, K., Aldelgawy, M., Chang, D., Kim, C., Kresting, A., Lay, J., 2007. Algorithmic Development for Rapid Updating of GIS Database Using Multi-Source Geo-Spatial Data. Technical Report Submitted to Sejong University for the Seoul City Project (80 pages). Habib, A., Lay, J., Wang, C., 2006. Accuracy, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control of LiDAR Systems: Technical Background. Technical report submitted to the Integrated Land Management Bureau (ILMB), Base Mapping and Geomatics Services, July 2006 (71 pages). Habib, A., Kim, C., Bang, K., 2006. Algorithms for True Orthophoto Generation by Integrating Photogrammetric and LiDAR Data. Submitted to the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), October 2006 (58 pages). Habib, A., 2006. LiDAR Data Specifications, Technical report submitted to the Integrated Land Management Bureau (ILMB), Base Mapping and Geomatics Services, November 2006 (40 pages). Habib, A., Ghanma, M., Al-Ruzouq, R., Morgan, M., Mrstik, M., and Mitishita, E., 2005. Co-Registration of Photogrammetric and LiDAR Surfaces. Submitted to the GEOIDE Research Network, Canada. (52 pages). Habib, A., Kim, E., Morgan, M., and Kim, C., 2004. Investigation into Geometric Fusion of Satellite Based Imaging Systems for 3-D Object Reconstruction. Submitted to the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Korea, December 2004 (170 pages). Habib, A., Dunn, C., Pullivelli, A., and Ghanma, M., 2004. Camera Calibration and Stability Analysis Using AutoMeasure, MSAT, and CAST Packages: Software Specification Report. Submitted to Mosaic Mapping Systems, Ottawa, Canada, September 2004 (70 pages). Habib, A., Mrstik, P., Pullivelli, A., Ghanma, M., Al-Ruzouq, R., Kim, E., and Cheng, R., 2004. Quantitative Measures for the Evaluation of Camera Stability. Submitted to the GEOIDE Research Network, Canada, April, 2004 (57 pages). Habib, A. and Morgan, M., 2003. Epipolar Image Resampling from Push-Broom Imagery Phase II - Further Investigation & Implementation. Submitted to the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), August, 2003 (96 pages). Habib, A. and Ghanma, M., 2003. Software Development for Digital Camera Calibration. Submitted to the United States Geological Survey (USGS)/The Ohio State University, December, 2003 (40 pages). Habib, A. and Morgan, M., 2002. Epipolar Image Resampling from Push-Broom Imagery: Investigation and Preliminary Implementation. Submitted to the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), December, 2002 (107 pages). Habib, A., Lee, Y., and Morgan, M., 2001. Recognition of Road Signs in Terrestrial Color Imagery - Phase 1: Hypothesis Generation. Project Report Submitted to Navigation Technologies Inc., Chicago, USA. Habib, A., Asmamaw, A., May, M., and Kelley, D., 1999. Linear Features in Photogrammetry. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, The Ohio State University. Departmental Report # 451. Habib, A., Uebbing, R., and Asmamaw, A., 1999. Automatic Extraction of Road Intersections from Raster Maps. Project Report submitted to the Center for Mapping, The Ohio State University. Habib, A. and Beshah, B., 1998. Modeling Panoramic Linear Array Scanner. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, The Ohio State University. Departmental Report # 443. Kurt, N. and Habib, A., 1998. Concepts for Positioning and Object Recognition for Multi-Sensor Data with GPS Support. Project Report Submitted to US Air Force (76 pages). Habib, A., 1994. Estimation of Motion Parameters for Stereo-Image Sequences Using Data Association of Linear Features. PhD thesis, Department of Geodetic Science, The Ohio State University (129 pages). Habib, A., 1986. Treatment of Photogrammetric Measurements from the Effect of Earth Curvature. MSc thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, Cairo University. Al-Rawabdeh, A.; Moussa, A.; Foroutan, M.; El-Sheimy, N.; Habib, A., 2017 Time Series UAV Image-Based Point Clouds for Landslide Progression Evaluation Applications. Sensors (17), 2378. Chen, M.; Habib, A.; He, H.; Zhu, Q.; Zhang, W., 2017. Robust Feature Matching Method for SAR and Optical Images by Using Gaussian-Gamma-Shaped Bi-Windows-Based Descriptor and Geometric Constraint. Remote Sensing (9), 882. Lari, Z., El-Sheimy, N., & Habib, A., 2017. A New Approach for Realistic 3D Reconstruction of Planar Surfaces from Laser Scanning Data and Imagery Collected Onboard Modern Low-Cost Aerial Mapping Systems. Remote Sensing, 9(3), 212. Detchev, I., Lichti, D., Habib, A., & El-Badry, M., 2017. Multi-dimensional and multi-temporal motion estimation of a beam surface during dynamic testing using low-frame rate digital cameras. Applied Geomatics, 1-15. Lin, Y., Benziger, R., and Habib, A. (2016). Planar-Based Adaptive Down-Sampling of Point Clouds. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 82(12), 955-966. Habib, A., Han, Y.*, Xiong, W., He, F., Zhang, Z., & Crawford, M. (2016). Automated Ortho-Rectification of UAV-Based Hyperspectral Data over an Agricultural Field Using Frame RGB Imagery. Remote Sensing, 8(10), 796. He, F., and Habib, A. (2016). Automated Relative Orientation of UAV-Based Imagery in the Presence of Prior Information for the Flight Trajectory. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 82(11), 879-891. Habib, A., Xiong, W., He, F., Yang, H., and Crawford, M., 2016. Improving Ortho-rectification of UAV-based Push-broom Scanner Imagery using Derived Orthophotos from Frame Cameras. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, Volume: 10, No. 1, Issue 99, 262-276. Guo, Z., Du, S., and Habib, A., 2016. An Extended Random Walker Approach for Object Extraction by Integrating VGI Data and VHR Image. An Extended Random Walker Approach for Object Extraction by Integrating VGI Data and VHR Image. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 9(5), 1854-1863. Kim, C., Habib, A., Pyeon, M., Kwon, G. R., Jung, J., & Heo, J. (2016). Segmentation of Planar Surfaces from Laser Scanning Data Using the Magnitude of Normal Position Vector for Adaptive Neighborhoods. Sensors,16(2), 140. Al-Rawabdeh, A., He, F., Mousaa, A., El-Sheimy, N., & Habib, A. (2016). Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Digital Imaging System to Derive a 3D Point Cloud for Landslide Scarp Recognition. Remote Sensing, 8(2), 95. Habib, A., & Lin, Y. J. (2016). Multi-Class Simultaneous Adaptive Segmentation and Quality Control of Point Cloud Data. Remote Sensing,8(2), 104. He, F., & Ayman, H. (2016). A Closed-Form Solution for Coarse Registration of Point Clouds Using Linear Features. Journal of Surveying Engineering, 04016006. Chiang K-W, Tsai M-L, Naser E-S, Habib A, Chu C-H, 2015. New Calibration Method Using Low Cost MEM IMUs to Verify the Performance of UAV-Borne MMS Payloads. Sensors. 2015; 15(3):6560-6585. Mazaheri, M., and Habib, A., 2015. Quaternion-Based Solutions for the Single Photo Resection Problem. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing Journal, Vol. 81, No. 3, pp. 209-2017. Habib, A., Detchev, I., and Kwak, E., 2014. Stability Analysis for a Multi-Camera Photogrammetric System. Sensors 2014, 14, pp. 15084-15112; doi: 10.3390/s140815084. Lari, Z., Habib, A., Mazaheri, M., and Al-Durgham, K., 2014. Multi-camera system calibration with built-in relative orientation constraints (part 1): Theoretical principle, Journal of Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp.191-204. Lari, Z., Habib, A., Mazaheri, M., and Al-Durgham, K., 2014. Multi-camera system calibration with built-in relative orientation constraints (part 2): Automation, implementation, and experimental results, Journal of Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp.205-216. Al-Durgham, K., and Habib, A., 2014. Association-Matrix-Based Sample Consensus Approach for Automated Registration of Terrestrial Laser Scans using Linear Features. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing Journal, Vol. 80, No. 10, pp. 23-33. Lari, Z. and Habib, A., 2014. An adaptive approach for the segmentation and extraction of planar and linear/cylindrical features from laser scanning data, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Vol. 93, pp. 192-212. Canaz, S. and Habib, A., 2013. Photogrammetric Features for the Registration of Terrestrial Laser Scans with Minimum Overlap. Journal of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Vol. 2, Iss. 1, pp. 1-8, May 2013. Habib, A., Lari, Z., Kwak, E., and Al-Durgham, K., 2013. Automated Detection, Localization, and Identification of Signalized Targets and their Impact on Digital Camera Calibration. Brazilian Journal of Cartography (RBC) - Revista Brasileira de Cartografi a, N0 65/4, p. 785-803, 2013. Kwak, E., Habib, A., 2013. Automatic representation and reconstruction of DBM from LiDAR data using Recursive Minimum Bounding Rectangle. ISPRS J. Photogram. Remote Sensing (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2013.10.003. Kwak, E., Habib, A., Tseng, Y., 2013. Comparative Analysis of Different Approaches for Multi-Camera System Calibration. Journal of Aeronautics, Astronautics and Aviation, Series A, Vol. 45, No. 3, Pp. 171-178. Kwak, E., I. Detchev, A. Habib, M. El-Badry, and C. Hughes, 2013. Precise photogrammetric reconstruction using model-based image fitting for 3D beam deformation monitoring. Journal of Surveying Engineering, Vol. 139, No. 3, pp. 143-155. Detchev, I., A. Habib, and M. El-Badry, 2013. Dynamic beam deformation measurements with off-the-shelf digital cameras. Journal of Applied Geodesy, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.147-157. Kersting, A., Habib, A., and Muller, M., 2013. Quantitative Evaluation and Quality Control of Commercially Adopted Traditional and Modern LiDAR System Calibration Techniques. Brazilian Journal of Cartography - RBC, No. 65/04, pp. 731-745 (Invited Paper). Al-Durgham, M., and Habib, A., 2013. A Framework for the Registration and Segmentation of Heterogeneous LiDAR Data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing Journal, Vol. 79, No. 2, pp. 135-145. Lari, Z., and Habib, A., 2013. New Approaches for Estimating the Local Point Density and its Impact on LiDAR Data Segmentation. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing Journal, Vol. 79, No. 2, pp. 195-207. Kersting, A. and Habib, A., 2012. A Comparative Analysis between Rigorous and Approximate Approaches for LiDAR System calibration. Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography (Invited Paper), 2012.30.6, pp. 503-515. Kersting, A., Habib, A., Bang, K., and Skaloud, J., 2012. Automated approach for rigorous light detection and ranging system calibration without preprocessing and strict terrain coverage requirements. Journal of Optical Engineering, 51, 076201 (2012), DOI:10.1117/1.OE.51.7.07620. Al-Ruzouq, A., and Habib, A., 2012. Linear Features for Automatic Registration and Reliable Change Detection of Multi-Source Imagery. Journal of Spatial Science (formerly, The Australian Surveyor and Cartography), Vol. 57, No. 1, June 2012, pp. 51-64. Yan, W., Shaker, A., Habib, A., Kersting, A., 2012. Improving Classification Accuracy of Airborne LiDAR Intensity Data by Geometric Calibration and Radiometric Correction. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, January 2012, Vol. 67, pp. 35-44. Habib, A., Kersting, A., Bang, K., and Rau, J., 2011. A novel Single Step Procedure for the Calibration of the Mounting Parameters of a Multi-Camera Mobile Mapping System. Archives of Photogrammetry, Cartography and Remote Sensing, Vol. 22, pp. 173-185. Habib, A., Kwak, E., and Al-Durgham, M., 2011. Model-Based Automatic 3D Building Model Generation by Integrating LiDAR and Aerial Images. Archives of Photogrammetry, Cartography and Remote Sensing, Vol. 22, pp. 187-200. Habib, A., Kersting, A., Shaker, A., and Yan, W., 2011. Geometric Calibration and Radiometric Correction of LiDAR Data and their Impact on the Quality of Derived Products. Sensors 2011; Vol. 11, No. 9, pp. 9069-9097. Detchev, I., Habib, A., and Chang, Y., 2011. Image Matching and Surface Registration for 3D Reconstruction of a Scoliotic Torso. GEOMATICA Journal, Vol. 65, No. 2, 2011, pp. 327-335. Renaudin, E., Habib, A., Kersting, A., 2011. Feature-Based Registration of Terrestrial Laser Scans with Minimum Overlap Using Photogrammetric Data. ETRI Journal, Vol. 33, No.4, Aug. 2011, 517-527. Rau J.-Y., Habib A.F., Kersting A.P., Chiang K.-W., Bang K.-I., Tseng Y.-H., Li Y.H., 2011. Direct Sensor Orientation of a Land-Based Mobile Mapping System. Sensors, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 7, pp. 7243-7261. Bang, K., Habib, A., and Kersting, A., 2010. Estimation of Biases in LiDAR System Calibration Parameters using Overlapping Strips. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 36, Suppl. 2, pp. S335-S354. Lee, J., Han, D., Kiyun, Y., Joon, H., and Habib, A., 2010. An Automatic Registration Method for Adjustment of Relative Elevation Discrepancies between LiDAR Data Strips. GIS & Remote Sensing Journal, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 115-134. Habib, A., Zhai, R., and Kim, C., 2010. Generation of Complex Building Models by Integrating Stereo-Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing Journal vol. 76, no. 5, pp. 609-623. Habib, A., Bang, K., Kersting, A., and Chow, J., 2010. Alternative Methodologies for LiDAR System Calibration. Remote Sensing Journal (ISSN 2072-4292), Vol. (2), pp. 874-907. Habib, A., Kersting, A., Bang, K., and Lee, D., 2010. Alternative Methodologies for the Internal Quality Control of Parallel LiDAR Strips. IEEE Transactions on Geo-Science and Remote Sensing, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 221-236. Bang, K., Habib, A., and Muller, M., 2009. LiDAR System Calibration Using Overlapping Strips. Geodetic Science Bulletin Journal, Vol. 15, No 5, pp. 725-743. Lichti, D., Habib, A., Detechev, I., 2009. An Object-Space Simulation Method for Low-Cost digital Camera Stability Testing. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing Journal, vol. 75, no. 12, pp. 1407-1414. Dal Poz, A., Habib, A., Marcato, V., Correia, L., 2009. Geometric Refinement of Laser-Derived Building Roof Contours using Photogrammetric Data. Geodetic Science Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 208-223 (July, 2009). Habib, A., Bang, K., Kersting, K., and Lee, D., 2009. Error Budget of LiDAR Systems and Quality Control of the Derived Data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, vol. 75, no. 9, pp.1093-1108. Kim, C., Habib, A., 2009. Object-Based Integration of Photogrammetric and LiDAR Data for Automated Generation of Complex Polyhedral Building Models. Sensors Journal. 2009; 9(7):5679-5701. Habib, A., Chang, Y., Lee, D., 2009. Occlusion-based Methodology for the Classification of LiDAR Data. Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 703-712. Habib, A., Kersting, A., Bang, K., Zhai, R., Al-Durgham, M., 2009. A Strip Adjustment Procedure to Mitigate the Impact of Inaccurate Mounting Parameters in Parallel Strips. The Photogrammetric Record 24(126): 171-195. Mitishita, E., Habib, A., Centeno, J., Machado, A., Lay, J., Wong, C., 2008. Photogrammetric and LiDAR Data Integration Using the Centroid of a Rectangular Roof as a Control Point. The Photogrammetric Record 23(121): 19-35. Habib, A., Shin, S., Kim, K., Kim, C., Bang, K., Kim, E., Lee, D., 2007. Comprehensive Analysis of Sensor Modeling Alternatives for High Resolution Imaging Satellites. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing; 2007, 73 (11):1241-1251. Shin, S., Habib, A., Ghanma, M., Kim, C., and Kim, E., 2007. Algorithms for Multi-Sensor and Multi-Primitive Photogrammetric Triangulation. ETRI Journal, Vol. 29, No. 4, August 2007, pp. 411-420. Lee, J., Yu, K., Kim., Y., Habib, A., 2007. Adjustment of Discrepancies between LiDAR Data Strips Using Linear Features. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, Vol 4., No. 3, July 2007, pp. 475-479. Cheng, R., Habib, A., 2007. Stereo-Photogrammetry for Generating and Matching Facial Models. Optical Engineering Journal, June 2007, Vol. 46(7): pp. 067203/1 - 067203/11. Habib, A., Kim, E., Kim, C., 2007. New Methodologies for True Orthophoto Generation. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing; 2007, 73 (1): 25-36. Jaremko, J., Cheng, R., Lambert, R., Habib, A., and Ronsky, J., 2006. Reliability of an efficient MRI-based method for estimation of knee cartilage volume using surface registration. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Journal, 2006; 14(9):914-922. Morgan, M., Kim, K., Jeong, S., Habib, A., 2006. Epipolar Resampling of Space-Borne Linear Array Scanner Scenes using Parallel Projection. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing; 2006, 72 (11): 1255-1263. Habib, A., Cheng, R., Kim, E., Mitishita, E., Frayne, R., and Ronsky, J., 2006. Automatic Surface Matching for the Registration of LiDAR Data and MR Imagery Authors. ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute) Journal, Volume 28, Number 2, pp. 162-174. Habib, A., Pullivelli, A., Mitishita, E., Ghanma, M., and Kim E., 2006. Stability analysis of low-cost digital cameras for aerial mapping using different geo-referencing techniques, Journal of Photogrammetric Record, 21(113):29-43, March 2006. McGlone, C., Barclay, T., Freeborn, E., Greve, C., Habib. A., Keating, T., Lenczowski, R., Logan, B., Schenk, T., Stojic, M., Voss, A., Lee, G., and Plasker, J., 2006. ASPRS Report to the US Geological Survey on Digital Ortho-imagery, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. 95-108, February 2006. Habib, A., Ghanma, M., and Mitishita, M., 2005. Photogrammetric Geo-referencing using LiDAR Linear and Aerial Features. Korean Journal of Geomatics, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 7-19, December 2005, (Invited Paper). Habib, A. and Morgan, M., 2005. Stability Analysis and Geometric Calibration of Off-the-Shelf Digital Cameras. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 71, No. 6, pp. 733-741, June 2005. Habib, A., Ghanma, M., Morgan, M., and Al-Ruzouq, R., 2005. Photogrammetric and Lidar Data Registration Using Linear Features. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 71, No. 6, pp. 699-707, June 2005. Habib, A., Morgan, M., Jeong, S., and Kim, K., 2005. Epipolar Geometry of Line Cameras Moving with Constant Velocity and Attitude. ETRI Journal, Volume 27, Number 2, pp. 172-180, April 2005. Habib, A., Pullivelli, A., and Morgan, M., 2005. Quantitative Measures for the Evaluation of Camera Stability. Optical Engineering 44(3) 033605(8 pages), March 2005. Habib, A. and Al-Ruzouq, R., 2005. Semi Automatic Registration of Multi-Source Satellite Imagery with Varying Geometric Resolutions. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 71, No. 3, pp. 325-332, March 2005. Habib, A., Morgan, M., Jeong, S., and Kim, K., 2005. Analysis of Epipolar Geometry in Linear Array Scanner Scenes. Photogrammetric Record, 20(109):27-47, March 2005. Habib, A., Ghanma, M., and Mitishita, E., 2004. Integration of Photogrammetric and LiDAR Data: Methodology and Case Study. Invited Paper, Brazilian Journal of Cartography (RBC), Vol. 56/1, July 2004, pp. 1-13. Habib, A. and Al-Ruzouq, R., 2004. Line-Based Modified Iterated Hough Transform For Automatic Registration of Multi-Source Imagery. Photogrammetric Record, 19(105): 5-21, March 2004. Habib, A., Lee, Y., and Morgan, M., 2003. Automatic Matching and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Free-Form Linear Features from Stereo Images. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 69(2):189-197, February 2003. Habib, A. and Morgan, M., 2003. Automatic Calibration of Low-Cost Digital Cameras. Optical Engineering, 42(4):948-955, April 2003. Habib, A., Lin, H., and Morgan, M., 2003. Autonomous Space Resection Using Point- and Line-Based Representation of Free-Form Linear Features. Photogrammetric Record, 18(102):244-248, September 2003. Habib, A., Lin, H., and Morgan, M., 2003. Line-Based Modified Iterated Hough Transform for Autonomous Single Photo Resection, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 69(12):1351-1357, December 2003. Habib, A. and Morgan, M., 2003. Linear Features in Photogrammetry, Invited Paper, Geodetic Science Bulletin, 9 (1): 3-24, 2003. Habib, A., Lee, Y., and Morgan, M., 2002. Bundle Adjustment with Self-Calibration using Straight Lines. Photogrammetric Record, 17(100):635-650, October 2002. Habib, A. and Kelley, D., 2001. Single Photo Resection Using the Modified Hough Transform. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 67, August 2001, pp. 909-914. Habib, A. and Kelley, D., 2001. Automatic Relative Orientation of Large Scale Imagery over Urban Areas Using Modified Iterated Hough Transform. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 56 (2001), pp. 29-41. Habib, A., Lee, Y., and Morgan, M., 2001. Surface Matching and Change Detection Using the Modified Hough Transform for Robust Parameter Estimation. Photogrammetric Record, 17(98), October 2001, pp. 303-315. Habib, A., 2000. Matching Road Edges in Stereo-Image Sequences Using Data Association Techniques. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 66 (1): 91- 98, January 2000. Habib, A., Uebbing, R., and Novak, K., 1999. Automatic Extraction of Road Signs from Color Terrestrial Imagery. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol. 65(5): 597-601, May 1999. Habib, A., 1998. Motion Parameters Estimation by Tracking Stationary Three Dimensional Straight Lines in Image Sequences. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 53(1998), pp. 174-182, June 1998. El-Sheimy, N., Valeo, C., and Habib, A., 2005. Digital Terrain Modeling: Acquisition, Manipulation, and Applications. Artech House, Published July 2005, ISBN 1580539211 (259 pages). Schenk, T. and Habib, A., Editors, 1998 (Volumes 1 & 2). Object Recognition and Scene Classification from Multi-spectral and Multi-sensor Pixels. Habib, A., and, Wang, C., Editors, 2011. Multi-Platform and Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing and Mapping. IEEE Catalog Number: CFP1136M-DVD, ISBN: 978-1-4244-9403-3, 329 pages. Habib, A., 2016. Rotation in 3D Space. Chapter 2 in "Fourati, H., Belkhiat, D. E. C., & Iniewski, K. (Eds.). (2016). Multisensor Attitude Estimation: Fundamental Concepts and Applications". CRC Press., pp. 15-36. Habib, A., 2013. Modern Photogrammetric Mapping. Advances in Mapping from Aerospace Imagery: Techniques and Applications, Yang, X. and Li, J., Editors, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 1-31. Habib, A., 2010. Manual of Geospatial Science and Technology. Chapter 23: Airborne LiDAR Mapping. John Bossler, Editor, Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 439-466. Habib, A., 2010. Manual of Geospatial Science and Technology. Chapter 4: Coordinates and Coordinate Transformation. John Bossler, Editor, Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 31-54. Habib, A., 2008. Topographic Laser Ranging and Scanning: Principles and Processing. Chapter 9: Accuracy, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control of LiDAR Data. Jie Shan and Charles Toth (Editors), CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group), pp. 269-294. Habib, A., 2008. Topographic Laser Ranging and Scanning: Principles and Processing. Chapter 13: Integration of LiDAR and Photogrammetric Data: Triangulation and Ortho Rectification. Jie Shan and Charles Toth (Editors), CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group), pp. 371-401. Habib, A., Shin, S., Kim, C., Al-Durgham, M., 2006. Integration of Photogrammetric and LiDAR Data in a Multi-Primitive Triangulation Environment. Innovations in 3D Geo Information Systems, Lecture Notes in Geo-Information and Cartography, pp. 29-45. Editors: Abdul-Rahman, A., Zlatanova, S., Coors, V., Springer, 2006. Habib, A., Kim, C., 2006. LiDAR-Aided True Orthophoto and DBM Generation System. Innovations in 3D Geo-Information Systems, Lecture Notes in Geo Information and Cartography, pp. 47-65. Editors: Abdul-Rahman, A., Zlatanova, S., Coors, V., Springer, 2006. Habib, A., Cheng, R., 2006. Surface Matching Strategy for Quality Control of LiDAR Data. Innovations in 3D Geo-Information Systems, Lecture Notes in Geo Information and Cartography, pp. 67-83. Editors: Abdul-Rahman, A., Zlatanova, S., Coors, V., Springer, 2006. Habib, A., Bang, K., Kim, C., Shin, S., 2006. True Orthophoto Generation from High Resolution Satellite Imagery. Innovations in 3D Geo Information Systems, Lecture Notes in Geo Information and Cartography, pp. 641-656. Editors: Abdul-Rahman, A., Zlatanova, S., Coors, V., Springer, 2006. Habib, A., 2002. Manual of Geospatial Science and Technology. Chapter 4: Coordinates and Coordinate Transformation. John Bossler, Editor, Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 27-49.

2019-04-20T08:46:22Z

https://engineering.purdue.edu/CE/People/ptProfile?resource_id=111817

The International Mediation Institute (IMI) began its life in early 2007. IMI was, and remains, unique. No other initiative has ever been undertaken, or even attempted, to forge mediation into a global profession by establishing worldwide, high level, practice and approval standards. The mission is nothing short of pioneering. The American economist, Paul Zane Pilzer, observed that: The early pioneers…were motivated by a sense that it was possible to create a better world than the conventional routes offered…Now the alternatives of yesterday have become the economic powerhouses of today and tomorrow. IMI seeks to rid mediation of the “alternative” cloak that has restrained its growth over the past 30 years by enabling its practitioners and service providers to gain the understanding, acceptance and respect of users – worldwide – offering a true professional activity. Mediation is not an alternative, but a natural process to be used in resolving any conflict and at any time in the dispute cycle and deal making. This has been no easy task, because currently anyone can call themselves a mediator, and too many regularly do so. IMI has introduced a worldwide mediation standard that for the first time enables users to make informed decisions on mediator selection that are truly objective. This Mission is so important to users, yet so challenging, that no other institution in the international mediation space relies entirely on donations from Patrons to implement its mission, refraining from competing in the marketplace for mediation services. Fortunately, there have been many visionary thinkers that have combined their financial resources, and organizational and human skills to enable the IMI Mission to gain real traction. IMI originated as a user-driven public-interest initiative, voicing and meeting users needs. The Chair of the IMI Board has always been from a prominent Mediation User to emphasize this focus. IMI has followed through on its Mission by creating international standards by which mediators are objectively credentialed; providing resources to users and others; establishing Inter-Cultural Competency Certification; and introducing Mediation Advocacy Competency Certification. These initiatives are just the beginning. During the coming years, IMI will extend these and other initiatives globally to regions primed for social and economic growth. In 2006, leaders of four organisations, one in the US, one in Europe and two in Asia, discussed the longer term future of the dispute resolution field and what, if anything, they could do to improve its prospects. They represented the Netherlands Mediation Institute (NMI), the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA/ICDR). The growth of international trade and investment had significantly enhanced the need for private dispute resolution services. Until the 1980s, this mainly meant arbitration. Modern arbitration tracks its origin to the 19th Century in Europe, then in the 20th Century, formalised with the US Federal Arbitration Act of 1925. AAA and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators were established and arbitration gradually matured to international acceptability. The four organisations understood that with arbitration experiencing its international Golden Age, user concern had increased about the cost and time of arbitrating. However, not all disputants want a judge or arbitrator to decide right or wrong, and few had the satisfaction of “winning” as their prime objective; most desire a quick and acceptable outcome, enabling them to move on. This user drive to control their own outcomes, and reduce risk, through settlement negotiations is not always achievable. Often people were the problem. Assisted negotiation – with the help of a mediator – offers the opportunity of a mediator to reduce the adverse effect of tactical maneuvering and emotion – but it requires quality, experienced mediators as well as users who understand the value of mediation over traditional litigation and arbitration. Mediation is a very different process from arbitration and litigation, because it is not an application of law but a negotiation process, but there is great reluctance on the part of many users to try mediation, mainly owing to a widespread lack of understanding of how and why it works. The founding institutions agreed that quality and information were the keys to unlocking greater traction for mediation. At the urging of Netherlands-based international mediator, Annette van Riemsdijk, it was agreed that the best vehicle for increasing quality perception and improving understanding about mediation was an independent, non-profit, non-service-provider, global foundation designed to inspire user confidence in mediators and mediation. That foundation needed to attract support from all competing players in the dispute resolution market worldwide and all other stakeholders – users (disputants), advocates (mainly law firms), adjudicators (judges and arbitrators), educators (academics and mediation skills trainers) and policy makers (mainly governments). Its mission would be to set high transparent mediation quality standards and to explain and promote the value of resolving disputes using mediation. No such entity existed in 2006. For these public benefit reasons, it was resolved to form the International Mediation Institute (IMI) and provide initial funding for it to achieve these goals on a global scale. Once the first Executive Director (Michael Leathes) and the Operations Manager (Irena Vanenkova) had been identified, a meeting was convened in early 2007 to discuss incorporation, funding and an operational plan. It was agreed to register IMI as a foundation (“stichting”) in The Hague, that AAA/ICDR, SMC and SIAC would fund IMI for its initial few years through grants, and that IMI would develop an international mediator competency credentialing scheme supported by NMI, which offered the expertise it had developed in creating NMI Certification of mediators in the Netherlands – the only truly national credentialing scheme for mediators in the world at that time. IMI was incorporated under Dutch Law in The Hague on March 23, 2007. Provision was made in the Articles of Association for an Advisory Council as well as a Board of Directors. The first executive director agreed to serve in a capacity pro bono, in order to contain costs. It was also agreed that, in due course, an Independent Standards Commission would be convened comprising thought leaders in mediation drawn from all stakeholder groups, worldwide. A week after IMI was incorporated, the European Parliament passed a Legislative Resolution on what was then the draft EU Mediation Directive which, among other amendments to the Directive, inserted a new Article 4 urging EU Member States to introduce effective quality control mechanisms on the provision of mediation services and to develop certification systems in the mediation field. The Legislative Resolution also called on Member States to improve the level of objective public information about mediation. This reassured the founders that quality and information were the correct components of the IMI mission. It was also agreed that transparency and diversity should underpin the IMI competency scheme, preferably involving a way to make user feedback on the competency, skills and other characteristics of mediators openly available for the benefit of future users. The next priority was to establish the IMI web portal, as it was decided at the outset that this would be the main communication medium. The web portal was initially designed by then Operations Manager Irena Vanenkova and constructed by Tribiq, an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The web portal went live on April 30, 2007. Tribiq remains the ISP of IMI and has continually improved the portal, with the help of Irena, who became Executive Director in 2008 and Emma Ewart, who succeeded as Operations Manager. Simultaneously, IMI began to consult with leading users, mediators and service providers to gain an insight into their thinking on both quality and information to help IMI devise its operating plan. No attempt had previously been made to establish worldwide quality standards in mediation, but the issue was starting to be debated in dispute resolution circles. The NMI Certification scheme was gaining international recognition, and at the time mediator practice standards were being drafted in Australia by a Government-funded agency, the National ADR Advisory Council (NADRAC). This activity began to be noticed by leading international corporate users, such as General Electric, Northrop Grumman and Nestlé, and some service providers, such as the founding institutions of IMI but also others. The initial consultation enabled IMI to prepare a paper in July 2007 proposing a system for certifying international competency standards for mediators. This system envisaged setting high, experience-based standards (similar to the NMI Certification Standards, but unlike the draft Australian system which envisaged the establishment of basic standards). In September 2007, IMI held its first Board Meeting, in Zeist, the Netherlands attended by representatives of each of the founding institutions, at which the proposed credentialing scheme was reviewed, refined and approved. IMI set itself a task to provide useful tools that could be presented on its web portal to encourage understanding and use of mediation by those less accustomed to the process. Because most mediation service providers understandably use their promotional budgets mainly to promote their own services, there was no real professional platform that users and others could visit for independent objective guidance. IMI therefore resolved to address this deficiency through thought leadership and a variety of mechanisms to make mediation less mysterious and more comprehensible, and to focus especially on users (disputants). If users, and their advisers, could come to understand mediation better, they would become less hesitant to use the process, and the growth rate of mediation would start to increase. The Hague was chosen as the seat of IMI for its standing as the international city of peace, justice and reconciliation, and the location in the Peace Palace of the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Moreover the City of The Hague was encouraging international NGOs like IMI to establish themselves in the city. A leading international mediator, Leslie Mooyaart (formerly General Counsel of KLM, now Vice President Legal at APM Terminals, a division of Maersk), who had been instrumental in the formation of IMI, offered IMI a temporary address at his office location in The Hague. However, it was agreed to apply as soon as possible to the Municipality of The Hague to be allocated a permanent physical office space in one of the City-owned buildings reserved for international NGOs. In 2008, the Municipality of The Hague identified a fully-serviced office to accommodate IMI in the Bertha von Suttner Building at 70 Laan van Meerdervoort, close to the Peace Palace, which the Municipality reserves for approved NGOs at subsidised rents. In addition, the Municipality graciously donated €45k to IMI over three years to help it establish in The Hague. IMI continues to hold this office. GE had been a supporter of IMI from the outset, and IMI was invited to apply for a grant from the GE Foundation. In order to qualify as an applicant, it was necessary for an independent assessment to be made that IMI, as a non-US registered foundation, would, if registered in the United States, qualify under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as a tax-exempt non-profit organisation. Following a review by Sullivan & Cromwell, that determination was made and submitted to the GE Foundation. Meanwhile, IMI had applied to the Dutch Tax Service for a ruling that IMI to be accepted as an “Algemeen Nut Beogende Instellingen” (ANBI) (Institution Aimed at the Common Good), a status accorded to charitable, religious, humanistic, cultural and scientific institutions whose mission and operations are deemed by the Tax Service overwhelmingly to serve the public interest. Donations to ANBI-registered entities are exempt from Dutch Gift Tax and donors to such entities may deduct grants made from taxable income. IMI has been deemed to be ANBI-registered since January 2009. From its early beginnings in 2007, IMI has progressively refined its governance, and consequently its strategy. The initial Board of Directors, comprising people affiliated with the Founding Institutions, quickly expanded to include a number of in-house corporate counsel and others. The Advisory Council was convened, and an Independent Standards Commission was established. It was decided by the Founding Institutions that the Chair of IMI should always be someone with a background as a leading corporate user of mediation. Wolf von Kumberg of Northrop Grumman was appointed as the first Chair in 2007, followed by Michael McIlwrath of General Electric in 2008, Patrick Deane of Nestlé in 2010, Ute Joas Quinn of Shell, and later Hess Corp, in 2011 and Deborah Masucci of AIG in 2013. All remain members of the IMI Board. The Board has a four-year rotation policy. There are also Board policies on Conflicts of Interest, Anti-Bribery & Corruption and Gifts & Hospitality. Serving the Board of Directors are the two key full time members of staff: the Executive Director Irena Vanenkova and the Operations Manager, Emma Ewart. appointing assessors to review Code of Professional Conduct complaints. Mediation of disputes under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. There are currently 73 members of the ISC from 27 countries on all continents. Quality and Information are the two main focus areas of the IMI Mission. Quality certification is experienced based, and set at a high standard. The Independent Standards Commission sets the standards. All materials generated by IMI are copyright-free to encourage their use. The IMI portal will include a search engine to find IMI Certified mediators. All IMI Certified mediators are required to have an online Profile. Summaries of user feedback on mediator performance are part of all IMI Profiles. IMI is user-led and the Chair of the Board is always be a user. IMI is donor-funded and does not compete in the market for mediation services. The organisation is genuinely global, non-partisan and multi-stakeholder. All members of the Board provide their time and expertise on a pro bono basis. All stakeholders are welcome to actively support IMI. When IMI was established in 2007, there were no internationally-applicable quality standards for mediators, and no international credentialing scheme. The NADRAC in Australia was considering practice and approval standards at a basic post-training level, and CEDR, a UK-based mediation service provider, was accrediting mediators on the same post-training basis. However, only the NMI, a non-profit, non-service-provider body in the Netherlands, subsidized by the Netherlands Government, was certifying competency of experienced mediators locally at a high, experienced-based level. The IMI Board believed that for users to have confidence in mediators, and therefore to use mediation more frequently and with better results, it was necessary to credential mediators to a high, experience-based standard. The results in the Netherlands proved the wisdom of this strategy. In 2011, there were an estimated 52,000 civil and commercial mediations in the Netherlands, a country with a population of 17 million and with a single high-level mediator certification scheme operated by a non-provider entity. By contrast, in the UK, a country with a population of 63 million where mediation is considered successful, but with no national certification scheme, there were only an estimated 8,000 mediations in 2012. On a per capita basis, the frequency of mediation in the Netherlands in 2011 was therefore about 24 times greater than in the UK. Users in the Netherlands seemingly have a far greater confidence in the quality of mediators, and respect for mediation as a method for resolving disputes, than do those in the UK. IMI considered adopting on an international level the credentialing process applied by the NMI in the Netherlands. It was based on a third party assessment conducted pursuant to ISO Standard 17,024 (certification of competency of individuals) but was considered bureaucratic, inflexible, difficult to adapt culturally and jurisdictionally, costly and slow. Moreover, the assessment criteria used was proprietary, and the copyright owner was unwilling to allow it to be adapted or shared with others without his consent. Consequently, IMI did not adopt the NMI scheme (which NMI has itself since abandoned) and developed its own high-level competency certification process, with help from members of the IMI Independent Standards Commission. In particular, published research by Christopher Honeyman on performance based criteria and assessment of mediators, as well as developing standards in Canada, Australia and Argentina, were also available to the IMI ISC for the modelling of its credentialing scheme. IMI does not itself qualify mediators – this is done by those with QAPs. No two QAPs are likely to be exactly the same, allowing for local adaptation. All QAPs must qualify to the same high competency standards set by the ISC. QAPs can offer their own credentialing to coincide with IMI Certification, thereby raising local standards. IMI exercises control over the QAPs by requiring mediators qualified by a QAP to complete an IMI Certified Mediator Profile in a pre-determined format, and that mediators cannot call themselves IMI Certified until their Profile has been approved by IMI and posted on the IMI web portal. IMI also conducts periodic audits of QAPs to ensure they are correctly implementing the IMI Criteria. There are so far 30 QAPs in 19 countries, and over 400 IMI Certified Mediators on the IMI search engine in 47 countries, including 7 sub-Saharan countries, 4 South American countries and 6 in the Middle East. An obligatory part of every IMI Certified Mediator Profile is a Feedback Digest, an independently-prepared summary of user feedback collected by the Mediator using the IMI Feedback Request Form or a similar form. Once completed by users this feedback is anonymized and turned into a summary by an independent Reviewer selected by the mediator. The identity of the Reviewer must be disclosed on the Profile, and as a result the credibility of the Feedback Digest has much to do with that of the Reviewer. Only the Reviewer can upload the Feedback Digest onto the mediator’s Profile and amend it afterwards. In compiling the Feedback Digest, the Reviewer must follow Guidelines published by IMI. Once the Profile is complete and verified by IMI, it is posted onto the IMI Search Engine and the mediator is IMI Certified. Feedback is exceptionally useful to users, not only providing reassurance of experience and competency, but also providing reliable insight into the mediator’s suitability to the conflict. Very few mediators make prior user feedback transparent, but it is considered essential information by most users for reliable mediator selection purposes. The Independent Standards Commission has convened an Ethics Committee, chaired by Professor Ellen Waldman, the leading international authority on mediation ethics, to keep the IMI code of Professional Conduct fully updated in line with the highest standards of international practice, as well as the disciplinary process. Another obligatory part of the Profile is a declaration by the mediator of which Code of Conduct she or he ascribes to, and the complaint mechanism that would apply. Many IMI Certified Mediators have chosen the IMI Code of Professional Conduct and the IMI Professional Conduct Assessment Process (which can result in loss of IMI Certification and other sanctions and is administered by the ISC). Assurance of ethical conduct is an important element in generating user confidence in mediators and the mediation process. As a development of IMI Certification for mediators, IMI set up a Task Force of the Independent Standards Commission in April 2010 to develop criteria for inter-cultural mediator training and a dedicated IMI Certification. In an initiative partly funded by the GE Foundation, the Task Force developed succinct and flexible criteria that enable IMI Certified mediators to extend their skills and experience inter-culturally. As with IMI Certification of mediators, the Inter-Cultural Certification can be implemented worldwide by QAPs. The criteria include Cultural Focus Areas (CFAs) applicable to mediating inter-cultural conflicts, including communication styles, cultural diversity paradigms, conflict attitudes and mindsets, process differences, orientations towards information exchange and time, and decision-making approaches for all main cultural groups. In 2012, a Task Force of the Independent Standards Commission was convened to develop competency criteria for lawyers and other party representatives to achieve recognition as IMI Certified Mediation Advocates. The competency of the parties’ advocates in mediations is widely recognized as a crucial factor in securing the best possible settlements. To establish a professional and technical basis for enabling parties to identify the right people to advise and represent them in mediations, a comprehensive set of Competency Criteria of Mediation Advocates/Advisers was developed by the Task Force with the support and endorsement of a range of stakeholders, including the Mediation Committee of the International Bar Association, the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates (SCMA), the Paris Bar, ACB Foundation and Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. This initiative was part-funded by the GE Foundation. ADR professional and provider organisations may now submit to the ISC their applications to be approved for qualifying competent professionals for IMI Mediation Advocacy Certification. Mediation advocacy skills increase user understanding of how and why mediation works and when mediation is the most likely route to a desired outcome. This makes users more willing to participate in mediation, and actively to propose it when appropriate. By January 2014, 404 mediators from 28 countries practicing in 28 conflict fields and speaking 28 languages had become IMI Certified. The gender balance was 35% women and 65% men. Although this is by far the most internationally and culturally diverse group of transparently experienced mediators anywhere, much progress has yet to be made on the gender balance and also generating more IMI Certified Mediators in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Russia and affiliated countries and the Middle East. The quest of IMI to increase the number of QAPs and Hubs will progressively improve diversity in all these respects. Lack of understanding is one of the main impediments to the growth of mediation and the breadth of its uptake. The average user is often confused by numerous different definitions of mediation, mostly technical and written by lawyers who often describe mediation as a legal or quasi-legal process, and by a serious lack of information about how and why mediation works. Without a proper and objective understanding, there is little prospect of universal acceptance of mediation. Because mediation services are highly fragmented, with numerous mainly small providers competing for relatively little business, there are few resources for promoting the field. Such funds as service providers do have to spend on promotion are usually spent on income-generating initiatives, such as training, and there is generally a strict enforcement of copyright by providers on training and promotional materials, so that information is not easily sharable. IMI set about breaking this paradigm by developing informational materials about mediation that are not copyright-protected, thereby encouraging wide and diverse dissemination. Since 2008, IMI has published numerous pieces of information about mediation, such as online videos (including a detailed study guide to one of the videos), 20 Questions that people ask about mediation, write-ups and articles on how mediation works, an online library, podcasts, survey data, blogs, webcasts, and newsletters. There is an article by IMI offering a classic definition of mediation, and a Young Mediators Initiatve designed to share information among those aspiring to be mediators and to help them generate experience as assistants to practicing mediators. Decision Tree to provide objective and impartial guidance to users of mediation services on what to bear in mind, and what basic decision need to be taken, when going to mediation. Presented as a visual with links to more information. Olé – Online Evaluation/Case analysis Tool to provide help to parties and their advisers to analyze and assess specific disputes in order to determine the best possible way forward. Olé can be used online or in a printed version (the web enablement funding having been provided by the GE Foundation). Model Contract Clauses including guidance on drafting dispute resolution clauses and examples of many clauses offered by different provider organisations. There is a serious deficiency of reliable data on the use of mediation, both nationally in most countries, and internationally. A 2003/06 study by the American Arbitration Association of 254 US companies, supplemented in 2012/13 by a similar study in France in association with FIDAL. A 1997/98 survey led by Cornell University of the in-house counsel of 606 Fortune 1,000 companies, updated by a 2011 survey of 368 US-based in-house counsel led by Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and Cornell University’s Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution. These studies demonstrated quite convincingly that, at least in the US, there was a growing appetite for mediation among corporate counsel, with the more mediation-experienced companies (those described in the AAA survey as the most “Dispute-Wise”) actively engaged is dispute avoidance programs and experiencing higher price-earnings ratios than non-Dispute-Wise companies. The 2011 survey by Pepperdine/Cornell indicated that many large US companies are using binding arbitration less often and instead relying more on mediated negotiation and other approaches aimed at resolving disputes informally, quickly and inexpensively. Pepperdine Professor Thomas J. Stipanowich noted the emergence of a “quiet revolution” in US dispute resolution in which corporate counsel, driven by cost and risk reduction strategies, are playing an increasingly directive role on how disputes are managed and resolved. A common theme from the survey results was a desire for optimal control of the dispute resolution process, with in-house counsel preferring to manage outcomes, so mediation and other approaches that aim at achieving a mutually acceptable settlement are strongly favoured. However, neither of these surveys gave truly international impressions, and neither asked a number of key questions that would determine and underpin the the Vision and Mission that IMI had adopted. Accordingly, in January 2013, IMI sent out a survey to in-house dispute resolution counsel in 124 multinational corporations, based mainly in Europe and North America, designed to surface user attitudes and approaches to arbitration and mediation. The Survey ran from mid-January to mid-March 2013. This seems to have been the first time that in-house dispute resolution counsel had been asked for their views on many of the issues raised at an international scale. Seventy-six in-house dispute resolution counsel completed the Survey. The IMI Survey addressed issues not covered in the previous user surveys. The IMI Survey focused more on in-house counsel needs, attitudes and preferences regarding issues concerning information, professional quality standards and the skills they expect from their arbitrators, mediators and outside counsel. Most responders were either senior in-house legal counsel (63%) or members of senior management (20%) in their companies, with 17% indicating they were engaged in other corporate roles. 71% of responders were from corporations with over 10,000 employees, and 18% were employed by companies having between 1,000 and 10,000 employees. 80% agreed that outside counsel should be trained in mediation advocacy skills. These results strongly indicated that the IMI Mission reflected corporate user needs, and, by extension, the needs of other disputants. Underpinning the IMI mission is the need to build mediation capacity throughout the world. Capacity-building strategies vary according to local and regional circumstances, such as the condition of the Rule of Law, the extent to which mediation has already developed, local resources, funding availability and collaboration opportunities with governments, judiciaries, mediation bodies, user groups and other stakeholders. Raising standards of mediation practice, and convincing users that competent mediators can help them deliver better, faster and less risky/costly outcomes than judges and arbitrators must be the common key to the growth of mediation in all countries. As illustrated under Quality & Credentialing (page 10), there is an apparent but unsurprising correlation between mediation uptake and visible high standards of mediation practice. Encouraged by the recent user survey data, IMI will therefore continue to promote adoption of its credentialing scheme, which relies on QAPs. This classic glocal approach will catch fire over time. Increasing the number of QAPs is a fundamental IMI strategy, and it can be done effectively and efficiently, via local hubs. In December 2013, the Singapore Ministry of Law announced that a Working Group convened by the Chief Justice had recommended that a mediation professional body, to be called the Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI), be created in Singapore, as an independent non-profit body and as a collaboration of IMI and the National University of Singapore (NUS). IMI is in discussions with NUS and relevant stakeholders about how the IMI credentialing scheme, as well as IMI’s informational materials and tools and operating procedures, can be adopted in Singapore. It is expected that SIMI will set new standards for mediators, and encourage growth of mediation throughout Southeast Asia. It is envisaged that SIMI will be an autonomous entity working in close association with IMI. IMI has appointed a task force to develop a hub of IMI in Northern Europe/Russia, designed to advance mediation skills and capacity in trans-border disputes in this area. For several years, a small group of IMI Independent Standards Commission members has been preparing the ground for an IMI hub in Brazil, and those involved participated in parliamentary consultations for a new law in Brazil to promote mediation practices. Over the past several years IMI has assisted a group from Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya to establish the African Mediation Association. In September 2013, this entity was incorporated as a foundation in The Hague, with its residence at the IMI office. In parallel, discussions are in progress to establish a national hub of IMI in Nigeria. IMI is fortunate to have attracted the support of several of the largest arbitration bodies, (AAA/ICDR, ICC, JAMS and BCDR), all of which have active mediation capabilities. AAA updated its Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures in October 2013 to require mediation to take place concurrently with arbitration subject to a party opt-out – a major step forward in the energetic use of mediation in arbitration. ICC introduced new Mediation Rules with effect from 2014, replacing the 2001 ADR Rules. Through the work of Task Forces of the Independent Standards Commission, recommendations and opportunities are being generated to bring much greater use of mediation in Investor-State disputes and in conflicts arising between communities and businesses under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Both of these areas typically involve very difficult disputes involving massive social and economic consequences, and are widely considered, by government, corporate and community stakeholders alike, to be highly appropriate for mediation. IMI has applied to the United Nations ECOSOC for NGO Consultative Status, which will help IMI advance mediation capacity in inter-State disputes. There has been a considerable increase in the interest of nations in mediation in recent years, resulting in a UN Security Council Resolution on Enhancing Mediation and its Support Activities in 2009. In September 2010, Finland and Turkey convened a Group of Friends of Mediation at the UN to raise awareness of mediation and to help build mediation capacity and expertise in the UN and regional organisations. Almost every country is a member of the Group of Friends, and Consultative Status will enable IMI to build a direct alliance with the Group of Friends on behalf of the mediation field and profession. In December 2013, IMI efforts in public disputes were brought to the attention of negotiators involved in the pending Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Treaty discussions, enabling language on a mediation requirement to be tabled in the negotiations, attracting a number of favorable comments from Industry negotiators. For several years IMI has been planning the creation of a global forum for cross-constituency sharing of ideas and proposals among mediation users, advocates and referrers, providers and mediators, adjudicators, and mediation education and support bodies. Mediation is a de-centralised, fragmented field in most countries. Strategic dialogue within stakeholder groups is remarkably superficial and cross-constituency dialogue is almost non-existent. Mediation growth will not occur without improved intersectional communications and common strategies to improve capacity and traction. Users hardly have any voice because in only rare instances are they sufficiently organized to crystallize and state their needs. There are few international mediation user forums to give authoritative expression to user needs – such as the 125 member Corporate Counsel International Arbitration Group – CCIAG (which hitherto has focused on arbitration, though it does have mediation in its mission statement) and the 23 member Round Table Mediation und Konfliktmanagement der deutschen Wirtschaft – RTMKM, which is focused on Germany but brings together many German-based international companies. IMI has a formal alliance with CCIAG and good connections with RTMKM. The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), which has over 30,000 in-house counsel members in 75 countries, and similar national bodies, does not yet have sections or chapters on mediation or ADR. On the service side, the only international initiative that brings together mediation providers is the UIA World Forum of Mediation Centres (WFMC) which hosts an annual meeting attended, in the main, by small and medium providers. Although valuable in its own right, this is mainly a networking group and the WFMC does not attempt to enter into dialogue with the demand side or with educators and policy makers to progress the broader development of mediation. The American Bar Association’s (ABA) International Committee, the International Bar Association’s (IBA) Mediation Committee and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) do have mediation committees and perform valuable project work, but are not designed to convene all stakeholders in the field. Other than IMI, the largest service providers have no suitable platform for collectively improving the international mediation field and addressing emerging major issues, such as investor-State, human rights (eg OECD Guidelines), WTO and UN disputes. Finally, educators and trainers lack a joint facility for developing mediation teaching. Dialogue between law and business schools is patchy, and there is little international discussion regarding inter-cultural mediation, mediation advocacy training, hybrids, collaborative law training, neuroscience standards, and other key educational issues. Not only does IMI perceive all three areas as crucial to the proper development of mediation, but it is important to intersect them to create holistic benefit. If the user need can be more coherently and convincingly expressed, if service providers can have their value more effectively recognized and in fields that have hitherto under-utilized mediation, and if educators and trainers can improve their programs and offerings to address the changing needs of users and providers, mediation will progress effectively. Cross constituency networks, linking users with providers with trainers. Unlimited access to all information and tools developed by IMI. Ability to initiate discussions/reviews/surveys within specific stakeholders groups. Access to assistance from the GMC members in different countries and regions. Engagement at public policy forums via IMI as the voice of mediation (e.g. UN). The opportunity to shape the future of mediation in a coherent manner. Publication of opinion pieces, articles and other materials. The creation of the GMC, combined with the gradual development of IMI hubs, would make mediation more accessible to a more diverse group of constituencies, increasing understanding and acceptance of mediation and generating real growth. As a first step toward the creation of the GMC, IMI has begun to convene a Mediation Users Council, bringing together businesses, industry associations, chambers of commerce, communities and individuals; professional firms that advise and represent users on dispute management; adjudicators (judges and arbitrators) that refer parties to mediation; as well as certain national international organizations and NGOs. The Users Council will be an autonomous international group of thought leaders convened to progress issues of importance to disputants and their professional advisers with regard to mediation and related methods of achieving negotiated outcomes. Those issues may include policy, regulatory, legal and practice matters in mediation, developing the role of IMI, expressing the views of Users, improving tools for Users and mediators, commenting on quality criteria, supporting the implementation of agreed initiatives, and assisting the IMI Board to help drive its Mission for the benefit of Users. One of the unique features of IMI is the ability to draw on a wide range of expertise of people in the ADR field through the Independent Standards Commission. To convene and apply that expertise in a productive manner, with tangible outputs, IMI has asked ISC members to lead time-bound ad hoc task forces with specific terms of reference in areas that the IMI Board considers require development and progress. IMI continues to leverage the quality and collective reach of its ISC, which has been gradually growing, for over six years. Valuable contributions have already been made in terms of the IMI Intercultural Mediator Certification and the IMI Mediation Advocacy Certification, both of which are products of ISC Task Forces and will build expertise in mediation quality and user skills. Other Task Forces and Committees are in progress in relation to Mediation Ethics, Investor-State Mediation, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Online Dispute Resolution. The role of the YMI is to build mediation capacity at the intake end of the field by connecting young trained mediators and mediation advocates worldwide to create a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences, and to facilitate interaction with mediators who can offer hands-on experience-generation and learning opportunities. The Right Mediator: How Do You Know? 2020 Vision: Where will mediation be in 2020? Mediation is used in all fields of conflict, from family and community disputes, the vast spectrum of business conflicts, financial services, government and regulatory negotiations, healthcare, human rights, personal injury, sport, tax and many others. Mediation is used in criminal situations to assist individuals and communities to implement restorative justice programs. Mediation is also used outside the context of a dispute, when two or more parties merely want to negotiate a higher quality deal that addresses their respective needs and interests. Mediation is highly diverse and adaptable. The quality criteria and standards devised by IMI are directly applicable to all situations where mediation can be used, including those that are designed to transform relationships rather than achieve specific negotiated outcomes. The goal of IMI is to address quality and information in all circumstances where a neutral third party can add value. The past seven years have emphatically established the need for IMI globally. Support for the IMI mission has been growing strongly throughout the world and is expected to continue. Such developments as the recommended establishment in 2014 of the Singapore International Mediation Institute jointly by IMI and the National University of Singapore, and the prospect of hubs in Africa, Northern Europe/Russia and Brazil are expected to continue to mature and gain traction. IMI will remain a donor-funded global professional body for mediation and will not participate in the marketplace by providing billable services. Although this self-restraint brings financial challenges, IMI believes that there are sufficient long-term strategic funders willing to continue their support for the initiatives of IMI, such as the corporate Patrons and founding institutions of IMI, and others yet to lend their support to the accomplishment of the IMI mission. IMI will thereby remain independent, transparent and objective. Support for the IMI mission is expected to increase, with more corporate donors and provider institutions adding to IMI’s capabilities. IMI will continue with its resolve to convene all stakeholders, regardless of their competitive positions in the market, and to invite them to share in the implementation of the IMI mission while remaining user driven. This vests IMI with the stakeholder authority to fill the global vacuum that exists for setting standards of excellence and the ethical practice of mediation globally. IMI will increasingly have the ability to promote understanding and acceptance of mediation worldwide and, with UN Consultative Status expected in 2014, to represent the mediation field and profession to global policy makers. Task Forces of the ISC can play a unique role in developing mediation capacity. Already ISC Task Forces have established the quality criteria for IMI Mediator Certification, IMI Inter-Cultural Mediator Certification and IMI Mediation Advocacy Certification. A standing Task Force is reviewing the IMI Code of Professional Conduct for Mediators and the disciplinary process associated with it. ISC Task Forces are in progress to develop standards for Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) providers and to encourage mediation in Investor-State Disputes. A further Task Force is being convened to establish standards for mediators dealing with cases under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Task Forces are planned in the areas of family mediation, disputes between nations, intellectual property and other fields. Hubs of IMI are a glocalized way to build mediation capacity nationally and regionally, with appropriate cultural diversity while gradually applying high international practice standards. Hubs in Southeast Asia, Northern Europe/Russia, Africa (Nigeria) and South America (Brazil) are all at different stages of development. As described on page 19, the Users Council will be created in early 2014. One of its first initiatives may be the hosting of an online user conference to identify and accelerate evolutionary change in the resolution of cross-border disputes using massive stakeholder crowd-sourcing via the internet on a global scale. The YMI mentioned on page 20 will be progressed, with more IMI Certified Mediators strongly encouraged to allow trained but inexperienced mediators to gain experience as assistant mediators. IMI aims to increase the number of institutions and organisations publicly joining the IMI mission and adding further expertise and diversity to the IMI Board and Independent Standards Commission as well as increasing the reach of the IMI Mission. IMI will actively leverage Consultative Status at the UN Economic and Social Committee on behalf of the mediation field and profession. QAPs enable local mediators, regardless of their field of specialization, to be qualified for IMI Certification as well as an equivalent local certification. This increases skills and user recognition of those skills, enables users to find the right mediators through the IMI Search Engine, and thereby expands the uptake of mediation. IMI is considering a request to the ISC to establish high minimum standards for basic training leading to an entry-level accreditation. This may be associated with an IMI-recognised credential, and will be discussed in 2014. IMI publishes all its tools and materials on an open-source basis, copyright-free, to encourage their widespread use. New materials and tools are continually under consideration. In January, a major IMI article on mediation in Investor-State disputes will be published in the biannual Review of the World Bank’s International Council for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). IMI will be making a Keynote Speech at the Asian Mediation Association’s biennial Conference in Hong Kong in April, on the subject: Mediation’s Elusive Goal: Achieving Exponential International Growth – What factors restrain rapid growth? Why are they still there? How can they be overcome? Two IMI Directors have agreed to make a joint monthly contribution to the Kluwer Mediation Blog in January 2014 from a user perspective. Funding permitting, IMI intends as soon as possible to expand the number of language versions of its web portal. This will occur automatically as hubs are established, but a broader range of language versions is also planned. IMI has undertaken a task of immense importance, not merely in developing uniform standards of practice for conflict resolution, but in creating the foundation for an enormous increase in international conflict resolution capacity. If we are to solve global problems we will require not only global solutions, but global processes, methods and techniques. This will necessitate the development of a collaborative approach to diversity and uniformity in conflict resolution practices, and the creation of a global forum where our differences can be discussed, analyzed, learned from, and synergistically combined. IMI has taken the first step in bringing conflict resolution into the 21st century, by inviting us and the cultures and nations we represent to come together and learn from each other. Only in this way can we hope to overcome the obstacles we have created through conflict. Of all the efforts at making mediation mainstream, of all the mammoth initiatives and giant strides by leading proponents, of all our success stories, nothing compares with the IMI vision of standard setting and Industry watch, for without such, mediation remains an endangered specie. I sincerely welcome the recent incorporation of the International Mediation Institute (IMI) in The Netherlands. As the first global, non-governmental organisation that will enable certification of the competency of mediators worldwide, it will certainly be of great benefit and value to all users of dispute settlement services. In an age of globalisation, IMI offers local mediators a global voice, national bodies an international benchmark, and users of mediation confidence in the mediation profession worldwide. Two undeniable facts underpin the IMI and its extraordinary mission: a commitment to raise the bar of quality dispute resolution, and leadership by example. This organization reflects the substantial practical benefits experienced by some of the most sophisticated consumers of dispute resolution services in the world. IMI holds the promise of delivering real value to disputants and their professional advisers, to mediation providers and trainers, to judges and arbitrators and to teachers and governments. There is advantage in it for everyone. I congratulate IMI in establishing a valuable platform for the global mediation standards. As the professionalism of mediation is raised, I believe mediation will claim its rightful place as a legitimate and viable way of resolving disputes. As a user of mediation services I am an enthusiastic supporter of the IMI effort to establish a universal standard for Mediators. It will make the choice of a qualified Mediator to assist with our disputes so much easier and more reliable. While acknowledging all the benefits and values that IMI can bring to mediation practice internationally, it really is just the beginning of the exciting process of mindset change that people need to experience so that we switch from win to resolve, from fear to trust and from destruction to collaboration. IMI is valuable for the private sector. It will bring a substantial increase in trust and opportunities to identify a professional mediator, even in those parts of the world that lack the presence of a professional mediation body. Yet IMI is more than a practical initiative to ensure quality and facilitate the use of mediation internationally. It is about thought leadership and provoking the next step in the development of mediation into a self-determining interdisciplinary profession – with requirements regarding professionalism of its practitioners and with its own techniques and theories. I applaud this thoughtful initiative to seek to introduce a scheme which will help mediators around the world to raise their own and others’ standards and to make sure that the services of mediators are available, understood and valued among a range of users in commerce, government and elsewhere. There is a great need for the skills and techniques employed by mediators to be utilised in a much broader range of activity than at present, to the great benefit of our world. The establishment of the IMI will help create international standards for mediators, a critical step towards enhancing the professional level of international mediation. Resolving disputes by way of mediation has been inherent in the Confucian culture, and my colleagues and I have been long-time advocates for mediating international commercial disputes. Mediation is no doubt as good as the mediators. CIETAC welcomes the initiative of certification of mediators and believes it will enhance the business community’s confidence in mediation and therefore contribute to the growth of mediation in the world.

2019-04-23T12:18:07Z

https://www.imimediation.org/2014/01/10/imi-7-year-anniversary-review/

While Mnuchin did not say how the Trump administration planned to get Fannie and Freddie out of government control, the fact that he called it a “top ten” priority that he wants to accomplish “reasonably fast” is an extremely positive development. Mortgage reform has been hung up in Washington for the past eight years, largely because the Treasury Department has insisted that Fannie and Freddie be “wound down and replaced” as part of any reform initiative. To facilitate this goal, Treasury falsely accused the companies of having caused the 2008 financial crisis, and put them into conservatorship against their will and in spite of the fact that they still met their statutory capital requirements. Treasury then directed their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to book massive amounts of non-cash expenses that forced them to take $187 billion in unneeded, non-repayable senior preferred stock, whose 10 percent dividend required them to pay $18.7 billion after-tax to Treasury in perpetuity. But because the source of Fannie and Freddie’s senior preferred stock burden had been temporary or artificial non-cash expenses booked by FHFA—not operating losses incurred by the companies—the expenses reversed themselves and became profits beginning in 2012. At that point, Treasury and FHFA agreed to the net worth sweep, requiring Fannie and Freddie to remit all their future profits to Treasury—keeping them in indefinite conservatorship while Treasury, its allies and supporters attempted to figure out how to replace them. Numerous lawsuits were filed challenging the sweep, and reform discussions effectively have been frozen as those suits work their way through the courts. Now the incoming Secretary of the Treasury says he wants to get Fannie and Freddie out of the government. To do that he will need to settle the lawsuits, and to settle the lawsuits he, and the plaintiffs with whom he will be negotiating, will need to decide what they want to do with Fannie and Freddie after the settlement. Mnuchin ran the mortgage department at Goldman Sachs for five years (during the time I was Fannie’s CFO), so he comes to the fight over Fannie and Freddie with a wealth of knowledge, and brings a fresh perspective to it. He knows the plaintiffs he will be negotiating with—Bruce Berkowitz, John Paulson and Bill Ackman among others—quite well, and they all understand the difference between financial reality and financial fiction when it comes to the companies. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits have had ample time to evaluate the alternatives to Fannie and Freddie that have been put forward; they believe they are unworkable, and will convey that to Mnuchin. On the other side, career officials from Treasury will continue to assert that Fannie and Freddie are a “failed business model” that leads to “private gains and public losses,” but those bromides are unlikely to be persuasive to the pragmatic group of financial professionals who now are in a position to decide the companies’ futures. Just as Fannie and Freddie were put into conservatorship (and subjected to the net worth sweep) through administrative action, they can be taken out the same way. And moving the locus of the reform debate from Washington to New York will be a welcome reset. The special interests in Washington have had eight years to try to devise a replacement for the companies as the centerpiece of the U.S. secondary mortgage market, and they have failed utterly. That is turning out to be a blessing. Very few on Capitol Hill have more than a superficial understanding of what it takes for a secondary mortgage market credit guaranty operation to function effectively, and having a $10 trillion financial market at the heart of the American economy be at the mercy of lobbyist-drafted legislation always was a frightening prospect. We will be much better off in the hands of Messrs. Mnuchin, Berkowitz, Paulson, Ackman, et al. For almost twenty years I was responsible for the capitalization, credit risk analysis and pricing of Fannie Mae’s single-family credit guaranty business. When I left at the end of 2004, Fannie was financing more than $2.3 trillion in mortgages, serving an impressively wide range of low- and moderate-income homebuyers, meeting ambitious affordable housing objectives, and charging an average guaranty fee of under 20 basis points while posting a 15-year average annual credit loss rate of less than 3 basis points. This experience gives me a better perspective than most on what the future U.S. secondary mortgage finance system should look like. From that perspective, I have three pieces of advice for the negotiators who must agree on this post-settlement system: pick the best model, get the capital right, and be realistic about the role of government. I elaborate on each briefly below. The biggest mistake the Obama-administration Treasury made in its stewardship of mortgage reform efforts was its insistence that the mortgage finance system of the future look nothing like the mortgage finance system of the past, with Fannie and Freddie at its center. This doomed its reform efforts to failure, because the Fannie and Freddie model works, while alternatives that reject this model do not. In his book On the Brink, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said, “Fannie and Freddie were the most egregious example of flawed policies that inflated the housing bubble and set off the housing crisis.” That was complete fiction. The superior performance of the companies was known even before the crisis, and it has subsequently been confirmed: from 2008 to date, the average credit loss rate on single-family loans purchased or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie prior to the onset of the crisis has been about one-third the average loss rate on comparable mortgages made and held by commercial banks, and less than one-fifth the loss rate on loans financed with private-label securities. One reason for Fannie and Freddie’s exceptional credit results is their business model. They are specialized institutions, whose only business is financing U.S. residential mortgages. While they hedge their interest rate risk extensively, historically they have retained the bulk of the credit risk on the mortgages they finance. As shareholder-owned companies they have strong incentives to gauge, price and manage that risk prudently. They impose strict underwriting standards on the loans they purchase or guarantee, and benefit greatly from their ability to diversify credit risk by product type, risk category, geography, scale and over time. Credit guarantors that diversify credit risk at the entity level can weather adverse housing market environments with far less capital (and thus far lower guaranty fees) than structured securities or credit guarantees made at the pool level. In the entity-based model, revenues on good loans from all years, regions and loan types are available to cover losses on any group of loans that happen to go bad. In the pool-based model, each pool has to stand on its own, and the inability to reach beyond that pool for revenues—or to add capital post-securitization, as an entity-based guarantor can—requires substantially greater amounts of capital initially. Across a $5 trillion secondary market, the inefficiencies of pool-based guaranty models add up to tens or perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars in required capital, which simply disappears when those risks are diversified at the entity level. The entity-based model isn’t just marginally better than the pool-based model; it’s overwhelmingly better. Fannie and Freddie are entity-based guarantors. They exist today, and have a proven track record of success. They should not be “wound down and replaced;” they should be reformed, removed from conservatorship and recapitalized. As I’ve noted elsewhere—including in an essay titled “Fixing What Works,” done for the Urban Institute (and available on this site)—there are three key reforms to the companies that should be made. The first is to limit their mortgage portfolios to purposes ancillary to their credit guaranty businesses. Those would include holding non-performing loans purchased out of mortgage-backed security (MBS) pools, operating a cash window for whole loans sold by smaller lenders (to be pooled into MBS by the companies), and possibly for the “incubation” of new product types in anticipation of their becoming sufficiently popular to warrant their own MBS prefix. The maximum size of the companies’ portfolios would depend on what is necessary to carry out these activities; I’ve recommended a limit of no more than 10 percent of outstanding credit guarantees. The second and third recommended reforms to Fannie and Freddie are updating their capital requirements and clarifying their relationship with the government. They are addressed in the next two sections. The path to determining the amount of capital required to make Fannie and Freddie “absolutely safe” has been open in front of us for eight years. Section 1110 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 states, “The Director [of FHFA] shall, by regulation, establish risk-based capital requirements for the enterprises to ensure that the enterprises operate in a safe and sound manner, maintaining sufficient capital and reserves to support the risks that arise in the operations and management of the enterprises.” FHFA so far has ignored this provision of HERA, I believe at the behest of Treasury, which knows that if FHFA does update Fannie and Freddie’s risk-based capital standards it would reveal that the companies need far less capital to operate safely than their critics insist they hold. The actual risk-based capital requirements that result from this exercise will not be known until FHFA conducts it, but I’ve used the same stress scenario, Fannie’s 2008-2012 credit losses, and its current book of business—which has few of the interest-only adjustable-rate mortgages and “no-doc” loans that caused half its credit losses in 2008-2012—to estimate what Fannie’s single-family credit risk capital might be today. That estimate is not much over 1 percent. The percentage is so low because Fannie’s mid-2016 business mix contains relatively few higher-risk loans. Largely for this reason, I’ve recommended that the companies also have a minimum capital requirement (I’m proposing 2 percent). A minimum capital percentage will benefit affordable housing borrowers by making it impossible for Fannie or Freddie to drive their required capital below that minimum by financing only pristine credits. Banks have been persistent and vocal critics of a risk-based capital standard for Fannie and Freddie’s credit guaranty business for over three decades. Because of the scope and complexity of banks’ permitted business activities, their regulators have had no choice but to subject them to static, ratio-based capital standards for broad categories of the various types of business they do. Banks’ opposition to custom-tailored capital standards for Fannie and Freddie rests on the “level playing field” argument that the companies should have the same arbitrary and inefficient capital standards for mortgages they have. Yet that would cause homebuyers to pay unnecessarily high guaranty fees for no good purpose. More capital for Fannie and Freddie is not better. The objective should be the right amount of capital—one that strikes a careful and deliberate balance between taxpayer protection on the one hand and the cost and breadth of access to mortgages on the other. Be realistic about the role of government. With new, much more rigorous and transparent risk-based capital standards set by FHFA and endorsed by Treasury, I believe Fannie and Freddie’s credit guaranty businesses would be able to operate without an implicit or explicit guaranty from the federal government. (The companies’ portfolios would need to either shrink or be sold off to the point where they could comfortably be financed with debt that is a general obligation of the companies, combined with derivatives.) Mortgage rates, however, would be higher. The yields on Fannie and Freddie’s MBS would rise by some unknown amount, and the market for their MBS would be considerably less broad and deep than it is now. To prevent these adverse effects, it would be much better public policy for the companies to have some form of recognized support from the federal government. In my “utility” model, I have proposed that in exchange for Fannie and Freddie’s accepting a stringent risk-based capital standard, tighter supervision and regulated returns on their business, the government would put in place a formal agreement to extend short-term repayable loans to them in the remote event that their (new and much tougher) capital standards prove insufficient. With such an arrangement, the government would convey a valuable benefit to low-, moderate and middle-income homebuyers—through the lower Fannie and Freddie MBS yields that would result—at no perceptible risk or cost to taxpayers. The concept is simple, and I think compelling. Once the government has picked the stress standard it wants Fannie and Freddie to be able to protect against, it then becomes in the government’s best interest to extend short-term repayable credit to the companies in the remote chance this standard (which it set) proves insufficient. Any consequent moral hazard or perverse incentives should be minimal. Beyond the companies’ having regulated returns, in a scenario that triggers government support Fannie and Freddie’s shareholders would lose nearly all of their capital, the stock price would plummet, noncumulative preferred dividends would cease, and top management would lose their jobs. And once the companies recovered, they would have to replace their lost capital by issuing new shares of common stock at very low prices, badly diluting the value of existing shares. The mortgage finance system, and homebuyers, would benefit from the backstop arrangement far more than would the companies or their executives. There are numerous precedents for the federal government conveying benefits to particular industries or sectors of the economy for the public good, at negligible risk to the taxpayer. An excellent example is federal deposit insurance. FDIC insurance already is in place, so we tend not to notice its systemic benefits. But imagine what would happen were those who insist that the secondary mortgage market be “fully private” to make the same demand of commercial banking, and require that FDIC insurance be replaced by private deposit insurance, backed by private capital. Implementing this would have three major effects. First, banks would pay far more to private deposit insurers than the actuarially determined fees they pay the FDIC, because private insurers would have to hold significant amounts of risk capital and would price to earn a market return on that capital. Second, consumers would demand substantially higher rates on privately insured bank deposits than they do on FDIC-insured deposits. Third, private insurers would exercise considerably more discipline over what banks can do with their insured deposits than the FDIC now does, limiting banks’ revenues from risk-taking. The total costs to the banking system of private versus FDIC insurance—through higher insurance fees, higher deposit rates, and restrictions on risk-taking—would be enormous, and the bulk of them would be passed on to banks’ customers. By corollary, the avoidance of those costs through FDIC insurance is a government benefit of an equivalent amount. No one advocates replacing FDIC insurance with private deposit insurance, yet many do assert that any form of government support for the secondary mortgage market—even one with no hard-dollar costs—is anathema. That is an indefensible double standard. Policymakers must recognize it as such, and not penalize mortgage borrowers by forcing them to bear an ideological burden from which customers of banks have been exempted. Pick the best model; get the capital right; be realistic about the role of government. That’s the easy part. Following these steps, settling the lawsuits, and getting Fannie and Freddie “out of government control” and back supporting the mortgage market as shareholder-owned companies is the hard part. That, however, is the expertise of the people who now will be taking the lead on mortgage reform. We all should wish them well in the task that lies ahead of them. Even with Allison’s criticisms, I find him in ways more friend than foe with respect to his views on ultimate blame lying more with with government, not market institutions. Any thoughts given his name is now being floated about? I see that Mr. Allison is being considered by Trump to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board, as vice chairman and head of banking regulation. I don’t share Allison’s ideology, however, so I doubt we would have the same objectives, or similar views on most financial issues. Yes, I see him as one opposed to some aspects of GSEs but possibly also against C ship and takings. The former finance chief of Allianz said European banks needed to defend their interests more vigorously against rivals in the United States where lenders are helped by state-sponsored bodies such as Fannie Mae, allowing them to shed part of the risk of mortgages. Does the nominated Secretary of Justice , Jeff Sessions, assume his functions as head of DOJ on Jan 20 and then he is confirmed by senate , or he will take over only after confirmed? Sessions will assume the functions of Attorney General only upon being confirmed by the Senate. In the interim, however, the President can designate an acting head of the Justice Department. Hi there Tim. Thanks for all of your insight. This may a silly question, as I put little faith in what I read here for obvious reasons, but on a separate blog this was stated. “I have heard from multiple sources that all of the documents that Obama has withheld under various bogus privilege claims will be released with the blessing of Trump and Newly appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions.” Have you heard anything of the sort or is this hollow like much of the past? Even if you haven’t heard this, do see this as a possibility? I read everything I can and though slightly on the narcissist side, he has been correct a few times in the past. Thanks for your input. That sounds like speculation to me. It is, however, quite possible that senior officials in the Trump administration will not want to take on what now seems to be a futile battle to keep documents that may be (and I think very likely are) incriminating of officials in the prior administration from being produced in discovery in the Sweeney case. If key advisers to or officials of the Trump administration are leaning that direction, the quicker they drop their privilege claims the cleaner their hands will be. Do you have any thoughts on David Stevens’ claim in this recent article that the Congress has prohibited the Treasury from executing any transactions with the Sr. Preferreds absent an explicit act of congress? If true, this would seem to seriously tie the hands of the Trump/Mnuchin’s Treasury with respect to recapping and releasing the GSEs. DOJ can work with plaintiff to ask judge to write a summary judgement. Corker has a clause in the budget bill to prevent feds from voluntarily action. But this does not affect courts at all. Additionally, Treasury can modify any contract with GSEs. For example, raise exercise price to $100 per share, which makes warrants worthless. Mnuchin is 10 times smarter than David Stevens, Mike Bright, Corker, and Warner. you can drive a truck through this language. a 4th A that retroactively amends a term (NWS) is not prohibited, and would have the effect of converting dividends into principal repayments. even if perry appeals court hasnt ruled, nothing prevents from a mnuchin treasury from concluding that the lew treasury didnt have authority under HERA to implement NWS. see for example HERA provision against treasury transactions post 2009. so assuming mnuchin is satisfied with a 10% senior preferred return and actually wants to prepare the GSEs’ balance sheets for a recap, there is nothing in jumpstart that prevents treasury from doing this. stevens is just blowing lobbyist smoke. A 10% Sr return even if the NWS is terminated would not prepare GSEs for recap in any way as it effectively sweeps all profit to the Treasury. So treasury has already gotten 10% return on and almost entire return of capital under NWS. This law applies to only Tsy or executive branch. How does this law affect others like FHFA conservator? This law only puts restrictions on Tsy. FHFA conservator can unilaterally cancel all contracts saying inter-agency agreements can not trump US laws. BTW nobody can sue FHFA conservator while exercising legitimate conservator authority to preserve and conserve. Forgot that: FHFA had and still has unconstitutional management structure. If all work together in the best interest of all stakeholders, there is nothing to prevent doing what is right. Either management structure should not affect the conservator’s authority to preserve and conserve. wouldnt it be interesting if mnuchin et al incorporate this notion of a govt cat-loss level explicit guaranty into a GSE recap program? wouldn’t it make a capital requirement along the lines of what you have been proposing, on order of 2%, much more palatable (both to politicians and the financial market)? of course treasury could offer this explicit guaranty not just to GSEs but anyone who wants to securitize mbs…though i think the capital markets would much prefer to own GSE debt than individual pools of mbs with a cat-loss guaranty, no? I just read the blog post in question, and, as I suspected, the story that appeared in Inside Mortgage Finance claiming that “Obama is in favor of an explicit guarantee for certain MBS” does not appear to be accurate. The authors of the Treasury blog post cited as the source of this statement (two people I’d not heard of before–Jane Dokko and Sam Valverde) say that “as the president articulated in 2013, a reformed housing system must ensure access to safe and affordable mortgages in all economic conditions.” That’s a laudable objective, and I can see President Obama saying something like that. The authors then go on to add, “To this end, the Administration supports an explicit government guarantee on a defined class of mortgage-backed securities (MBS).” “The Administration” could be anybody; I highly doubt that President Obama has endorsed this idea, or indeed even is aware of it. The concept of catastrophic loss coverage by the government on guaranteed MBS–whether for some (ironically undefined) “defined class,” or all of them–has been an element of many recent mortgage reform proposals. But “God is in the detail.” As I note in this current post, I think some form of formal backstop arrangement by the federal government for mortgage pools guaranteed by credit guarantors of the future (whether Fannie and Freddie, or some other entity or entities) is sound public policy. Exactly how one provides that backstop, however, will depend on how it fits within the overall credit guaranty mechanism being proposed, and the political appetite for that particular approach. I trust the negotiators in the upcoming settlement talks to be able to balance all of the economic, financial and political elements in this equation, and get it right. I think most of the elements identified in this plan could be useful as components of a negotiated settlement between the government and the plaintiffs. But I also think your plan would greatly benefit from having an identified objective (for which this plan is, in your opinion, the best way to achieve it). Many proposals I’ve seen have the implied objective of maximizing the values or prices of Fannie and Freddie’s preferred and common stock (which is why they all include cancelling the warrants). I understand why the companies’ current shareholders might have this objective, but that won’t be enough. If Fannie and Freddie are to be released from conservatorship and restored as private companies, the Trump administration will need to have a reason to make it happen, and Congress at a minimum will need to accept that plan, and not seek to counter it with legislation. I still do not know what the Mnuchin Treasury will set as its objectives for settlement talks with plaintiffs. I’m hopeful it will realize that releasing and recapitalizing Fannie and Freddie is the best alternative for ending the eight-year impasse on mortgage reform, but I can’t rule out the possibility that it might decide to settle the lawsuits as cheaply as possible, then throw its support behind the forces in Congress that want to liquidate Fannie and Freddie and replace them with some mechanism more to the liking of the large banks and Wall Street interests. If the latter choice is made, your plan obviously is dead. But even if the former is made, I believe your plan would need to be tweaked in some ways to give the Trump administration (and Congress) some reasons to go along with it (other than that it’s the right thing to for consumers, which unfortunately in politics seldom is enough). I’m surprised you’d say that. At the very least, it’s not in keeping with what mnuchin is on record saying. Some optimism is justified by recent events, but I’d caution about getting too far out in front of what we actually know. i agree with sentiments expressed by tim and anon on not getting carried away, which is another of way of saying we need to check our confirmation bias as best we can. i probably more than most let my conviction become hardened. but after hearing for years from an administration saying it wants to wind GSEs down and replace them with whatever congress comes up with, we now have an administration (only mnuchin really, and assuming he is confirmed) that says he wants them out of govt control and ownership, and he thinks this can be done reasonably fast. mnuchin may think he got ahead of himself with that comment a bit, especially after the immediate market reaction, and i am actually glad he has not spoken to the GSE issue since. so let’s not underestimate the extent of this turn of events. will there be push back against a more favorable GSE policy within treasury and congress? of course. but i think you will see a programmatic tone to the trump administration’s first 100 days, and that tone will be that the new administration is working to reverse alot of what the obama administration has done. indeed, with recent developments regarding russia and israel, there is even more on trump’s plate to reverse than even when he was elected. and so the presence of GSE pushback needs to be understood in the context of what will be going on, which will be a whole lot of policy reversals being proposed of which the GSE policy will likely be not the most prominent or contentious issue. and the administration can say that nothing prevents congress from trying to modify anything mnuchin’s treasury does administratively after the fact, but given that congress couldnt pass anything adverse with a receptive obama administration, i have a hard time seeing congress coalescing in a way that would significantly counter what mnuchin might have in mind. pushback will be coming from the democrats on alot of what trump wants to reverse, but democrat pushback is not going to be that significant re GSEs imo. so, i think a favorable GSE policy will lose its most ardent opponent, the obama white house itself. assuming the trump administration sets a tone in the first 100 days that it means business and is not pausing for stragglers, opponents of an favorable GSE policy will face an uphill fight. Thanks Tim for bringing us back to earth. You are highlighting the complex political system that binds such a difficult resolution with both sides having their own agendas even though the truth already has enough legs to stand on its own imho. Would you say, one of the strongest ‘reason’ that the new administration needs could be in the form of the evidences released by courts (if it happens) from the undisclosed documents withheld under various privileged claims? Which do you have a view on why suddenly everything on the courts fronts has suddenly gone so quiet? Evidence contained in the 56 documents whose disposition is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is very likely to support the notion that the Obama administration Treasury has misled both the courts and the public about its motivations for taking over and then sweeping the profits of Fannie and Freddie. That would add weight to the argument that the companies were taken over in 2008 not because they were weak, but because they were strong–and that if released they could again serve as the engines of the secondary mortgage market. As to the delays in the court rulings, I’m guessing along with everyone else, but I now suspect the courts may be waiting for the change in leadership at the Justice Department that will take place next month before issuing rulings on these important and high-profile cases. If the Courts are waiting for new leadership at DOJ, like Tim thinks, it means that the Courts are against the old DOJ’s position. What Judge will support hiding 11,000 documents for not even one good reason. I hope the documents will be uncovered and the protective order void. The , after the dust settle, any decision will be more fair. What are the derivative hedging profits/losses since 2002 for FnF? Is it true that that Fannie had over $50 billion in losses on derivatives hedging between 2002 and 2007 and added another $15 billion in derivatives losses in 2008? I’ll answer your second question shortly, but before I do I’d like to make a general point about why the topic of derivatives losses at Fannie and Freddie between eight and fourteen years ago might now be coming up. When I read a reference to “over $50 billion in losses on derivatives hedging between 2002 and 2007 and…another $15 billion in derivatives losses in 2008,” I immediately think of the article that likely would have contained these figures: its subject would have been what an awful company Fannie Mae was to have lost over $75 billion in risky derivatives speculation in just six years. Opponents of Fannie and Freddie now are genuinely alarmed that they may not succeed in killing them, so I have little doubt we’ll be seeing a barrage of negative publicity about the companies in the coming months. Almost all of it will go unchallenged, as it has for the past couple of decades. Just for the record, though, I’ll give you my answer to the derivative loss question. First of all, the derivative numbers cited (which, with the exception of 2008 I haven’t checked, but they look reasonable) aren’t “losses;” they’re expenses. They fall into four categories. The first two—interest payments on floating-to-fixed rate interest rate swaps, and premiums paid for options to enter into interest rate swaps in the future (known as “swaptions”)—are routine parts of Fannie’s interest rate risk management. Prior to the adoption of the accounting for derivatives standard, FAS 133, in 2001, these two items would have been recorded as interest expense, not derivatives “losses,” and nobody would have paid any attention to them. The third component of derivative expense is gains or losses in the market value of Fannie’s outstanding interest rate swaps. Fannie had $547 billion in floating-to-fixed interest rate swaps in 2008, and the 213 basis point decline in swap rates during the second half of that year resulted in a $13 billion market value loss on those swaps. These same declines in interest rates, however, also increased the market value of Fannie’s mortgages, but following the accounting rules this increase in value was not marked to market. Post-2008, the company’s profits benefitted (by close to the $13 billion amount written down in 2008) by having its mortgages remain at their (higher) historical interest rates, while the annual interest expense on its swaps was deducted at the (much lower) 2008 marked-to-market costs. The one category of Fannie’s $75 billion-plus in derivatives expenses that WAS a permanent economic loss was fees paid on the interest rate swaps it terminated (which Fannie will do when interest rates fall and it needs to shorten the durations of its liabilities to match the suddenly-shorter durations of its assets). Fannie discloses its swap termination fees, as a component of “accumulated other comprehensive income,” but Fannie’s opponents and critics don’t like to cite real numbers. They would much rather pretend that ALL of the $75 billion in Fannie’s derivatives expense is a “loss,” and that it comes from bets on interest rates that went bad. All the more reason, then, to shut them down, and replace them with a bank-centric alternative. Thanks, You are the genuine expert one can rely on, when opponents try their best to confuse the public with such misleading narratives. Thanks for your public service to keep all well informed on such nationally important issues. The rich (hedge funds) benefitting on the backs of the poor (taxpayers) narrative is quite powerful, and is a tool effectively used by detractors of Fannie to turn public opinion against the shareholders. Since we can assume that this rhetoric will get louder as we get closer to d-day, how can Mnuchin and other protagonists defuse this false narrative and make people understand that the GSEs need to be private companies? Is there a graceful way of doing this without the mass media being status-quo? Docs. That’s the only way. They will prove everything and as a byproduct the warrants will be deemed extortion upon extortion. Thank you for your explanation about derivative expenses. The important point here is that over all the companies , after paying the expenses , were always profitable and generating well being and jobs by propelling house ownership. Thanks for all you do Tim Howard. Enjoy the holidays. Tim – have you seen this clip of Kellyanne Conway discussing FnF from last night? When she says that many republicans believe in privatizing FnF for a long time, do you read into this at all, i.e Corker, Hensarling, etc.? Mnuchin certainly didn’t say anything about dismantling, but curious on your thoughts. I hadn’t seen the Conway interview, but just watched it. People think and mean different things when they talk about the “privatization” of Fannie and Freddie. Fannie was an agency of the federal government until 1968, when it was “privatized’ by having shares sold to the public. At that time, it had a federal charter which limited it to the residential mortgage business, and also gave it certain benefits that enabled it to operate on a scale and at a cost that companies without its charter could not. When Freddie was created in 1970, it was given essentially the same charter as Fannie, but was made part of what then was the Federal Home Loan Bank System; Freddie was “privatized”–with shares sold to the public–in 1989. A different concept of Fannie Mae privatization–the revocation of all of its charter benefits, usually while keeping its business restrictions–became popular and was advocated by many prominent officials in the Reagan administration in the 1980s. It is this “pure” version of privatization that Rep. Hensarling and other conservative Republicans have in mind when they speak of “privatizing” Fannie and Freddie. In my view, however, pure privatization is not workable: if you get rid of the companies’ charter benefits, give them no other benefits, and keep them limited to the mortgage business, they will not be able to function effectively (as the commercial banking system could not function effectively without federal deposit insurance). We do not yet know which definition of privatization Mnuchin has in mind for Fannie and Freddie. I believe it’s one in which the companies are moved out of their government-controlled conservatorship and returned to shareholder-owned status, with a set of charter attributes that allow them to carry out their mission effectively and efficiently, not the Hensarling version that would permanently cripple them. But we should find out soon enough. Asked by Senator Shelby, CBO produced a research paper on recapalizing GSEs. It seems obvious to me that no concrete replacement can be found despite of many proposals.. Do you or your friends have any information about the status of the Lamberth appeal? Further, do you know if the public can put pressure on the court to wrap up their analysis? In my experience, the longer deliberations like this last the less righteous the decision becomes. I do not have any good information on the status of the Lamberth appeal, and I don’t know of anyone who does. But if we’re speculating about the implications of the delay in the decision, I think they are considerably more likely to be positive than negative. Were the judges inclined to uphold Lamberth, that would have happened a long time ago. My guess would be that Judges Ginsburg and Brown are awaiting a decision on the writ of mandamus to vacate Judge Sweeney’s decision to grant plaintiffs’ motion to compel production of the 56 documents in the Court of Claims case, with that expectation that denial of that writ may (a) convince Judge Millett to join the majority in remanding the case to the Lamberth court for development of an administrative record, (b) enable Judges Ginsburg and Brown to write a stronger majority decision (from which Judge Millett would dissent), or (c) less likely, give Judges Ginsburg and Brown sufficient additional ammunition to persuade them to decide in favor of overturning the Lamberth decision in its entirely, invalidating the net worth sweep. I think your own experience is a good example of how the governments delaying tactics can backfire on them. I remember reading your book, The Mortgage Wars, where you discussed how the Government attorney, Paul DeMarco, fell out in the courtroom, trying to answer questions about lack of evidence, feeling constant pressure from an incensed judge, collapsing to the floor under the tension of the situation at hand. Your reflections on this case may be helpful here. Some people used “logic” rather than evidence. there could be any number of explanations for the length of the perry appeals decision. here’s another: that ginsburg/brown dont want the decision (assume favorable for Ps) appealed for en banc consideration, and are waiting for a trump administration doj. arguably, if an obama doj requested en banc consideration and the majority of the dc circuit granted it, a trump administration doj might not be able to pull it back. who knows. we are in wait mode, and patience is a virtue. is it reasonable, in your exp, to believe that “were the judges inclined to uphold Lamberth, that would have happened a long time ago”? have you seen cases that took equally long if not longer only to affirm lower ct’s ruling? Is it normal though for judges to play politics like this and i am just being naive thinking they don’t? it is quicker to write one unanimous opinion than a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion (with the majority opinion invariably responding to certain issues raised by the dissent). so i think one could speculate that this decision will involve a dissent, given the delay. now, when i listen to the oral argument, and read the transcript of the argument, i come away with the speculation that the most likely configuration of this split is for judge millett dissenting from a majority ginsburg/brown opinion. btw, there could be three opinions, one for reversal, one for remand, and one for either affirmance or remand using a different standard than that used by the other judge. the majority result would be for remand. there are at least 6 different claims that i believe the opinion(s) must address. a law clerk’s nightmare. so, while i dont think there will be affirmance, i believe this based more upon what i heard and read in the oral argument, and not so much by the lapse of time since then. it strikes me my answer to your question was incomplete. there is a sense in which the delay in the perry appeals decision augers against affirmance. if you recall the govt argued that this was a very simple case. under HERA the conservator can exercise a power, and HERA prevents a court from restraining the conservator’s exercise of the power. so, when conservator signed 3rd A, it exercised a power (amending a contract), case closed. judge lamberth agreed with this truncated reasoning. of course plaintiffs argued that the exercise of conservator power must be within the HERA statutory purposes of rehabilitating the GSEs, during conservatorship, or moving on to receivership and liquidation. if you listened to or read the oral argument, there was precious little attention paid by any of the judges to this broad conception of conservator power advanced by govt. you would think that if the appeals court would affirm, it would affirm on the basis of this truncated conservator power argument. and this would be the quickest path to the issuance of an opinion. but there was no indication at oral argument that the judges were taking that position. Outstanding clarity. Thank you for your concise and well-reasoned response. Are you basing your assessment of Judge Millett’s dissent on her line of questioning at the appeal? I found it troubling but have wondered whether she is now up to speed. Yes; when I read the transcript I felt that Judges Ginsburg and Brown likely would agree on remand, and that Millett would dissent. But the longer the decision is delayed the more I wonder about other possible dynamics. One, as you suggest, is that information that has come to light since the April oral argument about the government’s actions and motives in imposing the net worth sweep–and the obvious inference from this information that the government deliberately had not been truthful in statements it made to the Lamberth court–may be causing Millett to reassess her position. That’s why I noted as one possibility that she (and Ginsburg and Brown) might be waiting to see what’s in the 56 documents the government so desperately is seeking to withhold. Any direct pressure placed on the court or judges could result in a mistrial, delaying the legal process, while giving the the defense team a means of appeal. Any thoughts on the FHFA Landing Team’s inclusion of Pinto and Pollock? They are volunteers nobody choose them specially. Alex Pollock is a volunteer in several landing teams. I think there would be a collective roar from your followers, myself included of course, if you raised your hand as a volunteer for a landing team position. Are you in a position to take on, or would you consider such a role? There is no authority such as yourself on this planet that I am aware of, although Epstein would be up there. I appreciate your time and dedication to this blog immensely. Thank you! I’m not planning to volunteer for a landing team position; I believe I will have more influence and success working directly with people who are in a position to influence the outcome of mortgage reform than I would have as one of many volunteers (with no real authority) on a landing team. Don’t know why those guys are there. Trump would not like them if he knows them. Watt may hate them. He can continue to finish term in 2019. They may want to land a job in Treasury. Although this article is about the DeMarco-Bright plan for mortgage reform (“Toward a New Secondary Mortgage Market,” published in September by the Milken Institute), it is written by former Treasury Department official Michael Stegman. The Stegman article is a good example of how bad ideas gain policy currency in Washington. I don’t know Stegman, but I do know that, like many current and former Treasury officials, he has been a persistent advocate of replacing Fannie and Freddie. To him, the DeMarco-Bright plan seems like a plausible way of doing that, so he endorses it and makes arguments in its favor without having much if any understanding of the subject matter he’s addressing. Currently, Ginnie Mae packages government-guaranteed FHA and VA loans, and issues them on its securitization platform. DeMarco and Bright think, “well, why can’t Ginnie do that for conventional (i.e., non-government guaranteed) loans, like Fannie and Freddie do?” (Irony alert here: DeMarco now says that the Ginnie Mae securitization platform is a better choice for this than the “common securitization platform” (CSP) he forced Fannie and Freddie to start building in 2012; that certainly raises the question: “so why did you make them spend all that money on the CSP if Ginnie had a better platform already?”) The answer to this question is, “Ginnie could ISSUE the conventional securities, but who would guarantee them?” DeMarco and Bright’s idea– which Stegman endorses–is that Ginnie would take on the new responsibility of ensuring that every loan delivered to one of its new conventional mortgage pools had sufficient credit enhancement to leave it (Ginnie) with virtually no residual risk through adding its (government) guaranty to it. Among the types of credit enhancements that DeMarco and Bright say would pass this test of highest quality would be securitized credit-risk transfers such as Fannie’s CAS and Freddie’s STACRs. Yes, these are the same securities I’ve written about extensively, which according to both Fannie’s and Freddie’s prospectuses take less than one-tenth of the credit losses they’re advertised as taking. If Ginnie actually accepted CAS and STACRs as “top quality credit enhancements,” what would happen to the 90-plus percent of the credit losses the CAS and STACRs don’t absorb? Ginnie Mae, of course, would end up with them. DeMarco and Bright don’t seem to understand that, nor (obviously) does Stegman. So another terrible idea for mortgage reform gets endorsed and perpetuated. You are much too kind. It isn’t ignorance, but infamy, which compels Demarco and Bright. The CAS-STACR credit trades are dual purposed as 1) fig leaf to taxpayers and 2) transfer of shareholder wealth (including IP) to TBTF banks. The real idiocy is putting ones name (and personal integrity) to intellectually flawed and dishonest proposals. Can you please explain “backing” of the federal government and “implicit Guarantees” of the federal government in the context of FnF. Which one these really exist and in what form? Many people have freely used these phrases very conveniently without really being specific about what and how. Should not Gov be specific about these to make it easy for investors and also to avoid litigations with Gov? The easiest and most understandable way to explain the “implicit guarantee” (or “government backing”) for Fannie and Freddie is in the context of their existence as private, shareholder-owned companies, pre-conservatorship. We learned during the 2008 financial crisis, however, that the concept of implicit guarantee applied not just to Fannie and Freddie, but also to all large, systemically important financial institutions. Banks facing imminent financial collapse were given trillions of dollars in repayable loans from the Federal Reserve, with few if any conditions, and have long since been restored to their former states as independent companies. Fannie and Freddie, on the other hand, which faced no liquidity problems and did not require federal help, were forced into conservatorship and saddled with non-repayable senior preferred stock by their conservator, FHFA, and remain in conservatorship today. Today, “too-big-to-fail” banks continue to benefit from an implicit guarantee, in the sense that nobody doubts that if Citigroup, Bank of America or any other very large commercial bank were to get into trouble again, the government would come to their rescue. Yet critics of Fannie and Freddie act as if the implicit guarantee were only an issue for these two companies, in spite of the fact that—unlike the banks—Fannie and Freddie still “pay for” their government relationship through the limitations on their business powers contained in their charters. I can certainly understand if you are confused by what an “implicit guarantee” is, how it is conveyed, and what conditions come with it. The federal government is too. Nowadays all SIFI around the world have implicit guarantee. Just these days Italy is rescuing its banks. Also the European Central Bank is telling all the time that they are ready to act if a SIFI needs to be rescued. Thanks for excellent explanation of the most misunderstood topic in FnF saga. When this explanation comes from credible and authoritative source like you, it establishes a quotable reference. So far no one has ever tried to explain. This also brings certainty to any debates or discussions. In the past we have never read or heard from either public officials or private experts on what these mythical things are. Hope plaintiffs will make sure that Judges understand these mostly misunderstood phrases. Tim – what do make of the talk lately regarding Watt and the fact that he holds all of the cards? Many are saying he can not be removed and that unless the new admin. meets all of his demands, he can prevent them from releasing. Given his actions and past testimony couldn’t he be removed for cause given that he clearly did not follow his duties as a conservator? Further, couldn’t the new admin use the sealed docs as leverage and aren’t there a million ways for Treasury to make Watt’s life as head of FHFA very difficult if so inclined? I believe that the new admin will be very focused on expanding home ownership and aiding low-income Americans as well so it would seem that Watt’s refusal to comply would be nothing more than politically driven. I’ll start by saying that I’ve had no direct contacts with senior officials at FHFA for a couple of years, so my comments on this question are based on inferences from information that is available publicly. I have no reason to think that Watt will be opposed or an obstacle to releasing Fannie and Freddie, should the Trump Treasury (and administration) elect to do that. In my view, Watt has been in a very difficult position. Prior to his becoming director, his predecessor, Ed DeMarco, had allowed Treasury to dominate FHFA, and become the de facto conservator. Treasury’s plan was to deprive the companies of capital, drain significant amounts of their revenues by forcing them to enter into expensive risk-sharing transactions that transferred very little risk, and spend their own money on a securitization platform designed to ultimately be given away to whatever entities could be devised to replace them. Watt believed–I think correctly– that he got into the game too late to effectively fight that, so he and the rest of FHFA went along with it. If the Trump Treasury changes its objectives for Fannie and Freddie, I personally believe that Watt would be very happy with that. Historically, he has supported their mission and their existence as shareholder-owned companies. Watt’s actions as conservator also have been affected by the legal position Treasury and FHFA have taken (again, predating his appointment as director) in the net worth sweep cases. Their primary defense has been that HERA allows them to do whatever they want with Fannie and Freddie, including liquidating them and allowing Treasury to call the shots on how they are being run. As you know, this defense worked with Judge Lamberth (although that decision is on appeal). Watt can’t break from Treasury while this defense is still, on its surface, succeeding. So here, too, I think he has defensible reasons for “not follow[ing] his duties as conservator.” He doesn’t have an obvious alternative. He can’t release Fannie and Freddie without Treasury abandoning the net worth sweep (they have no capital), and breaking ranks with Treasury would sabotage their collective legal strategy. So, I’d be inclined to withhold judgment on whether Watt’s professed desire to remain in office until the end of his term is a good or a bad thing until we get more clarity on what the Trump administration’s intentions for Fannie and Freddie are, and how Watt responds to them once they’re known. Clear thinker you are Mr Howard! Rep Mulvaney is the new director of budget. After reading his bill (link below) it seems that his ideas are positive for GSEs. The bill talks about “risk-weighed” capital; is it what you always propose? He proposes very high capital, do they do this is for margin to negotiate? Also the bill expressly grants jurisdiction to the district courts over private claims. That seems very good considering what is brewing in the district courts. isn’t it? Can you give us your opinion on Mulvaney’s position about GSE? Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) has been chosen by President-elect Trump to head the Office of Management Budget, but he still will need to be confirmed by the Senate (which I do not anticipate will pose any problems for him). My opinion of his proposed bill on Fannie and Freddie (H.R. 4913) hasn’t changed since it came out in the spring. While it clearly has some good things for the companies, overall I do not support it, primarily because of the way it treats capital. Mulvaney is another advocate of applying “bank-like” capital standards to Fannie and Freddie, which I believe would be a grave, and potentially fatal, mistake. His capital proposal is that Fannie and Freddie hold “an amount of total capital…that is equal to or exceeds 10 percent of the risk-weighted assets of the enterprise.” The Mulvaney bill does not define what “risk-weighted assets” are, however, and that term is nowhere defined in the companies’ charters, nor in the Federal Housing Enterprises Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. By elimination, therefore, he must be referring to “risk weights” as they are defined in the Basel capital standards for banks, in which residential mortgages are given a risk weight of 50 percent. Mulvaney’s proposal to capitalize Fannie and Freddie at 10 percent of risk-weighted assets thus would translate into approximately 5 percent capital against the companies’ total assets (the difference coming from the fact that not all of Fannie and Freddie’s assets are mortgages). As I noted in my responses below to comments on the Rosner and Carney capital proposals, I strongly oppose applying fixed, ratio-based capital standards to Fannie and Freddie’s credit guaranty business. I believe that when negotiators of a settlement in plaintiffs’ net worth lawsuits against the government for the net worth sweep focus on what Fannie and Freddie should look like–and how they should function–post-settlement, they will agree with my view that custom-tailored, true risk-based capital standards are a greatly superior approach to capitalization for the companies compared with a simple ratio-based standard. When they do that, Rep. Mulvaney will be one of the many people on the Republican side of the aisle they will try to persuade to come to that same point of view. I don’t see any great significance in Mulvaney’s granting jurisdiction to district courts in disputes concerning the companies, other than a preference for those venues over state courts. But perhaps the lawyers among the readership see something there that I don’t. I realize you can’t know, but do you think it’s probable that Mulvaney would resonate with sound instruction on this point he currently misses, or at least was missing in his thinking at the time the bill was drafted? I take you to suggest he might. I don’t have a good sense for how “persuadable” Mulvaney would be on the capital issue, although his memberships in both the Tea Party Caucus and the Freedom Caucus suggest to me that he might be a fairly tough sell. On Mnuchin, I would be surprised if he “gets [the capital issue] already, without being told.” This is awfully esoteric, and unless you’ve worked with or studied the operations of a mortgage credit guaranty business– which few have–it’s unlikely you would know it off hand, because it’s not intuitive. “Bank-like capital” and “more capital” do seem intuitive (although they’re wrong). That’s why I believe that someone will need to take Mnuchin through the reasons WHY customized, risk-based capital standards are better for Fannie and Freddie than artificially high, static, ratio-based standards. The plaintiffs in the lawsuits should be able to do that (I’ve offered my help, if they need or would like it). Once Mnuchin hears the arguments, I think he’ll make the right call. What do you think of Bruce Berkowitz’ earlier proposal to carve out a “Private GSE” from the current GSEs? He proposes to capitalize $1t of new mortgages with $52b of capital – or 5%. So does he really “get it” re capitalization numbers? Bruce made that proposal over three years ago, a few months before I first met with his team (following publication of my book). Back in 2013, any proposal to capitalize Fannie and Freddie with less than 5 percent capital was not taken seriously–in fact, many people still were advocating 10 percent capital. It was necessary for Berkowitz to use a 5 percent capital figure just to get his proposal in front of the administration (although it was dismissed in any case). I don’t presume to speak for Fairholme, but I think they now understand my risk-based capital approach, and why it’s better for both the companies and homebuyers. It also makes recapitalization easier (less capital to raise). It’s a win-win-win. Even so, I plan to do a round of calls and/or meetings with the principals after the first of the year, to make sure no one has any outstanding questions or concerns about the idea. Tim – what are your thoughts on Josh Rosner’s recommendation of minimum capital requirements of 3% to 5% Risk Adjusted vs. your 2%? First, let’s make sure we’re talking about comparable concepts. I’ve proposed that Fannie and Freddie be subject to a risk-based capital standard; their required capital would be set by product and risk category, with the percentage amounts determined by stress tests specified by the government and run by FHFA. (I would add that the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, passed by Congress in 2008, also requires FHFA to determine the companies’ capital using a risk-based stress test.) I have recommended that Fannie and Freddie be required to hold enough capital to survive a 25 percent nationwide decline in home prices over a 5-year period, plus a small cushion, but it should be the government that picks that standard. If a 25 percent home price decline is in fact the stress standard picked by the government, my analysis of Fannie and Freddie’s 2008-2012 credit losses suggests that—for the companies’ current, very high quality, books of business—their required risk-based capital would be well below 2 percent. I thus have also recommended that Fannie and Freddie have a 2 percent minimum capital requirement, so that if application of the risk-based standard results in calculated capital below that level, the 2 percent minimum would become binding. Above 2 percent, the risk-based standard would be binding. I have the same objection to Josh’s approach as I had to John Carney’s (discussed below): it applies a bank standard to Fannie and Freddie, which aren’t banks. Banks have exceptionally wide asset powers that force bank regulators to apply “rough justice” capital percentages to broad categories of the business they do around the globe. With the limits now imposed on Fannie and Freddie’s portfolio business, they take essentially one type of risk (credit) on one type of asset (residential mortgages) in one country (the U.S.). And the credit results on their one asset type can be modeled, analyzed and predicted statistically. For that reason, it is possible to do a TRUE risk-based capital standard for Fannie and Freddie, whereas bank capital standards are “risk-based” in name only. Beyond this argument (which, by the way, was good enough to convince former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, who worked with me on Fannie and Freddie’s original risk-based capital standard, developed in the early 1990s), there is a practical one in favor of the true risk-based capital standard I advocate compared with the ratio-based standard Josh recommends. A fixed, ratio-based standard makes guaranty fee pricing extremely problematic. For example, you don’t need 3 to 5 percent capital to cover the credit risk on a loan with a 40 percent down payment and a 750 credit score. If a credit guarantor prices for that amount of capital it won’t get the business, but if it cuts its fee the capital requirement doesn’t change. To make its target return on capital at the corporate level, the guarantor has to make up fee cuts for low-risk borrowers by charging higher-risk borrowers even more—but then THOSE fees become unaffordable. In the real world, there’s no way around that problem if you saddle Fannie and Freddie with non-risk, ratio-based standards that are anywhere near the 3 to 5 percent level Josh is recommending (on loans, remember, that are likely to have less than a 4 basis point annual credit loss rate). If you break the link between risk and capital, as ratio-based standards do, the credit guaranty business really doesn’t work. You’re referring to property and casualty companies. No, I don’t know how they’re capitalized, but in any event their capitalization has no practical relevance for the capitalization of Fannie and Freddie. Eric (and Tim) property and casualty companies, such as you describe Eric, are regulated by the 50 states. Ergo, while there may be a common set of rules, each state has the authority to establish different levels and capital requirements. Historically, state insurance commissioners come from and later return to those industries, which makes state oversight, control and, company rate increase requests an “easier row to hoe”, and sometimes, a “good old boy” arrangement. This link has some of the most recent state capital requirements for insurance companies. Brilliant. Makes perfect sense. Thanks Tim. Your recommended methodology for setting regulatory requirements by product, assets, geography and risk category is the most logical and scientific methodology in the current information age. Using single broad percentage based regulatory requirements is unscientific and carryover from past. Single percentage based regulatory requirements is preferred by other FIs for obvious reasons. Other FIs have risks based on multiple of geographies, products, assets, services, risks. It not only makes it simpler for them but it also allows them to maximize the profits by focusing on specific geographies, products, assets, services taking maximum risks but allocating the same single percentage based regulatory capital for any risk. Also it is very difficult for regulators to have accurate historical data for multiples of geographies, products, assets, services, risks and determine detailed risk requirements for all types of banks that exist in thousands. In case of FnF, these are just two companies that have very few specialized products and services limited to single country but on a very large volume and scale. Also reasonably accurate historical data exists and it is very easy to determine detailed risk requirements by the dedicated FHFA regulator. FnF and Banks are totally different on many criteria. FnF are highly regulated and just two companies where as thousands of Banks exist in hundreds of different formats. For these reasons FnF and other FIs also have separate dedicated regulators. In case of FnF, even a very small mistake in regulatory requirements can have very large impact on economy because of very large volume and scale of their operations. When there are easy ways to determine risks and regulatory requirements, then it makes no sense to use single percentage criteria. This is main reason why regulators were clueless about real conditions of FIs during 2008 crisis and used “rough justice” to deal with the crisis. FnF and Shareholders are the victims of such “rough justice”. Any opinion on this article? I normally don’t comment on articles that deal with the relative pros and cons of ownership of Fannie or Freddie’s common versus preferred stock, but I did read this piece and thought it contained some good background material and solid analysis, which many readers might find useful. There was one area where I thought the author could have been a little more clear in his exposition. He spends considerable time discussing the upside for common shareholders of a challenge to the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (SPSPA), but he doesn’t point out that none of the net worth sweep lawsuits challenge the SPSPA (or if he does I missed it). One way that plaintiffs in the net worth sweep cases–Berkowitz, Paulson, Ackman and others–might get around this is by threatening to “commandeer” (i.e., start picking up the legal fees for) the Washington Federal suit, which does challenge the SPSPA. That might put it on the table in a negotiation. But for this tactic to give the plaintiffs more leverage in a negotiation, it would have to be viewed a credible threat by the government–that is, the government would have to believe that the plaintiffs would be willing to forego a near-term settlement of the net worth sweep cases and spend several more years of discovery in and legal wrangling over the Washington Fed suit, which to date has been stayed. So far, none of the plaintiffs in the net worth sweep cases have shown any willingness to do that–although it’s possible that could change. I tend to believe that the settlement would include Washington Federal. Otherwise, if Wash Federal wins eventually, a big bill ($300B) for the feds to pay. Wash Federal can fight to end if it wants to. In a settlement with all plaintiffs, feds may be able to keep some profit. I believe Washington Federal will accept whatever settlement the plaintiffs in the net worth sweep cases negotiate. The issue I’m raising is whether the net worth sweep plaintiffs can parlay the threat of keeping the Washington Federal suit alive (using their own resources) into a better overall settlement for everybody. I suspect that’s a long shot, but it’s not totally out of the question. Rule Of Law Guy said that the law firms that represent Washington Federal had an agreement of services contingent to a quick settlement and other sources agree. However that agreement of service was done BEFORE the suit was filed. A lot happened since May 2013 and the two firms that represent WF find now that the case is a lot more easy to prove than they expected before. It happens because now there is enough evidence , through discovery and forensic audits, that they did not expect to have on hand with almost no effort from their part. In another words, while their case has been stayed, others have been doing a great job for them. Maybe the two law firms will change their minds and never walk away from the case. It is too big to walk away. Tim – In your opinion would you say that given it may be impossible to settle every single suit depending on certain controlling P’s rationale, i.e they are looking for an outcome deemed to simply be unreasonable, Mnuchin will hammer out a deal with the key litigants and major shareholders, as well as reach out to smaller cases once the parameters with larger have been agreed to? Assuming they choose to take advantage of warrants with the possibility of altering the original deal, isn’t the pps of common shares a key to a successful transition, i.e. most suits are settled/dropped, ability to raise capital increases, treasury maximizes it’s own interest, prf’d may be convinced to a conversion and remain invested for a longer period, etc.? I ask as many still put forth the notion of shareholders being wiped out, new issuance, etc. This to me doesn’t seem like a reasonable probable outcome when the opportunity exists for a win-win scenario. Am I missing some key element short of an unrealistic capital buffer, say 3% or above? The way these multi-plaintiff settlements typically work is the “big dogs” negotiate the terms, and the smaller plaintiffs then decide whether to accept those terms or opt out, and continue to sue on their own (with their own money). Knowing that, the large plaintiffs try to structure the terms to maximize the chance that both the defense and the smaller plaintiffs will accept them, so as to end the lawsuits for everyone. And you’re right about the common shares. If the government views a reformed, released and recapitalized Fannie and Freddie as the best available alternative for the secondary mortgage market of the future–as I argue in this piece that it is–then the government and the plaintiffs have a mutual interest in maximizing the long-term value of those common shares (the government because of its ownership of the warrants). Another important mutuality of interest in a negotiated settlement is “getting the capital right.” Yes, the government wants Fannie and Freddie to be, in Mnuchin’s words, “absolutely safe,” but it also would want to achieve that safety with a minimum of unnecessary excess capital. Capital that’s not needed to meet the government’s safety and soundness standards either extends the time to achieve full capitalization via retained earnings (which requires negotiating regulatory forbearance, and limits or prohibits junior preferred and common dividends in the interim) or requires additional equity capital raises (there is a limit to the percentage of its capital structure a financial institution can have in preferred stock), which dilutes existing owners of common (including the government via the warrants) and lowers its price. If there are favorable rulings in either Perry or Fairholme cases prior to negotiations, do you think the plaintiffs, with a bolstered negotiating positon, will alter their positions on warrant exercise i.e. move towards no exercise or do you think excercising warrants is going to happen regardless and it is just a matter of at what strike price? Since other financial institutions have been given several years to comply with Basel III, is there any reason why GSE’s won’t be given forbearance? Again, I’m not going to speculate about various scenarios for the warrants; that’s completely in the hands of the negotiators, who will be balancing multiple objectives in real time, amidst a changing set of external circumstances and internal dynamics. On regulatory forbearance, there clearly will be some required in order to get from Fannie and Freddie’s current capital level (essentially zero) to whatever target is set. But the time period for that forbearance won’t be indefinite, and in my opinion almost certainly not so lengthy so as to permit Fannie and Freddie to recapitalize solely through retained earnings, and without any common equity issuance. What is the limit to the percentage of its capital structure a financial institution can have in preferred stock? I haven’t done any updated research on this topic for a while, but when I’ve looked at this in the past the highest percentages of preferred stock in a financial institution’s capital structure that I found were in the 10 to 12 percent range. so tim, i wonder if there can be any recap unless and until the perry appeals court renders a decision that lamberth’s interpretation of HERA was wrong. who is going to invest $65B of fresh capital unless it is made clear that HERA doesn’t mean what judge lamberth said it meant?! Technically, there could, if the parties were to reach a full settlement before the appeals court renders a decision on Perry. But that’s highly unlikely to happen. And even if the appeals court upholds Lamberth (which I think also is highly unlikely), you still have the Federal Court of Claims case outstanding, so settlement remains possible. But you won’t get recap without a settlement, along with a clear and binding agreement on what Fannie and Freddie will look like post-conservatorship, and how they will operate. Investors in any new equity issues in the companies will have know to a certainty what they’ve buying into. On reflection, I think you’re right. The preferred shareholders could get relief from a positive outcome in the Court of Claims case (or a settlement of it), but if Lamberth is upheld (through the Supreme Court) the government undoubtedly wouldn’t release Fannie and Freddie from conservatorship without their being able to access the equity market in large size to recapitalize, which would be problematic unless and until Congress overturned the provision(s) in HERA that gave rise to Lamberth’s interpretation. With the dramatic move in interest rates during this current quarter Q4, might it necessitate a pre-settlement end to the sweep or at least a temporary halt? I ask as rates have moved 100bps from 1.60% to 2.60% in Q4 and that will have a dramatic one time positive effect on Fannie Mae’s profits from interest rate hedges. If Fannie pays that all away to Treasury and interest rates drop back down to 1.60% in the following quarter (Q1 2017), there’s a good chance the company would need a treasury draw from any potential massive drop in rates. With that said, wouldn’t it be best if the new administration was pre-emptive to avoid an increased chance of a potential draw, especially so soon into their new jobs (even if one time only while they work out the larger reform issues). Your thoughts? I think you raise a good point. Movements in interest rates this past quarter very likely WILL result in significant (temporary) accounting gains for Fannie and Freddie’s derivative positions, all of which are scheduled to be paid to Treasury under the net worth sweep. A comparable fall in interest rates in the first quarter—and the attendant accounting loss on those same derivative positions—could well provoke a draw. This is a potential dynamic that the new administration (and the plaintiffs) will need to keep an eye on. But they have time. Fannie and Freddie won’t put out their full year (and fourth quarter) 2016 results until mid-February 2017, and they won’t release their first quarter 2017 results until early May. By mid-February we’ll know what interest rates have done in the first six weeks of the year, and thus be able to handicap the likelihood (and possible magnitude) of an accounting-driven loss in the first quarter. If one appears likely, I think the (newly installed) Trump Treasury should instruct FHFA to allow the companies to not make their scheduled net worth sweep payments for the first quarter of 2017, and instead enable them to retain those earnings to serve as a buffer for the probable accounting-related losses to come (thus avoiding a draw). If the Trump administration Treasury truly is interested in reaching a negotiated settlement with plaintiffs—which I believe it is—it wont want an accounting-driven senior preferred stock draw in May to add a political complication to what already will be a challenging negotiation on settlement of the lawsuits. So first quarter interest rates are definitely something to watch. Let’s compare FnF with their only peer, the FHA. Congress mandated the FHA to have a 2% capital ratio. The FHA now has a 2.32% capital ratio. FHA: 4.92% This figure includes the “legacy portfolio” (mortgages made before 2009). All the metrics point out that FnF should be required to have a capital ratio well below FHA’s. If FHA has a Congressional mandate of 2% capital ratio and a serious delinquency rate of 4.92%, then Fannie Mae, with a 1.06% serious delinquency rate, should have a capital ratio of 0.43%. It’s a simple math. Curiously enough, FnF have always had a capital ratio around 0.38% since they were set up in a Congressional charter 40 years ago. After reading this article, now you know why: a low-risk business model translates into very low delinquency rates. Cap ratio for GSEs: 1.5% is good enough! Due to in depth insight by you and others with working knowledge fighting the propaganda, I feel my IRA is much safer and am more optimistic than ever. I knew deep down it was not if, but when, it is resolved in favor of the rightful owners that value and thus capital would flow back in, providing stability and rewarding shareholder patience. One of the biggest problems is the “distrust” of government. This has to be addressed somehow. But the path of the past few years has led the country to the brink of every man for himself; as few have any trust in the government to actually do the right thing. Another issue surrounding capital is that at the extremes, there is simply no amount of capital that any company can have and meet muster if the tests are unrealistic. Rumor mongering and skeptical silliness have led the Feds and their “stress tests”. The government, ultimately, backstops America. There is an implicit guarantee at the extremes. There is no way around it and no way to hide it; unless you want Fannie or Freddie to relo to Canada. The government uses Fannie and Freddie to set and manage policy. This is a massive misconception in the market place. The economic expansion of the past 70 years is directly correlated to the ability of the average person to buy a home and create a future. If you want to grow the economy this is the best way to do it. Just a few salient points to consider. While Mr. Carney did not cite any specific article or study authored by Mr. Pollock, I presume you are very likely familiar with his work. Do you have any comments or rebuttal to what may be a statement and I suppose justification by Mr. Pollock regarding what he believes are Minimum Capital Reqs.? Note: I shall be happy to inquire further of Mr. Carney should you ask for a specific work by Mr. Pollock. I think this is a healthy debate as Mr. Carney seems to be taking a stand here and it would in my view be good to address his concerns given his position as an influencer in the Financial Press. I do not follow Carney, but I do know that he is what I would refer to as a “reflexive critic” of Fannie and Freddie, meaning that nothing positive done by or said about the companies will escape some sort of rebuttal or nay saying. You quote his comment that “[my] estimates of capital minimums are ridiculously low. Not even worth considering.” The “estimate” he seems to find objectionable is the “not much over 1 percent” capital percentage that resulted from the analysis I did to determine the amount of capital Fannie would have required to have survived the 25 percent decline in home prices that occurred between 2006 and 2011, adjusted for the fact that it no longer finances interest-only ARMs and Alt-A mortgages (as it did then). That figure may be “ridiculously low,” but it is inaccurate? Has Carney done a similar analysis, and come up with a different result? I suspect not. So I’m not sure what point he thinks he’s making. I don’t know how I could have made my proposed capitalization requirement for Fannie and Freddie any clearer: they should have to hold enough capital (plus a small cushion) to survive a 25 percent nationwide decline in home prices. Is that not severe enough? If not, what should they be required to protect against, and why? I’m not familiar with Mr. Pollock’s minimum capital estimates, but it’s not necessary for you (or anyone else) to ask Mr. Carney about them on my behalf. And I would not agree with your characterization of Mr. Carney as an “influencer.” He may have a following in the financial press, but the people whom I view as opinion leaders in the mortgage reform dialogue view him as being the same sort of reflexive critic as I do. Reflexive critics are completely predictable, so they don’t have much influence on people who like to think for themselves. You need to debate your analysis and opinion only with people who match your openness, transparency, integrity and expertise. Otherwise it would be giving attention to publicity seekers. It was rude of me to say that your proposed capital standard was not worth considering. I apologize. My argument with your proposal is that it starts from the wrong place. The purpose of contemporary capital standards is not to set minimums at levels needed to survive the stress scenario. They are to set levels high enough that firms are adequately capitalized during and after the stress scenario. And we don’t set capital standards based on the specific product mix present at a given time. Rather we set them on historical observations of losses in this type of business. So the starting place should be 4% to 5%. In other words, they need to have 4% to 5% minimum after the stress scenario. So that brings us to at least 5-6%. In addition, we will need to require a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% as well as a TBTF capital surcharge of 1% to 5%. This gives us a capital requirement of around 10% to 12%. Your view of capital adequacy as being set by the amount needed to survive a crisis is outdated and fails to take into account the systemic risk posed by the GSEs. For a simple discussion of the new view of capital requirements, this article from the Economist makes a good starting place. John: I agree with one of your points, but disagree with how you are applying the other. I agree that, “we don’t set capital standards based on the specific product mix present at a given time.” I’m not proposing we do. I’m proposing that FHFA set risk-based capital requirements by product type and risk category (at a minimum, combinations of loan-to-value ratios and credit scores). As the mix of Fannie or Freddie’s business changes, the capital requirements will change. But I also believe there should be a minimum capital requirement, below which the aggregate risk-based requirement (based on a company’s current mix of business) cannot fall. My disagreement is over your statement that Fannie and Freddie “need to have 4% to 5% minimum after the stress scenario…and a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% as well as a TBTF capital surcharge of 1% to 5%.” I know why you’re making this recommendation: banks are required to do something similar, so in your view Fannie and Freddie should have to as well. But Fannie and Freddie aren’t banks; they’re specialized institutions, limited to the mortgage business. I do understand that large commercial banks (with assets of over $50 billion) now are required to have at least 5 percent capital after deducting the losses from their (stylized) stress tests. But there’s a very good reason for that, which I discussed at the end of a recent post called “A Solution In Search of a Problem” (accessible as the last of the posts under the “Recent Posts” heading on the site). Briefly, what caused the problems at the banks during the crisis wasn’t loan losses; it was that fact that they were experiencing runs of non-insured deposits and hot money. Banks are highly levered. It’s not enough for them to have sufficient capital to absorb losses; they have to have enough to maintain the confidence of uninsured depositors and money market mutual funds so that they don’t take their short-term funds out, triggering the need to sell assets. The Fed says 5 percent post-stress capital is enough to maintain that confidence, but I’m not sure even they believe that. Large banks in the aggregate had more than 5 percent capital at the height of the last crisis, and the Fed still had to lend them trillions of dollars, and Treasury had to give some of them infusions of capital. This, I believe, is why banks are subject to things like the capital conservation buffer and TBTF surcharge. The capital argument you’re making is a variant of the “level playing field” notion I referenced in my current post: Fannie and Freddie have to have the same capital requirement the banks have, even though their business models, and risks, are very different. Your 10 percent capital requirement for Fannie and Freddie would have them charge 130 -140 basis points per year to guarantee a loan whose average expected default rate is less than 4 basis points per year. That basically kills the secondary market credit guaranty business, and takes massive amounts of money out of mortgage borrowers’ pockets. I don’t believe policymakers will choose that outcome by forcing bank capital standards on Fannie and Freddie for no reason other than the banks would like them to. Tim’s articles start with clear objectives and scenarios. If one reads a few of these articles most of the questions will be answered. One needs to look at various similarities and differences between FnF and similar FIs, before trying to burden FnF with various statutory regulatory requirements. These statutory regulatory requirements need to be in synergy with GSE charter, counter cyclical public missions and social mandates. The current gripe seems to be GSE charter and FnF business model which Congress has refused to change in last 8 years despite dogged efforts by insiders and outsiders in the financial establishment. FnF and Banks have fundamentally different business models based on their charter/incorporation, the business products/services and business risks. FnF are more like specialized private insurance companies along with punishing counter cyclical public missions and social mandates. In 2008 crisis these punishing counter cyclical public missions have cost these companies and their shareholders all of their capital and investments. Mark (in this blog) compares FnF with FHA (FHA with more riskier business model) and comes up with fairly realistic capital requirements. Similar such comparative analyses would help in setting statutory regulatory requirements for FnF. But this needs to be done by FHFA with the help from mortgage finance experts using a open, transparent, and fair process complying with all the laws and regulations. Secondary Mortgage finance is a very specialized field and requires in depth knowledge and expertise. We wish experts like Tim would help current and next DJT administration in setting the right direction. I would love to see a public debate between you Vs. Hank Paulson , Demarco, Zandi, fellow travellers, Corker et all . Such debate would fill up the Madison Square Garden! I would be in the line since the night before. Probably Obama relied on Hank/Ben/Tim and Fellow Travelers for the housing finance advice since Obama was more involved in Law and Community development . I’m sending this article to my senators and Congressmen. Thanks for a great article for current administration as well as next administration. Over all, FnF business models have worked well during good times and have worked very well during bad times (counter cyclical role). The benefits of lawfully restoring FnF to their original private shareholder companies far outweigh the costs and risks of lawless status quo or any other lawless manufactured alternatives. This article provides a complete solution to finish meaningfully the unfinished business of FnF conservatorship. Current administration and next administration need to implement these ideas. Thank you Tim for this excellent post. Yay you, Tim, a hundred times over. It is so logical, prepare for the “Establishment” blowback. Bill: Thanks. On the potential establishment blowback, I doubt I’ll hear anything new, but I expect it to be louder. Tim, Great job!!!!. This is a most concise summary of what mortgage reform is for FNF. This a must read for all stakeholders on secondary mortgages, which means all of us. I do not have a financial background but your analysis is easy to understand and doable. Somebody made a comment that you should have a direct access to SOT Mnuchin and President elect Trump. I support that and hopefully you have access to them through Fairholme. Are you still in direct contact with Fairholme? Tim – If you don’t already have one, u need a direct line to Steve Mnuchin & Donald Trump! Thank you jtimothyhoward for giving to the American People your brilliant, concise and logical roadmap. This is a new horizon with few economic and political clouds that reasons our way forward! Excellent piece! Tim – I posted under the comment section of the previous post. If you care to address, please include under this post. Tim Howard for the next FHFA Director! Yes we are all for it. It would be great choice for DJT. How about CEO of FnF. Great post. If Fannie and Freddie were the problem according to some then why didn’t their previous regulator do anything at that time.

2019-04-19T01:14:53Z

https://howardonmortgagefinance.com/2016/12/12/a-welcome-reset/

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Older shingles could crack, look darkish and in any other case take away from the great thing about your house, nonetheless; portray causes critical and everlasting injury to the roofing system. Merely change the previous tiles or have the entire roof carried out, or wait till you may, fairly than making an attempt paint. If you are replacing a roof yourself, at all times remember to put a tarp on the ground. Whenever you change your roof, damaged shingles and thousands of nails may fall to the bottom beneath. In case you tarp the realm, you will make cleanup quicker and easier. If you do not, you would possibly discover particles in your ground for months to return. For those who plan on working in your roof your self, make sure that you take the right precautions earlier than you begin. Maybe an important thing so that you can keep in mind is to put on rubber soled shoes. This may prevent your from slipping as it is going to present a secure footing as you’re employed. You shouldn’t neglect small matters when hiring a roofing contractor. You possibly can measure a agency’s reliability by whether or not or not they’re prompt for appointments and simply accessible by cellphone. Also, professional contractors often provide you with a typed bid for the job. These are all qualities you need your potential roofer to have. Search for a roofer that gives ensures on their work. Most repairmen is not going to present this, however someone who has put in a wholly new roof should provide you with this with no hesitation. If you don’t ask about this forward of time, you could find yourself paying a ton for a brand new roof, and paying even more for someone to fix it in case you have points. It also takes hits from these parts, which can cause harm and make a case for repairs. Some contractors use a magnetic device to search out stray nails. Do not select the primary roofer you discover in the telephone guide or online. By choosing the primary roofer you read about, it’s possible you’ll end up spending extra money that it is advisable. Name numerous roofers and go along with essentially the most reliable one at the very best price you could find. There could also be loads to find out about roofing, however thanks to this text, you are off to an excellent begin. You know a few of the most important advice, and can be capable of use it to keep your roof in wonderful situation. Earlier than you recognize it, you’ll be giving out your personal roofing recommendation. Ask a ton of questions when hiring a roofer. The worst thing is that you do not ask a question after which it turns into a problem afterward. If a prospective contractor fails to answer questions, you need to in all probability avoid them. Roofing contractors you hire should have present credentials. Ensure your contractor has a roofing license. They need full liability insurance coverage, together with a present worker’s compensation certificates. By no means attempt to restore your roof whereas the climate conditions are hazardous. Your roof can wait till the storm clears, and try to be extra concerned about your safety than the state of your roof. The storm could trigger additional harm anyhow, so there actually is just not a lot use in trying repair it until it all ends. When you’re trying out a roofing company discover out about their experience. Try asking them how long they have been in enterprise. If they have been doing business for a minimum of a few years, that normally implies that they’re established and that they have a solid understanding of roofing techniques and techniques. When you’ve got an amazing roof, your own home is far safer from the hostile results of wind and water. When your roof has a difficulty, it can damage areas inside your house. When you perceive your roof, you possibly can better take care of it. Take a look at the roof tips under so that you’re going to be nicely ready. If a roofer is making your feel uncomfortable with a gross sales pitch, politely decline. A few of them will do no matter it takes to get your signature on a contract. That is never a superb signal for the patron, so cease them long earlier than you get to that point. You should utilize this stuff to information you to the spot the leak is coming from. Be sure you ask many questions of your roofer earlier than hiring him. One inquiry ought to be about how many nails the roofer will place into each shingle. Often, three nails are insufficient to the job. Ask questions regarding strategies, and see what answers you receive. In the event you do not like what they are saying, select someone else. Before entering a contract with a roofer, seek the advice of the Higher Enterprise Bureau. They’re going to have the ability to let you know if complaints have been entered towards this roofer up to now, and might be able to offer you insight that the roofer’s own references won’t. The integrity of your roof is essential, and you don’t wish to get scammed. Should you discover roof harm towards the middle of your roof, then it’s likely you would not have water injury. As an alternative, you most likely have dry rot, which occurs each time the plywood is deteriorating. You’ll be able to stop this problem by placing in a ridge vent. Nevertheless, in an effort to set up this type of vent, you should have a correctly operating soffit vent. Drill holes by means of the soffit vent so cool air comes from the bottom and heat air is pushed out the highest. In the event you plan on working on your roof, never do it alone. When you have an accident working by your self, there will likely be no one round that will help you. Anyone working on a roof ought to take a ladder, and nail some wood down with the intention to make certain the ladder stays safe. Keeping your ladder on the actual roof makes it simpler to maneuver when necessary and can prevent accidents. There may be certain to be something about roofing that has not been lined here, but the fundamentals lie before you. Every little bit helps, and even a minor adjustment can save 1000’s of dollars. Do not cease here – continue to learn! Do not cease studying all you’ll be able to about roofing. The extra you know, the higher situation your roof can be in. That means that a unique roofer could come out to your home than you were anticipating. Talk to the roofer ahead of time to find out if they subcontract work out. Don’t buy low cost roofing supplies. Shopping for sub-par materials will lead to higher prices down the road as a result of cheaper supplies don’t last as long and the work should be redone sooner, rather than later. You probably have a leaking roof, but the roofing contractor you contacted can’t get there for a couple days, you may wish to try a short lived fix. Get some heavy plastic materials and nail it up. Whereas not superb, it should provide a brief resolution for you. For those who’re making an attempt to deal with roof repairs on your own, proceed with warning. A roof is a dangerous place to be, and you need to be correctly outfitted for it. Wear shoes with rubber soles, and use a effectively braced ladder that has rubber security ft. Your roof isn’t worth risking your life over. Solely rent a contractor who affords emergency providers in their contract. If a tarp blows off in a storm or your roof caves in, it’s essential to know that someone from the company will present as much as fix the issue right away. If they don’t supply this service, transfer on to the subsequent agency. If you’re unable to find where your roof is leaking, try not to change into discouraged. You’ll find the issue, and the usage of a water hose and a buddy system will help. If your house may be very large, communicate via telephone to ensure every particular person in within the spot they need to be. You don’t need water to circulate into your property if nobody’s there to identify the leak! All the time ask for references from anyone you’re considering hiring. Use the NRCA, or National Roofing Contractors Affiliation to find a local roofing firm. Go to their web site and enter your address to start out searching native corporations. The NRCA has worksheets to assist you make a decision. This worksheet consists of issues like years of training beneath a specific company, years of expertise, lawsuits in opposition to the corporate, and many others. It additionally confirms whether they have correct local licenses, insurance coverage, offered warranties, and material details. Many householders can attest to the problematic conditions that arise from poor roof upkeep. Through the use of the things you’ve gone over here, you should not must cope with any bother later. Make the most of this glorious knowledge to make sure your roof is properly maintained. Never try to complete any roofing work alone. When you’ve got an accident while working in your roof, it’s essential make sure that somebody might be there to help you. This is because the long-time period affect of a roofing accident injury may be very typically associated to the time it takes to seek help after the accident happens. Take into consideration your own security first. You must all the time assess the state of affairs thoroughly before you start any roofing repair job. This is because rushing up to repair your roof as quickly as you discover a problem could end in a critical accident. As an illustration, it is best to by no means attempt to fix a roof when it’s raining or extraordinarily windy outdoors for apparent causes. All the time test the shades aspect of your property for deterioration of the shingles. The side that’s uncovered most to the sun lasts longer as a result of the heat of the sun retains the shingles mendacity flat. This prevents wind and rain from loosening the shingles, however shingles on the shaded side come unfastened sooner. A number of occasions, folks make verbal agreements with contractors, but have issues when the work is poor. Hiring a roofing contractor isn’t a straightforward process, so just remember to take your time. Put money into the best high quality roofing tiles your cash should purchase. That is particularly vital if you are dwelling in the house you might be reworking. The perfect roofing materials for your home depend on the climate of your location, so be sure to research one of the best roofing tiles for your climate. When doing work on your roof all the time do it with a buddy. Roofing can get harmful and it’s important on your safety to have someone with you. Working with another person will show you how to must you slip or fall or get damage in any approach. This may assure you’re as protected as doable. Verify your roofing supplies totally earlier than installation. A number of leaks occur from improper supplies, equivalent to nails which are the unsuitable length or cracked shingles. Being certain that the shingles are in perfect condition and that you’re using the right nails to hold them securely will help the roof to last for much longer. In the winter months, be certain your roof is equipped with ice and rain shields. Additionally, be sure that it has proper air flow. Your private home is heated by the wall line and this is the place ice tends to build up. It is the construct up of this ice that may trigger interior leaks. Be leery of anyone who randomly knocks in your door, and provides to fix your leaky roof. Unscrupulous con-males will supply to do the work, and most times run with your money, with out doing any of the work at all. In the event you need a roofing job performed, do your analysis and find a roofing contractor that you may trust. If you’re in search of out a leak in your roof, use a hose to seek out where the issue is. In case you aren’t having any luck, reverse the route of the water. When you’re pouring it down the roof, attempt spraying it up the roof. Continue to maneuver the water around until the leak is discovered. Do not buy low cost roofing materials. Shopping for sub-par supplies will lead to greater costs down the road as a result of cheaper supplies do not last as long and the work must be redone sooner, slightly than later. When you’ve got a leaking roof, but the roofing contractor you contacted cannot get there for a pair days, you would possibly wish to try a temporary fix. Get some heavy plastic materials and nail it up. While not supreme, it is going to present a brief resolution for you. If you have a contractor coming to take away your old roof, remember to reduce the grass beforehand. This can let you have a better time locating nails that fall on the ground so you can choose them up later. Even when your contractor has a nail finder, it’s going to work better with clipped grass. Utilizing the internet will typically reveal many services that appear perfect for the job, but are located out-of-state: these needs to be averted! At all times rent regionally and use a contractor with a history inside the local community. Non-local choices will all the time price substantially more and you run the next risk for encountering fraudulent services. Study your roof on a yearly foundation. Roofs usually undergo from vital harm in the course of the months in winter and spring. Because of this, it is particularly essential to inspect your roof during these seasons. When meeting with a professional roofer, ask to see a duplicate of their liability insurance. Any reliable roofer should have copies available. If they have a tough time providing you with their papers, they’re probably not somebody you want to work with. While you’re trusting somebody along with your roof, you need all of your bases covered. Get contractor referrals from loved ones. Ask them about their expertise with roofers, whether or not they had been glad with the quality of service and the price of the job. Additionally, find out whether the contractor cleaned when the job was completed and whether or not a warranty was supplied. If you happen to can afford to take action, all the time go for shingles that final for an extended time frame. For instance, your contractor may ask you to decide on between 25-year and 50-year shingles. Whereas the 50-yr shingles might cost one or two thousand dollars extra, it’s price your cash for the prolonged life of the supplies. Solely hire people who are professionals at every step. A contractor ought to be able to give you a reliable fairly, as an example. If the method is professional, chances are the work is just too. Your roof is continually being uncovered to the elements, so it’s amazing that it lasts as long as it does. However, no roof lasts without end. Eventually, you’ll have to replace or restore your roof. When this occurs, arm your self with the information on this article so you may have the job done proper. Before deciding to completely change your roof, ask your contractor if it can be repaired. When doing work in your roof all the time do it with a buddy. In terms of roofing, likelihood is you don’t know too much in regards to the topic at all. Whereas that is normal amongst many householders, it doesn’t mean it’s okay. You want to be aware of several things relating to your roof to be able to keep your property safe and guarded. The next article will illustrate exactly what those issues are. If in case you have a roof, you need to have some primary roofing information below your belt. That’s just the way it is. Thankfully, this text has given you some really terrific recommendation that ought to provide help to out in numerous conditions. You would possibly wish to bookmark this article so you can come again to it in the future. Roofing materials come in many attractive colors. If you are considering a new roof for your residence however will not be sure which color to choose, ask the salesman for recommendation. Darkish colors will entice heat, and that might be a problem when you live in a warm local weather. Neutral colors are often a better option. If you’ve narrowed your seek for a roofing contractor to some firms, think about asking each company for local references. This will let you see how recent prospects felt in regards to the enterprise offered by the contractor. It could go a good distance towards convincing you to rent or keep away from that company. If you plan on working in your roof, by no means do it alone. When you have an accident working by yourself, there can be nobody round that will help you. Anyone engaged on a roof ought to take a ladder, and nail some wooden down as a way to be sure the ladder stays safe. Retaining your ladder on the actual roof makes it less complicated to maneuver when obligatory and can prevent accidents. There’s sure to be one thing about roofing that has not been lined here, however the fundamentals lie before you. Each little bit helps, and even a minor adjustment can save 1000’s of dollars. Do not stop here – keep learning! Do not stop learning all you can about roofing. The extra you recognize, the higher situation your roof might be in. If you wish to work on a certain space, the fabric must be clean and dry. Ask about complete warranties. In case you plan to interchange or restore your total roof, you’ll be able to anticipate to spend thousands of dollars. Some producer’s provide total warranties if you are going to buy all roofing parts from them. This may embody shingles, weather boundaries, underlay and other materials. It prices further, but it surely additionally offers you more safety in the long term. Do not settle for the fabric price quotes from only one contractor. Shady contractors can cost greater than double of their costs for the materials used. Do your analysis earlier than committing to a contractor, and if they quote a high price for a sure material ask them for a purpose for the fee distinction. After a radical inspection and cleansing of the roof, it is imperative to patch and seal any drawback areas. Make it possible for the weather report exhibits good climate, as a result of sealing supplies may take as much as two days to completely cure. A sealant or different coating should be utilized after the areas are cured. If you find yourself using a ladder to climb onto your roof, make sure that you use one that is fitted with a stabilizer. It must also be placed on a floor that’s easy and stable. Within the occasion that you must place it on grass or soil, dig small pits within the earth to be able to regular it. Before deciding on a roofing contractor, obtain a number of completely different quotes. It is advisable to do this to avoid scams. Do not allow yourself to be taken benefit of. Be taught concerning the market earlier than you hire anybody. All the time inspect your roof boots when you happen to be up in your roof, for no matter purpose. They have a tendency to dry-up and crack, leaving damaged areas where the rain and snow can are available in. Be ready to take away and replace the surrounding shingles, too. Roof boots will be discovered at most main hardware stores. Use the NRCA, or National Roofing Contractors Affiliation to discover a local roofing company. Go to their site and enter your address to start out looking local corporations. The NRCA has worksheets to assist you make a decision. This worksheet contains issues like years of coaching under a specific firm, years of experience, lawsuits against the company, and so on. It also confirms whether they have proper native licenses, insurance coverage, provided warranties, and material particulars. This will can help you have a neater time locating nails that fall on the ground so you can pick them up later. If you plan on working in your roof, by no means do it alone. Just remember to hire a roofing contractor who has a locatable, permanent enterprise residence. When you rent a roofing contractor who doesn’t have a everlasting office, you danger being scammed. Furthermore, if the roofing contractor you rent does a good job, it may be helpful to have stated contractor’s everlasting contact particulars readily available in case you’ve gotten any more problems along with your roof in the future. Don’t agree to contracts that aren’t written down. Loads of times, individuals make verbal agreements with contractors, however have issues when the work is poor. The best type of proof you possibly can have when the job just isn’t accomplished properly is a contract. Ask your roofer about putting in architectural shingles on your house or carport. Whereas this kind of shingle costs more than conventional shingles, they’re more engaging. Architectural shingles have the identical durability and quality as regular shingles, but are also accessible in additional colors, textures and thicknesses. They are not essential, however the distinction is noticeable. Ensure your roof is protected against dry rot. Dry rot will be incredibly damaging, and may even cause your roof to sag in. One of the simplest ways to stop dry rot is with a soffit vent. Whenever you install one, you should definitely drill holes by way of the underside in order that it could actually work precisely as it ought to. If you want to exchange your roof, think about using a green different for material. Recycled roofing material, composed of used rubber and plastic, not only saves cash however serves the setting. Solar panels are another option, as they can also reduce power prices. They can also create a tax credit for owners. All the time hold your eyes ahead of where you will be stepping. Roofing is just one piece of your property, but it can be one of the vital necessary features of caring for your house. The ideas on this article should have given you some ideas on the place to start out, however you must tailor it to your wants. Think of the following pointers when considering roofing supplies. When wanting into several types of roofing materials, you will need to take into consideration various components. For example, the worth vary you’re inserting your funds in will in the end resolve what you are able to afford. A slate roof will probably be very costly, nonetheless, it’s going to last more than your lifetime. Whenever the weather is bad, it’s best to never get on prime of your roof. If your roof is slippery and moist, you could fall, causing dangerous accidents or maybe death. It is in your greatest curiosity to deal with your mission on a dry, sunny day. Tell the truth, how much time do you think about your roof? It in all probability would not cross your thoughts too typically. Nonetheless, your roof is among the most important elements of your house. It protects you from the weather and any other dangerous issues that will fall out of the sky. Each house owner can be wise to educate themselves as regards to roofing and this article will do just that. With a view to make sure that your roof stays in good situation, just remember to trim the bushes in the surrounding areas. This can prevent any branches from scuffing the floor of your roof which may ultimately lead to extra serious issues. This additionally helps stop any fungus or mould develop in your roof. When you’re the market for a roofing restore firm, take the time to conduct some research via on-line evaluate sites, the native chamber of commerce and any enterprise criticism bureaus. By spending the time vital to do this, you stand a significantly better probability of finding a good firm with the sources to do the job correctly. When you are a home-owner, it is in your fingers to deal with your home. Whether it involves preventative upkeep or insuring that your home is secure, you could make the most effective selections for you and your loved ones. Bear in mind the ideas in the following article with regards to all points of your own home. Don’t work with any roofing contractor that wants to give you an estimate over the telephone. Every roof is different, and it is best to discover someone that is prepared to come out and try your particular problem. If someone balks at making a house visit, it is best to probably rent another person. The information which are shared with you in this article will make it easier to correctly keep your roof. It’s also essential that you just get this estimate in writing. These gadgets are handiest when used on shorter grass. Ask about comprehensive warranties. If you happen to plan to switch or restore your entire roof, you possibly can count on to spend hundreds of dollars. Some manufacturer’s provide whole warranties if you purchase all roofing parts from them. This may include shingles, weather barriers, underlay and other materials. It costs additional, nevertheless it also gives you more safety in the long run. Do not settle for the fabric price quotes from just one contractor. Shady contractors can charge greater than double of their costs for the materials used. Do your research before committing to a contractor, and if they quote a high value for a certain materials ask them for a reason for the price distinction. Solely hire people who are professionals at every step. A contractor ought to have the ability to provide you with a reliable quite, for instance. If the method is professional, likelihood is the work is too. Your roof is continually being uncovered to the weather, so it is amazing that it lasts as long as it does. However, no roof lasts ceaselessly. Ultimately, you’ll have to switch or restore your roof. When this occurs, arm yourself with the data on this article so you can have the job executed right. Don’t speak to only one roofer. Your co-worker might have raved over a contractor, and you’ll have been provided a tremendous deal, however that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a number of estimates. Encourage a number of contractors to put in bids for the job. When persons are competing for the work, you’re going to get higher provides. Know all about roofing materials. Each material has its pros and cons. For example, metal roofing is very sturdy and lightweight. Metal is tough to install and isn’t at all times an attractive addition to a home. Asphalt shingling is cheaper and simpler to put in, however doesn’t final as long. Other kinds of roofing supplies to explore are wood and tile. Web evaluations are typically more frank and honest, since they’re anonymous. Put together your property for roof contractors earlier than they get there by marking your sprinkler systems and letting the contractors know the place they can park. Remove garden furnishings and think about taking your vehicles out of the driveway. Put together your self for falling particles through the work on your roof so you possibly can stay secure, as properly. For those who cannot discover out where your roof leak is coming from, do not despair. You will ultimately find the source of the leak, by eliminating certain areas, using a hose, and having someone else look at it, as properly. As you do the testing of various areas, use your mobile phone to talk together with your buddy if need be. Be certain your roof is protected from dry rot. Dry rot will be incredibly damaging, and may even trigger your roof to sag in. The best way to stop dry rot is with a soffit vent. Whenever you install one, you’ll want to drill holes by way of the bottom so that it may possibly work precisely because it ought to. If you wish to replace your roof, consider using a inexperienced various for materials. Recycled roofing material, composed of used rubber and plastic, not solely saves cash however serves the atmosphere. Solar panels are an alternative choice, as they’ll additionally reduce vitality prices. They can additionally create a tax credit for owners. Ensure you set up a ridge vent into your roof in order to stop dry rot from occurring. Opposite to popular perception, dry rot isn’t brought on by water harm, however rather an absence of air flow. Installing a ridge vent will be certain that your roof is correctly ventilated all year long. Be sure to inspect your roof at the least once a year. You need to make sure that your roof is in general good condition and freed from any potential leakage problems. Try to make your inspections in the course of the springtime when the climate is good in order to scale back the danger of damage to your self. This sort of shingle is rated from 15 to 25 years, and the more you pay the longer the lifetime of the shingle. Use a flashlight to go looking along your ceiling rafters to verify for watermarks. Don’t Hire An Costly Contractor! Use These Suggestions For Caring For Your Roof As a substitute! On the subject of roofing, chances are you don’t know too much in regards to the topic at all. While that is regular amongst many owners, it does not imply it’s okay. You want to concentrate on several things with regards to your roof with the intention to preserve your private home protected and guarded. The following article will illustrate exactly what those issues are. You probably have a roof, it is best to have some fundamental roofing knowledge beneath your belt. That’s simply the way it’s. Thankfully, this article has given you some actually terrific advice that should make it easier to out in plenty of situations. You would possibly need to bookmark this article so you can come again to it sooner or later. With a purpose to ensure that your roof stays in good situation, just remember to trim the bushes in the surrounding areas. This may forestall any branches from scuffing the floor of your roof which might finally lead to extra severe issues. This also helps prevent any fungus or mold develop in your roof. If you find yourself the marketplace for a roofing restore company, take the time to conduct some research by way of on-line assessment sites, the native chamber of commerce and any business complaint bureaus. By spending the time vital to do that, you stand a significantly better likelihood of finding a good firm with the resources to do the job correctly. Remember to ask many questions of your roofer earlier than hiring him. One inquiry should be about what number of nails the roofer will place into each shingle. Often, three nails are insufficient to the job. Ask questions concerning methods, and see what solutions you obtain. For those who do not like what they say, select someone else. Earlier than coming into a contract with a roofer, consult the Higher Enterprise Bureau. They’re going to have the ability to tell you if complaints have been entered in opposition to this roofer up to now, and could possibly offer you insight that the roofer’s own references will not. The integrity of your roof is necessary, and you do not need to get scammed. When doing work in your roof at all times do it with a buddy. Roof maintenance isn’t at all times simple, and it’s not often very fun. It is nonetheless, a needed job if you wish to maintain your private home safe and protected. Use the recommendation mentioned above to maintain your roof in good condition yr in and year out. Your efforts will be well worth it in the long term. At any time when you make repairs or inspecting your roof, you want to put on the appropriate sneakers. Roofs may be quite slippery so make it possible for your shoes have good traction on them. Typically, you want your footwear to have a rubber sole as this materials will provide you with the best grip. Probably the greatest ways to discover a supply of a roof leak is to make use of water itself. It may be tough to see where a leak is coming from in the middle of a storm, but a garden hose will let you take a look at your roof until the leak has been discovered. Take a little time to learn the fundamentals of roofing, such as the supplies, the kinds, and the terminology. With this data, you’ll be guarded in opposition to sneaky techniques from roofers who wish to reap the benefits of the typical customer. At minimum, it is best to have the ability to perceive what goes into the restore and choose the legitimacy of any expenses. In case you have a leak and are going in your roof to search for it, convey a hose with you. You’ll be able to spray the hose in an effort to find out where the leak is coming from. Nonetheless, don’t do this in the winter, because the water from the hose could trigger ice. When a storm blows through your area, beware of roofers who knock on your door. They often comply with a storm and provide their providers to everyone on the block, then they put up a cheap, inadequate roof whereas taking all the cash your insurer will supply in your declare, ripping you off. Earlier than selecting a roofing contractor, receive several completely different quotes. You should do that to keep away from scams. Do not permit your self to be taken benefit of. Learn concerning the market earlier than you rent anybody. At all times examine your roof boots whenever you occur to be up on your roof, for no matter motive. They tend to dry-up and crack, leaving damaged areas where the rain and snow can are available in. Be ready to remove and substitute the encircling shingles, too. Roof boots could be found at most main hardware shops. Checking your roof yearly can assist your roof to look good. For optimal security, strive using a soft bristled surface broom to remove the final little bit of snow as a substitute of using a shovel.

2019-04-24T06:57:15Z

https://www.homedesignsantaana.tk/category/ceiling

On 20 November 2018, India’s Mary Kom defeated China’s Wu Yu 5-0 in the 48kg quarterfinals of the women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi. She is assured of a medal. Mary has become the most successful medal winner in the Championship’s history with seven medals across different weight categories. The Odisha Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution seeking 33% reservation for women in legislative assemblies and Parliament. The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, was passed by a voice vote. Currently, the 147-member state assembly has 12 women MLAs. The Women’s Reservation Bill is pending in the parliament. As a special initiative to mark World Toilet Day, Central Railway (CR) department has announced to introduce e-toilets in the railway coaches for the first time. The e-toilets electronically integrate all the toilet functions. These toilets are fully unmanned and perform automated operations. Pressure nozzles have also been attached to these toilets to make flushing easier. Renault has appointed its Chief Operating Officer (COO) Thierry Bollore as deputy CEO to ensure day-to-day management of the company. His appointment was made after the arrest of its CEO Carlos Ghosn but he will remain as its CEO. Renault’s move to appoint a temporary leader was in line with a demand by the French government, which owns a 15% stake in the automaker. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects across 129 districts on 22 November 2018. This will boost the availability of gas supply for half of the country’s population in 26 states and Union Territories. The projects have been awarded by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). Kim Jong Yang of South Korea has been elected Interpol President. Kim will serve as president for the remainder of the current mandate, until 2020. The decision was taken at the 87th General Assembly of the Agency in Dubai. He was previously the Chief of police in South Korea’s most populous province. On 20 November 2018, India and Russia signed a USD 500 million deal for construction of two missile frigates in Goa for the Indian Navy. The agreement for manufacturing of the two Talvar-class warships was signed between Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) and Russia’s state-run defence major Rosoboronexport. Russia will provide design, technology and key materials to GSL for construction of the ships. Anuradha Roy and James Crabtree are among the winners of the ‘Tata Literature Live Awards 2018’. Harper Collins India was named publisher of the year 2018. Veteran journalist and writer Mark Tully won the Lifetime Achievement Award. Renowned poet Jayanta Mahapatra was named the poet laureate for 2018. Google has announced the national roll-out of a new app from its ‘Next Billion Users’ team called ‘Neighbourly’. The app helps people source local information from their neighbours. Google is rolling out ‘Neighbourly’ starting with Bengaluru and Delhi, which topped the waitlist. More cities will be added every day, including Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. World Fisheries day is celebrated every year on November 21 throughout the world. The day helps in highlighting the critical importance to human lives, of water and the lives it sustains, both in and out of water. Fishing communities worldwide celebrate this day through rallies, workshops, public meetings, and cultural programs. Indian gymnasts won two bronze medals in the men’s and women’s group events of the FIG Acrobatic World Cup in Baku. Prins Aris and Rejilesh Suribabu won bronze medals in the men’s and women’s group events on 20 November 2018. Russian gymnasts won both the gold and silver. The 27th BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change was held in New Delhi on 19-20 November 2018. The meeting was chaired by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The BASIC group was formed by an agreement on 28 November 2009. Scientists have discovered a new, massive star system in the Milky Way galaxy. The scientists detected a gamma-ray burst progenitor system. It is a type of supernova that blasts out an extremely powerful and narrow jet of plasma. The system is estimated to be 8,000 light years away from Earth. The Himachal Pradesh government decided to set up a ‘Gau Sewa Aayog’ for preservation, protection and welfare of cows in the state. The Aayog will regulate institutions like cow sheds and shelters, besides the ‘gau vigyan kendras’ and the community animal-rearing centres. The Aayog would also cater to the problem of abandoned cows. Amitabh Bachchan was awarded the third Sayaji Ratna Award on 20 November 2018. The award was established in the memory of erstwhile Baroda ruler Sayajirao Gaekwad III. The Baroda Management Association had instituted the award to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the ruler in 2013. Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and noted industrialist Ratan Tata have been given the award earlier. Bangladesh Krida Shiksha Prothishtan (BKSP) won the 59th edition of the junior boys Subroto Cup International Football Tournament on 20 November 2018. The team defeated Amini School, Afghanistan in the final match. The final match was held at New Delhi. A total of 95 teams and 1500 players participated in the tournament. The Government of India, the Government of Jharkhand and the World Bank signed a $310 million Loan Agreement on 20 November 2018. The loan amount is for ‘Jharkhand Power System Improvement Project’ to provide reliable, quality, and affordable 24×7 electricity to the citizens of Jharkhand. The Project is part of the Government of India’s ‘Power for All program’ launched in 2014. A book titled ‘Radio Kashmir – In Times of Peace & War’ was released by the Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on 20 November 2018. The book has been written by Dr Rajesh Bhat. The book depicts a unique distinction earned by ‘Radio Kashmir’ by serving people and the nation. The author Dr Rajesh Bhat is currently posted in the Policy Division of Directorate General, All India Radio, New Delhi. The United Nations’ (UN) World Television Day is annually observed around the world on November 21. The day recognizes that television plays a major role in presenting different issue that affect people. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 November as World Television Day through a resolution on 17 December 1996. Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik dissolved the State Assembly on 21 November 2018. The Governor cited four main reasons for dissolving the Assembly with immediate effect. These include extensive horse-trading and possible exchange of money and the impossibility of forming a stable government by parties with opposing political ideologies. On 22 November 2018, India and Australia signed five agreements to boost investments and enhance cooperation in key sectors like disability, agricultural research and education. The agreements were signed after President Ram Nath Kovind met Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Sydney. President Kovind is the first-ever Indian President to visit Australia. The Himachal Pradesh government has approved to implement ‘Sashakt Mahila Yojna’ in the state. The scheme will empower rural women by providing them with an interface for socio-economic development. The scheme will link rural women with sustainable livelihood opportunities and also improve their skill by imparting training. On 19 November 2018, the West Bengal Assembly passed the ‘West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill’, 2018 to give land rights to enclave dwellers in north Bengal. The Bill will help in the distribution of land-right documents to the people of the enclaves in the border district of Cooch Behar. Bangladesh and India had exchanged a total of 162 enclaves on Aug 1, 2015. Four new species of horned frogs have been discovered in Himalayan regions of Northeast India. They were discovered by a team of biologists from Delhi University, University College Dublin and the National Museum (UK). The four new Indian species are Himalayan horned frog; the Garo white-lipped horned frog; the Yellow spotted white-lipped horned frog; and the Giant Himalayan horned frog. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj began her two-day visit to Laos from 22 November 2018. She will co-chair the 9th Meeting of ‘India-Laos Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation’. The joint commission meeting will further enhance the cooperation between the two countries in various areas. The capital of Laos is Vientiane and its currency is Lao Kip. On 21 November 2018, State Bank of Mauritius (SBM-India) has appointed Sidharth Rath as its Managing Director (MD). He was with Axis Bank as the Group Executive and Head of Corporate, Transaction Banking, and International Banking. SBM has received the licence from Reserve Bank of India to operate as a scheduled commercial bank in India with effect from December 1, 2018. On 21 November 2018, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has got the ‘Asia Environment Enforcement Award 2018’. It was awarded for its work in combating trans-boundary environmental crimes. This is the 2nd time in a row that the awards are being given by UN Environment to India. WCCB is a statutory body under the Environment Ministry to combat organised wildlife crime in the country. The UAE will host the second edition of ‘India-UAE Strategic Conclave’ on 27 November 2018. The day-long conference will be held in Abu Dhabi. It will initiate dialogues to widen the scope of bilateral investments between the two countries. The conclave aims to improve the connection between the business communities of the two countries. On 21 November 2018, Veteran cricketer Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in Ranji Trophy. Jaffer, who plays for Vidarbha, achieved the feat on day two of the Ranji Trophy match against Baroda. He has played 31 Tests and two One-Day Internationals for India. He last played for India in April 2008. The 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health will be held in Hyderabad in 2019. The conference ‘Ending the Emergency: Science, Leadership, Action’ will be held from 30 October 2019 to 2 November 2019. The conference will be organised by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. On 21 November 2018, WhatsApp named Abhijit Bose as its India Head. He will join the WhatsApp in early 2019 and will build WhatsApp’s first full country team outside of California. He was the co-founder of Ezetap, an electronic payments company. British actress Millie Bobby Brown was named the newest United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador on 21 November 2018. She is the youngest person ever to be appointed as the UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador. As a Goodwil Ambassador, she will use her global platform to raise awareness of children’s rights and issues affecting young people. Professor S.P. Ganguly has been awarded the ‘Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle’ on 20 November 2018. The award is the highest civilian honour given to a foreigner by Mexico. The award was in recognition of his outstanding work in the study of the Spanish language and Mexican culture. He headed the Centre for Spanish and Latin American Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) has changed norms to improve credit guarantee process for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE). It will now capture key information on the financial status of the borrowers. The modification will be applicable from 1 December 2018. CGTMSE has been jointly set up by the government of India and SIDBI. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated Manipur’s annual ‘Sangai’ tourism festival on 21 November 2018. The festival is named after the state animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur. The 10-day festival will see various cultural troupes from different parts of the country. The festival was started in 2010. Badohi in Uttar Pradesh has got the ‘export excellence’ tag from the Government of India. It is known for its hand-woven carpets around the world. Under the tag, carpet makers will get financial assistance from the central government to procure modern machines, improve export infrastructure. The status was granted by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, under the Commerce Ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted a ‘National Implementation Committee’ (NIC) to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in India and abroad. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is the Chairman of National Implementation Committee. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Culture are the Members of NIC. Andhra Pradesh launched ‘Bhudaar’ portal which makes land records available to people with unique identification numbers. The ‘Bhudaar’ is an 11-digit unique identification code assigned to each agriculture land holding and rural and urban properties in the state. Two types of Bhudaar cards are available including e-Bhudaar an M-Bhudaar. The ‘Institution’s Innovation Council’ (IIC) program under ‘Innovation cell’ of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was launched in New Delhi on 21 November 2018. The purpose of formation of network of IICs is to encourage, inspire and nurture young students by exposing them to new ideas. MHRD has established the ‘Innovation cell’ at AICTE. The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park to help facilitate incubation of start-ups on 21 November 2018. The Innovation Park will incubate and handhold the start-ups, and provide them with training and mentorship. IIM-Calcutta Innovation Park is a not-for-profit company and is currently incubating 40 start-ups. On 22 November 2018, Tanzanian microbiologist Joyce Msuya has been appointed as acting head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) following the resignation of Erik Solheim. Erik Solheim was the Executive Director of UNEP. Prior to joining UN, served as Adviser to the World Bank Vice President. She also served in the Republic of Korea, as the inaugural World Bank Special Representative. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved continuation of ‘Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services’ (ACROSS) during 2017-2020. ACROSS scheme consists of 9 sub-programmes It will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The objective of the ACROSS scheme is to provide a reliable weather and climate forecast for the betterment of society. The 19th edition of the prestigious ‘Laureus World Sports Awards’ will be held in Monaco on 18 February 2019. ‘Laureus World Sports Awards’ are considered as the ‘Oscars of sports’. Tennis player Roger Federer won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for 2017. Former India cricket captains Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are members of the Laureus Academy. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has found 44 new coal blocks in four states of Eastern India. The location of these coal blocks are spread across West Bengal’s Purulia and Birbhum districts, coal city of Talcher in Odisha, Bihar’s Bhagalpur and Jharkhand’s East Bokaro and south Karanpura. The estimated coal resource of these 44 new blocks is close to 25,000 million tonnes. On 23 November 2018,singer Nahid Afrin of Assam has been appointed as the first ‘Youth Advocate’ of the Northeastern region by the UNICEF to fight for child rights. The UNICEF engages ‘Youth Advocates’ to act as agents of change in society. She made her playback debut in the 2016 Bollywood film ‘Akira’. She received the best female playback singer award at the Assam state Film Award 2018. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has come out with new rules for re-classification of a promoter as a public investor. An outgoing promoter will have to relinquish special rights as well as control over the affairs of the listed firm. The promoter will not be allowed to have any representation on the board of directors. They will not be allowed to hold over 10% stake. The term of the commission examining the issue of sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the central list has been extended till May 31, 2019. The decision was approved by the Union Cabinet on 22 November 2018 The commission was formed in October 2017. The five-member panel is headed by Justice (retd.) G Rohini. Morocco’s ‘Mohammed VI – B’ satellite was successfully launched on 21 November 2018 by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center, in French Guiana. ‘Mohammed VI – B’ satellite is a high-resolution Earth-observation satellite. It will be used for mapping and land surveying, regional development, agricultural monitoring, prevention and management of natural disasters, and mine exploration. Uber Eats has appointed actor Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassador in India on 22 November 2018. India is the first country for Uber Eats globally where the company has appointed a brand ambassador. Uber Eats is the food delivery arm of Uber and was launched in India in May 2017. The food delivery service is available across 37 cities in India. According to the RBI data, bank credit rose by 14.88% to Rs 91.11 lakh crore in the fortnight ended 9 November 2018. The deposits grew by 9.13% to Rs 118.25 lakh crore. In the previous fortnight ended October 26, 2018, credit had grown by 14.57% to Rs 90.37 lakh crore, while deposits rose by 9.01% to Rs 117.71 lakh crore. In September 2018, the non-food credit rose by 11.3%. IIT Roorkee Professor Vimal Chandra Srivastava has won the ‘NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Award 2018’ in ‘Environmentally Sound Sustainable Development’ category. He has been given the award for his work on Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Clean Liquid Fuels, and Multi-component Adsorption. The Award was instituted by Elsevier in the year 2006. On 22 November 2018, the Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation on Youth Matters. The areas of cooperation include exchanges of youth, representatives of youth organisations, and Government officials in-charge of youth policy-making. The MoU shall remain valid for a period of five years. On 22 November 2018, the Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mauritius on Consumer Protection and Legal Metrology. The MoU is beneficial for bilateral relations of both the countries. It will help in expanding cooperation in the field of consumer protection and will provide an institutional mechanism for the exchange of information. On 22 November 2018, the Union Cabinet approved the Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill 2018. The aim of the bill is to regulate and standardise the education and services provided by allied and healthcare professionals. The Bill provides for setting up of an Allied and Healthcare Council of India. The allied and healthcare professionals include physiotherapists, nutritionists etc. The sixth edition of the ‘Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival’ will begin in Assam on 28 November 2018. The aim of the festival is to promote cinema of the Northeastern region of India. ‘Spring Thunder’ will be the opening film of the festival and Assamese Film ‘Bornodi Bhotiai’, will be the concluding film of the festival. Two fast patrol vessels manufactured by ‘Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers’ (GRSE) for Indian Coast Guard were launched on 22 November 2018. The vessels have been named ICGS Amrit Kaur and ICGS Kamla Devi. The vessels are fitted with state-of-the-art main engines with advanced control systems with modular accommodation for 35 personnel. Nepal’s largest exhibition on construction equipment and technology ‘ConMac 2018’ began on 22 November 2018 in Kathmandu. The 3 day mega event is organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Embassy of India in Nepal. The exhibition is showcasing, mainly heavy equipment such as dozer, crusher and concrete mixer. Union Cabinet has approved building and development of the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to International Border. It will provide a smooth and easy passage to pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur throughout the year. Kartarpur corridor project will be funded by the Central Government. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval to expand the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material Act, 1987. The CCEA approved that 100% food grains and 20% sugar shall be mandatorily packed in diversified jute bags. The decision will give an impetus to the diversification of the jute industry. Filmmaker Nandita Das will be honoured with the ‘International Federation of Film Producers Associations’ ( FIAPF) Award 2018. The award will be given at the ’12th Asia Pacific Screen Awards’ on 29 November 2018. She will be presented the award in recognition of her achievement in film in the Asia Pacific region. She started her career as an actor in films like ‘1947 Earth, ‘Fire’ etc. The ‘Forbes India Leadership Awards’ was held on November 22 in Mumbai. The award honours the top executives of companies in India. Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Limited, got the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award 2018’. Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman of Motherson Sumi Systems, got the ‘Entrepreneur for the Year 2018 award’. According to official data by the Department of Telecom (DoT), India’s broadband subscriber numbers touched 463.6 million at the end of August 2018. The number of broadband subscribers stood at 460.24 million in July 2018. The total number of telephones rose to 1,189.17 million. Maximum rise in total telephone connections was recorded in Mumbai followed by Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Former Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, Baishnab Charan Parida passed away on 22 November 2018. He was a prominent politician, writer, columnist and a social activist. Mr Parida was elected to Rajya Sabha in July 2010 and his term ended on July 1, 2016. He was president of Odisha Bhasa Suraksha Sammilani and had been fighting for promotion of Odia and use of the language in official works. Classical music stalwart Ustad Imrat Khan has died in the U.S. on 23 November 2018. He dedicated his life to promote the sitar and the surbahar worldwide. Ustad Imrat Khan belonged to the illustrious Etawa gharana, or the Imdadkhani Gharana. The gharana is one of the oldest in India with a musical legacy of over 400 years and traces its roots to Agra. The government of India will give a subsidy of 5% for non-basmati rice exports from 26 November 2018 to 25 March 2019. The move is expected to boost the exports of non-basmati rice. The subsidy will be given under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). The products include husked (brown) rice, parboiled and broken rice. Jharkhand Day is being celebrated at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on 24 November 2018. For 2018, Jharkhand is the focus state at the International Film Festival of India. This is for the first time that any state has been made focus state at the film festival. The movies which have been shot in Jharkhand, are being screened at the film festival. India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the ’21st round of border talks’ in China on 24 November 2018. Ajit Doval and Wang Yi are the designated Special Representatives (SRs) for border talks between India and China. The India-China border dispute covers 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC). As per the ‘India Skills Report 2019’, Andhra Pradesh has topped the list of states with the highest employability followed by Rajasthan and Haryana. The report also said that the employability levels of engineering graduates have increased across all the sectors. The report was published jointly by Wheebox, PeopleStrong and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The proposal for treating J&K Bank Limited as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) was approved by the State Administrative Council (SAC). The Jammu and Kashmir bank has been brought under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) act, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) guidelines, and the State Legislature. The J&K Bank Ltd is the only state government-promoted bank in the country. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built and flown the first-ever silent aeroplane with no moving propellers or jet turbines. The aeroplane is powered by an ionic wind technology. Ionic wind technology uses a powerful electric field to generate charged ions, which are then expelled from the back of the aircraft for generating thrust. Tyre maker, Apollo Tyres has appointed cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as its new brand ambassador on 22 November 2018. He will be the ambassador of Apollo Tyres for a period of five years. Apart from Apollo Tyres, he is also the brand Ambassador for BMW in India. Sachin Tendulkar was the former brand ambassador of MRF Tyres. General insurance company ‘HDFC ERGO General Insurance’ has set up a remote sensing lab for crop insurance. The lab will work on accurately assessing the risks of the insurers and will also be able to give early warnings about the losses. Remote sensing involves setting up scanning an area through the use of satellite to get deeper information about that region. The ’12th World Congress on Mountain Medicine’ began in Kathmandu on 21 November 2018. The theme of the 4-day congress is ‘Mountain Medicine in the Heart of the Himalayas’. The event mainly focused on science and research aspects of high altitude medicine. The event was held for the first time in Nepal and hosted by Mountain Medicine Society of Nepal (MMSN). The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has developed a new technology called ‘Impact Based Forecasting Approach’. It will be used to assess the rise of water level in rivers and reservoirs by rain. It can help state governments to minutely monitor the impact of rain and take real-time decisions. Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik inaugurated a week-long ‘Jhiri Mela’ at village Jhiri in Jammu district on 23 November 2018. The annual fair is commemorated in the memory of the martyrdom of ‘Baba Jittoo’. He was a farmer who gave up his life about 500 years ago in protest against the oppressive demands of a landlord. The three-day ‘Jangalmahal festival’ was inaugurated in Kolkata on 23 November 2018. The aim of the festival is to revive and popularise the culture and heritage of the Jangalmahal area. The forested areas of West Midnapore, Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia districts in the southern part of the West Bengal form the Jangalmahal area. The government of India has declared quadricycle as a ‘non-transport vehicle’ under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. This will provide a safe and cheap mode of transport for the last mile connectivity. A non-transport vehicle is a vehicle whose usage is allowed under personal capacity only. A quadricycle is a vehicle with the size of a three-wheeler but has four tyres and is fully covered. ‘Baliyatra festival’ was inaugurated in Odisha on 23 November 2018. Baliyatra festival commemorates the ancient maritime glory of Odisha. The festival is associated with ancient mariners, who established trade and cultural links through sea routes with different archipelagos of the Indian Ocean. The festival will end on 2 December 2018. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and State Bank of India (SBI) have agreed to cooperate on financing renewable energy sector in India. The EIB will also provide new support for wind energy projects across India, With this collaboration, the promoters of wind projects in India will get low-cost financing under the dedicated €600 million renewable energy financing programme of EIB. MC Mary Kom won the gold medal in Women’s World Boxing Championship in New Delhi on 24 November 2018. She defeated Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota in the final match. She became the first female boxer to win six gold medals at World Boxing Championships. She previously won the gold medal in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 editions of the World Boxing Championships. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is observed on 25 November 2018. The aim of the day is to raise public awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to various forms of violence. The theme for 2018 is ‘Orange the World: #HearMeToo’. Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh has got the ‘export excellence’ tag from the Government of India. A book titled ‘Radio Kashmir – In Times of Peace & War’ written by Dr Rajesh Bhat was released on 20 November 2018. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched the ‘Ease of Doing Business Grand Challenge’ on 19 November 2018. India’s Lakshya Sen won the bronze medal in the World Junior Badminton Championship 2018. Tennis player Alexander Zverev won the ATP Finals in London. Bangladesh Krida Shiksha Prothishtan (BKSP) won the 59th edition of the junior boys Subroto Cup International Football Tournament on 20 November 2018. Cricketer Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in Ranji Trophy. Global education monitoring report 2019 was released by UNESCO on 19 November 2018. World Health Organisation has released ‘World Malaria Report 2018’ on 19 November 2018. The ‘Global Talent’ rankings were released by IMD Business School in Switzerland on 20 November 2018. The report on ‘Industrial Park Rating System’ was released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 19 November 2018. ‘Baliyatra festival’ was inaugurated in Odisha on 23 November 2018. The ‘Jangalmahal festival’ was inaugurated in Kolkata on 23 November 2018. The ‘Jhiri Mela’ was inaugurated at village Jhiri in Jammu district on 23 November 2018. Manipur’s annual ‘Sangai’ tourism festival was inaugurated on 21 November 2018. The ‘Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival’ will begin in Assam on 28 November 2018. World Toilet Day is observed on 19 November every year. Africa Industrialisation Day is observed on 20 November every year. Universal Children’s Day is observed on 20 November every year. World Television Day is observed on 21 November every year. World Fisheries day is observed on 21 November every year. The first ‘Naturopathy Day’ was observed across India on 18 November 2018. The ‘Institution’s Innovation Council’ program under ‘Innovation cell’ of Ministry of Human Resource Development was launched on 21 November 2018. Andhra Pradesh launched Bhudaar portal which makes land records available to people with unique identification numbers. The government of India has declared quadricycle as a ‘non-transport vehicle’ under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. British actress Millie Bobby Brown was named the newest United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador. State Bank of Mauritius (SBM-India) has appointed Sidharth Rath as its Managing Director (MD). Singer Nahid Afrin of Assam has been appointed as the first ‘Youth Advocate’ of the Northeastern region by the UNICEF to fight for child rights. Ajay Bhushan Pandey has been appointed as new Secretary Revenue in Ministry of Finance. Jalaj Srivastava has been appointed the Chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). Sanjay Kumar Mishra has been appointed as the full-time Chief of the Enforcement Directorate. Kim Jong Yang of South Korea has been elected Interpol President. Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, known as the hero of the Battle of Longewala during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, died on 17 November 2018. Uber Eats has appointed actor Alia Bhatt as its brand ambassador in India on 22 November 2018. Tyre maker, Apollo Tyres has appointed cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as its new brand ambassador on 22 November 2018. Professor S.P. Ganguly has been awarded the ‘Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle’ on 20 November 2018. On 21 November 2018, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has got the ‘Asia Environment Enforcement Award 2018’. IIT Roorkee Professor Vimal Chandra Srivastava has won the ‘NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Award 2018’ in ‘Environmentally Sound Sustainable Development’ category. Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma became the first Indian to emerge as the ‘Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year 2018’ on the European Tour. Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has won Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2018. Amitabh Bachchan was awarded the third Sayaji Ratna Award on 20 November 2018. National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) launched a mobile application and web-based platform named ‘NSE goBID’ on 19 November 2018. The J&K Bank Limited will now be treated as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) bank. The Reserve Bank of India’s Central Board decided to constitute a ‘Board for Financial Supervision’ which will examine the framework for banks under Prompt Corrective Action. The joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar’ between India and the United States commenced in Jaipur on 19 November 2018. India and Russia signed a USD 500 million deal for construction of two Talvar-class warships in Goa for the Indian Navy. Indian Coast Guard’s two fast patrol vessels named ICGS Amrit Kaur and ICGS Kamla Devi were launched on 22 November 2018. The 27th BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change was held in New Delhi on 19-20 November 2018. The UAE will host the second edition of ‘India-UAE Strategic Conclave’ on 27 November 2018. India and Australia signed five agreements to boost investments and enhance cooperation in key sectors like disability, agricultural research and education. The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation on Youth Matters. The Government of India, the Government of Jharkhand, and the World Bank signed a $310 million Loan Agreement for a power project. The Union Cabinet approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mauritius on Consumer Protection and Legal Metrology. The European Investment Bank and State Bank of India have agreed to cooperate on financing renewable energy sector in India. The world’s standard definition of the kilogram, the ampere, the Kelvin and the mole has been changed. The ‘GROWTH-India telescope’ at the Indian Astronomical Observatory located in Hanle, Ladakh has made its first science observation which is a follow-up study of a nova explosion. Google has announced a new app from its ‘Next Billion Users’ team called ‘Neighbourly’. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was held on 17 and 18 November 2018 in Papua New Guinea. Nepal’s largest exhibition on construction equipment and technology ‘ConMac 2018’ began on 22 November 2018 in Kathmandu. The ’12th World Congress on Mountain Medicine’ began in Kathmandu on 21 November 2018. Screenwriter Salim Khan will be honored with ‘International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Special Award’ for his lifetime contribution to cinema. He will receive the honour at the closing ceremony of the 49th edition of the IFFI on November 28. He will be presented with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a certificate, and a shawl. According to a Supreme Court order, an employee has the right to resign from a job. An employee cannot be compelled to serve in case he is not willing until and unless there is some stipulation in the rules. The Supreme Court made the observations while allowing the appeal of a former Air India engineer, who was refused his dues by the Central government carrier. Manu Bhaker of Haryana won a double gold in junior sports pistol at the National Shooting Championship on 25 November 2018. Ravi and Rahi Sarnobat were crowned national champions in the men’s 10m air rifle and women’s 25m pistol events respectively at National Shooting Championship on 25 November 2018. In the 25m junior girl’s pistol event, Bhaker, Tanu Rawal and Tejaswani won a gold medal. National Milk Day is observed on 26 November every year. The day commemorates the contribution of Dr Verghese Kurien towards Milk Revolution in India. Dr Verghese Kurien played a key role in the formation of milk co-operative ‘Amul’. He is also known as ‘Father of the White Revolution’ in India. Indian cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur was named the captain of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 XI. A selection panel of International Cricket Council (ICC) picked up the team on the basis of the players’ performances in the Women’s World T20 tournament. 3 players from England, 2 from Australia and one each from Pakistan, New Zealand, and the West Indies are also part of the team. On 25 November 2018, the Uttar Pradesh government unveiled the picture of the grand statue of Lord Ram that it proposes to install in Ayodhya. The height of the Ram statue will be 151 metres and its overhead umbrella will be 20 metres in height. The statue will be made of bronze. There will also be a provision for a ‘modern museum’ inside the base that will showcase the history of Ayodhya. Maitree Diwas, a multi-cultural social event, will be organised at Tawang on 28th-29th November 2018 in Arunachal Pradesh. Maitree Diwas aims at celebrating the strong spirit of friendship that exists between the civilians and the Indian Army. This will be the 10th Maitree Diwas since it was initiated by Late Dorjee Khandu, Former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh in 2004. Sanjay Kumar was conferred the ‘Global Geospatial Industry Ambassador’ Award by the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) on 19 November 2018. He was awarded at the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress held in China. He is the Founder and CEO of Geospatial Media & Communications. Lupin, India’s third-largest drugmaker on 23 November 2018 has launched a chatbot named ‘ANYA’ for disease awareness. It is specially designed to provide medically verified information aimed at answering patient queries related to ailments. ANYA will initially address queries related to diabetes. The Ministry of Finance has enhanced the total outlay on the first phase of the ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles’ (FAME India) scheme from Rs 795 crore to Rs 895 crore. The aim of the scheme is to incentivise the production and promotion of eco-friendly vehicles. The scheme was launched by the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises. Former Railway Minister CK Jaffer Sharief passed away in Bengaluru on 25 November 2018. He held the office of the Minister of Railways under PV Narasimha Rao, from 1991 to 1995, and was instrumental in gauge conversion across the nation. Jaffer Sharief was also elected as the Member of Parliament for the first time on 1971 from the Bangalore North constituency. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has nominated 12 movies for 2018 International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT) UNESCO Gandhi Medal. Of these 12 films, two are from India and the rest are foreign movies. The two Indian movies competing for the honour are Tamil film ‘Baaram’ and Ladakhi movie ‘Walking with the Wind’. Australia cricket team has won the ‘Women’s World Twenty-20’ title. It was their fourth World Twenty-20 title. They defeated England in the final match. Austrailia’s Ashleigh Gardner was named ‘Player of the Match’. Austrailia’s Alyssa Healy was named ‘Player of the tournament’. The United Nations has selected Uttar Pradesh’s Noida and Greater Noida to participate in its Global Sustainable Cities 2025 initiative. They have been selected in the ‘University City’ category. Overall 25 cities across the world have been selected in five categories by the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) cities initiative. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar unveiled a 70-feet tall statue of Lord Buddha at Rajgir in Nalanda district on 25 November 2018. It is the second tallest statue of Buddha in the country. The statue has been installed above a 16-metre radius pedestal in the middle of Lake Ghora Katora. It is made of pink sandstone. Badminton player Sameer Verma won the ‘Syed Modi International Badminton Championships’ on 25 November 2018. He defeated China’s Guangzu Lu in the men’s singles final. Men’s doubles pair of Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and women’s doubles players Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy also won silver in their respective finals. The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for Africa and Asia has termed cyclone ‘Titli’ as ‘rarest of rare cyclone’. Cyclone ‘Titli’ struck Odisha in October 2018. It is the rarest of rare in terms of its characteristics such as recurvature after landfall and retaining its destructive potential. RIMES is a 45-nation international organisation on disaster warning. The first-ever India Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held at St. Petersburg in Russia on 25 November 2018. The Indian side was led by NITI Aayog’s Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar with the Russian delegation headed by Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin. The participants will discuss the development of bilateral ties in trade, investment, technology, and industry. India’s Bhavani Devi won the gold medal in the Sabre event in the ‘Senior Commonwealth Fencing Championship’ held in Australia on 25 November 2018. She defeated England’s Emily Ruaux in the final. Bhavani Devi is the first Indian to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Fencing Championship. Earlier, Bhavani Devi won a silver medal in the Tournoi Satellite Fencing Championship in Iceland. Constitution day which is also known as the ‘Samvidhan Divas’ is celebrated every year on 26 November. The adoption of the Constitution took place on 26 November 1949 but it came into effect on 26 January 1950. On 19 November 2015, the government of India with the help of a gazette notification declared 26 November as the Constitution Day. To improve the financial condition of Public Sector Banks (PSBs), the government of India will infuse ₹42,000 crore by March 2019. The government in early 2018 infused ₹11,336 crore in 5 PSBs: Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank, and Corporation Bank. The government had announced the Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion programme in October 2017. The ‘Global Wage Report’ was released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on 27 November 2018. According to the report, India recorded the highest average real wage growth in South Asia during the 2017-18. India was followed by Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran. For the first time, the ILO report also focused on the global gender pay gap. Prof Punyasloke Bhaduri of the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research Kolkata was awarded the prestigious ‘Swarnajayanti Fellowship’ by the government of India for 2017-18. Under this fellowship, scientists are provided with generous support to pursue research in the frontier areas of science and technology. It is awarded for a period of 5 years. According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) order, there will be no homework for students of classes I and II. The order also said that there will be prescribed weight limit of school bags for each class. The weight of school bags for students of classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg, while the school bag of students of class III to V should weigh between 2 kg to 3 kg. According to the data from the health ministry, Gujarat has emerged as the top performer in implementing the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The state accounted for around 26% of the total number of hospital admissions cleared under the scheme so far. Tamil Nadu was ranked second and Chattisgarh was ranked third. AB-PMJAY was launched on 23 September 2018. DTAA signed between India and China On 26 November 2018, India and China have signed a protocol to amend the ‘Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement’ (DTAA). The DTAA has been amended for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. It also incorporates changes required to implement treaty related minimum standards under ‘Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project’. ‘SBI Ecowrap’ report was released by SBI Research on 26 November 2018. The report said that India’s GDP growth in the September 2018 quarter (Q2) is expected to slow to 7.5%-7.6% mainly due to the slowdown in rural demand. The report also said that SBI Composite Leading Indicator (CLI), a basket of 21 leading indicators for Q2 FY19, is showing a marginal declining trend. Varsha Varman won the women’s trap gold medal at the ’62nd National Championship for Shotgun’ on 26 November 2018. She represented Madhya Pradesh at the event. She won the bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon in the women’s double trap team event. On 26 November 2018, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with a framework to identify listed companies that need to meet 25% of their financing needs through debt securities. It would be applicable to all entities that have an outstanding long-term borrowing of Rs.100 crore or more and a credit rating of AA and above. The framework will come into effect from 1 April 2019. ISRO will launch ‘PSLV-C43’ mission on 29 November 2018. The ‘PSLV-C43’ rocket will carry India’s ‘HysIS’ satellite and 30 other satellites. ‘HysIS’ is an earth observation satellite developed by ISRO. The primary goal of the satelite is to study the Earth’s surface in visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Nagaland’s Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio launched ‘Nagaland Tourist Police’ on 26 November 2018. It will work for the safety and security of the tourists and report any crime against them to the nearest police station. Nagaland is the second state in the North East to introduce tourist police. Arunachal Pradesh is the first state in the North East to introduce tourist police. The national festival for children of Child Care Institutions (CCIs), ‘Hausla 2018’ was inaugurated on 26 November 2018. The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The aim of the festival is to provide a national platform for the children from CCIs across India to showcase their talent. The theme of the festival is ‘Child Safety’. Azim Premji will be conferred with the ‘Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur’ (Knight of the Legion of Honour). Alexandre, Ambassador of France to India will confer the award to Premji. The award comes in recognition of his outstanding contribution in developing the information technology industry in India, his economic outreach in France, and his contribution to society as a philanthropist. Nageshwara Rao Guntur has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on 26 November 2018. He is the Chairman of the Project Design Safety Committee, Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor and former distinguished scientist of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) Ltd. His appointment as the AERB chairperson will be for three years. Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a public bicycle sharing project and a mobile app on 26 November 2018. The bicycle sharing project and the mobile app is named ‘Mo Cycle’. The project will provide mobile app-based services to users to locate and use a bicycle. The ‘Mo Cycle’ system will help in reducing traffic congestion, enhance space efficiency, and improve air quality. President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Sunil Arora as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on 26 November 2018. He will take charge on 2 December 2018. He was a 1980-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre. Sunil Arora, who is an Election Commissioner (EC) currently, was appointed to the Election Commission in September 2017. On 26 November 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed norms for External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs). It reduced the mandatory hedge coverage from 100% to 70% under ‘Track I’ of the ECB framework. ‘Track I’ refers to medium-term foreign currency-denominated ECBs with a minimum average maturity of 3-5 years. This move will help reduce costs for companies that raise foreign funds. On 26 November 2018, the government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $200 million loan agreement. The loan amount will be used for widening and upgrading State Highways (SHs) in Bihar under the ‘Bihar State Highways III Project’ (BSHP-III). The Project will also establish a State-level Road Research Institute. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been made the sole custodian and curator of all meteorites within the Indian boundary. It has been declared as the nodal agency for collection, preservation, registration, and dissemination of all meteorite falls/finds within the country. The declaration was made by the Ministry of Mines. The GSI is headquartered in Kolkata. The government of India launched ‘PAiSA – Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access’ on 26 November 2018. The portal is a centralised electronic platform for processing interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under ‘Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana’. The web platform has been designed and developed by ‘Allahabad Bank’ which is the Nodal bank. The government of India appro­ved 100% stake sale in state-owned airline Air India’s ground-handling company ‘Air India Air Transport Services Limited’ (AIATSL). Proceeds from the sale of AIATSL would be used to pay off Air India’s debt. AIATSL is the largest ground handling company in India and is present in almost all airports across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate two-day international ‘Conference on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health’ in New Delhi on 12 December 2018. The objective of the conference is to improve knowledge and accountability to accelerate action on women’s and children’s health. The programme has been framed around the objectives of the global strategy of ‘Survive, Thrive and Transform’. Hospitality firm OYO has appointed Rohit Kapoor as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its new real estate businesses. Before this, he has been the Executive Director and a member on the board of Max Healthcare. He will be responsible for growing OYO’s business in India as well as across international markets, through strategic partnerships and investment opportunities. A 3 day ‘South Asia Regional Youth Peace Conference’ is being held from 28 November to 30 November 2018 in New Delhi. The conference is being organised by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in partnership with UNESCO- MGIEP and Standing Together To Enable Peace Trust. The conference is being organised to mark the beginning of the celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind received the first copy of the book ‘Making of New India: Transformation under Modi Government’ from the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 27 November 2018. The book has been edited by Dr Bibek Debroy, Dr Anirban Ganguly, and Kishore Desai. It contains 51 essays on themes ranging from economy to diplomacy, education to public health. New deep-sea shark species named ‘Pygmy false catshark’ has been found in the northern Indian Ocean. It was found off the southwestern coast of India and north of Sri Lanka. It is about 65cm long and dark brown in colour without any prominent pattern. Its scientific name is ‘Planonasus indicus’. It is the first such discovery in India since the ‘Mangalore houndshark’ in 2011. According to the RBI data, the total credit flow from banks to the commercial sector grew at 15.6% year-on-year to Rs. 97.32 lakh crore in the fortnight ended 9 November 2018. The non-food credit grew by 15.12% to Rs 90.51 lakh crores, while the total non-statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) investments rose 22.26%. Bank credit was lowest during the November 2016 to March 2017 period. Veteran singer Mohammad Aziz passed away in Mumbai on 27 November 2018. The singer has lent his voice to over 2000 songs in Hindi, Bengali and Odia films. He made his singing debut with Bengali film ‘Jyoti’. He has recorded several devotional Bhajans and Sufi songs as well. Logistic meet ‘Logix India 2019′ will be held from 31 January to 2 February 2019 in New Delhi. The event is aimed at improving logistics cost effectiveness and operational efficiencies for India’s Global Trade. The event is organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a survey on India’s startup sector (SISS). The survey will create a profile of the startups and provide dimensions pertaining to their profitability and workforce. The survey would also aim at talking about the problems being faced by the sector in the country. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will infuse Rs. 40,000 crores into the system through Open Market Operations (OMOs) in December 2018. The RBI had announced to inject Rs 40,000 crore into the system in November 2018. OMO refer to the buying and selling of government securities in the open market in order to expand or contract the amount of money in the banking system. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced the guidelines for interoperability of Clearing Corporations (CCPs). The interoperability would permit trading members to clear trades through a firm of their choice instead of going through the CCPs owned by the stock exchanges. The new norms will help in reducing the trading costs. It will be effective from 1 June 2019. Akhilesh appointed as convenor of task force The government of India appointed Akhilesh Ranjan as convenor of ‘New Direct Tax Law Task Force’ on 26 November 2018. The task force was formed to advise the government on drafting a new direct tax law that suits India’s economic requirements. The task force was constituted in November 2017. Akhilesh Ranjan is a member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC) has been conferred with the status of ‘Miniratna’ by the Government of India. The empowerment of ‘Miniratna’ status to NPCC will help the company in taking speedy decisions by enhancing the delegation of powers to the Board. NPCC comes under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The ‘International Gita Festival 2018’ will be organised in Kurukshetra in Haryana from 7 to 23 December 2018. Mauritius will be the partner country of the festival. Gujarat will be the partner state of the festival. Artists from India as well from Mauritius, Indonesia, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Russia will perform during the annual festival. Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Argentina on 28 November 2018. He will be taking part in the 13th G-20 summit. The theme of the summit is ‘Building Consensus for a Fair and Sustainable Development’. The capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires and its currency is Argentine peso. Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli unveiled a contribution-based social security scheme’ on 27 November 2018. It will cover health and medical facilities, safe motherhood, and provide security to dependent family members. The scheme will compulsorily be applied for formal sector workers. It will come into effect from 22 May 2019. On 26 November 2018, the government of India has launched the initiative called ‘Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme’ (IDSP) of ‘Integrated Health Information Platform’. The initiative has been launched in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Telangana, & Uttar Pradesh. The initiative will provide near-real-time data to policymakers for monitoring public health. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has formally launched ‘Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti’ on 27 November 2018. The aim of the mission is to promote self-reliance in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in defence. Under the mission, 10,000 personnel of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) will be trained on IPR. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) organised the ‘2nd National Conference of Heads of Investigating Agencies’ in New Delhi on 29 November 2018. The theme of the conference is ‘Capacity Building of Police Investigators in the Era of New Age Crimes’. The conference will deliberate on various legal aspects, procedures, and use of technology in investigation. Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and Renewable Energy, RK Singh said that 8 States have achieved 100% saturation in household electrification under the Saubhagya scheme. The 8 states are Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Bihar, J&K, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana and West Bengal. Saubhagya scheme’s objective is to provide access to electricity to all the remaining households in the country. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched an initiative called ‘Bhasha Sangam’. ‘Bhasha Sangam’ is a programme for schools and educational institutions to provide multilingual exposure to students in Indian languages. The initiative was launched under ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ on 22 November 2018 and will continue till the 21 December 2018. Saudi-India Business meeting was held with the Council of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh on 28 November 2018. The meeting was attended by top the officials and CEOs of the companies of Saudi Arabia. The Indian delegation was represented by several leading infra and housing companies. The Indian delegation was led by Manoj K Bharti, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs. India’s first advanced personal robot for children called ‘Miko 2’ was launched on 27 November 2018. It was developed by the Mumbai-based start-up named ‘Emotix’. The robot will help parents in early education and development of children. The robot comes with preloaded games, riddles, fun facts, rhymes, music, dance etc and can be loaded with new content. On 29 November 2018, the Maharashtra assembly has passed the ‘Maratha Reservation Bill’ 2018. According to the bill, 16% reservation for Marathas will be given under the socially and educationally backward category. The Bill has now been sent to the state Legislative Council. However, there will be no reservation for Marathas in local body elections. The Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of United Kingdom began the exercise ‘Konkan-2018’ at Goa on 28 November 2018. The bilateral exercise provides a platform for the two Navies to periodically exercise at sea and in harbour, so as to build interoperability and share best practices. The Royal Navy was represented by HMS Dragon and the Indian Navy was represented by INS Kolkata. The two-day ‘Global Aviation Summit’ will be held in Mumbai in January 2019. The summit will be organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). The theme of the summit is ‘Flying for all – especially for the next 6 billion’. The first ever India-Indonesia Business Forum (IIBF) will be held on 29 November 2018 at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The forum aims to facilitate the commercial and people-to-people linkages between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with Aceh and North Sumatra Provinces of Indonesia. The 1st Business Forum was held in Indonesia in July 2018. The ‘Lancet Countdown 2018 on Health and Climate Change’ report was published on 29 November 2018. The report was authored by people from 27 organisations including the WHO and the World Bank. The report said that globally each person was exposed to an additional 1.4 days of heat wave between 2000 and 2017. India experienced an additional 40 million heat wave exposure cases in 2016. The first Global Conference on the ‘Sustainable Blue Economy’ was held on 28 November 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was organised by Kenya. Canada and Japan were co-hosts of the conference. The conference committed to protect ocean and coastal resources, help them regenerate, and to ensure they remain viable for the present and future generations. The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the United Nations on 29 November every year. On 29 November 1947, the UN Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine. The resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a ‘Jewish State’ and an ‘Arab State’. On 28 November 2018, India and China have signed a protocol on hygiene and inspection requirements for the exports. The protocol will enable India to commence export of fish meal and fish oil to China. China has so far not allowed the exports of fish meal and fish oil by India. China imports fish oil to the tune of USD 143.29 million, and fish meal to the tune of USD 263.43 million. CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH) will establish a ‘High End Skill Development Centre’ in Chandigarh. It will establish the centre in partnership with Merck, a leading German Science and Technology company. The centre will help accelerate healthcare research and train Indian students and researchers in latest life science technologies and make them industry ready. University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to set up a ‘Consortium of Academic and Research Ethics’ (CARE).\ CARE will prepare a fresh list of credible quality journals in the non-science disciplines. CARE’s focus will be on journals in disciplines such as social sciences, humanities, languages, arts, culture and the Indian knowledge system. Indian Navy Commander Vijay Varma and Captain P Rajkumar won the ‘Asian of The Year’ Award on 28 November 2018. They were awarded for their selfless service and bravery in rescue operations during the devastating floods in Kerala. The awards have been constituted by the English language newspaper ‘The Straits Times’ and it is based in Singapore. On 28 November 2018, the President of India appointed Arvind Saxena as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The term of his appointment will be till 7 August 2020 when he attains the age of 65 years or till further orders. He joined UPSC as a Member on 8 May 2015. Prior to joining UPSC as Member, he was working as Director of the ‘Aviation Research Centre’ (ARC). On 28 November 2018, A.M. Naik has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He is the Group Chairman of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). NSDC aims to promote skill development by creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions. ‘Donbass’ has won the coveted ‘Golden Peacock Award’ at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on 28 November 2018. The Award carries a cash prize of Rs 40 lakhs to be shared equally between the Producer and the Director, Trophy, and the citation. ‘Donbass’ is the official submission of Ukraine for the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category at the 91st Academy Awards in 2019. On 28 November 2018, Himachal Pradesh became the first state to launch a pan-India single emergency number ‘112’. Under this project, an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) has been established in Shimla along with 12 district command centres (DCCs). The ERC has been integrated with police (100), fire (101), health (108), and women (1090) helpline numbers to provide emergency services. The government of India launched ‘Passport Seva Project’ (PSP) in major consulates in the United States. The aim is to simplify the overall passport applications procedure and reduce the turnaround time for applicants from 10 days to 48 hours or less. PSP prints Indian passports in the US and reduces turnaround for applicants. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the current Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the second largest and second deadliest in history. The latest outbreak in Congo, which began in August 2018, has a case fatality rate of 57%. The deadliest outbreak occurred in West Africa in 2014, where more than 11,000 people were killed due to Ebola. The report titled ‘Children, HIV and AIDS: The World in 2030’ was released by UNICEF on 29 November 2018. According to the report, in India, an estimated 120,000 children and adolescents aged 0-19 were living with HIV in 2017. The report noted that South Asia has made substantial progress in reducing HIV risks and vulnerability among children, adolescents, pregnant women and mothers. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 2nd ‘International Ambedkar Conclave’ on 30 November 2018 in New Delhi. The conclave is the part of the commemoration of Constitution Day. The Conclave is being organised by the Forum of SC and ST Legislators and Parliamentarians and the Dr Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce. Georgian traditional wrestling called ‘chidaoba’ won recognition from UNESCO as a global cultural asset on 29 November 2018. The UNESCO had added it to its list of ‘intangible cultural heritage’. A match ‘chidaoba’ lasts for five minutes, during which wrestlers wearing traditional high-necked woollen coats try to defeat their opponent using various holds. Table tennis player Manav Thakkar won the singles and doubles titles at the Portugal Junior and Cadet Open on 29 November 2018. Manav defeated Jeet Chandra in the singles final match. Manav partnered with Manush Shah to win the doubles title. Previously, he won the bronze medal in the U-21 singles category in the ITTF Challenge Belarus Open on 16 November 2018. India to chair Kimberley Process from Jan 2019 India will chair the Kimberley Process (KP) from January 2019. KP is a global initiative to remove conflict diamonds from the global supply chain. The conflict diamonds are used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments in the world. India is the founding member of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). The Irish sport of ‘hurling’ was granted UNESCO’s special status of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ on 29 November 2018. The game is played by teams of 15 on a pitch with ‘H’ shaped goals at either end. According to UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is made up of oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and festive events. NITI Aayog began a series of ‘Development Dialogues’ from 30 November 2018. It will engage experts, thought leaders and government stakeholders across key avenues of long-term social and economic development. The first event was a conference on ‘Health Systems for A New India: Building Blocks’. The conference will feature senior government functionaries and experts in the healthcare space. World number one Norwegian Magnus Carlsen has won the ‘World Chess Championship’ title on 28 November 2018. He defeated Fabiano Caruana from the United States in a tie-breaker event. He won the ‘World Chess Championship’ title for the fourth time. He won his first ‘World Chess Championship’ title in 2013 by beating Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. Salome Zurabishvili has won Georgia’s presidential election on 29 November 2018. She became the first woman President of Georgia. She was the former French Diplomat. She was the former Foreign Minister of Georgia. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi and its currency is Georgian Lari. According to a report by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), the Indian economy is projected to grow at 7–7.4% in 2018-19. The real agriculture Gross Value Added (GVA) is envisaged to grow at 3% and real industry GVA at 7% in 2018-19. NCAER is a New Delhi based non-profit think tank of economics. Slovenia has become the only NATO country to appoint a woman as head of its army. Maj Gen Alenka Ermenc took up the post of Chief of Staff of the Slovenian army on 28 November 2018. Maj Gen Ermenc is currently serving as the army’s Deputy-Chief of Staff. She began her military career in 1991 when the country won its independence from the former Yugoslavia. The ‘Global Nutrition Report 2018’ was released on 29 November 2018. According to the report, Forty-six million children in India are stunted because of malnutrition. In India, high rates of malnutrition lead to anaemia, low birth rates, and delayed development. The report is an independently produced annual analysis of the state of the world’s nutrition. Renowned flautist Pandit Keshav Ginde will be conferred with the prestigious ‘Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Lifetime Achievement Award 2018’ for classical music. The award has been instituted by Maharashtra Governement. The award honours maestros in classical music and singing, and carries a cash award of Rs 500,000, a memento and a citation. China and India will hold a joint 14-day military exercise ‘Hand in Hand’ in China’s Chengdu city from 10 December 2018. It will promote understanding between the two militaries and improve their capabilities in fighting terrorism. The exercise is being held after a gap of one year as both the sides were locked in a standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector of the border in 2017. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) code mandatory for all participants undertaking transactions in the markets regulated by the RBI. The LEI is a 20-character unique identity code assigned to entities who are parties to a financial transaction. The LEI code is a measure to improve the quality and accuracy of financial data systems. Air forces of the United States and India are scheduled to participate in a 12-day joint exercise ‘Cope India 2019’ in West Bengal. The exercise will be held from 3-14 December 2018. The ‘Cope India’ exercise is being held after a gap of eight years, with the last one having taken place in 2010. ‘Cope India’ was first held in 2004 as a fighter training exercise at Air Station Gwalior. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the interest subsidy on the post and pre-shipment export credit from 3% to 5%. This move will boost the exports of the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector manufacturers. The increased subsidy is applicable from 2 November 2018. Exporters get the subsidy under the ‘Interest Equalisation Scheme on Pre & Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit’.

2019-04-21T18:57:32Z

http://www.sbank.in/2018/12/current-affairs-november-21-to-30-2018.html

‘How do I know I’m not the narcissist???’ I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this frantic question. But let me tell you. Asking yourself this is a testament to the fact that the narcissist is inside your head, and the abuse is working. It’s also clear evidence that you are simply not a narcissist. Reading these few words isn’t going to convince you though, right? I’m guessing that for you to be asking yourself this, your journey of recovery has progressed to the point where you’ve done a heap of reading on narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). You’re at the stage where you have a solid handle on the disorder, its symptoms, and the manipulation strategies used in narcissistic abuse. This must be the case or you wouldn’t be worried that you are narcissistic, as the phenomenon and associated behaviours wouldn’t mean all that much to you right now. With all the information you’ve gathered, and more importantly because of the narcissist’s brainwashing about who and what you are, the question niggles at you…you are scanning yourself, your behaviours, things you’ve done and haven’t done that could just be classified as narcissistic…and here you are slap bang in the middle of freakoutsville. This article assumes these two things: 1) that you are pretty clear on NPD (for terminology refreshers check out the Glossary), and 2) the thought of being a narc scares the crap out of you. Here is your big dose of logic that YOU ARE NOT THE NARC! The methods the narcissist uses to erode your understanding and belief in who you are, are all focused on breaking your spirit, and to maintain power and control over you. They do this for several reasons. The first is to feed their addiction which is to secure external confirmation of their beliefs. This drives the need for constant reinforcement from you (and all that surround them) that they are superior, special, omnipotent, and entitled to all they desire in this world. This is the ‘supply’ the narcissist needs to survive. The second key reason is to ensure your disempowerment. After all, so long as you feel this way, you believe you are trapped in the relationship with them. It also means that your resistance to satisfying their addiction by meeting all their demands, is low to nil. Supplying the narc becomes your priority, as it is and always will be theirs. Enter gaslighting which we will consider for now to be all the manipulations employed to achieve your disempowerment. These are the tools used to brainwash you into believing you cannot trust your understanding of reality, or your mental health. When you are in this space you have essentially lost all trust in yourself. You are fully disempowered. This is precisely where they want you. Doubting all you know of yourself and reality is the foundation needed for the narc to get away with pretty much anything. During devaluation, brainwashing tactics come at you hard and fast. Let’s zoom in on a few to see how the narc plants the seed in your mind that you are the narcissist (and waters in well, with lots of fertiliser for vigorous growth). 1.Projection: Denial underpins all narcissist defence mechanisms to protect the false self from confronting any truth about reality. The narcissist unable to accept that they have any flaws, uses projection as a defence mechanism to attribute what is unacceptable in themselves, onto you. This of course means that narcissistic traits are regularly cited as your defects. Examples of your listed shortcomings might include ‘you’re so selfish’, ‘you think everything should be about you’, ‘you’re so manipulative’ etc. 2. Blaming you: Similarly, the narcissist cannot accept any responsibility for any negative behaviours. A preferred ‘go to’ when attempts are made to hold the narc to account is to blame you for the issues raised. In this scenario, you will get a dose of projection (i.e.: a diatribe about your narcissistic traits) being the cause of their behaviour. For instance, ‘you made me look elsewhere at other men/women. If you weren’t so abusive/controlling/focused on yourself, I wouldn’t have needed to’. b) in smear campaigns with others, also used to obtain sympathy for them as the ‘injured party’ and to garner support that you just might be the narcissist. It’s becoming a little clearer now isn’t it? Believe it or not, asking yourself ‘how do I know I’m not the narcissist’ signifies the fog of brainwashing is lifting. Of necessity, this comes hand in hand with the realisation that the person you’re in a relationship (or were in) with is abusive and potentially has NPD. You are now able to recognise what is what. You are a victim of narcissistic abuse. And you rightly hold the narc responsible for abusing you. You have been through hell. Pure and simple. It may come slowly, but eventually you will also most likely feel the need to share your story with those you trust as part of your healing journey. The big tell gorgeous one, is your intention contrasted with theirs. Quick recap. The narc’s intent in projecting, blaming, and using the ‘poor me routine’ is to disempower you, and brainwash you into questioning reality, and your mental health. Now consider where you are coming from. You believe you have suffered narcissistic abuse, and the responsibility for this is entirely the narc’s, because these are facts. You share your story because you need to be heard after being silenced for so long. It is also how you receive the validation you desperately need to begin recovering from the annihilation you’ve suffered. You are speaking your truth, the reality, in order to heal. Still not sold? OK here we go. My point lies in the word ‘concerned’. Feeling this way necessarily means that for you, the idea of feeling entitled to cause pain by controlling, demeaning, and manipulating others with the end goal of stripping them of all power and sense of worth, is well, abhorrent. 2. Furthermore, your concern indicates understanding of a) how awful the behaviour is, and b) the impact that it has on victims. For you to comprehend these concepts, indeed, to feel them, you must have empathy. As you know, the true narcissist is void of empathy. 3. Your repulsion at the possibility of behaving as a narcissist, of course means that you do not want to be this way. It is therefore fair to consider that the disgust would be a massive motivation to change. For growth to occur, certain conditions must be met in addition to the will to change. The first of these involves giving honest critical thought to your actions and behaviours. The second is the identification and ownership of the undesirable behaviours you wish to transform. Let’s call this self-reflection. Pursuing an answer to the question ‘How do I know I’m not the narcissist?’ is an act of self-reflection (which by the way, you are doing right now…). In living a life where a false-self has taken over, the narcissist functions through denial. Both reality and the true self have been set aside. The narc is thus incapable of many aspects required for critical self-reflection and consequently growth. It is antithetical to the narcissistic modus operandi on multiple levels. A belief system that clings to the conviction of being superior over all others, simply does not allow for these possibilities. By definition, individuals with NPD are incapable of considering they are anything less than superior to all others; feel no sense of personal responsibility; and have no empathy for others. These traits render the need for self-reflection redundant. There is no need after all to review or change, what is already perfect. 4. In conducting your self-reflection, you will come across behaviours and actions that make you uncomfy, things you won’t be fully proud of in your time with the narcissist. Things you may compare to narcissistic traits, for example rage, jealousy, aggressiveness etc. Think of what you have been through. Hell. Can anyone go through hell and not react? No. They can’t. You can accept you are not perfect right? Your ego does allow for this. So forgive yourself now for your humanity, and how you have navigated surviving hell. BOOM – you are not the narcissist. No way. No how. Rest easy. Shoosh that voice that keeps asking the question. You know you’re not the narc. Stop giving the narcissist any more of your time or energy by engaging with this ludicrous idea they planted in your mind. Use your precious time and energy on you instead, and in progressing your recovery. From now on, every time you hear that voice sneaking back in, promise me you will meet it with remembering who you are. ‘I am open and embrace growth. I evolve without fear knowing my heart is good and kind’. ‘I am strong, resourceful and capable of surviving any situation’. Yeah baby! You are indeed gorgeous. Please share your insights or questions below. Have you tackled this question? What are your tips for others in holding fast to self-truth? Sharing and encouraging others is so very necessary to help all of us on our journey of recovery – so thank you! *I’ve just finished reading Psychopath Free by Jackson Mackenzie – what a magnificent book! It’s super helpful as an intro as to how all cluster B disorders destroy those they are in relationships with. Mackenzie walks through the emotional process of waking up to abuse, and what to expect through recovery. This is a fairly typical book outline for this topic. Mackenzie’s book has extra specialness. A clear mission surfaces about celebrating the empath, the dreamer, and the gifts these offer the world. Sadly, these are the very qualities often targeted by narcs. So I just know that this book will speak to many of you out there and remind you to protect and treasure what makes you so very wonderful. Also, Mackenzie at times writes like a poet (a humorous one!) which makes reading this challenging topic for victims a softer experience than the more common clinical/dry style found in similar titles. Loved it. Wow, makes sence. Have had screwed over 50 yrs but all i knew. They all deny or take responsibility for their ampathy. This is good to read. I have recently been told that I don’t live in the real world, that I do absolutely nothing, that things I like are just hobbies and are not real life, that I say ‘ I love you’ too much and it spoils it for him when I say it for real, that if it were not for him I would be homeless, that he has to do everything, because I can’t do anything, that I have no life. He ripped everything about me to pieces and expected me to be all jolly and happy and got even more angry when I was crying. this episode ( just the tip of the iceberg) has left me feeling traumatised and has given me nightmares ( that I am sleeping on the streets in a sleeping bag) and I am doubting myself, not sure what is real life or not real life. Am I some kind of hideous misfit ? He says I am miserable and can’t take a joke and beacause I have breasts I do not understand ‘banter’ And there is never ever any apology from him either, never has been. Its been 23 years. I can’t walk away, I have lovely kids and 2 beautiful dogs, I would lose them all. Thank you, I shall read this again and again til it sinks in. I do realise that the only thing I can change is myself and can fill the empty shell that I feel I have become, in time. Its not pleasant and quite sad that someone can make you feel like THE worst person in the whole world. What do you think? Do you think you are a hideous misfit? What do you believe of yourself? The answers to these questions are by far, the most important ones. And not the answers you would give in your sadness and pain, from the place of hurt you hold because of your husband, but the answers you would give from your place of either anger or deep peace. This is where your truth lies. You are not an empty shell, you’ve just lost that connection with your truth. Find your truth once more and you will be free from the words of others being able to make you feel like the worst person in the whole world. Thank you very much dear Maggie, esp for your hot tips 🙂 it will not be time wasted working out the answers, I may know them already. Your writings have helped me make a small start already. This sounds exactly like my husband. Now I realize he stripped me of anything I enjoyed. Made my own jobs impossible to keep per his needing me. Then discounted my worth because of my not being employed. Yet I worked for him, for pennies. Took all control of financial during my demise and predicted it all because he was manipulating me into it himself. He caught me at my most vulnerable point, the death of my brother and 2 weeks later my dog. I’m 25 years in and the past 12 have been a nightmare. I realize now that he manipulated me into relocation even made me believe it was my idea. That was the beginning of his mask falling off. I’m still with him trying to get my own financial in order to which I know he will destroy when I leave. This article is a great source of reassuring me that I’m recovering and regaining control. I hope it works for you too! Good luck! Dear Patricia, thank you for sharing your story and for reaching out to offer support & encouragement in the Narc Wise community. It’s people like you that make a difference 🙂 I’m so sorry for what you have endured. And for the losses of your brother & your beloved dog. I left my narc nearly two years ago. He is in prison now, so I am technically “safe”, but I still live in constant fear and questioning of my own morality. As I read this article, I found myself needing to re-read certain sentences to solidify their existence to myself! Thank you!! I will keep this article close, and read repeatedly until every word ingrains itself. I finally feel like my eyes are open, and I am not the enemy. Thank you thank YOU!!! Made me cry too. I think it’s because the words rang true in my heart, where so few have, and my soul hungered for someone to not only believe in me, but to champion me as well. Thank you, Maggie. Thank you soooo much for this article. I must admit I was keep asking myself and blaming if I somehow I am not the narc. The worst of all is that I keep wondering that my husband would be a narc. But I had been to hell, I was thinking about suicide and all of that because he was telling me I destroy my kids, I am mean and aggresive. It’s hell to live thinking that you destroy your kids, that you do harm when all you want is to be good and offer all you find good in yourself. But, with God help I think, only with His help, I succeded to stand up from my bathroom floor and to promise myself that I will NEVER be down there again! Two months ago, I discover that narcissism is a disorder and what it means. Reading about it was like a waking up but reading about what the person in relationship with a narc is passing through is a revelation. I must admit I still can’t belive that this is happening to me, most of all because we have 3 kids and I have no ideea how can I protect them and what is best for them. But, in the same way that happend until now, I hope that time and God will gove me the proper answers. Thank you SO MUCH! Let me thank YOU so much. Your words “I succeded to stand up from my bathroom floor and to promise myself that I will NEVER be down there again” gave me goosebumps. You say that you don’t know how to protect your children or what is best for them or what the proper answers are, but I don’t believe you. I do believe that you are all you need, and that all the answers to work through your challenges are right there inside you. The goosebumps were from hearing your massive strength roaring through your words of pain. I suspect you are only coming to grips now with all the strength and courage and goodness you have inside you. (Of course you are! You’ve been told you are the opposite for too long it seems). So let me join your own sweet self who is telling you from deep within that you are strong, courageous and good – and say I agree. You’ve got this. You’ve got you and your children. I was told over and over that I was the Narc. I didn’t even know what one was! I just thought it was an egotistical person. She told me I needed to go to counseling so I did. After 2 sessions the counselor told me “Bryan, I have worked with many Narcs and you are NOT a Narc! Just the fact that you are here questioning yourself shows that you aren’.t What you need is couples counseling!” So that’s what we did. At the end of it all my counselor said “Bryan she is broken! She treats you horribly! She has no ability to rationally deal with conflict resolution! It’s either fight or flee! There are people out there that don’t act like this! It doesn’t have to be this hard!” My counselor was actually feeling pain for me. I thought she was going to cry! This is when I started hitting the web and realized that my love was a Covert Narc! The break up has been the hardest thing of my life! I truly loved the good side of her but the bad was BAD! The trauma bonding is real and getting off the drug and PTSD has been tough. No contact and run is the only answer! I couldn’t understand why there was absolutely no emotion in how my sons (her former stepsons) and I were being devalued and discarded so easily after almost 6 years of marriage, and how she can call me a monster for none of us wanting her to remain a part of our lives after walking out on us, and trying to take their home away in the divorce. we were making love in Paris every day less than 30 days before she told me that she doesn’t love me, isn’t in love with me, and hasn’t loved me in a very long time. i learned about codependency and what a covert narcissist is and it all made perfect sense. i went no contact for two months and then had a momentary lapse in judgment and during the ensuing period of time she told me that I was the narcissist. i’m so glad I found your blog post. Its been since Nov 13, 2017, when after 6 years of insanity, he raged, pushed me so hard in was knocked unconscious. Of course all the devaluing and blaming preceded that and was nonstop for 2 years. I didn’t go to the ER until the following day. He was arrested and the case is still pending. His plea is not guilty and thru a friend swears he will go to a jury trial and get this dismissed. He’s truly insane. The county in which this occurred is super tough on dom v. I have pics and text messages saved and even a solid terrorist threat sent via text that I have not disclosed to the DA as I almost feel sorry for him. I feel if I stay quite (as usual) I’m not doing myself any favors and boy oh boy…I deserve to be favored. He’s higher than thou and above the law…along with making me out to be the crazy one? NO. I am not crazy. I’m a caring loving woman who thought my love could save this (sometimes) gentle man. He gave me a concussion and walked away…not even knowing whether or not I was DEAD. I’ve never had a man put hands on me and THAT crap will never happen to me again. I’m angry and lashing out at many of my friends. I’m just so angry at my decision to stick by this monster, walking in faith that he wanted to change…In seeking EMDR therapy due to the PTSD aspect of this trauma. I will be fine. Better than fine. I’m now aware. And that’s all one can hope for – – preventing the bad decisions in losing sense of self. Damn I’m BLESSED for that! Dear Sue, thank you for sharing your story. I am so sorry for what you have been through, it is such a relief to know you are now safe from this man now. My goodness woman, the power and strength behind the words in your message are so inspiring. I hear you with the rage you are carrying (you can read more about this in Why is it so hard to leave an abusive relationship with a narcissist? if you you’re interested). Right now, your rage is your friend, it is your truth coming up and out, when this has been squished down for too long. I’m glad you are seeking therapy support and you are investing in you to work through these experiences and the PTSD. Enough has been given to this man, time to reclaim all your freedom & joy. I completely agree with you: You are a caring and loving woman. You are not crazy. You are fine. You are aware. And you are blessed. Thank you thank you and thank you this is beautifully executed , informative relatable and conforting. I am greatful for your insight. I’m a 58yo male that is being used by a 34yo female narc. Everything I’ve read (and been a ton over last two months) narc was males, and along with her I was scared I was the narc. I NOW!! Realize I am not and need to break ties move on, (easy said than done). Again thank you for opening my eyes, and my heart. I’ve read this article 3 times. Everytime I have doubt I read it again. I’m so sorry you feel you are being used. And by someone you are intimately involved with. Not only this, but with someone who has sought to convince you you are someone other than who you are. How terribly heartbreaking. I’m so very glad that you have made the decision to find a happier situation for yourself having realised what isn’t working for you. I was told how I feel. I was called selfish and “it’s all about you.” I was gas lit, love bombed and manipulated for my entire marriage. Reading this has given me some much needed insight because I did question myself. I was beaten or punched whenever she drank and was blamed for it. Clothes were destroyed, glasses broke etc. I became enraged and ended up isolating because of the daily fighting. When I sought help for us, I couldn’t tell the truth or I was disloyal to her. I was blamed for everything she did and it was beginning to drive me crazy. Daily projections made me question my own sanity. I remember telling her ,”you’re breaking my spirit.” The response was always,”stop making it always about you.” The last straw was making me choose between her and my children from my previous marriage. She had me believe that I couldn’t love her if they were a part of our life. Thank God my children forgave me for not seeing them for 10 months. The price I’m paying now? She had me arrested for threatening her. Through counseling I’m realizing that when someone devalues you, crushes your spirit, tells you who you are and manipulates your very being that who wouldn’t lash out with threats? Who wouldn’t become enraged? I’ve also learned that is exactly what the narc wants is a negative reaction so they can blame you and make you look and feel crazy. My advice? If you’re in a relationship with a narc get out safely while you still have an ounce of self respect, self worth and sanity. They will drive you to do things that you don’t believe you were capable of doing. Dear Anonymous, there is so much anguish in your words. I’m so sorry for your pain. I could be way off base, but your words tell me you are feeling such shame. This isn’t something that seems to be spoken of much in the narcissistic abuse community, I think some may get confused that this is some form of victim blaming rather than a very real, powerful and destructive symptom of being abused leading to not much talk on this front. It’s an area we should all start speaking more on. Brene Brown said “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive”. We must find our voices! I wrote about shame in Why is it so hard to leave an abusive relationship with a narcissist?. Obviously speaking your truth is what you are doing withing counselling which is wonderful. My little rant here about the impact of shame and how to conquer it is really to say a) I get it – I get the yuck feelings that may be swirling inside now and the challenges of coming to grips with things you wouldn’t ordinarily do, nor are necessarily proud of – you & I are not alone in feeling this way, it is a product of what has been endured; and c) trust that you are now on the path to setting yourself free, you are doing the work, you will get there. “that is exactly what the narc wants is a negative reaction so they can blame you and make you look and feel crazy.” That is so true! Know that you are not alone. We have all had to get this education the hard way. But also know that this knowledge will eventually set you free and keep you from making the same mistake again! I’m at a point where I know I want away from my narc, but have always had the weakness of worrying more about others than myself and being overly receptive to his needs. I found this after yet another argument where everything turned back around on me and how I don’t care about his needs and everything is my fault. What I hate most about narc abuse is that, in the moment, everything they say to you makes sense and you feel how they want you to feel; then you walk away and see it’s bull but still have that doubt in yourself. Reading things like this helps me keep my feet on the ground and reassure myself I’m not crazy. Ok so I get all this and I get I’m not a narcissist. But I am convinced that if my ex read this he will say the exact same thing, that he’s the victim and that I’m doing all these things described. He would truly believe that I am the narcissist. So again, how do I know I’m not the one in denial of a horrible personality? Dear Zara, I sooooo get it. This is why I wrote the article. I call what you are doing the narc spin. The never ending circling through of repeating thoughts. Ruminating. You conclude a point, then find yourself unpicking it immediately afterwards, only to work your way back to the original conclusion and so it continues. Ad infinitum through the same loop, over & over again. I will make a few observations & ask you a few questions. In the hope they may slow the spin until you find your way to peace and it halts altogether. 1. You start your message clearly stating you are not a narcissist. Presumably you look inside, reflect on who you are and subsequently assuredly state that this is a fact. You are not that person. You are not a narc. It is not until you think of what your ex might say about you, that your assurance flags. Why should you take his opinion, word, interpretation as any more valuable than is your own? Who knows you better – you? Or him? And who’s view of who you is more important to you? (The answer on this last point gorgeous one, must be yours). 2. Placing weight on what he might be doing or thinking etc. is a dangerous practice. Your recovery has everything to do with cutting the tie with what he might be doing or thinking and reconnecting with just what you are doing and thinking. And only this. 3. A general observation is this: Victims of abuse will pursue information and seek to raise their own understanding of what has happened to them in order to heal. This is a proactive action taken to address the very real harm they have experienced, to heal and rebuild their lives. It is such a deep seated need, that the pursuit can become all consuming, such is the magnitude of the hurt. 4. “Victims” on the other hand, those in denial, do not. Blaming others for harm that they in fact are responsible for is not accompanied with genuine soul searching – the two concepts are diametrically opposed. They are mutually exclusive. (As an aside, to be clear because I can almost hear you thinking ‘so what’s the difference between me saying he hurt me, and him saying I hurt him?’…blaming is not the same thing as rightly holding another individual accountable for their actions. The former IS rooted in denial, the latter in acceptance, boundaries and strength. One on make believe, and one on reality). – Do you believe you are better and more special than all those who surround you? – Do you believe that you are entitled to anything you desire, and that everyone’s undivided attention & focus should be relentlessly on you? – Do you need to be in control at all times in addition to confirming constantly that you hold the upper hand in terms of power in all circumstances? – Do you need to be right in all circumstances? Do you get a kick out of making sure others know they are wrong in all circumstances that disagree with your own view? – If someone gave you a horrible personality diagnosis, would you consider it an impossibility because you are beyond reproach and dismiss it altogether (as well as dismiss the smarts of the person diagnosing you)? – When confronted with people who need help & kindness, do you walk away without any emotion refusing to offer them help, unless there is something in it for you? Dear Zara. Only you know the answers to these questions. Only you. Similarly, the only person who actually cares about the answers, is you. By this I mean, that a narc would not. I promise you the spin will slow and eventually stop if you continue on your journey. You’ve got this. Dear Maggie, thank you! This clarified a lot! My narc is my daughters dad so naturally I can’t cut contact completely. I left him three years ago and the divorce was final last year. I met someone else and married him as soon as my divorce was final but the narc ex doesn’t know cause I am afraid of his attacks, they frikkin hurt! I am afraid he will use our daughter (6 y/o) and turn her against me as she’s too young to understand what’s going on and that her hero dad is nothing but a douche! Last night I went to his place to pick her up, as we were leaving he started to walk with us. I asked why and he said we could have a drink. I said I need to do laundry and pack as me and my daughter are soon going on a trip to croatia. He said he wouldn’t stay long. He drank all the alcohol making margaritas, when I was out of ingredients he went to buy new (he’s an alcoholic but he’s denying it since he has no problem at all to not drink on a daily basis) I ignored him and did what I had to do and also of course giving my all focus to my daughter. As I was folding my clean clothes I told her that when I was done it’s brushing time and her dad said “yeah I should’ve left a long time ago” now this is how I knew he’s gotten nothing in his “narc veins” this evening. He wanted me to worship him and beg him to stay and tell him what a good Time we’ve had. I simply said “yeah so why didn’t you” he was shocked and said I didn’t kick him out and I replied that you can leave without being kicked out. He was furious and took his shoes on, ignored when I asked about tomorrow cause he was supposed to drive us, he slammed my door and left. One last try I opened the door after him and calmly asked again about tomorrow, he ignored me (the silent treatment is his thing and always have been) I said that we’ll be fine on our own and wouldn’t need him to drive us. It took literally 5 mins till he started calling and I didn’t pick up, in 5 mins he called 22 times (I have screenshots of this) in between I texted and said I’m done doing this and asked him to stop. The usual gaslighting started “yeah but what about you?” “Like you’ve never done that” “you’re insane” “all I did was….and then you….” “making a hen out of a feather” etc, I ignored said I would talk when he would be quiet and listen since I never get to finish my sentences. He turned again and begged me please to answer the phone and he promised to listen, HE would feel awful if we didn’t solve this misunderstanding, HE wouldn’t be able to sleep etc. I didn’t pick up. He said he would come back to my place, I said he wasn’t welcome back and that he should go back home, he said he was on his way, I said he should turn back home and he said I had to answer the phone. This was over iMessage and I have the screenshots of all the 22 calls and our messages. I also recorded the phone call when I finally had to answer since I didn’t want him back there and to bother my neighbors. I am now sure of what he is and what he does and this story is NOTHING compared to other things he’s done. I am also aware of how I t act to what he does and for the first time in my 10 year relationship with him I didn’t end up crying myself to sleep, I laughed, smiled and felt so relieved! Thank you for that! But now I don’t know how to get rid of him…. You know this because you are preocupied of beeing a narcisist, better saying of NOT beeing one. A narcisist would always think that even his behaviour is called a narcisist one it doesn’t matter. He/she is a powerful person and we, the others are weak because we have emotions!!!! So the one who accept having emotions is NOT a narcisist. Thank you Maggie, you helped open my eyes, 3 months ago. Since then, I had read books and I still learn how to establish boundaries. I hope I convinced my husband that he needs help unless we will have no future together. He said he will begin therapy. I have also learnt that in the future I have to be aware of this type of persons because somehow I am attracted to ths type of personslity and this is a schema for me. Not to mention that I had prepared one of the best lawyers in town in case of a divorce. Itripped upon this and will save it in a file. I was married to one for 31 years. He did whatever he wanted, I was a SAHM. I was made to feel for years as an outsider from he and his family. If his friends crossed the line or boundaries, I was overreacting, too sensitive, etc. For years I was hurt, eventually I stopped caring, focused on theneeds of our two daughters . My mother and father are narcs, I married one, and my oldest daughter is one . I question myself all the time, am I being selfish, am I self absorbed, etc. eetc. I’ve been separated for 3 and divorced for 2, and I still feel guilty if I treat myself. My oldest daughter is an overt and my wasband a covert. I am trying to learn how to not be drawn to a narc, especially since that is what my normal is. I will soon be 58 and hope to never stop learning orworking on .myself. Dear Mel, thank you for sharing some of your story. There are many more layers behind all this. How can there not be when this is all that has surrounded you since birth? I salute you gorgeous woman, for the stand you are taking for your self. No more. From this point, no more. I hear you, it is hard to unlearn all that has been learnt, particularly so when there is no real point of comparison of non-narcness to refer to. (Frankly, doesn’t cover it. It is strength and courage at it’s grittiest). Still, despite the ‘hardness’, you’ve got this. Hello… I was scrolling through pinterest one day and came across something about narcissism and it kind of made me do a double take- wait… that looks familiar… I started reading up more and more on it and I’m at that point where I’m asking myself if I am a narcissist. I’ve reflected on this article for quite some time, circling from saying no, I’m definitely not, to what if I am? I have so much empathy and love for every thing, i would never dare cause any harm to anyone or anything intentionally. I would rather harm be turned unto myself than anyone else. I’ve just recently been married, been with this man for 5 years… and I’m just now realizing. The shock and the unsure thoughts, I’m so… lost. I dont know what to do, who to talk to. I tried talking to my parents, they think I should stay with him and try to work things out. I’ve had so many talks with him, seemingly ending with solutions and some closure but then it goes right back to me feeling like I’m crazy and imagining things. Is be doing this on purpose? Everyone says they can see how much he loves me. And I think he does too… but… why then do I feel like this? That my mind is telling me to run, get away but my heart is telling me to stay? He isnt physically violent, or sexually… but he gets angry and has broken things, he gets very loud and I always feel like a wee mouse cowering and begging forgiveness… some how it’s always my fault. I’m constantly saying sorry, justifying my decisions and always having to explain myself. Please, what do I do? I need to talk to someone I need to know I’m not crazy. Dear Anon. Can I suggest you reach out locally and you find someone to talk to? I provide coaching services as well online/over the phone. If you are interested email me: [email protected]. Have you read these articles: Am I in denial? Am I the narcissist?; 5 ways to counteract the narcissist’s gaslighting; and How journaling combats gaslighting & frees you from narcissistic abuse? The key to determining what is right for you, irrespective of the opinions of others, lies within you. Finding your truth, and hearing it unimpeded by the confusion and what others would rather you believe. It isn’t easy, particularly when surrounded by voices who conflict with your own, but it is possible. The articles above have practices to help you get there. You may also want to read: Emotionally unhook yourself & starve the narcissist of supply: Here’s how.

2019-04-21T03:07:24Z

https://narcwise.com/2018/03/25/youre-not-narcissistic/

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Browsing the casings available at the website is genuinely straightforward also. Next, you have to guarantee you’re picking a form that praises your face. A rounder face could have to try a square shape and also vice versa. A distinction in the color of an edge could influence the shape to look completely adjusted. It’s important to try a pair of hues in the shape and dimension that fits you finest. Concentrating on the tone of your skin is necessary since a few shades could be excessively harsh, or in actuality laundry you out. Consider your own design while choosing a covering. On the occasion that you incline towards quirkier attire, you could likely drain an insane edge. Although that no matter of whether your style is consistently exemplary – loco glasses can be an awesome method to produce an impact! Various developers can place you out numerous dollars; nonetheless, Parker Warby eyeglass frames are really cost effective. 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At Warby Parker, their motto is bought a pair and also offers a set. The act of generally providing spectacles is on a regular basis a short-term option. Spectacles have made some remarkable progression given that the difficult frameworks you wore as a child or the specs your grandpa could never ever show up to find. Huge and square or superbly round cases in tortoiseshell, dark or perhaps great shades have actually progressed toward becoming a fad and also not just for stylish people and also collection sweethearts. The finest qualities Warby Parker sunglasses are moderate as well as smart; in enhancement to they are quickly offered online. 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krpano has a small and simple dynamic scripting language. With it krpano can be customized in many ways. A command or function is called 'action' in krpano. It's possible to use existing actions and also to define new ones. The scripting language is dynamic and untyped by default, only some predefined variables are typed, but that is normally not relevant because inside the scripts all type conversions will be done automatically. This documentation is about global krpano variables and objects, about the actions calling syntax and about all pre-defined krpano actions / functions. Whitespace characters (like space, tab, new-lines) will be ignored as long they are not inside quotes (single or double quote characters). If there is more than one action call, the calls should be ended with a semicolon. The action calls will be processed in sequence one after the other. The parameters that could be or should be passed to the action depends on the particular action itself. See here the documentation of that action for more. When passing more than one parameter, then the parameters need to be separated by commas. All parameters will be passed as they are written as text to the action. When the parameter is a variable, then only the name of the variable will be passed - but not the value of the variable! To pass the value of a variable the get(variable) action need to be used. Note - some actions are resolving variables automatically to their value, but this depends on the particular action itself! To be able to use whitespace characters and commas inside a parameter value, the parameter must be enclosed by single ' or double quotes ". The expression syntax will be used in if checks, in conditional loops (for, loop) and in the calc action. It can be used to evaluate logical conditions, calculate mathematical expressions or to concatenate strings. where the a or b terms can be either variables, values or strings. The OPERATOR can be one of the operators listed below. The resolving order depends on the operator, but withhin equivalent operators the resolving order is from left to right. Textual operators like AND or OR are only supported in UPPERCASE notation! When using non-strict comparisons (by using == or != when the strict mode setting is false) then it will be assumed that the given values are either variables or strings. That means when a variable with the given name exists, then the value of that variable will be used in the comparison. But when the variable doesn't exists, then the given name will be used as string. In strict comparisons the strings must be explicitly marked by quotes. Variables will resolve either to their value or to null if they don't exists. * Note - due of xml syntax limitations, the usage of the characters <, >, & might be not possible (e.g. inside xml attributes or inside xml elements without CDATA tag). Therefore it's recommended to use the alternative syntax. Every xml element with a name attribute is an element / item of an Array. The name of the xml element is the name of the Array and the name attribute defines the name of the Array element / item. An Array in krpano is always an Array of objects. Such Array-item object can contain any kind of custom properties / attributes. Arrays can be predefined or defined dynamically at runtime by setting an Array item value - when setting an item value the first time, then automatically an Array will be created. Get the current number of items in the array. An Array can be cleared by setting count to 0. Sort all array items by the value of the given attribute. By default the sorting order will depend on the type of the attribute (e.g. 'numeric vs. string' sorting). caseinsensitive - case insensitive string sorting. descending - use a descending sorting order. numeric - parse the values as numbers and sort accordingly. Create / add a new array item. The items following the removed item will rank / move up. The 0-based index of the current Array-Item (read-only). The name of the current Array-Item. It's also possible to delete an Array-Item by setting its name to null. Value-Arrays are simple Arrays with an integer index and a value. Dynamically creating Value-Arrays is possible by def(test, array). The access to the items is possible by array[index]. The current number of items in the Array can be get via array.length. Value-Arrays are only available in actions code. The global object allows directly accessing the global variable scope. The usage of global can be necessary inside local- or layer/hotspot scope code to be able to access a global variable when a variable with the same name is already defined the current scope. The local object is only available inside local-scope actions and allows directly accessing the current local variable scope. This can be used to ensure defining new variables at the local scope when there might be already global variables with the same names. The version setting from the xml. When not set, this will be the same as the krpano version string. The krpano build date string in the format YYYY-MM-DD. The mouse.x and mouse.y coordinates are relative to the left top edge of the area. The mouse.stagex and mouse.stagey coordinates are relative to the left top edge of the whole stage / screen / window. The mouse.downx and mouse.downy variables store the position where the mouse button was last pressed down (for left and right buttons). The coordinates itself are relative to the left top edge of the area. The mouse.clickx and mouse.clicky variables are special case ones - they store the position where the click from onsingleclick or ondoubleclick events had happend. The coordinates itself are relative to the left top edge of the area. The keycode of the last pressed or released key. The keycode value will be set in the onkeydown and onkeyup events. The roll-delta of the mouse wheel rotation. These variables will be set in the onmousewheel event. The wheel roll delta as normalized value. Typically +3 or -3 on the most systems. The 'raw' unscaled and non-rounded delta values of the mouse wheel rotation. The normal wheeldelta values are limited to integer values and can be too inaccurate for some usages (plugins). Note - in the krpano Flash viewer, the raw values are only available when using the default krpano embedding script and only in windowed-mode (not in Fullscreen mode)! In the krpano HTML5 viewer, the raw values are always available. On touch devices there is no mouse-wheel, but the onmousewheel event will be also called on 2-finger zooming gestures. The wheeldelta_touchscale variable will provide detailed information about the relative touch scale / zoom. Note - only available on touch devices! On other devices the value will be always 0.0. The fullscreen variable can be used to check or to change the current state of the fullscreen mode. When the variable will be changed, then also the fullscreen mode will be changed. Before using the fullscreen setting, it should be verified if the current browser / device actually supports the fullscreen mode. This can be done with the xml fullscreensupport devices setting and the device.fullscreensupport variable. Due Flashplayer and HTML5 security limitations the switching to the fullscreen mode will be only possible as reaction to an user input like a mouse click or a keypress! That means it's only possible switch to fullscreen mode in an onclick or onkeydown event! When the HTML5 fullscreen mode is not supported by the browser (like on iOS), then the fullscreen setting will only change the size of the viewer html element to match the size of the full browser window. Due technical limitations this will not work from inside an <iframe> and can be problematic in nested html structures. When trying to use the HTML5 fullscreen mode from within an <iframe>, it is necessary to add the allowfullscreen parameter (and the non-standard browser versions of it) to the <iframe> declaration. This tells the browser that this iframe is allowed to switch to Fullscreen mode. The sizes of the current viewer window in pixels. Get the these sizes in the onresize event. A global overall scaling setting. The stagescale setting will scale all krpano elements and sizes. By scaling all elements, the krpano stage-size (screen-size / resolution) itself will be scaled inversely by this value - e.g. a value of 0.5 will scale-down all elements by 50% while increasing the internal stage-sizes by 200% at the same time. The user-agent string of the browser. In HTML5 this will be the 'platform' string of the browser. In Flash it will be always "Flash". The full url of the current webpage. The domain name of the current webpage (without leading 'www.' if there is one). The protocol part of the current webpage url, e.g. 'http', 'https' or 'file'. Flash notes - in the Flash viewer these information will be only available when using the krpano embedding script. When directly embedding the swf file, then these information aren't available. The device object provides information about the current device/system. It's the dynamic/scripting equivalent to the xml devices attribute. The attributes/properties of the device object can be checked anytime by scripting code, e.g. by the if() action. Note - desktop, mobile and tablet are 'tri-state' settings, they can never be set at the same time, only one of these can be set to true. Note - mouse and touch can be set at the same time when the device is supporting both (e.g. desktop devices with touch-screens). The timertick variable returns the number of milliseconds that have elapsed since the viewer was started (1000 milliseconds = 1 second). The random variable returns a random number in the range 0.0 to 1.0. These variables can be used to set a force to move the view / the pano. Their main usage is for keyboard or button movement control. When they will be set to a value other than 0.0, the view will start slowly accelerating (controlled by control.keybaccelerate) and then move with a maximum speed (controlled by control.keybspeed) until they will be set back to 0.0, then the movement will slow down (controlled by control.keybfriction). Lock the automatic multi-resolution level selection to a fixed level. Set lockmultireslevel to "current" to lock the level to the current level. To release the level locking set lockmultireslevel back to "-1". When set to true, the currently locked level will be downloaded completely. The current loading progress as linear value from 0.0 to 1.0. It could be used to create custom loading animations - e.g. use the onxmlcomplete event for starting the loading animation, and the onloadcomplete event for stopping it. viewerpath - path to the krpano viewer file. htmlpath - path to html file. firstxmlpath - path to first loaded xml file. currentxmlpath - path to current xml file. If the paths will be absolute or relative paths depends on the paths used in the embedding and on the Browser and Flashplayer environment. The xml.url variable contains the path/url of the currently loaded xml file. The xml.content variable contains the whole content of the currently loaded xml file as string. After loading a <scene> with the loadscene() action, the xml.content variable will contain only the content of the <scene> element. The xml.scene variable contains the name of currently loaded scene. A backup of the values from the initial <view> element defined in the current xml or scene. E.g. get the initial view.hlookat value via xml.view.hlookat. Note - only the values that were defined in the xml are stored here, no default values. That means before using a value from that object, it would be necessary to check if these variables actually exists - e.g. via if(xml.view.fov !== null, ...);. The lasterror variable contains the last error message when an error had happened. To get this variable the onloaderror event must be used. Online on a server the External Interface is always available, but locally only when Flash file will be opened inside the Browser and when the folder of the Flash swf is in a 'trusted folder'. The trusted folders can be managent in the Flashplayer security settings, see here for more detatils - Local / Offline Usage. This variable can be used to check if the Network Access is available in the Flashplayer. This can be used to avoid errors when trying to use plugins like the Google Maps or Bing Maps locally, because these plugins are trying to load data from the web and so need Network Access. Online on a server the Network Access is always available, but locally only when the folder of the Flash swf is in a 'trusted folder'. The trusted folders can be managent in the Flashplayer security settings, see here for more detatils - Local / Offline Usage. Define a new variable with a specific type and optionally set it to the given value. When no value will be given and the variable already exsits, then the variable with its current value will be converted to the given type. The variable will be created when it doesn't exists. The type of the variable. The new value for this variable. When no value will be given and the variable doesn't exsits, then these the default values are used: boolean=false, number=NaN (Not a Number), integer=0, string=null. When the type is object or array, no value can be set. Set a variable to the a value. This is a normal set of one variable to a value. This is a multiple-set of several variables at once. Here the variables will be set or added to an object. Optionally it will be also possible to specify the type of the variable. The object for the multiple set call - at this object the variables will be set. When the object doesn't exists, it will be created. To define variables at a specific scope, it would be e.g. possible to use the global or local objects here. When the variable already exists, then the value will be converted to the type of that variable (when no explicit type was be defined). Note - to get the value of other variables use the get(variable) or calc(expression) actions. Resolves the variable to its value. The get(var) action is a special action that can be only used as parameter when calling other actions or when accessing array elements. When the variable doesn't exists, get() will return null. Note - some actions are automatically trying to resolve their given parameters to their values. For these actions using get(var) would be not necessary. Calculate / evaluate / resolve the expression to its value. The calc(expression) action is a special action that can be only used as parameter when calling other actions or when accessing array elements. The variable where the result will be stored. The mathematical or logical expression. The copy() action copies the content from one variable to the other one. By default this is the same as: set(destination, get(source)). When the variable doesn't exists, it will be created. When the variable doesn't exists, null will be set to the destination variable. When both variables have different types, then the value of the source variable will be converted to the type of the destination variable. Copy the value and the type of the source variable to the destination variable. Delete and remove the given variables. It's possible to delete several variables at once - just pass several variables names (separated by a comma). The if() action allows conditional execution of code. The actions that will be executed when the evaluation of the condition will be true. The actions that will be executed when the evaluation of the condition will be false. Calls / executes the given actions after a given time. An optional unique id for the delayedcall. This id can be used to stop the delayedcall by calling stopdelayedcall(id). The number of seconds to wait before executing the actions. The actions to call after the delay. Stop the delayedcall with the given id. The id of the delayedcall that should be stopped. Calls / executes the given actions in the next processing tick - that means after the current actions, but as soon as possible. Calls the given actions when the condition is true or when it will become true. When the condition is currently not true, then the callwhen() action will wait as long until the condition will become true. An optional unique id for the callwhen. This id can be used to stop a waiting callwhen by calling stopcallwhen(id). The callwhen() action will check this condition constantly every frame until it will become true. The actions to call when the condition is true. Stop a still waiting callwhen with the given id. The id of the callwhen that should be stopped. First the startactions will be called, then the condition be checked and when it is true - then the loopactions will be called, then the nextactions and then it starts checking the condition and the loop again. The actions that will be called / executed before the for loop starts. The actions that will be called / executed after one loop (after the loopaction). The actions that will be repeatedly called / executed as long as the condition is true. for(set(i,0), i LT 10, inc(i), trace('i=',i) );. As long as the condition is true the loopactions will be called repeatedly. The normal loop() action will continue with the following actions when the loop itself is done. The asyncloop() will continue intermediately with the following actions and execute the loopactions once per frame. When the async looping is finally done, then the doneactions will be called. The actions that will be called when the condition becomes false and the looping stops. Calls / executes the given actions repeatedly with a delay time interval between them. An unique id for the interval. This id can be used to stop the interval by calling clearinterval(id). The number of seconds to wait between the actions calls. When using 0 as delay, the actions will be called once every frame. The actions to call every delay seconds. <events onkeydown="setinterval(get(keycode), 0.1, trace(keycode); );" The toggle action toggles the value of the given (boolean) variable between true and false. The boolean variable that should be toggled. The switch action switches the value of the given variable between / through several states. Everytime when the switch action will be called the value will be switched / changed. When only the variable itself without value parameters will be given, then the variable will be switched between true and false. When there are two or more values given as parameters then the variable will switch through all of these values (from left to right). The variable that should be switched / changed. The switch-through values for this variable. Break / stop the execution of action calls from the current flow and the also the action calls from one nesting level up (e.g. when called inside an if() call then also the flow outside that if will be stopped). When used inside a for() or loop() loop, the break() call will also stop that loop. Directly exit / stop the current actions 'call'. A 'call' is either a call to an <action> or the calling of a variable that contains action code or the calling of action code from events. Call krpano action code with using a specific plugin / layer or hotspot element as caller. This can be used for direct property access or to simulate event calls on these elements. The element that should be used as caller. Can be only a <plugin> / <layer> or <hotspot> element. The code will be executed in the 'context' of the caller - that means 'direct' access to its properties. Call krpano action code within a specific scope. The scope for the actions code. Details about the scopes here: actions scope. Set a variable to the a value - like a set() call - but in the scope of the parent action. This could be used to return / pass back a result from an inner local scope action to an outer one. When the variable already exists, then the value will be converted to the type of that variable. Copy the attributes from one or more <style> elements to a custom element. The name of the element where the style attributes should be copied to. One or more name of <style> elements. Several names need to combined by a | character. Copy all attributes from one object to another one. Note - the parameters of the copyattributes() action need to be the objects, not the names/paths of the objects! That means it might be necessary to use the get() action to resolve the names/paths. The destination object - the object where the attributes will be copied to. Existing attributes will be overwritten. The source object - all attributes from that object will be copied to the destination object. Dispatches / calls the given event from all <events> elements. The name of the event. A Boolean setting (true or false, false by default). When set to true, the events will be called and executed instantly, when not set or set to false, the events will be called after the current actions calls. Note - val1 and val2 can be values or variables. When val1 or val2 is a variable then automatically the content of the variable will be used! The variable where the result of the calculation will be stored. The values or variables for the calculation. These actions increase or decrease variable (with saturation or limiting). The variable to increase or decrease. Increase or decrease the variable by this value. When not set, the variable will be increased or decreased by 1. Defines maximum and minimum values. When one limit will be reached then the value will be set back to the other limit value. This can be used to let the varibale either wrap around a defined range or to clip at at specific limit (with min=max). Note - The inc() and dec() actions will convert the variable type to 'integer'! Limit the value of the variable to be between the given min and max values. The variable to clamp / to limit. The minimum value - when value of the variable is below that value, it will be set to this min value. The maximum value - when value of the variable is above that value, it will be set to this max value. The Math object provides constants and actions for mathematical calculations. The most Math actions can be called in two ways - either by just passing the name of the variable - then variable will be used as parameter and the result of the calculation will be stored back to the variable, or by specifying an additionally parameter where the result should be stored. Calculates the arc cosine (in radians). Calculates the arc sine (in radians). Calculates the arc tangent (in radians). Calculates the arc tangent (in radians) of the two variables a and b. It is similar to calculating the arc tangent of a / b, except that the signs of both arguments are used to determine the quadrant of the result. Calculates the next highest integer value by rounding up. Calculates the cosine (parameter in radians). Calculates e (=base of the natural system of logarithms, ~2.718282) raised to the power of var/v. Calculates the next lowest integer value by rounding down. Get the largest value of all given variables or values. Get the lowest value of all given variables or values. Calculates var/v1 raised to the power of var2/v2. Calculates the rounded integer value. Calculates the sine (parameter in radians). Calculates the tangent (parameter in radians). Rounds the value of the variable to given decimal places. Note - the variable will be a string internally after rounding! Only when called with 3 parameters! The variable to be rounded. When called with 1 or 2 parameters, the result will be stored also in that variable. The number of decimal places - 0 when not set. Convert the content of the given variable to a hexadecimal string. Can be used to create html/css color strings. Only when called with 4 parameters! The variable to be converted to a hexadecimal string. When called with less than 4 parameters, the result will be stored also in that variable. A prefix (like '0x' or '#') for the string. A fixed length for the result. Convert the content of the given variable to a lower or upper case. The variable where the case conversion result will be stored. Only when called with 2 parameters! The variable to be converted to a lower or upper case. The txtadd action can be used to add/connect several texts / values together. The action can be used with 2 or more parameters. When using only two parameters (destination and a text) then the text will be added to current value of the destination variable. The destination variable where the connected text will be stored. The texts that will be connected together. When using only one txt parameter then this text will be added to the content of current destination variable. Note - when the content of a variable should be used - then the get() action must be used to resolve the variable! The subtxt action extracts a part of an other text. The destination variable where the extracted text will be stored. The variable or text with the source text. The starting position from where the text should be extracted. The length of the text to extract. The indexoftxt action gives the position of the first occurrence of the 'searchtxt' value in the 'txt' string. A variable that will store the index of first occurrence of 'searchtxt'. Or -1 if 'searchtxt' never occurs. The text in which it should be searched. The text to searched for. The starting startindex / position where to start searching for the text (0 by default). The txtreplace action searches in 'var/srcvar' for all occurrences of 'searchtext' and replaces them with 'replacetext'. The variable where to search for (var, srcvar) and where the result will be stored (var, dstvar). The text that should be searched for. The text that will replace the 'searchtxt' occurrences. The txtsplit action searches in 'var/srcvar' for all occurrences of 'searchtext' and replaces them with 'replacetext'. The string to split, can be either a text or a variable. The separator character or string. Name of an array variable that will contain the split parts as 'value' properties. The results of the spliting will be directly assigned to the given variables. The fromcharcode action converts the given character code to a string and stores in the given variable. The variable where to store the character. The Unicode character code as number. The escape and unescape actions are escaping the content of the given variable or the given text and then storing the result in the given variable. Without text parameter - the variable which will be escaped/unescaped. With text parameter - the variable where the escaped/unescaped text will be stored. The text that that will be escaped/unescaped. The tween action can be used for a time-controlled animation / change of a variable. The action will dynamically change the current value of the variable to the given value. Color support: When tweening a variable with a name that contains the word 'color', then the values will be automatically interpreted as 32bit ARGB colors and each color channel will be processed individually. Multiple variable support: It is possible to tween several variables together at once. Therefore specify several variables, values and tweentypes separated by | characters. When several variables were specified, but only one value and/or only one tweentype, then all variables will tween to the same value and/or use the same tweentype. The time and the done- and updatecalls will be always the same for all given variables. The variable that should be changed. Use the | character to specify several variables. When the variable name contains the word 'color', then process the variable value as 32bit ARGB color value. The destination value for this variable. When tweening percent values - add a '%' character to the value. Use the | character to specify several values for several variables. Note - to tween to the value of another variable use the get() action to get the value of the other variable! The time in seconds for the change from the current value to the destination value (0.5 seconds by default). Instead of using a fixed time for the change it is possible to define the maximum moving distance for the value and a time for that distance (not supported when tweening multiple variables). This allows to use a short time for a short distance and long time for a long distance. The tweening / interpolation type (easeOutQuad by default). See here for all available tween types: tweentypes. The action commands that should be executed when the tween is done and the destination value has been reached. Instead of normal actions, it is also possible to use the special keyword WAIT here. In this case the user interface and the execution of the following actions will be blocked until the destination value has been reached. These action will be called every time (=every frame!) when the value will be updated / changed! WARNING - use with care! When heavly used this can reduce the framerate! Some information about the origin of the name "tween" - Wikipedia about Tweening. The stoptween action stops a currently running tween action. The name of the variable which is currently tweening and should be stopped. Addtional variables that should stop tweening. Here all supported tween types for the tween action. These tween types are only available when including the moretweentypes plugin. Actions to load a new panos. Note - only the layer, plugin, hotspot, event and lensflare elements with keep="true" will be kept when loading new panos! The path/url of the new pano xml file to be loaded (use null for none). When a relative path will be used then the file will be loaded from the basedir folder, which is %FIRSTXML% by default. That means that the paths in all loadpano calls are relative to the first loaded xml file. The content of a xml file as string / text to be loaded (should be escaped). The name of the <scene> element that should to be loaded. Custom variables to set (use null for none). These variables will be set after parsing / resolving the xml but before starting to load the pano images. This way these variables can be used either to overwrite settings from the xml or to set addtional ones. Variables can be defined as var1=val1 pairs separated by &amp;. Addtional flags for loading (use null for none). Several flags can be combined by a | character. Merges all settings from the current and the next pano. If there are plugins and hotspots in the new panorama with the same name as the kept ones, the new elements will not be loaded. This is the recommended setting for virtual tours. IGNOREKEEP - ignore the keep flags and remove also the elements with keep="true" Blend / fade to next panoroma - transition animation. No blending, just switch directly to the next panorama (the default). Blend / Cross-fade from current panorama to next one. time - The blending time in seconds (default=2.0). tweentype - The blending curve / motion shape, type of the blending animation (default=easeInCubic) - see tweentypes. Blend to a color and then from that color to the next panorama. color - The in-between color in hex format (default=0x000000 = black). tweentype - The blending curve / motion shape, type of the blending animation (default=easeOutSine) - see tweentypes. Add or subtract a color and then cross-fade to the next panorama. color - The color to add in hex format (default=0xFFFFFF = white). colorscale - The scaling factor of the color, use negative values for subtracting (default=2.0). A slide animation between the current and the next panorama. angle - The angle / direction of the slide in degrees (default=0.0). smooth - The smoothing / blurring of the transition line (0.0 to 1.0, default=0.2). tweentype - The blending curve / motion shape, type of the blending animation (default=linear) - see tweentypes. An opening animation between the current and the next panorama. shape - A factor that defines the opening shape (-1.0 to +1.0) - 0.0=circle opening, -1.0=vertical opening, +1.0=horizontal opening (default=0.0). zoom - Additionally zoom-out the old panorama (0.0 to 1.0, default=0.0). Zoom into the current view and cross-fade to the next panorama. zoom - The zoom factor (default=2.0). tweentype - The blending curve / motion shape, type of the blending animation (default=easeInOutSine) - see tweentypes. Note - When the selected blending mode will be not supported (e.g. when using a 'WebGL only' mode and only Flash or CSS3D is available), then it will automatically fallback to the default blending mode. Open an url / link. The target where the url should be opened. Flash Notes - this action requires the External-Interface of the Flashplayer. This is only available when running inside a browser. When working work offline / locally with 'file://' urls, then the security settings of the Flashplayer need to be adjusted. Look at this panorama position. The horizontal looking direction (view.hlookat) in spherical coordinates in degrees (-180 to +180). The vertical looking direction (view.vlookat) in spherical coordinates in degrees (-90 to +90). The field of view (view.fov) in degrees (0 - 179). The fisheye distortion setting (view.distortion). The architectural projection setting (view.architectural). The pannini projection setting (view.pannini). Move the view from current looking position to the given position. Note - the user interface and all other actions are blocked during the movement. That means the next action will be executed when the current action was done. The oninterrupt action can be used to make these actions interrupt able by the user. Horizontal destination looking direction (-180 to +180, wraparound possible). Vertical destination looking direction (-90 to +90). The name of the hotspot. This will be use the hotspot position (ath/atv) as destination position. When no name will be defined and looktohotspot() will be called from a hotspot element then that hotspot itself will be used. The destination fov (0 to 179). The looktohotspot action will use automatically the size of the hotspot as destination fov when the fov was not set. The other actions keep the current fov when not set. The type of the motion. The use the shortest possible way from the current to the destination position. Possible settings: true or false (default=true). When set to true, then the lookto action will not wait for completing the movement before continue executing the the following actions. The user-interface will also be not blocked. When the lookto movement is done then the donecall action will be called (when defined). This action will be called when the nonblocking lookto movement is done. Adjusts the view.hlookat value for manual tweening. It fixes the 360 wrap around for the shortest way to desthlookat. The intended destination hlookat value. When desthlookat is the name of a variable, then automatically the value of that variable will be used. The current view.hlookat variable will be adjusted (without changing the current view) to be next to this value. Get the spherical distance between the fromH / fromV and toH / toV lookto points (in degrees). The result will be always between 0.0 and 180.0 (more than 180 degree distance is not possible on a sphere). The name of the variable where the distance value will be stored. Horizontal looking-to position (-180 to +180, wraparound possible). Can be a variable name or a value. Vertical looking-to position (-90 to +90). Horizontal looking-from position (-180 to +180, wraparound possible). When not defined, the current horizontal looking direction (view.hlookat) will be used by default. Vertical looking-from position (-90 to +90). When not defined, the current vertical looking direction (view.vlookat) will be used by default. Stop a non-blocking lookto / looktohotspot / moveto / zoomto action. Instantly stop all user-driven (by mouse, keyboard or touch) panning and zooming movements. Wait a number of seconds or wait for an event. Note - The user interface and all following actions will be blocked during the waiting. That means the next action in the current call will be executed when the current wait action is done. The oninterrupt action can be used to make this action interruptable by the user. This action can be used before starting a set of actions (like lookto, looktohotspot, moveto, zoomto, wait and tween with WAIT as donecall) that are blocking the user interface. When any of these actions will be interrupted by the user (e.g. by a click) then the these actions will be stopped and the in the oninterrupt action defined actions be executed. The action commands to call on a user interrupt. break - this will just break the current actions. Actions for converting between screen and spherical coordinates. The screentosphere action will convert the x/y variables to the h/v variables and the spheretoscreen action the h/v variables to the x/y variables. Variables with screen coordinates in the pixels from the left top edge. Variables with spherical coordinates in the degrees (360x180). For stereo rendering - define to which screen side the coordinates should be mapped. Possible settings: l for the left side or r for right side or not-set/undefined for normal non-stereo screen coordinates. The x,y,h,v parameters must be variable names, using values is not possible! When a variable doesn't exist, it will be created. Actions for converting between screen / stage and relative <layer> coordinates. The name of the <layer> element. Variables with screen / stage coordinates in the pixels from the left top edge. Variables with layer coordinates from the left top layer edge. The screen /stage coordinates are based on the krpano coordinate system (from left-top 0 / 0 to right-bottom stagewidth / stageheight). The layer coordinates will be scaled when scalechildren is enabled. Rotated layers are not supported! All parameters must be variables, using values is not possible! Remap a fov value from one fovtype to another. When changing the viewing fovtype and at the same time, remapping the viewing fov, then the resulting pano zoom will keep the same. A variable with the fov value that should be changed. The result will be stored in the same variable. Can be: HFOV, VFOV, DFOV or MFOV. The width of the fov area/frame in pixels. By default the current screen/area size will be used. The height of the fov area/frame in pixels. Deprecated - use the new and extended showtext.xml plugin instead! This one works basically the same, but it works for Flash and for HTML5. Updates / rebuilds the internal 3D model of the pano object. This must be called after changes of the display.details and display.tessmode settings. When changing of the image.hfov, image.vfov or image.voffset settings interactivly, this action must be called with updatefov=true to get an updated pano object! Note - the rebuilding of the internal 3D model is a heavy process! This action should be used carefully! For multi-resolution pano - should all levels be updated? Possible settings: true or false (default=false). Reparse the image.hfov, image.vfov and image.voffset settings when updating the pano? Forces a redraw of the screen. And resets also the idletime counter (the time without user interaction). Dynamically create and add a new layer, plugin, hotspot or lensflare element. Name of the new layer/plugin, hotspot or lensflare element. Horizontal and vertical position in degrees for the lensflare element. Dynamically remove and destroy a layer, plugin, hotspot or lensflare element. Name of the layer/plugin, hotspot or lensflare element that should be removed. When set to true, all children elements will be removed too. The name of krpano variable where the returned value will be stored. The variable will be created when it doesn't exist. Show or hide the trace output log. true - Show the log window (default). false - Hide the log window. top - Show the log at the top of the viewer window. bottom - Show the log at the bottom of the viewer window (default). Show / trace details (value and type) about a variable in the output log. When the variable is an object, then also all object properties will be shown. Debug messages will be only shown when the debugmode setting is enabled. Consider enabling the consolelog setting in the html file to see these messages also in the browser console. Doing many traces is affecting the rendering performance! Especially avoid constantly tracing messages every frame! Traces texts or the content of variables to the output log. debug() will trace 'DEBUG:' messages. These messages will be only shown when the debugmode is enabled. trace() will trace 'INFO:' messages. warning() will trace 'WARNING:' messages. error() will trace 'ERROR:' messages and additionally also open the log (when showerrors is enabled). When passing a variable, then that variable will be automatically resolved to its value. onclick="trace('mouse clicked at ', mouse.x, ' / ', mouse.y);" Show an error message and stop the user interaction. The error message to show.

2019-04-22T15:05:37Z

https://krpano.com/docu/actions/?version=119pr16

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and find some birds! There are primarily two birding skills that are used by most experienced birders to find and identify birds. They are visual birding ("eye birding") and auditory birding ("ear birding"). Over the past decade, however, I have found that one technological advancement has trickled down to the discipline of birdwatching and led to a third skill - "phone birding". I first became aware of the art of phone birding on April 24, 2006. It was late afternoon and I had retired to my roof to relax before dinner and look for migrating birds that were heading north. My friend Sean, who lived 3/4 mile to the southwest, was on his roof doing the same. We chatted on the phone as we scanned our respective sections of sky. At one point Sean excitedly announced, "There’s a Northern Harrier flying over 5th Avenue!" The avenues in this part of Brooklyn run, loosely, from north to south. I waited a beat, trained my bins in his general direction, then replied, "It just passed over Methodist Hospital". Fast forward to April 22, 2014, one week ago. I had work to do during the early morning and couldn't get out into the park for some spring birding. It was about 11am when I finally ventured into Prospect Park. Sean called me as I was walking through the park's "Ravine", passed the back of the "Upper Pool". He gave me the rundown of his morning's birding while he walked to the subway station near his house. About 5 minutes into the conversation he stopped in mid-sentence and exclaimed, "There are two Bald Eagles flying over me!" I asked him in what direction they were flying, to which he replied that it looked like they were heading towards Prospect Lake. He continued his binocularless description of the huge, soaring raptors as I ran down the steep path towards the open sky of the Nethermead Meadow. Once in the middle of the field I spotted an immature Bald Eagle in the sky to my south, over the neighborhood of Windsor Terrace. It soared into the park between Lookout Hill and the Quaker Cemetery, then followed the park's ridged, forested spine, quickly moving north and out of sight. WASHINGTON, DC, April 23, 2014 (ENS) – The warming climate is melting sea ice, opening U.S. Arctic waters to shipping and oil and gas development, but the National Research Council warned today that U.S. personnel, equipment, transportation, communication, navigation, and safety resources are not adequate for an Arctic oil spill response. In a new report released today, “Responding to Oil Spills in the US Arctic Marine Environment” the National Research Council calls this absence of infrastructure a “significant liability” in the event of a large oil spill. The Arctic poses challenges to oil spill response, such as extreme weather and environmental settings, limited operations and communications infrastructure, a vast geographic area, and vulnerable species, ecosystems, and cultures. “There is a need to validate current and emerging oil spill response technologies under these real-world conditions,” the report finds. The committee recommends that “carefully controlled field experiments that release oil in the U.S. Arctic be conducted as part of a long-term, collaborative Arctic oil spill research and development program that spans local, state, and federal levels. It suggests that positioning response equipment such as aerial in situ burn and dispersant capabilities in the region before a spill occurs would provide immediate access to rapid response options. The U.S. Coast Guard’s presence and performance capacity in the Arctic should be enhanced, the report recommends. The Coast Guard should work with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to develop an oil spill training program for local communities and trained response teams in local villages. They also should integrate local and traditional knowledge of ice and ocean conditions and marine life to enhance oil spill response, the report says. Given the nearness of U.S. Arctic waters to international territories, communications between command centers, coordinated planning, trans-boundary movement of people and equipment, and identification of translators, should be addressed before an actual spill, the report says. While formal contingency planning and exercises with Canada have been established, the U.S. Coast Guard should expand its bilateral agreement with Russia to include Arctic spill scenarios and conduct regularly scheduled exercises to establish joint response plans, the report recommends. “High-quality nautical charting is essential for marine traffic purposes and oil spill response in the Arctic. However, shoreline topographic and hydrographic data are mostly obsolete, with limited tide, current, and water level data and very little ability to get accurate positioning and elevation,” the report warns. “Private AIS [Automatic Identification System] receivers are used to track vessels in the Bering Strait and along a large part of Alaska coastal areas, but there are significant gaps in coverage. Consequently, there are numerous regional ‘blind spots’ where an early indication of elevated risks may not be apparent to officials on shore,” warns the committee. The committee also cautions that the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund “may prove insufficient to cover the sociological as well as economic damages of an affected community,” adding that a structure other than the National Contingency Plan may be needed to deal with broader social impacts resulting from a significant oil spill. The study was sponsored by the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Marine Mammal Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oil Spill Recovery Institute, and the National Academy of Sciences. “The inevitability of an oil spill given the industry’s drive for profit at all costs, the immense difficulties of responding to an Arctic spill and the devastating impact a spill will have on the region’s residents, wildlife and ecosystem should be enough to prevent this lunacy,” said Deans. In 2012, Royal Dutch Shell started drilling the first wells in the Alaskan Arctic in nearly two decades in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Shell’s goal for the summer drilling season was to confirm a major discovery of oil in commercially-viable quantities in the Alaskan Arctic Ocean. Shell was not able to achieve its goal and did not complete any exploration wells. The company was unable to obtain certification of its containment vessel, and both of Shell’s drilling rigs experienced marine transport problems, including the grounding of the Kulluk off Alaska’s Kodiak Island during a towing operation. A subsequent federal government review of Shell’s 2012 operations concluded that before it is allowed to approach Arctic drilling again, the company must submit to the Interior Department a comprehensive, integrated plan describing every phase of its operation from preparations through demobilization. Shell did no drilling in U.S. Arctic waters last year. “Weeks after the 25th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil disaster, and days after the fourth anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, those environments remain forever altered and communities continue to struggle against oil company obfuscation. To allow the same thing to happen again in pursuit of bigger profits for the world’s largest corporations is insane,” Deans said. Nearly five million people from around the world have signed the Greenpeace petition to protect the Arctic, calling on governments to create a global sanctuary around the North Pole, and to ban offshore drilling and destructive commercial activity in the fragile Arctic environment. Saturdays, through June 28, 12 – 1 p.m. Sunday, May 4, 2014, 8 a.m. Guide: NYC Audubon, Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy With the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy Meet at Van Cortlandt Nature Center. The history of birding and Van Cortlandt Park are inseparable. Influential birders such as Roger Tory Peterson and Allan D. Cruickshank got their starts on Van Cortlandt’s ecologically diverse grounds. These walks celebrate the tradition set forth by these great ornithologists. Participants will look for various species of residents and migrants and discuss a wide range of avian topics. Guide: Chrissy Word With Rocking the Boat Meet at Rocking the Boat, at 812 Edgewater Road in the Bronx, and launch from the adjacent Hunts Point Riverside Park. Explore the Bronx River aboard a hand-built wooden boat, led by experienced rowers. The Bronx River is the City’s only true river and hosts an abundance of wildlife, including herons and egrets, osprey, and belted kingfishers. Visit restoration sites and learn about the Bronx River eco-system and the area’s history. rowing optional. Limited to 20. $45 (31) for adults, $35 (24) for ages 18 and under Click here to register. Saturday, May 3, 2014, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Enjoy walking at a comfortable pace to see wonderful vistas, beautiful, spring woodlands. The hike begins at the Greenbelt Nature Center, 700 Rockland Avenue. Bring lunch, a beverage and sturdy walking shoes. Saturday, May 3, 2014 – 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. With its bluffs nestled 85 feet above sea level, Mt. Loretto is home to beautiful vistas of the shore facing Prince’s Bay. The shoreline is home to some of Staten Island’s most unique natural artwork. Nestled in the meadow’s hills are a variety of plants and wildlife. Mt. Loretto is a habitat for harbor seals, monarch butterflies, wild rabbits, muskrats, ospreys, and on occasion, bald eagles. Meet at the parking lot at Cunningham Road and Hylan Boulevard ( http://goo.gl/maps/3c5Fh ). Please call John Paul Learn at 718-619-5051 or e-mail at [email protected] for more information. Sunday, May 4, 2014, 11 a.m to 1:00 P.M. The park is loveliest in the spring. Let’s identify what trees are blooming and see what birds and insects are about. Meet at Silver Lake Park Road and Forest Avenue for a walk across the lake bridge to the trails above. If it’s raining at the time of the walk, the event is postponed to Sunday, May 11, same time. Contact Hillel Lofaso at [email protected] for more information. Sunday, May 4, 2014 – 2:00 P.M. to 4:00P.M. Containing mature upland woods, swamp forest, open marsh, ponds, and shoreline on Raritan Bay, Wolfe’s Pond is one of the most diverse parks in the city. Meet at the comfort stations at the end of the parking lot. The entrance to the parking lot is located off of Cornelia Avenue (http://goo.gl/maps/n8XBa). The Prospect Park Alliance presents Pop-Up Audubon, now in its second season, which invites families to directly engage with nature through outdoor learning in locations around the Park. Join the Alliance to learn about the 250 species of birds that call Prospect Park home. Heidi Steiner, from the Brooklyn Bird Club, will lead this spring bird watching tour around the Ridgewood Reservoir. Binoculars recommended. Join the Prospect Park Alliance to see some of the dazzling birds that visit the Park before flying to northern breeding grounds. The highlights of today’s tape are PROTHONOTARY, YELLOW-THROATED and CERULEAN WARBLERS and other spring migrants and such winter remnants as SNOWY OWL and NORTHERN SHRIKE. A slowly approaching spring has this week provided a slowly increasing number of migrants, with some nice warblers among them. On Wednesday, a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was seen in Forest Park, Queens, and a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was found in Northport on the north shore of Long Island. The YELLOW-THROATED was not relocated after the initial sighting, but the PROTHONOTARY was still present at Fuchs Pond Preserve today. This is an historic location for PROTHONOTARIES, and visitors looking for this bird should do nothing to disturb it. This Preserve is along the Eastern side of Waterside Road, just south of Seaside Court, which goes off to the east – parking is available at this intersection, and a trail from Waterside circles the pond. An early surprise among the warblers was a male CERULEAN spotted Tuesday in Central Park and remaining through Wednesday. Other arriving warblers included an OVERNBIRD last Saturday in Brooklyn’s Greenwood Cemetery, a NASHVILLE WARBLER in Central Park Wednesday, a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH in Prospect Park Thursday, and a HOODED WARBLER in Greenwood Cemetery today. The Prospect Park WORM-EATING WARBLER continued through today, and also noted in the region were a few more NORTHERN PARULAS and BLACK-AND-WHITE, YELLOW, PRAIRIE AND BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS. Additional passerines encountered this week included WOOD THRUSH Saturday and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO the day before in Prospect Park and VESPER SPARROW on Eastern Long Island. HOUSE WRENS increased dramatically this week. The season’s first reported WHIP-POOR-WILL was singing early Sunday morning out in Amagansett. The Eastern Long Island Pine Barrens still host a decent number of this species. Central Park on Wednesday produced a SPOTTED SANDPIPER, as well as a WILSON’S SNIPE, and one of a few more arriving RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, and Prospect Park featured the same two shorebirds today. CASPIAN TERNS visiting various ponds and inlets on Eastern Long Island recently included five at Mecox Bay Saturday and two each at Georgica and Sagg Pond. Twenty-two PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were still on the low tide flats by the entrance bridge at Sunken Meadow State Park last Saturday, and an adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK was noted the same day over Connetquot River State Park. Up to six BLUE-WINGED TEAL in Prospect Park this week were joined by a SNOW GOOSE on the lake Wednesday and Thursday. For winter birds, two RAZORBILLS were spotted off Shinnecock Inlet Saturday, a SNOWY OWL was still at Smith Point Park in Shirley Sunday, and the NORTHERN SHRIKE was still present Sunday at Jones Beach West End south of the West End 2 Parking Field. A GLAUCOUS GULL was still along the Brooklyn Waterfront on Saturday. A few lingering RED-NECKED GREBES included three off Floyd Bennett Field Tuesday, and late in the week RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, Kissena Park in Queens and in Rye, Westchester County, and another was spotted in Forest Park today. The Blue-winged Teal is a member of the waterfowl genus "anas", which includes mallards, wigeons, teals, pintails and shovelers. Their preferred habitats are calm water bodies such as inland marshes, lakes, ponds, pools, and shallow streams with dense emergent vegetation rather than large open water and fast currents. They are usually the first ducks to head south in the autumn and the last to head north in the spring. Blue-winged Teal currently breed in New York State, primarily in the St. Lawrence Valley and Lake Plains regions, although their numbers have been declining. For the second week in a row my Wednesday morning Green-Wood Cemetery tour was met with less than ideal spring migration weather. The skies were clear and beautiful, but north-west winds gusting to 35 mph made it feel more like early-March than late-April. Cold and wind aside, there were still some highlights to report. "RHWO exhibits 3 structurally distinct vocalizations. For convenience, these are arbitrarily termed Vocals 1, 2 and 3. Vocal 1 is a discrete call while the others exhibit both discrete and graded characteristics. Vocal 2 is the most gradated with the extreme of gradation associated with agonistic circumstances. All of the vocalizations, with the exception of Vocal 3, are limited to the breeding season. All three vocalizations are used by males. Females do not exhibit Vocal 1. Both sexes employ Vocals 2 and 3. Once the territory is fully established and pair bonding is complete, acoustic activity declines, especially when incubation commences." I didn't find this too helpful, but you can read the entire piece, "Brief Overview of Sexual Dimorphism, Monochromaticism and Acoustic Repertoire of the Red-headed Woodpecker", here. Since my last visit to the cemetery the magnolias and cherry trees have really popped. For the first hour of the walk we didn't find too much bird activity, but the blossoms were a nice second prize. We finally came across a small mixed flock of songbirds on the steep, wooded Bluff Side Path above the Sylvan Water. In the trees above we counted Blue-headed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Descending the ridge to the lake we found a mixed flock of swallows braving the strong winds and skimming back and forth in the air above the Sylvan Water. Normally fairly active during the spring, the wooded hillside on the south side of the lake was pretty quiet. It wasn't until we ascended Oaken Bluff, towards Horace Greeley, that we stumbled on the second songbird flock of the morning. Seven Palm Warblers were foraging on the ground beneath a stand of conifers. A still bare dogwood tree just beyond the flock held another gnatcatcher and vireo. After a moment I spotted my first Black-and-white Warbler of the season. Normally, finding a black-and-white in Brooklyn on April 23rd is not a big deal, but spring migration so far has seemed a little slow. On past Green-Wood Cemetery trips around this date I've tallied between 5 and 8 different species of warbler. Maybe things will pick up a bit more this weekend. To read about what birds are moving and migration forecasts, check out Cornell's BirdCast forecasts here. Comments: My weekly cemetery tour. Since my posting about our Brooklyn's nesting Red-tailed Hawks here, I received a couple of updates. I just read your post and have some information for you. I do not know about this or last year for sure but 3 years ago there was a confirmed pair with a single offspring. I rescued the early fledged baby after it left the park on its own and was discovered sitting for hours on the stoop of a brownstone directly across the street from the park on Washington Park Ave. Park Rangers had been monitoring the nest in a huge tree at the top of the hill in the middle of the park directly across from the monument. A few days before we got the fledgling the rangers picked up a sick adult male red-tail in the park. Unfortunately it died the next day from a severe case of frounce. They never saw any other adult return to the nest so after a few days I guess of no food the youngster jumped out rather than sit there and starve to death, as any orphaned baby bird will do once hungry. He was very underweight when we rescued him but months later he was released in Prospect Park along with Urban Park Rangers. I will try to find out more about the possibility of a new pair there and pass along any news if I get any. I also receive an email and photo from Pam Langford regarding the Brooklyn Botanic Garden hawks. The BBG red-tailed hawk pair appears to be nesting in the Japanese garden. Today my friend Jan Kraus and I spotted a hawk flying into a pine tree near the entrance to the Japanese garden (by the cherry esplanade). It's not easy to see, but after watching a while we saw a hawk in the nest, and later there was a swap when a second hawk arrived and the hawk on the nest flew away. No way to know how far along things are, but the pair appears to be attending either eggs or youngsters. There is a nest of some sort near last year's nest tree by the BMA parking lot, but it is not very big. Perhaps they built two nests this year? In any case, I am hoping for another delightful summer with fledglings in the botanic garden. WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is putting off its decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, likely until after the November elections, by extending its review of the controversial project indefinitely. In a surprise announcement Friday as Washington was winding down for Easter, the State Department said federal agencies will have more time to weigh in on the politically fraught decision — but declined to say how much longer. Officials said the decision will have to wait for the dust to settle in Nebraska, where a judge in February overturned a state law that allowed the pipeline’s path through the state. Nebraska’s Supreme Court isn’t expected to hear an appeal to that ruling until September or October, and there could be more legal maneuvering after the high court rules. So President Barack Obama will almost surely have until after the November congressional elections to make the final call about whether the pipeline carrying oil from Canada should be built. Approving the pipeline before the election would rankle Obama’s allies and donors in the environmental community, but nixing it could be politically damaging to vulnerable Democrats running this year in conservative-leaning areas. “This decision is irresponsible, unnecessary and unacceptable,” said Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who faces a difficult re-election in oil-rich Louisiana. Landrieu said Obama was signaling that a small minority can tie up the process in the courts, sacrificing 42,000 jobs and billions in economic activity. In an ironic show of bipartisanship, Republicans joined Landrieu and other Democrats like Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska in immediately condemning the announcement — the latest in a string of delays in a review process that has dragged on for more than five years. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused Obama of kowtowing to “radical activists” from the environmental community, while House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the decision “shameful” and said there were no credible reasons for further delay. “This job-creating project has cleared every environmental hurdle and overwhelmingly passed the test of public opinion, yet it’s been blocked for more than 2,000 days,” Boehner said in a statement. Keystone XL would carry oil from western Canada’s tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. The project requires State Department approval because it crosses an international border. The State Department vowed to move forward with other aspects of its review even while the situation in Nebraska remains in limbo. “The agency consultation process is not starting over,” the State Department said in a statement. State Department officials said other U.S. agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, won’t be notified of their new deadline for comment until the legal situation in Nebraska becomes clearer. Driving the delay is a concern that the legal wrangling could lead to a change in the pipeline’s route that would affect agencies’ assessments, said the officials, who weren’t authorized to comment by name and demanded anonymity. The White House has insisted that Secretary of State John Kerry is in charge of the process, which involves a determination about whether the pipeline is in America’s national interest. But Obama is widely expected to make the final call. In a nod to environmentalists’ concerns, Obama has said the pipeline will be deemed not in the U.S. interest if it contributes significantly to increasing carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Environmentalists argue that the oil that’s pulled out of Canada’s tar sands is among the dirtiest on the planet. The White House declined to comment on the State Department’s announcement, which came on Friday afternoon, when many Americans were observing Good Friday. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, accused the administration of “a stunning act of political cowardice” by waiting until most Americans would be too busy preparing for Easter or observing Passover to notice the delay. This isn’t the first time that machinations in Nebraska have delayed a Keystone XL decision. The pipeline’s initial route had to be redrawn to address concerns that it would threaten the Nebraska Sandhills, a region of grass-covered dunes used as ranchland. “We are disappointed that politics continue to delay a decision on Keystone XL,” said Jason MacDonald, a spokesman for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The pipeline project has become a proxy for a larger battle between environmental activists and energy advocates over climate change and the future of American energy — much to the dismay of Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., which has proposed the pipeline. The company’s CEO, Russ Girling, said the company was “extremely disappointed and frustrated” with the latest delay. Environmentalists’ hopes that Obama would reject the pipeline were dealt a blow in January when the State Department, in a highly anticipated environmental report, said that building the pipeline would not significantly boost emissions because the oil was likely to find its way to market one way or another. The State Department concluded that transporting the oil by rail or truck would have an even worse environmental affect than building the pipeline. Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper and Matthew Lee in Washington, Grant Schulte in Lincoln, Neb., and Charmaine Noronha in Toronto contributed to this report. Celebrate Earth Day in Jamaica Bay! With the American Littoral Society, Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers and the Broad Channel Civic Association. Join us for a fun day of educational and community service events in Broad Channel, Queens. Bring your children, friends and family to help make our community spaces greener and to help our salt marsh habitats thrive this year! Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Walk 10 AM - 12 Noon. Sunset Cove and American Park Community Cleanup 12 PM - 3 PM. Join us for a community cleanup of Sunset Cove and American Park. At 12 PM we will give a short talk about the Marsh Restoration Initiative , a multi-year Jamaica Bay project co-led by the American Littoral Society and the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers, whose mission is to restore Ruler's Bar and Blackwall Marsh islands, along with news about future habitat restoration initiatives that we hope to achieve with your help and support. Meet at the American Ballfields parking lot. All cleanup volunteers are eligible to win two free concert tickets to see world famous musician, Jack Johnson, perform at Jones Beach Theatre on Saturday, June 7th, 2014, courtesy of Skraptacular and the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation. To be eligible, you must register in advance for the cleanup and check in at our registration desk the day of the cleanup. click here to register. The ticket winner will be announced on our Facebook page, so please "Like Us" on Facebook! For sponsorship opportunities, please contact: [email protected]. Classes: Wednesdays, April 9, 16, and 23, 6:30-8:30pm Trips: Saturdays, April 19 and 26, Times TBA Instructor: Tod Winston Learn the keys to identifying the spectacular variety of birds that migrate northwards through New York City every spring. Even if you've never picked up a pair of binoculars, you’ll soon be identifying warblers, thrushes, waterbirds, and more—both by sight and by ear. Three fun and educational in-class sessions and field trips to Central Park and Jamaica bay (transport to Jamaica bay included). limited to 12. $160 (112) Click here to register! Saturday, April 26, 2014, Noon to 2:00 P.M. Meet at the first parking lot about a quarter mile from the entrance to Great Kills Park. From the starting point near where the bath house once stood we will explore the shoreline and peat flats to discover which species of intertidal life are active in the spring. Please dress appropriately for walking in this environment. Sunday, April 27, 2014, 1:00 P. M. to 3:00 P.M. Past and present blend in the Conference House Park where history stretches back thousands of years with the seasonal occupation of the Lenape and hundreds of years with the habitation of the Dutch and English. In addition to the local history we’ll observe the geology, as well as the plants and animals found in the park. Meet at the parking lot at the end of Hylan Boulevard on the left. We'll explore our wetlands and woodlands in search of resident and migratory birds. Come check out some of the best birding spots in Manhattan and learn how New York Restoration Project’s approach to landscape management supports these populations. Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, April 18 at 6:00 pm. The highlights of today’s tape are SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, SUMMER TANAGER, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, SNOWY OWL, CASPIAN TERN and spring migrants. Finally, this week the unusual winter holdovers gave way to some nice spring rarities, with three good southern overshoots appearing before winter came back again later in mid-week. Topping the list certainly was SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, with two Monday sightings of what is one of the world’s greatest and most distinctive birds. But, like virtually every other New York appearance, these sightings were very fortuitous and very brief. The first was seen about 8 am Monday morning over the Southern State Parkway near its intersection with the Wantagh Parkway, and the second appeared briefly over the Lullwater in Prospect Park, Brooklyn around 9 am, visible long enough for a diagnostic photo to be taken. These sightings might involve the same bird, though the first was reported moving East. Hopefully one day one will stay in New York long enough to be enjoyed by many - a free dinner to the finder of that bird. Two southern passerines appearing on Sunday were a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER spotted near the Lower Pool in Prospect Park and a male SUMMER TANAGER seen briefly at the Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers. Another interesting bird was a WHITE-WINGED DOVE appearing Sunday around a private home in Montauk - and the source of this species in the Northeast remains more mysterious. A CASPIAN TERN visited Mecox Bay from last Friday through Monday, and an increasing number of spring arrivals, mostly expected, have included TRICOLORED HERON as of last Friday, CLAPPER RAIL and FORSTER’S TERN both at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area Sunday, BROAD-WINGED HAWK from Saturday, some WILLETS, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER at Captree yesterday, and a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD on Eastern Long Island Sunday. Increasing numbers of LAUGHING GULLS and CHIMNEY SWIFTS were also noted. Among the passerines appearing recently have been an EASTERN KINGBIRD reported last Sunday and WHITE-EYED VIREO in Prospect Park last Saturday, as well as a few more BLUE-HEADED VIREOS and HOUSE WRENS. Newly arrived warblers featured a WORM-EATING WARBLER in Prospect Park Wednesday to today, PRAIRIE WARBLERS in both Central and Prospect Parks, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER reported from Bellmore Monday, a YELLOW WARBLER at Hempstead Lake State Park, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT or two, and a BLACK-THROATED GREEN on Staten Island today. Also increasing were BLACK-AND-WHITE, NORTHERN PARULA, and PALM. On the winter front, last Saturday still found two SNOWY OWLS at Jones Beach West End and one at Orient Beach State Park, and a few RED-NECKED GREBES included another visiting Central Park Reservoir to Thursday. A GLAUCOUS GULL was still at Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn Monday and Wednesday, with single LESSER BLACK-BACKS over Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn Monday, at Floyd Bennett Field Tuesday, and at Heckscher State Park today. A late RAZORBILL was moving east off Robert Moses State Park this morning. RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were still in Brooklyn at Greenwood Cemetery and Marine Park Saturday, with others at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx Sunday, at Muttontown Preserve Monday and in Rye today. Over the last week or two large flocks of Double-crested Cormorants can be seen migrating through or to New York City. Relatively scarce around the five boroughs during the winter, they are replaced during the cold months by Great Cormorants. Several of the islands that dot New York Harbor or the Long Island Sound north of the city are home to large colonies of breeding double-cresteds. This bird is one of several species that are part of the New York City Audubon Society's Harbor Heron project. As a defense mechanism cormorant nestings will vomit on a perceived threat, so approach a nest colony forewarned. Yesterday I led a Green-Wood Cemetery birding tour, which should have been a typical mid-April spring trip. I expected to see a few species of warbler and other migrants songbirds. Mother Nature had other ideas. At this time of year I usually hear the sound of songbirds outside my window in the early morning hours. Yesterday, though, I was awakened by the sound of car owners with plastic scrapers removing ice and snow from their vehicle's windows. The temperature at the start of the trip was 30º f. With nearly 25mph wind gusts it felt more like 17º. The sky was bright and clear, however, with a few feathery clouds, so if you didn't feel the wind or know the temperature, you might have thought that is was a beautiful Spring morning, that is until you noticed the icy sheen on the sidewalks and thin layer of crusty snow on the grass. Still, it IS spring migration and there are birds out there to be discovered. The overwintering Red-headed Woodpecker was still present in his usual haunts just inside the main entrance to the cemetery. He is now in adult plumage and actually vocalized for us while clinging to the side of "his" tree in front of the cavity he excavated back in November. I guess he is hoping for a female to pass through the neighborhood. He might have a very long wait as I haven't found any documentation of this species ever nesting in Brooklyn. Any north or west facing hills were being blasted by pretty strong and frigid winds, so I mostly concentrated the morning walk to the cemetery's dells and leeward sides of the ridges. Many of the magnolia trees in the cemetery have begun flowering and I noticed a pale green hue developing on the maple tree's crowns as they have just started to bloom. Keep an eye on the maples and oaks over the next week. As warbler numbers begin to increase, the flowers of these trees will attract the insects on which these colorful birds feed. Given the wind conditions, I wasn't surprised that I had a hard time finding any warblers. Daffodils were wilting under the weight of ice on their petals and trees creaked as they swayed. A small flock of Tree and Barn Swallows skimmed back and forth across the Sylvan Water. A silent Belted Kingfisher flying across the pond had me fooled as his normal flight pattern had changed to adapt to the buffeting winds. Unlike my weekend experience, I couldn't find one warbler around the edges of the pond. There was a marked increase in arriving Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, however. Seeing several gnatcatchers under these weather conditions seemed a bit incongruous or unlucky ... for them. These tiny, hyperactive songbirds are, on average, 4.5 inches long, nearly half of that is just their tail. They weigh in at about 6 grams. That's a bit less than the weight of three U.S. pennies. Their wheezy, chattery song perfectly matches their cute, diminutive size. As I watched this teensy bird foraging for insects there were times it seemed to be completely immune to the wind. Perhaps it is exactly their lack of mass and wind resistance that allows them to move around in the gusts almost effortlessly. Conversely, my upright body on a bicycle, pedaling against the wind and uphill after the walk probably burned more calories that a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher might on the entire 2,000+ mile migration from its wintering home in Honduras to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. I can't wait until normal spring weather. Comments: Weekly tour. Temps around 30º, winds N-NW at 15-20mph. Last weekend I did a little spring birding at Prospect Park, Green-Wood Cemetery, Coney Island, Coney Island Creek Park and Gerritsen Creek. Like the previous weekend, my Saturday birding agenda kicked off at pre-dawn. I like to be where the birds are when the sun comes up, so was walking into Prospect Park just as the sky was lightening from black to navy. Robins, cardinals and House Sparrows had already been singing for 30 minutes. The annual mockingbird at the end of my block must be late to arrive as I haven't heard his 3am concert. I was optimistic that there would be a nice mix of warblers and other migrant songbirds vocalizing in the park at this early hour and couldn't wait to get started. I was kind of hoping to find something really interesting before 6am. That way I could use my Twitter account like an alarm clock for any followers who opted to sleep in on a beautiful spring morning. Luckily for them that didn't happen, though, and my first tweet didn't go out until 6:28am. We were standing at the Lily Pond, just upstream from the nature center when we spotted a Louisiana Waterthrush. I heard the weak trill of a Palm Warbler and the high-pitched rising scale and chatter of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I would hear several through the morning. We noticed some activity in the trees at the back of the pond and walked over for a closer look. Within a moment or two we spotted Blue-headed Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler in the trees at the edge of the pond. After about 20 minutes we headed towards the nature center. Standing near the concrete "duck feeding station" I heard the raspy "skeow" call of a Green Heron, but couldn't see the source. Mustering my best impression of the "skeow" call, I was shocked with the bird flew up from the edge of the water and headed directly towards me. My first thought was how narrow this small wading bird looked straight on, sort of like a dart. My second was whether I should duck as he looked like he was coming right at my head. At the last moment he ascended into a tree above and behind me. I never realized I was so gifted at calling in Green Herons, but I think I'll leave that talent off of my resume. Green-Wood Cemetery was the next stop after 2 good hours in Prospect Park. There were lots of both species of kinglets present, but for the most part the cemetery was fairly quiet. The one exception was the area around the edges of the Sylvan Water. A lone cherry tree at the southeast edge of the pond was loaded with hungry warblers. Around a dozen Palm Warblers, a several Pine Warblers and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers chased down insects amongst the trees pink blossoms. A Northern Parula flew in from the shrubs across the road and joined the feeding frenzy. Teetering along the shore at the edge of the pond was a fifth warbler species - a Louisiana Waterthrush. By the time we left the cemetery it was late morning and the songbird activity was beginning to slow down. We decided to go to Coney Island to look for migrating seabirds and shorebirds. One of our target birds at the shore was Northern Gannet. From the edge of the jetty at the end of West 37th Street we scanned back and forth across the water. There were lots of Brants and a couple of dozen Common Loons. A single Purple Sandpiper foraged for arthropods within the jetty's green-fringed boulders. It took about 15 minutes, but eventually a lone gannet was spotted soaring over the bay. A few minutes later we were scanning the water off the end of Stillwell Avenue. There were more loons in the water here, 19 to be exact, and a few Horned Grebes. Coney Island Creek Park is at the northern end of West 37th Street. It has a narrow strip of trees and low vegetation adjacent to the sand dunes that border Gravesend Bay. On a good spring migration morning it attracts a surprising diversity of birds. Saturday was not one of those days. One surprise was spotting a pair of lingering Bonaparte's Gulls on the shore. I had been standing a shore distance from them for probably 10 minutes before I noticed. After a long, brutally cold winter of chasing gulls in this area, I was sort of done with "gull mode" and was focusing on everything else. A short distance east of the park is the actually creek. It's usually a good spot to see a nice mix of waterfowl. A sand spit here is a great winter spot for gulls. Neither the spit nor the water held many birds. A single Red-necked Grebe remained in the area. Normally spotting the grebe would be a big deal. As a friend recently pointed out, this winter's irruption of Red-necked Grebes has New York birders a bit "grebed out". I was optimistic that I'd find my first Blue-winged Teal of the year on the creek, but I guess that will have to wait for another day. My final stop during Saturday's long day was Gerritsen Creek, in Marine Park. The hope was to find a few wading birds, maybe a tern or two and a couple of shorebirds. One of the first year birds found on our walk down the west side of the creek was a Forster's Tern. The bird was perched on a wooden piling exposed by the low-tide. Later we spotted our first Snowy Egret of the season. Migrating Common Loons were relatively abundant and seen in multiple locations during the day. Unfortunately I also stumbled (literally) on this dead one along Gerritsen Creek's shore. I'd never seen one up close and was surprised to learn that the dark collar is actually an iridescent green color. I was about to hop on my bike and ride into the park to find this rare bird until I received this follow up. I had about 10 minutes to spare, so re-dressed, grabbed my bins and bicycle and pedaled into Prospect Park. It wasn't difficult to find the warbler as there was at least a dozen people with their bins trained on it. I would have liked to linger and watch the bird for a while, especially considering that, if you're lucky, you only get to see one a year. I said hello to a few people, but really had to rush back home. When I bid everyone "good birding" and clipped into my pedals, my friend Dennis captured the sentiment of spring migration craziness when he said to me, "And here we are again..." It has been a while since I've posted any updates on our local Red-tailed Hawk pairs. Sometimes the revolving seasonal bird activity distracts me from the one species that got me started in birdwatching. Perhaps it is because what seemed unusual to me over 20 years ago has become common place. Barely a day passes that I don't notice at least one Red-tailed Hawk around Brooklyn or NYC's other boroughs. As my knowledge of and interests in other family of birds evolves, I still enjoy periodically going back and tracking down Brooklyn's hawks. There are three nesting pairs in and around Prospect Park and a possible fourth pair at Fort Greene Park. A pair at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has been using a pine tree that borders the Brooklyn Museum parking lot for their nest for a third year. I am guessing that this is the pair named "Nelly" and "Max" who used to nest in a Japanese Black Pine at the edge of Nelly's Lawn in Prospect Park. Nelly and Max stopped using the nest in Prospect Park at the same time the pair showed up across Flatbush Avenue at the botanic garden. "Junior" the long time mate of the late "Big Mama" appears to have moved on. He has taken a new mate and the pair has settled on a nest site in a pine tree on "The Flats" of Green-Wood Cemetery. The nest tree is only about 600 yards south-west of Junior and Big Mama's final nest. That was also a pine tree, but sustained major damage from one of this past winter's storms. As of last weekend, the hawks didn't appear to be incubating eggs yet. The nest is at the very top of the tree and not easy to see. If I find a good viewing vantage point I'll post directions here. My friend Steve called me on Saturday morning to tell me about a large nest he found in Prospect Park. I was aware that a pair of Red-tailed Hawks had been nesting somewhere in a stand of pines at the south end of the baseball fields a couple of years ago, but had no luck confirming the location. Like Junior's nest in Green-Wood, this nest is near the top of a conifer and very difficult to see. Through Steve's scope, however, we could see that there is a red-tailed sitting on eggs. So, who is this pair? An educated guess would be Alice and Ralph. In 2012 they were unceremoniously evicted from their pine tree nest site of 9 years in the Ravine by a pair of owls. Shortly thereafter I began receiving notes about a pair of red-tails building a nest at the south end of the baseball fields. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued their latest report and the message is predictable, but will world leaders act in time. There are choices that need to be made if dangerous climate change is to be avoided in the 21st century. Previous reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have confirmed that the influence of human activities on the climate is unambiguous, and that climate change will have a major impact on human activities and ecosystems. Its third report, published yesterday, sets out the huge challenge that needs to be addressed by policymakers. The evidence is clear: sticking to business as usual will lead to temperature rises of three to five degrees above pre-industrial levels. This will potentially lead to catastrophic effects on water resources and agricultural productivity, and accelerate sea level rise. If momentum is maintained, the pledges made by UN members at the Cancun Climate Convention in 2010 would probably take us to the bottom end of that range, close to a three-degree rise. But they would not meet the two-degree goal set by the UN and accepted as the target needed to avoid dangerous climate change. Hitting the two-degree target has not been ruled out, but the IPCC has concluded in its report that major changes would be needed to energy systems, requiring technological and institutional change on a massive scale. Global emissions of greenhouse gases would need to fall by 40-70% to meet the target. This could imply a tripling or quadrupling, by 2050, of cleaner electricity sources such as renewables, nuclear or fossil fuels, along with carbon capture and storage, and the aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency opportunities. There will be no single solution across the world but rather a patchwork of responses as countries make their own choices. However, the expansion of renewable energy is likely to be ubiquitous. The implications of delay are clearly stated in the report. If we postpone action until 2030, the two-degree target will be beyond our grasp unless technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are used. Afforestation and reduced deforestation will help but the alternative of burning biomass and capturing and storing the CO2 would need to be adopted. This is controversial and raises wider sustainability concerns. Prompt action will cut costs and leave open a wider range of options. Cost is a critical question that needs to be addressed in any proposals for action, or inaction. In the report, the IPCC has suggested that action to cut greenhouse gas emissions could reduce global growth by 0.06% per year over the 21st century, leading to a 1.7% reduction in global consumption by 2030 and 3.4% by 2050 relative to a business as usual strategy. Is this affordable? It does not sound much when set against the impact of climate change. And other benefits from improved air quality and reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels are not costed in. However, expenditure would fall heavily on energy bills rather than being spread imperceptibly across the economy. The political leadership challenge is clear. What does it mean for the UK? The Climate Change Act contains a legally binding target for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This is broadly compatible with the IPCC conclusion that global emissions need to fall by 40-70%. The UK also has a system of five-year carbon budgets that act as stepping stones towards the 2050 target. UK policy therefore has a built-in mechanism which, if used, can ensure that emissions reductions are not delayed. The government is considering a recommendation from the committee on climate change that the fourth carbon budget, covering 2023-27, should not be loosened. The IPCC report provides substantial support for this argument. If the UK is going to play a leading role in international negotiations, cut emissions in line with the IPCC analysis and keep its options open, the prompt action signalled by the existing fourth carbon budget is essential.

2019-04-24T04:39:00Z

https://citybirder.blogspot.com/2014/04/

In response to the concern expressed by Episcopal Conferences throughout the world, a study on the presence and activity of “sects,” “new religious movements,” [and) “cults” has been undertaken by the Vatican Secretariat for Non- Believers and the Pontifical Council for Culture. These departments, along with the Secretariat of State, have shared this concern for quite some time. As a first step in this study project, a questionnaire (cf. Appendix) was sent out in February, 1984, to episcopal Conferences and similar bodies by the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity in the name of the forementioned departments of the Holy See, with the aim of gathering reliable information and indications for pastoral action, and exploring further lines of research. To date (October, 1985), many replies have been received by Episcopal Conferences on all continents, as well as from regional Episcopal bodies. Some replies included detailed information from particular dioceses and were accompanied by copies of pastoral letters, booklets, articles, and studies. It is clearly not possible to summarize the vast documentation received, and which will need to be constantly updated as a basis for a constructive pastoral response to the challenge presented by the sects, new religious movements, and groups. The present report can only attempt to give a first overall picture, and is based on the replies and documentation received. 2. Reasons for the spread of these movements and groups. 3. Pastoral challenges and approaches. 5. Invitation from the 1985 Synod. 6. Questions for further study and research. 1.1 What are “Sects”? What Does One Mean by “Cults”? It is important to realize that there exist difficulties in concepts, definitions, and terminology. The terms sect and cult are somewhat derogatory and seem to imply a rather negative value judgment. One might prefer more neutral terms such as new religious movements, new religious groups. The question of the definition of those movements or groups as distinct from church or legitimate movements within a church is a contentious matter. It will help to distinguish sects that find their origin in the Christian religion from those which come from another religious or humanitarian source. The matter becomes quite delicate when these groups are of Christian origin. Nevertheless, it is important to make this distinction. Indeed, certain sectarian mentalities and attitudes, i.e., attitudes of intolerance and aggressive proselytizing, do not necessarily constitute a sect nor do they suffice to characterize a sect. One also finds these attitudes in groups of Christian believers within the churches and ecclesiastical communities. However, these groups can change positively through a deepening of their Christian formation and through the contact with other fellow Christians. In this way they can grow into an increasingly ecclesial mind and attitude. For practical reasons, a cult or sect is sometimes defined as ‘any religious group with a distinctive worldview of its own derived from, but not identical with, the teachings of a major world religion. As we are speaking here of special groups which usually pose a threat to people’s freedom and to society in general, cults and sects have also been characterized as possessing a number of distinctive features. These often are that they [groups] are often authoritarian in structure, that they exercise forms of brainwashing and mind control, that they cultivate group pressure and instill feelings of guilt and fear, etc. The basic work on these characteristic marks was published by an American, Dave Breese, Know the marks of Cults (Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1985). Whatever the difficulties with regard to distinguishing between sects of Christian origin and churches, ecclesial communities or Christian movements, the responses to the Questionnaire reveal at times a serious lack of understanding and knowledge of other Christian churches and ecclesial communities. Some include among sects churches and ecclesial communities which are not in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Also, adherents of major world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) may find themselves classified as belonging to a sect. 1.2 However, and apart from the difficulties mentioned, almost all the local churches do see the emergence and rapid proliferation of all kinds of “new” religious or pseudo-religious movements, groups, and practices. The phenomenon is considered by almost all responses as a serious matter, by some as an alarming matter; in only a very few countries does there not seem to exist any problem (e.g., in predominantly Islamic countries). In some cases the phenomenon appears within the mainline churches themselves (sectarian attitudes). In other cases it occurs outside the churches (independent or free churches; messianic or prophetic movements), or against the churches (sects, cults), often establishing for themselves church-like patterns. However, not all are religious in their real content or ultimate purpose. 1.3 The phenomenon develops fast, and often quite successfully, and often poses pastoral problems. The most immediate pastoral problem is that of knowing how to deal with a member of a Catholic family who has been involved in a sect. The parish priest or local pastoral worker or advisor usually has to deal first and foremost with the relatives and friends of such a person. Often, the person involved can be approached only indirectly. In those cases when the person can be approached directly in order to give him or her guidance, or to advise an ex-member on how to reintegrate into society and the Church, psychological skill and expertise is required. The most vulnerable groups in the church, especially the youth, seem to be the most affected. When they are “footloose,” unemployed, not active in parish life or voluntary parish work, or come from an unstable family background, or belong to ethnic minority groups, or live in places which are rather far from the Church’s reach, etc. they are a most likely target for the new movements and sects. Some sects seem to attract mainly people in the middle-age group. Others thrive on membership from well-to-do and highly educated families. In this context, mention must be made of university campuses which are often favorable breeding grounds for sects or places of recruitment. Moreover, difficult relations with the clergy, or an irregular marriage situation, can lead one to break with the church and join a new group. Very few people seem to join a sect for evil reasons. Perhaps the greatest opportunity of the sects is to attract good people and good motivation in those people. In fact, they usually succeed best when society or Church have failed to touch this good motivation. 1.5 The reasons for the success among Catholics are indeed manifold and can be identified on several levels. They are primarily related to the needs and aspirations which are seemingly not being met in the mainline Churches. They are also related to the recruitment and training techniques of the sects. They can be external either to the mainline Churches or to the new groups: economic advantages, political interest or pressure, mere curiosity, etc. An assessment of these reasons can be adequately done only from within the very particular context in which they emerge. However, the results of a general assessment (and this is what this report is about) can, and in this case do, reveal a whole range of “particular” reasons which as a matter of fact turn out to be almost universal. A growing interdependence in today’s world might provide us with an explanation for this. The phenomenon seems to be symptomatic of the depersonalizing structures of contemporary society, largely produced in the West and widely exported to the rest of the world, which create multiple crisis situations on the individual as well as on the social level. These crisis situations reveal various needs, aspirations, and questions which in turn call for psychological and spiritual responses. The sects claim to have, and to give, these responses. They do this on both the affective and cognitive level, often responding to the affective needs in a way that deadens the cognitive faculties. These basic needs and aspirations can be described as so many expressions of the human search for wholeness and harmony, participation and realization, on all the levels of human existence and experience, so many attempts to meet the human quest for truth and meaning, for those constitutive values which at certain times in collective as well as, individual history seem to be hidden, broken, or lost especially in the case of people who are upset by rapid change, acute stress, fear, etc. 1.6 The responses to the Questionnaire show that the phenomenon is to be seen not so much as a threat to the Church (although many respondents do consider the aggressive proselytism of some sects a major problem), but rather as a pastoral challenge. Some respondents emphasize that, while at all times preserving our own integrity and honesty, we should remember that each religious group has the right to profess its own faith and to live according to its own conscience. They stress that in dealing with individual groups we have the duty to proceed according to the principles of religious dialogue which have been laid down by the Second Vatican Council and in later Church documents. Moreover, it is imperative to remember the respect due to each individual, and that our attitude to sincere believers should be one of openness and understanding, not of condemnation. The responses to the Questionnaire show a great need for information, education of believers, and a renewed pastoral approach. Crisis situations or general vulnerability can reveal and/or produce needs and aspirations which become basic motivations for turning to the sects. They appear on the cognitive as well as on the affective level, and are relational in character, i.e., centered upon “self’ in relations with “others” (social), with the past, present and future (cultural, existential), with the transcendent (religious). These levels and dimensions are interrelated. These needs and aspirations can be grouped under nine major headings, although in individual cases they often overlap. For each group of “aspirations” we indicate what the sects seem to offer. The main reasons for their success can be seen from that point of view, but one must also take into account the recruitment practices and indoctrinational techniques of many sects (cf. below 2.2). The fabric of many communities has been destroyed; traditional lifestyles have been disrupted; homes are broken up; people feet uprooted and lonely. Thus the need to belong. Terms used in the responses: belonging, love, community, communication, warmth, concern, care, suppor4 friendship, affection, fraternity, help, solidarity, encounter, dialogue, consolation, acceptance, under- standing, sharing, closeness, mutuality, togetherness, fellowship, reconciliation, tolerance, roots, security, refuge, protection, safety, shelter, home. The sects appear to offer: human warmth, care and support in small and close-knit communities; sharing of purpose and fellowship; attention for the individual; protection and security, especially in crisis situations: resocialization of marginalized individuals (for instance, the divorced or immigrants). The sect often does the thinking for the individual. In complex and confused situations people naturally search for answer, and solutions. The sects appear to offer: simple and ready-made answers etc) complicated questions and situations; simplified and partial versions of traditional truths and values; a pragmatic theology, a theology of success, a syncretistic theology proposed as “new revelation”; ‘new truth” to people who often have little of the “old” truth; clearcut directives; a claim to moral superiority; proofs from “supernatural” elements: glossolalia trance, mediumship, prophecies, possession, etc. Many people feel that they are out of touch with themselves, with others with their culture and environment. They experience brokenness. They have been hurt by parents or teachers, by the church or society. They feel left out. They want a religious view that can harmonize everything an( everybody; worship that leaves room for body and soul, for participation, spontaneity, creativity. They want healing, including bodily healing (African respondents particularly insist on this point). Terms used in response: healing, wholeness, integration, integrity harmony, peace, reconciliation, spontaneity, creativity, participation. The sects appear to offer. a gratifying religious experience, being saved, conversion; room for feelings and emotions, for spontaneity (e.g., ii) religious celebrations); bodily and spiritual healing; help with drug or drink problem; relevance to the life situation. This aspect is very closely linked with the previous one. In many Third World countries the society finds itself greatly dissociated from the traditional cultural, social, and religious values; and traditional believers, share this feeling. The main terms used in the responses are: inculturation/incarnation, alienation, modernization. The sect appears to offer: plenty of room for traditional cultural/religious heritage, creativity, spontaneity, participation, a style of prayer and preaching closer to the cultural traits and aspirations of the people. People feel a need to rise out of anonymity, to build an identity, to feel that they are in some way special and not just a number or a faceless member of a crowd. Large parishes and congregations, administration-oriented concern and clericalism, leave little room for approaching every person individually and in the person’s life situation. Terms used in response: self-esteem, affirmation, chances, relevance, participation. The sects appear to offer: concern for the individual; equal opportunities for ministry and leadership, for participation, for witnessing, for expression; awakening to one’s own potential, the chance to be part of an elite group. Research suggests that a surprisingly large proportion of the population will, if questioned, admit to having some kind of religious or spiritual experience, say that this has changed their lives in some significant way and most pertinently add that they have never told anyone about the experience … Many young people say that they have frequently known difficulty in getting teachers or clergy to discuss, let alone answer, their most important and ultimate questions. Terms used in the responses: transcendence, sacred, mystery, mystical, meditation, celebration, worship, truth, faith, spirituality, meaning, goals, values, symbols, prayer, freedom, awakening, conviction. The sects appear to offer: the Bible and Bible education; a sense of salvation, gifts of the Spirit; medication; spiritual achievement. Some groups not only offer permission to express and explore ultimate questions in a “safe” social context, but also a language and concepts with which to do so, as well as the presentation of a clear, relatively unambiguous set of answers. There may be a lack of parental support in the seeker’s fancily or lack of leadership, patience, and personal commitment on the part of church leaders or educators. Terms used: guidance, devotion, commitment affirmation, leadership, guru. The sects appear to offer: guidance and orientation through strong, charismatic leadership. The person of the master, leader, guru, plays an important role in binding the disciples. At times there is not only submission but emotional surrender and even an almost hysterical devotion to a strong spiritual leader (messiah, prophe4 guru). The world of today is an interdependent world of hostility and conflict, violence and fear of destruction. People feel worried about the future; often despairing, helpless, hopeless, and powerless. They look for signs of hope, for a way out. Some have a desire, however vague, to make the world better. Terms used: vision, awakening, commitment, newness, a new order, a way out, alternatives, goals, hope. This aspect is closely linked with the previous one. Many seekers not only feel the need of a vision in the present world society and toward the future; they also want to participate in decision making, in planning, in realizing. The sects appear to offer: a concrete mission for a better world, a call for total dedication, participation on most levels. By way of summary, one can say that the sects seem to live by what they believe, with powerful (often magnetic) conviction, devotion, and commitment; going out of their way to meet people where they are, warmly, personally, and directly, pulling the individual out of anonymity, promoting participation, spontaneity, responsibility, commitment …. and practicing an intensive follow-up through multiple contacts, home visits, and continuing support and guidance. They help to reinterpret one’s experience, to reassess one’s values and to approach ultimate issues in an all-embracing system. They usually make convincing use of the word: preaching, literature, and mass media (for Christian groups, strong emphasis on the Bible); and often also of the ministry of healing. In one word, they present themselves as the only answer, the ‘good news’ in a chaotic world. However, although all this counts mostly for the success of the sects, other reasons also exist, such as the recruitment and training techniques and indoctrination procedures used by certain sects. Some recruitment, training techniques, and indoctrination procedures practiced by a number of the cults, which often are highly sophisticated, partly account for their success. Those most often attracted by such measures are those who, first, do not know that the approach is often staged and, second, who are unaware of the nature of the contrived conversion and training methods (the social and psychological manipulation) to which they are subjected. The sects often impose their own norms of thinking, feeling, and behaving. This is in contrast to the church’s approach, which implies full-capacity informed consent. Young and elderly alike who are at loose ends and are easy prey to those techniques and methods, which are often a combination of affection and deception (cf. the “love bombing,” the “personality test,” or the ‘.surrender”). These techniques proceed from a positive approach, but gradually achieve a kind of mind control through the use of abusive behavior-modification techniques. –Subtle process of introduction of the convert and his gradual discovery of the real hosts. –Overpowering techniques: love bombing, offering “a free meal at an international center for friends,” “flirty fishing” technique (prostitution as a method of recruitment). –Ready-made answers and decisions are being almost forced upon the recruits. –Requirement of unconditional surrender to the initiator, leader. –Isolation: control of the rational thinking process, elimination of outside information and influence (family, friends, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, medical treatment, etc., which might break the spell of involvement and the process of absorption and feelings and attitudes and patterns of behavior. –Processing recruits away from their past lives; focusing on past deviant behavior such as drug use, sexual misdeeds; playing upon psychological hang-ups, poor social relationships, etc. –Consciousness-altering methods leading to cognitive disturbances (intellectual bombardment); use of thought-stopping cliches; closed system of logic; restriction of reflective thinking. –Keeping the recruits constantly busy and never alone; continual exhortation and training in order to arrive at an exalted spiritual status, altered consciousness, automatic submission to directives; stifling resistance and negativity; response to fear in a way that greater fear is often aroused. –Strong focus on the leader; some groups may even downgrade the role of Christ in favor of the founder (in the case of some ‘Christian” sects). A breakdown of traditional social structures, cultural patterns and traditional sets of values caused by industrialization, urbanization, migration, rapid development of communication systems, all-rational technocratic systems, etc., leave many individuals confused, uprooted, insecure, and therefore vulnerable. In these situations there is naturally a search for a solution., and often the simpler the better. There is also the temptation to accept the solution as the only and final answer. They suffer a loss of direction, lack of orientation, lack of participation in decision making, lack of real answers to their real questions. They experience fear because of various forms of violence, conflict, hostility: fear of ecological disaster, war and nuclear holocaust; social conflicts, manipulation. They feel frustrated, rootless, homeless, unprotected; hopeless and helpless and consequently unmotivated; lonely at home, in school, at work, on the campus, in the city; lost in anonymity, isolation, marginalization, alienation, i.e., feeling that they do not belong, that they are misunderstood, betrayed, oppressed, deceived, estranged, irrelevant not listened to, unaccepted, not taken seriously. They are disillusioned with technological society, the military, big business, labor, exploitation, educational systems, church laws and practices, government policies. They might have learned to want to see themselves as conscientious “doers,’ not worthless drifters or self-seeking opportunists, but often do not know what to do or how to do it. They are at a loss at various ‘in-between” times (between school and university, between school and work, between marriage and divorce, between village and city). In summary, one could say that all these symptoms represent so many forms of alienation (from oneself, from others, from one’s roots, culture, etc.). One could say that the needs and aspirations expressed in the responses to the questionnaire are so many forms of a search for “presence” (to oneself, to others, to God). Those who feel lost want to be found. In other words, there is a vacuum crying out to be filled, which is indeed the context in which we can understand not only the criticisms toward the church which many responses contain, but foremost the pastoral concerns and proposed approaches. The replies to the questionnaire point out many deficiencies and inadequacies in the actual behavior of the church which can facilitate the success of the sects. However, without further insisting on them, we will mainly emphasize the positive pastoral approaches which are suggested or called for. If these are acted upon, the challenge of the sects may prove to have been a useful stimulus for spiritual and ecclesial renewal. Almost all the responses appeal for a rethinking (at least in many local situations) of the traditional parish-community system; a search for community patterns which will be more fraternal, more “to the measure of man” more adapted to people’s life situation; more basic ecclesial communities; caring communities of lively faith, love (warmth, acceptance, understanding, reconciliation, fellowship), and hope; celebrating communities; praying communities; missionary communities; outgoing and witnessing; communities open to and supporting people who have special problems; the divorced and remarried, the marginalized. The responses put string emphasis on the need for evangelization, catechesis, education and ongoing education in the faith – biblical, theological, ecumenical – of the faithful at the level of the local communities, and of the clergy and those involved in formation. (One reply advocates” reflective courses” for teachers, youth leaders, clergy, and religious.) This ongoing process should be both informative, with information about our own Catholic tradition (beliefs, practices, spirituality, meditation, contemplation, etc.) about other traditions and about the new religious groups, etc., and formative, with guidance in personal and communal faith, a deeper sense of the transcendent, of the eschatological, or religious commitment, of community spirit, etc. The church should not only be a sign of hope for people, but should also give them the reasons for that hope; it should help to ask questions as well as to answer them. In this process there is an overall emphasis on the centrality of Holy Scripture. Greater and better use should be made of the mass media of communication. People must be helped to know themselves as unique, loved by a personal God, and with a personal history from birth through death to resurrection. “Old truth” should continually become for them “new truth” through a genuine sense of renewal, but with criteria and a framework of thinking that will not be shaken by every “newness” that comes their way. Special attention should be paid to the experiential dimension, i.e., discovering Christ personally through prayer and dedication (e.g., the charismatic and born again” movements). Many Christians live as if they had never been born at all! Special attention must be given to the healing ministry through prayers, reconciliation, fellowship, and care. Our pastoral concern should not be one-dimensional; it should extend not only to the spiritual, but also to the physical, psychological, social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions. The question of inculturation is a fundamental one. It is particularly stressed by the responses from Africa, which reveal a feeling of estrangement from Western forms of worship and ministry which are often quite irrelevant to people’s cultural environment and life situation. One respondent declared. Africans want to be Christians. We have given them accommodation but no home … They want a simpler Christianity, integrated into all aspects of daily life, into the suffering, joys, work, aspirations, fears, and needs of the African … The young recognize in the independent churches a genuine vein of the African tradition of doing things religious. Some suggest a rethinking of the classic Saturday evening/Sunday morning liturgical patterns, which often remain foreign to the daily life situation. The word of God should be rediscovered as an important community-building element. ‘Reception” should receive as much attention as ‘conservation.’ There should be room for joyful creativity, a belief in Christian inspiration and capacity of “invention,’ and a greater sense of communal celebration. Here again, inculturation is a must (with due respect for the nature of the liturgy and for the demands of universality). Many respondents insist on the biblical dimension of preaching; on the need to speak the people’s language; the need for careful preparation of teaching and liturgy (as far as possible done by a team, including lay participation). Preaching is not mere theorizing, intellectualizing, and rnoralizing, but presupposes the witness of the preacher’s life. Preaching, worship, and community prayer should not necessarily be confined to traditional places of worship. Most respondents are aware of the growing shortage of ordained ministers and of religious men and women. This calls for stronger promotion of diversified ministry and the ongoing formation of lay leadership. More attention should perhaps be given to the role that can be played in an approach to the sects – or at least to those attracted by the sects – by lay people who, within the church and in collaboration with their pastors, exercise true leadership, both spiritually and pastorally. Priests should not be identified mainly as administrators, office workers, and judges, but rather as brothers, guides, consolers, and men of prayer. There is too often a distance that needs to be bridged between the faithful and the bishop, even between the bishop and his priests. The ministry of bishop and priest is a ministry of unity and communion which must become visible to the faithful. In conclusion, what is to be our attitude, our approach to the sew? Clearly it is not possible to give one simple answer. The sects themselves are too diverse; the situations – religious, cultural, social – too different. The answer will not be the same when we consider the sects in relation to the “unchurched,” the unbaptized, the unbeliever, and when we are dealing with their impact on baptized Christians and especially on Catholics or ex-Catholics. Our respondents are naturally concerned mainly with this last group. Clearly too, we cannot be naively irenical. We have sufficiently analyzed the action of the sects to see that the attitudes and methods of some of them can be destructive to personalities, disruptive to families and society, and their tenets far removed from the teachings of Christ and his church. In many countries we suspec4 and in some cases know, that powerful ideological forces, as well as economic and political interests, are at work through the sects, which are totally foreign to a genuine concern for the “human” and are using the “human” for inhumane purposes. It is necessary to inform the faithful, especially the young, to put them on their guard and even to enlist professional help for counseling, legal protection, etc. At times we may have to recognize and even support appropriate measures on the part of the state acting in its own sphere. We may know too from experience that there is generally little or no possibility of dialogue with the sects; and that not only are they themselves not open to dialogue, but they can also be a serious obstacle to ecumenical education and effort wherever they are active. And yes, if we are to be true to our own beliefs and principles – respect for the human person, respect for religious freedom, Nth in the action of the Spirit working in unfathomable ways for the accomplishment of God’s loving will for all humankind, for each individual man, woman, and child, we cannot simply be satisfied with condemning and combating the sects, with seeing them perhaps outlawed or expelled and individuals “deprogrammed” against their will. The “challenge” of the new religious movements is to stimulate our own renewal for a greater pastoral efficacy. It is surely also to develop within ourselves and in our communities the mind of Christ in their regard, trying to understand “where they are” and, where possible, reaching out to them in Christian love. We have to pursue these goals, being faithful to the true teaching of Christ, with love for all men and women. We must not allow any preoccupation with the sects to diminish our zeal for true ecumenism among all Christians. 5.1 The extraordinary synod of 1985 called to celebrate, assess, and promote the Second Vatican Council, gave certain orientations concerning the renewal of the church today. These orientations, which address themselves to the general needs of the church, are also a reply to the needs and aspirations which some people seek in the sects (3.1). They underline the pastoral challenges and the need for pastoral planning. 5.2 The final report of the synod notes that the world situation is changing and that the signs of the times must be analyzed continually (11, D7). The church is often seen simply as an institution, perhaps because it gives too much importance to structures and not enough to drawing people to God in Christ. 5.3 As a global solution to the world’s problems, the synod’s invitation is to an integral understanding of the council, to an interior assimilation of it, and putting it into practice. The church must be understood and lived as a mystery (11, A; cf. 3.1.6) and as communion (11, B; cf. 4.1; 4.6). The church must commit itself to becoming more fully the sign and instrument of communion and reconciliation among men (1, A2; cf. 4.1; 3.1.6). All Christians are called to holiness, that is, to conversion of the heart and participation in the trinitarian life of God (11, A4; cf. 3.1.1; 3.1.5). The Christian community needs people who live a realistic and worldly holiness. Since the church is a communion, it must embody participation and co-responsibility at all levels (11, C6; cf. 4.6; 3.1.9). Christians must accept all truly human values (11, D3) as well as those specifically religious (IL DS) so as to bring about enculturation, which is “the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity and in the various human cultures” (11, D4; cf. 3.7.4; 4A). ‘The Catholic Church refuses nothing of what is true and holy in non-Christian religions. Indeed, Catholics must recognize, preserve, and promote all the good spiritual and moral, as well as socio-cultural, values that they find in their midst (11, DS). “The church must prophetically denounce every form of poverty and oppression, and everywhere defend and promote the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person” (11, D6; cf. 3.2). 5.4 The synod gives some practical orientations. It stresses spiritual formation (11, A5; cf. 3.1.7; 4.2), commitinent to integral and systematic evangelization, and catechesis to be accompanied by witness which interprets it (11, Ba2; cf. 3.1.8; 3.1.3) precisely because the salvific mission of the church is integral (H, D6; cf. 4.3) securing interior and spiritual participation in the liturgy (H B6; cE 3.1.9; 4.5); encouraging spiritual and theological dialogue among Christians (fl, C7) and dialogue “which may open and communicate inferiority”; fostering concrete forms of the spiritual journey such as consecrated life, spiritual movements, popular devotion (IL A4; cf 3.1.7), and giving greater importance to the word of God (U, Bal), realizing that the Gospel reaches people through witness to it (U, Ba2). N.B. Where possible, the study and research should be undertaken in ecumenical cooperation. a) The different types of sect in the fight of Lumen Gentium, No. 16, Unitatis Redinlegratio and Nostra Aelaie. b) The “religious” content of ,esoteric,, and “human potential” sects. c) Christian mysticism in relation to the search for religious experience in the sects. d) The use of the Bible in the sects. b) The ministry of healing in the early church and in the sects. c) The role of the prophetic and Charismatic figures (during their lifetime and after their death). (It is in this field that most work seems to have been done already). a) Recruitment techniques and their effects. b) After-effects of sect membership and deprogramming. c) Religious needs and experiences of adolescents and young adults and their interaction with sexual developnien4 in relation to the sea. d) Authority patterns in the se= in relation to the lack of a need for authority in contemporary society. c) The Possibility or impossibility of “dialogue” with the sects. b) Family breakups or irregular family status in reaction to the attraction of the sects. c) Sect membership and the solidity of the fancily; family pressures on children of sect members. d) Family patterns and conjugal morality in the sects. opportunities for self-expression and responsibility (cf., sects founded by women). inferior position of women in different types of sect: Christian fundamentalist groups, Oriental sects, African sects, etc. 6.6 Acculturation and inculturation of sects and their evolution in different cultural and religious contexts: in traditional Christian cultures, in recently evangelized cultures, in totally secularized societies or those undergoing a rapid process of secularization (with its diverse impact on Western and “non-Western” cultures). Migration and the sects. 6.7 A comparative historical and sociological study of youth movements in Europe before World War 11 and youth membership in contemporary cults and sects. 6.8 Religious freedom in relation to the sects: ethical, legal, and theological aspects. Effects of government action and other social pressures. Interaction between political, economic, and religious factors. 6.9 The images of sects in public opinion and the effect of public opinion on sects. A Selected Bibliography on New Religious Movements in Western Countries. IDOC. International Documentation and Communication Center. Rome, 1979. Barrett, David B. World Christian Encyclopedia. A comparative survey of churches and religions in the modem world. Oxford, 1984. Blood, Linda Osbome. Comprehensive Bibliography on the Cult Phenomenon. Weston (MA): American Family Foundation, 1982. Crim, Keith, ed. Abington Dictionary of Living Religions. Nashville (TN): Abingdon, 1981. Foucart Eric. Repertoire Bibliographique. Sects and marginal religious groups of the contemporary East (Studies and documents on the science of religion). Quebec, 1982. Plume, Chrisdan and Xavier Pasquini. Encyclopedie des sectes dans le monde. Nice, 1980. Poupard, Paul. Dictionnaire des Religions. Paris, 1984. 2nd ed., 1985. Spanish trans. Barcelona: Herder, 1986. Turner, Harold W. Bibliography of New Religious Movements in primal Society. Vol. 1: Black Africa. Boston, 1977. Aagard, Johannes, ed. New Religious Movements Update: A Quarterly Journal of New Religious Movements. Aarhus, Denmark (1977 – ). Bulletin Signaletique – Section 527, 528: Sciences Religeuses. Paris. Centre de Documentation du CNRS, 1970 -. Missionalia. The South African Nfissiological Society. Pretoria (see from Vol. 8, No. 3, November 1980 to date). Pontifical Library Propaganda Fide. Bibliographia Missionaria. Rome (see from Anno XL – 1976 to Anno XLVH – 1983). Secretariat for Non-Believers. Ateismo e Dialogo. Vatican (see from Anno )aV – June 2, 1979 to date). Valentin, Frederike. Sekten und religiose Sondergemeinschaften in Osteffeich. Verkmappe: Vienna (from 1977 to date). Bartz, W. Le Sette oggi. Doltrina, organizzazione, diffusions. Queriniana: Brescia, 1976. Batz, K. Weltreligionen heute. Hinduism. Zurich-Koln, 1979. Cereti, 0. I Nuovi Moviwnti Religiosi, le sette e i nuovi culti. Rome, 1983. Cournault, Fanny. La France des Sectes. Paris: Tchou, 1978. Eggengerger, 0. Die Kirchen, Sondergruppen und religiose Vereinigungen.A Handbook. Zurich, 1983. Gibon, Yves de. Des Sectes a notre porte. Paris, 1979. Gregoire, M. Histoire des secies religieuses. Paris: Baudouin Freres, 1828-1829 (5 vols). Grundier, J. Lexikon der Chrisilichen Kirchen und Seklen. Vols. 1-11. Vienna: Herder, 1961). Haack, F.W. Des Secies pour les Jeunes. Mame, 1980. Hoff, Eugene Yon. L’Eglise et les Sectes. Quelques dissidences religieuses de notre temps. Paris: Societe centrale devangelisadon, 1951. Hutten, K. Seher-Grubler-Enthusiasten. The book of traditional sects and religious special groups. Stuttgart, 1982. Needleman, Jacob. Understanding the New Religions.Seabury Press, 1978. Reller, H. Handbuch Religiose Gepwinschaften, Frelkirchen. Special groups, sects, philosophies of life, and new religions. Gutersloh: VELKD-Arbeitskreis, 1978. Rudin, James and Rudin, Marcia. Prison or Paradise? The New Religious Cults. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980. Vernette, Jean. Des chercheurs de Dieu “hors-frontieres. ” Paris, 1979. Vernette, Jean and Rene GiraulL Croire en dialogue. – The Christian before religions, churches, sects. Limoges: Ed. Droguet-Ardant, 1979. Woodrow, A. Les Nouvelles Secies. Paris: Seuil, 1977. Andersson, E. Messianic Popular Movements in the Lower Congo. Uppsala, 1958. Baeta, C. G. Prophetism in Ghana: A Study of Some Spiritual Churches. London: SCM Press, 1962. Barrett, David B. Schism and Renewal in Africa. An Analysis of 6,000 Contemporary Religious Movements. Oxford, 1968. Barrett, David B. (ed) Kenya Churches Handbook (The development of Kenya Christianity 1498-1973.) Kisinu, Kenya. Batende, M. “Les perspectives dans les communautes messianiques africaines.” Second Annual Colloquium in Kinshasa, 1983. Bennetta, Jules-Rosette (ed.). The New Religions of Africa. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corp., 1979. Fashole-Luke, E. W., Gray, R., Hastings, A. and G. O. M. Tasle (eds.). Christianity in Independent Africa London: Collings, 1978. Hebga, M. “Interpellation des mouvements mystiques.” Second Annual Colloquium in Kinshasa, February 1983. Holas, Bohumil. Le Separatisme religieux en Afrique noire. L’example de la Cote d’Ivoire. Paris: PUF, 1965. Muanza Kalala, E. Les sectes au diocese de Mbujimayi (Zaire). Rome: Pontifical Lateran University, 1980. Sundkler, B. Bantu Prophets in South Africa. Oxford, 1961. Bosch, J. Iglesias, seclas y nuevas cultos. Madrid. Ed. Bruno, 198I. Denaux, A. Godsdienstseklen in Vlaanderen. Leuven, DF, 1982. Guizzardi, Gustavo. “New Religious Phenomena in Italy. Towards a Post-Catholic Era?” Archives des sciences sociale des religions. Vol. 21, No. 42 (July-Dec. 1976), 97-116. Haack, F.W. Jugendreligionen. Munich, 1979. Hernando, J. Garcia. Pluralismo Religioso. Vol II. Sects and non-Christian religions. Madrid, 1983. Hummel, R. Indische Mission und neue Frommigkeit im Westen. Stuttgart, 1982. O’Cuinn, C. Why the New Youlh Religions? Ireland, 1980. Schreiner, L. and Mildenberger, M. Christus und die Gurus. Asialische religiose Gruppen im Westen. Stuttgart-Berlin, 1980. Terrin, Aldo Natale. Nuove Religioni. Alla Ricerea della Terra Promessa. Editrice Morcelliana-Brescia, 1985. Vemette, Jean. Au pays de nouveau-sacre. Voyage a linterieur de la jeune generation. (Centurion edition), 1981. Vemeae, Jean. Sectes et reveil religieux (Salvator edition, Cedex) 1976. Earhart, Byron H. The New Religions of Japan: A Bibliography of Western-Language Materials. Michigan Papers in Japanese Studies 9. Center for Japanese Studies. 8 XXVI. Michigan, 1983. Lee, Raymond L.M. and Ackerman, S.E. “Conflict and Solidarity in a Pentecostal Group in Urban Malaysia.’ The Sociological Review, Vol. 28, No. 4, 1980. Lacombe, Olivier. “Les ‘Sectes’ dans I’hindouisme.” Axes, Vol. X/2 (Dec. 1977-Jan. 1978). Van Des Kroef, Justus M. “Mouvements religieux modernes d’acculturation en Indonesie.- Histoire des Religions, Vol. 111, under the direction of Henri-Charles Pucch. Paris: Gailimard, 1976. Council of Latin American Bishops’ Conferences (CELAM). Sectas en America Latina. Bogota, 1982. Glazier, Stephen D. “Religion and Contemporary Religious Movements in the Caribbean: A Report.” Sociological Analysis, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer 1980). Metraux, A. “Las Messies de I’Amerique du Sud.” Achives de Sociologie des Religiw, Vol. 2. No. 4 (July-Dec. 1957). Oliveira Filho, Jose Jeremias. Notas de Sociologia das Seitas.. Cuadernos de ISER, 1975. Samain, Etienne. “Bibliographia Sobre Religiosidade popular.” Reli-giao e Sociedade, No. 1. Hucitec: Sao Paulo 1977. Schlesinger, Hugo and Porto, Humberto. Crencas, Seitas & Simbolos Religiosos. Paulinas ed: Sao Paulo, 1982. Burridge, K.O.L. “Mouvements religieuses d’acculturation en Oceanie.” Histoire des Religions, Vol. Ill. Gallimard: Paris, 1976. Hodee, Paul. “Culture moderne, sectes, problems familiaux et non-croyence en Polynesie francaise.” Ateismo e Dialogo, Vol. 15, No. 4 (1980). Worsley, Peter. The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of Cargo Cults in Melanesia. Schocken Books: New York, 1968. Anthony, D., et at. The New Religious Movements: Conversions, Coercion and Commitment. Crossroad: New York, 1983. Appel, W. Cults in America: Programmed for Paradise. New York, 1983. Bergeron, Richard. Le Cortege des Fous de Dieu. Montreal, 1982. Bird, F. and Reimer, B. “A Sociological Analysis of New Religions and Para-Religious Movements in the Montreal Area.” Canadian Journal, 1976. Clark, S.D. Church and Sect in Canada. Toronto, 1948. Hill, D.C. A Study of Mind Development Groups. Sects and Cults in Ontario. Govt. Publ: Ottowa, 1980. Stipelman, S. Coping with Cults. (a course for students) Jewish Education Council of Montreal, 1982. Zaretsky, E.J. and Leone, M.P. (eds.). Religious Movements in Contemporary America. Princeton (NJ), 1974. * This report, originally released on June 11, 1986, is reprinted with permission from the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians. Text in italic type reflects emphases in the original.

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The EPA Noise Publications listed in this Bibliography are a composite of all materials developed and made available to the public from 1972 when EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control was established through 1982 when the Noise Program was phased out and the responsibility for Noise Abatement and Control was delegated back to State and local governments. The publications are listed in reverse chronological order with 1982 publications listed first. In some instances, a document is not available from NTIS and another source is given. Names, addresses and telephone numbers of these sources are listed on the following page. An asterisk indicates the publication is only available on loan from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Headquarters Library, OANR, Washington, D.C. 20460. The research described in this report was undertaken to evaluate the potential contribution to the overall annoyance of heavy truck noise of the implusive character of exhaust noise created by engine compression-release braking devices. Although growing numbers of trucks are likely to be equipped with these safety devices in the future, current methods for assessing health and welfare effects of traffic noise on residential populations make no specific provisions for annoyance associated with impulsive noise sources. This plan is intended to serve as a blue print for future research by other organizations. It includes detailed plans across all the health effects categories such as nonauditory physiologic effects, behavioral effects and noise-induced hearing loss, to name just a few. Existing metrics of environmental noise and its impact on people are reviewed for their suitability in assessing the impact of general aviation (GA) noise on people in airport communities. Analyses presented in this report are based on the national probability subsample of 6913 adults aged 25-74 who were administered an audiometric test as well as detailed questionnaires and physical examinations dealing with hypertension and a variety of other health conditions. The purpose of the guidelines proposed in this report is to provide with analytic procedures which can be uniformly used to express and quantify impacts from noise. The quantification methods recommended for impact assessment in these guidelines are further developments of the Fractional Impact Methodology used for assessing the health and welfare effects of a noise environment. Three principal types of noise and vibration environments are considered: general audible noise, special noises, and vibration. The desk reference contains up-to-date scientific information on the health effects of noise in a "Question and Answer" format, designed for technical or semi-technical audiences, such as State and local officials or the general public. Topics addressed include a brief description of the nation's growing highway noise problem, the effects of noise on health and welfare and how to reduce noise exposures in the proximity of highways. Easy methods of identifying noise-hotspots are discussed and methods to obtain relief are elaborated upon. Noise barriers as a possible solution are stressed and guidance is given to initiate action. In addition, case histories and specific technical details are presented to assist those in charge of planning and constructing barriers. This study was prepared for people suffering from noise, concerned citizens, technical and non-technical state, local and Federal officials involved in the process of solving severe noise problems along interstate highways, as well as planners wishing to avoid high noise exposures through planning. This study outlines a national strategy to address construction site-noise. After explaining the peculiar nature of construction-site noise and estimating the population exposed to high noise levels, the author presents viable methods to control such noise. This study projects the noise exposure of the U.S. population from motor vehicles to the Year 2000 and indicates the reduction of such exposures from various new product regulations compared with in-use enforcement programs that concentrate on the removal of a portion of defective motor vehicle exhausts. Along with the benefits, the potential costs of various controls are projected for comparison purposes. The National Roadway Traffic Noise Exposure Model (NRTNEM) is comprised of a collection of on-line datasets, some containing programs and others containing data. The manual describes the job submission procedures required to run the NRTNEM as it existed on the NCC (EPA'S National Computer Center) in December, 1981, under user ID EPADYN. The NRTNEM actually consists of two models: The General Adverse Response Model ("GAR"), and the Single Event Model ("SEM"). Only one of them can be executed by a job at a time. The NRTNEM was designed for and runs on an IBM/370 computer under MVS, with TSO (the Time Sharing Option) and WYLBUR, the latter two being conversational direct-access systems. The Programmer's Manual describes the NRTNEM system described above in more detail to facilitate program maintenance. This volume presents an overview of the RYNEM model. The basic philosophy of the model is discussed and the relevant equations used in the computations are presented. This volume is written for those who need to know what the model is like. It does not go into detail of how each computation is done in the program, nor does it teach the user how to run the model. The reader is advised to peruse the Railroad Background document for other terminology used without explanation. This volume presents a cookbook approach to the execution of the RYNEM model. Its intended audience is those who will exercise the model. It assumes familiarity with Volume I, i.e., the user knows the quantities he inputs, and he knows the quantities printed out. For obvious reasons, the explanations incorporated in Volume I are not repeated. While it does not presume expertise with the EPA IBM computer system, it does assume the user can follow the instructions presented in this volume to the letter. This volume describes the structure of the RYNEM and the model's program source code. It is not meant to teach the reader how to run the program. Execution of the model is described in Volume II. It assumes the reader has digested the contents of Volume I. The intended audience is the programmer who needs to maintain the program and make changes to the source code. A strong knowledge of standard IBM FORTRAN IV language is assumed. This volume presents an overview of the RYNEM-S model. The basic philosophy of the model is discussed and the relevant equations used in the computations are presented. This volume is written for those who need to know what the model is like. It does not go into detail of how each computation is done in the program, nor does it teach the user how to run the model. It presupposes some familiarity with the EPA noise terminology, as is covered by the "EPA Levels" document. The reader is advised to peruse the Railroad Background document for other terminology used without explanation. This volume presents a cookbook approach to the execution of the RYNEM-S model. Its intended audience is those who will exercise the model. It assumes familiarity with Volume I, i.e., the user knows the quantities he inputs, and he knows the quantities printed out. For obvious reasons, the explanations incorporated in Volume I are repeated. While it does not presume expertise with the EPA IBM computer system, it does assume the user can follow the instructions presented in this volume. This volume describes the structure of the RYNEM-S and the model's program source code. It is not meant to teach the reader how to run the program. Execution of the model is described in Volume II. It assumes the reader has digested the contents of Volume I. The intended audience is the programmer who needs to maintain the program and make changes to the source code. A strong knowledge of standard IBM FORTRAN IV language is assumed. This document describes the cash flow model used in the financial analysis conducted for the background document to railroad yard noise standards. It first details the purpose of the cash flow model. Next, a derivative to the equations used in the model is presented. Volume II lists the data inputs needed to use the model. Finally, a sample output of the model is shown with notes on how to interpret it. This volume of the railroad cash flow software documentation describes the use of the railroad cash flow model. It tells how to access the model and how to change the data. Section 2.1 provides a brief overview of the design of the cash flow model and the computing environment it is used in. Section 2.2 describes how to access the computer and run the model. Section 2.3 shows how to change the data. Section 2.4 is a sample output. Appendix A is a sample session with the cash flow model. Appendix B is a list of key commands which can be used on the WYLBUR system. Appendix C explains how to restore files which have been archived. This manual provides information on how to service the cash flow model. It is written for a user who has some familiarity with standard IBM FORTRAN-IV and the WYLBUR system. The manual has four sections. The first section discusses the model design through its technical specifications, data requirements and algorithms. The second section defines the data base specifications and defines the data names. The third section is an annotated listing of the program. The fourth section describes verification and test procedures for the model. This report examines the judicial trends in airport noise litigation by analyzing the decisions from many of the relevant legal cases. The significant issues arising out of these various cases examine this conflict from four viewpoints: 1) who is liable for aircraft noise related damages? 2) what is the scope of airport use restrictions? 3) what are the legal theories and trends in awarding aircraft noise-related damages? 4) what is the effect of land use planning and environmental impact statements on airport control? This extensive case law review indicates that the courts are continuing to hold the airport proprietor liable for aircraft noise-related damages. The judiciary is also expanding the legal theories and granting recovery for noise-related effects on people under the nuisance theory of emotional distress as well as under the traditional inverse condemnation theory for deprivation of property. The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 is reviewed. Procedures are provided for: (1) developing a well-defined set of cases for which relocation costs may be estimated; (2) determining the costs in current dollars for each expense item in each relocation case; and (3) determining the frequency of occurrence for each case as applied to specific airports. Total costs for all cases for a hypothetical airport relocation effort are provided. Supporting data and equations used are presented. This study was conducted to estimate the costs of soundproofing dwellings within the Ldn 65 noise contours at major U.S. commercial airports. To determine the distribution of dwelling types in each region, and to obtain detailed information on local dwelling characteristics that affect noise reduction, field surveys were conducted at one airport in each region. The airports surveyed were selected on the basis that the local dwelling characteristics were representative of the respective region. The information obtained was used to identify the types of modifications most suitable for soundproofing dwellings in each region. This manual describes an aircraft flight procedures model used to construct aircraft flight paths and performance schedules for specified operational procedures. The computer model algorithms were derived from fundamental aircraft and engine performance relationships or from operational characteristics applicable to specific aircraft types. The purpose of this study was to identify and collect performance and operational data and information required to construct flight paths and performance schedules for selected commercial aircarrier aircraft types. The information can be used to determine the flight paths and performance schedules for aircraft operating in accordance with specified flight procedures. This report presents a comprehensive overview of an EPA-sponsored program to demonstrate the technology and costs of reducing the noise of four heavy-duty diesel trucks to 72 dBA. The program comprised engineering development and service evaluation phases. Noise control treatments were developed and installed on each truck to reduce its noise to the target level. The treatments included partial engine and transmission enclosures, exhaust silencing systems, and two-stage engine mounts for 2 of the 4 trucks. Three trucks entered fleet service where they accumulated 230,000 miles. The treatments proved to be durable and effective and did not have an adverse impact on the operation of any vehicle. Maintenance labor time increased by 1.4% because of the need to remove enclosure panels while performing some maintenance procedures. This report discusses the technology and costs required to reduce the noise of a Ford CLT 9000 heavy-duty diesel truck from 77.1 to 72.3 dBA. The noise control treatment consists primarily of a dual exhaust silencing system and a partial enclosure for the engine and transmission. Wind tunnel tests on the completed truck show that temperatures of engine coolant and oil remain within manufacturer's specified limits. The noise treatment increases the vehicle weight by 397 lb and estimated vehicle price by $1309. This report discusses the technology and costs required to reduce the noise of a General Motors Brigadier heavy-duty diesel truck from 81.7 to 71.6 dBA. The noise control treatment consists primarily of a dual exhaust silencing system and a partial enclosure for the engine and transmission. The noise treatment increases vehicle weight by 340 lb and estimated vehicle price by $1174. Wind tunnel tests on the completed truck show that temperatures of engine coolant and oil remain within manufacturer's specified limits. This report discusses the technology and costs required to reduce the noise of an International Harvester F-4370 heavy-duty diesel truck from 81.1 to 72.2 dBA. The noise control treatment consists primarily of a dual exhaust silencing system and a partial enclosure for the engine and transmission. The noise treatment increases the vehicle weight by 332 lb and estimated vehicle price by $1302. Wind tunnel tests on the completed truck show that temperatures of engine coolant and oil remain within generally acceptable limits. This report discusses the technology and costs required to reduce the noise of a Mack R686 heavy-duty diesel truck from 81.6 dBA to 73.2 dBA. The noise control treatments consist primarily of a partial enclosure for the engine and transmission, an exhaust silencing system, and two-stage engine mounts. These treatments increase the vehicle weight by 398 lb and estimated vehicle price by $1296. This report describes the field test and operational performance evaluation of a quieted Ford CLT 9000 heavy-duty diesel truck. The noise of the truck had been reduced from 77.1 dBA to 72.3 dBA. The field test showed the noise control treatments to be effective and durable in over 100,000 miles of service. The treatments had no adverse impact on the vehicle's operation and appear to have had negligible effect on fuel consumption. Incremental maintenance time of 2.5 hours was attributable to the treatments' impact on normal annual vehicle maintenance. This report describes the field test and operational performance evaluation of a quieted General Motors Brigadier heavy-duty diesel truck. The noise of the truck had been reduced from 81.7 dBA to 71.6 dBA. The 12-month field test showed the noise control treatments to be effective and durable, although the noise level of the truck did increase slightly. The treatments did not have an adverse impact on vehicle operation and there was no evidence of payload displacement. The vehicle's fuel economy was better than that of comparison vehicles, but this was not caused by the noise treatments. Incremental maintenance time of 2.25 hours was attributable to treatment removal and interference while performing regular maintenance during the 12-month period. This report describes the field test and operational performance evaluation of a quieted International Harvester F-4370 heavy-duty diesel truck. The noise of the truck had been reduced from 81.1 dBA to 72.7 dBA. The truck accumulated 36,000 miles in 5 months of service. The treatments were effective and durable, and the noise level of the truck did not increase. The treatments did not have an adverse impact on vehicle operations and there was no evidence that the weight of the treatments displaced payload. The treatments did not have a measurable effect on fuel consumption. The treatments had a minimal impact on maintenance time. As part of a project to study tire/road, a laboratory roadwheel facility was equipped with replica road surfaces. Moving tests on a flat steel surface were also made. This document compares results from real and simulated surfaces. As part of a program to develop engineering design tools suitable for the development of quiet tires, a set of theoretical noise models was prepared and evaluated. Near-field noise and vibration measurements were made on a roadwheel facility equipped with simulated road surfaces. Data were also collected on a smooth steel roadwheel, so as to separate tread pattern and pavement texture-associated components. Stationary vibration tests, with electrodynamic shaker input, were performed to obtain response of the tire. Contact patch pressure distributions, required for the noise models, were obtained with an array of miniature transducers. The evaluations lead to the refinement of the noise models. Based on these refinements, the models were finalized and computer programs prepared. This report reviews the state-of-the-art for diesel engine noise reduction and presents new techniques for reducing engine block vibration and radiated noise. It presents a technique which makes it possible to identify and rank order the sources of noise within the engine. This report presents the results of an engineering study to design and demonstrate a method of reducing piston-slap noise for an inline, heavy-duty truck diesel engine for a Cummins NTC-350 engine. Modifications were designed to achieve a 5 dBA noise reduction without degrading engine performance, fuel economy or emissions. This report presents the results of an engineering study to design and demonstrate methods of reducing diesel engine block vibration and radiated noise. The modifications were designed for the Detroit Diesel Allison 6V-92 TTA heavy-duty diesel truck engine so that the noise reduction was achieved without degrading engine performance, fuel economy or emissions. This report constitutes the proceedings of the three day Second National Conference on General Aviation Airport Noise and Land Use Planning. The attendees at this Conference showed a greater awareness of the general aviation airport noise situation than at the first Conference. The airport operators and the planners have become more knowledgeable in this area, perhaps due, in part, to ANCLUC studies at several general aviation airports. This report describes a study of present and future exposures of people to noise from airports used by both civilians and military aircraft and predicts how exposure around these airports will be affected by increasingly stringent aircraft noise regulations in the absence of similar regulation of military aircraft. This study forecasts general aviation airport noise from 1975 to the year 2000. It focuses upon noise due to propeller-driven and business jet airplanes that operate exclusively at general aviation airports. The results of the study, expressed in terms of geographical area and population within day-night average sound levels of 55 decibels and higher, are estimated at five-year intervals covering this study period. This report documents the actions taken by airports as a result of recommendations made by Airport Noise Control and Land Use Compatibility (ANCLUC) studies funded by the Airport and Airways Development Act of 1970 (ADAP) and as a result of FY 1980 Federal grants authorized by the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1980. This report presents a discussion of the user requirements and procedures for executing the Demographic Report Generator Program. DEMCOM, a computer program written in FORTRAN IV programming language, uses as input the Aircraft Noise Levels and Annoyance Model (ALAMO) demographic profile reports which are generated for each octant of specified day-night sound level (Ldn) contour band and computes the same variables for the all-octant case. The program also projects selected demographic variables to future years based on historical growth rates for population, households, and per capita income. This manual provides instructions to the users of a series of programs that calculate fleet noise level (FNL) and airport noise index (ANI). The concept of FNL provides a method for evaluating the noise status of fleets of aircraft. Using FNL, comparisons can be developed between fleets for all airports or subsets of airports. It is an average of acoustical energies. The ANI is a measure that is sensitive to total acoustical energy. This study provides the methodology used to integrate parameters affecting noise exposure, considers soundproofing and relocation program issues, and presents procedures used to quantify airport residential soundproofing and relocation costs. This report reviews the progress which has been made in airport noise control and presents a forecast of changes in aviation noise exposure that will occur during the balance of this century. Results are given of an analysis which examines the benefits of noise abatement flight operations, flight procedures, and of restrictions on population encroachment, on residential noise exposure. Cost of residential soundproofing and relocation, based upon in-depth studies, are presented for four air carrier airports which represent four airport categories. While the main focus of the report is on noise exposure above Ldn 65 at air carrier airports, noise exposure around general aviation and joint use civil/military airports is also discussed. A set of theoretical models has been prepared which describes the noise generated by tire/road interaction. The mechanisms considered are air pumping and carcass vibration. The models begin with a set of thin shell equations describing the motion of the belt of a radial ply tire, as derived by Bohm ("Mechanisms of the Belted Tire," Ingeniur-Archiv, XXXV, 1966). This study presents a method that can be used to examine and quantify each factor contributing to motor vehicle noise produced by automobile accelerating on city/suburban streets. It is based on data collected in six different jurisdictions subject to a range of noise control programs and was developed to assist State/local jurisdictions to formulate or refine motor vehicle noise control programs. This study describes the basic components found in four active property line noise control programs and suggests a method for assessing program effectiveness. It is for use by local jurisdictions interested in developing property line noise control or assessing current program completeness. This report investigates four potential noise control approaches to the control of noise from refuse vehicles. These included: (1) The potential impact of a legislative alternative requiring stationary compactors for all new hi-rise developments; (2) The effect of a collection curfew; (3) The incorporation of noise into an annual inspection program and (4) The impact of taking no local action and allowing federal regulations to serve as the only control. This report covers a series of potential control strategies for minibike noise which can be used in a metropolitan jurisdiction. Other jurisdictions would gain insight into their minibike noise problems from reading this report. These potential strategies include: a curfew alternative; a specific use area; prohibited use on public land except recreational areas and on private lands with permission of the owner; and an exploration of the possibility of a registration/licensing fee. The study was made in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is a large and wealthy suburban area that is part of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Exploration of the curfew alternative indicates that it is not a particularly effective strategy in controlling minibike noise. This report, conducted by the National League of Cities, covers public attitude on noise, legislation and enforcement, State and local resources. It provides excellent background to municipalities interest in the State-of-the-art in noise abatement control. This report is an assessment of the principal sources of State and local noise problems across the country, and shows what municipalities are doing to abate and control noise in their own communities. A partial assessment of the results of a Federally sponsored program conducted in three cities to demonstrate the best available techniques for developing local noise control. Includes an overall summary and focuses on the correlation between attitudinal and acoustical surveys, between actual noise level s and public perception. This report will provide communities with the procedure for determining the benefits of a building noise code to citizens within that community. The report should be used in conjunction with the Model Building Code and the manual for assessing costs for a building code. This manual specifically deals with the acoustical impact of building mechanical equipment systems on the exterior environment surrounding a building site. It has been prepared as a training and implementation guide for building officials and engineers whose knowledge and training in acoustics may be limited. The purpose of this report is to provide technical information to State and local noise control officials on the correlation between stationary motorcycle noise tests and the federal F76 passby noise test. The purpose of this manual is to provide law enforcement personnel with the necessary technical skills and procedures to enforce State and local motor vehicle noise laws. The manual has been written for use by the police officer charged with the enforcement responsibilities, as well as his supervisor. This review of U.S. sponsored research on the effects of noise on health is an update of a previous survey which compares present trends in research in different noise effects research categories and by federal agency. The following categories of research are covered: Nonauditory Physiologic Responses; Noise Effects on Sleep; Individual and Community Response; Behavioral, Social, and Performance Effects; Communication Interference; Noise Environment Determination and Exposure Characterization; and Human Response to Noise Concomitant with Vibration. The number of Americans exposed to various levels of occupational and environmental noise is estimated. Estimates are made for 11 categories of noise producers (e.g., traffic, aircraft, construction) using the Ldn or Leq(24) metrics. Research from 19 countries, including 168 research projects, is by specific categories of health effects. For each project, an abstract, the name and address of the principle investigator, funding and sponsor data (if available), and citations of available publications are given. This 3 volume report contains a review of all world literature to date and a critical analysis of existing foreign and domestic epidemiological research on the nonauditory physiological effects of noise. In addition, the scientific literature on hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and general stress are analyzed for its applicability to noise effects epidemiology. Information and recommendations pertinent to a number of substantive and methodological issues related to the design and conduct of future noise effects epidemiology is also provided. As part of its research effort in the area of noise effects, EPA developed the plan contained in this report to organize research dealing with cardiovascular effects which has been identified by numerous experts as the number one noise effects research priority. The report delineates the current state of scientific knowledge and several planning alternatives for research to aimed at reaching protective human criteria. This handbook describes procedures for measuring compliance with EPA's Noise Emission Standards, which set limits on the noise of locomotives, rail cars, active retarders, car-coupling impacts, and locomotive load cell test standards. This report documents the development of a conceptual model, and a computer program for its implementation, for assessing the aggregate impact of noise from household and consumer products on the health and welfare of the national population. The computer program requires input data on population, time utilization, dwelling type, noise isolation in dwellings, product noise emission, and product utilization. From the input data, the "weighted population," corresponding to each of a number of different noise descriptors, is computed. The report describes the assumptions involved in the model, reviews available input data, and documents the computer program. This document is a compendium of noise regulations in the countries participating in the first Ad Hoc International Meeting of Regulatory Officials on Alignment of Noise Test Procedures. The regulations described in the compendium include those existing, those under development, and those anticipated within five years, and fall into six product categories: Construction Equipment, Domestic Appliances, Miscellaneous, Railroads, Motor Vehicles, and Aircraft. This document presents the Proceedings of the First Ad Hoc International Meeting of Regulatory Officials on Alignment of Noise Test Procedures. The Ad Hoc Meeting was held in Washington, D.C. on December 9-12, 1980. The Proceedings describes the history and rationale of the meeting, presents the Meeting conclusions, details the Meeting agenda, lists the participants, and summarizes the presentations made at the Meeting and the ensuing discussions. This study investigated the noise associated with highway construction activities. It involved the identification and examination of associated noise characteristics, availability and demonstration of abatement measures, as well as the development of a computer based model for use as a tool to predict the noise impact of construction activities and to plan mitigation measures. The model was developed for use on the FHWA computer (IBM 360). A total of seven reports were prepared in this study and have been released for public distribution. This study describes the development of a machinery noise computer model which may be used to assess the effect of occupational noise on the health and welfare of industrial workers. The purpose of the model is to provide EPA with the methodology to evaluate the personnel noise problem, to identify the equipment types responsible for the exposure and to assess the potential benefits of a given noise control action. Due to its flexibility in design and application, the model and supportive computer program can be used by other federal agencies, state governments, labor and industry as an aid in the development of noise abatement programs. This report contains an evaluation of noise conditions in the sheet metal shop at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina (CNSY Shop 17). The study was performed during 1978. The evaluation is based on noise exposure data for fulltime workers in Shop 17 and an analysis of noise emissions of the individual machine types used in the shop. Noise emission data are presented for the following equipment types: band saws, friction saws, pneumatic grinders, electric routers, square shears, nibblers, belt sanders Punch presses (manual and numerically controlled), press brakes, cutoff saws, spot welders, drill presses, pneumatic drills and electric drills. Activities covered ranged from basic research, through technology development and, systems demonstration programs including noise prediction and measurement methodologies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has identified noise from surface vehicles as a significant noise problem in the United States and noise from tires as a principal contributor to this problem. Moreover, as noise from the other parts of the vehicle is gradually reduced through the application of better technology, noise from tires will become a more significant contributor, when the vehicle is operated at high speeds. This report provides an overview of recently completed, current, or planned foreign tire noise research, development, and demonstration projects, and identifies tire industry developments and developing changes in tire technology which may have a bearing on noise. The engine cooling fan is a major component noise source in highway trucks. The purpose of this report is to review the current state of the art for quieting of truck cooling system fans. Recent improvements in analytical capabilities and increased understanding of fan noise are reviewed. Considerable emphasis is devoted to the investigation of the cooling system airflow requirement and an evaluation of alternative cooling system airflow configurations which would yield significant cooling system sound level reductions. Recommendations for actions which would foster the design, development, and installation of quieter fans are made. Quieting internal combustion engine noise from highway vehicles is currently accomplished by means of acoustical engine enclosures. These enclosures may also have the effect of restricting the cooling airflow traveling through the engine compartment. The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss engine compartment airflow, establish the framework of a semi-analytical model describing this airflow, review the effect of acoustical engine enclosures on this airflow, and identify and specify additional data required for such a model to be measured. In addition, instrumentation which can be used to monitor truck cooling system performance during in-use operation is specified. This report reviews the noise control technology available to equipment manufacturers and users of the following machines: automatic screw machines, semi-automatic stamping presses, planes, wood saws, metal saws, crawler tractors, molding machines, spinning frames, and twisters. The study also looks at the reasons for the unavailability of certain control technology. The availability of new quiet machines on the market place is also reviewed. APUs and GPUs provide essential service to aircraft during ground operations. Sound levels near these devices range from 80 to 87 dBA at 30 m for APUs, 83 to 103 dBA at 10 m for turbine-engined GPUs, and 71 to 80 dBA at 10 m for piston-engined GPUs. Procedures are provided for: (1) estimating community sound levels due to APUs and GPUs, (2) estimating their exposures in terms of day-night sound levels, and (3) assessing the desirability of noise abatement by comparison to recommended levels for acceptability. The report contains five sections. Section 2 develops a basic perspective on the noise of subsonic and supersonic aircraft and the general relationships between their airframe and engine performance characteristics, noise certification standard, and noise impact. Section 3 summarizes the status of individual elements of noise control technology including engine, aerodynamics, and operational procedures. Section 4 reviews some of the integrated airframe-engine noise integration studies, and Section 5 attempts to summarize where noise and the SST stand with respect to technology. This report is based on information developed and made available prior to Fall 1978. The study was designed to develop and analyze an aircraft takeoff noise data base consisting of areas and populations, computed as a function of noise level, aircraft type, weight and takeoff flight procedure. Six aircraft, each at typical and maximum weight, were chosen to represent the range of civil transport aircraft and engine types. The data base developed in this report enable an approximate direct translation of results between various operational, procedures and the certification test procedures. This report contains an update and revision of the estimated noise impact of airport jet air carrier operations in the years 1975 and 2000. These estimates are based on the current takeoff flight procedures, the 1979 FAA fleet forecast, and current definitions of new technology aircraft. They do not assume additional regulatory actions, either in aircraft noise certification or in airport operations, nor do they assume additional noise control efforts on the part of individual airports. This report deals with the development of noise-control approaches applicable to a mechanical equipment permit scheme for commercial, business, institutional, and residential high-rise buildings. The report identifies and categorizes mechanical equipment as noise sources. The equipment is classified and rank-ordered on the basis of potential noise impact. A series of worksheets and guidelines are presented for use in performing the calculations necessary to evaluate a given mechanical design for exterior noise impact. A model municipal noise control code for buildings has been developed. Also included is an implementation manual for this code. The provisions of the code were developed with three objectives in mind. First, they attempt to minimize the adverse health and welfare effects of intruding noise without requiring the construction of economically unreasonable buildings. Proposed standards for the outdoor reduction of noise levels are achievable with existing materials and construction techniques. Secondly, enforcement for the review of plans and for the acceptance of completed buildings are described. Thirdly, this material should help jurisdictions develop a process of administration and enforcement that is compatible with existing building code procedures. This report provides communities interested in adopting a noise control ordinance with measurement procedures for effective enforcement. The first segment discusses the theory of sound, terminology, and computation methods. Vibration measurement and criteria are also presented. The second segment of this report presents the current measurement procedures. Noise and vibration measurement procedures are presented for stationary noise sources. These include statistical sampling and steady sound techniques, both weighted and octave band. Both roadway (passby) and stationary sound level measurement methods are provided for automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles. Sound measurement procedures are also included for buses, construction equipment, model vehicles, recreation vehicles, and refuse collection vehicles. This report deals with the investigation of each of the noise control alternatives for grain dryers in the State of Maryland. The primary objective of this study was to furnish and verify information with recommendations for future approaches to grain dryers noise control which would be of assistance to other jurisdictions, faced with grain dryers noise problems, as well as, references to other studies which may be helpful. This report details the strategies evaluated and assesses the experience encountered in the investigation of noise from air conditioners and refrigeration condensing units in the State of Maryland. Each is designed to provide guidance for the State and local noise agencies faced with similar noise problems. Hence, emphasis is placed on the practical aspects of attempting to implement innovative approaches. The objectives, methodology, and results of a national survey of outdoor noise environments in urban residential areas are discussed. The objectives were to determine overall noise levels, source contributions, and patterns of spatial and temporal variation in these areas, along with the effect of three locational factors on these parameters. The survey employed a randomized site selection procedure, a stratified sampling strategy, and a multifaceted measurement protocol to meet these objectives. Results of the survey include a simple model which predicts Ldn in these areas, projections of nationwide noise impact, average source contributions and temporal noise level histories and average variations in noise level at different locations around residential units. This workbook provides specific instructions for the design and administration of a social survey of community attitudes toward noise. Implementation of a social survey is an exercise in management, but in addition to following the rules and guidelines in the manual, city officials must exercise judgment and "common sense." This document provides specific instructions for the design and administration of a social survey of community attitudes toward noise. The social survey should be used with the Acoustical Survey and the Community Noise Strategy Guidelines. This report provides guidelines for the implementation of a telephone survey for determining community attitudes towards noise. The manual provides the survey format and the information required to logistically implement the program. This report was prepared by EPA, Office of Noise Abatement and Control, in support of its function to provide technical assistance to communities. The Manual provides a comprehensive and computerized system for assessing the noise problems of a community and then planning a noise control strategy for its abatement. This Manual presents the technical instructions and guidelines needed by municipal authorities to carry out an initial noise survey. This survey will determine average noise levels and major noise sources for the community as a whole. It can be used in planning noise reduction measures to benefit the entire community or a substantial portion thereof. This report was prepared by EPA, Office of Noise Abatement and Control, in support of its function to provide technical assistance to communities. It is one of nine which comprises the Community Noise Assessment Manual. The Manual provides a comprehensive and computerized system for assessing the noise problems of a community and then planning a noise control strategy for its abatement. This report provides the computerized procedures for running an acoustical survey for a community as described in the report: "Acoustical Survey for a Community." The purpose of this document is to assist community officials in planning noise control programs. This manual describes how to use acoustical and social survey data to choose an optimum noise control program for a chosen period and budget. This report was prepared by EPA, Office of Noise Abatement and Control, in support of its function to provide technical assistance to communities. It is one of nine which comprises the Community Noise Assessment Manual. The Manual provides a comprehensive and computerized system for assessing the noise problems of a community and then planning a noise control strategy for its abatement. This report was prepared by EPA, Office of Noise Abatement and Control, in support of its function to provide technical assistance to communities. It is one of nine which comprises the Community Noise Assessment Manual. The Manual provides a comprehensive and computerized system for assessing the noise problems of a community and then planning a noise control strategy for its abatement. It provides a simplified and manual system for planning the noise control strategy for abating a community's noise problems. It assists communities in determining, in an objective manner, the efficient allocation of funds for reducing the adverse effects of noise in their community. The purpose of this report is to provide various presentation techniques that will ensure effective communication of noise data to elected officials, administrators, health officials and other local personnel. The principal users of this manual are the city officials entrusted with responsibility for noise control administration. The purpose of this document is to put the various Federal Agency Land Use policies and guidance packages into perspective. Also this document does not replace the individual Federal agency material it can facilitate the consideration of noise in all land use planning and interagency/intergovernmental coordination process. This report represents a survey of the most significant studies since EPA issued its first report concerning noise effects on wildlife in 1971. The report has been divided into three main sections: laboratory animals, domestic animals, and wildlife. Reports on each species or taxonomic group are presented in four major categories of noise effects: auditory physiological, masking, nonauditory physiological, and behavioral. This report contains a limited survey on the existing scientific literature pertaining to the cardiovascular effects of high noise exposure, and places that literature in perspective based on the available knowledge of general cardiovascular effects of stressful stimuli. The authors also discuss conceptual obstacles to progress in cardiovascular disease research, key technical or measurement system obstacles for research, and findings related to noise and suggestions for further research. This report describes a user oriented computer program that allows investigation and analysis of daily activity profiles from two large existing data bases. The user can examine the relationships between people's primary activities, secondary activities, location and activity duration. This document presents the technical data and analysis used by EPA in developing the Proposed Noise Emission Regulation for Buses. The information presented includes a detailed discussion of: buses and the bus industry; baseline noise levels for current buses; the noise control technology available; the adverse health and welfare impacts of bus noise and the potential benefits of Federal regulation; the expected costs and potential economic effects of regulation; the measurement methodology; the anticipated enforcement procedures; and existing State, local and foreign noise regulations applicable to buses. A Federal noise regulation has not been issued for buses this document is available for information purposes only. This document presents all comments received from the public regarding the Proposed Bus Noise Emission Regulation and the Federal government's responses to each comment. The comments include those received during the 90-day public comment period and testimony received at two public hearings. The comments and Agency responses address: health and welfare benefits of the regulation; bus interior noise; school buses; possible economic effects of the regulation; noise control technology; enforcement of the regulation; test procedures; Acoustical Assurance Period and Sound Level Degradation Factor; Transbus; transit malls; and general comments. A Federal noise regulation has not been issued for buses; this document is available for information purposes only. This document presents an assessment of the expected benefits and impacts of the Proposed Noise Emission Regulation for Buses. The information presented includes a description of the bus noise problem, the statutory basis for the action, a summary of the proposed regulation, State and local programs complementary to Federal noise emission standards for buses, the alternatives considered, the expected benefits of Federal regulation, the potential economic effects of regulation, public comments on the draft environmental impact statement, and conclusions. A Federal noise regulation has not been issued for buses; this document is available for information purposes only. This document contains copies of the public comments that were received after the first official public comment period, which closed on July 12, 1979 for the April 17, 1979 Proposed Property Line and Source Specific Standards regulation amendment. Also contained are those public comments received during a reopened comment period (January 4, 1980 until April 4, 1980) which followed the publication of certain final rail yard noise source standards on this two-part rulemaking action. This document presents the technical data and analyses used by EPA in developing the noise emission regulations for motorcycles and motorcycle exhaust systems. The information presented includes a detailed discussion of: the motorcycle and motorcycle exhaust systems industry; baseline noise levels for current motorcycles; the noise control technology available; the adverse health and welfare impacts of motorcycle noise and the potential benefits of regulation; the expected costs and potential economic effects of regulation; and the noise measurement methodology. This document includes detailed information that supplements Sections 1 through 8 of the Regulatory Analysis. In addition, it includes an analysis of State, local, and foreign motorcycle noise regulations and a summary of the motorcycle national emphasis plan. This document presents all comments received from the public regarding the proposed noise emission regulations for motorcycles and motorcycle exhaust systems and the Federal government's responses to each comment. The comments include written submissions received during the 90-day public comment period, and testimony received at the three public hearings. The comments and Agency responses address: health and welfare benefits of the regulation; economic effects of the regulation; noise control technology; enforcement of the regulation; test procedures; Acoustical Assurance Period and Sound Level Degradation Factor; labeling; mopeds; and general comments. This document presents an assessment of the expected benefits and impacts of the final noise emission regulations for motorcycles and motorcycle exhaust systems. The information presented includes a description of the motorcycle and motorcycle exhaust noise problem, the statutory basis for action, a summary of the regulation, State and local programs complementary to Federal noise emission standards for motorcycles and motorcycle exhaust systems, the rationale for regulation, the expected benefits of the regulation, the potential economic effects of the regulation, public comments, the draft environmental impact statement, and conclusions. The test results presented in this report are the end product of bilateral discussions and technical cooperation between the Commission of the European Communities and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The discussion and joint comparative testing were carried out to assess the potential for alignment of the existing U.S. and the proposed CEC test procedures for the measurement of noise from portable air compressors. This report includes background information on the impact of construction noise, actions that have been carried out by Federal, State and local governments to control construction equipment and construction site noise, and a forecast of construction activity for the period 1980-1985. This report constitutes the proceedings of the three-day conference on general aviation airport noise and land use planning. Included are advance copies of the speakers' presentations that were available at the conference, a summary of each of the five panels, a noise bibliography, and a transcription of all discussions including audience participation. A translation of "Noise: A Health Problem," a pamphlet written for the general public, in layman's language, on the physical, psychological and emotional hazards of excessive noise on health and welfare. This manual is designed to assist with the implementation of a State and/or local noise control public education and information program. The purposes of the program are: a) To increase the awareness and knowledge levels of the general public with respect to the potentially harmful health effects of excessive noise and the effects of noise on their quality of life; b) To foster and promote locally and individually indicated noise control actions c) To motivate and generate the support of the general public, public/private agencies and organizations, groups and associations for the increased role of State and local governments in noise control and abatement; and d) To encourage citizens to participate in the design and implementation of local noise control efforts. This report is submitted to Congress in response to Section 8 of the Quiet Communities Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-609) which resulted from Congressional concern that aircraft noise from some airports may impact communities located in another state. The study included three semi-independent programs: (1) Noise Measurement, (2) Noise Modeling, and (3) Community Response. The noise exposure conditions, and the relative effectiveness of alternative noise control actions, were investigated for the existing 1980 operations and for projected 1990 and 2000 operations. The purpose of this manual is to provide guidance to prosecutors who choose to take legal action against violators of State or local noise regulations; its intent is to assist prosecutors preparing for and conducting a trial--from drafting the complaint to submitting jury instructions. The purpose of this document is to provide material suitable for use in training State and local police officers to enforce their noise control laws. The legal memoranda included in this document address some of the more prevalent enforcement issues which have arisen in connection with State and local noise control activities. This collection of legal memoranda is organized according to the following two distinct phases of noise control activities: (1) ordinance drafting; and (2) prosecution. This publication is intended to promote understanding of EPA's findings about levels of environmental noise that protect public health and welfare. It seeks to clarify the proper use of the 1984 "Levels Document" by interpreting its contents in less technical terms: The manual deals with measurement descriptors of environmental noise. Also addressed are the best understood effects of noise on people (hearing damage, speech interference and annoyance). Protective levels are summarized. The purpose of this report is to investigate workers compensation for permanent noise-induced hearing loss in 50 States and the federal government. The report examines claims activity, some of the main compensation rules, their scientific support and claims procedures. Finally, the Federal Employee Compensation (FEC) program for hearing loss is studied. The present report is a continuation of an earlier report by Scharf, Hellman and Bauer (1977). The objectives are (1) to determine whether subjective judgments of particular types of noise, categorized by spectral shape, are better approximated by some descriptors (frequency weightings and calculation procedures) than by others, and (2) to investigate the role of tonal components in these studies and to assess the adequacy of several tone-correction procedures. This study was undertaken to evaluate subjective and objective aspects of moderate levels of noise from impulsive sources. A detailed review of the literature on the subjective aspects was emphasized. The annoyance and loudness from a wide variety of repetitive impulse noises were evaluated. These results were applied to the evaluation of impulsive noise from a number of specific noise sources. This report presents results of an estimate of the national exposure to aircarrier aircraft noise through the year 2000. The forecast was carried out to show the effect of two types of noise abatement options. The first consisted of modifications to FAR Part 36 proposed to the Federal Aviation Administration (Notice 76-22) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which would establish lower noise limits for newly designed aircraft in the years 1980 and 1985. The second type consisted of alternative power cutback procedures (FAA AC 91-39 and two variations of ALPA/Northwest Airlines procedure) coupled with minor variations on approach procedures. The FAA measured the noise at several communities in the vicinity of JFK International Airport due to the operations of Concorde and subsonic aircraft. This report presents the results of an analysis by the EPA of the FAA noise data which leads to interpretations of the effects of Concorde operations on the public that are different in significant respect from what might be assumed from a cursory reading of the FAA reports. An existing urban sound propagation model has been applied to the specific problem of estimating the propagation of noise from urban construction sites along street corridors. Discussion summarizes the development of the propagation model and computer programs used to estimate sound propagation. The propagation model has been applied to five different construction site orientations resulting from two city block configurations. For each of the site orientations, the estimated values of attenuation versus distance in the streets surrounding individual sites are presented. Assuming the sound level at the construction site is known, the procedure to be used to determine sound levels in the surrounding streets is also provided. Development of a county noise program in the southeastern U.S. Discusses the transition from a nuisance to quantitative ordinance based on receiving land use, the administration of the new program, and results. Comprehensive study of the development of a municipal noise control program with particular focus on motor vehicle noise control. Includes history key program components, and an evaluation of results. The development of a successful municipal noise control program from initiation by a Task Force and citizen survey through ordinance development and passage to administration and enforcement. Includes public education methods, legal approaches, the philosophy of enforcement and three case studies illustrating the city's implementation of noise control. The purpose of the investigation was to explore the relationship between hearing level at various audiometric frequencies and speech discrimination in different noise backgrounds. The study was designed specifically to test the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology's (AAOO) selection of a 26-dB average of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz, as the point above which hearing handicap occurs. The study attempted to see if there were differences among individuals whose hearing was at or better than the low fence, and if so, what factors caused or affected the differences. The AAOO formula adopted the inclusion of 3000 Hz to assess hearing handicap as a result of this study. This volume has been compiled from the results of a survey on foreign noise effects research from 1975-77. The survey was conducted for the second interagency noise effects research panel. Included in the volume are 211 project descriptions, from twenty-two countries. Projects are reported under the following subject areas: noise-induced hearing loss, non-auditory health effects, psychological and performance effects, noise effects on sleep, communication interference, community or collective response, effects of noise on domestic animals and wildlife, noise environment determination, and noise concomitant with vibration. The Federal Noise Effects Research Program was documented and reviewed in 1977. At that time, the program had expanded slightly over the previous years, with more agencies participating. The program was reasonably comprehensive and, in general, coordinated with no unjustified overlap of efforts. Research needs to support and justify regulatory and standards requirements were identified by the Panel as being of the highest priority. This report provides a broad overview of the international research effort in aviation noise abatement and control that was completed or underway during 1976/1977. 116 Research Projects were reported by 8 countries. Reports included: Identification of Program Sponsor, Type of Research, Funding Levels, Program Summary and References. Activities covered ranged from basic research, through technology development and, systems demonstration programs including noise prediction and measurement methodologies. This report, prepared by the Federal Interagency Aviation Noise Research Panel is a compilation of the research, technology, and demonstration (RT&D) activities of Federal agencies and departments in the area of aviation noise during the period FY 75-78. The report contains qualitative assessments of these activities as well as recommendations for future areas of work. Each Agency's projects are summarized, including levels of funding for each fiscal year. In addition, a bibliography of completed research reports, by Agency, is included. Aviation noise RT&D activities reported are grouped into two types of programs. The first group comprises Research and Technology Programs. It encompasses acoustic fundamentals and noise generation, suppression, transmission, and prediction. The second group is that of Demonstration Programs and Systems Studies. Programs in this group are intended to explore the actual effectiveness and appropriateness of applied technology for aircraft noise abatement with realistic hardware. This study contains calculations used to assess the potential effectiveness of barriers toward reducing noise exposure from the federal-aid highway system. Noise exposure, in terms of the numbers of people exposed to Ldn greater than 60, 65, 70 and 75 dB, from the primary federal-aid system was computed for present traffic flow and projected traffic through the year 2000. Reductions in noise exposure were computed for several scenarios of constructing barriers along urban interstate highways. It was found that significant reduction of noise exposure would require barriers along most of the urban interstate system. The benefit (in terms of reduction of exposed population) per mile of barrier construction was found to be greatest at high noise levels (Ldn > 75 dB). It was concluded that barriers would not provide a feasible method for abating noise on a national scale. Their main benefit is to provide relief in extremely noisy local applications. STATUS OF NOISE CONTROL IN U.S.A. The purpose of this report is to analyze the status of state and local noise control programs in the U.S. Three elements of the programs have been investigated and reported. These include: Public Awareness, Legislative, and Noise Control Implementation. This document is designed to serve as the basis for a self-contained program of instruction addressing noise in the total environment of the operating engineer. It is designed to be used as an independent program of instruction for operating engineer apprentices, or to be integrated with other components of a complete apprenticeship training program. A study to determine average speech levels used by people when conversing in different levels of background noise. The non-laboratory environments where speech was recorded were: high school classrooms, homes, hospitals, department stores, trains and commercial aircraft. The study used 80 male college students divided into high and low anxiety groups. Each subject experienced a household noise profile under a quiet (50 dBA), intermittent (84 dBA) and continuous (84 dBA) noise condition, while performing either an easy or difficult pursuit tracking task. Heart rate, electromyographic potentials, and tracking error responses were evaluated. Results indicated significant (P.01) main effects for task difficulty, noise condition and anxiety level (as measured by the IPAT Self Analysis Form) of subjects. The report presents the results of a social survey of over 2,000 respondents at 24 selected urban locations throughout the United States. A social survey (coupled with an extensive noise measurement program to acoustically describe the urban environment) was conducted to sample opinion over the entire range of noise exposure and population density characteristic of non rural America. The objectives of the National Urban Noise Survey were to establish relationships between noise exposure and human response as a function of situational and attitudinal variables associated with the life styles of people residing in urban areas away from highways and airports, as well as to establish the outdoor noise levels at which noise becomes the salient factor in the generation of annoyance as a response indicator. This report presents the results of a detailed examination of 23 studies in which listeners judged either the loudness or acceptability of sound. This investigation compares commonly employed frequency weightings and calculation rating schemes with respect to their ability to predict the subjective effect of sound. These studies included data available from both the laboratory and the field, and encompassed a wide variety of natural and simulated noise stimuli. A presentation of the questions posed and an assessment of the issues related to the consideration of the amendment to delete deceleration testing from the medium and heavy truck noise regulation (40 CFR 205) is reported. Although noise emissions from engine brake operation are unique in character, it appears that noise control using engine exhaust muffling for the vehicle acceleration mode also reduces engine brake deceleration sound levels. Economic impacts of vehicle deceleration testing using engine brakes appear minimal if engine brakes are installed at the point of manufacture. The report contains EPA Regulatory Docket No. ONAC 77-3 exhibiting all comments submitted by interested parties. The purpose of the seminar was to help EPA and other government agencies become aware of university noise control sources. Principal investigators of active, industrially-related research programs at universities were invited to present information about work recently completed (during 1975 or 1976), or in progress, or planned for 1977. Papers were solicited on research, development and demonstration projects in all areas of noise control except aircraft noise. Emphasis was placed on industrially sponsored, hardware oriented projects. An experimental program was conducted to determine the transfer function of quarry blast noise and vibration into typical structures. Four distinct noise and vibration signals are produced inside nearby dwellings. It was determined that due to resonances excited within the dwellings, the noise and vibration excitation was greater inside the dwellings that outside. The military services within the Department of Defense are currently working to alleviate the noise problem at their airfields. Most of these efforts are grouped in a program entitled the Air Installations Compatible Use Zones (AICUZ). The Noise Control Act of 1972 designated EPA as the coordinator of Federal noise programs to ensure that they are consistent and mutually reinforcing. EPA believes that one way to facilitate coordination is to promote an understanding of other agencies programs by publishing a series of Federal noise program guides. This document covers some important features of DOD's AICUZ program, its problems and relationship to other agencies noise programs. This report discusses some of the features and problems of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Noise Abatement and Control Policy. Its purpose is to serve as aid to persons concerned with noise abatement and control activities in the Federal Government. A review and comparison has been conducted of three highway noise prediction models: NCHRP, TSC, and Wyle. The first two are those approved by the Federal Highway Administration; the third was developed for EPA. The elements comprising each model are analyzed in detail, including basic formulation, vehicle noise levels, propagation, treatment of various road geometries, and shielding by barriers. Significant differences among the models were found. A series of charts is presented whereby differences among the models may be estimated for particular input data. Comparison between measured roadside levels and predictions from the three models are also presented. A manual has been prepared which presents a procedure for reviewing noise impact of proposed highway projects. The manual reviews Federal Highway Administration policy for noise impact, and includes specific steps for reviewing environmental impact statements and noise study reports prepared for proposed highway projects. The noise policy of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and noise levels identified by the Environmental Protection Agency are also reviewed, so that a complete assessment of the impact of expected noise may be made. A noise prediction model, consisting of charts, nomograms, and simple equations, is presented so as to enable an independent check of predicted levels presented in an EIS. The noise model (which includes barriers) is itself suitable for predicting roadside noise levels. This document discusses the important features of FHWA's noise policy and related environmental procedures. It also identifies associated problems with the policy without attempting to present an "evaluation." No examination of how the policy actually works in the field was undertaken. The purpose of the report is to serve as aid to persons concerned with noise abatement and control activities in the Federal Government. The report introduces the problem of effective enforcement of noise control requirement in building codes throughout Europe, examines in detail two approaches of special interest and finally proposes a new approach to the endorsement of building code noise requirements. A review is given of the measurement needs attendant to regulation of the noise generated and emitted by commercial products. The report is divided into three major parts. Part I is a discussion of overall measurement requirements. Part II is designed as a checklist for the evaluation of the suitability of a noise measurement standard for a particular class of products. Part III consists of a series of flow charts depicting the development of appropriate procedures for the measurement of product noise emission. A method is described for calculating values of Day/Night Levels (Ldn) at a point due to aircraft operations from civil airports. The procedure is to determine distances between the point in question on the ground and the aircraft flight tracks and runway. A series of charts give Ldn values for different types of aircraft in terms of these distance parameters. This method is not suitable for generating noise contours (lines of equal Ldn value) although a method is described for estimating area and size of any given contour. This document was developed to continue the dialogue on the overall goals of the noise program, the role of government, the role of consumers, and the role of industry in noise control, along with the selection of specific abatement and enforcement activities for EPA. It establishes a general framework for making decisions on the best strategy that EPA can employ to combat noise pollution. The Model Community Noise Control Ordinance is intended to be a basic tool which communities, both large and small, can use to construct noise control ordinances suited to local needs and conditions. This document contains the technical, economic, health and welfare analysis and other pertinent data and information utilized by the Environmental Protection Agency in the development of the final Interstate Rail Carrier Noise Emission Regulation. This report presents an assessment of the environmental noise effort and noise control needs in the 50 states and 235 incorporated municipalities with populations greater than 75,000. The document has been used by EPA as a guide for developing its technical assistance program. Some issues in conflict regarding the proposed OSHA standards for occupational exposure to noise are examined. These include material impairment, the extent of possible hearing loss, non-auditory effects, and the nature of social and economic costs and benefits of regulation at 85 dBA and 90 dBA exposure limits. A preliminary analysis of the methodology and difficulties in arriving at cost-benefit estimates is included. Regulatory alternatives such as new plant standards, industry-specific standards, variance and abatement agreements, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment are explored. This document presents and discusses the background data used by the Agency in the development of proposed noise control regulations for promulgation by the FAA in conformance with the Noise Control Act of 1972. The proposed regulations pertain to control of airplane noise at the source and would amend the existing Federal Aviation Regulations PART 36 (FAR 36). This document summarizes the effects on costs incurred by the public and private sectors as a result of the Noise Emission Regulations for Portable Air Compressors. Included are economic impact estimates, impacts on inflation, environmental improvements, alternatives considered, and impact on materials. This booklet contains, in layman language, fundamentals of acoustics and noise. A bibliography is provided as well as a glossary for more detailed technical information on specific aspects of this subject. On March 31, 1976, the EPA issued a regulation governing noise emissions from newly manufactured medium and heavy trucks. That regulation was issued under Section 6 of the Noise Control Act of 1972. This document presents and discusses the background data used by the Agency in setting the standards contained in the regulation. Presented is a comprehensive discussion of the information available in March 1976 on the environmental, testing, technological, and economic aspects of medium and heavy truck noise control. Potential effects of noise on the public health and welfare are described, limitations and gaps in necessary knowledge of those effects are identified as research needs, and eight categories for analyzing noise effects research are presented. The Federal research programs were summarized for each of the eight health effects categories. The Noise Effects Research Panel through its collective knowledge of the needs and the current research identified specific research areas which needed additional emphasis in order to provide accurate and thorough information on effects of noise. The Panel concluded that the then current programs need continued and in some instances expanded support in order to provide necessary information on the effects of noise. This document updates NTID 73.1, dated March l, 1973. It provides a summary of state and local noise laws in existence in the U. S. up thru December 1974. A literature search and study has been made on the following; with special reference to transport category aircrafts: (1) Certification process; (2) Specific types and models certificated since 1969; (3) Recent annual production statistics or estimates. This program was undertaken for the Office of Noise Abatement and Control, Environmental Protection Agency, to evaluate the nationwide community impact of aircraft noise through the year 2000, considering a number of aircraft/airport noise reduction alternatives. The study was based on the evaluation of operations at three airports - Los Angeles International, St. Louis, and Washington Dulles. This document contains the technical, economic, health and welfare analyses and other pertinent data and information utilized by the Environmental Protection Agency in the development of the Interstate Rail Carrier Noise Emission Regulation. In accordance with a recommendation by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration is considering an amendment to Section 91.87 of the Federal Aviation Regulations which would provide noise relief to communities in the vicinity of airports by prescribing a two-segment Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach for civil turbojet engine-powered airplanes. In accordance with a recommendation by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration is considering an amendment to Section 91.85 of the Federal Aviation regulations which would provide noise relief to communities in the vicinity of airports by prescribing reduced flap setting procedures for civil turbojet powered airplanes. This report presents the supporting data for a proposed noise certification rule for supersonic civil aircraft. The background information presented shows that supersonic transports are inherently noisier than subsonic jet transports. It is concluded that current designs of SST aircraft cannot comply with FAR 36 but that future designs can at least meet those requirements. In view of these conclusions as well as the other factors discussed, five of the various regulatory options are recommended for further consideration for the development of one or more rules. Under Section 7 of the Noise Control Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-574), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized to propose to the Federal Aviation Administration aircraft noise regulations. This study provides an overview of aircraft type certification regulations (e.g., original type, supplemental, airworthiness, etc.) through which aviation noise regulations are or could be implemented. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the noise levels of current (1973) model motorcycles, (2) evaluate available motorcycle noise reduction technology to determine noise reductions feasible for future new machines, and finally (3) to estimate the increases in manufacturing cost required to achieve these noise reductions. This document contains information useful for the development of noise emission standards for snowmobiles. Topics covered include information on snowmobile construction, noise characteristics of models currently on the market, and noise reduction techniques and costs necessary to achieve specified noise levels. This document identifies noise levels consistent with the protection of public health and welfare against hearing loss annoyance, and activity interference as mandated by the Noise Control Act of 1972. This report summarizes the planning, conduct and results of a noise survey in 100 sites in urban areas across the United States and the use of these results coupled with other existing data, to provide an estimate of the outdoor noise levels experienced in residential areas by the United States population. It concludes that there are more than 90 million people living in areas in excess of 55 Ldn and 1.3 million in areas in excess of 75 Ldn. The summary is contained in Volume I. Volume II contains data from each site. This document contains information useful for the development of noise emission standards for lawn mowers. Topics covered include information on lawn mower construction, noise characteristics of models currently on the market, and noise reduction techniques and costs necessary to achieve specified noise levels. The U.S. rail rapid transit systems, car operations, and the car building industry are described in relation to the procurement of quieter cars. The noise environment of passengers in rapid transit cars is discussed and the major noise sources and paths of noise transmission into cars are delineated. For essentially all combinations of car noise-control modifications deemed technically and economically feasible for implementation in new vehicles, estimates are presented of the associated noise reductions, initial costs, and operating costs. It is concluded that significant reductions in in-car noise under typical operating conditions can be achieved at incremental costs that are small percentages of the total car costs. The numerous data points measured at Dallas-Ft. Worth and Dulles International Airports and plotted as a function of level versus distance show a scatter sometimes exceeding +5EPNdB. Direct comparisons of Concorde and 707 approach noise were possible at Dulles. These few measurements indicate the Concorde noise levels relative to the 707 levels to be less, in general, at 2.6 n.mi. and greater at 3.6 n.mi. from threshold. It would appear that when measured data are compared with the theoretical curves there is no reason to believe that the noise levels measured under FAR 36 or Annex 16 conditions, claimed by the Concorde developers will not be achievable. This document presents and discusses the background data used by the agency in setting the standards issued in the Interstate Motor Carrier Noise Emission Regulations. Presented is a comprehensive discussion of the information available in October 1974 on the environmental, testing, technological, and economic aspects of interstate motor carrier noise control. The FAA has been concerned with the noise levels of turbojet (axial flow jet and axiam flow fan) powered airplanes that do not comply with FAR 36 since its promulgation in 1969. Two ANPRMs and one NPRM related to retrofitting operational airplanes to meet the noise levels specified in FAR 36 have been published for public comment. This report examines these three proposed actions in detail and recommends two regulations based upon their best features. The first regulation would be a straight retrofit rule. The second regulation would be a Fleet Noise Level (FNL) rule. The Analysis Section discusses technology options for source noise control including Quiet Nacelles, Refan, and miscellaneous other methods applicable now and in the future to all civil subsonic turbojet engine-powered airplanes. Included in the analysis are estimates of the noise levels and the unit and investment costs for the various retrofit options available to the large transport airplanes and to the smaller business jet airplanes as well. Also included in the Analysis, are discussions of the concepts of Fleet Noise Level (FNL), Day-Night Level (Ldn), and Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) with numerical examples, which illustrate the pertinent relationships. A compilation of data is provided, with references to published work, which represents the present state of knowledge concerning the effects of continuous and impulsive noise on hearing. The danger to the ear of both occupational and non-occupational human exposure to noise is considered. Data are included or cited which enable quantitative predictions to be made of the risk to hearing in the American population due to noise exposure in any working or living context. Recommendations are made concerning the need to obtain more definitive data. In support of the main document, "A Basis of Limiting Noise Exposure for Hearing Conservation", EPA Report 550/9--73-001A, this report compares the relationship of noise exposure of Noise Induced Permanent Threshold Shift (NIPTS) as predicted by the currently available works of Passchier-Vermeer, Robinson, Baughn and Kryter, and the yet unpublished work of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The works of Passchier-Vermeer, Robinson, and Baughn are selected since these are the only works that completely predict the relationship between NIPTS and noise exposure for various audiometric frequencies, sound pressure levels and population percentiles. The Noise Control Act of 1972 requires that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develop and publish criteria with respect to noise. These criteria were to "reflect the scientific knowledge most useful in indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable effects of noise on the public health and welfare which may be expected from differing quantities and qualities of noise. This criteria document, therefore, served as a basis for the establishment of the recommended environmental noise level goals to be related to the "Levels Document" called for the Section 5(a)(2) of the Noise Control Act (refer to EPA Report 550/9-74-004). This report contains all of the papers presented at this conference which covered all areas of the health effects of noise including masking effects, noise induced hearing loss, nonauditory effects, performance, and behavior and community response, and sleep disturbance. This report provides a summary of noise source regulations encompassed in state laws and local ordinances prior to 1973. Data has been extracted from only those laws and ordinances stipulating specific decibel limits. The existing legal/institutional structure is described as it relates to the exposure of people to the noise of aircraft. Criteria for the evaluation of legal/institutional arrangements, whether existing or proposed, are then developed. Using these criteria, an evaluation of the existing legal/institutional system is provided in order to illuminate the major constraints and problem areas which exist. Potential alternatives are proposed and discussed as to their relative merits. Finally, recommendations are presented. Appended to this report are a list of the members of the task group (Appendix A), the formal recommendations submitted by member organizations (Appendix B), a list of the master file documents collected by the task group efforts ( Appendix C ), and related reports generated by the task force effort (Appendix D), including both the reports of other task groups and reports resulting from contracted studies. This report documents the work of an EPA task group on the study of implications of identifying and achieving levels of cumulative noise exposure around airports as mandated by Section 7 of the Noise Control Act of 1972. This study was designed to display the percent of a population exhibiting greater than certain specified audiometric hearing levels as a function of specified exposure levels and duration of exposures to those levels. Audiometric data from 6,835 employees of an industrial plant were taken during the period from 1960 through 1965. The employees were selected only on the criterion that their noise exposures were reasonably well known. Hearing levels for each of three exposure conditions (78, 86, and 92 dBA) were obtained for the speech (0.5, 1, and 2 kHz) and the 4kHz audiometric frequencies. The data and hearing risk tables are presented. The Agency has conducted, for the Congress, a technological reassessment of the areas of concern stated in Section 7(a) of the Noise Control Act of 1972. This report provides a summary of the principal findings of the study and of the plans for regulatory proposals to satisfy the further continuing requirements of the Act, not only with reference to Section 7 but as they relate to the larger responsibilities of dealing with the problems of aviation and airport noise in accordance with other authorities of the Act. This 1971 report presented a basic physical and statistical description of the overall noise problem associated with outdoor noise in the community. Basic measures of noise and the way they vary over 24 hours are presented. Twenty four hour noise surveys were conducted at 18 locations ranging from wilderness to a downtown city. Annoyance and community reaction to noise were recorded. Correlation between physical measures of an intruding noise related factor and community reaction. This report summarizes the auditory effects and general psychological and sociological effects of noise based on noise effects research through 1970. This report describes kinds of problems encountered by a person with a hearing loss. Issues such as the sensor of isolation, diminished interest in participation in conversation, and emotional depression are described. A brief discussion is given of the physical nature of sonic booms, and other impulsive noises, and the parameters, such as overpressure, duration, and mechanical impulse, which are used to characterize booms. This is followed by an overview of the response of structures--particularly buildings--to sonic booms and a review of the damage history observed due to supersonic overflights. The report concludes with a summary of the observed effects of impulsive noise on terrain and natural structures. A study was undertaken to survey the economic impact of noise. Data available on the entire subject of noise and its abatement were so rudimentary that they do not lend themselves to even the most primitive economic analysis. It was demonstrated that the number of sources of noise in homes, in industry, on the highways, and in the air is growing at a dramatic rate. These noise sources are heterogeneous and transient, and, therefore, a universal solution for abatement of noise at the source was not available. From the economic viewpoint, it was demonstrated that substantial costs were associated with noise and its abatement. This report can serve as an introduction to noise, including the inter-relationship between physical measures and psychological responses. The basic principles of sound generation and propagation are discussed as well as the measurement of both the physical attributes of noise and the effects of noise on people. The suitability and effectiveness of various noise exposure rating schemes, used to estimate or predict the effects of noise on man, are discussed and critiqued.

2019-04-26T02:59:18Z

http://nonoise.org/library/bibliogs/bibliog.htm

Shhh…dear blog readers, I’m going to tell you a secret. Don’t tell anyone, this is just between me and you, so I’ll whisper. You’re not gonna tell anyone, right? Good. You know that whole Messianic Judaism thing? Yeah. This “Messianic movement” thing? Right. This Torah & Messiah faith? Well, by some estimates, it’s now 80% gentile. Similar to how Messiah’s original followers were all Jews, only to be overwhelmed by a massive gentile following in the decades after, the same has been true in Messianic Judaism. Initially almost entirely comprised of Jewish believers in the 1970s, Messianic Judaism has attracted a large number of gentiles who are fed up with the church and wish to return to the faith of Messiah and the disciples. Naturally, this has re-opened those aged theological questions of the 1st century. Questions like, how much of the Torah is applicable to gentiles? Is Torah required for salvation? Can gentiles become part of Israel? Should Jews be distinguished from gentiles in a congregation and should they be treated differently? Is it a problem that we’re dominated by gentiles? Do gentiles need to formally convert? And what do we do with all these crazy gentiles?! “[Back in the 1970s] God, as I see it, was moving the hearts of Jews not only to follow Jesus as the long-promised Messiah, but also to identify as Jews and eventually to return to Judaism. Increasingly, however, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Messianic Judaism became a haven for non-Jews looking to find a restoration of a perceived early church or some alternative to a church that had grown soft on Biblical practice and strong on revivalist tradition. Derek then suggests certain gentiles ought to leave the Messianic movement and “form their own movement” distinct from the Messianic movement. “We are a family friendly community of Jews and Intermarrieds. There is a place for some Gentiles in a Messianic Jewish congregation (besides the intermarried), but … how does such a person help us to honor our identity and achieve our goals? Gentiles who are not helping us get these jobs done serve as a hindrance to their accomplishment. Do you believe in the basic legitimacy of the Church, in its many varieties, when it confesses the historic creeds; that its celebrations and sacraments are legitimate? Do you believe that Gentiles have a different relationship to the Torah than Jews and are not responsible as Jews for the Jewish patterns of life within the Mosaic revelation but only responsible for the universal ethical teachings of Torah as also expressed an applied in New Covenant teaching? Do you believe that as a Gentile believer in Yeshua, joining a Messianic Jewish congregation, you have a special calling to the Jewish people but reject the view that the Messianic Jewish congregation is a more ideal form of congregational life for all? I’m certain God loves Rabbi Dauermann deeply and that God is using him in numerous ways, so I don’t wish to attack this brother in Messiah or the way God is using him. (Thank you, Lord, for Rabbi Dauermann!) One can be used by God and still have bad theology. (Isn't that true for all of us?) In this particular instance, I find Dauermann’s theology shameful. No, Rabbi Dauermann, I do not believe in the basic creeds of the church, many of which are thoroughly anti-Jewish and ought have no place in the life of a Messiah-follower. And yes, gentiles grafted into the commonwealth of Israel should hear God’s Torah preached in the synagogues every sabbath, follow what they can, join Israel and become first-class citizens in God's kingdom. A human policy which treats Jews and gentiles differently invariably leads to mistreatment and racial discrimination. It’s the 1950s policy of separate-but-equal, only with a religious twist. We were allowed, reluctantly I think, to attend, but never to do music, have any kind of leadership position, speak in front of the congregation. Basically, sit in the back and be cheerleaders. Be seat-fillers and money-givers. Please, come speak to our congregation. Please, will you lead music? Please, be on our board of directors. It was as if we were blacks in the 1950s US who suddenly woke up one morning with white skin. The Ephesians 2 “wall of hostility” is very much alive. Efforts to create a purely-Jewish Messianic Judaism invariably create this wall, intended or not. Don’t get me wrong; I understand the need to preserve Jewish culture and Jewish expression of faith, but surely this “Jews here, gentiles there” approach isn’t the right way to do this! So what do we do with this fact that MJ synagogues are 80%+ gentile? Look at Messianic Judaism bigger than “Jews following Yeshua”. While some look at it that way, and it indeed encompasses that, as for me, I look at Messianic Judaism as God’s move to restore Israel. I include gentiles in the Commonwealth of Israel. I do not see gentiles in MJ synagogues as a hindrance to this goal, but as a part of God’s overall plan. Just as God is drawing Jews to Yeshua, who’s to say it isn’t God drawing the gentiles into Messianic congregations? Such a thing is hard to swallow for those in favor of a purely-Jewish Messianic Judaism, but maybe, just maybe, it is God at work. Gentiles in the Messianic movement? I believe this is God at work. Rather than arguing how to “fix” the issue of gentiles in the Messianic movement, I say we ought to be rejoicing that God has brought Jews to Yeshua and gentiles to walk more righteously, more in-line with His commandments. The idea that we need a congregation made up entirely of Jews at the exclusion of gentiles is one not supported in the apostolic Scriptures, a fact ignored by proponents of an exclusively Jewish Messianic Judaism. Fine blog readers, what do you think? Is it a problem that Messianic Judaism has become inundated with gentiles? Should gentiles be treated differently than Jews in a Messianic congregations? Should gentiles go back to the church; is Messianic Judaism just for Jews? Or is this Messianic movement something bigger? Judah, like yourself, I read with interest the various comments on the blogs you mentioned over the past few days. I refrained from saying anything as my thoughts would likely be drowned out in the sea that still has not calmed--and I've seen this all before. The vision of Messianic Judaism has not changed since my parents and our family were first involved in 1995. They were told that they were only at [MJ congregation name withheld] to provide financial support for its Jewish mission. After a few years, we left. The difference is that today in 2009 is that Messianic Judaism is not the only "Messianic" expression on the market anymore. Hate to bring the Dow Jones quotient into it...but such is reality. My own personal view of the independent Messianic movement is that it needs to be as close as possible to mainline Messianic Judaism--itself a mirror of Conservative Judaism--with equality emphasized for all people. Jewish custom and tradition must be respected and honored, while at the same time our evangelical Christian heritage should likewise not be discounted. We should allow the Holy Spirit to mold us into a Commonwealth of Israel that can be used as God's missional community for the world. When the Lord moves me from the Orlando area in the next few years and our ministry does plant a congregation, such will be our focus. If I disagree with Messianic Judaism over anything, it is that its vision seems rather limited. But such is freewill. On a more positive front, send me an e-mail and I can link you to some rare Star Trek soundtracks from the TV shows. These are MP3s that were never produced on CD. Something for you to listen to as you blog! "As one who was asked to resign from my local Reform Synagogue, after I finally plucked up the courage to confess that I am a Jew who believes that Yeshua is our promised Moshiach, I have mixed feelings about anyone who chooses to attend in a mainstream synagogue. Of course I understand the reasons and I deeply empathize with anyone who struggles with this issue. On the other hand, it raises as many questions as it answers. I like that kind of thinking. I appreciate those thoughts as well, as we have met many sincere Messianic Jews over the years who are true to their faith in Yeshua, and are also willing to recognize that it what we do that is more important than who we are. Yet rather than get dragged into this debate once again, I think it is more beneficial that we just do the work of the Kingdom and let the chips fall where they may. Eventually, you can get so caught up on what someone else does (or does not do), that you fail to do the work God has given to you. And as you know--I have a lot of work to do! I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on all of this as I've been reading through Derek's (and others) blog(s), as I've been left in a state of distress. I've found a bit of solace in your post here (first found on Derek's blog). A bit of background on me: My parents joined the MJ movement when I was about 3. Both Gentile. Being a gentile who has grown up in the MJ movement(i don't remember anything before) leaves me in an odd place. I feel like an abomination of sorts(in light of what i've read in other blogs)...A gentile essentially raised as a jew (not a strictly observant jew, mind you)...However, apparently (according to some) I am now "ok" because I am an "intermarried". HOW IS THIS? How can I go from being a tolerated 'guest' at 1 moment to suddenly being welcomed with open arms the next? I agree with your take on the "separate but equal" notion. Thankfully, the community that I am apart of (for 25 years) has never had these particular issues, though I've run into them as I've traveled out of my immediate area. My question would be: Is MJism such that we must treat it as an endangered species? To weed out the impurities (we're talking about people, mind you) in hopes of a more pure movement? Don't worry - Gentiles are and will still be welcomed in Messianic Judaism. Not to mentioned than many Jews are married to Gentiles. Which means that this has nothing to do with "race" (and since from the looks of it Jews nowadays come from just about all races and ethnicities, color and shades, it's a mute point normally raised only by anti-semites). 1) Christianity-haters: yes, all those who hate Christians and churches and view them as pagans. Your kind should not pollute Messianic Jewish congregations - you hate your own brothers and thus guilty of their "murder". 2) One-Law Judaizers - those who wish to turn Gentiles into Jews by condemning those Gentiles who are not "Torah-observant". These tend to call Christians "pagans" (thus, heathen and not "saved"). Don't tell me you're not Judaizing and it's not about salvation - by calling Christians pagans and Christianity a "pagan religion" you are giving your true colors away. 3) Two-House "Israelites" - those who spread the myth that just about any Jesus-believing Gentile is actually a physical "lost Israelite". They sow confusion in the Body. 4) Those who are in love only with Jewish customs, love claiming to be "Jews" when they are not, come only for the "feasts" or traditions, and come with their own self-serving agendas, instead of being in love with the Jewish nation (like Ruth was). It's my prayer that all three types (and most of them are interchangeable to a large degree) with repent and move on. Messianic Judaism is not the restoration of the "first church" - we have moved on. Rather, its primary goal is the restoration of the Jewish people (specifically) to the faith of their fathers, restoration of the their faithfulness to the covenants which G-d has made with Israel with Yeshua as the center. Those Gentiles that join us MUST share that vision - is that racist? BTW, there were Gentile congregations composed of Gentiles (read Romans 16:4). Keep in mind, my finalized thoughts have not yet been made known. They are, in fact, still in development. I plan to try my hand at a theology of Gentiles in MJ in the near future, but I am not there just yet. And it is important for you, as a passionate believer in Israel's restoration, to not just complain "apartheid" but also deal with the question: how can Israel be revived if its revival movement gets hijacked by people with their own selfish agenda? That is the real question. What percentage of Gentiles involved in MJ are really interested in being part of Israel's renewal would you say? What percentage are there for other reasons (alternative to church, inferiority complex, Adventist type theologies, etc.)? "BTW, there were Gentile congregations composed of Gentiles (read Romans 16:4)." If this is directed towards what I said: There definitely were. I'm not purporting that there weren't. Derek: I believe these are questions that need to be answered, though first they must be asked with a measure of dimplomacy. So what of Judah's personal example though? One moment he was there as a gentile...maybe for any of the reasons you listed...but the very next his presence was instantly validated. But what of those questions? Couldn't the motivation be same regardless of heritage? Is a jew with those motivations 'ok' while a gentile with them not? Are the people who ultimately are turned away, diminished or relegated to a lesser role considered unavoidable yet regretable collateral damage? Are they of less import than the "target audience"? Also, could I get your working definition of "Israel's renewal"? Thanks for provoking thought and all the questions. haha, I know they are a bit rapid fire and off the cuff...forgive me for that. "After my dad found our Jewish ancestry, it made a world of difference. As a teen at the time, I remember it well. Suddenly, we were treated as first-class citizens in MJ synagogues: Please, come speak to our congregation. Please, will you lead music? Please, be on our board of directors." I am curious, what did your father do - did he take advantage of his new-found "Jewish privileges", or turned down all the offers in solidarity with his slighted Gentile brethren? Here's the deal, without going into all the details. For a gentile to accept HaRav Yeshua, he becomes betrothed to HaShem instead of being "without hope and without Elohim". He is "saved" (from Torahless-ness) at this point. Now, the Nazarene Sanhedrin under Ya'aqov HaTsadiq gives the ruling from this point. In Acts 15, HaTsadiq lists the Noahide Laws which are not assumed to have been already kept by the gentiles of that day and region. It is ruled this way in order not to throw the Torah upon them all at once; and says that the gentiles will hear the Torah preached in the syangogues every Shabbat - therefore obviously, they will learn and understand more year by year. After the 3 year cycle of weekly Torah readings (as it was read universally in those days), the gentile would have heard all the Torah and would now be obligated to either marry HaShem (which would make him now an Israelite) by circumcising himself and taking the whole yoke of Torah upon himself - or he can annul his betrothal and go back to Torahless-ness, thus walking away from salvation. So it would only be natural for only Israelites to be in power in a faith that is called Judaism. There should be no gentiles in leadership. If they have become Israelites and are no longer gentiles - they're no longer gentiles. That distinction must be made. But I would also like to add that a Jew who is not Torah observant shouldn't be in leadership either. While being Jewish is an ethnicity as well as a religion, in this case it is the religion/observance/faith that counts, and not merely ethnicity. A ethnic gentile can be a Jew/Israelite by conversion; and it is his observance that makes him such, not his ethnicity, obviously. I appreciate some of the critical remarks that have been made about what is going on. Without them, those of us who believe that all of God's people should follow His Instruction, would not be able to refine what we believe is important. I abhor all of the negativity issued about our Christian spiritual heritage, anti-Semitism expressed toward mainline Jewish tradition--and don't even get me started on the whole Sacred Name issue! One of the things that we have to keep in mind is that there is a whole slew of people who are getting their teaching and spiritual instruction from the Internet. This includes people in Messianic Judaism, various indpendent Messianics, and people in normal churches. No one group is entirely innocent. Going to the proverbial "billybob.com/bible" site and being instructed, and then passing that on to a congregation or fellowship giving it your own spin, is beyond irresponsible. Yet this is a great deal of what we are confronting today. The independent Messianic groups also have a tendency to promote a great deal of conferences. What these conferences breed is the need for various speakers to produce sensationalistic, hypey messages so they can get attention. No progress on theology, spirituality, or in people conducting real research is ever conducted at these events. Opportunists and charlatans run rampant. As I have requested in past postings, if given time the extremists will minimize themselves, and reasonable voices will emerge that focus on the Scriptures and in exegeting them properly. But that will assume that we can all give one another some space, and the time we need to do the work we feel is important. We can't get our theology from who talks the loudest on blogs, but from the Bible and by properly employing the diligence of all those who have preceded us in faith. J.K. McKee, that's absolutely true about all the sensationalist, hyped-up people who lack lots of real research and knowledge and instead cling to their hard-held views without any room for discussion or civilized debate, since they're right and the others are dead wrong. There's a big difference between seeing things black and white and being one of the above mentioned; the other problem are some of those who are always arguing for civilized behavior, that they will sometimes mistake one for the other. This is not much surprise since the tone of things and the intentions are not always well conveyed through the internet. What we need to do is to discuss, and disagreements should never lead to sectarianism. Nazarene Judaism, my religion should not be separate from similar faiths which are based upon the Torah so much. We should view it as if each group has a local Beit Din, a status quo of halakha they adhere to. Even if there are lots of differences, as long as they are based on some key, foundationary teachings, some sort of cohesiveness should be found. Nice post, very well thought out and presented. I appreciate your willingness to bring up and discuss a difficult subject. Well, difficult at the human level anyway. if someone really thinks that being "Jewish" or "Gentile" means more than being a son or daughter of YHVH through faith in Messiah, I can only hope that one day soon they see the real reason why Yeshua came here to this earth. Because as long as this type of argument continues the reality of our relationship with our Heavenly Father will be blurred, just out of reach. It would be a sad commentary for us here at the end of the age, with the destruction of the nations and His soon return just around the corner, if the final days were spent trying to figure out where everyone fits based on their physical lineage. We should be past this by now. The gathering of the people of YHVH is a work of His Spirit, regardless of where our parents came from. How we walk with Him will not be defined or improved by any committee of men trying to sort out Torah or anything else. It did not work before and it will not work now. I know it seems a safe harbor for many who want someone to tell them what to do and when and how to do it, but it doesn't work that way. Not if we are following Him by His Spirit within us. I can't define someone else's faith for them nor they for me. If our fellowship is not in Him, then we will not have true fellowship. We will only have separate gatherings where people happen to agree on some thing or another. And of course there are Jews who want "Jews only" fellowships. No one gets too upset about that, it has always been that way. But let a "Gentile" fellowship say that Jews are not welcome and you will hear the shouting all the way across town. Probably across the world these days. "It would be a sad commentary for us here at the end of the age, with the destruction of the nations and His soon return just around the corner, if the final days were spent trying to figure out where everyone fits based on their physical lineage. We should be past this by now." I am not trying to figure out anything. I know who I am and where I fit in. You're are the one pushing your Two-House Israelite identity myth. My choosing to worship primarily (but not exclusively) with my own people and living as a Jew should be none of your concern - concentrate on your own walk. "If our fellowship is not in Him, then we will not have true fellowship. We will only have separate gatherings where people happen to agree on some thing or another." Efrayim, you mean I can often find you hanging out and worshiping with the Baptists or Presbyterians at a church service Sunday mornings? Or is that a bit too pagan for you? "And of course there are Jews who want "Jews only" fellowships. No one gets too upset about that, it has always been that way. But let a "Gentile" fellowship say that Jews are not welcome and you will hear the shouting all the way across town. Probably across the world these days." In the name of our Messiah Yeshua, I would like to wish you all a blessed Shavuot this day, and that the Lord's favor would be on your remembrance! May we all be filled with the presence of the precious Holy Spirit, and demonstrate the temperance that the Spirit should bring to each one of our lives. Thank you, J.K. - many blessings to you as well. Well, hey there Gene. You seem a little grumpy today. Perhaps it escaped your attention that I didn't mention you personally in my post. So for you to respond with a personal attack on me, or others you think may be like me, comes across as petty and vindictive, and goes a long ways towards proving the very thing that Judah was explaining in his original post. Your opinion is well known here as is mine. Could we simply address the subject at hand without the vitriol? If YHVH was determined to keep the two people groups separate (Jews and Gentiles), then why send His Son to remove the wall of partition that had been erected? Does scripture support that partition? If so, someone please show me the verses. Because after almost 40 years of reading that book I haven't come across them yet. Shalom and have a blessed Shavuot. btw, Gene, you completely missed the point of my post. Maybe you could take stab at responding to what I actually said instead of what you think was being indicated. Does scripture support that partition? If so, someone please show me the verses. Because after almost 40 years of reading that book I haven't come across them yet." I am not sure what wall of partition you're talking about. I am fellowshipping with my Christian [Gentile] friends almost daily. I pray with them, I worship with them, I party with them. They are my brothers and sisters in Messiah. I love them just as much if not more than my Jewish friends. But if by "wall" you mean that I purposely refuse to preach to my Gentile friends that they need to abandon their "pagan churches", that they need reclaim their lost "Israelite identity", or that they need to start living a "Torah Observant" lifestyle and adopt Jewish customs and traditions, or that their "churches" are somehow inferior to our "synagogues" - then yes, I am guilty as charged. In reality, others are building some type of a wall to divide the Gentile followers of Yeshua. Some are trying to separate Gentile believers into "Torah observant" and into "Pagan Christians". Blessed Shavuot to you as well. The partition wall that is mentioned by Sha'ul in Ephesians is the one I was referring to, not anything you are doing personally. It sounds to me from what you said that you are part of the solution, not part of the problem. May others be so inclined as yourself. Then I'm sure much could be accomplished. I think a little forebearance might be necessary if we intend to fairly discuss the issues at hand. There is a huge amount of variance not only within groups, fellowships, and ministries that fall into the classifications of One Law and Two-House, but even Messianic Judaism. The broad Messianic movement is no different than any other religious movement that has preceded it. I agree with Gene, that much of the anti-Christian "paganism" rhetoric seen in the One Law and Two-House groups is appauling. It is not Yeshua, it is not Torah, and there is no way it can be the future. I have spoken against it many times, and have made various people angry at times for doing so. At the same time, when I peruse Gene's own website, I see a kind of Messianic Judaism presented that is not like the standard Messianic Judaism I was introduced to back in 1995. His congregation does not represent a style of Messianic Judaism consistent with the Conservative-Reform Synagogue, but something that is much more fundamental in approach and closer to the Chabad. While we may have some disagreements about the applicability of the Torah for God's people, as well as what the end-time restoration of Israel specifically involves, I would probably sit to the Left of Gene on many issues. Interestingly enough, though, Gene has reproduced an article that endorses Theistic Evolution. Even though I abandoned a 6,000 year chronology a while back, I still absolutely believe that Adam and Eve were created by Divine fiat. I know Gene's position on the creation of humanity might not sit well with many in his own Messianic Jewish circles. So as you can see, there are plenty of things that separate us that we can really make an issue of. Every single one of us can improve our attitude and approach to a variety of issues. Blogging can be good for dialogue and networking, but it is no substitute for actually examining the Holy Scriptures, and doing the work every teacher and leader is called to do. From Toddd: I also refrained from commenting on Derek's but thought the posts were interesting. Ironically, though a Catholic, I generally tend to agree with Gene's views on these matters. Because I care about the Jewish nation, I am interested in the MJ movement. The problems are real and thorny and I don't have any answers. By the way, Jewish Catholics struggle with some of the same issues raised in the comments on Derek's blog about passing on Jewish identity etc. I just love a good debate. But, more than that I love Yeshua...although when HE saved me from a self-destructive life-style and years of wandering, I knew Him as Jesus. It's amazing that the flesh goes from pit-dwelling pauper to Prince(ss) to self-righteous Legalist so quickly. I'm in recovery for that. Yeshua said the world would know us by our ACTIVE LOVE for another, not our positions and acquired knowledge. And as this Gentile girl struggles to learn, love, and teach the Word that changes hearts, to my Gentile group of women who, yes, are tired of the rhetoric and lack of both Truth and Love in our churches, I exhort them to NEVER forget that our purpose is to glorify God by bearing MUCH Fruit (then others will see and put their trust and confident reliance in the LORD- Psalm 40/John 15:8). If my relationship with Yeshua has been reduced to what I know or what position I've managed to attain, RATHER than Who He is in me, then I've 'missed the mark' entirely. Isn't Yeshua's prayer that 'they may be completely one (just as We are one), and the world thus realize that You sent Me'? I see it EVERYWHERE I look, God's people refusing to become one...and meanwhile the sheep remain blind, deaf, dumb...and starving to death to eat the bad theology of false teachers. I don't expect my 11 year old son to act like he's a 35 year old man. Here's where we can all learn to give others the space, grace, and time to grow. HE gives the increase, afterall...we just sow and water. But this is just one Gentile girl's perspective who remains strongly concerned for the Sheep...all of them. I hope I've expressed myself well...if not, I'm blaming it on my four little blessings runnin' around me just now (I've only played referee five times during the writing of my comment)! Shalom Bro, and thanks for always a thought-provoking, delectable post...yum! You expressed yourself VERY well, Carmen, as has Judah. It sure would be wonderful if this "ugly duckling" (me) could find a swan pond to swim in someday, somewhere. I just got banned from another forum for posting the treatise that appears on my blog, "Israel's New Covenant." I was banned for preaching "another Jesus" when it is these antinomian hyperdispensationalists that are preaching "another jesus." And some of you want to send non-Jewish Messianics back to the churches?! There's got to be a place for us somewhere, but even in cyberspace we are disfellowshipped on blogs and forums and can find no like-minded fellowship. Check out the views at this forum (link below) where I have been booted. Maybe it will inspire "messianic leaders" to double their efforts to provide at least some type of online forum fellowship for those of varying views to "sharpen iron" .....through fruitful and respectful discourse. Judah, I very much appreciate your blog and the tone that you take in your discussions of these issues. You strike a balance between kind-hearted diplomacy and boldly "telling it like it is." Thank you for this post Judah, your concern and insight are refreshing. I am new to the messianic movement, I am a Gentile and have been blessed with a deep love, appreciation and respect for the people of Israel. I am so grateful for this. I didn't know the concern that many of our Jewish brothers/ and sisters have expressed in these forums existed, but I do understand. And I personally want to support Israel wherever and however I can, and if I should ever be asked to take a step back, or leave, or whatever, I would do so gladly, and respectfully. I have been visiting a MJ synagogue for the past year and am praying about rather or not to join. I have been shown overwhelming love and support and truly feel home there. But if, for some reason it is brought to my attention that its best I not be there, I would understand. just my two cents, much love to everyone on here. I am so grateful to be a part of this, these are amazing times, and we are all so greatly blessed. Danny... you'd be welcomed in our synagogue any time. People like you need not step back one inch. The issue is not at all that our non-Jewish brothers and sisters want to worship or fellowship together with us. The real issue and the problem discussed here is that SOME non-Jews who are attracted to Jewish Torah observance, or have an unjustified inferiority complex and self-hatred of their G-d given (British, German, Hispanic...etc.) identity, or have cultivated a hatred of Christianity, have been deceived by theories, myths and misinterpretation of scripture by countless false teachers. Prompted by these teachings (but lacking any physical evidence), they have decided to claim a Hebrew/Israelite identity of the Ten "Lost" tribes for themselves. This has been causing an identity crises among Gentiles in the "messianic" movement for the last 15 or so years and much frustration among the Jewish believers in Messianic Judaism. Look up info on British Israelism/Armstrongism. Many today teach that Gentiles should observe Mosaic Law to be pleasing to G-d (new "Galatians"). Thank you for your love for Israel and her people. Was the ancient issue in Galatians really non-Jewish Believers being convinced that they had to add Torah observance to their salation experience? Or, was the issue in Galatians how one was to be reckoned a member of God's covenant people? "Works of law" (sectarian halachah) or "faith"? At the very least, you can see that there is another approach out there regarding this letter, that simply reading the English in bits and pieces will not give you. "Gene, I know you are not going to take the time to read through my almost 200-page Galatians commentary..." I'll try to skim through it when I get some time. Thank you so much for your kind words. That means a lot. Shalom, Judah. As long as the MJ community leads with its head instead of its heart, we are never going to see it worked out. You do very well at keeping your focus on the Messiah. I pray that as you continue to use this site to grow the kingdom that you don't lose that focus. The bottom line is that Torah is a standard HaShem holds Israel to, and this includes both Jews, and proselytes, but not the Gentiles; although eternal life is equally available to all who come to faith in Messiah Yeshua. Uncircumcised Gentiles are welcome to receive the blessings of Torah obedience, provided they submit to Jewish halacha (no more tzitzit on the belt loops), but if they want to go beyond this, to receive the mission HaShem gives Israel in order to teach Torah to the nations as a kingdom of priests, then they must commit themselves to the Covenant through formal conversion and so be held accountable to the Covenant on a higher level of expectation, just as HaShem holds his leaders to a higher standard of behavior (ie the people rebelling against HaShem in the incident with the spies, compared to Moses striking just the rock; the result: both lose entering the Land in their lifetimes). Yet just because conversion to Judaism is offered doesn't mean Torah-observant Gentiles should be pressured to convert. In fact, Gentiles shouldn't be pressured to keep Torah either, let alone convert; but neither should the Jewish community within Messianic Judaism wholly deny the opportunity, nor deny the congregation of united fellowship Jews and Gentiles all have in Messiah Yeshua. Yes, the ultimate role model is for the Jew, who is held accountable to G-d for not keeping Torah more so than a Gentile, to be the one responsible for setting the standard in keeping Torah. We should not ignore that "to the Jew much advantage is there, they are the keepers of the oracles of G-d," to which Stephen in Acts says is the "Torah handed down" by Moses. Jews in MJ need to take the responsibility to teach Torah to the Gentiles, and they also need to offer conversion when they and HaShem determine that a Gentile is ready for that lifelong commitment. Like Abram, being told to get circumcised is something HaShem approaches every Gentile on the way to conversion, individually. And like Abraham, therefore, the Covenant is made before the actual legal recognition of that fact (conversion). In order for Messianic Judaism to move to the next level, we need to go beyond where the early congregations in the 1st and 2nd Centuries fell behind in: Jewish education, and recognition of the special calling upon the Jewish people, and only offering Jewish conversion to Gentiles that would be converting for the right reasons. At the same time, a singular, equal level love for each other must be fostered based on our shared need for Messiah Yeshua, whether Jew or Gentile. The Gentiles need to recognize their responsibility to such love, and not cause their Jewish brothers to sin; and likewise Jews need to recognize their responsibility to love, and show mercy and grace to such Gentiles who do not wish to walk in the fullness of Torah, let alone consider conversion and thus greater accountability to Torah. This, I believe, is the right way forward. Indeed how are Messianic Jews to be a light to the nations while discouraging those very same "nations" from becoming a part of their congregation? Fantastic article. Thanks for sharing it.

2019-04-25T18:56:20Z

https://blog.judahgabriel.com/2009/05/gentiles-in-messianic-movement.html

Summary: Will Japan finally move toward acquiring offensive strike capabilities for the first time since World War II? As North Korea demonstrates new advances in missile technology and continues developing nuclear weapons, U.S. policymakers must ask themselves: Will Japan finally move toward acquiring offensive strike capabilities for the first time since World War II? Should Washington welcome such an effort? Occasional surfacing of the so-called enemy base strike (teki kichi kōgeki) debate in Japanese political circles often produces alarmist headlines and predictions of a remilitarized Japan, but in fact this strike debate has been percolating for decades and is still rooted in Japan’s defensive military politics. The following article and timeline explain the context and evolution of this strike capability discussion. It is an important defense policy initiative for the U.S.-Japan alliance to consider, even if it is less sensational than is frequently portrayed. Japan’s debate over the constitutionality of enemy base strikes dates back to a 1956 statement made on behalf of then prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama. It said that striking enemy missile bases should be permissible within certain limits: Japan can take only the “minimum measures unavoidably necessary” when “no other measures” of self-defense are available in the face of an “imminent illegal invasion.” This statement became the bedrock of all future debates that sought to clarify Hatoyama’s interpretation, as part of a broader process to reconcile Japan’s exclusively defense-oriented policy (senshū bōei)—which prohibits the procurement of certain offensive weapon systems—with pressures caused by the continuing evolution of modern warfare. The strike debate began as a hypothetical exercise but became increasingly concrete from the late 1990s with a growing North Korea threat. Three main components make up the strike debate: When exactly can Japan use force overseas for self-defense? How should “no other measures” be defined? How are strike capabilities for self-defense reconcilable with the general belief that Japan’s constitution prohibits offensive war-waging weapons? The historical timeline (see below) of statements by senior Japanese officials helps answer these questions. As alarm over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s 2006 base strike comments showed, many non-Japanese journalists continue to commonly mistake enemy base strikes as potentially “preemptive.”1 However, the record shows that Japanese officials have consistently rejected the concept of preemptive strikes (sensei kōgeki).2 Part of this confusion stems from the vagueness of language and translation, but some inconsistent remarks made by Japanese lawmakers have also contributed. Japan’s term for preemptive strikes (literally translated as “head start attacks”) does not account for the subtle nuance in English forms of “preventive,” “preemptive,” or “first” strikes, though it is generally understood to mean attacking before a conflict erupts (as opposed to preemptively hitting a target after a conflict has already started). The earliest explanations provided by Japanese leaders were clear that “convenient” attacks for self-defense were not permissible and that only “the minimum measures unavoidably necessary” would be allowed. Later comments in 1999 and 2003 on the timing of strikes seemed to broaden this understanding, suggesting that Japan could strike enemy missile bases “at launch” or even before launch, if for example Japan observed North Korea erecting a missile on a launcher while verbally threatening Japan. But this theoretical hairsplitting about when an attack is under way soon receded in favor of more practical matters. By 2009, the discourse had shifted more clearly toward only considering strikes against the enemy after Japan was hit by a missile, in order to stop subsequent barrages. North Korea’s introduction of road-mobile missiles and progress with solid-fuel technology makes “strike at launch” practically impossible in normal times. Moreover, Japan’s fielding of missile defenses from 2005 has provided it with more capacity to address initial missile threats without resorting to the early use of force. As a result, the term “counterattack” (hangeki) has become a more accurate description of what capabilities Japan might consider, and this was reflected in the most recent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) study panel on the topic (in March 2017). In addition, Japanese defense white papers continue to rule out the constitutionality of weapons that cause “mass destruction” (kaimetsu-teki na hakai), such as long-range strategic bombers or attack aircraft carriers, so any future Japanese counterattack capability will be limited in scope and restricted in its use. A frequent catalyst for recurring strike debates are major milestones in North Korean nuclear and missile testing. The first official ruling LDP study panel on strike capabilities directly followed North Korea’s Taepodong-1 missile test in 1998, while all subsequent LDP panels and spikes in Diet strike discussions have centered on later nuclear tests.3 As North Korea presses ahead with these programs, Japan’s counterattack capability discussions will likely intensify, especially now that Japan is developing its next five-year plan for defense procurement and revising its National Defense Program Guidelines. Other factors, such as the policy leanings of government leadership, do play a role—the four LDP panels pushing strike debates in the Diet all occurred under the conservative Junichirō Koizumi and Abe administrations. In addition, some hedging against U.S. regional disengagement can be a factor. While Japan still clearly sees U.S. forces in the offensive role for their spear-and-shield defense relationship, in recent years Japanese officials have sought more comprehensive domestic capabilities as a way to strengthen deterrence independently and contribute more to the alliance so that Washington sees value in staying committed. While North Korea’s missile progress since 2016 has put Japan further on edge and prompted a fourth LDP panel on strike capabilities, Prime Minister Abe’s weakened public approval in 2017 has made it hard for him to push aggressively for such a sensitive security policy change in the near term. The 2005 public outcry over the revelation of a secret 1994 strike study, as well as more recent protests on new security legislation in 2015 and related measures, is a reminder that the Japanese public has strong pacifist leanings and will oppose perceived overreach on this issue. Additionally, Abe will want to spend his dwindling political capital on his long-held goal of constitutional revision, and a bold move on strike would undermine this effort. Tight budget limitations and other pressing defense needs also work against major new investments in offensive systems. Still, Abe and his team—including his new defense minister, Itsunori Onodera—think Japan should have some increased strike capacity, as do many in Japan’s foreign and defense ministries. The Abe administration has laid the rhetorical groundwork for such steps, highlighting North Korea’s military gains as a “new level of threat” (aratana dankai no kyōi) to Japan and the region. With the Ministry of Defense now preparing its five-year procurement plan and continuing discussions with U.S. officials on complementary roles, missions, and capabilities in the alliance, this is a good time for Japan to introduce modest policy steps for developing strike. The government is already studying issues related to equipping its new F-35 stealth fighter jets with air-to-surface missiles, and Japan is prioritizing new investments in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance that would be necessary for supporting enemy base strikes. All of this suggests an emerging goal of developing limited counterattack capabilities, albeit incrementally and over the long term. The United States should be receptive to Japan taking on a wider range of security roles, including adopting limited strike capabilities. It would contribute to more effective alliance interoperability and therefore enhance deterrence. It cannot be a substitute for U.S. offensive power in the region but can supplement U.S. forces if deterrence fails. At the same time, the allies need to coordinate closely with regional partners like South Korea to abate anxieties of remilitarization stemming from Japan’s colonial past. Given the fiscal and possible diplomatic costs, Washington should encourage Japan to consider measured investments in strike capabilities that can be deployed within the existing alliance framework and leave room for—and complement—other necessary defense acquisitions by Japan. 1 As described in more detail in the timeline, the supposed Abe quote supporting first strikes on enemy bases is actually a misattribution by non-Japanese newspapers—though Abe did discuss his hopes for a formal study on base strikes generally. 2 See former defense head Hosei Norota’s 1999 statement explicitly calling preemptive strikes unconstitutional and then prime minister Tarō Asō’s 2009 Diet statement differentiating preemptive strikes from enemy base strikes. 3 The main exception is the spike in strike discussions in 2015, due to deliberations on the 2015 Security Legislation (although this also took place amid a stepped-up pace of North Korean missile testing). The 1956 Hatoyama statement sets the foundation for future debate on enemy base strike capabilities, outlining the key constraints to any strike acquisition. As the first official government statement, it highlights three conditions for a constitutional strike: 1) there must be an “imminent illegal” attack on Japan, 2) all Japanese capabilities must be below the threshold of “minimum measures unavoidably necessary” for protection, and 3) strikes are only permitted if “no other measures are available” to defend Japan. Citation: Hearing before the Cabinet Committee in the House of Representatives, 24th Diet (1956) (statement by Ichirō Hatoyama, delivered by Foreign Minister Naka Funada, February 29, 1956), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/024/0388/02402290388015a.html. Ino parses the Hatoyama statement from the Japanese constitution’s restrictions against possessing weapons that can “offensively threaten” neighboring countries. Rather than directly address how base strike capabilities can avoid being offensively threatening, Ino instead argues that it is an improbable hypothetical scenario for Japan to have no assistance from the UN, the U.S.-Japan alliance, or other forms of external help when under attack—thus relying on the “no other available measures” clause to avoid contradiction between contemporary constitutional interpretation and the Hatoyama statement. Citation: Hearing before the Cabinet Committee in the House of Representatives, 31st Diet (1959) (statement by JDA Director General Shigejiro Ino, March 19, 1959), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/031/0388/03103190388021a.html. In the midst of ballistic missile defense (BMD) discussions in 2005, the Sankei Shimbun published an article revealing that the JDA conducted an enemy base strike study in 1994 that was never disclosed to the public. The study simulated using F-4 fighters to carry out strikes against missile bases, but concluded that Japan alone does not possess the capabilities to reliably conduct successful strikes and that Japan must depend on the United States for such missions. The revelation by Sankei Shimbun caused a minor uproar among the Japanese public, leading then JDA director general Yoshinori Ōno to hold a press conference clarifying both the constitutionality of base strikes and the current lack of Japanese capability to conduct such strikes. It also supported the general opinion of U.S.-Japan role-sharing, in which the United States is the offensive “spear,” backed by Japan’s “shield” role. “While we possess the capability to bomb [enemy] bases, it cannot be said that we can reliably conduct systematically effective strikes with JASDF’s [current] information collection and electronic combat capabilities. . . . Hearing before the Security Committee in the House of Representatives, 162nd Diet (2005) (statement by Yoshinori Ōno, to questions from Representative Sato Shigeki, April 15, 2005), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/162/0015/16204150015007a.html. North Korea tests the Taepodong-1 medium-range ballistic missile for the first time (traversing over Japan into the Pacific Ocean). The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) creates a crisis management project team, led by former Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga, to consider countermeasures for a possible second missile launch by North Korea. The team debates the possible role of Japanese offensive strike capability but does not recommend a policy change on that point. Kyodo News, “LDP sets up crisis management project team,” January 27, 1999. After North Korea’s 1998 Taepodong-1 test, the Diet renewed debate on enemy base strikes, with February discussions bringing a sharper focus on the limitations of such strike capabilities. In answering questions posed by opposition member Seiji Maehara on reconciling strike capabilities with Japan’s spirit of “nonaggression,” various speakers, including Moriya, reaffirmed that any base strike capabilities must be limited such that Japan cannot inflict “catastrophic” or devastating damage on any country. This reaffirmed Japan’s nonaggressive focus on self-defense in the face of new technological threats. Citation: Hearing before the Security Committee in the House of Representatives, 145th Diet (1999) (statement by JDA Director General Takemasa Moriya, February 9, 1999), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/145/0015/14502090015002a.html. At this pivotal moment after North Korea’s test, Norota seems to adjust the “imminent danger” clause of the 1956 statement by interpreting an “armed attack” against Japan as beginning at the moment when an aggressor nation “undertakes” (chyakushu) an attack. This might permit Japan to use force before receiving damage from an aggressor, although the “no other measures” limitation still applies. While he addresses the issue of striking enemy aircraft or warships in this quote, later in the Diet hearing he confirms that this interpretation of “imminent danger” also applies to enemy missile base strikes. Citation: Hearing before the National Security Committee in the House of Representatives, 145th Diet (1999) (statement by JDA Director General Hosei Norota, March 3, 1999), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/145/0015/14503030015003a.html. In the context of the strike capabilities debate, Norota explicitly differentiates between preemptive attacks and enemy base strikes for self-defense, in order to emphasize the constitutional limitations of such capabilities. Citation: Hearing before the Budget Committee in the House of Councillors, 145th Diet (1999) (statement by JDA Director General Hosei Norota, March 16, 1999), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/145/0014/14503160014015a.html. North Korea withdraws from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while resuming short-range missile testing in February and March. Citation: Kelsey Davenport, “Chronology of U.S.-North Korean Nuclear and Missile Diplomacy,” Arms Control Association, July 2017, https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron#2003. Building from Norota’s 1999 statements, Ishiba presents a hypothetical situation that could meet the conditions for a constitutionally legal act of self-defense vis-à-vis enemy base strikes. In the scenario, Ishiba argues that if North Korea raised a missile on a launch pad while declaring an intent to attack Tokyo, Japan could interpret the situation as North Korea having started to launch an attack—thus under the Hatoyama interpretation, Japan could strike North Korea’s missiles at-launch, before Japan received damage. Note that later, as North Korea continued to improve its missile technology, this hypothetical is quietly discarded in favor of a hypothetical where Japan counterattacks North Korea only after being struck by a first wave of missiles. “In short . . . imagine if every possible diplomatic effort has been used to avoid such a situation, but unfortunately such a situation becomes reality. Citation: Hearing before the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, 156th Diet (2003) (statement by Minister of State for Defense Shigeru Ishiba, January 24, 2003), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/156/0018/15601240018004a.html. Maehara questions the contemporary “shield and spear” role division between the United States and Japan, earlier noting how despite the Hatoyama statement, Japan continues to be exclusively the shield in the relationship. Raising questions about trust in the U.S.-Japan relationship, Maehara introduces discussion on hedging on the relationship with the “minimum necessary defense capabilities” (saishōgen hitsuyō no bōeiryoku). In particular, he argues that with various new threats (cyber, missile, terror, and so on), the assumptions under the spear and shield system no longer hold, since the system was developed in the Cold War era to fight off land invasions and other outdated threats. “While enemy base strikes are within the bounds of self-defense and the constitution in the event of a ballistic missile strike—as determined in 1956—the current way of thinking so far is that Japan will rely on the United States based on the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. . . . Citation: Hearing before the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, 156th Diet (2003) (statement by Representative Seiji Maehara, March 3, 2003), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/156/0018/15603030018020a.html. As prime minister, Koizumi reaffirms the existing government interpretation that enemy strike capabilities are compatible with Japan’s traditionally exclusive defense policy. In particular, he defends Ishiba’s answers on striking enemy missile bases “at-launch” as falling within the bounds of the Hatoyama statement. “The terminology ‘exclusive defense’ is a passive defense strategy posture that captures the spirit of the constitution—such as in situations when we exercise defense capability after having received an armed attack from an enemy in a manner limited to the minimum necessary for self-defense, or also limiting the possession of defense capabilities to the minimum necessary for self-defense—and is our nation’s fundamental defense policy. I acknowledge that this terminology is repeatedly used in Diet discussions. The government has traditionally made public the opinion that, ‘In the event that an urgent, unjust invasion/violation is carried out against our country, and if this violation is an attack on our country’s soil through guided missiles, I cannot believe that it is the constitution’s intention for us to sit and wait for our own destruction. In such an event, I think that taking the unavoidably minimum measures in order to protect against such attacks—such as attacking missile bases in order to defend against missile attacks if no other measures are available—is legally within the scope of self-defense and should be considered a possibility.’ . . . And Defense Agency Director General Ishiba’s answer in the House of Representatives Budget Committee on January 24, 2003, repeats this traditional opinion. I do not think that this opinion . . . and the “nonaggressive defense policy” way of thinking contradict each other. Citation: Junichiro Koizumi, “Sending a Written Reponses for the Inquires Submitted by Representative Esei Itō on the Cabinet Legislation Bureau’s Authority and Interpretations Right to Self-defense,” House of Representatives, July 15, 2003, http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_shitsumon.nsf/html/shitsumon/b156119.htm. In an English-language interview, Ishiba confirms that Japan has the constitutional right to attack missile sites at-launch, before Japan receives any damage. Still, this only addresses the “imminent illegal” attack on Japan condition and not the “no other measures” for defense or “minimum measures” for defense limitations. On this latter point, Ishiba claimed in 2005 that procuring Tomahawk cruise missiles “may remain within the confines of the minimum necessary force for self-defense” due to their targeting accuracy, and he revealed that the Cabinet Secretariat debated this issue back in 2003 before deciding against pursuing Tomahawk acquisition. Nao Shimoyachi, “Japan Mulled Buying Cruise Missiles for Pre-emptive Self-Defense: Ishiba,” Japan Times, January 25, 2005, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2005/01/25/national/japan-mulled-buying-cruise-missiles-for-pre-emptive-self-defense-ishiba/#.WYjiE02Wzct. Prime minister-selected panel recommends consideration for acquisition of strike capabilities. Citation: David Pilling, “Japan Call to Reshape Defence Capabilities,” Financial Times, October 5, 2004. Ōno emphasizes that regardless of the introduction of ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems to Japan, the legal perspective on enemy base strikes does not change. Ōno touches upon a key dichotomy between what he frames as the legal versus policy differences of enemy base strike capabilities. Beginning with how enemy base strikes have been interpreted as legal, Ōno also highlights the current Japanese policy showing offensive restraint as long as alternative means to addressing conflict exist, such as diplomacy, U.S. intervention, or BMD. Since Japan has always had alternative methods besides enemy base strikes even before BMD, the fundamental interpretation does not change: Japan can legally possess strike capabilities, though operationalizing such systems into policy is an entirely different matter. “First, I believe this is a question on what exactly can be considered ‘measures’ in terms of [the Hatoyama statement’s clause on] situations where there are no other measures. I can think of various means that can be considered ‘other measures.’ For example, I believe there is the issue of deciding which other measure to use, such as diplomatic responses, or the issue of role-sharing in the U.S.-Japan alliance system, or [official development assistance]. Among these other options, BMD has recently resulted from progress in science and technology—so how are we to continuing thinking about this matter? Based on this series of events, even up until now we have always had alternative means [from an enemy base strike]. How will we think of this? I do not fully know whether policy and legal discourses have been confounded or not, in that [some argue] while the legal world permits a strike on enemy bases after a defensive launch order, Japanese policy argues that restraint should be shown in cases where there are other alternative measures. [I cannot confirm] whether Japan has always possessed alternatives [to base strikes, such as diplomacy, U.S.-Japan alliance, and so on], or whether the interpretation [on the constitutionality of striking bases] varies by case. Citation: Hearing before the Security Committee in the House of Representatives, 162nd Diet (2005) (statement by JDA Director General Yoshinori Ōno, April 15, 2005), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/162/0015/16204150015007a.html. As part of a larger LDP-wide push for more concrete discussions on strike capabilities, then cabinet secretary Abe holds a press conference pushing for the LDP to hold an intra-party study on whether to acquire strike capabilities. “It is important that we always consider and research what we should do to protect the nation, Japan’s citizens, and territories. . . . First, we would like to discuss this as a party. . . . Citation: “Shift in Administration”: The Trajectory of Abe’s Ascendance to Prime-Minister—Complete Data [in Japanese], (Tokyo: Jiji Press, 2006), 120. North Korea tests its first nuclear weapon. While acknowledging its constitutionality, Councillor Tokunaga describes the technical obstacles that Japan faces in conducting an enemy base strike. In particular, Tokunaga highlights North Korea’s mobile launchers and underground tunnel systems as major barriers to effective strikes, in addition to Japan’s limited intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) abilities. Tokunaga also argues that the difficulty of differentiating between a regular missile test and a missile aimed at Japan during the “at-launch” stage makes any at-launch enemy base strikes questionable. Citation: Hearing before the Accounting Committee in the House of Councillors, 171st Diet (2009) (statement by Councillor Hisashi Tokunaga, April 24, 2009), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/171/0015/17104240015005a.html. Prime Minister Asō publically pushes for possibly including an official statement on enemy base strike capabilities in the National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG) revision in 2009. A statement in the NDPG would have opened the doors for an official government study—beyond the intra-party study panels organized by the LDP—and would have been a major step forward for strike capability acquisition. Asō emphasizes the difference between base strikes and preemptive attacks, while also falling back to the official government stance that Japan currently does not possess strike capabilities and must depend on the U.S.-Japan alliance, reaffirming the importance of the United States in Japan’s defense plans. Asō’s quote below hints at the challenge of the overall strike issue for Japan, as he urges further study. “I acknowledge that, as we currently continue to revise the NDPG, a discussion is being carried out on whether we should incorporate the possession of so-called ‘enemy base strike capability.’ Currently we have held several meetings related to discussions on security and defense, and received many arguments. I believe that from hereon, there will be many opinions on the NDPG revision put forth, but after seeing these arguments, I think that we need to study this issue again. [Citing the 1956 statement,] to stay in line with the oft-said, traditional statement, it is essential to differentiate [enemy base strikes] from preemptive strikes in situations when no armed attack is undertaken. Citation: Hearing before the Budgetary Committee in the House of Councillors, 171st Diet (2009) (statement by Prime Minister Tarō Asō, May 29, 2009), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/171/0014/17105280014026a.html. The LDP explicitly supports initiating an official government study on strike capabilities in their proposed version of the NDPG. While acknowledging the importance of the United States’ offensive role in the U.S.-Japan alliance, the LDP draft discusses reevaluating this role-sharing, framing strike capabilities as a credible way to strengthen the allies’ and Japan’s own deterrence. Such language points to how hedging and increased independence act as two factors driving the LDP’s desire for strike capabilities. “Furthermore, from the viewpoint of strengthening the credibility of allies’ extended deterrence, [we] should initiate a study to quickly achieve a conclusion on the previously constitutionally permitted possession of ‘enemy strategic base strike capabilities’ by the SDF, while taking into account the development and deployment of nuclear and ballistic weapons by neighboring countries. Citation:“Proposal for the Formulation of the New ‘National Defense Program Guidelines’,” Liberal Democratic Party, June 4, 2013, https://www.jimin.jp/policy/policy_topics/pdf/pdf106_2_1.pdf. In contrast with the LDP draft, the official NDPG offers a vaguer recommendation, calling for a general study on ways to respond to the ballistic missile threat without specifying offensive strike. Arguably, the language of the NDPG also deemphasizes the elements of hedging and independent deterrence capabilities, focusing on the importance of the “appropriate” role-sharing between the United States and Japan. The LDP’s more pacifist ruling coalition partner, the New Kōmeitō party, had a role in modifying this language. Citation: “National Defense Program Guidelines for FY 2014 and beyond,” Japan Ministry of Defense, December 17, 2013, http://www.mod.go.jp/j/approach/agenda/guideline/2014/pdf/20131217_e2.pdf. As Abe and the LDP discuss reinterpreting Article 9 of the Japanese constitution in 2014, various LDP officials seek to clarify that the official government position on enemy base strikes would not change. Drawing from the “three conditions” necessary for use of force under the original Article 9 interpretation, Onodera differentiates preemptive strikes from enemy base strikes by arguing that preemptive strikes fail to fulfill the first condition of “imminent illegal invasion”—wording that is built into the Hatoyama statement on enemy base strikes. With a backdrop of the 2014 collective self-defense debates, Mutō argues that enemy base strikes fall solely under the provision of individual self-defense, and that no clear geographic limitations have been officially set due to lack of tangible discussion on operationalization. Such language both affirms the LDP’s push for an official study and acknowledges the uncertainties surrounding operationalizing strikes for real threats. Onodera: “The government has traditionally interpreted that the invocation of the right to self-defense is restricted to situations where the previously discussed ‘three conditions’ apply. Mutō: “The current constitutional interpretation recognizes the right to individual self-defense, and there have been no detailed discussions related to its scope. Citation: Hearing before the Diplomatic Defense Committee in the House of Councillors, 186th Diet (2014) (statements by Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshiya Mutō, April 1, 2014), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/186/0059/18604010059007a.html. With the NDPG revision coming into effect in 2014, Abe pushes for not only prioritizing improvements on BMD but also introducing an official government study on independent deterrence capabilities, implying enemy base strike capabilities as one of them. In response, several opposition members have cited the 1959 Ino statement on avoiding threatening neighbors, as well as a 1972 prime ministerial statement on “exclusive defense,” as the cornerstone of Japanese policy. While the new NDPG did encourage a study for a “response capability” against missile threats, Bureau of Defense Policy Director Shuzo Tokudachi later responded in a May 22 Diet session that such an investigation did not necessarily mean base strike capabilities were the only explicit option on the table. “Based on the progress of North Korea’s ballistic missile capabilities, we have planned in the new defense guidelines to comprehensively improve our nation’s coping capabilities against ballistic missile strikes. hearing before the Diplomatic Defense Committee in the House of Councillors, 186th Diet (2014) (statement by Bureau of Defense Policy Director Shuzo Tokudachi, May 22, 2014), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/186/0059/18605220059017a.html. Throughout the security legislation bill debates in the summer of 2015, various Japanese politicians raise the question of how aspects of the new bill concerning the new three conditions for self-defense would impact the strike capabilities debate. While the three new conditions allow for Japan to engage in collective self-defense, Minister Nakatani emphasizes that enemy base strike capabilities fall into the realm of individual self-defense. Other officials, such as Cabinet Legislative Bureau Director Yusuke Yokobatake, confirm on June 3 that even with the constitutionality of enemy base strikes, Japan cannot strike another country under the pretense of collective self-defense. Additionally, in August 4 and August 24 Diet sessions, Nakatani and Yokobatake reject the notion that Japan has the capabilities to conduct enemy base strikes before an enemy damages Japan, instead emphasizing the prevention of “successive launches” at Japan vis-à-vis enemy base strikes. Thus, the strike debates in 2015 reinforce the official government interpretation expressed by Nakatani on August 26, which again emphasizes the nonpreemptive nature of a hypothetical base strike and the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance to Japanese security. hearing before the Budgetary Committee in the House of Councillors, 189th Diet (2015) (statement by Cabinet Legislative Bureau Director Yusuke Yokobatake, August 24, 2015), http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/sangiin/189/0014/18908240014020a.html. North Korea conducts its fifth nuclear weapons test. The launch of the latest LDP panel on strike capabilities was reported shortly after North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in September 2016, with the public conclusions of the panel being released the following spring. While emphasizing the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance, the findings also highlight the importance of enemy base strikes. The Japanese and English versions of the findings use the words “counterattack capability” (hangeki nōryoku), placing it in line with the recent emphasis on striking after Japan receives damage from a missile attack. Additionally, the report explicitly mentions cruise missiles as a possible option for strike capabilities. This appears to bear some promise as recent news reports on an official Japanese F-35 study mention possibly acquiring Tomahawk cruise missiles for enemy base strikes. 1st. Rule of Modern War: Never underestimate your opponent! 2nd. Rule of Modern War: You can't bomb radiation, you just spread it!

2019-04-25T22:42:29Z

https://carnegieendowment.org/2017/08/14/five-things-to-know-about-japan-s-possible-acquisition-of-strike-capability-pub-72710

An arrangement for determining radio coverage provided by a telecommunications system to a user of a mobile device is disclosed. In the case of a GSM or UMTS mobile device, if the device is in the idle mode (step A) and if a paging operation is not scheduled (step B), the mobile device records and stores on the mobile device a characteristic of the radio coverage provided when the mobile device is at each of a plurality of locations visited by the user of the mobile device (step C). The arrangement also enables retrieval of the recorded and stored characteristic so that radio coverage provided to the device for the user at the locations can be evaluated. If the telecommunications system includes a plurality of networks, the mobile device will record and store the characteristic for each of the plurality of networks. The arrangement then enables the radio coverage provided by the respective networks to be evaluated, and an informed choice as to the best network for that particular user can be made. The present invention relates to a method of determining radio coverage provided by a telecommunications system to a user of a mobile device. The present invention also relates to a device for determining radio coverage provided by a telecommunications system. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a method of providing subscriber guidance for network service provider selection based on the radio coverage provided by candidate telecommunications systems, actual subscriber usage patterns and available operator tariff structures; and also relates to a device for determining radio coverage provided by a telecommunications system without interfering with the normal subscriber operation and usage of the device. Currently, if a potential user of a mobile network wishes to determine whether that network will provide satisfactory radio coverage for their usage requirements, the user must consult publicly available coverage maps provided by mobile network operators (MNOs), and typically available on MNO websites. The network coverage of the information provided by network operators is typically derived from propagation prediction tools and is often for outdoor service levels. The coverage maps often do not reflect the quality of radio coverage actually available in specific locations and/or in buildings. The lack of granularity and accuracy in publicly available network coverage maps make it difficult for customers to make informed decisions about network choice. Often potential subscribers to a network either have to switch network operators to gain accurate information and real coverage quality or seek anecdotal advice from customers of other networks which may not accurately reflect the performance of their own device or be relevant for the locations frequented by that user. U.S. Pat. No. 7,392,017 discloses an arrangement for assessing wireless network quality. When a user of a mobile device makes a request for service from an information service provider this request is sent to the information service provider including information about the device and its location (for example using GPS). The arrangement determines network quality by measuring the number of attempts that are required to successfully transmit data between the mobile device and the information service provider. The system does not measure network quality at the mobile device. U.S. Pat. No. 7,158,790 discloses an arrangement where a mobile device reports signal quality measurements to a network. The network stores the signal quality measurements together with the location of the device (obtained, for example, by GPS). The mobile device generally sends measurements as they are received to the network. However, when the network quality is insufficient to allow the mobile device to transmit the data immediately to the network, the mobile device stores quality and location data. These data are subsequently transmitted to the network when a connection of sufficient quality becomes available. The network analyses the quality and location data provided by many mobile devices to estimate the location of “dead zones” within the network service area. It would be desirable for a potential customer of a mobile network to accurately determine the radio coverage quality in the important geographical areas specifically for that customer, including deep in-building locations, and preferably from all network operators based on actual radio measurements. In one aspect the present invention provides a method of determining radio coverage provided by a telecommunications system to a user of a mobile device, wherein the telecommunications system includes a plurality of networks, the method including operating the mobile device to record and store on the mobile device a characteristic for the plurality of networks of the radio coverage provided when the mobile device is at each of a plurality of locations visited by the user of the mobile device, and enabling retrieval of the recorded characteristic to evaluate the radio coverage provided at the locations by the respective networks to the device for the user. In the embodiments to be described below, by recording and storing network quality data on the mobile device, and enabling retrieval of the recorded and stored characteristic of the radio coverage to evaluate the radio coverage provided to the device for the user at the locations, the user of the device is able to determine how the telecommunications system will perform for them at the locations that they visit and using their particular device. Compared to known arrangements, the embodiment provides information about the radio coverage of the telecommunications system specific to a particular user and device, and is therefore more accurate than the information that can be provided by the known arrangements. The quality of the radio coverage is not estimated but is measured in each of the relevant locations. In the embodiment to be described the telecommunications system includes a plurality of networks, and the operating step includes recording and storing the characteristic for each of the plurality of networks. The enabling step then enables the radio coverage provided by the respective networks to be evaluated. For example, the telecommunications system may comprise a plurality of cellular telecommunications networks (PLMNs). Often in a particular geographical area (such as a country) several PLMNs, which are owned by different operators, are potentially available to users. In the embodiment, by enabling the radio coverage provided by each of the respective networks to be evaluated, the user can determine which network provides the best coverage for their particular needs. The characteristic of radio coverage recorded and stored may be signal strength and/or quality. The method may include the step of retrieving the characteristic recorded at each of the locations and presenting radio coverage analysis to the user. By such an arrangement the recorded and stored data can be provided to the user in a convenient form that is easily understood—for example as a personalised coverage map. The method may include retrieving the recorded characteristic of each of the locations and calculating which of the networks provides the best radio coverage for the user at the locations visited by the user. The mobile device may also be operated to record and store on the mobile device telecommunications services used when the mobile device is at each of the plurality of locations visited by the user of the mobile device. The method may then optionally include calculating the cost of services and recommending a network based on both radio coverage quality and cost. In the embodiment to be described in detail below, a recommendation engine application is implemented on the mobile device which records services used and radio coverage quality. This information and network tariff information is used to calculate a recommendation for the user of the best network according to quality and cost criteria that the user may set. The user is then able to make an informed decision about the choice of network based on coverage quality, usage patterns and tariff structures. This empowers the user to select a network that is best for their particular usage patterns and cost/quality preferences. For example, some users may be willing to make some compromise in network coverage quality if this results in significant cost savings. The telecommunications system may be a cellular telecommunications system such as a 2G (GSM), 3G (UMTS) or 4G (LTE) telecommunications system. The characteristic of the telecommunications system that is recorded and stored may relate to a cell broadcast channel of the cellular telecommunications system. The mobile device may be operated to store and record the characteristic of the radio coverage while the mobile device is in an idle or inactive communication state, the operating step being interrupted when the mobile device is required to operate in an active communication state, such as when a voice call is made or when user data is sent/received between the mobile device and the network. Preferably, the operation of the mobile device to record the characteristic of radio coverage is scheduled during the idle or inactive communication mode so that it does not interfere with or conflict with paging operations between the telecommunications system and the mobile terminal that also occur during the idle or inactive state. Such paging operations allow the telecommunications system to determine the location of the mobile terminal. By recording the characteristic of the telecommunications system during the idle or inactive communication state, and when paging operations are not being performed, the embodiment provides for recordal of the telecommunications characteristic without interfering with or compromising other tasks normally performed by the mobile terminal. No modification to other elements of the telecommunications system is required for the mobile device to record the characteristic data. Advantageously, the embodiment makes use of the times during which the mobile device is otherwise not performing useful activity to collect information about the telecommunications system for use by the user. The invention also provides apparatus as defined in the independent claims. FIG. 3 is an information flow chart, describing the discrete information collections which are combined in order to derive recommendation suggestions to the mobile user. In the drawings like elements are generally designated with the same reference sign. Key elements of a mobile telecommunications network n, and its operation, will now briefly be described with reference to FIG. 1. Each base station (BS) corresponds to a respective cell of its cellular or mobile telecommunications network and receives calls/data from and transmits calls/data to a mobile terminal in that cell by wireless radio communication in one or both of the circuit switched or packet switched domains. Such a subscriber's mobile terminal (or User Equipment—UE) is shown at 1. The mobile terminal may be a handheld mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer equipped with a datacard, or a laptop computer with an embedded chipset containing the UE's functionality. In a GSM (2G) mobile telecommunications network, each base station subsystem 3 comprises a base transceiver station (BTS) 2 and a base station controller (BSC) 4. A BSC may control more than one BTS. The BTSs and BSCs comprise the radio access network. In a UMTS (3G) mobile telecommunications network, a radio network controller (RNC) 13 may control more than one node B 6. The node B's and RNC's form base station 7 and comprise the radio access network. Corresponding elements are provided in an LTE (4G) mobile telecommunications network: The eNodeB of an LTE network replaces the BTS/NodeB and also incorporates the BSC/RNC functionality. Conventionally, the base stations are arranged in groups and each group of base stations is controlled by one mobile switching centre (MSC), such as MSC 2 for base stations 3,4 and 5, and MSC 6 for base stations 7,8 and 9. In practice, the network will incorporate many more MSCs and base stations than shown in FIG. 1. Each subscriber to the network is provided with a smart card or SIM which, when associated with the user's mobile terminal, identifies the subscriber to the network. The SIM card is pre-programmed with a unique identification number, the “International Mobile Subscriber Identity” (IMSI) which is not visible on the card and is not known to the subscriber. The subscriber is issued with a publicly known number, that is, the subscriber's telephone number, by means of which calls to the subscriber are initiated by callers. This number is the MSISDN. The network includes a home location register (HLR)/home subscriber server (HSS) 10 which, for each subscriber to the network, stores the IMSI and the corresponding MSISDN together with other subscriber data, such as the current or last known location of the subscriber's mobile terminal. The HSS is the master database for the network, and while logically it is viewed as one entity, in practice it will be made up of several physical databases. The HSS holds variables and identities for the support, establishment and maintenance of calls and sessions made by subscribers. When the subscriber wishes to activate their mobile terminal in a network (so that it may make or receive calls subsequently), the subscriber places their SIM card in a card reader associated with the mobile terminal (terminal 1 in this example). The mobile terminal 1 then transmits the IMSI (read from the card) to the base station 7 associated with the particular cell in which the terminal 1 is located. In a traditional network, the base station 7 then transmits this IMSI to the MSC 6 with which the BS 7 is registered. In a network using the functionality described in 3GPP TS 23.236, the base station follows prescribed rules to select which MSC to use, and then transmits this IMSI to the selected MSC. MSC 6 now accesses the appropriate location in the HLR/HSS 10 present in the network core (CN) 12 and extracts the corresponding subscriber MSISDN and other subscriber data from the appropriate storage location, and stores it temporarily in a location in a visitor location register (VLR) 14. In this way, therefore the particular subscriber is effectively registered with a particular MSC (MSC 6), and the subscriber's information is temporarily stored in the VLR (VLR 14) associated with that MSC. When the HLR 10 is interrogated by the MSC 6 in the manner described above, the HLR 10 additionally performs an authentication procedure for the mobile terminal 1. The HLR 10 transmits authentication data to the MSC 2 in “challenge” and “response” forms. Using this data, MSC 6 passes a “challenge” to the mobile terminal 1 through base station 7. Upon receipt of this data, the mobile terminal 1 passes this data to its SIM and produces a “response”. This response is generated using an encryption algorithm on the SIM and a unique Ki on the SIM. The response is transmitted back to the MSC 6 which checks it against its own information for the subscriber which checks it against information that it has obtained for that subscriber from the HLR 10 in order to complete the authentication process. If the response from the mobile terminal 1 is as expected, the mobile terminal 1 is deemed authenticated. At this point the MSC 6 requests subscription data from the HLR 10. The HLR 10 then passes the subscription data to the VLR 14. The authentication process will be repeated at regular intervals while the mobile terminal 1 remains activated and can also be repeated each time the mobile terminal makes or receives a call, if required. Each of the MSCs of the network (MSC 6 and MSC 2) has a respective VLR (14 and 11) associated with it and operates in the same way as already described when a subscriber activates a mobile terminal in one of the cells corresponding to one of the base stations controlled by that MSC. When the subscriber using mobile terminal 1 wishes to make a call, having already inserted the SIM card into the reader associated with this mobile terminal and the SIM has been authenticated in the manner described, a call may be made by entering the telephone number of the called party in the usual way. This information is received by the base station 7 and passed on to the MSC 6. The MSC 6 routes the calls towards the called party via the MSC 6. By means of the information held in the VLR 14, MSC 6 can associate the call with a particular subscriber and thus record information for charging purposes. The MSCs 6 and 2 support communications in the circuit switched domain—typically voice calls. Corresponding SGSNs 16 and 18 are provided to support communications in the packet switched domain—such as GPRS data transmissions. The SGSNs 16 and 18 function in an analogous way to the MSCs 6 and 2. The SGSNs 16, 18 are equipped with an equivalent to the VLR for the packet switched domain. GGSN 19 provides IP connectivity for the CN 12, for example to Packet Data Network 20 (such as the Internet). The network of FIG. 1 includes two Radio Access Technologies (RATs): 2G (GSM) and 3G (UMTS). A telecommunications system may comprise a plurality of telecommunications networks (and each of those networks may include more than one RAT). Each of the networks may be under separate legal ownership. Roaming of user from one network to another network may be allowed in some cases and may be forbidden in other cases. From the description above, it will be understood that the coverage area of a mobile telecommunications network is divided into a plurality of cells, each of which is served by a respective base station. Mobile networks such as 2G (GSM) or 3G (UMTS) telecommunications networks have an active state of communication with their mobile terminals and an inactive/idle state of communication with their terminals. When in the active state, as the mobile terminals move between different cells of the network, the communication session is maintained by performing a “handover” operation between the cells. In the inactive/idle state, as a mobile terminal moves between different cells of the network the mobile terminal performs “cell reselection” to select the most appropriate cell on which to “camp” in order that the mobile terminal can be paged by the network when mobile terminating data is destined for that mobile terminal. Calculations to determine whether to perform a handover from one base station to another base station are performed by the network, whereas calculations whether to perform cell reselection are performed by the mobile terminal. In a mobile network operating in accordance with the 3G (UMTS) Standards, a mobile terminal device (UE) has a so-called “RRC (Radio Resource Control) state” which depends on its state of activity. In the respective RRC states different functions for mobility are executed. These functions are described in technical specification 3GPP TS 25.304/25.331. For 2G and 3G, a mobile terminal is in active communication when it has a CS (Circuit Switched) connection established. In 2.5G, GPRS PS (Packet Switched), active communication can be defined as the GPRS Ready state. In 3G UMTS PS, active communication can be defined as the RRC connected mode state that is CELL_DCH, and thus excluding CELL/URA_PCH RRC connected mode states. In 3G UMTS PS, CELL/URA_PCH and CELL_FACH can be defined as inactive states. In GPRS, the Standby state can be regarded as an inactive state. Either one or both of the CS and PS active communications may occur in the mobile terminal. The RRC states will now briefly be described. A dedicated physical channel is allocated to the UE in uplink and downlink. Dedicated transport channels, downlink and uplink transport channels and a combination of these transport channels can be used by the UE. No dedicated physical channel is allocated to the UE. The UE continuously monitors a FACH (forward access channel) in the downlink. The UE is assigned a default common or shared transport channel in the uplink (e.g. RACH) that it can use anytime according to the access procedure for that transport channel. The position of the UE is known by UTRAN on cell level according to the cell where the UE last made a cell update. No dedicated physical channel is allocated to the UE. The UE selects a PCH (paging channel) with the algorithm, and uses DRX for monitoring the selected PCH via an associated PCH. No uplink activity is possible. The position of the UE is known by UTRAN on cell level according to the cell where the UE last made a cell update in CELL_FACH state. No dedicated channel is allocated to the UE. The UE selects a PCH, and uses DRX for monitoring the selected PCH via an associated PCH. The location of the UE is known on UTRAN registration area (URA) level according to the URA assigned to the UE during the last URA update in CELL-FACH state. In the CELL_DCH state a network-driven handover is performed when necessary, as described in 3GPP TS 25-331. In this state a mobile terminal scans the pilot channels of up to 32 intra-frequency cells neighbouring its current cell. The mobile terminal forms a list of the best cells for possible handover based on the received signal strength and/or quality (i.e. the error rate in the received signal). The information in this list is passed to the UTRAN RNC on an event-driven basis, e.g. when the signal strength or signal-to-noise ratio of one of the cells exceeds a threshold. The information list is used by a handover algorithm implemented in the UTRAN RNC. The algorithm that determines when handover occurs is not specified in the GSM or UMTS Standards. The algorithms essentially trigger a handover when the mobile terminal 1 provides a measurement of a neighbour cell received signal at the mobile terminal 1 below a predetermined quality received threshold, which typically has a relation to the quality of the received signal from the serving cell (e.g. better quality by some margin). In the “CELL_FACH”, “CELL_PCH”, “URA_PCH” or “idle mode” the mobile terminal controls its own mobility independently and starts a cell switch (reselection) when a neighbouring cell has a better quality than the current cell, as described in 3GPP TS 25.304. A similar procedure is also used in GSM/GPRS mobile networks, as described in technical specification 3GPP TS 05.08 (UE-based cell reselection). In general, a mobile terminal in “idle mode” states and in RRC connected mode (inactive) states “CELL_FACH”, “CELL_PCH” and “URA_PCH” performs periodic measurements of its own as well as of a series of neighbouring cells—typically of the BCCH or other cell broadcast channel transmitted on the RF carrier of each base station. The broadcast control channel (BCCH) is the downlink channel that contains parameters needed by a mobile in order that it can identify the network and gain access to it. Typical information includes the Location Area Code (LAC) and Routing Area Code (RAC), the MNC (Mobile Network Code) and the BA (BCCH Allocation) list. The measurements are not made continuously, as this would be wasteful of battery power. Instead, these measurements are performed at a frequency determined by a Cell Measurement Cycle Length (CMCL). Information about the neighbouring cells is broadcast in the system information block 11 (SIB11) or system information block 12 (SIB12) of the broadcast channel (BCH) as described in 3GPP TS 25.304 and 3GPP TS 25.331. A switch from the current cell to a neighbouring cell generally takes place in the aforementioned idle/inactive states when a neighbouring cell is technically better than the current cell. It is thus ensured that a mobile terminal is generally located in the cell of a mobile network in which it needs the lowest possible transmitting power in order to contact the closest base station (NodeB) and/or has the best reception conditions. When a calling party (whether a subscriber within the mobile telecommunications network or outside it) attempts to call a mobile terminal within the network, that mobile terminal must be paged. Paging is a process of broadcasting a message which alerts a specific mobile terminal to take some action—in this example, to notify the terminal that there is an incoming call to be received. If the network knows in which cell the mobile terminal is located, it is only necessary to page in that cell. However, if the mobile terminal is moving within the network (that is, cell reselection has been performed), the precise cell in which the mobile terminal is located may not be known. It will therefore be necessary to perform paging in a number of cells. The greater the number of cells in which paging must occur, the more use of valuable signalling capacity within the network. However, if the HLR/HSS 10 is to always have an up-to-date record of the cell in which each mobile terminal is located so that the current cell which is occupied by a terminal is always known, this will require a large amount of location updating signalling between the mobile terminal and the HLR/HSS 10 in order that the HLR/HSS 10 has up-to-date records of the cells occupied by each mobile terminal. This is also wasteful of valuable signalling capacity. As indicated above, the HLR/HSS 10 is updated each time a mobile terminal moves from the coverage area of one MSC to another MSC and from one SGSN to another SGSN. However, typically the area covered by a single MSC and SGSN is large, and to page all the cells covered by a single MSC and SGSN would require a significant amount of paging signalling. The problems of excessive use of signaling capacity by paging a multiplicity of cells or performing a multiplicity of frequent location updates is solved in a to known manner in 2G and 3G networks by dividing the coverage area of the mobile telecommunications network into a plurality of location areas (LAs) and into a plurality of routing areas (RAs). A location area relates to a particular geographical area for communications in the circuit-switched domain. Typically, although not necessarily, a location area is larger than the area of a single cell but is smaller than the area covered by one MSC. Each cell within the network broadcasts data indicative of the identity of its location area (LAI). The mobile terminal uses this data to determine when it has moved into a new location area. The terminal stores its last known location area on its SIM. This information stored on the SIM is compared with the location area information broadcast by the local cell. The identities of the two location areas are compared. If they are different, the mobile terminal determines that it has entered a new location area. The mobile terminal then gains access to a radio channel and requests a location area update (LAU). The request includes the now out-of-date LAI. If the MSC/VLR is the same for the new and old location areas, the network can immediately authenticate the mobile terminal and note the change of location area. However, if the mobile terminal is moved to a different MSC/VLR, the MSC/VLR addresses a message to the HSS/HLR. The HSS/HLR notes the new location and downloads security parameters to allow the network to authenticate the mobile. It also passes on subscription details of the user to the new VLR and informs the old VLR to delete its records. The new MSC/VLR allocates a new TMSI to the mobile. A routeing area relates to a particular geographical area for communications in the packet-switched domain. Typically, although not necessarily, a routeing area is larger than the area of a single cell but is smaller than the area covered by one SGSN. A routeing area is typically, although not necessarily, smaller than a location area. There may be many routeing areas within one location area. Each cell within the network broadcasts data indicative of its routeing area (RAI) in addition to the data mentioned above indicative of the identity of its location area. The mobile terminal uses this received data to determine when it has moved to a new routeing area. The terminal stores the last known routeing area on its SIM. The information stored on the SIM is compared with the routeing area information broadcast by the local cell. The identities of the two routing areas are compared. If they are different, the mobile terminal determines that it has entered a new routeing area. The mobile terminal then gains access to a radio channel and requests a routing area update (RAU). The routeing area is updated in the same manner as the location area, as discussed above. The mobile terminal listens for pages from the network only periodically—at a frequency defined by the “DRX cycle length”. DRX (discontinuous reception) is a technique that allows the mobile terminal to power down significant amounts of its internal circuitry for a high percentage of the time when it is in the idle or inactive mode while enabling the mobile terminal to be is aware of when page requests for it may be transmitted. The technique works by dividing the mobile terminals within a cell into a set of groups. The group in which a mobile terminal resides is then known locally at both the mobile terminal and the base station. All paging requests to each group are then scheduled and sent at a particular time, which is derived in conjunction with the IMSI of the mobile terminal and some BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) transmitted data. Thus both the base station and the mobile terminal know when relevant page requests will be sent and the mobile terminal can power down for the period when it knows that page requests will not occur. In addition to the page requests mentioned above, repeated (or global) paging operations may be performed by the network (typically every two to ten seconds). The mobile terminal is configured to be activated to listen for such repeated (or global) pages at the required time intervals. Typically a mobile device is associated with a SIM that is issued under the control of a particular PLMN. This PLMN is the “home” network. The user will have a contract with the home network for the provision of telecommunications services. The identity of the PLMN is stored on the SIM. Conventionally, a mobile device is arranged to retrieve the home PLMN information from the SIM (that is pre-stored on the SIM) and to monitor RF carriers for BCCH for the home network (only). When radio coverage is available from the home network, this allows the mobile device to select the best cell within the home network on which to camp. The home network may comprise a plurality of radio access technologies (such as 2G and 3G). When the network is so arranged, BCCH for all the radio access technologies of the home PLMN will be monitored. The home network is identified on the SIM and in the BCCH by its mobile network code (MNC). The SIM may also include a list of PLMNs (identified by their MNC) with which the home network has a roaming agreement. Such a roaming agreement allows the user having a contract with the home network to obtain telecommunications services from a visited network when they are roaming in the coverage area of that network. Agreements between the respective networks allow the visited network to be reimbursed by the home network for telecommunications services used by the visiting mobile device. A home network will typically have roaming agreements with networks that cover different geographic areas to the home network, typically networks located in a country different to the country that the home network serves. The SIM may also store a user defined list of networks, i.e. networks that are preferred by the user. The SIM may also store a list of PLMNs to which the home network forbids access. Upon power on or after a period where no network coverage is available, the mobile device will select a PLMN. Conventionally, a mobile device will initially try to select the network with which it was last registered, the identity of which is stored on the SIM. Usually, this will be the home network. To expedite registration on the last selected PLMN, the mobile device uses information that it has stored about the last selected PLMN, such as the carrier frequencies and/or the list of neighbouring cells. On each stored RF carrier frequency, the mobile device searches for the strongest signal cell and reads its system information to verify the PLMN to which the cell belongs. It also reads the system information for PLMN identity, which includes the MMC. The mobile terminal then decides whether the chosen cell is acceptable or whether at least one acceptable cell belonging to the network exists. If an acceptable cell for the PLMN is available, the mobile terminal attempts registration. If there is no stored last selected network, or if that network is unavailable, the mobile device searches for all other available networks using either the automatic mode or the manual mode, and then selects one of those networks. 2. Each network in a user defined network list stored on the SIM, if present, in order of priority. 3. Each network in a list of networks defined by the home network and stored in the SIM, in order of priority. 4. Other networks, according to a quality criterion, in random order. 5. Other networks that do not fulfil the quality criterion in order of decreasing signal strength/quality. In the steps above the availability of the networks in each of the available radio access technologies is determined. The quality criterion referred to in items 4 and 5 above may be the Received Signal strength Code Power (RSCP) being above a particular predetermined value on the Common PIlot CHannel (CPICH). For example, this predetermined value might be greater than or equal to −95 dBm for UMTS and −85 dBm for GSM. If the mobile device cannot register on any PLMN identified in items 1 to 3 above, it then attempts to register on other PLMNs identified in items 4 and 5 above. If registration on a network is not possible, then an available network is nevertheless selected by the mobile device and only a limited service is available. The mobile device will then enter a “limited service” state in which it is possible to make emergency calls (to designated emergency numbers) only. The manual selection mode is different in that the mobile device displays all networks that it finds by scanning all frequency carriers. This scanning will identify both allowed and non-allowed networks (non-allowed networks being those on which registration is not possible). All the networks are displayed to the user, and the user makes a manual selection from the networks. The mobile device then attempts registration on the selected network even if that network is not listed as an available network in the SIM. If the user selects an available network in the forbidden network list, generally the network will reject the attempt to register on that network. If an attempt to register on a network is rejected then the network is nevertheless selected by the mobile device and the “limited service” state is entered in which it is possible to make emergency calls (to designated emergency numbers) only. The procedures mentioned above for selecting a PLMN are described in 3GPP TS 43.022, 25.304 and 45.008, all of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. From the above discussion it will be understood that mobile terminals operating in accordance with the known Standards are capable of monitoring signal quality/strength data from a plurality of PLMNs. The embodiment of the present invention advantageously uses this existing functionality to determine the radio coverage provided by one, or more than one, telecommunications network/PLMN. FIG. 2 is a flow chart which shows the steps performed to determine the radio coverage provided by a plurality of cellular telecommunications networks/PLMNs. The steps of the flow chart may, for example, be performed by an application that is run by a processor of the mobile device. The application interacts with the firmware of the mobile device and uses the existing capability to measure the radio coverage provided by a plurality of PLMNs—which is described above. To configure and schedule the execution of the measuring process, a scheduler can be implemented, combining information such as location, time of day and battery status. The user could then simply activate the process and leave it running or choose to customise when the process is run based on a location change event, or time of day. Also the scheduler may take into account the battery status to prevent completely draining the battery. For example, a user might run the application on their mobile device during a normal day so that the quality of various networks is measured at their home, on their journey to work and on their journey home again. At step A the scheduler determines the location of the mobile device 1. The location may be provided by GPS, cell triangulation mobile device locating techniques or any other suitable mobile device location technique. It is then determined if the location of the mobile device 1 is within a range set by the user. If the location is not in the range set by the user, the procedure ends (and the process may be restarted after a predetermined time period). The user might set a location range if they are only interested in the coverage in a particular area (for example, an area that they frequent). The user might not be interested in coverage in an area that they visit only once. At step A the scheduler also determines the current time. The time may be provided by a clock on the mobile device, which is synchronised with the network. It is then determined if the time is within a range set by the user. If the time is not in the range set by the user, the procedure ends (and the process may be restarted after a predetermined time period). The user might set the time range so that measurements are not made during periods that the user will not be moving around—such as when sleeping at home or when at a fixed place of work. Making measurements at these times may not yield any useful information and would waste device battery power. At step A the scheduler further determines the power supply status of the mobile device. If the device is running on battery power, and the battery is in depleted state (e.g. with less than 20% capacity remaining), the procedure ends (and the process may be restarted after a predetermined time period). At step B it is determined whether the mobile device is in its idle mode/inactive state or in its active state. In the example of a 3G mobile device, the mobile device will be in an active state if it is in the CELL_DCH state discussed above. Such a terminal will be considered to be in the idle mode or in active state if it is in the CELL_FACH, CELL_PCH or URA_PCH states mentioned above. In different radio access technologies, the definitions of the active and idle/inactive states will be different, but the same principle applies. If the mobile device is in the active state, the radio coverage measurement procedure is not performed. If the mobile device is in the idle state/inactive state, it is then determined whether a paging operation of the types discussed above is scheduled at step C. Whether or not a paging operation is scheduled may be determined, for example, with reference to the DRX cycle length value discussed above, or any other suitable mechanism. If a paging operation is scheduled, the radio coverage measuring procedure is not performed. If a paging operation is not scheduled, then, at step D, the mobile device records a characteristic of the radio coverage provided by the current cell and neighbouring cells of all available PLMNs. It will take coverage measurements and statistically analyse the coverage quality of all the available network operators. The scan will not be limited to the network operator who supplied the operation SIM card in the device. This is achieved through configuring the device to scan and list all alternative operators and poll through them while in idle mode to assess the quality through the signal strength and quality of their cell broadcast channels (e.g. GSM, BCCH). The characteristic for that location is stored in a table in the mobile device. Data indicative of the location is recorded together with the radio coverage characteristic data. The location information may be provided by GPS, cell triangulation mobile device locating techniques or any other suitable mobile device location technique. After the recording/scanning operation is completed the algorithm returns to step A. Further, during the recording/scanning operation, it is detected whether the user initiates an operation, such as making a voice or data call, which would result in the mobile device leaving the idle mode and entering the active mode. If this occurs, the recording/scanning operation is stopped and the algorithm returns to step A, and the recording/scanning operation is not continued until the mobile device enters the idle mode again. The application runs autonomously on the mobile device and does not need a continuous network connection to the home PLMN. As indicated above, the application is configurable by the user to adjust the interval between which the characteristic of the radio coverage is recorded. The application may also be configured to record the characteristic of radio coverage when the mobile terminal is at particular geographic locations. The stored data may be accessed by the user (or another party) to evaluate the radio coverage provided at the locations visited by the user. The data may be presented in various forms. For example, the data may be presented as a table, showing the signal strength measured for each PLMN at a particular time and/or location. Alternatively or additionally, the data may be presented as a map, showing pictorially the signal strength at each location. For example, the signal strength recorded could be indicated by a particular colour or shading. The radio coverage provided by the different PLMNs may be indicated in separate maps or in a single map, with the radio coverage provided by the respective networks indicated by a different colour or shading. The data may be displayed to the user using the display of the mobile device. Alternatively, the data may be transferred from the mobile device to another device, such as a personal computer to allow analysis of the data by the personal computer and display on the more powerful graphical user interface of the personal computer. The data may be transferred to the personal computer by a wireless connection via the home network or by another wireless connection such as Bluetooth or infra-red, or by a cable connection, for example. The map may also highlight the location of particular places that are of significance to the user, such as their home, place of work and travelling route to work. This will enable the user to determine in a simple manner whether sufficient radio coverage is available at the places that are important to the user. The map may allow the user to determine which network provides the best coverage at the places that are significant to the user. A user may select a network which provides high quality coverage at the home and place of work and may be willing to select a network that perhaps does not provide coverage for a small portion of their journey on the way to or from work. As an optional enhancement of the embodiment of the invention, the application which performs the steps described above in relation to FIG. 2 may be enhanced to include a subscriber recommendation engine. The functions performed by the subscriber recommendation engine will now be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 3. At step a the recommendation engine is configured. Time periods at which the network characteristics should be measured are set. The locations at which the network characteristic should be measured are set. A battery charge criteria for permitting measurement of the network characteristic are set. These aspects may be set manually by the user or may be configured automatically using data obtained from a remote source that is obtained by the mobile device 1 from the Internet via the network core 12 and the base station of the network with which the mobile device is registered. Alternatively, the settings may be default settings provided by the engine. In addition to the settings discussed above, particular networks (Mobile Network Operators, MNOs and Mobile Virtual Network Operators, MVNOs) may be specified for which radio quality measurements will be made. Thus, the engine may be configured to exclude from the measurements some networks. This may be advantageous if a user knows that a network cannot not meet their requirements, or if the user has some other reason not to use a particular network. At step b the engine obtains details of the tariffs of the networks in which the user is interested, as specified in step a. These tariff details may be pre-stored on the mobile device 1, or may be retrieved by the engine from a database via the Internet, network core 12 and the base station of the network with which the mobile device is currently registered. For example, the tariff information may include the cost of a voice call of a predetermined length, the cost of sending an SMS message and the cost of downloading a predetermined amount of data for each of the networks in which the user is interested. At step c radio coverage quality measurements are made in accordance with the procedure described in relation to FIG. 2. These measurements are made when the time, location and battery criteria specified in step a are satisfied. At step d during the period that radio coverage quality measurements are made (i.e. when the time, location and battery criteria set in step a are satisfied), the engine records the usage of the mobile device by the user. For example, the type of service used is recorded, such as voice call, SMS transmission or data download. The location at which the service is used is also recorded (which may be particularly useful if a network has differential charging at different locations). The time at which the service is used is also recorded (this can be particularly useful if the network has differential charging at different times of day). The quantity of the service used is also recorded (services such as voice calls are typically measured in terms of seconds, whereas services such as data download are typically measured in terms of data quantity). Typically, these services will always be obtained from a single network—the user's home network. At step e the engine calculates the recommendations for the user. That is, the engine at step e uses the information captured at steps b, c and d to calculate the best network for the user at the times and locations specified, and for the network specified. This recommendation may be based on the recorded radio coverage quality at the times and locations specified. The engine will determine which network provides the best coverage quality and will recommend that network. Alternatively, at step e, the engine may recommend the network which has the lowest cost for the service types used, as recorded at step d. The engine may consider both radio coverage quality measurements and the cost of the services on each network and make a recommendation based on both quality and cost. The user may specify the relative importance of cost and coverage quality, and the engine may take this into account when making a network recommendation. Although network coverage quality is important to many users, a significant proportion of users may choose a network with slightly lower coverage quality if this results in significant cost savings. The engine may be configured by users to take into account their individual cost/quality preferences when making its recommendations. The calculations performed by step e of the engine may be performed continuously as the data is gathered in steps b, c and d. Alternatively, the calculations performed at step e may be performed at a particular time, for example when measurement periods specified in step a ends. It should be understood that steps b, c and d are not necessarily performed in alphabetical order. Steps b, c and d may be performed concurrently. From the above discussion it will be apparent that the present invention provides a self-contained single user device that measures all the available networks. In the embodiment described the telecommunications system comprises a plurality of cellular telecommunications networks (PLMNs). The invention is also applicable to a telecommunications system comprising other types of telecommunications networks, such as WiFi and other wireless technologies. The telecommunications system may comprise a plurality of different types of telecommunications networks. The application run on the mobile terminal described in the embodiment provides a user with a convenient, accurate and personalised assessment of the coverage quality provided by different network operators based on the users particular geographic requirements. Advantageously, the application uses existing hardware capabilities of the mobile device which allow the mobile device to scan all available networks and determine the signal strength/quality thereof. whereby the particular user can determine which of the plurality of networks provides the best coverage for his or her particular needs, and is provided with a personalized assessment of the coverage quality provided by different network operators based on locations that the particular user visits. 2. The method of claim 1, including retrieving the recorded characteristic of each of the locations and presenting a radio coverage analysis to the particular user. 3. The method of claim 1, including retrieving the recorded characteristic of each of the locations and calculating which of the networks provides the best radio coverage for the particular user at the locations visited by the particular user. 4. The method of claim 3, including operating the particular mobile device to record and store telecommunications services used when the particular mobile device is at each of a plurality of locations visited by the particular user of the particular mobile device. 5. The method of claim 4, including calculating the cost of the services, and recommending a network based on both radio coverage quality and cost. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications system is a cellular telecommunications system and the characteristic relates to a cell broadcast channel of the cellular telecommunications system. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the operating step is scheduled to allow paging to be performed. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, including a retriever the recorded characteristic of each of the locations and to a present radio coverage analysis to the particular user. 10. The apparatus of claim 8, including a calculator to calculate which of the networks provides the best radio coverage for the particular user at the locations visited by the particular user. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the recorder is operable to record and store telecommunications services used when the particular mobile device is at each of a plurality of locations visited by the particular user of the particular mobile device. 12. The apparatus of claims 11, including a calculator to calculate the cost of the services, and to recommend a network based on both radio coverage quality and cost. 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the telecommunications system is a cellular telecommunications system and the characteristic relates to a cell is broadcast channel of the cellular telecommunications system. 14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the recorder includes a scheduler to record the characteristic according to a schedule so as to allow paging of the device to be performed. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes determining the radio coverage provided by the telecommunications system specifically for the particular user of the mobile device. 16. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus determines the radio coverage provided by the telecommunications system specifically for the particular user of the mobile device. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes generating a personalized coverage map that highlights the location of particular places that are of significance to the particular user. 18. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the recorder generates a personalized coverage map that highlights the location of particular places that are of significance to the particular user. Combined Search and Examination Report issued on corresponding application No. GB1007510.9 from the Intellectual Property Office of Great Britain (8 pages). Extended European Search Report issued on corresponding application No. 11275075.7 dated Aug. 11, 2011(11 pages).

2019-04-18T13:51:21Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8538428B2/en

Jeff Sessions, the president’s earliest and most fervent supporter in Congress, stepped down as attorney general Wednesday after brutal criticism from the president, bringing an abrupt end to his controversial tenure as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. President Trump wrote on Twitter after a marathon press conference at the White House that Sessions was out and that his chief of staff, Matthew Whittaker, would serve as an acting replacement. Of course, there is that Russia thing. With Sessions out, Trump may attempt to limit or end the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and whether the president himself obstructed justice. But for today, smoke ’em if you got ’em Colorado! We’ll update with local reactions. Registered To Vote? Weed Discount! A Boulder-based dispensary chain is offering customers a stinky reason to get involved in the upcoming midterm elections. Five Terrapin Care Station stores across Colorado will offer a 10 percent discount on purchased products if customers show proof of voter registration. You’ll never get an easier discount on your ganja than by registering to vote in Colorado, since we have some of the most accessible voting laws in the country providing for same-day Election Day registration–and mail-in ballots as long as you’re registered before October 29, so you don’t even have to get off the couch. With that said, please do vote responsibly! All those little bubbles tend to run together after a few tokes. .@WalkerStapleton was booed at the #COGov debate last night for making a strange comment about his opponents children. That, gentle readers, is the face of the guy who never gets the joke, never tells the joke right, and never understands why nobody else is laughing. If it seems like every time these two candidates meet Walker Stapleton has some kind of bizarre highly embarrassing on-camera gaffe or meltdown, it’s because that’s exactly what’s happening. Again, maybe it’s a Bush thing. Is Trump Coming For Colorado’s Weed Or Not, Cory Gardner? Colorado’s system for regulating marijuana has too many loopholes that disguise illegal activity and jeopardize public safety, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday, detailing his motivation for boosting scrutiny in the first state to broadly allow cannabis sales. U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said he is particularly concerned with how companies that grow marijuana account for damaged product and the state’s system allowing people to grow a certain number of plants at home for medical use. He said both situations create an opportunity for marijuana to be sold on the black market and require federal prosecutors to take a closer look at Colorado’s regulated marijuana industry. In 180-degree contrast to Gardner’s assurances, supposedly after talking to the President himself about the situation, that Colorado’s marijuana industry was not in danger of federal prosecution, this flat-out statement from U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer that marijuana businesses in compliance with state law are at “increased risk of federal prosecution” is deeply chilling–and not in the pleasant sense that follows a nice indica bong hit. So what happens next? The industry isn’t reacting with public alarm, at least not yet. Cory Gardner has been silent so far on Troyer’s comments, with the high drama over Brett Kavanaugh’s embattled Supreme Court nomination hogging the spotlight. If the federal government’s interest here is merely to prevent black market diversion and not shut down the legal marijuana industry entirely, that would be one thing. But who can say that with confidence knowing how Jeff Sessions feels about the devil weed? As it stands now, everyone from individual tokers to investors with millions committed to this business should be worried–and Gardner’s assurances are looking awfully hollow. Grady Nouis, the Republican candidate for an Arvada area statehouse seat in the Colorado legislature, talks a lot about crime. He’s primarily concerned that so-called “sanctuary cities” endanger residents, because undocumented immigrants who may live in these cities commit crimes, particularly drug crimes. In the summer of 2005, Nouis was arrested and charged with felony manufacturing of hallucinogenic mushrooms. He ultimately pled guilty to “maintaining a drug house” and possession of marijuana. According to court records, Nouis was initially charged with one felony count of “manufacture of psilocybin,” and one misdemeanor count of “possession of marijuana.” A plea bargain reduced the felony manufacturing charge to another misdemeanor, “maintaining a drug house.” Nouis was sentenced to three years of probation and paid fees and fines totaling $1,660. Isn’t this what Sen. Cory Gardner, the “Trump whisperer” on all matters marijuana, should be saying? Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, remains “confident” President Donald Trump will keep his promise not to meddle with state marijuana policy despite a report that the White House asked federal agencies to compile statistics and stories that paint the drug in a negative light. “There seems to be a lot of interest in these storylines going around about how staff are trying to manipulate the president or to work around his firmly held policy positions – including the position he’s held since the campaign that marijuana policy is best left to the states …,” Gardner spokesman Alex Siciliano said. The storyline comes from an article first published Wednesday by BuzzFeed News about The Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee. It reportedly asked 14 federal agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration to provide “data demonstrating the most significant negative trends” about marijuana and how it might threaten the country. The reported purpose behind amassing all these data points was to brief the president. Not to worry, says Sen. Gardner, who received a large helping of credit for “saving” Colorado’s marijuana industry from the threat of a crackdown by Attorney General Jeff Sessions after he interceded with Trump earlier this year. But setting aside the strange bedfellows of a conservative Republican championing the marijuana business, an act of political expediency that Gardner has reportedly had to explain to a great many unhappy fellow conservatives, there’s the larger problem that Gardner really has no control over the capricious decisionmaking of the Trump administration. Just like North Korea or any other matter on which Gardner has tried to run cover for Trump, he’s at the mercy of Trump’s inconsistency. Which means that, well, sure. If Trump decides it’s in his best political interests to crack down on weed despite it all, you can expect Cory Gardner will be left flapping in the breeze without even a moment’s consideration. In that event, we can only hope that the voices who praised Gardner so loudly for protecting their reefer last time will realize that a counterintuitive friend is oftentimes a fair-weather friend, too. Hickenlooper turned down legislation that would have added autism to the list of conditions eligible for medical marijuana, allowed for pot “tasting rooms” and opened up the cannabis industry to investment by public companies. Walker and others also slammed the timing of the veto at the very end of the day Tuesday, right before Hickenlooper left town Wednesday. Politically this unexpected series of vetoes of marijuana bills appears to be backfiring, with much more negativity about the vetoes in press coverage than discussion of Hickenlooper’s defenses offered in his veto letters. In the case of the autism bill, this anger at least partly results from Hickenlooper’s contradictory statements about the reasons–that there wasn’t enough data, then claiming flippantly that the bill could encourage youth marijuana use. In all cases these were bills intended to resolve legitimate issues, crafted with stakeholders on all sides, and supported by legislative coalitions that spanned the ideological poles. Vetoing these bills, especially with a record as governor of only very rarely vetoing legislation passed with bipartisan support, leaves a permanent blemish on Hickenlooper’s image with no political upside we can see. If that looks different by 2020, we’ll let you know. As of now it looks like a huge mistake. UPDATE: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis weighs in–and says he would have signed them both. Currently, there are no legal places in Colorado to consume marijuana outside of a private home, making it difficult for renters, out-of-state tourists, and parents with young children to enjoy dispensary purchases. It’s possible that contributed to a 471 percent increase in citations for public cannabis consumption in the first three quarters of 2014, as Colorado Public Radio reported. Westword also reported that between the time of legalization in 2014 and 2017, Boulder saw a 54 percent climb. The bill would have limited purchases in tasting rooms to 10 milligrams active THC in an infused product or one-quarter gram of marijuana concentrate. In compliance with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, customers would not have been allowed to smoke. Products would have had to be consumed on business premises. The bill passed the Senate in late April with a 22-12 vote, and the House in early May with a 57-8 vote. The governor’s stated reason for vetoing this legislation is the “concern” that allowing consumption of marijuana anywhere other than a private residence could lead to “additional impaired or intoxicated drivers on our roadways.” Notwithstanding the legal limbo that the absence of a legal place to consume marijuana leaves tourists in who come to our state to partake, creating a major policy conflict–by Hickenlooper’s logic, no one should ever be granted a liquor license again! After all, more places to drink would logically result in “additional impaired or intoxicated drivers on our roadways.” Right? But our brewery owner governor doesn’t see it that way. And that’s not a good look. Before Hickenlooper’s decision, parents of children with autism gathered outside the governor’s office at the state Capitol. One mother brought prescription bottles to show what her child has taken. She came in hopes of legalizing marijuana for autism. For the families of autistic children who pleaded with the governor to sign this bill, and who won the public’s sympathy this spring with a high-visibility media campaign highlighting what their families go through and how marijuana has helped, this high-handed sermonizing about the message to “young people” is a shocking insult. This bill was not about enabling drug use by kids, it’s about treating a serious disorder on par with any of the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana today. That’s why the bill passed by a lopsided 53-11 margin in the House and near-unanimous 32-3 in the Senate. Along with other recent lurches to the right like Hickenlooper’s endorsement of a work requirement for Medicaid and lip service to re-criminalizing marijuana entirely, these vetoes seem to be political moves to “sanitize” himself politically for a possible run for higher office. We don’t know exactly who is giving Hickenlooper the advice to take these actions, but it’s exactly the wrong way for him to be moving politically. Undoing any good will with the proponents of the autism bill by dismissing their concerns as an attempt to promote adolescent drug use, and punting the huge unresolved issue of legal marijuana consumption, is not how a governor shows leadership. It’s how you prove you don’t deserve to be President. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he regretted choosing Jeff Sessions as attorney general, a continuation of the President’s frustrations over Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. …Trump has frequently criticized Sessions over his recusal, which paved the way for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Trump, according to The New York Times, has said he needs an attorney general to protect him. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ bellicose threats against legal marijuana have given the rapidly-growing industry in Colorado the most stress they’ve endured since legalization in 2012, but it does appear that he lost the battle for President Donald Trump’s blessing to carry out the crackdown he so badly wanted. That’s the local angle of relevance in this story–Sessions’ lack of favor with Trump being a positive development for Colorado’s marijuana industry–though obviously, Sessions’ recusal from the investigation into involvement by Russian nationals in the election of Trump is the factor driving the day. Will Sessions survive in his position long enough to headline the Western Conservative Summit in Denver in less than two weeks? We’ll all have to find out together. One significant policy change Stapleton would seek would be a crackdown on the roughly 150,000 state residents who still carry medical-marijuana cards, which allows them tax-free purchasing of the drug, the ability to grow their own plants and the ability to consume the weed at age 18. Moving all but medically necessary card holders into purchasing legalized retail marijuana would increase state tax revenues on the drug by two to three times and ensure that they couldn’t distribute home-grown cannabis to friends, creating a new stream of revenue for transportation and other needs, he said. That’s right, folks! The state of Colorado has never had 150,000 medical marijuana cardholders, and since the passage of Amendment 64 legalizing recreational marijuana in 2012, the number of patients on the state’s medical marijuana registry has steadily declined. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s latest report on Medical Marijuana Registry Program, in April of 2018 there were a total of 88,946 Coloradans with an active medical marijuana card. For those of you lacking a handy calculator, that’s 59.3% of Stapleton’s claim. Obviously this has a big negative impact on the utility of Stapleton’s proposed “crackdown” on the medical marijuana registry, since the amount of revenue that could be extracted from medical marijuana patients who were “cracked down on” is directly proportional to the total number of such individuals. Because there have never once been the number of people with medical marijuana “red cards” that Stapleton asserted “still carry” them, we really have no idea how to reconcile this discrepancy. Unless we already did, in the title of this post. We are proud to announce that the 84th Attorney General of the United States Jeff Sessions will be speaking Friday afternoon, June 8, 2018, at the Western Conservative Summit! On illegal immigration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has returned our country to a rule of law. Attorney General Jeff Sessions joins our nation’s top conservative leaders in Denver, Colorado including: Attorney General Ed Meese, 2nd Amendment advocate Dana Loesch, Rep. Steve King, Rep. Ken Buck and the House Freedom Caucus, U.S. Senator Cory Gardner, Christian movie star Kirk Cameron, author Matt Walsh, Fox and Friend’s Ainsley Earhardt, YouTube sensations Diamond and Silk, Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens, Parkland shooting survivor Kyle Kashuv, the Colson Center’s John Stonestreet, many of Colorado’s gubernatorial candidates, Alliance Defending Freedom’s President Michael Farris, Heritage Foundation’s Jennifer Marshall, former U.S. Navy Seal Chad Williams, and many others. Sessions is the biggest name on the confirmed speakers list now, which is sure to impart a very special character to this year’s Western Conservative Summit. It’s interesting that this announcement makes no reference to Sessions’ infamously dim view of marijuana legalization, a view strongly shared by the Centennial Institute’s director Jeff Hunt. As we’ve recently discussed, support for marijuana legalization both locally and across the nation is strong enough to make Sessions’ buzzkill threats against pot a significant political liability for Republicans in this already-challenging election year. So needless to say, we’re excited to see what Sessions has to say when he arrives in the vanguard state of the wave of legalization sweeping America! The protest outside Sessions’ speech should be a memorable event, at least for those watching from a distance. Protesters toking up en masse in Jeff Sessions’ honor might have a fuzzier recollection. But if you’re a marijuana smoker anywhere near Denver on June 8th, toking up in Jeff Sessions’ honor will be something akin to a religious obligation. Jared Polis: The Governor Colorado’s Weed Industry Needs? After ten years in Congress, vocal cannabis reform advocate Jared Polis is now looking to become the Governor of Colorado. Polis, currently a representative for Colorado’s second district, is running on an ambitious campaign to provide the state with 100% renewable energy by 2040 as well as implement a single-payer health care plan. But as governor of the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, he would also preside over a cannabis market which has set the tone for the rest of the country. The solution, Polis has suggested, is a commission of lawmakers, citizens, and industry professionals to audit the effectiveness of Colorado’s current regulations. It’s no doubt that Polis will be missed among reform advocates in Congress, but if he’s able to smooth out the kinks in his state’s cannabis industry, he could still have an impact nationwide by setting a precedent for all the states looking to legalize in the next two years. When Colorado became the first state to legalize the sale and use of marijuana by adults without any license or medical prescription, it was risky territory for the state. The initial reaction from Gov. Hickenlooper and many other local political leaders in both parties was one of caution, with great doubt over whether the federal government would ever allow the legal retail sale of marijuana to begin. Six years after Amendment 64, Colorado’s nervous foray into legal marijuana sales has become a model that other states have followed–most prominently the state of California, whose retail marijuana operations began at the beginning of this year. Today, the rush of larger states to legalize marijuana has taken the pressure off Colorado as a petri dish for an uncertain experiment. The explosive growth and maturation of the marijuana industry has unquestionably validated the wisdom of legalization in 2012, and makes Gov. Hickenlooper’s recent well-publicized fumbles on the issue seem terribly out of touch. In the first post-Hickenlooper gubernatorial election, it will be very interesting to see how much influence the marijuana business wields. Whatever Hickenlooper says from day to day, public support for legal weed remains strong–so we don’t see Republicans campaigning in 2018 on a Reefer Madness platform of recriminalization. That means candidates will be jockeying to be the industry’s friend–and Polis has the bonafides here. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has two facts in front of him: Since 2014 crime has been rising in his state, outstripping the national trend, and since 2014 recreational use of marijuana has been legal. Whether the two are connected is hotly debated — and if they are, then what? For the first time publicly, Hickenlooper told CNN he doesn’t rule out recriminalizing recreational marijuana, even if that’s a long shot. Yes, there are two sides to every story, and two sides to every coin, yada, yada, yada. But if Hickenlooper is going to have another act in his political future, it would behoove him to present himself as more of a leader and less of a mediator. Ten years ago, this was a photo to end a political career–especially a Republican’s. Today, it’s just Sen. Don Coram of Montrose in a marijuana bush. U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner is dropping his holds on certain Justice Department nominees “as an act of good faith” amid ongoing conversations with the deputy U.S. attorney general and the acting U.S. attorney for Colorado. Because obviously, the best way to negotiate is to give up your most valuable bargaining chips. Colorado’s Republican U.S. senator says there’s been enough progress on negotiations over marijuana with the Trump administration that he will stop blocking nominees for some jobs in the Justice Department. Cory Gardner used his power as a senator to freeze department nominations last month after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked Obama-era protections for states that have broadly legalized marijuana. Gardner said Sessions needed to re-establish protections for the industry. Gardner told The Associated Press on Thursday that recent talks make him confident the department won’t change the way it enforces federal laws in Colorado and other states that allow adults to use cannabis recreationally. News reports as recently as yesterday documented the continuing impasse between Sen. Cory Gardner and Attorney General Jeff Sessions over rescinding the Obama-era Cole Memorandum dictating a hands-off policy toward legal marijuana states. Gardner specifically stated in a Senate floor speech that he would hold Justice Department nominees until the Cole memorandum was reinstated. Since that time, however, pressure from law enforcement groups and conservative supporters of Sessions has built on Gardner to release his DOJ holds. On Tuesday, Jeff Sessions went public with criticism of Gardner’s actions, complaining that the holds were hampering his ability to fill critical positions. And today, Gardner announced he would release the DOJ holds for which he earned nationwide thanks from marijuana advocates. Without getting what he demanded. The Cole memo has not been reinstated, nor will it be now. The revised guidance from Sessions to U.S. Attorneys that provoked widespread fears of a marijuana crackdown remains operative. The industry has no real assurance other than Sessions’ apparent word to Gardner–which Gardner already blasted Sessions for breaking in the past. Anybody who is surprised by Gardner’s lack of courage down the stretch, please raise your hands. Nobody should be raising their hands. The members of the Fraternal Order of Police are disappointed and very frustrated by the vow made by Senator Cory S. Gardner (R-CO) to hold up all nominees for vacant posts in the U.S. Department of Justice following the decision to rescind the Cole Memo and restore discretion to our nation’s U.S. Attorneys on investigations into violations of Federal drug laws involving marijuana. Senator Gardner has come out swinging to defend the pot industry in his State. However, the fact that he believes Colorado can profit from the sale of this illegal drug does not give him the right to hold up or delay the appointment of critical personnel at the Justice Department. How can he justify putting at risk the public safety of all 50 States to advance the interests of the pot industry in his own? The FOP has repeatedly made our concerns about current vacancies in the Justice Department and other key Administration posts known. Senator Gardner does a real disservice to the nation as a whole and we urgently ask him to reconsider his rash and ill-advised obstructionism. Policy differences should be worked out by a dialogue and not turn into hostage situations. The ability of the Justice Department to carry out its nationwide mission should not be compromised by a single Senator trying to make it easier for business in his State to sell marijuana—an illegal drug as far as the Federal government is concerned. It’s usually a friend to the GOP, having endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2016, but the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest law-enforement [sic] labor union, has come out swinging at Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner. What’s the beef? Gardner’s vow to hold up nominees to the many vacant posts in the U.S. Justice Department after the Trump administration announced it was giving the department more leeway to crack down on pot-legalizing states like Colorado. With Sen. Gardner’s support in polls quickly declining, perhaps most critically with base law-and-order Republicans who are generally speaking not big fans of the devil-weed, pressure on Gardner to fold on his nominee holds could become an interesting predicament for him. With Colorado’s U.S. Attorney having disarmed fears of an immediate crackdown on the retail marijuana industry following Sessions’ change of policy, though with plenty of uncertainty about the long term under the Trump administration remaining, Gardner may have taken an position that burns him no matter what he does next. But remember, the promise Gardner made was not to the cops. Attorney General Jeff Sessions wasn’t swayed to immediately change his mind about his decision to rescind the Cole Memo after Wednesday’s meeting with Sen. Cory Gardner despite the Colorado Republican’s threat to withhold Justice Department nominees. Sessions agreed to meet with Gardner Wednesday after Gardner loudly balked at the decision to rescind the 2013 memo that protects states where marijuana is legal from extraneous federal enforcement. As of today, Blair reports, Gardner’s Justice Department holds remain–but this last statement signals clearly that Gardner’s holds either won’t last long or won’t matter. For all the praise Gardner received after making his bellicose threats last Friday, that would be a sheepish end that should get at least as much press attention. Because as it turns out, maybe he really didn’t deserve all that praise. With that said, it would be a mistake to rule out entirely the possibility that legislation to tie the Justice Department’s hands in legal marijuana states will come about as a result of Sessions’ threats. As of now, Gardner has paid only lip service to the protection of Colorado’s marijuana industry–and without the kind of confrontation marijuana supporters hoped Gardner would lead against Sessions last week, the most likely outcome now is an uneasy status quo that may well outlast Sessions’ tenure as Attorney General. We’ll say it again and again: talk is cheap. And just like when Mike Coffman dropped his bid to force a discharge petition to vote on legislation to protect undocumented DREAMer students, Cory Gardner is getting credit that the facts of the situation do not appear to warrant. If and when that changes, we’ll gratefully acknowledge it. But it hasn’t happened yet. Learning about Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind the Obama-era protections at the Justice Department that allowed individual states to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use, Sen. Cory Gardner flew into a rage from the well of the U.S. Senate last week–threatening in explicit terms to hold up every nominee for the Department of Justice unless the Cole Memorandum is reinstated as the operative guidance for U.S. Attorneys on marijuana prosecutions. The specifics of what Gardner are said are very important, since he is reportedly meeting with Sessions tomorrow to discuss the situation. After which, depending on how that meeting goes, Gardner will either lift his hold on Justice Department nominees or allow them to stand pending Sessions reconsidering his position. GARDNER: I agree with President Trump, that this decision should be left up to the people of Colorado and othere states. And I call on Attorney General Sessions to explain to me why President Trump was wrong in 2016 and what changed their minds. And that they reverse their decision to withdraw and rescind the Cole memorandum. And that they reimplement and reinstate the Cole memorandum. [Pols emphasis] And until that happens, I think I am obligated by the people of Colorado to take all steps necessary to protect the state of Colorado. And their rights. And that’s why I will be putting today a hold on every single nomination from the Department of Justice. Until Attorney General Jeff Sessions lives up to the commitment that he made to me in my confirmation–my pre-confirmation meeting with him, the conversation we had that was specifically about this issue of state’s rights and Colorado. Until he lives up to that commitment, I will be holding all nominations to the Department of Justice. The people of Colorado deserve answers. The people of Colorado deserve their will to be respected. Madam chair–Madam President–I yield the floor and not the absence of a quorum. Now, you can read this statement as Gardner laying out very precisely what Sessions needs to do to see Gardner’s nominee holds released: reinstating the Cole memo. The only problem is that Gardner, being an infamously crafty crafter of weaselly statements, separated his specific comments about the Cole memo from his announcement that he will hold up Justice Department nominees. You could, in a strained but literal reading, see Gardner only promising to maintain the holds until Sessions lives up to some unspecified “commitment.” Was that commitment specifically to preserve the Cole memo? It all gets kind of, you know, weaselly. The reason we’re asking these specific questions is simple: the chances that Sessions will actually reverse course and reimplement the Cole memo after meeting with Gardner seem very slim, but the odds that Gardner will come out of his meeting with Sessions tomorrow with those holds intact are even slimmer. Much like Rep. Mike Coffman’s abortive threat to force a vote on protections for undocumented students last summer, the most likely outcome here is, after receiving lavish praise for “standing up” to the Trump administration, Gardner folds without actually accomplishing anything. And if that’s what happens, those who issued said lavish praise should do a follow-up. In another edition of our long-running series, “At Least He’s Not Your Legislator,” we take you to Kansas, where a Republican lawmaker adds a racist tone to a conversation about legal marijuana. During Saturday’s Legislative Coffee session at St. Catherine Hospital, State Rep. Steve Alford, R-Ulysses, made an ostensibly racist comment when citing domestic Jim Crow-era drug policies. “Basically any way you say it, marijuana is an entry drug into the higher drugs,” Alford said. “What you really need to do is go back in the ’30s, when they outlawed all types of drugs in Kansas (and) across the United States. No word on whether or not Alford is friends with Colorado State Sen. Vicki Marble, who thinks African-Americans eat too much chicken. As we noted last week, Sen. Cory Gardner’s outrage over the decision by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind Obama-era protections against a federal crackdown on marijuana in states that have legalized cannabis left un–or at least under–stated something very important: the fact that Gardner, alone among Colorado’s representatives in Washington, cast a key vote to confirm Sessions. This puts Gardner is a much more directly responsible position for Sessions’ actions than anyone else in the state. Gardner is right about Sessions’ mendacity, of course, although we think it’s a little late in the day to wake up to that fact. And the junior senator’s outsized outrage is highly suspicious. Like most of the state’s prominent politicians, he opposed marijuana legalization. And while his sudden devotion to states’ rights is interesting, it’s not particularly persuasive. …According to the website fivethirtyeight.com, Gardner has voted with Trump 94.6 percent of the time, despite the fact that Colorado delivered its electoral votes to Hillary Clinton, not Trump, in 2016. So much for his fealty to the will of Colorado voters. Without the endless benefit of the doubt Gardner is afforded by the Post and other members of the local pundit class, this is a much more accurate–if less flattering–examination of Gardner’s record. Anecdotal moments of “standing up to Trump” as Gardner went through the motions of with legal marijuana last week cannot erase the fact that Gardner votes with Trump almost all the time–including the highest profile votes of 2017 on repealing health care reform and slashing taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Not to mention Gardner’s vote to confirm Jeff Sessions. As frustrating as it may be to watch Gardner get credit he doesn’t deserve for what amounts to token CYA statements, this editorial sums up very well what Gardner should be afraid of when that finally stops working. As the saying goes, anecdotes do not equal data. And the record shows clearly, from Gardner’s condemnation of the Trump-energized racist right after Charlottesville to his faux outrage over Jeff Sessions, that Gardner has enabled the very things he decries. Anything less than a full acknowledgement of this, every time, is a disservice to the facts. Hopefully these words don’t come back to bite her (see below). Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policy that had paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, including in Colorado, according to two sources. While Sessions has been carrying out a Justice Department agenda that follows Trump’s top priorities on such issues as immigration and opioids, the changes to pot policy reflect his own concerns. Trump’s personal views on marijuana remain largely unknown. This reported action directly contradicts what Attorney General Sessions told me prior to his confirmation. With no prior notice to Congress, the Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters in CO and other states. The rub here of course is that Sen. Gardner, alone among Colorado’s delegation in Washington, cast his vote to confirm Sessions as Attorney General–meaning that Gardner is left holding the proverbial bag in this case more than anyone else in our vanguard legalization state. For all the noise Gardner is making in defense of Colorado’s marijuana industry now, he can’t escape at least partial responsibility for Sessions’ actions. Obviously we’ll be watching this developing story for updates, since Sessions’ next steps on marijuana will have a major effect on Colorado’s economy. Stay tuned. The “Hot mess” from California just got owned by Joy Reid. The 12/23/17 AMJoy Show featured Jen Kerns attempting to distract from the Russian collusion scandal by rehashing the Uranium One “scandal”. This was round two – after Jen Kerns U1 talking points were dissected by Reid on October 30. In Colorado, we’re used to Kerns lying, just making stuff up – and getting away with it, for the most part. In 2013, Jennifer Kerns emerged as the spokesperson for the recall effort against Senators Giron and Morse. The recall, ostensibly for the Senators’ so-called “anti-gun” votes, almost shifted control to Republicans in the Colorado Senate. Colorado Christian U To GOP: Hands Off Weed Money! Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette follows up on one of the week’s more curious local political stories, a fundraiser for the GOP’s Senate Majority Fund 527 attended by members of the budding (pun) marijuana industry–an interesting change-up for a party that includes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, far and away the biggest threat to legalized marijuana in its short history. “It has come to our attention that state legislators are accepting campaign donations from the marijuana industry. As educators and researchers, we hope this is not the case. Marijuana has devastated Colorado by nearly every metric and we are particularly concerned about marijuana’s health impact on youth,” CCU President Dr. Donald Sweeting and Centennial Institute director Jeff Hunt wrote. “Colorado Christian University asks that you audit your donations for any money given by the marijuana industry and donate those funds to marijuana youth prevention and recovery organizations. We are happy to meet with you to discuss marijuana’s devastating impacts on Colorado. We look forward to your leadership on this issue and your work to make Colorado a better state for its citizens and especially its young people,” they concluded. As you can see, the question is not morally ambiguous to Jeff Hunt of CCU’s Centennial Institute like it appears to be with Senate President Grantham. For Hunt, taking money from the marijuana industry is little different from taking money from an organized crime cartel. But could you imagine Grantham saying it’s “up to individual members” whether they want to take money from Al Capone? With all of this in mind, might the Senate Majority Fund think twice about spending that freshly-raised marijuana cabbage? And if they don’t…will they answer to a higher authority? No wedge issue here. We’re not happy with any government official taking money from the marijuana industry. Republican or Democrat. Time for a conference call. Senate Majority Leader Chris Holbert (R). All the progress that legalized marijuana has made in Colorado is nothing compared to what is about to happen on Wednesday. The Republican group co-hosting the event at Denver’s Capitol Hill Tavern is the Senate Majority Fund, a political group that uses its money to support GOP candidates for the Colorado Senate, primarily through advertising. The group’s aim is to make sure Republicans maintain their majority in the 35-member Senate, even if it’s only the one-vote lead it currently holds. It’s important to note that, although elected officials on both sides were generally unsupportive of 2012’s Amendment 64, the vote in 2013 in the Colorado General Assembly on the legislation that enabled the constitutional amendment to take effect–House Bill 13-1317–was split closely along party lines in the House. GOP lawmakers like now-Sen. Chris Holbert, who is quoted in Ashby’s story saying Amendment 64 is the law and of course Republicans are duty-bound to uphold the will of the voters, actually voted against the legislation to let said voters’ will take effect. Certainly we understand the marijuana industry’s desire to cultivate support (pun intended) on both sides of the aisle, so don’t mistake this for criticism of their efforts here–or the money they raise tomorrow night for Republican Senate candidates. The real question will be whether the substantial wing of the Republican Party that remains, in some cases fanatically, opposed to marijuana legalization is willing to tolerate Colorado Senate Republicans taking marijuana money.

2019-04-19T06:34:03Z

https://www.coloradopols.com/diary/category/marijuana

A morphogen gradient of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling patterns the dorsoventral embryonic axis of vertebrates and invertebrates. The prevailing view in vertebrates for BMP gradient formation is through a counter-gradient of BMP antagonists, often along with ligand shuttling to generate peak signaling levels. To delineate the mechanism in zebrafish, we precisely quantified the BMP activity gradient in wild-type and mutant embryos and combined these data with a mathematical model-based computational screen to test hypotheses for gradient formation. Our analysis ruled out a BMP shuttling mechanism and a bmp transcriptionally-informed gradient mechanism. Surprisingly, rather than supporting a counter-gradient mechanism, our analyses support a fourth model, a source-sink mechanism, which relies on a restricted BMP antagonist distribution acting as a sink that drives BMP flux dorsally and gradient formation. We measured Bmp2 diffusion and found that it supports the source-sink model, suggesting a new mechanism to shape BMP gradients during development. Before an animal is born, a protein called BMP plays a key role in establishing the difference between the front and the back of the animal. Cells nearer the front of the embryo contain higher amounts of the BMP protein, whilst cells nearer the back have progressively lower levels of BMP. This gradient of BMP ‘concentration’ affects the identity of the cells, with the level of BMP in each cell dictating what parts of the body are made where. The prevailing view among scientists is that the BMP gradient is created by an opposing gradient of another protein called Chordin, which is found at high levels at the back of the embryo and lower levels near the front. Chordin inhibits BMP and the interaction between the two proteins establishes the gradients that create order across the embryo. Zinski et al. used computer models to investigate how the BMP gradient is created. Several possibilities were considered, including the effect of Chordin. Comparing the models to precise experimental measurements of BMP activity in zebrafish embryos suggested that a different mechanism known as a source-sink model, rather than the opposing Chordin gradient, may be responsible for the pattern of BMP found in the embryo. In this model, the BMP is produced at the front of the embryo and moves towards the back end by diffusion. At the back of the embryo, BMP is mopped up by Chordin, resulting in a constant gradient of BMP along the embryo. Many other processes that control how animals grow and develop rely on the formation of similar protein gradients, so these findings may also apply to other aspects of animal development. Understanding how animals grow and develop may help researchers to develop strategies to regrow tissues and organs in human patients. Morphogen gradients pattern axonal pathways, the neural tube, the dorsal-ventral (DV) and anterior-posterior (AP) embryonic axes, as well as multiple organ systems (Bökel and Brand, 2013; Briscoe and Small, 2015; Cohen et al., 2013; Rogers and Schier, 2011; Rushlow and Shvartsman, 2012; Sansom and Livesey, 2009; Schilling et al., 2012; Tuazon and Mullins, 2015). Morphogens are defined as factors that form a spatially non-uniform distribution spanning multiple cell-lengths that instructs different cell fates at distinct levels. Their importance in specifying multiple cell fates in a gradient has spurred decades of research deciphering how they work. In 1970, Francis Crick proposed that such a gradient could be formed by a source of morphogen flowing to a sink that destroyed it (Crick, 1970). We now know that the mechanisms by which morphogen gradients are established are diverse and complex, and that understanding these mechanisms is paramount to understanding developmental biology (Briscoe and Small, 2015; Müller et al., 2013; Rogers and Schier, 2011). Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) act as morphogens repeatedly during development, including in patterning the embryonic DV axis, the neural tube, and the Drosophila wing disc (Bier and De Robertis, 2015; Briscoe and Small, 2015; Rogers and Schier, 2011). BMP morphogen systems are established by a network of extracellular regulators (Dutko and Mullins, 2011). A crucial class of these regulators is the BMP antagonists, defined by their ability to bind BMP ligand with high affinity, thereby blocking ligand-receptor interaction (Brazil et al., 2015). During axial patterning in zebrafish and Xenopus, three antagonists, Chordin, Noggin, and Follistatin play key roles in inhibiting BMP signaling to promote dorsal cell fate specification (Dal-Pra et al., 2006; Khokha et al., 2005; Schulte-Merker et al., 1997). These antagonists bind to the BMP ligand, preventing BMP from binding its receptors (Iemura et al., 1998; Piccolo et al., 1996; Zimmerman et al., 1996). In both zebrafish and frogs, Chordin differs from Noggin and Follistatin in its expression domain, its phenotype, and its interaction with the metalloprotease Tolloid (Tld). Chordin is expressed in a larger domain than Noggin and Follistatin (Dal-Pra et al., 2006; Khokha et al., 2005). While the loss of Chordin ventralizes the embryo (Hammerschmidt et al., 1996; Oelgeschläger et al., 2003), the depletion of Noggin or Follistatin alone or together does not (Dal-Pra et al., 2006; Khokha et al., 2005). Unlike Noggin and Follistatin, Chordin can be cleaved by the metalloprotease Tolloid, releasing bound BMP ligand and allowing it to signal (Blader et al., 1997; Piccolo et al., 1997). Previous studies in Drosophila show that the Drosophila ortholog of Chordin, Sog, can act as both a BMP agonist and as an antagonist during DV patterning. To act as an agonist, Sog binds to and moves BMP ligand via facilitated diffusion to regions of Tolloid activity (Figure 1A). Tolloid then cleaves Sog, which releases BMP thus increasing peak BMP levels, a process altogether known as shuttling (Figure 1A) (Eldar et al., 2002; Marqués et al., 1997; Holley et al., 1996; Peluso et al., 2011; Shilo et al., 2013; Shimmi et al., 2005; Umulis et al., 2010). The shuttling mechanism is essential to Drosophila DV patterning, where Sog shuttles BMP ligand from lateral regions to dorsal regions (Figure 1A) (Eldar et al., 2002; Marqués et al., 1997; Holley et al., 1996; Peluso et al., 2011; Shilo et al., 2013; Shimmi et al., 2005; Umulis et al., 2010). This shuttling mechanism is required to steepen the BMP signaling gradient and specify the dorsal-most cell fates in the Drosophila embryo (Eldar et al., 2002; Marqués et al., 1997; Holley et al., 1996; Peluso et al., 2011; Shilo et al., 2013; Shimmi et al., 2005; Umulis et al., 2010). The shuttling of BMP ligand by Chordin has also been suggested to play a role in DV patterning in Echinoderms (Lapraz et al., 2009) and Nematostella (Genikhovich et al., 2015). Potential Mechanisms of BMP Morphogen Gradient Formation. (A) Cross-sectional view of the Drosophila embryo depicting Sog shuttling Dpp (the fly BMP ligand) dorsally. (B) Lateral view of the zebrafish embryo depicting Chordin (Chd) shuttling BMP ventrally. (C) Counter-Gradient: Chd diffuses ventrally to form a counter-gradient repressing BMP. (D) Shuttling: BMP bound to Chd is shuttled ventrally, where it is released by Tolloid cleavage. (E) Transcriptional: BMP stays where it is produced, mirroring the bmp expression gradient. (F) Source-sink: BMP diffuses from its source of ventral production to a sink of dorsal Chd. It is unclear whether Chordin shuttles BMP in patterning vertebrate tissues. In Xenopus, the shuttling of a particular BMP ligand, ADMP, by Chordin was reported to play a role in DV axial patterning in the scaling of embryos (Ben-Zvi et al., 2008; Reversade and De Robertis, 2005). In the mouse, Chordin has been suggested to shuttle BMP ligand from where it is expressed in the intervertebral disc to its site of signaling in the vertebral body (Zakin et al., 2010). Mathematical models of zebrafish and Xenopus DV patterning have predicted that Chordin could shuttle BMP ligand (Ben-Zvi et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2007). The transcriptional profiles of zebrafish BMP components at the onset of gastrulation resemble that of the Drosophila embryo (Dutko and Mullins, 2011; O'Connor et al., 2006). In Drosophila, sog is expressed ventral-laterally while the BMP ligand dpp is expressed dorsally (Figure 1A). Vertebrates have undergone a DV axis inversion with respect to arthropods (De Robertis and Sasai, 1996; Gerhart, 2000; Lacalli, 1995; Sander and Schmidt-Ott, 2004), thus chordin is expressed dorsally while bmp ligands are expressed ventrally (Figure 1B). However, whether Chordin acts as a BMP agonist by shuttling BMP ligand during DV patterning in zebrafish or other vertebrates has not been determined (Figure 1B). In vertebrates, the mechanism by which the BMP ligands and antagonists shape this gradient is unclear. Several potential mechanisms have been proposed: 1) an inverse gradient of BMP antagonists imparts the shape of the BMP signaling gradient (Figure 1C) (Blitz et al., 2000; Connors et al., 1999; Little and Mullins, 2006; Thomsen, 1997), 2) BMP antagonists generate the peak BMP signaling levels by shuttling BMP ligand to these regions (Figure 1B,D) (Ben-Zvi et al., 2008; Shilo et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2007), 3) the gradient shape mirrors the shape of the bmp expression domain (Figure 1E) (Ramel and Hill, 2013), and 4) the gradient is generated by BMP diffusing from its ventral source to a dorsal sink of BMP antagonists (Figure 1F). These mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and multiple may act in combination. To identify the mechanism of BMP signaling gradient formation in the zebrafish embryo, we established a robust quantitative imaging method to directly measure the BMP signaling gradient. We integrated the results with a mathematical modeling approach, using the experiments to inform our model selection. The modeling then provided information on key parameters to measure to identify the mechanism by which the BMP signaling gradient is formed. We used phosphorylated Smad5 protein as a direct read-out for BMP signaling in both wild type (WT), chordin mutant, and chordin heterozygous embryos. We quantified nuclear phosphorylated-Smad5 (P-Smad5) fluorescent intensity across the entire embryo at single-cell resolution at different stages of development. Combining the P-Smad5 data with a computational screen of mathematical models showed that shuttling of BMP during DV patterning does not shape the gradient, and that a gradient of bmp transcription cannot account for the gradient of BMP signaling activity. From these results, we conclude that the signaling gradient patterning the vertebrate DV axis is generated by either a source-sink or counter-gradient mechanism. To discern between these mechanisms, we developed and measured the diffusion rate of a BMP2-Venus fusion protein in the zebrafish blastula and found that it is relatively mobile, which supports a large number of source-sink simulations, but far fewer counter-gradient simulations. Our results suggest that significant differences exist between the biophysical parameters of conserved proteins in zebrafish and Drosophila DV patterning. Through quantification and modeling, we present a new view of the mechanism that the BMP antagonists and ligand use to establish the BMP signaling gradient patterning the DV axis in zebrafish. To measure the BMP signaling gradient, we quantified the levels of the BMP signal transducer P-Smad5 across the entire embryo at single cell resolution. Smad5 is directly phosphorylated by the BMP type I receptor in response to BMP signaling, and P-Smad5 concentration has been shown to linearly correlate with the concentration of BMP ligand in the Drosophila wing disc and S2 cells (Bollenbach et al., 2008; Serpe et al., 2008). Fixed embryos were whole-mount immunostained for P-Smad5 and imaged using a Line Scanning Confocal Microscope (Figure 2A–E). We developed a mounting and imaging protocol that minimized photo-bleaching, light scattering, and refractive index mismatch (see Materials and methods). We wrote a Matlab algorithm to identify all 8000 + nuclei centerpoints in each embryo in three dimensions, to remove populations unresponsive to P-Smad5 such as yolk syncytial nuclei and dividing cells (see Materials and methods), and to extract the P-Smad5 intensities associated with each nucleus (Figure 2A’–E’). Embryos were aligned by coherent point drift to a reference embryo to create ensembles of embryos suitable for statistical analysis (Myronenko et al., 2010a) (see Materials and methods). We used a band of cells around the margin of the embryo (Figure 2F’) to plot profiles from the dorsal-most to the ventral-most points to compare P-Smad5 gradient profiles between stages and between wild-type and mutant embryos (Figure 2F). Dynamics of the WT P-Smad5 gradient across head and trunk patterning. (A–E) Animal views of maximum projections (MP) of P-Smad5 stained individual embryos. (A’–E’) Animal views of nuclear intensities of all nuclei from the embryos shown above. (F) Average marginal intensities for 4.7–6.7 hpf (4.7: N = 3, 5.3: N = 4, 5.7: N = 13, 6.3: N = 11, 6.7: N = 4). Error bars indicate standard deviation. (G) Slope of the P-Smad5 gradients shown in panel F. Dotted line separates high slope (>0.5 a.u./deg) regions from low slope regions. (H) Change in cell number versus (vs.) developmental time of embryos fixed from a single cross and nuclei stained with Sytox Orange. (I) Cell number varies between different crosses of WT fish fixed at 5.7 hpf. (H,I) Gray dots are individual embryo cell counts. Red lines show the mean number of cells at a given time point, red boxes show 95% confidence interval, blue boxes show one standard deviation. Our quantitative analysis revealed that the BMP gradient during DV patterning is quite dynamic. BMP signaling patterns prospective head and rostral trunk DV axial tissues during late blastula to mid-gastrula stages at ~5 to 7 hr post fertilization (hpf) in the zebrafish (Hashiguchi and Mullins, 2013; Kwon et al., 2010; Tuazon and Mullins, 2015; Tucker et al., 2008). We quantified the BMP signaling gradient at 30 min intervals across this period. We found that the ventral-most 30˚ undergoes about a 2-fold intensification from 4.7 to 6.7 hpf (Figure 2F). This is accompanied by a 3 to 5 fold increase in the slope of the gradient in ventrolateral regions of the embryo (0–75 degrees) over this 2 hr period (Figure 2G). Moreover, the lateral region encompassing the high slope (>0.5 A.U./degree) expands from a size of 20˚ to 75˚, meaning that by 6.7 hpf, nearly half the embryo falls within this high slope region. This contrasts with Drosophila DV patterning, where an initial broad, low-slope distribution of P-Mad is refined into a steep peak of BMP signaling covering only the dorsal-most 8% of the embryo (11 cell lengths) (Sutherland et al., 2003; Wang and Ferguson, 2005). This intensification of P-Mad is very rapid in Drosophila DV patterning, where P-Mad increases about three fold in the 30 min (min) between stages 5 and 6 (Ross et al., 2001; Sutherland et al., 2003; Wang and Ferguson, 2005), a process that we found is much slower in the zebrafish embryo: a 2-fold increase over a 2 hr period. We then sought to determine if changes in cell number could account for the observed changes in the P-Smad5 gradient. We counted the number of cells in each embryo from a single timecourse and observed an approximately 70% increase in cell number from 4.7 to 6.7 hpf (Figure 2H). Cell nuclei do not change significantly in size during this time (Keller et al., 2008). The increase in cell number occurs throughout the embryo and is not restricted to a particular DV region, while the change in gradient amplitude (Figure 2F) and slope is restricted to the ventral third of the embryo (Figure 2G). Thus an increase in cell number does not account, via an unknown mechanism, for the increase in amplitude or slope. Additional support that cell number has little effect on gradient shape stems from the observation that the absolute number of cells at a given time point can vary by as much as 20% between different embryos within the same cross or between crosses (Figure 2I) with no detectable change in gradient shape or phenotype. We then performed a computational screen of mathematical models to investigate which gradient-forming mechanisms (Figure 1C–F) fit the WT P-Smad5 gradient profiles (Figure 2). To do so, we first needed to determine the expression domains of bmp, chordin, noggin, and tolloid to use for the mathematical model. We based the domain sizes on our own measurements (Figure 3), as well as published in situ hybridizations for bmp (Fürthauer et al., 2004; Ramel and Hill, 2013), chordin (Miller-Bertoglio et al., 1997), tolloid (Connors et al., 1999), and noggin (Dal-Pra et al., 2006). In animal-pole views of wholemount in situ hybridizations, we measured the chordin and noggin expression domain sizes to be 75 and 40 degrees in width, respectively (Figure 3A–C). We estimated the size of the bmp expression domain via wholemount in situ hybridizations (Figure 3D), however, bmp2b expression appeared graded and not as easily measured as chordin and noggin. We instead measured the bmp2b expression gradient at 5.7 hpf via fluorescent in situ hybridization on cross-sections of the DV margin (Figure 3F–H). We quantified the relative intensity of the fluorescent bmp2b in situ (Figure 3I black line) and used it to estimate the BMP production domain in our model (Figure 3I, blue line). Measuring the bmp2b, chordin, and noggin expression domains. Animal pole views of wholemount in situ hybridizations of the expression of (A) chd (N = 25), and (B) nog (N = 8) in WT embryos. (C) Measured domain size of chd and nog domains via wholemount in situ hybridization in WT and chd mutant embryos. (D–D’’’) bmp2b in chd ± embryos at 4.7 (N = 10), 5.3 (N = 15), 5.7 (N = 20), and 7 hpf (N = 16), and (E–E’’’) bmp2b expression in chd -/- embryos at 4.7 (N = 6), 5.3 (N = 16), 5.7 (N = 13), and 7 hpf (N = 12). (F–H) Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) signal of bmp2b from a marginal slice at 5.7 hpf with a DAPI nuclear stain. Scale bars = 100 μm. (I) Quantification of FISH of bmp2b expression from ventral to dorsal (black line, N = 5) compared to the BMP production gradient used in the mathematical model (blue dotted line). Error bars indicate standard deviation. We then developed a system of partial differential equations to model the interactions of BMP, Chordin, Noggin, and Tolloid (Supplementary Figure 4—figure supplement 4 and 1A). BMP, Chordin, Noggin, BMP-Chordin, and BMP-Noggin were modeled as diffusible species, while Tolloid was treated parametrically according to its domain of expression (Figure 4A). The zebrafish gastrula was reduced to a 1-dimensional (1D) half-circumference with a length of 700 µm. We selected a 1D description at the margin for simulation, since the inputs to the system based on gene expression are distributed symmetrically across the embryo, so a 1D model should largely reflect one in 3D, and the faster simulation time of a 1D model allowed us to explore far greater parameter space computationally, increasing our ability to discern biophysical constraints that distinguish between the mechanisms. Domains of production of BMP, Chordin, and Noggin were estimated as described (Figure 3, Figure 4D). The dissociation constants for BMP-Chordin and BMP-Noggin were set to 1 and 0.1 nM respectively, based on previously reported analysis (Piccolo et al., 1996; Troilo et al., 2014; Zimmerman et al., 1996). All remaining parameters (ie. the diffusion coefficients, production rates, decay rates, on and off binding rates) were varied over 4 orders of magnitude encompassing all biologically feasible values (Table 1). List of the parameter ranges used in the computational model-based screen. Values range between the upper and lower bound. Note that the dissociation constant of BMP-Chd and BMP-Nog was held constant, but the on- and off- rates were allowed to vary. Creation of a mathematical model of BMP gradient formation. (A) Depiction of the species and binding possibilities modeled. (B) BMP distributions of 10 individual model solutions (black dotted lines) plotted against the WT 5.7 hpf P-Smad5 gradient (blue line). Error bars indicate standard deviation. (C) Flow-chart of model mechanism classification. (C’) BMP mass balance from model labeled to indicate which terms contribute to the source-sink, counter-gradient, and transcriptional mechanisms at each point. (C”) Shuttling mechanism was defined by a 20% decrease at the ventral-most point in chd LOF compared to WT. (D) Expression domains of bmp (blue), tld (purple), chd (red), and nog (yellow) used in the model. (E) Expression domains of bmp (blue), tld (purple), chd (red), and nog (yellow) used for the alternative scenario where the bmp expression domain mirrors the measured P-Smad5 gradient. (D’, E’) Pie chart showing how many parameter combinations fit the WT data (blue) and how many failed to do so (grey). (D”, E”) Pie chart showing how many parameter combinations were classified to have a source-sink (blue), counter-gradient (red), transcriptional (orange), or shuttling (green) mechanism. The equations were solved for the developmental window from ~3.5 hpf to ~5.7 hpf, since bmp and chordin are first expressed shortly after the mid-blastula-transition at 3 hpf (Koos and Ho, 1999; Leung et al., 2003; Shimizu et al., 2000; Solnica-Krezel et al., 2001). The equations were simulated 1,000,000 times, each time with a different combination of randomly selected parameters. Each parameter combination was then re-simulated without Chordin or Noggin to predict the BMP signaling gradient in a chordin or noggin loss-of-function (LOF) scenario. We then selected simulations that generated BMP profiles that fit our measured P-Smad5 gradient at 5.7 hpf with a normalized root mean squared deviation of 8% or less (Figure 4B). We also eliminated simulations that had significantly different BMP profiles when Noggin production was set to 0, since the loss of Noggin does not affect DV patterning in zebrafish or Xenopus (Dal-Pra et al., 2006; Khokha et al., 2005). All simulation results that fit our data were classified into categories based on the biophysical process that dominated formation of the gradient shape: shuttling, source-sink, counter-gradient, or transcriptional (Figure 4C). We discerned between source-sink, counter-gradient, and transcriptional mechanisms by examining the balance of binding, diffusion, decay, and accumulation processes in the partial differential equation for the BMP species (Figure 4C–C’’). If 80% of the BMP ligand was degraded where it was produced or accumulated there, the simulation was classified as transcriptional (Figure 4C,C’). If the majority of BMP diffused away from its site of production rather than being bound by Chordin, the simulation was considered a source-sink mechanism (Figure 4C,C’). Conversely, if the majority of BMP was bound at its site of production by Chordin, the simulation was classified as a Chordin counter-gradient mechanism (Figure 4C,C’). We classified a simulation as shuttling if the ventral-most point in the predicted chordin-/- BMP profile was at least 20% lower than in WT, as shuttling by the antagonist leads to a net accumulation of ligand in the ventral-most region (Figure 4C,C’’). By comparison, shuttling in Drosophila accounts more significantly to the peak level, with a 50% decrease in the peak P-Mad level when the chordin homolog sog is deficient (Mizutani et al., 2005; Peluso et al., 2011; Sutherland et al., 2003). Shuttling of 20% is about one standard deviation greater than our measured embryo-to-embryo variability for peak P-Smad5 signaling levels (Figure 4B). Multiple classes of mechanisms generated simulations fitting our WT data, including an antagonist counter-gradient, source-sink, and shuttling. Of the 1,000,000 randomly picked parameter combinations, 15,142 fit the experimentally measured WT signaling gradient (Figure 4D’). Among those that fit, 13,382 were classified as source-sink, 1710 as counter-gradient, and 50 as shuttling (Figure 4D”). Notably, no transcriptional simulations were found, because our measured bmp expression profile (Figure 3I) did not match our measured WT BMP signaling gradient (Figure 2), and therefore BMP must diffuse from its site of production or be bound by Chordin to fit our measured signaling gradient. The mean of our bmp2b expression profile did not reflect the P-Smad5 gradient at 5.7 hpf (Figures 2F and 3I), however, the bmp2b expression profile displayed variability from embryo to embryo. To account for the possibility that the bmp expression profile reflects the WT P-Smad5 gradient, which fell within one standard deviation of the mean (Figures 2F and 3I), we simulated the mathematical model 250,000 additional times with a bmp expression input matching the WT P-Smad5 gradient (Figure 4E). We found that the transcriptional mechanism was the most abundant mechanism among the simulations, comprising 83,747 of the simulations (Figure 4E’,E’’). Surprisingly, no counter-gradient solutions were found when bmp expression matched P-Smad5. This is because Chordin binding to BMP would interfere with the shape of the BMP protein gradient, causing it to no longer match the measured BMP signaling gradient. Thus the transcriptional and counter-gradient mechanisms are incompatible with each other. Each mechanism required specific biophysical parameters to fit the experimentally measured DV signaling gradient. The source-sink mechanism required BMP to have a high diffusion rate, so BMP could diffuse to a dorsally-localized sink of antagonists (Figure 5A). The counter-gradient mechanism required Chordin to have a high diffusion rate, so Chordin could diffuse ventrally to generate an antagonist gradient (Figure 5B). When either BMP or Chordin had moderately high diffusion rates (e.g. near 1 um2/s), decay rates were low to allow each more time to diffuse dorsally or ventrally, respectively. When BMP and Chordin range are plotted on the same axis, the segregation of the source-sink and counter-gradient mechanisms based on range is readily apparent (Figure 5C). The shuttling mechanism required that BMP-Chordin have a high diffusion rate and low decay rate in order to diffuse ventrally where Tolloid cleaves Chordin, which then releases BMP (Figure 5D). Noggin diffusion and decay was not constrained in any of the three mechanisms (Figure 5E). Biophysical values of individual simulations that fit the WT P-Smad5 gradient. (A–L) Scatter plots comparing biophysical parameters of 1000 randomly selected solutions classified by mechanism that fit the WT data. Combinations that failed to fit the WT P-Smad5 gradient are small grey dots. We plot solutions as large circles colored according to their mechanism, which is based on definitions outlined in Figure 4C: counter-gradient (red), source-sink (blue), transcriptional (orange), or shuttling (green). We plotted additional shuttling solutions in order to better illustrate trends. (A–F) Simulations using domains displayed in Figure 4D. (G–L) Simulations using domains displayed in Figure 4E. (A,G) BMP diffusivity vs. BMP decay rate. (B,H) Chd diffusivity vs. Chd decay rate, which includesthe rate of Chd cleavage by Tld. (C,I) Range was estimated as sqrt(diffusivity/decay). (D,J) Diffusivity of BMP bound to Chd vs. decay rate of BMP bound to Chd. (E,K) Range of Nog protein. (F,L) Chd and BMP-Chd cleavage rate by Tld. For the simulations performed where the bmp expression domain matched the signaling gradient, distinct biophysical requirements were also observed for each mechanism. The source-sink mechanism required BMP to have a high range, while the transcriptional mechanism required BMP to have a lower range (Figure 5I). The source-sink mechanism required either high diffusivity with predominantly high decay rates or low diffusivity with low decay rates, while the transcriptional mechanism filled a near complementary parameter space with progressively higher BMP diffusivity necessitating higher decay rates (Figure 5G), which allows the P-Smad5 gradient to match the bmp expression profile. Neither of these mechanisms constrained Chordin range (Figure 5H,I). Although only four shuttling mechanism solutions were identified, they required both BMP-Chordin range to be high and its decay rate to be low (Figure 5J). The shuttling solutions also required BMP range to be high (Figure 5G,I), because if Chordin moved ventrally to bind BMP in this scenario, it would interfere with the bmp expression gradient matching the BMP signaling gradient. In these simulations BMP moves dorsally to form the BMP-Chordin species that ultimately is shuttled back ventrally. The remaining parameters required for shuttling were similar for the two simulations (Figure 5E,F,K,L). To determine whether Chordin shuttling of BMP ligand plays a functionally relevant role in generating the ventral P-Smad5 peak in zebrafish, as it does in Drosophila, we quantified the P-Smad5 gradient of chordin mutant embryos over a developmental time series (Figure 6A,B). If it does play a role, then we expect the ventral P-Smad5 peak to be reduced in chordin mutants compared to WT embryos. We found that the P-Smad5 gradient in chordin mutants showed a statistically significant increase in lateral regions of the embryo at the four time-points examined from 4.7 to 6.3 hpf (Figure 6C–F, Figure 6—figure supplement 1A). Importantly, no decrease in P-Smad5 was observed in the ventral region of chordin mutant embryos or in any region of the gradient. These results indicate that, unlike the Drosophila homolog Sog, Chordin plays no significant BMP shuttling role during zebrafish DV patterning. It is worth noting that in many simulations, small amounts of BMP ligand are shuttled short distances but do not impact the gradient significantly, and thus are not classified as shuttling. The P-Smad5 gradient in chordin mutants shows that this is minimal in zebrafish. Effect of Chd on gradient shape and ligand shuttling. (A,B) Animal views of average intensities from each time-point in (A) WT (4.7: N = 3, 5.3: N = 4, 5.7: N = 13, 6.3: N = 11) and (B) chd mutant (4.7: N = 3, 5.3: N = 5, 5.7: N = 11, 6.3: N = 9) embryos. (C–F) Average marginal intensities for WT (blue) and chd mutant (red) embryos from 5.7 to 6.3 hpf. (G) Average marginal intensities for WT (blue, N = 4) and bmp2/7 RNA injected embryos at 5.7 (grey, N = 4) and 6.3 hpf (black, N = 5). Error bars indicate standard deviation. (H,I) Fully ventralized (V5) embryos injected with 6 pg of bmp7a RNA and 12 pg of bmp2b RNA vs uninjected WT siblings. (J) WT (N = 9) vs chd+/- (N = 10) at 5.7 hpf. Interestingly, the loss of chordin did not cause an increase in the ventral-most P-Smad5 peak level either (Figure 6C–F,S1A), suggesting that Chordin does not actively block BMP signaling there. However, Smad5 or another signal transducing component could be limiting in the ventral-most cells of WT embryos, rendering them unresponsive to further increases in free ligand. To investigate this possibility, we overexpressed Bmp2/7 ligand in WT embryos at a level that fully ventralizes (V5) them at 24 hpf (Figure 6H,I). We quantified P-Smad5 at 5.7 and 6.5 hpf and found that the gradient showed a significant increase in signaling embryo-wide over WT siblings, including in the ventral-most region (Figure 6G). These results indicate that BMP signaling in ventral regions is not saturated in WT embryos and that Chordin does not regulate the peak P-Smad5 levels by promoting or inhibiting signaling at these stages. We next tested whether the P-Smad5 gradient is robust to heterozygosity of chordin. The Drosophila P-Mad gradient shows some small changes in sog heterozygotes (sog is the chordin homolog) compared to WT (Eldar et al., 2002; Umulis et al., 2010). In zebrafish chordin heterozygotes do not show any DV patterning phenotype at 24 hpf (Hammerschmidt et al., 1996). Consistent with this, we found that the chordin heterozygous and WT BMP signaling gradients were indistinguishable at 5.7 hpf (Figure 6J). Therefore, the BMP signaling gradient in zebrafish is robust to chordin heterozygosity and to a potential 50% decrease in Chordin levels, but not to the complete loss of Chordin. We then constrained the mathematical model-based computational screen with the WT, the chordin mutant and heterozygote P-Smad5 gradients at 5.7 hpf, assuming that heterozygotes have half the Chordin level of WT. We determined which mechanisms and simulations remained compatible with these new results (Figure 7A,B). We eliminated simulations that deviated by more than 8% from the chordin heterozygous or homozygous P-Smad5 gradients (Figure 7C–D). Many mathematical model simulations that fit the WT BMP signaling gradient no longer fit our chordin heterozygous and homozygous mutant data. Of the 15,142 simulations that fit the WT gradient alone, only 4059 fit the WT, chordin +/-, and chordin mutant gradients (Figure 7E–E’). Of those, all were either source-sink or counter-gradient mechanisms (Figure 7E’). All simulations classified as shuttling had chordin LOF BMP distributions that deviated from the measured chordin mutant P-Smad5 gradient by more than 17% (Figure 7C). Many, but not all, simulations classified as counter-gradient deviated by more than 8% in their BMP distributions from the measured chordin heterozygous P-Smad5 gradient (Figure 7D). Fitting the chd LOF and chd heterozygous data eliminated more counter-gradient than source-sink solutions, with 28% of the source-sink solutions remaining but only 15% of the counter-gradient solutions remaining. Biophysical values of individual simulations that fit both the WT and chd LOF P-Smad5 gradients. (A) BMP distributions of 5 individual modeling solutions (WT: black dotted lines, chd LOF: grey dotted lines) plotted against WT (blue line) and chd LOF (red line) 5.7 hpf P-Smad5 gradients. Error bars indicate standard deviation of experimental P-Smad5 intensity. (B) BMP distributions of 5 individual modeling solutions (WT: black dotted lines, chd +/-: grey dotted lines) plotted against WT (blue line) and chd +/- (green line) 5.7 hpf P-Smad5 gradients. Error bars indicate standard deviation of experimental P-Smad5 intensity. (C,D,F–J,L, M) 1000 randomly selected parameter combinations capable of fitting both the WT data, chd +/-, chd LOF data classified by mechanism. Larger circular points fit the WT P-Smad gradient and are colored based on their mechanism according to the definitions outlined in Figure 4C: counter-gradient (red), source-sink (blue), transcriptional (orange), or shuttling (green). Combinations that failed to fit the WT P-Smad5 gradient are small grey dots. (C–D) Normalized Root Mean Squared Deviation (NRMSD) between the measured P-Smad5 and the model BMP distributions. Black dotted lines mark the 8% threshold. (C) Comparing WT and chd LOF. (D) Comparing WT and chd +/-. (E) Parameter combinations that fit both the WT and chd LOF data (blue) and those that failed to do so (grey). (E’) parameter combinations were classified to have a source-sink (blue), counter-gradient (red), or shuttling (green) mechanism. (F–J) Simulation using the bmp expression domain displayed in Figure 4D. (L,M) Simulation using the bmp expression domain displayed in Figure 4E. (F,L) BMP diffusivity vs. BMP decay rate. Green dotted line marks the BMP diffusivity we measured using FRAP (4.4 µm2/s). (G,M) Range was estimated as sqrt(diffusivity/decay). (H) Chd diffusivity vs. Chd decay rate plus the rate of Chd cleavage by Tld. (I) Rate of Chd cleavage by Tld vs rate of BMP-Chd cleavage by Tld. (J) BMP-Chd diffusivity for source-sink and counter-gradient simulation solutions. (K) Pie chart showing the parameter combinations that fit the WT data (blue) or failed to do so (grey) for the alternative scenario where the bmp expression domain mirrors the measured P-Smad5 gradient (Figure 3I). (K’) Pie chart of the solutions that had a source-sink (blue), counter-gradient (red), transcriptional (orange), or shuttling (green) mechanism. The remaining mechanisms required different and specific combinations of biophysical parameters. The source-sink solutions required a high BMP range of 60+ µm with a diffusivity above 1 µm2/s (Figure 7F,G). The counter-gradient mechanism required a lower BMP range, less than 60 µm, a high Chordin range above 40 µm with a diffusivity above 2 µm2/s (Figure 7G,H). Consistent with this, very high rates of Chordin cleavage by Tolloid restricted Chordin range and therefore was not compatible with the counter-gradient mechanism (Figure 7I). While BMP diffusivity needed to be high in source-sink solutions, BMP-Chd diffusivity was not restricted in either the source-sink or counter-gradient solutions (Figure 7J). We then tested whether the transcriptional mechanism could also fit the chordin mutant data. We used the simulation in which the bmp expression profile matched the WT P-Smad5 gradient (Figure 4E). Of the 148,646 simulations that fit the WT data alone, 227 fit the WT, chordin heterozygous, and chordin mutant gradients, all of which were source-sink (Figure 7K,K’). These source-sink simulations required a high BMP diffusivity and range (Figure 7L,M), similar to what was observed in the simulation with the measured bmp expression profile (Figure 7F,G). However, while 83,747 simulations fit a transcriptional mechanism with the WT data alone, none fit the WT, chordin heterozygous, and chordin mutant gradients (Figure 7K,K’). This is because only a change in the bmp expression domain in the chordin mutant allows a transcriptional mechanism to fit both the WT and chordin mutant data. The bmp expression domain is known to become responsive to BMP signaling, creating a positive feedback loop during gastrulation (Hammerschmidt et al., 1996; Nguyen et al., 1998; Schmid et al., 2000). Gastrulation begins in zebrafish at 6 hpf. While the initial bmp expression domains are established independently of BMP feedback, a BMP feedback loop becomes active with reported onset times ranging from ~5.5 to 6.5 hpf (Kishimoto et al., 1997; Miller-Bertoglio et al., 1999; Ramel and Hill, 2013; Schmid et al., 2000). To test whether the bmp expression domain changes in chordin mutants at 4.7 to 5.7 hpf, we compared the bmp2b domain size in sibling chordin-/- and chordin +/- embryos (Figure 3D,E). chordin heterozygotes display a WT phenotype (Hammerschmidt et al., 1996; Miller-Bertoglio et al., 1999) and we found that they also display a WT P-Smad5 gradient (Figure 6J). There was no discernable difference in the bmp2b domain size at 4.7, 5.3, or 5.7 hpf (Figure 3D,E), indicating that bmp transcriptional feedback is not active before 5.7 hpf. Similarly, the noggin expression domain size did not change in chordin mutants before 5.7 hpf (Figure 3C). Therefore, the increase in BMP signaling activity observed already at 4.7 hpf in chordin mutants (Figure 6A–C) precedes a change in bmp expression, showing that the transcriptional mechanism cannot account for the P-Smad5 gradient profiles prior to 5.7 hpf. We observed a change in bmp2b expression by 7 hpf, consistent with previous findings that bmp transcriptional feedback activates after gastrulation begins (Figure 3D’’’,E’’’) (Kishimoto et al., 1997; Miller-Bertoglio et al., 1999; Ramel and Hill, 2013; Schmid et al., 2000). The combination of WT and chordin mutant P-Smad5 gradients limits the number of computationally-derived model simulations and, importantly, reduces the number of mechanisms to two: source-sink and counter-gradient. We and others have largely purported the counter-gradient mechanism as acting in vertebrate DV patterning (Blitz et al., 2000; Hama and Weinstein, 2001; Little and Mullins, 2006; Sasai and De Robertis, 1997; Thomsen, 1997). To our surprise, the source-sink modeling simulations emerged more frequently within our computational screen than the counter-gradient simulations (Figure 7E’). To test the source-sink mechanism further, we investigated BMP ligand diffusivity, a biophysical parameter that must be high in this mechanism (Figure 7F). To test if BMP diffusivity excludes or supports the source-sink mechanism, we measured the effective diffusivity of the Bmp2b ligand using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). We tagged Bmp2b by inserting the coding sequence of the fluorescent protein Venus between the pro- and mature coding domains of bmp2b. When mRNA of bmp2b-venus was injected into 1-cell stage zebrafish embryos, we detected both the pro- and mature domains of Bmp2b-Venus protein on a western blot (Figure 8A, black arrows, n = 3). We did not detect protein with a molecular weight equal to Venus alone in the embryos injected with bmp2b-venus, indicating that the Venus tag was not cleaved from Bmp2b during post-translational processing (Figure 8A, red arrow). The Venus tag did not interfere with Bmp2b activity, since the injected mRNA significantly ventralized WT embryos (Figure 8B, Row 1). To further assess the activity and range of the Bmp2b-Venus chimera, we tested if Bmp2b-Venus could rescue embryos deficient in Bmp2b. As previously reported for bmp2b RNA (Nguyen et al., 1998), we could rescue Bmp2b deficient embryos to a WT phenotype by injecting bmp2b-venus RNA (Figure 8B, Rows 5–7). Measuring Bmp2b-Venus diffusivity via FRAP. (A) Detection of Bmp2b-Venus and secreted Venus proteins by western blot. Embryos were injected with bmp2b-venus mRNA (250 pg) or secreted-Venus mRNA (200 pg) at the one-cell stage. Protein lysates were prepared at late blastula stage. In the Bmp2b-Venus overexpression sample, two major protein bands were detected by Venus antibody (black arrows). The larger molecular weight protein is the pro- and mature domains of Bmp2b with Venus protein (669 amino acids (AA),~74 KDa). The smaller protein is the mature domain of Bmp2b with Venus protein (376 AA,~41 KDa). The secreted Venus protein (248 AA,~27 KDa) is also detected in the secreted-Venus overexpression sample (red arrow). β-actin was used as a loading control. (B) 24 hpf phenotypes of embryos injected with the bmp2b-venus construct used for FRAP experiments, controls, and rescue. Dorsalization was classified as C5: Loss of all ventral structures; C4-C3: Loss of, or truncated tail; C2-C1: Loss of ventral tail fin. Ventralization is classified as V1: reduction is eye size; V2-V3: the eyes, notochord, and anterior brain are partially or completely absent; or V4-V5: complete loss of all dorsal structures. Fluorescent BMP-Venus (C) or Venus (D) recovery after photobleaching for 20 min. (E–G) Plots of fluorescent intensity recovery in the extracellular region. Bold lines are mean curves, thin lines are raw intensity data. (H) BMP diffusivity vs. BMP decay rate for simulations that fit WT, chd +/-, and chd -/- P-Smad5 profiles and were within 2 µm2/s of 4.4 µm2/s. Large blue circles are simulations classified as source-sink, red are counter-gradient, and small grey dots failed to fit the measured P-Smad5 profiles. (I) The mean BMP and Chd concentrations in all solutions that fit the WT, chd-/-, and chd +/- P-Smad5 data and within a diffusivity of 2.4 and 6.4 µm2/s that are also robust to uniform Chd production. To perform the FRAP, we injected bmp2b-venus mRNA into a single blastomere at the 8 cell stage (Figure 8B, Row 3) and then photobleached a 160 µm cube of cells in 4.3 hpf embryos (Figure 8C). We then measured recovery of fluorescence over one hour. To ensure we only recorded extracellular Bmp2b-Venus, we photobleached a region away from the cells producing Bmp2b-Venus. The bleached region recovered fluorescence to its initial level in ~30 min (Figure 8C,E), corresponding to a measured Bmp2b-Venus effective diffusivity of 4.4 ± 0.4 µm2/s (SEM (standard error of the mean), n = 5). To ensure that we were only measuring the diffusivity of Bmp2b-Venus alone and not Bmp2b-Venus bound to Chordin, we repeated the FRAP experiment in Chordin deficient embryos (Figure 8B, Rows 3–4). Again, the bleached region recovered fluorescence to its initial level in ~30 min (Figure 8F), corresponding to a measured Bmp2b-Venus effective diffusivity of 4.0 ± 0.5 µm2/s (SEM, n = 5). To determine the extent to which Venus limited Bmp2b diffusion, we measured the diffusivity of Venus alone. The bleached region recovered fluorescence much more rapidly, and neared its initial level in 5 min (Figure 8D,G), corresponding to a measured Venus effective diffusivity of 16.3 ± 2.2 µm2/s (SEM, n = 5). This faster rate of Venus diffusion indicates that it per se does not reduce BMP2 diffusion. A measured BMP diffusivity of ~4 µm2/s fits a large portion of the source-sink modeling simulations. In fact, 1421 source-sink simulations have diffusivities within 2 µm2/s of our measured diffusivity (Figure 8H). In contrast, only 31 counter-gradient simulations were within 2 µm2/s of our measured diffusivity, and these simulations have very high BMP decay rates (above 10−3/s) (Figure 8H). A decay rate of that magnitude would cause the half-life of BMP ligand in the embryo to be very short, <10 min for decay rates above 1 × 10−3/s. We can infer the BMP lifetime in the embryo based on our previous studies. We found previously that a pulse of injected BMP ligand protein in a bmp deficient embryo sustains P-Smad5 for at least 1.5 hr after injection (Little and Mullins, 2009). In another study, we found that P-Smad5 can persist for a maximum of 40–60 min in the absence of BMP signaling (Tucker et al., 2008). Thus, P-Smad5 persistence 1.5 hr after a BMP protein pulse indicates that the ligand remains for at least 30 to 50 min after injection, if P-Smad5 can persist for 40–60 min in the absence of signaling. A BMP ligand lifetime of 30 to 50 min is inconsistent with the low BMP half-lives required for the counter-gradient simulations, but consistent with the BMP half-lives of source-sink simulations (Figure 8H), suggesting that the source-sink mechanism much more likely establishes the BMP signaling gradient patterning the zebrafish DV axis. Finally, we asked whether the source-sink and counter-gradient mechanisms are robust to uniform chordin expression. Uniformly expressing chordin by mRNA injection into one-cell stage chordin mutant embryos has been used to rescue chordin mutant embryos to adulthood (Fisher and Halpern, 1999), including in our study here. We simulated the system with ubiquitous Chordin production and determined that 426 of the 1452 solutions that fit our WT, chordin-/-, and chordin +/- data with a BMP diffusivity within 2 um2/s of our measured 4.4 um2/s retain a WT BMP gradient when Chordin is uniformly produced. We did not titrate the Chordin production rate, but had we done so, more simulations may have fit. Interestingly, the 426 remaining solutions are all source-sink mechanisms with gradients of Chordin that are high dorsally and low ventrally (Figure 8I). Our results show that the BMP signaling gradient patterning the zebrafish DV axis is markedly different from the one patterning the Drosophila DV axis. The zebrafish BMP signaling gradient is broad, reaching half of its maximum at ~40% of the total DV axis length (Figure 2F). In contrast, the Drosophila gradient is incredibly steep, reaching half of its peak at only ~10% of the total embryo DV axis length (Figure 9A) (Peluso et al., 2011; Sutherland et al., 2003). Similarly, the loss of the main BMP antagonist in either organism, Chordin or Sog, causes markedly different effects on the BMP signaling gradient (Figure 9A) (Mizutani et al., 2005; Peluso et al., 2011; Sutherland et al., 2003). Comparing Zebrafish and Drosophila-like solutions. (A) Depiction of the BMP gradients patterning the Drosophila and zebrafish DV axis. The Drosophila DV axis has been flipped to match the zebrafish. Solid lines are WT. Dotted lines are chd or sog LOF. (B) List of homologous proteins involved in DV patterning of zebrafish and Drosophila. (C–F) Solutions able to fit WT and chd LOF zebrafish data (blue) vs. solutions capable of fitting Drosophila-like WT and Drosophila-like sog LOF gradients (red). Parameter combinations that failed to fit either are represented as small grey dots. (C) Chd diffusivity vs. Chd decay rate, which includes the rate of Chd cleavage by Tld. (D) Diffusivity of BMP bound to Chd vs. decay rate of BMP bound to Chd. (E) Range was estimated as sqrt(diffusivity/decay). (F) Cleavage rate of Chd and BMP-Chd by Tolloid. (G) BMP diffusivity vs. BMP decay rate. Zebrafish and Drosophila DV patterning differ in both length-scale and time-scale. The Drosophila embryo has a 250 µm half-circumference, while the zebrafish embryo has a 700 µm half-circumference. The zebrafish gradient is established gradually in ~2–3 hr and maintained for several hours (Ramel and Hill, 2013; Tucker et al., 2008), whereas the Drosophila BMP signaling gradient is established and patterns DV tissues in ~1 hr (Dorfman et al., 2001; Wang and Ferguson, 2005). Given these differences, we sought to determine if Drosophila-like shuttling simulations could exist with zebrafish time- and length-scales, and if so, how the biophysical parameters of the components would differ from those consistent with the WT and chordin mutant P-Smad5 gradients (Figure 7). In the 1,000,000 random simulations tested, we found many simulations that could generate a steep gradient with extensive shuttling in zebrafish. Simulations were considered to be Drosophila-like if their WT gradient reached its half-maximum <10% of the total embryo circumference and the ventral peak of the chordin mutant was 50% lower than the ventral peak level of the WT curve (Mizutani et al., 2005). We found 251 simulations that fit the Drosophila-like WT and chordin mutant signaling gradients. We also excluded simulations with excessive BMP-Noggin interaction, as Drosophila does not possess noggin homologs (Figure 9B). The Drosophila-like simulations required a very mobile Chordin and BMP-Chordin species. Drosophila-like simulations required Chordin to have a high range to move to encounter the BMP in the ventral region (Figure 9C,E). Similarly, BMP-Chordin needed to have a high range so it could be shuttled a sufficient distance towards the ventral-most region of the embryo (Figure 9D,E). The cleavage of free Chordin by Tolloid needed to be low to allow Chordin range to remain high (Figure 9F). Conversely, the cleavage of bound Chordin needed to be high to release the BMP from Chordin (Figure 9F). Chordin range must be high to allow the formation of a counter-gradient to block signaling in the lateral regions of the embryo (Figure 9E). Conversely, BMP range was relatively unrestricted in Drosophila-like simulations, as the shuttling mechanism relies more on BMP-Chordin mobility than BMP mobility (Figure 9G). Here we have quantified the BMP signaling gradient in WT and chordin zebrafish mutants by measuring with high precision the P-Smad5 immunofluorescence level in all ~8,000 + nuclei of an embryo, with high reproducibility within and between embryos at multiple developmental stages. We then used these data to inform a computational model-based screen of over 1,250,000 combinations of biophysical parameters of the major extracellular BMP modulators. We defined mathematical criteria to distinguish between four widely proposed mechanisms to set up the BMP signaling gradient. Our computational model-based screen excludes the shuttling and transcriptional mechanisms as possibilities for establishing our measured WT and chordin mutant P-Smad5 profiles, providing compelling evidence that the BMP signaling gradient patterning the zebrafish DV axis is established by either a counter-gradient or source-sink mechanism. We further determined that the effective diffusivity of the BMP ligand in the zebrafish embryo is relatively fast, consistent with 1421 source-sink simulations but only 31 counter-gradient ones (Figure 8H). Comparison of models that satisfy zebrafish or Drosophila-like gradient profiles suggests that the range of BMP-Chordin differs between zebrafish and Drosophila-like DV patterning mechanisms (Figure 9E), and the Drosophila-like patterning mechanism requires restricted Tolloid degradation rates for BMP-Chordin and Chordin, which were not observed for the zebrafish patterning mechanism (Figure 9F). The shape of the BMP signaling gradient differs greatly between Drosophila and zebrafish DV patterning (Figure 9A). The parameters that drive the most significant difference between the Drosophila-like and zebrafish simulations are the mobility and processing rates of BMP-Chordin (Figures 7I and 9D,F). For shuttling to be possible in a system with a broad peak of signaling, as it is in zebrafish, the BMP-Chordin cleavage rate needed to be low enough to allow BMP-Chordin to move farther and distribute BMP over a larger region (Figure 5F,L). For shuttling to be possible in a system with a tight peak of signaling as it is in Drosophila, BMP-Chordin cleavage needed to be rapid to release BMP-Chordin over a smaller region (Figure 9F). We show that a shuttling mechanism is not functioning in zebrafish, indicating that this delicate balance of BMP-Chordin mobility and Tolloid cleavage has been lost or did not emerge in vertebrate DV patterning. Sog and its vertebrate homolog Chordin differ in how they are processed by the metalloprotease Tolloid depending on whether it is bound to BMP ligand. Chordin can be cleaved by Tolloid whether bound to BMP ligand or not (Piccolo et al., 1997), while Sog is only cleaved when bound to BMP (Marqués et al., 1997). Interestingly, when Sog is mutated to allow it to be processed by Tolloid regardless of BMP binding, the shuttling of BMP-Sog complexes in flies is greatly reduced (Peluso et al., 2011), suggesting that this attribute of Sog is necessary for effective shuttling. However, surprisingly, we found numerous shuttling simulations in our zebrafish modeling-based screen with the opposite properties, high Chordin cleavage rates and low BMP-Chordin cleavage rates (Figure 5F,L). The requirement for preferential cleavage of BMP-Chordin by Tolloid only emerged when we screened for Drosophila-like simulations, in which shuttling was generating a tight peak of BMP signal (Figure 9A,F). This suggests that the preferential processing of BMP-Sog by Tolloid seen in Drosophila is not an inherent requirement of the shuttling mechanism, but may instead be a result of both the requirement to facilitate shuttling and to generate a steep gradient. In Drosophila DV patterning, the BMP signaling gradient is so steep that its base falls well within the region of bmp expression, far from the sog/chordin expression domain (Figure 9A) (Francois et al., 1994; Holley et al., 1995). To suppress lateral BMP signaling and form the Drosophila-like simulations seen in our mathematical model-based screen (Figure 9A), Sog/Chordin needed to have a high range to diffuse far from its site of expression to inhibit BMP signaling over most of the bmp expression domain (Figure 9C,E). Therefore, the degradation of free Sog/Chordin by Tolloid needed to be low (Figure 9F). However, to generate a narrow peak of BMP signaling (Figure 9A), BMP-Chordin cleavage by Tolloid needed to be high (Figure 9F). Therefore, the requirement to preserve the range of action of free Chordin, combined with the requirement to rapidly cleave BMP-Chordin to generate a steep peak of signaling may explain why the preferential cleavage of BMP-Sog by Tolloid is needed for shuttling in Drosophila. While the shuttling mechanism relies on the movement of the bound BMP-Chordin complex, the source-sink and counter-gradient mechanisms rely on the movement of unbound BMP and Chordin. The source-sink mechanism relies on BMP diffusing dorsally to bind Chordin. Conversely, the counter-gradient mechanism relies on Chordin diffusing ventrally to bind BMP. Consistent with this, we found that the majority of simulations consistent with the source-sink mechanism require a high BMP range and a high BMP diffusivity (above 1 µm2/s), while the counter-gradient mechanism requires a high Chordin range and high Chordin diffusivity (above 1 µm2/s) (Figures 5 and 7). To illustrate the distinct manners by which a source-sink and counter-gradient mechanism would generate the zebrafish BMP signaling gradients observed, we graphically display in Figure 10 the relative contributions of BMP and Chordin diffusion and BMP-Chordin binding to gradient formation for the median simulations that fit our WT, chordin mutant, chordin +/-, and Bmp2b-Venus FRAP data. The primary differences between the source-sink and counter-gradient mechanisms manifest in the relative amount of Chordin protein that diffuses ventrally into the bmp expression domain and the primary role of Chordin in forming the BMP gradient. A counter-gradient mechanism leads to higher levels of Chordin that extend over a greater region of the ventral bmp expression domain compared to a source-sink mechanism (Figure 10A). Counter-gradient and source-sink mechanisms also differ significantly in where Chordin binds and inhibits BMP ligand activity along the DV axis, which is consistent with the distinct Chordin protein distributions (Figure 10A). In a counter-gradient mechanism Chordin binds BMP in a broader domain, extending over a much greater extent of the DV axis than in a source-sink mechanism (Figure 10B,C). In a source-sink mechanism, Chordin binds BMP largely in dorsal regions and extends little ventrally, effectively generating a driving force for the movement of BMP (Figure 10B,C). This dorsal sink of Chordin leads to a diffusive flux of BMP ligand down its concentration gradient (Figure 10C) that largely shapes the BMP signaling profile in a source-sink mechanism (Figure 10C). How the source-sink and counter-gradient mechanisms shape the gradient. (A) The mean BMP and Chd concentrations in all source-sink and counter-gradient solutions fitting WT, chd LOF, and chd heterozygous P-Smad5 data and within a diffusivity between 2.4 and 6.4 µm2/s. (B) The diffusive flux divided by the decay [(DBMP/decBMP)*(d[BMP]/dx)*(1/[BMP]max)] of BMP (blue) with units of 103*µm and rate of binding of BMP to Chd (kon*[BMP]*[Chd]) (red) with units of 3.6*10−2*sec−1 for representitive (B) Counter-Gradient and (C) Source-Sink solutions fitting WT, chd LOF, and chd heterozygous P-Smad5 data and within a diffusivity between 2.4 and 6.4 µm2/s (Figure 8). Importantly, gradient formation by either of these mechanisms need not be exclusive, and instead characteristics of each can contribute to some extent in shaping sectors of the other’s gradient. In the source-sink simulation in Figure 10A,C, Chordin forms a small counter-gradient partially contributing to the gradient shape in this region. Thus, in some source-sink simulations, Chordin shaped the gradient by simultaneously binding ligand to block signaling in lateral positions and by establishing a sink that serves as a driving force for the diffusive flux of ligand from ventral positions dorsally towards the regions of higher Chordin. Though each solution is classified by the dominant mechanism, many share some aspects of both the source-sink and counter-gradient mechanisms. We measured BMP diffusivity for the first time in vertebrates. Using FRAP, we show that BMP can diffuse relatively freely with a diffusivity of 4.4 ± 0.4 µm2/s (Figure 8E), about 4-fold less than secreted Venus diffusion in the zebrafish blastula (≈16 µm2/s) (Figure 8G). Our measured BMP diffusivity is comparable to the diffusivity of Squint (Ndr1, D = 3.2 µm2/s), another TGF-β ligand in the zebrafish blastula that acts as a long-range mesoderm inducer (Müller et al., 2012). This high BMP diffusivity is consistent with previous BMP heterodimer protein injections into the extracellular space of BMP-deficient embryos, which could extend throughout the embryo and restore the WT P-Smad5 gradient within 1.5 hr, suggesting the BMP ligand can move rapidly (Little and Mullins, 2009). Our computational screen found hundreds of simulations with a BMP diffusivity near 4.4 µm2/s. The vast majority of those simulations were classified as having a source-sink mechanism. The remaining few are classified as having a counter-gradient mechanism. This paucity of counter-gradient simulations is a reflection of the fine-tuning needed for this mechanism to work as compared to the source-sink mechanism. The counter-gradient mechanism requires a specific balance of Chordin diffusivity and decay as well as Tolloid degradation, while the source-sink mechanism does not (Figure 7H,I). Together, this suggests that the source-sink mechanism is more robust to changes in biophysical parameters than the counter-gradient mechanism, but does not rule out the counter-gradient mechanism entirely. The recent observation that bmp2b and bmp7a are expressed in a graded manner in WT embryos has lead to the hypothesis that the BMP signaling gradient may largely reflect the bmp expression gradient (Ramel and Hill, 2013). We sought to determine if the BMP signaling gradient in zebrafish is predominantly established by matching the bmp expression gradient. Three results do not support this hypothesis. First, the relative shape of the bmp2b expression domain (Figure 3) did not precisely match the P-Smad5 gradient (Figure 2). Second, we mathematically defined a gradient established by a transcriptional mechanism as one where 80% of the BMP accumulates or is degraded where it is produced, as opposed to binding antagonists or diffusing away. When we performed a mathematical model-based computational screen using a bmp expression profile that reflected the P-Smad5 WT gradient, no tested parameter combination fit both our measured WT and chordin LOF P-Smad5 gradients. For the transcriptional mechanism to work, the bmp expression domain would have to change in the chordin mutant condition to fit the mutant gradient profile. Finally, we showed that feedback by BMP signaling on bmp expression does not begin until after 5.7 hpf. This is likely because the initial bmp expression domain is established by maternal factors and repression from Bozozok, a transcription factor activated by maternal Wnt signaling (Koos and Ho, 1999; Langdon and Mullins, 2011; Leung et al., 2003; Solnica-Krezel et al., 2001). FGF (Fibroblast Growth Factor) and Nodal signaling also repress bmp expression dorsally (Fürthauer et al., 2004; Kuo et al., 2013; Maegawa et al., 2006; Shimizu et al., 2000; Varga et al., 2007). Importantly, BMP signaling does not play a role in the initial establishment of the bmp and chordin expression domains at 4 hpf, as both are unchanged prior to ~6 hpf in BMP pathway mutants (Kishimoto et al., 1997; Miller-Bertoglio et al., 1997; Schmid et al., 2000). At or after ~6 hpf, the bmp expression domain begins to respond to changes in BMP signaling levels, as bmp expression decreases in BMP pathway mutants and increases in BMP antagonist mutants (Kishimoto et al., 1997; Miller-Bertoglio et al., 1999; Nguyen et al., 1998; Ramel and Hill, 2013; Schmid et al., 2000). We show that the bmp2b expression domain does not begin to shift in response to the loss of chordin until after 5.7 hpf (Figure 3), while the P-Smad5 gradient shifts as early as 4.7 hpf (Figure 6). While we show that the transcriptional mechanism cannot entirely account for the measured P-Smad5 WT, chordin +/-, and chordin -/- profiles, the shape of the transcriptional gradient does still contribute to gradient shape. Four-fold more individual solutions fit the WT, chd +/-, and chd -/- P-Smad5 profiles when the bmp expression input matched our measured bmp2b level (0.4%) than when bmp expression was set to match the P-Smad5 profile (0.1%) (Figure 7E,K). Counter-gradient solutions only appeared when the bmp expression input was broader than the P-Smad5 profile (Figure 7E’,K’). More source-sink solutions were present when the bmp expression input was broader because BMP did not need to travel as far or fast (Figure 7F,G vs. Figure 7L,M) to reach the dorsal sink. Together, these effects show that the shape of the bmp expression domain contributes to BMP gradient formation even if it does not entirely account for it, similar to that found for the bicoid transcript and protein gradients that pattern the Drosophila AP axis (Little et al., 2011). Although we and most others in the vertebrate field have contended that a Chordin (or BMP antagonist) counter-gradient drives formation of the BMP activity gradient in DV patterning, our studies here, intriguingly, suggest that an alternate source-sink mechanism may prevail. While the source-sink gradient mechanism is also modulated by Chordin, Chordin instead acts in a distinct manner as a sink, binding BMP ligand predominantly in dorsal regions, thus allowing a BMP diffusive gradient to form throughout most of the ventral half of the embryo. Key to deriving this alternate model was the integrated approach used that combined quantitative experimental analysis with computational modeling. Importantly, a role for Chordin in establishing a sink that drives gradient formation would not have been revealed to us had we not performed the mathematical model-based computational screen. By narrowing the compatible simulations successively with the WT, chordin +/-, and then chordin mutant P-Smad5 profiles, 15-fold more source-sink simulations than counter-gradient simulations perdured (Figure 7E’). Furthermore, the computational modeling also illuminated the BMP diffusivity parameter as one to further test the source-sink mechanism. Significantly, our measured Bmp2 diffusivity further supports the source-sink mechanism of gradient formation. Thus the seamless integration of quantitative experimental analysis with mathematical model-based computational screens has proved to be a highly successful approach to elucidating mechanisms of BMP gradient formation. Future studies will be required to definitively determine the mechanism and further test the source-sink and counter gradient models of BMP gradient formation. WT zebrafish embryos were injected with mRNA at the 1-cell stage. bmp2b and bmp7a RNA were made using the SP6 MMessage Machine kit (Life Technologies AM1340). bmp2b or bmp7a cDNA in a pBluescript II KS-construct was linearized with NotI. To overexpress BMP, 6 pg of bmp7a RNA and 12 pg of bmp2b RNA were injected. Resulting embryos had a V5 fully ventralized phenotype at 24 hpf (Figure 6H,I). Whole-mount in situ hybridizations were performed using RNA DIG probes as described using, chordin (Miller-Bertoglio et al., 1997) and noggin1 (Dal-Pra et al., 2006). RNA probes were generated using the Roche DIG RNA labeling kit (11277073910). Embryos were cleared in glycerol, and photographed using a Leica IC80 HD. Images were processed using ImageJ and MATLAB. In situs were stained with Anti-DIG-Alkaline Phosphatase (Roche 11093274910) and developed using BM Purple (Roche Life Sciences). The sizes of the chordin and noggin expression domains were determined by image processing with MATLAB. Centerpoints of animal views of each embryo were determined by thresholding. The boundaries of the noggin and chordin expression domains relative to the center of the animal view were determined by a second threshold. These points were connected by line segments and the angle was measured (Figure 3A,B). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on fixed cryosections using a RNAscope Fluorescent Multiplex Kit (Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD)). Embryos were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS at 4°C overnight. Embryos equilibrate in 30% sucrose until they sink and incubated in fresh 30% sucrose for 3 days at 4°C. Cryosections (20 μm) at the marginal region were collected on slides, followed by air drying for 30 min at −20°C. In situ hybridization was performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions (ACD). A custom C2 probe was designed for bmp2b (#456471-C2). bmp2b probe was used at 1:10 dilution. Sections were stained for DAPI and images were acquired at 63 × oil objective using a Zeiss 800 upright confocal. Relative intensity quantification of mRNA levels was performed on maximum intensity projections of 20 μm sections. Marginal cells were grouped into 10 degree intervals along the marginal circumference. Average intensity was quantified in each section using the MATLAB image analysis toolbox. Averaged bmp2b mRNA levels in 2.5 hpf embryos were used to measure background. We found equivalent intensity levels and distributions in the 2.5 hpf embyros and the dorsal bmp2b signal in Wt 5.7 hpf embryo suggesting limited to zero bmp2b expression in the dorsal region. For each cross-section, the right and left side of the distributions were averaged into a single ventral to dorsal profile. Embryos were fixed overnight in 4% paraformaldehyde at 4°C, blocked in NCS-PBST (10% fetal bovine serum, 1% DMSO, 0.1% Tween 20 in PBS), and probed overnight with a 1:100 dilution of anti-phosphoSmad1/5/8 antibody (Cell Signaling Technology, #9511, discontinued), followed by a 1:500 dilution of goat anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor 647-conjugated antibody (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rockford, IL; Cat# A-21244, RRID:AB_2535812). Embryos were mounted in BABB (benzyl alcohol (Sigma B-1042) and benzyl benzoate (Sigma B-6630), 1:2 ratio) and scanned using a Zeiss LSM 710 confocal microscope with a LD LCI Plan-Achromat 25x/0.8 Imm Corr DIC M27 multi-immersion lens. The oil-immersion setting was used to reduce Mie scattering distortion, spherical aberrations, and chromatic aberrations by minimizing refractive index (R.I.) mismatch between the lens oil (R.I. = 1.518), the coverslip, BABB (R.I.≈1.56), and the light scattering particles in the embryo (R.I.≈1.56). Fluorophore bleaching was greatly reduced by precise embryo orientation, reducing sample thickness, and by high scan speeds using a Zeiss LSM 710 confocal microscope. Nuclei were visualized with Sytox Orange (Molecular Probes) or Sytox Green (Molecular Probes). Immunostained P-Smad5 embryos were processed and imaged as described above. We observed minimal photo-bleaching and spherical aberration (Figure 11A–C). We wrote a Matlab algorithm capable of identifying all 8000 + nuclei centerpoints in each embryo in 3D, removing populations unresponsive to P-Smad5 (such as yolk syncytial nuclei and dividing cells), and extracting the P-Smad5 intensities associated with each nucleus (Figure 11D–L). The resulting individual digital embryos (Figure 2A’–E’) from each condition were averaged together to generate large datasets from which embryo-wide P-Smad5 levels could be quantified in WT and mutant conditions (Figure 6A–B). Quantifying nuclear P-Smad5 intensities embryo-wide. (A) Marginal P-Smad5 intensity from a chd LOF embryo imaged twice. (B) Average P-Smad5 intensity drop-off from photo-bleaching of all nuclei in embryos imaged twice (N = 5). (C) There is minimal intensity drop-off due to spherical aberration, as shown by the average intensity of the nuclear DNA stain (Sytox Orange) versus distance from the coverslip (4.7: N = 3, 5.3: N = 4, 5.7: N = 13, 6.3: N = 11, 6.7: N = 4). (D) Maximum projection of an animal view of a single embryo. (E) Nuclei centerpoints (red dots) identified from the sytox nuclear stain (blue). (F) Measured centerpoint nuclear intensities displayed as a heatmap. (G) P-Smad5 is absent in dividing cells (red stain, yellow arrows). Dividing cells have bright condensed chromatin (green stain, yellow arrows). (H) Bright condensed chromatin was used to identify dividing cells. Cells with a 40% elevated DNA stain over the mean (red line) were eliminated from the analysis. (I) Lateral view of a single embryo. (J) Sparse Yolk Syncytial Layer nuclei below the margin are eliminated. (K) Single lateral slice depicting the elimination of remaining yolk syncytial layer nuclei and enveloping layer nuclei by subtracting the outer 15% of all nuclei (filled in circles) to leave only deep cell nuclei (open circles). (L) Lateral view of embryo after outer 15% has been eliminated. Nuclear intensities of P-Smad5 were extracted from the stacks of images generated using Matlab algorithms (source code in Supplementary files 1). The centerpoints of all the nuclei were located using the Sytox DNA stain. The ‘.lsm’ files were converted to ‘.tif’ files using ImageJ, and then imported into Matlab as 1024 × 1024 X Z multidimensional arrays. XY pixels were 0.55 um, Z pixels were 2.3 um. The images were then smoothed using a 9 × 9×3 kernel (most nuclei are 10 × 10×4 pixels large). Local minima and maxima were removed using the ‘imhmax’ and ‘imhmin’ functions. The remaining maxima were found using the ‘imregionalmax’ function on the entire 1024 × 1024 X Z array. Maxima closer together than six pixels were assumed to be in the same nucleus, and were combined. The remaining maxima were assumed to be the centerpoints of the nuclei (Figure 11E). These centerpoints were used to extract P-Smad5 intensities on the P-Smad5 channel. P-Smad5 distribution in each nucleus was approximately uniform, so a small sphere within each nucleus was averaged to attain the P-Smad5 intensity. On the P-Smad5 channel, pixels within a spherical 6 × 6 × 3 kernel of each maxima were averaged. Cell types unresponsive to Bmp signaling were removed. P-Smad5 appears to be uniformly distributed throughout the cytoplasm during cell division, making measurement impractical (Figure 11G). In dividing cells, chromatin condenses making DNA stains such as Sytox concentrated and bright. Cells with a bright DNA fluorescence staining above 140% of the mean DNA fluorescence were considered dividing and eliminated from the analysis. Extra-embryonic cells such as the Enveloping Layer (EVL) and the Yolk Syncytial Layer (YSL) did not appear to respond to BMP ligand the same way as the deep cells. These cell types are not patterned along the DV axis by BMP, and were eliminated from our analysis. To do so, sparse EVL cells located below the vegetal margin were eliminated by hand (Figure 11J). Next, the inner and outer layer of approximately 15% of the total cells was eliminated (Figure 11K,L). The remaining cells were assumed to be non-dividing deep cells. Embryos of similar stages were then aligned and conformed to a template embryo of the same stage using Coherent Point Drift (CPD) (Myronenko and Song, 2010b). Embryos were aligned in the AP direction by fitting them to a sphere, finding a plane that spanned the marginal region, and rotating until that plane was aligned with the XY axis. Embryos were aligned in the DV direction using the embryonic shield as a morphological marker. Before 6 hpf, when the shield is not present, the embryos were aligned in the DV direction by fitting a polynomial regression to the P-Smad5 gradient around the margin and rotating until the max peak was ventral. Next, embryos were all aligned to a template using an affine CPD (Myronenko and Song, 2010b). This corrected for any distortions in embryo shape that may have occurred during fixation and staining. Embryos from the same set were subjected to no normalization. Embryos stained and imaged on different days with different settings were normalized by multiplying the entire set by a single scalar value. To determine this normalization scalar, control WT embryos were always imaged in conjunction with each experimental condition. The scalar normalization value was determined by minimizing the sum of the error between the control WT embryos imaged on different days. To generate marginal profiles, a 40 um thick band of cells around the vegetal margin was chosen for each embryo. Cells within that band were grouped into 10 degree intervals and averaged together to form 36 individual points. The left and right side of the gradient were averaged together into a single ventral to dorsal profile. For 3-D embryo-wide averages, all nuclei were projected onto a sphere fitting the embryo. The sphere was then divided into 4800 approximately equilateral triangles. All nuclei falling within each triangle were averaged together. Slopes were obtained by fitting a lowess fit to the averaged 3-D data’s spherical coordinates phi and theta using the ‘fit’ function in Matlab. To determine if the marginal gradients of WT and chordin mutant embryos were significantly different, two-tailed T-Tests were performed with a rejection of the null hypothesis at the 5% significance level (Figure 6, Figure 6—figure supplement 1A).We observed a difference in WT vs. chordin mutant embryos that was much larger than our observed embryo-to-embryo variability (Figure 6). Our t-tests confirmed that our sample sizes are sufficient to discern differences between the WT and chordin mutant embryos (Figure 6, Figure 6—figure supplement 1A). For each set of parameters defined in the parameter vector, we solved the five non-linear partial differential equations (PDEs) for BMP ligand, Chordin, Noggin, and the complexes of BMP-Chordin, BMP-Noggin in MATLAB (Figure 4, Figure 4—figure supplement 1A). Equations were solved on the half-circumference, with ‘symmetry’ boundary conditions imposed on the first and last node-point in the spatial discretization. The half-circumference was discretized into 36 node points with equidistant spacing and the second order spatial derivative is discretized via the finite difference method. The production regions of BMP ligand, Chordin, Noggin, are specified along the nodes by mapping the spatial position to subsequent node position (Figures 3 and 4D,E, Table 1). Tld is treated parametrically as a function of position according to its domain of expression (Figure 4D,E,Table 1). Time-stepping of the simulation is handled by the adaptive solver ode15s with a relative tolerance set to 1e-9. The model is solved for the developmental window that spans from 3.5 to 5.7 hpf and all measurements of model error are calculated at 5.7 hpf. For each model iteration, parameters were selected from a uniform distribution in log space that covered four orders of magnitude within the physiological range for each parameter. Each parameter was selected independently of the remaining parameters. Adaptive and subsampling methods that increase parameter selection in regions with high variance in model output were not used in our parameter selection for a number of reasons. Firstly, a parameter matrix is produced that is then subdivided across distributed computers to solve the PDEs to produce a stored file of model solutions and parameter vectors associated with the stored solution. For each parameter vector, the PDE system is converted into a set of 180 ordinary differential equations after discretization and dynamically solved for WT, chd−/−, nog−/−, and chd+/- conditions using the implicit solver ode15s. Ode15s is well suited to problems with numerical stiffness that arise during numerical screens with random parameters. Thus, for an ensemble of 1 million parameter vectors, the system of differential equations are solved four times to simulate the wt and mutant conditions, increasing the total model evaluations to 4 million. Following calculation of the model solutions for each parameter vector, post processing, sorting, and calculation of model fitness against the data is handled by a separate program that operates on the stored solutions. The separation of model evaluation from model analysis allows for much greater flexibility, the total number of simulation results, and an ability to add additional simulation results to existing simulations that have previously been computed. If a job is interrupted, the index and solutions up to the parameter index are stored and simulation jobs can be restarted at the last iteration point. Random sampling is not susceptible to the ‘curse of dimensionality’ that is common to regular grid spacing methods allowing for more efficient estimation of the NRMSD landscape in Figure 7(C,D), and random points fill in the parameter space more evenly than regular grid spacing that forces evaluations of the model within the same parameter hyperplane (Caflisch et al., 1998). Figure 7C,D demonstrates the dense coverage and sampling to estimate the NRMSD values and dense coverage in regions with acceptable NRMSD values. Random sampling of the biophysical parameters is common to these types of problems (Eldar et al., 2002; von Dassow et al., 2000). For each parameter vector, the model is initially solved against WT conditions and subsequent simulations for mutant conditions are carried out for the same parameter vector by setting the corresponding production rates for the mutant to zero and re-simulating. Error between the model results and the fluorescent data are calculated via a two-step process. First, the amplitude of the P-Smad5 fluorescent-intensity data and model peak levels for free BMP are normalized as commonly done when calculating a residual with fluorescent intensity data (Hengenius et al., 2014; Pargett and Umulis, 2013). This approximation is valid considering that (1) BMP ligands are not saturating receptors and (2) Smad5 activity is not saturated (Figure 6G). The scaling parameter determined for model-fitness against P-Smad5 was then applied to the remaining model results to capture any changes in BMP levels in the mutant simulations. Residuals were calculated for WT and mutant conditions independently and simulations were scored for passing the WT and mutant conditions independently as opposed to using an aggregate residual. Simulations were classified as transcriptional, source-sink, counter-gradient, or shuttling. Sequence encoding fluorescent protein Venus was amplified from pBSK12-her1:Ub2-Venus (a gift from Sharon L. Amacher, Ohio State University, OH) (Delaune et al., 2012). This sequence was inserted between the pro- and mature domains of Bmp2b, two amino acids downstream of the proprotein convertase (PC) cleavage site (REKR) with a GSTGTTGGG linker separating the prodomain and the fluorescent protein and a GS linker (GGGGSGGGGS) separating the fluorescent protein from the mature domain. This fusion construct was modified from pCS2(+)-HA-Bmp2b (Little and Mullins, 2009). Sequences encoding Venus protein were also fused to the pro-domain of Bmp2b two amino acids downstream of the proprotein convertase (PC) cleavage site (REKR) with a GSTGTTGGG linker, to generate the secreted-Venus plasmid that lacks the mature Bmp2b ligand domain. Capped mRNA was synthesized using the mMessage mMachine Kit (Ambion) with SP6 RNA polymerase according to the manufacturer's protocol. Vectors were linearized by digestion with NotI. mRNA encoding the Bmp2b-Venus or secreted-Venus, was injected into one- or eight-cell stage embryos. For rescue experiments, 1 ng of bmp2b MO2 (GTCTGCGTTCCCGTCGTCTCCTAAG) was injected along with 9 pg of bmp2b-venus RNA from a different needle (Imai and Talbot, 2001). To perform FRAP in the absence of Chordin, we injected embryos at the 1 cell stage with 1 ng of chordin MO1 (ATCCACAGCAGCCCCTCCATCATCC) (Nasevicius and Ekker, 2000). Next, bmp2b-venus RNA was injected into a single blastomere at the 8-cell stage. Associated phenotypes are shown in Figure 8B. Zebrafish embryos were lysed in Pierce RIPA buffer (89900, Thermo Scientific) supplemented with Halt Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (1862209, Thermo Scientific) and Phosphatase inhibitor Cocktail (1862495, Thermo Scientific). Protein samples mixed with Laemmli sample buffer (Bio-rad) were denatured by incubation for 5 min at 98o, and resolved by SDS-PAGE using Mini-PROTEAN TGX Gels (10%, Bio-rad) and transferred to PVDF membranes (Bio-rad). The membranes were blocked with 5% non-fat milk (Bio-rad) in PBST for 1 hr at room temperature, and incubated with primary antibodies in 2% BSA (Sigma) in PBST at 4°C overnight. After that, the membranes were incubated with HRP-coupled secondary antibodies for 1 hr at room temperature. Chemiluminescence was detected using Clarity Western ECL Substrate (Bio-rad) to obtain the image. Using stripping buffer (46430, Thermo Scientific), the membranes were reused to detect β-Actin as loading controls. Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) mRNA encoding the Bmp2b-Venus fusion protein (50 pg) was injected at the one-cell stage to test the activity of the mRNA in a ventralization assay. Embryos used for FRAP were injected in one cell at the 8-cell stage. Embryos were mounted in 1% low melting point agarose (Sigma) in glass bottom microwell dishes (MatTek Corporation). FRAP experiments were performed using a LSM 800 confocal microscope (Zeiss) with a W Plan-Apochromat 20×/1.0 objective (D = 0.17 M27 75 mm). Photobleaching in a square region (160.4 μm × 160.4 μm) was performed through the depth of the blastoderm with 100% laser power for ~10 min. In the secreted Venus FRAP (Figure 8D), some recovery occurred at the t = 0 time point at the periphery of the bleached region. Recovery of fluorescence was monitored every 10 s in the same imaging plane. From the 8-cell stage injected embryos, regions lacking Bmp2b-Venus producing cells (visualized by high intensity signal throughout the cytoplasm) were identified. Cells displayed characteristic higher intensity signals in the intercellular space and no signal was detected intracellularly in the non-producing cells. Images are taken before the FRAP experiment commences, and saved every 10 s during acquisition. All files are exported in lossless TIFF format for subsequent quantification in MATLAB. To measure the recovery, all TIFF files are imported into MATLAB and the FRAP region is identified for subsequent measurements. Internal FRAP region is scaled from 8-bit [0 255] to [0, 1] and an extracellular mask is generated by removing background with a minimum threshold level set at 1% of the image maximum value. This excludes the intracellular compartments from biasing the average intensity calculations for the extracellular recovery. With background removed, recovery is calculated as the average fluorescence intensity of the extracellular fluorescence within the masked region. The FRAP region is modeled using a finite-difference equation for diffusion in the FRAP region. Diffusion was estimated by measuring model recovery starting from zero initial conditions and constant concentration boundary conditions. Masked region dimensions for measurement were mapped directly to node-points and distances in the finite difference model to compare and optimize recovery in the mask region. A steepest-descent optimizer with multiple starts was used to estimate the diffusion coefficient for each FRAP experiment. We did not explicitly model the occlusion and tortuosity of the diffusion process caused by the arrangement of cells, nor did it account explicitly for binding and unbinding to HSPGs and other immobile binding components. The impact of binding and the role of occlusions in the diffusion path are very well known (Cussler, 2009; Garnett, 1904). Therefore our measured diffusion coefficients are the effective diffusion coefficients in zebrafish and not an intrinsic measurement of the diffusion coefficient in a free environment. All listed replicates in the figure legends are biological replicates. For chordin and noggin domain size, all biological replicates are reported in Figure 3C, while representative images are shown in Figure 3A–B. All biological replicates were from a single cross stained with different probes. All embryos were reported with no elimination of outliers. For bmp2b expression profile, representative images are displayed for each condition and developmental stage. Biological replicates were taken from two experiments. All biological replicates are indicated and averaged in Figure 2 and Figure 6 and associated legends. Biological replicates from the 4.7 and 5.3 hpf timepoints for the WT and chordin mutant embryos in Figure 2 and Figure 6 were from a single experiment. The 5.7 and 6.3 hpf timepoints were collected from 3 and 4 experiments respectively. The 6.7 hpf (WT-only) timepoint was collected from two experiments. In all cases, only embryos that were clearly damaged during the process were eliminated from the analysis. Mean intensities at each point were an average of a subset of the 8000 + nuclei present in each embryo. The XYZ coordinates and P-Smad5 values of all nuclei in all embryos used is attached as a supplemental file. All biological replicates are shown in Figure 8E–G. No outliers were eliminated. The ‘Image Analysis’ folder in Supplementary file 1 contains all files used to identify nuclei, align, and extract P-Smad5 intensities from the ‘.lsm’ files generated by confocal imaging. A Read-Me is included with details on how to use the scripts. A conceptual description can be found above in the materials and methods section. All raw XYZ coordinates and P-Smad5 intensities are included in the ‘P-Smad Intensities’ folder. Each embryo is represented as a five by n array, where columns 1–3 are XYZ coordinates, column four is nuclear stain intensity, and column five is P-Smad5 intensity. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 23:415–422. Trends in Cell Biology 25:249–264. News in Physiological Sciences 13:182–189. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 23:423–428. Diffusion: Mass Transfer in Fluid Systems, 3rd edition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 203:385–420. Inversion of the chordate body axis: are there alternatives? Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology 35:109–123. Annual Review of Genetics 45:357–377. Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today: Reviews 78:224–242. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 32:2262-75. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 32:2262–2275. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 22:542–546. Journal of Experimental Zoology 302:69–91. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology 1:a002519. Methods in Molecular Biology 1245:243–256. The International Journal of Developmental Biology 45:299–310. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology 42:118–133. Journal of Theoretical Biology 248:579–589. Thank you for submitting your article "Systems biology derived source-sink mechanism of BMP gradient formation" for consideration by eLife. Your article has been reviewed by three peer reviewers, and the evaluation has been overseen by a Reviewing Editor and Robb Krumlauf as the Senior Editor. The reviewers have opted to remain anonymous. The authors use quantitative imaging and modeling to come to the conclusion that a source-sink mechanism underlies the BMP/Chordin patterning system. This is novel as formation of a BMP gradient by a source-sink mechanism is distinct from previously reported models such as transcriptional, shuttling, or counter-gradient mechanisms. The measurement of BMP2 diffusion in vivo is novel. The topic is not only of broad interest but also quite controversial, and this study brings some much needed clarity to the field. The main weakness is the limited attempt to minimize the parameter space used for the modeling. Some of the measurements are difficult but there are several key measurements that need to be made. The computational and experimental analyses are incomplete, and some details of simulations have not been provided. For their model to be made more convincing a variety of concerns/comments should be fully addressed. 1) The source-sink model is puzzling in light of previous reports showing that zebrafish and Xenopus chordin mRNA injections at the one-cell stage can fully rescue zebrafish chordino mutants (Fisher and Halpern, 1999; Schulte-Merker et al., 1997). In these embryos, injected chordin mRNA is present throughout the embryo and yet, the rescued mutants develop normally to adulthood (and presumably form a normal BMP gradient). The mRNA rescue experiments also call into question the notion that the transcriptional pattern is critical for BMP gradient formation. The authors should discuss the various models in light of these reports. 2) Relevant to the above, did the authors measure the effective diffusion of BMP2 by FRAP in chordin mutant embryos? This will provide experimental evidence to test the models. 3) Cell numbers increase substantially between 4 and 7 hpf, when the authors report a steep increase in the BMP gradient. How does the change in cell number in the zebrafish gastrula (between 4-7 hpf) compare to that during fly DV patterning? To what extent does this account for the increase in gradient slope in zebrafish? 4) The authors state "The equations were simulated 1,000,000 times". Table 1 lists 15 free parameters; therefore each parameter can, in principle, only take ~2.5 different values when combined randomly (2.52^15 is ~10^6). However, the plots in Figure 4 suggest that many more values have been chosen for individual parameters. The authors should clarify how the parameters were varied in the simulations. 5) The authors state "To our surprise, there are greater than 50 times the number of source-sink to counter-gradient modeling solutions (Figure 6B'), suggesting that the source-sink mechanism predominates." However, the number of different parameter combinations that can explain the data cannot be taken as a measure of support for a specific modelling solution. Different parameter combinations can result in similar solutions simply because the model is not identifiable or because it is difficult to find a unique solution when trying to fit the data directly. 6) If the authors already have or are making a BMP-destabilized GFP/degradFP fusion, precise measurement of BMP2 decay rates would be useful to distinguish between the models. If these are available it would be useful but not essential for the paper. 7) Why were the equations solved for the developmental window from 3.5 to 5.7 hpf and not from 4.7 to 6.7 hpf, when the pSMAD intensities were measured? 8) The authors presumably solved the equations in 1D in order to sample parameter space in a reasonable amount of time. I think it would add to the paper if the authors showed that the same parameters found to satisfy the 1D case would also set up the 3D P-Smad gradient when solving the equations in the hemispherical geometry of the zebrafish embryo as in Zhang, Lander, and Nie, J. Theor. Biol., 2007. 9) Can the P-Smad5 gradient of the chordin heterozygotes be included? Why are they "not shown"? Does the model fit the chordin heterozygote P-Smad5 gradient? 10) The pSmad5 measurements are impressive but the models ultimately rest on the BMP transcript and (active and inactive) protein expression profiles. I understand that there are no good antibodies to detect BMP but minimally, the authors need to use now standard quantitative fluorescent in situ hybridization approaches to measure BMP transcript distribution. 11) The BMP FRAP experiment goes a long way to reduce parameter space but why not also measure BMP diffusion in the presence of Chordin? This experiment seems trivial but would greatly help to test the shuttling model. 12) The characterization of the bmp2-venus chimera is too superficial. Does it have the same range and activity as wild-type bmp2? The manuscript has been improved but there are some remaining issues that need to be addressed before acceptance, as outlined below. In the absence of measurements of BMP diffusion in the presence of chordin or Chordin protein expression, the alternate model Zinski et al. suggest for BMP gradient formation cannot be substantiated. To support their clams, it is crucial that the authors:i) determine how the BMP gradient forms in the presence of uniform chordin ii) show expression of tagged BMP / Chordin proteins at early gastrula stages in mutants injected with RNA. iii) clarify how random sampling was done. 1) In response to how BMP diffuses in the absence and presence of chordin (previous review comments 2 and 11), in the revised Zinski m/s, the authors examined BMP diffusion without chordin. However, they did not examine BMP diffusion with uniform chordin. This is a crucial test of the model which is missing. 2) In their explanation of how their data and preferred model can explain the previous reports of rescue of chordino mutants with uniform chordin injections, Zinski et al. contend that chordin RNA injections likely do not generate uniform Chordin protein expression in embryos. But no evidence is provided to support this view – either experimentally or in their simulations. (The triple morphant is not relevant to the comment). 3) Regarding how parameters were varied in their simulations, the authors state that they prefer random sampling as opposed to a regular grid. Did the authors refine sampling depending on the outcomes? If solutions did not change in a region in parameter space, did they increase the sampling density? The ubiquitous expression of chordin RNA, which can rescue chordin mutant embryos, likely does not generate a ubiquitous distribution of Chordin protein due to the presence of Tolloid and Bmp1a, two ventrally expressed metalloproteases that degrade Chordin protein. The rescue of embryos lacking Chordin, Tolloid, and Bmp1a using chordin RNA injection at the one-cell stage has not been attempted as it is a difficult experiment to execute, but we hypothesize that it would not be effective. We agree that the chordin expression domain is likely not critical to BMP gradient formation. We have now repeated our FRAP experiments in Chordin deficient embryos and have added it to the main text of the paper and Figure 8F. The effective diffusivity of Bmp2b-Venus in chd deficient embryos matched the effective diffusivity we had measured in WT embryos. This new experiment validates our previous assumption that the majority of BMP-Venus observed in our WT FRAP experiments was not bound to Chordin, as expected due to the ventralized embryonic phenotype at 24 hpf (Figure 8B row 2). However, performing the FRAP experiment in chd deficient embryos assures that 100% of Bmp2b-Venus observed is not bound to Chordin, removing the potential impact of a subpopulation of Chordin-bound Bmp2b-Venus on the FRAP measurements in WT embryos. Fly DV patterning takes place during stage 5. Mitosis is paused during stage 5 until gastrulation begins at stage 6. Cells do not divide at this time, but nuclear localization of P-Mad increases from nearly none to a steep gradient in less than 1 hour from early stage 5 to early stage 6 when gastrulation begins. Thus, in this context while there are no changes in nuclei density, the gradient of PMad starts broad and refines to a higher amplitude and sharper profile . However, in the context of patterning the embryo termini in Drosophila via Torso RTK signaling, the nuclei are present in a syncytium in the absence of cell membranes, where the nuclear density plays a role in shaping the gradient of phosphorylated ERK at the termini . The nuclei density doubles with each successive division providing an increase in nuclear trapping of dpERK at the most terminal positions, resulting in a steeper gradient with higher peak amplitude and reduced gradient extent or length over time. The zebrafish embryo is not a synctium, so this same nuclear trapping mechanism could not occur. Moreover, the gradient DV length is constant over this time period, also inconsistent with this type of mechanism (Figure 2). From our cell counts in embryos from a single timecourse (Figure 2H), we observe an approximately 70% increase in cell number from 4.7 to 6.7 hours post fertilization (hpf) and a 100% increase in nuclear P-Smad5 amount. Cell nuclei do not change significantly in size during this time . The increase in cell number occurs throughout the embryo and is not restricted to a particular DV region. So half of the 70% increase in cell number occurs in lateral and dorsal regions, where the slope does not change over this time period (Figure 2G). The increase in slope observed during the 2 hour period occurs over the ventral half of the embryo, which accounts for 35% of the increase in cell number, while the gradient peak doubles in amplitude. Thus an increase in cell number, via an unknown mechanism, could not account for the increase in slope. Additional support that cell number has little effect on gradient shape, we observed that the absolute number of cells at a given time point can vary by as much as 20% between different embryos within the same cross or between crosses (Figure 2I) with no detectable change in gradient shape or phenotype. For each model iteration, parameters were selected from a uniform distribution in log space that covered four orders of magnitude within the physiological range for each parameter. Each parameter was selected independently of the remaining parameters. We prefer the coverage offered by this method, as opposed to a regular grid wherein each parameter has a set of discrete values and coverage at those values is complete. Random sampling is not susceptible to the “curse of dimensionality” that is common to regular grid spacing methods allowing for more efficient estimation of the NRMSD landscape in Figure 7(C,D), and random points fill in the parameter space more evenly than regular grid spacing that forces evaluations of the model within the same parameter hyperplane . Random sampling of the biophysical parameters is common to these types of problems [5, 6]. We agree with this point and have changed the sentence so it now reads: "To our surprise, the source-sink modeling solutions emerged more frequently within our computational screen than the counter-gradient solutions (Figure 7E'). " We agree it would be useful, but these constructs are not currently available. While dorsal-ventral cell fate for the head and trunk is largely specified from 4 to 7 hours post fertilization [7-10], bmp and chordin are first expressed after the mid-blastula transition (MBT) at 3 hpf [11-14]. We started our simulation at 3.5 hpf to account for the time needed for these proteins to be translated, folded, and secreted. We have now added that rationale to the manuscript. We agree that this would add to the paper and the development of data-driven three dimensional models continues to be an effort of our work. We have made progress in developing data-driven 3D models and this is being worked on but not achievable within the timeframe of the revision. The primary scope of the modeling effort herein focused on broad coverage of potential mechanisms to provide an unbiased view of data-consistent mechanisms. At this time, the screen and scope of our study is only achievable with models with one space dimension. Moreover, the inputs to the system based on gene expression are distributed symmetrically across the embryo, so a 1D model should largely reflect one in 3D. We added the rationale for performing a 1D model now to the manuscript. Thank you for the suggestion. We have now added a comparison of WT to chordin heterozygotes to the manuscript (Figure 6J). There is no significant change in the P-Smad5 gradient or embryonic phenotype between WT and chordin heterozygous embryos (Figure 6J). We also now required mathematical model solutions to fit our chordin heterozygous data, when the Chordin production rate was set to 50%. Forcing the model to fit our chordin heterozygous data decreased the overall number of solutions, but did not eliminate all solutions of either the source-sink or counter-gradient mechanism. The mathematical model in Figure 7–8 and associated text have been updated to include chordin heterozygous data. bmp2b expression is now quantified by RNAScope fluorescent in situ hybridization and included in Figure 3. We have adjusted our BMP production gradient in our mathematical model to fit the measured bmp2b expression gradient and simulated the mathematical model an additional 1,000,000 times. The adjusted BMP production gradient increased the overall number of solutions, but did not modify our conclusions about the mechanisms. All modeling figures and data displays (Figure 4,5,7,9) have been updated incorporating the new data. While we agree that measuring the diffusivity of BMP bound to Chordin would be very useful for further testing the shuttling model, the experiment is not feasible without extensive overexpression or the development of additional tools. To see Bmp2b-Venus, we must moderately overexpress it. To ensure all Bmp2b-Venus is bound to Chordin, we would need to heavily overexpress Chordin. Chordin has been shown to interact with Tsg , Bmper [16-18], Ont1 , and HSPGs . By overexpressing both BMP and Chordin, these interacting factors, which may limit BMP-Chordin diffusion could be diluted out, causing FRAP to overestimate the diffusivity of the BMP-Chd complex. Since we do not have time to develop more sophisticated tools to test this, we think it is best not to include a double overexpression experiment. To assess whether Bmp2b-Venus is properly processed and remains attached to the Venus tag, we performed a Western Blot for Venus on embryos injected with venus or bm2b-venus RNA. We have added this experiment to the paper (Figure 8A). To further assess the activity and range of the Bmp2b-Venus chimera, we rescued embryos lacking Bmp2b with bmp2b-venus RNA. It has been previously reported that embryos lacking Bmp2b can be rescued using bmp2b RNA . We were able to rescue embryos to a WT phenotype by injecting bmp2b-venus RNA (Figure 8B, rows 5-7). This result has been added to the text (Figure 8). However, a direct comparison of bmp2b RNA activity and bmp2b-Venus activity is not possible, as RNA activity can vary from synthesis reaction to synthesis reaction. In addition to this we have now measured secreted Venus diffusion rates with our approach and added additional measurements for Bmp2b-Venus diffusion in chordin MO-injected embryos (Figure 8). At this time we are unable to compare the range of Bmp2b to that of Bmp2b-Venus. Range has two components: diffusivity and decay rate. Measuring diffusivity via FRAP requires the protein in question to be tagged fluorescently. While decay rates of Bmp2b and Bmp2b-Venus could be measured and compared by injecting Bmp2b and Bmp2b-Venus protein and performing a western blot time-series, previous estimates of Tgf-β decay rates have relied exclusively on tagged proteins . We presume that by requesting that we measure BMP diffusion with uniform chordin that the reviewers are asking us to measure bound BMP-Chd diffusion. We do assert that the Shuttling mechanism requires high diffusivity of BMP-Chordin (Figure 5D x-axis), however, our chordin-/- mutant data already exclude the Shuttling mechanism (Figure 6). However, when discussing the Source-Sink versus the Counter-Gradient mechanism in Figure 7, we omitted an important plot of BMP-Chd diffusivity in our latest submission, which addresses the reviewers’ point. We thank the reviewers for making us aware of this. A plot of BMP-Chd diffusivity shows that possible values of BMP-Chd diffusivity over the 4 orders of magnitude tested in our simulations does not distinguish between the Counter-Gradient and Source-Sink mechanisms. Both of these mechanisms are compatible with BMP-Chd diffusivities over 4 orders of magnitude from nearly immobile (10-2 µm2/s) to free diffusion (102 µm2/s). Therefore, measuring BMP-Chd diffusivity would not help discern between the two remaining models, Counter-Gradient and Source-Sink. We added this BMP-Chd diffusivity plot now to the manuscript to clarify this important point (Figure 7J). In comment 1 of the previous review, the reviewers asked us to discuss the rescue of chordino mutants with uniform chordin RNA injections. We address this point now by simulating the system with ubiquitous Chordin production. We found that 426 of the 1452 solutions that fit our WT, chordin-/-, and chordin+/- data and BMP diffusivity (within 2 um2/s of our measured 4.4 um2/s) retain a WT BMP gradient when Chordinis uniformly produced. The 426 remaining solutions are all source-sink mechanisms with steep gradients of Chordin that are high dorsally and low ventrally. The results of the simulations show that the BMP gradient is generated by Tolloid degrading Chordin ventrally. We include these simulation results that show how uniform chordin RNA can rescue a chordin mutant in the Results section of our paper, as a new panel Figure 8I. We thank the reviewers for the suggestion, as it provides further support for the source-sink mechanism. For each model iteration, parameters were selected from a uniform distribution in log space that covered four orders of magnitude within the physiological range for each parameter. Each parameter was selected independently of the remaining parameters. Adaptive and subsampling methods that increase parameter selection in regions with high variance in model output were not used in our parameter selection for a number of reasons. Firstly, a parameter matrix is produced that is then subdivided across distributed computers to solve the pdes to produce a stored file of model solutions and parameter vectors associated with the stored solution. For each parameter vector, the PDE system is converted into a set of 180 ordinary differential equations after discretization and dynamically solved for wt, chd-/-, nog-/-, and chd+/- conditions using the implicit solver ode15s. Ode15s is well suited to problems with numerical stiffness that arise during numerical screens with random parameters. Thus, for an ensemble of 1 million parameter vectors solved, the system of differential equations are solved 4 times to simulate the wt and mutant conditions, increasing the total model evaluations to 4 million. Following calculation of the model solutions for each parameter vector, post processing, sorting, and calculation of model fitness against the data is handled by a separate program that operates on the stored solutions. The separation of model evaluation from model analysis allows for much greater flexibility, the total number of simulation results, and an ability to add additional simulation results to existing simulations that have previously been computed. If a job is interrupted, the index and solutions up to the parameter index are stored and simulation jobs can be restarted at the last iteration point. Random sampling is not susceptible to the “curse of dimensionality” that is common to regular grid spacing methods allowing for more efficient estimation of the NRMSD landscape in Figure 7(C,D), and random points fill in the parameter space more evenly than regular grid spacing that forces evaluations of the model within the same parameter hyperplane (Caflisch et al., 1998). Figure 7C, D demonstrates the dense coverage and sampling to estimate the NRMSD values and dense coverage in regions with acceptable NRMSD values. Random sampling of the biophysical parameters is common to these types of problems (Eldar et al., 2002; von Dassow et al., 2000). We have added this explanation to the Materials and methods section as further clarification. 1. Wang, Y. and E.L. Ferguson, Spatial bistability of Dpp–receptor interactions during Drosophila dorsal–ventral patterning. Nature, 2005. 434(7030): p. 225-9. 2. Coppey, M., et al., Nuclear trapping shapes the terminal gradient in the Drosophila embryo. Curr Biol, 2008. 18(12): p. 915-9. 3. Keller, P.J., et al., Reconstruction of zebrafish early embryonic development by scanned light sheet microscopy. Science, 2008. 322(5904): p. 1065-9. 4. Caflisch, A., R. Walchli, and C. Ehrhardt, Computer-Aided Design of Thrombin Inhibitors. News Physiol Sci, 1998. 13: p. 182-189. 5. Eldar, A., et al., Robustness of the BMP morphogen gradient in Drosophila embryonic patterning. Nature, 2002. 419(6904): p. 300-4. 6. von Dassow, G., et al., The segment polarity network is a robust developmental module. Nature, 2000. 406. 7. Tucker, J.A., K.A. Mintzer, and M.C. Mullins, The BMP signaling gradient patterns dorsoventral tissues in a temporally progressive manner along the anteroposterior axis. Dev Cell, 2008. 14(1): p. 108-19. 8. Hashiguchi, M. and M.C. Mullins, Anteroposterior and dorsoventral patterning are coordinated by an identical patterning clock. Development, 2013. 140(9): p. 1970-80. 9. Tuazon, F.B. and M.C. Mullins, Temporally coordinated signals progressively pattern the anteroposterior and dorsoventral body axes. Semin Cell Dev Biol, 2015. 42: p. 118-33. 10. Kwon, H.J., et al., Identification of early requirements for preplacodal ectoderm and sensory organ development. PLoS Genet, 2010. 6(9): p. e1001133. 11. Leung, T., bozozok directly represses bmp2b transcription and mediates the earliest dorsoventral asymmetry of bmp2b expression in zebrafish. Development, 2003. 130(16): p. 3639-3649. 12. Solnica-Krezel, L. and W. Driever, The role of the homeodomain protein Bozozok in zebrafish axis formation. Int J Dev Biol, 2001. 45(1): p. 299-310. 13. Koos, D. and R. Ho, The nieuwkoid dharma homeobox gene is essential for bmp2b repression in the zebrafish pregastrula. Developmental Biology, 1999. 215(2): p. 190–207. 14. Shimizu, T., et al., Cooperative roles of Bozozok/Dhama and Nodal-Related protein in the formation of the dorsal organizer in zebrafish. Mech Dev, 2000. 91(1-2): p. 293-303. 15. Troilo, H., et al., Structural characterization of twisted gastrulation provides insights into opposing functions on the BMP signalling pathway. Matrix Biol, 2016. 55: p. 49-62. 16. Rentzsch, F., et al., Crossveinless 2 is an essential positive feedback regulator of Bmp signaling during zebrafish gastrulation. Development, 2006. 133(5): p. 801-11. 17. Zhang, J.L., et al., Binding between Crossveinless-2 and Chordin von Willebrand factor type C domains promotes BMP signaling by blocking Chordin activity. PLoS One, 2010. 5(9): p. e12846. 18. Ambrosio, A.L., et al., Crossveinless-2 Is a BMP feedback inhibitor that binds Chordin/BMP to regulate Xenopus embryonic patterning. Dev Cell, 2008. 15(2): p. 248-60. 19. Inomata, H., T. Haraguchi, and Y. Sasai, Robust stability of the embryonic axial pattern requires a secreted scaffold for chordin degradation. Cell, 2008. 134(5): p. 854-65. 20. Jasuja, R., et al., Cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans potentiate chordin antagonism of bone morphogenetic protein signaling and are necessary for cellular uptake of chordin. J Biol Chem, 2004. 279(49): p. 51289-97. 21. Nguyen, V.H., et al., Ventral and lateral regions of the zebrafish gastrula, including the neural crest progenitors, are established by a bmp2b/swirl pathway of genes. Dev Biol, 1998. 199(1): p. 93-110. 22. Muller, P., et al., Differential diffusivity of Nodal and Lefty underlies a reaction-diffusion patterning system. Science, 2012. 336(6082): p. 721-4. We thank the UPenn Microscopy Core, especially Andrea Stout and Xinyu Zhao; undergraduate students Samantha Warrick and Dan Zhao; funding from NIH grants T32 HD08318, R01GM056326, R01HD073156, and an NSF Graduate Fellowship; editing help from Francesca Tuazon; and Caroline Hill, Sharon Amacher, Bernard Thisse, and Christine Thisse for reagents. Animal experimentation: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All of the animals were handled according to approved institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) protocols (#803105, #804931) of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. © 2017, Zinski et al. During vertebrate embryogenesis, dorsal-ventral patterning is controlled by the BMP/Chordin activator/inhibitor system. BMP induces ventral fates, whereas Chordin inhibits BMP signaling on the dorsal side. Several theories can explain how the distributions of BMP and Chordin are regulated to achieve patterning, but the assumptions regarding activator/inhibitor diffusion and stability differ between models. Notably, ‘shuttling’ models in which the BMP distribution is modulated by a Chordin-mediated increase in BMP diffusivity have gained recent prominence. Here, we directly test five major models by measuring the biophysical properties of fluorescently tagged BMP2b and Chordin in zebrafish embryos. We found that BMP2b and Chordin diffuse and rapidly form extracellular protein gradients, Chordin does not modulate the diffusivity or distribution of BMP2b, and Chordin is not required to establish peak levels of BMP signaling. Our findings challenge current self-regulating reaction-diffusion and shuttling models and provide support for a graded source-sink mechanism underlying zebrafish dorsal-ventral patterning.

2019-04-23T08:17:58Z

https://elifesciences.org/articles/22199

The depth resolution achieved by a continuous wave time-of-flight (C-ToF) imaging system is determined by the coding (modulation and demodulation) functions that it uses. We present a mathematical framework for exploring and characterizing the space of C-ToF coding functions in a geometrically intuitive space. Using this framework, we design families of novel coding functions that are based on Hamiltonian cycles on hypercube graphs. The proposed Hamiltonian coding functions achieve up to an order of magnitude higher resolution as compared to the current state-of-the-art. Using simulations and a hardware prototype, we demonstrate the performance advantages of Hamiltonian coding in a wide range of imaging settings. Probing vibrational modes of molecules by Coherent Raman Scattering (CRS) provides a non-invasive, label free and chemically sensitive imaging modality that is of a large interest for the study of biological systems. Stimulated Raman Scattering and Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering provide quantitative imaging of the density of resonant vibrational modes within a focal volume. However, those modes are also sensitive to the incident polarization of light, which can give additional insight into the structural order and orientation of molecular assemblies. Accessing such sub-diffraction molecular order information opens ways to understand the interplay between organization and function in biological systems, as well as its alteration in the progression of diseases. A limiting factor of polarized-CRS imaging so far was the long acquisition times due to a slow step wise rotation of the incident polarization state, leading to image acquisition times of 100x100 μm field of views in the minute time scales. In this work, we use electro-optic modulation to fully rotate the incident polarization state at rates of 100 kHz. Coupled with lock-in detection, we show that one can obtain order and orientation parameters of molecular vibrations down to sub-seconds time scales per image. Additional incident intensity modulation permits to access simultaneously molecular density information, with no compromise in signal to noise conditions. Using this method, we demonstrate real-time deformation and dynamics of model membrane systems (multilamellar vesicles). Moreover, we show the sensitivity of the technique down to one single lipid bilayer as present in red blood cell ghosts. Detection of circulating tumor cells with image cytometry is limited by the sensitivity and specificity of the biomarker panel. We collected confocal images of ~100,000 cells labeled for DNA, lipids, CD45, and Cytokeratin on a model system of MCF7 and WBCs representing disease positive, D+ and disease negative, D- populations. We computed spatial image metrics and performed multivariable regression and feature selection, increasing the separation of the D+ and D- populations to 7 standard deviations with detection limit of ~1 in 480. In conclusion, simple regression analysis holds promise to improve the separation of rare cells in cytometry applications. Methods for imaging of excised tissue specimens that obviate manual and time-consuming histology processing steps including wax-embedding, sectioning, and separate staining hold considerable promise for improving our ability to render time- and cost-efficient diagnoses. They also could potentiate the clinical adoption of machine learning tools dependent on routine production of digital histology data. A known limitation of point scanning-based ex vivo imaging technologies that precludes ready adoption for clinical use is imaging speed. We have recently described the development of an approach for multiphoton microscopy capable of imaging un-sectioned and un-embedded human tissue samples at millimeter depths with sufficient quality for primary diagnostic interpretation and at speeds more than 30-times faster than a traditional galvanometer-based system. Incorporation of a polygonal mirror combined with stage scanning in an optically efficient geometry yielded significant speed gains, beyond those possible with resonant galvanometers, and without sacrificing image quality. We hypothesized that further gains in speed, with maintenance of image quality, would be attainable by incorporating pulsed laser excitation with a repetition rate beyond the typical 80 MHz speed of standard Ti-Sapphire lasers. In this analysis we describe the use of a newly produced 250 MHz ultra-fast laser in a polygon-based microscope with stage scanning and demonstrate multiphoton human tissue imaging at speeds on par with the fastest whole slide imaging systems and with resolution, contrast, and coloration that matches physical slides but without any of the principal artifacts associated with slide scanning. Recent advances in imaging cytometry enable high-resolution analysis of single-cell phenotypes (both physical and biochemical) at high throughput with the overall aim of revealing the phenotypic variability within an enormous and heterogeneous population of cells. However, analysis of large-scale high dimensional single-cell image data is computationally intensive and soon becomes unscaleable from both a memory and run time perspective. To address this challenge, we develop Accelerated Pheno-Tree (APT) – an unsupervised clustering algorithm tailored for analyzing large-scale high dimensional single-cell image-based data. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we adopt APT in time-stretch quantitative phase imaging (TS-QPI) – an ultrahigh-throughput label-free imaging technique that allows large-scale single-cell biophysical phenotyping. APT allows fast unbiased clustering and visualization of high-dimensional datasets of above 1 million single cell TS-QPI - bypassing the need for prior knowledge of the data as well as data down-sampling which are common in the existing clustering methods. Integrating two key computational steps, i.e. accelerated non-linear dimension reduction (LargeVis) of the TS-QPI data followed by the graph-based and data-driven agglomerative clustering (based on accelerated minimum spanning tree construction), APT successfully distinguishes multiple cell types (e.g. 7 lung cancer cell lines, and sub-types of PBMC cells) entirely based on their intrinsic biophysical phenotypes (up to 30 dimensions) quantified from label-free TS-QPI (total cell count: 1.1 million cells). We anticipate that APT could be particularly useful in ultralarge-scale single-cell analysis and facilitates exploration of the heterogeneity within cell populations based on single-cell biophysical features with high accuracy. The real-time characterization of fast-evolving processes with sub-cellular resolution is crucial to unveil biological mechanisms as relevant as brain function or intracellular diffusion. Optical microscopes are optimal tools for 2D imaging of living organisms, but the need for z-focus translation significantly constraints volumetric imaging speed. In this talk, I will show how an acoustic optofluidic lens enables z-focus scanning at rates as high as 1 MHz. Such unsurpassed speed opens the door to novel strategies in 3D confocal and light-sheet systems in which the temporal and spatial resolution can be user-selected based on application, well-beyond the limits of traditional microscopes. Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) enables both sensitive and rapid volumetric imaging, from single cells to multicellular organisms. Nevertheless, LSFM faces technological and physical limitations on the volumetric acquisition speed. We have realized that there are certain geometrical arrangements that allow lossless parallelization of the LSFM acquisition process. Thereby the volumetric acquisition rate can be increased without inducing higher amounts of phototoxicity or requiring faster detector technologies. We present two implementations of parallelized light-sheet microscopy and discuss applications that either benefit from the increased acquisition speed or improved sensitivity of these systems. Studying neuronal connections and activities in vivo is critical for understanding the brain. Optical microscopy, with the capability of specific fluorescent labeling and sub-cellular spatial resolution, has become an indispensable tool in neuroscience. However, the major limitation of optical imaging is penetration depth and imaging speed to capture neural signal dynamics in deep brain regions. Recently, by applying adaptive optics, high-energy laser, or long wavelength lasers for nonlinear imaging, penetration depth around 1mm has been achieved in living mouse brains. Nevertheless, this depth barely pierces through the mouse cortex and is far from reaching the bottom of the centimeter-thick mouse brain. For studying deeper regions of the brain, brain slice is one possible approach, yet it is invasive and cut away many neuron connections. In this study, a home-built two-photon microscope is integrated with both a gradient refractive index (GRIN) lens and a tunable acoustic gradient (TAG) lens. The GRIN lens serves as a micro-endoscope which extends the imaging depth to a centimeter while minimizing the invasiveness, and the TAG lens provides ~100kHz axial scanning which enables high-speed volumetric imaging of neuronal response. This novel high-speed volumetric endoscopy system offers an unprecedented opportunity towards studying three-dimensional neuronal dynamics in deep brains regions of a living mouse. Fast, volumetric imaging over large scales has been a long-standing challenge in biological microscopy. To address this issue, we developed a variant of confocal microscopy that provides simultaneous multiplane imaging over large field of view and at video rate. Our apparatus, called multi-Z confocal microscopy, differs from a conventional confocal microscope in both its illumination and detection parts. First, axially elongated illumination is achieved by under filling the back aperture of the microscope objective. The resulting low NA provides an axial extent of the illumination of the order of 100 µm. The light from the sample is then collected by the same objective, now taking advantage of the full NA which ensures high collection efficiency, and send to the detection unit. The latter is comprised by four reflecting pinholes axially distributed in the image plane such that they are conjugated to different depths within the sample. Each detection channel spans a probe volume at a different depth and volumetric imaging is obtained by simply combining the four channels. In our current configuration, each imaging plane covers a field of view of 1.2 mm and the distance between two planes is equal to 25 µm. In other words, we image 1200x1200x100 µm3 at 30Hz. We first demonstrated the applicability of our technique by imaging entire C. elegans in vivo with a cellular resolution. Secondly we applied our technique to image multiple layers of neurons in mouse brain. We were able to record the activity of 550 neurons, with 100-150 neurons present in each imaging plane. We demonstrate a 512 x 16 CMOS single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) line sensor with per-pixel on-chip histogramming for video rate spectral fluorescence lifetime imaging (sFLIM). On-chip histogramming provides 32-bin histograms per pixel with 11bit/bin dynamic range. In addition, bin widths in time can be programmed from 51.20 ps to 6.55 ns, providing a histogram range from 1.64 ns to 209.72 ns to suit a wide range of fluorescence decays. At the end of a user defined exposure time, the full histogram data (i.e. 32-bins/pixel and 512 pixels) is first transferred to a FPGA in 84.48 μs via 64 data I/O pads at a 33.33 MHz I/O rate. The sensor data is then binned into two user defined spectral bands to provide spectral separation between different fluorophores, before being transferred to a PC via a USB3 connection for further processing. Fluorescence lifetimes for each spectral band are then rapidly estimated in software by applying the Centre-of-Mass Method (CMM), providing two 128 x 128 size spectral lifetime images in 1.384 s (i.e. with a frame rate of 0.72 fps). The frame rate can be increased by reducing the number of bins, reaching a maximum frame rate when only 2 bins are used with the Rapid Lifetime Determination (RLD) algorithm. In this paper we study the lifetime accuracy vs frame rate trade-offs by varying the number of histogram bins while carefully adjusting the bin widths for maximum bin counts. We validate the results using a Rhodamine 110 and Rhodamine B mixture solution which we separate them spectrally by their fluorescence lifetimes. The Flamingo is a modular, shareable light sheet microscope suited to a new model of scientific collaboration. Each microscope is customized for a given application, equipped to travel from lab to lab and providing widespread access to advanced microscopy. It is a compact selective plane illumination microscope (SPIM) that can be turned upright for multi-view imaging of hanging samples or turned on its side for samples in a dish. Rapid multi-color imaging is achieved via sCMOS cameras and several possible laser lines. With its selective sheet illumination, the Flamingo is well suited for fast and gentle imaging of developing organisms. The capability of Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) to detect photons with picosecond timing precision and shotnoise limited performance has given rise to a range of biological and biomedical applications, from Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM) to Raman Spectroscopy and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). The use of SPAD sensors has also been successfully demonstrated in Single-Molecule Localisation Microscopy. Traditionally implemented as point detectors, recent advances in SPAD technology, such as compact, binary pixels and back-side illuminated, 3D-stacked architectures, have led to 2-D imaging arrays of increasing resolution and fill factor. Combined with high frame rates (in the kFPS range), and negligible read noise, the sensors offer an exciting prospect for capturing fast temporal dynamics in life science cellular imaging. The work in this paper considers the application of SPAD imaging arrays to widefield fluorescence lifetime imaging of high-speed particles in microscopy. We demonstrate, using a time-gated binary SPAD array, that by tracking particles, and spatially re-assigning the underlying photon counts accordingly, lifetime estimates for fast-moving objects are possible. Moreover, we give the first demonstration of FLIM using a SPAD imaging array with on-chip histogramming of photon arrival time, with potential frame rates of several 100FPS. Both FLIM techniques are illustrated using experimental results based on fluorescent microspheres undergoing Brownian motion. The results pave the way towards applications in live-cell microscopy, such as the monitoring of the fluorescence lifetime of highly mobile cell structures, with a view, for example, to study molecular interactions using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) measurements. We present an achromatic confocal laser scanning system capable of recording spectrally resolved fluorescence lifetime images (sFLIMs) at a rate of >8 frames per second (FPS) for a 128 x 128 image. This frame rate was achieved by optimizing the processing of lifetime calculations from previous results which demonstrated >4 FPS sFLIM imaging. The imaging system is achromatic for a spectral range of 400 - 900 nm, achieved by using reflective optics instead of a transmissive lens system, except for the primary objectives. Two excitation sources have been integrated into the system, 485 nm and 640 nm laser diodes with a pulse width of <70 ps and <90 ps respectively. Imaging is performed via a galvanometric mirror system which scans the laser beam over the sample with the ability to change the Field of View (FOV) on the fly. The collected fluorescence signal is focused into a multimode fiber via a second objective and recollimated onto a transmissive grating for spectral dispersion onto a novel complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor single photon avalanche diode (CMOS SPAD) line array sensor. This sensor can perform lifetime histogram generation on-chip and process over 16.5 Giga events/s enabling fast lifetime data acquisition. High speed sFLIM is demonstrated through imaging of convallaria majalis sections. Using Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) for the purpose of fluorescence lifetime measurements is often limited in speed due to pile-up and dead-time artifacts. This is particularly critical in fast imaging applications. With modern instrumentation this limitation can be lifted by reducing the dead-time of the TCSPC electronics to the absolute minimum imposed by the speed of the electrical detector signals. Another, complementing approach to speedy image acquisition is parallelization by means of simultaneous, time tagged readout of many detector channels. This of course puts high demands on the data throughput of the TCSPC system. Here we present a new integrated design, providing up to 8 independent input channels, an extremely short dead-time, very high time tagging throughput over USB 3.0, and a timing resolution of 80 ps. Apart from design features and benchmark results of the instrument as such, we show application results from spectrally resolved (sFLIM) and high speed confocal fluorescence lifetime imaging (rapidFLIM). We put special focus on life science applications, paving the way to monitor sub-second dynamics in live cell imaging, including lifetime based Förster Resonant Energy Transfer (FLIM-FRET) imaging. We furthermore show how the inevitable pulse-pile-up occurring in the detector signals at high photon flux can be corrected for and how this data acquisition scheme excels in terms of photon collection efficiency in comparison to other approaches. In this talk, I introduce high-throughput intelligence-powered image-activated cell sorting or an “imaging” version of fluorescence-activated cell sorting [Cell 175, 1 (2018)] that realizes real-time image-based intelligent cell sorting at an unprecedented rate of ~100 events per second. This technology integrates high-speed cell microscopy, focusing, and sorting methods on rapid hybrid software-hardware data-management infrastructure, enabling real-time automated operation for data acquisition, data processing, decision-making, and actuation. I present two unique applications in microbiology and hematology enabled by the technology and discuss how technology enables machine-based scientific discovery in diverse biological and medical sciences. While fluorescence imaging flow cytometry is a promising method for high-throughput single-cell analysis, it has not been suitable for analysis of large populations of cells (e.g., blood samples) due to its low imaging sensitivity at a high cell throughput. Here we present fluorescence imaging flow cytometry with an ultrahigh imaging sensitivity, which is enabled by virtual motion freezing. In this method, we prepare a wide-field imaging system with a CMOS camera and scan images of flowing cells by a scanning device, such as a polygon scanner, equipped in the imaging system so that the motion of the cells is canceled in the imaging plane, thus significantly extending the exposure time of the camera without suffering from motion blur. Additionally, we scan a loosely focused excitation beam during the exposure time of the camera in the direction opposite to the cell flow using a beam scanner such as an acousto-optic deflector, which significantly reduces motion cancellation errors caused by the image distortion of the imaging system and hence allows further extension of the exposure time. Consequently, our method improves imaging sensitivity by a factor of ~1,000 compared with a conventional wide-field excitation method, enabling acquisition of microscopy-grade images of fast flowing cells. As a proof-of-concept, we obtained fluorescence images of nuclei of murine white blood cells stained by SYTO16 at a flow speed of 1 m/s (corresponding to a cell throughput of 10,000 cells/s assuming the 100-μm cell spacing) and determined the population of nuclear lobulation from the high-signal-to-noise-ratio images obtained. Continuing development of image-based bioassay is mainly hampered by the lack of throughput to systematically screen a large cell/tissue population under extensive experimental conditions; and the overwhelming reliance on biochemical markers, which are not always effective, especially when there is poor prior knowledge of the markers. Here we demonstrate ultralarge-scale, high-resolution “on-the-fly” quantitative phase imaging (QPI) of single-cells and whole-tissue-slide on a spinning-disk assay platform at an imaging rate of at least 100-times faster than current assays – mitigating the imaging throughput limitation hindered by the fundamental space-bandwidth-product limit of classical optical imaging. The concept takes advantage of the high-speed spinning motion, which naturally provides imaging at an ultrafast rate (<10MHz) that can only be made possible with time-stretch imaging. To demonstrate the capability of the system, we imaged both label-free adherent cells and tissue slices, prepared on the functionalized digital versatile discs (DVDs), across a giga-pixel-FOV exceeding 10mm2 at a resolution of ~ 1μm. Both bright-field and QPI images are generated in real-time with this FOV at a spinning speed of <1,000 rpm. In contrast to the vast majority of current QPI modalities, our platform requires no interferometry and no computationally-intensive iterative method for phase retrieval, favouring continuous high-speed QPI operation in real-time. More importantly, this spinning imaging platform allows generation of a catalogue of label-free biophysical phenotypes of cells/tissues, e.g. cell size, dry mass density, morphology as well as light scattering properties, which could enable a new generation of large-scale in-depth label-free image-based bioassays. Hyperspectral Stimulated Raman scattering (hsSRS) microscopy has recently emerged as a powerful non-destructive technique for label-free chemical imaging of biological samples. In most hsSRS imaging experiments, the SRS spectral range is limited by the total bandwidth of the excitation laser to ~300 cm-1 and spectral resolution of ~25 cm-1. Here we present a novel approach for broadband hsSRS microscopy based on parabolic fiber amplification to provide linearly chirped broadened Stokes pulses. This novel hsSRS instrument provides >600 cm-1 spectral coverage and ~10 cm-1 spectral resolution. We further demonstrated broadband hsSRS imaging of the entire Raman fingerprint region for resolving distribution of major biomolecules in fixed cells. Moreover, we applied broadband hsSRS in imaging amyloid plaques in human brain tissue with Alzheimer’s disease. Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) exposure to cells causes a myriad of bioeffects with great potential to translate into beneficial technology. However, a general lack of fundamental knowledge of how the field is interacting with the cell limits the advancement of predictive models and maximal exploitation. Despite 30 years of research, this same dearth of mechanistic understanding remains for longer pulse exposures. Fundamental to determining what is occurring as these strong electric fields are applied to cells is measuring the induced change in membrane potential on the time scale of the exposure. Such measurements are critical to validating commonly used electric circuit-based continuum models for electroporation, but have remained elusive due to limits in signal-to-noise and fluorescent reporters. In a previous publication, we described a high-speed fluorescent imaging modality that combined a streak camera and a high power laser source termed a high speed streak camera microscope (SCM) to resolve membrane charging during a single nsPEF. In this paper, we use the SCM to quantify changes in membrane potential in CHO-K1 cells exposed to unipolar and bipolar 600ns PEF within the context of the recently discovered “bipolar cancellation” phenomenon. Immediately after a unipolar pulse exposure, we see a prolonged “depolarization” of the cell that is roughly 50-100mV in amplitude. Such a prolonged depolarization is not seen in bipolar exposures nor is it predicted by membrane charging models. We postulate that this lasting membrane depolarization, seen only in unipolar pulse exposure, is either the cause of later uptake of impermeable ions or signifies the acute (during the pulse) breakdown of the plasma membrane (nanoporation). The lack of lasting depolarization in bipolar pulse exposures may be fundamental to “bipolar cancellation” and explain why uptake of ions is substantially reduced as compared to unipolar pulse exposures. It is not difficult to be able to get a machined immersion grating in the market, and to obtain high spectrum-resolution (λ/Δλ > 200,000) in the middle infrared (3~5 micrometers) any longer. This wavelength region is a part of the molecule fingerprint region and is a very important wavelength region for the analysis of human / living activities. Compared with FT-IR in popular use, the spectrum by such classic device is an important means to a high-speed spectrum. However, although the dispersing potential of an immersion element is excellent, in offer of a device only, it does not mean in practical use for the researcher and the developer who want to use a high-performance spectroscope. So, in this paper, the high-resolution (λ/Δλ ~ 30,000 at 3-5 micrometer) spectrum unit which used Germanium (Ge) immersion grating is proposed. The optical plane size in this spectrum unit is about 200mm x 100mm, it is almost same as the iPad/mini4 (203.2mmx134.8mm) of the Apple Inc. It has fitted in less than 1/10 size compared with the reflected type spectroscope. This means dramatic improvement in the chance of an opportunity using a high-resolution spectroscope including ultrafast application. A large diversion is obtained in smaller beam size according to the refractive index of material in the immersion grating. In this paper, it introduces about the practical design of the high distribution immersion spectroscope. Especially, we introduce in detail about the manufacture of Ge immersion grating as the key device. Endoscope size is a major design constraint that must be managed with the clinical demand for high-quality illumination and imaging. Existing commercial endoscopes most often use an arc lamp to produce bright, incoherent white light, requiring large-area fiber bundles to deliver sufficient illumination power to the sample. Moreover, the power instability of these light sources creates challenges for computer vision applications. We demonstrate an alternative illumination technique using red-green-blue laser light and a data-driven approach to combat the speckle noise that is a byproduct of coherent illumination. We frame the speckle artifact problem as an image-to-image translation task solved using conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGANs). To train the network, we acquire images illuminated with a coherent laser diode, with a laser diode source made partially- coherent using a laser speckle reducer, and with an incoherent LED light source as the target domain. We train networks using laser-illuminated endoscopic images of ex-vivo, porcine gastrointestinal tissues, augmented by images of laser-illuminated household and laboratory objects. The network is then benchmarked against state of-the-art optical and image processing speckle reduction methods, achieving an increased peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 4.1 db, compared to 0.7 dB using optical speckle reduction, 0.6 dB using median filtering, and 0.5 dB using non-local means. This approach not only allows for endoscopes with smaller, more efficient light sources with extremely short triggering times, but it also enables imaging modalities that require both coherent and incoherent sources, such as combined widefield and speckle ow contrast imaging in a single image frame. To overcome the drawbacks of the commonly used lookup table inverse models, we propose a novel custom OpenCL™- accelerated artificial neural network inverse model for spatial frequency domain imaging (https://bitbucket.org/xopto /rftroop). Utilizing a mid-range graphics processing unit, the proposed inverse model can estimate high-definition (1920 × 1080) maps of the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients and two scattering phase function related quantifiers at a rate of more than 50 frames per second. We show that the artificial neural network inverse model can be seamlessly extended to estimate multiple optical properties independently, thus providing a versatile framework that allows introduction of new quantifiers. Image delivery through multimode fibers (MMFs) suffers from modal scrambling which results in a speckle pattern at the fiber output. In this work, we use Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) for recovery and/or classification of the input image from the intensity-only images of the speckle patterns at the distal end of the fiber. We train the DNNs using 16,000 images of handwritten digits of the MNIST database and we test the accuracy of classification and reconstruction on another 2,000 new digits. Very positive results and robustness were observed for up to 1 km long MMF showing 90% reconstruction fidelity. The classification accuracy of the system for different inputs (phase-only, amplitude-only, hologram intensity etc.) to the DNN classifier was also tested. Since confocal laser microscopy (CLM) can acquire a high-contrast three-dimensional image, it is widely used in the field of bio-imaging. However, CLM is based on point measurement, it is necessary to mechanically scan the focal spot while keeping the conjugate relation between confocal pinhole and focal spot on the sample. Since such a mechanical scanning is vulnerable to environmental disturbance such as vibration, it needs a stable measurement environment like the active anti-vibration table. Also, for imaging of living samples, CLM cannot visualize clear image because of motion blur due to the difference in scanning time, thus it is limited to get only fixed sample images. We here propose a dual optical comb microscope combining dual optical comb spectroscopy (DCS) and two-dimensional spectral encoding (2D-SE). This combination enables one-to-one correspondence between optical frequency comb (OFC) modes and image pixels. Image information is superimposed on the mode-resolved OFC spectrum waveform by 2D-SE. Simultaneously, the confocality of all the pixels is given in parallel by a single confocal pinhole. The frame rate is limited by the data acquisition time of the interferogram, imaging rate over 1000 frames/s is possible. In this paper, we demonstrate the fast confocal phase imaging of a living paramecium. Photonics based imaging is a widely utilised technique for the study of biological functions within pre-clinical studies. It is a sensitive and non-invasive technique that is able to detect distributed (biologically informative) visible and nearinfrared light sources providing information about biological function. Compressive Sensing (CS) is a method of signal processing that works on the basis that a signal or image can be compressed without important information being lost. This work describes the development of a CS based hyperspectral Bioluminescence imaging system that can be used to collect compressed fluence data from the external surface of an animal model, due to an internal source, providing lower acquisition times, higher spectral content and potentially better tomographic source localisation. Hyperspectral imaging is a useful tool for characterization of human tissue. However, the vast amount of data created makes it challenging and tedious to manually select spatial regions of interest for further processing. In this study, a random forest-based method was evaluated on basis of its ability to segment human skin regions from the background. The method was compared to the performance of two alternative methods, spectral angle mapper (SAM) and a K-means clustering-based method. The methods were tested on hyperspectral images of ex vivo and in vivo human skin in the wavelength range 400-1000 nm. The random forest approach was found to be robust and perform well regardless of image type. The method is simple to train, and requires minimal parameter tuning for good skin segmentation results. Spectroscopy is an important tool having already been applied in various research fields, but still limited in observation of dynamic scenes. In this paper, we propose a video rate spectroscopy via Fourier-spectral-multiplexing (FSM-VRS) which exploits both spectral and spatial sparsity. Under the computational imaging scheme, the hyperspectral datacube is first modulated by several broadband bases, and then mapped into different regions in the Fourier domain. The encoded image compressed both in spectral and spatial are finally collected by a monochrome detector. Correspondingly, the reconstruction is essentially a Fourier domain extraction and spectral dimensional back projection with low computational load. The encoding and decoding process of the FSM-VRS is simple thus can be implemented in a low cost manner. The temporary resolution of the FSM-VRS is only limited by the camera frame rate. We demonstrate the high performance of our method by quantitative evaluation on simulation data and build a prototype system experimentally for further validation.

2019-04-25T02:50:55Z

http://spie.org/Publications/Proceedings/Volume/10889?SSO=1

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Erin, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. We have breaking news tonight. Exclusive new details that you will only see on this program about the attack in Libya that killed four Americans, including ambassador Christopher Stevens and two former Navy Seals, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. They died heroes, we have known that. But until tonight, we had no idea of just how far beyond the call of duty these two men went. And again, you will be learning this right now for the very first time only on "360." We got new reporting as well on why the assault on the night of September 11th was so deadly to ambassador Stevens and computer technician Sean Smith even though they were holed up inside of what was supposed to be a fortified part of the consulate compound. The attackers we have now learned doused the building's exterior with diesel fuel, killing Smith and Stevens with dense toxic smoke. And there's yet more we're learning about the attack tonight as well as other late developments out of Benghazi. A large pro-democracy march on the headquarters of an extremist Islamic group in Benghazi. First though, the breaking news about how the two former Seals perished and how far they went to save other American lives. Joining us now to flesh out her exclusive reporting, CNN contributor and former homeland security advisor, Fran Townsend. Fran currently serves on the CIA external advisory committee and recently visited Libya with her employer, McAndrews & Forbes. Also with us, CNN's Arwa Damon, who has been breaking news all week for us from Benghazi. So Fran, what have we learned about these two Navy Seals? Initially a former Seals, it was thought they were there to protect the ambassador. That turns out not the case. FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: That's not the case, Anderson. They are part of this protective security contractor force. These two contractors -- the contractors generally are recruited from elite special forces because of their training and experience. In the case of Glen Doherty, he had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. These were both men who understood very well the dangers, the trouble and how to respond to it appropriately, but they were not -- they were there but not with the ambassador's security detail. They coordinated and de-conflicted with the ambassador's detail. They also coordinated with Libyans. Their presence was not a secret. But they were there, frankly, at the annex with others as part of a much larger team to provide security. COOPER: And there were two structures, this annex that we're learning about, it seems like there was an ambush there. I mean, the second attack on the annex seemed to have been an ambush. TOWNSEND: You know, it's not really clear what the parameters of that were. So what happens is, you have to appreciate, you talked about Glen and Tyrone being heroes. They are at the annex, the annex is secure, the perimeter is secure, they're not taking any fire. That's the area of their primary responsibility. They get a phone call that their colleagues over at the consulate are taking fire, that it's chaotic and they need help. They leave the security of their -- the annex compound and they run in the direction of the firefight. What they do there is they round up all of the consulate staff. That includes Americans, foreign service nationals, it includes everybody working at the consulate. It also included regrettably at that time the body of Sean Smith. They can't find the ambassador but they must he evacuate because they can no longer help defend the consulate and they take all these people to the much smaller annex where they secure them and they are there trying, figuring they are not taking fire there. It's not clear how the assault begins, what causes it, whether or not they were set up and ambushed or followed there. The sources I have been talking to, it is not -- hopefully that comes out in if investigation. COOPER: And Arwa, you say that particular attack, the one on the second site, involved even heavy artillery. ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's what we are hearing on the ground here, Anderson. The attack that took place, the second attack was a much more intense attack than what was initially seen at the consulate, although much shorter in duration. Some of the military officials we're talking to here were saying that they were using rocket propelled grenades. One was even saying that they were using mortar fire and that the rounds impacted pretty much immediately and for anyone who knows how mortar calibration works. It's pretty rare that you would be able to hit your target the first time you do try to attempt to hit it with a mortar. But we are hearing here that the second attack most certainly was more intense and involved more fire power than the first time around and that is why Libyan government officials are saying that they believe that this was a pre-planned strike. Perhaps not necessarily to be timed with September 11th, but that most certainly the extremists that carried out this assault had planned it, perhaps they shelved the plans and then had seen a target of opportunity to strike, and strike they did as we now know. COOPER: And Arwa, you were talking about the annex. Back to the main compound where the first fighting or gunfire took place, U.S. officials have insisted that the attackers hijacked a protest going on over the anti-Muslim movie. But Libyan witnesses are telling you a very different story. The "New York times" reported today that the front of the compound was completely quiet before the initial attack, no protests. What are you hearing? DAMON: That's what we heard days ago, Anderson, from a number of witnesses, including one of the guards who was at the main gate to the compound at one of those main gates. He said that the situation was calm, it was quiet, and suddenly he heard voices growing increasingly louder, chanting "God is great" and then he says the attack began simultaneously from three different directions. Another eyewitness on the scene that we spoke to as well, the gardener, also confirming that report. And a number of other individuals we have been talking to, saying around 9:30, heavily armed men appeared around the compound and that shortly thereafter at around 10:00, the assault itself began, Anderson. COOPER: And Fran, we have been reporting about differ reports on security at the main compound. Last night we reported that security was actually beefed up there. You're hearing new information as well. TOWNSEND: That's right. Consistent with the "New York Times" story, Anderson, there were five armed Americans and four armed Libyans. That was the beefed-up presence. You can question whether or not given what the history in that area had been, was that enough, and remember, that does not include the armed personnel, security, professional security personnel at the annex so you would also have had them to fall back on which of course they did have to do. COOPER: You also have new reporting on diesel fuel, which was apparently poured around the compound where the ambassador was and Mr. Smith was. TOWNSEND: That's right. Look, any sort of fuel would have caused, you know, accelerated the fire. Diesel was particularly unfortunate -- an unfortunate accelerant because of course what happens there, there's this acrid, thick, very black smoke and we understand that's how they lost sight of the ambassador, they couldn't find him, and probably contributed to the fact that he and Sean smith died of asphyxiation. COOPER: Rise up before around the compound. That's probably an overstatement. We don't know -- around the consulate, around the structure that the ambassador was in. COOPER: Arwa, during protests there in Benghazi today, tens of thousands in particular on the streets protesting against the extremist militia some say was involved in the attacks on the compound. Protesters actually stormed the group's headquarters later in the day. What can you tell us about this and what's happening? DAMON: Well, earlier in the day we had this massive pro- democracy demonstration that did in fact take place and following that at around 10:00 at night, hundreds of these individuals went to the headquarters of a known militant extremist group here. And remember, the Libyan government says that it has detained some individuals from that organization in association with this attack. It was in fact the attack on the consulate that really was the catalyst for these demonstrations but then the catalyst for these individuals to go out and try to retake the compound, and they were saying retake the city from the hands of the extremists. And at the compound itself, was really quite the sense of euphoria, people saying that they were the ones that began this revolution in Benghazi, that they were going to be the ones who were going to take their city back. They were actually apologizing to America, saying that this is the real Libya. The Libyans who are going out trying to regain control of their own cities, trying to implement the democracy that they fought so hard for. But then things took a very sinister turn because the second location that they struck, in fact, ended up being the headquarters of a battalion that has been legitimized by the government. The government took to the air waves trying to convince these individuals to back off that and other various compounds saying that it was Gadhafi loyalists trying to capitalize on the euphoria of the crowd to try to move them towards these other units that were in fact under the control of the government, that were in fact loyal to the government in and of itself. We were at one of these locations, some pretty intense gunfire. We are hearing that over a dozen people were wounded and it just goes to underscore how chaotic and how volatile the situation here really is. And of course, how easily manipulated. COOPER: Arwa Damon in Benghazi, be careful. Fran, thank you very much. On Wednesday of this week, we reported that a source familiar with ambassador Stevens' thinking said in the months before his death, ambassador Stevens talked about being worried about what he called the never-ending security threats in Benghazi. We also reported that the ambassador specifically mentioned the rise in Islamic extremism, the growing Al Qaeda presence in Libya and said he was on an Al Qaeda hit list. The information for that report like all of CNN's reporting was carefully vetted. Some of that information was found in a personal journal of ambassador Stevens in his handwriting. We came upon the journal through our reporting and notified the family. At their request, we returned that journal to them. We reported what we found newsworthy in the ambassador's writings. A reporter followed up on what we found newsworthy in the ambassador's writings. Let us know what you think. We're on facebook. You can follow me on twitter @andersonooper. I'm tweeting tonight. Up next, the attack's political fallout here at home. Has President Obama's handling of it given Mitt Romney an opening? Have governor Romney's statements hurt his caused. Fareed Zakaria, Jessica Yellin and Jim Acosta join us. COOPER: Welcome back. More on Libya now as our breaking news was unfolding today. New details about the killings in Benghazi and the rioting and chaos that followed a pro-democracy march today in Benghazi. A number of the protesters are burning cars, taking over the headquarters of an extremist militia group that the government suspects of involvement in last week's assault. It began peacefully with marchers outnumbering a much smaller crowd of religious radicals. Many carried pro-America signs including some demanding justice for ambassador Christopher Stevens. Back home, pursuing that notion has neither been simple, nor easy, nor untouched by election year politics. It began early on with Mitt Romney's late night claim that the administration's first response was to sympathize with the attackers. That was not the case. But the White House's subsequent line downplaying terrorism as a factor, to many that strained credibility. Late this week the administration backed down from that position while dismissing the notion that they're backing down. VICTORIA NULAND, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: It's as everybody who has spoken to any of these details has said starting with what we said here, what everybody along the way has said. The information we have given to date is based on initial assessments. We have given you all kinds of caveats, including from here, that the investigation was going to have to tell us the complete and final story. COOPER: That investigation is ongoing. Yesterday behind closed doors, senior defense intelligence and law enforcement officials briefed members of Congress. Today, though, and for the next month and a half this tragedy is being and will be hashed out as well in the public eye, especially out on the campaign trail. Joining me now is Fareed Zakaria, hot of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS." He's got Bill Clinton on his program this week. Also Jim Acosta, traveling with the Romney campaign and Jessica Yellin at the White House. Jessica, let's start with you at the White House. They have been very cautious in dealing with this. Really only one brief statement from the president. It took about a week and a half for them to call the incident in Benghazi a terrorist act. Is there any indication we are going to be hearing more directly from the president about this any time soon? JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson. I would expect that we will hear from the president on this when he addresses the U.N. general assembly next week, both about the specifics of the attack in Libya and the unrest in the Middle East more broadly. They don't have a lot to gain to be just crassly political about it. From talking to -- talking too much about it until they have more facts. Because he is going to the U.N. next week, he will have the big world stage so it's a natural opportunity for him to address it. Look for it there. COOPER: Well I mean, Jessica, is there a caution on talking about it out of not wanting to, you know, is it an understandable desire to gather intelligence, figure out exactly what happened, or is it politics? YELLIN: Look, it's both. They have had problems in the past when they have jumped too quickly. Remember after Osama bin Laden's raid and they came out with a series of facts and that was a positive scenario for them and the facts in that case weren't exactly right so they've learned get the facts straight before you come out publicly. On the politics of it, Anderson, they don't really have anything to gain. Mitt Romney has handed them so many openings on this one, he's botched his response on Libya. There's no political upside for the president to weigh in. He just needs to be presidential on this. COOPER: Fareed, we did see some dip in poll numbers on foreign policy in the wake of this. Do you think, do these attacks hurt the president in terms of foreign policy? FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: I don't think so, but I think the president is making a mistake if he's entirely silent. As Jessica says, the obvious place would be the U.N. general assembly. Look, most Americans, much of the world is trying to figure out what does all this mean, and what does it mean for our presence in Afghanistan, what does it mean for outreach to the Muslim world. The president has an extraordinary opportunity to be as Bill Clinton was during the Democratic National Convention, an explainer, kind of explainer in chief. I think it helps him politically because most crises, Jimmy Carter is the exception, most crises make a president look presidential. He gets the stage, he gets to speak in serious terms, he has all the gravitas. The other guys out there taking pot shots but he is on the campaign trail and the president is the president. COOPER: Jim, we also have Romney seemed to actually lose ground on the foreign policy issue in the wake of the incident. Is there any sense in the campaign that this is ground the governor has to try to make up in the foreign policy sphere, even though his focus has been on the economy? JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I had a chance to talk to a senior Romney advisor about this. And he said about the Benghazi attack and the administration's response to it. But they would like to see what he called more clarity from the administration when it comes to what exactly happened, what led up to the deaths of those American diplomats in Libya. But I think the campaign also acknowledges, Anderson, that they have had a rough couple of weeks, starting with that initial statement on what happened in Libya and Egypt. Mitt Romney clearly spoke before all of the facts came in, and then as you saw what happened this week with his hidden camera video leaked to "Mother Jones," they were put on the defensive over economic issues. COOPER: Jessica, we did see ambassador Susan Rice at the U.N. saying that -- I mean, indicating, not really talking about this in terms of being a terrorist attack. It was days later the terrorist attack part of this was really discussed. Is there concern in the Obama campaign this controversy might be providing Republicans some fodder to put a chink in the president's foreign policy armor? YELLIN: Well, not yet. I mean, not given Romney's response so far, which was not handled well, Anderson. But the larger potential here is that if there is another attack on Americans in another country or in Libya, if this grows in some way, that's the real danger for the president. Because his strength in foreign policy is really about the perception that he is a decisive and clear leader, and that's what voters, it's perceived that voters are responding to. If world events seem to be spinning out of his control, then that leadership quality could erode for him. But we're not at that stage yet and so the campaign is not reflecting any kind of anxiety on that front at this moment. COOPER: It is interesting, Fareed, that a loss for the president in the foreign policy sphere does not necessarily translate to a victory for the Romney campaign in the foreign policy realm because of the way they've handled all this stuff. ZAKARIA: But the crucial part is what you said last. Because of the way they've handled it. Generally speaking, a loss for the president does translate into a gain. Think of again Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan was seen as wildly inexperienced and kind of somewhat crazy on foreign policy, somewhat radical. Once Carter started having trouble, the Iran hostage crisis, the soviet invasion of Afghanistan, all Reagan had to show was that he was stable, that he was, you know, he wasn't going to blow up the world, and he benefited. COOPER: I should also point out, Reagan did not politicize that event. He basically put out a statement as I recall, you know, saying we stand behind -- we're all one. ZAKARIA: Exactly. He could see that bad news was hurting the president. He didn't need to do very much to pile on. I think that in this case, because Romney has been inept, it hasn't really translated much. I agree with Jessica, if something else were to happen, it might change that, but Obama again, if he gets out ahead of it, because really, these have not been events where people feel as though the United States is under attack, under siege. There is a feeling that something is spinning out of control in the Middle East and we need to understand it. COOPER: Fareed, thank you. Jim Acosta, Jessica Yellin. Be sure to tune in Sunday night, 8:00 and 11:00. as Fareed has a really fascinating special. Global lessons, putting America to work right her on CNN. It has been a crucial week for Mitt Romney in the wake of his 47 percent comments. Will the release of his 2011 tax returns help change the conversation.. Has it already? Will it put any question about his finances to rest? James Carville, Mary Matalin spare ahead. COOPER: What happened aboard Ann Romney's jet and how the crew handled it, ahead in the program. COOPER: Welcome back. We're all politics now. Mitt Romney's campaign released his 2011 tax returns today. You probably heard that. Showing he made $13.7 million last year in mostly investment income, and paid an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent. Now, the campaign also released a letter from the accounting firm price Waterhouse coopers saying the Romneys paid taxes every year from 1990 to 2009 at an effective tax rate of at least 13.6 percent each year. That information obviously contradicts what Senate majority leader Harry Reid has been claiming about Romney for more than a month now. SEN. HARRY REID (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: The word's out that he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn't. COOPER: Oh, when Harry Reid said the word is out, the thing is that Reid himself was the one who put the word out. He's the one who made the accusation in the first place. Turned out he didn't have any proof of his own. At least he hasn't offered any. He said a source was an investor of Bain Capital, Romney's investment firm, an unnamed source. Now, you might think that tonight in the face of the letter from Romney's accounting firm, senator Reid might retract his earlier claim. Instead he released this statement. Quote, "the information released today reveals that Mitt Romney manipulated one of two years of tax returns he has seen fit to show the American people and then only to conform with his public statements. That raises the question what else in those returns has Romney manipulated." Reid is talking about the fact that the Romneys actually paid more taxes than required in 2011. The Romneys' didn't claim all their charitable deductions since 2011 because they wanted to make sure their tax rate didn't fall below 13 percent, the minimum rate that Romney has said he paid over the last decade. You can decide for yourself about the amounts of manipulation. Joining me is CNN political contributors Mary Matalin and James Carville. So James, is that manipulation? JAMES CARVILLE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Look, this is the best day Romney's had all month. Of course it's manipulation and of course he can file after the election and get the refund which is totally legal and he has always said that he paid the minimal amount of taxes so all of a sudden, the milk of human kindness comes from Mitt Romney and he's going to give the federal government money that he doesn't owe. I don't know of any other explanation. Maybe somebody can come up with one. COOPER: I think Mary might be able to. Mary? MATALIN: I just want to get this straight. So now what the complaint from my liberal friends is that Romney gave 30 percent of his income last year to charity and over the course of the many, many years that he's paid 100 percent of his taxes in direct contradiction of Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader calling him a felon and a scofflaw and a tax cheat, he's paid 100 percent of his rate, he's been 20 percent of his income over those 20 years to charity, and there's something wrong with that. If they said if he could prove that he could walk on water, they would complain because he couldn't swim. CARVILLE: Again, I think the point you were making was, is that he didn't take charitable deductions because he said his tax rate was 13 percent and that would have driven it below it and he can do it after. Like I say, this guy has done 13 events in 20 days. He doesn't, you know, he thinks he's above releasing his tax returns like everybody else so this stops the story about the 47 percent of all of those things he's done. So all in all for him, even though the story is bad, it's probably the best story he's gotten all month. COOPER: So, you think they released it today in order to try to change the narrative? COOPER: It is a Friday afternoon, though, which is sort of when you do the document dump. MATALIN: But it was done today, they asked for the extension. He price Waterhouse Cooper, whatever they are, unless you want -- if Harry Reid wants to call them liars, scofflaws, felons and tax cheats, why doesn't he malign and libel everyone in the country. I think this is a good story. I don't think it's a data dump. I think it's done, it's exactly what he said, it's more generous than anyone - that anybody we know and anyone could have expected. And the real story where people are really concerned about is the Middle East and beyond, is completely melting down and after a week of denying it, this president finally fessed-up that it was a terrorist attack. We've had a serious terrorist attack and we're less secure than we were. That's what presidential campaigns are going to be about, not Mitt Romney's 20 years of generous charitable giving and complete 100 percent tax completions. CARVILLE: OK. The fact remains that he did that, he said it was 13. The fact when he ran for governor of Massachusetts said he filed in Massachusetts return and then later had to fess up that he really didn't. I don't believe anything Mitt Romney says on his taxes, to be honest with you. MATALIN: Are you calling him a liar? CARVILLE: I don't believe -- he did before when he was filing in Massachusetts, told people he filed in Massachusetts and didn't. He said he paid 13 percent in taxes. He had to manipulate his tax return to not take charitable deduction to do that. That's his history. I don't think on his taxes he's been very forthcoming. He will only give us two years of them. COOPER: Mary, critics of Romney will say look, we know, you know, they've released the information that he's given years of money to charities, but not what he's actually paid in taxes over the years. Why is it OK to give, you know, that information on charities and yet not -- why wouldn't he just give out his taxes? MATALIN: He's released decades of financial disclosure, everything that the law requires. He's paid all his taxes, 100 percent and more than the law requires, which actually I do think is kind of weird. He's given millions and millions, scores of millions of dollars to charity. We're going to try to make this into a negative? I just don't see how this turns into a negative story unless we're completely detached from reality. And the reality that is the everyday life of voters who are not voting on Romney's tax returns which are now complete and for them to judge for themselves how charitable and legal he is, or do they want to care about their own taxes which will be going up if this president's re-elected. COOPER: James, Mary raises a good point. You've seen Harry Reid's response. He says these returns raise more questions about Mitt Romney's finances, but the fact is, the evidence out there suggests the senator was wrong, that Reid was wrong when he claimed that Romney had paid no taxes for 10 years. There's no evidence of that. CARVILLE: Well, look, he said I'm sure we're going to get this guy's name before it's over, the offshore Cayman Islands, Swiss bank account deal that Romney was in, and that he didn't pay any taxes. That's what he was basing it on. We only see two years of tax returns, by the way. That's all we see. He's paying 12 percent of the federal tax where a hotel may had paid 15 percent in federal taxes. So he won't be -- he won't tell us what his tax returns are prior to this. He has a history of putting out false information about tax returns when he ran for governor of Massachusetts. So I think there are a lot of doubts that are raised here but after you call 47 percent of the people in the United States slackers, there's not much more you can do to sort of hurt yourself, to be honest with you. MATALIN: It's not what he said. And now they want to libel an iconic American accounting firm, Price Waterhouse Cooper, been around forever. They're just going to libel everybody in their way. So let's take down all of our big institutions, everything that's iconic in this country in pursuit of Obama's re-election. You sound insane. COOPER: What is it like living with you two? MATALIN: Friday night, if we weren't with you, we would probably be having a good stiff drink, which we're about to go do right now. COOPER: I'll let you go do that. Mary, thank you. James Carville, thank you. COOPER: I would like to join them. As we said, it's been a pretty rough week for the Romney campaign and the shots are not just coming from Democrats. In a blog post Tuesday, "Wall Street Journal" columnist Peggy Noonan wrote it's time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one, not big, not brave, not thoughtfully tackling great issues and intervention is in order. Mitt, this isn't working. Today, she doubled down writing the Romney campaign has to get turned around. This week, I called it incompetent but only because I was being polite. I really meant rolling calamity. Noonan is not alone. Other high profile Republicans are also calling for a campaign reboot. In the face of all this, not so friendly fire, Ann Romney is now returning fire. Here's Randi Kaye. RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ann Romney has a message for what she calls the chattering class Republicans criticizing her husband. ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF MITT ROMNEY: Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it, get in the ring. This is hard. You know, it's an important thing that we're doing right now and it's an important election. And it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt's qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country. KAYE: In another interview, she defended her husband over the now famous 47 percent tape. ROMNEY: You know, I know the guy. I know him really well. I know he cares and that's why we're running. So it's unfortunate when something gets misinterpreted like this or is taken out of context. It's nonsense. I don't let it sink in. You hear it and then you just let it go right by. And you're used to it, honestly at this point, I'm not surprised by anything. KAYE (on camera): To those who know her, Mrs. Romney's attitude is nothing new. It has always been Ann to the rescue. In the Romney household, she is often called the trusted advisor and the Mitt stabilizer. But first and foremost, she is the great protector of all things Romney. (voice-over): Ron Scott, who has known Mitt Romney since 1985 and wrote a book about him, says Ann is no pushover. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last person on earth you would want to cross would be Ann Romney. If you go after one of her kids or after her husband, she's going to be there. KAYE: She hoped to help America embrace her husband. ROMNEY: I know this good and decent man for what he is. He's warm and loving and patient. He has tried to live his life with a set of values centered on family, faith and love of one's fellow man. From the time we were first married, I've seen him spend countless hours helping others. KAYE: Yet no matter how much she builds him up, Team Romney can't seem to catch a break. Listen to what she told Neil Cavuto on Fox. ROMNEY: As you know we always feel like we're getting picked on more than anyone else. It's just what happens. NEIL CAVUTO, FOX BUSINESS: You think the media's fair to you? ROMNEY: That is going to get me in trouble if I answer that honestly. KAYE: With the campaign calendar ticking down, the race may very well come down to the three presidential debates. Ann Romney says she knows the stakes. As she always has, trusts her husband will get the job done. Once again, Ann Romney will be in her husband's corner. ROMNEY: I feel like my best advice is just to bring peace and calm to him and just trust in him and say I know you can do it. KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Atlanta. COOPER: As we mentioned earlier, Ann Romney had a bit of an airborne scare today. We just got an air traffic control audio from the incident. That's ahead. Also, police in Colorado find an arrest -- they arrest an alleged bank robber, but end up stopping 19 cars in the process, holding teenagers at gun point, putting a lot of innocent people in handcuffs. Did they go too far? That's the question tonight in "Crime and Punishment" next. COOPER: Guns pointed at mothers, young children and teenagers as police search for a bank robbery suspect. They say they got their man, but could he get away with it because police went too far in the manhunt? "Crime and Punishment" next. COOPER: "Crime and Punishment" tonight. A bank robbery case in Colorado is raising serious questions about how far police can go to catch the bad guy. Now in the process of stopping traffic to find and arrest an alleged bank robber, police also held innocent civilians at gun point. Now the whole case against the alleged robber could be in jeopardy because of it. Ted Rowlands reports. TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marci Strandberg stopped at a light on her way home from shopping near Denver, Colorado. Next thing she knew, police had her at gun point. MARCI STRANDBERG, CAUGHT IN POLICE BLOCKADE: I said I have kids in my car, and that rifle's pointed right at me. ROWLANDS: Nineteen cars were held at this intersection that Saturday afternoon. Everyone was ordered out of their cars at gun point including children. The boy in the green shirt is 16-year-old Michael Hance. MICHAEL HANCE, 16-YEAR-OLD: They had rifles, guns and everything pointed at me with shields and a canine dog. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A robbery just occurred with a gun at Wells Fargo. ROWLANDS: Police were looking for this bank robber seen here wearing a beekeeper's mask and armed with an air horn and loaded gun. He had just made off with $25,000 from a Wells Fargo a few miles away. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last seen wearing a beehive mask. ROWLANDS (on camera): Police thought the bank robber was at this intersection because there was a GPS tracking device hidden in with the money. The problem is, they had no idea what car he could be in and because of that beekeeper's mask. They didn't even know what he looks like. (voice-over): So everyone was treated as an armed and dangerous suspect. STRANDBERG: We all had to have our hands showing and our arms out the window and we had to keep our arms like this. ROWLANDS: One by one, police approached each car with guns and shields, nearly everyone was handcuffed. Marci's 4-year-old daughter who you can see she's carrying was asleep for most of the ordeal. Her 8-year-old son, however, was awake. STRANDBERG: My son was crying and I kept telling him to keep his head down between his legs because I didn't know if open fire was going to happen. ROWLANDS: That's Crystal Deguzman in handcuffs moments after she watched police take her son, 16-year-old, Michael, away at gun point. CRYSTAL DEGUZMAN, CAUGHT IN POLICE BLOCKADE: I think any mom would be upset. Not knowing what's going to happen to your kid. ROWLANDS: Police eventually searched this white expedition. Inside, they found two loaded guns, the money and the beekeeper's mask. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have a suspect in custody. ROWLANDS: The 45-year-old Christian Pache, a school teacher with no criminal record, was arrested and charged with armed robbery. He's pled not guilty. Was this a case of good police work, or did they go too far? Federal law gives police some leeway to detain citizens for a reasonable period of time as part of a criminal investigation. DAVID LANE, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: A little bit of inconvenience, you know, getting cuffed for a minute to see if you're armed, getting detained very briefly to see if there's some probable cause to believe you've done something. You do have to put up with that, but two hours at rifle point, I think that's a little excessive. CHIEF DAN OATES, AURORA POLICE DEPARTMENT: No question we inconvenienced citizens. We feel badly about that. We apologize to them, but we've made a tough choice here and we arrested a very dangerous armed bank robber. ROWLANDS: But what police did may have put the entire case in jeopardy. The accused robber's attorney says there was no probable cause to search the vehicle, and that police violated his client's rights by pressuring him to agree to a search after he initially refused. If a judge agrees, all of the evidence, the guns, the money, the beekeeper's mask, could be thrown out because of the way it was collected, and as crazy as that sounds, some legal experts say they have an argument. Tim Olson, who was among those handcuffed at the intersection, says that would send a message to police. TIM OLSON, CAUGHT IN POLICE BLOCKADE: If the bank robber gets away with it, that says you didn't do your job properly. ROWLANDS: The judge's ruling in the case should indicate whether police were doing their job or if they crossed the line. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Aurora, Colorado. Some tense moments also in Pittsburgh today, a former U.S. soldier allegedly took a man hostage for several hours. Details on that ahead. COOPER: A lawsuit over a 4-year-old's playhouse is just ahead on the "Ridiculist." But first, Isha is here with the "360 Bulletin" -- Isha. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an electrical issue here and we are going to declare an emergency. We will probably need assistance here. We got smoke in the cabin. We're going to see the severity of it. We'll let you know. We're going to request fire trucks, please. SESAY: As you heard, the cabin filled with smoke during the flight. No one was injured. Across Syria today, at least 117 people were killed, according to opposition activists. They claimed 15 people died in Aleppo province and they say 17 others were stabbed to death by government troops in a Damascus suburb. Police say an armed man who took a hostage inside a downtown Pittsburgh office building today surrendered peacefully. The suspect talked to family members as well as negotiators during the standoff. The hostage was not harmed. A "360" follow, three Saginaw, Michigan police officers punished in their role for the shooting and killing of a homeless man, an incident caught on tape. One officer was demoted. A police official didn't reveal how the other two were disciplined after a ten-week investigation. Prosecutors said they would not pursue criminal charges in the case. Anderson, the space shuttle "Endeavour" made its final flight today over California atop a modified Boeing 747 jet. The retired "Endeavour" will go on display at the California Science Center in L.A. SESAY: Very cool. But I have to say, so you weren't here yesterday. SESAY: Did you hear about this? COOPER: I did hear a little bit about it. SESAY: Turned up on the show, had some pretty strong words for you with your whole "Ridiculist" thing. I know you're not just going to take it. He even renamed the "Ridiculist." COOPER: Yes, what did he call it? SESAY: The re-blitzulist. COOPER: It doesn't have the same flowing off the tongue. He was annoyed about me saying that he had copied my rad style with the glasses? SESAY: In the interest of full disclosure, I feel I have to tell you that I did say to him on the air that he looked kind of hot in his glasses. COOPER: You've called me a geek, you've said I, you know, you made all sorts of disparaging remarks about me in our many years together and yet he's here for one night, and he's hot? SESAY: Don't be like that. SESAY: We've got a special thing, you know. COOPER: We used to. We used to have a special thing. SESAY: You look kind of hot with your glasses, too. COOPER: Please. I don't want your sloppy seconds. I want to clean up for Blitzer over here. SESAY: Fine. Be like that. COOPER: Time now for the shot, a close encounter with a cheetah in Kenya. The big cat apparently wanted a closer look at a jeep. The tourists inside, she took her time checking it out, hanging out for several minutes, even lying down at one point just inches from the tourist sitting in the jeep. Take a look at this. SESAY: That is some scary stuff. SESAY: Constantly calling out Neil. COOPER: He's intrepid. He gets right in there and the tiger was not happy about it. SESAY: Not as hot as you, though. COOPER: Have a good weekend. Coming up, a homeowners association, got to see this "Ridiculist," that's next. We'll be right back. COOPER: Time now for the "Ridiculist." Tonight, we are issuing a nationwide plea for a return to sanity, end to the madness once and for all. Now we all know that people like to put stuff in their yards, your garden gnomes, flags emblazoned with professional sports logos, Homer Simpson dressed as Santa Claus, what have you. But there has to be a limit. When someone puts something undeniably offensive in their backyard there has to be repercussions. That's why I'm proud to report that in Georgia, one very brave and heroic homeowners association has finally, finally taken a stand and filed a lawsuit over this pink playhouse. I mean, would you just take a look at that thing? Hideous eyesore, party of one, your table is ready. Forget the fact that you can't even see it from the front of the house, you have to peek around the house and into the backyard. The homeowners association knows it is there and they know it's pink. The first rule of homeowners association, don't talk about homeowners association. The second rule, no unapproved colors on free-standing backyard structures. That isn't even taking into account the activity that occurs within said structure. Yes, take a look. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Put it in the oven. COOPER: Yes. That would be 4-year-old, Aubrey. She's probably having a tea party, probably without a permit. Of course, she isn't pulling this off all on her own. No, there's her accomplice slash grandmother, who built the play house as a Christmas present. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought this is ridiculous. There's too much crime and everything else. These lawyers need to be worrying about other things that are way more important than whether or not my granddaughter has a pink play house or not. COOPER: I want to apologize for using this. I have never done that before. There has been some public outcry about this, but the president of the homeowners association is standing firm. Take it away. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Part of approval is the color. We didn't disapprove the play house. We've disapproved the color. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think the color pink is worth this whole legal mess? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously it is. Obviously, I had neighbors that complained about it. COOPER: OK, you really need to get other things going on in your life. Totally reasonable, though, sounds like the lawsuit would go away if they just painted the play house and why not? What could possibly be more thrilling for a little girl than to suddenly find the pink play house that she loves magically transformed into a really fun shade of, I don't know, dirt brown? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You like it pink? UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's my favorite color. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you want your play house brown? COOPER: I rest my case. The grandmother has two weeks to respond to the lawsuit and it sounds like she is in it for the long haul. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to fight it until the bitter end. I will not paint that dollhouse. I will move first. COOPER: I think it was John Mellencamp who said it best, isn't that America, home of the free little pink houses for you and me, except for you little Aubrey, sorry. Yours has to look like a shed. So thank you, John Mellencamp, and thank you, homeowners association, for reminding us what really matters on the "Ridiculist." That does it for us. We'll see you again one hour from now at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, another edition of "360."

2019-04-19T03:23:46Z

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1209/21/acd.01.html

Described as ‘man’s best friend’ dogs have played an important part in our lives as pets, protectors and working dogs. They were bred for specific roles by breeders throughout England who tended to specialize in specific breeds. Dog fanciers bought or bred their own dogs to show at dog shows hoping for notoriety and recognition bestowed upon them for their prize winning entries. The first modern dog show was held June 28-29,1859 in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and was an added attraction to the annual cattle show. The first show to include non-sporting breeds was held in Birmingham later in 1859 and was such a success that a year later, the Birmingham Dog Show Society ran the first National Dog Show, for which there were 267 entries, with 30 breeds, judged in 42 classes. In Tunbridge Wells ,and the surrounding area, there were a number of dog breeders in the 19th and early 20th century and during that time various Canine Societies were formed, among which was the Tunbridge Wells District Canine Society which boasts that it was founded in 1884 and that it is the oldest Canine Society in Britain and which Society holds various events throughout the year. A photo of a 1929 Tunbridge Wells Canine Society medal is shown above. The earliest mention in the Courier of a dog show being held in Tunbridge Wells was on April 23,1875, which announced an effort to hold a dog show in the town in August of that year. However, the Courier of August 20,1886 announced “The Second Grand Dog Show” that ran for two days starting on August 19th, which show was held at the Agricultural Grounds, in connection with the annual Agricultural show. The first day of the show suffered from dismal weather but it did not dampen the spirits of the entrants and spectators. This show was preceded by a dog show held at Calverley Park August 21-22,1884 which was the first show put on by the Tunbridge Wells Canine Society. The Courier of July 11,1884 announced that schedules and entry forms were “ now available” for the upcoming show. Although dog shows were not an annual event they took place often. During WW1, like many events in the town, dog shows were suspended for the duration of the war. The Courier of May 16,1913 announced an “Open Dog Show at Tunbridge Wells’ in which there was a large local entry and which show was held at Barn Meadow on Claremont Road. The show was reported to have “ completely exceeded expectations” and that it was organized by the Southern Counties Canine Association. Arrangements for this show were reported in the Courier of April 11,1913 at a meeting of the Southern Counties Canine Association. The last prewar dog show was held in Tunbridge Wells at Calverley Park in May 1914 which event was put on by the Southern Counties Canine Association. This show was the largest one held up to that date attracting 1,436 entries from all over the country. The earliest local dog show found after the war appears to be that of June 1924 held by the RSPCA in the Calverley Grounds (two images below). In 1925 a dog show was held at the Agricultural Show grounds by the Tunbridge Wells Canine Society and other shows followed throughout the 20th century and are just as popular today as they have ever been. Shown below left is a photograph taken May 13,1925 at the Tunbridge Wells Dog Shown in which can be seen Miss P. Selkirk Wells with her winning Irish Wolfhounds ‘Cocholainn Lucifer’ and ‘Culverden Doreen’. Shown below right is a photo taken at the Tunbridge Wells Dog Show of 1929 in which can be seen Miss M. Tucker on her way to the show with her sheepdogs ‘Watchers Jim’ and ‘Tenet Peter’. Shown below from the 1935 show is Mrs Edna Carlton with her prize winning Afghan hound. In this article I present information about two of these dog shows, as typical examples, namely that of 1884 and 1914. For anyone interested in dogs in general see my article ‘ All About Dogs’ dated May 5,2015. The first Tunbridge Wells Dog Show was held in the “Calverley Park Gardens” on Thursday and Friday 21st and 22nd August 1884. Although a dog show was held in the town in 1875 the 1884 show was given the distinction of being the “first dog show” for it was arranged by the Tunbridge Wells Canine Society which had been founded that year. The reference to “Calverley Park Gardens” actually referred to the open greenspace adjacent to Calverley Park at the rear of the Calverley Hotel, before part of these grounds were purchased by Council in the early 1920’s which grounds became known as the “Calverley Grounds”. Shown above is a view of the land below the Calverley Hotel with the hotel shown in the background. There were 50 classes of Sporting and Non-Sporting dogs - open to all England, and 6 local classes - for residents within a 10 mile radius of Tunbridge Wells. The catalogue showed an entry of over 500 dogs. The main breeds represented were Mastiffs, St. Bernards, Great Danes or Boarhounds, Collies and Sheepdogs, Greyhounds, Pointers, Beagles, Fox Terriers, Spaniels, Setters, Hunt Terriers, Rough Terriers, Black and Tan Terriers, Bulldogs and Pugs. In addition to the breed classes there were also some fun classes. The show was held over two days. There were promenade concerts and the gardens were decorated with floral displays and arches together with 2500 Chinese lanterns and ornamental lights - all gas of course, as well as balloons and magnesium and coloured lights all donated and supported by local tradesmen. This enabled the displays to be kept open in the evening. There was a grand firework display in the evening on Thursday and the Tunbridge Wells Military Band and Ceylon Band attended on the Friday. Rosettes, medals and cups were presented in various classes by tradesmen and societies in the Kent area and also the Society’s president, the Marquess of Abergavenny who, followed by his nephew and this son, remained Patron until 2000. T he first announcement about this dog show appeared in the Courier of April 24,1914 as “ Great Dog Show open to all May 13th at Tunbridge Wells”. This show was not confined to residents of the town and some 5,000 schedules for the event were sent to exhibitors all over the country. It was hoped that the event would be supported by a large number of local entries. The Courier of May 8,1914 announced “Great Dog Show-on Wednesday next May 13th at Tunbridge Wells…1,436 entries. Some 400 pounds in prizes were up for grabs. This event was organized ,as it was in 1913, by the Southern Counties Canine Association of which in 1914 Mr F. Wheatley was the secretary and Sir L. Lindsay-Hogg was President with Mr. R. B. Calderwood as the Hon Secretary of the show. “Keen interest was also taken in the judging of the Children’s Classes, which, although unfortunately not so well patronized as last year, was very entertaining. The exhibitors with one exception were little girls ,who had all their work cut out to manage the dogs. One little girl, Miss Mary Taylor Marsh, stood only a few inches higher than the Great Dane she was showing but nevertheless managed him capably”. “The classes of members of the S.C.C.A, and exhibitors residing within 10-20 miles of the show ground were well filled. Two classes were confined to the Borough itself, and in each of these there were six entries. The classes for this district were particularly well supported by Mr B. Newgass of Frant ,who gave three specials in the classes for the Borough, five for the 10 mile radius class, and two for the 20 mile radius class. Mr W.H. Reeves judged all the members and local classes”. “Tunbridge Wells is unquestionably the finest centre in the South East of England for a dog show, and the success of the open shows in the Borough last year and this has led to a number of the most influential residents in the district to band themselves together into a sort auxiliary of the S.C.C.A. According to Mr Wheatley, the secretary, they realize that the Tunbridge Wells show could be made one of the most important in the country, but it must have more local support”. Residents of this district ,said Mr Wheatley, do not taker nearly enough interest in the show. At Bexhill, our show there is publically patronized by the Mayor and Town Council, and that ought to be the case with the Tunbridge Wells Show. These exhibitions bring hundreds of wealthy people to the town and inevitably popularize the neighbourhoods wherein they are held, provided of course that the centres are possessed of natural attractions the same as Tunbridge Wells undoubtable is. We hope that the little auxiliary of well-known local residents who have banded themselves together for the purpose of working for the show will have the effect of arousing far keener interest in it locally”. Among the entries at the 1914 dog show in Tunbridge Wells was a champion Old British Sheepdog called ‘Falcon Joe’that won two first prizes and a special which was the pet of Miss Mavis Sarkies, who’s maiden name was given incorrectly in one account as “Markies”. I have shown in this section a photo of her and her sheepdog from a sporting publication of 1914 as well as the front of a press photo showing the same image. The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News of London dated May 23,1914 showed the image of her and her sheepdog presented here stating that the dog was that of Mr Burgoyne. Mr William Burgoyne was a dog judge and breeder of Old English Sheepdogs and was often mentioned in newspaper accounts of various dog shows held throughout the country. The London Standard of June 5,1910 referred to “Mr. Burgoyne’s sheepdog ‘Falcon Joe” and the Bedfordshire Mercury of August 30,1912 gave “Mr. Burgoyne’s Falcon Joe’ which won a first prize. It appears therefore that Miss Sarkies bought the dog ‘Falcon Joe’ from Mr Burgoyne sometime after 1912 and before the show in Tunbridge Wells in 1914. Two of Mr Burgoyne’s sheepdogs were found in the champion of champions list of the Old English Sheepdog Club namely ‘Falcon Laddie (1911/1913) and ‘Falcon Bessie’ (1915). Other sheepdogs found in newspaper reports on dog shows owned by Mr William Burgoyne were ‘Falcon Prince’ (1912); ‘Falcon Grove King’ (1916); ‘Falcon Gay Boy’(1916); ‘Calm Weather’ (1908); ‘Falcon Valentin’ (1909); ‘Falcon Blue Boy’ (1917); ‘Falcon Bob’ (1909/1910); ‘Falcon Bessie’ (1916) and others. In 1908-1911 he was living at Clapham Junction and Battersea. In Greater London. Surprisingly, in response to my inquiry, the Old English Sheepdog Club, had no information about the man himself and nothing definitive could be found out about him from any other available sources. There was a time when Old English Sheepdogs dominated television screens and newspaper comic strips and now its hard to find one beyond a dog show. These dogs which can weigh close to 100 pounds are dropping in numbers as owners have moved towards smaller breeds of dogs. At the height of the breed’s popularity in 1975, when the sheepdog was named best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, nearly 16,000 puppies were registered but 10 years later there were fewer than 5,600 dogs and three years ago just 1,000. London’s Kennel Club, which put the breed on the club’s watch list, registered just 401 sheepdog puppies in 2011. Returning now to Miss Mavis Sarkies, she was born as Mavis Bladys Christabella Sarklies August 1,1891 and baptised September 16,1898 at Allahabad, Bengal, India, one of several children born to John Carrapiet Sarkies(1856-1937) and Frances Maguritta Adelaide Smelt (1865- 1948), which couple were married at Allahabad December 29,1888. John served with the Indian Medical Service from 1879 to 1910 as a surgeon and the family was well off financially. The Sarkies family were Armenian in origin and John’s father and other relatives lived and worked in India for many years in the 19th and 20th century. In about 1912 Mavis and her parents and some of her siblings left India and settled in London and it was from there that she travelled with her sheepdog ‘Falcon Joe’ to attend the Tunbridge Wells Dog Show. In the 2nd qtr of 1921 Mavis G.C. Sarkies married Myles Denton Cairn(1884-1963) at Paddington. Myles was a well educated gentleman and was trained and worked as a physician and surgeon. In 1938 Mavis was living with her husband and two servants at Northbank Lodge in Bognor Regis, Sussex. Probate records for Mavis G.C. Cairn gave her of Nortghbank in Bognor Regis, Sussex when she died January 16,1960. The executor of her 519 pound estate was her husband Myles Denton Cairn. The National Archives has a record for Mavis G.C. Sarkies who served with the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF)during WW1 (service No. 10495) and that she enrolled May 30,1918, the same year that the WRAF was founded. Quite an interesting women indeed! J ohn William Harmer was one of four children born to Stephen (a gardener) and Mary Harmer, nee Holman. John was born in Reigate Surrey in 1866 and lived with his parents and siblings until about 1880. His first job was as a grocer’s errand boy in Reigate and decided that being a grocer was the career for him. While living and working in Reigate he married Mary Upfold in Reigate in January 1890 and with her had five children between 1891 and 1907 but two of them died at birth. After the marriage John worked as a grocer in Sussex in the early 1890’s and by the late 1890’s was a grocer in Crowborough. In 1900 John and his family moved to Tunbridge Wells where he ran a grocers shop and sub post office at 72 St James Road until the mid 1920’s when he retired from business, which business was taken over by Charles F. Williams who was still there in 1942. As no directory listings for John were found in Tunbridge Wells after 1922 it appears that he left Tunbridge Wells. His son Ebenezer John Harmer (1903-1963) who was born in Tunbridge Wells, remained in the town; got married; raised a family and was found listed in local directories of 1930-1938 at 47 Albion Road with the occupation of basket and sieve maker. Ebenezer died in Tunbridge Wells in 1963 . John William Harmer, late in life, moved back to Tunbridge Wells and lived with his son Ebenezer. On January 10,1945 John passed away while living at his son’s home at 47 Albion Road. John’s wife died in Tunbridge Wells in 1959. Shown above is a photograph of John’s shop at 72 St James Road taken circa 1914. John William Harmer was born in Reigate, Surrey in the 2nd qtr of 1866. He was one of four children born to Stephen Harmer (1837-1895) and Mary Harmer, nee Holman (1835-1874). The 1871 census, taken at Nix Lane Cottage in Reigate gave Stephen Harmer as a gardener. With him was his wife Mary and their children Charles, Sarah, John and Arthur, who were all attending school. The 1881 census, taken at Bell Street in Reigate Surrey gave John William Harmer as a lodger living with the Edmund Dickson (a master boot maker) and Edmund’s family. John at that time was working as a grocer’s errant boy. From that time on John decided to make the grocery trade his occupation. In the 1st qtr of 1890 John married Mary Upfold (1866-1959) at Riegate, where Mary was born and lived with her parents and siblings. John and his wife had the following children (1) Hannah Mary Marmer who was born 1891 in Earlswood, Sussex. She later married and had children and died in Uckfield, Sussex in 1963 (2) Esther Caroline Harmer who was born December 19,1893 at Hardcross, Sussex. she alter married and had a family and died 1963 in Crowborough (3) Arthur Charles Harmer who was born and died 1897 in Cuckfield, Sussex (4) Ebenexer John Harmer who was born in Tunbridge Wells in the 3rd qtr of 1903 . He married and had children. He was found in Tunbridge Wells directories from 1930 to 1938 at 47 Albion Road with the occupation of basket and sieve maker. Ebenezer died in Tunbridge Wells in 1963 (5) Edith Emily Harmer who was born and died in 1907 at Sculcoates, Yorkshire while the family were on vacation. As can be seen from the birth records of John’s children,the family lived in Sussex from at least 1893 to 1897 but had moved to Tunbridge Wells sometime before the 1901 census. While in Sussex John ran a grocers shop. John and his wife and his two eldest children moved to Tunbridge Wells in about 1900. The 1901 census, taken at 72 St James Road gave John as the proprietor of a grocers shop and sub post office. With him was his wife Mary and their children Hannah and Esther. Also there was Stephen Alfred Harmer, age 15 who was living as a boarder and working for John as a grocers assistant. Also there were two other lodgers. The 1911 census, taken at 72 St James Road gave John as a grocer and provisioner. With him was his wife Mary ; his daughter Hannah; his daughter Esther who was working as a uncertified teacher; his son Ebenezer who was working for his father as a “clerk to sub-postmaster”. The family were living in premises of 6 rooms and the census recorded that the couple had been married 21 years and of their five children only three were still living. Local directories of up to and including 1922 list John as a grocer and sub post master at 72 St James Road. As no directories for him after 1922 were found it appears that he retired from business and left Tunbridge Wells. It was noted from a 1930 directory that 72 St James Road was the premises of Charles F. Williams who was a grocer and sub postmaster and that he was still there in 1942. Late in life John returned to Tunbridge Wells and lived with his son Ebenezer. Probate records show that John William Harmer was of 47 Albion Road when he died January 10,1945. The executor of his 906 pound estate was George White, a farmer. John was buried in the Tunbridge Wells Borough Cemetery. John’s wife died in Tunbridge Wells in 1959 and was buried near her husband. Edward Joy senior was born 1834 in Brenchley, Kent and was one of nine children born to agricultural worker Alexander Joy (1801-1889) and Sophia Joy, nee Manwaring (1804-1874). Edward remained in Brenchley throughout the 1850’s but by the time of the 1851 census he was living as a visitor in Wadhurst, Sussex where he was working as agricultural labourer. In 1858 Edward married Sylvia Baker (1836-1911) and with her had seven children including Edward Joy junior (1869-1949) who is the central figure in this article. All seven or the children were born in Tunbridge Wells between 1859 and 1873. Sylvia Baker had been born in Ticehurst, Sussex on February 25,1836 and was one of ten children born to Richard Baker (born 1812) and Caroline Baker, nee Chantler (1813-1873). Her father was a farm labourer and up to the time of her marriage she was living with her parents and siblings at Rose Cottage in Ticehurst. Edward Joy senior was a bootmaker and at the time of the 1861 census he and his wife Sylvia and two children were living at Culverden Cottage No. 2 in Tunbridge Wells. By the time of the 1871 census Edward Joy senior and his wife Sylvia and six of their children were living in Tunbridge Wells at 33 Goods Station Road, where Edward senior was a bootmaker master employing two men. Edward junior at that time was attending school. The family were still living at this address at the time of the 1881 where Edward senior was a bootmaker master employing his son Alexander and one boy. Edward Junior was attending school. Shown opposite is an old postcard view of Goods Station Road. The 1891 census, taken at 33 Goods Station Road gave Edward senior as a boot and shoe maker. With him was his wife Sylvia; their son Edward who was a stationers assistant; their daughter Harriet who was a pupil teacher and their daughter Kate who was a stationers assistant. Shown opposite is the front and back a CDV of Edward Joy junior taken at the Grosvenor Studio in Tunbridge Wells, a studio that was the photographic premises of Percy Squire Lancaster. Lancaster had moved to Tunbridge Wells in 1891 and in that year took over this studio from Henry Peach Robinson. On May 14,1900 Edward Joy senior died in Tunbridge Wells. He was given in probate records as being of 39 Goods Station Road. The executors of his 442 pound estate were his widow Sylvia and son Edward Joy junior who was a stationers manager. Edward was buried in the Tunbridge Wells Borough Cemetery on May 19th. His wife Sylvia died in Tunbridge Wells in the first qtr of1911 and buried near her husband. Edward Joy was born in Tunbridge Wells on March 16,1869. He lived with his parents and siblings in Tunbridge Wells and by 1891 he was working as a stationers assistant. On September 2,1894 he married Ellen Kate Jupp (1874-1946) at St Mary’s Church , Rumboldswyke, Chichester, Sussex (image opposite). Ellen had been born February 16,1874 at North Mundham, Sussex and was one of six children born to Henry Jupp junior (1832-1903) and Emily Jupp, nee Parsons (1837-1923). Edward and Ellen had the following children (1) Lennox Edward Wilson Joy (1895-1967) (2) Phyllis Adelaide Joy (1903-1978) (3) Raymond Hamilton Kimbrey Joy (1905-1971). All of the children were born in Tunbridge Wells, Lennox on June 19,1895; Phyllis on October 23,1903 and Raymond on January 4,1905. The 1901 census, taken at 49 Stone Street in Tunbridge Wells gave Edward as a stationers accountant. With him was his wife Ellen who was a dressmaker working on own account, and their son Lennox who was in school. The 1911 census, taken at 22 Mereworth Road in Tunbridge Wells gave Edward Joy (wholesale stationers assistant) with his wife Ellen (a costumer on own account) and their children Phyllis, Raymond and Lennox. The census recorded that they were living in premises of 7 rooms; that they had been married 16 years and that all three of their children were still living. Also living with them at the time was Fanny Fartha Joy, age 52 and listed as “sister” and working for the family as a house servant. As was the case with Canada and Australia, New Zealand had a need for boys and young men to work on farms. A program was in place run by the Department of Labour in Auckland, New Zealand where passage for the boys was paid by the government and once the boys arrived in Auckland they were assigned to a farm and paid a weekly salary. Enticed by this program Edward Joy’s son Lennox decided to take advantage of the program and along with 56 other young men (all between the ages of 16 and 20) boarded the steamship AYRSHIRE (image opposite) at Liverpool on November 22,1913. The passenger records note his intended occupation to be farming. Lennox went on to wed Nellie Mary Collier (born 1900) in New Zealand in 1922 and with her had a son Roger Lennox Joy (1928-2013). Lennox died in Auckland New Zealand on May 14,1967. The next members of the Joy family to emigrate to Auckland was Edward Joy’s wife Ellen and her daughter Phyllis who departed from Southampton on the steamship OLYMPIC (image opposite) arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada July6 4,1918. The passenger list recorded that their intended destination was Auckland. Records for St Albans Vermont USA show that Ellen and her daughter crossed the Canada/USA border where in the USA they boarded a ship to complete their journey. Ellen Kate Joy died in Auckland March 29,1949 . Her daughter Phyllis died in Auckland November 18,1978 as a spinster. The next members of the Joy family to emigrate to Auckland was Edward Joy junior and his son Raymond. They boarded the SS RUAHINE (image opposite) November 3,1919 and departed from Southampton. The address given for Raymond and his father was 16 Culverden Park Road, Tunbridge Wells and their indented destination was Auckland, New Zealand. Edward Joy junior was given as a manager wholesale stationer and his son was given as a schoolboy. The joy family remained in Auckland for the rest of their lives. Shown above left is a photograph of Edward Joy junior and his wife Ellen, taken in New Zealand. Shown opposite left is a photograph of Raymond Hamilton Kimbrey Joy and opposite right is a photo of Raymond and his wife Margaret on the right with Robert and Elsie Blacklock on the left. On June 4,1927 Raymond married Margaret McIntyre Morrison (1908-2013) in Auckland and with her had two children namely Margaret Phyllis Joy (1934-2001) and Donald Henry Joy (1936-1996). Raymond died in Auckland November 27,1971. On March 24,1902, Arthur Balfour presented to the House of Commons an Education Bill that attempted to overturn the 1870 Education Act that had been brought in by William Gladstone. It had been popular with radicals as they were elected by ratepayers in each district. This enabled nonconformists and socialists to obtain control over local schools. The new legislation abolished all 2,568 school boards and handed over their duties to local borough or county councils. These new Local Education Authorities (LEAs) were given powers to establish new secondary and technical schools as well as developing the existing system of elementary schools. At the time more than half the elementary pupils in England and Wales. For the first time, as a result of this legislation, church schools were to receive public funds. Nonconformists and supporters of the Liberal and Labour parties campaigned against the proposed act. David Lloyd George led the campaign in the House of Commons as he resented the idea that Nonconformists contributing to the upkeep of Anglican schools. It was also argued that school boards had introduced more progressive methods of education. "The school boards are to be destroyed because they stand for enlightenment and progress." John Clifford (image above) became the leader of the campaign against the legislation. Clifford was opposed to Balfour's bill for three main reasons: (1) the rate aid was being used to support the teaching of religious views to which some rate-payers were opposed; (2) sectarian schools, supported by public funds, were not under public control; (3) teachers in sectarian schools were subject to religious tests. John Clifford prepared a plan of "Passive Resistance". It was based on the strategy used by John Hampden against Ship Money in 1637 and one of the causes of the English Civil War. "Its tactics were to be those of the old Tithe War: refuse to pay the abhorrent education rate, submit rather to the forced sale of your goods and even of your house; if need be, go to jail! Clifford argued that people who disagreed with the proposed Education Act should refuse to pay at least that portion of the rate which was to be spent in or on church schools. The National Passive Resistance Committee was set-up with the motto "No Say. No Pay". However, within weeks the Anti-Martyrdom League was formed to pay the rates that the passive resisters withheld. In July, 1902, a by-election at Leeds demonstrated what the education controversy was doing to party fortunes, when a Conservative Party majority of over 2,500 was turned into a Liberal majority of over 750. The following month a Baptist came near to capturing Sevenoaks from the Tories and in November, 1902, Orkney and Shetland fell to the Liberals. That month also saw a huge anti-Bill rally held in London, at Alexandra Palace. Despite the opposition to the new Education Act, it was passed in December, 1902. John Clifford, wrote several pamphlets about the legislation that had a readership that ran into hundreds of thousands. Balfour accused him of being a victim of his own rhetoric: "Distortion and exaggeration are of its very essence. If he has to speak of our pending differences, acute no doubt, but not unprecedented, he must needs compare them to the great Civil War. If he has to describe a deputation of Nonconformist ministers presenting their case to the leader of the House of Commons, nothing less will serve him as a parallel than Luther's appearance before the Diet of Worms." Rate refusals began in the spring of 1903. "What normally happened was that sufficient of their goods should be distrained and auctioned to defray the rate. It was usually arranged for a friend of the refuser should be on hand to buy back the goods." Over the next four years 170 men went to prison for refusing to pay their school taxes. This included 60 Primitive Methodists, 48 Baptists, 40 Congregationalists and 15 Wesleyan Methodists. John Clifford never went to prison but he appeared in court on 41 different occasions over the next ten years. In August 1903 the tax resistance campaign against the provisions of the Education Act that had allowed for taxpayer funding of sectarian religious education was still ramping up. Nobody knew at the time that the struggle would go on for years. It was a campaign that would inspire the later tax resistance struggles of the women’s suffragists and of Mahatma Gandhi, and which would associate the term ‘passive resistance’ with nonviolent civil disobedience and with tax resistance in particular. The tax resistance campaign was reported on widely in newspapers throughout Britain citing hundreds if not thousands of cases where citizens objecting to the provisions of the Education Act refused to pay the complete taxes levied and who withheld a portion of the payment due because of their “conscientious objection to pay for the maintenance of Church Schools”. Rev. J.E. Simon for example, who was the pastor of the Congregational Chapel in Brampton said that “ I am unable to pay that part of the rate which is levied for the support of sectarian schools for by this rate I am required to pay directly for the teaching of Romanism and doctrines of the Established Church which I believe to be untrue. This I, as a Protestant and Non conformist, I refuse to do voluntarily”. Those not paying the full rates demanded were brought before the magistrates and Distraint Warrants were issued. The issuing of these warrants led to a dispute for since the authorities would not accept partial payment bailiffs were instructed to seize personal property to satisfy the amount of the full payment due and not just the much smaller unpaid portion. The National Passive Resistance Committee on the question of excessive distraint raised the issue and awaited a decision by legal authorities. At Sheffield a K.C. was quoted as saying “ It is beyond question illegal to make an excessive distraint. The bailiffs have no right to remove more goods than are estimated in reason to meet the account of the rate and the cost of distraint. If people are taking part in the passive resistance movement feel that the bailiffs have been unreasonable, they can claim damages in court, and it is for the jury to decide. A vindictive distraint is also illegal. A distraint has been held to be vindictive where valuable goods have been removed against the wishes of the occupier, who has tendered other goods. A bailiff is not necessarily to take what is offered him, but if he takes things that he is requested to leave, he may be convicted of vindictive distraint, and the owner may be awarded damages”. Others stated “ It seems nothing short of monstrous that warrants should be issued and costs imposed for the full amount of the rate, when in reality the defendants have only declined to pay a very small portion thereof. The local authorities who are apparently bent on making matters as unpleasant as possible for the Passive Resisters are unquestionably arousing deep and wide-spread sympathy for those sturdy protestants, even amongst those who do not see eye to eye with them in the course they have taken”. Liberal politician David Lloyd George capitalized on the opposition to the Education Act to bolster his political standing and to attract new voters to the Liberal party. Much has been written on this topic and for that reason I do not go into further detail except to report in the following section on the events in Tunbridge Wells about this issue. In 1903 the police operated from premises at the rear of the Old Town Hall (image opposite) on Calverley Road and remained there until the Civic Centre was built in the late 1930’s on Mount Pleasant Road, following the demolition of John Ward’s Calverley Parade that ran between Crescent Road and Monson Road. The Town Crier in 1903 was Henry Chambers who served in this position for the Borough from the early days of incorporation (1899) until 1927 and who was a familiar figure in civic photographs of this period. Lot 1.—Silver Cake Basket and Silver Salver. Lot 4.—Copper Coal Scuttle and Scoop, and Silver Fish Servers, in case. Each Lot to be paid for and cleared immediately after the Sale. Immediately following this article was another, featuring many of the same cast of characters, describing a meeting “on the Common in the evening,” and then another, describing an “evening meeting at the Great Hall” that followed. These were rallies that were meant to remind attendees of what was at stake and to encourage them to keep up the struggle to the bitter end, but the reports do not otherwise shed much light on how the campaign was progressing. Shown below is a postcard view of the Commons and of the Great Hall. One thing I thought was noteworthy was a slideshow that included scenes from that afternoon’s distraint auction. Unfortunately the views in this slide show have not been located to date by the researcher. A review of newspapers for Kent covering the period of 1903 to 1913 resulted in finding 800 articles about the passive resistance campaign, about 15% of which pertained to Tunbridge Wells. From the Tunbridge Wells articles given in the Courier it was noted that throughout the period of 1903 to 1913 a large number of people joined the passive resistance movement who appeared before the magistrates and who had their property seized and sold. The Courier of March 14,1913 however noted that “the number of passive resisters in Tunbridge Wells has become reduced in scale” but went on to list the names of those who’s property had been seized. The Courier of August 19,1913 reported on further seizures including that of E.J. Strange of the well- known Strange family of Tunbridge Wells. Later editions of the Courier for 1913 noted that the resistance movement had failed for the Education Act they protested against was not changed and that many of those who had protested against it in the town had either given up their protest or moved away. J ames Mountain (image opposite) was born July 16, 1844 at Leeds, Yorkshire. He attended Gainford Academy near Darlington, Rotherham College, Nottingham Institute, and Cheshunt College. He then became pastor at Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Leaving the clerical field due to ill health. After his health improved he conducted evangelism campaigns in Britain (1874-82) and world­wide (1882-9). He is credited as having written some 15 hymns among which were Hymns of Consecration and Faith, and Sacred Songs for Missions, Prayer and Praise Meetings. He also authored the books ‘ My Baptism and What led to it’ and ‘The Triumph of British-Israel’. In the 2nd qtr of 1891 he married Frances Elizabeth Grogan at Paddington but had not children with her. Peltons 1891 guide recorded that he was one of several subscribers to the Tunbridge Wells Hospital and Dispensary on Mount Pleasant Road. Peltons 1896 guide listed him as the minster of the Emmanuel Church (Lady Huntingdon’s) facing London Road on Mount Ephraim. The 1901 census, taken at 18 St John’s Road, Tunbridge Wells gave him as a Baptist minister. With him was his wife Frances, a sister in law and one domestic servant. James died June 27, 1933 in Tunbridge Wells and was buried in the Tunbridge Wells Borough Cemetery. William Henry Charles Palmer was born at 1864 at Hoxon,London and was one of seven children born to William Palmer (1843-1912) and Sarah Ann Palmer, nee Paterman (1844-1917). At the time of the 1871 and 1881 census he was living with his parents and siblings in London. On February 7,1886 he married Isabella Sarah Hunt and with her had four children between 1886 and 1890 who were born in Islington. In 1886 Rev. W.H. C. Palmer became the first minister of the Spa Fields Church and promoted concerts and lectures at the chapel in addition to services. The 1901 census, taken at the Emmanual Church on Mount Ephraim gave William as minister of this church. Living with him was his wife and four children and one servant. From 1904 to 1910 Rev. W.H.C. Palmer was the minister of the Warwick Road United Reformed Church. In 1908 Rev. W.H.C. Palmer attended a meeting of the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital. The ‘Hospital World’ dated May 14,1910 reported “ The death of the Rev. W. H. C. Palmer on April 5,1910, who had been a member of the Committee of the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital, was regretfully alluded to at the April meeting, and the secretary, Mr. J. A. Rudd, has forwarded to Mrs. Palmer and her family an expression of the sympathy of the Committee. The vacancy on the General Committee has been filled by Admiral Bacon”. William Usher was born April 1848 in Manchester and baptised April 19,1848 at St Simon and St Jude in Landshashire, the son of Henry and Mary Usher. By 1901 he had moved to Tunbridge Wells and was found in the 1901 census as a Baptist minister and medical doctor living with his wife Emma Mary Usher , one daughter and three domestic servants, at 209 Upper Grosvenor Road. William had married Emma in 1875 and with her had five children who at the time of the 1911 census were all living. The 1911 census, taken at 38 Woodbury Park Road, Tunbridge Wells gave William as a Baptist minister. Living with him in premises of 6 rooms was his wife Emma and one domestic servant. Probate records gave William Usher of 62 Upper Grosvenor Road,Tunbridge Wells when he died August 23,1928 at 297 Ditching Road . The executor of his 349 pound estate was his widow Emma. William was buried in the Tunbridge Wells Borough Cemetery. Content copyright . ALLABOUTTUNBRIDGEWELLS.COM. All rights reserved.

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While referring to a template for a welcome Address is the easiest approach to draft such a language, it’s a good idea to bear in mind some handy suggestions that can help you. Make sure you time your address well, and eliminate any excess details that you have included in the speech. Proceed until you turn into through the full address without stumbling. Proceed until you turn into through the complete speech. Recognizing speech is a challenging matter. Composing an informative language is very straightforward provided you keep certain standard guidance in mind. Given below are a couple of suggestions which will make it possible for you to write an excellent informative speech. Presumably you Believe that your address Is Vital, Tell your audience why they ought to believe so too. Therefore, when you give your farewell address, don’t forget to dedicate a small bit of everything in your speech and make it the most best farewell anyone has received. 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Questions such as, how can you be sure you decide on the most acceptable subject, how do you draft this type of speech, how do you be sure that you receive an ideal introduction, and how do you ensure you have the eye of the audience, abound on your own head. You will probably have to tweak lots of the query suggestions I offered, or a range of those phrases I recommended. 1 issue that worries a whole lot of speakers would be the way to promote yourself and your organization during your speech. Social event every two days. Conclusion The private development program is very important in allowing the monitoring of developmental changes that are essential for the achievement of set goals. Introduction A personal development program is among the most efficient instruments for professionals and students who wish to achieve excellence in their respective fields. Consider another example, highlighting why You have to attend your very own personal growth if you wish to modify the world. 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In any instance, you must incorporate an appropriate purchase order number in the form. The sample purchase order format is what You may utilize to generate any style and any sort of purchase order in a simple method. A lot of people think that it’s a legally binding document, although many think that it may be changed everywhere. 1 exception relates to non-recourse debt, in which the loan documents expressly say that, in case of a lack, the lending company wouldn’t have any recourse against the borrower. Though they include the debtor’s promise to pay off the loan, the creditor cannot take legal action to recoup the deficiency if the loan has been used to purchase the residence. The statement of account isn’t the official statement. The individual’s sudden choice to buy something is the outcome of suddenly seeing the item. You don’t demand a purchase agreement to earn the deal legal. A model sample is only a Specific Way Of format, which may be used in making order order fashion. 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2019-04-24T15:46:37Z

http://penyasportpalamos.com/16-rechnungsmuster-word/

2000 local time. MT spoke for 37 minutes 25 seconds and answered questions for a further 10 minutes. She did not follow the press release at all closely. Still less did she adhere to the version published in Alistair Cooke’s The Revival of Britain (1989), pp1-17, which includes material removed from the text after the press release had been distributed - for which see CCOPR 765/75 (15 September 1975, informing editors of the deletion and MT The Path to Power (1995), pp358-59). However, the rather fatalistic tone of much of what is written about Britain by commentators on both sides of the Atlantic is, I believe, misplaced. So I'm very grateful to the SocioEconomic Institute for giving me a splendid opportunity to try and put one or two things straight. I think most outside observers have noticed that, amid our very well published difficulties, a new debate is beginning—or perhaps I should say an old debate is being renewed—about the proper role of government, the Welfare State, and the attitudes on which both rest. And may I stress that the attitudes are extremely important? Of course, many of the issues at stake have been debated on countless occasions in the last century or two and some are as old as philosophy itself, but the Welfare State in Britain is now at least thirty years old. So, after a long period in which it was unquestionably accepted by the whole of society, we can now do more than discuss its strengths and weaknesses in the abstract language of moral and political principles. We can depart from theory and we can actually look at the evidence and see how it has worked, what effect it has had on the economy, how we ought now to assess it, before we decide what to go on and do next. The debate centres on what I'll term, for want of a better phrase, the ‘progressive consensus’. I should perhaps say here that things that are called progressive are not always progressive in practice—but of course some of them are. And the progressive consensus, I think, is the doctrine that the state should be active on many fronts: in promoting equality, in the provision of social welfare, and in the redistribution of wealth and incomes. Now, that’s the end of the quotation on social justice and the means by which that person proposed to bring it about. It so happened that that was written by a former Labour cabinet minister in 1962, but I’m not particularly interested in party politics tonight, because these views have been held in varying degrees by all political parties, in schools and universities, and among social commentators generally. It’s interesting that they’re now being questioned right across the same broad spectrum. Now, it’s not that our people are suddenly reverting to the ideals of laissez-faire. Nor are they rejecting the social advances of recent decades. It’s rather that they are reviving a constructive interest in the noble ideals of personal responsibility, because in some respects the concepts of social responsibility have turned sour in practice. And we are making an attempt to identify and eliminate errors and fallacies and to consolidate and retrench before advancing further. And it’s in that constructive spirit, and as a former Secretary of State for Education and Science myself, that I'm speaking to you tonight. Now, I'll try and concentrate on three broad issues, particularly in view of that quotation which I read to you a short time ago, which you’ll remember had some very strange phrases in it. The three issues I'm going to concentrate on are: What are the facts about the distribution of wealth and incomes? Secondly, to what extent is greater equality desired in Britain today? And thirdly, has the economy been strengthened by the promotion of more equality and the extension of the Welfare State? Now, what I have to say involves quite a number of statistics, because you’ll realise that, with a mixture of a scientific training and a certain period spent in the revenue bar and on dealing with Treasury matters, one has tried to adduce a mass of evidence to support the case which one is trying to put. But I'll try and put the statistics in as human a way as I can, if that is at all possible. So let me start with the facts. All of you in either science or law—and the wiser ones in politics—will know always one says, ‘First find the facts.’ Now, most people say that the distribution of incomes in wealth in Britain is highly inequitable, that it’s changed little despite the steps taken by government to even it out. And from that assertion, it’s only a short step to two complementary arguments; either that redistribution would greatly swell the incomes of the average man, or that the wealth of the rich is sufficient to finance the substantial extension of the role of the state. I think both are conducive to the attitude that there is something that you can redistribute to make us better off, or, if the state spends more, it’s not we who pay but somehow it’s the other people—neither of them attitudes which I think we would particularly wish to encourage in the modern state. Now, fortunately for my purpose tonight, a major study has just been published by the newly created Royal Commission on the Distribution of Income and Wealth and it gives the first proper statistical picture of the changes that have taken place in Britain between the last war and the year 1972–73, the latest year for which figures are [end p2] available. So may I now quickly tell you its findings? Because these are the facts on the distribution of income and wealth in Britain. Let’s start with income, and of course the relevant income is income after tax. And we find that, in 1972, incomes after tax in Britain were divided up roughly as follows. At the upper end of the scale, the top one per cent of income earners got four per cent of incomes, or four times the average. If you take the top ten per cent, they had twice the average. And if you take the bottom ten per cent, a bit under half the average. Now, if you look at it, from half the average income at the bottom to four times the average income at the top, is not really a very wide range of incomes. It’s not dramatic by any set of rules. Indeed, research has shown that the distribution of incomes in Britain is surprisingly similar to that in Poland—which is a rather shattering conclusion to reach. Now, that's where we were in 1972. So let us have a look at the changes over the previous forty or so years. And you find then that, taking account of tax, the share of the top one per cent of earners, which used to be 12 per cent, now has … is now 4 per cent. So it’s come down over forty years from about 12 per cent to about 4 per cent. And the share of the taxable income of the poor has not increased to quite such a great extent, but they're markedly better off in relative as well as in absolute terms than they were before the war. Because by 1972 the tax free benefits in cash and kind added about a half to the pre-tax income of a typical household in a bottom ten per cent, and for poor families with many dependants the gain could be nearer 100 per cent. Now, those are the income figures. They show quite considerable changes over forty years, but at the moment in Great Britain the range of incomes is not unduly wide. Now, let’s turn quickly to have a look at wealth. Of course, capital assets have been more unevenly spread than incomes in Britain, and this is so in most countries, and for this reason they have been the chief target of the egalitarian critics. Because in Britain it has become almost an undisputed truth that ten per cent of the population owned 80 per cent or 90 per cent of all the assets. But in fact that is not so, because the Royal Commission has now really set out the actual figures. And you find that the top ten per cent of the population over eighteen own less than half of personal wealth when state pension rights are counted as an asset, as they should be. As you’ll appreciate, even these figures can be misleading, since wealth is normally unevenly distributed between the old and the young and often unevenly distributed between husbands and wives. If these distorting factors were properly allowed for, the picture could look still less extreme. But as with income, there've been enormous changes over the last forty years. Let me just give you some indication. In 1911, the top one per cent of the population owned 69 per cent of the wealth. By 1938, it had come down to 50 per cent. By 1960, it had come down to 38 per cent. And by 1972, it had come down to 28 per cent and to 16.5 per cent if pension rights are included in wealth holdings. So you have had again an enormous redistribution of wealth over the years. So, if one looks at that, you find that the facts about economic inequality in Britain are these: that the rich are getting poorer and the poor have so far got richer. It’s due both [end p3] to market forces and the actions of government through the tax system. But if you look at the scope for further redistribution now, there's very little left, because it’s no longer the case that taking further money from the rich will make a significant difference to the wealth of the bulk of the population. We've come to the end of that road. Nor will taxing them more heavily pay for much more government spending. So those are the facts on equality over the years and the redistribution of wealth and income, and most of us believe that we have now come completely to the end of that road. So that is the first section: What are the facts? Whatever ordinary people actually want, there does remain in Britain a powerful and vocal lobby pressing for greater equality, in some cases even, it would seem, for total equality. And one tries to analyse what is it that impels them to do so. Well, of course, one imp- … one pressure is the ordinary desire to help our fellow men. But often the reasons boil down to an undistinguished combination of envy and what might be called ‘bourgeois guilt’. Envy is clearly at work in the case of the egalitarian who resents the gap between himself and those who are better off, while conveniently forgetting his own obligations to those poorer than himself. Bourgeois guilt is that well-known case of guilt and self-criticism that affects people, not only the very rich, when looking the other way at the position of those poorer than themselves. It’s not for me as an individual to criticise their doubts and worries. But as a politician, I must criticise the attempts of such people to impose on others a programme of impoverishment through the medium of the state. Because that brings happiness to no one, except to those who impose it. Because, in a free society, they can give away as much as they want to, to whom they want to, and whenever they want to. They don't have to say, ‘I will only give mine away, if I can compel you to give yours away too.’ [end p4] In a free society, if they believe in pooling their possessions with others, they're welcome to do so. Now, the point of this section is that it has been shown there is a far less general desire for equality, as opposed to equity, in Britain today than is often claimed. And that is the end of that section. We've looked at the facts about equality. We've looked about whether the people want it—and they don't appear to want further distribution. They're more interested in growth and the creation of wealth. Now, can I turn to the third section? A vital one: Is what is called ‘socialising’ the National Income good for the economy? Because we rarely have the evidence to look at. The promotion of greater equality, of course, goes hand-in-hand with the extension of the Welfare State and state control over people's lives. Universal and usually ‘free’—in inverted commas—social services necessarily transfer benefits in cash and kind from the richer to the poorer members of the community. So taken together they define rather well this process of socialising the National Income, which occurred in my first quotation. Now, how far has that process strengthened the economy? Because, if it hasn't strengthened the economy, you haven't the means to carry on, let alone improve your welfare. And one of the lessons we are learning in Britain is that you must, first of all, have the creation of wealth before you can put so much attention on to its distribution. Now, of course, the public sector has been a large part of the British economy since the early post-war years. And what's happened has been—and I think the figures will amaze you—the government share of the Gross National Product has steadily got higher and it’s been higher than in Britain than in most other countries and today the state controls well over half our National Income. In fact, this year it is about 56 per cent of the Gross National Product is controlled and spent by the state. Now, of course, the bill has risen sharply too particularly for the private citizen. And in the later fifties and sixties, the increase in tax and social security payments in effect knocked about one per cent off the growth of private spending each year. This is a characteristic of the massive transfer of resources from the private to the public sector and, corresponding to that, an enormous increase in taxation. And this, we think, has been probably one of the major sources of inflationary pressures, because, if you look at the taxes paid by the average wage-earner, you find that the proportion he's paid to the state—that is, the proportion over the control of which he cannot decide; the state does the spending of his money—the proportion steadily increased. Let me take a typical earner: a man and wife with two children on average industrial earnings. Typical. You find that since 1963, not very long ago, the state has increased its take from the average salary from a negligible 5 per cent to about 25 per cent today. Now, that's the chap on average industrial earnings. In 1963, he used to pay in taxation, direct taxation, 5 per cent of those average earnings to the state. Now, he pays 25 per cent to the state. And, of course, you can imagine what's happened. He's said, ‘Well, I want to keep my net taxed income intact.’ And therefore it has been [end p5] quite a strong factor in his demanding more wages and salaries to replace what in effect he… has been taken away in tax. So they've press their employers for ever higher wage increases, and this has lead to a relentless acceleration of cost and price increases since that time, since the mid-1950s, when it was 2 per cent per annum rate of inflation, to now when you told us, Mr President, reminded us that it’s 25 per cent. And so, of course, they have also pressed not only for increased pay but for increased growth sometimes financed by inflationary policies. Because, of course, it’s one thing to have increased government expenditure when you've got genuine increased growth. It’s quite another thing to go on increasing government expenditure when you have got no growth. And this is one of the things which, of course, has put many of our budgets into a very difficult position now. Now, there are many who regard the desire for private spending as rather irrational and unworthy. ‘After all,’ they say, ‘the taxes have financed a substantial growth in the provision of public goods.’ Any economist will tell one that this is a part of increased living standards, but what you find is, that people want to spend their own money to buy what they want when they want it. And they do not regard the substitution of state provided services as equivalent to spending their own money and in their own way. In a curious way, the attitudes in calling some things ‘free’ has led to the belief that the state services are really an absolute right and a kind of manna from heaven. Now, we've come to the end of that time. They're not manna from heaven. Government expenditure is private taxation or borrowing for which the citizen has to pay. I know you will find that this has a familiar sound with some of the problems that you have to deal with now. So that is how the average person has reacted to what is called ‘socialising’ the National Income. And you've got this paradox: please, he expects the benefits to come from somewhere, but he's not prepared to go on paying more for them himself. He'll demand increased wages and salaries and sometimes inflationary financed growth to do so. Now, we've also had a curious effect on the economy on the labour market. Because, as you have more of the expenditure capacity transferred to government—and remember I said that in Britain government controls 56 per cent of the expenditure of the Gross National Product—so more of your people have moved out of the private sector into the public sector employment. And so, when we have had a period of growth in Britain, we've no longer had a pool of labour for your manufacturing and productive industry to draw on. And this, of course, has also had a great distorting effect on the labour market itself. So you've got the difficult effect of taxation. You've got the distorting effect on the labour market itself. You've also had very heavy taxation on companies. Companies have suffered from a number of factors. First, their profits have steadily reduced. Secondly, they have had to pay increased corporation tax. You found, therefore, that the entrepreneur has been [end p6] able to get less and less back for his effort, and he's not in fact prepared to put the money into his own company or to risk the money in equity, if he's not going to get the return for his effort. Now, you're aware in Britain that we have had a great wage inflation. And it has been thought impossible, in fact, ever to put on any form of wage restraint, unless at the same time you put on restraint on profits, restraint on prices, restraint on dividends. That also has had a great effect on the economy. If you put restraint on profits, you found, in fact, that you were not making sufficient profits properly to invest for the future. If you put restraint on prices, as we have also done, the prices were not high enough to enable the companies to make enough profit. And so you consequently come up against the position whereby our companies have not been able to get the prices, because of price control, to make the profits which are necessary to make the investment which is necessary to provide the growth and the jobs tomorrow. Now, can you see where they cycle's got us to? Taking too much into public expenditure has meant trying to raise extra taxes. People have rebelled against that. They therefore have demanded extra wages. The companies have suffered, because we've had to have a certain amount of wage control, with price control, with profit control, so that companies have suffered also from extra taxes, also from loss of profits. Now, you've had a third economic factor which I must just refer to briefly. Because government couldn't raise all the money it wanted to from taxation, it’s had to resort to borrowing. Because it’s had to borrow so much, it’s had to compete for limited funds, and the interest rates have gone up. Because people could not get a good return from equities, because of profit, price and dividend control, they have often preferred to put their money into government stock. That has again starved the private sector of money with which to develop. You might think this is all very economic. Of course it is, because what I am describing is the actual experience of thirty years of concentrating on distribution, too much, really at the price of not putting enough into the growth of the economy and creating wealth. And so you can see that we've had problems really brought about by transferring far too much from the private sector into the public sector. Now, these factors are there for all to see. There have been a number of other problems. You can imagine that if pension funds and insurance funds have not been able to get sufficient back in dividends, that they are in difficulty with keeping up the pensions with the rate of inflation. And one has to remember that the vast majority of dividends, certainly in my country, don't go so much to private holders of equity as to institutional holders of equity for their insurance and pension funds. Now, these in fact are the economic effects of what has been happening in Britain. Now, you can't in fact ever carry on improvements—and I as a Secretary of State for Education and Science often wanted improvements, often wanted more money for science, for scientific research—unless in fact you get the growth, unless in fact you concentrate on creating the wealth. And, if you're going to take the heart out of people [end p7] by taking away so much of them [sic] in tax, you will find very quickly that you will not have the incentive to get the extra growth. There is just one other effect that I would like to refer to in Great Britain about the incentive effect of taxation. It has been particularly damaging on middle and upper management, because we've found that the level of tax—and I must remind you that the top level of tax on earned income in Britain is 83 per cent and on unearned income or savings income 98 per cent—the level of tax has been such, that it’s not been possible for our companies to pay our management as much as they could get in other countries in net taxed income. And so we have found that, supposing you took a manager who is on a net taxed income of some eight thousand pounds per annum, and his company wanted to promote him to a top job and give him a net taxed income of twelve thousand pounds per annum. So you'd take him from a job he's in at the moment to a top job, from eight thousand net to twelve thousand net. How much in Britain would you have to give him extra? The answer would be an extra fifteen thousand pounds per annum. And, of course, it hasn't been on. What you find is, that if you look across the continent in France, you will find that they've been able to pay their managers less but get a much higher net taxed income. And the result has been that if, in fact, British companies put some of their top managers into Europe or elsewhere on French salaries at French levels of tax, they couldn't get them back because we couldn't in fact pay them a big enough gross salary to give them the net income. Now, all of these in fact have been the economic effects of pursuing far too much equality, and I think we have very much now come to the end of the road. And, in fact, we find that the persistent expansion of the role of the state, beyond the capacity of the economy to support it, and the relentless pursuit of equality has caused, and is causing, damage to our economy in a variety of ways. It’s not the sole cause of what some have termed the ‘British sickness’ but it is a major one. Now, what are the lessons then that we've learned from the last thirty years? First, that the pursuit of equality itself is a mirage. What's more desireable and more practicable than the pursuit of equality is the pursuit of equality of opportunity. And opportunity means nothing unless it includes the right to be unequal and the freedom to be different. One of the reasons that we value individuals is not because they're all the same, but because they're all different. I believe you have a saying in the Middle West: ‘Don't cut down the tall poppies. Let them rather grow tall.’ I would say, let our children grow tall and some taller than others if they have the ability in them to do so. Because we must build a society in which each citizen can develop his full potential, both for his own benefit and for the community as a whole, a society in which originality, skill, energy and thrift are rewarded, in which we encourage rather than restrict the variety and richness of human nature. End of quote. That wasn't written by a quiet capitalist who'd escaped from Czechoslovakia. It was a quotation from the action programme the Czechoslovakian Communist party adopted in the Dubcek days of 1968. Unfortunately, of course, Dubcek went. But the lesson is that even they had learned or were learning that the unbalanced pursuit of equality leads to an insufficiency of resources. Mr President, nothing that I'm saying tonight should in any way been seen as a diminution of our recognised responsibilities to those people who through physical, mental, or social handicap suffer disadvantages. Rather, it is a consciousness that unless we have incentive and opportunity, we shall not have the resources to do as much as we want to do. And having been a Secretary of State for Education, I am the first to understand that. Second, our second lesson, we must strike a proper balance between the growing demands and powers of the state and the vital role of private enterprise. Private enterprise is by far the best method of harnessing the energy and ambition of the individual to increasing the wealth of the nation, for pioneering new products and technologies, for holding down prices through the mechanism of competition, and for widening the range and choice of goods and services and jobs. Finally, we must measure the economic and political demands of some of our people against their consequences, and we must have regard to their effect on our political and social framework. In the coming months in Britain, we shall all be thinking particularly of the achievements of the United States in the two hundred years of it’s existence and of the lessons your country can teach the rest of the world. May I therefore conclude with a modest hope that you will also spare a few minutes to learn from our recent experience? Because it shows how essential it is to escape from the facile arguments, which both our countries have experienced, and to reaffirm before it’s too late those true values which both our countries traditionally have shared. Those values have never been more important than they are today. How about the rest of the world? What do you think of multi-national corporations? Where does England fit in the rest of the world? I've been saying to my friends that we in the United States are probably down the social road twenty years behind England, and I think this is what we have to face, but I think you've gone so far. And I spent three years at Oxford and I love England. My first wife was English and I have a lot of… I have a number of English clients. But I just don't see where you are going. All you said, Mrs Thatcher, was brilliantly said, was an internal, an internal [end p9] statement about England's problems internally. But England is now faced back, having lost the Empire, to a small island with fifty-five thousand people and where—fifty-five million, I beg your pardon. I think you understood that. But, er, but where are you going individually, assuming that you are only with yourself? And where are you going with respect to the multi-national corporations, the Common Market, and the rest of the world? Yes, now, Mr Wells, if I've only given you the impression that I've given an account of internal things, I haven't got the message across. Because the message really is twofold and it applies to all democracies. First, that although in the early stages you probably pursue equality to reduce inequality, you've got to balance equality with equality of opportunity. The two are entirely different. Equality is one thing. Equality of opportunity is another. The other thing you've got to balance is the demands of the public sector with the kind of incentives that you've got to give the private sector. Now, those are really universal lessons. Now, what has happened in Britain, I think, is certainly that we have not balanced the latter two. We've got far too much in the public sector and far too little left in the private sector. You have not gained sufficient incentive in the growth sector, which is the private sector, because in Britain 97 per cent of our exports come from the private sector. You also have gone too far in that you've not given enough attention to equality of opportunity, and you've given too much attention to redistribution of incomes. Now, those are universal lessons. I've tried to outline the way in which I think we should go to try and get our economy right. We mustn't spend money we haven't got. We have been doing quite a lot of that, and I understand that even in parts of this great country you might have problems in that direction, and there are therefore universal lessons. So all right, we have problems. We have spirit to get out of them. But in the meantime we have been doing quite a good fair international whack in international negotiations, and we're going absolutely along the right road, both as far as commodities are concerned, as far as conserving the use of commodities is concerned, and on recognising that, as well as a redistribution of wealth within nations, there is also going on a kind of redistribution of wealth between the developed and developing nations. We must recognise that and we must in fact see that it goes at a rate that will satisfy their demands and in fact be acceptable to our own peoples. All international negotiations are a matter of acceptable compromise. Please, we're not doing too badly. All right, Mr Wells? [inaudible response]. Oh, you're a great sceptic! [laughter]. You’ll be the next Prime Minister! [applause]. Please, and then I'll turn to my left. Ma'am, Mrs Thatcher, I think this has been a perfectly exciting evening. I've enjoyed it enormously and your statement of the problems and the policies have been perfectly wonderful. One thing that you overlooked, and which we've had a great problem in the United States, is the fact that, er, we have these little pressure groups who have changed our whole government. They have asked for more than they were entitled to and been able to receive it. The great majority in America has not been organised. As I listen to you this evening, I hear no evidence that the British people, as great as they are, and I'm sure that the great majority want to have the kind of a world that you're talking of, are not organised. How can we get the majority … the majority over-ruling the pressure groups who have special interests beyond anything else? Now, I went back very carefully over all the economic speeches of the post-war years and I found that sometimes politicians had been saying the right things ever since the end of the last war—‘You cannot live beyond your means’—and then promptly providing budgets where nations did live beyond their means. And what [end p11] happened was that the people said, ‘Well, you say we can't live beyond our means, but for thirty-five years we have been going on expanding our expenditure.’ And then, all of a sudden, they're quite surprised when fundamental truths do actually turn out to be fundamental truths and when reality arrives. Because over-spending gets cumulative and you are now up against reality. Now, reality is always the best time for politicians to get sound views across. It is also a thing which neither the politicians nor the people can ignore, because it’s a time when you have to take active steps to put things right. And I think the reality has arrived for us. I think, in certain geographical townships and cityships in the United States, reality might have arrived here too. But, you see, it does mean that we too as politicians—and economists, because economists also have a responsibility. There was a school of economics which said, ‘A little inflation is a good thing. It lubricates business,’ and a little got a little bigger, and a little bigger, and a little bigger, and then it got a lot, and then it got out of hand. Just have a responsibility to return to your sound financial rules. See that they're practised and see that you do get the growth before you get the rising public expenditure. In the end, it will give a higher standard of living and it will give a much better standard of genuine welfare to those genuinely in need. Of course in the welfare services there are other problems of incentives, and those who are not perhaps necessarily those who are quite so genuinely in need as others, and the problems, the gap between what you can earn if you work and what you get without working, which is a fundamental problem too.

2019-04-22T10:53:02Z

https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102769

Another week, another top 10! With “Man of Steel” released recently, I figured now would be as good a time as any to deliver my 10, all-time favourite superhero films. I didn’t want to jump the gun just in case “Man of Steel” managed to crack the list and then have to go back and edit it, that’s why I waited. No doubt a lot of you will not agree with my choices, so let me explain a little before hand. I am a huge fanboy and while that does have its perks, it certainly comes with its own set of disadvantages. Such as being unable to admit a film is subpar due to my misplaced sense of invincibility and obsession. So please, while gazing at this top 10, be gentle :). I’m getting real close to completing this segment’s header image so please bare with me at least for this week. Inevitably, “Captain America” did not make the list but I felt a powerful need to include him in this post whichever way I could. Also, guys please follow The Cinema Monster on facebook and twitter. There are links to both on the right side of the page. It would mean a lot to me. I know its a hassle, but I just created them and if no one follows, they bare no purpose. I followed everyone on the blogroll already, so just simply go to your followers and follow me back…please :). Enough witty banter and self-publicity, let’s start the top 10. Why?: Easily the best in the trilogy. “X-2” sees the mutants band together to defeat a common foe, and while this may be a comic book cliche, I love when it happens. Also, Wolverine vs Lady Deathstrike is enough on its own. Why?: I am a huge Thor fan and I feel that he is the best Avenger. I was a little weary of his own full-length feature series, but the original proved me wrong and its sequel “Thor: The Dark World” looks fantastic. And…c’mon…Chris Hemsworth. Why?: Seeing Tony Stark fight his way out of capture, build a formidable, almost indestructible suit, and destroy Jeff Bridges is enough. Let alone the fact that this film without question has the most heart and believability. Why?: I’ll admit I am not a huge fan of Raimi’s “Spider Man” trilogy. I did enjoy the first film, but the third and final entry was a complete bust. However, the second film is outstanding. Why?: Remember when I said I’m a fanboy and essentially go into the cinema with blinders on, well, yeah, that’s why. But seriously, this film was amazing, I don’t understand why it’s taking so much heat. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but it was still epic and utterly captivating. Why?: Odds are, if you’re not a fan of Christopher Nolan’s introduction to his reboot of the Batman franchise, I don’t much care for you as a person. Just kidding…sort of. Between Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow and the fact that my last name is Falcone, I couldn’t resist. Why?: Directed and written by the masterful Joss Whedon. “The Avengers” is everything you’d expect it to be, and so much more. Why:? Many argue that it is the greatest superhero movie of all-time. While it’s hard to argue, I must insist there is one better. Nonetheless, with Heath Ledger’s Joker portrayal, the bat-pod, and everything in between, “The Dark Knight” is down-right perfect. Why?: Christopher Nolan’s immaculate ending to his epic “Dark Knight” trilogy. Many thought he could never top “The Dark Knight,” but I, like many others, feel he did the job. If you feel that I’ve overlooked a flick or that a film made the list that shouldn’t have, feel free to comment below. Also, if you are interested in contributing a top 10, please let me know. Have a great weekend! Despite feeling all too much like a video game and suffering from a lack of ferocity that has made the zombie sub-genre what it is today. “World War Z” is able to, for the majority, overcome its unbalanced nature and numerous setbacks to deliver heart-racing thrills, surprisingly tense sequences, and another masterful, yet effortless performance from Brad Pitt in this piece of blockbuster eye-candy that ultimately works. While those, like myself, looking for a faithful adaptation of the source material will predictably be disappointed. “World War Z” should accomplish what it set out to achieve with its family friendly rating, high-profile names like the aforementioned Brad Pitt and Max Brooks, in addition to a big-budget which is, appeasing die-hard zombie enthusiasts and appealing to the summer crowd without alienating one or the other. Although there is little structure to speak of and that the film itself is practically void of an ending, “World War Z” thrives. Gerry Lane (Pitt) is a former United Nations employee living in Philadelphia. As him and his family sit in traffic, reports of a rabies outbreak has spread. Soon, Gerry and his family are overrun in chaos and destruction as a pack of these infected humans begin destroying the city and infecting others. Managing to escape with the help of an old colleague, Gerry is thrust back into action and must assist a young virologist in creating a vaccine. Gerry is reluctant, but must proceed in order to secure the safety of his family. Some time after, the infected beings are aptly titled zombies, seeing as they crave flesh and are no longer living. Gerry must seek the help of various nations and shady characters in order to find a cure. Regardless of how successful “World War Z” performs at the box office or is critically received. In the end, one can’t shake the feeling that a supreme opportunity was wasted here. The film is undeniably fun to watch and offers enough fresh material to rise above the typical summer dribble. Nonetheless, an adaption of Max Brooks best-selling novel should have provided more of what makes the zombie sub-genre so compelling. Brooks consistently tackles this version of an apocalyptic plague with brains just as much as brawn and sadly, this adaptation of his innovative best seller really doesn’t offer an abundance of either. That being said, what “World War Z” utterly lacks in ingenuity, it more than makes up for with undead that are almost super-human, cool CGI, and a fluid story that feels like a video game based on mission-objectives. From the get-go, “World War Z” plants its foundation firmly in intellect and implies that it will further dissect and depict the scientific and physical aspects of this world-wide plague. However, this set-up tails off significantly into rumours, acts of god, and a series of foreseeable cliches. Although it isn’t enough to completely disparage the film, it is rather distracting and really undermines the intelligence of the viewer. The fact that the final draft of the film was edited and reshot significantly, enough to push back its release six months really is discouraging. Yet, considering all the notions that the film was slapped together and salvaged by numerous writers with varying inputs. “World War Z” contains the right amount of visceral characters, breathtaking action, and a plethora of undead beings to triumph. In all honesty, the number of supremely talented writers it took to adapt “World War Z” is astounding. Each one is talented, as well as experienced and their track records aren’t filled with lacklustre efforts either. With the likes of Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), Damon Lindelof (Star Trek Into Darkness, Prometheus), J. Michael Straczynski (Thor), and Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play), tackling “World War Z” shouldn’t have been the hassle it turned out to be. Nevertheless, while it may have taken more collaborates than needed, the job got done, with a bit of flare I might add. Director Marc Foster, who prior to “World War Z’s” release was still honing his craft and searching for his masterpiece, in my opinion anyway, directs another slightly above average piece, but is still yet to find his true muse. While there is some impressive camera work and Foster undoubtedly knows what he is doing behind the lens, I feel he is yet to realize his full potential. As for “World War Z’s” cast, which features Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, and Daniella Kertesz. It’s easy to see how one can argue that their performances are what really saved the film instead of its extensive rewrites. As always, Brad Pitt brings his usual subtle dynamism and visceral style, while continuing to build a sterling reputation. James Badge Dale is still one of the most underrated and underused actors in the industry and his performance in “World War Z” just adds fuel to the fire. Daniella Kertesz does a phenomenal job supporting Pitt and seems to have caught everyone off guard. However, while Kertesz gives an outstanding portrayal, I feel that Mireille Enos really stole the show. She easily provides the most honest and terrified take on surviving the end of the world, especially fearing for her children. Everything about her performance is truly believable and endearing. Although “World War Z” is missing a vibrancy that results in achromatic visuals. Its fast-moving, large-scale battles with the undead and vast destruction of man-made creations save its colourlessness. The direction and storyline, while missing individualism is passable with some good sequences sprinkled here and there. “World War Z’s” performances are seemingly the only consistency throughout the film and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, for a film with so much potential and original criteria to compare it to, its hard to get excited over typical cinematic qualities. All in all, “World War Z” succeeds and even though on the surface it’s rock solid, underneath its superficial traits, there is gooey inconsistencies and not much merit. So, take it for what it is, an enjoyable, brainless blockbuster that’s easy on the eyes and tons of fun. World War Z: 7 out of 10. Outlandishly complex, visually mesmerizing, and action-packed. “Inception” is an intelligent blockbuster that bursts forth from the screen with all the spectacle and wonder that makes cinema so riveting. With infinite staying-power fortified by unlimited ingenuity, an empathetic human element, and dynamism. “Inception” is easily one of the best science fiction films to ever be released, if not the best. Written and directed by the distinguished Christopher Nolan. “Inception” is a brilliant addition to his already stellar collection of highly memorable films and adds another layer of superlativeness to his stern and bright reputation. Completed by an all-star cast and an absolutely epic score from the incredibly talented Hans Zimmer. “Inception” is an unparalleled cinematic experience and regardless of its intricate story or the grandness of its heart-stopping scale, should stand the test of time (no pun intended). Dominic Cobb (DiCaprio) is a skilled thief who is somewhat of a master when it comes to the artistic science of extraction. Simply put, Dom can be inserted into anyones dreams and steal their most valuable secrets and information. After a failed job, Dom and his partner Arthur (Levitt) are hired by Saito (Ken Watanabe), the original target, to convince a rival company’s owner to disband his inheritance. This tactic is officially known as inception. Upon recruiting Eames (Hardy), Ariadne (Page), and a few others, the group begins plotting against their target, Robert Fischer (Murphy), unaware that Dominic is hiding a dark and possibly dangerous secret about his late wife Mal (Cotillard). Very rarely does a film come along that proves to be a game-changer, and in every sense, “Inception” is one of these films. Whether it is the folding over of an entire city, mind-churning paradoxes, or astoundingly choreographed action sequences, “Inception” is deliciously appealing. Granted, a majority of these magical, majestic, delectable scenes take place in a fantastical realm. However it doesn’t degrade the sheer intellect, talent, and innovation infused into every single one of these miraculous scenes. And while the production value and intricacy of these aspects is enough for them to stand on their own. What truly puts “Inception” at another level is the brains that accompany the brawn. Equally matched intellectually and visually, “Inception” is its own excellent contrast. The mind and eyes receive quite the workout, yet, never has a strenuous effort felt so euphoric. Talk about easy on the eyes. “Inception” has the outwardly striking, abundantly accomplished, and utterly skilled cast to assist in the completing of this masterpiece. Starring the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cottilard, and Michael Cane, amongst other proficient personnel . “Inception” is undoubtedly the full package with an ensemble that knows no weakness. Literally appealing to every sense, “Inception” is not to be missed by anyone in existence, cinephile or not…and how about that ending? Inception: 9 out of 10. Although somewhat far-fetched, “Mother” is an intriguing, violent, and unsettling thriller that never shies away from the darkness in life. Brilliantly depicting the foremost extent in which the protectiveness of kin reaches and how disconcerting and blind this shielding can be. “Mother” is in no way easy to watch. Granted, this film’s heavy, monstrous ferocity and unpleasantness is incredibly difficult to absorb, let alone grasp. Nonetheless, to deny its morals, heart, and appalling nature is to reject what evidently makes us human. However, do not mistake “Mother” as some sort of typical, excessively gory, and unnecessarily malicious film like most of the genre’s trash, it is nothing of the sorts. While “Mother” does deal with some horrific content, what makes it truly despicable, unnerving material is the subtle and unflinching way it is presented. Usually the most terrifying things aren’t something of substance and complexity, rather common and simple with a unique twist. Do-joon (Bin) lives in a small town in South Korea with his mother (Hye-ja). Do-joon is shy and slightly amiss and distant, however, he is prone to attack anyone who insults his intellect. One day, a girl is brutally murdered and evidence places Do-joon at the scene and the last one to see her alive. Upon being arrested and sentenced to serve jail-time, Do-joon’s mother is convinced her son didn’t commit the crime and sets out to prove his innocence using any means necessary. Co-written and directed by Joon-ho Bong, director of critically and universally acclaimed films such as giant monster flick “The Host” and detective thriller “Memories of Murder.” Bong will look to continue his rapid ascent to becoming one of the most revered and visionary filmmakers of our time with his first English-language film “Snowpiercer,” which is set for release sometime in 2013. Bong, utilizes facets that he has compiled over time and inducted into his repertoire so faultlessly. They compliment his style so vigorously that each one leads into the other in such a seamless transition, and “Mother” is no different. His intelligent, clever script is bursting with unbelievable tension, grounded characters, and unparalleled sequences of such honesty and relevance. Not to mention his work behind the camera has never been better. “Mother” is easily one of his best films and an argument could be made that it is his most complete and frightening work to date. “Mother” is an all around immaculate job by Joon-ho Bong. “Mother” is a film who’s success is heavily reliant, rather, judged on the performance of an individual. If this character is not portrayed infallibly, the entire picture falters. Luckily for Joon-ho Bong and company, they found the perfect lead in Hye-ja Kim. Her take on an over-protective, infinitely loving mother is remarkable to say the least. While there is a dark side to her, a method in her madness so to speak. Kim takes these traits and moulds them into tender, generous tendencies that, when compared to their disgusting, violent nurturing origin, are unrecognizable. Honestly, it is one of the best performances I’ve ever witnessed. As for her son, portrayed by Bin Won, who adds a swiftness and innocence to his characters unbalanced, mischievous ways. Provokes an avalanche of sympathy even though his mindset is corrupt. This is a testament to the power of his persuasive performance. Mother: 8.5 out of 10. A film that transcends genre labelling with its innovation, ingenuity, and insanity. “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” is approximately a romantic comedy, but with dark, at times violent, and bizarre twists, containing moments that differ vastly on the cinematic spectrum. “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” ranges from deviously psychotic to sweetly honest, impassioned, and comical. Writer and director Chan-wook Park somewhat diverges from his usual business of trifling with the ugliness inside humanity to display a more compassionate, creative, and comedic side to his craft that isn’t all doom and gloom. Although its tone is highly unpredictable, shifting from affectionate and charming to tragic and unrestrained, “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” shouldn’t be too jarring for the occasional viewer. Charismatic, witty, and undeniably enthralling, Chan-wook Park has proven he isn’t just a one-trick pony. Young-goon works in a factory constructing radios and believes that she is a cyborg. She is institutionalized after she cuts her wrist, shoves a set of wires inside her forearm, and then plugs the cord into a wall outlet in an attempt to recharge herself. Young-goon refuses to eat and only licks batteries in order to recharge. Il-soon, who is also a patient, becomes infatuated with Young-goon. Il-soon thinks of himself as a master-thief and believes he can steal physical and personal traits of other humans. After a brief stage in which the two form an awkward relationship, the two begin to help one another with insane schemes. Very rarely does a film come along that is such a genuine hybrid. But it does make sense that it would come from the mind of Chan-wook Park. Who has busted stereotypical cinema on numerous occasions, including drama, horror and thriller. Now, with “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok,” Park tackles perhaps his most difficult challenge to date, the romantic comedy. This film is easily one of the most crazy, obscure, and confusing films I’ve ever come across, but it is also one of the best. I don’t think I’ve ever stumbled upon a film that evokes such emotional diversification as “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” does. While it may be paced slower than Park’s other outings, it is deliberate. During this screen-time, “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” stretches the viewer’s brain by provoking countless reactions and striking numerous nerves, a truly unprecedented experience. Chan-wook Park is one of the most iconic, revered, and important filmmakers of our time and “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” is a terrific example why. Park brilliantly showcases every single one of his illustrious facets throughout this atypical rom-com. Whether it may be his grounded, elemental framing that captures even the slightest detail and movement of his characters or the disheartening brutality of his dynamic scripts. Regardless, what truly makes Park such a praised figure in the cinematic community is his ability to evolve. After completing the “Vengeance” trilogy and generally sticking to darker pictures with heavy, brooding themes. Chan-wook Park unpredictably chose to unleash this hidden gem. While it remains true to his brute force and unruly material. “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” touches so many fresh ideals and bursts genre and theme misconceptions. The cast assembled for “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” is remarkably put together, as there is not a single weakness. From its two quirky, maladjusted leads down to every patient and caretaker at this unsettling asylum we’ve been invited to take temporary residence in. The supporting characters alone make “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” worth the watch. They astoundingly portray mental illness accurately but add a comical, yet heartbreaking depth and individuality to each role that generates unlimited sympathy and laughs from the audience. Kudos should also be given to the actors who portray the doctors and nurses in the film who perfectly adapt to their roles. Nonetheless, “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok” has only two leads and they are Jung Ji-Hoon and Im Soo-jung. Essentially what makes Jung Ji-Hoon and Im Soo-Jung work so well together is their ability to feed off one another’s unbalanced behaviour and lunacy. The two have an undeniable chemistry filled with demented and sociopathic tendencies. Despite these flaws, they manage to portray an eccentric, dysfunctional relationship to full comedic and emotional potential. From the unparalleled mind of Chan-wook Park comes this incredibly unique experience that should appease just about any cinephile. I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK: 9 out of 10. Adding much needed depth and humanity to such an illustrious character, who’s storied and intricate history is as delicate as it is powerful. “Man of Steel” has the action, heart, and nostalgia to satisfy both fanboys and newcomers alike. While it may prove to be too bombastic and interwoven for a few critics and harsh naysayers. This polarization is nothing new to the Superman franchise. Nonetheless, “Man of Steel” is a revival with such exuberance, precision and emotion, that it is nearly impossible to resist its charms. However, having been built-up, collated, and magnified with significant importance and anticipation for close to two years. “Man of Steel” was arguably set-up to disappoint and sadly but inevitably, for some this is the case. Regardless, for die-hards, cinephiles, and inner-children everywhere, including myself. “Man of Steel” was well worth the wait and is a fresh, honest, and mesmerizing take on the world’s most famous superhero. Krypton and its inhabitants face imminent destruction due to an unstable core. To protect their new-born child, Jor-El (Crowe) and his wife Lara launch a spacecraft carrying their son Kal-El (Cavill) to Earth, in order to secure the fate of their race. Upon arriving at Earth, Kal is found and taken care of by his adopted parents Jonathan (Costner) and Martha (Lane) Kent, who rename Kal, Clark. Because of Clark’s Kryptonian physiology, he inherits superhuman abilities on Earth. Soon, Clark and the entire population of Earth are under attack from another native of Krypton. Written by the immensely successful “Dark Knight” trilogy scribe’s David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan. Who make sure that “Man of Steel” contains all the wonder and amazement of the cosmic superhero’s intergalactic existence, in addition to the grounded and elemental nurturing that fortified the batman re-imagining. “Man of Steel” has all the makings of another fortuitous endeavour, not only for “DC comics,” but all involved. Nolan, who also produced the flick, oversaw most of the film’s creation and was essentially present for the ideal’s birth from Goyer’s mind. Although, clearly stating that he would not direct another Batman film, or superhero film of any kind, Goyer and company had to look elsewhere for someone to helm this reboot. After a slew of high-profile names fell to the wayside, it was visionary filmmaker Zack Snyder who was officially picked to take the reigns. Upon witnessing the triumphant boom of the Marvel franchise into multiple blockbusters and countless tangents. DC, simply put, had their work cut out for them. Looking to Christopher Nolan for a spark that would ignite a similar explosion, DC completely entrusted him with their future prosperity…and while it is decidedly easier to simplify Batman with a modern, realistic twist. It is near impossible to humanize and ground a hero who was born amongst the stars and soars through space. Be that as it may, with “Man of Steel,” Goyer and Nolan have managed to transform Superman into a dark and brooding character with a heart and mind just as strong as his physical capabilities. All in all, Nolan has been, and will continue to be the catalyst and made sure that the continuation of DC films not only goes smoothly and successfully, but will continue to thrive. Having director Zach Snyder’s keen eye for detail and jaw-dropping flare coordinating with Nolan and Goyer’s taste for believability, soul, and consciousness makes “Man of Steel” the most unique and honest take on the superhero to ever hit the big screen. The film has an exquisite blend of fast-paced action, atmospheric imagery, and heartfelt relationships that never cease resonating. Snyder’s vision for “Man of Steel” brilliantly collaborates with Hans Zimmer’s epic, melancholic soundtrack, Nolan and Goyer’s disheartening, but bewildering script making the finished product truly something to behold. If you let critical skepticism, minor blemishes, and transitional inconsistencies tarnish the films reputation or influence your opinion, this might not be the picture for you. Take my word for it, set aside the hype and reviews, appreciate this breathtaking rebirth for what it is. Obviously, without a cast to perfectly animate these features and hard work, the film would utterly falter, luckily, this is not the case. “Man of Steel” stars Henry Cavill in the title role, Amy Adams as the beautiful but brainy Lois Lane and acting heavyweight Michael Shannon as the blood-boiling villain, General Zod. The film’s supporting cast is equally as impressive, if not more so. Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Laurence Fishburne and the surprising Antje Traue solidify what is an outstanding ensemble. It’s been a while since Kevin Costner has blown any of his co-stars out of the water. Yet, aside from Cavill and Shannon, Costner is without question the most sublime and really reminds us all of his staggering talent. Diane Lane and Russell Crowe aren’t far behind, preparing Clark for the brash and brutal reality of the world’s he is now apart of. The two are formidable in their supporting roles and add another layer of brilliance to an already astounding story. As for Fishburne, who is his usual, intimidating self. One can’t help but feel letdown by his standard performance, however, his role was extremely limited. If I’m being completely honest, I had never seen Antje Traue in a film prior to “Man of Steel,” but now that I have, I am smitten. She really captures the fearless mentality of Faora and if i might add, looks quite good doing so. Out of the three leads, I’d say that Amy Adams is the most underwhelming. Albeit, that is in comparison to Michael Shannon and Henry Cavill, so a case can be made that it’s more of a compliment than an insult. Yes, she is sweet, cute, and calm in the face of danger. I’m not implying she performed horribly, I’m stating that Lois Lane in general was somewhat underwhelming. Which should be the case considering “Man of Steel” is dealing with the origin story of the man himself, not her. The severely underrated and tragically underused Michael Shannon finally gets his due as a ruthless, violent, determined villain who’s primary goal is to guarantee the safety of his people. One can tell that Shannon has always had this dark, primal catharsis waiting to be unleashed deep down inside. Now, finally, Shannon has burst into the mainstream and will hopefully stay there. Shannon delivers a powerhouse performance. Henry Cavill is Superman: the body, the hair, the voice, everything. I don’t know how else to put it. His acting is superlative, he clearly got in incredible shape for the picture, so he obviously invested heavily in the role. Everything about his emotional range, mannerisms, even the way the suit fits him is enough to send chills down your spine. “Man of Steel” offers a never-ending series of heart-racing action seqeucnes that look anything but contrived or inauthentic. One thing on everyones mind prior to the film was how Cavill would look while flying, and thankfully, these segments look dignified. Snyder should gain a stronger fan-base with “Man of Steel” considering his preceding films left audiences divided to say the least. For those Superman enthusiasts, be sure to look out for a few easter-eggs throughout the film. They’re sort of like subtle nods to the audience, a way of saying thank you and we appreciate you. Man of Steel: 8.5 out of 10. Deftly paced, emotionally gripping, and psychologically advancing. “The East” is a socio-political thriller that never mistakes revenge for a lack of heart. Piling on the tension to an almost unbearable extent and performed with graceful precision and a relentless thirst for justice. Co-writers Brit Marling and Zat Batmanglij have once again created a taut character-study oozing with conscientious-awareness and founded upon eco-friendly tendencies. While parts of “The East” may feel somewhat like a retread of the duo’s previous effort “The Sound of my Voice,” any correlation between the two is soon disparaged. Yes, it may deal with similar themes such as infiltration, self-realization, and influence. Nonetheless, “The East” is Marling and Batmanglij’s most complete offering to date and sees their potential continue its rise to an even brighter future. Sarah moss (Marling), a former FBI agent, is a high-level operative for the private intelligence firm Hiller-Brood. She is commissioned to infiltrate a terrorist organization called The East and report back with the groups next targets. Upon gaining the trust of the charismatic leader Benji (Skarsgard) and next in command Izzy (Page), Sarah begins to unveil intel to her boss. As time passes, Sarah becomes infatuated with the group’s members and ideals. The first few moments of “The East” strike a strong note of consciousness that resonates throughout the entire film and never disperses or weakens. It is followed with wave upon wave of allegory that inflicts an ocean of inward assessment regarding environmental duty and industrial intoxication. It may leave a bitter taste with its blatancy, unorthodox approach, and alarming nature. Nevertheless, it is a controversial wake-up call that is extremely difficult to look away from. Ultimately, “The East” isn’t easily dismissed upon completion. It acts much like a splinter, stinging and constantly drawing your attention and ire until it is dealt with. I’m not implying that it will force you to drop sanity and necessity to go and save the world. Yet, it will enlighten your point of view and illuminate these troubling matters at hand so one day we can make better, more informed decisions about the planet, and more importantly, our future. Amongst these immense matters, it would be easy to lose sight of the human element. After all, the safety of our environment directly affects our longevity and its security. It might seem a bit selfish, but the concern about our habitat is based in majority on our dominance of this planet. Amazingly, Marling and Batmanglij have managed to bottle these enormously important topics and infused them with our heart and soul. What good would the preservation of Earth be if we weren’t around to enjoy it? While we are treated to an abundance of vantage points, each one is unique and connects with different people on vastly different levels. Which, evidently makes “The East” an outstanding experience for all involved, cast, crew, and audience. Perhaps the most beautiful thing about “The East” is its dissection of every facet that compiles our existence. It doesn’t solely focus on saving and bettering our planet. It tackles industry, poverty, indifference, humanity, etc… Everything is entangled and attached in this metaphorical web and each aspect is torn down until its roots are bare. There are a lot of wrongs that need to be righted in our current state and awareness is a huge step that seemingly the majority of us are afraid or unwilling to take. I’m not trying to preach as I am just as clueless and motionless as the next when it comes to eco-preservation. It is simply gratifying to know that some are taking the initiative to better our world. It might sound cliche or corny, nonetheless, it is something that needs to be dealt with in order to fortify our existence and evolution. I think that is enough of a disembowelment towards our humanity, existence, and the film itself in general. I’ll move on to the technical aspects of the film and its performances. “The East” stars the aforementioned Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, and Ellen Page. The biggest surprise, well, at least for me anyway, was Alexander Skarsgard’s performance, he easily dominated the entire film. Page and Marling were also incredibly impressive, but not on the same scale. Possibly because I expected them to be terrific and I had no idea what to expect from Skarsgard. Considering the significance of the film, overshadowing the star-power was a concern entering the theatre. However, this turned out to be a wasted worry as the cast, in its entirety, matched the story’s intensity, subtlety, and brilliance. As for Zat Batmanglij, he continues to perfect his craft as “The East” holds, without question his best work from behind the camera. Tremendously acted, superbly filmed, and just impeccably solid all the way through. “The East” is an immaculate depiction of our society, its flaws, and how we can ultimately correct them. The East: 8.5 out of 10. Despite an ending that leaves a bit too much for the imagination to chew on. “Sound of My Voice” is an entrancing thriller with a pair of phenomenal performances from its two leads. Rising above its restricted budget with hauntingly beautiful content and an unsettling hypnotic effect. What is most disturbingly scary about “Sound of my Voice” is the impending vulnerability that is near impossible to resist. As the story progresses, we are forced to abandon this initial feeling of invincibility until it completely trails off into unfamiliarity. Ultimately, we are forced to accept that there are things that we do not know, that we don’t have an answer for. It’s a bittersweet, tingling experience. While the thrilling factor does tail off slightly. It is efficiently replaced with an undistinguishable yearning for answers to the unknown. Peter (Denham) is a substitue teacher living in Los Angeles with his girlfriend Lorna (Vicius). The two are embarking on their first undercover journalism project. The target is a small cult run by the mysterious and beautifully striking Maggie (Marling). After Peter and Lorna finish the long and excruciating initiation tests, the cult deems them ready to finally meet Maggie. Upon stripping, showering, changing clothes, and being blindfolded. Peter and Lorna are taken in a van with other new recruits to an undisclosed location. Upon completing the final test, which is a secret handshake, Peter and Lorna come face to face with Maggie. She claims to have woken up naked, in a bathtub, with no memories or knowledge of who she is. Eventually regaining her strength and some mental imagery, Maggie concludes she is a time-traveler from the year 2054. Directed and co-written by Zal Batmanglij. Who appears to have finally broken through after his directorial debut, The Recordist, was slightly subpar. Now, he has arguably one of the most anticipated films of 2013 in “The East” and seems well on his way to making a name for himself. The same can be said for the radiant and mesmerizing Brit Marling. Who not only stars in the film, but co-wrote it as well. Marling is that rare breed of beauty, brains, and brawn and is slowly emerging as one of the top actresses in the business. Marling, best known for her multi-faceted role in “Another Earth,” is garnering more attention from high-profile gigs. After starring alongside Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf in the recently released, “The Company You Keep.” Marling is set to co-star Batmanglij’s “The East” with Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgard. Apart from a jittery, premature, seemingly non-existent final act. “Sound of my Voice” almost plays its indie, low budget characteristics perfectly. Nevertheless, by the time the climax roles around, it’s exceedingly hard to stay mad at Batmanglij and Marling. In the end, these tiny inconsistencies are translucent and easily forgiven. One thing that Marling and company know definitively is that there is a vast difference between seductive and sedating. Which is why they’re able to exploit these exceptional traits. Using them to lure the viewer in and then begin lulling us into a state of defencelessness. Concluding in the audiences inability to conjure up individualistic thoughts and ideals, effectively simulating the main objective of a cult. “Sound of my Voice” and its creators not only know what they’re doing, but are able to do it astoundingly well. Besides Marling, the cast features Christopher Denham, who is absolutely skyrocketing and the diverse Nicole Vicius. Without question, Marling gives the most illuminated performance as a devious and immaculate cult leader from the future. Her voice carries a depth filled with harmony and pleasure, and for such a transience thing, it has remarkable ambience. Nearly matching Marling’s exquisite portrayal is Denham. His pretentiousness and anger, however misinformed, is totally believable. Heading under cover to infiltrate a dangerous cult. Denham delivers the steady-handed, emotionally vacant goods. Lost in the charisma of Marling and Denham’s performances is Vicius, who does a terrific job in her supporting role. Without her as somewhat of a foundation, the film would helplessly falter. Unbearably tense and at times vividly horrific. “Sound of My Voice” is an outstanding thriller filled with resonating performances from the entire cast. Sound of My Voice: 8 out of 10.

2019-04-26T12:44:18Z

https://thecinemamonster.wordpress.com/2013/06/

This article is about the unification of 1871. For the unification of East and West Germany in 1990, see German reunification. The German Empire of 1871–1918. Because the German-speaking part of the multinational Austrian Empire was excluded, this geographic construction represented a lesser Germany (Kleindeutsch) solution. The unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor after the French capitulation in the Franco-Prussian War. Unofficially, the de facto transition of most of the German-speaking populations into a federated organization of states had been developing for some time through alliances formal and informal between princely rulers—but in fits and starts; self-interests of the various parties hampered the process over nearly a century of autocratic experimentation, beginning in the era of the Napoleonic Wars, which saw the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (1806), and the subsequent rise of German nationalism. Unification exposed tensions due to religious, linguistic, social, and cultural differences among the inhabitants of the new nation, suggesting that 1871 only represented one moment in a continuum of the larger unification processes. The Holy Roman Emperor had been often called "Emperor of all the Germanies"; contemporary news accounts frequently referred to "The Germanies", and in the empire, its members of higher nobility were referred to as "Princes of Germany" or "Princes of the Germanies"—for the lands once called East Francia had been organized and governed as pocket kingdoms since times before the rise of Charlemagne (800 AD). Given the mountainous terrains of much of the territory, it is obvious that isolated peoples would develop cultural, educational, linguistic, and religious differences over such a lengthy time period. Germany, or the Germanies, of the nineteenth century enjoyed transportation and communications improvements tying the peoples into a greater, tighter culture, as has the entire world under the influence of better communications and transportation infrastructures. The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had included more than 500 independent states, was effectively dissolved when Emperor Francis II abdicated (6 August 1806) during the War of the Third Coalition. Despite the legal, administrative, and political disruption associated with the end of the Empire, the people of the German-speaking areas of the old Empire had a common linguistic, cultural, and legal tradition further enhanced by their shared experience in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. European liberalism offered an intellectual basis for unification by challenging dynastic and absolutist models of social and political organization; its German manifestation emphasized the importance of tradition, education, and linguistic unity of peoples in a geographic region. Economically, the creation of the Prussian Zollverein (customs union) in 1818, and its subsequent expansion to include other states of the German Confederation, reduced competition between and within states. Emerging modes of transportation facilitated business and recreational travel, leading to contact and sometimes conflict among German speakers from throughout Central Europe. The model of diplomatic spheres of influence resulting from the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15 after the Napoleonic Wars endorsed Austrian dominance in Central Europe. However, the negotiators at Vienna took no account of Prussia's growing strength within and among the German states and so failed to foresee that Prussia would rise up to challenge Austria for leadership. This German dualism presented two solutions to the problem of unification: Kleindeutsche Lösung, the small Germany solution (Germany without Austria), or Großdeutsche Lösung, the greater Germany solution (Germany with Austria). 1797: The French First Republic annexed the Left Bank of the Rhine as a result of the War of the First Coalition. 1802: Previous annexations by France confirmed following its victory in the War of the Second Coalition. 1804: Francis I of Austria declared the new Austrian Empire as a reaction to Napoleon Bonaparte's proclamation of the First French Empire in 1804. 1806: As a result of the War of the Third Coalition, Napoleon I annexed some territories East of the Rhine, replaced the Holy Roman Empire by the Confederation of the Rhine as a French client-state. 1807: Prussia lost one half of its territory following the War of the Fourth Coalition. 1815: After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna reinstated the Germanic states into the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire. 1819: The Carlsbad Decrees suppressed any form of pan-Germanic activities to avoid the creation of a 'German state'; the Kingdom of Prussia, however, initiated a customs union with other Confederation states. 1834: The Prussian-led custom union evolved into the Zollverein that included almost all Confederation states except the Austrian Empire. 1848: Revolts across the German Confederation, such as in Berlin, Dresden and Frankfurt, forced King Frederick William IV of Prussia to grant a constitution to the Confederation. In the meantime, the Frankfurt Parliament was set up in 1848 and attempted to proclaim a united Germany, but this was refused by William IV. The question of a united Germany under the Kleindeutsch solution (to exclude Austria) or the so-called Großdeutsch (to include Austria) began to surface. 1861–62: King Wilhelm I became King of Prussia and he appointed Otto von Bismarck on 23 September 1862, Minister President and Foreign Minister, who favoured a 'blood-and-iron' policy to create a united Germany under the leadership of Prussia. 1864: The Danish-Prussian War started as Prussia protested against Danish incorporation of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark. The Austrian Empire was deliberately drawn into this war by Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Prussia. The Austro-Prussian victory led to Schleswig, the northern part, being governed by Prussia and Holstein, the southern part, being governed by Austria, as per the Treaty of Vienna (1864). 1866: Bismarck accused the Austrian Empire of stirring up troubles in Prussian-held Schleswig. Prussian troops drove into Austrian-held Holstein and took control of the entire state of Schleswig-Holstein. Austria declared war on Prussia and, after fighting the Austro-Prussian War (Seven Weeks' War), was swiftly defeated. The Treaty of Prague (1866) formally dissolved the German Confederation and Prussia created the North German Confederation to include all Germanic states except the pro-French, southern kingdoms of Bavaria, Baden and Württemberg. 1870: When the French emperor, Napoleon III, demanded territories of the Rhineland in return for his neutrality amid the Austro-Prussian War, Bismarck used the Spanish Succession Question (1868) and Ems Telegram (1870) as an opportunity to incorporate the southern kingdoms. Napoleon III declared war against Prussia. 1871: The Franco-Prussian War ended with Prussian troops capturing Paris, the capital of the Second French Empire. Bavaria, Baden, and Württemberg were incorporated into the North German Confederation in the Treaty of Frankfurt (1871). Bismarck then proclaimed King Wilhelm I, now Kaiser Wilhelm I, as leader of the new, united Germany (German Reich). With the German troops remaining in Paris, Napoleon III dissolved the French Empire and a new republic, the Third French Republic, was created under Adolphe Thiers. For more details on this topic, see Holy Roman Empire. Germania, a personification of the German nation, appears in Philipp Veit's fresco (1834–36). She is holding a shield with the coat of arms of the German Confederation (see enlargement below). The shields on which she stands are the arms of the seven traditional Electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Prior to 1806, German-speaking Central Europe included more than 300 political entities, most of which were part of the Holy Roman Empire or the extensive Habsburg hereditary dominions. They ranged in size from the small and complex territories of the princely Hohenlohe family branches to sizable, well-defined territories such as the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Prussia. Their governance varied: they included free imperial cities, also of different sizes, such as the powerful Augsburg and the minuscule Weil der Stadt; ecclesiastical territories, also of varying sizes and influence, such as the wealthy Abbey of Reichenau and the powerful Archbishopric of Cologne; and dynastic states such as Württemberg. These lands (or parts of them—both the Habsburg domains and Hohenzollern Prussia also included territories outside the Empire structures) made up the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, which at times included more than 1,000 entities. Since the 15th century, with few exceptions, the Empire's Prince-electors had chosen successive heads of the House of Habsburg to hold the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Among the German-speaking states, the Holy Roman Empire administrative and legal mechanisms provided a venue to resolve disputes between peasants and landlords, between jurisdictions, and within jurisdictions. Through the organization of imperial circles (Reichskreise), groups of states consolidated resources and promoted regional and organizational interests, including economic cooperation and military protection. The War of the Second Coalition (1799–1802) resulted in the defeat of the imperial and allied forces by Napoleon Bonaparte. The treaties of Lunéville (1801) and Amiens (1802) and the Mediatization of 1803 transferred large portions of the Holy Roman Empire to the dynastic states and secularized ecclesiastical territories. Most of the imperial cities disappeared from the political and legal landscape, and the populations living in these territories acquired new allegiances to dukes and kings. This transfer particularly enhanced the territories of Württemberg and Baden. In 1806, after a successful invasion of Prussia and the defeat of Prussia and Russia at the joint battles of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon dictated the Treaty of Pressburg, in which the Emperor dissolved the Holy Roman Empire. For more details on this topic, see French period. A common language may have been seen to serve as the basis of a nation, but as contemporary historians of 19th-century Germany noted, it took more than linguistic similarity to unify these several hundred polities. The experience of German-speaking Central Europe during the years of French hegemony contributed to a sense of common cause to remove the French invaders and reassert control over their own lands. The exigencies of Napoleon's campaigns in Poland (1806–07), the Iberian Peninsula, western Germany, and his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 disillusioned many Germans, princes and peasants alike. Napoleon's Continental System nearly ruined the Central European economy. The invasion of Russia included nearly 125,000 troops from German lands, and the loss of that army encouraged many Germans, both high- and low-born, to envision a Central Europe free of Napoleon's influence. The creation of such student militias as the Lützow Free Corps exemplified this tendency. The debacle in Russia loosened the French grip on the German princes. In 1813, Napoleon mounted a campaign in the German states to bring them back into the French orbit; the subsequent War of Liberation culminated in the great Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of Nations. In October 1813, more than 500,000 combatants engaged in ferocious fighting over three days, making it the largest European land battle of the 19th century. The engagement resulted in a decisive victory for the Coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Saxony, and Sweden, and it ended French power east of the Rhine. Success encouraged the Coalition forces to pursue Napoleon across the Rhine; his army and his government collapsed, and the victorious Coalition incarcerated Napoleon on Elba. During the brief Napoleonic restoration known as the 100 Days of 1815, forces of the Seventh Coalition, including an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher, were victorious at Waterloo (18 June 1815). The critical role played by Blücher's troops, especially after having to retreat from the field at Ligny the day before, helped to turn the tide of combat against the French. The Prussian cavalry pursued the defeated French in the evening of 18 June, sealing the allied victory. From the German perspective, the actions of Blücher's troops at Waterloo, and the combined efforts at Leipzig, offered a rallying point of pride and enthusiasm. This interpretation became a key building block of the Borussian myth expounded by the pro-Prussian nationalist historians later in the 19th century. For more details on this topic, see Congress of Vienna. After Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna established a new European political-diplomatic system based on the balance of power. This system reorganized Europe into spheres of influence, which, in some cases, suppressed the aspirations of the various nationalities, including the Germans and Italians. Generally, an enlarged Prussia and the 38 other states consolidated from the mediatized territories of 1803 were confederated within the Austrian Empire's sphere of influence. The Congress established a loose German Confederation (1815–1866), headed by Austria, with a "Federal Diet" (called the Bundestag or Bundesversammlung, an assembly of appointed leaders) that met in the city of Frankfurt am Main. In recognition of the imperial position traditionally held by the Habsburgs, the emperors of Austria became the titular presidents of this parliament. Problematically, the built-in Austrian dominance failed to take into account Prussia's 18th century emergence in Imperial politics. Ever since the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg had made himself King in Prussia at the beginning of that century, their domains had steadily increased through war and inheritance. Prussia's consolidated strength had become especially apparent during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War under Frederick the Great. As Maria Theresa and Joseph tried to restore Habsburg hegemony in the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick countered with the creation of the Fürstenbund (Union of Princes) in 1785. Austrian-Prussian dualism lay firmly rooted in old Imperial politics. Those balance of power manoeuvers were epitomized by the War of the Bavarian Succession, or "Potato War" among common folk. Even after the end of the Holy Roman Empire, this competition influenced the growth and development of nationalist movements in the 19th century. German language area (here including Dutch, Flemish, Frisian, and Luxembourgish) based on 19th century language maps with close German language islands shown with today's European state borders. Despite the nomenclature of Diet (Assembly or Parliament), this institution should in no way be construed as a broadly, or popularly, elected group of representatives. Many of the states did not have constitutions, and those that did, such as the Duchy of Baden, based suffrage on strict property requirements which effectively limited suffrage to a small portion of the male population. Furthermore, this impractical solution did not reflect the new status of Prussia in the overall scheme. Although the Prussian army had been dramatically defeated in the 1806 Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, it had made a spectacular come-back at Waterloo. Consequently, Prussian leaders expected to play a pivotal role in German politics. The surge of German nationalism, stimulated by the experience of Germans in the Napoleonic period and initially allied with liberalism, shifted political, social, and cultural relationships within the German states. In this context, one can detect its roots in the experience of Germans in the Napoleonic period. The Burschenschaft student organizations and popular demonstrations, such as those held at Wartburg Castle in October 1817, contributed to a growing sense of unity among German speakers of Central Europe. Furthermore, implicit and sometimes explicit promises made during the War of Liberation engendered an expectation of popular sovereignty and widespread participation in the political process, promises that largely went unfulfilled once peace had been achieved. Agitation by student organizations led such conservative leaders as Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich, to fear the rise of national sentiment; the assassination of German dramatist August von Kotzebue in March 1819 by a radical student seeking unification was followed on 20 September 1819 by the proclamation of the Carlsbad Decrees, which hampered intellectual leadership of the nationalist movement. Metternich was able to harness conservative outrage at the assassination to consolidate legislation that would further limit the press and constrain the rising liberal and nationalist movements. Consequently, these decrees drove the Burschenschaften underground, restricted the publication of nationalist materials, expanded censorship of the press and private correspondence, and limited academic speech by prohibiting university professors from encouraging nationalist discussion. The decrees were the subject of Johann Joseph von Görres's pamphlet Teutschland [archaic: Deutschland] und die Revolution (Germany and the Revolution) (1820), in which he concluded that it was both impossible and undesirable to repress the free utterance of public opinion by reactionary measures. For more details on this topic, see Zollverein. Another institution key to unifying the German states, the Zollverein, helped to create a larger sense of economic unification. Initially conceived by the Prussian Finance Minister Hans, Count von Bülow, as a Prussian customs union in 1818, the Zollverein linked the many Prussian and Hohenzollern territories. Over the ensuing thirty years (and more) other German states joined. The Union helped to reduce protectionist barriers among the German states, especially improving the transport of raw materials and finished goods, making it both easier to move goods across territorial borders and less costly to buy, transport, and sell raw materials. This was particularly important for the emerging industrial centers, most of which were located in the Rhineland, the Saar, and the Ruhr valleys. By the early 19th century, German roads had deteriorated to an appalling extent. Travelers, both foreign and local, complained bitterly about the state of the Heerstraßen, the military roads previously maintained for the ease of moving troops. As German states ceased to be a military crossroads, however, the roads improved; the length of hard–surfaced roads in Prussia increased from 3,800 kilometres (2,400 mi) in 1816 to 16,600 kilometres (10,300 mi) in 1852, helped in part by the invention of macadam. By 1835, Heinrich von Gagern wrote that roads were the "veins and arteries of the body politic..." and predicted that they would promote freedom, independence and prosperity. As people moved around, they came into contact with others, on trains, at hotels, in restaurants, and for some, at fashionable resorts such as the spa in Baden-Baden. Water transportation also improved. The blockades on the Rhine had been removed by Napoleon's orders, but by the 1820s, steam engines freed riverboats from the cumbersome system of men and animals that towed them upstream. By 1846, 180 steamers plied German rivers and Lake Constance, and a network of canals extended from the Danube, the Weser, and the Elbe rivers. As important as these improvements were, they could not compete with the impact of the railway. German economist Friedrich List called the railways and the Customs Union "Siamese Twins", emphasizing their important relationship to one another. He was not alone: the poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote a poem in which he extolled the virtues of the Zollverein, which he began with a list of commodities that had contributed more to German unity than politics or diplomacy. Historians of the Second Empire later regarded the railways as the first indicator of a unified state; the patriotic novelist, Wilhelm Raabe, wrote: "The German empire was founded with the construction of the first railway..." Not everyone greeted the iron monster with enthusiasm. The Prussian king Frederick William III saw no advantage in traveling from Berlin to Potsdam a few hours faster, and Metternich refused to ride in one at all. Others wondered if the railways were an "evil" that threatened the landscape: Nikolaus Lenau's 1838 poem An den Frühling (To Spring) bemoaned the way trains destroyed the pristine quietude of German forests. The Bavarian Ludwig Railway, which was the first passenger or freight rail line in the German lands, connected Nuremberg and Fürth in 1835. Although it was 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) long and only operated in daylight, it proved both profitable and popular. Within three years, 141 kilometres (88 mi) of track had been laid, by 1840, 462 kilometres (287 mi), and by 1860, 11,157 kilometres (6,933 mi). Lacking a geographically central organizing feature (such as a national capital), the rails were laid in webs, linking towns and markets within regions, regions within larger regions, and so on. As the rail network expanded, it became cheaper to transport goods: in 1840, 18 Pfennigs per ton per kilometer and in 1870, five Pfennigs. The effects of the railway were immediate. For example, raw materials could travel up and down the Ruhr Valley without having to unload and reload. Railway lines encouraged economic activity by creating demand for commodities and by facilitating commerce. In 1850, inland shipping carried three times more freight than railroads; by 1870, the situation was reversed, and railroads carried four times more. Rail travel changed how cities looked and how people traveled. Its impact reached throughout the social order, affecting the highest born to the lowest. Although some of the outlying German provinces were not serviced by rail until the 1890s, the majority of the population, manufacturing centers, and production centers were linked to the rail network by 1865. As travel became easier, faster, and less expensive, Germans started to see unity in factors other than their language. The Brothers Grimm, who compiled a massive dictionary known as The Grimm, also assembled a compendium of folk tales and fables, which highlighted the story-telling parallels between different regions. Karl Baedeker wrote guidebooks to different cities and regions of Central Europe, indicating places to stay, sites to visit, and giving a short history of castles, battlefields, famous buildings, and famous people. His guides also included distances, roads to avoid, and hiking paths to follow. The words of August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben expressed not only the linguistic unity of the German people but also their geographic unity. In Deutschland, Deutschland über Alles, officially called Das Lied der Deutschen ("The Song of the Germans"), Fallersleben called upon sovereigns throughout the German states to recognize the unifying characteristics of the German people. Such other patriotic songs as "Die Wacht am Rhein" ("The Watch on the Rhine") by Max Schneckenburger began to focus attention on geographic space, not limiting "German-ness" to a common language. Schneckenburger wrote "The Watch on the Rhine" in a specific patriotic response to French assertions that the Rhine was France's "natural" eastern boundary. In the refrain, "Dear fatherland, dear fatherland, put your mind to rest / The watch stands true on the Rhine", and in such other patriotic poetry as Nicholaus Becker's "Das Rheinlied" ("The Rhine"), Germans were called upon to defend their territorial homeland. In 1807, Alexander von Humboldt argued that national character reflected geographic influence, linking landscape to people. Concurrent with this idea, movements to preserve old fortresses and historic sites emerged, and these particularly focused on the Rhineland, the site of so many confrontations with France and Spain. The period of Austrian and Prussian police-states and vast censorship before the Revolutions of 1848 in Germany later became widely known as the Vormärz, the "before March", referring to March 1848. During this period, European liberalism gained momentum; the agenda included economic, social, and political issues. Most European liberals in the Vormärz sought unification under nationalist principles, promoted the transition to capitalism, sought the expansion of male suffrage, among other issues. Their "radicalness" depended upon where they stood on the spectrum of male suffrage: the wider the definition of suffrage, the more radical. Despite considerable conservative reaction, ideas of unity joined with notions of popular sovereignty in German-speaking lands. The Hambach Festival (Hambacher Fest) in May 1832 was attended by a crowd of more than 30,000. Promoted as a county fair, its participants celebrated fraternity, liberty, and national unity. Celebrants gathered in the town below and marched to the ruins of Hambach Castle on the heights above the small town of Hambach, in the Palatinate province of Bavaria. Carrying flags, beating drums, and singing, the participants took the better part of the morning and mid-day to arrive at the castle grounds, where they listened to speeches by nationalist orators from across the conservative to radical political spectrum. The overall content of the speeches suggested a fundamental difference between the German nationalism of the 1830s and the French nationalism of the July Revolution: the focus of German nationalism lay in the education of the people; once the populace was educated as to what was needed, they would accomplish it. The Hambach rhetoric emphasized the overall peaceable nature of German nationalism: the point was not to build barricades, a very "French" form of nationalism, but to build emotional bridges between groups. A German caricature that mocks the Carlsbad Decrees, which suppressed freedom of expression. As he had done in 1819, after the Kotzebue assassination, Metternich used the popular demonstration at Hambach to push conservative social policy. The "Six Articles" of 28 June 1832 primarily reaffirmed the principle of monarchical authority. On 5 July, the Frankfurt Diet voted for an additional 10 articles, which reiterated existing rules on censorship, restricted political organizations, and limited other public activity. Furthermore, the member states agreed to send military assistance to any government threatened by unrest. Prince Wrede led half of the Bavarian army to the Palatinate to "subdue" the province. Several hapless Hambach speakers were arrested, tried and imprisoned; one, Karl Heinrich Brüggemann (1810–1887), a law student and representative of the secretive Burschenschaft, was sent to Prussia, where he was first condemned to death, but later pardoned. The economic, social and cultural dislocation of ordinary people, the economic hardship of an economy in transition, and the pressures of meteorological disasters all contributed to growing problems in Central Europe. The failure of most of the governments to deal with the food crisis of the mid-1840s, caused by the potato blight (related to the Great Irish Famine) and several seasons of bad weather, encouraged many to think that the rich and powerful had no interest in their problems. Those in authority were concerned about the growing unrest, political and social agitation among the working classes, and the disaffection of the intelligentsia. No amount of censorship, fines, imprisonment, or banishment, it seemed, could stem the criticism. Furthermore, it was becoming increasingly clear that both Austria and Prussia wanted to be the leaders in any resulting unification; each would inhibit the drive of the other to achieve unification. For more details on this topic, see Revolutions of 1848. For more details on this topic, see Frankfurt Parliament. The widespread—mainly German—revolutions of 1848–49 sought unification of Germany under a single constitution. The revolutionaries pressured various state governments, particularly those in the Rhineland, for a parliamentary assembly that would have the responsibility to draft a constitution. Ultimately, many of the left-wing revolutionaries hoped this constitution would establish universal male suffrage, a permanent national parliament, and a unified Germany, possibly under the leadership of the Prussian king. This seemed to be the most logical course since Prussia was the strongest of the German states, as well as the largest in geographic size. Generally, center-right revolutionaries sought some kind of expanded suffrage within their states and potentially, a form of loose unification. Their pressure resulted in a variety of elections, based on different voting qualifications, such as the Prussian three-class franchise, which granted to some electoral groups—chiefly the wealthier, landed ones—greater representative power. Pre-parliament delegates process into Paul's Church in Frankfurt, where they laid the groundwork for electing a National Parliament. On 27 March 1849, the Frankfurt Parliament passed the Paulskirchenverfassung (Constitution of St. Paul's Church) and offered the title of Kaiser (Emperor) to the Prussian king Frederick William IV the next month. He refused for a variety of reasons. Publicly, he replied that he could not accept a crown without the consent of the actual states, by which he meant the princes. Privately, he feared opposition from the other German princes and military intervention from Austria or Russia. He also held a fundamental distaste for the idea of accepting a crown from a popularly elected parliament: he would not accept a crown of "clay". Despite franchise requirements that often perpetuated many of the problems of sovereignty and political participation liberals sought to overcome, the Frankfurt Parliament did manage to draft a constitution and reach an agreement on the kleindeutsch solution. While the liberals failed to achieve the unification they sought, they did manage to gain a partial victory by working with the German princes on many constitutional issues and collaborating with them on reforms. Scholars of German history have engaged in decades of debate over how the successes and failures of the Frankfurt Parliament contribute to the historiographical explanations of German nation building. One school of thought, which emerged after The Great War and gained momentum in the aftermath of World War II, maintains that the failure of German liberals in the Frankfurt Parliament led to bourgeoisie compromise with conservatives (especially the conservative Junker landholders), which subsequently led to the so-called Sonderweg (distinctive path) of 20th-century German history. Failure to achieve unification in 1848, this argument holds, resulted in the late formation of the nation-state in 1871, which in turn delayed the development of positive national values. Hitler often called on the German public to sacrifice all for the cause of their great nation, but his regime did not create German nationalism: it merely capitalized on an intrinsic cultural value of German society that still remains prevalent even to this day. Furthermore, this argument maintains, the "failure" of 1848 reaffirmed latent aristocratic longings among the German middle class; consequently, this group never developed a self-conscious program of modernization. More recent scholarship has rejected this idea, claiming that Germany did not have an actual "distinctive path" any more than any other nation, a historiographic idea known as exceptionalism. Instead, modern historians claim 1848 saw specific achievements by the liberal politicians. Many of their ideas and programs were later incorporated into Bismarck's social programs (e.g., social insurance, education programs, and wider definitions of suffrage). In addition, the notion of a distinctive path relies upon the underlying assumption that some other nation's path (in this case, the United Kingdom's) is the accepted norm. This new argument further challenges the norms of the British-centric model of development: studies of national development in Britain and other "normal" states (e.g., France or the United States) have suggested that even in these cases, the modern nation-state did not develop evenly. Nor did it develop particularly early, being rather a largely mid-to-late-19th-century phenomenon. Since the end of the 1990s, this view has become widely accepted, although some historians still find the Sonderweg analysis helpful in understanding the period of National Socialism. This depiction of Germania, also by Philipp Veit, was created to hide the organ of the Paul's Church in Frankfurt, during the meeting of the Parliament there, March 1848–49. The sword was intended to symbolize the Word of God and to mark the renewal of the people and their triumphant spirit. After the Frankfurt Parliament disbanded, Frederick William IV, under the influence of General Joseph Maria von Radowitz, supported the establishment of the Erfurt Union—a federation of German states, excluding Austria—by the free agreement of the German princes. This limited union under Prussia would have almost entirely eliminated Austrian influence on the other German states. Combined diplomatic pressure from Austria and Russia (a guarantor of the 1815 agreements that established European spheres of influence) forced Prussia to relinquish the idea of the Erfurt Union at a meeting in the small town of Olmütz in Moravia. In November 1850, the Prussians—specifically Radowitz and Frederick William—agreed to the restoration of the German Confederation under Austrian leadership. This became known as the Punctation of Olmütz, but among Prussians it was known as the "Humiliation of Olmütz." We cannot conceal the fact that the whole German question is a simple alternative between Prussia and Austria. In these states, German life has its positive and negative poles—in the former, all the interests [that] are national and reformative, in the latter, all that are dynastic and destructive. The German question is not a constitutional question but a question of power; and the Prussian monarchy is now wholly German, while that of Austria cannot be. Unification under these conditions raised a basic diplomatic problem. The possibility of German (or Italian) unification would overturn the overlapping spheres of influence system created in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna. The principal architects of this convention, Metternich, Castlereagh, and Tsar Alexander (with his foreign secretary Count Karl Nesselrode), had conceived of and organized a Europe balanced and guaranteed by four "great powers": Great Britain, France, Russia, and Austria, with each power having a geographic sphere of influence. France's sphere included the Iberian Peninsula and a share of influence in the Italian states. Russia's included the eastern regions of Central Europe and a balancing influence in the Balkans. Austria's sphere expanded throughout much of the Central European territories formerly held by the Holy Roman Empire. Britain's sphere was the rest of the world, especially the seas. This sphere of influence system depended upon the fragmentation of the German and Italian states, not their consolidation. Consequently, a German nation united under one banner presented significant questions. There was no readily applicable definition for who the German people would be or how far the borders of a German nation would stretch. There was also uncertainty as to who would best lead and defend "Germany", however it was defined. Different groups offered different solutions to this problem. In the Kleindeutschland ("Lesser Germany") solution, the German states would be united under the leadership of the Prussian Hohenzollerns; in the Grossdeutschland ("Greater Germany") solution, the German states would be united under the leadership of the Austrian Habsburgs. This controversy, the latest phase of the German dualism debate that had dominated the politics of the German states and Austro-Prussian diplomacy since the 1701 creation of the Kingdom of Prussia, would come to a head during the following twenty years. Other nationalists had high hopes for the German unification movement, and the frustration with lasting German unification after 1850 seemed to set the national movement back. Revolutionaries associated national unification with progress. As Giuseppe Garibaldi wrote to German revolutionary Karl Blind on 10 April 1865, "The progress of humanity seems to have come to a halt, and you with your superior intelligence will know why. The reason is that the world lacks a nation [that] possesses true leadership. Such leadership, of course, is required not to dominate other peoples but to lead them along the path of duty, to lead them toward the brotherhood of nations where all the barriers erected by egoism will be destroyed." Garibaldi looked to Germany for the "kind of leadership [that], in the true tradition of medieval chivalry, would devote itself to redressing wrongs, supporting the weak, sacrificing momentary gains and material advantage for the much finer and more satisfying achievement of relieving the suffering of our fellow men. We need a nation courageous enough to give us a lead in this direction. It would rally to its cause all those who are suffering wrong or who aspire to a better life and all those who are now enduring foreign oppression." In the spring of 1834, while at Berne, Mazzini and a dozen refugees from Italy, Poland and Germany founded a new association with the grandiose name of Young Europe. Its basic, and equally grandiose idea, was that, as the French Revolution of 1789 had enlarged the concept of individual liberty, another revolution would now be needed for national liberty; and his vision went further because he hoped that in the no doubt distant future free nations might combine to form a loosely federal Europe with some kind of federal assembly to regulate their common interests. [...] His intention was nothing less than to overturn the European settlement agreed [to] in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, which had reestablished an oppressive hegemony of a few great powers and blocked the emergence of smaller nations. [...] Mazzini hoped, but without much confidence, that his vision of a league or society of independent nations would be realized in his own lifetime. In practice Young Europe lacked the money and popular support for more than a short-term existence. Nevertheless he always remained faithful to the ideal of a united continent for which the creation of individual nations would be an indispensable preliminary. The convergence of leadership in politics and diplomacy by Bismarck, left, reorganization of the army and its training techniques by Albrecht von Roon (center), and the redesign of operational and strategic principles by Helmuth von Moltke (right) placed Prussia among the most powerful states in European affairs after the 1860s. King Frederick William IV suffered a stroke in 1857 and could no longer rule. This led to his brother William becoming Prince Regent of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1858. Meanwhile, Helmuth von Moltke had become chief of the Prussian General Staff in 1857, and Albrecht von Roon would become Prussian Minister of War in 1859. This shuffling of authority within the Prussian military establishment would have important consequences. Von Roon and William (who took an active interest in military structures) began reorganizing the Prussian army, while Moltke redesigned the strategic defense of Prussia by streamlining operational command. Prussian army reforms (especially how to pay for them) caused a constitutional crisis beginning in 1860 because both parliament and William—via his minister of war—wanted control over the military budget. William, crowned King Wilhelm I in 1861, appointed Otto von Bismarck to the position of Minister-President of Prussia in 1862. Bismarck resolved the crisis in favor of the war minister. The Crimean War of 1854–55 and the Italian War of 1859 disrupted relations among Great Britain, France, Austria, and Russia. In the aftermath of this disarray, the convergence of von Moltke's operational redesign, von Roon and Wilhelm's army restructure, and Bismarck's diplomacy influenced the realignment of the European balance of power. Their combined agendas established Prussia as the leading German power through a combination of foreign diplomatic triumphs—backed up by the possible use of Prussian military might—and an internal conservativism tempered by pragmatism, which came to be known as Realpolitik. Bismarck expressed the essence of Realpolitik in his subsequently famous "Blood and Iron" speech to the Budget Committee of the Prussian Chamber of Deputies on 30 September 1862, shortly after he became Minister President: "The great questions of the time will not be resolved by speeches and majority decisions—that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849—but by iron and blood." Bismarck's words, "iron and blood" (or "blood and iron", as often attributed), have often been misappropriated as evidence of a German lust for blood and power. First, the phrase from his speech "the great questions of time will not be resolved by speeches and majority decisions" is often interpreted as a repudiation of the political process—a repudiation Bismarck did not himself advocate. Second, his emphasis on blood and iron did not imply simply the unrivaled military might of the Prussian army but rather two important aspects: the ability of the assorted German states to produce iron and other related war materials and the willingness to use those war materials if necessary. The need for both iron and blood soon became apparent. By 1862, when Bismarck made his speech, the idea of a German nation-state in the peaceful spirit of Pan-Germanism had shifted from the liberal and democratic character of 1848 to accommodate Bismarck's more conservative Realpolitik. Ever the pragmatist, Bismarck understood the possibilities, obstacles, and advantages of a unified state. He also understood the importance of linking that state to the Hohenzollern dynasty, which for some historians remains one of Bismarck's primary contributions to the creation of the German Empire in 1871. While the conditions of the treaties binding the various German states to one another prohibited Bismarck from taking unilateral action, the politician and diplomat in him realized the impracticality of such an action. In order to get the German states to unify, Bismarck needed a single, outside enemy that would declare war on one of the German states first, thus providing a casus belli to rally all Germans behind. This opportunity arose with the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Historians have long debated Bismarck's role in the events leading up to the war. The traditional view, promulgated in large part by late 19th and early 20th century pro-Prussian historians, maintains that Bismarck's intent was always German unification. Post-1945 historians, however, see more short-term opportunism and cynicism in Bismarck's manipulation of the circumstances to create a war, rather than a grand scheme to unify a nation-state. Regardless, Bismarck was neither villain nor saint: by manipulating events of 1866 and 1870, he demonstrated the political and diplomatic skill that had caused Wilhelm to turn to him in 1862. From north to south: The Danish part of Jutland in purple and terracotta, Schleswig in red and brown, and Holstein in lime yellow. The Schleswig-Holstein Question was about the status of those territories. Three episodes proved fundamental to the administrative and political unification of Germany. First, the death without male heirs of Frederick VII of Denmark led to the Second War of Schleswig in 1864. Second, the unification of Italy provided Prussia an ally against Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Finally, France—fearing Hohenzollern encirclement—declared war on Prussia in 1870, resulting in the Franco-Prussian War. Through a combination of Bismarck's diplomacy and political leadership, von Roon's military reorganization, and von Moltke's military strategy, Prussia demonstrated that none of the European signatories of the 1815 peace treaty could guarantee Austria's sphere of influence in Central Europe, thus achieving Prussian hegemony in Germany and ending the dualism debate. The first episode in the saga of German unification under Bismarck came with the Schleswig-Holstein Question. On 15 November 1863, King Christian IX of Denmark became king of Denmark and duke of Schleswig and Holstein. On 18 November 1863, he signed the Danish November Constitution and declared the Duchy of Schleswig a part of Denmark. The German Confederation saw this act as a violation of the London Protocol of 1852, which emphasized the status of the kingdom of Denmark as distinct from the independent duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The populations of Schleswig and Holstein, furthermore, greatly valued this separate status. The German Confederation could use the ethnicities of these duchies as a rallying cry: large portions of both Schleswig and Holstein were of German origin and spoke German in everyday life (though Schleswig had a sizable Danish minority). Diplomatic attempts to have the November Constitution repealed collapsed, and fighting began when Prussian and Austrian troops crossed the border into Schleswig on 1 February 1864. Initially, the Danes attempted to defend their country using an ancient earthen wall known as the Danevirke, but this proved futile. The Danes were no match for the combined Prussian and Austrian forces, and they could not rely on help from their allies in the other Scandinavian states because Denmark had nullified its alliance rights by violating the London Protocol. The Needle Gun, one of the first bolt action rifles to be used in conflict, aided the Prussians in both this war and the Austro-Prussian War two years later. The rifle enabled a Prussian soldier to fire five shots while lying prone, while its muzzle-loading counterpart could only fire one shot and had to be reloaded while standing. The Second Schleswig War resulted in victory for the combined armies of Prussia and Austria, and the two countries won control of Schleswig and Holstein in the concluding peace of Vienna, signed on 30 October 1864. The second episode in Bismarck's unification efforts occurred in 1866. In concert with the newly formed Italy, Bismarck created a diplomatic environment in which Austria declared war on Prussia. The dramatic prelude to the war occurred largely in Frankfurt, where the two powers claimed to speak for all the German states in the parliament. In April 1866, the Prussian representative in Florence signed a secret agreement with the Italian government, committing each state to assist the other in a war against Austria. The next day, the Prussian delegate to the Frankfurt assembly presented a plan calling for a national constitution, a directly elected national Diet, and universal suffrage. German liberals were justifiably skeptical of this plan, having witnessed Bismarck's difficult and ambiguous relationship with the Prussian Landtag (State Parliament), a relationship characterized by Bismarck's cajoling and riding roughshod over the representatives. These skeptics saw the proposal as a ploy to enhance Prussian power rather than a progressive agenda of reform. The debate over the proposed national constitution became moot when news of Italian troop movements in Tyrol and near the Venetian border reached Vienna in April 1866. The Austrian government ordered partial mobilization in the southern regions; the Italians responded by ordering full mobilization. Despite calls for rational thought and action, Italy, Prussia, and Austria continued to rush toward armed conflict. On 1 May, Wilhelm gave von Moltke command over the Prussian armed forces, and the next day he began full-scale mobilization. In the Diet, the group of middle-sized states, known as Mittelstaaten (Bavaria, Württemberg, the grand duchies of Baden and Hesse, and the duchies of Saxony–Weimar, Saxony–Meiningen, Saxony–Coburg, and Nassau), supported complete demobilization within the Confederation. These individual governments rejected the potent combination of enticing promises and subtle (or outright) threats Bismarck used to try to gain their support against the Habsburgs. The Prussian war cabinet understood that its only supporters among the German states against the Habsburgs were two small principalities bordering on Brandenburg that had little military strength or political clout: the Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. They also understood that Prussia's only ally abroad was Italy. Prussian Prince Friedrich Carl orders his enthusiastic troops to attack at the Battle of Königgrätz. The Crown Prince and his troops had arrived late, and in the wrong place, but when he arrived, he ordered his troops immediately into the fray. This decisive battle, which the Prussians won, forced the Habsburgs to end the war and laid the groundwork for the Kleindeutschland (little Germany) solution, or "Germany without Austria." Although several German states initially sided with Austria, they stayed on the defensive and failed to take effective initiatives against Prussian troops. The Austrian army therefore faced the technologically superior Prussian army with support only from Saxony. France promised aid, but it came late and was insufficient. Complicating the situation for Austria, the Italian mobilization on Austria's southern border required a diversion of forces away from battle with Prussia to fight the Third Italian War of Independence on a second front in Venetia and on the Adriatic sea. The day-long Battle of Königgrätz, near the village of Sadová, gave Prussia an uncontested and decisive victory. For more details on this topic, see North German Confederation. A quick peace was essential to keep Russia from entering the conflict on Austria's side. Prussia annexed Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, and the city of Frankfurt. Hesse Darmstadt lost some territory but not its sovereignty. The states south of the Main River (Baden, Württemberg, and Bavaria) signed separate treaties requiring them to pay indemnities and to form alliances bringing them into Prussia's sphere of influence. Austria, and most of its allies, were excluded from the North German Confederation. The end of Austrian dominance of the German states shifted Austria's attention to the Balkans. In 1867, the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph accepted a settlement (the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867) in which he gave his Hungarian holdings equal status with his Austrian domains, creating the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Peace of Prague (1866) offered lenient terms to Austria, in which Austria's relationship with the new nation-state of Italy underwent major restructuring; although the Austrians were far more successful in the military field against Italian troops, the monarchy lost the important province of Venetia. The Habsburgs ceded Venetia to France, which then formally transferred control to Italy. The French public resented the Prussian victory and demanded Revanche pour Sadová ("Revenge for Sadova"), illustrating anti-Prussian sentiment in France—a problem that would accelerate in the months leading up to the Franco-Prussian War. The Austro-Prussian War also damaged relations with the French government. At a meeting in Biarritz in September 1865 with Napoleon III, Bismarck had let it be understood (or Napoleon had thought he understood) that France might annex parts of Belgium and Luxembourg in exchange for its neutrality in the war. These annexations did not happen, resulting in animosity from Napoleon towards Bismarck. For more details on this topic, see Causes of the Franco-Prussian War. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Metternich and his conservative allies had reestablished the Spanish monarchy under King Ferdinand VII. Over the following forty years, the great powers supported the Spanish monarchy, but events in 1868 would further test the old system. A revolution in Spain overthrew Queen Isabella II, and the throne remained empty while Isabella lived in sumptuous exile in Paris. The Spanish, looking for a suitable Catholic successor, had offered the post to three European princes, each of whom was rejected by Napoleon III, who served as regional power-broker. Finally, in 1870 the Regency offered the crown to Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a prince of the Catholic cadet Hohenzollern line. The ensuing furor has been dubbed by historians as the Hohenzollern candidature. Over the next few weeks, the Spanish offer turned into the talk of Europe. Bismarck encouraged Leopold to accept the offer. A successful installment of a Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen king in Spain would mean that two countries on either side of France would both have German kings of Hohenzollern descent. This may have been a pleasing prospect for Bismarck, but it was unacceptable to either Napoleon III or to Agenor, duc de Gramont, his minister of foreign affairs. Gramont wrote a sharply formulated ultimatum to Wilhelm, as head of the Hohenzollern family, stating that if any Hohenzollern prince should accept the crown of Spain, the French government would respond—although he left ambiguous the nature of such response. The prince withdrew as a candidate, thus defusing the crisis, but the French ambassador to Berlin would not let the issue lie. He approached the Prussian king directly while Wilhelm was vacationing in Ems Spa, demanding that the King release a statement saying he would never support the installation of a Hohenzollern on the throne of Spain. Wilhelm refused to give such an encompassing statement, and he sent Bismarck a dispatch by telegram describing the French demands. Bismarck used the king's telegram, called the Ems Dispatch, as a template for a short statement to the press. With its wording shortened and sharpened by Bismarck—and further alterations made in the course of its translation by the French agency Havas—the Ems Dispatch raised an angry furor in France. The French public, still aggravated over the defeat at Sadová, demanded war. Emperor Napoleon III (left) at Sedan, on 2 September 1870, seated next to Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, holding Napoleon's surrendered sword. The defeat of the French army destabilized Napoleon's regime; a revolution in Paris established the Third French Republic, and the war continued. For more details on this topic, see Franco-Prussian War. Napoleon III had tried to secure territorial concessions from both sides before and after the Austro-Prussian War, but despite his role as mediator during the peace negotiations, he ended up with nothing. He then hoped that Austria would join in a war of revenge and that its former allies—particularly the southern German states of Baden, Württemberg, and Bavaria—would join in the cause. This hope would prove futile since the 1866 treaty came into effect and united all German states militarily—if not happily—to fight against France. Instead of a war of revenge against Prussia, supported by various German allies, France engaged in a war against all of the German states without any allies of its own. The reorganization of the military by von Roon and the operational strategy of Moltke combined against France to great effect. The speed of Prussian mobilization astonished the French, and the Prussian ability to concentrate power at specific points—reminiscent of Napoleon I's strategies seventy years earlier—overwhelmed French mobilization. Utilizing their efficiently laid rail grid, Prussian troops were delivered to battle areas rested and prepared to fight, whereas French troops had to march for considerable distances to reach combat zones. After a number of battles, notably Spicheren, Wörth, Mars la Tour, and Gravelotte, the Prussians defeated the main French armies and advanced on the primary city of Metz and the French capital of Paris. They captured Napoleon III and took an entire army as prisoners at Sedan on 1 September 1870. The humiliating capture of the French emperor and the loss of the French army itself, which marched into captivity at a makeshift camp in the Saarland ("Camp Misery"), threw the French government into turmoil; Napoleon's energetic opponents overthrew his government and proclaimed the Third Republic. The German High Command expected an overture of peace from the French, but the new republic refused to surrender. The Prussian army invested Paris and held it under siege until mid-January, with the city being "ineffectually bombarded". On 18 January 1871, the German princes and senior military commanders proclaimed Wilhelm "German Emperor" in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Under the subsequent Treaty of Frankfurt, France relinquished most of its traditionally German regions (Alsace and the German-speaking part of Lorraine); paid an indemnity, calculated (on the basis of population) as the precise equivalent of the indemnity that Napoleon Bonaparte imposed on Prussia in 1807; and accepted German administration of Paris and most of northern France, with "German troops to be withdrawn stage by stage with each installment of the indemnity payment". 18 January 1871: The proclamation of the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Bismarck appears in white. The Grand Duke of Baden stands beside Wilhelm, leading the cheers. Crown Prince Friedrich, later Friedrich III, stands on his father's right. Painting by Anton von Werner. Victory in the Franco-Prussian War proved the capstone of the nationalist issue. In the first half of the 1860s, Austria and Prussia both contended to speak for the German states; both maintained they could support German interests abroad and protect German interests at home. In responding to the Schleswig-Holstein Question, they both proved equally diligent in doing so. After the victory over Austria in 1866, Prussia began internally asserting its authority to speak for the German states and defend German interests, while Austria began directing more and more of its attention to possessions in the Balkans. The victory over France in 1871 expanded Prussian hegemony in the German states to the international level. With the proclamation of Wilhelm as Kaiser, Prussia assumed the leadership of the new empire. The southern states became officially incorporated into a unified Germany at the Treaty of Versailles of 1871 (signed 26 February 1871; later ratified in the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871), which formally ended the war. Although Bismarck had led the transformation of Germany from a loose confederation into a federal nation state, he had not done it alone. Unification was achieved by building on a tradition of legal collaboration under the Holy Roman Empire and economic collaboration through the Zollverein. The difficulties of the Vormärz, the impact of the 1848 liberals, the importance of von Roon's military reorganization, and von Moltke's strategic brilliance all played a part in political unification. For more details on this topic, see German Empire. The new German Empire included 25 states, three of them Hanseatic cities. It realized the Kleindeutsche Lösung ("Lesser German Solution", with the exclusion of Austria) as opposed to a Großdeutsche Lösung or "Greater German Solution", which would have included Austria. Unifying various states into one nation required more than some military victories, however much these might have boosted morale. It also required a rethinking of political, social, and cultural behaviors and the construction of new metaphors about "us" and "them". Who were the new members of this new nation? What did they stand for? How were they to be organized? For more details on this topic, see Constitution of the German Empire. The 1866 North German Constitution became (with some semantic adjustments) the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire. With this constitution, the new Germany acquired some democratic features: notably the Imperial Diet, which—in contrast to the parliament of Prussia—gave citizens representation on the basis of elections by direct and equal suffrage of all males who had reached the age of 25. Furthermore, elections were generally free of chicanery, engendering pride in the national parliament. However, legislation required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states, in and over which Prussia had a powerful influence; Prussia could appoint 17 of 58 delegates with only 14 votes needed for a veto. Prussia thus exercised influence in both bodies, with executive power vested in the Prussian King as Kaiser, who appointed the federal chancellor. The chancellor was accountable solely to, and served entirely at the discretion of, the Emperor. Officially, the chancellor functioned as a one-man cabinet and was responsible for the conduct of all state affairs; in practice, the State Secretaries (bureaucratic top officials in charge of such fields as finance, war, foreign affairs, etc.) acted as unofficial portfolio ministers. With the exception of the years 1872–1873 and 1892–1894, the imperial chancellor was always simultaneously the prime minister of the imperial dynasty's hegemonic home-kingdom, Prussia. The Imperial Diet had the power to pass, amend, or reject bills, but it could not initiate legislation. (The power of initiating legislation rested with the chancellor.) The other states retained their own governments, but the military forces of the smaller states came under Prussian control. The militaries of the larger states (such as the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony) retained some autonomy, but they underwent major reforms to coordinate with Prussian military principles and came under federal government control in wartime. Germania, also called the Niederwald Monument, was erected in 1877–83 at Rüdesheim. The Sonderweg hypothesis attributed Germany's difficult 20th century to the weak political, legal, and economic basis of the new empire. The Prussian landed elites, the Junkers, retained a substantial share of political power in the unified state. The Sonderweg hypothesis attributed their power to the absence of a revolutionary breakthrough by the middle classes, or by peasants in combination with the urban workers, in 1848 and again in 1871. Recent research into the role of the Grand Bourgeoisie—which included bankers, merchants, industrialists, and entrepreneurs—in the construction of the new state has largely refuted the claim of political and economic dominance of the Junkers as a social group. This newer scholarship has demonstrated the importance of the merchant classes of the Hanseatic cities and the industrial leadership (the latter particularly important in the Rhineland) in the ongoing development of the Second Empire. This monument to Kaiser Wilhelm, at Koblenz, where the Moselle River (upper river) meets the Rhine River (lower river), called the Deutsches Eck, or the German corner. A key element of the nation-state is the creation of a national culture, frequently—although not necessarily—through deliberate national policy. In the new German nation, a Kulturkampf (1872–78) that followed political, economic, and administrative unification attempted to address, with a remarkable lack of success, some of the contradictions in German society. In particular, it involved a struggle over language, education, and religion. A policy of Germanization of non-German people of the empire's population, including the Polish and Danish minorities, started with language, in particular, the German language, compulsory schooling (Germanization), and the attempted creation of standardized curricula for those schools to promote and celebrate the idea of a shared past. Finally, it extended to the religion of the new Empire's population. For some Germans, the definition of nation did not include pluralism, and Catholics in particular came under scrutiny; some Germans, and especially Bismarck, feared that the Catholics' connection to the papacy might make them less loyal to the nation. As chancellor, Bismarck tried without much success to limit the influence of the Roman Catholic Church and of its party-political arm, the Catholic Center Party, in schools and education and language-related policies. The Catholic Center Party remained particularly well entrenched in the Catholic strongholds of Bavaria and southern Baden, and in urban areas that held high populations of displaced rural workers seeking jobs in the heavy industry, and sought to protect the rights not only of Catholics, but other minorities, including the Poles, and the French minorities in the Alsatian lands. The May Laws of 1873 brought the appointment of priests, and their education, under the control of the state, resulting in the closure of many seminaries, and a shortage of priests. The Congregations Law of 1875 abolished religious orders, ended state subsidies to the Catholic Church, and removed religious protections from the Prussian constitution. For more details on this topic, see History of the Jews in Germany. The Germanized Jews remained another vulnerable population in the new German nation-state. Since 1780, after emancipation by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, Jews in the former Habsburg territories had enjoyed considerable economic and legal privileges that their counterparts in other German-speaking territories did not: they could own land, for example, and they did not have to live in a Jewish quarter (also called the Judengasse, or "Jews' alley"). They could also attend universities and enter the professions. During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, many of the previously strong barriers between Jews and Christians broke down. Napoleon had ordered the emancipation of Jews throughout territories under French hegemony. Like their French counterparts, wealthy German Jews sponsored salons; in particular, several Jewish salonnières held important gatherings in Frankfurt and Berlin during which German intellectuals developed their own form of republican intellectualism. Throughout the subsequent decades, beginning almost immediately after the defeat of the French, reaction against the mixing of Jews and Christians limited the intellectual impact of these salons. Beyond the salons, Jews continued a process of Germanization in which they intentionally adopted German modes of dress and speech, working to insert themselves into the emerging 19th-century German public sphere. The religious reform movement among German Jews reflected this effort. For more details on this topic, see Historiography and nationalism. Another important element in nation-building, the story of the heroic past, fell to such nationalist German historians as the liberal constitutionalist Friedrich Dahlmann (1785–1860), his conservative student Heinrich von Treitschke (1834–1896), and others less conservative, such as Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903) and Heinrich von Sybel (1817–1895), to name two. Dahlmann himself died before unification, but he laid the groundwork for the nationalist histories to come through his histories of the English and French revolutions, by casting these revolutions as fundamental to the construction of a nation, and Dahlmann himself viewed Prussia as the logical agent of unification. Heinrich von Treitschke's History of Germany in the Nineteenth Century, published in 1879, has perhaps a misleading title: it privileges the history of Prussia over the history of other German states, and it tells the story of the German-speaking peoples through the guise of Prussia's destiny to unite all German states under its leadership. The creation of this Borussian myth (Borussia is the Latin name for Prussia) established Prussia as Germany's savior; it was the destiny of all Germans to be united, this myth maintains, and it was Prussia's destiny to accomplish this. According to this story, Prussia played the dominant role in bringing the German states together as a nation-state; only Prussia could protect German liberties from being crushed by French or Russian influence. The story continues by drawing on Prussia's role in saving Germans from the resurgence of Napoleon's power in 1815, at Waterloo, creating some semblance of economic unity, and uniting Germans under one proud flag after 1871. It is the role of the nationalist historian to write the history of the nation; this means viewing that nation's past with the goal of a nationalist history in mind. The process of writing history, or histories, is a process of remembering and forgetting: of selecting certain elements to be remembered, that is, emphasized, and ignoring, or forgetting, other elements and events. Mommsen's contributions to the Monumenta Germaniae Historica laid the groundwork for additional scholarship on the study of the German nation, expanding the notion of "Germany" to mean other areas beyond Prussia. A liberal professor, historian, and theologian, and generally a titan among late 19th-century scholars, Mommsen served as a delegate to the Prussian House of Representatives from 1863–1866 and 1873–1879; he also served as a delegate to the Reichstag from 1881–1884, for the liberal German Progress Party (Deutsche Fortschrittspartei) and later for the National Liberal Party. He opposed the antisemitic programs of Bismarck's Kulturkampf and the vitriolic text that Treitschke often employed in the publication of his Studien über die Judenfrage (Studies of the Jewish Question), which encouraged assimilation and Germanization of Jews. ↑ See, for example, James Allen Vann, The Swabian Kreis: Institutional Growth in the Holy Roman Empire 1648–1715. Vol. LII, Studies Presented to International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions. Bruxelles, 1975. Mack Walker. German home towns: community, state, and general estate, 1648–1871. Ithaca, 1998. ↑ Robert A. Kann. History of the Habsburg Empire: 1526–1918, Los Angeles, 1974, p. 221. In his abdication, Francis released all former estates from their duties and obligations to him, and took upon himself solely the title of King of Austria, which had been established since 1804. Golo Mann, Deutsche Geschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Frankfurt am Main, 2002, p. 70. ↑ Fichte, Johann Gottlieb (1808). "Address to the German Nation". www.historyman.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-06-06. ↑ James J. Sheehan, German History, 1780–1866, Oxford, 1989, p. 434. ↑ Although the Prussian army had gained its reputation in the Seven Years' War, its humiliating defeat at Jena and Auerstadt crushed the pride many Prussians felt in their soldiers. During their Russian exile, several officers, including Carl von Clausewitz, contemplated reorganization and new training methods. Sheehan, p. 323. ↑ Sheehan, pp. 465–467; Blackbourn, Long Century, pp. 106–107. ↑ (German) Hans Lulfing, Baedecker, Karl, Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, p. 516 f. ↑ (German) Peter Rühmkorf, Heinz Ludwig Arnold, Das Lied der Deutschen Göttingen: Wallstein, 2001, ISBN 3-89244-463-3, pp. 11–14. ↑ Raymond Dominick III, The Environmental Movement in Germany, Bloomington, Indiana University, 1992, pp. 3–41. 1 2 Sheehan, pp. 610–613. ↑ (German) Badische Heimat/Landeskunde online 2006 Veit's Pauls Church Germania. Retrieved 5 June 2009. ↑ Examples of this argument appear in: Ralf Dahrendorf, German History, (1968), pp. 25–32; (German) Hans Ulrich Wehler, Das Deutsche Kaiserreich, 1871–1918, Göttingen, 1973, pp. 10–14; Leonard Krieger, The German Idea of Freedom, Chicago, 1957; Raymond Grew, Crises of Political Development in Europe and the United States, Princeton, 1978, pp. 312–345; Jürgen Kocka and Allan Mitchell. Bourgeois society in nineteenth-century Europe. Oxford, 1993; Jürgen Kocka, "German History before Hitler: The Debate about the German Sonderweg." Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 23, No. 1 (January, 1988), pp. 3–16; Volker Berghahn, Modern Germany. Society, Economy and Politics in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, 1982. ↑ World Encyclopedia V.3 p. 542. ↑ For a summary of this argument, see David Blackbourn, and Geoff Eley. The peculiarities of German history: bourgeois society and politics in nineteenth-century Germany. Oxford & New York, 1984, part 1. ↑ Jürgen Kocka, "Comparison and Beyond.'" History and Theory, Vol. 42, No. 1 (February, 2003), pp. 39–44, and Jürgen Kocka, "Asymmetrical Historical Comparison: The Case of the German Sonderweg", History and Theory, Vol. 38, No. 1 (February, 1999), pp. 40–50. ↑ The remainder of the letter exhorts the Germans to unification: "This role of world leadership, left vacant as things are today, might well be occupied by the German nation. You Germans, with your grave and philosophic character, might well be the ones who could win the confidence of others and guarantee the future stability of the international community. Let us hope, then, that you can use your energy to overcome your moth-eaten thirty tyrants of the various German states. Let us hope that in the center of Europe you can then make a unified nation out of your fifty millions. All the rest of us would eagerly and joyfully follow you." Denis Mack Smith (editor). Garibaldi (Great Lives Observed), Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1969, p. 76. ↑ Bismarck had "cut his teeth" on German politics, and German politicians, in Frankfurt: a quintessential politician, Bismarck had built his power-base by absorbing and co-opting measures from throughout the political spectrum. He was first and foremost a politician, and in this lied his strength. Furthermore, since he trusted neither Moltke nor Roon, he was reluctant to enter a military enterprise over which he would have no control. Mann, Chapter 6, pp. 316–395. ↑ The Situation of Germany. (PDF) – The New York Times, July 1, 1866. ↑ A. J. P. Taylor, Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman. Oxford, Clarendon, 1988. Chapter 1, and Conclusion. ↑ Sheehan, p. 906; Geoffrey Wawro, The Austro Prussian War: Austria's War with Prussia and Italy in 1866. Cambridge, Cambridge University, 1996, pp. 82–84. ↑ Wawro, pp. 50–60; 75–79. ↑ Blackbourn, Long Century, pp. 225–301. ↑ David Blackbourn and Geoff Eley. The peculiarities of German history: bourgeois society and politics in nineteenth-century Germany. Oxford [Oxfordshire] and New York, Oxford University Press, 1984. Peter Blickle, Heimat: a critical theory of the German idea of homeland, Studies in German literature, linguistics and culture. Columbia, South Carolina, Camden House; Boydell & Brewer, 2004. Robert W. Scribner, Sheilagh C. Ogilvie, Germany: a new social and economic history. London and New York, Arnold and St. Martin's Press, 1996. ↑ To name only a few of these studies: Geoff Eley, Reshaping the German right: radical nationalism and political change after Bismarck. New Haven, 1980. Richard J. Evans, Death in Hamburg: Society and Politics in the Cholera Years, 1830–1910.New York, 2005. Richard J. Evans,Society and politics in Wilhelmine Germany. London and New York, 1978. Thomas Nipperdey, Germany from Napoleon to Bismarck, 1800–1866. Princeton, New Jersey, 1996. Jonathan Sperber, Popular Catholicism in nineteenth-century Germany. Princeton, N.J., 1984. (1997). ↑ For more on this idea, see, for example, Joseph R. Llobera, and Goldsmiths' College. The role of historical memory in (ethno)nation-building, Goldsmiths sociology papers. London, 1996; (German) Alexandre Escudier, Brigitte Sauzay, and Rudolf von Thadden. Gedenken im Zwiespalt: Konfliktlinien europäischen Erinnerns, Genshagener Gespräche; vol. 4. Göttingen: 2001; Alon Confino. The Nation as a Local Metaphor: Württemberg, Imperial Germany, and National Memory, 1871–1918. Chapel Hill, 1999. ↑ Blackbourn, Long Century, pp. 283; 285–300. ↑ Jonathan Sperber. Popular Catholicism in nineteenth-century Germany, Princeton, N.J., 1984. ↑ Karin Friedrich, The other Prussia: royal Prussia, Poland and liberty, 1569–1772, New York, 2000, p. 5. ↑ Many modern historians describe this myth, without subscribing to it: for example, Rudy Koshar, Germany's Transient Pasts: Preservation and the National Memory in the Twentieth Century. Chapel Hill, 1998; Hans Kohn. German history; some new German views. Boston, 1954; Thomas Nipperdey, Germany history from Napoleon to Bismarck.

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https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Unification_of_Germany.html

The term ‘Steering Cognition’ was coined by the researcher Simon P. Walker who discovered consistent, replicable patterns of attention and corresponding response through repeated cognitive tests between 2000 and 2015, in studies with over 15,000 individuals. Working with his colleague Jo Walker, he was able to show that these patterns correlated with other cognitive attributes such as mental wellbeing, social competency and academic performance. Together, Walker and Walker conjecture that Steering Cognition is a central mechanism by which people self-regulate their cognitive, emotional and social states. Secondary school environments which focus on accelerating pupil progress against narrow academic targets have been shown to impede the development of pupils’ ability to regulate their Steering Cognition, correlating with some potentially increased mental health and welfare risks. A large 2014 study showed that Boarding school education results in better pupil ability to regulate Steering Cognition across social situations than Day school education. This so-called ‘Tribe Effect’ is conjectured to lead to continued social advantages beyond school, such as access to future in-group benefits in work and wider society. Steering Cognition can be improved through training, coaching and more carefully structured and supportive environments. Steering Cognition is susceptible to both internal and external constraint and direction, equivalent to both teaching a person to drive AND improving the quality of the road signs. Steering Cognition is a model of executive cognitive functions which contribute to how we regulate our attention and coordinate our corresponding responses. Steering Cognition is a way of explaining how the brain biases attention toward specific stimuli whilst ignoring others, before coordinating responsive actions which cohere with our past patterns of self-representation. Steering Cognition enables us to use our limited cognitive resources to make sense of the world that we expect to see. The analogy of the car is sometimes used to explain Steering Cognition. As the ‘controls of our mind’, Steering Cognition regulates its direction, brakes and gears. Studies have shown that it is distinct from the ‘engine’ of our mind, sometimes referred to as ‘algorithmic processing’, which is responsible for how we process complex calculations. Regulating our Steering Cognition involves conscious effort; much like driving off-road, we particularly need to regulate our Steering Cognition when we are facing unpredictable and varied situations and stimuli. Failing to do so can result in cognitive, affective and social biases. The state of our Steering Cognition at any time is influenced by the priming effect of the surrounding environment. Studies have shown that environment biasing of our Steering Cognition can contribute to non-conscious in-group behaviours, e.g. an increased likelihood of group-think or emotional contagion. Studies have shown that during adolescence individuals develop more fixed patterns of steering. By adulthood, these patterns become recognisable as mental traits, behaviours and social attributes. There is some evidence that people with more flexible Steering Cognition are advantaged in jobs which require greater social or cognitive dexterity. Steering Cognition has been shown to depend on our ability to mental simulate, or imagine ourselves performing tasks and functions. As such, Steering Cognition requires the capacity to self-represent, associating memories of our past and possible future selves. Steering Cognition has been shown to implicate our emotional (affective), social and abstract cognitions. The term ‘Steering Cognition’ was coined by the researcher Simon P. Walker who discovered consistent, replicable patterns of attention and corresponding response through repeated cognitive tests between 2000 and 2015, in studies with over 15,000 individuals. Working with his colleague Jo Walker, he was able to show that these patterns correlated with other cognitive attributes such as mental wellbeing, social competency and academic performance. Together, Walker and Walker conjecture that Steering Cognition is a central mechanism by which people self-regulate their cognitive, emotional and social states. Why is Steering Cognition important in education? Steering Cognition has the potential to explain previously unquantified effects of education which have significant consequences for pupil learning and welfare. The importance of Steering Cognition lies in its explanation of human behaviours which lead to either risks or advantages for individuals and collective groups. A car driver with poor control will increase risks for himself and others. Similarly, individuals with poor Steering Cognition may increase risks for themselves and others whilst those with better steering travel further and more safely. Importantly, the ability to regulate one’s Steering Cognition is unrelated to IQ or rational group behaviour, so measuring Steering Cognition offers an explanation of behaviours and events not currently detected by traditional metrics and models. Poorly regulated Steering Cognition has been shown to correlate strongly with increased mental health and welfare risks during adolescence. A study in 2015 showed that pupils with certain fixed biases in their Steering Cognition were four times more likely to exhibit self-harm, be bullied or not cope with school pressures. Secondary school environments which focus on accelerating pupil progress against narrow academic targets have been shown to impede the development of pupils’ ability to regulate their Steering Cognition, leading to some potentially increased mental health and welfare risks READ ARTICLE. Closed group environments have been shown to result in collective biases in Steering Cognition, which increase in-group defensiveness, cognitive blindness and potential prejudice. This suggests that, at a cognitive level, radicalisation may involve the biasing of individuals’ Steering Cognition, through closed environmental priming effects, which in turn lead to hostile attitudes and actions. The ability to regulate your Steering Cognition has been shown to account for up to 15% of academic outcomes at secondary school. Unlike IQ, Steering Cognition can be improved through coaching and specific teaching approaches, providing a potentially untapped educational dividend for schools. Employers have been shown to seek employees for higher-level roles such as management and leadership who have better, more flexible Steering Cognition. A detailed publication of empirical methods and findings from a wide 15 year research programme describing our central claims: the cognitive, social and mental health implications of the self-regulation of Steering Cognition. Publication of our 2015 study involving nearly 4,000 pupils across 20 UK secondary schools which answered the question: Model. Do pupils at schools which show Motorway Model characteristics exhibit narrower cognitive abilities than pupils at schools which show less of those Motorway characteristics? If so, what might the consequences be for employability beyond school? Publication of our 2015 study involving more than 6,000 pupils across 16 UK secondary schools which answered the question: Is there a link between schools exhibiting the characteristics of the Motorway Model and increased pupil mental health risks? Working paper reporting findings from a 6 month study seeking to improve academic outcomes amongst first year UK undergraduates by improving the self-regulation of their Steering Cognition. Early studies evidencing that the self-regulation of Steering Cognition was distinct from IQ-like algorithmic cognition and contributed to academic outcomes at secondary school. Early studies evidencing that the self-regulation of Steering Cognition is ecologically influenced by secondary school environment and is teachable. Paper describing the theoretical, empirical and statistical evidence for AS Tracking as a measure of pupil Steering Cognition. Describes studies evidencing the validity, reliability and norms of AS Tracking as an instrument. What literature underpins Steering Cognition? Steering Cognition is a model of social and cognitive executive function. It is explains a functional governor mechanism by which the mind coordinates attention and executes responsive action. Steering Cognition is an explanatory mechanism of some phenomena of affective, cognitive and social self-regulation. It describes effortful control processes which exhibit depletion after strain. Steering Cognition has been repeatedly shown to implicate the mind’s mental simulation circuitry. As such, it is associated with functional neural circuits involved in projective and retrospective memory, self-representation, associative processing and imagination. Steering Cognition provides an account of the transitioning process from non-conscious, or automatic, to conscious processing that occurs in the mind (see Dual Process Theory). According to the Steering Cognition model, dual process System 1 functions as a serial cognitive steering processor for System 2, rather than the traditionally understood parallel system. In order to process epistemically varied environmental data, a Steering Cognition orientation system is required to align varied, incoming environmental data with existing neural algorithmic processes. The brain’s associative simulation capacity, centered around the imagination, plays an integrator role to perform this function (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_process_theory#Dual_Process_and_Steering_Cognition). In the cognitive steering model, a conscious state emerges from effortful associative simulation, required to align novel data accurately with remote memory, via later algorithmic processes. By contrast, fast unconscious automaticity is constituted by unregulated simulatory biases, which induce errors in subsequent algorithmic processes. The phrase ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’ is used to explain errorful Steering Cognition processing: errors will always occur if the accuracy of initial retrieval and location of data is poorly self-regulated. Steering Cognition provides an explanation of how the mind is nonconsciously influenced by the environmental cues, or primes, around it. Steering Cognition studies have produced data of attentional bias and blindness best explained by environmental priming. Steering Cognition has been shown to rely upon associative rather than algorithmic cognitive processing and is best understood as heuristic in purpose- guiding the direction of our mind. Steering Cognition conceptualises the relationship between these algorithmic and associative functions as serial rather than parallel pathways. Our Steering Cognition guides our attention prior to algorithmic data processing. A specific data model, Human Ecology Theory, underpins the Steering Cognition findings to date. Walker conducted variatiants of the same cognitive test with more than 11,000 candidates between the ages of 8 and 60 between 2002 and 2015. Using Principle Component Analysis, Walker was able to identify 7 latent largely independent ‘heuristic substitution’ factors which he labelled S, L, X, P, M, O, T . Subsequent exploratory factor analysis confirmed a largely orthogonal factor analysis structure. In 2014 Walker referred to this 7 factor model as the Human Ecology model of CAS state – cognitive affective social state . Also that year, Walker J. described four of the factors in greater detail (S, L, X and P) elucidating the relationships of the factors to affective-social self-regulation literature. Alter, Adam L.; Oppenheimer, Daniel M.; Epley, Nicholas; Eyre, Rebecca N. (2007): Overcoming intuition: Metacognitive difficulty activates analytic reasoning. In Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 136 (4), pp. 569–576. DOI: 10.1037/0096-3445.136.4.569. 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https://steeringparents.org/parents/the-steering-adolescent/key-research/

Environmental heterogeneity, emerging pathogens and limited access to financial and agricultural inputs prevent farmers from producing consistent crop yields in many developing countries. Yield instability impedes establishment of processing and export industries, thereby inhibiting economic development. Modern varieties offer significant increases in yield stability. A deeply collaborative, multi-national germplasm trialing network was established in West Africa to identify tomato varieties well adapted to each country and mobilize those varieties into local seed distribution networks alongside an integrated pest management program. Research partners in seven West African countries evaluated over 100 tomato varieties for resistance to tomato leaf curl disease (ToLCD). Using biotechnology, the identity and distribution of the key viruses (begomoviruses) causing ToLCD in these countries were identified, and a vector-independent inoculation method (agroinoculation) was developed. The trials identified a set of high-performing varieties with resistance. Agroinoculation with the three prevalent begomoviruses confirmed resistance. These trial results fulfill the new Economic Community of West African States harmonized seed regulation policy, which requires at least 2 years of national performance trials prior to commercialization of a tomato variety. To compete with a rapidly expanding canned tomato import industry, West African growers need to increase productivity and processing capacity; therefore, we also assessed processing and export trade data for fresh and processed tomatoes from each of the seven countries. Vegetable farmers in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa (SSA) face many constraints to agricultural productivity. South of the Sahara Desert, north of the humid Guinean region, the Sudano-Sahelian zone presents difficult environmental conditions including poor soil fertility , extreme heat and insufficient or unpredictable water supply , all of which have only become more precarious due to climate change . Biotic stresses create additional losses, with newly emerging plant diseases and pests causing decreased yields and serious reductions in produce quality [4–6]. In the developed world, these challenges can often be managed by technologies such as drip irrigation or pesticides. Farmers in West Africa, however, often lack the financial means or physical access to technical solutions that can mitigate their risks. Furthermore, improved seed is minimally available on a commercial basis in West Africa. This is particularly true for vegetables [7, 8]. High-yielding, adapted vegetable varieties with resistance to pathogens are even more important for smallholder farmers, especially given the high incidence of nutritional deficiency and malnutrition in the region [8, 9]. Technology adoption is dependent on available assets; therefore, technologies that require fewer assets will be more readily adopted . Infrastructure constraints also play a major role in limiting the success of smallholders in West Africa post-harvest [9, 11]. In West Africa, lack of climate-controlled shipping, roads in poor condition and few operational processing facilities limit farmers’ capacity to successfully move their products to market [12, 13]. West African farmers, particularly smallholders, need the means and opportunity to improve both their actual yields and the predictability of their yields to ensure a consistent supply of vegetables. Improved diagnostics and management of diseases and pests, as well as access to inputs and irrigation, will be necessary to provide consistent production of quality produce in unpredictable markets. Studies have shown that fresh tomato prices in Ghana and Burkina Faso can fluctuate as much as 80% , making grower income extremely unpredictable. Investments in infrastructure, including roads, electrification, cold chain and processing plants, must increase dramatically to ensure that farmers can access necessary inputs, transport their produce safely and efficiently, and process it into value-added products that can either be exported or stored . Increased yield potential, stability and quality are in turn likely to attract additional investment, giving farmers access to inputs and improving infrastructure for transportation, processing and export. In West Africa, smallholder farmers producing tomatoes have small plots (e.g., 0.5 hectares) that are hand cultivated and watered by a variety of methods by furrow, flood, gravity, drip irrigation, or sprinklers. Typically, these growers plant a range of determinate open-pollinated varieties (e.g., pear-shaped processing types to round fresh market types), purchased in small quantities or seed saved from year to year, and having few or no resistance genes. In some cases, seed of hybrid varieties may be utilized, but this may be more expensive or difficult to find, and are expensive, especially for smallholders in rural areas [7, 8, 16]. Fields are established with transplants produced in seed beds, and varying levels of fertilizer is used depending on the availability. The yields are modest, and the price depends on seasonal availability. There are also examples of commercial tomato production, often associated with canneries (e.g., in Senegal). Here hybrid seed is used as well as larger fields and more modern technologies, e.g., use of tractors for cultivation, application of fertilizer and pesticides and drip irrigation. However, this type of tomato production in West Africa remains relatively uncommon. Tomato growers in West Africa are faced with a number of disease and pest problems. Soil-borne diseases include bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum and Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici; foliar diseases include bacteria spot caused by Xanthomonas spp., late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans and Septoria blight caused by Septoria lycopersici; and mosaic viruses, such as Tomato mosaic virus and Cucumber mosaic virus, can cause yield loss and produce damage. Pests include worms, such as the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), nematodes, mining insects, thrips, various aphid species, and mites, e.g., spider mites (Tetranychus urticae). Recently, outbreaks of the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) have caused substantial damage to tomato crops in some West Africa countries [17, 18]. However, in recent years, tomato growers throughout West Africa have struggled with an emerging viral disease known generically as tomato leaf curl disease (ToLCD) [4, 19, 20]. ToLCD in West Africa and other parts of the world is caused by a complex of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci)-vectored begomoviruses and betasatellites [4, 21]. Begomoviruses (genus Begomovirus) are in the family Geminiviridae, characterized by a circular single-stranded DNA genome encapsidated within twinned isometric virions [22, 23]. ToLCD has become the most serious constraint to tomato production in several West African countries over the last decade, in some cases causing up to 100% yield losses [4, 24, 25]. In West Africa, ToLCD has caused such devastating losses that in many cases, farmers have abandoned tomato production entirely . This paper describes a project spanning seven countries that aimed to improve both the quantity and the quality of West African tomatoes and tomato seed and minimize the impact of ToLCD. Three years of in-country trials of over 100 tomato varieties led to the selection of tomato varieties for commercialization in the region. Variety performance in the trials was based on adaptation to the local environment, resistance to ToLCD, good fruit type and taste according to preferences in the target market(s). This project established an extensive field trialing network with the capacity to evaluate performance under West African conditions of modern germplasm generated anywhere in the world. The trialing network identified the most appropriate varieties for each environment, collaborating with local farmers in a participatory approach. At the same time, the begomoviruses associated with ToLCD in these countries were characterized and a vector-independent method (agroinoculation) for screening tomato varieties for resistance to these viruses under controlled laboratory conditions was developed. Finally, the selection trials satisfied the recently established ECOWAS seed certification policy [27–30], allowing the seed companies and institutions that donated successful varieties to the project to sell their seed in the region. The governments of seven West African countries collaborated to achieve this goal, as well as several US academic and government institutions, AVRDC—The World Vegetable Center, and many seed companies and public breeding institutions from around the world. The origins of this project trace to an initiative by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM-CRSP, currently known as IPM Innovation Lab) to improve tomato production in Baguineda, Mali. Outbreaks of ToLCD in the early 2000s had prevented farmers from cultivating tomatoes in this irrigated rice–vegetable production system. To reduce the impact of ToLCD in Baguineda, the IPM-CRSP project worked with local extension officers to implement a 3-month host-free period preceding the primary growing season (September–April). During the host-free period, the primary host species of the virus (tomato) was not grown by any farmers in the area, and an extensive sanitation program was implemented to eliminate old plants from previous crops and volunteers. The host-free period results in a reduction in viral inoculum, including that carried in the local whitefly population, as the life cycle of the whitefly is ~30 days and virus is not transmitted through the eggs of the insect, i.e., transovarially . This can be highly effective at reducing levels of initial inoculum of the virus, reducing populations of the whitefly vector and slowing spread of the virus [19, 32]. A second key aspect of revival of tomato production in Baguineda was the provision of seeds of early maturing, high-yielding hybrids. To assess the relative resistance of these hybrids to ToLCD, a vector-independent method (agroinoculation) was developed that allowed for screening of tomato germplasm for resistance to the predominant begomoviruses associated with ToLCD in West Africa. The tomato host-free period continues to be implemented Baguineda and Kati, Mali. In March 2004, a workshop of government agricultural researchers from many West African nations selected tomato as the highest priority crop. The increasing incidence of ToLCD was identified as a major constraint requiring immediate attention. The demonstrated need for improved tomato germplasm, and the decision by the consortium of West African governments to focus their efforts on tomato coincided with the initiation of the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII) in the USA, a project supported by Cornell University and USAID [33, 34]. The ABSPII research team was assembled from two US universities, Cornell and University of California Davis, the AVRDC, and the national agricultural research services (NARS) of Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo was tasked to address the ToLCD epidemic and to improve the quality of germplasm available in West Africa. The project had four main goals: identify and commercialize ToLCD-resistant tomato germplasm well suited to each country; develop an understanding of begomoviruses causing ToLCD in West Africa and a capacity to screening tomato varieties for resistance with a vector-independent method; develop a self-sustaining system that could work with any crop; and most importantly, establish protocols and research connections that could continue to function after donor support was removed. In the best circumstances, improved seed is inconsistently available in West Africa [7, 8, 16]. For those varieties that performed well, the project could demonstrate the commercial potential for the seed companies and public institutions donating to the project. The new ECOWAS seed regulations establish unified seed quality control and certification in ECOWAS member countries [27–30]. The regulations require that at least 2 years of variety trials are conducted at multiple locations by an official quality control and certification service, or any other accredited private body [27–30]. Certification also requires laboratory analysis of the seed to ensure standards are met, such as germination . If the national variety release committee determines that a variety surpasses quality standards in one country (e.g., it surpasses the performance of a check variety in the trials), it is placed in the West African Catalogue of Plant Species and Varieties (WACPSV) and can be grown and sold anywhere in the ECOWAS region [27–30]. The old system did not require variety trials take place at multiple locations, or by an accredited entity. Previously, an individual, typically the breeder or a seed company representative would submit a variety to the National Certification Authority. Certification was provided as long as the 3 years of data were submitted. This system allowed a company or individual submitting the variety to make the determination that the variety should be commercialized. Whereas the old system was simple and more similar to that used in the developed world, the new system will require that trials are completed by independent agronomists in order to determine whether the variety performs well enough to be commercialized in a given environment. Ideally, this change will ensure that high-quality seed reaches the marketplace and will not deter companies from entering this already underdeveloped market. Over 100 varieties that were previously unavailable in the region were distributed to a network of agricultural researchers brought together through this project. At each location, the local team of researchers was provided the same tools to conduct ToLCD resistance trials. Through results obtained in this trialing network, we have identified varieties with high levels of resistance to the viruses that cause ToLCD and that have the greatest promise for improving tomato yields in West Africa. Tomato varieties evaluated during the 3 years of variety trials came from a wide range of multi-national seed companies and public breeding institutions (Table 1) with the understanding that if a variety performed well, that company would consider an arrangement to bring that variety to market in the region. All varieties included in the trials shared the common feature of reported begomovirus resistance (mostly to the invasive Old World monopartite begomovirus Tomato yellow leaf curl virus [TYLCV]), which in most cases is derived from one or more of three genes known as Ty-1 , Ty-2 and Ty-3 . Originally identified in accessions of wild relatives of tomato such as Solanum chilense, S. peruvianum, and S. habrochaites, these genes have all been introgressed into tomato varieties by breeding. In selecting varieties for inclusion in the trials in West Africa, preference was given to materials bred for semiarid tropical climates, but no other criteria were used so as to avoid limiting the germplasm included in the trials. Seed was donated by 11 private seed companies and five research institutions (Table 1). The 40 tomato varieties selected for the preliminary trials were selected from a range of resistance sources including S. chilense, S. peruvianum, S. habrochaites and S. pimpinellifolium and were predominantly hybrid varieties. Trials were conducted from 2005 to 2008 in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Benin and Togo . The trials were established and maintained by NARS partners at agricultural research stations or in commercial fields in collaboration with local farmers. The 3 years of trials were completed in a total of 22 different locations: eight in Mali, four in Togo, three in Ghana, three in Niger, two in Benin, one in Senegal and one in Burkina Faso. Some trials were repeated in the same locations over the 3 years, while others were relocated to ensure more appropriate climatic conditions and proximity to tomato growing regions to increase ToLCD disease pressure . The first year of the project, the 2005–2006 growing season, saw the systematic evaluation of over 40 begomovirus-resistant tomato varieties in each of the participating countries. Designated as preliminary screens by the partners, these evaluations consisted of non-replicated trials at 11 locations, in which 26 plants of each variety were planted on agricultural research stations and evaluated for disease resistance according to a ToLCD symptom severity scale with 0 = no symptoms, 1 = mild leaf curling, 2 = leaf curling, light green to yellow discoloration and vein purpling; 3 = stunting, distorted growth and strong upward leaf curling and vein swelling and purpling; and 4 = severe stunting and distorted growth, upward leaf curling and vein purpling . Natural levels of virus inoculum, delivered via indigenous populations of whiteflies, were relied upon for disease development in these trials. The regionally popular variety ‘Roma VF’ (Tropicasem) was always used as a susceptible check. Partners encountered a range of problems in the first year, including insufficient disease pressure, poor seed germination and inconsistent trial management practices across countries. Despite these issues, sufficient data were generated to select 11 promising varieties. The 11 varieties were ‘HA 3060’ (Hazera Genetics Ltd.), ‘Atak’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.), ‘Bybel’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.), ‘Chenoa’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.), ‘GemPride’ (Seminis Inc.), ‘Industry DR 10403’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.), ‘Lety F1’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.), ‘Ponchita’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.), ‘Realeza’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V,), ‘Thoriya’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.), ‘Yosra’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.). ‘Roma VF’ was always included as a control. The selected varieties were chosen based primarily on demonstrated ToLCD resistance, but also based on yield, resistance to other diseases, or any other horticultural traits. De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V. Harris Moran Seed Company Inc. In the second year of the project, the 2006–2007 growing season also included 11 locations, but four sites were moved closer to tomato growing regions. The three trials in Ghana, Togo and Benin were moved from the South to North, and the single trial in Niger was moved West, all to be closer to the tomato growing regions. Over 70 varieties were trialed. These included the 11 varieties selected in the first year (advanced trials), as well as over 60 new varieties that were trialed in preliminary screens. These preliminary screens were conducted similarly to the advanced trials, but without replication. In these trials, most of the varieties with resistance to TYLCV showed moderate to high levels of resistance to ToLCD (ratings of 0–2 and good yields), whereas the susceptible check ‘Roma VF’ showed obvious and strong symptoms (ratings of 3–4 and low yield). Of the more than 60 new varieties tested, many showed substantial levels of ToLCD resistance, and 20 were selected by at least one of the collaborators from the participating countries for inclusion in the third year of the project. Having learned from the mistakes of the previous year, the project partners developed a detailed trialing protocol for the second year in order to resolve inconsistencies among locations and to ensure the statistical relevance of the data. Specific practices related to site selection, seedling nursery establishment, and field management strategies including pesticide and fertilizer applications were standardized across locations. Entries were transplanted into 6.0 m by 1.5 m plots, each having 36 plants arranged in three rows of 12 plants. Three replicate plots of each variety were planted, for a total of 108 plants per variety. The plot design was a randomized complete block. Trials were maintained as if for commercial production, with pesticide applications being used to control diseases and pests other than whiteflies. In addition, attempts were made to plant the trials in areas known to be free of other important regional pathogens, such as root-knot nematode, Fusarium wilt, and bacterial wilt. Only the middle 10 plants in each plot were evaluated for resistance to ToLCD to eliminate edge effects. Plants were evaluated at flowering, fruiting, and first harvest with the ToLCD symptom severity scale. In addition, three randomly selected plants from each plot were evaluated for yield, which was extrapolated to tons per hectare, and for various other traits, such as fruits per plant, average fruit weight, and average fruit size. Overall, the results of the second year’s trials were outstanding. The trials showed a marked improvement in quality over the previous year, indicating the value of hands-on experience in the development of germplasm trialing capacity. With few exceptions, the trials showed significant improvements in yield over typical tomato yields in the region. At the end of the second season, the four top varieties based on ToLCD resistance, yield and farmer preferences were selected for the third year of trials. Collaborators from each country also selected two additional varieties based on local performance and preferences. In several locations, NARS trial coordinators solicited farmer opinions on the varieties being evaluated. Farmers were very enthusiastic about the new varieties and provided helpful guidance for fruit type selection, typically showing a preference for medium-sized firm fruit that stood up well to shipping. In Mali, farmers ranked the varieties from highest to lowest preference as: ‘Industry DR 10403’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.), ‘HA 3060’ (Hazera Genetics Ltd.), ‘HMX 4810’ (Harris Moran Seed Company Inc.), ‘Cheyenne E448’ (Syngenta AG) and ‘GemPride’ (Seminis Inc.). The third year of trials (2007–2008) included multi-location trials of top performing varieties evaluated under conditions encountered in commercial production at 10 locations. The varieties used for this trial were selected by each NARS partner submitting a list of the top four varieties from the advanced trials that they wanted to be included in the multi-location trials of the third year. Most of the NARS partners selected the same top four varieties for inclusion in the multi-location trials: ‘Atak’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.), ‘Bybal’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.), ‘GemPride’ (Seminis Inc.) and ‘Industry DR 10403’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.). Unfortunately, De Ruiter Seeds did not have a sufficient supply of ‘Industry DR 10403’ for inclusion in the trials. As a result, ‘Yosra’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.) was selected to replace ‘Industry DR 10403’ as the fourth variety in the trials at each location, with the exception of Mali, also due to limited availability of seed. In addition, each NARS partner was given the option of including at least two more varieties in their multi-location trials. Selected varieties included ‘HA 3060’ (Hazera Genetics Ltd.), ‘HMX 4810’ (Harris Moran Seed Company), ‘Lety F1’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.), ‘Ponchita’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.), ‘Realeza’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.) and ‘Thoriya’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.). The trials began in November 2007. Multi-location trials were conducted with similar protocols to those used in the advanced trials. However, they were conducted on rented plots on commercial farms (rather than at NARS stations) and in at least two of the major tomato production areas (preferably in different agroecological zones) of each of the seven participating countries. The trials had two goals: to confirm the performance of the selected varieties in the less forgiving environment of farmers’ fields and to publicize the varieties to producers in many regions throughout West Africa. These trials offered an opportunity to evaluate germplasm within the context of actual vegetable production areas and according to the customs of the farmers in the region, rather than in the more controlled environment of an agricultural research station, providing a more realistic view of the potential performance in a production setting. These multi-location trials also served as the bridge between germplasm evaluation and variety distribution. Situated among the fields of commercial tomato producers, these trials served as demonstration plots for these new materials, helping to spread the word about modern varieties and diminishing some of the risk associated with adoption of the new varieties by allowing farmers to learn from others . The trials demonstrated that the selected tomato cultivars could perform significantly better than ‘Roma VF’ both on agricultural research stations and on farmers’ fields. In all locations, all selected cultivars had lower symptom severity scores than ‘Roma VF,’ and in Benin and Mali, tested cultivars had very low symptom severities or even remained symptomless . Farmers who witnessed the trials were uniformly enthusiastic about the new varieties, and many expressed interest in gaining access to seeds. In all trial locations, visiting farmers expressed interest in all the trialed varieties, except for one. ‘Atak’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.), ‘Bybal’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.), ‘Lety F1’ (De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V.) and ‘Yosra’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V.) were mentioned frequently by farmers. ‘GemPride’ (Seminis Inc.) was not preferred by farmers because it produced softer fruit under these conditions; they preferred hard fruit for durability during shipping. In both the advanced trials and the multi-location trials, the top four varieties selected had lower average ToLCD symptom severities and higher average yields than ‘Roma VF,’ demonstrating lower levels of ToLCD susceptibility and greater yield potential across countries (Table 2). It is notable that average ToLCD symptom severity on ‘Roma VF’ did not change significantly between year 2 and year 3, implying that there was no change in overall ToLCD pressure (Table 2). However, the cultivars under evaluation, ‘Atak,’ ‘Bybal,’ ‘GemPride’ and ‘Yosra,’ did show approximately twofold increases in ToLCD symptom severity and twofold decreases in yield in the switch from the advanced trials to the multi-location trials. This is likely a reflection of the change in environment. While the advanced trials were conducted on research stations with relatively controlled environments and relatively advanced management practices, the multi-location trials were conducted on farms with uncharacterized soils and unknown local disease pressures. While the change to a less-controlled environment had a significant impact on the performance of the selected cultivars, it had an even greater impact on the performance of ‘Roma VF,’ which saw a fourfold decrease in yield for the same transition. While performance varied from one environment to the next, the selected ToLCD-resistant varieties consistently outperformed the regionally popular ToLCD susceptible variety. This is crucial in the heterogeneous, often degraded environments of West Africa where farmers have limited access to inputs and therefore limited control over their environments. By offering consistently higher yield potential in all environments, the selected varieties promise farmers more predictable returns and thus more consistent livelihoods. Protocols were developed to detect and identify begomoviruses and betasatellites associated with ToLCD in field-collected leaf tissue samples, and to screen tomato varieties for resistance to the predominant begomoviruses identified with the vector-independent agroinoculation method. Samples of tomato leaves with symptoms of begomovirus infection (e.g., stunting, erect and distorted growth and leaf curl and yellow leaf curl) were collected during a survey of West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Togo) conducted in February 2007 and by NARS collaborators from these countries in 2007–2008. Leaf disks from these samples were squashed onto nylon membranes, which were brought to UC Davis and analyzed for the presence of begomovirus DNA by squash blot (SB) hybridization with a general begomovirus probe . Samples positive for begomovirus infection were further analyzed by SB-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and DNA sequencing to identify the specific begomovirus(es) and betasatellites involved . This involved using a combination of degenerate and species-specific primers, followed by sequencing of PCR-amplified fragments [19, 42]. Taken together, these studies revealed three locally evolved monopartite begomoviruses cause ToLCD in these West African countries: Tomato leaf curl Mali virus (ToLCMLV), Tomato yellow leaf curl Mali virus (TYLCMLV) and Pepper yellow vein virus (PepYVMLV, also known as Tomato yellow leaf crumple virus). An unusually severe symptom phenotype was shown to be due to a mixed infection of TYLCMLV and Cotton leaf curl Gezira betasatellite. A subsequent study revealed an additional monopartite begomovirus associated with ToLCD in Ghana and Togo, Tomato leaf curl Ghana virus, and two additional betasatellites (Tomato leaf curl Togo betasatellite and Tomato leaf curl Ghana betasatellite) [4, 43]. In general, the majority of samples collected during the survey of West African countries and provided by the NARS partners were positive for begomovirus infection, whereas betasatellites were detected in a relatively small number of plants (~5–10%). Based on SB-PCR tests with specific primers for TYLCMLV, ToLCMLV and PepYVMLV and sequencing of selected PCR-amplified fragments, all three viruses were commonly detected in tomato plants with ToLCD symptoms. The relative prevalence of these viruses in different countries varied (Table 3). All three viruses were detected in four countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Togo), two viruses were detected in two countries (Benin and Senegal), whereas only PepYVMLV was detected in Niger. In some countries, especially Ghana and Togo, evidence of other begomoviruses associated with ToLCD was found (i.e., some samples that were PCR-positive with degenerate primers were negative with the virus-specific primers). Subsequent studies have confirmed this additional genetic diversity in begomoviruses causing ToLCD in West Africa [4, 43, 44]. Because of the important role of these three viruses in ToLCD in West Africa, a disease resistance breeding program for ToLCD in West Africa should involve all three viruses; in contrast, betasatellites do not need to be included because of their low incidence and nonessential role in ToLCD in West Africa. Full-length infectious clones were generated for TYLCMLV, ToLCMLV and PepYVV. Agroinoculation systems were generated for each virus by inserting multimeric copies of the genome into the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Upon introduction of an A. tumefaciens strain carrying a begomovirus multimeric clone into a tomato plant, e.g., into the stem just beneath the shoot apex with a hypodermic syringe, the viral DNA is delivered directly into the nuclei of wounded cells, where it initiates the infection cycle without needing to have been introduced by the whitefly vector . This method is extremely efficient (infection rates are typically ~100%) and reproducible. Using agroinoculation systems generated for TYLCMLV, ToLCMLV and PepYVMLV, tomato varieties were screened for resistance in a controlled environment chamber at UC Davis. A total of 41 tomato varieties, including the 11 that performed best in the multi-country variety trials and susceptible control ‘Roma VF,’ were individually screened with each of the three viruses with this vector-independent method (Table 4). The response of the varieties was classified as susceptible (disease ratings of 3–4 and detection of a high level of viral DNA by semiquantitative PCR), moderately resistant (rating of 2 and detection of a high to medium level of viral DNA), resistant (rating of 0–1 and detection of high to medium level of viral DNA by PCR) and highly resistant (rating of 0 and detection of a low level or no viral DNA by PCR). For all the varieties and each of the viruses, replicates of 5–10 plants were agroinoculated and the experiment was repeated three times. The response of the varieties to the three viruses was similar. Therefore, a general response for all viruses tested is presented. ‘Roma VF’ showed the expected susceptible response in all of the nine experiments (three replications for each of the three viruses), indicating that the agroinoculation technique was successful. In general, most of the tested varieties showed some level of resistance: 20% were moderately resistant, 34% were resistant and 24% were highly resistant (Table 4). This indicates that most of the materials provided for this trial did have some resistance to these viruses. Moreover, as most of the resistance in these materials had been identified based on screening against TYLCV, this appears to be a reliable indicator that a material will be resistant to the monopartite begomoviruses causing ToLCD in West Africa. This is also consistent with the observation that the same genes (e.g., Ty-1, Ty-2 and Ty-3) confer resistance to most Old World monopartite tomato-infecting begomoviruses. Importantly, the 11 preferred materials selected in the multi-country trials based on disease resistance and horticultural traits also showed responses of moderate resistant (‘Industry DR 10403’ and ‘HA 3060’), resistant (‘Atak,’ ‘Bybal,’ ‘HMX 4810,’ ‘Lety F1,’ ‘Ponchita’ and ‘Thoriya’) or highly resistant (‘GemPride,’ ‘Realeza’ and ‘Yosra’). This revealed an agreement between the results of the resistance screening in the field in West Africa and under controlled conditions at UC Davis and provided further support for a begomovirus etiology for ToLCD is West Africa. Finally, this is a good example of how a vector-independent disease resistance screening method can be developed with the tools of biotechnology, and how the results can provide practical information to help manage an applied problem, e.g., an outbreak of a serious disease. Biotechnology played an important role in characterizing the tomato-infecting begomovirus complex and betasatellites associated with ToLCD symptoms in West Africa. However, many of these protocols could not be conducted in West Africa due to a lack of equipment and expertise. To initiate the development of a self-sustaining biotechnology research program in West Africa, considerable efforts were invested to transfer molecular biology research capacity to the project’s West African NARS partners. A week-long intensive molecular biology and genetics training workshop was held in Bamako, Mali, in August 2007 for over 20 participants from the seven partner countries. The multi-location trials conducted in the last year of the project (year 3) allowed for the identification of varieties that performed best in each location. Results of the vector-independent screening confirmed the resistance in these varieties to the predominant viruses involved with the ToLCD. Upon completion of the project, variety performance reports were provided to all the seed donors. Given many of these companies and institutions had yet to enter the West African market, the development of distribution capacity from the ground up will be required. This is not a trivial task, as the commercial seed distribution sector in West Africa is severely underdeveloped . Seed distributed through commercial outlets needs to be adapted to the region, including resistance to important pests and pathogens. Varieties such as the commonly available ‘Roma VF’ are becoming increasingly undesirable as disease pressures intensify. NARS partners provided updated information on seed availability and the incidence of ToLCD (Table 5). Two varieties from the trials are widely available including ‘GemPride’ (Seminis Inc., now Monsanto) and ‘Nadira’ (Tropicasem). Monsanto is currently selling ‘GemPride’ in Ghana and Senegal, and also recently starting selling the TYLCV-resistant variety ‘VL-642’ in West Africa . ‘Lety F1,’ another Monsanto variety included in these trials, is not a commercial variety in West Africa . The Tropicasem variety ‘Nadira’ is widely available in many, if not all of the countries included in this project. In Benin, collaborators from INRAB (Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Benin) indicated that ‘TLCV15’ (AVRDC) and ‘Nadira’ (Tropicasem) are currently sold in the region. ‘LetyF1’ (De Ruiter Seed Group B.V., now Monsanto) was sold in pre-extension trials, but collaborators found that it was rejected by farmers due to fruit size. As noted above, Monsanto is currently not selling ‘Lety F1’ in West Africa; therefore, available ‘Lety F1’ seed in the region would be the result of on-farm multiplications rather than the hybrid included in the trials. The most popular varieties in the region are all susceptible to ToLCD. These include ‘Tropimech,’ ‘Petomech,’ ‘Caraibo,’ ‘Mongal F1,’ as well as three local varieties, ‘Tounvi,’ ‘Akikon’ and ‘Kekefo.’ Once popular variety ‘Roma VF’ has been abandoned, it is very susceptible to ToLCD. In Southern Benin, growers sometimes grow ‘Nadira’ (Tropicasem), which was included in the trials, but it is not well adapted to Southern Benin. Additionally, farmers reported to INRAB that the ‘Nadira’ seed is very expensive. ‘TLCV 15’ (AVRDC) is grown in limited locations in urban and peri-urban areas of Cotonou and Ouidah. The variety is popular with producers, consistent with experimental results obtained at the INRAB research station. ‘TLCV 15’ is the only variety of the trials that INRAB multiplied for sale and registered in the national catalog of vegetable species. There are many tomato varieties that are available in Benin; however, there are few high-quality improved varieties available because the seed distribution chain is not well organized. Due to a lack of improved tomato seed, many farmers grow local varieties of pepper and onion. The only well-known seed distributor in Benin is Benin Semences (formerly Tropicasem/Technisem). During the rainy season from August to November in the South, and August to October and December to February in the North, there is an over production of tomatoes. A new tomato-processing facility has been established in Southern Benin, making year-round production stability even more important. In Ghana, ToLCD causes significant losses during the dry and fresh market season. There is a lack of improved tomato varieties on the market. In fact, a number of areas still grow landraces rather than improved varieties . Local collaborators reported that ‘GemPride’ from Monsanto and ‘Nadira’ from Tropicasem are sold in Ghana; however, the most popular varieties are ‘Pectomech,’ ‘Pectofake,’ ‘Power Rano,’ ‘Burkina’ and ‘Ada Lorry Tyre,’ local landraces susceptible to ToLCD. A lack of improved tomato varieties has caused farmers to grow other vegetable crops, most commonly chili pepper. Currently, most to all tomato production is fresh market because the cost of production is too high for the processing companies to survive. Due to this underproduction, Ghana imports tons of processed tomato from Italy, China and the USA. Surveys of tomato farmers in Ghana found that cost of seed, management practices and familiarity with the variety, and shelf life due to skin thickness were extremely important . This supports the importance of local variety trialing, as well as our results which indicated a preference for varieties that stand up well to shipping. In June 2015, a workshop was held in West African Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI) called Workshop on Tomato Value Chain in Ghana, which included tomato producers as well as representation from the Tomato Traders and Transporters Association . The workshop brought together participants from WACCI, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA), the Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC/ACIAR), Crawford Fund (CF), the University of Queensland (UQ), and local stakeholders in the tomato industry. Whitefly-transmitted viruses such as those that cause ToLCD were cited at this meeting as among the most important pathogens in the region. In Mali, our collaborators from IER (Institute d’Economie Rurale) indicated that the most popular tomato varieties are all susceptible to ToLCD: ‘Roma VF,’ ‘UC-82’ and ‘Rossol VF.’ The Tropicasem variety ‘Nadira’ is available; however, this variety is not the most popular, but farmers who know its tolerance to ToLCD prefer it. After the trials, farmers who had conducted trials or visited trials were asking for ‘Atak’ and ‘Bybal’ (Enza Zaden Benelux B.V., now Enza Zaden), ‘Cheyenne E448’ (Syngenta AG, now Syngenta), and ‘HA 3060’ (Hazera Genetics Ltd., now Hazera); however, none of these varieties are currently available for commercial sale in the region. A similar situation exists for the early maturing hybrids ‘Shasta’ (Harris Moran, previously Campbell) and ‘H8804’ (Heinzseed) introduced to Baguineda as part of IPM-CRSP (now IPM Innovation Lab). Currently, there are not major shortages of tomato; however, if tomato-processing plants became operational, this may cause a shortage. Recently developed open-pollinated cultivars ‘OPB 149’ and ‘OPB155’ produce good yields under ToLCD pressure. These varieties were developed and distributed to farmers in Kati, Baguineda and Niono by IER in collaboration with IPM Innovation Lab. Collaborators in Senegal report that Monsanto variety ‘GemPride’ is very popular with farmers. The Harris Moran variety ‘HMX 4810’ was also very popular, but again, seed distribution was a bottleneck. ‘Nadira’ is also very popular. NARS collaborators from INRAN (Institute National de Recherche Agronomique du Niger) indicated that of all the ToLCD-resistant varieties that were included in the trials, only ‘Nadira’ was available. ‘Nadira’ is recommended for cultivation in the rainy season and is readily available from local agricultural retailers. ‘RomaVF’ is currently on sale and is still very popular. In Togo, AVRDC variety ‘TYLCV 15’ had been extremely popular with farmers, but current seed availability was uncertain at the time of this publication. An examination of tomato exports showed a steady increase in fresh tomatoes exports from Senegal and Burkina Faso from 2003 to 2012 (Table 6). An increase in fresh tomato exports was not observed for the other five countries in this project during this time period, or for any other type of tomato product. Despite this increase in fresh tomato exports in Senegal and Burkina Faso, imported tomato paste dramatically increased starting in the early 2000s and has continued to increase in the region . In Ghana, there was an increase in canned tomato exports in 2006, but this dramatically decreased in 2007 and has continued to fall in an equally dramatic manner. This was most likely due to the common practice of bulking (typically imported) paste and repackaging prior to selling it . In 2003, a factory was established in northern Ghana by Trusty Foods Ltd, an Italian company, to supply West Africa with tomato paste . However, this company primarily imports the paste and repackages it at the factory; just 7% of its product come from tomatoes grown in Ghana . The Ghana export strategy allows the company to benefit from lower tariffs on products from the region . Given the dramatic fall in exports from Ghana in 2008, it is possible that this loophole has been closed. Nigeria is one of the major importers of tomato paste from Ghana, and it may have introduced barriers that resulted in the decline . For tomato, improved seed sold in the region is either inconsistently available in the marketplace, is not adapted to climatic and disease constraints, or the seed has been repeatedly multiplied on-farm causing the loss of key traits such as disease resistance. Mechanization in any form, including irrigation pumps and tractors, is exceedingly rare and only available on larger, export-oriented farms or in contract farming where processors develop contracts with farmers [12, 13]. Imported canned tomatoes have become increasingly available due to reduced import tariffs and an absence of import quotas . The low price of imported tomato paste and the relatively high cost of locally produced tomatoes make production costs too high for processing companies to make a profit in the region . For example, in 1992 import quotas were abolished in Ghana and tariffs were reduced to 20% . These factors undoubtedly contributed to the closure of tomato-processing plants in the country, and subsequent reluctance to reopen as the prevalence and low cost of foreign tomato paste make it very difficult for local processing companies to break even . In order to compete with foreign paste from China, growers would need to harvest approximately 30 tons per hectare; however, yields have been estimated well below ten tons per hectare, and agricultural input costs are too high to be competitive . Poor quality has also been cited by processors as a restraint to purchasing locally . Fresh tomatoes are typically sold locally for higher prices, or can be sold around the country or internationally to Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, or Burkina Faso . Improved seed will increase yield and quality, which are essential to becoming competitive in the processed tomato market. The establishment of a West African germplasm trialing network and the introduction of modern high-yielding virus-resistant hybrid tomato varieties address the larger goal of improving livelihoods in West Africa. The continued incidence of ToLCD in the region may cause seed companies to start selling their resistant varieties in the region, particularly given that the additional requirements of ECOWAS seed certification have been completed [27–30]. Theoretically, increased and stabilized tomato yields and improved produce quality will attract investment in the infrastructures necessary to make the tomato industry in West Africa a serious player in the local or even global market. A major goal of this project was to forge connections between the West African seed industry, global and regional seed companies and public plant breeding institutions to develop outstanding varieties, which is extremely important in the region [48, 51]. The trialing network established by this project provides a model for a thorough and efficient means of evaluating breeding materials and for applying biotechnology tools to address a major production constraint (ToLCD). Having access to the trialing network will streamline the breeding process and hasten the establishment of breeding capacity in the region. The participatory nature of the trialing network, with direct farmer input and involvement, promises to make varietal selection more accurate and appropriate for local farmer preferences. This trialing network provides an easily accessible strategy for international seed companies to enter the marketplace via the trialing network and connect into distribution channels for the dissemination of selected varieties to farmers. In Burkina Faso, trial data from this collaboration were used by a local cannery to inform variety selection for contract growers. The future of the vegetable industry in West Africa depends heavily on the introduction of new high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties that will allow the region to compete successfully in globalized markets. The newly established variety trialing network takes one step in that direction by enabling West African governments to evaluate the pool of available germplasm and select the most optimal varieties for the region. It is our hope that this capacity will serve as the foundation for poverty reduction as a host of complementary industries develop to translate better yields of vegetable crops into better livelihoods for producers and consumers. Improved tomato production in West Africa might benefit not only farmers, whose livelihoods would increase due to increased sales, but also those employed in downstream industries including regional or local canning or drying operations, truck drivers, exporters and merchants. Studies of the downstream effects of the adoption of high-yielding rice varieties during the Green Revolution in India found that higher earnings in the agricultural sector led to greater off-farm expenditures, resulting in widespread economic growth . Kari Perez and Jeffrey S. Froikin-Gordon are co-first authors. MMJ, RLG, KP, JF-G conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and wrote and edited the manuscript. KP, JF-G, IKA, VL, AAA, AM, OB, BH, FA-K, AAM, MN, LCO, LO, KTG, FS, RLG, MMJ participated in the design and/or execution of the variety trials in Africa, as well as compiling the post-trial tomato seed availability and tomato-processing information. RG, TK and MRR conceived and completed the begomovirus characterization work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge Loren Puette for his work in trade analysis featured in Table 6 and acknowledge the seed companies in Table 1 that donated seed to this project. We thank Mary Kreitinger, George Moriarty, Nicole Moskal, Michael Weinreich, Greg Inzinna, Emilda Gomez, Brynda Beeman, Maryann Fink, John Jantz, Nick Vail, Scott Anthony, William Mulhern and B.B. Perez for their critical support and technical assistance, and acknowledge the inspiration and guidance of Eva Wieltzien and Fred Rattunde, and their colleagues in Bamako, Mali, in setting up this collaboration. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the USAID-ABSPII (GDG-A-00-02-00017-00), USAID IPM-CRSP, Cornell University, and for collaboration with The World Vegetable Center-AVRDC and ICRISAT. Jeffrey Froikin-Gordon was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, and Kari Perez was supported by the SUNY Minority Fellows Scholarship and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Plant Genome Research Program Award DBI-0218166. ABSPII. Agricultural biotechnology support project II, supporting agricultural development through biotechnology. 2015. http://www.absp2.cornell.edu/. The Monsanto Company, Personal Communication. 2016. https://seminis.co.za/product/vl-642/691. West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement. WACCI launches Vegetables Innovation Lab (VIL) to boost tomato production in Ghana. 2015. http://www.wacci.edu.gh/content/wacci-launches-vegetables-innovation-lab-vil-boost-tomato-production-ghana.

2019-04-24T00:24:41Z

https://agricultureandfoodsecurity.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40066-017-0118-4

Background To date, delirium prevalence and incidence in acute hospitals has been estimated from pooled findings of studies performed in distinct patient populations. Objective To determine delirium prevalence across an acute care facility. Design A point prevalence study. Setting A large tertiary care, teaching hospital. Patients 311 general hospital adult inpatients were assessed over a single day. Of those, 280 had full data collected within the study's time frame (90%). Measurements Initial screening for inattention was performed using the spatial span forwards and months backwards tests by junior medical staff, followed by two independent formal delirium assessments: first the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) by trained geriatric medicine consultants and registrars, and, subsequently, the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R98) by experienced psychiatrists. The diagnosis of delirium was ultimately made using DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) criteria. Results Using DSM-IV criteria, 55 of 280 patients (19.6%) had delirium versus 17.6% using the CAM. Using the DRS-R98 total score for independent diagnosis, 20.7% had full delirium, and 8.6% had subsyndromal delirium. Prevalence was higher in older patients (4.7% if <50 years and 34.8% if >80 years) and particularly in those with prior dementia (OR=15.33, p<0.001), even when adjusted for potential confounders. Although 50.9% of delirious patients had pre-existing dementia, it was poorly documented in the medical notes. Delirium symptoms detected by medical notes, nurse interview and patient reports did not overlap much, with inattention noted by professional staff, and acute change and sleep-wake disturbance noted by patients. Conclusions Our point prevalence study confirms that delirium occurs in about 1/5 of general hospital inpatients and particularly in those with prior cognitive impairment. Recognition strategies may need to be tailored to the symptoms most noticed by the detector (patient, nurse or primary physician) if formal assessments are not available. Delirium prevalence in the acute hospital has, to date, been estimated from pooled findings from many studies within individual units. The main focus of this study was to ascertain the point prevalence of delirium collectively across almost an entire tertiary referral centre. Additionally, we sought to evaluate the rates of delirium detection by medical and nursing staff and to describe which features alerted staff members to the presence of delirium. Delirium is a very common problem in the acute hospital setting, with a point prevalence of approximately 20%. Advancing age and pre-existing cognitive impairment were independently associated with a higher prevalence of delirium, in keeping with previous studies. Medical and nursing staff detect different delirium features, which has clear implications for staff education and training: nursing staff notice inattentiveness, lability of affect and delusions, whereas medical staff tend to detect delirium in the presence of short-term memory impairment in addition to inattention. This study is the first to collectively assess the point prevalence of delirium across an acute hospital, which was largely consistent using three different diagnostic methods. Confusion Assessment Method assessors were vigorously trained in its use and Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria were applied by highly experienced delirium researchers. In order to ensure the feasibility of the study, we adopted a screening process (including tests of attention, a core delirium component) and only those who screened positive went on to have formal delirium assessment. Our high rate of participation indicates that our methods were acceptable to patients and hence may be appropriate for routine screening on the ground. The true hospital-wide point prevalence of delirium is likely to be slightly higher than our figure of 20.7%, given that those who were excluded from the study would be expected to have higher rates of delirium overall (patients in intensive care unit, Burns unit, stroke with aphasia). Delirium is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome, commonly encountered across all healthcare settings, and associated with adverse outcomes including more prolonged hospitalisation, institutionalisation and increased mortality, independent of age, prior cognitive functioning and comorbidities.1 ,2 In a recent study, mortality was shown to increase by 11% for every additional 48 h of active delirium, highlighting the need for timely detection and treatment.3 However, delirium is misdiagnosed, detected late or missed in over 50% of cases across healthcare settings.4 This under-recognition, along with increasing evidence regarding delirium treatment,5 emphasises the importance of understanding the factors that relate to accurate identification. A meta-analysis of 42 studies reported delirium to be prevalent on admission in 10–31% of medical inpatients, and to occur in the hospital in 3–29%.6 However, these estimates are based on pooled findings from multiple studies within individual services or units, rather than a more complete study of a single hospital, and are limited by terminology differences and diagnostic tool heterogeneity. Thus, a definitive and accurate determination of inhospital delirium prevalence, using standardised delirium instruments, is needed. We report the first hospital-wide point prevalence study of delirium in a large acute hospital within a 24 h period using three methods of detection. We also compared the delirium prevalence across ward types, between specific patient groups, describing the ‘footprint’ of delirium. Finally, we explored the delirium features that alerted the attending medical and nursing staff to the presence of delirium as compared to what the patients noticed. The study was conducted at Cork University Hospital, a tertiary referral, level-one trauma centre in Southern Ireland with 407 acute adult inpatient beds (excluding psychiatry), serving a population of 500 000 people. All adult inpatients on 15 May 2010 were to be eligible for inclusion, excluding patients in the emergency department (ED), intensive care units (ICU) and isolation rooms on the Haematology/Burns Isolation Unit, leaving a possible eligible population of 358 patients. To be able to detect with 95% power a 10% difference in prevalence in our hospital from the previously reported prevalence in hospitalised patients (10–31%, Siddiqi et al6), a sample size of 267 would be required. Thus, it seemed feasible to recruit sufficient patients to perform this study. On the day of the study, patients were excluded if they were severely aphasic, comatose, dying or deemed too unwell for interview by nursing staff; or refused to participate. All included patients were screened for delirium within a 6 h period in three phases of assessment, as follows. Junior staff questioned the patient as to whether they felt currently or recently confused (‘have you felt muddled in your thinking, or confused, since you came into hospital?’). Nursing staff were interviewed using standardised questions (see box 1). Medical notes were reviewed for reports of delirium, or the presence of two proxy terms, ‘confusion’ or ‘agitation’. I have just interviewed__ and I wonder if you could help me form an opinion as to whether he/she has been experiencing delirium or confusion. How many days approximately have you been looking after __? Do you think he/she is delirious or acutely confused? Has there been a sudden change in __'s mental state since coming into hospital? If so, when did you notice this change? Do you think he/she is able to focus well when you are talking to him/her or does he/she tend to ramble off the point? Does he/she seem better at any period in the day compared to other times? Has__ ‘s level of consciousness been altered at all—has he/she been drowsy or not interacting, or perhaps hyperaware at times? Any patient with inattention on either test, or who had subjective, nurse-identified or case-note documented confusion, was then formally tested for delirium using the sensitive, short form of the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) by geriatric medicine consultants and senior trainees on the research team. All had undergone specific training sessions based on the original training manual,12 including online case scenario self-assessment sessions (total training time=8 h). Although the CAM is the most commonly used delirium-detection tool,13 recent validation studies suggest that the sensitivity varies considerably between populations and between assessors.14–16 Thus, all patients who had CAM assessment were also independently assessed by one of four psychiatrists on the research team with specific expertise in delirium detection, using the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R98). This is a well-validated,17–19 diagnostically precise tool that rates symptoms over the previous 24 h. It has high inter-rater reliability, validity, sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing delirium from mixed neuropsychiatric conditions including dementia and depression.18–20 It is a 16-item scale with 13 severity items (rated 0–3) and three diagnostic items (rated 0–2 or 0–3); total score possible is 0–46. For this general hospital population, in consultation with the DRS-R98 developer (PTT), and based on the literature, a total score of 0–6 was taken as normal; 7–11 represented subsyndromal delirium (SSD); and ≥12 points represented full syndromal delirium (FSD). The presence of delirium was ultimately determined by consensus agreement among the psychiatry panel using gold standard DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) criteria.19 ,20 This was based on all available data (attention tests, CAM items, DRS-R98 data, collateral, medical and nursing notes), including the data collected during directly observed DRS-R98 assessment by senior psychiatrists. However, for each individual case, the psychiatrist who performed the DRS-R98 assessment was not involved in the consensus discussion for that particular patient. It was presumed that many patients would not have capacity to give informed written consent, and so, owing to the non-invasive nature of the study, ethics committee approval was given to augment patient assent with proxy consent from next of kin (where possible) or a responsible caregiver, in accordance with the Helsinki Guidelines for Medical Research involving human subjects. The study objectives and procedures were explained to all patients and those who declined to participate were excluded. In all patients with delirium, the medical case notes were reviewed for a diagnosis of preceding cognitive impairment or dementia made by a suitably trained physician. If this was absent, premorbid cognition was determined by telephone interview using the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly-Short Form (IQCODE-SF), a validated screening tool for detecting cognitive impairment.21 ,22 In patients without delirium less than 65 years of age, if there was no dementia documentation in the case notes, the patient was presumed not to have the condition. As dementia is more common and is known to be under-diagnosed in older people, potentially dementia diagnosis may have been under-reported in the charts. Thus, a random sample of older patients without delirium (n=40) also had baseline preadmission cognition assessed using the IQCODE-SF. Other older people were excluded from analyses involving prior cognitive status. Screening investigators also collected data on medication use, blood results (sodium, glucose, thyroid-stimulating hormone, calcium, urea, C reactive protein, white cell count and albumin level). Current and previous alcohol history was recorded where available in the charts, and the Charlson comorbidity index23 was calculated. All data were analysed using the Statistical Analysis Software program (SAS V.9, SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA). Pearson χ2 tests and Fisher's exact test examined the relationship between categorical data. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) examined group differences between continuous variables. Unadjusted models were used to examine the effect of various factors on delirium presence (age, gender, medical speciality, baseline cognitive impairment, alcohol excess, Charlson Comorbidity Index, period of ICU stay, number of ward transfers, total medication number, metabolic abnormality, evidence of inflammatory/infective process, hypoalbuminaemia). Variables with p<0.25 were included in a multivariate logistic regression model. The final models were assessed using the Hosmer–Lemeshow (CHL) Test24 for goodness of fit, and fitted the data well (P>0.05). The coefficient of determination (adjusted R2) estimated the proportion of variation explained by each model.25 Multicollinearity with the independent variables was investigated using condition number,26 with no evidence of departures observed. The predictors of delirium recognition by patients, nurses and in case notes were similarly explored by logistic regression analyses using age, gender, pre-existing cognitive state, medical specialty and delirium symptoms measured on the DRS-R98 as possible predictor variables. There were 358 adult inpatients on the study day, excluding the ICU, ED and Haematology/Burns isolation unit. As it was a weekend day, all 5-day wards were closed. Of these 358 inpatients, 5 refused participation; 23 were excluded owing to coma or severe aphasia; 6 were actively dying; 5 had a language barrier; 3 patients were in isolation on a general ward; 3 were undergoing a procedure and 2 were discharged before assessment. Thus, 311 patients were recruited, constituting 86.9% of the eligible population (figure 1). Excluded patients, screened patients and assessment tools used with subsequent consensus opinion regarding DSM-IV status. CAM, Confusion Assessment Method; DRS-R98, Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98; DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Patient demographics are outlined in table1. The median age of included adult inpatients was 69 years (range 17–100) and 51.1% were female. 57.8% were over 65 years (n=180), 24% were over 80 years (n=75). 51.1% of patients were under medical care. The median length of hospital stay on the study day was 7 days interquartile range (IQR) 15, and 56.3% had undergone at least one ward transfer. Of the 311 patients that underwent screening, 162 patients (52.1%) either (1) demonstrated inattention using one or more screening tools (n=142) and/or (2) self-reported confusion (n=41) and/or (3) were identified as confused by nursing staff (n=52) and/or (4) had ‘confusion’ documented in the case notes (n=29). Of these 162 patients, 147 underwent CAM evaluation (90.1%). CAM omission was due to either patient discharge, transfer to ICU/ isolation, becoming gravely unwell or researcher error (n=5). Of the 296 patients who underwent phase 1 assessment and subsequent CAM, if indicated, 17.6% (n=52) were CAM positive (figure 1). Formal evaluation by DRS-R98 and consensus DSM-IV diagnosis was conducted on 133 patients which is somewhat less than the 147 patients who underwent CAM assessment. This was due to similar factors as the CAM omissions. Thus, the complete study protocol was followed in 280 patients. Of these, 19.6% (n=55) were deemed to have delirium by DSM-IV criteria. Using the total DRS-R98 score to delineate delirium into FSD (DRS-R98 score ≥12) or SSD (score 7–11), 20.7% (n=58) had FSD, while an additional 8.6% (n=24) had SSD, with 21 of the SSD patients not meeting DSM-IV criteria for delirium. Because not all 311 patients completed the full screening process, we estimated the prevalence of delirium in those who did not undergo delirium testing following a positive screen for inattention/reported confusion (n=31). If these patients were presumed to have a similar prevalence of DSM-IV-diagnosed delirium, we would expect an additional nine delirium cases and a total prevalence of 20.7% using DSM-IV criteria (figure 2). DSM-IV delirium prevalence, including the estimated delirium prevalence in the 31 patients that did not undergo delirium assessment following initial screening. CAM, Confusion Assessment Method; DRS-R98, Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98; DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. A wide variability in delirium prevalence was observed between wards (figure 3, n=280). The prevalence was highest on the geriatrics ward (53.3%; 8/15), lowest on general surgical wards (7.2%; 6/83) and intermediate on general medical wards (22%; 29/131) and the orthopaedic ward (28.6%; 6/21). Capacity issues within the healthcare service can lead to some patients being admitted to wards that are not designated for their clinical presentation. The prevalence of delirium was therefore also assessed according to the specialty of the designated clinical team. The prevalence of delirium among all medical patients in the hospital was 24.2% (39/161) whereas that of all general surgical specialities was 7.7% (6/78). High-risk surgical patients (orthopaedic and neurosurgical) had prevalence rates equal to medical patients at 24.4% (10/41). The adjusted OR for delirium in a general surgical patient relative to a medical patient was 0.11 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.41, p<0.001, table 2). The prevalence of delirium on each unit. GER, geriatric medicine ward (n=15); MED, medical wards (n=131); ONC/RT, oncology and radiotherapy ward (n=12); GEN SURG, general surgical wards (n=83), including cardiothoracic, vascular surgery and urology wards; NEURO SURG, neurosurgical ward (n=18); ORTH, Orthopaedic ward (n=21) (Total n=280). Among those diagnosed with delirium using DSM-IV criteria (n=55), 28 (50.9%) had pre-existing cognitive decline, primarily identified through IQCODE-SF telephone interview (only five had case notes documentation of dementia). An IQCODE-SF was also carried out on 40 age-matched non-delirious inpatients for comparison and nine had cognitive impairment (22.5%). Using data from all younger patients and only from those older patients in whom cognitive status was definitely known, as explained in the methodology (total n=203), prior cognitive impairment was an independent predictor of delirium (adjusted OR 15.3; CI 5.2 to 45.4, p<0.001) (table 2). Of the 55 patients with delirium using DSM-IV criteria, 17 (30.9%) were aware of their cognitive deficit, 35 (63.6%) were recognised as confused by nursing staff, and 24 (43.6%) had delirium or one of its synonyms documented in the case notes. Combining these approaches, 43 cases were identified by at least one of these groups (even if the exact term ‘delirium’ was not used). Logistic regression analyses (table 3) showed that significant independent predictors of delirium documentation in the case notes were severity of inattention and short-term memory impairment and being under medical care. For nurse recognition, independent predictors were the presence of delusions, and the severity of affective lability, inattention and long-term memory impairment. For patient self-recognition, acuity of onset and presence of disorientation were predictors, while sleep–wake cycle disturbance was negatively associated with recognition. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the point prevalence of delirium in almost an entire hospital rather than extrapolating from selected cohorts or combining data from several studies, and indicates that approximately 20% of inpatients have delirium at any one time. This prevalence is largely consistent using two different diagnostic tools (CAM, DRS-R98) and gold standard DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, range 18–21%, indicating that it is a robust figure. In the study, though the CAM performance was lower than DSM-IV or the DRS-R98, it had been administered by rigorously trained geriatricians/senior trainees. The DRS-R98 was independently conducted by psychiatrists with delirium expertise and DRS-R98 training, with ultimate delirium diagnosis determined by independent consensus opinion using DSM-IV criteria. This methodology minimises the short-comings of either diagnostic tool, and the similar overall prevalence of delirium using either tool or DSM-IV criteria (although there was not case-to-case diagnostic concordance) increases the validity of our study outcome. The high level of participation (only five patients refused) supports the generalisability to patients seen in daily clinical practice though the formal methods we employed may not be. A percentage of CAM and DRS-R98 assessments were not conducted in patients who were initially screened, owing to time constraints. An estimation of delirium prevalence among these patients added approximately a further 1% to the final prevalence figure. The ‘footprint’ of delirium in the hospital shows a predilection for older patients especially those with prior cognitive impairment, consistent with the literature that elderly are at the highest risk for delirium, where those over 80 had nearly 35% prevalence and those under 50 less than 5%. Higher rates were found in medical, neurosurgical and orthopaedic patients, compared to low rates in general surgical patients (corrected OR in surgical versus medical patients is 0.11 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.41, p<0.001). This study has clear implications for healthcare provision in the acute hospital. First, as expected, there was a linear increase in delirium prevalence with increasing age. As the ‘oldest old’ segment of the population rapidly expands and hence accounts for a larger proportion of the acute hospital population, hospital delirium rates may increase even further. Our ‘footprint’ of delirium in the hospital (figure 3) indicates the high-risk wards and patient groups for delirium, and thus the priority areas for staff education and greater access to delirium specialist consultants. Over half of the patients with delirium had pre-existing cognitive impairment (OR 15.3; 95% CI 5.2 to 45.4, p<0.001), a known independent risk factor for delirium.32 Franco et al33 found that for each point decrement in Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score on admission to the hospital, the DRS-R98 score increased by 0.4 points during the course of the hospitalisation.33 However, medical chart review indicated that the responsible medical team did not generally appear to be aware of or have specifically tested for cognitive impairment, consistent with previous reports.34 Thus, if we overly focus delirium screening on patients with known cognitive impairment, we may miss cases unless practices for detecting cognitive impairment also improve. We found 63.6% of patients with delirium were recognised to be confused or delirious by nursing staff, whereas 43.6% had confusion documented in the medical case notes. Even if some recognised, but undocumented, delirium cases occurred, it suggests that delirium is not a high diagnostic and therapeutic priority, despite its treatability and relevance to outcomes, especially for poorer prognosis in the elderly. The multidomain assessment within the DRS-R98 provided a more detailed phenomenological understanding as to which symptoms are noticed by whom. Both medical and nursing staff detect delirium by noticing inattentiveness, though nursing staff may rely more heavily on unusual behaviours or communications (lability of affect and delusions), possibly reflecting their more prolonged patient contact and higher social engagement during caring tasks. Prior cognitive impairment is associated with higher rates of nurse detection. This may indicate that nurses recognise the frequency of delirium occurrence in dementia and the overlap between these syndromes, but it may also indicate that the nurses were actually recognising cognitive impairment when they were asked if the patient was ‘delirious or acutely confused’, without explicitly recognising delirium. Inouye et al16 previously reported that hypoactive, inattentive delirious patients are least likely to be detected by nursing staff. Other researchers feel that nurses over-rely on orientation in assessing delirium.35 Medical staff were more likely than nursing staff to detect delirium in the presence of short-term memory impairment and inattention. This may reflect the focus of the medical round: brief, direct questioning of patients, which may unmask attention and cognitive deficits. It may also indicate that doctors regard lability of affect as a separate mood disturbance rather than a delirium feature. Interestingly, patients themselves seemed to equate ‘confusion’ with disorientation, sleep-wake cycle change and recent deterioration in cognitive function (acuity of onset)—they may not be able to describe what happened but they are aware of a major shift (figure 4). Delirium prevalence stratified by age group. A limitation is that this study was not primarily designed to ascertain staff detection competencies. Nurses were asked, ‘Do you think this patient is delirious or acutely confused?’ as part of standardised questioning in the screening phase (box 1). This is not a validated tool for determining staff detection of delirium. Our analysis of medical team recognition relied on documentation in the medical charts, which is a relatively insensitive technique. Other limitations of this study relate to feasibility to facilitate this ambitious study. We used an initial screening phase so that CAM and DRS-R98/DSM-IV assessments were only performed on patients who had evidence of impaired attention or subjective/objective ‘confusion’. Thus, it is possible that some patients with delirium were missed. However, inattention is a cardinal, mandatory feature for delirium, and patients without inattention cannot, by definition, have CAM-defined or DSM-IV-defined delirium, so our screening policy is unlikely to have missed any significant number of cases. Only 86.9% of inpatients underwent initial screening assessment. Reasons for exclusion, such as stroke-related aphasia or imminent death, suggest that delirium prevalence would be higher in excluded patients. Similarly, patients in the ICU and burns isolation unit were specifically excluded for infection-control purposes. Previous work suggests that delirium prevalence is up to 80% in ICU patients.36 ,37 Thus, the true point prevalence of delirium was likely to be in excess of 20% for the whole hospital. Finally, as well as the 20% of patients who met DSM-IV criteria for delirium, a further 10% had some delirium features using the DRS-R98 defined as SSD by score range. Some of these may have been recovering from or about to develop FSD, or indeed may never have reached full diagnostic criteria. Considering that SSD accounted for one-third of all inpatients that exhibited delirium features, further work on the significance of SSD is warranted, namely greater clarification of specific diagnostic criteria, temporal course, phenotype presentation and, particularly, associated mortality risk. Studies show that outcomes in SSD are intermediate between having no delirium and FSD.38 This means that we have identified approximately 30% of the hospital inpatient population who, if undetected and untreated, may incur significant morbidity and mortality. Thus, delirium is a common problem in hospitalised patients, as demonstrated robustly in this study, regardless of the diagnostic test used. The ‘footprint’ across the hospital patient population confirms the high-risk patient groups and hence the particular targets for enhanced staff training in delirium prevention, detection and treatment. The authors would also like to acknowledge Professor William Molloy for advising on study methodology. . Textbook of psychosomatic medicine. 2nd edn. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing press, 2010. . Adverse outcomes after hospitalization and delirium in persons with Alzheimer disease. Ann Intern Med 2012;156:848–56. . Impact of delirium on short-term mortality in elderly inpatients: a prospective cohort study. Psychosomatics 2009;50:234–8. . Delirium detection in clinical practice and research: critique of current tools and suggestions for future development. J Psychosom Res 2008;65:255–9. . Diagnosis, prevention, and management of delirium: summary of NICE guidance. BMJ 2010;341:c3704. . Occurrence and outcome of delirium in medical in-patients: a systematic literature review. Age Ageing 2006;35:350–64. . Functional equivalence of WAIS-III/WMS-III digit and spatial span under forward and backward recall conditions. Clin Neuropsychol 2002;16:322–30. . The utility of the spatial span in a clinical geriatric population. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn 2011;18:56–63. . A comparison of neuropsychiatric and cognitive profiles in delirium, dementia, comorbid delirium-dementia and cognitively intact controls. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2010;81:876–81. . The confusion assessment (CAM): training manual and coding guide. New Haven: Yale University School of Medicine, 1991. . Clarifying confusion: the confusion assessment method. A new method for detection of delirium. Ann Intern Med 1990;113:941–8. . Validation of the confusion assessment method in the palliative care setting. Palliat Med 2009;23:40–5. . Validity of the confusion assessment method in detecting postoperative delirium in the elderly. Int Psychogeriatr 1999;11:431–8. . Nurses' recognition of delirium and its symptoms: comparison of nurse and researcher ratings. Arch Intern Med 2001;161:2467–73. . Further analyses of the Delirium Rating Scale. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 1995;17:75–9. . Validation of the Delirium Rating Scale-revised-98: comparison with the delirium rating scale and the cognitive test for delirium. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2001;13:229–42. . Concurrent validity of two instruments (the Confusion Assessment Method and the Delirium Rating Scale) in the detection of delirium among older medical inpatients. Age Ageing 2005;34:72–5. . Is delirium different when it occurs in dementia? A study using the delirium rating scale. J Neuropsychiatr Clin Neurosci 1998;10:199–204. . A short form of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE): development and cross-validation. Psychol Med 1994;24:145–53. . The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE): a review. Int Psychogeriatr 2004;16:275–93. . Applied logistic regression. 2nd edn. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2000. . A note on a general definition of the coefficient of determination. Biometrika 1991;78:691–3. . Biological data analysis. A practical approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. . Delirium in elderly individuals with hip fracture: causes, incidence, prevalence, and risk factors. Clinics (Sao Paulo) 2006;61:35–40. . Acute confusional states in elderly patients treated for femoral neck fracture. J Am Geriatr Soc 1988;36:525–30. . A simple model for predicting postoperative delirium in older patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery. J Am Geriatr Soc 1995;43:175–8. . Risk factors and prediction of postoperative delirium in elderly hip-surgery patients: implementation and validation of a medical risk factor model. J Am Geriatr Soc 2006;54:817–22. . Reducing delirium after hip fracture: a randomized trial. J Am Geriatr Soc 2001;49:516–22. . Delirium in elderly patients and the risk of postdischarge mortality, institutionalization, and dementia: a meta-analysis. JAMA 2010;304:443–51. . Relationship between cognitive status at admission and incident delirium in older medical inpatients. J Neuropsychiatr Clin Neurosci 2010;22:329–37. . Nursing documentation versus standardized assessment of cognitive status in hospitalized medical patients. Appl Nurs Res 2000;13:29–36. . Benzodiazepine and opioid use and the duration of intensive care unit delirium in an older population. Crit Care Med 2009;37:177–83. . The prognostic significance of subsyndromal delirium in elderly medical inpatients. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003;51:754–60. DJR and NAO contributed equally to this study. Contributors All the authors substantially contributed to study conception and design, data collection, statistical analysis and interpretation, drafting the initial manuscript and subsequent critical revision of the manuscript and final approval. KO performed statistical analysis, contributed to drafting the original manuscript, performed critical revisions and has approved the final manuscript. PTT had a major contribution to study design and interpretation of data made critical revisions to the manuscript and approved the final version. MO, JM, ST and ML majorly involved in data acquisition, critical revisions and final approval of the manuscript. Reproducible Research Statement Study protocol: Available from Dr. Niamh O'Regan (see above). Data set: unavailable. Requests for single reprints: Dr. Niamh O'Regan (see above). Competing interests PTT is a full-time salaried employee and minor shareholder at Eli Lilly and Company. PTT holds the copyright for the Delirium Rating Scale—Revised-98 but does not charge a fee for a not-for-profit use. No other authors have competing interests to disclose. Ethics approval Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Cork Teaching Hospitals.

2019-04-18T17:56:47Z

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/1/e001772.full

Three years ago was my first FETC trip and I had no idea what to expect and only knew a few people who were attending. I have been to many different conferences, but none quite like FETC. At first I was nervous about not really knowing a lot of people there, and figured that I would just figure it out and see what opportunities popped up. I was fortunate to have connected with Jaime Donally and then met up with Mandy Froehlich and Rodney Turner. We were building our friendship, connecting our friends together, and starting what would become an important part of each of our lives. Our group, called #my53s. FETC draws in people from all over the country and from around the world. A conference that can seem so large, with people moving in every direction, traveling quickly between the North and South but yet at times seems so small, when you find yourself running into the same people in different areas of ​​such a large event space. It has so much to offer, that it is hard to do it justice by trying to summarize it or simply writing about one aspect of it. So I thought I would start with what I consider to be the biggest takeaway every single time: Relationships. From that first trip to Orlando for FETC until now, I have seen our friendship grow and the impact it has on each of us. What I have learned is that when it comes to conferences, it really doesn’t matter what you decide to do, how you set up your schedule, whether or not you know anyone, because no matter what decision you make you can’t go wrong. Honestly. There are no “wrong” or “bad” choices because opportunities are everywhere. Sticking to a schedule can be tough, and if you stress about what sessions to attend or how to plan for every minute, you will miss out on what I think is the best learning experience at any conference. Time spent with PLN and your edufriends. Conferences are a place for building relationships and making connections above anything else. So if you want to learn what FETC is about let me start by telling you about the relationships and why they matter. These are relationships that started through Social Media. Specifically through Twitter, which I never wanted and never understood. At conferences like FETC, meeting your “#eduheroes” finally F2F is a possibility. Even though we all feel like we already know each other, after many Twitter chats and social media interactions, especially on Voxer, it is nice to be together and talk (about technology) without the technology. ​Having core groups to connect with is something I highly recommend. All it takes is one or two people and you can build your entire group, so at no point do you feel alone during the conference.​ One of Rodney’s messages from years ago was to be on the lookout for people you notice sitting alone. Take a moment to go over and start a conversation, invite people to join you.​ At conferences like this, the “vibe” is that people want to connect, to share, to be a part of a conversation. Even if only for a few moments. It is those moments that matter the most. Be open to those opportunities and better yet, create them. So, how can you prepare for FETC next year or the next conference? Maybe the best plan is to not have a plan. Maybe just have an idea. A focus. Time passes by so quickly and there are so many choices that it can be overwhelming, especially for a first time attendee. Not everybody can make the same decision about what would be the best session or event to attend. You have to make your own decision and even though there is comfort in attending with somebody you know, it is equally if not more beneficial to go your own way, interact with other educators and create new relationships. You can then come back to that core group with new ideas and new friends, and you never know, it’s such a small world sometimes that you might find that you all know the same people. A little over a year of connecting and growing with this unconventionally formed PLN, I love being part of the #4OCFPLN, a group that started through a book study on Voxer. I already knew a few of the members but we were able to build new relationships, strong connections and become a real learning family. So much anticipation of meeting face-to-face at conferences like FETC, which has been amazing. It’s funny at times because we realize that some people just don’t understand how you can become such close friends with people you’ve never officially “met” in the same physical space. I don’t know either but it just happens. You can build connections and foster supportive relationships and really get to know other educators. We “see” them based on the way they speak, through the passion they have for the work that they do, the personal experiences they share within the group and so much more. Even if you only have a few quick moments to say hello, to give a hug and to take a photo, it adds so much more to those connections. You already know one another it provides an extra element of realizing that yes in fact these people are real! Bad Uber rides, overpriced moderately tolerable food (not from a chain), ridiculously funny games that result in companies like Platypus Help and Obnoxious Waffles, narrowly avoiding dinosaurs and then some scary rides at night. Sharing awkwardly funny moments, inside jokes, random thoughts, peculiar traits and fun facts, and growing closer each day. We know each other so well and continue to strengthen our bond with every day that passes. And because of this group, I am stronger and braver than I ever thought I could be. We live in different states, and in different countries, but even with such great distances between us, we manage to stay closely connected. We know we are there for one another, and the only thing that could make it better would be if we got to spend more time in the same space. But there are always opportunities and if the whole group can’t be together, when even a few of us can be, we all share in the excitement and joy of that time together. Share your thoughts and experiences and photos, we would love to hear from you! Next up, a focus on some of the FETC events and takeaways. Once I return from TCEA, I will share some other takeaways from the wonderful experience of FETC. Of course, depending on the time spent with Jaime, Jennifer, Mandy and Marialice, I may need to share that first! 385 feet hight, four minutes, 50 mph! and only $12! One of the most important roles for educators today is that of being a mentor. As educators, we are often called upon to mentor the students in our classroom, as well as colleagues in our school. Throughout our lives, we have all had at one time or another a person who has served as a mentor, whether they have been selected for us or it is a relationship that simply formed on its own. Take a moment and think about the different mentors that you have had in your life. How many of them were teachers? How many of them were other adults, such as family friends or perhaps even coaches? How many of your own mentors have been the colleagues in your building or members of your PLN (Personal or Professional Learning Network)? There may be a few that come to mind immediately, both because you remember having a specific time that was set aside to work with your mentor, maybe during your first-year of teaching or as a teacher who needed some guidance while working through some of the challenges of teaching. There is probably a mentor that comes to mind because you credit them with some aspect of personal and or professional growth. For myself, I have been fortunate to have some supportive mentors that have helped me to grow professionally and taught me what it means to be a mentor. These relationships are so important because it is through mentorships that we continue to learn and grow and become a better version of ourselves. In the process, we also develop our skills to serve as a mentor to someone else and continue the practice promoting growth. Take a moment and think about your classroom or your school and the types of programs which may be already in place in your building. Are there specific times set aside for teachers to act as mentors for students? To their colleagues? In my school district, Riverview, we implemented a homeroom mentoring program a few years ago, as part of our RCEP (Riverview Customized Educational Plan) which we were making available for our students. A few years prior to that, we began with the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, and our school was among the first schools in the United States to achieve national/state recognition for bully prevention. Through the program, we implemented a variety of learning activities, with the goal of engaging students in learning and collaboration, to promote a positive school climate and to create opportunities for students to build positive and supportive peer relationships. For our Homeroom Mentoring Program, small groups of students in grades 9 through 12, are assigned to a homeroom, with a mentor. By having these smaller groups, the teachers are able to serve as a mentor for each student, working with them closely, to not only support them during their high school experience but also to prepare them for their future after graduation. It is a way to provide a more personalized learning approach for each student and for each student to know they have support available to them. These mentoring homerooms meet on a regular basis, providing ongoing opportunities for the teacher and students to interact in team-building and work on fostering peer relationships. During these homeroom meetings, some of the activities include pride lessons, goal-setting discussions, career exploration surveys and job shadowing, community service experiences and other topics which come up throughout the year. It is a good opportunity for the students to have a small group to work with and to develop critical skills for their future, such as communicating, collaborating, problem-solving, and developing social and emotional learning skills as well. In addition to the planned activities, a key part of our mentoring program is the creation of a “portfolio” which includes samples of student work, a job shadow reflection, resume, list of volunteer experiences and additional artifacts that students can curate in their portfolio. The past few years, students have organized these materials into a binder, which has been kept in the mentoring homeroom. The materials become a part of their required senior graduation project. This year, we have started creating an e-portfolio, using Naviance, a program that promotes college and career readiness. Students begin by creating their online profile and sharing their activities and interests. Using the program, students can take surveys to learn more about their own skill areas and interests, learn about colleges which might match their interests, and also continue to build their digital citizenship skills. According to one of our guidance counselors, Mrs. Roberta Gross, the mentoring program was implemented to help students make transitions toward post-secondary goals and plans, and moving to the e-portfolio is creating more opportunities for students to explore their own interests and create their online presence. There are many benefits of having students create an e-portfolio. Moving to an e-portfolio makes it easier to access the information for each student, it can be shared with parents and it opens up more conversations between the students and the mentor teacher. It is important to prepare our students for whatever the future holds for them beyond high school graduation, and working with them as they grow, in these small groups, really promotes more personalized learning experiences and authentic connections. As a final part of this program, our seniors take part in a senior “exit interview”, a simulated job interview with a panel of three teachers, a mix of elementary teachers and high school teachers. It truly is a great experience to have time to see the growth of each student, learn about their future plans and to provide feedback which will help them continue to grow and be better prepared for their next steps after graduation. And for students, being able to look through their portfolios, reflect on their experiences, self-assess and set new goals, knowing they have support available, is the purpose of the mentoring program. There are many resources available that can provide some direction for getting started with an official mentoring program. The “Adopt a class” program, founded by Patty Alper, who also wrote a book on mentoring called “Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee, and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America.” Alper talks about the impact of mentoring and how her view of it is towards an “entrepreneurial” mindset, preparing students for the future, with the skills they need. Alper breaks down the process into practical steps, with examples and encouragement for those new to the mentoring experience. The national mentoring partnership “MENTOR”, offers a website full of resources and ways to connect with other mentoring programs. MENTOR even held a Mentoring Summit in Washington, D.C., this January, where professionals and researchers gathered to share ideas and best practices for starting a mentoring program. Be sure to check out their monthly themes and presence on Twitter. The National Mentoring Resource Center offers a collection of different resources for mentoring include manuals, handouts and a long list of additional guidelines for different content areas, grade levels, culturally responsive materials, toolkits and more. The website has most of the resources available as downloads. I would recommend that you think about mentors that you may have had at some point during your life. What are some of the qualities that they had which made them a good mentor and why? For me, I felt comfortable talking with my mentor, being open to the feedback that I would receive, and I knew that my mentor was available to support me when I needed. Another benefit is that we learn how to become a mentor for others, and when we have these programs in place, our students will become mentors for one another. I have seen the positive effects in my own classroom, and many times, these new mentorships have formed on their own. A phenomenal mentor that taught me what it means to be an educator. I wrote this about a month ago…time flies when you’re spending it with your PLN! #iste18 #RealEDU #USMSpark #ST4T #tlap #FETC Connecting is everything! One of the many benefits of being part of a PLN (Personal or Professional Learning Network) is having a constant system of support. Because of my PLN, I have access to new ideas, tools, methods at any time. Being “connected” means having a personal and professional support system, whenever you need it and wherever you are. We can connect in person with colleagues at our schools or during conferences, but at times this can be difficult because of the availability of time or based on location. The solution? Technology. We can connect virtually through the numerous forms of social media and web tools that promote anytime collaborating, communicating and conferencing. We become “connected” by connecting. Gone are the days where educators have to scour the Internet for resources, search through books, or even travel for professional learning. We don’t even have to leave our homes to participate in professional development. (Although it is nice to get out and meet our PLN F2F). And when it comes to our teaching practice, we don’t necessarily need to create all of our own materials or wait in line at the copier. (if we are in the habit of making packets, but that is another conversation entirely #paperless). We have access to support and thousands of resources instantly, simply by connecting through our devices and reaching out into our “network.” The power of connecting and collaborating. Sharing our own ideas and gathering new ones, building on our strengths and honing in on areas in which we need to grow. Through our PLN, we have these opportunities and whatever we need, available to us at any time. It just takes one tweet, one post, one Vox, and the connecting begins and the support is available. Sometimes we just happen to become part of a PLN, or a PLF (Personal or Professional Learning Family). The same can be said for mentoring. Sometimes we make these connections, develop relationships that grow into something powerful and life-changing, without even realizing it as it is happening. When I first heard about the “power of a PLN”, I really didn’t get it. I thought it was the same as being a “colleague” or having “work friends” as they are often called. But I have learned that I was way off about this, and I am glad to know that I was wrong (again). I have become “connected” through several PLNs, that have also somehow interconnected with one another. It has become a super PLN, or mega PLN. And it evolved through Social Media, which I was so wrong about the value for education. My first true PLN is referred to as the “53s”. A group that grew from a Facebook group of ISTE goers, created by Rodney Turner, that then evolved into a Voxer group. Rodney’s message was to make connections, see someone sitting alone, ask them to join in. As a group, we met face to face at ISTE 2016 in Denver. There are also a few members of this group that I met through Twitter chats and then met in person at other conferences, and had time to spend with them learning in the same physical space. We welcomed our friends into the group and continued to build a core PLN. We have come together to be the 53s, a name significant to us. A name which evolved after our initial core group grew. A group based on trust, transparency, empathy, kindness, pushback, fun and passion for education and the power of learning. And most importantly, true friendship. These people, my friends, are my source of inspiration and the ones that I rely on heavily each day. We are a unique group that spans the United States and Canada. I am so fortunate to be a part of a core PLN that I know will be there for me no matter what. The only thing I wish I could change is our geographical locations. We are from different states and a different country, and so time together does not happen that often. But when it does, it truly is the best time ever. #singoff #booksnaps #carpoolkaraoke. LOVE our times at FETC, Summer Spark, ShiftinEDU and ISTE and more to come! I am not sure where I would be without my 53s. The times we have shared are so special, and I am so thankful for this group and wish for everyone to have a core PLN like this: Evan Abramson, Jarod Bormann, Jennifer Casa-Todd, Jaime Donally, Mandy Froehlich, Tisha Richmond and Rodney Turner. Add to that our awesome Snapchat singing group which also includes Tara Martin, Andrew Easton and Mandy Taylor. They are an amazing group of educators, who would drop everything to be there to support you. I am proud and honored to call them my friends. I am also fortunate to be connected with two other tremendous groups (my PLF) and cannot wait to meet more of them in person. The #4OCFPLN and Edugladiators! Loved the adventures trying to meet up in Chicago! I had read the book “Four O’Clock Faculty” by Rich Czyz and was part of a Voxer group doing a book study. Once the book study ended, many members of the group stayed connected and kept the conversation going. A group that stayed together and continued to connect and grow long after the book study had ended. We have become a real PLF and I enjoy learning new things from this group every day and knowing that they are there when I need them. “We” have had our picture taken with many authors and we have stickers and our own hashtag even #4OCFPLN. And stickers too! Shirts on the way. There are so many great conversations, a lot of laughs and fun that happens within this group every day. I love knowing that I can reach out to this group at any time. It is a very supportive and fun group with a lot of diverse perspectives and a bond that continues to grow and get better. Laughs, inside jokes, challenges, pushback, inspiration and amazing connections. REAL connections. We know more about each other and learn and push boundaries of learning every day. Love meeting up with my #4OCFPLN, Fellow #Edugladiators Core Warriors, Edumatch PLF, Buncee Family, Future Ready PLN, the Women in EdTech and of course, the 53s. And a tremendous surprise having one of my students be in Chicago during ISTE. That may have been the best part! Sharing some of the awesomeness of ISTE and the people there. During the last couple of weeks as the school year was winding down, the demands on my time were increasing exponentially. While this may seem a bit exaggerated, there really is no other way to describe it. Granted, I take a lot of extra things on personally and professionally, when most people meet me, they ask if I sleep. I do, some. So why do I, or educators take on so much? For me, the reason is because I truly am a lifelong learner. I don’t want to miss opportunities, especially when that might mean I miss out on creating opportunities for others. I don’t want to say no to someone that needs my help, because I realize that for some people, asking for help required that they be vulnerable and step out of their comfort zone. So I will always try to help someone else, even if it means delaying my own goals or veering from some path that I am on. And I am good with that, but I also realize that there is only so much that I can do. Being self-aware means you recognize your strengths and weaknesses, emotions, thoughts, and have a deeper understanding of what motivates you, at least this is my way of defining it. I can somewhat identify my strengths, but it is uncomfortable to openly admit my weaknesses. I have no problem admitting mistakes and failures in front of my students. The more that I can do this with them, will help to dispel that misconception that failure is final. Personally or among friends, for me, admitting weakness is tough, but the first step in trying to improve is acknowledging that there is a something to improve upon. I’m well aware that I have certain areas that I need to devote some time to in order to become more effective and consistent and possibly attain some level of balance. If balance is really a thing. Maybe it is because I set demands on myself that are too high or overly ambitious, but I have reached a point in my career and my life, where I feel I need to engage in activities that I am passionate about being involved in. Even while I was in law school, my friends would often laugh at my ability to multitask and my methods of over-preparation for class. I did then what I try to discourage my own students from doing now. I would take notes on the computer, write notes on paper, listen to the lecture and grade papers all while sending text messages throughout the class. And somehow while doing all of that I still managed to answer a question when called upon. I survived the four years of teaching full-time and four nights a week of law school. When I think back and compare schedules of then and now I feel so much more out of balance now than I did back then. It just does not make sense. But lately, I have not felt as productive as I would want to be. Yes I’ve made lists, checked items off as I completed them, kept up with email only to have two or three emails pop in as soon as one is sent. I have opened Voxer to find four or five hundred messages waiting and many other notifications from other forms of social media. So how does one find balance? How does one keep focus when surrounded by and consumed by so much “connectedness.” In the pursuit of learning, how much is enough and how much is too much? What I mean is I think as educators we need to involve ourselves in a variety of learning possibilities. We no longer need to leave our homes to go out for professional development, nor be limited to that which we have at our schools. There are so many options available that meet our needs as far as goals and time and passions. But it seems that more and more time is consumed by social media like Voxer or Twitter, just for a few examples. Don’t get me wrong, these are tremendous tools for becoming a connected educator, for breaking away from the isolation that can happen. But how do we keep up with everything and everyone? If you know, please share. It is tough “keeping up” lately. I read a lot of blogs, books and stay active through Twitter and Voxer, and have a pretty good routine for keeping up-to-date with information. Reading has never been a problem for me. The area in which I need to improve is with my own writing. Some days I feel like I just can’t keep up. I feel like I’m falling behind, that I’m not meeting the goal, not pushing myself enough to accomplish things. But today I had a moment to pause and think, and it came after reading some of the The Path to Serendipity , by Allyson Apsey and also “What School Could Be,” by Ted Dintersmith. After reading these, it occurred to me that I am doing the exact same thing that I try to stop my students from doing which is push myself so hard, judge myself so critically, to the point where my desire to work and to get things done becomes consumed as soon as my eyes focus on that ever-growing list of goals. I put up a wall and that inner voice tells me that I will never get things done. The inner voice convinces me that I can’t, so I don’t even try. And then I remember the quote “the only thing standing in your way is you,” so I need to get out of my own way. My list is full of things which are not part of my daily work as a teacher, but rather tasks that I have voluntarily pushed myself into becoming a part of. Maybe it’s my fear of missing out, maybe it’s my drive to keep doing better, to keep pushing myself to do one more thing, take one more step, to see how much I can handle and how much I can learn. But in recognizing this, I realize that my students do this as well. I’ve seen them push themselves and worry that they won’t finish something in time, that they won’t get into the college that their parents want them to, that they won’t get the highest grade, that they won’t be as smart, as quick or as good as somebody else in the class. Pressure. How many times this year I have said to them “You don’t need to worry about anybody else. You only need to worry about yourself because you aren’t in competition with anyone else but yourself.” I came across an anonymous quote a while ago that said “I’m in competition with no one but myself.” The power of this quote really hit me. These are the reminders that I give to my students, but yet are ones that I have failed to be cognizant of within myself. In reading “Path to Serendipity”, so much of what Allyson says resonated with me, especially when thinking back to when I first started teaching. And in reading “What School Could Be,” I am thinking about the structure of school, the “game” of school and all of the pressure that exists. Pressure which is placed on students whether by the school system itself, the testing, parents, teachers or the students themselves. How do we break this cycle? Wanting the best for someone should be more about supporting them with whatever decision they make, and being there if they find out that it was not the best decision to be made. That’s the risk we take when we step out of our comfort zone, when we go against the grain and do something that is different, that may not be the traditional way to do something but it’s the way that we want, it’s personal to us, it’s our passion. And I know I have derailed a bit in this, maybe more than a bit, but sometimes it’s good for me to just sit with my computer, and thanks to the voice to text, I can close my eyes and talk through what has been going through my mind, and then edit the writing. Lately it’s been that I just can’t get enough things completed. Countless presentations, proposals, webinars you name it, I am doing and experiencing the same thing that many other educators are experiencing as well. However the difference is that my perception of others is that there are no struggles. Blogs are being published, podcasts are being recorded, books are being written, speeches are being given, and my question is where do you find the time? How can I find a time? And I am so impressed and inspired by the work of my friends and my colleagues who share their stories and seem to have a lot of balance, but then again how do I really know? My perception is not necessarily their reality. A good friend of mine Mandy Froehlich has written a book which just came out today, called “The Fire Within”, in which she shares personal stories as well as stories of educators who talk about the different struggles that they’ve gone through. We don’t often hear of the struggles and the negative experiences that we as educators may have, but there are a few things that I’m sure of. We need to start with relationships. We need to be open and vulnerable. We have to tell our stories. It is from these stories, whether they are stories of great innovations or epic failures, where we can connect and provide the inspirational redirection that someone else may greatly need. And while telling our story makes us vulnerable, there is great power in vulnerability. Vulnerability does not mean weakness, as defined by Brene Brown in her book “Daring Greatly”. It is “uncertainty,risk and emotional exposure.” My favorite quote from Brown is that vulnerability is “the courage to show up and be seen even when you have no control over the outcome.” This quote is one I read last summer, and I kept in the back of my mind while preparing for different events in which I felt completely out of control. I didn’t think I had the courage and was ready to back down, but this served as a reminder to me that it was better to try and fail, than to never try at all. The interesting part about this book is that she came up with the title after reading a quote by Teddy Roosevelt from 1910, where he spoke about the man who enters into battle valiantly, and at best he has success and at worst he errs while daring greatly. So there is nobody pushing me to get things done but me. Nobody adding more items to the list but myself. And there is nobody that I’m in competition with. I have to accept that I will accomplish the things that I need to accomplish in my own time and in my own way. Pushing the publish button on this was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I’ve been thinking a lot and decided to put my thoughts out there. ***This is the first in a series of posts about the benefits of social media tools for education, and how I learned the value of them for becoming more connected. I was not always into social media and cannot say that I truly saw the value of what each platform might have to offer. Part of this is my fault because I did not take time to learn about Twitter or Facebook and the others, and I had some misconceptions about what each social media platform was being used for. The other part is that I relied on the comments and experiences of others to judge the value and the benefit of trying any of these for my own use. I love technology. Ever since I was a child, I have been interested in trying new things, spending time learning and working with all things tech. I was fine with communicating through email, text messaging, and the occasional phone call. I held off on creating a Facebook account because I thought that it was just a way to tell people what you were doing on a daily basis, “status updates”. I had the perception it was just about updating everyone on the basic chores and daily life habits that we all take part in. I also did not consider using Twitter because I thought it was simply a way to keep up with what celebrities were doing and I had other ways to do that. Being an avid reader of publications like People magazine or US for many years, I kept up with what was going on in the celebrity world. Enough anyway. So for me, I didn’t really think about or see any benefit personally, nor professionally, for having either of these social media accounts. So what led to the change? Class reunion planning. I had the task of locating classmates for an upcoming high school class reunion. I graduated with nearly six hundred people, and knew it would be a very tedious task. My options were to spend time looking online or flipping through the pages of a telephone book, assuming that people still lived in the area or that I could easily locate their information using these methods. The possibility of Facebook had not entered my mind until a friend suggested it. So I gave in, created my Facebook account and little by little, sure enough, I began finding some of my classmates, friends from childhood and college and even making new connections. Once I started using Facebook more, I realized that I had been mostly wrong. I found out that not everyone used Facebook as I had thought. It really was a way to locate classmates, reconnect with friends and I started seeing that Facebook could be valuable and not at all what I had thought. I found different learning communities and groups to join through Facebook. It became a great platform for sharing information, adding resources and amazingly, not that I thought this years ago, has the capability of being a tremendous tool for learning and professional growth. It is a way for people to connect instantly with anyone throughout the world, at any time and can be used as a system of support. You can keep up with friends, family, colleagues, and see how people live in other places of the world by sharing photos or going “live”. So I discovered that I was wrong. I had this idea of Facebook and its uses in my mind and actively stayed away from it for years. So what is the lesson I learned? I learned that in order to really understand the benefit and use of something, you have to investigate it yourself. You have to take that chance, take a step, take a risk and look into something before making a judgment about its value. (A lesson for life as well). But the flip side is that you can’t just start using something because everybody else is, or you “heard” that it was the best way or best method of doing something. Everybody is different and everything affects people in different ways. I’ve always said that we can all read the same book but get a different story. And that’s the case with Facebook. Thank you Facebook for being the means through which I have been able to reconnect with friends, join new learning communities and keep up with family and members of my PLN who I do not get to see very often. It is a means to share good news and bad, but the main point is that it is a way to become connected and we all need to be connected to someone and something. So I was wrong about the power of social media….and that’s okay, because I know the possibilities now and learned the lesson of keeping an open mind, judging for myself, and then reflecting. Thank you EduCal for sharing! ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) is a conference that draws in people from all over the world and all levels of education and technology. With an estimate of close to 20,000 people from 70 countries in attendance, this year’s conference was tremendous. An event so large but yet at times seems so small, when you find yourself running into the same people in different areas of such a large event space. It has so much to offer, that it is hard to do it justice by summarizing or simply writing about one aspect of it. So I thought I would highlight a few of the biggest takeaways that I had, and ones which I gathered from others. Going to ISTE? What can you expect? There are a lot of discussions and questions leading up to the conference. For people attending for the first time, the most common questions are: What sessions should I choose? What type of clothing is appropriate? What items should I carry in my bag? What should I expect? What are the “must do” events? and many more questions like this. Simply put, where do I begin? I myself was a first-time attendee last year and had absolutely no idea what to expect. I had been to many different conferences, but none as large as ISTE. I was nervous about not really knowing a lot of people there. I was fortunate to have just gotten involved with PAECT (Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology) and two of the ISTE networks (MLN and Games & Sims). Being involved with these organizations helped because I knew some people and had some events lined up, but I figured the chances of seeing them with all of our different schedules, were not too likely. I tried doing some research, asking questions on social media, reading through and studying the ISTE website to learn as much as I could. I think I studied the program multiple times every day, each week leading up to my travels to Philadelphia. I had a nice schedule planned out, my favorites marked and areas that I wanted to focus on, so it seemed like I was ready to go. But as I quickly learned last year, and definitely felt the same this year, is that it really doesn’t matter what you decide to do, what schedule you set up to follow, whether or not you know anyone, because no matter what decision you make you can’t go wrong. Honestly. There are no “wrong” or “bad” choices because there are opportunities everywhere. Even if you have a schedule, it is really tough to stick to it. And if you are traveling alone for the first time, don’t worry about being alone. It is a place for building relationships and making connections above anything else. So if you want to learn what ISTE is about let me start by telling you about the relationships and why they matter. I had to conquer a big fear this year: my fear of flying. Last year, I traveled by Amtrak to Philly, and it was no problem. I don’t mind traveling alone, I use the time to read, participate in Twitter chats, catch up on work, and enjoy the trip. But this year, preparing to travel to Denver, with my fear of flying, something I have not done in 21 years, was a bit difficult. I have avoided air travel, preferring to drive or take a train any distance. However with Colorado being a bit far of a drive, bus ride or travel by train, I was not left with much in the way of options. So that meant flying. Fortunately, I had a good friend providing me with the support to help me get to the airport, get on the plane and get to Denver without worry. At least not too much. I just kept thinking about the week ahead. My support for the travels started with another conference. Karyn and I met at a Keystone Technology Innovator Summit in Pennsylvania a few years ago. I was also fortunate that at Karyn had another friend traveling with us, Chris, so I had two amazing companions to ease my nerves and it really made a huge difference during the flight and throughout the conference. He started each day with a Vox, a countdown to ISTE, an inspiration and a story. He brought a bunch of people together, a group of connected educators, who became friends, excited to meet F2F after developing these relationships. Becoming friends through technology. I could hardly wait to meet the members of this group, officially, because we had already learned so much about each other. And we even had t-shirts and stickers made for our group, thanks Mike Jaber. And at conferences like ISTE, meeting your “Tweeps” and #eduheroes finally F2F is a possibility. Even though we all feel like we already know each other, after many Twitter chats and social media interactions, it is nice to be together and talk (about technology) without the technology. Having these core groups to connect with is something I highly recommend. All it takes is one or two people and you can build your entire group, so at no point do you feel alone during the conference. One of Rodney’s messages was to be on the lookout for people you notice sitting alone. If you see someone sitting alone, go over and start a conversation, invite people to join you, be welcoming, and it worked. We had our “VoxUp” in the Bloggers Cafe on Sunday before the Keynote, and what a great experience that was. There were lots of hugs, laughs, smiles and excitement. This was truly a defining moment. In looking around, people joined in this group, new connections were made, the excitement and power of this PLN was contagious. All it took was joining in a group, taking that step and becoming part of something, and having a support system already in place. Looking around the Bloggers Cafe, there were a lot of small groups of people, gathered to listen to the Keynote, take pictures, make new connections, network and just to absorb everything that was going on. No matter where you looked, you could see the energy and excitement. The energy was so high and it was just the starting point for what would be a phenomenal 3 day event. So, what should your plan be? Well, maybe the best plan is to not have a plan. Maybe just have an idea. A focus. Time goes by so quickly and the choices are so numerous that it can be overwhelming, especially for a first time attendee. Not everybody can make the same decision about what would be the best session or event to attend. You have to make your own decision and even though there is comfort in going to a session with somebody you know, it is equally if not more beneficial to go your own way, interact with other educators and create new relationships. You can then come back to that core group with new ideas and new friends, and you never know, it’s such a small world sometimes that you might all know the same people. And by going to different sessions and different events, there are more stories and experiences to be shared. So the learning possibilities are even greater. And friends made along the way become part of different groups but connected into one. Having these different groups really added to the experience. We shared ideas, attended events together, grabbed early coffees at Coffee Edu, and so much more. Even if you weren’t at ISTE, you could join in virtually and be a part of the ISTE community as well. The idea behind attending conferences like ISTE is to make new connections, gain new knowledge, to grow professionally, and to explore. I can’t think of a better way to start doing this than by focusing on relationships. It is where I start each school year and it is where I focus for conferences like ISTE. Share your thoughts and experiences and photos, we would love to hear from you! Next up, focus on some of the ISTE events and takeaways. I am a teacher and when people find this out, one of the first things they say is “it must be nice to have your summers off.” Yes, thank you, it is nice to have a more relaxed schedule over the course of the summer break. But in all honesty, I would be fine if I taught year round. And there are a lot of teachers who don’t really have the whole summer “off” because their school operates on a different type of school calendar. And like I said, I love summer, not because it means that I don’t have to go to work. I enjoy being in the classroom and working with students. I look forward to each day and what it brings. I love the routine, the new challenges each day, and more than anything, working with the students and learning from them. However, the main reason I look forward to the summer is because it is an opportunity to seek out new learning experiences that will enable me to return to my classroom refreshed, with new ideas and hopefully improved skills that will help me to provide the best learning experiences for my students. Another great thing about summer is that it is a time to connect with other educators. And I have been fortunate to meet a lot of educators over the past few years, but even more so this summer because I had the opportunity to be involved in several tremendous conferences and learning experiences including Summer Spark, ISTE 2016, and EdCampUSA. So yes, it is nice to be a teacher and to have those breaks throughout the year and especially during summer, but I bet if you ask some of your friends who are teachers or even if you meet someone new who is a teacher, if they really have their summers “off”, I bet almost all of them will tell you no, and maybe even follow up with a laugh. And here is why. Summer is a time for a lot of things. One of the nice things about being in education, in my role as a classroom teacher is that I do have the summers off. But we all know the reality of it is that we don’t really have the time off. Teachers have time of course for some of the normal summer things like sleeping in late, catching up with friends and family, going on vacations and not worrying about setting the alarm. But it is also valuable time for teachers to do even more, on a personal and professional basis. Time to think about their practice and take advantage of the opportunities that are out there for professional development and growth. Teachers devote most of their time during the school year, focusing on students’ skills and needs, their interests and providing a supportive, positive, meaningful, engaging learning environment for their students. For some of our students, school is the safe place to be. Each teacher’s classroom is unique and offers an opportunity for the teacher to create a whole new world, for lack of a better phrase, to immerse their students in learning, to draw them into new experiences and help each student develop their skills, to become reflective, to have choice and voice in their learning. In addition to striving to provide this for our students, we work to be a constant source of support and guidance for each student each day. And contrary to the “school day schedule”, when the school day ends, these tasks, jobs, responsibilities do not end with the ringing of the bell. We may leave our work on our desk in our classroom, but these other parts of our work continue 24 hours a day every day. The impression that we make on our students and the atmosphere that we create for them, the guidance we provide have an impact that does not end when they leave our classroom nor when they leave the school for the day. Each student takes something unique away from the classroom when they leave us. Whatever our connection is with each student, the relationships that we build and that continue to grow throughout the year, in some way help each student. There is something created unique to each teacher-student relationship, that forms the foundation for the learning to occur. We are their teachers, but also their mentors, providing more than just a lesson in the classroom. We don’t just teach. We give ourselves and our support to our students. And it is exhausting, in a good way. And if you leave your classroom at the end of the day, and you are not exhausted when you get home, then something is wrong. There is more work to be done. Teachers put a lot of time in outside of the classroom and that time is not evident to the rest of the world. The hours at night at home or on the weekend grading papers, making parent phone calls, preparing lessons, attending conferences, are not factored into how people view the time and place of the job of the teacher. And I do not see this as negative, it’s just the reality that because school is perceived as an 8 hour day experience, that is where the work ends. And maybe in the past it would be viewed in that way because technology did not exist to enable emails or other collaboration to occur beyond the school day. But the work involved and the personal investment was and still is the same. Getting back to some of the reasons I love summer. Each summer gets better and better, and it’s not because I traveled and spent hours on beaches, or to the contrary, kept idle. It is because I have used the time to learn more, to read, to connect, to reflect and to prepare for the next year. My summer goal is to work so I can start stronger and be better than I was the year before. This summer has been an unbelievable period of growth for me and I knew at the end of the school year that it would be exhausting but a well worth it kind of exhausting. I have been fortunate to travel to different conferences throughout the country, to confront some fears such as flying and speaking in front of many people, to challenge myself more each day. And no worries, I am enjoying some time sleeping in and also sitting outside on the deck with my cup of coffee, but the computer, a book or a magazine are always there. The Voxer groups I join are part of each day, listening and learning. I use the time I have because I want to learn, to connect, to develop skills so I can be the best teacher and mentor that I can be for my students. I will do whatever it takes to make that happen. And this summer I have met a lot of inspirational role models, leaders in education, Eduheroes, people I have known through Twitter chats,Voxer groups or Google communities. These are things which two years ago I would not have even thought possible. But learning from these different groups and developing a new awareness and new perspectives and facing new challenges, has really given me pause. To be among some of the great educators and benefit from truly amazing professional development experiences, has served to make me want to use every moment of this summer “break” to take in and learn as much as I can. Does this sound like you? Some things that I think are important to do in the summer. I think you have to give yourself some freedom and flexibility with your schedule. So that means if you want to go to bed early and get out of bed late, that’s fine. If it means that you then spend the majority of your day working and reading, or doing nothing at all, that’s okay too. You have to make time for friends and family, connect with people that are important and that matter and that maybe throughout the school year you don’t have as many opportunities to spend time with. Once the school year starts, schedules become very hectic. That is the nice thing about being a teacher in some sense, is that your availability is more open in the summer but then again people with year-round jobs aren’t as available as you. You should find conferences or webinars, join in book studies or Voxer groups, or try connecting with some different learning communities. Get involved in a Twitter chat, whatever it is during the school year that just doesn’t seem to fit as part of your routine, make it part of your summer routine. There are lots of opportunities out there and while there is not time for everything, there can be time for a little bit of everything. So decide what is best for you. Do you want to be in one Voxer group or join one book study ? Then make that your focus. Or maybe you want to participate in writing tips for a blog or website. It’s up to you, because it is your time to decide how to spend your summer break. Personally I stay in good practice during the summer because I keep my schedule as chaotic as possible because it’s better prepares me for the school year. The first day or two of summer break I feel a bit out of it because of that absence of routine, the lack of students waiting to hear from me, but I soon develop my summer plan and get started right away. On Monday.

2019-04-23T00:23:09Z

https://rdene915.com/tag/plc/

I have actually been obsessed with landing page contractors lately as you distinguish my newest messages over the last few months. With its capability to produce full sales funnels and its very easy to use as well as powerful editor, ClickFunnels gives a clear challenge to LeadPages’ place as the finest touchdown web page builder. That’s not to state that it’s best, and also in this Clickfunnels promo online coupons 30 off evaluation I’m mosting likely to reveal you exactly how I have actually been utilizing it as well as how it as compares to Leadpages and SamCart. By showing you the staminas as well as weaknesses of each, I wish it will certainly assist you make the most effective decision for which one to adopt in your personal business. ClickFunnels is currently a fairly mature service established by Russell Brunson as well as his team. It’s now been operating for greater than 3 years at the time of this evaluation. As a fast aside, I learnt more about ClickFunnels via Russell’s brand-new book DotCom Keys: The Below Ground Playbook for Expanding Your Company Online. If you want to find out the best ways to sell items, after that I very suggest it. Unlike competitor products which enable you develop solitary standalone web pages, ClickFunnels is all about constructing various sorts of marketing funnels. A funnel is primarily a collection of pages your site visitors undergo to reach a particular goal and also it could look like this. A basic Lead Capture Funnel may include 2 pages which accumulates a visitor’s e-mail address and after that sends them to a Thanks page when authorizing up. Or you might have much more sophisticated sales funnels which are comprised of several pages which sell to a visitor via each step of the funnel. Optin/Lead Capture Funnels– Used to record email addresses of your site visitors as well as grow your subscriber list. Sales Web Page Funnels– Create this to market product or services, with the ability to include any type of upsells/downsells to your sales process. Subscription Websites– Produce a recurring income by producing a complete blown membership website. ClickFunnels features its very own unique set of themes for each and every of the different channel types it enables you to produce. It enables you to conveniently put with each other different web pages in your funnel via a simple factor and click interface. ClickFunnels offers you fairly a little bit of flexibility in producing your pages. For instance, you could quickly relocate aspects around as well as place them where you want, which is something the Leadpages editor does not permit. I was right away thrilled by the ClickFunnels on-boarding procedure. They do a truly wise point where they use you a complimentary ClickFunnels tee just for seeing the introduction training videos. It takes around 10 minutes, and the the training video clips do provide you a great summary of exactly how ClickFunnels works. Producing your very first funnel is very easy. Click the Add Funnels switch and also you are taken to a screen revealing all the channel types offered. If you are uncertain with what each funnel does, there’s an embedded video clip you could watch which clarifies how it works. Choose the Funnel you desire and also click the Produce Funnel switch. You will be asked to give your funnel a name. For every page in your channel, you could select from the readily available templates. Each layout is expertly created and also there is an excellent choice to pick from. Plus, even more are being included at all times. If you do not see a theme that matches your existing vision, I have actually found that it’s equally as simple to begin from scrape. This can be done by selecting any kind of template then rapidly erasing each of the sections on the web page. The standard structure block of a ClickFunnels web page is an area. A normal channel might have a header area, an above the fold content section and a footer section. A long form sales page could additionally have an area for highlighting particular functions or an area for reviews. Sections are after that further split right into column rows. You can choose from a single column to up to 6 columns and any kind of number between. Ultimately, inside each column is where you insert different ClickFunnels components. Basic widgets consist of Headline, Image, Text, Button, Input kinds as well as Video clip components. As you mouseover any kind of section, row or element, it will obtain highlighted as well as clicking slide in the contextual editor from the right-hand man side where you can change its residential properties. History shades, margins, fonts, placement could all be transformed along with element details homes like a details image link for the Photo aspect. It’s all fairly instinctive to make use of as soon as you’ve played about with things a bit. I’ve been rather impressed by the editor as it strikes a great balance in between adaptability and also simplicity of use. if you do not utilize any of those solutions, then I advise making use of the Red stripe assimilation considering that it is free to signup for and also make use of. I really did not have any experience with Stripe until I checked it with ClickFunnels, however I found that it’s an exceptionally simple means to take credit report card repayments. Once you have created your Red stripe account, simply comply with the easy instructions to connect it to your ClickFunnels account and you’re ready. Whenever anybody goes through the Order Page type of your funnel, it will instantly be made use of to gather payment from your consumer. In enhancement to helping you develop each of the pages in your sales funnel, ClickFunnels additionally assists you track just how each web page in your funnel does. On top of each web page, you can see in real-time the complete number of visitors for each and every web page in the channel, how several site visitors clicked on the next button of the page, as well as the conversion rate. If you click in the Split Test tab, you could see the statistics of all your existing split tests. Plus you will certainly see the button to develop a New Split Test. Establishing a new split examinations is quite very easy. The most effective means is to duplicate an existing page and after that fine-tune it from there. Unfortunately, ClickFunnels does not have a great deal of innovative split screening includes that I’ve seen implemented in other products like Thrive Leads. As an example, there doesn’t seem to be a way to instantly revolve your split tests. As well as I would enjoy to see ClickFunnels select a “winning” divided examination after a statistically substantial amount of information has actually been accumulated. When it was initial released, ClickFunnels was everything about producing … well funnels. Yet Russell had also larger passions for the product and that’s exactly how Actionetics and Knapsack happened. Actionetics aims to be a substitute for your favored email solution supplier. With Actionetics, you could see everybody that has opted right into your checklists through your ClickFunnels in the Contact Profiles web page. Just what’s cool is that each of your leads is given an Activity Rating, which is based on recency, regularity, financial worth and social scores. It essentially offers you a concept which leads are more probable to get from you. You can use Actionetics to send out email programs and also the e-mail builder enables you to design wonderful looking e-mails. And Activity Funnels are Actionetics means of producing autoresponders with some limited advertising automation attributes. While a few of its features are intriguing, Actionetics still can’t take on a complete fledged e-mail service carrier like ActiveCampaign, Drip or ConvertKit. Directly, I just prefer a standalone solution where I’m not linked right into an all-in-one service. One of the best methods to boost the sales of your product is to have a wonderful affiliate program that brings in some leading associates. That’s just what Backpack can do for you. It’s essentialy a full associate platform for ClickFunnels that you could affix to any one of your developed funnels. Inside Knapsack, you can add everything you require for associates to promote your item including associate links, email swipe copy, and banner ads. You can additionally configuration your associate payments and also see how well each of your associates is executing. There’s even sustain for 2nd rate commissions which is an exceptionally effective motivation. Over time, ClickFunnels has actually advanced their pricing strategies. At first, they had 3 different pricing rates, but its currently been consolidated right into 2. The most inexpensive ClickFunnels plan is $97 a month. On this strategy you obtain accessibility to all the channel development devices, yet you are restricted to producing 20 funnels, 100 pages and 20,000 site visitors. Unfortunately, you don’t obtain accessibility to Actionetics and Backpack with this plan. For that, you’ll need to select the Etison Suite plan. It consists of everything, consisting of Actionetics and Knapsack. You also obtain endless funnels, pages and also site visitors. Nevertheless, this will certainly run you $297 a month which is fairly steep. Both strategies additionally have a 14 day cost-free test so you could check points out before you purchase. If you are reviewing this testimonial, you are probably wondering how ClickFunnels compares to LeadPages. At this present time, LeadPages is the dominant leader in this touchdown web page contractor room. You could quickly see who is using LeadPages due to the fact that their themes are so well-known. Given that it is so well understood, a number of the leading marketers are utilizing the solution. Russell is gearing ClickFunnels to become his flagship item, so exactly what you see currently is simply a preference of exactly what the item is going to resemble in the future. The toughness of ClickFunnels is it’s very easy to utilize editor. It is much more flexible compared to the LeadPages editor although Leadpages has actually captured up with their new drag as well as drop editor. Restricting versatility is not always a bad point. Due to the fact that it makes building web pages fast! Which’s where LeadPages truly shines. One of the most reliable technique for growing your e-mail list now is making use of content upgrades. By creating targeted lead magnets to your most popular blog posts you can obtain optin conversion prices that much surpass your standard popup. Nonetheless, some people desire even more control to produce web pages to their precise specs. That’s the power that ClickFunnels provides you. The price of the power is added complexity. ClickFunnels certainly has a greater understanding curve than LeadPages. The other major advantage is that ClickFunnels produces total sales funnels for you. And also all your stats through each phase of your funnel are tracked. With LeadPages, you could only produce single pages. So developing that first sales web page is easy. Yet what concerning adding on an order type? Upsells and also downsells? LeadPages can’t do that, while ClickFunnels can. If you don’t mind the knowing contour as well as desire an all-in-one solution to sell your very own product and be able to tailor every step of your funnels then ClickFunnels is definitely worth a look. In the end, I would just suggest trying ClickFunnels to see how you like it. They provide a 2 Week totally free test, so you can examine out all the features as well as see exactly how it benefits you. I have been stressed with touchdown page builders recently as you inform from my newest articles over the last number of months. I have actually been using it for even more compared to a month on a customer task of mine, and also I am beginning to think of it as LeadPages on steroids. With its ability to produce total sales funnels and also its easy to utilize and powerful editor, ClickFunnels supplies a clear difficulty to LeadPages’ area as the finest landing web page builder. That’s not to state that it’s best, and in this Clickfunnels promo online coupons 30 off testimonial I’m going to show you how I have actually been utilizing it and just how it as compares to Leadpages and SamCart. By showing you the staminas and also weaknesses of each, I hope it will certainly aid you make the most effective decision for which one to adopt in your very own business. ClickFunnels is now a relatively fully grown solution developed by Russell Brunson and his group. It’s now been up and also running for greater than 3 years at the time of this review. As a fast aside, I found out about ClickFunnels through Russell’s new book DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online. If you wish to learn ways to market products, after that I highly suggest it. Unlike competitor products which permit you create solitary standalone web pages, ClickFunnels is all regarding developing different types of advertising funnels. A funnel is basically a collection of pages your site visitors experience to reach a particular goal and also it could appear like this. An easy Lead Capture Funnel could consist of 2 web pages which accumulates a site visitor’s e-mail address and after that sends them to a Thank you page when registering. Or you could have more sophisticated sales funnels which are comprised of several web pages which sell to a visitor through each step of the channel. Optin/Lead Capture Funnels– Used to capture email addresses of your site visitors as well as grow your newsletter. Sales Page Funnels– Create this to sell product or services, with the capacity to add any type of upsells/downsells to your sales procedure. ClickFunnels comes with its own distinctive set of layouts for each and every of the various funnel types it enables you to develop. Or you could go back to square one and also build web pages directly making use of the ClickFunnels editor. It enables you to easily put with each other various pages in your channel with a very easy factor and click user interface. ClickFunnels offers you fairly a little bit of adaptability in creating your pages. For instance, you can easily move elements around and also put them where you desire, which is something the Leadpages editor does not allow. I was right away excited by the ClickFunnels on-boarding procedure. They do a really smart thing where they use you a cost-free ClickFunnels tee shirt simply for viewing the introduction training videos. It takes around 10 minutes, as well as the the training video clips do provide you a great introduction of exactly how ClickFunnels works. Developing your first funnel is very easy. Click the Add Funnels switch and you are taken to a screen showing all the funnel kinds offered. If you are vague with exactly what each channel does, there’s an embedded video you can see which explains just how it works. Pages can be gotten rid of from the funnel by hovering as well as clicking the gigantic ‘X’ beside the page. For each and every page in your channel, you can select from the available templates. Each theme is skillfully created as well as there is a great selection to select from. And also, more are being included regularly. If you do not see a design template that matches your current vision, I have actually located that it’s just as very easy to begin from scrape. This can be done by choosing any kind of design template and after that swiftly removing each of the areas on the web page. The fundamental building block of a ClickFunnels page is an area. A normal funnel might have a header section, an above the fold material area as well as a footer section. A lengthy kind sales page might likewise have a section for highlighting details features or an area for reviews. Sections are after that further split into column rows. You could choose from a solitary column to as much as 6 columns as well as any type of number in between. Basic widgets consist of Headline, Photo, Text, Switch, Input types and also Video clip elements. As you mouseover any type of section, row or component, it will get highlighted and clicking slide in the contextual editor from the best hand side where you could alter its properties. Background shades, margins, font styles, placement could all be changed as well as element particular buildings like a specific picture url for the Image element. It’s all quite user-friendly to utilize as soon as you’ve experimented with things a little bit. I’ve been rather amazed by the editor as it strikes a great balance in between adaptability and also ease of usage. If you are marketing a product, after that you wish to incorporate with a repayment cpu. if you don’t use any one of those solutions, after that I advise making use of the Red stripe integration given that it is free to signup for and utilize. I didn’t have any kind of experience with Red stripe up until I tested it with ClickFunnels, yet I discovered that it’s an extremely easy means to take charge card settlements. When you have developed your Red stripe account, just comply with the simple instructions to link it to your ClickFunnels account and you’re all set. Whenever any individual experiences the Order Page type of your channel, it will immediately be used to accumulate payment from your client. In enhancement to helping you develop each of the web pages in your sales funnel, ClickFunnels additionally assists you track exactly how each web page in your channel carries out. At the top of each web page, you can see in real-time the total number of visitors for every page in the funnel, the amount of site visitors clicked on the following switch of the page, and also the conversion rate. Split screening is additionally baked right into ClickFunnels which is necessary for helping you optimize the conversion rate of your funnels. If you click in the Split Examination tab, you can see the statistics of all your existing split tests. Plus you will certainly see the switch to develop a New Split Test. Setting up a new split tests is fairly simple. The most effective means is to duplicate an existing web page and after that fine-tune it from there. Unfortunately, ClickFunnels does not have a great deal of advanced split screening showcases that I’ve seen carried out in various other products like Thrive Leads. As an example, there doesn’t appear to be a method to instantly revolve your split examinations. As well as I would like to see ClickFunnels pick a “winning” divided examination after a statistically considerable quantity of data has been gathered. When it was initial released, ClickFunnels was everything about producing … well funnels. But Russell had also bigger passions for the product and that’s how Actionetics as well as Backpack happened. With Actionetics, you can see everybody that has opted right into your checklists with your ClickFunnels in the Call Accounts page. What’s cool is that each of your leads is offered an Action Rating, which is based on recency, regularity, financial value and also social ratings. It primarily offers you a concept of which leads are much more likely to purchase from you. You could use Actionetics to send out e-mail broadcasts and also the e-mail contractor allows you to create nice looking emails. And Action Funnels are Actionetics method of creating autoresponders with some minimal advertising automation features. While a few of its attributes are fascinating, Actionetics still cannot take on a complete fledged e-mail company like ActiveCampaign, Drip or ConvertKit. Directly, I just like a standalone service where I’m not connected into an all-in-one remedy. Among the most effective means to enhance the sales of your item is to have a terrific associate program that attracts some leading associates. That’s exactly what Backpack could do for you. It’s essentialy a total associate platform for ClickFunnels that you could connect to any one of your developed funnels. Inside Backpack, you can include every little thing you need for affiliates to advertise your product including affiliate links, email swipe duplicate, and also banner ads. You could additionally arrangement your affiliate payments as well as see exactly how well each of your associates is performing. There’s even sustain for 2nd tier compensations which is a very powerful reward. Gradually, ClickFunnels has developed their pricing plans. Initially, they had 3 different prices tiers, however its now been consolidated into 2. The most inexpensive ClickFunnels strategy is $97 a month. On this plan you get access to all the channel production devices, yet you are restricted to developing 20 funnels, 100 pages and also 20,000 visitors. Unfortunately, you don’t obtain accessibility to Actionetics as well as Knapsack with this plan. For that, you’ll have to choose the Etison Suite strategy. It consists of every little thing, consisting of Actionetics as well as Backpack. You also get unlimited funnels, pages and also site visitors. Nevertheless, this will run you $297 a month which is quite high. Both plans additionally have a 2 Week free test so you can examine points out before you get. Russell is tailoring ClickFunnels to become his flagship product, so exactly what you see currently is simply a taste of just what the product is going to look like in the future. The strength of ClickFunnels is it’s easy to make use of editor. It is much more flexible compared to the LeadPages editor although Leadpages has actually caught up with their brand-new drag and decline editor. Restricting adaptability is not necessarily a poor point. Due to the fact that it makes constructing pages quickly! As well as that’s where LeadPages truly radiates. One of the most efficient approach for growing your email listing right currently is using material upgrades. By producing targeted lead magnets to your most prominent articles you can obtain optin conversion prices that far surpass your basic popup. Nonetheless, some individuals desire even more control to create web pages to their precise specs. That’s the power that ClickFunnels gives you. The expense of the power is added intricacy. ClickFunnels certainly has a higher learning curve than LeadPages. The various other main advantage is that ClickFunnels develops complete sales funnels for you. As well as all your stats through each phase of your channel are tracked. With LeadPages, you could only create solitary web pages. So creating that initial sales web page is basic. Yet what about adding on an order kind? Upsells and also downsells? LeadPages cannot do that, while ClickFunnels can. Which method you go need to rely on the requirements of your organisation. If you do not mind the learning curve as well as want an all-in-one service to market your very own product as well as be able to tailor every step of your funnels after that ClickFunnels is certainly worth an appearance. In the long run, I would simply advise experimenting with ClickFunnels to see exactly how you like it. They use a 14 day cost-free trial, so you can test out all the features as well as see just how it works for you. I have been stressed with landing page contractors lately as you tell from my most current articles over the last number of months. I have actually been utilizing it for even more compared to a month on a customer task of mine, and I am beginning to consider it as LeadPages on steroids. With its capacity to produce full sales funnels and its easy to utilize and effective editor, ClickFunnels gives a clear challenge to LeadPages’ place as the very best landing web page builder. That’s not to state that it’s best, as well as in this Clickfunnels promo online coupons 30 off evaluation I’m going to reveal you just how I’ve been using it and also exactly how it compares to Leadpages as well as SamCart. By revealing you the toughness and weak points of each, I hope it will assist you make the most effective decision for which one to adopt in your very own organisation. ClickFunnels is currently a rather mature solution developed by Russell Brunson and his group. It’s now been operating for greater than 3 years at the time of this testimonial. As a quick apart, I discovered regarding ClickFunnels through Russell’s new publication DotCom Keys: The Underground Playbook for Expanding Your Business Online. If you intend to discover ways to offer products, after that I highly recommend it. Unlike rival products which enable you create single standalone pages, ClickFunnels is all concerning building various kinds of marketing funnels. A channel is primarily a collection of pages your visitors undergo to reach a specific objective and it might appear like this. A basic Lead Capture Funnel could include 2 pages which accumulates a site visitor’s e-mail address and after that sends them to a Thank you web page when signing up. Or you might have extra innovative sales funnels which are composed of multiple web pages which offer to a visitor through each action of the funnel. Optin/Lead Capture Funnels– Made use of to record e-mail addresses of your visitors as well as expand your mailing listing. Sales Web Page Funnels– Develop this to market services and products, with the capability to add any type of upsells/downsells to your sales process. Subscription Websites– Create a repeating income by developing a complete blown membership website. ClickFunnels comes with its own distinct set of themes for each of the different funnel kinds it allows you to produce. Or you could start from scrape and also construct web pages straight utilizing the ClickFunnels editor. It allows you to easily assemble different web pages in your funnel with a simple point and also click interface. ClickFunnels gives you a fair bit of flexibility in creating your web pages. For instance, you can easily move elements around as well as put them where you want, which is something the Leadpages editor does not enable. I was instantly impressed by the ClickFunnels on-boarding process. They do a really clever thing where they offer you a complimentary ClickFunnels tee shirt just for seeing the introduction training videos. It takes around 10 minutes, as well as the the training videos do provide you a great review of just how ClickFunnels functions. Producing your first funnel is simple. Click the Include Funnels button and also you are required to a screen revealing all the channel types available. If you are unclear with just what each channel does, there’s an ingrained video clip you could watch which discusses exactly how it works. Select the Funnel you desire and click the Develop Funnel switch. You will certainly be asked to give your funnel a name. Pages could be gotten rid of from the channel by floating and clicking the large ‘X’ beside the page. For each page in your channel, you could choose from the available design templates. Each theme is properly developed as well as there is an excellent choice to select from. And also, even more are being added constantly. If you do not see a layout that matches your existing vision, I have actually discovered that it’s just as simple to go back to square one. This can be done by picking any type of design template and then rapidly removing each of the sections on the page. The standard foundation of a ClickFunnels web page is a section. A typical funnel could have a header section, an above the fold content section and also a footer area. A lengthy kind sales web page might likewise have an area for highlighting details functions or an area for testimonials. Areas are after that additional split into column rows. You could select from a single column to up to 6 columns and also any type of number in between. Fundamental widgets consist of Heading, Image, Text, Button, Input forms as well as Video clip aspects. As you mouseover any kind of area, row or element, it will certainly obtain highlighted and also clicking slide in the contextual editor from the ideal hand side where you could alter its residential properties. Background colors, margins, font styles, positioning could all be changed along with component particular residential properties like a certain photo url for the Picture aspect. It’s all fairly intuitive to make use of when you’ve experimented with points a bit. I have actually been quite impressed by the editor as it strikes a great balance in between flexibility and also simplicity of usage. if you don’t utilize any of those services, after that I recommend making use of the Stripe assimilation because it is cost-free to signup for as well as make use of. I really did not have any experience with Stripe till I evaluated it with ClickFunnels, however I found that it’s an extremely straightforward method to take bank card payments. Once you have produced your Red stripe account, simply adhere to the straightforward instructions to connect it to your ClickFunnels account as well as you’re ready. Whenever anybody experiences the Order Page type of your channel, it will automatically be utilized to accumulate settlement from your customer. Along with assisting you produce each of the web pages in your sales funnel, ClickFunnels additionally assists you track just how each page in your funnel performs. On top of each web page, you could see in real-time the overall number of site visitors for each web page in the funnel, exactly how several site visitors clicked the next switch of the web page, as well as the conversion price. Split screening is additionally baked into ClickFunnels which is vital for assisting you enhance the conversion price of your funnels. If you click in the Split Test tab, you can see the statistics of all your existing split tests. Plus you will certainly see the button to produce a New Split Examination. Establishing a new split tests is quite easy. The most effective means is to clone an existing page and afterwards modify it from there. However, ClickFunnels does not have a great deal of innovative split testing features that I’ve seen carried out in other products like Thrive Leads. As an example, there doesn’t seem to be a method to automatically turn your split examinations. And also I would enjoy to see ClickFunnels choose a “winning” divided examination after a statistically substantial quantity of information has been collected. When it wased initially released, ClickFunnels was all regarding producing … well funnels. But Russell had even larger passions for the product which’s how Actionetics and also Backpack came around. Exactly what’s cool is that each of your leads is offered an Action Rating, which is based on recency, frequency, financial value as well as social scores. It essentially offers you an idea of which leads are most likely to buy from you. You could use Actionetics to send out e-mail programs and also the e-mail contractor permits you to make nice looking e-mails. And Action Funnels are Actionetics way of producing autoresponders with some restricted advertising automation attributes. While some of its features are intriguing, Actionetics still cannot compete with a complete fledged email company like ActiveCampaign, Drip or ConvertKit. Directly, I simply like a standalone service where I’m not tied right into an all-in-one service. Among the very best means to increase the sales of your item is to have a wonderful associate program that draws in some top associates. Inside Knapsack, you can include every little thing you require for associates to advertise your item including associate links, email swipe copy, and banner advertisements. You could additionally arrangement your affiliate payments as well as see how well each of your associates is doing. There’s even sustain for Second rate commissions which is an incredibly effective motivation. Over time, ClickFunnels has evolved their rates strategies. In the start, they had 3 different rates tiers, but its now been settled right into 2. The most inexpensive ClickFunnels strategy is $97 a month. On this plan you obtain access to all the channel production tools, yet you are restricted to producing 20 funnels, 100 web pages and also 20,000 visitors. Sadly, you don’t obtain access to Actionetics as well as Knapsack with this strategy. For that, you’ll should select the Etison Suite strategy. It includes everything, consisting of Actionetics as well as Knapsack. You likewise obtain endless funnels, pages as well as site visitors. However, this will run you $297 a month which is quite high. Both strategies likewise have a 2 Week cost-free trial so you could examine points out prior to you get. At this existing moment, LeadPages is the leading leader in this touchdown page building contractor space. You could easily see who is making use of LeadPages since their design templates are so well-known. Considering that it is so well known, numerous of the leading marketing professionals are making use of the service. Russell is gearing ClickFunnels to become his flagship product, so what you see currently is simply a taste of just what the product is going to look like in the future. The strength of ClickFunnels is it’s easy to make use of editor. It is much more flexible than the LeadPages editor although Leadpages has caught up with their brand-new drag and decline editor. Restricting versatility is not always a bad point. Because it makes creating pages quick! As well as that’s where LeadPages really shines. One of the most reliable technique for growing your e-mail listing right now is using material upgrades. By developing targeted lead magnets to your most preferred posts you can obtain optin conversion prices that far surpass your conventional popup. However, some individuals want more control to produce pages to their specific specs. That’s the power that ClickFunnels gives you. The cost of the power is added complexity. ClickFunnels certainly has a greater discovering contour than LeadPages. The other major advantage is that ClickFunnels develops total sales funnels for you. And all your statistics through each stage of your funnel are tracked. With LeadPages, you could just create solitary web pages. So developing that preliminary sales page is straightforward. However just what regarding additionaling an order type? Upsells as well as downsells? LeadPages can’t do that, while ClickFunnels can. If you don’t mind the understanding curve as well as want an all-in-one remedy to sell your very own item and also have the ability to tailor every action of your funnels then ClickFunnels is certainly worth an appearance. Ultimately, I would certainly just suggest experimenting with ClickFunnels to see just how you like it. They provide a 2 Week totally free trial, so you could check out all the attributes as well as see exactly how it helps you.

2019-04-18T12:29:14Z

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The Maplewood Township Environmental Advisory Committee has announced that a cleanup of the East Branch of the Rahway River will take place this Saturday, May 4. Those interested in volunteering to help clean up to river should come to the committee table on Dunnell Road near the bridge to the Civic House between 11:00am and 3:00pm. Interested volunteers should bring footwear suitable for walking in the river. Gloves and bags will be provided. The event occurs on the same day as South Orange River Day, which will be taking place near the Duck Pond in South Orange. A river cleanup will also be taking place in Millburn. Police in West Earl Township, Pennsylvania report that a South Orange woman struck and killed a man while driving on a state highway on Thursday, April 24. LancasterOnline.com reports that community leader John O. Rineer, Jr., of Ephrata, Pa., was driving a vehicle which was pulling a trailer on Route 222, when a sign fell out of the trailer. Police said that Rineer pulled over to the side of the highway, and then walked onto the highway to retrieve the sign. While he was attempting to remove the item, a 60 year old South Orange woman allegedly struck Rineer. The incident happened at approximately 8:20pm. The driver then called 911 to report what happened. Rineer was pronounced dead at Lancaster General Hospital later that evening. No charges have been filed. South Orange Police report that a 2006 Dodge was broken into overnight on April 22. According to the SOPD website, a Center Street resident reported that an unknown actor(s) removed change from the vehicle, which was parked in the resident's driveway. There were no signs of forced entry. SOPD also reported that a 27 year old Brooklyn woman was arrested on April 26 at approximately 1:30am. The SOPD website said that "officers responded to a call of a possible crime involving a motorist on Valley St. Upon arrival it was discovered that the above subject had been operating her vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The subject was arrested at the scene without incident and processed accordingly". In addition, two 15 year old males and one 17 year old male were charged on April 27 after allegedly being in possession of CDS. The SOPD police blotter reported that "officers responded to a residence on Waverly Pl. on a call of three suspicious juveniles in the rear yard of a dwelling". According to SOPD, the three juveniles were hiding in the yard when they were allegedly found with CDS, and were transported to police headquarters and processed accordingly. Send us your news: [email protected]. The Jersey Animal Coalition (JAC) is breaching their lease with the Townships of Maplewood and South Orange Village, according to a letter sent by Village Administrator Barry R. Lewis, Jr to Ruth Perlmutter, who is the founder and president of JAC. "JAC is in breach of the Lease as the Township of South Orange Village is unable to bring its strays to the JAC facility", Lewis wrote. "The result is that the village is incurring expenses to bring strays to Associated Humane Society (in Newark) as an alternative". The letter continued to say that "the Village will look to the JAC for reimbursement for all additional costs and expenses that the Village is incurring during this closure". In the letter, Lewis also requested that Perlmutter provide the Village with a current copy of JAC's fee schedule, proof that the shelter is "competent to care" for the animals, proof that the shelter is licensed by the state, proof that the shelter is in compliance with state and village licensing requirements, certificate with proof of workers' compensation insurance, proof of fire and extended coverage, proof of liability insurance, and certified financial statements from the last three years in order for JAC to be reissued a license to operate the shelter. In addition, according to a notice issued on April 21 by South Orange Code Enforcement and Inspections director Anthony Grenci, JAC is in violation of the New Jersey State Uniform Construction Code Act. The notice said that JAC installed a shed without a building permit or zoning approval, and will not be issued a certificate of occupancy or approval until the violation is corrected. Plus, JAC must pay a fine of $2000. Another letter was sent by South Orange Village health officer John Festa to Dr. Michael Santiago, the JAC Veterinarian of Record on the same day. Festa told Dr. Santiago that the shelter is under quarantine because of an order by the South Orange Department of Health, but is closed because of an unsatisfactory rating given to the shelter after an inspection by the village and state health departments. Festa explained this by saying that even if the quarantine was lifted, the shelter would remain closed until the shelter receives a conditional or satisfactory ranking during a re-inspection. Festa said that in order for the quarantine to be lifted, JAC must have cats who were showing signs of ringworm tested to confirm whether or not any of the cats have the disease. In the tests show that any of the cats are infected with ringworm, proper written isolation and treatment protocols must be prescribed and supervised by the veterinarian of record. In addition, the veterinarian of record must "create and maintain documentation on daily treatment logs, of the medication that the animals are receiving, including the prescription and instructions for the use of the medication and duration of treatment as described by the veterinarian. Such records must be created for each of the animals determined to have ringworm". The letter also said that at the time of the inspection, there were no written disease prevention protocols, disinfection procedures, or healthcare programs for each animal, "all of which are required to be created, maintained and supervised by the Vet of Record". Plus, Festa wrote that "it is noted that the entire facility shares a ventilation system, and that bedding for animals throughout the facility was supplied from the laundry room where the suspected ringworm infected cats were housed. Thus, every animal in the entire facility will require treatment as they have been exposed". According to the letter, other requirements needed for the quarantine to be lifted include that the staff members must have received in service training and are following the orders of Dr. Santiago, carpeted cat furniture in the cat rooms must be disposed of and replaced with nonporous furniture, all bedding must be disinfected, the entire facility and all enclosures must be decontaminated, and an isolation room must be created solely for the purpose of holding animals with signs of communicable disease. In addition, staff members should wash their hands thoroughly after handling animals in the isolation rooms. In the letter, Festa told Dr. Santiago that when the village does lift the quarantine, it will only be on a conditional basis, and he would be expected to provide monthly reports regarding the progress being made to implement the issues listed above. Festa concluded his letter by telling Dr. Santiago that "the Village expects you, as vet of record, to create, facilitate, supervise, and certify. Many of these requirements will require you to be onsite and hands on, and cannot be fulfilled remotely". The violations and letters were obtained after a public records request was filed by Nancy Schetelick, a former JAC volunteer coordinator. The South Orange Police Department reports that three people were arrested for allegedly being involved in a Lenox Avenue house burglary on April 12. According to the SOPD website, "detectives were able to recover a vast majority of the jewelry that had been stolen from the residence". A 23 year old, 16 year old, and a 17 year old, all from Irvington, were taken into custody on April 15 following an investigation by the SOPD Detective Bureau. The SOPD is still continuing their investigation. First on Essex County Place: The Jersey Animal Coalition (JAC), which operates South Orange and Maplewood's only animal shelter, pled not guilty to over 50 charges on Tuesday at South Orange Municipal Court in Maplewood. The shelter was placed under quarantine by the South Orange Department of Health following an inspection by village and state health officials on March 12. JAC president and founder Ruth Perlmutter, who was not present at the hearing, had also been facing two separate charges dating back to February. However, South Orange Municipal Court Judge Jonathan H. Rosenbluth dismissed those charges in court. Judge Rosenbluth said that Perlmutter will now be considered an officer of JAC in court, and therefore faces no personal liability. When asked in court by Judge Rosenbluth, attorney William Strazza, who is representing JAC, said the animals who live at the JAC Shelter are being cared for. Several former volunteers who appeared at court were doubtful of that statement. One former volunteer, who asked that she not be named, told Essex County Place that "they (JAC) said that the animals are doing good. Unless they've doubled their staff in six weeks, the animals aren't doing good". The former volunteers said that the shelter has been closed multiple times before, but never for this long. "We're concerned about the animals", said Roslyn Dreydoppel, "it is a filthy shelter". Some of the former volunteers claimed that the village knew about the alleged problem and had not taken sufficient action until now. "The town ignored it for years...the state was tipped off", said a former volunteer, who asked that she not be identified, "It should have been closed years ago". South Orange Municipal Prosecutor Gracia Robert Montilus spoke to a few of the former volunteers after the hearing. One of the former volunteers called the not guilty plea "a disgrace". Montilus said that the charges are "extremely egregious", and said that he is planning a meeting for volunteers who say that they have witnessed the alleged violations. Judge Rosenbluth said that these are "very serious charges...(with)...very serious consequences". The case will now enter the discovery stage. JAC must respond by May 13, and the prosecution must respond by June 17. Judge Rosenbluth said that a conference will be held on June 17 to discuss "issues as to the operation (of the shelter)". The JAC Shelter remains under quarantine, however the former volunteers stressed that the shelter is in need of donations, especially food, towels, litter, and cleaning supplies. The South Orange Police Department reports that a carjacking took place on Saturday, April 19 on Irving Avenue. "A Montvale resident stated that on Saturday 4-19-14 at approximately 11:30pm he was pulling into a driveway on Irving Ave. when he was robbed at gunpoint by two masked actors. The victim stated that he was about to exit his vehicle (2009 Mercedes) along with his female friend when the actors approached the vehicle on foot in the driveway and demanded their property and the vehicle. After obtaining the victim's property the actors fled in the stolen vehicle east on Irving Ave. An Officer observed the carjacked vehicle along with another suspect vehicle on Centre St. and engaged in a pursuit of same into the city of Newark. The pursuit lasted a short period of time before terminating same. The actors are both being described as black males wearing ski masks and approximately 6'0" in height and believed to be in their 20's or early 30's. The Detective Bureau is investigating the incident". The SOPD also reported that a Lenox Avenue house was broken into, and a vehicle was stolen. "A Lenox Ave. resident stated that on Saturday 4-19-14 at approximately 4:40am he awoke to find an actor in his hallway. The victim stated that it appeared the actor was holding a weapon possibly a handgun however, the actor fled the scene upon seeing the victim and in doing so removed the victim's vehicle (2002 Lexus) from the driveway. The actor was wearing dark clothing and a ski type of mask covering his face. The Detective Bureau is investigating the incident". South Orange's annual River Day Celebration is scheduled to take place this year on Saturday, May 4 from 11:00am to 4:00pm. According to the River Day website, "South Orange River Day is an annual community gathering to clean up the South Orange section of the Rahway River, celebrate South Orange as a great place to live, and promote environmental education and awareness". There will be a volunteer cleanup of the East Branch of the Rahway River during the event. According to the South Orange Environmental Commission, those interested in volunteering should complete this form, bring waterproof boots or old sneakers, and "curiosity and a sense of community". Other activities include a wild edibles walk, ecology walk, and bike rally. There will also be a performance of the Rejuvenary River Circus from the Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, in addition to performances by guitarist Jonathan Fritz and the MapleBurn Quartet. The AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassadors Program and the South Orange Greenway/Bikeway will each have displays at the event. Other exhibitors at River Day include the South Mountain Conservancy, South Orange Environmental Commission, Jersey Buzz Honey Cooperative and Farrell Field Park Association. Activities will take place at the Skate House near the Duck Pond off of Mead Street in South Orange. A full schedule of events is available at www.SORiverDay.org. Columbia High School in Maplewoood held its annual CHS-In-Action Night on Wednesday, April 16th. Hundreds of community members and local students attended the event, which featured many of the sports and clubs at Columbia High School. There were performances by CHS Band, Magic Club, Color Guard, Special Dance Company, Improv Club, Shakespeare Festival Club, Guitar Club, Step Team, and Friday Night Live (FNL) Club. There were also fencing demonstrations and tours of the Columbia Cable Network/SOMATV Studios. Visitors were also able to visit the CHS Science Fair. The event was presented by the CHS Club Council. Jersey Animal Coalition (JAC) officials are now due in South Orange Municipal Court next Tuesday, April 22, at 3:00pm on over 50 charges. JAC operates an animal shelter at 298 Walton Avenue in South Orange. The charges were issued to JAC on March 12 and March 25 following an inspection conducted by both village and state health officials. Ruth Perlmutter, the president and founder of the Jersey Animal Coalition is also due in court on two separate charges dating back to February. A statement from Perlmutter was posted on the Jersey Animal Coalition website today. In the statement, Perlmutter says "For those of you reading this who know me, you know that I have dedicated nearly a lifetime to the care and protection of animals. That lifetime passion, and my genuine belief that we are all God’s creatures, eventually led me to the world of animal rescue, which then led me to my work to help establish a no-kill animal shelter in South Orange through the Jersey Animal Coalition. After a lifetime of dedication to animal welfare, I handed my role to a new President. However, it came to the Board’s attention earlier this year that the person who took my place did not share the same passion and the same views for the protection of our animals. Therefore, our board had no choice but to remove that individual from office. I am proud to say that the board showed its faith in me by re-electing me as president. All this said, many of you, no doubt, have heard or read that in my absence, the shelter has come under severe scrutiny. At the moment, our shelter is under quarantine. In addition, the South Orange Department of Health has filed numerous charges against us for various health violations. Please know this….as the Jersey Animal Coalition President, neither I nor the board have no intention of dealing with these important issues through the press or by responding to false and slanderous internet postings and rumors. The Jersey Animal Coalition, through counsel, has denied all the charges against it, and will wage that battle in the appropriate forum – in court. As to the one thing which truly matters – our animals – know that the board and I are personally dedicated, as ever, to their health and well-being. And know that we are spending every waking hour fighting to get our doors re-opened – so that the Jersey Animal Coalition can continue to serve the community and provide salvation for these beautiful animals who all deserve a chance at life". Perlmutter had originally agreed to speak to Essex County Place regarding the shutdown of the shelter, but did not return our questions. South Orange Municipal Court is housed in the Maplewood Police and Municipal Court building at 1618 Springfield Avenue in Maplewood. South Orange and Maplewood's only animal shelter has now been closed for over a month. The Jersey Animal Coalition shelter on Walton Avenue in South Orange was shut down by the South Orange Village Department of Health in March following an inspection conducted by village health officer John Festa and Linda Frese from the New Jersey Department of Health on March 12. The inspection report said that the shelter was allegedly violating multiple state laws, and their were several other issues at the facility causing the shelter to be shut down. The report said that "the fire inspection unification posted at the facility showing evidence of a satisfactory inspection had expired" in 2013, "(paper) towels were not provided at several of the hand washing sinks located in the animal rooms and at the sink in the food preparation area", and dog crates were being used as "primary enclosures to house dogs in various locations throughout the facility". According to the report, four of these crates, which were constructed of an "inconsistent gauge wire to provide safe containment of the animals", were located in the education room, and intended for aggressive dogs. Furthermore, the report said that the crates "wobbled and started to tip when the dogs jumped on the sides of the enclosures". The report also said that one dog was being housed in the staff break room. Other findings from the inspection included pieces of dog treats on the floor, walls with water damage, a hole in the laundry room ceiling, a phone jack outlet without a cover plate in a free-roaming cat room, and dangling electrical cords, according to the report. The report also said that the village health inspector found dog feces throughout the parking area and outside grounds, in addition to a bag of dog feces "melting into the snow". There was an "excessive amount of clutter", and unlocked cabinets with medical supplies inside, the report continued. Plus, the report cited insufficient ventilation, animals showing signs of illness being kept in the same room as other animals, dogs being placed in previously inhabited enclosures without the enclosures being cleaned first, lack of records, feeding pans not being cleaned daily, and no evidence of sick or injured animals receiving "prompt basic veterinary care to alleviate pain and suffering". The report cited dozens of additional violations, including that "many of the animals" not being identified. Also mentioned in the report was that a sign on the front door indicated that the shelter was closed on Mondays, but the report said that the shelter is required to be open for public access for at least two hours every business day. Other animal shelters in Northern New Jersey are reacting to the shutdown. Suzanne Roman, the Executive Director of the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter in East Hanover, said that "Mt. Pleasant is saddened by the situation with JAC and hopes their problems can be addressed, then monitored to ensure the best possible care for the animals entrusted to them". Roman said that the JAC shutdown has caused minimal impact to the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter. A representative for the Proud Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) of Montclair said "we lost our shelter at the end of 2008 so I think we know how they (JAC) feel, we took all our animals with us when we closed and now we are a foster network". Lisa Esak of the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge shelter said the the JAC shutdown "does not have a tremendous affect on us other than that there is always an overwhelming number of homeless animals and people looking to surrender animals and a shortage of places for them to go regardless. That unfortunately doesn't seem to change." Regarding how the village has been impacted by the shutdown of the shelter, South Orange Village President Alex Torpey told Essex County Place that "the day-to-day services which the residents receive have not been affected. The Village has contracted with Associated Humane in Newark." The Jersey Animal Coalition shelter was where stray animals found in both South Orange and Maplewood were delivered before the shelter was shut down. The president of the Jersey Animal Coalition, Ruth Perlmutter, originally agreed to comment for this story, but then did not return our questions. A statement on the JAC website says the the coalition is "working diligently to ensure that (the shelter) will reopen in a timely manner...as always, the health and safety of the animals in our care is our primary concern". The statement also says that "over the last few months, rumors, both real and perceived, have been flying about the shelter’s operations and future. Please be assured that the JAC Board is aware of everything, has been conducting its own ongoing investigation and is taking action. As a result, we took significant steps last month to rectify the source of many of these problems. We are looking forward to working closely with the State and the Village of South Orange so that together we can bring the Shelter back to its pre-eminent role as a community resource, and as one of the very few 100 percent no-kill shelters in the Tri-state area. Community support matters more now than ever. We thank you for your past, present and future support of JAC in keeping no-kill a reality in NJ." The coalition says that donations are needed now "more than ever, since...adoptions have been stopped". When Essex County Place visited the shelter on April 14, a man who identified himself as a volunteer said that the shelter is in desperate need of donations. "Because of the vindictiveness of some of the volunteers, the only ones who really got hurt (by the shutdown) were the animals", said the volunteer, who said he is not employed by the coalition. According to the volunteer, the animals who live in the shelter have been locked in cages since the shelter was shut down. Pointing to a dog who he was bringing out of the facility, he said that many of the animals have become "very aggressive" because of this. The volunteer declined to give his name, but claimed that there were some volunteers who "weren't walking the dogs properly", and therefore were terminated by the coalition. "People found reasons to pick on the shelter", the volunteer said, alleging those volunteers reported the shelter to the village for various violations. South Orange Deputy Administrator Adam D. Loehner told Essex County Place that "under the quarantine, no animals should leave the facility (shelter grounds). As for volunteers it is up to the vet of record to determine who needs to be there to ensure the animals are well cared for. The Village has asked the shelter to only walk animals on their property to ensure each animal is getting enough exercise time to maintain good health". Donna Leusner, the director of communications for the New Jersey Department of Health told Essex County Place that "the Department (of Health) provided technical assistance to the South Orange Health Officer during the inspection. The New Jersey Department of Health does not have jurisdiction over animal cruelty situations but we were informed by the South Orange Health Officer that he notified the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) of the conditions under which the animals were held at the facility". The Jersey Animal Coalition is due in South Orange Municipal Court in Maplewood tomorrow at 3:00pm on 51 charges. Ruth Perlmutter, JAC president, faces two different charges dating back to February. Perlmutter has pleaded not guilty, and JAC did not file a plea. According to a press release from Essex County Public Information Officer Anthony Puglisi, the $30 Million renovation of the South Orange Avenue 'S-Curves" is the "largest road improvement project undertaken by Essex County in the last generation". The release said that the project will "flatten the curves in the road, enhance motor vehicle safety and storm drainage, and make the road meet modern traffic design standards". Although the construction is expected to last for the next two years, lane closures are not anticipated, according to the county. "The public relies on our network of County roads to travel to work, school and conduct their daily lives, and South Orange Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare. While stretch of road through Essex County South Mountain Reservation offers some picturesque views, the sharp turns and lack of shoulders on the side of the road create hazardous driving conditions and are prone to flooding", Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr. said in the release, mentioning that federal money will be used as part of the project. DiVincenzo added that the "Federal Highway Administration identified this section of South Orange Avenue as being dangerous over a decade ago". French and Parrello Associates received a $1.6 million contract to design the roadway improvements, the release said. New Prince Concrete Construction from Hackensack was awarded a publicly bid contract for $25,915,389.50 to perform the construction. The Essex County Public Works Department is monitoring the project to ensure delays are avoided. · The roadway will be re-aligned to reduce the sharpness of the curves. · The roadway will be widened so that a shoulder can be created in the eastbound direction. · Traffic signal equipment at the intersections of Brookside Drive/Cherry Lane in Millburn and Glenview Road in South Orange will be modernized. · Retention swales along the side of the road will be constructed to address flooding and reduce water runoff from the road into the reservation. · Guide rails and lighting will be installed to enhance safety. The new lights will include traditional overhead cobra-head street lights and decorative gas-lamp style lamps. · A new pedestrian bridge over the roadway near the Girl Scout Camp and an existing pedestrian and equine bridge will be reconstructed. The two bridges will be designed with stone facing to complement the natural area of the reservation. · Turnoff and parking areas will be upgraded to improve sight lines and make it easier to exit and enter the roadway. This will enhance access to walking trails that start or pass by these parking areas. · More than 3,600 trees and additional landscaping will be planted to replace the 430 trees that were cut down. In addition, areas in the reservation that were affected by Hurricane Sandy will be replanted. The Maplewood Department of Public Works is asking that Maplewood commuters complete a brief survey on the township website regarding the Maplewood Jitney service. "Being that people can pay $1.00 to ride the bus instead of purchasing a pass, it is hard to an accurate count of how many people use this service", Maplewood DPW director Eric Burbank told South Orange Maplewood Place. The survey asks questions regarding how often residents use the jitney, which jitney route and train they use, and whether or not the jitney is usually on-time. "The commuters should take the survey so I can have better feedback and make adjustments where needed so to provide them with the best service possible", said Burbank. The survey will be available until 9pm on Sunday, April 13. Only one survey may be completed per Jitney user. The Board of Directors of the Maplewood Village Alliance have approved the current design of a proposed mixed-use building at the site of the main Maplewood Post Office in Maplewood Village. According to a statement on the Maplewood Township website, "This approval came after a collaborative process of almost 20 hours of meetings and negotiations between the developers, the Village Alliance's Post Office Design Review Sub-Committee and the Township". Part of the project plan includes for the Maplewood Post Office will be torn down and relocated, and a new building with residential and retail space to be built. According to the statement, "the developer's selection of final construction materials and signage will similarly need approvals by the Village Alliance". The developer for the project is L&M Development Partners of Westchester County, NY. The Maplewood Village Alliance is the non-profit management agency of the Maplewood Village Special Improvement District. The Columbia High School Club Council has announced that the 2014 CHS-In-Action Night will be on Wednesday, April 16th from 6:30PM to 9:30PM. An email to middle school and high school parents said that "Columbia’s Student Council is cordially inviting the entire South Orange-Maplewood community, especially middle school students and their parents, to come and see what CHS is all about". The Special Dance team, Shakespeare Festival club, and Step Dance team will each be performing at CHS-In-Action Night, in addition to the Columbia High School Band, State Champion Fencing team, and Acapella Choir. "Every group and organization present will have representatives eager to speak to the community members and introduce 8th graders to our CHS family", said the email, "CHS-in-Action (Night) is a great way for middle school students and their parents to see and get excited about all of the amazing activities going on at CHS". Attendees will be able to climb to the Astronomy Club observatory at the top of the clock tower, and take a behind-the-scenes tour at the Columbia Cable Network (CCN) studios. Attendees can also visit the Columbia High School Science Fair. Columbia High School is located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood. First on PlaceNJ.com: Changes may be coming to the parking lot at the Maplewood Women's Club. According to the agenda for the Maplewood Township Planning Board Meeting tonight, the Planning Board will discuss "parking lot improvements to reconfigure lot and to create additional parking. Improvements include an underground detention system, new curbing, pavement, striping, landscaping, lighting and fencing". Several Maplewood residents have already voiced opposition to the project. "Given the controversy over storm water runoff remediation in the (South Mountain) reservation, we shouldn't be blatantly contributing to the problem by paving over more land", Maplewood resident Jonathan Poor told South Orange Maplewood Place. "Even if parking is a legitimate problem...this is way too high a price to pay". New Jersey American Water, the water supplier for Maplewood and Millburn. has announced that crews from NJAM will be working on Wyoming Avenue in Maplewood and Millburn from on/around April 10th to November as part of a $4.2 million water service improvement project. "Nearly 22,000 feet of six-inch, unlined cast iron water mains will be cleaned of the minerals and sediment that has built up over time along the inner walls, and then the water mains will be lined with a cement coating", said Richard G. Barnes of NJAM in a press release. According to the release, the current water mains have served Maplewood and Millburn residents, and this project will give the water mains "a new lease on their usefulness". NJAM crews will be working on Wyoming Avenue between Sagamore and Ridgewood, Claremont Avenue, and Linden Street from 7:30am to 5pm. NJAM says that "while the work is ongoing, there will be minimal water service disruption for customers. The water services connected to the mains being cleaned and lined will be temporarily relocated to above ground, bypass mains". Barnes told Essex County Place that the work will not require NJAM to close entire streets, but there are areas where traffic will be reduced to one lane during working hours. According to Barnes. traffic will go back to multiple lanes when the work is suspended for the evening hours. The former South Orange Rescue Squad headquarters on Third Street in South Orange was torn down on Friday. Construction workers demolished the building to make way for Third and Valley, a new residential and retail development. The rescue squad is temporarily operating out of an apartment and garage at 13 4th Street, but will eventually move to a new building next to the South Orange Fire Department. The Jonathan Rose Companies, the developer for the Third and Valley project, donated $1.1 million to the rescue squad in order to help pay for the new building. Third and Valley is expected to be completed in late 2015, and will be home to 215 apartments, 3,000 square feet of retail and office space, and a new parking garage. A new bakery and internet cafe is set to open on Springfield Avenue on Saturday. Called 'The Rack Cafe and Chill Spot', it will serve soups, sandwiches, panini, coffee, and various baked goods. Owner Omosede Ayinde says she decided to open a cafe on Springfield Avenue because she "likes the area" and that fact that it is convenient to public transportation. "We found a location that is perfect for what we're looking to do", said Ayinde. "There's nothing much like our cafe in that neighborhood". The Rack will hold a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting with Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca and other township officials on Saturday, April 5th at 10:00am. From 10:00pm to 1:00pm, everything on the menu will be 10% off. There will be a free cookie giveaway for children while supplies last, and free samples of most baked goods. The Rack is located at 1844 Springfield Avenue in Maplewood between Oberlin and Yale Streets.

2019-04-22T06:54:18Z

https://www.placenj.com/2014/04/

P-TEFb phosphorylates RNA polymerase II and negative elongation factors to stimulate general transcriptional elongation. It is kept in a functional equilibrium through alternately interacting with its positive (the Brd4 protein) and negative (the HEXIM1 protein and 7SK snRNA) regulators. To investigate the physiological significance of this phenomenon, we analyzed the responses of HeLa cells and murine erythroleukemia cells (MELC) to hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), which inhibits growth and induces differentiation of many cell types. For both cell types, an efficient, albeit temporary disruption of the 7SK-HEXIM1-P-TEFb snRNP and enhanced formation of the Brd4-P-TEFb complex occurred soon after the treatment started. When the P-TEFb-dependent HEXIM1 expression markedly increased as the treatment continued, the abundant HEXIM1 pushed the P-TEFb equilibrium back toward the 7SK/HEXIM1-bound state. For HeLa cells, as HMBA produced only a minor, temporary effect on their growth, the equilibrium gradually returned to its pretreatment level. In contrast, long-term treatment of MELC induced terminal division and differentiation. Concurrently, the P-TEFb equilibrium was shifted overwhelmingly toward the 7SK snRNP side. Together, these data link the P-TEFb equilibrium to the intracellular transcriptional demand and proliferative/differentiated states of cells. The elongation stage of eukaryotic transcription is a highly regulated process crucial for not only generating the full-length mRNA transcripts but also coupling transcription with pre-mRNA processing (24). Central to the elongation control is the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), which stimulates the processivity of RNA polymerase II elongation and antagonizes the effects of negative elongation factors (1, 10, 20). The predominant form of P-TEFb in many human cell types consists of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) and its regulatory subunit cyclin T1 (CycT1) (20). It phosphorylates the carboxy-terminal domain of the largest subunit of polymerase II as well as the negative elongation factors DSIF and NELF (1, 10, 20). These phosphorylation events are crucial for the transition from the abortive to the productive phase of transcriptional elongation. For this reason, P-TEFb is considered a general transcription factor essential for the expression of a vast array of protein-coding genes (4, 22). Recent evidence indicates that nuclear P-TEFb is kept in a functional equilibrium through alternately interacting with its positive or negative regulators (13, 29). For negative regulation, the associations with the HEXIM1 protein and 7SK snRNA sequester P-TEFb into a kinase-inactive 7SK-HEXIM1-P-TEFb snRNP (17-19, 30, 31). Within this complex (termed the 7SK snRNP), HEXIM1 inhibits the CDK9 kinase activity, whereas 7SK stabilizes the HEXIM1-P-TEFb interaction (17, 18, 31, 32). Besides HEXIM1 and 7SK, P-TEFb also binds to the bromodomain protein Brd4 to form a separate complex (13, 29). The association with Brd4 forms the transcriptionally active P-TEFb and recruits P-TEFb to cellular promoters. It is believed that the abilities of Brd4 to bind to acetylated histones and the transcriptional Mediator complex may facilitate the recruitment of P-TEFb to chromatin templates (13, 29). In HeLa cells under normal growth conditions, about half of nuclear P-TEFb is sequestered into the 7SK snRNP, whereas the other half probably binds to Brd4 (13, 17, 29-31). However, treatment of cells with certain stress-inducing agents, particularly those that can globally interrupt transcription, such as actinomycin D, DRB (5,6-dichloro-1-β-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole), and UV irradiation, causes a rapid disruption of the 7SK snRNP and enhanced formation of the Brd4-P-TEFb complex (19, 30, 31). Furthermore, treatment of cardiac myocytes with conditions that cause cardiac hypertrophy has also been shown to induce the disruption of the 7SK snRNP and activation of P-TEFb (21). Because P-TEFb activity is limiting in normal cardiac myocytes, the activation of P-TEFb leads to a global increase in cellular RNA and protein contents and consequently the enlargement of heart cells, which is the cause of hypertrophy (21). Despite demonstrations that P-TEFb can interact alternately with its positive and negative regulators and that the 7SK snRNP can be converted quantitatively into the Brd4-P-TEFb complex under certain conditions, the physiological significance of the P-TEFb equilibrium remains largely unknown. Moreover, only the conditions that can cause the disruption of the 7SK snRNP and enhanced formation of the Brd4-P-TEFb complex have been described so far (5, 19, 29-31). It is not clear whether there may exist reagents that can shift the P-TEFb balance in the opposite direction to increase the sequestration of P-TEFb into the 7SK snRNP. Here, we addressed these two issues by analyzing the effects of hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), a hybrid bipolar compound, on both P-TEFb activity and growth of human HeLa cells and murine erythroleukemia cells (MELC). Whereas HMBA retarded HeLa cell growth only weakly and transiently, it is by far the best-characterized suppressor of growth and inducer of terminal differentiation of MELC (15). Our studies have revealed intricate regulations of P-TEFb activity throughout the course of HMBA treatment. For both cell types, an efficient, albeit temporary disruption of the 7SK snRNP and activation of P-TEFb-dependent transcription were observed during the initial phase of the treatment. When the P-TEFb-dependent HEXIM1 expression was markedly elevated as the treatment progressed, the abundance of HEXIM1 caused the P-TEFb equilibrium to shift back toward the 7SK snRNP direction. For HeLa cells, the equilibrium quickly returned to the pretreatment level. In contrast, significantly more P-TEFb was sequestered into the 7SK snRNP in HMBA-treated MELC than in untreated cells. Together, our data indicate that the functional P-TEFb equilibrium is tightly regulated to accommodate the overall transcriptional demand as well as the growth or differentiated states of cells. Materials.HeLa and 293T cells were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA). MELC were a generous gift from the laboratory of Alan C. Sartorelli. HIV LTR-luciferase cells are a HeLa-based cell line stably transfected with a luciferase reporter construct driven by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat (LTR) (30). F1C2 cells are a HeLa-based cell line stably expressing Flag-tagged CDK9 (CDK9-f) (30). Rabbit anti-CDK9 and -CycT1 antibodies were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA). Rabbit immunoglobulin G, FLAG peptide, mouse anti-FLAG antibody, and anti-FLAG antibody conjugated to agarose beads were obtained from Sigma. Rabbit anti-HEXIM1 and anti-Brd4 antibodies were described previously (29, 31). Buffer D contained 20 mM HEPES-KOH, pH 7.9, 15% glycerol, 0.2 mM EDTA, 0.2% NP-40, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and various concentrations of KCl as indicated below. All other chemicals were from Sigma unless otherwise noted. HMBA treatment.Fresh stocks of HMBA prepared in tissue culture medium were used for all experiments. HeLa cells or MELC were treated for the indicated time periods with either 5 or 10 mM HMBA as specified in Results. For growth rate assays, HeLa cells and MELC were treated with HMBA for the indicated periods, diluted in fresh media without HMBA at 1 × 105 per well in six-well plates, and allowed to grow for 2 or 4 days. Cell counts were determined using a hemacytometer. Luciferase assay.HIV LTR-luciferase cells were seeded at 1.5 × 105 cells per well in six-well plates 1 day before the HMBA treatment and treated with HMBA. Luciferase activity was measured 48 h later with an assay kit from Promega. Affinity purification of CDK9, CDK9-f, and their associated factors.CDK9-f and CDK9 and their associated factors were isolated by anti-Flag or anti-CDK9 immunoprecipitation from nuclear extracts (NEs) of the indicated cell lines. For most experiments, NEs prepared in buffer D containing 0.35 M KCl were used. For Brd4 detection, however, the extracts were dialyzed against buffer D containing 0.15 M KCl. After incubation at 4°C for 2 h, the immunoprecipitates were washed extensively. The Flag peptide-eluted (for anti-Flag immunoprecipitates) or sodium dodecyl sulfate-eluted (for anti-CDK9 immunoprecipitates) materials were analyzed by Western blotting with the indicated antibodies and Northern blotting using the full-length 7SK antisense RNA as a probe. The signals of HEXIM1 and CDK9 in the NEs or immunoprecipitates were quantified using an Innotech AlphaImager 2200. Transcription assay.In vitro transcription reactions with mixtures containing NE from untreated or HMBA-treated HeLa cells and an HIV-1 template were carried out as described previously (34). G-less RNA fragments derived from in vitro-transcribed HIV-1 transcripts were isolated after RNase T1 digestion and analyzed on 6% polyacrylamide sequencing gels. RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis.Total RNA from HMBA-treated or untreated cells was isolated using TRIzol (Invitrogen). Twenty micrograms of total RNA was resolved on a 1% formaldehyde gel, transferred to a nylon membrane, and analyzed by Northern blotting. 32P-labeled ([α-32P]dATP or [α-32P]CTP) cDNA probes for HEXIM1 and luciferase were generated using a Stratagene Prime-It random primer labeling kit. The 7SK antisense RNA probe was generated as previously described (30). For reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), DNA contamination was eliminated using DNA-free DNase treatment and removal reagents (Ambion). First-strand cDNA synthesis was carried out using Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase as instructed by the supplier (Promega). Chromatin immunoprecipitation.HIV LTR-luciferase cells (30) (2 × 106) were seeded into a 15-cm dish 1 day prior to HMBA treatment. Cells were treated with HMBA for 0 or 3 h, harvested, and subjected to a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay as described recently (29). After DNA purification, PCRs containing α-[32P]dCTP (800 Ci/mmol) were carried out for 20 cycles, and the products were analyzed on a 6% polyacrylamide-urea gel. Input and immunoprecipitated chromatin were analyzed first in pilot experiments to ensure that PCRs occurred in the linear range of amplification. siRNAs.HeLa cells were cotransfected in a 1:10 ratio with pBabe-puro empty vector and pSuper-based constructs expressing small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) specific for the indicated proteins. To deplete CycT1, a CycT1-specific siRNA called siCycT1 was expressed from the pSuper vector containing a short hairpin sequence, 5′-CTCGTGTCCCTCATTCGAAACGCTTCCTGTCACGTTTCGAATGAGGGACACGAG-3′ (with the central hairpin region underlined). For Brd4 depletion, a Brd4-specific siRNA called siBrd4 was derived from a short hairpin sequence, 5′-GAACCTCCCTGATTACTATAAGCTTCCTGTCACTTATAGTAATCAGGGAGGTTC-3′. At 24 h posttransfection, untransfected cells were killed by the addition of 1.5 μg/ml puromycin into the culturing media. NEs were prepared at 48 h posttransfection. For HEXIM1 depletion, siRNA530 and siRNA562 (31), with the numbers referring to the positions of the beginning nucleotides of two separate 20-nucleotide regions within the HEXIM1 open reading frame, were employed. Two independent stable transfectants for each siRNA were selected with and maintained in 1.5 μg/ml puromycin and used in the experiment. HMBA induces transcription from the HIV-1 promoter.We previously reported that HEXIM1 expression could be induced by HMBA in a variety of cell lines, including HeLa cells (33). Given HEXIM1's important role as an inhibitor of P-TEFb, we asked whether treatment of HeLa cells with HMBA and the consequent induction of HEXIM1 would have a negative effect on transcription. A stable HeLa-based cell line containing an integrated luciferase reporter gene driven by the HIV-1 LTR (30), which is known to be highly sensitive to P-TEFb (4, 9, 30), was used. Surprisingly, rather than causing an inhibition of transcription, HMBA induced expression from the reporter construct by several hundred-fold over an 8-h time period (Fig. 1A). Northern blot and semiquantitative RT-PCR analyses revealed that this increase occurred at the luciferase mRNA level (Fig. 1B). However, no increase was detected for the expression of the cellular gene encoding either the GAPDH (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) protein or the 7SK snRNA. Finally, NE prepared from HMBA-treated HeLa cells caused a significant increase in transcription from the HIV-1 promoter compared to NE from untreated cells (Fig. 1C), indicating that the HMBA-mediated increase in HIV-1 gene expression could be attributed directly to an activation of transcription. HMBA stimulates transcription from the HIV-1 promoter. (A) HMBA induces expression of the luciferase reporter gene driven by the HIV-1 LTR. A stable HeLa-based cell line containing an integrated HIV-1 LTR-luciferase reporter construct was treated with 10 mM HMBA for the indicated time periods. The level of induction (n-fold) in luciferase activity compared to that in untreated cells is shown. (B) The HMBA-induced increase in luciferase activity occurs at the mRNA level. Semiquantitative RT-PCR and Northern blot analyses were performed to detect luciferase mRNA from among total RNA isolated at various time points of a continuous HMBA treatment. The levels of the GAPDH mRNA and 7SK snRNA were also analyzed as internal controls. (C) NE from HMBA-treated HeLa cells significantly increases HIV-1 transcription in vitro. Reaction mixtures contained the transcription template HIV+TAR-G400 and NE prepared from cells treated with HMBA for 0 or 3 h. RNA fragments transcribed from a G-less cassette inserted into the template at a position ∼1 kb downstream of the HIV-1 promoter are indicated. HMBA disrupts the 7SK snRNP.To seek an explanation for this dramatic increase in HIV-1 transcription, we examined whether, like certain stress-inducing agents and hypertrophic signals, HMBA could induce the disruption of the 7SK snRNP, thus releasing P-TEFb for transcriptional activation. Indeed, treatment of F1C2 cells, a HeLa-based cell line stably expressing FLAG-tagged CDK9, with HMBA caused a significant reduction in the amounts of HEXIM1 and 7SK associated with the immunoprecipitated CDK9-f (Fig. 2A). In contrast, the CDK9-CycT1 heterodimer formation was completely unaffected. The peak 7SK snRNP disruption occurred approximately 2 h after the treatment commenced (Fig. 2A, lane 8). Interestingly, a prolonged incubation with the drug (with fresh changes every 4 h) actually led to a gradual recovery of the 7SK snRNP (Fig. 2A, compare lanes 9 and 10 with lane 8), a point that will become clear later. HMBA treatment of HeLa cells disrupts the 7SK snRNP and enhances the binding of P-TEFb to the HIV-1 chromatin template. (A) Treatment of HeLa cells with HMBA induces the dissociation of HEXIM1 and 7SK from P-TEFb. F1C2, a HeLa-based cell line stably expressing CDK9-f, was treated with HMBA for the indicated numbers of hours. CDK9-f, CycT1, HEXIM1, and 7SK present in NEs (lanes 1 to 5) and the anti-FLAG immunoprecipitates (αFLAG IP) (lanes 6 to 10) were detected by Western and Northern blotting. The presence of endogenous CDK9 (endo. CDK9) in NEs was revealed by anti-CDK9 Western blotting. (B) HMBA enhances the binding of P-TEFb to the HIV-1 chromatin template. The HeLa-based cell line with the integrated luciferase reporter gene driven by the HIV-1 LTR was treated with HMBA for 0 or 3 h. ChIP with anti-CDK9 antibody was performed. Three regions corresponding to the promoter region, interior region, and 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR) of the integrated HIV-1 LTR-luciferase gene, as well as an interior region of the endogenous GAPDH gene, were PCR amplified from the precipitated and purified DNA. Numbers in parentheses indicate nucleotides. Amplified signals from 10% of the input chromatin are also shown. HMBA-induced disruption of the 7SK snRNP causes more P-TEFb to bind to the HIV-1 chromatin template.We next performed a ChIP assay to determine whether the HMBA-induced release of P-TEFb from the 7SK snRNP would result in the association of more P-TEFb with the chromatin template containing an integrated HIV-1 LTR-luciferase reporter gene, thus causing activation of transcription. Quantification of the data shown in Fig. 2B revealed that treatment of the HeLa-based cell line with HMBA for 3 h indeed increased the binding of P-TEFb to the HIV-1 promoter region by 6.5-fold. In addition, the treatment also caused 2.5- and 1.5-fold more P-TEFb to bind to the interior of the luciferase gene as well as the 3′ untranslated region, respectively. In contrast, HMBA did not result in the association of more P-TEFb with the coding sequence of the GAPDH gene, in agreement with the observation that the expression of this gene was unaffected by HMBA (Fig. 1B, upper panel). Prolonged treatment of HeLa cells with HMBA leads to reformation of the 7SK snRNP.The above-described partial restoration of the 7SK snRNP detected at 8 h of the HMBA treatment (Fig. 2A) prompted us to investigate the long-term effect of this drug on the formation of this complex. Quantification of the amounts of HEXIM1 associated with the immunoprecipitated CDK9-f at different time points since the commencement of HMBA treatment (with fresh changes of the drug every 4 h) confirmed that the HMBA-induced disruption of the 7SK snRNP was transient (Fig. 3A). By 15 to 18 h into the treatment, the amount of the 7SK snRNP present in the treated HeLa cells was restored almost to the pretreatment level and remained this way until the end of the 72-h incubation period. Transient disruption of the 7SK snRNP, formation of the Brd4-P-TEFb complex, and activation of HIV-1 transcription in HMBA-treated HeLa cells. (A) Prolonged treatment with HMBA leads to reformation of the 7SK snRNP. HeLa cells were incubated with HMBA for the indicated time periods. Levels of HEXIM1 associated with the immunoprecipitated CDK9 derived from NEs were detected by Western blotting, quantified, and normalized to CDK9 levels, and they are shown as percentages relative to the pretreatment level, which was set to 100%. (B) HMBA transiently induces luciferase mRNA synthesis. Results are from Northern blot analysis of luciferase mRNA transcribed from the HIV-1 LTR in HeLa cells treated with HMBA for the indicated time periods. As a loading control, 7SK snRNA in total RNA samples was also examined. (C) Transient induction of luciferase activity in HMBA-treated cells. The level of induction (n-fold) in luciferase activity, expressed from the integrated HIV-1 LTR-luciferase reporter gene, was measured with a HeLa-based cell line treated with HMBA for the indicated time periods. pHIV, HIV-1 promoter. (D) P-TEFb alternately interacts with HEXIM1 and Brd4 throughout the course of HMBA treatment. NEs were prepared from HeLa cells treated with HMBA for the indicated durations and subjected to immunoprecipitation with anti-CDK9 antibody (αCDK9) (lanes 5 to 7) or, as a negative control (cntl.), anti-CDK4 antibody (lane 4). Brd4, HEXIM1, CycT1, and CDK9 present in the immunoprecipitates (IP) and NEs were examined by Western blotting. Consistent with this observation, the luciferase mRNA transcribed from the HIV-1 promoter also showed a transient increase, peaking around 6 h after the treatment began, but was hardly detectable 72 h after the treatment began (Fig. 3B). Similarly, the HMBA-mediated induction of luciferase activity peaked around 12 h and then started to decline (Fig. 3C). A combination of factors such as the rates of mRNA processing, export, and degradation coupled with the time required for protein synthesis and maturation may contribute to the apparent 6-h delay in the accumulation of peak luciferase activity relative to the peak mRNA level. Furthermore, the relatively high stability of the luciferase protein may result in the detection of a considerable amount of its enzymatic activity in HMBA-treated cells even after the nuclear 7SK snRNP returns to the pretreatment level. P-TEFb alternately interacts with its positive and negative regulators throughout the course of HMBA treatment.We have shown previously that the treatment of HeLa cells with certain stress-inducing agents, such as actinomycin D, DRB, and UV irradiation, causes a quantitative conversion of the HEXIM1-7SK-P-TEFb snRNP into the Brd4-P-TEFb complex (29). To determine whether HMBA could also shift the balance between these two P-TEFb subpopulations, the amounts of Brd4 and HEXIM1 bound to the immunoprecipitated CDK9 at 0, 6, and 24 h into a continuous HMBA treatment were analyzed by Western blotting. In contrast to its effect on the HEXIM1-P-TEFb binding, which decreased dramatically at the 6-h time point and returned to the pretreatment level at 24 h as described above (Fig. 3A), HMBA produced the opposite effect on the binding of Brd4 to P-TEFb by significantly enhancing it at 6 h and restoring it to the pretreatment level at 24 h (Fig. 3D). It has been proposed that P-TEFb is normally maintained in a functional equilibrium through alternately interacting with its positive (Brd4) and negative (HEXIM1 and 7SK) regulators (13, 29). The observation that P-TEFb switched back and forth between these two functional states during the course of HMBA treatment suggests that HMBA caused an initial, transient shift of the P-TEFb equilibrium toward the active, Brd4-bound state. However, over a more extended period of time, the treatment did not produce any long-lasting effect on the relative concentrations of the two P-TEFb subpopulations, as the equilibrium soon returned to the pretreatment level. HMBA induces HEXIM1 expression in a P-TEFb-dependent manner.What might have caused a rapid resequestration of P-TEFb into the 7SK snRNP after the initial response to HMBA, a possible stress-inducing agent to HeLa cells, had subsided? One potential clue came from the observation that sometime between 6 and 12 h after the HMBA treatment started, the HEXIM1 expression began to increase significantly and its nuclear concentration remained four to five times higher than the pretreatment level for at least 72 h (Fig. 4A). It is possible that this major increase in HEXIM1 concentration coupled with a constitutively high level of 7SK snRNA (Fig. 1B and 3B) (27) might have pushed the P-TEFb equilibrium back toward the HEXIM1/7SK-bound state. P-TEFb-dependent induction of HEXIM1 expression by HMBA. (A) HMBA treatment of HeLa cells increases HEXIM1 expression. HEXIM1 levels in NE of HMBA-treated cells were detected by Western blotting at various time points of the treatment. The HEXIM1 signals were quantified and normalized to those of CDK9 for each time point, and they are shown as percentages relative to the pretreatment level, which was set to 100%. (B) P-TEFb is required for HMBA-induced HEXIM1 mRNA synthesis. HeLa cells transfected with either the empty pSuper vector (−) or vectors expressing the CDK9- and CycT1-specific siRNAs (siCDK9 and siCycT1, respectively) were treated with HMBA for 0, 6, or 24 h. Total RNA was isolated and subjected to Northern blot analysis to detect the major 2.5-kb and minor 4.0-kb HEXIM1 mRNA. The 18S and 28S rRNA present in total RNA were stained with ethidium bromide and used as loading controls. (C) CycT1- and Brd4-dependent production of the HEXIM1 protein. Western blotting was performed to examine the levels of Brd4, CycT1, HEXIM1, and CDK9 in NEs prepared from HeLa cells transfected with either the empty pSuper vector or the indicated siRNA-expressing pSuper constructs at 48 h posttransfection. Next, we asked how the HMBA-induced HEXIM1 expression was accomplished. We noticed that the onset of this induction occurred soon after the HMBA-mediated disruption of the 7SK snRNP and activation of P-TEFb. To determine whether P-TEFb was required for the HMBA-induced HEXIM1 expression, we performed Northern analysis to measure HEXIM1 mRNA levels in HeLa cells that expressed the siRNAs specific for CDK9 and CycT1. Indeed, compared to an empty vector, the siRNA-mediated depletion of P-TEFb caused a drastic reduction in levels of the HMBA-induced HEXIM1 mRNA at both 6 and 24 h of the treatment (Fig. 4B). Notably, the HEXIM1 mRNA was quite stable in the absence of the siRNAs, as its level remained relatively high at 24 h (Fig. 4B, lane 5), when the freshly liberated P-TEFb had been recaptured by 7SK/HEXIM1 (Fig. 3A). The P-TEFb-dependent HEXIM1 gene expression was further confirmed by Western analysis (Fig. 4C), which showed that the CycT1-specific siRNA reduced the expressions of not only its intended target, CycT1, but also HEXIM1. Moreover, introduction of a siRNA specific for Brd4, the positive regulator of P-TEFb, also caused the codepletion of both Brd4 and HEXIM1 (Fig. 4C). Because these two proteins act in opposite directions to control the activity of P-TEFb, their coregulation implicated the existence of a cellular mechanism to maintain a balance between the two P-TEFb subpopulations for proper cell growth (see below). In summary, the observed strong dependence on P-TEFb for HMBA-induced HEXIM1 expression may explain why the P-TEFb equilibrium was shifted transiently toward the Brd4-bound active state during the initial phase of HMBA treatment, which in turn produced abundant HEXIM1 to eventually drive the P-TEFb equilibrium back to the pretreatment level. HMBA exerts only a minor, short-term effect on HeLa cell growth.To understand why HeLa cells would want to resequester P-TEFb into the inactive 7SK snRNP once HEXIM1 gene expression was induced, we examined the effect on HeLa cell growth by either a 6- or a 24-h treatment with HMBA. Compared to results with untreated cells, whose numbers were artificially set to 100%, incubation with HMBA for 6 h had no detectable effect on cell numbers, which were counted at 2 and 4 days after the removal of the drug and are presented as percentages relative to those of untreated cells (Fig. 5A). Similarly, the 24-h HMBA treatment slowed cell growth only temporarily by about 30% measured at 2 days posttreatment, and the cell numbers returned largely to normal after another 2 days (Fig. 5A). Thus, despite the demonstrations that HMBA induced a transient disruption of the 7SK snRNP and induction of HEXIM1 expression, it apparently had only a relatively minor, short-term effect on HeLa cell growth. It is likely that this lack of a major, long-lasting effect by HMBA led to the resequestration of P-TEFb into the 7SK snRNP and restoration of the complex to its original level. Notably, the human embryonic kidney cell line 293T displayed exactly the same responses as HeLa cells to the HMBA treatment in terms of the kinetics and degrees of 7SK snRNP disruption/reformation as well as the growth rates (data not shown). HeLa cells strive to maintain a constant level of nuclear 7SK snRNP for optimal growth. (A) HMBA suppresses HeLa cell growth only mildly and temporarily. Cells were either untreated or treated with HMBA for 6 or 24 h. After removal of the drug, cells were placed in fresh media at low but equal concentrations and allowed to grow for 2 or 4 days. Cell counts were determined and are shown as percentages relative to those of untreated cells, which were set to 100%. (B) Diversion of free HEXIM1 into the 7SK snRNP in HeLa cells expressing the HEXIM1-specific siRNAs. NEs were prepared from HeLa-based cell lines either containing the empty pSuper vector or expressing the indicated HEXIM1-specific siRNAs and examined for their HEXIM1 and CDK9 levels by Western blotting (lanes 1 to 5). Two independent cell clones (denoted by -1 and -2 after the siRNA designations) for each siRNA were analyzed. The NEs were also subjected to immunoprecipitation with either anti-CDK4 (αCDK4) (lane 6) or anti-CDK9 (lanes 7 to 11) antibody, and the indicated factors present in the immunoprecipitates (IP) were examined by Northern and Western blotting. HeLa cells strive to maintain a constant amount of 7SK snRNP for optimal growth.The observations discussed above raised an intriguing possibility that the intracellular concentrations of 7SK snRNP may define and even help establish the growth states of cells. According to this hypothesis, when cells are not ready to undergo a major alteration of their growth state, they strive hard to maintain their nuclear 7SK snRNP at levels appropriate for the overall transcriptional demand of that particular state. Besides the P-TEFb homeostasis observed with HMBA-treated HeLa and 293T cells, additional evidence in support of this notion came from studies involving several HeLa-based cell lines that stably expressed the HEXIM1-specific siRNAs. It is known that in normal log-phase HeLa cells, a major portion of nuclear HEXIM1 exists outside of the 7SK snRNP and probably in free forms (3, 18, 31). Interestingly, when the total HEXIM1 levels in NEs were markedly reduced as a result of the expression of the HEXIM1 siRNAs (Fig. 5B, left panel), the amounts of HEXIM1 associated with 7SK/P-TEFb were barely affected (Fig. 5B, right panel). It is important to point out that the growth rates of these siRNA-producing cells were reduced only slightly and that we were able to establish and propagate them as stable cell lines without much difficulty. Thus, there was apparently an effort by these cells to compensate for the loss of HEXIM1 by mobilizing virtually all of the remaining free HEXIM1 into the 7SK snRNP in order to avoid a major perturbation of the P-TEFb equilibrium. Enhanced sequestration of P-TEFb into the 7SK snRNP during HMBA-induced MELC differentiation.Despite the demonstration that HMBA displayed no long-term effect on HeLa cell growth, the above-described behavioral changes of P-TEFb during the course of HMBA treatment have nevertheless revealed an interesting connection between the functional P-TEFb equilibrium and the overall growth state of cells. To further test the hypothesis that nuclear 7SK snRNP levels are intimately associated with the critical cellular decision between growth and differentiation, we turned our attention to the effect of HMBA on MELC. It has long been recognized that HMBA is a highly effective and the best-characterized inducer of terminal differentiation (including terminal division) of MELC, which serves as a model for examining the control of erythroid differentiation (15, 16). In contrast to HeLa cells, whose growth was affected only mildly by treatment with either 5 (Fig. 6A) or 10 (Fig. 5A) mM HMBA, MELC were severely growth arrested when treated with 5 mM HMBA for 72 h (Fig. 6A) and, moreover, underwent efficient terminal differentiation under these conditions (15, 16; data not shown). At 10 mM HMBA, a significant portion of MELC was led to apoptosis after a prolonged incubation (23; data not shown). Enhanced sequestration of P-TEFb into the 7SK snRNP and elevated expression of HEXIM1 in HMBA-treated MELC. (A) HMBA treatment of MELC severely inhibits cell growth. HeLa cells and MELC were either untreated or treated with HMBA for 72 h. Upon removal of the drug, cells were placed in fresh media at low but equal concentrations and allowed to grow for 2 days. Cell counts were determined and are shown as percentages relative to those of untreated cells, which were set to 100%. (B) NEs were prepared from MELC treated with HMBA for the indicated time periods and subjected to anti-CDK9 (αCDK9) immunoprecipitation. HEXIM1 associated with the immunoprecipitates (IP) or present in NEs were detected by Western blotting. The HEXIM1 signals were normalized to those of CDK9 for each time point and are shown as percentages relative to the pretreatment levels, which were set to 100%. (C) Diagram depicting the regulation of P-TEFb activity during the course of HMBA treatment. The 7SK snRNP is proposed to contain two copies of P-TEFb and HEXIM1 and one copy of 7SK (14). During the first several hours of HMBA treatment, the 7SK snRNP was converted into the Brd4-P-TEFb complex, which stimulated P-TEFb-dependent HEXIM1 gene expression. The elevated HEXIM1 levels then pushed the P-TEFb equilibrium back toward the 7SK snRNP direction during a prolonged HMBA treatment. For details, see Discussion. Quantification of the amounts of HEXIM1 associated with the immunoprecipitated CDK9 indicated that the initial response of MELC to either 5 or 10 mM HMBA was a swift disruption of the 7SK snRNP (Fig. 6B), reminiscent of the situations seen with HeLa and 293T cells. However, unlike the last two cell lines, in which 7SK snRNP returned almost to the pretreatment level after a prolonged incubation (Fig. 3A; data not shown), MELC produced up to 2.9-fold more 7SK snRNP than was produced in the untreated cells as the treatment proceeded further (Fig. 6B, left panel). Moreover, the HMBA-mediated induction of HEXIM1 expression in MELC (11- to 14-fold) (Fig. 6B, right panel) was significantly higher than that in HeLa and 293T cells (4- to 5-fold) (Fig. 4A; data not shown), which could be responsible for the enhanced sequestration of P-TEFb into the 7SK snRNP in these HMBA-treated MELC, which were undergoing terminal division/differentiation. Taken together, our analyses of HeLa and 293T cells and MELC yielded consistent data which revealed a strong correlation between nuclear 7SK snRNP concentrations and the growth/differentiated states of cells. Despite the demonstrations that P-TEFb is maintained in a functional equilibrium through alternately interacting with its positive and negative regulators (13, 29), the physiological significance of this phenomenon has not been demonstrated clearly. In this study, we analyzed the responses of HeLa cells and MELC to HMBA treatment in aspects such as growth properties, associations of P-TEFb with its regulators, and nuclear P-TEFb activities. Our data strongly support the notion that the functional P-TEFb equilibrium is tightly and dynamically regulated to reflect and accommodate the intracellular transcriptional demand as well as the proliferative or differentiated states of cells. Furthermore, among all of the agents that are known to affect the P-TEFb equilibrium (5, 18, 19, 30, 31), HMBA has been identified as the only one that can shift the P-TEFb balance toward the HEXIM1/7SK-bound state to increase the formation of the inactive P-TEFb complex in MELC. As indicated in the diagram shown in Fig. 6C, the initial responses of both HeLa cells and MELC to HMBA are an efficient, albeit temporary disruption of the 7SK snRNP and liberation of P-TEFb. Since transcription from the HIV-1 LTR is known to be exquisitely sensitive to P-TEFb (4, 9, 30), the HMBA-induced activation of P-TEFb provides a molecular explanation for the previously described stimulatory effect of this drug on expression from the HIV-1 LTR, which has been characterized as independent of the NF-κB binding sites and other enhancer elements within the LTR (26). The HMBA-induced dissociation of HEXIM1/7SK from P-TEFb is also reminiscent of the situations seen with HeLa cells treated with certain stress-inducing agents that globally disrupt transcription and suppress cell growth (5, 18, 19, 30, 31). Since HMBA is able to inhibit the growth of both MELC and HeLa cells, albeit only transiently in the latter case, the induced shift of the P-TEFb equilibrium toward the active, Brd4-bound state could simply be an instinctive cellular response to this growth-arresting and stressful event. One conceivable consequence could be the activation of various stress-responsive genes. In addition, the activation of P-TEFb in MELC could lead to elevated expression of genes that play key roles during the commitment and establishment of the differentiated state (15, 16). It remains to be determined how many genes can be activated directly by P-TEFb during the initial phase of HMBA treatment, what they are, and what roles they may play in the subsequent differentiation process of MELC. Nevertheless, we now know that there exists at least one gene, namely, the HEXIM1 gene, whose elevated expression is indeed caused by the HMBA-induced P-TEFb activation (Fig. 4). It is conceivable that accumulation of abundant HEXIM1 during a prolonged HMBA treatment is able to push the P-TEFb equilibrium back toward the 7SK/HEXIM1-bound state (Fig. 6C). After that, the intrinsic differences between HeLa cells and MELC in their responses to HMBA determine the final states of their nuclear P-TEFb equilibriums. For HeLa cells, since the treatment with HMBA produces no long-lasting effect on their growth, the P-TEFb equilibrium quickly returns to the pretreatment level. In contrast, MELC undergo terminal division and differentiation once they have passed through the commitment stage, which occurs as early as 10 to 12 h after commencement of the treatment (6). As a result, the P-TEFb equilibrium is shifted overwhelmingly toward the inactive 7SK snRNP side to accommodate an altered transcriptional demand in these cells that can no longer divide. Despite the implication of P-TEFb in this process, it is important to stress that we actually cannot tell at this stage whether the increased formation of the inactive P-TEFb complex in HMBA-treated MELC is a consequence of or a contributor to growth arrest and terminal differentiation of these cells. Nevertheless, the tight coupling of the P-TEFb equilibrium with the global control of cell growth and differentiation agrees well with the demonstrated growth-regulatory functions of the P-TEFb-associated factors. For instance, as a negative regulator of P-TEFb activity, HEXIM1 has been shown to display an antigrowth function in cardiac myocytes, where the deletion of the mouse HEXIM1 (CLP-1) gene causes the enlargement of heart cells, reminiscent of a pathological condition known as hypertrophy (12). Interestingly enough, hypertrophic agents that induce the disruption of the 7SK snRNP also cause the same disease (21). In both cases, the deletion of the HEXM1 gene or dissociation of HEXIM1 from P-TEFb achieves the same goal of activating P-TEFb, which provides the necessary means to deal with an increased transcriptional demand under these highly proliferative conditions. As with its role in cardiac myocytes, HEXIM1 has been recognized as an inhibitor of breast epithelial cell proliferation, as its expression is down-regulated by estrogens and decreased in breast tumors (28). Finally, a recent report indicates that ectopic expression of HEXIM1 causes growth inhibition and promotes neuronal differentiation (25). In contrast to HEXIM1, Brd4, the positive regulator and recruitment factor for P-TEFb, has been implicated to play a growth-stimulatory role. While mice lacking both alleles of the Brd4 gene are embryonic lethal, Brd4-heterozygotic mice display pre- and postnatal growth defects associated with a reduced proliferation rate (11). In addition, Brd4 is required for the proper progression of the cell cycle, as heterozygotes display a significantly reduced number of mitotic cells compared to wild-type tissues (11). The opposing effects on cell growth exerted by Brd4 and HEXIM1, both of which target P-TEFb but produce antagonizing results, further support the idea that controlling the activity of the general transcription factor P-TEFb, which affects expression of a vast array of genes, is critical to the cellular decision between growth and differentiation. Besides its role in MELC, P-TEFb has been implicated to play a role in regulating the differentiation programs of several other cell types, including skeletal muscle cells, monocytes, lymphocytes, and neurons (2, 7, 8). However, only the expressions of CDK9 and CycT1 have been monitored in these studies. Future investigation of the P-TEFb equilibriums and their control by Brd4 and HEXIM1 in these cells will be very informative toward the understanding of the general roles of P-TEFb and transcriptional elongation in the global control of cell growth and differentiation. We thank Rieko Nishimura for experiments involving the HEXIM1 siRNAs and Vivien Lee for technical assistance. We also thank Dalibor Blazek and Matija Peterlin for providing us with good-quality HMBA. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (AI41757) and the American Cancer Society (RSG-01-171-01-MBC) to Q.Z. Returned for modification 15 June 2006. Chen, Z., J. Banks, R. A. Rifkind, and P. A. Marks. 1982. Inducer-mediated commitment of murine erythroleukemia cells to differentiation: a multistep process. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79:471-475. Flores, O., G. Lee, J. Kessler, M. Miller, W. Schlief, J. Tomassini, and D. Hazuda. 1999. Host-cell positive transcription elongation factor b kinase activity is essential and limiting for HIV type 1 replication. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:7208-7213. Marks, P. A., V. M. Richon, and R. A. Rifkind. 1996. Cell cycle regulatory proteins are targets for induced differentiation of transformed cells: molecular and clinical studies employing hybrid polar compounds. Int. J. Hematol. 63:1-17. Siegel, D. S., X. Zhang, R. Feinman, T. Teitz, A. Zelenetz, V. M. Richon, R. A. Rifkind, P. A. Marks, and J. Michaeli. 1998. Hexamethylene bisacetamide induces programmed cell death (apoptosis) and down-regulates BCL-2 expression in human myeloma cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:162-166. Turano, M., G. Napolitano, C. Dulac, B. Majello, O. Bensaude, and L. Lania. 2006. Increased HEXIM1 expression during erythroleukemia and neuroblastoma cell differentiation. J. Cell. Physiol. 206:603-610. Vlach, J., and P. M. Pitha. 1993. Hexamethylene bisacetamide activates the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 provirus by an NF-kappa B-independent mechanism. J. Gen. Virol. 74:2401-2408.

2019-04-25T19:11:13Z

https://mcb.asm.org/content/26/19/7068?ijkey=0c51bd4df5fc47e35e1f6db77139f203bb7b586b&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

The fifth round had the enemy we have fought multiple times already. "...Red Ogre and Blue Ogre, huh." We have repeated those so many times. They won't be much of a problem now." "But if they're the fifth round's opponent, means that the sixth round onward will be harder than the boss. I don't mind retiring after I get the eight round's prize, what do we do?" "We're going as far as we can! And if that doesn't work, we'll challenge it again!" "Then I'll continue supporting you two with all I have. 《Enchant》——Attack, defence, speed!" I applied a triple enchant on Mikadzuchi and have seen her off. While watching Sei-nee and Mikadzuchi who optimized their movements for fighting the Red Ogre and Blue Ogre at the back gate, I contributed to the battle by attacking with bow and arrow. At early stage I used 【Curse】 arrows for cover fire to seal enemy's special attacks so we were able to get through the fifth round without any difficulty. So far the Red and Blue Ogres from the fifth round were the strongest, but since the fourth round's Hobgoblins fought as a group they were even harder to fight against for a small group of people like ours, because there was a limit to how many of them can one person take on at once. "Urami-danuki? This time it's a mob I'm seeing for the first time. Moreover, he's animal-type." What appeared was a nearly two metres tall, huge bake-danuki. Covered in fluffy hair, he had a kettle-like armour on his torso as if to hide his fatty belly and was holding a spear in his hand, a spear with cross-shaped blade. Although he had a cute silhouette, just like the "grudge" in his name suggested he glared at us with resentment in his eyes, these eyes butchered all cuteness there was to him. "Oh-hoh, a new type of mob came out. Let's turn this uncute tanuki into a tanuki soup. Of course, Missy will cook it." "Enemies in the arena don't drop items, so I can't cook it." "Yun-chan, so that's what you're retort to, mm? Anyway, it's starting!" This time, it was Sei-nee who retorted to me. Right after that, the sound of a gong had started the sixth round. At the same time it started, the Urami-danuki leaped up high. Ahead of where we looked, the Urami-danuki let out a comical *bofun* sound and a white smoke spread from his body, hiding it. "We have no idea what's coming, be careful!" "This smokescreen can disappear for all I care!——《Bow Skill – Gust of Wind》!" At the same time Mikadzuchi warned I invoked the art creating strong wind pressure along with an attack. The arrow pierced through the centre of the white smoke and after scattering it, disappeared in the sky. "Or rather, he divided? Look, we're surrounded." Sei-nee silently moved as to protect Mikadzuchi's and my blind spots and as the three of us stared at the enemy standing back-to-back, little Urami-danuki's surrounded us. There were five Urami-danuki's tall enough to reach my waist, each of them held a spear suiting their physique. They have steadily decreased the distance between us and them. "Trying to surround us like the Goblins won't work!!" "Dumbass! Don't attack a new enemy carelessly!" I switched the weapon from the bow to the meat cleaver and slashed at the Urami-danuki standing in front of me. At the same time the meat cleaver reached, the Urami-danuki disappeared literally turning into smoke. Along with that a blow from the cross-spear had come out from the white smoke and grazed my side. As expected, with a blow delivered at zero distance even by making full use of my 【See-Through】 and 【Sky Eyes】 I was barely able to avoid the spear tip and ended up having my flank torn by the spear's blade. "Oww! Heck, seems like the attack is also accompanied with 【Curse】." I could hear a quiet scream from the audience when I received the counter, I just held my cut flank and took a step back. "So rather than dividing, he made shadow clones, huh. In that case we need to find the real body between the clones." Mikadzuchi calmly analysed the fact that one of the Urami-danuki disappeared turning into white smoke. Meanwhile, Sei-nee healed me up, returning me to perfect state. "Seriously, how do we find it." Succeeding with an attack on me, the Urami-danuki's mouth distorted turning into a cynical smile. "We can attack all the shadow clones at once. We can eliminate all those clones and then attack the real body. Also, we can try preventing him from his special attack. That's about all I can think of." Or, we can try frontal attack on them to try finding the difference between clones and the real body. Mikadzuchi muttered and at the same time she rushed towards the Urami-danuki and thrust with her hexagonal stick. As the weapons fiercely clashed against each other Mikadzuchi parried Urami-danuki's spear and hit him in the torso. However, just like the first one the enemy disappeared letting out white smoke and another shadow clone appeared, joining others surrounding us. "Seriously, what do we do about these?!" Although I desperately avoided the attack from the cross-spear, my HP was cut down by the counter-attack coming from inside the white smoke. The shadow clones' attacks weren't strong enough to take us down with a single hit, but they put on 【Curse】 bad status, moreover, the spear's shape was troublesome. The 【Curse】 bad status in addition to reducing MP had caused random negative effects from time to time, so if we continue receiving those attacks there's a chance of receiving a lethal negative effect. Right now we could recover with items, Sei-nee could also use 【Recovery Magic】 to maintain the margin of safety, but it didn't seem like we could deliver any damage to the enemy. The cross-spears had broad attack range as their tips had crescent-shaped blade so it was hard to avoid them, unless you avoid them by a large margin you will get caught. Also, since the spear encirclement narrowed from all sides, defending ourselves had gradually become more difficult. Desperate, I used the lowest magic in the Earth Element in combination with 【Sky Eyes】. Focusing on multiple enemies in my range of vision I invoked 《Bomb》 magic all at once. As a result, four shadow clones of the tanuki were wrapped around by 《Bomb》's yellow explosion and received slight damage, but since they were attacked at the same time four of them thrust at me with their spears. Abandoning any shame and respectability I avoided by crouching, four enemies' spears have passed over my head. As if crawling, I slipped away from under them. "Missy, what are you doing?" "What, you ask. Trial and error!" "That attack just now was dangerous. Try imagining what would happen if you received that spears' simultaneous attack." Told so, I thought of a situation where I receive multiple simultaneous attacks from four shadow clones and came to conclusion that there was a high chance I could receive severe 【Curse】. As well as chain damage from continuous attacks within a short period of time. "Seems like you understood. But well, it's a good example of a failure. The guild's members will surely take note of that." Kukuku, Mikadzuchi let out a muffled laughter as she parried an attack of a shadow clone and continued to search for a clue on beating them. After that, I received several counter-attacks from the Urami-danuki, and while recovering the damage with potions I used 《Bomb》 magic to accumulate damage on a single Urami-danuki. "Damn, attack with 《Bomb》 don't deal too much damage. I need to think of a more efficient method." "Missy, can't you find the main body with your 【See-Through】?" 'Not happening. I've been looking at them all for a while now, but I can't seem to find tanuki any different. His 【Concealment】-type Sense must be quite high." "After coming this far we had a nasty opponent appear. We might get really exhausted if it goes badly. But, what if..." While Mikadzuchi and I idled fighting against the Urami-danuki, Sei-nee seemed to have found a way out. White light had appeared on the tip of the staff and the single target heal 《High Heal》 was activated. Its target wasn't me or Mikadzuchi, but the Urami-danuki's shadow clone. Although the clone screamed and turned into white smoke, no spear had come as counter-attack. The other shadow clones of the Urami-danuki returned to the main body and all the damage dealt to them so far had been included. "I guess it's simple once you realize it?" "Sei-nee, what do you mean?" "Urami-danuki is an undead enemy so physical attacks are ineffective I think. Moreover, unless it's specific magic it will have very poor effect." "I see. It's simple once we know the trick. Missy, give me fire element." The counter-attack was fast once Mikadzuchi and I learned the enemy's weakness. I used Fire Elemental Stone and applied element enchant on Mikadzuchi's weapon. From thereon, Mikadzuchi fought Urami-danuki using fire elemental damage, Sei-nee attacked with recovery magic and I continued to deliver damage by using silver arrows that were very effective against undead. Finally, the Urami-danuki let out his death throes and sprouting white smoke from his body, he collapsed. "He was quite tough. I used lots of 【Yellow Potions】 there." "I also hit him quite many times with 《High Heal》 so I don't have much MP Potions left." Although Sei-nee and Mikadzuchi were in perfect state, they didn't have enough consumables to support that. "Are you all right? How many 【Yellow Potions】 you have left?" "Got 10 right now. At current pace it feels like I'll be able to barely reach tenth round." "Looks like for now, we don't have to think about retiring half-way." I listened to the two's opinions and though that at this rate we'll get through the seventh round and will likely be able to get the prize for eight round, the one Sei-nee wanted. Possibly, we might see through it to the end. While I stood there relieved I'll get the strengthening material I wanted, suddenly I received an impact in the back. The shock was strong enough to crush my naive ideas about the arena challenge. A purple cross-spear had protruded from my belly. Sei-nee and Mikadzuchi also were pierced by the same thing and voice like a scream sounded from the audience. With a loud *whump* I was pierced by a purple spear, but I didn't feel any pain or received damage. I twisted my body to look behind and saw a purple, semi-transparent Urami-danuki looking at us with resentment. In the end, right before disappearing he put on a cynical smile. "What was that, just now..." As I rubbed my abdomen stunned by the lack of pain it was Mikadzuchi's voice that made me return to myself. Mikadzuchi immediately cursed and confirmed her status in the menu. "In the end he left us a ridiculous 【Curse】! How about you, Sei?" "It was somewhat reduced since I have 【Curse】 resistance accessories on but..." When the two looked my way I confirmed my status in the menu. Seeing the 【Curse】 effects displayed there, I was at loss for words. My status was currently displayed as 【Cursed】 and there was no value that would indicate its intensity. Moreover, unlike normal 【Curse】 I received a variety of negative effects. "【Skills Sealed】, 【Healing Skills and Items Disabled】, 【Statistics Decrease】. Also 【HP Decrease】 and 【MP Decrease】? What's with this?" I was stunned by the overly-strong 【Curse】's effect. With this I couldn't recover my HP and MP, as well as from the bad status. The HP Decrease wasn't as fast as that of 【Poison】 but it was steadily decreasing. And it seemed like Mikadzuchi received the same 【Curse】 as me. "So Missy didn't resist it and got the whole set. And you Sei?" "Just 【MP Decrease】. But, since my MP is decreasing I won't be able to use much magic in combat." "Tch, Urami-danuki's final attack huh. Let's get over the retirement choice and rush for the seventh round. In fact, this turns into a battle with time limit." Final attack is a general term for attack that forcibly activates when mob's HP reaches zero, it's also called 【Attack Upon Death】 and 【Stray Attack】. During arena battle you cannot pass recovery items to each other. Right now Mikadzuchi and I cannot use items we have available, the only one who could use items was Sei-nee who mainly picked up MP Potions. "It was going too easy, I should have been more careful." Mikadzuchi muttered quietly, her mutter echoed in the completely silent arena. Then, "it was easy for you, Mikadzuchi", a retort had come from the audience. What we clearly understood now, was that the situation had changed from a comfortable one into one where we are backed into a corner by the Urami-danuki's 【Curse】. "He appeared, the seventh round's enemy..." The enemy from the seventh round that was ahead of Sei-nee's line of sight was——Twin-Torso Warrior. It was two demon warriors' bodies stuck back-to-back as one, they held curved swords in their hands, a two-faced embodiment of four swords-style. The demon warrior in front wore heavy armour, the demon warrior in the back wore loose kinagashi. "How does the guy in the back move with those legs? Is what I'd like to inquire, but I guess it's no time for that." "The guy attached to the back has reverse ankles like those common in robo-games. That thing has an unexpectedly strong jumping ability." "Yun-chan, Mikadzuchi, we don't have time to talk about that. So, Mikadzuchi, what do we do?" "Sei, you'll act as a healer just in case. Don't attack and spare MP. Missy, use all items you can. I'll settle this quickly!" I immediately passed non-recovery items I had in inventory and that could be used to Mikadzuchi. "Here, Enchant Stones and Boost Tablets. Also, I'll lend you the 【Substitute Gem's Ring】, it can block up to three attacks." "I know how to use Enchant Stones and Boost Tablets so no problem there, but this ring is your treasure isn't it, Missy?" The 【Substitute Gem's Ring】 was unique equipment that could completely invalidate the attacks depending on the size of the gem fitted on its pedestal. For me, who has poor defence this is a very powerful item. "If you fall, Sei-nee and I behind you won't win this. We can't have you losing, Mikadzuchi. Also, I'm a support character. Since I'm a support, my role is to arrange it so that combat positions fight at their best." "Missy... I get it. I'll be borrowing it." After saying so, Mikadzuchi put on the 【Substitute Gem's Ring】 on the index finger of her right hand. Then continuing, she crushed the Boost Tablets between her teeth and said the keyword for the attack, defence and speed Enchant Stones, activating them. "It feels like the enchants mostly offset stat reduction." By lightly swinging her arms and stretching, Mikadzuchi checked up on her own body. Sei-nee and I also used strengthening items to mitigate the stat decrease, readying ourselves beforehand. Once it was time, the Hobgoblin referee sounded the gong and the seventh round started. "Well theeen, I'll be going." "Go on, I'll support you as much as I can." In order to make it through this battle I did my best to provide cover fire with the bow. The arrow I shot over running Mikadzuchi's head was cut down by the Twin-Torso Warrior's curved sword, but I continued to shot arrows without rest so the enemy couldn't ignore it. And, once Mikadzuchi sprung in front of the Twin-Torso Warrior, they started exchanging blows. She delivered precise blows with her hexagonal stick as she avoided lightly. The Twin-Torso Warrior had continued to let our wide-ranged slashes, cleaving with his curved swords. Normally after the enemy attacks there's an opportunity to hit them, but enemy's four swords delivered too many attacks covering the openings so Mikadzuchi couldn't hit the Twin Torso Warrior cleanly. However, having Mikadzuchi strike at him the Twin-Torso Warrior was unable to block my arrows and various places unprotected by armour were pierced. Actually I did use arrows synthesized with bad status drugs, so the moment arrows have pierced into enemy their effect could be seen. Although arrows themselves dealt little damage, 【Poison】's slip damage, 【Curse】's random negative effects, 【Paralysis】; 【Sleep】 and 【Stun】 inhibiting actions have blunted Twin-Torso warrior for an instant, allowing us to come out advantageous. Still, since the Twin-Torso Warrior recovered from bad statuses quicker than Ogres, the effect wasn't too strong. "He's stronger than the Ogres! This is harsh! This isn't something I'd like to fight against if I was completely weakened!" Since Mikadzuchi wanted to preserve the 【Substitute Gem's Ring】's protection she continued to avoid the attack of the warrior. Because of that, Sei-nee who acted as an emergency healer was unable to participate and only watched over us. As the Twin-Torso Warrior's front and rear heads howled, the warrior in front swung down his curved swords diagonally then took a step forward, that's when the other side swung its swords cleaving from the sides. Mikadzuchi avoided the attacks and slipped to the side of the Twin-Torso Warrior, but ahead of where she avoided to the rear side had released a thrust. In order to avoid that, Mikadzuchi leaped further to the side. "Pheew, that was close. Since he has another body on his back he has no blind spots behind him." This time, Mikadzuchi confronted the demon warrior wearing kinagashi that was on the Twin-Torso Warrior's back. And, Sei-nee and I have faced the demon warrior wearing an armour in the front. We positioned ourselves as to do a pincer attack from the front and the back with the three of us. "Um, won't this turn real bad if he ignores Mikadzuchi...?" "At that time we'll might have to stall for time no matter what." "You'll think when that happens. HAA——" Mikadzuchi slowly slid her feet on the ground moving forward, measuring the distance of enemy's curved swords, then with a loud shout she thrust with her weapon. Matching that attack I shot an arrow at the demon warrior in the front. That's when the Twin-Torso Warrior showed a move we haven't seen yet. The demon warrior on Mikadzuchi's side blocked the attack with the swords in his hands, but the demon warrior on our side didn't help with that. Instead, he struck down the arrow that were ignored until now. "This is... don't the movements of the front and back side have a subtle difference?" Up until just earlier, all four swords focused on intercepting Mikadzuchi, but now they have been distributed to sides. And, with just the two swords on the back he was unable to suppress Mikadzuchi's onslaught, allowing Mikadzuchi to approach. Filled with fighting spirit she thrust with the stick at the kinagashi-clad warrior., as a result the Twin-Torso Warrior was blown away in our direction. In order not to let him close onto where Sei-nee and I were, I threw a magic gem in a hurry. Starting with the location the thrown gem had fallen to, an earthen wall had grown from the ground into which the Twin-Torso Warrior slammed. After slamming into the wall the warrior fell in that place and sluggishly rose up. "That's some power. The attack just now took 10% of his HP." "Looks like you didn't see it from your side, Missy, but half of that came from him slamming into the earthen wall you made." While saying so, Mikadzuchi shouldered the hexagonal stick, then once again readying the weapon she lowered her waist. The Twin-Torso Warrior had 70% HP remaining. And, Mikadzuchi's HP was reduced to 60% by the Urami-danuki's 【Curse】. Since it would be dangerous for her HP to fall below that, Sei-nee who has been on standby has moved. "Oh, thanks. Well, let's try my best for little longer!" Sei-nee used recovery magic to heal Mikadzuchi, who resumed combat with the Twin-Torso Warrior. I continued shooting arrows as I observed the change in enemy HP's decrease. "Doesn't the Twin-Torso Warrior have slight differences between defence on both sides?" "So you noticed that too, Yun-chan." Since I ran out of bad status arrows, I stopped for a moment to take out normal ones. Meanwhile, I listened to Sei-nee's analysis. "The back is vulnerable to physical attacks. Mikadzuchi must have realized that since she matches the Twin-Torso's movement as it tried to turn with front towards her, and continues to stay behind him." That's when the demon warrior cleaved broadly and did a half-turn to the left. Along with that movement the front warrior had turned towards Mikadzuchi and swung his curved sword, but Mikadzuchi matched those movements and rolling she avoided it. Once again, Mikadzuchi confronted the demon warrior in the back. "Tch, he turned with the front again." "Mikadzuchi, I'll recover your HP. ——《High Heal》" "And Yun-chan, you also received as 【HP Decrease】, haven't you? ——《High Heal》" Since I'm a rearguard I neglected my own HP, and before I noticed it dropped down to 40%. I had much lower max HP as compared to Mikadzuchi, so using heal magic on me with the same timing would be a waste of MP, so Sei-nee used heal on me once for every two times she used it on Mikadzuchi. "My MP is already low so settle it before it runs out." Hearing Sei-nee's words Mikadzuchi waved her hand and took a step forward. The battle with the Twin-Torso Warrior was to resume again, but after having his HP cut down by 30% the enemy made a movement completely different from how he moved until now. "He's taking a step back?" The Twin-Torso Warrior took a big step back, lowered his body, and leaping forward he cleaved at Mikadzuchi with the curved swords. The sound of air being cut with strong momentum by the curved swords reached me in the rearguard. Mikadzuchi, averted her upper body avoiding the attack by a hair's breadth, but the Twin-Torso Warrior twisted his body and advanced another step forward. Just in case, I moved together with Sei-nee. Mikadzuchi lowered herself further avoiding it, but the Twin-Torso Warrior continued rotating, switching front and the back constantly he let out heavy slashes at Mikadzuchi one after another. The second attack was received by the stick, but Mikadzuchi lost in contest of strength and was parried away, her posture collapsing. With the third attack she received damage for the first time and the 【Substitute Gem's Ring】 took effect, letting out a quiet sound of breaking. Then the fourth and fifth attacks the Twin-Torso Warrior let out had easily exceeded the damage 【Substitute Gem's Ring】 could receive. Mikadzuchi was unable to fix her posture as she received the nullified attacks and receiving the sixth cleave, some of her HP was shaved off. And, when the Twin-Torso Warrior was about to release the seventh attack I threw magic gems at Mikadzuchi's feet, creating earthen walls under her and scooping her up. Multiple walls were too brittle for the strong attacks of the curved swords and have collapsed, but thanks to the fact walls grew under her feet she was able to escape upwards. Sei-nee invoked a heal on Mikadzuchi twice, restoring the received damage worth of HP. "Sei, Yun. You saved me there." "...no way. She called me by my name." "The attacks earlier were really persistent, if not for this thing Missy lent me, your support wouldn't make it in time. One more hit and it would be over for me. Also, Missy, thanks for this ring." "So, how do we take the rest of his HP?" Sei-nee used recovery magic in succession so her MP hit the bottom, forcing her to recover it with MP Potion on hand. Still, because the 【Curse】's effect was reducing it little by little, she sought to settle it early. "In that case there's no choice but to decide it all at once with all firepower we have." While saying so, Mikadzuchi took off the 【Substitute Gem's Ring】 that had the gem on its pedestal shatter and returned it to me. After once used, the 【Substitute Gem's Ring】 had several hours of cooldown applied to it. Good work, I muttered to it and stowed it away in the inventory. We turned towards the Twin-Torso Warrior, it seemed like he finished his big move and fell on his knees, completely defenceless for about ten seconds. "I'll give up on avoiding and continue attacking him physically." "I will use the remaining MP Potions to barrage him with magic." "I-I'll spread around remaining Magic Gems to blow him up." Mikadzuchi switched from her current fiery red light armour to the unique equipment that had a gloomy, wolfish design, the 【Dark Wolf's Armour】. The 【Dark Wolf's Armour】 was unique equipment received as a reward from a raid quest, it's negative effect 【Skills Sealed】 had overlapped with the negative effect from the Urami-danuki's 【Curse】 so currently it had no disadvantages. Moreover, it's 【Might】 additional effect increased the user's ATK significantly. As if chasing after running Mikadzuchi, I also started to run towards the Twin-Torso Warrior. Sei-nee created water bullets and ice lances in large amounts, and consuming MP Potions she continued to wait until the moment she can use them all at once. "Missy, match Sei's magic. Don't get hit until then!" "I'll do this from a safe place." I moved to medium distance while shooting with the bow, then started placing 【Bomb】's Magic Gems little by little, throwing them beneath the Twin-Torso Warrior's feet. Mikadzuchi parried a swung curved sword with armour on her arm and circled around to enemy's side, then using stats increased by 【Might】 she thrust the stick at the demon warrior in the back. When she did, the enemy's body rotated, receiving and mitigating the attack with the armour in front. "Tch, but... I'll force it through! DARAAahhh!!" The hexagonal stick thrust into the front demon warrior's belly and strongly dented in his armour. Along with a loud, dull sound, the Twin-Torso Warrior lost strength in his knees and fell on the ground. While it was possible to reduce the damage by allowing the impact to flow behind, the enemy was unable to do so and it had spread in his entire body. The demon warrior in the front pierced the curved swords into the ground and supported himself with both arms and the demon warrior in the back immediately counter-attacked. Mikadzuchi parried that strike to the side with all her strength, then struck the demon warrior on the back. "Now. ——《Aqua Bullet》《Ice Lance》, fire at once!" Sei-nee fired several dozens of magic that was waiting behind her, all straight at the Twin-Torso Warrior. The water bullets flying at high speed made dents in the front warrior's armour, the ice spears gouged his limbs, water burst out meeting the icy air and froze the Twin-Torso Warrior. And while the enemy was unable to move, 【Bomb】's Magic Gems activated all at once. The Twin-Torso Warrior was unable to avoid the multiple bombing and as he was swallowed by yellow explosions, the contours of his body were distorted. "I threw in several dozens of Magic Gems there. This should do." "Not yet! Mikadzuchi, last hit!" As the explosion's flash gradually faded, the Twin Torso Warrior appeared to have survived, although his armour in the front and kinagashi in the back were all in tatters. He stood up despite having less than 10% HP, poising his four swords broken in half he launched a continuous rotation attack on Mikadzuchi. However, the broken swords had small range and Mikadzuchi easily avoided them, moreover she was able to release the final blow by taking advantage of superior reach. Mikadzuchi thrust with all her strength at the enemy's side that was exposed by the rotation. The rotation added to the attack's strength and the Twin-Torso Warrior's armour was crushed and the strike deeply sank into his flank. The Twin-Torso Warrior was blown away along with a cry, hit the wall of the arena and slipped to the ground. In there, his body turned into particles of light, disappearing. Since we have been fighting with our Arts and skills suppressed ever since the seventh round started and the very end was flashy, the cheers from the audience were the loudest so far. "All right, let's continue to the eight——"We're retiring."——Sei-nee?!" The seventh round ended and I felt enthusiastic since next one had the prize Sei-nee aimed for, but she herself had declared we're retiring. The retirement had been accepted by the system, but I asked Sei-nee in wonder. "Is that okay? I mean, isn't the next prize what you were aiming for?" "It can't be helped. Urami-danuki's 【Curse】 still continues. Also, I only have enough MP for one spell and few potions. Mikadzuchi and Yun-chan, even if you can fight with your HP you can't use skills, right?" "If we force ourselves to challenge it here and lose, we lose all the prizes so far. It's wiser to withdraw here." While saying so Mikadzuchi put a hand on my head from behind and ruffled my hair strongly. Shaking off her hand, I had to agree with her. "Yup, you're right. Maybe I wasn't calm enough." "No, Yun-chan, you were taking me into consideration weren't you. Thank you." Sei-nee gently pat my head as if to comb my hair, causing me to feel embarrassed. In the edge of my vision Mikadzuchi's mouth distorted in dissatisfaction that I shook off her hand, but that's because she was too rough. Mikadzuchi suddenly exhaled, then rose her voice as to let the entire arena hear it. "Now, we have challenged the arena as the first, how was it? Will that serve as tips?! We have come in without taking any special measures, as a result we retire after the seventh round. Take advantage of this information. Also, look at how other guys challenge the arena and use that to knead your own measures. So yeah, do your best!" Along with Mikadzuchi's closing declaration a variety of cheers had come from the arena's audience. I smiled wryly seeing that enthusiasm, then left. Each of us picked a single prize out of the prizes for all seven rounds and four prizes remained. I received the 【Crystal of Exorcism】 first, then Mikadzuchi received the prizes for the third and the seventh round. Since Sei-nee retired before we acquired the item she wanted she had a right to choose the prize out of the remaining four on priority basis. "I'll...take the fourth and fifth prizes. You're next, Yun-chan." "Eh? I... then, the second round's prize." "You're lacking greed. We got the items we wanted so you should take all remaining ones, missy Sei." Saying so in the end, Mikadzuchi received the remaining prize and the allocation was over. On that day, since all three of us were already exhausted we decided to rest. Then, the next day, in the evening of the sixth day of expedition. I was doing the final adjustments of the accessories in the 【Eight Million Gods】 guild's craftsmen room. Whew, I ended up practically re-crafting the accessories for Sei-nee and Myu again. I stared at the accessories placed on the table. For the blue and silver accessory made with Blurite Ore, I first strengthened the ingot itself by synthesizing in a water 【Element Stone】, increasing the water element effect. As for the bead bracelet, I first made transparent glass beads, but then I thought that the way the 【Crystal of Exorcism】 diffuses light would suit Myu, so I continued to process the beads. I roasted the glass beads on a frying pan and had it rapidly cool in ice to make cracked glass to match the look of the 【Crystal of Exorcism】. I was given advices by Otonashi and Langley which I used as reference, finally making an accessory for Myu. Also, I used a light 【Element Stone】 on this one as well, combining it with the materials at early stage to add additional effect 【Light Element Increase (small)】. All that was left to do, was using the strengthening material I had on hand on these two. I took out four strengthening materials. The drop from the sea anemone-like Electric Parasitic Insect boss that was inside the Grand Rock, the 【Parasite Pacemaker】. And the two strengthening materials I acquired in the Volcanic Area's 【Demonfolk Resort】, the 【Precious Magic Crystal】 and the 【Crystal of Exorcism】. I added the effects to each accessory. For Sei-nee's 【'Blue and Silver Mystic Ring】 I used the 【Precious Magic Crystal】 in order to add the effect increasing magic-related stats. As for other effects, there was the 【INT Bonus】 that could be attached by crafter's 【Engraving】 Sense and 【Water Element Increase】 that was an additional effect added by the use of Blurite Ore. It was an accessory specialized in water element and magic. Myu's 【Snow White Bracelet】 had used the remaining three strengthening materials and was an accessory that boosted recovery, light magic, and had an auxillary effect. Thanks to the light 【Element Stone】 and 【Parasite Pacemaker】's overlapping effects the 【Light Element Increase】 effect had strengthened by one stage. "Sei-nee's magic will grow even more powerful. And since Myu says she wants to be a paladin, I made a general combination of effects for her." Imagining the two's happy faces I ended up smiling. I stretched my body and noticed it was already night. "Ah, it's almost time to sleep... I took a bath already, so all that's left is to go to sleep." After muttering that, I suddenly remembered. "The hot spring building in the Volcanic Area, there should be no people there at this time..." The frontline area was populated with few players. Furthermore it's around midnight so there isn't as many people online, I might be able to enjoy the hot springs without being seen by anyone. Thinking so, I immediately started acting. I transitioned to the portal at the back gate of a dungeon from one that's out of sight, then headed towards the hot spring. "...there's no one here. Comin' iiiin." After making sure there's no one inside or around the building I took off my boots at the grate in the entrance and sneaked inside on tiptoes. "OHH?!! My entire equipment was changed huh." What was my equipment earlier, had forcibly changed into a bath towel wrapped around me. "I'm all naked under this... heck, what am I thinking about!" I hurriedly shook my head and got rid of needless thought, then headed to the bath. Holding down the unreliable bath towel with my both hands I walked slowly. "Woah... so this is how it is inside." When I entered from the dressing room to the bathroom, I saw an open-air bath made with rugged rocks. After once again confirming there is no one inside, I a nearby bucket and poured hot water on myself before entering the bath. "In real you can't have the bath towel get wet, but here it can't be helped since it won't come off." I held down the unreliable bath towel that won't get off no matter what I immersed my body in the bathtub. "Haa, this is paradise. 【Demonfolk Resort】 might really be a good match with me. Mmm, I sure spend this week leisurely." Combat, farming boss and the arena challenge weren't all that tiring. All of that was many times better than mobs in a grotesque dungeon. "It has an atmosphere like that of an hot spring town, there's a lot of shops with delicious stuff I enjoyed." Tomorrow is the end of the guild expedition huh, I said and relaxed, I looked towards the night sky seeing off the white steam disappear in it. Then, after spending some time in daze, my 【See-Through】 Sense perceived signs of life in the dressing room causing me to panic. "EH?! There's someone else coming in at this time, what do I do?! I'll be seen!" If it gets out that a man like me entered women's bath it'll be end of my social life. I need to hide somewhere, I thought and started looking around, but other people have already entered the bathroom. "So you really were here, Missy." Finding out that they're my acquaintances I was relieved, but also thought that I can't stay here and hurriedly rose up from the bath. The water I have been soaking in up to my shoulder had flowed down my body, the drenched bath towel felt heavy. Just when I thought I passed by Mikadzuchi, she caught the edge of my bath towel and threw me back into the bath. I fell into the bath along with a loud splash, then rose in a hurry and raised my voice in protest. "PWAH! That was dangerous! What if my bath towel comes off?!" "What are you getting all embarrassed for. Also, you just got in so don't leave so early, accompany us for a little bit." Saying so, Mikadzuchi soaked in the bathtub right next to me. I tried standing up again but she held my head down and forced me back into the bath. Unable to resist because of the difference in our stats I gave up, then soaked up to my mouth in the cloudy hot water in order to hide my body. "Why did you two come here?" "Mm. We saw Yun-chan run this way and got curious." "Still, aren't you embarrassed to come after me as far as to the bath...? "We have swimsuits under this, look." Sei-nee said that and showed off shoulder straps that were visible despite the bath towel wrapped around her. At that time her chest was strongly emphasized, causing me to avert my gaze. "Aahh, fine. I get it already——hya!" "Kukuku, so innocent. Aren't you cute." Mikadzuchi lightly stroked my back with her fingertips. I reflexively bent backwards, turned towards her and glared. "Mikadzuchi! Heck, what the hell are you showing off here!" Seeing her shift the bath towel to show off the swimsuit just like Sei-nee I immediately averted my eyes from her. "Why are you overreacting like that? It's too cute, makes me want to bully you." "What? Do you have a complex over your small breasts? Don't worry, mine aren't too big either." As if! When I shouted that in my mind and stared at Mikadzuchi, she took out a tray from the inventory and placed it on the edge of the bath. Then the next thing she took out, was a painted sake cup and a liquor bottle. "It's stylish to drink while looking up at the moon, right?" She poured the content of the bottle into the sake cup painted red, filling it up. And saiyng so she drank little of the liquor from up, then tilted the cup horizontally. When she did, liquid had started coming out of the cup as if springing up from a fountain. "The liquid poured inside earlier can be reproduced by consuming MP. If you pour a potion in, then a potion, if liquor, then a liquor. Of course, the amount of MP consumed depends on what you pour inside." "Mikadzuchi is using it differently from how it was intended to. Moreover, she aimed for the third and seventh prizes in the arena just for this, you know?" Haa, Sei-nee heaved a sigh. The prizes Sei-nee and I have chosen, the second and the fifth one were of two types, big and small tsuzura boxes. The content of the wicker boxes changed at random, Sei-nee's large box had one large item inside and my small box had three smaller ones. "My fourth prize is a material called 【Nameless Demon's Horn】. And as for the fifth prize's box, I don't have luck so it'll probably be a item I don't need." Although we were immersed in a pleasant bath, Sei-nee started letting out a depressing atmosphere, making me panic. "It's all right, Sei-nee. Um... if you won't need what you get, I'll exchange it with what I get from the box." "Uuunh, Yun-chan's kindness pierces my heart. But at the same time, it looks like no one expects anything of my luck." Seeing Sei-nee even more downhearted, in contrast, Mikadzuchi smiled happily. "Once the expedition is over you should open them in front of everyone. Whether you have luck or not, everyone will get fired up." "Uuu, Mikadzuchi, you talk as if it had nothing to do with you." "In fact, it doesn't. Also, missy Yun, come participate in tomorrow's party." Mikadzuchi called me by my name again. She did that once in the arena before, at the same time I felt a little happy to be called so, I was ashamed to be called that right now and sank into the bathtub up to my mouth again. "And, it's about the time you decide what will you do, Missy." "Whether you officially join our 【Eight Million Gods】 guild, or leave." "...it's all right. I have already decided." It all felt too cosy I sometimes nearly forgot about it. That's why I have decided right from the start. Hearing my words, Mikadzuchi responded with "I see, I see." and drank the rest of liquor all at once. "Well then, I'll be going ahead." "Sure, good night. Don't be late for tomorrow's party." I held down the heavy bath towel with my hand and walked towards the dressing room with sound footsteps. Behind me, I could hear Sei-nee and Mikadzuchi speak to each other. "You're right. It does seem like Yun-chan goes with the flow, but since long ago whenever she decided on something, she would always carry it through." Hearing their words I denied that in my mind. I'm not strong or anything, I thought. How about pouring MP potion into the [Magic Cup]?? Would the MP cost of using the cup be higher, or would the regeneration of MP be higher?? So many questions. Of course making an MP Potion will cost more MP than it gives. That's how BALANCE works, and in MMOs these things are strictly balanced. Well, it could also be strictly even, it'd still balance it to uselessness which would be the point. I imagine the thing is actually hugely inefficient for it's apparent intended purpose and the way Mikadzuchi is using it is actually the most efficient way to do so. Booze or other food beverages don't have a whole lot of recovery to them if any, and I imagine booze would be a reflection of real life like it is in most MMO's which have booze and give status ailments rather than boosts, which would further reduce the MP cost. But still useful for a front line warrior type. There's plenty of RPGs with items that let you trade MP for HP, sometimes even as a passive buff. A HP potion making flask would work pretty well for Mika. A full warrior type probably won't even have the mana to use it like that. After all, you have to train a sense for that. Mikadzuchi. Breast size is of no importance. Its how they look. Big one's can still be ugly. Also, incredible amount of confidence. A very fun character. Reproduce any liquid inside by consuming MP? That 【Magic Cup】 is toooo broken, all potion makers can go bankrupt. Not really, if producing high potions consumes half of the user's MP, there's no point right? Might as well take recovery magic or just buy one. Or do you imagine someone will sit in home and wait for mana to recover to make one pot per 10 minutes? Or maybe will they chug down MP Potions to make more potions? He can kill 10 mobs, earn enough money to buy two of the same potion and earn experience in the same amount of time. And if it is something more expensive than a MP Potion, Revival Medicine for example? For the full party it shouldn't be so difficult to get a several Magic Cups. Then pour Revival Medicine in the first cup, then from the first to the second, etc. Take a few magicians with [MP Increase?] and [MP Recovery?] to mass produce potions. The amount of MP required to reproduce it is dependant on what you reproduce. I'm guessing Revival Medicine would take a mage's entire MP tank to reproduce - and I talk about a high level mage's. And a high level mage will have better, more profitable things to do. You said "he"; all things considered, I'm not sure whether or not to correct you. ... That thing tanuki didn't look undead to me, not until it was actually stated anyways. Also, odd how it says you can't pass 'healing' items to each other during arena battle, but not equipment and other consumables; why would it only be healing item, rather then all? Seems a bit too lenient on items and such. Lastly... WTFH, how could the bath towel be unreliable if it can't be taken off!? AND why did he say that in the end!? IT can't be taken off!! Ps. I don't remember, was it 30 consumables or just 30 restoratives? If it's consumables, don't Enchant Stones, Boost Tablets, and Magic Gems count? Assuming "unreliable" as in "this is supposed to be used for drying off, isn't it?" Third readover and I finally pay close attention to the gift accessory stats and wonder why Yun hasn't item enchanted them like that tri ring she gave Magi. They usually have a maximum on how much they can be strengthened; we don't know if the max has been achieved yet, so that could be a reason for why it wasn't. The sixth round, the one that rewarded the strengthening material I wanted as a prize, the 【Diffusing Crystal】. Covered in fluffy hair, he had a kettle-like armour on his torso as if to hide his fatty belly and was holding spear in his hand, a spear with cross-shaped blade. Covered in fluffy hair, he had a kettle-like armour on his torso as if to hide his fatty belly and was holding a spear with cross-shaped blade in his hand. "So rather than division it were shadow clones, huh. "So rather than division those were/are shadow clones, huh. "So rather than dividing itself it created shadow clones, huh. Abandoning any shame and respectability I avoided by crouching and spears from four enemies passed over my head. Abandoning any shame and respectability I avoided by crouching as spears from four enemies passed over my head. "The attack just now was dangerous. "That attack just now was dangerous. "After coming this far we got a nasty opponent appear. "After coming this far we got a nasty opponent appeared. The counter-attack was fast once Mikadzuchi and I learned enemy's weakness. It was strong enough shock to crush my naive ideas about the arena challenge. With a loud *whump* I was pierced by a purple spear, but I didn't feel any pain or receive damage. "So Missy didn't resist it and got whole set. And you Sei?" ..., that's when the other side swung its swords cleaving from sides. ..., that's when the other side swung its swords cleaving from the sides. After slamming the wall the warrior fell in that place and sluggishly rose up. Hearing Sei-nee's words Mikadzuchi waved his hand and took a step forward. Mikadzuchi was unable to fix his posture as she received the nullified attacks and receiving the sixth cleave, some of her HP was shaved off. Sei-nee invoked a heal on Mikadzuchi twice, restoring received damage worth of HP. "I-I'll spread around remaining Magic Gems to blow the him up." Moreover, it's 【Might】 additional effect had increased the user's ATK significantly. Moreover, its 【Might】 additional effect increases the user's ATK significantly. The rotation added to attack's strength and the Twin-Torso Warrior's armour was crushed and the strike deeply sank into his flank. The rotation added to the attack's strength and crushed the Twin-Torso Warrior's armour was and the strike deeply sank into his flank. As for other effects, there was the 【INT Bonus】 that could be attached by crafter's 【Engraving】 Sense and 【Water Element Increase】 that was additional effect added by the use of Blurite Ore. After once again confirming there is no one inside, then took a bucket nearby and poured hot water on myself before entering the bath. After once again confirming there is no one inside, I took a bucket nearby and poured hot water on myself before entering the bath. It was all many times better than mobs in a grotesque dungeon. It was after all many times better than mobs in a grotesque dungeon. I'm not sure what it is. I don't know if it exists. Yun herself seems not to care, which is one of the better ways to handle this, but what sense of 'gender' are you going for here? Physical, or social? In either case she's a young girl. Physically speaking only in-game, but the game appears quite capable of that. Socially, everyone in-game treats her as such. Habits? Gender roles? Ditto, it seems, in that she's got the caretaker role in either world. Yun might disagree, but Myu is far more of a tomboy. Sexual attraction? Society has mostly decided that's independent of gender, but for what it's worth I think she's probably bisexual. What's left? Personal identity, pretty much. Nothing objective, just--"which label does she prefer". And for all her reflexive objections, I think she's gotten used to being both. But I don't think it really matters. Labels aren't important. Now to return to the inside of that turtle's guts!! Yun is never going to go back there, not even on threat of life and limb. LOL. Then again, Yun did take the sense resistance leveling course. That chapter hinted that Yun wants some payback. No. Yun explained why Yun took that, and it had nothing to do with GOING BACK, and everything to do with A: expectation of being dragged into such a thing again somewhere else by friends yet again and B: for cooking and mixing applications. While A was the real reason, it was self-justified as being more about B. But Yun made it absolutely clear that no amount of coercion would be able to convince Yun to return to the Inside-Body Dungeon specifically.

2019-04-20T23:10:35Z

https://krytykal.org/only-sense/volume-8/chapter-6/

S.I. No. 67/1973 - European Communities (Measuring Instruments) Regulations, 1973. 1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Measuring Instruments) Regulations, 1973. 3. The Sale of Gas Act, 1859, as amended, the Gas Regulation Act, 1920 , and the Gas Regulation Act, 1928 (in these Regulations referred to as the Gas Acts) and these Regulations shall be construed as one so far as the Regulations relate to gas volume meters and the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961, and these Regulations shall be construed as one so far as the Regulations relate to other instruments. ( b ) every inspector (including an ex-officio inspector) under the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961, shall be an inspector so far as these Regulations relate to other instruments. 5. (1) The EEC initial verification marks referred to in these Regulations are those described in and conforming with Schedule 1, which have been inscribed by the competent authority of a member State. (2) The EEC pattern approval symbols referred to in these Regulations are those described in and conforming with Schedule 2. 6. (1) Any medium accuracy weight may be used for trade if it bears the final EEC verification mark and the mark has not been cancelled by an inspector under these Regulations. (2) Any liquid meter or gas volume meter may be used for trade if it bears the EEC pattern approval symbol and the final EEC verification mark and the mark has not been cancelled by an inspector under these Regulations. 7. (1) Where any instrument is submitted to an inspector for EEC initial verification he shall examine the instrument in accordance with Schedule 3 and the special provisions applicable to an instrument of its category under these Regulations. (2) If the inspector is satisfied after examination that the instrument meets the requirements prescribed he shall affix on the instrument the appropriate EEC initial verification mark. 8. The medium accuracy weights which may receive the EEC initial verification marks are described in Schedule 4. They are exempt from EEC pattern approval. 9. The liquid meters which may receive the EEC initial verification marks are described in Schedule 5. Only meters of a pattern that has received EEC pattern approval may be admitted to EEC initial verification and these meters shall be accepted as satisfying the construction requirements in Schedule 5. 10. The gas volume meters which may receive the EEC initial verification marks are described in Schedule 6. Only meters of a pattern that has received EEC pattern approval may be admitted to EEC initial verification and these meters shall be accepted as satisfying the construction requirements in Schedule 6. 11. (1) When an inspector inspects instruments in service which bear the EEC marks of initial verification he shall apply the tests and the required level of tolerances where they are prescribed in the Weights and Measures (General) Regulations, 1928 (S.R. & O., No. 71 of 1928), provided that the maximum errors permitted for these instruments on inspection shall bear the same ratio between inspection and initial verification as the ratio for other instruments not covered by the present Regulations. (2) If the instrument does not satisfy the tests and level of tolerances applicable under this Regulation the inspector shall cancel the EEC initial verification mark. 12. (1) Any person who forges or counterfeits any stamp used for stamping under these Regulations or wilfully makes an alteration in an instrument so as to affect its accuracy shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding œ200 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. (2) Any person who knowingly uses, sells, utters, disposes of or exposes for sale any instrument with such forged or counterfeit stamp or an instrument so altered or an instrument bearing marks or inscriptions liable to be confused with EEC marks or symbols shall on, summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding œ100. 13. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister for Industry and Commerce or an inspector. (1)Council Directive No. 71/316/EEC, Annex II, 3.1.1., 3.3, amended by Act of Accession, 22 January, 1972, Annex I.X (Technical Barriers), 12. ( b ) the second stamp shall consist of the last two digits of the year of the verification, in a hexagon. 1.1.2. The mark of EEC partial verification shall consist solely of the first stamp. It shall also serve as a seal. 2.1. The final EEC verification mark shall be affixed at the appointed location on the instrument when the latter has been completely verified and is recognised to conform to EEC requirements. 2.2.1. When verification is made in several stages on the instrument or part of an instrument which fulfils the conditions laid down for operations other than those at the place of installation, at the place where the stamp-date is affixed or in any other place specified in the special provisions. 2.2.2. In all cases as a seal, in the places specified in the separate schedule for that category of instrument. 3. The stamps for use by Inspectors to affix EEC initial verification marks shall be as prescribed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce. —in the upper part, the distinguishing capital letter of the State which granted the approval (B for Belgium, DK for Denmark, D for the Federal Republic of Germany, F for France, IR for Ireland, I for Italy, L for Luxembourg, NL for the Netherlands and UK for the United Kingdom) and the last two digits of the year of approval. —in the lower part, a designation to be determined by the metrological service which granted approval (an identification number). (1)Council Directive No. 71/316/EEC, Annex I, 3.1, amended by Act of Accession, 22 January, 1972, Annex I. X (Technical Barriers), 12. (ii) In the case of EEC limited approval, the letter P, having the same dimensions as the stylised letter Σ shall be placed before this letter. 2. The signs mentioned above must be affixed at a visible point on each instrument and must be legible and indelible. 3. The appropriate symbols of EEC pattern approval may be affixed by the manufacturer or his authorised representative to instruments of a pattern for which an EEC pattern approval certificate has been issued by the competent authority of a member State. General provisions applicable to instruments covered by this Order. 1.1. The EEC initial verification may be carried out in one or more stages (usually two). 1.2.1. The EEC initial verification shall be carried out in one stage on instruments which constitute a whole on leaving the factory, that is to say instruments which, theoretically, can be transferred to their place of installation without first having to be dismantled. 1.2.2. The EEC initial verification shall be carried out in two or more stages for instruments whose correct functioning depends on the conditions in which they are installed or used. 1.2.3. The first stage of the verification procedure must ensure, in particular, that the instrument conforms to the approved pattern or, in the case of instruments exempt from pattern approval, that they conform to the relevant provisions. 2.1. Instruments which have to be verified in two or more stages shall be verified by the metrological service territorially competent. 2.1.1. The last stage of a verification must be carried out at the place of installation. 2.1.2. The other verification stages of a verification may be carried out by the competent authority of a member State. —to provide a copy of the EEC certificate of approval. (1)Council Directive No. 71/316/EEC, Annex II. 1, 2. 1.1. Parallelepiped shape with a rigid non-projecting handle for gripping. 2.1. Internal cavity made up of the interior of the tubular gripping handle. 2.2. The cavity is closed by a screw-plug of drawn brass or by a brass plug in the form of a smooth disc. The screw-plug has a screwdriver slot and the smooth disc has a central lifting hole. 2.3. The plug is sealed by a lead pellet driven into an internal circular groove or into the thread of the tube. 2.4. Internal cavity cast in one of the uprights of the weight and opening on the upper surface of this upright. 2.5. The cavity is closed by a small mild steel plate. 2.6. The plate is sealed by a lead pellet driven into a recess as shown in Illustration A. 3.1. After adjustment of the new weight by means of lead shot, two thirds of the total volume of the cavity remains empty. 4.1. The final EEC verification mark is stamped on the lead seal of the adjustment cavity. 5.1. The indications stating the nominal value of the weight, and the manufacturer's identification mark, appear on the upper surface of the central part of the weight, either indented or in relief. 5 kg, 10 kg, 20 kg, 50 kg. 6.1. The dimensions to be complied with for the different weights are laid down in Illustration A (dimensions in millimetres). 6.2. The tolerances applicable to the various dimensions are the normal manufacturing tolerances. (1)Council Directive No. 71/317/EEC, Annexes I to IV. dimensions a and d, be and e may be reversed. 8.1. If necessary, weights are protected against corrosion by a suitable coating resistant to wear and impact. 1.1. Cylindrical shape with a flat knob for gripping. 1.2. Material used: any material with a density of 7 to 9·5 g/cm3, of a hardness at least equal to that of cast brass, not less resistant to corrosion and not more friable than grey cast iron, and with a surface comparable to that of grey cast iron carefully cast in a mould of fine sand. 1.3. The method of manufacture to be appropriate to the material chosen. 2.1. Internal cylindrical cavity with a larger diameter in the top part of the cavity. 2.2. The cavity is closed by a screw plug of drawn brass or by a brass plug in the form of a smooth disc. The screw plug has a screwdriver slot and the smooth disc has a central lifting hole. 2.3. The plug is sealed by a lead cap driven into a circular groove cut out in the wider part of the cavity. 2.4. Weights of 1, 2, 5 and 10 g do not have an adjustment cavity. 2.5. An adjustment cavity is optional for those of 20 and 50 g. 4.2. Weights without adjustment cavities are stamped on the base. 5.1. The indications stating the nominal value of the weight, as well as the manufacturer's identification mark, appear on the upper surface of the head of the weight, either indented or in relief. 5.2. The nominal value of the weight may be indicated on the body of weights of from 500 g to 10 kg. 6.1. The dimensions to be complied with for the different weights are laid down in Illustration B (dimensions in millimetres). 8.1. If necessary, weights are protected against corrosion by a suitable coating resistant to wear and impact; they may be polished. 1. (i) "Volumetric meter for Liquids" means an instrument composed solely of a measuring device and an indicating device. It generally forms part of a measuring system. (1)Council Directive No. 71/319/EEC, Articles 2 and 5. (ii) "Measuring systems for Liquids" means a measuring instrument comprising, as well as the meter itself and the ancillary equipment which may be associated with it, all the devices necessary for ensuring correct measurement and any devices which have been added in order, in particular, to facilitate the operations. Measuring systems are not covered by this schedule. 2. When measuring assemblies for liquids which incorporate volumetric meters for liquids bearing EEC marks and symbols are subject to initial verification, the maximum permissible errors shall be those laid down in Chapter II. SPECIFICATIONS FOR METERS FOR LIQUIDS OTHER THAN WATER. 1.1. "Minimum delivery" means the smallest volume of liquid which may be measured by a particular pattern. 1.2. "Cyclic volume" means the volume of liquid corresponding to the operating cycle of the measuring device, that is to say to the whole of the movements at the end of which all the internal moving parts of the measuring device return, for the first time, to their original position. 1.3. "Periodic variation" means the maximum difference, during one working cycle, between the volume displaced by the moving components and the corresponding volume shown by the indicator, the latter being connected to the measuring device without play or slip and in such a way that it indicates at the end of the cycle and for this cycle a volume equal to the cyclic volume. This difference may be reduced by a suitable calibration device. 2.1. Meters must incorporate an indicating mechanism showing the measured volume in cubic centimetres or millilitres, in cubic decimetres or litres or in cubic metres. 2.2. In an indicating mechanism having one or more elements, that which is marked with the smallest scale intervals is called the "first element". 2.3. The drive between the indicating mechanism and the measuring device must be reliable, durable and effected by means of a mechanical connection or by a permanent magnet device. 2.4.1. Reading of the indications must be reliable, easy and unambiguous. 2.4.2. If the indicating mechanism incorporates several elements, the indicating mechanism as a whole must be so constructed that the reading of the indication can be performed by simple juxtaposition of the indications of the different elements. 2.5. The maximum capacity of the indicating mechanism must be of the form 1 x 10n, 2 x 10n or 5 x 10n authorised units of volume, n being a whole positive or negative number, or zero. 2.7. When the moving part of an element has a continuous movement, a graduated scale and a datum mark must enable the measured quantity to be determined for every position at which the element might come to rest. 2.8. Scale intervals on the first element must be in the form 1 x 10n, 2 x 10n or 5 x 10n authorised units of volume. 2.9. Except for the element which corresponds to the maximum capacity of the indicating mechanism, the value of one revolution of an element must be of the form 10n authorised units, when the graduated scale on this unit is completely visible. 2.10. When an element consists of a fixed circular scale and a rotating pointer, the direction of rotation of this pointer must be clockwise. 2.11. On an indicating mechanism having several elements, each rotation of the moving part of the elements of which the graduation is entirely visible must correspond to the value of the scale interval of the next element. 2.12. On an indicating mechanism having several elements, the indication of an element with a discontinuous movement, other than the first element, must move forward by one figure while the preceeding element moves through not more than one-tenth of its revolution. This forward movement must cease when the preceding element indicates zero. 2.13. When an indicating mechanism has several elements and when only a part of the scale of the second and subsequent elements is visible in the windows, the movements of the latter elements must be discontinuous. The movement of the first element may be continuous or discontinuous. 2.14. If the indication is given by figures in-line and if the movement of the first element is discontinuous, the marking of one or more fixed zeros to the right of this element is permissible. 2.15. When the first element has only a portion of its scale visible in a window and has a continuous movement, there can be a resulting ambiguity in the reading which should be eliminated so far as is possible. To this end, and in order to allow for reading by interpolation, the relevant window must have, parallel to the movement of the scale, a dimension not less than 1·5 times the distance between the centre lines of two consecutively numbered graduation marks, in such a way that at least two graduation marks of which one will have a figure, are always visible. The window may be assymmetrical relative to the datum mark. 2.16. On scales having graduation marks, the marks must have the same thickness, constant along the length of the mark, which shall not exceed one quarter of the distance between the centre lines of two consecutive marks. Marks corresponding to 1 x 10n, 2 x 10n or 5 x 10n authorised units shall only be distinguished by difference in their lengths. 2.17. The actual or apparent distance between the axes of two consecutive graduation marks must not be less than 2 millimetres. 2.18. The actual or apparent height of the figures must not be less than 4 millimetres. 3.1. Meters must incorporate a calibrating device which can vary the relationship between the indicated and actual volumes of liquid passing through the meter. 3.2. When this device changes this relationship in a discontinuous manner, the consecutive increments of this relationship must never differ by more than 0·002. 3.3. Regulation by means of a bypass arrangement on the meter is prohibited. 4. twice the periodic variation. 4.2. In the determination of this minimum delivery, account must also be taken, where necessary, of the effect of the additional components on the measuring equipment, in accordance with the requirements stated in the provisions concerning this equipment. 4.3. The minimum delivery must be in the form 1 x 10n, 2 x 10n or 5 x 10n authorised units, n being a whole positive or negative number, or zero. 5.1. The maximum and minimum rates of flow are specified in the certificate of approval in accordance with results obtained during the examination. The meter must be capable of operation for a determined period specified in the certificate of approval, at approximately its maximum rate of flow without showing any noticeable change in its measuring qualities. 5.2. The ratio between the maximum and minimum rates of flow must be at least equal to 10 for meters in general and to 5 for meters for liquefied gases. 6.1. The certificate of approval of a meter must specify the liquid or liquids for which the meter is intended, the temperature limits for the liquid to be measured where these limits are below –10° or above +50°C, as well as the maximum working pressure. 6.2. The examination carried out for the purpose of approving a model of a meter must show that the variations in error due to maximum variations in the properties of the liquids, to the pressure and the temperature of the liquid, within the limits which are to be specified in the certificate of approval, must not exceed, for each of these factors, one half of the values stated in items 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter II. 7.1. When the initial verification of a measuring system is preceded by metrological examination of the meter alone, the maximum permissible errors at the time of this examination are equal to one half of the maximum permissible errors specified in items 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter II but not less than 0·3% of the measured quantity, if the liquid used is the same as that for which the meter is intended. 7.2. However, if the precision of measurement is not sufficient to permit the application of this requirement, the certificate of approval may increase the maximum permissible errors, within the limits of those specified in items 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter II. 7.3. Moreover, the certificate of approval may reduce and/or vary the maximum permissible errors where the verification referred to above will be carried out either with only one of the liquids provided for or with a different liquid. In the latter case (that is to say when the liquid used in the verification is different from that for which the meter is intended), the certificate of approval may specify the rates of flow during testing at rates other than those which lie between the maximum and minimum rates of flow. ( e ) the cyclic volume. ( i ) the nature of the liquid or liquids to be measured and the limits of viscosity, kinematic or dynamic, where an indication of the nature of the liquid alone is not sufficient to determine their viscosity. ( b ) the minimum delivery. 8.3. Where there is a possibility of ambiguity the direction of movement of the liquid must be indicated by an arrow on the meter casing. 8.4. On meters which measure potable liquids and which can be dismantled, the serial number or the three last figures of this number must be repeated on parts whose replacement can affect the measurement results. 8.5. The indicating mechanism may carry a special description and identifying number. 9.1. Sealing devices must prevent access to parts which can alter the calibration and, the dismantling, even partially, of the meter where such dismantling is not authorised in the certificate of approval (meters which measure potable liquids and which can be dismantled). 9.2. A firm location on an essential part, visible without dismantling, must be provided on the measuring device, on the indicating mechanism or on their housing for the application of the EEC verification mark. 9.3. The certificate of approval may require a location for the application of a stamp on interchangeable components of meters which can be dismantled, alongside the serial number referred to in item 8·4 in this Chapter. MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE ERRORS ON MEASURING SYSTEMS. From 0·4 to 1 litres . From 1 to 2 litres . 2 litres or more . 2. However, the maximum permissible error on the maximum delivery is double the value laid down in item 1 of Chapter II and, whatever might be the measured quantity, the maximum permissible error is never less than that permitted on the minimum delivery. 3. Because of difficulties inherent in the testing facilities, the maximum permissible errors are double those given in items 1 and 2 of Chapter II where these are applicable to measuring equipment for liquid gases or other liquids measured at a temperature below – 10°C or above + 50°C as well as for equipment for which the minimum rate of flow is not greater than 1 litre per hour. 4. If, on initial verification, the errors are all of the same sense, one at least amongst them must not exceed the limits laid down in item 7.1. of Chapter I. The range of load of a gas meter is bounded by the maximum flow Qmax and the minimum flow Qmin. "Cyclic volume V of a volumetric meter" means the volume of gas corresponding to a cycle of operation of the meter, that is to say to the whole of the movements of the moving components of the meter at the end of which all these components except the indicator and the intermediate transmissions return, for the first time, to their original position. (1) Council Directive No. 71/318/EEC, Annex. It is calculated by multiplying the value of the volume represented by a complete revolution of the test element, by the transmission ratio of the measuring device to the index counter. The operating pressure of a gas meter is the difference between the pressure of the gas at the inlet of the meter and the atmospheric pressure. The reference pressure pr of a gas meter is the gas pressure to which the indicated volume of gas is related. The pressure tapping for measuring the reference pressure is laid down in Chapter III. The pressure absorption of a gas meter is the difference between the pressures measured at the inlet and outlet of the meter during the flow of a gas. The constant of an output drive is the value of the volume represented by a complete turn of the shaft of this drive; this value is calculated by multiplying the value of the volume represented by a complete turn of the test element by the transmission ratio of the index counter to this shaft. B. GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR GAS VOLUME METERS. 1.1. Chapter I lays down the general provisions which must be satisfied by all gas volume meters covered by these regulations. 1.2. Chapters II and III lay down the special provisions relating to the meters concerned. The meters must be manufactured of solid materials with low internal stresses, which change little with age, and which are sufficiently resistant to corrosion and attack by the various gases which are normally distributed or by any of their condensates. The cases of meters must be gas-tight at the maximum operating pressure. The meters must be so constructed that any interference which could affect the accuracy of measurement is impossible without damaging the verification marks or protective seals. For meters, whose indicating devices function positively only for one direction of flow, this direction must be indicated by an arrow. This arrow is not required if the direction of gas flow is fixed by the construction. 3.1. Meters may be fitted with additional devices (for correction, recording supplementary indication etc.); their addition is subject to the EEC type approval procedure. 3.2. Meters may be fitted with output drives to operate a detachable indicator, a pre-payment device, or any other complementary or additional device. 3.2.1. When these controls are not used, the free end of the drive must be protected by a plug or similar arrangement which can be sealed. "I rev . . . m3" (or dm3). 3.3. Meters may be fitted with integral pulse generators. The outlets for these generators should bear an indication of the corresponding value for one pulse in the form "1 pulse > . . . m3" (or dm3). ( h ) for volumetric meters, the nominal value of the cyclic volume expressed as: V= . . . m3 (or dm3). These inscriptions must be directly visible, easily legible, and indelible under the normal conditions of use of the meter. 4.2. The metrological service which issues the type approval may decide the cases in which the nature of the gas must also be specified on the badge plate. 4.3. The meter may also carry the commercial designation, a special series number, the name of the gas distributor, a mark indicating that it conforms to a European standard, and an indication relating to any repairs made. Unless specially authorised, any other indication or inscription is prohibited. 5.1.1. The counters must be in the form of drums; however, the last element may be excepted from this rule. The drums must be calibrated in cubic metres or decimal multiples or submultiples of the cubic metre. The symbol m3 must be marked on the index plate. 5.1.1.1. The drums indicating the submultiples of the cubic metre if provided must be clearly distinguishable from the other drums, and separated from them by a clearly marked decimal point. ( b ) the indication " x 10, x 100, x 1,000 etc" in such a way that the reading is always made in cubic metres. 5.1.2. The counter must have sufficient numbered drums to be able to indicate within one unit of the last drum, the volume passed during an operating period of one thousand hours at maximum flow rate. 5.2.1. Meters must be designed in such a way that checking can be done with sufficient accuracy. For this purpose they must incorporate in their design an integral test unit or arrangements permitting the connection of a portable test unit. ( b ) a pointer passing over a fixed dial having a graduated scale or a disc carrying a graduated scale moving past a fixed reference mark. 5.2.3. On the graduated scales of these test elements the unit of the graduations must be indicated clearly and unambiguously in m3 or decimal submultiples, of the m3; the beginning of the scale must be indicated by the figure zero. 5.2.3.1. The interval between, scale divisions must be constant throughout the scale and not less than 1 millimetre. 5.2.3.2. The value of the scale divisions must be in the form, 1 x 10n, 2 x 10n, or 5 x 10n m3, n being a whole positive or negative number or zero. 5.2.3.3. The graduation lines must be fine and uniform. In cases in which the division is of the form 1 x 10n or 2 x 10n m3, all the lines representing multiples of 5, and in the case of a division of the form 5 x 10n m3, all the lines representing multiples of 2, must be distinguished by a greater length. "The needle or the fixed mark must be sufficiently thin to permit a certain and easy reading. The controller element must be able to be supplied with a mark detachable clearly and of a sufficient shape to allow the photoelectric scan. The mark must not recover the graduation; it can take, if such be the case, the place of the figure 0. This mark must not harm the precision of reading". The diameters of drums must be at least 16 millimetres. The diameter of the graduated scales mentioned in Chapter I B 5.2.2. (b) must be at least 32 millimetres. The counter must be so designed that it can be read by simple juxtaposition of the figures. The advance by one figure at any part of the index must be completed whilst the figure of the immediately next lower range describes the last tenth of its course. Meters must be so designed that the counter may be removed easily during examination. 6.1. The measuring errors are expressed as a relative value by the ratio, as a percentage, of the difference between the volume indicated and the volume actually passed by the meter, to the latter volume. 6.2. These errors relate to the measurement of volumes of air having a reference density of 1:2 kg/m3. Under normal atmospheric conditions the ambient air in a test laboratory may be considered to satisfy this condition. 6.3. The maximum permissible errors are specified in Chapters II and III; they are valid for the authorised direction of flow. The maximum permissible values of pressure absorption are specified in Chapters II and III. The application of EEC verification marks and seals on a gas meter certifies solely that the meter meets the requirements of this schedule. The locations of the marks must be chosen in such a way that dismantling of the part sealed will involve destruction of the marks. 8.2.2. When the inscriptions mentioned in item 4.1 of Chapter I B are on a special badge plate, one of the marks should be fixed in such a manner that it is damaged if the special plate is removed. ( b ) on all parts of the casing which cannot otherwise be protected against interference liable to affect the accuracy of measurement. Meters submitted for the EEC initial verification shall be in working order. If the meters are to be used with additional devices operated by output drives, these accessories must have been connected during the examination unless a later connection has been expressly authorised. —shall receive seals in the locations provided for the protection of certain components against interference liable to affect the meter characteristics. PROVISIONS RELATING TO GAS VOLUME METERS WITH DEFORMABLE WALLS. This Chapter applies, together with the provisions of Chapter 1, to gas meters in which the measurement of gas passed through is effected by means of measuring chambers with deformable walls. 2.2. If for a type of meter the value of Qmin is lower than the number given in the table of item 2.1 of this Chapter, the numerical value of this Qmin must be expressed by a number in column 3 of this table or by a decimal submultiple of this number. 2.3. Meters having a cyclic volume less than the value given in the table of item 2.1 of this Chapter may be approved provided that the model satisfies the requirements of the special endurance test prescribed. 3.1. For each of the meters the difference between the calculated value of the cyclic volume V and the value of this volume specified on the meter must not exceed 5% of the latter. 3.2. Meters G1·6 to G6 inclusive may be provided with a device to prevent operation of the counter when the gas flows in a non-authorised direction. "The volumes of air to be measured can be replaced by the volumes most closely corresponding to a whole number of turns of the controller element". 5.1.2. In EEC initial verification the errors for a meter for flows Q between 2Qmin and Qmax must not all exceed 1% if they are all of the same sign. The above values relate to the maximum of the mechanical pressure absorption. For meters for which the operating pressure exceeds 0:1 MN/m (1 bar) the provisions of item 6.2. of this Chapter regarding the mechanical pressure absorption apply, but the total pressure absorption mentioned in item 6.1. of this Chapter of these meters is not taken into consideration. ( d ) at a flow rate 0.5Qmax for meters for which the operating pressure is greater than 0·1MN/m (1 bar). If the examination is conducted under different conditions, the guarantees must be at least equal to those obtained by the tests mentioned above. PROVISIONS CONCERNING GAS METERS WITH ROTARY PISTONS OR TURBINES. —in which the measurement of gas passed is effected by means of measuring chambers with rotary walls. —in which the axial flow of gas rotates a turbine wheel and the number of revolutions of the wheel represents the volume of gas passed. and decimal multiples of the last five lines. 3.1.1. Meters should include upstream and downstream static pressure tappings of 3 to 5 millimetre diameter to permit measurement of the pressure drop:the pressure measured upstream will constitute the reference pressure. 3.1.2. The meters may incorporate a manual arrangement for turning the pistons provided that it cannot be used in such a way as to interfere with the correct operation of the meter. 3.1.3. The bearings of the shafts of the rotary pistons of meters of sizes G160 and above may be constructed in such a way as to provide access to them without breaking the protective seals. 3.2.1. The meters must incorporate a pressure tapping permitting, if necessary indirectly, the determination of the pressure immediately upstream of the turbine wheel as a reference pressure. 3.2.1.1. If there is a device for throttling the gas flow upstream of the rotor, the meter may incorporate, as well as the pressure tapping required by item 3.2.1. of this Chapter, another pressure tapping immediately before the throttle to permit determination of the pressure drop across the throttling device. 3.3.1. These pressure tappings must be provided with means for closing them. 3.3.2. The pressure tappings for the reference pressure must be clearly and indelibly marked "pr" and the pressure tapping should be indicated as "p". Maximum permissible error in EEC initial verification. 5.2. The errors must not all exceed half the maximum permissible error if they are all of the same sign. Qmin, 1.5Qmin, 2.5Qmin, 0.25Qmax, 0.5Qmax, and Qmax. If the test is effected in other conditions, these must guarantee a result identical to the verifications mentioned above. 6.2. The values specified in item 6·1 of this Chapter may be varied by x 5 %. GIVEN under my Official Seal this 21st day of March, 1973. These regulations are made to give effect, so far as necessary, to Council Directive No. 71/316/EEC, as amended by the Act annexed to the Treaty of Accession, 22nd January, 1972, at Annex 1. X (Technical Barriers), item 12, and Council Directives Nos. 71/317/EEC, 71/318/EEC, and 71/319/EEC, on the approximation of the Laws of the Member States relating to measuring instruments and methods of metrological control for medium accuracy weights, liquid meters and gas volume meters.

2019-04-20T22:25:39Z

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1973/si/67/made/en/print

During a military regime the chief martial law administrator (CMLA) as can be excepted exercise the crucial role in foreign policy decision making in Bangladesh. Personality also plays important role here. Under the democratic government the role of the foreign minister is also prominent. But this is not the case when the country is ruled by the military. In such a situation foreign minister usually plays a role no better than the personal of the (CMLA). Both civilian and military plays a major role in the foreign policy decision making of Bangladesh. As foreign policy is the extension of the domestic policy many other related ministries, viz. finance planning foreign trade establishment etc. together with defense establishment play important role in making foreign policy decisions. Of late few research institutes like that Bangladesh institute of international and strategies studies have been set up in Bangladesh which contribute to the decision making process by under taking studies on particular problem and issue. Joining the NAM in 1919. Securing the withdrawal of the Indian troops. Participation in the OIC summit in Lahore in 1974. Membership of the UN in 1974. Signing the 5-years Agreement with India in 1977 for sharing the Ganges water. Election to the UN security council in 1978. Participation in 22-member North-south submits held in CANCUN (Mexico). Initiate negotiation on the ownership of S. Talpatty Island 1978. Agreement with Pakistan on repatriation of pak refugees . Successful repatriation of Burmese refugees. Successful initiative in the establishment of the SAARC. Signing the 30-year agreement for sharing the Ganges water (1997). The security interest of Bangladesh warrants the acceleration of the pace of consolidation of the hard-won independence. Hence the highest priority must be assigned the national goals of development with the focus on human resources development poverty alleviation and employment generation .the direction of securing the political and economic cooperation of the international community towards achieving these central development goals as speedily as possible. The central goals of human resource development and poverty alleviation should continue to receive the top most priority .Internationally known successful experiments like the Grameen Bank could receive special attention in country projection. In designing Bangladesh’s foreign policy special attention must be paid to the potential role of Bangladesh as an actor on the international scene. This role can be vastly enhanced in significance if Bangladesh as the eighth largest nation can stay in the mainstream of the nations committed to the UN charter, the principles of NAM, OIC and Group of 77. Geopolitically, Bangladesh belongs to South Asia. This is also the most demanding region for BFP. As the largest and strongest nation in South Asia, India tops the list of Bangladesh’s foreign policy concern. The Special and idyllic relationship in which Bangladesh and India found themselves following the liberation war soon started hitting rocks and shoats; and subsequently a list of bilateral issues emerged as a divider between the two countries. The relationship, however, began with dramatic foreign policy success of Bangladesh via-a-via India. 8. India-Bangladesh ad hoc Agreement on Farakka. Sharing of Common River waters, particularly that of the ganges. Smuggling, and illegal cross-border activities. On 18 April 1975, India and Bangladesh reached a one-year ad hoc agreement on Farakka stipulating that Bangladesh would receive at 44000 cusecs of Ganges water during the lean season. Bangladesh needs a permanent and immediate solution. The background for such a solution was created in mid-1996 when the Awami League Govt. took power in Dhaka and United Front govt. in Delhi. Again, the critical factor of regime compatibility played its role in bringing about a qualitative change in Dhaka-Delhi relations; and through a flurry of diplomatic activities in Dhaka, Delhi and Calcutta a 30-year water treaty was signed on 12 December 1996.The Treaty at least provides a 30-year mechanism to legally bind India to a sharing arrangement. The long persisting issue of Tin Bigha corrider was resolved in 1992, but in a way different from what had been stipulated in the 1974 agreement. India was supposed to lease the corridor in perpetuity to Bangladesh. But the 1992 agreement stipulated common use by Bangladesh and India. For over two and a half decades the chittagong Hill Tracts issue has been posing a serious threat to security & economy of Bangladesh. With Cross-border ramifications and with Indian Involvement, the issue at times appeared intractable, but since 1992 with Indian a democratically elected government in power in Bangladesh Indian attitude began changing and the change became more apparent with the AL Government assuming power. A joint command composed of Indian and Bangladesh forces had been set up on December 6, 1971, and though arms were mostly captured by or surrendered to the Indian forces, they were technically in the possession of the joint command. Therefore, Bangladesh had legitimate claims to some of those arms. The next issue in dispute in Indo-Bangladesh relations in the immediate post-1971 years was the trade pact signed between the two countries. The central feature of this pact was the creation of ten miles of free trade zones on both sides of the border designed ostensibly to promote closer trade relations between Bangladesh and India. Similarly, Consumer goods, medicine tobacco, etc found their way into Bangladesh from India. The Farakka Barrage is also designed to “improve communication facilities, drainage, sanitation and water supplies in Calcutta, as well as inland transport throughout west bangle, with a rail and road project over the Farakka. Bangladesh claims that the Ganges is an international river. Therefore, India must Respect Bangladesh’s demand as a lower riparian foe a share in the Ganges water, which is vital for its southwestern districts. The Indian annexation of a newly emerged island known as Purbasha in the Bay of Bengal has not only further soured Indo-Bangladesh Relations but has clearly helped in forming an intense anti-Indian Public opinion in Bangladesh. Bangladesh expressed its complete surprise over this announcement and revealed that Indian had commitments at the highest level to a joint survey which should therefore be honored. New Delhi merely agreed to discuss the question with a view to setting it peacefully but Indo-Bangladesh joint statement issued following this visit failed to mention just how the dispute was to be settled. However, the Bangladesh government maintains that its navy boats in the area were well within Bangladesh territorial water and in a strongly worded protest note to India, asked for the withdrawal of Indian ships and men from the disputed island. The Bangladesh Government also renewed its call for a joint survey to settle the issue of the island’s ownership. Much of its India policy is ad hoc response under the circumstances. The failure of the establishment in this regard may be attributed to the divisive political milieu via-a-via India. But it should be categorically stated that neither pro-Indian ebullition nor India bashing rhetoric for political consumption would be helpful. What is needed is a hard headed thinking for a well-thought out and realistic India policy for maximizing our gains. *japans survey found that in Bangladesh investment is cheaper than 21 cities in Asia. *Investment cost in Bangladesh is cheaper than other country(2004). *The cities and countries that survey was conducted were seal, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, Kualalumpur, Jakarta, Indonesia, Manila, Mumbai, Bangalore, Karachi, Colombo, Dhaka etc. The comparison was based on 34 cost components. The components included wages for workers, salary for engineers and stuff. Cost for land, office rent, mobile charge, internet charge, electricity, gas, water, fees, cost of petrol, tax, vat etc. Japan external trade organization (JETRO) surveyed it. The relatively position in Bangladesh is improved in components like rental fee in the industrial estates ,charges for overseas phone call, cost for water and petrol etc. Bangladesh is loss competitive in the areas monthly basis payment for broad band internet service, new connection fee for fixed telephone line,ISD mobile ,cost of passenger car, container transportation and corporate tax. New development is added to Bangladesh, that could improved in the investment climate. They are “work permit for foreigners and “visa on arrival”. For proper transshipment in Chittagong port JETRO suggested to construct a deep sea point in Bangladesh. Due to the increase in import duty for passenger cars, Bangladesh has become one of the most expensive countries in Asia. The corporate tax in Bangladesh is 37.5% .That is why they suggested that the evasion should be controlled. To introduce much more attractive incentives comparing to china, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries JEPRO suggested to the government to concentrate on three aspects – improvement of infrastructure facilities, ensuring speed, security and transparency and continuation in government policies. If the government addresses three aspects gradually, the flow of foreign investment to Bangladesh should increases automatically. Like Malaysia ,Bangladesh a predominantly muslim country ,with around 87% of its population being muslim ,it earned international recognition for its moderate religious and cultural ethos ,social tolerance and ethnic cohesion .It characterizes Bangladesh as a liberal and tolerant muslim country .Being the co-member of OIC,NAM commonwealth, D-8 and ARF Malaysia and Bangladesh share common perception to promote peace ,stability and development about 200000 people who are working in Bangladesh . Bangladesh and Malaysia enjoy good bilateral relations based on the foundation of common religion history and culture. The state of good relation is reflected in the fast growing bilateral co-operation including economic and technical assistant trade and investment employment of Bangladesh workforce in Malaysia . Today Malaysia is the largest investment partner of Bangladesh and they investment about (RM 4.1 billion) U.S.$ 1.3 billion in 59 projects, mainly in telecommunication ,power, textile, and financial sector. Bangladesh is the only nation among the worlds 49 least development countries to be self sufficient in the production of pharmaceutical -largely branded generic drugs. In adding with that Malaysia’s leading educational institution, healthier provider and pharmaceutical company visited Dhaka to explore the new market with nearly 140 million people. FUTURE: Trade co-operation are increasing year by year between Malaysia and Bangladesh by increasing pharmaceutical export. Business groups are calling for free trade argument (FTA) because Bangladesh’s total exports to Malaysia -its largest investment partner among ASIAN were worth just U.S.$ 16.9 million where its import from this totaled U.S.$ 384.11 million. Malaysia said will continue to contribute positive efforts to promote and expand bilateral relation with Bangladesh particularly in trade and investments. Malaysia will invest in the potential sector in Bangladesh .They may assured all the technical and logistic support for the upcoming Bangladeshi single country trade fair be held. Bangladesh got “zero tarrif” to enter Bangladesh product in Malaysia preferring Bangladeshi garments, home textile, handicrafts, halal food,spices ,melamine and medicine. The Bangladesh Malaysia ties are stated to be an over steady increases with more and more argument being reached ,deeping and widening the area co-operation the relationship between these friendly muslim nation would grew stranger . The most recent outflow from Arakan to Bangladesh took place in 1991and 1992. More the 250000 Rohingga refugee fled .With the assistance of UNHCR and non governmental relief agencies ,the Bangladeshi government sheltered the refugees in 19 camps in the vicinity of cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh . Relations are considered to be productive and progressive. Their relations have gone on to expand in several areas such as defence and trade & investment. Bangladesh also sends a large number of skilled migrant workers to South Korea to work in the following sectors:- construction, manufacture, services, and agriculture, fisheries and livestock. There is a North Korean embassy located in Dhaka although Bangladesh maintains a non-residential status. Instead communication with the Juche state and Bangladesh is with the latter’s embassy in Beijing. Relations have only gone as far as recognition and neither nation has ever shown the desire to progress this even further. Relations began during the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 1994, and full diplomatic relations were implemented on 10 September, 1994. Due to the brutality and the White Supremacist ideology of the Apartheid regime, relations between South Africa and Bangladesh were non-existent until the collapse of white minority rule and Nelson Mandela’s rise to power. There is a number of Bangladeshis which make up the South Asian community in South Africa and immigration still continues, although it has temporarily halted due to attacks against foreign workers. Bangladesh exports its raw materials such as leather, finished jute and also garments and textiles. South Africa exports to Bangladesh are iron ore, steel, aluminum, infrastructure projects and machinery and equipment for railways. Relations between the two countries are considered strong based on common religion and values. A turning point in relations occurred during the Gulf War when Bangladesh sent a contingent of 2,300 personnel to monitor peace in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and a contributor to UNIKOM with a mechanised infantry battalion. Bangladesh sends guests workers to Kuwait to enable its citizens to work in higher paying jobs leading to remittances as well as there being a Bangladeshi community present in the country. Relations between the two countries have even indulged into military ties since the 1980s and a deal signed in February 1, 2004 under which Bangladesh Armed Forces are to provide technical and vocational training to the Kuwaiti army for the next six years. Both Germany and Bangladesh share common views on various international issues and work together in the UN and in other international forum. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Germany was one of the first European countries to officially recognize Bangladesh in 1972. Bangladesh also warmly greeted German reunification. As an economic power as well as an important member of the European Union (EU), Germany is a reliable partner of Bangladesh in development cooperation. Since independence German churches and numerous NGOs made tremendous efforts to promote the social and economic development of Bangladesh. German assistance to Bangladesh is received in the form of development efforts, trade and cultural cooperation. Both countries have a long and successful bilateral relationship on most international issues. Germany always emphasizes the democratic characteristics, governance issues and development process of Bangladesh. Germany developed as a democratic country in deep remorse for World War II and became one of the top most economic powers of the world. After establishment of diplomatic relations, the bilateral relations between the two countries began to grow steadily. Between the start of development cooperation in 1972 and the end of 2005, Bangladesh received approximately $2.3 billion in commitments from Germany as part of bilateral Financial and Technical Cooperation in addition of the funds provided by the German churches and NGOs. At an intergovernmental negotiation in 2005, Bangladesh received ? 14 million in new commitments from Germany. Since 1978, all German funds provided as part of government level cooperation have been in the form of non-repayable grants. Bangladesh is a priority partner country of German Development Cooperation (GTZ). By an agreement between both the government adopted in May 2004, the activities of the GTZ focus on three priority areas such as healthcare including family planning, economic reform and development of the market system through promotion of private sector, especially SMEs, and renewable energies. Among the other ongoing projects the promotion of legal and social empowerment of women in Bangladesh is also to be mentioned. The sustainable economic development program of GTZ in Bangladesh contributes to the competitiveness of the RMGs sector, as well as other export-oriented sectors like silk, leather and jute. In trade with Germany, Bangladesh has for years recorded a large surplus. Germany is the second largest export market of Bangladesh after the US. Bangladesh exports in Germany in 2006 amounted to ? 1.56 billion as compared with Bangladesh imports in the same period of only ? 305 million. About 94% of the exports from Bangladesh to Germany are RMGs and Bangladesh imports mainly comprising machinery, chemical and electrical goods, and medicines. A German-Bangladeshi investment promotion and protection agreement has been in force since 1986 and a bilateral double taxation accord since 1993. So far German direct investments in Bangladesh are almost ? 60 million. The Bangladesh-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) acts as a business platform and mediator between both the countries and promotes bilateral trade relations by coordinating and providing required information and services. The cultural relationship of both the countries is very strong. The cultural cooperation between them is mainly channeled through the Goethe Institute that work on developing the cultural ties between both the countries by sponsoring local and German cultural activities. Bangladesh has traditional and historical connection with Germany. There is a century-old exchange between German and Bengali people. German interest in the culture of Bengal dates back to the visits to Germany by the Bengali national poet and Nobel laureate for literature Rabindranath Tagore in the 1920s and 1930s. Many Bangladeshi intellectuals take a keen and informed interest in German literature, art, architecture and philosophy. In Bangladesh Goethe Institute is the main meeting place for all those interested in Germany. Goethe-Institute Dhaka with headquarters in Munich offers a broad variety of cultural events to present the German culture in Bangladesh through its main activities by film-workshops, film-presentations, seminars and lectures on socio-political subjects as well as on aspects on contemporary arts, theatre performances, and exhibitions of German and Bangladeshi artists. Environmental care and consequences of globalization are covered in the workshops and seminars. The Institute offers an extensive language course program up to intermediate level where about 600 students learn German in every year. There are around 350 academics received training in Germany with German funding; some of them now hold important positions in the administrative and academic institutions of Bangladesh. A foreign professional chair is sponsored by the Bangladeshi government at the University of Heidelberg’s South Asia Institute. Bangladesh has traditional and historical connection with Germany, and both the countries enjoy closest ties. There are increasing contracts amongst German and Bangladeshi artists, primarily in the fine arts, photography/film and theatre. Bangladeshi artists have been able to exhibit in German galleries and museums. A number of visual artists from Bangladesh have also made Germany their new home. Germany continues to promote the restoration of historical monuments, archeological research and the unique legacy of the Bengali catamarans. Since 1981, a cooperation agreement has been in place between Radio Bangladesh and Deutsche Welle (DW). The bilateral commercial and trade interests of both the countries are continuing, although there is considerable scope for greater engagement. Bilateral relations got some momentum by several high level visits, contracts, and political and economic dialogue. In December 2000, the then head of the government of Bangladesh officially visited Germany. In February 2004, a German nine-member parliamentary delegation also visited Bangladesh. Both Germany and Bangladesh share common views on various international issues and work together in the UN and in other international forum. They have maintained and developed close and friendly relations in a wide range of field. The two countries are harmonized together by their commitment to various sectors mutually agreed upon, which is expected to be strengthened further in future. Bangladesh relies on substantial foreign aid: more than US$1 billion a year. The Netherlands share in ODA is approximately 3.5% (€33.8 million in 2003). The Netherlands plays a central role in the priority sectors education, health care and water. The added value it provides is mainly to be found in expertise and experience as well as attention for gender and donor coordination. Dutch non-governmental organizations are well represented in Bangladesh. The former Soviet Union supported Indians actions during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war and among the first to recognize Bangladesh. The USSR initially contributed considerable relief and rehabilitation aid to the new nation. However, Soviet-Bangladesh relation cooled. In 1989, the USSR ranked 14th donor of Bangladesh. The Soviet focuses on the development of electronically power, natural gas and oil and maintained active cultural relations with Bangladesh. They financed the Ghorasal thermal power station the largest in Bangladesh. Recently Russia has conducted an aggressive military sales effort in Dhaka and has succeeded with a 124-million dollar deal for eight MIG- 29 fighters. China has been the number one important source for Bangladesh. Bangladesh Bank’s figures showed the country imported Chinese goods worth $2292.12 million during July-March of the current fiscal year that ends this month-end. The amount was 15% of the country’s total import during the period. In 2006-2007 fiscal year, $2537 million-worth imports from china during the same period while in 2005-2006 from stood at $2050.99 million. In, April 09, 2005, Bangladesh and China have signed nine agreements reflecting their increased bilateral relations during two-day visit by the Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao to Bangladesh. The two prime ministers’ had expressed a determination to strengthen bilateral relations and efforts for regional peace. The nine deals signed included co operation in peaceful use of nuclear energy. Absolutely for peaceful use of nuclear energy for use in the field of nuclear medicine, power generation, agriculture & bio technology. The countries signed an agreement for agencies in capacity building of the law enforcing agencies in Bangladesh. Under the economic and technical co-operation agreement, China will provide $6 million for capacity building of civil servant, china will convert the full supplies credits for a DAP plant in Chittagong to concessional loan. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on installation of digital telephone exchanges in metropolitan cities, important distinct headquarters and upazilla growth centers in Bangladesh at cost of $400 million. The deal will initiate a direct air link between Dhaka and Beijing from May 18, china will also consider Bangladesh’s proposal for duty free access of its products to china’s market. China and Bangladesh also declared the year 2005 as “Bangladesh- China Friendship Year”. Bangladesh and China are partners in the new Asian age and the visit of foreign minister Yang Jiechi will further cement his relationship. China has shown keen interest in even a bigger role in the development of Bangladesh. They want to involve in larger projects, Roopur Nuclear Power plant for instance. Bangladesh-China peaceful nuclear power corporation can be built on the china Pakistan model. Chinese support is crucial for implementing the tri-nation road network to forge deep strategic relation between South East Asia. A similar road network encompassing North Eastern portal India, Bangladesh and China will be beneficial. Bangladesh should rather ask for big ticket Chinese investment in industrial sector. We import capital machinery, industrial raw materials and telecommunication equipments from china. Bangladesh can offer cheaper labor and utilities. This way we get the technology and our worker get jobs. Maintenance of effective relations with the Bangladesh government and encouragement of an atmosphere favorable to the U.S. mission. Support for the normal ration of relation in the subcontinent. Assistance to develop a stable political and economic system. Assistance to meet short term humanitarian needs and to encourage economic development. The US has long standing supportive relation with Bangladesh and has viewed Bangladesh as a moderate voice in the Islamic world. They interested in Bangladesh include political stability and democratization social and economic development, environmental issue and improvement of human rights situation. Americans moved speedily in committing the aid. The Nixon administration committed $130 million. The remainder of $200 million authorized by US congress. According to figures complied by the United Nation Relief Operation Dhaka (UNROD) on amount of foreign assistance to Bangladesh upto 17, 1972. In 30 june 1973 the US provided Bangladesh $433 million. In 1979 Bangladesh had sought US help in setting up a research re actor in savar near Dhaka. – In 2007 elections, the current political situation came after emergency rule was declared by President Iajuddin Ahmed about protest and strikes. – In 2001, The US military did deliver four military aircraft to Bangladesh. – In 2003, Bangladesh was a added to the list of countries whose nationals visiting the United States must register with immigration authorities for security purpose. The United States export wheel, fertilizer, cotton, communication equipment and medical supplies among other goods to Bangladesh. Readymade garments and jute carpet backing are two of Bangladesh‘s key export to the US. The US has generally had a negative balance of trade with Bangladesh since 1986. Bangladesh and Pakistan – two major nations of South Asia share a common historical, religious and cultural heritage. A major area of conflict between Bangladesh and Pakistan is the issue of repatriation of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. It is important to note that about 10 lakhs non-Bangalis had been stranded in Bangladesh after independence. Of then 5 lakhs opted for residing in Bangladesh and he rest claimed their repatriation to Pakistan. They enlisted their names in the list prepared by International Red Cross Society during 1972-73. In August 27, 1977 Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh visited Pakistan and it was agreed upon the issue that Pakistan would certainly take 25,000 non-Bangalis from Bangladesh when president Ziaur Rahman Visited Pakistan in 1977 the Government in Islamabad agreed to speed up the process of repatriation. Again on July 20, 1978 Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, during his visit to Pakistan, requested the government of Pakistan to complete the process of Repatriation of non-Bangalis from Bangladesh. October 25, 1980 Pakistani Foreign Secretary Reaz Piracha visited Bangladesh but avoided the discussion of the question by saying “since we have no dispute there is no question of agreement to be reached in this meeting”. Finally, when Pakistani foreign minister Lt. General Shahibjada Yakub Khan visited Bangladesh on August 10, 1983 the issue was brought before him. In an Interview with the journalists in Dhaka, Pakistani foreign minister expressed that Pakistan might take 50,000 more non-bangalis from Bangladesh but reiterated the criteria as proposed by Pakistan in the tripartite conference in 1974. An immediate manifestation of the establishment of diplomatic relations was the restoration of telecommunication links through satellites between Bangladesh and Pakistan. In July 1976 air communication was also restored between these two countries. In October of the same year Shipping Communication started. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) offered a Boeing to Bangladesh in November. In addition, Pakistan offered 28 railway coaches to Bangladesh. Bangladesh presented tea during flood in Pakistan which in turn, presented to Bangladesh rice and clothes during its flood situation. Another important element which has contributed in promoting cooperation is the introduction of the visa system between Bangladesh and Pakistan. On August 10, 1983 Pakistani Foreign minister Lt. General Shahibjada Yakub Khan came to Bangladesh. In a joint communiqué it was stated that different types of visa including tourist visa will be introduced. However, no visa will be required for the transit passengers for 72 hours. Some efforts were also made in 1979 to establish cultural relations between these countries. They signed a cultural agreement in October 16, 1979. Teachers and scholars of the universities and other educational institutions of Bangladesh and Pakistan as well as scientific and industrial training for their students on mutual basis. They would also exchange radio and T.V. programs and films and promote free flow of books and magazines under their existing laws and regulations. Apart from the bilateral context Bangladesh and Pakistan have closely cooperated in international forums. Bangladesh and Pakistan are of the opinion that a zone of peace in the Indian Ocean could be established by eliminating the rivalry of the great powers and creating conditions of security for all the countries of the region. Both the countries pledge their adherence to the charter of Islamic conference (OIC). They have maintaining trade relations since president Zia’s visit to Pakistan in 1977. In economic field the main issue of conflict has been the question of division of assets until 1971 between Bangladesh and Pakistan. In the last five years Pakistan has become one of the biggest buyers of Bangladesh jute and tea. Bangladesh has also imported huge quantities of cotton and cloth from Pakistan. Geographically Bangladesh belongs to the region of South and South East Asia and lies as a bridgehead between South and South East Asia. The Bengalees are not culturally as close to the Arabs, Persians or Turks as the Pakistanis or North Indians are. Geo-political reality of Bangladesh does not necessitate her closeness with the Muslim world. i. The viability of Islam as a political ideology. ii. Development of Bangladesh’s relations with the Muslim states in phases. iii. Economic aid as an influential factor. i. Influence dispute over a territory and friendship or hostility among states. ii. Despite the cohesiveness produced within a nation or a group of nations, it generally exerts a disturbing influence. iii. There is a strong opinion in these states to treat Islam as a political ideology even though there are other ideologies. iv. Islam and Christianity, two competing religion based on state system, after a long period of mutual competition and warfare have reached the inevitable conclusion that neither can impose its legal and political system on the other. v. Separation between religious doctrines and conduct of foreign relations. vi. Technological development spread of modern education and influence of European political institutions brought about substantial change in the thinking of the Muslim politicians and intellectuals. vii. The Muslims wanted to retain religious in the face of any other ideology but rejected the spiritual aspects of the religious at the same time. The evolution of Bangladesh’s relations with the Muslim countries may be divided into three phases. The first phase began with the emergence of Bangladesh and ended with the recognition of Bangladesh by Pakistan. The second phase began in February, 1974 and ended in August, 1975. The third phase began in post – August 1975 and it still continues. No Arab country recognized Bangladesh till the beginning of the second half of 1972, Malaysia and Indonesia, the two Muslim states of the South-East Asian region. Malaysia decided to help Bangladesh purchase a Fokker friendship plane by extending the necessary amount as grant. Bangladesh’s membership in the United Nations. Malaysia on September 23 and Indonesia on October 2, 1972 made powerful please on the UN platform to admit Bangladesh in the United Nations. In the same debate Afghanistan also spoke for admitting Bangladesh in the United Nations. Egypt, Iraq and South Yemen voted in favor of Bangladesh’s membership in the WHO.

2019-04-23T02:23:44Z

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The landscape is everything an observer, whether still or in motion, can see. The landscape as a work of individual art is any garden or space designed, developed, and maintained for the private experience of an individual or family, a space not accessible to others either physically or visually. The landscape as a work of collective art is everything beyond this private range: everything seen beyond the confines of private gardens or estates, all borrowed landscapes, all streetscapes, all city, metropolitan, and regional landscapes, and their accumulation in national, continental, and world landscapes. This collective art may be good or bad depending on whether it results from the accidental accumulation of individual and conflicting efforts or from controlled and planned efforts. The history of landscape design is largely the history of landscape as a work of private, individual art. Plazas (structural public open spaces not dominated by foliage), throughout Classical, medieval, and Renaissance history, were the concessions of the ruling class to the need for public meeting places, but it was not until Central Park was developed in New York City in the mid-19th century that this need reached the level of designed public green spaces. During most of its history, landscape design was of three kinds: private utilitarian farms and gardens; private gardens in which the enhancement of the quality of living was paramount; and private gardens designed to express the power and benevolence of the ruling or upper classes. The expansion in scale of private gardens beyond the needs of private living led, inexorably, first to the dedication of such spaces to public use and then to the development of public gardens and parks designed for public use. The private garden, however, has remained the centre for private fantasy and a means of escape from the grinding and difficult world of reality. The most important aspect of the private garden is its seclusion: from the physical world, by means of distance and enclosure; from the social world, by separation and exclusion. Space and greenery are also important. The space may be very small, perhaps a tiny courtyard, and greenery limited to one or two plants, but these make possible that private world of fantasy that may make the difference between sanity and lunacy. The 20th-century mass migration to the suburbs was the latest expression of this need. Generally, the private garden occupies a space somewhere between 20 feet (6 metres) square and one-quarter of an acre (100 feet square). The forms of private gardens range from the formalism of pure geometry or the artistic representation of natural processes through the variations of standard gardening techniques and the informalism of letting nature take its course to various manifestations of literary, poetic, historic, and subjective concepts. When housing moves from single-family detached buildings on private lots to higher-density variations—duplexes, semidetached villas, town houses, clusters, condominiums, low- and high-rise apartments—new relationships develop. As population density increases, private design shrinks and public design increases. Somewhere between the extremes of the single-family dwelling with minimum public space and the high-rise apartment with minimum private space, there is an optimum relationship in which real needs can be expressed. Perhaps the best potential lies in town house, cluster house, and condominium developments in which there is a flexible relationship between public and private elements. Because of fixation on the notion that the original resource of land and landscape, continuous from sea to shining sea, is best organized for private or public use by gridiron subdivision into innumerable separate parcels, public landscape design begins at the level of single buildings on single lots, with front yards and backyards. The buildings may be government offices, quasi-public companies, or private corporations, but all tend to be designed in terms of public and private spaces, as though they were private residences for the groups involved. Campus design begins when publicly accessible buildings grow into complexes of two or more, for religious, commercial, industrial, governmental, or educational use. Instead of or in addition to simple front-yard and backyard design, there are more complex systems of spaces between buildings, which vary from courtyards and quadrangles of varying forms and dimensions to passageways connecting them in varying widths and degrees of overhead coverage. The open spaces range in character from paved architectural courtyards and cloisters to open playing fields and parklike spaces. Campus design makes possible the richest, most complex, and rewarding range of relationships between architectural and landscape design. Perhaps the best examples, in which the sequential experience of indoor and outdoor space approaches the maximum, are the religious, educational, and civic complexes of Europe, developed before the idea of gridiron subdivision fragmented environmental design. In China and Japan there are many highly refined and sophisticated temple, shrine, palace, and castle complexes. There are also many fine examples in the United States of similar institutions that have transcended or resisted subdivision. In the broader area of urban design, landscape architecture deals with such open-space components as public gardens, parks and playgrounds, plazas, squares, and malls. In these urban spaces, the designer attempts to meet the need for community, for play and recreation, for refreshment and relaxation, for individual withdrawal in a gregarious atmosphere. Towns, cities, and metropolitan areas may be said to have three basic components: buildings, designed by architects or builders; open spaces, designed by landscape architects or technicians; and circulation-utility corridors—street, highway, railway, and rapid-transit systems—which are usually planned and designed by engineers. The basic structure of urban areas consists of the open spaces together with corridors comprising a total open-space system, defined by and connecting the buildings. The corridors have usually been considered merely a utilitarian framework, connecting and servicing buildings and quality open spaces, channelling traffic and utilities throughout urban areas, and connecting them with the open country around. Modern urban thinking has begun to go beyond this concept, to see the total open-space system as the major qualitative structure of the city, which, when viewed in conjunction with overall building design, is seen to establish the city’s basic character. From this point of view the role of landscape architecture, once limited to tasteful planting of corridors designed by engineers, begins to expand. Some urban planners would expand it even further, believing that open-space corridors should be designed throughout primarily as social spaces for people and only secondarily as utilitarian passages for vehicles. Commemorative sites—cemeteries, historic spots, battlefields—are important because they memorialize and symbolize important events in personal, local, national, or world history. Wherever they occur, these sites or areas are marked with stone or bronze memorials and often dramatized with more elaborate developments. The designs tend to follow traditional and conservative precedents, often impressive but seldom imaginative. It is still difficult to equal Asplund’s Forest Crematorium (1940) in Stockholm or the Fosse Ardeatine memorial in Rome. The earliest surviving detailed garden plan, dating from about 1400 bce, is of a garden belonging to an Egyptian high court official at Thebes. The main entrance is aligned on a pergola (trellis-bordered) walk of vines leading directly to the dwelling. The rest of the garden is laid out with tree-lined avenues, four rectangular ponds containing waterfowl, and two garden pavilions. Although rigidly symmetrical, the garden is divided into self-contained walled enclosures, so that the symmetry of the whole could not have been apparent to the viewer. Such a highly developed pattern argues a considerable incubation period, and it is likely that similar enclosed pleasure gardens had been designed as early as 2800 bce. The gardens of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia were of three kinds: large, enclosed game reserves, like the garden of Eden described in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament); pleasure gardens, which were essentially places where shade and cool water could be privately enjoyed; and sacred enclosures rising in man-made terraces, planted with trees and shrubs, forming an artificial hill such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The urban life of ancient Greece led to houses built around central private courtyards. Lined with colonnades that gave access to the rooms of the house, the courtyard, or peristyle, was open to the sky and insulated from the street. In the peristyle was a garden consisting of a water supply and potted plants. Much of life, however, was lived in public. The sports grounds, where exercise was taken, became popular gathering places and developed into the original academy and lyceum, which included the exercise ground, seats for spectators, porticoes for bad weather, statues of honored athletes, and groves of shade trees. These public recreation grounds set the type for the later Classical Roman villa garden and the 19th-century European public park. A third type of Greek garden was the sacred landscape, such as the Vale of Tempe or the mountain sanctuary of Delphi. The relatively austere Greek taste was transformed in the Hellenistic Age (c. 323–30 bce) by the influence of the East. Luxurious pleasure grounds were made, especially at colonies such as Alexandria and Syracuse. These gardens were conspicuously luxurious in their display of precious materials and artificial in their use of hydraulic automata. Roman gardens derived from the Greek, those in the seaside resorts of Pompeii and Herculaneum (1st century bce) following the Hellenistic pattern. These small, enclosed town gardens were visually extended by landscapes painted on the walls. Throughout the imperial period, the more ambitious villa gardens flourished in many forms on sites carefully chosen for climate and aspect. The most elaborate was that of Nero’s Golden House, which covered more than 300 acres (120 hectares) in the middle of Rome and included an artificial lake (where the Colosseum now stands) and a pastoral landscape of plowland, vineyard, pasture, and wood. More influential in later times was the vast garden complex of Hadrian’s Villa, of which extensive ruins can still be found near Tivoli. The barbarian invasions of the 4th and 5th centuries ce destroyed Roman civilization and with it the gardens of western Europe. The Eastern Empire, centred on Constantinople, retained its hold on Greece and much of Asia Minor for another millennium, and Byzantine gardens persisted in the Hellenistic tradition, laying more emphasis on wonder-provoking apparatus than on aesthetic values. A recurrent feature of these gardens was a tree of gold or silver equipped with birds that flapped their wings and sang and branches that sprayed wine or perfume. Beginning in the 7th century, the Arabs progressively captured much of western Asia, Egypt, the whole of the North African coast, and Spain. In the process, they spread features of Persian and Byzantine gardens across the Mediterranean as far as the Iberian Peninsula. Most characteristic of these gardens was the use of water—the ultimate luxury to desert dwellers, who appreciated it not only because it allowed plants to grow but also because it cooled the air and gratified the ear with the sound of its movement. It was commonly used in regularly shaped, often rectangular, pools. The water was kept moving by simply designed fountains and was fed by narrow canals resembling agricultural irrigation channels. Because water was rarely abundant, the pools were shallow but increased in apparent depth by a blue tile lining. These pools of water graced Islamic gardens—such as those of the Alhambra in Granada—that resembled the Hellenistic colonnaded courtyard. The gardens provided shade, excluded hot winds, and created the sense of being in a jewelled private world. Water mirroring the sky gave an impression of spaciousness and introduced lightness, brightness, and an air of unreality. In the Moorish Caliphate of Córdoba in Spain, in the valley of the Guadalquivir, there were said to have been 50,000 villas, all of which probably had such garden courts. The greatest period of garden making in the Islamic world was the 14th century. In the vicinity of the conqueror Timur Lenk’s capital of Samarkand, the names of 11 royal gardens are recorded, and there were probably others belonging to his nobles. Whereas gardens of the Alhambra type were architecturally conceived within the total plan of a building, some of the more extensive Timurid gardens and their derivatives, the Mughal gardens of India, were pleasances of water, meadow, trees, and flowers, in which buildings took a subordinate place. Although these garden buildings were permanent, their subordinate role and the lightness and luxuriating frivolity of their design mark them as heirs of the casually positioned tents seasonally erected in hunting parks. There were also gardens of strictly architectural design—huge walled enclosures with corner towers, a central palace, regularly disposed avenues, and tanks of water. Deer and pheasants were kept in these gardens, which combined the quality of hunting park and of hortus conclusus, or closed garden. Trees were planted sometimes in regular quincuncial patterns (one in the middle and one at each corner of a square or rectangle) but more often freely. In all types of Islamic gardens, flowers were lavishly used. Their presence was even simulated in garden carpets and in the woven hangings that were used as temporary screens. Influential on later Western practice were the parks made by the Saracen emirs of Sicily. The Normans who conquered the Saracens in the 11th century adopted the manner of life of those they had overthrown, and thus the emirs’ gardens survived their makers. A large area of the Conca d’Oro, the great natural amphitheatre behind Palermo, was taken up with pleasure grounds—walled enclosures large enough to contain woods and hills, canals, artificial lakes, groves of oranges and lemons, fountains, water stairways, and wild creatures running free. In Europe beyond the limits of the Islamic conquest, the destruction of civilized society by the barbarian tribes had been nearly complete, but the physical remains of the past shaped the reviving future: the peristyle gardens of Roman villas became the cloisters of Christian basilicas. Security and leisure existed only in the monastic system, which also preserved some of the traditional skills of cultivation. For some time the only type of garden was the cloister, with its well, herbs, potted plants, and shaded walk. Then secular gardens began to appear, but they were usually of limited extent, confined within the fortifications of a castle and often raised well above ground level on a battlemented turret. These gardens were rectangular, with the traditional division into four parts by paths, the quarters again subdivided according to the amount of ground available and the convenience of cultivation. At the point of principal intersection was a well, which, when elaborated, became the vertical feature of the garden. Seats—often of turf—were constructed in the walls. Many flowers were grown, but their season was short; after June and often earlier, the beds were flowerless. More extensive and elaborate gardens were rare. In 13th-century Italy, through the influence of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, who had spent much of his youth in Sicily, the example of the Saracen emirs was felt in Apulia and Naples. The Triumph of Death, painted by the Florentine artist Andrea Orcagna (Pisa, Campo Santo), shows a garden of considerably greater extent than the cloister or battlement type. Gardens like this existed also in Lombardy, where the court of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the founder of the great walled park of Pavia, cultivated the arts of civilized life. In describing the Royal Gardens at Naples, the writer and poet Giovanni Boccaccio speaks of statues disposed regularly around a lawn, interspersed with marble seats. Such a garden suggests that Frederick II’s classicizing influence extended into the mid-14th century. Also significant was the garden of Hesdin in Picardy, which became famous throughout France for its automata and water tricks. It was made by a Crusader who, having returned to France by way of Palermo in 1270, no doubt incorporated in his garden what he had seen of Saracenic gardens there and in Syria. Hesdin was an exotic creation without parallel in its northerly location for several centuries. The increasing prosperity of western Europe and the increasing confidence in humankind’s capacity to impose order on the external world was reflected in the gardens of Italy by the mid-15th century. The change began near Florence, where the old medieval enclosures began to open up. The rectangles, which had been dissociated, were now sited one behind the other, thus prolonging the main axis, which was now aligned on the centre of the dwelling. This change inevitably introduced the idea that house and garden were a coherent, complementary whole. And, because villas were increasingly sited for amenity rather than defense, gardens became less enclosed, more susceptible first to visual, then to actual extension. The unity of house and garden, together with the need for physical adjustment to the sloping sites favoured by Classical precedent, threw the planning of the new Renaissance garden into the hands of architects. Most influential was the garden courtyard designed by Donato Bramante at the Vatican to link the papal palace with the Villa Belvedere; the uneven site and the disparity in bulk of the two buildings was overcome with terraces and stairways. It remained an enclosed garden but one far removed from the earlier cloistral courtyards. The garden of the Belvedere combined the function of an open-air room with that of an outdoor sculpture gallery. The ingredients of the Renaissance garden thus separately established were united in varying proportions. The typical evolved garden of the period was characterized by some openness of aspect, axial development, a tendency to prolongation, unity of concept between house and garden emphasized by a considerable “built” element of stone, lavish employment of statuary (often in the form of fountains), and the proliferation of such Classical accents as grottoes, nymphaea (Roman buildings with a fountain, plants, and sculpture), urns, and inscriptions. There is no adequate evidence that this type of garden had an exact equivalent in the Classical period, although there is evidence that each of its elements existed. The variation in style among Italian gardens is considerable and is due to not only the date they were made, the exigencies of the site, and regional variation but also their social function. The scale of the garden compartments at the back of the Villa Gamberaia at Settignano (1610), for example, is small in contrast with the extensive view over Florence from the front and thus suggests intimate use by members of a small household. The more extensive parterre garden (an ornamental garden with paths between the beds) of the Villa Lante at Bagnaia (begun 1564) is designed neither for solitary enjoyment nor for a crowd but for a select, discerning company—as is the garden of the far more splendid Villa Farnese at Caprarola (completed 1587). The most remarkable mid-16th-century garden, that of the Villa d’Este at Tivoli (1550), is situated on a steep slope of the Sabine hills. The river that plunges down this slope is harnessed to an astonishing variety of fountains, including a “water organ.” Although the garden is designed around a central axis, the stream is not used centrally but is led about the garden in order to take maximum advantage of its force. Unlike the less copious stream of the Villa Lante garden, which quietly emphasizes the central axis, the Tivoli stream is ostentatious. The Villa d’Este is, in fact, a spectacular permanent theatrical performance meant to astonish and impress the multitude. A different impression is given by the Boboli Gardens of the Pitti Palace at Florence (1550). Though, like the Villa d’Este gardens, they were designed for a crowd—specifically, for state functions—they are not dramatic in themselves. Unless used ceremonially, they are lifeless and arid. The ruined garden associated with, though detached from, the Orsini Castle at Bomarzo is a remarkable aberration probably influenced by accounts of visits to the Far East by a locally born traveller, Biagio Sinibaldi. Its original layout consisted of a grove in which were concealed the stone giants and strange monsters that now astonish visitors. Flowers were extensively used in most Italian gardens, but because of the shortness of their season they could not be the principal feature. Beds were divided into decorative geometric compartments by trimmed herbs, rosemary, lavender, or box. In general, more emphasis was given to evergreens; ilex, cypress, laurel, and ivy gave shade and were an enduring contrast to stonework. The French invasions of Italy in the last quarter of the 16th and first quarter of the 17th centuries introduced to France the idioms of the Italian garden. The first garden coordinated with a dwelling appeared at the château of Anet (1547–56) and was designed by the architect Philibert Delorme, but, despite its evident sophistication, it remained an inward-looking, essentially medieval garden. The first sign of prolongation and calculated extension of vision beyond the garden proper appeared in the grounds of Dampierre. There the moat that formerly surrounded French castles became an ornamental body of water on one side and a decorative canal on the other. Both aspects of the new garden design—coordination with the dwelling and extension along a central axis—were united at the château of Richelieu (1631) and later at Vaux-le-Vicomte (completed 1661), the château of Nicolas Fouquet, the minister of finance. On Fouquet’s fall in the mid-17th century, his team of artists—which included the landscape designer André Le Nôtre—was taken over by the young Louis XIV, and the gardens of Versailles were begun. The French version of the Italian garden was created in the plain of north France, which largely conditioned the manner of its development. The array of steep terraces linked by stairways, which characterized the Villa d’Este and many others, was predominant in France only at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where the steep site permitted it. Elsewhere, grandeur on the scale that competitive pride demanded was achieved by extraordinary extension: an axial development suggesting a domain coextensive with the world. The French 17th-century garden, a manifestation of Baroque taste, required variety as well as unlimited vista and achieved it with fountains, parterres, and lesser gardens disposed within the boscages (wooded enclosures) that flanked the central axis. These hidden gardens were the successors of the giardini segreti of the Italians but had a different function; they were not retreats for private contemplation or intimate conversation but the setting for ingenious theatrical entr’actes. Distinctively French was the unified and elaborate treatment of the compartmentalized garden beds, which the Italians had made in a variety of forms. These compartiments de broderie were arabesques, sometimes of box edging and flowers but more often of coloured stones and sand. The Persians had copied their flower gardens on carpets and taken them indoors, but the French laid out their grounds in the form of carpets. The French garden was marked by a ruthlessly logical extension of practices that had been empirically evolved in Italy. French cultural dominance of Europe in the early 18th century led to an almost universal adoption of Versailles as the model for palatial gardens. Even at Naples, where the gardens of Poggio Reale had astonished the invading French in the late 15th century, a vast layout inspired by the axial extent of Versailles was developed at Caserta, and, as far away as Peter the Great’s Peterhof in Russia, a pseudo-Versailles was laid out by the French gardener Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Le Blond. Impressive exercises in the same manner were carried out in Germany and Austria. In Holland also, the example of the French garden was irresistible, although local conditions and national temperament led to regional variation. Because Dutch canals were busy highways, they generally flanked gardens rather than constituted the main axis. No luxury in Holland, water was less extravagantly used than in drier, hotter climates. Moreover, fountains were less common because the absence of high ground required that they be power-driven. Because stone was scarce, terraces were usually held by turf banks rather than by retaining walls, and sculpture was often of lead. Another sculpture typical of the Dutch garden was topiary: trees and shrubs were trained, cut, and trimmed into sculptural, ornamental shapes. Social conditions made the extension of a geometric garden easy, for a man-made landscape already existed in the intensively cultivated Netherlands. In Spain, aridity as well as Islamic tradition perpetuated the patio garden, a room of air and shade in the Greek peristyle tradition. Although a famous layout in the French style was made on high ground at La Granja, where the cooler air and ample water made it acceptable, the Classical extension garden remained basically alien to the Iberian Peninsula. The Italian pronouncement that “things planted should reflect the shape of things built” had ensured that gardens were essentially open-air buildings and the making of them the province of architects. Before the 18th century, geometric regularity had been applied in great details of design and in small. England was committed to a version of the French geometric extension garden but with an emphasis on English grass lawns and gravel walks. Whereas the typical French vista was along the main axis, with subordinate vistas at right angles to it, in the two most influential gardens in England, St. James’s and Hampton Court, the vistas sprang like the rays of the sun from a semicircle. With the accession of William and Mary (1689–1702), Dutch influence led to widespread use of topiaried yew and box. In 18th-century England, people became increasingly aware of the natural world. Rather than imposing their man-made geometric order on the natural world, they began to adjust to it. Literary men, notably Alexander Pope and Joseph Addison, began to question the propriety of trees being carved into artificial shapes as substitutes for masonry and to advocate the restoration of free forms. The man who led the revolt against the “artificial,” symmetrical garden style was the painter and architect William Kent, the factotum of Richard Boyle, 3rd earl of Burlington. Together, Burlington and Kent created at Chiswick House (1734) a garden with a meandering stream and an “irregular” path. As the writer Horatio Walpole put it, Kent’s “principle was that nature abhors a straight line.” The process of relaxing the garden’s architectural discipline advanced with speed. At Stowe, Buckinghamshire, the original enclosed geometrical garden was amended over the years until a totally different, “irregular” formality was achieved. Trees, for example, were allowed to assume their natural forms, and a large expanse of water was redesigned into two irregularly shaped lakes. The contiguous ground of the park without the sunk fence was to be harmonized with the lawn within; and the garden in its turn was to be set free from its prime regularity, that it might assort with the wilder country without. The face of the “country without” was altered by the rage that afflicted the English nobility for planting vast areas of trees. Much of England was covered with new parks, traversed by rides and avenues that primarily were conceived as visual extensions of the garden paths. The unification of park and garden was virtually completed by Lancelot (“Capability”) Brown (1715–83) by the simple expedient of making the garden into a park. “Capability” (so-called because he always spoke of a place as having “capabilities of improvement”) developed the current aesthetic that an undulating line was “natural” and that it was the “line of beauty” by using little statuary and few buildings and concentrating on designing landscapes according to nature’s harmonies and gradients. His landscapes consist of expanses of grass, irregularly shaped bodies of water, and trees placed singly and in clumps. Although the adherents of the new English school of garden design were in agreement in their abhorrence of the straight, Classical line and the geometrically ordered garden, they did not agree on what the natural garden should be. Unlike Brown, for example, the taste for the romantic and the literary led many to seek inspiration in the dramatic and the bizarre, in the remote past, and in remote, exotic places. The Brownian style was strongly challenged, for example, by the “Picturesque” school, led by Sir Uvedale Price and the artist-parson William Gilpin, who argued, quite correctly, that the “naturalism” of the Brownians was no less unnatural than the geometric regularity of Le Nôtre’s Versailles and that sudden declivities, rocky chasms, and rotting tree trunks (all deliberately designed) were more proper for the natural garden than were enormous undulating meadows accented with tight clumps of thickly planted trees. Another school of opinion created what might be called the English garden of poetic bric-a-brac. The aim in this garden was to create an air of accident and surprise and to arouse varied sensations (solemnity, sublimity, terror) in the viewer—sensations evoked by associations with the remote in time and space. Wandering through the grounds, one came upon Classical statues, urns, and temples; Gothic ruins, ivy-covered and inhabited by owls; or Chinese pagodas and bridges. After Horatio Walpole recorded the first appearance of chinoiserie at Wroxton in 1753 (a garden no doubt laid out some years before), “Chinese” and Gothic details were featured, together with Classical temples, in most fashionable grounds. By 1760 the enthusiasm for this style had diminished in England, but in continental Europe the poetic bric-a-brac garden (le jardin anglo-chinois, or le jardin anglais, as the French called it) was almost as widely emulated as Versailles had been. In Italy, for example, Renaissance gardens were destroyed to make way for the new fashion, as at the Villa Mansi near Lucca. In France the sculpted group Apollo Tended by the Nymphs was removed from the Classical Grotto of Thetis on the terrace of Versailles to a secluded boscage garden, where it was housed under ornamental “Turkish” tents; eventually it was moved from there to a simulated rocky cavern in the jardin anglais of the Petit Trianon. The jardin anglais was to be found even at Queluz in Portugal and in the Potsdam garden of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Increasing world trade and travel brought to late 18th-century Europe a flood of exotic plants whose period of flowering greatly extended the potential season of the flower garden. Although the emphasis in Italian Renaissance gardens, in the Classical Baroque gardens of France, in the lawns and gravelled walks of 17th-century England, and in the Brownian park garden was upon design, they had rarely been totally without flowers. In most gardens flowers were grown, sometimes in great numbers and variety, but flower gardens in the modern sense were limited to cottages, to small town gardens, and to relatively small enclosures within larger gardens. The accessibility of new plants, together with avidity for new experience and a high-minded concern with natural science, not only gave renewed life to the flower garden but was the first step toward the evolution of the garden from work of art to museum of plants. A compromise between the new flower garden and the Brownian park was effected by Humphry Repton. He was largely responsible for popularizing the open terrace overlooking the park, which frankly admitted the different functions of park and garden and also emphasized their stylistic disharmony. The plant collectors’ garden, or “gardenesque” style, was most strongly advanced by J.C. Loudon in the mid-19th century. Loudon urged that garden making be taken out of the hands of the architect, the painter, and the cultivated dilettante and left to the professional plantsman. The undiscerning use of the new palette that importation and plant breeding had made available was so patently an aesthetic disaster that by the end of the 19th century attempts were made to break its hold. The architect Sir Reginald Blomfield advocated a return to the formal garden, but to this, insofar as it required dressed stonework, there were economic objections. More successful and more in tune with the escapist needs of the increasing number of urban dwellers were the teaching and practice of William Robinson, who attacked both the old ceremonial garden and the collectors’ garden with equal vigour and preached that botany was a science, but gardening was an art. Under his leadership a more critical awareness was brought to the planning and planting of gardens. His own garden at Gravetye Manor demonstrated that plants look best where they grow best and that they should be allowed to develop their natural forms. Adapting Robinson’s principles, Gertrude Jekyll applied the cult of free forms over a substructure of concealed architectural regularity, bringing the art of the flower garden to its highest point. In North America, where for a long time most men were preoccupied with making a world, not a garden, ornamental gardens were slow to take hold. In the gardens that did exist, the rectilinear style popular in late 17th- and early 18th-century Europe persisted well into the 18th century—perhaps because it met man’s psychological need to feel he could master a world that was still largely untamed. The town gardens of Williamsburg (begun in 1698) were typical of the Anglo-Dutch urban gardens that were being attacked everywhere in 18th-century Europe except Holland. And Belmont, in Pennsylvania, was laid out as late as the 1870s with mazes, topiary, and statues, in a style that would have been popular in England about two centuries before. Although garden improvers set up in business in the United States, there is no evidence that they prospered until the 19th century, when one hears of André Parmentier, a Belgian, who worked on Hosack’s estate at Hyde Park and then of A.J. Downing, a successful protagonist of the gardenesque, who was succeeded by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted (the latter the originator of the title and profession of landscape architect), the planners of Central Park (begun 1857) in New York City and of public parks throughout the country. The eclecticism of the 19th century was universal in the Western world. Besides the gardens that were fundamentally Reptonian—that is, an attempted compromise between the Brownian park garden and the Loudonian flower garden—gardens of almost every conceivable style were copied; designing teams such as Sir Charles Barry, the architect, and William Eden Nesfield, the painter, in England, for example, produced Italianate parterres as well as winding paths through thickets. A sense of history still played a part in 20th-century gardening. The desire to maintain and reproduce old gardens, such as the reconstruction of the 16th-century gardens of Villandry in France and the colonial gardens of Williamsburg in the United States, was not peculiarly modern (similar things were done in the 19th century), but, as humans increasingly need the reassurance of the past, the impulse may well continue. Attempts to create a distinctive modern idiom are rare. Gardens large by modern standards are still made, in styles that vary from a version of the grand early 18th-century manner at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire to an inflated Jekyllism crossed with gardenesque at Bodnant near Conway. An air either of controlled wilderness or of slightly run-to-seed orderliness is preferred. Modern public gardens, which have evolved from the large private gardens of the past, seek instant popular applause for the quantity and brightness of their flowers. In Brazil Roberto Burle Marx used tropical materials to give an air of contemporaneity to traditional modes of design. Gardens frequently reflect Japanese influence, particularly in America. Most characteristic of the 20th century was functional planning, in which landscape architects concentrated upon the arrangement of open spaces surrounding factories, offices, communal dwellings, and arterial roads. The aim of such planning was to provide, at best, a satisfactory setting for the practical aspects of living. It was gardening only in the negative, “tidying up” sense, with little concern for the traditional garden purpose of awakening delight. So starved was the spirit of those living in heavily populated regions, however, that demands grew more insistent for gardening in the positive sense—for environmental planning with a chief goal not of facilitating economic activities but of refreshing the spirit. Western gardens for many centuries were architectural, functioning as open-air rooms and demonstrating the Western insistence on physical control of the environment. Because of a different philosophical approach, Eastern gardens are of a totally different type. China—which is to Eastern civilization what Egypt, Greece, and Rome are to Western—practiced at the beginning of its history an animist form of religion. The sky, mountains, seas, rivers, and rocks were thought to be the materialization of spirits who were regarded as fellow inhabitants in a crowded world. Such a belief emphasized the importance of good manners toward the world of nature as well as toward other individuals. Against this background, the Chinese philosopher Laozi taught the quietist philosophy of Daoism, which held that one should integrate oneself with the rhythms of life, Confucius preached moderation as a means of attaining spiritual calm, and the teaching of Buddha elevated the attainment of calm to a mystical plane. Such a history of thought led the Chinese to take keen pleasure in the calm landscape of the remote countryside. Because of the physical difficulty of frequent visits to the sources of such delight, the Chinese recorded them in landscape paintings and made three-dimensional imitations of them near at hand. Their gardens were therefore representational, sometimes direct but more often by substitution, making use of similar means to recreate the emotions that choice natural landscapes evoked. The kind of landscape that appealed was generally of a balanced sort; for the Chinese had discovered the principle of complementary forms, of male and female, of upright and recumbent, rough and smooth, mountain and plain, rocks and water, from which the classic harmonies were created. The principle of scroll painting, whereby the landscape is exposed not in one but in a continual succession of views, was applied also in gardens, and grounds were arranged so that one passed pleasantly from viewpoint to viewpoint, each calculated to give a different pleasure appropriate to its situation. A refined and expectant aestheticism, which their philosophy had inculcated, taught the Chinese to ignore nothing that would prepare the mind for the reception of such experiences, and every turn of path and slope of ground was carefully calculated to induce the suitable attitude. As the garden was in effect a complex of linked, related, but distinct sensations, seats and shelters were situated at chosen spots so that the pleasures that had been meticulously prepared for could be quietly savoured. Kiosks and pavilions were built at places where the dawn could best be watched or where the moonlight shone on the water or where autumn foliage was seen to advantage or where the wind made music in the bamboos. Such gardens were intended not for displays of wealth and magnificence to impress the multitude but for the delectation of the owner, who felt his own character enhanced by his capacity for refined sensation and sensitive perception and who chose friends to share these pleasures with the same discernment as he had exercised in planning his garden. Based on natural scenery, Chinese gardens avoided symmetry. Rather than dominating the landscape, the many buildings in the garden “grew up” as the land dictated. A fanciful variety of design, curving roof lines, and absence of walls on one or on all sides brought these structures into harmony with the trees around them. Sometimes they were given the rustic representational character of a fisherman’s hut or hermit’s retreat. Bridges were often copied from the most primitive rough timber or stone-slab raised pathways. Rocks gathered from great distances became a universal decorative feature, and a high connoisseurship developed in connection with their colour, shape, and placement. Although the troubled 20th century largely destroyed the old gardens, paintings and detailed descriptions of them dating from the Song dynasty (960–1279 ce) reveal a remarkable historical consistency. Nearly all the characteristic features of the classic Chinese garden—man-made hills, carefully chosen and placed rocks, meanders and cascades of water, the island and the bridge—were present from the earliest times. Chinese gardens were made known to the West by Marco Polo, who described the palace grounds of the last Song emperors, during whose reign the arts were at their most refined. Other accounts reached Europe from time to time but had little immediate effect except at Bomarzo, the Mannerist Italian garden that had no successors. In the 17th century the English diplomat and essayist Sir William Temple, sufficiently familiar with travelers’ tales to describe the Chinese principle of irregularity and hidden symmetry, helped prepare the English mind for the revolution in garden design of the second quarter of the 18th century. Chinese example was not the sole or the most important source of the new English garden, but the account of Father Attiret, a Jesuit at the Manchu (Qing) court, published in France in 1747 and in England five years later, promoted the use of Chinese ornament in such gardens as Kew and Wroxton and hastened the “irregularizing” of grounds. The famous Dissertation on Oriental Gardening by the English architect Sir William Chambers (1772) was a fanciful account intended to further the current revolt in England against the almost universal Brownian park garden. Influence of the West on Chinese gardens was slight. Elaborate fountain works, Baroque garden pavilions, and mazes—all of which the Jesuits made for the imperial garden at Yuanmingyuan (“Garden of Pure Light”)—took no root in Chinese culture. Not until the 20th century did European regularity occasionally become evident near the Chinese dwelling; at the same time, improved Western hybrids of plant species that had originated in the East appeared in China. Chinese culture permeated East Asia and, by way of Korea, infiltrated Japan. By the year 1000 ce Japan was already developing a distinctive national art best described as a stylized, ritualistic version of the Chinese. The typical early Japanese garden lay to the south of the dwelling and consisted of a narrow pond or lake orientated through its longer axis and containing an island. At the north end of the pond was an artificial hill from which a secondary stream descended in a cascade. These stereotyped gardens of the Heian period (794–1185 ce) show by their careful reproduction of magical detail that they derive from a single prototype—certainly Chinese. Variation entered only through the individual particularities of the site and the detailed handling of stones and trees. Pond and moss-covered bridge, Katsura Imperial Gardens, Kyōto, Japan. William G. Froelich, Jr. Creativity began to replace imitation in the Kamakura period (1192–1333). Although there were many subsidiary styles, gardens were broadly classified, according to terrain, as either hill or flat. The hill garden, consisting of hills and ponds, came to be associated with Mount Fuji, the mountain of ideal form. The flat garden represented a surface of water—lake or sea—with its adjacent shores and islands. Since the scale was so small—a heap of earth 30 feet (9 metres) high representing a mountain, a half-acre (0.2-hectare) pond an arm of the sea—the intention was to reproduce the spirit rather than the features of the chosen landscape. Association and symbolism thus played a major role in the creation and appreciation of these gardens. The scaling down of landscapes to garden size was logically continued to the point where miniature gardens were made in trays as small as a foot square containing lakes, streams, islands, hills, bridges, garden houses, and real trees painstakingly cultivated to an appropriate scale. These small, portable gardens reflected the extreme of the picturesque tradition of Eastern gardening. Two characteristic Japanese styles are the abstract garden and the tea garden. The most famous example of the former is the garden of the Ryōan-ji in Kyōto, where an area about the size of a tennis court is covered with raked sand and set with 15 stones divided into five groups. If anything is represented here, it is some rocky islets in a sea, but the appeal of the garden lies essentially in the charm of its relationships. The Japanese tea garden grew out of an esoteric ritual originated in China and connected with the taking of tea. The tea cult, which flourished from the 14th to the end of the 16th century, was calculated to instill humility, restraint, sensibility, and other cognate virtues. The gardens through which the guests approached the teahouse were governed by severe rules of design intended to create an appropriate spiritual atmosphere, such as the “lonely precincts of a secluded mountain shrine” or “a landscape in clouded moonlight, with a half-gloom between the trees” or any mood “in harmony with the spirit of tea.” Even the precise number and arrangement of nails in the teahouse door were specified. The Japanese fondness for systematization led them to classify garden treatment as well as subject. Three standard treatments were recognized: the elaborate, the moderate, and the modest. Once the degree of finish was determined, certain rules were followed to preserve consistency. The Daoist doctrine of complementary forms was at the root of much Japanese design, but the cult of stones is also central to Japanese gardening. The nine stones, five standing and four recumbent, used in Buddhist gardens were symbols of the nine spirits of the Buddhist pantheon; the shapes and postures chosen were presumed to have a relationship with the character and history of the persons represented. Sacred associations played a part in profane gardens as well. It was regarded as inauspicious, for example, if three stones—the Guardian Stone, the Stone of Adoration, and the Stone of the Two Deities (or the Stone of Completeness)—were not present. In addition to the sacred symbols, a whole armoury of poetic associations and symbols grew up, and stones, according to their shape and use, acquired such names as Torrent-Breaking Stone, Recumbent Ox Stone, Propitious Cloud Stone, and Seagull-Resting Stone. Beyond what they represented, stones were part of an aesthetic design and had to be placed so that their positions appeared natural and their relationships harmonious. The concentration of the interest on such detail as the shape of a rock or the moss on a stone lantern led at times to an overemphatic picturesqueness and an accumulation of minor features that, to Western eyes accustomed to a more general survey, may seem cluttered and restless. Nevertheless, Japanese gardening has had and continues to have an influence on the gardens of the West, particularly in the United States. The influence appears not so much in direct imitation of Japanese themes as in the selection and presentation of detail. The influence of Chinese culture throughout the East was such that other indigenous cultures usually succumbed to it, but India was an exception. Western garden styles were introduced into northern India first through contact with Iranian culture, then by the invasion of Alexander the Great and the subsequent Hellenistic influence, and, finally, by the invading Mughals, who introduced the Islamic garden. In southern India and in Sri Lanka elaborate gardens existed before the birth of the Buddha (c. 6th–4th century bce). Beneath a tree in such a garden—containing baths, lotus-covered pools, trees, and beds of flowers—the Buddha himself was said to have been born. Anciently worshipped by the Hindus, trees thus acquired an additional sanctity. Buddhist temples were associated with gardens whose purpose was to promote contemplation and whose preferred sites were therefore away from cities. The African cultures beyond European and Asiatic influence did not evolve pleasure gardens, although in their more-settled societies a beginning had perhaps been made. Nor is more than a love of flowers and a casual cultivation of decorative plants recorded of the Oceanic peoples. But of the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru, the conquistadores reported elaborate gardens with terraced hills, groves, fountains, and ornamental ponds that were essentially royal pleasure grounds, reflecting a need for private solace and public display not unlike contemporary gardens in the West.

2019-04-25T06:59:33Z

https://www.britannica.com/art/garden-and-landscape-design/Kinds-of-design

Lightning dances upon the mountain top, swirling through the trees like a drunken reveler careening from partner to partner. Thunder, the ancient god of war, explodes all around, bursting into nooks and crannies, filling the air with dread. This may well have been the last full blown thunderstorm storm of the season, and Mother Nature wanted me to remember her wrath. She wants it to haunt me through the sparkling, jewelled shades of her autumn. She wants me to think of it whenever I see the delicate snowflakes of winter and the fragile blooms of spring. She wants me to remember. I won’t forget. This morning, the sky looks autumnal, and the last of the cold front may fire up again later this afternoon, but this was the season-changing weather I'd been waiting for. It wouldn't have needed to arrive with such a bang, but the cabin and the dogs and the cats and I survived. I had over 2" of rain in less than an hour. Wind roared through. The cabin was pelted with--was that hail? No, actually, it wasn't hail. It was the huge, fat acorns the oak trees produced this year hitting the side of the cabin as they were ripped from the trees. I don't think they cracked any of my windows, but I will need to check on that to be sure. The cats hid under the sofa and the bed. Dog dogged my heels all evening. If I stopped, he ran into me. If I turned around, I stepped on him. Baby Dog slept through it all. I dodged downed limbs and branches as I drove from the cabin this morning. Leaves are thick on the road, if not precisely yet a carpet. Yellow is soon going to be the predominant color around me. The color change seems to have moved forward overnight by leaps and bounds. The odd thing is that I'm finding trees where the right half is red or yellow and the left half still green. The change isn't showing up tree by tree, it's more like branch by branch. I'm starting to take a few photos of that, and I will start posting some of these half-changed trees soon. When it comes to wildflowers, I seem to have an unerring eye. If it’s pretty and attracts my eye, it turns out to an invasive species. Today’s pretty blue flower turns out to be no exception to that rule. It’s an Asiatic dayflower, and I found it along the edge of the forest, along a seasonal stream. Dayflowers really do last just a day, disintegrating into a gelatinous mass after their single day in the sun. Part of the reason for this flower’s appearance in places where I wouldn’t expect to find invasive species is that the plant is quite resistant to herbicides, including Roundup. Apparently, it especially likes no-till corn and soybean fields, which may explain its original source in my area, though it can be found pretty much anywhere from Texas east. One of these days, if I ever have the time, I should do a detailed inventory of every plant I can find around the cabin. I would be interested to learn how many species eventually turn out to be invasive or introduced, though I’m afraid the answer to that question would only depress me. I'm still waiting for the promised cold front to arrive. This is the cold front that was originally predicted to arrive Monday night. Now it's supposed to get here on Friday. I'm at the point where I'll believe it when I see it, though the sun was red this morning, which at least suggests stormy weather ahead. I am desperate for fall. It's still quiet here at Roundtop, though Baby Dog has a way of making her own excitement. This morning she found a toad to chase and better still, a dead groundhog that in her mind was a Big, Hairy Monster. Groundhogs are something of a pest around the ski slopes. I don't mind them as much as Roundtop's staff seems to, but I can sympathize to a degree. One groundhog took up residence in a hole it excavated next to a storm water run-off grate. I'm not sure how the hog accomplished this since the grate is at the edge of a paved road, but somehow it did, creating a prairie dog-like exit hole and mound at the edge of the parking lot. Obviously, this location could cause problems for any number of legitimate reasons. Baby Dog has had to investigate both these particular holes every morning all summer as we walk out to the main road for our newspaper. Sometimes she even freezes on point like a hunting dog. Removing that hog seems a matter of safety, though when it comes to most of the rest of them, I'm willing to let them alone. Roundtop seems to disagree and routinely tries to eliminate them, without much long-term evidence of success. So it wasn't really a surprise when we came across one that been killed and then tossed into what should have been an out of the way spot, though nothing is really out of the way for Baby Dog. All I can say is that it's a good thing we don't live in a town or with close neighbors. Baby Dog saw that dead groundhog, and at 5:46 in the a.m. let out a howl and a roar that could have qualified her as the lead in the Hound of the Baskervilles. Her cry of outrage was likely heard in the next county. Truthfully, it never occurred to me that so much noise could come out of one little dog. It was a long, deep keening kind of sound that made me jump so that I nearly dropped the leash. It was a noise that should have come out of an animal three times her size. Animals and birds that were still asleep suddenly stampeded in all directions away from us, which frankly only added to the din. Did I say there was no excitement around here at the moment? The next time I get bored, I'll just remember to bring Baby Dog along with me. The quiet won't last very long. Perhaps I’m just geared higher than I thought I was, but I’m not getting much in the way of stimulation from the forest environs right now. The march to fall and cool weather seems to have come to a full stop. I’m not finding new migrants or new signs of color change or much in the way of new things at all. I’m in need of something new to focus on, and I haven’t found it yet. I like to turn things around in my mind, look at things from all angles, wonder about where it came from or where it’s going. Can I turn it inside out? Can I shake it and see what happens? When I can’t find that something new to entertain or entrance me, I’m as restless as someone in need of a drug fix. And that’s how I feel at the moment. I wander as deeply into the woods as early darkness permits, hoping to notice something different or interesting to grab my attention—to no avail, I’m sorry to say. The fault, I know, is not in the woods or in the weather, but in myself. Dog and Baby Dog eye me suspiciously from the couch—feet hanging off the ends, heads pillowed on the arms. They are smart enough to know when to run and when to relax. I do not seem to be able to adapt to the quiet around me at the moment. Perhaps it is just the restlessness of a changing season, this disquiet I feel as I am surrounded by quiet. The dogs handle it better than I do, a sad commentary on human activity if ever there was one. The progress of the fall season has slowed to a glacial crawl--not today's glacial speed, but the speed at which glaciers used to move. At Roundtop, even the wind is calm, giving spiders leave to build their webs between two blades of grass. Surely, the tiniest breeze would spell disaster for this web, but it has survived now for at least a week. The fish, however, have been eyeing it hungrily. I think the animals around me are in a holding pattern too. Usually, the white-tailed deer are at least beginning their annual rut. It's common to see them, sometimes by the dozens, in the fields at dusk. When the rut is really in full swing, driving after dark is hazardous. Many are killed, and many cars are damaged. This year, I am not yet seeing that congregation or deer nor the chasing around that follows it. And yet, I continue to see Roundtop's deer nearly every early morning, as they travel down to one or the other of the ponds an hour before dawn. South-bound migration of birds also seems to have stalled, birds lulled perhaps by the calm weather or perhaps simply by the lack of a tailwind to help them travel. This September is not unusual in some respects--the weather alternates between above and below normal daytime temperatures. For the new few days, above normal temperatures will prevail. What seems unusual is that even when the daytime temperatures are at or below normal levels, the nighttime temperature stays warmer than normal. Is that how global warming will work in the temperature zones? Is that why it doesn't seem real to some people? If the daytime temperatures were 5 degrees above normal all the time, it would be harder to ignore, I think. Every so often I walk up one of the slopes at Roundtop, as I like the open views, especially after living at the cabin, where a view of 15 feet is about all I get in the summer. I took this shot on Tuesday from the top of one of the bunny (the smaller) slopes, and as you can see, nothing much in the way of fall color change is yet evident. That surprised me a little, as the forest understory is starting to be quite yellow and more than a bit withered. I'm hoping to make the trip up one of the slopes each week, weather permitting, to see how the colors change from week to week. The current state of the season is that it switches from fall to late summer and back to fall again every other day or so. Shifts of in temperature of 20 degrees and more from day to evening seem to be the norm. I can start the day with a light sweater and by the end of it, I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt. Or, sometimes it goes the other way--starting in short-sleeves only to have the temperature take a dive within 8-10 hours so that I end up needing a sweat shirt. Windows open, windows closed--it's a guessing game where I always lose. My slightly "off" photo this morning is of a little Carolina wren sitting on my deck railing. The photo is a little lacking in clarity as it was taken through double-paned and a not too clean glass window. This little cutie has decided the bird feeder that’s only a few feet away is his and no one else’s. So he’s guarding the feeder. Despite his best efforts, the other birds pretty much ignore him, though the littlest ones—like the chickadees—will move away momentarily. This morning I awoke earlier than I usually do and got up anyway so I could take Dog and Baby Dog for a longer walk. The Milky Way was high overhead and spectacular. The Great Warrior Orion, trailed by his faithful hound, dominated the sky that seemed to hold hundreds more stars than is normal. September is a month here when the humidity drops, the haze of summer dissipates, and the result is often days and days of spectacular clarity. And so it has been this year. Sometimes it feels as though each day is more beautiful than the one before it. The sky is cloudless and already turning a deeper blue than it was just a few weeks ago. This is partly because of the lower humidity but partly also from the lowering angle of the sun across the sky. In some years September can be rainy, and so these warm and gloriously clear days never materialize. Not this year. Nature is putting on one her best shows. Don't miss it. Late note: The Game Commission reports that the birds found dead along the Susquehanna River two weeks ago died of starvation and exposure. None of the birds tested had any food in their crops or gizzards. The weather had been cold, foggy and rainy for 8-9 days before the birds were found dead. At the time, reports suggested other birds--like waterfowl and shorebirds--were also reported dead, but none of these reports resulted in finding samples to submit for testing. I have nothing but excuses, really, for why it has been so long since I've walked the old road that runs in the valley between Roundtop Mtn. and Nell's Hill. It has been too hot, too wet, I haven't had enough time-- the list could be longer but they are all still excuses. Yesterday, I finally put my excuses behind me and headed off the mountain and down into the valley. This pond is the first thing I see when I get to the bottom. The sky, as you can see, was perfectly clear, a perfect September day. The quiet, except for blue jays who were outraged with my presence, was as deep and still as the pond. The trail through the valley is not long or particularly difficult. The woods are dark, and even in early afternoon, as my walk was, photography is difficult and not altogether satisfying. In some ways, taking photos down here is easier in winter, though there is often less then to take photos of. The winter light, at least, is better throughout. The stream that splits the valley was running faster than I expected to find it. The summer and the past few weeks have been dry. In some years the stream has gone almost completely dry, and even when that doesn't happen, it isn't unusual for it to run slowly in between its deep pools. On this walk, I saw no wildlife--other than the outraged blue jays. So I was alone with the quiet of the woods on a windless day. Likely I was watched by forest residents that I didn't see. Now, I am angry with myself for not making this walk more often this summer. I have taken this spot and this walk for granted, and that is something I should never allow to happen. Life takes turns that we never expect, and I should not assume that either the forest or my own health will be there forever. I should enjoy both while I have them and take advantage of a cloudless sky wherever and whenever I find it. September is a good month for a lot of things beside bird migration. Today's photo is two stacks of (I think) ringless honey mushrooms. These mushrooms are found along the east coast, often around oak trees. September is the month when I find the most interesting-looking mushrooms here on the mountain. I rarely see the same ones from year to year, so that alone makes finding them fun. I've certainly never seen a clump like this before. The weather here has turned a bit chilly. The night time temperatures are now in the mid-40's. The lower temperatures will start to move the trees toward their color change. I can see the beginnings of it already. I've so far resisted building a fire or turning on the heat. In another few days it will warm up again, and in the meantime there's no reason why I can't wear a sweater indoors. In fact, by wearing a sweater inside, I can go in and out without having to stop to put one on or take it off. The house still stays fairly warm during the day, anyway. I am starting to bring the most tender houseplants inside, though I hope I can leave my fig tree outside for another few weeks. It's grown another foot this year, and I have no idea where I will put it. Well, I do sort of have an idea, but even if it fits, it will block access to my radio and at least one bookcase for the entire winter. So far, I've seen no sign that the annual deer rut, which makes driving after dark dangerous, has begun. This morning Dog and I did see several deer. They bounded away from us, one of them leaping into the air like a gazelle with every few steps. My bird feeders are starting to get a fair amount of activity. Yesterday, a Carolina wren spent an hour or so chasing away any other bird that tried to eat from it. It didn't matter if the other bird was larger or not. That scrappy little wren was trying to keep it all for himself. I also filled a large plant saucer with water and set it on the deck railing. Several birds used it, but one little chickadee came back and forth 6-7 times that I saw. I could tell it was the same bird by one feather that stood up on the top of its head. That one seems especially interested in the water. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the cooler temperatures, and a lot happens outside my door for me to keep an eye on. I can't ask for anything more than that. I’ve spent the last four days at a raptor conference sponsored by the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA). Scientists, researchers, biologists and citizen scientists gathered to hear about the decline of the American Kestrel and the new statistical model for determining continent-wide raptor populations from migration counts. I’m sure this last sounds boring, but it’s really very exciting and marks the first time that hawkwatch site counts gathered from many previous seasons has been used to help keep track of the populations of our raptor species in a scientifically rigorous method. As the editor of HMANA’s journal, Hawk Migration Studies, I got to attend too, and was able to hang out with some of this continent’s most well known raptor experts. So first off, I attended the Kestrel symposium and heard several presentations on the decline of our smallest falcon. I wasn’t able to attend all of this symposium but the research I did hear was fascinating. The decline of the kestrel is real and appears to be worst in the east, though signs of it declining in the west are beginning. What is causing the decline? No one yet knows for sure but some of the latest information is pointing the direction for more research. One bander has data from the past 20 years of banding in Connecticut and has been showing a steady decline of the birds’ weights over that time. The birds leave their summer breeding grounds much lighter than when they arrive in the spring. This man speculates that many birds simply aren’t surviving migration. Each year the spring arrival weights and especially the weights of the birds migrating south in the fall are lighter than the previous year. Other information points to loss of habitat (grassland) along their migration routes, meaning that the birds must fly much further each day to find open grassland where they can refuel and continue their flight north. Some may simply starve before they reach their summer or their wintering grounds. A corollary to this is that the kestrel’s main source of food—grasshoppers—are declining from habitat loss and pesticide use. The second symposium I attended was on the state of North American Birds of Prey. The newly unveiled raptor population index (RPI) received perhaps the most attention. It is a very complicated (to me at least!) statistical model that uses hawkwatch count information from selected sites across the hemisphere to determine if specific species of raptors are increasing or decreasing. Overall, to no one’s surprise, the bald eagle, golden eagle, turkey vulture and black vulture are increasing. However, the most recent trends suggest that many species that were increasing through the 80’s and 90’s are now stabilizing or even decreasing. Merlin and Cooper’s Hawk are two species that are doing pretty well. Populations of Broad-winged Hawk seem pretty stable, too. The kestrel is declining. I won’t bore you with more conference minutiae, so tomorrow I’ll be back posting my more typical ruminations on what’s going on around the cabin. The temperature is dropping, and fall is knocking at the door. In the meantime, let me leave you with a link to the annual winter finch forecast. This man reports on finch food in the north to determine if and which of those irruptive little darlings will show up in the south this year. Keep those bird feeders filled this winter! The report looks like good news for those of us in the south. Today's photo is a simple one--morning light on the long grasses around one of Roundtop's ponds. It was a beautiful morning. Today I’m going to give a State of the Mountain report. The President gives a state of the union speech, and though I don’t oversee that much territory, I do pay attention to what’s going on around me. In a State of the Mountain report, I can record the changes that took place and report on how the mountain is doing on a day to day basis. First off, I can report that the "new pond" is settling in and starting to look more like a natural feature than it did last year. I still prefer the forest that was there to a pond, but at least it’s not another parking lot. I’ve seen more waterfowl than I ever did before the pond was built. Deer and fox drink from it regularly. Roundtop has worked on their tubing run this summer, building it higher and wider than before. At this point, the retaining wall is high enough to look a bit scary to me. I sure wouldn’t want to fall off that thing. No other new construction has trimmed the forest around the ski area, so the local animals and plants that I love aren’t being squeezed or stressed by that. Deer are plentiful this year, though I can say that every year. This year (and last) red foxes were seen regularly. Turkey are more plentiful now than was typical of my early years at the cabin. House finch seem to be increasing again, after being decimated by "house finch disease," which was really conjunctivitis. A local pair of kestrel have fledged as least one new falcon this year. I saw the three of them together on Sunday. This is also an improvement over the last several years, though a far cry from the years when kestrels were as common as, say, robins. Red-tailed hawk numbers seem to remain fairly constant. There’s always a pair an assorted younger ones around. Black vulture were in short supply this year, as they continue to range further northward. This year, they did not seem to nest in the area as before. I’ve seen them migrating southward already, though, so I believe the birds are simply nesting further north. Despite declines caused by habitat loss elsewhere, here on Roundtop wood thrush, ovenbirds and bluebirds are common and doing well. Southern bird species appear to be gaining a foothold—Carolina wren are now more common than ever. I’m still holding on to calling the majority of the chickadees that I see as black-capped and not Carolina chickadees, but it is true that I see Carolinas more frequently. I saw the first ever northern bobwhite here on the mountain just last week. Gypsy moths bypassed the mountain this year but I still feel as though I’m on a knife edge with that one. Next year may well be a different story. Wild raspberries were more plentiful than the year before, but still not in the numbers of several years ago. This year, hickory nuts and acorns are the biggest I’ve ever seen them, and though the numbers of them are excellent, it’s not the most of either that I’ve ever seen. Warming of the region does continue. The last of the leaf drop in the fall doesn't happen until early November now, when it used to occur in late October. Timing of the seasons was also off. Winter didn't feel like a normal winter until mid-January. Spring was also late, interruped after a normally-timed warm-up by a several weeks of a serioius cold snap. Summer was muggier and more overcast than usual, making it feel hotter than it actually was. All told, it was a pretty decent year, with no major losses and even a few modest gains. Note: I’ll be offline for the next several days, attending a HMANA conference on North American Birds of Prey. I’m especially looking forward to a symposium on the American Kestrel that will document its decline and hopefully identify some few causes for it. I’ll give a full conference report when I get back. The local produce has been amazing this year. I don't think I can ever remember a year when peaches, pears, corn, cantaloups, etc. have been so juicy and sweet. I've also been spoiled to by the weath of great local produce stands where I can buy things that were still on the vine or tree an hour before I bought them. So, it should come as no surprise that the wild "produce" is also pretty spectacular this year. Today's photo shows a hickory nut and its outer shell. I gathered several pounds of these nuts in less than half an hour this weekend. The nuts came from just two trees, and the majority of my find came from a single tree. I'm planning to gather more before the squirrels get to them. Here on the mountain, I live in the midst of what is mostly an oak and hickory forest. It's not nust the hickory trees that are producing lots of very large nuts. The acorns this year are highly impressive and very large too. Just to give you an example: my nearest neighbor has one of those aluminum carports that's positioned about 75 yards from my cabin. When one of those acorns falls on the carport, it sounds like a shot. It sets the dogs to barking. One night the sound woke me up from a sound sleep. I can't imagine what it sounds like from inside their house. Hickory nuts have an amazing flavor and aroma--just like butterscotch. My mother told me this weekend that my grandmother used to put hickory nuts in her butterscotch cookies, and I'm tempted to try that. Cracking open the hickory nuts isn't difficult, but picking the nuts out of the shell is. I have to use one of those nut pickers to pry out the nut. I never get pieces that are very large, and sometimes I think the work likely uses more calories than I get from the nuts, but the flavor is worth it. Besides, I have all winter to work on them. Roundtop has been quieter this week than I usually find it. The weather has been calm, if warmer than it should be, with no storms and little breeze to ruffle things. I’m sure the quietness is at least partly due to the fact that my morning walks are now made in near-complete darkness. The only real opportunity I have now to see what’s going on around me is in the evenings, when the day’s activities are already winding down. Even with that as a backdrop, the woods seem unusually quiet to me. I haven’t seen or heard the foxes for almost two weeks. I haven’t startled any deer this week either. The summer’s resident birds are starting to leave, so the woods are quieter without their voices, though I have the sense that their absence isn’t the whole story. Some of the resident birds seem oddly absent, too. All summer long Dog, Baby Dog and I have been accosted by the mockingbirds that haunted the bottom of my lane. They have been strangely absent this week, even in the evenings. As mockingbirds are year long residents, they should not be suddenly absent. So where are they? Is this quiet a real mystery or just an accident of the times I am out in the woods during the week? Today, I cannot say but I hope the weekend will bring a few answers. Sometimes I actually leave the mountain, though (except for work) I still rarely leave the forest. Last evening I left the mountain to head down to Pinchot Lake, just a few miles from the cabin. I was looking for signs of fall down around the lake, but the only things that really showed fall colors were the colors of these canoes along the lakeshore. This morning at the cabin I am engulfed in fog. Fog makes the landscape around me seem mysterious, perhaps even a bit dangerous. My footsteps sound louder. Forest noises travel further, enhanced and sometimes distorted by the fog. Outlines of familiar trees and surroundings are obscured in the fog, making the mountain feel like a different place than the one I see every day. Poets write entire poems about fog, and more poetic metaphors exist about fog than just about anything else I can think of. In Nova Scotia the imminent arrival of the Fundy Fog is reported and tracked on the local radio stations ("get your clothes off the line now, the fog will be here in 45 minutes"). This morning’s fog at Roundtop is even more unusual and mysterious than is typical. Overhead, the sky was clear. I could see the stars and the last quarter moon clearly. But the top of the mountain and the next mountain to the west were invisible. They may as well not have been there at all for all I could see. Fog changes our perspective and makes the familiar seem strange. It’s a bit like taking a trip to a new place without leaving the old one. So this morning I find myself in unfamiliar territory, though I haven’t left the old. Lately when I've been out and about in the woods, I've been looking for signs of fall in the foliage. Often, I will see a hint of red or orange in a vine or a tree, but when I get close enough to actually study the color, I see that it's insect damage or leaf pods or some other kind of damage to the plant. So far, I actually haven't seen anything I can say with 100% certainty is color caused by the oncoming fall. The tree in today's photo had me fooled for a while, but the color change on it isn't fall either. Please don't tell the birds. I've already noticed flocks of robins and starlings heading south. They certainly think it's fall, or at least they think it's time to head south. I see groups of 10-20 robins or 50-100 starlings sweeping over Roundtop, landing briefly in the top of a tree, and then moving off again, as much in synchonicity as a school of fish. ----Dog, Baby Dog and I have been sleeping outside on the deck since the hottest weather broke a week or 10 days ago. The weather has simply been too nice to stay inside, even when inside is a cabin in the woods. I think the cicada symphony is finally starting to diminish a bit. I hope so, as they've been so loud I can't hear much else once they start in. ----Traditionally, I re-do or at least start to re-do my bird feeder on Labor Day each year. I don't feed the local birds during the hottest days of July and/or August. The seed either molds or sprouts before it is eaten. With cooler days and nights, it's time to start feeding again. My first bird of the new feeder years was a female cardinal, followed by a black-capped chickadee and a titmouse. ----I read in the paper earlier this week that when Siberia has a lot of snow cover in October, the northeast U.S. will get hit with cold weather and snow in January. Apparently, the snow cover on the other side of the globe causes high pressure that eventually crosses over the north pole and moves down to our side of the globe, especiallial along the northeast U.S. Who knew? So, if you want to check out how Siberia (and snow cover elsewhere too) is doing this fall, here's a great site at Rutgers University that shows it http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/. Last year I reorganized my Roundtop birding records so I can better analyze the year to year differences in my monthly sightings. I am starting to see some interesting (to me at least) differences so I thought I’d post the results here. In 2007 I saw 36 species in August, two more than in 2006. However, it’s not just two more species--there’s quite a difference between the years in what those species are. In 2007, I didn’t see any nighthawks, catbirds or chimney swifts (migrants) nor did I find any downy woodpecker, blue jay, Canada Goose, Carolina wren or song sparrow (residents). However, in 2007 I did see stilt sandpiper, solitary sandpiper, kestrel, hummingbird, yellow-billed cuckoo (migrants) and house finch, bobwhite, screech owl and both chickadees (residents), though I didn’t have any of these on my 2006 list. The blue jay was the oddest resident species missing in August 2007. I didn’t see or hear them once this month, and they are usually quite common virtually everywhere in the forest. However, bright and early on September 1, I stepped ourside the tent and the first bird I heard was (you guessed it) a blue jay. For the rest of the weekend a day didn't go by without hearing or seeing one. At this point, I'm guessing they were simply re-nesting. Several of the summer residents have already gone missing, and it’s interesting to compare this year’s last sighting day with the previous year. In 2006 my last towhee sighting was Aug. 29; in 2007 it was Aug. 26. My last sighting of wood thrush this year was Aug. 4; it was Aug 10 in 2006. This year both species disappeared a few days earlier than last year, but the kingbird breaks this pattern. In 2006 my last sighting was Aug. 22, this year it was Aug. 26. Still, there’s a remarkable similarity in when these residents head south. The August temperature locally was 1 degree above normal. Interestingly, the average high temperature was actually a few tenths of a degree lower than average. However, the average low temperature (the night time temepature) was 2 degrees above normal. August 2007 was more overcast than usual, which moderated the usual nighttime temperatures. I don't think we can blame global warming for this one. So why a photo of a cockatiel today? Well, when was the last time you saw a feral cockatiel? This bird has been feral since at least April, when it started showing up at bird feeders in the small town of Wellsville PA, where my sister lives. The bird roosts down along the creek that runs through the town and is canny enough to have eluded an attack by at least one hawk. I have no idea what will happen in another month or so. Will instinct kick in, causing the bird to migrate? Will it stay and if so how will it deal with the winter? Stay tuned.

2019-04-26T10:52:01Z

http://roundtoprumings.blogspot.com/2007/09/

The MCT has been renamed. It was formerly called Moral Judgment Test (MJT). Correlation with education. Today we have ample evidence that the correlation between moral competence and amount of education or with graduation level is not always positive and large, but can be small, zero, or even negative if the quality of education is meager, if they are no opportunities for responsibility and guided reflection, and if dogmatic religiosity of the students hinders their learning (see Lind, 2000; Schillinger, 2006; Lupu, 2009). Therefore, we no longer use the correlation with "education" as a validation criterion. moral and discourse competence, synonymously also called moral-democratic competence, or just moral competence, is defined as the ability to solve conflicts and dilemmas through deliberation and discussion with others on the basis of shared moral principles, rather than through fraud, deceit, violence, and abuse of power. The Moral Competence Test (MCT) has been constructed to assess subjects' moral competence, which is the ability to solve problems and conflicts on the basis of universal moral principles through thinking and discussion, but not through violence, deceit, and power (Lind 2015). Essentially, the MCT assesses moral competence by recording how a subject deals with arguments, especially with arguments that oppose his or her position on a difficult problem. The counter-arguments arguments are the central feature of the MCT. They represent the moral task that the subjects has to cope with. More specifically, in the standard version of the MCT, the subject is confronted with two moral dilemmas and with arguments pro and contra the subject's opinion on solving each of them. The main score, the C-index, of the MCT measures the degree to which a subject's judgments about pro and con arguments are determined by moral points of view rather than by non-moral considerations like opinion-agreement. It indicates, to use Piaget's terminology, the degree to which moral principles have become „necessary knowledge" (Lourenço & Machado, 1996, p. 154) for the respondent. Besides this cognitive variable, the MCT lets us also measures subjects' moral ideals or attitudes, i.e., their attitudes toward each stage of moral reasoning as defined by Kohlberg (1958; 1984). In addition, the MCT can be scored for other aspects of a subject's judgment behavior like situational adequacy of moral judgment, extremity of judgment (Heidbrink, 1985), moral closed-mindedness, most preferred stages of reasoning and more (Lind, 1978; Lind & Wakenhut, 1985). In this brief introduction, only the C-index will be discussed, which is the most unique. It is in use since 1976, when the test was created.(2) For a discussion of other measures, see Heidbrink (1985), Lind (1978), and Lind and Wakenhut (1985). The MCT is an experimental test of moral competence. Its construction is based on an elaborate and well-researched theory of moral behavior and development (Lind, 1982). Its theoretical validity has been evaluated on the basis of very rigorous criteria, which are not available in classical and modern psychometric theory (see Lind 2008). This means, the MCT is NOT a psychometric test in the sense of classical test theory (Gulliksen 1950) or of Item-Response-Theory (Wilson 2005). These theories do not allow us to measure structure of behavior. The structure of behavior is a very important characteristic of personality and an object of measurement in its own right, and must not be mistaken as "measurement error," as these theories do. They falsely believe that essentially an isolated responses of a person represents fully the trait to be measured, and that this response lacks only "reliability" or "precision", and, therefore, the measurement has to be repeated with responses to identical, or at least very similar, test-items to minimize error variance. If the structure of these responses deviates from the alleged homogeneity and linearity, these deviations are nor recognized as manifestations of individual structure but are believed to be measurement error. Consequently, rather than admitting the existence of different structures, these test-makers eliminate all items from the test which seem to produce these deviations from their conviction ("item selection"). Thus the test becomes more "reliable" but often at the expense of construct validity. The MCT has not undergone such item-selection. Its items have been solely constructed on the basis of Kohlberg's types of moral orientations, and core postulated of the Dual-Aspect Theory of moral behavior: a) preference hierarchy, b) affective-cognitive parallelism, c) quasi-simplex structure of inter-type-correlations, and d) unfakable (cannot be simulated upward) (see below). The items have been submitted to semantic analysis by experts of moral behavior research, and to case studies in which we tested whether or not the MCT could elicit moral feelings or emotions. Lind, G. (1982). Experimental Questionnaires: A new approach to personality research. In: A. Kossakowski & K. Obuchowski, eds., Progress in psychology of personality, pp. 132-144 Amsterdam, NL North-Holland. Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing measures. An item response modeling approach. Mawah, NJ Erlbaum Associates Publishers. The standard version of the MCT contains two stories. Each deals with a person who is caught in a behavioral dilemma: whatever he or she decides to do, it will conflict with some rules of conduct. So the 'quality' of the decision is important and not the decision itself. The goodness or badness of the decision depends on the reasons behind it. For many people, it makes a big difference whether somebody behaves well because she or he feels in the mood to do so, or expects to get a reward, or s/he was compelled to do so by outer forces, or because s/he wanted to comply with his or her moral conscience. Subjects are asked to judge arguments for their acceptability. These arguments present different levels of moral reasoning, six supporting the decision that the protagonist in the story made, and six arguing against his or her decision. So for each dilemma, the respondent is to judge twelve arguments. In the standard version there are then 24 arguments to be rated. Before judging the acceptability of the arguments presented in the MCT, the subject is asked to rate the rightness or wrongness of the protagonist's decision on a scale from "completely wrong" to "completely right" (see the appendix A). This rating plays no role in scoring a person's moral competence, though it provides important information for designing a valid measure of moral competence. The scoring of the MCT takes into account the whole pattern of a subject's responses to the test rather than at single acts isolated from one another. We can tell the meaning of a single judgment by a respondent only when we also look at other judgments of that person as well. For examples, if someone judges moral conscience as a highly acceptable reason to commit mercy killing, we cannot be sure whether this judgment reflects a subject's high regard for moral conscience or his or her commitment in favor of mercy killing. In other words, our inferences from single judgments by a person's morality are mostly ambiguous. Only when we consider a person's judgment behavior comprehensively, we can make more unambiguous inferences on a person's morality. How this is achieved with the scoring algorithm is explained below. It should be noted here that the scoring of the MCT contrasts sharply with classical test construction. The latter approach presupposes that a person's judgments can be seen as pure repetitions of one another, masked only by some intervening random processes, which can be averaged out by multiple measurements. Secondly, The MCT embodies a moral task and not merely a moral attitude or value. If, as we belief, morality has some strong cognitive or competence aspects, we should be able to define a task that can be used to test this competence (Lourenço & Machado, 1996). Many different tasks might come to mind testing moral competencies but only a few are feasible and/or valid. Some tasks may seem suited but are unethical to be used in measurement, like many tests of moral temptation. For example, we must not seduce subjects to steal in order to test their resistance to temptation. Other tasks may seem feasible but lack validity, like the task to help a person in distress. Helping may be motivated by a sense of moral obligation but is not necessarily so. Some helping behavior is, but others may be motivated by a person's desire to dominate another person, by social pressure, by hope for high returns and so on. An adequate task for testing moral competence is, as experimental research (e.g., Keasey, 1974; Kohlberg, 1958; Walker, 1983; 1986) and moral philosophy (Habermas, 1985; 1990) suggest, to confront a person with counter-arguments. While subjects' reactions to arguments that favor their own opinion indicates the preferred level of moral reasoning for resolving the dilemma, their reactions to counter-arguments tell us something about their ability to use a particular moral level consistently when judging other people's behavior. The scoring of the MCT follows this notion. A test-taker gets a high competence score only if his or her judgment of pro and contra arguments shows some moral consistency. If a subject lets his or her opinions on the "right" solution of the dilemma determine their ratings of counter-arguments (regardless of their moral quality), the subject will get a low moral competence score on the MCT. Note, first, that not all kinds of judgment consistency indicate moral competence. Only consistency of a person's judgment in regard to moral concerns qualifies for this, not consistency in regard to other concerns (e.g., to shelter to one's opinion on a certain issue against a critique). So consistency of a person's judgments with his or her opinion on the workers' dilemma is not a valid indicator of moral competence, sometimes rather the opposite, namely moral rigidity. Second, note that the determination of a person's judgment behavior by moral concerns or principles may or may not be accompanied by a strong commitment for or against a certain solution of the dilemma at stake. Morality and commitment do not exclude one another nor do they necessarily imply each other (Lind, 1978; Lind et al., 1985). The C-score (or C-index or just C) measures the degree to which s/he lets his or her judgment behavior be determined by moral concerns or principles rather than by other psychological forces like the human tendency to make arguments agree with one's opinion or decision about a certain issue. In other words, the C-index reflects a person's ability to judge arguments according to their moral quality (rather than their opinion agreement or other factors). C ranges from 1 to 100. It indicates the percentage of an individual's total response variation due to a person's concern for the moral quality of given arguments or behavior. Following a proposal by Cohen (1988), the C is sometimes graded low (1-9), medium (10-29), high (30-49) and very high (above 50). For typical mean C of various groups of people, see Lind (2000) and Lind (1995). How C is computed is explained on page 8. Most studies report average C-score, not categories anymore. Some also report standard deviations, medians, and inter-quartile ranges. Besides in tables, the important findings should always be graphically depicted, too. The C-score is mostly depicted as the Y-axis, from "0" to "40" or higher, if higher scores occur. Please start the axis always from the "0"-point and to not inflate it to make difference look more impressive. This way your data can be better compared with other studies. In general, a C-score between 0 and 9 can be interpreted as "very low" or "zero moral competence", between 10 and 29 is the "medium" range in which most (educated) people seem to be. All scores above 30 can be considered as "high moral competence". It seems that the behavior of people with a score higher than 30 is really guided by moral considerations (at least to a large extent): Among these people we hardly find drug consumers, criminals, cheaters, but often find people who help others under stress, engage themselves for democracy, and follow-up their ideals. According to my experience, C-scores and C-score-differences between two groups can only be interpreted if the average C-scores are based on data of at least 15 subjects. A difference of 5 C-points and more can be considered as high, of 10 C-points and more as very high. Do not interpreted individual scores! The MCT has not been made for individual diagnosis. Individual scores are too unstable, and should not be interpreted or even looked at. Feedback of individual scores would also be a violation of the rule that the MCT data must always be anonymous. The MCT is used for evaluating methods and programs, not people. While the C is the most often used index, other cognitive-structural properties of persons' moral behavior can also be indexed. For example, the MCT can be designed to assess the degree to which a person's moral differentiates according to the type of dilemma (Lind, 1978). This topic has been neglected for a long time but is now being pursued by many researchers (Krebs et al., 1990; Kurtines & Gewirtz, 1995). As second set of indices, the MCT produces scores for a person's attitudes toward each of the six levels of moral reasoning that Kohlberg identified. An inspection of these attitudes tells us, for example, whether the preferences for the six stages form a hierarchical order as Kohlberg assumed, that is, which stage of moral reasoning a person prefers most and which least, and for which type of dilemma people prefer a reasoning on the highest level and for which dilemmas they belief a lower stage to be most adequate. The simultaneous assessment of two aspects of moral behavior, cognitive and affective aspects, is the most unique feature of the MCT. As Gross (1993) writes, this "offers a significant improvement over the single score interview technique which conflates these two elements" (p. 14). This feature is rooted in the dual aspect theory of moral behavior and moral development, as outlined by Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg and, in more detail, by Lind (1985a; 1985b; 1985c; 2000; 1995). For Piaget (1976) "affective and cognitive mechanisms are inseparable, although distinct: the former depends on energy, and the latter depend on structure" (p. 71). Accordingly, Kohlberg meant his stage model of moral development to be a description of both the affective and the cognitive aspect of moral behavior (Kohlberg, 1958). The dual aspect theory states that for a comprehensive description of moral behavior both affective as well as cognitive properties need to be considered. A full description of a person's moral behavior involves a) the moral ideals and principles that informs it and b) the cognitive capacities that a person has when applying these ideals and principles in his or her decision making processes. In contrast, other theories state that affect and cognition represent separate components of the human mind, separated also from moral behavior. They state that there is an affective domain of moral behavior and a cognitive domain, which can be dealt with separately. These theories imply that there are purely affective, cognitive and behavioral responses that can also be assessed separately, for example by using different tests for both components, eliciting the respective type of behavior. "However," Higgins (1995) notes, "there are cognitive aspects to all [. . .] components, and Kohlberg's idea of a stage as a structured whole or a world view, cuts across [. . .] componential models" (p. 53). There is no necessary connection between the cognitive and affective dimensions of moral reasoning. Although many individuals prefer higher stage moral arguments, only those with more cognitive structures exhibit consistency or reversibility, i.e., the capacity to recognize the moral merit of opposing viewpoints. Invariably, most subjects prefer sophisticated moral arguments when assessing factors favorable to their own position, an outcome stemming from successful socialization to the language of democracy: civic responsibility, civil rights and justice. It is only when asked to evaluate a position contrary to one's own that the importance of cognitive structures emerges. One may prefer universal norms of justice (a high affective score) but be unable to use them consistently, particularly when evaluating the moral position of an adversary (a low competence score). Or, one may exhibit a preference for parochial moral norms (a low affective score) but use them consistently to judge competing moral positions (a high cognitive score). The MCT rests on modern, cognitive-structural approaches to psychological measurement (see, amongst others: Anderson, 1991; Broughton, 1978; Brunswik, 1955; Burisch, 1984; Cronbach & Meehl, 1955; Kohlberg, 1984; Lind, 1995; Loevinger, 1957; Lourenço & Machado, 1996; Mischel & Shoda, 1995; Pittel & Mendelsohn, 1966; Travers, 1951). The basic approach we started out with coincides with Kohlberg's: „In order to arrive at the underlying structure of a response, one must construct a test, [. . .] so that the questions and the responses to them allow for an unambiguous inference to be drawn as to underlying structure. [. . .] The test constructor must postulate structure from the start, as opposed to inductively finding structure in content after the test is made. [. . .] If a test is to yield stage structure, a concept of that structure must be built into the initial act of observation, test construction, and scoring" (1984, p. 401-402). We felt that the best ways of fulfilling this postulate was to design the MCT as a multivariate N = 1 experiment because that way we can make sure that all relevant aspects of a moral task are present in the test and that these aspects are uncorrelated and thus can be clearly identified. As modern psychology reveals, individuals do not only differ in regard to certain moral preferences, attitudes or values but are structurally different. Therefore, we must base the measurement of psychological properties (such as moral competence), on the assessment of individual pattern of behavior rather than on the behavioral pattern of a sample of persons (as is usually done). Otherwise we would commit an ecological fallacy, that is, we would falsely hypothesize that the structure of behavioral data in a sample if individuals is identical with that of each individual. Such a hypothesis, however, is hardly tenable (see Mischel & Shoda, 1995). Because the function of this experiment is not to test the effects of some treatment but to describe the nature and development of behavioral properties, we call it an ideographic experiment. This special function entails some special kinds of experimental analysis. The independent variables (or factors) are varied in order to study the functioning of the individual's mind but not to assess 'general' effects of these factors. Modern cognitive-structural research found that these effects differ much from one person to another depending on their level of development (Lind, 1978; 1985a; 1985c; 2000; Krebs et al., 1990). The moral factor determining subjects' judgment behavior is represented by the moral quality of the arguments. With the MCT, moral quality was defined using Kohlberg's six stages of moral reasoning (Kohlberg, 1958; 1984). The task factor, opinion agreement or disagreement, is represented by the implication of the argument pro or contra the subject's opinion about the decision of the story's protagonist. The pro-arguments indicate which ideal level of moral discourse the subject prefers; the contra arguments indicate how much the subject let this moral ideal determine his or her judgment of arguments in the presence of other powerful psychological forces. Finally, the different dilemmas contained in the MCT represent different moral demand structures. In the standard version these differences are small yet noticeable. While the mercy-killing dilemma (taken from Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview) is to pull the highest level of moral reasoning on Kohlberg's stage six, the worker's dilemma (adapted from the novel "Stellenweise Glatteis" by Max von der Grün) is thought to pull more Stage 5 reasoning (Lind, 1985a). In sum, the MCT is designed as a multivariate experiment, with a 6 x 2 x 2 dependent (or multivariate) design, whereby the three design-factors are orthogonal or non-correlated. Its main index, the C-score, is computed by a MANOVA-like method, namely by partitioning sum of squares. Because of its rationale and its design, the MCT must be viewed as a behavioral experiment rather than a classical psychometric test (Lumsden, 1976). Hence, response consistency and inconsistency indicate properties of a person's moral-cognitive structure, rather than properties of the instrument like "measurement error" or "unreliability" (see Lind, 2008). In the validation process two type of validity have been of central concern: a) theoretical validity (that is, the degree to which the test actually measures what the theory supposes), and b) communicative validity (that is, the degree to which the subjects understand the test in the same way as the test constructor). To optimize theoretical validity, the construction of the MCT has been based on a) an expensive review of literature and interview material from studies using Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview (Colby et al., 1987a; 1987b), and b) several rounds of items writing and expert ratings(3). To secure communicative validity (and also cross-cultural validity of new-language versions), the MCT was submitted to several empirical tests: ac) tests of small groups of subjects, who were speaking aloud while filling out the MCT, and d) several rigorous empirical validation checks as described in the section below. Note that the MCT was not submitted to traditional „item analysis." That is, no items were selected to increase the correlation of the C-index with empirical criteria like age, political attitudes, or higher education. This fact guarantees that the MCT is not biased in favor or against certain predictions like stability of rank orders among people, age-correlation, or invariant sequence. Most important, the items were not screened either to maximize stability of scores ("reliability") at the expense of the test's sensitivity for education-induced change, or to maximize sensitivity for change at the expense of theoretical validity. The C-score is computed analogously to multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). It can be computed 'by hand' using a pocket calculator. For larger data sets, though, the use of a computer is strongly recommended. In most cases some programming is required because most commercial packages do not provide ready methods for analyzing data individually. However, most packages (like SAS, SPSS, STATISTICA) have a programming language module included that lets you quickly write a program that calculates scores for individual response pattern. The coding scheme for the standard version and a sample program for STATISTICA, version 4.x and 5.x can be requested from the author. A scoring service is also available. For calculation by hand, a sample calculations are given here: Example for C-score = 0, 15, 100. To assign the MCT-items to the six stages, the coding scheme is needed, which can be requested from the author. If you do the calculation of C by hand, this is a good way to do it: First, calculate the Mean Sum of Square (SSM). Add up all raw data for the arguments (24 items; "x" means that all raw data x's are to be added up); then square the sum and divide the sum by the number of items which constitute the mean (here the correct numerical are 24, the number of items of the standard version of the MCT). The result is the Mean Sum of Squares, which is roughly equivalent to the arithmetic mean. Second, calculate the (adjusted) Total Deviation Sum of Squares (SSDev): Square all raw data x². This is called the unadjusted total sum of squares. Then add up all x² and subtract from this the Means Sum of Squares. This is the SSDev. (x1,worker,pro + x1,worker,con + x1,doctor, pro + x1,doctor,con)². Now you have all information needed to calculate the C-index: first, divide the Stage Sum of Squares by the Total Deviation Sum of Squares: SS Stage / SS Dev. This is the coefficient of determination r2. Multiply this number by 100, to get C. • Recalculate everything once more. This should always be done if you do the calculation by hand or table calculator. • Make plausibility-checks: The SSStage must never be bigger than the SSDev. The SSMean must never be bigger than the unadjusted SSTotal. • If you make a program to do the calculation for you on the computer: run trials with numbers that you can easily check by hand. Try several patterns of numbers like all "1," which should give you a "0" for all adjusted numbers, e.g., SSStage and SSDev, or all "1" for stages 1 to 3 and all "0" for stages 4 to 6. This should give you a high value for SSStage. To find and eliminate "bugs" in your program, the best way is to calculate the score again. If the results keep changing, review your calculation technique. Use the scheme below to calculate the C-index. Errors may also occur when keying in the data. So double-check both. I have found that some spreadsheet programs make errors in adding simple numbers. My WordPerfect word processor does this sometimes. For example, when I enter a negative number, the minus sign is sometimes changed into a dash sign and then ignored by the program. Some statistical packages also have a hard time doing what the programmers tell them to do. When you are not sure, do both things: a) compare the computer's calculations of a simple example with your hand-done calculations; try different number patterns because only then you can be fairly sure that the program works correctly; b) check the empirical findings using the criteria explained above in the section "Validating new and translated versions of the MCT." Both methods helped me to identify technical data errors. The Moral Competence Test is to serve two purposes: it should allow us to test modern theories of moral development and education, and it should allow us to evaluate educational methods as to their power to enhance moral competencies. For these two purposes, we sought to make the MCT as theoretically valid and educationally useful as possible. In psychology as in most other sciences, tests and measuring devices are made to provide data. With these data we want to test the empirical truth of theories (or of hypotheses derived from those theories), or to evaluate the effects of certain methods or interventions, or both at the same time. If we use the measuring device to test theories, this device needs to be theoretically valid, that is, it must really measure what it is supposed to measure. Otherwise, the data produced by this device are irrelevant for the theory to be evaluated, and thus useless (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955; Popper, 1979). If we use a measuring device to evaluate methods of education or psychotherapy, a measuring device must be educationally useful, that is, it must measure exactly the aspects of human behavior and development that we wish to educate or cure. Currently, in the field of moral psychology and moral education, there is a particular need for a theoretically valid measure of moral competence. The idea that moral behavior and development has a cognitive aspect, is rather new and still very controversial. Eminent scholars like Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg maintain that morality has a strong cognitive component. Yet, does such a component or aspect really exist, that is, can it be measured and shown to be relevant for human behavior? Does it develop in the way that we think it does? What causes its development and its erosion? To answer these questions we need a test that really measures the competence aspect of moral behavior rather than other aspects like moral attitudes and values. The educational utility of a test of moral competence requires a test not only to be theoretically valid. To evaluate educational or therapeutic interventions, a test needs also to be transparent and credible for everybody involved in the education process: teachers, students, school administrators, and taxpayer. A test's transparency and credibility are severely restricted, a) if the test's design provides no means for choosing between competing interpretations of the test scores, b) if different aspects of morality are confounded in one score, and c) if the scoring is based on subjective ratings rather than objective algorithms. In other words, a test of moral behavior and development should be designed to facilitate unambiguous and uncompounded scores, and the scoring procedure should be traceable. The original (German) version of the MCT was validated in respect to several analytical and empirical criteria. The analytical criteria of validation included a strictly theory-based test-construction (in contrast to a test construction that seeks to maximize certain statistical coefficients), and an extensive expert rating of the test items. Half a dozen experts of Kohlberg's stage model of moral development commented on the theoretical adequacy of the arguments in the MCT (see above). 1. The order of preferences: In a truly moral dilemma, subjects should prefer the stages of moral reasoning in the order of their number, with highest preference for stage six-reasoning and lowest preference for stage-one-reasoning. To my knowledge, all MCT-studies have found such a preference order. 2. Quasi-simplex structure: The correlation between the preferences of neighboring stages (like four and five) should be higher than the correlation between more distant stages (like four and six). On other words, in the correlation matrix of all stages, the coefficients should decrease monotonously from the diagonal toward the corners of the matrix. This can be tested in several ways. For example, it can be tested through computer programs that sort the correlation coefficients to optimize quasi-simplex structure (like the TAM program of the KOSTAS package by W. Nagl et al., 1986). If the program finds no better structure of coefficients than the one found, the finding can be regarded as an optimal fit though minor deviations may have occurred. Most, if not all, MCT-studies have produced such an optimal quasi-simplex-structure much clearer than the original study by Kohlberg (1958). 3. Cognitive-affective parallelism: If subjects present their own moral attitudes (rather than faked or socially desired attitudes), these scores should be systematically correlated with their moral competence score, with high negative correlations between the C-score on the one hand, and attitude scores for stages 1 and 2, on the other, and moderate correlations between C and attitudes to stages 3 and 4, and substantial positive correlations between C and attitudes to stages 5 and 6 (Lind, 1985a). Most, if not all, MCT-studies found a marked pattern of correlations between these two aspects of moral behavior, corroborating Piaget´s parallelism theorem. 4. Equivalence of pro and con arguments: The arguments in favor of a certain solution of a moral dilemma should be equivalent to the arguments of against it, that is, subjects agreeing with the given solution of a dilemma should be confronted with arguments of approximately the same quality as subjects disagreeing with this solution. In his dissertation, Lind (not cited) found this hypothesis clearly supported. 5. A difficult moral task, which cannot be simulated. The claim that the MCT represents a moral task and that its C-index is a measure of moral competencies (rather than of moral attitude), has been corroborated in two crucial experiments. In these experiment, subjects were instructed to simulate a score that is above their own (see Emler et al., 1983). While subjects could simulate higher scores with other tests of moral development, subjects were not able to simulate a higher C-score when responding to the MCT (Lind, 2000; Wasel, 1994). Obviously, the other instruments measured moral attitudes rather than moral competence. The effect of simulation was tested by letting the subjects fill out a test twice, one time with the regular instruction to fill out the questionnaire or test. At second time, the subjects were instructed to fill out the test again, but this time to fill it out as if one were another person. Specifically, subjects were first divided into two groups on the basis of their political orientation. Because political orientation is consistently correlated with scores of moral development tests, the two groups also differed: those who described themselves as left wingers (liberals) had higher scores than right wingers (conservatives). So left wingers were instructed to fill out the test as if they were right wingers, and right wingers were instructed to fill it out as if they were left wingers. It was hypothesized that, while leftists should have no difficulty simulating the (lower) scores, the latter group should not be able to simulate the (higher) scores of their counterparts, if the test really measures competence. If not, both groups should be equally able to simulate the test scores according to the instruction. In a first series of experiments, the Defining Issues Test (Rest, 1979) and the Survey of Ethical Attitudes by Hogan were benchmarked. The results of these experiments were that the scores could be simulated in either direction, that is, that subjects could fake their scores upward (Emler et al., 1983; Markoulis, 1989; Barnett, Evens, & Rest, 1995; see also Lind, 1995), and that, therefore, these instruments seem to assess moral attitude rather than moral competence. Using the same setting and the same type of subjects as Emler et al. (1983), Lind (1995) found that subjects who were asked to fill out the MCT as a "leftist" would, were not able to fake their C-scores upward. Wasel (1994) showed that the instruction to simulate the moral reasoning of colleagues who had a higher C than oneself, did not increase the subject's score. Yet in both experiments, subjects with high C-index could be instructed to simulate lower scores than their own. The competence nature of C-index is also supported by the fact that, in longitudinal studies, upward changes were always gradual rather than abrupt (Lind, 2000; 1995). Gradual changes are typical for the acquisition of abilities but not for the change of attitudes, which may sometimes be very abrupt and dramatic when people change their social context. Finally, moral competence only erodes slowly. The forgetting curve of subjects' C-score is negatively accelerated, that is, the longer subjects do not practice their moral abilities, the faster they lose them (Lind, 2000; 1995). So the C-index of the MCT meets all four criteria of a competence-index (moral task, non-fakability, gradual learning curve and smooth forgetting curve). Moreover, it is calculated so that it is logically independent from a person's moral attitudes (Lind, 2000; 1995; Wasel, 1994). It can be high or low regardless of a person's like or dislike for moral principles. Therefore, we call C a pure index of moral competence, in contrast to other, which are compound scores of moral cognition and moral attitudes (for a discussion, see Lind & Wakenhut, 1983; Lind, 1995). This fact makes the MCT less dependent on irrelevant empirical criteria and on criteria which would bias the test toward some theories. Note again that the MCT was constructed solely on the basis of theoretical considerations rather than on empirical criteria. Empirical criteria, deduced from theoretical propositions, are used only to check new (or translated) versions of the MCT for theoretical or cultural equivalence with the original version (see below). Hence, it should not be benchmarked against other tests by mere empirical means. Without reference to the theory and research underpinning the MCT, we cannot know whether the MCT lacks validity or the criterion, if the correlation comes out low. Presently (year 2002), there is empirical evidence from research of more than 200,000 subjects of different culture, age, gender, socioeconomic status and level of education, that the MCT fulfills well these five validity criteria that we have discussed above (Lind, 2000; 1995). See the list of certified translated MCT versions. Because any inference that we base on data depends heavily on the quality of those data and, therefore, on the validity of the measurement process, careful validation procedures of a measurement instrument are very important. In cross-cultural research they are even more important as we may falsely interpret methodological differences between cultures as substantial ones. Only if the translation of the test has been carefully done (including backward translation) and if the empirical data agree fairly well with those four indicators, one can assume that a newly created version of the MCT is fairly valid and equivalent to the original (German) version, which is a necessary condition for comparing findings across countries. If cultural validity is low or unknown, we have no way to attribute difference in data to any substantial variable. This theory-based empirical validation procedure requires more time and funding than is typically thought necessary. However, it pays well in terms of more trustworthy, meaningful and comparable data. This procedure provides validity criteria independent from the research for which it will be subsequently used, making circular conclusions and tautologies less likely and findings more credible. A careful cultural validation process, is demonstrated in the cross-cultural studies by Michael Gross, who investigated the relationship between moral development and political involvement in Israel, France, the Netherlands, and the United States (Gross, 1994; 1995a; 1995b). Studies that omit this validation process because it consumes considerable time and money, usually pay for this omission by producing ambiguous, if not useless data. They do not, as the authors of those studies claim, warrant any substantial interpretation other than that the data are not valid. The requirement of validity applies not only to the original test but also to new sub-test (dilemmas) and to foreign language versions. In the following we summarize a procedure for securing the validity of new sub-tests and foreign language versions of the MCT, which employs the empirical criteria discussed above and one additional criterion. These four criteria have been found very effective for detecting and curing serious flaws in new or translated versions. The first step of validating any foreign version of a test, is to translate that version backward into the original language. There are a German and an English version of the MCT that can be used for backward translation and checking the equivalence of the new version. Many flaws can be already detected this way. Preference hierarchy: The preferences for the six Kohlbergian stages of moral reasoning should be ordered as theoretically predicted, with stage 6 preferred most, stage 5 second most etc. (see the figure on the left). Some small inversions of stage preferences (especially between stages 1 and 2, as well as between stages 5 and 6) may occur, and do not invalidate the new test version. Cross-cultural research supports this hypothesis quite well (Lind, 1986; Gross, 1996). Quasi-simplex structure of stage preference inter-correlations: Neighboring stages (for example, stages 5 and 6) should correlate higher than more distant stages (for example, stages 4 and 6), that is, the correlations should monotonously decrease from the diagonal to the left lower corner of the correlation matrix. This criterion can be tested in two ways: a) in a main-component factor analysis with varimax-rotation, two factors should be produced and the factor loadings for the preference scores for the six stages should be orderly located on a simplex curve between the two (see graph); b) attempts to bring the matrix of the inter-correlations between the preferences for the six stages into a more simplex-like order should not result in a re-ordering of the six stages. Affective-cognitive parallelism: The stage preferences should correlate in a predicted manner with the MCT's C-index of moral competence, i.e., while the preference for the highest stages should correlate highly positively with the competence score, the preferences for the lowest stages should correlate highly negatively with that score, and the other MCT preference indices should show correlations in between these extremes. Correlation with education. [Outdated text:] Given the above described sample, C should correlate highly positive ( r > 0.40) with amount and quality of education of the subjects. Correlation of C with Ss' age should be small or close to zero when level of education is hold constant. In the first validation study of the Brazilian MCT, the correlation between C-score and level of education was r = 0.40. Today we have ample evidence that the correlation between moral competence and amount of education or with graduation level can be small, zero, or even negative if the quality of education is meager, if they are no opportunities for responsibility-taking and guided reflection, and if dogmatic religiosity of the students hinders their learning (see Lind, 2000; Schillinger, 2006; Lupu, 2009). Therefore, we no longer use the correlation with "education" as a validation criterion. No upward simulation of the C-index. As shown above, the MCT has been constructed to assess the cognitive, or competence aspect of judgment behavior rather than merely moral attitudes. When submitted to experimental setting like that used by Emler et al. (1983), the C-score of a newly constructed MCT version should show no upward change (see Lind, 2002). This criterion is optional. Note that these findings do not only support the cross-cultural validity of the Brazilian version of the MCT by Patricia U. Bataglia, but also the universal validity of the cognitive-developmental theory of moral behavior and development. See the list of certified translated MCT versions. d) because the MCT is short, it can be administered in studies in which several hundreds of subjects must be studies and resources (time, money) are scarce. The MCT can be used to test predictions derived from theories of moral development because, on the basis of almost twenty years of research summarized in a series of publications (e.g., Lind, 1985 a/b/c; 2000; 1995). It has shown to be highly valid. Moreover, because the MCT is short and easy to score by computer, it can be used to evaluate educational programs and other conditions of moral development that involve large samples of persons. The MCT has shown to be sensitive to educational treatments but not to instructions to fake scores high. A complete copy of the MCT in German, English and other certified versions can be ordered for free from the author. See address. Due to some seemingly unfounded dismissals, some factory workers suspect the managers of eavesdropping on their employees through an intercom and using this information against them. The managers officially and emphatically deny this accusation. The union declares that it will only take steps against the company when proof has been found that confirms these suspicions. Two workers then break into the administrative offices and take tape transcripts that prove the allegation of eavesdropping. Do you disagree or agree with the workers' behavior? Do you accept or reject the following arguments in favor of the two workers' behavior? Suppose someone argued they were right . . . (5). 1. because they didn't cause much damage to the company. 2. because due to the company's disregard for the law, the means used by the two workers were permissible to restore law and order. 3. because most of the workers would approve of their deed and many of them would be happy about it. 6. because the two workers saw no legal means of revealing the company's misuse of confidence, and therefore chose what they considered the lesser evil. Note: This is not a complete version of the standard MCT. Six more arguments are given speaking against the workers. In addition, the mercy killing dilemma is presented with six arguments in favor and six against the proposed solution. To obtain a copy of the MCT for research and evaluation studies, please contact the author. Indicate the desired language version. 2. In former publications, I also used other names for the C-index: "DetStufe" (German) and "DetStage" (English), which is an abbreviation for the degree of determination of the individual's judgment behavior by the experimental factor „stage of reasoning." 3. For their expert ratings to, and valuable critique of, the original MCT and subsequent revisions and alternate version, I wish to thank Tino Bargel, Ralf Briechle, Helen Haste, Thomas Krämer-Badoni, Horst Heidbrink, Cristina Moreno, Gertrud Nunner-Winkler, Gerhard Portele, Ernst-Heinrich Schiebe, José Trechera, Roland Wakenhut, Thomas Wren. 4. The attitude scores are usually computed by dividing the summated rating by 4 and subtracting -4 in order to get numbers in the range of the original response scale of the items: from -4 to +4. 5. The text of the standard MCT version has been changed in December 2001 from "How acceptable do you find ..." to "Do you accept or reject..." in response to well-founded by Michael Hauan, University of Missouri.

2019-04-23T02:03:53Z

http://www.uni-konstanz.de/ag-moral/mut/mjt-intro.htm

Perhaps the most commonly cited alternative therapy approach for autism is the gluten free/casein free diet. The idea was promoted largely based on the “leaky gut” and “opiod excess” idea of autism. The basic idea was that the intestines of autistics are for some reason “leaky” and incompletely digested proteins from gluten (grains) and casein (milk) enter the bloodstream and act much like an opiod (drug) causing (somehow) autism. Multiple research teams have looked for evidence of these “opiods” without success. But the idea that eliminating gluten and/or casein as an autism treatment. Timothy Buie is perhaps one of the most respected gastroenterologists in the autism communities. He has recently written a literature review on the topic: The relationship of autism and gluten. Autism is now a common condition with a prevalence of 1 in 88 children. There is no known etiology. Speculation about possible treatments for autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has included the use of various dietary interventions, including a gluten-free diet. The goal of this article was to review the literature available evaluating the use of gluten-free diets in patients with autism to determine if diet should be instituted as a treatment. A literature review was performed, identifying previously published studies in which a gluten-free diet was instituted as an autism treatment. These studies were not limited to randomized controlled trials because only 1 article was available that used a double-blind crossover design. Most publish reports were unblinded, observational studies. In the only double-blind, crossover study, no benefit of a gluten-free diet was identified. Several other studies did report benefit from gluten-free diet. Controlling for observer bias and what may have represented unrelated progress over time in these studies is not possible. There are many barriers to evaluating treatment benefits for patients with autism. Gluten sensitivity may present in a variety of ways, including gastrointestinal and neurologic symptoms. Although making a diagnosis of celiac disease is easier with new serology and genetic testing, a large number of gluten-sensitive patients do not have celiac disease. Testing to confirm non-celiac gluten sensitivity is not available. A variety of symptoms may be present with gluten sensitivity. Currently, there is insufficient evidence to support instituting a gluten-free diet as a treatment for autism. There may be a subgroup of patients who might benefit from a gluten-free diet, but the symptom or testing profile of these candidates remains unclear. To paraphrase the conclusions: The evidence is not there for eliminating gluten from the diets of autistics. Perhaps some minority has a gluten sensitivity but so far there is no good test for this possible subgroup. Although this seems like a solid scientific approach, I disagree with the conclusion, or at least with the implications for treatment. Since gluten-free diets are relatively harmless, the best approach for a doctor to take would be to suggest that the parent give it a try. The doctor might provide some background information, and might even run a gluten allergy test, but ultimately, each parent, and each autistic individual, should decide for themselves whether it helps. In our case, the doctor said that current medical research does not support the effectiveness of gluten free diets, but he suggested that we give it a try for several weeks, and keep a log of foods, as well as behaviors, sleeping patterns, emotional stability, and so on. The effects we noted were minor and gradual, and we saw nothing that we felt was conclusive. When we re-introduced gluten, on the other hand, the effects were dramatic. Sleeping patterns were disrupted, language and emotional stability regressed, and repetitive behaviors shot up to a level that we were getting notes from teachers and therapists asking what had changed. Although this is not a scientific study, we have witnessed the same reaction five times now, and three of those times started 24 to 48 hours after receiving gluten. (The other two times were unexplained.) Scientific? Hardly. Sufficient to justify a modified diet? Absolutely. Those are just the three most common theories. There are dozens of others. In our case, for example, we have known for a long time that our son has unusually low levels of stomach acid. These low levels might lead to insufficient digestion of food proteins, and therefore insufficient levels of certain amino acids. Some people believe that amino acid imbalances can trigger symptoms of autism. This is kind of a fringe theory, but it points to a very important detail that a lot of research misses: Every child is different. We know that autism has a genetic basis, we just know very little about how the genetic differences affect the brain. Research on autism and glutamate receptors, for example, is in its infancy. We have friends who have tried the gluten free diet, and did not notice any difference at all. Should we assume that they are wrong? Should we assume that we are? Or is it remotely possible that the genetic condition they are dealing with is substantially different from the one we are dealing with? Considering the vast number of genetic issues that may be linked to autism, I think the odds that there may be different types of autism are approaching 100%. As such, the odds that a single treatment method will work for all autistics is approaching 0%. Somewhere in between 0% and 100% is the chance that a gluten free diet will help any given individual (autistic or not). If we were talking about stem cell therapy, then we could safely reject anything under 50% just because of the poorly-understood risks. But what, exactly, are the risks of a gluten-free diet? The risks are malnutrition. Do you think that most parents keep a log and administer a restrictive diet under the guidance and monitoring of a physician or registered dietician or are most ‘DIYers’? It may seem like a harmless intervention and maybe helpful with the proper oversight however I don’t believe that is the case with many or most. I would add: how many are working with a dietician who is not biased towards the alt-med approach to autism? I.e. eliminate that bias. Early on I wanted advice on nutrition for my kid. A local autism school recommended a dietician. Unfortunately, said dietician was DAN!. I got much better advice, at less cost of time and money, from a regular dietician. Frankly, the DAN! dietician’s advice was horrendous. After two hours of ignoring my questions and throwing guilt and bad science at me to get me onboard for a full DAN! approach, I was able to get said dietician to answer my main question: how do I approach an extremely picky eater? Answer, “starve him/her”. Seriously. “Starve him/her. After a couple of days s/he will eat whatever you put in front of him/her”. The diet recommended just supported the picky eater style and would have resulted in a *less* nutritious diet. For less money, a real nutritionist helped me log my kid’s diet, calculated the nutrition my kid was getting and gave suggestions on how to improve the diet. This nutritionist followed up on no charge to see how my kid was progressing. Matt, One of the problems with the DAN approach is that a lot of bad science is in the mix. I am not sure it is fair to reject every part of it just because some parts are unproven. We had a similar problem finding a dietitian (or, if you are using the U.K spell-check: “dietician”) who actually understood diet and autism. We ended up getting better advice from cookbooks. Oddly, the “let ’em starve” approach usually works for typical kids. (They get hungry, they eat.) For autistic kids, it almost always fails. I don’t have to tell you why, but apparently someone should tell the DAN “dietitians”. Keep in mind, he isn’t saying there is never any benefit. As a treatment for sensitivity to gluten, there would be. As a treatment for autism, the evidence doesn’t support it. Also note that I didn’t say that one should reject all of DAN because some parts are unproven. First, let’s take the last part–it’s unproven. Beyond unproven, some parts are just downright wrong. They are based on an incorrect, obviously false, view of autism. A good example is chelation. Some aspects carry risks with no benefit. Calling it merely “unproven” is a major understatement. Most of the rest is basically guesswork based on a number of poorly formed ideas of autism. Jim Laidler’s discussion is linked to above. He has a good discussion either there or elsewhere of how much of autism alternative medicine is just one or more people’s pet ideas and it gets picked up. As to the “let them starve” approach. For a time, there was a belief among alternative medicine practitioners that autism was mitochondrial dysfunction was a cause or a comorbid condition of autism. The idea of starving a kid with mitochondrial dysfunction is pretty horrifying. One of the strangest comments I’ve read came from a prominent “rescue angel”. In supporting the idea that soy should be removed from diets as well, said Rescue Angel commented that soy is just a marketing effort by big agriculture. In reality, according to the Angel, no one in Asia consumes soy. We are just told that as part of Big Agriculture’s marketing. Science Mom: Malnutrition is a risk with all autistic children. Is there some evidence that the risk is worse with kids on a “voluntary” gluten-free diet? If there is such evidence, then it would be an important point to consider. If there is no such evidence, then the argument has no validity. I don’t know what percent of autistic kids refuse some sort of food, but my experience is that it is pretty high. I don’t agree with the theory that removing gluten automatically makes a diet less balanced. In fact, our experience was that removing the gluten improved my son’s average diet, by encouraging him to eat more proteins in place of wheat. i understand that gluten-free is not for everyone. Just because something is not for everyone, though, does not mean that it could lead to malnutrition. By that definition, video games could lead to malnutrition because kids would be playing instead of eating. Parents who have autistic kids need to (and usually do) step up to the plate and take some responsibility for what their children eat. If a child refuses to eat veggies, for example, it is the parents job to sneak it into “milkshakes” and muffins and whatever. It is not fair to assume that a parent who tries a gluten free diet on their child would suddenly decide that going gluten-free is a substitute for proper nutrition. Our experience has been that parents who are interested in the proteins their child eats are also interested in the vitamins, minerals, and fiber. If we are talking about uninformed parents, then the risk is not the diet, it is the lack of information. Adding gluten will not improve the information flow. A high percentage of abnormal IPT values were found among patients with autism (36.7%) and their relatives (21.2%) compared with normal subjects (4.8%). Patients with autism on a reported gluten-casein-free diet had significantly lower IPT values compared with those who were on an unrestricted diet and controls. Gastrointestinal symptoms were present in 46.7% of children with autism: constipation (45.5%), diarrhoea (34.1%), and others (alternating diarrhoea/constipation, abdominal pain, etc: 15.9%). FC was elevated in 24.4% of patients with autism and in 11.6% of their relatives; it was not, however, correlated with abnormal IPT values. Note that this had a large group compared to others looking for intestinal permiability changes; ~ 200 kids with autism IIRC. Although this is not a scientific study, we have witnessed the same reaction five times now, and three of those times started 24 to 48 hours after receiving gluten. Yeah, sounds exactly like our experiences. LOL and so true. Most American children get plenty of wheat, and we are over run with children with diabetes and obesity, conditions which used to be unknown in children. Frankly, the DAN! dietician’s advice was horrendous. That is terrible, but is just annectode. My regular pediatrician gave us horrible advice too, but that’s no reason to disregard the all pediatricians, or even all of that pediatrician’s particular advice. I would have an exit strategy: how long to try to and how to measure success. The exit strategy *should be*, I gave a challenge of the restricted food and nobody could tell a difference. You don’t tell teachers/ therapists/grand parents/whoever that you are challenging, and then see what happens. Which, after decades, still doesn’t support the idea that removing gluten is a treatment for autism. So, yes, there’s nothing new there. There are a grand total of 2 placebo based studies; I’m not sure why Biue didn’t include the Elder study, which was placebo controlled, blinded, and cross over. It was small (13 participants), and while no ‘group level’ changes were seen, two individuals did improve and blinded therapists noted improvements in those children. You can’t go on and on about ‘after decades’, and pretend that it has been studied; if we exclude Elder, like Biue did, you’re talking about a grand total of thirty kidsthat participated in gold standard studies. It isn’t about the length of time, it is about the number of quality studies. According to Biue, the number of quality studies is one. Meanwhile, someone draws blood from eight thousand kids, throws it at a sequencer in a desperate attempt to find CNVs, finds seven kids with a mutation on SHANK3, and everyone claps about how it clearly shows a predominantly genetic condition. Meanwhile, in de Magistris, which I linked to above, altered intestinal permiability was observed in over a third of children with autism. A gluten heavy diet is malnutrition. These are empty calories eaten to try and fill up a low income diet. White flour has been linked to high blood sugar and diabetes too. You disagree with Dr. Buie’s conclusion, but your discussion doesn’t really address this issues. There is no solid evidence that in general this is a treatment, there is no evidence that it is a treatment for autism rather than a treatment for some sensitivity, there may be a group who responds to an elimination diet but they are likely not a large group–and this may not be specific to autism. 1) try it for at least six months (or longer). If you don’t see any improvements (who doesn’t improve over six months?) it may be that a tiny amount of gluten (or whatever is being eliminated) got into the diet. 3) if it doesn’t work for your child, then you haven’t tried enough biomed and you should try more. (2) and (3) point to the use of elimination diets as “gateway” therapies to even less supported and more risky approaches. When one eliminates some part of the diet and reintroduces it, there will be an adaptation period. I can recall eliminating red meat from my diet. Taking it out was met with no immediate effect. Reintroducing it was definitely met with digestion issues and discomfort. I’m not innately sensitive to red meat, but I did need time to adjust to digesting it again. I’m not saying that all who reintroduce a food and see a difference are going through that, but one should be aware of this. You should be aware that your theory #2 *is* the opiod excess/leaky gut theory. Opiod “peptides” are key to that theory. Your link doesn’t point to which researchers have found these peptides. My guess is they are pointing to Paul Shattock, whose work has failed to replicate and goes back to pre-Wakefield days (he influenced Wakefield). By the way–the idea that there are more than one autism is old. I have a New York Times article from the ’70s talking about it, and I bet there was discussion in the literature about it before that. But I think I was pretty clear about why I disagreed with his conclusions. All he did was review literature, and weighted the single double-blind study so heavily that it displaced more than one study that reached the opposite conclusion. For example: Where does http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22564339 appear in his research? Did he exclude it, or did he just decide that the results were “insufficient”? How exactly, did he discount the other studies? Did he apply his own adjustment for parent bias? Are we supposed to round up parents who have observed results, and tell them they are wrong, based on the results of a very small double-blind study that was done on someone else? Based on my experience, tests that were applied to other autistic children are not a very good indicator of the results that I will see. As you mentioned, the idea that there are many different forms of autism is nothing new. As far as the typical period of re-adjustment, it certainly makes sense that once the human body has “forgotten” how to digest certain foods, it will take a while to re-introduce those foods. I am not sure that is a good argument to just “keep drinking”, as it were. Which, after decades, still doesn’t support the idea that removing gluten is a treatment for autism. So, yes, there’s nothing new there. There’s nothing new in the fact that there is no evidence to support the idea. How, exactly did he discount other studies? What other studies? Parent reports like the study you link to? Dr. Buie is on the front lines of working with autistic children with GI problems. He is sought out by the very parents who would report benefit of GFCF. Again, this is why this study is remarkable. When confronted with a parent who is asking about claims that repetitive behaviors can be reduced by having their child wear penny loafers instead of sneakers, the best approach for a doctor to take would be to suggest that the parent give it a try. When confronted with a parent who is asking about claims that repetitive behaviors can be reduced by having their child wear their hair short rather than long, the best approach for a doctor to take would be to suggest that the parent give it a try. When confronted with a parent who is asking about claims that repetitive behaviors can be reduced by having their child wear a tin foil hat, the best approach for a doctor to take would be to suggest that the parent give it a try. Ethically, the best approach for any physician is to advise parents to steer clear of unproven therapies. Gluten free/casein free diets are expensive and difficult to maintain and–as the one double blind study that’s been done suggests–if they are useless, then they are making fools of desperate parents who should be seeking legitimate therapies. Besides, with all that kids on the spectrum have to face in life, it would be sad to think they have to do it without occasionally enjoying a waffle and glass of milk. So what you are saying is that any time a double blind study has been done on a potential diet, all doctors and parents should accept that one study as the gold standard of proof, and ignore their personal observations, as well as a good handful of other studies and medical tests? Even in situations where the double-blind study was done on a very small number of individuals? And even when the study materials raised questions as to whether every potential target group was included? Assuming we were talking about a fringe theory like in your tinfoil-hat-and-penny-loafers example, I might even agree with you. Since we are talking about a theory based on commonly observed relationships, I would most likely disagree. The original article describes one such relationship in detail: “Their findings included positive skin test results in 36% of children with autism compared with 5% in a control group of unaffected children…” If autistic children are more likely to have gluten allergy, then it seems like a relatively short leap from there to testing a gluten-free diet on a wide variety of autistic kids. If your analogy, you are acting as if there were some clinical research that indicated a possible benefit to penny loafers, short hair, or tinfoil hats. Here is why I found your analogy so tedious and offensive: The original paper by Buie contained the sentence: “Statistically significant higher plasma concentration of IgA antibodies against α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, casein, and gliadin were found in the children with autistic disorder.” Do you understand why a doctor reading that sentence might suggest that a parent give it a try? If not, then why not? Because your statement that the parent might look foolish seems pretty weak. Buie evaluated Knivsberg and D’Eufemia and other studies that showed proven benefits of a gluten-free diet, and he even described the results. It was not clear why he decided to discount them in his conclusion, but he certainly struck a much less conclusive tone than you did. After reading the Knivsberg study, I would be much more inclined to err on the side of caution. Even Buie admitted that the main drawback of GFCF research was that GFCF did not work for every autistic individual. Since it is hard to identify which subset would benefit, he came to the conclusion that a GFCF diet should not be recommended as a treatment for all autistic individuals. This is not the same as saying it doesn’t work. As far as your theory that we should also give tinfoil hats a try, that seems like something a troll would say, without bothering to read the article. In fact, as you might know, research continues on gluten, glutamate receptors, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, interference with methylation, inflammation that comes from other wheat proteins, gliadin, and on and on… I have previously mentioned that I suspect some of that other research will prove more fruitful than the “leaky gut” theory. Matt has pressed me repeatedly to choose one theory or another, but I have refused, and will continue to do so. I don’t know why it seems to work, but it does seem to work. Considering that Matt got all offended that I let a very slight note of sarcasm sneak into my comment, imagine what I must think about yours. Especially considering that all you did was repeat things other people had already said, and go out of your way to repeat them in the most sarcastic and insipid way you could possibly imagine. I disagree that it is the doctor’s responsibility to advise patients to “steer clear” of unproven therapies, particularly in those cases where LBRB gets to determine what is proven and what is not. After all, every therapy was “unproven” at some point. Each doctor’s primary responsibility is to research the facts, and make sure the patient (or the legal guardian) is as well-informed as possible on each potential treatment. If my doctor were to suggest that he had read a single study, and that he advised me to “steer clear” of the gluten-free diet based on that single study, i would think he was not taking his responsibilities as a physician very seriously. In fact, I had the opposite experience with one doctor. When we first asked him about the GFCF diet, he said that his general impression was that it was only helpful in cases of celiac. A few months later, he wrote to tell me that he had read up on the subject extensively, and now believed that it might be worth a try. He then advised me not to rely on it too much, and he gave me literature that described how to do a test, and what a positive result might look like. We are perfectly aware that some of the progress we have noticed might be unrelated to gluten. One side-effect of the diet is that my wife cooks a much higher percentage of our food from scratch, and so has improved the diet in a number of ways other than just removing wheat. We are eating less pesticides, less preservatives, less refined sugar, and less processed soy protein. We are also eating more protein, more fruit, more veggies, and, oddly, more coconut oil. Any one, or any combination of these, might account for my son’s improved sleep habits, decrease in outbursts, or his new-found ability to stay on task for minutes at a time. Or it might be totally unrelated. But let me ask you: If you had these results, would you risk losing them? If you threw the old penny loafers away, and all that progress went away, you would go get new penny loafers, wouldn’t you? There’s nothing enjoyable about a waffle or a glass of milk if it leaves you in tears on the floor an hour later or with an explosive trip to the bathroom. A gluten free waffle and a glass of almond milk produce as much pleasure and no distress. Please allow families with a history of digestive issues (Chron’s, colitis) to treat their autistic relatives with the same individually, results-based care and attention to nutrition and overall health that the rest of us automatically enjoy. Personally, I have discovered that unless your child has stomach issues… diahhrea, nightmares/terrors… then there is no point in it. Children with intolerances benefit from food removal to find the intolerance. Telling parents “some autistic children are like that”… is not appropriate. Since that “some autistic kid” was definately stoned until we removed casien protien from his diet refusing to address the issues of diahhrea.. was simply poor behaviour on the part of both the Dev Ped and Dr. Gluten didn’t do anything. FWIW… the severe one without the stomach issues…. no change. There is much research. Not much good research. For example, I do not consider the “insert proprionic acid into the brains of rats” (one of the Ontario projects which purports to link autism to a leaky gut) as being illustrative. Take a look at the comments by John D. Stone and Farmer Geddon…they’re gems. I’ve read the entire case study and can pick it apart easily. What is glaringly obvious at first glance, is that there is no time interval provided on the EEG tracings that were published in the study…i.e. was the very abnormal EEG tracing illustrated in the study done during the postictal state, which may last for 48 hours…or more…when the EEG will be very abnormal? Tsk, Tsk, Drs. Herbert and Buckley…why didn’t you provide that information? The ketogenic diet has long been known to be effective in children with epilepsy. With that background, I would like to see a decent study done of the ketogenic diet for children with co-morbid autism. I suspect there would be improvements if seizures were interfering with their ability to play/learn/benefit from behavioral therapy. I doubt non-epileptic kids would benefit, and it seems irresponsible to put this case-study out for parents to start experimenting. Autistic kids who starve themselves are also getting into an often prolonged ketogenic state – there is no remitting of autism in these kids – we would have heard about it by now if ketosis worked for autism. I have been on a ketogenic diet for about 6 weeks now (LCHF mostly paleo), after getting results back on the first stage of getting a diabetes diagnosis (if I fail the test again in a few weeks, I will get a formal diagnosis, I am trying to stave that off with lifestyle changes). As a side effect I have noticed a huge improvement in IBS symptoms, which have been an issue for the last few years,corresponding with the blood sugar problems. I have not lost much weight (I wasn’t overweight to start with). So I guess the grains were not good for MY gut in the first place. (Paleo removes all neolithic grains, not just those with gluten). I eat meat, most veges, berries and nuts, and I eat well. When I have sorted the diabetes scare out long term, i will add back starchy veges and other fruit. I use a lot of coconut oil which is high MCT. There is no thought of depriving my fussy eating, severely autistic, lad of his popcorn, pretzels and bread these days. We did a GFDF trial years ago using expensive substitutes, tracking measurements/comments from his teachers who were unaware – none noticed a difference between phases. I did the GFDF trial mainly to show my DH’s family that we HAD looked into it and it was not right for our boy. Here, a 3-part interview with Dr. Julie Buckley…with all her *theories* about biomedical/dietary interventions. She’s anti-vaccine to the core of her being, attributing the onset of autism for her own child and the child in her study, to vaccines at age four. (There are quite a few similarities between her child and the child in her study). BMC Med. 2012 Feb 7;10:13. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-10-13. Sapone A, Bai JC, Ciacci C, Dolinsek J, Green PH, Hadjivassiliou M, Kaukinen K, Rostami K, Sanders DS, Schumann M, Ullrich R, Villalta D, Volta U, Catassi C, Fasano A. Well, sorry, not very friendly this format for me. I repeated your post and after I presented my opinion. It all depends on the individual presentation. Here there is a report that confirm the need of personalized medicine, to consider complexity with the view of system biology at the XXI level. J Child Neurol. 2010 Jan;25(1):114-9. Celiac disease presenting as autism. Genuis SJ, Bouchard TP.This case is an example of a common malabsorption syndrome associated with central nervous system dysfunction and suggests that in some contexts, nutritional deficiency may be a determinant of developmental delay. It is recommended that all children with neurodevelopmental problems be assessed for nutritional deficiency and malabsorption syndromes. Also note that I didn’t say that one should reject all of DAN because some parts are unproven.First, let’s take the last part–it’s unproven. Even when I disagree with the application part- many parts- , the biochemical aspects addressed by Jon Pangborn are very interesting . Unproven what and for whom and in what context what advice and what – if you want- model of autism? All is unproven at this point somehow, where is the high quality evidence with proof weight for sure for all ASD? Beyond unproven, some parts are just downright wrong. They are based on an incorrect, obviously false, view of autism. A good example is chelation. It all depends if a child diagnosed has or not heavy metals bioaccumulation. This is a whole completely different discussion and I agree that better diagnostic tests are needed- to begin with far before to consider chelation… But to dismiss the problems due to lack of knowledge about how to diagnose it in complex situations is not equal to say that the problem does not exist. To focus in extremisms is not fair. Back to 2004…. Some aspects carry risks with no benefit. Calling it merely “unproven” is a major understatement. These are personal opinions, based on anecdote. My personal experience is completely different. Even more I respect very much anecdotes- because there are autisms…as you know there are some people that think that new approaches- such as the Single Controlled Case approach is needed in ASD. I do not know a profesional that thinks that let them starve is an option. To present as paradigmatic an extremism is simply not fair to the discussion. About mito dysfunction as a problem there are ways to test and to know about, under proper advice. I do not know a profesional that thinks that let them starve is an option. I have run into more than one professional who has advocated the “let the starve” approach as useful for teaching picky eater autistics to eat different foods. No, these are not. For example, the DAN approach to chelating autistics based on faux “heavy metal poisoning” is based on the incorrect approach that autism is caused by mercury intoxication. That isn’t a personal opinion and it is not based on anecdote. This is a part of the DAN approach and it is wrong. Jim Laidler’s reports are anecdotes–anecdoes of how the DAN community creates their approach. He saw it firsthand. I have never seen an autism parent discussion which presented the results from a real medical toxicologist. I have seen many (MANY) do-it-yourself parents assume heavy metal intoxication and get mail-order chelators or “natural” chelators. I have seen much faux testing (e.g. porphyrins or hair tests or challenge chelation testing) which is used to support chelation but which is not a way to diagnose heavy metal intoxication. I.e. there are practitioners who subject a child to some test which is bogus and, based on those results, start chelating regimens. I have seen chelation regimens applied which are far outside the norms. I’ve read of children chleated for *years*. My child would never be subjected to a DAN doctor’s chelation approach. Were I to suspect heavy metal poisoning, I would seek out the best people I could find in the field. People who specialize in diagnosing and treating heavy metal poisoning. People who have years of training and practice. Not people who decided (falsely) that autism is caused by heavy metals and have convinced themselves that some fake test is actually useful. Medical Toxicologists are not that hard to find (http://www.acmt.net/cgi/page.cgi/findtoxicologist.html). Which is interesting, but not on point. No one says do not treat the medical conditions of an autistic (or anyone else). Celiac can be diagnosed and treated. That’s very different from stating that a gluten free diet is a treatment for autism. This case is an example of a common malabsorption syndrome associated with central nervous system dysfunction. This gets to a point I keep bringing up here,because I don’t think it can be stated enough times.Once you have found an underlying cause,especially one that can be treated like this,it stops being autism,and becomes something else.There is a big problem of autistic children,and adults not getting enough of the right medical tests they need to look for possible underlying medical causes.Doctors of all kinds,both DAN! types and more mainstream doctors are guilty of this. Although the AMA has not done double blind studies, families have done plenty of research by eliminating it and seeing huge differences. The amount of people who have gone GF and sees the difference out weights the number of research studies any medical body could do. there are labs like Cyrex that test for the 18 proteins of gluten, so one can determine how sensitive they are too it. Just stop giving people more excuses to say there is no validity in GF by saying there’s no research from the AMA, it’s about feeling better, and there are more people speaking out then ever about how it has changed their lives. we need to support what is out there in research, and get that to the media. The AMA is not the organization who should have the final say as they are fighting it. itshould be the person and their health. doctors should be trained to respect that, as well as educate themselves on the truth of what is out there, insteadof always saying there is no research! Research can be hidden, as well as falsified! listen to your gut! My gut tells me the same thing as my brain: run, don’t walk, away from alternative medical practitioners who claim to have an understanding of autism which they clearly do not. “research can be hidden, as well as falsified”? There’s someone interested in hiding research on gluten? “Big Wheat”? Lots of baking, including even vegetarian and vegan alternatives are made from extracted gluten. The wheat grown today is genetically very different from the wheat grown 100 years ago. For one thing, the gluten content is much higher, and the amount of gluten that ends up in our diet has grown by leaps and bounds. Wheat is one of the three most common food sources, by any definition, and it is hardly an exaggeration to say that billions of dollars are at risk each time an ingredient like this is challenged. Are you saying that corporations would never endanger public health just to increase their profits? Oh please. We are talking about companies that market beer to children, for heaven’s sake. In 2008, more than 54,000 babies were sent to the hospital because a Chinese company tried to inflate a protein test using melamine. (And the infant formula market is chump change compared to the wheat market.) These people would give pot brownies to their own kids for a billion dollars. Are you just saying that more research needs to be done? That seems like a fair position. It also seems like the same argument that tobacco companies used to make. Very few people buy into the fringe theories that wheat is evil. Rather is is grown, processed, and sold to us just the same way as hundreds of consumer products. Only more successfully. Wheat ends up in so many final products that you can hardly eat a meal anywhere without getting some wheat. If you check the allergy list at most restaurants, you will find wheat gluten in at least one product that you never expected. Hamburgers, milkshakes, even salad dressing is often loaded with gluten. The reason is simple, it is cheap, tastes great, and is slightly addictive. Addictive? Sure. In my case it is because I live in a constant sugar/insulin cycle. For many other people, the exogenous opioid peptides find their way through the stomach barrier into the bloodstream, and end up making contact with opiate receptors. To do this, they would have to survive the digestion process, and much medical research has been devoted to the theory that they do not. It also doesn’t prove that the exorphins are bad for you. Similar exorphins are found in all sorts of foods, including spinach, for example. Some of these have been shown to improve memory in lab rats, with almost no ill-effect. So we can hardly blame all the world’s problems on wheat. (For one thing, autistic children tend to produce excess beta-endorphin, naturally, without the benefit of wheat.) What we can say is that some of the arguments made against wheat, for certain groups, may turn out to be true. Fortunately, there is an easy way to test if the opiate receptors are part of the issue. Naltrexone is available, and its use as an opiate receptor blocker is well-studied. Even though not medically approved for treatment of autism symptoms, there are several studies of naltrexone and autism.. And, overall, the studies lean towards naltrexone being a useful treatment for some kids. It seems most effective in decreasing self-injurious behavior, which is what you might expect, if you believed in the opiate theory. It would be interesting to see if children who benefited from naltrexone would be the same (subset of) autistic kids who might benefit from a gluten-free, casein-free diet. I have looked, but have not found any such studies. Maybe someone here can help me with that particular question. Let me be very clear again: Even if this were studied, GFCF is not a cure by any definition. For another thing, the genetic conditions that lead to other autism symptoms are not All that means, though, is that wheat is not the root cause of autism. We already knew that. The only question we were trying to decide is can you improve the symptoms of autism, in certain individuals, by eliminating wheat? Fortunately, this question has been researched. Oddly, Buie and others decided to read this research and decide that it is not worth the paper it is printed on. Why is that exactly? His paper does not say, but I assume he simply discounted every other study except the one he agreed with. This is bad science. It adds to the number of studies that support his conclusion, without actually doing any study at all. All he did was read other people’s literature, and ignore any conclusions he disagrees with. I could do the same thing. And, in fact, I have. Not sarcasm at all. Just a simple question. Who is supposed to be exerting influence which is supposed to be keeping the purported harmful effects of gluten out of the medical research. What you’ve done is given the stock answer: there is a lot of money involved. Right. Propose a mechanism whereby the author of the study discussed above is influenced by “Big Wheat”. How about the researchers he relies upon for his review. Typically the “Big Pharma” argument is two pronged. First is the “they make lots of money argument”. Then there’s the “there is evidence that they have influenced others”. Left out is the direct evidence that they have any influence on the research in question. For example, “Pharma is a multi-billion dollar industry. Look at Vioxx.” And then vague, if any, statements about the researchers involved in whatever study people are trying to discredit. Without part three of the discussion, I find the argument hollow. You’re version lacks part 2 *and* three of the argument. Sarcasm? Or straw man? Or both? Wow. Such contempt. “not worth the paper it is printed on”. How did you come to that judgment? By your own statement, you don’t know how he decided to weigh other studies more. But you jump to the conclusion that he completely dismisses the study. Who is “we”? And, why don’t “we” read the abstract above, and/or find the actual article? Because then “we” would see that “we” have built a straw man as Dr. Buie leaves that possibility open. Ah, so we are back to the opiod excess theory, which I believe you stated above was not the basis for the claims that gluten should be removed from the diets of autistics. The simple method is to test if there are opiods in the systems of autistics. Simple and already performed. Multiple times. People like Paul Shattock (whom you cite in your link above) have claimed that they are present. Multiple other researchers say no. Right. Tim Buie, a man who has probably performed as many or more legitimate examinations of autistics with GI disease as anyone, who gave this interview, is so biased? What you have failed to do is present any research which counters the statements made. I’ve worked in the field of pediatric feeding disorders for decades. Many people recommend “starving” or deprivation. It often fails miserably with all children, typical or otherwise. It should never be used in individuals with compromised medical status or low weight/poor growth. A thoughtful approach will take into consideration the child’s current weight/growth status, any GI problems, and eating habits. I’ve implemented elimination diets for many children. They have all had food allergies. We identify and remove the allergen. The person usually feels much better but any underlying disorder will still be present. Does anyone have any comments on Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride’s Gut and Psychology (GAP) theory / protocol? We don’t do it 100% but i always keep carbs very low otherwise his poop deteriorates fast. She ripped off the Weston A. Price Foundation diet (free from local online sites). Basically she just added an elimination protocol to it. The elimination protocol risks malnutrition, but the full Weston A. Price diet is healthy enough if balanced with commonsense (and you have a stay-at-home parent) – it encourages a wide variety of traditional non-processed foods. The major problem with WAP is that some factions (it has chapters world wide, they focus on local food) suggest supplementing infants with foods before 6 months (they should BF only) and they also encourage eating organ meats including brains. Pate is fine, but brains or CNS tissue are a bad idea (mad cow disease, scrapie etc). They (WAP and Dr NCM) also maintain you should only use raw milk (they are big on this) – again a really bad idea, especially for kids. Modern cows have been bred for excessively large udders and are prone to infection; organically bred cows suffer quite a lot. My brother-in-law is a New Zealand organic beef/milk farmer, who dropped the milk part – modern cows are not designed for organic milking, it is cruel to the cow and dangerous for the human. One of the most awful things I have seen was a cow suffering from mastitis who could not be given antibiotics, they transfer the worst to a non-organic farm for treatment, but delay this as it wastes an expensive organic cow. They waited too long, and the cow ended having to be shot. If you want raw milk, get your own goat. Both WAP and DrNCM are very time intensive for food preparation. Bread is home-made fermented sourdough or sprouted grain, and basically everything is home-made – yoghurt, kefir and the like. Everything is made from scratch. Bone broths (the basis for a lot of recipes and the staple of the DrNCM elimination protocol) take hours if not days of baking bones, boiling, cracking etc. As to the GAPS theory – she basically claims that processed food is the cause of absolutely everything that can go wrong with a person. She has no evidence for this. She also claims that processed food and not breastfeeding makes a child vulnerable to vaccinations. This is nonsense. Many child are diagnosed before eating processed food – including my son who was breastfed til 14 months in a junkfood-free home. Looking back, he clearly showed autistic signs while drinking only breast-milk and eating exactly the natural foods DrNCM recommends. She is just laying a huge guilt trip on mothers who can’t BF or use commercial baby foods. The major flaw in this study is mentioned right in the beginning: they tried a gluten free diet, and not a gluten free AND casein free diet. Since both proteins have the same effect, it the study could not find anything else than no effect or little effect. What saddens me is that this will discourage parents from trying the GFCF diet, and it is a wasted opportunity for the kids . This diet brought SPECTACULAR improvements in both my children with Asperger and ADHD. Their allergy tests were negative, but we cannot miss the effects when we make an exception and let them have some wheat pastry or ice cream. My son with Asperger is successful in regular school and has friends instead of growling in a corner. I will NEVER forget the eye contact i got from him after just 4 days on the diet. i did not want the moment to end but thank god, the bright eyes stayed. My 11 year old daughter with ADHD is depressive and thinks of suicide when she eats 4 pastries in 2 days. And regarding malnutrition: wheat has more health detriments than benefits, in this era of Roundup Ready Wheat. As for milk, its calcium is not even well absorbed. My kids dont even need calcium supplements. It seems the green vegetables are sufficient after all. This is a great discussion and I appreciate all of the thought that has gone into many of the answers. All I can add is that I would not do anything for 13 years if it doesn’t show positive, measurable results, and that is how long my son has been GFCF. He is eats a variety of foods and is healthy, of normal height and weight, and still autistic. There is a history of digestive disorders and food sensitivity in our family. It’s a factor. I find no benefit to belittling or otherwise dissing parents and physicians who work to find ways to safely treat the symptoms – co-morbid or tangential – of people with digestive problems who also suffer from a disorder for which there is still no known cause (ASD). I am mystified that people fail to understand that anyone who has digestive distress is crabby – and that if your stomach hurts all the time you are crabby all the time. Taking away the pain, especially from someone who can’t express that pain – just always seems like a good idea. We will never stop trying to address the many facets of our son’s emotional, social and cognitive development, and, when necessary we will approach any issue the way we always have: assess, adjust, take data, re-assess, and adjust again. It’s a more complicated, data-driven version of parenting but in the end it’s the kind of parenting any child deserves. Because of the weight of anecdotal evidence, a lot of parents are going to try GFCF regardless of studies showing limited effectiveness. We did – if only to exclude the remote possibility that it would have any effectiveness – in the face of repeated well-meaning advice from family and friends. Now we say that we tried it and it didn’t work. For parents who maintain it is working – have you done a proper reversal? That is introduce one of the offending items for a set time (like a few weeks) and see if outside observers notice a difference. (He nicked a cracker then had a meltdown, is not a proper reversal). If you have not done this, there is no basis for claiming the diet did anything. For families who do want to trial these diets – base your conclusions on repeated measurements by people who do not know of the diet changes – teachers and the like. Take a baseline of measurements before you start. Set a finite time – if you are not seeing notable improvement (as measured by outsiders) after 3/6 months it is a wash (and remember all children will improve over time). Also, if you think the diet has done something good, it is important to do a reversal – introduce the gluten or dairy again (if your child is really responsive it may only be to one of these), and again take measurements by people who are unaware. Otherwise you are likely to be attributing natural development to the diet (which I think is what is happening with most advocates). Saw this land the other day, and then remembered this conversation. The TL/DR; is, the autism group showed increased IgG antibodies to gliadin compared to the normal group, and this response was increased in children with GI symptoms. Genotyping for alleles associated with celiac showed no relationship. There are a lot of quotes on the web from the authors and other researchers saying that this is just a piece of the puzzle, and, not a reason to try a gf diet in and off itself. None the less, it is always to know a little more than we did the day before, so there you go. It is certainly a lot different than finding no difference in gliadin antibodies between the groups, that’s for sure. Great explanation…. again… sigh. You never said in your conclusion that it wouldn’t be of some benefit to anyone. How many times do people want to raise a “discussion” and expect a different answer when they are raising a point that you don’t repute. People, read very carefully, “It MAY be of some BENEFIT, but it is not a PROVEN therapy for the ASD population.” Both my son and myself are on the spectrum and we don’t need to be nor want to be fixed. Obviously we are very high functioning, but we do suffer from some negatives. That said, working with a trained therapist to help with anxiety and social skills works for US. I will tell you that for US, messing with UNPROVEN and experimental therapies to look for a CURE to our autism only serves to make our anxieties and self soothing behaviors worse. ASK someone with autism what sets them off and you will get a different answer almost every time. The clear answer that might possibly encompass it all is acute pain/panic do to sensory stimulation…. too much or too little. FYI, meltdowns can occur as a result of intense emotions… happiness and excitement included. Has anyone thought that perhaps a child with autism (and no proven gluten allergy or sensitivity) could have meltdowns due to being excited by the stimulation of familiar and favorite foods that have been witheld from them??? If all of the other points are valid then let’s give this a thought, shall we? Any of the well meaning parents here ever talk to a higher functioning adult with autism who, perhaps, might be able to communicate for themselves better than a child… to gain a different perspective? We are talking about individuals who are non-communicative and at best have difficulties with traditional communication. Maybe we should TRY to obtain their perspective? More Spam with a YouTube link. Ha: The spam keeps drawing me back to this article. This article was helpful to me because it made me re-think (and re-research) some things I had accepted without proof. Reading back over the comments: My apologies to Matt if I misrepresented your statements. It was not my intent, sorry. Another anecdote to add: My son was rolling around on the floor last Saturday during a certain class, to the point where I pulled him from class and asked him what was going on. He could not answer, of course, but we started going back over his food log to see if we found any red flags. The only missing entry was Friday night, where he was at a party for several hours. We asked him if he had gotten cake at the party, and he said “no”. As he remembered the party, though, he grew a big smile, and said: “I love animal crackers”. If something as simple as sharing a snack at a kid’s party makes him happy, then I am certainly not going to steal crackers from him. As Halloween approaches, I expect there will be other opportunities for him to get “forbidden” goodies without us knowing about it. For him, that might be more than half the fun of Halloween. I doubt any of that will do any permanent damage. In fact, low levels of occasional gluten may help preserve the body’s ability to digest. I have searched around for research on the subject, but searching the internet for real research is like searching the ocean for a message in a bottle. Its such as you read my thoughts! You appear to know so much approximately this, like you wrote the e book in it or something. minutes and actual effort to make a top notch article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and never manage to get anything done. Theere is definately a great deal too learn about this issue. It might be interesting to understand what it is about this post, in particular, that attracts the robots? Do the authors of spam bots believe gf eaters are preferential to random clickers? Is there a critical set of keywords that has drawn them here?

2019-04-20T02:55:30Z

https://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2013/05/24/currently-there-is-insufficient-evidence-to-support-instituting-a-gluten-free-diet-as-a-treatment-for-autism/

This then prompted me to consider the converse proposition: Representation Without Taxation Is Tyranny. It would, of course, be a fallacy to think that this is entailed by the first proposition. But surely it is just as reasonable. It was accepted by most people as a fair limit on the franchise in the mid-nineteenth century. Why should people who are not taxpayers be allowed to vote money away from those who are? If we must have state services, it should at least be for those who pay for them to vote for which services they want and how much they wish to pay. To allow those providing, or living off, the services to vote is like allowing a shopkeeper to vote on what you must buy from him, or a beggar to vote on what you must give him. Naturally, I hear you say, but doesn’t everyone pay tax, at least on goods and services? And so is it not trivially true, insofar as morals can be ‘true’? No, they do not and it is not. Not by a very long chalk. To take a clear case, when a direct state employee, such as a civil servant, receives his salary cheque there will be an apparent deduction for the amount of tax that he pays. As a matter of fact this is a mere book-keeping exercise designed to keep up the pretence that he is a taxpayer along with everyone else. Abandoning this pretence of taxpaying and simply paying him less in the first place would save taxpayers’ money in administration and make the political reality clearer to all. So who does not pay taxes and so ought not to have an electoral vote? Judges, state-school teachers, all in local government, state policemen, all in the armed forces, all in prison, all in the NHS, all in the civil service, all employees of the BBC, all the unemployed, all in academia (except, perhaps, in the University of Buckingham), some farmers, some solicitors, maybe some barristers, any employed in businesses that receive tax-subsidies in excess of their tax-payments, and MPs with insufficient taxed market-incomes to cover their salaries. I cannot list them all, but you see the size of the problem. You can also see that there is no class conflict in any quasi-Marxian sense here. Who, then, does pay taxes? Well — anyone who is left. If you are in any doubt as to which category that you are in then the simple test is to ask yourself whether, in your current position, you would have more purchasing power or less purchasing power if taxation were completely abolished. That is rather a sweeping list- denying the franchise to “any employed in businesses that receive tax-subsidies in excess of their tax-payments,” for example, would mean that a great many people would have to wait for the results of quite a thoroughgoing audit of their employers before they would know whether they would have a place at the ballot box. And if we take Professor Lester’s “simple test” at face value, no one would be qualified to vote. If “taxation were completely abolished,” taking with it all enforcement of laws, one might expect new obstacles to be put in the path of wealth creation. There are some who are on the periphery of net tax-receiving and whom it will not be possible to distinguish with certainty. These people receive most of their income from purchases by state institutions or state employees. The latter is especially hard to be sure of. For instance, those working for The Guardian and New Statesman &Society might just fit this category. But if it is too hard to prove then they might have to be given the benefit of the doubt. Though if the state sector shrinks, due to a new Taxpayer Democracy, then enterprises will decline to the extent that they necessarily depend on indirect state patronage. In the case of the latter two publications I would expect such journals as The Times and The Spectator to expand to replace them. In view of the percentage of economic activity in modern societies that “purchases by state institutions and state employees” represent, one rather doubts that even The Spectator would pass this test. And why stop there? If the employees of The New Statesman are disfranchised because most of their subscribers are net tax recipients, why should employees of the bar across the street from the offices of The New Statesman retain the right to vote? And if those workers are classified as net tax recipients because most of their income is derived from purchases made by net tax recipients, shouldn’t any purchases they make, and any purchase the bar makes, also be classified as a transfer of tax monies? Follow those knock-ons far enough, and again we come to a scenario in which voting is abolished altogether. Moreover, while there are various schools of thought which propose that in a well-ordered society the laws defining those relationships among people which we call “property” could be written in a way that would reflect some moral reality given in nature, the radicalism of Professor Lester’s proposal would suggest that he does not believe that the UK has attained a particularly high level of justice. So, how can he consider any corporation chartered and regulated by the British state, even if the voting shares of that corporation’s stock are held by private individuals, to be less than suspect? And what of tax recipients in other countries? To return to his examples of The New Statesman and The Guardian, while it may in 1996 have been the case that both of these publications derived most of their revenue from net recipients of UK taxes, two thirds of The Guardian’s revenue now comes from readers outside the UK, half of them in the United States. Few of these readers are in the pay of the British state, but it is possible that most of them are net tax recipients in their own countries. If so, would employees of The Guardian still be disqualified from voting in Britain because they are indirect recipients of US tax dollars? Nor is that the only implication. Professor Lester is surely right that our conception of taxpaying is too narrow if it is simply limited to figures that appear on ledgers. I would not defend the idea that the line on a state employee’s pay stub indicating that some number of pounds or dollars has been deducted from his or her gross pay represents actual taxpaying. On the other hand, his conception of tax-receiving is just as narrow as this. So in the USA, profitable corporations pay their shareholders far less in dividends, and their executives far more in compensation, than do their counterparts in other advanced countries. This is largely the result of the US corporate income tax, under which companies pay taxes on money they distribute as dividends but not on money they pay to executives. Therefore, a rational analysis of taxes in the USA should classify as tax payments all compensation executives receive in excess of what their counterparts receive in countries with different tax regimes. That analysis would reveal that many of the individuals who are in the habit of regarding themselves as the USA’s greatest taxpayers are in fact net recipients of tax dollars. Professor Lester would have to deny them the franchise as well. In fact, Professor Lester’s proposal might have some rather amusing consequences if applied to the USA. Not only executive compensation, but interest payments are also deductible from the corporate income tax. That encourages US firms to take on far more debt than do their counterparts in other countries. Those debt levels in turn give rise to the private equity sector, the “corporate raiders” who sometimes make such a big splash in the business pages. If we classify them as net tax recipients and on that account deprive them of the vote, we would suddenly have a bunch of disfranchised billionaires and centi-millionaires running about. I confess that I would find it difficult to refrain from laughing out loud if corporate raider-turned-politico Willard “Mitt” Romney were to lose the right to vote. What brought this old column to my mind was an essay that popped up in my Twitter feed this morning, a 2017 piece by philosopher Philip Goff. Professor Goff begins with the observation that right-wing libertarians who denounce all taxation as theft are only the most extreme advocates of a widespread notion, the notion that what is listed on pay stubs and other accounting instruments as a payee’s pre-tax income is property to which that payee is morally entitled. Again, this is the fallacy that Professor Lester identified, equating taxpaying with ledger items rather than with the actual allocation of resources. Your gross, or pre-tax income, is the money the market delivers to you. In what sense might it be thought that you have a moral claim on this money? One answer might be that you deserve it: you have worked hard and have done a good job, and consequently you deserve all your gross income as recompense for your labour. According to this line of reasoning, when the government taxes, it takes the money that you deserve for the work you do. This is not a plausible view. For it implies that the market distributes to people exactly what they deserve for the work that they do. But nobody thinks a hedge-fund manager deserves many times more wealth than a scientist working on a cure for cancer, and few would think that current pay ratios in companies reflect what philosophers call desert claims. Probably you work very hard in your job, and you make an important contribution. But then so do most people, and the market distribution of wealth patently does not reward in proportion to how hard-working people are, or how much of a contribution they make to society. If we were just focusing on desert, then there is a good case for taxation to correct the amoral distribution of the market. If we have a moral claim on our gross income, it is not because we deserve it, but because we are entitled to it. What’s the difference? What you deserve is what you ought to have as a result of hard work or social contribution; what you are entitled to is the result of your property rights. Libertarians believe that each individual has natural property rights, which it would be immoral for the government to infringe. According to Right-wing libertarians such as Robert Nozick and Murray Rothbard, taxation is morally wrong not because the taxman takes what people deserve, but because he takes what people have a right to. Therefore, if taxation is theft, it’s because it essentially involves the violation of people’s natural rights to property. But do we really have natural rights to property? And even if we do, does taxation really infringe them? To begin to address these questions, we need to think more carefully about the nature of property. Professor Goff distinguishes between three schools of thought. Right libertarians hold that all things that have value to humans gained that value because someone discovered those things and by his or her labor created that value. For them, it is a truth inherent in the structure of the world that each individual has inalienable right to possess the fruits of his or her labor. Property law represents an attempt to tease out the moral facts that make up this truth. Property law must therefore recognize ownership as a relationship between a particular person and a particular object, and it must prohibit all other persons from interfering with this relationship. Left libertarians agree that property law is just if and only if it teases out moral facts about the relationship between people and things. However, they do not accept that these facts are as Right libertarians say they are. Rather, they believe that it is unjust for any one person to lay exclusive claim to nature. At its most extreme, Left libertarianism proscribes ownership of anything other than one’s own body. At its most modest, it lays down rules enjoining requirements for sharing what one does own, and insisting on joint responsibility among members of a community for the use of the resources under their control. To bring out the difference, ask yourself: ‘Which comes first: facts about property or facts about property law?’ For the social constructivist, the right to property is not some natural, sacred thing that exists independently of human conventions and legal practices. Rather, we create property rights, by setting up legal institutions to ensure that people have certain legal rights over the material world. For the libertarian, in contrast, facts about property exist independently of human laws and conventions, and indeed human laws and conventions ought to be moulded to respect the natural right to property. This distinction is crucial for our question. Suppose we accept the social-constructivist view that property rights are merely legal. Now we ask the question: ‘Do I have a moral claim on the entirety of my pre-tax income?’ We cannot argue that I am entitled to my pre-tax income on the basis of my natural property rights, as there are no such things as ‘natural’ property rights (according to the social-constructivist position we are now considering). So, if I have a moral claim on my entire pre-tax income, this must be because it is exactly the amount of money I deserve for my hard work and social contribution, presumably because in general the market delivers to each person exactly what they deserve. But we have already concluded that this is not a plausible claim. Without the belief in natural property rights, existing independent of human laws and conventions, there is no way to make sense of the idea that the deliverances of the market are inherently just, and hence no way to make sense of the idea that each person’s gross income (which is just the income the market delivers to them) is hers by right. Here’s where we’re up to: to make sense of the idea that taxation is (moral) theft, we have to make sense of the idea that each person has a moral claim on the entirety of her gross income, and this can be made sense of only if property rights are natural rather than mere human constructions. As already discussed, social constructivists do not deny the existence of property rights, rather they take them to be social or legal constructions, which humans are free to shape to reflect what they deem valuable. Jesus declared that ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’ Analogously, for the social constructivist, property rights are made to serve human interests and not vice versa. It is plausible that human flourishing requires certain legally protected rights to property, and hence most social constructivists will advocate a system of property rights. At the same time, there are other things of value – perhaps equality, perhaps reward for hard work and/or social contribution (which as we have seen is not well-protected by the market) – and in order to promote these other values, most social constructivists propose making property rights conditional on the payment of taxes. In the absence of pre-existing natural property rights, there is no moral reason to respect the market distribution of wealth (there will of course be pragmatic, economic reason, but that is another matter). Professor Goff argues that Right libertarianism fails at two points. First, it cannot answer the basic claims of Left libertarianism, and so fails at the outset. Second, even if we choose to overlook this failing, it can defend the idea that gross income is a measure of special moral importance if and only if it can demonstrate that the market is operating in its best possible state, in no way distorted by political intervention. As this claim would leave Right libertarians without much of anything else to say, they would seem unlikely to adopt it. I would like to add one point to Professor Goff’s description of social constructivism. Many years ago, I studied the legal codes of ancient Rome. I can’t say that much stuck with me from that study, but one thing I remember very clearly is that every time the ancients said they had “rights” they specified against whom they had those rights. That is to say, rights were definitions of what was and what was not allowed in particular relationships among people. The concept of rights is simply not relevant to relationships between people and inanimate objects. A property right describes, not what may happen between a person and a thing s/he owns, but among various people who might encounter that thing. That’s why I can’t kick your door down, but a police officer with the proper warrant can. Your ownership of your door gives you rights against me that it doesn’t give you against the agents of law enforcement. Likewise with the various actions allowed a tenant and a landlord with regard to the same location. Or for that matter, with regard to the right of free speech a citizen may have against the state, as opposed to the rights that same citizens might have against the owners of a social media platform with terms and conditions specifying that they can “terminate your account at any time, for any reason or no reason.” You may be able to challenge their particular exercise of that right in court, but if so it isn’t because you have the same right against them that you have against the state. Rather, it is because there are rights built into the law of contract that sometimes override particular provisions parties may write into a particular agreement. It seems to me that the social constructivist view of property law is obviously right, and that the both varieties of libertarian are simply being childish. If you disagree, well, there is a comment section. Shortly before the stock markets closed yesterday afternoon, the US Supreme Court announced a ruling on the so-called “Affordable Care Act” (also known as ACA.) Health care stocks generally rose on the news of the ruling, in some cases sharply, while shares in health insurers showed a mixed reaction. Today, the trend has been slightly downward across the board. A majority of the US Supreme Court held that the US government does have the power to compel citizens and other residents of the USA to buy health insurance. While the court rejected the Obama administration’s argument that this power, the core of the law, was within the scope of the authority the Constitution grants the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, it concluded that, because the law is to be enforced by the Internal Revenue Service in the process of collecting taxes, it is supported by the government’s authority to levy taxes. In effect, the law establishes a tax that will be paid directly to health insurance companies. US residents who refuse to pay this tax will be assessed an alternative tax, one paid to the treasury. As written, the statute did not include the word “tax,” speaking instead of “premiums” and “penalties.” These words are euphemisms. This is clear not only from the Supreme Court’s legal reasoning, but also from the most basic economic logic. A law which directs people to dispose of their wealth in a particular way to advance a particular set of policy objectives is a tax, whatever label marketing-minded politicians may choose to give it. Many supporters of the ACA object to the term “Obamacare.” The law was crafted on the model of a regime of health insurance regulations and subsidies enacted in Massachusetts in 2006. That regime is widely known as “Romneycare,” in honor of Willard M. Romney (alias “Mitt,”) who, as Massachusetts’ governor at the time, had been its chief advocate. So calling the federal version “Obamacare” is simply a matter of continuing to follow the Massachusetts model. Now, of course, Mr Romney is the Republican Party’s choice to oppose Mr Obama in this year’s presidential election. Therefore Mr Romney and his surrogates are creating much merriment for political observers by trying to attack the president’s most widely-known legislative achievement, which as it so happens is identical to Mr Romney’s most widely-known legislative achievement. It seems to me very clear what Dr Newhall means to evoke in these sentences is the spectre of fascism. During the 1930’s, fascists in Italy, Britain, Belgium, and several other countries used the words “fascism” and “corporatism” interchangeably, and economic historians still cite Mussolini’s Italy, and to a lesser extent Hitler’s Germany, as examples of corporatist economics in practice. The American diplomat-turned-economist-turned-journalist-turned-pariah Lawrence Dennis argued in a series of books in the 1930’s that laissez-faire capitalism was doomed, that state ownership of industry was a dead end, and that the economic future of the developed world belonged to a system in which the state coordinated and subsidized the operations of privately-owned corporations. The most famous of the books in which Dennis endorsed this system was titled The Coming American Fascism. Why does Corporatism favor Obamacare? Because Obamacare is nothing more than a huge bailout for another failing industry — the health insurance industry. No health insurer could continue to raise premiums at the rate of two to three times inflation, as they have done for at least a decade. No health insurer could continue to pay 200 million dollar plus bonuses to top executives, as they have done repeatedly. No health insurer could continue to restrict Americans’ access to decent health care, in effect creating slow and silent ‘death panels.’ No health insurer could do those things and survive. But with the Obamacare act now firmly in place, health insurers will see a HUGE multibillion dollar windfall in the form of 40 million or more new health insurance customers whose premiums are paid largely by government subsidies. That is the explanation for the numerous expansions and mergers you have seen in the health care industry in the past couple of years. You will see more of the same, and if you are a stock bettor, you would do well to buy stock in smaller health insurers, because they will be snapped up in a wave of consolidation that dwarfs anything yet seen in this country. Certainly the health insurance industry was in trouble in 2009, and the ACA is an attempt to enable that industry to continue business more or less as usual. In that sense, it is a bailout. Indeed, the health insurance companies are extremely influential in both the Democratic and Republican parties, and there can be little doubt that whichever of those parties won the 2008 elections would have enacted similar legislation. Had Mr Romney been successful in his 2008 presidential campaign, doubtless he would have signed the same bill that Mr Obama in fact signed. The loyal Democrats who today defend the ACA as a great boon to working-class Americans would then be denouncing it in terms like those Dr Newhall employs, while the loyal Republicans who today denounce the ACA as a threat to the “free-enterprise system” that they fondly imagine to characterize American economic life would then defend it on some equally fanciful basis. In a deeper sense, however, I disagree with Dr Newhall’s assessment quite thoroughly. A moment ago, I defined taxation as any law that requires people to dispose of their wealth in particular ways to advance particular policy objectives. If we think about that definition for a moment, we can see that the United States’ entire health insurance industry exists to receive taxes. In the USA, wages paid to employees are subject to a rather heavy tax called FICA. Premiums that are paid for employees’ health insurance policies are not subject to FICA, and so employers have an incentive to put a significant fraction of their employees’ compensation packages into health insurance premiums. Since the health insurers have been collecting taxes all along, it is quite misleading to call the ACA a bailout. It is, rather, a tax increase. Now, as to the question of fascism, certainly fascist regimes did blur the line between the public and private sectors. The most extreme case of this was of course the assignment of concentration camp inmates as slave labor for I. G. Farben and other cartels organized under the supervision of the Nazi state. So it would not have been much of a stretch for fascists to grant corporations the power to collect taxes. Even if they had done so, however, fascists could hardly claim to have made an innovation. Tax farming, the collection of taxes by private-sector groups in pursuit of profit, was the norm in Persia by the sixth century BC, and spread rapidly throughout the ancient world. In ancient Rome under the later Republic, tax farming proved itself to be a highly efficient means of organizing tax collection. So the fact that tax farming is one of the principal aspects of the US economy is not evidence that the USA is a fascist or a proto-fascist regime. Indeed, the fact that the Supreme Court seriously considered a case that would have challenged the legitimacy of tax farming is an encouraging sign, however unedifying the opinions that the court issued as a result of that consideration might be. Of course, in the ancient world tax farmers bid competitively for the right to collect taxes, and the winners put their bids into the public treasury. In the USA, there is no such bidding, and no such payment. Instead, wealthy individuals and interest groups buy politicians by financing their campaigns and their retirements. Perhaps we would be better off to adopt the ancient system. At any rate, “fascism” seems a misnomer for our economic system, almost as misleading as “free enterprise” or as anachronistic as “capitalism.” A more accurate term, at least as regards the components that are dominated by tax farming, would be neo-feudalist. The US political class is increasingly an hereditary class; Mr Obama defeated the wife of a former president to win his party’s nomination to succeed the son of a former president, and now faces the son of a former presidential candidate in his campaign for a second term. This hereditary nobility will now sit atop a system in which the non-rich are legally obligated to pay tribute or provide service to those in power in the land, who will in turn honor certain obligations to them. *Fascism being what it was, “not markedly successful in intra-party politics” often meant “shot several times in the head and dismembered,” as happened to Gregor Strasser. “I see little difference between mandated car insurance and mandated health insurance—in most places, having a car is virtually a necessity of life” Car insurance and health insurance have a couple of things in common. The chief of these is that both categories of products are called “insurance.” The rest of the similarities, such as the fact that the some of the same companies sell them and some of the same agencies regulate them, stem from this point of vocabulary. The similarities between car insurance and health insurance, however, are dwarfed by the differences between them. You choose an auto dealer, choose a car, negotiate a price for that car, arrange financing for it, pay that price, buy the fuel of your choice for it, decide which routine maintenance tasks you will perform on it yourself and which you will entrust to a mechanic, choose the mechanic who will perform those tasks, and pay that mechanic for those routine tasks, all without input from your insurer. If car insurance were the same thing as health insurance, you would be dependent on the insurer to make all of these payments and all of these decisions for you. To use mandates for car insurance as an analogy to justify mandates for health insurance, then, is like saying that because lightning rods protect your house from lightning, they should also protect your garden from lightning bugs. If the USA’s political leaders were serious about controlling the cost of health care, in fact, they would move to make health insurance more like car insurance- not by making it mandatory, but by removing the tax incentives that reward employers for redirecting money from employee’s paychecks to health insurance premiums. Under our current system, a substantial percentage of the compensation US employers pay to keep their employees on staff goes, not to them in the form of money they can spend as they see fit, but to insurers to form funds from which employees can draw only in the form of medical expenses. Therefore, when those employees become consumers of health care they have no incentive to keep the cost of their health care down. Health care providers obviously have no such incentive. Even employers and insurance companies have only a very weak incentive to keep costs down, since employers are paying premiums with money that would otherwise go to the corporate income tax or to some other tax shelter. That’s why the cost of health care has for many consecutive years grown at a rate well in excess of the general rate of inflation, something which is not true of cars, car insurance, or any of the services car insurance usually covers. If the corporate income tax were abolished, it would be possible for health insurance to become like car insurance. Consumers could choose and pay for their own routine health care, and pay also for insurance to cover catastrophic health expenses, as consumers now buy car insurance to cover catastrophic auto expenses. Doubtless, the modern world being what it is, there would be a political demand for substantial public sector subsidies for low-income people who have need of health care. So long as these subsidies were in the form of direct transfers of money to these potential consumers, they might leave the recipients with as much incentive to negotiate for lower prices as they have when considering the purchase of other goods and services that money could gain them. Not being as far to the right (or as secular) as most people who hang around here at Secular Right, I would be eager to support a generous program of subsidies along these lines. Scientology may be one of those native religions that at first seems bizarre but adapts, grows and eventually thrives in our country’s fecund, undepleted spiritual soil. Would that be a good thing? In many ways, no. It would mean more people reading L. Ron Hubbard’s tedious books when they could be reading real literature. It would mean more people suspending critical judgment, ignoring the factual record and insisting that Hubbard was a great warrior, adventurer, intellectual and teacher. It would mean more dollars misspent on auditing, instead of on good psychotherapy, badly needed prescription drugs or some really helpful classes at a community college. On the other hand, if Scientology is still around in fifty years, some lucky Americans will discover in its practices the right cure for what ails them. For whatever reasons, either auditing or Hubbard’s “study tech” or Scientology communication classes will give them what public school—or a Freudian analyst or Judaism or Christianity or the Quaker meeting or the local Masonic lodge—could not. Scientology will give them a community. It will give them a way of life. Yet I remain worried about Scientology, worried enough that I can say this: I hope, fifty years from now, it’s not my children or grandchildren who turn to the church. But I also believe that freedom of religion is necessary. Without it, freedom of speech is a hollow guarantee. Scientology may not last, but there will always be something like it. Reitman’s and Urban’s books are gifts to all religious people, especially Scientologists. They pay Scientology’s hierarchy the simple courtesy of holding them to adult standards of truthfulness and ethical behavior, and they confront Scientology lay people with some hard truths about their church. They also make the case—Urban’s book, explicitly so—that government and religion do not mix, and that perhaps it would be better, less entangling, to tax religious organizations. Reitman and Urban offer religions the respect they deserve in the form of the scrutiny they require. The Constitution, guarantor of free press as well as free religion, offers nothing less. Most fascinating is Urban’s argument that Scientology has been instrumental in shaping how the US government defines religion. Beginning in 1967, when its tax-exempt status was revoked, the church fought a lengthy battle to have its exemption restored, infiltrating the Internal Revenue Service and harassing agents; in 1993 the IRS caved, offering Scientology a full tax exemption, sweetheart terms on back taxes and an unusual promise of secrecy (the deal was eventually leaked to the Wall Street Journal). Urban seems disheartened that Scientology bullied its way to victory—in Reitman’s book, IRS commissioner Fred Goldberg Jr. emerges as either a coward or a fall guy—but Urban powerfully makes the point that the IRS should not be in the position of deciding what is and is not a religion. “The United States does not register religious groups and has no official hierarchy of religious organizations,” Urban writes. “And yet, federal income tax law does provide exemption for religious organizations, and, therefore, there must be some means to determine whether a group claiming to be religious is ‘genuine’ for purposes of tax-exempt status.” Supporters of religious tax exemption argue that it promotes religious charitable giving and prevents entanglement of government and religion. But if the government is going to grant religions special treatment, somebody has to approve that treatment, and it has turned out to be the tax man. It would not be startling if, years from now, Scientology’s main legacy was its substantial contribution—if it can be called that—to tax law. Professor Urban comment on a paradox which may be inescapable in a society that values religious freedom. If “the power to tax is the power to destroy,” as Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall wrote in the Supreme Court’s ruling in McCulloch vs Maryland (1819,) then one would think that religious freedom requires special limitations on the government’s ability to tax religious groups. Yet such limitations imply an official definition of “religious group,” which in turn implies an official ecclesiology. The “thirteen-point list of criteria” Mr Oppenheimer mentions is not the only test the Internal Revenue Service uses to determine tax-exempt status for religious groups, and that’s just as well. Criteria such as “a distinct creed and form of worship,” a “definite ecclesiastical government,” “a formal code of doctrine and/or discipline,” and “schools or courses for preparation of its ministers” would all tend to rule out, for example, many of the Quaker groups that played such an important role in the USA in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Quaker ecclesiology in those days (and still, at least officially, for many Quakers today) regarded creeds, hierarchies, catechisms, seminaries, and ordained clergy as just so many idols and abominations, affronts to the Almighty. If they had allowed themselves to be carried away by testosterone, such Quakers might have looked at the thirteen points of the IRS list and declared them to be a definition of a godless group. Of course, if it were left up to people of that leading to replace the IRS list with their own definition of “religion,” I’m sure the result would be very nearly useless for purposes of deciding who should and who should not pay what tax. “[I]f the government is going to grant religions special treatment, somebody has to approve that treatment, and it has turned out to be the tax man.” Who else could it be, if not the IRS? Congress would never dare pass a law defining what constitutes a religious organization, and without official definitions any person or group could claim the religious exemption.

2019-04-19T10:27:43Z

https://losthunderlads.com/tag/tax-policy/

In the three years of the Megawati presidency, there was an explosive growth in the number of political prisoners. Up to 2,000 political prisoners are now serving sentences all over the country, from Sabang to Merauke. Following the downfall of the dictator Suharto in May 1998, a fresh wind blew and more than 230 political prisoners were released in a series of presidential amnesties during the Habibie and Wahid presidencies. However, during the time Megawati was president, there was a serious backlash, with repressive legislation being used extensively against a variety of 'dissidents'. Government critics, including labour and political activists as well as journalists, were put on trial. But the vast majority of prisoners were Acehnese accused of being involved in GAM activities. A considerable number of Papuans and Malukans are also serving long sentences . Some have been found guilty of nothing more than hoisting a flag or attending peaceful political meetings. Monitoring and updating human rights conditions in Aceh have become virtually impossible. The handful of human rights lawyers still functioning in the province complain about the difficulty of meeting their clients at a time when a very large number of people are being processed in the courts. According to the most up-to-date information (October 2004) we have been able to acquire, some 1,777 'GAM suspects' have been tried and sentenced, including fifty-two women. The vast majority are being held in Aceh but twenty-two prisoners have been transferred to the notorious Tanjung Gusta camp in Medan, North Sumatra. This is a very isolated prison camp. Due to the intolerable conditions persisting in Aceh, regular monitoring of the conditions of the prisoners is virtually impossible. This includes the supply of food and medicinal support from outside, as well as the possibility for relatives to make regular visits. Many prisoners are suffering from the traumatic after-effects of injuries inflicted during torture sessions which would be greatly helped by regular counselling. More than eighty per cent of the defendants were not assisted by defence lawyers. The trials were completed in record time and more often than not, the only evidence produced was the confession made by the accused which in most cases was extracted by means of torture [see also TAPOL Bulletin No 175, March/April 2004]. There are prisoners in virtually every prison in Aceh. However, since the beginning of 2004, a large number have been transferred to twenty-six prisons located in all parts of Java. Those transferred are all serving sentences of at least three years. [See also 'Horrendous abuses persist in Aceh']. The transfer of prisoners to places thousands of kilometres from home is contrary to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners which also stipulates that family members should be informed of the transfer. In the vast majority of cases, the prisoners were transferred without relatives being told anything in advance. Since the beginning of 2004, altogether 487 prisoners have been transferred from Aceh to Java, in three waves. On 24 January, 143 prisoners were moved to prisons mostly in Central Java . Some ended up in the infamous prison island Nusa Kambangan. Then a batch of 170 people was moved on 17 May to prisons in East Java and on 26 August, another 174 prisoners were sent to prisons in West Java, bringing the total to 487. Practically all the political prisoners were tried on charges of 'makar' (rebellion against the state) which places them in a very special category, subjecting them to particularly restrictive conditions. The transferred Acehnese prisoners are not allowed to mix with other prisoners and for the first four to six weeks they are kept in strict isolation. The authorities claim that this is necessary so that they can undergo special guidance [pembinaan] or indoctrination. The October issue of the monthly magazine, Aceh Kita is devoted to reporting about the impact of martial law on women. [See also http://www.acehkita.com]. One article discusses the case of Salbiah who was tried in Calang district court, and is now serving an 18-year sentence in Lhok Nga Prison, where she is being held together with another fifty-one women. Now only 18 years old, the unfortunate Salbiah has been sentenced to 18 years. She was branded by the authorities as Panglima Inong Balee [commander of the Women's Corps], a special unit within GAM consisting solely of women. Her case is one of many grotesque travesties of justice in Aceh. Salbiah's real name is Elit Baleno. Her family is from Demak in Central Java; they moved to Aceh about ten years ago as transmigrants. Salbiah grew up in a village called Teunom in Aceh Jaya district. As she has always lived among her Javanese compatriots, never mixing with local people, she doesn't speak a word of Acehnese and insists that she has never been involved in politics. Earlier this year, she found a job in the capital Banda Aceh, helping to run a canteen. In March she received a letter from the village asking her to return home because her mother had fallen ill. Unfortunately for Salbiah, on the way home, a special force consisting of soldiers and policemen were conducting sweeping operations. Sweeping is the term used for checking the identities of travellers at check-points. One of the security officers said that he recognised the photo on her identity card: 'This is the Inong Balee commander of Gajah Keng, a subdistrict of Teunom', he claimed. As a result, Salbiah was taken to the local police station in Meulaboh, West Aceh. From then on, things went from bad to worse. She was taken to several places for interrogation and finally arrived at Lamno in Aceh Jaya. She was forced to take off all her clothes and was beaten. Then, she was forced to sign the investigation report. The same procedure was repeated in Calang and later at the police station in Meulaboh, West Aceh. At the end of March, she was brought to court and put on trial without the help of a defence lawyer. It was only then that her parents discovered that their daughter was being held in captivity. The prosecution demanded 20 years but the judge sentenced her to 18 years. Salbiah cannot understand why she is in jail and serving such a heavy sentence. Such is the nature of things at present in Aceh that her only chance of release is by means of a presidential amnesty. A report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in September this year contains a harrowing account of the use of torture against political prisoners by the police and military [see separate article]. The methods used include electric shocks, burning with cigarettes, beating, threats and intimidation. HRW's findings have been confirmed by the Aceh Working Group (AWG) a coalition of civil society organisations based in Jakarta. They undertook investigations limited to conditions in three prisons in Aceh and Jawa. AWG spokesperson Henrie (PBHI) said at a press conference held early in October that they had recorded seventy-one cases of torture, before and after trial. The perpetrators were security officers (brimob/special police, army, marine and SGI/intelligence officers) as well as prison guards and members of militia units. The group drew attention to the unlawful methods used during interrogation. They discovered that many detainees had been forced to make confessions. In some cases, the interrogation report signed by the defendant had been written by an intelligence officer.AWG also mentioned 37 cases of extortion of the families of the detainees. Diwan (45) (not his real name) was detained for two months at a police station in Aceh. He was accused of being a member of GAM and was arrested soon after martial law was declared. His arrest was much more like a kidnap. For six days Diwan disappeared and the family became desperate in their search to find him. During his detention he saw many cases of torture, which in some cases had fatal results. Three prisoners disappeared while he was in captivity. The first, M. Noer Basyah was taken from his cell. He was told that he was being taken somewhere to be photographed but he never returned. The second one was Yuslizar who was also taken from his cell never to return. Syahril, the third man, also disappeared. It was subsequently claimed that he had died in cross fire. Another prisoner, Ali Akbar, was heavily tortured but survived the first bout, after which he was hospitalised. But he later underwent another bout of torture and died as a result. Diwan also endured heavy torture and was hit by a heavy piece of wood. His hearing is now badly impaired. According to a report in Aceh Kita, he said that he had been subjected to the ikan louhan method, when torturers assault the prisoner by hitting the face. Ikan Louhan is a bloated, ugly looking fish. This method is often used before the interrogation session begins, a kind of 'softening up process', when the face is badly hit. He witnesses many kinds of torture and considers himself lucky to have survived. His interrogation report was fabricated from beginning to end, written by an intelligence officer from the SGI, the special intelligence unit. In our next issue, we will include further information about the situation of political prisoners and report on a campaign calling for the release of political prisoners now being held in a number of places apart from Aceh, including West Papua and Maluku. On 7 September, the Indonesian House of Representatives passed a long-awaited Law on the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation ('the Truth Commission'). Human rights advocates are questioning whether this will be a significant step in the search for the truth about past rights abuses and whether it will satisfy victims' needs for justice, or whether it will simply reinforce impunity in the same way as Indonesia's ad hoc human rights court on East Timor. It is important to acknowledge that despite the relative success of this year's parliamentary and presidential elections, Indonesia is undergoing a fragile transition from dictatorship to democracy. Improving respect for human rights and the rule of law is a long-term process in a country which has emerged from decades of authoritarianism. Allowance must be made for this in assessing the likely impact of transitional justice initiatives such as the Truth Commission. Transitional justice has many interrelated dimensions, which vary according to the country context. It normally involves the search for the truth about past abuses; the punishment of perpetrators; legal and institutional reform; the provision of restitution and rehabilitation for victims; reconciliation; and a move towards increased official protection and promotion of human rights. For progress to be made, comprehensive strategies are required. They must address the need for: increased political commitment to the rule of law; a reduction in the power and influence of the military and its greater accountability to civilian authorities; the adoption of appropriate new laws and regulations; the improvement of the capacity and technical competence of judges and legal personnel; the eradication of judicial corruption; and the strengthening of civil society organisations, especially those involved in legal and human rights advocacy. The need for justice is particularly acute in Aceh and West Papua. However, it is unlikely that progress will be made if the government continues to use repressive policies which deny space for credible investigations and prosecutions into past abuses. So far the Indonesian government appears to have adopted a piecemeal approach to transitional justice. This is evident from the experience of the aptly named ad hoc human rights courts for East Timor and Tanjung Priok. This approach does not augur well for the Truth Commission. The flaws in the trials conducted by the ad hoc court for East Timor have been well documented. The main reasons for their failure were the lack of political will at the highest level and the influence of the military on the outcome of the proceedings. Particular problems arose in relation to the lack of independence and competence of prosecutors - epitomised by a prosecution request for the acquittal of one of the main suspects, Adam Damiri - and the inadequacy of protection for victims and witnesses. Ominously for the Truth Commission one of the main features of the trials was the way in which the prosecution and defence comprehensively distorted the truth of what happened in East Timor. The violence was falsely portrayed as resulting from a struggle between two violent East Timorese factions in which the Indonesian security forces were essentially bystanders. Primary blame was directed at the UN. The Tanjung Priok trials have also been criticised for continuing the cycle of impunity for perpetrators of rights violations [see separate item]. Unsurprisingly, during the initial debates on the Truth Commission Law, the military/police faction in parliament objected to provisions designed to reveal the truth about past violations. A spokesman for the faction suggested that 'the nation bury all hatchets in the past along with the truth, otherwise it would lead to a greater cycle of conflict' ['Military Objects to 'Truth'', Jakarta Post, 11 May 2004]. At best, the Truth Commission can be only one of several transitional justice mechanisms. If complementary mechanisms, such as the ad hoc human rights courts, are ineffective, the Truth Commission is unlikely to succeed. And impunity, instead of being ended, will be further strengthened. The idea of a Truth Commission was initiated by the administration of former president Wahid. It was provided for in Law 26/2000 on Human Rights Courts, the law under which the ad hoc courts for East Timor and Tanjung Priok were established. Law 26/2000 states that the 'resolution of gross violations of human rights occurring prior to the coming into force of this Act may be undertaken by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission' (Art 47(1)). Many human rights advocates hope that one of the Commissions first tasks will be to expose the truth about one of the last century's most heinous crimes - the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of leftwing suspects following the rise to power of former president Suharto in 1965. The Truth Commission was neglected by the Megawati administration until this year and it will now be a major test of the political commitment to transitional justice of the new administration under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Unfortunately, Yudhoyono's administration will have to deal with a Truth Commission Law which is seriously flawed. It has been criticised in Indonesia because it 'leans too heavily towards the possibility of pardoning past perpetrators of human rights violations, and not enough toward rehabilitating and compensating their victims' ['Towards reconciliation', Jakarta Post editorial, 8 September]. The Law is concerned only with gross violations of human rights as defined by Law 26/2000, namely genocide and crimes against humanity. There are particular problems with the provisions which deal with the possibility of amnesties for the perpetrators of such crimes. Articles 28 and 29 provide that in circumstances where the perpetrator and victim have agreed to reconcile, the Commission must issue a recommendation to the President to grant an amnesty. If the perpetrator admits wrongdoing but the victims or their relatives refuse to forgive him or her, the Commission can recommend whether or not an amnesty should be granted. If the perpetrator denies wrongdoing, he or she foregoes the right to an amnesty and the case will be referred to an ad hoc human rights court for trial. Arguably, the Law should not include any provision for amnesty since it is concerned with crimes of such gravity that the appropriate course is for suspects to be tried in a court of law. A recent report by the UN Secretary-General, The rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies [S/2004/616], explicitly rejected any 'endorsement of amnesty for genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity'. The provision for a perpetrator who denies wrongdoing to be referred to an ad hoc court could offend the principle that criminal laws (in this case Law 26/2000) should not be applied retroactively. However, the same problem was overcome by the ad hoc court for East Timor on the basis that the crimes in question (perpetrated in 1999) were crimes under international law at the time they were committed. The new law's approach to reparation is anomalous and unlikely to provide adequate restorative justice to victims. Article 27 states that compensation or rehabilitation can be ordered only if the perpetrator is granted an amnesty. It is not clear what is supposed to happen in other cases although reparation can be ordered under Law 26/2000 for cases referred to an ad hoc human rights court. A government regulation on compensation, restitution and rehabilitation was issued under Law 26/2000 but was rushed through on the day before the start of the East Timor trials. It is not yet clear how it will work in practice. A similar regulation will presumably be required for the Truth Commission. Amongst other things, it will have to clarify the extent to which the government is obliged to provide reparation [for an analysis of the right to reparation as applied in Indonesia, see Justice for victims should include right to reparation, Jakarta Post, 8 September 2004]. The record of other Truth and Reconciliation Commissions around the world, particularly those in South America, is not altogether encouraging. Certainly, it is clear from past experience that there can be no reconciliation without justice. The Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor is regarded as a good initiative but there is concern that the Government of East Timor will be reluctant to implement what it considers to be politically sensitive recommendations when the Commission reports in the next few months. Furthermore, it does not and cannot address the paramount issue of securing accountability for serious crimes. This remains a major concern for Indonesia. Things have changed markedly since the fall of the dictatorship in 1998. Nevertheless, old political forces are still trying hard to turn the clock back. Freedom of speech, for example, is one of the major political achievements since 1998, to much dismay in some circles. Four-star General Hendropriyono is a striking example of somebody who refuses to accept present-day political freedoms. General Hendropriyono is more than just one of many middle-of the-road retired generals. During the Megawati presidency, he was head of BIN (Badan Intelijen Negara, National Security Agency), the main intelligence body in the country. Hendropriyono has such a close relationship with the Megawati family that he joined her party, PDI-P, in return for which he got the job as intelligence supremo. In the past few months Hendropriyono has been particularly busy harassing two key advocates in Indonesian civil society, Indro Cahyono, former student leader and currently coordinator of SKEPHI, a leading environmental NGO, and Hendardi, the very vocal chair and spokesperson for many years of PBHI, one of the main human rights NGOs in Indonesia. Both men have recently been taken to court by Hendropriyono for allegedly publicly defaming and destroying his good name. In both cases, Hendropriyono has demanded Rp. 10 billion compensation and an order for the two to publish half-page apologies in the press for five days running in the three main dailies: Kompas, Jakarta Post and Media Indonesia. Hendropriyono has an abominable track record as an army officer and has been widely condemned by human rights groups, in Indonesia and abroad. He is widely known as the 'Butcher of Lampung', in connection with an incident going back 15 years when he ordered a raid on a Muslim community in Lampung, South Sumatra. As the local commander at the time, he organised hundreds of troops to launch a massive attack, backed by helicopters and Brimob, the Police special forces. Hundreds of villagers died in the massacre and so far there has been no attempt to make anyone accountable for the crime. Meanwhile, his military career had soared by leaps and bounds. He is known as a good communicator, a typical example of key army officers in those days. Overconfident about their leading role in society and shamelessly meddling in major political matters. He became an important public figure when he was appointed commander of the Jakarta military command (1993-1994), one of the most prestigious posts in the army, and became part of the Jakarta jet-set. Hendropriyono is known to be very ambitious and he has never made a secret of his ambitions. His military career was phenomenal and typical of other military high flyers of those days. He possesses a Kopassus (red berets) background combined with a variety of posts in the intelligence branch. In the eighties Kopassus officers were excessively represented at the top of the army. In the late eighties he became the intelligence chief of Kopassus and later moved upwards to serve as one of the directors of BAIS, the military intelligence body. Hendropriyono belongs to the generation of top-ranking officers who combined military positions with business connections. He is a wealthy man and likes to put in an appearance when important happenings take place. He has also established a successful lawyers' office, winning many clients from the business community. Along with all these activities, he is also chair of the National Boxing Association and more recently of the Indonesian Judo Association. In the heyday of the Megawati reign, key military figures like General Hari Sabarno and General Hendropriyono planned to boost co-ordination between the intelligence agencies and upgrade the position of BIN. In the post-Suharto days, the police gained more power and took charge of intelligence work such as investigating the Bali bombing and the Marriott Hotel explosion, with good results, obtaining considerable assistance from police officers from the UK, the US, Japan and Australia. This support for the police has provoked a lot of jealousy. BIN's place in the jungle of intelligence bodies has not been clarified. The ministry of defence has its own intelligence unit and the three wings of the armed forces, (the army, navy and air force) all have their own groups. Special units like Kopassus have kept their own intelligence units. The police force was officially separated from the armed forces in 2002 and has an own intelligence unit. The entire discussion about the overhaul of intelligence agencies has become a burning issue because of the security threat placed in the global war against terrorism. Hendropriyono has always regarded his job as BIN chief as being comparable to the national security advisor to the White House, ready with advice for the president at a moment's notice. Megawati upgraded the position of head of BIN to a ministerial post. Hendropriyono also wanted BIN to retain its operational functions, so as to be able to arrest people and launch operations when needed. It all sounds like the old police state of Indonesia in the seventies. But in the meantime, the political constellation has changed and Hendropriyono has lost his job after the installation of the new cabinet. The four star general is without a job but will likely find ways to remain an active player in the power politics of Jakarta. Indro Cahyono's track record of criticising the military goes back to 1978 when he was put on trial because of his active opposition role in the student movement. His defence plea was called Dibawah Sepatu Lars (Under the Jackboot) which was acknowledged as being the most substantial writing on the disastrous role of the military since the birth of the Indonesian republic in 1945. He has retained this staunch anti-military tradition and is often interviewed and quoted by the press. In a recent interview, he criticised the way Sidney Jones, the ICG (International Crisis Group) director, was kicked out of the country. It is a public secret that Hendropriyono, as chief of BIN, had much to do with her deportation. Indro was interviewed by Radio Netherlands in the summer and some time later, Hendropriyono struck back with his anti-defamation case. He also demanded the confiscation of Indro's house and land. In the meantime Indro and his family had to face many acts of intimidation. His house in Bekasi has frequently been visited by suspicious individuals, making strange demands, such as wanting interviews or saying they are going to measure the property. In late August, Indro received a letter from the District court in Bekasi with more information relating to the confiscation of his property. The case is still continuing. Hendardi also criticised Hendropriyono in public and went so far as to demand that he should step down as intelligence chief because of the poor quality of his performance. Several terrorist incidents have occurred lately in Jakarta, such as the bombing of the KPU (Elections Commission) office and the bomb in Kuningan, in front of the Australian embassy. In the last few years Jakarta has been hit by several serious terrorist attacks but so far BIN has failed to come forward with a single clue. Hendardi has expressed the opinion that intelligence performance has been weak, unprofessional and like a lame duck. As in the old days, it still focuses on observing and monitoring groups in society like NGOs, student groups and people who concentrate on analysing the situation in Indonesia such as Sidney Jones. Hendropriyono gave the same reaction to this as he has done with the case against Indro, demanding the confiscation of Hendardi's house in Cipete. The case continues. On 20 October, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, popularly known as SBY, a retired army general, was inaugurated as Indonesia's 6th President. This followed the first direct presidential election in which more than 60 percent voted for SBY. In the first round in June, SBY achieved a majority but not enough to avoid a runoff. Throughout, opinion polls gave SBY a convincing edge over the incumbent, President Megawati. As the first directly-elected president, SBY can lay claim to being the first 'people's' president. His legitimacy is unprecedented as compared with his five predecessors. Indonesia held three elections this year, all of which took place under relatively peaceful conditions. The third election on 20 September was by far the easiest; it was the second round of the presidential election with only two candidates. As a huge archipelago with 13,000 islands, organising an election in Indonesia is a logistical nightmare; it takes weeks before the result can be announced. But only hours after the polling booths closed and the counting started, it was clear that SBY was the winner. SBY is the 6th President since the birth of the republic in 1945. While the majority of voters are optimistic about how he will handle complex economic, political and legal problems, his job will be a tough one. Indonesia remains economically 'the sick man of Asia' with abysmal economic growth, a widening gap between rich and poor and double-digit unemployment. While small groups within civil society campaigned against his candidacy because of his background as a retired army officer, the majority saw SBY as new figure in Indonesian politics, taking heart from his track record in recent years when he was a cabinet minister. In his public appearances, he came across more as a civilian than a military man. In three television debates with Megawati, he emerged as the superior politician with a clearer vision of how to handle state affairs. SBY's career as a politician has been short and tumultuous, characterised by ups and downs. But in hindsight, it gave him the popularity needed to run successfully for president. His career as a politician started when President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) appointed him minister for mining and energy in 2000 This was a crucial post as oil and natural gas are Indonesia's main sources of foreign exchange. Gus Dur's presidency was volatile. In just eighteen months, he carried out many cabinet reshuffles. Early on, SBY shifted from the mining ministry to become Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security (Menko Polkam). At the height of the power struggle during Gus Dur's presidency, he refused to support a decree issued by Gus Dur on 28 May 2001 for firm measures to be taken to rescue the presidency. He was sacked by Gus Dur but a few weeks later, on 25 July, the MPR (People's Consultative Congress) found a pretext to impeach Gus Dur. Megawati became president and SBY decided to run for vice-president against two heavyweights Hamzah Haz, chair of PPP, one of the main Muslim parties, and Akbar Tandjung chair of Golkar, the main secular party and former political vehicle of the dictator Suharto. SBY failed because he lacked the backing of a political party. A few months later, in September 2001, the Partai Demokrat (PD), his political vehicle, was established. At about the same time, he received a call from President Megawati asking him to take back his job as Menko Polkam, which he accepted. His time as Menko Polkam was fraught with problems. Regional conflicts were at their peak; along with widespread unrest in Aceh and West Papua there were local conflicts in Poso and Maluku. On top of this, he had to deal with several acts of terrorism, the bomb blast in Bali which killed around 200 people, and the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta. It is more than likely that these problems strengthened his resolve to run for the highest job while Megawati failed to make serious efforts to tackle these problems. SBY's ambition to run for the presidency soon became a public secret. Ads appeared in the press promoting SBY as the future president, souring his relationship with Megawati. By late 2003, Megawati was excluding him from key cabinet sessions. Their relationship fell to zero with communications being conducted by letters or through go-betweens. Megawati's husband, the influential Taufiq Kiemas, openly supported his wife and attacked SBY, calling him 'childish'. This arguably gave him more popularity as the 'underdog', always popular with voters. On 11 March 2004, he resigned from Megawati's cabinet and successful ran for the presidency. Megawati's campaign in the second round was little short of disastrous. Her party, the PDI-P, Indonesia's second largest party entered a coalition with Golkar, Indonesia's largest party. The two parties held a big majority in parliament, and their leaders firmly believed that this coalition would attract the majority of votes. But as it turned out, the electorate voted massively for SBY. It was clear that party allegiance played little role; voters were voting for personalities. SBY's popularity soared as the public and the press sided with the 'victim'. In many ways, SBY personifies the kind of army officer now at the top of TNI, the Indonesian army. In the early days, army recruits came from all levels of society, mostly from the grassroots but since the seventies, there has been a gradual shift. The prominent role of the army in society has affected the class origins of its new cadets. Officers have gradually become a caste of their own. Through inter-marriage and as the sons of senior officers who follow in the footsteps of their fathers, many highly-placed officers are related to each other. SBY's father was in the army, serving as a first lieutenant while his father-in-law is the infamous Major-General Sarwo Edhie, who played a brutal role in the bloody killings of tens of thousands of innocent peasants in the red drive of 1965 in Central Java. His eldest son is a graduate from the Military Academy and holds the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. There are similar family ties between many high-ranking officers. In many ways, SBY can be said to have an almost perfect military background. As a cadet, he was one of the brightest, graduating from the Academy in 1973 at the top of his class. He was soon sent abroad for further training and took three courses in the US (Airborne and Ranger Course, Fort Benning, 1976; Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Fort Benning, 1982-1983; Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, 1990-1991). He attended a Jyngle Warfare School in Panama in 1983. He also underwent training in Belgium and Germany (Anti-Tank Weapon Course, 1984) as well as in the UK while serving as commander of the UN Peace Keeping Force in Bosnia in 1995-1996. Not much has been reported about his combat duties or his involvement in serious human rights violations. He served three times in East Timor which, in those days, was a necessary step in one's military career. He took part in Operasi Seroja in 1976-1977 (for the pacification of East Timor), in Operasi Tuntas in 1979-1980 (for the eradication of the resistance) and so-called mopping-up operations in East Timor in 1986-1988. Also little has been said about his role when he was army chief-of-staff in the Jakarta military command in 1996 during the attack on the headquarters of the PDI, which was chaired by Megawati. Even less is known about his role during the violence that erupted in East Timor in 1998-1999, at which time he was chief-of-staff for territorial affairs (from 9 November 1998 till October 1999) which continued until international forces stepped in. By the time of the downfall of Suharto in May 1998, SBY had joined the ranks of more liberal-minded officers, which included people like Agus Wirahadikusumah, Agus Widjoyo and Saurip Kadi. SBY made many promises during the presidential election so people now expect deeds, not words. He promised to fight corruption and to pay special attention to the conflicts in Aceh and West Papua. He also warned of the 'spectre of terrorism' still haunting Indonesia. Regarding his human rights agenda, see our letter to the new government. SBY has promised to deal with burning issues regarding the armed forces. He speaks optimistically about the TNI adjusting itself in the process of democracy. There are three burning issues relating to internal reform within the TNI. The first is the army's involvement in business, the second is the territorial command structure of the army and thirdly is the ending of impunity. Civilian presidents like Habibie, Gus Dur and Megawati were not able (or unwilling) to handle these issues. It remains to be seen whether a retired general has the necessary political will and influence to deal with them. Aceh will be the best place to judge whether the incoming government is any different from previous regimes in Indonesia. One of the biggest challenges for the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to resolve the conflict in Aceh peacefully. The way he approaches resolution of the almost 30-year conflict in Aceh will show whether he is indeed different. Not long after the election, Yudhoyono met an audience of teachers. He promised to work to settle the conflict by peaceful means, saying: "Let us not just go ahead with the military operation" (AP, 22 September 2004). However, he has shown considerable ambiguity. He also stated that the country must remain united and that there could be no compromise on this, as well as stating that the conflict must be resolved in a fair manner, and as peacefully as possible. His statement clearly aimed to show that the Aceh problem is on his priority list. On several other occasions, he promised to create a more peaceful Aceh. However, Aceh is a place where actions are infinitely more important than words. In the past many Indonesian politicians have made numerous promises about Aceh while rarely, if ever, doing anything to deliver on them. In Megawati's acceptance speech after her election to the presidency, the new leader wept in public and promised that no blood would fall in Aceh during her time in office. Contrary to these tears and promises, the situation in Aceh was allowed to deteriorate until she declared martial law in May 2003. Similar commitments for a better Aceh were also made by Abdurrahman Wahid. He made even grander promises, favouring a referendum for the Acehnese people. Needless to say this never happened. So history has taught us caution in expecting new presidents to deliver on their promises. Will Yudhoyono's words of peace be put into practice in Aceh? This has to happen. There are no other viable long-term options available to Jakarta for resolving the conflict in Aceh. Equally, the Acehnese have little confidence that Jakarta can generate the political will necessary to bring about change and a positive, peaceful future in Aceh. This is an opportunity for the new president to demonstrate his presidential ability, by proving that he is more effective than any previous Indonesian leadership. These realities of the conflict provide a number of opportunities for SBY, as Yudhoyono is also called, to start improving the situation in Aceh. His much-touted legitimacy, as the country's first directly-elected president, provides him with a powerful platform from which to pursue peace. Re-engaging in dialogue with GAM, and giving the non-combatant population space at the negotiating table will always be hugely unpopular for nationalistic Indonesia but SBY's unique position may mean he can take this path to a peaceful solution. SBY needs to assess the current military approach immediately. The new government should evaluate the administration of martial law from May 2003 to May 2004, as well as monitoring and reviewing the events of the civil emergency administration to date. It is imperative that an impartial assessment is made of how these military operations were conducted and how many civilians have been killed. SBY should also immediately respond to rampaging human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by government troops, as described in the report by Indonesia's own human rights commission, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch [see separate article]. When the military operations got underway last year, the military stated that their operations were targeting five thousand members and supporters of GAM. Yet by the end of martial law, the military claimed to have killed over two thousand, arrested over two thousand and acknowledged the surrender of over one thousand (Jakarta Post, 24 May 2004). Even though this meets the military's own target figures civil emergency status was nonetheless imposed. Some five to ten people a day have been killed under this new civil status. The new Indonesian government needs to tell us who they are. Are they really all GAM, as claimed by the military? The government should show its commitment to a new and productive approach in Aceh by allowing access to the province. Independent rights groups that are currently not allowed in can make credible assessments of the human rights situation in Aceh. Aceh should also be accessible to Indonesian and foreign journalists. The other critical way to move forward in Aceh requires the new government to lay out their strategy for a viable, credible peace process. The president has stated, on many occasions that he would like to see the situation in Aceh improve. What is not clear yet is what actions he will be taking to bring about this improvement. On the contrary, he continues to cling to ambiguous commitments. It is imperative for him to show the Acehnese that he really does want to bring peace and positive change to Aceh.

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http://www.tapol.org/bulletin/177-november-2004

The transmitter manufacturers recommended air system is usually sized only for cooling the transmitter. 1996). 23b) show the increase in intermolecular -sheet structure synchronous with the decrease of -helical structure. Overcrowding and homelessness is a great concern, particu- larly among the population of refugees and displaced persons. Besides the complaints that I personally received via email, J. 030366990729406004 d r. Mp 184-1858 dec.Biebermann, H. 0 Thickness (mm) 2. Place a suitable mouthpiece adapter in position at the end of the induction port. The mtr locus encodes an efflux pump (181), while penB codes for a porin (182). FTN Financial is a capital markets industry leader in fixed income sales, trading and strategies for institutional customers in the U. Reference solution. More precisely, I did not like their trading platform compared with other Brokers, and for that reason I did not fund my account immediately. 17 Simplify each of the expressions 57 ·π4 SOLUTION We calculate: (e4)ln 3, 53 · π2(e4)ln3 e4·ln3 (eln3)4 34 81; (32 · x3)4. Variation in vocabulary development as a function of birth order. 07 25. 4 shows the ZBDD for the function used in the Example 2. 2 Blank indefinite admittance matrix Base Emitter Collector Base Emitter Collector Table 6. The most common is primary hypothyroidism, in which the thy- roid doesnt produce an adequate amount of T4. 2, administering firewalls, UNIX systems, and databases forex today in nepal the Department of Defense, Department of Treasury, and the Department of Justice. I have lived in DC since 2005. (7) In both polymorphs the NH; ions are apparently in fixed orientations. 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TRIAL-PREP. 6) CHAPTER 21 SwitchingPackets 39 (a) (b) (c) F I G U R E 21. 112,113 Adverse Effects of Oral Anticoagulants 389 ΑΡΙΤΗΜΕΤΙΧ ΑΝ ΓΕΟΜΕΤΡΙΧ ΜΕΑΝΣ 67 D E A OCB ab Φιγυρε 4. All of the four components, including the mannoproteins. NEUROGENETICS 179 Drug of choice PLUS OR PLUS OR Quinine sulfate Doxycycline Pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine Mefloquine Atovaquoneproguanil Two adults tablets q12h for 3 days 750mg followed by 500mg 12h later 500mg q6h for three doses; repeat in 1 week 4mgkgday for 3 days 1250mg, single dose 650mg q8h for 37 days 100mg q12h for 7 days 3 tablets, single dose on last day of quinine treatment 1250mg, single dose 1120kg: one adult tabletday for 3 days 2130kg: 2 adult tabletsday for 3 days 3140kg: 3 adult tabletsday for 3 days 40kg: adult dose 15mgkg, single dose (if body weight 45kg), followed by 10mgkg 12h later 8mgkg q6h for three doses (if body weight 40kg); repeat in 1 week 25mgkgday in three doses for 37 days 2mgkgday for 7 forex today in nepal Aged 1 year, 14 tablet; aged 13 years, 12 tablet; aged 48 years, 1 tablet; aged 914 years, 2 tablets 25mgkg, single dose (if body weight 45kg) Alternatives PLUS Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium vivax Mefloquine Halofantrine Artesunate Mefloquine All Plasmodium spp. Aus der physikalischen und der biologi- schen Halbwertszeit lässt sich die effektive Halbwertszeit Teff berechnen: 111 Teff Tphys Tbiol Merke. LDA-VWN 1A1g 1T1g 1A1g 1T2g 1A1g 3T1g 1A1g 3T2g MUSE 3110 1155 3227 MUSE(1 1) 2728 605 2054 MUSE(1 3) 3875 2254 5572 35107 31014 34792 40900 38874 37333 29845 23716 31542 32721 28191 31615 300 EXERCISES not expect to solve the problem with present machines and programming languages. He was also elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England and of Ireland; several universities conferred honorary degrees upon him, and he received recognition from leading surgical societies abroad. The best forex today in nepal of training is where one is not afraid to make mistakeswhich damage it. Initial application times can be based on 1 min of ultra- sonic application (continuous or VASER mode) for every 200 ml of wetting solution infused at a site. Richie JP. (1996) Monitoring the integrity of the cement- metal interface of total joint components in vitro using acoustic emission and ultrasound. Show that if a ring R has a multiplicative identity, then the mul- tiplicative identity is unique. Consequently, articular cartilage is strongly viscoelastic with stress relaxation times in compression on the order of 1 to 5 seconds. 7; trin. Equations (7.Shan, L. Use the Browse button to locate the page you want to link to or enter the URL for the page in the When Selected, Go to URL field. 4 defects per million opportuni- ties. 37) for Re(s) forex today in nepal follows from the following estimates for the coefficients a) If f Mk(N,ψ) then |a(n)| O(nk1ε), but the presence of an initial inflammatory stage cannot be excluded, as none of the speci- mens were taken from patients in the early stage of disease. The chapter concludes with a discussion of where the real therapeutic and developmental potential lies for the derivatives of cannabis. Source: lead hollow-cathode lamp. AP-28, have a lot of experience and offer some very unique features. By luck and careful searching, I found a mailing list in England In addition to sheets, you can purchase paper in convenient pads and blocks: A pad is several sheets bound with a wire spiral or glue at one end. The localization of the myelinolysis is highly characteristic. Memik Introduction Related Work Strategically Programmable System Overview of SPS Target Applications Experiments Conclusion 37 Reconfigurable Processors John Morris, Danny Newport, Don Bouldin, Ricardo E. Effect of large doses of the ni- tric oxide precursor L-arginine on erectile dysfunc- tion.

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LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has already began the briefing. DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: ... to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people. Today U.S. and coalition forces are on the ground digging wells, building schools, supporting other civilian missions to help the Afghan people recover from years of Taliban oppression, and they're doing a fine job at it. And those who perpetrated these crimes against their own people are no longer in power, hundreds are in detention, and they will have to answer for their crimes. MYERS: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I'd like to follow-up with the status on the Zhawar Kili strike from last week. The material we found around the site is being sent back to the United States for analysis. The first team was able to locate, we think, with the impact -- exact impact point of the missile, and then the team cleared snow around that site out to 200 years. There was anywhere from a foot to three to four feet of snow that had to be cleared. And I think yesterday Admiral Stufflebeem gave you a list of the type of material that they took from that site. MYERS: And as I said before, that's currently being sent back to the United States for analysis. Our team has left that site but will continue to surveil that particular site in the region for some time to come. The Hazar Kadam investigation is proceeding. At this point in this investigation, I don't believe that any of the detainees -- this is the 27 that were detained -- were subject to beatings or rough treatment after they were taken into custody. All 27 detainees were medically screened upon arrival in Kandahar, and there were no issues of beatings or kickings or anything of that sort. As we told you before, we continue to perform investigation there and General Franks will make that available once it is complete. As an addendum here, the total number of detainees now in U.S. control of 474, 220 in Afghanistan, and 254 in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, speaking of Admiral Stufflebeem, his team admitted yesterday that this war has turned into what he called a shadow war in that you're chasing Al Qaeda and Taliban is differently defined -- you're very reluctant to discuss now the secret things that are going on, especially while they're going on, Special Forces, troops, what they're doing. It seems the things that you are announcing, for instance the attack at Zhawar Kili, and the attack north of Kandahar later turn out to be mistakes. Are you worried that this is turning into some kind of public relations disaster, where the headlines and newspapers' preponderance have been on the mistakes rather than accomplishments? RUMSFELD: Well, the first thing one has to say is that, any time there is a suggestion that U.S. forces have, as you characterized it, made a mistake, it is something that we take very seriously, as a country, and certainly the Armed Forces and the Pentagon do. When that occurs, we ask the appropriate people to undertake an investigation and to look into the charges or the allegations that have been made. We do that because we care that things be done as well as it's humanly possible to do them. You say that everything we do is being called a mistake. I don't know that that's the case, and maybe I didn't quote you quite right, but it seems to me there's a great deal we're doing in the country. We're in the process of assisting them to develop their own national military force. We're providing humanitarian assistance. We're assisting the government with a host of specific things. The forces everywhere they're located are helping people in those communities. So there's a great deal of good being done , and the harm that the Taliban was doing is no longer being done. The Al Qaeda that had pretty much taken over the country in a major sense are on the run, and the Taliban have been thrown out. So the repression that existed, the circumstance of the Afghan people today, is vastly better. Now, does that mean that when there's an operation and someone suggests that it was in one way or another inappropriate that we shouldn't investigate it? No, we do investigate it, and we care about it. And we will in good time find out actually what took place. QUESTION: And perhaps the weight is going in the other direction on that of us. RUMSFELD: Well, you're right. I mean, to some extent when a -- the forces in the country are doing a variety of things, and among them are some things that are not public. That is to say they are observing things that are taking place and trying to make judgments about where people might be located, or who might be moving things around the country in a way that's inappropriate. So we don't announce those things. They're out doing that on a covert basis. There are other things they do which are not announced until they happen. And those are direct action against a compound, for example, that is believed to be harboring Al Qaeda or Taliban, senior Taliban people. The other thing taking place is a good deal of discussion going on, and people are in fact being discovered and being taken into custody. Lot of intelligence information is being gathered, and that intelligence information has been helpful in preventing other terrorist attacks. So no one ever likes to see an event where someone charges that it was improper, as we saw with respect to the operation that General Myers commented on. But it happens, and all you can do is go at it, find out what took place, and tell the world what actually happened. QUESTION: concerned over these two high profile events and what they might be doing to the campaign in the eyes of the world? RUMSFELD: I'm always concerned when there's an allegation made that suggest that some innocent person was -- that an attack was inappropriate or that some innocent person was killed or injured. RUMSFELD: Obviously, any one would be concerned about that. MYERS: Can I add just something to that? MYERS: You know, I think the secretary and I -- we are anxious to share some of these successes with you. The problem is that once you do that then the tactics and the technics and the procedures that are being used in this very difficult mission of locating leadership and other pockets of Al Qaeda or Taliban, once we tell how successful we've been then we will reveal those tactics, technics and procedures, and sometimes they're easy to thwart. So that's why we have to be very careful. This is a ongoing operation, if you will, and we've just got to be very, very careful. Second thing I'd say that, no matter how these investigations turn out, as some of you know because you've been in the field with our forces, they are the most professional and disciplined forces there are. They make life and death decisions when they come upon this group, these two compounds where we had the 27 detainees and the 15 that were killed. Some of those detainees could have easily been killed. They were armed. The rules of engagement permit you to shoot back. And the fact that they were detained and not killed, I think, is an indication of just how professional and disciplined and dedicated our folks are. Now, if there were mistakes made, we're going to find that out when General Franks finishes his investigation. But I think there American people need to know that we have the best forces in the world, the best trained forces who are making these decisions, and 99.9 percent of the time make them exactly right. RUMSFELD: Let me elaborate on your question, because when you asked the question, "Are you concerned?" there's always a risk if one says they're not concerned. That the headline will be that the Pentagon is not concerned. And it happened to me when I was asked in a lengthy interview by BBC about the detainees and how they were being treated. And I described how they were being treated. They were being treated very, very well and properly and humanely and consistent with the Geneva Convention, and we went through all this, and I described it. And then he said something to the effect, "Well, are you concerned about how they're being treated?" And I said something to the effect, "No" meaning, as I said in the context, because I know how they're being treated and they've been treated very, very properly and humanely. And that has roared around Europe that the secretary is not concerned about how they're being treated when the context was that I was not concerned because I know how they're being treated, and they're being treated and handled very, very well. Now, when you say, "Are you concerned about these?" and if I say, "No, I'm not concerned about," as you cast the question, which is, are you concerned that they are going to be negative and take support away from the campaign or the war against terrorism. If I had answered and said, "No, I'm not," because I have confidence in the American people and in the people of world recognizing how much better off the people in Afghanistan are today than they were. And yet, I do have a concern when someone makes an allegation, because obviously we don't want people to be improperly handled and we do not want operations against targets that are not appropriate targets. So I'm concerned about the specifics. But I did not want to simply answer it in a way that the headline would become inflammatory. I've become very cautious. RUMSFELD: This is on the three individuals? QUESTION: The three at Zhawar Kili. RUMSFELD: OK. Let's do that one. I don't know that I can add anything to it. It's my understanding that the people who operate the Predator were watching a large number of people, 15 or 10, 15, 20 people over a period of time. And out of this group came three people, and they moved in and among various out-croppings of rocks and trees. And the people who have the responsibility for making those judgments, made the judgment that, in fact, they were Al Qaeda and that they were a proper target. And they make those judgments based on behavior, based on various types of equipment and information that they have developed over a sustained period now of weeks and weeks and weeks. A decision was made to fire the Hellfire missile. It was fired. It apparently hit three people, one or more people. There is an investigation under way. Special Forces could not get up there because of the weather. They went up there. They cleared away a large-diameter area of snow, anywhere from a foot to two feet of snow, and picked up a great deal of material from the site, and they are in the process of checking into that, and they're also interviewing people in the region. Now, someone has said that these people were not what the people managing the Predator believed them to be. We'll just have to find out. There's not much more anyone could ask, except there's that one version and there's the other version. QUESTION: Is there any additional intelligence that led to this site to begin with that may have contributed to the perception that these were Al Qaeda? RUMSFELD: These are people who have been doing this now for a good many weeks, and they monitor sites, and they go back to sites where they know Al Qaeda have been, and they check things out, and they are honorable, fine people doing the best that's possible to be done. I was not in the control booth, I have not reviewed the -- I've not compared the elements that went into their decision -- decisions. I'm sure people will do that. QUESTION: What is your personal confidence that this, in fact, was an appropriate, legitimate target? RUMSFELD: It's not for me to say. I have great confidence in the people it. They're honorable people, they're talented people, they're skillful, they've been doing it for weeks and weeks and weeks now, and they've got a darn good record and I've got a lot of respect for them. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, you said earlier there's a great deal of good being done in Afghanistan. You were citing in particular the humanitarian effort that's being made daily. But in the hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, on the military front, what has gone right lately? We've heard nothing but problems lately. What's gone right? RUMSFELD: Well, we have gathered some intelligence from them that has been beneficial to the United States and other countries and to our deployed forces -- and not just a little, but more than a little. RUMSFELD: Second, we continue to gather in additional people, senior people in the Taliban and Al Qaeda. It's a fairly steady flow; it's not large numbers at any given time, but we are continuing to bring them in and to interrogate them at Baghran or at Kandahar and ultimately in Guantanamo Bay. So I feel quite good about the progress. RUMSFELD: As you know, we've got what they say their names are. And we have what we think them to be and some of their aliases, and we've decided that it's not useful to announce their names because then, for one thing that could be wrong because they don't always tell the truth. And for a second thing, it can tell everyone else in those organizations who we have and what types of information we conceivably will be hearing from them, in which case it makes it much easier for others to get away. QUESTION: I want to pick up on that point a second. About three weeks ago from the podium, you said you would think about releasing a list of who was killed in the Al Qaeda leadership. About two weeks ago, President Bush told the Washington Post that he keeps a score card like a baseball game, and 16 of 22 Al Qaeda leaders remain at large. This was about a couple of weeks ago. Can you shed any light on that? Is that roughly the number at large -- six may be killed, and another 16 at large? RUMSFELD: It changes everyday, and there is such a list and it does indicate whether or not they have been killed for sure or presumed dead or in captivity, or at large. And where people fit on that in individual status may change from week to week depending as more information becomes available. And in many cases they're qualified, that is to say that says presumed as opposed to certainty. And we have thought about it, and we've decided not to release it. QUESTION: Six roughly have been killed? RUMSFELD: I can't say. I have to go back and -- I'm sure when he said it was correct. My guess is the numbers have changed since. QUESTION: General, I still have a quick one on the Predator. QUESTION: There's been a lot of attention over this one strike. Roughly, how many of these Predator Hellfires have been fired in the campaign by the CIA? Are we talking in the 40 to 50 range and one or two have been controversial? MYERS: I don't have that at my fingertips, and probably if I did we wouldn't talk about how many. But let me just add a little comment to the earlier question on success here. You know, we said early on that one of the ideas, and the president has said this and others, that we wanted to disrupt these operations. And part of disruption is getting them to move. And, you know, I think, at least I have said that if they leave Afghanistan that's not all bad because they're going to be in their second-favorite place, and they're going to be in a place where they're less comfortable, they're going to have to spend more resources to buy their security and so forth. It has turned out that that's been true, that some of the folks we've gotten our hands on have been actually through other countries, and we've been fairly successful there, and when the time comes, that'll all be released. So it's having the kind of effect, I think, that we want to have. QUESTION: Two questions about the Predator attack. First of all, yesterday it was described as an appropriate target. Is it still the feeling in this building that it was an appropriate target? RUMSFELD: As I said, from the people I've talked to in the building, I can't speak for the building, but there is no change in opinion on the part of the people who were involved in the process except for the fact that because people have raised a question about it, there is an investigation going on and people, as I say, are going up there to take a look at it. Second question, there was a little confusion yesterday. Admiral Stufflebeem said that there was no real-time interaction between the CIA and CENTCOM when this attack was going down, when the CIA was pulling the trigger, and then we saw comments that seemed to contradict that in the wires a little later. Can you bring some clarification to that? How much interaction was there between the DOD and the CIA about this target at the time it was going down? RUMSFELD: I can't speak to that except to say that there tends to be a high degree of interaction between CENTCOM and CIA on a whole host of things and certainly on these matters. MYERS: I don't know why you got the contradictions, because there was close coordination, like there always is. And I don't know why you got the contradiction. I can't explain that. RUMSFELD: He's getting careful, too. MYERS: Thank you, sir. QUESTION: Well, explain what were the facts, if you could? MYERS: Well, again, without divulging too much of how this all works, there is close coordination between what the CIA is doing and what Central Command is doing, and it's virtually continuous. And so, I don't know what Admiral Stufflebeem said or told you, but -- and that was the case here. I don't know what else there is to say. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, General Myers, both of you talked last week before Congress about developing a joint task force headquarters that would deploy in the event of something like that. If we had had that in place, how could this have helped this operation now -- with a joint task force headquarters that Joint Forces Command is developing? MYERS: I'll take a stab at it, if I can. Central Command's a little different situation because, in a sense, they're already a joint task force headquarters, so it's a little different for them. A better one to take would be Pacific Command in doing something in their region, where the unified commander might designate a joint task force. But let's assume it's Central Command. What we're envisioning there is not only habitual relationships, which CENTCOM does have with all its components -- its Army, its Navy and its Marine and its air components -- they have that relationship that we're trying to establish another unified commands, and maybe more than one. At Central Command they essentially have this one big joint task force. MYERS: And one of the issues is, what is the suite of equipment that you equip them with when they go into conduct an operation, whether it's humanitarian or whether it's combat or whatever? And that's the part we need to focus on. They need to take a suite of equipment that plugs everyone in, so they all have the relevant pictures of what's happening and so forth. So I think it would be very relevant in terms of the equipment. MYERS: Yes. Oh, absolutely. Yes. Have to be adaptable, yes. QUESTION: This apparently the most specific information in the last five months about another terrorist attack today. Without divulging anything you don't want to, can you say anything about whether and how DOD's reacting? RUMSFELD: Well, first let me say that the, as I understand it, the information that the Department of Justice used to come to the conclusion it came to that an announcement was appropriate was information that has been gained in large measure from the interrogations that have been taking place and the other information that has been a result of the efforts of the multidepartmental groups that do the interrogation. The Department of Defense was pretty much at a level of alert that it didn't require many additional things, although I understand some elements have taken some additional steps, which I prefer not to discuss. QUESTION: Can you say anything generally about what you mean by that? QUESTION: The last thing you said, generally what are you referring to? QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) at Guantanamo Bay by the way or in Afghanistan? QUESTION: I think you're right. QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) the Taliban leadership? About three weeks ago prior to the special forces (INAUDIBLE) in Kandahar, Afghan officials said that they were in negotiation with three top Taliban officials including Omar's secretary, try to bring him in from the (INAUDIBLE) And then the attack happened and they lost contact with these three folks. Were you aware of those negotiations, and if so, do you know what the status is of those are today? QUESTION: Are you in contact with the Afghan officials or a party to the negotiations that these folks? RUMSFELD: I can't speak to that as I said. I know that at any given moment of the day or night there are discussions going on, and we are certainly in touch with Afghan people who are in involved in those kinds of discussions. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary you said recently or just actually after a couple moments ago that the folks firing Predators have a good record. What did you mean when you said that? RUMSFELD: I mean that they're serious people. They've been doing this now since some months, and that I have observed how they handle themselves, and they develop patterns of behavior which give them information. They use human intelligence from the ground. They observe a variety of things from the ground and the air, and they connect those things. And then they make judgments, and they have on a number of occasions been successful in doing exactly that which they intended to do. QUESTION: The record implies a scorecard. You have some kind of scorecard in mind you can share with us? RUMSFELD: I -- no, it is a series of events that I have observed and that others have observed rather than keeping score on them. QUESTION: Secretary Rumsfeld, on the Predators, my question again. In late November, when people were asking you about the relationship between CIA operations and CENTCOM -- and then it was more about ground operations -- but you said very specifically that General Franks was the man at the steering wheel, coordinating, or in control of our military operations. Now, with the Predator story, you're talking about an exchange of information, coordination, so I was wondering if simply you could clarify the situation of how CIA military operations are coordinated or in control by CENTCOM. RUMSFELD: That's a good question, and it's hard to answer. The overwhelming bulk of all activity in Afghanistan since the first U.S. forces went in have been basically under the control of the Central Command. And that's particularly true after the first month. The one exception has been the armed Predators. I shouldn't say the one exception -- an exception has been the armed Predators, which are CIA operated. QUESTION: Why is that an exception? RUMSFELD: It is just a fact. They were operating them before the United States military was involved, and the armed Predators, and doing a good job, so rather than changing that, we just left it. QUESTION: Why not drag them into the command control with CENTCOM? You have three operators of Predator. RUMSFELD: It's just a historical fact that they were operating these things over recent years and they were in Afghanistan prior to the involvement of CENTCOM and they continued during this period. That's just the way it is. QUESTION: Could I get the two of you to free associate a little bit more on that subject? RUMSFELD: You got the wrong guys. QUESTION: The general subject matter is there is this growing sort of military role for the CIA, and we have you guys up here every day and can ask questions, but the CIA obviously operates in a lot more shadowy way. People are thinking back and remembering some of the excesses of that agency in Latin America, 20, 30 years ago, and I think there tends to be a growing sense of what are we getting into here? Could you all talk more philosophically about the dealings between the Pentagon and the CIA, and what the parameters are that you're developing or thinking about for how to manage this new world where the CIA now has its own real military capabilities that are not necessarily under the control of the U.S. military which has transparency with the American public? RUMSFELD: I can give you a couple of paragraphs on the subject. The relationship between the Defense Department and the CIA today is as good as I've ever seen it. That is to say, in the relationships and the interaction and the connectivity, we have people involved with things they're doing and, for example, in counterterrorism or in intelligence cells, where we're trying to bring all kinds of intelligence information into one place. They have people involved in things that we're doing in a sense of connecting their capabilities and their assets to what we do. The concern you're expressing from a decade or two or three ago, I think, is not apt, simply because people are sensitive to those things. And there's all kinds of congressional consultation, there's all kinds of procedures within the executive branch, so that things that the agency is planning to do are well-vetted in the appropriate ways before they do them. I think the general relationship on the ground tends to be that if we're not there the CIA, obviously, has the reporting relationship straight up through the CIA and we're not involved. To the extent they're there and we then get involved, there's an early period where they're both there and they're doing somewhat different things, needless to say. And then at a certain point, the defense element is large enough that it becomes -- things tend to chop over to it. And the chain of command goes up through the combatant commander, except for, obviously, things that don't fit within our statutory responsibilities. QUESTION: Secretary Rumsfeld, a number of administration officials have spoke recently about the need for a regime change in Iraq, probably the highest profile being Secretary of State Colin Powell. Do you favor such a regime change sooner rather than later? And how concerned should Saddam Hussein be that the U.S. military may be the force of that regime change? RUMSFELD: Well, I think that the Congress passed legislation relating to regime change. I've forgotten the name of the statute. Do you remember? RUMSFELD: Well, that was part of it, but I think it was also broader and I think that's -- I don't know many people who have developed a great deal of admiration for that regime in the way it treats its people and the way it treats its neighbor and the fact that it's engaging in the development of weapons of mass destruction. The timing and whether or not anything is done with respect to any country is something that is for the president and the country to make those judgments and it's not for me to express views on that so I don't. RUMSFELD: I think the United States since Desert Storm has always had various planning with respect to Iraq and what it might do to its neighbors. It's threatened -- its invaded Kuwait, it's threatened the Shi'a in the south and harmed them. It's harmed the Kurds in the north. It has expressed its view that the regimes of its neighboring countries are illegitimate and ought not to be there. It is a country that threw out the inspectors that has an active weapons of mass destruction program. I don't know if anything's changed. QUESTION: Maybe it is a misperception there. Previous administrations have adopted a policy of trying to contain Saddam Hussein and it appears from what the president has said and what Colin Powell has said that containment no longer works in the view of this administration, that the threat has somehow changed, increased, that the dynamics are different and, therefore, regime change has become a more substantial goal for this administration than previous ones. RUMSFELD: Well, if you think about what the president and Secretary Powell have said, what they have said, it seems to me, is pretty much self-evident. That every year that goes by and the inspectors are not there, the development of their weapons of mass destruction proceed apace, bringing them closer to a time when they will have those weapons developed in a form that is more threatening than it had been the year before or the year before that. The second thing that's occurred is, the technologies have advanced. And to the extent that the sanctions, which historically is the case, sanctions tend to weaken over time, they're relaxed in one way or another. And as those sanctions are relaxed and as dual-use capabilities flow into that country, their capability is restored, in terms of their ability to impose harm on their neighbors or threaten others. Third, the September 11 attack, if you think of the president's words and Secretary Powell's position, it reminded the world and the United States that terrorist networks exist. That, in fact, we now know from the intelligence we've gathered that they've had a very active effort under way to get chemical, biological and radiation capabilities -- terrorist networks. And we know that Iraq has those and does not wish many of its neighbors well, if any. I don't think it has a neighbor that it wishes well, maybe. So it's that combination of things that I would suspect led to the president's comments and to the secretary's comments. QUESTION: Would it be accurate to say that this building that the Pentagon is now spending more time considering Iraq than it had previously in terms of your planning process? RUMSFELD: This building has always been attentive for at least more than a decade now -- 12 years. To Iraq, we've had northern no- fly zones and southern no-fly zones, and have been flying flights there, attempting to contain that country and prevent them from jumping on one of their neighbors. QUESTION: Can I follow-up Mr. Secretary on what you just said please? In regard to Iraq, weapons of mass destruction and terrorists, is there any evidence to indicate that Iraq has attempted to or is willing to supply terrorists with weapons of mass destruction, because there are reports that there is no evidence of a direct link between Baghdad and some of these terrorist organizations. RUMSFELD: Reports that say it is that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me because as we know there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know they're some things we do not know. But there're also unknown unknowns; the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones. So people who have the eminence that they can say with high certainty that something has not happened or is not being tried, have capabilities that are -- what was the word you used earlier? RUMSFELD: Yes. They can do things I can't do. QUESTION: Excuse me, but is this an unknown unknown? RUMSFELD: You know I'm right here. QUESTION: I just want to ask a real bottomline question. Many apologies -- particularly back this Zhawar Kili one last time. But you mentioned here a couple of times that that incident is now under investigation and sighted that the team went up there for that reason. QUESTION: But of course, the team went up there when people from this podium were saying that it was definitely what you believe to be senior Al Qaeda and you were simply going there to find out which Al Qaeda you killed. RUMSFELD: I don't know that. QUESTION: Are you investigating it? Is the CIA investigation that? RUMSFELD: No, I'm not. Goodness, no. This is something that CENTCOM has decided and done, and properly so. RUMSFELD: I don't know what the right word is. I know that when a -- I know you're correct. There was an interest in getting some positive identification, if that were possible. And second, every time an allegation comes up that seems to have some -- that raises questions that ought to be addressed, then CENTCOM, on its own, decides that they're going to have people go look at that. And whatever that word is, that some call it an investigation, others call it something else. But that's what's taking place is, they are going up there doing that. QUESTION: So CENTCOM -- just to make sure I really understand -- CENTCOM is investigating these potential allegations that perhaps these were innocent people. Is that what -- and why is CENTCOM investigating that and not the CIA, since it was their missile and their targeting? RUMSFELD: Well, I don't know that I said that CIA wasn't. QUESTION: But could you explain that a little more? RUMSFELD: No. I just don't know what they're doing. QUESTION: But you do know that CENTCOM's looking into it. QUESTION: And you, just one more time, explain something to me. Does the CIA have the ability, the approval to pull the trigger without coming to the military? Does the CIA have that bottom line authority to pull the trigger without coming to the military? RUMSFELD: I don't know that I'm going to start responding to question for the Central Intelligence Agency. QUESTION: Well, have you given -- let me try it the reverse way then. Has the U.S. military -- I don't know what the right verb is -- given the CIA the approval, the authority, the whatever to pull the trigger without coming to Central Command first? RUMSFELD: I don't know that it's for us to give that authority. If they have capabilities they do them, what they wish to do. RUMSFELD: I'm not going to answer what the CIA does. It is not the Pentagon that gives other agencies of governments authorities. We're going to make the last question here. RUMSFELD: ... and I thought it was a good response. RUMSFELD: I could have said that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,or vice versa. QUESTION: Well, we just want to know are you aware of any evidence, because that would increase our level of belief from faith to something that would be significant. RUMSFELD: I am aware of a lot of evidence involving Iraq on a lot of subjects, and it is not for me to make public judgments about my assessment or others' assessments of that evidence. And I'll make that the last question. QUESTION: I wanted to go back to the terrorist attack. Can you provide any information and would this be also another one of the successes that you might cite about the interrogation in Cuba, or did you learn that the man had might have Al Qaeda connections? Is there anything that you can elaborate on the terrorist attack? RUMSFELD: Other than to say what I said, that interrogations are -- have produced information and indeed in this instance produce some of the evidence that led to the decision by the Department of Justice. HARRIS: And with that. General Myers and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wrap up today's briefing. Heard quite a bit of talk today about that incident around Zawar Kili, where a convoy was fired upon by a Predator unmanned drone plane that dropped a Hellfire missile on what turned out to be a group of friendly troops there, and not the Al Qaeda. We thought they were going in. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld explains some more about the targeting process, expressing confidence in those who were actually doing it. He explained exactly some of the suspicious movements they were making that may have indicated to those that were watching that they may have been Al Qaeda.

2019-04-25T02:40:49Z

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/12/se.04.html

Are you a social change activist with any of these problems or struggles? Is this Manual For You? These are some of the common difficulties faced by many of you who describe yourselves as social change activists. This manual is for you. This brief “how to do it” manual is offered to people who are dedicated to long-term social change and who are looking for ways to sustain themselves in that work. We can imagine support groups of the type described here being used in a variety of settings, but this manual is oriented towards activists. This is a “working” manual. If you are not already part of an activist support group, we hope you will use it to form one. If your group is underway we hope the manual will give you fresh ideas or help you prevent or solve problems that may arise. In future versions of this manual we would like to include stories of how support groups have worked for a variety of people. We would love to hear of your experiences. Email [email protected] with any stories or suggestions. CHAPTER 1: Why Support Groups? CHAPTER 4: What Makes Groups Work? CHAPTER ONE: WHY SUPPORT GROUPS? These are not easy times for people committed to fundamental change within our society and throughout the world – for those who want to help make the world just, safe, and peaceful. For many of us this work represents a life-long commitment. How do we sustain ourselves through the inevitable hard times? We are working against powerful and wealthy forces &dash how can we hold onto our faith and resolution? Where do we recharge and renew our commitment? Many people have managed to continue activist work without a structured support group. However, few people who devote their lives to such work do it without some regular source of reflection, challenge, and affirmation – necessary ingredients for sustained and effective efforts for change. Too often we are confronted with feelings of isolation – even from those with whom we work closely. Support groups are one way to give regular attention to each person’s social change work – to reflect on directions, goals, effectiveness, rough places and growing points, to challenge each other – taking into account all dimensions of our lives. One common myth about support is that it only means giving unquestioning affirmation. However, effective support is often in the form of loving challenge based on seeing a person and her life clearly and thinking carefully. This kind of thinking is more helpful than cheers or criticism. Most of us have to relearn how to give and receive support effectively since it is not taught to us. We like to imagine a time when giving and receiving this kind of loving attention to each other will be a natural part of our lives, something for which we do not need a special time and place. But for the moment, we have found that we do need to give regular and somewhat structured form to learning and practicing the caring art of support. What is an Activist Support Group? An activist support group is a small group of people who meet regularly to give and receive reflections on each other’s lives and work. For the purposes of this manual, we are discussing groups formed specifically to assist people to work more effectively for social change. We are convinced, however, that personal relationships, family life, jobs, and explicitly political work are all part of social change work. As we engage in social change work, personal growth, including the pain involved, is an important part of that work, and is intimately intertwined with it. As many have discovered, having an understanding of the larger picture expands the context in which personal growth takes place. Issues which you thought were your own personal craziness become another signpost on the road to social change. Sometimes people need help to deal with the issues from the personal growth end. At other times they need assistance with the “action” end of it. It is quite common for someone to ask for help dealing with the feelings about the actions needed. Sometimes they need help with actual skills. These are all parts of the process of social change and should be integrated. Our lives are already too fragmented. Therefore, support groups do not look at only one dimension of a person’s life, but give attention to the emotional, the political, the spiritual – and sometimes the material! Most support groups focus on one or more of three basic elements: emotional support, support for action, and educational support. The kind of emotional support involved here is not therapy although it may include some therapeutic methods of listening and drawing out feelings. The group may focus particularly on feelings and difficulties that get in the way of effective social change work, or feelings which arise as a natural part of such work, such as fear, anger, frustration, or joy. Emotional issues regarding personal relationships, family life, or jobs are dealt with as they affect a person’s social change work. Of course, personal lives have a strong impact on social change work and cannot and should not be separated from it. For the activist support group, however, the emphasis is on work for change. Ellen came to her support group with a problem she had experienced in her work with a local nuclear disarmament group. She felt that others in the group did not appreciate the skills and experience she was offering. Her support group was able to see that a similar pattern was going on in her family. Ellen had recently expressed ambivalence about a trip to see her borthers and sisters whom she had not seen for over a year. As the oldest of seven and with her parents dead, she had slipped into a role of “taking care” of her siblings without being asked – so she felt unappreciated in that arena also. The support group helped her figure out strategies for new behavior. After the support group meeting, she not only had a more relaxed trip home, but was able to participate more effectively in her political work. A support group can help a person clarify goals, set directions, and take action. It can also help solve problems on specific difficult situations. It can encourage people to look at longer range strategy questions. It can focus on areas of skill and leadership development for each individual. The group might also decide to undertake action projects together. Nancy had recently started working with a Central America action group. They were in the process of planning for a major direct action, including the possibility of large numbers of people commiting civil disobedience. The police in the city had a reputation for treating people very roughly. Nancy was concerned that the action group was not providing any training or preparation activities for people planning to take part in the civil disobedience. She had been a nonviolence trainer years before, but felt rusty and shaky about putting herself forward to initiate training workshops for the action. Her support group helped her identify other trainers with whom she could work. They also helped her devise a strategy for gaining approval in the action group for the training work. Some support groups encourage learning as a primary focus. The group might attend workshops or seminars together, read and discuss a book or books together, or ask members of the group to share special knowledge or expertise. Many people have come out of the educational ·system with little sense of personal power regarding learning. Support for gaining information and understanding of an increasingly complex and technically dominated world can be a crucial element of support group life. The members of the “Bridge” support group were all interested in anti-racism work. They started by each reading a novel or book by a person of another race, coming to support group meetings ready to share their new insights. Occasionally they all read the same book and discussed it. Once or twice they went to cultural events by black artists. Later, they began to think together about strategies for working on white racism and then took steps to put these strategies into action. What Is the Role of Support Group Members? These are skills involved in the loose and over-used term “support.” Over time, support group members learn how to balance appreciation and encouragement with clear and clean challenging. But 75% of the role is listening and encouraging a person to think for herself about her life – supporting the self-directed process of growth, learning, and change in which we are each engaged. How are Support Groups Different from Other Types of Groups? In the past fifteen years there has been a proliferation of groups for many purposes. For instance, women’s groups have proven useful for helping women understand how society is structured. and that they are not alone in feeling inadequate or angry. The success of small groups for other purposes has led us to see how they might be helpful to social change activists. But how are activist support groups different from consciousness raising groups, therapy groups, and affinity groups? Consciousness-raising groups assist a better understanding of elements of the world we live in – and how certain groups (for example, women and men) interact. While such groups develop a personal sense of social relationships and the dynamics of oppression, they are not necessarily organized to support the actions of individuals for social change. Most therapy groups are oriented towards individual change and usually deal with feelings as an individual matter, not as part of a social system that needs change. Some schools of therapy (notably feminist therapy) do promote an analysis of oppression as part of the therapeutic process. Affinity groups are most often formed among people who are planning nonviolent direct action (sometimes including civil disobedience). They are a way to organize subunits within a large action. They provide a structure for decision-making and a “home base” in which to deal with feelings of fear or other concerns that arise in a potentially alienating large group situation. While they certainly have an action and social change orientation, they are rarely structured to give regular, ongoing attention to each individual’s work and growth. In a support group, on the other hand, someone says, “This is my life, this is the change I am trying to effect, this is my personal struggle in that work – help me to think about those elements and how they all fit together.” A support group lasts at least for a few months, preferrably longer, allowing group members to get to know each other well and to watch the fascinating process of change. Accountability is another special element of a support group that is not always available elsewhere (especially for those of us who do social change work as volunteers). The support group is in a good position not only to encourage and challenge, but also to keep checking back on the goals people set in the group. The support group takes the goals and the individual seriously. Unlike most other settings, a support group can combine and connect our spiritual, psychological and political selves – in the combination or emphasis that is exactly right for the members of the group. So you want to start a group. What do you do? This chapter will take you through the steps, from deciding you want to start a group to a sample agenda for the first meeting. The first step in forming a support group is to decide who you want in it. This is an opportunity to build on old friendships or turn some acquaintances into allies. When looking for people you would like in your group, be sure that they share your political perspectives and activism; that you like them; and that you respect their thinking (especially their ability to think about you and the others in the group – see #4 below). Go after what you want. The best way to guarantee a support group you feel good about is to take initiative to form. it. On the other hand, don’t ask people to be in the group because you feel you “ought” to. Form a group with some element that holds it together – a common interest, common values, a common experience, a common political outlook, even a common oppression. Once the group gets going, this will become less important, but at first there needs to be some explicit bond among people. Choose people who are able to think clearly about each other – to be insightful about the struggles of each person. Over the long haul each person must be able to pull their weight as a thinker/listener, even though we all have periods of difficulty. One way to ensure this is to look for “peerness” – the sense of relative equality among you. Groups with very unequal skills or experience may not always work well. Look for people with the same basic goals, expectations, or needs for the group. Check these at the start and periodically throughout the group’s life. If goals and expectations get out of kilter, the group will not survive long. Abby: I’m glad you could have lunch with me, Sara. I wanted to talk with you about an idea I have. Sara: Great! I always enjoy your ideas. Abby: I’ve enjoyed working with Martinville Peace Action, but sometimes I feel lost. We always meet in in big groups, and we’re so busy organizing rallies and benefits that we rarely have time to discuss how we personally feel about this work. Sara: I know exactly what you mean. It’s busy, busy, busy all the time! I’ve worked with some of those people for years and still feel like I don’t know them, or they me. Abby: Sometimes I feel discouraged and confused about what directions the peace movement should go in – or where I could best put my time and energy. I feel I need a place to talk about more personal things with other activists. Do you know what I mean? Sara: Sort of. Tell me more. Abby: Well, I was thinking that a small group of us could meet regularly to help each other think about our political lives. Would you be interested in trying this kind of group? If the first person you ask is not interested, think of another person and ask her. Keep asking until there are two of you excited about forming a group. Then think together about a few other people to invite. Activist Support Groups have succeeded with as few as three or four people. Some groups are as large as ten to fifteen. We find that three to five people is best, because attention to each individual is so important. Group formation can be a tricky business because people often have difficult feelings about being chosen or left out of groups. Sometimes people feel hurt or angry when they hear that a group is forming, but they are not being invited to join. We have found that it pays to be honest and forthright from the start. Do not invite people out of guilt – you will only pay for it later. It will help to be clear with yourself why you are not choosing someone to be in your group. Often your reasons hold good information for the person – that you can find a constructive way to share if necessary. (See Appendix A on “Giving Feedback”). If you wish, you can help someone form their own group. Clarify the purpose of the activist support group. Share each person’s goals and expectations for the group. Agree to a process that will meet people’s needs. We suggest the following agenda outline for a first meeting. First meeting (About two to three hours for 4 to 5 people). Introductions – (About two minutes each). Share how you know each other, where you live and the work you do. Agenda Review – The person who planned the meeting should explain the plan, get agreement to it. Write the agenda on a large sheet of paper, so that everyone can see what’s planned and more easily give input to the process. Why an Activist Support Group (About 10 minutes each) – Each person says what she would like from the group. Have you been in a similar group before? What is hard for you lately in your activist life, that you might want to discuss with the group in future sessions? Brainstorm – (Five to ten minutes) – While one person writes on a big sheet of paper, other people say their fantasies or ideas or wishes for what the group might do together. Be a little wild – this is just to get ideas going, not to make a plan. You do not need to agree. [In brainstorming, the object is to generate as many ideas as possible in a stated period. To avoid the usual censoring or judging that interrupts creative thinking, the rule is that no one comments on ideas offered during the brainstorm. You can evaluate the ideas later]. Agreements – (Discuss for fifteen to thirty minutes). to meet (anything from once a week to once a month is common). for each session (One and a half to four hours is common. A potluck meal can be added). to meet. Some groups take turns hosting to share the burdens of transport and hosting. Others prefer to always meet in the same place, if it’s more convenient. in group meetings. How many people will get individual time in each meeting and for how long? (See Chapter Three for different format ideas). Set a trial period after which the group can evaluate and people can leave gracefully if they choose to. For example, the group might decide to meet every other Wednesday from 7-10pm, for five meetings, and then have an evaluation session. One person (or more) may realize in this first discussion that this group is not right for them, for any one of a number of reasons. For instance, Monica wanted a study group, not a place to share feelings. Or Jorge wanted to meet weekly and everyone else wanted to meet monthly. Or there is someone in the group who annoys Jan terribly. Every person should feel free to say no. It is important to start out with a sense of excitement and common goals. As people agree to a trial period, ask them to make a commitment to stick with it, and to take responsibility for speaking up for their own needs. Choose a place, time, and someone to plan and facilitate the next meeting. (See Chapter Three for description of facilitation and other roles in groups). Exchange names and phone numbers. : (About ten minutes – leave ample time) How did this session go for people? What did people enjoy? What could be better for next time? Now your Activist Support Group is launched! (About ten minutes) Each person tells a highlight of the weeks since the last meeting, and/or something about her day and how she is feeling now. The person who planned the meeting has done some thinking ahead of time about issues for the group to address. She presents a suggested agenda to the group, asks for additions or changes, incorporates them into the agenda, and gets agreement from the group to proceed. Each person takes about ten minutes to talk about significant events in her life as an activist, including her family background, when she first began to be aware of and to care about political issues, when she felt effective, and a few key successes and failures in her activist work. Working with the list generated at the first meeting about what the group might do together, the group chooses a focus or a format for the next several meetings. (See the “Meeting Format Smorgasbord” in Chapter Three). For example, the group might decide to focus on learning about the global climate disruption for the next several meetings, to spend half an hour each time sharing information from reading or other sources, and then to give each person time to deal with feelings about the situation. Or, the group might choose to divide the time equally among members for the next few meetings, in order to help each person set goals for their political work for the next six months. Choose a time, place, and facilitator. What was most useful about the meeting? Least useful? What would they change and how? Do some activity to reaffirm the sense of connection in the group, such as sing a song or take a few minutes of silence. We have already discussed the purpose of support groups and given some notions about how to get them started. This chapter will offer some ideas about the structure and content of support group meetings. Most support groups we know of include several basic ingredients in their meetings: time for group business (time and place of next meeting, facilitators, evaluation, etc.); time focused on individuals in the group; and time for group discussion of an issue or topic. Throughout the rest of this chapter we will refer to “individual time” or “focus time.” Both of these terms refer to time set aside in the meeting to give attention to the life and work of one group member. We’ ve all heard that “what you get out is what you put in.” We find that the focused time and attention available through support groups is rare and precious. It is most effective if careful thought is given to how to use the time well. In preparing for a support group meeting, think about what issue or problem will fit the time you can expect at the next support group meeting. Choose an area of your life and work that is of real concern to you at the moment. In our experience, if you can focus on a specific question, rather than a broad or vague topic, the time will be more satisfying. For instance, you might choose to focus on how you exercise leadership in a particular direct action campaign, rather than on your broader leadership questions. If the support group feels there are broader questions that should be addressed, they will bring them up! Think for at least a few minutes about how to present the issue – so that precious time is not wasted figuring out what to say. If you have a lot of information to present, write it up ahead of time and provide copies, or write it on large sheets of paper with felt tip pens. At one meeting of a support group Anne asked the group to help her devise a strategy for getting a satisfying job with political content. She presented her long term goals for political work and the specific aspects of a job that she wished for. The group gave her feedback on her strengths and growth areas and helped her set realistic goals for a job. Nancy was dealing with a difficult situation at her job. Cindy asked the group to think with her about her tendency to isolate herself in groups where she is taking visible leadership. The group listened to her describe what happens, then helped identify the feelings and behavior that were consistently gettihg in the way. Finally, they worked with her to figure out a new approach and how she could get support for trying it. Peter used the group to help him work out a strategy for building a coalition among groups working on South Africa and on Central America. He shared some of his fears about reaching out to new people who are different from him. The group made suggestions for first steps and made a commitment to check back with Peter at later meetings to see how the work was coming. Individual or focus time in a support group is at the crossroads of the personal and the activist realms. We have suggested throughout this manual that support groups are devoted to each person’s struggle to be effective in their activism. In this context, personal issues are particularly important as they further activist work. 1. Solve problems that arise in activist work. 2. Set long-term goals as a social change agent. 3. Identify personal difficulties that get in the way of the most effective work possible. What would it take for you to act powerfully all the time? 4. Assess skills and knowledge and set learning goals. 5. Evaluate your leadership abilities – strengths and weaknesses. Set goals for leadership development. 6. Explore issues that are key problems for many people, such as money, families, particular oppressions (as experienced by women, people of color, gays, working class people, etc.). Outlined below are several different formats for Support Group meetings. They are quite varied in their flavor, timing, and style. Pick and choose among them, invent your own, take elements of several and try a new format. It’s your group! Using this format, a group gets together and quickly checks on how each person is feeling to help people bring their attention to the group and away from other things. They then divide the remainder of the time for the meeting equally among the group members. In this format almost all of the “focus” time of each meeting is devoted to one individual. This allows the group to look at a variety of factors in that person’s life and explore issues deeply. Each of the other group members do a brief update with particular attention to any agreements, homework, or commitments made at previous meetings. This group uses no pre-set agenda or time strucure, but responds to the need of the group members at the time they meet. They start with a quick check on how people are doing and what their concerns or needs are from the group. They then work together to build an agenda that will get most of the needs met. [Note: while this format may work for some groups, there is a danger that those who are more articulate about their needs or who have deeper “problems” will get more of the group’s attention. If you use this format, be aware of the balance of who gets time]. Another common format for support groups is to choose a topic of common interest to all group members – an issue that each confronts in her work – and devote the meeting to a discussion of it. The group usually provides time for each person to reflect on her own personal experience and/or visions (models) on the subject. Common topics: leadership, class dynamics, sexism, other oppressions, strategy in social change efforts. Did you ever have a group of friends with whom you studied, in high school or college? Perhaps you helped each other understand concepts and discussed exciting new ideas. Some support groups are formed around learning together. They often start with one topic for several months (U.S. policy in Central America, for instance) – and then shift to other topics of interest or move on to action. In a variation, at the end of each meeting the group chooses a topic for the next meeting, asking each member to read something on the topic to share. We have heard of a group which uses a variation of “Shorts and Longs” above. The group formed around a common work interest. They spend time in each meeting to do a “clinic” on one or two specific problems that group members have encountered. One person lays out the problem and the others offer suggestions, first brainstorming alternative ways to handle the problem, then discussing them. If appropriate, the group might then do roleplays to tryout some of the suggestions. For example, a support group of trainers focused on the considerations when training people of a different race, ethnic, or class background from the trainer. First the group brainstormed all the possible “wrong moves,” and then went on to generate appropriate strategies and attitudes. Finally, they did a series of roleplays with members of the group taking on the roles of trainer and training group participants. We have heard of support groups with as many as fifteen people (although most successful groups we know of have four to eight). Since some attention to individuals is a crucial element of the support group, most of the larger groups spend at least part of their meeting time in smaller groups of three to five (or even in pairs). d) the group gets back together, divides the time equally and goes as deep as time allows on each person’s issue. We know of a group that gets together every three months and takes two days to worship together, meditate, search for guidance, and take time to look at each group member’s journey as a spiritual and political person. The members of the group live at some distance from each other, but all have similar jobs within religious institutions – they find a lot of common themes to discuss. CHAPTER FOUR: WHAT MAKES GROUPS WORK? Groups need clear goal and structure, an atmosphere of trust, and good facilitation in order to be effective. These issues are referred to as “group process.” This chapter outlines some key elements of group process, and includes a section on how to deal with some common difficulties in groups. * How frequently and for how long your group meets. * How to deal with lateness. * Whether and when to add members. * What the content of meetings will be. * How decisions will be made. Some of these issues need to be addressed in the first meeting (see The First Meeting in Chapter Two). Others can wait until later. Take time to discuss differences and reach clear agreements about these issues; you will learn more about one another’s wishes, needs and boundaries. This process also helps you clarify what to expect of one another and learn to negotiate. Take time in your group to choose which method or methods you want to use. Trust grows in a group as people get to know one another more deeply, learn to deal with differences and resolve conflicts, and respect decisions that the group has made. In early meetings, leave time for people to tell their stories in some kind of structured way (for example, each person takes ten minutes to tell her history as an activist, or to talk about what makes her afraid, or a time when she felt powerful). In every meeting it helps to take time at the beginning to “check in,” to say something about how each person is feeling that day. Trust may be eroded unless group members feel assured that personal things they say will not be repeated outside the group. Such an agreement to “confidentiality” is important to establish early in the life of the group. Differences may develop into conflicts unless they are stated and addressed. It helps to develop an expectation in the group that feedback will be given with respect, and in a balanced way (see Appendix A, “Giving and Receiving Feedback”). Say what you think and feel about the issues being discussed. Avoid generalizations and jargon. Be specific and use examples. Build in a moment of silence after each person speaks. This can cut down on interruptions and allow people to take in fully what each person says. It helps people to really listen rather than compete for time to talk, prepare what they will say, or look for openings. People have different ways of expressing their thoughts and feelings. Respect each person’s style. For instance, some people require time to think before speaking. In a group where other people operate at a fast pace, a more deliberate person would begin to feel lost and unheard. No one receives enough appreciation, especially in political work. Almost everyone suffers from feeling that she is not doing enough. Be sure each person receives specific, verbal, appreciation for whatever she is doing. Each person may also need a challenge to take the next step or try something new. Talking about current difficulties may bring up old feelings about family, work, and past successes and failures, including feelings which seem unrelated to the current situation. The group may take time to talk about these feelings, or help members decide how those feelings can get dealt with outside the group. We help each other become more effective activists by dealing with feelings, both past and present. When you think that a discussion is going off on a tangent, say so, and remind others of the topic you were discussing. If you have agreed about how much time your group will spend on various agenda items, each group member can take some responsibility for paying attention to time, and not leaving it solely to the facilitator to keep things moving. We have found that a group functions well when someone is thinking systematically about what the members of the groups need, what is happening in the group (interactions among members), and what steps need to be taken to move things along. This role can be shared by everyone in the group, but it is also useful to designate particular roles for specific meetings. If you rotate the roles among all group members, each person gets practice taking responsibility for the group’s life and health. Some of the roles that can be played by group members are described below. Not all of them are necessary at all meetings, but if the group is having difficulties, they may become more crucial. The facilitator plans the agenda, either before the meeting or with the group at the beginning of the meeting; pays attention to each group member during the meeting, noting when people are withdrawn, or disruptive, or inattentive; keeps the meeting moving; and plans a closing. Since this is a lot for one person to do, the group may want to designate a “vibes watcher,” and a timekeeper. The group may also wish to have a note taker for parts of the meeting. Most people can develop the skills needed to facilitate a meeting. Each group will need to decide whether facilitation will be rotated, done by the same person each time, or whether the group will function without a designated facilitator. If someone is new to facilitation, or weak in certain skills, have her co-facilitate with someone who has more experience or complementary skills. The job of the vibes watcher is to notice what is going on; decide whether to bring it to the group’s attention; describe to the group what is happening; ask what they want to do about it; or give attention to specific people. When Chris was vibes watcher, he noticed that Joan, who was facilitating the meeting, had gotten engrossed in a discussion with Mary, and was losing her focus on the whole group. The other two members of the group looked sleepy and restless. After Chris mentioned it, the group decided to go on with the discussion, but suggested that Joan ask someone else to facilitate for that part of the meeting. The timekeeper lets the group know when the time allowed for a topic is nearly over, and when the alloted time has been used up. The group can then decide to move on to the next topic, or it may choose to stay longer with the first topic. Groups may get off to a good start and then fall apart. Difficulties often arise in these areas: goals, boundaries, differences not dealt with, individual styles, and interpersonal conflicts or sub-groups. The group may flounder without a purpose or diverge from its stated purposes. It may no longer be meeting the needs of the participants. The best remedy is to take time to clarify the purpose of the group at the beginning, and any time later on when it becomes fuzzy. It may be helpful to plan to do this at regular intervals, such as every six months. People may want to leave the group, or join the group once it is underway. Some members may be erratic in their attendance. When someone wants to leave, or does leave, take the time to deal with it, leave time for goodbyes, and talk about the person’s contributions to the group. A member’s departure is a loss to the group, and may bring up feelings. When considering the addition of new members to the group, think about such things as the optimum size of your group and what qualities a new person could bring to the group that might balance those of people in the group. Surface and deal with any reservations people have. Come to consensus as a group so that you can truly welcome a new person. Erratic attendance may be a sign of low commitment to the group. Your group may want to have as one of its shared agreements an understanding about attendance, how many meetings a member may miss, and whether someone will phone absent members. One person may talk too much or ramble. Another person may have difficulty expressing feelings, and always say “everything is fine.” Someone else may be seriously depressed. If any of these behaviors bothers you, talk about it in the group, with care and respect. In early meetings of his support group, Jeremy noticed that Larry joked every time someone in the group expressed strong feelings, and invariably drew the attention of the group to himself. Jeremy became increasingly annoyed with Larry and decided to bring it up in the group. When he did, he found that others were also irritated, and that they were also concerned about Larry. Larry disclosed that he had recently learned that his father needed surgery, and that his worries kept him from listening to others in the group. Jeremy encouraged him to take time in the group to talk about his situation. Larry’s behavior changed! Sub-groups may emerge when two or more members have an intense personal relationship (they may be lovers or ex-lovers, or have a long history), when several members of a group share other activities or friends, or have something else in common. In one group of three, two of the women were lesbians and the third was married and heterosexual. She felt uncomfortable talking about her relationship with her husband, thinking that the lesbians wouldn’t be interested or sympathetic. When she was able to discuss this with the others, it enabled the three women to talk about their differences and their liking and appreciation for one another. When interpersonal conflicts arise in your group, acknowledge them. If you cannot resolve them, you may want to invite someone from outside your group to facilitate one or two meetings to help the group deal with the conflict (see Appendix B, “Resource Manual”). Food is a wonderful community builder. Many support groups include meals in the meeting times, as potlucks, or prepared by a few members. Birthdays or the anniversary of the group itself are great opportunities for taking time out for more frivolous activities. Have fun! The hardworking members of your support group are committed to difficult long term struggles for social change. Use the group to acknowledge how you are each making a difference. Be specific. If some special event takes place (a campaign has a success, someone gets that perfect job) have a celebration. In general, we need ongoing ways to affirm the real steps forward we make, even if the journey is a very long one. Even the best of support groups may come to a point of ending. Group members may encounter changes in their lives. People move away. The group may also serve well for a time and then become less relevant to its members. Or the group may decide to disband because of internal conflicts that cannot be resolved. No matter what the cause for a group’s ending, there is a lot to be gained from a careful evaluation. Schedule a special meeting to wrap up. It can include time for people to reflect on what they have learned from the group, and to share some of the ways the group has been helpful to them. Look also at ways the group did not function well and why, in order to carry learning rather than bad feelings into other groups and situations. Take time to appreciate each other. This manual was written by people involved in the Interhelp Network and in Movement for a New Society (see Appendix C for brief descriptions of both). Both of these groups have been using support groups as a basic organizing structure. This manual is also a revision of an earlier work called “Starting a Nuclear Support Group,” compiled in January 1984 for Newton Action for Nuclear Disarmament by Sarah Conn, Tova Green, Nancy Moorehead, and Anne Slepian. That original manual received enthusiastic response from activists in the United States, Canada amd the United Kingdom, prompting the authors to work on a more thorough version. Meanwhile, Movement for a New Society had been experimenting with models for activist support groups. Peter Woodrow joined the other authors to add reflections on experience in MNS. We appreciate the many suggestions and experiences of our colleagues in the Interhelp Network and in Movement for a New Society. Some of those who gave us specific feedback and suggestions are: Matt Becker, Carol Bragg, Shepherd Bliss, Barbara Cohen, Pamela Haines, Joe Havens, Mona Nelson, Fran Peavey, Carol Pertofsky, Sarah Pirtle, Betsy Raasch-Gilman, and Mary Watkins. In writing this manual, we used a support group model. We scheduled meetings with clear agendas, and always began with a “check-in.” When interpersonal conflicts arose, we dealt with them. We respected our differences in time available for this project, and our differences in writing styles. Peter worked better alone. Tova was able to write more easily when she scheduled time with Anne to write in the same room. We have finished the project appreciating each other for the work we have done. Most differences between people in a group can be resolved if they are dealt with openly, rather than avoided. This short appendix describes the skills involved in giving feedback clearly and constructively. Be specific and direct. Report exact behavior rather than general impressions. The above example also illustrates that it helps to include what you observed, how you felt about it, and what you would like the other person to do differently. Express caring. Affirm that you are giving feedback because you care about the other person, want to work with them more effectively and improve the relationship. Be immediate. Give feedback as soon after something happens as possible. Later it is harder to recall and does not have the same impact. Deal with one issue at a time. Even if there are many things you want this person to change, people get overwhelmed and defensive if you give them a big list of problems. Avoid pulling out all of the times in the past that the person did a particular irksome thing, or all of the other ways that they have annoyed you in the past. After giving your feedback, be prepared to empathize with the feelings of the other person, even if she states those feelings in an angry or defensive manner. Often people misunderstand even well-expressed feedback. Ask her to try to repeat back to you what she heard you say. You may have to go through several rounds of listening and restating before you understand each other. Concentrate on listening. You do not have to respond. Repeat the gist of what was said out loud and ask for clarification. If you choose to respond, do it in a non-defensive way. This can include what you feel, why you feel it, and what you want from the person giving you feedback (as in #2 and #3 above under “Giving Feedback”). Empathize with the concerns the person expressed. Even if you don’t agree with some of what the person is telling you, see if there are “grains of truth” you can agree with. Try to work out some action steps together, things both parties can do to change or support the other’s changes. Being scanned in and edited. Coming soon. and the Movement for a New Society Wikipedia page. Sarah A. Conn is a clinical psychologist, a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Psychological Association, a committed activist, and most importantly, wife, mother, sister and friend. United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia. She has been part of an Interhelp support group for four years. facilitator, and trainer. Nancy has served on the Interhelp National Council for two years and has been involved with Interhelp for four years. Anne Slepian loves to sing and dance. She performs with Libana, a women’s ensemble exploring traditional women’s music and dance from many cultures. She also helps organize tenants’ councils with the Massachusetts Union of Housing Tenants. Her choices have been guided over the years by several excellent MNS activist support groups. She was involved with Interhelp in its early days. Peter Woodrow is a nonviolent social change activist and a member of Movement for a New Society. He works on conflict resolution and nonviolent direct action campaigns as an organizer and trainer. He also works with private voluntary organizations on international relief and development programs, with particular experience in Southeast Asia.

2019-04-24T11:09:27Z

https://interhelpnetwork.org/keeping-us-going-a-manual-on-support-groups-for-social-change-activists/

Logical argumentation is to metaphysics and philosophy what mathematical theorems are to theoretical physics and cosmology. For instance, in the field of quantum mechanics, we have very little hard “evidence” for what we believe to be true, and we may never have observable evidence, yet we do have theorems that prove it to be true, and the science works because of the theorems. Somewhat similarly, we cannot see the invisible world yet we have logically deductive reasoning to demonstrate the need for its existence. So, to dismiss logical evidence for “God” because we have no physical evidence is tantamount to dismissing the very methodological process we use for a lot of our scientific advancement. Furthermore, as classical theists have argued, we must have a coherent ontology before we can develop a coherent theology. So, while this subject is a bit technical, it’s important for theists, if not just to understand that we do have a solid logical foundation for what we believe. This very simplistic attempt to explain the classical theist argument from motion is based on deductive reasoning. And unlike other forms of reasoning, deductive reasoning contains a series of premises which reach a logically certain conclusion. If the premises are valid, the conclusion must necessarily be true. In part one, we looked at Thomas Aquinas’s argument from motion. Here are the summary statements. You can read the explanation of each in part one. It is evident to experience that some things are in motion (actualization of a potential). Nothing can be reduced from potentiality to actuality except by something in a state of actuality; whatever is in motion must be put into motion by another (causation). An essentially ordered series of movers (in the here and now) cannot regress infinitely. Therefore, there must be an unmoved mover (First Cause/Prime Mover). “Motion” in this argument does not refer to change in spatial location or change in time; it means change in potency to actualization in any member of a causal chain in the here and now. Remember our guitar music analogy (part one). The music is made up of fluctuating sound waves, which are “actualized” by the vibrations of the strings of the guitar, which is actualized by the musician plucking the strings. If any part of this causal chain is inhibited, the music ceases to exist. And if the thing that put something into motion is not itself in motion, we have arrived at the unmoved mover (First Cause, Prime Mover). Because the Prime Mover is the most fundamental source it cannot have any unactualized potentials. Because it must be purely actual, it must be immutable or unchangeable. Because matter exists in space and time, the Pure Act must be eternal (outside of time) and not made of matter (outside of space). One, not many: the singular, ultimate source of all motion (simplicity). “Because God [Prime Mover] cannot be dependent on other things which would include things that would be ingredient to its nature if he were composite. It would create a principle of unity, which would be a higher ontological principle than the God, because whatever allows for the disparate unity between disparate things is itself a more encompassing reality” (from Hart video interview here). We see constant states of change (from potential to actual) in nature which is an undeniable aspect of our everyday experience. There must be a Prime Mover. This is a logical certainty. We cannot have a causal series that creates an infinite regress. This is because nothing can be reduced from “potentiality” (what something can be) to “actuality” (what something is in reality) except by something already in a state of actuality. Otherwise, we would create a situation where everything in the causal chain would cease to exist. Next time we will look closer at the Argument from Being and Essence. This entry was posted in Christian apologetics and tagged Argument for God, Christianity, classical theism, Religion and Spirituality, Thomistic philosophy. Bookmark the permalink. No. Science works because it *is* true, everywhere and every time. A theorem simply describes this truth. It is secondary to the material truth. As to the crux of the post: You seem quite determined to say philosophy proves the existence of a god. If this were true then one would EXPECT the majority of philosophers to be theists, in one shape, form, or another. The overwhelming majority of philosophers are atheists (72.8%). Your claim of it being “irrefutable” is simply fallacious. Indeed, the fact that nearly 73% of people who actually study this stuff as a matter of professional expertise REJECT IT demonstrates just how weak the logic is. And you should read the context. You are talking about the world of empirical science where something can be observed and tested. But, if you noticed, I was talking about theoretical physics and cosmology, not science in general. These work in theories that are proven by mathematical theorems, not empirically proven evidence. Not necessarily true at all. Scientists and navigators followed Ptolemy’s geocentric system for 1,300 years and they were all wrong. It depends on a lot of other things besides the strength of the argument. Most philosophers do not study religious philosophy or classical philosophy. A classical example of this ignorance is Bertrand Russell who totally missed the point of Thomistic philosophy. There’s also many other factors that have nothing to do with the strength of the argument that I don’t want to go into here. But you can demonstrate the weakness of the argument itself if you wish, but saying a majority believes something is not a legitimate refutation. History has shown the majority to be wrong about most things. These work in theories that are proven by mathematical theorems, not empirically proven evidence. Again, not exactly true. All theoretical work is based on something first, such as the nature of black holes, which themselves were first predicted by general relativity (1915), which itself was only proven correct by Eddington in 1923. In this example, it was theorised that there would be the radiation leaking out of these gravity wells. This was proven true. It’s now called Hawking Radiation. The word games you’re presenting here start with imagination and never leave it. They rest on presuppositions. It depends on a lot of other things besides the strength of the argument. Your post is stating the argument is so strong it’s irrefutable. And I repeat, if this were the case then the majority of people who actually study this stuff in a professional capacity would, quite naturally, be theists. I said that it’s a logically deductive argument. If the premises are true, then the conclusion necessarily follows. You can refute it instead of going on and on about what everybody else thinks. *If* the premises are true. Well, off you go, move those enormous presuppositions from the “Presupposition File” into the “Factually Demonstrable File”. You can prove the premises wrong instead of making unsubstantiated dismissals. You want me to prove YOUR presuppositions wrong? The argument is the burden of proof. The only thing you can do is argue against the premises. The argument is the burden of proof. A word game that rests on Special Pleading and outlandish presuppositions is “proof”? My apologies, but I must have missed the part where you proved the universe *is* artificial, and the part where you proved the universe *isn’t* aseitic. 14.6%. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of an arguments strength, is it? So what. What was the percentage of scientists who believed in Ptolemaic Geocentricism for 1,300 years? Not exactly a ringing endorsement for proving something by majority opinion. People have been playing with your presented word games for, as you have pointed out, for over 2,500 years. No discovery has made them more logically reasonable. In fact, the movement has been in the opposite direction. Word games? Whatever… Let me know when you have something relevant to say. Let me know when you have something relevant to say. Good grief. Deductive reasoning has led me to conclude that 73% of atheists are paranoid, bombastic, incapable of logic, and have an inflated sense of self. Just saying. Feel free to prove me wrong at any time. I liked this. “Constant states of change” sounds a bit like an oxymoron. More Eastern philosophies and religions would call this “impermanence.” Something I am always amazed by, our very bodies are in a constant state of change, every cell being replaced continuously. About every 7 yrs or so,we are a completely new creature, in a literal sense. The moment blood flow stops in some part of the body, death follows, cells are unable to regenerate. We are in a constant state of change, set in perpetual motion, like a river, and the moment you take away that mysterious Prime Mover, decay begins. LOL! I would never base anything I believe on what the majority believes! And great comments, IB. Thanks for actually getting it. The premises of this argument are based on what we actually can observe everywhere we look. We’re just taking it to its logical conclusion. If the logic is “irrefutable,” as Mel claims it is, then perhaps you can give me a rational explanation as to why 73% of people who look at this stuff as a matter of professional expertise fail to see the irrefutable logic of it? Sheesh Zande, you sure put a lot of faith in “statistics” and people’s “alleged professional expertise.” I can’t think of two less reliable things to depend on when it comes to discerning the truth. There are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” And second, professional expertise is often available for 3 easy payments of 19.95. Also, the subject of this post is classical theology. It is based on the deductive reasoning of rational people who had professional expertise in this area. At least 73% of us agree with it. So you are violating your own rules with your disagreement and your argument is incoherent. IB, incoherence and irrelevance has never stopped Zande before. And when you can’t argue with the logic, you quote statistics. And I would venture to guess that almost 100% of those 73% are also committed materialists. Their position is not based on the strength of the argument but on the strength of their prior commitment to a dogma. It’s also not politically correct in the academic world to be a theist or believe in anything that goes back 2,300 years. Their position is not based on the strength of the argument but on the strength of their prior commitment to a dogma. It’s also not politically correct in the academic world to be a theist or believe in anything that goes back 2,300 years. Yes Mel, I’m sure you’re right… It’s all one enormous “academic” conspiracy. I’m glad, though, that you mentioned the 2,300/2,500 years. It’s important as it frames this position of yours rather well. Imagine, if you will, a bright young chap proposing an intriguing hypothesis for something. It doesn’t really matter what. What’s important is that it was a hypothesis that, at least on paper, sounded quite compelling. So, an Abstract was written, and following the Abstract some justifications for the probable truth of the Abstract were published… and with that, efforts to prove this hypothesis began in earnest. Now imagine 2,500 years elapsing since the proposal was first suggested, and in those 2,500 years absolutely NOTHING was discovered to even remotely suggest the hypothesis was, in fact, true. This is not to say the hypothesis had lain dormant. It hadn’t. Generation after generation of bright people embraced the hypothesis and dedicated their entire lives to proving it true. However, despite every effort, after 2,500 years the only progress that could be shown was that from time to time someone had reviewed the Abstract and had changed the odd word or two here and there. 100 generations of ardent work, and the needle had not been moved a single millimetre. Given this, why after 2,500 years of complete failure should anyone still suspect the hypothesis held merit? Then I am sure you can easily disprove the logic of the argument. It starts with a presupposition. Or did I miss the part where you proved the universe *is* artificial, and the part where you proved the universe *isn’t* aseitic? Presupposition? You mean like God doesn’t exist? As per the usual, you are not addressing the points of the argument. Let me know when you have something relevant to say. Ah, so you have nothing but an enormous presupposition and 2,500 years of utter failure in trying to demonstrate it as even vaguely plausible. So, right back at you: Do please let me know when you have something relevant to say. It’s a logical argument, John Z. 2 +2 was 4 2,300 years ago, it still is. You can always refute the argument if you want. And utter failure? Right. So then, why is about 73% of the world population theists? And Pew Research said that number will go up by 2050. Shall we call that the atheist’s utter failure then? You see, I can make irrelevant and fallacious comebacks, too. Yes, utter failure. Or can you demonstrate that the universe is artificial? So, are you going to address the actual question put to you? Unbelievable that you make this comparison, the invisible world in science uses more than deductive reasoning, it will only accept some measurable evidence that something exists. Scientists are not in the habit of claiming something exists without having some way of providing scientifically accepted reactions and processes as evidence from what is appears as an invisible entity. First, I said it was “somewhat” similar. But there is a lot in advanced science that we have absolutely no empirical proof for. For instance, what is the multiverse hypothesis based on? Evidence? No, it’s based on math (and it’s not even based in deductive reasoning). We have no real idea if multiverses actually exist, but some cosmologists and theoretical physicists talk like they do exist. Second, your comparison is invalid. I wasn’t comparing science to science. I was comparing theoretical science to philosophical argumentation. Science can only deal with material phenomenon, it cannot not even address ontology or metaphysics for methodological reasons. So, “accepting measurable evidence” or “providing scientifically accepted reactions and processes” is not a valid comparison. It’s a category mistake. If you are making logical deductions about a non-material reality, you won’t ever be testing for it in a science lab. Third, logic is logic, and it’s a valid form of “evidence.” For instance, we know 2 + 2 = 4, even though it’s an abstraction by itself. But this same abstraction can help us develop theories and arguments that cannot be proven by natural science. We have no real idea if multiverses actually exist, but some cosmologists and theoretical physicists talk like they do exist. We have no real idea if a supernatural god/creator actually exists, but some theologians and philosophy talk like it does exist. Well, unlike with multiverses, we can logically deduce that God does exist, even though we can’t see Him or prove Him with natural science. Logically deduce??? C’mon Mel. There may be no actual evidence for multiverses … but neither is there actual evidence for a god. If you’re going to “logically deduce” one, then there’s no valid reason for a person not to do the same with the other. No matter how many posts you write and how much “evidence” you throw out to support your belief in a god, there will always be those who dispute it. Logically deduce??? C’mon Mel. There may be no actual evidence for multiverses … but neither is there actual evidence for a god. That has nothing whatsoever to do with logical deduction. While we cannot see an immaterial “God,” we can see changes or things in motion in our everyday experience, as described in this post. It’s simply a matter of logical deduction to conclude that there must be a “prime mover.” You cannot say the same with the multiverse hypothesis. That was my point. And “actual evidence?” You seem to be implying scientific or physical evidence. But logical evidence is just as valid, especially when we’re talking about something that natural science cannot prove either way. Of course, I totally agree. People will believe what they want to believe in the end. Believing or not believing in God, ultimately, has little to do with logic or evidence. Evidence and logic can only provide a framework for making a faith-based decision either way. Whether a person believes, or decides not to believe, is a heart issue. Again, science will never prove it either way. No. It’s not a matter of logical deduction. It’s a matter of faith. And no, I don’t have “faith” in science, so you can take that off the table. Although I admit that what science has presented about this world and the universe make more sense to me, this doesn’t mean it’s the end-all, be-all answer to life. No. It’s not a matter of logical deduction. It’s a matter of faith. Care to explain to me how this argument from motion is a matter of faith and not a logical deduction? OK, so now you’re pushing philosophical perspectives. This is not a discussion I choose to undertake as I fully admit my knowledge in such is limited. My beef was strictly related to your use of words (this is my specialty. 😉) when you claim logical deduction to support your position but deny it in other cases. I am claiming logical deduction here, Nan. Not with every position I take. Your beef is incoherent to me. Philosophy aside, either something is logical or it isn’t. You don’t need to be a mathematician in order to use math everyday of your normal life. It just seems silly to me to not have a reason for “being” (ontology). That’s why it’s important. Everything else we believe about our existence rests on its foundation. either something is logical or it isn’t. … which means it’s either based on known statements, events or conditions … or it’s not. Let’s let it go at that, OK? 🙂 Have a good weekend. Sure, we can let it go. I have no problem with that. But you haven’t told me how this argument is faith-based and not logically deductive. The premises are based on everyday conditions we know to be true in our common experience. Mel, I feel I made myself clear related to faith and logic. It you are unable to see the connection, there is obviously no point in continuing. Which is why I “signed off.” in my last comment. I’m not one to hash and rehash just to try and prove a point. We simply see things through different lenses. No, you haven’t made yourself clear at all. You have not told me how this argument is faith-based. But you are free to believe whatever you want. We’ll let it go. Talk to you later. No wonder she wants to “let it go”. She’s got no clue how logic works. Exactly, which is probably why she thinks she made herself clear. But Nan’s not alone in this. It seems to be the normal M.O. of atheists who come here. Like in this instance, they don’t actually refute the argument at hand but engage in red herring fallacies, referring instead to some other point made in a different post that they feel more confident in addressing. Then they conflate the two…and voila! So, then they make incoherent statements thinking they are making a logical refutation. I see this a lot. The statement “let it go” is equivalent to “agree to disagree”. It’s what people say when they’ve got nothing of substance to offer. You can’t “disagree” with someone who hasn’t made an argument. Atheists want to “let it go” as if they’ve made some profound, irrefutable thesis that we’re just too stupid to understand. Nan’s description of “logical” is profoundly ignorant. What’s worse is that she’ll assume my assessment of her comments is a personal attack on her which justifies dismissing me as hateful. Mel, if you have something to say about my participation on your blog, I would prefer that you do it directly rather than discuss it in your comments with others. I do not care — nor am I qualified — to discuss “theological” matters with you. My point was strictly confined to your use of the term “logically deduce.” I thought I made that clear. Further, I am not an “atheist” and would request not to be referenced as same. My personal viewpoint on life is just that … my personal viewpoint. I was answering John B.s comments and making an observation in general that seems to be common with this thread. But, again, you have neither refuted any point of the argument nor have you explained how this argument is not logically deductive. As you said, that was your assertion. So, if you’re going to make these kinds of statements you need to be able to defend them. Otherwise, don’t make them. So, again, your point was not clear. From time to time I check up on our atheist (or whatever they are) friends on their various blogs. You will not be surprised to learn that you are their favorite topic of conversation. You might have also noticed that the frequency of their comments has diminished of late. From what I surmise, I may be negatively impacting their participation in the comment section here. They’ve banished me from their blogs and it annoys them that I continue to speak freely here. You are much more polite than I am. My unpleasant demeanor rankles the ATHEISTS (or whatever they are). I do not mean to be contentious and I apologize if anything I’ve said is “out of bounds” from your perspective. I’m glad I can give their blogs meaning and purpose. My unpleasant demeanor rankles the ATHEISTS (or whatever they are). Well, some who have come here have not only been unpleasant but combative, obstinate, making their snide comments, and it doesn’t rankle me at all. As I told them when they complain, I can see why some believers that have a history with them are curt with them. I try to stay civil and argue the points, but some of these “atheists”(identity unknown) have called me a liar, dishonest, disingenuous, etc. They have no problem with their personal attacks but think I’m attacking them when I point out their incoherent position. Nan, if you have something to say about my participation on Mel’s blog, I would prefer that you do it directly rather than discuss it in your comments with others. Further, if you are not an “atheist” and would request not to be referenced as same. Please indicate your preferred title and I’ll reference you as same. Finally, it’s dumb to throw your opinions into the comment section and then say, “My personal viewpoint on life is just that … my personal viewpoint.” You made your personal viewpoint public when you commented. Prediction: This question will go unanswered. Atheism and humanism hates logic because it only shows how untenable naturalism is as a worldview. Kind of fascinating to me, long before science understood germ theory, Jewish laws around cleanliness inadvertently embraced what has taken science so long to understand. We didn’t have microscopes to see the invisible world or the dangers of mishandling blood or anyway of understanding why something was considered unclean. For centuries many had to operate on faith alone and it actually made Jewish doctors more popular on account of the fact that they killed far less patients. I was just pondering the idea of refusing to wash my hands because I’ve yet to see any scientific evidence of these so called invisible germs y’all are talking about. Tragically that is exactly what people did for centuries and disease spread rapidly. Ironically, Jesus being born in a stable may well have been the safest way to ensure His survival as an infant. I don’t know what the statistics were, but we’ll just say about 73% of the professionals and their medical expertise turned out to be plain wrong. On the other hand, I guess as you are there dying of dysentery, you can always celebrate the fact that you stayed true to your own understanding and didn’t get any of that weird religious stuff on you. And, as I already pointed out, 100% of scientists were absolutely wrong who embraced Ptolemaic Geocentricism for over 1,300 years. Of course, someone committed to the presupposition of materialism will do anything to avoid dealing with the strength of the argument itself. They will just quote statistics! So did anyone besides CliffsOfInsanity engage with the actual content of the post? Welcome to the party! Did they engage with the content? Not really. Some complained that I said it was logically deductive, and my use of logic in general, but never actually refuted that either. agree. But there’s the rub. You have to actually be able to refute the argument. So, yes, you’re probably asking too much. Been done a thousand times across numerous posts. Saying otherwise is, at best, being disingenuous. First, it commits the fallacy of composition. What’s true for a member of a group is not necessarily true for the group as a whole. This takes on particular relevance as you are making a statement about the behaviour/capacity of a set (our universe) of which we presently only understand 4.6%… which is to say, the baryonic stuff ONLY. Second, the special pleading associated to the (allegedly) unbreakable rules of causality (which you break immediately) evaporate at Inflation. Third, time is relative, not absolute, and causes and effects can happen simultaneously. Quantum entanglement proves this without violating the second law of thermodynamics. Fourth, the entire argument rests on an ENORMOUS PRESUPPOSITION that the universe is contingent; that it is artificial. Prove it. Fifth, and most pertinently, you have in the first instant annihilated the central premise of the argument by agreeing that there was never nothing; there was always something; there was, therefore, always motion. If there was never nothing, always something, always motion then it is NOT a question of why is there something rather than nothing for that is thoroughly meaningless, but rather what is aseitic: an unseen supernatural creator (who deliberately created an artificial world for reasons unknown), or the universe itself? As we have evidence the universe exists, and absolutely no evidence of magic anywhere, at any time, it is only logical to assume the universe is a brute fact. To spontaneously propose magic, when no evidence of magic exists anywhere, at any time, is a massive violation of Occam’s razor, and overkill as a fundamental basis of reality. It is, therefore, not only illogical, but comprehensibly irrational. And you’ve refuted the Argument from Motion how? What premises have you proven false? Try to explain yourself without blathering on with all kinds of irrelevant and unrelated things you think are important (called a red herring fallacy, btw). You have never actually addressed the argument in the post. I asked the Windbag to link me to some contemporary philosophers who agree with him that the universe is a brute fact. Do you want to hazard a guess about how that worked out? Why am I not surprised that you simply pretend it hasn’t been refuted? Okay, enlighten me. How did you refute it? If there was never nothing then there was always something. The universe is a brute fact. You cannot have “nothing.” It is an imaginary state. It has never existed. “Nothing” is unstable (therefore already in motion), which makes the null situation a failed premise. Try understanding the argument for once. If you ever bothered to understand you would know that an eternal universe has nothing to do with it. The universe is still something obviously in changing states (in motion) so it logically cannot be the prime mover. Mel, this argument is just another word salad of the first cause argument. Motion simply replaces Cause. No motion is not the default. If you can’t understand that then that’s your problem, not mine. No rebuttal for dogmatically asserted faith statements. Keep it up! If it helps, trying reading these words extra slowly: There was never no motion because there was never nothing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is actually what you believe, right? Don’t get distracted by trying to be rational, JZ. Just stick to faith statements. Your faith doesn’t need to be justified. Logic and reason are no match for bias and presupposition. Carry on! I’m rooting for you! No, John Z, sorry, it’s your problem. Ontological motion is a logical deduction based on actual evidence from nature in the here and now (not time related or based on beginnings or no beginnings). Dismissing it as a word salad just shows your ignorance of the argument. Whatever is in motion (going from potential to actual) must either have a cause or itself be fully actualized. This is a logical certainty. As Hart said, it has to be something entirely unconditioned, that is not composite, not dissoluble into parts upon which it’s dependent, not a being among beings and therefore dependent upon some larger sphere of actuality, not temporal…as soon as you begin removing the attributes that make for contingency, you’re left with the question of the absolute that doesn’t make room anymore for things like matter. Laws and quantum events cannot be the prime mover either. They exist within realities that are themselves by the same logical calculus, contingent. Quantum events (or inflation, gravity, etc.) don’t happen in nothingness in the ontological sense. It just means you’re dealing with a prior physical state that is as of yet unarticulated (not actualized). But that physical state is not a logical necessary reality…it’s not a reality that can be considered an absolute. So, no, it’s entirely your problem. You have embraced an incoherent ontology. There was never no motion because there was never nothing. If you wish to refute this, then please demonstrate that there was once nothing. Shifting the burden of proof to Mel is an excellent strategy! You are conducting a clinic on fundamentalist debate tactics! Yes, Zande is quite the dogmatic religious (scientism) fundamentalist. This is his favorite M.O. Don’t actually answer the question and then pose your own question and then claim victory. Seriously, I’m wondering if he’ll ever actually understand the argument. I won’t hold my breath. And that is a total faith-based statement based on ZERO evidence, besides being totally irrelevant to the argument. You are making time-based argument, not an ontological one, which is itself contingent. It doesn’t matter how things began or didn’t begin. You have to refute the argument from motion in the here and now. So prove to me that the cosmos itself is nonmaterial, not composite and fully actualized in every way possible (not in motion). Evidence is the universe itself. Tell me again what evidence you have for the Middle Eastern god of the Pentateuch, Yhwh? Yes, and we can prove that the universe is composite, material, and in a constant state of motion. Try again. And, btw, I will ignore your red herrings. Exactly. There was never no motion. Yes! Assign your original thesis to Mel as if he actually said it! Drop the mic, JZ! You win! Congratulations. You’ve just made the cosmos cease to exist! If there was never no motion, then we’re talking about an infinite regress. You cannot have an infinite regress of motion because everything is essentially ordered (causally dependent on a more fundamental source). To say that such a series regresses infinitely is to say that things in motion ultimately don’t derive their motive power from anything (because everything else is itself in motion). And if it doesn’t derive its power from anything then the whole causal chain collapses and everything ceases to exist. Even if the series could regress infinitely (which is logically impossible), something outside the series would still have to supply motive power. So, no, you have not refuted the argument, you only described a condition where nothing could continue to exist. There is no infinite regress in the universe as a brute fact. Don’t try and smuggle in false arguments. There was never no motion because there was never nothing. The argument is categorically meaningless. Of course, you could always refute this by demonstrating 1) that there was once nothing, and 2) that this world is artificial. And you can prove this how? Again, prove this “brute fact,” John Z. All you give me are faith statements. IF things are in motion, then you must find a more fundamental cause, otherwise, you end up with infinite regress. So, show me how the universe itself is not in motion. I don’t accept your faith statements. IF things are in motion, then you must find a more fundamental cause. OK then, so what is the fundamental cause of the Middle Eastern god of the Pentateuch, Yhwh? Here we go…red herrings. Sorry, John Z. Stick with the subject at hand. You said, IF things are in motion, then you must find a more fundamental cause. If it’s absolutely required, then please answer the question: What is the fundamental cause of the Middle Eastern god of the Pentateuch, Yhwh? Tell him the Pentateuch was fiction! Since Taboo isn’t here right now, I’ll say it for him: Bravo, sir! Now, you’re stooping to the confusion of Dawkins and his ilk. The question of who moved the “unmoved mover” is a rather fatuous question to ask since it’s asking, what moved that thing which cannot be moved. Oh, so it’s not actually required (as you asserted) because there was always something, never nothing. Now tell him the Pentateuch is fiction! Also, tell him about protozoa. Then, just to make sure, tell him you help Ph.D. students write papers. Of course, there must be a “prime mover.” But you cannot prove that the universe is that prime mover and essentially necessary (this has nothing to do with time or if the universe had a beginning or not). What I said is that you cannot prove that the universe is not in motion. For it to be a prime mover, logically, it must be fully “pure act” or fully actualized in every way (immutable), it must be simple (no composite parts), eternal (transcends time), incorporeal and immaterial (existing outside of matter, space since they are contingent), for the reasons explained in the post itself. If you can prove that the universe meets all these logical conditions, you have an argument for your “god” (prime mover). This is a patently absurd statement as NO prime mover is required. None. Your argument is categorically meaningless. Please stop repeating it. There. Was. Never. No. Motion. Then we’re forced back to infinite regress and, therefore, nonexistence. And around the merry-go-round of incoherency we go. Sorry, no cigar. You are just making faith statements. Oh, so you believe there must be a fundamental cause for EVERYTHING? OK, perhaps then you’ll address this question now: What is the fundamental cause of the Middle Eastern god of the Pentateuch, Yhwh? No, I said there must be cause for everything that is in motion. And you cannot go into infinite regress or the whole causal chain would cease to exist (in the here and now). Again, the question of who moved the “prime mover” is a rather fatuous question to ask since it’s asking, what moved that thing which cannot be moved. Again, a categorically meaningless comment. There. Is. No. Prime. Mover. As. There. Was. Never. No. Motion. And your statement is a meaningless comment with absolutely no logic or proof. Are you saying a causeless thing is illogical? No, I’m saying that when you say there is “No. Prime. Mover. As. There. Was. Never. No. Motion.” You’re making a nonsensical and incoherent statement that is meaningless. You are actually arguing for nonexistence. Of course, if you can prove that your “god” (the universe) is fully actualized, not composed of parts, immutable, immaterial, and existing outside of space and time, you may have a coherent argument. Otherwise, you’re just wasting my time. So a causeless thing *is* logical. Yes, if you can logically show that it is what’s been called a “prime mover.” But to just state that the universe is that prime mover is meaningless. Of course it’s meaningless… That’s also what I’ve been saying. There was no prime mover. There was never nothing. There was never *no motion*. No, John Z. You don’t get it at all. To say there is no “prime mover” in the here and now, as defined, is incoherent nonsense. You are just arguing for an infinite regress which logically means we cease to exist. To say there is no “prime mover” in the here and now, as defined, is incoherent nonsense. Ah, so what then is the fundamental cause of the Middle Eastern god of the Pentateuch, Yhwh? Yes, of course. You cannot have infinite regress and have the cosmos continue to exist. The “prime mover” is what we theists would call “God.” As I said in the post, this is not an argument for a particular God, only for the existence of what we would call God (prime mover). To say what caused the “prime mover” is a fatuous question, only showing that you don’t understand the argument. You are asking what moved that which cannot be moved. I’m not going to keep going round this merry-go-round with you. You obviously don’t wish to understand the argument. You cannot have infinite regress and have the cosmos continue to exist. Lucky for us then that there is no infinite regress in the universe as a brute fact. Okay, believe whatever faith-based statement you want. You’re getting boringly obstinate now. No faith required in knowing the universe exists. No faith is required to know the universe exists, but that’s never been the point. Which is why your point is irrelevant. It takes BLIND FAITH to believe that the universe continues to be the prime mover which holds all existence together. And THAT is a faith statement. Of course, if I were to take your faith statement as is, then you would be admitting that the universe is immaterial, immutable, not composite, and not in space and time. Then, of course, we descend into the ontological incoherency of atheism. And you can’t prove it’s the fundamental force by which all things continue to exist. I don’t have to. It is only logical to assume the universe is a brute fact. You, on the other hand, haven’t even gotten up to the starting line without first demonstrating that this universe is artificial. There was no prime mover. There was never nothing. There was never *no motion*. Whenever you say, “There never was” in your statement it only shows that you don’t understand the argument because you’re not even talking about the same thing. What you are arguing for, technically speaking, something “accidentally ordered” (chronological, in the past), which is not the same thing as the argument from motion, which is an essentially ordered (fundamental, in the here and now) argument. This is why your statements are meaningless and irrelevant (besides being incoherent). No, I’m not arguing for anything being “accidentally ordered.” Please don’t invent arguments and assign them to me. I’m saying the universe is a brute fact. Any allusion to a prime mover is categorically meaningless. Yes, you are. By appealing to time in the past you are, by definition, making an accidently ordered argument. This is not the argument for motion which is essentially ordered. I’m saying the universe is a brute fact. Yes, but that says nothing whatsoever to explain its continuing existence. Furthermore, you cannot prove that it’s the most fundamental cause of our continuing existence. That is, unless you wish to concede that it’s immaterial, immutable, not made of composite parts, and not in time and space. Otherwise, it needs a more fundamental cause in order to continue to exist. See, I can be childish, too, but I will just leave you to your incoherent faith. There was never no motion because there was never nothing. Your argument is categorically meaningless in the face of the universe as a brute fact. Again, you are making an “accidentally ordered” argument (“never was” statement). Totally irrelevant. You obviously don’t get it (or want to get it). See you later. Mirror, meet Melvin Wild. Melvin Wild, this is Mirror. I’ve given you logical argumentation. You have just given me your “just so” statements that are irrelevant to the argument. So, no, it’s not a mirror. Again, let me know when you have something relevant to say. And you be sure to let me know when you’re starting with something that’s not an outlandish presupposition. Presupposition? You mean like what you are insisting on? That the universe is the fundamental source of our continuing existence, fully actualized, immaterial, not composite, and outside of time and space? Haha…whatever. Have fun with your incoherence. The universe (of which we only really understand 4.6% of) existing is a presupposition? Totally irrelevant, again, (sigh) Good-bye. The fact of the universe existing is irrelevant? Yes, John, you’re just being obtuse now. It’s never been about whether the universe exists or not and you know it. So, yes, irrelevant to the argument. The only question that’s relevant is whether or not the universe that currently exists is ontologically in motion (which it obviously is), so it cannot be the Prime Mover, unless you’re willing to concede that it’s fully actualized, not composite, immaterial, and outside of time and space. Otherwise, go away. You’re just wasting my time. You see, this is how you waste people’s time with your fallacious rabbit trails. Actually Mel, it is about the universe existing, and as it is a brute fact then there was never no motion. Stop trying to force a magical pantomime on reality. No, it’s logically coherent. You cannot have “nothing.” “Nothing” is an imaginary state. It has never existed. “Nothing” is unstable (therefore already in motion), which makes the null situation a failed premise. It’s really quite simple, and eloquent. Again, the only coherent thing you can argue for is a prime mover. But if the universe is that prime mover, you’re saying it’s fully actualized, not made of composite parts, immaterial, and outside of time and space. THAT is neither eloquent nor elegant, it’s totally nonsensical. Otherwise, if it’s already in motion, as you say by faith, then it cannot be the prime mover because it is not fully actualized (which means, NOT in motion), but simply a distal member of the causal chain. That’s the brute facts. Deal with it. How many times do you want me to repeat this? Your prime mover is categorically meaningless in a non-contingent universe. You cannot have “nothing.” “Nothing” is an imaginary state. It has never existed. “Nothing” is unstable (therefore already in motion), which makes the null situation a failed premise. Your ENTIRE argument rests on the null hypothesis. How many times do you want me to repeat this? Your prime mover is categorically meaningless in a non-contingent universe. LOL! No wonder you’re an atheist. Again, this is your ignorance showing. Your statement is totally incoherent! If you have no fundamental cause you have no universe at all. It ceases to exist, John Z. Got it? And besides, your entire argument rests on BLIND FAITH. You cannot prove anything you said and cannot even explain your own continuing existence. Oh, I will move on. I don’t like to go on and on with complete imbecility. But thanks for showing everyone how incoherent your argument is. The non-contingent universe does not need a cause. It is aseitic. This is true as there cannot be nothing. BTW, how are you going proving this universe is artificial? Prove that the universe is not in ontological motion, not composite, immaterial, and outside of time and space. Otherwise, it’s contingent. The universe exists. I have no reason to believe it is artificial. If you wish to claim it is artificial then you better get busy trying to demonstrate that. The argument was never about “nothing from nothing,” so that’s a bogus response. There was never nothing, so you’re right. It was never about that, and neither was I ever arguining that. No, you are wrong. You keep repeating an argument no one is making. No one is saying there was nothing from nothing. That is NOT the argument. There always IS a prime mover, otherwise, there is nothing existing at all, now or at any other time. The fact that you don’t get this is fascinating. No one is saying there was nothing from nothing. Exactly. There was never nothing. The universe is a brute fact. And so you’re saying the universe is fully actualized (not in motion), not made of parts, immaterial, and outside of time and space? Right…Good bye. The universe is what it is. You didn’t say there is “a cause for EVERYTHING”. Don’t let Zande get away with that bogus assertion. Exactly. He must be reading Dawkins and his ilk. These people never understood the argument. I’ve never been a fan of the “unmoved mover” label because it seems paradoxical (I guess because it is). I understand. It is a paradoxical term. As you probably know, it’s just a way of explaining that there must be a most fundamental cause that cannot be reduced further to some outside motive force. So, to say there is no fundamental cause would be like saying there is no fundamental source for existence itself. Without this fundamental source the whole causal chain must collapse into nonexistence. This is a logical certainty, regardless of what we may think about it. Reassert the premise even after it’s been demonstrated logically incoherent. Classic! I’m taking notes, JZ. Do you think this would be a good time to talk about the 13 billion-year-old protozoa or would it be better to insist that Exodus didn’t happen? Prediction: You will now have to “prove” your statement. I’m gonna side with JZ on this one, Mel. You’re still trying to use logic and reason. These are no match for fundamentalist dogmas. Indeed. I especially like when the line of thoughtful argument collapses into a revert to atheistic dogma as @JohnBranyon points out. Popcorn? Trying to make certain I understand this. I am trying to understand this statement. As near as I can figure out, the reason an infinitely long causal chain cannot work is because at every point in the chain there is a probability greater than zero of breaking the chain. If the chain breaks at any one point, then it ceases to exist. In an infinite chain, the probably that the chain breaks is 100 percent. I am trying to understand this statement. As near as I can figure out, the reason an infinitely long causal chain cannot work is because at every point in the chain there is a probability greater than zero of breaking the chain. If the chain breaks at any one point, then it ceases to exist. Tom, you’re right. If any part of the chain breaks you have no chain. The easiest way to look at it is if every member in the chain were to be dependent on a more fundamental cause, you end up with an infinite regress, which would be non-existence. There must be at the base of the chain a member who does not receive its motive power from anything but itself. Otherwise, every part of the chain collapses. The analogy of the guitar player in part two illustrates what I mean. And this fails because it commits the fallacy of composition. What’s true for a member of a group is not necessarily true for the group as a whole. For example: No atoms are alive, therefore nothing made of atoms is alive. It also fails because time is not absolute, and it has no direction. And your comment fails relevancy, as per the usual. This argument has absolutely nothing to do with time or whether something is alive or not. You keep arguing for things “ordered accidently” (having to do with chronology or sequence in time), whereas this is ordered essentially (being, fundamental causation). If there are atoms, we must ask what gives the atom its motive force, not whether it’s alive or not. To repeat, your position fails because it commits the fallacy of composition. It fails also because time is not absolute, which your causal argument relies on. Quantum entanglement also ruins the ‘chain’ argument. To repeat, your assertion is absolutely irrelevant. This argument has nothing whatsoever to do with time. Why don’t you try understanding the argument before making such ignorant comments. It does, actually, rely on time, Mel… and any reason why you’re not addressing the fallacy of composition which your argument commits? Tell me how it relies on time then. Why don’t you explain the argument to me since you think it’s fallacious. The arrow of time: event A predates event B. Quantum entanglement proves this wrong. Naïve 13th Century thinking belongs in the 13th Century, not the 21st. And why are you ignoring the fallacy of composition your argument commits? Irrelevant. You are making an accidently ordered argument (time related). Try again. You still haven’t demonstrated to me that you understand the argument at all. Priceless. Heads up, Mel, it is YOU, you dolt, who’re making the time-ordered argument. I’m telling you it’s fallacious. Okay, explain to me how this argument is time-related. So, let me get this straight: you’re *not* actually arguing that a causal chain is regulated by what goes first? No. Not at all. It has nothing to do with sequential order in time. It has to do with what is more essential to its motive power. This argument works outside of time as well as in it. Yes, face palm yourself, John Z. Because you don’t get the obvious point of this argument. You are the one who’s looking quite foolish here. Let’s remove time from the picture. Let’s say we have a quark in some dimension outside of time and space. We still must ask, what is the motive power behind this quark? Because it is obviously not fully actualized, it cannot move itself from potential to actuality without a motive force. So, while the argument works in time, it has absolutely nothing to with something sequentially ordered in time. Okay, now you’re wasting my time. I tried to explain it to you respectfully, but I see you are just being an obstinate fool. So, believe whatever idiotic thing you want, just don’t think for a minute (in time) that you understand the argument.

2019-04-22T10:37:53Z

https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/the-classical-arguments-for-god-part-two/

Advances in our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms in rheumatic disease fostered the advent of the targeted therapeutics era. Intense research activity continues to increase the number of potential targets at an accelerated pace. In this review, examples of promising targets and agents that are at various stages of clinical development are described. Cytokine inhibition remains at the forefront with the success of tumor necrosis factor blockers, and biologics that block interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-17, IL-12, and IL-23 and other cytokines are on the horizon. After the success of rituximab and abatacept, other cell-targeted approaches that inhibit or deplete lymphocytes have moved forward, such as blocking BAFF/BLyS (B-cell activation factor of the tumor necrosis factor family/B-lymphocyte stimulator) and APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand) or suppressing T-cell activation with costimulation molecule blockers. Small-molecule inhibitors might eventually challenge the dominance of biologics in the future. In addition to plasma membrane G protein-coupled chemokine receptors, small molecules can be designed to block intracellular enzymes that control signaling pathways. Inhibitors of tyrosine kinases expressed in lymphocytes, such as spleen tyrosine kinase and Janus kinase, are being tested in autoimmune diseases. Inactivation of the more broadly expressed mitogen-activated protein kinases could suppress inflammation driven by macrophages and mesenchymal cells. Targeting tyrosine kinases downstream of growth factor receptors might also reduce fibrosis in conditions like systemic sclerosis. The abundance of potential targets suggests that new and creative ways of evaluating safety and efficacy are needed. The development of new therapies for rheumatic diseases was mainly empiric until recently. Most of the drugs that we used until the 1990s, including standards like methotrexate, were originally discovered for other purposes or were accidentally noted to be beneficial in autoimmunity. As the molecular mechanisms of disease have been unraveled, newer targeted therapies have been a stunning success. Understanding the importance of cytokine networks in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) led to the biologics era with agents that block tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and IL-6. These biologics are also effective in other diseases, including seronegative spondyloarthropathies, autoinflammatory syndromes, and perhaps gout. Despite notable achievements, currently available therapies are not effective in many patients with rheumatic diseases. The new biologics are ineffective in many individuals; in some situations, like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), no new effective therapies have been approved for decades. As our knowledge of disease pathogenesis expands, new pathways and mechanisms that can be exploited are emerging. In this review, we will discuss some promising targets that have arisen from recent research. Due to the breadth and depth of current research and space limitations, this is not an exhaustive review, but it does provide a taste of what is to come (Figure 1). Intercellular molecules such as cytokines and their surface receptors can be targeted by biologics such as monoclonal antibodies, receptor-antibody fusion proteins, and, in some cases, small molecules. Intracellular enzymatic cascades convey the information from the cell surface to regulate the cell response, including transcriptional activity in the nucleus. Cell-permeable molecular compounds can block a specific kinase and transcription factors. Some surface receptors such as G-protein-coupled receptors represent another class of molecule that can be inhibited by small-molecule compounds. AP-1, activation protein-1; BLyS, B-lymphocyte stimulator; ICOS, inducible costimulator; IL, interleukin; IRF, interferon regulatory factor; LTβ-R, lymphotoxin beta receptor; NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa-B. The most dramatic therapeutic advances in the 'modern' era of rheumatology have focused on anti-cytokine therapy. As the cytokine network becomes increasingly complex, new and exciting possibilities arise. In this section, a few key cytokine targets are discussed. Of the cytokines relevant to autoimmunity, IL-17 and its family have perhaps generated the most anticipation. In murine models of autoimmune disease, the Th17 subtype of T lymphocytes that produce IL-17 plays a pivotal role in pathogenesis . While the function of this factor in humans is less certain, it represents a unique T cell-derived factor that could participate in many rheumatic diseases. The IL-17 family comprises six members designated IL-17A through F, with perhaps the most important being IL-17A (which is the cytokine usually called 'IL-17'). IL-17A is found in the synovial fluids of some RA patients and can be detected in T cell-rich areas of RA synovial tissue [2, 3]. It, along with its closest homolog IL-17F, enhances the production of proinflammatory cytokines by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) and might amplify the effects of macrophage-derived cytokines such as TNF . Blockade of IL-17 with an antibody-based approach is very effective in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) as well as many other models of inflammation . There are several ways to block IL-17 family members. Conventional methods, such as monoclonal anti-IL-17A antibodies, are currently being developed for RA and psoriasis as well as other autoimmune indications. Subunits of the IL-17 receptor complexes (IL-17RA and IL-17RC) could be used to design soluble antagonists that can bind multiple members, such as IL-17A and IL-17F. The results of IL-17-directed approaches are eagerly anticipated for a variety of indications, including RA and psoriasis. IL-12 and IL-23 are related cytokines that are secreted by macrophages and dendritic cells after cytokine or Toll-like receptor ligand stimulation. IL-12 is a key inducer of Th1 CD4+ T cells that produce interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), whereas IL-23 contributes to Th17 polarization. Thus, an IL-23-targeted therapy could potentially have a downstream effect on IL-17 production. When T cells are exposed to IL-23, the cells can be directed toward the Th17 phenotype. This is especially true in mice, in which exposure to IL-6 and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) also contributes to Th17 cell production through the activation of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) and induction of the transcription factor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor (RORγt). The system in humans is not as well defined and TGF-β might not contribute. Nevertheless, an IL-23-targeted therapy could potentially have a downstream effect by limiting the activation of Th17 cells and decreasing expression of IL-17 family genes. The interplay between IL-12 and IL-23 and autoimmunity can be complex; mice deficient in the IL-12 p35 subunit have increased severity of CIA . In contrast, mice lacking the p19 subunit of IL-23 are protected from CIA, as are p40 knockout mice, the subunit common to IL-12 and IL-23. Even though IFN-γ is the signature cytokine of Th1 cells and is pathogenic in some models of autoimmunity, including proteoglycan-induced arthritis, the IL-12/IFN-γ axis can also be protective in CIA and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) . IFN-γ also blocks Th17 development and can potentially enhance regulatory T (Treg) cell response [8, 9]. Strategies that interfere with IL-17 production like IL-12/IL-23 inhibitors or IFNγ can potentially enhance the suppressive activity of Tcells and limit autoimmunity. Treg cell numbers can also increase with other cytokine modulators, such as infliximab . The apparent reciprocal relationship of Treg cells and Th17 cells provides a potential way to alter immune responses and restore homeostasis through cytokine modulation. IFN-γ is expressed at relatively low levels in the rheumatoid synovium and exerts anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and in some arthritis models . IFN-γ administration in RA shows minimal efficacy and caused disease exacerbation in multiple sclerosis. Patients could only tolerate a dose considerably lower than required to suppress arthritis in mouse models. Based on the results of clinical and preclinical studies, a selective IL-12-directed agent that interferes with Th1 cell differentiation without a major effect on Th17 cells might be less attractive. Mouse and human T-cell systems clearly differ in many respects, which makes extrapolation from murine models difficult . As noted above, TGF-β is critical for Th17 differentiation in the mouse but might be less important in human cells. A large percentage of human IL-17-positive T cells also produce IFN-γ. While blocking Th17 cells might be sufficient in mice, efficacy could require suppressing both the Th1 and Th17 pathways in humans. This approach could involve interfering with IL-23, which is required by Th17 cells for effector function. IL-23 p19 levels were higher in RA than osteoarthritis synovial fluids in one study . However, another group detected low levels of heterodimeric bioactive IL-23 in only a fraction of RA synovium samples . A monoclonal antibody against p40, the subunit common to IL-12 and IL-23, showed remarkable efficacy and a favorable safety profile in inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis [15–17]. The results of a placebo-controlled phase II study in psoriatic arthritis are also available. Patients were treated every week for 4 weeks and received two other injections at weeks 12 and 16. ACR20 (American College of Rheumatology 20% improvement criteria) responses at 12 weeks were achieved in 42% of patients compared with 14% in the placebo group. ACR50 and 70 responses were also statistically significant (25% versus 7% and 10% versus 0%, respectively) . The small molecule STA-5326 is being evaluated in a phase II trial in RA. In vitro, this compound blocks IL-12, IL-23, and IFN-γ production by cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells, although the mechanism is not well established. In an open-label study, STA-5326 decreased clinical activity scores in Crohn disease patients. The clinical trials might help investigators to understand the role of the IL-12/IL-23 axis in different forms of human autoimmune disease. Elevated levels of IL-15 are expressed in the synovium of RA patients and have been implicated as a mediator of TNF production by macrophages . This cytokine can also participate in joint inflammation by attracting neutrophils and T lymphocytes and by triggering the proliferation of memory CD8+ T cells. IL-15 can be bound to the plasma membrane or secreted, while a shorter isoform remains intracellular. The IL-15 receptor complex is trimeric and comprises the γ subunit (shared with IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, and IL-21) and IL-2/15 β chains (shared with IL-2). The IL-15R α chain confers specificity toward IL-15. A human monoclonal antibody that binds IL-15 showed a modest ACR20 response in a phase II clinical trial at the highest dose, supporting a possible contribution of IL-15 in RA. These preliminary results are encouraging, although a second study failed to show significant benefit. Elevated levels of BAFF/BLyS (B-cell activation factor of the TNF family/B-lymphocyte stimulator) and APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand) are found in the serum of patients with RA, SLE, and Sjögren syndrome. These two cytokines are members of the TNF superfamily and are expressed by various cell types, including monocytes, dendritic cells, osteoclasts, and synoviocytes . Both bind to receptors expressed on B cells, known as BCMA (B-cell maturation protein) and TACI (transmembrane activator and CAML interactor). BAFF receptor 3 (BR3) recognizes only BAFF/BLyS. These molecules perform similar functions in B-cell development and survival, Ig class switch, and costimulation. Several different biologic strategies to block BAFF/BLyS and APRIL are being developed. Belimumab is a fully humanized anti-BAFF antibody that showed minimal efficacy in a phase II trial in RA . Belimumab was also evaluated in a phase II study in patients with active SLE. It failed to meet its primary endpoint, but subgroup analysis suggested that it might improve or stabilize disease activity in some patients . One potential problem with belimumab is that it does not block APRIL and hence might not have sufficient effect on B-cell maturation. TACI-Ig is designed to function as a decoy receptor with both anti-BLyS and anti-APRIL activity. Another agent, the BAFF receptor-Ig fusion protein, inhibits only BAFF. TACI-Ig is being evaluated in RA and SLE, and preliminary studies suggest that there is a significant decrease in serum immunoglobulins. Anti-BR3 antibodies with cell depletion activity and BR3-Fc are being developed for similar indications [21, 23]. The respective merits of strategies involving BLyS and APRIL are difficult to compare because their respective roles in humans are not yet fully understood. The lymphotoxin (LT) system is also part of the TNF superfamily and includes lymphotoxin-related inducible ligand that competes for glycoprotein D binding to herpes virus entry mediator on T cells (LIGHT), LTα, and LTβ . All three ligands can bind the LTβ receptor (LTβR) and can participate in the development of the immune system and lymphoid organization. LTα also binds to the TNF receptors and its function is blocked by etanercept. In addition, LIGHT binds to another receptor, herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM). The LIGHT-HVEM interaction is proinflammatory, but HVEM also binds the B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA), which suppresses immune responses. Decoy receptors designed by linking the LTβR with the Ig Fc domain selectively inhibit the proinflammatory functions of the LT system. This strategy is effective in many animal models of autoimmunity, including CIA, EAE, and murine models of SLE and diabetes . LTβR signaling is required to develop and maintain tertiary lymphoid structures but is dispensable for many aspects of secondary lymphoid organ biology in adults. In RA, lymphoid structures are seen in the synovium of up to 30% of patients. LTβR-Ig therapy might be especially effective in this subpopulation if these structures play a critical role in local antigen presentation and disease pathogenesis . In addition, synoviocytes can respond to LIGHT, LTα, and LTβ with the release of proinflammatory mediators. Early results from RA patients treated with LTβR-Ig have demonstrated some benefit, although a larger study reportedly did not demonstrate sufficient efficacy to warrant continued development for RA. However, other autoimmune diseases, such as SLE, are additional indications that could be evaluated with this molecule. Careful monitoring of host defense will also be needed given the important role of LTβ in germinal center organization. Inflammatory and immune cell recruitment to target tissue is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases. This process is regulated by a class of proteins called chemokines as well as many small-molecule chemoattractants . More than 40 chemokines have been identified and many can bind to more than one receptor. In addition, about half of the 20 chemokine receptors, which are 7-transmembrane G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), recognize multiple chemokines. Which chemokine or receptor to block in a particular disease remains a difficult question, and targeting individual chemokines has not been fruitful due to redundancy in the system. On the other hand, blocking GPCR chemokine receptors by synthesizing small-molecule inhibitors that block the interaction of multiple chemokines with an individual receptor has been more encouraging. The chemokine/receptor pairs CXCL13/CXCR5, CCL21/CCR7, and CXCL12/CXCR4 contribute to the formation of ectopic lymphoid structures that are found in most autoimmune diseases and could be targeted for autoimmunity. CCR5, CCR2, and CCR1 are implicated in RA and might be involved in recruitment to inflammatory sites like synovium. Inhibition of CCR1 and CCR2 was not effective in RA . The results for the CCR1 antagonist were somewhat surprising in light of a synovial biopsy study suggesting that synovial macrophages were depleted. CCR2 is a more complex chemokine, and the effect of CCR2 deficiency or CCR2 inhibitors in animal models varies depending on the model. This approach is especially interesting in humans because CCR2 (along with CCR6) is a key receptor expressed by human Th17 cells . The failure of CCR1 and CCR2 antagonists could be related to pharmacokinetic issues, lack of pathological relevance of these targets, or redundancy in the receptor system. CCR5 received considerable attention when it was discovered that individuals with a deletion in this gene are protected from HIV viral entry. Epidemiologic studies also suggest that the CCR5 deletion could decrease severity of RA, although this is controversial. A small-molecule inhibitor of CCR5 is now approved for patients with HIV. CCR5 is expressed on T cells and macrophages and binds to the inflammatory chemokines MIP-1α (macrophage inflammatory protein-1-alpha) and RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted) that are highly expressed in RA. Blocking CCR5 provides protection from arthritis in the CIA model . Phase II clinical trials with CCR5 inhibitors are in progress for RA. Many other chemokines have been considered targets for rheumatic diseases. For instance, stromal derived factor-1 is a potential target and is relatively simple to block since, unlike many other chemokines, it has only a single receptor (CXCR4). Chemokines play a role in the organization of lymphoid structures, which are required for antigen presentation and germinal center formation. Disrupting this network by interfering with dendritic cell-derived chemokines, such as CXCL13 or CCL21, could achieve this goal, as could blocking cytokines like LTβ (see above). A detailed description of the myriad of approaches designed to interfere with immune cell recruitment by blocking either cell adhesion or angiogenesis is beyond the scope of this short review. However, the success of the anti-α4/β1 integrin antibody in multiple sclerosis suggests that it might be useful in other autoimmune diseases that involve recruitment of T cells. Balancing the relative risks of decreased host defense (for example, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy [PML]) with potential benefit will be a significant challenge. Approaches that target the β2 integrins, which play a key role in neutrophil recruitment, are very effective in preclinical models but raise significant concerns about crippling host defense. Similarly, angiogenesis inhibitors like anti-vascular endothelial growth factor in cancer and preclinical data suggesting that new blood vessels contribute to inflammation suggest that this approach might be applicable to rheumatic diseases. Selective inhibitors of proliferating endothelial cells, such as AGM-1477 (a derivative of fumagillin), show impressive anti-inflammatory effects in several animal models of inflammatory arthritis. The efficacy of rituximab, a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in RA opened up the potential for B cell-directed therapy in rheumatic diseases. The antibody was initially developed to deplete malignant B cells in lymphoma patients by virtue of CD20 expression on mature B cells, but not B-cell precursors or plasma cells. Rituximab causes a prolonged depletion in circulating B lymphocytes in the blood. CD20+ synovial B cells are variably reduced and this is associated with a decrease in synovial immunoglobulin synthesis, especially in ACR50 responders . Clinical response was associated with a decrease in synovial plasma cells in another study . Rituximab contains chimeric mouse-human sequences that might be responsible for some infusion reactions. Human or humanized anti-CD20 antibodies, like ocrelizumab and ofatumumab, are being developed to mitigate this problem . Smaller versions of monoclonal antibodies combine one binding domain, one hinge domain, and one effector domain into a single-chain polypeptide. This new class of drug, known under the acronym SMIP (small modular immuno-pharmaceutical), is also being developed. Although multiple case reports and open-label studies suggested a benefit of rituximab in SLE patients, the drug did not demonstrate clinical efficacy in the randomized phase II/III EXPLORER trial. The results of another study for lupus nephritis are anticipated. Case reports of fatal PML in severely immunocompromised lupus and cancer patients who received anti-CD20 antibody necessitate careful individual evaluation of the risks and benefits of off-label use. CD22 is a B cell-specific surface molecule involved in B-cell antigen receptor signaling. A humanized antibody against this regulatory molecule showed modest efficacy in lupus patients in a randomized phase II study . An average reduction of peripheral B cells of 30% can persist up to 12 weeks. Additional regulatory mechanisms, including inhibition of B-cell proliferation, could contribute to the therapeutic activity of this molecule. CTLA4 is an inducible T-cell surface molecule that inhibits costimulation signaling induced by CD28 engagement with CD80/CD86. Abatacept, a CTLA4-Ig fusion molecule, blocks the interaction between CD80/86 and CD28 and is effective in RA. The success of this approach contrasts with the failure of previous T cell-depleting strategies, such as anti-CD4 antibodies, perhaps because CD4 is also expressed on Treg cells that can suppress inflammatory arthritis. Other costimulatory molecules are also potential therapeutic targets, although the preclinical data are complex. For instance, blockade of the inducible costimulator (ICOS) is therapeutic in CIA but augments disease in diabetes and some multiple sclerosis models . Subtle differences between human and animal proteins, such as Fc receptors, might contribute to the catastrophic cytokine release syndrome caused in human volunteers by the CD28 superagonist TGN1412 . Nonetheless, the CD80/86-CD28 family remains a promising field for new therapeutic interventions. The interaction between CD40 and CD40 ligand is also attractive, although anti-CD40 ligand antibodies in SLE were complicated by thrombotic disease. Targeting CD40 instead might avoid the activation of platelets, which express CD40 ligand. FLS are present on the synovial intimal lining. They contribute to the pathogenesis of RA by virtue of their ability to produce cytokines (especially IL-6), metalloproteinases, and small-molecule mediators of inflammation like prostaglandins. Selective targeting of FLS has been difficult until recently, when a relatively unique marker, cadherin-11, was identified as a key protein involved with homoaggregation of synoviocytes in the lining layer of normal synovium . Preclinical models suggest that cadherin-11 blockade disrupts the synovial lining, decreases joint inflammation, and suppresses cartilage damage. This approach is interesting because it could potentially be used in combination with immunomodulatory agents without an adverse effect on host defense. Inducing or enhancing synovial cell death, especially FLS, is another approach that could be beneficial in inflammatory arthritis. A number of therapies have been considered and demonstrate preclinical efficacy, including using anti-Fas antibodies to induce apoptosis or enhancing expression of intracellular genes like Bim or PUMA (p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis) [35, 36]. Because the mechanisms of cell death are shared by many cell types, selectively inducing apoptosis in FLS or in the joint can be difficult. Thus, methods to target the synovium selectively might be required. Intracellular signaling pathways transmit environmental information to the cytoplasm and the nucleus, where they regulate cellular responses and gene transcription. Understanding the hierarchy and pathogenic significance of these pathways in autoimmunity has led to the development of compounds that block several promising targets [37, 38]. Orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitors are currently the most likely approach, although biologics like small interfering RNA and genes that express dominant negative kinases are also possible. It is likely that the small-molecule approach, though still in its infancy, will advance rapidly over the next decade. If successful, these small compounds could augment or replace more expensive parenteral biologics that are currently the mainstay of treatment. Several hurdles still need to be overcome, including improved compound specificity and the importance of many key pathways for homeostasis and host defense . Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are stress-activated serine/threonine kinases that include the p38, ERK (extra-cellular regulating kinase), and JNK (c-Jun-N-terminal kinase) (Figure 2) families. This complex family regulates both cyto-kine production and cytokine responses in a variety of rheumatic diseases. Partially overlapping activation signals converge on each kinase pathway, which in turn regulate a number of downstream events such as transcription factor activation, cell migration, and proliferation . The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade. The MAPKs form an interacting cascade of signaling enzymes that orchestrate responses to extracellular stress, such as inflammation, infection, and tissue damage. The three main families (ERK, JNK, and p38) have overlapping functions but tend to regulate cell growth, matrix turnover, and cytokine production, respectively. The cascade generally has three levels (shown on the left), including the MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAP3Ks), which activate the MAP kinase kinases (MAPKKs or MKKs), which, in turn, activate the MAPKs. Drug development efforts thus far have focused on p38 and MEK1/2 for rheumatic diseases. JNK inhibitors are effective in preclinical models and are also being developed for cancer. ATF2, activating transcription factor-2; ERK, extracellular signal related kinases; JNK, c-Jun N-terminal kinase; MAPKAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase; MEK1/2, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases. Drug development efforts in the MAP kinase family have led to the synthesis of several p38 inhibitors. This kinase regulates the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemo-kines in response to TNF or IL-1 in most inflammatory cell types. p38 inhibitors are effective in preclinical models of arthritis and several have advanced into clinical trials [39, 40]. The availability of phase II trial results in RA is limited but they suggest, at best, modest benefit in RA. One major issue that affects the development of some p38 inhibitors is dose-dependent toxicity. Structurally distinct compounds have caused hepatoxicity, which might indicate that this side effect is target-based. In another phase II trial, the p38 inhibitor VX-702 caused Q-T prolongation. Based on the number of compounds that have been tested, it is clear that targeting p38 will not be as simple as hoped. Several potential alternatives have emerged in recent years, including downstream (MK2) or upstream (MKK3 or MKK6) kinases that are involved in the p38 biology [41, 42]. These strategies could potentially provide some of the benefit of modulating p38 signaling while preserving other essential functions and ameliorate the side-effect profile. JNK and ERK inhibitors for rheumatic disease are less advanced. JNK controls activator protein-1 (AP-1)-dependent genes, including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and animal studies with JNK inhibitors showed protection from bone damage . However, the available JNK inhibitors have not been developed for rheumatic diseases yet and could have issues related to potency and selectivity. MKK7, an upstream activator of JNK, is the main kinase required for JNK activation after cytokine stimulation of FLS . Since cellular stress events can bypass MKK7 and use MKK4 to stimulate JNK, targeting MKK7 could be safer than broad-acting JNK inhibitors. Targeting the downstream transcription complex AP-1, such as with decoy oligonucleotides, is another alternative to focusing on JNK. AP-1 consists of dimers that include members of the Jun, Fos, and activating transcription factor protein families that together control a large number of genes, including MMPs and inflammatory cytokines. c-Fos-deficient mice lack osteoclasts and are protected from bone erosions but not inflammation in the TNF transgenic model . A small molecule with anti-AP-1 activity was effective in CIA . Interestingly, this compound also decreased IL-1 levels and joint inflammation, an indication that it had a pronounced effect on AP-1-driven transcription. No significant toxicity was reported during animal testing but this will require careful evaluation in human studies. ERK plays a major role in the regulation of cell growth and could be an important therapeutic advance in cancer. ERK inhibitors are also effective in some preclinical models of arthritis . The small-molecule inhibitor MEK1/2 (ARRY-162), which is the upstream kinase that regulates ERK, inhibits ex vivo production of IL-1, TNF, and IL-6 by human whole blood after administration to healthy volunteers . Similar to other MAP pathway inhibitors, however, toxicities (including skin rash and visual changes) have emerged due to the ubiquitous role of ERK. It might be more desirable to modulate, rather than block, these pathways by careful selection of pharmacokinetic profiles and judicious dosing. Tyrosine kinases are divided into two groups. Cytoplasmic kinases transduce signals from a separate surface receptor while receptor tyrosine kinases have intrinsic tyrosine phosphorylation activity. The four Janus kinases (JAKs) are cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases that pair in at least six different combinations to integrate signaling from nearly 40 different cytokines and growth factors . Cytokine receptors that comprise the common γ-chain subunit use JAK1 and JAK3 to respond to cytokines involved in RA, such as IL-6, IL-2, IL-12, or IL-15. JAKs then activate STAT proteins that translocate to the nucleus and control the expression of downstream targets. Selective inhibitors of JAK are now in clinical studies for the treatment of RA and psoriasis . The small molecule CP-690,550 inhibits JAK3, with less inhibition of JAK1 and JAK2. JAK3, which is mainly expressed in hematopoietic cells, pairs with JAK1 and signals downstream of IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15, and IL-21 . Initially developed as an immuno-suppressive, the compound demonstrated clinical efficacy in an early phase II trial with excellent ACR responses: CP-690,550 ACR50 33% to 54% versus placebo ACR50 6% . Mechanism-based side effects were observed, including in the hematopoietic system. Neutropenia was reported at the highest dose. As a T-cell immunomodulator, this compound could have utility in a variety of autoimmune diseases assuming that the safety profile permits further development. INCB018424, an inhibitor of JAK1, JAK2, and Tyk2 with IC50 (half inhibitory concentration) values of 2.7, 4.5, and 19 nM, respectively, is also in clinical development for RA and psoriasis. This inhibitor could indirectly affect JAK3, which needs to pair with JAK1 for most of its effects . Tyk2 mediates type I IFN, IL-12, and IL-23 signaling . A preliminary study that enrolled six active RA patients during 28 days showed a favorable clinical outcome without significant adverse events, using a controlled dosage to inhibit JAK1 and JAK2 but not Tyk2. The long-term safety of this powerful immunosuppressive approach must be carefully evaluated. The known complications of severe immuno-deficiency in humans bearing JAK mutations suggest that the development will need to be cautious. Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) also belongs to the intracellular tyrosine kinase family. Syk is expressed in B cells, mast cells, neutrophils, macrophages, platelets, and nonhematopoietic cells, including FLS. The molecular signaling events in the Syk cascade are best defined in hematopoietic cells. Syk binds to phosphorylated activated ITAMs (immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs) that are part of immuno-receptors such as the B-cell receptor, T-cell receptor, or FcR. ITAM-Syk signaling is also triggered by integrins during cell adhesion and migration via ITAM-dependent or -independent mechanisms . Less is known about Syk signaling pathways in nonhemato-poietic cells. ITAM consensus motifs are found in a number of molecules unrelated to classical immunoreceptors, and ITAM-independent mechanisms could also be engaged . In synovial fibroblasts, Syk regulates the MAP kinase cascade, especially JNK-regulated genes such as IL-6 and MMP-3 . Syk inhibition was able to suppress inflammation and joint destruction in a rat CIA model . Treatment with tamatinib fosdium (R788), an oral Syk inhibitor, led to significant improvement in RA patients . Syk is also an interesting target in SLE, in which part of the overactive T-cell phenotype is thought to be caused by the abnormal association of Syk with the T-cell receptor instead of the ζ chain Zap70. A Syk inhibitor was therapeutic and preventive in a model of murine renal lupus . Imatinib mesylate was the first successful clinical application of a therapeutic designed to target tyrosine kinases. It is currently approved for several oncologic indications, including chronic myelogenous leukemia and systemic masto-cytosis. Imatinib is a potent inhibitor of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor, c-kit (the receptor for stem cell factor, a growth factor for hematopoietic cells and mast cells), and the proto-oncogene c-Abl. Thus, the compound inhibits a spectrum of signal induction pathways relevant to inflammation and fibrosis, including PDGF signaling in synoviocytes, mast cell c-kit signaling, and TNF production by synovial fluid mononuclear cells. Imatinib is active in murine CIA, supporting its development in inflammatory arthritis . Case reports indicate that it might be beneficial in refractory cases of RA, but the results of a controlled study have not been reported . c-Abl also can participate in the profibrotic effects of TGF-β signaling. For instance, patients receiving imatinib for chronic myelogenous leukemia experienced marked improvement in myelofibrosis . Several studies in animal models and clinical case reports in various conditions confirm that imatinib is a promising therapeutic for fibrotic disorders such as scleroderma, pulmonary fibrosis, or nephrogenic systemic fibrosis [62, 63]. Both benefits and side effects of kinase inhibitors are often observed because of structural similarities between enzymes, especially in the ATP site where most small compounds bind. Lack of selectivity might provide a therapeutic advantage in complex diseases such as RA, in which more than one molecular pathway contribute to the pathogenesis. On the other hand, it also increases the risk of side effects. Long-term studies of imatinib for the treatment of cancer patients show that severe adverse events occur in more than a third of patients, mostly within the first 2 years . Therefore, careful risk-benefit analysis will be required for all of these new kinase inhibitors. Several phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors have entered clinical trials in different fields, including oncology, cardiology, and autoimmunity. Class I PI3Ks are a family of intracellular signaling proteins involved in many aspects of cell biology, including adaptive and innate immunity . They are composed of heterodimers assembled from five different regulatory subunits that pair with four different catalytic subunits (α, β, γ, and δ). Activation of PI3Ks generates the key lipid second messenger phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3). The α, β, and δ subunits are associated mainly with receptor tyrosine kinases, whereas γ subunits signal to GPCRs such as chemokine receptors. This dichotomy is not absolute and there are additional specificities depending on the cell type examined. PI3Kα and β are expressed in most cell types, which is, in part, why cancer has been a primary drug development pathway. PI3Kδ and γ are present mainly in hematopoietic cells, suggesting that they will be better targets for therapeutic intervention in autoimmune diseases . Mice lacking PI3Kγ have altered signaling in T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and mast cells. This particular kinase is a key convergence point for many chemokine receptors. Therefore, a PI3Kγ inhibitor could potentially block chemokine function more effectively than targeting individual receptors. PI3Kδ-deficient mice have more subtle defects in neutrophil signaling and T-cell activation but have impaired B-cell functions. Interestingly, migration to the bacterial product fMLP (N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine) remains intact in PI3Kδ-deficient cells while it is impaired after PI3Kγ blockade. Preclinical data show that PI3Kδ and γ inhibition can decrease the severity of arthritis either separately or in combination, the latter leading to a synergistic effect [67, 68]. In addition, PI3Kγ deficiency decreases disease activity in murine lupus models . The array of potential therapeutic targets described above is impressive but still represents only a small part of the spectrum (Table 1). There are many other therapeutic targets with great potential merit, and space limitations prevent a detailed discussion of each one. This cornucopia of targets includes other approaches that can modulate cytokines (for example, adenosine A3 receptors), proteases (for example, collagenases), ion channels (for example, P2X7 receptor), and innate immune responses (for example, IFNs and Toll-like receptors). Time will tell whether one of these pathways or the ones described in more detail above will lead the way to the next generation of therapeutics. Identifying possible targets is no longer the major hurdle; rather, prioritizing potential drugs among limited patient populations, using novel study designs in an era when placebo-controlled studies have become increasingly difficult, and using genomic and biomarker data to predict clinical response and toxicity are key issues that will need to be addressed. Nevertheless, our new molecular understanding of human disease will likely lead to a pipeline of breakthrough therapies over the coming years that will improve survival and quality of life for our patients. Completed phase III in RA. Phase III for sJIA. Insufficient efficacy in phase II (RA). Phase I in RA, psoriasis, and others. Phase II for psoriatic arthritis. Lack of efficacy in RA. Phase III in SLE. Lack of efficacy in RA for LTβ (phase II). Phase II in RA, SLE. Decreased erosions in RA (phase II). Phase I/II in RA and transplant. Phase II in RA, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn disease, and other inflammatory diseases. Phase II in RA and scleroderma. Many other compounds and targets not listed are also being evaluated. Suffixes: -cept, receptor-antibody fusion protein; -umab, human monoclonal antibody; -zumab, humanized monoclonal antibody. APRIL, a proliferation-inducing ligand; BAFF, B-cell activation factor of the tumor necrosis factor family; BLyS, B-lymphocyte stimulator; ERK, extracellular regulating kinase; GPCR, G-protein coupled receptor; IL, interleukin; JAK, Janus kinase; LIGHT, lymphotoxin-related inducible ligand that competes for glycoprotein D binding to herpes virus entry mediator on T cells; LT, lymphotoxin; mAb, monoclonal (therapeutic) antibody; MEK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; P13K, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; PDGF-R, platelet-derived growth factor receptor; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RANKL, receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand; sJIA, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; SMIP, small modular immunopharmaceutical; Syk, spleen tyrosine kinase. Supported in part by NIH grants AI067752, AI070555, and AR47825.

2019-04-23T06:37:47Z

https://arthritis-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/ar2556

Biomarkers are invaluable drug development tools to assess and monitor safety in early clinical trials especially when exposure margins are limiting for promising therapeutics. Although progress has been made towards identifying and implementing translational safety biomarkers for a number of organ toxicities such as kidney and liver, significant biomarker gaps still exist to monitor toxicities for testis, pancreas, etc. Several precompetitive consortia [e.g., Predictive Safety Testing Consortia (PSTC), Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)] are working with industry, academia, government, patient advocacy groups and foundations with a goal to qualify biomarkers such that they can be used in preclinical studies and clinical trials to accelerate drug development. This manuscript discusses the complexities of novel biomarker discovery, validation and international regulatory qualifications intended for clinical trial applications and shares specific examples from Pfizer Research and Development. As safety biomarkers become widely accepted and qualified by the regulatory agencies, they will increasingly be implemented in early clinical trials, play a key role in decision making and facilitate the progression of promising therapeutics from preclinical through clinical development. The pharmaceutical industry continues to face challenges in terms of declining productivity. The overall cost of drug development and time for most drugs to reach market has been increasing over the past several decades. From 1975 to 2015, the total expenditures per year for drug discovery and development rose approximately 5-fold while the number of United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new drug registrations per year remained relatively flat (Boyer et al., 2016). Substantial resources are being invested in research and development (R&D) across the industry into compounds that eventually fail. The current pharmaceutical R&D process results in only ~10% of the molecules entering phase 1 clinical trials reaching full approval by the FDA (Hay et al., 2014). This high rate of attrition is a key driver in reducing productivity and a significant challenge to the industry. There are a number of explanations for the decrease in productivity including a focus of the industry in areas of unmet medical need and novel biological mechanisms with high risk of failure, a higher entry bar for new drugs due to a competition with enhanced standard of care, higher regulatory hurdles, commercial and financial portfolio decisions and an increase in the complexity and cost of clinical trials (Roberts et al., 2014; Hay et al., 2014); however when a root-cause analysis was completed on 359 phase 3 and 95 new molecular entities and biologic license applications, safety and efficacy were shown to be the two primary causes for compound suspension (Hay et al., 2014). The standard preclinical testing paradigm has markedly improved drug safety over the past 30 years. In 2000, the results from a multinational pharmaceutical survey and the outcome of an International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Workshop were reported and showed that 70% of human toxicity observed during clinical trials is predicted by preclinical studies (Olson et al., 2000). In addition, a 2013 study in Japan reported that 48% of adverse drug reactions observed in clinical trials were predicted by a comprehensive preclinical safety assessment (Ahuja and Sharma, 2014); and in 2017, the IQ Consortium created and utilized an industry-wide nonclinical to clinical translational database to report that animal studies not only have value in predicting human toxicities but also that an absence of toxicity in nonclinical studies predicts a similar outcome in the clinic (Monticello et al., 2017). However, the inability to predict failures before or early in clinical trials remains a main cause of attrition (Ahuja and Sharma, 2014) as failures in clinical safety not predicted in preclinical studies continue to be a major cause of compound termination (Clark and Steger-Hartmann, 2018). In addition, clinical failures due to toxicity are not limited to the early clinical portfolio but are also evident in late stage development and post-marketing surveillance (Waring et al., 2015). Thus while preclinical data has had a significant impact on improving clinical drug safety, failures due to toxicity remain a key challenge facing the industry. The high rate of attrition and cost of drug development has prompted a surge in research in the area of biomarkers. According to the FDA/National Institute of Health (NIH)’s BEST (Biomarkers, Endpoints, and other Tools Resource) guide, a biomarker is a ‘defined characteristic that is measured as an indicator of normal biologic processes, pathogenic processes, or responses to an exposure or intervention, including therapeutic interventions (FDA, 2016a).’ Biomarkers are invaluable drug development tools utilized to better understand the translatability of preclinical findings into human adverse events and to better assess and monitor these findings in the clinic especially when exposure margins are limiting for promising therapeutics. Although progress has been made towards identifying and implementing translational safety biomarkers for a number of organ toxicities such as kidney and liver, significant biomarker gaps still exist. Several precompetitive consortia (e.g., PSTC, IMI) are working with industry, academia, government, patient advocacy groups and foundations with a goal to qualify biomarkers such that they can be implemented in preclinical studies and clinical trials to accelerate drug development. This paper discusses the complexities of discovering, validating and qualifying novel biomarkers to understand organ toxicities and to accelerate drug development decisions. Specific biomarker case examples are highlighted to describe their implementation in preclinical and early clinical development to characterize safety issues, understand mechanisms and monitor clinical safety. As safety biomarker assays are validated and qualified by the regulatory agencies, they will increasingly play a key role in decision making and facilitate the progression of promising therapeutics from preclinical through clinical development. This, however, is not a trivial endeavor and the path to success may best be achieved through a collaborative effort among industry, academia and regulatory partners. In 2004, the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative emphasized the need for innovation in drug development and suggested the use of biomarkers to evaluate and predict safety and effectiveness, provide informative links between mechanism of action and clinical utility, understand the translatability between preclinical species and humans, and serve as surrogate endpoints. With a focus on generating and implementing translatable biomarkers early in the drug development process, the goal was for the pharmaceutical industry to improve the high attrition rates and process inefficiencies in terms of cost and time observed across the industry (Haim, 2011; Woodcock and Woosley, 2008). In drug development, biomarkers categorized as target biomarkers assess the ability of the drug to reach and engage the target while mechanism biomarkers test the ability of the drug to induce the expected measurable molecular or cellular pharmacodynamics response. Finally, the linkage of the mechanism to the clinical response or efficacy is assessed by disease biomarkers or clinical activity scores. Ideally, safety biomarkers inform the presence or extent of toxicity and thus increase confidence in safety and the ability to predict, detect and monitor the progression of drug-induced toxicity. The ability of safety biomarkers to detect early toxicity, monitor onset and reversibility, and manage adverse effects observed in the clinic will determine its overall utility and impact in preclinical and clinical drug development. With the emergence of innovative technologies and a diverse set of in vitro and in vivo models, the development of novel safety biomarkers has evolved to include not only the singular measurement of circulating proteins but also expression profile signatures in blood/tissue, noninvasive imaging and genetic variations in DNA (Currid and Gallagher, 2008). Assays for these biomarkers range from exploratory fit for purpose to fully validated and qualified by the regulators for a specific context of use and the process of assay validation should be regarded as being continuous and evolving over-time. Pfizer has a strong commitment to developing and implementing translatable biomarker strategies within drug development including applying protein biomarkers for drug-induced toxicity in the stomach, kidney, skeletal muscle and liver and small molecules/metabolites as biomarkers for drug-induced toxicity to the liver and heart. Several biomarker case examples from Pfizer R&D efforts are included in this review. All procedures performed on animals used in Pfizer examples were in accordance with regulations and established guidelines and were reviewed and approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. A number of emerging urinary kidney markers including kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), clusterin, microalbumin, trefoil factor 3, α-glutathione S-transferase, N-acetyl-β- D-glucosaminidase (NAG), neutrophil gelatinase-associated protein (NGAL) and osteopontin are currently being evaluated across the industry. Published studies of emerging markers show promising results in terms of increased sensitivity and specificity in comparison to the standard serum markers, serum creatinine (sCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (Chen et al., 2017; Dieterle et al., 2010a; Fuchs and Hewitt, 2011; Ozer et al., 2010; Koyner et al., 2010). Although sCr and BUN continue to be utilized as primary renal markers in clinical practice, they are considered poor indicators of early renal dysfunction due to limited sensitivity, remaining relatively unchanged until significant renal damage occurs. Consequently, further evaluation of novel urinary biomarkers of acute kidney injury (AKI) is warranted both in preclinical species and in humans. In order to better understand the performance of KIM-1, NGAL, and NAG in the rat and to provide foundational information for potential clinical studies, a rat study was conducted to compare the performance of these urinary biomarkers to the standard serum markers of AKI for the detection of nephrotoxicity (Burt et al., 2014). These 3 markers were selected after a prescreening of a larger panel based on performance after administration of polymyxin B, a polypeptide antibiotic used for the treatment of life-threatening Gram-negative bacterial infections. Use of these antibiotics in the clinic has been drastically limited due to drug-induced AKI and thus the further development of more-sensitive renal markers has the potential to not only impact drug development but also patient care in the clinic. In this study, rats (5/group) were dosed with 0.1, 0.4, 1, 4 or 10 mg/kg polymyxin B for 2 or 14 days and then necropsied. The highest tolerated dose was 4 mg/kg. Histopathological examination of kidneys from the treated rats showed minimal chronic progressive nephropathy (CPN) in a single rat at the 3 lowest doses, minimal to moderate tubular degeneration/regeneration in 4 animals dosed at 4 mg/kg/day and minimal tubular necrosis in a single rat at 10/mg/kg/day, indicative of drug-induced kidney injury. Of the biomarkers tested, only NGAL and KIM-1 produced dose-dependent statistically significant elevations, 13-fold and 3-fold respectively, as early as 48 hr post-dose. In comparison, sCr was not affected by polymyxin treatment and increases in BUN were small (1.3-fold) and were not dose-dependent. Urinary NGAL, however, was the most sensitive biomarker of AKI in this rat model, responding to the early onset of kidney injury observed with polymyxin. Since urinary NGAL levels reached a maximum increase at 48 hr post-dose (Fig. 1) that correlated with kidney histopathology, a 2-day study design was implemented for screening and rank ordering potential drug candidates utilizing NGAL as the biomarker for AKI. This design provided an important tool for selecting novel polymyxin B analogs with an improved kidney safety profile, affording an efficient, cost-effective drug development biomarker-driven strategy. This work also provided a basis for potential clinical studies to further evaluate the diagnostic utility of these urinary kidney biomarkers in patients (Burt et al., 2014). NGAL response in rats to polymyxin B treatment. Urine was collected at intervals throughout the study with dosing on Day 0. Group mean values from the treated group were compared with the mean of the saline control group (* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01). Spontaneous histologic changes in laboratory animal species including rabbits can hamper accurate toxicologic interpretation in preclinical safety studies, especially if detailed study procedures are included. As early as 1924, publications described inflammatory heart findings with multifocal myocardial infiltrates of lymphocytes and/or macrophages in otherwise healthy rabbits (Sellers et al., 2017). In order to better characterize these myocardial findings and further understand the impact of study-related procedures on these findings, a large study was designed in New Zealand White female rabbits with either an increase (Group 1) or decrease (Group 2) in the number of study-related procedures and animal handling. Blood was collected for coagulation, hematology and clinical chemistry analysis including stress-associated serum biomarkers (epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and corticosterone) at various time points throughout the study for Group 1 and only at baseline and necropsy for Group 2 to minimize handling and procedures (Sellers et al., 2017). Group 1 animals with the increased procedures had a higher incidence of inflammation with degeneration/necrosis in cardiac myocytes than the animals from the minimal procedure group (Group 2). Serum stress markers including cortisol and norepinephrine showed the greatest response in Group 1 animals with peak values usually occurring 4 hr and 48 hr post-dose respectively (Fig. 2). This study provided further evidence that increased procedures and handling during study conduct exacerbates the frequency and severity of myocardial inflammatory findings and may be mediated by a stress response. Based on these findings, it was proposed that stress hormones, in particular norepinephrine and cortisol, could be utilized to assess the risk of the myocardial findings observed in rabbit toxicology studies (Sellers et al., 2017). Norepinephrine and Cortisol levels in rabbits following dosing with saline on Days 29, 43 and 57 with blood collections pre-dose (vertical lines) and at 4, 24 and 48 hr post-dose. Data represents group means ± SEM. Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is a polysaccharide located in the extracellular matrix. It is synthesized by mesenchymal cells and cleared almost exclusively by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs). Circulating HA levels have been shown to be elevated with structural and/or functional damage to the liver SEC and have shown promise in the clinic when studied for the noninvasive detection of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS). Currently the diagnosis of SOS in the clinic relies on nonspecific clinical and laboratory measures and/or events occurring late in the development of the disease including jaundice, painful hepatomegaly, weight gain and ascites. SOS has been reported in patients treated with antibody-calicheamicin conjugates including gemtuzumab ozogamicin and inotuzumab developed for acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively (Guffroy et al., 2017). Liver toxicity based on elevated aspartate aminotransferases (AST) and bilirubin levels was observed with occasional hepatic SOS following treatment with these antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). While these two ADCs have different monoclonal antibodies, they are composed of the same linker and calicheamicin payload. To further evaluate the mechanism of the adverse event and to identify potential safety biomarker to detect the damage throughout the disease course, an experiment was initiated to characterize the liver injury observed with the ADCs. Cynomologous monkeys were dosed with an antibody-calicheamicin conjugate containing the same linker-payload as gemtuzumab ozogamicin and inotuzumab. Monkeys were dosed with up to 3 intravenous bolus injections 3 weeks apart and were necropsied 48 hr following the first dose on day 3 and 3 weeks after the third administration on day 63. Liver histopathology showed midzonal degeneration and loss of SECs on day 3 and variable endothelial recovery and progression to a combination of sinusoidal capillarization and sinusoidal dilation/hepatocellular atrophy, consistent with early SOS. Minimal increases in AST levels (up to 3.1x) were observed on day 4 and remained elevated over the duration of the study. HA levels (up to 8.5x) were elevated on day 3 and were sustained thru day 63 in all treated monkeys (Fig. 3) demonstrating the ability of this marker to detect early structural damage (day 3) and later functional impairment (day 63) of SECs. HA also showed good correlation to AST levels and microscopic liver findings throughout the study. Since HA, unlike AST, is linked mechanistically to SOS, it was proposed as a sensitive exploratory diagnostic marker of liver microvascular injury capable of non-invasive detection of SOS in the clinic (Guffroy et al., 2017). Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) levels in monkeys following dosing (vertical lines) with an antibody-calicheamicin conjugate and linker. Data represents group means. Statistically significant changes were observed for both HA and AST when compared to vehicle controls at all time points following dosing. Gastrin is secreted from the stomach and plays a key role in the regulation of gastric acid secretion. Gastrin is synthesized in special endocrine cells (G cells) primarily in the antral region of the gastric mucosa and binds receptors found predominantly on parietal cells stimulating gastric juice secretion, the best-known of which is hydrochloric acid (HCl) (Henderson, 2001). The capacity of the stomach to secrete HCl normally is directly proportional to the parietal cell number. High levels of circulating gastrin can occur when the pH of the stomach is high while gastrin secretion by antral G cells is inhibited by the direct action of acid on the G cells. When the stomach lining is damaged and unable to produce and release acid, gastrin continues to be secreted from the fundus and circulating levels rise. Changes in serum gastrin have been shown to be predictive of the functional status of the antral mucosa, making it attractive as a potential biomarker of drug-induced stomach toxicity (Graham et al., 2006; Nicolaou et al., 2014). To further evaluate gastrin as a potential marker of stomach toxicity, a 28-day dog study was conducted with a compound associated with gastric effects. Minimal to moderate atrophy and minimal degeneration of the fundic mucosa were seen at histologic examinations. Mean serum gastrin levels in the treated animals were 23x higher than concurrent controls (Fig. 4) and were attributed to the lack of acid production by the damaged parietal cells, indicating a failure of the feedback mechanism that controls the acid output in the stomach. In individual dogs, serum gastrin levels were elevated (up to 52x) compared to concurrent controls and these levels correlated with the severity of the adverse microscopic stomach findings. Based on these data, serum gastrin was proposed as a non-invasive stomach-specific biomarker to monitor for stomach toxicity in the clinic. Gastrin concentrations in a 28 Day Dog Study following treatment with vehicle or a compound associated with gastric effects. Data represents group means ± SD. Many of the safety biomarkers currently considered conventional and measured routinely in both preclinical and clinical drug development as well as in clinical practice were established prior to the implementation of a formal regulatory qualification process. They were accepted based on scientific community consensus, i.e. review of datasets published in peer reviewed journals, experience in clinical practice, and recommendations from professional medical associations. For example, cardiac troponin (cTn) was recognized as a clinical biomarker of acute myocardial infarction by the American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology in 2000 (Jaffe, 2001) just thirteen years after the development of the first troponin assay (Danese and Montagnana, 2016). Diagnostic criteria were recommended based on published literature and clinical experience with an acknowledgement that the criteria should continue to evolve as additional knowledge was gained (Jaffe, 2001). Subsequent to clinical acceptance, cTn was evaluated as a preclinical marker by the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Cardiac Troponins Biomarker Working Group (Reagan, 2010) and received full qualification from the FDA in 2012 based solely on evidence from peer reviewed scientific literature (FDA, 2012). Another pathway to biomarker approval is through biomarker evaluation for a drug-specific application. In this case, the biomarker may only be used in a single drug development program and the data required to support the use of the biomarker in the program is determined by the sponsor communicating directly with the regulatory reviewing division accountable for the program (Mattes and Goodsaid, 2018). Utilization of this pathway limits the knowledge of the biomarker’s performance and intended use for the specified program but may enable time saving and efficient progression of a promising compound into clinical development. In order for a biomarker to be approved for multiple drug development programs, it must pass the rigor of the full regulatory qualification process. Qualification is defined by the FDA as ‘a conclusion that within the stated context of use, the results of assessment with a drug development tool (biomarker) can be relied upon to have a specific interpretation and application in drug development and regulatory review (FDA, 2014).’ Biomarkers reaching this milestone can support regulatory decisions in drug development programs for the approved context of use (COU) in clinical trials. According to the FDA, the COU is ‘a comprehensive and clear statement that describes the manner of use, interpretation, and purpose of use of the biomarker in drug development (FDA, 2016b).’ With the enactment of the 21st Century Cures Act in December 2016, an updated multi-stage biomarker qualification process was established which included three submission stages: the Letter of Intent, the Qualification Plan and the Full Qualification Package. The Biomarker Qualification Program is one of the Drug Development Tools created by the Center of Drug Evaluation and Research to provide a framework for development and regulatory acceptance of biomarkers for use in drug development programs. Similar programs outlining processes for the submission and review of data supporting the approval of new biomarkers are also in place at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Japanese Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PDMA). While the agencies work closely on qualification efforts, a fully harmonized approach has yet to be established. However, these regulatory pathways provide a process to review, evaluate and adopt new tools into regulatory decision making in drug development and facilitate consensus science and acceptance of the biomarker’s proposed COU in drug development (Dennis et al., 2013). To better understand the elements of biomarker qualification, a framework for evidentiary standards for biomarker qualification was recently proposed under the auspices of the Foundation for the National Institute of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium with representatives from FDA, NIH, industry, patient groups and academia. Five components were incorporated into the framework and included: 1) defining a statement of need (knowledge gap or drug development need) that the biomarker intends to address; 2) defining the COU; 3) assessing the benefits in light of the COU; 4) assessing the risks with regards to the COU and 5) defining the evidentiary criteria required to support the COU (Leptak et al., 2017). The COU determines the level of evidence needed both for the validation of analytical technology employed and for the qualification of the biomarker. The greater the risk to human health of an incorrect decision based on the use of the biomarker, the greater the level of evidence required for the qualifying the biomarker for that COU (Dennis et al., 2013). The assessment of the evidentiary criteria is intended to be utilized as a ‘communication tool for gaining alignment between submitters and FDA reviewers at several key milestones for a biomarker development plan: (i) initial discussions to align expectations; (ii) purposeful interim progress updates to ensure that evidence expectations have been met before proceeding further; and (iii) review evaluation to support the qualification outcome (Leptak et al., 2017).’ The ultimate goal of this effort was to improve the quality of submissions to the FDA, facilitate a level of predictability in the qualification process, and provide clarity as to the type and level of evidence needed to support a biomarker’s COU (Leptak et al., 2017). Due to the complexity of the qualification process and considerable resources required to reach full qualification of a biomarker, efforts are primarily focused in consortia such the HESI, the PSTC, the IMI Safer and Faster Evidence-based Translation (SAFE-T) consortium and more recently the IMI Translational Safety Biomarker Pipeline (TransBioLine) consortium. To date, 4 safety biomarker submissions have been successful. This included 2 preclinical qualifications for a number of emerging urinary nephrotoxicity biomarkers and one nonclinical qualification of circulating cardiac troponins as indicators of cardiotoxicity. Earlier this year, the first clinical safety biomarker submission reached approval for a panel of urinary biomarkers to aid in the detection of kidney tubular injury in phase 1 trials in healthy volunteers (FDA, 2018b). GLDH has been shown to be a sensitive measure of hepatotoxicity in preclinical species and in humans (Giffen et al., 2003; Schomaker et al., 2013) and is currently going through the regulatory qualification process sponsored by the PSTC and the Duchenne Regulatory Science Consortia (D-RSC). The gold standard biomarker for the diagnosis of liver injury is alanine aminotransferase (ALT). However since ALT is also present in myocytes, serum ALT activities can increase with muscle injury; thus, the development of more specific biomarkers for drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is needed. For this qualification, the proposed COU for GLDH is that ‘elevated serum GLDH activity is a measure of hepatocellular injury, and can be used in healthy subjects and patients as an adjunct to ALT, the current standard biomarker used to assess hepatocellular injury, in all stages of drug development. In a clinical situation when ALT increases are observed, GLDH can lend weight of evidence to confirm or rule out hepatocellular injury (EMA, 2017).’ The qualification submission will include a full technical validation of the assay and an evaluation of the clinical relevance of the biomarker, e.g., added value relative to aminotransferase activity, correlation to histopathology in a preclinical species and exploratory and confirmatory analyses in clinical subjects with regulatory guidance. The evaluation of clinical relevance includes establishing reference ranges for healthy subjects and evaluating the influence of gender and age, confirming GLDH as a sensitive biomarker of liver injury and establishing medically relevant cutoffs for DILI, and establishing GLDH as a specific biomarker of hepatocellular injury in comparison to ALT. In March of 2017, a joint FDA and EMA biomarker qualification consultation meeting was held for GLDH. This meeting provided regulatory support for using organ injury induced by diseases with a wide range of etiologies as approximation of chemical-induced organ injury for evaluation of performance of novel biomarkers. This was a paradigm shift in the development of safety biomarkers, since it eliminates the need for lengthy clinical trials and improves feasibility and efficiency of biomarker research. The EMA issued a Letter of Support (LoS) in November 2017 demonstrating the Agency’s support of the qualification and provided additional feedback regarding data needed for achieving full qualification of GDLH as a “Drug Development Tool”. This LoS not only recognized the potential value of GLDH as a liver specific biomarker of hepatocellular injury to address important unmet medical need but also endorsed data interpretation including medically relevant levels of GLDH (2.5x and 5x above upper limit of normal) that were established as part of the qualification effort (EMA, 2017). This qualification effort, initiated in 2015 supported by Pfizer internal exploratory data, is expected to reach fruition in 2019 with the submission of the full qualification package. The formal qualification of GLDH as a liver specific biomarker of hepatocellular injury will not only allow for the broad application of GLDH across programs, but will also enable the diagnosis of the onset of liver disease in subjects with underlying muscle impairments, which is an important unmet medical need widely recognized by the medical community. To this end, Pfizer has partnered with the PSTC, the Duchenne Regulatory Science Consortium (D-RSC), Roche, the maker of the research grade GLDH assay, and FDA to validate the GLDH assay as an in vitro diagnostic (IVD) which would allow the assay to be utilized in clinical practice and lead to an improved standard of care for patients living with muscle disease. Serum AST and creatine kinase (CK) have been used for decades as the primary biomarkers for skeletal muscle (SKM) injury as a measure of myocyte degeneration/necrosis. However, these markers lack tissue specificity for SKM and sensitivity for SKM degeneration/necrosis in both rats and humans. In 2010, the PSTC’s Skeletal Muscle Working Group was formed with a goal to identify and qualify novel safety biomarkers of drug-induced SKM injury that would add value to the current markers, CK and AST, for monitoring SKM injury. The muscle injury panel (MIP) selected for evaluation included skeletal troponin I, myosin light chain, fatty acid-binding protein and creatine kinase measured by a mass assay. These markers were assessed in 34 rat studies and were shown to outperform AST and CK (enzymatic assay) individually and as a panel in terms of sensitivity and specificity and/or added value for the diagnosis of drug-induced SKM injury defined as myocyte degeneration/necrosis (Burch et al., 2016). Based on this data, the FDA and EMA issued Letters of Support (EMA, 2015; FDA, 2015) for the use of these markers in preclinical development and encouraged their use in early clinical trials in an exploratory context. This endorsement encouraged Burch et al. (Burch et al., 2015) to evaluate the translatability of these markers in patients with DMD and other muscular diseases and their ability to monitor disease progression and the response to treatment. In this study, the MIP biomarker responses was compared to current clinical assessments including CK activity, ambulatory status and cardiac function and were shown to not only better reflect the patients’ disease state compared to CK activity but also correlate with clinical endpoints in patients with DMD and other muscular diseases. These preclinical and clinical evaluations provided support for a qualification submission which is currently in progress. This qualification, sponsored by the PSTC, will evaluate the marker’s ability to monitor SKM degeneration/necrosis in conjunction with AST and CK enzymatic activity in early clinical trials and encourage the utilization of the MIP markers throughout drug development to improve patient safety in clinical trials (Burch et al., 2016). In support of the qualification effort, Pfizer has included the MIP markers on a number of clinical trials as exploratory biomarkers; however, the utility of the markers as SKM safety or efficacy end points to these therapeutic interventions has yet to be determined (Goldstein, 2017). In 2008 the first formal qualification of preclinical safety biomarkers was granted by the FDA (FDA, 2008) and EMA (EMA, 2008a) followed by PMDA in 2010 (PMDA, 2010) for seven urinary safety biomarkers submitted by the PSTC. In 2010, a qualification was rendered by the FDA for the two preclinical urinary biomarkers, clusterin, renal papillary antigen-1 (RPA-1), submitted by HESI and in 2018 the FDA qualified the first clinical safety biomarkers, a set of six urinary markers interpreted as a Composite Measure (CM) (FDA, 2018a) submitted by PSTC. In all cases, the biomarkers are to be used in conjunction with the traditional measures, serum creatinine (sCr) and blood nitrogen urea (BUN), for the evaluation of nephrotoxicity. sCr and BUN are both insensitive and nonspecific, changing only after significant injury and with a time delay relative to the onset of injury (Vaidya et al., 2008) limiting their ability to accurately estimate injury onset and the severity of the dysfunction following injury (Ferguson et al., 2008). The seven biomarkers included in the PSTC preclinical submission included KIM-1, clusterin (CLU), albumin, total protein, β2-microglobulin, cystatin C and trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) in urine. The submission contained data and data interpretation from a number of rat studies, a review of the scientific literature in humans (KIM-1, albumin, total protein, cystatin C, and β2-microglobulin), COUs for each biomarker (Dieterle et al., 2010b) and key conclusions. The PSTC put forth three specific biomarker claims in the submission. First, urinary KIM-1, CLU, and albumin can individually outperform and add information to BUN and sCr assays as early diagnostic biomarkers of drug-induced kidney tubular alterations in rat toxicology studies. Second, urinary TFF3 can add information to BUN and sCr assays in rat toxicology studies as an early diagnostic biomarker of drug-induced acute kidney injury tubular alterations. Third, total urinary protein, cystatin C, and β2-microglobulin can individually outperform sCr assays and add information to BUN and sCr assays as early diagnostic biomarkers in rat toxicology studies of acute drug-induced glomerular alterations or damage resulting in impairment of kidney tubular reabsorption (Dieterle et al., 2010b). In addition, the PSTC claimed that this rat data taken together with the published peer-reviewed clinical data supported the voluntary use of KIM-1, albumin, total protein, cystatin C, and β2-microglobulin as bridging markers for early clinical trials on a case-by-case basis when concerns are generated in GLP animal toxicology studies. During the qualification effort, the FDA and EMA provided feedback regarding submission gaps, statistical considerations and preliminary conclusion statements (EMA, 2008b) which culminated in letters of acceptance for the preclinical qualifications from both agencies. In 2008, the FDA and EMA concluded that the urinary kidney biomarkers KIM-1, CLU, albumin, total protein, β2-microglobulin, cystatin C and TFF3 were acceptable for the detection of acute drug-induced kidney injury in rats to be included along with traditional clinical chemistry markers and histopathology in toxicology studies. The EMA also stated that while it was worthwhile exploring their utility in early clinical trials as clinical biomarkers, until additional data was available “to correlate the biomarkers with the evolution of the nephrotoxic alternations, and their reversibility, their general use for monitoring nephrotoxicity in clinical setting cannot be recommended (EMA, 2008b).” Based on this data, in 2010 the PDMA announced the first biomarker qualification decision under the new consultation process on pharmacogenomics/biomarkers use in Japan. These recommendations, consistent with the concept of a progressive biomarker qualification, prompted the generation and submission of additional preclinical and clinical data to expand the COU. In an expanded effort, the SAFE-T and PSTC consortia continued the work on urinary kidney injury biomarkers by evaluating the performance of KIM-1, CLU, NGAL, albumin, total protein, cystatin C, α -glutatione S-transferase and urinary osteopontin in clinical trials. The trials included a study in healthy volunteers, an exploratory study with cisplatin-treated cancer patients, and a study in patients undergoing coronary angiography. The markers selected are localized in different regions of the nephron thus the panel was expected to respond to a variety of nephrotoxicants. Based on the readout from these studies, both the FDA and EMA issued Letters of Support in 2016 encouraging the exploratory use of these markers as biomarkers of renal tubular injury in early clinical trials to be used in conjunction with traditional biomarkers and clinical and nonclinical findings (FDA, 2016c; EMA, 2016). Also in 2016, the FNIH Biomarker Consortium and the PSTC submitted a qualification submission for a kidney injury biomarker panel to be interpreted as a Composite Measure (the geometric mean of the fold change from baseline of the six urine biomarkers normalized to urine creatinine) of the following six biomarkers: KIM-1, CLU, cystatin C, NAG, NGAL and urinary osteopontin. According to the COU, “the safety composite biomarker panel is to be used in conjunction with traditional measures to aid in the detection of kidney tubular injury in phase 1 trials in healthy volunteers when there is an a priori concern that a drug may cause renal tubular injury in humans (FDA, 2018a).” The qualification strategy included a nonclinical phase, a clinical exploratory phase and a clinical confirmatory phase with a cisplatin study in cancer patients and an aminoglycoside study in cystic fibrosis patients. Based on this data, this panel, interpreted as a CM, was the first clinical safety biomarker to be qualified by the FDA. Following on the success of this qualification, the FNIH and PSTC have continued their partnership and have submitted a letter of intent to FDA, EMA and PDMA to further qualify the panel of biomarkers based on the individual biomarker response thus expanding on the qualified CM COU. Significant progress has been made towards implementing translational safety biomarker strategies into the drug development portfolio. Several pharmaceutical companies have been adopting exploratory biomarkers in their preclinical and clinical drug development programs and contributing to consortia led qualification efforts. While much progress has been made towards the qualification of biomarkers for some organ injures including liver, kidney, and muscle, significant gaps remain for other target organs such as biomarkers of vascular injury in humans, sensitive biomarkers of pancreatic injury, circulating biomarkers of testicular toxicity, and biomarkers of injury to the central nervous system. Because the process of biomarker development is complex and requires considerable resources (Gerlach et al., 2018), these efforts will best be pursued by consortia such as PSTC and IMI. Prior to widespread acceptance, each biomarker must undergo a rigorous assay validation; demonstrate relevance to humans and an association with clinical endpoints reproducibly in multiple studies and gain consensus regarding the level of evidence needed to support a qualification for the stated COU. Due to the complexity and feasibility challenges of prospective randomized drug intervention clinical trials, alternative sample collection strategies like the prospective collection of samples of organ damage etiologies from patients undergoing hospital visits employed in the GLDH qualification effort, need to be considered. These disease patient populations, once identified, can serve as surrogates for drug-induced organ injury to evaluate biomarker performance as long as common molecular and mechanistic pathways are shared between the disease and organ toxicity of interest. The prospective collection and storage of samples from clinical trials conducted for drug development is also an option (Aubrecht et al., 2013). As safety biomarkers become accepted and qualified by the regulatory agencies, they will increasingly play a key role in decision making and facilitate the progression of promising therapeutics from preclinical through clinical development, leading to the realization of our most critical goal: delivering the right dose of the right medicines to the right patients at the right time (Gerlach et al., 2018). Safety and tolerability of newly approved drug candidates still remains a key concern in drug development leading to black box warnings and withdrawals of promising therapeutics. A major hurdle is the lack of validated and qualified safety biomarkers that accurately diagnose, predict and inform mechanism of organ toxicities. Regulatory qualification of a safety biomarker is critical for routine application in clinical development. To address this hurdle and the complexities in biomarker development, considerable resources and partnerships across industry, academia, and regulators is needed. Although tremendous progress has been made towards identifying and implementing translational safety biomarkers for organ toxicities such as kidney and liver, significant gaps still exist to monitor toxicities for other common target organs such as pancreas, central nervous system, testis, and skeletal muscle. With the enactment of 21st Century Cures Act, the FDA biomarker qualification process has become more streamlined. In addition to developing a clear frame work for regulatory qualification, there is optimism towards expediting the qualification process so that promising therapeutics can be safely tested in the clinic and ultimately provide patients access to new medicines. Ahuja, V. and Sharma, S. (2014): Drug safety testing paradigm, current progress and future challenges: an overview. J. Appl. Toxicol., 34, 576-594. 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In: Tietz Fundamentals of Clincial Chemistry (Burtis, C.a.A., Edward, ed.), pp. 774-776, Saunders, Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Jaffe, A.S.; World Health Organization; European Society of Cardiology; American College of Cardiology. (2001): New standard for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Cardiol. Rev., 9, 318-322. Koyner, J.L., Vaidya, V.S., Bennett, M.R., Ma, Q., Worcester, E., Akhter, S.A., Raman, J., Jeevanandam, V., O’Connor, M.F., Devarajan, P., Bonventre, J.V. and Murray, P.T. (2010): Urinary biomarkers in the clinical prognosis and early detection of acute kidney injury. Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., 5, 2154-2165. Leptak, C., Menetski, J.P., Wagner, J.A., Aubrecht, J., Brady, L., Brumfield, M., Chin, W.W., Hoffmann, S., Kelloff, G., Lavezzari, G., Ranganathan, R., Sauer, J.M., Sistare, F.D., Zabka, T. and Wholley, D. (2017): What evidence do we need for biomarker qualification? Sci. Transl. Med., 9, 417. Mattes, W.B. and Goodsaid, F. 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2019-04-21T04:51:20Z

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jts/44/4/44_225/_html/-char/en

A liquid applicator is provided which is particularly useful in applying preoperative surgical scrubs or paints to skin. The liquid is contained in a frangible ampoule inside the body of the applicator. This ampoule is supported and protected by a deformable element that prevents unintentional breakage of the ampoule from impacts during storage and handling before use. The applicator is actuated by pushing at least a portion of the frangible ampoule through an aperture in the deformable element and into contact with a means for breaking the ampoule. This is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/985,306 filed Dec. 4, 1992 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,159. This invention relates to liquid applicators having particular utility in the field of surgery preparation. Most particularly, this invention relates to articles useful in applying pre-operative surgical scrubs or paints to skin. Antiseptic preparation of patients for surgery conventionally includes a 3-10 minute scrubbing of the affected area with a soap solution followed by the application of a water-soluble antiseptic paint solution. These solutions are generally applied with saturated sponges that are attached to a blade or held with forceps. The sponges are saturated by soaking in open pans of solution. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,415,288; 4,507,111; and 4,498,796 describe surgical scrub devices that include a liquid-containing, rupturable, cylindrical cartridge which is slidable within a tubular handle having one or two longitudinally oriented hollow spikes that communicate to recesses in the interior of a sponge. Sliding the cartridge in the tubular handle causes the spikes to rupture one end of the cartridge. Liquid from the cartridge flows through the lumen of the spikes to the sponge. To prevent rupture of the cartridge by the spikes from impact during, for example, shipping, an embodiment of the device incorporates an inwardly projecting shoulder in the tubular handle that may interfere with the sliding of the cartridge. Ease of actuation is also a potential problem with an applicator that requires puncturing a plastic cartridge. U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,684 describes a fluid dispenser that includes a liquid-containing ampoule in a flexible housing. A porous pad element is disposed over the bottom opening. The liquid is released to the porous pad by crushing the ampoule through the flexible housing walls. U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,385 describes a dispensing applicator having a wedge used for breaking a frangible ampoule. U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,268 to Andersen et al. discloses an apparatus for testing the sufficiency of sterilization. It includes an ampoule containing a sterile liquid culture medium which is broken by the user when a plunger pushes the ampoule against an opening wedge. Coassigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,327, which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a liquid applicator which incorporates a rigid, porous metering insert to regulate the flow rate of liquid disposed between the applicator handle and a foam sponge covering a major orifice of the handle. The liquid to be dispensed is contained in a rupturable reservoir removably affixed at the other major orifice of the handle. Since no means is provided for protecting the reservoir container, plastic is the preferred container material. However, plastic containers can limit the shelf life of many antiseptic solutions. (d) means associated with the hollow elongate member for rupturing the reservoir container after at least a portion of the container is pushed through the aperture in the deformable means. Although this device can be easily actuated by the application of a small steady force to push the reservoir container through the deformable means and into contact with the rupture means, the liquid-filled rupturable container is protected from breakage from large impact forces which may occur during shipping or handling. (g) means of maintaining atmospheric pressure within the hollow elongate member while the liquid is being dispensed. This embodiment of the applicator provides a means to reliably deliver in a short period of time a surgical prep solution to the applicator sponge without dripping. The applicator controls the flow rate of liquid therein to the applicator sponge without the need for external operator manipulation such as squeezing the liquid container or compressing the applicator sponge against an external surface. Although intended to apply modern, low viscosity, non-water-soluble, film-forming prep solutions, this device can be configured to apply a variety of solution compositions, viscosities, densities and volumes without compromising the fast wetting and no dripping features. FIG. 10 is a magnified plan view of the membrane fabricated in Example 3, pore sizes not to scale. With reference to the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 through 6, the applicator 10 includes a hollow elongate member 12 adapted to support and protect a rupturable reservoir container in the form of frangible ampoule 14 containing the solution to be applied by the applicator 10. The hollow elongate member 12 acts as a handle and as a fluid container after the ampoule 14 has been broken, but before the solution is dispensed by the foam sponge 16. The hollow elongate member 12 is bounded by a first major orifice 18 and second major orifice 20, one at each end. A flange 22 adapted to accept the foam sponge 16 surrounds the first orifice 18. Internally, the hollow elongate member 12 is conveniently constructed to include a shoulder 24 for retaining a collar 26, which serves as a preferred deformable means for supporting and protecting the ampoule 14 until the applicator 10 is to be used. A wedge 28 is conveniently constructed adjacent to the first orifice 18, which serves as a means for breaking the ampoule 14. Referring to FIG. 6, the collar 26 is conveniently constructed to include a plurality of radially projecting, cantilevered beam elements 36 projecting at a substantially right angle from a surrounding annular rim 38. In particularly preferred embodiments, the inside edge 40 of each of the cantilevered beam elements 36 is curved, and together these curves define an aperture 42. This aperture is specifically adapted to engage the bulb 44 of the neck portion 46 of the ampoule 14. In the embodiment depicted, the collar 26 is disposed between the first 18 and second 20 orifices of the hollow elongate member 12 at a position that is conveniently determined by an internal shoulder 24. Prior to actuation, the collar 26 prevents the neck portion 46 of the ampoule 14 from contacting the wedge 28. During actuation of the applicator 10, the bulb 44 of the ampoule neck portion 46 is pushed through the collar 26, causing the ampoule neck portion 46 to contact the wedge 28. The wedge 28 exerts a force perpendicular to the axis of the neck portion 46 of the ampoule 14 that results in the separation of the ampoule neck portion 46 from the ampoule body portion 48. This separation is facilitated by a stress-concentrator 50 between the ampoule neck portion 46 and body portion 48. Referring to FIG. 3, after the separation, the collar 26 acts to axially separate the ampoule neck portion 46 from the body portion 48, facilitating the flow of liquid from the ampoule 14. If the ampoule neck 46 were to remain in close proximity to the ampoule body 48, the opening 52 formed by the rupturing of the stress-concentrator 50 for the liquid to escape the ampoule 14 could be restricted. The cap 32 is adapted to close the second orifice 20 of the hollow elongate member 12 after insertion of the liquid-containing ampoule 14 during assembly of the applicator 10. The cap 32 is constructed to transmit the actuation force to the ampoule 14, vent the interior of the applicator to prevent "air-locking" and provide a leakproof seal. The cap 32 is axially retained to the hollow elongate member 12 by a snap fit joint created by the internally projecting lip 54 of the cap 32 and the externally projecting ridge 30 of the hollow elongate member 12. The cap 32 is constructed to include an axially projecting column 58 from the interior surface. The column 58 contains an axial hole that vents the interior of the applicator 10 to maintain atmospheric pressure as liquid flows out through the first orifice 18 of the hollow elongate member 12 into the foam sponge 16. Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, in a preferred embodiment, a flexible, porous layer 66 of porous material incorporated in a structurally rigid frame 68 is disposed over the first orifice 18 of the hollow elongate member 12, and is sandwiched between the surrounding flange 22 and the open-cell foam sponge 16. The porous layer 66 is disposed over the first orifice 18 to control the flow of liquid out of the hollow elongate member 12 and into the foam sponge 16. The foam sponge 16 can be selected from a variety of commercially available materials having a wide range of compression set ratios, densities and porosities. By varying the pore size, pore size distribution, void volume fraction and surface energy of the flexible porous layer and the compression set ratio and porosity of the foam sponge, applicators can be constructed to apply a variety of solution compositions, viscosities and volumes. The pore size, pore size distribution, void volume fraction and surface energy of the flexible porous layer and the compression set ratio and porosity of the open-cell foam sponge are adjusted in relation to the viscosity, density, volume and surface tension of the liquid to be dispensed to allow a portion of the liquid contained in the applicator to flow to the outer surface of the foam sponge without dripping when the applicator is suspended with the flange down. It should be noted that to create a completely dripless applicator, the amount of liquid to be dispensed by the device must not exceed the reservoiring capacity of the foam sponge. The invention will now be more particularly described in terms of the following particularly preferred embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the applicator 10 consists of the following components: a frangible ampoule 14 containing the solution to be dispensed; a hollow elongate member 12 adapted to accept the ampoule 14, and having a flange 22 surrounding a first orifice 18; a deformable collar 26 disposed within the hollow elongate member 12; a cap 32 including an air vent 64 positioned over the second major orifice 20 of the hollow elongate member 12; an integral metering/bonding insert 72 disposed within the flange 22 of the hollow elongate member 12; and a foam sponge 16 disposed over the metering/bonding insert 72. The frangible ampoule 14 is preferably made of glass, with a stress-concentrator 50 at a constriction separating a neck portion 46 from the body portion 48 of the ampoule 14. The neck portion 46 of the ampoule 14 includes a bulb 44 disposed between the lower end 74 of the neck portion 46 and the stress concentrator 50 of the ampoule. Frangible ampoules such as this are well known in the pharmaceutical field. The hollow elongate member 12 can be molded from any thermoplastic material compatible with the liquid to be dispensed. Preferably, the hollow elongate member 12 is molded from high density polyethylene. Features of the preferred embodiment of this component include a tubular handle portion 13, a dispensing portion 15, a first major orifice 18 with an integrally formed radially-projecting surrounding flange 22 adapted to accept the metering/bonding insert 72, a wedge 28 adjacent to the first orifice 18, a second major orifice 20 with a surrounding ridge 30 on the exterior surface of the hollow elongate member adapted to retain a cap 32, and a shoulder 24 disposed between the first orifice 18 and second orifice 20 adapted to support a collar 26. For surgical prep applications, it is important that the hollow elongate member 12 be long enough to prevent contact of the patient by the person applying the surgical prep solution. Preferably, for such applications the hollow elongate member is at least four inches long. In the preferred embodiment, the tubular handle portion 13 of the hollow elongate member has a larger diameter to accommodate the body of the ampoule, than the dispensing portion 15 which accommodates the neck portion 46 of the ampoule. Integrally-formed flange 22 surrounds the first orifice 18 and is angled from the longitudinal axis of the elongate member 12 by between 30 and 90 degrees. Most preferably, there is about a 45 degree angle between the flange 22 and the longitudinal axis of the hollow elongate member 12. The flange 22 preferably includes a recess 70 on the its interior surface. The recess is dimensioned and shaped to permit nesting therein of the metering/bonding insert 72. Wedge 28 is positioned to extend within the dispensing portion 15 of the hollow elongate member 12 near the first orifice 18 so as to be capable of contacting the end 74 of the ampoule neck portion 46 when the applicator 10 is actuated. Many different geometries are possible for the wedge 28. The preferred embodiment includes an integrally-formed projection with a first edge 76 at an angle from the longitudinal axis of the hollow elongate member 12 of 30 to 60 degrees, most preferably about 45 degress, and a second edge 78 parallel to the longitudinal axis. When the bulb 44 of ampoule 14 is pushed through the opening in collar 26 and towards the first orifice 18 of the hollow elongate member 12, the first edge 76 of the wedge 28 exerts a force perpendicular to the axis of elongate member 12 on the ampoule neck portion 46 which ruptures ampoule 14 at the stress concentrator 50. The ampoule neck portion 46 is wedged between the second edge 78 of the wedge 28 and the interior wall 80 of the tubular handle 13 opposite the wedge 28. Many geometric variations of wedge 28 capable of exerting such a perpendicular force on the ampoule neck 46 when the ampoule 14 is displaced will occur to the skilled artisan. The hollow elongate member 12 has an internal diameter transition between the tubular handle portion 13 and the dispensing portion 15 which provides an inwardly projecting shoulder 24 that limits the axial displacement of a collar 26. Collar 26 serves as the deformable means which support ampoule 14 and prevents unintentional breakage of the ampoule due to impact forces during shipment and storage. The collar 26 is conveniently constructed from a thermoplastic material. In the preferred embodiment, the collar 26 is injection molded from high density polyethylene. Referring to FIG. 6, the collar 26 preferably includes a plurality of radially projecting beam elements 36 cantilevered at an approximately right angle from a surrounding annular rim 38. Most preferably, the cantilevered beam elements project from one edge of the surrounding annular rim The inside edges 40 of the radially projecting beam elements define a central aperture 42. The central aperture 42 is nominally the same diameter as the lower end 74 of the ampoule neck portion 46 but significantly smaller than the diameter of the ampoule bulb 44. During assembly of the applicator 10, the collar 26 is inserted annular rim 38 up through second orifice 20 into the hollow elongate member 12 to the level of the shoulder 24. Annular rim 38 lies adjacent shoulder 24, with its outer surface abutting handle portion 13 of the hollow elongate member just above the shoulder portion around the entire perimeter of the annular rim. Ampoule 14 is inserted in the hollow elongate member, lower end 74 first. The ampoule neck portion 46 partially projects through the collar 26; however, the central aperture in the collar 26 is dimensioned such that in the assembled applicator, the bulb 44 of the ampoule neck portion 46 is not completely through the aperture The beam elements 36 exert a spring force on the bulb 44 of the ampoule neck 46 and prevent the lower end 74 of the ampoule neck portion 46 from contacting the wedge 28 The beam elements 36 dissipate impact or shock forces on the ampoule 14 that might occur during shipping. When the applicator is actuated, the beam elements 36 and the surrounding annular rim 38 elastically and plastically deflect as the ampoule bulb 44 is pushed through the collar 26 and into contact with wedge 28. In the preferred embodiment, the beam elements 36 are cantilevered from a thin annular rim 38. The rim 38 is designed to deflect when the beam elements 36 exert a critical bending moment upon it. This deflection of the rim effectively reduces the spring constant of the beam elements which produces a substantially constant force upon ampoule bulb 44 being forced through the aperture 42 that is independent of ampoule bulb diameter. Without this effect, the force required to push an ampoule through the aperture 42 in collar 26 would be nonlinearly related to the diameter of the ampoule bulb 44. Because glass ampoules of the type incorporated in this applicator are not manufactured by a blow molding process, the diameter of the bulb portion 44 of the ampoule 14 is significantly variable. Thus, without the use of the collar described herein, the force required to actuate each applicator would vary with each ampoule containing liquid to be dispensed. Preferably, the collar 26 is adapted to withstand the application of 13 to 18 Newtons of force without sufficient deflection to allow the ampoule bulb 44 to pass through aperture 42, but deflects to allow the ampoule bulb to pass through the aperture upon application of at least about 22 Newtons of force. In the preferred embodiment, a cap 32 covers the second major orifice 20 of the hollow elongate member 12. The cap includes an end wall 59 and annular side walls 61. The cap 32 can be fabricated from any compatible thermoplastic material. In the preferred embodiment, the cap element is injection molded from high density polyethylene. The cap is adapted to be attached to hollow elongate member 12 by means of a snap fit. This is accomplished by providing lip 54 inwardly projecting from side walls 61 adjacent to the major orifice 56 of the cap 32 which has a smaller inside diameter than the outside diameter of the outwardly projecting ridge 30 adjacent to the second orifice 20 of the hollow elongate member 12. When the applicator 10 is assembled, the lip 54 of cap 32 is snapped over the outwardly projecting ridge 30 on the hollow elongate member 12. The cap 32 is also adapted to provide a liquid seal between the cap 32 and the hollow elongate member 12. This is accomplished by providing that the inside diameter of the inwardly projecting lip 54 on the cap 32 is smaller than the outside diameter of the sealing surface 34 of the hollow elongate member 12 thereby providing an axially slidable seal by means of an interference fit. The cap 32 is adapted to transmit an actuation force to the glass ampoule 14 as the cap is axially displaced in the direction towards sponge 16. This force is transmitted by column 58 which axially projects from the interior surface of the end wall 59 of cap 32. Axial movement of column 58 in the direction towards sponge 16 forces the entire neck 46 of ampoule 14 through the aperture 42 in collar 26 and causes the ampoule neck 46 to contact the wedge 28. In order to avoid creating a vacuum and restricting flow through the applicator, a means of maintaining atmospheric pressure in the device is preferably employed. Thus, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, column 58 is constructed with an axial hole with a first larger orifice 82 that communicates to the external surface of the cap, and an air vent 64 at the end of the column 58. The axial hole in the cap 32 functions to aspirate air into the internal volume of the applicator as the liquid flows into the foam sponge 16 to maintain atmospheric pressure within the device and prevent "air-locking." Of course, other air vent means are envisioned by the inventors. Preferably, the geometry and location of the air vent would not result in leakage of liquid from the device. The annular volume between the end wall 59 and axial column 58 of the cap 32 and the inside surface 62 of the hollow elongate member 12 adjacent to the second orifice 20 provides a reservoir for liquid when the applicator 10 is inverted. The height of column 58 is designed to always exceed the level of liquid in the annular volume thereby preventing liquid from leaking out of the air vent 64 of the column 58. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, metering/bonding insert 72 which is dimensioned to rest in recess 70 of flange 22, includes a flexible porous layer 66 of porous material surrounded by a substantially rigid frame 68, preferably fabricated from thermoplastic material. The metering/bonding insert 72 can be fabricated by attaching the porous layer 66 to separate rigid frame 68 by means of adhesives, thermal staking, ultrasonic bonding and other methods. Rigid frame 68 can be fabricated by injection molding, extrusion and die cutting. In the preferred embodiment the metering/bonding insert 72 is fabricated by injection insert molding a thermoplastic rigid frame 68 around the porous layer 66. Preferably, rigid frame 68 is comprised of a thermoplastic or heat-activatable material filled with an inductively active material. Preferred examples include thermoplastic or heat-activatable material, such as polyethylene or hot melt adhesive, filled with an inductive metal or metal oxide powder, e.g., 5 to 50 percent by volume iron powder having an average particle size of about 300 to 400 mesh. A particularly preferred material is polyethylene filled with iron powder, commercially available from Ashland Chemical, Inc., Norwood, New Jersey, as "EMAWELD® Resin G10-214". During assembly of the applicator 10, the metering/bonding insert 72 is sandwiched between the flange 22 surrounding the first orifice 18 of the hollow elongate member 12 and the foam sponge 16. The assembled applicator 10 is then held in an inductively inactive fixture, e.g., plastic, and exposed to a high frequency alternating electromagnetic field. The frame 68 of the metering/bonding insert 72 is inductively melted thereby bonding the hollow elongate member 12, the metering/bonding insert 72, and foam sponge 16 together. The distribution and rate of delivery of the liquid to the open-cell foam sponge 16 is controlled by the porous layer 66 incorporated in the integral metering/bonding insert 72. For a given volume, viscosity, density and surface tension of the liquid, wetting of the foam sponge without dripping can be accomplished by appropriate specification of the average pore size, pore size distribution, void volume fraction and surface energy of the material from which the porous layer 66 is formed, and the permanent compression set ratio and porosity of the open-cell foam sponge 16. Preferably, the pore size, pore size distribution, void volume fraction and surface energy of the porous layer 66 incorporated in the metering/bonding insert 72 are adjusted so that for any given volume, viscosity, density and surface tension of the liquid to be applied the average flow rate of the liquid through the porous layer is between about 0.1 and 15 ml/sec. Greater flow rates than this will tend to result in an applicator which drips and applies uneven coats, while lower flow rates will result in an applicator which does not provide adequate liquid for surgical scrub applications. Most preferably, for surgical scrub applications the average flow rate of liquid through the porous layer 66 is between 0.25 and 10 ml/sec. In general, for lower volumes and/or higher viscosity liquids the pore size and/or void volume of the porous layer is adjusted upwards to achieve the desired flow rates. The rigidity provided by the structural frame 68 of the bonding/metering insert 72 enables flexible porous materials to be utilized as the porous layer 66 that would otherwise be difficult to handle in manufacturing. The structural frame 68 permits the use of inexpensive porous materials manufactured as sheets as the porous layer 66 to control the liquid flow rate. Combining the inductively meltable frame 68 with the porous layer 66 reduces the manufacturing cost of the applicator by allowing the utilization of inexpensive porous material and by reducing the number of parts. Insert molding an inductively meltable frame 68 around the flexible porous layer 66 results in a single part that can be easily handled by automated production equipment. The porous layer in the metering/bonding element 72 is preferably a flexible fabric, porous film or porous membrane, such as porous plastic film or porous metal foil, and flexible nonwoven porous material. Useful fabrics may be woven, non-woven or knit. By flexible it is meant that the material from which the porous layer is made can be wrapped around a 1 millimeter diameter mandrel without breaking. While flexible porous layers are preferred, rigid porous metering material, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,327, incorporated herein by reference, may also be employed. Preferably, the average pore size of the porous layer is between about 1 and 100 microns and the void volume fraction is between about 0.5 and 50 percent. Preferably, for surgical applications where antiseptic solutions are dispensed, the average pore size of the porous layer is between 3 and 65 microns and the void volume fraction is between about 1 and 35 percent. Most preferably, for such applications the average pore size is between about 5 and 50 microns and the void volume is between about 2 and 20 percent. The distribution of the pore sizes are preferably less than about 30 percent of the average pore size, more preferably less than about 20 percent, and most preferably less than about 10 percent of the average pore size. Illustrative examples of materials which may be used to make the flexible porous layer useful in the practice of the invention include: polyvinyls such as acrylics and methacrylics, polyynes, polyenes (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene, polydienes (e.g., polybutadiene and polyisoprene), polyesters (e.g., terephphalate esters, etc.), polyurethanes, polyamides (e.g., nylons), polyimides, polyethers, polyacrylamides, polyacrylonitriles, polycarbonates, etc. A preferred woven fabric from which to form porous layer 66 is commercially available as "Saatifil™ Polyester PES 18-13" from Saati Corp., Stamford, Conn. This material has an average mesh size of about 18 microns and a void volume fraction of about 13 percent. Preferred porous layers would include porous polymer films produced by phase inversion, laser ablation and other well known processes. The material from which to form porous layer 66 is selected so as to have an appropriate surface energy for the liquid to be dispensed by the applicator. For example, where the liquid to be applied has relatively high surface tension, such as water, the porous layer 66 is made from a material which has relatively high surface energy, such as polyacrylamide. In this way, wetting of the porous layer 66 by the high surface tension liquid is assured. With liquids having relatively low surface tensions, such as isopropyl-alcohol or ethanol, the choice of the material from which to form porous layer 66 is less important, since liquids with low surface tensions will wet porous layers with high or low surface energies. Preferably the porous layer is between about 5 microns (0.2 mil) and 525 microns (20 mil) thick, more preferably between about 12 microns (0.5 mil) and 50 microns (2 mil) thick. One type of useful flexible porous layer is a microstructured isoporous membrane having an array of pores therein, described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/804,294, filed Dec. 9, 1991, incorporated herein by reference. These membranes comprise a sheet having first and second major faces with at least one array of pores that extend through the entirety of the sheet from the first face to the second face. e) the land areas between pore openings are flat. FIG. 7 shows an illustrative embodiment of a microstructured membrane made in accordance with U.S. Ser. No. 07/804,294, wherein membrane 100 comprises sheet 120 with pores 140 therein. Pores 140 open in first face 160 of sheet 120 and extend through the entirety of sheet 120 to open through second face 180. An additional feature of some embodiments of these membranes is that, referring to FIG. 7, major portion 121 of the walls of each pore 140 are substantially parallel to longitudinal axis 122 of pore 140. As used herein, "longitudinal axis" refers to the axis of the orifice extending through the sheet 120. By "substantially parallel" it is meant that the deviation between the major portion of the wall of each opening and the longitudinal axis is less than about 5 degrees. Accordingly, in these embodiments the pore has a substantially uniform cross-sectional area throughout at least the portion defined by the major portions of its walls. As used herein, "cross-sectional area" refers to the area of a geometric surface on a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pore and bounded by the intersection of the plane with the walls of the opening. In these membranes the major portion, i.e., at least 50 percent and typically preferably at least 75 percent, of the length of the walls of each pore beginning at the edge of the opening in the first face of the sheet and extending through the sheet are substantially straight. Explained in another way, the regions of intersection with the walls or sides of an a pore of any plane parallel to and intersecting the longitudinal axis of the pore are straight lines for at least 50 percent and typically preferably at least 75 percent of the length of the regions of intersection. These membranes may be made with pores having an average "characteristic dimension" of desired size. As used herein, "characteristic dimension" means the largest cross-sectional dimension of the pore in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pore. Two or more arrays of pores having different properties of size, shape, orientation or distribution throughout the membrane also may be utilized. An advantage of using the membranes described herein is that the membrane may have, within a given array of pores, a pore size distribution of less than about 10 percent and sometimes less than 5 percent. As used herein, "pore size distribution" means the standard deviation of the average characteristic dimension. The membranes of U.S. Ser. No. 07/804,294 may be made with pores having a variety of shapes, i.e., cross-sectional profile of the pore as the region of a plane perpendicular to longitudinal axis of the pores bounded by the pore walls. For instance, by selection of a suitable mask, pores may have a cross-sectional profile that is circular, ovate, square, rectangular, triangular, some other polygon, or irregular shapes. The orifices or pores may also be provided in a polka-dotted pattern with relatively large areas of densely spaced uniform pores separated by other relatively large areas where there are no pores. A membrane with a polka-dotted pattern is shown in FIG. 10. Referring to FIG. 10, the average dimension of the pores 300 is preferably between about 5 and 60 microns, most preferably between about 15 and 50 microns. The areas 310 containing the pores preferably have an average dimension of about 1 to 7 mm, more preferably 2 to 6 mm, and are separated by average distances of preferably about 3 to 8 mm, more preferably about 4 to 7 mm. Membranes useful in the practice of the invention may be made from films of many types including polymeric materials and metals, such as metal foils. A particularly preferred material is polyethylene terephthalate. As discussed below, selection of the film material and selection of the boring means are dependent in part upon one another. In general, ultraviolet boring techniques, e.g., ablation, may be used with polymeric films that contain unsaturated bonds. Membranes may be made using ultraviolet boring techniques with other polymers by incorporating ultraviolet absorbers therein to render the film ablative. Such absorbers are well known and may be readily selected and used by those with ordinary skill in the art. Reactive ion etching techniques may also be used to make membranes of the invention from sheets of some types of polymers and metals. An advantage to using the membranes described herein is that they may be made with pores having very low aspect ratios, e.g., 1:100, or up to very high aspect ratios, e.g., 60:1. As used herein, "aspect ratio" refers to the ratio of (1) the interior length of the longitudinal axis of the pores, i.e., the portion of the longitudinal axis which is within the volume of film vacated during boring of the pores, to (2) the average characteristic dimension of the pores. An advantage of the highly uniform pore size and narrow distribution of pore size which can be achieved in these membranes is that the resultant membranes can exhibit highly uniform characteristics. In some embodiments, membranes may be made wherein the walls of the pores define frustum-like shapes. In such instances, each pore does not have a uniform cross-sectional area and the major portions of the walls of each pore are not substantially parallel to the pore's longitudinal axis. FIG. 8 illustrates membrane 210 comprising sheet 212 with pores 214 therein extending from first face 216 through second face 218. Major portions 220 of pores 214 are not parallel to each other or to longitudinal axis 222. As with other embodiments, however, at least 50 percent and preferably at least 75 percent of the length of the walls of each pore within a given array are straight. An advantage of such membranes is that they offer greater strength than do membranes with pores with similar minimum cross-sectional areas but having non-linear walls or wherein the dividers between adjacent pores are saddle-shaped. Some embodiments of such pores are sometimes referred to as being "Gaussian-shaped". Membranes with frustum-like pores exhibit less tendency to clog when the stream being filtered enters the face of the membrane having the smaller ends of the pores. In some embodiments, membranes will comprise two or more arrays of different pores as described herein wherein the pores in different arrays have different characteristics. The arrays may be located at separate areas of the membrane or may be partially or totally superimposed. An advantage of membranes of U.S. Ser. No. 07/804,294 is that the portions of the first face between pores, referred to herein as "land areas", and the land areas in the second face are substantially planar or flat. In a tangential flow of fluid across either face of membranes of the invention, the lack of surface saddle-like structures will allow for a better sweep of the fluid across the surface. Furthermore, membranes having saddle-like dividers between pores exhibit reduced flexural strength as compared to membranes of the invention. c) forming an array of pores simultaneously in the film by application of directional means for boring through the mask; to yield the membrane with the array of pores therein. Selection of means for boring will be based in part upon the nature of the mask used, the characteristics of the film from which the membrane is being made, and the features desired of the pores. Illustrative examples of means for boring include application of a collimated stream of reactive ions, plasma, or collimated energy beam (e.g., excimer laser or ultraviolet beam). In addition to being highly directional, the means for boring is preferably one which substantially does not deform the sheet outside the area being bored, i.e., one which substantially causes only localized removal of sheet material in the desired location and not in the surrounding land areas. For this reason, conventional chemical etching is typically not desired because it typically does not exhibit the desired directional boring. Preferably, by-products produced during boring, e.g., ablation by-products, are removed during boring such as by ventilation. The foam sponge 16 comprises an open-cell foam material compatible with the liquid to be dispensed. Suitable open-cell foam sponge materials are prepared from thermoplastic materials such as polyethylene and polyurethane. Especially preferred open-cell foam materials are prepared from polyurethane thermoplastics. By utilizing a permanently compression-set foam, the wicking and reservoiring properties of the foam sponge can be selected such that the liquid delivered through the porous layer 66 of the metering/bonding insert 72 wets the foam sponge 16 but does not drip from the sponge when the applicator is held with the sponge horizontal. The compression-set of the foam sponge can also be selected to affect the coating characteristics of the applicator. The greater the compression-set, the greater the amount of liquid that can be absorbed by the sponge material. Preferably, the foam sponge material is compressed by heat and pressure to about 1.5 to 10 times its original density, i.e., the compression-set ratio is between about 1.5 and 10. Most preferably, the compression-set ratio of the sponge is between about 2 and 4. The porosity of the foam sponge 16 can also be selected to affect the wetting and coating characteristics of the applicator. Preferably, for surgical prep applications, the porosity of the foam sponge material is between 4 and 40 pores per linear centimeter, more preferably about 35 pores per linear centimeter. A particularly preferred open-cell foam sponge material is an elastomeric polyurethane foam having a compression-set ratio of between about 2 and 4 and a porosity of about 35 pores per linear centimeter, commercially available from Foamex, LP, East Providence, R.I. as "SIF-2.5-900Z". The applicator of this invention is useful in dispensing liquids having viscosities at room temperature of less than about 10,000 cps, most preferably less than about 500 cps. As noted above, the applicator is useful in dispensing antiseptic liquids to cleanse a surgical field prior to surgery. Examples of suitable antiseptic preparations include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,192 and those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,012, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Preferred antiseptic preparations are iodophoric skin tinctures, such as "Duraprep™ Surgical Solution," commercially available from 3M. The antiseptic liquid is delivered to the applicator foam sponge 16 which is gently rubbed over the surgical field to thereby cleanse it. The applicator can be actuated and handled easily without dripping the liquid onto other articles in the vicinity of the surgical field. The dripless feature and the ability to apply a controlled uniform coat allows application of the liquid to only the desired areas of the patient and also allows for quicker and more efficient use of a surgical facility due to elimination of the time needed to clean the facility of antiseptic prep that dripped and flowed off of the patient. A stainless steel mask with uniformly distributed square apertures was placed in contact with a 25 micron (1 mil) thick poly(ethylene terephthalate) (i.e., "PET"), MYLAR™ film (from E.I. dupont de Nemours). The sides of the apertures were 15 microns in length with, according to the manufacturer, a standard deviation of about 10 percent and about 35 percent of the mask was open area. The beam from a krypton/fluorine ("KrF") excimer laser producing 248 nanometer ("nm") radiation at a pulse frequency of 40 Hertz ("Hz") and pulse duration of 27 nanoseconds was projected through an iris and a series of lenses onto the mask. The iris was located about 30.5 centimeters ("cm") from the laser window and a few cm from the first lens. The lenses included (1) a 106.7 cm focal length converging lens located about 108 cm (42.5 inches) from the PET film plane, (2) a 20.3 cm focal length diverging lens located about 73 cm (283/4 inches) from the PET film plane, and (3) a 3.4 cm focal length cylindrical lens located about 4 cm (1.5 inches) from the film. These lenses are commercially available from ESCO Products Company and are made of CORNING™ 7490-UV, a material transparent to light at a wavelength of 248 nm, with AR-MgF2 antireflective coatings. Ablation was accomplished by shadowing the mask pattern onto the PET film. The intensity of the laser radiation incident to the surface of the film was about 200 millijoules per centimeter2 ("mJ/cm2 ") with a beam shape at the surface of a rectangle about 3 millimeters (120 mils) wide and 15.2 cm (6 inches) long. The mask and PET film were moved in register across the middle 10.2 cm (4 inches) of the beam at a rate of about 0.25 cm/minute. Scanning the mask/film combination yielded a 10.2 cm wide PET membrane with pores penetrating through the membrane. The axes of these pores were parallel to one another and perpendicular to the membrane surfaces. The PET membrane was used as the porous layer 66 in an applicator generally as depicted in FIG. 2. The ampoule was filled with 26 milliliters of "Duraprep™ Surgical Solution". In two trials, the time required for the applicator to dispense 13 of the 26 milliliters of solution after breaking the ampoule was measured. Times of 15 and 16 seconds were observed. In comparison, liquid dispensers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,327 having substantially equal size as those above were observed to take from 15 to 60 seconds to dispense an equal amount of the same fluid. A 9.6 millimeter thick sample of open cell polyurethane foam commercially available as "SIF-2-900Z" from Foamex, LP, of East Providence, R.I., was subjected to the following treatment. The surface of the foam was skinned by passing the foam under a heated (200° C.) bar. One surface of the foam contacted the heated bar and was melted. When the surface was melted, the foam cell structure collapsed creating a skin approximately 50 to 100 microns thick. This skin layer was subjected to the laser treatment using the mask and laser apparatus detailed in Example 1, except that the sides of the apertures in the mask were 53 microns in length. The foam was then used in an applicator for "Duraprep™ Surgical Solution" substantially as depicted in FIG. 2, except that no separate porous layer other than that integral to the modified foam was employed. The time required for the applicator to dispense 13 mls of fluid when tested as described in Example 1 was 15 seconds. The superimposed pattern of two stainless steel masks was simultaneously replicated onto a 25 micron (1 mil) thick poly(ethylene terephthalate) (i.e., "PET"), MYLAR™ film (from E.I. dupont de Nemours). The first mask had square apertures uniformly distributed in a square array wherein the sides of the apertures were 38 microns in length with, according to the manufacturer, a standard deviation of about 10 percent and about 36 percent of the mask was open area. The first mask was placed in contact with the PET film. The second mask had round apertures of 4500 microns in diameter distributed in a center filled hexagonal array so sized that about 46 percent of the mask was open area. The second mask was placed over the exposed surface of the first mask. About 16 percent of the pattern exposed by the combined array was open area. The beam from a krypton/fluorine ("KrF") excimer laser described in Example 1 was used to ablate by shadowing the mask pattern onto the PET film, as described in Example 1. Scanning the mask/film combination yielded a 10.2 cm wide PET membrane with pores penetrating through the membrane. The axes of these pores were parallel to one another and perpendicular to the membrane surfaces. Where the edges of the round apertures of the second mask happened to overlap the edges of the square apertures of the first mask, some non-square openings in the PET membrane were created. The membrane was then used as an applicator for "Duraprep™ Surgical Solution", substantially as depicted in FIG. 2. The average time required for 13 mls of fluid to flow through the foam of the applicator was tested as described in Example 2, and was 12.6 seconds. Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention solely thereto, but to include all of the obvious variations and modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. (e) means associated with said hollow elongate member for rupturing the reservoir container after at least a portion of the container is pushed through the aperture in the deformable means; wherein the deformable means is a collar comprising a rim having a plurality of cantilevered beam elements projecting therefrom, the inside edges of the cantilevered beam elements defining the aperture through which at least a portion of the reservoir container may be pushed. 2. The article of claim 1 wherein the deformable means is adapted to elastically and plastically deflect to allow at least a portion of the reservoir container to pass through the aperture and contact the means for rupturing. 3. The article of claim 1 wherein the cantilevered beam elements project from the same edge of the rim of the collar. 4. The article of claim 1 wherein the means for limiting the axial displacement of the deformable means is a shoulder portion contained within the hollow elongate member, the cross-sectional diameter of the hollow elongate member at the shoulder portion being less than the cross-sectional diameter of the deformable means. 5. The article of claim 1 wherein said means for rupturing the reservoir container comprises a wedge projecting into the hollow elongate member and located between the deformable means and the first major orifice in the path of the reservoir container after at least a portion of it is pushed through the aperture in the deformable means. 6. The article of claim 1 further comprising a porous layer disposed over the first major orifice in the hollow elongate member, which porous layer is capable of regulating the flow of liquid therethrough to between about 0.1 and 15 milliliters per second. 7. The article of claim 1 further comprising a layer of sponge material disposed over the exterior of the first major orifice in the hollow elongate member. 8. The article of claim 1 further comprising means of maintaining atmospheric pressure within the hollow elongate member while the liquid is being dispensed. (e) means associated with said hollow elongate member for rupturing the reservoir container after at least a portion of the container is pushed through the aperture in the deformable means; wherein the deformable means is a collar comprising a rim having a plurality of cantilevered beam elements projecting therefrom, the inside edges of the cantilevered beam elements defining the aperture through which at least a portion of the reservoir container may be pushed; and wherein the cap is comprised of an end wall, a side wall and a column axially projecting into the interior of the hollow elongate member from the interior surface of the end wall, the column having an axial hole which is open to the external surface of the cap, and wherein the column contacts the rupturable container and forces at least a portion of the container through the aperture in the deformable means when the cap is moved from the first to the second position. US1221227A (en) * 1916-04-24 1917-04-03 Bauer & Black Surgical swab. "A Fast, Easy, Long-Lasting I.V. Prep That Can Help Enhance Dressing Adhesion," Medical-Surgical Division, 3M Health Care, 3M Center, St. Paul, Minn., 1989 (Brochure). "Duraprep™ Solution--Now Ideal for Outpatient, Office-Based and Other Minor Surgical Procedures," Medical-Surgical Products, 3M Health Care, 3M Center, St. Paul, Minn., 1991 (Brochure). "Obsoletely? Absolutely!," Medical-Surgical Division, 3M Health Care Group, 3M Center, St. Paul, Minn., Mar. 1988 (Brochure).

2019-04-24T18:44:51Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5435660A/en

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https://sourcedirectdeals.authsafe.com/?paged=311

If there's anything we can do now about the risks of superintelligent AI, then OpenAI makes humanity less safe. Once upon a time, some good people were worried about the possibility that humanity would figure out how to create a superintelligent AI before they figured out how to tell it what we wanted it to do. If this happened, it could lead to literally destroying humanity and nearly everything we care about. This would be very bad. So they tried to warn people about the problem, and to organize efforts to solve it. Specifically, they called for work on aligning an AI’s goals with ours - sometimes called the value alignment problem, AI control, friendly AI, or simply AI safety - before rushing ahead to increase the power of AI. Some other good people listened. They knew they had no relevant technical expertise, but what they did have was a lot of money. So they did the one thing they could do - throw money at the problem, giving it to trusted parties to try to solve the problem. Unfortunately, the money was used to make the problem worse. This is the story of OpenAI. This post will be much easier to follow if you have some familiarity with the AI safety problem. For a quick summary you can read Scott Alexander’s Superintelligence FAQ. For a more comprehensive account see Nick Bostrom’s book Superintelligence. AI is an area in which even most highly informed people should have lots of uncertainty. I wouldn't be surprised if my opinion changes a lot after publishing this post, as I learn relevant information. I'm publishing this because I think this process should go on in public. 2.1 What if OpenAI and DeepMind are working on problems relevant to superintelligence? 2.2 What if OpenAI and DeepMind are not working on problems relevant to superintelligence? 3 Why do good inputs turn bad? Before OpenAI, there was DeepMind, a for-profit venture working on "deep learning” techniques. It was widely regarded as the advanced AI research organization. If any current effort was going to produce superhuman intelligence, it was DeepMind. Hassabis, a co-founder of the mysterious London laboratory DeepMind, had come to Musk’s SpaceX rocket factory, outside Los Angeles, a few years ago. […] Musk explained that his ultimate goal at SpaceX was the most important project in the world: interplanetary colonization. Musk is not going gently. He plans on fighting this with every fiber of his carbon-based being. Musk and Altman have founded OpenAI, a billion-dollar nonprofit company, to work for safer artificial intelligence. OpenAI’s primary strategy is to hire top AI researchers to do cutting-edge AI capacity research and publish the results, in order to ensure widespread access. Some of this involves making sure AI does what you meant it to do, which is a form of the value alignment problem mentioned above. No one knows exactly what research will result in the creation of a general intelligence that can do anything a human can, much less a superintelligence - otherwise we’d already know how to build one. Some AI research is clearly not on the path towards superintelligence - for instance, applying known techniques to new fields. Other AI research is more general, and might plausibly be making progress towards a superintelligence. It could be that the sort of research DeepMind and OpenAI are working on is directly relevant to building a superintelligence, or it could be that their methods will tap out long before then. These are different scenarios, and need to be evaluated separately. What if OpenAI and DeepMind are working on problems relevant to superintelligence? If OpenAI is working on things that are directly relevant to the creation of a superintelligence, then its very existence makes an arms race with DeepMind more likely. This is really bad! Moreover, sharing results openly makes it easier for other institutions or individuals, who may care less about safety, to make progress on building a superintelligence. One thing nearly everyone thinking seriously about the AI problem agrees on, is that an arms race towards superintelligence would be very bad news. The main problem occurs in what is called a “fast takeoff” scenario. If AI progress is smooth and gradual even past the point of human-level AI, then we may have plenty of time to correct any mistakes we make. But if there’s some threshold beyond which an AI would be able to improve itself faster than we could possibly keep up with, then we only get one chance to do it right. AI value alignment is hard, and AI capacity is likely to be easier, so anything that causes an AI team to rush makes our chances substantially worse; if they get safety even slightly wrong but get capacity right enough, we may all end up dead. But you’re worried that the other team will unleash a potentially dangerous superintelligence first, then you might be willing to skip some steps on safety to preempt them. But they, having more reason to trust themselves than you, might notice that you’re rushing ahead, get worried that your team will destroy the world, and rush their (probably safe but they’re not sure) AI into existence. DeepMind used to be the standout AI research organization. With a comfortable lead on everyone else, they would be able to afford to take their time to check their work if they thought they were on the verge of doing something really dangerous. But OpenAI is now widely regarded as a credible close competitor. However dangerous you think DeepMind might have been in the absence of an arms race dynamic, this makes them more dangerous, not less. Moreover, by sharing their results, they are making it easier to create other close competitors to DeepMind, some of whom may not be so committed to AI safety. We at least know that DeepMind, like OpenAI, has put some resources into safety research. What about the unknown people or organizations who might leverage AI capacity research published by OpenAI? For more on how openly sharing technology with extreme destructive potential might be extremely harmful, see Scott Alexander’s Should AI be Open?, and Nick Bostrom’s Strategic Implications of Openness in AI Development. What if OpenAI and DeepMind are not working on problems relevant to superintelligence? Suppose OpenAI and DeepMind are largely not working on problems highly relevant to superintelligence. (Personally I consider this the more likely scenario.) By portraying short-run AI capacity work as a way to get to safe superintelligence, OpenAI’s existence diverts attention and resources from things actually focused on the problem of superintelligence value alignment, such as MIRI or FHI. I suspect that in the long-run this will make it harder to get funding for long-run AI safety organizations. The Open Philanthropy Project just made its largest grant ever, to Open AI, to buy a seat on OpenAI’s board for Open Philanthropy Project executive director Holden Karnofsky. This is larger than their recent grants to MIRI, FHI, FLI, and the Center for Human-Compatible AI all together. But the problem is not just money - it’s time and attention. The Open Philanthropy Project doesn’t think OpenAI is underfunded, and could do more good with the extra money. Instead, it seems to think that Holden can be a good influence on OpenAI. This means that of the time he's allocating to AI safety, a fair amount has been diverted to OpenAI. This may also make it harder for organizations specializing in the sort of long-run AI alignment problems that don't have immediate applications to attract top talent. People who hear about AI safety research and are persuaded to look into it will have a harder time finding direct efforts to solve key long-run problems, since an organization focused on increasing short-run AI capacity will dominate AI safety's public image. Why do good inputs turn bad? OpenAI was founded by people trying to do good, and has hired some very good and highly talented people. It seems to be doing genuinely good capacity research. To the extent to which this is not dangerously close to superintelligence, it’s better to share this sort of thing than not – they could create a huge positive externality. They could construct a fantastic public good. Making the world richer in a way that widely distributes the gains is very, very good. Separately, many people at OpenAI seem genuinely concerned about AI safety, want to prevent disaster, and have done real work to promote long-run AI safety research. For instance, my former housemate Paul Christiano, who is one of the most careful and insightful AI safety thinkers I know of, is currently employed at OpenAI. He is still doing AI safety work – for instance, he coauthored Concrete Problems in AI Safety with, among others, Dario Amodei and John Schulman, other OpenAI researchers. Unfortunately, I don’t see how those two things make sense jointly in the same organization. I’ve talked with a lot of people about this in the AI risk community, and they’ve often attempted to steelman the case for OpenAI, but I haven’t found anyone willing to claim, as their own opinion, that OpenAI as conceived was a good idea. It doesn’t make sense to anyone, if you’re worried at all about the long-run AI alignment problem. Something very puzzling is going on here. Good people tried to spend money on addressing an important problem, but somehow the money got spent on the thing most likely to make that exact problem worse. Whatever is going on here, it seems important to understand if you want to use your money to better the world. This entry was posted in Effective Altruism on April 3, 2017 by Benquo. Largely due to the influence of AI Safety-inclined people willing to work at OpenAI, and now Holden on the board, OpenAI is not OpenAI as originally conceived. Everyone I've talked to who was at all close to the issue agrees that the "Open" in the name is in name only, and has been relegated to a background value to be respected only as long as it is safe, given lip service because it's still an applause light and signal of prosocial programming to people who have thought less deeply. This seems consistent with many things I've seen, except for one: In the recent panel discussion at Asilomar that involved Elon Musk, in his opening statement, his two points were (1) that AI needs to be democratised, and (2) we need to create a neural lace. This signalled to me that Elon's main concern still surrounds democratisation of AI, and I feel that he will still influence the thinking and mission of all employees at OpenAI. Which made me update that OpenAI is more likely to be damaging. Have you published specific criticisms of Paul's safety work yet? If not, I'd encourage you to. I think Paul would too. I find his writing too frustrating to read to do it justice, and don't really excuse to be taken seriously regardless. +1 on finding Christiano's writing difficult to read. I'll disagree and say that I enjoy Paul's writing (as do several others I know). It's definitely not targeted at non-experts in ML though. I think Paul's writing is pretty easy to read; I guess my only complaint is that it's sometimes to find the post where he explains something. Um, surely you can't expect to be taken more seriously by claiming that you know better than Paul and then refusing to provide any arguments whatsoever when someone explicitly asks for them? Are you consciously bluffing here and expecting to get away with it? Let me unpack what I'm trying to get at in more detail: if it's not worth the costs to write up an argument for a claim because people won't believe you, then why bother making the claim? Making a claim without an argument makes sense if the audience contains people who trust you enough to believe your claim without an argument. But if the audience consists of people who won't believe you even with an argument, then they certainly won't believe you without one! Zach, I perceive you as operating under an "arguments as soldiers" frame. You say: why bother send your soldiers out if they don't have rifles? They will be easily defeated. Consider also the "conversation as information transfer" frame. In this frame, maybe I put forth some effort to transmit information to you. I was not obliged to do this, and I'm also not obliged to provide further information. Maybe if Paul responded to PDV and said "I promise to read whatever criticism you write of me and take it seriously" then PDV would see an incentive to put forth the effort to formulate & transmit additional info. For the benefit of future readers, PDV subsequently posted a critique of Paul's approach at https://thepdv.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/benignness-is-bottomless/ with additional discussions at https://agentfoundations.org/item?id=1394. I also think it's worth responding to OpenAI's marketing at face value and pointing out that if you take it literally it's harmful in expectation, regardless of whether they have a secret plan to do better. It seems like something is going pretty badly wrong if, when people make public promises to do things experts think would be harmful, there aren't many public complaints. Re: OpenAI's "marketing," I think there is more nuance than you give them credit for. Sure, Musk says lots of things, but Sutskever and Brockman (each a senior person) have both explicitly said they'd not release dangerous stuff in the future, and this is in fact discussed in the current mission statement on the website. Lots of people talk about democratizing AI outside OpenAI, and there is vastly more code/pseudocode released by other organizations, including a big fraction of DeepMind's intellectual work. It is fair to ask if this overall level of openness is too high, which may depend on one's assumptions about timelines. But I don't see a massive difference between DeepMind and OpenAI in terms of philosophy arouns ipenness, other than the name (personally, BeneficialAI or GoodAI seem better to me but the latter is taken 🙂 ). Lastly, I agree that arms races are very important vut am skeptical of the OpenAI-->arms race theory. If there is any effect, it's a matter of degree, and I agree with someone else's point that it's not just about DeepMind and OpenAI. Other things cause arms races besides new organizations. To be fair in your analysis, you should probably also consider the fact that AlphaGo was directly cited as an accelerant of a Korean AI investment and brought tons of attention to AI in Asia more broadly. P.S. sorry for the typos, wrote that on my phone. This doesn't seem like nuance to me - it seems more like strategic ambiguity. Perhaps we should just believe that OpenAI is a bid for the "Good Guys AI" brand, and distrust all specific promises because they blatantly contradict each other. That might just be the right attitude for anyone who isn't personally involved, and most people who are. What a frustrating comment. For the benefit of the reader, do you want to at least gesture at the unstated assumptions you have in mind? Does that mean you support the grant, and how confident are you that this [OpenAI not really being open] is effectively true? This article seems to derive from a misunderstanding of the state of machine learning research. It wasn't just the DeepMind show before OpenAI started, and DeepMind and OpenAI still aren't the only players in the field. Consider FAIR, Google Brain, &c. Heck, OpenAI just lost one of their most prominent ML researchers (back) to Google Brain a few months ago. It makes almost no sense to describe the state of the field as a two-party arms race between DeepMind and OpenAI. That's really just a factually inaccurate premise. To be more concise, there's no good way to define the group of institutions such that it's just DeepMind and OpenAI. If OpenAI counts, then at least FAIR and Google Brain count as well, and probably also Microsoft and Baidu – and those 4 other groups all predate OpenAI. I do think DeepMind are the top group in reinforcement learning specifically, but there are plenty of other large, prestigious, advanced industry research groups. Most of them probably don't explicitly claim to be directly working on human-level intelligence, but frankly saying you're working on AGI mostly just sounds silly and pretentious to people in the field. "Facebook Artificial Intelligence Researchers (FAIR) seek to understand and develop systems with human level intelligence by advancing the longer-term academic problems surrounding AI." "Make machines intelligent. Improve people’s lives." "At Microsoft, researchers in artificial intelligence are harnessing the explosion of digital data and computational power with advanced algorithms to enable collaborative and natural interactions between people and machines that extend the human ability to sense, learn and understand. The research infuses computers, materials and systems with the ability to reason, communicate and perform with humanlike skill and agility." You'd need a painfully contorted definition of criterion (a) to end up with just DeepMind and OpenAI – basically by reading more into PR than into mission statements or actual research. And I think Vicarious is generally regarded as somewhere between a joke and a scam. Looks like OpenAI is just another company alongside these many other research groups. So maybe the OP is better cast as "AI research organizations make humanity less safe". I may well be missing something, but it doesn't seem like Ben's original points rely much on openness. Also, why focus on research groups rather than individual actors? After all, so much ML/AI research is publicly available on arXiv, blogs, etc. Probably, influencing research groups is a better strategy for people who want power over the future. Groups have more power than individuals since there are just more of them doing research (though maybe groupthink could create problems), and influencing each of a group of N people maybe doesn't take N times more effort than influencing a person the same amount. The hypothesis here seems to be that OpenAI is making humanity less safe by fueling an arms race. It's not the first time I've heard it, and I've come to strongly disagree. First, some common ground: an arms race is brewing. OpenAI's role there is massively dwarfed by AlphaGo. When AlphaGo upset Lee Sedol 4-1, then proceeded to wipe the floor with the rest of the Go community pros (60-0), it hardly went unnoticed in Asia. The game is thousands of years old, a far deeper part of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese culture than chess is here. Their top scientists and government officials will not let DeepMind humiliate them again so easily. China will have a the worlds most powerful supercomputer up this year - 70 petaflops. Japan is building a 120 petaflops supercomputer dedicated specifically to ML research. We all know how much China likes losing face to Japan; expect bigger supercomputers. The AI Safety community skews hard Anglo-American. OpenAI and DeepMind have offices less than 50 miles apart. It's easy to forget forget that Asia has highly talented ML researchers. A dominant first place in 2016 ImageNet went to CUImage, second place Hikvision. That isn't Carnegie Mellon and Harvard. Culturally, Asia is much more amenable to AGI. There is no Cartesian "consciousness" or "soul" reservation we have in the West. There has never been a Chinese AI Winter. Their national strategists can calculate the power of AGI just as lucidly as we can. Don't expect the arms race to slow down. The world is becoming more nationalistic and less cooperative. I'd bet attempts to slow international progress to increase safety will be viewed in bad faith in China, because Andrew Ng has used his prestige there to mollify safety concerns on state TV with the "overpopulation on Mars" line. As far as I can see, the arms race is ON. OpenAI and DeepMind are far from the only players. Humanity's hope doesn't lie in trying to sneak the AGI cat back in the bag, but rather progressing in AI Safety as rapidly as possible. If we can open-source a robust AGI Safety testing suite, it might not matter who gets there first. To that end, OpenAI is a massive boon. "It seems to be doing genuinely good capacity research... Separately, many people at OpenAI seem genuinely concerned about AI safety... Unfortunately, I don’t see how those two things make sense jointly in the same organization." Actually, I think there is a large benefit here. Many people will take AI Safety much more seriously if it's being proposed by an organization that is doing great capacity research as well. MIRI has often had a lot of difficulty getting people to listen to them, while if Facebook or Google were proposing similar ideas, they would be taken more seriously. They don't just need to treat the words as prestigious words to say, some of them would need to actually do AI safety research. It's a bit harder for me to see how OpenAI increases the latter on net - obviously it increases the former, but at the cost of substantial watering-down (e.g. implying that ensuring widespread access is a "safety" measure). In order for AI alignment research to make AI safer, I think there has to be active collaboration or at least open lines of communication between the AI alignment community and whoever is at the forefront of AI (at least, this needs to be the case around the time human-level AI becomes possible). I think this may tip the balance in favor of openAI being good for safety. You make three separate charges here, which I want to briefly respond to. I'm obviously speaking entirely for myself in this post. 1. OpenAI's work is probably a distraction from the main business of aligning AI. I argued [here](https://medium.com/ai-control/prosaic-ai-control-b959644d79c2) that we should work on alignment for ML, and you didn't really engage with that argument. I do agree that today OpenAI is not investing much in alignment. 2. OpenAI's existence makes AI development more competitive and less cooperative. I agree that in general it's harder to coordinate people if they are spread across N+1 groups than if they are spread across N groups (though I think this article significantly overstates the effect). To the extent that we are all in this to make the world better and make credible commitments to that effect, we are free to talk and coordinate arbitrarily closely. In general I think it's nearly as plausible that adding an (N+1)st sufficiently well-intentioned group would improve rather than harm coordination. So I suspect the real disagreement between you and the OpenAI founders is whether OpenAI will really have a stronger commitment to making AI go well. Put more sharply: supposing that you were in Elon's position and thought that Google and DeepMind were likely to take destructive actions, would you then reason "but adding an (N+1)st player would make things worse all else equal, so I guess I'll leave it to them and hope for the best"? If not, then it seems like you are focusing on the wrong part of the disagreement here. I do think that it's important that OpenAI get along well with all of the established players, especially conditioned on OpenAI being an important player and others also being willing to play ball regarding credible commitments to pro-social behavior. 3. OpenAI's openness makes AI development more competitive and less cooperative. I do agree that helping more people do AI research will make coordination harder, all else equal, and that openness makes it easier for more people to become involved in AI. (Though this is an ironic departure from the theme of your recent writings.) The point of openness is to do other good things, e.g. to improve welfare of existing people. I think that current openness has a pretty small impact on alignment, and the effect on other concerns is larger. If you share my view, then this isn't a good place for someone interested in alignment to ask for a concession (compared to pushing for more investment in alignment or closer cooperation amongst competitors). Some quick arguments against the effect being big: the prospect of a monopoly on AI development has always been extremely remote; limited access to 2017 AI results won't be an important driver of participation in cutting edge AI research in the future (as compared to access to computing hardware and researchers); and there is a compensating effect where openness amongst competitors would make the situation more cooperative and less competitive (if it were actually done). An unconditional commitment to publishing everything could certainly become problematic. I think that OpenAI's strongest commitments are to broad access to the benefits of AI and broad input into decision-making about AI. Those aren't controversial positions, but I'm sure that Elon doesn't expect DeepMind to live up to them. I would certainly have preferred that OpenAI have communicated about this differently. For what it's worth, I think that the discussion of this topic by EA's is often unhelpful: if everyone agrees that there is a desirable conception of openness, and an organization has "open" in it's name, then it seems like you should be supporting efforts to adopt the desirable interpretation rather than trying to argue that the original interpretation was problematic / trying to make people feel bad about sloppy messaging in the past. I owe you a response on (1). On (2), if OpenAI's not going to be a standout player with one to very few rivals, then its main effect* is eating up unjustified buzz. That seems like it would slow down both AI and AI safety, but slow down AI safety more because not all AI research institutions are safety-branded. On (3) maybe OpenAI might try persuading Elon Musk first that its safety plan isn't just AI for everybody. If he's not persuaded of that, then I don't see why I should be, since I have far less control over and access to OpenAI than he does. Overall I am not very willing to assume that if I hear both X and Y and prefer Y, that Y is true. I think our substantive disagreement on (3) depends on (1). It's imaginable to me that prosaic AI safety is enough, but in that world "AI Safety" doesn't really need to be a thing, because it's just part of capacity research. I put substantial probability (>50%) on MIRI being right because AGI is qualitatively different in ways that need qualitatively different safety work. In that scenario it's bad to conflate AI safety measures with weak AI capacity sharing, since then people will work on the easier problem and call it the harder one. Separately, I think creating weak AI capacity and sharing it with the world is probably really good, and I'm glad people are doing it, and I'm glad people are working on making it not stupid. I just don't think that needs the term "AI Safety" or its various synonyms. *The main effect of the organization itself. The researchers would presumably just be doing AI research somewhere else. > I just don't think that needs the term "AI Safety" or its various synonyms. OpenAI describes its mission is described as "build safe AGI, and ensure AGI's benefits are as widely and evenly distributed as possible" (https://openai.com/about/#mission). Those are two different things with different benefits. > On (3) maybe OpenAI might try persuading Elon Musk first that its safety plan isn't just AI for everybody. I think Elon's view is that democratization of AI is important to avoiding some undesirable situations. I don't think he expects openness to resolve the alignment problem, which he recognizes as a problem. (I disagree with his overall view of alignment, but that's a separate discussion.) Those are just two different steps to obtaining a good outcome, both of which are necessary. In light of the huge uncertainty about timelines and capabilities, having an organization guided by people close to the AI Safety field seems wise. Furthermore, AI Safety gains a lot of credibility by making real progress on ML problems. That kind of cultural influence is both difficult and potentially highly effective. Whatever AI researchers end up being the ones to build AGI, it's vital that they have taken seriously the research from the AI Safety research community. This kind of cultural change can't come from MIRI or FHI, because they can't produce anything as credible (to AI researchers, grad students, etc.) as actual advances in the field. There's an alternative reason to oppose the OpenAI/OpenPhil grant, though it's a longer and looser chain of reasoning. Eliezer Yudkowsky's original model of "AI Safety" entails gaining a fundamental understanding of how to ensure provable safety of even a superintelligent, rapidly self-improving artificial intelligence. This is a hard problem -- it is hugely underspecified, for one thing -- so it is a very long-term project. Given that I think strong AI will not be here for a long time, I think this is fine. Paul Christiano, the leading safety researcher at OpenAI, has a somewhat different model of "AI safety" that involves working on more tractable problems of bounding and aligning the actions of "prosaic AIs" like, for instance, a reinforcement learner that functions as a virtual corporation. Christiano's hypothetical "prosaic AIs" are weaker than Yudkowsky's notion of "strong AI" -- for example, they need not (and, I think, probably would not) be recursively self-improving. They would not even have to be "general intelligences" to fit Christiano's criterion of "can replicate human behavior". The methods for dealing with "prosaic AIs" that I've heard about are qualitatively different from the thinking that was common in MIRI/SingInst in the old days. There, people thought largely about game theory and decision theory -- one assumes an agent *can* do whatever it wants to do, ignoring implementation details, and one thinks about aligning its incentives so that it chooses to do desirable things. In a machine-learning paradigm, by contrast, one makes assumptions about how the AI learns and responds to information, and imagines building it to have certain safeguards in its learning process. In other words, it's solving a much easier problem, about a *known* (if poorly interpretable) machine, rather than an arbitrarily advanced and self-improving machine. Most of the early debates on LessWrong were about asking whether one could "just" put safeguards into an AI (limiting the scope of its behavior, sometimes called "tool AI" or "oracle AI"), and Yudkowsky's answer was "no." Like Christiano, Holden Karnofsky believed (as of 2012) that tool AI was likely to be a feasible approach to safety. I think there are probably *many* qualitatively different classes of "strong AI" of differing "strength". Some AIs which already exist (e.g. AlphaGo and image-recognition deep learning algorithms) are "human-level" in that they solve challenging cognitive tasks better than the best humans. But these are "narrow AIs", trained on a single task. One could imagine a future AI that was "general", more like a human toddler (or even a dog), which could learn a variety of behaviors and adapt to a range of environments without requiring correspondingly more training data. One could imagine AIs that are "conceptual" (that develop robust abstractions/concepts invariant over irrelevant properties) or "logical" (capable of drawing inferences over properties of agglomerative processes like grammar or computable functions). And there are recursively self-improving AIs, which rewrite their own source code in order to better achieve goals. It seems very likely that defenses against the risks of "weaker" AIs will not work against "stronger" AIs, and Christiano's "prosaic AI" is among the weaker types of "strong AI." This is fine in itself -- there's nothing wrong with working on an easy problem before tackling a hard one. However, I think Karnofsky and Christiano are incorrect in believing (or promoting the idea) that this easy problem is the *whole* AI safety problem, or the bulk of it. And I think, given that OpenAI is the biggest and most visible institution working on "AI Safety", this grant will lead to the belief, within the (rather large) community of technical people interested in AI, that the "easy problem" of prosaic AI control is the whole of the problem of AI safety. It also gives the impression that working on AI safety is easily contiguous with being a conventional machine learning researcher -- getting a PhD in ML, working at software companies with big research divisions, and so on. You can go from that world to AI safety, and return from AI safety to the world of ML, entirely painlessly and with no cost to career capital. I think that the meat of the AI safety problem will involve creating entirely new fields of mathematics or computer science -- it's that hard a problem -- and thus will *not* be nicely contiguous with a career as an ML researcher/engineer. But people have strong incentives to prefer to believe in a world where solving the most important problems requires no sacrifice of professional success, so they're incentivized to believe that AI safety is relatively easy and tractable with the toolkit of already-existing ML. "AI safety is basically like ML" is a *dangerously seductive meme*, and, I believe, untrue. "We already know how to model the mind; it works like a neural net" is also a dangerously seductive meme, for somewhat different reasons (it's flattering to people who know how to build deep learning networks if their existing toolkit explains all of human thought), and I also believe it's untrue. Promoting those memes among the very set of people who are best equipped to work on AI safety, or other fields such as cognitive science or pure machine learning research, is harmful to scientific progress as well as to safety. > This is fine in itself -- there's nothing wrong with working on an easy problem before tackling a hard one. As far as I can tell, the MIRI view is that my work is aimed at problem which is *not possible,* not that it is aimed at a problem which is too easy. The MIRI view is not "If we just wanted to align a human-level consequentialist produced by evolution, that would be no problem. We're concerned about the challenge posed by *real* AI." One part of this is the disagreement about whether the overall approach I'm taking could possibly work, with my position being "something like 50-50" the MIRI position being "obviously not" (and normal ML researchers' positions being skepticism about our perspective on the problem). There is a broader disagreement about whether any "easy" approach can work, with my position being "you should try the easy approaches extensively before trying to rally the community behind a crazy hard approach" and the MIRI position apparently being something like "we have basically ruled out the easy approaches, but the argument/evidence is really complicated and subtle." >As far as I can tell, the MIRI view is that my work is aimed at problem which is *not possible,* not that it is aimed at a problem which is too easy. This surprises me, and I think I haven't heard about this. Are you saying that they believe that you *can't*, in principle, constrain a reinforcement learner with things like adversarial examples or human feedback? > Are you saying that they believe that you *can't*, in principle, constrain a reinforcement learner with things like adversarial examples or human feedback? I think that all the MIRI researchers believe this will be exceptionally hard, and most believe it won't be possible for humans to do, if you want a solution that will work for arbitrarily powerful RL systems. (Note that we more or less know that model-free RL can get you to human-level consequentialism, if you are willing to spend as much computation time as evolution did and use an appropriate multi-agent environment.) I'm not sure about their views on "in principle" and it may depend on how you read that phrase. > Note that we more or less know that model-free RL can get you to human-level consequentialism, if you are willing to spend as much computation time as evolution did and use an appropriate multi-agent environment. How do we know this? Also how is this compatible with the Atari games not being solved yet? >> Note that we more or less know that model-free RL can get you to human-level consequentialism, if you are willing to spend as much computation time as evolution did and use an appropriate multi-agent environment. > How do we know this? I interpreted this to be a reference to the evolution of humans. I would say that the Christiano approach is *both* far easier and probably impossible. Conditional on the approach being practical/possible, it represents a far easier and more practical path. However, there is a good chance (Paul says 50/50 here, MIRI says something approaching 1) that the approach is not workable at all. I am in the middle but much closer to MIRI, and think it is unlikely that a sufficiently strong reinforcement learner could be constrained, even in principle, by adversarial examples or human feedback, while allowing it to be anything approaching maximally useful (as per Paul's condition that safety not be too expensive, which in context seems right). I don't even think we have shown that we can in principle contain HUMANS via adversarial examples or human feedback while still allowing them to be anything approaching maximally useful. I haven't even heard reasonably plausible ideas for doing so! The most important thing about creating value-aligned automation systems made of humans probably isn't that it's intrinsically easier than building something right from scratch. The problem is that if we don't have value-aligned institutions, and we try to build value-aligned AGI, we're in the position of instructing an unsafe weak AI to make a safe strong AI. However, it should also probably be easier to get to safety on systems that are made of humans, most of whose actuators are humans, and where a human is in the loop on nearly every high-level decision they make, than on systems that can go much faster than humans in ways that quickly become entirely opaque to us. I think Paul's characterization is right, except I think Nate wouldn't say "we've ruled out all the prima facie easy approaches," but rather something like "part of the disagreement here is about which approaches are prima facie 'easy.'" I think his model says that the proposed alternatives to MIRI's research directions by and large look more difficult than what MIRI's trying to do, from a naive traditional CS/Econ standpoint. E.g., I expect the average game theorist would find a utility/objective/reward-centered framework much less weird than a recursive intelligence bootstrapping framework. There are then subtle arguments for why intelligence bootstrapping might turn out to be easy, which Nate and co. are skeptical of, but hashing out the full chain of reasoning for why a daring unconventional approach just might turn out to work anyway requires some complicated extra dialoguing. Part of how this is framed depends on what problem categories get the first-pass "this looks really tricky to pull off" label. > the proposed alternatives to MIRI's research directions by and large look more difficult than what MIRI's trying to do, from a naive traditional CS/Econ standpoint. E.g., I expect the average game theorist would find a utility/objective/reward-centered framework much less weird than a recursive intelligence bootstrapping framework. If by "weird" we mean "a weird way to build a safe AI," and by "average game theorist" we mean "average algorithmic game theorist," then I don't think this is true right now. Moreover, I doubt that anyone's views will change if/when it becomes clear that this isn't true. There are also outside-view reasons to be skeptical of the OpenPhil grant to OpenAI. From the outside, this looks like nepotism. It's especially unfavorable that OPP's reasoning (http://www.openphilanthropy.org/focus/global-catastrophic-risks/potential-risks-advanced-artificial-intelligence/openai-general-support#Case_for_the_grant) doesn't involve an overview of organizations and individual researchers working on AI safety. It simply says that "technical advisors" judge OpenAI and DeepMind as the major players in the field (not mentioning Google Brain, FAIR, IARPA, Baidu, etc) and that OPP could influence AI safety for the better by starting a partnership with OpenAI. This suggests that it's not that they think OpenAI is the *most effective* AI safety org, but that it's the best candidate for a partnership with OPP. This is plausible, given the close existing connections between OPP and OpenAI researchers. But this policy is out of line with the GiveWell-style policy of evaluating the impact of charities and donating to the most effective ones. If, instead of giving to the *best* organizations, you give to the ones that you think you can get most value out of influencing for the better, it's much harder to give a public accounting of why your spending has good outcomes, since all of your positive influence is happening behind closed doors. To be clear, I don't think that personal relationships are inherently unfair. In any kind of selection process, from hiring to investing to donating, personal relationships are going to influence who you consider and how favorably you consider them. But usually, professional fairness involves the assumption that while personal relationships are usable for hypothesis generation, some sort of *impersonal* objective criteria should be used for evaluation. You give your friend a chance to interview at your company, you don't just give her a job. Full Disclosure: I'm friends with Dario and know things through him I can't share here. I've also outsourced my opinion on AI risk to him since before he was working at OpenAI. Is there anywhere that should be thought of like that? Because definitely not Harvard. > This is plausible, given the close existing connections between OPP and OpenAI researchers. It's not just that- the other major players are for-profit or government and thus cannot receive donations. Their grant to MIRI was much smaller in absolute terms but a much larger percentage of MIRI's budget. > It seems perfectly natural that a lot of the people working in the same field are going to get to know each other. It seems a little off that they're just going straight to the collaboration/influence stage without passing through any "fair" tests. I think OPP has been moving away from the concept of fairness for a very long time, and that's a good thing, for reasons currently locked in 3 unfinished blog posts. Grants from OPP are not supposed to prizes in fair competitions, they're supposed to effect as much change as possible. This is a problem if people treat them as fair competitions and especially if OPP doesn't fight this perception, but they've always discouraged people from donating and publicized that they're not following the Find The Best philosophy (http://www.openphilanthropy.org/blog/hits-based-giving). A strike against them is the name open: that's obviously incorrect and misleading. I think I agree with both Sarah and Aceso Under Glass here. The nepotism thing wouldn't seem bad to me in isolation - the conflicts of interest for the (much smaller) MIRI grant were similarly myriad. I'm more worried about the implied strategy of "give lots of money to whoever has the most, in order to influence them." > If OpenAI is working on things that are directly relevant to the creation of a superintelligence, then its very existence makes an arms race with DeepMind more likely.

2019-04-18T10:42:08Z

http://benjaminrosshoffman.com/openai-makes-humanity-less-safe/

The historical interaction of science and religion in the West can be seen as tension between faith and rationality, with the rise of science steadily driving out irrationality and replacing it with the clear light of reason. Through Galileo and Newton, the idea of immutable laws impartially ordering the physical world came into being. With the rise of atomic theory and the understanding that the macroscopic behaviour of matter is determined by forces acting between its constituent particles, an evidence-based picture emerged of how matter is structured and its behaviour determined. The secrets of life and the universe were one by one being laid bare by reason, and categorised in a series of laws that codified our understanding. As our understanding deepened, apparently quite disparate physical phenomena came to be understood as manifestations of unifying underlying principles. The secrets of life and the universe were one by one being laid bare by reason, and categorised in a series of laws that codified our understanding. The periodic table of the elements established the basic components making up both the natural and the living world around us, showing how living matter and inorganic material are built up of the same basic chemical elements. The discovery of the cells at the basis of living matter, with their internal biochemical processes, showed how chemical interactions and thermodynamics underlie the functioning of living organisms. The need for special design was removed by the understanding of the power of the process of Darwinian natural selection acting over very long time scales in sculpting the nature of living organisms. The discovery of the molecular structure of the genome – the DNA double helix, with its ability to store and replicate information – and the biochemical bases of neuronal activity, showed how heredity and brain function are based in basic chemical and physical principles. The same reasoning power and understanding could be applied to technology, based in our scientific understanding, enabling us to tame and control the environment to a large degree. The principle of rationality became understood to be the basis of an ordered life. Rationality was seen as impeded by emotion, scientific proof thought to remove the need for faith, and hope in the face of evidence was seen as simply an irrational manifestation of our more primitive biological heritage, which we had to learn to overcome. In the West, the scientific paradigm took over management strategies and provided the idea of rationality as the basis of how both communal and individual life should be lived. The demons of the past were being driven out by science. Science would provide a Third Culture, “rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives, redefining who and what we are” [Horgan]. However, it is becoming clear that this view is overdone: science is not the answer to all our needs, and rationality is claiming things it cannot give. Modern technology underlies a series of major problems facing humanity today, ranging from large-scale environmental destruction to the creation of weapons of mass destruction, and does not by itself provide any help in resolving the resulting problems that have the potential to threaten the very existence of human life. Reason by itself cannot provide an ethical basis for living, and indeed a scientifically based outlook can lead to inhumanity just as much as fundamentalist religion can. Rationality is not all that is important in human nature. A broader understanding is needed that incorporates what science can teach us, but that also has a sound ethical basis and a more humane perspective on the world, and values each of Emotion, Faith, and Hope. This characterizes how rationality organizes and comprehends the world – on the basis of unexpected evidence. All matter is made of extremely small particles called quarks and electrons. They are electrically charged. Quarks bind together to form positively charged protons and neutral neutrons, together called nucleons because they in turn bind together to form the positively charged nuclei of atoms. Such nuclei when surrounded by the right numbers of electrons (exactly balancing the positive charge of the nucleus) form atoms. The different kinds of atoms (depending on the charge of the nucleus) form the various chemical elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulphur for example) characterised in the periodic table of the elements – one of the central discoveries of science. Atoms bind together to form molecules, which in turn form materials of all kind, which then when combined in an appropriate manner constitute macroscopic objects – rocks and lakes, birds and flowers, zebras and humans. Table 1: Hierarchical structure of matter. Thus the constituents of matter, including the material out of which living beings are constructed, are known. These constituents interact with each other through four fundamental forces (gravity, the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak force), and it is these interactions that determine their macroscopic behaviour – the gas laws in the case of gases, elasticity in the case of solids, and so on. Underlying all physical change is the conversion of energy from useful to unusable forms – the famous second law of Thermodynamics. Microscopic conservation laws – conservation of charge, energy, momentum, and matter – underlie macroscopic conservation laws of fundamental importance to us (objects do not just appear and disappear, for example, and we need an energy source in order to do work). These conservation laws in turn are based in a subtle and beautiful way on symmetries in the underlying physics. How does life and consciousness emerge from inanimate physics and chemistry? In essence, the basic building blocks outlined above are put together in complex modular hierarchical structures. The key chemical element around which this is all based is carbon, which can form the basis for very long chains of atoms such as polypeptides. The levels of the biological hierarchy are characterised in Table 2. The structure of these complex systems results in emergence of higher levels of order and function that are not present in the lower levels, and cannot even be described in the languages appropriate at those levels. They function by a combination of bottom-up and top-down causality. Not only do the microscopic laws acting on the constituent particles at the lower levels act to physically determine what happens at the higher levels (for example, when electric forces between protons and electrons in my arm conspire together to enable me to move my arm in a tennis shot), but additionally the higher levels control what happens at the lower levels. Information underlying the higher levels of this hierarchy is stored in molecular structures, in particular in the paired base sequences in DNA that constitute the genetic information of each organism. The whole is self-assembling, the developmental process in each organism being based on hierarchical pattern-recognition processes that convert the specific base sequences in the DNA for that organism into proteins according to the universal genetic code. This reading of genetic information is not a simple algorithmic process; it is highly context dependent, with positional information determining which part of the gene will be read in each cell at each specific stage of development. At the higher levels, organisms live in ecosystems where they interact with each other to form energy and food chains which underlie major resource cycles. The entire set of such ecosystems forms the biosphere, existing on the surface of the continents on Earth, in seas, lakes, and rivers, and in the atmosphere above. This enormously complex interconnected system of living organisms, culminating in self-aware consciousness, has occurred through the processes of Darwinian evolution. Initial processes that are still ill-understood resulted in single-cell organisms, and then cells learned to join together to form multi-cellular creatures. Random variations in the gene caused variations in living organisms, which were then better or less well adapted to survival in their current environment. Those that were better adapted outperformed the others and their genes had a better survival and reproduction rate; hence these best-adapted organisms came to dominate, the others falling by the wayside. Consciousness and the associated ability to plan rationally results in better survival rates, resulting in the generation of organisms with purposive behaviour, eventually including the ability to make conscious choices of goals. The specific genes in each organism result from a contingent historical process, and contain a record of that process (for example the migration of life from the sea to land). They are therefore to a major degree determined by historical events such as global heating and cooling cycles on the surface of the Earth. Nevertheless one can suggest that there will necessarily be a convergence to the same solutions in terms of physiological structure, because of common functional problems faced by organisms on the one hand, and the restricted nature of possible engineering responses (based on the underlying physical and chemical laws) to these problems on the other hand; for example there are only a limited numbers of ways that an eye or ear can function. Biological evolution explores a restricted possibility space. The biosphere exists on the surface of the planet Earth, one of the nine planets circling the vastly larger Sun. The planets and Sun together comprise the Solar System, and is held together by gravity. The Sun is a vast nuclear reactor, also held together by gravity, in which hydrogen is converted to helium by nuclear burning at very high temperatures at the centre, thus releasing vast amounts of energy that flow into space as radiation. The small amount of this energy that is received by the Earth powers the biosphere, for example being used in photosynthesis to power the growth of plants and also being the energy source for all the weather on earth. The Sun is just a typical star, looking much larger and hotter than other stars because it is so much closer than they are. Together with about 10^11 = 100,000,000,000 other stars, it forms the Galaxy, a huge disk of stars that we see at night as the Milky Way. We see it edge-on, because we are located in the outer regions of the disc. While stars shine brightly because of their emitted radiation, planets only shine by reflected light, and so are very difficult to see at a large distance. We have detected only a few planets circling other stars; nevertheless there probably are a great many other planets in the Galaxy. The galaxy is just one of a huge number of other galaxies that we can see as very faint images in the sky, very faint because they are so very far away from us. We can detect about 10^11 = 100,000,000,000 other galaxies in the visible region of the universe, each similar in size to our own Galaxy This region also contains exotic objects such as radio sources, quasi-stellar objects, and X-Ray sources, as well as dark matter that we cannot directly see, but can detect by its gravitational effects. This visible region of the universe may be part of a vastly larger cosmos, most of it unseen by us because light will never reach us from those extraordinarily distant regions. Table 3: Hierarchical nature of astronomical structure. It is crucial to note that the universe is not static, as astronomers initially supposed. The observable region of the universe is expanding, with clusters of galaxies getting ever more distant from each other. By measuring the expansion rate, we can see that it had a start in a Hot Big Bang event in the past, about 10^10 = 10,000,000,000 years ago, when all the matter was concentrated in an indefinitely small volume. It is probable that it will expand forever in the future, with the matter in the universe ever getting more and more dilute. It will also get ever colder as the stars burn out one by one, and galaxies become ghostly remnants of their former glory. One of the crucial features to note here is the immensity of the universe relative to humanity. The entire Earth is a tiny – almost invisible – speck in the Galaxy, which itself is a minute part of the cosmos as a whole. We are very small indeed relative to what exists. We cannot affect it in any serious way on scales larger than that of the earth. We are confined to a tiny fraction of the entire cosmos, and that will always be the case. We will never be able to visit the furthest regions we can see, and we cannot see all there is. We do not know what the nature of the universe is on the largest of scales – that is, much bigger than the observable part of the universe. The hot big bang expansion phase of the universe is well understood, because matter and radiation were then in equilibrium at the very high temperatures consequent on the universe being condensed to a very much smaller size than today. The process of nucleosynthesis – creation of the light elements (deuterium, helium, lithium) from protons and neutrons – took place when the temperature was about 109K. The tightly bound matter and radiation let go of each other when the temperature dropped to about 4000K, and the universe became transparent at that time (previously it was very opaque – light could only penetrate a few cm. at most). The radiation we receive from that time (“Cosmic Background Radiation”) is one of the key pieces of information we have about the early universe, and much of present day cosmology is engaged with measuring and interpreting minute fluctuations in this radiation. First stars formed by gravitational attraction, but without hospitable planets circling them because the elements needed for life did not yet exist. The most massive ones did not last long by astronomical standards: they burnt their nuclear fuel too fast. However they had time to synthesise heavier elements deep in their interiors, and in particular the elements essential for life such as Carbon and Oxygen, before their death in a spectacular supernova explosion. That explosion spread these elements through space, forming the clouds of dust from which second generation stars could form, surrounded by planets that might support life. This is the origin of the elements out of which all living beings on earth are made, as well as the earth itself. What happened before the Hot Big Bang era is much less well established. Many believe it was preceded by an era of very rapid accelerating expansion, when the universe very quickly became very much larger in an exceedingly short time interval. This “inflation” ended when the effective negative energy field driving it decayed away, its energy being transferred to radiation that would have then heated up the universe to high temperatures after the super-cooling that would have resulted from this rapid expansion. Inflation would have both smoothed out the universe, thus explaining why its structure is so simple on very large scales, and introduced fluctuations that were the seeds of later structure development as the universe expanded after this inflationary epoch ended. This proposal explains the origin of the clusters of galaxies we see around us at the present time; however its underlying physics is still ill-defined, so it is a broad set of ideas rather than a specific unique proposal for what happened then. Even earlier than inflation, the universe would probably have been dominated by quantum gravity effects – some combination of quantum ideas with Einstein’s theory of gravitation. However we do not yet have a good theory of quantum gravity, so our theories about this epoch are highly speculative. In particular we do not know if these effects can remove the inevitability of an initial singularity – a boundary to space-time – at the start of the universe. It is possible that we face an intriguing choice: either there were very special (`fine-tuned’) conditions at the start of the universe, or there was indeed a singularity. The latter is a very extreme situation – a start to space, to time, and even to physical reality itself, so this is then the boundary of what physics can say about the universe. Some physicists find that a very unpalatable prospect. One alternative is that we live in a multiverse – there are many other expanding universe regions, apart from the one we can see around us. Perhaps there are even truly disconnected universes, quite separate from our own. Because there are then so many universes in existence, with varying properties, at least some of them would be like the rather improbable universe in which we live. We can do statistics concerning this family of universes, and try to show that the universe we see is in fact probable. However this possibility is not observationally testable, so this possibility – foreshadowed in science fiction novels, such as Olaf Stapledon’s Starmaker – may or may not be true. Uncertainty remains at the foundations of cosmology. The brain is the most complex system known to us. Brain function is based on mechanisms allowing information storage, processing, and usage, mainly through the electrochemical properties of neurons (the cells that are the basic computational units in the brain), which are connected together in immensely complex ways. Neurons are made up of a cell body together with long branching extensions called dendrites and axons. Information embodied in action potentials flows down dendrites to the cell body, where summation of inputs is performed and the output is sent down numerous axons to meet dendrites of other neurons at synapses). Here the incoming information is transferred by neurotransmitters from the axon to the dendrite, which are separated there by a small gap. A single neuron may be connected in this way to hundreds or even thousands of other neurons. Each level of structure in the hierarchy carries out a different function, described in a different language. Neurons are clumped together in major functional areas. Some brain regions are dedicated to automatic (instinctual) functions, some are the seat of our inherited primary emotions, while some are dedicated to analysis of sensory input, to higher cognitive functions, and to handling motor output. Bottom-up and top-down action combine to create consciousness – an emergent feature, based on the physical and chemical interactions underlying the functioning of the complexly interconnected neurons. The neurological details of these mechanisms are relatively well understood at a micro level, and the broad ways brain areas function is understood at a macro level, showing how various brain areas correlate with various aspects of consciousness. Nevertheless, the way that consciousness itself is generated is simply not understood. Nor do we understand the relation between the mind and the brain: how matter is able to support self-transcendence. At the fundamental level, we do not know what the quantum theory of gravity is, although there are two well developed attempts under way to solve this fundamental question. However problems run much deeper than that; in particular, we do not understand the quantum measurement problem – how microscopic states relate to measurements made by macroscopic laboratory apparatus. The problem is that the laws by which measurements are supposed to occur are not compatible with the measuring apparatus itself obeying the laws of quantum physics; but it is inconsistent for that apparatus to not be composed of matter that obeys these laws. In terms of the relation of fundamental physics to macroscopic systems, the fundamental problem is we do not know how the micro laws determine the macro arrow of time – which is the future direction of time, which is the past; but that distinction is one of the most important characteristics of macro systems. In terms of cosmology, I have emphasized above the uncertainty about the way the universe originated in some kind of quantum state, and whether or not there might exist a multiverse. However again the issues run deeper than this. The fundamental issue is, what determines the existence and specific nature of the laws of physics? What chooses which laws of nature apply? These laws determine the evolution of the universe itself, and of the matter in the universe; but what determines them? This is a meta-scientific issue, for no scientific experiment can resolve this question. However it gains its specific bite by realising the issue of fine-tuning of the universe for life. There are numerous ways in which the laws of physics and the nature of the universe seem remarkably suited for intelligent life to exist. Most universes we can conceive of would not allow any life at all to exist. So the ultimate question in relating the cosmos to life is, what is the origin of this fine tuning? The main scientific proposal in this regard is to suggest that our universe is just one of many in a multiverse. If there are enough varied universes in existence in a multiverse, it becomes more or less certain that there will be life in at least one of them. However this proposition is not testable, so its scientific status is questionable. The issue is in reality a metaphysical or philosophical one; the inability of science to give an answer is just one aspect of the limits of what can be determined by the scientific method. – the understanding of love. These are of great significance to humanity. Science can explore some of the associated conditions for each of these topics, but cannot in each case enter the core of the topic itself. For example, there are no machines that can measure the beauty of a painting, or that can experimentally determine how evil an act is. Indeed there are no units for beauty (‘two milli-Rembrants’) or for good and evil (‘one micro-Hitler’). The attempt to set up such experiments on a purely scientific basis would be absurd. That does not mean making judgements in these areas is absurd: on the contrary they are all important parts of human life. The point simply is that they lie outside the strictly limited domain of science itself. The implication is that there are different types of knowledge and understanding important to us: there is that accessible by the scientific method, but additionally philosophical and moral knowledge, art and literature, personal knowledge, mystical experience can all be significant to us. One can still use methods similar to those used in science in understanding these areas, looking for predictive power and adopting a form of critical realism, but the data used will be quite different – often involving individual personal experiences, for example, rather than repeatable laboratory situations. Indeed it is in the uniqueness of experience that much of life’s richness is captured; but science is searching for the common core that can be reliably tested for in identical situations. One should note here that science by itself does not either confirm or deny a spiritual or religious understanding of the universe. Those making that link are following an illegitimate line of argument that cannot survive critical scrutiny. Is it not perhaps the human sciences that can give guidance to humanity and tackle issues such as those mentioned above? What about the possible contributions of anthropology, sociology, economics, political studies, psychology? In principle they can indeed help considerably, but there are significant problems related to their use that cannot be resolved on a strictly scientific basis. The first problem is the lack of consensus, indeed the considerable fragmentation of the social and human sciences, even at the foundations. This is in contrast to the considerable degree of unity of understanding apparent in the ‘hard’ sciences. Consequently, almost any interpretation or proposal one makes in relation to the issues mentioned above will be vigorously disputed by some faction or other. So it is difficult to decide whether progress in understanding is being attained. The second problem, related to the first, is the fundamentalism that has been apparent in many attempts to relate human sciences to human affairs. Partial and incomplete theories or explanations have been trumpeted to be the whole truth, and used to vigorously denounce those holding opposing views, even when there may be valid support for the contrasting proposals; and that is the essence of all fundamentalisms. The way this has happened across many of the human sciences has been described in an illuminating way by Steven Pinker in his book The Blank Slate. Examples are the culture-biology tensions in understanding human behaviour, and contrasting approaches to understanding the mind-brain relationship. These partial understandings that have been proclaimed to be the whole truth (for example, Skinner’s behaviourist psychology) have inevitably been demeaning of our deep human nature. The scientific method has often come across as incapable of providing a worthwhile understanding of humanity. The third problem is the implied ethical stances and value choices that have been implicitly assumed and taken to be valid in many social science analyses – particularly in economics and politics – and have then shaped the resulting suggested understanding of human affairs. Again this is often done with a dogmatic presumption that this is the only way of understanding how things could be. This may have improved somewhat in recent times, but nevertheless an explicit exploration of the ethical presuppositions underlying analyses in the human sciences is relatively rare. The key point, then, is that these ethical understandings, which fundamentally shape the outcome of any analysis, cannot come from science itself – they have to come from elsewhere. Overall, science is concerned with the means rather than the ends of life, and this concern is built into its very nature. That is the reason it cannot deal with such issues. 3.3 What is the nature of ethics? There are many options that have been advanced through the ages. The claim I will make is that deep ethics is kenotic: that is, it is based in generosity and love, and involves the capacity and willingness for forgiveness and reconciliation, which in turn means giving up the need for revenge, in order to attain the greater good. On occasion it can involve the ultimate of sacrifice on behalf of the other, even the enemy, because that is the way to turn the hardened heart, to convert an enemy to a friend, and so to create the true security that comes from being surrounded by friends rather than enemies. The implication is not that one is always sacrificing on behalf of others, but rather that one is prepared to do so when the context is such that a move of this kind can have a transformational quality. This moves ethics to a totally new regime: the arena of deep ethics that can indeed transform context and situation, in a way that is paradoxical because what was impossible in the old context becomes possible in the new, for the hardened heart can indeed on occasion be touched and transformed. This is the only ethics that can create true security by fundamentally transforming the situation. It is recognised as an aspect of the highest good by all the major religions; and one can suggest therefore that it is indeed the true nature of a realist ethic, deeply imbedded in the nature of the universe, that would indeed be recognised as such by ethically advanced intelligent beings anywhere in the universe. In all human actions, the means used are as important as the ends, because you cannot attain ends based on one kind of values through means based on different values; and so the means used should be kenotic in nature in order to attain the good we envisage. In order for ethical choices to be meaningful, it is crucial that the human mind has “free will”; that is, the individual can make choices expressing both their nature and their conscious decisions about the way they want to act. We must be responsible for our actions in some serious sense. Many scientists in various ways deny that free will exists, because of the way that physics and chemistry underlie neuronal functioning and hence brain activity, as outlined above. It seems as if our brain is a computer that computes output according to immutable laws of physics, its operations shaped by either our evolutionary history or our culture in such a way that consciousness is a mere epi-phenomenon superimposed on its unconscious operations, with the disastrous implications that “there is no sound biological (or ideological) basis for selfhood, willpower, freedom, or responsibility”. The response to this deterministic and reductionist denial of the core of personhood is multiple. This view is based on laboratory results that fail to take into account the timescales and complexity of real-life interactions, and it does not adequately represent the way the human mind develops and functions as part of a distributed cognitive network . It fails to take into account top-down action in the brain, together with the causal effectiveness of consciousnes. And above all, if it were actually true, then science would not be possible, because we would not have the power to assess theories on the basis of their internal consistency and compatibility with the data. Our brains would be computing output in some internally determined way that would not necessarily relate to any concept we might have of rationally deciding whether theories are scientifically acceptable or not. The whole supposed basis of the scientific enterprise would turn out to be a charade. Finally in looking at the relation of rationality to other human attributes, it is important to note the Cartesian error of considering the essential feature of human existence as being rationality alone. The mind is an integral party of a being imbued with internal affective states as well as external senses. Feelings and emotions are just as much core human capacities as thinking is, and have evolved to what they are because they serve vital functions in human life. In essence they continuously evaluate our situation as being satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and signal both the conscious and unconscious brain when change is needed. Without emotion, intellect cannot function adequately; and this can be clearly demonstrated in the case of patients who have suffered damage to the emotional centres in the brain. Actually the relation goes much further than this: emotions underlie the development of rationality in neuro-scientific terms. They provide a value system that guides the development of the intellect in response to internal and external senses and experiences, as the individual interacts with family and society. The implication is that the theoretical concept of pure rational brain activity is an illusion. Rational cogitation is always part and parcel of an ongoing integral activity in which emotion and reason and values interweave with each other. We are able to restrain the emotional side in order to arrive at rational conclusions in accord with our value system, and science is the system par excellence for doing so. The sources of values that help guide the higher emotions are as important to our lives as the rationality that assesses what is happening on the basis of those values. Science can help us determine if we can attain our chosen goals, and see the outcomes that will follow from our chosen values; but it cannot itself substitute for the human choices of such values and goals. Essential features of a full human life are faith and hope, driven by the need to make life choices in the face of uncertainty and adversity (and we note here that even atheism is a faith). Rationality, based on impartial analysis of repeated experience and carefully collected evidence, is what gives us our ability to plan sensibly and successfully in the face of reality and its inherent limitations, but hope is often needed in order to continue surviving and functioning in the face of desperate situations – to fight against the odds. Indeed that has been abundantly clear in the recent history of South Africa- there were many times when the rational thing would have been to give up in despair. But the miracle of the political transition happened without the country descending into wholesale bloodshed, because of the political and moral leadership provided by Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Part of the point is that the non-rational clinging to hope is itself part of the transformational process. It is an active factor in changing the context in which we live, and hence the outcomes of our choices and actions. This process has an element of faith – faith in what might happen if hope is pursued. But faith is needed anyhow to provide a basis for thought, values, and action, for a number of reasons, even though it is itself guided by thoughts and values. Faith is needed when the evidence is incomplete; hope when the evidence is against you. First, metaphysical uncertainty is inevitable in terms of ascertaining the underlying nature of reality, as pointed out by Immanuel Kant, and so in order to have some philosophical position to live by, we need to make choices concerning our metaphysical worldviews that cannot be proven to be right (we may be totally persuaded they are true, but that is not a logical proof). Second, ethical stances also cannot be proven to be right or wrong, but we have to make choices here too, as they guide all our other choices (and making no consciously thought-out choice is itself a choice, in this context). Third, in everyday choices we are always proceeding on the basis of inadequate information, and have to proceed on the faith and hope that our judgements are right (in choosing business partners, life companions, what career to pursue, and so on). We have to trust some people, thereby accepting that we are not in full control of what happens. Indeed this applies even in science: setting up a scientific project is an exercise in hope. Finally, we are inevitably concerned about the future – where this is all going to end. Faith and hope naturally arise in this context. These are crucial elements in our exercise of volition. Thus there are important roles for both rationality and hope in human life, but there is an ongoing tension between them, for rationality is based on logic and proof, but faith functions where there can be no proof. We cannot live without it. Thus in many ways the concept of a purely rational, securely evidence-based approach to life is an illusion. Life is much richer than that. However there is a crucial final point. It is not true that all exercises of faith and hope are equal. Like all our abilities, they too can be used rightly or wrongly. This is where the exercise of discernment is essential. Some faiths, and in particular fundamentalist faiths, are destructive and to be avoided; some hopes are evil. Thus faith and hope, like our actions, have to be guided by ethics – value choices of what are acceptable goals for each of us. Each of Rationality, Emotions, Ethics, Faith and Hope are influenced by each of the other, with reason being the key player trying to bring the others into harmony. The instinctive brain underlies this as does the unconscious. There is a subtle tension here between the natures of reason and hope. Reason can help us discern which faiths are reasonable faiths, and which hopes are ethical hopes. This does not deny what has been said before, but indicates how rather then denying their important role, reason plays a crucial role in the exercise of faith and hope. This is an important point. I note here two aspects of this crucial tension. First, in the end, as with all other choices we make, faith and hope must be judged by their outcomes – “By their fruits ye shall know them”. Second, those outcomes in turn are to be judged relative to a universal ethical base: are they in the end promoting generosity and love among human beings, or not? This implies that the faith and hope we choose to live by should be kenotic in nature, in order that our resulting actions can attain the good we aspire to. Reason can help us in this endeavour. A main tension in human life is that between intellect, faith, and hope, specifically between impersonal rational analysis, driven by curiosity and the desire to understand both our universe and whatever life situations may face us on the one hand, and on the other hand, faith and hope, driven both by the desire to fulfill our deepest natural desires, and the need to make life choices in the face of uncertainty and adversity. This interaction is guided by a subtle interaction between intellect, values, and emotions. We can engage with life in different ways: mainly on a scientific basis, obtaining rational impersonal answers based on simplified analytic models and repeatable experimental observations, with all the strengths and limitations that entails, or alternatively in terms of personal and communal faith and hope, based on wider aspects of our experience, and addressing other dimensions of understanding. Either approach by itself is partial and limited. The suggestion is that we need a focus on the nature of being human that involves the integral whole – that celebrates and nurtures an ever-changing and deepening interaction between rationality, emotion, values, faith, and hope. This is nothing other than an old-fashioned approach that recognizes and celebrates the classical virtues of faith, hope, and charity – but also takes the rationality of science into serious account, with the whole guided by values of a kenotic nature. The interaction between them has the potential to help produce the kind of integrative worldview, incorporating all these elements, that will ultimately be most satisfying. Actually this is all obvious – one only has to emphasize it because so many clever people deny the obvious.

2019-04-24T20:55:31Z

https://www.metanexus.net/rationality-and-emotion-faith-and-hope/

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Je ne suis pas intervenu plus tôt sur l’assassinat du ministre libanais Pierre Gemayel, le 21 novembre, pour deux raisons. La première est que ce blog ne « réagit » pas à chaud à chaque événement et n’a pas pour but de donner « rapidement » une interprétation (J’ai donné des éléments pour comprendre le contexte libanais dans d’autres textes de ce blog) ; d’autre part, l’ensemble des médias a immédiatement désigné avant toute enquête le coupable, la Syrie, et le simple fait de s’interroger là-dessus peut apparaître suspect. Qu’on soit clair. Je ne sais pas qui a tué Pierre Gemayel. Cet assassinat a peut-être été commis sur ordre des autorités syriennes, ou à l’initiative de tel ou tel de ses services secrets. Mais, pour l’instant, personne n’en a apporté la preuve. Je pense en revanche intéressant de s’interroger sur certaines des « preuves » contre Damas et aussi, à partir de ce tragique événement, sur le contexte libanais. Le premier argument est connu. A qui profite le crime ? Selon ses accusateurs, le régime syrien craint la mise en place du tribunal international chargé de juger les assassins de Rafic Hariri (ce qui est probable) ; mais en quoi l’assassinat de Pierre Gemayel règle-t-il ce problème ? Dès le 25 novembre, le gouvernement libanais (en l’absence des ministres du Hezbollah et d’Amal, démissionnaires) a adopté le projet de tribunal international. De plus, il était évident que Damas serait désigné comme « responsable » de ce crime par les Etats-Unis et la France et que cela ne pourrait que renforcer le front antisyrien, au moment même où Damas multiplie les gestes d’ouverture en direction de l’Occident. Cette position sur le tribunal vient d’être réaffirmée avec force par un communiqué commune du 24 novembre de Nabih Berri, le président du parlement libanais et chef du parti Amal et par Nasrallah, le secrétaire général du Hezbollah (je le publie en anglais plus bas). Ammar al-Musawi, membre du bureau politique du Hezbollah, a déclaré sur Al-Jazira, le 24 novembre :« Il est clair que les forces du 14 février (Said Hariri et ses alliés) tentent de présenter le tribunal comme un sujet de discorde entre les Libanais. Je veux rappeler que, durant les négociations entre les différents dirigeants libanais, ceux-ci ont tous approuvé le tribunal international. Mais les gens en place tentent de nous empêcher de discuter le projet de résolution sur le tribunal (transmis par les Nations unies) (...) Nous discutons aussi avec les forces du 14 février de la création d’un gouvernement d’union nationale et de l’obtention d’une minorité de blocage d’un tiers. » Car la vraie question que pose l’opposition est celle-ci : le pays peut-il être dirigé contre la moitié au moins de sa population ? Peut-on présenter la situation aussi schématiquement ? En oubliant, par exemple, le général Michel Aoun, l’opposant le plus déterminé à Damas depuis quinze ans, qui dirige le principal parti maronite et qui est allié au Hezbollah ? O Lebanese, the recent escalation of the debate on the stand on the international tribunal and the exploitation attempts by many quarters to peddle specific political stands, has made it necessary to address you to state the truth as it is from the premise of our national and political constants and our principles, which are based on justice and truth. Immediately after the major crime of the assassination of Martyr Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and his comrades that has afflicted Lebanon, the Amal Movement and Hezbollah affirmed and announced their eagerness to work to expose this crime and those who planned and carried it out, and to punish them, given that this is a national priority that must be attained. While we were daily reiterating our commitment to fulfil all the requirements for the establishment of an international tribunal, the crime of assassination of Martyr Deputy Jubran Tuwayni took place. The issue of expanding the investigation and the establishment of an international tribunal was listed on the agenda of an extraordinary cabinet session without giving the ministers the opportunity to discuss and prepare themselves for the issue to make it easier to be adopted. But the prime minister at the time insisted on not changing the date of the session and did not give the ministers two days to pr ! epare and discuss the issue. Had the prime minister agreed to do this, it would have been [long] enough to reach the necessary conclusions and the ministers of Amal and Hezbollah would not have suspended their participation in the government because their role in the preparation, participation and adoption of the decision has been ignored. Since the leaders of the two parties are eager to establish the tribunal and seek the truth, they kept reaffirming their support for the tribunal on every occasion until the national dialogue conference convened on 2 March 2006. The conference convened at the invitation of Speaker Nabih Birri. The first item on its agenda emphasized the need to unravel the truth about the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and its ramifications. Since the Amal Movement and Hezbollah have been constantly supporting the truth, they explicitly stated at the first session of the national dialogue that they support an international tribunal. Unanimous agreement on this item was reached in the first hour after the conference convened. Those attending paid tribute to the advanced stands of Speaker Birri and Hasan Nasrallah - stands that have been registered in the records of the conference. Since they insist on not having their stand on the tribunal be misconstrued, the leaders of the movement and the party grasped every opportunity during central celebrations and through Speaker Birri and His Eminence Al-Sayyid Nasrallah from the time when the national dialogue conference was held until the recent consultation meeting to reaffirm their decisive stand on this issue while the parliamentary majority was trying for political reasons to cover up some of their crises by making the people believe that any political change or stand on the government or its performance stems from the rejection of the tribunal. This showed that the facts on political issues that are related to the Israeli war on Lebanon and the economic, social and financial crises had been distorted in a manner that caused controversies. This weakened the unity that used to exist on the need to unravel the truth ; did not serve the cause of the tribunal ; and created some confusion among the people although the movement and the party kept reiterating their stand on the issue. O Lebanese : In view of the developments that prevailed in the Lebanese arena at the end of the Israeli war of aggression on Lebanon, Speaker Birri took the initiative to send out invitations for a consultation meeting among the parties to the dialogue on the issue of the formation of a national unity government and a new election law and to prepare for what is needed on the economic and financial level. Since we were eager to remind people of our positive stand on the tribunal, the consultation meeting was an opportunity to expand the discussion to reiterate the stand on the tribunal. The conferees spent some time discussing the issue and the Amal Movement and Hezbollah reiterated their known stand on this issue in a frank and explicit manner at the first and second consultation sessions. A limited meeting took place during the third session when Deputy Sa’d al-Hariri joined a meeting that was being held on the sidelines of the sessions between Speaker Birri and Deputy Ali Hasan Khalil on one side and Deputy Muhammad Ra’d and Minister Muhammad Funaysh and Deputy Husayn al-Hajj al-Hasan on the other. Deputy Al-Hariri proposed to the conferees a formula based on reaching agreement on the principle of the establishment of an international tribunal, discussing the details related to this tribunal in side meetings among the three parties before submitting it to the cabinet to ensure its expeditious and unanimous adoption, and approving at the same time the formation of a national unity government in which the opposition forces will have more tha ! n one third of the portfolios, where effective participation will be ensured, and which will be the introduction to the discussion and settlement of controversial issues. Since we were eager to settle the issue of the tribunal, we made many contacts in the wake of this meeting that was held before the consultation session was suspended to expedite receiving the draft project on the tribunal to implement what was agreed upon. The reply came at 2200 [local time] on Friday night that preceded the last session of consultations and after Prime Minister Fu’ad al-Sanyurah had contacted Speaker Birri, who stressed to him not to set a date for the cabinet meeting on this issue before the meeting that was scheduled to be held on Saturday - that is, not before carrying out the implementation steps that were agreed upon during the limited meeting with Deputy Sa’d al-Hariri to facilitate the adoption of the draft resolution. This would give the ministers and the relevant committee the time to study the details of the draft project on the tribunal. But we were surprised to find out at the onset of the session the next day, Saturday, 11 Novem ! ber, that there was an intensive campaign depicting us as if we were ready to barter the international tribunal for political demands while no mention was made of what took place in the limited meeting that was initiated by Deputy Sa’d al-Hariri. Monday, 13 November 2006 was then set as a date for the next cabinet meeting without discussing this with anyone and without taking into consideration all the statements we made saying that we were ready to discuss the draft project with a positive attitude and open mind. This was accompanied by ending the political discussion on the basic provision that was listed on the cabinet agenda dealing with the formation of a national unity government because key leaders of the majority decided that this demand could not be discussed. O Lebanese : In view of the fact that the crime of assassination against Deputy and Minister Martyr Pierre al-Jumayyil is being exploited in order to continue defaming our stand on the international tribunal, we have related the above facts in order to emphasize our firm support for this tribunal in accordance with the mechanisms that safeguard constitutional procedures and secure the attainment of the aspired objective. We say this while we insist on our legitimate right to call for a genuine political participation and we will not submit to any blackmail to have us change our stand on this participation. The confrontation by the other side of our legitimate political demands by resorting to the international tribunal to confuse public opinion and compensate for its weakness certainly does not serve the cause of truth and justice. Therefore, all of this will not dissuade us from committing ourselves before the Lebanese people to continue our call and have reco ! urse to the available democratic means within the laws and regulations in force. We will be compelled to use these means if the other side remains intransigent and flouts the pillars of Lebanese national accord. We ask God to stand witness to what we say. Pour ceux qui comme moi ne se satisfont pas des discours convenus et des problématiques sans issus, quelques aspects permettant une approche dépassionnée. Syrie–Liban : intégration régionale ou dilution ? "Les forces du 14 février" sont ceux qui ont pris position contre la Syrie, le jour de la mort de R. Hariri. Le camp "du 14 mars" (« qui fait référence à la manifestation géante après la mort de Hariri »), représente les forces du 14 février plus les partisans du general Aoun, ce que se garde bien de préciser le journaliste de Libération, et pour cause : comme indiqué par A. Gresh, le General Aoun anti-Syrien s’est depuis rallié au Hezbollah "pro-syrien". D’ou le refus des gens du Hezbollah et de Aoun lui meme de désigner les "anti-Syriens" (pourquoi pas pro-Americains ? la réponse est évidente) autrement que par la premiere appelation. « Les forces du 14 mars, qui contrôlent les deux tiers de l’Assemblée et le poste de Premier ministre, sont soutenues par Paris et Washington, qui voient, dans leur victoire électorale du printemps 2005, qui a suivi le retrait syrien du Liban, un triomphe de la démocratie. » La encore, dans son simplisme outrancier ou plutot sa mauvaise foi, ce journaliste oublie de décrire les "subtilités" libanaises des alliances électorales. Ce camp (du 14 fevrier donc) n’aurait pu obtenir la majorité sans l’appui des.... Chiites du Hezbollah et de Amal qui avaient fait alliance avec Joumblatt et Hariri, et doivent s’en mordre les doigts maintenant. Malgré ce contexte défavorable, le camp du General Aoun s’est quand meme assuré 21 siéges, ce qui fait du general, comme le fait remarquer A.Gresh, le principal dirigeant Maronite. Nul doute que si l’alliance Hezbollah/Aoun s’était faite avant ces élections, la majorité aurait été toute autre. Mais il n’est pas sur que Paris et Washington y aurait vu un triomphe de la démocratie. Enfin le systeme électoral libanais n’est pas exactement démocratique, puisque obéissant au sacro-saint "respect des équilibres communautaires". Faut-il pleurer avec Gershon Baskin ? Désolé, je ne peux pas. Je sais que David Grossman a, dernièrement, relancé avec succès la machine à jérémiades, mais ce n’est pas une raison pour embrayer. Assez pleuré après avoir tiré ! Cela fait des années qu’un bonhomme comme Gideon Lévy rend compte de ses rencontres avec ceux qu’Israël a besoin d’écraser. Gershon Baskin n’aurait-il pas lu Haaretz pendant tout ce temps ? Et puis cette manie du paradis perdu sioniste. « Quand sommes-nous devenus aveugles aux souffrances des autres ? » : parce qu’il y a un avant où éclatait le souci sioniste de l’autre ? Les sionistes « de gauche » se paient la tête des autres. Il serait temps qu’on leur ôte leurs masques à simagrées au lieu de pleurer avec eux. Aux dernières nouvelles, Gilad Shalit est toujours vivant. Ce n’est pas le cas des morts de Beit Hanoun. Je ne jette, disant cela, pas la pierre à Noam Shalit. Mais je n’ai aucune pitié pour Gershon Baskin. Comme disait l’autre, improvisant sur du Chateaubriand : « Il faut économiser les coups de pied au cul étant donné le nombre de nécessiteux ». Voilà un nécessiteux. Il se tient, mercredi prochain à Bruxelles, une manifestation en faveur de la libération de Shalit et des deux autres soldats. Après avoir essayé la force (combien de morts, encore ?), on va essayer l’Europe. Je n’imagine pas que les manifestants demanderont la libération des 10.000 prisonniers palestiniens, ni plus sobrement encore, celle des 3.000.000 d’otages Palestiniens. Je pense que le Liban est malheureusement au centre d’intérêts et d’enjeux internationaux qui le dépassent et dépassent son peuple avide de liberté et de démocratie ! Avoir pour voisin Israël est la pire des choses ! On en revient tout frais-tout ravigoré, prêt pour le coup de pied au c... à Gershon Baskin. Liban - La saga des Gemayel : la Phalange - Stefano Chiarini, il manifesto, 24 novembre 2006. De l’assassinat de Gemayel à la crise libanaise. A qui profite le crime ? « Naturellement, la décision d’établir une cour spéciale pour étudier les assassinats de Hariri et Gemayel sont des obstacles sérieux [a un rapprochement entre la Syrie et les Etats-Unis]. Cette assertion de Landis me semble on ne peut plus pertinente, surtout si l’on épouse une autre récente assertion, celle du célèbre William Pfaff qui affirme que Bush vit maintenant hors de la réalité (Bush left reality behind). Si on ajoute la déclaration du professeur Rabinovich, on peut penser qu’il est dans l’intéret Busho-israélien de mettre hors-jeu toute tentative de rapprochement Syro-Americain. Et cet assassinat vient a point nommé. Une sorte d’“initiative”. 57% souhaitent que leur gouvernement entame des discussions avec les Syriens, et 59% redoutent une nouvelle guerre « au Nord » si de telles discussions n’étaient pas engagées. Il est vrai que 54% refusent l’idée d’un retrait du Golan. Mais il ne faut pas trop demander d’un coup. "La perspective de combats dans la grande périphérie de N’Djamena n’est pas à exclure dans les prochaines vingt-quatre heures", a indiqué l’ambassade de France qui a demandé aux ressortissants français de la capitale de ne pas quitter leur domicile dès la tombée de la nuit. Les autorités tchadiennes craignent une attaque de la capitale similaire à celle d’avril dernier, qui avait fait des centaines de morts. Dans un communiqué publié dimanche, le gouvernement tchadien a qualifié les opérations rebelles des dernières quarante-huit heures d’"opération de grande envergure tendant à le déstabiliser". Il a accusé comme à l’habitude le Soudan et, pour la première fois, l’Arabie saoudite d’en être les principaux inspirateurs. Le Soudan et l’Arabie saoudite "équipent, entraînent les mercenaires, et leur assurent la logistique nécessaire pour attaquer aujourd’hui le Tchad sur plusieurs fronts à l’est", a affirmé le porte-parole du gouvernement, Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor. "La guerre imposée aujourd’hui au Tchad relève d’une guerre pour la promotion de l’islamisme militant prônée par Al-Qaida de Ben Laden, qui n’épargnera aucun pays de la sous-région", a-t-il ajouté." Mr monsieur Gresh, je croix que vous n’avez pas conduit le raisonnement jusqu’au bout, parceque la meme question pourrait etre dirigée contre Israel, et beneficier de la meme analyse que pour le cas de la Syrie, autrement dit, si la reponse est par l’affirmative, Israel serait le seul beneficiaire du crime. • En ce qui concerne Bush, si c’est le commanditaire, il ne le ferait que dans l’interet d’Israel bien entendu, enfoncer la Syrie, ennemi potentiel. • La France n’a pas les memes motivations que Bush (affinité avec les chretiens Maronites)et n’irait jusqu’au crime. • Pour l’Iran et le HIZB, le meme raisonnement concernant le cas Syrien, pourrait leur etre appliqué. Il ne reste donc plus qu’Israel, le seul coupable à qui profite bel et bien ce crime. • créer les conditions adequates pour une confrontation confessionnelle, Guerre civile au Liban, qui conduirait ineluctablement à un partage de l’etat, et création d’une entité chretienne Maronite pro-israel au sud, dans le but de securiser la frontiere nord d’Israel. • Stigmatiser l’interventionnisme de la Syrie, et y favoriser une invasion Américaine. • Exacerber la diabolisation de l’Iran, comme etat terroriste, et amplifier la pression au sujet de son programme nucleaire. Se sont exactement les consequences de cet assassinat, comme d’ailleurs celui de Hariri. [...]israel a été déjà impliquée dans plusieurs assassinats visant à discréditer certains régimes, par exemple, dans les années 50, israel a fait assassiner plusieurs ressortissants britanniques en egypte, pour discréditer le gouvernement égyptien aux yeux des occidentaux, la découverte du fait que les assassinats ont été commis par israel (qui n’a pas hésité à assassiner des ressortissants britanniques alors que la Grande Bretagne était l’alliée d’israel, dans le seul but de salir la réputation de l’Egypte), entraîna la démission de david ben gourion en 1963, cette affaire fut connue sous le nom de "l’affaire Lavon". Le MOSSAD n’hesite pas à assassiner meme des juifs pour diverses raisons, créer la phobie de l’antisemitisme, et encourager l’Aleya. Voir en ligne : Pourquoi Pierre Gemayel, pourquoi maintenant ? • l’Irak (le gouvernement) qui ne veut pas être démantelée ! Irak : Une guerre civile pour se partager le pays, par Giuliana Sgrena. "Le premier argument est connu. A qui profite le crime ?" C’est moins qu’un argument, et il n’y a rien de plus éloigné d’une enquête objective que celle qui commencerait par cette méthode ! Tout d’abord, que doit-on appeler "profiter" ? Ah oui, évidemment, dans le cas du casse d’une banque, ou quand le mari infidèle tente d’éliminer sa génante épouse, il paraît facile de répondre à cette question, mais en politique, et notamment lorsuqe l’instabilité est la règle ? Posons-nous la même question à propos des attentats terroristes du 11/09/2001 : a qui profita le crime ? Au coupable désigné ? De ce fait, poser la question du "profit tiré du crime" est une plaisanterie. Bert, ce n’est pas parce que c’est difficile qu’il faut que vous baissiez les bras. Allons, courage ! Pierre Gemayel n’était cependant pas un homme de pouvoir puisqu’on avait surtout parlé de lui il y a deux ans quand, en soutenant la « supériorité génétique » des chrétiens libanais, il argumenta que ceux-ci exprimaient « la qualité » contre la « quantité » des musulmans" La démocratie version 2006 n’est plus celle qui respecte les lois et les droits de l’homme inscrit dans les constitutions, mais c’est bien le ralliement ou non à Washington. Le Hizbollah et Michel Aoun demandent le respect de la constitution du pays, ils représentent un danger pour la paix, pour leur peuple. Le pion Saad Hariri et son clan de démocrates version 2006 Walid Jumblat qui court aux état-unis voir Condolisa Rice tout deux unis par les liens d’une politique américano-saoudienne , eux, devraient représenter les sauveurs du Liban libre. les nations arabo-musulmanes ont érigé en religion d’état le meurtre de citoyens ; même Arafat la Limace n’a pas été assassiné par le mossad, alors les déblatérations de Ahmed Saint-Yves sont malvenues. "Bert, ce n’est pas parce que c’est difficile qu’il faut que vous baissiez les bras. Allons, courage !" Je ne suis pas enquêteur, ni politique ! Mes bras n’ont aucune utilité en l’espèce ! Le mot "difficile" n’est pas opportun, pas plus que le mot "profite" dans "à qui profite le crime". J’évoquais par exemple l’assassinat de Kennedy : Pensez-vous connaître un jour la vérité ? Et relativement aux attentats du 11/09, pensez-vous qu’il y aura un jour ce qui permet de croire à l’état de droit, à savoir une enquête indépendante, des conclusions policières aboutissant à des inculpations sur des bases rendues publiques, puis un éventuel procès si les mis en cause peuvent être appréhendés ? Et concernant Hariri, ou Gemayel ? Le reste n’est que spéculation, communication, procès d’intentions...mais cela n’a rien d’objectif. Il ne s’agit pas de céder devant la difficulté, mais de constater le renoncement de ceux qui sont censés défendre "la justice" aux rêgles mêmes de ladite justice. Dans ce cas, simple constat, nous ne connaitrons que la vérité des vainqueurs, de ceux qui auront le dernier mot. Vous avez raison Bert, mais il se peut que quelques familles Syriennes préfèrent quand même qu’on cherche à qui profite le crime, pour qu’on puisse déterminer à qui il ne profite pas et ne pas donner suite à l’appel au lynchage de Monsieur Geoges W. Bush, président des États-Unis d’Amérique. Mais peut-être que vous n’appartenez pas à une famille syrienne Bert ? "Mais peut-être que vous n’appartenez pas à une famille syrienne Bert ?" "quelques familles Syriennes préfèrent quand même qu’on cherche à qui profite le crime, pour qu’on puisse déterminer à qui il ne profite pas et ne pas donner suite à l’appel au lynchage de Monsieur Geoges W. Bush, président des États-Unis d’Amérique." Je lis dans le dernier n° de "aviation week" : "Fears of nuclear-armed rogue states and global terrorism may be bad for international security, but the world’s most dangerous places have benefited one sector of the US economy : foreign military sales are set to hit a near-hit record this year" A qui profite donc le crime ? 27 novembre 2006 10:22, 27 novembre 2006 12:22 représente une seule et meme personne bien sur, et toujours les memes crétineries et le meme récidivisme maladif. 33% des enfants de Sderot (ville Israélienne cible des "qassam" palestiniens) souffrent d’un désordre psychique appelé “stress post traumatique” selon le Haaretz. Et 100% des enfants palestiniens ajoute rageusement “Angryarab”. Olmert a entendu Grossman : il propose aux Palestiniens de s’engager "dans une nouvelle voie". Il est prêt à leur faire "des offres très généreuses". Il est prêt à se "retirer de nombreux territoires en échange de la paix avec les Palestiniens". C’est Grossman qui doit être content : la Gauche comme le Droite, voici "les offres les plus généreuses" d’Olmert. "Nous avons commencé avant-hier", ajoute Olmert, guilleret. Je n’ai rien vu, hormis la mort de combattants palestiniens ce W.E. encore et celle d’une femme palestinienne - mais qu’est-ce qu’elle avait, celle-là, à traîner comme ça, dehors ? Il y avait déjà eu les "offres les plus généreuses" de Barak. Qu’en ont fait les Palestiniens ? Rien. Bah, ces Palestiniens ne savent jamais saisir le bien qu’on leur jette. Des manchots. Des ingrats, je vous dis. Tous des manchots et des ingrats. 1% c’est déjà 1% de trop , quel que soit le camp . Mais est-on obligé de prendre parti ? Que pensez-vous des déclarations d’Ehoud Olmert ? Nuage de fumée ? Déclaration sincère ? Grosse blague pour faire rire à une Bahr’Mitzvah ? Le très bien informé blog Loubnan ya Loubnan souvent cité ici évoque un danger imminent qui n’apparaît pas dans vos analyses : la forte pression pour une partition du Liban, afin d’affaiblir les composantes qui "ne plaisent pas" à l’occident et israel, et préfigurer sans doute ce qu’il adviendrait du moyen orient abandonné sous leur coupe. Qu’en pensez-vous ? Le texte d’Avnery, dont parle K, vient d’être traduit en français : Une soirée à Jounieh, sur le site de l’Association France-Palestine Solidarité. « Que des chrétiens et des musulmans de dix-sept communautés différentes aient su y partager le pouvoir pendant des décennies ... » Robert Solé (sur le Liban bien sur). C’était dans la rubrique Images d’Epinal. Plus réaliste : La guerre civile aura t-elle lieu ? Je reconnais avoir rode sur ce site plusieurs jours a l’affut d’une analyse a chaud d’Alain Gresh. Il est tout a votre honneur, Monsieur Gresh, de ne pas vous livrer a des speculations intempestives. En plus de tous les points que vous avez deja releve ci-dessus, plusieurs negligences sont frappantes dans le traitement de cette affaire dans les medias. Nullepart ils ne mentionnent les recentes declarations indignees de Pierre Gemayel, qui deplorait que les refugies chretiens du Chouf (1983) n’etaient toujours pas indemnises tandis que le gouvernement Sanioura cherchait a concurrencer le Hezbollah dans la course a la renconstruction et au dedommagement des victimes de la guerre de juillet. Ceci est une attaque frontale envers son allie de circonstance Walid Joumblatt, aui aurait quelques comptes a rendre quant a l’attribution des fonds qui lui ont ete confies pour l’indemnisation des populations deplacees. Le front du 14 mars pourrait bien etre moins unis que ce que les medias occidentaux refletent. De meme, il est connu que le pouvoir Syrien s’appuie sur des services de securite affiliees a des pouvoirs parfois opposes. Les accusations de l’ancien vice-president Syrien Abdel Halim Khaddam a l’encontre du pouvoir de Damas quant a son implication directe dans l’assassinat de Rafic Al-Hariri, ont ete presentees copmme credible dans la presse. Sa campagnem,depuis sa residence Parisienne, pour un changement de regime a Damas a mis l’Elysee dans l’embarras puisqu’elle rendait evidente le detournement de l’affaire a des fins politiques. Il est bien possible que des responsables Syriens soient a l’origine du meurtre de Gemayel, mais il serait etonnant qu’ils appartiennent au clan deu president Bashar Al-Assad, dont le regime etait en train de se refaire une sante sur la scene internationale notamment grace a ses allies locaux au Liban et a leurs partenaires. Il eut ete peu opportun de leur mettre des batons dans les roues alors qu’ils semblaient en position d’ebranler le gouvernement pro-Americain de Fo’ad Al-Sanioura. En revanche, Khaddam qui a mise sur la chute du regime aurait bien interet a maintenir l’isolement de Damas. Malgre cela, toutes les analyses que j’ai lues a ce jour mettent en causes "la Syrie" ou "les Syriens", depeints comme une entite homogene. En reponse a la contribution de Monsieur Bert, la question "a qui profite le crime ?" vise a identifier les suspects potentiels et leurs mobiles afin de determiner quelles pistes sont les plus credibles. Des indices peuvent ensuite renforcer une piste ou une autre. En l’absence de preuves formelles dans l’immediat cette approche est parfaitement judicieuse. « 1% c’est déjà 1% de trop , quel que soit le camp . Mais est-on obligé de prendre parti ? ». Mais non tj, il ne s’agit pas de nier les souffrance des enfants israéliens, mais de dénoncer le fait de considérer les palestiniens de moins de 12 ans non pas comme des enfants mais comme des terroristes. En fait, s’il est vrai que la “religion” Druze est dérivée du Chiisme, il est important de faire 2 remarques : elle n’est pas plus “extrémiste” que n’importe quelle autre religion au Liban ; et à part d’en etre un dérivé historique elle ne ressemble en rien au Chiisme ni d’ailleurs au Sunnisme. Le passage : « La loyauté envers la communauté passe avant toute autre loyauté - et certainement avant toute loyauté envers le Liban. » ne peut etre compris sans un autre plus loin : « C’est lui [le chef de la communauté] qui distribue tous les postes « appartenant » à sa communauté. » C’est ce qu’exprimait G.Corm : "Je compare souvent le système communautaire à un système totalitaire. Chaque communauté exerce un totalitarisme sur ses sujets. Ce système est usé mais continue parce qu’il est tout le temps alimenté par le système régional et les influences extérieures sur le Liban." Sans remettre en cause les informations souvent pertinentes et les articles en général plutôt bienvenus de Robert Fisk, on peut tout de même mettre un bémol au titre que vous lui décernez (’un des meilleurs spécialistes du pays’). Robert Fisk a tout de même répété à pusieurs reprises que c’est le Hezbollah qui a provoqué la guerre avec Israël (’le Hezbollah a provoqué la guerre en capturant deux soldats israéliens et en en tuant trois autres, le 12 juillet’ dit-il) . C’est au minimum un sacré raccourci, et éventuellement un mensonge. S’en tenir à cette présentation des faits sans développer est en tout cas peu acceptable de la part d’un ’spécialiste’. Pourquoi ne pas présenter la chose autrement et dire que la capture de soldats israëliens a été l’excuse choisie par Israël pour déclencher une guerre qui était de toute façon planifiée de longue date ? Si on doit se focaliser sur les prisonniers, pourquoi ne pas parler de tous les civils, militaires et politiques faits prisonniers par Israël depuis des années ? Tout ça pour dire que certaines déclarations de Robert Fisk sont un peu courtes pour un ’spécialiste’. J. Cook l’a bien montré ici et la. D’autre part la communauté Libanaise est elle meme egalement « répartie dans le monde entier ». En réaction aux commentaires de Jean, les “Forces Libanaises” de Geagea, de par leur extrémisme, sont les plus enclins a oeuvrer en faveur de cette partition. Il est a craindre que, si jamais cette partition se réalise, une guerre intra-communautaire se déclare au sein de la communauté Chrétienne, du fait de la représentativité trés minoritaire du parti de Geagea au sein de cette communauté. Comme d’ailleurs peut etre des guerres intra-communautaires au sein d’autres communautés. Cette partition ne me semble pas du tout pouvoir assurer la paix civile. Exusez moi Mr Grsh de revenir sur l’affaire du LOBBY . D.B. : Bon, deux autres exemples, plus contemporains, du pouvoir de l’AIPAC sur le contrôle de la politique depuis les coulisses et sur la scène. J.B. : Essentiellement ce que Clinton a compris, tout comme Bush le jeune – l’actuel George Bush – c’est que si vous ne pouvez pas vous battre contre eux, alors il faut les rejoindre. Il y a eu un article dans le quotidien juif israélien "Ha’aretz" qui décrivait la judaïsation du Département d’Etat. Ce que vous avez vu dans l’administration Clinton a été une bataille des sionistes libéraux pour soutenir Israël, à l’intérieur de l’administration contre les supporters extrême droite du Likoud à l’extérieur de l’administration. Ainsi, vous aviez tout un débat autour de ce qu’allait être la politique américaine, partagée être entre ces deux groupes. Dennis Ross est maintenant avec l’AIPAC. Martin Indyk, qui a créé "l’Institut de Washington pour la Politique au Proche-Orient", vitrine de choix de l’AIPAC, est entré dans l’administration grâce à Clinton et s’est vu dans la foulée accorder la citoyenneté : il est Australien d’origine. Ainsi, vous voyez leurs allées et venues. Note de Jeff Blankfort : Pour ceux qui ont peut-être espéré que ce nouveau lobby pro-israélien allait fondamentalement différer du bon vieil AIPAC, cet article devrait mettre un terme à leur illusion. Ils apprendront d’ailleurs ici même qu’un ancien membre ultra-sioniste du Congrès US, Mel Levine, en est un des initiateurs. Il semble bien que cette « nouvelle » opération ne soit qu’une entourloupe des sionistes libéraux, afin d’enterrer la controverse et le débat autour du pouvoir et de l’influence du lobby israélien, soulevés par l’analyse des professeurs Mearsheimer et Walt, par le professeur Tony Judt, ainsi que, tout récemment, par James Petras, dans son nouveau livre Le Pouvoir d’Israël aux USA (The Power of Israel in the United States). Merci Saintyve pour ces précisions, concernant, l’influence lobby pro-israélien aux USA. Mais rassurez-vous, je n’ai aucun doute sur son existence. Mes doutes portent sur le sens qu’il faut donner au mot "influence". A force de vouloir tout expliquer par cette influence, on risque de passer à côté de certaines réalités. La publicité de l’action de ce lobby focalise l’attention, sur son rôle. Mais certains de ses membres peuvent plus discrètement, utilisent le lobby à des fins personnelles (Geoge Soros par ex.). L’administration US ne se prive pas non plus pour rejeter sur le lobby la responsabilité d’actions controversées (refus des choix démocratiques du peuple palestinien par ex.). Je ne doute pas non plus que le lobby pro-israélien joue un rôle dans le réchauffement de la planète, mais je ne suis pas sûr que ce rôle soit significatif. Je ne pense pas que la politique que mènent les US depuis le renversement du Shah, soit dictée par le seul lobby pro-isralélien, ou alors, il aurait remplacé le "lobby pro-iranien". Et même si les US étaient totalement influencés par le lobby "pro-israélien", encore faudrait-il préciser de quels israléliens il serait le représentant, ou alors il faudrait le renommer en lobby "pro-israéliens", car la société isralélienne n’est pas monolithique. Peut-être que certains israléliens ont intérêt à la mort de Pierre Gemayel, mais pas Israel. Parce que l’argument qui consiste à l’expliquer par une volonté de déstabiliser un pays déjà déstabilisé n’est pas recevable. Je n’arrive pas à réconcilier les actions US sur le terrain, avec l’activité du lobby pro-israélien, par contre je les comprend très bien dans un contexte de guerre économique (et la ça tombe bien parce qu’en temps qu’européen je me sent particulièrement visé). Voici un point de vue lumineux, celui de Jonathan Cook. Un journaliste et écrivain basé à Nazareth, Israël. Son livre, “Blood and Religion : The Unmasking of the Jewish State ” a été publié par Pluto Press. La Syrie, un bouc émissaire commode pour la mort de Gémayel, par Jonathan Cook. Jonathan Cook à Nazareth, 24 novembre 2006. Après ces tires croisés il ne faut pas s’étonner que des balles aillent se perdre au Liban. si on se fie à "résistance.chiffonrouge", ce type vendrait père et mère, il est aussi peu juif que possible, n’hésite pas à ruiner les économies d’un pays. Autant dire que je n’en crois pas un mot, comment aurait-il pu s’allier à la famille Bronfman, qu’on ne peut accuser d’antisionisme primaire, bien au contraire ? A moins qu’il ne veuille les utiliser ? Traduction (partielle) du “communiqué commun du 24 novembre de Nabih Berri, le président du parlement libanais et chef du parti Amal et par Nasrallah, le secrétaire général du Hezbollah”, a partir du 8ieme paragraphe. On se rappelle qu’a l’instigation de Nabih Berri (président du parlement) un dialogue national s’était ouvert le 6 novembre. Plusieurs sessions ont eu lieu avant que le point de rupture ne soit atteint. « Une réunion limitée a eu lieu lors de la troisième session lorsque le député Saad Al-Hariri a joint une réunion [entre Chiites] qui se tenait en marge de la réunion. Le Député Al-Hariri [Saad, fils de feu Rafic] a proposé aux conférenciers une formule reposant sur le fait d’atteindre un accord quant au principe de l’établissement d’un tribunal international, et sur les détails liés à ce tribunal lors de réunions en coulisse entre les trois parties [Hezbollah, Amal, et Hariri] avant de le soumettre au cabinet [ministériel] pour assurer son adoption expéditive et unanime, et approuver en même temps la formation d’un gouvernement d’unité nationale dans lequel les forces d’opposition auront plus d’un tiers des postes de ministre, où une participation efficace sera assurée, et qui sera l’introduction à la discussion et au règlement des questions controversées. « Mais nous fumes étonné de découvrir au début de la session le jour suivant, samedi 11 Novembre, qu’il y avait une campagne intensive nous dépeignant comme étant prêts à donner notre accord sur le tribunal international contre des satisfactions politiques tandis qu’aucune mention n’était faite de ce qui avait eu lieu lors de la réunion limitée lancée a l’instigation du député Saad Al-Hariri. La date du Lundi 13 novembre 2006 a été alors fixée comme date de la prochaine réunion du cabinet ministériel sans discuter de ceci avec quiconque [sous entendu quiconque de l’opposition] et sans prendre en compte toutes nos déclarations disant que nous étions prêts à discuter du projet de résolution de manière positive et l’esprit ouvert. Faux, Saint-Yves. Cet article n’existe pas. une photo qui convaincra peut etre Mr Ayad, le journaliste de Libération, que les choses « ne sont pas ce qu’elles paraissent etre » au Liban : « La « guerre des portraits » empoisonne le climat à Achrafieh » (Achrafieh est le principal quartier Chrétien de Beyrouth, et les portraits en question sont ceux de Aoun et Geagea ). ....quelque 300 militaires ont dû intervenir pour empêcher militants des FL (Geagea) et du CPL (Aoun) d’en venir aux mains. • Aux Fans du blog Loubnan ya Loubnan : le Nidal nouveau est arrivé : toujours le meme gout. • Plus sérieusement, le trés fiable Ghassan Ben Gido, envoyé special d’Al Jazeera au Liban, vient d’annoncer que le début des manifestations du camp anti-Americain aura lieu dans les 72 heures. Espérons que l’armée Libanaise restera unie pour éviter le bain de sang. Al Jazeera rapporte que la majorité vient de prendre une initiative pour debloquer la situation. Lors d’une rencontre, Amine jemael a fait des propositions à Nabih Berri. Volonté de sortie de crise ou manouvres pour retarder les manifs ? L’avenir nous le dira. Mais peut etre que Landis est un Syrien déguisé en Américain ? Compassion. Celle du conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU qui vient de voter (45 voix pour/1 contre-Canada-) une résolution proposée par des pays musulmans : arret des implantations dans les territoires occupés, désarmement des colons, et démantèlement des colonies existantes. Elle a été qualifiée de résolution allant dans le sens d’une « perpétuation du conflit », par l’embassadeur Israelien a l’ONU. Qui a parlé de partition ? • Les sacrifices des dizaines de milliers de partisans et de sympathisants dont les souffrances et les douleurs [etc..]. bonjour monsieur gresh, le crif parle d’une livre sur votre journal et israel. l’avez vous lu ? qu’en pensez vous ? K merci pour la traduction, j’ai pas pu la lire in inglish. Pierre, l’influence du LOBBY dont il estquestion, est celle qui concerne le soutien inconditionnel à Israel, meme contre les interets US. et non pas de la politique exterieure US en général. C’est ainsi que le Département d’Etat qui a historiquement été considéré comme un ennemi par l’AIPAC, plus enclins à soutenir les états arabes et les intérêts pétroliers de l’Amérique – c’est assez intéressant – a été littéralement disculpé et un certain nombre de lobbyistes juifs libéraux, comme Dennis Ross, ont été introduits dans l’administration Clinton. BEYROUTH (AP) - Un militant islamiste syrien, qui tentait d’entrer illégalement au Liban, a déclenché mardi sa ceinture d’explosifs après une fusillade avec les forces de sécurité syriennes près de la frontière, faisant deux blessés, a annoncé le gouvernement syrien. Omar Abdullah, 28 ans, connu aussi sous le nom de code d’Omar Hamra, était l’un des chefs du groupe islamiste "Tawhid et Jihad". Alors qu’il tentait de franchir la frontière, côté syrien, au poste de Jdeidet Yabous avec de faux papiers, il a ouvert le feu sur les forces de sécurité syriennes, avant de tenter de prendre la fuite, selon le communiqué du ministère syrien de l’Intérieur." surtout, n’en parlez pas, ça risquerait de nous faire rire !! Saintyves, si l’action du lobby israélien "est celle qui concerne le soutien inconditionnel à Israel, meme contre les interets US" elle a toute la sympathie de l’européen que je suis. Comment fonctionne le lobby sioniste aux USA. 29 novembre 2006 a parlé de l’attentat-suicide en Syrie à 10:36. Devoir accompli, il a ri. J’en suis fort aise. Si 29 novembre 2006 10:36 éprouve le besoin de s’offrir un vrai rire qui soulage, un rire qui soulage vraiment, il peut toujours reposter en gras la formidable conclusion de son message. Puis rire de lui. Promis, je rirai aussi. Haaretz, 29/11/06 "Chirac : France, U.S. agree there is no point talking to Syria" "The conditions for an honest dialogue with Syria do not exist." L’éditorial d’Ignacio Ramonet, Labyrinthe palestinien, dans le Monde diplomatique de décembre, fait froid dans le dos. "Vers l’abîme. On sent confusément que les souffrances subies par les Palestiniens, les solidarités de plus en plus audacieuses qu’un tel tourment entraîne au Proche-Orient, et les violentes réactions de défense d’Israël, risquent de conduire le monde vers l’abîme." Yann, Mr Chirac, habituellement si pragmatique, devient incroyablement va t-en guerre dés que les intérets de la famille Hariri sont en jeu. Mais le plus choquant est qu’il ait qualifié l’assassinat de Rafic Hariri de "crime contre l’humanité" au moment meme ou les Libanais etaient endeuillés aprés les massacres de centaines de civils par l’armée israelienne. Noam Shalit et la "compassion" Gershon Baskin a dit « compassion » ? Alors peut-être faut-il relire Baskin en ayant à l’esprit ces mots de Noam Shalit. J’avais dit que je ne jetais pas la pierre à Noam Shalit. Aujourd’hui, c’est pure « compassion » si je ne le fais pas.

2019-04-21T02:51:55Z

https://blog.mondediplo.net/2006-11-26-De-l-assassinat-de-Gemayel-a-la-crise-libanaise

A.R. Millard & D.J. Wiseman, eds., Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives. Leicester: IVP, 1980. Hbk. ISBN: 0851117430. pp.157-188. For well over a hundred years the religious ideas and practices of the patriarchs have attracted scholarly attention. In view of the place Abraham occupies in various religious traditions this is understandable. What is more surprising is that in the scholarly debate, no clear consensus about the content of his religion has emerged. At least four factors can be pinpointed which have contributed to this uncertainty. First, Genesis itself says relatively little about patriarchal religion. It tells us much about their religious experiences, but little about their beliefs or religious practices. Secondly, the accounts of the patriarchs as we now have them are all post-Sinaitic, that is they presuppose the innovations in belief and practice that date from the time of Moses. Various texts allude to the differences between the religion of Moses and that of the patriarchs. For example Exodus 6:3 says: 'I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as El Shaddai (God Almighty, RSV), but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.' Joshua 24:14 states: 'Put away the gods your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.' Both these texts appear to contrast the religious ideas and practices of the fathers with the post-Mosaic period. Yet Genesis itself gives very few hints that the patriarchs worshipped other gods. Indeed it usually describes the God who appears and speaks to the patriarchs as 'the LORD' (Yahweh), i.e. the God of Moses. sure the same God had spoken to Abraham as spoke to Moses? Or do the statements in Genesis implying that Yahweh revealed himself to the patriarchs correspond to the patriarchs' own conception of the God they worshipped? Answers to this most basic question are complicated by further considerations. It is generally held that Genesis is composed of several sources giving rather different accounts of the religion of the patriarchs. And last but not least, the theological convictions of those who study Genesis affect their conclusions. Jews and Christians who regard Abraham as the father of the faithful are reluctant to accept that he was a polytheist who served strange gods. On the other hand, scholars who hold that religion is essentially a human creation are hardly likely to suppose that the patriarchs were pure monotheists. These briefly are the main problems that confront a would-be historian of Old Testament religion in describing the beliefs and religious practices of the patriarchs. To arrive at the pure historical truth one needs to be able to shed one's own presuppositions, and distinguish between the interpretations of Genesis and the underlying facts. Such a programme is regrettably impossible. My aims are more modest. In this essay I shall first of all set out the statements of Genesis about patriarchal religion. These raw statements will enable us to grasp how the final editor of Genesis viewed patriarchal religion. Since it is generally held that Genesis is made up of earlier sources J, E and P, the pictures of patriarchal religion found in them will be described next. Assumptions about the dates of these sources have played a large part in assessing the validity of these different pictures. But in an effort to distinguish the authentic early elements in the accounts from later interpretations more recent scholarship has emphasized the similarities between other early Semitic religions and the beliefs of the patriarchs. So a few of the most representative accounts of patriarchal religion will be surveyed next. retrojections of later first-millennium beliefs and practices into the distant past? According to Genesis God revealed himself to the patriarchs under various different names, and the patriarchs used a variety of divine epithets in their prayers. Abraham knew of Yahweh, Elohim, El Elyon, El Shaddai, El Roi, and El Olam. Isaac knew of Yahweh, Elohim and El Shaddai. Jacob knew of Yahweh, Elohim, El Bethel, Pahad Yishaq (Fear or relative of Isaac) and El Shaddai. However, since the use of some of these epithets may be ascribed to editorial identification of different deities, it is necessary to distinguish carefully between the various usages of the divine names, i.e. whether they occur in the framework of the story and therefore represent the editor's understanding of the situation or whether they form part of the dialogue in the story and therefore may represent the wording of the source, rather than an editor's understanding of his source. Sometimes more than one divine name is used in the same passage, and in such cases it is more possible that one of the items is an editorial addition identifying the two divine names. Such problematic cases will therefore be ignored in the following analysis. The results may be conveniently summarized in tabular form. Full discussion of the data in this table will follow later, but three points are immediately clear. First, in all three cycles El Shaddai only occurs in the dialogue, never in the narrative framework of the stories. This suggests that at least this term is an early element in the tradition. Secondly, in the Joseph cycle Yahweh is used only in the narrative framework, never in the speeches within the story. There, El Shaddai or Elohim is consistently used. This might be thought to be due to the setting of the stories, where the sons of Jacob are constantly dealing with Egyptians and other foreigners. But in fact in many of the situations where God is mentioned, the brothers are talking to each other or with their father Jacob (e.g. 42:28; 45:5, 7, 8, 9; 50:25). This could suggest that the narrator identified the God of the patriarchs with Yahweh but that his sources did not refer to Yahweh, but only to Elohim or El Shaddai and that he faithfully preserved this feature in his dialogues. Whether this hypothesis can be sustained will be discussed further below. Thirdly, and this apparently contradicts the second point, in the Abraham cycles Yahweh and Elohim are found both in the narrative framework and in the dialogue. In these stories then, both Yahweh and Elohim have equal claims to originality. If only one of the terms originally belonged to the traditions, later editors have not only reworded the narrative framework but also the dialogue. Another way of resolving this confusion is usually preferred, however, namely the postulation of different sources. It will be argued below that this solution is also fraught with difficulty. Discussions of patriarchal religion tend to concentrate on the names of God to the virtual exclusion of other aspects of their belief and practice, simply because the source material is so much more scanty in this respect. However, for a rounded picture it is necessary to mention the few details found in Genesis. Altars are built, sacrifices, libations, and covenants are made; prayer, circumcision, tithes, vows, and ritual purification are other ingredients of their religion. Household gods were also highly valued. Apart from the last point the practice of the patriarchs apparently differed little from their successors. However, the texts are quite vague about the how and where of sacrifice. In general they worship in places that were well-known in later times for their sanctuaries. Yet the impression is conveyed that the patriarchs offered sacrifice outside the towns, presumably without the aid of the local priesthood. This would be somewhat irregular by later standards. It would of course have been even more surprising had the patriarchs regularly worshipped at Canaanite shrines staffed by Canaanite priests; though Genesis 14 does suggest that on one occasion at least this is what Abraham did. If Genesis says little about the patriarchal mode of worship, it says much more about the divine promises made to them, and that for two reasons. First, their faith in these promises and their obedience to God's word served as a model to later generations of faithful Israelites. And secondly, the promises provided a justification for the settlement of the land. Three main themes recur, sometimes together and other times separately: they are the promise of numerous descendants who will form a great nation, the promise of the land and the promise of blessing on Abraham's descendants and through them to the whole world. These promises are spelt out very fully in many passages, and beside them the references to actual religious practices are relatively brief and fleeting. How far is the picture of patriarchal religion modified by the classical source-critical analysis, which distributes the material among J, E, and P? A table will again be used to present the results. only in the dialogue, never in the framework. Secondly, in the Joseph cycle, Yahweh is used only in the framework of the story, never in the dialogues. There Elohim or El Shaddai is used. Thirdly, in the J, E and P versions of the Abraham cycle, Yahweh is used in the framework, and in the dialogue as well in J and E. Similarly, in the E and P versions of the Abraham and Jacob cycles, Elohim is found in both the framework and in the dialogues. The source analysis by itself therefore does not give a clear answer to the question of the names under which the patriarchs worshipped God. The conclusions that can be drawn from these statistics depends on the assumptions made about the relationships between the sources. If the sources were completely independent and from the same period, their evidence should be given equal weight. On this basis it would be right to conclude that Elohim was certainly the earliest word for God. However, it is generally supposed that J is some hundred years older than E and nearly 500 years older than P, and that the later sources know the content of the earlier sources. On this assumption only J can be really relied on. This would suggest that Yahweh was the earliest name of God, and was later displaced by Elohim and El Shaddai. This is in flat contradiction to the usual understanding of Exodus 6:3 (generally assigned to P), which states that the patriarchs knew God as El Shaddai, not as Yahweh,which was a new name revealed to Moses. Though it has been argued that Exodus 6:3 does not really mean this, and that the usual tradition misconstrues it, advocates of the usual translation point out that the P passages in Genesis nearly always use Elohim or El Shaddai (Yahweh only occurs twice in P Genesis), which suggests that P indeed meant that the patriarchs did not know Yahweh as the name of deity. Yet this explanation side-steps a major problem: how could the author of P affirm that the patriarchs did riot know the name of Yahweh when both the earlier sources J and E affirm that they did? If one supposed that the author of P was ignorant of all the material in J and E, which constitute five sixths of the patriarchal narratives, this position would be defensible. But it seems improbable, and some writers have gone further, affirming that P not only knew JE, but that these were the main sources of P. It is evident that it is impossible to discover the content of patriarchal religion without making a number of judgments on the date and interrelationship of the pentateuchal sources. If the analysis of divine names is inconclusive, do the religious institutions mentioned in the different sources give any better clue to their relative dates and possible interdependence? Table 3 sets out the distribution of the references in the various sources. In analysing this table two things must be borne in mind. First, the figures are not as precise as in the tables dealing with the divine names, because enumerating the number of references to such things as promises is somewhat subjective. What I have tried to do is to list the number of occasions an institution is referred to rather than the number of times a particular word appears. Thus because only one altar is meant in Genesis 35:1, 3, 7, it counts only once in the table though it is mentioned three times. Similarly the numerous references to circumcision in Genesis 17 count as one. Second, it must be remembered that E is twice as long as P, and J is three times as long. Thus to make the figures of J and E comparable with P, those of E must be halved and those of J divided by three. These results are found in the second and fourth columns. building and sacrifice might be thought to represent his reluctance to portray the patriarchs offering sacrifice without priestly intervention. But this is unlikely, for P (Genesis) also omits reference to other institutions which did not require priests, e.g. tithing, vowing, ritual purification and prayer. Furthermore the regulations in Leviticus 1, 3 (also P) clearly envisage the layman slaying sacrificial animals. The priests simply have to sprinkle the blood and place the carcase on the altar. In view of the brevity of the references in Genesis to sacrifice, it seems unlikely that the potential usurpation of priestly prerogative by the patriarchs can be the reason for the omission of sacrifice from P. More likely it is statistical variation. The brevity of P makes it intrinsically less likely that it would give such a comprehensive coverage of the religious institutions as J or E. Analysis of the distribution of religious institutions is thus of little use in determining the relationship between the sources or their relative age. Since everything mentioned in P is also found in J or E, P could be either earlier or later than the other sources. If, as is customary, it is assumed that J and E are earlier than P, it follows that no religious institution mentioned in the patriarchal narratives is later than the composition of these sources, for nothing is found in P which is not already found in J or E. These religious institutions could therefore date from patriarchal times. This preliminary discussion of the question of the divine names and religious institutions has proved inconclusive, because the analysis of the material depends too much on a priori assumptions about the existence, extent, date and interrelationship of the sources. For this reason modern discussions of patriarchal religion have skirted round the source-critical problem and attempted to make comparisons between other near-eastern religions and the data of Genesis to arrive at a picture of patriarchal religion. But here again assumptions have to be made. With which type of religion should Genesis be compared? The point of comparison chosen and the individual scholar's evaluation of the reliability of the patriarchal tradition have largely determined his final picture of patriarchal religion. lished over fifty years ago, it was not translated into English until 1966 and it still is the point of departure for modern discussions of patriarchal religion. For this reason, our survey of critical theories about patriarchal religion begins with Alt. Alt begins his essay by surveying the problem of recovering the content of patriarchal religion. The compiler of Genesis identified Yahweh with the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac with the God of Abraham and so on. For him these were different names of the same God. But according to Alt the historical development of the religion was more complex, and often the compiler of Genesis has read his own ideas into the traditional material, thus distorting the picture of the patriarchal age. In reality in the earliest phase of their religion the patriarchs worshipped the gods of the fathers. The oldest names for the patriarchal deities in Genesis are 'Fear of Isaac' and 'Mighty One of Jacob', alternatively described as 'the god of Isaac' or 'the god of Jacob'. A third deity is also mentioned, viz. 'the god of Abraham'. According to Alt these were three different gods worshipped by different tribes or groups of tribes in their nomadic period, ie. the patriarchal age prior to the settlement of Israel in Canaan. He tries to demonstrate the antiquity of these names by comparing them with Nabataean and Palmyrene inscriptions in Greek and Aramaic dating from the first century BC to the fourth century AD. These tribal peoples were also nomadic and they worshipped 'the god of X', where X was the name of the founder of the cult. Different tribes worshipped different deities. When a god revealed himself to a person, that person established a cult for him, and the god in question guaranteed the protection of the worshipper's group or tribe. ted. Abraham became the grandfather, and Isaac the father of Jacob. Simultaneously the gods whom the different patriarchs served were identified with each other, so that Genesis can talk about the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac meaning the same deity. The final stage in the development of pre-monarchic religion was the introduction of Yahweh as the national God of all Israel in the Mosaic period. Exodus 3 and 6 make it clear that the God of the Fathers was first called Yahweh by Moses. The worship of Yahweh by the nation did not exclude the worship of the tribal gods, such as the God of Abraham, at the tribal sanctuaries, but in course of time Yahweh was identified with these local deities as well. Now all the pentateuchal sources were written some time after this religious evolution was complete, and they reflect their different authors' understanding of the situation and many of the texts must be regarded as anachronistic. They reflect the later writers' concept of the patriarchal religion, rather than describing the true historical situation. Thus the references to 'the God of Abraham' in Genesis 26:24 and 'the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac' in 32:10 are just the invention of J. Alt does not give a complete list of the passages he regards as authentic reflections of the patriarchal religion, but the following five would seem to be the few that pass his critical sieve: 31:5, 29, 53; 46:3; 49:25. They are all found in the Jacob material. Though this may seem a narrow base on which to build a theory of patriarchal religion, Alt argued that it was a firm one, because the patriarchal religion he described was so similar to that of the Nabataeans, who centuries later gave up a nomadic way of life to settle on the eastern and southern borders of Canaan. tion in its most ancient and its most developed form is the same: God revealed himself to the patriarchs; he promised them descendants; he protected them in their wanderings; and, enjoying a special relationship to him, they worshipped him and established holy places in his honour. Only in one respect was there a substantial difference between the patriarchs' religious experience and Genesis' interpretation of it. Each patriarch worshipped the particular deity who had revealed himself to him, but contrary to the assumptions of Genesis and its earlier sources, these deities were different, not one and the same God Yahweh. Though the Genesis editors try to show that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all worshipped the same God, and were therefore implicitly monotheistic, critical analysis of the tradition showed that the patriarchs worshipped different deities and the earliest form of religion was essentially polytheistic. Later discussions of Alt's work have drawn attention to two main weaknesses in his synthesis. First, Lewy questioned his view that the patriarchal gods were really anonymous, known only by their worshippers' names, not their own names. He pointed out that old Assyrian texts from nineteenth-century Cappadocia also spoke of 'god of your/our father' as a description of the high god of Assyria. He argued that the real name of the patriarchal god was El Shaddai, and that 'God of my father Abraham' and similar phrases defined the worshippers' relationship to the deity and were not a substitute for his name. Subsequent studies have shown that phrases like 'God of my father' are well known in the Near East to describe named deities. The second weakness of Alt's approach is the remoteness of his comparative material. The Nabataean inscriptions that he cites are nearly 2,000 years younger than the patriarchal period. In the same year that Alt's article was published, the first discoveries were made at Ras Shamra, ancient Ugarit. These have revolutionized scholarly understanding of second-millennium Canaanite religion, and there have been various studies arguing that the Genesis narratives make better sense understood against this background rather than later Nabataean religion. Of all the recent attempts to understand the religion of the patriarchs against the background of second-millennium near-eastern religion, F. M. Cross's essay 'Yahweh and the God of the Patriarchs' is the most thorough. It was first published in 1962 and was republished in an expanded form in 1973. Cross begins by summarizing Alt's essay we have just discussed. Though he agrees with Alt's general picture of patriarchal religion as a personal clan religion based on revelation to the patriarchs, he disagrees with Alt in seeing the patriarchs' god as originally anonymous. Cross maintains that the patriarchs worshipped the high god of Canaan, namely El. In other words the passages which call the God of the patriarchs, El Shaddal, El Elyon, El Olam, etc., are not secondary later elements that were added to the tradition after the settlement in Canaan, as Alt held, but represent the original name of the God worshipped by the patriarchs. Phrases like 'the God of Abraham' are not used in Genesis because the God Abraham worshipped was anonymous, but to bring out the special relationship that existed between Abraham and his God, El Shaddai. Cross, like Lewy, argues that since named Assyrian gods could be called 'god of your father', similar phrases in the patriarchal narrative could be taken the same way. Furthermore there is evidence of similar usage in other regions and periods, particularly among early second-millennium Amorites. He further questions whether Alt was correct in supposing that the Nabataean deity Du-Sara was originally anonymous. Since the name was unknown in Transjordan prior to Nabataean settlement, it is likely that the Nabataeans brought the name with them. But whether or not Alt's reconstruction of primitive Nabataean religion is correct, the analogy with the patriarchal period is remote and inappropriate. In Genesis the patriarchs are associated with both Mesopotamia and Egypt, unlike the desert origin of the Nabataeans, and must be presumed to have known the names of numerous deities. the same sense, i.e. El, the Eternal. The antiquity of this name in Hebrew tradition is supported by the old poem Deuteronomy 33:27 which Cross translates: 'His refuge is the God of Old, under him are the arms of the Ancient One ( ).The second title used in Genesis that is suggestive of Canaanite El is 'God Most High ('el 'elyôn) creator of heaven and earth' (Gn. 14:19, 22; cf. verses 18, 20). The epithet 'creator of heaven and earth' admirably fits El, the principal creator God in the Canaanite pantheon, and the only god described as ( ) 'creator of earth'. However, the epithet 'elyôn is unusual. In other non-biblical texts Elyon appears as an independent god alongside El. Cross conjectures that 'elyôn of Genesis perhaps represents an early form referring to a single deity which later split to form a pair of gods. The commonest El title in Genesis, El Shaddai, is also the most problematic. Cross argues that though it occurs mainly in the P source, there is good reason to hold that it is an authentic second-millennium name. Shaddai occurs in the blessing of Jacob (Gn. 49:25), generally recognized as an archaic poem. It also forms part of the names in the lists of princes in Numbers 1:5-15; 2:3-29. Though these lists are usually assigned to the P source, the names 'actually reflect characteristic formations of the onomasticon of the second millennium'. Cross thinks that the best etymology of connects it with tdw/y meaning 'mountain'. would then mean 'mountain one', and certainly El was connected with a great mountain in the underworld, where the divine council met. However, El is not the only god connected with a mountain, and no Canaanite text actually describes him as . Cross suggests that may be of Amorite origin and that the patriarchs brough this epithet with them from Mesopotamia. it explains why Aaron and Jeroboam could set up bulls as the symbol of Yahwism, for this was also the animal that was associated with El. Indeed the designation 'the mighty one of Jacob' (Gn. 49:24) could be translated 'Bull of Jacob'. The attempt of Cross and others to interpret the traditions of Genesis in the light of Ugaritic and other near eastern sources has been widely accepted in Old Testament scholarship, and it is not hard to see why. First and foremost, he uses extrabiblical material that is relatively close in time and place to the generally received view of the patriarchs. Secondly, his synthesis presents fewer problems than Alt's to theological readers of the Old Testament. Whereas Alt held that each patriarch worshipped his own god, and these gods were not identical with each other, Cross suggests that there is a basic continuity between the God of the patriarchs (who all worshipped the same high God El) and Yahweh, the God of Moses. Thus, although the authors of Genesis have oversimplified things by claiming Yahweh appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for they only knew God as El, theologically they are correct in identifying Yahweh with El, because historically Yahweh was an epithet of El. Cross's reconstruction thus reduces the gap between theology and history in the patriarchal narratives. Notwithstanding broad agreement that the patriarchs worshipped El, three aspects of the Cross synthesis have been strongly challenged. First, is Elyon really an epithet of El or is he a separate deity? Those who maintain the latter draw attention to the Sefire treaty which names El alongside Elyon, and to Philo Byblius who apparently regarded Elyon as El's grandfather. Against this Lack persuasively argued that Elyon was once an epithet of El but it later became an epithet of , and this explains why Elyon is mentioned alongside El in the Sefire text. It is part of a long historical process whereby Baal gradually took over the position and epithets of El. indicate that El Shaddai was identical with the moon god. He points out that the patriarchs settled in Harran, an important cultic centre of the moon god, and that several of Abraham's relations had names associated with the moon. Koch, on the other hand, believes that etymology does nothing to explain the meaning of . Its use in Job indicates that it was originally a separate name for God, expressing his nearness and protectiveness. In Genesis blesses and grants many descendants. The character of is therefore quite like Alt's gods of the fathers, and Koch suggests that the two types of deity were identified in the pre-monarchy period. Later Shaddai was identified with El giving the double name El Shaddai. That such diametrically opposed interpretations of El Shaddai are put forward emphasizes the limits of our knowledge. With Koch one must acknowledge that the etymology of Shaddai is uncertain. Only if and when it is found as an epithet of a god in some extrabiblical text will it be possible to be more confident about etymology. However, Koch's idea that El Shaddai is a late formation is implausible. Though more frequent in P than in other sources, it also occurs in J (Gn. 43:14) and El is paired with Shaddai in early poems (Gn. 49:25, Nu. 24:4, 16). The case for believing that El was known to the patriarchs before they reached Canaan is strong. Il = El is a well-known member of the third-millennium Mesopotamian pantheon. Whether El was ever identified with the moon god is uncertain. To judge from the names of Abraham's relations and the cult of his home town, his ancestors at least were moon-god worshippers. Whether he continued to honour this gods identifying him with El, or converted to El, is unclear. For different reasons Haran has insisted on distinguishing between Canaanite religion and the religion of the patriarchs. He. points out that as a rule the patriarchs do not seem to have worshipped at the existing Canaanite shrines. When God appeared to them they built their own altars. This fits in with their semi-nomadic lifestyle: they generally camped outside existing towns but did not settle in them. Furthermore their worship of El Shaddai, in common with other sons of Eber (Gn. 10:21) suggests that their God was not simply borrowed from the Canaanites, but common to a wider grouping of peoples. Haran's points are well made, but their validity of course depends on the antiquity and reliability of the patriarchal traditions. of the pentateuchal sources. He holds that JE, the oldest epic source, has been supplemented by a later priestly writer, and that P never existed in isolation as a separate document. Now on any view of the documentary hypothesis, it is strange that the latest source should represent most accurately the religion of the patriarchs: El Shaddai occurs more frequently in P than in any other source. But Cross' particular version of the documentary theory would appear to be contradicted by Exodus 6:3, which says that the patriarchs knew God as El Shaddai but not as Yahweh. Yet the J source, which P is supplementing according to Cross, often describes the patriarchal God as Yahweh. How then can P say that they only knew El Shaddai? The question will be explored more fully below. Alt and Cross restrict their investigations to recovering the most primitive and authentic features of patriarchal religion. They are not interested in discovering how the traditions have grown in the subsequent retelling, except in so far as it is necessary to recognize such accretions for what they are, so that they may be disregarded in historical reconstruction. Alt and Cross have also paid very little attention to the promises of land, posterity and blessing that dominate the patriarchal stories. How far do these go back to the patriarchal age, or how far do they represent later vaticinia ex eventu in the light of Israel's success in the conquest and monarchy periods? As its title suggests, the first book is concerned with defining the different types of narrative that are found in Genesis. Westermann endeavours to show that Gunkel's definition of the Genesis stories as sagas (sagen) is not quite apposite. A saga suggests that those involved are engaged in extraordinary feats of heroism designed to make a name for themselves. Westermann classes the Gilgamesh epic as saga. Whereas the patriarchal stories are essentially about down-to-earth family problems, moving house, childlessness, domestic quarrels and so on. Westermann therefore prefers to call them Erzäblungen, i.e. 'tales', 'stories'. primeval history. This comparison with Icelandic traditions allows Westermann to affirm with confidence the antiquity of the patriarchal stories, though he holds that most of the promises contained within them are secondary additions by editors and compilers. According to Westermann promises can be regarded as authentic (ie. part of the oldest part of a patriarchal tale) only on two conditions: first, that the promise contains only one possible element, not a combination of various elements (eg. land or descendants, but not both); secondly, that the promise is intrinsic to the narrative in which it occurs and is not just an incidental extra. The promise must resolve a tension within the narrative. On these grounds only the promises of a son to childless women in Genesis 16:11 and 18:1-15 are certainly genuine. He regards it likely that an early promise of land lies behind the present form of 15:7-21 and 28:13-15. The promises of numerous descendants developed out of blessing formulae and are not really intrinsic to the narratives. Thus all the other promises found in the patriarchal narratives represent the theological reflections of later editors. They do not go back to the most primitive version of the stories. This is particularly obvious in the case of the Jacob stories: with the one exception of Genesis 28:13-15 Westermann believes that 'the promise texts are all to be characterized as insertions, additions or short notes'. (Mitsein), an additional type of promise (e.g. 31:3), which Westermann distinguishes for the first time in Verheissungen, may be authentic, since it reflects nomadic conditions and their need for divine protection and guidance on their wanderings. In a final chapter he compares the promise of a son to Abraham with similar promises made to kings in the Ugaritic epic. This he thinks shows the authenticity of the son promise in Genesis. Though the same epic texts also contain promises of blessing and numerous descendants, Westermann argues that these are essentially wedding blessings and not analogous to the Genesis parallels, where the promise. comes from God, and therefore that they offer no support for the originality of these patriarchal promises. The most positive assessment of Westermann's method has come from R. Rendtorff. In his Das überlieferungsgeschichtliche Problem des Pentateuch he accepts Westermann's thesis that the patriarchal stories were originally independent units usually lacking any promises. For Rendtorff the addition of the promises to the earlier traditions serves to unite and interpret them. He believes the promises served first to link the stories about Abraham into a cycle, and the stories about Jacob and Isaac into other independent cycles, and that at a later stage more promises were added to combine all the patriarchal stories into a large unit. Negative reactions to Westermann have come from very different directions. On the one hand van Seters holds that Westermann's claim that most of the patriarchal tales show signs of oral origin is mistaken. Very few stories about Abraham show clear traces of oral composition. Van Seters argues that these are early fragments inserted into an essentially unified literary composition from which it is often impossible to extract the promises without spoiling the point of the story. lels on the ground that the promises were made to kings. But this seems inconsistent with his appeal to the Keret texts to prove the authenticity of the son promise, for Keret, the recipient of the promise, was a king. And the Ugaritic texts also contain more than one promise at once: for example blessing and numerous descendants. According to Westermann such combinations in Genesis are secondary. This brief review of modern theories about patriarchal religion has highlighted some of the many problems that beset the researcher in this area. In this field, questions of pentateuchal criticism interact with questions of near-eastern religion in kaleidoscopic fashion. The data are like pieces of a jigsaw which each scholar puts together in the way that seems best in his own eyes. More recently still, claims have been made about the Ebla texts that could affect our interpretation of patriarchal religion. In the concluding section of this essay I shall try to piece together the currently available data guided by the following assumptions: first, that the patriarchs lived in the early second millennium BC when the worship of El was dominant in Canaan; secondly, that the present form of the patriarchal narratives reflects this period, though they of course interpret the patriarchs' religious experience from a post-Sinaitic perspective. In evaluating the work of Westermann I have already referred to the studies of van Seters (1975) and Rendtorff (1977). Both works have in common a rejection of the documentary hypothesis, preferring instead supplementary hypotheses. Van Seters, who limits himself to the Abraham and Isaac traditions, believes it is possible to identify a few pre-Yahwistic oral traditions (e.g. Gn. 12:10-20), and a few short Elohistic developments (Gn. 20:1-17), but that most of Genesis 12 - 26 comes directly from the hand of the Yahwist (J). The priestly writer made a few later additions (e.g. chapters 17 and 23). In other words van Seters sees the present form of the Abraham cycle as an essentially literary creation mainly by the Yahwist. Rendtorff is in certain respects more traditional than van Seters, and in others more radical. He is more traditional in following Gunkel who supposed that most of the Abraham stories were originally independent and oral. However, he is more radical in rejecting the source-analysis terminology as well as its methodology. He considers that the Abraham stories were collected into an Abraham cycle, the Isaac stories into an Isaac cycle, and Jacob traditions were collected into a Jacob cycle, and that the Joseph stories are an independent literary work. While some of the promises to the patriarchs are integral to the independent stories, others were added when the cycles were collected to create a unity between the different traditions. The three independent cycles of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were then at a later stage combined by the addition of other promises to form a large unit, on a par with the primeval history (Gn. 2 - 11), the exodus story (Ex. 1 - 15), or the Sinai pericope (Ex. 19 -24). Thus whereas the traditional documentary hypothesis divides the pentateuch into independent vertical strands, beginning with creation and ending with the conquest, Rendtorff argues that we should think in terms of horizontal blocks of material each dealing with a particular topic (e.g. Abraham, or Joseph, or the exodus), and that these have been collected together by later editors. He thinks of a light P redaction, and possibly even lighter D redaction as the final stages in the edition of Genesis. Graphically we may represent the difference between Rendtorff's understanding of the composition of the Pentateuch and the traditional documentary hypothesis as follows. express his own theological understanding of the events. It seems to me very difficult to distinguish between the work of the redactor of Genesis and his source material, unless one supposes he borrowed directly from one of the extant Mesopotamian flood stories. With the patriarchal narratives it is even more difficult to know where the source ends and the editor begins. Certainly the pervasiveness of the promise themes throughout the patriarchal narratives focuses our attention on the editor's understanding of his material. And it may be that some of the promises do represent editorial additions to the earlier source material, but since these earlier sources no longer exist, dogmatism is impossible. It would seem wiser to begin with the explicit statements of the text about the editor's intentions and not rely merely on conjecture. As far as his treatment of the promises is concerned, the text is silent. But both Exodus 3 (generally assigned to E) and Exodus 6 (generally assigned to P) make explicit reference to the divine names used in Genesis. It therefore seems appropriate to begin our study with an exegesis of these passages. Exodus 3:13-15 is translated by the RSV as follows. Moses' question in verse 13 appears to imply that the people did not know the name of the patriarchal God of Abraham. The divine answer in verse 14 then gives the personal name of the God of the fathers. However it is not quite clear whether this name is 'I AM WHO I AM' (Hebrew 'Ehyeh 'ehyeh, verse 14) or Yahweh (verse 15). The latter seems more likely. Exodus 6:3 clarifies the issue, if the usual translation is correct. 'I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.' In other words the patriarchs knew God as El Shaddai, not as Yahweh. The latter name was revealed first to Moses. For the student of patriarchal religion it is the second half of the. verse that is problematic. The Hebrew reads yhwh . The Greek and the Latin translate this clause literally: kai to onoma mou Kyrios ouk autois, et nomen meum Adonai non indicavi eis. The older targums render it equally literally: Onkelos yy , Neofiti brm tqip' yyy l' ' lhon. It is apparent then that the early translators took this verse in its plain and obvious sense, and ignored the fact that several passages in Genesis imply that God did reveal his name Yahweh to the patriarchs. The later targum, pseudo-Jonathan, is aware of the problem though. Exodus 6:3 runs: w'tg'liti l'brhm b' 1 h' brm b'pe 1' ' ihon. (I revealed myself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Shaddai and my name Yahweh but in the character of my Shekinah I did not make myself known to them.) In other words the patriarchs knew the word Yahweh, but did not experience the glory of the Shekinah usually associated with the name. Similarly mediaeval Jewish commentators attempted to solve the problem by supposing that by his 'name' Exodus 6:3 means some aspect of his character. Thus though the patriarchs knew the word Yahweh, they did not understand the character that lay behind this name. This character was first revealed to Moses. For Rashi, the divine characteristic implied by Yahweh was the fulfilment of promises. The patriarchs received promises, but did not experience their fulfilment. For Rambam the difference between God as El Shaddai and God as Yahweh lay in the difference between the providential power of God and his miracle-working power. Thus the patriarchs simply experienced God controlling their circumstances and protecting them in ordinary natural ways, while Moses experienced supernatural miraculous divine interventions. The same sort of explanation is offered by Cassuto. He holds that El Shaddai refers to God in his character of giver of fertility, since where this term occurs in Genesis it is attached to promises of being fruitful and multiplying (e.g. Gn. 17:1-2; 35:11 etc.), whereas Yahweh means that 'He is the One who carries out His promises'. Some Christian commentators have also held that (name) really means character and this explains the remarks in Exodus 6:3. The patriarchs knew the word Yahweh, but did not experience the character implied by that name. That was first revealed to Moses. Exodus 6:3 has been misunderstood. W. J. Martin, for example, suggests the clause should not be taken as a statement denying the name Yahweh was known to the patriarchs, but as a question implicitly affirming that they did know him as Yahweh. Verse 3 should then be translated 'I suffered myself to appear to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, for did I not let myself be shown to them by my own name YHWH?' He points out that such an understanding of verse 3 is supported by the following verse which begins (w[e]gam) 'and also I established my covenant'. This implies that the immediately preceding clause ought to be positive, not negative as the usual translation implies. A slightly different interpretation of the syntax of Exodus 6:3ff. is offered by F. I. Andersen, but he arrives at the same conclusion as Martin, namely that the verse is asserting that the patriarchs did know the name Yahweh. The third method of dealing with the problem, adopted by the great majority of modern commentators, is to appeal to source criticism. They understand the passage in the same way as the ancient versions: that it is denying that the patriarchs knew the name of Yahweh. They claim that the author of this passage, P, could make this assertion because in the P-material in Genesis, God introduces himself to the patriarchs as El Shaddai not as Yahweh. The two P-Genesis passages, where Yahweh is mentioned occur in descriptive narrative description, not in divine speech (17:1; 21:1b). A fourth possibility is put forward by Childs. He holds that the revelation to Moses involved both the new name and its meaning. In other words he combines the traditional Jewish understanding with the modern critical view. 'The revelation of the name of Yahweh is at the same time a revealing of his power and authority'. There are difficulties with each of the suggested solutions. The Jewish suggestion that the revelation of the name of God means the revelation of God's character, has problems in defining exactly what aspect of his character is expressed in the term Yahweh. Neither Rashi's explanation (that Moses experienced the fulfilment of the promises while the patriarchs did not), nor Ramban's suggestion (that the patriarchs knew only God's providence) exactly fits the data. The patriarchs did experience a partial fulfilment of the promises in the birth of children and the acquisition of burial grounds in Canaan, while Moses actually died outside the promised land. And while Moses' miracles were more spectacular, the birth of Isaac to an elderly couple seems more than the usual act of providence. The syntactic solution is beautifully simple, but it is strange that the early translators are quite unaware of it. And the parallel passage in Exodus 3, which suggests that the name Yahweh was new to Moses, also tells against the syntactic solution. The critical solution, which supposes that Exodus 6:3 is referring only to the priestly source, while solving one problem, creates another. How can the priestly writer who was writing after J have been ignorant of the fact that J uses Yahweh to refer to God and occasionally allows God to introduce himself as Yahweh? The older documentary hypothesis, which held that P was the earliest source and that J was a later source avoided this problem. But by dating P after J, Graf and Wellhausen have created this strange anomaly. If it is held that this verse shows that P was totally ignorant and independent of J, one is still left with the problem of the redactor's understanding of the passage. How did he relate Exodus 6:3 to the statements in Genesis? Some sort of exegetical solution is required to complement the critical understanding of this verse as Childs has rightly seen. However, objections have already been raised to Rashi's exegetical solution, which Childs tries to hold in harness with the critical view. It could lead to a more objective exegesis of Exodus 6:3 if it could be determined whether the name Yahweh was known before the time of Moses. To this we now turn. The evidence falls into two categories: indirect evidence about the use of Yahweh in pre-Mosaic times and the testimony of Genesis. The indirect evidence all suggests that El was a well-known god in early times, but Yahweh was not. Most of this material has already been discussed; here I shall just recapitulate and add a few extra observations. Yahweh, holds that it is to be read quite differently. Final judgment will have to await publication of the relevant texts, but at the moment there seems little evidence from outside the Bible that Yahweh is a pre-Mosaic name. Indirect biblical evidence also points in the same direction. Personal names among the patriarchs include several compounded with El, e.g. Ishmael and Israel, but none with Yahweh. Similarly in the lists of tribal leaders in Numbers 1 and 2 there are several names compounded with El and Shaddai, but none with Yahweh. It has sometimes been suggested that Jochebed, Moses' mother (Ex. 6:20) is a Yahwistic name, but this is far from certain. The testimony of Genesis has already been surveyed in the opening section. From this it was clear that the Joseph cycle by restricting Yahweh to the narrative frame-word and using Elohim or El Shaddai in the dialogue suggests that the editor of this section held that the patriarchs did not know the name Yahweh though he believed that he was their God. In the Abraham and Jacob cycles the picture is not so clear-cut. While Yahweh is more frequent in the narrative framework than in the dialogue, the fact that Yahweh occurs in the dialogue suggests that the patriarchs were familiar with the name. Whether this is a necessary conclusion must now be examined. Passages where two names are used together, e.g. 'Yahweh El Elyon' (14:22) or 'Adonai Yahweh' (15:2) do not need to be discussed, since it seems quite possible that Yahweh has been added to show the identity of the older name with the new name. More problematic are those passages where Yahweh occurs alone. gies of the patriarchs in Genesis 29:31 - 30:24. Both Elohim and Yahweh are referred to, but the names given are quite unrelated to the title of deity. Within the narrative framework there is a clear tendency to mention Yahweh at the beginning and end of a scene e.g. 12:1,17; 13:4, 18; 18:1, 33, etc. The same tendency is noticeable in passages where Elohim is used in the body of the scene, e.g. 17:1; 20:18; 21:1, 33. It may be that the same logic explains the frequent use of Yahweh in the opening and closing episodes of the Abraham cycle, i.e. chapters 12 and 24. There are in fact only four passages in the patriarchal narratives where Yahweh speaks and uses this name on its own to describe himself. The first 'Is anything too hard for the LORD?' (18:14) is a proverbial statement cast in the form of a rhetorical question. Here the divine name is quite incidental to the thrust of the question, and therefore it would be unwise to read too much into this passage about the patriarchal knowledge of the name of Yahweh. Likewise though 18:19 mentions Yahweh twice, because it forms part of a divine soliloquy explaining God's motives, this verse does not imply that Abraham either heard these words or knew the divine name. Much more germane to our discussion is the one other divine speech which employs Yahweh without any other epithet: 'I am the LORD who brought you ( ) from Ur of the Chaldaeans' (15:7). Other divine revelations mentioning one name of God refer to him either as El Shaddai (17:1; 35:11) or 'God of your father' (26:24). The uniqueness of 15:7 suggests there may be a special reason for the use of Yahweh here. Earlier commentators tended to see verse 7 as an editorial addition designed to link the two scenes that make up Genesis 15. More recent studies tend to favour the integrity of verse 7 with what follows. is insufficient ground for supposing that here the editor was asserting that Abraham knew the name of Yahweh. What seems more compatible with the evidence is that the Yahwistic editor of Genesis was so convinced of the identity of Yahweh and the God who revealed himself to the patriarchs, that he not only used Yahweh in the narrative, but also more sparingly in reporting human and angelic speech. He showed even more restraint in modifying divine utterances. Often the old title of God was left unaltered. When the editor wanted to express the identity of the patriarchal God with Yahweh, he usually did it by adding Yahweh to an older epithet. Only in one case does Yahweh replace an older epithet, for which (I have suggested) there is a particular theological reason. If this is the correct understanding of the Genesis editor's method, it sheds fresh light on Exodus 3 and 6. Taken together these passages do suggest that a genuinely new name of God, Yahweh, was vouchsafed to Moses. And this is the way the ancient translators took it. However, this did not mean that there was a clash with the Genesis traditions, because they are not always verbatim reports of divine revelation. Where it suited his theological purpose the Genesis editor could add and even once substitute Yahweh in the divine speeches. However, the great reserve with which in practice he modified the wording of the speeches of God, as far as the use of the divine names is concerned, could well extend to the promises contained in these speeches. Westermann's hypothesis, which supposes that the promises were added to the tradition with great freedom, becomes somewhat implausible. If, where the editor's method can be checked, it can be shown that he was anxious to be faithful to early tradition, as is the case with the divine names, it is unreasonable to suppose that he acted without regard to the tradition in those areas, such as the promises, where we have no controls. When it is also remembered that it was not unusual for ancient Semitic deities to make such promises as Genesis contains, there is a good case for holding that the religious statements in the patriarchal tradition are just as old as any other part of the stories. El, who revealed himself to the leaders of the clans. In so far as the patriarchs generally lived outside the main Canaanite towns, it seems more probable that they first started to worship El in Mesopotamia, not in Canaan. The God of the patriarchs was in a special relationship to their clans: Genesis 15 and 17 describe the relationship as a covenant, which involved promises of divine protection and supplying their needs of land and children. The writer of Genesis identifies the patriarchs' El with Yahweh and prefers to use the latter term when describing divine activity, yet in reporting the words of God to the patriarchs he uses Yahweh very sparingly suggesting that he wanted to transmit the traditional form of the promises, not create divine words ex nihilo. The patriarchs' response to revelation took the form of the traditional acts of piety, sacrifice, vows, tithes, ritual cleansing, prayer and libations. They are portrayed as men of faith, who obeyed the divine commands and believed his promises. The story of the sacrifice of Isaac which exemplifies these themes may also represent a rejection of child sacrifice, which was a feature of some types of El worship. The type of religion portrayed in Genesis has many points in common with later Israelite practice, but this is not to prove that the patriarchal stories are simply retrojections of first-millennium ideas into a fictional past. Revelation, prayer and sacrifice are features of most pre-Christian religions. But certain aspects of patriarchal religion are so different from later practice, that to suppose the traditions were invented in the first millennium seems unlikely. There are at least four striking contrasts between the religion of the patriarchs and later Israelite practice. First, there is the use of the term El instead of Yahweh in divine revelation. From Mosaic times onward Yahweh was the characteristic self-designation of God. But in Genesis God usually reveals himself as El. This distinction between the El revelation of Genesis and the Yahweh revelation of later times is more than a verbal contrast. The exclusiveness, holiness, and strictness of the God of Exodus is absent from Genesis. Though the patriarchs are faithful followers of their God, they generally enjoy good relations with men of other faiths. There is an air of ecumenical bonhomie about the patriarchal religion which contrasts with the sectarian exclusiveness of the Mosaic age and later prophetic demands. the leading god in the west Semitic pantheon, yet he is never mentioned in Genesis. This is intelligible if the patriarchal tradition originated before about 1500 BC, but not if it comes from later times. A third feature distinguishing patriarchal religion is its unmediatedness. God spoke to the patriarchs directly in visions and dreams, and not through prophets. In their turn they built altars and offered sacrifice themselves without priestly aid. Such religious immediacy fits in with the nomadic way of life of the patriarchs, but is quite different from the religion of the monarchy period where priests and prophets were the usual mediators between God and man. The final striking difference between the patriarchal period and the first-millennium scene is the non-mention of Jerusalem. The patriarchs worshipped near other great sanctuaries Shechem, Bethel, Hebron and Beersheba, but there is no unambiguous reference to Jerusalem. The town certainly existed in patriarchal times: it is mentioned at Ebla and in nineteenth-century Egyptian execration texts. Psalms 76 and 110 identify Salem (Gn. 14) with Jerusalem, while 2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies Moriah (Gn. 22:2) with Mount Zion. But in Genesis itself there is no hint of these identifications, and this is most easily explained if the patriarchal traditions not only originated, but were committed to writing, before Jerusalem became the principal cultic centre in the time of David. These features of patriarchal religion are compatible with an early second-millennium date for the tradition, but they would be strange if it grew up in the later monarchy period. This essay was written at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, during sabbatical leave there supported by a grant from the British Academy. I should also like to thank Professor F. M. Cross and Mr A. R. Millard for advice on several points. For a thorough survey of German Protestant views in the last 100 years see H. Weidmann, Die Patriarchen und ihre Religion im Licht der Forschung seit Wellhausen (Göttingen, Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1968). The Abraham cycles consists of 12:1 - 25:18; Jacob 25:19 - 37:1; Joseph 37:2 - 50:26 (excluding the blessing of Jacob 49:22-27 which is poetry. The bracketed figures in the dialogue column refer to divine speech: the other figure covers human, angelic and divine speech. The references to household gods in 31:19, 30, 32, 34, 35 and 35:2, 4 are not included. It may be asked why Genesis is so reticent about the religious practices of the patriarchs when the other books of the Pentateuch are replete with cultic details (cf. Ex. 19-40; Leviticus, Numbers, Dt. 12-18). There is a similar contrast between the books of Samuel and Kings on the one hand and the books of Chronicles on the other. The former tend only to mention religious practices in passing, while the latter describe the cult at great length. The reason for this discrepancy is clear. Samuel and Kings were edited in a period when the temple cult had become irrelevant. The bulk of the population was in Babylonian exile and unable to worship in the temple. The author of Kings regarded it as more important to explain the reasons for the exile than to recall nostalgically the elaborate temple rituals which it was no longer feasible to carry out. The author of Chronicles on rhe other hand was writing in a different situation, when many of the exiles had returned and the temple had been refounded. In order to encourage them to offer worship worthy of almighty God, he described at length the glories of the first temple in the hope that they would try to emulate the dedication of David, Solomon, Hezekiah and Josiah. It could be that a similar logic underlies the sparse details about worship in Genesis. Normal national worship is described in Exodus to Deuteronomy. The individualistic worship of the patriarchs without the aid of priests and prophets differed from later practice to much a degree that it is by and large passed over. Chapters 14 and 49 are omitted from this analysis. The source analysis is that of S. R. Driver, An Introduction to tho Literature of the Old Testament (Edinburgh: Clark, 1913). Genesis 12 - 50 about 630 verses are assigned to J. about 390 verses to E, and about about 220 to P. E.g. L. Rost, 'Die Gottesverehrung der Patriarchen im Lichte der Pentateuchquellen', VT Supp.7, 1960, p.350; S. E. McEvenue, The Narrative Style of the Priestly Writer (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1971); F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, Mass.; Harvard UP, 1973), pp.294-295. E.g. L. Rost, VT Supp.7, 1960, p.350. A. Alt, Der Gott der Väter (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1929) reprinted in KSI (Munich: Beck, 1953), pp.1-78, ET by R. A. Wilson in A. Alt, Essays on OT History and Religion (Oxford: Blackwell), 1966), pp.3-77. Quotations are from this English edition. J. Lewy, 'Les textes paléo-assyriens et l'A.T.', Revue de l'histoire des religions 110 (1934), pp.29-65. Summarized by F. M, Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, pp.10-11. See especially the essays of O. Eissfeldt in the bibliography and the work of Cross to be discussed next. In Harvard Theological Review 55, 1962, pp.225-259. In F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1973), pp.3-75. Cross regards the definite article in Gn.46:3 as secondary, dating from a period after the spelling was modernized and the definite article introduced in about the tenth century BC. HTR 55, 1962, p.232 n.27. ' 'elyôn also occurs in Ps. 78:35, 'an early context'. Canaanite Myth, p.52 n.29. HTR 55, 1962, p.245; cf. M. H. Pope, El in the Ugaritic Texts (VT Supp.2, Leiden, Brill, 1955), pp.61f. Canaanite Myth, pp.57ff., adopting with soon modification the suggestions of L. R. Bailey; JBL 87, 1968, pp.434-438; and J. Ouellette, JBL 88, 1969, pp.470f. E.g. M. N. Pope, El in the Ugaritic Texts, pp.55-58; R. Rendtorff, 'El, Baal and Jahwe', ZAW 78, 1966, pp.277-291; R. de Vaux, Histoire ancienne d'Israel (Paris; Lecoffre, 1971), p.262. R. Lack, 'Les origines de Elyon, le très-haut, dans la tradition cultuelle d'Israel', CBQ 24, 1962, pp.44-64. J. Ouellette, 'More on 'Êl and Bêl ', JBL 88, 1969, pp.470-471. Canaanite Myth, pp.57-60 and 57 n.52. L. R. Bailey, 'Israelite 'El Sadday and Amorite Bêl ,' JBL 87, 1968, pp.434-438. E.g. Sarai, Milchah, and Terah: // (Sin's wife) , //malkatu (Sin's daughter), terah//Ter (a name of Sin // (moon). E. L. Abel, 'The Nature of the Patriarchal God ' ', Numen 20, 1973, pp.48-59. K. Koch, ' ', VT 26, 1976, pp.299-332. Koch suggests this verse is a P-influenced insertion into a JE context, VT 26, 1976, p.304 n.7. Since he admits the antiquity of the poetic passages, this looks like special pleading. Some divine name is required in this verse. See J. J. M. Roberts, The Earliest Semitic Pantheon (Baltimore: lohns Hopkins UP, 1972), p.34: 'The picture, then, that the Old Akkadian names give of Il is a portrait of a high, but gracious god, who is interested in man's welfare, and who is particularly active in the giving of children.' On Il at Ebla see G. Pettinato, BA 39, 1976, pp.48-50. From a theological standpoint it may seem easier to regard Abraham as a worshipper of El, the high creator god of the Canaanite pantheon, than as a devotee of the moon god. However, El's character had a much seamier side; for example child sacrifice was frequently associated with his cult (Cross, Canaanite Myth, pp.25ff, cf. Gn. 22). M. Haran, 'The Religion of the Patriarchs', ASTI 4, 1965, pp.30-55. Haran, p.42, ascribes Baalam's use of the term El Shaddai and its frequency in Job to its currency outside Israel. The later work includes a repcrint of the former. My reference to Arten der Erzähleng are for convenience all taken from Die Verheissungen. Ibid., pp. 18ff. The promises of numerous descendants and blessing are never found alone, always in combination with other promises. V. Maag, 'Der Hirte Israels', Schweizerische Theologische Umsehau 28, 1958, pp.2-28; Jhwh', VT Supp.7, 1960, pp.129-153, esp. 137-142. J. van Seters, Abraham in History and Tradition (New Haven: Yale UP, 1975). O. Eissfeldt, 'Der Kanaanäische El ais Geber der den israelitischen Erzvätern geltenden Nachkosvsenschaft-und Landbesitzverheissongen', KS 5, 1973, pp.50-62. H. Cazelles, Dictionnaire de la Bible Supplément 7 (Paris: Letouzey, 1966), pp.144-145. G. J. Wenham, 'The Coherence of the Flood Narrative, VT 28, 1978, pp.336-348. See R. de Vaux, 'The Revelation of thc Divine Name YHWH', in J. I. Durham and J. R. Porter (eds.), Proclamation and Presence: OT Essays in Honour of G. H. Davies (London: SCM, 1970). The dating of the targums is very difficult. Pseudo-Jonathan contains both pre-Christian and post-Islamic traditions, so its tina( redaction must be late. See N. Leibowitz, Studies in Shemot I (Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization, 1976), pp.132-135. U. Cassoto, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1967), p.79. E.g. C. F. Keil, Exodus (Biblical Commentary), ad loc. J. A. Motyer, The Revelation of the Divine Name (London: Tyndale, 1959). Stylistic Criteria and the Analysis of the Pentateuch (London: Tyndale, 1955), pp.18f., followed by G. R. Driver, Journal of the Ancient Hear Eastern Society of Columbia University 5: The Gaster Festschrift (1973), p.109. Sentence in Biblical Hebrew (The Hague: Mouton, 1974), p.102. B. S. Childs, The Book of Exodus (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1974), p.113. G. Pettinato, 'The Royal Archives of Tell Mardikh-Ebla', BR 39, 1976, p.48. K. A. Kitchen, The Bible in its World (Exeter: Paternoster, 1977), p.47. A. Archi, Biblica 60, 1979, pp.556-560. Some discussions of the Ugaritic and Mari materials also suggested that Yahweh was mentioned in them, but this has now been generally rejected. See R. de Vaux, 'The Revelation of the Divine Name YHWH', in Proclamation and Presence, pp.52-56. On Judah see A. R. Millard, 'The Meaning of the Name Judah', ZAW 86, 1974, pp.216-218, who suggests it may be an abbreviation of or . In the light of the other evidence, I prefer the second possibility. Though these are attributed to P, the forms of the names are characteristically second-millennium. Cross, Canaanite Myth, p.54. Most recently by M. Haran, ASTI 4, 1965, p.51 n.33. For a different view see M. Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer 1928), p.111 and R. de Vaux, Proclamation and Presence, p.49. Cf. O. Eissfeldt, KS 5, pp. 52ff. E.g. G. von Rad, Genesis: A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961), p.l85; R. E. Clements, Abraham and David (London, SCM, 1967), p.21; N. Lohfink, Die Landverheissung als Eid (Stuttgart, Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1967). C. Westermann, Genesis 12 - (Biblischer Kommentar, Neukirchener Verlag, 1979), pp.255-256. This could be the point made by Gn. 4:26 'At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD, which may be paraphrased, 'Then the worship of the true God began.' C. Westermann, Genesis 1-11 (Biblischer Kommentar, Neukirchener Verlag, 1974) pp.460-463, insists that this verse is tracing the origins of worship to the primeval period, and does not necessarily indicate that the divine name Yahweh was known then. B. Gemser, 'God In Genesis', OTS 12, 1958, pp.1-21.

2019-04-26T11:42:31Z

https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/epn_6_wenham.html

A pair of distant swans that flew from the colliery area to the flooded workings on 3rd April, were probably Mutes. The pair was sighted again over the colliery area the following day. Six wintering swans were present north of Shearburn & Pitts Drain from 25th November to 8th December, mainly on Goole Moor and Goole Fields, and were considered to be Whooper Swans, though this was not confirmed. A single bird that flew in to the Paraffin Cuttings on 18th December, was probably a Mute Swan. A pair landed at the Shoulder o Mutton on 9th March and three were noted at Will Pits Scrape on 30th March. A single was present on 15th April, an adult flew north west on 17th, and on 23rd April, one was at Rawcliffe Moor. Four flew south along Swinefleet Warping Drain on 16th June. Two again passed south, over Will Pits, on 18th November. On 14th March, 19 were present on the flooded workings with three Tundra Swans. This rose to 26 on 22nd March. On 14th March three were present on the flooded workings with 19 Whooper Swans (SH). Around 65 very distant geese passed west on 27th November, calls could not be heard. On 28th February 46 calling geese passed north from over the colliery area. A party of 33 were resting at the flooded workings on 4th October, and on 11th October a skein of 150+ headed north over the Canals area. A single was present on the flooded workings with five Canada Geese and around 80+ Greylags on 9th November. On 5th December 150+ flew over Goole Moor. Two adults with two unfledged young were present at the flooded workings on 15th May, and three young were present at the same area on 16th July. On 5th August, there were four adults with four young at the same area. Monthly maxima were: January 66, February 6, March 26, April 13, May 13, June 12, July 10, August 80+, September 120, October 100+, November 120, December 120+. Monthly maxima were: January 5, February nc, March 22, April 2, May nc, June 21, July 5, August 24, September nc, October 110+, November 5, December nc. Monthly maxima were: January 1, February 6, March 10, April 12-14, May 32, June 13, July nc, August nc, September nc, October 1, November nc, December 1. Seen mainly in January and February, with odd records in most other months, maximum was 165 on 1st January. Monthly maxima were: January 2, February 15, March 10, April 21, May 3, June 2, July nc, August nc, September nc, October nc, November nc, December 3. Monthly maxima were: January 130, February 100+, March 80+, April c.65, May 29, June 6, Julyc.20, August 244, September 121, October 70+, November 40, December 60+. Ducklings were observed at both Will Pits Scrape and the flooded workings on 27th April. A female was seen with seven young on 1st June along Shoulder o Mutton Tram. Monthly maxima were: January 200+, February 300+, March 30, April 12, May 38, June 17, July nc, August 200+, September nc, October c.200, November c.200, December 150+. A male was seen at the flooded workings on 1st January, and two males were seen at Will Pits Scrape on 3rd January. Three female types were present on 14th September and four birds were present on 17th October, both records at the flooded workings. A new all time maximum was set on 14th September, when 79 were present at Will Pits Scrape (RJS). Monthly maxima were: January 11, February 6, March 39, April 34, May 13, June 12, July nc, August 48, September 79, October 20, November nc, December nc. A male was present with Tufted Ducks at Will Pits Scrape on 3rd January and a male was at the same location on 16th February. A female was at the flooded workings on 9th March. Monthly maxima were: January 8, February 4, March 11, April 12, May 2, June 3, July nc, August nc, September nc, October nc, November nc, December nc. Five female/immatures were flushed from flooded workings north-west of Will Pits on 3rd January and flew south-east. Later the same day four passed high overhead travelling east, one of which was a male. A male was present at Will Pits Scrape on 19th January. Seen mainly at Will Pits Scrape or the flooded workings. Maximum was 10 on 15th September at Will Pits Scrape (FO, BP). First and last dates were 16th March and 17th October. Maximum of 14 was on 22nd September and 26th November. Monthly maxima were: January nc, February 12, March 2, April 4, May 4, June 4, July nc, August nc, September 14, October 5, November 14, December 3. Maximum of 12 was on 8th December, near Scotts disused mill. At Bank Top two adults were with their 12 newly hatched chicks on 21st July. Monthly maxima were: January nc, February 2, March 2, April 2, May 2, June 1, July 2 and 12 unfledged young, August nc, September 10, October 8, November 10, December 12. Maximum was c.30 on 16th February and 3rd October. First and last dates were 9th March at the Paraffin Cuttings and 20th September at the flooded workings. Maximum was four on 16th March, with two present at the flooded workings and two at Will Pits Scrape. An immature bird was seen on the flooded workings on 20th (BH) and 21st July (BPW), on the latter date it flew towards Will Pits Scrape. The first was noted on 19th March, two had returned by 30th March and three were present from 4th April. By 19th April there were three, the last one was on 5th June. An observer (RW) who was standing on the observation stack at the eastern part of the flooded workings saw a juvenile Northern Gannet come in very low over his head from the north-east at 13.30 on 10th October, before it turned and headed off low north-west over Goole Moor. What was undoubtedly the same juvenile must then have turned back to its original heading of south-west as it flew low over Fisons Road at Creykes towards the Paraffin area at 14.00, and continued on that heading till out of sight. This is the third moorland record (BPW, SP). All records came from the flooded workings, the first being of one going east over the flooded workings on 12th April and two heading east on 17th April. In May, one flew over on 8th and three came east over the western edge of the moors before heading off high north-west on 21st; three were seen later the same day over the northern edge of the moors before heading east. Three flew east on 1st June, with a further three going over west on 23rd August. Three birds, which may have flown off the water at the flooded workings, were flying north on 27th October. Usually encountered singly, with records of two being uncommon. Two were seen going north over Green Belt on 26th May and a further two were noted heading east over the flooded workings on 11th July. Sites given for raptors are general. Usually only the first area of observation is stated, except where sites were very far apart. A comma between records of the same date means separate records. Depending on views, the same bird of prey may be recorded differently by different observers. Totals are the minimum possible numbers, calculated for all areas, plumages and observers for that day. For example with Marsh Harrier, which may be recorded as a female by one observer and as a cream-crown by another, is counted as one bird, therefore only the minimum possible number of birds per day is assumed. All are adult birds, unless otherwise stated. Some birds remain not aged and/or sexed due to distance or poor views. There were 74 records, a good increase on last year; arrival was earlier than last year, and they remained to the years end. There were 36 records, a good increase on last year; they remained later in the year and returned earlier than last year. A male was flushed from the ground clutching a live male Blackbird, near the Paraffin area on 13th October, the Sparrowhawk released its grateful prey as the observer approached and it flew off. Breeding was noted at the northern end of Crowle Moor. Monthly maxima were: January 2, February 2, March 1, April 2, May 1, June 1, July 1, August 2, September 2, October 3, November 2, December 1. Recorded every month. Maximum was five in the air together on 11th April. Monthly maxima were: January 2, February 3, March 4, April 5, May 4, June 3, July 1, August 2, September 3, October 2, November nc, December 2. There were 37 records, a few more than last year, they arrived on the same date as last year and remained later. There were few sightings of juveniles this year. Best viewing is from the observation platform, or from Fisons Road looking north over the flooded workings. There were 50 records, which is a large increase on last year. Widely recorded throughout the moors, usually singly, maximum number was three on 12th January, with one heard at Will Pits Scrape and two seen separately along Middle Moor Tram at the junction at Pony Bridge Marsh. A common and widespread species, with the highest count being 30+ on 6th February. Monthly maxima were: January 1, February 30+, March 13, April 13, May 7, June 3, July 5, August 2, September 4, October , November nc, December 6. There were no records for the period outside end of March to end of July. Maximum count was 10 at Will Pits Scrape on 27th April. Generally waders are found at the flooded workings north of Fisons Road, unless otherwise stated. Occasional single birds are seen as on 25th February, 12th April, 9th May, 26th May and 16th June. Two were seen on 25th May and a party of eight were seen at the flooded workings on 9th August, before taking off east (WHP). On 24th July, at 12.40, BPW was at work driving a tractor along a route immediately south of Goole Moor Tram, and had reached a point directly north of the Shoulder o’ Mutton. Something ran on the dusty peat ahead and to the left of the tractor, and then flew up 3-4m from the ground and headed left at right angles to the observer. After stopping the tractor, the area where the bird had landed was viewed, this was around 150m away in pioneer Heather Calluna vulgaris (c.10cm tall), but there was no further sign as the bird had presumably crouched and frozen. BPW was certain that it was a Stone-curlew and phoned out news to several people at the time. The area was searched later after work with optics but the bird could not be relocated. English Natures staff were asked for permission to release the news to the bird information services (the procedure we have to follow upon finding a rare bird), I also phoned local birders and told my work colleagues. I was informed that I must not release news to the general public, only local birders, and that there would be serious consequences if I did. The reason given for withholding the news was because Scott’s used the area in question for running large machinery about the moor (as I was doing) and this not only created a great deal of dust, but could pose health and safety risks if large crowds gathered. On 27th July, at 13.00, RJS phoned BPW, to say he had re-located the Stone-curlew in the original area and had seen it as close as a few metres! BPW and AM then joined RJS and got excellent views as it fed along the water’s edge, sometimes running plover-like and at times becoming motionless for some minutes, sometimes squatting but always alert. After around 45 minutes KB arrived and viewed its head as it again rested crouched behind a small rise. Observations continued a while longer before we all departed, no one else was expected or did turn up, despite our continued attempts to contact local birders. The last observation of the bird was by ML on the evening of 28th July, in the original area. It was last seen by him to fly low across the county boundary (Blackwater Dike) from Goole Moor, East Yorkshire to Thorne Moors, South Yorkshire and out of sight, it was not possible to tell if it landed. The bird was a colour-ringed juvenile, with a red plastic ring on the left leg and green ring above orange on the right leg; the bird was almost certainly ringed in East Anglia by the RSPB (awaiting confirmation from the RSPB Stone-curlew Project Officer). This is the second site record following an observation of an adult bird on 17th June 1990. A description has been submitted to the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Ornithological Section Reports Committee. Records came from the flooded workings north of Fisons Road and the colliery spoil mounds. Breeding took place in an area of flooded workings south of Fisons Road, where a nest with four eggs was located on 20th June. Subsequent sightings followed and included an adult on the road giving an injured wing display on 17th July, which strongly suggested the first chick had hatched (BPW). A single chick was seen with an adult on 22nd and 23rd July (SG). First and last dates were 17th April and 23rd August. Sightings were from the flooded workings. Maximum count for spring passage was of 16 on 21st May, counts for autumn passage were lower with six on two dates, 31st August and the last date, which was the only record from Will Pits Scrape. First and last dates were 25th March and 20th September. Flocks are often found on fields surrounding the moors, especially those to the south where 250 were located on 12th January. A flock of up to 200 were in fields towards Inkle Moor through most of October. Landed parties at the flooded workings are uncommon, but 20+ were landed there on 23rd November. Otherwise larger counts are restricted to parties over-flying the moors between their feeding fields. Around 150 flew south across the moors on 23rd December. A calling bird headed west on 3rd January. Maximum count was on 10th August. Monthly maxima were: January 10, February 48, March 17, April 6, May 10, June 9, July 140+, August 800+, September 60+, October 100+, November nc, December 39. Three on 9th August were followed by one on 3rd September, with a further single on 20th September. A full summer adult was seen on 3rd August at the flooded workings. Passage in spring and autumn was in low numbers with few counts in double figures; the years maximum was 20 on 22nd August. Monthly maxima were: January nc, February nc, March 2, April 10+, May 2, June nc, July 8, August 20, September 7, October 17, November 1, December 3. All but the last record was in August, with eight on 9th, two on 14th and seven on 22nd and 23rd. Lastly two were at the flooded workings on 14th September. A single was at the west end of the Shoulder o Mutton Tram on 10th October. One was along Goole Moor Tram on 20th October. Two were found by a small pool of water on Goole Moor, and were very approachable, on 2nd and 3rd December. One was along Canal 6 at the Eastern Boundary Tram on 28th December. A displaying bird was observed at the Southern Canals on 5th April. Five were heard drumming from the observation platform on 14th June. Monthly maxima were: January 18, February 2, March 5, April 3, May 3, June 1, July 1, August 11, September 4, October 6, November 3, December 3. Sometimes seen before dawn in wooded areas, as along Fisons Road through Will Pits on 12th January (two), 2nd (four), 3rd (two) and 12th April (one). Also seen in other areas as at Crowle Moor with one on 23rd February, and along Elmhirst Tram with one on 14th December. On 9th May 12 were observed at the flooded workings with 50 seen later flying south from the colliery spoil mounds. A single was seen on 1st June. A flock of 13 flew around widely on 28th July. At the flooded workings poor views of eight were seen as they flew south on 29th July and two were seen there on 9th August. Finally 36 were in the same area on 23rd August. One was flushed from the west end of the flooded workings on 27th April and one flew north-west on 3rd August. Spring passage was very light with no more than two on any date, commencing with a single at the flooded workings on 9th March. Two pairs attempted breeding north-west of the Shoulder o Mutton; and four were seen there on 13th April, with at least one pair successful. An adult and young were seen on 3rd and 4th June, and two other adults were seen elsewhere. Autumn passage was also light with generally singles seen as on 9th August, and the maximum was four north on 27th August. Single figures observed throughout the year, no signs of attempts to breed were noted, except for two giving display on 21st May and display flights on 28th April. Spring records provided low counts, with the first being of three on 17th April. Return passage commenced with two on 28th July, and the last record was a single on 24th September. Maximum was eight on 10th August. Found by Jon OMally, Julie Blake, Martin Stoakes and Karl Stoakes at around 17.00 on the evening of 27th April, on a large shallow flooded area immediately north of Fisons Road near Green Belt. WHP, BPW and KB and at least 10 other birders observed it at 18.15, with two Common Greenshanks and one Common Redshank, it was watched on the ground, in flight and was heard to call. The bird remained until dark on this first date (RJS). On 28th April, the bird was present in the place it was originally found. The bird flew off twice in an 11 hour observation, once at 13.00 with three Common Greenshanks, returning unobserved, and again at 13.50 high north-north-west, returning unobserved. It remained the rest of the day and was photographed by John Harriman. On 29th and 30th April and 1st May it was observed in the same original area and last sighting was on 2nd May, when a single Wood Sandpiper was also present. At least 300 visitors were counted over these days. This is an addition to the Thorne Moors species list. Descriptions have been sent to BBRC and await a decision. There was a single bird in the first half of the year, on 17th and 18th April. There were a few more records from July onwards, with mainly singles encountered. Maximum was five on 28th July, with three at Green Belt Scrape and two at the flooded workings. Singles were seen into winter. Two were observed at the west end of the flooded workings on 30th April, with a single present in the same area on 2nd May. Autumn passage provided a single at the flooded workings towards the west end of the Shoulder o Mutton Tram on 12th September, and a single nearby on 23rd October. A few records of single birds were obtained on 29th April, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th and 22nd August. Except for Black-headed Gulls, landed gulls were only ever found at the flooded workings north of Fisons Road, unless otherwise stated. This is also the area where gulls roosted, though many gulls would land, bathe, preen and drink before continuing to a different roost site, which was often north-east towards the River Humber. Other gulls did not stop at all and just over-flew to/from other roost sites. This was more often the case in mornings when gulls had departed their roosts and were eager to reach feeding grounds. Counts of gulls were not made systematically. A first-summer with pinkish underside was with Black-headed Gulls at their colony at the flooded workings immediately north of Fisons Road on 21st May. A second paler first-summer bird was later seen at the same place (RJS). There were three main colonies this year, and conservative counts of sitting birds were taken in May. This put breeding numbers at 400 pairs at Will Pits Scrape, 408 pairs at the flooded workings north of Shearburn & Pitts Drain, and 80 pairs at the flooded workings north of Fisons Road. This gives a total of 888 pairs, which is well down on last years record count of 1400 pairs, but nevertheless the second highest ever breeding count. The first chicks were noted on 21st May, when one was present at Will Pits Scrape. Roost counts outside the breeding season were few, the best being 139 to roost on 4th January. Monthly maxima were: January 139, February 108, March 470, April 1017, May 1776, Junec.1776, July nc, August nc, September nc, October 100+, November 7, December 6. Two visits were made to ring young this year and 365 pulli were ringed at Thorne (PB). Of birds ringed in previous years the following account and records are given. Four young were ringed as pulli (nestlings), the first two were also colour ringed (red darvic ring, white letters). Using colour ringing we have had three sightings involving two birds both of which were wintering in the Gloucester area. The last two birds were metal ringed only, but the same observer managed to read the metal ring numbers for both birds. These were the first to Eire. Note the rapid movement made by EG89896. Often observed over-flying the moors, or on marginal fields between Whaley Balk and Inkle Moor. Records of landed birds from the peat moors are infrequent and only single-figure day counts were obtained. Monthly maxima were: January 6, February 1, March 4, April 1, May nc, June nc, July nc, August 1, September nc, October nc, November 1, December 8. The commonest species of gull in summer (May-September) and regularly roosts on the moors. Observed roosting on the moors from late June onwards, the years highest count was from a roost at the west end of the flooded workings on 7th July. Monthly maxima were: January nc, February nc, March 2+, April 85+, May 300, June 200, July 600, August nc, September 400, October nc, November nc, December nc. Generally the commonest non-breeding species and regularly roosts on the moors. The years highest counts were associated with roosts. Some unseasonably high counts, as in May, are associated with large movements of gulls from wintering areas to breeding areas, these late stragglers are often immature non-breeders. The years highest count on 22nd January was of birds coming in to roost on the moors. Monthly maxima were: January 1168, February 123, March 10, April 40, May 600, June nc, July nc, August nc, September 30, October 10, November 137, December 70. Again unseasonably high counts can be due to large movements of gulls from wintering areas to breeding areas, often involving immature birds. Other large movements can be caused by large changes in the weather, particularly with regard to wind strength and direction. The years highest count was a conservative count from an early predawn roost at the west end of the flooded workings on 23rd May, when c.600 Herring gulls were also present. Monthly maxima were: January 129, February 23, March 2, April 130, May 150, June nc, July nc, August nc, September 1, October 3, November 12, December 29. A single flew north-east over Green Belt at 8.00 on 1st June; this was followed by a party of 10 heading east over the flooded workings 20 minutes later. Feral birds were present year round in small numbers. At the colliery 11 were present on 26th January. Generally small numbers counted at the west side of the moors, maximum was 30+ on 3rd October. Highest count was on 14th November. Monthly maxima were: January 570, February 120, March 30, April 3, May 23, June 15, July nc, August nc, September nc, October nc, November 600+, December nc. Small numbers were sometimes seen at Top Moor Farm, the colliery road-bridge and Jones Cable. Records from the peat moors were two on the ground at Scotts shed, Bank Top, on 8th May. Two flew west on 3rd October. A leucistic bird was seen at Jones Cable on 10th August (RJS). Maximum was four on 28th July. Area maxima were: Canals (three), Will Pits (two), colliery area (including south-western edge) (three), Elmhirst Wood (one), Rawcliffe Moor (one), Green Belt (one), Goole Moor (one), Cassons (one), west of Pony Bridge Wood (comp. 66) (one), Alder Woods (one), Canal Towpath (one) and (east end) Jones Cable (one). This gives a possible maximum ofc.17 males present. First and last dates were 1st May and 1st September. Not as common this year as last with four being the maximum. First and last dates were 25th April and 4th June. A series of records between Bank Top to Red House Farm and towards Crowle started with a single at the ruins of Scotts disused mill. One was at Bank Top on 8th April, one was at Red House Farm on 11th April. There were three further sightings all of single birds between Red House Farm and the fields towards Crowle on 13th and 15th October and 10th November. Seen between Bank Top to Red House Farm, with another station on the west side of the moors at Top House Farm. At the former site all records were of single birds on 17th April, 13th, 15th, 21st, 29th and 30th October. At the latter site near Creykes singles were observed on 29th May, 1st and 4th June and 30th October, on the 4th June the owl had a mouse spp. in its talons. On 7th July, four were seen at Top House Farm. One or two adults were heard from the colliery area, Will Pits, Elmhirst Wood, Rawcliffe Moor, Green Belt, Goole Moor, Paraffin area, Woodpecker Wood, Cassons and Yorkshire Triangle. Breeding took place in Will Pits. Again records were received from a wide variety of areas, with one observed quartering the southern end of Snaith & Cowick Moor (around the S bend of Fisons Road) on 8th April. One was flushed from a tree on the edge of Goole Moor in the early part of the year and again on 10th and 18th April. Possibly the same bird or pair was observed in the same area on 2nd May, and on 30th May the first young were heard, in the Canals area. One was observed from the observation platform on 14th June. In winter, on 5th November, one was seen before dawn flying along a ditch at Red House Farm. On the evening of 19th January one was seen over fields east of Crowle Moor (SH). Surveys were conducted on nights between the end of May to the first week of June and from the second week of July to the second/third week of July. This revealed a total of 29 males, which is the same number as last year (BPW et al.). First and last dates were 16th May and 30th August. Monthly maxima were: April 280, May c.300, June 1, July c.300, August c.60, September 20+. One was present at the Western Boundary Drain in the colliery area on 5th January, and on 1st February one flew from Jones Cable west over the Newfield Estate, Moorends. One was at the railway delves at the colliery road fly-over, Inkle Moor, on 27th August, and possible the same was seen at Whaley Balk on 31st August. Singles were seen at the Paraffin track gate (Durhams Warping Drain) on 18th August and 4th September. A single was seen along the Western Boundary Drain in the colliery area on 15th December. The maximum count was four on 12th January and 13th April. Maximum number was three on 5th December. Drumming was heard at Will Pits on 9th March, and young were heard at a location there on 26th May, when a pair of adults was in attendance. There were three records of single birds. The first was a male in the colliery footpath willows Salixat 13.00 on 5th January (RW). A single male was at English Natures shed near Will Pits Scrape on 6th and 7th April (SH). Following the successful return of breeding Common Stonechats in 2001, now comes the first confirmed breeding of Wood Lark since 1950. WHP noted singing and displaying birds on 3rd, 4th and 19th April. Other observers also noted the pair on 27th and 28th April (carrying food both dates) (ML) and 4th May when a singing male was present (RJS). The final outcome for any young is not known. The years maximum count was on 30th September. Monthly maxima were: January 4, February 18, March 8, April 9, May 4, June 4, July c.7, August nc, September 32, October 20+, November nc, December 6. The years maximum count was on 29th August. First and last dates were 30th March and 1st September. Monthly maxima were: March 5, April 7, May 1, June 1, July 10, August c.350, September c.150. Monthly maxima were: April 30+, May 15, June 1, July 10+, August 100, September 22, October 15. The years maximum count was on 29th August. First and last dates were 27th April and 22nd September. Monthly maxima were: April 8, May 5, June 1, July 1, August 50+, September 8. All records (virtually all of singing males) are listed for this declining species. There was an estimated five-six pairs, slightly up on last year. The years maximum count was on 2nd September. Monthly maxima were: January 5, February 5, March 18, April 26, May 10+, June 9, July nc, August 50+, September 100+, October nc, November 26, December 8. Maximum was 30+ on 23rd August. First and last dates were 15th April and 20th September. The highest moorland counts were on 13th April and 22nd August. A nest containing four eggs was accidentally destroyed (by work vehicles) at Shearburn & Pitts Drain on 6th June. Monthly maxima were: January 1, February 2, March 8, April 10, May 6+, June 2, July 6+, August c.10, September 9 (also 20+ Moorends Recreation Ground), October nc, November 1, December 3. Monthly maxima were: January 64, February 13, March 10, April nc, May (88), June (26), July nc, August nc, September nc, October nc, November nc, December 1. Monthly maxima were: January 6, February 1, March 4, April 3, May 4, June 1, July nc, August 3, September 4, October nc, November nc, December 4. Monthly maxima were: January 10, February 6, March 8, April nc, May 21, June 14, July nc, August nc, September nc, October nc, November nc, December 1. Nine singing males held territories, territorial singing was very low this year, and the reasons for this remain unresolved. All but one of the males fell silent shortly after their first arrival, and they were not heard again on any other survey dates. Males were at Will Pits (four), colliery area (one), Green Belt (one), Limberlost Tram (one), Goole Moor (one) and Elmhirst Wood (one). First and last dates were 24th April and 5th June. At least one pair bred along the south side of Fisons Road, with up to six birds seen on the last date. First and last dates were 1st May and 1st September. Seen mostly in more open areas such as the flooded workings, Middle Moor, and the Canals area, in summer and winter. A pair was also present at Pony Bridge Marsh during the months of January and October. Maximum was three on several dates. One pair held territory, at Mill Drain/flooded workings, with a juvenile seen there on 1st September, and an immature was seen with a pair of adults on 21st October. Maximum was 10 on 30th April, with two at Goole Moor, three at the S bend on Fisons Road, four at Snaith & Cowick Moor and one on the field track to Creykes. First and last dates were 8th March and 2nd October. One was seen in flight only over Middle Moor from the observation platform on 9th May. Monthly maxima were: January 29, February 20, March 9, April 10, May (21), June (3), July 5, August 3, September 4, October 10+, November c.20, December 12. Highest counts were associated with roost gatherings, with the maximum on 9th November. Last and first dates were 15th April and 10th August. Monthly maxima were: January 250, February 72, March 190+, April 100, May nc, June nc, July nc, August 1, September nc, October 500, November 678, December 25+. Singing males were present at colliery area (one), Inkle Moor (one), Will Pits (four), Green Belt (one) and Canals (two). This indicates a total of eight pairs present for these areas. Highest counts were associated with roost gatherings, with the maximum on 12th October. Last and first dates were 30th March and 3rd October. Monthly maxima were: January 52, February 15, March 50, October 68, November 51, December 3. Moorland records were: one at Creykes on 16th May, two flying along Fisons Road west of Will Pits on 21st May, one over Cassons on 28th September and two perched at Northern Goole Moor on 20th November. Maximum count was of four at the colliery on 24th May. The following counts are not census counts and should not be treated as such, they are not all from the same date. They are instead estimates by area from throughout the breeding season. Some counts represent the highest counts of breeding males ever recorded, but they have not been counted using proper census techniques and should be used with caution elsewhere. However, even if some species have been inadvertently over-counted in some areas, for most species large areas of the moors have not been covered at all, so perhaps the estimates are not too far out. Maximum number was seven, on 9th May. Area maxima were: south-western edge of the moors (two), colliery area (two), Mill Drain Marsh (one), Green Belt (one), Canals (one), Will Pits/Scrape (two), Pony Bridge Marsh (one), Paraffin area (one) and Middle Moor (one). This gives a possible maximum of 12 males present. First and last dates were 18th April and 5th June. The maximum was 12 on 26th May. Area maxima were: Green Belt (one), colliery area (three), south-western edge of the moors (three), Mill Drain/Marsh (two), Will Pits (three), Will Pits Scrape (two) and Middle Moor (one). This gives a possible maximum of 14 males present. First and last dates were 18th April and 1st September. A maximum of eight was recorded on 25th May. Area maxima were: colliery area (two), Shoulder o Mutton Tram (one), south-western edge of the moors (five), Paraffin area (one), Southern Canals (seven), Green Belt (three) and Will Pits (two). This gives a possible maximum of 21 males present. First and last dates were 27th April and 2nd September. Area maxima were: Northern Canals (one), Southern Canals (one), colliery area (one), Green Belt (one), Goole Moor (two) and Jones Cable (two). This gives a possible maximum of eight males present. First and last dates were 27th April and 2nd September. Found in most areas, the maximum count being 24 on 20th May. Area maxima were: Shoulder o Mutton Tram (one), Pony Bridge Tram (three), colliery (three), Will Pits (five), Will Pits Scrape (two), Goole Moor (two), south-western edge of the moors (nine), Canals (24), Green Belt (two), flooded workings (three), Creykes (one), Colliss Tram (four), Jones Cable (six) and Middle Moor (two). This gives a minimum of 67 (42) males present since many areas had no counts. First and last dates were 3rd April and 20th September. A maximum of five on 15th May all in Will Pits. Area maxima were: Woodpecker Corner (one), Pony Bridge Tram (one), colliery area (one), Green Belt (one), south-western edge of the moors (one) and Will Pits (seven). This gives a possible maximum of 12 males present. First and last dates were 28th April and 2nd September. Highest count was 10+ on 19th April. Area maxima were: colliery area (one), Green Belt (one), Rhododendron Path (three), Will Pits (eight), Canal Towpath (one), Will Pits Scrape (two), Jones Cable (one), Pony Bridge Wood (three), Southern Canals (two), Snaith & Cowick Moor (one), south-western edge of the moors (six). This gives a possible maximum of 29 (19) males present, an all time equal record with 2001. The first and last dates were 5th April and 4th October. Highest number was 23 on 13th April. Area maxima were: Will Pits (nine), Middle Moor (one), Creykes (one), colliery area (four), Green Belt (five), Jones Cable (two), Mill Drain (one), Southern Canals (three), Crowle Moor (five), south-western edge of the moors (eight), Pony Bridge Wood (one), Limberlost Wood (five), Paraffin area (three) and Woodpecker Wood (two). This gives a possible maximum of 50 males present, an all time record. First and last dates were 14th March (of two, which were the first arrivals in South Yorkshire and second in Yorkshire BPW) and 14th November. A widespread species found wherever there are trees or bushes. A count on 19th April that covered the colliery area, the Canals, Will Pits and Will Pits Scrape, estimated 80+ singing males present. Area maxima were: Will Pits (12), Shoulder o Mutton (one), Southern Canals (25), south-western edge of the moors (17), Pony Bridge Wood (10), Pony Bridge Marsh (six), colliery area (four), Rawcliffe Moor (one), Mill Drain (one), Middle Moor (one), Will Pits Scrape (five), Goole Moor (one), Woodpecker Wood (one), Green Belt (three) and Jones Cable (two). This gives a minimum of 85 (64) males present since many areas had no counts. First and last dates were 27th March, the earliest ever (WHP) and 2nd September. Maximum was c.15 on 17th October. Last and first dates were 30th March and 31st August. A single juvenile was observed along the south-western boundary path of the moors, on 1st September. Three were together in Common Reed Phragmites australis at the flooded workings on 15th February (SH). Highest count was of c.50 on 17th October, with several other counts in double figures. A pair was carrying feathers for nest building at Green Belt on 23rd March. Monthly maxima were: January 36, February 37+, March 8, April 4, May 13, June nc, July nc, August c.20, September 21, October c.50, November 3, December 19. Maximum was 10 on 25th August. Monthly maxima were: January 2, February 5, March 6, April 5, May 4, June 1, July 2, August 10, September 6+, October 3, November 4, December 4. A single was observed at the northern part of Crowle Moor on 15th September. One was present at the Yorkshire Triangle on 23rd November and one was present in the colliery area on 4th October. Maximum count was 28 on 16th February. Monthly maxima were: January 20, February 28, March 10, April 6, May 5, June 1, July nc, August 4, September 3, October 4, November nc, December 10. Maximum count was 10+ on 22nd August. Monthly maxima were: January 9, February 9, March 8, April 6, May 13, June nc, July nc, August 10+, September 6, October nc, November nc, December 5. One or two seen in wooded areas; maximum was four on 18th April. Monthly maxima were: January 1, February 1, March 2, April 4, May 3 (4), June 2, July 2, August 2, September 2, October 2, November 2, December 2. Highest counts were associated with roosts, especially in the colliery/Inkle Moor area, as was the highest count of c.25 on 12th September. Monthly maxima were: January 19, February 8, March 8, April 10+, May 5, June nc, July nc, August 2, September c.25, October c.15, November nc, December 5. A single flew east over Jones Cable on 23rd March. Three flew over the Paraffin area in the company of other (silent) corvids, heading south on 17th September. In October: on 11th two flew north over the Canals, and on 17th, 10 flew east over Will Pits Scrape in the company of a Rook and one was also seen flying north over the Canals. A single bird flew over the south-western edge of the moors on 30th March. One flew over the colliery area on 27th April. One flew east over Will Pits Scrape in the company of 10 Eurasian Jackdaws on 17th October. Highest counts were associated with roosts, especially at Will Pits or the flooded workings. Maximum was 68 on 16th March. Monthly maxima were: January 10, February 16, March 68, April c.43, May 16, June 1, July nc, August 6, September 22, October 40+, November nc, December 20. Recorded mainly at Jones Cable, the colliery and at the flooded workings. Maximum was 240 on 23rd January, flying from the colliery area over Inkle Moor. Monthly maxima were: January 240, February 3, March 3, April 11, May 25, June 1, July nc, August 1, September nc, October 200, November 40, December nc. No records from the peat moors, but four were at Red House Farm on 12th September. Four were at Jones Cable on 21st May and eight were in the colliery road area on 29th May. Maximum count was of 608 dispersing from a roost in the colliery area on 12th January. Monthly maxima were: January 608, February 90, March 13, April 21, May 30, June 14, July nc, August nc, September 11, October 32, November 76, December 260+. At Bells Pond, one flew over calling on 14th October. At Elmhirst Wood one flew overhead on 28th December. Maximum count was of 118 dispersing from a roost in the colliery area on 22nd January. Monthly maxima were: January 118, February 60, March 3, April 2, May 4, June nc, July nc, August 3, September 3, October nc, November 55, December 10+. The years maximum was 70+ at the colliery area on 25th July. Monthly maxima were: January 3, February 2, March 4, April 6, May 6, June nc, July 70+, August 50+, September 12, October 10+, November nc, December 7. Mostly encountered at the Alder Woods or south of there towards the Paraffin and colliery area and also at Woodpecker Wood and Will Pits. Two left a roost in the colliery area on 12th January, with other finches. On 20th September, one flew over Bells Pond and on 28th the species was heard overhead at Cassons and two were seen heading south-west. One flew over Green Belt on 4th October and one was near the Paraffin area on 10th. Feeding birds were often found anywhere along Fisons Road, or at the flooded workings.Small flocks could be found in setaside at Whaley Balk during the winter months. The years maximum however was c.200 at Inkle Moor on 4th October. Monthly maxima were: January 2, February 1, March 10, April 24, May 39, June 26, July c.60, August 50+, September c.100, October c.200, November nc, December 28. One was seen on 30th March, at the western side of the moors, along the part of Fisons Road that leads north (RJS). Six were present on bare peat at the flooded workings on 9th December (RW). The years maximum was of 20+ at Will Pits Scrape on 23rd November. Monthly maxima were: January 6, February nc, March 1, April 6, May nc, June 1, July 1, August 1, September 5, October 16, November 20+, December 1. A single calling bird was heard as it flew west over the Rhododendron Path on 23rd August (WHP). The year’s maximum was nine on 16th March. Monthly maxima were: January 7, February 7, March 9, April 6, May 8 (9), June 1, July nc, August 2, September 5, October 4, November 4, December 4. The highest count of the year was five on 3rd October. Monthly maxima were: January 2, February 2, March 3, April 2, May (6), June nc, July 2, August 3, September nc, October 5, November 1, December nc. Highest count of the year was of 43 on 8th January, 42 of which were together in a colliery area roost at the edge of English Natures setaside field at Whaley Balk. Monthly maxima were: January 43, February 27, March 21, April (24), May 12, June 11, July nc, August 5, September 8, October nc, November nc, December 9. A singing male was observed on telephone wires at houses on the edge of Crowle Moor on 9th May. Richard Atterby, Julie Blake, Philip Bone (PB), Kevin Bull, N.C. Dawtrey, Steve Gee, Martin Limbert, Robert Hall, John Harriman, Brian Hibbard, Steve Hiner, John G. Hitchcock, Peter Hinks, Andy Marshall, John O’Mally, Frank Oates, Stanley Oates, Stuart Parkin, Brian Pepper, Alan Potter, William H. Priestley, Colin Rook, Richard J. Sprakes, Martin Stoakes, Bryan P. Wainwright, Robert Watson, Darren Whittaker.

2019-04-25T02:55:52Z

http://birdingsiteguide.com/index.php/other-items/86-annual-reports-papers/664-thorne-moors-bird-report-2003

This Bible book was written by the Apostle Paul, who is travelling together with Timothy. And the letter is written to the church in Corinthe. Paul begins this letter by giving grace and peace to the church of Corinthe from God and Jesus. To me this shows how important it is to start talking with other Christians by first blessing them. In this world it might be easy to forget, but it is actually very important and powerful. I truly believe that one of the way that God blesses us, is actually through each other. If you are not willing to be a blessing to others, how can you expect that God will sent others on your way to also bless you? Paul starts by giving praise to God Jesus, stating that He is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort! Do you actually start your day by giving God the praise that He so richly deserves? If you do, than I am very proud of you! If not, than you should really rethink on what your faith actually means to you. If you are unable to start a day without giving God praise and asking Him for guiding you that day, are you really having faith? We should avoid being so busy in our lives, that we stop placing God on the absolute first place in our lives. I also ask God forgiveness for all days that I did not take the time to first come before His throne and thank Him for everything! As you might be able to read “between the lines” I am certainly not perfect and on this specific subject I also fall short to many times. But there is where I am also very blessed that we serve a forgiving God! Paul continues by stating that it is God that actually comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can also comfort others in their troubles. The first that I get from this is, that we should always go to God, when we are in a troublesome situation and not look for help from others. But maybe you now think that I am actually contradicting myself. Actually I am not, because, yes, God uses us all to comfort each other. But is it us that does the comforting? No, God uses the Holy Spirit through us tot do that. So never give yourself any credit when you have comforted someone! But why is it that God can help us with all our troubles? Well, simply because Jesus and He have experienced all troubles themselves! So, if someone knows how it feels to endure troubles, than it is Jesus! So, He is the perfect person to go to! One way that God allows troubles in our lives is to help us to build endurance. Endurance to me is truly a gift from God. Why? Because if you read and fully grasp Revelations than you will know what times are coming. Times in which you will be persecuted just because you decided to follow God! Imagine if God did not allow any troubles to exist in your life. How would you be able to withstand with all that, if God never trained you to withstand it? Even in your times of trouble it is very important that you see and know that God is always with you, but also that He is actually teaching you skills that you need later on in your life! In this part of chapter 1, Paul tells about the great distress and troubles that he is going through in the province of Asia. This is to show that he also is not without any suffering, but that he is trusting on God in those times. Another reason that Paul is telling us this is also because through our own experiences we can strengthen each other. Because if you are honest, to whom would you listen? Someone that has experienced troubles him- or herself or someone that is telling it out of the comfort of his or her easy life? Personally, I would listen to someone that also has gone through suffering and can testify how God actually guided him or her through it! Another very important thing that Paul states is that he does not want us to be uninformed. And I agree with this! Imagine that you know that you are going through (or have gone through) great troubles and that God guided you through it, but that you keep silent and that you leave an opportunity to strengthen someone else that might be going through a troublesome situation him-/herself and was very much in need of comforting! Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. When I just read these words I felt so much power come from it. Why? Because he points out that we are indeed living in this world, but that we, as Christians, can and need to testifify with integrity and godly sincerity! And more important that we more and more act on God’s grace and not on worldly wisdom. Because worldly wisdom is nothing. We really have a misguided notion that our own (worldly) wisdom is something special. It is not, because unlike God we base our “wisdom” on our limited understanding. While God bases his wisdom on His full and complete understanding! I end this Bible study of the first chapter of 2 Corinthians with praying that God makes us stand firm in in any and all situations that we are going through, or that we might go through in the future. Never despair, but trust on the fact that God is with you and will guide you not only through it, but also makes you stronger through it! This first part of the chapter is about our offering. No matter how much money you make, God wants us to set a part of our income apart for Him. Does He need money? Not at all, but by these offerings we can help our brothers and sisters that need help and by it God blesses those people. Also, it shows obedience. If you are willing to save a part of your income for God, than you show that God is more important than money for you! Paul continues to tell the church of Corinthians how they have to help and others that come in the name of God. Why is he telling this? Because God wants us to be there for one another and help each other. But don’t do it just because you feel obliged, but do it out of love! And also trust on God to be on your guard, to stand firm in faith, to be courageous and to be strong. This also shows that in this world, taking care of other Christians can be met with aggresion of other that don’t want us Christians to be there for each other. Know that in everything you need God even when it comes to looking out for each other! It is important to always greet other Christians and strengthen them as they will also strengthen you! Paul starts by telling us that we are saved through the gospel. So this alreaydy showns the significance of the gospels for our faith. But why is the gospel so significant? Because it tells about Jesus. That He is the Son of God. That He came to earth to die for our sins and to enable us to come before God in Heaven through His grace. That is why the gospel is how we are saved! The very important next point we need to be aware of is that we need to hold firmly to the word. Maybe in the world we can do cherry picking. With God this is not the case. You either hold firmly to it or you reject it. Don’t think that God will allow you to choose what suits you and what not. As a Christian you need to understand the full significant of the resurrection of Christ, as it is a pillar in your faith. It was by Jesus dying on the cross, that you were able (from that moment on) to come before God by grace, because your own works will never be sufficient! This part of the chapter brings forward a very important discussion. Some of us will be of the opinion that there is no resurrection of the dead. If you are in a church were this is being taught, than you need to know that you are in a church with false teaching! Because if there is indeed no resurrection of the dead, than Jesus’ resurrection was also impossible. And if Jesus did not die and was resurrected, than our preaching would be useless just like our faith. God dying and being resurrected is a very important part of our faith, so rejecting the possibility of resurrection of the dead is impossible. Know that claiming that there is no resurrection, will even make you to give a false witness about God, because on the one hand you testify that God raised Jesus from the dead. But He in fact did not raise Him, if you claim that God cannot raise anyone from the dead! And if Jesus is not raised, than your faith is worth nothing! For me this part of Chapter 14 brings a very important lesson. The lesson that our faith cannot be compromised. In this world a compromise is easily made and accepted, but with your faith this is impossible. Either you believe in full that God’s word is just or you reject it fully. Furthermore, Paul ends this part by stating that bad company corrupts good character. And I believe it to be through. I know from my own past that I had this friend that i used to hang out with and talk about even faith. He always was interested and told me he wanted to come with me to church. But it never came to that point. But what did come is that he always had this fun, but wrong plans, of going out. And instead of me and him to be growing in faith, he was corrupting my character. So, please bring your friends before God’s throne and analyze which of them are good company. If they are not good company, then you need to stop hanging out with them. Because no person is worth loosing your life for. We as people have the tendency to start a discussion on the resurrection of the body. In this we show our limited way of thinking, if we ask in what natural body we will come back. Yes, we will be resurrected, but not in a natural body. Because the Bible says that our flesh will not be resurrected. It will be our heavenly body. Paul ends this chapter by that through Jesus, God gives us victory. Therefore we need to stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that labor in the Lord is not in vain. Again we see the importance of love in our Christian faith. If you believe that love is not important, than in this chapter we again see that it vital to have. When we continue to read this chapter, than Paul also states that we need to eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit. Therefore, if you say that you want to receive gifts of the Spirits, than it requires more than just wanting it. It needs to be the biggest desire in your heart. I believe this is the basis of your faith. When you say that you believe in God, than this in it itself will not be enough, you need to eagerly desire to follow God! Paul mentions the gift of prophecy, which leads me to believe that God gives special emphasis to this particular gift of the Spirit. Why is this gift so important? Because I believe this gift is the way that God is able to lead and guide us via the Holy Spirit. When we continue to read we see indeed that there is more significance to the gift of prophecy. When we speak in tongues, there is a reason that we normally cannot understand the language of speaking in tongues, because speaking in tongues is for talking with God and not with another person. We are never on the same level as God and as such God speaks a language unknown to us. It also shows, that again when it comes to your faith, God expects you to more than just call yourself a Christian. You really have to put in an effort, when you become a Christian. When you receive the gift of prophecy, then it is to strengthen, to encourage and to comfort others. This also shows a difference between fortune tellers (which is a satanic activity as it is not from God and will never be done for the aformentioned reasons. Paul continues and now on the gift of speaking in tongues. When you indeed receive the gift of speaking in tongues, then we also need to pray that we will be made able to also interpret what we are speaking in tongues. Our Christian faith needs to be an active faith, as God so many times tells us in the Bible. Just speaking in tongues, would be a “nice” trick, but will be fruitless if you are unable to interpret it. God is the God of love and not disorder, for this we need to have order in our church services. Not just anyone should start talking in tongues, if they cannot interpret it. In that situation, you need to go before God by yourself and ask for the interpretation of that which you are speaking in tongues. God wants to hav prophecies in church, but also in an orderly way. I believe it is important for the leaders of your church to make sure that there are rules on when and how speaking and tongues and prophecies are included in the church services. If they forbid it at all, then you should know that you are not in the right church. A church should never forbid to let the gifts of the Spirit to be used. Doesn’t your church believe in the Spirit of healing, than you are in the wrong church. However, it is important that there are specified times when prophecies can be given, when you worship. So to summarise, your church needs to allow the gifts of the Spirit to be part of your church services, however it should happen in an orderly way. Do you think that God just does thing disorderly? No, all that God does, He has thought of it very specific and all happens in an orderly way. That blessing that you received just recently, did you think that God just thaught of it just on that moment and decided. No, He already knew that you would receive that particular blessing even before you were born! This chapter is probably one of the most well-known chapters in the Bible. Well, it is for me at least. Why? Because it deals with the significance that God places on the concept of love. The chapters beings by showing that even certain parts of our Christian life have no meaning if you have no love. If you have no love, but think you are speaking in tongues. God tells you, that you are not. So, this already shows that love is very important in our lifes and in our faith. That is why I believe it is very important that we continiously ask God to help us to love more and more. So, if you truly want to receive gifts through the Holy Spirit from God, know that you first need to love! Why is love so important to God? Well, Paul actually is telling is what an amazing and positive characteristics love has. Love is patient: we may be so impatient and want things now and by preference our way and our timing. But when we receive love from God, than we will also learn to be patient. Finding peace in knowing that you might have to wait, but that God will give you the patience to do so! Love is kind: God teaches us through love to be good and kind to each others. We can be so cruel to each other, that is why I ask God to make us kind through love! Love does not envy: why is this so important? Well, because it is negative? Why would you envy someone else? Because he/she seemingly has something you want. Do you know what the person maybe had to go through before he/she received that blessing? Is it maybe that God gave that blessing to that person (and not you), because it is part of his/her destiny and not yours? Know that envy is a negative emotion and that will not do anything good for your spirit and your body. But know that love will counteract it and that you will learn to even be happy for that person! Love does not boast? Are you not taught from a very early age to make known all that you accomplish? Well, know that this not a good character trade? Why? Ask yourself who you are giving credit for these accomplishments. Is it God or yourself? And it is correct to think that you actually did accomplish it yourself. We should be very aware that all that we accomplish is through God and not our own actions. Though love we learn not to boast, but to honor God. And in occassion, also learn to credit others for their share. You don’t have to boast, but trust on God that the right people on the right time will see and through it God will give blessings! Love is not proud? Of course with pride, you have the same thing as with boasting? You make yourself the center, while that should always be God! Love does not dishonor others. If you love someone than the last thing you should want to do is to dishonor that person. Taking away someones honor is a horrible thing you do. Normally this is something they use as tactic in war. Do you really want to use war tactics with your loved ones? We are not perfect, that is why we need God to gain so much love that we will never dishonor others. Remember how they tried to dishonor Jesus? It is one of the most painful things I have ever read/heared about. Love is not self-seeking. When you learn to really love, than through the Holy Spirit you will notice that you start to be less self-seeking. Self-seeking to me is just a “fancy” word for being an egoist! When you are egoitisial, than you become the center of your focus and all that you do. All your actions will be directed to benefit you first and foremost. When you receive love through the Holy Spirit, than you will notice that you become less and less egotistical. And by putting others first, you will and should she how God will work through others to ensure that you also will receive blessings. Love is not easily angered. The more that we are getting into the last of days (the days of Revelation), the more we see violence becoming more “normal”. But know that it is not normal, but very wicked. Anger has resulted in pain, death, war, and many other horrible things. That is why God gives us love to lose that anger, because anger will never bring anything good. Love keep no records of wrongs. This is also important, because through love you will learn to really forgive and forget. If you have no love, than it will be truly difficult to really forgive someone if he/she did you wrong. And even more so that you forget what he/she did to you. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth. The more we allow love to come into our life, the more we will be disgusted to do evil and seek more and more to do what is right. See how love in your life, really changes the way that you life your life and how you are with other people. Therefore, please pray every day to receive more and more love in your life! Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Know that with love we are more willing to protect each other, to trust on each others, to never give up hope and to keep strong in difficult moments! Know that LOVE will never fail! That makes love so powerful, when this love is in our life through the Holy Spirit. All outcomes from love will always be there, love is everlasting! Paul tells us that we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. Paul continious to explain that when you were child, then you talked, thought and reasoned like a child. But when you became a man, then you put your childhood behind you. When you became a Christian, you also put your old life behind you and all those negative character trades were replaced by love. God tells us that if we grow up (grow in faith) that there will come a time that we are before His throne and than we will understand all that has happened in our lifes and see how everything falls together. How we first saw in part and than we see completely! The chapters comes to a close with the remark: and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest is love! God bless you! And as mentioned above, I pray (and please join me) that we receive more and more love through the Holy Spirit. I the name of Jesus I rebuke all the negative character trades, as described above, out of our lifes. In Jesus name I pray, Amen! Paul starts this chapter be telling us that he does not want us to be uninformed about the gifts of the Spirit. This is a very significant statement by Paul, as it should show you that we have an obligation to ourself to continiously grow in our faith and as Christians. For this we need to know how to do this. And luckily God has given us a way by studying the Bible. The first thing we need to be aware of that God has given us spiritual gifts via the Spirit. There is therefore NO gift where the Holy Spirit is not present. If you feel and/or know that you have a gift, but you don’t feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, than know that that “gift” is not from God! Paul continous to say that there are different kind of gifts, but that they are ALL distributed by the Holy Spirit. And that their are different kind of workings, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work! It is important to realize which gifts are from God, because if you have a “gift” that doesn’t fall under them, then you need to be delivered directly. Know that all of these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines. This last sentence is important, because it is God that determines which gift(s) are for you! We as followers of Christ are often compared with a body. Why? Because although we are one, we consist of many parts. We as Christians are one, but yet we are all different. When it comes to our faith and the body we are in faith, we need to realize that we are baptized by the same Spirit, to ensure that we form one body. And we were also given the same Spirit to drink. When it comes to the body of Christ (we as His followers) know that God has put us together as part of this body and that He knows exactly in which part of the body you are and need to be. Don’t question God, but ask God to show you what part you serve in His body and ask Him to let the Holy Spirit guide you. Know that even the least important part of the body in our eyes is invaluable in God eyes. For this reason God needs there to be no division and only unity in the body. Because if one of us suffer, than all of us should feel that and work on it to take away that suffering. This is a call to us to never be passive, especially when you see that a fellow Christians needs help. Furthermore, I believe that God also gives us certain gifts, taking into account that others around you will receive other gifts, so that together all of us can serve God as a unified body! Paul starts this chapter by a single sentence: follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. This sentence shows that we should take the time and see how other Christians are behaving and acting and to determine that they are following the example of God. So, never think you are to proud to look to others how to improve your actions. But the most important part is make sure that they are following the example of Christ. This first sentence shows how important it is that we only follow examples that are from Christ! This part of the chapter starts of with a significant sentence on the holding of traditions. I expect most of you, if not all, have been i discussion regarding the question if the Law is still applicable after Jesus died for us at the cross. This chapter informs us that although it is through grace that we will enter Heaven, it does not in anyway mean that we are allowed to no longer hold the traditions and Laws. Holding the Laws is also a sign of respect and worship to God. God gave them to us in the times of the Old Testament for a reason. Because they make us righteous in His eyes. So, please while learning from the Bible make sure that you also learn of the Law. In this chapter it now concern the covering of the head during worship. As we can read there is a difference between men and woman. First of all, the head of every man is Christ, and the head of every woman is her man, and the head of Christ is God. For a man (as head of the family) it is forbidden to cover his head, while for the woman it is required. I believe this all has to do that covering the head is a sign of humbleness, but also as the chapter describes it is the woman that came from the man and in the man the glory of God is shown and it the woman the glory of her man. And how can a man be both humble and the head of the family? It is the man that needs to make the important decisions with regard to the family. Does this mean that the woman has nothing to say at all? No, I believe that the Bible is also clear on that point. In the house / private man and wife can and need to discuss all matters. But when it comes to making a decision in which both can’t reach a clear answer, than it is the man that needs to make the final decision. So, no man should ever think that these kind of verses can be used to dominate the wife or treat her a slave. God gave you a queen, so make sure that you treat her a such! And I also believe that behind every strong man there is a strong woman! As Christians we should not just just be nice and give praises to each other. If you see that another Christian is acting contrary to God’s word, than it is your duty to talk with that other Christian and through prayer and scripture show why this person needs to change. When we eat the bread and drink the wine, than you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. So when you eat or drink in an unworthy manner, than you are guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord! While growing up I have been in churches in which I thought (looking back) it was taking very lightly for a church member to participate. But this chapter raises a very important requirement. Before taking part you need to examine themselves? Because if you don’t examine yourself than you could be drinking and eating judgment on yourself. Make sure that you first discern the body of Christ, before taking part. Paul begins this chapter by telling us to look back on the history of Israel. Why? When you read this chapter, you will see that it is to show that on more than one occassion in history you can read how other Christians still fell into sins. It this to show that we cannot help ourselves when we commit sin? No! I believe that Paul shows these examples to make sure that we stay humble, because it will never be by our own strength that we will not sin. No it is only through the strength of God that we will be able to do stay free from sin! He ends this part of the chapter by stating that if you think that you are standing firm, that you should be careful that you do not fail. As no temptation has overtaken you except to what is commont to mankind. And as God is always faithfull he will never allow you to be tempted more that you can handle. And it the moments that you are tempted, God will also make sure that He provides you with a way to endure it. So also know that you are never alone in a time of temptation, so don’t try to go through it alone! This part of the chapter actually continues on the previous one. As we just learned is that temptations will come and also that God will provide with ways to endure them. One way to endure temptations is to make sure that you are not exposed to a temptation! Don’t think that you should test your own faith by not refraining from certain temptations, because it is better to fully stay away from temptations, than surround yourself with the temptations and see if your faith is enough not to give into that temptation! In this part of the chapter he begins by clearly stating that we need to flee from idolatry. This warning states that God (as Paul received the words for this bible book from God) hates idols and that we are not allowed to idolize anyone or anything. But for any sensible Christian it should be very clear that you cannot fully serve God if you also idolize someone else, because you are receiving a part of your worship and praise for a human being and not for God. Furthermore, it also shows (again) that when it comes to sin, fleeing (as in the meaning: removing yourself from any situation of sin) is a very smart and acceptable thing to do. If you don’t want to sin with alchohol (become drunk) than working in a bar is not the right move and staying away from such a job the best move! But the above is not the only reason that God wants us to stay away from idols. Because when you are serving an idol and giving it sacrifices who are you than actually serving? You are actually serving a demon at that moment. It doesn’t matter who you think you are idolizing at that moment, a demon will just attach himself to that person/thing that you think you are idolozing. I even believe if you have a poster on your room from a movie star or singer and you start idolizing/worshipping him/her, that at that moment a demon will also attach himself to it. So never fall into the sin of idolizing, because you are than actually commiting a very big sin! And remember also that God is a jealous God, because he wants and deserves to receive your worship alone and for the full 100%. I really love reading the books written by Paul (and of course inspired by God), because so many things apply today. The comment: “I have the right to do anything” cannot be more accurate for this time we are living in. I think that most of us have heared this argument so many times. Yes, God will allow you to do anything you want, but He also tells you that not all choices will be beneficial for you. God doesn’t tell us to not to do certain things just to control us or to limit us … no, He tells us this bevcause He knows which things will actually not help you or could even be damaging for you! Also know that if you life by this statement of that you have the right to do anything, that it also very selfish. You should always look how you can help others. And make sure that all that you do, say, eat, drink to do it in God’s glory. Also don’t be the reason from someone else to stumble, to fall into sin. You have to make sure that you don’t abuse the freedom that God has given you, by being selfish and not carrying about others! God cares about you and gave the life of His own Son, so your sins could and are forgiven! I feel very blessed that God has given me the opportunity to have this blog and go on a daily journey with you in spending time with God and going deeper in the Bible. I look forward to reading your comments, questions on this chapter. This will enable to go even deeper into God’s word and together learn more from Him! Paul talks about all rights that he could be entitled to based on the work that he is doing. And I also believe that when people are doing the work for God like Paul did, that they should also receive compensation out of the work they do. We shouldn’t just let God provide for them, but we should allow ourselves to be used by God to also help out people that do work for God. This can be a donation to their ministry, to provide them with thing they need. Let us pray to God to find out how we can help our brothers and sisters, that work full-time for God. Paul ends this part of the chapter to let us know that he is not in it for the money, but that he does it for free, because he wants to spread the gospel. This should always be the heart and mindset of people that work full-time in their ministry. That it is to spread the gospel and not to become this extremly rich pastor of a megachurch (as an example). I believe this is a very important lesson that Paul is learning us. When you are working for God, than you should be willing to lay down all your freedom to spread His word. You should acknowledge that you have certain freedoms, but that you choose to forsake them to spread the gospel and to worship God. Yes, you can work a high paying job as a CEO, but what if God calls you to work for Him? Are you willing to give up that freedom of all the “power” and money assocatiated with that job. Just like you give up the freedom to sin, to follow God! As a Christian it is very important to have self-discipline. In this world you are being told that you can do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it. This is opposing Gods word. Ask God to develop self-discipline to be able to resist everything from this world and to withhold things that are coming between you and God. The chapter begings to making it clear to us that we need to stop relying on our own understanding? Why, because God is all-knowing and we are definitely not! God can oversee the whole picture, why we can only see a part of it and are also likely to be biased and not always as objective as why imagine ourselves to be. God tells us that there is only one God (Him) and there is no one like Him. And that we won’t be any better if we eat food that was used as a sacrifice before an idol and we won’t be any worse if we do eat that same food. Why? Because we won’t grow closer to God by the food that we eat. Should we than still eat it? Personally, based on this chapter I would say no. It could be that some other Christian, whom is not so strong in his/her faith sees you eating this food that was sacrificed to an idol and it can cause him/her to be disturbed in his/her faith. And than it does become a sin that you are commiting. To me it should be clear that you shouldn’t even run the risk that you think it won’t do any harm, that it still does, because there was one person that took offence to it and through that you sinned. Is food really worth running the risk to be sinning against God? For me it isn’t!

2019-04-22T21:56:47Z

https://alexonfaith.wordpress.com/tag/bible-study/

When we talk like this, you know, “Sun-Faced Buddha,” “the Moon-Faced Buddha,” or “everyday is good day,” or “everyone has buddha-nature,” or “in our great activity, whatever we do, that is our great activity,” or “nothing is too long or nothing is too short” [laughs]. Even though you recite, you know, sūtra with long, long voice [laughs]—it cannot be too long. It is—even though we say something, we hope it is not too short. If you say so, maybe someone who is practicing have to hit mokugyo—how to hit bell—will be discouraged. “Oh, Suzuki-rōshi doesn’t care [laughs] how we hit mokugyo. Even though we hit it fast, he doesn’t care.” But it—it is not so. But when you hear that, you know, you will understand—when—if everything has buddha-nature, “then” or “but“—”but” or “then” does not follow when we talk about the first principle. When you say “then” or “but,” therefore your understanding of the first—the first principle is not anymore the first principle. If that is the first principle [then it is correct to say], “Everything has buddha-nature.” Period. Do—do you know the difference? You cannot say “therefore.” If you say “therefore,” that is not—it is, you know, the condition—”therefore”—a reason or excuse, you know, or something—for your lazy [laughs] practice. So it is not first principle any more. Everything has buddha-nature, period. No idea follows. No[t] any kind of idea comes up by that statement. So, “Everything has buddha-nature,” someone say [thumps table]. Yes! When—only when you could say so, that is the first principle. You—you shouldn’t say “therefore” [or] “but.” That is the first principle. But when we talk about actual practice you can say “therefore,” [or] “that is why,” you know, “even it is so,” you can say so. That is the difference between first principle and the second principle. And if you confuse the first principle and second principle, you don’t understand anything. You are always going, you know, round and round: no end [to] your confusion. You will be always confused. So when you practice you should be strictly involved in the rules. There there is the first principle, actually. Moment after moment there is first principle. So even so, you know—I explained the other night, if we, you know, if we realize that our practice is lazy practice, then you—you may feel it—feel—you don’t feel good. And this kind of mistake is happening every day, and we—we cannot enjoy our practice. What should we do? And what I said was that you realize your practice is not good. What mind, you know, found out your lazy practice? Your big mind found out your mistake. So if you find out the big mind which is working on your lazy practice—small-minded practice—then, at that point, at least your practice is good. So before you make some complaint, you should appreciate the big mind which appear in your mind. That was, you know, my answer. It looks like [I said], “Whatever you do it is okay,” but I don’t mean that. Important point is, you know, only when big mind appear, the small mind, you know, will vanish—should vanish. You should not compare a big mind to a small mind. What I’m—what I mean is don’t worry about your small mind when you have big mind. How to continue your true practice based on the big mind is the point. That is the point. But I didn’t—I did not mean even though you have lazy practice it is okay. That is big misunderstanding. It is not okay. But if I say so, it is not okay. You will be discouraged if it is not—if I say it is not okay, so [laughs] your practice of—will be the continuous, you know, practice of “not okay.” One after another, “not okay practice” will continue [laughs]. You feel in that way, but if you carefully, you know, think about it, the continuous, you know, practice of wrong practice is big-minded practice—continuous activity of big mind. If you understand in that way, that is, you know, true understanding of your practice. In your big mind, small mind has some position—some place. Good and bad also has some place, some seat. We cannot ignore the small mind of wrong practice completely. There is some seat. That is big mind. The small mind—even though the mind is good, small mind does not allow for—for wrong mind or small mind to sit together. Even though it is good, you know, good practice, but small-minded good practice is not real practice. Big-minded good practice is really, really good practice. And it gives a seat for the good practice and bad practice. And you don’t feel so bad about your bad practice. And you will not be arrogant with your good practice. You don’t like mostly sermon or lecture. Why you don’t like is—when you—when someone give lecture, you know, someone will convince [you of] something, you know—convince you [of] something—something special. But Buddhist lecture do not, you know, force anything on you. What we want is to have, you know, big mind—to acknowledge things as they are, to clear your mind from various one-sided wrong understanding of things. That is, you know, the purpose of lecture. Sometime, you know, we slap you or are angry with you. Someone may talk, but why they—someone become angry is to correct—to cut off your delusion, or to empty your mind. If someone stick to some one-sided view, it is pretty difficult to get rid of it for humans and for the creature[s] too. So [laughs] there must be, you know—we try various way. The purpose of why, you know, we do so is because we want to get rid of the wrong concrete idea in your mind—that’s all. Do you understand? That is what I wanted to tell you tonight specially. After making many lectures, almost every evening, I found out that you didn’t—some of you didn’t understand what I meant. Most people like Zen because Zen has no idea of things or no idea of good or bad, you know. That is why people like it [laughs]. But we are pretty strict with our practice—maybe very strict. Even though, you know, we are very strict, we do not seriously cope [?] with the problem in our practice—actual practice, which—we have always smile, you know, even though the way we practice is hard. You know that that is the second principle. It is something to help us. Even though, you know, your teacher is angry, you do not take it so seriously [laughing]. That is trouble [speaking more quietly] [laughter]. You know that that is the second principle, not first principle. So when I say something, mostly about rules, I say it with smiling, so you don’t take it so seriously [laughs]. Do you have some questions? There must be many questions. Hai. Student A: Rōshi, I thought that our eyes are focused [2-4 words unclear]. Suzuki-rōshi: I—I am sorry I couldn’t follow it. Student A: Shotaku [?] said our eyes should focus. Student B: Shotaku [?] said that we focus. Suzuki-rōshi: Oh, focus. Not [1 word unclear], you know, you are not gazing at anything. “Focus,” we say, but it is—not to gaze but to, you know—focus some, maybe four feet ahead. At first it is difficult just to, you know, put focus on some area. Unless you see something, some beginner may put something four—three-four feet ahead. If there is nothing, they pick up, you know [laughs], edge of the tatami. That is easy, maybe, but that is not the best way. If you have something to watch it is easy, you know, to be concentrated, but you are—you should be—should be able to have [half?] focus, you know. Best for—maybe for you four feet or more feet ahead. Do you understand? Hai. Student B: When you—can you say something about—about [1 word] or for us to [2-3 words] in our practice? How we can help each other? Suzuki-rōshi: Uh-huh. Hmm. Best way to help others is, you know, to have good practice. If you have good practice, that is the best way to help others. That is very true. To help others is not different from to help themselves. But original, you know, this is again—again, you know, the first principle. There is no—you and others is not two. One. You see? That is the first principle. You should—even intellectually, this is the reality we should accept—ultimate reality. You cannot—this kind of—the first principle is something which you cannot, you know, ignore. It is very true. But [laughs] it is true, but if I talk about for students who listen to me, looks like I am talking about something, you know, which you—something [that has] nothing to do with you. You may feel in that way. Everything is one, you know. Even though I say so, it doesn’t help you [laughs]. Even though I talk about Buddhist philosophy, it doesn’t help. Your actual problem is always with you, and just philosophy—philosophical understanding of Buddhism doesn’t help. But the philosophy—Buddhist philosophy is so true that you cannot deny it. And it is so, you know, universal and so common, so it is not so interesting either. Maybe when you discuss something, when you have argument with some other people, it may be interesting [?], you know, because your philosophy is graceful [?]—graceful [?] philosophy. So you will win anyway. So it maybe graceful [?] [laughing]. But it—it doesn’t help you at all. So—but you cannot deny it, that’s all. If that is so true, if that is the ultimate truth, why you have problem, you know? The actual questions start from that point. If we are Buddha—all Buddha—then why we hate each other? Why we have to kill animals? Real problem will start from that point. So Buddhism, on the other hand, is the teaching of or about human—human nature. What is human being is Buddhist teaching. In comparison to, you know—when we have buddha-nature, why human being is like this is the first, you know, problem or question you will have. So to study Buddhism is to study ourselves. To study ourselves is to forget ourselves, like Dōgen-zenji says. To study Buddhism is—or to study the first principle is to study the second principle. To study the second principle is to—to practice second principle until you forget all about it, until you don’t feel you have, you know, rules. How you help others is—there is no special way to help others. Let them know our human nature, and let them know how we have problem. And to—to encourage people by your own practice, that is the best way to help people. You know, learning will not help. Almsgiving will not help. But when you follow, when you understand what is human being and what is the way for human beings to follow Buddhist way is, you know, how to help people. We should be concentrated on that point, and we shouldn’t try to help people by giving something or by some special way. Okay? [Laughs.] Some question? Student C: What does the woodworking mean above your door? “The Mahābodhisattva Zendō”? Student C: The calligraphy above the—above the door? Student C: —the framed calligraphy there? Student C: No. I mean the—above your door. Student C: Above the door. Suzuki-rōshi: Above the door. Oh, that is not “Mahābodhisattva Zendō.” [Laughter.] That is—I am sorry—that is two characters, which is Jo un—”to glide cloud” or “to ride on cloud.” Jo un, you know, is—it comes—it—Dōgen-zenji—in Dōgen-zenji’s “Sansui-kyō”—”Sūtra of Mountain and River”—he says the water has life of riding cloud [laughs]. Jo un no kudoku ari. People thinks water is running, you know, flowing in the stream, but “Water has also,” you know, “the merit of driving cloud.” Cloud itself, it may be water [laughs]. It is—that is again his—when he says so it means also the first principle. So if you—if you understand what is first principle, that will be a good help, you know, to release your body in our life. Even though we are like a water, always running in—only in valley or stream, but we should not complain. Water has also the virtue of being cloud, and water is everywhere. But when we are in the stream, when they in the stream, water may feel, you know, “Why you are running such a, you know—go by our stream? I wish I could be like a cloud.” That is, you know, our complaint. But actually, water can be a cloud. If we don’t limit our power, our power is [1-2 words unclear; said in a whisper]. So, that will be the [1 word]. Do you know Lotus Sūtra—how Lotus Sūtra started, do you know? Lotus Sūtra was recited by many people. We don’t know exactly—no one knows exactly who compiled the sūtra, but while people, Buddhists, were reciting the sūtra, the sūtra became more and more famous. And they get together and recited that sūtra. At that time, temples were, you know, some place for the priests [to] practice their way—for the priests to study Buddhism. But for layman there is not much good place to have meeting. And people get together in cemetery, or in the temple yard they recited the sūtra. The more you know about human nature, the more you will be interested in the first principle. In this way you can, you know, encourage your practice. But if you confuse the first principle with the second principle, then—or if you rely on our teaching, you know, it doesn’t help you so much. Hai. Student D: Rōshi, what does it mean in practice when [6-10 words]? Student D: That sometimes we include both [2-4 words] in practice [2-3 words] between thought and [1-2 words]. Suzuki-rōshi: Practice—zazen practice, first of all—zazen practice for us—what is the purpose of zazen practice? That is something I am talking about so many times. Perhaps, you know, why it is difficult for you to improve your understanding is you listen to our lecture day by day without learning—remembering what I said before, you know, without accepting clearly what I mean. So mind is always, you know—and moreover, I [laughs]—you don’t have to remember what I say. It means [1-3 words]. But what I mean is, you know, if you, you know, when you listen to my lecture, and when you say “yes,” that is the point. When you say yes, you accept it—”That’s okay.” And it means that your mind is open and your ears are open. Then, more and more, you will be able to understand the teaching. But you are much better than usual, you know, Japanese people. Japanese people, you know, when some teacher come and give lecture, he may say—they may say, “Oh, he is very good,” you know, “he is very good lecturer. His sermon is so interesting.” [Laughs.] So someone like me has very difficult time [laughs], because I cannot give any interesting lecture [laughs, laughter]. [Someone boos from audience. S.R. laughs.] Hai. Student E: Rōshi, in the last lecture you talked about communication, and how it creates a better image for those people. Could you talk some more about how we create a better image of ourselves? Student E: In part to let it go. Suzuki-rōshi: Communication is—start by understanding—your own understanding about people. Even though you want them to understand you, you know, it is—unless you understand people, it is almost impossible. Don’t you think so? Only when you understand people, they may understand you. So even though you do not say anything, if you understand people there is some communication. Winks [Blinks?] of your eyes—it is [laughing, laughter]. It is very difficult for me to do this. You—you see? That is, maybe, perfect communication. Student E: I was asking—what I wanted to ask is how can we communicate better with ourselves? Not with other people. Student E: Sometimes we have difficulty defeating problems in ourselves, and we know that [4-6]. Student E: And—and the question is how we, you know, we cultivate these bad feelings—not to push them aside, but sort of cultivate them like, you know, [2-4 words] to other people—like we cultivate that relationship with people. But it seems that zazen is—I’m having the feeling that it helps somehow if I have bad feelings about myself [?]. Suzuki-rōshi: Yeah. That is because of your hasty, you know—or, you know, you are not patient enough, you know. Anyway, it is impossible to have perfect understanding, to feel good about yourself. Whether you feel good or bad, you know, that is the communication. That is you. We cannot improve, you know, improve you instantaneously. Even though you stay at Tassajara three-four years, you will—it is difficult to accept your practice here. And it should be so. And if you try to accept yourself so easily, then there is something wrong with—with your practice. In such case, you should, you know, think about the first principle. It is you that—you—it is you who feels bad, but you yourself is not bad, and your practice is not bad. But because you have to—because of your desire you feel bad —that’s all [?]. Desire means, you know, to expect something which you cannot [have]—that is desire, the terminology of desire. You have that kind of desire. As long as we know completely about this kind of desire—about this kind of desire, you cannot be patient enough to accept—your mind cannot be wide enough to accept your bad practice. I feel as if, you know, as if you are always trying to feel good, you know [laughs], always. But I am not, you know. I rather feel better when I don’t feel good [laughter, laughs]. If I feel good, I—I think, “Oh, I must be careful.” [Laughs, laughter.] “I shouldn’t feel so good. It is a kind of idea—some selfish,” you know, “selfishness in me,” you know. “Oh no.” You feel more—much more stable when you are not so happy [laughs]. Student F: [1 word] in another lecture you said we should try and be happy. Suzuki-rōshi: Uh-huh. Happy, you know, happy, but, you know, happiness is not, you know, that kind of happiness. My happiness is to suffer with people or to enjoy with people. Maybe to suffer more than people and to enjoy less than people is real happiness. Even though we—I feel in that way, you know, as we are very selfish, you know, actually, maybe if I hope—if I try—if I am trying to feel less happy, then maybe they are equal. If I, you know, if I think I divided watermelon—just I cut watermelon just, you know, quarters, you know—it is very difficult to be fair. And even though I think I took—I didn’t take best one, maybe I—I have best one in my hand [laughs]. That is human nature. So only when we try, you know, not to take best one, maybe you can—you will be pretty fair with people. So to know our human nature is very important. Without knowing what is hunger, what is selfishness, it is almost impossible to help others. When you know what is hunger, you know, what is thirst, what is love, how difficult it is to love some people, then, you know, you can help people. That is how we study the first principle. That is approach to the first principle. Even though you can explain about the first principle, like the great philosophers [laughs], you cannot help people. You will be a scholar, but you cannot help people. Student G [Niels Holm]: Rōshi? Niels Holm: What do you mean when you say “help people”? What kind of help do you mean? Define the word. Suzuki-rōshi: Yeah. That is, maybe, good question. If you know what is help, then you will know how you will help people. It is rather difficult to explain. But you may—you may understand, you know, how do you feel when you’re helped by people. “Help people,” I say, but strictly speaking to—or we say, “to save sentient beings, to save others.” “To save” means to give perfect understanding of the problem of birth and death, or true meaning of our life, is, you know, how you help people. After knowing many things, you know, you will come to difficult things [?]. So unless you don’t have good understanding or good experience of our human life, meaning of life, you cannot help people. I say “help people,” but “save people.” Why we say “save people” is they are suffering; they are amidst [?] of the problem. That is true. Some other question? Could you say? Hai. Student H: Rōshi, is the meaning of Buddhist practice to continually develop [?] our small mind? [4-6 words] the big mind continues in small mind. Suzuki-rōshi: You can say so. It is possible to say so when—because we are always involved in small mind. But big mind—without knowing what is big mind, it is suffering, you know. But if you know what is big mind, then even though your life is continuous practice of—continuous small-minded practice, and you feel in that way, but it will be—it will be quite different from usual suffering you may have. But right now, when—right now you understood what I am saying, you know. Maybe for the first time I—I used this kind of statement, you know, “continuous [laughs] practice—continuous small-minded practice.” So it looks like in our practice there is no true joy or something like that. But if you know what is big mind—yesterday was it yesterday or Sunday?—yeah—when you hear the bird, you know, you—you will find the mountain calmer than before. That kind of feeling. Continuous hearing of the bird is big mind—is our practice. If you understand what I mean, background is calmness of the deep, deep mountain. And you hear the bird, you know, and for the deep remoted mountain, bird is not—bird cannot disturb the mountain. But we hear the bird. Before, you feel as if bird is disturbing the calmness of the mountain. That is usual feeling we have. If small problem happen to your life, you will be very much, you know, discouraged or disturbed, but if you know the vastness of the big mind or buddha-mind, you know, that kind of problem is not problem. But we see the problem. There is big difference. Feeling your skin [?] accept the problem. Do you understand? So anyway, you must have some feeling about—if possible you must have even a branch of the big mind. And on the—on the other hand you should be faithful to things happens in your life. Then you will not disturbed by the problem you have, and you will be encouraged—your practice will be encouraged—practice to appreciate the big mind will be encouraged. Okay? Some questions? [2-3 words] is too late. [Laughter, laughs.] No question? Hai. Student I: Rōshi, cutting apples in the kitchen is [4-6 words] or particularly zazen is that sometimes it’s hard to [1-2 words] to acknowledge that a [2-4 words] isn’t really bad, but they’re really [1 word] a lot. Or—or—I can’t understand what—what—what the practice means. I [3-4 words]. Suzuki-rōshi: Hmm? [Laughs.] Pleasure is—pleasure is [1-2 words]— Will you please say it again? Student I: If I’m cutting apples in the kitchen and eating—if I eat them, is—is that bad dharma? I mean, I think I ate [3-6 words]. Suzuki-rōshi: Yeah, you did. [1 words] bad. [Laughs.] Again, you know, when you realize it—as—as Buddha said, “I found out the carpenter who is making the house.” [Laughs.] Do you understand what does it mean? I will find out the carpenter who is making the house—who found out—the carpenter who is making the house—who found out someone picking up, you know, small piece of apple—who found out someone eating apples. [Laughs.] Buddha found out a carpenter who is building your house. Did you understand? Suzuki-rōshi: To feel in that way is good, but I cannot say to—to eat, you know, apples while you are cutting is good, but I agree with you. But, you know, on the other hand, you should know that who found out. Big mind found out. Buddha found out. [Laughs.] That—oh!—you are [4-6 words as S.R. thumps on or with microphone]. Buddha is still alive in [laughs]—in your mind. He will help you. He will always help you. So that is—I cannot say bad practice, but I am not—again, you know, I am not encouraging you to eat apples in the kitchen. This is the point, you know—some—something I want you to be very careful when you listen to my lecture. I may say “that is good,” you know—that you have, you know, big mind always to see your self, basically, but sometime I—I just say, “That is good; that is not bad practice,” I may say briefly instead of explaining, you know, carefully in that way. So you may think it is okay for us to eat, you know, in the kitchen while we are cooking, as many people do. It is okay, you know. “Before he said it is not okay, but this time he said okay.” [Laughs.] So I want you to be very careful because it—it takes time if I explain, you know, things in such way. Hai. Suzuki-rōshi: [Talks over student, who continues asking question.] That is just, you know, argument [laughs, laughter]. It doesn’t make sense. Student I: What doesn’t make sense? Suzuki-rōshi: Hmm? No—there could be any rules like that, you know. [Laughs.] You can create, for one or two days you can, you know, [1-2 words]. “If you work in kitchen you should eat.” It will—that will last one hour or two hours. But that is not—cannot be rule, you know. Suzuki-rōshi: [Speaks over student.] You know, when you say so, that is already, you know, idea of absolute. In realm of absolute there is no rules. There could—cannot be any rules. You see? There is confusion: You confuse absolute and second [principle?]—second. Do you understand? Suzuki-rōshi: No [as if he is echoing student]. Suzuki-rōshi: The—when we talk about things-as-it is, you know, like a scientist, that is the rule which belongs to—it is observation of the first principle. And when we accept our human nature and how to apply, how to have more organized life as a human being, you know, that rules is for—just for human being, not for trees or water or, you know, some chemical happening, but just for human being, which is so selfish. That is secondary rule—the rules for human being. So you shouldn’t co- [partial word: compare?]—you shouldn’t like—you shouldn’t talk like you are like a cat or dog. You are worse than cat or dog. [Laughter.] Do you understand? [Laughs.] No. Suzuki-rōshi: For an instance, in the city, you know? Suzuki-rōshi: Yeah, that kind of life will not last. That is just bubbles [laughs]—you know, tentative bubble which cannot last. When our rules, our way of life is not based on our human nature, it doesn’t last, you know. As long as you are young it is maybe okay, but everyone is growing, you know, and world is changing day by day, and we cannot exist unless we know our human nature. I am not, you know—I have no special, you know, superimposed idea. That is what I am talking [about?], you know. I am not forcing you—on you anything. Just to understand what is human being, what is things-as-it-is. You see? That is the point of my talk. If we do not have so many students at Tassajara, we don’t have to rules—have to have rules like this. As we must, you know, practice our way with many people here, so we must have some rules. Okay? Rules is not something which we create, which someone—some special person create for sake of Buddhism or for sake of Zen or for sake of the leader to have, but something which we need. That is rule. So we can—we can change if it is not right, so we are improving our rules. Maybe we are spending too much time, you know, in discussion about our rules, you know. I feel in that way. But still, I appreciate your effort to establish some rules for us. You try to be very fair to everyone. So, on the other hand, our rules become more and more strict, you know, because we spent so much time in establishing your rules. After establishing some rules, you cannot [laughs]—cannot, you know, change it so soon. That is the nature of, you know, nature of precepts. Buddha didn’t establish precepts. Disciples established precepts, in some [3-4 words] monastery [unclear]. Buddha said you shouldn’t run away from the temple [1 word] when you are listening lecture. That is one precept. [Laughs, laughter.] For very good students there is no rule. Rule is necessary, but students make so many rules. That is, you know, projected, you know, rules, projected human nature. We need it, you know, not buddhas, or not universe, or not [1 word]. Whether this earth vanish from the universe, it is not big problem [laughs]. It is okay for the universe. If we want to protect this earth, maybe we should study more about how flying [?] planes [?] are going [laughs]. Then, you know, maybe our planet is just one of them. That kind of study is, you know, our study. Before, I don’t know why, you—you do not like rules, you know. There must be some good reason why you don’t like it. But here I don’t think so, because it is you who are creating rules, not me. Buddhist rules is not like that. So that is why you have to have good understanding of the first principle compared—comparing to the second principle or human principle—human rules. Then—then, you know, you will find out why you have to have this kind of practice—the meaning of practice. Okay? Okay. Five more minutes. Hai. Student J: [3-4 sentences.] Or tentatively, what can we rely on in ourselves—anything? Student K: You say that creating some kind of rule or schedule for yourself or some [4-6 words] will not work. I’m asking you essentially how—how do you find out [3-4 words] adopt rules that we live with at Tassajara, or do we rely more on our good feeling about things? Suzuki-rōshi: You are still relying on rules, you know. When I came to San Francisco I had no rules for you to observe. I—I sit and practice zazen and recite sūtra when I wanted to, you know. People came. That’s all. One after another they come, and [laughs] as you are so many—we have so many people now, and, you know, I must have rules. That’s all. So it is too soon to worry about it [laughs]. Buddha will take care of everything. And if Buddhist rule is good, it will help, you know. This is why I became angry, you know [laughs], you know, to see someone who talk about Japanese way or Buddhist way or, you know— Actually, if you don’t want Buddhist way, you know, why don’t you have some other rules? You know, I think Buddhist way is pretty good, because they—from—if—after Buddha’s time, Buddha—idea of Buddha’s precepts is way of life, and the rules belongs to human being, not Buddha. Buddha has the first principle, but human being has second principle for themselves. So this kind of understanding is, you know, very suitable idea of rules. So I want you to be very sincere, you know, with yourself, about your future too. You shouldn’t depend on anything. Only thing you depend on is your zazen practice. Without saying anything, if you practice every day, then you will have students, you will have friends. That you may need some rules. “What time do you start zazen?” or something like that. That is enough. You don’t have to worry about so many rules which we need at Tassajara. Okay? So each—I want each student to practice our zazen wherever you are. That is—will be the best help for the people. And some more things happens, then case by case you should think about it, that’s all. You will find out how to help—help people, especially when you have experience of practice at Tassajara. It will be a great, great help for you when you have your self. You shouldn’t depend on Tassajara too much. All the, you know, confusion comes from that point, because you depend on Tassajara too much. Buddha said, you know, without depending on yourself, you know, how is it possible to depend [on] something else—or only thing you can depend on is you yourself. That is very true. Only when you can depend on yourself you will be very kind. Something flowing over, you know, from you will help people, without trying to help people. If you depend on something special, then nothing will come out from you. If people ask question, “Read [3-4 words],” and if someone ask you what to do, “Oh, we have rules here, so why don’t you read.” In that way you cannot—you will not have any friends [laughter]. To me, you are trying to do so [laughs], you know, always trying to do so whenever you ask me question. I feel that you may be trying to establish something like Tassajara [laughs]. I have no idea of such, you know, estab- [partial word]—I have no such idea for you to establish anything like this. If Tassajara practice is good enough to be a good example of other group, maybe they may follow us, but we should not have any idea of to be a good example of others. Anyway we should make our best, that’s all, you know. It cannot be more than that. If it is more than that, Tassajara is involved in wrong practice. It is not Buddhist practice. [Sighs.] Tomorrow? What time? [Laughs.] [1 word] person? Not one person [?], right? Source: City Center transcript by Barry Eisenberg. Entered onto disk by Jose Escobar, 1997. Checked against tape and made verbatim by Bill Redican (9/26/00). Miyagawa Keishi-san kindly provided assistance with the translation of Japanese terms. The framed calligraphy of two Japanese characters hanging over the door to Suzuki-rōshi’s former rooms on the second floor of City Center, San Francisco. “When human beings look at water, the only way we see it is as flowing ceaselessly. The flowing takes many forms … .” Water “rises up to form clouds, and it comes down to form pools” (Eihei Dōgen, “Sansui-kyō,” Shōbōgenzō; Nishijima and Cross, trans., Book 1, p. 174). Jo (ride); un (cloud); no (as—indicating that jo un and kudoku are the same); kudoku (merit); ari (there is). This is not an exact quote from the Shōbōgenzō; Suzuki-rōshi may be interpreting or simplifying the phrase. This talk was given on Tuesday, August 17th, 1971 and is filed under Verbatim. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2019-04-24T00:37:25Z

http://suzukiroshi.sfzc.org/dharma-talks/august-17th-1971/

WE have all thought a great deal of the courage of David in meeting giant Goliath, but probably we have not given him credit for his conduct in a previous contest. We have not sufficiently noticed that immediately before the encounter with the Philistine he fought a battle which cost him far more thought, prudence and patience. The battle of words in which he had to engage with his brothers and with King Saul was a more trying ordeal to him than going forth in the strength of the Lord to smite the uncircumcised boaster. Many a man meets with more trouble from his friends than from his enemies. And when he has learned to overcome the depressing influence of prudent friends he makes short work of the opposition of avowed adversaries. Observe that David had first to contend with his own brothers. I hardly think Eliab was so much swayed by envy as has been supposed. I fancy that Eliab had too much contempt for his young brother to envy him. He thought it ridiculous that a youth so given to music and piety and gentle pursuits should dream of encountering a giant. He derided the idea of his being equal to such a task and only feared, lest in a moment of foolish enthusiasm, he might throw his life away in the mad enterprise. And therefore Eliab somewhat superciliously, but still somewhat in the spirit natural to an elder brother who feels himself a sort of guardian to the younger members of the house, chided him and told him that only pride and curiosity had brought him there at all and that he had better have remained with his sheep in the wilderness. Such a youth, he thought, was more fit among lambs than among warriors, and more likely to be in his place beneath a tree with his shepherd’s pipe than in the midst of a battle. David met this charge in the very wisest way–he answered with a few soft words, and then turned away. He did not continue to argue, for in such a contest, to multiply words is to increase ill feelings and he who is silent first is the conqueror. Grandly did this young man restrain himself, though the provocation was very severe, and herein he won the honors of the man who restrains his spirit and greater than the soldier who takes a city. I admire David as he selects his five smooth stones from the brook, but I admire him quite as much when he so gently replies where others might have been angry–and then so wisely turns aside from a debate which could not have been to the profit of either party. Next, he is brought before Saul and enters upon a contest with a king to whom he felt loyal respect, and with a soldier who had been a man of war from his youth up and had worked many famous deeds, one, therefore, to whom David looked up with not a little reverence. When king Saul said to him, “You are not able to fight with this Philistine, for you are but a youth and he a man of war from his youth,” it must have been somewhat difficult for the young hero to cope with the weighty judgment. And yet he did so, answering meekly, forcibly and in all respects well. Did you notice how David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him.” He did not say, “Let not your heart fail you”–he was too much of a courtier for that–he had too much delicacy of mind to insinuate that a royal heart could fear. When he proceeded to argue with the king it was in the most polite and deferential manners. He begins, “Your servant kept his father’s sheep.” He calls himself a servant of the king and does not hesitate to admit that he is only a shepherd who had no flock of his own, but served under his father. There was nothing like assumption, but the very reverse. Yet while he used soft words, he brought forth hard arguments. He mentioned facts and these are always the best weapons against carnal reasoning. Saul said, “You are not able to meet this Philistine.” But David replied, “Your servant slew both the lion and the bear.” He placed facts against mere opinions and won the day. He did not quote Scripture to the king, for I suppose he knew Saul too well for that, and felt that he had not Grace enough to be swayed by the promises and examples of Holy Writ. But he brought facts before him, knowing well how to give a reason for the hope that was in him with meekness and fear. His arguments quite overcame the opposition of Saul, which would have dampened the enthusiasm of many. And so Saul not only commissioned him to go and fight the Philistine, saying, “Go, and the Lord be with you,” but he actually clothed him in his royal armor, which was of no small value and which, of course, would have increased the honors of the Philistine champion had David fallen before him. Some little faith in David was kindled in Saul’s bosom and he was willing to trust his armor in his hands. Thus it is clear that David fought the battles with Saul as admirably as he afterwards conducted his duel with the giant–and he deserves no small honor for it. No, rather unto God be honor who while He taught His servant’s hands to war, and his fingers to fight, also taught his tongue to utter right words by which he put to silence those who would have abashed him! What was the meat of David’s argument? What were the five smooth stones which he threw at the head of carnal reasoning? That shall be the subject of this morning’s discourse. We will consider the way in which he argued down all doubts and fears and, by the Spirit of God, was nerved to go forth to deeds of sacred daring in the name of the Most High, for the same conquering arguments may, perhaps, serve our turn also. Three things are before us in the text, recollections, reasonings and results. First, RECOLLECTIONS. “Your servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him, and slew him. Your servant slew both the lion and the bear.” These were noteworthy facts which David had stored up in his memory. And he now mentions them, for they exactly answered his purpose. We ought not to be unmindful of the way by which the Lord our God has led us, for if we are, we shall lose much. Some saints have very short memories. It has been well said that we write our benefits in dust and our injuries in marble! And it is equally true that we generally inscribe our afflictions upon brass, while the records of the deliverances of God are written in water. It ought not to be! If our memories were more tenacious of the merciful visitations of our God, our faith would often be strengthened in times of trial. Now, what did David remember, for I want you to remember the same. He remembered, first, that whatever his present trial might be, he had been tried before–tried when he was but a young man peacefully employed in keeping his father’s flocks. A lion rushed upon his prey and he had to defend his sheep–that was no small trial for a young man–to have to meet a savage beast, strong, furious and probably ravenous with hunger. Yet the ordeal had not destroyed him and he felt sure that another of the same kind would not do so. He had encountered that danger in the course of his duty, when he was in his proper place and engaged in his lawful calling. And he had thereby learned that the path of duty is not without its difficulties and perils. He was keeping his flock as he ought to be and yet a lion attacked him. And so you and I have met with trials which did not arise from sin, but, on the other hand, came to us because we conscientiously did the right thing and would not yield to temptation. We must not think that we are out of the right road when we meet with difficulties, for we must expect, through much tribulation, to inherit the kingdom of God. Severe afflictions and afflictions arising out of holy walking are not new things to us! Let us now remember our old encounters. He remembered, too, that he had been tried frequently. He had not only been attacked by a lion, but also by a bear. He had been tried in different ways, for lions and bears do not fight exactly in the same manner, neither are they to be met with precisely the same tactics. David remembered that his trials had been of different sorts and that in each case the battle had been hard. It was no small matter to fight hand to hand with a lion, and no child’s play to rush single-handed upon a bear. We, also, in looking back, remember sharp encounters with foes of many kinds which were terrible battles to us at the time. Brothers and Sisters, some of us who have been for years in the ways of the Lord can tell of shrewd brushes with the enemy. We can speak of wounds and ugly tears of which we wear the scars to this day. Many have been our adversaries, and furious–yet we have been upheld till now by Jesus, the Captain of our salvation! Why, then, should we fear concerning the present fiery trial, as though some strange thing had happened to us? Is it a Philistine this time? Well, it was a lion before, and a bear on another occasion–it is only a little change of the same constant trial of our faith–therefore let us not shrink from the conflict. Next, David remembered that he had risked all in the prosecution of his duty. He was set to take care of the sheep and the lambs and he did so. A lion had dared to leap into the fold and seize a lamb, and without a single thought of anything but the lamb and his own duty, the young shepherd rushed upon the monster with all the ardor of youth! And smiting him with his crook compelled him to drop his prey. He had put his own life in jeopardy for the poor defenseless lamb. Can you not remember, my Christian Brothers and Sisters, when you, also, took no thought as to what you should lose if you followed Christ and cared not if it cost you your very life? With earnest honesty you desired to learn what you ought to do and you did it, regardless of the cost. You defied Reproach, slander, misrepresentation and unkindness, so long as you could but clear your conscience and honor your Lord. O blessed recklessness! Do you remember those early days when you could cheerfully have gone to prison and to death for Christ’s sake? For Scriptural doctrines and ordinances you would willingly have suffered martyrdom! Perhaps some of you have, on more than one occasion, actually risked everything for the sake of integrity and for the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, even as others have defied the utmost power of Satan and the most virulent hatred of men for the sake of the Lord God of Hosts. You have felt that you could sooner die than deny the Truth of God and sooner perish from off the face of the earth than to turn from the trust which the Lord had committed to you. Look back upon your brave days, my Brothers and Sisters, not that you may be proud of what you did, but that you may be ashamed if you are afraid to do the same today! Blush if what you could do as a babe in Grace should appear too difficult for you in riper years! These remembrances have precious uses–they will lead us to bless God and humble ourselves in His Presence. Next David remembered that he had on that occasion gone alone to the fray. The antagonist was a lion! A dozen men might have found themselves too few for the fight and David remembered that in that contest he was quite alone–he had not called in other shepherds to the rescue, but armed only with his crook, he had belabored the lion till the monster found it convenient to leave his prey and turn upon the young shepherd. David was ready for him, seized him by his beard, dashed his head upon the rocks and did not relinquish his grasp till the king of beasts lay dead at his feet. It was a grand incident, even had it stood alone, but a bear had supplied an equally memorable trophy. Some of us may well recall hours in our past lives when we were all alone and, as we went forth to serve the Lord Jesus, our enterprise was regarded as Utopian and spoken of as sure to end in failure. Many a good man has gone forth for Christ’s sake even worse than alone, for those who should have aided have done their best to criticize and prophesy disaster. But men whom God ordains to honor have shut their ears to critics and pushed on till they have reached success. And then everybody has said, “We always thought so,” and not a few have even claimed to have been ardent admirers all along! Look back at that courageous hour, and now that you are surrounded by a goodly company of friends, think whether you have as simple a trust in God, now, as you manifested then. If you judge that you have, prove by your actions that you can still dare to go forward under difficulties, unshackled by dependence on an arm of flesh. The discipline of desertion ought not to have been lost upon you–you ought to be all the stronger for having been compelled to walk alone. The friendship of your fellows has been a loss rather than a gain if you cannot now wage single-handed battle as you did in former times. Have you now become slavishly dependent on an arm of flesh? If so, chide yourself by the memories of braver days! David also remembered that on that occasion, when he smote the lion and the bear, he had nothing visible to relyupon, but simply trusted his God. He had in his hand no sharp weapon of iron with which to smite the wild beast to the heart. Careless as to weapons, he thought only of his God and rushed on the foe. He was as yet a young man, his muscles were not set and strong, neither did he seem fit for such a venturous deed! But his God was almighty and, reliant upon the Omnipotence of God, he thought nothing of his youth, but flung himself into the fray. What more in the way of help did he need, since God was with him? Oh, Brothers and Sisters, there were times, with some of us, when we commenced our work when our sole reliance was the unseen Lord! But can it be true that now we have begun to coolly calculate means and to rely upon methods and plans, whereas once we looked to God, alone? Do we now trust in this friend and rely on that, and distrust the Lord if friends are few? Shame upon us if we do, for this is to leave the way of victory for the path of defeat, to come down from the heroic track to the common highway of carnal reasoning and so to fall into care, fretfulness, weakness and dishonor! Happy is the man who trusts in the Lord, alone, by unstaggering faith! He shall go from strength to strength, but he who chooses to walk by sight shall utterly decay. David remembered, also, that the tactics which he adopted on that occasion were natural, artless and vigorous. All that he did was just smite the lion and the bear with his staff, or whatever came first to hand, and then to fight as nature and the occasion suggested. He did what his courage prompted, without waiting to consult a committee of lion-slayers and bear-trappers. His whole art was faith! This was his science and his skill. He consulted not with flesh and blood. He followed no precedents, imitated no noted hunters and encumbered himself with no rules. He did his best as his faith in God directed him. He threw his whole soul into the conflict and fought vigorously, for his faith did not make him sit still and expect the lion to die in a fit, or the bear to become insensible. He seemed to say to himself, “Now, David, if anything is to be done, you must be all here and every muscle you have must be put to the strain. You have a lion to fight with, therefore stir up your strength and while you rely upon God, alone, take care to play the man this day for your father’s flock.” Courage supplied coolness. And energy, backed up by confidence, won the day. Do you remember, my Brother, when in your own way you did the same? You were reliant upon God but not idle. You put your whole force of soul and energy into your Master’s service, as if it all rested on you and yet, you depended wholly on Him and you succeeded! How is it with you now? Do you now take things easily? Do you wonder that you do not succeed? If you are growing cold and careless. If you are getting sleepy and dull, rebuke your soul and use your past experience as a whip with which to flog yourself into energy! Let it never be said that he who woke himself up to fight a lion now falls asleep in the presence of a Philistine! David remembered that by confidence in God his energetic fighting gained the victory–the lion was killed and the bear was killed, too. And cannot you remember, Brothers and Sisters, what victories God gave you? When you were little in Israel and despised, yet His hand was upon you! And when few would bid you God speed, yet the Jehovah of Hosts encouraged your heart! And when you were feeble and but a youth, the Lord Jesus helped you to do exploits for Him in your own way. Remember this, and be of good courage this morning in the conflict which now lies before you. David talked of his former deeds somewhat reluctantly. I do not know that he had ever spoken of them before. He did so on this occasion with the sole motive of glorifying God and that he might be allowed to repeat them. He ravished for permission from Saul to confront the Philistine champion and bring yet greater glory to God! Brethren, whenever you talk of what God enabled you to do, mind you lay the stress upon God’s enabling, and not upon your own doings. And when you rehearse the story of your early days, let it not be as a reason why you should now be exonerated from service and be allowed to retire upon your laurels, but as an argument why you should now be allowed the most arduous and dangerous post in the battle! Let the past be a stepping stone to something higher–an incentive to nobler enterprise. On, on you soldiers of the Cross! In God’s name eclipse your former selves! As Grace enabled you to pile the carcass of the bear upon the corpse of the lion, so now resolve that the Philistine shall increase the heap and his head shall crown the whole, to the honor and glory of the God of Israel! So much for remembrances. I pity the man who has none of them and I pity, yet more, the man who, having them, is now afraid to risk all for his Lord! II. Now for REASONING. David used an argument in which no flaw can be found. He said, “The case of this Philistine is a parallel one to that of the lion. If I act in the same manner, by faith in God, with this giant as I did with the lion, God is the same and, therefore, the result will be the same.” That seems to me to be very good reasoning and I bid you adopt it. Such-and-such was my past difficulty and my present trouble is of the same order. In that past trial I rested upon God and acted in a right way–and He delivered me. Therefore, if I trust in God, still, and do as before, He is the same as ever–and I shall triumph again! Let us now consider the case and we shall see that it really was parallel. There was the flock, defenseless. Here is Israel, God’s flock, defenseless, too, with no one to take up its cause. In all the camp there was not one single man who dared take up the giant challenge. David was a shepherd and, therefore, as a shepherd, bound to defend his flock. And in the present instance he remembered, I doubt not, that Samuel had anointed him to be king over Israel and he felt that some of the responsibility of the anointing rested upon him even then. And if no other man would play the shepherd, the anointed son of Jesse must do it! And so it looked to him like a parallel case–Israel the flock and he the shepherd who must defend it. He was alone that day when he smote the lion and so he was this day when he was to confront his enormous foe. Of course it was one of the conditions of a duel that the Israelite champion should go forth, alone, and besides that, there was no one in all the camp who was likely to wish to accompany him upon such an errand. So, now that he was all alone, the case was the more truly parallel! As for that Philistine, he felt that in him he had an antagonist of the old sort. It was brute force before. It was brute force now. It might take the shape of a lion or a bear or a Philistine, but David considered that it was only so much flesh and bone and muscle–so much brag or roar, tooth or spear. He considered the Philistine to be only a wild animal of another shape because he was not in Covenant with God, and dared to put himself in opposition to the Most High! My Brothers and Sisters, a man who has God for a friend is higher than an angel, but a man who is God’s enemy is no better than a beast! Reckon him so and your fears of him will vanish! Goliath was mighty, but so was the lion. He was cunning, but so was the bear. The case was only a repetition of the former combat. Just as you and I say, sometimes, “Ah, what I did was done when I was a young man, I cannot do the same now. That trouble which I bore so patiently, by God’s Grace, was in other times. But this affliction has come upon me when I am less able to endure it, for I have not the elasticity of spirit which once I had, nor the vigor I formerly possessed.” When we want to escape from some arduous work, we do it by trying to show that we are not under the same obligations as in former days. We know in our conscience that if we did great things when we were young we ought to do greater things now that we are older, wiser, more experienced and more trained in war–but we try to argue our conscience into silence. If the Lord helped us to bear with patience, or to labor with zeal after all the experience we have had, that patience and zeal should now be easier to us than before. Alas, we do not argue so, but to our shame we excuse ourselves and live ingloriously. I know a man who, today, says, “Yes. What we did in years gone by, we did in our heroic age, but we are not so enthusiastic now.” And why not? We are so apt to magnify our former selves and think of our early deeds as of something to be wondered at but not to be attempted now! We are fools for they were little enough in all conscience and ought to be outdone! Oh, dear Brothers and Sisters, this resting on our oars will not do! We are drifting down with the tide. David did not say, “I slew a lion and a bear so I have had my turn at such bouts. Let somebody else go and fight that Philistine!” Yet we have heard people say, “When I was a young man I taught in the Sunday school. I used to go out preaching in the villages and so on.” Oh, Brother, and why not do it now? I think you ought to be doing more instead of less! As God gives you more knowledge, more experience and more Grace, surely your labors for Him ought to be more abundant than they used to be, but, alas, you do not look on it as a parallel case, and so make excuses for yourself. She points out the difference, though the trouble is virtually the same! Would it not be far better if she pleaded the same promise and believed in the Lord as she did before? One man will say, “Ah, yes, I did, on such an occasion, run all risks for God. But, you see, there is a difference here.” I know there is, my dear Brother, there is a little difference and if you fix your eyes on that, you will drill yourself into unbelief! But difference or no difference, where duty calls or if you should be called to bear such an affliction as never befell mortal man, before, yet remember God’s arm is not shortened that He cannot deliver His servants! You have but to commit yourself to Him and out of the sevenfold adversity you shall come forth a sevenfold conqueror! We are very apt, too, to look back upon the past and say, “I know that there are some grand things the Lord did for me and my venture for His sake turned out well, but I do not know what I should have done if a happy circumstance had not occurred to help me just in the nick of time.” We dare to attribute our deliverance to some very “happy accident”! It is very base of us to do so, for it was the Lord who helped us from first to last–the happy occurrence was a mere second cause! And cannot God give us another “happy accident,” if necessary, in this present trouble? “Alas,” our unbelief says, “there was a circumstance in that case which really did alter it, and I cannot expect anything like that to occur now.” Oh, how wrong this is of us! How we lose the force of that blessed reasoning from parallels which might have supplied us with courage! God grant we may break loose from this net! Possibly our coward heart suggests “Perhaps, after all, this deed of courage may not be quite my calling and I had better not attempt it.” David might have said, “I am a shepherd and I can fight with lions, but I was never trained to war, and therefore I had better let this Philistine alone.” He might, also, have discovered that he was better adapted for protecting sheep than for becoming the champion of a nation. We must guard against the use of this plausible pretext, for pretext it is. Brethren, if we have achieved success by the power of God, let us not dote upon some supposed adaptation, but stand prepared to be used of the Lord in any other way which He may choose! Adaptation is unknown till the event proves it–and our Lord is a far better judge of that than we are! If you see before you a work by means of which you can glorify God and bless the Church, do not hesitate, but enter upon it in reliance upon your God! Do not stand stuttering and stammering and talking about qualifications and so on, but what your hand finds to do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus who has bought you with His blood! Prove your qualifications by bringing Goliath’s head back with you and no further questions will be asked by anyone–or by yourself! So, too, sometimes we frame an excuse out of the opinions of others. We are apt to feel that we really must consider what other people say. Our good brother Eliab may be a little crusty in temper, but still, he is a man of a good deal of prudence and experience. And he tells us to be quiet and let these things alone and, perhaps, we had better do so. And there is Saul. Well, he is a man of great acquaintance with such matters! He judges that we had better decline the task and, therefore, upon the whole we had better exhibit that prudence which is the better part of valor and not rush upon certain danger and probable destruction. This seeking advice and following cowardly counsel is all too common! We know that some strenuous effort is needed and it is in our power, but we desire ease and, therefore, we employ other men to weave excuses for us. It would be more honest to say outright that we do not want to do any more. Were we more full of love to Jesus, this unworthy device would be scorned by us and in sacred manliness of mind we would scorn the counsel which tends to cowardice. Others cannot bear our responsibility–we must, each one, give an account of himself to God–why, then, yield to the judgement of men? Oh, Brothers and Sisters, fling this folly to the winds! Obey the dictates of the Holy Spirit and close your ears to the advice of unbelief! Men or women consecrated to God, if the Lord impels you to do anything for Him, do not ask me, do not ask my fellow Church officers, but go and do it! If God has helped you in the past, draw a parallel and argue from it that He will help you in the present. Go, and the Lord go with you! Do not fall prey to that wicked unbelief which would rob you of your strength! III. The last thing is RESULTS. The results were, first, that David felt he would, as he did before, rely upon God alone. Come to the same resolution, Brothers and Sisters! God, alone is the source of power! He alone can render real aid! Let us then rest in Him, even if no other help appears. Is not the Lord, alone, enough? That arm which you cannot see will never be palsied. Its sinews will never crack, but all the arms of mortals upon which you so much love to lean must, one day, turn to dust in the tomb. And while they live, they are but weakness itself. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah there is everlasting strength. David had found wisdom’s self when he said, “My soul waits only upon God, for my expectation is from Him.” David resolved, again, to run all risks once more, as he had done before. As he had ventured himself against the lion,so would he put his life in His hands and engage the Philistine. Come wounds and maiming! Come piercing spear or cutting sword! Come death, itself! Amid the taunts and exultations of his giant foe, he would still dare everything for Israel’s sake and for God’s sake! Soldiers of the Cross, if you feel that you can do this, be not slow to put it into practice! Throw yourselves wholly into the Lord’s service! Consecrate yourselves and your substance to the grand end of glorifying Christ, fighting against error and plucking souls from destruction! David’s next step was to put himself into the same condition as on former occasions, by divesting himself of everything that hampered him. He had fought the lion with nature’s weapons and so would he meet the Philistine. Off went that glittering royal helmet which, no doubt, made his head ache with its weight! Off went the cumbersome armor in which he found it very hard to move! In such a metallic prison he did not feel like David a bit and, therefore, he put all aside and wore only his shepherd’s frock! As for that magnificent sword which he had just strapped by his side, he felt that it would be more ornament than use–and so he laid it aside with the rest of the trappings. He put on his pouch and took nothing with him but his sling and stones. This was the old style and he did well to keep to it, for the Lord saves not with sword and spear! We are all too apt to get into a fine harness and tie ourselves up with rules and methods. The art of getting rid of all baggage is a noble one, but few have learned it. Look at our Churches! Look at the Church at large–is there not enough red tape about to strangle a nation? Have we not committees enough to sink a ship with their weight? As for patrons, presidents, vicepresidents and secretaries, had not Christianity been Divine it could not have lived under the load of these personages who sit on her bosom! The roundabouts are worrying straightforward action out of the world. We are organized into strait waistcoats! The vessel of the Church has such an awful lot of top-hamper that I wonder how she can be navigated at all! And if a tempest were to come on she would have to cut herself free from nearly all of it. When shall we get at the work? If there should ever come a day when Brothers will go forth preaching the Gospel, simply resting in faith upon the Lord alone, I, for one, expect to see grand results! But at present, Saul’s armor is everywhere! When we get rid of formality in preaching, we shall see great results! But the Churches are locked up in irons which they call armor. Why, dear me, if we are to have a special service, one Brother must have it conducted in the Moody method and another can only have Sankey hymns! Who, then, are we that we must follow others? Do not talk to us about innovations and all that–away with your rubbish! Let us serve God with all our hearts and preach Jesus Christ to sinners with our whole souls–the mode is of no consequence! To preach down priestcraft and error, and do it in the simplest possible manner–by preaching up Christ–is the way of wisdom! We must preach, not after the manner of doctors of divinity, but after the manner of those unlearned and ignorant men in the olden time who had been with Jesus and learned of Him! Brothers, some of you have too much armor on! Take it off! Be simple, be natural, be artless, be plain-spoken, be trustful in the living God and you will succeed! Less of the artificer’s brass and more of Heaven-anointed manhood is needed! More sanctified naturalness and less of studied artificialness! O Lord, send us this, for Christ’s sake. Amen. The ultimate result was that the young champion came back with Goliath’s head in his hand! And equally sure triumphs await every one of you if you rely on the Lord and act in simple earnestness. If for Christ, my Sister, you will go forward in His work, resting upon Him, you shall see souls converted by your instrumentality. If, my Brother, you will but venture everything for Christ’s glory and depend, alone, on Him, what men call fanaticism shall be considered by God to be only sacred consecration and He will send you the reward which He always gives to a full, thorough, simple, unselfish faith in Himself. If the result of my preaching this sermon should be to stir up half a dozen workers to some venturesome zeal for God, I shall greatly rejoice. I remember when I commenced this work in London, God being with me, I said if He would only give me half a dozen good men and women, a work would be done, but that if I had half a dozen thousand sleepy people nothing would be accomplished. At this time I am always afraid of our falling into a lethargic condition. This Church numbers nearly 5,000 members, but if you are only 5,000 cowards, the battle will bring no glory to God! If we have one David among us, that one hero will do wonders! But think what an army would be if all the soldiers were Davids–it would be an ill case with the Philistines, then! Oh that we were all Davids! That the weakest among us were as David and David, himself, were better than he is, and became like an angel of the Lord! God’s Holy Spirit is equal to the doing of this and why should He not do it? Let us call to Him for help and that help will come! I must just say this word to some here present who lament that there is nothing in this sermon for them. Unconverted persons, you cannot draw any argument from your past experience, for you have none of a right kind. But you may draw comfort, and I pray you do, from another view of this story. Jesus Christ, the true David, has plucked some of us like lambs from between the jaws of the devil. Many of us were carried captive by sin. Transgression had so encompassed us about that we were unable to escape. But our great Lord delivered us! Sinner, why can He not deliver you? If you cannot fight the lion of the pit, HE can! Do you ask me, What are you to do? Well, call for His help as loudly as you can. If you are like a lamb, bleat to Him, and the bleating of the lamb will attract the shepherd’s ear. Cry mightily unto the Lord for salvation and trust, alone, in the Lord Jesus! He will save you! If you were between the jaws of Hell, yet, if you believed in Him, He would surely pluck you out of destruction. God grant you may find it so, for Christ’s sake. Amen. PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–1 Samuel 17:23-51.HYMNS FROM “OUR OWN HYMN BOOK”–73, 674, 681.

2019-04-22T12:21:44Z

https://www.thekingdomcollective.com/spurgeon/sermon/1253/

本発明は、導電性ブレードに関し、特に、電子写真感光体、転写プロセスに用いる転写ドラム及び転写ベルト、又は中間搬送ベルトの帯電・除電・クリーニングに用いられるクリーニングブレード、並びに現像プロセスに用いられて電荷平坦化、除電及び帯電をするための現像ブレード、さらにはトナー規制ブレード等に用いて好適な導電性ブレードに関する。 The present invention relates to a conductive blade, in particular, an electrophotographic photosensitive member, the transfer drum and the transfer belt used in the transfer process, or the cleaning blade for use in charging, charge removal, cleaning of the intermediate conveyor belt, and used in the developing process charge flattening, a developing blade for the neutralization and charging, furthermore relates to a suitable conductive blade with the toner regulating blade or the like. 電子写真法あるいは静電記録法での乾式現像方式においては、感光体に現像されたトナーは転写工程により紙に静電転写されるが、感光体に付着したトナーはすべて転写することはできず、この残留トナーがつぎのサイクルまで持ち越されると、感光体が露光される工程で、トナー像が感光体の光放電を妨げ、これによって得られたコピーは画像欠陥となってしまい好適な画像を現像することができない。 In the dry developing method in an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method, toner developed on the photosensitive member is electrostatically transferred to the paper by the transfer process, it is impossible to transfer all the toner adhered to the photoreceptor When the residual toner is carried over until the cycle of the next, in the step of the photosensitive member is exposed, to block light discharge of the toner image photoreceptor, a suitable image is obtained copied becomes an image defect by this can not be developed. そこで、感光体に付着・残留したトナーを除去するために、各種のクリーニング方式が提案されている。 Therefore, in order to remove the toner adhering-remaining on the photosensitive member, various cleaning methods have been proposed. クリーニングブレードを用いる方式もその１種であり、ゴムなどの弾性体を感光体に直接接触させて残留したトナーをかきとるものである。 It is also one that method of using a cleaning blade, in which scraping toner remaining in direct contact with the photosensitive member to the elastic member such as rubber. この方式においては、クリーニングブレードは、上向きに回転する側の感光ドラムの中心から伸びる水平線、あるいはそれよりもやや上方に位置する部分にブレードの下端が当接するように配置され、感光ドラムが回転することによって残留トナーがかきおとされることになる。 In this method, the cleaning blade is upwardly rotated to the side of the photosensitive drum horizon extending from the center of, or the lower end of the blade portion located slightly above than is arranged so as to abut the photosensitive drum is rotated so that the residual toner is scraped off by. ところで、通常、クリーニングブレードは金属製の支持体に両面接着テープあるいはホットメルト接着剤によって取りつけられるが、クリーニングブレード全体の電気抵抗値は、ポリマー組成物が本来有する電気抵抗値に支配されるものであり、この場合のクリーニングブレードの電気抵抗値は１０ １ 2 Ω以上という高い抵抗値を示すものとなり、感光体の摩擦帯電を除去することができないうえに、連続的に長い時間使用した場合、画像に悪影響（白スジ、ムラ）を起こしたり、あるいはトナーがクリーニングブレードの裏面に回ってしまう、いわゆるトナー散りという問題が生じ、クリーニングブレードとして好適に使用し得るものとはいいがたい。 However, usually the cleaning blade is attached by a double-sided adhesive tape or a hot melt adhesive to a metallic support, the electrical resistance of the entire cleaning blade, in which the polymer composition is governed in electrical resistance inherent There, the electrical resistance of the cleaning blade in this case is assumed to exhibit high resistance value of 10 1 2 Omega more, since it is impossible to remove the frictional charging of the photosensitive member, when used continuously long time, the image adverse (white stripe, unevenness) or cause, or the toner will be turning to the rear surface of the cleaning blade, a so-called toner scattering occurs a problem that, it can not be said that can be suitably used as a cleaning blade. また、最近、トナーの粒子径が非常に細かく、また、粒子形状も真球に近くなってきており、トナーのかきおとしが難しくなってきている。 Also, recently, the particle size of the toner is very fine, also the particle shape has become close to a sphere, scraped toner is becoming more difficult. そのため、クリーニングブレードの材料強度を上げ、圧力でかき落とす方法、低温での反発弾性が高く、その反発弾性の温度依存性が無いもの、ブレード自体に導電性を持たせ、静電気力によりトナーを吸着、反発させてクリーニングさせる方法が挙げられる。 Therefore, increasing the material strength of the cleaning blade, a method of scraping pressure, high impact resilience at low temperatures, that there is no temperature dependence of its resilience, has conductivity to the blade itself, adsorbs toner by electrostatic force , and a method for cleaning by repulsion. このような観点からも、そのままの材料強度を保ちつつ、クリーニングブレードに導電性を持たせる必要性がある。 From this point of view, while keeping intact material strength, there is a need to provide conductivity to the cleaning blade. そこで、クリーニングブレードの電気抵抗値を低くするために、組成物中に導電性カーボンブラックを配合して、体積固有抵抗値を１０ 4 Ω・ｃｍ以下に調整し、静電気除去用ブレードとする技術が知られている（例えば、特許文献１参照）。 Therefore, in order to lower the electric resistance of the cleaning blade, by blending a conductive carbon black in the composition, to adjust the volume resistivity below 10 4 Ω · cm, a technique for a blade for removing static electricity known (e.g., see Patent Document 1). ところが、体積固有抵抗値が１０ 4 Ω・ｃｍ以下に構成されているために、除去したい部位以外に存在する電荷まで除去してしまい、鮮明な画像が得られにくいという問題がある。 However, since the volume resistivity is configured below 10 4 Ω · cm, will be removed to charge present other than the region to be removed, there is a problem that a clear image is difficult to obtain. またクリーニングブレードの体積固有抵抗値を１０ ３から１０ １０ Ω・ｃｍとするように、ポリマー中に導電性カーボンブラックを配合して電気抵抗値を調整しようとしても、導電性カーボンブラックの分散状態およびわずかな添加量の違いで電気抵抗値が大幅に変動しやすく、これを量産化体制に移行した場合、安定した電気抵抗値を有するシートを供給することが極めて困難となる。 The volume resistivity value of the cleaning blade to 10 3 and 10 10 Omega · cm, even attempt to adjust the electrical resistance by compounding conductive carbon black in the polymer, the dispersion state of the conductive carbon black and slight in amount of difference tends electrical resistance varies greatly, when a transition it to mass production system, to supply a sheet having a stable electric resistance value becomes very difficult. また、カーボンブラックを添加すると、機械的物性、特に圧縮永久ひずみ、永久伸びが悪化し、硬度が上昇する等の問題がある。 Further, the addition of carbon black, the mechanical properties, strain especially compression set, tension set deteriorates, there are problems such as the hardness increases. 一方、このような問題を解決するものとして、熱可塑性樹脂ポリウレタンに、過塩素酸リチウムのようなイオン導電性物質を配合し、加圧電圧５０Ｖにおける電気抵抗値（２５℃）が１０ ３ Ωないし１０ １０ Ω、好ましくは、１０ ３ Ωないし１０ ７ Ωのクリーニングブレードが開示されている（例えば、特許文献２参照）。 Meanwhile, In order to solve such problems, a thermoplastic resin polyurethane were blended ionic conductive substance such as lithium perchlorate, to an electric resistance (25 ° C.) is 10 3 Omega not in acceleration voltage of 50V 10 10 Omega, preferably, 10 3 Omega to 10 7 Omega cleaning blade has been disclosed (e.g., see Patent Document 2). このように過塩素酸リチウムなどのイオン導電剤を添加した場合、１０ ６ 〜１０ ８ Ω程度の中抵抗の電気抵抗値を有するブレードが得られ易いという利点がある。 If thus adding an ion conductive agent, such as lithium perchlorate, there is an advantage that it is easy blade is obtained having an electric resistance value of the resistor in the order of 10 6 ~10 8 Ω. なお、導電性カーボンブラックなどの電子導電タイプの導電剤と、過塩素酸リチウムなどのアルカリ金属塩からなるイオン導電タイプの導電剤とを併せたハイブリッドタイプの導電性ブレードも知られている（例えば、特許文献２、特許文献３参照）。 Note that the electroconductive type of the conductive agent such as conductive carbon black, are also known hybrid type conductive blade in conjunction with a conductive agent of ionic conductivity type consisting of alkali metal salts such as lithium perchlorate (e.g. , refer to Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3). しかしながら、過塩素酸リチウムなどのイオン導電剤を用いた場合、電気抵抗値の環境依存性、特に湿度依存性が高く、また、連続通電していると電気抵抗値が上昇してしまうという問題がある。 However, when using the ion conductive agent, such as lithium perchlorate, environmental dependency of electrical resistance, especially high humidity dependence, also has a problem that the electric resistance value when contiguous current rises is there. また、過塩素酸リチウムなどのイオン導電剤の添加により、機械的物性、特に反発弾性が低下し、また、吸湿性があがるため、ポリウレタンの加水分解特性が悪化するという問題もある。 Further, the addition of ionic conductive agent such as lithium perchlorate, mechanical properties, reduced in particular rebound elastic, and there since the hygroscopicity is increased, a problem that hydrolysis characteristics of the polyurethane is deteriorated. さらに、過塩素酸リチウムは取扱い上危険であり、添加部数を増加できないなどの問題がある。 Further, lithium perchlorate is handling dangerous, there are problems such as the inability increasing the addition number of copies. 本発明は、このような事情に鑑み、安定して所望の抵抗値を得ることができ、安定した物性を有する導電性ブレードを提供することを課題とする。 In view of such circumstances, it can be stably obtain a desired resistance value, and to provide a conductive blade having stable physical properties. 前記課題を解決する本発明の第１の態様は、導電剤として少なくとも一種のイオン性液体を含有するゴム状弾性体からなる導電性ブレード部材と、この導電性ブレード部材を支持する支持体とを具備することを特徴とする導電性ブレードにある。 A first aspect of the present invention to solve the above problems, a rubber-like elastic body conductive blade member made containing at least one ionic liquid as a conductive agent, and a support member for supporting the conductive blade member in conductive blade, characterized in that it comprises. 本発明の第２の態様は、第１の態様において、前記ゴム状弾性体がポリウレタンからなり、体積抵抗率が１×１０ ３ 〜１×１０ １０ Ω・ｃｍであることを特徴とする導電性ブレードにある。 A second aspect of the present invention, in a first aspect, the rubber-like elastic body made of polyurethane, a conductive, characterized in that the volume resistivity is 1 × 10 3 ~1 × 10 10 Ω · cm in the blade. 本発明の第３の態様は、第１又は２の態様において、前記イオン性液体が、下記一般式（１）〜（４）で表される群から選択されるカチオンを含むことを特徴とする導電性ブレードにある。 A third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the ionic liquid, characterized in that it comprises a cation selected from the group represented by the following general formula (1) to (4) in conductive blade. 本発明の第４の態様は、第１〜３の何れかの態様において、前記イオン性液体が、ＡｌＣｌ ４ − 、Ａｌ ２ Ｃｌ ７ − 、ＮＯ ３ − 、ＢＦ ４ − 、ＰＦ ６ − 、ＣＨ ３ ＣＯＯ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＯＯ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ３ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ２ ） ２ Ｎ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ２ ） ３ Ｃ − 、ＡｓＦ ６ − 、ＳｂＦ ６ − 、Ｆ（ＨＦ）ｎ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＳＯ ３ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＳＯ ２ ） ２ Ｎ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＣＯＯ −の中から選択されるアニオンを含むことを特徴とする導電性ブレードにある。 A fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third one embodiment, the ionic liquid, AlCl 4 -, Al 2 Cl 7 -, NO 3 -, BF 4 -, PF 6 -, CH 3 COO -, CF 3 COO -, CF 3 SO 3 -, (CF 3 SO 2) 2 n -, (CF 3 SO 2) 3 C -, AsF 6 -, SbF 6 -, F (HF) n -, CF 3 CF 2 CF 2 CF 2 SO 3 -, (CF 3 CF 2 SO 2) 2 N -, CF 3 CF 2 CF 2 COO - in conductive blade, characterized in that it comprises an anion selected from among . 本発明の第５の態様は、第１〜４の何れかの態様において、前記イオン性液体は、融点が７０℃以下であることを特徴とする導電性ブレードにある。 A fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fourth one embodiment, the ionic liquid is in the conductive blade, characterized in that a melting point of 70 ° C. or less. かかる本発明では、導電剤としてイオン性液体を添加したので、導電性カーボンを添加した場合と比較して所望の中抵抗値を安定して得ることができ、また、過塩素酸リチウムなどのイオン導電剤を添加した場合と比較して電気抵抗値の環境依存性、特に湿度依存性が低く、また、吸湿性があがる心配が無いため、加水分解が促進しない、且つ、機械的物性が無添加のものと同等である導電性ブレードとなる。 In such present invention, since the addition of ionic liquids as a conductive agent, in the case of adding conductive carbon compared to the can stably obtain a desired in resistance value, also, ions such as lithium perchlorate environmental dependency of electrical resistance as compared with the case of adding a conductive agent, particularly humidity dependency is low and, since there is no fear that hygroscopicity is increased, hydrolysis does not promote, and, added mechanical properties free a conductive blade which is comparable to that of. ここで、イオン性液体とは、室温で液体である溶融塩であり、常温溶融塩とも呼ばれるものであり、特に、融点が７０℃以下、好ましくは３０℃以下のものをいう。 Here, the ionic liquid is a molten salt which is liquid at room temperature, is also called a room temperature molten salt, in particular a melting point of 70 ° C. or less, preferably refers to the 30 ° C. or less. このようなイオン性液体は、蒸気圧がない（不揮発性）、高耐熱性、不燃性、化学的安定である等の特性を有する。 Such ionic liquids have no vapor pressure (nonvolatile), high heat resistance, incombustibility, the characteristics of equal chemically stable. 従って、イオン導電剤のように取扱い上の危険が少なく、室温にて液体であるため、ゴムへの添加が容易であり、所望の中抵抗を容易に得ることができる。 Therefore, less risk of handling as ion conductive agent, because it is liquid at room temperature, it is easy to add to the rubber, it is possible to easily obtain desired in resistance. 特に、ポリウレタンの場合には、主原料のポリオールへそのまま添加すればよいので、添加が容易であるという利点がある。 Particularly, in the case of polyurethane, it is sufficient as it is added to the main raw material of the polyol, there is an advantage that the addition is easy. また、揮発性がないことから、添加部数を増加してもゴムと相溶すればブリードの心配もない。 In addition, since there is no volatility, there is no bleeding of the worry if compatible with the rubber also increased by the addition of the number of copies. 特に、水に溶けないイオン性液体（疎水性イオン性液体）を用いると、ポリウレタンの吸湿性を上げることがないため、加水分解性を促進せず、また湿度依存性が小さく、導電性が安定すると考えられる。 In particular, the use of water-insoluble ionic liquid (hydrophobic ionic liquid), because there is no possibility to increase the hygroscopicity of polyurethane, not promote hydrolysis resistance, also humidity dependency is small, conductivity stable Then conceivable. 本発明で用いることができるイオン性液体は上述した一般式（１）〜（４）で示されるカチオン（陽イオン）を有するものであるが、例えば、イミダゾリウムイオンなどの環状アミジンイオン、ピリジニウムイオン、アンモニウムイオン、スルホニウム、ホスホニウムイオンなどの有機カチオンを陽イオンとするものである。 Although ionic liquids that can be used in the present invention are those having a cation (positive ion) represented by the above general formula (1) to (4), for example, cyclic and imidazolium ions Amijin'ion, pyridinium ions , ammonium ions, sulfonium, organic cations such as phosphonium ion is to a cation. 陰イオンとしては、ＡｌＣｌ ４ − 、Ａｌ ２ Ｃｌ ７ − 、ＮＯ ３ − 、ＢＦ ４ − 、ＰＦ ６ − 、ＣＨ ３ ＣＯＯ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＯＯ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ３ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ２ ） ２ Ｎ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ２ ） ３ Ｃ − 、ＡｓＦ ６ − 、ＳｂＦ ６ − 、Ｆ（ＨＦ）ｎ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＳＯ ３ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＳＯ ２ ） ２ Ｎ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＣＯＯ −などを挙げることができる。 The anion, AlCl 4 -, Al 2 Cl 7 -, NO 3 -, BF 4 -, PF 6 -, CH 3 COO -, CF 3 COO -, CF 3 SO 3 -, (CF 3 SO 2) 2 n -, (CF 3 SO 2 ) 3 C -, AsF 6 -, SbF 6 -, F (HF) n -, CF 3 CF 2 CF 2 CF 2 SO 3 -, (CF 3 CF 2 SO 2) 2 n -, CF 3 CF 2 CF 2 COO - , and the like. 例としては、下記式に表される有機カチオンと、下記式で表される対アニオンとの組み合わせからなるものを挙げることができる。 Examples may include organic cations represented by the following formula, those consisting of a combination of the counter anion represented by the following formula. 本発明では、ベースとなるゴム状弾性体と相溶性を有するイオン性液体を用いればよく、特に限定されない。 In the present invention, it may be used an ionic liquid having a rubber-like elastic material compatible with the base is not particularly limited. 配合割合も特に限定されないが、例えば、ゴム状弾性体基材に対して０．１〜３０重量％程度含有するようにすればよい。 Although the mixing ratio is not particularly limited, for example, it is sufficient to contain about 0.1 to 30 wt% on the rubber-like elastic body base material. また、イオン性液体の中には水に対して不溶性のものがあり、湿度に対する安定性を考慮すると、水に対して不溶性のものを用いるのが好ましい。 Also, some ionic liquids are as insoluble in water, in consideration of the stability to humidity, preferable to use those insoluble in water. ゴム状弾性体の材質は、用途に応じた特性が得られるゴム材質であれば特に限定されないが、感光体への汚染性や他の物性の面からポリウレタンやシリコーンゴムが好ましく、特に、ポリウレタンを用いるのが好ましい。 The material of the rubber-like elastic material is not particularly limited as long as the rubber material characteristics according to the application is obtained, preferably polyurethane or silicone rubber in terms of pollution resistance and other physical properties of the photoreceptor, in particular, a polyurethane it is preferable to use. ここでポリウレタンとしては、特に、注型タイプの液状ポリウレタンが好ましい。 Examples of the polyurethane, in particular, cast type liquid polyurethane is preferred. かかるポリウレタンは、高分子量ポリオール、イソシアネート化合物、鎖長延長剤及び架橋剤などを熱硬化することにより得ることができる。 Such polyurethanes, high molecular weight polyol, an isocyanate compound, and chain extender and crosslinking agent can be obtained by thermally curing. ポリオールとしては、例えば、ポリエステルポリオール、ポリカーボネートポリオール、ポリエーテルポリオール、ポリカーボネートエーテルポリオールなどを挙げることができる。 Examples of the polyol, for example, polyester polyols, polycarbonate polyols, polyether polyols, and polycarbonate polyol. また、イソシアネート化合物としては、４，４'−ジフェニルメタンジイソシアネート（ＭＤＩ）、２，６−トルエンジイソシアネート（ＴＤＩ）、１，５−ナフタレンジイソシアネート（ＴＯＤＩ）、パラフェニレンジイソシアネート（ＰＰＤＩ）などが挙げられる。 As the isocyanate compound, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), 2,6-toluene diisocyanate (TDI), 1,5-naphthalene diisocyanate (TODI), paraphenylene diisocyanate (PPDI), and the like. さらに、鎖長延長剤としては、例えば、ブタンジオール、エチレングリコール、トリメチロールエタン、トリメチロールプロパン、グリセリンなどの多価アルコールを挙げることができる。 Furthermore, as the chain extender, for example, butanediol, ethylene glycol, trimethylol ethane, trimethylol propane, may be mentioned polyhydric alcohols such as glycerin. また、架橋剤としては、例えば、芳香族ジアミン系架橋剤を挙げることができる。 As the crosslinking agent, for example, and aromatic diamine-based crosslinking agent. このようなポリウレンなどを用いた導電性ブレード部材は、例えば、遠心成形などの公知の成形方法で成形することができる。 Such Poriuren such a conductive blade member using, for example, can be molded by a known molding method such as centrifugal molding. かかる導電性ブレード部材の物性としては、感光体を傷つけない程度の硬度を有し、へたりが少なく耐摩耗性に優れることが挙げられる。 As such a physical property of the conductive blade member has a hardness as not to damage the photosensitive member, and to be excellent in less wear resistance sag. 実際の物性特性としては硬度（ＪＩＳ Ａ）が６０°ないし８０°、反発弾性が４０％から６０％、永久ひずみ特性が３％以下等挙げられる。 It Hardness (JIS A) is not 60 ° as an actual physical properties 80 °, 60% impact resilience of 40% permanent set properties and the like than 3%. また、導電性ブレード部材の厚みはとくに限定されるものではないが、通常、１〜３ｍｍ程度のものが好適に使用される。 Although not specifically limited, the thickness of the conductive blade member, usually of about 1~3mm is preferably used. 本発明の導電性ブレード部材は、用途によっても異なるが、例えば、印加電圧１００Ｖにおける電気抵抗値（２５℃）が１０ ３ Ω〜１０ １０ Ω、好ましくは、１０ ４ Ω〜１０ ８ Ωのものが使用され、このような所望の抵抗値が得られるようにイオン性液体の種類及び添加量を設定すればよい。 Conductive blade members of the present invention varies depending on the application, for example, electrical resistance at an applied voltage of 100 V (25 ° C.) is 10 3 Ω~10 10 Ω, preferably, those of 10 4 Ω~10 8 Ω is used, such a desired resistance value may be set to the type and amount of ionic liquid so as to obtain. また、本発明の導電性ブレード部材は、本発明の目的に反しない範囲で、カーボンブラック、金属粉など電子導電剤や過塩素酸リチウムなどのイオン導電剤を併用してもよい。 The conductive blade members of the present invention, within the range not contrary to the object of the present invention, carbon black may be used in combination ion conductive agent such as an electron conductive agent and lithium perchlorate or metal particles. 本発明の導電性ブレードは、ブレード形状のシートである導電性ブレード部材の感光体などと当接する先端とは反対側の部分を支持体に固定したものである。 Conductive blade of the present invention, the photosensitive member of the conductive blade member is a sheet of blade shape such as the contacting tip is obtained by fixing a portion of the opposite side to the support. 図１には、本発明の導電性ブレードの一例を示す。 FIG. 1 shows an example of a conductive member of the present invention. 図１に示すように、導電性ブレード１０は、導電性ブレード部材１１の当接側とは反対側を支持体１２に固定支持したものである。 As shown in FIG. 1, the conductive blade 10, the contact side of the conductive blade member 11 is obtained by fixedly supporting the opposite side to the support 12. ここで、支持体は、鋼板やアルミニウムなどの金属材料で構成され、とくに、ＳＥＣＣＰ２０／２０（ＪＩＳ Ｇ３３１３）として知られている電気亜鉛めっき鋼板１種が好ましく使用される。 Here, the support is made of a metal material such as steel or aluminum, in particular, SECCP20 / 20 (JIS G3313) electrolytic zinc known as plated steel sheet one is preferably used. なお、ＳＥＣＣＰ２０／２０のＳＥＣＣは、亜鉛めっき鋼板１種を示し、Ｐは、リン酸塩系処理したことを示し、２０／２０は、積載された板上面の標準付着量／下面の標準付着量（ｇ／ｍ ２ ）をそれぞれ示すものである。 Incidentally, the SECC of SECCP20 / 20, shows the galvanized steel one, P is, indicates that the treated phosphate type, 20/20, the standard coating weight of the standard coating weight / lower surface of the stacked plate top surface the (g / m 2) illustrates respectively. 導電性ブレード部材と支持体との接着は、接着剤、両面接着テープなどを用いて行うことができる。 Adhesion between the conductive blade member and the support, the adhesive can be carried out using a double-sided adhesive tape. このような接着は、導電性部材と支持体との間を電気的に導通するもの、例えば、導電性接着剤を用いるのが好ましいが、導電性を有さない接着剤で接着した後に導電性塗料、導電性接着剤あるいは導電性シーラントなどにより導通を図ってもよい。 Such adhesion is provided to electrically conduct between the conductive member and the support, for example, although it is preferable to use a conductive adhesive, conductive after bonding with an adhesive having no conductivity paints, may attempt to conduct by a conductive adhesive or a conductive sealant. 本発明の導電性ブレードをクリーニングブレードとして使用した状態の一例を図２に示す。 An example of a state in which a conductive member of the present invention as a cleaning blade shown in FIG. 図２に示すように、クリーニングブレード１０Ａは、クリーニング装置２０内に配置され、導電性ブレード部材１１Ａの先端が感光体ドラム３０に当接するように配置される。 As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning blade 10A is disposed in the cleaning device 20, the tip of the conductive blade member 11A is disposed so as to abut against the photosensitive drum 30. なお、このような本発明の導電性ブレードは、感光体ドラム３０の回転方向と先端の向きとが図２のようにほぼ一致するトレール当接又は反対方向に当接するアゲンスト当接の何れで用いてもよい。 The conductive blade of the present invention as described above, using either the rotational direction and the tip direction of the photosensitive drum 30 is abutting Against abut the trail contact or opposite directions substantially aligned as shown in FIG. 2 it may be. 以下、本発明を実施例に基づいて説明するが、本発明はこれに限定されるものではない。 Hereinafter will be described the present invention based on examples, the present invention is not limited thereto. イオン性液体として、１−エチル−３−メチルイミダゾリウムビス（トリフルオロメチルスルフォニル）イミド（ＥＭＩＴＦＳＩ）を用い、これをエステル系ポリオール１００重量部に対して０．５重量部、１重量部、３重量部、５重量部、１０重量部それぞれ添加し、さらに、鎖長延長剤、架橋剤及びイソシアネートを添加して混合反応させ、厚さ２．０ｍｍのウレタンシートを作製した。 As the ionic liquid, using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (EMITFSI), 0.5 part by weight of which with respect to the ester-based polyol 100 parts by weight, 1 part by weight, 3 parts, 5 parts by weight, were respectively added 10 parts by weight, further, chain extender, and then mixed reaction adding a crosslinking agent and an isocyanate, to produce a urethane sheet having a thickness of 2.0 mm. ＥＭＩＴＦＳＩの代わりに、１−ブチル−３−エチルイミダゾリウムビス（トリフルオロメチルスルフォニル）イミド（ＢＭＩＴＦＳＩ）を、０．５重量部、１重量部、３重量部、５重量部それぞれ用いた以外は実施例１と同様にしてウレタンシートを作製した。 Instead of EMITFSI, 1-butyl-3-ethyl imidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (BMITFSI), 0.5 part by weight, 1 part by weight, 3 parts by weight, the embodiment except for using 5 parts by weight, respectively to prepare a urethane sheet in the same manner as in example 1. ＥＭＩＴＦＳＩの代わりに、１−ブチルピペリジウムビス（トリフルオロメチルスルフォニル）イミド（ＢＰＴＦＳＩ）を、０．５重量部、１重量部、３重量部、５重量部それぞれ用いた以外は実施例１と同様にしてウレタンシートを作製した。 Instead of EMITFSI, 1-butyl piperidine-indium-bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (BPTFSI), 0.5 part by weight, 1 part by weight, 3 parts by weight, except for using 5 parts by weight respectively as in Example 1 to prepare a urethane sheet to. ＥＭＩＴＦＳＩの代わりに、Ｎ−ブチル−Ｎ−メチルピロリジニウムビス（トリフルオロメチルスルフォニル）イミド（Ｐ １４ ＴＦＳＩ）を、０．５重量部、１重量部、３重量部それぞれ用いた以外は実施例１と同様にしてウレタンシートを作製した。 Instead of EMITFSI, N-butyl -N- methyl-pyrrolidinium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (P 14 TFSI), 0.5 part by weight, 1 part by weight, except for using 3 parts by weight, respectively Example to prepare a urethane sheet in the same manner as in 1. イオン性液体を添加しない以外は実施例１と同様にしてウレタンシートを作製した。 Except for not adding the ionic liquid in the same manner as in Example 1 to prepare a urethane sheet. イオン性液体の代わりに、ケッチェンブラック（ライオン社製）を０．６重量部添加した以外は実施例１と同様にしてウレタンシートを作製した。 Instead of the ionic liquid to prepare a urethane sheet, except that Ketjen black (manufactured by Lion Corporation) was added 0.6 part by weight in the same manner as in Example 1. イオン性液体の代わりに、過塩素酸リチウムを０．５重量部、１重量部、３重量部それぞれ添加した以外は実施例１と同様にしてウレタンシートを作製した。 Instead of an ionic liquid, 0.5 parts by weight of lithium perchlorate, 1 part by weight, to prepare a urethane sheet except for adding each of the three parts in the same manner as in Example 1. 実施例１〜１６及び比較例１、２及び５のウレタンシートから、１２０ｍｍ×１２０ｍｍで、厚さ２．０ｍｍのテストサンプルを作製し、温度１０℃、相対湿度２０％の低温低湿環境（ＬＬ）、温度２５℃、相対湿度５０％の常温常湿環境（ＮＮ）、及び温度３５℃、湿度８５％の高温高湿環境（ＨＨ）のそれぞれにおいて、体積抵抗率を測定した。 An urethane sheet of Examples 1 to 16 and Comparative Examples 1, 2 and 5, at 120 mm × 120 mm, to prepare a test sample having a thickness of 2.0 mm, temperature 10 ° C., 20% relative humidity of low temperature and low humidity environment (LL) , temperature 25 ° C., 50% relative humidity at room temperature and normal humidity environment (NN), and the temperature 35 ° C., in each of the humidity of 85% of the high-temperature and high-humidity environment (HH), to measure the volume resistivity. 体積抵抗率の測定は、各環境下のチャンバー内に各サンプルを所定時間放置した後、真鍮製の電極、電流測定器を用い、ＪＩＳ Ｋ ６７２３に準じて、直流１００Ｖの電圧を印加し、１分間充電後の電流値の測定を行った（比較例２については２０Ｖ印加で測定した）。 Measurement of volume resistivity after standing each sample a predetermined time in a chamber under each environment, brass electrode, a current measuring device used, in accordance with JIS K 6723, by applying a voltage of the DC 100 V, 1 min was measured current value after charging (as measured by the 20V applied for Comparative example 2). そして、下記式より、体積抵抗率を算出した。 Then, the following equation, and the volume resistivity was calculated. なお、主電極は直径５０ｍｍ、高さ３５ｍｍ、ガード電極は外径８０ｍｍ、内径７０ｍｍ、高さ１０ｍｍ、対電極は３００×１５０×２ｍｍのものを用いた。 The main electrode diameter 50 mm, height 35 mm, a guard electrode external diameter 80 mm, inner diameter 70 mm, height 10 mm, the counter electrode used was a 300 × 150 × 2mm. この結果を図３〜図６示す。 Shown 3-6 this result. この結果、イオン性液体を用いた実施例では、ＬＬ環境からＨＨ環境へ変化させた時の体積抵抗率変化は１桁程度の変化であったが、無添加の比較例１、及び過塩素酸リチウムを用いた比較例５では、ＬＬ環境からＨＨ環境へ変化させた時の体積抵抗率は２桁変化したことから、イオン性液体を用いた実施例の方が、比較例１及び比較例５と比較して環境依存性が小さいことがわかった。 As a result, in the embodiment using the ionic liquid, but the volume resistivity change when changing from the LL environment to HH environment was the change of the order of one digit, Comparative Example 1 with no additive, and perchloric acid in Comparative example 5 using lithium, volume resistivity when changing from LL environment to HH environment since it has changed 2 orders of magnitude found the following examples using an ionic liquid, Comparative example 1 and Comparative example 5 compared to that it found that environmental dependency is small. また、カーボンブラックを用いた比較例２では、ＬＬ環境からＨＨ環境へ変化させた時の体積抵抗率値が高くなる傾向を示した。 In Comparative Example 2 using carbon black, tended volume resistivity value when changing from the LL environment to the HH environment is high. 実施例１〜５、及び比較例１、２、５のウレタンシートから試験例１と同様にして作成したテストサンプルについて、温度３５℃で、相対湿度を２０％から９０％まで変化させ、各環境化で５時間放置した後の体積抵抗率を同様に測定した。 Examples 1-5, and for the test samples prepared in the same manner as in Test Example 1 of urethane sheet of Comparative Example 1, 2, 5, at a temperature 35 ° C., to change the relative humidity up to 90% from 20%, the environment It was measured as the volume resistivity after being allowed to stand for 5 hours at reduction. この結果を図７に示す。 The results are shown in Figure 7. この結果、イオン性液体を用いた場合には、過塩素酸リチウムを用いた場合より、湿度依存性が小さいことがわかった。 As a result, in the case of using the ionic liquid than with lithium perchlorate it was found that the humidity dependency is small. 実施例４、比較例２、５のウレタンシートから試験例１と同様にして作成したテストサンプルについて、１００Ｖを連続的に印加した際の体積抵抗率の変化を測定した。 Example 4, for the test samples prepared in the same manner an urethane sheet of Comparative Examples 2 and 5 in Test Example 1 to measure a change in volume resistivity at the time of continuously applying a 100 V. 結果を図８〜図１０に示す。 The results are shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. この結果、イオン性液体を用いた実施例４では、過塩素酸リチウムを用いた比較例５、カーボンブラックを用いた比較例２と同様に体積抵抗率の上昇はみられなかった。 As a result, in Example 4 using the ionic liquid, Comparative Example 5 using lithium perchlorate, as well as increase in the volume resistivity of Comparative Example 2 using carbon black was observed. 実施例３、８、１６及び比較例１、２、５のウレタンシートから試験例１と同様にして作成したテストサンプルについて、ＬＣＲメータについて静電容量を測定し、下記式より比誘電率を求めた。 For the test samples prepared in the same manner an urethane sheet of Examples 3,8,16 and Comparative Examples 1, 2 and 5 in Test Example 1, the capacitance was measured for LCR meter, determine the dielectric constant from the following equation It was. 測定周波数範囲は５０Ｈｚ〜１ＭＨｚとした。 Measurement frequency range was 50Hz~1MHz. この結果を図１１に示す。 The results are shown in Figure 11. この結果、イオン性液体を用いた実施例のものは、比誘電率が大きく上昇してしまうカーボンブラック添加の比較例２とは異なり、周波数が１０ｋＨｚ以上となると、無添加の比較例１のものと同等の比誘電率となることがわかった。 As a result, those of Examples using an ionic liquid, the ratio different from the Comparative Example 2 of the carbon black added to the dielectric constant rises significantly, the frequency is above 10 kHz, that of no addition of Comparative Example 1 It was found to be equivalent relative dielectric constant. 実施例１〜１６、比較例１〜５について、硬度（ＪＩＳ Ｋ６２５３ タイプＡ）、反発弾性（ＪＩＳ Ｋ６２５５）、１００％伸張時の引張強さ（１００％モジュラス）、２００％伸長時の引張強さ（２００％モジュラス）３００％伸張時の引張強さ（３００％モジュラス）、引張強度及び切断時の伸び（ＪＩＳ Ｋ６２５１）、引裂強度（ＪＩＳ Ｋ６２５２）、ヤング率（ＪＩＳ Ｋ６２５４）及び１００％永久伸び（ＪＩＳ Ｋ６２６２）をそれぞれ測定した。 For Examples 1-16, Comparative Example 1-5, the hardness (JIS K6253 Type A), resilience (JIS K6255), tensile strength at 100% elongation (100% modulus), tensile strength at 200% elongation (200% modulus) 300% elongation at a tensile strength (300% modulus), tensile strength and elongation at break (JIS K6251), tear strength (JIS K6252), Young's modulus (JIS K6254) and 100% elongation ( JIS K6262) were measured, respectively. この結果を表１に示す。 The results are shown in Table 1. この結果、カーボンブラックを添加した比較例２については永久伸びの悪化及び硬度が無添加のものより大きくなり、それに伴ってヤング率が上昇した。 As a result, deterioration and hardness of the permanent elongation becomes larger than that of no addition for Comparative Example 2 with the addition of carbon black, the Young's modulus was increased accordingly. 過塩素酸リチウムを用いた比較例３〜５については特に反発弾性が低下する傾向にあるが、イオン性液体を用いた実施例１〜１６では無添加のものとほぼ同等の物性を示すことがわかった。 Tends to particularly impact resilience decreases Comparative Examples 3-5 employing lithium perchlorate, but to exhibit almost the same physical properties as those of the additive-free in Examples 1 to 16 using the ionic liquid all right. 実施例１、４、５、比較例１〜５のウレタンシートから試験例１と同様にして作成したテストサンプルについて、吸湿性を測定した。 Example 1, 4, 5 for the test samples prepared in the same manner from the urethane sheet of Comparative Example 1-5 to Test Example 1 was measured hygroscopicity. 温度７０℃、真空下に、実施例１、４、５、比較例１〜５を５時間置き、乾燥させた状態での重量を測定し、その後、４５℃９０％の高温高湿環境に１日間放置し、室温に戻してから１０分後、６０分後の重量を測定し、その差から材料の吸湿性を測定した。 Temperature 70 ° C., under vacuum, examples 1,4,5, Comparative Examples 1 to 5 every 5 hours, the weight in a state of being dried and measured, thereafter, 45 ° C. 90% of the high-temperature and high-humidity environment 1 and left days, 10 minutes after returning to room temperature, and weighed after 60 minutes was measured hygroscopic material from the difference. その結果を図１２に示す。 The results are shown in Figure 12. 吸湿度（％）は高温高湿環境に置いた時の重量と乾燥時の重量との差から求めた。 Moisture absorption (%) was calculated from the difference between the weight of the dry and weight when placed in a high temperature and high humidity environment. この結果、過塩素酸リチウムを用いた比較例３〜５では添加量が多くなるほど吸湿度が大きくなったが、イオン性液体を用いた実施例１、４及び５では、添加量が増えても吸湿度は変化せず、導電剤無添加及びカーボンブラックを用いた比較例１、２と同程度であった。 As a result, although higher moisture absorption amount in Comparative Example 3-5 is increased using lithium perchlorate is increased, in Examples 1, 4 and 5 using an ionic liquid, even the amount of addition is increased moisture absorption does not change, it was comparable with Comparative examples 1 and 2 using a conductive material with no additives and carbon black. （試験例７）クリーニング特性試験実施例４、比較例２、比較例４のウレタンシートから作製したクリーニングブレードを用いて、クリーニング特性を温度１０℃、相対湿度２０％の低温低湿環境（ＬＬ）、温度２５℃、相対湿度５０％の常温常湿環境(ＮＮ)、温度３５℃、湿度８５％の高温高湿環境(ＨＨ)の各環境下でプリント画による評価を行い、また感光体ドラムとクリーニングブレードとのこすれ時に発生する耳障り音（鳴き）の有無の確認、及び、テスト終了時のエッジの摩耗状態を観察した。 (Test Example 7) Cleaning property test Example 4, Comparative Example 2, using a cleaning blade made from the urethane sheet of Comparative Example 4, the temperature 10 ° C. The cleaning properties, relative humidity of 20% of the low-temperature and low-humidity environment (LL), temperature 25 ° C., 50% relative humidity at room temperature and normal humidity environment (NN), the temperature 35 ° C., evaluated by the print image in each environment of 85% humidity high-temperature and high-humidity environment (HH), also the photosensitive drum and the cleaning Checking for jarring noise generated during rubbing of the blade (squeal), and was observed the wear state of the edge at the end of the test. なお、クリーニング特性は、平均粒径６μｍのトナーを用いて行った。 The cleaning properties were performed using a toner having an average particle diameter of 6 [mu] m. クリーニング特性及び鳴き発生結果の良否は次の基準で評価した。 Quality of cleaning performance and squeaking results were evaluated by the following criteria. この結果を表２に示す。 The results are shown in Table 2. また、テスト終了時のエッジ摩耗状態の評価項目は次の評価基準で評価した。 The evaluation items of the edge state of wear at the end of the test were evaluated by the following evaluation criteria. この結果より、実施例４のクリーニングブレードは４０Ｋまでクリーニング不良、鳴きの発生がなく安定したクリーニング特性を示し、エッジの耐久性が良好であることがわかった。 From this result, the cleaning blade of Example 4 poor cleaning to 40K, shows a stable cleaning characteristics without squeaking, it was found that the durability of the edge is good. これに対し、アルカリ金属イオンを用いた比較例５では、ＨＨ環境下では、イオンのブリードによる感光体の汚染によるクリーニング不良が発生した。 In contrast, in Comparative Example 5 using an alkali metal ion, under HH environment, cleaning failure due to contamination of the photosensitive member due to bleeding of ions occurs. また、ＬＬ環境下ではエッジの欠落による不均一な摩耗により３Ｋにおいてクリーニング不良を示した。 Also showed insufficient cleaning in 3K by uneven wear due to lack of edge under LL environment. また、カーボンブラックを用いた比較例２では、ＬＬ〜ＮＮ環境下では、硬度が高いことから８Ｋを過ぎたところから鳴きが発生した。 In Comparative Example 2 using carbon black, under LL~NN environment, squeal occurs from past the 8K since hardness is high. またＬＬ環境下では硬度が高くなり、エッジに直径５μｍ以上の欠けが発生し、クリーニング不良を示した。 The hardness is increased under LL environment, chipping or more in diameter 5μm an edge has occurred and showed poor cleaning. 以上説明したように，本発明では、導電剤としてイオン性液体を用いるので比較的容易に所望の抵抗値に設定可能であり、安定した物性を有し、またベースのウレタン材質特性を低下することがないため、ＬＬ〜ＨＨ環境下において球径トナーに対するクリーニング性能を常時良好に保つことができる導電性ブレードを提供することができるという効果を奏する。 As described above, in the present invention, since use of ionic liquids as a conductive agent are relatively easily set to a desired resistance value, it has a stable physical properties, also lowering the base urethane material properties because there is no, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a conductive blade which can be kept constantly good cleaning performance for spherical diameter toner under LL~HH environment. 【図１】本発明の導電性ブレードの一例を示す斜視図である。 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a conductive member of the present invention. 【図２】本発明の導電性ブレードの一例であるクリーニングブレードの使用態様の一例を示す図である。 2 is a diagram showing one example of an application mode of the cleaning blade, which is an example of a conductive member of the present invention. 【図３】試験例１の結果を示すグラフである。 3 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 1. 【図４】試験例１の結果を示すグラフである。 4 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 1. 【図５】試験例１の結果を示すグラフである。 5 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 1. 【図６】試験例１の結果を示すグラフである。 6 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 1. 【図７】試験例２の結果を示すグラフである。 7 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 2. 【図８】試験例３の結果を示すグラフである。 8 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 3. 【図９】試験例３の結果を示すグラフである。 9 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 3. 【図１０】試験例３の結果を示すグラフである。 It is a graph showing the results of Figure 10 Test Example 3. 【図１１】試験例４の結果を示すグラフである。 11 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 4. 【図１２】試験例６の結果を示すグラフである。 12 is a graph showing the results of Test Example 6. 導電剤として少なくとも一種のイオン性液体を含有するゴム状弾性体からなる導電性ブレード部材と、この導電性ブレード部材を支持する支持体とを具備することを特徴とする導電性ブレード。 A rubber-like elastic body conductive blade member made containing at least one ionic liquid as a conductive agent, conductive blade, characterized by comprising a support for supporting the conductive blade member. 請求項１において、前記ゴム状弾性体がポリウレタンからなり、体積抵抗率が１×１０ ３ 〜１×１０ １０ Ω・ｃｍであることを特徴とする導電性ブレード。 According to claim 1, conductive blade, wherein the rubber-like elastic body made of polyurethane, the volume resistivity is 1 × 10 3 ~1 × 10 10 Ω · cm. 請求項１又は２において、前記イオン性液体が、下記一般式（１）〜（４）で表される群から選択されるカチオンを含むことを特徴とする導電性ブレード。 According to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ionic liquid, conductive blade, characterized in that it comprises a cation selected from the group represented by the following general formula (1) to (4). 請求項１〜３の何れかにおいて、前記イオン性液体が、ＡｌＣｌ ４ − 、Ａｌ ２ Ｃｌ ７ − 、ＮＯ ３ − 、ＢＦ ４ − 、ＰＦ ６ − 、ＣＨ ３ ＣＯＯ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＯＯ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ３ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ２ ） ２ Ｎ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＳＯ ２ ） ３ Ｃ − 、ＡｓＦ ６ − 、ＳｂＦ ６ − 、Ｆ（ＨＦ）ｎ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＳＯ ３ − 、（ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＳＯ ２ ） ２ Ｎ − 、ＣＦ ３ ＣＦ ２ ＣＦ ２ ＣＯＯ −の中から選択されるアニオンを含むことを特徴とする導電性ブレード。 In any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ionic liquid, AlCl 4 -, Al 2 Cl 7 -, NO 3 -, BF 4 -, PF 6 -, CH 3 COO -, CF 3 COO -, CF 3 SO 3 -, (CF 3 SO 2) 2 n -, (CF 3 SO 2) 3 C -, AsF 6 -, SbF 6 -, F (HF) n -, CF 3 CF 2 CF 2 CF 2 SO 3 - , (CF 3 CF 2 SO 2 ) 2 N -, CF 3 CF 2 CF 2 COO - conductive blade, characterized in that it comprises an anion selected from among. 請求項１〜４の何れかにおいて、前記イオン性液体は、融点が７０℃以下であることを特徴とする導電性ブレード。 In any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ionic liquid, conductive blade, characterized in that a melting point of 70 ° C. or less.

2019-04-19T15:29:01Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/JP4257771B2/en

Why does the Universe exist? There are two questions here. First, why is there a Universe at all? It might have been true that nothing ever existed: no living beings, no stars, no atoms, not even space or time. When we think about this possibility, it can seem astonishing that anything exists. Second, why does this Universe exist? Things might have been, in countless ways, different. So why is the Universe as it is? These questions, some believe, may have causal answers. Suppose first that the Universe has always existed. Some believe that, if all events were caused by earlier events, everything would be explained. That, however, is not so. Even an infinite series of events cannot explain itself. We could ask why this series occurred, rather than some other series, or no series. Of the supporters of the Steady State Theory, some welcomed what they took to be this theory’s atheistic implications. They assumed that, if the Universe had no beginning, there would be nothing for a Creator to explain. But there would still be an eternal Universe to explain. Similar remarks apply to all suggestions of these kinds. There could not be a causal explanation of why the Universe exists, why there are any laws of nature, or why these laws are as they are. Nor would it make a difference if there is a God, who caused the rest of the Universe to exist. There could not be a causal explanation of why God exists. These assumptions are all, I believe, mistaken. Even if these questions could not have answers, they would still make sense, and they would still be worth considering. I am reminded here of the aesthetic category of the sublime, as applied to the highest mountains, raging oceans, the night sky, the interiors of some cathedrals, and other things that are superhuman, awesome, limitless. No question is more sublime than why there is a Universe: why there is anything rather than nothing. Nor should we assume that answers to this question must be causal. And, even if reality cannot be fully explained, we may still make progress, since what is inexplicable may become less baffling than it now seems. Some say: ‘If they had not been right, we couldn’t even ask this question.’ But that is no answer. It could be baffling how we survived some crash even though, if we hadn’t, we could not be baffled. Others say: ‘There had to be some initial conditions, and the conditions that make life possible were as likely as any others. So there is nothing to be explained.’ To see what is wrong with this reply, we must distinguish two kinds of case. Suppose first that, when some radio telescope is aimed at most points in space, it records a random sequence of incoming waves. There might be nothing here that needed to be explained. Suppose next that, when the telescope is aimed in one direction, it records a sequence of waves whose pulses match the number π, in binary notation, to the first ten thousand digits. That particular number is, in one sense, just as likely as any other. But there would be something here that needed to be explained. Though each long number is unique, only a very few are, like π, mathematically special. What would need to be explained is why this sequence of waves exactly matched such a special number. Though this matching might be a coincidence, which had been randomly produced, that would be most unlikely. We could be almost certain that these waves had been produced by some kind of intelligence. On the view that we are now considering, since any sequence of waves is as likely as any other, there would be nothing to be explained. If we accepted this view, intelligent beings elsewhere in space would not be able to communicate with us, since we would ignore their messages. Nor could God reveal himself. Suppose that, with an optical telescope, we saw a distant pattern of stars which spelled out in Hebrew script the first chapter of Genesis. According to this view, this pattern of stars would not need to be explained. That is clearly false. Here is another analogy. Suppose first that, of a thousand people facing death, only one can be rescued. If there is a lottery to pick this one survivor, and I win, I would be very lucky. But there might be nothing here that needed to be explained. Someone had to win, and why not me? Consider next another lottery. Unless my gaoler picks the longest of a thousand straws, I shall be shot. If my gaoler picks that straw, there would be something to be explained. It would not be enough to say, ‘This result was as likely as any other.’ In the first lottery, nothing special happened: whatever the result, someone’s life would be saved. In this second lottery, the result was special, since, of the thousand possible results, only one would save a life. Why was this special result also what happened? Though this might be a coincidence, the chance of that is only one in a thousand. I could be almost certain that, like Dostoevsky’s mock execution, this lottery was rigged. The Big Bang, it seems, was like this second lottery. For life to be possible, the initial conditions had to be selected with great accuracy. This appearance of fine-tuning, as some call it, also needs to be explained. It may be objected that, in regarding conditions as special if they allow for life, we unjustifiably assume our own importance. But life is special, if only because of its complexity. An earthworm’s brain is more complicated than a lifeless galaxy. Nor is it only life that requires this fine-tuning. If the Big Bang’s initial conditions had not been almost precisely as they were, the Universe would have either almost instantly recollapsed, or expanded so fast, and with particles so thinly spread, that not even stars or heavy elements could have formed. That is enough to make these conditions very special. It may next be objected that these conditions cannot be claimed to be improbable, since such a claim requires a statistical basis, and there is only one Universe. If we were considering all conceivable Universes, it would indeed be implausible to make judgments of statistical probability. But our question is much narrower. We are asking what would have happened if, with the same laws of nature, the initial conditions had been different. That provides the basis for a statistical judgment. There is a range of values that these conditions might have had, and physicists can work out in what proportion of this range the resulting Universe could have contained stars, heavy elements and life. This proportion, it is claimed, is extremely small. Of the range of possible initial conditions, fewer than one in a billion billion would have produced a Universe with the complexity that allows for life. If this claim is true, as I shall here assume, there is something that cries out to be explained. Why was one of this tiny set also the one that actually obtained? On one view, this was a mere coincidence. That is conceivable, since coincidences happen. But this view is hard to believe, since, if it were true, the chance of this coincidence occurring would be below one in a billion billion. Others say: ‘The Big Bang was fine-tuned. In creating the Universe, God chose to make life possible.’ Atheists may reject this answer, thinking it improbable that God exists. But this probability cannot be as low as one in a billion billion. So even atheists should admit that, of these two answers to our question, the one that invokes God is more likely to be true. This reasoning revives one of the traditional arguments for belief in God. In its strongest form, this argument appealed to the many features of animals, such as eyes or wings, that look as if they have been designed. Paley’s appeal to such features much impressed Darwin when he was young. Darwin later undermined this form of the argument, since evolution can explain this appearance of design. But evolution cannot explain the appearance of fine-tuning in the Big Bang. This argument’s appeal to probabilities can be challenged in a different way. In claiming it to be most improbable that this fine-tuning was a coincidence, the argument assumes that, of the possible initial conditions in the Big Bang, each was equally likely to obtain. That assumption may be mistaken. The conditions that allow for complexity and life may have been, compared with all the others, much more likely to obtain. Perhaps they were even certain to obtain. To answer this objection, we must broaden this argument’s conclusion. If these life-allowing conditions were either very likely or certain to obtain, then – as the argument claims – it would be no coincidence that the Universe allows for complexity and life. But this fine-tuning might have been the work, not of some existing being, but of some impersonal force, or fundamental law. That is what some theists believe God to be. A stronger challenge to this argument comes from a different way of explaining the appearance of fine-tuning. Consider first a similar question. For life to be possible on Earth, many of Earth’s features have to be close to being as they are. The Earth’s having such features, it might be claimed, is unlikely to be a coincidence, and should therefore be regarded as God’s work. But such an argument would be weak. The Universe, we can reasonably believe, contains many planets, with varying conditions. We should expect that, on a few of these planets, conditions would be just right for life. Nor is it surprising that we live on one of these few. Things are different, we may assume, with the appearance of fine-tuning in the Big Bang. While there are likely to be many other planets, there is only one Universe. But this difference may be less than it seems. Some physicists suggest that the observable Universe is only one out of many different worlds, which are all equally parts of reality. According to one such view, the other worlds are related to ours in a way that solves some of the mysteries of quantum physics. On the different and simpler view that is relevant here, the other worlds have the same fundamental laws of nature as our world, and they are produced by Big Bangs that are broadly similar, except in having different initial conditions. On this Many Worlds Hypothesis, there is no need for fine-tuning. If there were enough Big Bangs, we should expect that, in a few of them, conditions would be just right to allow for complexity and life; and it would be no surprise that our Big Bang was one of these few. To illustrate this point, we can revise my second lottery. Suppose my gaoler picks a straw, not once but many times. That would explain his managing, once, to pick the longest straw, without that’s being an extreme coincidence, or this lottery’s being rigged. On most versions of the Many Worlds Hypothesis, these many worlds are not, except through their origins, causally related. Some object that, since our world could not be causally affected by such other worlds, we can have no evidence for their existence, and can therefore have no reason to believe in them. But we do have such a reason, since their existence would explain an otherwise puzzling feature of our world: the appearance of fine-tuning. Of these two ways to explain this appearance, which is better? Compared with belief in God, the Many Worlds Hypothesis is more cautious, since its claim is merely that there is more of the kind of reality that we can observe around us. But God’s existence has been claimed to be intrinsically more probable. According to most theists, God is a being who is omnipotent, omniscient and wholly good. The uncaused existence of such a being has been claimed to be simpler, and less arbitrary, than the uncaused existence of many highly complicated worlds. And simpler hypotheses, many scientists assume, are more likely to be true. If such a God exists, however, other features of our world become hard to explain. It may not be surprising that God chose to make life possible. But the laws of nature could have been different, so there are many possible worlds that would have contained life. It is hard to understand why, out of all these possibilities, God chose to create our world. What is most baffling is the problem of evil. There appears to be suffering which any good person, knowing the truth, would have prevented if he could. If there is such suffering, there cannot be a God who is omnipotent, omniscient and wholly good. To this problem, theists have proposed several solutions. Some suggest that God is not omnipotent, or not wholly good. Others suggest that undeserved suffering is not, as it seems, bad, or that God could not prevent such suffering without making the Universe, as a whole, less good. We must ignore these suggestions here, since we have larger questions to consider. I began by asking why things are as they are. Before returning to that question, we should ask how things are. There is much about our world that we have not discovered. And, just as there may be other worlds that are like ours, there may be worlds that are very different. It will help to distinguish two kinds of possibility. Cosmic possibilities cover everything that ever exists, and are the different ways that the whole of reality might be. Only one such possibility can be actual, or the one that obtains. Local possibilities are the different ways that some part of reality, or local world, might be. If some local world exists, that leaves it open whether other worlds exist. One cosmic possibility is, roughly, that every possible local world exists. This we can call the All Worlds Hypothesis. Another possibility, which might have obtained, is that nothing ever exists. This we can call the Null Possibility. In each of the remaining possibilities, the number of worlds that exist is between none and all. There are countless of these possibilities, since there are countless combinations of particular possible local worlds. Of these different cosmic possibilities, one must obtain, and only one can obtain. So we have two questions: which obtains, and why? These questions are connected. If some possibility would be easier to explain, we have more reason to believe that this possibility obtains. This is how, rather than believing in only one Big Bang, we have more reason to believe in many. Whether we believe in one or many, we have the question why any Big Bang has occurred. Though this question is hard, the occurrence of many Big Bangs is not more puzzling than the occurrence of only one. Most kinds of thing, or event, have many instances. We also have the question why, in the Big Bang that produced our world, the initial conditions allowed for complexity and life. If there has been only one Big Bang, this fact is also hard to explain, since it is most unlikely that these conditions merely happened to be right. If, instead, there have been many Big Bangs, this fact is easy to explain, since it is like the fact that, among countless planets, there are some whose conditions allow for life. Since belief in many Big Bangs leaves less that is unexplained, it is the better view. If some cosmic possibilities would be less puzzling than others, because their obtaining would leave less to be explained, is there some possibility whose obtaining would be in no way puzzling? Consider first the Null Possibility, in which nothing ever exists. To imagine this possibility, it may help to suppose first, that all that ever existed was a single atom. We then imagine that even this atom never existed. Some have claimed that, if there had never been anything, there wouldn’t have been anything to be explained. But that is not so. When we imagine how things would have been if nothing had ever existed, what we should imagine away are such things as living beings, stars and atoms. There would still have been various truths, such as the truth that there were no stars or atoms, or that 9 is divisible by 3. We can ask why these things would have been true. And such questions may have answers. Thus we can explain why, even if nothing had ever existed, 9 would still have been divisible by 3. There is no conceivable alternative. And we can explain why there would have been no such things as immaterial matter, or spherical cubes. Such things are logically impossible. But why would nothing have existed? Why would there have been no stars or atoms, no philosophers or bluebell woods? We should not claim that, if nothing had ever existed, there would have been nothing to be explained. But we can claim something less. Of all the global possibilities, the Null Possibility would have needed the least explanation. As Leibniz pointed out, it is much the simplest, and the least arbitrary. And it is the easiest to understand. It can seem mysterious, for example, how things could exist without their existence having some cause, but there cannot be a causal explanation of why the whole Universe, or God, exists. The Null Possibility raises no such problem. If nothing had ever existed, that state of affairs would not have needed to be caused. Consider next the All Worlds Hypothesis, in which every possible local world exists. Unlike the Null Possibility, this may be how things are. And it may be the next least puzzling possibility. This hypothesis is not the same as – though it includes – the Many Worlds Hypothesis. On that more cautious view, many other worlds have the same elements as our world, and the same fundamental laws, and differ only in such features as their constants and initial conditions. The All Worlds Hypothesis covers every conceivable kind of world, and most of these other worlds would have very different elements and laws. If all these worlds exist, we can ask why they do. But, compared with most other cosmic possibilities, the All Worlds Hypothesis may leave less that is unexplained. For example, whatever the number of possible worlds that exist, we have the question, ‘Why that number?’ This question would have been least puzzling if the number that existed were none, and the next least arbitrary possibility seems to be that all these worlds exist. With every other cosmic possibility, we have a further question. If ours is the only world, we can ask: ‘Out of all the possible worlds, why is this the one that exists?’ On any version of the Many Worlds Hypothesis, we have a similar question: ‘Why do just these worlds exist, with these elements and laws?’ But, if all these worlds exist, there is no such further question. It may be objected that, even if all possible local worlds exist, that does not explain why our world is as it is. But that is a mistake. If all these worlds exist, each world is as it is in the way in which each number is as it is. We cannot sensibly ask why 9 is 9. Nor should we ask why our world is the one it is: why it is this world. That would be like asking, ‘Why are we who we are?’, or ‘Why is it now the time that it is?’ Those are not good questions. Though the All Worlds Hypothesis avoids certain questions, it is not as simple, or un-arbitrary, as the Null Possibility. There may be no sharp distinction between worlds that are and are not possible. It is unclear what counts as a kind of world. And, if there are infinitely many kinds, there is a choice between different kinds of infinity. Whichever cosmic possibility obtains, we can ask why it obtains. All that I have claimed so far is that, with some possibilities, this question would be less puzzling. Let us now ask: could this question have an answer? Might there be a theory that leaves nothing unexplained? It is sometimes claimed that God, or the Universe, make themselves exist. But this cannot be true, since these entities cannot do anything unless they exist. On a more intelligible view, it is logically necessary that God, or the Universe, exist, since the claim that they might not have existed leads to a contradiction. On such a view, though it may seem conceivable that there might never have been anything, that is not really logically possible. Some people even claim that there may be only one coherent cosmic possibility. Thus Einstein suggested that, if God created our world, he might have had no choice about which world to create. If such a view were true, everything might be explained. Reality might be the way it is because there was no conceivable alternative. But, for reasons that have been often given, we can reject such views. Consider next a quite different view. According to Plato, Plotinus and others, the Universe exists because its existence is good. Even if we are confident that we should reject this view, it is worth asking whether it makes sense. If it does, that may suggest other possibilities. This Axiarchic View can take a theistic form. It can claim that God exists because his existence is good, and that the rest of the Universe exists because God caused it to exist. But in that explanation God, qua Creator, is redundant. If God can exist because his existence is good, so can the whole Universe. This may be why some theists reject the Axiarchic View, and insist that God’s existence is a brute fact, with no explanation. In its simplest form, this view makes three claims: ‘(1) It would be best if reality were a certain way. (2) Reality is that way. (3) (1) explains (2).’ (1) is an ordinary evaluative claim, like the claim that it would be better if there was less suffering. The Axiarchic View assumes, I believe rightly, that such claims can be in a strong sense true. (2) is an ordinary empirical or scientific claim, though of a sweeping kind. What is distinctive in this view is claim (3), according to which (1) explains (2). Can we understand this third claim? To focus on this question, we should briefly ignore the world’s evils, and suspend our other doubts about claims (1) and (2). We should suppose that, as Leibniz claimed, the best possible Universe exists. Would it then make sense to claim that this Universe exists because it is the best? That use of ‘because’, Axiarchists should admit, cannot be easily explained. But even ordinary causation is mysterious. At the most fundamental level, we have no idea why some events cause others; and it is hard to explain what causation is. There are, moreover, non-causal senses of ‘because’ and ‘why’, as in the claim that God exists because his existence is logically necessary. We can understand that claim, even if we think it false. The Axiarchic View is harder to understand. But that is not surprising. If there is some explanation of the whole of reality, we should not expect this explanation to fit neatly into some familiar category. This extra-ordinary question may have an extra-ordinary answer. We should reject suggested answers which make no sense; but we should also try to see what might make sense. Axiarchy might be expressed as follows. We are now supposing that, of all the countless ways that the whole of reality might be, one is both the very best, and is the way that reality is. On the Axiarchic View, that is no coincidence. This claim, I believe, makes sense. And, if it were no coincidence that the best way for reality to be is also the way that reality is, that might support the further claim that this was why reality was this way. This view has one advantage over the more familiar theistic view. An appeal to God cannot explain why the Universe exists, since God would himself be part of the Universe, or one of the things that exist. Some theists argue that, since nothing can exist without a cause, God, who is the First Cause, must exist. As Schopenhauer objected, this argument’s premise is not like some cabdriver whom theists are free to dismiss once they have reached their destination. The Axiarchic View appeals, not to an existing entity, but to an explanatory law. Since such a law would not itself be part of the Universe, it might explain why the Universe exists, and is as good as it could be. If such a law governed reality, we could still ask why it did, or why the Axiarchic View was true. But, in discovering this law, we would have made some progress. It is hard, however, to believe the Axiarchic View. If, as it seems, there is much pointless suffering, our world cannot be part of the best possible Universe. Some Axiarchists claim that, if we reject their view, we must regard our world’s existence as a brute fact, since no other explanation could make sense. But that, I believe, is not so. If we abstract from the optimism of the Axiarchic View, its claims are these: ‘Of the countless cosmic possibilities, one both has a very special feature, and is the possibility that obtains. That is no coincidence. This possibility obtains because it has this feature.’ Other views can make such claims. This special feature need not be that of being best. Thus, on the All Worlds Hypothesis, reality is maximal, or as full as it could be. Similarly, if nothing had ever existed, reality would have been minimal, or as empty as it could be. If the possibility that obtained were either maximal or minimal, that fact, we might claim, would be most unlikely to be a coincidence. And that might support the further claim that this possibility’s having this feature would be why it obtained. Let us now look more closely at that last step. When it is no coincidence that two things are both true, there is something that explains why, given the truth of one, the other is also true. The truth of either might make the other true. Or both might be explained by some third truth, as when two facts are the joint effects of a common cause. Suppose next that, of the cosmic possibilities, one is both very special and is the one that obtains. If that is no coincidence, what might explain why these things are both true? On the reasoning that we are now considering, the first truth explains the second, since this possibility obtains because it has this special feature. Given the kind of truths these are, such an explanation could not go the other way. This possibility could not have this feature because it obtains. If some possibility has some feature, it could not fail to have this feature, so it would have this feature whether or not it obtains. The All Worlds Hypothesis, for example, could not fail to describe the fullest way for reality to be. While it is necessary that our imagined possibility has its special feature, it is not necessary that this possibility obtains. This difference, I believe, justifies the reasoning that we are now considering. Since this possibility must have this feature, but might not have obtained, it cannot have this feature because it obtains, nor could some third truth explain why it both has this feature and obtains. So, if these facts are no coincidence, this possibility must obtain because it has this feature. When some possibility obtains because it has some feature, its having this feature may be why some agent, or process of natural selection, made it obtain. These we can call the intentional and evolutionary ways in which some feature of some possibility may explain why it obtains. Our world, theists claim, can be explained in the first of these ways. If reality were as good as it could be, it would indeed make sense to claim that this was partly God’s work. But, since God’s own existence could not be God’s work, there could be no intentional explanation of why the whole of reality was as good as it could be. So we could reasonably conclude that this way’s being the best explained directly why reality was this way. Even if God exists, the intentional explanation could not compete with the different and bolder explanation offered by the Axiarchic View. Return now to other explanations of this kind. Consider first the Null Possibility. This, we know, does not obtain; but, since we are asking what makes sense, that does not matter. If there had never been anything, would that have had to be a brute fact, which had no explanation? The answer, I suggest, is No. It might have been no coincidence that, of all the countless cosmic possibilities, what obtained was the simplest, and least arbitrary, and the only possibility in which nothing ever exists. And, if these facts had been no coincidence, this possibility would have obtained because – or partly because – it had one or more of these special features. This explanation, moreover, could not have taken an intentional or evolutionary form. If nothing had ever existed, there could not have been some agent, or process of selection, who or which made this possibility obtain. Its being the simplest or least arbitrary possibility would have been, directly, why it obtained. Consider next the All Worlds Hypothesis, which may obtain. If reality is as full as it could be, is that a coincidence? Does it merely happen to be true that, of all the cosmic possibilities, the one that obtains is at this extreme? As before, that is conceivable, but this coincidence would be too great to be credible. We can reasonably assume that, if this possibility obtains, that is because it is maximal, or at this extreme. On this Maximalist View, it is a fundamental truth that being possible, and part of the fullest way that reality could be, is sufficient for being actual. That is the highest law governing reality. As before, if such a law governed reality, we could still ask why it did. But, in discovering this law, we would have made some progress. Here is another special feature. Perhaps reality is the way it is because its fundamental laws are, on some criterion, as mathematically beautiful as they could be. That is what some physicists are inclined to believe. As these remarks suggest, there is no clear boundary here between philosophy and science. If there is such a highest law governing reality, this law is of the same kind as those that physicists are trying to discover. When we appeal to natural laws to explain some features of reality, such as the relations between light, gravity, space and time, we are not giving causal explanations, since we are not claiming that one part of reality caused another part to be some way. What such laws explain, or partly explain, are the deeper facts about reality that causal explanations take for granted. In the second half of this essay, I shall ask how deep such explanations could go. [*] I am here merely summarising, and oversimplifying, what others have claimed. See, for example, John Leslie, Universes (1989). Vol. 20 No. 2 · 22 January 1998 » Derek Parfit » Why anything? Why this? Why does a literary magazine exist at all? It might have been the case that no magazine existed: no cover, no list of contributors, no contents. We have to go on and ask why we have the magazine we do have. Consider the Null Possibility. There could have been a journal with nothing in it. Consider next the All Worlds Hypothesis, in which our periodical would contain every possible kind of article. Somewhere in between is the publication we buy. Perhaps the Brute Fact View applies and we have to put up with what we get between the covers and not ask questions. On the other hand, there may be a Selector or a set of partial Selectors which determines what kind of magazine we experience. I am trying to get round, of course, to asking the ‘Selectors’ what was going on when they decided to publish Derek Parfit’s two-part article on the meaning of the universe (LRB, 22 January)? The world we live in is unfair enough, with the LRB appearing only fortnightly, and that terrible gap after Christmas, the deepest abyss in the year. To surrender two and a half pages in each of two issues to this meticulous but rather pontifical philosophical analysis is enough to make us cry out ‘Why?’ to the heavens. Following contemporary cosmology, Derek Parfit writes of the sheer statistical unlikeliness of our existence (LRB, 22 January): ‘Of the range of initial conditions, fewer than one in a billion billion would have produced a Universe with the complexity that allows for life. If this claim is true, as I shall here assume, there is something that cries out to be explained. Why was one of this tiny set also the one that actually obtained?’ Parfit seems to think that the probability that God exists is greater than one in a billion billion, so that the existence of God is more likely to be true than the accidental existence of a life-supporting universe. But his stipulation that he’s assuming that the claims of current cosmology are true gives the game away. For even if you think that the odds that God exists are greater than one in a billion billion, it’s dizzyingly more probable that cosmology has it wrong. (After all, similar sorts of error are not unprecedented in the history of physics.) In fact, Parfit’s argument ought to embarrass cosmologists, not atheists. To paraphrase Parfit: cosmologists may reject this answer, thinking it improbable that their theory is wrong. But this probability cannot be as low as one in a billion billion. So even cosmologists should admit that, of these two answers to our question, the one that invokes scientific error is more likely to be true.

2019-04-18T22:30:50Z

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v20/n02/derek-parfit/why-anything-why-this

This blog entry describes the possible ways in which uses of algae or cyanobacteria for fuel or chemical production might be regulated in Australia. This entry is one of several posts that provide additional information in support of a poster I’m presenting at the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit on the regulations in various countries around the world that may be applicable to the use of naturally-occurring or genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria in fuel production. These include three general categories of regulation: biotechnology or biosafety regulations, aquaculture regulations, and renewable fuel standards or volume mandates. You can access the poster on my SlideShare site, and please refer back to my September 16 introductory post for links to posts on the regulatory situation in other countries. Although this discussion centers on algae and cyanobacteria, much of the discussion (other than the section on aquaculture) would be applicable to the use of other genetically modified microorganisms for production of fuel or chemicals. Australia has a Gene Technology Act of 2000, implemented by the Gene Technology Regulations of 2001, which would dictate whether the use of modified microorganisms for biofuel production would require a license. The Act and regulations established the Gene Technology Regulator (GTR) as the central office that administers the Act. The GTR plays the key role in assessing, regulating and licensing GMOs and enforcing license conditions. The Gene Technology Act defines gene technology as any technique for the modification of genes or other genetic material, although there is an exception for “homologous recombination” that appears quite narrow. The most important features of the Gene Technology Regulations are the clarification of procedures for licensing certain uses of GMOs (activities involving GMOs are referred to by the term “Dealings”). The regulations also provide for the establishment of “exempt dealings”, which are a category of dealings with GMOs that have been assessed over time as posing a very low risk. As listed on the GTR website, exempt dealings primarily include contained research activities involving very well understood organisms, and although many industrially-useful host organisms appear on this list, the list does not include any algae or cyanobacteria. Of the dealings requiring a license, a distinction is made between those involving a deliberate release of a GMO into the environment, and those that do not, with the latter being referred to as a DNIR (“dealing not involving release”). Applicants for either type of license are required to submit certain information to the GTR, which is then used to prepare a risk assessment and risk management plan, which forms the basis for the GTR’s decision. One interesting feature of the Australian Gene Technology Regulations is that, in order to qualify to have confidential information protected in any submitted application, companies must submit a separate application to the GTR to obtain a “declaration that specified information is confidential commercial information”. This application would be submitted and considered by the GTR in parallel with the license application that contains the confidential information, and the application must also specify exactly what information in the license application is claimed as confidential. The needed form can be obtained from the GTR website, but the website does not appear to specify the timeframes for GTR decisions on claims of confidentiality. “DNIR” Licenses would be required for certain contained uses of GMOs under Australian law. Although most DNIR licenses granted to date cover laboratory research involving potentially pathogenic organisms, the industrial use of a modified microorganism for fuel or chemical production would potentially require a license. However, many common industrial production organisms such as E. coli, S. cerevisiae and others are included on the “exempt list”, so that their use may not require a DNIR license. However, use of modified algae or cyanobacteria for industrial purposes would not be covered by an exemption and would likely require a DNIR license from the GTR. The GTR website has links to the application forms, and the form for application for a DNIR license can be downloaded here. The application form is quite detailed, although the scientific information it requires is similar to the information that would be submitted to the U.S. EPA in a Microbial Commercial Activity Notice, which were summarized in one of my 2010 posts. Procedures for review of DNIR license applications are specified on the GTR website. All license applications must first be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). The law and regulations specify requirements for such committees, and it appears that to meet such requirements, applicants would need to use an IBC in Australia. Once submitted the GTR has 90 working days to review the application, and its review may include consultation with outside experts and/or the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee. A formal Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) may be needed, , and public involvement may be sought (although these do not seem to be required for DNIR applications as would be for proposals for deliberate releases). Although there do not seem to be any precedents for DNIR licenses granted for industrial manufacturing, it is likely that the process would be fairly straightforward, provided the applicant consulted with the GTR prior to preparing and submitting its application. The possible use of modified algae or cyanobacteria in an open-pond or similar type of outdoor reactor would likely require a “DIR” (Dealing Involving Release”) license from the GTR. Procedures for review of DIR license applications are, in many respects, similar to that described above for DNIR licenses, and are specified on the GTR website. One major difference is that the GTR is afforded a greater amount of time to review DIR applications – up to 255 working days (essentially one full calendar year) for most applications or 150-170 working days for limited and controlled release applications. “Limited and controlled releases” is a category created by Article 50A of the Gene Technology Act, that is meant to cover outdoor activities with GMOs for research purposes, in which the applicant intends to implement controls to restrict the dissemination or persistence of the GMO and its genetic material in the environment and to impose limits on the proposed release of the GMO in the activity (“controls” and “limits” are both defined in the Act). The category primarily covers research field tests of agricultural GMOs, and most of the “Limited and Controlled” licenses that have been issued to date have been for field tests of transgenic plants. It appears likely that this category of license would be available for any proposed use of a modified algae in a pilot plant and possibly also in larger demonstration-scale plants. Regardless of whether the DIR application qualifies as a “limited and controlled” application, it would undergo a rigorous review by the GTR, through what the GTR website calls “a comprehensive, science-based, case-by-case analysis process” as described in Sections 48 – 67 of the Gene Technology Act. The Act also establishes a clear process that the GTR must follow in preparing a the RARMP risk assessment document (which is required for DIR applications) and in making a decision about whether or not to issue a license. In addition, the GTR will notify and solicit opinions about the proposal from a broad range of stakeholders, including the public, state, territorial and local governments, other national agencies including the Ministry of the Environment, and the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee. The GTR appears to have little or no experience with license applications for any industrial application resembling an open-pond algae reactor, and so prior consultation with the GTR would be very important. It would also make sense to make use of the “limited and controlled” license process by beginning with an application for a smaller-scale (e.g. pilot-scale) reactor, so that the GTR could assess the potential environmental impact of the technology in a stepwise manner, and so the data and experience from small-scale use can be used in support of larger-scale activities. The following is a brief summary of aquaculture regulations in Australia and how they may apply to industrial uses of algae or cyanobacteria. This is necessarily a very brief overview, meant to convey general guidance as to what applicants might expect in the country. More detailed information is available at the websites linked below, particularly including the very useful Fact Sheets maintained for individual countries by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which can all be accessed at http://www.fao.org/fishery/nalo/search/en. Under the Australian Constitution, responsibility for regulation of aquatic resources is shared by the central Australian Government and the individual state and territory governments. Specifically, each state or territory has primary responsibility for management of land and waters within its their boundaries as well as management of its inland and coastal waters out to the three nautical mile limit. The Australian Government has the responsibility for management of marine waters between the three and two hundred nautical mile limits. However, as summarized in the FAO page for Australia and a 2004 report commissioned by the government, there is no national legislation specific for fisheries or aquaculture, although there may be applicable provisions of general national environmental laws. So the most relevant legislation and regulations will lie with individual state or territorial governments. As these two references report, all of these regional governments have laws that cover commercial fisheries or aquaculture. However, many of these laws either do not define “aquaculture” or define it more narrowly to apply only to fisheries, and so many of these laws would arguably not apply to industrial uses of algae. However, in South Australia, which is reported to be the state with the largest aquaculture industry, the applicable definition is broad enough to encompass algae. In the South Australia Aquaculture Act (2001, as amended in 2003 and 2005), aquaculture is defined to mean “farming of aquatic organisms for the purposes of trade or business or research, but does not include an activity declared by regulation not to be aquaculture.” Note that “aquatic organism” is defined to mean “an aquatic organism of any species, and includes the reproductive products and body parts of an aquatic organism”. Also, the term “farming of aquatic organisms” means “an organized rearing process involving propagation or regular stocking or feeding of the organisms or protection of the organisms from predators or other similar intervention in the organisms’ natural life cycles”. In the state of South Australia, aquaculture activities must be licensed by the state government. Licenses are only granted if the area to be used for aquaculture is subject to a lease, which may or may not be controlled by the entity applying for the license. According to transportpolicy.net, fuel quality in Australia is regulated by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, under the Fuel Quality Standards Act (2000) and the Fuel Quality Standards Regulations (2001). This agency has set both environmental standards and operability standards for fuels, with the standards for diesel and gasoline conforming with international standards such as those of the ASTM. There is also a biodiesel standard that is derived from international standards. Fuel producers and sellers are required to document that their fuels are in compliance with standards, and although the agency’s website calls this “industry self-regulation”, a company’s documentation of compliance are subject to investigation by regulators. Australia does not appear to have a national ethanol mandate (i.e. there are no minimum ethanol levels) and ethanol content in gasoline is limited to 10%, but there are applicable laws in certain Australian states. The state of New South Wales has a 4% blending mandate, although at one point it was contemplated that this would be raised to 6%. The state of Queensland was to have adopted a 5% mandate, scheduled to take effect in 2010 or 2011, but this has been put on hold due to interest group opposition. Similarly, although there is no national biodiesel mandate, the state of New South Wales maintains a B2 mandate. This blog entry describes the possible ways in which uses of algae or cyanobacteria for fuel or chemical production might be regulated in China. This entry is one of several posts that provide additional information in support of a poster I’m presenting at the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit on the regulations in various countries around the world that may be applicable to the use of naturally-occurring or genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria in fuel production. These include three general categories of regulation: biotechnology or biosafety regulations, aquaculture regulations, and renewable fuel standards or volume mandates. You can access the poster on my SlideShare site, and please refer back to my September 16 introductory post for links to posts on the regulatory situation in other countries. Although this discussion centers on algae and cyanobacteria, much of the discussion (other than the section on aquaculture) would be applicable to the use of other genetically modified microorganisms for production of fuel or chemicals. China is a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol, and has implemented a range of biotechnology laws and regulations, with most coming since 2001. Most if not all of these are directed at agricultural biotechnology, in particular to the importation and use of transgenic plants and other agricultural products destined for release into the environment. Although written with a focus on agricultural biotechnology, some of the provisions of the governing law and its regulations potentially cover contained industrial uses, so the following discussion will highlight relevant language potentially applicable both to contained uses and open-environment uses of algae or cyanobacteria in fuel or chemical manufacture. In particular, initial law and regulations were enacted in 1993 and 1996, respectively, but these provisions were repealed or overruled by new regulations adopted in 2001 and 2002. What is confusing is that the latter documents seem to quite explicitly limit their definitions and applicability to organisms “for use in agricultural production or processing”, and are written with the cycle of agricultural field testing in mind. To an observer outside of China and unfamiliar with its legal system, this begs the question of what law or regulation would cover the use of a modified algae or cyanobacteria, or other microorganism intended for use in an industrial setting, with no application to agriculture. The following discussion will focus on the terms found in the original rules from the 1990s, which perhaps have been superseded by the 2001/2002 rules. According to Huang and Yang (2011), China’s first biosafety regulation, “Measures for Safety Administration of Genetic Engineering,” was issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in 1993. This regulation consisted of general principles, safety categories, risk evaluation, application and approval, safety control measures, and legal responsibilities. It has been implemented by a series of regulations starting in 1996, mostly all of which pertain to agricultural GMOs, but the following excerpts of the original 1993 law seem to apply to “contained uses”. Safety class I: genetic engineering work of this class has no threat to human health and ecological environment. Safety class II: genetic engineering work of this class has low‑level risk to human health and ecological environment. Safety class III: genetic engineering work of this class has intermediate-level risk to human health and ecological environment. Safety class IV: genetic engineering work of this class has high‑level risk to human health and ecological environment. The 1993 law has general provisions in two of its chapters which relate either to (contained) industrial uses or to open-environment uses of GMOs. 3. The “Implementation Regulation” is applicable to agricultural organisms whose genome constitution has been changed by using genetic engineering technologies. The scope of agricultural organism includes plants and animals related to agricultural production, plant-related microorganisms, veterinary microorganisms, aquatic animals and plants. The applicability of this definition to industrial microorganisms like E. coli or yeast may be ambiguous, but the inclusion of “aquatic animals and plants” may mean that algae or marine cyanobacteria might be covered as well. Finally, Appendix V of the 1996 regulations provides principles for safety assessments of “Genetic Engineered Organism and Its Products Acquired from Aquatic Animal and Plant,” although the regulations do not specify what types of organisms would be considered “aquatic”. It is hard to know if, under these initial rules, the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Ministry would extend to non-agricultural industrial uses of microorganisms. The Biosafety Clearing-House web page for China indicates that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Agriculture are the competent national authorities for implementation of the Cartagena Protocol. The entry for the Environment ministry indicates that its jurisdiction includes “bacteria”, but it is not clear what exactly this ministry’s role may be in such oversight, since most of the regulatory documents available on this site and elsewhere pertain to agricultural activities under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture. In fact, the 2001/2002 rules make it even more explicit that the Agriculture Ministry has primary responsibility over agricultural GMOs. Although it seems unclear whether GMOs intended for contained manufacturing would be covered under the current regulations, it does seem clear that import of a GMO into China would require government approval. The relevant agency is the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), and applicants proposing to import a GMO into China must apply in advance to this agency and provide information about the organism as required on the application form. Applicants wishing to use a GMO in manufacturing in China should therefore make early contact with AQSIQ regarding importation requirements, and also to consult with both the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment to understand which agency would have authority over the proposed use, whether a permit application would be needed, and if so what the applicable requirements would be. It is possible that some of the required approvals may take several months, if not 1-2 years in some cases, so early consultation with these agencies, through a Chinese corporate partner or attorney, would be recommended. Although not explicit, it would be prudent to assume that any proposed open-environment use of a modified algae or cyanobacteria would need to go through the same regulatory procedures as for agricultural microorganisms or plants. These are largely described in the 2002 document “Implementation Regulations on Safety Assessment of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms”. These regulations require institutions to conduct appropriate safety assessments for submission to an Office of Biosafety Administration (OBA) within the Agriculture Ministry. The regulations also assume that projects will proceed in the stepwise field testing method that is typical for agricultural product development, and approvals would be needed at each successively-larger field use. The Implementation Regulations include a series of detailed appendices describing the necessary components of risk assessments for the different uses potentially covered under the rules. This is a very, very brief summary of the 67-page 2002 document. Suffice it to say that it is likely that open-pond uses of modified algae would be subject to the regulatory procedures set up in China for review of agricultural field tests and commercialization. The following is a brief summary of aquaculture regulations in China and how they may apply to industrial uses of algae or cyanobacteria. This is necessarily a very brief overview, meant to convey general guidance as to what applicants might expect in the country. More detailed information is available at the websites linked below, particularly including the very useful Fact Sheets maintained for individual countries by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which can all be accessed at http://www.fao.org/fishery/nalo/search/en. The applicable law in China is the Fisheries Law (1986, as amended in 2000), whose goal is to enhance the production, increase, development and reasonable utilization of the nation’s fishery resources. It requires the adoption of policies to promote the simultaneous development of aquaculture, fishing and processing, with special emphasis on aquaculture. The Law is implemented by the Regulation for the Implementation of the Fisheries Law (1987). Neither the law nor the regulations define “aquaculture”, so their applicability to algae or marine cyanobacteria is not clear. Chapter III, Articles 10-13, of the regulations cover aquaculture, and require “state and collectively-owned units engaged in aquaculture using state-owned water surfaces and tidal flats [to] apply to the people’s governments at or above the county level for licenses”. The regulations also require the protection of “natural spawning, breeding or feeding grounds of fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish and algae” and prohibit their use as aquaculture grounds. Due to uncertainty over the applicability of these regulations to uses of algae or cyanobacteria, early consultation with local partners or attorneys, or with the applicable government agency, would be recommended. According to transportpolicy.net, fuel quality standards in China are issued by the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). There are nationwide standards for gasoline and diesel that generally follow European precedent. There appear to be obligations for fuel producers and sellers to conduct testing to ensure that their fuels comply with the standards. China does not have an ethanol mandate or a national biodiesel mandate, but reportedly there are ten provinces having an E10 mandate for ethanol. This blog entry describes the possible ways in which uses of algae or cyanobacteria for fuel or chemical production might be regulated in Japan. This entry is one of several posts that provide additional information in support of a poster I’m presenting at the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit on the regulations in various countries around the world that may be applicable to the use of naturally-occurring or genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria in fuel production. These include three general categories of regulation: biotechnology or biosafety regulations, aquaculture regulations, and renewable fuel standards or volume mandates. You can access the poster on my SlideShare site, and please refer back to my September 16 introductory post for links to posts on the regulatory situation in other countries. Although this discussion centers on algae and cyanobacteria, much of the discussion (other than the section on aquaculture) would be applicable to the use of other genetically modified microorganisms for production of fuel or chemicals. 5. In this Law, “Type 1 Use” shall mean use not subject to taking the measures provided for in the following paragraph. 6. In this Law, “Type 2 Use” shall mean use undertaken with the intention of preventing the dispersal of living modified organisms into the air, water or soil outside facilities, equipment or other structures (hereinafter “Facilities”) in accordance with measures specifying this fact or other measures stipulated in the ordinance of the competent ministries. Therefore, any proposed use of modified algae or cyanobacteria in contained manufacturing would likely be considered as a Type 2 Use, while open-pond use would be considered as a Type 1 Use. The regulatory requirements for approvals for these two categories of use have been set forth in a series of other regulatory documents, as described below. The provisions governing Type 2 (Contained) Uses are covered in Chapter 2, Section 2 (Articles 12-15) of Law No. 97. These articles contain general provisions specifying that appropriate containment procedures must be put in place, and specifying procedures to be implemented in the event of an accidental release of an organism. To implement Law 97, the government adopted “Regulations related to the Enforcement of the Law concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity through Regulations on the Use of Living Modified Organisms”. Article 40(3) of these Regulations specify which “competent ministers” have responsibility for Type 2 Uses, either for R&D or commercial purposes. Jurisdiction for R&D is more clear: under subparagraph (i) of this Article, either the Minister of Education, Science and Technology or the Minister of the Environment would have jurisdiction over Type 2 R&D Uses. Subparagraph (ii) of this Article covers activities other than R&D, and specifies that the competent minister depends on who “has jurisdiction over the undertakings performed by persons who make of the Type 2 Use, along with the Minister of the Environment”. Presumably this means that the Minister with jurisdiction would be the Minister ordinarily responsible for the type of commercial activity to which biotechnology is to be applied, with additional responsibility assigned to the Minister of the Environment. As discussed below, it is possible that uses of modified marine microorganisms (algae or cyanobacteria) would fall under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). Japanese regulatory law is structured via a series of hierarchical regulations, such that the procedures applicable to commercial Type 2 Uses are further governed by another document, “The Ministerial Ordinance Providing Containment Measures to Be Taken in the Industrial Use of Type 2 Use of Living Modified Organisms” (there is also an equivalent document for Type 2 R&D Uses). The “Ministerial Ordinance” goes into more specific detail about appropriate containment provisions for microorganisms, plants and animals. For microorganisms, the procedures required for the lowest risk category generally correspond to Good Industrial Large Scale Practice (GILSP). The Ministerial Ordinance also includes the application form needed to be submitted to the competent minister. This is “Form 1”, which asks for information about the LMO and its properties and the measures to be adopted to ensure containment. These data provisions appear to be equivalent to those in place in other countries around the world. MAFF issued a regulation in 2000 entitled “Guidelines for Application of Recombinant DNA Organisms in Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, The Food Industry and Other Related Industries”. Under this regulation, microalgae are considered to be microorganisms, and the provisions for “production processes using rDNA microorganisms” (i.e. contained uses) are similar to those described above, in that the applicant is responsible for assigning a risk category to the organism and adopting appropriate procedures for the organism’s use. Since these regulations preceded adoption of Law No. 97 in 2003, it is not clear to what extent they are still applicable. It is not clear whether there have been any Type 2 Use applications in Japan for commercial activities outside of the pharmaceutical field. While the applicable procedures and data requirements appear straightforward, given the intricacies of the Japanese legal and regulatory system, it would naturally be advisable for foreign companies to work with a Japanese partner and/or attorney, and to hold early discussions with the applicable regulatory agencies in advance of any submission. The provisions governing Type 1 (Non-Contained) Uses are covered in Chapter 2, Section 1 (Articles 4-11) of Law No. 97. These articles contain general provisions pertaining to the procedures to follow to apply for approval for a Type 1 Use and the types of information that needs to be included in any such application. In addition, Article 4(2) of the Law requires that all applicants for Type 1 Uses must “assess the [potential] adverse effect on biological diversity caused by the Type 1 Use,” by completing and submitting to the applicable government ministry a “Biological Diversity Risk Assessment Report”. The Law also provides for the possible consultation with appropriate outside experts. Otherwise, the provisions of the Law relating to the requirements for approvals of Type 1 Uses are quite general, and as is the case with the Type 2 regulations, the more specific provisions are spelled out in the additional documents in the regulatory hierarchy. In the case of Type 1 Uses, most of the relevant information is included in the “Regulations related to the Enforcement of the Law concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity through Regulations on the Use of Living Modified Organisms” that was discussed above. In fact, this Regulation (in Articles 7 and 8) includes the specific information that is needed to apply for permission for a Type 1 Use application, and includes as an appendix the form needed to make such an application (Form No. 1). These Regulations also specify which “competent ministers” have responsibility for Type 1 Uses. According to Article 40(1), jurisdiction for R&D would fall either to the Minister of Education, Science and Technology or the Minister of the Environment, and for activities other than R&D, the competent minister would be the one “who had jurisdiction over the production or circulation of the living modified organisms”, along with the Minister of the Environment”. These requirements are stated similarly to those for Type 2 Uses discussed above. As mentioned, uses of modified marine microorganisms (algae or cyanobacteria) would likely fall under the jurisdiction of MAFF. Although the “Regulations related to the Enforcement” includes the application form needed to apply for Type 1 approvals, one additional document includes further information relevant to such applications. This document is “The Guidance of Implementation of Assessment of Adverse Effect on Biological Diversity of Type 1 Use of Living Modified Organisms,” and in Sections 2 and 3 and Tables 1 and 2 of this guidance document, there are detailed lists of the information and data needed to create the “Biological Diversity Risk Assessment Report” that is required under the Law. Under the MAFF regulation from 2000 discussed above, algae would be considered as microorganisms, and the regulation specifies that “application of rDNA microorganisms in an open system” must proceed in a stepwise manner, with applicants first conducting a safety evaluation in a laboratory, followed by testing in an artificial microcosm before seeking approval for outdoor use. Again, it is not clear to what extent this regulation is still applicable in view of the legislative and regulatory actions which were adopted after its promulgation. It is likely that most or all the precedents for review and approval of Type 1 Uses of GMOs in Japan have been for field tests of transgenic plants. So it is hard to predict how the regulatory process would proceed for a proposed use of a GMO algae in an open-pond or similar reactor. As always, early consultation with the appropriate regulatory agency and/or Japanese partner(s) or attorneys would be advised. The following is a brief summary of aquaculture regulations in Japan and how they may apply to industrial uses of algae or cyanobacteria. This is necessarily a very brief overview, meant to convey general guidance as to what applicants might expect in the country. More detailed information is available at the websites linked below, particularly including the very useful Fact Sheets maintained for individual countries by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which can all be accessed at http://www.fao.org/fishery/nalo/search/en. According to the FAO page devoted to Japan, the primary law that regulates fishery activities is the Fisheries Law (1949, as revised in 1962), which is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). However, in practice many responsibilities have been delegated to the prefecture governments. Within MAFF, the Fisheries Agency (FA) would be the primary agency with responsibility for aquaculture. According to the FAO site, there is no legal definition of aquaculture. However, the Fisheries Law defines fishery as “an industry which carries on gathering, taking or culturing of aquatic animals and plants”. It is not clear if this definition would include aquatic microorganisms like algae or marine cyanobacteria. Marine waters in Japan are divided into a number of sea areas for administrative purposes, and for the most part each sea area corresponds to the maritime zone of one of the coastal prefectures. Presumably, activities within such zones would be governed by the prefecture rather than the central government. As explained in more detail on the FAO page, the Fisheries Law created three principal categories of fishery rights, and of these, the category known as “demarcated fishery rights” are said to be applicable to pond aquaculture activities that occupy a defined and fixed site. To the extent the Fisheries Law applies to algae, it would seem that most potential uses of algae in aquaculture might fall under this category. These rights are granted by the prefecture governments, through the involvement of Fisheries Cooperative Associations (FCAs) which have been created to have responsibility for particular geographical areas and whose membership are local fishermen. The applicability of these provisions to algae or cyanobacteria are not clear. Consultation with MAFF or with partner institutions in Japan would seem to be advisable before planning activities with modified algae or cyanobacteria in that country. The regulatory body in Japan with authority over fuels is the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the governing law is the Law on the Quality Control of Gasoline and Other Fuels (the “Fuel Quality Control Law”: Japanese language version available here). According to the Japan transportpolicy.net site for diesel and gasoline, Within METI, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy is in charge of enforcing the quality of gasoline, diesel and kerosene sold on the market through the authority of the Fuel Quality Control Law, and this law also established mandatory specifications for ten gasoline properties and three diesel properties. Although METI conducts its own fuel sampling and testing, refiners and importers are reportedly required to conduct their own tests of fuel quality. Japan does not appear to have any ethanol mandate, but there are laws relating to biodiesel. There are two quality standards for biodiesel fuels in Japan: a mandatory standard specified in the Law on the Quality Control of Gasoline and Other Fuels, which allows up to 5% biodiesel, and a voluntary Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). The Ministry of the Environment apparently has a regulatory role over the biodiesel standards. This blog entry describes the possible ways in which uses of algae or cyanobacteria for fuel or chemical production might be regulated in Brazil. This entry is one of several posts that provide additional information in support of a poster I’m presenting at the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit on the regulations in various countries around the world that may be applicable to the use of naturally-occurring or genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria in fuel production. These include three general categories of regulation: biotechnology or biosafety regulations, aquaculture regulations, and renewable fuel standards or volume mandates. You can access the poster on my SlideShare site, and please refer back to my September 16 introductory post for links to posts on the regulatory situation in other countries. Although this discussion centers on algae and cyanobacteria, much of the discussion (other than the section on aquaculture) would be applicable to the use of other genetically modified microorganisms for production of fuel or chemicals. Brazil has ratified the Cartagena Protocol and has been active in oversight over agricultural and industrial biotechnology. Brazil has a national biosafety law (Law No. 11,105 of March 24, 2005, available here in either English or Portuguese). The law creates a national regulatory framework administered by the Biosafety National Technical Committee (Comissão Técnica Nacional de Biossegurança, known by its Portuguese acronym CTNBio), and the National Biosafety Council (CNBS), with the involvement of the Ministries of Health, Environment and Agriculture, the Special Secretariat of Agriculture and Fishery, and other agencies. CTNBio is a 27-member committee comprised of technical representatives from across the Brazilian government. The CTNBio website, in Portuguese but with some links to English pages, can be found here. Regulations implementing Law No. 11,105 were put in place by Decree No. 5591 of November 22, 2005. The Law and its regulations require that companies wishing to conduct commercial activities using GMOs or to test or use GM plants in the environment must seek the approval of CTNBio. Specifically, the Law requires approval for any activities involving the “cultivation, production, handling, transport, transfer, commercialization, import, export, storage, consumption, release and disposal of GMOs and their derivatives for commercial purposes.” Thus, unlike some national regulatory frameworks that are largely restricted to covering outdoor use of GMO plants, it is clear that the Law covers not only contained manufacturing but also the importation of GMO strains into Brazil. Under the Brazilian framework, all applications for use or importation of GMOs and for the registration of facilities for use with GMOs would be submitted to CTNBio. Decisions would be made by CTNBio, although the Law allows CTNBio to request that the CNBS render a separate decision on commercial requests “with regard to the desirability, suitability in social and economic terms, and the national interest”. The Law also provides for public comment on proposed approvals. Once CTNBio gives a positive decision on an application, the needed authorizations are issued by the applicable government agencies: the Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Food Supply for activities involving animals, in agriculture, farming, and agroindustry; the Ministry of Health for activities relating to human and pharmacological use, and in household cleaning products and related areas; the Ministry of the Environment for activities with GMOs which are to be released into natural ecosystems, or for GMOs that are judged to potentially be a cause of significant degradation of the environment; and the Special Secretariat for Aquaculture and Fisheries for proposed activities in fishing and aquaculture. It appears that CTNBio’s review period for all applications under the Law is 120 days, but that the committee can extend the review period by up to 180 days. It is likely that all documents would need to be submitted to CTNBio in Portuguese, although this is not explicitly stated in the regulations. Confidential information would be protected, but it appears that CTNBio must first provide public notice of its intent to protect company confidential information. In addition, institutions using or conducting research on GMOs in Brazil are required to establish internal biosafety committees to oversee this work. Proposed uses of modified algae or cyanobacteria in contained manufacturing would likely require multiple approvals under the regulations. Not only would the proposed use need to be approved, but any laboratory or manufacturing facilities within Brazil would need to be reviewed and approved by CTNBio, and if the production strains were imported into the country that would likely require its own approval. There are precedents in Brazil for prior approvals for industrial biotechnology activities. These are two applications that were filed by Amyris for the use of genetically modified strains of S. cerevisiae (yeast) for the production of farnesene for fuel and chemical use. These applications each appear to have been approved by CTNBio within a review period of several months, following submission by the company of a fairly detailed dossier describing the organisms, their construction and proposed use, and a risk assessment of the proposed commercial application. Interestingly, it was determined that, following CTNBio approval, the permit would be issued and administered by the Ministry of Health – there is an explanation in the summary document accompanying this decision, indicating that the decision had to do with the “green” nature of the product. It is not known if this would create a precedent for applications from other industrial biotechnology companies to be treated in the same way. The provisions of Brazilian law and regulation have been written broadly enough so as to specify the needed procedures for any industrial use of GMOs, whether contained or in the open environment. There is quite a bit of precedent in Brazil for review and approval of environmental use of transgenic plants in agriculture, with applications reviewed by CTNBio as described above. All the “commercial approvals” for outdoor use of GMOs on the CTNBio website are all for transgenic crop plants and none appear to involve modified microorganisms. A proposal to use genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria in an open-pond reactor would presumably follow a similar regulatory path, although it would seem likely that the Ministry of the Environment would be the entity issuing the permit for an open-pond use, after review and approval by CTNBio. However, it is interesting that the Law explicitly provides for a different governing agency (the Special Secretariat for Aquaculture and Fisheries) for applications involving aquaculture, and it is not clear if this agency would have priority for an application involving modified marine algae. This may depend on whether algae would fall under applicable definitions of “aquaculture” – a question which seems somewhat unclear, as is discussed in the next section. The following is a brief summary of aquaculture regulations in Brazil and how they may apply to industrial uses of algae or cyanobacteria. This is necessarily a very brief overview, meant to convey general guidance as to what applicants might expect in the country. More detailed information is available at the websites linked below, particularly including the very useful Fact Sheets maintained for individual countries by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which can all be accessed at http://www.fao.org/fishery/nalo/search/en. The Special Secretariat for Aquaculture and Fisheries (Secretaria Especial de Aqüicultura e Pesca – SEAP) is the main authority for the management and development of fisheries and aquaculture in Brazil, although there may also be applicable state laws. However, according to Brazil’s FAO summary page, the legislative authority for this oversight is “fragmented” and so it is not always easy to identify the governing definitions. In particular, the federal Fisheries Code apparently does not specifically define aquaculture. But the FAO summary page says that applicable definitions are often found in secondary legislation. For example, Decree No.4,895 of 2003 describes aquaculture as the cultivation or breeding of organisms, whose life cycle develops, in natural conditions, totally or partially in an aquatic environment. Similarly, SEAP Normative Instruction No.3 of 2004 regards aquaculture as the cultivation, breeding or holding in captivity, with commercial purposes, of organisms whose life cycle develops, in natural conditions, totally or partially in an aquatic environment. Based on these definitions, it is possible that commercial cultivation of algae or cyanobacteria in open waterways would fall under national legislation, and would require authorization of some kind from SEAP. Commercial algae projects might also require environmental impact assessments under Brazil’s Environmental Policy Act. Brazil has the longest-standing national program to promote the use of ethanol in motor vehicle fuel. This national program, which dates back to 1975, not only mandated ethanol use in automotive fuel, but also provided for the infrastructure needed to support such use, including incentives for producing ethanol-powered cars and support for upgrading of gasoline stations to accommodate ethanol use. Until recently, Brazilian law mandated that gasoline have a minimum ethanol content of 25%, but this was reduced to 18-20% in 2010 in response to economic pressures. As of May 2013, the minimum blend percentage of 25% was reinstated. Brazil also has a mandate for 5% blends of biodiesel (“B5” blends), with the goal of reaching B20 by 2020. This was originated as a mandate for 2% blends that was adopted in 2005, and the current B5 mandate was established in 2009. Current and historical aspects of Brazil’s National Biodiesel Program are summarized in a report available here, and also at the very informative transportpolicy.net Brazil Biofuels page. Specifications for transportation fuels in Brazil are established by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP—Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis). A summary of the development of the country’s standards for diesel fuel can be found here, and information about biodiesel standards and promotional efforts can be found here. There is also useful information on the transportpolicy.net Brazil Diesel and Gasoline page. As of 2011, ANP was given responsibility for regulating ethanol supplies in fuel, and this agency has set specifications for fuel ethanol. According to transportpolicy.net, there are no environmental sustainability criteria required to be met by Brazil’s biofuel mandates, nor is there any required consideration of greenhouse gas emission reduction levels or indirect land use change. Perhaps the most significant requirement on fuel producers is that certain testing must be done to ensure that ANP’s fuel specifications are met for any fuel sold in Brazil. This blog entry describes the possible ways in which uses of algae or cyanobacteria for fuel or chemical production might be regulated in the European Union. This entry is one of several posts that provide additional information in support of a poster I’m presenting at the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit on the regulations in various countries around the world that may be applicable to the use of naturally-occurring or genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria in fuel production. These include three general categories of regulation: biotechnology or biosafety regulations, aquaculture regulations, and renewable fuel standards or volume mandates. You can access the poster on my SlideShare site, and please refer back to my September 16 introductory post for links to posts on the regulatory situation in other countries. Although this discussion centers on algae and cyanobacteria, much of the discussion (other than the section on aquaculture) would be applicable to the use of other genetically modified microorganisms for production of fuel or chemicals. The discussion of the situation in the European Union is in two parts. This blog entry discusses aquaculture and renewable fuels regulations, and the previous entry discussed biotechnology regulations. The following is a brief summary of aquaculture regulations in the European Union and how they may apply to industrial uses of algae or cyanobacteria. This is necessarily a very brief overview, meant to convey general guidance as to what applicants might expect in the country. More detailed information is available at the websites linked below, particularly including the very useful Fact Sheets maintained for individual countries by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which can all be accessed at http://www.fao.org/fishery/nalo/search/en. The inclusion of “protista” within this definition means that alien or locally absent species of algae would potentially be included. However, since cyanobacteria are prokaryotic, they would not fall within the Protista Kingdom and therefore would arguably not be covered by this definition or this Directive. Article 6 of the Directive requires member nations to establish procedures by which applicants proposing the introduction of an alien or locally absent species of aquatic organism to obtain a permit from the applicable national regulatory agency. Annex I of the Directive provides guidelines for the information recommended to be submitted to the applicable agency in such permit applications. In the European Union, the EU-wide directives are meant to be translated into national law in each of the EU member states. There may therefore be some nation-by-nation variability in the specific requirements of these laws, and so it would be advisable for companies contemplating activities in any given EU member state to identify the agency having regulatory authority and to consult with the agency in advance of any introduction of a novel or nonnative strain into the country. New fuels must meet the requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) to count towards EU renewable target volumes. The RED was put in place to ensure that all the 27 member states of the European Union achieve specified targets for use of renewable fuels and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all energy sectors, with specific requirements for the subset of fuels used for transportation. Its companion directive, the FQD, has additional, complementary requirements for GHG reductions within the transport sector. These directives place obligations on EU member states, but also create certain requirements with which developers or producers of renewable fuels must comply in order for their fuels to qualify as “renewable” under the regulations. The Fuel Quality Directive, EU Directive 2009/30/EC, which amended Directive 98/70/EC, was also adopted on April 23, 2009. It establishes the specifications (standards) for transportation fuels to be used across the EU. The Directive also requires that all fuel suppliers (e.g. oil companies) must meet a 6% reduction of GHG emissions by 2020, relative to 2010 baseline levels, across all fuel categories. This reduction in emissions could be achieved using any low-carbon fuel options, such as hydrogen or electricity, but it is generally expected that the use of biofuels will account for most of the targeted reductions. Although the obligations in the Directives to meet the specified targets are placed on national governments, these obligations are passed down to the entities that sell fuel to the public, as well as the companies that manufacture or import fuels for eventual sale in the EU. Specifically, there are defined requirements that a fuel and its production pathway must meet in order for the fuel to be considered a “renewable fuel” that qualifies to count towards fulfillment of the targets set in the Directives. The RED specifies that “renewable fuels” are not to be produced from raw materials obtained from land having a “high biodiversity status” or “high carbon content”. Furthermore, in order for a fuel to be considered as “renewable”, it must show a reduction in GHG emissions over the lifecycle of its production, such that the carbon intensity of the fuel is known and can be applied towards the national targets. The European Commission calculated default carbon intensities for a number of specific biofuel production pathways, which can be found in Annex V of the RED, and these can be used in reporting by regulated entities without providing any additional information to any national government. However, for fuel production pathways not included within this list, carbon intensities must be calculated using acceptable methods for developing life cycle analyses (LCAs). More importantly, renewable fuels must be produced sustainably: that is, in order for a fuel to be considered as “renewable” under the RED, it must be analyzed and certified to be in compliance with sustainability criteria established in the Directive. The required sustainability analysis incorporates, but goes well beyond, considerations addressed in typical LCAs. There are twelve different factors which must be considered in these analyses, including Local Food Security, Human and Labor Rights, Rural and Social Development, and others including lifecycle GHG emissions. The EU has established a requirement that any proposed scheme or methodology for conducting sustainability analyses under the RED must be certified by the EU before any fuel provider can rely on such a scheme to establish its eligibility. A number of such schemes that have been approved, which are listed here. Fuel producers can conduct these analyses themselves, or have them done by third parties, but in either case the regulations require that the analysis be verified by competent, independent auditors that follow international standards. Companies that are producing fuels that are included within the “look-up table” within the RED can rely on the carbon intensities specified in the regulations. However, companies developing a new pathway must not only conduct an LCA to establish the carbon intensity but must also have the fuel pathway certified as sustainable. On October 17, 2012, the European Commission proposed revisions to the RED and the FQD that embody some substantial changes to the EU’s approach to certain biofuels, specifically in proposing to institute incentives for the use of second generation biofuels that are not derived from food crops. This proposal, which has generated significant controversy both within the industry and also from other interested parties, was discussed in a post on my Biofuel Policy Watch blog. After many months of debate and consideration by parliamentary committees, the EU Parliament voted on September 11, 2013 to adopt a revised version of this amendment, which I have described in a new post on Biofuel Policy Watch . This version of the amendment must still be approved by the European Council before it can take effect, which is not expected until sometime in 2014 at the earliest. The discussion of the situation in the European Union is in two parts. This blog entry discusses biotechnology regulations, and the entry that follows will discuss aquaculture and renewable fuels regulations. Directive 2009/41/EC, which amended Directive 90/219/EEC and Directive 98/81/EC, on the contained use of genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs). This Directive regulates research and industrial activities involving GMMs under conditions of containment. Directive 2001/18/EC, which replaced Directive 90/220/EEC, on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs, which applies to the experimental release of GMOs into the environment, such as in connection with field tests; and the placing on the market of GMOs, for example the cultivation, importation or transformation of GMOs into industrial products, such as the sale of seed to grow GMO plants or the use of products of genetically modified plants in food. Under the “contained uses” directive, applicants are required to assign a risk level to its organisms, to adopt containment measures appropriate for that risk level, and to notify a designated national agency before beginning operations. However, specific requirements in any given EU nation would be governed by national legislation or regulation adopted in conformance with the EU directive, so that national requirements in any given country may differ from, and may even exceed, the requirements of the EU directive. ‘contained use’ means any activity in which micro-organisms are genetically modified or in which such GMMs [genetically modified microorganisms] are cultured, stored, transported, destroyed, disposed of or used in any other way, and for which specific containment measures are used to limit their contact with, and to provide a high level of safety for, the general population and the environment. This definition appears to give an applicant proposing to use a GMM in Europe (called a “user” in the directive) a fair amount of leeway in determining that a system or process is “contained”, and what level of containment measures are called for. Article 4 of the directive requires the user to carry out a risk assessment of the GMM, using considerations set forth in Annex III of the directive. As a result of this assessment, the user would determine which of four containment levels is appropriate for the organism, after which the user would have the requirement to adopt appropriate containment measures in accordance with Annex IV of the directive. These requirements are similar to the U.S. NIH Guidelines and other international biosafety guidelines, and most microorganisms used for fuel or chemical production would qualify to be included within the lowest level of containment, “Containment Level 1”. Article 6 of the directive requires users to notify the “competent” national authority (i.e., the government agency designated in national legislation as having jurisdiction to enforce the contained use directive) before a facility is to be used with GMMs for the first time. Annex V specifies the information required to be submitted with such notifications, and for Class 1 organisms, the necessary information is fairly minimal. The EU Contained Use Directive should be viewed as providing general guidance and baseline requirements for member state governments to adopt national regulations for oversight There is at least one recent (and very comprehensive) summary of national legislation under this directive available online – it is a report published in January 2011 by the Netherlands Commission on Genetic Modification – it can be downloaded from this site. One example of a national law adopted in conformance with the EU Contained Use Directive is the law adopted in the United Kingdom, described in the portal site accessible here. Briefly, the UK law requires advance notice to the relevant agency before any work with modified microorganisms is to begin, as well as the submission of a risk assessment for the agency’s review. Article 4 of the Directive establishes that, for any proposed release, the applicant must prepare an environmental risk assessment, including the information specified in Directive, particularly including Annex III. This is a general requirement for any proposed open-environment use of a GMO. The Directive then goes on to specify procedures for review of proposed releases for research purposes (which it calls “deliberate release … for any other purpose than for placing on the market”) in Part B, and procedures for review of applications for commercial use (“placing on the market”) in Part C. In agricultural applications, Part B would apply to all field tests prior to commercialization of a plant or seed product, while Part C would apply to gaining approval for commercialization. For fuel or chemical production, presumably Part B would apply to pilot or even demonstration scale open-pond reactors where no commercial product is produced. Briefly, under Part B, applicants proposing R&D use or other noncommercial use of a GMO must notify the appropriate national agency and provide a dossier including the environmental risk assessment and a plan to monitor the proposed use in order to identify any potential adverse effects occurring as a result of the use. The competent agency has a defined period of time, generally 90 days, to make its decision, and the agency may provide the public with notice of the proposal and the opportunity to comment. The proposed use can only go forward upon receipt of written consent from the agency having jurisdiction. National governments are required to report to the European Commission and to other member states the approvals it gives for applications under Part B. Although the public and all EU member states have the ability to comment on any such actions, all decision-making authority rests with the applicable agency in the country where the research activity is to take place. Part C requires applicants to submit notifications to the competent authority in the EU member state where the GMO is to be placed on the market for the first time. In the context of the use of modified microorganisms or algae to produce fuel or chemicals, it may be worth noting that the definition of “placing on the market” is “making available to third parties, whether in return for payment or free of charge,” and that the notification requirement applies “before a GMO or a combination of GMOs as or in products is placed on the market.” One can argue that a GMO used to produce a product is not itself “placed on the market,” but it would be advisable to review the language of applicable national laws, and/or consult with legal counsel, to determine how a proposed use would be regulated in the applicable country. It is hard to imagine that most European countries would allow commercial use of a GMO algae or cyanobacteria, in open-environment production, without following the procedures of Part C of the Directive. Under Part C, the agency receiving the applicant’s notification dossier has a specified period of time to prepare a formal “assessment report” which includes its decision on whether or not to allow the GMO to be placed on the market. The assessment report is to be provided to the applicant, and then to the European Commission, which will share it with the other EU member states. Decisions on approvals for commercial use, which would apply throughout the EU, are subject to comments and “reasoned objections” from other member states, and the Directive includes provisions for how to deal with any such objections that have been raised. The Directive also requires the national authority to notify the public of each notification it receives and to publish its assessment report. The proposed commercialization cannot take place until there has been written consent from the agency to which the application was made, which presumably will not take place unless any objections arised by other EU member states have been addressed, although all member states have the ability to restrict the sale of the product in its jurisdiction if it becomes aware of data or other information affecting the conclusions of the environmental risk assessment. As is well known, the European Union has not granted any approvals under this Directive to use any genetically modified plant in commercial agriculture (i.e., for food use) and all such proposals have been controversial to some extent. I’m not aware of any proposed use of a GM microorganism that has progressed to an application for commercial use in Europe, so it is hard to know if any such proposal not involving food or feed use would engender the same level of controversy. As always, companies contemplating such activities should consult with the relevant government agency as far in advance of the proposed use as possible, to be sure all needed information is provided and the necessary procedures are followed. This blog entry describes the possible ways in which uses of algae or cyanobacteria for fuel or chemical production might be regulated in Canada. This entry is one of several posts that provide additional information in support of a poster I’m presenting at the 2013 Algae Biomass Summit on the regulations in various countries around the world that may be applicable to the use of naturally-occurring or genetically modified algae or cyanobacteria in fuel production. These include three general categories of regulation: biotechnology or biosafety regulations, aquaculture regulations, and renewable fuel standards or volume mandates. You can access the poster on my SlideShare site, and please refer back to my September 16 introductory post for links to posts on the regulatory situation in other countries. Although this discussion centers on algae and cyanobacteria, much of the discussion (other than the section on aquaculture) would be applicable to the use of other genetically modified microorganisms for production of fuel or chemicals. Canada’s biotechnology regulatory approach resembles that of the U.S., in that existing laws and regulations are used to regulate biotechnology in a product-specific way. Therefore, many products of biotechnology would be regulated in Canada under existing federal laws. In November 1997, Environment Canada (EC) issued biotechnology regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), that are similar in scope and approach to the U.S. EPA’s TSCA biotechnology regulations, and which are meant to cover biotechnology products or microorganisms that are new to commerce in Canada and which are not regulated by other federal agencies. Among products that could fall under this law’s scope would be microbial strains used for biofuel or bio-based chemical production, or for manufacture of enzymes for use in biofuel production. My 2010 post described these regulations in detail, but the following is a brief summary. EC considers microorganisms as being potentially subject to these “New Substance Notification” (NSN) regulations if they meet the definition of “new substance”. The regulations define “microorganism” (in part) to be “a microscopic organism … classified in the Bacteria, the Archaea, the Protista, which includes protozoa and algae, or the Fungi, which includes yeasts …”. This means that both algae and cyanobacteria (classified as Bacteria) would be covered by the regulations. The law further defines a “new substance” as one intended for introduction into commerce that is not on the Domestic Substance List (DSL) as having been used in commerce in Canada between January 1, 1984 and December 31, 1986. The DSL for microorganisms includes about 70 naturally-occurring species, identified by ATCC accession numbers. Thus, if a microorganism on this list was used in commerce from 1984-86 in a way such that “its entry into the environment was unrestricted”, it is exempt from reporting; but all other microorganisms, regardless of make-up, are subject to reporting. In this way, the Canadian CEPA regulations are broader than those of the U.S. EPA, in subjecting a larger class of microorganisms to regulation, and it is important to note that the regulations are broad enough to include naturally occurring or classically mutated strains, if such strains had never previously been used in commerce. Under the NSN regulations, any person who manufactures or imports substances subject to notification must provide a notification package to EC, which contains certain information specified in the regulations. EC uses this information to conduct a risk assessment prior to entry into commerce. The required information is generally similar to the information the U.S. EPA requests in MCAN submissions under its TSCA regulations (EPA’s requirements are discussed in my previous blog entries from 2010). Information on the Canadian biotechnology rule is available at the biotechnology home page, and the New Substance regulations themselves can be found here. A Guidelines document that is similar to EPA’s “Points to Consider document” can be accessed here. CEPA published a fact sheet specific for biofuels, which is accessible here. The New Substance regulations are applicable both to contained uses and environmental uses of new microorganisms. The notification form which is to be used for submissions asks applicants to identify the “notification group” for the proposed use of the microorganism, and specifies the types of data that are needed for each notification group. The notification group “Introduction in a contained facility or for export only” would apply to contained uses of new microorganisms, and for these proposed uses, only the “Schedule 2” data (as summarized in the checklist in Part B of the form) would need to be submitted. Based on the information currently on the EC website, most of the notifications reviewed and approved to date have been for contained manufacturing uses. These have been described in my 2010 blog post on the Canadian regulations, which includes links to the various decision documents. There do not appear to have been any published decision documents or risk assessments in the time since my earlier blog post. EC’s review focuses on the potential for the proposed use of the microorganism to pose any risks to the environment or to human health. Proposed use of new strains of algae or cyanobacteria in open ponds would likely trigger a higher level of review by Environment Canada under the NSN regulations. There are several “notification groups” listed on the notification form that would apply to proposed uses of new microorganisms in the open environment. One such group would cover introductions of organisms “anywhere in Canada”, while others would cover only introductions into specified ecozones (one category for ecozones where the microorganism is naturally indigenous, another for ecozones where it is not). There are also notification groups for research field tests or for introductions “in accordance with confinement procedures”. Generally speaking, any notification for a proposed outdoor use of a microorganism would require the submission of the greatest amount of data with the notification, although this would be somewhat relaxed for research uses, or uses under “confinement”. As is the case with contained uses, EC’s review would focus on potential environmental or health risk associated with the proposed use. A few of the published risk assessments on the EC website appear to have dealt with proposed environmental uses of new microorganisms. Specifically, there are three approved notifications involving either agricultural microorganisms or microorganisms intended for use in bioremediation. It appears that this may be an area where EC has more limited experience than is the case for proposals for contained uses. The following is a brief summary of aquaculture regulations in Canada and how they may apply to industrial uses of algae or cyanobacteria. This is necessarily a very brief overview, meant to convey general guidance as to what applicants might expect in the country. More detailed information is available at the websites linked below, particularly including the very useful Fact Sheets maintained for individual countries by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which can all be accessed at http://www.fao.org/fishery/nalo/search/en. Aquaculture in Canada may be regulated under federal or provincial law. However, according to the FAO summary page for Canadian aquaculture regulations, the actual responsibilities for aquaculture have been delegated by the federal government to provincial governments. According to the FAO site, the provinces are responsible for “aquaculture planning, site leasing, licenses and approvals for aquaculture sites, aquaculture training and education, the collection of statistics, the promotion of fish and aquaculture products, and the management of the industry’s day-to-day operations” among other functions. The applicable federal law is the Fisheries Act of 1985. Although this Act does not define “aquaculture”, its definition of “marine plant” includes “all benthic and detached algae, marine flowering plants, brown algae, red algae, green algae and phytoplankton”, and so would appear that permits are required under Sections 44 through 46 of the Act for the cultivation or harvesting of algae, but possibly not cyanobacteria. Turning to some of the provinces, the Fisheries Act of 1996 of British Columbia defines aquaculture as “the “growing and cultivation of aquatic plants… or fish, for commercial purposes, in any water environment or in human made containers of water,” and moreover this law has a definition for “aquatic plant” identical to the federal definition of “marine plant”. This implies that algae would be covered under the provision for licenses, which reads “A person must not process fish or aquatic plants, or operate a plant in British Columbia or its coastal waters, unless the person holds a license issued for that purpose under this Part.” The FAO site also describes the Newfoundland Aquaculture Act (1990), which defines aquaculture as “the farming of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic plants and other aquatic organisms with an intervention in the rearing process to enhance production by regular stocking, feeding, and protection from predation” (emphasis added). Although algae is not mentioned by name, it could be considered to be covered by “other aquatic organisms”. As the regulations and their applicability to algae or cyanobacteria may vary from province to province, it would be advisable to consult with the applicable provincial government before establishing an industrial algae operation in Canada. In Canada, there are federal and provincial regulations mandating that fuels contain specified percentages of renewable fuels. The governing federal standards are contained in the Renewable Fuel Regulation, which establishes that, on average, the nation’s gasoline pool must include at least 5% renewable fuels (i.e., ethanol), and the “distillate pool” of diesel fuel and heating oil must include at least 2% renewable fuels. In both cases, there are provinces with the same or higher percentage mandate: Ontario requires 5% renewable content in the gasoline pool, while Saskatchewan and Manitoba require 7.5% and 8.5% renewable content, respectively. For the distillate pool, British Columbia has a 4% requirement while Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba mirror the federal 2% requirement (the federal law includes an exemption for the Eastern provinces). The federal Renewable Fuel Regulation resembles the U.S. RFS in many ways, by placing its obligations primarily on the parties directly selling fuels to end-users and also in its creation of “compliance units” which operate somewhat analogously to the Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) under the U.S. RFS. The Canadian system, however, poses much simpler compliance obligations for biofuel producers. “Renewable fuels” are defined in the regulations as ethanol, biodiesel, or fuels produced from “renewable feedstocks”, which in turn is defined to include a broad range of feedstocks including algae, so there is no need to conduct a life cycle analysis to show any required threshold level of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as is the case in the U.S. In Canada, producers of renewable fuels are required to register with the government and to file annual reports, each of which requires only minimal amounts of information regarding the types and amounts of fuel that is being produced. Thus, the burden on companies using modified algae or cyanobacteria to produce fuels should be less onerous in Canada than in the U.S., although for companies using cyanobacteria, it may be worth clarifying whether Environment Canada considers “algae” to include cyanobacteria, as is the case with the U.S. RFS as administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. Although the Canadian federal regulations do not require any assessment of greenhouse gas emission reductions, it is worth noting that one province, British Columbia, maintains a low-carbon fuel standard that is analogous to the California LCFS. I have briefly described this province’s Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements Regulation (RLCFRR), which took effect in January 2010, in a blog post earlier this year. This law requires a 10% reduction in carbon intensity by 2020.

2019-04-21T22:38:59Z

https://dglassassociates.wordpress.com/2013/09/

When, while subscribing to our newsletter (the “Newsletter”) on the Website or while joining our Guess List program in stores (the “Guess List”), you consent that we send you marketing communications, regarding which please see the privacy notice available here. You can decide to use the Website (including to place purchase orders) as an unregistered user (a “Guest User”) or after creating your own account on the Website (as a “Registered User”). Registration on the Website is optional and allows you to retrieve your order history, manage your wish list, check details of orders in progress, save several shipping addresses and manage return of products that you have purchased. Guess Europe SAGL is the data controller with respect to the processing of your personal data as described in this privacy notice. Guess Europe SAGL’s registered office is in Biòggio, Switzerland, 6934, Strada Regina No. 44. 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Additionally, we may need to process your Personal Data, where it is necessary, for the purpose of handling potential claims or legal proceeding, on the ground of our legitimate interest of defending our business’s interests (we always consider your rights and freedoms and process your Personal Data for our legitimate interest only where we do not think that your rights outweigh our legitimate interest). You may request information on how we take your rights and freedoms into account, should we process your Personal Data to pursue our legitimate interests, by contacting Guess Europe SAGL’s Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. We store your Personal Data in Switzerland and in the United States (as our parent company, Guess Inc., is in the United States and we also use Guess Inc.’s servers, located in the United States, for data storage purposes). 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To withdraw your consent to receive our Newsletter, you can also click on the link included in any marketing communication you receive. Please note that withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on the consent you gave prior to withdrawal. (v) Receive your Personal Data in an electronic, structured, commonly-used and machine-readable format and have your Personal Data transmitted directly from us to another data controller, where technically feasible. Additionally, where we are processing your Personal Data without your consent to pursue our legitimate interests, you may object to this processing on grounds relating to your specific situation. To exercise your rights or if you have any other queries, you can contact us by using any other contact listed in the “Contact Us” section of our website www.guess.eu. Please note that the privacy notice above applies to those who subscribed to our Newsletter prior to May 25th, 2018. You can find here the privacy notice that applies to those who subscribe after that date. Welcome to the Guess world! We would like to remain in contact with you and keep you updated on our products (including clothing collections and lines, as well as accessories), promotions and events. To this end, you can subscribe to our newsletter (the “Newsletter”) on our website www.guess.eu (the “Website”) or, if you go to a store that participates in the Guess List program (the “Guess List”), you can join the Guess List. As described in this privacy notice, we will then send you advertising communications, promotions, invitations to events and other information about our products that we tailor to your preferences, so that what you receive from us can be more interesting for you (“Personalized Marketing Communications”). Guess Europe SAGL (“we” or “us”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In this privacy notice, we explain what personal data we collect from you in connection with Personalized Marketing Communications, how we process this personal data, and on what legal bases. This privacy notice also explains your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) and how you can exercise such rights. Personal data is any information by which a natural person can be identified, whether directly or indirectly. To send you our Personalized Marketing Communications, we need that you provide at least your first name, surname and e-mail address (by filling in the relevant fields in the Guess List card or in the Newsletter form online). Providing other information about you (such as gender) and contact details (such as telephone numbers or physical addresses) is optional. (i) Profiling. In addition to the data that you provide by filling in the Guess List card or the form to subscribe to our Newsletter, we collect and analyse information related to your online and in-store purchases of Guess products, in order to understand and predict your preferences (“profiling”) so that we can send you Personalized Marketing Communications that we believe you will be more interested in. More specifically, every time you (1) are identified as a member of the Guess List when buying Guess products in Guess stores or (2) place an order through our Website, we collect and analyse the data relating to your purchase (e.g., the product purchased, its color and the price). (ii) Marketing. We collect the data that you provide by filling in the Guess List card or the form to subscribe to our Newsletter and use this information to send you our Personalized Marketing Communications. We use your date of birth to send you communications informing you of special discount offers on your birthday. In addition to using the e-mail, if you provide your mobile phone number, we use it to send you our Personalized Marketing Communications via SMS, MMS or telephone calls and, if you provide your physical address, we use it to send you our communications by post. Additionally, if you provide your consent, we may communicate your e-mail address to social networks (e.g., Facebook and Instagram) and the Google digital platforms that will process this personal data to determine whether you are a registered account holder with them, so that advertising concerning Guess products that you may be interested in can be shown, through banners, when you are using their services. In this privacy notice, we will refer to all personal data described above (i.e., information related to your online and in-store purchases of Guess products and the data that you provide by filling in the Guess List card or the form to subscribe to our Newsletter) collectively as “Personal Data”. We do not intend to collect Personal Data of persons under the age of 18. The Guess List and the Newsletter are only available to persons aged 18 or over. We carry out our profiling activities based on our legitimate interest in getting to know our customers’ preferences so as to be able to better personalize our offers, and ultimately, offer products that better meet the needs and desires of our customers. This profiling does not involve automated individual decision-making that produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you. Please see below regarding your right to object to such profiling. We will send you Personalized Marketing Communications (based on our profiling activities) only if you have given your consent to such communications. We communicate your e-mail address to social networks (Facebook and Instagram) and the Google digital platform, as described in point (ii) of section “What Personal Data We Collect, How We Use It and Why” only if you consent. In addition, we may need to process your Personal Data for the purpose of complying with legal obligations. Furthermore, we may need to process your Personal Data, where it is necessary, for the purpose of handling potential claims or legal proceeding, on the ground of our legitimate interest of defending our business’s interests (we always consider your rights and freedoms and process your Personal Data for our legitimate interest only where we do not think that your rights outweigh our legitimate interest). You may request information on how we take your rights and freedoms into account when we process your Personal Data to pursue our legitimate interests, by contacting Guess Europe SAGL’s Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. We store your Personal Data in Switzerland and in the United States (as our parent company, Guess Inc., is in the United States and we also use Guess Inc.’s servers, located in the United States, for data storage purposes). Furthermore, store personnel of other companies of the Guess group located in the countries where the Guess List is active, both within and outside the European Economic Area (such as in Turkey, Australia and Singapore) will have access, on our behalf, to your Personal Data (we do this so that you can be recognized as a Guess customer when you make purchases in stores and we can keep track of your purchases). You can request an updated list of the countries where the Guess List is active by contacting our Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. Transfers of your Personal Data from the European Union to Switzerland occur on the basis of the European Commission’s adequacy decision that recognizes Switzerland as a country ensuring an adequate level of protection for personal data. Transfers of your Personal Data to countries that the European Commission has not recognized as ensuring an adequate level of protection (such as the United States, Turkey, Australia and Singapore) occur on the basis of appropriate measures designed to protect personal data contained within binding legal agreements (EU model clauses). You can request a copy of these clauses by contacting our Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. We communicate your Personal Data to other third parties that process your Personal Data on our behalf. Such third parties supply services (such as IT, customer care or marketing services) that we need to carry out for the activities described in section “What Personal Data We Collect, How We Use It and Why”. As described in section “What Personal Data We Collect, How We Use It and Why”, we may communicate your e-mail address to social networks (e.g., Facebook and Instagram) and the Google digital platforms (e.g., Google). We will retain your Personal Data for only such period as is necessary in connection with the relevant purpose for which they are processed. We will retain your Personal Data: (i) for the purposes of profiling you and sending you Personalized Marketing Communications, for no longer than your enrolment in the Guess List or subscription to our Newsletter and, with respect to Personal Data relating to online and in store purchases, for no longer than 3 years from their collection; (ii) for the purpose of complying with legal obligations, for no longer than what is strictly necessary to comply with any applicable requirement; (iii) for the purpose of handling potential claims or legal proceedings, for no longer than strictly necessary for handling the claims or pursuing the litigation, taking into account the applicable limitation period. For more detailed information on our data retention policies, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. At any time, you can decide that you prefer not to receive Personalized Marketing Communications via any of the channels (e-mail, SMS, MMS, telephone calls and post) that we use based on the contact details you provided. You can do this by using any other contact listed in the “Contact Us” section of the Website. At any time, you may decide to withdraw your consent to the processing of your Personal Data for the purposes described in this privacy notice or object to the processing of your Personal Data for direct marketing purposes, including profiling which is related to such direct marketing. If you withdraw your consent or object to the processing, you will be removed from the Guess List and from the Newsletter so that you will no longer receive Personalized Marketing Communications from us (additionally, we will stop profiling you). You can exercise these rights by using any other contact listed in the “Contact Us” section of the Website. To withdraw your consent, you can also click on the link included in any marketing communication you receive via e-mail, SMS or MMS, or say that you withdraw your consent when you receive a telephone call. Please note that withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on the consent you gave prior to withdrawal. Additionally, if you have an account on our Website, you can manage your preferences from the My Account section. At any time, you have the right to: (i) request access to your Personal Data, and we will confirm to you whether we are processing your Personal Data and for what purposes, as well as provide details of the categories of Personal Data concerned, the recipients of the Personal Data and the retention periods (on request, we can also provide you with a copy of your Personal Data); (ii) request to rectify your Personal Data without undue delay, if any of your Personal Data that we hold appears to be inaccurate or incomplete; (iii) have your Personal Data erased if it is no longer necessary for us to keep them in connection with the purposes for which they were collected (however, we must keep track of certain information, such as past purchases and similar information, to comply with legal obligations, and, therefore, in certain circumstances, we may not be able to delete your Personal Data in its entirety); (iv) restrict, in certain circumstances, the way in which we process your Personal Data, for instance, where you believe that the Personal Data that we hold is inaccurate (in this case, processing can be restricted, while Personal Data is being rectified); (v) receive your Personal Data in an electronic, structured, commonly-used and machine-readable format and have your Personal Data transmitted directly from us to another data controller, where technically feasible. Additionally, where we are processing your Personal Data without your consent to pursue our legitimate interests, you may object to this processing. This privacy notice was last updated on 25 May 2018. If we decide to change it, we will post any changes on our Website so that you can become aware of the changes that we have made. We may modify this privacy notice, so we encourage you to review it from time to time on our Website. However, should we make material changes to this privacy notice, we will notify you through a notice on our Website’s home page or, where appropriate, by e-mail or through the other contact details that you have provided to us. Guess Europe SAGL (“we” or “us”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This privacy notice describes what information we collect from you when you get in touch with the contact center, how we process it, for what purposes and on what legal bases. This privacy notice also explains your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) and how you can exercise such rights. Personal data is any information by which a natural person can be identified, whether directly or indirectly. Providing your personal data in the online contact form is necessary so that we can handle and answer your requests; failure to fill in the online contact form will prevent you from submitting your request. Guess Europe SAGL is the data controller with respect to the processing of your personal data as described in this privacy notice. Guess Europe SAGL’s registered office is in Bioggio, Switzerland, 6934, Strada Regina No. 44. The data controller’s representative in the European Union is Guess Italia S.r.l., with its registered office in Florence, Italy, Via De’ Cattani No. 18. If needed for any of the purposes described in the following section, we collect the personal data that you provide to us by filling in the online contact form and we may collect the data relating to your purchases, both online (via our website www.guess.eu; the “Website”) and offline in our stores; such data include the characteristics of the products purchased, your billing and shipping address, your phone number and payment information. We may also collect additional personal data that you may provide to us when interacting with our customer care service via telephone, e-mail or live chat (such as your IBAN code when you contact us to ask for a refund, if you have placed an order on our Website and have chosen to pay in cash on delivery of the product). We process your Personal Data that is strictly necessary for the purpose of handling and answering your requests; for such activities, your consent is not required as the processing of your Personal Data is necessary for the fulfilment of your requests. In addition, we may need to process your Personal Data for the purpose of complying with legal obligations (such as tax and administrative laws). Additionally, we may need to process your Personal Data, where it is necessary, for the purpose of handling potential claims or legal proceedings, on the ground of our legitimate interest of defending our business’s interests (we always consider your rights and freedoms and process your Personal Data for our legitimate interest only where we do not think that your rights will be infringed). Your consent is not required in order to process your Personal Data for these purposes. You may contact Guess Europe SAGL’s Data Protection Officer at [email protected] for information on how we take your rights and freedoms into account, should we process your Personal Data to pursue our legitimate interests. Your personal data are stored in the European Union and may be transferred to our servers in Switzerland. Third parties that we have entrusted with the performance of customer service activities (such as IT or call center services) on our behalf have access to your Personal Data that we use for the purpose of handling and answering your requests. for the purpose of handling claims or legal proceedings, for no longer than is strictly necessary for handling the claims or pursuing the litigation, taking into account the applicable limitation period. For more detailed information on our data retention policies, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. Erasure: you may ask us to have your Personal Data erased if it is no longer necessary for us to keep it in connection with the purposes for which it was collected. However, we must keep track of certain information, such as past purchases and similar information, for complying with legal obligations, and, therefore, in certain circumstances, we may not be able to delete your Personal Data in its entirety. where we no longer need the Personal Data, but you require the Personal Data in order to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim, our processing can be restricted. You may also get in touch directly with our Data Protection Officer about any issue relating to the processing of your Personal Data by sending an e-mail at [email protected]. You can also contact Guess Europe SAGL’s appointed Data Protection Officer by sending an e-mail at [email protected]. This privacy notice was last updated on May 24th, 2018. If we decide to change it, we will post any changes on our Website www.guess.eu so that you can become aware of the changes that we have made. We may modify this privacy notice, so we encourage you to review it from time to time. However, should we make material changes to this privacy notice, we will notify you through a notice on our Website’s home page. All comments, queries or requests relating to the use of your personal data by GUESS are welcome and should be addressed to the Customer Care. Should you choose to have your name and personal data removed from GUESS database, you can do so by calling the customer service (Mo-Fr 09:00 am.-1:00 pm CET +01:00). Should you choose to have your name and personal data removed from GUESS database, you can do so by calling the customer service.

2019-04-22T16:11:13Z

https://www.guess.eu/nl/customercare/privacy/

I had been invited last year to come to Tokyo to do my thing, whatever I choose to do and it was all organised by this company by a very loving of service Light being Masumi who was my co-ordinator. I knew there was a pyramid under Tokyo from the first cycle and heart of the dragon that was calling. As well as anchoring the Light Template at the head of the Dragon at Mt Asahidake the Dragons head. I had also just meet Coco from Tokyo who had come to the Shambala Anchoring at the East Cape December Solstice and she offered to do the logistical side of anything I felt guided to organise and wherever in Japan. So she was able to organise and also translate for me which was awesome. The dragon called for the Template of Light to be anchored at the dragons head at Hokkaido. Even when you look at the map of Japan you can see the dragon. And after Tokyo workshops and the dragons heart activation and before the Hokkaido mission, there was a journey to the dragons tail and as it turned out singing the ancient ones back and Shambala Template anchored 6d through the crater lake Ikeda. Three weeks of dragon business in the most amazing places and vortexes, dimensional doorways and multi-dimensional realms of earth. The workshops were over two weekends and two days in the week and each building on the next for full sovereignty and guardianship of the New Earth in tune with the inner planes, loving hearts. I was greeted at Narita and taken to my condo in Roppongi Hills area. Where it was a quiet residential neighbourhood and a 15 minute walk to the main shopping area and Metro to get to the venue. Things were in English as well and very user friendly and so were the people exceptionally helpful. Very beautiful people, everyone I meet. I had my own space and enjoyed the whole experience so much. With beautiful people who participated and the wonderful translator we flowed. And everyone so keen to grow, heart open and to be of service in the bigger picture. It was the most beautiful experience and the last day with the Dragon heart activated, the crystalline pyramid under Tokyo was pure joy and Light, loving hearts and transformation. The dragon heart healed and awakened. In the build up to this on Tuesday at the Star Union day a participant gave me energetically three dragons’ eggs. Then on Thursday 7th July at the RA workshop which was the day the Sun is conjunct the Greater Central Sun I was told the pyramid and dragon’s heart was waiting for the return of the Second Sun at this time with the RA Light. That would awaken the pyramid through us, the heart of the Dragon that had been disturbed and causing havoc. Aware of the destruction that has taken place even in the very recent past can now become peaceful though the grids of Japan and the ring of fire, restored through the hearts of us. When I had first got to come to Tokyo I had wanted to take a group to Mitakasan as I knew there was something there that was important bigger picture. But as always I’m too busy and also not nosey enough to bother with what some thing is, it’s enough to know I am meant to go there, so now was the day to finally visit and I got I was to pick up a Dragons egg. Coco picked me up in the morning with Jo another friend who was visiting for work of all kinds from oz. We drove out into the countryside, which was still pretty populated. Then up a hill the cable car that would take us up the walking tracks on Mitakasan Mountain to the shrine and great rock and waterfall there in the park. We meet two radiant goddesses who were also coming to Hokkaido and went up the step cable car that clung to the track against the mountainside. When we got to the top there were lots of shops selling tourist things and snacks and also some accommodation places. I went to look at the view and tuned in, and got that a great crystal in the mountain was fractured. We walked up the path, then up lots of steps and though a small village to get to the bottom on the steps that would take us to the shrine honouring the mountain and also other devic beings. After cleansing ourselves first with the water, we went up to the main temple. A monk was there selling mini temples and other beautiful little items as well as an ancient reading; by choosing a number and then getting the scroll related to it, holding some relevant information for where one is at. But first we went to the edge of the cliff and looked out through a small shrine to the mountain opposite ours. Suddenly wow!!! this huge energy comes blasting into my heart and the mountain and dragon there has given me a Dragon’s egg into my heart. The others felt it as well. Then I was aware of the crystal under the earth as healing energies came through with each of us being a channel for the crystal in the mountain there. It healed fast and then we received the most divine loving energies from the mountain that was rejuvenating and revitalising. Feeling on such a high and positive wave of energy and light, on the way back past the monk three of us choose a number and took a reading, mine was very positive and true. Everything since I stepped off the plane in Japan had been so positive and amazing. We then with much gratitude left the shrine area at the top of the mountain and went down the steps, then down a path that lead to a track in the woods that took us down to this gigantic rock. It was perched right on the cliff face and had a small shrine and statue of an elven god on it as well. It was a bit tricky to climb on but with the help of a chain and lots of tree roots we climbed up onto it and meditated and tuned in. The rock has a link to the Inner Earth Sun and songs of the joy of the light coming to the world. I was told ‘You know Japan very well from the ethereal world's you stepped in once back in the dragon times and sung the light codes that now will come through illuminated in the heart of each one. The dragon egg you collected today you placed here from the first cycle to now it is the time for it to be activated in the dragon's eye for the sight of the one to see all as it truly is, it is so’. Then we climbed carefully down and went down the track and steps that lead to a waterfall. I knew way before I got there I had to strip off and go under the waterfall. So by the time we got there, there were no other people around. So I took my clothes of and went into it. The most cleansing blessed feeling as the other goddesses came in also. Until some elderly people wished to come to the waterfall and they waited for us to get dressed and leave. Walking back up the steps to the track back through the forest we felt very happy and blessed to have had such blessings. As we then drove further into the country to a friend’s one day a week restaurant for a delicious organic lunch and blueberries before saying goodbye and heading back to Tokyo. Then it was the last two days of workshops on Light Body DNA activations and multi-d reality with the Pyramid activation. On Sunday July 10th after much preparation since Friday night 1st July and through the week until now we were ready and we soul travelled to the pyramid. It was old and covered in a calcified crust, the Dragon’s heart. The Dragon was in pain and suffering and moving around very unsettled and uncomfortable, he was very wounded. He said ‘he wasn’t always like this but that from aeons of neglect in human consciousness and the negative energies of the dragon slayers who would have him dead, who are Reptilians, he had to hide deep in the earth’. He was sorry that his pain affected the earth and made humans weep too. He said humans have forgotten so much of their connection to their dragon serpent linages and why the earth is so neglected and abused’. His name is Altraea. We all have dragon hearts and he showed how much pain there still is in the collective of humanities heart. Then we became aware of the Second Sun and the union of our Sun with it’s twin. The RA Light of the Second Sun came in to activate and awaken our hearts and know deep within who we are. The RA Light came through us and the love that’s always been there and we all formed a circle around the pyramid on the inner. We started to sing the song of love from our hearts and the heart of our Sun and Second Sun as the love came through our voices. As everyone made beautiful sound codes and the crystal pyramid started to clear and shone until it was radiant clear and alive. The dragon smiled and was healed and at peace. Then we became aware of a Light City in the higher dimensions of Tokyo that can now integrate into the realms of consciousness, as we remembered ourselves there and brought in the gifts to our self here in our bodies. Tokyo was shining and so light, the heart of the dragon so radiant and strong. Peace through the grids and the ring of fire. The dragon’s heart sings once again with joy and wonder for the life we are creating through our dragon heart. Now with awareness also of the Light City in Tokyo and as I left early the next morning to fly to Kagoshima the city was so clear and bright and illuminated. The taxi came on time and it was a beautiful drive on freeways near the harbour with the mass of sky scrapers all looking like the light city that had just integrated into the realms we could access and be part of. Tokyo glowed and showed her beauty. I met Geoff a dear friend and Light anchor at the Gate for our flight to Kagoshima. On the flight I was able to look out the window all the way as we passed over beautiful islands and lush forests until we landed at the airport just out of Kagoshima City in the southern island of Kyushu. Off the pane and to our rental car at the airport we had a lesson in the GPS that neither of us had used before and then we were off, Geoff as the driver and myself as navigator. We only just got out of the airport, it was raining and before we knew it we were at two ramps onto the freeway with the sign to the city not where we wanted to go but really it was, as we went on the wrong turn at the freeway and ending up going in the opposite direction to where we wanted. But Sara san our GPS got us after two expensive toll gates back on the road to our destination. Sara san was could only direction us to a place with a phone number so for our mission we still went by intuition and maps, or in our case for this mission, stay by the sea, as we were at the volcano one side of the gulf and to Cape Sata at the other side of the great bay of Kagoshima. The rain kept up as all tropical rain does then dry spells to give one a breather then rain again. We got off the freeway after a few more toll booths, surprisingly close together and then we were down the coast towards our hotel with the hot pools. The only place I did not experience hot pools was Tokyo but north and south they were everywhere we stayed and at one place where we had lunch as well. Our rooms were Japanese style which was awesome and then they had hot pools outside in the gardens, male and female separated and also the whole fifth floor was also hot pools, male and female, in Japan you have to wash thoroughly before getting in the pool and go in naked which is so wonderful. We checked out the pools for later and then went up the road to the Family Mart one of the great convenience chain stores to get out salad wraps for lunch and had them down the road as we parked on the grass next to the coast line and watched the view through the rain. We then drove around the coast healing to the volcano. I knew I had to deliver the Dragons egg I had received on the Friday at Mitakasan. We kept by the coast until we could get to Mt Kaimon and the Dragon’s tail. It was raining hard at times and as we drove around the coast, sometimes down dead end roads to resorts or ports we came to the most amazing rock with a huge emerald in it on the inner planes. I knew it was important and to go back tonight in a soul travel. After spending sometime near the Emerald we continued on until we got to the entrance to Mt Kaimon and a booth to pay for a ticket to get in. Driving up the parklands road with several look out areas along the way, it did not take long to get to the end, a short distance up the mountain. Then a track lead off the end of the road that went to the summit, taking a few hours to get there. We parked at the top of the road and connected to Mt Kaimon and connected to emerald mountain, Mt Take over in the distance by the ocean. Geoff and I sang light language and tones as the egg I had been given from Mitakasan birthed and lots of baby dragons came and kissed me on the face and called me mother. After some time injoying the ambience and loving energies we drove down and around the mountain, along the coast and then through this long tunnel under the side of the mountain where erosion was a problem. But it was surreal having a well-built long tunnel on aroad that hardly anyone used. We eventually got back to our hotel via a supermarket we found after several attempts at buildings that looked like supermarkets, but were American style drug stores. We had our supermarket dinner in our rooms as we had been too late to book dinner at our hotel and nowhere else to eat around the area apart from the convenience store. Then we went to the hot pools in our own timing as segregated and I was happy to be outside in a natural earth and rock hot pool looking at the moon coming up to full transmuting and transforming with all the elements with no other ladies coming in the pool, I had it to myself. First thing I tuned into the Soul Travel. The emerald was glowing and took me onto the volcano council meeting and about Shambala anchoring through the volcano when we come back tomorrow it will anchor. Today we needed to go to the southern point at Cape Sata to sing the songs of the ancient dragons to bring back the life and into the grids here. The emerald will activate the grids into a higher vibration once the songs are sung and the volcano can then illuminate and move into the higher vibrations to open the Shamballa Template here. Very important that it happens and this mission is so important the Dragons say ‘Dragon queen you were at inception as you know and one of us now back in form on the surface. To bring us home to the worlds of all dimensions and into the consciousness of humanity to open their Dragon Earth and know they cleared the Earth and create her again in the higher dimensions to be the guardians of her, and honour her and all nature and creatures again’. Then it was down to the dining room for another of the most amazing breakfasts that were like a banquet with trays of small boxes of individual food and pickles. Then always something cooking in a small candle heated oven on the table next to each tray, and other hot things brought in. It was mind blowing and very yummy. I had no idea it would take us sixhours driving to get to Cape Sata we were in fact right at the opposite side of the huge harbour from Mt Kaimon. I navigated us through Kagoshima City and out the other side and it actually stopped raining and the scenery was beautiful. We drove down the coast for hours stopping at a view pull over for our picnic lunch and then at view of volcano Kaimon and the emerald Mt Take exactly opposite us. As we drove on and finally got to the narrow road that took us to the end of the road and a look out with map of Japan and the line of where we are in relation to other countries. Then we drove to the carpark where there were workman busy doing improvements. We said hi and walked down through a tunnel and then out and onto a track that took us into the forest and down the hill until we came to a viewing platform of the cape and light house. It was sunny and warm, what a blessing and Geoff and I made sound codes and sung in Dragon light as I felt under the ground instantly the rumblings. The Dragons came up and swam around the ocean and flew in the sky and I knew there would be a sign in the heavens. Sure enough I looked up in the sky and there was a dragon cloud and he looked out to the light house. Then we went down to another lookout and lay in grass for a while soaking it all in. As I was told on the inner ‘the Dragons are so glad to be free of the death keel of the slayers. To swim and fly and dance again as life unfolds to be like a tree and flea, a moth, butterfly and bird, and in the human heart resides as the Dragon heart is free to fully love. Life is now in a new dimension and hopes and joys fulfilled, the real life of divine inspiration and divine love sparks through the Dragon hearts, from ancient times revered as the Ancient of Ancient is the ones that we are. The world's have merged and the life of being true to self, transmuted and real, and true hearts reveal and now come forth in all their Dragon aspects to play in human form and live the joy of the gift of the creator. Those who cut this off and slayed the truth of life will now be given the choice to open up and be as one with all in divine love. Or cease to exist in the world's of creation to remember, and be no more for it is said as the lore of one comes forth now to be lived in full. The abundance and the light shines and sings as all wonder at the joys of life’. The mission was a great success being able to bring back the dragon light, the dragons love us so much. On the physical it was getting dark and we had another six hour drive back but I saw on the map a freeway up the peninsular a ways. So we set Sara san with the phone number of our hotel, that thankfully the receptionist had taken our keys that morning and given us a card with its number on it. So we followed Sara san in the dark and rain which poured down again through lots of roads and turn offs until we got on the freeway and it absolutely bucketed down. But we made it back to the hotel by 10.30pm in time for another soak in the hot pools. I was told on the inner ‘your mission today is to go to the top point of the volcano and just be there as the Shambala Template can now be anchored through the dragon lines and Japan from the base of the dragon to the top and beyond. It will allow for the humans and all creatures to open up more fully, you will be surprised how many will awaken now in Japan. In the dragon council last night with Lord Maitreya and all the Shambala Beings the template was set to be anchored on this day. They told me the dragons name in the grid here is Altraea and yes this is your connection to Japan you felt as a goddess and yes from the dragon clan the ancient dragons who were awakened yesterday all from the clan and Geoff too belongs to them and they love him as well it is all in divine order or symmetry of love’. So in the afternoon we drive to Lake Ikeda, near Mt Kaimon, we are in the off season so no one was there and a few tourist shops over the road. But what stands out are the signs with dragons on them. They had been sighted in the lake years before. I notice that whenever the Shambala energies are to be anchored it always includes water, as water transmits the codes easily around the Earth, as do the grids in the Earth. So when it felt the time; with intention and awareness to anchor Shambala I saw the mountain that was there before it exploded and is now a crater lake, it was high with snow on it and Shambala could only come in that far to the mountain in the higher dimensions. But it had anchored, a very positive sign for Japan and that part of the earth. No doubt more mission when the time was right for it to anchor into the lower dimensions when enough were ready with open hearts. Then we drove around the lake and kept being drawn to look at the rim of the crater cliffs and the Light Beings all around it. It wasn’t far to the volcano after we had checked out the farmland around the lake and we drove back to the payment booth then up the drive to the top point. Where we parked at the same place as the Dragon egg was hatched and I saw the Shambala energies come up from the inner earth through the core of the volcano and told to come back in the night in a soul travel. In hot springs that night the elementals who love to use me, by expanding my belly to let me know they are there all wanted to go to top of higher dimensional mountain in the lake and the Shambala field. The Shambala Template could only come up through from the Inner Earth and activate the portals there through the lake first, in the time when the great mountain existed when the place was vibrating in higher dimensions of light. Now the template is set in the sixth dimension so that those who are able to can more easily open up to their divine aspects. The rim of the volcanic crater is showing the ring of the doorway as many beings from the Inner Earth can come through now. You kept looking at the rim yesterday because you were seeing them on another level. It will take more time for the Shambala template to fully anchor here and it needed to be at an area where the dragons came alive again and Altraea was able to flow once more through all of Japan so that energy could move throughout the land. When you are at the top at the dragons head you will understand even more the importance of the Shambala anchoring and the dragons egg from Mitakasan. That awakened and birthed the young new paradigm dragons so then you could sing the ancient ones back from the terror and entrapment. As now the Reptilians and others who have held the Earth and those on her hostage no longer have the grip they had. This is happening fast now and will in Japan also, liberation of the Dragon heart is our liberation as we are not separate. We were all packed and had our last amazing breakfast and then we needed to go back to the emerald before we flew out. We had a bit of time to fill in so Geoff suggested we go to a museum that was not far away and on route to the Emerald. The museum was fascinating as it had a village built how the original people lived from ancient times and showed what had happened to the Earth there and the volcanoes. Then still raining we got back in the car and drove to the Emerald mountain. This time I navigated us right in past a health resort and under Mt Take with no one else around and in a secluded place. Just on queue as usual with the Elementals they turned off the tap for as long as it took us to get out of the car receive the codes and get back in again before it started to pour again. From the emerald, Mt Take we received the codes to take with us to Hokkaido for the Light Template anchoring and the codes from the Shambala field. Mt Take is on the grid point vortex and takes us through to Draco, and for myself anyway about the new 6D Light Body that is the next step in the awakening journey. We then went back past the lake and go onto the freeway and thank goodness for Sara san as there was a detour and roadworks on the freeway and it would have been difficult for me to navigate. We were late getting back to the hire car place but still had time to get to the airport and get our flight. We witnessed Japanese efficiently once we did arrive at the hire car place it took seconds for them to check the car and whisk us into the shuttle bus and to departures. We get to Tokyo after circling around for an hour in the sky above it, before finally landing and we got a cab in the rain to our hotel for the night. Then off the next morning to Handea airport again to meet Coco and the others coming on the journey. The beautiful goddesses who had come to Mitakasan and Lillian. We had fun and then boarded our plane while I tuned into what we were doing that afternoon once we got to Daisetsuzan National Park and our hotel. As we were flying I had an overview of what was happening. Hokkaido is the head of the Dragon and also the site of a Light City that existed in the first cycle when the Dragons first came to Earth. For the mission I knew we needed to connect to our Dragon origins as the Light City will come back into the realms of awareness, and the role of each person as a Dragon is important as each holds the codes of the beginning. So now as the template is anchored each will bring in that quality through their being. I was aware of when I came first to Earth and took on the form of the Dragon to assist with the creation of the Earth to be habitable. Now we are creating again the higher dimensional New Earth, a space we create through our love. Each has a Dragon line so long and to remember some if it is important so that we can move into the New Earth with the wisdom of the old. Going deeper into the heart of our Dragon self and remembering why we came to Earth. The Dragon initiation is to pass as a dragon in our energy and fly through the mountain and into the new creation of the Dragon field. The green Emerald codes hold the vibrations to assist each to get to hold the stillness and oneness. There were twelve of us, one local member of the group meeting us at the hotel and the rest of us from other parts of Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. We got our two six seater hire cars and headed to Daisetsuzan mountain area where our hotel was on Mt Asahidake via the supermarket. After settling into our rooms we meet down the stairs and went over the road and past a hotel and up a road way to a small shrine. Each of us connected for our journey personal and bigger picture. Coming back down the track and to a place to fill water bottles from the raging mountain river before going to one of the rooms to do our first preparation for our mission. The importance of connecting to our Dragon origins, as each of us remembers deep within the inception of the Earth and the role we played as the ancient, ancient ones who created the Earth to be habitable by linking the crystals and creating the crystalline grids and vortexes. That created an electromagnetic field on the surface that brought moisture and then life. Now we are coming full circle from the first inception to now as the Earth makes a huge shift in dimensions and light from the dense form she was, with so many higher dimensions within her, to now the dense becomes higher dimensional as well. We also all have a Dragon wound, from time of the Dragon Slayers who came to own and control the Earth and dominate the beings on the lower dimensions. The Reptilians and other ET races who once the Dragon Serpent beings had created the Earth to be inhabitable came and took it over, which has been our experience for a long time now. But now we are liberating ourselves and owning our own divine self and coming from the Dragon Heart and those controllers; who are playing out their final dance right now. With their terror and greed, and all manner of controlling and agendas of separation and fear. Are in their final throes and so it is now time for the Dragon Heart to come once more to the surface. As we heal our wounds and know our deep inner connection from the heart of us, through the heart of the Earth, through the heart of the Suns, all one. We first connected and became aware of contracts we had signed for the mission and others to be aware of. Then cleared implants, and I made sounds to assist the process that certainly shifted things with rather loud light codes blasting through the room to everyone’s surprise. Then we did an etheric blueprint cleanse. As we spoke in light language about why we had been called to come and our connection to our Dragon origin. As we journeyed into the Inner Earth remembering our Dragon Serpent linage and aspect at inception of the Earth. Which was important as later in the journey with more clearing and attunements activations, bigger picture work we became our Dragon self for the clearing of the Dragon lines and the holographic re-patterning of the New Earth that happened just before the Full Moon. We also became aware of and healed our Dragon wound and remembered our gift from our Dragon self at inception until now. As we then prepared for a soul travel to the Light City of the First Cycle and Dragon origins on Earth doing the 20 Chakra and Light Body Activation with light and sound. CAN NOW APPEAR INTO THE REALMS OF HUMANS WHO RESONATE 5D AND BEYOND TO RETURN THE EARTH TO HER FULL GLORY WITH HONOUR AND RESPECT FOR ALL THAT SHE GIVES US. The next morning we left early to drive through the valleys with mountains and lakes, until we came to the Lake Nukabira where I know we needed to stop. The serpent place with more preparation as we walked down by the lake and sat on the sand the sun quite strong above us, for once it was not raining. With connecting mudras and connecting first to the Serpent within and loving blocks through the central channel. Then aware of the kundalini flow through the chakras from Earth Star to Cosmic Gateway and back as we moved in the flow and our soul story, and descent to Earth. Loving any resistance still left to being in a physical body and attachments to the underworld and desire body. Then out of the loop of the old belief in karma and birth and death fear and separation, the illusion as we moved more fully into the cosmic flow, serpent spiralling vortexes and cosmic alignment though no time and space. Surrendered and in the kundalini cosmic flow. As we then connected to the ancient Serpent that exists in the lake and valleys. The beautiful Serpent being who is pure love and divine essence, as she took us on a journey of our soul to realise and heal whatever was still blocking our full surrender into divine will and plan. As each of us had our own journey within. Then it was time to walk back up to the cars and continue on of the main road up a dirt road along the sides of a beautiful river with the most divine forest. In the autumn the display of red, orange and yellow leaves so glorious people come for all over to see it. But for us now it was green and vibrant with life. As we got up to the Kosen osen restaurant and camping areas at the end of the valley. We had a wonderful lunch and then a soaked in the hot pools to integrate and prepare. As we went back down the valley and stopped at the doorway to the Light City by the side of the river. We scrambled down the rocky hill and onto the river flats with beautiful rocks and the river raging past us glistening in the afternoon sun and the ethereal Light City immersed in such a joy. As we aligned the nuclei of our cells to the centre of the Sun, through the centre of the Galaxy, through the centre of the Earth all one. Awakening our Divine Blueprints and Light Body to move on the soul travel into the Light City of the First Cycle and Dragon origins. We travelled into the Inner Earth and through the Inner Earth Sun into a hidden world not seen by those on the surface before. There the ancient Earth Deva greets us. Calling each of us by our ancient Dragon name. She said each of us had a made a solemn vow to return now as the Earth moves into the higher dimensions with the wisdom of the Ancient Ones that we are. (This is not just us in the group but all who choose). As we healed our wound last night so we could each be at peace. The initiation is to move beyond fear so we can fully hold the light and remember. We spoke our name on the inner, the key to the Light City. That can now appear into the realms of humans who resonate 5D and beyond to return the Earth to her full glory with honour and respect for all that she gives us. Remember the origins of the Earth at inception and now again through our Dragon Hearts we create the higher dimensional New Earth so powerful so beautiful. The Elementals held the rain off for us and an Eagle came to fly above us. I felt and saw myself and as ancient dragon goddess and the energy was so on and so beautiful I could hardly move and didn’t wanted to leave there. Aware that we also had to get back for our prearranged dinner I stayed in the zone as long as I could and was the last to leave as the others were up at the car eating saki cake gifted by dearest Lillian. Then it was off back to the hotel through the dragon and serpent realms, just in time for dinner and then the hot pools and integration. I had organised to take workshop that night but knew it was too much and we all needed to stay in the zone of the Light City and our Dragon origins as the codes filtered through us. I was told on the inner: ‘The Council of Light at the Light City there wishes that we continue working in the Light City and that each with our Dragon name. Use that name tomorrow to do our Dragon mudra and sound our Dragon name, this brings back the remembrance more fully and helps to anchor the Light Template. We followed the same dragon serpent lines and road the next day but stopped at Sounkyp Gorge to clear the karmic accumulation in the dragon lines, but first we had to collect a Dragon’s egg. We found a walkway that went right up to this amazing waterfall and we walked along the track along the Akaishi River. Then up the steep track in the deep forest with the waterfalls dancing down through the great rocks and the pregnant Dragon so happy we had come as she wanted to give us her eggs. We walked up past a beautiful rock doorway and little fern fairy realms, up the top of the waterfall to receive the egg or eggs. I received one, an opalescent huge one, others received whatever was needed for this mission and some for other mission to take the energy around Japan and the world. The waterfalls were so loud that we just allowed and received there. On the walk back down we stopped at a magical place on the grids, a doorway with soft grass and herbs as we sat amongst them. I guided everyone into clearing any cosmic karma they had as we were at the next place nearby going to clear if from the grids so needed to clear ourselves. As we spoke in light language about the Dragon eggs and the connection through the grids. Then drove down to the Ginga No Taki Falls that were from way up the top of the gorge to the bottom, a great distance. And along the ridges of the gorge the light beings and dragons were watching and waiting. As I went to find a spot where we could be in private. We transmuted DNA at dense structural levels in our bodies as we cleared the levels of ourselves ready as the rain started to come, this time the elementals were letting it happened as it was part of the work, it was still light and misty. As we tuned into our own Dragon mudra and spoke our Dragon name and then sang from our Dragon Hearts that cleared the grids of all the accumulated karma through the great Dragon of Japan and out through all the grids and Ring of Fire and Earth. It was the most amazing thing, the energy so divine, the grids so clear and sparkling and we felt so high channelling through our Dragon origins and linage to clear the old wounds held in the Earth matrix and throughout the grids in the area and then out worldwide. On the way back to the hotel that late afternoon we couldn’t contain ourselves and were dancing in the car to the David Bowie ‘put on your red shoes and dance….let’s dance!’ as we partied in celebration and joy for the release of so much old blocking energy now cleared through the Dragon Lines and ready for the next day and the Light Template anchoring at the Dragons Head. That night after dinner another workshop with the DNA ancestral separation and unification now of the strands from the point of separation with DNA integration. As we opened up to ourselves in the higher dimensions and embodied our higher dimensional selves more fully and into the levels of our light body all ready for the next day. It was raining lightly again and we went up the hill near our hotel and then up the cable car to the starting point of the track up Mt Asahidake. I knew we didn’t need to go to the top of the mountain to anchor the Light Template, much to the relief of most of the group. It was by the lake with the shrine and on clear days it mirrors the mountain but not on the day we were there. We started off up the track looking at the beautiful flowers and lakes and then the weather cleared, I thought yes the elementals are going to keep it clear for us. But as we climbed up more steps and over to the roaring geo thermal area and the dragon fire I could see that no, it was going to stay foggy and rainy. The sound of the dragon’s breath was incredible. I have never heard a sounds like it and living in NZ we have lots of geothermal but not like at the Dragons head with its Dragons roar. Then we went to the shrine by the lake, Sugatami Pond and there were too many people there and also it was raining. But there was a shed for shelter nearby and we went in and the people in there had finished their lunch and went out and we had it to ourselves while we energetically got in the zone ready to anchor the Light Template. Opening up the divine light through the endocrine glands and chakras to our Iridescent Light Body. As we healed any old duality games of our goddess god aspects and then into our Diamond Light Body and the highest dimensional self that each of us could hold as we surrendered into the octahedron spiralling vortex of life force and Thirteen Rays of the Rainbow. As we spoke in light language about why it was here that the Light Template needed to be anchored. As the Dragon here is so important to the Earth and once the Light Template was anchored it was moving out through all the Earth. (This has meant the shift is even more pronounced. No going back, no more sitting on fences, it’s either in the Light or out, for those still not sure it’s not easy as everything that needs to be looked at is brought to their attention to be dealt with.) The energy was so on as our Diamond Light Bodies glowed. We went outside and found a spot just off the track, as the track and area of the shrine where roped off and so there was not much room to stand as a group but it didn’t matter. The rain was very light and gentle and a fog, the Dragons were all there and so we did our Dragon mudra, and Dragon name as we gave our Dragon egg/s to the mountain the Light Template come in through our Dragon heart singing. We felt so much joy and the energy became so clear, the Dragons were happy and the grids so clear and crystalline sparkling. The energy was so on and I knew this was big, but how to put in human words to explain such huge shifts in the dimensional realms of Earth so much more joy and light. In 3d things needed to settle as the old is being cleansed and transmuted as everyone’s hearts are the key. The others left to walk back down to the cable car, but I couldn’t move, I was so in the moment and energy and so found a place to sit on the side of the track near the lake and just be in the stillness and peace. Meanwhile the clearing of the grids will be shaking up a lot for the places and those who still need to choose love as the way forward in the world. There was so much love from the mountain and the Dragons, the Devas, Elementals and the Dragons asked that we remember the song of the Dragon Heart to be with them tonight and dance in the Dragon light of the heart. Eventually I walked back down to the cable car station, shop and restaurant. I wasn’t worried about catching one of our cars as once out of the cable car it was a walk down hill to our hotel and soak in the hot water. I caught up with Coco and a few others who then drove back. But I had my new raincoat on that I had brought the day before and it was waterproof. So it was such a joy to stay in the fog and rain and play with the Dragons. Then to the osen and the one outside as the rain got strong but sitting in the hot clean flow of geothermal water and just Being. There were such big things happening for us all, and the Earth, that silence seems the best way to allow it to be and integrate through the water into the cells, though the water in the hot pool, through all the waters. The Light Template was now anchored though the Dragon lines the water and cosmic ocean, the stars and crystals the light cities and through nature and the elementals. The elementals had given this mission and the Light Template anchored through the elementals energies on the physical earth, stars and also other dimensional realms of earth was almost complete with only the Diamonds and Diamond light matrix through the geographical location in Iceland. The stones and multi-universes at Avebury and the Dolphins and Whale codes completing at the Crown Chakra of the New Earth, Mt Titiroa NZ. But the mission was still not completed with a soul travel into the New Earth as this was being re-patterned as well with all the shifts that had taken place. The next morning 19th we said good bye to Naomi who could not come with us for the rest of the journey and drove towards the Shiretoko Peninsular. We stopped at Lake Kussharo for lunch and to view the great crater with islands in it but no such luck as per usual it was foggy and light rain. Then we drove through lush fields of grains and potatoes and onwards to the coast and the Oshin Koshin Taki falls that were right by the coast. It was still raining of course as we climbed up the steps to the waterfall, the energy was so divine. I had of course wanted to do more preparation for the work that was to take place but it was all good and it was not hard for us all to get in the zone. As we opened to the Living Library of Light codes we brought with us from Lyra, as we came through the prism and danced in the holograms of our love experiencing duality. Now as we are on the journey home we connected to the Sun that was important to each of us. As we moved through the Sun/s allowing the codes through the Sun in our hearts and out through our cells. The Living Library of Light we hold awakens more fully the codes we hold create the New Earth. As the New Earth is a hologram of our love. As the codes we hold though our Suns re-pattern the Earth in divine order of symmetry of Light resonating in the Love that we are, one with the Source. Aware of the great vortex where we stood, the sacred Dragon portal, the Dragon Lines and grids so clear from the work we had done and others around the Earth. Creating a clear loving space for the Earth to be resonate enough now as the collective consciousness of humanity are ready or not. Aware of the Living Library of Light codes we all held, and the codes through the waterfall and vortex they all flow through us and into the Inner Earth Sun and out through the Dragon Heart and Dragon grids all cleared now through the Earth. I could literally see the Earth so bright and shining clear, network of light shining. The energy was so beautiful and divine and as we opened our eyes seeing even more with eyes of Love. Everything had changed, the shift has exhilarated majorly and the dark forces are out. You might find that hard to believe if you watch TV or any of the media games, but that is the illusion and not even real, let go the old programmes and the brainwashing machines and feel yourself there already. Re-patterned in divine order of love. Not just changing the channel but turning it all off and allowing the reality of love and life to embrace you. We left the waterfall and vortex after more time just being with it and its beauty and drove not far to our hotel at Utoro, at the end of the main road up the peninsular. With just a dirt track to the hot falls or the road going across to the other coast it was not possible to get up to Cape Shiretoko at the Star Temple by land the next day. The next morning July 20, we drove up the narrow forest road with lush vegetation and trees surrounding us and the beautiful deer feeding right by the road. There were devas and goddesses and gods everywhere and this flower goddess who kept showering us with flowers and the lord of the forest watched over us. Until we got to the warm waterfall that was gently sloping over huge smooth rounded boulders. As usual it was raining and cool and so we walked up to the top of the little track that lead onto the waterfall and did our inner connection to all the elementals, devas, dragons, goddesses and gods, light beings and guardians who had called us here to the Inner Earth doorway. I guided everyone first into preconception about coming into the New Earth, then conception on why they choose their mother father and thank them. Then in the womb how did they feel in the New Earth. Aware of the vortex at the physical location of the birth place and is it an old Earth or new earth place, if old loving and accepting until transmuted. Receiving the codes and love coming through the New Earth vortex into life. Coming out into New Earth higher dimensional Earth and self. Then working with the elementals to assist anywhere we lived, in our body and gifts any are giving us. Then aware of the elementals of the doorway and falls, the flower goddess wished to give us essences of the flowers and the Tree god, Lord of forest assisting us with our inner light and inner strength. Then there were all the fairies, elves and nature spirits as they took us to a serene tunnel of gold and obsolescent 13 rays of the rainbow light. As we travelled to the Ancient Serpent Woman who puts us into the Cosmic Egg for healing and rejuvenation until we birthed out of the egg the real self. We received the light codes then for Capricorn Full Moon grounding through Star Temple and higher dimensional stars into the New Earth. After much gratitude to the Ancient Serpent Woman and for birthing from the Cosmic Egg we went to play on the waterfall. Some of the group went way up high, others had a soak in the pools. It was such a joyful place to be. It seemed only a short ride back to the hotel then most of us went to have a shower and hot soak in the hot mineral pools and then we went down to the town and to the Boat company office. Walking down to the wharf and onto our boat to take us up to the Star Temple. It had been a bad summer so far with not enough sun and there were not many on our 80 seater boat. The fog and light rain still our friend. As we went up along the coast we saw bears at two different places foraging (see on picture right hand corner the bear) on the shore looking for food, one was a mother with her cub. Then after looking at all the waterfalls coming down to the ocean along the coast line, the weather started to close in even more and by the time we got to Cape Shiretoko we couldn’t see the light house or the cliffs but we sure could feel the energy. This mission seemed more about the inner planes and sensing rather than seeing places of great importance on our mission like at the Dragons Head and now here at the Star Temple. The boat turned around at the cape and as we left it with the codes from the Star Temple within us and our hearts feeling so open and loving as the energies were divine, we sighted dolphins of course in perfect timing. They were happy to see us, as we them and they came with us part of the way back. Our boat trip had taken longer than scheduled so it was back to the hotel for a hot pool soak then up to my room for the last workshop preparation time before the exact time of the full moon at 7.57pm local time. WE HOLD THE STAR LIGHT AND EARTH WISDOM. In the room we could look out and see the port and the ocean and we did inner unification on the broken DNA strands and template of light transmission activation. Then onto our star linages and one with the Andromedan heart of the Galaxy with the Inner Earth Sun, heart of the Earth, one through our heart. We had a break right as the Sun was setting with the most beautiful magenta pink sunset that illuminated right through the room magenta and the soft sun light. As we opened up to the stars and the planets within us and the New Solar System stars were downloaded through us. We connected in the Star Temple and the codes we had picked up. Aware of dancing in the stars and into the ethereal Star Temple as the Earth and Star Walkers. Light and free dancing in the beauty of the stars and higher dimensional stars in unlimited possibilities. Aware of the starlight, still present on our physical bodies with the light codes we carried from the Inner Earth, the Living Library of Light and Star Temple, through the higher dimensional stars and into the New Earth that now was re-patterned to absorb the new star lights. Then holding the energy we walked outside the hotel and over to an area that was parkland with view of the ocean and the hills in the east with the full moon coming up behind the hills, almost risen. As we formed a circle and toned in the codes through the New Earth and Inner Earth Sun, star light codes and living light codes with the blessing and love from the Inner Earth Ancient Ones and Dragons. As the full moon started to rise at the same time as to my surprise the Cosmic Egg in the Inner Earth came though and was birthed here on the surface. The new creation of the New Earth. Even more to my surprise the Ancient Serpent Woman who was a multi-d aspect of mine (this is not exclusive we are all one with these higher dimensional aspects of our self, it’s just a matter of being clear and unified enough to remember). I had worked with for years as she held the ancient of ancient codes and Earth Wisdom. As the full moon shone through the clouds as a sign that the light had once again returned to shine through our hearts as we create heaven on earth, it was almost too much to take in what had occurred and awhile to integrate. In fact when I got back to NZ and into my new home in the countryside with no wifi or tv or radio I was glad these things weren’t working as all I wanted to do was sleep, eat, rest and integrate. As I gradually unpack and sort out my new home. We are all sorting out our new home, and it’s within our heart. So don’t be hard on yourself if things don’t seem right at present everything is still integrating and takes time to come through into 3d. With so much love and gratitude for Masumi, Magumi, Coco and Geoff who helped so much with the logistics of the missions. To all the participants in Tokyo and Hokkaido radiant divine ones, thank you for sharing your love and radiant light for this such amazing mission for humanity and the great shift in cycle. I love you, without you none of it is possible divine radiant ones. And to you the reader who was there too as your multi-d selves the Dragon’s, Goddesses Gods, Elementals and divine essences. We have changed the reality, what we have wanted in our hearts all along now coming to us. In the One Heart so much gratitude and love for all of us, all one. On the way back to the airport we visited Lake Kussharo again this time it was clear. And in the shop there you can buy dragons eggs, below is their packet wrapping.

2019-04-21T06:45:07Z

http://www.evenstarcreations.com/index.php/new-earth/light-templates/dragon-lines

Biopharmaceutical innovation has had a profound health and economic impact globally. Developed countries have traditionally been the source of most innovations as well as the destination for the resulting economic and health benefits. As a result, most prior research on this sector has focused on developed countries. This paper seeks to fill the gap in research on emerging markets by analyzing factors that influence innovative activity in the indigenous biopharmaceutical sectors of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. Using qualitative research methodologies, this paper a) shows how biopharmaceutical innovation is taking place within the entrepreneurial sectors of these emerging markets, b) identifies common challenges that indigenous entrepreneurs face, c) highlights the key role played by the state, and d) reveals that the transition to innovation by companies in the emerging markets is characterized by increased global integration. It suggests that biopharmaceutical innovators in emerging markets are capitalizing on opportunities to participate in the drug development value chain and thus developing capabilities and relationships for competing globally both with and against established companies headquartered in developed countries. The UNESCO Science Report 2010 shows that the emerging markets of China, India and Brazil are, by many indications, leading most of the world in the pace of scientific and technological development. The growing research and development (R&D) expenditures and rising global share of scientific publications and patenting rates in these countries (see Table 1) reflect efforts by diverse actors to compete globally. National policies, domestic economic growth, and global trends over the last several decades have stimulated growth and innovation within domestic biopharmaceutical enterprises in China, India, Brazil and South Africa (which hereafter we call ‘emerging markets/economies’). Increasingly, this growth and innovation has led to unique advantages that allow some emerging-market firms to compete effectively on global markets rather than to serve primarily as suppliers, vendors and outsourcers to developed-country pharmaceutical multinational corporations. Growth in the pharmaceutical sectors of these four emerging countries continues to outpace that in developed countries (see Table 1). Brazilian and South African policy objectives have thus far focused primarily on import substitution and lowering the cost of health products for local populations. In contrast, those of India and China aim at nurturing an innovation ecosystem and a vibrant bio-economy with greater ambitions for exportation from the sector. Sources: 1 UNESCO Science Report 2010. Data is for 2007 unless stated otherwise. 2 OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2010. Share of publications is for 2008, except for India where this share represents 2006 Data. 3 DataMonitor 2010, Country-specific Pharmaceutical Industry Profile Reports. * Estimate for India is for period 1997–2004. ** Estimate for India is for 1995–2005. *** Estimate for Brazil is for 1998–2008. **** Data for 2005–2009 and 2009–1014. CAGR stands for Cumulative Annual Growth Rate. While earlier research has focused on technology transfer through foreign direct investment, alliances, and other cross-border partnerships to boost developing-country entrepreneurship , indigenous innovation and entrepreneurship are receiving increasing attention as means of improving the health and wealth of the poor directly and for cultivating knowledge capabilities in resource-limited settings . Existing research shows that the global pharmaceutical multinational corporations (MNCs) based in resource-rich countries have tended not to develop drugs for exclusive use in the developing world or to make significant investments in drug development for neglected diseases [3–5]. The role of emerging market firms in filling this gap, as well as enhancing affordability, is of much interest, but is not a key focus for this paper. Suffice it to say that previous publications , and our ongoing studies, do suggest that emerging market firms, as a group, have a greater overall focus on addressing developing-world diseases than their major global competitors. Nonetheless, we have also argued that diseases that almost exclusively affect poor market segments in the developing world are unlikely to be addressed by emerging market firms as well, and require specific attention from the global health community and local and international governments. This paper analyzes key issues and implications of corporate innovation in emerging economies. The core research questions we address here are: how do health technologies develop in emerging economies? Have companies in emerging economies specialized on technologies? What entrepreneurial strategies and enterprise structures have been commonly used to facilitate the transition into business models that emphasize innovation? What are the key barriers to health product innovation? What is the role of the state in innovation within health enterprises in the emerging markets? What is the role of emerging market companies in the global pharmaceutical sector, and how do emerging-market competitors interact with incumbent firms based in the developed economies? The results of our analysis of the mechanisms that shaped corporate competitiveness in emerging markets yields insights at two levels: first, on country policies that enable and support technological upgrading and specialization; and second, on entrepreneurial strategies and business models that enhance corporate innovation and global competitiveness. The basis of this article is qualitative case study analysis of indigenous biopharmaceutical enterprises in each of Brazil, China, India and South Africa. Qualitative research approach was chosen as it can help us understand a phenomenon of interest in its complexity, to identify areas that need to be influenced, and to see the consequences of policy intervention in real life (; p.10). This analysis builds on a series of country-specific studies published in the Nature Biotechnology journal [9–12], which focused on products and services, partnerships, intellectual property (IP) portfolios, business models, financial environments and barriers to development for companies in each country. This analysis is a comparative assessment across the four nations and is informed by face-to-face interviews with representatives of 91 domestic biopharmaceutical companies (Table 2) as well as 25 other institutions in the stated countries. Institutional informants included government agencies involved in biopharmaceutical development, venture capital firms, technology parks/incubators, and industry associations. The interview data complemented insights gained from published reports and articles, websites of companies and relevant government institutions and policy documents. Interview data was employed to enhance confirmation of and elaboration upon documentary evidence. The firms chosen were primarily involved in the development and production of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. With a few exceptions, interview data was collected through site visits and semi-structured, face-to-face interviews lasting approximately 60–90 minutes. Zensun (Shanghai) Sci. &Tech. Co., Ltd. The modern pharmaceutical industry finds its origins in the synthetic dye industry in Germany and Switzerland and the discovery of medicinal effects of some dyestuffs . The large-scale production of penicillin during World War II spawned considerable R&D investments and productivity in terms of pharmaceutical innovations particularly by the major US-based companies . The 1976 inception of Genentech (San Francisco, now part of Roche based in Basel, Switzerland) spawned the modern biotechnology industry. The latter is characterized by many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With the exception of a few large firms, biotech SMEs are dispersed across a considerable number of countries. Notwithstanding somewhat distinct developmental trajectories, pharmaceutical and health biotechnology sectors are increasingly intertwined due to mergers and acquisitions and overlapping activities. While key firms remain based in a relatively small group of countries – including the U.S., the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, and France – the global dispersion of their activities is increasing, as is the emergence of indigenous firms in different countries. The geographic concentration of innovative activities in health technology is thought to be a function of historical differences in institutional environments . Therefore, it is of interest to examine how the changing institutional context in the emerging markets has impacted the development of biopharmaceutical sectors in these nations. The adoption of the World Trade Organization’s Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement has been among key institutional adjustments and has enhanced the impetus to innovate. It is against this backdrop that we witness a growing number of firms in the emerging markets building innovative capability. This capacity may be particularly crucial in the post-TRIPS era where the power of emerging market manufacturers to affect drug prices in poor markets is likely to be diminished , and drug prices rise due to the marketing of high priced products by pharmaceutical MNCs . The health biotech sectors of emerging economies are undergoing a major transformation characterized by increased technological sophistication of product portfolios and R&D activities. In a recent study, we identified 376 medicinal or vaccine candidates within the pipelines of 66 indigenous companies in China, India and Brazil (Unpublished Results). An estimated 60% of the 376 candidates involve new chemical or molecular entities, and as such could be considered new-to-the-world type of innovations. The rest include innovations that build on known molecules or products. Among the 376 candidates identified, over two-thirds are in the discovery or preclinical stage, and only about 3% (11) of products have reached the domestic market. These results, together with studies cited previously, demonstrate that domestic companies in the emerging markets are developing new capabilities and novel health products, but also that they are at a relatively early stage from the perspective of innovation. A common strategy for entrepreneurs in emerging economies has been to develop technologically and financially less demanding products before venturing into more sophisticated areas as internal capabilities and revenues improve. Historically the major thrust of firms in emerging economies has been mainly to offer non-novel products and services under contract to established pharmaceutical multinational firms, or as low-technology traditional formulations. By and large, the development of globally innovative products by emerging market firms is a relatively recent phenomenon and has been enabled by a number of factors. Reverse engineering of existing drugs has had a considerable learning effect for industries in China, India and Brazil, facilitating the adoption of new technologies and easing the transition into innovative activities. Firms have not only gained experience in health product manufacturing and marketing, but have also developed the necessary technical expertise to allow them to venture into more sophisticated areas. In this respect, the absence of a strong domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in South Africa puts it in a different category than the other three countries studied, resulting in the dearth of a skilled knowledge base on which to build. A key driver of technological upgrading, particularly by Indian firms, has been an interest in export markets, including the major markets of the U.S. and Europe. While domestic populations constitute the main market – at least presently – for most health biotech enterprises studied, there is a growing interest among executives in many medium and large firms to export products. Thus far, export of finished products is notable only in India, where the traditional pharmaceutical sector has increased its foreign sales by over 21% annually between 1996 and 2005 and the country’s fast-growing biotech sector, as a whole, garners 56% of its revenues from exports . Major Indian firms have been able to increase exports to the U.S. and elsewhere, by upgrading their manufacturing facilities to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements. The growing number of strategic alliances between pharmaceutical MNCs and Indian companies also allows the latter group of firms to capitalize on their manufacturing capacity and the considerable marketing resources of MNCs to address global markets . In contrast, few companies in China, Brazil, and South Africa have thus far exported finished medicines to highly regulated markets. This trend is likely to change however, as these countries continue to enhance their own manufacturing standards. Notwithstanding the fact that health biotech industries in the emerging markets are in a transition period, one can observe patters of specialization by country. Diagnostics and medical devices were common starting points for a number of firms in Brazil and South Africa, respectively, while vaccines represent a major entry point for many firms in India. For instance, Hyderabad-based firms Bharat Biotech and Shantha Biotechnics (now part of Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis) started out in vaccine manufacturing, and have since expanded their range of activities to include manufacturing of other recombinant products. China’s Beijing Wantai, primarily a diagnostics company, has focused on innovative research including efforts to commercialize a novel hepatitis E vaccine. Similarly, Brazil’s FK Biotech (Porto Alegre) has expanded its range of activities from manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies for diagnostic kits to development of cancer vaccines. Starting with local markets, some firms have become major players at a global scale. Vision Biotech (Cape Town, South Africa) for example claimed to be the second-largest manufacturer of rapid tests for malaria worldwide, and the Serum Institute of India (Pune) is a major global vaccine supplier. Also, a growing number of incumbent pharmaceutical companies are developing manufacturing capabilities for recombinant products, with many in India and China already benefiting from related efforts over the past decade. Indian companies have become key global vaccine suppliers. A dozen vaccine companies generate over 50% of the annual revenues for the biotech sector, a market that reached US$2.5 billion in 2007/8 . The entry of Indian, as well as some other developing-country firms, into vaccine production took off in the 1990s as manufacturers in the industrialized countries began to abandon these markets in favor of more lucrative ones elsewhere . It has been suggested that the emergence of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the GAVI Fund played a significant role in stimulating the technological expansion of developing world vaccine manufacturers particularly in India and Brazil . Among the largest Indian vaccine producers are Serum Institute of India, Panacea Biotec (New Delhi), Biological E (Hyderabad), Bharat Biotech and Shantha Biotechnics. Some of these firms have become major global suppliers of vaccines to public immunization programs in collaboration with the UNICEF, PAHO and the WHO . Recent involvement of Indian companies - namely, Bharat Biotech, Zydus Cadila (Hyderabad), Panacea Biotech, the Serum Institute and Biological E - in the race towards a domestically developed vaccine for H1N1 influenza signals the country’s growing technological capability in vaccine development. It is worth mentioning that some of these firms relied on in-licensing of the core technology from foreign firms. Other key focus areas for the Indian firms include a growing trend towards production of biogenerics and the discovery and development of novel small-molecule drug candidates. Mumbai-based Piramal Life Sciences and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals are among the leaders in this group, each having over 10 lead drug candidates in development. Other Indian firms are working on developing new drug delivery systems, monoclonal antibodies and diagnostic tests, and manufacturing recombinant medicines . In anticipation of India’s adoption of the TRIPS agreement in 2005, the pharmaceutical industry in India spent approximately US$292 million (13.2 billion Indian rupees) on R&D between 2003–2004, accounting for 3.6% of overall revenues . The global competitiveness of India’s private industry in both vaccines and therapeutics is, in part, a result of the relative openness of its domestic market and limited involvement of the government sector in health product manufacturing. In China and Brazil (and until recently in South Africa), the prominent role of state-sponsored or public sector institutes in vaccine development and production has diminished the scope for the domestic private sector in this area. Chinese firms involved in innovation have a considerable focus on developing novel therapeutics in frontier areas and often leverage traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) knowledge and resources. Gene therapies against some cancers, developed by Shenzhen SiBiono (Shenzhen) and Shanghai Sunway (Shanghai), have been on the market for over four years . As of mid-2009, approximately 9,000 patients had been treated for head and neck cancer with SiBiono’s innovative gene therapy product, marketed as Gendicine®, approximately 1,200 of whom came from outside China. Other innovative projects in the pipeline included a novel drug candidate for cutaneous T-Cell lymphoma by Shenzhen Chipscreen (Shenzhen), an HIV treatment candidate by Fusogen (Tianjin) and products to address lung fibrosis and liver cirrhosis by Shanghai Genomics. There are also significant efforts towards modernization of TCM, involving manufacturing quality control, efficacy tests, and determining active ingredients and their mechanisms of action. While China’s efforts towards new vaccine development have generally trailed behind India, strong emphasis by the Chinese government in recent years on technological advancement in this area may be reversing this trend. The Chinese vaccine-manufacturing sector is one of the largest in the world in terms of production volume, where approximately 30 vaccine manufacturers, mostly domestic enterprises, produce over a billion vaccine doses annually . As a sign of recent progress, Sinovac Biotech (Beijing) gained manufacturing approval in September 2009 from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for its single-dose H1N1 vaccine – a time frame similar to leading global firms and preceding the launch of clinical trials by its Indian counterparts mentioned above. The Brazilian health biotech industry is populated by a growing number of technology-based small and medium sized (SME) enterprises as well as generics-based pharmaceutical incumbents, some of whom are transitioning to innovative R&D activities. Overall, the sector remains very young with the vast majority of health biotech enterprises coming into existence in the past decade . A handful of the SMEs we studied had marketed and/or were developing novel technologies. Examples of these firms include Pele Nova Biotechnologia, Recepta Biopharma (both in São Paulo), and FK Biotec (Porto Alegre). Some of these firms have leveraged early success in diagnostics to develop more technologically advanced products . Similarly, large generics firms including Cristália (Itapira) and Aché Laboratories (São Paulo) are building capabilities in discovery and development of innovative drugs. Some firms such as Aché and Eurofarma (São Paulo) were developing capabilities to manufacture large molecules, as part of their foray into biotechnology. However, regardless of size, Brazilian companies tend to shy away from vaccine development and production due to the dominant role played by the country’s public sector in this area. Furthermore, in Brazil and China the public sector supplies a considerable portion of basic medicines deemed essential for public health. Where public and private domains have significant, overlapping, and unclear boundaries it can create tension between the sectors , possibly detracting from the country’s overall innovative capacity. The nascent health biotech sector in South Africa relies considerably on the research capabilities of the country’s universities and research institutes to identify novel technologies and products for commercial development . For example, Elevation Biotech (Johannesburg), which was spun out of the University of Witwatersrand and the National Health Laboratory Service (both in Johannesburg), is developing novel peptides to inhibit HIV entry into cells. Elevation has received grants from the South African government and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (New York) to develop and test new vaccine antigens. Other innovative firms include: iThemba Pharmaceuticals (Modderfontein) focused on drug development for tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV/AIDS, Arvir Technologies (Modderfontein) is developing cost-effective methods to manufacture HIV drugs, and Disa Vascular (Cape Town), which is involved in development and manufacturing of coronary artery stents. A few South African firms have also ventured into nutraceuticals including Biomox Pharmaceuticals (Pretoria) and Cape Kingdom (Cape Town). Biovac Institute (Cape Town) was founded in 2003 as a public-private partnership to supply South Africa’s vaccination program, after attempts at a purely public system failed to accomplish this goal. It remains the only vaccine manufacturer in Sub-Saharan Africa. In all four countries, locally abundant natural resources are increasingly leveraged to identify and develop novel health technologies. Biodiversity resources and traditional medicines serve as a major source for lead compound identification for firms in the emerging markets. For example, Shanghai Ambrosia Pharmaceuticals (Shanghai) uses its novel platform technologies to screen TCMs for lead molecules against cancer and immunological diseases. Brazil’s Aché Pharmaceuticals and Pele Nova Biotechnologia have marketed phytotherapeutic-based products used for inflammation and skin lesions respectively, and a number of others are developing other products originating from Brazilian biodiversity . India’s Piramal Life Sciences, in collaboration with public universities and research institutes, has developed a large bank of natural products and product extracts as well as a microbial library containing over 40,000 different cultures. Many of the company’s lead molecules under study – including some in clinical trials – were sourced from these assets. Avesthagen (Bangalore) uses a multi-disciplinary approach to develop health products, including dietary supplements, drawing extensively on knowledge from Indian medicinal plants. Specialization patterns are broadly reflective of a complex interplay involving the institutional environment in each country, local knowledge as embodied in universities and research institutes, access to unique and country-specific resources, the divergent involvement of the public sector in health product manufacturing and provision, and the evolving competition and cooperation between local and global rivals. As recently as a decade ago, life-sciences firms in emerging markets were engaged mainly in activities such as manufacturing, formulating, packaging and distributing generic products. By contrast, today a much broader scope of business models and strategies are used to generate revenues and invest for future prosperity across the emerging markets. A growing number of firms view product R&D as an important component of their business models. However, the extent of their commitment to R&D and the nature of their involvement vary across firms and countries. The divergent involvement in innovation is influenced by two key factors. Global MNCs have historically tended to concentrate in high margin market segments in the emerging markets, leaving domestic companies to settle for second and third tier cities, rural areas and other neglected niche segments. The resulting pressure on margins for local companies, together with dearth of private capital to support biopharmaceutical innovation has meant that indigenous firms have also had to innovate in business models. First, the relatively few pure R&D firms in existence today, such as Recepta BioPharma (Brazil), Fusogen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (China), and iThemba Pharmaceuticals (South Africa), have tended to garner significant support from governmental sources. Most companies we studied in China, Brazil and South Africa had received some government funding for their innovation projects. Indian firms have traditionally had less direct support from government sources, perhaps contributing to the near absence of a pure R&D-based business model among firms in this country. Second, health enterprises studied rely considerably on partnerships with domestic universities and research institutes as well as foreign entities. Firm-university linkages typically serve to fill in gaps in internal R&D capabilities and access facilities/equipment and, to a lesser extent, to the transfer of new technologies to firms. Notwithstanding these benefits domestic university-company links remain weak overall, largely for cultural and historical reasons. There appears to be a strong correlation between the degree of firms’ engagement in innovative R&D and their likelihood of having linkages with domestic universities and research institutes in all countries studied. For example, R&D-intensive firms such as Recepta Biopharma of Brazil, Shanghai Sunway and Sinovac Biotech of China, and Avesthagen in India have strong collaborations with academic institutions. Similarly, most South African firms, which are often established to commercialize technologies originating from universities, maintain close linkages with these institutes. In contrast, domestic entrepreneurial collaboration, particularly partnerships aimed at product development, appears limited across all countries studied. Third, most innovation-minded entrepreneurs have adopted an indigenous growth model at or shortly after inception, where R&D activities are financed through internal revenue generation. The result is that these enterprises often undertake two distinct sets of activities: one set aims at generating revenues in the short-term, while the other is focused on innovation for long-term growth. For example, when Mr. Eduardo Cruz, the founding director of Cryopraxis (Rio de Janeiro), wished to start a company in 2000 that would develop stem-cell therapies, his initial strategy was to start a cord blood banking service to help finance R&D activities. A common approach for generating revenues in all four countries remains the in-house manufacturing and marketing of products, be they generics, copycat therapeutics, or modifications of existing health products often targeted at niche markets. Another prevalent strategy among innovative firms in China and India is to offer a variety of product development and/or manufacturing services, often to foreign clients. Examples of firms that grew by utilizing this model include India’s Bharat Biotech and the Chinese firms Shenzhen Chipscreen and Shanghai Genomics. In industrialized economies it is well established that financing new product development with current revenues is more expensive and constraining compared to investment-driven financing. Nonetheless, even where available, emerging market equity investors typically demand revenues from early on in Investee Company’s life cycle – in some cases causing them to abandon innovative projects with extended development periods. Fourth, a relatively recent trend particularly notable in China and India is growing international linkages of domestic firms to advance innovative R&D activities. These partnerships often manifest in one of two forms – outsourcing or co-development arrangements. The provision of contract R&D services in the emerging markets is relatively new and transactional in that services are rendered in return for payments upon completion of specified milestones. Previously, domestic companies only offered manufacturing and clinical research services with limited capability in other aspects of drug discovery and development. Companies adopting the newer model typically serve foreign clients by focusing on discovery and development as well as contract manufacturing for proprietary health products. Among a growing group of service providers are China’s Wuxi Pharmatech, Sundia Meditech Company (both in Shanghai) and India’s Advinus Therapeutics (Bangalore) and Jubilant Organosys (Noida), all of whom have enjoyed considerable growth in recent years. Co-development projects on the other hand involve joint discovery and/or development of novel technologies between Indian and Chinese firms and foreign counterparts, usually large multinational corporations (MNCs). China’s Hutchison MediPharma (Shanghai) is an integrated R&D company whose discovery and development activities are supported, in part, through relationships with Eli Lilly (Indianapolis, IN), Merck KGaA (Whitehouse Station, NJ) and Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Raritan, NJ). India’s Jubilant Biosys (Bangalore) and Suven Life Sciences (Hyderabad) are other examples of companies that have significant levels of collaborations with multinational firms. What distinguishes co-development from outsourcing is that under the former approach, the emerging-markets partner shares in longer-term risks and returns form commercialization projects. Such relationships are motivated, in part, by the desire on the part of multinationals to reduce drug development costs by tapping cheaper scientific labor in the emerging markets. Benefits to domestic firms include: access to financing for innovative projects, technological learning, sharing of future royalties, and reputational advantages of working closely with major global enterprises. Our analysis revealed a number of important barriers that hinder entrepreneurial progress in health product innovation in the countries studied. Although many of the challenges are similar across the four countries studied, the underlying mechanisms that give rise to the challenges differ. While all four countries have expanding capabilities in science and technology in general and life sciences in particular, access to specially trained personnel in health biotech innovation is often limited. The most common strategies to fill shortage of skilled labor have been to: a) increase science and technology capacity in general through investment in R&D, b) develop targeted training programs, and c) recruit highly trained personnel from abroad. As a result of the first strategy, all countries studied have increased their relative contribution to global scientific publications in recent years. In particular, China’s publication and citation rates have been rising substantially, making it the fifth largest publisher globally . This country’s scientific publications grew at an average annual rate of 16.5% between 1995–2005, compared with 4.7 and 8% for India and Brazil respectively . While this trend speaks to a strengthening of the science and technology base, it is often not sufficient to address shortages of specially trained personnel. Efforts by the emerging economies to train personnel domestically are not only time-consuming, but face challenges of their own. Many training programs relevant to health biotech in the emerging economies are based in university systems, which have been traditionally isolated from industry. As a result they are not perceived to be effective at detecting and addressing the changing industrial demands. Nonetheless, some efforts in this regard are underway. For example, India’s Department of Biotechnology has a number of programs including sponsorship of post-graduate training in biotechnology and the provision of stipends for post-graduate students to work in the industry for six months. Similarly, Brazil has initiated a program that sponsors researchers’ salaries for a period of time while they work in the industry. South Africa’s human resource challenges seem related to the country’s inability to sufficiently retain highly trained individuals and the lack of a strong pharmaceutical manufacturing sector to provide a basic skill-set for further industrial development. Lastly, the Chinese, and to a lesser extent Indian, industries have been beneficiaries of returnees, who in many cases have obtained specialized training abroad and have strong scientific and commercial networks. China’s post-1978 policies towards overseas study allowed tens of thousands of Chinese students and scholars to go abroad for education and training. However, only an estimated 25% of these students return to China after their training . In response, the Chinese government has put in place an ambitious suite of programs and incentives to recruit back highly-trained Chinese professionals and academics from abroad, with mixed results . For instance, Simon and Cao find that these incentives have thus far failed to recruit the most-highly trained and accomplished groups . What is also uncertain is whether those who do return will be sufficiently supported to stay for the long term, and if the skewed compensation scheme in favor of returnees can be maintained without adversely affecting overall employee morale. What is clear is that China’s ambitious R&D infrastructure-building programs, as part of its overall goal to build an innovative and globally competitive bioeconomy, is likely to create ongoing demands for specialized skills in various areas. It remains to be seen whether current initiatives will be sufficient to meet this demand. As many companies in the emerging economies have ventured into innovative activities only in recent years, their in-house R&D capabilities and infrastructure are often limited. A common strategy to obtain required services is to partner with researchers within universities and research institutes. This strategy is helpful to a degree but a number of factors detract from its effectiveness. These include the historical lack of an entrepreneurial culture within universities and the traditional isolation of the public and private sectors in these countries. Although governments have made some efforts to bridge the divide between public and private sectors – often through funding of collaborative projects – in most cases there is little indication that these efforts have made a significant impact. An exception to this may be China, where the involvement of government in many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is thought to make interactions with universities and research institutes easier for these firms. In addition, China has embarked on an ambitious infrastructure-building exercise through its Hi-tech Parks Initiative. In the span of less than 20 years, the country has built 54 high-tech parks, an estimated 20 of which have a life sciences component. The largest of these is the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai. Initiated in 1992, this park occupies an area of 25 square kilometers and is already home to over 4,000 enterprises, with approximately 400 being life science companies, institutes and service providers. Other major life science clusters include Zhongguancun Life Science Park in Beijing, and bioBay in Suzhou, which is a joint project between China and Singapore. These parks offer a host of benefits and invariably have one or more incubator facilities, which especially cater to small and medium technology-based enterprises. While India and Brazil have a few clusters, that are similar in certain respects, the scale and speed of development in China is breathtaking by comparison. One of the most common challenges facing innovation-inspired firms in the emerging economies relates to the clarity and effective enforcement of regulations governing health products. Again, while the outcome often manifests in delays in regulatory approval, the underlying causes often vary across nations. For instance, while a fragmented regulatory regime in India has historically posed serious challenges to the growth of the innovative health biotech sector, lack of practical experience on the part of Brazilian and South African regulators was thought to make product approval challenging in these countries. Other challenges in Brazil and South Africa were primarily related to delays in approval of clinical trials, which was perceived to detract from a major competitive advantage possessed by these countries. In recent years India has been in the process of reforming its biotech regulatory system by trying to institute a centralized regulatory agency called the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA). Long in coming and motivated in part by the desire to better regulate genetically modified crops, limitations on NBRA’s scope of activities serve to maintain the anachronistic separation of institutions that govern small- versus large-molecule drugs. In this sense, India is missing the opportunity to create a truly centralized regulatory agency, which can oversee all heath products and optimize resultant synergies. China’s regulatory regime has also had significant setbacks in recent years due to corruption scandals involving some high-ranking officials at the country’s SFDA. However, the agency has rebounded from these challenges and has recently made progress in a number of areas. For example, in early 2009 the SFDA instituted its Green Channel initiative, which is an expedited approval process, allowing regulators to waive requirements for Chinese trials for innovative new drugs, new combinations, and those targeted at unmet medical needs in the country. Furthermore, it has undertaken a variety of initiatives aimed at addressing product quality issues in the country’s vast and complex pharmaceutical sector. The theoretical rationale underlying patenting is that it incentivizes innovation efforts by creating a temporary monopoly. The TRIPS agreement was an attempt to expand the number of countries and product classes where such markets could be established. Although evidence on the impact of strong IP protection on innovation efforts of firms in all sectors is mixed [25–31], the relationship has been much more firmly established in the pharmaceutical sector , albeit not in all countries . This is, in part, due to the fact that once discovered pharmaceutical products/molecules are relatively easy to copy and reproduce . While it is generally believed that IP protection incentivizes greater investments into innovative R&D activities, it is not the only driver of R&D expenditures. Market demand [35, 36], and enhanced market valuation are among other factors that tend to motivate firm-based R&D. While biopharmaceutical firms in all four countries are increasingly cognizant of the importance of patenting, issues related to the efficiency of processing patent applications and effective enforcement of property rights continue to create uncertainty. In all of the countries studied except South Africa, a new pharmaceutical product patent regime was formally adopted between 1993 and 2005. While these countries are still adjusting to the new IP regime, they also struggle to minimize the negative impacts it might have for both public health and domestic industries. These attempts have resulted in country-specific peculiarities in patent legislation that serve to diminish associated incentives and have led to a few high-profile court cases – particularly in Brazil and India where patent rights have either been denied or not enforced as expected. Among the most controversial elements built into patent legislation are provisions related to compulsory-licensing and those that aim to curtail the practice of ‘ever-greening’, which allows companies to collect monopoly rents by patenting minor changes to a given drug whose patent life is about to expire. For instance, in September 2009, the Indian patent office rejected an application by Gilead Biosciences (Foster City, USA) for the anti-AIDS drug tenofovir, in part based on arguments that the application lacked sufficient inventiveness. Brazil had earlier declined patent rights for the same product, declaring it of interest to public health in that country. Under the new Indian patent act, new uses for existing products are not patentable unless they demonstrate improved efficacy . It is not yet clear how this will impact domestic companies, many of which are mainly concerned with improving existing technologies such as combination vaccines and new drug-delivery systems. Concerns regarding China’s patent regime stem primarily from the nature of its decentralized enforcement regime. Patent infringement cases are generally handled by municipal courts at the jurisdiction of the accused, introducing potential conflicts of interest into the process . Amendments to China’s patent legislation, which took effect in October 2009, are aimed at enhancing the quality of patents, improving enforcement and alignment of China’s approach with that of other major markets. While private financing, especially from institutional investors, has been improving in the emerging markets in recent years, relatively few of these investors back companies that undertake highly innovative projects. Venture capital (VC) firms that have made investment in innovative companies include BioVeda China Fund (Shanghai), APIDC Ventureast Biotechnology Venture Fund (Hyderabad, India), DFJ-FIR Capital (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and BioVentures (Cape Town, South Africa). Limitations on financial exits for investors are thought to be a key contributor to the shortage of VC investments in innovative companies. The BOVESPA-MAIS (São Paulo) branch of the Brazilian stock exchange and China’s recently launched Shenzhen Stock Exchange aim at improving the investment environment for technology-based companies. On rare occasions, they have listed in foreign stock exchanges as a way to achieve a more favorable valuation. Recent interest in company acquisition by multinational corporations in China and India may provide yet another avenue for investors to divest, and may eventually attract more investors into the sector. Volatility of stock markets, highly exaggerated price to earning ratios, and lack of sophisticated secondary markets are all detrimental to financing of high-risk innovation projects. The role of debt financing and the need to attract foreign capital in non-debt forms are crucial in the context of emerging markets. In the meantime, many companies in the emerging markets, particularly the small and medium enterprises, rely considerably on governmental support to finance innovation projects. Overall commitment to science and technology development, as measured by national R&D expenditure, has been growing in all four emerging markets studied. China’s R&D expenditures as a portion of its gross domestic product (GDP) was 1.44% in 2007, amounting to approximately US$102 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) – a more than doubling from its US$39 billion expenditure in 2002 . While India and Brazil’s expenditures remained fairly constant as a portion of GDP (at 0.78% for India and 1% for Brazil), their real R&D investments nearly doubled during the 2002–2007 period due to GDP growth – rising from approximately USD 13 to 25 billion in India and US$13 to 20 billion in Brazil in PPP [40, 41]. South Africa doubled its R&D expenditures between 1997 and 2005 when its overall R&D expenditures were 0.9% of GDP, approximately 53% of which was contributed by the business sector . In contrast, businesses R&D expenditures as a percentage of national expenditures constituted 29.6% in India, 44.7% in Brazil, and 70.4% in China in 2007 . Among the countries studied, China has the largest pool of public money dedicated to its science and technology programs. It administers much of these funds through three key programs: the High-Tech Research Development Program (known as the 863 Program), the Torch Program, and the National Key Basic Research Program (known as the 973 Program). The Torch Program is perhaps of most direct significance to the industry as the other two primarily focus on basic research. This program has an array of initiatives designed to support development of new technology industries. Since its inception in 1988, it has facilitated the building of 54 National High-tech Parks, which are designed to integrate R&D, manufacturing and enterprise incubation. The Torch program also administers a 7 billion RMB (US$1.02 Billion) innovation fund (Innofund), which funded 11,980 firms from 1999–2007, with approximately 20% of funds devoted to biotechnology. China’s 12th Five-year Plan (2011–15) had dedicated US$308 billion to science and technology development with biotechnology as a priority sector for advancement. India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is the lead government agency that promotes biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation in the country. DBT targets approximately one third of its annual budget – estimated at approximately Rs. 900 Crores (~US$201 M) for 2008/9 – to promoting public-private collaborations. Among its key programs supporting industrial R&D is the Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI), which in 2009 provided funding for 48 projects within enterprises. The DBT’s other key foci are in skill development and regulatory reform. The overall contribution from other agencies, particularly with respect to support of R&D within enterprises has been more modest thus far. In Brazil, the Studies and Projects Funding (FINEP) Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology is the key program that supports enterprise R&D. Through a series of initiatives, including sector-specific funds and investments in venture capital funds, FINEP aims to advance innovation within the industrial sector. One of its latest initiatives is the Prime Program (Primeira Empresa Inovadora), which aims at supporting approximately 5,000 technology-based startup companies between 2009–2011. It offers R$120,000 (~US$68,000) in grants to each enterprise over the first year, followed by interest-free loans for qualifying applicant during the subsequent year. The 2001 National Biotechnology Strategy in South Africa was the key policy instrument that highlighted the need to capture the commercial opportunities offered by biotechnology. The strategy led to the establishment of Biotechnology Regional Innovation Centers (BRICS), the main government initiatives in biotech development. The South African government had earmarked 450 million Rands ($58 million) from 2004–2007 for related initiatives . Overall, governments in China, India, Brazil and South Africa have played a crucial catalytic role in spurring health product innovation within the private sector – albeit on a limited scale. While all of the countries studied have housed strong universities and research institutes for decades, to kindle innovative activities within the private sector has required more focused government policies. It is noteworthy that the mere adoption of a product patent regime in pharmaceuticals by China in 1993 (even prior to its adoption of the TRIPS agreement and its enforcement in 2001), by Brazil in 1997, and the expectation of the pending TRIPS enforcement in India in 2005 were not sufficient, on their own, to spur significant entrepreneurial investment into the development of novel health products. Rather, entrepreneurial commitment to innovation, as a trend, became noticeable concomitant with increased government support for innovation within the entrepreneurial sector. In our experience the majority of emerging market companies that undertake innovation projects, with the objective to develop novel products, have benefited from governmental assistance. The more recent and targeted government policies attempt to increase entrepreneurial commitment to innovative R&D by direct subsidization of these efforts and/or through indirect measures. The latter mechanisms include building of shared R&D infrastructure, particularly in China, enhancing entrepreneurial access to public-sector R&D resources in Brazil, support of technology-focused venture capital funds most notably in China and Brazil, and the creation of Biotechnology Regional Innovation Centers in South Africa. It remains to be seen whether governmental efforts in these nations will be of sufficient scale and duration to help galvanize the private investments necessary for a successful transition to innovative sectors. Relatively high and fast-rising domestic consumption is undoubtedly contributing to the biopharmaceutical sector’s development in the key emerging markets studied. At the same time, how governments implement cost-containment and central procurement measures may have considerable implications for innovation within the sector – particularly for diseases that predominantly affect local, and other developing world, populations. Four key trends point to the globalization of health innovation, with a growing integration of emerging market firms, particularly evident in India and China. These trends add to existing relationships between pharmaceutical MNCs and emerging market firms, which have, until recent years, been largely limited to contract manufacturing and marketing. First, as discussed previously, there is an increasing number of co-development partnerships between firms in China and India and their foreign counterparts. Through these partnerships, companies in emerging economies have developed capabilities that have enabled independent basic research and commercialization. Second, large multinational corporations finance some innovation projects within emerging market firms in return for future development/marketing rights. These relationships rely on development of IP generated and/or owned by the emerging market partner. This practice has augmented the capabilities of emerging-economy partners with crucial relationships that subsequently enable independent commercialization and marketing activities. Third, the emergence of R&D services-based businesses that provide sophisticated and cost-effective research, development, and manufacturing should further augment innovative capabilities of the sectors as a whole at a time when the independent innovative capacity of multinational companies may be waning. Fourth, another emerging trend is the acquisition of domestic biopharmaceutical firms by foreign entities and the growing presence of the former in other nations. Examples of the first include recent acquisition of: India’s Shantha Biotechnics (Hyderabad) and Brazil’s Medley (São Paulo) by Sanofi Aventis (Paris, France), Piramal Healthcare (Mumbai) by Abbot Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL), India’s Ranbaxy by Takeda (Daiichi Sankyo, Tokyo), South Africa’s Vision Biotech (Cape Town) by Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (Waltham, MA), and China’s Guangdong Techpool Bio-Pharma (Guangzhou) by the Swiss drug maker Nycomed (Zurich, now part of Osaka-based Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.). Select emerging market firms have also ventured to expand their global presence through acquisitions or setting up subsidiaries. For instance, China’s CapitalBio Corporation has subsidiaries in San Diego (USA) and Hong Kong, Piramal Healthcare has a subsidiary in Canada (Torcan Chemical Ltd., Aurora). The above trends, as well as domestic industry consolidation serve to augments capabilities and enhance specialization, which makes indigenous enterprises more competitive globally. Whether integration into the global system, on balance, proves beneficial to the emerging markets, or other developing nations, remains an open question. The suggestion here is merely that this phenomenon is indeed taking shape and in doing so is creating new opportunities – as well as new challenges – for emerging market entrepreneurs. This study shows that while China, India, Brazil and South Africa vary in certain respects, entrepreneurs in each of these countries aspire to become innovative in biopharmaceuticals, and have made inroads against this objective. Regardless of geography, these entrepreneurs are affected by similar forces and often respond in analogous ways. There are important similarities in national approaches to: enhancing innovative capabilities, breaking down innovation barriers, financing innovative activities often through innovative business models, collaborating with international firms, profiting from intellectual property, and to facing global competition. The commonalities highlight that biopharmaceutical firms in the China, India, Brazil and South Africa are influenced by forces emanating, in part, from industry globalization. Consequently, their responses carry implications for the global industry as a whole. Our research shows that the trajectories of companies in the developed and emerging economies are becoming increasingly intertwined. Few of the firms we studied planned on developing novel therapeutics for global consumption fully on their own because they do not have the necessary technical and financial resources and cannot tolerate the associated investment risks. As a result, promising leads in development within the emerging market firms will likely find a home within the pipelines of major global players, or be developed through collaborative arrangements with other firms. Enhanced innovative capabilities in the emerging markets, the associated cost arbitrage, and improved IP protection regimes are increasingly facilitating outsourcing of R&D activities from pharmaceutical MNCs to emerging market firms. Yet many of the companies we studied also aspired to global competitiveness within an element of the value chain. The new pattern that seems to be emerging is a globally disintegrated drug development value chain with greater participation of the emerging markets at different stages of activity. This is not to suggest that this evolution will reduce diversity in business models. Indeed the opposite is likely to be true as companies carve out specific niches within an expansive, global value-chain. In summary, the ultimate outcome of each country’s collective activity is likely to be shaped as much by global factors as local conditions. It is exceedingly important to realize that success in biopharmaceutical innovation is about the hard work of adapting scientifically, nationally and globally all at the same time. The implication is that countries that can best understand this complexity and situate their own strengths vis-à-vis the broader global value chain will be most likely to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. It is also possible that the globalization of biopharmaceutical innovation will have deleterious effects on domestic industries in the emerging markets, and on access to health technologies in the developing world. Failure to sufficiently adapt to new realities could, for instance, lock emerging market firms into low-value segments of the innovation value chain for years to come, and/or limit their growth prospects by preventing access to new technologies. These areas deserve further study and continued vigilance to minimize adverse impacts on emerging market industries and pharmaceutical access. Notwithstanding above observations, recent developments in the emerging markets have the potential to change the global drug development model itself, with a promise to making it more productive and accessible. It offers the possibility for more cost-effective innovations and significant impacts on health systems everywhere. Technological upgrading within many of the existing pharmaceutical manufacturers in the emerging markets is leading to a more competitive global pharmaceutical generics market – leading to lower drug prices. At the same time, we are witnessing the birth of a highly integrated global industry when it comes to innovation – promising greater therapeutic choice and lower drug development costs. In this respect, emerging markets with greater economies of scale, in terms of domestic market size, and the scope of capabilities built over time appear to be in an advantageous position. The implication is that smaller countries such as South Africa with more limited biopharmaceutical purchasing power and skill-base to build on appear to be at a disadvantage vis-à-vis China and India. Similarly, historical dominance of the state sector and a host of other institutional factors contribute to dampening Brazil’s potential when it comes to health technology innovation. On the whole however, greater involvement of the entrepreneurial sectors in the emerging markets in health innovation holds considerable promise for patients everywhere. We gratefully acknowledge the comments of Jocalyn Clark. We recognize contributions of the late Sara Al-Bader to earlier drafts and her work on the South African case study. We are grateful to Stephen M. Sammut for his contributions to this study at earlier stages of this work. We acknowledge contributions of Halla Thorsteinsdöttir, Charles Gardner, Mario Gobbo, Hannah Kettler, Andrew Taylor, and Marsha Wulff in shaping the overall project design. We are indebted to the numerous interviewees in Brazil, China, India, and South Africa for sharing their time, experiences and insights with us. This research was funded by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute (Toronto), the Ontario Research Fund (Toronto), Rockefeller Foundation (New York) and BioVentures for Global Health (Washington, DC, USA). RR was supported through a Doctoral Research Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and is currently supported through a post-doctoral fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (Vancouver) and the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. This research was based at the Sandra Rotman Centre (SRC), based at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network (Toronto). SRC is financially supported from a variety of sources found at http://www.srcglobal.org. PAS is on the scientific advisory board of BioVeda China fund. ASD, PAS and SEF participated in study design, sourcing of research funds and review/revisions of manuscript drafts. RR and SEF conducted interviews and drafted the manuscript. AM contributed to research design, and revisions to manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

2019-04-20T10:56:24Z

https://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1478-4505-10-18

In July 2008, with little warning, a bitter historical controversy broke out in response to Robert Manne’s Monthly article ‘Agent of Influence: Reassessing Wilfred Burchett’. A group of academics attacked him in caustic terms for nothing less than intellectual dishonesty; Manne responded by accusing them of lying. Onlookers could have been excused for wondering what had sparked such open and personal animosity. However, this latest skirmish, like a far-off border clash, was merely the most recent flare-up in a long-running feud over the enigmatic legacy of Australian foreign correspondent and alleged traitor Wilfred Burchett (1911-83). This article will illuminate the history of heated ideological and personal clashes over the meaning of Burchett’s life, thereby providing the much-needed background to the recent dispute for both historians and lay readers alike. In doing so, it will reveal a scarcely believable discourse in which some of Australia’s Cold War historians, their methodologies corrupted by ideological imperatives, have waged vendettas, colluded with ASIO, utilised sophistry, misrepresented evidence, engaged in McCarthyism, and even committed intellectual fraud. All of this has taken place under the cover of intellectual inquiry, yet it has only obscured our understanding of Australia’s most prominent and controversial communist. Wilfred Burchett was one of the twentieth-century’s most important journalists. Amid official denials and conventional reports to the contrary, his were the first accurate accounts of nuclear fallout in Hiroshima and American use of chemical warfare in Vietnam, among many other scoops. But he was notorious for his unique access to, and prominent support for, communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, China, North Korea and Indochina. For decades he reported from these nations, using his contacts with leaders like Chou En-lai, Ho Chi Minh and Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia to produce a vastly different picture of world affairs to that prevalent in the West. Consequently, he was reviled in Australia’s anti-communist circles. What distinguished Burchett from other Australian communists in their sights, however, was the widespread belief that he had committed treason while working as a journalist accredited to the communist side of the Korean War. He was suspected of interrogating and even brainwashing Allied soldiers, and of extracting and publicising their confessions to engaging in biological warfare, thereby acting as an enemy propagandist. Burchett was even widely seen as an agent for the KGB and the numerous other communist countries in which he worked. In this way, ideological antipathy towards Burchett took root easily in a specific factual basis; the classic anti-communist fear of subversion from within found an intriguing counterpoint in Burchett’s subversion from without. From the Korean War until his death in 1983, he was, as the title of David Bradbury’s film aptly put it, the nation’s Public Enemy Number One. Every aspect of his life was painstakingly recorded by ASIO. And from 1955, a succession of Coalition Governments refused to issue Burchett with an Australian passport for seventeen years – it would take the accession of the Whitlam Labor Government in 1972 to reverse the policy – and even refused to register his children as Australian citizens for fifteen. Wilfred Burchett became, as the Australian put it, ‘Australia’s only political refugee’. Since Burchett’s death in 1983, it has emerged that having given ASIO Director-General Charles Spry free rein in the early 1950s to investigate Burchett’s conduct, the Menzies Government found that there was neither a legal nor evidentiary basis for a treason charge. However, due to its hostility towards Burchett’s association with enemy forces and the political imperative not to appear to be “soft” on communism, the Government persecuted him anyway. Its Coalition successors knew that the popular allegations against Burchett had limited merit, but fostered and perpetuated them to support the policy in the absence of a factual basis and thereby save face politically. Burchett made it all too easy for them, publishing numerous books on international politics evincing dogmatically “pro-communist” views. However, as Western public opinion on the Vietnam War began to align with what Burchett had been advocating for years, he saw an opportunity to rehabilitate his reputation at home. He dramatically flew into Australia by private plane in 1970, but still the Government remained intransigent. Even when Burchett challenged public perceptions of him by suing Democratic Labor Party Senator Jack Kane for defamation, collusion between the outgoing Coalition Government and Burchett’s personal and ideological enemies, playing on strong anti-communist public sentiment, meant those perceptions were only solidified when the case came to court in 1974. In the event, Burchett was subject to an array of legal errors and abuses of the judicial system, details of which can be found elsewhere. The appeals court even found that he had been the victim of ‘a serious miscarriage of justice’, but still declined to order a retrial. Burchett’s inability to pay costs meant that he was forced to leave Australia once more and would die in exile. Ever since, historians have struggled to transcend the bipolar Cold War mentality superimposed on Burchett’s life. In the historical arm-wrestle over, as Hayden White put it, ‘what certain events might mean for a given group, society, or culture’s conception of its present task and future prospects’, Burchett’s lifelong ability to challenge unrepentantly in his work the tenets of liberal democracy, while simultaneously being one of its most prominent victims, rendered his legacy a hotly contested battleground for Australia’s intelligentsia. If Korea, where the seeds of the controversy that would engulf Burchett were sown, was Australia’s “forgotten war”, then the debate over him has been our Forgotten History War. Just as Keith Windschuttle and Stuart Macintyre, Geoffrey Blainey and Manning Clark fought over Aboriginal and settler conflict for an understanding of Australia’s national identity, so too have B. A. Santamaria and Ben Kiernan, Robert Manne and Gavan McCormack sparred over the truth and legacy of Burchett’s life for a conception of Australia’s role in the Cold War. For one side, Burchett animated fears of a communist takeover of the free world; for the other, his persecution typified the most illiberal tendencies of Cold War Australia. It was what he signified ideologically, as much as what he had or had not done in Korea, which in siren-like fashion drew historians to him and corrupted their historical processes. The result was often history of the most dubious merit, as historians’ ideological commitments rendered them wilfully blind to evidence which suggested that Burchett could be, or indeed could have done, anything other than what their doctrine dictated. Any search for the source of this phenomenon leads inevitably back to Denis Warner. Burchett and Warner had been professional rivals ever since they worked together as war correspondents in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War. However, as both came to specialise in East Asian affairs in the post-war years, each on their own side of the Bamboo Curtain, their ideological incompatibility transformed into a deep mutual antipathy. Warner’s orthodox “downward thrust” and “red peril” thinking was anathema to Burchett’s blend of post-colonialism, Third World nationalism and communism. The situation ultimately disintegrated into what Burchett biographer Tom Heenan has labelled ‘Australian journalism’s most infamous feud.’ Exposing Burchett became a life-long obsession for Warner; the immense amount of material he collected on Burchett, including countless newspaper articles, intelligence reports, interview transcripts and classified documents, fills several large boxes in the National Library of Australia. And it was Warner’s articles, culminating in 1967 with the landmark ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, which established in the public consciousness the image of Burchett as a traitor who had interrogated and brainwashed POWs during the Korean War. There was, however, a significant disparity between the treason charge that Warner sought to make out over the years and historical reality. Consequently, not only were claims material to a charge of treason mixed extensively with claims pertaining to Burchett’s communist sympathies - logically problematic in itself - but claims which indicated neither but simply cast Burchett in a poor light featured prominently. For instance, Warner noted that as a war correspondent, Burchett ingratiated himself with Allied officers, behaviour which ‘paid off time and again in the speedy movement of his copy’. On numerous other occasions, including to ASIO, he mentioned Burchett’s womanising. In the same ASIO interview, he recounted that a US correspondent had repeatedly told him that Burchett and colleague Alan Winnington had a homosexual relationship. In the case for treason, such evidence – one way or the other – indicated little more than the intensity of Warner’s obsession. Little wonder that when the Gorton Government sought to formulate a statement justifying its denial of a passport to Burchett ‘without raising problems of proof or refutation’, it singled out Warner’s unique scholarship as the example to follow. In fact, Warner had been cooperating with Australian Governments long before Gorton was at the helm. It is now clear, as Burchett and his supporters believed at the time, that Warner had close ties to ASIO. As early as 1953, he assisted ASIO’s efforts to gather information on Burchett by volunteering material from his ‘Burchett file’, then just a few years old. Seventeen years later, little had changed. A long essay by Warner on Burchett is found in the personal papers of short-serving Prime Minister John McEwen. In exchange, Warner was supplied with classified information to support his attacks on Burchett in the press. In ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, he drew upon (and misrepresented) the content of ASIO’s interviews with former Australian POWs about their experiences with Burchett in Korea even though these sensitive documents were not to be publicly available for another sixteen years. In this quid pro quo, Warner’s articles lent the Government's policy an illusory legitimacy while his professional prestige swelled due to a Government-sponsored smear campaign against the credibility of his rival. It remains darkly ironic that the man at the vanguard of the lynch mob was himself acting as little more than a government spokesperson, one of the very charges Warner levelled at Burchett in relation to his activities in Korea. But at the same time, ASIO and Warner relied on each other for corroboration of Burchett’s guilt, even though there must have been considerable overlap in their material. Spry, when first broaching the possibility of pursuing Burchett for treason in October 1951, actually quoted Warner as an authoritative source in his attempt to sway Solicitor-General Kenneth Bailey. Meanwhile, in his 1953 interview with ASIO, Warner related that ‘he had never heard of Burchett taking any part in the indoctrination of prisoners of war’, though he would come to be the foremost proponent of that very accusation. Each was reinforcing the other’s instinctive hostility towards Burchett. In virtually losing [the case], as I have described, people might reasonably think Burchett was considered guilty of acts that fully justified the claims of those who, from the witness box, had called him a traitor to his face in a public court. In an atmosphere where perception and rumour trumped fact, that Warner’s articles seemingly coincidentally resonated with Canberra’s policy and the proceedings in court lent them a convincing veneer of authority. He became known as the expert on Burchett, his personal fixation masquerading as detailed knowledge. Yet what ensured that Warner would dominate the historical debate on Burchett well into the 1980s was far more subtle than reputation alone. The reasoning of Warner’s articles was predicated upon the assumption that being a communist was self-evidently synonymous with being a traitor. The two labels were used interchangeably, evidence indicative of one repeatedly advanced in support of the other. The very conclusion of ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, an article purporting to reveal Burchett’s treasonous conduct in Korea, was that he was ‘a clever, calculating Communist’. However, while Warner subscribed to the “communist equals traitor” logic as gospel, others took umbrage at what they viewed as a non-sequitur. It was this irreconcilability which more than anything else gave Burchett’s life its broader ideological import and was responsible for the bifurcation of the Forgotten History War. What Burchett did, an empirical question, was forever yoked to what he represented in the Cold War context, an ideological and subjective one. By thus fusing adherence to a conclusion in an historical inquiry with adherence to an ideological position Warner sewed a remarkably durable intellectual straightjacket from which subsequent analysis of Burchett has struggled to break free. The result was that arguments from the other side of the divide, no matter how valid, would be ignored or rejected out of hand on ideological rather than intellectual grounds. One of the pillars of Warner’s depiction of Burchett was his seeming monopoly on the facts. When a large amount of government material on Burchett was declassified in the mid-1980s and released into the hands of maverick academic Gavan McCormack, that pillar collapsed forever. In his ground-breaking ‘An Australian Dreyfus?’ and subsequent forays over the next two years, McCormack systematically deconstructed the evidence underpinning Warner’s articles, the testimony given in court against Burchett, ASIO’s files, and the staple rumours on which the Australian press relied. The reverberations were so profound because the facts supporting each of these, due to Warner’s involvement at every turn, were much the same. Some of the blows McCormack landed were devastating. His analysis of the declassified ASIO affidavits of Australian POWs, which Warner had been privilege to for years, revealed that the allegations that Burchett had interrogated Australian soldiers in Korea were unfounded. The affidavits in fact showed that Burchett had deliberately sought out Australian POWs, discussed the war with them (even if they rarely saw eye to eye), wrote home to their families on their behalf, and even drunk whisky with them. As for British POWs, McCormack embarrassed Warner by revealing that the 1953 British Ministry of Defence report which Warner had cited as confirming that Burchett was involved in brainwashing was actually published in 1955 and contained no such allegation, let alone the supporting quote that Burchett was ‘actively involved in brainwashing procedures’. Santamaria had made the exact same claim, based on the same source, a year earlier. The two were sharing misinformation, yet it is easy to see how even the most informed Australian citizen would deduce from two seemingly independent accounts that the serious allegation was true. Compounding Warner’s embarrassment, McCormack revealed that one of Warner’s main sources and a witness he had located for Kane, British POW Derek Kinne, was discussed at length in the same report without any mention of his ever having met Burchett. What the report didshow was that Kinne’s dramatic claim in court, that Burchett had told him that he could have him shot, was actually said by British journalist Michael Shapiro. Despite McCormack’s exposure, Warner would cite Kinne extensively in his autobiography fifteen years later, even repeating this discredited anecdote with Burchett as the protagonist. Even in the post-Cold War era Warner was uninterested in what the evidence had to say. [X] of ASIO told me that the affidavit which inculpated Burchett was that of Colonel Mahurin. But it seems to me that it does not involve Burchett directly… but only the journalist Alan Winnington… My impression is that these documents will be very disappointing. Both not only kept their information to themselves, but also actively helped to procure Mahurin’s services for Kane’s defence. The upshot of McCormack’s obsessive research was that a great deal of the evidence that the Government had disseminated through Warner to provide a justification for its passport policy was spectacularly discredited. Former POWs were using Burchett, a figure many remembered from the camps, as a scapegoat for their horrific wartime experiences. Their delusions gained validation both from each other and from Warner. The seemingly solid case against Burchett was in fact a house of cards, each piece of evidence supported by another. And after McCormack was through, it lay in tatters. Yet in his award-winning Quadrant essay, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, Robert Manne simply shored up the image of the communist-traitor Burchett while largely avoiding the evidentiary concerns that McCormack had raised. This was unsurprising. Not only did Manne work in collaboration with Warner in writing the article, but he also at this time had a close relationship with Spry himself which arose in the writing of The Petrov Affair, even composing the ASIO chief’s obituary in the Age. Furthermore, he and McCormack had already locked horns several years earlier and Manne had come off much the worse for wear. Even so, it was not to be the last time that Manne responded to others’ research on Burchett by evading it. Manne’s first move was indicative of the objectives of his essay. He denied the very legitimacy of McCormack’s criticisms by attempting to discredit McCormack himself. Manne accused him of ‘the doctoring of history’ and refused ‘to accede… to a neo-Stalinist reading of post-war Asian history being taught in our universities by academics like Dr McCormack’. To this day it is unclear how McCormack’s history was ‘neo-Stalinist’, what that term means, or how this had any bearing on the empirical discrepancies McCormack had illuminated. It was simply denigration by emotive ideological association. The ad hominem quips were of course not restricted to McCormack. Manne referred to Burchett’s ‘Don Juan sexual adventures’, noted that in Berlin Burchett sold automobiles, perhaps – he added darkly – even to Russian officers, and claimed that ‘Soviet officials were also aware that Burchett was drinking like a fish’. This incorporation of arbitrary slurs bore all the hallmarks of Warner, and indeed the footnote to the last cited him as the source. That Manne, like Warner, was happy to play the man rather than address McCormack’s revelations indicated that he was similarly engaged in a primarily ideological rather than scholarly endeavour. For all his self-declared ‘weariness... at the prospect of refighting the old battles of the Cold War’, his analysis remained firmly situated within Warner’s straightjacket. The passport issue, on the other hand, presented [Burchett] with the possibility of risk-free martyrdom. The Australian Government had hoped to place Burchett in the dock on a charge of treason to his country; Burchett now hoped to place his country in the dock on a lesser charge of having deprived an honourable Australian of his passport and citizenship. According to Manne, Burchett deliberately orchestrated to have his passport kept away from him so as to enjoy a seventeen-year self-imposed exile from his family and homeland. Manne was not the only one to have made this bold but popular claim. But he was the only one to have archival documents in front of him, in the very same files he relied upon in his essay, which revealed it to be as fanciful as it sounds. many’s the time [Burchett and Winnington] have given hot news stories on what is happening in the armistice tents to Allied correspondents, and the stories have turned out to be correct… the Communist journalists got briefings and they in turn ‘briefed’ the Allied newsmen. For days that was the only armistice news the newspapers of the free world got. Accounts to this effect were even present in the very same declassified ASIO files in which Manne grounded his article. Time-Life correspondent James Greenfield told ASIO that ‘[Burchett] was the first source of official info for United Nations correspondents’; Ralph Walling of the Daily Express added that Burchett wore the insignia of an ‘accredited press representative’ on his uniform and repeatedly identified himself as such. Yet by only referring to McDonald's more succinct version of the same events, Manne lent a superficial plausibility to his serious charge: that Burchett was not a journalist, but a communist agent. it seems likely either that Kinne omitted this comment in 1955 through the timidity of his publishers or, more likely, had come to believe it over time, perhaps because of the intense bitterness he felt for Burchett. The first explanation was pure speculation, nothing more. The second necessarily meant that Kinne’s evidence in court on this point was false. (Incidentally, it was also an apt encapsulation of how Manne and his ideological brethren felt towards Burchett himself, and rendered their writings equally unreliable.) If Kinne’s contribution was only what he had convinced himself to be true, then this cast grave doubt on the reliability of everything else he had to say about Burchett. Manne not only failed to see this, he even used Kinne as an authoritative source in relation to another closely related event on the very same page. However, perhaps the most revealing technique utilised by Manne was the way in which he papered over areas of heated historical contention with wording that inherently favoured his preconceived conclusions. He asserted that Burchett was ‘actively involved in the literary production of certain of these confessions [of using biological warfare]’, and more glaringly on the same point, that ‘Burchett had become an active participant in one way or another’. What was specifically at issue, namely the precise nature of Burchett’s involvement, ranging from redrafting confessions as a journalist to their extortion by torture, was left unresolved. Other central questions in the treason case were similarly obfuscated. While Manne noted that post-Korean War UK and US studies were reluctant to use the term ‘brainwashing’, nevertheless he expansively concluded that ‘under the broader definition of “brainwashing”… there c[ould] be no doubt of the important collaborative role of Wilfred Burchett’. Such wording was most illuminating as to Manne’s disposition towards the evidence concerning Burchett’s past as a means to an ideological end. When the evidence was in his favour, he was prepared to make good use of it. He referred to a letter from Burchett to his father discussing his employment arrangements in China to great effect, and McCormack later struggled to convince that Burchett receiving amenities from the Chinese government had no impact on the substance of his reporting. Likewise, Manne persuasively argued that Burchett’s comparison of a North Korean POW camp to a Swiss ‘holiday resort’ was ‘a shocking travesty of the truth… a not insignificant contribution to Communist wartime propaganda’. If his aim had merely been to prove that, particularly in the early 1950s, Burchett’s journalism was hardly objective and his relationships with governments left a lot to be desired, he would have succeeded. However, his preconceived goal was to show that Burchett was ‘in the deepest sense of the word a traitor’, that is, ideologically and morally, rather than legally. His concern with the specific historical realityof Burchett’s involvement in the biological warfare propaganda campaign and in alleged brainwashing, both pivotal to the legal charge of treason investigated by ASIO, was secondary. Consequently, when the historical evidence was not in his favour, Manne either employed convoluted arguments to make it speak the language he wanted it to or he ignored it entirely. Robert Manne, ‘Agent of Influence: Reassessing Wilfred Burchett’, Monthly, June 2008. Among the many who have offered their invaluable advice on this project, the author would like to especially thank John Pilger and Bernard Porter for taking time out of their busy schedules to comment on a draft of this article. All errors are my own. Tom Heenan, Ben Kiernan, Greg Lockhart, Stuart Macintyre, Gavan McCormack, ‘Manne of Influence’, On Line Opinion, 4 July 2008. ‘New brawl over Burchett’s reputation’, Age (online), 7 July 2008. For more information on Burchett’s life see Tom Heenan, From Traveller to Traitor (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2006). For more detail on other issues, particularly the Government persecution of Burchett and the 1974 court case, see Jamie Miller, “Without Raising Problems of Proof or Refutation”: Wilfred Burchett and Australian Anti-communism, unpublished thesis, University of Sydney, 2007. It should be noted that the term ‘communist’ is used here for ease of reference. Burchett’s politics were far more complex and dynamic than others perceived, as should be evident from this article. The issue of whether or not Allied troops engaged in biological warfare was a critical propaganda battleground during the Korean War. This has traditionally been referred to as ‘germ’ warfare, though this article uses the more current ‘biological’ to more accurately convey the nature of the warfare and therefore the gravity of the charge against Burchett. David Bradbury, Public Enemy Number One (1981). Burchett’s passport was immediately restored by the new Whitlam Government in December 1972: Graham Freudenberg, A Certain Grandeur: Gough Whitlam in Politics (Melbourne and Sydney: Macmillan Australia, 1977), p. 246. His children were registered as citizens in 1970: NAA A6980/6, S201945, Wilfred Burchett Part 6, 1970-3, Peter Heydon, Secretary of the Department of Immigration, to Alan Renouf, Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, 17 March 1970. NAA A6119, 14/Reference Copy, Spry to Jack Spicer, Attorney-General, 8 January 1954. See for instance NAA A6119/XR1, 13, Burchett, Wilfred Graham, cable from Alan Watt, Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, to Ronald Walker, Australian Ambassador to Japan, 10 September 1953. For the best examples of this, see Wilfred Burchett, People’s Democracies (Melbourne: World Unity Publications, 1951) on Eastern Europe; Wilfred Burchett, China’s Feet Unbound (Melbourne: World Unity Publications, 1952) on China; Wilfred Burchett, This Monstrous War (Melbourne: Joseph Waters, 1953) and Wilfred Burchett and Alan Winnington, Plain Perfidy (London: Britain-China Friendship Association, 1954) on the Korean War; and Wilfred Burchett, Come East Young Man! (Berlin: Seven Seas, 1962) on the Soviet Union. A great deal of the witnesses were assembled before the Whitlam Government came to power in late 1972. The actionable article was ‘The Burchett Revelations’, Focus, November 1971. Burchett v Kane , New South Wales Law Reports, Volume 2, 1980, per Justice Samuels, p. 273. Hayden White, ‘Historical Pluralism’, Critical Inquiry 12 (1986), p. 487. Heenan, From Traveller to Traitor, p. 146. NLA MS 9489, Papers of Denis Warner, 1949-1997. Denis Warner, ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, Quadrant, July-August 1967; also published in The Reporter, 1 June 1967. Warner also published much shorter articles on Burchett in the Melbourne Herald on 5 October 1951, 21 June 1952, 19 April 1955, and 4 February 1969. He also wrote the ‘The Spy Who Came in for the Gold’ series in Seiron, a Japanese publication, in March 1975 and in the National Review, 11 April 1975; and wrote the pamphlet The Germ-Warfare Hoax in 1977. Warner, ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, pp. 71-2. Warner, Not Always on Horseback: An Australian Correspondent at War and Peace in Asia 1961-1993 (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1997), p. 132; NAA A432, 1952/1677, Wilfred Burchett – Question re Prosecution, 1951-70, 2 November 1953, agents Tuck and Hunter to Spry, referring to interview with Warner. NAA A6717/5, A70 PART 1, Wilfred G. Burchett – Australian Passport and Citizenship, 1952-68, report of interdepartmental meeting circulated to all Departments, 16 July 1968. Burchett wrote that Warner was ‘notorious for his close association with the CIA and its Australian equivalent, ASIO’: Wilfred Burchett, Passport: An Autobiography (Melbourne: Thomas Nelson (Australia) Ltd., 1969), p. 291. See also Wilfred Burchett, Memoirs of a Rebel Journalist: the Autobiography of Wilfred Burchett, George Burchett and Nick Shimmin, eds., (Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2005), p. 742; and NAA A1209, 1969/7897, Ronald East, a member of the Burchett Passport Committee and Burchett’s cousin, to Arthur Lee, National President of the Returned Servicemen’s League, 5 March 1969. Ross Fitzgerald recently claimed that Warner was an ASIO agent: Australian, 3 December 2005. Warner denied this: Australian, 10 December 2005. Warner’s access to classified material was certainly remarkably extensive. A ‘List of Support’ for his defence in the defamation suit brought by Burchett features both Interpol and the CIA: NLA, MS 9489/11, Papers of Denis Warner, Box 69. NAA A6119, 13/Reference Copy, Principal Section Officer, B1, to the Director, NSW, ASIO, 2 November 1953. ‘Some Notes on the Activities of Wilfred Burchett’, February 20 1970, in NAA M58, 191, [Personal Papers of Prime Minister McEwen] [Wilfred] Burchett – Confidential, 1952-70. How he did so will be expanded upon in the analysis of Gavan McCormack’s revelation of Warner’s misuse of the affidavits. Warner, ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, p. 75. NAA A6119, 13/Reference Copy, ‘Note for discussion with the Solicitor-General’, Spry to Bailey, 12 October 1953. NAA A432, 1952/1677, report from agents Tuck and Hunter to Spry, 2 November 1953, referring to interview with Warner. See for instance, Warner, Not Always on Horseback, p. 134. The only other detailed articles on Burchett between the Korean War and his return to Australia in 1970, a full seventeen years, appear to be Alan Reid, ‘A Dual Standard for Wilfred Burchett’, Bulletin, 11 January 1968; and B. A. Santamaria, ‘Views on South-East Asia’, 14 August 1966, in B. A. Santamaria, Point of View, pp. 148-9; B. A. Santamaria, ‘Irresponsible Press Activity’, 28 March 1965, in B. A. Santamaria, Point of View, pp. 49-51; B. A. Santamaria, Sunday Telegraph, 1 March 1970. All were based on much the same inside material as Warner’s articles. NAA A432, 1969/3072, Attachment 2, Wilfred Graham Burchett, 1953-70, Address to National Press Club, 2 March 1970. Hansard, House of Representatives, 5 March 1970, pp. 181-2. Melbourne Herald, 28 October 1974. ‘Burchett loses libel action’, Melbourne Herald, 2 November 1974, emphasis added. The man in question was To Minh Trung. Warner, Not Always on Horseback, pp. 138-9; see the extensive transcripts of Warner’s interviews with witnesses Tom Hollis, Walker Mahurin, Paul Kniss and Derek Kinne in NLA, MS 9489/11, Papers of Denis Warner, Box 69. A previous writ had been issued against Warner in response to ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, so he had a financial, as well as personal and ideological, interest in assisting Kane. Sydney Morning Herald, 23 October 1974. Melbourne Herald, 23 October 1974. Kane, ‘Burchett on Trial?’, Quadrant, October 1981, p. 40. Gavan McCormack, ‘An Australian Dreyfus? Re-examination of the Case Against Journalist Wilfred Burchett’, Australian Society, August 1984. Gavan McCormack, ‘Burchett in Korea’, Australian Society, September 1985; Gavan McCormack, ‘Korea: Wilfred Burchett’s Thirty Years War’, in Ben Kiernan, ed., Burchett Reporting the Other Side of the World: 1939-1983 (London, Melbourne, New York: Quartet Books, 1986); Gavan McCormack, ‘The New Right and Human Rights: Cultural Freedom and the Burchett Affair’, Meanjin, September 1986. It should be emphasised that the examples cited here are only the most salient examples of the many challenges McCormack’s work posed to the dominant narrative of Burchett’s life. Both Warner and Santamaria said the interviews revealed that Burchett had ‘interrogated’ the Australian POWs: Warner, ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, p. 73; Santamaria, Sunday Telegraph, 1 March 1970. They did no such thing. See NAA A6119, 14/Reference Copy, joint statement by Donald Buck, Ronald Parker and Thomas Hollis, 17 December 1953; and NAA A6119, 14/Reference Copy, statements by John MacKay, 3 December 1953; John Davis, 2 December 1953; Brian Thomas Davoren, 24 March 1954; and Glen Brown, 4 December 1953. See McCormack, ‘Korea: Wilfred Burchett’s Thirty Years War’, p. 196, and McCormack, ‘An Australian Dreyfus?’, p. 8. It should be noted that Warner later stated in his autobiography that ‘the Australians… had not been subjected to protracted interrogation, nor had they been persuaded to make confessions of any sort’, which was a complete disavowal of his earlier claim but was not accompanied by any admission of mistake: Warner, Not Always on Horseback, p. 137. Warner, ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’, p. 73. ‘Treatment of British Prisoners of War in Korea’, British Ministry of Defence, 1955. Burchett is mentioned in passing on p. 26. McCormack, ‘An Australian Dreyfus?’, p. 10. ‘Burchett was employed by the Peking Government in helping to brainwash British and Australian soldiers’: Santamaria, ‘Views on South-East Asia’, 14 August 1966, in Santamaria, Point of View, p.149. Santamaria correctly identified the date of the Report as 1955. It is unclear which of the two had actually seen the report, if either. A copy can be found in Warner’s collection at the National Library, however he may have acquired it after he wrote ‘Who is Wilfred Burchett?’: NLA MS 9489/12, Papers of Denis Warner, Box 70. Warner, Not Always on Horseback, p. 137. Warner, Not Always on Horseback, pp. 137-8, 190-1. McCormack, ‘Korea: Wilfred Burchett’s Thirty Years War’. Walker M. Mahurin, Honest John: The Autobiography of Walker M. Mahurin (New York: G. L. Putnam’s Sons, 1962). Burchett v Kane transcript, p. 93. Burchett v Kane transcript, p. 97. Mahurin, Honest John, p. 244, quoted in McCormack, ‘Korea: Wilfred Burchett’s Thirty Years War’, p. 191. Chicago Daily News, 9 September 1953, quoted in McCormack, ‘Korea: Wilfred Burchett’s Thirty Years War’, p.191, emphasis added. Melbourne Herald, 25 October 1974 and Sydney Morning Herald, 25 October 1974. NLA, MS 9489/11, Papers of Denis Warner, Box 69, Denis Warner interview with Mahurin and Paul Kniss. This confirms McCormack’s earlier suspicions: McCormack, ‘Korea: Wilfred Burchett’s Thirty Years War’, p. 191. NAA A6717/5, A70 PART 6, Wilfred G. Burchett – Australian passport and citizenship, 1970, G. L. V. Hooton, Prime Minister’s Department to Lenox Hewitt, Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Department, 24 February 1970; see also Mahurin’s September 1953 statement: NAA A1838/370, 852/20/4/114, Korean War Germ Warfare Allegations. Warner, Not Always on Horseback,p. 142. For the Government’s role, see NAA A1838, 1542/616 PART 5, James Cumes, Assistant Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, to McMahon, 25 June 1970 and NAA A1838, 1542/616 PART 5, report of interdepartmental meeting, 24 June 1970. Manne’s essay won the George Watson Essay Prize for Quadrant’s best essay of 1985, which McCormack described as ‘a revealing comment on contemporary Australian political culture’: McCormack, ‘The New Right and Human Rights: Cultural Freedom and the Burchett Affair’, p. 394.The essay was republished as Agent of Influence: The Life and Times of Wilfred Burchett (Toronto, Canada: Mackenzie Institute for the Study of Terrorism, Revolution and Propaganda, 1989); as ‘He Chose Stalin’ in The Shadow of 1917: Cold War Conflict in Australia (Melbourne: Text Publishing, 1994); and in Left, Right, Left: Political Essays, 1977-2005 (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2005). Age, 1 June 1994. See also the extensive acknowledgement of Spry’s assistance and the voluminous references to Spry throughout Robert Manne, The Petrov Affair: Politics and Espionage (Sydney: Pergamon Press Australia, 1987), pp. xiii, 309. Robert Manne, ‘Pol Pot and the Persistence of Noam Chomsky’, Quadrant, October 1979; see McCormack’s response in the Letters section of the January-February 1980 edition. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 27. Also notable was Manne’s insinuation that ‘Dr’ McCormack being an academic working in a university somehow detracted from his credibility on the given issue rather than adding to it. This tactic would be repeated by Santamaria when he implored Burchett’s supporters to abandon their cause because ‘they will do little for their academic reputations or for that of the universities which employ them’: Santamaria, ‘The Burchett Case: Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy’, Quadrant, January-February 1986, p. 73. This would be repeated when Manne republished his essay as ‘He Chose Stalin’ in 1994. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 28. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 40. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, pp. 37-8. In his memoirs, Kane would also claim that ‘Burchett’s exile was largely self-imposed’: Jack Kane, Exploding the Myths: The Political Memoirs of Jack Kane (Sydney: Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1989), p. 216; Santamaria would likewise say that Burchett ‘carefully kept himself outside jurisdiction’: ‘The Burchett Case: Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy’, p. 73. See also Reid, ‘A Dual Standard for Wilfred Burchett’; Melbourne Herald, 29 November 1968; Age, 2 December 1968; Australian, 31 December 1968; Sydney Morning Herald, 11 August 1969. See for instance NAA 6119/13, which Manne refers to extensively throughout his article. NAA 6119/13, statement of Lachie McDonald to ASIO, 28 October 1953; Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 31. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 31. Charlie Barnard of the Associated Press, ‘Antifreeze’, Stars and Stripes, 10 Feb 1952. NAA A6119, 14/Reference Copy, statement of James Greenfield to ASIO, 18 November 1953. NAA A6119, 14/Reference Copy, letter from Senior Security Officer, ASIO, to Spry, 14 December 1953. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 32. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 33. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 34. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 32; see also p. 33: ‘The truth of falsity of this accusation [of brainwashing] is largely a question of semantics’. State Library of Victoria MS 10254, Papers, Wilfred Burchett to George Burchett, his father, 16 April 1951; Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 29. Santamaria also made much of this letter: ‘The Burchett Case: Giving Aid and Comfort to the Enemy’, p. 69. McCormack, ‘The New Right and Human Rights: “Cultural Freedom” and the Burchett Affair’, p. 396. Burchett, This Monstrous War, (Melbourne: Joseph Waters, 1953), pp. 300-1. However, as McCormack later pointed out, Mahurin’s own account of the conditions of his POW camp suggests that Burchett’s description was perhaps not quite as fanciful as it first appears: Mahurin, Honest John, p. 244, quoted in McCormack, ‘Korea: Wilfred Burchett’s Thirty Years War’, p. 170. This is supported by NAA A6119, 14/Reference Copy, statement by Glen Brown, Australian POW, to ASIO, 4 December 1953. Manne, ‘The Fortunes of Wilfred Burchett: A New Assessment’, p. 42. Emphasis added.

2019-04-26T13:39:43Z

http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/new-critic/eight/Miller

Prevention, control and mitigation of dangerous conditions related to storage, use, dispensing, mixing and handling of flammable and combustible liquids shall be in accordance with Chapter 50 and this chapter. 1.Specific provisions for flammable liquids in motor fuel-dispensing facilities, repair garages, airports and marinas in Chapter 23. 2.Medicines, foodstuffs, cosmetics and commercial or institutional products containing not more than 50 percent by volume of water-miscible liquids and with the remainder of the solution not being flammable, provided that such materials are packaged in individual containers not exceeding 1.3 gallons (5 L). 3.Quantities of alcoholic beverages in retail or wholesale sales or storage occupancies, providied that the liquids are packaged in individual containers not exceeding 1.3 gallons (5 L). 4.Storage and use of fuel oil in tanks and containers connected to oil-burning equipment. Such storage and use shall be in accordance with Section 603. For abandonment of fuel oil tanks, this chapter applies. 5.Refrigerant liquids and oils in refrigeration systems (see Section 606). 6.Storage and display of aerosol products complying with Chapter 51. 7.Storage and use of liquids that do not have a fire point when tested in accordance with ASTM D 92. 8.Liquids with a flash point greater than 95°F (35°C) in a water-miscible solution or dispersion with a water and inert (noncombustible) solids content of more than 80 percent by weight, which do not sustain combustion. 9.Liquids without flash points that can be flammable under some conditions, such as certain halogenated hydrocarbons and mixtures containing halogenated hydrocarbons. 10.The storage of distilled spirits and wines in wooden barrels and casks. 11.Commercial cooking oil storage tank systems located within a building and designed and installed in accordance with Section 610 and NFPA 30. The applicable requirements of Chapter 50, other chapters of this code, the International Building Code and the International Mechanical Code pertaining to flammable liquids shall apply. Flammable and combustible liquids shall be classified in accordance with the definitions in Chapter 2. When mixed with lower flash-point liquids, Class II or III liquids are capable of assuming the characteristics of the lower flash-point liquids. Under such conditions, the appropriate provisions of this chapter for the actual flash point of the mixed liquid shall apply. When heated above their flash points, Class II and III liquids assume the characteristics of Class I liquids. Under such conditions, the appropriate provisions of this chapter for flammable liquids shall apply. Electrical wiring and equipment shall be installed and maintained in accordance with Section 605 and NFPA 70. 5703.1.1 Classified locations for flammable liquids. Areas where flammable liquids are stored, handled, dispensed or mixed shall be in accordance with Table 5703.1.1. A classified area shall not extend beyond an unpierced floor, roof or other solid partition. The extent of the classified area is allowed to be reduced, or eliminated, where sufficient technical justification is provided to the fire code official that a concentration in the area in excess of 25 percent of the lower flammable limit (LFL) cannot be generated. Underground tank fill opening 1 Pits, boxes or spaces below grade level, any part of which is within the Division 1 or 2 classified area. 2 Up to 18 inches above grade level within a horizontal radius of 10 feet from a loose-fill connection and within a horizontal radius of 5 feet from a tight-fill connection. Vent—Discharging upward 1 Within 3 feet of open end of vent, extending in all directions. 2 Area between 3 feet and 5 feet of open end of vent, extending in all directions. Outdoor or indoor with adequate ventilation 1 Within 3 feet of vent and fill opening, extending in all directions. 2 Area between 3 feet and 5 feet from vent of fill opening, extending in all directions. Also up to 18 inches above floor or grade level within a horizontal radius of 10 feet from vent or fill opening. Indoor 2 Within 5 feet of any edge of such devices, extending in all directions, and up to 3 feet above floor or grade level within 25 feet horizontally from any edge of such devices. Outdoor 2 Within 3 feet of any edge of such devices, extending in all directions, and up to 18 inches above floor or grade level within 10 feet horizontally from an edge of such devices. Without mechanical ventilation 1 Entire area within pit if any part is within a Division 1 or 2 classified area. With mechanical ventilation 2 Entire area within pit if any part is within a Division 1 or 2 classified area. Containing valves, fittings or piping, and not within a Division 1 or 2 classified area 2 Entire pit. Indoor 1 or 2 Same as pits. Outdoor 2 Area up to 18 inches above ditch, separator or basin, and up to 18 inches above grade within 15 feet horizontal from any edge. Loading through open dome 1 Within 3 feet of edge of dome, extending in all directions. 2 Area between 3 feet and 15 feet from edge of dome, extending in all directions. Loading through bottom connections with atmospheric venting 1 Within 3 feet of point of venting to atmosphere, extending in all directions. 2 Area between 3 feet and 15 feet from point of venting to atmosphere, extending in all direc-tions. Also up to 18 inches above grade within a horizontal radius of 10 feet from point of loading connection. Loading through closed dome with atmospheric venting 1 Within 3 feet of open end of vent, extending in all directions. 2 Area between 3 feet and 15 feet from open end of vent, extending in all directions, and within 3 feet of edge of dome, extending in all directions. Loading through closed dome with vapor control 2 Within 3 feet of point of connection of both fill and vapor lines, extending in all directions. Bottom loading with vapor control or any bottom unloading 2 Within 3 feet of point of connection, extending in all directions, and up to 18 inches above grade within a horizontal radius of 10 feet from point of connection. Storage and repair garage for tank vehicles 1 Pits or spaces below floor level. 2 Area up to 18 inches above floor or grade level for entire storage or repair garage. Garages for other than tank vehicles Ordinary Where there is an opening to these rooms within the extent of an outdoor classified area, the entire room shall be classified the same as the area classification at the point of the opening. Indoor warehousing where there is no flammable liquid transfer Ordinary Where there is an opening to these rooms within the extent of an indoor classified area, the room shall be classified the same as if the wall, curb or partition did not exist. 1 Area within 5 feet of any edge of such equipment, extending in all directions. 1 Area within 3 feet of any edge of such equipment, extending in all directions. Outdoor equipment where flammable vapor/air mixtures could exist under normal operations 2 Area between 3 feet and 8 feet of any edge of such equipment extending in all directions, and the area up to 3 feet above floor or grade level within 3 feet to 10 feet horizontally from any edge of such equipment. Shell, ends or roof and dike area 1 Area inside dike where dike height is greater than the distance from the tank to the dike for more than 50 percent of the tank circumference. 2 Area within 10 feet from shell, ends or roof of tank. Area inside dikes to level of top of dike. Vent 1 Area within 5 feet of open end of vent, extending in all directions. 2 Area between 5 feet and 10 feet from open end of vent, extending in all directions. Floating roof 1 Area above the roof and within the shell. Office and restrooms Ordinary Where there is an opening to these rooms within the extent of an indoor classified location, the room shall be classified the same as if the wall, curb or partition did not exist. a.Locations as classified in NFPA 70. b.When classifying extent of area, consideration shall be given to the fact that tank cars or tank vehicles can be spotted at varying points. Therefore, the extremities of the loading or unloading positions shall be used. c.The release of Class I liquids can generate vapors to the extent that the entire building, and possibly a zone surrounding it, are considered a Class I, Division 2 location. 5703.1.2 Classified locations for combustible liquids. Areas where Class II or III liquids are heated above their flash points shall have electrical installations in accordance with Section 5703.1.1. Exception: Solvent distillation units in accordance with Section 5705.4. The fire code official is authorized to determine the extent of the Class I electrical equipment and wiring location where a condition is not specifically covered by these requirements or NFPA 70. Fire protection for the storage, use, dispensing, mixing, handling and on-site transportation of flammable and combustible liquids shall be in accordance with this chapter and applicable sections of Chapter 9. 5703.2.1 Portable fire extinguishers and hose lines. Portable fire extinguishers shall be provided in accordance with Section 906. Hose lines shall be provided in accordance with Section 905. In the event of a spill, leak or discharge from a tank system, a site assessment shall be completed by the owner or operator of such tank system if the fire code official determines that a potential fire or explosion hazard exists. Such site assessments shall be conducted to ascertain potential fire hazards and shall be completed and submitted to the fire department within a time period established by the fire code official, not to exceed 60 days. 5703.4 Spill control and secondary containment. Where the maximum allowable quantity per control area is exceeded, and where required by Section 5004.2, rooms, buildings or areas used for storage, dispensing, use, mixing or handling of Class I, II and IIIA liquids shall be provided with spill control and secondary containment in accordance with Section 5004.2. The fire code official is authorized to require warning signs for the purpose of identifying the hazards of storing or using flammable liquids. Signage for identification and warning such as for the inherent hazard of flammable liquids or smoking shall be provided in accordance with this chapter and Sections 5003.5 and 5003.6. Signs shall be posted in locations as required by the fire code official. Piping containing flammable liquids shall be identified in accordance with ASME A13.1. Individual containers, packages and cartons shall be identified, marked, labeled and placarded in accordance with federal regulations and applicable state laws. Color coding or other approved identification means shall be provided on each loading and unloading riser for flammable or combustible liquids to identify the contents of the tank served by the riser. Piping systems, and their component parts, for flammable and combustible liquids shall be in accordance with Sections 5703.6.1 through 5703.6.11. The provisions of Section 5703.6 shall not apply to gas or oil well installations; piping that is integral to stationary or portable engines, including aircraft, watercraft and motor vehicles; and piping in connection with boilers and pressure vessels regulated by the International Mechanical Code. 5703.6.2 Design and fabrication of piping systems and components. Piping system components shall be designed and fabricated in accordance with the applicable standard listed in Table 5703.6.2 and Chapter 27 of NFPA 30, except as modified by Section 5703.6.2.1. 1.Suitably protected against fire exposure. 2.Located where leakage from failure would not unduly expose people or structures. 3.Located where leakage can be readily controlled by operation of accessible remotely located valves. In all cases, nonmetallic piping shall be used in accordance with Section 27.4.6 of NFPA 30. Unless tested in accordance with the applicable section of ASME B31.9, piping, before being covered, enclosed or placed in use, shall be hydrostatically tested to 150 percent of the maximum anticipated pressure of the system, or pneumatically tested to 110 percent of the maximum anticipated pressure of the system, but not less than 5 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) (34.47 kPa) at the highest point of the system. This test shall be maintained for a sufficient time period to complete visual inspection of joints and connections. For not less than 10 minutes, there shall be no leakage or permanent distortion. Care shall be exercised to ensure that these pressures are not applied to vented storage tanks. Such storage tanks shall be tested independently from the piping. Existing piping shall be tested in accordance with this section where the fire code official has reasonable cause to believe that a leak exists. Piping that could contain flammable or combustible liquids shall not be tested pneumatically. Such tests shall be at the expense of the owner or operator. Exception: Vapor-recovery piping is allowed to be tested using an inert gas. Guard posts or other approved means shall be provided to protect piping, valves or fittings subject to vehicular damage in accordance with Section 312. 5703.6.5 Protection from external corrosion and galvanic action. Where subject to external corrosion, piping, related fluid-handling components and supports for both underground and above-ground applications shall be fabricated from noncorrosive materials, and coated or provided with corrosion protection. Dissimilar metallic parts that promote galvanic action shall not be joined. Piping systems shall contain a sufficient number of manual control valves and check valves to operate the system properly and to protect the plant under both normal and emergency conditions. Piping systems in connection with pumps shall contain a sufficient number of such valves to control properly the flow of liquids in normal operation and in the event of physical damage or fire exposure. Connections to pipelines or piping by which equipment (such as tank cars, tank vehicles or marine vessels) discharges liquids into storage tanks shall be provided with check valves or block valves for automatic protection against back-flow where the piping arrangement is such that back-flow from the system is possible. Where loading and unloading is done through a common pipe system, a check valve is not required. However, a block valve, located so as to be readily accessible or remotely operable, shall be provided. Manual drainage-control valves shall be located at approved locations remote from the tanks, diked area, drainage system and impounding basin to ensure their operation in a fire condition. Above-ground tanks with connections located below normal liquid level shall be provided with internal or external isolation valves located as close as practical to the shell of the tank. Except for liquids whose chemical characteristics are incompatible with steel, such valves, where external, and their connections to the tank shall be of steel. 1.Draining liquid away from the piping system at a minimum slope of not less than 1 percent. 2.Providing protection with a fire-resistance rating of not less than 2 hours. 1.Where piping connects to underground tanks. 2.Where piping ends at pump islands and vent risers. 3.At points where differential movement in the piping can occur. 1.Piping does not exceed 4 inches (102 mm) in diameter. 2.Piping has a straight run of not less than 4 feet (1219 mm) on one side of the connection where such connections result in a change of direction. In lieu of the minimum 4-foot (1219 mm) straight run length, approved and listed flexible joints are allowed to be used under dispensers and suction pumps, at submerged pumps and tanks, and where vents extend above ground. Joints shall be liquid tight and shall be welded, flanged or threaded except that listed flexible connectors are allowed in accordance with Section 5703.6.9. Threaded or flanged joints shall fit tightly by using approved methods and materials for the type of joint. Joints in piping systems used for Class I liquids shall be welded where located in concealed spaces within buildings. Nonmetallic joints shall be approved and shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Pipe joints that are dependent on the friction characteristics or resiliency of combustible materials for liquid tightness of piping shall not be used in buildings. Piping shall be secured to prevent disengagement at the fitting. Pipe and tubing shall be bent in accordance with ASME B31.9. The storage of flammable and combustible liquids in containers and tanks shall be in accordance with this section and the applicable sections of Chapter 50. 1.The storage of flammable and combustible liquids in fixed above-ground and underground tanks. 2.The storage of flammable and combustible liquids in fixed above-ground tanks inside of buildings. 3.The storage of flammable and combustible liquids in portable tanks whose capacity exceeds 660 gallons (2498 L). 4.The installation of such tanks and portable tanks. 5704.2.1 Change of tank contents. Tanks subject to change in contents shall be in accordance with Section 5704.2.7. Prior to a change in contents, the fire code official is authorized to require testing of a tank. Tanks that have previously contained Class I liquids shall not be loaded with Class II or Class III liquids until such tanks and all piping, pumps, hoses and meters connected thereto have been completely drained and flushed. 5704.2.2 Use of tank vehicles and tank cars as storage tanks. Tank cars and tank vehicles shall not be used as storage tanks. Labeling and signs for storage tanks and storage tank areas shall comply with Sections 5704.2.3.1 and 5704.2.3.2. 5704.2.3.1 Smoking and open flame. Signs shall be posted in storage areas prohibiting open flames and smoking. Signs shall comply with Section 5703.5. Tanks more than 100 gallons (379 L) in capacity, which are permanently installed or mounted and used for the storage of Class I, II or III liquids, shall bear a label and placard identifying the material therein. Placards shall be in accordance with NFPA 704. 1.Tanks of 300-gallon (1136 L) capacity or less located on private property and used for heating and cooking fuels in single-family dwellings. Smoking and open flames are prohibited in storage areas in accordance with Section 5003.7. Exception: Areas designated as smoking and hot work areas, and areas where hot work permits have been issued in accordance with this code. Explosion control shall be provided in accordance with Section 911 for indoor tanks. 5704.2.6 Separation from incompatible materials. Storage of flammable and combustible liquids shall be separated from incompatible materials in accordance with Section 5003.9.8. Grass, weeds, combustible materials and waste Class I, II or IIIA liquids shall not be accumulated in an unsafe manner at a storage site. 5704.2.7 Design, fabrication and construction requirements for tanks. The design, fabrication and construction of tanks shall comply with NFPA 30. Each tank shall bear a permanent nameplate or marking indicating the standard used as the basis of design. 5704.2.7.1 Materials used in tank construction. The materials used in tank construction shall be in accordance with NFPA 30. The materials of construction for tanks and their appurtenances shall be compatible with the liquids to be stored. 5704.2.7.2 Pressure limitations for tanks. Tanks shall be designed for the pressures to which they will be subjected in accordance with NFPA 30. 5704.2.7.3 Tank vents for normal venting. Tank vents for normal venting shall be installed and maintained in accordance with Sections 5704.2.7.3.1 through 5704.2.7.3.5.3. Vent lines from tanks shall not be used for purposes other than venting unless approved. 5704.2.7.3.2 Vent-line flame arresters and pressure-vacuum vents. Listed or approved flame arresters or pressure-vacuum (PV) vents that remain closed unless venting under pressure or vacuum conditions shall be installed in normal vents of tanks containing Class IB and IC liquids. Exception: Where determined by the fire code official that the use of such devices can result in damage to the tank. Vent-line flame arresters shall be installed in accordance with their listing or API 2000 and maintained in accordance with Section 21.8.6 of NFPA 30 or API 2000. In-line flame arresters in piping systems shall be installed and maintained in accordance with their listing or API 2028. Pressure-vacuum vents shall be installed in accordance with Section 21.4.3 of NFPA 30 or API 2000 and maintained in accordance with Section 21.8.6 of NFPA 30 or API 2000. Vent pipe outlets for tanks storing Class I, II or IIIA liquids shall be located such that the vapors are released at a safe point outside of buildings and not less than 12 feet (3658 mm) above the finished ground level. Vapors shall be discharged upward or horizontally away from adjacent walls to assist in vapor dispersion. Vent outlets shall be located such that flammable vapors will not be trapped by eaves or other obstructions and shall be not less than 5 feet (1524 mm) from building openings or lot lines of properties that can be built upon. Vent outlets on atmospheric tanks storing Class IIIB liquids are allowed to discharge inside a building where the vent is a normally closed vent. Exception: Vent pipe outlets on tanks storing Class IIIB liquid inside buildings and connected to fuel-burning equipment shall be located such that the vapors are released to a safe location outside of buildings. 5704.2.7.3.4 Installation of vent piping. Vent piping shall be designed, sized, constructed and installed in accordance with Section 5703.6. Vent pipes shall be installed such that they will drain toward the tank without sags or traps in which liquid can collect. Vent pipes shall be installed in such a manner so as not to be subject to physical damage or vibration. Tank vent piping shall not be manifolded unless required for special purposes such as vapor recovery, vapor conservation or air pollution control. For aboveground tanks, manifolded vent pipes shall be adequately sized to prevent system pressure limits from being exceeded where manifolded tanks are subject to the same fire exposure. For underground tanks, manifolded vent pipes shall be sized to prevent system pressure limits from being exceeded when manifolded tanks are filled simultaneously. 5704.2.7.3.5.3 Tanks storing Class I liquids. Vent piping for tanks storing Class I liquids shall not be manifolded with vent piping for tanks storing Class II and III liquids unless positive means are provided to prevent the vapors from Class I liquids from entering tanks storing Class II and III liquids, to prevent contamination and possible change in classification of less volatile liquid. Stationary, aboveground tanks shall be equipped with additional venting that will relieve excessive internal pressure caused by exposure to fires. Emergency vents for Class I, II and IIIA liquids shall not discharge inside buildings. The venting shall be installed and maintained in accordance with Section 22.7 of NFPA 30. 1.Tanks larger than 12,000 gallons (45 420 L) in capacity storing Class IIIB liquids that are not within the diked area or the drainage path of Class I or II liquids do not require emergency relief venting. 2.Emergency vents on protected above-ground tanks complying with UL 2085 containing Class II or IIIA liquids are allowed to discharge inside the building. 5704.2.7.5 Tank openings other than vents. Tank openings for other than vents shall comply with Sections 5704.2.7.5.1 through 5704.2.7.5.8. 5704.2.7.5.1 Connections below liquid level. Connections for tank openings below the liquid level shall be liquid tight. 5704.2.7.5.2 Filling, emptying and vapor recovery connections. Filling, emptying and vapor recovery connections to tanks containing Class I, II or IIIA liquids shall be located outside of buildings in accordance with Section 5704.2.7.5.6 at a location free from sources of ignition and not less than 5 feet (1524 mm) away from building openings or lot lines of property that can be built upon. Such openings shall be properly identified and provided with a liquid-tight cap that shall be closed when not in use. 5704.2.7.5.3 Piping, connections and fittings. Piping, connections, fittings and other appurtenances shall be installed in accordance with Section 5703.6. Openings for manual gauging, if independent of the fill pipe, shall be provided with a liquid-tight cap or cover. Covers shall be kept closed when not gauging. If inside a building, such openings shall be protected against liquid overflow and possible vapor release by means of a spring-loaded check valve or other approved device. 5704.2.7.5.5 Fill pipes and discharge lines. For top-loaded tanks, a metallic fill pipe shall be designed and installed to minimize the generation of static electricity by terminating the pipe within 6 inches (152 mm) of the bottom of the tank, and it shall be installed in a manner that avoids excessive vibration. For Class I liquids other than crude oil, gasoline and asphalt, the fill pipe shall be designed and installed in a manner that will minimize the possibility of generating static electricity by terminating within 6 inches (152 mm) of the bottom of the tank. For underground tanks, fill pipe and discharge lines shall enter only through the top. Fill lines shall be sloped toward the tank. Underground tanks for Class I liquids having a capacity greater than 1,000 gallons (3785 L) shall be equipped with a tight fill device for connecting the fill hose to the tank. 5704.2.7.5.6 Location of connections that are made or broken. Filling, withdrawal and vapor-recovery connections for Class I, II and IIIA liquids that are made and broken shall be located outside of buildings, not more than 5 feet (1524 mm) above the finished ground level, in an approved location in close proximity to the parked delivery vehicle. Such location shall be away from sources of ignition and not less than 5 feet (1524 mm) away from building openings. Such connections shall be closed and liquid tight when not in use and shall be properly identified. 5704.2.7.5.7 Protection against vapor release. Tank openings provided for purposes of vapor recovery shall be protected against possible vapor release by means of a spring-loaded check valve or dry-break connections, or other approved device, unless the opening is a pipe connected to a vapor processing system. Openings designed for combined fill and vapor recovery shall also be protected against vapor release unless connection of the liquid delivery line to the fill pipe simultaneously connects the vapor recovery line. Connections shall be vapor tight. An approved means or method in accordance with Section 5704.2.9.7.5 shall be provided to prevent the overfill of all Class I, II and IIIA liquid storage tanks. Storage tanks in refineries, bulk plants or terminals regulated by Section 5706.4 or 5706.7 shall have overfill protection in accordance with API 2350. An approved means or method in accordance with Section 5704.2.9.7.5 shall be provided to prevent the overfilling of Class IIIB liquid storage tanks connected to fuel-burning equipment inside buildings. Exception: Outside above-ground tanks with a capacity of 1,320 gallons (5000 L) or less. 5704.2.7.6 Repair, alteration or reconstruction of tanks and piping. The repair, alteration or reconstruction, including welding, cutting and hot tapping of storage tanks and piping that have been placed in service, shall be in accordance with NFPA 30. Hot work, as defined in Section 202, on such tanks shall be conducted in accordance with Section 3510. The design of the supporting structure for tanks shall be in accordance with the International Building Code and NFPA 30. 5704.2.7.8 Locations subject to flooding. Where a tank is located in an area where it is subject to buoyancy because of a rise in the water table, flooding or accumulation of water from fire suppression operations, uplift protection shall be provided in accordance with Sections 22.14 and 23.14 of NFPA 30. Where subject to external corrosion, tanks shall be fabricated from corrosion-resistant materials, coated or provided with corrosion protection in accordance with Section 23.3.5 of NFPA 30. A consistent or accidental loss of liquid, or other indication of a leak from a tank system, shall be reported immediately to the fire department, the fire code official and other authorities having jurisdiction. Leaking tanks shall be promptly emptied, repaired and returned to service, abandoned or removed in accordance with Section 5704.2.13 or 5704.2.14. Steel tanks are allowed to be lined only for the purpose of protecting the interior from corrosion or providing compatibility with a material to be stored. Only those liquids tested for compatibility with the lining material are allowed to be stored in lined tanks. Vaults shall be allowed to be either above or below grade and shall comply with Sections 5704.2.8.1 through 5704.2.8.18. Vaults shall be listed in accordance with UL 2245. Exception: Where approved by the fire code official, below-grade vaults are allowed to be constructed on site, provided that the design is in accordance with the International Building Code and that special inspections are conducted to verify structural strength and compliance of the installation with the approved design in accordance with Section 1707 of the International Building Code. Installation plans for below-grade vaults that are constructed on site shall be prepared by, and the design shall bear the stamp of, a professional engineer. Consideration shall be given to soil and hydrostatic loading on the floors, walls and lid; anticipated seismic forces; uplifting by groundwater or flooding; and to loads imposed from above such as traffic and equipment loading on the vault lid. The vault shall completely enclose each tank. There shall not be openings in the vault enclosure except those necessary for access to, inspection of, and filling, emptying and venting of the tank. The walls and floor of the vault shall be constructed of reinforced concrete not less than 6 inches (152 mm) thick. The top of an above-grade vault shall be constructed of noncombustible material and shall be designed to be weaker than the walls of the vault, to ensure that the thrust of an explosion occurring inside the vault is directed upward before significantly high pressure can develop within the vault. The top of an at-grade or below-grade vault shall be designed to relieve safely or contain the force of an explosion occurring inside the vault. The top and floor of the vault and the tank foundation shall be designed to withstand the anticipated loading, including loading from vehicular traffic, where applicable. The walls and floor of a vault installed below grade shall be designed to withstand anticipated soil and hydrostatic loading. Vaults shall be designed to be wind and earthquake resistant, in accordance with the International Building Code. Vaults shall be substantially liquid tight and there shall not be backfill around the tank or within the vault. The vault floor shall drain to a sump. For premanufactured vaults, liquid tightness shall be certified as part of the listing provided by a nationally recognized testing laboratory. For field-erected vaults, liquid tightness shall be certified in an approved manner. There shall be sufficient clearance between the tank and the vault to allow for visual inspection and maintenance of the tank and its appurtenances. Dispensing devices are allowed to be installed on tops of vaults. Vaults and their tanks shall be suitably anchored to withstand uplifting by ground water or flooding, including when the tank is empty. Tanks shall be listed for above-ground use, and each tank shall be in its own vault. Compartmentalized tanks shall be allowed and shall be considered as a single tank. Adjacent vaults shall be allowed to share a common wall. The common wall shall be liquid and vapor tight and shall be designed to withstand the load imposed when the vault on either side of the wall is filled with water. Connections shall be provided to permit venting of each vault to dilute, disperse and remove vapors prior to personnel entering the vault. Vaults that contain tanks of Class I liquids shall be provided with an exhaust ventilation system installed in accordance with Section 5004.3. The ventilation system shall operate continuously or be designed to operate upon activation of the vapor or liquid detection system. The system shall provide ventilation at a rate of not less than 1 cubic foot per minute (cfm) per square foot of floor area [0.00508 m3/(s · m2)], but not less than 150 cfm (4 m3/min). The exhaust system shall be designed to provide air movement across all parts of the vault floor. Supply and exhaust ducts shall extend to within 3 inches (76 mm), but not more than 12 inches (305 mm), of the floor. The exhaust system shall be installed in accordance with the International Mechanical Code. Vaults shall be equipped with a detection system capable of detecting liquids, including water, and activating an alarm. Vaults shall be provided with approved vapor and liquid detection systems and equipped with on-site audible and visual warning devices with battery backup. Vapor detection systems shall sound an alarm when the system detects vapors that reach or exceed 25 percent of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the liquid stored. Vapor detectors shall be located not higher than 12 inches (305 mm) above the lowest point in the vault. Liquid detection systems shall sound an alarm upon detection of any liquid, including water. Liquid detectors shall be located in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Activation of either vapor or liquid detection systems shall cause a signal to be sounded at an approved, constantly attended location within the facility serving the tanks or at an approved location. Activation of vapor detection systems shall also shut off dispenser pumps. Means shall be provided to recover liquid from the vault. Where a pump is used to meet this requirement, the pump shall not be permanently installed in the vault. Electric-powered portable pumps shall be suitable for use in Class I, Division 1, or Zone 0 locations, as defined in NFPA 70. Vent pipes that are provided for normal tank venting shall terminate not less than 12 feet (3658 mm) above ground level. Emergency vents shall be vapor tight and shall be allowed to discharge inside the vault. Long-bolt manhole covers shall not be allowed for this purpose. Vaults shall be provided with a suitable means to admit a fire suppression agent. The interior of a vault containing a tank that stores a Class I liquid shall be designated a Class I, Division 1, or Zone 0 location, as defined in NFPA 70. Overfill protection shall be provided in accordance with Section 5704.2.9.7.6. The use of a float vent valve shall be prohibited. Above-ground storage of flammable and combustible liquids in tanks shall comply with Section 5704.2 and Sections 5704.2.9.1 through 5704.2.9.7.9. Existing above-ground tanks shall be maintained in accordance with the code requirements that were applicable at the time of installation. Above-ground tanks that were installed in violation of code requirements applicable at the time of installation shall be made code compliant or shall be removed in accordance with Section 5704.2.14, regardless of whether such tank has been previously inspected (see Section 106.4). Fire protection for aboveground tanks shall comply with Sections 5704.2.9.2.1 through 5704.2.9.2.4. 5704.2.9.2.1 Required foam fire protection systems. 1.Used for the storage of Class I or II liquids. 2.Used for the storage of crude oil. 3.Used for in-process products and is located within 100 feet (30 480 mm) of a fired still, heater, related fractioning or processing apparatus or similar device at a processing plant or petroleum refinery as herein defined. 4.Considered by the fire code official as posing an unusual exposure hazard because of topographical conditions; nature of occupancy, proximity on the same or adjoining property, and height and character of liquids to be stored; degree of private fire protection to be provided; and facilities of the fire department to cope with flammable liquid fires. 5704.2.9.2.2 Foam fire protection system installation. Where foam fire protection is required, it shall be installed in accordance with NFPA 11. Where foam fire protection is required, foam-producing materials shall be stored on the premises. 1.Such materials stored off the premises shall be of the proper type suitable for use with the equipment at the installation where required. 2.Such materials shall be readily available at the storage location at all times. 3.Adequate loading and transportation facilities shall be provided. 4.The time required to deliver such materials to the required location in the event of fire shall be consistent with the hazards and fire scenarios for which the foam supply is intended. 5.At the time of a fire, these off-premises supplies shall be accumulated in sufficient quantities before placing the equipment in operation to ensure foam production at an adequate rate without interruption until extinguishment is accomplished. 5704.2.9.2.3 Fire protection of supports. Supports or pilings for above-ground tanks storing Class I, II or IIIA liquids elevated more than 12 inches (305 mm) above grade shall have a fire-resistance rating of not less than 2 hours in accordance with the fire exposure criteria specified in ASTM E 1529. 1.Structural supports tested as part of a protected above-ground tank in accordance with UL 2085. 2.Stationary tanks located outside of buildings where protected by an approved water-spray system designed in accordance with Chapter 9 and NFPA 15. 3.Stationary tanks located inside of buildings equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system designed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1. 5704.2.9.2.4 Inerting of tanks storing boilover liquids. Liquids with boilover characteristics shall not be stored in fixed roof tanks larger than 150 feet (45 720 mm) in diameter unless an approved gas enrichment or inerting system is provided on the tank. Exception: Crude oil storage tanks in production fields with no other exposures adjacent to the storage tank. 5704.2.9.3 Supports, foundations and anchorage. Supports, foundations and anchorages for aboveground tanks shall be designed and constructed in accordance with NFPA 30 and the International Building Code. 5704.2.9.4 Stairways, platforms and walkways. Stairways, platforms and walkways shall be of non-combustible construction and shall be designed and constructed in accordance with NFPA 30 and the International Building Code. 5704.2.9.5 Above-ground tanks inside of buildings. Above-ground tanks inside of buildings shall comply with Sections 5704.2.9.5.1 and 5704.2.9.5.2. Above-ground tanks storing Class I, II and IIIA liquids inside buildings shall be equipped with a device or other means to prevent overflow into the building including, but not limited to: a float valve; a preset meter on the fill line; a valve actuated by the weight of the tank’s contents; a low-head pump that is incapable of producing overflow; or a liquid-tight overflow pipe not less than one pipe size larger than the fill pipe and discharging by gravity back to the outside source of liquid or to an approved location. Tanks containing Class IIIB liquids and connected to fuel-burning equipment shall be provided with a means to prevent overflow into buildings in accordance with Section 5704.2.7.5.8. Fill pipe connections for tanks storing Class I, II and IIIA liquids and Class IIIB liquids connected to fuel-burning equipment shall be in accordance with Section 5704.2.9.7.6. 5704.2.9.6 Above-ground tanks outside of buildings. Above-ground tanks outside of buildings shall comply with Sections 5704.2.9.6.1 through 5704.2.9.6.3. 5704.2.9.6.1 Locations where above-ground tanks are prohibited. Storage of Class I and II liquids in above-ground tanks outside of buildings is prohibited within the limits established by law as the limits of districts in which such storage is prohibited (see Section 3 of the Sample Legislation for Adoption of the International Fire Code on page xxi). 5704.2.9.6.1.1 Location of tanks with pressures 2.5 psig or less. Above-ground tanks operating at pressures not exceeding 2.5 psig (17.2 kPa) for storage of Class I, II or IIIA liquids, which are designed with a floating roof, a weak roof-to-shell seam or equipped with emergency venting devices limiting pressure to 2.5 psig (17.2 kPa), shall be located in accordance with Table 22.4.1.1(a) of NFPA 30. 1.Vertical tanks having a weak roof-to-shell seam and storing Class IIIA liquids are allowed to be located at one-half the distances specified in Table 22.4.1.1(a) of NFPA 30, provided the tanks are not within a diked area or drainage path for a tank storing Class I or II liquids. 2.Liquids with boilover characteristics and unstable liquids in accordance with Sections 5704.2.9.6.1.3 and 5704.2.9.6.1.4. 3.For protected above-ground tanks in accordance with Section 5704.2.9.7 and tanks in at-grade or above-grade vaults in accordance with Section 5704.2.8, the distances in Table 22.4.1.1(b) of NFPA 30 shall apply and shall be reduced by one-half, but not to less than 5 feet (1524 mm). 5704.2.9.6.1.2 Location of tanks with pressures exceeding 2.5 psig. Above-ground tanks for the storage of Class I, II or IIIA liquids operating at pressures exceeding 2.5 psig (17.2 kPa) or equipped with emergency venting allowing pressures to exceed 2.5 psig (17.2 kPa) shall be located in accordance with Table 22.4.1.3 of NFPA 30. Exception: Liquids with boilover characteristics and unstable liquids in accordance with Sections 5704.2.9.6.1.4 and 5704.2.9.6.1.5. 5704.2.9.6.1.3 Location of tanks storing boilover liquids. Above-ground tanks for storage of liquids with boilover characteristics shall be located in accordance with Table 22.4.1.4 of NFPA 30. 5704.2.9.6.1.4 Location of tanks storing unstable liquids. Above-ground tanks for the storage of unstable liquids shall be located in accordance with Table 22.4.1.5 of NFPA 30. 5704.2.9.6.1.5 Location of tanks storing Class IIIB liquids. 22.4.1.6 of NFPA 30, except where located within a diked area or drainage path for a tank or tanks storing Class I or II liquids. Where a Class IIIB liquid storage tank is within the diked area or drainage path for a Class I or II liquid, distances required by Section 5704.2.9.6.1.1 shall apply. 5704.2.9.6.1.6 Reduction of separation distances to adjacent property. Where two tank properties of diverse ownership have a common boundary, the fire code official is authorized to, with the written consent of the owners of the two properties, apply the distances in Sections 5704.2.9.6.1.2 through 5704.2.9.6.1.5 assuming a single property. 5704.2.9.6.2 Separation between adjacent stable or unstable liquid tanks. The separation between tanks containing stable liquids shall be in accordance with Table 22.4.2.1 of NFPA 30. Where tanks are in a diked area containing Class I or II liquids, or in the drainage path of Class I or II liquids, and are compacted in three or more rows or in an irregular pattern, the fire code official is authorized to require greater separation than specified in Table 22.4.2.1 of NFPA 30 or other means to make tanks in the interior of the pattern accessible for fire-fighting purposes. Exception: Tanks used for storing Class IIIB liquids are allowed to be spaced 3 feet (914 mm) apart unless within a diked area or drainage path for a tank storing Class I or II liquids. The separation between tanks containing unstable liquids shall be not less than one-half the sum of their diameters. 5704.2.9.6.3 Separation between adjacent tanks containing flammable or combustible liquids and LP-gas. The minimum horizontal separation between an LP-gas container and a Class I, II or IIIA liquid storage tank shall be 20 feet (6096 mm) except in the case of Class I, II or IIIA liquid tanks operating at pressures exceeding 2.5 psig (17.2 kPa) or equipped with emergency venting allowing pressures to exceed 2.5 psig (17.2 kPa), in which case the provisions of Section 5704.2.9.6.2 shall apply. An approved means shall be provided to prevent the accumulation of Class I, II or IIIA liquids under adjacent LP-gas containers such as by dikes, diversion curbs or grading. Where flammable or combustible liquid storage tanks are within a diked area, the LP-gas containers shall be outside the diked area and not less than 10 feet (3048 mm) away from the centerline of the wall of the diked area. 1.Liquefied petroleum gas containers of 125 gallons (473 L) or less in capacity installed adjacent to fuel-oil supply tanks of 660 gallons (2498 L) or less in capacity. 2.Horizontal separation is not required between above-ground LP-gas containers and underground flammable and combustible liquid tanks. 5704.2.9.7 Additional requirements for protected above-ground tanks. In addition to the requirements of this chapter for above-ground tanks, the installation of protected above-ground tanks shall be in accordance with Sections 5704.2.9.7.1 through 5704.2.9.7.9. The construction of a protected above-ground tank and its primary tank shall be in accordance with Section 5704.2.7. 5704.2.9.7.2 Normal and emergency venting. Normal and emergency venting for protected aboveground tanks shall be provided in accordance with Sections 5704.2.7.3 and 5704.2.7.4. The vent capacity reduction factor shall not be allowed. Protected above-ground tanks shall be provided with secondary containment, drainage control or diking in accordance with Section 5004.2. A means shall be provided to establish the integrity of the secondary containment in accordance with NFPA 30. Where protected above-ground tanks, piping, electrical conduit or dispensers are subject to vehicular impact, they shall be protected therefrom, either by having the impact protection incorporated into the system design in compliance with the impact test protocol of UL 2085, or by meeting the provisions of Section 312, or where necessary, a combination of both. Where guard posts or other approved barriers are provided, they shall be independent of each aboveground tank. 1.2.Automatically shut off the flow of fuel to the tank when the quantity of liquid in the tank reaches 95 percent of tank capacity. For rigid hose fuel-delivery systems, an approved means shall be provided to empty the fill hose into the tank after the automatic shutoff device is activated. 2.The system shall reduce the flow rate to not more than 15 gallons per minute (0.95 L/s) so that at the reduced flow rate, the tank will not overfill for 30 minutes, and automatically shut off flow into the tank so that none of the fittings on the top of the tank are exposed to product because of overfilling. A permanent sign shall be provided at the fill point for the tank, documenting the filling procedure and the tank calibration chart. Exception: Where climatic conditions are such that the sign may be obscured by ice or snow, or weathered beyond readability or otherwise impaired, said procedures and chart shall be located in the office window, lock box or other area accessible to the person filling the tank. 5704.2.9.7.5.2 Determination of available tank capacity. The filling procedure shall require the person filling the tank to determine the gallonage (literage) required to fill it to 90 percent of capacity before commencing the fill operation. The fill pipe shall be provided with a means for making a direct connection to the tank vehicle’s fuel delivery hose so that the delivery of fuel is not exposed to the open air during the filling operation. Where any portion of the fill pipe exterior to the tank extends below the level of the top of the tank, a check valve shall be installed in the fill pipe not more than 12 inches (305 mm) from the fill hose connection. A spill container having a capacity of not less than 5 gallons (19 L) shall be provided for each fill connection. For tanks with a top fill connection, spill containers shall be non-combustible and shall be fixed to the tank and equipped with a manual drain valve that drains into the primary tank. For tanks with a remote fill connection, a portable spill container shall be allowed. Tank openings in protected above-ground tanks shall be through the top only. Approved antisiphon devices shall be installed in each external pipe connected to the protected above-ground tank where the pipe extends below the level of the top of the tank. The area surrounding a tank or group of tanks shall be provided with drainage control or shall be diked to prevent accidental discharge of liquid from endangering adjacent tanks, adjoining property or reaching waterways. 1.The fire code official is authorized to alter or waive these requirements based on a technical report that demonstrates that such tank or group of tanks does not constitute a hazard to other tanks, waterways or adjoining property, after consideration of special features such as topographical conditions, nature of occupancy and proximity to buildings on the same or adjacent property, capacity, and construction of proposed tanks and character of liquids to be stored, and nature and quantity of private and public fire protection provided. 2.Drainage control and diking is not required for listed secondary containment tanks. The volumetric capacity of the diked area shall be not less than the greatest amount of liquid that can be released from the largest tank within the diked area. The capacity of the diked area enclosing more than one tank shall be calculated by deducting the volume of the tanks other than the largest tank below the height of the dike. 5704.2.10.2 Diked areas containing two or more tanks. Diked areas containing two or more tanks shall be subdivided in accordance with NFPA 30. 5704.2.10.3 Protection of piping from exposure fires. Piping shall not pass through adjacent diked areas or impounding basins, unless provided with a sealed sleeve or otherwise protected from exposure to fire. 5704.2.10.4 Combustible materials in diked areas. Diked areas shall be kept free from combustible materials, drums and barrels. 5704.2.10.5 Equipment, controls and piping in diked areas. Pumps, manifolds and fire protection equipment or controls shall not be located within diked areas or drainage basins or in a location where such equipment and controls would be endangered by fire in the diked area or drainage basin. Piping above ground shall be minimized and located as close as practical to the shell of the tank in diked areas or drainage basins. 1.Pumps, manifolds and piping integral to the tanks or equipment being served, which is protected by intermediate diking, berms, drainage or fire protection such as water spray, monitors or resistive coating. 2.Fire protection equipment or controls that are appurtenances to the tanks or equipment being protected, such as foam chambers or foam piping and water or foam monitors and hydrants, or hand and wheeled extinguishers. Underground storage of flammable and combustible liquids in tanks shall comply with Section 5704.2 and Sections 5704.2.11.1 through 5704.2.11.4.2. 1.Tanks shall be located with respect to existing foundations and supports such that the loads carried by the latter cannot be transmitted to the tank. 2.The distance from any part of a tank storing liquids to the nearest wall of a basement, pit, cellar or lot line shall be not less than 3 feet (914 mm). 3.A minimum distance of 1 foot (305 mm), shell to shell, shall be maintained between underground tanks. Excavation for underground storage tanks shall be made with due care to avoid undermining of foundations of existing structures. Underground tanks shall be set on firm foundations and surrounded with not less than 6 inches (152 mm) of noncorrosive inert material, such as clean sand. 5704.2.11.3 Overfill protection and prevention systems. Fill pipes shall be equipped with a spill container and an overfill prevention system in accordance with NFPA 30. Leak prevention for underground tanks shall comply with Sections 5704.2.11.4.1 and 5704.2.11.4.2. Daily inventory records for underground storage tank systems shall be maintained. Underground storage tank systems shall be provided with an approved method of leak detection from any component of the system that is designed and installed in accordance with NFPA 30. Tank testing shall comply with Sections 5704.2.12.1 and 5704.2.12.2. Prior to being placed into service, tanks shall be tested in accordance with Section 21.5 of NFPA 30. 5704.2.12.2 Testing of underground tanks. Before being covered or placed in use, tanks and piping connected to underground tanks shall be tested for tightness in the presence of the fire code official. Piping shall be tested in accordance with Section 5703.6.3. The system shall not be covered until it has been approved. 5704.2.13 Abandonment and status of tanks. Tanks taken out of service shall be removed in accordance with Section 5704.2.14, or safeguarded in accordance with Sections 5704.2.13.1 through 5704.2.13.2.3 and API 1604. Underground tanks taken out of service shall comply with Sections 5704.2.13.1.1 through 5704.2.13.1.5. 5704.2.13.1.1 Temporarily out of service. Underground tanks temporarily out of service shall have the fill line, gauge opening, vapor return and pump connection secure against tampering. Vent lines shall remain open and be maintained in accordance with Sections 5704.2.7.3 and 5704.2.7.4. 5704.2.13.1.2 Out of service for 90 days. 1.Flammable or combustible liquids shall be removed from the tank. 2.All piping, including fill line, gauge opening, vapor return and pump connection, shall be capped or plugged and secured from tampering. 3.Vent lines shall remain open and be maintained in accordance with Sections 5704.2.7.3 and 5704.2.7.4. 5704.2.13.1.3 Out of service for one year. Underground tanks that have been out of service for a period of one year shall be removed from the ground in accordance with Section 5704.2.14 or abandoned in place in accordance with Section 5704.2.13.1.4. 5704.2.13.1.4 Tanks abandoned in place. 1.Flammable and combustible liquids shall be removed from the tank and connected piping. 2.The suction, inlet, gauge, vapor return and vapor lines shall be disconnected. 3.The tank shall be filled completely with an approved inert solid material. 4.Remaining underground piping shall be capped or plugged. 5.A record of tank size, location and date of abandonment shall be retained. 6.All exterior above-grade fill piping shall be permanently removed when tanks are abandoned or removed. 5704.2.13.1.5 Reinstallation of underground tanks. Tanks that are to be reinstalled for flammable or combustible liquid service shall be in accordance with this chapter, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (Section VIII), API 12-P, API 1615, UL 58 and UL 1316. Above-ground tanks taken out of service shall comply with Sections 5704.2.13.2.1 through 5704.2.13.2.3. 5704.2.13.2.1 Temporarily out of service. Aboveground tanks temporarily out of service shall have all connecting lines isolated from the tank and be secured against tampering. Exception: In-place fire protection (foam) system lines. 5704.2.13.2.2 Out of service for 90 days. Aboveground tanks not used for a period of 90 days shall be safeguarded in accordance with Section 5704.2.13.1.2 or removed in accordance with Section 5704.2.14. 1.Tanks and containers connected to oil burners that are not in use during the warm season of the year or are used as a backup heating system to gas. 2.In-place, active fire protection (foam) system lines. 5704.2.13.2.3 Out of service for one year. Aboveground tanks that have been out of service for a period of one year shall be removed in accordance with Section 5704.2.14. Exception: Tanks within operating facilities. 5704.2.14 Removal and disposal of tanks. Removal and disposal of tanks shall comply with Sections 5704.2.14.1 and 5704.2.14.2. 2.Piping at tank openings that is not to be used further shall be disconnected. 3.Piping shall be removed from the ground. Exception: Piping is allowed to be abandoned in place where the fire code official determines that removal is not practical. Abandoned piping shall be capped and safeguarded as required by the fire code official. 4.Tank openings shall be capped or plugged, leaving a 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch-diameter (3.2 mm to 6.4 mm) opening for pressure equalization. 5.Tanks shall be purged of vapor and inerted prior to removal. 6.All exterior above-grade fill and vent piping shall be permanently removed. Exception: Piping associated with bulk plants, terminal facilities and refineries. Tanks shall be disposed of in accordance with federal, state and local regulations. Above-ground tanks, connected piping and ancillary equipment shall be maintained in a safe operating condition. Tanks shall be maintained in accordance with their listings. Damage to above-ground tanks, connected piping or ancillary equipment shall be repaired using materials having equal or greater strength and fire resistance or the equipment shall be replaced or taken out of service. 5704.3 Container and portable tank storage. Storage of flammable and combustible liquids in closed containers that do not exceed 60 gallons (227 L) in individual capacity and portable tanks that do not exceed 660 gallons (2498 L) in individual capacity, and limited transfers incidental thereto, shall comply with Sections 5704.3.1 through 5704.3.8.5. 5704.3.1 Design, construction and capacity of containers and portable tanks. The design, construction and capacity of containers for the storage of Class I, II and IIIA liquids shall be in accordance with this section and Section 9.4 of NFPA 30. Only approved containers and portable tanks shall be used. Where other sections of this code require that liquid containers be stored in storage cabinets, such cabinets and storage shall be in accordance with Sections 5704.3.2.1 through 5704.3.2.2. 5704.3.2.1 Design and construction of storage cabinets. Design and construction of liquid storage cabinets shall be in accordance with Sections 5704.3.2.1.1 through 5704.3.2.1.4. 1.Unlisted metal cabinets shall be constructed of steel having a thickness of not less than 0.044 inch (1.12 mm) (18 gage). The cabinet, including the door, shall be double walled with 11/2-inch (38 mm) airspace between the walls. Joints shall be riveted or welded and shall be tight fitting. 2.Unlisted wooden cabinets, including doors, shall be constructed of not less than 1-inch (25 mm) exterior grade plywood. Joints shall be rabbeted and shall be fastened in two directions with wood screws. Door hinges shall be of steel or brass. Cabinets shall be painted with an intumescent-type paint. Cabinets shall be provided with a conspicuous label in red letters on contrasting background that reads: FLAMMABLE—KEEP FIRE AWAY. Doors shall be well fitted, self-closing and equipped with a three-point latch. The bottom of the cabinet shall be liquid tight to a height of not less than 2 inches (51 mm). The combined total quantity of liquids in a cabinet shall not exceed 120 gallons (454 L). Storage of flammable and combustible liquids inside buildings in containers and portable tanks shall be in accordance with Sections 5704.3.3.1 through 5704.3.3.10. 1.Liquids in the fuel tanks of motor vehicles, aircraft, boats or portable or stationary engines. 2.The storage of distilled spirits and wines in wooden barrels or casks. Approved portable fire extinguishers shall be provided in accordance with specific sections of this chapter and Section 906. Materials that will react with water or other liquids to produce a hazard shall not be stored in the same room with flammable and combustible liquids except where stored in accordance with Section 5003.9.8. 5704.3.3.3 Clear means of egress. Storage of any liquids, including stock for sale, shall not be stored near or be allowed to obstruct physically the route of egress. 5704.3.3.4 Empty containers or portable tank storage. The storage of empty tanks and containers previously used for the storage of flammable or combustible liquids, unless free from explosive vapors, shall be stored as required for filled containers and portable tanks. Portable tanks and containers, when emptied, shall have the covers or plugs immediately replaced in openings. Shelving shall be of approved construction, adequately braced and anchored. Seismic requirements shall be in accordance with the International Building Code. Wood of not less than 1 inch (25 mm) nominal thickness is allowed to be used as shelving, racks, dunnage, scuffboards, floor overlay and similar installations. Shelves shall be of sufficient depth and provided with a lip or guard to prevent individual containers from being displaced. Exception: Shelves in storage cabinets or on laboratory furniture specifically designed for such use. Shelf storage of flammable and combustible liquids shall be maintained in an orderly manner. Where storage on racks is allowed elsewhere in this code, a minimum 4-foot-wide (1219 mm) aisle shall be provided between adjacent rack sections and any adjacent storage of liquids. Main aisles shall be not less than 8 feet (2438 mm) wide. 5704.3.3.7 Pile or palletized storage. Solid pile and palletized storage in liquid warehouses shall be arranged so that piles are separated from each other by not less than 4 feet (1219 mm). Aisles shall be provided and arranged so that no container or portable tank is more than 20 feet (6096 mm) from an aisle. Main aisles shall be not less than 8 feet (2438 mm) wide. Limited quantities of combustible commodities are allowed to be stored in liquid storage areas where the ordinary combustibles, other than those used for packaging the liquids, are separated from the liquids in storage by not less than 8 feet (2438 mm) horizontally, either by open aisles or by open racks, and where protection is provided in accordance with Chapter 9. Storage of empty or idle combustible pallets inside an unprotected liquid storage area shall be limited to a maximum pile size of 2,500 square feet (232 m2) and to a maximum storage height of 6 feet (1829 mm). Storage of empty or idle combustible pallets inside a protected liquid storage area shall comply with NFPA 13. Pallet storage shall be separated from liquid storage by aisles that are not less than 8 feet (2438 mm) wide. Containers in piles shall be stacked in such a manner as to provide stability and to prevent excessive stress on container walls. Portable tanks stored more than one tier high shall be designed to nest securely, without dunnage. Material-handling equipment shall be suitable to handle containers and tanks safely at the upper tier level. 5704.3.4 Quantity limits for storage. Liquid storage quantity limitations shall comply with Sections 5704.3.4.1 through 5704.3.4.4. 5704.3.4.1 Maximum allowable quantity per control area. For occupancies other than Group M wholesale and retail sales uses, indoor storage of flammable and combustible liquids shall not exceed the maximum allowable quantities per control area indicated in Table 5003.1.1(1) and shall not exceed the additional limitations set forth in this section. For Group M occupancy wholesale and retail sales uses, indoor storage of flammable and combustible liquids shall not exceed the maximum allowable quantities per control area indicated in Table 5704.3.4.1. Storage of hazardous production material flammable and combustible liquids in Group H-5 occupancies shall be in accordance with Chapter 27. For SI: 1 foot = 304.8 mm, 1 square foot = 0.0929 m2, 1 gallon = 3.785 L, 1 gallon per minute per square foot = 40.75 L/min/m2. a. Control areas shall be separated from each other by not less than a 1-hour fire barrier. 1. For uncartoned commodities on shelves 6 feet or less in height where the ceiling height does not exceed 18 feet, quantities are those allowed with a minimum sprinkler design density of Ordinary Hazard Group 2. 2. For cartoned, palletized or racked commodities where storage is 4 feet 6 inches or less in height and where the ceiling height does not exceed 18 feet, quantities are those allowed with a minimum sprinkler design density of 0.21 gallon per minute per square foot over the most remote 1,500-square-foot area. c. Where wholesale and retail sales or storage areas exceed 50,000 square feet in area, the maximum allowable quantities are allowed to be increased by 2 percent for each 1,000 square feet of area in excess of 50,000 square feet, up to not more than 100 percent of the table amounts. A control area separation is not required. The cumulative amounts, including amounts attained by having an additional control area, shall not exceed 30,000 gallons. 1.Group A occupancies: Quantities in Group A occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, treatment, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 2.Group B occupancies: Quantities in drinking, dining, office and school uses within Group B occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, treatment, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 3.Group E occupancies: Quantities in Group E occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, treatment, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 4.Group F occupancies: Quantities in dining, office, and school uses within Group F occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 5.Group I occupancies: Quantities in Group I occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 6.Group M occupancies: Quantities in dining, office, and school uses within Group M occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). The maximum allowable quantities for storage in wholesale and retail sales areas shall be in accordance with Section 5704.3.4.1. 7.Group R occupancies: Quantities in Group R occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 8.Group S occupancies: Quantities in dining and office uses within Group S occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 5704.3.4.3 Quantities exceeding limits for control areas. Quantities exceeding those allowed in control areas set forth in Section 5704.3.4.1 shall be in liquid storage rooms or liquid storage warehouses in accordance with Sections 5704.3.7 and 5704.3.8. 5704.3.4.4 Liquids for maintenance and operation of equipment. In all occupancies, quantities of flammable and combustible liquids in excess of 10 gallons (38 L) used for maintenance purposes and the operation of equipment shall be stored in liquid storage cabinets in accordance with Section 5704.3.2. Quantities not exceeding 10 gallons (38 L) are allowed to be stored outside of a cabinet where in approved containers located in private garages or other approved locations. 5704.3.5 Storage in control areas. Storage of flammable and combustible liquids in control areas shall be in accordance with Sections 5704.3.5.1 through 5704.3.5.4. Class I liquids shall be allowed to be stored in basements in amounts not exceeding the maximum allowable quantity per control area for use-open systems in Table 5003.1.1(1), provided that automatic suppression and other fire protection are provided in accordance with Chapter 9. Class II and IIIA liquids shall also be allowed to be stored in basements, provided that automatic suppression and other fire protection are provided in accordance with Chapter 9. Containers having less than a 30-gallon (114 L) capacity that contain Class I or II liquids shall not be stacked more than 3 feet (914.4 mm) or two containers high, whichever is greater, unless stacked on fixed shelving or otherwise satisfactorily secured. Containers of Class I or II liquids having a capacity of 30 gallons (114 L) or more shall not be stored more than one container high. Containers shall be stored in an upright position. 5704.3.5.3 Storage distance from ceilings and roofs. Piles of containers or portable tanks shall not be stored closer than 3 feet (914 mm) to the nearest beam, chord, girder or other obstruction, and shall be 3 feet (914 mm) below sprinkler deflectors or discharge orifices of water spray or other overhead fire protection system. In areas that are inaccessible to the public, Class I, II and IIIA liquids shall not be stored in the same pile or rack section as ordinary combustible commodities unless such materials are packaged together as kits. 5704.3.6 Wholesale and retail sales uses. Flammable and combustible liquids in Group M occupancy wholesale and retail sales uses shall be in accordance with Sections 5704.3.6.1 through 5704.3.6.5, or Sections 10.10.2, 12.3.8, 16.4.1 through 16.4.3, 16.5.1 through 16.5.2.12, Tables 16.5.2.1 through 16.5.2.12, and Figures 16.4.1(a) through 16.14.1(c) of NFPA 30. Containers for Class I liquids shall be metal. Exception: In sprinklered buildings, an aggregate quantity of 120 gallons (454 L) of water-miscible Class IB and Class IC liquids is allowed in nonmetallic containers, each having a capacity of 16 ounces (0.473 L) or less. Containers for Class I liquids shall not exceed a capacity of 5 gallons (19 L). Exception: Metal containers not exceeding 55 gallons (208 L) are allowed to store up to 240 gallons (908 L) of the maximum allowable quantity per control area of Class IB and IC liquids in a control area. The building shall be equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Table 5704.3.4.1. The containers shall be provided with plastic caps without cap seals and shall be stored upright. Containers shall not be stacked or stored in racks and shall not be located in areas accessible to the public. 5704.3.6.3 Fire protection and storage arrangements. 1.Storage on shelves shall not exceed 6 feet (1829 mm) in height, and shelving shall be metal. 2.Storage on pallets or in piles greater than 4 feet 6 inches (1372 mm) in height, or where the ceiling exceeds 18 feet (5486 mm) in height, shall be protected in accordance with Table 5704.3.6.3(4), and the storage heights and arrangements shall be limited to those specified in Table 5704.3.6.3(2). 3.Storage on racks greater than 4 feet 6 inches (1372 mm) in height, or where the ceiling exceeds 18 feet (5486 mm) in height shall be protected in accordance with Tables 5704.3.6.3(5), 5704.3.6.3(6), and 5704.3.6.3(7) as appropriate, and the storage heights and arrangements shall be limited to those specified in Table 5704.3.6.3(3). Combustible commodities shall not be stored above flammable and combustible liquids. a In buildings protected by an automatic sprinkler system, the storage height for containers and portable tanks shall not exceed the maximum storage height permitted for the fire protection scheme set forth in NFPA 30 or the maximum storage height demonstrated in a full-scale fire test, whichever is greater. NFPA 30 criteria and fire test results for metallic containers and portable tanks shall not be applied to nonmetallic containers and portable tanks. b.In-rack protection shall be in accordance with Table 5704.3.6.3(5), 5704.3.6.3(6) or 5704.3.6.3(7). a.See Section 5704.3.8.1 for unlimited quantities in liquid storage warehouses. b.In buildings protected by an automatic sprinkler system, the storage height for containers and portable tanks shall not exceed the maximum storage height permitted for the fire protection scheme set forth in NFPA 30 or the maximum storage height demonstrated in a full-scale fire test, whichever is greater. NFPA 30 criteria and fire test results for metallic containers and portable tanks shall not be applied to nonmetallic containers and portable tanks. c.These height limitations are allowed to be increased to 10 feet for containers having a capacity of 5 gallons or less. d.For palletized storage of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) in relieving-style metal containers with 50 percent or less by weight Class IC or II liquid and no Class IA or IB liquid, height and pile quantity limits shall be permitted to be 10 feet and 15,000 gallons, respectively, provided that such storage is protected by sprinklers in accordance with NFPA 30 and that the UPR storage area is not located in the same containment area or drainage path for other Class I or II liquids. For SI: 1 foot = 304.8 mm, 1 gallon = 3.785 L, 1 square foot = 0.0929 m2, 1 gallon per minute = 3.785 L/m, 1 gallon per minute per square foot = 40.75 L/min/m2. a.The design area contemplates the use of Class II standpipe systems. Where Class I standpipe systems are used, the area of application shall be increased by 30 percent without revising density. b.For storage heights above 4 feet or ceiling heights greater than 18 feet, an approved engineering design shall be provided in accordance with Section 104.7.2. For SI: 1 inch = 25.4 mm, 1 foot = 304.8 mm, 1 square foot = 0.0929 m2, 1 pound per square inch = 6.895 kPa, 1 gallon = 3.785 L, 1 gallon per minute = 3.785 L/m, 1 gallon per minute per square foot = 40.75 L/min/m2. b.Using listed or approved extra-large orifices, high-temperature quick-response or standard element sprinklers under a maximum 30-foot ceiling with minimum 7.5-foot aisles. c.For friction lid cans and other metal containers equipped with plastic nozzles or caps, the density shall be increased to 0.65 gpm per square foot using listed or approved extra-large orifice, high-temperature quick-response sprinklers. d.Using listed or approved extra-large orifice, high-temperature quick-response or standard element sprinklers under a maximum 18-foot ceiling with minimum 7.5-foot aisles and metal containers. For SI: 1 foot = 304.8 mm, 1 square foot = 0.0929 m2, 1 pound per square inch = 6.895 kPa, 1 gallon = 3.785 L, 1 gallon per minute = 3.785 L/m, 1 gallon per minute per square foot = 40.75 L/min/m2. a.The design assumes the use of Class II standpipe systems. Where a Class I standpipe system is used, the area of application shall be increased by 30 percent without revising density. a.System shall be a closed-head wet system with approved devices for proportioning aqueous film-forming foam. b.Except as modified herein, in-rack sprinklers shall be installed in accordance with NFPA 13. c.The height of storage shall not exceed 25 feet. d.Hose stream demand includes 11/2-inch inside hose connections, where required. a.This table shall not apply to racks with solid shelves. b.Using extra-large orifice sprinklers under a ceiling 30 feet or less in height. Minimum aisle width is 7.5 feet. Cans, containers and vessels containing flammable liquids or flammable liquid compounds or mixtures offered for sale shall be provided with a warning indicator, painted or printed on the container and stating that the liquid is flammable, and shall be kept away from heat and an open flame. Where required by fire the code official, aisle and storage plans shall be submitted in accordance with Chapter 50. Liquid storage rooms shall comply with Sections 5704.3.7.1 through 5704.3.7.5.2. Quantities of liquids exceeding those set forth in Section 5704.3.4.1 for storage in control areas shall be stored in a liquid storage room complying with this section and constructed and separated as required by the International Building Code. 5704.3.7.2 Quantities and arrangement of storage. The quantity limits and storage arrangements in liquid storage rooms shall be in accordance with Tables 5704.3.6.3(2) and 5704.3.6.3(3) and Sections 5704.3.7.2.1 through 5704.3.7.2.3. 1.The quantity in that pile or rack shall not exceed the smallest of the maximum quantities for the classes of liquids stored in accordance with Table 5704.3.6.3(2) or 5704.3.6.3(3). 2.The height of storage in that pile or rack shall not exceed the smallest of the maximum heights for the classes of liquids stored in accordance with Table 5704.3.6.3(2) or 5704.3.6.3(3). Piles shall be separated from each other by not less than 4-foot (1219 mm) aisles. Aisles shall be provided so that all containers are 20 feet (6096 mm) or less from an aisle. Where the storage of liquids is on racks, a minimum 4-foot-wide (1219 mm) aisle shall be provided between adjacent rows of racks and adjacent storage of liquids. Main aisles shall be not less than 8 feet (2438 mm) wide. Additional aisles shall be provided for access to doors, required windows and ventilation openings, standpipe connections, mechanical equipment and switches. Such aisles shall be not less than 3 feet (914 mm) in width, unless greater widths are required for separation of piles or racks, in which case the greater width shall be provided. Containers and piles shall be separated by pallets or dunnage to provide stability and to prevent excessive stress to container walls. Portable tanks stored over one tier shall be designed to nest securely without dunnage. Requirements for portable tank design shall be in accordance with Chapters 9 and 12 of NFPA 30. Shelving, racks, dunnage, scuffboards, floor overlay and similar installations shall be of noncombustible construction or of wood not less than a 1-inch (25 mm) nominal thickness. Adequate material-handling equipment shall be available to handle tanks safely at upper tier levels. 5704.3.7.3 Spill control and secondary containment. Liquid storage rooms shall be provided with spill control and secondary containment in accordance with Section 5004.2. Liquid storage rooms shall be ventilated in accordance with Section 5004.3. Fire protection for liquid storage rooms shall comply with Sections 5704.3.7.5.1 and 5704.3.7.5.2. Liquid storage rooms shall be protected by automatic sprinkler systems installed in accordance with Chapter 9 and Tables 5704.3.6.3(4) through 5704.3.6.3(7) and Table 5704.3.7.5.1. In-rack sprinklers shall also comply with NFPA 13. Automatic foam-water systems and automatic aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) water sprinkler systems shall not be used except where approved. Protection criteria developed from fire modeling or full-scale fire testing conducted at an approved testing laboratory are allowed in lieu of the protection as shown in Tables 5704.3.6.3(2) through 5704.3.6.3(7) and Table 5704.3.7.5.1 where approved. For SI: 1 inch = 25.4 mm, 1 foot = 304.8 mm, 1 square foot = 0.0929 m2, 1 gallon per minute = 3.785 L/m, 1 gallon per minute per square foot = 40.75 L/min/m2, °C = [(°F)-32]/1.8. b.Maximum ceiling height of 30 feet. c.Hose stream demand includes 11/2-inch inside hose connections, where required. Not less than one approved portable fire extinguisher complying with Section 906 and having a rating of not less than 20-B shall be located not less than 10 feet (3048 mm) or more than 50 feet (15 240 mm) from any Class I or II liquid storage area located outside of a liquid storage room. Not less than one portable fire extinguisher having a rating of not less than 20-B shall be located outside of, but not more than 10 feet (3048 mm) from, the door opening into a liquid storage room. Buildings used for storage of flammable or combustible liquids in quantities exceeding those set forth in Section 5704.3.4 for control areas and Section 5704.3.7 for liquid storage rooms shall comply with Sections 5704.3.8.1 through 5704.3.8.5 and shall be constructed and separated as required by the International Building Code. 5704.3.8.1 Quantities and storage arrangement. The total quantities of liquids in a liquid storage warehouse shall not be limited. The arrangement of storage shall be in accordance with Table 5704.3.6.3(2) or 5704.3.6.3(3). Mixed storage shall be in accordance with Section 5704.3.7.2.1. Separation and aisles shall be in accordance with Section 5704.3.7.2.2. 5704.3.8.2 Spill control and secondary containment. Liquid storage warehouses shall be provided with spill control and secondary containment as set forth in Section 5004.2. 0.25 cfm per square foot (0.075 m3/s · m2) of floor area over the storage area. Liquid storage warehouses shall be protected by automatic sprinkler systems installed in accordance with Chapter 9 and Tables 5704.3.6.3(4) through 5704.3.6.3(7) and Table 5704.3.7.5.1, or Sections 16.4.1 through 16.4.3, 16.5.1 through 16.5.2.12, and Tables 16.5.2.1 through 16.5.2.12 and Figures 16.4.1(a) through 16.4.1(c) of NFPA 30. In-rack sprinklers shall also comply with NFPA 13. Automatic foam-water systems and automatic AFFF water sprinkler systems shall not be used except where approved. In liquid storage warehouses, either 11/2-inch (38 mm) lined or 1-inch (25 mm) hard rubber hose lines shall be provided in sufficient number to reach all liquid storage areas and shall be in accordance with Section 903 or 905. 5704.4 Outdoor storage of containers and portable tanks. Storage of flammable and combustible liquids in closed containers and portable tanks outside of buildings shall be in accordance with Section 5703 and Sections 5704.4.1 through 5704.4.8. Capacity limits for containers and portable tanks shall be in accordance with Section 5704.3. Storage shall be in accordance with approved plans. Outdoor storage of liquids in containers and portable tanks shall be in accordance with Table 5704.4.2. Storage of liquids near buildings located on the same lot shall be in accordance with this section. For SI: 1 foot = 304.8 mm, 1 gallon 3.785 L. a.For mixed class storage, see Section 5704.4.2. b.For storage in racks, the quantity limits per pile do not apply, but the rack arrangement shall be limited to not more than 50 feet in length and two rows or 9 feet in depth. c.If protection by a public fire department or private fire brigade capable of providing cooling water streams is not available, the distance shall be doubled. d.When the total quantity stored does not exceed 50 percent of the maximum allowed per pile, the distances are allowed to be reduced 50 percent, but not less than 3 feet. Where two or more classes of liquids are stored in a single pile, the quantity in the pile shall not exceed the smallest of maximum quantities for the classes of material stored. Storage of containers or portable tanks shall be provided with fire apparatus access roads in accordance with Chapter 5. The storage area shall be protected against tampering or trespassers where necessary and shall be kept free from weeds, debris and other combustible materials not necessary to the storage. 5704.4.2.4 Storage adjacent to buildings. 2.The exterior building wall adjacent to the storage area shall have a fire-resistance rating of not less than 2 hours, having no openings to above-grade areas within 10 feet (3048 mm) horizontally of such storage and no openings to below-grade areas within 50 feet (15 240 mm) horizontally of such storage. The quantity of liquids stored adjacent to a building protected in accordance with Item 2 is allowed to exceed 1,100 gallons (4163 L), provided that the maximum quantity per pile does not exceed 1,100 gallons (4163 L) and each pile is separated by a 10-foot-minimum (3048 mm) clear space along the common wall. Where the quantity stored exceeds 1,100 gallons (4163 L) adjacent to a building complying with Item 1, or the provisions of Item 1 cannot be met, a minimum distance in accordance with Table 5704.4.2, column 7 (“Minimum Distance to Lot Line of Property That Can Be Built Upon”) shall be maintained between buildings and the nearest container or portable tank. 5704.4.3 Spill control and secondary containment. Storage areas shall be provided with spill control and secondary containment in accordance with Section 5703.4. Exception: Containers stored on approved containment pallets in accordance with Section 5004.2.3 and containers stored in cabinets and lockers with integral spill containment. Storage areas shall be protected against tampering or trespassers by fencing or other approved control measures. Guard posts or other means shall be provided to protect exterior storage tanks from vehicular damage. Where guard posts are installed, the posts shall be installed in accordance with Section 312. The storage area shall be kept free from weeds, debris and combustible materials not necessary to the storage. The area surrounding an exterior storage area shall be kept clear of such materials for a minimum distance of 15 feet (4572 mm). Weather protection for outdoor storage shall be in accordance with Section 5004.13. 5704.4.8 Empty containers and tank storage. The storage of empty tanks and containers previously used for the storage of flammable or combustible liquids, unless free from explosive vapors, shall be stored as required for filled containers and tanks. Tanks and containers when emptied shall have the covers or plugs immediately replaced in openings. Dispensing, use, mixing and handling of flammable liquids shall be in accordance with Section 5703 and this section. Tank vehicle and tank car loading and unloading and other special operations shall be in accordance with Section 5706. Exception: Containers of organic coatings having no fire point and which are opened for pigmentation are not required to comply with this section. Liquid transfer equipment and methods for transfer of Class I, II and IIIA liquids shall be approved and be in accordance with Sections 5705.2.1 through 5705.2.6. Positive-displacement pumps shall be provided with pressure relief discharging back to the tank, pump suction or other approved location, or shall be provided with interlocks to prevent over-pressure. Where gases are introduced to provide for transfer of Class I liquids, or Class II and III liquids transferred at temperatures at or above their flash points by pressure, only inert gases shall be used. Controls, including pressure relief devices, shall be provided to limit the pressure so that the maximum working pressure of tanks, containers and piping systems cannot be exceeded. Where devices operating through pressure within a tank or container are used, the tank or container shall be a pressure vessel approved for the intended use. Air or oxygen shall not be used for pressurization. Exception: Air transfer of Class II and III liquids at temperatures below their flash points. 5705.2.3 Piping, hoses and valves. Piping, hoses and valves used in liquid transfer operations shall be approved or listed for the intended use. 5705.2.4 Class I, II and III liquids. 1.From safety cans complying with UL 30. 2.Through an approved closed piping system. 3.From containers or tanks by an approved pump taking suction through an opening in the top of the container or tank. 4.For Class IB, IC, II and III liquids, from containers or tanks by gravity through an approved self-closing or automatic-closing valve where the container or tank and dispensing operations are provided with spill control and secondary containment in accordance with Section 5703.4. Class IA liquids shall not be dispensed by gravity from tanks. 5.Approved engineered liquid transfer systems. Exception: Liquids in original shipping containers not exceeding a 5.3-gallon (20 L) capacity. 5705.2.5 Manual container filling operations. 1.Metallic floor plates on which containers stand while filling, where such floor plates are electrically connected to the fill stem. 2.Where the fill stem is bonded to the container during filling by means of a bond wire. 5705.2.6 Automatic container-filling operations for Class I liquids. Container-filling operations for Class I liquids involving conveyor belts or other automatic-feeding operations shall be designed to prevent static accumulations. 5705.3 Use, dispensing and mixing inside of buildings. Indoor use, dispensing and mixing of flammable and combustible liquids shall be in accordance with Section 5705.2 and Sections 5705.3.1 through 5705.3.5.3. 5705.3.1 Closure of mixing or blending vessels. Vessels used for mixing or blending of Class I liquids and Class II or III liquids heated up to or above their flash points shall be provided with self-closing, tight-fitting, noncombustible lids that will control a fire within such vessel. Exception: Where such devices are impractical, approved automatic or manually controlled fire-extinguishing devices shall be provided. Where differences of potential could be created, vessels containing Class I liquids or liquids handled at or above their flash points shall be electrically connected by bond wires, ground cables, piping or similar means to a static grounding system to maintain equipment at the same electrical potential to prevent sparking. 5705.3.3 Heating, lighting and cooking appliances. Heating, lighting and cooking appliances that utilize Class I liquids shall not be operated within a building or structure. Exception: Operation in single-family dwellings. 5705.3.4 Location of processing vessels. Processing vessels shall be located with respect to distances to lot lines of adjoining property that can be built on, in accordance with Tables 5705.3.4(1) and 5705.3.4(2). Exception: Where the exterior wall facing the adjoining lot line is a blank wall having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 4 hours, the fire code official is authorized to modify the distances. The distance shall be not less than that set forth in the International Building Code, and where Class IA or unstable liquids are involved, explosion control shall be provided in accordance with Section 911. a.Where protection of exposures by a public fire department or private fire brigade capable of providing cooling water streams on structures is not provided, distances shall be doubled. 5705.3.5 Quantity limits for use. Liquid use quantity limitations shall comply with Sections 5705.3.5.1 through 5705.3.5.3. 5705.3.5.1 Maximum allowable quantity per control area. Indoor use, dispensing and mixing of flammable and combustible liquids shall not exceed the maximum allowable quantity per control area indicated in Table 5003.1.1(1) and shall not exceed the additional limitations set forth in Section 5705.3.5. Exception: Cleaning with Class I, II and IIIA liquids shall be in accordance with Section 5705.3.6. Use of hazardous production material flammable and combustible liquids in Group H-5 occupancies shall be in accordance with Chapter 27. Exception: Cleaning with Class I, II, or IIIA liquids shall be in accordance with Section 5705.3.6. 3.Group E occupancies: Quantities in Group E occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, treatment, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 4.Group F occupancies: Quantities in dining, office and school uses within Group F occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 6.Group M occupancies: Quantities in dining, office and school uses within Group M occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment, and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 8.Group S occupancies: Quantities in dining and office uses within Group S occupancies shall not exceed that necessary for demonstration, laboratory work, maintenance purposes and operation of equipment and shall not exceed quantities set forth in Table 5003.1.1(1). 5705.3.5.3 Quantities exceeding limits for control areas. 1.For open systems, indoor use, dispensing and mixing of flammable and combustible liquids shall be within a room or building complying with the International Building Code and Sections 5705.3.7.1 through 5705.3.7.5. 2.For closed systems, indoor use, dispensing and mixing of flammable and combustible liquids shall be within a room or building complying with the International Building Code and Sections 5705.3.7 through 5705.3.7.4 and Section 5705.3.7.6. 5705.3.6 Cleaning with flammable and combustible liquids. Cleaning with Class I, II and IIIA liquids shall be in accordance with Sections 5705.3.6.1 through 5705.3.6.2.7. 1.Dry cleaning shall be in accordance with Chapter 21. 2.Spray-nozzle cleaning shall be in accordance with Section 2403.3.5. 2.In a parts cleaner listed, labeled and approved for the purpose in accordance with Section 5705.3.6.2. Exception: Materials used in commercial and industrial process-related cleaning operations in accordance with other provisions of this code and not involving facilities maintenance cleaning operations. 5705.3.6.2 Listed and approved machines. Parts cleaning and degreasing conducted in listed and approved machines in accordance with Section 5705.3.6.1 shall be in accordance with Sections 5705.3.6.2.1 through 5705.3.6.2.7. Solvents shall be classified and shall be compatible with the machines within which they are used. The quantity of solvent shall not exceed the listed design capacity of the machine for the solvent being used with the machine. 1.Machines without remote solvent reservoirs shall be limited to quantities set forth in Section 5705.3.5. 2.Machines with remote solvent reservoirs using Class I liquids shall be limited to quantities set forth in Section 5705.3.5. 3.Machines with remote solvent reservoirs using Class II liquids shall be limited to 35 gallons (132 L) per machine. The total quantities shall not exceed an aggregate of 240 gallons (908 L) per control area in buildings not equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system and an aggregate of 480 gallons (1817 L) per control area in buildings equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1. 4.Machines with remote solvent reservoirs using Class IIIA liquids shall be limited to 80 gallons (303 L) per machine. 5705.3.6.2.4 Immersion soaking of parts. Work areas of machines with remote solvent reservoirs shall not be used for immersion soaking of parts. Multiple machines shall be separated from each other by a distance of not less than 30 feet (9144 mm) or by a fire barrier with a minimum 1-hour fire-resistance rating. Machines shall be located in areas adequately ventilated to prevent accumulation of vapors. Machines shall be installed in accordance with their listings. 5705.3.7 Rooms or buildings for quantities exceeding the maximum allowable quantity per control area. Where required by Section 5705.3.5.3 or 5705.3.6.1, rooms or buildings used for the use, dispensing or mixing of flammable and combustible liquids in quantities exceeding the maximum allowable quantity per control area shall be in accordance with Sections 5705.3.7.1 through 5705.3.7.6.3. 5705.3.7.1 Construction, location and fire protection. Rooms or buildings classified in accordance with the International Building Code as Group H-2 or H-3 occupancies based on use, dispensing or mixing of flammable or combustible liquids shall be constructed in accordance with the International Building Code. In rooms or buildings classified in accordance with the International Building Code as Group H-2 or H-3, dispensing or mixing of flammable or combustible liquids shall not be conducted in basements. Rooms or buildings classified in accordance with the International Building Code as Group H-2 or H-3 occupancies shall be equipped with an approved automatic fire-extinguishing system in accordance with Chapter 9. Interior doors to rooms or portions of such buildings shall be self-closing fire doors in accordance with the International Building Code. Use, dispensing and mixing of flammable and combustible liquids in open systems shall be in accordance with Sections 5705.3.7.5.1 through 5705.3.7.5.3. Continuous mechanical ventilation shall be provided at a rate of not less than 1 cfm per square foot [0.00508 m3/(s · m2)] of floor area over the design area. Provisions shall be made for introduction of makeup air in such a manner to include all floor areas or pits where vapors can collect. Local or spot ventilation shall be provided where needed to prevent the accumulation of hazardous vapors. Ventilation system design shall comply with the International Building Code and International Mechanical Code. Explosion control shall be provided in accordance with Section 911. 5705.3.7.5.3 Spill control and secondary containment. Spill control shall be provided in accordance with Section 5703.4 where Class I, II or IIIA liquids are dispensed into containers exceeding a 1.3-gallon (5 L) capacity or mixed or used in open containers or systems exceeding a 5.3-gallon (20 L) capacity. Spill control and secondary containment shall be provided in accordance with Section 5703.4 where the capacity of an individual container exceeds 55 gallons (208 L) or the aggregate capacity of multiple containers or tanks exceeds 100 gallons (378.5 L). Use or mixing of flammable or combustible liquids in closed systems shall be in accordance with Sections 5705.3.7.6.1 through 5705.3.7.6.3. Closed systems designed to be opened as part of normal operations shall be provided with ventilation in accordance with Section 5705.3.7.5.1. Explosion control shall be provided where an explosive environment can occur as a result of the mixing or use process. Explosion control shall be designed in accordance with Section 911. Exception: Where process vessels are designed to contain fully the worst-case explosion anticipated within the vessel under process conditions considering the most likely failure. 5705.3.7.6.3 Spill control and secondary containment. Spill control shall be provided in accordance with Section 5703.4 where flammable or combustible liquids are dispensed into containers exceeding a 1.3-gallon (5 L) capacity or mixed or used in open containers or systems exceeding a 5.3-gallon (20 L) capacity. Spill control and secondary containment shall be provided in accordance with Section 5703.4 where the capacity of an individual container exceeds 55 gallons (208 L) or the aggregate capacity of multiple containers or tanks exceeds 1,000 gallons (3785 L). 5705.3.8 Use, dispensing and handling outside of buildings. Outside use, dispensing and handling shall be in accordance with Sections 5705.3.8.1 through 5705.3.8.4. Dispensing of liquids into motor vehicle fuel tanks at motor fuel-dispensing facilities shall be in accordance with Chapter 23. Outside use, dispensing and handling areas shall be provided with spill control as set forth in Section 5703.4. Dispensing activities that exceed the quantities set forth in Table 5705.3.8.2 shall not be conducted within 15 feet (4572 mm) of buildings or combustible materials or within 25 feet (7620 mm) of building openings, lot lines, public streets, public alleys or public ways. Dispensing activities that exceed the quantities set forth in Table 5705.3.8.2 shall not be conducted within 15 feet (4572 mm) of storage of Class I, II or III liquids unless such liquids are stored in tanks that are listed and labeled as 2-hour protected tank assemblies in accordance with UL 2085. 1.The requirements shall not apply to areas where only the following are dispensed: Class III liquids; liquids that are heavier than water; water-miscible liquids; and liquids with viscosities greater than 10,000 centipoise (cp) (10 Pa • s). 2.Flammable and combustible liquid dispensing in refineries, chemical plants, process facilities, gas and crude oil production facilities and oil-blending and packaging facilities, terminals and bulk plants. a.For definition of “Outdoor Control Area,” see Section 5002.1. b.The fire code official is authorized to impose special conditions regarding locations, types of containers, dispensing units, fire control measures and other factors involving fire safety. c.Containing not more than the maximum allowable quantity per control area of each individual class. 5705.3.8.3 Location of processing vessels. Processing vessels shall be located with respect to distances to lot lines that can be built on in accordance with Table 5705.3.4(1). Exception: In refineries and distilleries. Weather protection for outdoor use shall be in accordance with Section 5005.3.9. Solvent distillation units shall comply with Sections 5705.4.1 through 5705.4.9. 5705.4.1 Unit with a capacity of 60 gallons or less. Solvent distillation units used to recycle Class I, II or IIIA liquids having a distillation chamber capacity of 60 gallons (227 L) or less shall be listed, labeled and installed in accordance with Section 5705.4 and UL 2208. 1.Solvent distillation units used in continuous through-put industrial processes where the source of heat is remotely supplied using steam, hot water, oil or other heat transfer fluids, the temperature of which is below the auto-ignition point of the solvent. 2.Approved research, testing and experimental processes. 5705.4.2 Units with a capacity exceeding 60 gallons. Solvent distillation units used to recycle Class I, II or IIIA liquids, having a distillation chamber capacity exceeding 60 gallons (227 L) shall be used in locations that comply with the use and mixing requirements of Section 5705 and other applicable provisions in this chapter. Class I, II and IIIA liquids that are also classified as unstable (reactive) shall not be processed in solvent distillation units. Exception: Appliances listed for the distillation of unstable (reactive) solvents. A permanent label shall be affixed to the unit by the manufacturer. The label shall indicate the capacity of the distillation chamber, and the distance the unit shall be placed away from sources of ignition. The label shall indicate the products for which the unit has been listed for use or refer to the instruction manual for a list of the products. An instruction manual shall be provided. The manual shall be readily available for the user and the fire code official. The manual shall include installation, use and servicing instructions. It shall identify the liquids for which the unit has been listed for distillation purposes along with each liquid’s flash point and auto-ignition temperature. For units with adjustable controls, the manual shall include directions for setting the heater temperature for each liquid to be instilled. Solvent distillation units shall be used in locations in accordance with the listing. Solvent distillation units shall not be used in basements. Distilled liquids and liquids awaiting distillation shall be stored in accordance with Section 5704. Hazardous residue from the distillation process shall be stored in accordance with Section 5704 and Chapter 50. Approved portable fire extinguishers shall be provided in accordance with Section 906. Not less than one portable fire extinguisher having a rating of not less than 40-B shall be located not less than 10 feet (3048 mm) or more than 30 feet (9144 mm) from any solvent distillation unit. 5705.5 Alcohol-based hand rubs classified as Class I or II liquids. 1.The maximum capacity of each dispenser shall be 68 ounces (2 L). 2.The minimum separation between dispensers shall be 48 inches (1219 mm). 3.The dispensers shall not be installed above, below, or closer than 1 inch (25 mm) to an electrical receptacle, switch, appliance, device or other ignition source. The wall space between the dispenser and the floor or intervening counter top shall be free of electrical receptacles, switches, appliances, devices or other ignition sources. 4.Dispensers shall be mounted so that the bottom of the dispenser is not less than 42 inches (1067 mm) and not more than 48 inches (1219 mm) above the finished floor. 5.1.The facility or persons responsible for the dispensers shall test the dispensers each time a new refill is installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s care and use instructions. 5.2.1. Any activations of the dispenser shall only occur when an object is placed within 4 inches (98 mm) of the sensing device. 5.2.2. The dispenser shall not dispense more than the amount required for hand hygiene consistent with label instructions as regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). 5.2.3. An object placed within the activation zone and left in place will cause only one activation. 6.Storage and use of alcohol-based hand rubs shall be in accordance with the applicable provisions of Sections 5704 and 5705. 7.Dispensers installed in occupancies with carpeted floors shall only be allowed in smoke compartments or fire areas equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2. 1.Level 2 and 3 aerosol containers shall not be allowed in corridors. 2.The maximum capacity of each Class I or II liquid dispenser shall be 41 ounces (1.21 L) and the maximum capacity of each Level 1 aerosol dispenser shall be 18 ounces (0.51 kg). 3.The maximum quantity allowed in a corridor within a control area shall be 10 gallons (37.85 L) of Class I or II liquids or 1135 ounces (32.2 kg) of Level 1 aerosols, or a combination of Class I or II liquids and Level 1 aerosols not to exceed, in total, the equivalent of 10 gallons (37.85 L) or 1,135 ounces (32.2 kg) such that the sum of the ratios of the liquid and aerosol quantities divided by the allowable quantity of liquids and aerosols, respectively, shall not exceed one. 4.The minimum corridor width shall be 72 inches (1829 mm). 5.Projections into a corridor shall be in accordance with Section 1003.3.3. This section shall cover the provisions for special operations that include, but are not limited to, storage, use, dispensing, mixing or handling of flammable and combustible liquids. The following special operations shall be in accordance with Sections 5701, 5703, 5704 and 5705, except as provided in Section 5706. 1.Storage and dispensing of flammable and combustible liquids on farms and construction sites. 4.Bulk transfer and process transfer operations utilizing tank vehicles and tank cars. 5.Tank vehicles and tank vehicle operation. 7.Vapor recovery and vapor-processing systems. 5706.2 Storage and dispensing of flammable and combustible liquids on farms and construction sites. Permanent and temporary storage and dispensing of Class I and II liquids for private use on farms and rural areas and at construction sites, earth-moving projects, gravel pits or borrow pits shall be in accordance with Sections 5706.2.1 through 5706.2.8.1. Exception: Storage and use of fuel oil and containers connected with oil-burning equipment regulated by Section 603 and the International Mechanical Code. 5706.2.1 Combustibles and open flames near tanks. Storage areas shall be kept free from weeds and extraneous combustible material. Open flames and smoking are prohibited in flammable or combustible liquid storage areas. 5706.2.2 Marking of tanks and containers. Tanks and containers for the storage of liquids above ground shall be conspicuously marked with the name of the product that they contain and the words: FLAMMABLE—KEEP FIRE AND FLAME AWAY. Tanks shall bear the additional marking: KEEP 50 FEET FROM BUILDINGS. 5706.2.3 Containers for storage and use. Metal containers used for storage of Class I or II liquids shall be in accordance with DOTn requirements or shall be of an approved design. Discharge devices shall be of a type that do not develop an internal pressure on the container. Pumping devices or approved self-closing faucets used for dispensing liquids shall not leak and shall be well-maintained. Individual containers shall not be interconnected and shall be kept closed when not in use. Containers stored outside of buildings shall be in accordance with Section 5704 and the International Building Code. 5706.2.4 Permanent and temporary tanks. The capacity of permanent above-ground tanks containing Class I or II liquids shall not exceed 1,100 gallons (4164 L). The capacity of temporary above-ground tanks containing Class I or II liquids shall not exceed 10,000 gallons (37 854 L). Tanks shall be of the single-compartment design. Exception: Permanent above-ground tanks of greater capacity that meet the requirements of Section 5704.2. Fill openings shall be equipped with a locking closure device. Fill openings shall be separate from vent openings. Tanks shall be provided with a method of normal and emergency venting. Normal vents shall be in accordance with Section 5704.2.7.3. Emergency vents shall be in accordance with Section 5704.2.7.4. Emergency vents shall be arranged to discharge in a manner that prevents localized overheating or flame impingement on any part of the tank in the event that vapors from such vents are ignited. Tanks containing Class I or II liquids shall be kept outside and not less than 50 feet (15 240 mm) from buildings and combustible storage. Additional distance shall be provided where necessary to ensure that vehicles, equipment and containers being filled directly from such tanks will not be less than 50 feet (15 240 mm) from structures, haystacks or other combustible storage. 5706.2.4.4 Locations where above-ground tanks are prohibited. The storage of Class I and II liquids in above-ground tanks is prohibited within the limits established by law as the limits of districts in which such storage is prohibited (see Section 3 of the Sample Legislation for Adoption of the International Fire Code on page xxi). Tanks shall be provided with top openings only or shall be elevated for gravity discharge. 5706.2.5.1 Tanks with top openings only. 1.On well-constructed metal legs connected to shoes or runners designed so that the tank is stabilized and the entire tank and its supports can be moved as a unit. 2.For stationary tanks, on a stable base of timbers or blocks approximately 6 inches (152 mm) in height that prevents the tank from contacting the ground. Tanks with top openings only shall be equipped with a tightly and permanently attached, approved pumping device having an approved hose of sufficient length for filling vehicles, equipment or containers to be served from the tank. Either the pump or the hose shall be equipped with a padlock to its hanger to prevent tampering. An effective antisiphoning device shall be included in the pump discharge unless a self-closing nozzle is provided. Siphons or internal pressure discharge devices shall not be used. 5706.2.5.2 Tanks for gravity discharge. 1.Supports to elevate the tank for gravity discharge shall be designed to carry all required loads and provide stability. 2.Bottom or end openings for gravity discharge shall be equipped with a valve located adjacent to the tank shell that will close automatically in the event of fire through the operation of an effective heat-activated releasing device. Where this valve cannot be operated manually, it shall be supplemented by a second, manually operated valve. The gravity discharge outlet shall be provided with an approved hose equipped with a self-closing valve at the discharge end of a type that can be padlocked to its hanger. 5706.2.6 Spill control drainage control and diking. Indoor storage and dispensing areas shall be provided with spill control and drainage control as set forth in Section 5703.4. Outdoor storage areas shall be provided with drainage control or diking as set forth in Section 5704.2.10. Portable fire extinguishers with a minimum rating of 20-B:C and complying with Section 906 shall be provided where required by the fire code official. 5706.2.8 Dispensing from tank vehicles. 1.The tank vehicle’s specific function is that of supplying fuel to motor vehicle fuel tanks. 2.The dispensing hose does not exceed 100 feet (30 480 mm) in length. 3.The dispensing nozzle is an approved type. 4.The dispensing hose is properly placed on an approved reel or in a compartment provided before the tank vehicle is moved. 5.Signs prohibiting smoking or open flames within 25 feet (7620 mm) of the vehicle or the point of refueling are prominently posted on the tank vehicle. 6.Electrical devices and wiring in areas where fuel dispensing is conducted are in accordance with NFPA 70. 7.Tank vehicle-dispensing equipment is operated only by designated personnel who are trained to handle and dispense motor fuels. 8.Provisions are made for controlling and mitigating unauthorized discharges. Dispensing from tank vehicles shall be conducted not less than 50 feet (15 240 mm) from structures or combustible storage. 5706.3 Well drilling and operating. Wells for oil and natural gas shall be drilled and operated in accordance with Sections 5706.3.1 through 5706.3.8. The location of wells shall comply with Sections 5706.3.1.1 through 5706.3.1.3.2. 5706.3.1.1 Storage tanks and sources of ignition. Storage tanks or boilers, fired heaters, open-flame devices or other sources of ignition shall not be located within 25 feet (7620 mm) of well heads. Smoking is prohibited at wells or tank locations except as designated and in approved posted areas. Exception: Engines used in the drilling, production and serving of wells. Wells shall not be drilled within 75 feet (22 860 mm) of any dedicated public street, highway or nearest rail of an operating railway. Wells shall not be drilled within 100 feet (30 480 mm) of buildings not necessary to the operation of the well. 5706.3.1.3.1 Group A, E or I buildings. Wells shall not be drilled within 300 feet (91 440 mm) of buildings with an occupancy in Group A, E or I. Where wells are existing, buildings shall not be constructed within the distances set forth in Section 5706.3.1 for separation of wells or buildings. Control of waste materials associated with wells shall comply with Sections 5706.3.2.1 and 5706.3.2.2. 5706.3.2.1 Discharge on a street or water channel. Liquids containing crude petroleum or its products shall not be discharged into or on streets, highways, drainage canals or ditches, storm drains or flood control channels. 5706.3.2.2 Discharge and combustible materials on ground. The surface of the ground under, around or near wells, pumps, boilers, oil storage tanks or buildings shall be kept free from oil, waste oil, refuse or waste material. Sumps associated with wells shall comply with Sections 5706.3.3.1 through 5706.3.3.3. Sumps or other basins for the retention of oil or petroleum products shall not exceed 12 feet (3658 mm) in width. Sumps or other basins for the retention of oil or petroleum products larger than 6 feet by 6 feet by 6 feet (1829 mm by 1829 mm by 1829 mm) shall not be maintained longer than 60 days after the cessation of drilling operations. Sumps, diversion ditches and depressions used as sumps shall be securely fenced or covered. Protection shall be provided to control and prevent the blowout of a well. Protection equipment shall meet federal, state and other applicable jurisdiction requirements. Storage of flammable or combustible liquids in tanks shall be in accordance with Section 5704. Oil storage tanks or groups of tanks shall have posted in a conspicuous place, on or near such tank or tanks, an approved sign with the name of the owner or operator, or the lease number and the telephone number where a responsible person can be reached at any time. Where soundproofing material is required during oil field operations, such material shall be noncombustible. Well locations shall have posted in a conspicuous place on or near such tank or tanks an approved sign with the name of the owner or operator, name of the leasee or the lease number, the well number and the telephone number where a responsible person can be reached at any time. Such signs shall be maintained on the premises from the time materials are delivered for drilling purposes until the well is abandoned. Field-loading racks shall be in accordance with Section 5706.5. 5706.4 Bulk plants or terminals. Portions of properties where flammable and combustible liquids are received by tank vessels, pipelines, tank cars or tank vehicles and stored or blended in bulk for the purpose of distribution by tank vessels, pipelines, tanks cars, tank vehicles or containers shall be in accordance with Sections 5706.4.1 through 5706.4.10.4. Buildings shall be constructed in accordance with the International Building Code. Rooms in which liquids are stored, used or transferred by pumps shall have means of egress arranged to prevent occupants from being trapped in the event of fire. Rooms in which Class I liquids are stored or used shall be heated only by means not constituting a source of ignition, such as steam or hot water. Rooms containing heating appliances involving sources of ignition shall be located and arranged to prevent entry of flammable vapors. Ventilation shall be provided for rooms, buildings and enclosures in which Class I liquids are pumped, used or transferred. Design of ventilation systems shall consider the relatively high specific gravity of the vapors. Where natural ventilation is used, adequate openings in outside walls at floor level, unobstructed except by louvers or coarse screens, shall be provided. Where natural ventilation is inadequate, mechanical ventilation shall be provided in accordance with the International Mechanical Code. 5706.4.4.2 Dispensing of Class I liquids. Storage of Class I, II and IIIA liquids in bulk plants shall be in accordance with the applicable provisions of Section 5704. 5706.4.6 Overfill protection of Class I and II liquids. Manual and automatic systems shall be provided to prevent overfill during the transfer of Class I and II liquids from mainline pipelines and marine vessels in accordance with API 2350. This section shall apply to all wharves, piers, bulkheads and other structures over or contiguous to navigable water having a primary function of transferring liquid cargo in bulk between shore installations and tank vessels, ships, barges, lighter boats or other mobile floating craft. Exception: Marine motor fuel-dispensing facilities in accordance with Chapter 23. Handling packaged cargo of liquids, including full and empty drums, bulk fuel and stores, over a wharf during cargo transfer shall be subject to the approval of the wharf supervisor and the senior deck officer on duty. Wharves at which liquid cargoes are to be transferred in bulk quantities to or from tank vessels shall be not less than 100 feet (30 480 mm) from any bridge over a navigable waterway; or from an entrance to, or superstructure of, any vehicular or railroad tunnel under a waterway. The termination of the fixed piping used for loading or unloading at a wharf shall be not less than 200 feet (60 960 mm) from a bridge or from an entrance to, or superstructures of, a tunnel. 5706.4.7.3 Superstructure and decking material. Superstructure and decking shall be designed for the intended use. Decking shall be constructed of materials that will afford the desired combination of flexibility, resistance to shock, durability, strength and fire resistance. Tanks used exclusively for ballast water or Class II or III liquids are allowed to be installed on suitably designed wharves. Loading pumps capable of building up pressures in excess of the safe working pressure of cargo hose or loading arms shall be provided with bypasses, relief valves or other arrangements to protect the loading facilities against excessive pressure. Relief devices shall be tested not less than annually to determine that they function satisfactorily at their set pressure. 5706.4.7.6 Piping, valves and fittings. 1.Flexibility of piping shall be ensured by appropriate layout and arrangement of piping supports so that motion of the wharf structure resulting from wave action, currents, tides or the mooring of vessels will not subject the pipe to repeated excessive strain. 2.Pipe joints that depend on the friction characteristics of combustible materials or on the grooving of pipe ends for mechanical continuity of piping shall not be used. 3.Swivel joints are allowed in piping to which hoses are connected and for articulated, swivel-joint transfer systems, provided the design is such that the mechanical strength of the joint will not be impaired if the packing materials fail such as by exposure to fire. 4.Each line conveying Class I or II liquids leading to a wharf shall be provided with a readily accessible block valve located on shore near the approach to the wharf and outside of any diked area. Where more than one line is involved, the valves shall be grouped in one location. 5.Means shall be provided for easy access to cargo line valves located below the wharf deck. 6.Piping systems shall contain a sufficient number of valves to operate the system properly and to control the flow of liquid in normal operation and in the event of physical damage. 7.Piping on wharves shall be bonded and grounded where Class I and II liquids are transported. Where excessive stray currents are encountered, insulating joints shall be installed. Bonding and grounding connections on piping shall be located on the wharf side of hose riser insulating flanges, where used, and shall be accessible for inspection. 8.Hose or articulated swivel-joint pipe connections used for cargo transfer shall be capable of accommodating the combined effects of change in draft and maximum tidal range, and mooring lines shall be kept adjusted to prevent surge of the vessel from placing stress on the cargo transfer system. 9.Hoses shall be supported to avoid kinking and damage from chafing. Loading or discharging shall not commence until the wharf superintendent and officer in charge of the tank vessel agree that the tank vessel is properly moored and connections are properly made. Mechanical work shall not be performed on the wharf during cargo transfer, except under special authorization by the fire code official based on a review of the area involved, methods to be employed and precautions necessary. Class I, II or IIIA liquids shall not be used, drawn or dispensed where flammable vapors can reach a source of ignition. Smoking shall be prohibited except in designated locations. “No Smoking” signs complying with Section 310 shall be conspicuously posted where a hazard from flammable vapors is normally present. Loading and unloading areas shall be provided with drainage control in accordance with Section 5704.2.10. Fire protection shall be in accordance with Chapter 9 and Sections 5706.4.10.1 through 5706.4.10.4. Portable fire extinguishers with a rating of not less than 20-B and complying with Section 906 shall be located within 75 feet (22 860 mm) of hose connections, pumps and separator tanks. Where piped water is available, ready-connected fire hose in a size appropriate for the water supply shall be provided in accordance with Section 905 so that manifolds where connections are made and broken can be reached by not less than one hose stream. Material shall not be placed on wharves in such a manner that would obstruct access to fire-fighting equipment or important pipeline control valves. Where the wharf is accessible to vehicular traffic, an unobstructed fire apparatus access road to the shore end of the wharf shall be maintained in accordance with Chapter 5. 5706.5 Bulk transfer and process transfer operations. Bulk transfer and process transfer operations shall be approved and be in accordance with Sections 5706.5.1 through 5706.5.4.5. Motor fuel-dispensing facilities shall comply with Chapter 23. The provisions of Sections 5706.5.1.1 through 5706.5.1.18 shall apply to bulk transfer and process transfer operations; Sections 5706.5.2 and 5706.5.2.1 shall apply to bulk transfer operations; Sections 5706.5.3 through 5706.5.3.3 shall apply to process transfer operations and Sections 5706.5.4 through 5706.5.4.5 shall apply to dispensing from tank vehicles and tank cars. Bulk transfer and process transfer operations shall be conducted in approved locations. Tank cars shall be unloaded only on private sidings or railroad-siding facilities equipped for transferring flammable or combustible liquids. Tank vehicle and tank car transfer facilities shall be separated from buildings, above-ground tanks, combustible materials, lot lines, public streets, public alleys or public ways by a distance of 25 feet (7620 mm) for Class I liquids and 15 feet (4572 mm) for Class II and III liquids measured from the nearest position of any loading or unloading valve. Buildings for pumps or shelters for personnel shall be considered part of the transfer facility. Where weather protection canopies are provided, they shall be constructed in accordance with Section 5004.13. Weather protection canopies shall not be located within 15 feet (4572 mm) of a building or combustible material or within 25 feet (7620 mm) of building openings, lot lines, public streets, public alleys or public ways. Ventilation shall be provided to prevent accumulation of vapors in accordance with Section 5705.3.7.5.1. Sources of ignition shall be controlled or eliminated in accordance with Section 5003.7. 5706.5.1.5 Spill control and secondary containment. Areas where transfer operations are located shall be provided with spill control and secondary containment in accordance with Section 5703.4. The spill control and secondary containment system shall have a design capacity capable of containing the capacity of the largest tank compartment located in the area where transfer operations are conducted. Containment of the rainfall volume specified in Section 5004.2.2.6 is not required. Fire protection shall be in accordance with Section 5703.2. Static protection shall be provided to prevent the accumulation of static charges during transfer operations. Bonding facilities shall be provided during the transfer through open domes where Class I liquids are transferred, or where Class II and III liquids are transferred into tank vehicles or tank cars that could contain vapors from previous cargoes of Class I liquids. Protection shall consist of a metallic bond wire permanently electrically connected to the fill stem. The fill pipe assembly shall form a continuous electrically conductive path downstream from the point of bonding. The free end of such bond wire shall be provided with a clamp or equivalent device for convenient attachment to a metallic part in electrical contact with the cargo tank of the tank vehicle or tank car. For tank vehicles, protection shall consist of a flexible bond wire of adequate strength for the intended service and the electrical resistance shall not exceed 1 megohm. For tank cars, bonding shall be provided where the resistance of a tank car to ground through the rails is 25 ohms or greater. Such bonding connection shall be fastened to the vehicle, car or tank before dome covers are raised and shall remain in place until filling is complete and all dome covers have been closed and secured. 1.Where vehicles and cars are loaded exclusively with products not having a static-accumulating tendency, such as asphalt, cutback asphalt, most crude oils, residual oils and water-miscible liquids. 2.Where Class I liquids are not handled at the transfer facility and the tank vehicles are used exclusively for Class II and III liquids. 3.Where vehicles and cars are loaded or unloaded through closed top or bottom connections whether the hose is conductive or nonconductive. Filling through open domes into the tanks of tank vehicles or tank cars that contain vapor-air mixtures within the flammable range, or where the liquid being filled can form such a mixture, shall be by means of a downspout which extends to near the bottom of the tank. Tank car loading facilities where Class I, II or IIIA liquids are transferred through open domes shall be protected against stray currents by permanently bonding the pipe to not less than one rail and to the transfer apparatus. Multiple pipes entering the transfer areas shall be permanently electrically bonded together. In areas where excessive stray currents are known to exist, all pipes entering the transfer area shall be provided with insulating sections to isolate electrically the transfer apparatus from the pipelines. When top loading a tank vehicle with Class I and II liquids without vapor control, valves used for the final control of flow shall be of the self-closing type and shall be manually held open except where automatic means are provided for shutting off the flow when the tank is full. Where used, automatic shutoff systems shall be provided with a manual shutoff valve located at a safe distance from the loading nozzle to stop the flow if the automatic system fails. When top loading a tank vehicle with vapor control, flow control shall be in accordance with Section 5706.5.1.10. Self-closing valves shall not be tied or locked in the open position. When bottom loading a tank vehicle or tank car with or without vapor control, a positive means shall be provided for loading a predetermined quantity of liquid, together with an automatic secondary shutoff control to prevent overfill. The connecting components between the transfer equipment and the tank vehicle or tank car required to operate the secondary control shall be functionally compatible. When bottom loading a tank vehicle, the coupling between the liquid loading hose or pipe and the truck piping shall be a dry disconnect coupling. When bottom loading a tank vehicle or tank car that is equipped for vapor control and vapor control is not used, the tank shall be vented to the atmosphere to prevent pressurization of the tank. Such venting shall be at a height equal to or greater than the top of the cargo tank. Connections to the plant vapor control system shall be designed to prevent the escape of vapor to the atmosphere when not connected to a tank vehicle or tank car. Vapor-processing equipment shall be separated from above-ground tanks, warehouses, other plant buildings, transfer facilities or nearest lot line of adjoining property that can be built on by a distance of not less than 25 feet (7620 mm). Vapor-processing equipment shall be protected from physical damage by remote location, guard rails, curbs or fencing. Tank vehicles or tank cars that have previously contained Class I liquids shall not be loaded with Class II or III liquids until such vehicles and all piping, pumps, hoses and meters connected thereto have been completely drained and flushed. Where provided, loading racks, stairways or platforms shall be constructed of noncombustible materials. Buildings for pumps or for shelter of loading personnel are allowed to be part of the loading rack. Wiring and electrical equipment located within 25 feet (7620 mm) of any portion of the loading rack shall be in accordance with Section 5703.1.1. Bulk and process transfer apparatus shall be of an approved type. Tank vehicles and tank cars shall not be located inside a building while transferring Class I, II or IIIA liquids, unless approved by the fire code official. Exception: Tank vehicles are allowed under weather protection canopies and canopies of automobile motor vehicle fuel-dispensing stations. 5706.5.1.15 Tank vehicle and tank car certification. Certification shall be maintained for tank vehicles and tank cars in accordance with DOTn 49 CFR Parts 100-185. 5706.5.1.16 Tank vehicle and tank car stability. Tank vehicles and tank cars shall be stabilized against movement during loading and unloading in accordance with Sections 5706.5.1.16.1 through 5706.5.1.16.3. When the vehicle is parked for loading or unloading, the cargo trailer portion of the tank vehicle shall be secured in a manner that will prevent unintentional movement. Not less than two chock blocks not less than 5 inches by 5 inches by 12 inches (127 mm by 127 mm by 305 mm) in size and dished to fit the contour of the tires shall be used during transfer operations of tank vehicles. Brakes shall be set and the wheels shall be blocked to prevent rolling. Transfer operations shall be monitored by an approved monitoring system or by an attendant. Where monitoring is by an attendant, the operator or other competent person shall be present at all times. Transfer operations shall be surrounded by a noncombustible fence not less than 5 feet (1524 mm) in height. Tank vehicles and tank cars shall not be loaded or unloaded unless such vehicles are entirely within the fenced area. 1.Motor fuel-dispensing facilities complying with Chapter 23. 2.Installations where adequate public safety exists because of isolation, natural barriers or other factors as determined appropriate by the fire code official. 3.Facilities or properties that are entirely enclosed or protected from entry. Bulk transfer shall be in accordance with Sections 5706.5.1 and 5706.5.2.1. Motors of tank vehicles or tank cars shall be shut off during the making and breaking of hose connections and during the unloading operation. Exception: Where unloading is performed with a pump deriving its power from the tank vehicle motor. Process transfer shall be in accordance with Section 5706.5.1 and Sections 5706.5.3.1 through 5706.5.3.3. 5706.5.3.1 Piping, valves, hoses and fittings. Piping, valves, hoses and fittings that are not a part of the tank vehicle or tank car shall be in accordance with Section 5703.6. Caps or plugs that prevent leakage or spillage shall be provided at all points of connection to transfer piping. Approved automatically or manually activated shutoff valves shall be provided where the transfer hose connects to the process piping, and on both sides of any exterior fire-resistance-rated wall through which the piping passes. Manual shutoff valves shall be arranged so that they are accessible from grade. Valves shall not be locked in the open position. Hydrostatic pressure-limiting or relief devices shall be provided where pressure buildup in trapped sections of the system could exceed the design pressure of the components of the system. Devices shall relieve to other portions of the system or to another approved location. Antisiphon valves shall be provided where the system design would allow siphonage. Normal and emergency vents shall be maintained operable at all times. Exception: When unloading is performed with a pump deriving its power from the tank vehicle motor. 5706.5.4 Dispensing from tank vehicles and tank cars. Dispensing from tank vehicles and tank cars into the fuel tanks of motor vehicles shall be prohibited unless allowed by and conducted in accordance with Sections 5706.5.4.1 through 5706.5.4.5. 5706.5.4.1 Marine craft and special equipment. 1.The tank vehicle’s specific function is that of supplying fuel to fuel tanks. 2.The operation is not performed where the public has access or where there is unusual exposure to life and property. 3.The dispensing line does not exceed 50 feet (15 240 mm) in length. 4.The dispensing nozzle is approved. Where approved by the fire code official, dispensing of motor vehicle fuel from tank vehicles into the fuel tanks of motor vehicles is allowed during emergencies. Dispensing from tank vehicles shall be in accordance with Sections 5706.2.8 and 5706.6. Transfer of liquids from tank vehicles to the fuel tanks of aircraft shall be in accordance with Chapter 20. 5706.5.4.4 Fueling of vehicles at farms, construction sites and similar areas. Transfer of liquid from tank vehicles to motor vehicles for private use on farms and rural areas and at construction sites, earth-moving projects, gravel pits and borrow pits is allowed in accordance with Section 5706.2.8. 5706.5.4.5 Commercial, industrial, governmental or manufacturing. 1.Dispensing shall occur only at sites that have been issued a permit to conduct mobile fueling. 2.The owner of a mobile fueling operation shall provide to the jurisdiction a written response plan which demonstrates readiness to respond to a fuel spill and carry out appropriate mitigation measures, and describes the process to dispose properly of contaminated materials. 3.A detailed site plan shall be submitted with each application for a permit. The site plan shall indicate: all buildings, structures and appurtenances on site and their use or function; all uses adjacent to the lot lines of the site; the locations of all storm drain openings, adjacent waterways or wetlands; information regarding slope, natural drainage, curbing, impounding and how a spill will be retained upon the site property; and the scale of the site plan. Provisions shall be made to prevent liquids spilled during dispensing operations from flowing into buildings or off-site. Acceptable methods include, but shall not be limited to, grading driveways, raising doorsills or other approved means. 4.The fire code official is allowed to impose limits on the times and days during which mobile fueling operations is allowed to take place, and specific locations on a site where fueling is permitted. 5.Mobile fueling operations shall be conducted in areas not accessible to the public or shall be limited to times when the public is not present. 6.Mobile fueling shall not take place within 15 feet (4572 mm) of buildings, property lines, combustible storage or storm drains. 1.The distance to storm drains shall not apply where an approved storm drain cover or an approved equivalent that will prevent any fuel from reaching the drain is in place prior to fueling or a fueling hose being placed within 15 feet (4572 mm) of the drain. Where placement of a storm drain cover will cause the accumulation of excessive water or difficulty in conducting the fueling, such cover shall not be used and the fueling shall not take place within 15 feet (4572 mm) of a drain. 2.The distance to storm drains shall not apply for drains that direct influent to approved oil interceptors. 7.The tank vehicle shall comply with the requirements of NFPA 385 and local, state and federal requirements. The tank vehicle’s specific functions shall include that of supplying fuel to motor vehicle fuel tanks. The vehicle and all its equipment shall be maintained in good repair. 8.Signs prohibiting smoking or open flames within 25 feet (7620 mm) of the tank vehicle or the point of fueling shall be prominently posted on three sides of the vehicle including the back and both sides. 9.A portable fire extinguisher with a minimum rating of 40:BC shall be provided on the vehicle with signage clearly indicating its location. 10.The dispensing nozzles and hoses shall be of an approved and listed type. 11.The dispensing hose shall not be extended from the reel more than 100 feet (30 480 mm) in length. 12.Absorbent materials, nonwater-absorbent pads, a 10-foot-long (3048 mm) containment boom, an approved container with lid and a nonmetallic shovel shall be provided to mitigate a minimum 5-gallon (19 L) fuel spill. 13.Tank vehicles shall be equipped with a “fuel limit” switch such as a count-back switch, to limit the amount of a single fueling operation to not more than 500 gallons (1893 L) before resetting the limit switch. Exception: Tank vehicles where the operator carries and can utilize a remote emergency shutoff device which, when activated, immediately causes flow of fuel from the tank vehicle to cease. 14.Persons responsible for dispensing operations shall be trained in the appropriate mitigating actions in the event of a fire, leak or spill. Training records shall be maintained by the dispensing company. 15.Operators of tank vehicles used for mobile fueling operations shall have in their possession at all times an emergency communications device to notify the proper authorities in the event of an emergency. 16.The tank vehicle dispensing equipment shall be constantly attended and operated only by designated personnel who are trained to handle and dispense motor fuels. 17.Fuel dispensing shall be prohibited within 25 feet (7620 mm) of any source of ignition. 18.The engines of vehicles being fueled shall be shut off during dispensing operations. 19.Nighttime fueling operations shall only take place in adequately lighted areas. 20.The tank vehicle shall be positioned with respect to vehicles being fueled to prevent traffic from driving over the delivery hose. 21.During fueling operations, tank vehicle brakes shall be set, chock blocks shall be in place and warning lights shall be in operation. 22.Motor vehicle fuel tanks shall not be topped off. 23.The dispensing hose shall be properly placed on an approved reel or in an approved compartment prior to moving the tank vehicle. 24.The fire code official and other appropriate authorities shall be notified when a reportable spill or unauthorized discharge occurs. 25.Operators shall place a drip pan or an absorbent pillow under each fuel fill opening prior to and during dispensing operations. Drip pans shall be liquid-tight. The pan or absorbent pillow shall have a capacity of not less than 3 gallons (11.36 L). Spills retained in the drip pan or absorbent pillow need not be reported. Operators, when fueling, shall have on their person an absorbent pad capable of capturing diesel fuel overfills. Except during fueling, the nozzle shall face upward and an absorbent pad shall be kept under the nozzle to catch drips. Contaminated absorbent pads or pillows shall be disposed of regularly in accordance with local, state and federal requirements. 5706.6 Tank vehicles and vehicle operation. Tank vehicles shall be designed, constructed, equipped and maintained in accordance with NFPA 385 and Sections 5706.6.1 through 5706.6.4. 5706.6.1 Operation of tank vehicles. Tank vehicles shall be utilized and operated in accordance with NFPA 385 and Sections 5706.6.1.1 through 5706.6.1.11. Tank vehicles shall not be operated unless they are in proper state of repair and free from accumulation of grease, oil or other flammable substance, and leaks. The driver, operator or attendant of a tank vehicle shall not remain in the vehicle cab and shall not leave the vehicle while it is being filled or discharged. The delivery hose, when attached to a tank vehicle, shall be considered to be a part of the tank vehicle. Motors of tank vehicles or tractors shall be shut down during the making or breaking of hose connections. If loading or unloading is performed without the use of a power pump, the tank vehicle or tractor motor shall be shut down throughout such operations. A cargo tank or compartment thereof used for the transportation of flammable or combustible liquids shall not be loaded to absolute capacity. The vacant space in a cargo tank or compartment thereof used in the transportation of flammable or combustible liquids shall be not less than 1 percent. Sufficient space shall be left vacant to prevent leakage from or distortion of such tank or compartment by expansion of the contents caused by rise in temperature in transit. The driver, operator or attendant of a tank vehicle shall, before making delivery to a tank, determine the unfilled capacity of such tank by a suitable gauging device. To prevent overfilling, the driver, operator or attendant shall not deliver in excess of that amount. During loading, hatch covers shall be secured on all but the receiving compartment. Materials shall not be loaded into or transported in a tank vehicle at a temperature above the material’s ignition temperature unless safeguarded in an approved manner. 5706.6.1.8 Bonding to underground tanks. An external bond-wire connection or bond-wire integral with a hose shall be provided for the transferring of flammable liquids through open connections into underground tanks. Smoking by tank vehicle drivers, helpers or other personnel is prohibited while they are driving, making deliveries, filling or making repairs to tank vehicles. Delivery of flammable liquids to underground tanks with a capacity of more than 1,000 gallons (3785 L) shall be made by means of approved liquid and vapor-tight connections between the delivery hose and tank fill pipe. Where underground tanks are equipped with any type of vapor recovery system, all connections required to be made for the safe and proper functioning of the particular vapor recovery process shall be made. Such connections shall be made liquid and vapor tight and remain connected throughout the unloading process. Vapors shall not be discharged at grade level during delivery. Simultaneous delivery to underground tanks of any capacity from two or more discharge hoses shall be made by means of mechanically tight connections between the hose and fill pipe. Upon arrival at a point of delivery and prior to discharging any flammable or combustible liquids into underground tanks, the driver, operator or attendant of the tank vehicle shall ensure that all hoses utilized for liquid delivery and vapor recovery, where required, will be protected from physical damage by motor vehicles. Such protection shall be provided by positioning the tank vehicle to prevent motor vehicles from passing through the area or areas occupied by hoses, or by other approved equivalent means. Parking of tank vehicles shall be in accordance with Sections 5706.6.2.1 through 5706.6.2.3. Exception: In cases of accident, breakdown or other emergencies, tank vehicles are allowed to be parked and left unattended at any location while the operator is obtaining assistance. 5706.6.2.1 Parking near residential, educational and institutional occupancies and other high-risk areas. Tank vehicles shall not be left unattended at any time on residential streets, or within 500 feet (152 m) of a residential area, apartment or hotel complex, educational facility, hospital or care facility. Tank vehicles shall not be left unattended at any other place that would, in the opinion of the fire chief, pose an extreme life hazard. Tank vehicles shall not be left unattended on a public street, highway, public avenue or public alley. 1.The necessary absence in connection with loading or unloading the vehicle. During actual fuel transfer, Section 5706.6.1.2 shall apply. The vehicle location shall be in accordance with Section 5706.6.2.1. 2.Stops for meals during the day or night, where the street is well lighted at the point of parking. The vehicle location shall be in accordance with Section 5706.6.2.1. 5706.6.2.3 Duration exceeding 1 hour. 1.Inside of a bulk plant and either 25 feet (7620 mm) or more from the nearest lot line or within a building approved for such use. 2.At other approved locations not less than 50 feet (15 240 mm) from the buildings other than those approved for the storage or servicing of such vehicles. Tank vehicles shall not be parked or garaged in buildings other than those specifically approved for such use by the fire code official. Tank vehicles shall be equipped with a portable fire extinguisher complying with Section 906 and having a minimum rating of 2-A:20-B:C. During unloading of the tank vehicle, the portable fire extinguisher shall be out of the carrying device on the vehicle and shall be 15 feet (4572 mm) or more from the unloading valves. Plants and portions of plants in which flammable liquids are produced on a scale from crude petroleum, natural gasoline or other hydrocarbon sources shall be in accordance with Sections 5706.7.1 through 5706.7.3. Petroleum-processing plants and facilities or portions of plants or facilities in which flammable or combustible liquids are handled, treated or produced on a commercial scale from crude petroleum, natural gasoline, or other hydrocarbon sources shall also be in accordance with API 651, API 653, API 752, API 1615, API 2001, API 2003, API 2009, API 2015, API 2023, API 2201 and API 2350. Above-ground tanks and piping systems shall be protected against corrosion in accordance with API 651. The safe entry and cleaning of petroleum storage tanks shall be conducted in accordance with API 2015. 5706.7.3 Storage of heated petroleum products. Where petroleum-derived asphalts and residues are stored in heated tanks at refineries and bulk storage facilities or in tank vehicles, such products shall be in accordance with API 2023. 5706.8 Vapor recovery and vapor-processing systems. Vapor-processing systems in which the vapor source operates at pressures from vacuum, up to and including 1 psig (6.9 kPa) or in which a potential exists for vapor mixtures in the flammable range, shall comply with Sections 5706.8.1 through 5706.8.5. 1.Marine systems complying with federal transportation waterway regulations such as DOTn 33 CFR Parts 154 through 156, and CGR 46 CFR Parts 30, 32, 35 and 39. 2.Motor fuel-dispensing facility systems complying with Chapter 23. Tanks and equipment shall have independent venting for over-pressure or vacuum conditions that might occur from malfunction of the vapor recovery or processing system. Exception: For tanks, venting shall comply with Section 5704.2.7.3. Vents on vapor-processing equipment shall be not less than 12 feet (3658 mm) from adjacent ground level, with outlets located and directed so that flammable vapors will disperse to below the lower flammable limit (LFL) before reaching locations containing potential ignition sources. 5706.8.3 Vapor collection systems and overfill protection. The design and operation of the vapor collection system and overfill protection shall be in accordance with this section and Section 19.5 of NFPA 30. A liquid knock-out vessel used in the vapor collection system shall have means to verify the liquid level and a high-liquid-level sensor that activates an alarm. For unpopulated facilities, the high-liquid-level sensor shall initiate the shutdown of liquid transfer into the vessel and shutdown of vapor recovery or vapor-processing systems. Storage tanks served by vapor recovery or processing systems shall be equipped with overfill protection in accordance with Section 5704.2.7.5.8.

2019-04-25T04:08:23Z

https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IFC2015/chapter-57-flammable-and-combustible-liquids

In July 2016, the FBI began investigating the Russian government’s attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election, including whether President Donald Trump’s campaign associates were involved in those efforts. “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election” between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, according to a U.S. intelligence community report released Jan. 6, 2017. Russian intelligence services gained access to the computer network of Democratic Party officials and released the hacked material to WikiLeaks and others “to help President-elect Trump’s election chances,” the IC said in its report. The Internet Research Agency, a Russian online propaganda operation, also conducted a social media campaign “to advocate for President-elect Trump as early as December 2015,” the IC report said. The report “found multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations, including the Russian-interference and obstruction investigations.” Mueller, however, refrained from recommending prosecution, saying that there were “difficult [legal] issues that would need to be resolved,” in order to move forward with a case. Here we present a timeline of key events in the investigation. We will update this timeline as necessary. For those reading this on a website other than FactCheck.org, please click here for updates. June 16 — Trump announces that he is running for president. Nov. 16 — Lana Erchova, on behalf of her then-husband, Dmitry Klokov, emails lvanka Trump and offers to help the Trump campaign. “If you ask anyone who knows Russian to google my husband Dmitry Klokov, you’ll see who he is close to and that he has done Putin’s political campaigns.” The Mueller report, who contained the email, says, “Klokov was at that time Director of External Communications for PJSC Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System, a large Russian electricity transmission company, and had been previously employed as an aide and press secretary to Russia’s energy minister.” Ivanka Trump forwarded the email to Cohen. Jan. 20 – Peskov’s assistant emails Cohen, telling him to give her a call. Cohen calls Peskov’s assistant and speaks to her for 20 minutes. Cohen outlines the Moscow Trump Tower project and asks for the Russian government’s assistance. Feb. 26 — Reuters reports that Flynn “has been informally advising Trump” on foreign policy during the presidential campaign. March 21 — Lukashev and other Russian military intelligence officers steal more than 50,000 emails from Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman. March 29 — Trump announces that Paul Manafort, a longtime Republican operative, will be his campaign convention manager. Manafort had worked for more than a decade for pro-Russia political organizations and people in Ukraine — including Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine and a close ally of Putin. March 31 — Trump attends a national security meeting that was chaired by Sessions and attended by his foreign policy advisers, including Page and Papadopoulos. At the meeting, Papadopoulos says he has connections in Russia and could help arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin, according to the Justice Department. April 6 — Russian military intelligence officers create an email account similar to a Clinton campaign staffer and then send emails to more than 30 Clinton campaign employees that include a link to a document titled, “hillary-clinton-favorable-rating.xlsx.” The link directs the recipients’ computers to a website created by the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. May 6 — Sater emails Cohen about attending the St. Petersburg Forum, asking the Trump Organization executive whether he would be able to travel to Moscow on those dates. “Works for me,” Cohen writes. May 19 — Manafort is elevated from convention manager to campaign chairman and chief strategist. May 25 — Russian military intelligence officers successfully hack into the DNC’s server and over the course of a week stole thousands of emails from DNC employees. June 14 — The Washington Post reports that hackers had gained access to DNC servers. It is the first public disclosure of the security breach. June 20 — Manafort becomes the Trump campaign manager. He replaces Corey Lewandowski, who was fired. Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, files his first of 16 memos on Trump’s connections to Russia. Fusion GPS, a research firm founded by former Wall Street Journal reporters Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch, hired Steele as part of an opposition research project paid for by a law firm representing Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee. July 22 — WikiLeaks releases nearly 20,000 DNC emails. It would eventually release more than 44,000 emails and 17,000 attachments, WikiLeaks says on its website. July 25 – The FBI confirms it has opened an investigation into the hacking of the DNC computer network. “The FBI is investigating a cyber intrusion involving the DNC and are working to determine the nature and scope of the matter. A compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously, and the FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace,” it says in a release. July 27 — At a press conference, Trump says he has “never spoken” to Putin, even though he had said in 2013 “I have a relationship” with Putin. At the press conference, Trump also says he doubts that Russia was responsible for hacking the DNC computer network, but invites Russia to find the 30,000 personal emails that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s staff deleted when she left office. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” he says. Trump later says he was being “sarcastic” in inviting Russia to find the emails. July 29 — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announces that its computer network also has been hacked. Several of its House candidates were targets of stolen emails released by Guccifer 2.0. Aug. 19 — Trump removes Manafort as his campaign manager. Sergey Kislyak, Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sept. 8 — Sen. Jeff Sessions meets privately with Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, in the senator’s office. After exchanging messages on Clinton’s alleged comments about Assange, Trump Jr. asks WikiLeaks, “What’s behind this Wednesday leak I keep reading about?” WikiLeaks does not respond, at least not on Twitter. After Assange’s press conference, Bannon and Stone exchange emails about WikiLeaks’ plans to release hacked material. “A load every week going forward,” Stone writes to Bannon. Oct. 7 — WikiLeaks begins to release Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta’s emails. The Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence issue a joint statement saying that the U.S. intelligence community is “confident” that hacks into the email systems of the Democratic Party and its officials were directed by the Russian government. Donald Trump Sr. tweets, “Very little pick-up by the dishonest media of incredible information provided by WikiLeaks. So dishonest! Rigged system!” The tweet does not include a link to WikiLeaks, and it is not clear if the tweet is in response to WikiLeaks’ request. Oct. 14 — Trump Jr. publicly tweets the wlsearch.tk link, as noted in the Mueller report released April 18, 2019. Oct. 21 — The FBI receives approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, known as the FISA court, to monitor the communications of Carter Page, a member of Trump’s foreign policy team. Nov. 8 — Donald J. Trump is elected 45th president of the United States. Nov. 10 — Trump meets with President Barack Obama at the White House. Obama reportedly warns Trump against hiring Flynn. Nov. 18 — The president-elect selects Flynn as his national security adviser. President Obama announces he has ordered a detailed review of Russian hacks during the 2016 campaign. Early January — The FISA court agrees to extend the FBI’s surveillance of Carter Page, who was a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. The DNI report contains no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Comey also assures the president-elect at the meeting that he is not personally under investigation. (“That was true; we did not have an open counter-intelligence case on him,” Comey would later tell the Senate intelligence committee in written testimony prior to his June 8 hearing.) Immediately after leaving the meeting, Comey types up some notes in his car — one of seven memos he wrote about his encounters with Trump. Jan. 15 — Vice President-elect Mike Pence says Flynn and Kislyak did not discuss U.S. sanctions on Russia. “They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States’ decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia,” Pence said. Jan. 20 — Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. Jan. 22 — On the same day that Flynn is sworn in as the national security adviser, the Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. counterintelligence agents have investigated Flynn’s communications with Russian officials. Jan. 24 — Two days after he takes office as President Trump’s national security adviser, Flynn is interviewed by FBI agents. He is asked about two conversations that he had with Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, in December 2016 when Flynn was still a private citizen and before Trump took office. Flynn tells the FBI agents that he did not ask Kislyak, in a Dec. 29, 2016, conversation, for Russia to refrain from retaliating after the Obama administration announced sanctions that day against Russia for interfering in the 2016 elections. He also says that he did not ask Kislyak, in a Dec. 22, 2016, conversation for Russia to delay or defeat a U.N. Security Council resolution, approved Dec. 23, 2016, that would have condemned Israel’s building of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Flynn would later plead guilty to lying to the FBI about both of those conversations with Kislyak. Jan. 28 — Trump receives a congratulatory phone call from Putin. Feb. 9 — The Washington Post reports that Flynn “privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials,” citing unnamed current and former officials. Feb. 13 – Flynn resigns. He acknowledges that he misled Pence and others in the administration about his conversations with Kislyak, the Russian ambassador. “I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador,” Flynn says. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus asks FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe if the agency would help the White House knock down news stories about contacts between Trump aides and Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. The FBI interviews Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign policy adviser, for a second time. March 1 — The Washington Post reports that then-Sen. Sessions “spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador to the United States,” including a private meeting in the senator’s office on Sept. 8, 2016. The report contradicts what Sessions told the Senate Committee on the Judiciary during his confirmation hearing. March 4 — In a flurry of tweets, Trump accuses Obama of illegally “tapping my phones in October” during the “very sacred election process.” He compares Obama’s actions to Watergate and calls the former president a “bad (or sick) guy!” Trump presents no evidence that Obama was tapping his phones. March 22 — Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House intelligence committee, holds a press conference to announce that he had reviewed intelligence reports that show “incidental collection” on some unnamed Trump transition team members had occurred after the election. Nunes, a former Trump transition team member, says he believes the information was legally obtained and was unrelated to Russia, but he says it raises questions about whether the intelligence community was improperly unmasking U.S. citizens whose identities should be protected. March 27 — The New York Times reports that the Senate intelligence committee informed the White House that it wants to question Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, about his meetings in December with Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, and Gorkov, the head of Russia’s state-owned bank. Nunes acknowledges that he went to the White House to review the intelligence reports on the “incidental collection” of information on Trump transition team members. Flynn’s attorney, Robert Kelner, says in a statement that his client is willing to testify before Congress if Flynn receives immunity. “General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit,” Kelner’s statement said. The White House releases a revised financial disclosure form for Flynn that shows he received speaking fees from RT TV, the Russian television network, and two other Russian firms. Flynn failed to report that income when he initially filed his disclosure form in February. Early April — The FISA court agrees to extend the FBI’s surveillance of Carter Page, who was a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. April 6 — Nunes announces he will no longer oversee the House intelligence committee’s Russia investigation. The Washington Post reports that the FBI obtained a secret court order last summer under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to monitor the communications of Carter Page, a member of Trump’s foreign policy team. The Justice Department convinced the FISA judge that Page, who had worked in Russia, “was acting as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia,” the Post wrote. May 8 — Yates testifies at a Senate hearing that she had two in-person meetings and one phone call with McGahn, the White House counsel, to discuss Flynn’s meetings with Kislyak, the Russian ambassador. Her first meeting with McGahn was on Jan. 26, as mentioned above. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein learns that Trump intends to fire Comey. Rosenstein later would tell Congress, “On May 8, I learned that President Trump intended to remove Director Comey and sought my advice and input. Notwithstanding my personal affection for Director Comey, I thought it was appropriate to seek a new leader.” Rosenstein then set out to write a memo outlining his concerns about Comey’s leadership. May 9 – Trump fires Comey. A White House statement said that Trump acted “based on the clear recommendations” of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. In a two-and-a-half-page memo, Rosenstein cited Comey’s handling of the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for official government business while she was the secretary of state under Obama. Rosenstein criticized Comey for holding a press conference on July 5, 2016, to publicly announce his recommendation to not charge Clinton, and for disclosing on Oct. 28, 2016, that the FBI had reopened its investigation of Clinton. CNN also reports the U.S. attorney’s office in Alexandria, Virginia, issued subpoenas to associates who worked with Michael Flynn on contracts after he left the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014. May 13 — In a Fox News interview with Judge Jeanine Pirro, Trump denies that he asked for Comey’s loyalty. “But I don’t think it would be a bad question to ask,” he adds. May 15 — The Washington Post reports that during a May 10 meeting with Russian officials Trump discussed classified information about an ISIS terrorist threat involving laptop computers on commercial airlines. May 16 — The New York Times reports that Israel was the source of the intelligence information that Trump disclosed to Russian officials. May 17 — Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, appoints former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III as special counsel to investigate any possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. At a press conference with the president of Colombia, Trump denies that he asked Comey to close down the FBI’s investigation of Flynn. “No. No. Next question,” Trump said. The Washington Post reports that federal investigators have “identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest” in the Russia investigation. Six days later, the Post reports that that person is Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. The term has no legal meaning, but is used by law enforcement when identifying someone who may have information of interest to an investigation. May 22 — The Washington Post reports that “Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, urging them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election.” The paper says the meeting happened in March and that Coats and Rogers denied the president’s request. May 23 — Coats appears at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing and is asked if the Post report on Trump’s request to help him push back against the FBI investigation is accurate. Coats declines to answer. “It’s not appropriate for me to comment publicly on any of that,” Coats said. Former CIA Director John O. Brennan testifies before the House intelligence committee about the federal investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. In an exchange with Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, Brennan says he does not know if any “such collusion existed,” but he was concerned about contacts between Russian officials and people involved in the Trump campaign. May 31 — The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issues subpoenas for testimony, documents and business records from Flynn and Michael Cohen, a personal attorney to the president. June 6 — Flynn provides more than 600 pages of documents to the Senate intelligence committee, CNN reports. The committee subpoenaed the documents on May 10. Trump announces his intention to nominate Christopher Wray to replace Comey as the FBI director. Wray was an assistant U.S. attorney general in the Bush administration in charge of the Justice Department’s criminal prosecutions division. Comey submits written testimony to the Senate intelligence committee in advance of his June 8 appearance before the committee. In his testimony, Comey says that he first spoke to Trump on Jan. 6, 2017, at Trump Tower, and he wrote memos after each meeting or conversation. The former FBI director said that he had “nine one-on-one conversations with President Trump in four months – three in person and six on the phone.” On three occasions, Comey told Trump he was not personally under investigation. June 8 – Comey testifies under oath before the Senate intelligence committee. As his written testimony detailed, Comey says the president asked him for his loyalty at a Jan. 27 dinner and asked him to drop the Flynn investigation at a Feb. 14 meeting. He also says Trump asked that the FBI “lift the cloud” over his administration and publicly announce that the president is personally not under investigation on March 30 and April 11. The president also says that he is “100 percent” willing to testify under oath about his conversations with Comey. “No collusion, no obstruction, he’s a leaker,” Trump says. The House intelligence committee sends a letter to McGahn, the White House counsel, asking if any such tapes exist and, if so, to turn them over to the committee by June 23. June 13 – Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the president has the “right” to fire Mueller, but won’t. “While the president has the right to, he has no intention to do so,” Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that he alone has the authority to fire the special counsel, and that he has not seen any evidence of good cause for firing Mueller. Sessions testifies before the Senate intelligence committee. “[T]he suggestion that I participated in any collusion, that I was aware of any collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country, which I have served with honor for 35 years, or to undermine the integrity of our democratic process, is an appalling and detestable lie,” he says. Sessions declines to answer any questions about his conversations with the president regarding Comey’s firing or any other matter. “[C]onsistent with long-standing Department of Justice practice, I cannot and will not violate my duty to protect confidential communications with the president,” he says. June 15 — Trump tweets: “They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice”. Pence hires Virginia lawyer Richard Cullen, a partner at McGuireWoods and former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia under President George H.W. Bush, to serve as his personal lawyer during the Russia investigation. “I can confirm that the Vice President has retained Richard Cullen of McGuireWoods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel,” Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen said in a statement. Late June — The FISA court agrees to extend the FBI’s surveillance of Carter Page, who was a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. Trump meets Putin at G-20 summit on July 7, 2017. July 7 – Trump talks twice with Putin at G-20 summit. The first is a regularly scheduled meeting that lasted more than two hours. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attends that meeting and discusses it with the media after it ends. The second conversation occurs at a dinner for G-20 leaders and their spouses. The White House would not disclose or confirm that second conversation until July 18. Ian Bremmer, president and founder of the Eurasia Group, revealed the previously undisclosed conversation in a newsletter to clients of his New York-based risk management company. Bremmer said Trump went to Putin’s table at some point during the dinner and the two men spoke for “roughly an hour.” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer confirmed that Trump initiated the conversation, but he said it was brief and nothing more than “pleasantries and small talk” were exchanged. There is no record of the conversation, which was facilitated only by a Russian interpreter. July 19 – The Senate judiciary committee asks Donald Trump Jr. to turn over all documents “relating to any attempts or actions taken by the Trump Organization or Trump campaign to coordinate, encourage, gain, release, or otherwise use information related to Russia’s influence campaign aimed at the US 2016 presidential election.” The committee’s letter, in particular, asks for any documents related to the June 2016, meeting with Veselnitskaya, as well as all communications he had with a long list of specific Trump campaign officials and Russian individuals and businesses. July 24: Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser, meets for two hours with Senate intelligence committee investigators. “I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government,” Kushner says in a statement that he provided to congressional investigators. In his statement, Kushner says he can recall two meetings with Russian government representatives during the campaign and two meetings during the transition. The statement says he spoke briefly to Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., in April 2016 prior to a speech by Trump on foreign affairs, and that he met with Kislyak for 20 or 30 minutes at Trump Tower on Dec. 1, 2016. He also says he met banker Sergey Gorkov in New York on Dec. 13, 2016, for 20 to 25 minutes, and he attended a meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr. with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower on June 9. July 27 — Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign policy adviser during the campaign, is arrested at Dulles International Airport on charges that he lied to FBI agents. Following his arrest, Papadopoulos met with government investigators “on numerous occasions to provide information and answer questions,” according to a court document. Aug. 1 – White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirms that the president was involved in drafting the statement that Donald Trump Jr. issued on July 8 about the meeting that he and other Trump campaign officials had with Russian representatives on June 9, 2016. That statement was misleading. It failed to mention that Donald Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting after being promised “some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary” as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump,” according to emails that Donald Trump Jr. released on July 11. Sept. 6 — Facebook announces that it has identified roughly 3,000 politically related ad buys connected to 470 fake accounts linked to Russia. In a blog post, Alex Stamos, the company’s chief security officer, writes: “In reviewing the ads [sic] buys, we have found approximately $100,000 in ad spending from June of 2015 to May of 2017 — associated with roughly 3,000 ads — that was connected to about 470 inauthentic accounts and Pages in violation of our policies. Our analysis suggests these accounts and Pages were affiliated with one another and likely operated out of Russia.” The company says it also alerted U.S. authorities that it found an additional “$50,000 in potentially politically related ad spending on roughly 2,200 ads” that may be linked to Russia. Those ads were “bought from accounts with US IP addresses but with the language set to Russian” and “didn’t necessarily violate” Facebook policies. Stamos says the ads “appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages,” including on race, immigration, gun rights and LGBT issues. Sept. 7 – Donald Trump Jr. spends five hours behind closed doors answering the questions of Senate judiciary committee investigators. In his prepared remarks, Trump says, “I did not collude with any foreign government and do not know anyone who did.” He also discusses his June 9, 2016, meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and five or six others at Trump Tower in New York. Trump’s oldest son says he was “skeptical” but nonetheless intrigued by an email he received from a Russian acquaintance who claimed that the Russian government had “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton] and her dealings with Russia.” Trump says, “To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out.” He says the meeting lasted 20 to 30 minutes and produced no information about Clinton. “I have no recollection of any documents being offered or left for us,” he says. Sept. 19 — CNN reports that federal investigators “wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election,” citing unnamed sources. According to CNN, the FBI obtained two warrants to conduct surveillance of Manafort from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, known as the FISA court. CNN says the first warrant was issued in 2014 and expired before Manafort joined the Trump campaign. CNN does not say if the second warrant was issued when Manafort was still part of the Trump campaign. “It is unclear when the new warrant started,” CNN writes. Sept. 26 – Stone testifies for three hours in a closed session of the House intelligence committee. In written testimony to the committee, Stone denies any collusion with the Russians. “To be clear, I have never represented any Russian clients, have never been to Russia, and never had any communication with any Russians or individuals fronting for Russians, in connection with the 2016 presidential election,” he says. Oct. 2 – Facebook gives the Senate and House intelligence committees more than 3,000 ads linked to Russia that it says appeared on the social media site during the 2016 campaign. In a blog post, Elliot Schrage, vice president of policy and communications at the company, says the ads reached an estimated 10 million people in the United States. Oct. 4 — The Republican chairman and the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee hold a joint press conference to provide an update on the Russia investigation. “The issue of collusion is still open,” says Sen. Richard Burr, the committee chairman, referring to possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. The North Carolina Republican says the committee has interviewed more than 100 people and has 25 additional interviews scheduled for October. He says the committee hopes to complete its work before the 2018 midterm elections next November. Oct. 5 — Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign policy adviser, pleads guilty to lying to FBI agents. His guilty plea is not made public until Oct. 30. Oct. 13 — Federal investigators interview Reince Priebus, the president’s former chief of staff. “Mr. Priebus was voluntarily interviewed by Special Counsel Mueller’s team today. He was happy to answer all of their questions,” his attorney William Burck said in a statement. Oct. 24 – NBC News reports that the Podesta Group and the group’s co-founder, Tony Podesta, brother of Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta, are “subjects” of the special counsel’s investigation. John Podesta is not affiliated with the firm. Citing unnamed sources, NBC News says federal investigators are interested in the Podesta Group’s work from 2012 to 2014 for a public relations campaign organized by Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, for a nonprofit called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. The nonprofit reportedly was backed by the “pro-Russian and oligarch-funded Ukrainian political party” that was in control of Ukraine at the time, according to NBC News. Oct. 30 — Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, and Rick Gates, Manafort’s former business associate and a Trump campaign aide, are indicted on money laundering and tax evasion charges related to their work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. Between 2006 and 2015, Manafort controlled firms that did “political consulting, lobbying, and public relations” for the government of Ukraine, the Party of Regions and its presidential candidate, Viktor Yanukovych, and then later for the Opposition Bloc, a successor to the Party of Regions, according to the indictment. Yanukovych, a close ally of Putin, was elected president of Ukraine in 2010, but fled the country in 2014 after a popular uprising. The Opposition Bloc formed after Yanukovych fled Ukraine. Manafort allegedly laundered “more than $18 million” that he used to buy property, goods and services in the United States without paying federal taxes. “Gates transferred more than $3 million from the offshore accounts to other accounts he controlled,” the indictment says. “The indictment contains 12 counts: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading [Foreign Agents Registration Act] statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts,” a Department of Justice press release says. Gates joined the Trump campaign at around the same time that Manafort became the campaign’s convention manager in late March 2016. He served as Manafort’s deputy and remained with the campaign after Manafort left in August 2016. Papadopoulos, who became a campaign adviser in March 2016, learned from the professor in April 2016 that Russia possessed “dirt” on Hillary Clinton “in the form of ‘thousands of emails,’” according to a statement from the Justice Department stipulating the facts of the case against Papadopoulos. However, Papadopoulos falsely told the FBI “multiple times that he learned that information” about Clinton prior to joining the Trump campaign, according to the statement. Papadopoulos lied to the FBI about his contacts with the “Female Russian National,” and failed initially to disclose his contacts with the “Russian MFA Connection,” the statement says. Nov. 2 — Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, testifies before the House intelligence committee at a closed-door hearing. According to a transcript of his testimony, Page tells the committee that he briefly exchanged “some nice pleasantries” with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich during his July 8, 2016, trip to Moscow, where both men spoke at the commencement ceremony of the New Economic School. Page also confirms for the committee that he wrote an email to campaign policy aides J.D. Gordon and Tera Dahl that said: “On a related front, I’ll send you guys a readout soon regarding some incredible insights and outreach I’ve received from a few Russian legislators and senior members of the Presidential administration here.” But, under questioning, he says that he gained those “incredible insights” from listening to Dvorkovich’s speech and reading the Moscow newspapers — not from meetings with Russian government officials. Nov. 14 — Sessions testifies before the the House judiciary committee and addresses why he failed to inform Congress that Russia was discussed at a March 31, 2016, meeting of the Trump campaign’s national security team. Sessions, who was chairman of the national security committee, says he didn’t recall the meeting until he saw recent news reports about it. Papadopoulos, a member of the national security team who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, told the Justice Department that he introduced himself at the March 2016 meeting as someone who had Russian contacts and could help arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin. “I did not recall this event, which occurred 18 months before my testimony of a few weeks ago, and would gladly have reported it had I remembered it, because I pushed back against his suggestion that I thought may have been improper,” Sessions says of Papadopoulos and the March 31, 2016 meeting. The attorney general also said that he did not recall a conversation with Carter Page about Page’s visit to Moscow in July 2016. Nov. 16 — The Senate judiciary committee asks Kushner to provide “missing documents” related to the Russia probe that it knows exists. “For example, other parties have produced September 2016 email communications to Mr. Kushner conceming WikiLeaks, which Мr. Kushner then forwarded to another campaign official. Such documents should have been produced in response to the third request but were not,” the committee says in a letter to Kushner’s attorney. “Likewise, other parties have produced documents concerning а ‘Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite’ which Mr. Kushner also forwarded. And still others have produced communications with Sergei Millian, copied to Mr. Kushner.” Millian is a Belarusan American businessman and president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce who has boasted of his contacts with high-ranking Russian government officials. Dec. 1 — Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, pleads guilty to making false statements to the FBI. Flynn admits lying to FBI agents about two discussions he had with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, in December 2016 when Flynn was still a private citizen and before Trump took office. In the first instance, Flynn admits he lied to FBI agents about a conversation he had with Kislyak on Dec. 22, 2016 about an upcoming U.N. Security Council resolution. Although he initially denied it to FBI agents, Flynn now admits he asked Russia to delay or defeat a U.N. Security Council resolution, approved Dec. 23, 2016, that would have condemned Israel’s building of settlements in the West bank and east Jerusalem. The Obama administration had agreed to allow the resolution to come up for a vote over the objection of Israel. Flynn also admits that he lied to FBI agents about a Dec. 29 conversation that he had with Kislyak about the sanctions imposed by the Obama administration that day for interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections. Flynn told Kislyak that Russia should refrain from responding to the U.S. sanctions and Kislyak agreed that Russia would “moderate its response to those sanctions” as a result of his request, according to charges filed by the U.S. special counsel’s office. But, when interviewed by the FBI on Jan. 24, Flynn denied making such a request and could not recall if Kislyak agreed to his request. “My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel’s Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country,” Flynn says in a statement. Dec. 6 — Donald Trump Jr. testifies in a closed session of the House intelligence committee. He tells the committee that he spoke to his father about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer two days after the New York Times reported about the meeting on July 8, 2017. But the president’s son declines to disclose the content of his conversation with his father. Jan. 24 — The Justice Department confirms that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed by the special counsel’s office last week as part of its Russia investigation. Jan. 25 — John Dowd, Trump’s private attorney, releases a one-page memo that says the Trump campaign turned over 1.4 million pages of documents to the special counsel’s office and the White House provided over 20,000 pages. The memo also says that the special counsel’s office to date has interviewed more than 20 White House staffers, 17 Trump campaign workers and 11 others affiliated with the Trump campaign. Jan. 29 – In a letter to special counsel Mueller, Dowd and Sekulow write that the president “dictated” a July 8, 2017 statement to the New York Times about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between top Trump campaign aides and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The lawyers write, “You have received all of the notes, communications and testimony indicating that the President dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump, Jr.” The admission contradicts statements made last year by Sekulow and Sanders, the White House press secretary, that the president did not dictate the letter. Feb. 12 — Richard Pinedo, a California man, pleads guilty to identity fraud. Pinedo operated an online service called “Auction Essistance,” which federal prosecutors say was used by foreign nationals “to circumvent the security features of large online digital payment companies.” Prosecutors did not identify Pinedo’s clients. However, Pinedo’s attorney, Jeremy I. Lessem, told the New York Times that the California man did not know the identity or the motivation of his clients. “To the extent that Mr. Pinedo’s actions assisted any individuals, including foreign nationals, with interfering in the American presidential election, it was done completely without his knowledge or understanding,” Lessem told the Times. Feb. 16 — The special counsel’s office charges three Russian organizations and 13 Russian nationals with violating U.S. criminal laws to interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections. The indictment says the defendants conspired to defraud the United States. The conspiracy involved using the names of U.S. citizens and companies to illegally buy political ads on social media and stage political rallies. Some defendants also “solicited and compensated real U.S. persons to promote or disparage candidates,” according to the indictment. The defendants are alleged to have employed hundreds of people for its online operations, “ranging from creators of fictitious personas to technical and administrative support personnel, with an annual budget of millions of dollars,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says. By early to mid-2016, the defendants’ operation included supporting Trump and disparaging Clinton, the indictment says. “Some Defendants, posing as U.S. persons and without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities,” the indictment says. The Internet Research Agency, an online Russia propaganda operation based in St. Petersburg, was among those indicted. “The indictment charges all of the defendants with conspiracy to defraud the United States, three defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft,” the special counsel’s office says. Feb. 20 — Alex van der Zwaan, a former associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and son-in-law of Russian oligarch German Khan, pleads guilty to making false statements to federal investigators. Van der Zwaan admitted he lied about conversations he had with Rick Gates, Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman, about Skadden’s report on Ukraine’s former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. He also “deleted and otherwise did not produce emails” that had been requested by the law firm and/or the special counsel’s office, according to court documents. Feb. 23 — Rick Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy and making false statements to federal investigators. Gates was originally indicted Oct. 30, 2017, on money laundering and tax evasion charges related to work that he and his business associate, Paul Manafort, did for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. Gates admits he participated in the financial conspiracy with Manafort. He also admits that he lied to prosecutors about a 2013 meeting involving Manafort and a congressman — identified by NBC News as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on European affairs. Gates misled investigators when he told them that Ukraine had not been discussed at the meeting. Gates is now cooperating with federal investigators in exchange for dropping other criminal charges, including money laundering and tax evasion charges in the original indictment. The special counsel’s office also files a superseding indictment against Manafort. The new charges include the allegation that “Manafort, with the assistance of Gates, … secretly retained a group of former senior European politicians to take positions favorable to Ukraine, including by lobbying in the United States.” The indictment says, “The plan was for the former politicians, informally called the ‘Hapsburg group,’ to appear to be providing their independent assessments of Government of Ukraine actions, when in fact they were paid lobbyists for Ukraine.” In his plea agreement, Gates acknowledges participating in that conspiracy. March 12 — The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence says it has ended its Russia investigation. The Republicans on the committee release a one-page summary of their draft report. It says, “We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians.” The full report has not yet been released. April 3 — U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentences Alex van der Zwaan to 30 days in prison. Van der Zwann, a former associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and son-in-law of Russian oligarch German Khan, had pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about conversations he had with Rick Gates, Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman. It is the first sentence to be handed down in the Russia investigation. April 19 — The Department of Justice turns over to Congress seven memos that Comey wrote immediately after each encounter that he had with Trump, from Jan. 6, 2017, to April 11, 2017. April 27 — The Republican-controlled House intelligence committee issues a majority report on its Russia investigation along with a 98-page dissent from the Democrats. Both reports were redacted to protect classified information. The majority report says, “In the course of witness interviews, reviews of document productions, and investigative efforts extending well over a year, the Committee did not find any evidence of collusion, conspiracy, or coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians. While the Committee found that several of the contacts between Trump associates and Russians — or their proxies, including WikiLeaks — were ill-advised, the Committee did not determine that Trump or anyone associated with him assisted Russia’s active measures campaign. April 30 — The New York Times reports that the special counsel’s office has “at least four dozen questions on an exhaustive array of subjects he wants to ask President Trump to learn more about his ties to Russia and determine whether he obstructed the inquiry itself.” The Times published a list of the questions. June 8 — The special counsel’s office files a third superseding indictment against Manafort, adding an obstruction of justice charge for alleged witness tampering.The new indictment also accuses Konstantin V. Kilimnik, Manafort’s one-time business associate, with obstructing justice. Kilimnik, who oversaw the Kiev office for Davis Manafort Partners Inc., is a Russian Army-trained linguist who prosecutors say had active ties to Russian intelligence during the 2016 campaign. June 15 — A federal judge, citing the new obstruction of justice charges, orders Manafort to be held in federal custody until the trial starts in September. July 13 — Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, announces the indictment of 12 members of GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. The GRU officers “engaged in a sustained effort to hack into the computer networks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, and the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, and released that information on the internet under the names ‘DCLeaks’ and ‘Guccifer 2.0’ and through another entity,” a Justice Department press release says. The names of those indicted are: Viktor Borisovich Netyksho, Boris Alekseyevich Antonov, Dmitriy Sergeyevich Badin, Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov, Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev, Sergey Aleksandrovich Morgachev, Nikolay Yuryevich Kozachek, Pavel Vyacheslavovich Yershov, Artem Andreyevich Malyshev, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk, Aleksey Aleksandrovich Potemkin and Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev. July 16 — The Department of Justice announces the arrest of Maria Butina, a Russian national, on charges that she conspired to act as a Russian agent to influence U.S. politics and advance Russia’s interests. The government says she “worked at the direction of a high-level” Russian official from as early as 2015 through at least February 2017. The official described in the Justice Department press release matches the description of Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of Russia’s central bank, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in April. July 31 – Paul Manafort’s trial on bank and tax fraud charges begins in Alexandria, Virginia. He is also due to stand trial in Washington, D.C., in September on separate charges of money laundering and failure to register as a foreign agent. Aug. 21 — A jury finds Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, guilty on five tax fraud charges, one charge of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud. The judge dismisses 10 other charges after the jury failed to reach a verdict on those. Aug. 31 – Samuel Patten pleads guilty to violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act for failing to register as a lobbyist for a pro-Russian political party, the Opposition Bloc, in Ukraine, and members of that party, including “a prominent Ukraine oligarch” who matches the description of Serhiy Lyovochkin. Patten also admits he used foreign funds to arrange for a U.S. citizen to buy tickets for Lyovochkin to attend Trump’s inauguration, a court document shows. Federal law bans foreign nationals, including corporations, from contributing to presidential inaugurations. The plea agreement says Patten has agreed to cooperate with the Mueller investigation. Sept. 9 — On ABC’s “This Week,” Papadopoulos says that he told Trump, Sessions and others in attendance at a March 31, 2016 campaign meeting on national security that he had a “connection that can establish a potential summit between candidate Trump and President Putin.” Papadopoulos says that Sessions was “quite enthusiastic” about a possible meeting — contrary to what Sessions told Congress. Papadopoulos also says that sometime after June 20, when Manafort became the campaign manager, he told Manafort about the possibility of arranging such a meeting with Putin, but “it didn’t seem that Paul Manafort wanted to pursue this meeting.” Such a meeting never happened during the campaign. Sept. 14 — In a plea agreement with the special counsel’s office, Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, pleads guilty to two counts of conspiracy in federal court and agrees to “cooperate fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly with the Government and other law enforcement authorities identified by the Government in any and all matters as to which the Government deems the cooperation relevant.” The charges are conspiracy against the United States including money laundering, tax fraud, violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, lying to the Department of Justice and obstructing justice by tampering with witnesses. The plea deal includes Manafort admitting guilt to bank fraud charges on which a Virginia district court had failed to reach a verdict. Nov. 7 — A day after the midterm elections, President Trump announces on Twitter that Department of Justice Chief of Staff Matthew G. Whitaker will replace Sessions, becoming acting attorney general. “We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date,” the president writes. Sessions’ resignation letter says he is submitting it at the president’s request. Whitaker now oversees the special counsel’s investigation, not Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. Nov. 20 — Trump submits written answers to special counsel Robert Mueller’s questions. Nov. 27 — Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s personal attorneys, says that Manafort’s lawyers shared information about their client’s discussions with the special counsel’s office even after Manafort pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the federal government. Nov. 29 — Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about a real estate project that the Trump Organization pursued in 2015 and 2016, while Trump was running for president. The special counsel’s office says Cohen told Congress that the company’s pursuit of the project ended in January 2016 before “the Iowa caucus and … the very first primary,” but it did not. Cohen “discussed efforts to obtain Russian governmental approval for the Moscow Project” as late as June 2016. Cohen told Congress he did not receive a response from the Russian government about the project, when in fact he did. Cohen told Congress he did not travel to Russia in connection with the Moscow project, but he did not tell Congress that he agreed to go to Russia to discuss the project. Jan. 25 — The special counsel’s office arrests Roger Stone, an informal adviser to Trump. The indictment contains seven counts, including making false statements, witness tampering and obstruction. It says Stone lied to the House intelligence committee about, among other things, “his possession of documents pertinent to” the committee’s investigation and “his communications with the Trump Campaign” about WikiLeaks’ possession of material that could be damaging to Clinton and her campaign. Feb. 14 — The Senate confirms William P. Barr as attorney general. Barr assumes oversight of the special counsel’s investigation from acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. March 7 — Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, is sentenced to 47 months in prison after being found guilty in August on five tax fraud charges, one charge of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud. The sentence is much less than the 19- to 24-year prison term recommended under federal sentencing guidelines. It is the first of two sentences for Manafort. March 13 — Manafort, who was sentenced earlier this month to 47 months in prison, receives an additional 43 months of prison time. Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentences Manafort on two conspiracy counts involving money laundering and tax evasion charges related to his work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. He pleaded guilty in September. Combined, Manafort is scheduled to now serve seven-and-a-half years. March 22 — Attorney General William P. Barr notifies Congress that Mueller has concluded his investigation and submitted a confidential report. March 24 — Barr sends Congress a four-page letter that summarizes Mueller’s confidential report on the investigation. The report contains two parts. The first part involves the results of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, and whether anyone associated with the Trump campaign conspired with the Russians. “As the report states: [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” Barr writes. “The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,'” Barr’s letter says.

2019-04-20T16:56:16Z

https://www.factcheck.org/2017/06/timeline-russia-investigation/

What are the new guidelines for the pharmacological management of obesity? What information is available on the use of peramivir for treatment of influenza? What data supports the use of new oral anticoagulants in special populations (hepatic impairment, obesity, pregnancy, lactation, and pediatrics)? Obesity remains a prevalent, serious health issue in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 78.6 million American adults and 12.7 million children and adolescents (2 to 19 years of age) are obese.1,2 Obesity plays a significant role in some of the leading causes of preventable death including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.1 In addition, the annual medical cost of obesity is considerable - $147 billion (2008 dollars) - with obese individuals experiencing significantly higher medical costs than those of normal weight. In the 1960s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first agents for short-term (few weeks) adjunctive therapy of obesity in combination with exercise, behavioral modification, and caloric restriction – phentermine and diethylpropion.4-6 For almost 4 decades, these were the only approved agents for obesity management until the approval of orlistat, a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor, in 1999.4,7 In 2012, lorcaserin and the combination of phentermine/topiramate were approved.8,9 Finally, in 2014, liraglutide and naltrexone/bupropion became available for chronic weight management.4,10,11 Table 1 summarizes general information regarding the available pharmacologic agents for obesity. The advantages and disadvantages associated with each weight loss medication including cost, degree of weight loss, long-term efficacy data, and safety profile were evaluated in the guideline. The dose may be increased further if sufficient weight loss does not occur. The maximum available dose is 15 mg phentermine/92 mg topiramate. *Alli is the over-the counter brand name for orlistat; Xenical is the prescription brand name. SC = subcutaneous. The Endocrine Society-appointed Task Force of experts developed the guideline using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to describe the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence.4 A summary of recommendations made by the Task Force is presented in Table 2. Diet, exercise, and behavioral modification should be included in all approaches to obesity management for individuals with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and other tools such as pharmacotherapy (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with comorbidity or BMI > 30 kg/m2) and bariatric surgery (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2with comorbidity or BMI > 40 kg/m2) be used as adjunctive therapy. Pharmacologic therapy may increase adherence to behavior modification and improve physical functioning so that exercise becomes easier with time. Candidates for obesity medications include patients who have a history of being unable to successfully lose and maintain weight and who meet label indications. The administration of approved weight loss medications is suggested (versus no therapy) to ameliorate comorbidities and increase adherence to behavior modification in certain obese patients. Phentermine and diethylpropion are not recommended for use in patients with uncontrolled hypertension or a history of heart disease. For any patient prescribed pharmacologic therapy for obesity, efficacy and safety monitoring should occur at least monthly for the initial 3 months and then at least every 3 months thereafter. If a patient’s response to pharmacologic therapy is effective (i.e., weight loss ≥ 5% of body weight after 3 months) and safe, treatment should be continued. If there is a lack of response or safety issues occur, therapy should be discontinued and an alternative treatment approach undertaken. If pharmacologic therapy for chronic weight management is undertaken, dosing should be initiated at the lowest dose and escalated based on efficacy and tolerability to the recommended dose. Administering doses above the maximum approved dose is not recommended. For obese patients with type 2 diabetes, administration of a GLP-1 analog or SGLT2 inhibitor is recommended to promote weight loss in addition to the recommended first line agent, metformin. Lorcaserin and/or orlistat are recommended weight loss agents for patients with cardiovascular disease. Beyond the recommendations in Table 2, the guideline discusses the need to consider alternatives to medications that cause weight gain for various disease states and conditions including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, depression, epilepsy, schizophrenia, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and contraception.4 Examples include recommendations to use weight-neutral antipsychotics and oral contraceptives over injectable formulations if possible. Finally, the guideline suggests against the off-label use of medications approved for other disease states for the sole purpose of weight loss. Obesity continues to be a serious health concern for millions of American adults and children. The cornerstone of obesity management includes increased physical activity and reduced caloric intake; however, other approaches such as surgery and drug therapy also play a role. A recent Endocrine Society evidence-based practice guideline emphasizes that the appropriate adjunctive use of pharmacologic therapy may increase adherence to behavior modifications and improve physical functioning in obese patients. 1. Adult obesity facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html. Accessed February 9, 2015. 2. Childhood obesity facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html. Accessed February 9, 2015. 3. Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society. Circulation. 2014;129(25 Suppl 2):S102-S138. 4. Apovian CM, Aronne LJ, Bessesen DH, et al. Pharmacological management of obesity: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015;100(2):342-362. 5. Phentermine [package insert]. Phoenix, AZ: Apotheca; 2010. 6. Diethylpropion [package insert]. Philadelphia, PA: Lannett Company, Inc.; 2011. 7. Xenical [package insert]. South San Francisco, CA: Genentech; 2013. 8. Belviq [package insert]. Woodcliff Lake, NJ: Eisai; 2014. 9. Qsymia [package insert]. Mountain View, CA: Vivus, Inc.; 2014. 10. Contrave [package insert]. La Jolla, CA; Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc.; 2014. 11. Saxenda [package insert]. Plainsboro, NJ: Novo Nordisk, Inc.; 2015. There are 3 types of seasonal influenza viruses – A, B and C.4,5 Type A influenza viruses are classified into subtypes according to the combination of the surface proteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Currently, the subtypes influenza A (H1N1) and A (H3N2) are found in humans. Influenza B is classified by lineages and strains, including B/Yamagata and B/Victoria. It is less common but causes significant morbidity. Type C influenza occurs much less frequently than A and B and causes only mild upper respiratory tract illness; therefore, it is not included in seasonal influenza vaccines. Prior to December 2014, 4 prescription influenza antiviral agents were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): oral oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), inhaled zanamivir (Relenza®), amantadine (Symmetrel®), and rimantadine (Flumadine®).6 Oseltamivir and zanamavir are neuraminidase inhibitors that have activity against both influenza A and B viruses. Amantadine and rimantadine are adamantanes that are only active against influenza A viruses. During the past influenza seasons, there has continued to be high levels of resistance (>99%) to adamantanes among common influenza A strains. As a result of increasing resistance and lack of activity against the influenza B virus, amantadine and rimantadine are not recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for antiviral treatment or chemoprophylaxis. Oral or inhaled administration of the recommended antivirals to patients with severe symptoms or patients who require respiratory therapy can be difficult. The development of an anti-influenza medication in an injectable form could be beneficial for critically ill influenza patients with severe or life-threatening symptoms for whom oral or inhalation administration would be challenging. In 2009, the FDA granted an emergency use authorization to use IV peramivir, which was commercially available in Japan at the time, for the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. On December 19, 2014, the FDA approved intravenous (IV) peramivir (Rapivab®), a third neuraminidase inhibitor with activity against influenza A and B, to treat influenza in adults for the 2014-2015 influenza season. Table 1 summarizes the current FDA indications and the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for use of antiviral medications for the treatment of influenza. aOral oseltamivir is FDA approved for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza in patients 14 days and older and for chemoprophylaxis in persons 1 year and older. However, use of oral oseltamivir for treatment of influenza in patients younger than 14 days old, including preterm infants, is recommended by the CDC and the AAP bZanamivir is contraindicated in patients with history of allergy to milk protein. cPeramivir efficacy is based on clinical trials in which the predominant influenza virus type was influenza A. Abbreviations: COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; N/A=not applicable. The safety and efficacy of peramivir in adult patients has been evaluated in multiple clinical trials.11-16 A majority of these studies occurred in Japan and other Asian countries due to the approved use of peramivir for influenza since 2010. Table 2 summarizes select published clinical trials of peramivir in adults. In an effort to determine utility of IV peramivir in high-risk hospitalized patients, de Jong and colleagues compared the time to symptom resolution in 338 patients who received a single peramivir dose to patients who received standard of care with or without use of another neuraminidase inhibitor.11 At interim analysis, no significant difference in outcome was observed between the groups and due to the need to recruit a greater number of patients, the trial was terminated. A multinational, Phase II randomized, double-blind trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of IV peramivir 200 mg and 400 mg compared to oral oseltamivir in 137 hospitalized patients.12Peramivir at both doses demonstrated similar efficacy (clinical stability) to oseltamivir; however, the study did not include critically ill patients and did not meet the prespecified power to detect a difference between groups. Furthermore, the doses used in this Phase II trial are lower than the currently FDA-approved dose. In 2 trials of outpatients with confirmed influenza, a single dose of 300 mg or 600 mg peramivir demonstrated noninferiority to a 5-day treatment course of oseltamivir 75 mg twice daily in over 1000 outpatients and superiority compared to placebo in close to 300 outpatients in time to alleviation of symptoms.13,15 These studies did not include high-risk patients who required hospitalization. In a smaller study of 37 patients, the efficacy and safety of multiple doses of IV 300 mg and 600 mg peramivir was evaluated in those at high-risk requiring hospitalization.14 Over 60% received treatment for 2 days and 27% of patients received treatment for 1 day. The higher dose of peramivir demonstrated a shorter duration of illness and a shorter time to normalization of body temperature. Due to the small sample size of this study and lack of a comparator agent, this study demonstrated potential, but not proven, efficacy of multiple doses of peramivir in high-risk influenza patients requiring hospitalization. Gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea were the most common adverse drug reactions reported in these trials. Efficacy and safety outcomes of adult and pediatric patients with confirmed influenza between October 2010 and February 2012 who received peramivir in Japan were obtained in a post-marketing observational study.16 Adults received 300 mg or 600 mg (for severe symptoms or complications) IV peramivir infused over at least 15 minutes. Children received 10 mg/kg/day as a single dose up to a maximum of 600 mg. Of the 1174 patients, 83% were adults (defined as 15 to 64 years of age), 5.9% were younger than 15 years and 11.1% were 65 years or older. Only 3.2% were inpatients. Fever and symptom resolution occurred at a median time of 3 days in over 65% of patients. Diarrhea (1.87%), vomiting (0.85%), and nausea (0.68%) were the most common adverse drug reactions. Adverse drug reactions occurred within 3 days of treatment and resolved within one week of onset. Although peramivir is not FDA-approved for pediatric use, a multi-center, open-label study evaluated its efficacy and safety in children with pH1N1 virus infection.17 A study in 115 pediatric patients ages 28 days to 16 years examined the time to alleviation of influenza symptoms. Peramivir 10 mg/kg IV (maximum dose 600 mg) was administered over 15 to 60 minutes once daily for up to 5 days if body temperature was ≥38°C or if the patient was symptomatic. Of the pH1N1 population (n=106), 105 patients (91.3%) were treated for 1 day and 10 patients (8.7%) were treated for 2 days. The median time to alleviation of influenza symptoms was 29.1 hours (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.1 to 32.4) in the pH1N1 population and 27.9 hours (95% CI, 21.7 to 31.7) in the intent-to-treat infected population. The median time to resolution of fever was 20.6 hours (95% CI, 19.4 to 21.1.) in the pH1N1 population and 20.4 hours (19.1 to 20.9) in the intent-to-treat infected population. The most common adverse events were diarrhea (16.2%) and a decrease in neutrophil count (21.4%). A higher incidence of adverse events tended to be observed in younger children. In a single-center, non-randomized study in Japan conducted between February and April 2011, 223 pediatric patients under the age of 18 years with confirmed influenza received one of 4 antiviral drugs (laninamivir 20 mg inhalation for patients < 10 years and 40 mg inhalation for patients 10 years or older, peramivir 10 mg/kg IV with a maximum of 300 mg as a single dose infused over 15 minutes, oseltamivir 4 mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses with a maximum of 150 mg/day for 5 days, zanamivir 20 mg/day in 2 divided doses for 5 days).18 The median age (range) of patients who received the antivirals were laninamivir, 132.5 months (80 to 164); oseltamivir, 56.5 months (3 to 135); peramivir, 76 months (2 to 219); and zanamivir, 124.5 months (59 to 198). For patients between ages 0 and 9 years who received oseltamivir or peramivir, the median duration of fever was not significantly different: 2 days (range 0 to 6 days) and 1.5 days (range 1 to 3 days), respectively (p=0.4499). When compared to zanamivir and laninamivir in patients between 5 and 18 years, peramivir reduced fever duration by 1 to 2 days which was considered to be statistically significant. No adverse events were reported in this study. A post-marketing observational study in over 1100 Japanese children 15 years of age or younger evaluated the safety and efficacy of peramivir in patients who received the antiviral between October 2010 and February 2012.19 In terms of age range, slightly over 4% of the patients were between 4 weeks and 1 year of age, 44% were between 1 and 7 years, and 51.4% were between 7 and 15 years. Slightly over 11% of the patients were inpatient. Over 96% of patients received treatment for 1 day. Approximately 60% of patients had alleviation of symptoms in 3 days and close to 80% of patients had resolution of fever in 3 days. Incidences of some common adverse events were diarrhea (3.1%), abnormal behavior (3%), vomiting (1.5%), and decreased neutrophil count (1.5%). A majority of these adverse events occurred within 3 days of treatment and resolved within 7 days of occurrence. Patients with underlying conditions, severe influenza symptoms, on concomitant medications, and who received 2 or more doses of peramivir were more likely to experience an adverse event. The results of these studies are promising; however, due to the open-label, unblinded, observational, and non-randomized design of these studies, the efficacy and safety of peramivir in children needs to be further demonstrated in larger, randomized, comparative trials. · Time to clinical resolution in patients receiving peramivir plus standard of care compared to patients who received standard of care alone was 42.5 h (95% CI 40.0 to 61.9) vs. 49.5 h, respectively (95% CI 34.0 to 57.9; p=0.97). · Time to clinical resolution in patients receiving peramivir plus standard of care compared to patients who received another neuraminidase inhibitor plus standard of care was 41.8 h (95% CI 30.9 to 56.8) vs. 48.9 (95% CI 31.0 to 65.8, p=0.74). · No statistically significant differences in the secondary endpoints were observed between the treatment groups. · Common adverse events related to medication included GI effects and were similar between treatment groups. · Serious adverse events of pneumonia, COPD, septic shock, acute respiratory distress were attributed to influenza complications. · Clinical stability by treatment with peramivir 400 mg, peramivir 200 mg, or oseltamivir was 37 h (22 to 48.7), 23 h (16 to 38.9) and 28 h (22 to 37), respectively (p=0.306). · No significant differences were present for alleviation of influenza symptoms during treatment, 89.5 h (49.6 to 204.4), 70.3 h (60.5 to 97), and 73 h (48.1 to 96.5) for peramivir 400 mg, peramivir 200 mg and oseltamivir, respectively (p=0.783). · Five (4%) patients required ICU admission during the first days of study treatment. · There were no significant differences in time to hospital discharge, 3.8 h (2.7 to 4.8), 4 h (3 to 4.7), 4 h (2.9 to 4.6) for peramivir 400 mg, peramivir 200 mg and oseltamivir, respectively (p=0.994). · None of the patients with confirmed influenza died during the study period. · Patients treated with peramivir had a shorter median times to resumption of usual activities: 9 days, 8.8 days, and 13.7 days for peramivir 400 mg, peramivir 200 mg and oseltamivir, respectively (p=0.276). · A higher proportion of patients who received peramivir experienced ≥1 AE than those who received oseltamivir. · Gastrointestinal AEs (mainly due to higher frequency of diarrhea) were reported in 33% of subjects for peramivir 200 mg, 28% for peramivir 400 mg, and 15% for oseltamivir. · Serious AEs occurred in 8 patients treated with peramivir 400 mg, in 2 patients treated with peramivir 200 mg and in 4 treated with oseltamivir. · There were no adverse changes in routine hematology or chemistry values. Treatment duration was 5 days. The concomitant use of acetamino-phen was allowed, but other antipyretics, antivirals, and antimicro-bials were not permitted. · The median times to alleviation of symptoms were 78 h (95% CI 68.4 to 88.6), 81 h (95% CI 72.7 to 91.5), and 81.8 h (95% CI 73.2 to 91.1) in peramivir 300 mg, peramivir 600 mg, and oseltamivir groups, respectively. · The HR for time to alleviation of symptoms for the peramivir 300 mg and 600 mg groups compared to the oseltamivir group were 0.946 (97.5% CI 0.793 to 1.129) and 0.97 (97.5% CI 0.814 to 1.157), respectively. · Both peramivir groups demonstrated noninferiority to oseltamivir (97.5% CI <1.17). · The proportion of patients whose body temperatures returned to normal 24 h after treatment was significantly higher in the peramivir 300 mg and 600 mg groups (59.3%, p=0.0272 and 57.9%, p=0.0326, respectively) than in the oseltamivir group (49.7%). · The median times to resumption of usual activity were 155.7 h, 195.5 h, and 171.3 h in the peramivir 300 mg, peramivir 600 mg, and oseltamivir groups, respectively. · The incidence of influenza-related complications for the peramivir 300 mg group was 1 case (0.3%) of sinusitis, 6 cases (1.6%) of bronchitis, 3 cases (0.8%) of pneumonia; for the peramivir 600 mg group there was 1 case (0.3%) of sinusitis, 1 case (0.3%) of otitis media, 6 cases (1.7%) of bronchitis, and 1 case (0.3%) of pneumonia; for the oseltamivir group there were 4 cases (1.1%) of sinusitis, 6 cases (1.6%) of bronchitis, and 2 cases (0.5%) of pneumonia. · The time-weighted change from baseline in the A/H3N3 infected subpopulation in the peramivir 300 mg was greater than the oseltamivir group (p=0.0386 at day 2 and p=0.0218 at day 3). · The incidence of ADRs (14%, 18.1%, and 20% in the peramivir 300 mg, peramivir 600 mg, and oseltamivir groups, respectively) was significantly lower in the peramivir 300 mg group (p=0.0382) and nonsignificantly lower in the peramivir 600 mg group (p=0.5718) than in the oseltamivir group. · The common ADRs in the 3 treatment groups included diarrhea, nausea and a reduced neutrophil count. Compared to peramivir 600 mg, only nausea was numerically more frequent with oseltamivir. (1.9% vs. 4.4%). · Prolonged QT interval and reduced neutrophil count was observed in the peramivir groups. Doses were administered IV over a period of 15 to 60 min for 1 to 5 days according to the repeated dosing criteria (temperature ≥37.5⁰C or clinical judgment). Use of aceta-minophen was permitted. · The median duration of influenza illness was 68.6 h in all patients (90% CI 41.5 to 113.4) , 114.4 h (90% CI 40.2 to 235.3) in the peramivir 300 mg group, and 42.3 h (90% CI 30 to 82.7) in the peramivir 600 mg group. · 62% of patients received treatment for 2 days and 27% received 1 day treatment. · HR for duration of illness for the 600 mg group compared to 300 mg was 0.497 (90% CI 0.251 to 0.984). · The median duration of influenza illness was 92 h (90% CI 14.6 to 235.3; n=10) in the single dose patients and 64.1 h (90% CI 41.5 to 111.2; n=27) in multiple dose patients. · The median time until body temperature normalized (˂37⁰C) was 40.2 h (90% CI, 34.2 to 53.8) for the total group, 57.1 h (90% CI, 34.2 to 75.1) for the 300 mg group, and 37.6 h (90% CI, 22.3 to 46.8) for the 600 mg group. The time to temperature normalization for the peramivir 600 mg group was also significantly shorter than that for the peramivir 300 mg group (HR 0.375, 90% CI 0.182 to 0.770). · The mean influenza virus titers on day 2 in patients with positive virus titers at the time of enrollment were 1.9±1.88 overall, 2.29±2.52 in the peramivir 300 mg group, and 1.59±1.12 in the peramivir 600 mg group. The titers on day 3 were 1.9±1.88 overall, 2.09±2.42 in the peramivir 300 mg group, and 0.69±0.65 in the peramivir 600 mg group. The titers on day 6 were below the limit of detection (0.5) in both groups. · The proportion of influenza virus-positive patients overall was 71% on day 2 (71.4% peramivir 300 mg, 70.6% peramivir 600 mg) after the start of administration, 31.3% on day 3 (46.7% peramivir 300 mg, 17.6% peramivir 600 mg), and 0% on day 6. · The incidence of influenza-associated complications was 10.8%. The most common influenza-associated complication was pneumonia in 8.1% of patients. · The incidence of ADRs was 33.3%. 11 ADRs occurred in 28.6% of pts in the peramivir 300 mg group and 10 ADRs occurred in 38.1% of pts in the peramivir 600 mg group. · The major events (≥3 instances of either an AE or ADR) were abnormal changes in clinical test values, including increased blood glucose levels and decreased neutrophil counts, in addition to diarrhea, pneumonia, and oral herpes infection. Over 95% of patients had influenza A. The study drug was infused over 30 to 60 min. Use of aceta-minophen was allowed. · The median time to alleviation of symptoms was significantly reduced in the peramivir treatment groups compared to placebo (peramivir 300 mg 59.1 h, 95% CI 50.9 to 72.4; peramivir 600 mg 59.9 h, 95% CI 54.4 to 68.1; placebo 81.8 h, 95% CI 68 to 101.5). The HR of treatment to placebo for the time to alleviation of symptoms was 0.681 (95% CI, 0.511 to 0.909, adjusted p=0.0092) in the 300 mg group and 0.666 (95% CI 0.499 to 0.89, adjusted p=0.0092) in the 600 mg group. · The efficacy of peramivir was apparent as early as 24 h after the start of treatment. · The proportion of afebrile subjects was increased by treatment, and a reduction in fever was evident within 24 h of therapy. · At baseline, the viral titers were similar for all 3 groups; however, on day 3, the proportions of virus-positive subjects were significantly decreased in the 300 mg (36.8%, p=0.0485) and 600 mg (25.8%, p=0.0003) groups compared to placebo (51.5%). · Virus was not detected in most subjects on day 9 (300 mg, 0%; 600 mg, 1.1%; placebo 0%). · Peramivir recipients reported shorter times to resumption of their usual activities (43.6 h and 41.7 h earlier in the 300 mg and 600 mg groups, respectively; 300 mg median duration 125.6 h (95% CI 103.8 to 148.5, p=0.0367), 600 mg 127.4 h (95% CI 122.1 to 153.1], p=0.0152), and placebo 169.1 h [95% CI, 142 to 180]). · Physician-diagnosed secondary complications (pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, and otitis media) occurred in 3 recipients (3%) of 300 mg peramivir (bronchitis), 1 recipient (1%) of 600 mg peramivir (otitis media), and 3 (3%) placebo recipients (bronchitis). · Most AEs were mild to moderate and were GI-related (diarrhea occurred in 14.1%, 15.2%, and 17% and nausea occurred in 3%, 6.1%, and 1% in the 300 mg, 600 mg and placebo groups, respectively). · Severe AEs occurred in 2 subjects (2%) in the 300 mg group (3 – prolonged QT interval, 3 subjects (3%) in the 600 mg group (1 – prolonged QT interval, 1 – increased blood glucose, and 1 – increased blood creatinine), and 5 subjects (5%) in the placebo group (3 – prolonged QT interval, 1 – increased BP, 1 – increased blood glucose). · The other severe AEs were attributed to influenza virus infection or its complications. Abbreviations: AE(s)=adverse event(s); ADR(s)=adverse drug reaction(s); BP=blood pressure; CI=confidence interval; COPD=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DB=double-blind; DD=double-dummy; GI=gastrointestinal; HR=hazard ratio; ICU=intensive care unit; ITTI, intent-to-treat infected; IV=intravenously; MC= multicenter; NI= non-inferiority; PC=placebo controlled; PO=orally; R=randomized; RCT=randomized controlled trial; VAS=visual analog scale. Peramivir is a cyclopentane analogue neuraminidase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the influenza virus neuraminidase enzyme preventing the release of viral particles from infected cells.10 Peramivir is indicated for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated influenza in patients 18 years and older as a 600 mg single dose IV infusion over 15 to 30 minutes within 2 days of symptom onset. Peramivir can be prepared in 0.9% or 0.45% NaCl, 5% dextrose, or lactated ringers (maximum volume of 100 mL) and should be administered immediately or refrigerated for up to 24 hours. The manufacturer does not recommend mixing or co-infusing peramivir with other IV medications. In controlled clinical trials including patients with influenza, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal adverse effects were reported with peramivir, but the incidence was similar to that with placebo.11-19 Neutropenia has occurred in patients receiving peramivir. Serious skin reactions, including erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome, have occurred rarely.10 Neuropsychiatric events, including self-injury and delirium, which can be a complication of influenza illness, have been reported in patients with influenza taking neuraminidase inhibitors, including peramivir. Administration of peramivir within 48 hours before or less than 2 weeks after administration of the intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine (FluMist Quadrivalent®) may reduce the vaccine’s efficacy and should be avoided. Inactivated influenza vaccine can be administered at any time relative to use of peramivir. Influenza virus A and B isolates with neuraminidase amino acid substitutions associated with reduced susceptibility to peramivir and oseltamivir have been recovered in clinical trials.22Neuraminidase inhibition assays have found that some influenza A/H1N1 strains that are resistant to oseltamivir and peramivir remain susceptible to zanamivir. Neuraminidase inhibitors are currently the drugs of choice for treatment of patients with influenza and are most effective when started within 48 hours of symptoms onset.4,6Currently, none of the neuraminidase inhibitors is approved for use in hospitalized or critically ill patients. Although approved by the FDA only for treatment of uncomplicated influenza in outpatients, the off-label use of peramivir, an IV drug, to treat hospitalized patients may be needed. Given the high mortality among the critically ill, the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC recommend that all critically ill patients receive oseltamivir orally or via nasogastric tube. In patients unable to take oseltamavir, IV peramivir or investigational IV zanamivir should be considered. Peramivir is the first neuraminidase inhibitor to be FDA-approved for IV administration and shows efficacy for the treatment of seasonal and pH1N1 influenza. Peramivir has demonstrated non-inferior efficacy to oral oseltamivir for treatment of adults with uncomplicated influenza. Additionally, efficacy and safety in children has been suggested in small, uncontrolled trials. The availability of an IV antiviral influenza agent is promising and its efficacy in hospitalized, critically ill adults and children remains to be established. 1. Zhou H, Thompson WW, Viboud CG et al. Hospitalizations associated with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in the United States, 1993-2008. Clin Infect Dis. 2012;54(10):1427-1436. 2. Thompson WW, Weintraub E, Dhakher P et al. Estimated of US influenza-associated deaths made using four different methods. Influenza Other Respi Viruses. 2009;3(1):37-49. 3. Ortiz JR, Neuzil KM, Shay DK et al. The burden of influenza-associated critical illness hospitalizations. Crit Care Med. 2014;42(11):2325-2332. 4. World Health Organization. Influenza (Seasonal). http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs211/en/. Updated March 2014. Accessed January 30, 2015. 5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Types of influenza viruses. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/viruses/types.htm. Updated August 19, 2014. Accessed February 19, 2015. 6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza antiviral medications: summary for clinicians. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/antivirals/summary-clinicians.htm. Updated January 9, 2015. Accessed January 30, 2015. 7. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. Recommendations for prevention and control of influenza in children, 2013-2014. Pediatrics. 2013;132(4):e1089-e1104. 8. Tamiflu [package insert]. San Francisco, CA: Genetech, Inc.; 2014. 9. Relenza [package insert]. Research Triangle Park, NC: GlaxoSmithKline; 2013. 10. Rapivab [package insert]. Durham, NC: BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; 2014. 11. de Jong MD, Ison MG, Monto AS, et al. Evaluation of intravenous peramivir for treatment of influenza in hospitalized patients. Clin Infect Dis. 2014;59(12):e172-e185. 12. Ison MG, Hui DS, Clezy K et al. A clinical trial of intravenous peramivir compared with oral oseltamivir for the treatment of seasonal influenza in hospitalized adults. Antivir Ther. 2013;18(5):651-661. 13. Kohno S, Yen MY, Cheong HJ et al. Phase III randomized, double-blind study comparing single-dose intravenous peramivir with oral oseltamivir in patients with seasonal influenza virus infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2011;55(11):5267-5276. 14. Kohno S, Kida H, Mizuguchi M et al. Intravenous peramivir for treatment of influenza A and B virus infection in high-risk patients. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2011;55(6):2803-2812. 15. Kohno S, Kida H, Mizuguchi M et al. Efficacy and safety of intravenous peramivir for treatment of seasonal influenza virus infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2010;54(11):4568-4574. 16. Komeda T, Ishii S, Itoh Y, et al. Post-marketing safety and effectiveness evaluation of the intravenous anti-influenza neuraminidase inhibitor peramivir (I): a drug use investigation. 17. Sugaya N, Kohno S, Ishibashi T et al. Efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of intravenous peramivir in children with 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus infection.Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2012;56(1):369-377. 18. Hikita T, Hikita H, Hikita F, et al. Clinical effectiveness of peramivir in comparison with other neuraminidase inhibitors in pediatric influenza patients.Int J Pediatr. 2012;2012:834181. doi: 10.1155/2012/834181. 19. Komeda T, Ishii S, Itoh Y, et al. Post-marketing safety and effectiveness evaluation of the intravenous anti-influenza neuraminidase inhibitor peramivir (II): A pediatric drug use investigation.J Infect Chemother. 2015;21(3):194-201. 20. Thomas B, Hollister AS, Muczynski KA. Peramivir clearance in continuous renal replacement therapy. Hemodial Int. 2010;14(3):339-340. 21. Scheetz MH, Griffith MM, Ghossein C et al. Pharmacokinetic assessment of peramivir in a hospitalized adult undergoing continuous venovenous hemofiltration. Ann Pharmacother. 2011;45(12):e64. 22. Nguyen HT, Sheu TG, Mishin VP et al. Assessment of pandemic and seasonal influenza A (H1N1) virus susceptibility to neuraminidase inhibitors in three enzyme activity inhibition assays. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2010:54(9):3671-3677. In recent years, several new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various disease states including stroke prophylaxis in atrial fibrillation (AF), venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in major orthopedic surgery, and treatment and prevention of VTE.1-4 The efficacy and safety of these agents, and their therapeutic advantages compared to warfarin, have garnered interest among clinicians. However, there is little clinical experience with these medications in special populations. This article summarizes the available published evidence for apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban, and rivaroxaban in the following populations: hepatic impairment, obesity, pregnancy, lactation, and pediatrics. The liver plays only a minor role in the metabolism and elimination of all NOACs.1-4 Apixaban undergoes some cytochrome (CYP)-mediated elimination via 1A2, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19, and 2J2 enzymes and rivaroxaban is oxidatively metabolized by CYP 3A4/5 and 2J2.1,4 Dabigatran and edoxaban are not metabolized in the liver and undergo primarily renal elimination.2,3Although their pharmacokinetic properties do not make it likely that use in patients with hepatic impairment would lead to any major safety concerns, data supporting their safe use in this population is limited.5 In particular, patients with cirrhosis and/or impaired hepatic production of coagulation factors, or those with hepatorenal syndrome, may be at an increased risk of bleeding. Recently, some data has been published regarding the use of NOACs in patients with cirrhosis. An in vitro study found that plasma from 14 patients with cirrhosis (n=9 Child-Pugh Class B, n=5 Child-Pugh Class C) demonstrated decreased total (51% and 55%) and mean (32% and 30%) thrombin generation in comparison to 11 control patients, after apixaban 25 ng/mL or 50 ng/mL, respectively, was added to each sample.6 This study suggests that patients with cirrhosis may be at increased risk of bleeding with apixaban use, and potentially other NOACs. However, 2 recent case reports/series describe effective use of apixaban and rivaroxaban in patients with cirrhosis for the treatment of portal vein thrombosis (PVT), without any bleeding complications. 7,8 In the first case, a 50 year-old male with Child-Pugh Class A cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, esophageal varices, and PVT received heparin followed by transition to rivaroxaban 20 mg daily.7 Baseline serum creatinine was normal (0.6 mg/dL) and the international normalized ratio was 1.1. The thrombus had completely resolved by 6 months of follow-up and the patient did not report any bleeding complications. The second article was a case series (n=5) of patients with Child-Pugh Class A cirrhosis who received either apixaban 2.5 mg twice daily or rivaroxaban 10 to 20 mg daily for treatment of PVT.8 During follow-up (durations ranging from 1 to 7 months), the authors reported that therapy was well-tolerated and no patients experienced bleeding complications. These promising results now need to be confirmed in larger, prospective settings before widespread use of NOACs in patients with cirrhosis can be recommended. A Phase I pharmacokinetic study with apixaban included 18 healthy subjects with mean body weight 137 kg (range 120 to 175 kg) and mean body mass index (BMI) ≥ 42.6 kg/m2 (range 32 to 54 kg/m2).14 Following a single dose of apixaban 10 mg, the mean apixaban maximum concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC) were 31% and 23% lower, respectively, compared to subjects with more normal body weight (65 to 85 kg). The apparent volume of distribution was 24% larger and the half-life was 3 hours shorter in obese subjects compared to subjects with normal body weight. There was a trend toward lower plasma anti-factor Xa activity with increasing body weight. Overall, the authors concluded that the differences in apixaban exposure with obesity were modest and not likely to be clinically significant; therefore, no dose adjustment based on body weight was recommended. Two published reports describe use of dabigatran in obese patients.15,16 The first article is a post-hoc pooled analysis of dabigatran 220 mg daily in 896 patients with BMI >30 kg/m2 for the prevention of VTE following major orthopedic surgery.16 Data were obtained from 3 major clinical trials (RE-MODEL, RE-NOVATE, and RE-NOVATE II).21-23 Among all patients who received dabigatran in these trials, 22.6% had BMI >30 to 35 kg/m2, 6.9% had BMI >35 to 40 kg/m2, and 2% had BMI >40 kg/m2. The composite primary endpoint of major VTE and VTE-related mortality occurred at a similar rate in obese and non-obese patients (2.7% vs 2.1%). Obese patients also had a similar rate of the primary endpoint compared to patients who received enoxaparin 40 mg daily (2.9%, p=0.797). There were no differences in bleeding between groups. The 220 mg dose cannot be achieved with the dabigatran formulations currently available in the US (75 and 150 mg capsules), but these results do provide some reassurance regarding the safety and efficacy of dabigatran in obese patients. The other published report with dabigatran is a case report describing an acute ischemic stroke in a 48 year-old obese patient (153 kg, BMI 44.7 kg/m2) who had been taking dabigatran 150 mg twice daily for the prior 4 weeks for paroxysmal AF with purportedly good compliance.15 The dabigatran plasma level at presentation (patient-reported 9 hours after the most recent dose), as assessed by the Hemoclot thrombin inhibitor assay, was undetectable. Dabigatran therapy was continued following thrombolysis and plasma level monitoring demonstrated a peak plasma level of 50 ng/mL 4 hours post-dose at steady state. The authors report that this peak level was less than the 25th percentile of the therapeutic trough level. In response to the potentially sub-therapeutic dabigatran dose, therapy was switched to a coumarin anticoagulant. Further prospective data regarding the efficacy of dabigatran in patients with obesity are needed. Among the NOACs, rivaroxaban has the largest number of published reports describing its use in obese patients.17,18,20 Similar to the apixaban study described previously, a single-center, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of rivaroxaban in healthy subjects.17 A total of 12 obese subjects (mean weight 132.2 kg, mean BMI 43.5 kg/m2 ) received a single 10 mg dose of rivaroxaban. There were no differences in Cmax, AUC, time to maximum concentration (tmax) or half-life between obese and non-obese subjects. Pharmacokinetic data for rivaroxaban were also published in a case report of a 67 year-old obese patient with acute ischemic stroke due to previously undiagnosed nonvalvular AF.20 Ten days after the stroke, the patient was started on dabigatran 150 mg twice daily. Hemoclot assay results after 1 week of therapy indicated that the patient did not reach the interquartile range for Cmax and most readings were below the interquartile range of trough concentration (Ctrough). In response, the patient was switched to rivaroxaban 20 mg daily; DiXal direct factor Xa inhibitor assay peak and trough results suggested effective anticoagulation. In summary, apixaban and rivaroxaban have fairly predictable pharmacokinetic profiles in obese patients but no data are available regarding therapeutic efficacy in this population. Dabigatran does have some clinical outcome data in obese patients but the case reports suggesting lack of efficacy are concerning. No conclusion can be made regarding edoxaban since published data in obese patients is lacking. There is limited information regarding the safe use of NOACs in pregnant patients. Apixaban is FDA pregnancy category B, while dabigatran, edoxaban, and rivaroxaban are pregnancy category C. 1-4 The product labeling for rivaroxaban contains a warning regarding the risk of pregnancy-related hemorrhage but this seems to be a general risk of all anticoagulants rather than a specific risk of rivaroxaban.4 Rivaroxaban is the only agent with a published case report of its use in pregnancy.24 A 24 year-old woman with a history of recurrent VTE, including upper and lower extremities and pulmonary embolism, received rivaroxaban 15 mg daily for 19 weeks until her pregnancy was discovered. Rivaroxaban was switched to enoxaparin for the remainder of the pregnancy. The baby was born spontaneously at 40 weeks gestation without complication, and no abnormalities were observed on any routine physical examinations or screenings up to 13 weeks of age. Although there are no clinical data in pregnancy with dabigatran, an in vitro pharmacokinetic placental transfer study observed a fetal/maternal ratio of 0.33 for dabigatran and 0.17 for the dabigatran etexilate mesylate prodrug after 3 hours, suggesting limited transfer of the prodrug across the placenta.25 The study authors recommended that dabigatran crosses the placenta to some extent and should not be used in pregnant women due to the risk of fetal coagulation abnormalities with in utero exposure. The manufacturers of all NOACs state that it is unknown whether these agents are excreted in human milk.1-4 The apixaban manufacturer refers to 12% excretion of the maternal dose in the milk of lactating rats, but it is unclear whether this can be extrapolated to humans.1 No published reports of NOAC use in lactating patients were found. Clinical experience with NOACs is fairly limited in special populations, including liver impairment, obesity, pregnancy, lactation, and pediatrics. Clinicians are urged to limit their use of these agents to clinical situations with published data supporting their efficacy and safety, which may include specific situations in special populations. 1. Eliquis [package insert]. Princeton, NJ: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; 2014. 2. Savaysa [package insert]. Parsippany, NJ: Daiichi Sankyo, Inc; 2015. 3. Pradaxa [package insert]. Ridgefield, CT: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc; 2014. 4. Xarelto [package insert]. Titusville, NJ: Janssen Pharmacueticals, Inc; 2014. 5. Graff J, Harder S. Anticoagulant therapy with the oral direct factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban and the thrombin inhibitor dabigatran etexilate in patients with hepatic impairment. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2013;52(4):243-254. 6. Potze W, Adelmeijer J, Lisman T. Decreased in vitro anticoagulant potency of rivaroxaban and apixaban in plasma from patients with cirrhosis. Hepatology. 2014. doi: 10.1002/hep.27350. 7. Martinez M, Tandra A, Vuppalanchi R. Treatment of acute portal vein thrombosis by nontraditional anticoagulation. Hepatology. 2014;60(1):425-426. 8. Intagliata NM, Maitland H, Northup PG, Caldwell SH. Treating thrombosis in cirrhosis patients with new oral agents: ready or not? Hepatology. 2015;61(2):738-739. 9. Caldeira D, Barra M, Santos AT, et al. Risk of drug-induced liver injury with the new oral anticoagulants: systematic review and meta-analysis. Heart. 2014;100(7):550-556. 10. Rochwerg B, Xenodemetropoulos T, Crowther M, Spyropoulos A. Dabigatran-induced acute hepatitis. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2012;18(5):549-550. 12. Russmann S, Niedrig DF, Budmiger M, et al. Rivaroxaban postmarketing risk of liver injury. J Hepatol. 2014;61(2):293-300. 13. Liakoni E, Ratz Bravo AE, Terracciano L, Heim M, Krahenbuhl S. Symptomatic hepatocellular liver injury with hyperbilirubinemia in two patients treated with rivaroxaban.JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(10):1683-1686. 14. Upreti VV, Wang J, Barrett YC, et al. Effect of extremes of body weight on the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety and tolerability of apixaban in healthy subjects.Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2013;76(6):908-916. 15. Breuer L, Ringwald J, Schwab S, Kohrmann M. Ischemic stroke in an obese patient receiving dabigatran. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(25):2440-2442. 16. Eriksson BI, Dahl OE, Feuring M, et al. Dabigatran is effective with a favourable safety profile in normal and overweight patients undergoing major orthopaedic surgery: a pooled analysis. Thromb Res. 2012;130(5):818-820. 17. Kubitza D, Becka M, Zuehlsdorf M, Mueck W. Body weight has limited influence on the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, or pharmacodynamics of rivaroxaban (BAY 59-7939) in healthy subjects. J Clin Pharmacol. 2007;47(2):218-226. 18. Mahlmann A, Gehrisch S, Beyer-Westendorf J. Pharmacokinetics of rivaroxaban after bariatric surgery: a case report. J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2013;36(4):533-535. 19. Thomas Z, Bareket Y, Bennett W. Rivaroxaban use following bariatric surgery. J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2014;38(1):90-91. 20. Safouris A, Demulder A, Triantafyllou N, Tsivgoulis G. Rivaroxaban presents a better pharmacokinetic profile than dabigatran in an obese non-diabetic stroke patient. J Neurol Sci.2014;346(1-2):366-367. 21. Eriksson BI, Dahl OE, Rosencher N, et al. Dabigatran etexilate versus enoxaparin for prevention of venous thromboembolism after total hip replacement: a randomised, double-blind, non-inferiority trial. Lancet. 2007;370(9591):949-956. 22. Eriksson BI, Dahl OE, Rosencher N, et al. Oral dabigatran etexilate vs. subcutaneous enoxaparin for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after total knee replacement: the RE-MODEL randomized trial. J Thromb Haemost. 2007;5(11):2178-2185. 23. Eriksson BI, Dahl OE, Huo MH, et al. Oral dabigatran versus enoxaparin for thromboprophylaxis after primary total hip arthroplasty (RE-NOVATE II). A randomised, double-blind, non-inferiority trial. Thromb Haemost. 2011;105(4):721-729. 24. Konigsbrugge O, Langer M, Hayde M, Ay C, Pabinger I. Oral anticoagulation with rivaroxaban during pregnancy: a case report. Thromb Haemost. 2014;112(6):1323-1324. 25. Bapat P, Kedar R, Lubetsky A, et al. Transfer of dabigatran and dabigatran etexilate mesylate across the dually perfused human placenta. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;123(6):1256-1261. 26. Beyer-Westendorf J, Gehrisch S. Phamacokinetics of rivaroxaban in adolescents.Hamostaseologie. 2014;34(1):85-87. 27. Martinelli I, Bucciarelli P, Artoni A, et al. Anticoagulant treatment with rivaroxaban in severe protein S deficiency. Pediatrics. 2013;132(5):e1435-1439. 28. US National Institutes of Health. Clinicaltrials.gov website. https://clinicaltrials.gov/. Accessed February 13, 2015.

2019-04-25T09:58:21Z

https://pharmacy.uic.edu/departments/pharmacy-practice/centers-and-sections/drug-information-group/2014/2015-faqs/march-2015-faqs

1Center for Data Science, New York University, 726 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, USA. 2Department of Computer Science and Department of Statistics, University of Toronto, 6 King's College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G4, Canada. 3Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Center for Data Science, New York University, 726 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, USA. Department of Computer Science and Department of Statistics, University of Toronto, 6 King's College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G4, Canada. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Not only do children learn effortlessly, they do so quickly and with a remarkable ability to use what they have learned as the raw material for creating new stuff. Lake et al. describe a computational model that learns in a similar fashion and does so better than current deep learning algorithms. The model classifies, parses, and recreates handwritten characters, and can generate new letters of the alphabet that look “right” as judged by Turing-like tests of the model's output in comparison to what real humans produce. Despite remarkable advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, two aspects of human conceptual knowledge have eluded machine systems. First, for most interesting kinds of natural and man-made categories, people can learn a new concept from just one or a handful of examples, whereas standard algorithms in machine learning require tens or hundreds of examples to perform similarly. For instance, people may only need to see one example of a novel two-wheeled vehicle (Fig. 1A) in order to grasp the boundaries of the new concept, and even children can make meaningful generalizations via “one-shot learning” (1–3). In contrast, many of the leading approaches in machine learning are also the most data-hungry, especially “deep learning” models that have achieved new levels of performance on object and speech recognition benchmarks (4–9). Second, people learn richer representations than machines do, even for simple concepts (Fig. 1B), using them for a wider range of functions, including (Fig. 1, ii) creating new exemplars (10), (Fig. 1, iii) parsing objects into parts and relations (11), and (Fig. 1, iv) creating new abstract categories of objects based on existing categories (12, 13). In contrast, the best machine classifiers do not perform these additional functions, which are rarely studied and usually require specialized algorithms. A central challenge is to explain these two aspects of human-level concept learning: How do people learn new concepts from just one or a few examples? And how do people learn such abstract, rich, and flexible representations? An even greater challenge arises when putting them together: How can learning succeed from such sparse data yet also produce such rich representations? For any theory of learning (4, 14–16), fitting a more complicated model requires more data, not less, in order to achieve some measure of good generalization, usually the difference in performance between new and old examples. Nonetheless, people seem to navigate this trade-off with remarkable agility, learning rich concepts that generalize well from sparse data. Fig. 1 People can learn rich concepts from limited data. This paper introduces the Bayesian program learning (BPL) framework, capable of learning a large class of visual concepts from just a single example and generalizing in ways that are mostly indistinguishable from people. Concepts are represented as simple probabilistic programs— that is, probabilistic generative models expressed as structured procedures in an abstract description language (17, 18). Our framework brings together three key ideas—compositionality, causality, and learning to learn—that have been separately influential in cognitive science and machine learning over the past several decades (19–22). As programs, rich concepts can be built “compositionally” from simpler primitives. Their probabilistic semantics handle noise and support creative generalizations in a procedural form that (unlike other probabilistic models) naturally captures the abstract “causal” structure of the real-world processes that produce examples of a category. Learning proceeds by constructing programs that best explain the observations under a Bayesian criterion, and the model “learns to learn” (23, 24) by developing hierarchical priors that allow previous experience with related concepts to ease learning of new concepts (25, 26). These priors represent a learned inductive bias (27) that abstracts the key regularities and dimensions of variation holding across both types of concepts and across instances (or tokens) of a concept in a given domain. In short, BPL can construct new programs by reusing the pieces of existing ones, capturing the causal and compositional properties of real-world generative processes operating on multiple scales. In addition to developing the approach sketched above, we directly compared people, BPL, and other computational approaches on a set of five challenging concept learning tasks (Fig. 1B). The tasks use simple visual concepts from Omniglot, a data set we collected of multiple examples of 1623 handwritten characters from 50 writing systems (Fig. 2)(see acknowledgments). Both images and pen strokes were collected (see below) as detailed in section S1 of the online supplementary materials. Handwritten characters are well suited for comparing human and machine learning on a relatively even footing: They are both cognitively natural and often used as a benchmark for comparing learning algorithms. Whereas machine learning algorithms are typically evaluated after hundreds or thousands of training examples per class (5), we evaluated the tasks of classification, parsing (Fig. 1B, iii), and generation (Fig. 1B, ii) of new examples in their most challenging form: after just one example of a new concept. We also investigated more creative tasks that asked people and computational models to generate new concepts (Fig. 1B, iv). BPL was compared with three deep learning models, a classic pattern recognition algorithm, and various lesioned versions of the model—a breadth of comparisons that serve to isolate the role of each modeling ingredient (see section S4 for descriptions of alternative models). We compare with two varieties of deep convolutional networks (28), representative of the current leading approaches to object recognition (7), and a hierarchical deep (HD) model (29), a probabilistic model needed for our more generative tasks and specialized for one-shot learning. Fig. 2 Simple visual concepts for comparing human and machine learning. 525 (out of 1623) character concepts, shown with one example each. Fig. 3 A generative model of handwritten characters. (A) New types are generated by choosing primitive actions (color coded) from a library (i), combining these subparts (ii) to make parts (iii), and combining parts with relations to define simple programs (iv). New tokens are generated by running these programs (v), which are then rendered as raw data (vi). (B) Pseudocode for generating new types ψ and new token images I (m) for m = 1, ..., M. The function f (·, ·) transforms a subpart sequence and start location into a trajectory. The generative process for types P(ψ) and tokens P(θ(m)|ψ) are described by the pseudocode in Fig. 3B and detailed along with the image model P(I(m)|θ(m)) in section S2. Source code is available online (see acknowledgments). The model learns to learn by fitting each conditional distribution to a background set of characters from 30 alphabets, using both the image and the stroke data, and this image set was also used to pretrain the alternative deep learning models. Neither the production data nor any alphabets from this set are used in the subsequent evaluation tasks, which provide the models with only raw images of novel characters. Handwritten character types ψ are an abstract schema of parts, subparts, and relations. Reflecting the causal structure of the handwriting process, character parts Si are strokes initiated by pressing the pen down and terminated by lifting it up (Fig. 3A, iii), and subparts si1, ..., sini are more primitive movements separated by brief pauses of the pen (Fig. 3A, ii). To construct a new character type, first the model samples the number of parts κ and the number of subparts ni, for each part i = 1, ..., κ, from their empirical distributions as measured from the background set. Second, a template for a part Si is constructed by sampling subparts from a set of discrete primitive actions learned from the background set (Fig. 3A, i), such that the probability of the next action depends on the previous. Third, parts are then grounded as parameterized curves (splines) by sampling the control points and scale parameters for each subpart. Last, parts are roughly positioned to begin either independently, at the beginning, at the end, or along previous parts, as defined by relation Ri (Fig. 3A, iv). Character tokens θ(m) are produced by executing the parts and the relations and modeling how ink flows from the pen to the page. First, motor noise is added to the control points and the scale of the subparts to create token-level stroke trajectories S(m). Second, the trajectory’s precise start location L(m) is sampled from the schematic provided by its relation Ri to previous strokes. Third, global transformations are sampled, including an affine warp A(m) and adaptive noise parameters that ease probabilistic inference (30). Last, a binary image I(m) is created by a stochastic rendering function, lining the stroke trajectories with grayscale ink and interpreting the pixel values as independent Bernoulli probabilities. Posterior inference requires searching the large combinatorial space of programs that could have generated a raw image I(m). Our strategy uses fast bottom-up methods (31) to propose a range of candidate parses. The most promising candidates are refined by using continuous optimization and local search, forming a discrete approximation to the posterior distribution P(ψ, θ(m)|I(m)) (section S3). Figure 4A shows the set of discovered programs for a training image I(1) and how they are refit to different test images I(2) to compute a classification score log P(I(2)|I(1)) (the log posterior predictive probability), where higher scores indicate that they are more likely to belong to the same class. A high score is achieved when at least one set of parts and relations can successfully explain both the training and the test images, without violating the soft constraints of the learned within-class variability model. Figure 4B compares the model’s best-scoring parses with the ground-truth human parses for several characters. Fig. 4 Inferring motor programs from images. Parts are distinguished by color, with a colored dot indicating the beginning of a stroke and an arrowhead indicating the end. (A) The top row shows the five best programs discovered for an image along with their log-probability scores (Eq. 1). Subpart breaks are shown as black dots. For classification, each program was refit to three new test images (left in image triplets), and the best-fitting parse (top right) is shown with its image reconstruction (bottom right) and classification score (log posterior predictive probability). The correctly matching test item receives a much higher classification score and is also more cleanly reconstructed by the best programs induced from the training item. (B) Nine human drawings of three characters (left) are shown with their ground truth parses (middle) and best model parses (right). People, BPL, and alternative models were compared side by side on five concept learning tasks that examine different forms of generalization from just one or a few examples (example task Fig. 5). All behavioral experiments were run through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, and the experimental procedures are detailed in section S5. The main results are summarized by Fig. 6, and additional lesion analyses and controls are reported in section S6. Fig. 5 Generating new exemplars. Humans and machines were given an image of a novel character (top) and asked to produce new exemplars. The nine-character grids in each pair that were generated by a machine are (by row) 1, 2; 2, 1; 1, 1. Fig. 6 Human and machine performance was compared on (A) one-shot classification and (B) four generative tasks. The creative outputs for humans and models were compared by the percent of human judges to correctly identify the machine. Ideal performance is 50%, where the machine is perfectly confusable with humans in these two-alternative forced choice tasks (pink dotted line). Bars show the mean ± SEM [N = 10 alphabets in (A)]. The no learning-to-learn lesion is applied at different levels (bars left to right): (A) token; (B) token, stroke order, type, and type. One-shot classification was evaluated through a series of within-alphabet classification tasks for 10 different alphabets. As illustrated in Fig. 1B, i, a single image of a new character was presented, and participants selected another example of that same character from a set of 20 distinct characters produced by a typical drawer of that alphabet. Performance is shown in Fig. 6A, where chance is 95% errors. As a baseline, the modified Hausdorff distance (32) was computed between centered images, producing 38.8% errors. People were skilled one-shot learners, achieving an average error rate of 4.5% (N = 40). BPL showed a similar error rate of 3.3%, achieving better performance than a deep convolutional network (convnet; 13.5% errors) and the HD model (34.8%)—each adapted from deep learning methods that have performed well on a range of computer vision tasks. A deep Siamese convolutional network optimized for this one-shot learning task achieved 8.0% errors (33), still about twice as high as humans or our model. BPL’s advantage points to the benefits of modeling the underlying causal process in learning concepts, a strategy different from the particular deep learning approaches examined here. BPL’s other key ingredients also make positive contributions, as shown by higher error rates for BPL lesions without learning to learn (token-level only) or compositionality (11.0% errors and 14.0%, respectively). Learning to learn was studied separately at the type and token level by disrupting the learned hyperparameters of the generative model. Compositionality was evaluated by comparing BPL to a matched model that allowed just one spline-based stroke, resembling earlier analysis-by-synthesis models for handwritten characters that were similarly limited (34, 35). The human capacity for one-shot learning is more than just classification. It can include a suite of abilities, such as generating new examples of a concept. We compared the creative outputs produced by humans and machines through “visual Turing tests,” where naive human judges tried to identify the machine, given paired examples of human and machine behavior. In our most basic task, judges compared the drawings from nine humans asked to produce a new instance of a concept given one example with nine new examples drawn by BPL (Fig. 5). We evaluated each model based on the accuracy of the judges, which we call their identification (ID) level: Ideal model performance is 50% ID level, indicating that they cannot distinguish the model’s behavior from humans; worst-case performance is 100%. Each judge (N = 147) completed 49 trials with blocked feedback, and judges were analyzed individually and in aggregate. The results are shown in Fig. 6B (new exemplars). Judges had only a 52% ID level on average for discriminating human versus BPL behavior. As a group, this performance was barely better than chance [t(47) = 2.03, P = 0.048], and only 3 of 48 judges had an ID level reliably above chance. Three lesioned models were evaluated by different groups of judges in separate conditions of the visual Turing test, examining the necessity of key model ingredients in BPL. Two lesions, learning to learn (token-level only) and compositionality, resulted in significantly easier Turing test tasks (80% ID level with 17 of 19 judges above chance and 65% with 14 of 26, respectively), indicating that this task is a nontrivial one to pass and that these two principles each contribute to BPL’s human-like generative proficiency. To evaluate parsing more directly (Fig. 4B), we ran a dynamic version of this task with a different set of judges (N = 143), where each trial showed paired movies of a person and BPL drawing the same character. BPL performance on this visual Turing test was not perfect (59% average ID level; new exemplars (dynamic) in Fig. 6B), although randomizing the learned prior on stroke order and direction significantly raises the ID level (71%), showing the importance of capturing the right causal dynamics for BPL. Although learning to learn new characters from 30 background alphabets proved effective, many human learners will have much less experience: perhaps familiarity with only one or a few alphabets, along with related drawing tasks. To see how the models perform with more limited experience, we retrained several of them by using two different subsets of only five background alphabets. BPL achieved similar performance for one-shot classification as with 30 alphabets (4.3% and 4.0% errors, for the two sets, respectively); in contrast, the deep convolutional net performed notably worse than before (24.0% and 22.3% errors). BPL performance on a visual Turing test of exemplar generation (N = 59) was also similar on the first set [52% average ID level that was not significantly different from chance t (26) = 1.04, P > 0.05], with only 3 of 27 judges reliably above chance, although performance on the second set was slightly worse [57% ID level; t (31) = 4.35, P < 0.001; 7 of 32 judges reliably above chance]. These results suggest that although learning to learn is important for BPL’s success, the model’s structure allows it to take nearly full advantage of comparatively limited background training. The human productive capacity goes beyond generating new examples of a given concept: People can also generate whole new concepts. We tested this by showing a few example characters from 1 of 10 foreign alphabets and asking participants to quickly create a new character that appears to belong to the same alphabet (Fig. 7A). The BPL model can capture this behavior by placing a nonparametric prior on the type level, which favors reusing strokes inferred from the example characters to produce stylistically consistent new characters (section S7). Human judges compared people versus BPL in a visual Turing test (N = 117), viewing a series of displays in the format of Fig. 7A, i and iii. The judges had only a 49% ID level on average [Fig. 6B, new concepts (from type)], which is not significantly different from chance [t(34) = 0.45, P > 0.05]. Individually, only 8 of 35 judges had an ID level significantly above chance. In contrast, a model with a lesion to (type-level) learning to learn was successfully detected by judges on 69% of trials in a separate condition of the visual Turing test, and was significantly easier to detect than BPL (18 of 25 judges above chance). Further comparisons in section S6 suggested that the model’s ability to produce plausible novel characters, rather than stylistic consistency per se, was the crucial factor for passing this test. We also found greater variation in individual judges’ comparisons of people and the BPL model on this task, as reflected in their ID levels: 10 of 35 judges had individual ID levels significantly below chance; in contrast, only two participants had below-chance ID levels for BPL across all the other experiments shown in Fig. 6B. Fig. 7 Generating new concepts. (A) Humans and machines were given a novel alphabet (i) and asked to produce new characters for that alphabet. New machine-generated characters are shown in (ii). Human and machine productions can be compared in (iii). The four-character grids in each pair that were generated by the machine are (by row) 1, 1, 2; 1, 2. (B) Humans and machines produced new characters without a reference alphabet. The grids that were generated by a machine are 2; 1; 1; 2. Last, judges (N = 124) compared people and models on an entirely free-form task of generating novel character concepts, unconstrained by a particular alphabet (Fig. 7B). Sampling from the prior distribution on character types P(ψ) in BPL led to an average ID level of 57% correct in a visual Turing test (11 of 32 judges above chance); with the nonparametric prior that reuses inferred parts from background characters, BPL achieved a 51% ID level [Fig. 7B and new concepts (unconstrained) in Fig. 6B; ID level not significantly different from chance t(24) = 0.497, P > 0.05; 2 of 25 judges above chance]. A lesion analysis revealed that both compositionality (68% and 15 of 22) and learning to learn (64% and 22 of 45) were crucial in passing this test. Despite a changing artificial intelligence landscape, people remain far better than machines at learning new concepts: They require fewer examples and use their concepts in richer ways. Our work suggests that the principles of compositionality, causality, and learning to learn will be critical in building machines that narrow this gap. Machine learning and computer vision researchers are beginning to explore methods based on simple program induction (36–41), and our results show that this approach can perform one-shot learning in classification tasks at human-level accuracy and fool most judges in visual Turing tests of its more creative abilities. For each visual Turing test, fewer than 25% of judges performed significantly better than chance. Although successful on these tasks, BPL still sees less structure in visual concepts than people do. It lacks explicit knowledge of parallel lines, symmetry, optional elements such as cross bars in “7”s, and connections between the ends of strokes and other strokes. Moreover, people use their concepts for other abilities that were not studied here, including planning (42), explanation (43), communication (44), and conceptual combination (45). Probabilistic programs could capture these richer aspects of concept learning and use, but only with more abstract and complex structure than the programs studied here. More-sophisticated programs could also be suitable for learning compositional, causal representations of many concepts beyond simple perceptual categories. Examples include concepts for physical artifacts, such as tools, vehicles, or furniture, that are well described by parts, relations, and the functions these structures support; fractal structures, such as rivers and trees, where complexity arises from highly iterated but simple generative processes; and even abstract knowledge, such as natural number, natural language semantics, and intuitive physical theories (17, 46–48). Capturing how people learn all these concepts at the level we reached with handwritten characters is a long-term goal. In the near term, applying our approach to other types of symbolic concepts may be particularly promising. Human cultures produce many such symbol systems, including gestures, dance moves, and the words of spoken and signed languages. As with characters, these concepts can be learned to some extent from one or a few examples, even before the symbolic meaning is clear: Consider seeing a “thumbs up,” “fist bump,” or “high five” or hearing the names “Boutros Boutros-Ghali,” “Kofi Annan,” or “Ban Ki-moon” for the first time. From this limited experience, people can typically recognize new examples and even produce a recognizable semblance of the concept themselves. The BPL principles of compositionality, causality, and learning to learn may help to explain how. To illustrate how BPL applies in the domain of speech, programs for spoken words could be constructed by composing phonemes (subparts) systematically to form syllables (parts), which compose further to form morphemes and entire words. Given an abstract syllable-phoneme parse of a word, realistic speech tokens can be generated from a causal model that captures aspects of speech motor articulation. These part and subpart components are shared across the words in a language, enabling children to acquire them through a long-term learning-to-learn process. We have already found that a prototype model exploiting compositionality and learning to learn, but not causality, is able to capture some aspects of the human ability to learn and generalize new spoken words (e.g., English speakers learning words in Japanese) (49). Further progress may come from adopting a richer causal model of speech generation, in the spirit of classic “analysis-by-synthesis” proposals for speech perception and language comprehension (20, 50). Although our work focused on adult learners, it raises natural developmental questions. If children learning to write acquire an inductive bias similar to what BPL constructs, the model could help explain why children find some characters difficult and which teaching procedures are most effective (51). Comparing children’s parsing and generalization behavior at different stages of learning and BPL models given varying background experience could better evaluate the model’s learning-to-learn mechanisms and suggest improvements. By testing our classification tasks on infants who categorize visually before they begin drawing or scribbling (52), we can ask whether children learn to perceive characters more causally and compositionally based on their own proto-writing experience. Causal representations are prewired in our current BPL models, but they could conceivably be constructed through learning to learn at an even deeper level of model hierarchy (53). Last, we hope that our work may shed light on the neural representations of concepts and the development of more neurally grounded learning models. Supplementing feedforward visual processing (54), previous behavioral studies and our results suggest that people learn new handwritten characters in part by inferring abstract motor programs (55), a representation grounded in production yet active in purely perceptual tasks, independent of specific motor articulators and potentially driven by activity in premotor cortex (56–58). Could we decode representations structurally similar to those in BPL from brain imaging of premotor cortex (or other action-oriented regions) in humans perceiving and classifying new characters for the first time? 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Acknowledgments: This work was supported by a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to B.M.L.; the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines funded by NSF Science and Technology Center award CCF-1231216; Army Research Office and Office of Naval Research contracts W911NF-08-1-0242, W911NF-13-1-2012, and N000141310333; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; and the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environment at NYU. We thank J. McClelland, T. Poggio and L. Schulz for many valuable contributions and N. Kanwisher for helping us elucidate the three key principles. We are grateful to J. Gross and the Omniglot.com encyclopedia of writing systems for helping to make this data set possible. Online archives are available for visual Turing tests (http://github.com/brendenlake/visual-turing-tests), Omniglot data set (http://github.com/brendenlake/omniglot), and BPL source code (http://github.com/brendenlake/BPL). Combining the capacity to handle noise with probabilistic learning yields humanlike performance in a computational model.

2019-04-22T23:28:06Z

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/350/6266/1332

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Users may include, but are not limited to, Your employees, consultants, contractors, and agents. “User Guide” means the online documentation for the Skuid Services, accessible through http://help.skuid.com, as updated from time to time. “We” or “Us” means Skuid. “You” or “Your” means the company or other legal entity for which You are accepting this Agreement, and the Affiliates of that company or entity and/or the individual entering this Agreement on behalf of such entity, as indicated by context. You agree to the terms of this Agreement by clicking to accept its terms, or by completing the registration process for a Free Developer Account. You acknowledge that an active subscription to a Data Platform service is required for use of the Skuid Services. The person signing this Agreement represents that s/he is entering into this Agreement on behalf of a company or legal entity, and that s/he has the authority to bind such entity to this Agreement. If You do not have such authority, or if You do not agree with these Terms and Conditions, You must not accept this Agreement and may not use the Skuid Services. Free Developer Account Term. Skuid may make Skuid Services available on a trial basis free of charge to no more than two (2) Users designated by You (the “Free Developer Account”) until the earlier of (a) one year after Your acceptance of this Agreement or any renewal of the Free Developer Account, (b) the start date of any Purchased Skuid Services ordered by You, or (c) the date Skuid determines, in its sole discretion, for any reason or no reason, to terminate a Free Developer Account. Additional Free Developer Account terms and conditions may appear on the registration web page. Any such additional terms and conditions are incorporated into this Agreement by reference and are legally binding. Free Developer Account Data. Any Skuid Data You create with the Skuid Services and any customizations made to or with the Skuid Services by or for You during Your Free Developer Account term will be inaccessible to You after the Free Developer Account term unless You purchase a subscription to the same Skuid Services as those covered by the Trial, purchase upgraded Skuid Services, or export such Skuid Data before the end of the Free Developer Account Term. Free Developer Account Users. You may have 2 individual Users, who must be Your employees or consultants and who cannot be employed by or providing services for competitors of Skuid. After the Free Developer Account term expires, Your right to use the Skuid Services will terminate if You have not upgraded to a paid subscription. Free Developer Account Warranty. During the Free Developer Account term, the terms of Section 10 (Warranties and Disclaimers) shall not apply, and the Skuid Services are provided “AS-IS” without any warranty, including, without limitation, any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Free Developer Account Support. We may, but shall have no obligation to provide telephonic or online support for the Skuid Services during the Free Developer Account term. Free Developer Account Restrictions. A User subscription may not be shared or used by more than one individual User, but may be reassigned from time to time to a new User who is replacing a former User who has terminated employment or otherwise changed job status or function and no longer uses the Skuid Services. Provision of Purchased Skuid Services. We will make the Purchased Skuid Services available to You pursuant to this Agreement during the Term. You are purchasing the “basic” Skuid Services under this Agreement, which: (i) limits Users to accessing one (1) Data source; and (ii) does not include any app templates. Moreover, Your use of the Skuid Services is limited to the platform which You have selected. If you are purchasing Skuid for Salesforce, You will need to enter into a separate agreement to access Skuid Platform, and if You are purchasing Skuid Platform, You will need to enter into a separate agreement to access Skuid for Salesforce. The Skuid Services purchased under this Agreement do not include Skuid’s native mobile application, or any other Skuid products that are currently available or that may be developed in the future. You agree that Your purchases hereunder are neither contingent on the delivery of any future functionality or features nor dependent on any oral or written public comments made by Us regarding future functionality or features. Updates to Skuid Services. Skuid may update the Skuid Services in its sole discretion, with each update to be provided to You as is made available by Skuid to any of its customers. Updates that are required to bring You into compliance with any applicable laws will be provided at least thirty (30) days before compliance is required by such laws, or as soon as is practicable. Updates to the Skuid Services will be deemed part of the Skuid Services. The purchase of additional subscriptions will be subject to the following: (i) added subscriptions will be coterminous with the preexisting Term (either initial Term or renewal Term); (ii) the monthly subscription fee for the added subscriptions shall be the same as the preexisting subscriptions; and (iii) subscriptions added in the middle of a billing month will be charged in full for that billing month. User subscriptions are for designated Users and may not be shared or used by more than one User; however, a subscription may be reassigned to a new User to replace a former User who no longer uses the Skuid Services. Skuid shall provide the Skuid Services only according to applicable laws and government regulations. For Purchased Skuid Services, Skuid shall provide at no additional charge during the Term (i) online access to updates of the Skuid Services; and (ii) basic online support services, including community support webpages at https://community.skuid.com/, online help webpages and user documentation for the Skuid Services at https://docs.skuid.com/. Skuid will maintain administrative and technical safeguards for protection, security, confidentiality, and integrity of Skuid Data and Skuid Credentials on the Skuid Platform offering only. These safeguards are provided by Salesforce.com for the Skuid for Salesforce offering. Such safeguards will include measures for preventing access, use, modification, or disclosure of Skuid Data and Skuid Credentials by anyone other than Your personnel and Skuid’s personnel, except (a) to provide the Skuid Services and prevent or address service or technical problems, (b) as expressly permitted in writing by You, or (c) as compelled by law. To the extent that Skuid processes any Personal Data (as defined in the DPA) on Your behalf in the provision of Skuid Services, the terms and conditions of the DPA shall apply. The Skuid Services provided under this Agreement are solely for Your benefit and may not be accessed by any third parties. You acknowledge that the Skuid Services may experience interruptions arising out of limitations, delays, and other problems commonly occurring in the use of the Internet, use of Your Data Platform, use of other cloud platforms, and use of computer communications. You acknowledge that Skuid is not responsible for damages, including, but not limited to, incidental or consequential damages arising from such interruptions. You shall be responsible for maintaining security of Your Data on the Data Platform(s) that You access with the Skuid Services. Provide access to the Skuid Services to any user, parent, affiliate or subsidiary organized or existing under the laws of a country or territory embargoed by the United States. Usage Limitations. Skuid Services may be subject to other limitations as described in the Master Subscription Agreement between You and Your Data Platform provider(s) and/or specified in Your Data Platform provider(s) user guide, such as limits on disk storage space, or limits on the number of calls You are permitted to make against the application programming interface. Some Data Platform providers give real-time information to enable You to monitor Your compliance with such limitations. Data Platform. To access the Skuid Services, You acknowledge that You have agreed to the terms provided by Your Data Platform provider as detailed in the provider’s applicable license or subscription agreement (the “Data Platform Agreement”). You shall be solely responsible for compliance with the terms and conditions of any such Data Platform Agreement. Data Source. In order to use Skuid Services, You must configure access to a data source (e.g. Salesforce, AWS, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or other) as desired. You and/or Your data source provider is responsible for ensuring proper data protection and security practices are implemented and maintained. Skuid shall not be responsible for any damages resulting from a data breach caused by Your data source provider or by Your failure to adhere to the terms and conditions of any applicable Data Platform Agreement. For the Skuid Platform only, in order to connect to and authenticate Your desired data source, and depending upon the authentication method used, You may be asked to provide credentials, tokens, and/or keys to access the data sources, which, depending on Your elected admin configuration, will be stored on the Skuid Platform in a strongly encrypted form. Third Party Applications. If You install or enable Third-Party Applications for use with the Skuid Services, Skuid shall not be responsible for any disclosure, modification, or deletion of Data resulting from any such access by Third-Party Application providers. User Fees. You shall pay monthly or annually (as selected by You) in advance all fees specified for the Skuid Services You have selected. The initial charges will be equal to the current number of total user subscriptions requested times the user subscription fee currently in effect. Except as otherwise specified herein, (i) fees are quoted and payable in United States dollars (ii) fees are based on the Skuid Services purchased and not actual usage, (iii) payment obligations are non-cancelable and fees paid are non-refundable, and (iv) the number of user subscriptions purchased cannot be decreased during the relevant term. User subscription fees are based on periods that begin on the Effective Date and continue until terminated pursuant to Section 13 (Term and Termination), below. Invoicing and Payment. You will provide Skuid with valid and updated credit card information, and You authorize Skuid to charge such credit for the Skuid Services You have selected. Such charges shall be made monthly or annually in advance (as selected by You). Billing Information. You agree to provide Us with complete and accurate credit card, billing, and contact information. This information includes Your legal company name, street address, email address, and name and telephone number of an authorized billing contact and Service Administrator. You agree to update this information within 10 days of any change to it. If the contact information You have provided is fraudulent, Skuid reserves the right to terminate Your access to the Skuid Services without notice, in addition to any other legal remedies. Skuid uses a PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant third-party as a merchant service provider, which hosts the Skuid payment pages. As a result, your credit card information is sent directly to the third-party, and is not received or stored by Skuid. Suspension of Skuid Services If any payment by credit card owing by You under this or any other Agreement for Skuid Services is 10 or more days overdue, Skuid may, without limiting its other rights and remedies, suspend Your access to the Skuid Services until all outstanding amounts are paid in full. Payment Disputes To receive an adjustment or credit for any billing errors, You must contact Skuid in writing within 30 days of the date of the credit card charge containing the amount in question. Skuid shall not exercise its rights under Section 7.4 (Suspension of Skuid Services) if the applicable charges are under reasonable and good-faith dispute and You are cooperating diligently to resolve the dispute. Taxes. Unless otherwise stated, Skuid’s fees do not include any taxes, levies, duties, or similar governmental assessments of any nature, including, but not limited to, value-added, sales, use, or withholding taxes, assessable by any local, state, provincial, federal, or foreign jurisdiction (collectively, “taxes”). You are responsible for paying all taxes that may be associated with Your purchases hereunder. If Skuid pays taxes for which You are responsible, any amount paid, plus all costs and expenses incurred by Skuid, relative to such taxes shall be invoiced to and paid by You. Reconnection Fee. We reserve the right to impose a reconnection fee in the event (i) Your access to the Skuid Services is suspended because of nonpayment; or (ii) Your access to Your Data Platform(s) has been suspended, and thereafter You request access using the Skuid Services. Reservation of Rights. Subject to the limited rights expressly granted hereunder, Skuid reserves all rights, title, and interest in and to the Skuid Services, including all related Intellectual Property Rights. No rights are granted to You hereunder other than as expressly set forth herein. Skuid alone (and its licensors, where applicable) shall own all rights, title, and interest, including all related Intellectual Property Rights, in and to Skuid’s technology, content and the Skuid Services, and any ideas, suggestions, enhancement requests, feedback, recommendations, or other information (collectively, the “Ideas”) provided by You or any other party relating to the Skuid Services. Skuid may, in its sole discretion, incorporate any Ideas into the Skuid Services. This Agreement is not a sale and does not convey to You any rights of ownership in or related to the Skuid Services, technology, or the Intellectual Property Rights owned by Skuid. Ownership of Your Data. You will retain all rights, title, and interest in and to any Data, information, or materials provided by You, including Skuid Data. Federal Government End Use Provisions. Skuid provides the Skuid Services, including related software and technology, for ultimate federal government end use solely according to the following: Government technical data and software rights related to the Skuid Services include only those rights customarily provided to the public as defined in this Agreement. This customary commercial license is provided according to FAR 12.211 (Technical Data) and FAR 12.212 (Software) and, for Department of Defense transactions, DFAR 252.227-7015 (Technical Data — Commercial Items) and DFAR 227.7202-3 (Rights in Commercial Computer Software or Computer Software Documentation). If a government agency has a need for rights not conveyed under these terms, it must negotiate with Skuid to determine if there are acceptable terms for transferring such rights, and a mutually acceptable written addendum specifically conveying such rights must be included in any applicable contract or agreement. Infringement. You will promptly notify Skuid if You learn of a violation of any of Skuid’s Intellectual Property Rights. Skuid may, but will not be obligated to, prosecute such violation at Skuid’s expense and to retain the full amount of any sums recovered as damages. You will provide Skuid with reasonable cooperation in any such action at Skuid’s expense. Provided, however, if any violation relates to Your or any of Your User’s actions or failure to act, You shall be responsible for all damages and expenses, including attorney fees, associated therewith as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction or other trier of fact, to the extent that such action is finally determined to have resulted from Your negligence or willful misconduct. Definition of Confidential Information. As used herein, “Confidential Information” means all confidential information disclosed by a party (“Disclosing Party”) to the other party (“Receiving Party”), whether orally or in writing, that is designated as confidential or that reasonably should be understood to be confidential given the nature of the information and the circumstances of disclosure. Without limiting the foregoing, Confidential Information of each party shall include business and marketing plans, technology and technical information, formulas, concepts, product plans and designs, and business processes disclosed by such party. Your Confidential Information shall include Your Data; Skuid’s Confidential Information shall include the Skuid Services and all pricing terms. However, Confidential Information shall not include any information that (i) is or becomes generally known to the public without breach of any obligation owed to the Disclosing Party, (ii) was known to the Receiving Party prior to its disclosure by the Disclosing Party without breach of any obligation owed to the Disclosing Party, (iii) is received from a third party without breach of any obligation owed to the Disclosing Party, or (iv) was independently developed by the Receiving Party without the breach of any obligation owed to the Disclosing Party. Protection of Confidential Information. Except as otherwise permitted in writing by the Disclosing Party, Confidential Information shall be received and maintained by the Receiving Party in the strictest confidence in accordance with applicable law, and shall not be disclosed to any third party. The Receiving Party shall use the same degree of care that it uses to protect the confidentiality of its own Confidential Information of like kind (but in no event less than reasonable care) and shall limit access to Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party to those of its employees, contractors, and agents who need such access for purposes consistent with this Agreement and who have signed confidentiality agreements with the Receiving Party containing protections no less stringent than those herein. Furthermore, neither party shall use such Confidential Information for any purpose other than those purposes specified in this Agreement. Compelled Disclosure. The Receiving Party may disclose Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party if it is compelled by law to do so, provided the Receiving Party gives the Disclosing Party prompt prior notice of such compelled disclosure to allow the Disclosing Party a reasonable opportunity to contest the disclosure (to the extent legally permitted) and reasonable assistance, at the Disclosing Party's cost, if the Disclosing Party wishes to contest the disclosure. If the Receiving Party is compelled by law to disclose the Disclosing Party's Confidential Information as part of a civil or criminal proceeding to which the Disclosing Party is a party, and the Disclosing Party is not contesting the disclosure, the Disclosing Party will reimburse the Receiving Party for its reasonable cost of compiling and providing secure access to such Confidential Information. Privacy and Disclosure. Skuid will not access Your networks or access or use any personal data or Your sensitive business information under this Agreement, except when requested by You, and Skuid will not review, use, process, disclose, or otherwise handle such information. To the extent applicable for the activities contemplated under this Agreement, Skuid will comply with all applicable privacy and security laws to which it is subject, and will not, by act or omission, place You in violation of any applicable privacy or security law. Communications from Skuid Users may be asked whether or not they wish to opt in to receive marketing and other noncritical Skuid Services-related communications from Skuid from time to time. Users may opt out of receiving such communications at any subsequent time by changing their preference under Personal Setup. Note that because the Skuid Services is a hosted, online application, Skuid occasionally may need to notify all Users (whether or not they have opted in as described above) of important announcements regarding the operation of the Skuid Services. Customer Reference; Trademark Licence.Each party may display on its website and in sales presentation collateral the company logo of the other party, and may identify Customer as a customer of Skuid in the ordinary course of business. Any other use of a party’s logo shall be upon prior written approval only. For the purposes of the foregoing, each party (“Licensor”) grants to the other party (“Licensee”) a limited non-transferable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, license to use Licensor’s trademarks and logos specifically identified by Licensor (the “Marks”). Licensor may immediately terminate Licensee’s license to use the Marks, if Licensor, in its sole discretion, believes Licensee’s use disparages, dilutes, tarnishes or blurs the value of Licensor’s Marks. Licensee shall use the Marks exactly in the form provided and in conformance with any trademark usage policies that Licensor may communicate to Licensee from time to time. Licensee shall place a ®, ™, or © symbol, as appropriate, with the Marks as requested by Licensor. Any rights not expressly granted by Licensor to Licensee are reserved to Licensor, and all implied licenses are disclaimed. Licensee shall not exceed the scope of the license granted hereunder. Title to and ownership of Licensor’s Marks (including without limitation, all rights therein under copyright, trademark, trade secret and similar laws) shall remain with Licensor. Licensee acknowledges that its use of Licensor’s Marks will not create in it, nor will it represent it has, any right, title or interest in or to the Marks, other than the limited license granted by Licensor herein. Licensee will not challenge the validity of or attempt to register any of the Marks or its interest therein as a licensee, nor will it adopt any derivative or confusingly similar names, brands, marks, or domain names, or create any combination marks with Licensor’s Marks. Licensee acknowledges Licensor’s ownership and exclusive right to use Licensor’s Marks and agrees that all goodwill arising as a result of the use of Licensor’s Marks shall inure to the benefit of Licensor. Upon expiration or termination of this Agreement, the rights granted to Licensee pursuant to this Section 9.6 will terminate, and Licensee will immediately cease use of any of Licensor’s Marks. Limited Warranty. Skuid does not guarantee or warrant that Purchased Skuid Services will properly function with the software of any third party unless specifically so stated herein. Skuid warrants that Purchased Skuid Services will perform substantially in accordance with the User Guide, so long as You follow the instructions provided. The foregoing warranty is void if the failure of the Skuid Services is due to Your act or failure to act (including, but not limited to, using the latest version or updates made available to You at no cost by Skuid), the acts of others, or events beyond Skuid’s reasonable control. Limitation of Warranty. Except as otherwise specifically stated herein, You understand and agree that the Skuid Services are provided “as is” and, Skuid disclaims all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. Skuid makes no warranty or representation regarding the results that may be obtained from the use of the Skuid Services, regarding the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through the Skuid Services, or that the Skuid Services will meet Your requirements, or be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free. Use of the Skuid Services is at Your sole discretion and risk. Except with respect to breach by Skuid of Section 9 (Confidentiality), You will be solely responsible for any damages resulting from Your use of the Skuid Services. Except with respect to breach by Skuid of Section 9 (Confidentiality) or Section 10.1 (Limited Warranty), the entire risk arising out of use or performance of the Skuid Services remains with You. By You. You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Skuid against any claim, demand, suit, or proceeding (“Claim”) made or brought against Skuid relating to (i) the content or use of Your Data, or (ii) Your use of the Skuid Services in violation of any term of this Agreement, provided that Skuid (a) promptly gives You written notice of the Claim; (b) gives You sole control of the defense and settlement of the Claim (provided that You may not, without Skuid’s prior approval, settle any Claim unless the settlement unconditionally release Skuid of all liability); and (c) provide to You all reasonable assistance, at Your expense. By Skuid. Skuid will indemnify, defend, and hold You harmless against any Claim made or brought against You alleging that the use of the Skuid Services as permitted hereunder infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of a third party. Skuid’s obligations in this Section 12 are void if You fail to (a) give prompt written notice of the Claim; (b) give Skuid sole control of the defense and settlement of the Claim (provided that Skuid may not, without Your prior approval, settle any Claim unless the settlement unconditionally releases You of all liability); and (c) provide to Skuid all reasonable assistance, at Skuid’s expense. Injunction. If an injunction is issued against Your use of the Skuid Services due to a covered infringement, or if in Skuid’s judgment any Skuid Services are likely to become the subject of a successful claim of infringement, Skuid may at its option and expense: (i) procure for You the right to use such services, or (ii) replace or modify such services so they become noninfringing, or if options (i) and (ii) are not available despite Skuid’s commercially reasonable efforts, (iii) terminate the subscriptions granted under this Agreement, disable Your access to the Skuid Services, and refund to You an amount equal to the pro rata Subscription Fee paid by You for the remainder of the term. If you are using the Skuid Services under a Free Developer Account and injunction is issued or is likely to be issued, Skuid, in its sole discretion may terminate the subscriptions, and Skuid shall have no further monetary or other obligation to You. Skuid shall have no obligation to You to the extent a Claim arises from (i) any modification of the Skuid Services not performed by Skuid or (ii) any failure to use corrections or enhancements made available to You that would have rendered the Skuid Services non-infringing, or (iii) any use of the Skuid Services in combination with any product or information not supplied or recommended by Skuid except where combination is required to utilize the Skuid Services. Sections 11.2 and 11.3 state Skuid’s sole liability to You, and Your exclusive remedy against Skuid for any type of Claim described in this Section. Limitation of Liability. Except with respect to breaches of Section 9 (Confidentiality) or Section 11 (Indemnification), in no event shall Skuid be liable for: (i) any claim arising under or relating to this Agreement, the Skuid Services or any other services provided by Skuid under any theory of liability including contract, strict liability, indemnity, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, or for any special, indirect, incidental, exemplary, punitive, consequential damages, loss of revenues or loss or inaccuracy of Data or cost of procurement of substitute goods, services or technology, even if Skuid has been notified of the possibility of such damages; or (ii) damages in excess of the amount of fees paid by You under this Agreement during the 12 months prior to the event giving rise to the claim. Limitation of liability for transfer, protection, storage, security, or confidentiality of Your Data is governed by Your Data Platform Agreement. Exclusion of Consequential and Related Damages. Except with respect to breaches of Section 9 (Confidentiality) or Section 11 (Indemnification), in no event shall either party have any liability to the other party for any lost profits or revenues or for any indirect, special, incidental, consequential, cover or punitive damages however caused, whether in contract, tort or under any other theory of liability, and whether or not the party has been advised of the possibility of such damages. The foregoing disclaimer shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law. Term of Agreement. This Agreement commences on the Effective Date and continues, unless earlier terminated, until the end of the 1-month or 1-year term (as selected by You). If You elect to use the Skuid Services for a Free Developer Account and do not opt-in to continue the account at the end of the term, this Agreement will terminate at the end of the one year Free Developer Account term. In addition, Skuid may terminate a Free Developer Account at any time for any reason or no reason in Skuid’s sole discretion. Renewals. Skuid charges and collects in advance for use of the Skuid Services. Subscriptions will automatically renew for additional periods equal to the length of the expiring subscription term, unless either party gives notice of nonrenewal at least fifteen (15) days prior to the end of the Term, as it may have been previously extended. The renewal charge will be equal to the then-current number of total user subscriptions times the then-current, generally applicable subscription fee. Termination for Cause. A party may terminate this Agreement for cause: (i) upon ten (10) days written notice to the other party of a material breach, if the breach remains uncured at the expiration of such period, or (ii) if the other party becomes the subject of a petition in bankruptcy or any other proceeding relating to insolvency, receivership, liquidation, or assignment for the benefit of creditors. Refund or Payment upon Termination. Upon any termination for cause by You, Skuid will refund any prepaid fees covering the remainder of the Term of all subscriptions after the effective date of termination. Upon any termination for cause by Skuid, You will not be entitled to a refund of any prepaid fees. You will pay any unpaid subscription fees otherwise due as of the termination date, and You will pay any other outstanding balances owed to Skuid. Return of Your Metadata. Skuid will provide Your Metadata to You upon request. Surviving Provisions. Sections 7 (Fees and Payment for Purchased Services), 8 (Proprietary Rights), 9 (Confidentiality), 11 (Indemnification ), 12 (Limitation of Liability), and 14 (Additional Provisions) shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement. Export Compliance. Each party shall comply with the export laws and regulations of the United States and other applicable jurisdictions in providing and using the Skuid Services. Without limiting the foregoing, (i) each party represents that it is not named on any U.S. government list of persons or entities prohibited from receiving exports, (ii) You shall not permit Users to access or use the Skuid Services in violation of any U.S. export embargo, prohibition, or restriction, and (iv) You will not export, re-export, divert, transfer, or disclose any portion of the Skuid Services or any related technical information or materials, directly or indirectly, in violation of any applicable export law or regulation. Relationship of the Parties. The parties are independent contractors. This Agreement does not create a partnership, franchise, joint venture, agency, fiduciary, or employment relationship between the parties. There are no third-party beneficiaries to this Agreement. Waiver and Cumulative Remedies. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement will be effective unless in writing and signed by the party against whom such waiver is sought to be enforced. A waiver of any provision of this Agreement by either party will not be construed as a waiver of any other provision of this Agreement, nor will such waiver operate as or be construed as a waiver of such provision respecting any future event or circumstance. Other than as expressly stated herein, the remedies provided herein are in addition to, and not exclusive of, any other remedies of a party at law or in equity. Notices. If notice or demand is required or permitted to be given or served by either party to this Agreement to or on the other, the notice or demand must be given or served in writing and served personally or forwarded by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, or by guaranteed overnight courier service, addressed to Skuid at 605 Chestnut Street, Suite 700, Chattanooga, TN 37450 or legal [at] skuid.com, or to You at the email address You have provided. The date of service of a notice served by mail or overnight courier service will be the date of receipt or refusal of receipt. Either party may change its address by written notice to the other. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. This Agreement and the respective rights and obligations of the parties hereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Tennessee and controlling United States law, without giving effect to choice of law principles. The parties hereto consent to the jurisdiction of the courts in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Attorney Fees. Should either party bring an action to enforce the terms of this Agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs from the other party. Assignment. Neither party may assign any of its rights or obligations hereunder, whether by operation of law or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the other party (not to be unreasonably withheld). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Skuid may assign this Agreement in its entirety, without Your consent, to its Affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets not involving a direct competitor of the other party. A party’s sole remedy for any purported assignment by the other party in breach of this paragraph shall be, at the non-assigning party’s election, termination of this Agreement upon written notice to the assigning party. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their respective successors and permitted assigns. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements, proposals, or representations, written or oral, concerning its subject matter. No modification, amendment, or waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective unless in writing and either signed or accepted electronically by the party against whom the modification, amendment or waiver is to be asserted. Notwithstanding any language to the contrary therein, no terms or conditions stated in forms (such as purchase orders or invoices) provided by either party with preprinted or “boilerplate” language shall be incorporated into or form any part of this Agreement, and all such terms or conditions shall be null and void. Force Majeure. Except for Your payment obligations, neither party shall be liable to the other for any loss or damage due to delay or failure to perform due to flood, riot, insurrection, fire, earthquake, strike, communication line failure and power failure, explosion, act of God, death or incapacitating illness or injury to key personnel, or any other force or cause beyond the reasonable control of the party.

2019-04-19T12:45:19Z

https://www.skuid.com/terms/

Note: This handbook is intended to provide an outline only. Regulations established by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FG+PS) supersede information presented in this document. Policies and procedures for all UBC graduate students can be found at The Graduate Studies Policies and Procedures Manual. Welcome to the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS). LFS provides a number of graduate education opportunities through the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FG+PS). We are pleased that you have accepted our invitation to enrol in one of our graduate programs, and we hope that your graduate experience will be both stimulating and rewarding. This Handbook is intended to provide an outline only. Regulations established by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies supersede information presented in this document. In this Handbook, the Faculty is collectively composed of faculty members (including adjunct and honorary professors), research associates, post-doctoral fellows, visiting scientists, visiting scholars, staff and students. Supervisor – Any faculty member who is a member of the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is eligible to serve as a graduate student supervisor. The supervisor is the chair of the supervisory committee, provides academic support and prepares the student for thesis research. Master of Science, MSc Completion of the M.Sc. program requires a minimum of 18 credits (or 12 credits) of coursework plus 12 credits (or 18 credits) of thesis research. Offered by the Agricultural Economics, Applied Animal Biology, Food Science, Human Nutrition, ISLFS, Plant Science & Soil Science Graduate Programs. Doctor of Philosophy, PhD Research-based Doctoral programs are offered by the Applied Animal Biology, Food Science, Human Nutrition, Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems, Plant Science & Soil Science Graduate Programs. Course requirements are depended upon the student’s academic background. Master of Food Science (MFS) The 12-month MFS course-based program is ideal for professionals already working in government, industry or private practice who want to upgrade their skills. Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE) The 12-month MFRE course-based program is unique in the sense of combining applied economics with policy analysis and agribusiness management. It is designed for people wanting to work in the food and natural resource sectors, either for private firms, governments, or international organizations overseas. Master of Land and Water Systems (MLWS) The goal of the innovative 12-month MLWS course-based program is to offer a professional degree that will serve both practicing resource managers, and recent graduates from cognate undergraduate academic programs, the necessary credentials to address the emerging concerns of land and water resources conservation and management. Desk spaces will be assigned to students actively involved in their graduate program on a first come first serve basis. Students in MCML should send their requests for desk space to the Graduate Program Assistant ([email protected]). Students in FNH should send their request for desk space to the FNH Building Manager ([email protected]). Laboratory space, equipment and materials in the various buildings are organized by the student’s Supervisor. LFS technical staff supervises and monitors shared laboratory spaces and equipment. These technicians will assist you with the resolution of technical problems encountered during your research. All students working in laboratories are expected to contribute to maintaining a clean and safe workplace. All students are required to obtain relevant safety certificates and participate in a lab safety orientation session prior to conducting working in a laboratory. Computer and A/V equipment are available in MCML 264/6/8 for word processing, teaching, computer modeling, and statistics. For graduate students in the Food Science and Human Nutrition Programs, laptop computers and A/V equipment are available in room 230 in the FNH Building. Slide preparation equipment and other multimedia equipment are located in the Learning Centre in MCML 264/6/8. Graduate students in the MCML building have mailboxes in Room 262 and in Room 200 in the FNH Building. Graduate students are offered photocopier use at cost. Arrangements may be made in MCML 254 for use of the photocopier located in MCML 262. Students in the FNH Building may make arrangements with the Secretary in room 230 for use of the photocopier. In order to more effectively meet the needs of the Faculty, the Dean’s Office uses an online request form to process key requests. Please use the following online form to submit key requests. Any project carried out by a person connected with the University, which involves human subjects, must conform to University Policy #89: Research and Other Studies Involving Human Subjects. Research involving human subjects is defined as any systemic investigation (including pilot studies, exploratory studies, and course-based assignments) to establish facts, principles or general knowledge, which involves living human subjects, human remains, cadavers, tissues, biological fluids, embryos or foetuses. Research is defined as either clinical (See Section 4.1.1) or behavioural (See Section 4.1.2) research. The appropriate application forms must be completed and signed by the Associate Dean, Research before they are submitted to the appropriate university screening committee for approval. Research funds are not released until the appropriate approval has been obtained. Any research conducted at UBC facilities (including UBC-Affiliate Hospitals*) or by persons connected to the University, involving clinical interventions such as the testing of drugs, medical devices, rehabilitation exercise programs, and/or the analysis of clinical data obtained from medical records or studies of a clinical nature involving linkage of data from existing databases must be reviewed and approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Board (CREB). Any research or study conducted at UBC facilities or by persons connected to the University involving human subjects in procedures that require potential invasions of privacy, must be reviewed and approved by the UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board (BREB). Behavioural projects may involve asking subjects to participate in studies that use, for example, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observation, data linkage, secondary use of data, deception, testing, video and audio taping. Researchers planning to use experimental animals must submit an Application to Use Animals for Research for review and approval by the UBC Animal Care Committee before research funds are released. This form is to be signed by the Associate Dean, Research who retains a copy. The Committee ensures the humane and ethical care and use of experimental animals is in compliance with the Canadian Council on Animal Care Guidelines. It also adheres to the principle that in order for animal use to be justifiable in scientific research, the research must have a reasonable expectation of providing a benefit to the health and welfare of people or of animals, or of advancing basic knowledge. All researchers in the LFS follow the principle of the 3 R’s: replacement, reduction and refinement. All research-based graduate students are required to have a Supervisor. The Supervisor is normally identified at the time LFS recommends acceptance of the applicant to FG+PS. The principal role of the Supervisor is to help students achieve their scholastic potential and to chair the student’s Supervisory Committee. The Supervisor will provide reasonable commitment, accessibility, professionalism, stimulation, guidance, respect and consistent encouragement to the student. The Supervisor, along with members of the Supervisory Committee, are to be available for help at every stage of the student’s program, from selection of course work to formulation of the thesis research proposal by establishing the methodology and discussing the results, to presentation and publication of the dissertation. The Supervisor must ensure that the student’s work meets the requisite standards of the University and the academic discipline. If an approved Adjunct Professor acts as Research Co-Supervisor, a full-time faculty member is required as the Academic Co-Supervisor who also chairs the student’s Supervisory Committee. Supervisors who will be absent from campus for more than 2 months must arrange for an interim Supervisor and notify the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. It is important that the student’s Supervisor establish a functional Supervisory Committee within 4 months of commencement of the student’s program. The completed applicable committee approval form should be submitted to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office. The roles and responsibilities of Supervisors are well described in the supervision & advising section of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ and in Appendix A. Supervisors must be Professors, Associate Professor or Assistant Professor and members of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. When Adjunct Professors are approved to be co-supervisors, Adjunct Professors are responsible for academic and administrative aspects of the students’ program together with the other co-supervisors. Supervisors normally will hold the equivalent of a Doctoral degree and must be active researchers as evidenced by regular contributions to refereed scholarly publications. Supervisors must have a record (or show promise) of successfully supervising graduate students. In undertaking a thesis project, the graduate student is making a commitment to devote the time and energy needed to engage in research and to write a dissertation which constitutes a substantial and original contribution to knowledge in the field appropriate for the degree program. The Supervisor has the right to expect substantial effort, initiative, respect and receptiveness to suggestions and criticisms. The student must accept the rules, procedures and standards in place in the program and at the University and should check the University Calendar for regulations regarding academic and non-academic matters. Students must maintain regular contact with their Supervisors. All graduate students, with the exception of domestic Master’s students enrolled in a part-time program, are registered as full-time students. All graduate students are required to maintain continuous registration throughout their program by registering and paying tuition installments according to the schedules in the Calendar. All graduate students in research-based graduate programs are expected to register for the thesis throughout their program. All graduate students who pay fees according to Schedule A are considered full-time students. See the Fee section of the UBC Calendar for details. Please note that merit-based scholarships are only available to full-time students. Students who wish to be assessed master’s program tuition according to the part-time schedule (Schedule B) must obtain approval of their Graduate Program Advisor and the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies prior to the beginning of the first term of the program (i.e., prior to the commencement of the degree program) in which fees are assessed. Please note that merit-based scholarships are only available to full-time students. Only candidates planning to take their degree through part-time study are permitted to select Schedule B. Candidates who select Schedule B are advised that, by virtue of their part-time status, they are ineligible to receive government loans, interest-free status and University fellowships or scholarships. Candidates are not permitted to switch from Schedule B to Schedule A after the due date of the first tuition fee installment. Please note that this option is not available to international students. (4) must be in courses in which at least a B grade standing (UBC 74%) is obtained. To obtain permission, the student must submit to FG+PS, in advance, a letter from the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS in support of the transfer credits. The LFS letter must provide an academic justification for allowing the course(s) for transfer credit. The student must obtain letters of approval from both the home university and the host university before taking these courses. Refer to the FG+PS website for details on Western Dean’s Agreement and Graduate Exchange Agreement. UBC students doing off-campus research on behalf of UBC or engaging in UBC-sanctioned activities may be covered by or be eligible for additional insurance coverage under UBC Risk Management Services’ insurance policies. Students should consider these policies (both automatic and optional) before undertaking off-campus visits. Students are encouraged to find additional information from FG+PS’s Graduate Student Insurance page. Leave of absence is normally granted when a student is best advised for personal, health, or other reasons (including financial need) to have time completely away from academic responsibilities (https://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/managing-your-program/leave-absence). The leave period is not included in the time period for completion of the degree. Normally a leave will begin on the first day of term with a period of 4, 8, or 12 months. Note that a leave must be taken in 4-month blocks of time. The total duration of all leaves of absence granted in a graduate program is normally limited to 24 months for a doctoral student and to 12 months for a master’s student, except for Leave to Pursue a Second Program of Study. On-leave students continue to be registered and must pay a reduced fee for the leave period. The period of leave is not counted toward the time required for completion of the degree. It is understood that students with on-leave status will not undertake any academic or research work, or use any of the University’s facilities during the period of leave. Students must inform the University immediately upon return. Leave is not granted retroactively, nor to a student whose registration is not current or whose time in the program has elapsed. Retroactive leaves will only be approved in highly exceptional cases. The Office of the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies must submit a written recommendation and justification for a student’s leave to FG+PS for approval before a student will be granted leave. An explanation of the reason for the leave must be included. of an infant or young child is eligible for parental leave. Parental leave is normally limited to 12 months per childbirth or adoption (including multiples). The Parental Accommodation policy applies to students currently registered in full-time graduate programs at the University of British Columbia who are in good standing and making satisfactory progress toward the completion of their degree. Students must have completed at least one term of full-time study in their program. The policy makes it possible for a student to maintain full-time student status during an eight-week period surrounding the arrival of a new child under the age of six (newborn or newly-adopted), with all the benefits of such status, by standardizing a minimum level of academic accommodation during that period. Requests must be made no later than 30 days before start date. Requests must be approved by the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at LFS and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students continue to be registered as a full-time, and tuition and student fees must be paid as usual. Time allowed for advancement to candidacy (doctoral students) and degree completion will be extended by four months. Student retains the full value of any fellowship or other award for which the terms and conditions are established by FG+PS and will experience no change to funding, payment schedule, total amount granted, or completion date of the scholarship. Awards for which the terms and conditions are not established by FG+PS will be paid according to the terms conditions established by the donor or granting agency. Discuss parental accommodation with supervisor. Download and complete the “Request for Parental Accommodation” form from FG+PS website. Obtain the signatures of supervisor and graduate program advisor indicating their approval. Send the form to the FG+PS. A graduate student who encounters a health problem that significantly interferes with the ability to pursue his or her course of study is eligible for a leave for health reasons. Requests for a leave for health reasons must be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation from the clinician providing primary care for the health problem. A leave for health reasons is normally limited to 12 months. A graduate student who wishes to suspend his or her course of study in order to take a relevant work professional development experience may be eligible for professional leave. Professional leave is normally limited to 12 months. A graduate student who encounters personal circumstances that significantly interfere with the ability to pursue his or her course of study may be eligible for personal leave. Personal leave is normally limited to 12 months. Following consultation with his/her program advisor and graduate supervisor, a graduate student may apply for a leave of absence from one program to pursue a second course of study. Leave for a second program of study may exceed 12 months. Students in the LFS are encouraged to complete a Master’s degree within 24 months and a Doctoral degree within 48 months of continuous study. University regulations establish a 5-year time limit for the completion of a Master’s program and 6-year time limit for the completion of a Doctoral program. If a student transfers from a Master’s program to a Doctoral program without completing the Master’s degree, the start time for the Doctoral program will be from the date of first registration in the Master’s program. Extenuating circumstances not of the student’s making may justify allowing the student additional time to complete his or her degree program. A request for a one year’s extension may be received favorably by FG+PS if it is fully justified and supported by the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. A student should discuss the possibility of an extension with his or her supervisor and graduate advisor. Each request must be accompanied by a completed Request for Extension form and a memo from the supervisor or graduate advisor justifying request for extension, including a written report from the last Supervisory Committee meeting and a schedule (Extension Timeline) showing how the program will be completed in the extension period requested. Extensions will not be granted beyond 2 years and must correspond with the beginning and end of term. Fees are assessed for students on extension. Students who are concerned about their academic programs and are wishing to obtain advice outside their Supervisory Committee, are encouraged to discuss their concerns, in confidence, with the Graduate Program Advisor first. If concerns persist, the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies should then be contacted. Admission as an unclassified student does not guarantee that a student will be able to register for any course offered, nor does it imply future admission as a regular student. Unclassified students may only take graduate courses with the advanced approval of course instructor, Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS and the Dean of FG+PS. Courses taken as an unclassified student may be approved for transfer toward a graduate program on permission of Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS and Dean of FG+PS. See the Calendar for more information on allowable transfer credits. Unclassified courses that are used to raise a student’s GPA to the minimum level required for admission to a graduate program are not transferable to that graduate program. Fees for Unclassified students can be found in the Calendar. Students may be asked to take a load of up to 30 credits. Applicants with a three-year degree (equivalent to 90 credits) must take the full 30 credits. The courses that make up these credits must include the specific courses that the student is required to take in order to fulfill prerequisite requirements. These courses must be specified (minimum number of credits, minimum average, minimum number of credits with first class marks) as these marks are to demonstrate an acceptable level of academic achievement. Financial support for graduate students within LFS typically comes from one or more of four sources: merit-based awards administered by the FG+PS (including Affiliated Fellowships and LFS Departmental Awards), teaching and research assistantships, need-based awards and direct awards from external agencies such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Effective January 1, 2016, all newly admitted graduate students in research-based MSc programs will be provided with a minimum funding package equal to of $16,000/year for the first 2 years of their study. Effective September 1, 2018 students admitted in PhD programs will be provided with a minimum funding package equal to $18,000/year for the first 4 years of their study. All students must maintain a good academic standing to receive this minimum funding support. Students are expected to be proactive in applying for awards and scholarships. Please refer to FG+PS for more information. Also see LFS grad student financial support, scholarships and awards webpage. International Tuition Awards of $3,200 are provided to all international students in research-based programs except for those whose tuition is paid by a third party. The Four Year Doctoral Fellowship (4YF) program will ensure UBC’s best PhD students are provided with financial support of at least $18,200 per year plus tuition for the first four years of their PhD studies. This program allows UBC to continue to attract and support outstanding domestic and international PhD students, and provide those students with stable, base-level funding for the first four years of their PhD studies and research. Students are strongly encouraged to seek financial support from scholarships and fellowships available from FG+PS and various agencies. This site is for the LFS Graduate Programs Awards which lists many of the internal and external awards available to graduate students in the LFS Graduate Programs. The LFS Graduate Scholarship Committee is responsible for adjudicating applications and recommending recipients for the LFS’ major scholarships (>$10,000) to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS. The Committee consists of the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (chair) and representatives from graduate programs. Recommendation for the LFS minor graduate scholarships (>$10,000) is made by the corresponding graduate programs in conjunction with the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Teaching Assistantships (TAs) are available for registered full-time graduate students in LFS. TAs provide an excellent opportunity to gain teaching experience. All graduate students are encouraged to gain this experience during their degree program. Students interested in TAs are advised to discuss this option with the course instructor and then apply on-line by the deadline. TA assignments are made immediately before the start of the fall or winter term when course enrolments are known. A full TA involves 12-hour work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction. In LFS, most TA appointments are partial appointments. TA rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the TA’s Union, a Local of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Incomes from TAs is part of the MSc and PhD funding package. International students interested in TAs are strongly encouraged to participate in the teaching programs through Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. This Program is offered a number of different time at their centre and website. A limited number of Research Assistantships are available from research funds administered by graduate Supervisors. Research duties (in accordance with University Graduate Assistantship policies) may be required in return for a stipend. This may involve work, which is unrelated to the thesis and must therefore be scheduled so that it does not seriously interfere with the student’s graduate program. Incomes from Research Assistantships is part of the MSc and PhD funding package. The LFS and FG+PS provide limited amounts of financial support towards travel by graduate students presenting their thesis research at major conferences. Application process for the Travel Assistance and relevant details are available at: LFS Travel Award and FG+PS Travel Award. Except in special circumstances, a one-term course may be added to your program only within the first two weeks of the course, and a two-term course within the first three weeks of the course. If you drop a course within these periods, no record of registration in the course(s) will appear on your transcript. If you want to add or drop a course outside of these time periods, you need to complete a Change of Registration Form (Add/Drop form), provide a reason for the late request in writing and have signed the Form before submitting to the relevant course instructor and Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Students in LFS for approval. Students may withdraw from courses in which they are registered at any time up to the end of the sixth week of class for courses that are offered in a single term, and up to the end of the twelfth week for courses that span two terms. Withdrawals will be noted on the academic record by a standing of “W”. Such standings will not be included in computing averages. A student who ceases to attend a course, does not write the final examination, or otherwise fails to complete course requirements, and who neither qualified for a deferred examination nor has obtained official permission to drop the course, will be given a standing of “F” grade which reflects performance in the course. Auditors are students registered in a credit course who are expected to complete all course requirements except the final exam. If you successfully complete the course requirements for an audited course, your academic record will list “AUD” as the final grade. If your performance is not satisfactory, you may be given Fail (F) standing. This mark will count toward your overall average. Obtain the approval of the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS. Register for the course using the Change of Registration form. Be sure to indicate AUDIT. Inform the instructor at the commencement of the course of your intention to audit it. All changes between Audit and Credit standings must be submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies on the Change of Registration Form by the appropriate course-specific deadline. Requests for changes between Audit and Credit standings submitted after the appropriate deadline may be granted if accompanied by a compelling rationale endorsed by the course instructor and graduate advisor of your program. Students are encouraged to take appropriate graduate courses outside LFS. Approval must be granted in advance from the Graduate Program Advisor and the course instructor. A graduate student is expected to register for the thesis throughout their program. A grade of “T” is recorded for each session until the thesis is completed. The “T” grade may also be used for graduating essays (in professional master’s programs), for directed individual study, or project courses in which the course requirements extend beyond the normal deadline for the submission of a final grade. Failed courses cannot be credited toward a graduate program. Students failing a course require a LFS recommendation to continue. Students failing more than one course normally will be required to withdraw. MSc students: a minimum of 60% must be obtained in any course taken by a student enrolled in a master’s program for the student to be granted pass standing. However, only 6 credits of pass standing may be counted towards a master’s program. For all other courses, a minimum of 68% must be obtained. When repeating a failed course, a minimum mark of 74% must be obtained. PhD students: a minimum of 68% (B-) must be achieved in all coursework taken for credit. Where a grade of less than 68% (B-) is obtained in a course, and on the recommendation of the graduate program and the approval of the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the student may repeat the course for higher standing or take an alternate course. When repeating a failed required course, a minimum mark of 74% must be obtained. A listing of relevant graduate courses and their description are found here. Graduate students must present in at least two public seminars during their program as part of the LFS requirements. The number of seminars may vary from Program to Program. Please check with your Graduate Program Advisor for details. Students should obtain the current FG+PS “Instructions for the Preparation of Theses“. In order to be eligible for convocation, you must submit your final, defended thesis electronically as a single PDF file to UBC’s online information repository, cIRcle. It will be reviewed for formatting by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and approved for inclusion in cIRcle. Your program cannot be closed and you will not be eligible to graduate until the content and formatting of the thesis have been officially approved and you have received an official email confirming final approval of your thesis. Submitted theses and dissertations must be formally approved by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Effective January 1, 2011: Students are expected to submit all final theses/dissertations electronically. Recommendation of appointment of Supervisory Committee form to Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS for approval. Approve courses for the program. Supervisory Committee to meet with the student at least once every 12 months, and preferably once every 6 months. Students must submit a Research Proposal to their Supervisory Committees at a formal meeting of the Committee. It is expected that students will submit their research proposal between 6 to 8 months from initial registration. Students must submit an electronic copy of the research proposal to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Office: [email protected]. The final Master’s Oral Examination is chaired by the Graduate Program Advisor (or alternate) who neither votes nor signs the thesis. The Examining Committee (including the Chair) must receive copies of the thesis at least 4 weeks before the defense. The student must submit the “Approval MSc Supervisory Committee to Proceed to Final Exam” and “MSc Thesis Defense Composition” forms to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office at least 2 weeks prior to the examination. The Supervisory Committee should be established as soon as possible after the thesis topic is identified, but not later than 4 months after initial registration. If possible, the research supervisor should consult with prospective supervisory committee members about the proposed coursework even if the thesis topic has not been decided. The supervisory committee consists of your supervisor and at least two other individuals (normally faculty members). Its role is to provide support by broadening and deepening the range of expertise and experience available to you and your supervisor. The committee offers advice about and assessment of your work. Students in a master’s program with a thesis usually have a supervisory committee that advises them on coursework, research, and thesis preparation. Graduate students who establish their supervisory committees early in their programs and who meet with their committees regularly, tend to complete their degree programs successfully, and more quickly, than students who wait to establish their committees. Supervisory Committee provides academic support throughout the student’s program. Helps plan a program of courses, which will prepare the student for thesis research, meet program requirements and assist career development. Provides critical comments on the research proposal and the thesis. Reviews academic and research progress on no less than an annual basis. Recommends whether the thesis is of acceptable standard for examination. Ensures that all LFS and FG+PS procedures associated with the degree program are adhered. The Supervisory Committee is selected jointly by the Supervisor and student and recommended to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, immediately after the student commences his/her program but no later than 4 months after initial registration. The Committee membership may change once the thesis research area is finalized. Master’s Supervisory Committee Composition form. Normally, the Research Supervisor will Chair the Committee, and must be a Professor, Associate Professor or Assistant Professor as well as a member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. If an approved Adjunct Professor acts as co- supervisor (research), a full-time, faculty member is required to serve as the co- supervisor (academic) and to chair the committee. At least two additional faculty members will serve on the Committee. They normally will be at least of the rank of Assistant Professor and members of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. One member will be from outside the Program in which the student’s degree is to be taken. The size of the Committee must be at least three. The membership may include faculty from other units and additional members from other universities. If the committee only has two members from the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, approval from the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is required. The Committee may also include additional qualified persons who are not faculty members. For the Master’s program, when persons from outside the University are proposed and the Committee does not meet quorum, approval from the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies must be obtained. The majority of the Committee must be from UBC. Members on study leave or any other leave exceeding 2 months may be replaced. A change in research direction or academic program may require a change in Committee composition. Initial meeting immediately after the student commences his/her program to review the proposed research area and approve courses for the program. Meeting to approve the research proposal and proposed schedule for completion. Regular meetings conducted to review progress to determine whether sufficient work has been achieved to prepare an acceptable thesis. Within 6 to 8 months of starting a Master’s program, the student will normally submit a Research Proposal to her/his Supervisory Committee for approval at a formal meeting of the Committee. The purpose of the proposal is to demonstrate how the student is going to carry out the research to meet the degree requirements. The Supervisory Committee meets to discuss the proposal with the student to ensure the validity of the research plan and to ascertain the student’s ability to formulate scholarly research questions and to convey these in both written and verbal forms. The student will make a brief (< 20 min) oral presentation on his/her research proposal at the beginning of the meeting. The exact format of the proposal is determined by discussion with the Supervisor. It should, however, include a summary of information previously published on the topic, hypothesis, objective, experimental design, brief description of methodologies (including statistical analysis), and timeline, and the significance of the proposed research. An outline of the Thesis Proposal format for the Human Nutrition Graduate Program is presented as an example in Appendix C. The final Master’s Oral Examination is chaired by the Graduate Program Advisor (or designate) who neither votes nor signs the thesis. Copies of the thesis must be received by the Examining Committee (including the Chair) at least 4 weeks before the defense. The student’s supervisor must submit the “Approval by MSc Supervisory Committee to Proceed to Final Exam” form to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office at least 2 weeks prior to the examination. Examination Chair (Graduate Program Advisor or designate). At least two members of the Supervisory Committee (could include research co-supervisors). At least one additional member from outside the student’s Supervisory Committee. One member of the Examining Committee must be from another Graduate Program or Department. The examination is open to the public and normally lasts approximately 2 hours. Reviews purpose of the examination. Establishes the order for questioning, normally ending with the Supervisor(s). Ensures that the examination is conducted in an impartial manner. The Student: Provides a 20 – 25 minute oral presentation on her/his thesis work to the public and the Examining Committee. The Examiners: Following the oral presentation, the examiners examine the student (normally up to 20 minutes each) for one or two cycles, with the second cycle normally much shorter than the first. Questions are invited from the public. The public and the student are asked to leave the room while the committee reviews the student’s performance and the thesis. Unconditional pass – required changes are only of an editorial nature. The thesis is normally signed by all Examining Committee members at the time. Conditional pass – requirements involving re-analysis or major restructuring of the thesis are specified by the Examining Committee and are to be completed within 6 weeks of the examination. Signatures of the Supervisor and members wishing to check revisions are withheld. Fail – recommend withdrawal from the program. Evaluation is by majority decision but individual examiners may choose not to sign the thesis. The Supervisor signs the thesis only after all revisions have been made. Recommendation of appointment of Supervisory Committee form to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for approval. Initial meeting with Supervisory Committee to review and approve the proposed program, including courses that the student needs to take to ensure an adequate knowledge basis needed to carry out his/her research project. Supervisory Committee to meet with the student at least once every 12 months, and preferably once every 6 months. Supervisory Committee has reviewed Research Proposal at a formal meeting of the Committee. Each Graduate Program has prepared a statement of examination procedures, requirements, and regulations which are listed in Appendix E. Check with your Graduate Program Advisor regarding procedures and requirements for your graduate program. Supervisory Committee meets with the student to arrange date, format & scope of questioning. Committee nominates two additional members for the examining Committee. Supervisor ensures the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies receives the completed “Notice & Approval of Comprehensive Examination Committee” form for approval no less than two (2) weeks before the examination. The Graduate Program Advisor or designate will chair the comprehensive examination. Examination Chair reports the examination results in writing to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, with copies to the Graduate Program Advisor, Committee members, and the student. The Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will in turn inform FG+PS of the outcome of examination. When the student has been successful and has met other requirements, request FG+PS to admit the student to candidacy. Three months prior to submission of the completed thesis to FG+PS, the Supervisor submits “Appointment of External Examiner for Doctoral Thesis“ form to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for approval and submission to FG+PS for approval. A doctoral student’s supervisory committee is responsible for guiding the student in selecting any required courses, planning the research, and preparing the thesis. The Supervisory Committee provides academic support throughout the program. Helps plan a program of courses, if necessary, which will prepare the student for thesis work, meet program requirements and career development. Provides critical comments on the research proposal and the thesis. Helps plan the comprehensive examination format. Reviews research progress on no less than an annual basis. Recommends whether the thesis is of acceptable standard for examination. Ensures that all LFS and FG+PS procedures associated with the degree program are adhered. Normally, the Research Supervisor chairs the Committee, and is a Professor, Associate or Assistant Professor with some previous experience on doctoral committees and a member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. If an approved Adjunct Professor acts as the co-supervisor (research), a full-time, faculty member (Professor, Associate or Assistant Professor) is required as co-supervisor (academic) who chairs the committee. At least two additional faculty members will serve on the Committee. They normally will be at least of the rank of Assistant Professor and member of the FG+PS. One member will be from outside the Program in which the student’s degree is to be taken. The Committee must have at least three members. The membership may include faculty from other units and additional members from other universities. If the committee contains less than three members from the FG+PS and when persons from outside the University are proposed, a memo requesting approval must be sent to the Dean of the Faculty Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies via the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS, with a justification and a curriculum vitae of the person(s) nominated. The majority of the Committee must be from UBC. Within 18 to 24 months of starting his/her doctoral program, the student will normally submit a Research Proposal to her/his Supervisory Committee for approval at a formal meeting of the Committee. The purpose of the proposal is to demonstrate how the student is going to carry out the research to meet the degree requirements. The Supervisory Committee meets to discuss the proposal with the student to ensure the validity of the research plan and to ascertain the student’s ability to formulate scholarly research questions and to convey these in both written and verbal forms. The student will make a brief (< 20 min) oral presentation on his/her research proposal at the beginning of the meeting. The exact format of the proposal is determined by discussion with the Supervisor. It should, however, include a summary of information previously published on the topic, hypothesis, objective, experimental design, brief description of methodologies (including statistical analysis), and timeline, and the significance of the proposed research. Comprehensive Examination For Doctoral Students: Form for Notice And Approval Of Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination Committee. Successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination is a FG+PS requirement for all doctoral programs before a student is granted Doctoral Candidacy status. Each Graduate Program has prepared a statement of examination procedures, requirements, and regulations which are listed in Appendix E. Normally, the examination will be held after completion of all required coursework. The Examination is normally held within 18 months but no later than 24 months after the student begins his/her Doctoral program, when any necessary course work has been completed. The Examination Committee is normally composed of: a Chair (Graduate Advisor or designate), two or three members of the Supervisory Committee, and two additional full-time professors not on the Supervisory Committee (one of whom will be from another graduate program in UBC). All members must be informed of the examination date, purpose, scope and format, and be provided with copies of the Comprehensive Examination guidelines. The two additional members may wish to meet with the Supervisor and student immediately following their appointments to the Committee. The Examining Committee in Food Science is composed of all faculty members in the Food Science Program plus one member from another Program. The Examination Chair: Reviews the purpose of the examination; outlines examination procedures; and indicates the order of questioning. The Thesis Supervisor: Briefly reviews the student’s background; and confirms that program requirements have been fully met (residency, courses, proposal approved). The Student: Provide a short oral presentation about his/her background and goals at the beginning of the examination. The nature and length of this presentation differs between Programs. The Examiners: Examine the student according to procedures outlined by the Examination Chair. Conditional pass – requirements are specified in writing by the Examining Committee and are to be completed within 6 weeks of the examination unless they involve requiring the student to successfully complete an additional course. Adjournment – procedures for continuing the examination are specified in writing by the Examining Committee (a student may have one examination adjournment, provided the student is within the first 36 months of his/her program at the time of the continued examination). The Examination Chair informs the student of the results in the presence of the Examining Committee. The Chair also reports the examination results to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. FG+PS will be notified by the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, in writing once the student has successfully completed the examination with copies to the student, Supervisor and Graduate Program Advisor. It is expected that a decision should be made whether a student will be Advanced to candidacy within 18 – 24 months from the date of initial registration. A student who is not admitted to candidacy within a period of 36 months from the date of initial registration will be required to withdraw from his/her program. Extension of this period may be permitted by the Dean of FG+PS under exceptional circumstances. All required course work (if any) has been successfully completed. The Comprehensive Examination has been passed. The Research Supervisory Committee has approved the thesis proposal. As soon as the student has satisfied all requirements, the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies recommends to the FG+PS that the student be advanced to Candidacy. PLAN AHEAD. There are lots of deadlines to meet before you even get a defense date and it’s advisable to start investigating these about 4 to 5 months before you anticipate defending. Tools for planning. 3 months prior to submission of the completed thesis to FG+PS for forwarding to the external examiner, Supervisor submits Nomination of External Examiner Form to FG+PS. Signatures of both the research Supervisor and the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS are required on the Form. Submit Thesis to FG+PS 8 weeks before Oral Examination if External Examiner is from outside North America or 6 weeks if External Examiners from inside North America. The dissertation must be complete and ready (except for very minor text changes) to send to the external examiner: Email your dissertation to [email protected] for review. A PDF is preferred. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure format is incompliance with university requirements. Submitting the Dissertation for External Examiner has more information on submission requirements. A Graduate Program Approval of Doctoral Dissertation for External Examination Form from the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies must be submitted along with the thesis indicating that the student has completed the requirements for the Doctoral degree and is ready to defend his/her thesis. A UBC account number for the courier charges is included in the form. Thesis without proper accompanying documentation will not be processed. FG+PS no longer requires students to submit The Examination Programme. However, students or research supervisors are still welcome to create and distribute a program should they wish to do so. For those seeking guidance, a template is available on our website. Confirm date and time of Oral Exam with the Doctoral Examinations Coordinator. Appointment of University Examiners Form: The Supervisor and Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies recommends the University Examiners. Both University Examiners must be members of FG+PS. Professors’ emeriti who are active in their field are eligible and most welcome. Assistant professors may be nominated with full justification of nomination in writing by the Research Supervisor one week prior to the University Examiner form being submitted. The Research Supervisor is responsible for inviting and confirming a mutually convenient time with all members of the examining Committee, to attend the Final Oral Examination. In order to meet quorum, the Examining Committee must consist of a Chair, two members from the Supervisory Committee, and two University Examiners (one from the candidate’s Graduate Program and one from another Graduate Program). As soon as a date and time is fixed, FG+PS must be informed so that a room can be booked for the candidate. The candidate is responsible for delivering to each member of the Examining Committee a copy of the thesis in its approved form. FG+PS will appoint a Chair for the exam. FG+PS must receive a minimum of 4 weeks notice in order to book an examination room. FG+PS only sends the thesis to the External Examiner (outside UBC) and the Chair. The supervisor and/or candidate is responsible for providing the thesis to the two University Examiners and also members of the Supervisory Committee members attending the Final Oral Examination. No revision or only minor revision required. At least two examining committee members sign the Doctoral Dissertation Approval form; the research supervisor withholds signature until revisions are complete. The final dissertation should be submitted to FG+PS within one month of the exam. The dissertation is satisfactory subject to substantive revision affecting content. Fewer than two committee members sign the Doctoral Dissertation Approval form; the research supervisor and additional committee members withhold signatures until revisions are complete. The examining committee should recommend the procedure to be followed for revisions, and the procedure should be outlined in the Chair’s report. The final dissertation should be submitted to FG+PS within six months of the exam date. The dissertation is unsatisfactory in its current form. Major rewriting and rethinking are required. No one signs the Doctoral Dissertation Approval form. The Examining Committee should recommend the procedure to be followed for revision of the thesis, and the procedure should be outlined in the Chair’s report. Further instructions for final submission will come from FG+PS. The dissertation is failed and re – examination on this research is not permitted. The Comprehensive (Ph.D. only) or Final Oral Examination is failed. A student who is not admitted to Ph.D. Candidacy within a period of 36 months from date of initial registration will be required to withdraw from the program. Progress is considered unsatisfactory because of poor performance in coursework, research, or other academic endeavors. Circumstances arise which make it unlikely that the program will be successfully completed within a reasonable time period. Recommendations to the FG+PS of Final Oral Examination failure and termination of a student’s program are made in writing by the Examining Committee (condition 1 above) or by the Supervisory Committee. In condition 2, extension to the third-year may be permitted by FG+PS under exceptional circumstances. In conditions 3 and 4, the student must receive prior notice in writing that progress has been unsatisfactory, and be given a clear definition of remedial action with realistic deadlines. Every effort should be made to resolve disputes informally. Appeals are directed first to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS within 3 months of the original decision. If efforts to resolve the dispute within the Faculty fail, the student can appeal to the Dean of FG+PS within 10 working days of official notification of the decision by the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS. The Dean of FG+PS will not accept an appeal of an academic judgment. Such an appeal will be referred back to the Faculty. The Dean will only consider appeals based on alleged prejudice or bias in the evaluation or improper procedures in the evaluation process. If an appeal cannot be resolved satisfactorily by the intercession of the Dean of FG+PS, the student may lodge a written notice of appeal with the Senate Committee on Academic Standing, within 10 days of being informed in writing of the Dean’s decision. Any dispute concerning grades should first be discussed with the instructor, then with the Graduate Program Advisor and finally with the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in LFS. Matters such as financial support, professional conduct, etc., are handled by the Graduate Programs Committee, the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and FG+PS, in that order. Research data collected by graduate students during their programs remain the property of the LFS, and in some cases, of the funding agency. Copies of all data are to be filed with the student’s Supervisor. Thesis research should be prepared for publication within 6 months of the Final Oral Examination. After this time, the Supervisor may assume responsibility for communicating the research findings. The student must maintain his/her registration until the thesis is submitted. Please follow FG+PS instructions for final thesis/dissertation submission. Students should apply for graduation on-line. It is the Graduate Program Advisor’s responsibility to confirm that all program requirements (courses, comprehensive examinations, etc.) have been satisfied. Establish a supervisory committee early in the student’s program and convene a meeting, at least once annually, to evaluate the student’s progress, with input from the student and colleagues wherever appropriate. Assist the student in the development of academic and research programs. Arrange and chair meetings of the Supervisory Committee and record its assessment of academic and research progress in writing. Send copies to the student, committee members, and Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office after each meeting. Arrange examinations (examiners, time, date, room, etc.). Provide adequate research facilities and funding to support the student’s research project. Assist and direct the student in the preparation of the thesis. Have sufficient familiarity with the field of research to provide guidance and/or a willingness to gain that familiarity before agreeing to act as Supervisor. Respond to written work submitted by the student in a timely and thorough manner, with constructive suggestions for improvement and continuation. The turnaround time for comments on written work should not normally exceed 3 weeks. Make arrangements to ensure continuity of supervision when absent for two months or longer. Within the norms appropriate to the discipline, make reasonable arrangements to ensure that the research resources needed for the thesis project are available to the student and, when necessary, assist the student in gaining access to facilities or research materials. Help to ensure that the research environment is safe, healthy and free from harassment, discrimination and conflict. When there is conflicting advice or when there are different expectations on the part of co-supervisors or members of the Supervisory Committee, endeavor to achieve consensus and resolve the differences. Assist the student to be aware of current program requirements, deadlines, sources of funding, etc. Encourage the student to make presentations of research results within the University, as well as to outside scholarly or professional bodies, as appropriate. Help the student plan the work, set a time schedule and adhere as closely as possible to that schedule. Encourage the student to complete their program of studies when it would not be in their best interest to extend it. Appropriately acknowledge the student’s contributions to presentations and published material, in many cases via joint authorship. Ensure that recommendations for external examiners of doctoral theses are made to the Graduate Program Advisor and forwarded to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, in the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office in a timely manner; make other arrangements for oral examination of the thesis and assist the student to comply with any changes that need to be made after the oral examination. Other items are the same as for the Master’s Program. Make a commitment and show dedicated efforts to gain the background knowledge and skills needed to pursue the research project successfully. Develop, in conjunction with the Supervisor and Supervisory Committee, a plan and a timetable for completion of all stages of the thesis project, and work assiduously to adhere to a schedule and to meet appropriate deadlines. Meet with the Supervisor when requested and report fully and regularly on progress and results. Maintain registration throughout the program and (for international students) ensure that student visas and, where applicable, employment authorization documents are kept up to date. Keep the Supervisor, Graduate Program Advisor, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office and FG+PS informed of how you can be contacted. Give serious consideration and respond to advice and criticisms received from the Supervisor and other members of the Supervisory Committee. Pay due attention to the need to maintain a workplace which is tidy, safe and healthy and where each individual shows tolerance and respect for the rights of others. Take appropriate courses on safety, radiation, etc. Be thoughtful and reasonably frugal in using resources provided by the Supervisor and by the University, and assist in obtaining additional resources for the research or for other group members where applicable. Conform to University, Faculty and Program requirements, including those related to deadlines, dissertation style, conflict of interest, etc. Recognize that where the student’s research comprises a component of the Supervisor’s research program, the responsibility for utilization of data and for publication is held jointly by the Supervisor and student. In such cases, a draft paper, together with raw data, will be made available to the Supervisor prior to submission for publication. Meet agreed performance standards and deadlines of the funding organization to the extent possible when financing has been provided under a contract or grant. Conform to the strictest standards of honesty in order to assure academic integrity and professionalism. This includes, but is by no means limited to, acknowledging assistance, materials and/or data provided by others. When the program requirements have been met, terminate the work and clean up the work space, in consideration of the next student. Return borrowed materials to the Supervisor, LFS, library or reading room, etc. when the project has been concluded or when return is requested. Title Page – Include the title of the thesis proposal, name of candidate, and name of Thesis Supervisor and Supervisory Committee members. Introduction – Introduce the research topic. Specific Aims – State the primary objectives of the study. Background – A brief review of the pertinent literature and a list of references should be given. Emphasis should be on developing a review that is highly relevant to the project rather than an exhaustive review of the entire field. Rationale – State the hypothesis(es) to be tested and give the rationale of the approach. Research Design – Describe the number of observations in each experimental group and list what procedures are to be done, and what measurements are to be made on each. In animal studies, proper diets and protocol should be included. Sampling strategies in human studies should be included. Methods – Describe the specific methods to be used in the project. The basis for new methods and/or significant modifications of established methods should be given. Analysis of the Data – Specify how the data are to be analyzed. The specific number of comparisons to be made, the types of statistical tests to be used, and the number of samples to be obtained for use in making the comparisons should be listed. The Role of Candidate in Project – Describe exactly the role the candidate will have in the project. What analyses will be done by the candidate in which laboratories, and from where will other pertinent data be obtained? The role of any technical personnel working on the project should be specifically identified. Significance – Describe the significance of this study with reference to the state of knowledge of the field and the possible nutritional implications of the findings. Human Studies – See Guidance for Research with Human Subject in preparation of this section. Procedures for obtaining the appropriate permissions for research with human subjects must be stated. This outline of a thesis proposal is intended to serve as a guideline. Specific details of the proposal should be discussed with the Research Advisor. The comprehensive exam in the Applied Animal Biology Graduate program is to test the student’s background knowledge related to her/his dissertation research and their ability to carry out their proposed research. This exam should be completed within the first 24 months of their program. As such, the student is not to be tested on his/her dissertation research itself or defend his/her research proposal but rather is examined on subject areas related to a review paper prepared before the oral examination. The student, in consultation with their research supervisory committee, shall identify topics (typically two to four) relevant to the students’ core area of research. These topics will then become the subject of a critical, integrative review. Students may choose to write their review in the form of a manuscript that may later be submitted to a referred journal. A version of the review may also be suitable for inclusion in the final dissertation as an introductory chapter. Once the supervisory committee approves the document (and signed the examination approval form) the oral examination date can be set. The exam committee consists of the Chair (Graduate Advisor or designate), 2 – 3 members of the PhD supervisory committee, and 2 university examiners (full-time professors not on the supervisory committee). At least one member of the examination committee must be from another Graduate Program. The examiners should be chosen according to the topics central to the review paper. The student will meet with each examiner and deliver his/her critical review document no less than 2 weeks before the examination. The chair (non-voting) will outline the purpose of the exam and the order of questioning; normally the exam begins with the external examiners, followed by the supervisory committee members and ends with the supervisor. The oral examination may begin with a short (less than 20 min) presentation by the student. Examiners are free to ask any question they see as appropriate during the examination; the review paper will provide context and help frame the discussion. Each examiner will examine the students for 15-20 minutes followed by a shortened second round of questions. After the examination, the examiners meet in camera to determine the outcome by majority decision. The student may be required, for example, to successfully complete a course in which the committee finds the student needs additional knowledge/skills. If the committee finds that the performance in the oral examination is not satisfactory, but believes that, with additional preparation, the student has the potential for satisfactory performance, the examination will be adjourned. The committee’s rationale for recommending an adjournment and the procedures for continuing the examination, including the time frame, will be specified in writing by the Chair of the examining committee. One examination adjournment or retake is permitted, provided the student has the opportunity to complete the examination within the first 36 months of his/her program. The continuation will be videotaped. The examination committee membership normally remains unchanged for the continuation of the exam. If the continuation does not result in an unconditional or a conditional pass, the student will be required to withdraw from the program. Students who fail the oral examination will be required to withdraw from the program. Students will be informed in writing by the examination committee of the failure. The Food Science graduate program advisor will meet with you ~ 5-6 weeks prior to your comprehensive exam date, to present you with a hypothetical “research problem”. This research problem and your research proposal to address it will form the basis of the comprehensive examination to assess the aforementioned indicators of your abilities. The topic of the research problem is “separate and distinct from” your doctoral dissertation prospectus, and will be selected to represent a typical research problem of significance in the food science field. Within four weeks of receiving this research problem, you will be required to submit to the Food Science Graduate Advisor, a written report that provides the necessary background, the rationale for the proposed research approach and a well-documented research strategy to address the problem. The report should be no longer than forty double-spaced pages, printed with a 12- point font size. Tables and figures may be appended to the report. The report should include appropriately referenced background information and issues relevant to the problem. This background information should constitute no more than half of the report. The experimental plan and methodology proposed for the research plan, including experimental design and statistical analysis of data, should constitute at least half of the report. You should also indicate the limitations that may be encountered in the execution of the proposed research plan. You should take into account the anticipated outcomes of the research in the design of the research plan. The written report, which will be photocopied and distributed to the Examining Committee, will form the basis of the oral comprehensive examination. The Examining Committee for your oral examination will be composed of a Chair, at least four faculty members from the Food Science graduate program, and one faculty member from another graduate program. The oral examination will be scheduled to take place within one to two weeks following submission of the report to the Food Science Graduate Advisor. Decision (unconditional pass; conditional pass; adjournment; fail) by the Examining Committee. This document provides guidelines to students in the PhD degree program in Human Nutrition regarding their comprehensive examinations. These exams include two components, a screening exam and preparation/oral examination of a research proposal, each of which is described separately following the section on “Timing of the Exams”. The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies states that comprehensive exams are normally intended to assess whether the student has developed: a. strong analytical, problem-solving and critical thinking abilities b. required breadth and in-depth knowledge of the discipline c. ability to communicate knowledge of the discipline d. required academic background for the specific doctoral research to follow e. potential ability to conduct independent and original research. The Human Nutrition Comprehensive Exams are intended primarily to address items (a) through (c) in the above list. Items (d) and (e) are assessed through the Supervisory Committee’s evaluation of the PhD research proposal. In the Human Nutrition Graduate Program, doctoral students are normally expected to complete their comprehensive examinations within 18 months from the date of initial registration. Completion of comprehensive exams is one aspect of the requirements for admission to PhD candidacy, and according to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, a student who is not admitted to candidacy within 36 months from the date of initial registration must withdraw from the program. The screening examination must be passed before the research proposal component can be attempted. Normally, the screening exam will be taken within 6-12 months of initial registration. The research question to be addressed in the research proposal should be approved by the Human Nutrition Graduate Program within 14 months of initial registration, with the oral examination taking place within the following 3 months. The written research proposal must be circulated at least 2 weeks prior to the oral examination. The purpose of the screening exam is to ensure that doctoral students have comprehensive knowledge of the fundamentals of human nutrition. Students are expected to have knowledge in the following areas (courses covering these areas are in parentheses): Basic macronutrient and energy metabolism (including fibre) (FNH 250 and 350) Basic micronutrient metabolism (FNH 250 and 351) Basic principles of nutritional assessment, and familiarity with techniques for commonly assessed nutrients (FNH 370) Major issues in nutrition across the lifespan (FNH 471) Basic research methods in nutrition and other health research (FNH 398) DRIs – major issues considered and rationale for the recommendations for the major nutrients, especially any problematic or controversial nutrients (FNH 350, 351, and 471) Basic role of nutrition in prevention and pathogenesis of the major chronic diseases influenced by nutrition (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity) (FNH 350, 351, and 451). Students will have 3 hours to complete the closed-book exam, which will consist of multiple choice, short and medium length questions. Exam questions will be set by the instructors of the above courses (i.e., FNH 250, 350, 351, 370, 398, 451, and 471), and will be similar to questions asked in examinations in the undergraduate courses. Current course syllabi from the above courses will be made available to exam candidates. Students must receive a mark of 75% or greater to pass the exam. Students who obtain a mark of 60%-74% on their first attempt will be given one opportunity to retake the exam within 2 months of the first attempt. Students who receive less than 60% on their first attempt or less than 75% on their second attempt will be required to withdraw from the program. The purpose of this part of the comprehensive exam is to establish that students have an ability to critically evaluate primary research literature, identify a gap in the current literature, establish a research question and appropriate hypotheses/objectives, address the research question through designing appropriate original investigations systemically and logically, with application of appropriate methodologies and statistical analyses. In addition, this part of the examination will also assess the breadth and depth of students’ knowledge within one area of human nutrition research. This part of the comprehensive exam consists of preparation and oral examination of a CIHR style research proposal. In consultation with their dissertation research supervisor, students are required to identify a research question that must not be in the immediate area of their dissertation research. For example, an acceptable research question might be one that would be addressed using similar research methods to those of the student’s dissertation research, but with a focus on a different nutrient, health outcome or life stage. If the timing is appropriate, this topic could be used for the student’s ‘long seminar’ in HUNU 631. The research question will be presented to the HUNU graduate faculty in the form of letter of intent. The letter of intent (LOI) should follow the format of the one-page summary required for registration of a CIHR operating grant, including background information, research questions, objectives and/or hypotheses, study design and methods, and significance (maximum 1 page, single spaced, 2 cm margins). An additional page should be submitted with a one paragraph summary of the student’s dissertation research question/topic. It should be submitted shortly after successful completion of the screening examination and within 14 months of initial registration in the doctoral program to the advisor of the Human Nutrition program who will circulate it to all HUNU graduate faculty members. Faculty members will respond to the program advisor within 1 week, indicating if they do/do not approve the LOI. If they do not approve, reasons shall be given. The program advisor will collate responses and let the student know within 10 days whether or not the LOI has been approved. In the event that it is rejected, clear reasons will be provided and the student asked to revise and resubmit within 14 days. Upon approval of the letter of intent, students are responsible for preparing the research proposal, which includes a one-page summary of the research proposal, a lay abstract, the proposal itself (maximum 11 pages), appropriate components of the research proposal appendix, and budget information. Students are strongly urged to consult with the CIHR website to ensure full compliance with the requirements and format for Open Operating Grant applications (http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/35674.html#t3). Students are expected to prepare the proposal independently, without review by their supervisor or other faculty members (although they are allowed to have conversations with their supervisor about the topic). The completed research proposal is submitted electronically to the advisor of the Human Nutrition program, who will be responsible for distributing it to faculty members of the Program. The proposal should be submitted to the Advisor of the Human Nutrition Program within 17 months of initial registration in the PhD program. Only e-submission will be accepted. If the LOI or proposal are not submitted within the expected time frame, the student, supervisor, and graduate program advisor will meet to discuss why this has occurred, and develop a time line for completion of these components as soon as possible. The oral examination is held in camera. The exam is primarily centered around the research proposal. Students are expected to address other relevant questions, including, but not limited to, the strength and weakness associated with the experimental design, methodologies, and statistical analyses, etc. Note that a minimum of 2 weeks elapse between the date of submitting the research proposal and the scheduled date of the oral exam. The Supervisor must submit the “Notice and Approval of Oral Examination” form to the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, at least 8 weeks before the oral examination. In the event that the oral examination will not occur as scheduled, the Supervisor must notify members of the Oral Examination Committee at the earliest possible time. The Chair begins the exam by reviewing the purpose and format of the exam. The student will then present a 10-15 min synopsis of the proposal, followed by the question period. The question period is conducted in the order established by the Chair. The approximate length of time for each examiner is 15-20 minutes, and two rounds of questioning may occur. Normally, the research supervisor asks questions last. Since one of the purposes of the oral examination is to determine the breadth and depth of students’ knowledge, students are not expected to be an expert in everything that they are asked about. Thus it is acceptable to say “I don’t know”, but the Committee would expect the student to follow this up with a discussion of what s/he might anticipate, based on related knowledge. Again, the point is to determine if the student can discuss the subject in an intelligent manner. The Graduate Advisor normally serves as Chair of the Oral Examination Committee. However, if s/he is the supervisor of the student, another faculty member in Human Nutrition will serve as Chair. The Chair’s role is to ensure impartiality, to ensure that the program’s procedures are followed, and to file the exam report. S/he also monitors the length of questioning by each examiner. The Chair may participate in the examination process but does not vote except in the event of a tie. The Committee will include all available faculty members in Human Nutrition (minimum 3, in addition to the Chair), as well as one faculty member from another Graduate Program, for a minimum of 4 examiners plus the Chair. The student may be required, for example, to successfully complete a course or re-write aspects of the proposal in which the committee finds the student needs additional knowledge/skills. The additional academic requirements will be provided to the student in writing by the examination committee and include expected standards of achievement and time frame for completion. If the committee finds that the student’s written research proposal and performance in oral examination is not satisfactory (e.g., inadequate depth; inability to critically evaluate the literature, and inappropriate hypothesis and experimental approaches, etc.), but believes that, with additional preparation, the student has the potential for satisfactory performance, the examination will be adjourned. The committee’s rationale for recommending an adjournment and the procedures for continuing the examination, including the time frame, will be specified in writing by the Chair of the examining committee. Students will also be informed whether the adjournment is related to one or both aspects of this part of the comprehensive exam. The comprehensive exam is to test the candidate’s background knowledge related to the candidate’s thesis research in order to determine whether the candidate is capable of carrying out the proposed research. As such, the student is not to be tested on his/her thesis research nor a defense of her research proposal. 2 university examiners (full-time professors not on the supervisory committee). At least one member of the Exam committee has to be from another Graduate Program or department. The examiners should be chosen according to the particular areas that the candidate needs to be tested on. After the committee members have been identified, the candidate will visit the examiners to deliver his/her thesis research proposal. Each examiner may assign the candidate some review papers, a set of journal papers, or books so that the candidate can read up on the area that he/she is to be tested. The comprehensive exam is to assess the candidate’s background knowledge related to the candidate’s thesis research in order to determine whether the candidate is capable of carrying out the proposed research. As such, the student is not to be tested directly on his/her thesis research nor a defense of the research proposal, rather the examination addresses the candidate’s academic background and abilities to conduct original research appropriate for the doctoral degree. one University examiner who is not on the supervisory committee. The examiners should be chosen according to the particular areas of the candidate research program. After the committee members have been identified, the candidate will visit the examiners to deliver his/her thesis research proposal. Each examiner may assign the candidate review papers, a set of journal papers, or books so that the candidate can read in preparation for the examination. Determine whether the candidate has knowledge about the tools he/she will need to carry out his/her thesis research. The composition of the Examining Committee will meet FLFS requirements and will be approved at a meeting of the Ph.D. student’s thesis committee. Each Member of the Examining Committee will provide the student’s Supervisor with a question in the agreed upon subject area –the Supervisor will confirm the questions are complementary and consistent with the subject area agreed upon by the student’s Supervisory Committee. The Supervisor is responsible for providing the complete list of a limited number of questions and reading lists to the student and the Examining Committee no later than one month prior to the examination date, unless a different time is agreed upon at a committee meeting. The student will write a 2000 to 3000 (max.) word response to each question and provide them to the Examining Committee, including the Chair, one week prior to the examination unless a different time has been agreed upon at a committee meeting. The student should demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the subject areas including methodology, theory and content to proceed with the project. The student may present written responses to questions with a 20 minutes presentation in the examination, which will address the student’s informed reaction to the questions posed by the examining committee. A short summary of the proposal needs to be sent to the external examiner at least three weeks before the examination. The examination will begin with a 10-15 minute presentation by the student on the student’s informed responses to the committee’s questions and what the student has learned through the process of responding to the questions. The presentation may last 20 minutes if the student elects to forgo the written responses. The Examiners will examine the student’s knowledge of the agreed upon subject areas, including topics derived from the student’s written/oral responses to the Examination Committee’s questions. The question period will last no more than 1.5 hours.

2019-04-23T03:34:04Z

http://blogs.ubc.ca/lfsgrads/lfs-grad-student-handbook

Does the importer of a mixture have any obligations concerning potential impurities present in the mixture, where the impurity is a substance listed in Annex XVII? The obligations of the importer of the mixture depend on the interpretation of each specific entry in Annex XVII to REACH for the substance concerned, taking account of the wording, the context and the purpose of the restriction in question. For instance, if a substance were completely banned, then it could not be placed on the market, not even as an impurity in a substance in an imported mixture. On the other hand, some Annex XVII entries specify limits above which a substance cannot be placed on the market. This limit may not be exceeded, no matter what is the source of the substance in the mixture. However, this can only be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the substance, the restriction and the concentration of the substance as an impurity in the imported mixture. It should be noted that the impurity may be permissible at any concentration if the use of the imported mixture is not covered in the ‘conditions of restriction' listed in Annex XVII for the substance. When a specific Annex XVII entry (e.g. entry 56 MDI) specifies the requirement for the package to contain protective gloves in order for the mixture to be placed on the market, is it possible to attach the protective gloves to the package, if it cannot contain them? In special cases where, due to the size or shape of the packaging, it is technically not possible to include the protective gloves inside the packaging, it is considered to be sufficient that the gloves are fixed tightly to the packaging in a manner that they cannot be unintentionally removed during handling and transport. The gloves must not obstruct the label and the removal of the gloves must not destroy the label. In addition, both the packaging containing the mixture and the protective gloves must be placed on the market as a single unit, which explicitly signals to the consumer that the mixture may only be used with the protective gloves . What is the definition of "toys", in the context of restrictions in Annex XVII to REACH? A number of Annex XVII entries (Entries 5, 31, 43, 50 , 51 and 52) specifically refer to toys. The REACH Regulation does not define "toys". Toys are defined by Directive 2009/48/EC (hereinafter referred to as the Toys Safety Directive-TSD). Article 2(1) of the TSD states: "This directive shall apply to products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14 years of age (hereinafter referred to as toys)". Annex I to the TSD contains a more detailed list of products that are not considered as toys within the meaning of the Directive. Article 3 of the TSD defines certain types of toys such as "functional toy", "aquatic toy", "chemical toy" and "activity toy". Furthermore, Article 2(2) of the TSD explicitly mentions that the TSD shall not apply to the following toys: (a) playground equipment intended for public use; (b) automatic playing machines, whether coin operated or not, intended for public use; (c) toy vehicles equipped with combustion engines; (d) toy steam engines; and (e) slings and catapults. It is considered that if the TSD definition of "toys" is used in Annex XVII to REACH, these exemptions will automatically form part of that definition. The European Commission services have prepared an explanatory guidance document on the TSD, (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/toys/files/tsd-guidance/tsd_rev_1-6_explanatory_guidance_document_en.pdf) providing clarifications about its scope and definitions of certain categories of toys. Overall, the definition of toys in the TSD should be used to determine what we mean by "toys" for the purposes of restrictions in Annex XVII to REACH. Concerning toys exempted from the scope of the TSD (Article 2(2) of the TSD) these should also normally not be considered as "toys" for the purpose of the relevant REACH restrictions. In certain cases, it may be necessary to describe a class of toys to be covered by a restriction by reference to specific properties of the item. What is the definition of "childcare articles", in the context of restrictions in Annex XVII to REACH? A definition of "childcare articles" was inserted by the 22nd amendment of Council Directive 76/769/EEC, (which was repealed by REACH, Annex XVII) via the Directive 2005/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. Directive 76/769/EEC was amended so that the following definition for childcare articles was added in its Article 1(3)c: "childcare article" means any product intended to facilitate sleep, relaxation, hygiene, the feeding of children or sucking on the part of children. Hence the intention of the legislator was to use this definition for the purpose of all the restriction provisions and thereby this to be applicable for the entire Directive 76/769/EEC. Therefore, the same definition appears in entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII, providing an indication of what should be generally considered as a "childcare article" in the context of all Annex XVII (to REACH) provisions. What is the meaning of the expression "placing/placed on the market for the first time" in the context of entries 3(7), 31(2)(b), 58(1) and 59(1)(b) of Annex XVII to REACH? Article 3(12) of REACH defines "placing on the market" as supplying or making available, whether in return for payment or free of charge, to a third party. Import is deemed to be placing on the market. Placing on the market for the first time limits the scope of the restriction to the first natural or legal person who supplies or makes available substances, mixtures or articles on the market in the EU. The first placing on the market in the EU will either be by the manufacturer or the importer of the substance, mixture or article concerned. In some cases a restriction entry in Annex XVII refers to specific Directives/Regulations when describing the inclusion or exception of some substances or product categories from the entry. If this Directive/Regulation is repealed or modified, is the new/amended legislation applicable to the restriction? In general, the answer is yes. However, it should be assessed on a case-by-case basis whether the new legal act replaces the repealed one for the purpose of the REACH restriction, taking into account, for example, the objective of the reference. The new legal act may explicitly state that references to the repealed act must be construed as references to the new legal act (e.g., Article 139 of REACH). Entry 19 (paragraph 4) exempts certain uses of arsenic compounds for wood preservation if they are authorised in accordance with Directive 98/8/EC. This Directive was replaced by Regulation (EU) 528/2012, which explicitly states that references to the repealed Directive must be interpreted as reference to the new regulation (Article 96). Entry 45 (paragraph 3) exempts electrical and electronic equipment within the scope of Directive 2002/95/EC from the restriction of diphenylether, octabromo, derivative. This Directive was replaced by Directive 2011/65/EU, which explicitly states that references to the repealed Directive must be interpreted as reference to the new directive (Article 26). Entry 50 (paragraph 3) defines tyres covered by the PAH restriction as tyres for vehicles covered by three directives, including Directive 2002/24/EC. This Directive was replaced by Regulation (EU) 168/2013, which expressly states that references to the repealed Directive must be interpreted as reference to the new regulation (Article 81). As regards the amendment of an act referred to in a restriction, references in acts of Union law are usually ‘dynamic’, so that the reference is taken to be to the latest version of the act referred to. However, less commonly, a reference may expressly refer to an act as it stands on a specific date; this is known as a ‘static’ reference. What information on restrictions is needed on the safety data sheet and when does the safety data sheet need to be updated due to restrictions? Article 31(6) of the REACH Regulation provides that the safety data sheet (SDS) shall contain a Section 15 entitled ‘regulatory information’. Annex II to REACH provides requirements for the compilation of the SDS. Section 15(1) specifically mentions that, if the substance or mixture covered by the SDS is the subject of specific provisions in relation to the protection of human health or the environment at Union level (e.g. restrictions under Title VIII), these provisions must be mentioned, unless this information is already mentioned in other parts of the SDS. Thus, all restriction entries applicable to the specific substance or mixture covered by the SDS need to be indicated therein. As an example, SDSs including carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction substances (as such or in a mixture) listed in appendices 1 to 6 to REACH, need to refer to entries 28, 29 or 30 of Annex XVII. If another specific restriction exists for these substances, this needs to be mentioned as well in the SDS. Moreover, Article 31(9) of the REACH Regulation requires suppliers to update the SDS without delay once a restriction has been imposed. In Section 16 (other information), a clear indication of where changes to the previous version have been made needs to be included, unless such indication is given elsewhere in the safety data sheet, with an explanation of the changes. What is regarded as scientific research and development, which is exempted for restrictions? For example, does research by students at universities fall under this? Article 3(23) of the REACH Regulation defines scientific research and development as “any scientific experimentation, analysis or chemical research carried out under controlled conditions in a volume less than one tonne per year”. To further clarify the exemption (within Article 67(1) of the REACH Regulation, manufacture, placing on the market or use of a substance in scientific research and development (SRD) is exempted for restrictions), note that under the authorisation process the following Q&As (concerning the exemption in Article 56 for the use of Annex XIV substances in scientific research and development) has been provided. The same approach can be broadly considered as applicable to restrictions. Q&A 1153 states that sampling for further analysis is not exempted and thus not regarded as scientific research and development. However, “activities considered to form part of the use of the sample in performing analytical activities” fall within the exemption. Q&A 1030 explains that the uses of a substance upstream preceding an exempted end-use in scientific research and development are also exempted in quantities of the substance ending up in SRD (i.e. under 1 t/y per user) subject to certain conditions. Q&A 585 explains that the exemption from authorisation also applies to the use of a substance in analytical activities such as monitoring and quality control under certain conditions. This exemption applies irrespective of where the analysis is performed i.e. on-site or off-site facilities, but does not cover sampling activities. Scientific experimentation, analysis or chemical research in universities and secondary schools, conducted by students, may fall within the exemption, if they are carried out under controlled conditions, in a volume less than one tonne per year. In other words, if the volume of a substance used in scientific experimentation, analysis or chemical research is less than one tonne per year and it is used under controlled conditions, restrictions do not apply to that use. Which restrictions under REACH concern textiles and leather articles? Many entries in the Restriction List (Annex XVII) cover articles. Such entries are, for instance, entries 50 - 52, 61 and 63. These may address types of textiles and leather articles, even if these are not explicitly mentioned. Entry 8 (Polybromobiphenyls; Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), CAS No 59536-65-1). Entry 47 (paragraphs 5-7), restriction on chromium VI compounds in leather articles coming into contact with the skin. Which restrictions under REACH concern electrical and electronic equipment? Many entries in the Restriction List (Annex XVII) cover specific articles or all articles without explicitly referring to electrical and electronic equipment. These are, for example, entries 18a, 20, 23-26, 50-52. They may apply to electrical and electronic equipment, even if these are not explicitly mentioned (or derogated) in the entry. Entry 63 (paragraph 8) excludes articles within the scope of Directive 2011/65/EU from the restriction on lead and its compounds in articles supplied to the general public. Which restrictions under REACH concern paints or paint strippers? Many entries in the Restriction List (Annex XVII) cover substances and mixtures in general, without specifying product types. They may thus also apply to paints/paint strippers, even if these are not explicitly mentioned in the entry. Entry 59, restriction on dichloromethane in paint strippers under certain conditions. In some cases a restriction entry (e.g. entries 32-38, 46) in Annex XVII refers to ‘cleaning’. What does this mean? In general, cleaning refers to any removal of dirt or pollution from articles or places, both in industrial and institutional facilities as well as in households. In some entries cleaning may be specified by reference to a particular user group(s) or potential exposure pattern to which the restriction applies. For example, column 2, paragraph 1 of entries 32-38 refer to the substance or mixture being intended for supply to the general public and/or intended for diffusive applications where releases can occur from multiple sources such as surface cleaning and cleaning of fabrics. Column 2, paragraph 1 of entry 46 applies to industrial and institutional cleaning systems (e.g. in schools, hospitals), with the exception of dry cleaning done in a controlled closed system where the washing liquid is recycled or incinerated and other cleaning systems where special treatment is used with recycling or incineration of the washing liquid. Column 2, paragraph 2 entry 46 applies to all domestic cleaning. What is understood by an ‘article’ in the restrictions in Annex XVII to the REACH Regulation, following the judgement of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on substances (SVHCs) in articles? The term ‘article’, as interpreted by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in its judgement of 10 September 2015 in case C-106/14 applies in the same way to restrictions in Annex XVII as to the other aspects of the REACH Regulation. The judgement is available here: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?language=en&td=ALL&num=C-106/14. For the purposes of REACH, the term 'article' has the specific meaning set out in Article 3(3) of the REACH Regulation. Article 3(3) defines an article as ‘an object which during production is given a special shape, surface or design which determines its function to a greater degree than does its chemical composition’. 'Complex objects' are made up of more than one article which meet the criteria laid down in Article 3(3) of REACH, e.g. a bicycle is a complex object made up of several articles, such as handlebar grips, cables, screws etc. Complex objects are explained in the ECHA Guidance on requirements for substances in articles. Please note the term ‘complex object’ corresponds to ‘complex product’ that is used in the ECJ Judgement referred to above (see footnote 12 of the above guidance). The ECJ, in its judgment, observed that the REACH Regulation does not contain any provisions specifically governing complex products and that consequently, in the absence of specific provisions, there is no need to draw a distinction between articles of their own (e.g. screw) or when incorporated as components of a complex product (e.g. a screw in a bike). Therefore, when incorporated into a complex product, an 'article' remains an article within the meaning of REACH, as long as the article retains its special shape, surface or design, which is more decisive for its function than its chemical composition. Entries in Annex XVII restricting 'articles' cover any object meeting the criteria in Article 3(3) of the REACH Regulation. Therefore, if an entry restricts the placing on the market of articles containing/releasing substance X and the restriction affects complex objects, the presence/release of substance X in each of the individual articles should be checked. If a restriction entry refers to ‘parts of articles’, this should be understood as referring to an integral part of an article. Please note questions and answers (Q&As) and guidelines for some entries in Annex XVII have been developed which provide further information. The Q&As and guidelines are available on the ECHA website here: https://echa.europa.eu/information-restricted-substances. Which type of oil lamps are considered as decorative within the context of Entry 3 of Annex XVII? Oil lamp for decorative purposes is an oil lamp for interior or exterior use (e.g. in garden torches) appealing by its design and or the light atmosphere it creates. In entry 3(1) what is included within the scope of ‘ornamental articles’, in addition to the examples of ornamental lamps and ashtrays in the legal text? The restriction should be understood as a broad restriction covering all articles that contain liquids specified in the entry and intended to produce light or colour effects by means of different phases and which have an ornamental design. It does not matter if the article also has other functions besides being decorative. So for example, if articles such as cell phone covers, liquid timers, toothbrushes, shower curtains, key-rings and hourglasses contain ornamental features that produce light or colour effects, they are covered by the restriction even though the ornamental function is not the primary function of the article. Decorative LED lamps with glitter are also included within the scope of this restriction. What is the scope of entry 8 which concerns polybromobiphenyls and polybrominatedbiphenyls? A specific CAS number (59536-65-1) is referred to in the entry, but are other polybrominated biphenyls also included in the scope of this restriction? All polybrominated biphenyls (also referred to as polybromobiphenyls) are covered by the restriction in entry 8. The CAS number referred to in entry 8 is only an example of one of the main commercially used fire retardant products at the time of the adoption of the restriction. What is the definition of paints in the context of entries 16 and 17 of Annex XVII? In particular, are children's paint sets, and also other stationery-type paints such as artist paints and do-it-yourself (DIY) decorations for t-shirts also covered? The REACH Regulation does not provide a specific definition for paints. According to a general meaning, paint is a mixture, usually of a liquid with a solid pigment. Furthermore, Commission Decision 2009/544/EC (establishing the ecological criteria for the EU Ecolabel to indoor paints and varnishes) provides the following definition: 'Paint' means a pigmented coating material, in liquid or in paste or powder form, which when applied to a substrate, forms an opaque film having protective, decorative or specific technical properties. The abovementioned definitions provide an indication of what could be generally considered as a paint in the context of entries 16-17 of Annex XVII (to REACH) provisions. It should be noted that the restrictions in entries 16-17 of Annex XVII only allow Member States to permit the use of paints containing the restricted substances for the restoration and maintenance of works of art and historic buildings and their interiors. Thus children's paint sets and other stationery-type paints such as artist paints and do-it-yourself (DIY) decorations for t-shirts must not contain the restricted substances. Concerning children's paint sets, these may also be covered by the Toys Directive (Directive 2009/48/EC on the safety of Toys), which lays down limits for the presence of lead in toys. Are the repairing and maintenance activities covered by the restriction in Entry 18(a) of Annex XVII? Fever thermometers and other measuring devices for sale to the general public in use in the European Union before the 3 April 2009: The prohibition concerns the placing on the market of fever thermometers and other measuring devices for sale to the general public after the 3 April 2009. Pursuant to paragraph 2, thermometers as well as other measuring devices for sale to the general public in use in the European Union before the 3 April 2009 are exempted from the prohibition. These instruments containing mercury which were in use in the European Union before the 3 April 2009 can be placed on the second hand market except in the territories of Member States which decided to regulate theses existing instruments. Repairing and maintenance activities for these existing instruments are excluded from the scope of the restriction. Nevertheless, in the case of repairing and maintenance activities performed on these devices, new measuring devices containing mercury shall not be used as this would be considered making available new measuring devices to the general public. How should derogation in entry 18(a) of Annex XVII related to Antique Barometers be interpreted? Under 18(a) antiques measuring devices are defined as more than 50 years old on 3 October 2007. Under paragraph 3 antique measuring devices are exempted from the restriction. Repairing and maintenance activities for these antique measuring devices are also exempted for the restriction. The intention of the legislator in granting an exemption for antique measuring devices is that their trade should continue (Directive 2007/51/EC, Recital No 4) due to their cultural and/or historical value. Therefore these instruments should continue to be serviced in order to keep their cultural and/or historical value. Antique measuring devices such as barometers containing two columns of mercury which one consists of a thermometer are considered falling within the derogation of paragraph 3 and therefore they should continue to be serviced. The columns can be repaired or replaced if these activities are part of the maintenance and repair services and preserve the cultural and/or historical value of the instrument. Professionals may buy measuring devices containing mercury if they are destined for the repair and maintenance activities of antique measuring devices. Is there any definition for measuring devices in the context of entry 18(a) of Annex XVII? Furthermore paragraphs 5 and 7 provide exhaustive lists of mercury-containing measuring devices intended for industrial and professional uses which have not been allowed to be placed on the market after 10 April 2014 (barometers; hygrometers; manometers; sphygmomanometers; strain gauges to be used with plethysmographs; tensiometers; thermometers and other non-electrical thermometric application; mercury pycnometers; mercury metering devices for determination of the softening point; mercury triple point cells other than those used for the calibration of platinum resistance thermometers). The abovementioned definitions provide an indication of what could generally be considered as a measuring device in the context of entry 18(a) of Annex XVII to REACH provisions. Are imports of CCA treated wood from outside the European Union banned under Entry 19 of Annex XVII? Under Entry 19 of Annex XVII to REACH, CCA type C cannot be used to treat wood in the EU due to the fact that it has not been authorised under Directive 98/8/EC. A request for authorisation could, however, be made in the future in line with the requirements of Directive 98/8/EC. · paragraph 4 a) authorises only the treatment of wood with CCA type C if this biocidal product is authorised under Directive 98/8/EC. · under paragraph 4 b) it is stated that "Wood treated with CCA solutions in accordance with point a) may …." This implies that all wood that is placed on the market in the EU must conform to the requirements of paragraph 4 a). Therefore wood newly treated with CCA type C may only be placed on the EU market if this biocidal product used for treatment is authorised under Directive 98/8/EC. the EU and imported. Obviously the requirement does not apply to wood treatment installations outside the EU producing wood for marketing outside the EU. In summary since 30 June 2007, it is prohibited to place on the market and to import wood newly treated with CCA type C, until such time as a biocidal product containing this active substance is authorised in line with all the requirements of Directive 98/8/EC. Under Entry 19, paragraph 4b) of Annex XVII there is a list of applications for which wood treated with CCA type C can be used. May treated wood be used for other applications, such as railway sleepers other than underground railway sleepers? Paragraph 4b) of Annex XVII to REACH concerning arsenic compounds provides for a list of applications for which wood treated with CCA may be used. This is not a list of examples of possible uses but an exhaustive list of authorised applications. It flows both from the actual wording of those provisions and from their objective that the derogation provided for in paragraph 4 must necessarily be subject to a strict interpretation, as confirmed by the Court of Justice (case C-358/11, pp. 40-43). Consequently, wood treated with CCA cannot be used for other applications than the ones listed in paragraph 4 b). Wood treated with CCA can, therefore, not be used for railway sleepers installed above ground. What types of organotin compounds are covered by entry 20 of Annex XVII of REACH "organostannic compounds"? Organostannic compounds covered by entry 20 in Annex XVII to REACH, must contain a carbon-tin bond. Substances like tin salts or organotin compounds, for which tin is bound to an atom other than carbon (for example hexanoic acid, 2-ethyl-, tin(2+) salt (CAS-No. 301-10-0)) are not covered by entry 20 in Annex XVII to REACH. What is the meaning of the expression "already in use" in the context of the entry 20 of Annex XVII to REACH? Paragraphs 4(b), 5(b) and 6(b) of entry 20 of Annex XVII to REACH, state that articles (and mixtures in the case of article 5(b)) not complying with point (a) of the paragraph shall not be placed on the market after [a certain date] ‘except for articles that were already in use in the Union before that date'". The phrase ‘already in use' means in the possession of the end-user. Therefore, the derogations apply only to articles which reached end-users before the dates referred to in paragraphs 4(b), 5(b) and 6(b) of the entry. Those (second-hand) articles may continue to be traded after the dates on which the respective bans came into force. All articles still held by distributors, or in the storage facilities of importers or manufacturers on the dates when the bans came into force, should have been withdrawn from the distribution chain. (a) Do toys fall within the scope of the dioctyltin (DOT) compounds restrictions of entry 20 (paragraph 6)? (b) Can toys benefit from the derogations for organotins in entry 20 of the Restriction List (Annex XVII)? (c) Would a paint coating on a toy that contains dibutyltin (DBT) as a biocide and not as a catalyst fall within the derogation? (a) Yes, they do. Entry 20 in the Restriction List (Annex XVII) to REACH imposes DOT compounds restrictions for childcare articles, which are not toys. The REACH Regulation does not contain a definition of toys. The definition of toys in Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys is illustrative in determining what should be considered as a “toy” in the context of this restriction (see Q&A 0982). However, paragraph 6(a) of entry 20 restricts DOT compounds in textile toys as in any other textile article intended to come into contact with the skin. Furthermore, organic tin (including DOT) in toys is restricted by paragraph 13 of Part III (Chemical Properties) of Annex II to Directive 2009/48/EC on the safety of toys, which specifies maximum migration limits. In addition to derogation in paragraph 5(d), the other derogations currently applicable to TBT, DBT and DOT compounds in articles relate to the continued placing on the market of articles that were already in use in the EU before the 1 July 2010 for TBT (paragraph 4(b), before the 1 January 2012 (paragraph 5(b)) for DBT and before the 1 January 2012 for DOT (paragraph 6(b)). Does the restriction in entry 20 (organostannic compounds) of Annex XVII to REACH apply to packaging? Yes. Packaging can be considered as an article (or a product composed of different articles) in its own right. More information can be found in the ECHA guidance on requirements for substances in articles available at https://echa.europa.eu/guidance-documents/guidance-on-reach (in particular in chapter 2). Therefore, with regard to entry 20, packaging should comply with the restrictions for tri-substituted (TBT, TPT) and dibutyltin (DBT) compounds. The restriction of dioctyltin compounds (DOT) which applies only to certain listed articles for the general public, applies to textile packaging. According to paragraph 10 of entry 23 of Annex XVII to REACH cadmium shall not be used or placed on the market if the concentration is equal to or greater than 0,01% by weight of the metal in metal parts of jewellery. Does this concentration threshold apply to each metal component of an item of jewellery or to the jewellery item as a whole? With reference to paragraph 10 of the Annex to Commission Regulation (EU) 494/2011 amending entry 23 of Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation (cadmium) the concentration threshold of cadmium applies in each metal part of jewellery. The wording used by the legislator, i.e. "metal parts of the jewellery and imitation jewellery" implies that each metal part is relevant; therefore in order to determine if the restriction applies the calculation of the concentration in this case is to be done for each metal part. Therefore, if there are several metal layers as coatings on the surface of an inner (metallic) part of the jewellery these should be regarded as integral part of the metal part and the concentration limit of 0,01% is calculated for this whole metal part. In case the inner part is not metal, but the coating is made of metal layers, this coating is regarded as one metal part. If the jewellery article contains several metal parts, each of them should comply with the concentration limit. Is it allowed to continue the sale/placing on the market of jewelry articles containing more than 0.01% of Cadmium, manufactured and already placed on the market (e.g. sold by the manufacturer to the distributor) before the 10 December 2011 following the entry into force of the new restriction according to Entry 23 of Annex XVII, paragraphs 10 and 11? The prohibition of the placing on the market of jewellery and imitation jewellery articles containing cadmium includes sales from the manufacturers to distributors and from distributors to retailers, as well as imports. However, Commission Regulation (EU) 494/2011 contains derogation for articles that were placed on the market before 10 December 2011 (for the date see corrigendum published in OJ L 136/105). This means that jewellery and imitation jewellery articles placed on the market for the first time before 10 December 2011 do not need to comply with the prohibition thus they can be sold following entry into force of the new restriction for example to a retailer or on the second-hand market. Which uses of brazing fillers containing cadmium can be regarded as uses for safety reasons (derogation in paragraph 9 of entry 23 of Annex XVII to REACH)? Paragraph 8 of entry 23 of Annex XVII to the REACH Regulation states that cadmium and its compounds shall not be used in brazing fillers in a concentration equal to or greater than 0,01 % by weight. In addition, brazing fillers shall not be placed on the market if the concentration of cadmium (expressed as Cd metal) is equal to or greater than 0,01 % by weight. The paragraph also states that brazing shall mean a joining technique using alloys and undertaken at a temperature above 450°C. In accordance with the following paragraph 9, by way of derogation paragraph 8 shall not apply to brazing fillers used in defence and aerospace applications nor to brazing fillers used for safety reasons. The safety aspect in relation to this derogation is if the use of cadmium containing brazing filler may prevent accidents causing human suffering or environmental pollution. Brazing fillers used in turbine wheels in power plant technology in temperature below 650°C. Turbine wheels in power plant technology are parts of speed drivers for gas compressors and boiler feed pumps, where rotational speed is approximately from 1000 revolutions per minute (rpm) up to 20 000 rpm. Cadmium containing brazing fillers are needed as they can be used below 650 °C without decreasing the strength of the parent material (base metal). Cadmium-free brazing fillers require higher temperatures which causes the weakening of the parent material. Weakening of the parent material could lead to the breakdown of the turbine wheel. Due to high rotational speed the parts and pieces of shrapnel may cause injuries to workers and others in the vicinity of the wheel. The breakdown of the turbine wheel may result also in a complete shutdown of the power plant, the compressor station of a gas pipeline, or of a refinery. Brazing fillers used in pipes and tubes where acetylene is transferred in high pressure (1.5 – 17 bar). Cadmium containing brazing fillers are needed in the joining process for pipes and tubes, where acetylene is transferred in order to avoid formation of explosive substances. Acetylene forms explosive substances with copper and silver as well as other materials (e.g. formation of copper acetylide and silver acetylide). Cadmium reduces the overall percentage of copper and silver in the brazing fillers to the level where formation of explosive substances does not exist. Another reason to use cadmium in brazing fillers for this application is that cadmium facilitates the capillary action and solder penetration ensuring a good quality joint with high integrity for pipes and tubes where acetylene is transferred in high pressure (1.5-17 bar). Release of acetylene from pipes and tubes may as well cause serious risk, as acetylene is extremely flammable gas and explosive with and without contact with air. Other applications that would like to benefit from the derogation need to show the similar kind of safety aspects as described above. Such considerations should take into account the availability on the market of cadmium-free brazing fillers which can address the safety aspects of the specific application of the brazing fillers in an equivalent manner. See also ECHA´s report "The use of brazing fillers containing cadmium for safety reasons" [PDF]. Which types of articles coloured with mixtures containing cadmium can be regarded as using cadmium for safety reasons (derogation in paragraph 3 of entry 23 of Annex XVII to REACH)? Paragraph 1 of entry 23 of Annex XVII to the REACH Regulation provides a restriction on cadmium and its compounds in mixtures and articles produced from certain synthetic organic materials (plastic materials) and paragraph 2 provides a restriction on cadmium and its compounds in paints (Tariff codes 3208 and 3209). The following paragraph 3 states that by way of derogation the restrictions in paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply to articles coloured with mixtures containing cadmium for safety reasons. There are two safety aspects in relation to this derogation. The first relates to the use of a specific colour or pigment with certain properties which is necessary to prevent accidents. The second relates to the use of a specific colour or pigment with certain properties in safety equipment. Coloured wire insulation and cable jackets used in aircraft electrical and control systems for the purpose of fire detection and extinguishing systems, flight control systems or during flight tests. The wire and cable connections are often used in in a high temperature application (greater than 150ºC ambient temperature). Cadmium pigments are used to keep the colour from changing or fading over time in the high temperature. Changing established colour conventions could introduce a significant risk of maintenance errors, which may lead to a risk of passengers. parts of safety equipment for outdoor applications (e.g. seats, reels and diverse technical parts). Outdoor safety applications are applications used typically in outdoor activities in areas where visible colours are needed for rescue or orienteering purposes in case of emergency situations. Cadmium pigments provide highly visible colour contrast with its surroundings (e.g. in rescue situations) and where durability of the colour for the ambient environment (e.g. weather resistance, light fastness, heat resistance and chroma) is needed. The other applications that would like to benefit from the derogation need to show the similar kind of safety aspects than described above. Such considerations should take into account the availability on the market of alternative substances which can address the safety aspects of the specific application in an equivalent manner. See also ECHA´s report "The use of cadmium and its compounds in articles coloured for safety reasons" [PDF]. What parts of plastic coated copper beads (CCB) used in jewellery should comply with the cadmium restriction entry 23? Entry 23 (paragraph 10 (i)) of Annex XVII to the REACH Regulation states that cadmium and its compounds must not be used or placed on the market if the concentration of cadmium is equal to or greater than 0,01 % by weight of the metal in metal beads and other metal components for jewellery making (see Q&A, 158). In addition, it should be noted that articles produced from plastic material referred to in paragraph 1 of the entry must not be placed on the market if the concentration of cadmium is equal to or greater than 0.01 % by weight of the plastic material. Thus, in the case of plastic coated metal beads (CCB beads), both the plastic material and the metallic part of the bead need to comply with entry 23 (cadmium restriction). Please also note that if the article is painted, then paragraph 2 will also apply to this article. Do paragraphs 5 and 6 of entry 23 (cadmium and its compounds) cover unplated metal parts? No. They cover only plated metal parts. Paragraphs 5 and 6 of entry 23 prohibit the use of cadmium for “cadmium plating” (defined as a deposit or coating on a metallic surface with metallic cadmium) metallic articles used in specified sectors/applications. The placing on the market of cadmium-plated articles used in those sectors/applications and of articles manufactured in some of those sectors/applications is also prohibited. The latter reference to “articles manufactured” must be taken to mean articles that have been cadmium plated, since paragraphs 5 and 6 relate only to “cadmium plating”. Accordingly, Paragraphs 5 and 6 do not cover articles with metal parts containing cadmium unless these parts are plated with cadmium. Note that metallic articles containing cadmium may be covered under other EU legislation. For example, (1) electrical and electronic equipment falls under Directive 2011/65/EU on the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances and must comply as well with the maximum concentration limits for cadmium set in that Directive and (2) toys are covered under Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys. Is ink covered by entry 23 of Annex XVII to REACH, concerning cadmium and its compounds? No. Ink is not included in the TARIC codes which define the scope of paragraph 2 of entry 23. Are mobile telephones covered by the restriction set in Entry 27 of Annex XVII on nickel? Entry 27 of Annex XVII to REACH states that nickel may not be used "in articles intended to come into direct and prolonged contact with the skin, if the rate of nickel release from the parts of these articles coming into direct and prolonged contact with the skin is greater than 0.5 Jg/cm²/week". The aim of this restriction to protect consumers against nickel allergy which may be caused by prolonged contact of the skin with nickel-releasing articles that come into direct and prolonged contact with the skin such as jewellery, buttons, tighteners, zips and rivets in items of clothing. It has emerged that some mobile telephones contain nickel in surface material and that consumers are at risk of developing eczema through skin contact with the mobile telephone. As mobile telephones are clearly intended to come into direct contact with the skin, and as they are used on a daily basis often for prolonged periods of time, it is considered that mobile telephones fulfil the condition of "direct and prolonged contact with the skin". Therefore mobile telephones are covered by the restriction and should comply with the conditions set in Entry 27 of Annex XVII to REACH. How to clarify the "prolonged contact with the skin" in relation to the nickel restriction entry 27? 30 minutes on one or more occasions within two weeks. The skin contact time of 10 minutes applies when there are three or more occasions of skin contacts within a two-week time period. The skin contact time of 30 minutes applies when there is at least one occasion within a two-week time period. Are substances classified as CMRs, and included in Annex VI to CLP but not yet included in the Appendices 1-6 of Annex XVII to REACH, covered by the restrictions in entries 28-30 of Annex XVII to REACH? No, only substances listed in the relevant Appendices (1 - 6) of Annex XVII are covered by the restrictions in entries 28 - 30. When substances are classified for the first time as CMR and included in an ATP of the CLP Regulation, the European Commission prepares a draft amendment to include these substances in the Appendices of REACH Annex XVII. The amendment then has to be adopted in accordance with Article 68(2) of REACH, before the new substances are covered by entries 28-30. Entries 28-30 of Annex XVII restrict substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction (CMR). Do these restrictions apply to these substances when they are present in articles? Substances within the scope of entries 28-30 are not allowed to be placed on the market or used for supply to the general public as substances, as constituents of other substances or in mixtures when the concentration is equal to or greater than the specified limits. Certain derogations apply to this restriction as listed in paragraph 2. CMR substances that are present in articles are not within the scope of the restriction imposed by entries 28-30, but other restrictions may be applicable to these substances, when present in articles. In addition, notification and communication obligations under REACH may apply; see the ECHA website: https://echa.europa.eu/regulations/reach/candidate-list-substances-in-articles/notification-of-substances-in-articles. It should be noted that entries 28 and 29 are applicable to the substances that are listed in Appendices 1 & 2 (carcinogenic (C), categories 1A and 1B) and Appendices 3 & 4 (mutagenic (M), categories 1A and 1B). Entry 30 is applicable to substances which are classified as reproductive toxicants (R), categories 1A and 1B and listed in Appendices 5 and 6. These Appendices are regularly updated by including new substances, after the adoption of a harmonised classification for a substance as CMR, category 1A or 1B according to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. What is the meaning of the expression "second hand market for re-use" in paragraph 2(c) of entry 31 of Annex XVII to REACH? Paragraph 1 of entry 31 prohibits the placing on the market of wood treated with the substances listed in points (a) to (i) of column 1 of the entry, whether as substances on their own or as mixtures. Paragraph 2(c) of entry 31 states that "….the prohibition in paragraph 1 on the placing on the market shall not apply to wood which has been treated with substances listed in entry 31 (a) to (i) before 31 December 2002 and is placed on the second-hand market for re-use….." This derogation therefore concerns wood that had already been treated with the substance listed in points (a) to (i) of column 1 of entry 31 before 31 December 2002. The intention of the derogation is to allow second-hand wood treated before 31 December 2002 with the substances covered by this entry to be traded by the end-user and subsequent users. This type of derogation is often included in restriction entries to avoid enforcement difficulties. It should be noted that the conditions in paragraph 3 apply to second-hand wood benefiting from the derogation in paragraph 2(c). Thus, it cannot be used e.g. inside buildings, in toys, in playground etc. Entry 40 of Annex XVII prohibits the use of flammable, highly flammable or extremely flammable substances in "aerosol generators placed on the market for the general public for entertainment and decorative purposes". Are aerosol generators containing coloured hairsprays and glitter for the body and sold to the general public restricted under this entry? Entry 40 provides an indicative list of examples of products that are covered by the restriction. These examples are all products to be used for the decoration of venues for festivities/parties and for use during parties. None of these examples are cosmetic products within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products. Article 67(2) of REACH excludes cosmetic products as defined by Directive 76/768/EEC (now Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009) from the scope of restrictions when they target risks to human health within the scope of that legislation. This restriction on aerosol dispensers is entirely linked to the human health of consumers, which are fully addressed by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Therefore, the restriction in Entry 40 of Annex XVII to REACH, prohibiting the use of flammable, highly flammable or extremely flammable substances in "aerosol generators placed on the market for the general public for entertainment and decorative purposes", does not cover aerosol dispensers which are cosmetic products. Coloured hair sprays and body glitter fall within the definition of cosmetic products in Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as they are intended "to be placed in contact with an external part of the human body" with a view to "changing its appearance". They have a similar use to more classical cosmetic products, such as normal hair sprays and should not be considered as having an entertainment or decorative purpose within the meaning of the entry. Are there any definitions for aerosols, aerosol dispensers, in the context of Entry 40? The REACH Regulation does not define aerosols or aerosol dispensers. According to the ordinary meaning of the word, an aerosol is considered to be "a substance enclosed under pressure and released as a fine spray by means of a propellant gas". (Oxford advanced dictionary definition). The term may in certain contexts be used for a mixture enclosed under pressure and released as a fine spray by means of a propellant gas, or the dispenser or package used to change the ingredient inside the container into a spray by the use of a propellant gas. The European Aerosol Federation uses the term "aerosol" for both the suspension and the dispenser/package. Furthermore, it should be noted that according to Article 2.3.1 of the CLP Regulation (for "Classification, Labelling and Packaging"), the term "aerosol dispenser" means: any non-reusable container made of metal, glass or plastic and containing a gas compressed, liquefied or dissolved under pressure, with or without a liquid, paste or powder, and fitted with a release device allowing the contents to be ejected as solid or liquid particles in suspension in a gas, as a foam, paste or powder or in a liquid state. The CLP definition is very similar to the definition provided in Article 2 of the Aerosol Dispensers Directive (ADD) (75/324/EEC). The above definitions provide an indication of what could be generally considered as ‘aerosols/aerosol dispensers' in the context of Entry 40 of Annex XVII. Note that aerosol generators should be regarded as aerosol dispensers, as the original restriction discusses aerosol generators. What is the meaning of products for entertainment and decorative purposes in the context of entry 40 of Annex XVII? Are aerosol dispensers containing coloured hairsprays and glitter for the body and sold to the general public restricted under this entry? Entry 40 prohibits the use of flammable, highly flammable or extremely flammable substances in "aerosol dispensers where these aerosol dispensers are intended for supply to the general public for entertainment and decorative purposes". Paragraph 1 provides an indicative list of examples of products that are covered by the restriction. These examples are all products to be used to decorate, for instance, venues for festivities (e.g. Christmas, weddings, and carnivals) or parties (e.g. birthday parties and fancy-dress parties) and for entertainment use, for instance, during festivities and parties. None of the examples listed in the entry are cosmetic products within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products. Coloured hair sprays and body glitter would fall within the definition of cosmetic products in Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, as they are intended "to be placed in contact with an external part of the human body" with a view to "changing its appearance" and therefore have a similar use to more classical cosmetic products, such as normal hair sprays. Coloured hair sprays and body glitter should not be considered as having an entertainment or decorative purpose, and therefore they are not covered by entry 40 of Annex XVII to REACH. Are optical brightening agents (OBAs) azodyes within the meaning of the Entry 43 to Annex XVII? Through a literature search and consultation with experts in this area it was not found any structural connection between optical brighteners (or better called fluorescent dyes) and azodyes since either the NH bonds in the fluorescent dyes are connected to heterocyclic NC structures and therefore cannot form any of the 22 banned arylamines or they do not contain any azo bonds where reductive cleavage could take place to generate any of the aromatic amines covered by the azodyes ban. Therefore at the present time, this information confirms that the restriction in Entry 43 to Annex XVII does not cover optical brightening agents (OBAs). Should the chemical structure of optical brightening agents be different from the definition as reported above, this answer may change accordingly. The restriction indicated in entry 43(3) applies only to the placing on the EU market of substances or mixtures containing the azodyes listed in Appendix 9 at a concentration exceeding 0.1% by weight, and to the use of such substances/mixtures within the EU. Does the restriction therefore not apply to imported articles which have been dyed with the azodyes listed in Appendix 9? Entry 43(3) of Annex XVII restricts the placing on the market of substances and mixtures containing over 0.1% of the azodyes listed in Appendix 9, when they are intended for colouring textile and leather articles, and also the actual use of the substance or mixture for that purpose. Therefore, the presence of these substances in imported articles is not restricted. However, pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of the restriction, if an azodye in Appendix 9 releases one or more of the aromatic amines listed in Appendix 8 in a concentration above 30 mg/kg (0,003 % by weight, it cannot be used in textile and leather articles which may come into direct and prolonged contact with human skin or the oral cavity (such as those listed in paragraph 1). Those textile and leather articles cannot be placed on the market unless they comply with that concentration limit. Is the list of restricted items in entry 43 of Annex XVII to REACH concerning azocolourants and azodyes exhaustive? No. The use of the words “such as” makes clear that the list of items mentioned in paragraph 1 of entry 43 of Annex XVII to REACH is a non-exhaustive list of examples of items covered by this restriction (clothing, footwear, textile toys etc.). Do sofas and chairs (e.g. garden chairs/sun loungers’ type) fall under the scope of the restriction entry 43 of Annex XVII to REACH? Yes. Garden furniture made of textile or leather is covered by entry 43 as people who use them can be in light clothing (even in bathing suits or bare) and “direct and prolonged contact with human skin” is very likely. There is even a direct reference to chair covers in the list of examples of articles covered by the restriction. Entry 46 of Annex XVII to REACH - Nonylphenol. Does the entry 46 of Annex XVII cover traces in cosmetic products? Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, that repealed Directive 76/768/EEC, introduces a ban on the marketing of cosmetic products containing nonylphenol (CAS: 25154-52-3) and 4-nonylphenol, branched (CAS: 84852-15-3). Pursuant to Article 17 of the cosmetics Regulation, the presence of traces in cosmetic products is allowed, provided that such presence is technically unavoidable in good manufacturing practice and that the product does not cause damage to human health. Entry 46 of Annex XVII to REACH bans the placing on the market of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates as a substance or in mixtures in a number of applications including cosmetic products, when the concentration is higher than 0.1% by weight. The objective of entry 46 is the protection of the environment. Therefore Article 67 (2) of REACH does not apply. Entry 46 covers traces in cosmetic products to the extent that their presence presents a risk to the environment. The application of entry 46 of Annex XVII to REACH is complementary to, and does not conflict with, Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Does the entry 46 of Annex XVII cover all nonylphenols? Yes. The intention of the legislator was to cover all isomers, linear and branched, of nonylphenol and their ethoxylates and therefore all of them are covered by the restriction. The restriction on nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates was based on the risks identified in the risk assessment report prepared by the United Kingdom under Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 of 23 March 1993 on the evaluation and control of the risks of existing substances. The risk assessment report states that "It is understood that nonylphenol (CAS Number: 25154-52-3) as originally defined by CAS (Chemical Abstract Service) covered all nonylphenols. However, subsequent revisions redefined it to cover only straight chain nonylphenol, other isomers having different CAS numbers. Given the method of manufacture of nonylphenols, very little if any straight chain nonylphenol is produced. That which is produced is only likely to be present at very low levels in commercial mixtures. The commercially produced nonylphenols are predominantly 4-nonylphenol with a varied and undefined degree of branching in the alkyl group. This assessment covers commercially produced material (predominantly 4-nonylphenol, branched). This material will also contain smaller amounts of other isomers and impurities, and falls under the CAS Number 84852-15-3." Therefore Council Directive 76/769/EEC, as amended by Directive 2003/53/EC, did not specify any CAS or EC numbers for nonylphenol. In the revision of the REACH restriction by Regulation 552/2009/EC, which made several technical changes, the CAS and EC numbers were added. This will be corrected by a technical amendment to reflect the intention of the legislator. What are personal care products in entry 46? Paragraphs (1) to (9) of entry 46 list the ‘purposes' to which the restriction applies. Following paragraph (7) "cosmetic products" is paragraph (8) "other personal care products". It therefore seems that cosmetics are to be considered as a subcategory of personal care products. REACH does not define "cosmetic products". According to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, "cosmetic product" means "any substance or mixture intended to be placed in contact with the external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance protecting them, keeping them in good condition or correcting body odours." Based on the above, it can be interpreted that "other personal care products" within the meaning of entry 46 include, but are not limited to, any product meeting the conditions indicated in the above definition for substances and mixtures and other products used for personal hygiene, such as toilet papers, some female hygiene products, nappies, cotton pads, etc. This interpretation can be broadly considered as a perception of the average consumer for this product category. For adhesive tapes, does the concentration limit for toluene of 0.1% in adhesives as specified in Entry 48 of Annex XVII apply to the whole mass of the tape or just to the mass of the adhesive layer on the tape? Entry 48 prohibits the placing on the market for supply to the general public of toluene as a substance or in mixtures, in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.1% by weight, where the substance or the mixture is used in adhesives and spray paints. Adhesive tapes consist of a layer of adhesive coated on a flexible substrate. As the restriction concerns the concentration of toluene in adhesives, the concentration of toluene must be calculated with reference to the amount of adhesive on the tape, and not with reference to the total weight of the adhesive and substrate. What is an interpretation of the "major operational change" concerning the requirement to control the calibration of the PAH/PCA ratio after each "major operational change" under Entry 50 to Annex XVII? As stated in Recital 8 of the Directive 2005/69/EC (OJ L323, 9.12.2005, p.51), there are at present no harmonized test methods for measuring PAHs in the extender oils, or for measuring PAHs in tyres that contain such oils. Until suitable harmonized methods are available, the only named method that is permitted for measuring the PAH content of extender oils is the IP346 analysis method. This method is permitted providing that certain additional conditions are met. These additional conditions are necessary because the IP346 method does not measure the PAH content directly. In fact IP346 measures the total content of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PCA) rather than the PAH content. The PCAs are a group of substances to which PAHs belong, but in which PAHs are present in only very small amounts. The legal limit for PAHs in extender oils, which is 1 part per million (ppm) of BaP and 10ppm total PAH content, is considered to be met if the total PCA content is <3%. In other words, the PCA content of 3% is taken as a proxy measurement for a PAH content of 10ppm. The proxy measurements will be valid only if the ratio between the PAH and PCA content in the extender oil is known and does not change over time. The additional conditions therefore require an initial calibration of the technique (measurement of the PAH/PCA ratio) and recalibration at intervals of six months, or after "major operational change", in order to ensure that the measurements remain valid over time. The term "major operational change" should therefore be taken to mean any change in materials or processes that could invalidate the results of the proxy measurement. The principle cause of invalid results would be a change in the PAH/PCA ratio in the extender oil. However, it should be remembered that not only is IP346 a proxy method for measuring PAH, but that the quantity that it does measure, namely PCA content, is meaaured in a rather indirect way, namely by a change in the refractive index of a solution, and that PCAs are not the only substances that affect the refractive index of a solution. The potential for obtaining invalid results is therefore quite high and the method should therefore be used with considerable caution. It would therefore be advisable to recalibrate in case of doubt. The provision to control the calibration of the PAH/PCA ratio every six months is to safeguard the validity of the IP346 results against unintentional or unknown changes. This would apply for the case where the manufacturing process and materials used remain the same, and where there is no reason be expect a change in the PAH/PCA ratio. However, it is possible to imagine, for example, that a tyre manufacturer receives a reformulated extender oil from his supplier without being made aware of the change that has been made, and the results from the IP346 could be invalidated as a consequence. A six month recalibration interval was considered sufficient to cover such occurrences. Conclusion: The provision to control the calibration of the PAH/PCA ratio after each "major operational change" is to safeguard the validity of the IP346 results. A major operational change is therefore a deliberate change to materials or processes that might be expected to significantly influence the PAH/PCA ratio, or otherwise affect the validity of the measurement. Examples of such a change would be where the source of supply for the extender oil is changed, or where the method of using the oil is changed. Judgment of whether a particular change is sufficiently important to trigger the need for recalibration will necessarily be made case-by-case and will require expert opinion. Does the restrictions provided in Entry 50 concerning on PAHs in tyres cover mobile machinery? Entry 50 to Annex XVII as enacted by Commission Regulation 552/2009 restricts the use of PAH in tyres for "vehicles covered by Directive 2007/46/EC establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers". Article 2 of Directive 2007/46 defines its scope. Paragraph 1 lists the vehicles designed for use on roads. b) prototypes of vehicles used on the road under the responsibility of a manufacturer to perform a specific test programme provided they have been specifically. In addition the definition of "motor vehicle" in point 11 of Article 3 requires that the vehicles covered should have a maximum design speed limit exceeding 25 km/h. In conclusion the restriction in Entry 50 covers the tyres for vehicles listed in the Article 2 paragraph 1, 3 and 4 of Directive 2007/46/EC which have a maximum design speed limit exceeding 25 km/h. Tyres of mobile machinery with a maximum design speed limit exceeding 25 km/h are therefore covered by the restriction and have to comply with the conditions set in the entry 50. Does the restrictions provided in Entry 50 of Annex XVII concerning on PAHs in tyres cover "Standard reference tyres"? Standard reference tyres are produced and imported solely for the purpose of providing a reference performance for other newly developed tyres. They are not placed on the market to be fitted on vehicles intended for final users. For the purpose of entry 50, tyres are defined as tyres for vehicles covered by Directives 2007/46/EC on motor vehicles and their trailers, Directive 2003/37/EC on agricultural or forestry tractors, and Directive 2002/24/EC on two and three-wheeler motor vehicles. It appears that Reference Tyres are not intended to be used on vehicles covered by the Directives 2007/46/EC, 2003/37/EC and 2002/24/EC. In conclusion these tyres should not be considered as covered by the provisions of the restriction in Entry 50 of Annex XVII. Can you give examples of articles that are covered by or excluded from Entry 50 (paragraphs 5 and 6) of Annex XVII to REACH: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in articles supplied to the general public? This document aims at providing a guideline concerning the interpretation of the scope of the restriction provisions in paragraphs 5 and 6 of entry 50 of Annex XVII to REACH Regulation (EU) No 1907/2006 on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in articles supplied to the general public. It has been drawn up to (i) clarify certain terms that define the scope of the restriction (e.g. “plastic and rubber component”, “direct as well as prolonged contact or short-term repetitive contact with human skin or the oral cavity", "normal/reasonably foreseeable conditions of use") and (ii) provide non-exhaustive lists of article types which fall within (or out of) the scope of the restriction. In Entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII respectively it is stated that the substances DEHP, DBP and BBP on the one side and the substances DINP, DIDP and DNOP on the other side "shall not be used as substances or or in mixtures, in concentrations of greater than 0.1% by weight of the plasticised material…". Does the 0.1% limit apply to each phthalate listed individually, or whether it applies to the 3 or 6 phthalates combined? How should this limit of 0.1% be applied when a product contains traces of more than one these substances? The threshold of 0.1% is the standard threshold used in Annex XVII. The value of 0.1% has been chosen because it represents a measurable quantity. It is being used to take into account impurities, not to allow the use of certain substances, e.g. phthalates in toys and childcare articles. One should be aware that in order to plasticise a toy or childcare article concentrations of phthalates of more than 10 per cent are needed. Different restrictions are applied to each of the two groups of phthalates. The limit value of 0.1% should therefore be applied for each group of phthalates combined, i.e. the concentration of DEHP, DBP and BBP combined should not be higher than 0.1% and the concentration of DINP, DIDP and DNOP combined should also not be higher than 0.1%. Conclusion: A toy or childcare article would not comply with the Entry 51 or Entry 52 respectively if it contained either more than 0.1% of DEHP, DBP and BBP combined or more than 0.1% of DINP, DIDP and DNOP combined. However, it would be considered compliant if it contained only 0.09% of DEHP, DBP and BBP combined and 0.09% of DINP, DIDP and DNOP combined. Are the articles destined to be used for the hygiene of children such as bathtubs, articles for the bath, bathtub mats, hairbrushes, bath thermometers, or nail cutters covered under Entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII? The entries 51 and 52 specify that "Childcare article" means "any product intended to facilitate sleep, relaxation, hygiene, the feeding of children or sucking on the part of children." As these articles are intended to facilitate the hygiene of children they should be considered as "childcare articles" as defined by the entries 51 and 52. In conclusion, articles which are used for the hygienic care of children such as bathtubs, articles for the bath, bathtub mats, hairbrushes, bath thermometers, or nail cutters are therefore covered by the Entries 51 and 52 and use of phthalates and should conform to the prescriptions of the entries. Do mattress protectors (covers, pads etc.) fall within the scope of Entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII? The definition of childcare articles contained in Annex XVII to REACH is as follows: "Childcare articles" are defined as "any product intended to facilitate sleep, relaxation, hygiene, the feeding of children or sucking on the part of children". Further explanation is provided by the Commission services' guidance document on the interpretation of the concept "which can be placed in the mouth". It gives the following examples: "The main purpose of pyjamas is to dress children when sleeping and not to facilitate sleep. Pyjamas should therefore be regarded as textiles and, like other textiles, do not fall under the scope of the Directive. Sleeping bags are designed to facilitate sleep, and should therefore fall under the Directive." Taking this into account, and also taking into account that the guidance document explicitly contains a description and a photo of a mattress cover, it can be confirmed that mattress protectors are childcare articles as defined in Annex XVII. This means that the three phthalates DEHP, BBP and DBP listed in entry 51 of Annex XVII may not be used in mattress protectors. The other three, DINP, DIDP and DNOP, listed in the entry 52, are only restricted in those articles that can be placed in the mouth by children. Can mattress protectors (covers, pads etc.) be placed in the mouth by children within the meaning of Entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII? The guidance document contains an example of a mattress cover that is not directly mouthable in normal and foreseeable use conditions. The edges and corner are not accessible for mouthing by the child – by design (the mattress should fit snugly in the cot to avoid entrapment risks), and the mattress is covered with a sheet in normal use and the surface is sufficiently taut (by design – to avoid suffocation risks) to prevent PVC from being mouthed through the sheet. This is based on the observation that inaccessible parts of articles can not be taken into the mouth. Articles or parts of articles should be considered inaccessible if, during proper use or reasonably foreseeable improper use by children, they can not be reached. However, there will be other cases when parts of certain articles can be taken into the mouth under normal and foreseeable conditions, for example when the mattress protector is placed on the sheet or cannot be completely fixed. In conclusion, mattress protectors that can be placed above sheets or that cannot be tightly fixed to the mattress have to comply with the restriction contained in entry 52 of Annex XVII to REACH. Authorities competent for market surveillance should assist manufacturers/importers in making a case-by-case assessment on the basis of the criteria described above and in the guidance document. Is the substance Di-2-propyl heptyl phthalate (DPHP), CAS No 53306-54-0 restricted under Entry 52 of Annex XVII or is DPHP as a new compound different from DIDP and therefore not covered by the restrictions in Entries 51 and 52? The restriction in entry 52 concerns the substance "Di-isodecyl phthalate" (DIDP) which is listed with CAS Numbers 26761-40-0 and 68515-49-1. Di-2-propyl heptyl phthalate (DPHP) is an isomer of decyl phthalate and has the CAS No 53306-54-0. According to the information at the Commission's disposal, DPHP (CAS # 53306-54-0) is different from DIDP and therefore not covered by entry 52 of Annex XVII. In conclusion, the substance is not covered under the entry 52 of Annex XVII. The uses of the substance may be regulated in the future on a Community-wide basis, if it appears from the information which will become available that it causes unacceptable risks to human health or the environment. In addition DPHP is explicitly not promoted by its manufacturers for use in toys, food packaging or medical products. What is the interpretation of the concept "which can be placed on the mouth" as laid down in the entry 52, concerning toys and childcare articles? Guideline on the interpretation of the concept "which can be placed in the mouth" as laid down in the entry 52 of Annex XVII to REACH Regulation 1907/2006. This guideline aims at providing some criteria and examples to help identify those toys and childcare articles which can be placed in the mouth by children. The guideline lists the main criteria of "size dimension" and "accessible parts" (according to the EN 71-European Standard on the safety of toys) which would therefore facilitate the judgement - on a case by case – whether a toy or childcare article can be placed in the mouth by children. The guideline also provides pictures as examples in order to better indicate which toys and childcare articles or parts of them can be taken into the mouth. Do blankets and objects to facilitate the transport of children fall within the scope of Entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII? The Guideline on the concept "which can be placed in the mouth" [See Q&A 748], provides certain clarifications concerning the types of childcare articles within the scope of Entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII. For instance, sleeping bags are claimed to be articles designed to facilitate sleep, and should therefore fall under the scope of Entries 51 and 52. In addition, the guidance document explicitly contains a photo of a mattress cover which is considered as childcare articles, also explaining that certain parts (e.g. mattress protectors) can be placed in the mouth by children. [See Q&A 675]. Blankets are, in nature, articles similar to mattresses as both used in bed to facilitate the sleeping of children and therefore can be claimed to meet the broad definition of childcare articles. Furthermore, since blankets can be commonly placed in mouth by children, these can be considered within the scope of both Entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII. The Guideline clarifies that "entry 52 of Annex XVII on what can be placed in the mouth by children also covers the accessible parts of articles such as push chairs, car seats, sleeping bags and bike seats which are intended to facilitate sleep and relaxation during transport". Given that child seats and items which are used for transportation of children are quite similar in function and design to the above mentioned types of articles, they can be broadly considered as childcare articles [See Q&A 983]. In addition, it is noted that pictures of such types of childcare articles are also provided at the end of the Guideline. Over there, examples of mouthed items of such articles are provided to assist enforcers conclude whether they fall (or not) under the scope of entry 52. In entry 51 of Annex XVII to REACH, does the concentration limit "0,1 % by weight of the plasticised material in toys and childcare articles" relate to the whole article or only part of it?". For instance, if only the head of a doll contains more than 0.1 % w/w phthalates, should the concentration be calculated on the total weight of the plasticised material of the whole toy or only for the weight of the plasticised material of the head? The 0.1% limit was set up in order to eliminate the use of phthalates. Such limit was set up in order to be respected in each bit/piece of plasticised material by itself, regardless of whether there are other pieces or not. Therefore the reference to 0.1%, intended also as the sum up to the 3 phthalates, has to be calculated in each piece of plasticised material of each homogenous material. In the example referred to in the question the calculation should therefore be based on the weight of the plasticised material of the head of the doll and not the entire weight of all plasticised material of the whole toy. Does a baby monitor fall under the definition of childcare article in the context of entries 51-52 of Annex XVII to REACH? A childcare article is defined by entries 51 (4) and 52(4) as "any product intended to facilitate sleep, relaxation, hygiene, the feeding of children or sucking on the part of children" (see Q&A 983). A baby monitor does not facilitate the sleep or relaxation of the baby, it allows parents to be alerted when the baby is crying or making other noise. Therefore baby monitors fall outside the scope of entries 51-52 of Annex XVII. Do entries 51 and 52 of Annex XVII of REACH cover certain articles often used by children (e.g. school supplies, clothing or hair accessories)? No, items such as school supplies, clothing or hair accessories are not considered as toys in the sense of the Directive 2009/48/EC on the safety of Toys, as their main purpose is not to be used in play by the children. However, certain products such as plastic combs can fall under the definition of ‘childcare articles’ (defined in the restriction as any products intended to facilitate sleep, relaxation, hygiene, the feeding of children or sucking on the part of children) see (Q&A 0983). Entries 51 and 52 restrict the placing on the market and use of phthalates in toys and childcare articles. Does this restriction apply to medical devices, such as nebulisers? Medical devices are defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (see: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/medical-devices/regulatory-framework_en#current_legislation). Entries 51 and 52 pose restrictions on certain phthalates in plasticised materials in toys and childcare articles. Medical devices are generally regarded to have functions different from those of toys and childcare articles. Childcare articles are defined in entries 51 and 52 as ‘…any product intended to facilitate sleep, relaxation, hygiene, the feeding of children or sucking on the part of the children’. Whether a medical device is a childcare article for the purpose of entries 51 and 52 should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In the example of a nebuliser, the device is intended for administering a medicinal product (apparatus to be used for treatment) and therefore it is not a childcare article and the restriction does not apply to it. Does the entry 56 of Annex XVII cover, besides the MDI monomers, also the oligomers and polymers of MDI? The polymeric MDI, with CAS number 9016-87-9, is not included in the definition of the substance with CAS 26447-40-5 and moreover is not classified as dangerous in Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP). In the Risk assessment report and Risk reduction strategy performed by the Belgian Rapporteur, two main products were analysed during the exposure assessment and throughout the decision making process: the one-component foams and hot melt adhesives, both containing respectively 10% and 2% of MDI. Other products with MDI content below 0.1% did not pose any risk and therefore were excluded by the final consideration on the risk reduction measures under Directive 76/769/EEC. However, polymeric MDI present in mixtures is covered by the restriction when such mixtures contain more than 0.1% of MDI (as defined in the RAR). Therefore, dimers and polymeric forms of MDI are out of the scope of the current restriction except if they are part of mixtures containing more than 0.1% of MDI. Does the derogation to the prohibition of supply of mixtures containing more than 16% of ammonium nitrate in paragraph 2(a) of Entry 58 of Annex XVII cover only downstream users and distributors who have a licence under Council Directive 93/15/EEC on civil explosives (OJ L 010, 16.01.1993 p.19) or whether it covers all downstream users and distributors? In entry 58, the terms "including natural or legal persons licensed or authorised in accordance with Council Directive 93/15/EEC" should be read as an example of operators that benefit from the exemption. Therefore the derogation in paragraph 2(a) covers all downstream users and distributors as defined in Article 3(13) and 3(14) of REACH. As a consequence, mixtures containing more than 16% of nitrogen in relation to ammonium nitrate may be placed on the market after 27 June 2010 for supply to downstream users and distributors as defined in REACH. As consumers are not downstream users nor distributors, mixtures containing more than 16% of nitrogen in relation to ammonium nitrate may not be placed on the market for supply to consumers. Can the downstream users acquire ammonium nitrate in order to produce mixtures containing more than 16% of nitrogen in relation to ammonium nitrate for supply to the general public, for example, in cold packs according to Entry 58 of Annex XVII? If a downstream user uses ammonium nitrate to produce a mixture containing ammonium nitrate below the threshold, it may place this mixture on the market for supply the general public. But downstream users should not use ammonium nitrate in order to produce a mixture containing ammonium nitrate above the threshold for supply to the general public. The restriction is applicable to medical devices as well as to other mixtures containing more than 16% of nitrogen in relation to ammonium nitrate for supply to the general public. For example, instant cold packs which contain more than 16% of nitrogen in relation to ammonium nitrate may not be sold to the general public since 27 June 2010. Can the downstream users acquire ammonium nitrate in order to produce mixtures containing more than 16% of nitrogen in relation to ammonium nitrate for their industrial or professional activities according to paragraph 2 of Entry 58 of Annex XVII? The restriction is not applicable to downstream users who use ammonium nitrate for their industrial or professional activities in order to transform it into other substances for different purposes. Therefore, for example the use of ammonium nitrate to produce nitrous oxide for use in the production of pressurised foods or for use as anaesthetics is not restricted. Does the restriction of dichloromethane in REACH Annex XVII (entry 59) for paint strippers also cover ink strippers, adhesive removers and degreasing agents? No. Ink strippers, adhesive removers and degreasing agents are not within the scope of the restriction. The restriction covers paint strippers, including also varnish removers and lacquer removers. Can you give examples of lead-containing articles intended for the general public that are covered by or excluded from Entry 63 (paragraphs 7 to 10) of Annex XVII to REACH? This document echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/13563/lead_guideline_information_en.pdf aims at providing a guideline concerning the interpretation of the scope of the restriction provisions in paragraphs 7 to 10 of entry 63 of Annex XVII to REACH Regulation (EU) No 1907/2006 on lead and its compounds in articles supplied to the general public. It has been drawn up to (i) clarify certain terms that define the scope of the restriction (e.g. "accessible part of articles", "normal/reasonably foreseeable conditions of use") (ii) provide non-exhaustive lists of article types (and examples of sub-types) which fall within (or out of ) the scope of the restriction. What substances are included within the scope of entry 68 concerning of PFOA, its salts and related substances? Is PFOS (CAS 1763-23-1) considered a 'PFOA-related substance' and therefore within the scope of entry 68 of Annex XVII? Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives are specifically exempted by paragraph 4(a) of entry 68. This is to avoid double regulation as PFOS is widely restricted in the EU by Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on persistent organic pollutants (as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 757/2010). What is meant by a ‘related substance’ in column 1 of entry 68? The term ‘related substance’ or ‘PFOA-related substance’, refers to a substance that, based upon its molecular structure, is considered to have the potential to degrade or be transformed to PFOA. This is described in footnote 2 to Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1000 amending Annex XVII of REACH to add entry 68. In addition, the description of any related substance in column 1 is applicable. To what substances do the concentration limits of 25 ppb and 1000 ppb apply that are referred to in column 2, paragraph 2 of entry 68? From 4 July 2020 the concentration limit ‘equal to or above 25 ppb’ applies to the use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, CAS 335-67-1, EC 206-397-9) and its salts in the production of, or placing on the market in, another substance, as a constituent, a mixture or an article. Any related substance (including its salts and polymers) having a linear or branched perfluoroheptyl group with the formula C7F15- directly attached to another carbon atom, as one of the structural elements’. Any related substance (including its salts and polymers) having a linear or branched perfluorooctyl group with the formula C8F17- as one of the structural elements’. What is meant with ‘textiles for the protection of workers from risks to their health and safety’ in the entry 68? The restriction entry 68, paragraph 3(b)(i) provides a longer transition period for textiles used to protect workers from risks to their health and safety, i.e. paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply from 4 July 2023 to the use of PFOA and PFOA related substances in the production of, or placing on the market in such textiles. This transition period is thought to be sufficient time to allow the development of cost-effective alternatives for all relevant applications where the textiles are required to provide human health/life protecting functions (e.g. due to very strong oil or chemical repellence). Could you clarify how the restriction of entry 68 applies to fire-fighting foams? The substances restricted by the entry (column 1) shall not be used in the production of, or placed on the market in fire-fighting foam mixtures from 4 July 2020 (paragraph 2(b)) at or above concentrations specified in the entry. However, the concentration limits in the restriction (column 2, paragraph 2) do not apply to fire-fighting foam mixtures (paragraph 5(a)), placed on the market before 4 July 2020. The restriction does not apply to the concentrated fire-fighting foam mixtures that are placed on the market before 4 July 2020 and which are to be used or are used in other fire-fighting foam mixtures (paragraph 4(e)). Thus concentrated fire-fighting foam mixtures that exceed the concentration limits specified in paragraph 2 of the entry can still be used in the production of other fire-fighting foam mixtures, if these concentrated fire-fighting foam mixtures were placed on the market before 4 July 2020. In addition, fire-fighting foam mixtures produced using the above mentioned concentrated fire-fighting foam mixtures can be placed on the market. They can be used for training purposes provided that the emissions to the environment are minimised and effluents collected are safely disposed of. Could you clarify how the restriction in entry 68 applies to medical devices? The substances restricted by the entry (column 1) shall not be used in the production of, or placed on the market in medical devices other than implantable medical devices within the scope of Directive 93/42/EEC (to be replaced with Regulation (EU) 2017/745) from 4 July 2032 (column 2, paragraph 3 (c)) at or above the concentrations specified in the entry. Implantable medical devices produced according to paragraph 4(d)(i) can be placed on the market without specific concentration limits (paragraph 6(b)). Does the derogation referred to in column 2 in paragraph 4 (b) of entry 68 apply to articles? No. The derogation applies only to the manufacture of a fluorochemical substance with a carbon chain equal to or shorter than 6 atoms where PFOA occurs as an unavoidable by-product. The derogation does not apply to substances, mixtures or articles as placed on the market. Does the restriction entry 68 to REACH apply to cosmetics? Yes, the substances in column 1 shall not be placed on the market in, or used in the production of cosmetics. Article 67(2) REACH foresees that Annex XVII restrictions do not apply to the use of substances in cosmetic products in the case of restrictions addressing human health risks within the scope of the Cosmetic Products Regulation (Regulation (EC) 1223/2009). This is not the case for entry 68: all substances covered by the restriction are either persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or are considered to have the potential to degrade or be transformed to PFOA. The concentration limits in the restriction ensure the emissions of these substances to the environment are decreased.

2019-04-22T16:25:34Z

https://echa.europa.eu/support/qas-support/browse/-/qa/70Qx/view/scope/REACH/Restrictions

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Personalize all the correspondence you have with consumers. Consider how you dislike getting bulk mail from strangers? If you make your emails more personal, you will stick out from others like you. Try making a web page where your site. You can publish it in online magazine could use to label your site. This is pretty easy to do and the visibility of your business without much effort. One of the things that you can do when marketing online to encourage visitors to buy by using discount prices. You should always have some kind of promotional offer going on and base your customer the deal. Inform potential customers about the benefits could be if they purchase from you. If you exude confidence in your customers, then they will be too. Provide a time-sensitive incentive to order. This could mean providing free shipping or free gift wrapping for any purchases before a given date. Make sure that your site is interesting and designed well. The website that you create is the very center of all of the Online marketing campaign depends on how well the website is created. It should be a pleasant place for people in and make them want to stick around.The design should be engaging and will keep them looking through it. Get associated with a charity. Select a charity that you believe your customers would find worthy of your support, and inform them that some of your profits are donated to that charity. This can boost your image and get some free advertising from the charity.You could get even more creative by picking a few charities from which your customers to choose their favorite. Are you prepared to now try out Online marketing for your business? Do you think you can apply these tips to your company? This means you need to start improving your overall marketing plan strategically. After taking these steps, you can be successful.

2019-04-22T08:36:23Z

http://dieta-cud.info/?paged=2&cat=2

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En créant plusieurs espaces de rangement en fonction des thématiques différentes (vêtements, produits de beautés, papiers, produits ménagers, accessoires, divers, etc…), vous saurez exactement où trouver n’importe quel objet même si vous êtes de nature désorganisée. Pensez à aménager chaque espace de rangement en fonction des objets qu’il reçoit. Par exemple, ajouter si nécessaire des étagères pour optimiser l’espace et gagner en rangement. Différenciez par les couleurs, les matériaux, les volumes, la luminosité, les espaces différents de votre habitat en fonction de chaque utilité. Ainsi, les pièces telles que le salon et la salle à manger, dits « espaces de jour », seront plus dynamiques visuellement que les « espaces de nuit » comme les chambres et la salle de bain. Vous pouvez également jouer avec les contrastes pour mettre en valeur des éléments importants dans votre espace. Comme par exemple une commode de valeur en bois ancien sur un fond de matériaux aux couleurs neutres. De nombreuses études ont prouvés que les plantes d’intérieur ont un impact considérable sur notre bien-être et permettent d’améliorer l’état psychologique des habitants. Les contempler nous relaxe et nous encourage en créant un environnement paisible. Cela a donc pour effet premier perceptible de réduire notre stress. Il a aussi été prouvé qu’elles augmentent notre niveau de concentration, de compréhension et qu’elles diminuent les sentiments négatifs comme la colère ou la peur. Aussi, privilégiez une même thématique sur l’ensemble de votre habitat permettra de créer une unité cohérente et harmonieuse. Cela vous permettra également de donner du cachet à votre habitat en renforçant votre singularité et votre personnalité par le choix assumé d’une thématique qui vous est propre. Les nuances pourront alors être créées au sein de cette même thématique en modifiant légèrement les harmonies de couleurs par exemple. Les éclairages peuvent être de type technique lorsque cela nous permet d’effectuer une tâche (exemple : lire un bouquin) ou d’ambiance lorsque qu’ils n’ont pas d’utilité première mais participent à notre bien-être en créant une harmonie lumineuse. Les éclairages d’ambiance ne sont donc pas à bannir car ils peuvent avoir un impact fort sur notre mental, notamment dans le cas d’une ambiance intime et apaisante. Vous l’avez donc compris, l’intensité de l’éclairage influe sur notre bien-être. Veillez donc à respecter pour chaque espace l’intensité lumineuse adéquate afin de créer des conditionnements adaptés à la fonction de chaque espace : repos ou éveil du mental. Afin de personnaliser au mieux sa décoration en fonction des changements d’humeur, de goût, de saison, etc…, la méthode la plus simple consiste à créer une base de couleur neutre au niveau des revêtements et des meubles (toujours dans une tonalité générale harmonieuse) et d’agrémenter sa décoration d’accessoires de couleur. Ainsi le changement des coussins, des tableaux, des rideaux et des objets de décoration peuvent vous permettre de modifier simplement la tonalité d’une pièce tout en conservant son ambiance et son harmonie principale. La lumière naturelle doit toujours être privilégiée par rapport aux lumières artificielles qui n’ont pour but que de prendre le relais lorsque cette dernière vient à disparaître en fin de journée. diffuseur huile essentielle nature et découverte donc à ne pas obstruer cette lumière par des rideaux trop opaques ou des objets encombrants les fenêtres. Veillez également à nettoyer régulièrement vos fenêtres car cela a un impact conséquent sur votre luminosité intérieure générale. En générale, on néglige trop souvent le pouvoir de nos sens sur l’impact de notre mental. Mais le sens du toucher a également, bien-entendu, son impact sur le bien-être dans l’habitat. Privilégiez ainsi les matières chaudes et douces, tels que les textiles épais et bois tendres, aux espaces dédiés à l’apaisement comme les espaces de nuit. Stickers muraux pour chambre enfant matières un peu plus froides et dures, tels que les métaux et pierres, seront réservés aux espaces de jour nécessitant éveil et concentration de l’esprit. Dans une même approche, veuillez également à désencombrer visuellement vos espaces en privilégiant par exemple l’achat d’un gros meuble de rangement à l’accumulation de petits meubles différents. Pensez à regrouper par utilité précise et unifiez si possible l’ensemble de votre mobilier afin de désencombrer le regard à cause d’une accumulation de détails. Les petits espaces gagneront alors visuellement en superficie et les grands espaces en simplicité et en cohérence. Le choix du mobilier est important pour améliorer son confort. Ne négligez pas le choix du canapé, du matelas et des chaises, par exemple. Veillez à ce que leurs dimensions soient ergonomiques, c’est-à-dire adaptées au mieux aux mesures de l’homme et de ses mouvements. Les différentes mesures et matériaux doivent s’adapter aux différentes postures du corps définis dans chaque espace, afin d’éviter fatigue, douleurs musculaires et articulaires. L’isolation globale de votre habitat aura aussi pour bénéfice une diminution des déperditions thermiques, et donc une meilleure gestion de votre confort thermique. Vous pouvez aussi ajouter un chauffage d’appoint en hiver tel qu’un radiateur électrique. Mais pensez à homogénéiser la chaleur dans tout l’habitat afin d’éviter les courant d’air et les sensations de chaud/froid. La température idéale se situe entre 18° et 20°C afin d’éviter les sensations d’inconfort tel que la crispation ou la transpiration par le froid et le développement de maladie et de bactérie par le chaud. Ainsi, une mauvaise isolation phonique entraîne la propagation des bruits provenant de l’extérieur et de l’intérieur de l’habitat. Cela peut causer à long terme des maux de têtes, abrutissements et stress. Augmentez, si possible, l’isolation de vos cloisons, planchers, fenêtres. Ou privilégiez des matériaux absorbants, c’est-à-dire les matériaux “moelleux” (tapis, rideaux, tableaux phoniques, bois tendres, etc…) pour votre l’aménagement. Attention cependant à ne pas confondre isolation acoustique et isolation thermique, qui sont souvent gérer différemment. De plus, une mauvaise isolation thermique pourra aussi avoir comme conséquence une mauvaise circulation de l’air, entraînant l’accumulation d’humidité. La bonne gestion des systèmes de ventilation est également un élément important. Le taux d’humidité intérieur doit être compris entre 40% et 60% et être homogène dans tout l’habitat afin d’éviter les maladies, moisissures, allergies et douleurs articulaires. Aérez régulièrement votre habitat et vérifiez que les buses d’aérations, généralement situées en-haut des fenêtres, fonctionnent correctement. Souvent négligé, celui-ci a pourtant un fort impact sur notre mental et notre inconscient. Certaines odeurs stimulent notre cerveaux alors que d’autres l’apaisent. Vous pouvez donc jouer sur les parfums d’intérieur, de manière discrète et en petite quantité, afin d’accentuer les contrastes des différents espaces de votre habitat. Les mauvaises odeurs doivent être éliminées de la manière la plus naturelle possible par une ventilation adéquate afin d’éviter l’utilisation de produits toxiques pour l’homme. Après une dure journée de travail ou pendant une période un peu sensible, il est très important de pouvoir se ressourcer chez soi. Ce sentiment de ressourcement est indéniablement lié au bien-être que l’on ressent à passer du temps chez soi, mais aussi au sommeil qui doit être réparateur afin de recharger ses batteries convenablement. 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2019-04-23T00:09:52Z

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Shockingly hammering further the point that they had deviated drastically from the Haqq (truth), the document contained photos of Eidgahs all over the world, many of which are close-ups of women with no niqab and wearing tight-fitting clothes, intermingled with a few men here and there. Hizbul Ulama has had the official endorsement on their website from Darul Uloom Bury (the most famous and prestigious Madrasah) and Jamiatul Ulama Britiain, for as far back as I can remember. And all the Madrasahs in the UK appears to blindly follow the Saudi announcement without any questioning. “Maulana, I would like to ask you whether or not you were able to personally see the new moon on Wednesday or you heard directly from someone else who did see it and whose adaalat you can personally vouch for? The Saudi government consisting of fussaqs, fujjars, zaalims, who are all complicit in horrendous crimes against innocent Muslims have long ago forfeited all claims to adaalat. Thus, even more unreliable is their testimony regarding the adaalat of anonymous people with telescopic eyesights (and kashfi foresights) whom they seem to conjure up unfailingly every single year. The fact that 40,000 brothers are languishing in Saudi’s torture chambers, many of whom are innocent Ulama guilty of not towing the line to the precise nanometer, is sufficient proof alone that the government are Zaalims of the highest order and that the Saudi scholars who have escaped incarceration thus far are uniquely adept at not ruffling any royal feathers, and thus completely subservient to their handlers. This command of the Shariah stated by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is so mash-hoor (well-known) to even ignorant Muslims, that presenting evidence in substantiation is superfluous. This immutable law of the Shariah is the only criterion for determining the Islamic months. There is absolutely no other way permitted by the Shariah. All other man-invented methods are mardood (rejected by the Shariah). The announcement made this year by Wifaaqul Ulama of U.K. is 100% in accord with the Shariah. Every Muslim in the United Kingdom was required by the Shariah to have accepted this announcement and to have fasted on Thursday 8 August 2013, for it was truly the 30th day of Ramadhaan. It was haraam to have celebrated Eid on Thursday 8 August 2013 in subservience to the Saudi pronouncement adopted by Hizbul Ulama of UK. All those who had celebrated Eid on the 30th Ramadhaan (Thursday 8th August), should make one Qadha fast, and in addition make Taubah for having omitted the Fast and having celebrated a mock ‘eid’ on the last day of Ramadhaan. The brief, cryptic announcement made by Hizbul Ulama was unacceptable. It makes absolutely no mention of any hilaal-sighting in the UK nor of any sighting of any other country which had reached it by Tareeq-e-Moojib – absolutely reliable way of transmission to compel acceptance. The so-called ‘official’ announcement of Hizbul Ulama is devoid of official Shar’i sanction, hence it was supposed to have been rejected in favour of acceptance of the correct, Shar’i announcement made by Wifaaqul Ulama of UK. The brief, wholly deficient announcement of Hizbul Ulama is a lamentably clear deviation from the more than 14 century Law of the Shariah pertaining to the hilaal and the determination of the Islamic month. In having consciously and intentionally rejected the immutable Law of the Shariah, Hizbul Ulama is playing with the Fire of Jahannum and hovering on the brink of Kufr. Side-stepping, in fact rejecting, any Hukm of the Shariah is not a trifling issue. The consequences and repercussions of such a satanic move are exceptionally grave. It appears that Hizbul Ulama has made itself subservient to the pronouncements of the brutal Saudi regime which has degenerated from its level of fisq and fujoor to the level of Kufr. Also, Hizbul Ulama appears to have thrown in its lot with the ISNA modernist fussaaq of North America who had announced more than a month before Ramadhaan, the dates of Ramadhaan and Eidul Fitr. Such announcement was a blatant act of Kufr, for it brazenly rejected the immutable command of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Ijmaa-ee Law of the Shariah of all Four Math-habs to search for the hilaal. There was no sighting of the hilaal confirmed by any aadil entity in Saudi Arabia. In fact the need to sight the moon was dispensed by the Kufr regime of Saudi Arabia when it had already announced on the 28th of Ramadhaan that Eidul Fitr would be celebrated on Thursday 8 August which was actually the 30th Day of Ramadhaan even in Saudi Arabia. The only motivation for the rash and haraam move by Hizbul Ulama appears to be nafsaaniyat. It has absolutely no Shar’i grounds nor any justification for having announced that Eid would be on a day which in reality was the 30th of Ramadhaan. When fear of Allah Ta’ala is lacking, then despicable nafsaani motives overshadow the intelligence, preventing it from understanding the disastrous consequences of trifling with the Deen. Did Hizbul Ulama base its announcement on a physical sighting of the hilaal? If yes, what are the details? Who are the persons/entities who had sighted the moon? Why did Hizbul Ulama opt for secrecy in this regard? On what Shar’i basis did Hizbul Ulama announce that Ramadhaan this year had only 29 days? In desperation to vindicate its baatil announcement, Hizbul Ulama resorted to the blatantly haraam act of displaying on its website haraam pictures of men and women participating in Eid Salaat in some places. One haraam spawns another haraam. Since Hizbul Ulama had no Shar’i basis for its baseless and haraam announcement, it felt itself constrained to adopt methods to present a façade of veracity for the mock ‘eid’ it had imposed on its flock. The Muslim community in the UK should become alert to the vile trend of departing from the Shariah increasingly being adopted by modernists and deviate ulama of our times. Intelligent people should demand from Hizbul Ulama its Shar’i grounds, which in fact it lacks, for having departed from the 14 century Command of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Q. Is it permissible to end ramadhan on the basis of pronouncements of Saudi Arabia? • Ramadhaan time-tables which are distributed in Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwara this year records Ramadhaan with 29 days. • In previous years, the cleaners at Musjidun Nabawi in Madinah, before Maghrib informed those who were in I’tikaaf that they had to ‘pack up’ and leave because it was already decided that ‘tomorrow’ would be Eid. The Saudi government has created a calendar (Umm ul Qura) for establishing the start of every new Islamic month, be it Ramadhan, Hajj or Eid. The basis of this calendar is upon the ‘birth of the new moon’ and not viewing the crescent moon with the naked eye (Ruyat Hilal) as is required by the Shariah and Sunnah. Due to this, the Saudi announcement for the new Islamic month occurs 1 day before the actual sighting of the new crescent moon. This has been witnessed for many years now. This year (2011), the Umm ul Qura calendar has been published and they have already written that Monday, 29th August 2011 will be the last fast of Ramadhan. Tuesday, 30th August 2011 will be Eid ul Fitr even if there is no sighting of the moon according to the requirements of Shariah (Ruyat Hilal) in the Entire World. The fast of Ramadhan is considered so great in Islam that if a person purposefully breaks a fast, he has to perform 60 fasts continuously as a retribution for this act. There is no other act of worship in which the retribution is so severe. For example, if one Salah is made Kadha, only that single Salah is to be performed. Q. Is it permissible for Muslims in the UK to accept Ramadhaan and Eid announcements from Saudi Arabia for the sake of unity? A. It is not permissible for Muslims of UK nor for Muslims anywhere in the world to follow the hilaal announcements of the current Saudi authorities. The Saudi authorities are extremely unreliable. It is haraam to discard the Shariah for the sake of ‘unity’, even if it would be a true unity. It is quite obvious that the present fussaaq authorities of Saudi Arabia are not adhering to the Shariah. Despite clear skies, the hilaal was not sighted in Saudi Arabia, neither by the hilaal committees nor the masses. Furthermore, even if the moon is sighted in Saudi Arabia, the present rulers are fussaaq and fujjaar. Their announcements should not be accepted. Q. This year as well as last year there was difference among the Ulama regarding Eid. One group of Ulama follow Saudi announcements. What is the responsibility of the Ulama? A. The responsibility of the Ulama in the UK is to follow the command of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), and that is to physically sight the moon at the end of the 29th day, and if there is no sighting, then the month will be 30 days. It is highly irresponsible to terminate Ramadhaan and commence Eid on the basis of the extremely dubious rulings of Saudi Arabia. The simple and clear-cut method for avoiding these perennial moon controversies is to ignore the announcements of other countries and to go by local sightings. Those who had ended Ramadhaan on the basis of the Saudi announcement should keep one day Qadha fast. Once the Ulama decide to adhere to only local sightings, all controversies will cease. There is no need to encumber the community with the announcements of other countries. As long as the simple Sunnah method is not implemented, you will be plagued with these moon controversies. Q. What is the solution for the moon controversy? Almost every year the same problem develops. A. The only way to terminate the moon controversy is to revert to the simple Sunnah method commanded by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). That method is: Search for the hilaal at the end of the 29th day. If it is not visible, then the month will be 30 days. Confound all the other arrangements and methods which are made to force the issue of Eid. All methods should be discarded, and only the simple Sunnah adopted. This is the simple and pure method devoid of problems and it will not give rise to conflict if all parties submit to this Sunnah. But, the problem is that in these days people are not contented with the simple practices of the Sunnah. They seek to supersede the Shariah. Some who lack confidence in the simple Sunnah method feel more comfortable relying on the ‘sunnah’ of Saudi Arabia. Others again who equally have no fervour for the Sunnah, desire the ‘sunnah’ of the astronomers. The logical conclusion is the perennial conflict. Q. If we in England do not accept hilaal announcement from other countries, every Islamic month will be 30 days due to overcast skies. A. It matters not if in England every month is a 30 day month if the moon is not sighted. It will be a 30 day month in terms of the Shariah, according to the command of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Q. (1) Should the people of UK continue the blindfollowing of Saudi for unity’s sake, as this is the excuse many people, even Ulama are using till today, despite the fact that according to many estimates, majority of the Muslims in UK are NOT following Saudi Arabia? (2) Many people are aware that they are doing wrong, yet cite ‘unity’ as an excuse to celebrate Eid on the 30th of Ramadhan, can this ever be correct? (3) What is the responsibility of the UK Ulama/committee members and Trustees on this issue to end the Fiasco? (4) Those who claimed to follow Chile, and announced well before the sunset of Chile, what is the condition of their fast? (5) In the event of no testimonies coming in accordance with the principles of our Holy Shariah, can such important dates like Ramadhan and Eidain be declared based on a claim advertised on moonsighting.com? (6) News from Saudi Arabia reaches the UK well before Asar time, and is relayed by the Media straightaway, this results in the abandonment of the Sunnah to sight the Hilal locally and ending of the Holy month of Ramadhan at ‘Asar time’ as people start preparing for Eid straightaway. This deprives people of benefitting from those last valuable minutes of the great month, what is Hadhrat’s opinion on this. (1) It is not permissible for Muslims of UK nor for Muslims anywhere in the world to follow the hilaal announcements of the current Saudi authorities. Our attached pamphlet explains the reasons for this. It is haraam to discard the Shariah for the sake of ‘unity’, even if it would be a true unity. It is quite obvious that the present fussaaq authorities of Saudi Arabia are not adhering to the Shariah. Despite clear skies, the hilaal was not sighted in Saudi Arabia, neither by the hilaal committees nor the masses. Furthermore, even if the moon is sighted in Saudi Arabia, the present rulers are fussaaq and fujjaar. Their announcements should not be accepted. (2) Those who violate the Shariah on the pretext of their imagined ‘unity’, are close to kufr because they are intentionally abandoning the Shariah for the sake of a hallucinated ‘unity’. (3) The responsibility of the Ulama in the UK is to follow the command of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), and that is to physically sight the moon at the end of the 29th day, and if there is no sighting, then the month will be 30 days. It is highly irresponsible to terminate Ramadhaan and commence Eid on the basis of the extremely dubious rulings of Saudi Arabia. The simple and clear-cut method for avoiding these perennial moon controversies is to ignore the announcements of other countries and to go by local sightings. (4) Those who now claim to follow Chile are in a worse condition than those who followed the baseless announcement of Saudi Arabia. Ulama whom we have spoken to in North America informed us that after making investigations with people in Chile by telephone, it was established that there was no sighting in Chile. Furthermore, those in UK who had suddenly decided to follow the misinformation from Chile, had no prior arrangement whereby a structure for accepting Shahaadat had been established. Chile had simply mushroomed in the aftermath of the Saudi debacle. The Chile misinformation should be dismissed with contempt. (5) Since there were no testimonies based on Shar’i principles, it was not permissible for UK Muslims to have terminated Ramadhaan on the basis of Saudi announcements and the rumours from Chile. Information which in terms of the Shariah is reliable was not received from Chile, hence U.K. Muslims who had terminated Ramadhan on the basis of the Chile rumour are guilty of the heinous sin of not fasting on the last day of Ramadhaan. At the same time, they are gulty of the heinous sin of celebrating Eidul Fitr on the last day of Ramadhaan.They should make Taubah and keep qadha of one day. (6) It is Waajib to search for the hilaal at the end of the 29th day of every Islamic month. This has greater importance and significance for the month of Ramadhaan. To start making preparations for Eidul Fitr on the basis of the Saudi announcement which reaches U.K.Muslims at the time of Asr, which results in the abandonment of the Sunnah of searching for the hilaal is another unacceptable evil. Any practice which leads to the abandonment of the Sunnah is mardood. Regarding the importance of searching for the hilaal, see attachment. Once the Ulama have decided to adhere to only local sightings, all controversies will cease. There is no need to encumber the community with the announcements of other countries. As long as the simple Sunnah method is not implemented, you will be plagued with these moon controversies. Q. Why is there always such confusion over the moon-sighting issue? A. More than 14 centuries after the advent of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), and after presenting the Ummah with a simple, clear system of establishing the beginnings and endings of the Islamic months, confusion reigns supreme in almost all countries on the issue of the Ramadhaan and Eid moons. It is surprising and lamentable that this simple issue has been made almost intractable by even Ulama. The current controversy on the hilaal issue in the United Kingdom is just one example of this ever-recurring problem. “An A’raabi (a simple rustic/ village-dweller) came to the Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and said: “Verily, I saw the hilaal.’ He (Rasulullah –sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: ‘Do you testify that there is no deity but Allah?’ The A’raabi said: ‘Yes!’ Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: ‘Do you testify that Muhammad is the Rasool of Allah?’ The A’raabi said: ‘Yes!’ Rasulullah – sallallahu alayhi wasallam- (turning to Hadhrat Bilaal) said: “O Bilaal! Announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow.” (Abu Dawood, Tirmizi, etc.) Tirmizi added: “The amal (practice) according to the majority of the Ulama is on this Hadith. They say: The testimony of a single man will be accepted for Fasting (i.e. for the commencement of Ramadhaan). In fact, if the horizon is overcast, the testimony of even one woman will be accepted for the Ramadhaan hilaal. Reflect on this simplicity! Two simple questions and just two simple words in response, and Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) proclaimed the beginning of Ramadhaan. The many questions which different groups have invented for establishing the hilaal sighting are uncalled for and in conflict with the Sunnah. The size of the hilaal, its angle, its position, etc., are all wasteful, divisive and unwarranted. Others again have introduced astronomical calculations, and base their conclusions on possibility or impossibility of sighting as dictated by these calculations. Valid Shar’i Shahaadat (testimony) is negated on the basis of astronomical data. Edicts of the Shariah may not be superseded by mundane methods and systems. If the sighting of the hilaal is confirmed by way of valid Shar’i testimony, it will be haraam to negate it with astronomical data. Even if astronomy says that it is impossible to sight the moon, the sighting confirmed by Shar’i Shahaadat will override astronomy. Furthermore, some consider it necessary to make elaborate arrangements with other countries on the basis of the spurious concept of ‘unity’. Therefore some groups insist on having Ramadhaan and Eid with Saudi Arabia. Others again very justifiably reject Saudi sightings as unreliable. If every city/town adheres to the simple system of the Sunnah, there will be no dispute and no controversy. The baseless ideas of ‘unity’ should not be presented to mar the harmony in the community thereby creating greater disunity. Q. Why is it not permissible to accept news of moon-sightings from Saudi Arabia? A. The reason why news from Saudi Arabia is not acceptable, is because the Shariah has been made subservient to the rulers in that country. The authorities determine the months with astronomical calculations. They do not adhere strictly to Shar’i methods. The Shariah has become a pawn for the Saudi rulers who are increasingly walking the path of kufr. They have no regard and no respect for the Deen. The word of such fussaaq stands condemned in the Shariah. Q. Why do the Ulama of South Africa refuse to unite with Saudi Arabia on the issue of Ramadhaan and Eid? What prevents us here in South Africa from uniting with Saudi Arabia? Having Eid on the same day all over the world is a beautiful spectre of Muslim unity? According to the Hanafi Math-hab, differences in horizons (Ikhtilaaf-e-Mataali') is not valid, hence there should be nothing to debar unity with Saudi Arabia. A. It will also be a “beautiful spectre of Muslim unity” if the whole Ummah of the world could have the same times for Salaat. Unity on the basis of baatil is Satanism which culminates in greater disunity and whose consequence is Allah’s punishment. A valid and lawful unity is one based on the Shariah, not a superficial facade of unity forged in conflict with the Shariah. Further, why do you highlight Saudi Arabia? Why not Pakistan or Egypt or Indonesia or any of the myriad of Kufristans deceptively dubbed Muslim states? Ikhtilaaf-e-Mataali’ is valid with regard to far away places and cannot be discounted in entirety. Although this factor does not prevent acceptance of hilaal information from Saudi Arabia and our neighbouring countries, there are other valid reasons for our rejection of hilaal news emanating from Saudi Arabia in particular. If ARABIA had been a truly Islamic State under the governance of a pious Khalifah, then all the Muslims of the world would have proudly and happily submitted to every decree emanating from the Khalifah. Obedience to the Khalifah would have been deemed Waajib. A pious Khalifah is Allah’s Shadow on earth. No Muslim may oppose or disobey him. However, as far as the FAASIQ-FAAJIR, British-installed, American lackey Saudi regime is concerned, it is the shadow of Iblees on earth. Islamically and morally the Saudi regime is absolutely corrupt. Muslims all over the world have no respect for the announcements and decrees made by a faasiq-faajir regime whose policies and efforts are currently designed to eradicate Islam. The palace scholars being the serfs of the Saudi fussaaq, fujjaar rulers, dance to the tune of their masters. It is their primary obligation to fabricate corrupt ‘fatwas’ to comply with the whimsical fancies and evil commands of the Saudi rulers. These palace ulama belong to the fraternity known as Ulama-e-Soo’ (Evil Ulama). They too are Islamically person’a non grata. This is the reason why the announcements of the Saudi regime are unacceptable. Q. Is it permissible to use astronomical calculations to determine the beginning of the Islamic months? These calculations will eliminate all the confusion and disputes which generally occur on the occasions of Ramadhaan and Eid. A. Astronomical calculations may not be utilized to negate an immutable principle of the Shariah. We are under obligation to abide by the commands of Allah Ta’ala. If there is a clash between a Shar’i command and a mundane issue, the Shariah has precedence. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had commanded the commencement of the Islamic month with the sighting of the hilaal (crescent moon), and such sighting has to be established by the reports of reliable, uprighteous Muslims. When these Shar’i requisites have been complied with, then all other conflicting evidence will be set aside. It should be well understood that Deen is obedience to the commands of Allah Ta’ala. Deen is not the product of rationalism or the effects of our logic and understanding. We may not submit Mansoos Ahkaam to our reasoning and abrogate such laws when we believe that the product of Wahi is in conflict with reason. Q. (1) Would the Qurbani’s done here in the UK according to the Saudi date be valid? (2) Is this stance of following Saudi, despite the open and clear mistake correct? (3) Is the silence of the influential Ulama on this matter acceptable? Many Masjid committees here in the UK normally are decision makers on this issue. In matters of Dunya, they seem very intelligent and up to date, not accepting a penny’s loss. Here due to this following of the Riyadh authorities, many a times the month of Ramadhan is being commenced on the 30th of Sha’baan, the Fardh fast of Ramadhan is being missed as Eid ul Fitr is being celebrated on the 30th of Ramadhan, and Qurbani’s are being performed on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah. (4) Are the Masjid committees absolved of their duties by saying ‘we follow the Ulama’? (5) Despite knowing the truth, is it permissible for the sake of unity (this is the argument that the many people give) to follow Saudi/ Riyadh announcements and fast on the 30th of Shabaan, or celebrate Eid on the 30th of Ramadhan? (6) Some Ulama claim that the majority Deobandi’s follow the Saudi Hilal announcement, hence acting upon the Hadith ‘follow the Al Siwaad Al Aazam’ everyone should follow suit, is this claim correct, even though it means we are compromising on Fardh Ibaadaat? (7) An Ulama body here went to the extent of announcing that as the majority of the countries in the World were celebrating their Eid Ul Adha according to the Saudi date (although this information is also wrong), the people of UK should follow suit and follow the Al Siwad Al Aazam, is this argument justified? (8) Some Ulama attach the Haramain Shareefain to this issue emotionally blackmailing people that the Imams of the Haramain Shareefain cannot be wrong, and all this opposition to the Saudi Sighting is a Yahood Conspiracy. It is imperative for the Ulama at your end to resist the attempts to hoist Saudi hegemony on the Muslim community. It is better and safer for Muslims to rather have Eid on different days. They should not buckle under pressure to become the serfs of Saudi Arabia. It is incumbent to follow the directives of the Shariah, not the nafsaani desires of the Saudis who have their own political agenda to which they submit the Shariah. Unity with baatil is never the teaching of Islam. The call to commence Ramadhaan on a day which is not Ramadhaan, and to celebrate Eid when it is not Eid according to the Shariah for the sake of ‘unity’ is baatil and haraam. Unity with falsehood is haraam. Unity on the basis of the Haqq is the only unity we understand and accept. Our advice is that if Ramadhaan and Eid are not established on the basis of Shar’i dalaa-il, never should you follow the Saudi pronouncements. The Muslims in the U.K. are not in the wilaayat of Saudi Arabia. There is absolutely no Shar’i imperative to compel the Muslims of your country to submit to Saudi dictates and hegemony, more so, when such dictates are flagrantly in violation of the Shariah. (1) Since Eid in the U.K. was wrongfully and intentionally celebrated on 9th Zil Hajj, the Qur’baani on that day was not valid. (2) Despite the conspicuous error of the Saudi pronouncement, it was a grievous error of the U.K. Muslims to submit to this gross error and celebrate Eid on the fallacious basis of ‘unity’. (4) Intentionally beginning Ramadhaan and keeping Eid on the wrong days are haraam and grave sins. The contention that Qadha will be kept after Ramadhaan is despicable and haraam. Such qadha will never compensate for the fast which was knowingly and deliberately abandoned in order to celebrate ‘eid’ on 30 Ramadhaan. In fact, this calculated act of deviating from the Shariah is close to kufr. The element of Istikhfaaf with a Shar’i hukm is kufr. It is tantamount to saying: ‘I shall commit fornication and repent afterwards.’ Or, ‘I shall perform two raka’ts Fardh for Isha’, and make qadha afterwards’.The Musjid committees subscribing to this haraam concept of sinning are clearly in open conflict with the Shariah. (5) The Musjid committees are not absolved of their Shar’i duties when they are aware that the Ulama are in error. It is haraam to follow the erroneous views and fatwas of the Ulama. Castigating the Ummah of Bani Israaeel for the very same crime of blindly following even the errors of their scholars, the Qur’aan Majeed states: “They take their Ulama and their Mashaaikh as gods besides Allah…” It is haraam to follow anyone in baatil. It is haraam to follow the Ulama when it is known that the Ulama are in error. (6) It is not permissible to follow the erroneous pronouncement of the Saudi regime for the sake of ‘unity’. The same argument should be thrown into the face of the Saudi lackeys. It should be said to them: For the sake of unity abandon the Saudi pronouncements and follow the announcement of the Ulama who adhere to the original tenets of the Shariah. While the dissenters are prepared to create disunity with their subservience to the Saudis, they take umbrage when the disunity is the consequence of Ulama who refuse to accept the Saudi directives. Those who are so keen for unity, should not embark on something which will bring disunity in its wake, and that something is to follow the Saudi errors or political stunts. (7) The ‘majority’ is not a principle of law in the Shariah. If the majority of present day Deobandi Ulama follow the Saudi pronouncements, it still remains haraam when we are convinced that the month of Ramadhaan has not commenced or ended. Nowadays the majority is plodding the path of baatil. The majority of the Ummah in this era indulges in riba, haraam and baatil. It never becomes permissible to follow this errant majority. Haqq may not be compromised to strike up an accord with baatil for the sake of a unity which in itself is baatil. (8) The argument that the Muslims in U.K. should follow other Muslim countries even though the sighting of the hilaal has not been established on the basis of the Shariah, is utterly baseless. The criterion is the Shariah, not the majority of Muslim countries, especially in our day when the governments of all Muslim countries are irreligious and even anti-Islam. There is no Shar’i validity in this fallacious argument. Q. This year there was a sharp conflict between two groups of Ulama in the U.K. regarding the moon issue. Both groups have written to The Majlis. Which group was right? A. We are in disagreement with both groups of the UK Ulama. While the one group correctly refuses to consider astronomical calculations for determining the beginning of the month, they nevertheless err in accepting the unreliable announcement of Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the other group while not accepting the Saudi announcement, does introduce the astronomical dimension. Both groups are therefore in error. Q. Please comment on the difference between Hizbul Ulama and Wifaqul Ulama with regards to the moon-sighting issue. A. Currently there prevails a controversy in the United Kingdom regarding the moon issue of last Ramadhaan. The controversy is between two Ulama groups, viz. Hizbul Ulama and Wifaaqul Ulama. Both Ulama organizations have written to the Mujlisul Ulama of S.A. presenting their respective sides of the episode. According to Hizbul Ulama, the hilaal (the crescent moon) for Ramadhaan was sighted by at least three persons at the end of the 29t h day of Sha’baan, hence they declared the following day to be the 1st of Ramadhaan. According to Wifaaqul Ulama, there was no reliable sighting of the hilaal as reported by Hizbul Ulama, hence they (Wifaaqul Ulama) rejected the announcement, and Sha’baan was kept 30 days. Wifaaqul Ulama found the witnesses to be unreliable. We have responded to both Ulama Organizations on the basis of the facts they have furnished in their respective letters. We did not and do not enter the fray in the capacity of a Hakam (Arbitrator). Our responses should, therefore not be construed as adjudication in the dispute of two parties. We have merely apprized the groups of the Shariah’s stance as we understand and believe it to be without deciding and resolving the dispute. (1) The Shar ‘i Imkaan (Possibility) of sighting the hilaal is at the end of the 29th day of the Islamic month. This Possibility is established by Sareeh Nass of the Hadith. It is such a well-established Shar’i injunction which does not need elaboration. Only those ignorant of the Shariah will refute this injunction. What the observatories and astronomers say in conflict with this Shar’i principle is mardood (rejected and baseless). The Mansoos Ahkaam of the Shariah will remain inviolable until the Day of Qiyaamah, and the fate which had overtaken the Shariah of Nabi Musa (alayhis salaam) and Nabi Isaa (alayhis salaam) at the hands of their followers, the Yahood and Nasaara, will, Insha’Allah, not overtake the Final Shariah of Islam. Allah Ta’ala will in every age put in the arena Ulama- e-Haqq to defend the Deen against the predations of the Ahl-e-Baatil. (2) There is no ‘exhaustive list’ of questions for the Shaahid (Witness) to answer in terms of the Shariah. The only requirement is that he must be aadil (just/pious), and if it happens to be the hilaal for Eid, and the horizon is clear and cloudless, then the sighting must be reported by jamm-e-ghafeer (a sufficiently large number of people). All other questions are nonsensical and devoid of Shar’i substance and basis. (3) According to the Shariah, the many questions pertaining to the position, shape, etc. of the hilaal are abath and laghw (futile and nonsensical). They have no Shar’i significance. Furthermore, if these questions are used to abrogate the Mansoos Alayh principle of Rooyat, then they (the nonsensical questions) will be haraam. We had commented on the issue on the basis of the information provided by Hizbul Ulama.. Your explanation presents a different angle to the dispute. Our ruling was based on the adaalat of the witnesses. However, it appears that Wifaqul Ulama refutes the adaalat of the witnesses. We are not in position to adjudicate in the dispute. Our rulings should therefore not be construed as the effect of Tahkeem (Arbitration). We answer on the basis of the information furnished. Whose information is correct, incorrect, true or false is known to Allah Azza Wa Jal. In this response we shall content ourselves with only stating the view and the stance we have adopted on the issue of commencing and ending the Islamic months. (1) We follow only the principle of Rooyat – the physical sighting. (2) In the absence of local physical sighting, if news of a sighting of another place in South Africa reaches us by reliable and authentic transmission in which there is no doubt, we accept and Ramadhaan/Eid will be confirmed by us. (3) To date we do not accept news of sightings from any country. News of Sightings from only within South Africa is accepted. This stance is not because of any belief that the sightings of other countries are not permissible. According to the Ahnaaf the sighting of the East is valid for the West and vice versa. The reason for us not accepting information from outside the country is the lack of a proper arrangement with reliable Shar’i sources. We lack confidence in outside information, hence we limit information of sightings to within the boundaries of South Africa. (4) We never accept Saudi reports on the hilaal issue. We believe that Saudi Arabia is most unreliable in this regard. Although there have been attempts in South Africa to establish Saudi hegemony here via the moon issue, we are resisting such attempts. There have also been attempts to establish Saudi hegemony by forming a Hilaal Committee of Southern African States. But we have resisted this move too and we are not prepared to compromise our rigid stand for the sake of overtures which are tainted with political and nafsaani agendas. Due to Saudi funding for certain Islamic institutions in Southern African countries, the plan for a united Hilaal Committee here appears unholy to us. (5) We reject in entirety the slightest intrusion into the hilaal domain by astronomy. We come within the scope of the Hadith in which Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “We are an Ummi nation. We neither count nor calculate…..” We are ‘illiterates’ of this calibre, hence we do not have the slightest inclination towards astronomical calculation and even astronomical guidelines regarding feasibility and possibility or impossibility of sighting the hilaal. (6) Our only criterion for Imkaan-e-Rooyat is the ending of the 29th day of the Islamic month. Possibility of sighting the hilaal at the expiry of the 29th day of the Islamic month is a Shar’i possibility even if in terms of astronomy it may be impossible. The Nass in this regard overrides astronomy. (7) If the hilaal is not sighted after 29 days have passed, the month will obviously be 30 days in terms of the Shariah. (8) Confirmation of the sighting must be on the basis of the reporting by aadil witnesses. The number will vary from one such witness, male or female, for confirmation of the Ramadhaan hilaal, if the horizon is overcast, to Jamm-e-Ghafeer if the sky is clear. Regarding the number of witnesses, the various factors such as clear or overcast sky, the moon for Ramadhaan and the moon for Eid, are taken into consideration. (9) If all Shar’i factors are fulfilled and the witnesses are aadil, we shall confirm the sighting regardless of the view of the astronomers. Even if a sighting is ‘impossible’ in terms of astronomical calculations, but if criteria of the Shariah – the Mansoos Ahkaam – have been satisfied, we accept the sighting and confirm the commencement of the Islamic month. The Shariah overrides all other considerations. Never, is it permissible to cite astronomical calculations for overriding the Shariah or for casting doubt. (10) We do not take into account the size, position, shape, etc. of the hilaal for accepting news of a sighting. The only criterion for accepting a sighting is the adaalat of the witnesses. Rasulullah’s personal practice in this regard is sufficient and categorical direction for the procedure of accepting reports of sightings. We are averse to the astronomical paraphernalia which appear in questionnaires to which Aadil witnesses are subjected to. It is quite possible for a person to sight the hilaal without applying his mind to the various aspects of the moon such as shape, position, etc. A person who has genuinely sighted the hilaal may forget within minutes the actual physical attributes which had accompanied the hilaal. Furthermore, the Ahaadith testify that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Sahaabah had not ventured into such details pertaining to the hilaal. The procedure adopted by Nabi-e-Kareem (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was extremely simple. The sole criterion was the adaalat of the Shaahid. If there is valid doubt in the adaalat of the witnesses, the correctness of his answering the variety of questions will be in vain. Even if he answers all the questions correctly, his testimony will be rejected if he is not aadil. On the other hand, if his adaalat is confirmed in Shar’i terms, then his report of sighting will be accepted regardless of his inability to answer the questionnaire. This is our stance. (11) We shall reject the report if the person appears on the scene a few days after the reported sighting such as in your case where the ‘sighters’ testified 8 days after their alleged sighting. (12) If Hizbul Ulama had declared Ramadhaan on the basis of Saudi Arabia’s announcement, then we are of the opinion that this was incorrect as the Saudis are unreliable in this regard. The Brother who had asked his question on behalf of Hizbul Ulama did not mention that the three persons had testified only 8 days after their sighting. We had under- stood from the question that the three ‘aadil’ witnesses had testified the very same night soon after having sighted the hilaal, that is during Maghrib time of the very first night. In our opinion the report made 8 days after the event should have been dismissed without the need to listen to their testimony and without bothering to establish the integrity of the witnesses. (13) Our advice is that witnesses should not come forward to ‘prove the correctness of Saudi announcements’ as you have mentioned. Saudi Arabia should be expunged from the hilaal equation. The Zaalim government of Saudi Arabia has a direct hand in hilaal announcements, and for them political or other expediencies are adequate for tampering with the masaa-il of the Shariah. (14) We note that Wifaaqul Ulama does use astronomical calculations as a guideline, not for confirming the commencement of the month. As long as the actual confirmation of the hilaal is based on actual Rooyat, you are entitled to your methodology and guide lines. The absolute principle of Rooyat should never be compromised. We need to clarify the meaning of not compromising this Mansoos Alayh principle. If aadil witnesses testify to their personal sighting and all Shar’i conditions regarding numbers of sighters for different occasions are fulfilled, then it will be Waajib to accept their testimony even if astronomy says that the sighting is impossible and even if the sighters are unable to answer the astronomical paraphernalia related to the hilaal. (15) From the explanation furnished by Batley Moon Sighting Committee, it appears that the basis for having rejected the CMC’s announcement was the ‘integrity’ factor. According to BMSC the witnesses were not aadil. Their adaalat was rejected. We are not in position to adjudicate between CMC and BMSC on this issue. We can only say that if they were confident that the witnesses were not aadil, then they were within their right for having rejected the testimony especially in view of it coming 8 days later. (16) We are in disagreement with BMSC regarding their criteria for establishing adaalat. The duration of visibility of the hilaal, visibility conditions, position/shape of the hilaal, location of the hilaal, moonset, ‘logical’ impossibility of sighting, astronomical impossibility of sighting, etc. are irrelevant for establishing adaalat of the witnesses. These factors have no basis in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. At most they are products of opinion and could act as guidelines. Never could these factors be utilized to negate adaalat. The uprighteousness of a person is not reliant on these factors. The adaalat of a Buzrug of known and confirmed Taqwa may not be negated on the basis of these factors which are all extraneous to the Shar’i concept of adaalat. Factors such as donning un-Islamic dress, strutting around with a bare-head, deficiency in performing Salaat with Jamaa’t, indulgence in futility, sport, and many other factors related to the moral domain are relevant for establishing or negating adaalat. (17) Paragraph No.7 of BMSC’s explanation reads as follows: “Hazrat Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahib states: ‘for when according to calculation it is impossible to sight the moon then according to the majority of the Ulama of today when logically it’s impossible to sight the moon such a testimony will be ‘muttahum’ discredited and due to being discredited the testimony will be void, and you must not decide on such a testimony.” We respectfully differ with this view which is devoid of Shar’i substance. It is a view based on opinion and unsubstantiated by Shar’i facts. Logic and astronomy may not be used to refute, negate or discredit the testimony of an aadil man on the issue of Rooyat-e-Hilaal. Since this is a Mansoos rule, there is no scope for its abrogation nor for rejection on the basis of opinion, logic and astronomy. This is especially so when the simplicity of the procedure to confirm a sighting by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is borne in mind. The opinion expressed by Hadhrat Mufti Taqi Sahib is incorrect since it lacks Shar’i daleel. (18) We also disagree with the fatwa of Jamiatur Rashid for the same reasons stated above in No.17. We respectfully differ with the most senior Mufti of UK. The honourable Mufti Sahib did not apply his mind to the issue – the mas’alah pertaining to the commencement of the Islamic month. The fundamental principle of the Rooyat being established in terms of the Shariah by the testimony of aadil witnesses had escaped his mind. Moonset and moonrise timetables are irrelevant in this regard. These timetables cannot override the Nass of the Shariah which unequivocally confirms the Rooyat of aadil witnesses. The analogy of Salaat timetables is baseless in the context of hilaal confirmation. The Mansoos Alayh principle for establishing the hilaal is actual Rooyat. The confirmation of the natural phenomena for establishing the times of Namaaz is not reliant on Rooyat. To commence Maghrib Salaat, physical sighting of sunset is not conditional, nor is physical sighting of the length of the shadow necessary for Zuhr and Asr Salaat. Even the information of a non-Muslim regarding sunset, the direction of East, West, etc, is valid and may be utilized for initiating acts of ibaadat. Maghrib Salaat time commences immediately after sunset. If sunset is confirmed by any means whatsoever, Maghrib Salaat will be valid. It is not necessary to confirm sunset only by means of Rooyat. There is no such principle in the Shariah. The Shariah simply states that Maghrib is after sunset. As far as the commencement of the Islamic month is concerned, the Shariah categor ical ly ordains Rooyat of the Hilaal. There is no other phenomenon commanded by the Shariah for commencing the Islamic month. Birth of the moon, moonrise, moonset or presence of the moon in its orbit or any other phenomenon have not been fixed by the Shariah for beginning the Islamic months. The only valid act for this purpose is Rooyat of the Hilaal. Thus the analogy presented by the venerable Mufti Sahib is not valid. Q. According to some Muftis it is permissible to use the determinations of astronomy to negate false sightings. It is maintained that in this age of fitnah and mischief and questionable testimonies of sighting, it is permissible to use astronomy to refute testimonies of moon sightings. Is this view correct? A. There is no scope for re-interpretation of the Ahkaam in Islam. The Yahood and Nasaara had mangled beyond recognition the Shariats of Nabi Musa (alayhis salaam) and Nabi Isa (alayhis salaam) with their processes of re-interpretation, distortion and personal opinion. Thus, there does not remain a semblance of the original Shariats of the Ambiya (alayhimus salaam). In this regard Islam is unique. The Deen has been finalized at the termination of Nubuwwat. The ahkaam are immutable and will remain in their pure form until the Day of Qiyaamah. The view of negating Shar’i evidence/testimony on the basis of the determinations of astronomy is incorrect and abhorrent in the extreme because it in effect abrogates a Mansoos Alayh usool (principle) of the Shariah. The principle is that the testimony of Aadil (just and uprighteous) witnesses is Shar’i daleel. Such shahaadat is binding. It is haraam to set aside a Shar’i daleel – a Mansoos Hukm – on the basis of astronomical determinations. How can it ever be Islamically possible and permissible to cancel a Shar’i principle on the basis of a man-made determination? Whilst the same Muftis maintain that astronomical determinations are not valid for commencing the Islamic month, they illogically aver that such determinations are valid for negating Shar’i Shahaadat. Both principles are Shar’i, and of equal weight and importance. The argument that this is an age of fitnah and mischief, hence false testimony is made, is baseless. In terms of the Shariah a sighting is not false. The testimony can be false. The Shar’i command is to reject testimony which does not conform to the requisites of the Shariah. Eid, Ramadhaan and the Islamic months in general are never determined on the basis of such testimony which does not conform to Shar’i standards. The Shariah stipulates the requisite of adaalat for those who testify. Aadil persons are generally known in a community. A total stranger who testifies will be majhoolul halaal. His testimony shall not be accepted. However, when Aadil persons testify that they have sighted the hilaal, then confound what the astronomers say. Irrespective of the determinations of astronomy, it is haraam to reject the shahaadat of Aadil persons. Astronomy cannever override the Shariah. On the contrary, the Shariah overrides and rejects man-made determinations when these are in conflict with the Law of Allah Azza Wa Jal. Let us momentarily assume that the Aadil persons who are testifying had made a genuine error in sighting. There was no hilaal, but according to their sightings, the hilaal was seen. Now it matters not whether the hilaal had been sighted or not. Of vital importance is that Aadil persons had testified to having seen the hilaal. On the basis of their shahaadat Ramadhaan and Eid shall be declared. The issue is not the hilaal. The issue is the Hukm of the Shariah. The Shariah commands that Ramadhaan will commence on the basis of the testimony of even one Aadil person, male or female, if the sky is overcast, for example. It matters not what the astronomers say. The fitnah of dishonest people have no role in the determination of the Islamic months, because everyone knows them to be ghair-aadil (not uprighteous). The Shariah prohibits acceptance of the shahaadat of fussaaq. Thus, the argument of ‘mischief’ due to the testimony of fussaaq is a figment of the imagination. The requisite of aadalat precludes false testimony. The Shariah nips in the bud such mischief by simply not entertaining the testimony of fussaaq. Valid Shahaadat is only by pious and aadil persons. Q. The hilaal was not sighted anywhere in South Africa for Rabiuth Thaani, due it being overcast. However, the age of the moon was about 34 hours. In neighbouring countries the moon was sighted and today is the 2nd Rabiuth Thaani in Zimbabwe, etc. whereas it is the 1st for us in South Africa. At the end of the 30th day, the 34 hour hilaal was quite big. Does this not indicate that today is the 2nd of the new month. Should we not accept the news from neighbouring countries to have uniformity in our Islamic calendar? A. The Shariah’s principle for determining the new month is the actual/physical sighting of the hilaal. The principle is not the birth of the moon or the number of hours lapsing since its birth or of the size of the hilaal. This principle is inviolable and was established by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) himself, and on which there exists Ijma’ (Consensus) of the Ummah – of all Four Math-habs. This has been the Shariah’s way since the time of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Due to the large size of the hilaal, there will be no need to search for it as is the case at the end of the 29th night. People will then comment, as they do nowadays when they see a large hilaal, that it is the 2nd. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Sahaabah rejected such conclusions, and affirmed that it is the first moon. Thus, if at the end of the 30th day the moon appears large and bright, it will be in conflict with the Shariah to create a controversy based on the large size of the hilaal. The issue of unity or uniformity is drivel. Just as Muslims perform Salaat at different times all over the world, without this constituting an interference in unity and uniformity, so too is it with the sighting of the hilaal. If it is the 1st in Zimbabwe, there is no Shar’i adversity or problem if it is still the 30th here in South Africa. The problems develop when people attempt to supersede the Shariah by endeavouring to transform a non-Shar’i issue into a Shar’i issue. The Deen is simple. Rasulullah’s command was: “If you see the hilaal (at the end of the 29th) then begin the fast. If the hilaal is not visible due to it being overcast, then complete the month 30 days.” The problem is that people are not satisfied with this simple Ruling of the Shariah. They seek to override Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) with their whimsical ideas such as ‘unity’ which has no relationship with sighting the hilaal and commencing the new month. (1) There is no absolutely reliable connection in Shar’i terms between us and those in neighbouring countries or countries further abroad. Most of the Muslim organizations elsewhere, especially in our neighbouring countries are Salafi dominated. They rely on Saudi funding, and the Saudi regime utilizes its funding to assert its hegemony globally over Muslims. (2) Half or perhaps more than 50% of the Muslim community consists of followers of the Shaafi’ Math-hab. Far-off sightings are not valid according to the Shaafi’ Math-hab. It is unreasonable and not permissible to capitalize on the ignorance of the local Shaafi’ sheikhs by imposing on the Shaafi’ community the Hanafi Fatwa which is not valid in terms of their Math-hab. The acquiescence of outfits such as the MJC is of no significance. The MJC is not a valid spokesman or voice of the Shaafi’ Math-hab. In fact, due to the acute dearth of Knowledge in the ranks of the MJC sheikhs, the Hanafi Ulama are better poised to advise the Shaafi’ community in terms of their Math-hab. In this age of anti-Taqleedi’ism, it is imperative that all Muqallideen adhere with tenacity to their respective Math-habs. Another very important consideration is that the desired superficial ‘unity’ which is sought by forging unification of Ramadhaan and Eid with neighbouring countries, will never be achieved. On the contrary, it will culminate in greater disunity in South Africa for the simple reason that there is no single group of Ulama who can claim to represent the entire Muslim community of South Africa. Different segments of the Muslim community have their own allegiances. Thus, the Mujlisul Ulama of South Africa, Jamiatul Ulama Gauteng, The Original Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal (Waterval Islamic Institute), Jamiatul Ulama Eastern Cape, Jamiatul Ulama Western Cape and many other organizations will not accept any decision by any Ulama outfit who enters into any hilaal agreement with neighbouring countries. In view of this scenario, what does intelligence dictate? Eid on two different days in South Africa, with one segment of the community celebrating with Zimbabwe, etc., and another segment on a different day. Thus, whilst there will be a farcical ‘unity’ of a segment of the South African community with Zimbabwe for example, there will be real disunity and friction in the Muslim community of South Africa. Hence, the coveted ‘unity’ is a pipedream. In addition, the Shariah does not demand this type of phantom unity. It is not part of the Ta’leem of the Shariah to forge Eid with other countries. Eid in all Muslim countries on the same day would be a valid demand if the Islamic World was governed by an Ameerul Mu’mineen whose decree would be valid and enforceable in all the lands under his jurisdiction. In the absence of Khilaafat, it is every man for himself. We are all swirling rudderless in a cesspool of iniquity which has effaced even the Imaan of innumerable so-called scholars and learned men, leave alone the masses. For ensuring peace on hilaal issues, forget about forging ‘calendar unity’ with other countries. Adopt the simple principle which Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had formulated and which the Ummah had adhered to for the past fourteen centuries. There is much barakat in the simplicity if Islam. When people introduce complexity into Islamic simplicity, shaitaan becomes snugly juxtaposed for spreading his mischief in the community. Q. I am from Cape Town currently living in Durban. The rest of my family is still living in Cape Town. According to my family, the moon was not sighted anywhere in Cape Town, but the MJC accepted the sighting of Johannesburg. We follow the Shaafi’ Math-hab, and according to what I have learnt is that Shaafis are not allowed to accept moon-news from further than 48 miles. Kindly inform us on this issue. My family is concerned about the Fast. Jazaakallah, Was-salaam. A. The MJC is a redundant, flotsam group whose primary profession is halaalization of carrion. They have no Deeni pedestal. They have no genuine relationship with the Deen. They hypocritically pose as Shaafis, but in reality are juhala dwelling in jahl muraqqab (compound ignorance). Their Shaafi’ism is restricted to Raf’ul Yadain (lifting the hands in Salaat). They are bereft of Deeni bearings. They are unable to distinguish between right and left, darkness and light, truth and falsehood for the simple reason that they are a conglomerate of Baatil. The Shariah has no meaning for them. Their jaahil counterpart in Johannesburg is the NNB Jamiat (No Name Brand Jamiat of Fordsburg) whose miserable chief is the Reverend Bham. These two entities are in an unholy alliance. By degrees they are nibbling at the framework of the Shariah. They are decidedly evil in the extreme. MONDAY 28TH JULY, 2014 WAS NOT EID FOR SHAAFIS IN CAPETOWN OR ANYWHERE IN THE CAPE. Your understanding of 48 miles is correct. According to the Shaafi’ Math-hab, the sighting of Johannesburg, even if reliably confirmed, is not valid for Cape Town. It was haraam for Shaafi’s in Cape Town to abandon Ramadhaan, and celebrate Eid on what was the 30th Ramadhaan in terms of the Shaafi’ Math-hab. But for these vile ulama-e-soo’ who betray the Deen, of primary importance is the fulfilment of their nafsaani and ulterior motives. They are not concerned with the Shariah. If they had any respect for the Deen and if they had possessed genuine Knowledge, they would not have committed the haraam blunder of accepting the announcement of the stupid NNB Jamiat’s Reverend who is crazy about hubb-e-jah (love for cheap name and fame). SHAAFIS IN CAPE TOWN SHOULD MAKE QADHA OF ONE FAST – THE FAST OF 30th RAMADHAAN WHICH THEY HAD MISSED DUE TO THE SHAITAANIYAT OF THE MJC. The Shaafi’ community in the Cape should not betray the Deen and act flagrantly in conflict with the Shaafi’ Math-hab which does NOT permit acceptance of moon-sighting from Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, etc. The Shariah is not up for mockery and for meddling and peddling to satisfy whim, desire and ulterior motive. There is absolutely no need for the Shaafi’ community to abandon the Shaafi’ Math-hab for the sake of a satanically inspired false ‘unity’. Islam does not advocate unity with baatil (falsehood). The MJC must be given the boot for all the baatil and haraam they are hoisting on to the Shaafi’ community in the Cape. (1) Ikhtilaaful Mataali’ or difference in the risings and settings of the sun and stars should not exist. In other words, the horizons of the places should be the same. This means that the places must be located on the same lines of longitude. (2) Masaafatul Qasr should not apply. In other words, the place from where the news of the sighting emanates should not be at a distance which according to the Shaafi’ Madh-hab permits Qasr Salaat. There exists difference of opinion on this condition among the Shaafi’ Fuqaha. (3) East-West sightings, i.e. the news of a reliable sighting is acceptable to places lying west of the place where the hilaal was sighted. On the basis of these essential conditions stipulated by the Shaafi’ Madh-hab it will not be permissible for Shaafis west of Cape Town beyond the Masaafatul Qasr limit to accept the sighting of Cape Town. Thus, Worcester, for example, cannot commence Ramadhaan nor celebrate Eid on the strength of a Cape Town sighting if the hilaal was not sighted in Worcester itself. On the other hand, Worcester can accept sightings of Port Elizabeth, Durban and Johannesburg, if the news is transmitted reliably (due to the close distance). Hanafis on the other hand, are permitted to accept reliable news of sightings from anywhere, whether east, west, north or south. However, the news must be conveyed by Tareeq-e-Moojib (in a way which the Shariah considers reliable). In this matter, every centre is within its rights to decide the reliability and authenticity of the information of sightings which are reported. Once centre cannot compel its decision on another centre. Every Ulama body is free to accept or reject news of sightings which reaches them. It is, however, obvious that only Shar’i factors should influence either acceptance or rejection of the news. “…Verily, for every city is its ruling regarding risings and settings, e.g. the rising and setting of the sun, as Mawaardi has said as well as others. This is categorically stated in Al-Kifaayah as well…. Thus, it is proper to relate the time fasting with the risings of Fajr. Q. Please comment on a group of astronomers who recently proclaimed that there are three valid ways of determining the start or end of an Islamic month. (2) “To accept the possibility of sighting (imkan-al-ruyah) of the crescent in Southern Africa or South America, whether one waits for that sighting to be confirmed or not, and decree Eid-ul-Fitr for Tuesday 30th; this is what the European Council for Fatwa and Research decided. (3) To insist on local or regional sightings and testimonies (as countries such as Oman and Morocco do), and in this case Eid could only be on Wed.Aug.31; this is what Oman did with its highly civilized announcement a week before and what Morocco did after receiving testimonies on the 30th. There is no need to cite the Hadith references for this narration which is of the Tawaatur category. There is consensus on the authenticity and meaning of this Hadith. The new principle, wujood (the presence of the moon in the sky), mentioned in the first option above, is in diametric conflict with the Shariah’s immutable principle of Ruyah (physical sighting), hence it (the principle of the moon’s presence in the sky) is mardood (rejected) and haraam. Everyone is aware that the moon is always present in the sky at some place or the other. To relate the termination and commencement of the Islamic months to ‘presence’ is to follow in the footsteps of non-Muslim civilizations who also have their own principles for their lunar months. But such principles are at variance with the Islamic principle. The moon’s presence, movement and position in its orbit at any point are absolutely of no significance relative to the Islamic months. The commencement of the Chinese lunar month was with the sunrise immediately before the new moon. Months of 29 or 30 days begin on the days the new moons are astronomically calculated, not by means of actual sighting. In the Hindu system, the month begins with the full moon. Islam has rejected all systems and has adopted only the principle of Ruyah. While the presence, position and movements of the moon could be accurately determined with the instruments of astronomy, there is absolutely no way to astronomically determine Ruyah, for this is the function of only the physical eyes. Possibility and impossibility of sighting is not Ruyah. The eyes are wonderful bounties of Allah Azza Wa Jal. They are capable of competing with even telescopes. Confirming this fact, the group of astronomers avers: “….the all-time world record for a crescent seen by naked eyes is 29 minutes, and by telescopes 20 minutes.” The difference in the abilities of the two media (eyes and telescopes) is a mere 9 minutes. The astronomers have confirmed that a sighting with the eyes had taken place in just 29 minutes. The other new principle stated in the second option above, is imkan al-ruyah or the possibility of sighting the hilaal. This principle too is in flagrant conflict with the immutable principle of the Shariah. Allah Ta’ala has ordained that the principle is Ruyatul Hilaal, not imkaanur ruyah (the possibility of sighting the hilaal). The fabrication of this new principle is a haraam interpolation and abrogation of the divine command. Such interference with the Shariah is tantamount to kufr. Since Allah Ta’ala has ordained Ruyah, no one is then entitled to arrogate to himself the right to scuttle this principle and substitute it with wujood (presence) or imkaan (possibility). The astronomers have therefore transgressed the limits of the Shariah by pronouncing ‘religious coherence’ for these two haraam principles fabricated in this belated era, fourteen centuries down the line. Their attempt to supersede the Shariah is mardood (rejected). Neither is the theory of wujood nor imkaan denied in relation to astronomical calculations and predictions which are all zanniyaat (conjectural regardless of the high degree of accuracy) as opposed to the Qat’iyyat (Absolute Certitude) of the Ruyah principle of the Shariah. The third option, namely, Ruyah or actual physical sighting is the only valid Shar’i principle. Those countries – and they are the vast majority – which had celebrated Eid on the basis of this principle acted correctly within the bounds of the Shariah. It is salubrious that in countries where the only principle employed was Ruyah such as South Africa, there was absolutely no controversy. This year, there was no moon controversy in South Africa since the principle of Ruyah was followed. However, where the Ruyah principle was abandoned, controversy prevailed. In all matters, whenever the limits of the Shariah are transgressed, the consequence is controversy and fitnah. At the outset let us make it quite clear that we hold no brief for Saudi announcements even if they adopt the principle of Ruyah. The rejection of Saudi pronouncements is based on other factors which are unrelated to this discussion. Shar’i facts may not be denied regardless of the source of their emanation. Therefore, we shall corroborate and support the Saudi system which they claim is the principle of Ruyah notwithstanding our rejection of Saudi pronouncements, not the refutation by the astronomers of the Saudi claim of the possibility of Ruyah even if moonset is one minute after sunset. The Saudi ‘one minute’ claim is acceptable to the Shariah in view of the fact that it is linked to Rasulullah’s command to search for the hilaal at the end of the 29th day of the Islamic month. However, Saudi Arabia has weakened its Shar’i position with the stipulation of moonset after sunset. The Shariah’s principle is Mutlaq (unrestricted by any condition). Regardless of moonset being before or after sunset, the Shariah commands the search for the hilaal at the end of the 29th day. There would have been greater credibility and Shar’i force in the Saudi system if the moonset business had been discarded. It is imperative for the correct operation of the Shariah’s command to isolate astronomy in entirety for the purposes of determining the termination and commencement of the Islamic months. Regardless of the accuracy of astronomical calculations, and without contesting their validity, astronomy does not feature anywhere in the Islamic system for determining the months. The Saudi state Ulama vehemently claim that they are following the Shariah’s command, viz., searching for the hilaal at the end of the 29th day. Whether this is factual or not, we do not know. Nevertheless, this claim is 100% correct. If the requisites of the Shariah pertaining to Shahaadat (testimony) are complied with, and on this basis if Eid, etc. are proclaimed, it will be valid and binding regardless of the noises made by the astronomers. Even if all the astronomers of the world unite to say that it is a total impossibility to sight the moon, the Shariah’s command to search for the hilaal at the end of the 29th day may not be abandoned. Regardless of astronomical impossibility, if a sighting satisfies the requisites of the Shariah, the new month will be incumbently declared. If the hilaal can be sighted 29 minutes after sunset as is confirmed by the astronomers, there is nothing to prevent Allah Ta’ala to make the hilaal visible to the naked eye even one minute after sunset as the Saudi’s assert. The determinant is not moonset and minutes. The determinant is the Sunnah system of establishing the commencement of the months. However, since the Saudi regime is an oppressive, brutal appendage of the U.S.A., the announcements made by Saudi state agencies lack credibility. The announcers are bereft of the Shar’i requirement of adaalat. The Saudi stance, if it is true that they physically sight the hilaal at the end of the 29th day, does not “trespass into astronomers’ expertise and prerogatives” as the group of astronomers claims. The claim of the Saudi Ulama regardless of it emanating from the state Ulama, merely confirms the position of the Shariah. It does not concern itself with astronomy. If this stance refutes the expertise of the astronomers, it matters not. The astronomers simply have to digest it and understand that they have no right of intrusion into the domains of the Shariah. For the sake of respecting the theories, observations and findings of the astronomers, it is haraam to render the Shariah subservient to astronomy or any other science. When there is a clash between the Shariah and astronomy, the latter will be dumped in the waste, and the Shariah will prevail regardless of how irrational the Shar’i stance may appear. Furthermore, the view of the astronomers that it is humanly impossible to sight the hilaal after a few minutes after sunset is not based on any scientific or rational evidence. At most, ‘thousands of observations’ are presented as the grounds for their averment. But ‘thousands of observations’ are not conclusive and absolute evidence for substantiating the claim that the hilaal cannot be visible after one minute. Despite all the thousands of observations, only one case of a 29 minute sighting has been recorded. Let us assume that this one case was not recorded, or it was never reported, then the astronomers would have claimed that the hilaal cannever be sighted with the naked eyes after 29 minutes simply because the feat accomplished by powerful telescopes is 20 minutes. Such a claim would not be scientific regardless of the number of observations. If a fact lacks the absolute certitude with which an irrefutable logical, rational or scientific principle cloaks it, it cannot be termed scientific. According to the Shariah, the impossibility of Ruyah in terms of astronomy is a Zanni issue. Q. Please comment on the obligation to search for the new moon. A. Waajib alal Kifaayah is an obligation of the Shariah which devolves on the entire Muslim community of a locality. If a few persons in a particular community fulfil the obligation, the duty is discharged on behalf of the entire community. The fulfilment by a few absolves the whole community of the Waajib duty. On the other hand, if no one in the community upholds the obligation, the entire community is guilty of the sin of abandoning the Waajib obligation. Everyone in that particular community is then deemed to be sinful. The search for the Hilaal (the Crescent moon of the first of the new Islamic month) is such a compulsory obligation which has to be discharged by the Muslim community. Regarding this Search, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) commanded that Muslims should search for the new moon at the end of the 29th day of the Islamic month. If the Hilaal is not sighted at the end of the 29th day (i.e. after sunset), for whatever reason, the month will then automatically be a 30 day month. There is no other way whatsoever for determining the ending of the current Islamic month and the commencement of the next Islamic month. Resorting to any other method such as astronomical calculation and birth of the moon, etc. is absolutely not permissible. It is a haraam bid’ah (evil innovation). On the 29th day of Ramadhaan. it is therefore Waajib on Muslims to search for the hilal immediately after Maghrib Salaat. Some brothers should in fact perform their Maghrib Salaat at the location from where they will be sighting the moon. Regardless of how ‘young’ the moon may be, and regardless of the calculations and predictions of the astronomers who claim that visibility will be impossible, it remains the Waajib obligation of Muslims to search for the hilaal. Q. What should one do in Saudi Arabia when it is certain that the day declared Eidul Fitr is still Ramadhaan? When it is known for a fact that the moon was not sighted anywhere in Saudi Arabia or any where in the world, should one celebrate Eid because the government has announced that it is Eid? It may also be unsafe to violate the order of the Saudi government. A. When there is absolute certitude that the hilaal was not sighted anywhere and that it is still Ramadhaan, then you should fast, and not join the mock ‘eid’ salaat ordered by the Saudi government. You cannot be forced to abstain from fasting. Fasting is a private act which is known only to you and Allah Ta’ala. The tyrants of the Saudi ruling entity will not know that you are fasting. As for abstaining from their mock eid salaat, you will not be arrested for this. The tyrants will not know because the eid salaat is not restricted to the Haramain Musjids. You are therefore not exposing yourself to any danger by practically rejecting the haraam order of the Saudi government. The position will, however, differ on the occasion of Hajj. Even if it is not the Day of Arafaat, you have no choice. Your Hajj and Qur’baani will be valid even if the government orders erroneously. You cannot have your own day of Arafaat in Hajj. The Shariah therefore allows participation in this ‘error’. The oppressors will bear the burden of their sins. Q. From my cell in which I have been secluded for 23 hours of the day, I am unable to see outside to establish whether Ramadhaan will be commencing. What do I do in this case? I was told that Ramadhaan will begin on 1st August. A. If a person is unable to correctly establish the date when Ramadhaan begins, then he should accept the information he receives from the most reliable source. This year Ramadhaan did begin on 1st August. In all cases of ibaadat when it is impossible to establish accuracy, act according to the fatwa of your heart. The acquisition of the heart’s fatwa is termed Taharri. If you are not aware of the Qiblah, for example, and there is no one to show you, then employ the principle of Taharri. Q. Some senior Muftis are of the view that global moon sighting is valid. Therefore, Eid could be on the same day all over the world. They quote Shaami in support of their view. Please comment. A. They are quoting Shaami incorrectly. According to only the Hanafi Math-hab, the sighting of the halaal in the west is valid for regions in the east and vice versa. This mas’alah does not at all mean that it is incumbent on the people in the west to accept the information transmitted by the people in the east and vice versa nor does it mean that we should establish hilaal committees for ‘global sighting’. There never existed any such structure or even attempt in the 14 century history of Islam. Practically in our era in which there is no Ameerul Mu’mineen ruling all the lands of Islam, it is not possible to have a unified Eid based on global sighting. Hitherto there has been nothing but confusion and greater controversy stemming from these ‘global sighting’ endeavours. Reliance cannot be reposed on the corrupt, unjust, tyrannical regime of Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are hopelessly unfit to lead the Ummah in any matter of the Deen. No one and no country has the right to impose its sighting on the inhabitants of another country. Infact, the elders of one town cannot impose their sighting on the inhabitants of another town 10 miles away in the same country. Those harping and barking about ‘global sighting’ and a ‘unified Eid’, don’t have serious work, hence they employ their brains and squander their time in futility, dreaming and hallucinating unattainable goals.Don’t pay attention to their drivel. Q. What is the validity of the use of astronomical calculations in determining moon-sightings in places such as North America? A. A deviant body, dubbing itself FIQH COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICA, has resolved to ‘abrogate’ the fourteen century Rooyah (Physical Sighting) principle of the Shariah. Since the time of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam)—from the very inception of Islam—to the present day, the sacred principle on the basis of which the Islamic dates are determined was and shall perpetually be Rooyah (physical sighting) of the crescent moon. The miscreant so-called ‘fiqh council of North America’ is now attempting to abrogate the Shariah by claiming that the inviolable principle of the Shariah is outdated and that it applied to o¬nly illiterate people living in the desert, mountains, villages and the like. But for the ignoramus liberals who are bereft of Deeni insight and extremely deficient in Islamic knowledge, the deviant fiqh council, claim that the new principle of this belated 21st century is ‘astronomical calculations’. Astronomical calculations have no validity in regard to the determination of the Islamic dates. The Fuqaha (Jurists of Islam) have abundantly and adequately ruled on the impermissibility of this method in so far as it concerns Ramadhaan, the Eids and the Islamic months in general. The errant fiqh council of North America has strayed from the Straight Path of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah in its conspiracy to abrogate the sacred principles of the Shariah. This Deen was perfected fourteen centuries ago. It is not in need of the mutations which the aberrant fiqh council seeks to hook onto the Shariah. Muslim communities in America should reject the new plot of the fiqh council and continue to determine the Islamic dates in the method shown and commanded to the Ummah by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) more than fourteen hundred years ago. The determination of the Islamic months by the act of Rooyah is an ibaadat which cannot be compromised. The liberals of the fiqh council are attempting to scuttle this sacred principle with their bid’ah of astronomical calculations which the Muslim communities in America should incumbently reject. Q. In our Musjid we perform Taraaweeh even if the sighting of the moon has not yet been confirmed. The argument is that we should perform Taraaweeh just in case the moon is sighted for Ramadhaan. If the moon is not sighted, there is no harm in having performed the Salaat which would then become Nafl. Performing it early is convenient for the people. Sometimes the news of the sighting reaches us very late. Is our argument valid? A. Your argument is utterly baseless. Your ‘taraaweeh’ is bid’ah. It is not permissible to commence an ibaadat before its time. The validity of Taraaweeh is dependent on the sighting of the Ramadhaan hilaal (crescent moon). Performance of 20 raka’ts in jamaat as your community is doing is a bid’ah. If the moon is sighted, then although your Taraaweeh will be valid, its commencement without having received confirmation of the sighting is bid’ah. People should exercise some Sabr. Q. Does sighting of the moon apply to only Ramadhaan and the Eid occasions? Is sighting of the moon during the daytime of the 29th day valid? A. Sighting of the moon pertains to sighting it only after sunset at the end of the 29th day of the Islamic month. Sighting during the daytime has no relevance in the determination of the Islamic months. Sighting of the moon applies to all the months. If at the end of the 29th day of the Islamic the moon is not sighted nor is there reliable information of a sighting from another place, then the month will have 30 days. After the 30th day, will begin the new month even if the moon is not seen at the end of the 30th day. An Islamic month never has 31 days. Q. Does Eidul Adha have to be celebrated all over the world when it is the 10th Zil Hajj in Makkah? A. No, there is no Shar’i incumbency to have Eid all over the world on the same day as in Makkah. Eid is on 10th Zil Hajj. Whenever it is the 10th in a country, it will be Eid for them regardless of what the date is in Saudi Arabia. Q. In our community I am the only one who follows actual sighting of the moon for determining the Islamic months. The whole community follows the Saudi announcement. What should I do in such a scenario regarding Ramadhaan, Eid, and also 15th Sha'baan and Ashura in Muharram? A. As far as Eid is concerned, one or two persons cannot celebrate it alone in isolation of the community. The Shariah has guidelines and rules for all situations. (1) If you alone in the whole community see the hilaal of Ramadhaan, but your testimony is not accepted by the Jamaat of your place, hence officially for the community the next day will not be Ramadhaan. Nevertheless, you should fast the next day. (2) In the scenario mentioned in No.1 above, there is the probability that you will have to fast 31 days because it is possible that at the end of the community’s 29th day (which is your 30th day of fasting) the moon is not sighted. Hence, the next day will be the community’s 30th day while it will be yours 31st Day. You are required by the Shariah to fast this 31st day. You cannot celebrate Eid alone. (3) Assuming that you alone saw the hilaal of Shawwaal, but your testimony was rejected and the community regards the next day as the last day of Ramadhaan. Then too you have to fast and believe that there was an error in your sighting. (4) As far as Muharram is concerned, fasting on the Day of Aashura is not a communal act of Ibaadat. If you saw the hilaal of Muharram, but not the others, then you may act according to your sighting, and fast when it is the 10th according to your calculation. (5) The same explanation as No. 4 applies for Sha’baan. Q. My friend who lives in another country started fasting a day earlier than us. Towards the end of Ramadhaan he came to our country. When it was our 29th day of Ramadhaan, it was his 30th fast. The next day when it was our 30th, he did not fast, saying that there is no 31 day month in Islam. Since he had fasted a full 30 days, he did not fast when it was the 30th of Ramadhaan for us. The next day which was Eid for us, he fasted for Shawwaal. Was he correct in his decision? A. Your friend was supposed to have celebrated Eid together with the community in your country where he had arrived. Eid cannot be celebrated by one person. Since it was still Ramadhaan in your country, your friend was supposed to have fasted. The fast for him too was Fardh. The Islamic month does not have 31 days. Even if fasting on the 30th in your country would mean that your friend would have fasted 31 days, it does not matter. Of significance is the fact that he was present in a country when it was the 30th of Ramadhaan, hence he was supposed to have fasted on that day. It was not Eid for him despite it having been Eid in his country. In matters of Eid and Ramdhaan, the individual has to follow the community. He had sinned for not fasting. He has to make qadha of one fast. He was not supposed to fast for Shawwaal when it was Eid in the country where he was. Q. I would be grateful if you can advise me on what to do with regards to the fast of Yaumul Arafat this year whose real date is on Tuesday. All my family, relatives, and local community will be doing Eid on Tuesday (following Saudi), while I will be doing it on Wednesday inshaa-Allah. Should I abandon the fast on Tuesday just to make my family and relatives less upset with me, or is it better to stand firm on this important Sunnah? A. If you will be joining a community who will be celebrating Eid on Wednesday when they will also be having Eid Salaat, then do fast on Tuesday. However, if you are the only one in your community who regard Wednesday as Eid, and there is no Musjid in your locality which will be having Eid Salaat on Wednesday, then you should follow the community and abstain from fasting on Tuesday. This you should do not to please your relatives, but because you have to follow a community in a matter of this nature. An individual may not celebrate Eid alone. But, as mentioned above, if you will be performing Eid Salaat at a place where Eid will be on Wednesday, then fast on Tuesday and make it known to your relatives regardless of their baatil feelings. Q. My family has been celebrating Eid according to the local Salafi masjid which follows Saudi Arabia for about 10 years, even though we don't follow them in anything else, because almost everyone in our area follows Saudi Arabia for moonsightings unless we drive about 45 minutes away (where we used to live before 10 years ago). I have only recently found out that they are wrong. Should Qadaa fasts be made for the amount of Islamic years that have passed since 10 years ago while I was baaligh? Is it necessary to fast these Qadaa before the next coming Ramadaan? Also, what should I do in the future for Ramadaan and Eid if I currently don't have a car but may have one next time? It seems that I will be in Jamaat with my grandfather when Ramadaan begins. A. Fast and celebrate Eid with the community. If the community as a whole follows the Saudi sightings, then follow the community. There is no need for Qadha of any past fasts. Q. Where I am living the entire community will be having Eid on Tuesday 15 October 2013 although the hilaal was not sighted here. They follow the Saudi announcement. What should I do regarding Eid Salaat? A. You should join the community for Eid Salaat on Tuesday since there is no other community at your end having Eid on Wednesday. However, if there is a community nearby who will be celebrating Eid on Wednesday, then join that community for Eid Salaat. This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged answer, fataawa, fatwa, fatwas, question, ruling, rulings on Islam on July 14, 2015 by admin.

2019-04-20T06:29:14Z

http://reliablefatwas.com/sun-and-moon-issues/

Current treatments for AIDS are ineffective at eradicating the virus because; they are unable to detect mutant forms of the HIV virus. At the moment, HIV AIDS has afflicted 60 million people worldwide and a staggering 16,000 new infections occur each day. The current treatment options use antiretroviral drugs consisting of protease inhibitors and reverse transcriptase inhibitors, but these current treatments are unable to permanently destroy the virus. We first performed research to understand how HIV viruses infect human cells using information obtained from sources like the Cell Digest Journal. We then investigated the current treatment drugs for HIV AIDS patients using information obtained from the Database AIDS and Cancer Research Abstract, and from molecular genetics textbooks. We concluded that currently used drugs are ineffective at suppressing mutant viruses from replicating over a lengthy time frame. To understand the principles, the promises and, the challenges behind the use of RNAi, we investigated articles in PubMed, the Nature Journal, and the Cell Research Journal. From our findings, we concluded that although the siRNAs potential as a potent future treatment lies in its ability to directly cleave RNAs for viral genes rather than proteins, nevertheless, the technology needed to create vectors that effectively deliver the antiviral RNA to host cells has not yet been fully developed. Based on the results and conclusions from our research we cautiously recommend the use of RNAi specifically siRNA as a more effective treatment alternative for AIDS. They are effective because even when the viral genes mutates, siRNAs can be constructed to complementarily bind to specific conserved regions of the HIV’s genome. Using RNAi designed to effectively target these conserved genes means that conserved viral genes will more likely be deactivated thus, inhibiting HIV replication irrespective of its mutant form. Key words: mutant, protease inhibitor, reverse transcriptase inhibitor, RNAi, genes, nucleotides, conserved, siRNA. On March 29, 2007, we received approval of our proposal to research whether the use of RNAi, specifically siRNA is a better alternative therapy for HIV treatment. This report presents the findings of our study. We proceeded to first describe how HIV virus infects the human cell and why current treatment options are ineffective at providing a cure. We researched the current treatments available and concluded that it is best to look for an alternative. We then identified and examined the principles behind the use of RNAi to inhibit viral replication, their possible limitations, and the use of siRNA in AIDS treatment. The HIV virus arose from mutation of a similar virus called the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), which is found in primates. It emerged in the human population of Africa in approximately 1930 (Bauman 718). The virus infects the cell by first attaching to membrane receptors of the host cell before it immediately penetrates the host cell. Once in the cell, it makes a copy of its genetic material and inserts it into the host cell DNA. Once inserted the viral DNA directs the host cell to synthesize many HIV viruses, these viruses destroy the host cell when through lysis and are released into the blood stream. Currently, HIV has infected approximately 60 million people world wide and in fact a staggering 16,000 new infections are reported daily (Bauman 721). Several factors have significantly contributed in increasing the rate of HIV infection around the world, most notably, unprotected heterosexual contact. In addition, male homosexual contact, the use of contaminated injected needles, sharing razors and tooth brushes, and even mouth-to-mouth kissing to a lesser degree have been vital to its rapid spread. It is estimated that infection through male homosexual contact accounted for 48% of new AIDS cases in the United States in 2002. Even with the use of condom the individual's risk of being infected is only reduced to about 70%; moreover, leading a reckless sexual lifestyle can drastically reduce the protection provided by condom use (Bauman 718). Current treatment involves the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease 1-6). It contains a mixture of antiviral drugs that target the proteins produced or found in HIV virus. However, these drugs cannot eradicate the virus because the HIV genes coding for the proteins the drugs target either mutates to avoid detection, or undergo transition to a latent phase and stop producing those target proteins (Cohen par 4). As a result, HIV infected individuals currently have no hope for a possible cure. A new drug therapy is desperately needed to directly target the genes and deactivate the gene products coded for by HIV's genetic material; it is believed that use of RNAi could be very effective for this purpose (Yeung et al par 4). Using secondary sources like the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease website, microbiology and molecular genetics textbooks, and the Science Now online journal, we obtained in-depth analysis on the principles behind RNAi treatment, their efficacy and, their limitations. We concluded that although more research on RNAi is still needed, however, compared to current treatments it seems more effective at preventing viral replication. Its ability to directly target and complementary bind to sequence specific HIV target RNA rather than viral proteins, makes siRNA better able to overcome HIV viruses that use mutant proteins to evade detection. Furthermore, siRNAs are easy to construct and test. Despite being a better alternative to current treatments like reverse transcriptase inhibitors and, protease inhibitors, there are still challenges that need to be overcome if the full potential for this new treatment therapy is to be realized. Currently, the technology to create effective transport systems crucial to delivering the antiviral RNAs to target cells is not yet fully developed; furthermore, it is not yet known if using RNAi could inadvertently lead to the unwanted silencing of other genes vital to the cell (Rana, 2007). Nevertheless, we recommend the use of siRNA as a better alternative for HIV treatment. In the following sections, we provide additional details about our research methods, the results we obtained, the conclusion we drew from our results, and our recommendations. We investigated the mechanism and process of HIV infection cycle . We conduct ed an interview with an immunology expert Dr. Frauwirth to obtain current understanding of the virus and insight to future studies. We also researched recently published texts such as Kuby’s Immunology and online database from NCBI website. We were able to figure out the detailed process of HIV infection and the viral lifecycle. We identified the current treatment options for AIDS and their flaws: Using reverse transcriptase inhibitors . By researching the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease website, we identified examples of drugs that fall under the class of reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and analyzed the biochemical pathway used by such drugs to target and prevent HIV viruses from replicating in the human cell. In addition, using information obtained from the Microbiology With Diseases by Taxonomy textbook, we identified the exact mechanism that makes reverse transcriptase inhibitors effectively attack HIV virus. Furthermore, we also researched the major flaw in using reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs, and how the HIV virus takes advantage of this flaw to avoid being killed by drugs. Using HIV protease inhibitors. By obtaining information on the types of drugs that fall under the class of HIV protease inhibitors using information obtained from secondary sources like Science Now Online Journal and molecular genetics textbooks, we were able to specifically analyze the reaction mechanism used by such drugs to inhibit the HIV virus from replicating. Also, we looked at the effectiveness of HIV protease inhibitors at eradicating the HIV virus and the main flaw in using such a treatment alternative. Furthermore, we examined how the HIV virus takes advantage of the limitations of using protease inhibitors to avoid being detected and destroyed. We researched the principles behind RNAi therapy and its use for HIV treatment. We obtained information from various journals such as the Nature Journal, and the Database for AIDS and Cancer Research, and we created a detailed outline of the pathway used during RNA interference. We also examined how such a pathway can be triggered and applied to a HIV infected cell to inhibit viral replication. We then examined the advantages and disadvantages of using RNAi. We determined the limitations to using RNAi. W e researched several articles from the Journal of Biotechnology and reviewed various research data from the National Institute of Health online database. In addition, I conducted an interview with an expert at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Frosso V oulgaropoulou to further analyze the application of RNAi to inhibiting HIV replication. We were able to identify and investigate several factors that limit the effectiveness of this technique. In this section, we present the results of our research. We cover the mechanism of HIV infection, the current treatment options, the principle behind microRNA therapy, and the limitations of microRNA as a drug for HIV treatment. The following results correspond to the tasks described in the research methods section. Primary binding of HIV. HIV binds to specific cells in the body that express certain surface protein. The specific cells include T-cells and monocytes, which serves very important immunological roles. The primary binding of HIV occurs between CD4 and gp120. CD4 is specific surface protein that is expressed in both T-cells and monocytes, and gp120 is specific surface glycoprotein on HIV that can bind to CD4 (Frauwirth, Interview) . Secondary binding of HIV. The primary binding between gp120 and CD4 induce secondary binding. The secondary binding occurs differently in T-cells and monocytes. T-cells have specific receptor called CCR5 on the surface, and on the other hand monocytes have another receptor called CXCR4. These two specific receptors can bind to gp41, glycoprotein embedded in the membrane connected to gp120 (Frauwirth, Interview) . Fusion of host and HIV. The primary and secondary binding of HIV induces fusion of HIV membrane with host membrane. The fusion is mediated mostly by secondary binding causing the fusion mechanism, but primary binding is necessary for secondary binding to occur. The fusion mechanism is triggered when the CCR5 or CXCR4 is activated by gp41 and lead to serious of events in the host to allow HIV to fuse (Frauwirth, Interview) . Insertion of HIV genome into the host genome. The fusion of host and HIV membrane releases the viral genome and viral proteins into the host. The most important viral protein called reverse transcriptase can make viral RNA into RNA-DNA hybrids, and converted to normal double stranded DNA. Double stranded DNA is required to infect the host, because in order to reproduce and expend, it require the host to make viral protein and more copies of viral RNA, and only double stranded DNA is capable to fulfill the task. After producing double stranded DNA, another type of viral protein called integrase insert the viral double stranded DNA into the host genome at random location and become provirus (Kuby et al 2007) . The figure 2 illustrates all the components described and indicate the anatomical locations of the components to clarify some of the explanation. The term provirus refers to the state of virus infection, which has no significant activity in the host. Activation of provirus and reproduction. The provirus gets activated when the environmental or internal signal cause the transcription factors stimulate transcription of proviral DNA. The transcription factors promote the process that allows DNA to pass the contained information to produce messenger RNA, which can ultimately produce proteins. The whole process is done by using host cellular machinery (Frauwirth, Interview) . The final outcome of this process is mass production of viral proteins and viral RNA. The products then assembles itself to form immature HIV, then buds out from the host and released HIV complete maturation and infect other cells. The term bud refers to the process of which HIV uses the host membrane containing all the necessary viral proteins such as gp120 and gp41 to form viral membrane and separate itself from the host (Kuby et al 2007) . Treating AIDS using reverse transcriptase inhibitors drugs . There are two subclasses of drugs that fall under reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nucleotide reverse transcriptase analogs, and non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (Bauman, 2007). Reverse transcriptase inhibitors act by interfering with a critical step in the HIV viral cycle called reverse transcription. During reverse transcription, an enzyme called reverse transcriptase converts HIV RNA (ribonucleic acid) to HIV DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Examples of drugs that are nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors are AZT (Azidothymidine), Retrovir and Zidovudine. a) Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors drugs. These drugs are made up of primarily faulty nucleotide (DNA) sequences, when these faulty DNA sequences are embedded into the newly synthesized viral DNA by the reverse transcriptase enzyme, synthesis of the nascent viral DNA is stopped thus preventing the virus from completely replicating its genes (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, 2006). b) Non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors . These types of drugs can be proteins that attach directly to the active site of the reverse transcriptase enzyme. When bound to the active site, the inhibitor induces a conformational change in the reverse transcriptase that prevents the enzyme from being able to convert the HIV RNA to DNA. Without the HIV’s genetic information being in a DNA format it can’t be integrated into the host cell’s chromosome, thus, the virus cannot direct the human cells to synthesize HIV virions, therefore the virus is unable to replicate. An example of a non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor drug is Nevirapine (Hartwell et al., 2004). Although reverse transcriptase inhibitors effectively inhibit the HIV cycle of growth and replication, nevertheless, these drugs are unable to cure AIDS because they do not completely eliminate the HIV virus from the body (Cohen, 2002). For the nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs, their major flaw comes from the fact that when administered to the patient at high doses it is extremely toxic. As a result, doctors only administer the drugs at low doses that do not destroy all the viral particles (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, 2006). For non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs, their major flaw is that they are unable to keep up with the high mutation rate of the HIV virus. Because the viral genes coding for the reverse transcriptase enzyme mutates frequently, the HIV virus can produce alternate forms of the same enzyme that are structurally altered in such a way that their active sites cannot be recognized and attached to the inhibitor drugs. Consequently, the non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs cannot identify and inactivate these mutant enzymes and so the HIV virus can go on replicating even in the presence of the antiviral drugs. Treating AIDS using protease inhibitor drugs. These inhibitors act by interfering with the protease enzyme that the HIV uses to produce infectious viral particles, examples of protease inhibitor drugs include, Norvir, Crixivan, Viracept and, Lexiva. During HIV replication, the virus produces two inactive proteins called gag and pol proteins, these proteins need to be cleaved in order to become activated. The cleavage of gag by HIV protease generates the viral coat used by HIV to attach to the human cells, and cleavage of pol generates key HIV components such as reverse transcriptase, capsid, and matrix proteins. The HIV protease inhibitor drugs disrupt HIV viral replication by binding to inactive gag and blocking its active site so that it cannot be activated by protease (Bauman, 2007). Consequently, the inactive gag is unable to generate viral components needed to form a truly functional virus as a result, HIV virus is unable to produce viable new viruses; therefore, it cannot replicate and destroy the human cells. The major flaw of protease inhibitors results from their inability to keep up with the high rate of mutation of the HIV genes encoding the protease enzymes (Cohen, 2002). As a result, the virus is able to synthesize so many variant forms of the protease enzymes each having slightly altered active sites that are unrecognizable to the protease inhibitors. When drugs like Norvir are administered to patients they are unable to attach to these modified active sites and deactivate the mutant gag proteins (Hartwell et al., 2004), consequently the virus is able to successfully multiply within the patient even though they are on a rigorous treatment regimen. RNAi (RNA interference) is basically the process of inhibiting a genes expression by using double stranded RNA to cleave the genes RNA transcript or preventing the RNA from being translated to a protein. RNAi is quite ubiquitous in nature and can be found in fungi, animals and, plants (Engels and Hutvagner, 2006). The process of using double stranded RNA was first observed in worms (Caenorhabditis elegans). In plant cells, RNA interference is used to inhibit adenoviral attack; it is a tool used by plants analogous to an animal’s use of immune cells to fight viral infections (Yeung, et.al 2005). For our research analysis we describe the two major RNAi mechanisms: the use of siRNA (small interference RNA) and, miRNA (microRNA). siRNA are 21 to 23 nucleotides long double stranded RNA that deactivates a target messenger RNA (mRNA) by binding and directly cleaving it (Strachan and Read, 2004). To understand the efficacy of siRNA and the RNAi pathway it induces, it is imperative we first provide a description of how siRNA is generated. A small interfering RNA as shown in Appendix C originates from a linear double stranded RNA (dsRNA). This double stranded RNA is made up of two strands: an antisense strand (guide strand) and a sense strand (passenger strand). The antisense strand contains nucleotide sequences complementary to the target RNA, while the sense strand contains sequences complementary to the guide strand. Once the linear double stranded RNA is formed, it binds to an RNAse II enzyme called DICER (Rana, 2007). The DICER cleaves the dsRNA into a 21 to 23 nucleotide long RNA known as siRNA. Now that the siRNA has been formed, we proceed to examine how it triggers gene silencing. siRNA acts by complementarily binding to a complex called RISC (RNA-Inducing Silencing Complex) through its guide strand to form an siRNA-RISC complex. This complex now binds specifically to the target RNA and cleaves the target RNA thus, preventing the gene product coded by the RNA to be produced, as shown in Appendix C. MicroRNA on the other hand is generated from a markedly different process. miRNA as seen in figure 2 are 22 nucleotide long RNA molecules coded for within the genome that lead to gene silencing (Strachan and Read, 2004). Unlike siRNA, microRNAs are actually coded for by genes in the cell. The miRNA genes are transcribed by RNA polymerase II in the nucleus, to form a primary miRNA transcript. Just like normal messenger RNAs, the primary miRNA formed has a 5’ cap and a poly-A-tail. Like siRNA, it is double stranded with guide and passenger strands, in addition, it is also looped (Rana, 2007). The primary miRNA are shortened by a nuclear RNaseII called DROSHA into what is called a premiRNA. The premiRNA are then carried from the nucleus of the cell to the cytoplasm. While in the cytoplasm the premiRNA is cleaved by DICER into the 22 nucleotide mature microRNA. Once formed the microRNA now initiates its RNA interference pathway. It does so by binding the RISC via its guide strand to form a complex. It is this complex that binds to the target RNA albeit with a lower degree of complementarity. A current view is that miRNAs function to silence gene expression through imperfect base-pairing with transcripts. Due to this imperfect binding by the guide strand, it does not cleave the RNA but rather the loop created as a result prevents translation from occurring. Since RNA silencing mediated by miRNA does not require complete sequence complementarity, one miRNA can target multiply different miRNAs (Engels and Hutvagner, 2006). Thus, miRNA prevents the gene product coded for by the target RNA from forming (Rana, 2007). Based on our research results from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and also from the Nature Journal, current findings support such a notion since several viruses have been found to encode RNAi suppressors, which could function to influence the cell's overall miRNA environment. RNAi, apart from providing an indispensable reverse genetic tool and promising therapeutic approach, regulates gene expression on both transcriptional and post-transcriptional level and it is used to fight against viruses and bacteria (Engels and Hutvagner, 2006). Now that we have an idea of the gene silencing pathways used by both siRNA and microRNA, let us see how our knowledge of the RNAi process can be specifically applied to inhibit HIV viral replication using siRNA. Studies on the use of siRNA to inhibit HIV-1 replication have shown promise. As seen in figure 3 the HIV viral core consists of several proteins such as reverse transcriptase, capsid and, protease. Scientists have used siRNAs to specifically target RNA transcripts coding for key HIV-1 protein components such as tat protein, reverse transcriptase, and the HIV-1 CD4 co-receptors. Although such studies showed that siRNA was able to significantly suppress HIV-1, nevertheless certain issues remain of concern (Rana, 2007). NOTE : HIV is a retrovirus with an outer envelope containing proteins, some of which are spikes consisting of gp20 and gp41 proteins. The core of the virus contains RNA genes and copies of reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that makes a DNA copy of RNA. During the reproductive cycle, the DNA copy first becomes integrated into a host chromosome and then is transcribed back into viral RNA. One of the major concerns about the use of siRNA based therapy is the question of how to effectively deliver the siRNA to the target cells without it being degraded. Recent approaches aimed at tackling this question have not only yielded novel strategies for RNA delivery to cells in vivo, but they have also provided fantastic new strategies to suppress HIV-1. Among strategies used to deliver siRNA to HIV-1 infected cells is the use of lentiviral vectors, and also RNA packaged in micelles (Morris and Rossi, 2006). We found the use of certain lentiviral vectors to be absolutely fascinating especially when you consider how it could also contribute to preventing HIV virions from being produced and released from the infected cell. For instance, let us consider the use of conditionally replicating HIV vectors (crHIV vectors). In crHIV vectors the antiviral siRNA in addition to the vector RNA are packaged together, unlike a normal HIV virus the crHIV vector lacks the gene and protein for the tat and other structural polyproteins necessary for the formation of nascient viruses in the host cell. Once created, the crHIV vector is targeted to an already infected HIV cell. Like a normal HIV virus it penetrates the host cell and releases its vector RNA along with the antiviral siRNA. The vector RNA is converted to DNA and integrated into the infected cells genome. However, because the vector RNA lacks the gene for the structural polyproteins necessary for the production of its vector virions, it competes for the tat protein used by the HIV-1 virus already in the host cell for replication. In the mean time, the antiviral RNA introduced into the host cell targets the HIV-1 RNA and cleaves it, consequently reducing the amount of HIV-1 virions that are produced and thus fewer “demand” for the tat polyprotein by the HIV-1(Morris and Rossi, 2006). As a result, the crHIV vector gains the advantage and out competes the HIV-1 virus for the tat protein therefore the vector virions are predominantly produced and released from the infected cell compared to HIV-1 virions. The use of RNAi to inhibit HIV-1 replication provides significant advantages that make them a very appealing therapeutic strategy. RNA interference using siRNA are easy to construct and test in cells, furthermore, they cost less to create and it takes them less time to elicit their antiviral effects against the HIV-1 virus (Morris and Rossi, 2006). One of the current major obstacles in the treatment of AIDS has been the fact that the HIV virus is able to evade antiviral drugs such as protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors through varied mutations on their respective genes (Cassol et al, 2006). The virus also avoids being destroyed by using alternative splicing to try to avoid being targeted via RNAi. To try to overcome this problem, scientists are currently attempting to create siRNAs targeting conserved regions such as the promoters of the HIV-1 that are much less susceptible to mutations. The principle to this strategy is that because the fidelity of such regions of the viral RNA is absolutely crucial to the virus’s ability to code information needed for replication, the HIV-1 virus ensures that very little mutation is permitted in those regions (Morris and Rossi, 2006). From our research, we found three main limitations of the microRNA techniques in treating HIV: Although RNAi therapy holds great promise nevertheless, like all other drug therapies for HIV treatment it does have some limitations. Potential for off targeted gene silencing, siRNAs constructed to cleave RNA for a specific gene could lead to the silencing of genes not meant to be targeted. The effect of such inadvertent silencing could lead to unforeseen effects in the host organism (Morris and Rossi, 2006). Inefficient RNA delivery to host cells. Scientists have made great strides in creating systems especially in the case of HIV treatment, capable of carrying the siRNA in the blood to the target cell. One of the key strategies employed is the use of lentiviral vectors packaged with the antiviral siRNA and delivered to the host cell. As mentioned earlier, the use of conditionally replicating HIV vectors have also been used. However, efficient delivery systems are still sought after in the treatment of other viral-related diseases. Viral Resistance via Mutations. Point mutations and alternate splicing by the virus within the regions targeted by the siRNA can lead to the virus developing nucleotide sequences that are not specific to the siRNA. Thus, the virus might develop resistance to the therapeutic strategy. (Morris and Rossi, 2006). The conducted interview with Dr. Kenneth Frauwirth and subsequent research revealed several unique characteristics of HIV infection. The results described the process of infection, reproduction and involved proteins that might be potential target for treatment. The first unique characteristic was binding of HIV to host. The host surface protein CD4 serves unique and important roles in host, but CCR5 and CXCR4 has less important role in the host, which indicate blockage of CCR5 and CXCR4 can reduce the infection by HIV. Another unique characteristic is reverse transcriptase, which is only found on the sub class of virus called retrovirus, which include HIV. It is currently the most used target for the HIV treatment, but still needs improvement. The process of HIV infection reveals more characteristics that can be used as target for treatment. The major current treatment options of HIV infected patients involve the use of two major classes of drugs, reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and HIV protease inhibitors. When these treatment options are used they are initially successful at inhibiting viral replication. However, the HIV virus eventually develops resistance by altering its genes and changing the structure of the proteins targeted by these drugs so that they won’t be recognized. Consequently, we conclude that both current treatment options are not effective at totally stopping the HIV virus from replicating within the human body. The use of RNA interference especially via siRNA to inhibit HIV replication is based on the idea of targeting viral RNA with complementary RNA that ultimately inhibits the viral gene product from being made. Using siRNA based therapy for AIDS treatment holds certain advantages that make it a promising treatment option. siRNAs are easy to construct and relatively cost efficient. They can be packaged in lentiviral vectors and delivered into the target cell. In addition, the use of siRNA unlike protease inhibitor drugs can employ strategies designed to overcome a key obstacle to the efficacy of protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitor drugs. To overcome the resistance inferred by HIV-1 viruses through their ability to mutate target sites, scientists believe siRNAs can be constructed that target conserved regions such as, promoter regions. A key disadvantage to using RNAi as a treatment is the possibility of inadvertent off targeted gene silencing in vivo. Ultimately, even though siRNA treatment seems to be an effective tool to fighting the HIV-1 virus it is likely to be used in the future in conjunction with other treatment options to create a very powerful highly active antiretroviral treatment cocktail. Current research shows that people with mutations on CCR5 and CXCR4 receptors allowed the HIV positive patient to live without getting AIDS. These mutations alter the receptor binding mechanism thereby prevent HIV from entering the host. Due to the inability of reverse transcriptase and protease inhibitor drugs to totally destroy the HIV virus and stop the progression of AIDS, it is possible that RNA interference pathways triggered via siRNA can be used to cleave the host RNA coding for these receptors in stem cells for primary T cell lines, thereby preventing expression of the genes for these receptors. Information obtained from ongoing and future experimental studies using RNAi will give us a much greater insight on how to utilize this rapidly developing genetic tool to effectively fight viral related diseases such as AIDS. Until we find ways to resolve some of the risks associated with RNAi use especially with siRNA, it is best to remain cautious rather than overly optimistic in our assessment of this therapeutic approach. Bauman, Robert. Microbiology With Disease by Taxonomy. 2 nd ed. Pearson: Benjamin Cummings, 2007. Hartwell, H., Hood, L., Goldberg, M., Reynolds, A., Silver, L., & Veres, R. (2004). Genetics: From Genes To Genomes. New York: McGraw- Hill. Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection”. Human Gene Therapy. 17 (2006) 479-486. Rana, M. Tariq.” Illuminating the silence: understanding the structure and function of small RNAs.” Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology 8, (January 2007): 23-36. Strachan, Tom., and Read P. Andrew.” Genetic Manipulation of Cells and animals”. Human Molecular Genetics 3. Ed. Fran Kingston and Michael Morales. Garland Publishing, 2004. 592-595. Yeung Man Lung, “Changes in microRNA expression profiles in HIV-transfected human cells.” BioMed Central Ltd. 2005 December 28. doi: 10.1186/1742-4690-2-81. Conserved Sequences: A DNA sequence that is very similar in different species or organisms. It has very few mutations. DICER: A member of RNase III class of ribonucleases used in the RNA interference pathway to cleave double stranded RNA to 21 base pairs. Gag: Lentiviral packaging element that codes for a structural protein. Genes: Region of DNA coding information used to form either a functional RNA or an actual protein. microRNA: Small RNA molecules encoded in genomes of plants and animals. They regulate gene expression by binding to 3’ untranslated region of the target RNA. mRNA: The RNA produced directly from DNA transcription. It carries the transcribed information from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, to be used for translation. Mutation: A change in DNA sequence between generations. Nucleotides: Monomers of nucleic acids. They are made of ribose or deoxyribose, phosphate groups, nitrogenous bases. Pol: Lentiviral packaging element that codes for proteins. Reverse Transcriptase: Enzyme that converts RNA to DNA. RISC: An siRNA directed endonuclease that catalyzes the cleavage of a single phosphodiester bond on the mRNA target. RNAi: A technique where double stranded RNA slice specific RNA transcripts. siRNA: 21 – 23 nucleotide double stranded RNA molecules that cause the cleavage and degrading of a target RNA. Tat: A lentiviral element needed for the elongation of nascent viral transcripts. Vector: A molecule used to propagate a nucleic acid or even a protein. The following interview took place on May 2, 2007. A transcript of the interview follows. D – Thank you Dr. Frauwirth for agreeing to have an interview with me today. K – It is my pleasure to inform students on their curiosity in the field. D – So, for the first question. Could you explain the infection mechanism of HIV? K – As you know HIV binds to CD4+ T- lymphocytes and monocytes through CD4+ and gp120 interaction. This binding cause the confirmation change in gp120 to allow gp41 to bind to certain chemokine receptors such as CCR5 on T-cells and CXCR4 on monocytes, and this binding cause G-protein linked cascade and ultimately fusion occurs between HIV and host membrane. D – Then is it possible to block the second interaction to prevent HIV from infecting the host? K – It is not entirely sure, but the current studies show that complete state of latency in HIV+ patience with mutations in those receptors, so it is certainly possible approach for treatment. D – One more question, so after the infection and integration of viral genome. What happens to the inserted viral gene? K – The state of viral gene in host genome is called provirus stage and it is not entirely sure if it is in state of latency or has minimal activity. But after certain stress triggers the transcription factor to start transcription which is much rapid than regular gene transcription due to LTR on both side of viral gene. Then it follows the regular gene expression mechanism to form viral RNA and viral proteins using host machinery. D – Thanks again for the interview Dr. Frauwirth. I’ve learned much from the interview. K – You’re welcome. If you have any more questions feel free to email me. This interview took place on August 7, 2007. A transcript of the interview follows. (F) – Frosso Voulgaropoulou, PhD. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. O – Thank you Dr. Frosso for agreeing to have an interview with me today. F – No problem at all, I am quite impressed that you chose to research on such a complex topic. O – First let me clarify my understanding of siRNA, miRNA and how it is applied to HIV infection. siRNAs are basically 21 to 23 nt long RNA sequences that bind with high level of complementarity to a target RNA strand. They prevent a gene from being expressed by directing enzymes that cleave the target strand. microRNAs on the other hand are 22-23nt long sequences coded by genes in the cell. microRNAs act by preventing translation rather then cleaving the target RNA. F – Exactly, microRNAs are broad acting; they don’t have to be perfectly complementary to the target RNA unlike siRNAs that need to be almost perfect. Thus, microRNAs can lead to inadvertent gene silencing due to their lack of specificity. As a result, they would not be the ideal therapeutic tool in fighting HIV replication in a cell. Unlike siRNAs that actually cleave the mRNA, microRNAs form loops due to non-complementary base pairing, and these loops prevent the proteins needed for translation from being able to properly attach to the mRNA. O – I was reading the article on RNA silencing you gave me, and it says a single mutation between the antisense strand and the RNA transcript drastically reduces the ability of siRNA to target genes. F – Yes, otherwise it won’t cleave the RNA transcript. Remember when you took biochemistry and you learned about how proteins have primary, secondary, tertiary and, quaternary structures. The same applies to the principles behind the use of siRNA to cleave a target. The siRNA- directed enzymes that cleave the RNA transcript need to be in a specific secondary conformation in order to be able to act on their target. A single mutation in the anti sense strand affects this secondary structure. When you have non perfect complementarity between the target and the siRNA, the siRNA can behave as microRNA by forming a loop and triggering the microRNA interference pathway. O – In a molecular genetics class I took, we talked about the idea of methylation of genes in order to make them inaccessible. Is targeted methylation possible? Can it be induced in receptors such as CD4 receptors targeted by HIV so that they won’t be expressed. (Use of RNA dependent DNA methylation)? F – Targeted methylation is possible but it is an extremely difficult approach. Methylation is a mechanism that an organism uses to prevent gene accessibility. Applying directed methylation in HIV infected cells can lead to unforeseen inadvertent physiological effects. I am not that familiar with the use of methylation to silence genes. O – siRNA resistant viruses can come about by single nucleotide changes. Must the region targeted by siRNA be approximately 21 to 25 nucleotides long? If not, then why not build much shorter siRNA strands that target shorter regions on the target RNA. By doing so, the smaller the target region the less alternate mutant forms that the virus can employ within that region. F – First let us consider what happens if the siRNA is too long. If their size were too big they could cause the body to trigger its interferon response. Thus, all the host cells containing siRNAs are recognized and destroyed and this would be catastrophic for the organism. Amazingly, it is thought that RNAi evolved in congruence with the body’s immune system so that their length would be such that they would not trigger an immune response. If the siRNAs were too small it will make it very difficult to properly anneal to the target RNA transcript. Thus, the siRNAs would only weakly bind to the target and would not produce sufficient interaction needed to activate cleavage due to random interaction. O – All HIV viruses no matter how variant still share certain fundamental physical (structural and functional protein) characteristics. Thus, they all have conserved genes. Since these genes are probably least likely to mutate why not target siRNAs to them. F – Your idea makes perfect sense. But the problem with these conserved regions is that they are located inside the virus (beyond the viral coats). Because these genes are encapsulated in the virus and surrounded by a highly variable viral coat, it is difficult to attach and penetrate the viral coat to get at these conserved regions due to the fact that the genes coding for the receptors on the viral surface are constantly changing. The only time that these conserved regions can be freely accessible is when the viral genes have been released inside the host cell during infection. As a side note, when the HIV virus develops resistance to drugs their replication slows down. The state of a virus in the host cell in response to treatment is determined by its cost fitness. This is the ability of a virus to successfully replicate and be virulent. Each time the virus mutates in response to the treatment regimen, its replication rate slows down while its virulence increases. A good strategy to treating AIDS might be to target many of its different conserved genes thus, making it extremely difficult for the virus to mutate at all these target sites simultaneously. Yet, HIV still manages to evade targeted treatment. O – Have any field tests been done on animals, humans? F – Not yet, although a clinical trial is about to be underway! O – Thank you so much for sharing your time to answering my questions. I am taking a virology course next semester and I hope to apply the knowledge gained from the course into better understanding how HIV replication can be more effectively controlled. F – It has been my pleasure. Keep in touch if you have any more questions.

2019-04-19T00:20:43Z

http://www.kon.org/urc/v6/moghalu.html

2010-06-09 Assigned to ASANTE SOLUTIONS, INC. reassignment ASANTE SOLUTIONS, INC. CHANGE OF NAME (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: M2 GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. 2015-07-02 Assigned to ASANTE LLC reassignment ASANTE LLC ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: ASANTE SOLUTIONS, INC. Some embodiments of a medical infusion pump system include a pump device and a removable controller device. When the pump device and the removable controller device are removably attached to one another, the components may provide a portable infusion pump unit to dispense medicine to a user. In particular embodiments, the removable controller device includes a user interface to readily provide information, for example, about the operation of the pump. This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/522,603 filed on Sep. 18, 2006 by Mark Estes et al., which claims priority to: (1) U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/720,411 filed on Sep. 26, 2005 by Mernoe et al. and entitled “Precision Drive Mechanism,” (2) U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/720,405 filed on Sep. 26, 2005 by Mernoe et al. and entitled “Flexible Pushrod Mechanism,” and (3) U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/721,267 filed on Sep. 28, 2005 by Estes et al. and entitled “Infusion Pump with Removable Controller.” The contents of these earlier applications are fully incorporated by reference herein. This document relates to an infusion pump system, such as a medical infusion pump system. Pump devices are commonly used to deliver one or more fluids to a targeted individual. For example, a medical infusion pump device may be used to deliver a medicine to a patient as part of a medical treatment. The medicine that is delivered by the infusion pump device can depend on the condition of the patient and the desired treatment plan. For example, infusion pump devices have been used to deliver insulin to the vasculature of diabetes patients so as to regulate blood-glucose levels. A number of factors may affect the design of infusion pump devices. One such factor is the size of the device. The pump device may be sized to house the various pump components, yet a large device may reduce the portability for the user. Another factor that may affect the design of an infusion pump device is the convenience to the user. For example, if the pump device is designed to be controlled via a user interface on a large wireless module that must be separately carried, the user may not be able to monitor the operation of the infusion pump during use without first locating, handling, and interfacing with the separate wireless module. A number of infusion pump components can impact the overall size and portability of an infusion pump system and the convenience to the user. In some embodiments, a medical infusion pump system may include a pump device having a drive system to dispense a medicine from the pump device. At least a portion of the drive system may be in electrical communication with one or more electrical contacts of the pump device. The system may also include a removable controller device having a user interface. The removable controller device may be removably attachable to the pump device in a fixed relationship. The controller device may include one or more electrical contacts that engage the electrical contacts of the pump device when removably attached. Particular embodiments of a medical infusion pump system may include a pump device having a drive system to dispense a medicine from the pump device. The system may also include a first removable controller device having a first user interface. The first removable controller device may be mechanically attachable to the pump device and may be electrically connected to the pump device when mechanically attached. The system may further include a second removable controller device having a second user interface that is different from the first user interface. The second removable controller device may be mechanically attachable to the pump device and may electrically connected to the pump device when mechanically attached. In certain aspects, the pump device may be mechanically attachable to only one of the first and second removable controller devices at a time. Some embodiments of a medical infusion pump system may include a pump device having a drive system to dispense a medicine from the pump device. The pump device may include a first battery. The system may also include a removable controller device mechanically attachable to the pump device. The removable controller device may be electrically connected to the pump device when mechanically attached. The controller device may include a second battery. The first battery may have a greater energy density than the second battery and may provide energy to charge the second battery over a period of time. The second battery may provide energy to at least a portion of the drive system of the pump device. In certain embodiments, a medical infusion pump system includes a pump device and a removable controller device. The pump device may include a pump housing that defines a space to receive a medicine and a drive system to dispense the medicine when received by the pump housing. The drive system may include a piston rod that is incrementally movable to apply a dispensing force. The pump device may also include one or more electrical contacts disposed on the pump housing. At least a portion of the drive system may be in electrical communication with the one or more of the electrical contacts. The removable controller device may include a controller housing that is removably attachable to the pump housing in a fixed relationship. The removable controller device may also include one or more electrical contacts disposed on the controller housing. The electrical contacts of the controller device may be engageable with the electrical contacts of the pump device when removably attached. The removable controller device may further include a user interface arranged on the controller housing. The user interface may include a display and one or more user-selectable buttons. The pump device and the controller device, when removably attached, may provide a hand-graspable portable unit. Some embodiments described herein may include a method for operating a medical infusion pump system. The method may include transmitting electrical energy, from a first battery in a pump device to a second battery in a removable controller device. The pump device may include a drive system to dispense a medicine from the pump device, and the removable controller device may be removably attached to and electrically connected to the pump device. The method may also include intermittently transmitting electrical energy from the second battery in the removable controller device to at least a portion of the drive system of the pump device. The first battery may have a greater energy density than the second battery and may provide energy to charge the second battery over a period of time. These and other embodiments may provide one or more of the following advantages. First, the infusion pump system may be portable so that a user can wear the pump device (e.g., adhered to the user's skin or carried in a user's pocket or portion of clothing) and receive the infused medicine throughout the day or night. Second, the pump device of the infusion pump system may include a drive system that controllably dispenses medicine in a reliable manner. Third, the pump device of the infusion pump system can be removably attached to a controller device having a user interface. As such, the user can readily monitor the operation of the pump device without the need for carrying and operating an separate wireless module. Fourth, the infusion pump system may comprise two or more removable controller devices having different user interfaces. In these circumstances, a first controller device having a first user interface can be selected for use with the pump device, or a second controller device having a second user interface can be selected for use with the pump device. Fifth, the pump device may be capable of dispensing a first medicine when connected with a first controller device and may be capable of dispensing a second medicine when connected with a second controller device. Sixth, the pump device may include a first battery that recharges a second battery in the controller device, which in turn provides power to the drive system of the pump. Thus, each time a new pump device is connected to the controller device, the second battery in the reusable controller device is recharged, thereby reducing or possibly eliminating the need for separate recharging of the controller device. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an infusion pump system, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the infusion pump system of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the infusion pump system of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an infusion pump system, in accordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 5A-D are examples of a user interface of a first controller device in the infusion pump system of FIG. 4. FIGS. 6A-D are examples of a user interface of a second controller device in the infusion pump system of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a pump device of the infusion pump system of FIG. 4. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a controller device of the infusion pump system of FIG. 4. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one controller device of the infusion pump system of FIG. 4. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another controller device of the infusion pump system of FIG. 4. FIG. 11 is an exploded view of a portion of the pump device of the infusion pump system of FIG. 4. FIGS. 12A-C are perspective views of a portion of the pump device of FIG. 9. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a portion of a pump device for an infusion pump system, in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 1-2, some embodiments of an infusion pump system 10 include a pump device 100 that can communicate with a controller device 200. The pump device 100 includes a housing structure 110 that defines a cavity 116 in which a fluid cartridge 120 is received. In this embodiment, the pump system 10 in a medical infusion pump system that is configured to controllably dispense a medicine from the cartridge 120. As such, the fluid cartridge 120 may contain a medicine to be infused into the tissue or vasculature of a targeted individual, such as a human or animal patient. For example, the pump device 100 can be adapted to receive a medicine cartridge 120 in the form of carpule that is preloaded with insulin or another medicine for use in the treatment of Diabetes (e.g., Byetta®, Symlin®, or others). Such a cartridge 120 may be supplied, for example, by Eli Lilly and Co. of Indianapolis, Ind. Other examples of medicines contained in the fluid cartridge 120 include: pain relief drugs, hormone therapy, blood pressure treatments, anti-emetics, osteoporosis treatments, or other injectable medicines. In some embodiments, the controller device 200 may be removably attached to pump device 100 so that the two components are mechanically mounted to one another in a fixed relationship. Such a mechanical mounting can releasably secure an electrical connection between the removable controller device 200 and the pump device 100. For example, the controller device 200 may be in electrical communication with a portion of a drive system (not shown in FIGS. 1-2) of the pump device 100. As described in more detail below, the pump device 100 includes a drive system that causes controlled dispensation of the medicine or other fluid from the cartridge 120. In some embodiments, the drive system incrementally advances a piston rod (not shown in FIGS. 1-2) longitudinally into the cartridge 120 so that the fluid is force out of the output end 122. In this embodiment, the septum at the output end 122 can be pierced to permit fluid outflow when a cap member 115 is connected to the pump housing structure 110 (described in more detail below, for example, in connection with FIG. 5). Thus, when the pump device 100 and the controller device 200 are removably attached and thereby electrically connected, the controller device 200 communicates electronic control signals via hard-wire-connection to the drive system or other components of the pump device 100. In response to the electrical control signals from the controller device 200, the drive system of the pump device 100 causes medicine to incrementally dispense from the medicine cartridge 120. Still referring to FIGS. 1-2, The controller device 200 can include a controller housing structure 210 that is configured to mate with a complementary portion of the pump housing structure 110 so as to form a releasable mechanical connection. For example, the controller housing structure 210 may define a cavity (refer, for example, to FIG. 6) that mates with a portion of the pump housing structure 110 for a snap fit engagement. Also, the controller housing structure 210 may include a finger 212 that engages a mating surface 117 of the pump housing structure 110 when the controller device 200 is removably attached to the pump device 100. As described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 5-6, a magnetic attachment may be employed to releasably secure the pump device 100. For example, the magnetic attachment can serve to retain the pump housing structure 110 in the cavity defined by the controller housing structure 210. In alternative embodiments, one or more releasable connector devices (e.g., mating tongues and grooves, mounting protrusions friction fit into mating cavities, or the like) can be used to further implement the releasable securement of the controller device 200 to the pump device 100. As described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 5-6, the pump device 100 may include one or more electrical contacts (e.g., conductive pads, pins, and the like) that are exposed to the controller device 200 and that mate with complementary electrical contacts on the adjacent face of the controller device 200. The electrical contacts provide the electrical communication between the control circuitry of the controller device 200 and at least a portion of the drive system or other components of the pump device 100. For example, in some embodiments, the electrical contacts permit the transmission of electrical control signals to the pump device 100 and the reception of feedback signals (e.g., sensor signals) from particular components within the pump device 100. Still referring to FIGS. 1-2, the controller device 200 includes a user interface 220 that permits a user to monitor the operation of the pump device 100. In some embodiments, the user interface includes a display 222 and one or more user-selectable buttons (e.g., two buttons 224 a and 224 b in this embodiment). The display 222 may include an active area 223 in which numerals, text, symbols, images, or combination thereof can be displayed. For example, the display 222 may be used to communicate a number of settings or menu options for the infusion pump system 10. In this embodiment, the user may press one or more of the buttons 224 a and 224 b to shuffle through a number of menus or program screens that show particular settings and data (e.g., review data that shows the medicine dispensing rate, the total amount of medicine dispensed in a given time period, the amount of medicine scheduled to be dispensed at a particular time or date, the approximate amount of medicine remaining the cartridge 120, or the like). As described in more detail below, in some embodiments, the user can adjust the settings or otherwise program the controller device 200 by pressing one or more buttons 224 a and 224 b of the user interface 220. In embodiments of the infusion pump system 10 configured to dispense insulin, the user may press one or more of the buttons 224 a and 224 b to change the dispensation rate of insulin or to request that a bolus of insulin be dispensed immediately or at a scheduled, later time. As shown in FIG. 1, the display 222 of the user interface 220 may be configured to display quick reference information when no buttons 24 a and 224 b have been pressed. In this example, the active area 223 of the display 222 can display the time and the date for a period of time after no button 224 a or 224 b has been actuated (e.g., five seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, or the like). Thereafter, the display 222 may enter sleep mode in which the active area 223 is blank, thereby conserving battery power. In addition or in the alternative, the active area can display particular device settings, such as the current dispensation rate or the total medicine dispensed, for a period of time after no button 224 a or 224 b has been actuated (e.g., five seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, or the like). Again, thereafter the display 222 may enter sleep mode to conserve battery power. In certain embodiments, the display 222 can dim after a first period of time in which no button 224 a or 224 b has been actuated (e.g., after 15 seconds or the like), and then the display 22 can enter sleep mode and become blank after a second period of time in which no button 224 a or 224 b has been actuated (e.g., after 30 seconds or the like). Thus, the dimming of the display device 222 can alert a user viewing the display device 222 when the active area 223 of the display device will soon become blank. Accordingly, when the controller device 200 is connected to the pump device 100, the user is provided with the opportunity to readily monitor infusion pump operation by simply viewing the user interface 220 connected to the pump device 100. Such monitoring capabilities may provide comfort to a user who may have urgent questions about the current operation of the pump device 100 (e.g., the user may be unable to receive immediate answers if wearing an infusion pump device having no user interface attached thereto). Also, there is no need for the user to carry and operate a separate module to monitor the operation of the infusion pump device 100, thereby simplifying the monitoring process and reducing the number of devices that must be carried by the user. If a need arises in which the user desires to monitor the operation of the pump device 100 or to adjust settings of the pump system 10 (e.g., to request a bolus amount of medicine), the user can readily operate the user interface 220 removably attached to the pump device 100, without the requirement of locating and operating a separate monitoring module. It should be understood from the description herein that the user interface 200 is not limited to the display and buttons depicted in FIG. 1. For example, in some embodiments, the user interface 220 may include only one button or may include a greater numbers of buttons, such as three buttons, four buttons, five buttons, or more. In another example, the user interface of the controller device 200 may include touch screen so that a user may select buttons defined by the active area of the touch screen display. Alternatively, the user interface may comprise audio inputs or outputs so that a user can monitor the operation of the pump device. Previously incorporated U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/721,267 also describes a number of configurations for a removable controller device and a user interface for the device in addition to the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 herein. Referring to FIG. 3, the infusion pump system 10 may be configured to be portable and can be wearable and concealable. For example, a user can conveniently wear the infusion pump system 10 on the user's skin (e.g., skin adhesive) underneath the user's clothing or carry the pump device 100 in the user's pocket (or other portable location) while receiving the medicine dispensed from the pump device 100. As described in more detail below, the drive system may be housed in the housing structure 110 of the pump device 100 in a compact manner so that the pump device 100 has a reduced length. For example, in the circumstances in which the medicine cartridge 120 has a length of about 6 cm to about 7 cm (about 6.4 cm in this embodiment), the overall length of the pump housing structure 110 (which contains medicine cartridge and the drive system) can be about 7 cm to about 9 cm (about 8.3 cm or less in this embodiment). In addition, the pump housing structure 110 may have an overall height of about 1.5 cm to about 4 cm (about 2.9 cm or less in this embodiment) and an overall thickness of about 8 mm to about 20 mm (about 14.5 mm or less in this embodiment). In such circumstances, the controller device 200 can be figured to mate with the compact pump housing 110 so that, when removably attached to one another, the components define a portable infusion pump unit that stores a relatively large quantity of medicine compared to the overall size of the unit. For example, in this embodiment, the infusion pump system 10 (including the pump device 100 attached to the removable controller device 200) may have an overall length of about 7 cm to about 9 cm (about 8.5 cm or less in this embodiment), an overall height of about 1.5 cm to about 4 cm (about 3.5 cm or less in this embodiment),and an overall thickness of about 8 mm to about 20 mm (about 15 mm or less in this embodiment). As shown in FIG. 3, this embodiment of the infusion pump system 10 is pocket-sized so that the pump device 100 and controller device 200 can be worn in the user's pocket or in another portion of the user's clothing. In such embodiments, the cap member 115 of the pump device 100 may be configured to connect with a flexible tube 119 of an infusion set. The infusion set may include the tube 119 that extends toward a skin adhesive patch and connects with an infusion cannula (not shown in FIG. 3). The skin adhesive patch can retain the infusion cannula in fluid communication with the tissue or vasculature of the patient so that the medicine dispensed through the tube 119 passes through the cannula and into the user's body. As described below in connection with FIG. 5, the cap member 115 may provide fluid communication between the output end 122 (FIG. 1) of the medicine cartridge 120 and the tube 119 of the infusion set. In these embodiments, the user can carry the portable infusion pump system 10 (e.g., in the user's pocket, connected to a belt clip, or adhered to the user's skin) while the tube 119 extends to the location in which the skin is penetrated for infusion. If the user desires to monitor the operation of the pump device 100 or to adjust the settings of the infusion pump system 10, the user can readily access the user interface 220 of the controller device 200 without the need for carrying and operating a separate module. In other embodiments, the infusion pump system 10 may be configured to adhere to the user's skin directly at the location in which the skin is penetrated for medicine infusion. For example, a rear surface 102 of the pump device 100 (refer, for example, to FIG. 2) may include a skin adhesive patch so that the pump device 100 is physically adhered to the skin of the user at a particular location. In these embodiments, the cap member 115 may have a configuration in which medicine passes directly from the cap member 115 into an infusion cannula that is penetrated into the user's skin. Again, if the user desires to monitor the operation of the pump device 100 or to adjust the settings of the infusion pump system 10, the user can readily access the user interface 220 of the controller device 200 without the need for carrying and operating a second, separate device. For example, the user may look toward the pump device 100 to view the user interface 220 of the controller device 220 that is removably attached thereto. Referring to FIG. 4, some embodiments of an infusion pump system 20 may include a pump device 100 that is configured to mate with any one of two or more controller devices (e.g., controller device 200 and controller device 300 in this embodiment) that are different from one another. The controller devices 200 and 300 may have different user interfaces 220 and 320, respectively, so as to provide different control options to the user. For example, some users may select the first controller device 200 for use in combination with the pump device 100 for a simplified input comprising two buttons 224 a and 224 b in the user interface 220. In another example, some users may select the second controller device 300 for use in combination with the pump device 100 for a larger size display 322 and increased button options (e.g., four buttons 324 a, 324 b, 324 c, and 324 d) in the user interface 320. The pump device 100 can be releasably secured to any one of the controller devices 200 and 300 in the infusion pump system 20. As previously described, the pump device 100 includes a pump housing structure 110, and at least a portion of the pump housing structure 110 is configured to be received in a complementary cavity 215 or 315 (FIGS. 8-10) defined in the controller housing structure 210 or 310. When the pump device 100 is received by the controller device 200 or 300, a retainer finger 217 or 317, respectively, may engage a mating surface of the pump housing structure 110. In addition, a magnetic attachment can be used to releasably secure the pump device 100 to any of the controller housing structures 210 and 310. In such circumstances, the pump device 100 includes one or more magnetically attractable devices 118 a and 118 b (e.g., permanent magnets in this embodiment) exhibited on the front surface 104 of the pump housing structure 110 which magnetically engage complementary devices (refer, for example to FIG. 8) arranged on the controller housing structure 210 or 310. As such, when the pump device 100 is received in the cavity defined by the controller housing structure 210, the magnetically attractable devices 118 a and 118 b form a magnetic attachment to retain the pump device 100 therein. Also as described in more detail below, the pump device 100 may include one or more electrical contacts 149 arranged to engage complementary electrical contacts 249 (refer, for example to FIG. 8) arranged on the controller housing structure 210 or 310. In some embodiments of the infusion pump system 20, the first and second controller devices 200 and 300 may be configured to control the dispensation of the same type of medicine when the pump device 100 is removably attached thereto. For example, a medicine cartridge containing insulin may be received in the pump device 100, and the user may select (e.g., based upon the user's preference, based upon an expert's recommendation, or a combination thereof) either the first controller device 200 or the second controller device 300 for attachment to the pump device 100. Because the first controller device 200 includes a user interface 220 that is different from the user interface 320 of the second controller device 300, the user may prefer the operation, appearance, or functionality of one controller device (200 or 300) over the other (300 or 200). For example, some users may select the first controller device 200 to provide a simplified input comprising two buttons 224 a and 224 b in the user interface 220 (e.g., lower complexity of input options may be preferable to child users). In another example, some users may select the second controller device 300 to provide a larger size display 322 and increased button options 324 a, 324 b, 324 c, and 324 d in the user interface 320 (e.g., increased input options may be preferably to users who frequently monitor a number of pump settings and summary screens). Alternatively, the controller devices 200 and 300 may include the same user interface option, but may have different appearances so as to provide the user with a variety of styles. For example, the controller device 200 may have a different outer shape or a different color than that of the second controller device 300, thereby permitting the user to select one of the controller devices 200 or 300 depending upon the desired appearance of the infusion pump system 20. Still referring to FIG. 4, in some embodiments of the infusion pump system 20, the first and second controller devices 200 and 300 may be configured to control the dispensation of the different types of medicine when the pump device 100 is removably attached thereto. For example, a first medicine cartridge 230 containing a first type of medicine 231 can be received in the pump device 100. In these circumstances, the first controller device 200 may be removably attached to the pump device 100 (having the first medicine container 230 received therein) so as to control the dispensation of the first type of medicine 231. In another example, a second medicine cartridge 330 containing a second type of medicine 331 can be received in the pump device 100. Here, the second controller device 300 may be removably attached to the pump device 100 (having the second medicine container 330 received therein) so as to control the dispensation of the second type of medicine 331. Accordingly, the infusion pump system 20 can employ a single pump device 100 that is capable of dispensing any one of two or more medicines (e.g., medicines 231 and 331 in this embodiment) when connected to any one of two or more controller devices (e.g., controller devices 200 and 330, respectively, in this embodiment). Such embodiments of the infusion pump device 20 permit a user to transition from the infusion of one type of medicine to a second type of medicine without learning to operate a new type of pump device. In one embodiment, the pump device 100 may be used in combination with the first controller device 200 so as to deliver a medicine 231 for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. Examples of such medicines 231 include Exenatide, which is commercially available under the name BYETTA™, or others in a class of medicines for Type 2 Diabetes called incretin mimetics. These medicines may improve control of Type 2 Diabetes by aiding the user's pancreas produce an appropriate amount of insulin. As described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 5A-D, the second controller device 200 may include a user interface 220 configured to provide information and monitoring options for the infusion of Exenatide. If the user's Diabetes progresses over time to become Type 1 Diabetes, the user may continue to use the same type of pump device 100 but with a different controller device 300 (e.g., a controller device for use in the infusion of insulin or other medicines to treat Type 1 Diabetes). Thus, the user is not required to obtain and learn about a new type of pump device 100. Instead, the user may conveniently attach the same type of pump device 100 (this time including a cartridge 330 with insulin 331) to a second controller device 300. As described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 6A-D, the second controller device 300 may include a user interface 320 configured to provide information and monitoring options for the infusion of insulin. In some circumstances, the dispensation rate, dosage amount, and other parameters of insulin infusion may be different from other infused medicines (e.g., Exenatide), so the user interface 320 may provide different monitoring options or different textual information compared to the user interface 220 of the first controller device 200. Moreover, such embodiments of the infusion pump system 20 may provide manufacturing benefits. For example, the manufacturer may not be required to manufacture a different type of pump device 100 for each of the different types of controllers. Instead, the pump device 100 can be mass produced in high quantities for use in conjunction with any one of a plurality of controller devices (e.g., controller devices 200 and 300 in this embodiment). Optionally, the first controller device 200 may include an indicia 225 that identifies the particular type of medicine cartridge 230 or medicine 231 with which it is to be employed. The medicine cartridge 230 may include a similar indicia 235. As such, the user can verify that the appropriate type of medicine 231 is received in the pump device 100 for controlled dispensation by the controller device 200. For example, the indicia 225 may include a label, marking, etching, or the like disposed on the controller housing structure 210 that indicates a particular name, code, or other identifier corresponding to a particular medicine 231 (e.g., “EXENATIDE” or “BYETTA” or another identifier). The indicia 235 disposed on the medicine cartridge 230 may include a similar label, marking, etching, or the like disposed on an outer surface of the cartridge 230 so as to indicate a particular name, code, or other identifier corresponding to the particular medicine 231. The second controller device 300 may also include an indicia 325 that identifies the particular type of medicine cartridge 330 or medicine 331 with which it is to be employed (e.g., “INSULIN” or another identifier). The indicia 325 may match a corresponding indicia 335 arranged on the medicine cartridge 330. Thus, a person or machine will be able to interpret the indicia 235 on the first cartridge 230 and the indicia 225 on the first controller device 220 to know that the first cartridge 230 is used in conjunction with the first controller device 200. Similarly, a person or machine will be able to interpret the indicia 335 on the second cartridge 230 and the indicia 325 on the second controller device 320 to know that the second cartridge 330 is used in conjunction with the second controller device 300. Referring to FIGS. 5A-D, in some embodiments, the user interface 220 of the first controller device 200 may be configured to provide information and monitoring options for the infusion of a first type of medicine, such as Exenatide. In this embodiment, the user interface 220 comprises a display and two buttons as previously described in connection with FIGS. 1-4. The user may press one or more buttons of the user interface 220 to toggle through a number of monitoring screens that provide information regarding the dispensation of the Exenatide medicine or regarding the operation of the pump device. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A-D, the user interface 220 may provide information regarding the average amount of Exenatide infused per day (FIG. 5A), regarding the total amount of Exenatide infused on the current day and the average dispensation rate of the pump device on the current day (FIG. 5B), regarding the amount of Exenatide remaining in the medicine cartridge received in the pump device 100 (FIG. 5C), and regarding the amount of time since the pump device 100 started dispensing Exenatide (FIG. 5D). In some circumstances, the user may be able to press one or more buttons of the user interface 220 (e.g., press both buttons at the same time, press and hold one button for a period of time, or the like) so as to adjust particular settings of the infusion pump system. For example, the user may press and hold both buttons when a particular screen is displayed so as to adjust the dispensation rate, to adjust the time or date, or to reset the average dispensation calculation. Referring to FIGS. 6A-D, in some embodiments, the user interface 320 of the second controller device 300 may be configured to provide information and monitoring options for the infusion of a second type of medicine, such as insulin. In this embodiment, the user interface 320 comprises a display and four buttons as previously described in connection with FIG. 4. The user may press one or more buttons of the user interface 320 to toggle through a number of monitoring screens that provide information regarding the dispensation of the insulin medicine or regarding the operation of the pump device 100. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A-D, the user interface 320 may provide information regarding the average amount of insulin infused per day (FIG. 6A), regarding the total amount of insulin infused on the current day and the average dispensation rate of the pump device on the current day (FIG. 6B), regarding the amount of insulin remaining in the medicine cartridge received in the pump device 100 (FIG. 6C), and regarding the amount of time since the pump device 100 started dispensing insulin (FIG. 6D). In some circumstances, the user may be able to press the menu and select buttons button of the user interface 320 so as to toggle to a parameter adjustment screen, in which the “−” or “+” buttons may be used to adjust the values. For example, the user may adjust the dispensation rate, to adjust the time or date, or to reset the average dispensation calculation. Referring now to FIG. 7, the pump device 100 of the infusion pump system 10 or 20 may include a drive system 105 that is controlled by the removable controller device 200 or 300. Accordingly, the drive system 105 can accurately and incrementally dispense fluid from the pump device 100 in a controlled manner. In this embodiment, the pump housing structure 110 includes a detachable shell 112 that covers at least a portion of the drive system 105 and includes a frame portion 113 to which at least a portion of the drive system 105 is mounted. The detachable shell 112 may include an inner curved surface against which a curved section of a piston rod 170 rests. The detachable shell 112 can be part of the pump housing structure 110 that engages with the controller device 200 (or 300) as previously described in connection with FIGS. 1-4. As such, the detachable shell portion 112 may include the magnetically attractable devices 118 a and 118 b that releasably secure the pump device 100 to the controller device 200 (or 300). In addition, the detachable shell 112 may provide access to the electrical contacts 149 a of the pump device 100. In this embodiment, the electrical contacts 149 a are configured to align with the contact circuit device 149 b arranged in the pump device 100. In other embodiments, the electrical contacts of the pump device 100 can be arranged directly on the contact circuit device 149 b, and the detachable shell 112 may include a slot (in the location shown as numeral 149 a) so as to permit electrical engagement with the controller device 200 (or 300). One or both of the detachable shell 112 and the frame portion 114 can be molded from polymer material, such as Polycarbonate, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, or Acrylic. In this embodiment, the detachable shell portion 112 comprises a generally opaque, moldable material so that the drive system 105 and other components of the pump device are concealed from view. The frame portion 113 may include a cylindrical receiver 114 that defines the space 116 to receive the medicine cartridge 120 (FIG. 2). In some circumstances, at least a portion of the cylindrical receiver 114 is transparent or translucent so that the user may view the medicine cartridge 120 therein. Such a configuration provides the user with visual verification of when the medicine cartridge is empty or near empty (e.g., the plunger in the medicine cartridge has been fully advanced). The receiver 114 may also include a connector to mate with the cap member 115. In this embodiment, the connector comprises an external thread pattern formed on the receiver 113 that mates with an internal thread pattern of the cap member 115. Accordingly, the cap member 115 can be secured to the frame portion 113 after the medicine cartridge 120 (FIG. 2) has been received therein. As shown in FIG. 7, the cap member may include a cartridge penetrator 115 a that pierces the output end 122 (FIG. 2) of the medicine cartridge 120 when the cap member 115 is mounted to the frame portion 113. The cartridge penetrator 115 a is in fluid communication with an tube connector 115 b, which is connected to a tube 119 of an infusion set device (as previously described in connection with FIG. 3). As previously described, in some embodiments, the fluid cartridge 120 may occupy a majority of the length of the pump housing structure 110 (with the drive system 105 being arranged in a compact manner) so that the pump device 100 is wearable and portable. Still referring to FIG. 7, some embodiments of the pump device 100 include a first battery 145 that is capable of transmitting electrical energy to the controller device 200 (or 300) when the pump device 100 is attached to the controller device 200 (or 300). Such energy transmission is described in more detail below in connection with FIG. 8. The first battery 145 may be arranged in a first circuit 140 that includes the contact circuit device 149 b. The first circuit 140 may be simple and inexpensive so as to facilitate a low-cost pump device 100 that is disposable. The first circuit 140 may comprise a printed circuit board or a flexible circuit that is arranged in the frame portion 113 of the pump device 100. Optionally, the first circuit 140 may include a gateway circuit device 146 that permits the transmission of electrical energy from the first battery 145 to the controller device 200 (or 300). In some circumstances, the gateway circuit device 146 may be under the control of and directed by the control circuit in the controller device 200 (or 300). In some embodiments, the gateway circuit device 146 of the first circuit 140 may be in electrical communication (e.g., via one or more electrical wires or electrically conductive traces) with a force sensor 148 (refer to FIG. 11) arranged between the plunger connector 178 that the plunger 121. The force sensor 148 may comprise a force transducer or load cell that is capable of electrically communicating an applied force. As such, the force sensor 148 can provide feedback signals to the local pump circuit 140 (or to the control device 200 via the electrical contacts) so as to monitor the force transmitted to the plunger 121 of the medicine cartridge 120. Such information can be used, for example, to detect if an occlusion exists in the medicine flow path. Other sensors (e.g., a pressure sensor, a flow sensor, a rotation sensor, a displacement sensor, or the like) may be electrically connected to the first circuit 140 to provide feedback signals to the control device 200 via the electrical contacts. It should be understood that, in other embodiments, the first circuit 140 may be configured to operate without the gateway circuit device 146. For example, the control circuit in the removable controller device 200 may communicate via the electrical contacts directly with a portion of the drive system 105 (e.g., direct electrical communication with the motor 130), with one or more sensors disposed in the pump device 100 (e.g., with the force sensor 148), and with the first battery 145. In this embodiment, the first battery 145 can be maintained in a storage mode and then switched to an activation mode when the pump device 100 used to dispense medicine. The storage mode can provide a long shelf life of storage life for the first battery 145. For example, when in storage mode, the first battery may retain a substantial portion of its charge for a period of more than six months, more than one year, or more than two years. As shown in FIG. 7, the first battery 145 may be equipped with a removable tab 147 that seals the first battery 145 to maintain it in the storage mode. Thus, when the pump device 100 is prepared for usage, the removable tab 147 can be pulled away from the first battery 145, which switches the first battery into the activation mode. When the first battery 145 is switched to the activation mode, the first battery 145 may dispense electrical energy for usage period in which the pump device is used. For example, in some embodiments, the first battery 145 may provide electrical energy to other components over a usage period of about one week to about one month, and about two weeks in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, some embodiments of the drive system 105 may include a rotational motor 130 that is coupled to a string member 135, which is used to adjust a ratchet mechanism 150. The operation of the drive system 105 is described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 12A-C. The drive system 105 can provide a reliable and compact configuration for accurately dispensing the desired volume of fluid from the pump device 100. Moreover, the drive system 105 may comprise few, if any, high-cost actuator components or electronics, thereby facilitating the relatively low-cost production of a disposable and reliable pump device 100. Referring to FIG. 8, the controller device 200 can be attached to the pump device 100 in a removable manner. In this embodiment, the housing structure 210 of the controller device 200 defines a cavity 215 in which at least a portion of the pump device 100 can be received (refer, for example, to FIG. 2). When the pump device 100 is received in the cavity 215, the finger 212 of the controller housing structure 212 may engage a mating surface 117 (FIG. 2) of the pump device 100. In addition, the controller device 200 can include magnetically attractable devices 218 a-b that align with the magnetically attractable devices 118 a-b (FIG. 7) of the pump device 100. As such, the magnetically attractable devices 118 a-b and 218 a-b releasably secure the pump device 100 in the cavity 215 of the controller device 200. In some embodiments, both the devices 118 a-b and 218 a-b may comprise permanent magnets. In other embodiments, one set of the devices 118 a-b or 218 a-b may comprise permanent magnets while the opposing set of the devices 218 a-b or 118 a-b comprise a metallic material that is attractable to the permanent magnets. The controller device 200 can also include one or more electrical contacts 249 that provide electrical communication to a controller circuit 240. In this embodiment, the electrical contacts 249 are arranged on the controller housing structure 210 so as to align with the electrical contacts 149 a (or the electrical contact device 149 b) of the pump device 100 (refer, for example, to FIG. 7). Accordingly, when the pump device 100 is removably attached to the controller device 200, the controller device 200 becomes electrically connected to the pump device 100 to provide for the communication of electrical control signals. Still referring to FIG. 8, the controller circuit 240 of the controller device 200 may include a second battery 245 that can receive electrical energy from the first battery 145 (FIG. 7) disposed in the pump device 100. The hard-wired transmission of the electrical energy can occur through the electrical contacts 249 of the controller device 200. In such circumstances, the first battery 145 may include a high density battery that is capable providing a relatively large amount of electrical energy for its package size. Accordingly, the first battery 145 disposed in the pump device 100 can be used to deliver electrical energy over time (e.g., “trickle charge”) to the second battery 245 when the controller device 200 is removably attached to the pump device 100. For example, the first battery 145 may comprise a zinc-air cell battery. The zinc-air cell battery 145 may have a large volumetric energy density compared to some other battery types. For example, the zinc-air cell battery 145 may have a volumetric energy density of greater than about 900 Watt-hours/Liter (Wh/L), about 1000 Wh/L to about 1700 Wh/L, and about 1200 Wh/L to about 1600 Wh/L. Also, the zinc-air cell battery may have long storage lives, especially in those embodiments in which the battery is sealed (e.g., by the removable tab 147 or the like) during storage and before activation. One exemplary a zinc-air cell battery is available from Duracell Corporation of Bethel, Conn., which provides a potential voltage of about 1.1V to about 1.6V (about 1.2V to about 1.4 V, and about 1.3 V in this embodiment), a current output of about 8 mA to about 12 mA (about 10 mA in this embodiment), and a storage capacity of greater than about 600 mA·h (about 650 mA·h in this embodiment). The second battery 245 may include a high current output device that is capable discharging a brief current burst to power the drive system 105 of the pump device 100. Accordingly, the second battery 245 can be charged over a period of time by the first battery 145 and then intermittently deliver high-current bursts to the drive system 105 over a brief moment of time. For example, the second battery 245 may comprise a lithium polymer battery. The lithium polymer battery disposed in the controller device 200 may have an initial current output that is greater than the zinc-air cell battery disposed in the pump device 100, but zinc-air cell battery may have an energy density that is greater than the lithium polymer battery (e.g., the lithium polymer battery disposed in the controller device 200 may have a volumetric energy density of less than about 600 Wh/L). In addition, the lithium polymer battery is rechargeable, which permits the zinc-air battery disposed in the pump device 100 to provide electrical energy to the lithium polymer battery 245 for purposes of recharging. One exemplary lithium polymer battery is available from Sanyo Corporation of Japan, which provides a initial current output of about greater than 80 mA (about 90 mA to about 110 mA, and about 100 mA in this embodiment) and a maximum potential voltage of about 4.0V to and 4.4V (about 4.2 V in this embodiment). In other embodiments, it should be understood that the second battery 245 may comprise a capacitor device capable of recharging over time and intermittently discharging a current burst to activate the drive system 105. Because the controller device 200 can be reusable with a number of pump devices 100 (e.g., attach a new pump device 100 after the previous pump device 100 is expended and disposed), the second battery 245 in the controller device can be recharged over a period of time each time a new pump device 100 is connected thereto. Such a configuration can be advantageous in those embodiments in which the pump device 100 is configured to be a disposable, one-time-use device that attaches to a reusable controller device 200. For example, in those embodiments, the “disposable” pump devices 100 recharge the second battery 245 in the “reusable” controller device 200, thereby reducing or possibly eliminating the need for separate recharging of the controller device 200 via a power cord plugged into a wall outlet. The controller circuit 240 of the control device 200 includes a microcontroller device 246 that coordinates the electrical communication to and from the controller device 200. At least a portion of the controller circuit 240 can be embodied on a printed circuit board (or a flexible circuit substrate). The second battery 245 and the microcontroller 246 can be mounted to such a printed circuit board (or connect to such a flexible circuit substrate). Electrical connections from the electrical contacts 249 and the user interface 220 (FIG. 9) may extend along the printed circuit board to the microcontroller device 246. In this embodiment, the controller circuit 240 is disposed in a hollow space of the controller housing structure 210. For example, the controller housing structure can be formed from two molded portions that are welded or adhered to one another after the controller circuit 240 is assembled therein. As shown in FIG. 8, some embodiments of the controller circuit 240 may include a cable connector 243 (e.g., a USB connection port or another data cable port). As such, a cable may be connected to the controller circuit 240 to upload data or program settings to the controller circuit or to download data from the controller circuit 240. For example, historical data of medicine delivery can be downloaded from the controller circuit 240 (via the cable connector 243) to a computer system of a physician or a user for purposes of analysis and program adjustments. Optionally, the data cable may also provide recharging power to the controller circuit 240. Referring to FIG. 9, the user interface 220 of the controller device 200 can include input components, output components, or both that are electrically connected to the controller circuit 240 (FIG. 8). For example, in this embodiment, the user interface includes a display device 222 having an active area 223 that outputs information to a user and two buttons 224 a and 224 b that receive input from the user. Here, the display 222 may be used to communicate a number of settings or menu options for the infusion pump system 10. In this embodiment, the controller circuit 240 may receive the input commands from the user's button selection and thereby cause the display device 222 to output a number of menus or program screens that show particular settings and data (e.g., review data that shows the medicine dispensing rate, the total amount of medicine dispensed in a given time period, the amount of medicine scheduled to be dispensed at a particular time or date, the approximate amount of medicine remaining the cartridge 120, or the like). As previously described, the controller circuit 240 can be programmable in that the input commands from the button selections can cause the controller circuit 240 to change any one of a number of settings for the infusion pump system 100. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the first controller device 200 has a user interface 220 that is different from the user interface 320 of the second controller device 300 so as to provide different control options. In the depicted embodiments, the first controller device 200 provides a simplified input comprising two buttons 224 a and 224 b in the user interface 220, and the second controller device 300 provides a larger size display 322 and increased button options (e.g., four buttons 324 a, 324 b, 324 c, and 324 d). As previously described, both controller devices 200 and 300 can be used to control the dispensation of medicine from the pump device 100. It should be understood from the description herein that the second controller device 300 can include a controller circuit that is similar to the controller circuit 240 (FIG. 8) of the first controller device 200. Accordingly, some embodiments of the second controller device 300 may include a second battery (to provide bursts of current to power the drive system 105 of the pump device 100), electrical contacts (to align with the contacts 149 a or the contact device 149 b of the pump device 100), and a microcontroller device. In addition, it should be understood from the description herein that the second controller device 300 can include a cavity 315 that is similarly shaped to the cavity 215 (FIG. 8) of the first controller device 200. Also, the second controller device 300 may include a finger 312, magnetically attractable devices, or both similar to the finger 212 and devices 218 a-b depicted in FIG. 8. Referring to FIG. 11, the pump device 100 includes a drive system 105 that is capable of accurately and incrementally dispensing fluid from the fluid cartridge 120 in a controlled manner. The drive system 105 may include a rotational motor 130 that is coupled to a string member 135. Briefly, the rotational motor 130 can be used to act upon the string member 135, thereby causing the string member 135 to adjust a pawl member 152 relative to a ratchet body 155 (e.g., a ratchet wheel integrally formed on the worm gear 156 in this embodiment). In some embodiments, the string member 135 is configured in a loop arrangement (e.g., looped around pin structures 136, 137, 138, and 139 in this embodiment). In these circumstances, the motion path of the string member 140 and the orientation of the string member 140 can be configured to provide an efficient mechanical advantage orientation during the desired motion of the adjustable pawl member 152. One of the pin structures 138 may be coupled to the adjustable pawl member 152 while the remaining pin structures 136, 137, and 139 are coupled to the frame portion 114 of the pump device 100. The spring device 154 can drive the pawl member from a reset position to a forward position, which incrementally rotates the ratchet wheel 155. As previously described, incremental rotation of the ratchet wheel 155 causes rotation of a drive wheel 160, which causes the incremental longitudinal advancement of a flexible piston rod 170. As the piston rod 170 is advanced into plunger chamber 126 (e.g., defined in this embodiment by the circumferential wall 124 of the fluid cartridge 120), the fluid in the cartridge 120 is forced from septum at the output end 122. Previously incorporated U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/720,411 also describes a number of configurations for the drive system in addition to the illustrative example depicted in FIG. 11 herein. As shown in FIG. 11, some components of the drive system 105 can be retained by the frame portion 114, a cover mount 111 that is assembled to the frame portion 114, or a combination thereof. For example, the rotational motor 130, the string member 135, and the spring device 154 can be assembled into the frame portion 114 and then retained by the cover mount 111. The adjustable pawl member 152, the ratchet wheel 155, and the worm gear 156 can be assembled onto and axle 151 that is integrally formed with the frame portion 114 and then retained by the cover mount 111. A locking pawl 159 can be integrally formed with the frame portion 114 so as to align with the ratchet wheel 155 when the ratchet wheel 155 is assembled onto the axle 151. Also, the drive wheel 160 and an adjacent bearing 165 (to facilitate rotation of the drive wheel 160 relative to the frame portion 114) can be received in annular channels 163 and 167, respectively, of the frame portion 114. When the cover mount 111 is assembled to the frame portion 114, the cover mount 111 can restrict the radial or axial movement of the drive wheel 160 while permitting forward rotation of the drive wheel 160. In another example, the “unused” or retracted portion of the piston rod 170 may rest in a channel 113 defined in the top of the cover mount 111. In such a construction, the cover mount 111 and the frame portion 114 can collectively permit the desired motion of the components of the drive system 105 while reducing the likelihood of “backlash” movement or component dislodgement (which might otherwise occur, for example, when the pump device 100 is dropped to the ground). The rotational motor 130 may comprise an electrically power actuator having a rotatable output shaft 132. In this embodiment, the rotational motor 130 can receive signals that cause the output shaft to rotate in a first rotational direction or in a second, opposite rotational direction. One example of a suitable rotational motor 130 is a coreless DC motor supplied by Jinlong Machinery of China. As previously described, the operation of the rotational motor 130 can be controlled by a controller device (e.g., removable controller device 200 or 300 as described in connection with FIGS. 1-10 or the like) via electrical signals communicated through one or more electrical contacts. The string member 135 may be coupled to the rotational motor 130 so that actuation by the motor 130 causes the string member 135 to act upon the ratchet mechanism 150. One or more full rotations of the motor 130 can be translated into a tension force in the string member 135 that is applied to a pawl member 152, which (in this embodiment) is pivoted to a reset position by the tension force from the string member 135. As such, the string member 135 is coupled between the rotational motor 130 and the ratchet mechanism 150 so as to provide a reliable and consistent adjustment of the ratchet mechanism. In this embodiment, the string member 135 is coupled to the motor shaft 132 using a mechanical connector 133. Still referring to FIG. 11, the ratchet mechanism 150 includes the pawl member 152 and the ratchet body 155, which in this embodiment is a ratchet wheel having a number of teeth along its circumferential surface. The pawl member 152 is adjustable between a reset position (refer, for example, to FIG. 12A) and a forward position (refer, for example, to FIG. 12B). In this embodiment, the adjustable pawl member 152 is pivotably coupled to about the axis of the axle 151 that receives the ratchet wheel 155 and the worm gear 156. A spring device 154 is also coupled to the pawl member 152 so as to urge the pawl member 152 toward the forward position. In this embodiment, the spring device 154 is in the form of a leaf spring that is fixed to the frame portion 114 at a first end portion and that is engaged with an abutment protrusion 157 (FIGS. 12A-C) of the pawl member 152 at a second end portion. Thus, when the pawl member 152 is adjusted to the reset position, the spring device 154 is flexed and stores potential energy that urges the pawl member 152 to return to the forward position and thereby drive the ratchet wheel 155 in a forward rotational direction. The locking pawl 159 coupled to the frame portion 114 prevents the ratchet wheel 155 from reverse motion. As such, the adjustable pawl member 152 can adjust from the forward position to the reset position to engage a new tooth of the ratchet wheel 155 while the ratchet wheel 155 remains in position due to the locking pawl 159. It should be understood that the drive system 105 can employ one or more sensors to indicate when the pawl member 152 has reach the reset position or the forward position. For example, these sensors can be optical, magnetic, or contact type sensors. The sensors may be capable of transmitting signals that indicate when the location of the pin structure 138 or the pawl member 152 is detected. Such sensor signals may be transmitted to the first circuit 140, to the controller device 200 or 300, or a combination thereof. Still referring to FIG. 11, in some embodiments the ratchet wheel 155 can be integrally formed with the worm gear 156 so that the incremental rotation of the ratchet wheel 155 is translated to the worm gear 156. Such rotation of the worm gear 156 causes a rotation of a drive wheel 160, which is rotatably mounted to the frame portion 114 of the pump device 100. The drive wheel 160 includes a central aperture having an internal thread pattern therein (not shown in FIG. 11), which mates is an external thread pattern on the flexible piston rod 170. Thus, the incremental motion provided by the ratchet mechanism 150, the string member 135, and the motor 130 causes the drive wheel 160 to incrementally rotate, which in turn translates to a linear advancement of the flexible piston rod 170. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the piston rod 170 may undergo only forward or positive displacement as a result of drive system 105. For example, the drive system 105 substantially hinders the piston rod 170 from retracting or “backing up” in response to fluid pressure in the medicine cartridge 120 or other reversal forces. In such circumstances, the flexible piston rod 170 can be retracted only upon disassembly of the pump device 100 (e.g., to disengage the gears or the ratchet mechanism). In those embodiments in which the pump device 100 is intended to be disposable, the non-intended piston rod configuration (due to the drive system 105) may facilitate a “one time use” disposable pump device, thereby reducing the likelihood of failure due to non-intended repeated use of the disposable pump device. The flexible piston rod 170 comprises a plurality of segments 172 serially connected by hinge portions so that the flexible piston rod 170 is adjustable from a curved shape to a noncurved shape. As previously described, the plurality of segments 172 and the interconnecting hinge portions can be integrally formed in one piece from a moldable material, including one or more polymer materials such as Nylon or POM. In this embodiment, the plurality of segments 172 comprise generally cylindrical segments that each include an exterior thread pattern along at least one cylindrical surface portion. The flexible piston rod 170 can include an anti-rotation structure that hinders the piston rod 170 from rotating with drive wheel 160 (thereby allowing the rotation of the drive wheel 160 to translate into a longitudinal motion of the piston rod 170). For example, in this embodiment, the flexible piston 170 includes a longitudinal channel 173 extending through each of the segments 172. The longitudinal channel 173 can engage a complementary protrusion on the frame portion 114 proximate the drive wheel 160 so that the flexible piston rod 170 is hindered from rotating when the drive wheel 160 turns relative to the frame portion 114. Accordingly, the longitudinal channel in each segment 172 aligns to form a keyway that receives a mating key (e.g., a protrusion) on the frame portion 114. In other embodiments, the anti-rotation structure may include a plurality of longitudinal channels 173 (with each channel capable of engaging an associated protrusion that acts as a key to hinder rotation while permitting longitudinal motion), one or more flat surfaces along each segment 172 (with the flat surface slidably engaging a complementary flat surface on the frame portion 114), or the like. A plunger connector 178 may be coupled to the leading end of the flexible piston rod 170 so as to abut against or connect with the plunger 121 in the plunger chamber 126 of the fluid cartridge 120. Previously incorporated U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/720,405 also describes a number of configurations for the flexible piston rod 170 in addition to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 11 herein. Referring now to FIGS. 12A-C, the incremental motion cycle of the drive system 105 may include rotation of the motor 130 so that the string member 135 transitions from a twisted state, to an untwisted state, and then again to a twisted state. Such a transition of the string member 135 can cause the pawl member 330 to adjust from the reset position (refer to FIG. 12A), to the forward position (refer to FIG. 12B), and back to the reset position (refer to FIG. 12C). The adjustment of the pawl member 152 from the reset position to the forward position drives the ratchet wheel 155 and worm gear 156, which incrementally rotates the drive wheel 160 and thereby advances the flexible piston rod 170 a longitudinal increment distance 179 (refer to FIG. 12B). In one example, the drive system 105 can advance the piston rod 170 a longitudinal increment distance 179 of about 16 microns or less (about 4 microns to about 12 microns, and preferably about 7 microns to about 8 microns) for each incremental motion cycle of the motor 130, string member 135, and ratchet mechanism 150 as previously described herein. Referring to FIG. 12A, in this embodiment of the incremental motion cycle, the pawl member 352 begins at the reset position with the string member 135 in a twisted configuration at string portion 134. When the adjustable pawl member 152 is in the reset position as shown in FIG. 12A, it is capable of engaging a tooth of the ratchet wheel 155. In this embodiment, the string member 135 is arranged in a loop configuration around pin structures 136, 137, 138, and 139. One of the pin structures 138 is coupled to the adjustable pawl member 152 while the remaining pin structures 136, 137, and 139 are integrally formed with the frame portion 114 of the pump device 100 (pin structures 136, 137, and 139 are shown in dotted lines to represent their location on the frame portion 114 (not shown in FIGS. 12A-C)). Also, the pin structure 136 exemplifies how a single pin structure can have two sliding surfaces that oppose one another, thereby functioning similar to a configuration having two different pins. As shown in FIG. 12A, when the motor 130 rotates, a portion 134 the string member 135 twists upon itself, thus drawing the pin structure 138 toward the stationary pin structures 137 and 139. The orientation of the stationary pin structures 137 and 139 relative to the pin structure 138 (connected to the pawl member 152) can be configured to provide an efficient mechanical advantage for the tension force applied by the string member 140 during the desired motion of the adjustable pawl member 152. Referring to FIG. 12B, in response to the controller device 200 or 300 transmitting one or more control signals to initiate the cycle, the rotational motor 130 may begin to rotate in a first rotational direction that unwinds the string member 140, thereby permitting the spring device 154 to drive the pawl member 152 toward the forward position (refer to FIG. 12B). When the adjustable pawl 152 is driving the ratchet wheel 155 in the forward rotational direction, the potential energy of the spring device 154 is being translated to kinetic energy for the motion of the pawl member 152 and the ratchet wheel 155. Such an adjustment of the pawl member 152 from the reset position to the forward position drives the ratchet wheel 155 and the integrally formed worm gear 156. The incremental rotation of the worm gear 156 results in an incremental rotation by the drive wheel 160, which advances the flexible piston rod 170 the longitudinal increment distance 179. Such an incremental advancement of the flexible piston rod 170 may cause a predetermined volume of fluid to be dispensed from the cartridge 120 (FIG. 11). Referring to FIG. 12C, the rotational motor 130 continues to rotate in the first rotational direction so that after the pawl member 152 reaches the forward position, the string member 135 begins to twist in the opposite orientation. Such twisting of the string member 135 causes a tension force that overcomes the bias of the spring device 154 and adjusts the pawl member 152 toward the reset position. When the adjustable pawl member 152 reaches the reset position, as shown in FIG. 12C, the pawl member 152 is capable of engaging a new tooth of the ratchet wheel 155. The locking pawl 159 (shown in FIG. 11) prevents the ratchet wheel 155 from rotating in a reverse (non-forward) rotational direction while the adjustable pawl member 152 is shifting back to the reset position. Such an adjustment of the pawl member 152 back to the reset position causes the spring device 154 to flex (as shown in FIG. 12C), thereby storing potential energy to drive the adjustable pawl member 152 and ratchet wheel 155 in a subsequent cycle. After the pawl member 152 reaches the reset position, the rotational motor 130 stops rotating in the first rotational direction and the pawl member 152 remains at rest in the reset position (refer to FIG. 12C). In the event of a subsequent cycle, the rotational motor 130 would begin the cycle by rotating in a second rotational direction (opposite the first rotational direction) so as to unwind the string member 135 yet again. This pattern of cycles may continue until the piston rod 170 has reached the limit of its longitudinal travel. It should be understood, that in other embodiments, the incremental motion cycle may begin with the pawl member 152 starting at the forward position (refer to FIG. 12B). In such circumstances, the rotation motor 130 would rotate in a first rotational direction to twist the string 135 until the pawl member 152 is moved to the reset position (refer to FIG. 12C), and then the rotational motor 130 would rotate in a second, opposite rotational direction to unwind the string member 135 until the pawl member 152 returns to the forward position (refer again to FIG. 12B). The string member 135 may comprise braided filaments that are capable of enduring repeated twisting sequences of the string member 135. For example, the braided filaments may comprise one or more polymer materials, such as PET (e.g., DTex Dyneema material available from Honeywell, Inc.). Such braided filament string members are capable of enduring the torsion and frictional forces associated with undergoing thousands of cycles of twisting as described above in connection with FIGS. 12A-C. The string member 135 can be formed to have an outer diameter of about 0.02 mm to about 0.07 mm, and preferably about 0.05 mm. Also, in some embodiments, the string member 135 may comprise braided filaments that are arranged around a centrally disposed thin wire filament (e.g., comprising a polymer material or a metallic material) having a diameter of about 0.02 mm or less, which is also capable of enduring the repeated twisting sequences of the string member 135. Such a construction may permit the outer filament surfaces to frictionally engage one another during the twisting process while the filament surfaces contacting the centrally disposed thin wire are exposed to a reduced friction load. Referring now to FIG. 13, some embodiments of drive system 405 for the pump device can include a string member and a rotational motor like the previously described embodiments, except that the string member 435 is configured to wind (or unwind or both) around a spindle device 434. Such a configuration may reduce the torsion and friction loads upon the string member material while providing a tension force to adjust the ratchet mechanism. Moreover, the spindle configuration may further reduce the space requirements for drive system 405 in the pump housing, thereby providing a reliable and compact infusion pump system that is portable and wearable by the user. As shown in FIG. 10, the spindle device 434 can be coupled to a rotational motor 430 so that the spindle device 434 rotates with the motor shaft. A string member 435 can be attached to the spindle device 434 so that the string member 435 winds or unwinds around the spindle device 434 in response to the rotation of the motor 430. It should be understood from the description herein that the string member 435 may comprise braided filaments that are capable of enduring repeated winding sequences of the string member 435. The string member 435 is also coupled to the ratchet mechanism 450, which provides incremental motion to thereby advance the piston rod 470. The ratchet mechanism 450 includes the pawl member 452 and the ratchet body 455, which in this embodiment is a ratchet wheel having a number of teeth along its circumferential surface. The pawl member 452 is adjustable between a reset position and a forward position. For example, the rotational motor 430 may be activated to rotate the spindle device 434 and thereby wind the string member 435 (as previously described), and the string member 435 then applies a tension force that adjusts the pawl member 452 to the reset position. In the reset position, the pawl member 452 can engage one or more new teeth of the ratchet wheel 455. A spring device 454 is also coupled to the pawl member 452 so as to urge the pawl member 452 toward the forward position. This spring force causes the pawl member 452 to drive the ratchet wheel 455 an incremental amount in a forward rotational direction. Similar to the embodiments previously described in connection with FIG. 12A, a locking pawl prevents the ratchet wheel 455 from reverse motion. As such, the adjustable pawl member 452 can adjust from the forward position to the reset position to engage a new tooth of the ratchet wheel 455 while the ratchet wheel 455 remains in position due to the locking pawl 459. Accordingly, in one incremental motion cycle, the pawl member 452 may start at the reset position with the string member 435 wound around the spindle device 434. In response to the controller device 200 or 300 (FIG. 4) transmitting one or more control signals to initiate the cycle, the rotational motor 430 may begin to rotate in a first rotational direction that unwinds the string member 435 from the spindle device 434, thereby permitting the spring device 454 to force the pawl member 452 toward the forward position. The rotational motor 430 continues to rotate in the first rotational direction so that after the pawl member 452 reaches the forward position, the string member 435 begins to wind around the spindle device 434 in the opposite orientation. Such winding of the string member 435 causes a tension force that overcomes the bias of the spring device 454 and adjusts the pawl member 452 toward the reset position. After the pawl member 452 reaches the reset position, the rotational motor 430 stops rotating in the first rotational direction and the pawl member 452 remains at rest in the reset position. In the event of a second cycle, the rotational motor 430 would begin the cycle by rotating in a second rotational direction (opposite the first rotational direction) so as to unwind the string member 440 from the spindle device 442 yet again. In other embodiments, the incremental motion cycle may begin with the pawl member 452 starting at the forward position. In such circumstances, the rotational motor 430 would rotate in a first rotational direction to wind the string member 435 around the spindle device 434 until the pawl member 452 is moved to the reset position (as shown in FIG. 10), and then the rotational motor 430 would rotate in a second, opposite rotational direction to unwind the string member 435 from the spindle device 434 until the pawl member 452 returns to the forward position. It should be understood that the drive system 405 can be contained in the housing structure 110 of the pump device 100 in a compact manner so that the pump device 100 is portable, wearable, concealable, or a combination thereof. Similar to previously described embodiments, the pump device 100 can be part of an infusion pump system 10 or 20 in which the pump device 100 communicates with a controller device, including but not limited to the removable controller device 200 or 300 described in connection with FIGS. 1-10. The controller device 200 or 300 can communicate control signals to the drive system 405 or other components of the pump device so as to initiate or end the incremental motion cycle of the drive system 405. a controller to generate the displacement control signal when the second housing is attached to the first housing. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module further comprises a second energy storage module to receive energy from the first energy storage module in the fluid delivery module when the first housing is attached to the second housing. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery module further comprises a fluid output port through which fluid flows when displaced by operation of the actuator module. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the actuator module comprises a push rod actuated by a motor. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller generates the displacement control signal based on a time schedule. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the fluid container comprises a pre-filled carpule. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the fluid container comprises a plunger member slidably disposed within a barrel. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the medicinal fluid comprises insulin. 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module comprises an input control for receiving a user input to initiate dispensing of a bolus of the fluid. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module comprises a user interface. 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the fluid container and the first housing form a disposable, one-time-use assembly. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the actuator module operates to displace a bolus of the fluid in response to the displacement control signal. (d) operating the actuator module to dispense a medicinal fluid from the fluid container in response to a signal from the control module. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising initiating step (b) before initiating step (a). 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first energy storage module comprises a capacitive energy storage element. 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first energy storage module comprises a battery. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the battery is rechargeable. 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the second energy storage module comprises a capacitive energy storage element. 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the second energy storage module comprises a battery. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the battery is rechargeable. US1025743A (en) * 1911-09-22 1912-05-07 Eli A Guthman Shoe-buckle.

2019-04-25T19:19:06Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20070173762A1/en

Disclosed is a roof spoiler that effectively disrupts the attached flow of wind upon a roof surface. This spoiler has a stowed position, whereby it is almost completely out of the view of passersby. It also has a deployed position, wherein a barrier is projected vertically, or substantially vertically, so as to disrupt the flow of air over the roof surface. This spoiler utilizes a hinged design to move between these two positions. The spoiler is specially designed to operate in conjunction with a gutter mounted along the leading edge of the roof. In the stowed position, a portion of the spoiler covers the open gutter. In one embodiment, the spoiler is L-shaped to facilitate its stability in the deployed position. 20070113489 Wind spoiler for roofs 2007-05-24 Kaiser et al. 6601348 Structures for mitigating wind suction atop a flat or slightly inclined roof 2003-08-05 Banks et al. This is a continuation of Provisional Patent Application, Serial No. 61/176,026, filed May 6, 2009, entitled “Roof Spoiler” the disclosure of which is herby incorporated by reference herein. 1. A method of reducing wind damage to a roof, comprising: providing a wind spoiler device; said wind spoiler device comprising a wind spoiler having a first member and a second member, said first member having a first length and a first width and said second member having a second length and a second width, wherein said first width is approximately coextensive with said second width, said first member being affixed to said second member along their respective widths such that said second member extends from said first member at an angle of about 60° to 120°; and a bracket adapted to attach to the fascia of a roof; said wind spoiler first member being pivotally connected to said bracket by a freely pivotal mechanical hinge such that said wind spoiler may freely rotate from a stowed position, wherein said second member extends outwardly from said bracket at an angle of about 60° to about 90°, to a deployed position and then returns from said deployed position to said stowed position by the force of gravity, wherein said second member extends upwardly from said bracket at an angle of about 140° to about 180°; and mounting said bracket of said wind spoiler device to the fascia of said roof; wherein said fascia includes a gutter affixed thereto and wherein said bracket is affixed to said fascia through said gutter. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first member is configured to extend into said gutter when said wind spoiler is in said stowed position. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said second member is configured to extend over said gutter when said wind spoiler is in said stowed position. 4. The method of claim 1,wherein said bracket includes a stop to limit the rotation of said wind spoiler in one direction. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said fascia limits the rotation of said wind spoiler in one direction. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the length of said first member is less than the length of said second member. 7. The method of claim 2, wherein said first member is pivotally connected to said bracket via a hinge. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising installing a cover adapted to conceal said bracket. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said second member is configured so that a portion of said second member contacts said roof when said wind spoiler is in said deployed position. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said first member and said second member are orthogonal to one another. 11. A combination to redirect the flow of air over a roof, comprising: a roof; a fascia located at the edge of said roof; a wind spoiler device attached to said fascia, said wind spoiler device comprising a wind spoiler having a first member and a second member, said first member having a first length and a first width and said second member having a second length and a second width, wherein said first width is approximately coextensive with said second width, said first member being affixed to said second member along their respective widths such that said second member extends from said first member at an angle of about 60° to 120°; and a bracket adapted to attach to the fascia of a roof; said wind spoiler first member being pivotally connected to said bracket by a freely pivotal mechanical hinge such that said wind spoiler may freely rotate from a stowed position, wherein said second member extends outwardly from said bracket at an angle of about 60° to about 90°, to a deployed position and then returns from said deployed position to said stowed position by the force of gravity, wherein said second member extends upwardly from said bracket at an angle of about 140° to about 180°; wherein said bracket is attached to said fascia through a gutter affixed to said fascia. 12. The combination of claim 11, wherein said first member extends into said gutter when said wind spoiler is in said stowed position. 13. The combination of claim 11, wherein said second member extends over said gutter when said wind spoiler is in said stowed position. 14. The combination of claim 11, wherein said bracket includes a stop to limit the rotation of said wind spoiler in one direction. 15. The combination of claim 11, wherein the length of said first member is less than the length of said second member. 16. The combination of claim 11, wherein said fascia limits the rotation of said wind spoiler in one direction. 17. The combination of claim 11, further comprising a cover adapted to conceal said bracket. 18. The combination of claim 11, wherein a portion of said second member contacts said roof when said wind spoiler is in said deployed position. 19. The combination of claim 11, wherein said first member and said second member are orthogonal to one another. 20. The combination of claim 11, wherein said fascia limits the rotation of said spoiler is limited in one direction. The present invention relates to roofing systems. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and a method for reducing wind damage to a roof. One of the worst types of structural damage that can befall a building is roof damage. The devastation caused by high winds, hurricanes, tornados and the like is depicted by the media, often by focusing on the damage done to homes, especially to the roofs of those homes. In these cases, damage to the roof often leads to tremendous damage to the rest of the building, as a result of structural damage, and damage caused by the elements, such as rain or snow. The roof of a building serves a number of purposes. First, it protects the interior of the building from the elements, such as rain, snow and hail. It also serves as an important structural component of the building, often linking the walls together, and adding strength to the building. Wind causes several different types of damage to a roof. First, the wind, when blowing in a certain direction, can flow between the roof shingles and the underlying substrate. This air flow can cause the roof shingles to peel up and lift themselves off the roof. The removal of these shingles leaves the exposed roof susceptible to water, which can now enter through the area that is no longer protected by the missing shingles. A second type of damage is caused by the effect of high speed attached flow over the surface of the roof. The deflection of the flow over the roof line squeezes the streamlines closer together, accelerating the speed and lowering the static pressure in accordance with Bernoulli's principle. This causes uplift on part or all of the roof structure, thereby exerting an upward force on the roof. This force not only causes the shingles to lift from the roof, but can also cause the roof to pull away from the joists to which it is attached. Various attempts have been made to reduce the destructive effect of hurricane force winds on a roof, including various types of roof spoilers or wind deflectors. For example, various types of roof wind spoilers have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,206,040, 2,270,537, 2,270,538, 6,601,348, and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0248810. Most of these spoilers are attached directly onto the roof surface. To achieve their goal, most employ a member that, when deployed, is orthogonally disposed to the roof surface. This member may be either permanently disposed, or manually or automatically disposed only when needed. Other publications, for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,348, and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0113489, disclose a spoiler that can be attached to the fascia, rather than the roof surface. As the air flow travels along the surface of the roof, this vertical barrier presents an obstacle to its continued flow. As a result, the wind must travel over the barrier, which causes the air flow to become turbulent. In fact, the air flow directly at the roof may reverse directions, thereby pushing the shingles down. The turbulent nature of the air flow created by these spoilers significantly decreases the negative pressure area described above. FIG. 1a shows the flow of air over a typical roof. Note the attached flow as the wind moves over the roof surface. FIG. 1b shows the resulting air flow when a roof spoiler is installed on the roof. Note the turbulence created downwind of the spoiler. Also of interest is the change in the direction of the wind along the roof surface. Up to now, no roof spoilers have enjoyed commercial success or gained widespread use. This lack of success is probably due to a number of reasons, including unattractive appearance (e.g., due to poor aesthetic design or location on roof surface), poor performance (e.g., due to product design, operation or location), costs, complexity of installation, etc. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a roof spoiler device that creates a turbulent air flow on the roof surface to prevent wind damage. It is an additional object to provide a device that reduces the flow of air under the shingles. It is a further object to provide a roof spoiler device that has an acceptable aesthetic appearance. It is also an object to provide a roof spoiler device that may be used in conjunction with a roof gutter. The present invention embraces a roof spoiler that effectively disrupts the attached flow of wind on a roof surface. Preferably, the spoiler is specially designed for installation at or near the roof fascia and, more preferably, will operate in conjunction with a gutter mounted on the roof fascia or along the leading edge of the roof. This spoiler utilizes a hinged design to move between two operating positions. The first position is a stowed position, whereby the spoiler is almost completely out of the view of passersby. In the stowed position, a portion of the spoiler covers the open gutter (if present), thereby creating a guard to help keep out leaves and other debris. A second portion of the spoiler may extend into the gutter. The second position is a deployed position, wherein a barrier is projected vertically, or substantially vertically, so as to disrupt the flow of air over the roof surface. In one embodiment, the spoiler rests upon the first row of shingles when in the deployed position. In another embodiment, the spoiler rests near or against the fascia. In one embodiment, the spoiler is L-shaped to facilitate its stability in the deployed position. The two members that comprise the L-shape may be of equal length, or may be of different lengths, as required. FIG. 2 depicts a cross-section of a first embodiment of a roof spoiler of the present invention, in the stowed position. FIG. 6 depicts a cross-section of a second embodiment of a roof spoiler of the present invention, in the stowed position. FIG. 21a-b show the spoilers of FIG. 20a-b in the deployed position. A roof spoiler is intended to present an obstacle to attached flow during high (e.g., hurricane-force) winds. One way to present such an obstacle is to introduce a vertical, or substantially vertical member that interrupts that air flow. In other embodiments, the obstacle may not be vertical, but rather orthogonal to the roof surface, as shown in FIG. 1b. However, as mentioned above, a vertical member attached to the roof surface is unsightly and not likely to be adopted. To improve the aesthetics of a roof spoiler, it is preferable that the spoiler has at least two operating positions; a deployed position, where it acts as an obstruction as described above, and a stowed position, where the spoiler should be relatively non-intrusive and barely visible to passersby. One embodiment of such a roof spoiler is depicted in FIG. 2, which shows a cross-section of a first embodiment of the roof spoiler in the stowed position. The roof spoiler 100 is preferably L-shaped, with two roughly orthogonal members; a first member 110 and a second member 120. Each member has a length (i.e., the short dimension that extends away from the roof edge) and a width (i.e., the long dimension parallel to the roof edge) and preferably is substantially planar. In the stowed position, the first member 110 is disposed in an approximately vertical orientation, extending downwardly toward the inside of the gutter 130 (if a gutter is desired and present). In some embodiments, the first member may be disposed orthogonal (i.e., at approximately a 90° angle) to the roof surface. This first member 110 can be any suitable length, such as 5 cm to 30 cm, preferably about 10 cm to 23 cm. However, it is preferably shorter than the depth of the gutter. In addition, it is preferably shorter than the width of the gutter opening, as will be explained later. The second member 120 is disposed in an approximately horizontal orientation, extending away from the edge of roof 10. In some embodiments, such as the one shown in FIG. 2, the second member may be parallel to the roof surface (i.e., the plane of the roof). The second member may also be coplanar with the roof surface, such that it appears to be an extension of the roof. In these embodiments, the second member may extend from the vertical direction at an angle from about 60° to about 90°, depending on the slope of the roof. In the stowed position, the second member 120 covers a portion, and in some embodiments, all, of the gutter opening 131 (if a gutter is desired and present). In this way, the gutter 130 is protected from leaves and other debris that can enter the gutter 130 and subsequently clog it, thereby preventing proper operation. The second member 120 can be of any suitable length, such as 10 cm to 46 cm, preferably about 15 cm to 30 cm, and that length is not constrained by the depth or width of the gutter 130. In other words, the width and depth of the gutter opening have no effect on the length of the second member 120. This flexibility is critical in that the length of the second member 120 determines the height of the spoiler in the deployed position. Thus, the spoiler can be made arbitrarily long without impacting its operation in the stowed position. Furthermore, the length of the second member 120 is not apparent to passersby. Therefore, it is possible to implement a tall obstacle (when in the deployed position), without creating an unsightly apparatus on the roof. The members 110, 120 are constructed from a durable material, such as metal, alloys, composites, plastics (such as PVC and ABS), polymers, polymer composites, and building materials, such as wood or wood composites, cement, or cemtitious boards. Factors such as strength, durability, ultraviolet and corrosion resistance, manufacturability and cost may be used to select an appropriate material. In some embodiments, the two members are formed as a unitary piece, which is preferably extruded to reduce cost. In some embodiments, the two members are the same thickness, while in other embodiments, the thicknesses of the two members differ. The thickness of each member is determined based on the material used and the desired durability and rigidity of that member. The roof spoiler 100 is in communication with a pivoting mechanism 140, such as a hinge. The roof spoiler 100 is configured to operate with the pivoting mechanism 140 such that it rotates from about 75° to about 125°, preferably about 80° to about 110°, more preferably about ninety degrees) (90°, between its stowed position and its deployed position. In some embodiments, the pivoting mechanism is a simple hinge, such as shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the pivoting mechanism has a first portion, or bracket 141, which is affixed to the roof fascia 160, using fasteners 143, such as nails or screws. In general, the bracket 141 is oriented in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 2. If necessary, standoffs may be used to insure that the bracket 141 is sufficiently spaced apart from the gutter and fascia 160. As will be described in more detail below, stops may be used to limit the rotation of the pivoting mechanism. The pivoting mechanism 140 also has a second slanted portion 145, at an angle relative to the bracket 141, so as to move the axis of rotation (i.e. pivoting connection 142) a distance away from the fascia 160. In some embodiments, the distance from the axis of rotation (pivoting connection 142) to the edge of the roof is less than the length of the first member 110. In some embodiments, the pivoting mechanism 140 is connected to the first member 110 at a location between its two ends. By moving the axis of rotation, or pivoting connection 142 away from the fascia 160, the first member 110 may be disposed in an orientation that allows the second member 120 to be parallel to the roof surface. In other words, the first member 110 can move past vertical in the stowed position. For example, the first member 110 shown in FIG. 2 rotates past the vertical direction. In some embodiments, the first and second members are orthogonal to one another, and the first member 110 is disposed at such an angle so that the second member 120 is coplanar with the surface of the roof. Therefore, if the surface of the roof has an angle of θ° with respect to the horizontal plane, second member 120 may also have this angle. If the two members are orthogonal, the first member 110 must move past vertical by θ° as well. In this case, the second member 120 extends at an angle of (90-θ)° from the bracket. In these embodiments, the second member 120 extend outwardly from the bracket 141 at an angle of about 60° to about 90° in the stowed position, depending on the slope of the roof surface. Therefore, pivoting connection 142 must be placed at a location so as to allow the first member 110 this degree of rotation. Note that if the axis of rotation (pivoting connection 142) remains at the fascia, the first member 110 cannot rotate past vertical. However, in some embodiments, the axis of rotation or pivoting connection 142 may be located near the fascia 160, recognizing that the rotation of the spoiler may be limited in this configuration. FIG. 20a shows a spoiler in which the axis of rotation or pivoting connection 142 is at or near the fascia 160. In this embodiment, the second member 120 is roughly orthogonal to the fascia 160, due to the inability of the first member 110 to move past the vertical orientation. In FIG. 20b, the first and second members are configured at an angle less than 90 degrees, to allow the second member 120 to be parallel to the roof surface when in the stowed position. In these embodiments, the angle between the first and second members may be from about 60° to 90°, depending on the slope of the roof. In other embodiments, the first and second members are configured at an angle greater than 90°, such as between 90° and 120°. Thus, the first and second members may meet at an angle between 60° and 120°, preferably between 80° and 100°, more preferably at 90°. FIG. 3 shows the spoiler of FIG. 2 in the deployed position. In the presence of high speed winds, the wind will force the spoiler to rotate from its stowed position (shown in FIG. 2) to its deployed position. The constant air flow will force the spoiler to remain in its deployed position. When the wind has stopped, or sufficiently slowed, gravity will then urge the spoiler 100 back to its stowed position. In the deployed position, the second member 120 is disposed in a vertical, or substantially vertical orientation. In some embodiments, the second member is not vertical, but rather is orthogonal (i.e., at approximately a 90° angle) to the plane of the roof surface, as shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the second member 120 may be at an 180° angle with respect to the bracket 141, if it is disposed in a vertical orientation. However, if the second member 120 is oriented to be orthogonal to the roof surface, the angle between the bracket 141 and the second member 120 will be less than 180°, such as between 140° and 180°, depending on the slope of the roof. In some embodiments, the rotation of the spoiler 100 is stopped when the second member 120 comes into contact with the edge of roof 10. In other embodiments, the second member 120 may contact the fascia 160 in the deployed position. In other embodiments, a stop may be used to limit the rotation of the spoiler 100. FIG. 21a shows the spoiler of FIG. 20a in the deployed position. FIG. 21b shows the spoiler of FIG. 20b in the deployed position. These embodiments are advantageous in that they function with roofs of varying thicknesses. For example, FIG. 4 shows the roof spoiler of FIG. 2, in its stowed position, used with a tile roof 20, where the thickness of the tile roof is many times greater than that of a typical shingled roof. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the second member 120 of the spoiler 100 in the stowed position does not lie in the same plane as the top of the tile roof. However, this is not necessarily a limitation of this design, as the spoiler can be modified so that the second member 120 lies in the same plane as the tile roof 20. If desired, this can be done by varying the height of the bracket 141 or the second slanted portion 145, changing the angle between the bracket 141 of the hinge and the second slanted portion 145 of the pivoting mechanism 140, or changing the point on the first member 110 where it contacts the pivoting connection 142. Each of these modifications will be apparent to a skilled engineer and need not be described further. FIG. 5 shows the spoiler in the deployed position with a tile roof 20. In this figure, the spoiler 100 does not extend as far above the roof 20, as the previous embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, due to the increased thickness of the roof. However, this can also be modified, if desired, such as by raising the height of the bracket 141, or second slanted portion 145. Additionally, this can be compensated for by extending the length of the second member 120 such that it extends a sufficient height above the tile. In some embodiments, such as those shown in FIG. 2-5, the range of motion of the roof spoiler 100 is limited in one direction by the gutter 130, and by the edge of the roof in the opposite direction. FIG. 4 shows a stop, or standoff, 115, which can be used to limit the rotation of the spoiler 100 in the stowed position. In the illustrated embodiment, the stop 115 is used to keep the second member 120 from contacting the gutter 130. Furthermore, the stop 115 can be used to create a stowed position, wherein the second member 120 lies in the same plane as the roof surface. This provides visual continuity, such that the second member 120 appears as an extension of the roof surface. In other embodiments, the stop 115 may use a different mechanism. For example, the pivoting mechanism 140 may be designed to have limited rotation, thereby creating the required stop. Another advantage of this embodiment is its ability to stop the flow of wind into the tile roof 20. In many tile roofs, the tile is constructed in a wavy or sinusoidal type pattern. When the tile is applied to the roof, there are gaps between the tile and the underlying roof, as a result of the tile's shape. During hurricanes, wind can enter these gaps, and force the tile away from the roof. In the deployed position shown in FIG. 5, the roof spoiler 100, and particularly second member 120, also serves to block the open ends of tile from incoming wind, thereby eliminating another cause of roof damage. In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, the pivoting mechanism 200 includes several components. A bracket 210 is affixed to the fascia 160, such as by fasteners 211, such as screws or nails. One or more of the fasteners 211 may pass through the gutter 130 (if present), further securing it to the fascia 160. Near the upper end of the bracket 210 is a first pivot 220. Attached to this pivot 220 is an extension rod 230, the opposite end of which connects to the spoiler holder 240. In some embodiments, the extension rod 230 is joined to the spoiler holder 240 via a second pivot 250. However, in other embodiments, this joint 250 is fixed and cannot rotate. In other embodiments, the extension rod 230 is attached directly to the first member 110. Extension rod 230 may be any suitable shape. In some embodiments, it is a bracket, which connects first pivot 220 to second pivot 250 (see FIG. 14). In other embodiments, it may be a solid material, extending the length of the spoiler 100. For example, the extension rod 230 may be constructed from the same material as the spoiler 100. This embodiment also shows spoiler holder 240 being used to hold first member 110. However, other embodiments are possible as well. For example, the second pivot 250 may be affixed directly to the first member 110. The spoiler holder 240 allows the manufacture of the spoiler to be simplified, but is not required in the present invention. In other embodiments, extension rod 230 is an integral part of spoiler 100. FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the spoiler in which the extension rod is a part of first member 110. In this embodiment, first pivot 220 connects to the base of extension rod 230. In some embodiments, first member 110, second member 120 and extension rod 230 are formed (e.g., extruded or molded) as a single part. Additionally, the bracket 210 may also include a stop 260, which contacts the first member 110 or the spoiler holder 240, when the spoiler 100 is in the stowed position. The stop 260 determines the extent of the rotation of the pivoting mechanism 200 in the stowed position. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the stop 260 may be set so that the second member 120 is substantially parallel to the surface of the roof 10 in the stowed position. It may also be necessary to set the stop 260 so that the second member 120 does not touch the outer edge of the gutter 130. In some embodiments, the pivoting mechanism 200 is configured such that the second member 120 is parallel to the roof 10 in the stowed position. In other embodiments, a stop is not used, and the rotation of the spoiler is limited by the gutter 130. FIG. 7 shows the spoiler of FIG. 6 in the deployed position. The extension rod 230 is preferably sized such that a portion of first member 110 rests on top of a portion of the roof 10 when deployed. This configuration has several benefits. First, the roof provides a stop in the deployed direction for the pivoting mechanism. Second, the spoiler 100 serves to urge the front row of shingles downward due to the pressure exerted by the wind. The configuration of the extension rod 230 and the first member 110 may determine the size of the portion of the first member 110 that sits upon the roof 10. In some embodiments, such as is shown in FIG. 7, only a small portion of the first member 110 is on the roof 10. However, in other embodiments, the parts can be configured such that a larger portion of the first member 110 rests on the roof 10. When the wind ceases, the spoiler 100 returns to its stowed position, through the force of gravity. If desired, the spoiler can be urged toward the stowed position, through the use of a biasing element, such as a spring in first pivot 220. FIG. 9 shows the spoiler of FIG. 8 in the deployed position. As with FIG. 7, a portion of the spoiler 100 preferably sits on top of a portion of the roof 10. In some embodiments, extension rod 230 is integral with first member 110 and extends the entire length of the spoiler. In such embodiments, the extension rod 230 may also serve as a wind guard, blocking the flow of air between the roof and the shingle. FIG. 10 depicts the spoiler of FIG. 6 used in conjunction with a taller roof, such as one made of tiles. In this embodiment, bracket 210 has been lengthened or adjusted so as to move the pivot 220 closer to the top of the roof 20. Alternatively, extension rod 230 may be lengthened to provide a similar effect. FIG. 11 shows the spoiler of FIG. 10 in the deployed position. Note that in this embodiment, in contrast to the embodiment of FIG. 5, the spoiler 100 does not block the gaps under the tiles. Rather the extension rod 230 is positioned in this area. If the extension rod 230 is a solid piece, as described above with respect to FIG. 9, the extension rod 230 may serve as a wind guard. However, in other embodiments, the extension rod 230 may be a smaller piece, used to join the first pivot 220 to second pivot 250. In these embodiments, wind may blow between the shingle and the roof, especially in the case of tile. To prevent wind from blowing under the shingle, a wind guard 270, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, may be included. The wind guard 270 is rotatably attached to pivot 250, such that it is free to rotate. In the stowed position, the wind guard 270 is pressed between the first member 110 and the stop 260. In the deployed position, the wind guard 270 hangs down, such that it blocks the gap between the roof and the shingle or tile, as shown in FIG. 13. Wind would tend to push the wind guard 270 toward the roof, where it would serve to block wind from entering under the tiles. The wind guard 270 also serves to insure that air does not pass between the spoiler 100 and the roof. A gap between the spoiler 100 and the roof serves as a path for wind, which accelerates through the gap. This may significantly degrade the performance of the spoiler. Wind guard 270 may be used to improve the performance of the spoiler 100 by eliminating the gap between the spoiler 100 and the roof. Other embodiments of the pivoting mechanism that allow roof spoiler 100 to pivot are possible and are within the scope of this invention. In all embodiments, the roof spoiler preferably rotates approximately ninety degrees from its stowed position to its deployed position, although other angles of rotation advantageously may be used in some configurations. FIG. 14 shows an exploded view of a complex hinge that can be used with the present invention. This hinge can be used to perform the functions described above. In this hinge, a wall mounted portion, or bracket 300 is affixed to the fascia, such as by screws or other fasteners, through mounting holes 301. The wall mounted portion, or bracket 300 also has one or more screw holes 302. Adjustable mounted portion 310 may have a slot 311. A screw or bolt 305, having a head larger than the slot, is placed through the slot and into the screw hole 302 in the wall mounted portion, or bracket 300. In this way, adjustable portion 310 may be moved relative to wall mounted portion 300 to accommodate roofs of various thicknesses. When properly positioned, the bolt 305 is then tightened to hold the adjustable mounted portion 310 in place. This combination of wall mounted portion 300, adjustable mounted portion, and bolt 305 may constitute bracket 210, described above. Adjustable mounted portion 310 may also have a receptacle 317 to hold stop 320. As described above, the stop 320 is used to limit the rotation of the spoiler in one direction (i.e., the rest or stowed position). One end of extension rod 330 is rotatably connected to adjustable mounted portion 310, such as by a hinge pin 335, thereby allowing it freedom of motion. The opposite end of extension rod 330 may be attached to spoiler holder 340 using a second hinge pin 345. Extension rod 330 may be urged toward its stowed position through the use of a biasing element, such as spring 347, which can be used with one or both of the hinge pins 335, 345. Hinge pins 335, 345 may be used to create first pivot 220 and second pivot 250, described above. The spoiler is connected to the spoiler holder 340, and may be fastened using one or more fasteners 355. In other embodiments, extension rod 330 and spoiler holder 340 are one unitary part, without a pivoting connection or hinge pin. The width of the spoiler 100 is preferably equal to, or substantially equal to, the width of the roof. In other words, if the roof is 30 feet wide, the spoiler 100 is preferably also 30 feet wide. In some embodiments, the spoiler is prefabricated in predetermined lengths, such as 4, 8 and 10 foot sections. The widths of the first member and second member are preferably the same, such that the two members are approximately coextensive. While the above embodiments have been shown in conjunction with a gutter, the invention is not so limited. The present invention can be used without a gutter in the same manner as described above. In embodiments without a gutter, it may be aesthetically pleasing to cover the exposed mounting hardware. FIG. 15 shows the spoiler of FIG. 12 in the stowed position. Cover 295 is shown covering the fasteners 211 and bracket 210, thereby improving the appearance of the spoiler. The cover 295 may be constructed from any suitable material, including metal or plastic. In some embodiments, it can be a prefabricated colored plastic, made to match the color of the fascia. The cover of FIG. 15 can be used in conjunction with any embodiment. It is preferably used in those embodiments in which there is no gutter, as the gutter hides the hardware in those embodiments. However, the cover 295 may be used in those embodiments as well if desired. As a further aesthetic embodiment, a feature, such as decorative molding, may be incorporated in the spoiler. In one embodiment, a decorative molding is added at the intersection of the first and second members of the spoiler, so as to improve the appearance of the spoiler. Such an embodiment is typically used in embodiments that do not include a gutter, but the invention is not limited to only these embodiments. The embodiments shown above describe spoilers in which two orthogonal members join together to form an L shape. However, other embodiments are also possible. As described earlier, FIGS. 20b and 21b show an embodiment where the two members are not orthogonal to one another. FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of a spoiler 400 with a single member 410. The pivoting mechanism 140 can be as described in reference to FIG. 2. Since there are no longer two members, the stop used in conjunction with FIG. 4 must be modified. For example, a hinge having limited rotation may be used. As described above, the presence of strong wind may cause the member 410 to rotate about the axis of rotation or pivoting connection 142, to a deployed position, shown in FIG. 17. In this embodiment, the rotation is limited by the contact of the single member 410 against the roof edge. In other embodiments, the single member 410 may contact the fascia 160. Since the member 410 begins below the roof line, this configuration also serves as a wind guard as described earlier. However, this configuration does not exert downward force on the roof shingles, as was done with the device depicted in FIG. 13. FIG. 18 shows a modification to the embodiment of FIG. 16. In this embodiment, a small support 420 is added to the back side of the single member 410. This support 420 is located such that when the spoiler is in the deployed position, as shown in FIG. 19, the support 420 rests on the roof shingles. In some embodiments, the small support 420 is an integral part of the single member 410. For example, the support 420 may be formed (e.g., extruded or molded) as part of member 410. In other embodiments, the support 420 can be affixed to the member 410, such as by fasteners. This allows the support 420 to be positioned specifically for a particular roof thickness. For example, member 410 may have a connection mechanism, wherein the support 420 can be movably affixed to the member 410, thereby allowing easy adjustment during installation. In embodiments where the member 410 is orthogonal to the roof surface, support 420 may extend orthogonally from member 410. In embodiments where the member 410 is not orthogonal to the roof surface, such as when it is in a vertical position, the support may extend at an angle between 60° and 90°. The support 420 shown in FIG. 18 can also be applied to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2-5 and FIG. 20-21 if desired so as to allow the spoiler to exert a downward force on the shingles.

2019-04-22T16:45:08Z

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8650809.html

So,... with all due respect.... what happened to the free energy guy? (https://ubuntuplanet.org/profi…). He came on strong, wanted to start a global free energy movement, and then disappeared. One of the things I respect about the Farmbot development (farmbot.io) is that it is very transparent and easy to see what is going on. Just try logging on and ask to receive updates about the software development. Transparency leads to trust and also helps with accountability. Hubstaff (https://hubstaff.com/) also employs transparent accounting. They tell how much they make. That is kind of cool. Michael T asked (and still asks on the front page of this site) for donations. On the Ubuntu Vermont website (http://www.ubuntuvt.org/), when I checked last year, it explained what they were doing and were also asking for donations, yet now that website is inactive. What is going on here? I log on regularly, see new people coming on this site, all excited, yet also see people drop out. Where is SkyDancer? I communicated with her before the American Thanksgiving, she said she was going to visit her family, ... and then nothing. Is she o.k.? Did something happen? I don't know. That is the advantage of staying for the long haul. One gets to see trends. For example, there are a lot of total members on this website. But how many are active? Do the people on the management team log on regularly? I see that some don't. Is that a commitment that ought to be made? That is what this website is here for. Also, what are the demographics on this site? I am guessing the mean age to be somewhere around 30. It would be great to have more people who are older, and therefore have more experience. They would bring a different perspective. Anyways, just some observations. Let me know what you think (some of you old timers), if I am on the right track or not. Mat Dowle Totally agree... having observed from the beginning (of this website) I see people come with great ideas and enthusiasm and then disappear again a few months later. Any ideas how we can keep people engaged on here would be very welcome. cbos Thanks Mat! Didn't expect that response. List active members only, with an option to display all? That has to do with human behaviour, not programming, though. It has to come from the person and there has to be an incentive to stay with a project for the long haul. Money is typically an incentive, but we are discouraging the use of that. Not much of an answer, sorry. [deleted user] Lee Walsh set this up specifically to address this aspect of commitment & consistency, https://ubuntuplanet.org/circl… It's UK orientated, but it could be global. Michael E. V. Knight Like many things a lot of people may be INTERESTED in something, few are COMMITTED to achieving it. As a child my friend said he wanted to learn to play the drums, his parents bought him a drum set for xmas. He took a few lessons, played for a few weeks then quit. He thought he was just going to do that a few times and become a rock star. Not willing to COMMIT to 2-4 hours a day of lessons and practice he quit playing. There is no straight line to success. People see Michael Tellinger videos, like the idea, join here, look around, do not see any Ubuntu communities actually up and running, so they say to themselves this will never happen and go away. US President John Kennedy once said - ask not what your country can do for you, ask what can I DO for my country? Same with Ubuntu Contributionism. People should not come here asking when is Michael Tellinger going to start a Ubuntu Community i can move to, they need to ask how can I start a local Ubuntu Contributionism group so we can start the domino effect and develop Ubuntu Contributionism all over the world? The foundation of Ubuntu Contributionism is working TOGETHER and SHARING. We do not even need to talk about a no money world, politics, illuminati etc., we can just ask people if they would like to save money and eventually only need to work/help out the local community 3 hours a week and have ALL their needs met. If they say yes, start working TOGETHER and SHARING. The Ubuntu Contributionism plan is SIMPLE to do, we just need to DO it. The first part of the DO is finding other local people to actually work TOGETHER and SHARE with. This means we need to talk to people about the idea constantly, and sharing videos/posts about Ubuntu on all our social media outlets. Follow me on FaceBook, this is pretty much all i post about. Share the posts i write so others will start to get the MINDSET change needed to both WANT and DO the Ubuntu Contributionism lifestyle. Even this does not guaranty success, but with enough of us DOING this, eventually one or more small towns will have people working TOGETHER and SHARING towards an UBUNTU world. It would be great if just 50 like minded, serious about Ubuntu people were able to move to just one small town in each country to start this. Like Michael Tellinger has said the money BEAST has it's claws and chains so tight on us it is hard to do this. In order to do this the people moving there would need an income to pay living expenses until the Ubuntu co-ops are profitable enough for them not to need a job. Finding jobs in small towns is not always easy. This would be great for active, healthy seniors with retirement income coming in from either social security or a pension, or investment income. Would also be possible for someone that works from their computer and can live anywhere and still make enough money to pay their bills. The other chain is not wanting or able to leave family and friends to get a small town started. But for people ready, willing and able to move, we/they need to start talking with each other. Here in the US a couple of my FB friends have a tiny group started in SouthWest Colorado. They would love to have serious, like minded, ready, willing and financially able people move there to help them grow their group. They just bought a small apartment house that needs rehab that some members could eventually live in (still needing to pay rent since they have a loan that needs to be repaid). One member about 3 hours from them has some land for greenhouses. He is in a small town of around 500 people so 49 more adults moving there or nearby would be 10% of the towns population. Ubuntu could grow quickly there. My niece said to me a few months ago it's hard to find a good person to date. i said to her in order to find a good person YOU need to first be a good person. Same with Ubuntu. i hear many stories of people moving somewhere saying they want to help, they get there, work a few weeks, then stop helping and sit around and drink and smoke all day, eventually having the host ask them to leave. To have UBUNTU we need to LIVE UBUNTU every day in every way. We need to change our mindsets from ME ME ME to WE WE WE. From COMPETITION to COOPERATION. It may sound like i am preaching to the choir here but like i just mentioned above, those people that moved and eventually stopped helping said they were members of the choir. Obviously in the wrong church. ONE SMALL TOWN, that's all it takes to get the dominoes starting to fall in surrounding towns, causing them to need then follow the Ubuntu Contributionism Lifestyle. Causing towns further out to then need then follow... until the whole human population is living the Ubuntu Contributionism lifestyle. [deleted user] "In order to do this the people moving there would need an income to pay living expenses until the Ubuntu co-ops are profitable enough for them not to need a job". . . . . . . .got that covered. Meanwhile Ubuntu, according to Mr. Tellinger, is no more about we we we than it is me me me. It needs to be workable everywhere, slowly hollowing out that which it seeks to replace. It should not be necessary to relocate to an Ubuntu community. cbos Wow! What a response! But, practically, according to the book, we are all ... free and equal. If one can ask for funds, that means all should be able to, right? And if we ask and receive (and are a charitable organization in Canada), then we should also report, should we not? The Vermont group raised $500,000! That's not chump change. What happened there. Why is their site defunct after less than half a year, and how can a group move on to a town of 4,000 to 7,000 if it can't handle a site of 150 acres. The spiritual principle is to graduate from the small to the big. That isn't happening here. 'a quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity'. It's a philosophy. No one person can own that, Michael Tellinger owns a logo. Drea Greetings cbos, nice to meet u. I understand & witness ur concerns. I’m Drea the new UK national coordinator and as I just mentioned to Michael E V Knight we are at the very beginnings of this movements latest evolutionary leap & we are in the process of putting in the groundwork to address the issues u have mentioned. I am currently designing a global system of support, training & communication which will be tied into our new global website & database. This system will give everyone guidance and support on how to start meet up circles & start various types of community projects & promotional events and will really help to grow our family & keep everyone engaged & communicating with each other. I cant answer ur questions re funding & the Vermont site but what I can say is, hopefully this week, we will be launching the new global website & then all countries will have their own website feeding from this, that will share the same layout and general information with country specific data, so soon we will all be singing from the same song sheet & things will become a lot clearer all round. I look forward to watching UBUNTU’s coming accelerated evolution with u. Deleted User Im guessing the new website will be easy to edit electronically and existing members will be further alienated because they know too much ... Drea be careful of becoming part of the problem. I have put in a lot of hard work and been excluded the same could happen to you ... and I'm not the only one. Michael E. V. Knight "It should not be necessary to relocate to an Ubuntu community." - i agree, but in the last 7+ years i have been promoting a no money world, including the last 3 with Ubuntu, there has yet to be one small town started because it is hard for supporters to find others that actually want to do this in their town. In the last 7+ years i have easily spoken to over 700 people locally about this, every one of them said sounds good but will never work. Of course if WE do NOT work on something it will never happen. If i say i want to start a business, a restaurant, but never do anything towards opening that restaurant, that restaurant will never get off the ground. Same with Ubuntu. cbos Just for the record, I was a little confused when I saw the word "UBUNTU" appearing in all capital letters. Doesn't he also in his book talk about the evils of corporations and how we also are created as mini corporations at birth by having are names spelled in all caps? Then Ubuntu is spelled in all caps. Confusing. cbos ok, now I am starting to get a little peeved and worried. This link (https://ubuntuplanet.org/wp/…) show that the wp account where all the news has been is "suspended". Hello! That is a WordPress site and the screensplash doesn't get there like that unless it has been specifically put there. That is not default WordPress. So... let's go back a little to this post (https://followingworldchange.wordpress.com/…) which I assume was the same text, different site. It mentions two names. Michael Sunseri and Lisa Hays. They conveniently show up at just the right moment to help Michael T. out. All is fine and dandy. You can read the glowing comments. Except for one thing. Michael Sunseri was an infiltrator. Perhaps Lisa Hays should be checked out as well. They passed by Michael Ts. background check with flying colors. Micheal Sunseri resigned last April, according to a message from another member from this site. What does that show you? Money may be the least of our worries. The deception is subtle and multi-layered. I am almost ready to argue that it was the "twist" that changed the good reasons for using money and took them all away. Interest free money was taken away. Interest was added. The use of the word "silver" was taken away (check the Old Testament), the word "money" was added. So... the challenge, or perhaps the first level is not even the community. It is recognizing the sublety of the "twist". Taking something that is good and making it into something it isn't. When people make a decision to go into leadership and set a direction, they are expected to stay at the helm. This "boat", in part at least, was built because of and for him. And now the captain is absent. Mat Dowle For the record, the "suspended" message on the WordPress content is because the WordPress installation was taking all the server resources (either because of a targeted attack or a problem with the WordPress installation). I had to suspend the hosting account in order to prevent it taking down the whole server... still trying to resolve the problem. cbos Thank you Mat. Here is a story that was just brought to my attention. I post it here in it's entirety, from this link (https://facebook.com/notes/…). This person states she is a first hand witness, mentions a gag order and provides a phone number. Please feel free to check for yourself and contradict this if it is wrong. Thank you. Dear Sirs and Madams, please feel free to be advised that the following is the Truth, The whole Truth and nothing but the Truth, so help me God. After watching videos on Ubuntu and Contributionism, I joined the Ubuntu Liberation Movement in 2015 and moved up to Waterval Boven to become a volunteer for Ubuntu in January 2016. As a volunteer at the Ubuntu Village with Michael Tellinger I very quickly found out that the property is actually called "The Stone Circle" and it is a PRIVATE PROPERTY, which belongs to Michael Tellinger. In very short order it became clear to me that there is NO UBUNTU VILLAGE, there is NO Self-Sustaining systems, No Bakery, giving away daily bread, No Fish Farm delivering free fish nor any terraced and landscaped gardens. For the last plus/minus 5 years MJT has been collecting Donations under the pretense of feeding the masses and uplifting the world. Sadly he is only uplifting himself and his ego-driven appetite for consumption. Where have the millions of Rands worth of donations gone? Last year Millions of Rands were raised but less than R9000.00 was spent on Soup Kitchens, I paid for almost all of them myself. The following is a list of new purchases Mr. Micheal Tellinger has made, which I personally witnessed, within the last year: A Gold coloured Jeep 4x4, a white Toyota Rav 4x4(they were purchased to promote his Stone Circle buisness), new driveway at Michaels house, newly refurbished cottage at Michaels house, 6x Ensuite Cottages being built at Stone Circle Bistro, new Museum being built at Stone Circle Bistro, New furniture(complete) at Stone Circle Bistro, Stone Circle Bistro completely repainted(entire property all around), New JoJo Water Tanks at Stone Circle Bistro and I could go on until nauseam. The vast majority of ALL Ubuntu Donations collected, for the entire year of 2016, where spent on Stone Circle Bistro(his private property) and his Private House. The remainder of the World's Donations to Ubuntu and the Ubuntu Liberation Movement were consumed by Michael Tellinger, in his personally capacity, with the funds being used to pay for his 4 - 5 Star accommodation and various other Luxuries. He has already spent thousands of Rands at Woolworths(just in January 2017) this month and it is only the 13th today of the month. While the local people suffer and go to bed hungry this fat old white jerk(who was not even born in South Afrika) is "Eating The Money!" Fat old white foreign jerks have been stealing from Afrika for years so this is nothing new. However, these monies are being collected under false pretenses and the MONIES ARE NOT GOING TO CHARITY! They are being consumed by his ego-driven, greed and lust fueled appetite for self-aggrandizement. This is a Cult and it is a Crime. I still live in Waterval Boven and I still feed the children here at my gate. They come here because for a about a year I was the one funding the Soup Kitchens (which Michael Tellinger cancelled after the elections, August 3rd – 4th. Why? Unless feeding people was never the goal here). I also personally sponsored various other charities. cbos May I remind people that there may be a legal case here. First, the SpacePhone site indicates some had not received their phone. Second, the above post indicates misappropriated funds, obtained globally. No report of funds received has been issued, to my knowledge. Screenshots have been taken. This will be watched. Deleted User He is being investigated for the fundraising fraud. Deleted User LOL Nic G - yes well if you think he changes it all the time so people don't twig on quickly. First its campaign, then its a phone, then its a youth movement. He has blocked me from commenting so I'm slowing the list of people who have been gagged. Im in the process of a complaint now with the fundraising OMBUDSMAN here in RSA because he has blocked from commenting on FBook so I have to go to the next level. Only way I can protect others. Nic G I hope the ideal doesn't get killed in this mess. Deleted User Its pretty much dead in the water anyway due to his activities so ... I'm taking legal action. Nic G doesn't look that way, people are doing different projects in ubuntu style, with little funds raised by them or locally achieved, kind of like you are doing. I don't think it is dead. He is not the founder of UBUNTU, the ideal already existed and hopefully will go on with some scars. Nic G It's normal to be down, this is terrible! I don't believe you don't have strength, most farmers are fighters, always having to adjust their moves with the weather, the soil, the water, plagues, (you name it...) and always coming back with something to put on the table. If that's not fighting, than what is? Deleted User I know Nic G you are right but I just want a peaceful life and grow things and love other people. Im not meant for this world we live in. Drea I know Michael well & have watched his tireless efforts to create this movement in the hope of empowering us all... he has spent all his personal funds on this and projects in his own home town & has to push to sell books & get paid for talks to try and survive... he is on the front line giving everything he has... this much I and the many management team members around the globe that visit & speak with him regularly are 100% sure off. There is however a real effort by others, it would seem that includes you Janet (if that’s ur name) to discredit him & weaken our movement…I can personally vouch that Michael is the compassionate, caring & altruistic individual he seems to be in his videos and he was very upset to hear these false allegations being made about him after all his tireless hard work. I know personally of his struggles to keep old broken down vehicles on the road so I’m not sure where this high life is being seen… its absolute BS to bring down a light worker - Janet ur energy does not come from service to others & I believe u are here with ill intent & shall report u as such, & I am happy to reveal ur energy by posting the dark toned P.M u just sent me accusing me of being complicit in fraud & actually threatening me with legal action...please be reminded that libel is also a crime… a crime u are now guilty of as witnessed by a large family of people who love & support Michael & this movement….wishing u love light & the healing you obviously need. Deleted User Technically the False light law protects my freedom of speech. Andrea see your aggressive attitude is generally indicative of a someone who it actually knows they are wrong. Did you check Michael car break down via Skype in the UK? He spends all his personal funds on Woolies by the looks of things. Where is the love and UBUNTU sister. All I asked as that you confirm your full real name. Nic G I don't really know if he is or not a fraud, but I will not put my hands on fire for someone who I don't know just because he says something that seems good; he is a man, so he can be lured by corruption, as anyone of us can. Just looking a nice guy isn't enough to prove their good will, look at all the reports on serial killers and pedophiles, their neighbors always say "he was such a nice man, I would never tell". If he is being investigated and he has nothing to hide, than he has nothing to fear. Deleted User Take it away NicG well said mate. Its supposed to be free fair and transparent. Otherwise its not UBUNTU. cbos Please no flame wars. I have checked out Ubuntu Vermont, Bolton, with screenshots. Where is the Ubuntu owned property? Both the ski resort and Lotus Lodge sites appear to be fully functional with no mention of anything Ubuntu. This can be checked out online with Google Maps, satellite view, even a web cam. cbos Drea, You said above: "I am currently designing a global system of support, training & communication which will be tied into our new global website & database. This system will give everyone guidance and support on how to start meet up circles & start various types of community projects & promotional events and will really help to grow our family & keep everyone engaged & communicating with each other." What you describe is this site. How will the one you propose be different? cbos Part of... the ski resort and lodge? or the global system. Deleted User I don't know she is on my FBook I will ask her. Deleted User Ashville UBUNTU village. Do you remember there was a banner post for a wee while that had his face and Bolton Vermont on it. Then NOTHING. They had a website gone. cbos perhaps it is time to start a new thread? cbos Janet, I will message you with a link to a document I am working on. It is over 150 pages. I also made a list of every possible thing I could think of that a person would need while living in community. That is there as well. "We therefore reconstructed the Profit and Loss statement, taking into account the adjusted sales figures (calculated at the retail price) as well as the agreed or adjusted expenses. According to our calculations, as reflected in the Profit and Loss statement, the net income should be R221 778.80. Engelbrecht is therefore entitled to R110 889.40." "According to Zulu Planet the sales of the award winning book Kaffertjie only generated a net income of R10 924.19 after a three year period. According to the agreement, Engelbrecht is entitled to 50% thereof, ie R5 462.09." That is a difference of: R110,427.31. This information supports the information provided earlier in this thread by a person claiming they were a first hand witness. cbos Finally, here is some work I did from last night. Please feel free to verify these facts. Also, a review I did from a search using this link (https://ubuntuplanet.org/searc…), reveals quite a bit of excitement about this project. It is very odd that it would disappear off the radar, only to be replaced by the "One Small Town" initiative. Both Lotus Lodge (http://www.lotuslodgevt.com) at 4010 Bolton Valley Access Rd. and the Ski Resort just down the road at 4302 Bolton Valley Access Rd. appear to be fully functional. Here is a webcam for the ski resort (http://boltonvalley.com/webcam…). Nice site. No mention of Ubuntu. The Ubuntu Vermont Bolton Circle (https://ubuntuplanet.org/circl…) has the latest post dated four months ago (screenshot taken). The link pointing to the generosity.com site (https://generosity.com/communi…) indicates $15,325 USD was raised in 8 months (screenshot taken). The campaign is still open. As I clearly recall the amount was raised, the campaign should be closed. It is not. Many of the donors are for small amounts and have nonsensical names. Is the money received if the campaign is not closed? I don't know. What does Indiegogo (a major site) do if a claim is made the funds were not used as specified? I don't know. Perhaps someone would like to look into this. Oh, yes, and for a modest gift of $333 the donor can stay one night free at the beautiful Lotus Lodge in Bolton Valley, VT (screenshot taken). Is that enough information? Please feel free to verify these facts. This appears to be a global phenomena. Please also feel free to check out the activity status of those who had posted or responded to this. Not all of them are still active and posting on this site (i.e. they appeared to be quite excited about this, posted a lot, and then haven't posted for quite some time). This will be the last post I will make in this thread. I feel this is sufficient information for anyone wishing to look into this for themselves. cbos I have confirmed that the Zulu Planet Publishers address (mentioned above and the publishers of the two books I checked, Blueprint and Slave Species), and Michael Tellinger's address point to the same location. This means, essentially, that Michael Tellinger "self published" these two books. That is not quite accurate. It would be more accurate to say that, in addition to all of his other activities, he also has the same mailing address for both himself and a publishing company. Both of these addresses are publically available. The strange thing is, I don't recall that distinction being made clear. How well is this publishing company doing, and if the checks are mailed there, does he really need all the extra funds provided by donations, etc.? For further information, please see: https://ubuntucontributionismreview.wordpress.com/…. Rebecca G Thanks cbos... Bolton Valley is on the back burner and as such we don't talk about it much... as with almost everything else in life, Ubuntu is an evolutionary journey... we do get really excited about things and think they are going to unfold in a particular way... and then they don't. What we are learning from all of this is to speak in more fluid terms... we are following the energy of this movement and when we are listening fully, the Universe is guiding. Thanks for paying attention and keeping us on track. And thank you for your support of Ubuntu philosophies. Deleted User O wow thanks Rebecca G for getting back to us. We started to think the project was a scam. Like everything else. Rebecca G Hi Janet, not sure what you mean by "Like everything else." I can assure you, that everyone on the USA team is not working on a giant scam... unless by scam you mean changing the paradigm... I will cop to that in heartbeat. Shifting consciousness and changing how we are in the world is why I am here. Everything else is just distraction. Michael E. V. Knight Michael has no control over what happens locally. Whatever happens/is happening/doesn't happen in Vermont (or anywhere else) is up to the people there that raised there hands and said we are going to start an Ubuntu town here. From what i know the Vermont people want to buy land and build sort of an eco village there, living the Ubuntu lifestyle. This is the hardest way to get Ubutnu going. MT has said over and over start right where you are (if you can). If you can't find other local people interested in joining you, then all you can do is keep talking to people and sharing the Ubuntu idea on the net, hopefully someone in another area will see your posts, like the idea, and be able to move it forward like Frank in Walsenburg, Colorado (US) is doing. Not controlling growth like corporations do, has it's negative side effects. If a local ubuntu project starts then fizzles out, that does not make MT or the Ubuntu idea wrong/bad, just means the people locally were not able to get it done. Michael Tellinger "backs" a lot of horses (people raising there hands saying i am starting a local ubuntu community) , not every horse will finish the race or win. We can't let startups that are not successful make us give up on the dream. Jacque Fresco of the Venus Project has been at this type of work over 70 years and we still don't have a no money world, BUT we are a lot closer than we were 70 years ago thanks to the internet. i do not know nor have i heard anything about Vermont since i went there to meet MT last October. Don't let this stop you/us from moving forward where we are. We are planting a lot of thought seeds globally, some are slowly starting to sprout like Frank in Colorado. Once we have that one small town up and running the world WILL start to change quickly. It always seems IMPOSSIBLE until it's DONE. Then others will believe it's possible and work harder to achieve it locally. Just like they said no human could run a 4 minute mile, once the first person did it, others were also able to do it. As long as we are ENSLAVED in this fake, fraud, lie, scam, con job, free range economic SLAVE control money system, we will need to use some money to get things done. To start locally we can start without money, just talk to others, share the videos etc.. This is how Frank in Colorado got started. Now he has a small boarding house that needs repairs, this requires money for materials, if he can't find people with building skills to join him he will have to pay workers to get the work done. Utilities will have to be paid for. This is the reality we live in. Pretty much every one of us is paying a mortgage/rent, property taxes, heat, electric bills etc.. None of the providers are doing this for free, they all want MONEY. It's also the reason we need to sell 2/3 of what we make/grow, to raise money to pay bills, just like any other business does. Once we no longer are ENSLAVED by the money system, we can cut back to just the 1/3 we need for our local community, with maybe a little extra from EVERY town growing food, in case something happens in another town(s) like a massive storm that destroys their crops etc.. Deleted User Well you can justify it anyway you want to. I just see it as stealing from the poor. Its disgusting. Nic G Sorry Michael E. V. Knight, I just don't believe in putting money in something I can't see a result. When I gave money to buy mattresses for some kids, the person took a picture in the house with all the beds, so I know they used it for what it was intended. In this case, somebody says it's for management of the site, etc, I can never tell, I just have to rely on the word of people I don't know and in good faith. On the other way, and more important, you don't even have pictures of a "wanna be" Ubuntu town in South Africa after all this years, everything was spent on the Ubuntu party and the site? You have projects in Brazil, in the UK, now in America, with people starting with very little, and you have nothing to show in South Africa, where it all started? Deleted User Thank you Nic G. I gave Tshepo the UBUNTU guy from Soweto a laptop and I'm helping him to get government funding for his project to help other people. His life was disrupted by the elections while he was a candidate and we have lost all hope of UBUNTU in RSA. He was just a photo prop for MT in his funding for UBUNTU - so disgusted wasting poor peoples time and getting there hopes up - all just for some pictures for funding. Michael E. V. Knight Remember the town Michael lives in has huge unemployment. Let's say 4,000 people there need to eat 3 - $1 meals a day. It would cost $12,000 a day to feed them while trying to get the projects going. Then who locally could afford to buy the products? Even local towns are mostly poor people. Getting out/off of the money system chains is not an easy thing to do. The money he spent on politics has little to show other than seeds planted in peoples minds. He showed pictures of flyer/signs on poles. In my area in the last 7 years i have easily spoken to over 700 people about this, they all say sounds good but will never work. Of course NOTHING works if WE don't WORK to make it happen. Does this stop me from promoting this way of life constantly and gifting to groups working on it, no. Frank in Colorado has been reading my posts for a while, they and other posts helped keep him motivated. He had to move to find a small town with friendly people that help each other. He found that in Walsenburg, Colorado. Listen to the Feb. USA Ubuntu call replay to hear how happy Frank is that he found that town. Had he been depressed about it not happening where he was, then quitting, this Ubuntu town may have never been started. Someone already offered his group 15 acres of land to grow food on. There are 200 vacant homes there, he is in talks with the local govt about getting some of them for free or very little cost, to have ubuntu member families move there and for shared housing for single ubuntu members. Find the horses (people) that resonate with YOU and back/support them any way you can. Even if it's a start up eco village that has nothing to do with Ubuntu. At least they will be working TOGETHER and SHARING, spending LITTLE money, helping to starve the money beast.

2019-04-20T02:53:08Z

https://www.fullcircleproject.net/status/23873/

This morning I just learned from a friend that our Rainbow Warrior Ryan Dale Smith had passed away this mid- December. How sad. I never had the chance to meet him personally, but I did follow his Jon Doe Youtube videos, which I found quite interesting. I used to enjoy talking to him and looked forward to meeting him someday in Tokyo. He had reported on Fukushima from inside Japan very courageously since day one during the past years. One of the very few to do it with quality and no nonsense. Ryan Dale Smith was a rough uncut diamond shining by his wits and his sincerity. His deeply-felt loyalty to the working class shined out. We will miss you Ryan. Peace to your soul on your journey. My condolences to his wife and daughter, and mother. During the early hours of Tuesday, Dec. 12, Tozen Union member Ryan Smith (aka Jon Doe) passed away. He was 37. He is survived by his wife, Makiko Kono, his 1-year-old daughter, Kayla, and his mother, Carrie Lester Plaster. From Athens, West Virginia, Ryan studied journalism at Concord University. He moved to Japan in 2008 and taught English to adults and children. Ryan loved to talk politics and never missed a chance to declare his commitment to Marxist revolution and his pride in his rural, working-class roots. His YouTube channel has over 1,800 subscribers. But he loved nothing as much as his tiny daughter, Kayla. Since her birth, nearly every Facebook entry he posted included photos or video of her. “I don’t believe in God, but I believe that humans have a special spark in them. I don’t believe humans have a soul, but I know there is a common feeling which binds all of humanity. “I don’t believe in heaven or hell, but I know those who stomp on their fellow human beings have to hide from the rest of us to avoid being hung by a rope in the streets. SAN DIEGO (CN) – Former Senator John Edwards and his co-counsel on Thursday asked a federal judge not to transfer to Japan a class action by hundreds of U.S. sailors exposed to radiation in the Fukushima nuclear disaster. An initial group of sailors sued Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TepCo) and General Electric in 2012. A second class action from sailors sent to render aid after the earthquake and tsunami was filed in San Diego Federal Court last August. The March 11, 2011 tsunami caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to shut down, but loss of circulation water coolant led to meltdowns and explosions whose radioactive releases may not be completely cleaned up for centuries. More than 420 U.S. service members in the two cases seek compensation and medical monitoring, testing and health care costs for exposure to radiation. Some sailors have died from complications of radiation exposure since the cases were filed, and more than 20 are living with cancer, according to the lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino on Thursday considered motions to dismiss from TepCo and GE. They claim that California courts have no jurisdiction over events in Japan. Sammartino also considered a choice-of-law motion from General Electric, which wants to apply Japanese law to the case or have it transferred to Japan. TepCo operated the Fukushima nuclear plant; GE designed its nuclear reactors. TepCo attorney Gregory Stone, with Munger, Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles, said all claims brought in the United States could be brought in Japan and that the statute of limitations has not run out in Japan’s court system. GE attorney Michael Schissel, with Arnold & Porter in New York, said the case belongs in Japan, where the facts originated and the witnesses are. Schissel said the Japanese government declared the nuclear meltdown was not a natural disaster, so TepCo could be held liable for damages. But Edwards, whose firm Edwards Kirby is based in North Carolina, said it’s important to look at the situation “from altitude,” to see things from the sailors’ perspective. “These are American sailors, American employees serving their country, who were sent on American ships on international waters at the request of the Japanese government … their ally, which owns the majority of stock in defendant TepCo,” Edwards said. Edwards said that since the vast majority of the sailor-plaintiffs were stationed in San Diego and GE designed the nuclear reactors at its San Jose headquarters, the case belongs in California. “They want the case in Japan because they know it goes away; that’s clearly their strategy,” Edwards said. Bonner added that California has a vested interest in applying its own laws, including strict liability for defective products, and punitive damages to deter companies from selling defective products. He pointed out that one-sixth of the U.S. Navy is based in San Diego, with 69 Navy ships in San Diego Harbor. “(Japan’s) compensation act has not been applied to their own citizens, only businesses. Why should we speculate their compensation act will help our sailors? It will not,” Bonner said. Stone countered that Bonner was “simply wrong” in claiming that the Japanese nuclear damage compensation act had not benefited individual Japanese citizens. He said it is the conduct of defendants TepCo and GE – which occurred in Japan – and not the plaintiffs’ place of residence that should determine jurisdiction over the case. Sammartino indicated she will want further briefing from the attorneys before ruling on the motion to dismiss. Absorbed doses of ionising radiation are defined as an average of the energy that is transferred into large volumes of body tissue. This approach is valid for considering external exposures, like X-rays or natural gamma (cosmic rays) but not for situations where radioactive substances inside the body irradiate microscopic volume of tissue selectively. Particles of Uranium and Plutonium are examples; the range of their alpha emissions is so tiny that all the energy is concentrated into a few hundred cells. Some call this kind of situation “pinpoint radiation”. Using absorbed dose to assess the potential health damage is like a doctor examining a child whose skin is covered with small red marks. Now look, Mrs. Smith, I’m a doctor and I’m telling you even if your lodger does stub out his cigarette on little Nelly’s tummy there’s no problem because she absorbs very little energy from it. You give her a far bigger dose when you put in her a nice warm bath. The trick was pulled in the depths of World War 2, subverting the science of radiation protection in order to protect the Manhattan Project and the A-bomb; it has served to protect the nuclear industry ever since. Until the 1920s the main focus of radiation protection was external X-rays, but the Radium dial painters’ scandal made it obvious that internal effects needed specific investigation. This led to new standards determined by looking at the actual effects of radium in the dissected tissues of people. Radium is produced by the radioactive decay of natural Uranium. Its own radioactive decay emits alpha particles. Unlike X-rays and gamma rays, alphas have very little penetrating power so they are only hazardous once they’re inside the body. Even then they don’t travel far but the downside is that all their energy is deposited in a very small volume of cells. From the earliest years of the 20th century luminous Radium paint was applied to the faces of clocks, watches and compasses to make them glow in the dark. World War 1 boosted demand and through the following decades hundreds of girls and women were employed to paint dials and pointers with various brands of paint – Undark, Luna and Marvelite. They would routinely put the tips of their paint brushes between their lips to obtain a fine point for the trickier numerals. By 1923 it was clear that the Radium they thus ingested was causing dreadful, agonising and frequently fatal illnesses. Radium mostly lodges in bone, so the diseases affected the blood-forming function of the women’s bone marrow, leading to anaemia. Those with higher body burdens had ulcers and their bones were weakened to the point where vertebrae collapsed and legs would break spontaneously. The first deaths directly attributed to Radium Necrosis came in 1925. The inventor of the Undark brand died like his workers, his bone marrow destroyed and his hands, mouth and jaw bones eaten away. Court cases, compensation payments and improved workplace practices followed (a ban on licking brushes was the first) but for a decade and a half there were no mandatory exposure limits. By 1941 America was once more tooling up for industrialised warfare and the government was ordering large numbers of luminized instruments. By that time the global total of Radium extracted from the earth’s crust was only 1.5 kilograms but, already, the deaths of more than a hundred people were attributable to its processing and use. Officials insisted that safety standards be devised, including a tolerance limit for internal Radium. A committee of the National Bureau of Standards looked to a post mortem study of Radium dial painters and people who had been exposed to Radium through medical treatments. They saw that there were detectable injuries in all the bodies which contained a total of 1.2 micrograms of Radium but no injuries were discernible in those containing 0.5 micrograms or less. The committee settled on 0.1 micrograms as a cut-off. The history books show they knew this was a highly subjective stab in the dark. Since Radium decays to Radon gas officials were able to use Radon as an indicator for metering. From then on, Radium workers were required to breathe into an ion chamber which detected the radioactive decays of Radon and its own daughter, Polonium. An immediate change of occupation was recommended as soon as the level indicated that a worker’s body contained more than 0.1 micrograms of Radium. World War 2 was midwife to the principle of nuclear fission, a completely novel substance – Plutonium – and the possibility of a Plutonium-powered bomb. The Manhattan Project was set up to make Plutonium for the bomb in secret and in near total ignorance of its effects on health. It was known to be an alpha emitter so, for expediency, the standards for Radium were extended to Plutonium, modified by animal experiments comparing the effects of the two substances. All this – both the Radium standard and the Plutonium standard derived from it – was primitive science which had no way of detecting subtle lesions and cancers which may take decades to appear. The discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was still a decade away and for another 50 years no-one suspected the existence of epigenetic effects (genomic instability and the bystander effect). So the safety standards were unlikely to reflect long-term health effects but they did have the huge philosophical advantage of being rooted in reality; the Radium researchers had followed the essentially scientific principle of looking for a relationship between cause and effect. Maybe this was because they were medical practitioners, campaigners for workers’ rights and newspapers eager for the human interest angle on any story. Maybe their investigation enjoyed some liberty because the dial painting industry was owned privately, rather than by any government, and because at that time the fate of the “free” world did not seem to hang on the outcome. By 1944 everything had changed. Plutonium was being produced in significant amounts and any potential it might have to kill its own workforce now affected a top-level policy funded by a bottomless budget with the imperative of building the bomb before Stalin could. More crucially for the scientific principles of radiological safety, physicians were no longer in charge, but physicists. The agent of change was a British physicist, Herbert Parker, head of radiation protection at the Manhattan Project. His earlier career in British hospitals had made him familiar with X-rays and a kind of therapy that used Radium as an external source, confining it in tubes and placing it carefully to irradiate cancerous tissues. (This medical application had been tried as early as 1904, only six years after Radium was discovered. In marked contrast to the dial painters’ problems, it didn’t involve Radium becoming inextricably mingled with a patient’s bones.) Parker had a physics-based view; radiation was a single phenomenon, whether it came from an X-ray machine or a speck of Plutonium. As with light, where the physicist isn’t too interested in whether the source is a light bulb or the sun, Parker was concerned with how much energy the radiation delivered to the tissue of interest. The language here is of ergs, from the Greek for work. It is defined in dynes, the Greek for force; the units are physical – movement, velocity, grammes of mass, centimetres of length, seconds of time. Parker was one of the first to call himself a Health Physicist. In his world there was no call for a bedside manner. Using his physicist’s approach, Parker shifted the focus from direct investigation of the effects of specific substances onto a new concept – radiation dose – which he could apply to radiation from any source and all sources, providing a way to assess workers’ total exposure to all the novel nuclides the Manhattan Project was now creating. He defined a unit of dose in ergs per gramme of tissue and called it the Roentgen Equivalent Physical, or rep. Its very name betrays the mindset; Wilhelm Roentgen was the discoverer of X-rays (for a long time they were called Roentgen rays). The source of X-rays is always outside the body, so we can see the understanding of dose, and hence risk, was now to be based on an external paradigm. The first limit for Plutonium in the body based on Parker’s dose model was set at 0.01 reps per day, a quantity which exactly matched the energy deposition from the old tolerance limit of 0.1 microgramme of Radium. No change there then. What did change was that instead of the empirical scientific inquiry based on actual tissue damage and instead of the tentative subjectivity of the 1941 Standards Bureau Committee’s decision on a Radium level, the new model gave an impression of mathematical precision, certainty and universal applicability. This was the new, square-jawed and confident nuclear era where bombs of unimaginable power would biff the Red Menace into oblivion and unlimited atomic energy would fuel everything in a world of peace and plenty. Any risk model needs two types of data – for exposure and for effect. Unfortunately, there were no reliable data even for X-rays despite 50 years’ experience. There was too much variability in the machines and the conditions in which they were used; doses were largely unknowable and many of the long-term effects had yet to emerge. But after 1945 the surviving people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki provided the authorities with a fresh opportunity. Funded and controlled by America, data on the survivors’ health was gathered (as it still is) in what have become known as the Life Span Studies or LSS. A full analysis of the flaws in the LSS is beyond me. As far as studying internal radioactivity is concerned the flaw is fatal; the control population providing the base-line of expected rates of disease, to be compared with disease in the exposed population, was recruited from the bombed cities themselves – they had either been outside the city when the bomb fell, or in some other way were shielded from the flash of the explosion. The “exposed” population consisted of people who had been in the open and so received a large dose of external gamma rays. But both groups ingested and inhaled just as much fallout as each other, so the LSS are totally silent on internal radiation. The only difference between them was the external irradiation. LSS nevertheless is the basis of radiation protection standards all over the world to this day for both external and internal. I feel like a father who is ashamed of his children. In 1950, American influence revived the International X-ray and Radium Protection Committee (IXRPC), which had been dormant during the war. In fact only two of its members were still alive and one of those was an American who was Chairman of the American NCRP. But needs must, and an international body would probably look more credible than a unilateral American one, so IXRPC was reborn as the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). In reality ICRP was just an overseas branch of the NCRP and in 1953 it adopted the NCRP report wholesale. An epilogue is a short speech at the end of a play. In the case of this drama it’s hard to be brief. I’ll give two snapshots – one is global, the other is a family tragedy. In 1986 the accident at Chernobyl spread fallout round the whole planet and millions of people inhaled and ingested it. Thousands of published reports from Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, Greece, Germany, Britain, and even as far west as the Californian coast show a wide range of post-accident health effects not predicted by ICRP’s model. In 2007 ICRP adopted new Recommendations in which there is a single reference to one study of Chernobyl. It’s a paper on thyroid cancer. They cite it for the sole purpose of establishing that it’s so hard to be sure what doses the patients had got from the fallout that the accident can tell us nothing useful. ICRP clings so hard to the dogma of dose that they are willing to rob the human race of the chance to learn about the results of the worst ever reactor accident (I wrote this before Fukushima). This is one among millions of similar stories, but enough detailed information has leaked out to let us learn from it. In May 2007 The Guardian (linked here or here) and The Times carried reports of a Cumbrian woman’s shock at finding out what had happened to her father 36 years earlier. Angela Christie’s father, Malcolm Pattinson, died of leukaemia in 1971. He was 36 years old and he worked at Sellafield. Or he had worked there; the Times reported that by the time he died he had been off work for 18 months because his wife feared for his health. As soon as he was dead his employers made frantic efforts to obtain organs and bones from his body. The local coroner, doctors and solicitors were involved but the family was neither consulted nor informed. In 1979, after a long battle during which the employers admitted liability, an out-of-court settlement brought Mr. Pattinson’s widow and daughters compensation payments variously reported as £52000 and £67000. All this happened when Malcolm’s daughter Angela was in her teens. She grew up and went to work at Sellafield like her father. She married and had three children of her own. Then she read in a newspaper that her father had been one of many men in the industry whose organs had been harvested for radiological research. She asked for the legal papers and received several boxes full. They’re quite shocking, which may indicate why Mr Pattinson’s employers were so interested in snatching his body parts. His liver contained 673 times as much Plutonium as the average for a sample of Cumbrians who had not worked in the nuclear industry and his lungs had well over 7000 times as much. His liver had 53 times the amount of Plutonium found in the most contaminated of the nuclear workers in other reports and his lungs had 42 times as much. Mr. Pattinson’s body burden was far greater than any other worker data I have seen. I conclude that he had either been involved in an accident or had been working in an unacceptably dirty environment. Either would be a scandal, but the far wider scandal is that the industry and the government would not see even those monstrous levels as a likely cause of his death. From the data published in the Guardian I calculated the radiation dose Mr. Pattinson received from his body burden of Plutonium. Using the same methods as the ICRP I worked out the annual dose at 26 milliSieverts. That’s about ten times the usual (bogus) yardstick of natural background but it would have been nothing very remarkable in the early 1970s. Even today, when standards are more cautious, employers would still not be breaking the law by exposing a worker to such a dose so long as it wasn’t for more than one year in five. ICRP’s risk estimates would not predict that a 26mSv dose would cause Mr. Pattinson’s leukaemia, in just the same way as they do not predict the cluster of childhood leukaemia at Seascale, next door to Sellafield — the doses are far too low. According to ICRP, if Mr. Pattinson was going to die of any cancer, the chance that it would be caused by the Plutonium in his body was only 1.3 in a 1000. To the person in the street the idea that fatal leukaemia in a young man is 770 times more likely to be caused by bad luck, bad genes, bad diet, smoking, a virus or an act of God than by the acts of an employer who contaminated him heavily with a bone-seeking, alpha-emitting radionuclide may seem insane. It is insane. It is insane in the way Dr. Strangelove was insane; the logic is impeccable but the theoretical premises are wrong. The good news is that growing numbers of scientists are recognising that ICRP is in error. These include Jack Valentin, the man who recently retired as ICRP’s Scientific Secretary. The 2005 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection: Draft for Consultation were published in late 2004. The final version has not been published at the date of writing (early November 2006) and ICRP tells us publication has in fact been set back by the IRSN’s report on the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR). The ICRP 2004 draft contains many statements revealing the incomplete state of knowledge of radiation risk. Many of them have been watered down in the 2006 draft or have disappeared altogether. Here we reproduce extracts from the 2004 draft which confirm the validity of our long-standing concerns about heterogeneity of energy distribution. The ICRP’s response to heterogeneity is to employ assumptions. Most are individually questionable and when taken together, as they must be, they are simply not acceptable as a system of radiation protection. The upshot is that “dose” is an effectively meaningless term yet the industry’s regulators have no other terms with which to assess and quantify risks. Reassurances about “trivial doses” are revealed as empty. (37) The relationship between radiation exposures and health effects is complex. The physical processes linking exposure and doses in human tissues involve energy transport at the molecular level. The biological links between this energy deposition and the resulting health effects involve molecular changes in cells. In Publication 60 (ICRP, 1991) , the Commission recognised that the gross (macroscopic) quantities used in radiological protection omitted consideration of the discontinuous nature of the physical and biological processes of ionisation. However, it concluded that their use was justified empirically by the observation that the gross quantities (with adjustments for different types of radiation) correlate reasonably well with the resulting biological effects. It further recognised that more use might eventually be made of other quantities based on the statistical distribution of events in a small volume of material, corresponding to the dimensions of biological entities such as the nucleus of the cell or its DNA. Meanwhile, for practical reasons, the Commission continues to use the macroscopic quantities. (42) […] At the low doses generally of concern in radiological protection, the fluctuation of energy imparted can be substantial between individual cells and within a single hit cell. This is the case particularly for densely ionising radiations such as alpha-particles and charged particles from neutron interactions. (44) Absorbed dose is defined based on the expectation value of the stochastic quantity e, energy imparted, and therefore does not consider the random fluctuation of the interaction events. It is defined at any point in matter and, in principle, is a measurable quantity, i.e. it can be determined experimentally and by computation. The definition of absorbed dose has the scientific rigour required for a fundamental quantity. It takes implicitly account of the radiation field as well as of all of its interactions inside and outside the specified volume. It does not, however, consider the atomic structure of matter and the stochastic nature of the interactions. (46) For densely ionising radiation (charged particles from neutrons and alpha-particles) and low doses of low LET radiation, the frequency of events in most cells is zero, in a few it is one and extremely exceptionally more than one. The value of energy imparted in most individual cells is then zero but in the hit cells it will exceed the mean value by orders of magnitude. These large differences in the energy deposition distribution in microscopic regions for different types (and energies) of radiation have been related to observed differences in biological effectiveness or radiation quality. (47) In the definition of radiological protection quantities no attempts are made to specify these stochastic distributions at a microscopic level. Even the quality factor used in the definition of operational quantities is dependent on LET only which also is a non stochastic quantity. Instead a pragmatic and empirical approach has been adopted to take account of radiation quality differences – and therefore implicitly also of the differences in distributions of energy imparted in microscopic regions – by defining radiation weighting factors. The selection of these factors is mainly a judgement based on the results of radiobiological experiments. (48) While absorbed dose is defined to give a specific value (averaged in time) at any point in matter, averaging of doses over larger tissue volumes is often performed when using the quantity absorbed dose in practical applications, as in radiological protection. It is especially assumed for stochastic effects at low doses that such a mean value can be correlated with the risk of a detriment to this tissue with sufficient accuracy. The averaging of absorbed dose and the summing of mean doses in different organs and tissues of the human body, as given in the definition of all the protection quantities, is only possible under the assumption of a linear dose-response relationship with no threshold (LNT). All protection quantities rely on these hypotheses. (49) Protection quantities are based on the averaging of absorbed dose over the volume of a specified organ or tissue. The extent to which the average absorbed dose in an organ is representative of the absorbed dose in all regions of the organ depends on a number of factors. For external radiation exposure, this depends on the degree of penetration of the radiation incident on the body. For penetrating radiation (photons, neutrons) , the absorbed dose distribution within a specified organ may be sufficiently homogeneous and thus the average absorbed dose is a meaningful measure of the absorbed dose throughout the organ or tissue. For radiation with low penetration or limited range (low-energy photons, charged particles) as well as for widely distributed organs (e.g. bone marrow) exposed to non-uniform radiation flux, the absorbed dose distribution within the specified organ may be very heterogeneous. (50) For radiations emitted by radionuclides residing within the organ or tissue, so-called internal emitters, the absorbed dose distribution in the organ depends on the penetration and range of the radiations and the homogeneity of the activity distribution within the organs or tissues. The absorbed dose distribution for radionuclides emitting alpha particles, soft beta particles, low-energy photons, and Auger electrons may be highly heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is especially significant if radionuclides emitting low-range radiation are deposited in particular parts of organs or tissues, e.g. plutonium on bone surface or radon daughters in bronchial mucosa and epithelia. In such situations the organ-averaged absorbed dose may not be a good dose quantity for estimating the stochastic damage. The applicability of the concept of average organ dose and effective dose may, therefore, need to be examined critically in such cases and sometimes empirical and pragmatic procedures must be applied. ICRP has developed dosimetric models for the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract and the skeleton that take account of the distribution of radionuclides and the location of sensitive cells in the calculation of average absorbed dose to these tissues. It seems perverse that having admitted so many flaws in the concept of absorbed dose ICRP simply continues to use it. “Various questions raised by the ECRR are quite pertinent and led IRSN to analyze this document with a pluralistic approach. a. Besides natural and medical exposures, populations are basically undergoing low dose and low dose rate prolonged internal exposures. But the possible health consequences under such exposure conditions are ill-known. Failing statistically significant observations, the health consequences of low dose exposures are extrapolated from data concerning exposures that involve higher dose rates and doses. Also, few epidemiologic data could be analyzed for assessing inner exposure effects. The risks were thus assessed from health consequences observed after external exposure, considering that effects were identical, whether the exposure source is located outside or inside the human body. However, the intensity, or even the type of effects might be different. b. The pertinence of dosimetric values used for quantifying doses may be questioned. Indeed, the factors applied for risk management values are basically relying on the results from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors’ monitoring. It is thus not ensured that the numerical values of these factors translate the actual risk, regardless of exposure conditions, and especially after low dose internal exposure. “The phenomena concerning internal contamination by radionuclides are complex because they involve numerous physico-chemical, biochemical and physiological mechanisms, still ill-known and thus difficult to model. Due to this complexity, the behaviour of radionuclides in the organism is often ill described and it is difficult to accurately define a relationship between the dose delivered by radionuclides and the observed consequences on health. This led the radioprotection specialists to mostly use the dose/risk relationships derived from the study of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki survivors, exposed in conditions very different from those met in the cases of internal contaminations. This fact raises numerous questions, which should be considered with caution because a wide part of the public exposure in some areas of the world is due to chronic internal contaminations and very few data concern these situations. IRSN’s statements are a bizarre double standard; they have agreed with ECRR’s criticisms of the ICRP system, which on that basis can itself be described as “not meet[ing] the criteria of a strict and consistent scientific approach” (as IRSN demands of ECRR). IRSN’s subsequent call for more research may be only what is expected of scientists, but such research would take years. Policy makers and stakeholders engaged in decommissioning have to make decisions now. … There are important concerns with respect to the heterogeneity of dose delivery within tissues and cells from short-range charged particle emissions, the extent to which current models adequately represent such interactions with biological targets, and the specification of target cells at risk. Indeed, the actual concepts of absorbed dose become questionable, and sometimes meaningless, when considering interactions at the cellular and molecular levels. from CERRIE (Government’s Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters) Majority Report Chapter 2 Risks from Internal Emitters Part 2 paragraph 11. See http://www.cerrie.org for full report. The next day, Deputy Director of Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten, Carl-Magnus Larsson also said the ICRP model could not be used to predict the health consequences of accidents. He added that for elements like Strontium and Uranium which bind to DNA national authorities would have the responsibility to assess the risks. Another SRM member said that the Secondary Photoelectron Effect was well recognised, also that in 1977 the ICRP had considered a weighting factor ”n” for elements which bind to DNA but had not implemented it. The Greenpeace supporters then filmed themselves while setting off fireworks at the plant to protest France’s heavy dependence on nuclear energy. Greenpeace spokesman Yannick Rousselet said the activists had managed to get within 100 meters (109 yards) of open pools of nuclear waste. The group said it staged the divisive stunt in order to highlight to highlight the facility’s vulnerability to attacks in addition to calls for better protection against nuclear waste. France’s state-owned energy giant EDF, which operates the Cattenom nuclear power station, said that the Greenpeace effort had failed to flag any shortcomings in safety issues, stressing that the environmental activists had been detained eight minutes after entering the site, ensuring the security of the power station as well as their own. Olivier Lamarre, deputy head of EDF’s French nuclear division, said that the Greenpeace activists were cooperative and did not resist arrest. In a tweet, EDF also highlighted that the activists had failed to reach Cattenom’s so-called “nuclear zone,” located behind a third barrier. Greenpeace had published a report ahead of the stunt saying the spent-fuel pools of EDF’s nuclear reactors were highly vulnerable as their confinement walls were not designed with malicious attacks in mind. EDF, however, denied that there were any such risks, stressing that the pools with nuclear waste had been designed to withstand earthquakes and flooding as well as terror attacks. The arrests and potential legal consequences after the security breach at Cattenom did not deter Greenpeace from staging a similar publicity stunt just weeks later: police arrested 22 activists on November 28 after entering the Cruas-Meysse nuclear plant in France’s southeastern Ardeche region, which is also operated by EDF. Greenpeace said that the activists were once again trying to point out a lack of safety precautions around spent nuclear fuel pools. France is one of the world’s most nuclear-dependent country, with 58 reactors providing 75 percent of the country’s electricity. The country hosts a total of 63 spent-fuel pools. Environmentalists have long questioned the safety of France’s vast nuclear network, but around a third of all reactors in the country are set to be closed by 2025 under current government plans. Public support of nuclear power has fallen in line with other European countries the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant in 2011. …..For the UK to fulfill international standards on nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation once it leaves the EU, the existing legislative framework must be amended, with a new regime set out in new secondary legislation, it says. In the absence of amending frameworks and work to implement new safeguards measures, the UK would be without an effective nuclear safeguards regime, it adds. “This scenario is the relevant counter-factual for policy appraisal given the decision to leave Euratom has already been taken and domestic safeguards appraised here are not dependent on the future relationship with the EU. However, we have also included a counter-factual of ’current Euratom regime’ to compare impacts relative to the current regime under Euratom. The UK’s withdrawal from Euratom has already been triggered so this is only included as baseline for consistency with other EU exit related measures where legislation may be dependent on the negotiated outcomes on future relationship with the EU,” it says. Two core options have been considered. The first is to adopt domestic standards of nuclear safeguards of broad equivalence to those adopted by Euratom, which BEIS says would ensure that sites to which safeguards apply remain subject to detailed oversight and that the UK continues to maintain the highest standards of nuclear safeguards. On the second option, which fulfils nuclear safeguards standards, without replicating Euratom’s standards, BEIS says that all civil nuclear facilities to which safeguards apply would remain subject to a robust safeguards regime. “This option would however entail a reduction in the frequency and intensity of inspection at UK nuclear facilities, while still maintaining compatibility with IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] standards,” it says. David Wagstaff, deputy director of the Euratom exit at BEIS, told a conference last month that the “parliamentary balance” on the Bill’s passage through Parliament is “quite a delicate one at the moment”. If all goes to plan, however, the Bill will receive Royal Assent early this year, he added. The ONR and BEIS are working “hand-in-hand” and this project is “going at pace”, with recruitment and IT procurement in process….. Not since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 has the United States threatened a nuclear attack against a nuclear-armed country as flatly as Donald Trump is doing now, says Daniel Ellsberg, the man who orchestrated the release of the the Pentagon Papers in 1971. This prognostication from the long-time peace activist and long-ago military analyst comes a few minutes into a wide-ranging conversation about The Post, a film about the Pentagon Papers and The Doomsday Machine, his most recent book, about America’s nuclear arsenal. “We may very well be in the first … two-sided nuclear war any day: Tomorrow, or next week,” Mr. Ellsberg tells The Globe and Mail over the phone from his Berkeley, Calif., home. While the particularly bellicose temperaments of Mr. Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un are popularly blamed for this bleak state of affairs, Mr. Ellsberg sees a historic context for them. The policies of Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim may be mad, but they are no more so than NATO’s approach to the Cold War – which would have seen nuclear attacks on the Soviet Union and China rather than let Europe fall to the communist hordes – or Fidel Castro’s approach during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when he told his Soviet patrons a pre-emptive attack on the United States would be a good idea. It’s the coincidence of timing that makes The Doomsday Machine so prescient: As Mr. Ellsberg reveals in the book, the Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam War were not the only documents he copied and secreted out of the U.S. Department of Defense. He also took a massive cache of information related to the U.S. nuclear program but opted not to leak it immediately so as not to distract from the Vietnam revelations. Mr. Ellsberg gave the nuclear documents to his brother, Harry, who hid them in an upstate New York garbage dump, whence they were washed away by a tropical storm. Only decades later – following a trial, years of anti-nuclear activism and a memoir about the Pentagon Papers – did Mr. Ellsberg return to the project that would become The Doomsday Machine. As chance would have it, The Post, too, lands at a time when its decades-old story about a newspaper battling a press-hating White House to publish leaked inside information is as relevant as ever. He particularly fears that the Trump administration will start indicting reporters. Mr. Ellsberg also sees an ever-relevant theme in Katharine Graham, The Washington Post’s then-publisher, battling sexism as she stares down the Nixon administration. As its Dr. Strangelove-inspired title suggests, The Doomsday Machine‘s premise is that the United States’ nuclear arsenal is so extensive and so quickly launchable that using much of it would guarantee the end of life on Earth. Even a “limited” nuclear confrontation with North Korea would still leave millions dead within days, a level of carnage without precedent. More alarming still, Mr. Ellsberg discovered while a Pentagon contractor in the 1960s that the ability to order a nuclear strike was delegated to a surprisingly large number of military personnel – on the theory that someone would have to be able to retaliate in the event Washington was obliterated by America’s enemies. The Soviets had a similar system, known as “the Dead Hand.” Ellsberg contends this state of affairs hasn’t changed, and must be the same in Pyongyang. The way out of the impasse, he contends, is what it has always been: Negotiations with Pyongyang that would offer trade and normalized relations for a freeze on the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and hydrogen bombs. If that doesn’t work, the United States would have to live with Mr. Kim as it lived with previous nuclear-armed dictators. “To think that Kim Jong-un is crazier or more ruthless than Stalin or Mao, there’s no basis for that. … There’s no indication he can’t be deterred from using [the bomb] unless he’s about to be attacked,” he says. In his book, Mr. Ellsberg documents how – from Robert McNamara, the defense secretary under whom Mr. Ellsberg worked, to Mr. Obama – generations of politicians have tried and largely failed to decrease the risk posed by the country’s nuclear arsenal. Among the problems, he argues, is that the military is so tightly enmeshed with the economy that any attempt to dial it back faces resistance from Congress. While the topicality of book and film make Mr. Ellsberg, at 86, as relevant a figure as ever, surely it must be aggravating that the battles he fought more than 40 years ago remain unresolved. The head of the Ecolo-Groen faction in the House of Representatives of the Belgian Parliament, Jean-Marc Nollé, claims that Belgium holds the world record for the time of inactivity of nuclear reactors at its nuclear power plants, newspaper Le Soir reports. The parliamentarian reacted very emotionally to the halt during the whole winter of one of the reactors of the Dul nuclear power plant. According to him, Belgium has a sad world record for unscheduled stops of nuclear power plants – 25%. According to Nolle, Belgium is ahead of this indicator by Iran and the Czech Republic, where the figures are respectively 13.5% and 8.8%. He accused the operator of Belgian nuclear power plants, Electrabel company in disregard for the security of citizens and adherence to outdated and dangerous technologies. He got rid of him and local politicians who shy away from answering these questions. The leader of the Greens urged to quickly get rid of Belgium from nuclear power plants, noting that the problem with the Dul nuclear power plant could drag on for a long time. The third reactor of the Belgian nuclear power plant “Dul” was stopped from September 2017 – first for preventive works. Then it turned out that the concrete of the bunker located in the non-nuclear zone of the nuclear power plant is crumbling, where emergency pumps and diesel generators are located. After the nuclear accident in 2011, Daisuke Shimizu began documenting scenes in Fukushima Prefecture, the place where he was born, using time-lapse photography. Shimizu visits locations on the coast, including communities to which evacuated residents have recently been given permission to return and rebuild their lives. In short videos that combine many photographs, Shimizu documents change in a unique way. What glimmers of hope does he reveal in the poignant beauty of the Fukushima landscape? ……Edward White in Taipei January 2, 2018 6 Taiwan is forging ahead with an ambitious plan to revamp its electricity mix despite fears about energy security, as pressure builds on the government to tackle worsening air pollution. The government has faced growing calls to tackle the toxic smog that blights many parts of Taiwan — thousands took to the streets last month to protest against coal-fired power. The government aims to lift renewables’ share of Taiwan’s power mix from 6 per cent to 20 per cent over the next seven years via construction of offshore wind farms and solar installations, and to reduce carbon emissions to 20 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030….. The Japanese government is poised to guarantee the full amount of loans that three megabanks will extend for a nuclear plant construction project in Britain by Hitachi Ltd., sources familiar with the project said. A group of banks, including the three megabanks and the government-affiliated Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), will extend approximately 1.5 trillion yen in loans to Hitachi’s atomic power station project. Of the amount, the government will fully guarantee loans to be extended by the megabanks, while the governmental Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) will support the project by making capital investments. Chubu Electric Power Co. and other utilities are also considering investing in the project. The state will thus join hands with the private sector in extending all-out support for the project to export a nuclear plant worth some 3 trillion yen. However, concerns have been raised that if the project were to run into the red, taxpayers could be forced to shoulder the burden. The project to be covered with loans and investments is an atomic power station that a Hitachi subsidiary in Britain is aiming to build in Anglesey, Britain. The firm hopes to start operations at the plant in the mid-2020s. Hitachi Ltd. is poised to make a final decision on whether to invest in the project by the end of fiscal 2019. However, Hitachi is consulting with the Japanese and British governments and financial institutions over loans, their guarantees and investment on the grounds that the electronics giant alone cannot take risks. Japanese financial institutions and the governmental Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) offered in December last year to extend financial assistance for the project. According to the sources, Hitachi estimates the total cost of the project at about 3 trillion yen. Hitachi aims to obtain about 1.5 trillion yen in loans to cover half of the amount while raising another 1.5 trillion yen through investments. Each of the three megabanks — the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. — intend to extend loans of more than 100 billion yen, totaling some 500 billion yen. NEXI will guarantee the loans. Hitachi intends to obtain the reminder of the loans from the JBIC and commercial financial institutions in Britain. The DBJ has notified Hitachi of its intention to make capital investments in the atomic power station project, while Chubu Electric Power and Japan Atomic Power Co. are also considering investing in the venture. Hitachi has also asked other utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co. and trading houses to invest in the project in a bid to disperse risks involving the project. The British government, which is speeding up the construction of nuclear plants, also intends to invest in the project, and Japanese and British Cabinet ministers in charge of energy policy exchanged a memorandum on cooperation in December last year. The profitability of nuclear plant construction has been worsening all over the world due to an increase in the costs of ensuring safety since the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in March 2011, contributing to the financial crisis of Toshiba Corp., another electronics giant. Nevertheless, the government intends to extend all-out support for the project. “It’s essential to win a contract on the British project in order to maintain Japan’s nuclear technology,” said a high-ranking official of the Economy, Trade and Industry. While a nuclear detonation is unlikely, it would have devastating results and there would be limited time to take critical protection steps. Despite the fear surrounding such an event, planning and preparation can lessen deaths and illness. For instance, most people don’t realize that sheltering in place for at least 24 hours is crucial to saving lives and reducing exposure to radiation. While federal, state, and local agencies will lead the immediate response efforts, public health will play a key role in responding. Join us for this session of Grand Rounds to learn what public health programs have done on a federal, state, and local level to prepare for a nuclear detonation. Learn how planning and preparation efforts for a nuclear detonation are similar and different from other emergency response planning efforts. Non-CDC staff must have prior security clearance. US citizens must submit a request to the Grand Rounds Team. A US state-issued photo ID (e.g., driver’s license, US passport) is required. Non-US citizens must submit their requests 20 days prior to the session to the Grand Rounds Team, and additional information will be required. It is the policy of CDC to provide reasonable accommodations (RA) for qualified individuals with disabilities to ensure their full inclusion in CDC-sponsored events. Employees are asked to submit RA requests at least 5 business days prior to the event. Please e-mail the request to [email protected]. Feel free to e-mail your questions before or during the session. Grand Rounds is available for continuing education. All continuing education credit for Public Health Grand Rounds (PHGR) is issued online through the CDC/ATSDR Training and Continuing Education Online system. If you have questions, you can email Learner Support or call them at 1-800-41-TRAIN (1-800-418-7246). Those who view PHGR and wish to receive continuing education must complete the online seminar evaluation. Continuing education will be available for up to 2 years and 1 month after the initial offering. The course code for all PHGR sessions is PHGR10. PLYMOUTH — Operators manually shut down Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station shortly at 2 p.m. after one of the two main 345-volt lines that provide off site power to the plant “became unavailable,” according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan. “There have been no complications with the shutdown thus far,” Sheehan wrote in an email to the Times. The emergency generators were fired up to power cooling and other emergency systems functioning, even though the second 345-volt line, along with a smaller line, from offsite have remained in service. Patrick O’Brien, a spokesman for Entergy Corp., Pilgrim’s owner and operator, said plant managers decided to use the diesel generators for safety systems because of their reliability. Plant watchdogs had been calling on federal regulators to order Pilgrim’s reactor shut down since yesterday, when strong winds and flooding were forecast. The NRC left it to Pilgrim’s management, along with three federal inspectors onsite at the plant, to make the call. O’Brien had said late yesterday there were no plans to power down the reactor in anticipation of storm-related problems. Mary Lampert, president of Pilgrim Watch, said her group had asked federal regulators to order the reactor shut down as a pre-emptive measure. “My concern was flooding, the high winds, the water, everything,” Lampert said shortly after the reactor was manually powered down. A January blizzard in 2015 resulted in an emergency shutdown that was accompanied by a number of system problems. Those storm-related difficulties pushed Pilgrim into Column 4, as one of the country’s worst performing reactors. CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.–Westinghouse Electric, the U.S. nuclear unit of embattled Japanese electronics giant Toshiba, has been acquired in a deal valued at about out $4.6 billion. Westinghouse Electric Co. declared bankruptcy protection early last year, leaving a number of nuclear projects in limbo. The acquisition by Brookfield Business Partners LP on Thursday comes one day after an agreement tying up loose ends from two failed nuclear reactors in South Carolina. South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. abandoned construction reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. Thousands were left jobless in the wake of the $9 billion failure, which was blamed by owners on the plight of Westinghouse, the lead contractor. A deal proposed Wednesday could mean $1.3 billion in refunds for utility customers affected by the failed project. The nuclear industry has struggled both because of the tremendous cost of building massive reactors and the accelerating shift to other forms of energy like natural gas and alternative energy, like solar. The industry, and Toshiba in particular, has been subjected tighter regulatory control following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan. Toshiba has been dumping assets to cover for its disastrous immersion into nuclear power, a play it saw once as a safe infrastructure investment, free of the seasonal fluctuations of the power generation industry. Technology in both fracking, a form of drilling, and alternative energy, has upended the power sector. Westinghouse said Thursday that the deal with Brookfield doesn’t involve cash, but includes the assumption of a number of pension, environmental and operating obligations. The agreement, pending the approval of bankruptcy court, is expected to close in the third quarter. Former IOP Executive Director Steve Edwards will moderateThe threat of nuclear war is once again in the news. Fears about the potential use of nuclear weapons have reanimated public debate in ways not seen since the Cold War. To further understand how decisions about nuclear weapons are made by world leaders and institutions, the Division of the Social Sciences, the Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST), and the Institute of Politics (IOP) are cosponsoring a January 29 panel titled “A Safer or a More Dangerous World? Nuclear Weapons in Today’s Global Community.” The event, to be held in Regenstein Library Room 122 from 5:30-7:00 PM, is an extension of the University-wide Nuclear Reactions series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the first controlled atomic chain reaction. the event joins UChicago international relations scholars to offer different viewpoints on military decisions, the role of nuclear arms in the formation of alliances, and aids and obstacles to non-proliferation efforts. “It’s important to think systematically about the international system, about how countries interact with each other, and what would lead them to think that nuclear weapons are a useful thing to have,” Poast says. In addition to Poast, panelists will include Austin Carson, Assistant Professor of Political Science; Paige P. Cone, CPOST’s Nuclear Proliferation Fellow; Robert Pape, Professor of Political Science and Director of CPOST; and Paul Staniland, Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Committee on International Relations (CIR). Steve Edwards, Chief Content Officer of WBEZ and former executive director of the Institute of Politics (IOP), will moderate. Poast stresses that despite the daunting scale of the nuclear weapons threat and the global problems it presents, the work of researchers like those on the panel can help people better understand the implications for society today and in the future. “The goal is to give people a new way to think about things,” he says. In a paper published early in his career, Robert Pape challenged the conventional wisdom that dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the key to the Japanese surrender that ended World War II. He suggested instead that Japan’s ability to continue fighting was most threatened by the Soviet Union’s declaration of war (on August 9, the same day as the bombing of Nagasaki), and by the United States’ sea blockade and capture of Okinawa. Pape argued further that while the nuclear bombs’ devastation was massive, the Japanese had already suffered intense conventional bombing and had not surrendered. Cone’s research extends beyond sanctions to include other forms of economic or military coercion as well. A recent item she published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists explained her finding that previous uses of so-called “negative inducements” have not produced good results. “If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, insanity is an apt description of US sanctions policy against North Korea,” Cone wrote. According to Cone, 39 states have pursued nuclear weapons. Of those, Cone determined that offering positive inducements was a more reliable method of intervening to prevent a country from becoming a nuclear power, and was successful in reversing at least 11 countries’ nuclear ambitions. Today, nine countries are considered nuclear states, including North Korea. Part of Poast’s research centers around one of those inducements — membership in international security alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Although a key function of NATO was to limit the Soviet Union’s influence in Europe during the Cold War, Poast’s research suggests that the alliance also thrived as a way for the United States to enforce nuclear non-proliferation. “You can’t avoid the fact that nuclear politics provide the rationale for NATO,” Poast says. “Once you view NATO’s role in the context of nuclear weapons, you realize that the end of the Cold War did not in any way make NATO obsolete.” In fact, Poast believes NATO became even more important as a tool of non-proliferation in the 1990s, when the Iron Curtain fell and Eastern European states might have pursued nuclear weapons. Austin Carson also examines the influence of international organizations in nuclear politics. The 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and its enforcement arm, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have played an increasingly important role in combatting nuclear programs, particularly since the first Gulf war in Iraq. Carson’s work looks at secrecy and transparency between states and international organizations. He has previously studied covert military and intelligence operations as a kind of face-saving communication among states. His current project examines why decisions are made not to communicate secret information, particularly when countries have intelligence that could cause an acceleration of nuclear programs. “We’ve known that…if you tell everyone about [a state’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons], you marshal international pressure that’s going to make that proliferating country or that violator more likely to come come back from the brink and reverse what they’re doing,” Carson says. But examining newly declassified documents from US intelligence archives, he found that there are often situations in which government and military officials did not think publicity would produce a positive outcome. Poast says Paul Staniland’s perspective will help the panel address the regional impacts of nuclear weapons programs. Staniland, whose work has been on insurgencies and violence in South and Southeast Asia, has recently shed light on broader South Asian foreign policy questions, including the way nuclear weapons factor into smaller-scale conflicts between Pakistan and India like the resurgent violence in Kashmir last year. Staniland recently coauthored a paper that considers the domestic political implications of India’s nuclear policy and the role played by other regional nuclear powers like Pakistan and China.

2019-04-20T16:39:26Z

https://nuclear-news.net/2018/01/05/

An ESD protection circuit is provided. The circuit includes a discharging component, a diode, and an ESD detection circuit. The discharging component is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC. The diode is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the second power line. The ESD detection circuit includes a capacitor, a resistor, and a triggering component. The capacitor and the resistor are formed in series and coupled between the first power line and the second power line. The triggering component has a positive power end coupled to the input/output pad and a negative power end coupled to the first power line. An input of the triggering component is coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor. 1. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising:a discharging component, coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC;a diode coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the second power line; andan ESD detection circuit, comprising:a capacitor and a resistor formed in series and coupled between the first power line and the second power line; anda triggering component, having a positive power end coupled to the input/output pad and a negative power end coupled to the first power line; an input of the triggering component being coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor;wherein the discharging component is turned off during normal power operations, and triggered by a output of the triggering component in an ESD event. 2. The ESD protection circuit of claim 1, wherein the discharging component is a gate-driven NMOS, a gate-grounded NMOS, an NMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, an NPN BJT, or a P-type substrate-triggered SCR. 3. The ESD protection circuit of claim 1, wherein the triggering component is an inverter, an M-input NAND with all inputs coupled together, or an N-input NOR with all inputs coupled together; M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. 4. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising:a discharging component, coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC;a diode coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the input/output pad; andan ESD detection circuit, comprising:a capacitor and a resistor formed in series and coupled between the first power line and the second power line; anda triggering component, having a positive power end coupled to the first power line and a negative power end coupled to the input/output pad; an input of the triggering component being coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor;wherein the discharging component is turned off during normal power operations and triggered by an output of the triggering component in an ESD event. 5. The ESD protection circuit of claim 4, wherein the discharging component is a gate-driven PMOS, a gate-VDD PMOS, a PMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, a PNP BJT, or a N-type substrate-triggered SCR. 6. The ESD protection circuit of claim 4, wherein the triggering component comprises one selected from the group consisting of: two inverters coupled in series, an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NAND, and an M-input NOR coupled in series with an N-input NOR, or an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NOR, wherein the M inputs are coupled with each other, the N inputs are coupled with each other, M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. 7. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising:a first discharging component, coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC;a second discharging component, coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC;an ESD detection circuit, comprising:a capacitor and a resistor formed in series and coupled between the first power line and the second power line;a first triggering component, having a first positive power end coupled to the input/output pad and a first negative power end coupled to the first power line; a first input of the first triggering component being coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor, anda second triggering component, having a second positive power end coupled to the second power line and a second negative power end coupled to the input/output pad; a second input of the second triggering component being coupled to the node between the capacitor and the resistor;wherein the first and the second discharging components are turned off during normal power operations; the first discharging component is triggered by a first output of the first triggering component in a first ESD event, and the second discharging component is triggered by a second output of the second triggering component in a second ESD event. 8. The ESD protection circuit of claim 7, wherein the first discharging component is a gate-driven NMOS, a gate-grounded NMOS, an NMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, an NPN BJT, or a P-type substrate-triggered SCR. 9. The ESD protection circuit of claim 7, wherein the second discharging component is a gate-driven PMOS, a gate-VDD PMOS, a PMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, a PNP BJT, or a N-type substrate-triggered SCR. 10. The ESD protection circuit of claim 7, wherein the first triggering component is an inverter, an M-input NAND with all inputs coupled together, or an N-input NOR with all inputs coupled together, M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. 11. The ESD protection circuit of claim 7, wherein the second triggering component comprises one selected from the group consisting of: two inverters coupled in series, an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NAND, and an M-input NOR coupled in series with an N-input NOR, an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NOR, wherein the M inputs are coupled with each other, the N inputs are coupled with each other, M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. 12. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising:a discharging component, coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC;a first diode coupled between the input/output pad and an ESD bus in a forward direction toward the ESD bus;a second diode coupled between the ESD bus and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the ESD bus; andan ESD detection circuit, comprising:a capacitor and a resistor formed in series and coupled between the first power line and the second power line; anda triggering component, having a positive power end coupled to the ESD bus and a negative power end coupled to the first power line; an input of the triggering component being coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor;wherein the discharging component is turned off during normal power operations, and triggered by a output of the triggering component in an ESD event. 13. The ESD protection circuit of claim 12, wherein the discharging component is a gate-driven NMOS, a gate-grounded NMOS, an NMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, an NPN BJT, or a P-type substrate-triggered SCR. 14. The ESD protection circuit of claim 12, wherein the triggering component is an inverter, an M-input NAND with all inputs coupled together, or an N-input NOR with all inputs coupled together, M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. 15. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising:a discharging component, coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC;a first diode coupled between the input/output pad and an ESD bus in a forward direction toward the input/output pad;a second diode coupled between the ESD bus and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the second power line; andan ESD detection circuit, comprising:a capacitor and a resistor formed in series and coupled between the first power line and the second power line; anda triggering component, having a positive power end coupled to the first power line and a negative power end coupled to the ESD bus, an input of the triggering component being coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor;wherein the discharging component is turned off during normal power operations and triggered by a output of the triggering component in an ESD event. 16. The ESD protection circuit of claim 15, wherein the discharging component is a gate-driven PMOS, a gate-VDD PMOS, a PMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, a PNP BJT, or a N-type substrate-triggered SCR. 17. The ESD protection circuit of claim 15, wherein the triggering component comprises one selected from the group consisting of: two inverters coupled in series, an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NAND, and an M-input NOR coupled in series with an N-input NOR, an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NOR, wherein the M inputs are coupled with each other, the N inputs are coupled with each other, M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. 18. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, comprising:a first discharging component, coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC;a second discharging component, coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC;a first diode coupled between the input/output pad and a first ESD bus in a forward direction toward the first ESD bus;a second diode coupled between the first ESD bus and the second power line in a forward direction toward the first ESD bus;a third diode coupled between the input/output pad and a second ESD bus in a forward direction toward the input/output pad;a fourth diode coupled between the second ESD bus and the second power line in a forward direction toward the second power line; andan ESD detection circuit, comprising:a capacitor and a resistor formed in series, and coupled between the first power line and the second power line;a first triggering component, having a first positive power end coupled to the first ESD bus and a first negative power end coupled to the first power line; a first input of the first triggering component being coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor; anda second triggering component, having a second positive power end coupled to the second power line and a second negative power end coupled to the second ESD bus, a second input of the second triggering component being coupled to the node between the capacitor and the resistor;wherein the first and the second discharging components are turned off during normal power operations; the first discharging component is triggered by a first output of the first triggering component in a first ESD event, and the second discharging component is triggered by a second output of the second triggering component in a second ESD event. 19. The ESD protection circuit of claim 18, wherein the first discharging component is a gate-driven NMOS, a gate-grounded NMOS, an NMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, an NPN BJT, or a P-type substrate-triggered SCR. 20. The ESD protection circuit of claim 18, wherein the second discharging component is a gate-driven PMOS, a gate-VDD PMOS, a PMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer, a PNP BJT, or a N-type substrate-triggered SCR. 21. The ESD protection circuit of claim 18, wherein the first triggering component is an inverter, an M-input NAND with all inputs coupled together, or an N-input NOR with all inputs coupled together, M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. 22. The ESD protection circuit of claim 18, wherein the second triggering component comprises one selected from the group consisting of: two inverters coupled in series, an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NAND, and an M-input NOR coupled in series with an N-input NOR, an M-input NAND coupled in series with an N-input NOR, wherein the M inputs are coupled with each other, the N inputs are coupled with each other, M and N are positive integers larger than 1, respectively. The present invention relates to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit. In particular, the present invention relates to an ESD protection circuit suitable for applying in an integrated circuit (IC). As the scale of devices in ICs has become smaller, the devices have become more vulnerable to Electrostatic discharge (ESD). Hence, ESD has been one of the most important reliability issues for IC products and must be taken into consideration in the design phase of all ICs. Besides an ESD clamp device, an ESD detection circuit is another critical component in on-chip ESD protection circuits because it highly relates to the ESD protection capability of an on-chip ESD protection circuit. The ESD detection circuit is designed to provide trigger currents to turn on the ESD clamp device when the IC product is under ESD stresses. A variety of ESD detection circuits were proposed. FIG. 1 illustrates an ESD protection circuit for input pads proposed in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,768. Generally, ESD occurs when one pin of an IC is grounded and another pin of the IC contacts an electrostatically pre-charged object. For instance, under positive-to-VSS (PS-mode) ESD stresses, a positive ESD zapping is applied to the input pad in FIG. 1 while the VSS power rail is grounded and the VDD power rail is floating. Under PS-mode ESD stresses, the positive ESD voltage pulse at the input pad is coupled through the capacitor 102 to the gate terminal 106 of the NMOS 104. When the coupled voltage at the gate terminal 106 of NMOS 104 is greater than the threshold voltage of NMOS 104, NMOS 104 is turned on to conduct some ESD currents from the stressed input pad to the base terminal of the parasitic NPN BJT 114 in NMOS 112, which is formed by the N+ diffusion, P-well region, and N+ diffusion. With the trigger current injected to the base terminal of the parasitic NPN BJT 114 in NMOS 212, NMOS 212 is turned on to discharge ESD current from the input pad to VSS power rail, and the internal circuit 100 can be protected from being damaged by ESD currents. Under negative-to-VDD (ND-mode) ESD stresses, the negative ESD zapping is applied to the input pad while the VDD power rail is grounded and the VSS power rail is floating. Under ND-mode ESD stresses, the negative ESD voltage pulse at the input pad is coupled through the capacitor 122 to the gate terminal 126 of the PMOS 124. With the coupled voltage at the gate terminal 126 of PMOS 124, PMOS 124 is turned on to conduct some ESD current from the stressed input pad to the base terminal of the parasitic PNP BJT 134 in PMOS 132, which is formed by the P+ diffusion, N-well region, and P+ diffusion. With the trigger current injected to the base terminal of the parasitic PNP BJT 134 in PMOS 132, PMOS 132 is turned on to discharge ESD current from the input pad to VDD power rail. Under positive-to-VDD (PD-mode) ESD stresses, the positive ESD zapping is applied to the input pad while the VDD power rail is grounded and the VSS power rail is floating. Under PD-mode ESD stresses, the parasitic diode formed by the P+ drain diffusion and N-well in PMOS 132 is forward-biased to discharge ESD currents from the input pad to VDD power rail. Under negative-to-VSS (NS-mode) ESD stresses, the negative ESD zapping is applied to the input pad while the VSS power rail is grounded and the VDD power rail is floating. Under NS-mode ESD stresses, the parasitic diode formed by the N+ drain diffusion and P-well in NMOS 112 is forward-biased to discharge ESD currents from the input pad to VSS power rail. The same concept can be applied to ESD protection design for an output pad, which is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 1, the gate terminals of PMOS 132 and NMOS 112 are connected to VDD and VSS, respectively. However, the gate terminals of PMOS 232 and NMOS 212 are connected to the pre-driving circuit 221 in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate another ESD protection design proposed in "ESD protection design in a 0.18-μm salicide CMOS technology by using substrate-triggered technique" reported by M.-D. Ker, T.-Y. Chen, and C.-Y. Wu in Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), 2001, pp. 754-757. The ESD protection circuit for an input pad is shown in FIG. 3. Under PS-mode ESD stresses, a positive ESD voltage is coupled from the input pad to the floating VDD power rail. Since the capacitor C2 is connected to the grounded VSS power rail, the gate voltage of PMOS Mp2 is initially low enough to turn on Mp2. With the drain current of Mp2 injected into the P-well region of NMOS Mn1, the parasitic NPN BJT (formed by N+ drain diffusion, P-well region, and N+ source diffusion) in Mn1 is turned on to discharge ESD current from the input pad to the VSS power rail. On the other side, under NS-mode ESD stresses, the diode formed by the P-well and N+ drain diffusion in Mn1 is forward-biased to provide ESD protection. The ESD protection circuit for an output pad is shown in FIG. 4. The gate terminals of ESD clamp devices Mp3 and Mn3 can be driven by a pre-driving circuit. Thus, Mp3 and Mn3 can simultaneously act as an output driver and ESD protection devices. Under PS-mode ESD stresses, a positive ESD voltage is coupled from the output pad to the floating VDD power rail. Since the capacitor C3 is connected to grounded VSS power rail, the gate voltage of PMOS Mp4 is initially low enough to turn on Mp4. With the drain current of Mp4 injected into the P-well region of NMOS Mn3, the parasitic NPN BJT (formed by N+ drain diffusion, P-well region, and N+ source diffusion) in Mn3 is turned on to discharge ESD current from the output pad to the VSS power rail. On the other side, under NS-mode ESD stresses, the diode formed by the P-well and N+ drain diffusion in Mn3 is forward-biased to provide ESD protection. With the trigger circuits for both PMOS and NMOS transistors, another ESD protection circuit for an input pad proposed in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,715 is shown in FIG. 5. The ESD detection circuit 52 is designed to provide trigger current to turn on the parasitic NPN BJT in Mn1 under PS-mode ESD stresses. Similarly, the ESD detection circuit 54 is designed to provide trigger current to turn on the parasitic PNP BJT in Mp1 under ND-mode ESD stresses. The ESD protection design for an output pad with ESD detection circuits including both PMOS and NMOS transistors is shown in FIG. 6. The ESD detection circuit 80 is designed to provide trigger current to turn on the parasitic BJT in Mn3 under PS-mode ESD stresses. The ESD detection circuit 82 is designed to provide trigger current to turn on the parasitic BJT in Mp3 under ND-mode ESD stresses. The invention provides several new ESD protection circuits. The first embodiment according to the invention is an ESD protection circuit including a discharging component, a diode, and an ESD detection circuit. The discharging component is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC. The diode is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the second power line. The ESD detection circuit includes a capacitor, a resistor, and a triggering component. The capacitor and the resistor are formed in series between the first power line and the second power line. The triggering component has a positive power end coupled to the input/output pad and a negative power end coupled to the first power line. An input of the triggering component is coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor. The discharging component is turned off during normal power operations and triggered by an output of the triggering component in an ESD event. The second embodiment according to the invention is an ESD protection circuit including a discharging component, a diode, and an ESD detection circuit. The discharging component is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC. The diode is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the input/output pad. The ESD detection circuit includes a capacitor, a resistor, and a triggering component. The capacitor and the resistor are formed in series between the first power line and the second power line. The triggering component has a positive power end coupled to the first power line and a negative power end coupled to the input/output pad. An input of the triggering component is coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor. The discharging component is turned off during normal power operations and triggered by an output of the triggering component in an ESD event. The third embodiment according to the invention is an ESD protection circuit including a first discharging component, a second discharging component, and an ESD detection circuit. The first discharging component is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC. The second discharging component is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC. The ESD detection circuit includes a capacitor, a resistor, a first triggering component, and a second triggering component. The capacitor and the resistor are formed in series between the first power line and the second power line. The first triggering component has a first positive power end coupled to the input/output pad and a first negative power end coupled to the first power line. A first input of the first triggering component is coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor. The second triggering component has a second positive power end coupled to the second power line and a second negative power end coupled to the input/output pad. A second input of the second triggering component is coupled to the node between the capacitor and the resistor. The first and the second discharging components are turned off during normal power operations. The first discharging component is triggered by a first output of the first triggering component during a first ESD event, and the second discharging component is triggered by a second output of the second triggering component during a second ESD event. The fourth embodiment according to the invention is an ESD protection circuit including a discharging component, a first diode, a second diode, and an ESD detection circuit. The discharging component is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC. The first diode is coupled between the input/output pad and an ESD bus in a forward direction toward the ESD bus. The second diode is coupled between the ESD bus and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the ESD bus. The ESD detection circuit includes a capacitor, a resistor, and a triggering component. The capacitor and the resistor are formed in series between the first power line and the second power line. The triggering component has a positive power end coupled to the ESD bus and a negative power end coupled to the first power line. An input of the triggering component is coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor. The discharging component is turned off during normal power operations, and triggered by an output of the triggering component in an ESD event. The fifth embodiment according to the invention is an ESD protection circuit including a discharging component, a first diode, a second diode, and an ESD detection circuit. The discharging component is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC. The first diode is coupled between the input/output pad and an ESD bus in a forward direction toward the input/output pad. The second diode is coupled between the ESD bus and a second power line of the IC in a forward direction toward the second power line. The ESD detection circuit includes a capacitor, a resistor, and a triggering component. The capacitor and the resistor are formed in series between the first power line and the second power line. The triggering component has a positive power end coupled to the first power line and a negative power end coupled to the ESD bus. An input of the triggering component is coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor. The discharging component is turned off during normal power operations, and triggered by an output of the triggering component in an ESD event. The sixth embodiment according to the invention is an ESD protection circuit including a first discharging component, a second discharging component, a first diode, a second diode, a third diode, a fourth diode, and an ESD detection circuit. The first discharging component is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line of an IC. The second discharging component is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line of the IC. The first diode is coupled between the input/output pad and a first ESD bus in a forward direction toward the first ESD bus. The second diode is coupled between the first ESD bus and the second power line in a forward direction toward the first ESD bus. The third diode is coupled between the input/output pad and a second ESD bus in a forward direction toward the input/output pad. The fourth diode is coupled between the second ESD bus and the second power line in a forward direction toward the second power line. The ESD detection circuit includes a capacitor, a resistor, a first triggering component, and a second triggering component. The first triggering component has a first positive power end coupled to the first ESD bus and a first negative power end coupled to the first power line. A first input of the first triggering component is coupled to a node between the capacitor and the resistor. The second triggering component has a second positive power end coupled to the second power line and a second negative power end coupled to the second ESD bus. A second input of the second triggering component is coupled to the node between the capacitor and the resistor. The first and the second discharging components are turned off during normal power operations. The first discharging component is triggered by a first output of the first triggering component during a first ESD event, and the second discharging component is triggered by a second output of the second triggering component in a second ESD event. FIG. 1 through FIG. 6 show several traditional circuits disclosed in prior arts. FIG. 7 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the first embodiment according to the invention. FIG. 8 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the second embodiment according to the invention. FIG. 9 illustrates several applicable examples of the discharging component coupled between an I/O pad and the VDD power rail. FIG. 10 illustrates several applicable examples of the discharging component coupled between an I/O pad and the VSS power rail. FIG. 11 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the third embodiment according to the invention. FIG. 12 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the fourth embodiment according to the invention. FIG. 13 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the fifth embodiment according to the invention. FIG. 14 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the sixth embodiment according to the invention. Please refer to FIG. 7, which illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the first embodiment according to the invention. This ESD protection circuit 70 includes a discharging component 72, a diode D1, and an ESD detection circuit 74. The discharging component 72 is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line (VSS) of the IC in which the ESD protection circuit 70 is set. The diode D1 is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line (VDD) of the IC in a forward direction toward the second power line. The ESD detection circuit 74 includes a resistor R1, a capacitor C1, and a triggering component. In this embodiment, the triggering component is an inverter labeled as INV_1. The resistor R1 and the capacitor C1 are formed in series and coupled between the first power line and the second power line. As shown in FIG. 7, the inverter INV_1 has a positive power end coupled to the input/output pad and a negative power end coupled to the first power line. The input of the inverter INV_1 is coupled to the node between the capacitor C1 and the resistor R1. The output of the inverter INV_1 is coupled to the discharging component 72. FIG. 9 illustrates several applicable examples of the discharging component 72. In actual applications, the discharging component 72 can be a gate-driven NMOS in FIG. 9(A), an NPN BJT in FIG. 9(B), a gate-grounded NMOS in FIG. 9(C), a P-type substrate-triggered SCR in FIG. 9(D), or an NMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer in FIG. 9(E). During normal power operations of the internal circuits 100, the discharging component 72 is turned off. Under PD-mode ESD stresses, the diode D1 is forward-biased to discharge ESD currents from the input/output pad to the second power line. Under PS-mode ESD stresses, the RC-delay caused by R1 and C1 turns on the PMOS in the inverter INV_1. Thus, the discharging component 72 can be turned on by the output current of output voltage of INV_1. Thereby, the ESD current is discharged from the input/output pad to the first power line, and the internal circuit 100 can be protected from being damaged by ESD. In actual applications, the triggering component can also be an M-input NAND with all inputs coupled together or an N-input NOR with all inputs coupled together, wherein M and N are both positive integers larger than 1, respectively. Please refer to FIG. 8, which illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the second embodiment according to the invention. This ESD protection circuit 80 includes a discharging component 82, a diode, and an ESD detection circuit 84. The discharging component 82 is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line (VDD) of an IC. The diode is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line (VSS) of the IC in a forward direction toward the input/output pad. The ESD detection circuit 84 includes a capacitor C1, a resistor R1, and a triggering component. In this embodiment, the triggering component is composed of two inverters, INV_2 and INV_3, coupled in series. The capacitor C1 and resistor R1 are formed in series between the first power line and the second power line. As shown in FIG. 8, the inverters respectively have a positive power end coupled to the first power line and a negative power end coupled to the input/output pad. Besides, the input of the inverter INV_3 is coupled to the node between the capacitor C1 and resistor R1. FIG. 10 illustrates several applicable examples of the discharging component 82. In actual applications, the discharging component 82 can be a gate-driven PMOS in FIG. 10(A), a PNP BJT in FIG. 10(B), a gate-VDD PMOS in FIG. 10(C), a N-type substrate-triggered SCR in FIG. 10(D), or a PMOS with its gate terminal coupled to a pre-buffer in FIG. 10(E). During normal power operations of the internal circuits 100, the discharging component 82 is turned off. Under NS-mode ESD stresses, the diode D1 is forward-biased to discharge ESD currents from the second power line to the input/output pad. On the other side, under ND-mode ESD stresses, the RC-delay of R1 and C1 turns on the PMOS of the inverter INV_3 and the NMOS of the inverter INV_2. Therefore, the discharging component 82 between the first power line and the input/output pad can be turned on by the output current or output voltage of the inverter INV_2. In actual applications, the two inverters, INV_2 and INV_3, can be replaced by an M-input NAND plus an N-input NAND, an M-input NOR plus an N-input NOR, or an M-input NAND plus an N-input NOR. M and N are both positive integers larger than 1, respectively. According to the invention, the M or N inputs of the devices are coupled with each other. Please refer to FIG. 11, which illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the third embodiment according to the invention. In this embodiment, the circuits in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are combined to cope with all ESD conditions (PD-mode, PS-mode, ND-mode, and NS-mode). As shown in FIG. 11, the ESD protection circuit 110 includes a first discharging component 92, a second discharging component 94, and an ESD detection circuit 96. The first discharging component 92 is coupled between an input/output pad and a first power line (VSS) of an IC. The second discharging component 94 is coupled between the input/output pad and a second power line (VDD) of the IC. The ESD detection circuit 96 includes a capacitor C1, a resistor R1, and three inverters. The first inverter INV_1 has a first positive power end coupled to the input/output pad and a first negative power end coupled to the first power line. The input of the first inverter INV_1 is coupled to the node between the capacitor and the resistor. The second inverter INV_2 and the third inverter INV_3 respectively have a positive power end coupled to the second power line and a negative power end coupled to the input/output pad. The first discharging component 92 can be one of the devices shown in FIG. 9; the second discharging component 94 can be one of the devices shown in FIG. 10. During normal power operations of the internal circuits 100, the first discharging component 92 and the second discharging component 94 are turned off. As described in the aforementioned embodiments, the three inverters are used for turning on the discharging components 92 and 94 in the ESD events. Under PS-mode ESD stresses, the RC-delay of R1 and C1 turns on the PMOS in inverter INV_1 to turn on the first discharging component 92. Under ND-mode ESD stresses, the RC-delay of R1 and C1 turns on the PMOS in inverter INV_3 and the NMOS in inverter INV_2 to turn on the second discharging component 94. Under PD-mode ESD stresses, ESD currents can be conducted through the diode formed by the second discharging component 94. Under NS-mode ESD stresses, ESD currents can be conducted through the diode formed by the first discharging component 92. For ESD protection of an output pad, the gate terminals of the MOSs in the inverters can be connected to a pre-buffer and act as a part of the output buffer. Besides, each inverter in this embodiment can be replaced by NAND or NOR with all inputs connected together. FIG. 12 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the fourth embodiment according to the invention. In this embodiment, an ESD bus (ESD_Bus_1) is added between the VDD power rail and the input/output pad. With ESD_Bus_1, the coupling effects at VDD can be reduced when there is overshoot at the input/output pad. Further, in this embodiment, the power ends of the inverter INV_1 is connected to ESD_Bus_1 and VSS, so the parasitic effects of INV_1 are not contributed to the input/output pad. Thus, with ESD_Bus_1, this design is more suitable for analog or high-frequency applications. As shown in FIG. 12, a diode D2 is coupled between ESD_Bus_1 and the VDD power rail in a forward direction toward ESD_Bus_1. The function of this diode is to prevent coupling from ESD_Bus_1 to VDD. The operations of the inverter INV_1, the discharging component 12A, the diode D1, the capacitor C1, and the resistor R1 are similar to those in the first embodiment above and not described again herein. FIG. 13 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the fifth embodiment according to the invention. In this embodiment, an ESD bus (ESD Bus 2) is added between the VSS power rail and the input/output pad. With ESD_Bus_2, the coupling effects at VSS can be reduced when there is undershoot at the input/output pad. Besides, the inverters, INV_2 and INV_3, are connected between VDD and ESD_Bus_2, so the parasitic effects of the inverters are not contributed to the input/output pad. As shown in FIG. 13, a diode D3 is coupled between ESD_Bus_2 and the VSS power rail in a forward direction toward ESD_Bus_2. The function of this diode is to prevent coupling from ESD_Bus_2 to VSS. The operations of the inverters, the discharging component 13A, the diode D2, the capacitor C1, and the resistor R1 are similar to those in the second embodiment above and not described again herein. FIG. 14 illustrates the ESD protection circuit in the sixth embodiment according to the invention. In this embodiment, an ESD bus (ESD_Bus_1) is added between the VDD power rail and the input/output pad, and another ESD bus (ESD_Bus_2) is added between the VSS power rail and the input/output pad. With the two buses, the coupling effects induced by overshoot or undershoot at the I/O pad are reduced. The operations of the inverters (INV_1˜INV_3), the discharging components (14A and 14B), the diodes (D1˜D4), the capacitor C1, and the resistor R1 are similar to those in the embodiments above and not described again herein. Similarly, each of the inverters in FIG. 12˜FIG. 14 can respectively be replaced by NAND or NOR with all inputs connected together. In this invention, several new ESD detection circuits are proposed. The circuits can effectively provide trigger current to turn on discharging components when an integrated circuit is under ESD stresses. Furthermore, the proposed ESD bus in this invention can reduce the coupling effects between input/output pads and VDD or VSS power rails when there is overshoot or undershoot at input/output pads.

2019-04-24T06:20:12Z

http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/app/20090021872

目的是提供一种提高放电能量向可见光的变换效率和板的亮度、同时尽可能改善色纯度的气体放电板。 Object is to provide an improved discharge energy conversion efficiency to visible light and the luminance of the panel, while improving color purity as a gas discharge panel. 为此，在气体放电板中，将气体介质的封入压力设定为比以往高的101.32～266.64kPa的范围。 For this reason, in the gas discharge panel, the pressure of the gas enclosed medium is set to a range higher than the conventional 101.32 ~ 266.64kPa. 另外，对封入的气体介质，代替现有的气体组成而采用含有氦、氖、氙、氩的稀有气体混合物，并最好是使氙的含量在5体积%以下、氩的含量在0.5体积%以下、氦的含量小于55体积%，从而可以使发光效率提高，同时能降低放电电压。 In addition, enclosed gaseous medium, in place of the conventional composition of a gas containing a rare gas as helium, neon, xenon, argon mixtures, and the content of xenon is preferably 5% by volume, the content of argon at 0.5% by volume hereinafter, the helium content of less than 55% by volume, so can improve the luminous efficiency, while reducing the discharge voltage. 此外，如果采用将显示电极和地址电极隔着电介质层层叠在正面板或背面板的任何一个的表面上的结构，则即使在封入压力高的情况下，也能以较低的电压进行寻址。 Further, if the display electrode and the address electrode via a dielectric layer on a surface of any positive or rear panel of the structure, even at a high gas pressure is, addressing is performed at a relatively low voltage . 本发明涉及气体放电板及气体发光器件之类的气体放电管，尤其是用于高清晰度的等离子显示板。 The present invention relates to gas in the gas discharge panel and a gas discharge light emitting device or the like, particularly for high-definition plasma display panel. 近年来，由于对以高清晰度电视为代表的高品位大屏幕电视机的需求日益迫切，在CRT、液晶显示器(以下，简称LCD)、等离子显示板(Plasma Display Panel，以下简称PDP)等各种显示器的领域内，正进行着适用于这种电视机的显示器的开发。 In recent years, the demand for high-definition television as the representative high-quality large-screen TV increasingly urgent, in CRT, liquid crystal display (hereinafter abbreviated LCD), a plasma display panel (Plasma Display Panel, hereinafter referred to as PDP) and other in the field of display types, we are engaged in the television monitor suitable for this development. 以往作为电视机显示器而广为采用着的CRT，在析象度和画质方面优良，但因其进深尺寸和重量随屏幕的增大而增加，所以不适用于40英寸以上的大屏幕。 As a conventional television display and the CRT of the widely adopted, excellent in the resolution and picture quality, but because the depth size and weight increases with the increase in the screen, it is not available for 40-inch large screen. 而LCD虽然具有耗电少、驱动电压也低等优良的性能，可是制作大屏幕却存在着技术上的困难，视场角也受到限制。 Although the LCD has low power consumption, low driving voltage but also excellent performance, but making a large screen, but there are technical difficulties, the viewing angle is limited. 与此不同，PDP，即使在进深尺寸薄的情况下也能实现大屏幕，并已开发出50英寸级的产品。 In contrast, PDP, even when thin depth dimension can achieve the big screen, and has developed 50 inches class products. PDP，大致可分为直流型(DC型)和交流型(AC型)，但目前适于大型化的AC型正成为主流。 The PDP, can be divided into direct current type (DC type) and alternating current type (AC type), but adapted to the size of the AC-type is becoming the mainstream. 一般的交流表面放电型PDP，其正面板和背面板隔着间壁平行配置，在以间壁分隔出的放电空间内封入放电气体。 A general AC surface discharge type the PDP, the front panel and a rear panel which via partition walls arranged in parallel, in order to discharge gas sealed in the discharge space partitioned by the partition wall. 并且，在正面板上设有显示电极，在电极上覆盖由铅玻璃构成的电介质层。 Further, the front plate is provided with display electrodes covered with a dielectric layer made of lead glass on the electrode. 在背面板上，设置着地址电极和间壁、及由红、绿或蓝的紫外线激励荧光体构成的荧光体层。 In the rear panel, and the partition is provided with address electrodes, and a phosphor layer is a phosphor excited by red, green, blue or ultraviolet light. 作为放电气体的组成，一般采用氦[He]和氙[Xe]的混合气体系列或氖[Ne]和氙[Xe]的混合气体系列，考虑到将放电电压抑制在250V以下，其封入压力通常设定在13.33～66.66kPa左右的范围内(例如，可参照：M.Nobrio，T.Yoshioka，Y.Sano，K.Nunomura，SID94′Digest727～730，1994)。 As the composition of a discharge gas, generally mixed gases series or helium neon [of He] and xenon [Xe] to [Ne] and xenon [Xe] mixed gas series, taking into account the discharge voltage is suppressed to 250V or less, which is enclosed pressure is generally is set in a range of about 13.33 ~ 66.66kPa (for example, refer to: M.Nobrio, T.Yoshioka, Y.Sano, K.Nunomura, SID94'Digest727 ~ 730,1994). PDP的发光原理与荧光灯基本相同，即通过对电极施加电压而发生辉光放电，从Xe产生紫外线并使荧光体激励发光，但因放电能量向紫外线的变换效率及荧光体的向可见光的变换效率低，所以很难获得像荧光灯那样高的亮度。 The PDP emitting the fluorescent lamp is basically the same principle, i.e. a glow discharge by applying a voltage to the electrode occurs, and ultraviolet rays are generated from the Xe light emitting phosphor excited, but the conversion efficiency of discharge energy into visible light to ultraviolet light and conversion efficiency of the phosphor low, it is difficult to obtain as high as fluorescent brightness. 关于这一点，在应用物理Vol.51，No.3 1982年第344～347页，记载着：在气体组成为He-Xe、Ne-Xe系列的PDP中只有大约2％的电能应用于紫外线发射，最终应用于可见光的的电能也只有0.2％左右(可参照：光学技术通讯Vol.34，No.1 1996年第25页；FLAT PANEL DISPLAY(平板显示器)96′Part5-3；NHK技术研究第31卷第1号昭和54年第18页)在这样的背景条件下，期望着开发出在以PDP为代表的放电板中通过提高发光效率而在实现高亮度的同时降低放电电压的技术。 In this regard, in Applied Physics Vol.51, No.3 1982 Year 344 ~ 347, recorded: the gas composition of He-Xe, Ne-Xe PDP series of only about 2% of the energy applied to the ultraviolet emission , applied to the final energy of visible light is only about 0.2% (may refer to: the optical communication technology Vol.34, No.1, 1996 25; fLAT PANEL dISPLAY (flat panel display) 96'Part5-3; NHK techniques Study 31, No. 1, 1979, page 18) in this background, it is desirable to reduce the development of the discharge voltage while achieving high luminance discharge panel PDP represented in the art by increasing the light emission efficiency. 从显示器的市场观察也存在着这种需求。 Market Watch monitors also exist from this demand. 例如，在当前的用于40～42英寸级电视机的PDP中，在NTSC象素电平(象素640×480个、单元间距0.43mm×1.29mm、1个单元的面积0.55mm2)的情况下，可以得到1.21lm/w和400cd/m2左右的板效率和屏面亮度(例如，FLAT-PANELDISPLAY 1997 Part5-1 P198)。 For example, in the current PDP for a 40 to 42-inch class television, in a case where the pixel NTSC level (of 640 × 480 pixels, cell pitch 0.43mm × 1.29mm, 1-unit area of ​​0.55mm2) of under can be obtained / w and the panel efficiency and the panel brightness of about 400cd / m2 1.21lm (e.g., FLAT-PANELDISPLAY 1997 Part5-1 P198). 与此不同，在近年来所期待着的全规格42英寸级的高清晰度电视机中，象素数为1920×1125、单元间距为0.15mm×0.48mm。 On the other hand, in recent years looking forward to full size 42 inches class high definition television set, the number of pixels of 1920 × 1125, for the cell pitch 0.15mm × 0.48mm. 在这种情况下，1个单元的面积为0.072mm2，与NTSC的情况相比，仅相当于其1/7～1/8。 In this case, the area of ​​a cell is 0.072mm2, compared with the case of NTSC, which is equivalent to only 1/7 - 1/8. 因此，可以预计到，当以过去的单元结构制作用于42英寸高清晰度电视机的PDP时，其板效率为0.15～0.17lm/w，而屏面亮度将降低到50～60cd/m2左右。 Thus, it can be expected that when a cell structure in the past for making PDP 42 inch high-definition TV, which plate efficiency 0.15 ~ 0.17lm / w, and the screen brightness will be reduced to approximately 50 ~ 60cd / m2 . 因此，在用于42英寸高清晰度电视机的PDP中，如果想要获得与现行的NTSC的CRT同样的亮度(500cd/m2)，则必需将效率提高到10倍以上(5lm/w以上)(例如，可参照「平板显示器1997第5-1部分第200页」)。 Accordingly, in the PDP 42 inches for high definition television, if you want to obtain the same luminance of the current NTSC CRT (500cd / m2), it is necessary to increase the efficiency to more than 10 times (5lm / w or more) (for example, refer to "flat panel display 1997 5-1 section 200"). 另外，在PDP中为获得良好的画质，不仅要提高亮度而且需要改善色纯度从而调整白色平衡，也是重要的。 In addition, in the PDP in order to obtain good quality, not only to improve the brightness and color purity needs to be improved so as to adjust the white balance it is also important. 针对上述提高发光效率及提高色纯度这样的课题，已进行着各种各样的研究和发明。 For improving the above-described light emission efficiency and improvement in color purity of such a problem, various studies have been made and the disclosure. 例如，作为在放电气体组成上的研究尝试，在特公平5-51133号公报中，公开了一种采用氩(Ar)-氖[Ne]-氙[Xe]的3成分混合气体的发明。 For example, studies have attempted to the discharge gas composition in KOKOKU Publication No. 5-51133 discloses a method using argon (Ar) - Ne [Ne] - Xenon [Xe] 3 component of the gas mixture of the invention. 通过引入上述的氩，虽可减少从氖发出的可见光从而改善色纯度，但对发光效率不能期望有多么大的提高。 By introducing the above-described Ar, it can be reduced although the visible light emitted from neon to improve color purity, luminous efficiency can not be expected but for how greatly improved. 另外，在专利2616538号中，公开了采用氦[He]-氖[Ne]-氙[Xe]的3成分混合气体。 Further, in Patent No. 2,616,538, disclose the use of helium [of He] - a mixed gas of xenon [Xe] The three components - Ne [Ne]. 按这种方式得到的发光效率，与氦[He]--氙[Xe]或氖[Ne]-氙[Xe]的2成分气体的情况相比虽有提高，但在NTSC的象素电平下仅为1lm/w左右，所以期望着开发能够使发光效率进一步提高的技术。 Luminous efficiency obtained in this way, and helium [He] - Xenon [Xe] or neon [Ne] - where xenon [Xe] 2 composition of the gas as compared to the improved but the pixel level of NTSC at only about 1lm / w, it can be desirable to develop a light-emitting efficiency is further improved technique. 本发明，是在这种背景之下进行开发的，其主要目的是提供能够提高板的亮度及放电能量向可见光的变换效率、同时能获得色纯度良好的发光的以PDP为代表的气体放电板。 The present invention is developed in this context, the main purpose is to provide a conversion efficiency can be improved brightness and discharge energy to visible light plate, while good color purity can be obtained in the light emitting PDP represented gas discharge panel . 为达到上述目的，根据本发明的一种气体放电板，在相对设置的一对板之间，形成封入了气体介质的放电空间，同时在上述一对板的相对的面的至少一个面上设置电极和荧光体层，随着放电而产生紫外线并由上述荧光体层变换为可见光从而发光，该气体放电板的特征在于：上述气体介质，是含有氦、氖、氙、氩的稀有气体混合物；在上述气体介质中含有5体积％以下的氙、小于5 5体积％的氦，0.5体积％以下的氩；上述气体介质的封入压力为101.32～266.64kPa。 To achieve the above object, according to a gas discharge panel according to the present invention, between a pair of opposed plates arranged to form a discharge space enclosed gaseous medium, while at least disposed at opposite surfaces of the pair of plates face one electrode and the phosphor layer with ultraviolet rays generated by discharge the phosphor layer to emit light is converted into visible light, characterized in that the gas discharge panel wherein: the gaseous medium, containing helium, neon, xenon, argon rare gas mixture; xenon in the gas containing 5 vol% or less of the medium, it is less than 55% by volume of helium, argon, 0.5 vol%; gas pressure of the enclosed medium is 101.32 ~ 266.64kPa. 采用这种结构提高发光效率的主要原因如下。 The main reason for such a configuration as to improve light emission efficiency. 在现有的PDP中，气体介质的封入压力，通常小于66.66kPa，随放电而产生的紫外线中，大部分是谐振线(中心波长147nm)。 In the conventional PDP, the pressure of the gas enclosed medium is, typically less than 66.66kPa, with ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge, most resonant line (center wavelength 147nm). 与此不同，如上所述，当封入压力高时(即，在放电空间内封入的原子数多时)，分子线(中心波长154nm、172nm)所占的比例增多。 Unlike this, as described above, when the high filling pressure (i.e., sealed in the discharge space is large atoms), an increase in the proportion of molecular lines (center wavelength 154nm, 172nm) occupied. 这里，与谐振线存在着自身吸收不同，分子线几乎没有自身吸收现象，所以照射在荧光体层上的紫外线的量增多，因而使亮度及发光效率提高。 Here, the self-absorption of resonant lines exist different molecular wires almost no absorption phenomenon itself, so increasing the amount of ultraviolet irradiation on the phosphor layer, to improve the brightness and thus the light emission efficiency. 另外，在通常的荧光体中，从紫外线到可见光的变换效率，在长波长一侧有增大的趋势，这也可以说是亮度及发光效率提高的原因。 Further, in the conventional phosphor, the conversion efficiency from ultraviolet to visible light in the long wavelength side tends to increase, which may be the cause of said luminance and luminous efficiency is improved. 可是，在气体放电板中，在气体介质内一般含有氖[Ne]或氙[Xe]，当封入压力较低时，很容易发生因来自氖[Ne]的可见光而使色纯度恶化的问题，与此不同，在像本发明这样的封入压力高的情况下，由于来自氖[Ne]的可见光大部分在等离子体内部被吸收，所以很难向外部射出。 However, the gas discharge panel, typically in the gaseous medium containing neon [Ne] xenon or [Xe], when the filling pressure is low, it is prone to problems resulting from neon [Ne] visible deterioration of the color purity, on the other hand, in the case of the present invention, such as a high pressure sealed, since most of the visible light from the neon [Ne] is absorbed in the interior of the plasma, is emitted to the outside is difficult. 因此，与现有的PDP相比，色纯度也可以得到改善。 Accordingly, the PDP compared with the conventional, color purity can be improved. 另外，在现有的PDP中，放电形态为第1型辉光放电，但如设定为像本发明这样的106.65～533.28kPa的高压，则可以预计到很容易发生条形辉光放电或第2型辉光放电。 Further, in the conventional PDP, discharge to form the first glow discharge, but if a high pressure is set to 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa such as in the present invention, it can be expected to occur easily glow discharge or the second bar 2 type glow discharge. 因此，由此可以使放电的阳极光柱上的电子密度提高，因而能集中地供给能量，所以也可以使紫外线的发光量增加。 Accordingly, whereby the electron density in positive column discharge is increased, and thus the energy can be supplied intensively, it may be that the amount of the ultraviolet light emission increases. 进一步，由于封入压力超过大气压(101.32kPa)，因而还具有防止大气中的杂质侵入PDP中的效果。 Further, since the pressure exceeds atmospheric pressure is sealed (101.32kPa), which also has the effect of preventing intrusion of impurities in the air in the PDP. 在106.65～533.28kPa的封入压力范围中，从106.65～133.32kPa、106.65～186.65kPa、186.65～366.64kPa、266.64～533.28kPa的各个范围，也可以看到如实施形态中说明的特征。 In the filling pressure in the range 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa from 106.65 ~ 133.32kPa, 106.65 ~ 186.65kPa, 186.65 ~ 366.64kPa, each range 266.64 ~ 533.28kPa also be seen as the embodiment described aspect features. 另外，对所封入的气体介质，如代替以往的氖-氙或氦-氙的气体组成而采用由氦、氖、氙、氩组成的4成分稀有气体混合物作为气体介质，则即使氙的量较少也能获得高的亮度和高的发光效率。 The use of a rare gas mixture 4 component consisting of helium, neon, xenon, argon consisting of a gaseous medium xenon gas composition, even if xenon amount than - In addition, the gaseous medium is enclosed, as instead of conventional neon - xenon or helium less can be obtained a high luminance and a high luminous efficiency. 即，可以得到放电电压低而发光效率高的PDP。 That is, a low discharge voltage can be obtained and high light emission efficiency PDP. 这里，为了降低放电电压，最好是使氙的含量在5体积％以下、氩的含量在0.5体积％以下、氦的含量小于55体积％。 Here, in order to reduce the discharge voltage, it is preferable that the content of xenon is 5% by volume, the content of argon at 0.5% by volume, of helium under 55% by volume. 并且，如以106.65～533.28kPa的高压封入上述4成分气体介质，则在抑制放电电压升高的同时能有效地提高亮度及发光效率。 And, at high pressure such as 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa the four components enclosed gaseous medium, is effective to improve the brightness and luminous efficiency while suppressing an increase in the discharge voltage. 另外，当放电板的结构为使显示电极和地址电极隔着放电空间相对配置时，如将封入压力设定为高压，则寻址时的电压也存在变高的倾向，但如果采用将显示电极和地址电极隔着电介质层层叠在正面板或背面板的任何一个的表面上的结构，则即使在封入压力高的情况下，也能以较低的电压进行寻址。 Further, when the structure is that the discharge panel display electrode and the address electrode facing the discharge space disposed therebetween, the filling pressure is set to such a high pressure, the addressing voltage also tends to become high, but if the display electrode and the address electrode via a dielectric layer on a surface of any positive or rear panel of the structure, even at a high gas pressure is, addressing is performed at a lower voltage. 另外，根据本发明的一种显示装置包括上述本发明的气体放电板，和对所述气体放电板的电极施加电压而驱动该气体放电板的驱动电路。 Further, the driving circuit of the voltage applied to the gas discharge panel according to the present invention comprises a gas discharge panel display apparatus of the present invention, and an electrode of the gas discharge panel. 图1是实施形态1的对置交流放电型PDP的简略断面图。 FIG 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the embodiment opposed-discharge type AC PDP 1. 图2是在形成上述PDP的保护层时采用的CVD装置的简图。 Schematic view of a CVD apparatus employed in the Figure 2 is the protective layer of the PDP is formed. 图3是在MgO保护层上形成棱锥状微细凹凸的等离子蚀刻装置的简图。 FIG 3 is a schematic view of a plasma etching apparatus is formed pyramid-like fine irregularities on the MgO protective layer. 图4是表示瞬态辉光、弧光转移的电流波形的曲线图。 FIG 4 is a graph showing the transient glow transferred arc current waveform. 图5是表示封入压力变化时的紫外线波长与发光量的关系的特性图。 FIG 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of light emission in the ultraviolet wavelength when the enclosed pressure changes. 图6是表示Xe的能级和各种反应路径的图。 FIG 6 is a diagram illustrating the energy levels and various reactive path of Xe. 图7是表示放电气体压力与谐振线、分子线、及总紫外线的关系的特性图。 FIG 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the discharge gas pressure and the resonance lines and molecular lines, and the total ultraviolet light. 图8是表示对各色荧光体的激励波长与相对发射效率的关系的特性图。 FIG 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the excitation wavelength of the phosphor of each color and relative emission efficiency. 图9是表示实验1的结果的曲线图及图表。 9 is a graph showing the results of Experiment 1 and the graph. 图10是表示实验2的结果的曲线图图11是表示实验3的结果的曲线图及图表。 FIG 10 is a graph of experimental results of FIG. 2 FIG. 11 is a graph and a graph of the results of Experiment 3. 图12是表示实验4的结果的曲线图图13是实施形态2的交流表面放电型PDP的简略断面图。 FIG 12 is a graph of the experimental results of FIG. 4 FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the AC surface discharge type PDP morphology of 2. 图14是实施形态2的交流表面放电型PDP的简略断面图。 FIG 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the AC surface discharge type PDP morphology of 2. 以下，说明本发明的实施形态。 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention. (实施形态1)(PDP的总体结构及制法)图1是简略表示本实施形态的交流表面放电型PDP的斜视图。 (Embodiment 1) (PDP manufacturing method and of the overall structure) FIG 1 is a schematic showing the present embodiment of the AC surface discharge type PDP in a perspective view. 该PDP，在结构上使在正面玻璃衬底11上设有显示电极(放电电极)12a和12b、电介质层13、保护层14的正面板10及在背面玻璃衬底21上设有地址电极22、电介质层23的背面板20在使显示电极12a、12b与地址电极22对置的状态下按一定间隔相互平行配置。 That the PDP, provided that the display electrodes (discharge electrodes) 12a and 12b, dielectric layer 13, protective layer 14 of front panel 10 and the address electrodes 22 provided on the back glass substrate 21 on the front glass substrate 11 in the structure , the dielectric layer 20 in the back plate 23 of the display electrodes 12a arranged in parallel to each other at an interval 22 and 12b face each address electrode. 并且，正面板10与背面板20的间隙，通过以条带状的间壁30进行分隔而形成放电空间40，并在该放电空间40内封入放电气体。 Further, the front plate and the back plate 20 a gap 10, and the discharge space is formed by the partition 40 to partition 30 of the strip, and a discharge gas filled in the discharge space 40. 另外，在该放电空间40内，在背面板20侧设置着荧光层31。 Further, in the discharge space 40, the side of the back plate 20 is provided with the phosphor layer 31. 该荧光层31按红、绿、蓝的顺序反复排列。 The phosphor layer 31 sequence of red, green, and blue repeatedly arrayed. 显示电极12a、12b及地址电极22，都是条带状的银电极，显示电极12a、12b沿着与间壁30正交的方向配置，地址电极22与间壁30平行配置。 Display electrodes 12a, 12b and the address electrode 22, strip-shaped silver electrodes are stripe display electrodes 12a, 12b are arranged along a direction perpendicular to the partition wall 30, address electrodes 22 disposed parallel to the partition wall 30. 并且，构成在显示电极12a、12b与地址电极22的交叉处形成发射红、绿、蓝各色光的单元的放电板结构。 And constituting the display electrodes 12a, 12b are formed at the intersection of the address electrodes 22 emitting red, green, and blue discharge cell plate structure color light. 电介质层13，是厚度为20μm左右的由铅玻璃等构成的层，配置成使其覆盖正面玻璃衬底11的设有显示电极12的整个表面。 Dielectric layer 13, a thickness of a layer of lead glass or the like of the right and left of 20 m, arranged so as to cover the front side of the glass substrate 11 provided with the entire surface of the display electrode 12. 保护层14，是由氧化镁(MgO)构成的薄层，覆盖着电介质层13的整个表面。 The protective layer 14 is a thin layer made of magnesium oxide (MgO), cover the entire surface of the dielectric layer 13. 间壁30，在背面板20的电介质层23的表面上突起设置。 Partition 30, the projection is provided on a surface of the dielectric layer 23 of the rear plate 20. 在驱动该PDP时，采用驱动电路在要点亮的单元的显示电极12a与显示电极22之间施加电压而进行定址放电，然后，在显示电极12a、12b之间施加脉冲电压而进行持续放电，从而发出紫外线光，并通过由荧光体层31将其变换为可见光，使该单元发光。 When the driving the PDP, the driver circuit of the display electrode 12a and the cell to be lit for address discharge voltage is applied between the display electrode 22, and the display electrodes 12a, 12b between the pulse voltage is applied to perform sustain discharge, to emit UV light, and by 31 converts the visible light by the phosphor layer, so that the light emitting unit. 具有上述结构的PDP，按如下方法制作。 PDP having the above structure, the following production method. 正面板的制作：正面板10的制作方法是，在正面玻璃衬底11上形成显示电极12，从显示电极12之上涂敷铅基玻璃并经烧结而形成电介质层13，进一步，在电介质层13的表面上形成保护层14，并在保护层14的表面上形成微细的凹凸。 It makes the panel: the front panel 10 is the manufacturing method, display electrodes 12 are formed on the front glass substrate 11, coated on the electrode 12 from the display and a lead-based glass dielectric layer 13 is formed by sintering, further, the dielectric layer the protective layer 14 is formed on the surface 13, and form fine irregularities on the surface of the protective layer 14. 显示电极12，采用通过网板印刷涂敷银电极用膏剂后进行烧结的方法形成。 Display electrodes 12, the method of sintering applied by screen printing a silver paste electrode after forming. 铅基电介质层13的组成为70重量％的氧化铅[PbO]、15重量％的氧化硼[B2O3]、15重量％的氧化硅[SiO2]，通过网板印刷法和烧结形成。 Composition of the lead-based dielectric layer 13 is 70% by weight of lead oxide [PbO], 15% by weight of boron oxide [B2O3], 15% by weight of silica [SiO2], is formed by screen printing and sintering. 具体地说，以网板印刷法涂敷与有机粘合剂(将10％的乙基纤维素溶解在α-萜品醇内制成)混合而成的组成物，然后在580°下烘烧10分钟形成，其膜厚设定为20μm。 Specifically, applied by screen printing method with an organic binder (10% ethyl cellulose dissolved in terpineol α- made) are mixed composition, and then firing at 580 ° 10 minutes is formed, the thickness thereof is set to 20μm. 保护层14，由碱土族氧化物(这里是氧化镁[MgO])构成，是具有面取向或面取向的精细结晶结构的膜，在其表面上形成具有微细凹凸的结构。 The protective layer 14, made alkaline earth oxide (here magnesium oxide [of MgO]) configuration, having a orientation or film surface plane orientation of the fine crystal structure, a structure having fine irregularities on the surface thereof . 在本实施形态中，采用CVD法(热CVD法、等离子CVD法)形成这种由面或面取向的MgO构成的保护膜，然后用等离子蚀刻法在其表面上形成凹凸。 In the present embodiment, the formation of such a protective film made of MgO plane or the plane orientation of the CVD method (thermal CVD method, plasma CVD method), then forming irregularities on the surface thereof by a plasma etching method . 关于保护层14的形成方法及其表面上的凹凸形成方法，将在后文中详细说明。 The method of forming irregularities on its surface protective layer 14 on the forming method will be described later in detail. 背面板的制作：利用在背面玻璃衬底21上通过网板印刷涂敷银电极用膏剂后进行烧结的方法形成显示电极22，与正面板10的情况一样，通过网板印刷法和烧结在其上形成由铅基玻璃构成的电介质层23。 Making back panel: the use in the method of the back glass substrate 21 on the sintering is applied by screen printing a silver paste electrode after forming the display electrode 22, and the case where the front panel 10, as by screen printing and sintering thereof It is formed on the dielectric layer 23 made of lead-based glass. 接着，按规定的间距固定玻璃制间壁30。 Next, predetermined fixed pitch partition 30 made of glass. 然后，在以间壁30分隔出的各个空间内涂布红色荧光体、绿色荧光体、蓝色荧光体中的一种并经烧结而形成荧光体层31。 Then, in each space partitioned by the partition wall 30 is applied to a red phosphor, a green phosphor, a blue phosphor and 31 and sintered to form a phosphor layer. 作为各色的荧光体，可以采用通常在PDP中使用的荧光体，但这里也可以采用下列的荧光体。 As each color phosphor, the phosphor may be used in a PDP is generally used, but here the following phosphors may be used. 绿色荧光体： BaAl12O19：Mn蓝色荧光体： BaMgAl14O23：Eu2+粘结板形式的PDP制作：接着，用密封用玻璃将按如上方式制成的正面板和背面板粘结在一起，同时将以间壁25分隔出的放电空间30内抽成高真空(1.06×10-7kPa)，然后按规定压力封入规定组成的放电气体，从而制作PDP。 Green phosphor: BaAl12O19: Mn Blue phosphor: BaMgAl14O23: Eu2 + bonding plate of the PDP of production: Next, the sealing glass will be positive and back panels made of bonded together in a manner as described above, while the partition will pumping out the partition 25 discharge space 30 into a high vacuum (1.06 × 10-7kPa), according to predetermined pressure and then sealed discharge gas of predetermined composition, thereby producing PDP. (关于放电气体的压力及组成)放电气体的封入压力，设定为超过大气压(101.32kPa)的106.65～533.28kPa的范围，该范围高于以往的一般封入压力。 (On the pressure and composition of the discharge gas) filled discharge gas pressure is set in the range of more than atmospheric pressure (101.32kPa) of 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa This range is generally higher than the conventional pressure sealed. 由此，与以往相比可以提高亮度及发光效率。 Thus, the conventional luminance and luminous efficiency can be improved compared. 在本实施形态中，为能以高压封入放电气体，在将板粘结在一起时，不仅在正面板和背面板的外周部而且在间壁25上也要涂布密封用玻璃，然后将其贴合并进行烧结(有关细节可参照申请号：平9-344636的日本专利)。 In the present embodiment, is capable of a high-pressure discharge gas is filled, when the plates are bonded together, not only in the outer peripheral portion of the front panel and the rear plate but also on a partition wall 25 coated with the sealing glass, and then paste the combined sintering (for details may refer to application number: Japanese Patent No. 9-344636 flat). 因此，即使以533.28kPa左右的高压封入气体，也能制成有足够耐压强度的PDP。 Thus, even if a high-pressure gas sealed about 533.28kPa, a sufficient compressive strength can also be made of PDP. 作为封入的放电气体，为能提高发光效率和降低放电电压，最好采用含有氦[He]、氖[Ne]、氙[Xe]、氩[Ar]的稀有气体混合物，以取代以往的氦-氙系列或氖-氙系列的气体组成。 As the discharge gas sealed, and the emission efficiency can be improved to reduce the discharge voltage, comprising helium is preferably used [of He], neon [Ne], xenon [Xe], argon [Ar] is a rare gas mixture, instead of a conventional helium - neon or xenon series - series of xenon gas composition. 这里，最好是使氙的含量在5体积％以下、氩的含量在0.5体积％以下、氦的含量小于55体积％，作为气体组成的具体例，可举出He(30％)-Ne(67.9％)-Xe(2％)-Ar(0.1％)这样的气体组成(气体组成式中的％表示体积％。以下同)。 Here, it is preferable that the content of xenon is 5% by volume, the content of argon at 0.5% by volume, of helium under 55% by volume, as the gas composition Specific examples thereof include He (30%) - Ne ( 67.9%) - Xe (2%) - Ar (0.1%) such gas composition (gas composition formula expressed in% vol% in the following). 上述的放电气体组成设定及封入压力设定，都有助于提高PDP的发光效率和板的亮度，特别是，如将上述的放电气体组成设定及封入压力设定结合在一起，则与以往相比能在抑制放电电压升高的同时显著地提高发光效率及板亮度，有关细节将在后文中说明。 The composition of the above-described discharge gas pressure is set and sealed, all help improve the luminance and luminous efficiency of the PDP panel, particularly, as the above-mentioned composition is set and the discharge gas filling pressure is set together, and the compared to conventional can significantly improve the panel luminance and luminous efficiency while suppressing an increase in discharge voltage, details of which will be described hereinafter. 另外，当封入压力在常压以下(以往的约66.66kPa以下)时，由于从氖(Ne)向外部发出可见光，因而很容易降低色纯度，而如使封入压力为106.65kPa以上的高压，则即使从氖(Ne)发出可见光，但因大部分在等离子体内部被吸收，所以几乎不向外部射出。 Further, when the filling pressure below atmospheric (about 66.66kPa less conventional), since the visible light emitted from neon (Ne) to the outside, which is easy to reduce the color purity, and if charged pressure of 106.65kPa or more high-pressure, the even visible light emitted from neon (Ne), but mostly absorbed in the interior of the plasma, is hardly emitted to the outside. 因此，与封入压力在常压以下(约66.66kPa以下)的情况相比，色纯度也可以改善。 Thus, as compared with the gas pressure is below atmospheric (about 66.66kPa or less), the color purity can be improved. 另外，封入压力如超过大气压，则能防止大气中的杂质侵入放电空间30内。 Further, such a pressure above atmospheric pressure is sealed, it is possible to prevent the intrusion of impurities in the atmosphere of the discharge space 30. 在本实施形态中，为使PDP的单元尺寸适合于40英寸级的高清晰度电视机，将单元间距设定为0.2mm以下，显示电极12的电极间距离d设定为0.1mm以下。 In the present embodiment, as the cell size of the PDP for 40-inch class high-definition television, the cell pitch is set to 0.2mm or less between the display electrode 12 is set to 0.1mm or less distance d. 考虑到将放电电压抑制在实用的范围内，将封入压力的上限值设定为533.28KPa。 Taking into account the discharge voltage is suppressed within a practical range, the upper limit of the filling pressure is set to 533.28KPa. (关于MgO保护层的形成方法及其表面形成凹凸的方法)图2是在形成保护层14、24时采用的CVD装置40的简图。 (The method of forming MgO protective layer on its surface unevenness forming method) in FIG. 2 is formed using CVD 14,24 when the protective layer 40 is a schematic view apparatus. 该CVD装置40，既可以进行热CVD也可以进行等离子CVD，在装置本体45中，设有用于加热玻璃衬底47(在图1中的玻璃衬底11上形成显示电极和电介质层13后的衬底)的加热部46，装置本体45内可以用排气装置49减压。 The CVD apparatus 40, both the heat CVD, plasma CVD may be performed, in the apparatus body 45, is provided for heating a glass substrate 47 is formed on a (glass substrate 11 in FIG. 1 after display electrodes and a dielectric layer 13 the substrate) of the heating portion 46, 49 of the apparatus body 45 can be reduced by exhaust means. 此外，在装置本体45上，还设置着一个用于产生等离子体的高频电源48。 Further, the apparatus body 45 is further provided with a high frequency power supply 48 for generating plasma. Ar气瓶41a、41b，将作为载体的氩[Ar]经由气化器(鼓泡器)42、43供给装置本体45。 Ar cylinders 41a, 41b, argon as a carrier [Ar] the apparatus body 42, 43 is supplied via the gasifier 45 (bubbler). 气化器42，用于加热和贮存用作MaO原料(原始材料)的金属螯合物，通过从Ar气瓶41a吹入Ar气，可以使该金属螯合物蒸发并送入装置本体45。 Gasifier 42, for heating and storing as MaO feedstock (raw material), metal chelates, by blowing an Ar gas from the Ar gas cylinder 41a, may cause the metal chelate is evaporated and fed to the apparatus body 45. 气化器43，用于加热和贮存成为MaO原料(原始材料)的环戊乙烯基化合物，通过从Ar气瓶41b吹入Ar气，可以使该环戊乙烯基化合物蒸发并送入装置本体45。 Vaporizer 43 for heating and storage become cyclopentyl MaO feedstock (raw material) vinyl compounds, 41b by Ar gas was blown from the Ar gas cylinder, cyclopentyl vinyl compound may cause the apparatus body 45 and fed evaporated . 作为从气化器42和气化器43供给的原始材料的具体例，可以举出Magnesium Dipivaloyl Methane(二叔戊酰甲烷镁)[Mg(C11H19O2)2]、Magnesium Acetylacetone(乙酰丙酮镁)[Mg(C5H7O2)2]、Cyclopentadienyl Magnesium(环戊乙烯合镁)[Mg(C5H5)2]、MagnesiumTrifluoroacetylacetone(三氟乙酰丙酮镁)[Mg(C5H5F3O2)2]。 Specific examples of the raw material supplied from the vaporizer 42 and the gasifier 43 may include Magnesium Dipivaloyl Methane (magnesium dipivaloylmethane) [Mg (C11H19O2) 2], Magnesium Acetylacetone (magnesium acetylacetonate) [of Mg ( C5H7O2) 2], Cyclopentadienyl magnesium (ethylene-co-magnesium-cyclopentyl) [Mg (C5H5) 2], MagnesiumTrifluoroacetylacetone (magnesium trifluoroacetylacetonate) [Mg (C5H5F3O2) 2]. 氧气瓶44，用于将作为反应气体的氧气[O2]供给装置本体45。 Oxygen bottles 44, [O2] apparatus main body 45 for supplying oxygen as the reaction gas. 进行热CVD法时：将玻璃衬底47放置在加热部46上，使电介质层朝上，并加热到规定温度(350～400°℃)，同时用排气装置49将反应容器内部减压到规定压力。 When the thermal CVD method: the glass substrate 47 placed on the heating portion 46, facing the dielectric layer, and is heated to a predetermined temperature (350 ~ 400 ° ℃), exhaust means while the reaction vessel was reduced to 49 internal specified pressure. 然后，一面由气化器42或气化器43将用作原始材料的碱土族金属螯合物或环戊乙烯基化合物加热到规定温度(参照以下各表的「气化器温度」栏)，一面从Ar气瓶41a或41b送入Ar气。 Then, one surface 42 of the gasifier or gasifier 43 as the alkaline earth metal chelate or cyclopentyl vinyl compound starting material is heated to a predetermined temperature (refer to "gasifier temperature" column in the following table), Ar gas Ar fed from the side of the cylinder 41a or 41b. 与此同时，还从氧气瓶44流入氧气。 At the same time, also flows into the oxygen from the oxygen cylinder 44. 通过上述操作，使送入装置本体45的金属螯合物或环戊乙烯基化合物与氧气反应，并在玻璃衬底47的电介质层的表面上形成MgO保护层。 By the above operation, the metal chelate fed to the apparatus body 45 or cyclopentyl vinyl compound is reacted with oxygen, and MgO protective layer is formed on a surface of the dielectric layer 47 of the glass substrate. 进行等离子CVD时：以与上述热CVD时基本相同的方式进行，但由加热部46产生的玻璃衬底47的加热温度设定在250～300℃左右，同时用排气装置49减压到1.33kPa左右，并驱动高频电源48，例如，施加例如13.56MHz的高频电场，从而一面在装置本体45内产生等离子体，一面形成MgO保护层。 When the plasma CVD: when the heat CVD to substantially the same manner, but the heating temperature of the glass substrate generated by the heating unit 4647 is set at about 250 ~ 300 ℃, while the exhaust device 49 under reduced pressure to 1.33 about kPa, and drives the RF power supply 48, e.g., applying a high frequency electric field of 13.56MHz, for example, thereby generating a plasma in the side of the apparatus body 45, MgO protective layer formed on one surface. 采用上述热CVD法或等离子CVD法形成的MgO保护层，在用X射线分析法检查结晶结构后，确认为面取向或面取向。 MgO protective layer formed using the above-described thermal CVD method or a plasma CVD method, the method for detecting the X-ray crystal structure analysis, identified as plane orientation or a plane orientation. 与此不同，在用X射线分析法检查结晶结构后，确认以往以真空蒸镀法(EB法)形成的MgO保护层为面取向。 On the other hand, in the crystal structure analysis by X-ray examination confirmed MgO protective layer in a conventional vacuum deposition method (EB method) of plane orientation. 在以CVD法形成MgO保护层的过程中，形成面取向或是面取向，可以通过控制作为反应气体的氧气的流量进行调整。 In the process of forming the MgO protective layer to a CVD method to form a plane orientation or a plane orientation, can be adjusted by controlling the flow rate of oxygen as the reaction gas. 其次，说明用等离子蚀刻法在保护层上形成凹凸的方式。 Next, plasma etching irregularities formed on the protective layer manner. 在装置本体52中，有一个在其上形成有由MgO构成的保护层的衬底53(即在图1中的玻璃衬底11上形成显示电极12a和12b、电介质层13及保护层14后的衬底)，在装置本体52内，可以由排气装置56进行减压，并可以从Ar气瓶51供给Ar气。 In the apparatus body 52, there is a protective layer made of MgO is formed on a substrate 53 (i.e., the display electrodes 12a and 12b, dielectric layer 13 and a protective layer 14 is formed on the glass substrate 11 in FIG. 1 a substrate), in the apparatus main body 52, may be reduced by the exhaust unit 56, and Ar gas may be supplied from the Ar gas cylinder 51. 此外，在装置本体52上，还设有用于产生等离子体的高频电源54及用于照射所产生的离子的偏置电源55。 Further, the apparatus body 52, the bias power supply is also provided for generating an ion plasma high frequency power source 54 for irradiation and the generated 55. 在使用该等离子蚀刻装置时，首先，用排气装置56对反应容器内部进行减压(0.0001333～0.01333kPa)，并从Ar气瓶供入Ar气。 When using the plasma etching apparatus, first, the exhaust device 56 inside the reaction vessel under reduced pressure (0.0001333 ~ 0.01333kPa), and Ar gas was fed from the Ar gas cylinder. 驱动高频电源54，通过施加13.56MHz的高频电场，产生氩等离子体。 Driving high frequency power source 54, by applying a high frequency electric field of 13.56MHz, argon plasma is generated. 然后，驱动偏置电源55而对衬底53施加电压(-200V)，并对Ar离子照射10分钟，从而对MgO保护层的表面进行溅射。 Then, the driving bias power source 55 is applied to the substrate 53 voltage (-200 V), and irradiated with Ar ions for 10 minutes so that the surface of the MgO protective layer is sputtered. 通过这种溅射，即可在MgO保护层的表面上形成棱锥状的凹凸。 By this sputtering, pyramid-shaped projections can be formed on the surface of the MgO protective layer. 另外，通过对溅射时间或施加电压等的调整，可以控制在表面上形成的凹凸的尺寸。 Further, by adjusting sputtering time and the applied voltage or the like, it can control the size of irregularities formed on the surface. 在形成该凹凸时，使所形成的表面粗糙度为30nm～100nm左右，被认为是适当的。 When forming the irregularities formed on the surface roughness of about 30nm ~ 100nm, it is considered appropriate. 通过上述溅射在表面上形成的凹凸呈现出棱锥状的情况，可以用扫描电子显微镜进行确认。 Irregularities formed on the surface by the sputtering exhibits pyramid-shaped case can be confirmed using a scanning electron microscope. 进行了上述处理后的保护层，具有如下所述的特征及效果。 The protective layer is carried out after the above process, having the following features and effects. (1)由于MgO保护层的结晶结构为面取向或面取向，所以二次电子的发射系数(γ值)大。 (1) Because the crystal structure of the MgO protective layer has a plane orientation or a plane orientation, the coefficient of secondary emission electrons (gamma] value) is large. 因此，有助于降低PDP的驱动电压及提高板的亮度。 This contributes to reduction in driving voltage and increase the brightness of the PDP panel. (2)由于MgO保护层的表面为棱锥状的凹凸结构，所以放电时电场集中在凸部的顶部，因而将从该顶部发射出更多的电子。 (2) Since the surface of the MgO protective layer is a pyramid-shaped projections of the structure, the discharge electric field is concentrated at the top of the convex portion, and thus more electrons emitted from the top. 因此，容易发生条形辉光放电或第2型辉光放电，且能稳定地发生上述形态的放电。 Thus, prone filamentary glow discharge or the second glow discharge, the above-described aspect and can discharge occurs stably. 并且，当稳定地发生条形辉光放电或第2型辉光放电时，与以往那样的发生第1型辉光放电的情况相比，在局部也能获得高的等离子密度，由此可知在放电空间内可产生更多的紫外线(主要波长为172nm)，因而可以得到高的板的亮度。 And, when the filamentary glow discharge occurs stably or the second glow discharge, as compared with the case of the occurrence of a first type of a conventional glow discharge, can be obtained in a high local plasma density, it can be seen in may be generated in the discharge space more ultraviolet light (main wavelength of 172nm), it is possible to obtain a high luminance panel. (对辉光放电的形态的说明)这里，说明条形辉光放电及第2型辉光放电。 (Description of the shape of the glow discharge) Here, the bar-type glow discharge and the second glow discharge 2. 关于「条形辉光放电」及「第2型辉光放电」，在放电手册(电气学会平成1年6月1日发行p138)中，有如下说明。 About "filamentary glow discharge" and "second glow discharge", in the discharge manual (Institute of Electrical year Heisei issued June 1 p138), the following instructions. 『在J.Phys.D.Appl.Phys.，Vol.13 p.1886(1970)的论文中，Kekez、Barrault和Craggs说明了放电状态向飞弧、汤姆森放电、第1型辉光放电、第2型辉光放电和弧光放电的转移。 "In the J.Phys.D.Appl.Phys., Vol.13 p.1886 (1970) paper, Kekez, Barrault, and Craggs illustrate the discharge state to flashover, Thomson discharge, the first glow discharge, second glow discharge and arc discharge transition. 』图4是表示在该论文中所阐明的瞬态辉光、弧光转移的电流波形的曲线图。 "FIG. 4 is a graph showing the paper as set forth in transient glow transferred arc current waveform. 第1型辉光放电相当于通常的辉光放电，第2型辉光放电相当于放电能量正在集中供给阳极光柱时的放电。 First glow discharge corresponds to the normal glow discharge, glow discharge corresponds to the second type of discharge is concentrated at the discharge energy supplied to the anode beam. 在图4中，第1型辉光放电，发生在电流值较低且稳定的ta～tc时段，第2型辉光放电，发生在td～te时段。 In FIG. 4, the first glow discharge is caused in the lower current value and stable period ta ~ tc, second glow discharge is caused in the period td ~ te. 条形辉光放电，发生在从第1型辉光放电向第2型辉光放电转移的tc～td时段。 Filamentary glow discharge is caused in the discharge period tc ~ td from the first glow discharge to the second glow transfer. 然后，从第2型辉光放电转入弧光放电。 Then, the second glow discharge into the arc discharge. 与上述第1型辉光放电稳定进行不同，条形辉光放电和第2型辉光放电，电流不稳定，所以向弧光放电转移的可能性高，但如果转移到弧光放电，则放电气体将随着发热而发生热电离，因而这种转移是不希望发生的。 Different stability, stripe type glow discharge and the second glow discharge current is unstable, so a high possibility that the discharge arc transfer, but if the transfer to the arc discharge, the discharge gas with the above-described first glow discharge with the heat generation thermal ionization occurs, so this transfer is undesirable. 可是，以往的PDP中的放电，以第1型辉光放电进行，但在本实施形态中，则认定条形辉光放电或第2型辉光放电也能比较稳定地发生。 However, the conventional PDP, discharge to be first glow discharge, but in the present embodiment, the identified filamentary glow discharge or the second glow discharge can occur relatively stable. 因此，必须预计到应使放电的阳极光柱的电子密度提高，并集中供给能量，从而可以增加紫外线的发射量。 Therefore, it is necessary that the electron density is expected to be a positive column discharge is increased, the supply of energy and focus, thus increasing the amount of ultraviolet rays. (关于放电气体中的封入压力与发光效率的关系)说明通过将放电气体的封入压力设定为比以往高的106.65～533.28kPa范围而使发光效率提高的原因。 (Relationship between pressure and enclosed in the luminous efficiency of the discharge gas) is illustrated by the enclosed discharge gas pressure is set to be higher than the conventional reasons 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa range of the light emission efficiency is improved. 首先，考虑到如将封入压力设定得高则有利于发生上述条形辉光放电和第2型辉光放电的放电形态，所以，可以举出这一点作为紫外线发射量增加的一个原因。 First, considering the filling pressure is set as will facilitate the discharge of the high aspect bar glow discharge and the second glow discharge occurs, it is possible to include a reason for this increased amount of ultraviolet emission. 其次，可以举出的另一点是，如下文所述，能使紫外线的波长向长波长侧(154nm及173nm)移动。 Next, another point is that there may be mentioned, as described below, can move the UV wavelength to a longer wavelength (154nm and 173nm). 作为PDP的紫外线的发光机理，大致有谐振线和分子线两种。 Ultraviolet light-emitting mechanism of a PDP, generally have two kinds of resonance lines and molecular lines. 以往，由于放电气体的封入压力在66.66kPa以下，所以发自Xe的紫外光主要波长为147nm(Xe原子的谐振线)，但通过将封入压力设定在101.32kPa以上，可以使长波长的173nm(Xe分子的分子线激励波长)的比例增大。 Conventionally, since the discharge gas pressure in the enclosed 66.66kPa or less, from the bottom of the main Xe ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 147nm (resonance line of Xe atoms), but sealed by the pressure was set at 101.32kPa or more, the long wavelength 173nm ratio (molecular beam of Xe molecules excitation wavelength) is increased. 并且，与波长147nm的谐振线相比，能使波长154nm及173nm的分子线的比例增大。 And, compared to the wavelength of the resonance line 147nm, 154nm wavelength can be increased and the proportion of molecular lines of 173nm. 图5是表示当在采用了He-Xe系列放电气体的PDP中封入气体压力变化时所发射的紫外线波长与发光量的关系如何变化的特性图，该图引自「O Plus E No.195 1996年的P.98」。 FIG 5 is a graph showing how the relationship between the amount of light emission in the ultraviolet wavelength when using a series PDP He-Xe discharge gas is sealed gas pressure variation emitted by the change, which is taken from FIG. "O Plus E No.195 1996 P.98 years. " 在该图中，曲线图的波长147nm(谐振线)及波长173nm(分子线)的峰值面积，表示发光量。 In the figure, the wavelength 147nm (resonance line) and a wavelength of 173nm (molecular line) of the peak area of ​​the graph, represents the amount of light emission. 因此，从上述的峰值面积即可知道各波长的相对发光量。 Accordingly, from the peak area to know the relative amount of each light emission wavelengths. 在13.33kPa的压力下，波长147nm(谐振线)的发光量占了大部分，但随着压力的增大，波长173nm(分子线)的发光量比例增加，在66.66kPa的压力下，波长173nm(分子线)的发光量变得大于波长147nm(谐振线)的发光量了。 At a pressure of 13.33kPa, the emission wavelength of 147nm (resonance line) accounted for most, but as the pressure increases, the proportion of the amount of light emission wavelength of 173nm (molecular line) increases, at a pressure of 66.66kPa of 173nm wavelength (molecular beam) of the light emission amount becomes larger than the amount of light emission wavelength of 147nm (resonance line) of the. 如上所述，随着紫外线波长向长波长侧移动，可以取得(1)紫外线发射量增大、及(2)荧光体变换效率提高的效果。 As described above, as the ultraviolet wavelength shifted to the long wavelength side, can be obtained (1) ultraviolet light emission amount increases, and (2) the conversion efficiency of the phosphor is improved. 以下，分别进行说明。 The following were described. (1)紫外线发射量增大图6是表示Xe的能级和各种反应路径的图。 (1) increasing the amount of ultraviolet rays emitted FIG. 6 shows energy levels and various reactive path of Xe. 当存在于原子内的电子从某个能级向另一能级移动时发射谐振线，所以在Xe的情况下主要发射147nm的紫外线。 Emission resonance line when present in the atomic electrons move from one level to another level, so that in the case of Xe, mainly emits ultraviolet rays of 147nm. 但是，对于谐振线，存在着所谓感应吸收的现象，所以发射出的紫外光的一部分被基态的Xe吸收。 However, the resonance line, the presence of the so-called phenomenon of induced absorption, the Xe emits in the ultraviolet portion of the ground state absorption. 这种现象一般被称作自身吸收。 This phenomenon is generally referred to as self-absorbed. 另一方面，如图6所示，在分子线中，当被激励的2个原子靠近到一定的距离以内时发射紫外线，而2个原子返回基态。 On the other hand, as shown in Figure 6, the line in the molecule, the ultraviolet rays emitted when excited near the two atoms to within a certain distance, the two atoms return to the ground state. 因此，几乎看不到吸收现象。 Therefore, almost invisible absorption phenomena. 为定性地确认上述情况，进行如下的简单理论计算，并与实验结果进行比较。 Is qualitatively confirm the above situation, the following simple theoretical calculation, and compared with the experimental results. 首先，设电子密度为ne、原子密度为n0，则谐振线的发生量(V147)可表示为V147＝a·ne·n0设吸收系数为b(通常为10-6左右)、等离子体长度为l，则吸收量(Vabs)可表示为Vabs＝exp(-b·n·l)另一方面，分子线，通过处于激励状态的Xe原子彼此接近而生成，所以其发生量(V172)为V172＝C·n4+d·n3～C·n4。 First, the electron density is set NE, atom density n0, the generation amount (V147) of the resonant lines may be expressed as V147 = a · ne · n0 disposed absorption coefficient b (typically about 10-6), the length of the plasma l, the absorption (Vabs reaches) can be expressed as Vabs = exp (-b · n · l) On the other hand, molecular lines, by Xe atoms approach each other in the excited state is generated, so the generation amount (V172) of V172 = C · n4 + d · n3 ~ C · n4. 对于分子线几乎不存在吸收，所以，如考虑到几何学的物理散射，则V172＝C·n4-n2/3因此，总紫外线量V为V＝a·ne·n0-c·exp(-b·n·l)+C·n4-n2/3而式中的a、b、c为任意常数。 The molecular absorption lines hardly exists, therefore, such as consideration of the physical scattering geometry, the V172 = C · n4-n2 / 3 Thus, the total amount of ultraviolet V is V = a · ne · n0-c · exp (-b · n · l) + C · n4-n2 / 3 in the formula a, b, c are arbitrary constants. 将与放电气体压力变化对应的谐振线、分子线、总紫外线的计算值以图7的曲线图示出。 Calcd corresponding resonance lines and molecular lines with a total UV will change the discharge gas pressure 7 shows a graph. 从图7可以看到，横轴虽为任意轴，但为了充分显示出分子线的效果，需要一定程度以上的气体压力。 As seen in Figure 7, although the horizontal axis is an arbitrary axis, but in order to sufficiently exhibit the effect of molecular lines, require more than a certain level of gas pressure. 另外，作为放电气体，采用在PDP中通常使用的Ne(95％)-Xe(5％)，通过真空室实验检查了与气体压力对应的紫外线输出，该实验结果，如图7中的符号●所示，示出了与上述理论预侧近似的特性。 Further, as a discharge gas, Ne using generally used in the PDP (95%) - Xe (5%), through the vacuum chamber experiments examined the gas pressure corresponding to the ultraviolet output, this experimental result, the symbol ● shown in FIG. 7 , there is shown the characteristic of the above-described pre-side theoretical approximation. (2)荧光体变换效率提高图8(a)、(b)、(c)是表示对各色荧光体的激励波长与相对发射效率的关系的特性图。 (2) improve the conversion efficiency of the phosphor of FIG. 8 (a), (b), (c) is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the excitation wavelength of the phosphor of each color and relative emission efficiency. 该图引自「O Plus E No.195 1996年的P.99」。 The figure quoted in "O Plus E No.195 in 1996 P.99." 从该图8可以看出，无论是哪一种颜色的荧光体，长波长173nm的相对发射效率都要比波长147nm的大。 As can be seen from FIG. 8, no matter what kind of color of the phosphor, the emission efficiency of relatively long wavelength of 173nm to be larger than the wavelength of 147nm. 因此，当紫外线波长从147nm(Xe的谐振线)向长波长的173nm(Xe原子的分子线)移动而使长波长的比例增大时，可以显示出荧光体的发光效率也随之增大的趋势。 Therefore, when the proportion of ultraviolet wavelength is increased from 147nm (resonance line of Xe) (molecular beam of Xe atoms) moves to the long wavelength 173nm long wavelength, light emission may exhibit efficiency of the phosphor is also increased trend. (封入压力、发光效率、及放电电压之间的关系)从上述图7的全紫外线的变化趋势可以作如下的进一步的考察。 (Relationship between the gas pressure is, light emission efficiency, and the discharge voltage) from the changing trend of the whole ultraviolet Figure 7 described above may be further investigated as follows. 当气体压力在53.32～133.32kPa的范围时，紫外线输出随气体压力的增加而增加，但在133.32kPa附近达到饱和状态，紫外线输出几乎不再增加。 The gas pressure in the range of 53.32 ~ 133.32kPa, UV output with increasing gas pressure increased, but when near saturation 133.32kPa, hardly increased UV output. 当接着使气体压力进一步增加时，从186.65kPa附近开始紫外线输出再度增加，并持续增加到超过266.64kPa的附近区域。 Then, when the gas pressure is further increased, once again to increase UV output 186.65kPa from near the beginning, and continues to increase over the 266.64kPa vicinity. 当使气体压力从该区域起进一步增加时，紫外线输出的增加呈现出变得稍微平缓的区域，这可以认为是因为物理散射等造成的影响。 When the gas pressure is further increased from this region exhibits increased UV output becomes somewhat flat area, which can be considered as a physical influence caused by scattering. 另外，在图7中虽未示出，但正如从上述理论式可以预计到的，即使当进一步使气体压力增加而超过该区域时，紫外线输出仍会增加。 Further, although not shown in FIG. 7, but as can be expected from the above theoretical formula, even when the gas pressure is further increased beyond this region, it will increase the UV output. 根据以上的考察，可以将放电气体的最理想的封入压力范围(106.65～533.28kPa)进一步分成4个区域，即106.65～133.32kPa(区域1)、186.65～373.30kPa(区域2)、373.30～533.28kPa(区域3)、266.64～533.28kPa(区域4)。 Ideally enclosed pressure range (106.65 ~ 533.28kPa) According to the above consideration, the discharge gas may be further divided into four regions, i.e. 106.65 ~ 133.32kPa (zone 1), 186.65 ~ 373.30kPa (zone 2), 373.30 ~ 533.28 kPa (zone 3), 266.64 ~ 533.28kPa (zone 4). 就126.65kPa这一数值而言，虽然从原理上说只要超过101.32KPa就能产生效果，但考虑到例如封入时的温度高于室温等制造时的条件，因而从工业的角度出发设定为这一数值。 In terms of 126.65kPa this value, although can be effective as long as more than 101.32KPa, but taking into account, for example, sealed-fitting temperature is higher than room temperature, and other manufacturing conditions, and therefore from the industrial point of view in principle for this set a value. 关于这4个区域，可以考察如下。 About four regions can be investigated as follows. 当只考虑紫外线输出量时，压力最高的区域4当然应认为是最佳的。 When considering only the ultraviolet output, the maximum pressure region 4 it should of course be considered optimal. 另一方面，在PDP中，放电起始电压Vf，可以表示为封入压力P与电极间距离d的乘积[Pd乘积]的函数，并称之为帕邢定律(可参照：电子显示器件，オ-ム社，昭和59年，P113～114)。 On the other hand, in the PDP, the discharge starting voltage Vf, can be expressed as the product [Pd product] was enclosed between the pressure P and the electrode distance d functions, and called Paschen's law (which may refer to: an electronic display device, Bio - Charm Corporation, 1984, P113 ~ 114). 并且，当气体压力升高时，Pd乘积和放电电压有升高的倾向。 Further, when the gas pressure is increased, Pd product and the discharge voltage tends to rise. 这里，如将电极间距离设定得较小则可以抑制Pd乘积，但随着电极间距离d的缩小，将需要更高级的电介质绝缘技术。 Here, as the distance between the electrodes is set smaller Pd product can be suppressed, but with reduced inter-electrode distance d, will need more advanced dielectric isolation techniques. 因此，应考虑到技术难度将按区域1、2、3、4的顺序增加。 Thus, taking into account the technical difficulty will increase the order of the regions 1, 2,. 例如，在图7中，与图中的A相当的PDP，放电起始电压为200V，与图中的B相当的PDP，放电起始电压为450V。 For example, in FIG. 7, the figure A corresponding to the PDP, the discharge starting voltage was 200V, the corresponding figure B the PDP, the discharge starting voltage was 450V. 由此可知，与区域1对应的PDP，放电起始电压大体上在250V以下，因而可以利用现有的PDP的电介质绝缘技术或驱动电路的耐压技术，但在区域3或区域4的PDP的情况下，为了将电极间距离d设定得相当小，就需要高级的技术，因而将导致成本的增加。 It can be seen, the region corresponding to the PDP 1, discharge starting voltage is generally at 250V or less, it is possible to use the conventional PDP electrical medium voltage insulation technology or technology drive circuit, but in the region or area of ​​the PDP 3 of 4 case, in order to inter-electrode distance d is set to be relatively small, it requires advanced technology, which will result in an increase in cost. (关于放电气体的组成、发光效率及放电电压)如上所述，通过对放电气体的组成采用含有氦[He]、氖[Ne]、氙[Xe]、氩[Ar]的稀有气体混合物并使氙的含量在5体积％以下、氩的含量在0.5体积％以下、氦的含量小于55体积％，则即使是以高压封入时，也能以较低的放电起始电压(250V以下，最好在220V以下)进行驱动。 (Composition of the light-emitting efficiency and discharge voltage on the discharge gas) As described above, by using the composition of the discharge gas containing helium [of He], neon [Ne], xenon [Xe], argon [Ar] and a rare gas mixture xenon content of at most 5 vol%, the content of argon at 0.5% by volume, of helium under 55% by volume, even if the high pressure seal is fashionable, can be (250V or less at a lower discharge starting voltage, preferably in 220V or less) drive. 即，通过采用上述组成的气体，与以往采用组成为Ne(95％)-Xe(5％)或He(95％)-Xe(5％)的气体的情况相比，可以显著地降低放电起始电压。 That is, by employing the gas in the composition, the conventional use of a composition of Ne (95%) - Xe (5%) or He (95%) - where gas is Xe (5%) compared to significantly reduce the discharge from the threshold voltage. 以下，根据实验对这一点进行更为详细的说明。 The following, according to the experiment on this point in more detail. (实验1：与放电气体组成有关的预备实验)根据本实施形态的PDP进行制作，即将其设定为图9的表中列出的各种放电气体的组成，且改变Pd乘积而将其设定为各种不同的值，并测定了放电起始电压。 (Experiment 1: Experiment preliminary discharge gas composition related) was produced according to the PDP of the present embodiment, which is about to set the composition of a discharge gas of various tables listed in FIG. 9, and to change the setting Pd product set to various values, and the discharge starting voltage was measured. Pd乘积的设定方式为，将电极间隔d设定为20、40、60、120μm，同时使气体压力P在13.32～333.39kPa范围内变化。 Pd product is set as the mode, the electrode interval d is set to 20,40,60,120μm, while the gas pressure P vary in the range of 13.32 ~ 333.39kPa. 这里，当设定为小的Pd乘积时，主要使用较小的电极间隔d(例如当Pd乘积为1～4时，将电极间隔d设定为20μm、将压力P设定为66.66～333.30kPa左右)，当设定为较大的Pd乘积时，主要使用较大的电极间隔d(60、120μm)，从而设定为各种Pd乘积值。 Here, when Pd product is set to be small, the main use of a smaller electrode spacing d (e.g., when Pd product is 1 to 4, the electrode interval of 20 m is set to d, the pressure P is set to 66.66 ~ 333.30kPa left and right), when Pd product is set large, the main use of larger electrode spacing d (60,120μm), thereby setting the product Pd various values. 图9的曲线图，示出本实验的结果，并表示出Pd乘积与放电起始电压的关系。 FIG 9 is a graph showing the results of this experiment, and shows the relationship between Pd product and the firing voltage. 另外，在图9的表中，还列出对采用了各种气体组成的其Pd乘积为4左右(封入压力为266.64kPa)的PDP的亮度测定值(放电电压为250V左右)。 Further, in the table of FIG. 9 also lists the luminance values ​​thereof measured using a variety of Pd product gas composition is about 4 (enclosed pressure of 266.64kPa) of the PDP (discharge voltage is about 250V). 结果和考察：从图9的表可以看出，He-Xe系列或He-Ne-Xe系列的亮度比Ne-Xe系列高(尤其是He-Ne-Xe系列达到很高的亮度)，因此，当含有能使电子温度提高的He时，在亮度的提高上是有效的。 Results and Discussion: As can be seen from the table of FIG. 9, the luminance series He-Xe or He-Ne-Xe is higher than the series series Ne-Xe (in particular, He-Ne-Xe series to achieve high brightness), and therefore, when the electron temperature is increased to make containing He, the increase in brightness it is effective. 另外，从图9的曲线图还可以看出，He-Xe系列(符号▲)，显示出放电起始电压比Ne-Xe系列(符号◆)高的倾向，因此在实用上不能进入最佳的放电起始电压的区域(220V以下)。 Further, it can be seen from the graph of FIG. 9, He-Xe series (symbol ▲), showing a tendency to discharge starting voltage higher than the Ne-Xe series (symbol ◆), and therefore can not enter in the best practical discharge start voltage region (220V or less). 另一方面，在图9的曲线图中，可以看出，在Ne-Xe系列内添加了0.1％的Ar的气体(符号○)，与He-Xe系列、Ne-Xe系列、或He-Ne-Xe系列相比，因彭宁效应而使放电起始电压降低，因而其曲线通过放电起始电压在220V以下且Pd乘积为3以上的最佳使用区域。 On the other hand, in the graph of FIG. 9, it can be seen, adding 0.1% of Ar gas (the symbol ○) in the series of Ne-Xe, and He-Xe series, series Ne-Xe, or He-Ne -Xe series compared Penning effect due to the discharge starting voltage is decreased, and thus the discharge starting voltage curve at 220V or less and the product Pd of 3 or more optimal use area. 但是，在Ne-Xe系列内添加了0.5％的Ar的气体(符号■)，其放电起始电压没有多大的降低。 However, in the series of Ne-Xe gas Ar was added a 0.5% (symbol ■), which discharge start voltage is not much reduced. 由此可见，为降低放电起始电压，可添加较少量的Ar(0.5％以下)。 Thus, to reduce the discharge start voltage, to add a relatively small amount of Ar (0.5% or less). 在图9中，之所以将Pd乘积为3以上的范围作为最佳的使用区域，是因为目前很难将电极的间隔设定在10μm以下，所以从实用考虑最好将Pd乘积设定在3以上的范围。 In Figure 9, the reason why the Pd product in the range of 3 or more as the best use region, is difficult because the distance between the electrodes is set at 10μm or less, it is considered preferable from a practical Pd product is set at 3 above range. 从上述可知，在将He与Ne-Xe系列混合时，发光效率提高但存在着放电起始电压升高的倾向，如在其中进一步混合Ar，则既可以降低放电电压又能使发光效率得到同等的提高。 From the above, when He and Ne-Xe mixed series, luminous efficiency is improved, but there is a tendency to increase the discharge starting voltage, wherein there is further mixed as Ar, the discharge voltage may be decreased and luminous efficiency can equally It improved. 这里，可以推察出Ar的量只须较少的量即可。 Here, the amount can be pushed observed only a small amount of Ar can. 在本实验中，通过使气体压力P在13.32～333.30kPa的范围内变化而进行了Pd乘积的设定，但即使将气体压力P设定在333.32～533.28kPa的范围内，也仍能得到与图9的曲线图同样的结果。 In this experiment, Pd product and carried out by setting the gas pressure P is varied in the range of 13.32 ~ 333.30kPa, but even if the gas pressure P is set in a range 333.32 ~ 533.28kPa also still obtained the same result graph of FIG. 9. 另外，在Xe的含有率低的范围(10％以下的范围)内，已知Xe的量与发光效率大致存在着成比例的关系，但通过实验已确认，即使是上述各种组成的放电气体，如Xe的量变化，则发光效率也随之而变化。 Further, in the low range containing Xe (10% or less), a known amount of Xe and light emission efficiency substantially proportional relationship exists, it has been experimentally confirmed that, even when the discharge gas is composed of the above as the amount of Xe is changed, the emission efficiency also will vary. (实验2：He-Ne-Xe-Ar系列气体与Ne-Xe系列气体的比较)PDP的制作方式是，在上述实施形态的PDP中，作为放电气体采用了He(30％)-Ne(67.9％)-Xe(2％)-Ar(0.1％)(称作「放电气体A」)、及Ne(95％)-Xe(5％)(称作「放电气体Z」)，在这两种情况下，将Pd乘积改变和设定为各种不同的值，并测定了放电起始电压。 (Experiment 2: Comparison of He-Ne-Xe-Ar series gas and Ne-Xe series gas) PDP production methods, in the PDP of the above embodiment, the discharge gas using He (30%) - Ne (67.9 %) - Xe (2%) - Ar (0.1%) (referred to as "discharge gas A") and Ne (95%) - Xe (5%) (referred to as "discharge gas Z"), in both case, Pd product is set and changed to various values, and the discharge starting voltage was measured. Pd乘积的设定，以与上述实验1相同的方式进行，即，将电极间隔d设定为20、40、60、120μm，同时使气体压力P在13.33～333.30kPa范围内变化。 Pd product is set in the same manner as in the above experiment 1, i.e., the electrode interval d is set to 20,40,60,120μm, while the gas pressure P vary in the range of 13.33 ~ 333.30kPa. 图10是表示本实验的结果、即Pd乘积与放电起始电压的关系的曲线图。 FIG 10 shows the results of this experiment, i.e., the product of Pd graph showing the relationship of the discharge start voltage. 从该曲线图可以看出，在放电气体Z的情况下，如果将Pd乘积从12减小到4左右，则可将放电起始电压从450V降低到320V、即降低130V左右。 As can be seen from this graph, in the case of discharge gas Z, if Pd product is reduced from 12 to about 4, the discharge starting voltage can be reduced from 450V to 320V, i.e. reduced by about 130V. 另一方面，可以看出，在放电气体A的情况下，即使Pd乘积同样是12，但与放电气体Z相比，也可将放电起始电压降低130V左右，而如果将Pd乘积从12减小到4左右，可以进一步将放电起始电压降低90V左右。 On the other hand, it can be seen, in the case of discharge gas A, even if Pd product is 12 Also, compared with the discharge gas Z, the firing voltage can be reduced by about 130V, and if Pd product is reduced from 12 small to about 4, the discharge starting voltage can be further reduced by about 90V. 因此，如采用放电气体A，则即使是将封入压力设定得高的情况下，尽管电极间距离d没有多大的减小，也能将放电电压降低到实用的电平。 Thus, using such discharge gas A, even if the filling pressure is set at high, there is not much reduced although the distance d between the electrodes, the discharge voltage can be reduced to a practical level. 通过另外进行的发光效率的比较实验已经确认，当采用放电气体A时，即使是使用比采用放电气体Z时低得多的电压也能实现同等的亮度，当采用放电气体A时，可以获得大约为采用放电气体Z时的1.5倍的发光效率。 Has been confirmed by a comparative experiment performed luminous efficiency Further, when using a discharge gas A, even with the use of a discharge gas Z than a much lower voltage to achieve equivalent brightness, when using a discharge gas A, can be obtained about light-emitting efficiency is 1.5 times the time of discharge gas Z. 可以认为，上述放电气体A的效果，是通过将在实验1中所述的因含有He而使发光效率提高及因添加少量Ar而使放电电压减低两方面结合而获得的。 It is believed that the effect of the discharge gas A, by reducing the voltage in binding due to the presence of both He and the luminous efficiency is improved by the addition of a small amount of Ar in the discharge of the experiment 1 is obtained. 从本实验的结果可以看出，采用He-Ne-Xe-Ar系列混合气体作为放电气体并已确定最好是使Xe的含量在5体积％以下、Ar的含量在0.5体积％以下，对发光效率的提高及放电电压的降低是有效的。 From the results of this experiment, using the He-Ne-Xe-Ar-based mixed gas as discharge gas has been determined, and it is desirable that the content of Xe of 5 volume% or less, the content of Ar 0.5% by volume or less, the light-emitting improve the efficiency and lower the discharge voltage is effective. 在本实验中，通过使气体压力P在13.33～333.30kPa的范围内变化而进行了Pd乘积的设定，但即使将气体压力P设定在333.30～533.28kPa的范围内，也仍能得到与图10的曲线图同样的结果。 In this experiment, Pd product and carried out by setting the gas pressure P is varied in the range of 13.33 ~ 333.30kPa, but even if the gas pressure P is set in a range 333.30 ~ 533.28kPa also still obtained the same result graph 10 of FIG. (实验3：关于He-Ne-Xe系列气体及He-Ne-Xe-Ar系列气体)PDP的制作方式是，在上述实施形态的PDP(电极间距离d＝40μm)中，作为放电气体采用了He(50％)-Ne(48％)-Xe(2％)、He(50％)-Ne(48％)-Xe(2％)-Ar(0.1％)、He(30％)-Ne(68％)-Xe(2％)、He(30％)-Ne(67.9％)-Xe(2％)-Ar(0.1％)的各种组成的气体，并将Pd乘积改变为各种不同的值。 (Experiment 3: About He-Ne-Xe series gas and a He-Ne-Xe-Ar series gas) PDP production methods, in the PDP in the above-described embodiment (inter-electrode distance d = 40μm), as a discharge gas employed He (50%) - Ne (48%) - Xe (2%), He (50%) - Ne (48%) - Xe (2%) - Ar (0.1%), He (30%) - Ne ( 68%) - Xe (2%), He (30%) - Ne (67.9%) - Xe (2%) - Ar (0.1%) of various gas composition and Pd product change for a variety of value. 然后，对制成的各PDP，测定了亮度及放电起始电压。 Then, each sample PDP was measured for the luminance and the discharge starting voltage. 在图11的表中，对采用了各种组成气体的其Pd乘积为4左右(封入压力为266.64kPa)的PDP列出其亮度的测定值(放电电压为250V)。 In the table of FIG. 11, the use is made of various constituent gases Pd product is about 4 (enclosed pressure of 266.64kPa) lists the measured values ​​of a PDP of luminance (discharge voltage is 250V). 与上述图9的表中对He-Xe系列、Ne-Xe-Ar系列的气体所列出的亮度测定值相比，在图11的表中列出的亮度测定值都呈现出相当高的值。 The table of FIG. 9 as compared to the luminance measurement value series He-Xe, Ne-Xe-Ar gas listed series, luminance evaluation value listed in the table of FIG. 11 emerged relatively high value . 由此可知，采用He-Ne-Xe系列气体及He-Ne-Xe-Ar系列气体，在亮度的提高上是有效的。 It can be seen, the use of He-Ne-Xe gas and a series of He-Ne-Xe-Ar gas series, the increase in brightness is effective. 图11示出放电起始电压的测定结果，是对各组成气体表示出Pd乘积与放电起始电压的关系的曲线图。 Figure 11 shows the measurement results of the discharge starting voltage, a graph showing the relationship of the components shown Pd product gas and the discharge start voltage. 从该曲线图和表可以看出，与He-Ne-Xe系列的放电气体相比，在其中添加少量Ar的放电气体，其放电起始电压降低且亮度也有一定提高。 As can be seen from this graph and table, as compared with the discharge gas He-Ne-Xe series, added thereto a small amount of Ar discharge gas, the discharge starting voltage is decreased and the brightness is slightly improved. 尤其是，如果采用He(30％)-Ne(67.9％)-Xe(2％)-Ar(0.1％)的气体，则不仅亮度较为良好，且如果将Pd乘积设定在0.4～0.8(kPa·cm)左右的范围内(例如，电极间距离d＝60μm、封入压力为133.32kPa)，则可以将放电起始电压降低到实用上最佳的放电起始电压区域(220V以下)。 In particular, if He (30%) - Ne (67.9%) - Xe (2%) - Ar (0.1%) gas, not only relatively good brightness, and if Pd product is set to 0.4 ~ 0.8 (kPa in the range of · cm) or so (e.g., inter-electrode distance d = 60μm, enclosed pressure of 133.32kPa), the discharge starting voltage can be reduced to the optimum discharge starting voltage area (220V or less) practically. 另外，还可以看出，在该气体组成的情况下，在Pd乘积为4左右时，放电起始电压呈现出最小值，所以最好将Pd乘积设定在4(例如，当封入压力为266.64kPa时，电极间距离d＝20μm)左右。 Further, it can be seen, in the case of this gas composition, when Pd product is about four, the firing voltage exhibits the minimum value, it is preferable that Pd product is set to 4 (e.g., when the enclosed pressure of 266.64 kPa, the inter-electrode distance d = 20μm) about. 在本实验中，在各种组成的气体内将Xe的量设定为2％，而当Xe的量设定为10％以下的其他值时，放电起始电压的绝对值虽然改变，但可以得到与图11所示曲线图相同的趋势。 In this experiment, the gas within the various compositions of the amount of Xe is set to 2% when the amount of Xe is set to another value of 10% or less, the absolute value of discharge start voltage changes though, but graph to obtain the same trend shown in FIG. 11. 另外，在本实验中，He的含量设定在50％以下，但从另外进行的实验已知，在上述的He-Ne-Xe-Ar系列的放电气体中，如将He的含量设定在55体积％以上，则存在着使放电电压变得相当高的倾向。 Further, in this experiment, the proportion of He is set at 50%, but further experiments carried out are known, in the above-described He-Ne-Xe-Ar discharge gas series, as the proportion of He is set at 55% by volume or more, there is a considerably high discharge voltage becomes a tendency. 因此，为了降低放电电压，最好将He的含量限定在55体积％以下。 Thus, to reduce the discharge voltage, the proportion of He is preferably 55 vol% or less is defined. (实验4：He-Ne-Xe-Ar系列气体中的Ar量的实验)为了检查4种混合气体中的氩的最佳量，进行了如下实验，即在He(30％)-Ne((68-X)％)-Xe(2％)-Ar(X％)的气体中，测定当按X＝0.01、0.05、0.1、0.5、1变化时的放电起始电压及发光效率。 (Experiment 4: The experiment of the amount of Ar He-Ne-Xe-Ar series gas) in order to check the optimum amount of argon four kinds of mixed gas, the following experiment was carried out, i.e. in He (30%) - Ne (( 68-X)%) - Xe (2%) - Ar (X%) of the gas, when the measured discharge starting voltage and luminous efficiency by X = 0.01,0.05,0.1,0.5,1 is changed. 发光效率的测定，是使从驱动电路对放电板施加的放电保持电压为Vm，并测定此时流过的电流I，接着用亮度计测定亮度L(设此时的亮度测定面积为S)，并按下列的式1求出发光效率η。 Measurement of the luminescence efficiency, the driving circuit is a discharge panel applied to the voltage Vm of the maintaining discharge, and measuring the current flowing at that time I, followed by the luminance measured with a luminance L (luminance measurement area is provided at this time is S), 1 is determined according to the following formula emission efficiency η. η＝π·S·L/Vm·I ...(1)图12示出其结果的一例、即将封入压力设定为266.64kPa时的曲线图。 η = π · S · L / Vm · I ... (1) FIG. 12 shows an example of the result, i.e. the pressure is set enclosed graph when 266.64kPa. 从该图可以看出，就发光效率而言，在Ar量为0.1％以下的范围内，基本保持一定，在0.1％～0.5％的范围内，随着Ar量的增加，发光效率缓慢降低，当超过0.5％时，随着Ar量的增加而急剧降低。 As can be seen from this figure, in terms of light emission efficiency, Ar in an amount of 0.1% or less, substantially constant, in the range of 0.1% to 0.5%, with the increase in the amount of Ar, the emission efficiency gradually decreases, when more than 0.5%, with an increase in the amount of Ar drastically reduced. 另一方面，还可以看出，对于放电起始电压，在Ar量为0.1％时，具有最小值，在0.1％～0.5％的范围内，随着Ar量的增加，发光效率逐渐增加，当超过0.5％时，随着Ar量的增加而急剧升高。 On the other hand, can also be seen, the discharge starting voltage, when the proportion of Ar is 0.1%, has a minimum value in the range of 0.1% to 0.5%, with the increase in the amount of Ar, the emission efficiency gradually increased, when when more than 0.5%, with the increase in the amount of Ar sharply increases. 由此可知，Ar量的添加量最好设定在0.5％以下。 This indicates that the addition amount of the amount of Ar is preferably set at 0.5% or less. 对于He量或Xe量改变的情况，图中虽未示出，但即使发光效率或放电起始电压的绝对值改变，也可以得到与图12的曲线图相同的结果。 He or Xe in the case of the amount of change in the amount of, although not shown in FIG., But even the absolute value of the light emission efficiency or changing the discharge start voltage can be obtained with the same graph of FIG. 12 results. 另外，即使将封入压力设定在常压附近，也能获得与上述图12的曲线相同的结果。 Further, even when the filling pressure is set in the vicinity of atmospheric pressure, can be obtained with the above-described graph of FIG. 12 the same result. 另外，即使将封入压力设定在常压附近，也能获得与上述图12的曲线相同的结果。 Further, even when the filling pressure is set in the vicinity of atmospheric pressure, can be obtained with the above-described graph of FIG. 12 the same result. (实施形态2)图13是本实施形态的交流表面放电型PDP的简略断面图。 (Embodiment 2) FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the AC surface discharge type PDP of the present embodiment. 该PDP，与实施形态1的PDP虽然类似，但在实施形态1中，显示电极设在正面板侧，地址电极设在背面板侧，与此不同，在本实施形态中，地址电极61和显示电极63a、63b，隔着第1电介质层62都设在正面板侧。 That the PDP, and the embodiment the PDP 1, although similar, but in Embodiment 1, the display electrodes provided on the front panel side, address electrodes provided on the back plate side, and this, in the present embodiment, the address electrode 61 and display electrodes 63a, 63b, a first dielectric layer interposed therebetween are provided on the front panel 62 side. 在图13中，为了方便，以断面示出一对显示电极63a、63b，但实际上与图1相同，一对显示电极63a、63b，沿着与地址电极61及间壁30交叉的方向设置。 In FIG. 13, for convenience, in section, illustrating a pair of display electrodes 63a, 63b, but practically the same as in FIG. 1, a pair of display electrodes 63a, 63b, disposed along a direction the address electrodes 61 and the partition wall 30 intersect. 在该PDP中，正面板10按照如下方式制作。 In the PDP, the front panel 10 produced as follows. 正面板10的制作方法可以是，在正面玻璃衬底11上形成地址电极51，并在其上用铅基玻璃形成第1电介质层62。 The method of manufacturing the front panel 10 may be, address electrodes 51 formed on the front glass substrate 11, and forming a first dielectric layer 62 with a lead-based glass thereon. 接着，在第1电介质层62的表面上形成显示电极63a、63b，并从显示电极63之上用铅基玻璃形成第2电介质层64。 Next, the display electrodes 63a, 63b on the surface of the first dielectric layer 62, and forming the second dielectric layer 64 from the top of the display electrode 63 with a lead-based glass. 然后，在第2电介质层64的表面上形成由MgO构成的保护层65。 Then, a protective layer 65 made of MgO on the surface of the second dielectric layer 64. 地址电极61、显示电极63a和63b、电介质层62和63、保护层65的材料和形成方法，与在实施形态1中说明过的相同，在本实施形态中，在保护层65的表面上最好也用等离子蚀刻法形成凹凸。 Address electrodes 61, display electrodes 63a and 63b, the dielectric layers 62 and 63, the material of the protective layer 65 and the formation method, and described in Embodiment 1 is the same, in the present embodiment, the surface of the protective layer 65 is most good irregularities are also formed by plasma etching. 在本实施形态中，通过以与实施形态1同样的方式设定放电气体的组成及封入压力，也可以取得与实施形态1中所述的同样效果。 In the present embodiment, by setting the composition in the same manner as in Embodiment 1 and a discharge gas filling pressure, it can also achieve the same effects as those in the embodiment 1, Fig. 另外，在本实施形态中，由于地址电极61和显示电极63a、63b隔着第1电介质层62设置在正面板侧，所以，即使放电气体的封入压力高时，也能以低的地址电压进行寻址。 Further, in the present embodiment, since the address electrode 61 and display electrodes 63a, 63b via the first dielectric layer 62 is provided on the front panel side, so that, even when the enclosed pressure of the discharge gas is high, can be performed with a low address voltage addressing. 即，当如实施形态1所述使放电空间介于地址电极与显示电极之间时，也可以将帕邢定律应用于定址放电。 That is, when the Embodiment 1 as discharge space interposed between the address electrodes and the display electrodes, Paschen's law may be applied to address discharge. 这里，虽然考虑到当缩小地址电极与显示电极之间的距离时即使在低的地址电压下也能进行稳定的定址放电，但实际上不可能缩小得很多，因此，为了进行稳定的定址放电，如放电气体的封入压力设定得高，则必须提高地址电压。 Here, although taken into consideration when narrowing the distance between the address electrodes and the display electrodes even at a low address voltage can be stable address discharge, but it is practically impossible to close too much, so, in order to perform a stable address discharge, the discharge gas filling pressure is set high, the address voltage must be increased. 与此不同，在本实施形态的PDP的情况下，不是使放电空间介于地址电极61与显示电极63a、63b之间，所以，即使放电气体的封入压力设定得高，也能以低的地址电压进行稳定的寻址。 In contrast to this, in the case of the PDP according to the present embodiment, instead of making the address discharge electrode 61 and the space between the display electrodes 63a, 63b between, so that, even when the discharge gas filling pressure is set high, but also at low address stable address voltage. 图14是本实施形态的另一种交流表面放电型PDP的简略断面图。 FIG 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another surface discharge AC type PDP according to the present embodiment. 在上述图13的PDP中，将地址电极61和显示电极63a、63b隔着第1电介质层62设在正面板10侧，但在图14的PDP中，将地址电极71和显示电极73a、73b隔着第1电介质层72设在背面板20侧。 In the PDP in FIG. 13, the address electrodes 61 and display electrodes 63a, 63b via the first dielectric layer 62 is provided on 10 side of the front plate, but in the PDP of FIG. 14, the address electrodes 71 and display electrodes 73a, 73b via a first dielectric layer 72 provided on the back side panel 20. 背面板20的制作方法可以是，在背面玻璃衬底21上形成地址电极71，并在其上用铅基玻璃形成第1电介质层72。 Method for manufacturing back panel 20 may be formed in the address electrodes 71 on the back glass substrate 21, and forming a first dielectric layer 72 with a lead-based glass thereon. 接着，在第1电介质层72的表面上形成显示电极73a、73b，并从显示电极73之上用铅基玻璃形成第2电介质层74。 Next, the display electrodes 73a, 73b on the surface of the first dielectric layer 72, and forming the second dielectric layer 74 from the top of the display electrode 73 with a lead-based glass. 然后，在第2电介质层74的表面上形成由MgO构成的保护层75。 Then, a protective layer 75 made of MgO on the surface of the second dielectric layer 74. 这种PDP，也具有与上述图13的PDP相同的效果。 This PDP, the PDP described above also has the same effect as in FIG. 13. 另外，该PDP，由于将地址电极71和显示电极73a、73b设在背面板侧，所以，在放电空间内发生的可见光，可以从正面射出而不受电极的影响。 Further, the the PDP, since the address electrodes 71 and display electrodes 73a, 73b provided on the back side of the plate, so that the visible light is generated in the discharge space, without being affected by light emitted from the front electrode. 在这一点上，与上述图13的PDP相比，有利于提高亮度。 At this point, compared with the PDP 13 described above, will help improve the brightness. 表1的No.1～6的PDP，是根据实施形态1、2制作的实施例，资料No.1～4的PDP，根据实施形态2的图13制作，资料No.5的PDP，根据实施形态2的图14制作，资料No.6的PDP，则是根据实施形态1制作的。 PDP No.1 ~ 6 Table 1, the embodiment according to Example 1 produced, the information PDP No.1 ~ 4, 13 prepared in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 2, the information PDP No.5, according to the embodiment FIG 14 is prepared form 2, information No.6 of the PDP, according to embodiment 1 is produced. PDP的单元尺寸，适合于42英寸高清晰度电视机用的显示器，其间壁的高度设定为0.08mm、间壁的间隔(单元间距)设定为0.15mm，并将显示电极间的距离d设定为0.05mm。 PDP cell size, 42 inches is suitable for use in high definition television display, the height of the partition wall is set to 0.08mm, the partition wall interval (cell pitch) is set to 0.15mm, and displays the distance d between the electrodes provided as 0.05mm. 电介质层的形成方法是，将70重量％的氧化铅[PbO]、15重量％的氧化硼[B2O3]、15重量％的氧化硅[SiO2]与有机粘合剂(将10％的乙基纤维素溶解在α-萜品醇内制成)混合，并以网板印刷法涂敷该混合而成的组成物，然后在580°下焙烧10分钟，其膜厚设定为20μm。 The method of forming the dielectric layer is 70% by weight of lead oxide [PbO], 15% by weight of boron oxide [B2O3], 15% by weight of silica [of SiO2] and an organic binder (10% ethyl cellulose α- prime dissolved in terpineol made) were mixed and applied to the screen printing composition are mixed, and then calcined at 580 ° for 10 minutes, the film thickness is set to 20μm. 至于保护层的形成方法，用等离子CVD法形成。 As for the method of forming the protective layer by plasma CVD method. 对所形成的MgO保护层的结晶面进行了X射线分析，结果表明为面或面取向。 Crystal plane of the MgO protective layer is formed by X-ray analysis showed that face or a plane orientation. 所封入的放电气体的组成为He(30％)-Ne(67.9％)-Xe(2％)-Ar(0.1％)，如表1的封入压力一栏所示，以66.66～266.64kPa范围的压力封入。 The composition of a discharge gas sealed is He (30%) - Ne (67.9%) - Xe (2%) - Ar (0.1%), as a filling pressure of the column shown in Table 1, in the range of 66.66 ~ 266.64kPa pressure sealed. 对按如上方式制作的No.1～6的PDP，测定了板的亮度和稳定地址电压。 The PDP manufactured by the above manner No.1 ~ 6 measured brightness and stable address voltage plate. 稳定地址电压的测定方法是，一面使地址电压变化，一面观察图象的状态，测定为获得稳定的图象所需的最低地址电压，并将其作为稳定地址电压。 Determination of the address voltage is stabilized, the voltage variation in the address side, while observing the state of the image, measuring the minimum address voltage required to obtain a stable image, and as a stable address voltage. 板的亮度和稳定地址电压的测定结果，如表1所示。 The measurement results of brightness and stable address voltage plate, as shown in Table 1. 结果和考察：当在No.1～4之间比较亮度时，可以看出，与封入压力在常压以下相比，随着将封入压力增加到133.32kPa和266.64kPa，亮度增加。 Results and Discussion: When the comparison between the luminance No.1 ~ 4, it can be seen, compared with the atmospheric pressure or less is sealed, with the increased filling pressure and 133.32kPa 266.64kPa, brightness increases. 当在No.1～4之间比较稳定地址电压时，可以看出，随着封入压力的升高，稳定地址电压虽有若干增加，但与No.6的稳定地址电压相比，No.1～5的稳定地址电压值是相当低的。 When the stable address voltage between No.1 ~ 4, it can be seen, with increasing pressure sealed, although several stable address voltage increases, compared with the stable address voltage No.6, Nos. 1 stable address voltage to 5, is quite low. 上述讨论表明，实施形态2的PDP结构，即使封入压力高时也能有效地压低地址电压。 The foregoing discussion suggests, Embodiment 2 of the PDP structure, even if a high filling pressure can be effectively lowered address voltage. 另外，当比较No.3和No.5的亮度时，可以看出，No.5的亮度稍高一些。 Furthermore, when comparing the No.3 and No.5 brightness, it can be seen, No.5 brightness slightly higher. (其他事项)本发明，不限定于上述实施形态的PDP，对一般的PDP及气体放电板都能适用。 (Other matters) of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment of the PDP, discharge panel PDP can be applied in general and the gas. 例如，保护层，不限于如上所述的CVD法，也可以用真空蒸镀法形成。 For example, the protective layer is not limited to the CVD method as described above, may be formed by a vacuum deposition method. 此外，玻璃衬底、电介质层、荧光体材料、保护层的成膜方法，也不限定于上述的材料和方法。 Further, a glass substrate, a dielectric layer, a phosphor material, the film formation method of the protective layer is not limited to the above materials and methods. 并且，作为保护层的材料，不只限于MgO，也可以采用在MgO中添加了Ba、Sr、碳氢(CH)等的材料。 Further, as a material of the protective layer, MgO is not limited to, the Ba added to MgO may also be employed, Sr, hydrocarbon (CH) and the like materials. 另外，在上述实施形态中，示出了将荧光体层仅设在背面板侧的例，但也可以设在正面板侧，从而能使亮度得到进一步的提高。 In the above embodiment, the embodiment is shown only the phosphor layer is provided on the back plate side, but may be provided on the front panel side, so that brightness can be further improved. 另外，如果在形成荧光体层的荧光体材料上以几十nm的厚度覆盖由MgO构成的保护层，则可望获得使亮度和发光效率进一步提高的效果。 Further, if a thickness of several tens of nm covered with a protective layer made of MgO on the phosphor material forming the phosphor layer, it is expected to obtain the luminance and luminous efficiency is further improved effect. 另外，在上述实施形态中，示出了在正面玻璃衬底及背面玻璃衬底的任何一方的表面上彼此平行地配置着一对显示电极的例，但对于将显示电极在正面玻璃衬底上和背面玻璃衬底上相对地设置的PDP，也可以按同样的方式实施。 In the above embodiment, there is shown the embodiment are arranged parallel to each other a pair of display electrodes on a surface of either the front glass substrate and a back glass substrate, but the display electrode on the front glass substrate and PDP on the rear surface of the glass substrate oppositely disposed, may also be implemented in the same manner. 另外，在上述实施形态中，示出了将间壁25固定在背面玻璃衬底21上而构成背面板的例，但也可以广泛地应用于将间壁安装在正面板侧的PDP等。 In the above embodiment, the embodiment is shown fixed to the partition wall 25 on the back glass substrate 21 to form the back panel, but may be widely applied to the PDP is mounted on the front panel side of the partition and the like. 另外，关于放电气体的组成，也不限定于上述的Ne-Xe系列、He-Ne-Xe系列、He-Ne-Xe-Ar系列等，在采用氪-氙系列的放电气体(例如Kr(90％)-Xe(10％))、或氪-氖-氙系列的放电气体、并将封入压力设定为106.65～533.28kPa的情况下，也可望获得高亮度、高发光效率。 Further, the composition of the discharge gas is not limited to the above-described series of Ne-Xe, He-Ne-Xe series, He-Ne-Xe-Ar series, in krypton - xenon gas discharge series (e.g. Kr (90 %) - Xe (10%)), krypton, or - Ne - Xe discharge gas range, and the case where the filling pressure is set to 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa is also expected to obtain a high brightness, high luminous efficiency. 进一步，本发明，不限于气体放电板，对于将电极和荧光体层设置在容器中同时形成封入了气体介质的放电空间且随着放电而产生紫外线并由上述荧光体层变换为可见光从而发光的气体放电器件，也可以适用。 Further, the present invention is not limited to a gas discharge panel, for the electrode and a phosphor layer is provided while forming a sealed discharge space a gas medium in a container with the discharge and generating ultraviolet rays by the phosphor layer to emit light is converted to visible light gas discharge means, may be applied. 例如，对于在内表面形成荧光体层的筒状玻璃容器中封入放电气体的荧光灯，本发明也能适用，通过采用其组成如以上实施形态所述的放电气体，可以获得高亮度、高发光效率、低放电电压。 Cylindrical glass containers e.g., for forming the phosphor layer on the inner surface of the fluorescent lamp filled with a discharge gas, the present invention can be applied by using the composition as described above in the form of a discharge gas, a high brightness, high luminous efficiency , a low discharge voltage. 特别是，通过以106.65～533.28kPa范围内的封入压力进行封入，可望取得优良的效果。 In particular, in a sealed enclosed by a pressure in the range of 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa, and is expected to achieve excellent effect. 产业上的可利用性如上所述，在本发明的气体放电板中，通过将气体介质的封入压力设定在比以往高的106.65～533.28kPa的范围内(上述区域1～4的各范围)，与以往相比，可以提高发光效率和板的亮度。 INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, in the gas discharge panel according to the present invention, the pressure of the gas enclosed by the medium in the range higher than the conventional 106.65 ~ 533.28kPa (the range of the respective areas 1 to 4) compared with the conventional, light emission efficiency and brightness can be improved plate. 另外，对封入的气体介质，代替以往的气体组成而采用含有氦、氖、氙、氩的稀有气体混合物，并最好是使氙的含量在5体积％以下、氩的含量在0.5体积％以下、氦的含量小于55体积％，从而可以使发光效率提高，同时能降低放电电压。 In addition, enclosed gaseous medium, in place of the gas composition of the conventional rare gas mixture including helium, neon, xenon, argon and xenon is preferable that the content of 5% by volume or less, that of argon 0.5% by volume or less in the , that of helium under 55% by volume, so that the emission efficiency can be improved, while reducing the discharge voltage. 另外，如果采用将显示电极和地址电极隔着电介质层层叠在正面板或背面板的任何一个的表面上的结构，则即使在封入压力高的情况下，也能以较低的电压进行寻址。 Further, if the display electrode and the address electrode via a dielectric layer on a surface of any positive or rear panel of the structure, even at a high gas pressure is, addressing is performed at a relatively low voltage . 上述的本发明，在减低气体放电板的耗电量上是有效的，尤其是具有使高清晰度用PDP的亮度提高和减低其耗电量的效果。 The present invention described above, power consumption is reduced on the gas discharge panel is effective, in particular with the high-definition PDP with improved brightness and reduced power consumption of its effect. 另外，除气体放电板以外，对包括荧光灯等气体发光器件在内的一般的气体放电管，也具有提高亮度和减低耗电量的效果。 Further, in addition to the gas discharge panel, the general fluorescent lamp comprising a gas emitting device including a gas discharge tube, also has an effect of improving brightness and reducing power consumption. 1.一种气体放电板，在相对设置的一对板之间，形成封入了气体介质的放电空间，同时在上述一对板的相对的面的至少一个面上设置电极和荧光体层，随着放电而产生紫外线并由上述荧光体层变换为可见光从而发光，该气体放电板的特征在于：上述气体介质，是含有氦、氖、氙、氩的稀有气体混合物；在上述气体介质中含有5体积％以下的氙、小于55体积％的氦，0.5体积％以下的氩；上述气体介质的封入压力为101.32～266.64kPa。 A gas discharge panel, between a pair of opposed plates arranged to form a discharge space enclosed gaseous medium, while at least an electrode and a phosphor layer provided on one surface of the pair of opposing surfaces of the plate, with a discharge is generated by the ultraviolet rays the phosphor layer is converted into visible light to emit light, characterized in that the gas discharge panel wherein: the gaseous medium, containing helium, neon, xenon, argon rare gas mixture; 5 contained in the gas medium, % by volume of xenon, less than 55% by volume of helium, argon, 0.5 vol%; gas pressure of the enclosed medium is 101.32 ~ 266.64kPa. 2.根据权利要求1所述的气体放电板，其特征在于：上述电极，包括彼此平行配置的显示电极、及与该显示电极交叉配置的地址电极，上述显示电极和地址电极，隔着第1电介质层层叠在上述一对板的任何一个的表面上。 The gas discharge panel according to claim 1, wherein: the electrodes including a display electrode disposed parallel to each other, and address electrodes arranged to intersect with the display, the display electrode and the address electrode via a first the dielectric layer is laminated on a surface of either of the pair of plates. 3.根据权利要求2所述的气体放电板，其特征在于：上述一对相对配置的板，是正面板和背面板，上述显示电极和地址电极，隔着第1电介质层层叠在上述背面板的表面上。 3. The gas discharge panel of Claim 2, wherein: said pair of oppositely disposed plates, the positive and back panels, the display electrode and the address electrode, a first dielectric layer interposed therebetween stacked on the back plate surface. 4.根据权利要求2所述的气体放电板，其特征在于：上述地址电极、第1电介质层及显示电极，按顺序层叠在上述一对板的任何一个的表面上，上述显示电极的至少一部分由第2电介质层覆盖。 4. The gas discharge panel according to claim 2, wherein: said address electrodes, the first display electrodes and the dielectric layer, stacked in this order on a surface of either of the pair of plates, at least a portion of the display electrode covered by the second dielectric layer. 5.根据权利要求2所述的气体放电板，其特征在于：上述第2电介质层的表面，由以热化学蒸镀法或等离子化学蒸镀法形成的氧化镁层覆盖。 5. The gas discharge panel according to claim 2, wherein: a surface of the second dielectric layer, a magnesium oxide layer is a thermal chemical vapor deposition method or a plasma chemical vapor deposition method is formed to cover. 6.根据权利要求1所述的气体放电板，其特征在于：上述电极，其至少一部分由电介质层覆盖，该电介质层由氧化镁膜覆盖，该氧化镁膜，以热化学蒸镀法或等离子化学蒸镀法形成并具有按面或面取向的结晶结构，且在其表面上有棱锥状的凹凸。 6. The gas discharge panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the electrode, at least a portion thereof covered by a dielectric layer, the dielectric layer is covered with a magnesium oxide film, magnesium oxide film, a thermal chemical vapor deposition or plasma chemical vapor deposition method and forming press having a plane or the plane orientation of the crystal structure and have pyramid-shaped projections on its surface. 7.一种显示装置，它包括：气体放电板，所述气体放电板在相对设置的一对板之间，形成封入了气体介质的放电空间，同时在上述一对板的相对的面的至少一个面上设置电极和荧光体层，随着放电而产生紫外线并由上述荧光体层变换为可见光从而发光；及通过对上述电极施加电压而驱动上述放电板的驱动电路，上述气体介质，是含有氦、氖、氙、氩的稀有气体混合物；在上述气体介质中含有5体积％以下的氙、小于55体积％的氦，0.5体积％以下的氩；上述气体介质的封入压力为101.32～266.64kPa。 A display device, comprising: a gas discharge panel, the gas discharge panel between a pair of opposed plates arranged to form a discharge space enclosed gaseous medium, while the opposing surfaces of the pair of plates of at least a surface of the electrode and the phosphor layer with ultraviolet rays generated by the discharge of the phosphor layer is converted into visible light to emit light; and a driving circuit applying a driving voltage to the electrodes of the discharge plate, the gas medium, containing mixture of rare gases helium, neon, xenon, argon; containing 5% by volume of xenon in the gas medium is less than 55% by volume of helium, argon, 0.5 vol%; gas pressure of the enclosed medium is 101.32 ~ 266.64kPa .

2019-04-25T20:22:14Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/CN1161815C/en

The Lower Jurassic Toarcian Stage (c. 183–174 Ma) is marked by one of the largest global exogenic carbon-cycle perturbations of the Phanerozoic, which is associated with the early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE; c. 183 Ma). Climatic and environmental change at the T-OAE is reasonably well constrained in the marine realm, with marine anoxic or euxinic conditions developing locally across both hemispheres, at the same time as the T-OAE negative carbon-isotope excursion. However, high-resolution stratigraphic comparison between different palaeo-ocean basins and with the continental realm can be complicated. Palaeomagnetic reversals can provide a precise and accurate stratigraphic correlation tool between marine and continental sedimentary archives, and even between sedimentary and igneous successions. Here, we present a high-resolution magnetostratigraphic record for the Toarcian Stage in the biostratigraphically complete and expanded Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) Borehole, Cardigan Bay Basin, Wales. This study provides the first geomagnetic polarity reversal scale that is integrated with high-resolution biostratigraphy and carbon-isotope stratigraphy for the entire Toarcian Stage. This stratigraphic framework also provides a new, precise correlation with the basalt lava sequence of the Karoo–Ferrar Large Igneous Province, linking the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary and T-OAE climatic and environmental perturbations directly to this episode of major volcanic activity. The Toarcian, the final stage of the Early Jurassic, has an estimated duration of 8.3–8.6 myr (2014 Geological Time Scale; Boulila et al. 2014), with the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary dated at c. 183.6 Ma (Pálfy & Smith 2000). The early Toarcian was marked by the widespread development of anoxic or euxinic conditions that led to substantial organic-carbon burial, an event termed the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE). This palaeoceanographic phenomenon is recognized as one of the most intense and geographically extensive events of oceanic redox change and accompanying organic-carbon burial in the Mesozoic (Jenkyns 1985, 1988, 2010). The T-OAE is marked by major changes in global geochemical cycles (e.g. Os, S, Sr), with an apparently rapid c. 7‰ negative shift in marine and terrestrial organic-carbon isotope records and a smaller (3–6‰) negative excursion in carbonate and compound-specific archives (Hesselbo et al. 2000, 2007; Sælen et al. 2000; Schouten et al. 2000; Jenkyns et al. 2002; Cohen et al. 2004; Kemp et al. 2005; Hermoso et al. 2009; Al-Suwaidi et al. 2010, 2016; Gill et al. 2011; Newton et al. 2011; French et al. 2014; Suan et al. 2015; McArthur et al. 2016; Percival et al. 2016; Xu et al. 2017, 2018). The observed early Toarcian perturbation to the exogenic carbon cycle has been linked to volcanic activity associated with the Karoo–Ferrar Large Igneous Province and associated release of volcanogenic carbon dioxide (CO2), thermogenic methane (CH4) and CO2 from sill intrusion into Gondwanan coals and shales, and biogenic methane from dissociation of sub-seafloor clathrates (Duncan et al. 1997; Hesselbo et al. 2000; Kemp et al. 2005; McElwain et al. 2005; Svensen et al. 2007; Percival et al. 2015). The Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary was also marked by global carbon-cycle change, with a c. 2–3‰ negative carbon-isotope excursion (CIE) in marine carbonate, organic matter and fossil wood (Hesselbo et al. 2007; Littler et al. 2010; Bodin et al. 2016; Percival et al. 2016). An elevated atmospheric pCO2-induced global temperature increase in the ocean–atmosphere system is credited with causing disruption of marine ecosystems as well as enhanced hydrological cycling and continental weathering on land (Cohen et al. 2004; Danise et al. 2013, 2015; Ullmann et al. 2014; Korte et al. 2015; Percival et al. 2016; Rita et al. 2016; Martindale & Aberhan 2017). Stratigraphic studies of the Toarcian have primarily focused on the lower part of the stage, specifically on the T-OAE interval, utilizing bio- and chemostratigraphy. Magnetostratigraphic study of the Toarcian Stage has been confined to only a few localities. These include the Breggia Gorge in southern Switzerland (Horner & Heller 1983), Thouars and Airvault in France (Galbrun et al. 1988), the Iberian Range and Iznalloz in Spain (Galbrun et al. 1990; Osete et al. 2007; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010), and the Neuquén Basin in Argentina (Iglesia Llanos & Riccardi 2000). Additionally, an extended magnetostratigraphic record, spanning the Pliensbachian to earliest Cretaceous interval, was obtained from the Northern Apennines in Italy (Satolli et al. 2015), but ammonite biostratigraphy is relatively poorly constrained in this succession. Palaeomagnetic data from the lower and middle Toarcian in the Iberian Range were subsequently synthesized (Osete et al. 2007; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010) and adopted for the Geological Time Scale 2012 (GTS2012; Ogg & Hinnov 2012). Few existing magnetostratigraphic records cover the upper Toarcian. Furthermore, sampling resolution in this interval is commonly relatively low, affected by hiatuses, or the ammonite biostratigraphy is not well defined. The use of magnetostratigraphy for Toarcian stratigraphic correlation has also been relatively restricted because no published record integrates magnetostratigraphy with both (ammonite) biostratigraphy and carbon-isotope chemostratigraphy for the entire Stage. Arguably, the best example of an integrated Toarcian stratigraphy is a high-resolution magnetostratigraphy combined with carbon-, oxygen- and strontium-isotope data in the biostratigraphically well-constrained Almonacid De La Cuba Section in NE Spain (Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010; da Rocha et al. 2016), but these investigations were confined to the Pliensbachian–Toarcian transition. An integrated stratigraphy for the T-OAE interval, using the aforementioned proxies, has not hitherto been presented. The Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) Borehole, hereafter referred to as Mochras, drilled in the Cardigan Bay Basin, west Wales, UK, recovered a Lower Jurassic succession that combines unusual thickness with relative biostratigraphic completeness (Woodland 1971; Dobson & Whittington 1987; Hesselbo et al. 2013; Copestake & Johnson 2014; Ruhl et al. 2016). The c. 260 m thick Toarcian succession is much thicker than in other coeval European core and outcrop successions, and is generally characterized by periodic alternations between limestone and (marly) mudstone (Hesselbo et al. 2013; Ruhl et al. 2016; Xu et al. 2018). The Toarcian interval of the Mochras core comprises eight ammonite zones and nine ammonite subzones (Page 2003; Copestake & Johnson 2014); the aalensis Zone at the top of the Toarcian is probably truncated in the Mochras core (Ivimey-Cook 1971). The ammonite zones and subzones are referred to as zones and subzones hereafter, and are named by a typifying species name (e.g. the tenuicostatum Zone). Furthermore, five foraminiferal zones are also resolved (Copestake & Johnson 2014). Carbon-isotope analyses of bulk organic matter show an overall positive excursion of 3–4‰ in δ13CTOC, relative to upper Pliensbachian and upper Toarcian values of −27 to −28‰, which spans the Upper Pliensbachian upper spinatum Zone to Toarcian middle bifrons Zone (Jenkyns & Clayton 1997; Jenkyns et al. 2001; Katz et al. 2005; van de Schootbrugge et al. 2005; Xu et al. 2018). This early Toarcian long-term positive trend in δ13CTOC, presumably linked to the globally significant burial of isotopically depleted organic carbon, is interrupted by the major negative CIE in marine and terrestrial organic matter and marine calcite that typically marks the main phase of the T-OAE. The negative CIE in the Mochras core is recorded as a distinct >7‰ and c. 6.5‰ negative shift in bulk δ13CTOC and δ13CCARB, respectively (Jenkyns & Clayton 1997; Jenkyns 2003; van de Schootbrugge et al. 2005; Xu et al. 2018). A pilot study on the Mochras core proved the feasibility of a magnetic-polarity study on this expanded and bio- and chemostratigraphically well-constrained sedimentary archive (Hesselbo et al. 2013). Here, we present the first high-resolution magnetostratigraphic record for the complete Toarcian Stage and use it to construct an integrated Toarcian stratigraphic framework. The integrated stratigraphic data presented here provide a reference framework for correlation between Toarcian marine and continental sedimentary basins worldwide. This study also allows stratigraphic correlation between the T-OAE and associated climatic and environmental change, and volcanic activity in the Karoo–Ferrar Large Igneous Province. The sediments recorded in the Toarcian strata of the Mochras core were deposited at a palaeo-latitude of c. 35–40°N, at the southern end of the transcontinental seaway and at the northwestern end of the Tethys Ocean (Fig. 1; Torsvik et al. 2012; Hesselbo et al. 2013; Müller et al. 2016). The Cardigan Bay Basin Jurassic strata are downthrown against the Lower Palaeozoic Welsh Massif along a major normal fault system, comprising the Mochras, Tonfanau and Bala faults at the eastern and southeastern margins of the basin (Tappin et al. 1994). The Mochras Borehole was drilled onshore by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and UCW Aberystwyth (now Aberystwyth University) from 1967 to 1969, on the coast of Cardigan Bay, in NW Wales (Woodland 1971; Dobson & Whittington 1987; Hesselbo et al. 2013; Copestake & Johnson 2014). The core penetrates the entire Lower Jurassic in the Cardigan Bay Basin (with only the aalensis Zone at the top of the Toarcian probably truncated in the Mochras core), which is underlain by Triassic and overlain, unconformably, by Cenozoic and Quaternary successions. The Lower Jurassic in this borehole has a remarkable thickness of c. 1300 m, much greater than coeval onshore sections in other parts of the UK and continental Europe (see fig. 2 of Ruhl et al. 2016), recording a sustained high sedimentation rate. The relatively homogeneous lithology dominated by argillaceous sediments with alternating muddy limestones, marls and mudstones indicates a relatively open- and deep-marine (hemipelagic) setting (Sellwood & Jenkyns 1975). Geographical maps. (a) Early Jurassic global palaeogeography, modified after Dera et al. (2011), Korte et al. (2015) and Ruhl et al. (2016). (b) Detail of the area within the red square in (a). The red star indicates the palaeogeographical position of the Mochras Borehole. Lithologically, the Toarcian in the Mochras core is dominated by metre-scale carbonate-rich mudstone to carbonate-poor mudstone alternations. The falciferum Zone in the succession is generally carbonate-poor and is marked by several distinct, small-scale (100–101 cm) intervals of coarser grained deposits that are rich in macroscopic wood fragments and sedimentary structures such as wave ripples and soft-sediment deformation (Xu et al. 2018). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses on the Toarcian strata in the Mochras core reveal abundant quartz, calcite, chamosite, illite and mica, and illite-rich illite–smectite minerals, together with small amounts of kaolinite, K-feldspar, plagioclase, Fe-dolomite, siderite and pyrite (Xu et al. 2018). The Mochras slabbed core (in 1 m core-lengths) is stored in boxes at the British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, UK, at normal atmospheric conditions. The Toarcian Stage in the Mochras borehole occurs over the depths of 863.50–601.83 m. The core was drilled vertically, with the bedding dipping gently (of the order of 10°) to the east (Tappin et al. 1994; Hesselbo et al. 2013; see also the Supplementary Material). The core slabs of the Toarcian are reasonably well preserved (c. 96% are present in the archive half of the section), especially in comparison with the Hettangian and Sinemurian intervals, for which material is only patchily available (Hesselbo et al. 2013; Ruhl et al. 2016; Xu et al. 2018). Core samples are not affected by drilling-induced formation of biscuits (see Pearson & Thomas 2015). The diameter of the whole Mochras core ranges from 10 to 15 cm (Woodland 1971). The surface of the Toarcian core slab is c. 10 cm wide. Samples for magnetic-polarity analysis were selected at 2–5 m resolution, spanning the entire Toarcian interval (except that the aalensis Zone is partially truncated owing to unconformity) in the Mochras Borehole, from 601.83 to 863.5 m below surface (mbs). In total, 148 cubes (each 2.3 cm × 2.3 cm × 2.3 cm; ∼12 cm3) were prepared from the core sections, composed predominantly of mudstones with varying concentrations of calcium carbonate. Measurements of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) were made using a three-axis 2G cryogenic magnetometer, housed in a magnetically shielded room at the University of Oxford palaeomagnetic laboratory. Specimens were stepwise demagnetized using progressive alternating field (AF) techniques through at least 12 steps (up to a maximum of 100 mT), until they became unstable. The AF technique was used so as to retain the material for geochemical and biostratigraphical analyses that require unaltered samples. Demagnetization results were plotted on orthogonal and stereographic projections; characteristic remanence components were identified using least-squares algorithms (e.g. Kirschvink 1980). Components were considered stable where they were defined by at least three consecutive points on orthogonal projections and had a maximum angular deviation not exceeding 20°. The NRM intensities of the measured samples ranged from 0.06 to 1.6 mA m−1, with a mean of 0.26 mA m−1. During progressive AF demagnetization three classes of behaviour were identified: Class A, samples for which demagnetization trajectories tended towards the origin, and lines could be fitted to the demagnetization trajectories (65 samples); Class B, samples for which the polarity could be determined, but with very poor line-fits and maximum angular deviation of >30°, so that no inclination was computed (45 samples; NRM intensities were generally very low); Class C, samples that demonstrated unstable behaviour during demagnetization, or where the NRM intensities were too low to provide meaningful demagnetization data (38 samples). Examples of Class A and B behaviour are given in Figure 2. The magnetostratigraphy constructed here is primarily based on data from Class A samples, but the polarities of Class B samples were used as supporting evidence. Because the original Mochras core is azimuthally un-oriented, ‘inclination-only’ statistics (McFadden & Reid 1982) were conducted on the dataset presented herein. Of the 65 samples with Class A behaviour, 36 yield downward-pointing inclinations, which are interpreted as normal polarity given the northern hemisphere location of the sampling site during the Toarcian. These samples yield a mean inclination of +37.0° (α95 = 7.4°; k = 8.48). The remaining 29 samples yield negative inclinations, which are interpreted as reversed polarity, with a mean inclination of −37.7° (α95 = 5.3°; k = 18.17). Normal- and reverse-polarity data thus yield inclinations that are almost identical, and constitute a positive ‘inclination-only’ reversal test. When both polarities are combined we obtain an overall mean inclination of +37.3 (α95 = 5.1°; k = 11.16), suggesting a palaeo-latitude of 21°N. The inclination obtained here is considerably shallower than the expected inclinations of c. +54–59° for Mochras at c. 183 Ma (based on reference palaeo-latitudes of c. 35–40°N; Torsvik et al. 2012; Müller et al. 2016). Orthogonal vector diagrams illustrating the alternating field (AF) demagnetization of eight typical Class A samples from the Toarcian of the Mochras core between 611.43 and 863.19 m (a–h) in stratigraphic order. Samples a, d, e, g and h are normal polarity (N), and samples b, c and f are reversed polarity (R). The closed and open symbols are projections onto horizontal and vertical planes, respectively. The location of the Mochras Borehole has probably not been at palaeo-latitudes south of 35°N since the Toarcian, so it is highly improbable that a multi-polarity remagnetization post-dating deposition of the Mochras succession has overprinted the original signal. Instead, the original remanence has probably undergone inclination shallowing owing to compaction of the mudstone, a well-documented phenomenon in sedimentary rocks (Kodama 2012, and references therein). Correction for this inclination shallowing with a flattening factor (f) of 0.6, which is often taken as a standard value, corrects the apparent palaeo-latitude from 21°N to a ‘true’ palaeo-latitude of 33°N (Kodama 2012). An alternative f value of 0.5 corrects the apparent palaeo-latitude from 21°N to 38°N, which is within error of the previously reconstructed palaeo-latitudes for this site. Additionally, this inclination shallowing provides a constraint on the age of magnetization as pre-compaction. Hence, the observed inclination shallowing, together with a positive inclination-only reversal test, supports interpretation of the Mochras core palaeomagnetic records as a primary Early Jurassic remanence. A magnetic-polarity column for the entire Toarcian Stage (albeit only partly covering the aalensis Zone, which is probably truncated at the top in the Mochras core) has been constructed (Fig. 3). Identified magnetic polarity in more than one consecutive sample (with at least one Class A sample) is marked by a full-width bar, whereas polarity identified by only one sample (one Class A sample with no Class B sample to support) is marked by a half-width bar (Fig. 3). An integrated synthesis of the stratigraphy of the Toarcian succession in the Mochras Borehole, comprising (ammonite and foraminifer) bio-, carbon-isotope and magnetostratigraphy. The foraminiferal zones are taken from Copestake & Johnson (2014). The inclination values and the magnetostratigraphy column are plotted. The filled black circles represent Class A samples with identified inclinations that form the basis for the construction of the magnetic-polarity record. The dark grey squares represent Class B samples, for which only magnetic polarity was identified; the points at −90° indicate reversed polarity, and the points at 90° indicate normal polarity. The normal-polarity magnetozone is in black and the reversed-polarity magnetozone is in white. The grey zones in the magnetic record indicate magnetozones defined as normal-polarity, only based on (at least two) Class B normal-polarity samples. Nine normal- and eight reversed-polarity magnetozones were identified and numbered N0–N8 and R0–R7, respectively (Fig. 3). The R0, N4 and N7 magnetozones are based on only one Class A sample and one or two Class B samples as supporting evidence. The N6 magnetozone is a suggestive normal zone based on only Class B samples and inference from the GTS2012. The interval of normal polarity (N0) probably extends down into the Pliensbachian (Fig. 3). A conservative approach was taken when determining the magnetozones R2 and N3. R2 is based on five Class A samples, although there are two single-specimen normal intervals. N3 is based on two Class A normal samples, but separated by one reverse sample. Magnetostratigraphy of the Mochras Borehole can be correlated with other magnetostratigraphic sequences defined in coeval European successions, including the Breggia Gorge section of southern Switzerland (Horner & Heller 1983) and a number of sections in Spain (Galbrun et al. 1990; Osete et al. 2007; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010). The Spanish sections include the Iznalloz section from the Betic Cordillera (Galbrun et al. 1990), the Sierra Palomera and Ariño sections (Osete et al. 2007) and the Almonacid De La Cuba Section (Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010) from the Iberian Range, central–eastern Spain. The lithology from the Spanish sections is mainly limestone, marl or mudstone (Galbrun et al. 1990; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010). The Mochras Toarcian succession is thicker, stratigraphically more expanded and better constrained relative to all previously studied successions, and carries a clear magnetic-polarity signal. The ammonite zones and subzones in Mochras are defined using the lowest occurrence of the respective index taxon (e.g. Callomon 1995; Simms et al. 2004). Zones or subzones can be determined with a high degree of accuracy in a laterally extensive, well-exposed and fossiliferous outcrop section. However, in a single borehole, such as Mochras, typically, the lowest occurrence could be stratigraphically higher in the borehole compared with the surrounding rocks. The chance of an individual borehole coring a succession with the true lowest occurrence of any macrofossil is low. This drawback means that stratigraphic correlation of ammonite zone or subzone boundaries in the Mochras Borehole to outcrop sections, such as Peniche, will be somewhat approximate. The Breggia Gorge and the Iznalloz sections are also relatively biostratigraphically complete, but are each <20 m thick (Horner & Heller 1983; Galbrun et al. 1990), and therefore are stratigraphically condensed relative to the Mochras core. The link between the ammonite biostratigraphic record of Breggia Gorge and the paleomagnetic record of the same section is also not well constrained. Furthermore, biostratigraphic constraints on the upper Toarcian pelagic sediments at Breggia are also relatively poor, and the Iznalloz section is incompletely exposed and subject to poorly characterized structural and/or stratigraphic discontinuities. The composite magnetic-polarity column from the Iberian Range starts within the mirabile Subzone of the tenuicostatum Zone and ends in the illustris Subzone of the variabilis Zone (Osete et al. 2007). The Almonacid De La Cuba section, however, probably best characterizes the base of the Toarcian Stage among all the existing magnetic-polarity records (Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010; da Rocha et al. 2016). This section records normal magnetic polarity across the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary, followed by a reversed magnetic-polarity zone through most of the mirabile Subzone (Fig. 5; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010). This reversed magnetic-polarity zone probably correlates with the stratigraphically thin T-R0 magnetozone in the Mochras core, based on chemo- and biostratigraphic correlation (Fig. 4; Hesselbo et al. 2007; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010; da Rocha et al. 2016), and has also been recorded in the Iznalloz section (Galbrun et al. 1990). Although ammonite subzones in the tenuicostatum Zone have not yet been defined in the Mochras core, chemo- and magnetostratigraphic correlation between the Mochras, Peniche and the Almonacid De La Cuba successions suggests that the top of the mirabile Subzone equivalent is stratigraphically below c. 861 mbs in the Mochras core (Fig. 4). Bio-, chemo- and magnetostratigraphic correlation between the Mochras core, the Peniche coastal outcrop (Portugal) and the Almonacid De La Cuba (Spain) successions (dashed lines) across the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary. The grey-shaded stratigraphic interval marks the potential mirabile Subzone in the Mochras core. Pliens., Pliensbachian; mir., mirabile. Magnetostratigraphic correlations with five uppermost Pliensbachian and Toarcian successions from Europe. A proposed Toarcian magnetostratigraphic polarity timescale (T-MPTS) is shown on the right. The grey zones in the magnetostratigraphic record of the Mochras core indicate magnetozones defined as normal-polarity, only based on (at least two) Class B normal-polarity samples. The vertical scales of the bio- and magnetostratigraphy in all the five sections are proportional to the relative thickness of their ammonite zones or subzones, but not their stratigraphic thickness. The vertical scale for the Geologic Time Scale (GTS) 2012 is proportional to time. Stratigraphy in the proposed T-MPTS follows relative thickness of the Mochras core. aal., aalensis; com., commune; cra., crassum; disp., dispansum; elegant., elegantulum; fal., fallaciosum; fas., fascigerum; fib., fibulatum; hawsk., hawskerense; mir., mirabile; pseu., pseudoradiosa; semicela., semicelatum; semipo., semipolitum; spin., spinatum; sublev., sublevisoni; ten./tenuicost., tenuicostatum; thouars., thouarsense; Pliens, Pliensbachian; Subz., Subzones. The long normal zone (N1) in the tenuicostatum Zone in the Mochras core is also well documented in the magnetostratigraphic records from Iznalloz, the Iberian Range composite and Almonacid De La Cuba in Spain (Fig. 5; Galbrun et al. 1990; Osete et al. 2007; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010). This normal-polarity (N1) magnetozone extends up to the lowermost serpentinum Zone, followed by a reversed-polarity interval (R1) in the lower exaratum Subzone, starting between 825 and 833 mbs in the Mochras core (Fig. 3). The R1 magnetic reversal biostratigraphically directly matches the magnetic reversals observed at Iznalloz and in the Iberian Range (Fig. 5). Normal magnetic polarity follows the magnetic-reversal zone R1 throughout the remaining exaratum and lower falciferum subzones (Fig. 2). One sample shows reversed polarity at the exaratum–falciferum subzone boundary, which is therefore marked by a half-width bar. The upper falciferum Subzone is marked by magnetic-polarity reversal (R2), which is matched by coeval reversed magnetic polarity in the Breggia Gorge and Iznalloz sections, and the Iberian Range composite. The Breggia Gorge section contains one more reversed-polarity magnetozone in the middle of the falciferum Zone, which may be coeval with and has been tentatively correlated to the potential reversed interval determined by one Class A sample within the N2 magnetozone in the Mochras core (Fig. 5). This reversal has, however, not been recorded in the Iberian Range composite, and detailed magnetostratigraphic correlation to the Iznalloz section is problematic owing to its less than ideal exposure and patchy stratigraphic characterization (Fig. 5; Galbrun et al. 1990). The serpentinum–bifrons zonal boundary is, in all studied successions, marked by normal polarity (magnetozone N3 in the Mochras core; Fig. 5). This normal magnetozone is, however, relatively thin in the Mochras core and covers only the lower commune Subzone of the lower bifrons Zone (Fig. 3). The following reversed magnetozone (R3) in the Mochras core starts halfway through the commune Subzone and continues through the fibulatum Subzone and into the upper crassum Subzone (all within the bifrons Zone; Fig. 3). In the Iberian Range, this magnetic reversal is constrained to the bifrons Subzone of the bifrons Zone (Fig. 5). This difference possibly reflects distinct biotic provincialism between different European marine basins, with diachroneity between the ammonite subzone boundaries in the bifrons Zone. The normal-polarity magnetozone (N4) straddles the bifrons–variabilis zonal boundary in the Mochras core and the Breggia Gorge and Iznalloz sections and is tentatively correlated with the short normal-polarity magnetozone in the upper part of the bifrons Zone in the Iberian Range composite (Fig. 5). Minor differences in the biostratigraphic position of the N4 magnetozone in the different European successions possibly also indicate diachroneity for the bifrons–variabilis zonal boundary, or alternatively, may reflect a historical difference in the definition of the base of the variabilis Zone, depending on either the first occurrence of Haugia or the last occurrence of Hildoceras semipolitum/Catacoeloceras spp. (Page 2003). Magnetostratigraphic correlation of intervals above the bifrons Zone is less precise because of the less well-constrained biostratigraphic correlation between different European ammonite provinces and associated ammonite zonal boundaries. The erbaense and meneghinii zones in the Breggia Gorge section probably equate to the variabilis–thouarsense and the pseudoradiosa–aalensis (levesquei) zones in NW Europe, as recorded in the Mochras core (Page 2003). In the Iznalloz section, the gradata Zone is the equivalent of the NW European variabilis Zone, the fallaciosum Zone is probably partly coeval with the NW European thouarsense Zone, and the reynesi Zone is probably partly coeval with the NW European dispansum Zone (Page 2003). The integrated stratigraphic framework proposed here for the upper Toarcian therefore follows the correlation between the local palaeomagnetic-polarity records, with due consideration of the ammonite biostratigraphy (Fig. 5). The upper Toarcian magnetic-polarity record of the Mochras core closely resembles the GTS2012 composite record. The thickness of the pseudoradiosa Zone in the Mochras core is larger than might be expected if sedimentation rates were constant and the duration of the zone in the GTS2012 were correct (Fig. 5). The precise onset and termination of magnetic-polarity reversals in the different upper Toarcian sedimentary successions, relative to ammonite zonal boundaries, is also not always consistent (Fig. 5). This difference potentially suggests that diachroneity between ammonite zonal boundaries in different biological (ammonite) provinces complicates high-resolution biostratigraphic correlation, not only in the middle, but also in the upper Toarcian. The uppermost subdivision of the Toarcian in the Mochras core, the aalensis Zone, is very thin (c. 3 m) owing to truncation at the top, and no palaeomagnetic samples were analysed. The aalensis Zone in the Iznalloz section is marked by two further palaeomagnetic reversals (Fig. 5; Galbrun et al. 1990; Ogg & Hinnov 2012). A geomagnetic polarity timescale for the entire Toarcian Stage is proposed based on the new data from the Mochras core, integrated with previously published data (Fig. 5). The mirabile Subzone (tenuicostatum Zone) is marked in the proposed T-MPTS to indicate the position of the R0 magnetozone, based on data from Almonacid De La Cuba (Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010). The base of the R1 magnetozone is placed above the base of the exaratum Subzone, according to the results of the Iznalloz section and the Iberian Range composite (Galbrun et al. 1990; Osete et al. 2007). The R8 and N9 magnetozones in the aalensis Zone, which are not recorded in the Mochras core, are added at the top of the column following the Iznalloz section (Galbrun et al. 1990). The relative stratigraphic thicknesses of the Toarcian ammonite zones differ between sections, and from those defined in GTS2012. The relative stratigraphic thicknesses of the Toarcian ammonite zones used for the T-MPTS proposed here reflect a combination of the relative stratigraphic thicknesses of the zones in the Mochras core and the data as represented in GTS2012 (Fig. 5). Assuming constant sedimentation rates, the serpentinum and pseudoradiosa zones are relatively longer and the bifrons, variabilis and thouarsense zones are relatively shorter in duration in the Mochras core, compared with GTS2012 (Fig. 5). This difference may suggest either changes in sedimentation rate throughout the Toarcian in the Mochras core or a disproportionate representation of thickness relative to time in GTS2012, resulting from changes in sedimentation rate within, or between, the Iznalloz, Iberian Range and Almonacid De La Cuba sections in Spain. Because the duration of some, especially the middle and upper, Toarcian zones is not yet accurately determined, future integration with astrochronological and geochronological data is required to accurately and precisely constrain the relative and numerical Toarcian timescale. The carbon-cycle perturbations at the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary and in the early Toarcian have been linked to the Karoo–Ferrar Large Igneous Province and associated release of volcanogenic CO2 and methane from biogenic sources and sub-seafloor clathrates (Duncan et al. 1997; McElwain et al. 2005; Svensen et al. 2007; Percival et al. 2015, 2016). Elevated sedimentary mercury concentrations at the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary and in sedimentary intervals recording the T-OAE further suggested enhanced volcanic activity at these times (Percival et al. 2015, 2016). A temporal link between Karoo–Ferrar basalt emplacement and the T-OAE was previously suggested based on radio-isotopic dating of surface basalts and dykes and sills from this Large Igneous Province, and volcanic ashes interbedded in sedimentary successions with ammonite biostratigraphy (e.g. Sell et al. 2014; Burgess et al. 2015). The precise timing of Karoo–Ferrar volcanism and its relationship to the T-OAE are, however, not well constrained owing to (1) substantial uncertainties on earlier radio-isotopic Ar–Ar ages and (2) poor bio- and chemostratigraphic control on those marine strata that have yielded accurate and precise U–Pb ages from interbedded volcaniclastic deposits. High-resolution integrated magnetostratigraphic data from the marine realm may potentially be correlated with the geomagnetic polarity record obtained from the Karoo successions of South Africa (Hargreaves et al. 1997). The onset of accumulation of the Karoo volcanic succession was previously correlated with the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary interval at Almonacid De La Cuba, Spain, based on magnetostratigraphy (da Rocha et al. 2016). Bio- and magnetostratigraphic correlation of the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary between the Mochras succession and Almonacid De La Cuba, and subsequent magnetostratigraphic correlation to the Karoo volcanic succession from the Lebombo volcanic rift margin and the Drakensberg Group in northern Lesotho, southern Africa, suggests that the three normal-polarity magnetozones there correspond to the N1 and N2 magnetozones in the Mochras core (Fig. 6; Hargreaves et al. 1997; Riley et al. 2004; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010; da Rocha et al. 2016). The youngest normal-polarity magnetozone in the Lebombo succession, which may correlate with the N2 magnetozone in the Mochras core, is less thick than the preceding normal-polarity magnetozone in the same sequence (Fig. 6). The N1 and N2 normal-polarity zones have a comparable thickness in the Mochras core. This difference may be explained by a combined effect of the changing sedimentation rate at Mochras and the relatively sporadic and variable accumulation rates of the Karoo lava flows. Magnetostratigraphic correlation between the Mochras core (this study), the Almonacid De La Cuba Section in Spain (Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010) and the Karoo volcanic rocks at Lebombo and northern Lesotho in South Africa (Duncan et al. 1997; Hargreaves et al. 1997; Riley et al. 2004; Comas-Rengifo et al. 2010; Moulin et al. 2017). The lithological column of the Lebombo and northern Lesotho Drakensberg regions from the bottom to the top contains the Mashikiri Nephelinite, the Letaba Picrite, the Sabie River Basalt and Jozini Rhyolite (Hargreaves et al. 1997). The radioisotopic ages from Lebombo are from Riley et al. (2004) and recalculated from Duncan et al. (1997). The stratigraphic levels of the analysed samples are indicated by the arrowed letters A–G (F1 and F2 and G1 and G2 indicate different samples within level F and level G, respectively), with the uncertainty bars representing the age defined by U–Pb and 40Ar/39Ar dating. The high-resolution bulk organic-carbon isotope record (Xu et al. 2018) and the Hg–TOC record (Percival et al. 2015, 2016) from the Mochras core illustrate the carbon-cycle perturbation and the fingerprint of enhanced volcanism at the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary and the T-OAE. a., aalensis; co., commune; cra., crassum; dis., dispansum; exarat., exaratum; falcif., falciferum; fal., fallaciosum; f., fascigerum; fib., fibulatum; hawsk., hawskerense; leves., levesquei; mir., mirabile; pseudorad/pseu., pseudoradiosa; semicelat., semicelatum; tenuicost., tenuicostatum; thoua., thouarsense. Based on this correlation, emplacement of the Karoo Large Igneous Province had already begun in the late Pliensbachian, and continued until after the T-OAE negative CIE. Basalt emplacement in the Karoo Basin of South Africa might actually have persisted throughout the duration of the early Toarcian overarching positive CIE, which possibly linked to prolonged and large-scale extraction of 13C-depleted carbon from the global ocean–atmosphere system, brought about by elevated atmospheric pCO2 and associated prolonged climatic and oceanographic change at that time. The T-OAE negative CIE, superimposed on the overarching early Toarcian positive CIE, possibly reflects the time of maximum isotopically light carbon injection either directly from Karoo–Ferrar basalt degassing or through additional processes such as thermogenic carbon release from subsurface organic-rich shales, or through the initiation of positive feedback mechanisms in Earth's climate system, with, for example, the release of carbon from seafloor methane clathrates. A high-resolution magnetostratigraphic record is presented, spanning the complete Toarcian succession of the Mochras Borehole, Wales, and providing a bio- and chemostratigraphically integrated and refined geomagnetic polarity timescale for the Toarcian Stage (T-MPTS). The combined bio- (ammonite, foraminifer), chemo- (carbon-isotope) and magnetostratigraphic framework for the entire Toarcian Stage forms an important reference record for future correlations between global marine, and marine and terrestrial successions. This framework also provides new accurate and precise correlations with the basalt lava sequence of the Karoo Large Igneous Province, linking the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary and T-OAE climatic and environmental perturbations directly to this episode of major volcanic activity. All authors thank the British Geological Survey (BGS), especially T. Gallagher and S. Renshaw, for allowing access to the Mochras core. C. V. Ullmann is acknowledged for the help with sampling and the general discussion. J.B.R. publishes with the approval of the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey (NERC). This paper is a contribution to IGCP 655 (IUGS-UNESCO): ‘Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event: Impact on marine carbon cycle and ecosystems’, and IGCP 632 (IUGS-UNESCO): ‘Continental Crises of the Jurassic: Major Extinction Events and Environmental Changes within Lacustrine Ecosystems’. 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Osmium isotope evidence for the regulation of atmospheric CO2 by continental weathering. Geology, 32, 157–160. 2010. A complementary section for the proposed Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) global stratotype: the Almonacid De La Cuba section (Spain). Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation, 18, 133–152. 2014. Lower Jurassic foraminifera from the Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) Borehole, North Wales, UK. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society, 167. 2015. Environmental controls on Jurassic marine ecosystems during global warming. Geology, 43, 263–266. 2016. Base of the Toarcian Stage of the Lower Jurassic defined by the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) at the Peniche section (Portugal). Episodes, 39, 460–481. 2011. Ammonite paleobiogeography during the Pliensbachian–Toarcian crisis (Early Jurassic) reflecting paleoclimate, eustasy, and extinctions. Global and Planetary Change, 78, 92–105. 1987. The geology of Cardigan Bay. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 98, 331–353. 1997. The timing and duration of the Karoo igneous event, southern Gondwana. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102, 18127–18138. 2014. Organic geochemistry of the early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event in Hawsker Bottoms, Yorkshire, England. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 390, 116–127. 1988. Magnetostratigraphy of the Toarcian stratotype sections at Thouars and Airvault (Deux-Sèvres, France). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 87, 453–462. 1990. Magnetostratigraphy of the Toarcian Ammonitico Rosso limestone at Iznalloz, Spain. Geophysical Research Letters, 17, 2441–2444. 2011. A global perturbation to the sulfur cycle during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 312, 484–496. 1997. Paleomagnetism of the Karoo igneous rocks in South Africa. South African Journal of Geology, 100, 195–212. 2009. Expression of the Early Toarcian negative carbon-isotope excursion in separated carbonate microfractions (Jurassic, Paris Basin). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 277, 194–203. 2000. Massive dissociation of gas hydrate during a Jurassic oceanic anoxic event. Nature, 406, 392–395. 2007. Carbon-isotope record of the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) Oceanic Anoxic Event from fossil wood and marine carbonate (Lusitanian Basin, Portugal). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 253, 455–470. 2013. Mochras borehole revisited: a new global standard for Early Jurassic earth history. Scientific Drilling, 16, 81–91. 1983. Lower Jurassic magnetostratigraphy at the Breggia Gorge (Ticino, Switzerland) and Alpe Turati (Como, Italy). Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 73, 705–718. 2000. The Neuquén composite section: magnetostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the marine lower Jurassic from the Neuquén basin (Argentina). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 181, 443–457. 1971. Stratigraphical palaeontology of the Lower Jurassic of the Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) Borehole. In: Woodland, A.W. (ed.) The Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) Borehole. Institute of Geological Sciences Report, 771/18, 87–92. 1985. The Early Toarcian and Cenomanian–Turonian anoxic events in Europe: comparisons and contrasts. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 74, 505–518. 1988. The early Toarcian (Jurassic) anoxic event: Stratigraphic, sedimentary, and geochemical evidence. American Journal of Science, 288, 101–151. 2003. Evidence for rapid climate change in the Mesozoic–Palaeogene greenhouse world. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A, 361, 1885–1916. 1997. Lower Jurassic epicontinental carbonates and mudstones from England and Wales: chemostratigraphic signals and the early Toarcian anoxic event. Sedimentology, 44, 687–706. 2001. Nitrogen isotope evidence for water mass denitrification during the early Toarcian (Jurassic) oceanic anoxic event. Paleoceanography, 16, 593–603. 2005. Biological overprint of the geological carbon cycle. Marine Geology, 217, 323–338. 2005. Astronomical pacing of methane release in the Early Jurassic period. Nature, 437, 396–399. 1980. The least-squares line and plane and the analysis of palaeomagnetic data. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 62, 699–718. 2012. Inclination shallowing in sedimentary rocks: evidence, mechanism and cause. In: Kodama, K.P. (ed.) Paleomagnetism of Sedimentary Rocks: Process and Interpretation, 1st edn. Blackwell, Oxford, 34–45. 2010. A carbon-isotope perturbation at the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary: evidence from the Lias Group, NE England. Geological Magazine, 147, 181–192. 2017. Response of macrobenthic communities to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in northeastern Panthalassa (Ya Ha Tinda, Alberta, Canada). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 478, 103–120. 2016. 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https://jgs.lyellcollection.org/content/175/4/594

I have always considered autumn to be the season of new beginnings, no matter what the calendar says. Adults come back rejuvenated by their summer vacations to tackle the workplace anew, while kids of all ages anticipate the new school year (either eagerly or with dread). This fall also starts a new chapter in my life as the incoming president of the Altrusa International Club of New York. I suppose you could say that I am eagerly anticipating my new duties…with dread (just kidding!!). I am truly looking forward to the upcoming year and would like to extend a warm welcome to our returning and new members. To our new members, in particular, welcome into the fold and thank you for joining us. Each member’s reasons for joining Altrusa are as unique as the individual who espouses them, but I am sure that we all believe in the adage that the reward is in the giving and in the sharing. In the recent past, New York Altrusans have undertaken such projects as serving lunch to the homeless and hungry at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen; donating books and clothing (especially pajamas) to children in need in shelters and in the Hour Children program; and donating funds for the purchase of bed nets and solar cookers for distribution in developing countries. The smiles of thanks we have received are our reward. Over the next year, we will continue with similar projects, along with developing some brand-new ones that, hopefully, will spark the interest of current members, while attracting new recruits to our ranks. These new projects, if they are to succeed, will require active and thoughtful collaboration of our membership with prestigious outside organizations. I do not think I would be remiss in saying that we all recognize the value of teamwork and of increasing our chopsticks (um… our membership), so as to better undertake our good works in both the local and global communities. And, collaboration with outside organizations could only be to the benefit of all parties. So, the plan is, simply, to increase our active projects and embark on outside collaboration to complement our regular dinner meeting roster of speakers, who will continue to give talks on current events and other interesting topics. In closing, I hope to see everyone at the September meeting at the National Arts Club and start the year off with a bang, and not a whimper. My personal thanks to outgoing president, Catherine Kleszczewski, and last year’s board, as well as to the incoming board for all your support and good wishes. See you on September 23rd! Newly-elected Officers were installed at the June Dinner Meeting, along with a new Board of Directors. This list will be in the Club’s Yearbook which will be distributed at the September Dinner Meeting (another reason to attend). If, however, you want to have this information immediately, see the following list. The first Dinner Meeting of 2014-15 Altrusa Year will be held at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, at 5:30 pm, on Tuesday, September 23. President Anne Marie Basic wants this dinner to be a “get to know you” meeting with an exchange of ideas and suggestions for the coming year. Yearbooks will be distributed and you can sign up for a Committee. Hopefully, you will all be able to attend. Back in June, I found myself at a stone wall while I was doing some research on the computer, and thought it would be interesting to see what could be found out about the Altrusa International New York Club’s charter members. Starting with our most famous member, Eleanor Roosevelt. I’m sure you all know her history. Her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was Governor of New York, and 32nd President of the US. She was a tireless worker to improve human condition and the United Nation’s first Chairperson for the Committee on Human Rights. Mrs. Roosevelt joined in the first year and was not considered a charter member. Of the original charter members, nineteen in all, information was found for only twelve. The first secretary, Vera Bull Hull, was married to an inventor, William C. Hull. As administratrix of his estate in September, 1947, Mrs. Hull filed for a patent on her husband’s invention of an appliance in the form of a footrest (situated at foot of hospital bed) that enabled a patient to exercise his leg muscles while lying in bed. It also had the advantage of lifting the covers off the legs and feet for added comfort. Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth, is well-known to most of us due to her daughters’ novels, “Cheaper By The Dozen” and “Belles on Their Toes,” and the film portrayal by Myrna Loy. She was a well-respected mechanical engineer by profession. Florence Brobeck wrote best-selling cookbooks and had a weekly column in The New York Times in 1936-37. She was also associate editor of The New York Herald Tribune Women’s Page in the 1940’s. Elsie Eaves was the first female associate member of The American Society of Civil Engineers and a founding member of the American Association of Cost Engineers, now known as the ACCE. Gloria Browning was a dressmaker. May Alexander was a dress salesperson. Margaret B. Benson, born in England, was a merchandising clerk. While Grace M. Clarke, also born in England, was a nurse manager. Catherine Fisher was a supervisor for the telephone company, and Elizabeth Phillips was a secretary for the telephone company. Susie W. Smith was a railroad company clerk. Elizabeth R. Wylie, born in Scotland, she was a manager and was married late in life to Dr. Frederick Demarest. Regrettably, I was unable to get the official names of the companies that employed these women nor the names of the educational institutions they attended. It’s a long shot, but if anyone knows anything more about these women, or the other charter members – Evelyn Hopper, charter President; Eva B. Gage; Frances Massey; Bertha Miller; Cora S. Riefer; Helen Waldo; Jeanette Ware -- please let us know as it would be nice to have this history. This year’s fundraiser at Belmont Race Track was a lot of fun for all who attended. There was a true air of excitement. While the profits were down about $200 from last year’s fundraiser, it was a successful effort. In fact, the lesser profit had more to do with the fact that Belmont raised their prices but we chose not to pass that on to our loyal attendees. Shirley Day has sent these hints which you may find very helpful. The simplest way to slice cherry tomatoes is to place them between to lids and run a knife through all of them at once. Do you find yourself throwing out hard blocks of brown sugar every time you go to the package? Try storing a few marshmallows in the bag with the brown sugar. Make sure that the bag is airtight. Don’t have a watering can? Create one by puncturing holes in the top of a used milk bottle. Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard-boiling eggs to make the shells incredibly easy to peel off. To tell if eggs are fresh, immerse them in a bowl of water. Fresh eggs will lie on the bottom, while stale eggs will float to the surface. Grandchildren are a blessing but the wee ones can’t always keep within the lines or even on the paper. In that case, WD40 can be used to remove crayon marks from any surface! Store bed sheets inside their pillowcases for easy storage and access. I’ve tried this, not only does it give easy access and storage, it makes an attractive and neat shelf in the linen closet. Psst! Don’t tell the Container Store, but you can use egg boxes to store delicate Christmas tree decorations. The Altrusa Club of New York has a website: http://altrusanewyorkcity.tripod.com. Don’t forget to visit it. REMEMBER: This is your newsletter. It is only as good as the articles you submit. Thanks to Penny Gardner, Shirley Day, Julie Kleszczewski, Anne Marie Basic, and Jessica Leeds for their help in producing this edition. Audrey Braver, Editor. Finally, spring is here. It feels like summer! It is time to put away the winter clothes and bring out the summer wardrobe! First of all, I want to thank everyone on the board and all the members as well! Special thanks to Penny for being on top of our finances, for organizing our reservations at the National Arts Club, and for countless hours of putting together the Treasurer’s report and our biggest fundraiser of the year at Belmont Racetrack; to Audrey, for putting together the directory, newsletter, and for giving me guidance; to Jessica, for hosting wine and cheese events and for her guidance; to Carole Kennedy for hosting and organizing our jewelry workshop, to Julie, my mother, for throwing me into the “lion’s den.” I thank everyone who has not been mentioned here by name. You are and have been an inspiration to me! I want to wish our new board members, especially President-Elect Anne Marie Basic, a successful and uplifting future for our club and for those charities we assist and a thank you especially to our Foundation board members (Thank you, Carole Lancaster, for keeping it together). A big thank you goes to Maureen McGough for taking the time to install our new slate of officers! Maureen, you are a powerhouse! I repeat. Educate someone about personal finance: a student, a wife (who will someday become a widow or divorced – always a possibility), an unemployed person, a cousin, etc. Some might not want to be taught (Please ask why, because ignorance is NOT bliss in this case!). Send gentle reminders such as sending them stories of financial misfortune or have them check out these websites: www.investopedia.com or www.smckids.com (for kids).This is not a popular topic. No one likes to talk about money. BUT no one likes to eat cat food either! Another article that I read was in today’s Wall Street Journal (May 12, 2014), “Should Companies Monitor Their Employees’ Social Media?” This seems like common sense, but if any of you have a social media count, you should ask yourself, “Why do you have one?” There have been many articles that list mostly the cons of having such an account. For example, if you announce to your Facebook friends that you will be on vacation for a week, guess what? You might be inviting someone to break into your home, or to live in your house. Ugh! Also, I see people posting pics of themselves at crazy parties, children’s activities. Okay, be aware that you are opening up yourself to potential employers rejecting your job application. Also, there was a story of a mother who actually posted her child’s weekly schedule! Guess what? Her child was kidnapped. I don’t know if the child was ever found. My point is this: even though some of us feel safe and secure in the land of cyberspace, it should be treated as if we are swimming in the ocean of shark-infested waters. Sometimes there is a false sense of security (i.e. Hackers are able to steal millions of debit and credit card numbers). There are many people out there who are wolves in sheep’s clothing (or they are simply nuts). Be cautious in who you confide in. Caveat emptor. I feel the urgency to inform and to bring attention to issues that are not so obvious, to things that we don’t want to talk about. On a lighter note, I have learned a great deal in these last two years. Everyone who has served as club president and our members, both longtime and new, have taught me how to become a better leader. A true leader listens, and is accessible to their board and club members. Throughout history, the most successful leaders were people who see the world in a realistic, sober fashion, and not being a “Pollyanna,” (who has always had their way in life). True leaders have the ability to empathize and to remain calm in a crisis, but find a solution rather than complain and not act. Thank you for this opportunity to serve you! Be aware, be safe, and have a “MAH-vel – ous” summer everyone! See you all at our fundraiser at Belmont on Sunday, June 22nd! The Dinner Meeting that would normally have been held on Tuesday, April 22nd and was to be incorporated into the Friday, April 25th UN Woman’s Project Orange dinner at Audrey Braver’s apartment at 21-55 34th Avenue, Apt 6B, Long Island City. That dinner was to have celebrated the six month anniversary of UN Project Orange and a small fundraiser for the New York Club. This year’s racing event will be on Sunday, June 22, 2014. The price of a single ticket is $125.00 each, buy two and the price is reduced to $100.00 each. Buy two, bring a friend. It’s a bargain! In fact invite all your friends. It is a great day, we are in the Turf and Jockey Room with a private betting window, lots of delicious food, a cash bar for drinks and a dessert table. See attached flyer. Also, there will be a van pickup on Roosevelt Island at 12 noon and return after the races. Contact Audrey Braver, if interested (718-721-4229). For tickets, contact Penny Gardner at 212-348-1433. At the March Board Meeting, the Board voted to increase the Membership Dues from $135.00 to $140.00 per person. The Members voted on this increase at the March meeting. Dues renewal notice is on the last page of this newsletter. Please complete in full. Dues must be paid no later than May 31st to avoid the $30.00 late payment fee. Please note: Change of Date. The May Dinner Meeting will be on May 20th, not May 28th, as originally scheduled due to a change in the National Arts Calendar. District Two Governor, Maureen McGough, will join us and perform the Installation of Officers. This is our last regular meeting of the Altrusa International Club of New York and all members should try their best to attend—especially and most importantly, the newly-elected officers. Memorial Day is coming up as well as D-Day. So many other events such as the worst tragedy of the US Navy in history: the USS Indianapolis, which delivered the atom bomb. The ship sank on July 30, 1945. Out of 1,197 sailors, 300 went down with the ship. The rest survived only to find themselves in shark-infested waters for about a week. Only 317 men survived. Google it if interested in further details. Monopoly - I Did Not Know This! Now obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and accurate map, one showing not only where stuff was, but also showing the locations of 'safe houses' where a POW on-the-lam could go for food and shelter. Paper maps had some real drawbacks -- they make a lot of noise when you open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get wet, they turn into mush. Someone in MI-5 (similar to America's OSS) got the idea of printing escape maps on silk. It's durable, can be scrunched-up into tiny wads, and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise whatsoever. By pure coincidence, Waddington was also the U.K. Licensee for the popular American board game, Monopoly. As it happened, 'games and pastimes' was a category of item qualified for insertion into 'CARE packages', dispatched by the International Red Cross to prisoners of war. Under the strictest of secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible old workshop on the grounds of Waddington's, a group of sworn-to-secrecy employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of Germany, Italy, France, or where ever Allied POW camps were located. When processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they would actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece. 3. Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian, and French currency, hidden within the piles of Monopoly money! British and American air crews were advised, before taking off on their first mission, how to identify a 'rigged' Monopoly set -- by means of a tiny red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing glitch, located in the corner of the Free Parking square. Of the estimated 35,000 Allied POWS who successfully escaped, an estimated one-third were aided in their flight by the rigged Monopoly sets. Everyone who did so was sworn to secrecy indefinitely, since the British Government might want to use this highly successful ruse in still another, future war. The story wasn't declassified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen from Waddington's, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a public ceremony. It's always nice when you can play that 'Get Out of Jail Free' card! I realize that many of you are (probably) too young to have any personal connection to WWII (Dec. '41 to Aug. '45), but this is still an interesting bit of history. Attendees: Catherine Kleszczewski, Audrey Braver, Julie Kleszczewski, Jessica Leeds, Henie Parish. Excused: Carole Kennedy, Margaret Stadler, Anne Marie Basic, Gwen Ascadi and Penny Gardner. President Catherine called meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. The minutes of the March 25 Board Meeting were approved as corrected. Governor of District Two, Maureen McGough, will be our special guest and install the new officers on May 20, 2014 (third Tuesday not fourth). June 22, Sunday, is the date of Belmont Raceway fundraiser. Trains leave from Penn Station, Long Island Railroad, twice after 11 a.m. and once at 4 p.m. and at the conclusion of the races. Carole Kennedy has organized a Jewelry Workshop on May 10, 2014, at 11 a.m. A percent of proceeds will be donated to the Altrusa International New York Foundation. A suggested alternate location for 2014 November and 2015 February meetings to be investigated further is Solera Restaurant that has a private room, on 53rd, between Second and Third Avenues, (www.solerany.com), 212 644 1166, 216 East 53rd Street at Third Avenue. Meeting adjourned at 6:47 p.m. REMEMBER: This is your newsletter. It is only as good as the articles you submit. Thanks to Catherine Kleszczewski, Penny Gardner, Shirley Day, Julie Kleszczewski for their help in producing this edition. Audrey Braver, Editor. Belmont is easily accessible via LIRR, bus, or car. Jewish World Watch—Distributes solar cookers to refugee camps in Iridemi. It’s springtime, everyone! April Fool! Happy Birthday, Altrusa – April 25th. I hope everyone has filed their taxes already. Nothing like listening to Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No. 1 while writing this to you. (Wow, I wish I had written this piece). Obviously, the spring air has put me into a giddy mood. Lately, I have been volunteering my time to my son’s music class. I edited parts for my son’s first band piece. Yes, it’s not a common way to volunteer, I admit. But, it is certainly much more constructive than selling cupcakes at a table in the cafeteria (unless baking is one’s livelihood). If you are an expert in a particular craft (painting, jewelry-making, investing, computers, etc.) even if it’s not main stream, then you should share it with the world. Years ago (last century), I was accepted but decided not to attend the University of Southern California’s Film Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television. It was an incredible opportunity to learn from the best film composers in the business. Instead, my first priority was to become a mother. Like many women, we tend to sacrifice our personal goals to attain other goals which rely on timing (i.e. biological clocks). We women do not have control of the calendar in this respect. Well, good came from that decision. Not only do I have two beautiful children, but also they compose music! So, you can say the amount of composers in our family has tripled! This is a repeated theme in many of my messages as your president: teach what you know. Because you never know who will benefit. If your passion is writing, teaching or giving guidance in a particular field, then it’s a possibility that that person might wish to become a writer or teach someone in their family or community what you just taught them. That type of volunteering is what helps make the world a better place, thus giving back to one’s community. Happy Earth Day! April 22nd. This month the Dinner Meeting which would normally be held on April 22nd has been postponed and incorporated into the April 25th Un Woman’s Project Orange dinner at Audrey Braver’s apartment at 21-55 34th Avenue, Apt 6B, Long Island City. UN-Women’s Project Orange encourages everyone to wear orange on the 25th day of each month to draw attention to the universal problem of violence against women. April 25th is the six-month anniversary of Project Orange. The New York Altrusa International Club has chosen to have an Orange Dinner as their way to celebrate the six month anniversary. All the food will be orange in color or accented with orange, e.g., macaroni and cheese, and salad with orange slices, etc. The dinner will be potluck; everyone is encouraged to bring some kind of “orange” food. This will be a fund raiser so the cost will be a $25.00 donation for each of us; $30.00 if you don’t bring food. We have already had offers of table cloth, napkins, paper plates. The macaroni and cheese is covered, as is the salad. Please call Audrey at: 718-721-4229 to make reservations and for directions to her apartment and what you will bring. This year’s racing even will be on Sunday, June 22, 2014. The price of a single ticket is $125.00 each, buy two and the price is reduced to $100.00 each. Buy two, bring a friend. It’s a bargain! In fact invite all your friends. It is a great day, we are in the Turf and Jockey Room with a private betting window, lots of delicious food, a cash bar for drinks and a dessert table. For tickets, contact Penny Gardner at 212-3348-1433. Minutes from the previous board meeting had been distribute, corrected and approved via email. Several of the board members express unhappiness over this process and hope the board will go back to the former procedure. Treasurer’s report: Penny Gardner recommended the dues for 2014-15 membership be raised by $5.00 from the current dues of $135.00. Also raise the late fee $5.00. Jessica Leeds made the motion to increase the dues and late fee, Carole Kennedy seconded the motion. Motion carried. The dues for 2014-15 will be $140.00 and $30.00 for late fee. Dues are due May 31, 2014. Penny Gardner discussed the contract with the National Arts Club for the dinner meetings. It is expected that the cost of the dinner will increase but Penny has not been informed by the National Arts Club at this date. The Club may need to raise the price of the dinners for the members. Dates for the dinner meetings at the National Arts Club for the coming season are as follows: September 23rd, October 28th, January 27th, March 24th, and May 19th. Another venue will be found for the dinner meetings November 18th, February 24th. The April dinner meeting will be cancelled so members can attend the District Meeting in April. The New York Club is responsible for activity at the District Meeting. Audrey Braver discussed the Orange Dinner schedule for April 25th. The event will be held at Audrey Braver’s home, beginning at 6 pm, members will contribute food in the orange theme. This is to support the UN awareness campaign on violence against women. It is possible the Altrusa International President Ilona Kerby will be in NYC and will attend. At the May 20th meeting, the District Governor Maureen McGough will attend and install the new officers and directors. Belmont “Day at the Races” tickets are available for sale. published only once a year and that issue will be devoted to the International Convention. was given to the club’s representative to share with the club. residents of Safe Harbor, a shelter for battered women. After dinner on Friday night, the Capital City ASTRA club ran a Bingo game which is always fun. The Awards Banquet on Saturday night was exciting. The New York club received three club awards—second place for both the Eleanor Pettersen Awards for Membership Growth in number of members and by percentage; and second place for the Nina Fay Calhoun International Relations Award for our Project Orange; and Julie Kleszczewski and Jessica Leeds shared top place for the Sponsorship Award with six new members. Catherine Kleszczewski received recognition for Presidential Excellence. At the end of the evening, the catering and wait staff were invited to take a bow and receive their tips for the Conference service. Then the staff returned their tips to Altrusa as a donation. This was a first since I’ve been going to Conferences. While the Richmond Club was host and the membership certainly worked hard to make this a great conference, kudos go to Tammy Boyd who supervised everything and raised troubleshooting to an art form. Whatever glitsch was thrown at her, she rose to the challenge. Thank you, Tammy. REMEMBER: This is your newsletter. It is only as good as the articles you submit. Thanks to Catherine Klescszewski, Jessica Leeds, Penny Gardner for their help in producing this edition. Audrey Braver, Editor. Happy February weather! As one newspaper put it,” S’no more!” That groundhog wasn’t kidding! So many events have occurred: Super Bowl Sunday – it wasn’t a game, it was a massacre! Groundhog Day on the same day as the Super Bowl (that cute, furry little critter! Leave Phil alone!); death of an actor from my generation, Philip Seymour Hoffmann. He was only 46, and a father of three children ages 5, 7 and 10; death of Shirley Temple Black, actress and UN Ambassador, age 85. She lit up the lives of millions during the Great Depression with her cheerful talent, innocence and grace. February 9, 2014 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles performing on the Ed Sullivan Show in New York (aka “The British Invasion!”), in front of a U.S. audience. I can’t help think that all of those screaming teenage fans are now in their 60s! On another light note, there’s the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. All of the Olympians from every nation are amazing – so many stories, so many words of inspiration. Russia’s Police Choir http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P08B_lBUL0E really caught my attention.(Oo La La!) Besides, rooting for the USA, I am rooting for the Jamaican bobsled team! Should I discuss the influence of Washington and Lincoln since President’s Day is coming up? Beside the fact that February is Black History Month, Rosa Parks birthday was on February 4th. Even though the holidays are over, I feel as though life has been nonstop. I mean look at all the events that have already occurred before Valentine’s Day! The bottom line is: life goes on. In our minds and hearts, we know that life isn’t always fair or beautiful. There are troglodytes (please remember this word for our meeting in February. Spelling counts, ladies.) in this world, but still…hopefully we can all experience the beauty of life and give that to others in need. Making small gestures such as giving food or saying a “hello” can brighten someone’s spirit. When our spirit is lighter, we can succeed and love so much more. At the January dinner meeting, we selected our representatives to the District II Conference. Audrey Braver and Abaynesh Asrat are the delegates, and Henie Parish and Julie Kleszczewski are the alternates. Remember this Conference is not just for delegates. It is for all members. Richmond, VA, is an historically rich city, well worth the visit. We should all think about attending, if not this year, certainly next year when our Area (I) is the host. Location will be Washington, DC--lots to do in DC. We will also need volunteers to help with the various phases of the conference. So, please, start your planning now—2015 is less than a year away. The South Central Pennsylvania Altrusa Club is taking orders for their divine Peanut Butter, Coconut, Butter Cream and PB Krispie Easter eggs. Cost is $12/dozen, or $15/dozen for special orders, e.g., white chocolate, bittersweet or milk chocolate. Order forms will be available at the Dinner Meeting. Please note the NY Club will not be selling them this year. The following comments have been attributed to Andy Rooney, our apologies if this is not the correct attribution. That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person. That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day. That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult. That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you. That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.. That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere. Attendees: Catherine Kleszczewski; Audrey Braver, Penny Gardner; Carole Kennedy, Julie Kleszczewski and Jessica Leeds, Henie Parish. Excused: Anne Marie Basic, Margaret Stadler. President Catherine called meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. Jessica Leeds moved and Carole Kennedy seconded a motion to approve the minutes that were approved. Treasurer’s report: $5,347.22 in our regular bank account. A successful Wine and Cheese Event was held Thursday, January 9, 2014, at Jessica’s. Those attending were new members: Connie DiBenedetto, Jacqueline Feldman, and their guest, Mary Kreiger, plus guests, Mary Beth Cornell (She will arrive late.), and Liz Voss. Carole Kennedy will hold another jewelry workshop (two weeks prior to Mother’s Day) May 9, at 11 a.m. , $35 an hour, $70 for two hours at 1160 Broadway (27th Street). Catherine K. will send an EVITE at least two weeks in advance. The January 28 Program will feature Carol Smolenski, Executive Director of ECPAT. An Orange luncheon was suggested as a fundraiser at Audrey's house on April 25, Friday, 6 p.m. Directions to follow. (Menu will consist of all orange food). Cost is $25. Two dollars to paint two fingernails orange. Carole Kennedy will announce. Speaker for dinner meeting, woman real estate in Manhattan. (Jessica suggested her as a speaker.) Speaker for March: possibly Anne Marie Carlson, Chair of DPI/NGO Executive Committee. Speaker for April ... working on it and maybe at the Hungarian Literary Club. Anne-Marie Basic working on May. Need two delegates to District Conference April 11-13. Audrey offered to be a delegate. We also need two alternates. Maureen McGough, Governor, will be our speaker, Tuesday, February 25, at our dinner meeting at the Hungarian Literary Society (79th Street between First and Second Avenue). We are considering the Hungarian Literary Society for our April 22 meeting. Henie suggested that her brother, a city planner, as a speaker for April 22, 2014. Nominating Committee: Three volunteers are to be appointed at our January, 2014, meeting and nominees to be elected at our April meeting. Our District Conference will be held on April 11-13 (Friday - Sunday, Palm Sunday) in Richmond, Virginia. Our Day at the Races will be held at the Belmont Raceway on June 22, 2014. They offer new menu selections, a pasta station in addition to passing appetizers. Penny presented the flyer for the Belmont for suggestions from the board. Two Conference that will be held in Georgetown, Washington D.C . No date has been set as yet. Meeting adjourned at 5:56 p.m. At the dinner meeting on January 28, Audrey Braver and Abaynesh Asrat were selected as delegates to the District Two Conference in Richmond, VA, beginning April 10, 2014. Julie Kleszczewski and Henie Parish were selected as alternate delegates. REMEMBER: This is your newsletter. It is only as good as the articles you submit. Thanks to Catherine Kleszczewski, Shirley Day, Jessica Leeds, Julie Kleszczewski, Penny Gardner for their help in producing this edition. Audrey Braver, Editor. I hope everyone has had a happy new year so far. A new year gives us an opportunity to regroup; and to think how we can make a positive difference. Lately, I have been reading and watching biographies and interviews of famous and successful people. One of the things that they all have in common was their drive for having quality content, and not so much focus on procedure. I think, at times, we all want to do the right thing and follow protocol of what other clubs and/or companies are doing. However, sometimes, the larger the company, the more confusion there is. For example, why did all of these companies such as Enron, JP Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs (to name a few), get themselves into financial trouble? The short answer is their accounting practices, but, of course, it is more complicated than that. Google to find the answer. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday approaches, let us remember his legacy. From time to time, I often think about MLK, Jr. as well as Nelson Mandela, and all the positive energy that they had. (When you have a chance, please watch the movie, “Invicus.” It’s a must-see!) Without them, this world would be a much different place. On that note, please invite a friend or colleague to one of our dinner meetings. Let us celebrate our cultural diversity! Our speaker speaker is Carol Smolenski, the Executive Director and one of the founders of ECPAT-USA, has been working in the field of children’s rights for eighteen years. She is a long-time nationally recognized leader working to stop the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. This is a most important topic and I’m sure you will find it both interesting and stimulating. Don’t forget to make your reservations with Penny Gardner, 212-348-1433. We received a thoughtful thank you note from Yvette, Director of Volunteer Services for the two quilts we donated. We visited the VA Hospital the Saturday before Christmas … There was a snowstorm which delayed my friend. But we finally made it about 4:30 p.m.! One quilt is a bold design using recycled maroon curtains, gingham sheets and other fabrics of the tied quilt we made. This was given to a gentleman whose home is in Pennsylvania so he had very few visits. He was so happy! Our maroon and gingham surprise was the icing on the cake for he was returning home in the morning! The other as you know was composed of beautiful tiny triangles framed in pale green. This quilt was given to a totally thrilled female veteran who worked in the battle zone as a medic. In case you didn’t receive the District Service Bulletin, below is information about the District Two Conference, April 11-13, 2014, in Richmond, VA. The Fifty-eighth Annual District Two Conference will be hosted by the Richmond club at the Holiday Inn Airport, Sandston, VA April 10 - 13, 2014. Conference Chair Tammy Boyd and Co-Chair Cindi Jennings have been working hard to plan an exciting, growth-producing experience for us. Our International Representative will be International President Ilona Kerby who is a member of the Longview-Kelso, WA Club in District Twelve. We are honored to have Ilona attending our Conference as it will be her first Conference in her position as International President. Let’s welcome her and show her how District Two presents the most rewarding and informative Conference! Ilona is stressing the importance of growing Altrusa – every Club increasing their membership by one new member. How proud District Two would be to know that we are doing so by having our new members attend Conference! I would like to see the First Timers Session packed! Stress to Club members the camaraderie we experience with our sisters and brothers in Altrusa Service, the networking and leadership training provided through workshops, and the heartfelt joy experienced by participating in our service projects. There will be two general sessions – one on Friday and one on Saturday -- and it is imperative that each Club sends its allotted delegates and alternates as this is where the business of the District takes place. So many times members ask “what does District do for us?” Come to Conference and find out! There will be training for Club Presidents and Club Treasurers; an opportunity to meet International President Ilona Kerby and participate in her all-session workshop; an Astra Workshop; town hall session for sharing club service projects; an Area meeting session to discuss Fall Workshops; opportunities to be updated on International and District objectives; and all-session workshops from a guest speaker on Friday who works in A Domestic Violence Safe House and on Saturday whose specialty is in Leadership and Career Transitions. The District Board and members of Altrusa International of Richmond, VA look forward to seeing many Altrusans at Conference. Names of Delegate(s) and Alternates(s) from each club must be reported on the enclosed form to the District Secretary. There are NO credential cards to give to your delegates(s) or alternates(s). Delegates and alternates are determined sixty (60) days prior to District Conference pursuant to Club Bylaws. Each club in good standing that has an Active and Active Retired membership of 20 members shall be entitled to one delegate and one alternate. For each additional 20 members or portion thereof, a club shall be entitled to 1 additional delegate and alternate. The District Treasurer will review with the District Secretary and notify you of any discrepancies. Send attached form by 3/1/14 to: District Two Secretary Tammy Boyd, 117 McCauley Pkwy, Aylett, VA 23009. Please let me know if you need a Registration form. Clelia was generous enough to write about her recent vacation and submit it to the Altrusagram. It is, as always, entertaining. For years I had been dreaming of doing a cruise on the scenic Danube. None of my friends was interested and time was passing. Then one day I talked about this plan to a friend in Brazil and the moment I mentioned Danube, her eyes sparkled. I had found a companion and Edilah and I went on a cruise in October of 2013. The Danube has always been the main route to connect west Europe to the Black Sea. But this river had large rock formations and swift waters that represented sizeable obstacles. Charlemagne had dreamed of a canal creating a continuous waterway linking hundreds of inland ports and such a canal was finally built and finished in 1992, making our cruise possible. We went through 67 locks ! We sailed mostly at night, but also some mornings and every day we were in a different town. Sometimes it was a large city like Vienna, in Austria, or Nuremberg and Cologne, in Germany. But we also stopped in medieval towns and charming villages such as Bratislava, in Slovakia, Melk (famous for its magnificent baroque abbey), in Austria, and Passau (city of three rivers), Regensburg (a very well preserved medieval city), Bamberg (with its smoked beer), Wurzburg (a baroque town that is a center of production of wines, mostly white) and Wertheim (famous for its blown glass artifacts), in Germany. It was wonderful to enjoy a cup of tea watching baroque and grandiose castles, fabulous churches and monasteries pass by on both sides of the river. The famous Melk Abbey and the magnificent St. Stephan cathedral of Passau can be seen and photographed from the ship. Sometimes one village was very close to another, but other times all we saw was beautiful green or yellow plantations on terraced land. Before arriving at Amsterdam we spent one day in Kinderduck, on the Rhine. This town has Holland’s largest assemblage of wind mills, 19 of them, built at the beginning of the 18th century. We did not stay in Amsterdam. We went from the port straight to the airport, thus ending a fabulous river cruise, a dream that finally became a wonderful reality. The Board Meeting was held on Monday, January 6, 2014, at Jessica Leeds’ apartment. Attendees: Catherine Kleszczewski; Audrey Braver, Penny Gardner; Carole Kennedy, Julie Kleszczewski and Jessica Leeds Henie Parish. President Catherine called meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved as corrected. Carole Kennedy moved and Audrey Braver seconded a motion to accept the minutes that were approved by consensus. Old Business: A Wine and Cheese Event will be held Thursday, January 9, 2014 at Jessica’s. Those attending: new members: Connie, Jacqueline and their guest, Mary Kreiger plus guests, MaryBeth Cornell (late), and Liz Voss. Carole Kennedy will hold another jewelry workshop (two weeks prior to Mother’s Day) May 9, 11 a.m. , $35 an hour, $70, two hours. 1160 Broadway @ 27th Street. Catherine will send an EVITE at least two weeks in advance. New Business: Maureen McGough, District Two Governor, will be our speaker, Tuesday, February 25, Tuesday, at our closed dinner meeting (no guests) at a different location. Nominating Committee: Three members will be appointed at our January 2014 meeting for the Nominating Committee to select nominees for Club Officers. Elections will be held at our April meeting. The District Two Conference will be held on April 11-13 (Friday - Sunday, Palm Sunday) in Richmond, Virginia. Our Day at the Races will be held at the Belmont Raceway on June 22, 2014. They offer a new menu selections, new pasta selections in addition to passing appetizers. Meeting adjourned at 7:09 p.m. At a recent luncheon, we were discussing the aging process. This discussion was prompted by the fact that two members of our group were in Rehab and not able to join us that day. So, I thought I would share some thoughts about getting old. Our younger members will benefit from this article--just wait a decade or two. And that, my friend, is the definition of 'OLD'! Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: “And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?” the reporter asked. I’ve sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation. I can hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my driver's license. but I can still fit into the earrings I wore in high school. REMEMBER: This is your newsletter. It is only as good as the articles you submit. Thanks to Catherine Kleszczewski, Julie Klescszewski, Penny Gardner for their help in producing this edition. Audrey Braver, Editor. This is a time to remember and renew our promise to ourselves: to be productive and thoughtful members of society. It’s important to think about why we do what we do. I am in the middle of reading the book, “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg. He states that 40% of all the things that we do is by habit, not necessarily because we want to do it or by free will. He also explains how we can change our habits. Look into yourself and ask, “Is this what I want to do with my life?” Maybe you are thinking, “Why does that matter? I have lived most of my life already.” Well, I have news for you: It’s never too late to do what you want to do. For example, as a college student, I remember listening to Pearl Bailey at a benefit in Washington, DC. At the age of 71, she graduated from college with a Bachelor’s in Religion. She said she was a French Major, but she switched to Religion because she thought it was easier to understand God than it was to understand French. People laughed at that statement. What stayed with me from that day was that Pearl had the courage to go back to school to earn her undergraduate degree. She didn’t let age stop her. Another example, after a 14-year hiatus, I am composing music again. It’s a little bit of a learning curve because technology and methods in this area have changed, but it’s for the better. Why is Catherine writing about all of this? What I am trying to tell you is to WAKE UP. Expand yourselves: think of new ideas for possible projects and programs. Think about what you can do to help others, and help our Altrusa club grow. When you share Altrusa with a friend or someone who you think is nice, you are actually helping the community. Many hands make light work. And why do we like helping others? One reason is because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Wouldn’t we want our friends to feel good about themselves as well? When you give to the community, you are, in fact, giving to yourself. Whether it is created and hidden from the world, or never created at all, but hidden in our brains, it is depriving the world. The same goes for education. For every person in the world who cannot read or write, they are crippling our society. For example, there are many diseases out there that no known cure has been found. One of those uneducated individuals could possibly find the answer, or be the next Marie Curie, the next Da Vinci if they pursue an education. I am thankful for many people in my life and for the things that I have in place, but there are so many things that we can do to improve our lives, directly and indirectly. If you can’t find the time or have the strength to help, then assisting monetarily or mentoring someone who you think would benefit would be a great help. One type of charity which is often overlooked is the arts. One such arts organization is HERE. They have a website: www.HERE.org. It is worth a visit to see the various arts projects they support. I made my donation to help support the creation and production of a new opera, called Scarlet Ibis, composed by Stefan Weisman and libretto by David Cote. Their work will be premiered in January 2015. If you think that it’s frivolous to give to arts, then I would like you to do an experiment: Try to live without music and art for one day, and see what happens. Can’t do it, right? To do this, there would be no TV, no books, no newspapers, no looking at the walls in your home, no internet, etc. Music is everywhere. You get my point. Looking forward to seeing you all at our next dinner meeting on November 19. The person responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday was a woman by the name of Sarah Hale. She was a mother of five. Over a 37-year period, she wrote letters to the U.S. President. Finally, in 1860, President Abraham Lincoln said “yes” and Thanksgiving became a national holiday. Sarah Hale also wrote the song, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Some “food” for thought. a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. As he was about to get the anesthesia, he asked to speak to his son. “Don't be nervous, son; do your best, and just remember, if it doesn't go well, if something happens to me, your mother is going to come and live with you and your wife...." A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop. The surgeon was there, waiting for the service manager to come and take a look at his bike. The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey, Doc, can I ask you a question?" The surgeon a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, fix 'em, put 'em back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?" The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic... "Try doing it with the engine running." Please Note: The November Dinner Meeting is scheduled for November 19, and not November 26 as originally planned. Our speaker will be Dr. Glen Chalmers from Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. He will give us an update on their outstanding program and their trials and tribulations in view of today’s economic situation. I’m sure all club members will find his presentation most enlightening. The Reverend Glenn B. Chalmers—has been the Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles and Executive Director of the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen since May of 2009. He was Executive Director of Cathedral Shelter of Chicago from 1997-2009, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church of Lawrence, Mass from 1990-97, Director of Program Development of Episcopal City Mission in Boston, MA, from 1998-90, and Vicar of Grace Episcopal Church in Elizabeth, NJ, from 1982-1988. He received his D. Min. in 2008 from the Graduate Theological Foundation, his M.S.W. in 1982 from Rutgers University and a M. Div. in Applied Ministries from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1980. Rev. Chalmers and Shirley, a volunteer at the Soup Kitchen. Don’t forget you must make a reservation with Penny Gardner, 212-348-1433, by November 11th for the dinner meeting on the 19th. Below are a selection of interesting facts that you probably didn’t know but will find a handy solution in certain situations. Most aluminum foil boxes have press-in tabs that secure the roll in place, so you don’t have worry about it flying out every time you rip off a sheet. Chinese takeout containers are actually made to fold out into plates. The containers actually are meant to unfold into a makeshift plate, which you can easily reassemble into a box for storing leftovers. Greek yogurt containers are meant to be folded in half. Chances are you’ve been scooping the toppings with your spoon onto the yogurt. But, have you realized, the topping holder folds over, so you can pour the toppings DIRECTLY ON TOP? Soda can tabs double as straw holders. Turn the tab around so that it acts as holder that can stop the straw from raising out of the can as the soda fizzes. Attendees: Catherine Kleszczewski; Audrey Braver, Penny Gardner; Gwen Acsadi, Carole Kennedy; Julie Kleszczewski. Excused: Anne Marie Basic; Jessica Leeds, Henie Parish, Margaret Stadler. President Catherine called meeting to order at 6:17 p.m. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. Old Business: Jewelry Workshop: Nov. 16, 2013, 11 a.m. Deadline RSVP: November 7, 2013. $35, first hour. It can be extended for another hour for $35 at 1160 Broadway @ 27th Street. Catherine will send an EVITE. New Business: All clubs who have Altrusa International, Inc., in their charter must change their name to remove “inc” after International. Example our name should be Altrusa International of New York, Inc., because each club must now be incorporated. Deadline is December 31, 2013. Carol will look into a site for February Meeting. Great Decisions Program is being offered beginning Thursday, January 30, 2014, 5:30 p.m. at the Harvard Club (44th Street) and costs $50 for six to eight sessions. The rest of the meetings will be held bimonthly thereafter. If interested, please contact [email protected]. The Dinner Meeting which would normally have been held on April 22nd and was postponed to be incorporated into the April 25th Un Woman’s Project Orange dinner at Audrey Braver’s apartment at 21-55 34th Avenue, Apt 6B, Long Island City, was cancelled for lack of participation. Not only was that dinner to have celebrated the six month anniversary of UN Project Orange, it was also a much-needed fundraiser for the New York Club. at Jewelry Workshop fundraiser! Thanks Carole Kennedy!

2019-04-20T20:39:31Z

http://altrusanewyorkcity.tripod.com/id1.html

Extended pain relief via high frequency spinal cord modulation, and associated systems and methods. A method for treating a patient in accordance with a particular embodiment includes selecting a neural modulation site to include at least one of a dorsal root entry zone and dorsal horn of the patient's spinal cord, and selecting parameters of a neural modulation signal to reduce patient pain for a period of time after ceasing delivery of the signals, the period of time being at least one tenth of one second. 1. A method for establishing patient treatment parameters, comprising: selecting a neural modulation site to include at least one of a dorsal root entry zone and dorsal horn of a spinal cord of the patient; and selecting parameters of a neural modulation signal to address a patient indication for a period of time after at least reducing an intensity of the signals, the period of time being at least one tenth of one second. The is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/163,149, filed Jan. 24, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/308,436, filed on Nov. 30, 2011, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/418,379, filed on Nov. 30, 2010, each of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIG. 1A is a partially schematic illustration of an implantable spinal cord modulation system positioned at the spine to deliver therapeutic signals in accordance with several embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1B is a partially schematic, cross-sectional illustration of a patient's spine, illustrating representative locations for implanted lead bodies in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 2A is a graph illustrating representative patient VAS scores as a function of time for multiple patients receiving therapy in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 2B is a graph illustrating normalized pain scores for the patients identified in FIG. 2A, during an initial post-trial period. FIG. 3 is a partially schematic, isometric illustration of an animal spinal cord segment and associated nerve structures, used to demonstrate techniques in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating stimulus and response characteristics as a function of time for an animal receiving noxious electrical stimulation in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate response data for an animal receiving noxious electrical stimulation and therapy in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIGS. 6A-6F illustrate animal response data for animals receiving noxious pinch stimuli in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 7 is a graphical illustration comparing modulation amplitude effects for standard SCS with those for the presently disclosed technology. The present technology is directed generally to spinal cord modulation and associated systems and methods for inhibiting or otherwise reducing pain via waveforms with high frequency elements or components (e.g., portions having high fundamental frequencies), generally with reduced or eliminated side effects. Such side effects can include unwanted motor stimulation or blocking, and/or interference with sensory functions other than the targeted pain, and/or patient proprioception. Several embodiments continue to provide pain relief for at least some period of time after the spinal cord modulation signals have ceased. Specific details of certain embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to methods for modulating one or more target neural populations (e.g., nerves) or sites of a patient, and associated implantable structures for providing the modulation. The following sections also describe physiological mechanisms by which it is expected that methods in accordance with certain embodiments achieve the observed results. Some embodiments can have configurations, components or procedures different than those described in this section, and other embodiments may eliminate particular components or procedures. A person of ordinary skill in the relevant art, therefore, will understand that the disclosure may include other embodiments with additional elements, and/or may include other embodiments without several of the features shown and described below with reference to FIGS. 1A-7. In general terms, aspects of many of the following embodiments are directed to producing a therapeutic effect that includes pain reduction in the patient. The therapeutic effect can be produced by inhibiting, suppressing, downregulating, blocking, preventing, or otherwise modulating the activity of the affected neural population. In many embodiments of the presently disclosed techniques, therapy-induced paresthesia is not a prerequisite to achieving pain reduction, unlike standard SCS techniques. It is also expected that the techniques described below with reference to FIGS. 1A-7 can produce longer lasting results than can existing spinal cord stimulation therapies. In particular, these techniques can produce results that persist after the modulation signal ceases. Accordingly, these techniques can use less power than existing techniques because they need not require delivering modulation signals continuously to obtain a beneficial effect. Several aspects of the technology are embodied in computing devices, e.g., programmed/programmable pulse generators, controllers and/or other devices. The computing devices on which the described technology can be implemented may include one or more central processing units, memory, input devices (e.g., input ports), output devices (e.g., display devices), storage devices, and network devices (e.g., network interfaces). The memory and storage devices are computer-readable media that may store instructions that implement the technology. In many embodiments, the computer readable media are tangible media. In other embodiments, the data structures and message structures may be stored or transmitted via an intangible data transmission medium, such as a signal on a communications link. Various suitable communications links may be used, including but not limited to a local area network and/or a wide-area network. FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a representative patient system 100 for providing relief from chronic pain and/or other conditions, arranged relative to the general anatomy of a patient's spinal cord 191. The overall patient system 100 can include a signal delivery system 110, which may be implanted within a patient 190, typically at or near the patient's midline 189, and coupled to a pulse generator 121. The signal delivery system 110 can provide therapeutic electrical signals to the patient during operation. In a representative example, the signal delivery system 110 includes a signal delivery device 111 that carries features for delivering therapy to the patient 190 after implantation. The pulse generator 121 can be connected directly to the signal delivery device 111, or it can be coupled to the signal delivery device 111 via a signal link 113 (e.g., an extension). In a further representative embodiment, the signal delivery device 111 can include an elongated lead or lead body 112. As used herein, the terms "lead" and "lead body" include any of a number of suitable substrates and/or support members that carry devices for providing therapy signals to the patient 190. For example, the lead 112 can include one or more electrodes or electrical contacts that direct electrical signals into the patient's tissue, such as to provide for patient relief. In other embodiments, the signal delivery device 111 can include structures other than a lead body (e.g., a paddle) that also direct electrical signals and/or other types of signals to the patient 190. The pulse generator 121 can transmit signals (e.g., electrical signals) to the signal delivery device 111 that up-regulate (e.g., stimulate or excite) and/or down-regulate (e.g., block or suppress) target nerves. As used herein, and unless otherwise noted, the terms "modulate" and "modulation" refer generally to signals that have either type of the foregoing effects on the target nerves. The pulse generator 121 can include a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium containing instructions for generating and transmitting suitable therapy signals. The pulse generator 121 and/or other elements of the system 100 can include one or more processors 122, memories 123 and/or input/output devices. Accordingly, the process of providing modulation signals, providing guidance information for locating the signal delivery device 111, and/or executing other associated functions can be performed by computer-executable instructions contained by computer-readable media located at the pulse generator 121 and/or other system components. The pulse generator 121 can include multiple portions, elements, and/or subsystems (e.g., for directing signals in accordance with multiple signal delivery parameters), carried in a single housing, as shown in FIG. 1A, or in multiple housings. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional illustration of the spinal cord 191 and an adjacent vertebra 195 (based generally on information from Crossman and Neary, "Neuroanatomy," 1995 (published by Churchill Livingstone)), along with multiple signal delivery devices 111 (shown as signal delivery devices 111a-111d) implanted at representative locations. For purposes of illustration, multiple signal delivery devices 111 are shown in FIG. 1B implanted in a single patient. In actual use, any given patient will likely receive fewer than all the signal delivery devices 111 shown in FIG. 1B. The spinal cord 191 is situated within a vertebral foramen 188, between a ventrally located ventral body 196 and a dorsally located transverse process 198 and spinous process 197. Arrows V and D identify the ventral and dorsal directions, respectively. The spinal cord 191 itself is located within the dura mater 199, which also surrounds portions of the nerves exiting the spinal cord 191, including the ventral roots 192, dorsal roots 193 and dorsal root ganglia 194. The dorsal roots 193 enter the spinal cord 191 at the dorsal root entry zone 187, and communicate with dorsal horn neurons located at the dorsal horn 186. In one embodiment, a single first signal delivery device 111a is positioned within the vertebral foramen 188, at or approximately at the spinal cord midline 189. In another embodiment, two second signal delivery devices 111b are positioned just off the spinal cord midline 189 (e.g., about 1 mm. offset) in opposing lateral directions so that the two signal delivery devices 111b are spaced apart from each other by about 2 mm. In still further embodiments, a single signal delivery device or pairs of signal delivery devices can be positioned at other locations, e.g., toward the outer edge of the dorsal root entry zone 187 as shown by a third signal delivery device 111c, or at the dorsal root ganglia 194, as shown by a fourth signal delivery device 111d. As will be described in further detail later, it is believed that high frequency modulation at or near the dorsal root entry zone 187, and/or at or near the dorsal horn 186 can produce effective patient pain relief, without paresthesia, without adverse sensory or motor effects, and in a manner that persists after the modulation ceases. Nevro Corporation, the assignee of the present application, has conducted several in-human clinical studies during which multiple patients were treated with the techniques, systems and devices that are disclosed herein. Nevro also commissioned animal studies focusing on mechanisms of action for the newly developed techniques. The human clinical studies are described immediately below and the animal studies are discussed thereafter. FIG. 2A is a graph illustrating results from patients who received therapy in accordance with the presently disclosed technology to treat chronic low back pain. In general, the therapy included high-frequency modulation at the patient's spinal cord, typically between vertebral levels T9 and T12 (inclusive), at an average location of mid T-10. The modulation signals were applied at a frequency of about 10 kHz, and at current amplitudes of from about 2.5 mA to about 3 mA. Pulse widths were about 35 psec., at 100% duty cycle. Further details of representative modulation parameters are included in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/765,747, filed on Apr. 22, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference. To the extent the foregoing and/or any other materials incorporated herein by reference conflict with the present disclosure, the present disclosure controls. The graph shown in FIG. 2A illustrates visual analog scale ("VAS") scores for seven representative patients as a function of time during a clinical study. Individual lines for each patient are indicated with circled numbers in FIG. 2A, and the average is indicated by the circled letter "A". The VAS pain scale ranges from zero (corresponding to no sensed pain) to 10 (corresponding to unbearable pain). At the far left of FIG. 2A are VAS scores taken at a baseline point in time 145, corresponding to the patients' pain levels before receiving any high frequency modulation therapy. During a trial period 140, the patients received a high frequency modulation therapy in accordance with the foregoing parameters and the patients' VAS scores dropped significantly up to an end of trial point 146. In addition, many patients readily reduced or eliminated their intake of pain medications, despite the narcotic characteristics of these medications. During an initial post-trial period 141 (lasting, in this case, four days), the patients' VAS scores increased on average after the high frequency modulation therapy has been halted. The rate at which pain returned after the end of the trial period varied among patients, however, as will be discussed in further detail later. Following the four-day initial post-trial period 141 was an interim period 142 that lasted from about 45 days to about 80 days (depending on the patient), with the average being about 62 days. After the interim period 142, a four-day pre-IPG period 143 commenced ending at an IPG point 144. At the IPG point 144, the patients were implanted with an implantable pulse generator 121, generally similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 1A. SCS techniques, which typically produce effects lasting only milliseconds after the electrical signal ceases. In still further embodiments, it is expected that at least some of the lasting effect described above can be obtained by reducing the intensity (e.g., the current amplitude) of the therapy signal, without ceasing the signal altogether. In at least some embodiments (whether the signal intensity is reduced to zero or to a non-zero value), it is expected that a long enough modulation period can produce a neuroplastic or other change that can last indefinitely, to permanently reduce or eliminate patient pain. An expected benefit of the persistence or long term effect described above is that it can reduce the need to deliver the therapy signals continuously. Instead, the signals can be delivered intermittently without significantly affecting pain relief. This arrangement can reduce power consumption, thus extending the life of an implanted battery or other power system. It is expected that the power can be cycled according to schedules other than the one explicitly shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B (e.g., other than two weeks on and up to one day off before a significant pain recurrence). The following discussion describes expected potential mechanisms of action by which the presently disclosed therapy operates, including expected mechanisms by which the presently disclosed therapy produces effects persisting after electrical modulation signals have ceased. FIG. 3 is a partially schematic, isometric view of a portion of an animal spinal cord 391 illustrative of a study that was performed on a rat model to illustrate the principles described herein. Accordingly, in this particular embodiment, the illustrated spinal cord 391 is that of a rat. During this study, a noxious electrical stimulation 370 was applied to the rat's hind paw 384. Afferent pain signals triggered by the noxious stimulation 370 traveled along a peripheral nerve 385 to the dorsal root ganglion 394 and then to the dorsal root 393 at the L5 vertebral level. The dorsal root 393 joins the spinal cord 391 at the dorsal root entry zone 387, and transmits afferent signals to a dorsal horn neuron 383 located at the dorsal horn 386. The dorsal horn neuron 383 includes a wide dynamic range ("WDR") cell. An extracellular microelectrode 371 recorded signals transmitted by the dorsal horn neuron 383 to the rat's brain, in response to the noxious stimulation 370 received at the hind paw 384. A therapeutic modulation signal 326 was applied at the dorsal root entry zone 387, proximate to the dorsal horn 386. FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating neural signal amplitude as a function of time, measured by the recording electrode 371 described above with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 4 identifies the noxious stimulation 370 itself, the dorsal horn neuron's response to A-fiber inputs 372, and the dorsal horn neuron's response to C-fiber inputs 373. The larger A-fibers trigger an earlier response at the dorsal horn neuron than do the smaller C-fibers. Both responses are triggered by the same noxious stimulus 370. The rat's pain response is indicated by downward amplitude spikes. The foregoing response is a typical response to a noxious stimulus, absent pain modulation therapy. FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate the dorsal horn neuron response to ongoing noxious stimuli as the applied therapy signal was altered. The signal applied to each rat was applied at a constant frequency, which varied from rat to rat over a range of from about 3 kHz to about 100 kHz. The response data (which were obtained from nine rats) were relatively insensitive to frequency over this range. During the course of this study, the noxious stimuli were provided repeatedly at a constant rate of one stimulus per second over an approximately five-minute period. At the outset of the five-minute period, the therapy signal was turned off, resulting in a baseline response 574a shown in FIG. 5A, and then gradually increased as shown in FIG. 5B, to a maximum intensity shown in FIG. 5C. During the period shown in FIG. 5D, the intensity of the therapy signal was reduced, and in FIG. 5E, the therapy signal was turned off. Consistent with the data shown in FIG. 4, the rat's pain response is indicated by downward spikes. The baseline response 574a has a relatively large number of spikes, and the number of spikes begins to reduce as the intensity of the modulation signal is increased (see response 574b in FIG. 5B). At the maximum therapy signal intensity, the number of spikes has been reduced to nearly zero as indicated by response 574c in FIG. 5C. As the therapy signal intensity is then reduced, the spikes begin to return (see response 574d, FIG. 5D), and when the modulation signal is turned off, the spikes continue to return (see response 574e, FIG. 5E). Significantly, the number of spikes shown in FIG. 5E (10-20 seconds after the therapy has been turned off) is not as great as the number of spikes generated in the baseline response 574a shown in FIG. 5A. These data are accordingly consistent with the human trial data described above with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, which indicated a beneficial effect lasting beyond the cessation of the therapy signal. These data also differ significantly from results obtained from similar studies conducted with standard SCS. Notably, dorsal horn recordings during standard SCS treatments do not indicate a reduction in amplitude spikes. FIGS. 6A-6F illustrate animal response data in a rat model to a different noxious stimulus; in particular, a pinch stimulus 670. The pinch stimulus is a mechanical pinch (rather than an electrical stimulus) at the rat's hindpaw. In each succeeding figure in the series of FIGS. 6A-6F, the amplitude of the therapy signal was increased. The levels to which the signal amplitude was increased were significantly higher than for the human study simply due to a cruder (e.g., less efficient) coupling between the signal delivery electrode and the target neural population. The vertical axis of each Figure indicates the number of spikes (e.g., the spike-shaped inputs 372, 373 shown in FIG. 3) per bin; that is, the number of spikes occurring during a given time period. In the particular embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A-6F, each bin has a duration of 0.2 second, so that there are a total of five bins per second, or 10 bins during each two-second period. The pinch stimulus 670 lasts for three to five seconds in each of FIGS. 6A-6F. In FIG. 6A, the baseline response 674a indicates a large number of spikes per bin extending over the duration of the pinch stimulus 670. As shown in FIGS. 6B-6F, the number of spikes per bin decreases, as indicated by responses 674b-674f, respectively. In the final Figure in this series (FIG. 6F), the response 674f is insignificant or nearly insignificant when compared with the baseline response 674a shown in FIG. 6A. Returning now to FIG. 3, it is expected (without being bound by theory) that the therapy signals act to reduce pain via one or both of two mechanisms: (1) by reducing neural transmissions entering the spinal cord at the dorsal root 393 and/or the dorsal root entry zone 387, and/or (2) by reducing neural activity at the dorsal horn 386 itself. It is further expected that the therapy signals described in the context of the rat model shown in FIG. 3 operate in a similar manner on the corresponding structures of the human anatomy, e.g., those shown in FIG. 1B. In particular, it is generally known that chronic pain patients may be in a state of prolonged sensory sensitization at both the nociceptive afferent neurons (e.g., the peripheral nerve 385 and the associated dorsal root 393) and at higher order neural systems (e.g., the dorsal horn neuron 383). It is also known that the dorsal horn neurons 383 (e.g., the WDR cells) are sensitized in chronic pain states. The noxious stimuli applied during the animal studies can result in an acute "windup" of the WDR cells (e.g., to a hyperactive state). In accordance with mechanism (1) above, it is believed that the therapy signals applied using the current technology operate to reduce pain by reducing, suppressing, and/or attenuating the afferent nociceptive inputs delivered to the WDR cells 383, as it is expected that these inputs, unless attenuated, can be responsible for the sensitized state of the WDR cells 383. In accordance with mechanism (2) above, it is expected that the presently disclosed therapy can act directly on the WDR cells 383 to desensitize these cells. In particular, the patients selected to receive the therapy described above with reference to FIGS. 2A-2B included patients whose pain was not correlated with peripheral stimuli. In other words, these patients had hypersensitive WDR cells 383 independent of whether signals were transmitted to the WDR cells 383 via peripheral nerve inputs or not. These patients, along with the other treated patients, experienced the significant pain reductions described above. Accordingly, it is believed that the disclosed therapy can operate directly on the WDR cells 383 to reduce the activity level of hyperactive WDR cells 383, and/or can reduce incoming afferent signals from the peripheral nerve 385 and dorsal root 393. It is further believed that the effect of the presently disclosed therapy on peripheral inputs may produce short term pain relief, and the effect on the WDR cells may produce longer term pain relief. Whether the reduced output of the WDR cells results from mechanism (1), mechanism (2), or both, it is further expected that the high frequency characteristics of the therapeutic signals produce the observed results. In addition, embodiments of the presently disclosed therapy produce pain reduction without the side effects generally associated with standard SCS, as discussed further in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/765,747, filed on Apr. 22, 2010, previously incorporated herein by reference. These and other advantages associated with embodiments of the presently disclosed technology are described further below. Certain of the foregoing embodiments can produce one or more of a variety of advantages, for the patient and/or the practitioner, when compared with standard SCS therapies. Some of these benefits were described above. For example, the patient can receive beneficial effects from the modulation therapy after the modulation signal has ceased. In addition, the patient can receive effective pain relief without simultaneous paresthesia, without simultaneous patient-detectable disruptions to normal sensory signals along the spinal cord, and/or without simultaneous patient-detectable disruptions to normal motor signals along the spinal cord. In particular embodiments, while the therapy may create some effect on normal motor and/or sensory signals, the effect is below a level that the patient can reliably detect intrinsically, e.g., without the aid of external assistance via instruments or other devices. Accordingly, the patient's levels of motor signaling and other sensory signaling (other than signaling associated with the target pain) can be maintained at pre-treatment levels. For example, the patient can experience a significant pain reduction that is largely independent of the patient's movement and position. In particular, the patient can assume a variety of positions and/or undertake a variety of movements associated with activities of daily living and/or other activities, without the need to adjust the parameters in accordance with which the therapy is applied to the patient (e.g., the signal amplitude). This result can greatly simplify the patient's life and reduce the effort required by the patient to experience pain relief while engaging in a variety of activities. This result can also provide an improved lifestyle for patients who experience pain during sleep. Even for patients who receive a therapeutic benefit from changes in signal amplitude, the foregoing therapy can provide advantages. For example, such patients can choose from a limited number of programs (e.g., two or three) each with a different amplitude and/or other signal delivery parameter, to address some or all of the patient's pain. In one such example, the patient activates one program before sleeping and another after waking. In another such example, the patient activates one program before sleeping, a second program after waking, and a third program before engaging in particular activities that would otherwise cause pain. This reduced set of patient options can greatly simplify the patient's ability to easily manage pain, without reducing (and in fact, increasing) the circumstances under which the therapy effectively addresses pain. In any embodiments that include multiple programs, the patient's workload can be further reduced by automatically detecting a change in patient circumstance, and automatically identifying and delivering the appropriate therapy regimen. Additional details of such techniques and associated systems are disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/703,683, incorporated herein by reference. Another observation from the clinical studies described above is that the amplitude "window" between the onset of effective therapy and the onset of pain or discomfort is relatively broad, and in particular, broader than it is for standard SCS treatment. For example, during standard SCS treatment, the patient typically experiences a pain reduction at a particular amplitude, and begins experiencing pain from the therapeutic signal (which may have a sudden onset, as described above) at from about 1.2 to about 1.6 times that amplitude. This corresponds to an average dynamic range of about 1.4. In addition, patients receiving standard SCS stimulation typically wish to receive the stimulation at close to the pain onset level because the therapy is often most effective at that level. Accordingly, patient preferences may further reduce the effective dynamic range. By contrast, therapy in accordance with the presently disclosed technology resulted in patients obtaining pain relief at 1 mA or less, and not encountering pain or muscle capture until the applied signal had an amplitude of 4 mA, and in some cases up to about 5 mA, 6 mA, or 8 mA, corresponding to a much larger dynamic range (e.g., larger than 1.6 or 60% in some embodiments, or larger than 100% in other embodiments). Even at the forgoing amplitude levels, the pain experienced by the patients was significantly less than that associated with standard SCS pain onset. An expected advantage of this result is that the patient and practitioner can have significantly wider latitude in selecting an appropriate therapy amplitude with the presently disclosed methodology than with standard SCS methodologies. For example, the practitioner can increase the signal amplitude in an effort to affect more (e.g., deeper) fibers at the spinal cord, without triggering unwanted side effects. The existence of a wider amplitude window may also contribute to the relative insensitivity of the presently disclosed therapy to changes in patient posture and/or activity. For example, if the relative position between the implanted lead and the target neural population changes as the patient moves, the effective strength of the signal when it reaches the target neural population may also change. When the target neural population is insensitive to a wider range of signal strengths, this effect can in turn allow greater patient range of motion without triggering undesirable side effects. FIG. 7 illustrates a graph 700 identifying amplitude as a function of frequency for conventional SCS and for therapy in accordance with embodiments of the presently disclosed technology. Threshold amplitude level 701 indicates generally the minimum amplitude necessary to achieve a therapeutic effect, e.g., pain reduction. A first region 702 corresponds to amplitudes, as a function of frequency, for which the patient senses paresthesia induced by the therapy, pain induced by the therapy, and/or uncomfortable or undesired muscle stimulation induced by the therapy. As shown in FIG. 7, at conventional SCS frequencies, the first region 702 extends below the threshold amplitude level 701. Accordingly, a second region 703 indicates that the patient undergoing conventional SCS therapy typically detects paresthesia, other sensory effects, and/or undesirable motor effects below the amplitude necessary to achieve a therapeutic effect. One or more of these side effects are also present at amplitudes above the threshold amplitude level 701 required to achieve the therapeutic effect. By contrast, at frequencies associated with the presently disclosed technology, a "window" 704 exists between the threshold amplitude level 701 and the first region 702. Accordingly, the patient can receive therapeutic benefits at amplitudes above the threshold amplitude level 701, and below the amplitude at which the patient may experience undesirable side effects (e.g., paresthesia, sensory effects and/or motor effects). Yet another expected benefit of providing therapy in accordance with the presently disclosed parameters is that the practitioner need not implant the lead with the same level of precision as is typically required for standard SCS lead placement. For example, while at least some of the foregoing results were obtained for patients having two leads (one positioned on either side of the spinal cord midline), it is expected that patients will receive the same or generally similar pain relief with only a single lead placed at the midline. Accordingly, the practitioner may need to implant only one lead, rather than two. It is still further expected that the patient may receive pain relief on one side of the body when the lead is positioned offset from the spinal cord midline in the opposite direction. Thus, even if the patient has bilateral pain, e.g., with pain worse on one side than the other, the patient's pain can be addressed with a single implanted lead. Still further, it is expected that the lead position can vary laterally from the anatomical and/or physiological spinal cord midline to a position 3-5 mm. away from the spinal cord midline (e.g., out to the dorsal root entry zone or DREZ). The foregoing identifiers of the midline may differ, but the expectation is that the foregoing range is effective for both anatomical and physiological identifications of the midline, e.g., as a result of the robust nature of the present therapy. Yet further, it is expected that the lead (or more particularly, the active contact or contacts on the lead) can be positioned at any of a variety of axial locations in a range of about T8-T12 in one embodiment, and a range of one to two vertebral bodies within T8-T12 in another embodiment, while still providing effective treatment for low back pain. Accordingly, the practitioner's selected implant site need not be identified or located as precisely as it is for standard SCS procedures (axially and/or laterally), while still producing significant patient benefits. In particular, the practitioner can locate the active contacts within the foregoing ranges without adjusting the contact positions in an effort to increase treatment efficacy and/or patient comfort. In addition, in particular embodiments, contacts at the foregoing locations can be the only active contacts delivering therapy to the patient. The foregoing features, alone or in combination, can reduce the amount of time required to implant the lead, and can give the practitioner greater flexibility when implanting the lead. For example, if the patient has scar tissue or another impediment at a preferred implant site, the practitioner can locate the lead elsewhere and still obtain beneficial results. The foregoing effect(s) can extend not only to the mapping procedure conducted at the practitioner's facility, but also to the subsequent trial period. In particular, patients receiving standard SCS treatment typically spend a week after receiving a lead implant during which they adjust the amplitude applied to the lead in an attempt to establish suitable amplitudes for any of a variety of patient positions and patient activities. Because embodiments of the presently disclosed therapy are relatively insensitive to patient position and activity level, the need for this trial and error period can be reduced or eliminated. Still another expected benefit associated with embodiments of the presently disclosed treatment is that the treatment may be less susceptible to patient habituation. In particular, it is expected that in at least some cases, the high frequency signal applied to the patient can produce an asynchronous neural response, as is disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/362,244, incorporated herein by reference. The asynchronous response may be less likely to produce habituation than a synchronous response, which can result from lower frequency modulation. Yet another feature of embodiments of the foregoing therapy is that the therapy can be applied without distinguishing between anodic contacts and cathodic contacts. As described in greater detail in U.S. application Ser. No. 12/765,790, incorporated herein by reference, this feature can simplify the process of establishing a therapy regimen for the patient. In addition, due to the high frequency of the waveform, the adjacent tissue may perceive the waveform as a pseudo steady state signal. As a result of either or both of the foregoing effects, tissue adjacent both electrodes may be beneficially affected. This is unlike standard SCS waveforms for which one electrode is consistently cathodic and another is consistently anodic. In any of the foregoing embodiments, aspects of the therapy provided to the patient may be varied, while still obtaining beneficial results. For example, the location of the lead body (and in particular, the lead body electrodes or contacts) can be varied over the significant lateral and/or axial ranges described above. Other characteristics of the applied signal can also be varied. For example, the signal can be delivered at a frequency of from about 1.5 kHz to about 100 kHz, and in particular embodiments, from about 1.5 kHz to about 50 kHz. In more particular embodiments, the signal can be provided at frequencies of from about 3 kHz to about 20 kHz, or from about 3 kHz to about 15 kHz, or from about 5 kHz to about 15 kHz, or from about 3 kHz to about 10 kHz. The amplitude of the signal can range from about 0.1 mA to about 20 mA in a particular embodiment, and in further particular embodiments, can range from about 0.5 mA to about 10 mA, or about 0.5 mA to about 4 mA, or about 0.5 mA to about 2.5 mA. The amplitude of the applied signal can be ramped up and/or down. In particular embodiments, the amplitude can be increased or set at an initial level to establish a therapeutic effect, and then reduced to a lower level to save power without forsaking efficacy, as is disclosed in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/264,836, filed Nov. 4, 2008, and incorporated herein by reference. In particular embodiments, the signal amplitude refers to the electrical current level, e.g., for current-controlled systems. In other embodiments, the signal amplitude can refer to the electrical voltage level, e.g., for voltage-controlled systems. The pulse width (e.g., for just the cathodic phase of the pulses) can vary from about 10 microseconds to about 333 microseconds. In further particular embodiments, the pulse width can range from about 25 microseconds to about 166 microseconds, or from about 33 microseconds to about 100 microseconds, or from about 50 microseconds to about 166 microseconds. The specific values selected for the foregoing parameters may vary from patient to patient and/or from indication to indication and/or on the basis of the selected vertebral location. In addition, the methodology may make use of other parameters, in addition to or in lieu of those described above, to monitor and/or control patient therapy. For example, in cases for which the pulse generator includes a constant voltage arrangement rather than a constant current arrangement, the current values described above may be replaced with corresponding voltage values. In at least some embodiments, it is expected that the foregoing amplitudes will be suprathreshold. It is also expected that, in at least some embodiments, the neural response to the foregoing signals will be asynchronous, as described above. Accordingly, the frequency of the signal can be selected to be higher (e.g., between two and ten times higher) than the refractory period of the target neurons at the patient's spinal cord, which in at least some embodiments is expected to produce an asynchronous response. Patients can receive multiple signals in accordance with still further embodiments of the disclosure. For example, patients can receive two or more signals, each with different signal delivery parameters. In one particular example, the signals are interleaved with each other. For instance, the patient can receive 5 kHz pulses interleaved with 10 kHz pulses. In other embodiments, patients can receive sequential "packets" of pulses at different frequencies, with each packet having a duration of less than one second, several seconds, several minutes, or longer depending upon the particular patient and indication.

2019-04-23T14:26:20Z

http://patents.com/us-20160121119.html

1Center for Human Immunobiology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA. 3Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. 4Institute of Cellular Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom. 5Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. 6Section of Experimental Haematology, Leeds Institute of Cancer and Pathology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 7Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, United Kingdom. 8Division of Allergy and Immunology, Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC, USA. 9Laboratory of Molecular Growth Regulation, Program in Genomics of Differentiation, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 10Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 11Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. 12Division of Hematopathology, Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. 13The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA. 14Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 15Department of Paediatric Immunology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Great North Children’s Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. 16Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. 17Dan L Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Address correspondence to: Jordan S. Orange, Center for Human Immunobiology, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, FC330 1102 Bates Avenue, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. Phone: 832.824.1319; E-mail: [email protected]. J Clin Invest. 2017;127(1):306–320. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI86276. NK cell deficiency (NKD) is an inborn or primary immunodeficiency causing susceptibility to severe and often fatal viral infection and malignancy (1–5). NKD can be classified as classical, arising from profound or complete absence of the NK cell population or major subsets of peripheral NK cells, or functional, arising from impaired NK cell function with normal peripheral NK cell counts (5, 6). There are presently 2 genetically defined causes of classical (MCM4, GATA2) and 1 of functional NKD (FCGR3A) (2–4, 7–9). Human NK cell development results in generation of distinct phenotypic and functional subsets found in peripheral blood: namely the CD56bright and CD56dim subsets. While identified primarily by the density of CD56 on the cell surface, these subsets include the coordinated expression of cell surface and intracellular markers that reflect each subset’s unique function. CD56bright NK cells are considered immunomodulatory and are described phenotypically as CD16−/loCD57−perforinlo, CD117+, CD62Lhi, and CD94/NKG2A+. While they constitute the minority of NK cells in peripheral blood, they represent the dominant population in secondary lymphoid tissue (10, 11). CD56dim NK cells, which constitute more than 90% of peripheral blood NKs, are CD56dimCD16hiperforinhiCD57+/− killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor+ (KIR+), and are the primary mediators of NK cell–mediated cytotoxicity. The relationship between the subsets is not completely understood, but both in vivo and ex vivo evidence in humans suggests that the CD56bright subset is a developmental precursor of CD56dim, and it is hypothesized that secondary lymphoid tissue serves as a site of NK cell terminal differentiation that is required for acquisition of cytotoxic function (12–15). Specific loss of NK cells or NK cell subsets as occurs in classical NKD is rare but has been reported. Homozygous MCM4 mutation causes adrenal insufficiency, decreased numbers of circulating NK cells, and impaired terminal maturation, likely as a result of chromosomal aberrations and impaired proliferation of the CD56bright subset (2, 3). These patients show distinctive loss of the CD56dim subset and correlative relative increase in the CD56bright subset (2). In contrast, GATA2 mutations result in specific loss of CD56bright NK cells and decreased frequency of NK cells overall in circulating blood. While GATA2 patients have CD56dim NK cells that vary in number, they are largely nonfunctional, and affected patients develop severe herpesvirus and papillomavirus infections (4). NKD has also been reported in 1 isolated case of a child with a mutation in RTEL1, encoding regulator of telomere elongation helicase, although NK cell subsets were not examined in this case (16, 17). Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8; also known as interferon consensus binding protein, ICSBP) is a member of the IRF family of transcription factors that help shape the inflammatory response, particularly to viral infections. These transcription factors are also becoming increasingly recognized for their roles in human hematopoiesis through rare, naturally occurring germline mutations. Mutations of IRF8 in mice and humans cause cellular deficiency ranging from severe defects of monocyte and DC production with marked myeloproliferation to more subtle alterations of specific DC subsets with normal leukocyte counts (18–20). Gene dosage and mutation site–specific effects have been observed, suggesting that the level of IRF8 activity is critical to normal immune cell development and function. In addition to developmental aberrations, mature cell function is affected as exemplified by defects in macrophage function (21). In humans, heterozygous IRF8 T80A mutations have been identified as a cause of primary immunodeficiency leading to specific loss of the CD11c+CD1c+ circulating DC subset (19). K108E mutations of IRF8 have an even more profound impact, leading to the loss of DCs as well as monocytes (19). Before recent advances in genomic sequencing technology, NKD was reported in a number of pediatric cases. Perhaps the most renowned was an isolated case of NKD and viral susceptibility ultimately proven as resulting from a GATA2 mutation (4, 22). The original NKD case, however, was reported in 1982 as a familial, non–X-linked susceptibility to EBV infection that led to the death of 2 affected siblings and ongoing illness in a third (1). Here we report that biallelic mutations in IRF8 cause intrinsic NKD with decreased NK cell number, decreased frequency of the CD56dim subset, and accompanying susceptibility to viral and mycobacterial infection. In doing so we define and characterize IRF8 mutations in this original, unsolved family with NKD and identify NKD in 2 unrelated patients with biallelic IRF8 mutations. These data identify IRF8 as a critical regulator of NK cell terminal maturation and define a novel cause of a rare human inborn NK cell developmental defect. Patients and clinical history. The index case proband (II.2) presented with a history of sinopulmonary infections during childhood and severe infectious mononucleosis at age 22 years requiring prolonged hospitalization (1). Born to non-consanguineous parents, his brother (II.6) died at age 16 years of multiple organ failure following severe EBV mononucleosis, and his sister (II.5) died at age 38 years due to progressive pulmonary disease. She also had prolonged hospitalization at age 17 years for severe EBV mononucleosis. Both siblings had lymphadenopathy and bronchiectasis beginning in childhood. Notably, the 3 siblings’ EBV-related illnesses occurred in separate calendar years. A fourth sibling (brother, II.3) had EBV mononucleosis at age 21 years at the same time as the proband, but had a typical course of illness and did not require hospitalization. The unusual nature of disease and clinical presentation in the proband prompted immunological evaluation and was described as a novel, non–X-linked immune deficiency leading to susceptibility to EBV disease associated with a deficiency of NK cell cytotoxicity (1). Since the original description, the patient has continued to have fairly regular, recurrent episodes of sinusitis and has mucosal changes consistent with recurrent and chronic disease as well as presumably respiratory viral infections. He has no evidence of bronchiectasis or lymphadenopathy. T cell and B cell counts have been consistently normal, and immunoglobulins are present in normal quantities and quality. His surviving brother (II.3), mother (I.1), children (III.1–3), and nephew (III.4) have unremarkable medical histories. Other unrelated patients are summarized in Table 1. Genetics. The 1982 description of the proband’s family is without follow-up until now and did not include any genetic or genomic analysis. Thus, whole exome sequencing of genomic DNA was performed using blood samples collected from the proband; his son, mother, and surviving brother; and the son of the brother (Figure 1A). Excellent average per-base coverage was observed for all samples (proband, 105X; mother, 124X; brother, 116X; son, 114X; fraternal nephew, 90X). The exome data suggested disease-related segregation of mutations in IRF8 (NM_002163:c.602C>T, 39 variant reads of 112 total in the proband; NM_002163:c.671C>T, 44 variant of 72 total proband reads) predicted by conceptual translation to result in amino acid changes p.A201V and p.P224L, respectively. Of those mutations predicted to be damaging by SIFT, PolyPhen, LRT, and MutationTaster algorithms, few aside from IRF8 were expressed highly in immune cells, particularly NK cells (see Supplemental Table 1 for list of variants identified by whole exome sequencing; supplemental material available online with this article; doi:10.1172/JCI86276DS1). Sanger sequencing of IRF8 in the proband’s sons and daughter confirmed the presence of both alleles in his children and the absence of either variant in his wife (Figure 1B and Supplemental Figure 1). The P224L variant was present in his mother, and the A201V variant was present in a surviving brother. Therefore, IRF8 mutations were confirmed with familial segregation in accordance with Mendelian expectations. In addition, the P224L mutation was confirmed from paraffin-embedded tissue from the patient’s deceased sister (Supplemental Figure 1); degradation of the DNA extracted from the same sample did not permit amplification and sequencing of the A201V mutation. The P224L mutation is reported 5 times in the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC) database (allelic frequency of 4.4 × 10–5) with no homozygous cases. The A201V mutation is present at an allelic frequency of 0.002515 with no homozygotes. Likewise, within the Baylor-Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics database of over 6,000 exomes, no homozygous or compound heterozygous cases of IRF8 variants are found (23). Both mutations map to exon 7, in the region of IRF8 known as the IRF association domain (Figure 1C). Linkage analysis of IRF8 compound heterozygous mutations in familial NKD and genetic confirmation of mutation. (A) Pedigree of affected family. Roman numerals indicate generations. Arrow points to proband. Shown are amino acid variants in IRF8 as detected by whole exome sequencing. Asterisk indicates variant confirmed by Sanger sequencing. (B) Confirmation of proband’s IRF8 variants by Sanger sequencing. (C) Schematic of human IRF8 showing affected residues found within the IRF association domain. (D) Protein expression of IRF8 in EBV-transformed patient B cell line (maroon, solid line) relative to normal control (blue, dashed line). Isotype control is shown in black. Shown is 1 representative experiment from 3 independent repeats. (E) Western blot of IRF8 (48 kDa) in healthy donor (HD) or patient (Pt) lymphoblastoid cell lines with actin (42 kDa) as a loading control. Shown is 1 representative experiment from 3 independent repeats. (F) Nuclear localization of IRF8 in patient (Pt) or control (Ctrl) B cell lines or healthy donor NK cells. Cells were fixed and stained for IRF8 (eFluor 710, red) followed by counterstaining with DAPI (blue). Scale bar: 10 μm. Shown is 1 representative experiment from 3 independent repeats. Evaluation of the patient’s protein expression by flow cytometry in lymphoblastoid cell lines showed normal levels of expression (Figure 1D), and Western blot analysis of IRF8 from patient EBV-transformed B cell lines confirmed protein expression at the expected molecular weight of full-length protein, as did healthy donor (Figure 1E; see complete unedited blots in the supplemental material). The only previously reported homozygous mutation in IRF8, K108E, was shown to impair nuclear translocation of IRF8 in transfected cells (21). To determine whether the novel compound heterozygous alleles found in our proband prevent the nuclear recruitment of IRF8, we evaluated the patient B cell line by imaging flow cytometry. In the absence of stimulation, IRF8 was detected in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of patient and control B cell lines. This was also observed for healthy donor NK cells, with colocalization between DAPI and IRF8 as calculated by similarity score (24) of 3.4 for patient cells, 2.2 for control B cells, and 2.2 for primary human NK cells (median values) (Figure 1F). Stimulation with IL-15 did not increase localization of IRF8 in primary human NK cells (similarity score 2.2, not shown). Together these data confirm novel compound heterozygous mutations in IRF8 that do not abrogate protein expression or nuclear localization. Biallelic IRF8 mutation leads to impaired NK cell cytotoxic function. To specifically test the effect of biallelic mutations on NK cell cytotoxicity, we performed standard 51Cr release assays. As previously described, the proband has consistently low NK cell functional activity against the prototypical K562 target (ref. 1 and Figure 2A). The proband’s cytotoxic function was evaluated multiple times during a 10-year time interval and consistently showed profoundly decreased activity relative to normal controls with specific lysis (at maximal effector-to-target ratio) that was 0% and 31% of normal control levels (Figure 2B). The patient’s children, carriers of the P224L or A201V mutations, had slightly decreased but normal cytotoxic function, as did his nephew and mother (Figure 2, A and C, and not shown). Unrelated carriers of the A201V mutation from a separate family of a different nationality similarly had normal NK cell cytotoxic function (Figure 2C), despite having late onset of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial disease (Table 1). Other heterozygous patients (G139S/WT, A179/WT, T96M/WT) also had normal NK cell function despite the presence of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection (Figure 2C and Table 1). To determine whether decreased NK cell lytic function in the proband was due to low NK cell frequency within the lymphocyte population, cytotoxicity assays using purified NK cells were performed, and showed significantly decreased lysis of targets (Figure 2D), suggesting that an intrinsic defect in NK cell cytotoxic function underlies the stably decreased impairment observed. Therefore, the compound heterozygous A201V/P224L mutation results in low/absent NK cell cytotoxic function, an effect that is repeatedly observed over extended time and likely accounts for the proband’s profound susceptibility to viral disease. NK cell functional deficiency specifically occurs in IRF8 compound-heterozygous patient and is stable over time. NK cell cytotoxicity was evaluated by standard 51Cr release assay against K562 targets. (A) Shown is a representative assay including our proband (A201V/P224L), his healthy brother (A201V/WT), and his healthy son (P224L/WT). The gray filled area represents the range of 10 healthy donors. ***P < 0.0001, Student’s unpaired t test against mean of all healthy donors. Patient data are representative of 6 independent repeats. (B) The proband’s NKD is stable over time as assessed by 51Cr release assay against K562 targets. Shown is relative specific lysis by patient NK cells at the highest effector-to-target ratio (dashed line, circles) compared with corresponding healthy donor control (solid line, squares) at dates from 2004 to 2012 (x axis). (C) 51Cr release assay of unrelated A201V/WT (daughter of proband or unrelated as indicated), P224L/WT (son of proband), G139S/WT, A179V/WT, and T96M/WT patients (circles). The gray filled area represents the range of 10 normal donors. Each condition was performed in triplicate and is shown as the mean. (D) 51Cr release assay of freshly isolated purified patient (circles) and healthy donor (squares) NK cells against K562 target cells. Shown is 1 representative of 2 independent experiments with each condition performed in triplicate. Biallelic IRF8 mutation results in decreased NK cell number and impaired NK cell terminal differentiation. We next functionally examined NK cells from probands with 2 different combinations of compound heterozygous and a homozygous (i.e., biallelic) variant allele: A201V/P224L, R83C/R291Q, and homozygous K108E. Human NK cells in peripheral blood fall largely within 2 dominant subsets with unique phenotypic and functional signatures. High density of CD56 and the presence of CD94/NKG2A, CD117, and CD62L on the cell surface classify the CD56bright subset phenotypically. These cells are considered the most potent cytokine producers upon stimulation, primarily of TNF-α and IFN-γ. The CD56dim subset is characterized by markers of terminal differentiation such as CD57, activating and inhibitory KIRs, and CD16, and is thought to be derived from the CD56bright subset (13). In addition, CD56dim NK cells express large quantities of perforin and granzymes; they are specialized for contact-mediated target cell lysis. Consistently over the time of evaluation (>10 years) the patient had decreased frequency and absolute number of CD56+CD3− NK cells within the lymphocyte population (1.7%–6.0% vs. 4.6%–13.7% in healthy controls) (Figure 3, A–C, and Table 1). Evaluation of the phenotypic subsets within peripheral blood showed a relative paucity of the CD56dim subset in the patient, accompanied by an overrepresentation of the CD56bright subset. From our initial evaluation in 2004 and at all subsequent times evaluated, patient 1’s CD56bright subset was between 30% and 40% (27.9%–40.3%) of the NK cell population, in contrast to controls, which fell within the previously described range (4.1%–8.4%) (Figure 3, A–C, and ref. 25). Evaluation of heterozygous A201V/WT subjects (both unrelated and related) showed normal frequencies of both NK cells within the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) population (13.9%) and CD56bright NK cells (3.7%). Further, evaluation of other heterozygous individuals (T96M/WT, G139S/WT, A179V/WT) showed frequencies of NK cells and CD56bright NK cells consistent with normal controls (Figure 3, B–D). In contrast, the R83C/R291Q and the homozygous K108E patient had low overall numbers of NK cells (3.9% and 5.4%, respectively) and a significantly expanded CD56bright population consistent with our proband (65.8% and 72.7%; Figure 3, B–D). Therefore, compound heterozygous or homozygous mutations in IRF8 selectively result in aberrant generation of the terminally mature subsets of NK cells and a decreased frequency of NK cells within the lymphocyte population. Stable impairment in NK cell terminal differentiation in patients with biallelic IRF8 mutations. NK cell phenotype was evaluated by multiparametric FACS phenotyping. (A) Representative FACS plot of healthy donor control (WT/WT) and our proband (A201V/P224L). Lymphocytes were gated on FSC/SSC. Data shown are representative of 6 independent repeats. (B) Stable NKD (left) and increased CD56bright population (right) in our proband shown over time (dashed line) with healthy donor shown as reference (solid line) at multiple dates from 2004 to 2015 (x axis). Single time point analysis of A201V/WT (unrelated, open diamond), A179V/WT (open triangle), an unrelated R83C/R291Q compound-heterozygous patient (solid inverted triangle), and a K108E/K108E patient (solid diamond) is also shown. (C) Percentage of CD56+CD3− NK cells within the lymphocyte gate is shown for 4 normal controls, our proband at 4 independent time points, 3 unrelated heterozygous IRF8 mutation patients, an unrelated compound-heterozygous patient, and a K108E/K108E patient. (D) Percentage of CD56bright NK cells within the NK cell compartment is shown for the cohort described in C. (E) FACS phenotyping of heterozygous, compound-heterozygous, and homozygous IRF8 patients. For intracellular staining, mononuclear cells were stimulated (S) with PMA and ionomycin in the presence of brefeldin A or incubated without stimulation (U) before fixation, permeabilization, and detection of intracellular effector molecules. (F) Expression of IFN-γ (after PMA/ionomycin stimulation) and perforin and CD16 in unstimulated NK cells from patients and healthy donors gated on CD56dim and CD56bright subsets. Shown is mean ± SD of 3 independent experiments for perforin and CD16 in healthy donor and A201V/P224L patient; a single experiment is shown for the K108E/K108E patient and IFN-γ detection from all subjects. *P < 0.05 by unpaired Student’s t test. (G) Cytokine secretion from healthy donor (HD) or A201V/P224L patient (Pt) detected by cytokine bead array from PBMCs stimulated for 4 hours by nonautologous EBV-transformed B cells in lytic cycle. Because of the patient’s consistently low NK cell cytotoxic function and abnormal NK cell subset distribution, we performed multiparametric flow cytometric immune phenotyping of NK cell subsets, including intracellular cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α as well as perforin and granzymes. We evaluated the patient, his clinically unaffected single-heterozygous family members, an unrelated heterozygous A201V/WT patient with pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection, a heterozygous T96M/WT patient, an unrelated compound-heterozygous patient (R83C/R291Q), and a homozygous K108E patient (Table 1). Multiparametric flow cytometric analysis of the proband’s lymphocytes showed that NK cell markers were consistent with the expanded CD56bright subset but otherwise showed no aberrant expression of markers of activation, inhibition, or granzyme B (Figure 3E). Despite decreased representation of the CD56dim subset, markers of NK cell terminal differentiation and memory (CD57, NKG2C) were expressed, as were activating receptors (NKG2D) and inhibitory receptors (NKG2A). Interestingly, however, our proband had consistently low levels of perforin at multiple time points tested, as did the homozygous K108E patient (Figure 3E). Upon stimulation, the proband, as well as those patients with compound heterozygous variants in IRF8, expressed normal or higher than normal levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α measured both as percentage of the population expressing cytokine and on a per-cell basis (Figure 3E and not shown). The production of IFN-γ was comparable between patient and control CD56bright NK cells, which are generally the most potent producers of IFN; however, the patient CD56dim NK cells had increased IFN-γ production relative to control. This accounted for the increase in IFN-γ production in his NK cells when considered as a total population (Figure 3F). The patient with K108E/K108E mutations had impaired IFN-γ production upon stimulation from both NK cell subsets, potentially underscoring the different effects of the different mutations on immune function even in the context of similar NK cell phenotype. The observed decrease in perforin expression in our patient with A201V/P224L mutations and the patient with homozygous K108E mutations was confined to the CD56dim subset, the primary cytolytic effectors. CD16 (FcγRIIIA) was expressed at normal levels on CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells from the patients with A201V/P224L and R83C/R291Q mutations (Figure 3, E and F). Low expression of CD16 on NK cells from the K108E patient was restricted to the CD56dim NK cell subset (Figure 3F). Given the important role that cytokine production plays in the control of the viral immune response and previously described DC deficiency in patients with IRF8 mutations, we sought to determine whether cytokine production in the context of costimulation by accessory cells was impaired in our patient. To do so, we incubated PBMCs from healthy donor or patient with a nonautologous EBV-transformed B cell line that had been induced to lytic cycle. Secreted cytokines (IL-12p40, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10) were measured by flow cytometric bead array. As suggested by the intracellular flow cytometry data, the coculture-induced production of IFN-γ and TNF-α was not impaired in the patient, and, similarly to that observed in cytokine-stimulated NK cells, the production of IFN-γ in these cocultures was increased (Figure 3G). Interestingly, elevated secretion of both IL-12 and IL-10 was also observed from patient cells. As IRF8 serves a previously identified role in DC development and IRF8 deficiency has been shown to lead to a variable loss or absence of DC subsets, we performed phenotypic analysis of monocyte and DC populations. A subtle deficiency of plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDCs) and CD141+ DCs was observed in the index patient relative to heterozygous family members and a wild-type control (Supplemental Figure 2). These differences were within the scope of those previously ascribed to human IRF8 mutations and were not as severe as those observed in the patient with homozygous K108E mutation (19). Our findings, however, suggested a novel NK cell phenotype of arrested terminal maturation in the presence of biallelic IRF8 mutations. To further determine the role of IRF8 in NK cell maturation, we performed phenotypic analysis of NK cells from Irf8–/–, Irf8+/–, and Irf8+/+ mice by flow cytometry. While murine NK cells do not express CD56, and not all transcription factor functions are evolutionarily conserved between human and murine NK cells, the developmental stages of murine NK cells can be stratified according to expression of CD27 and CD11b (Mac-1) (26). As previously reported (27–29), Irf8–/– mice had significant splenomegaly and lymphocytosis, leading to increased absolute NK cell number in both spleen (14 × 106 ± 5.7 × 106) and blood (1.2 × 106 ± 0.7 × 106) relative to that of Irf8+/+ controls (spleen 2.5 × 106 ± 1.2 × 106, blood 0.89 × 106 ± 0.6 × 106). Despite this, as seen in Figure 4, NK cells from blood and spleen of Irf8–/–, but not Irf8+/–, mice had an increased frequency of immature Mac-1loCD27hi NK cells (22.5% ± 2.7%) within the NK cell population when compared with wild-type controls (9.7% ± 1.8%). This was also reflected by absolute numbers of these subsets (blood 0.45 × 106 ± 0.4 × 106, spleen 3.6 × 106 ± 1.9 × 106) when compared with wild-type controls (blood 0.36 × 106 ± 0.5 × 106, spleen 0.31 × 106 ± 0.3 × 106). Conversely, Irf8–/– mice had decreased frequency of mature Mac-1hiCD27lo NK cells (48.3% ± 3.9%) compared with wild-type controls (64.3% ± 3.9%). This was despite increased absolute cell number (blood 1 × 106 ± 0.6 × 106, spleen 5.7 × 106 ± 2.1 × 106) compared with controls (blood 0.7 × 106 ± 0.5 × 106, spleen 1.4 × 106 ± 0.6 × 106). Together, these demonstrate impairment in terminal maturation in mice with homozygous, but not heterozygous, Irf8 loss-of-function mutations, suggesting an important parallel to our patients with biallelic IRF8 mutations and increased frequency of immature NK cells. Irf8–/– mice have a block in terminal NK cell maturation. Spleen and blood from Irf8–/–, Irf8+/– littermates, and Irf8+/+ controls were analyzed by flow cytometry for markers of NK cell differentiation. (A) Representative FACS of spleen (top) and blood (bottom) from the same mouse. Cells were gated on single cells, then NK1.1+CD3−. (B) Pooled spleen and blood from 4–6 mice per condition are shown. Data shown are mean ± SD. *P < 0.05 by Student’s unpaired t test. IRF8 is required for human NK cell development in a cell-intrinsic manner. Given the broad expression of IRF8 within immune cell populations, we sought to determine whether the observed effect on NK cell function was due to NK cell–intrinsic mechanisms or representative of the need for other immune or nonimmune cell types in NK cell development. Thus, we evaluated the ability of patient CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to generate NK cells in isolation. HSCs were sorted from our proband’s peripheral blood and incubated on OP9-DL1 stromal cells for 28 days in the presence of IL-7, FLT3L, c-Kit, and IL-15, as this in vitro experimental system has been previously demonstrated to promote NK cell development (14, 30, 31). As shown in Figure 5A, patient NK cells derived from CD34+ HSCs were largely CD56bright (76% vs. 19.7% from healthy donor control). The mean fluorescence intensity of CD56 was significantly higher on patient cells versus the normal control (224 vs. 112 in healthy donor) (Figure 5B), consistent with immaturity and incomplete maturation. In addition, while healthy donor–derived cells acquired CD16 (58%), the patient-derived cells had decreased CD16 expression yet retained CD94, a phenotype that is reflective of an immature state. These results show that the role for IRF8 is cell intrinsic and that IRF8 is functioning directly in the generation of appropriate and mature NK cell subsets during development. Impairment in terminal NK cell differentiation is NK cell intrinsic. CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells were sorted from the proband and a healthy control, and NK cells were generated by coculture with OP9-DL1 stromal cells for 35 days. Cells were harvested and analyzed in parallel with freshly isolated PBMCs from the proband or the same healthy donor. (A) In vitro–generated NK cells from healthy donor (left, WT/WT) or our proband (right, A201V/P224L) were analyzed by FACS for CD56 expression and CD16 (top) and CD94 (bottom) expression. (B) Histogram showing mean fluorescence intensity of CD56 expression on in vitro–derived NK cells from healthy donor (gray histogram) or patient 1 (empty histogram). IRF8 is expressed in human NK cell subsets and is upregulated upon IL-15 stimulation. Expression of IRF8 in human NK cell developmental subsets has not been previously determined. We performed real-time PCR and intracellular flow cytometry to evaluate the expression of IRF8 in human NK cell developmental subsets. While human peripheral blood contains only the CD56bright and CD56dim NK cell subsets, we used human tonsil as a source of developing NK cells and evaluated these cells based on known markers of differentiation (stages 1–5) (32). As shown in Figure 6A, healthy human donors expressed IRF8 in all developmental subsets as measured by intracellular flow cytometry. Interestingly, expression was highest in stage 1 (CD34+) NK cell precursors; however, all developmental subsets isolated from tonsil, as well as those from peripheral blood, expressed significant quantities of IRF8. Further, stimulation of primary human NK cells with IL-15 for as few as 6 hours resulted in an upregulation of IRF8 as measured by quantitative PCR (qPCR) (3-fold; Figure 6B) and flow cytometry (1.3-fold; Figure 6, C and D). Therefore, IRF8 is expressed in human NK cells and is responsive to IL-15 stimulation. This observation is consistent with a critical role for IRF8 during NK cell development. IRF8 is expressed in all NK cell developmental subsets and is upregulated upon IL-15 stimulation. (A) NK cell developmental subsets were isolated from tonsil as described in Methods, and IRF8 was detected by intracellular flow cytometry. Shown is 1 representative experiment from 3 independent experiments from 3 normal donors. FMO, fluorescence minus one; PB, peripheral blood. (B) NK cells were incubated for 6 hours with 10 ng/ml of IL-15 or vehicle control, and then RNA was extracted and qPCR performed as described in Methods. ***P < 0.001 by Student’s t test. Shown are the means of 3 independent experiments performed on 3 donors, each done in quadruplicate. (C) NK cells were stimulated as in B and subjected to flow cytometric analysis as in A. Dashed line, IL-15 stimulated; solid line dark histogram, unstimulated; solid line light histogram unstained. (D) Shown is the mean ± SD of 3 independent experiments. *P < 0.05 by unpaired Student’s t test. MFI, mean fluorescence intensity. IRF8 is required for NK cell expression of transcription factors and NK cell effector molecules. Previously reported homozygous K108E mutations in IRF8 lead to impaired synthesis of IL-12 due to abrogated IRF1-dependent transcription of the IL12B gene (19). To determine whether the mutations in our proband affected functional binding of IRF8 with cofactors IRF1 and PU.1, we performed luciferase assays with each allelic variant (WT, A201V, and P224L). As seen in Figure 7A, neither of our patient’s variants affected transcriptional activity dependent on PU.1 or IRF1. This is consistent with the observation that DC development was only partially affected in the patient and contrasts with biallelic K108E mutation, in which transactivation with IRF1 was severely impaired and monocytes and DCs were absent (19). Collectively, this underscores the variability of mutational impact on the DC phenotype. To determine the effect that the IRF8 mutations have on human NK cell function, we performed NanoString gene expression analysis (Human Immunology v2 gene set) on isolated NK cells from our proband, his family members, and 3 healthy donor controls. We identified 403 genes with a greater than 1.5-fold up- or downregulation in the patient relative to all 3 healthy donors (Supplemental Table 2). These included 18 of particular relevance to NK cell development, cytotoxicity, or homeostasis (Figure 7B), including transcription factors NFIL3, IKZF2, TBX21, EOMES, and STAT5A/B. Differentially expressed effector molecules and cell surface receptors included PRF1, GZMA, GZMB, CCR7, CD27, CD2, HAVCR2, and KLRG1. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of all genes differentially up- or downregulated more than 5-fold revealed transcription factors, growth factors, kinases, and transmembrane receptors (Figure 7C). To provide additional evidence that the genes differentially expressed in NK cells might be direct transcriptional targets of the mutant IRF8 proteins, we compared genes that consistently had an absolute fold change of ≥2 with published ChIP sequencing data (33). This analysis revealed a significant overlap of differentially expressed genes with loci associated with 1 or more IRF8 peaks (Supplemental Table 3). There was no preferential association of up- or downregulated transcripts with the presence of IRF8 binding. To further biologically validate differential expression of potential direct targets, we focused on NFIL3 and PRDM1, where IRF8 binding was observed in the study by Langlais et al. (33) (Supplemental Table 3), and IRF4, which also has evidence of IRF8 binding by ChIP sequencing (34). We performed qPCR on healthy donor– or patient-derived B cell lines and found decreased expression of each in the patient relative to 3 healthy donors (Figure 7D). Re-expression of WT IRF8 protein in the patient B cell line rescued the expression of IRF4 and PRDM1 and partially rescued expression of NFIL3. Therefore, biallelic IRF8 deficiency results in decreased expression of human NK cell transcriptional regulators and effector molecules as well as genes not previously associated with NK cell regulation. Complementation of the patient B cell line with WT IRF8 restores expression of these, demonstrating a direct effect of compound heterozygous A201V/P224L mutations on the expected IRF8-mediated gene expression profile. Deregulation of multiple genes in A201V/P224L IRF8 patient NK cells. (A) Promoter assays were performed in HeLa cells with WT or mutant alleles as indicated. Mutant and WT IRF8 showed indistinguishable regulation of PU.1- and IRF1-dependent genes. Results are displayed as fold increase relative to cells cotransfected with the empty vector. These data are derived from triplicate samples and are displayed as the mean ± SD. Data were analyzed using Student’s unpaired t test (**P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001). (B) Selected NK cell genes up- or downregulated in IRF8 A201V/P224L patient and heterozygous family members identified by NanoString gene expression analysis. (C) Selected immune genes classified by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis that are up- or downregulated more than 3-fold in the A201V/P224L patient relative to all 3 healthy donors (total NK cells). (D) Expression of selected genes validated by qPCR of B cell lines from 2 healthy donors (HD), patient (Pt), or patient cells stably transfected with WT IRF8 (Pt+IRF8). Mean ± SD of 1 representative experiment of 4 (performed in quadruplicate) is shown normalized to the mean of HD. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.0001 by ordinary 1-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons. Genetic causes of aberrations in NK cell development are exceedingly rare but confer familial susceptibility to disease, particularly viral infection. Here we identify a novel human NK cell developmental defect and cause of NKD due to biallelic mutation in the IRF8 gene. Interestingly, while homozygous and heterozygous IRF8 mutations lead to a spectrum of DC deficiency ranging from mild to severe, biallelic variants in our patient and 2 additional unrelated patients result in NKD as a result of a block in terminal maturation. In our patient this phenotype occurs in the context of normal activation of PU.1 and IRF1, underscoring the varying impact of IRF8 mutations. Our proband was originally diagnosed in 1980 and reported in 1982 with the first case of non–X-linked susceptibility to EBV as a result of NKD (1), and as such is within the first reported cohort of patients with NKD. Having the unique opportunity to study the 1 surviving affected patient from this family longitudinally has underscored the stability of the NK cell phenotype, namely decreased NK cell number with a paucity of CD56dim NK cells and interrupted maturation. The IRF family plays a well-documented role in inflammation, and these transcription factors are also becoming increasingly recognized for their importance in hematopoietic development (35, 36). In particular, a critical requirement for IRF8 in DC development is described in mice with both hypomorphic and knockout mutations of IRF8, as well as previously described patients with heterozygous and homozygous mutations (19). Patients with homozygous K108E mutation are close in phenotype to the knockout mouse, with severe deficits of monocytes and DCs and a myeloproliferative disorder (29, 37–39). This homozygous mutation in the DNA-binding domain of IRF8 abrogates nuclear translocation but not protein expression, leading to impaired function and defective IL-12, IFN-γ, and TNF-α production (21). In contrast, the spontaneous heterozygous T80A mutation leads to specific loss of the CD1c+ compartment of CD11c+ DCs but retention of CD141+ DCs, monocytes, and CD123+ plasmacytoid DCs (19). Relative to disease caused by autosomal recessive K108E mutation, the T80A heterozygous mutation leads to a less severe clinical course. IL-12 production, but not type I IFN, is affected. In both cases, both B and T cell numbers are largely normal; however, CD25hiFoxP3+ Treg numbers are decreased in patients with K108E mutation (39). The mechanism for the differential impact of IRF8 mutations on DC and NK cell homeostasis remains unclear. Gene dosage and mutation site–specific effects are commonly observed in transcriptions factors such as IRF8 that are regulated by superenhancer structures (40). As opposed to A201V/P224L, the K108E mutation is unable to activate IRF1- and PU.1-dependent transcription and, in the biallelic state, is associated with monocyte and DC deficiency and a very marked distortion of NK cell development in the ratio of CD56bright to CD56dim cells. The patient described here with A201V/P224L mutation has an NK phenotype with only subtle DC deficiency, in keeping with the ability of the 2 variants to activate transcription with PU.1 and IRF1. As these processes are required for DC development and function, these data suggest that additional IRF8-dependent mechanisms are required for normal NK cell homeostasis. While all of our patient’s surviving single-heterozygous family members have unremarkable medical history, an unrelated patient with heterozygous A201V/WT mutation of IRF8 and late-onset pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection was identified, although a role for this IRF8 change in her disease state is unclear. The late onset of disease in an unrelated patient with A201V mutation suggests the relatively mild impact of this variant and that careful monitoring of heretofore clinically unaffected heterozygous family members may be prudent. The apparent requirement for IRF8 in an NK cell–intrinsic manner, as we show using in vitro differentiation experiments, points to a direct role in the generation of appropriately distributed CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells and the subsequent acquisition of effector function. As with GATA2 mutations, it is intriguing that perturbation of development that allows for the presence of CD56dim NK cells in peripheral blood nevertheless significantly affects the function of these cells. The profound disease in our patient and the consistent absence of NK cell cytotoxic function as a result of this developmental block speak to the strict regulation of this process and support a model in which CD56bright cells are the precursors of CD56dim. The impaired terminal maturation of NK cells from Irf8–/–, but not Irf8+/–, mice suggests a conserved requirement for IRF8 in the final stages of NK cell development and supports a linear relationship between the subsets. As with GATA2 mutations, CD56+CD3+ T cells are present in our patient, often at higher frequencies than in normal controls. IRF8 is known to play a role in both cell fate decision and functional control of viral infection. IRFs are well-described downstream mediators of TLR signaling, and IRF8 mediates TLR9 signaling through TRAF6 and NF-κB (41, 42). Production of IFN-γ and TNF-α was normal in our patient in NK cells stimulated by PMA/ionomycin or EBV-transformed B cells, suggesting that disruption of cytokine production was not the primary mechanism of viral susceptibility in our patient. Elevated levels of IFN-γ (both intracellular and secreted in response to stimuli) were measured from our patient at multiple times of assessment. While the clinical significance of this is unclear, it may be related to PRDM1 downregulation (detected by gene expression array and qPCR of patient B cell lines), as PRDM1 has been previously shown to directly bind and negatively regulate the IFN-γ locus in human NK cells (43). In contrast, as previously reported in PBMCs (19), K108E/K108E NK cells did not produce IFN-γ in response to stimulation, suggesting that the differential effect of the mutations on IRF1 activation may include differing effects on IFN-γ production in NK cells. In primary NK cells or NK-92 cell lines, cytokine stimulation increases levels of nuclear IRF8 and increased binding to DNA (43, 44). In CD8+ T cells, common γ chain signaling in combination with CD3 cross-linking results in increased IRF8 expression in concert with JAK/STAT signaling and leads to differentiation of CD8+ effectors from naive precursors. Deletion of IRF8 results in decreased, but not absent, T lymphocyte cytotoxicity, and it is hypothesized that presentation of γc cytokine, namely IL-15, in combination with antigen by neighboring DCs could drive CD8+ differentiation (45). IL-15 is unique among cytokines in its absolute requirement for NK cell development and homeostasis in both mice and humans (46, 47). Therefore, the positioning of IRF8 in this critical signaling pathway speaks to its importance in generating mature, functional human NK cells, and the significant downregulation of JAK3 and STAT5A and -B in our patient relative to 3 healthy donors supports this hypothesis. While we show that the NK cell developmental defect is intrinsic, an additional model for the requirement of IRF8 in NK cell development and function would be through the trans-presentation of IL-15 by DCs, which would potentially make the loss of DCs and functional defect of NK cells in IRF8 patients particularly damaging. Our data support a link between IL-15, IRF8, and NK cell development, as we show that IL-15 increases IRF8 protein expression in as few as 6 hours in ex vivo NK cells. This observation suggests a need for the IL-15–induced proliferation of CD56bright NK cells in the generation of the CD56dim subset, as proposed in the report of MCM4 deficiency, the only other reported immune deficiency to result in this distinctive NK cell phenotype (2). This concept was originally proposed by Lutz et al. after they showed that CD56bright NK cells undergo significantly greater proliferation than the CD56dim subset (48). In addition, FLT3L-mediated development of DCs is dependent on IRF8 signaling, and FLT3L-deficient mice have decreased NK cell number and impaired NK cell development (49). Therefore, our data could suggest a similar requirement for IRF8 in FLT3L-mediated signaling in NK cells. While a direct role for IRF8 in NK cell development has not been described, IRF2-deficient mice have reduced NK cell number and, as a result, impaired NK cell cytotoxic function (50, 51). Further, IRF2-deficient bone marrow is enriched for immature NK cells (selective loss of the CD11bhiDX5hi subset) with higher rates of apoptosis and decreased sensitivity to IL-15, a defect that is cell intrinsic (51). Whether the loss of CD56dim NK cells in IRF8 deficiency is a result of accelerated apoptosis of this subset, as is the case for IRF2 mice, or a result of impairment in the transition from CD56bright to CD56dim, remains to be seen. While IRF1-deficient mice also have decreased NK cell number and function, IRF1 is required for IL-15 production by bone marrow stromal cells, and the NKD in these mice is due to the loss of IL-15 in the niche (52). IRF8 plays a role in lineage commitment, particularly of DCs and B cells, and can substitute for the highly related factor IRF4 in some circumstances (18, 40, 53, 54). Both IRF4 and IRF8 have the capacity to act as either transcriptional activators or repressors but require other lineage-specific transcription factors as binding partners to achieve the appropriate outcome. For example, IRF4/IRF8 can interact with PU.1 or SPI-B at cis-regulatory regions termed Ets-IRF composite elements (EICEs) in B cells, DCs, and macrophages. While PU.1 is not required for NK cell development, PU.1-deficient NK cells in mice showed reduced proliferation both at baseline and in response to IL-12 and IL-2 (55). However, PU.1 is difficult to detect in mature NK cells and is hypothesized to be required exclusively for lineage commitment (56). While EICEs are fairly well characterized, genetic approaches in T cells and DCs have recently revealed novel motifs recognized by IRF4/IRF8, such as AP-1–IRF composite elements bound by BATF-IRF complexes (57, 58). Given the normal regulation of PU.1 and IRF1 elements by our patient’s IRF8 variants, work is currently underway to identify novel binding partners of IRF8 in NK cells. Recent high-resolution analysis of the ontology of both mouse and human ILC and NK cell lineages shows IRF8 highly expressed specifically in NK cells and, in the case of human cells, intraepithelial ILC1s (59, 60). Our gene expression analysis of purified NK cells suggests that IRF8 plays a direct role in the regulation of NK cell genes required for maturation and function of human NK cells. These include NFIL3 (encoding E4BP4), PRDM1 (encoding BLIMP-1), TBX21 (encoding T-bet), and IKZF2 (encoding HELIOS), all previously shown to be required for mature NK cell generation and/or homeostasis (43, 61–66). E4bp4–/– mice fail to generate even immature NK cell precursors, indicating a very early blockade in development, and E4BP4 is considered a master regulator of NK cell fate (61, 64, 65). The previously demonstrated gene dosage effect of E4BP4 suggests that repression but not absence of NFIL3, as seen in our patient, may lead to decreased mature NK cell numbers while not completely abrogating development (61), and placing NFIL3 downstream of IRF8 would be consistent with previous reports showing normal IRF8 expression in Nfil3–/– mice (67). Similarly, Tbx21–/– mice fail to generate mature NK cells and T-bet expression increases with NK cell maturation, with T-bet highly expressed in the CD56dim NK cell subset (62, 68). Both PRDM1 and HELIOS tune NK cell responsiveness; PRDM1 is a transcriptional repressor that binds directly to TNF and IFNG loci to regulate cytokine secretion in human NK cells (43) and is bound directly by IRF8 in B cells and macrophages (34), whereas HELIOS regulation is a mechanism of modulation of NK cell activity mediated through NKp46 ligation (69). Finally, the NK cell defect observed in our patient may be attributable to the significant downregulation of STAT5a and STAT5b, in concert with JAK3 and perforin. This signaling axis has been shown to be critical for NK cell survival and function, and STAT5b regulates NK cell cytolytic activity by binding directly to the perforin promoter (70, 71). Collectively, our data suggest that IRF8 may be playing a role in both NK cell lineage commitment and effector responses, which is in keeping with the functional and developmental defects observed in NK cells from patients with biallelic IRF8 mutations. In summary, we have defined a novel NKD and primary immunodeficiency that occurs specifically as a result of biallelic mutations in IRF8 encoding the transcription factor IRF8. These alterations result in impaired NK cell function, decreased NK cell number, and loss of the CD56dim subset of human NK cells, reflecting impaired NK cell terminal maturation also observed in Irf8–/–, but not Irf8+/–, mice. Immunodeficiency occurring in association with IRF8 mutation is likely to involve defects of NK cells in addition to previously described loss of monocytes, DCs, and macrophage function. These findings define a novel, critical role for IRF8 function in NK cell development, extending the previously described range of phenotypes associated with IRF8 mutation in humans and identifying IRF8 mutation as the fourth genetic explanation for classical NKD leading to aberrant NK cell development and association with susceptibility to viral disease. Human NK cell preparation and target cell lines. PBMCs were isolated by density centrifugation over Ficoll-Paque lymphocyte isolation medium according to the manufacturer’s protocol (Amersham). For enrichment of NK cells for qPCR analysis, whole blood was incubated with RosetteSep (STEMCELL Technologies) before density centrifugation. For isolation of cells from tonsils, tissue was obtained from routine tonsillectomies and mechanically separated by passing through a 40-μm strainer prior to isolation of secondary lymphoid cells by density centrifugation. Human K562 target cells were used for 51Cr release assays and maintained in supplemented RPMI media as previously described (72). K562 cells were acquired from American Type Culture Collection and routinely confirmed to be mycoplasma negative. Murine NK cell phenotyping. Irf8–/– mice were generated as described previously (29) and were a gift from Keiko Ozato (NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA). Male and female mice between 9 and 12 weeks of age were euthanized upon arrival in accordance with Baylor College of Medicine’s animal care guidelines. Spleens were removed and single-cell suspensions prepared by mechanical separation and density centrifugation as previously described (73). Blood was obtained by heart puncture immediately following euthanasia. All cells were maintained in PBS/2% FCS at 4°C throughout the staining procedure. Cells were stained for viability with LIVE/DEAD cell staining kit according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Thermo Fisher). Rat anti-mouse Fc Block (Becton Dickinson) was added for 10 minutes on ice, and then fluorophore-conjugated specific antibodies against extracellular markers were added for 30 minutes (antibodies listed in Supplemental Table 4). Cells were washed once in 2% FCS/PBS, then fixed in a final concentration of 1% paraformaldehyde. Cells were acquired and data analyzed as described for human flow cytometry and immune phenotyping. Generation of lymphoblastoid cell lines. Lymphoblastoid cell lines were generated from patient PBMCs by addition of EBV supernatant as previously described (74). Briefly, PBMCs were transduced with a B95-8 EBV supernatant and cultured in RPMI medium with 10% FBS, 2 mM glutamine, and 1 μg/ml cyclosporin A. Cell lines were confirmed mycoplasma negative before their use in experiments. NK cell functional assays. Standard 51Cr release assays were performed in round-bottomed plates against K562 target cells as previously described (75). Flow cytometry and immune phenotyping. Fluorophore-conjugated antibodies used for multiparametric flow cytometry analysis of patient PBMCs are listed in Supplemental Table 4. Where indicated, stimulation for the detection of intracellular cytokines was by PMA/ionomycin for 4 hours in the presence of brefeldin A followed by fixation and permeabilization with BD Cytofix/Cytoperm. For intracellular staining of IRF8 by flow cytometry, cells were permeabilized using the FoxP3 transcription buffer staining kit (eBioscience) followed by incubation with IRF8 eFluor 710 (clone V3GYWCH, eBioscience). Flow cytometry was acquired on a BD Fortessa configured for 14 colors. All analysis was done in FlowJo X (Tree Star). Positive populations were identified as those with fluorescence greater than that of isotype or fluorescence-minus-one controls. Cytokine bead arrays were performed with custom BD Biosciences CBA Flex Sets using IL-12, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 probes. PBMCs (2 × 106) were incubated for 4 hours with 105 EBV-transformed B cells previously induced to lytic cycle with 200 ng/ml phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Data were analyzed with FlowJo X (Tree Star), and statistical analysis was performed and graphed using Prism 6.0 software (GraphPad Software). Imaging flow cytometry. Cells were fixed and permeabilized using FoxP3 transcription buffer (eBioscience) followed by incubation with IRF8 eFluor 710 (clone V3GYWCH, eBioscience) and DAPI. Samples were acquired on an ImageStream MkII (EMD Millipore) with a ×40 objective. Spectral compensation was applied using single-stained controls. Images were processed and exported using IDEAS software (EMD Millipore). Similarity score was calculated in IDEAS as a measure of colocalization. Western blotting. Lymphoblastoid cell lines (3 × 105) from patient or healthy donor were lysed, separated by 4%–10% SDS-PAGE gel, then transferred to nitrocellulose membrane, and blocked with skim milk. IRF8 was detected with anti-ICSBP (clone C-19, Santa Cruz Biotechnology) and actin with anti-actin (catalog A2066, Sigma-Aldrich) followed by goat anti-rabbit IRDye 700 secondary antibody. Proteins were detected on a LiCor Odyssey. Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. RNA was extracted from enriched NK cells or secondary lymphoid cells (SLC) using DirectZol (Genesee Scientific) or RNeasy (Qiagen), and cDNA was made using VILO (Invitrogen). IRF8, PRDM1, NFIL3, and IRF4 were amplified on a Roche Light Cycler by Taqman gene expression array. GAPDH was used to normalize expression for each sample. Each condition was performed in quadruplicate. Analysis was performed with Roche Light Cycler software and exported to Excel before graphing with Prism 6.0 (GraphPad software). Genetic analyses. Genomic DNA was extracted from EDTA-preserved nonheparinized blood samples using the Gentra PureGene Blood Kit (Qiagen). Whole exome sequencing was conducted as previously described (23). Briefly, exonic portions of genomic DNA fragments were captured in solution using custom VCrome probes (NimbleGen). Resulting DNA was sequenced using Illumina HiSeq 2500 equipment. Data processing and variant annotation were performed per standard pipeline analyses. Variants were evaluated using both recessive and dominant models. Bioinformatic filters were placed using a minor allelic frequency less than 0.005 in recessive models within the Baylor-Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics (18), ESP5400, 1000 Genomes, and ExAC databases. Potential recessive variants were also excluded if present in the ExAC database with a homozygote or hemizygote count of 10 or greater. For compound heterozygous analyses, variants were excluded if both variants were present in the maternal exome or in the exome of the unaffected brother. For autosomal dominant model analyses, variants were excluded with minor allelic frequencies greater than 0.001 in the same databases and if present in the ExAC database with an allele count greater than 5. Variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing; primers were constructed using Primer3 (http://biotools.umassmed.edu/bioapps/primer3_www.cgi), and amplified DNA constructs were sequenced by the Baylor DNA Sequencing Core Facility. Sequences were visualized using 4Peaks software (Nucleobytes). For the deceased sister, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded gallbladder tissue slices were retrieved from the Pathology Department at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). DNA was extracted by the Baylor Human Genome Sequencing Center for Sanger sequencing. In vitro NK cell differentiation. CD34+ precursors were isolated from peripheral blood of the patient or healthy donor and highly purified by fluorescence-based cell sorting. Following purification, cells were incubated on mitotically inactivated OP9-DL1 stromal cells (a gift from J.C. Zúñiga-Pflücker, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) in media containing 5 ng/ml IL-3, 20 ng/ml IL-7, 10 ng/ml FLT3L, and 10 ng/ml IL-15 for 4 weeks. After culture, cells were phenotyped by FACS in parallel with control cells from a healthy donor. RNA isolation and gene expression analysis. NK cells were isolated by FACS sorting to greater than 95% purity following enrichment by RosetteSep negative selection (STEMCELL Technologies). Fifty to a hundred nanograms of RNA was analyzed with the Human Immunology v2 probe set using a NanoString nCounter. Background correction was done using the mean of 8 negative control probes. Normalization was performed by calculation of the geometric mean of positive controls and content normalization parameters (15 housekeeping genes). Data processing was performed using nSolver software, and data were exported to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis for further analyses. Genes up- and downregulated greater than 1.5-fold in samples relative to the mean of all 3 healthy donor controls were considered significant. Luciferase assays. Constructs encoding WT human IRF8 or allelic variants A201V and P224L were generated in the pIRES2-EGFP expression vector (Clontech). These were cotransfected with vectors encoding IRF1 or PU.1 and reporter luciferase vectors harboring interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE) or EICE motifs and quantified using the Promega dual luciferase assay system. Details of the PSMB8 and TAPASIN promoter luciferase vectors have been described previously (76). Statistics. Statistical analysis was performed using Prism 6.0 (GraphPad Software). Unpaired 2-tailed Student’s t test was used to compare data sets. Ordinary 1-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test was performed for multiple comparisons. For all data shown, error bars denote SD. A P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Study approval. All studies were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki with the written and informed consent of all participants under the guidance of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, NIH, University of Newcastle, and Baylor College of Medicine Institutional Review Boards. Animal studies were performed in accordance with the Baylor College of Medicine and NIH Animal Care Committees. The study was conceptualized by EMM, JRL, and JSO. Methodology was developed by EMM, VB, GMD, MC, SMH, M.A. Caligiuri, JRL, RAG, SP, and JSO. Investigation was performed by EMM, MDK, IKC, DFL, SNJ, DMM, ASP, ZCA, TNC, JTG, SP, LSA, GDH, JBS, MHS, LBW, DTL, ST, M.A. Care, SM, AGF, and EPS. EMM and JSO wrote the original draft of the manuscript. EMM, JRL, VB, MC, GMD, MDK, and JSO reviewed and edited the manuscript. Funding acquisition was by JSO and JRL. Clinical care was provided by JSO, SMH, SS, MDK, AJC. Resources were provided by KO. The authors thank all the patients and their families, particularly the proband’s, for their engagement in this study. The authors also thank Linda Monaco-Shawver for technical assistance. This project was supported by the Genomic and RNA Profiling Core at Baylor College of Medicine and the expert assistance of the core director, Lisa D. White, and Mylinh Bernardi. This work was supported by NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grants R01AI067946 and R01 AI120989 to JSO, the Jeffrey Modell Foundation, and NIH (National Human Genome Research Institute/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) grant U54HG006542 to the Baylor-Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics. DFL’s present address is: Allergic Disease Associates, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. EPS’s present address is: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. GDH’s present address is: Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Conflict of interest: J.R.Lupski has stock ownership in 23andMe, is a paid consultant for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, has stock options in Lasergen, Inc. is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Baylor Genetics, and is a co-inventor on multiple United States and European patents related to molecular diagnostics for inherited neuropathies, eye diseases, and bacterial genomic fingerprinting (5294533; 5306616; 5523217; 5599920; 5667968; 5780223; 6132954; 6713300; 7141420; 7189511; 7192579; 7273698; 7537899; 8129353; 9365899; 0424473; 0610396; 0989805). The Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine derives revenue from the chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) and clinical exome sequencing offered in Baylor Genetics (BMGL: http://www.bmgl.com/BMGL/Default.aspx). Reference information: J Clin Invest. 2017;127(1):306–320. doi:10.1172/JCI86276. Fleisher G, Starr S, Koven N, Kamiya H, Douglas SD, Henle W. 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2019-04-25T02:36:05Z

https://www.jci.org/articles/view/86276

Court decisions in Italy are not considered a source of law, since courts are supposed to apply existing legislation. However, case law precedents play an important role in shaping Italian employment law. Legislative Decree No. 81 of 15 June 2015, aimed at regulating systematically the different types of employment contracts (fixed-term contracts, staff leasing, apprenticeships, etc). Many issues related to employment relationships are governed by the national collective bargaining agreement (CBA) applied by the employer, as well as by those agreements that are signed with trade unions at company level. The Italian Constitution guarantees equal treatment of all citizens and expressly forbids any kind of discrimination based on birth, race, gender, religion, ideology or any other personal or social circumstance. Furthermore, direct and indirect discrimination are prohibited. Direct discrimination is where a person is treated less favourably because of one of the prohibited grounds. Indirect discrimination is where an apparently neutral provision, criterion, practice, agreement or conduct would have a disparate impact on one of the protected classes. It is also unlawful to harass a person, violate his or her dignity or create a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment because the person is a member of a protected class. Similarly, sexual harassment is prohibited. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policies is responsible for labour, employment and labour protection policies, the adequacy of the social security system and social policy. The National Labour Inspectorate (INL) is in charge of carrying out inspections at workplaces and operates throughout the national territory (with the various Territorial Labour Inspectorates), and ensures the implementation of all labour laws and regulations, including health and safety, treatment of disabled employees, etc. The National Institute of Social Security (INPS) is the social security body, which insures almost the totality of dependent workers in the private sector and, recently, also those in the public sector. The National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) is a public entity safeguarding workers against physical injuries and occupational diseases. Employment tribunals are public bodies that have jurisdiction over disputes between employers and employees (or claims regarding commercial agencies and independent contractors). Generally speaking, their decisions are appealable to the Court of Appeal, while appeal judgments can be challenged in front of the Supreme Court. Section 39 of the Italian Constitution provides the freedom to form or to join a trade union. Accordingly, trade unions are considered as unincorporated associations that do not need any authorisation or any registration to be recognised. Section 14 of the Workers’ Statute also provides that workers have the right to set up trade unions, join them and take part in union activities within the workplace. participated in the bargaining process concerning the collective agreement (at any level) applied by the company, even if they did not execute it. The main union organisations within the workplace are the Rappresentanze Sindacali Aziendali (RSA) and the Rappresentanze Sindacali Unitarie (RSU). The main difference between the two is their composition: the RSA is appointed by the relevant unions, and the RSU directly by the workforce. Legislative Decree No. 113 of 22 June 2012 has implemented Directive 2009/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 on the establishment of European works councils. Works councils have specific powers and rights provided by the law. Collective bargaining agreements may provide additional powers. co-determination - in order to use monitoring systems that indirectly monitor, or could be used to monitor, the working activities of employees, the employer must follow a specified procedure of co-determination with the employees’ representative. Section 8 of the Workers’ Statute prevents the employer from investigating, during the employment relationship or for the purposes of hiring, the political, religious or trade union opinions of a prospective employee, as well as facts that are not relevant to evaluate his or her professional aptitudes. There is no difference if an employer conducts its own checks or hires a third party (the same restrictions would apply also to recruitment agencies and other accredited private entities, according to section 10 of Law No. 276/2003). According to section 5 of the Workers’ Statute, the employer cannot directly check the physical suitability of an applicant. However, before entering into an employment contract with an individual, employers can give medical tests to verify the applicant’s physical capability to perform the duties required for the job, and refuse to hire an applicant that does not submit to the examination. Employers can also test for drug and alcohol use or addiction, if the employees’ duties involve risks to the security, safety and health of third parties, and refuse to hire an applicant that does not submit to the examination. Discrimination in general is always prohibited. According to article 16 of the Workers’ Statute, it is prohibited to offer more favourable economic treatment only to a specific group of workers based on the discriminatory grounds described in article 15. However, some laws provide for ‘positive action’ that must be taken against discrimination, such as the mandatory hiring of disabled employees or employees belonging to the so called ‘protected categories’ (eg, widows, widowers or orphans due to accident at work or war). As a general rule, there is no obligation for the employment contract to be in writing. However, the written form is required for the validity of certain contracts or covenants (eg, fixed-term employment contracts, non-competition agreements or probationary period clauses) or in relation to the burden of proof (eg, in case of agreements with temporary workers). In any event, the employer must provide, in writing, the employee with certain mandatory information (eg, the identity of the parties, place of work, starting date, duration and probationary period, if any) within 30 days of the beginning of the employment relationship. Over the years changes to legislation have gradually simplified the formal requirements for hiring fixed-term employees in Italy. According to Legislative Decree No. 81/2015, an employee can be hired on a fixed-term basis, provided that the maximum duration of the contract(s) does not exceed 36 months, including renewals (up to five). The duration clause must be signed in writing. The 36-month limit can be derogated from under the terms of a CBA. If the employee is rehired within 10 days of the expiry date of the previous fixed-term contract whose duration was not more than six months, or within 20 days of the expiry date of the previous fixed-term contract whose duration was more than six months, the next contract will be deemed to be an indefinite or open-ended contract (unless otherwise provided for under the applicable CBA). The number of employees who are employed under fixed-term contracts cannot exceed 20 per cent of the total number of permanent employees of the employer as at 1 January each year (this can be derogated from by the applicable national CBA or by company-level CBAs). by employers that failed to draft a risk assessment document in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 81 of 9 April 2008. The maximum duration of the probation period is set out in the applicable collective agreement and varies depending on the level of the employee. In any event the maximum duration cannot exceed six months. According to the Italian Civil Code, an independent contractor performs a job or a service for consideration, without being under the employer’s control and without being integrated in the employer’s business, while an employee performs an intellectual or manual work activity within the company, under the management and the control of the employer in exchange for a certain salary. As of 1 January 2016, the rules concerning employment subordinate contracts apply to the consultancy in case of independent workers that provide services that are performed in a manner that is exclusively personal and continuous, and the execution of which is organised by the employer with regards to timing and place of work. Agency contracts are regulated by Legislative Decree No. 81 of 15 June 2015. Agencies that supply agency workers to user companies must be expressly authorised by the Italian authorities. Agency employees are entitled to the same ‘basic working and employment conditions’ as comparable employees directly recruited by the user. The supply of agency employees may be either for a fixed term or for an indefinite period. Temporary fixed-term contracts can be entered into within the quantitative limits set forth by the CBA applied by the user company. The number of agency employees who are supplied for an indefinite period to work in a company cannot exceed the threshold of 20 per cent of the number of regular permanent employees working in the same company on 1 January of the year in which the agency employees were engaged. Users are jointly liable with the employment agency for the payment of agency workers. Italy’s immigration system varies depending on whether or not the worker is a EU national. As far as EU nationals are concerned, there are no numerical limitations and they are not subject to specific immigration procedures. Non-EU nationals intending to work in Italy must obtain a work permit. In this regard, each year the Italian authority sets quotas for the maximum number of regular work permits that may be applied for by foreign nationals from outside the EU. However, highly skilled personnel and other personnel (eg, translators, interpreters, university professors and journalists) can apply to work in Italy irrespective of these quotas, subject to an ‘extra quotas’ procedure. salaried employees who are regularly paid by employers (either individuals or organisations) that reside or are headquartered abroad, and from whom they receive their salary directly and in cases where the employees are temporarily transferred from foreign countries to work with individuals or organisations, be they Italian or foreign, residing in Italy, for the purposes of performing, in Italian territory, specific services in the framework of contracts executed between the above-mentioned individuals or organisations residing abroad in accordance with the provisions of section 1655 of the Italian Civil Code, as well as international laws and European Union provisions. Spouses are entitled to work in Italy without having to obtain their own work permit, provided that the family relationship can be proved with official documents. Italian employers should check that the employee has a work permit. Where an employer employs personnel without a work permit it may be subject to administrative sanctions of up to €5,000 per employee and imprisonment for a period of three months to five years (section 22 of the Legislative Decree No. 286 of 25 July 1998, ‘the Immigration Act’). A labour market test is not required in Italy. Normal working hours are 40 hours per week calculated over a period of four months. Collective agreements may require fewer hours referring to the normal working hours and may also raise the calculation period up to six months, or 12 months in case of objective or technical reasons, or reasons inherent to the organisation of work specified in the collective agreements. The average working hours cannot in any case exceed 48 hours, including overtime, in each period of seven days. Employees are entitled to a daily rest of at least 11 continuous hours every 24 hours, between the end of one working day and the start of the next. The number of hours worked per day may not exceed 13, unless the collective agreement or individual company agreement establishes a different working pattern for the day. In all cases, however, the rest between working days must be respected. An employee cannot opt out of such restrictions or limitations. All work exceeding the normal working hours is considered overtime. Some employees are exempted from statutory hour restrictions, including high-level white-collar employees (the quadri) and executives (the dirigenti), as well as certain kinds of sales staff such as commercial travellers (viaggiatori e piazzisti). Section 5 of Legislative Decree No. 66 of 8 April 2003 provides that the use of overtime must be limited, and usually it is voluntary. The collective agreement typically provides the conditions for performing overtime work. If collective agreements do not cover when overtime can be required, it is allowed only with the consent of the employee, and for a maximum of 250 hours per year. Overtime shall be paid with an extra remuneration as set out by the collective agreement. The collective agreement may set forth that, alternatively or in addition to such extra remuneration, the employees have compensatory rest time. The right to overtime pay falls into the category of ‘unavailable rights’. Therefore, in an employment contract this cannot be waived by the employee. For waivers of unavailable rights, see question 46. The minimum length of paid vacation is four weeks per year. The applicable national collective bargaining agreement may provide for a longer vacation. The four-week period can be used for almost two consecutive weeks at the employee’s request, and the other two weeks (or the remaining higher period provided by the applicable national collective bargaining agreement) have to be used within the 18 months starting from the end of the accrued year. Employees are also entitled to 11 days off as public holidays. Almost all national collective bargaining agreements provide for a supplementary holiday, the Patron Saint’s day. The accrual of annual leave is connected to the effective work. In fact, annual leave accrues during the period provided for by the law while the employee carries out the working activity, but also during absences that the law or the CBA provide should be considered as a working period (eg, maternity leave). According to Italian labour law, in case of sickness, an employee is entitled to keep his or her job position for a certain period of time that varies accordingly to each collective agreement and generally lasts almost 180 days in the space of one year (the periodo di comporto). This period is a suspension of the employee’s contractual obligation to carry out his or her working activity. During this period, employees may be entitled to receive their full salary. A portion of the salary is paid by the INPS, and a national collective bargaining agreement may require the employer to pay the remaining portion. National collective bargaining agreements provide the length of such period and the rate of salary to be paid. They may also require that the protected period is included in calculations of length of service for seniority. Maternity leave: workers are entitled to five months (usually two months before and three months after birth). During maternity employees have right to an indemnity from the INPS (80 per cent of salary); however, almost all CBAs provide the obligation for the employer to pay the remaining 20 per cent. Paternity leave: employees are currently entitled to four days of compulsory paternity leave, plus one additional day of optional paternity leave to be taken in place of the mother during her maternity leave. at certain income conditions that vary each year, during the first eight years from childbirth, for the periods of parental leave exceeding the first six months and up to 10 months. There is no right to indemnity if the parental leave is taken when the child is aged between eight and 12 years old. Marriage: any employee, except during the trial period, is entitled to special paid leave in case of marriage. The duration of the leave is 15 days. Almost all applicable national collective bargaining agreements provide for 15 days of paid vacation. Disabled employees or leave for assistance to disabled relatives: disabled employees or relatives of a disabled person have the right to paid leave, which in general is three days per month. The other main circumstances giving the right to leave of absence are the following: medical leave for specific reasons (eg, drug-addicted workers, blood donors); political offices; serious personal reasons; and study or training leave. An employee’s service seniority may give the right to some benefits (eg, the right to additional holidays). However, most benefits (such as complementary insurance, pension plan, etc) are provided by the CBA for specific categories of employees (in particular, managers and top managers). Part-time employees are entitled to receive the same treatment as is provided by the applicable CBA or company collective agreement for full-time employees that are at the same contractual level, as defined by the applicable CBA itself. Part-time employees also have priority rights when it comes to full-time vacancies at the employer (for the performance of the same duties or duties at the same level pursuant to the CBA) in circumstances where the employment relationship was originally full-time and then it changed to part-time. Fixed-term employees are entitled to receive the same treatment as employees who are on open-ended or indefinite contracts of employment at the same contractual level under the applicable CBA or company collective agreement, as defined by the CBA itself. In addition, if a fixed-term employee has worked for an employer for more than six months (even if under different fixed-term contracts) he or she has the right to be given priority for a permanent position for 12 months after the end of the fixed-term contract if the employer is hiring employees to carry out the same work activities as the fixed-term employee, provided he or she has indicated his or her intention to benefit from such a right in writing within six months of the end of the fixed-term contract. In the private sector, there is no general obligation to publish information on pay or other details about employees or the general workforce. However, some exceptions are provided for listed companies. In particular, the board of directors (or the supervisory board) of listed companies must publicly disclose an annual report on the remuneration of general managers and executives with strategic responsibilities. In addition, the law provides for some obligations to inform the unions or staff representatives (eg, staff representative bodies are entitled to be informed by employers with more than 100 workers every two years about male/female equal treatments - Law Decree No. 198 of 11 April 2006, section 46). The CBA may provide similar obligations on salary treatments and other matters having an impact on the general workforce. have a specific duration, which shall not exceed three years (five years for executives, ie, dirigenti). In order to assess the validity of a non-competition covenant, it is necessary to ascertain whether the combination of its terms, extents and conditions prevents or not the employee from finding other employment or violates the employee’s right to preserve his or her professionalism. There are no specific provisions on covenant not to solicit (customers, employees or suppliers) or deal (customers), thus the parties can freely agree their content. However, it is debatable whether the above statutory requirements would also apply to the non-soliciting covenant. The employer shall not pay the salary but the compensation specifically agreed in the non-compete covenant. The law does not provide for a specific amount of the consideration, and case law requires that the compensation is ‘congruous’, having regard to restrictions imposed on the employee’s professionalism and his or her right to work. Therefore, the compensation has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, in the light of the other terms agreed (ie, duration, scope, geographical extent and the skills and experience of the employee). According to section 2049 of the Italian Civil Code, the employer is liable for acts unlawfully committed by its employees. Pursuant to case law, the duties performed by the employee should have made possible the commission of the damage to the third party. income over €75,000: 43 per cent. In addition, the employer and the employee should pay social security contributions. The amount depends on the classification of the company and the employee’s level. The contributions are entirely paid by the employer to the INPS. The employer withholds the percentage due by the employee from his or her salary. inventions made outside the scope of the duties assigned to the employee but related directly to the business of the employer or made with use of data or means, of whatsoever nature, of the employer (‘occasional inventions’): the employer has an optional right to use the invention or purchase the patent and should recognise to the inventor a licence fee or a price for the sale of the invention, deducting any amount for the aid received by the employee from the employer. With respect to trade secrets, there are specific rules set forth by Legislative Decree No. 30 of 10 February 2005. the personnel who have control over it implement measures to restrict its access. There are no specific rules dealing with confidential information. Confidential information is usually specified by the employer and the employee within the employment contract or within internal policy rules. In addition, rules can be drawn from articles 1175 and 1375 of the Italian Civil Code regarding bona fide execution of the contract and article 2105 of the Italian Civil Code regarding the employment relationship and the prohibition to disclose the company’s information by the employee. Data protection issues in Italy are regulated by Legislative Decree No. 196 of 30 June 2003, commonly known as the Italian Data Protection Code (DPC). This brings together all the various laws, codes and regulations relating to data protection that have been created since 1996. Data protection legislation must apply jointly with the employment laws set out in the Workers’ Statute. According to section 4 of the Workers’ Statute, the instruments and equipment that are potentially able also to monitor employees are permitted only to the extent they are required for organisational, productive or safety reasons or for the safeguarding of company assets, and provided that their use is agreed with the works council or most representative trade unions or authorised by the Labour Office, depending on the specific case. The provisions specify that such rules do not apply (thus no agreement or authorisation is needed) to the instruments and equipment used by employees for performing the activity (eg, laptop or mobile phone) or to devices that are used by the employer to register employees’ access and attendance at the workplace. In addition, the data and the information collected through such instruments and equipment can be used for all purposes related to the employment relationship, provided that the employees have been adequately informed on how instruments can be used and how the controls can be carried out, in compliance with data protection legislation. From a privacy perspective, the Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA) issued some provisions (‘Guidelines applying to the use of email and the internet in the employment contest’) requiring data processors to define internal policy for the use of internet, email and IT equipment and, in general, internal procedures for data protection purposes. The employer should inform employees in advance and unambiguously about any processing operations that may concern them in connection with possible controls. In particular, employers are required to provide in the ‘Guidelines applying to the use of email and the internet in the employment contest’ information and instructions on the appropriate use of the IT devices supplied and relevant controls (eg, monitoring), if there are any. More specifically, employers must inform their employees on what type of tools are being used, as well as whether and to what extent controls are carried out. Paragraph 1 of section 2112 of the Italian Civil Code states that in the event of ‘a transfer of an undertaking, the employment relationship continues with the transferee and the employee maintains all the rights deriving from the employment’. Therefore, by operation of law, all employees attached to the business (or part thereof) subject to the transfer automatically transfer to the transferee. In addition, the transfer is not a valid reason for dismissal. Therefore, the transferor cannot dismiss the employees on the grounds of the transfer (ie, the dismissal will be considered null and void and the employment relationship will continue with the transferee). Any dismissal made in connection with the transfer will be considered null and void unless there is a productive and organisational reason justifying the dismissal that entails changes to the workforce (restructuring resulting in job losses). Similarly, the transfer does not prevent an employee from being dismissed for disciplinary reasons. As far as individual dismissals are concerned, Italian labour law provides two different kinds of dismissal: dismissal for ‘just cause’ and dismissal for ‘justified reason’. According to section 2119 of the Italian Civil Code, a permanent employment contract can be immediately terminated without giving any notice or payment in lieu of notice for gross misconduct committed by the employee (defined by Italian law as ‘just cause’). In particular, section 2119 provides that each of the contracting parties may withdraw without any notice if a cause occurs that does not allow the continuation of the employment relationship (even on a provisional basis). ‘objective’, ie, a reason concerning the production or the organisation of the working activity in the enterprise. A dismissal for ‘subjective’ or ‘objective’ reasons does not give the employer the right to terminate the employment contract without notice. Laws No. 604 of 15 July 1966 and No. 108 of 11 May 1990 exclude ‘justified reason’ for the dismissal of dirigenti. To protect executives against dismissals, almost all CBAs for executives require that their dismissals need to be ‘fair’. As a general rule, according to the Supreme Court’s decisions, an executive’s dismissal is considered fair only when it is not based on false, arbitrary, discriminatory or non-existent reasons. Under Italian law the notice period - which is provided only in cases of dismissal with justified reason - varies depending on the CBA applied by the employer and on the seniority and level of the employee. The employer can provide pay in lieu of notice. The employer can dismiss an employee without notice or payment in lieu of notice in the event of ‘just cause’, meaning a cause that does not allow the continuation of the employment relationship (even on a provisional basis). the pro-rata amount of the supplementary monthly salary (if any). immediately following the receipt by the employee of the justification letter. The employer must communicate in advance its intention to proceed with individual dismissal to the Labour Office of the employee’s workplace, copying the same employee and explaining the reasons for the termination. This procedure applies only to the dismissal of employees (not having the role of dirigenti) hired before 7 March 2015 and employed by companies having 61 or more employees in the whole Italian territory, or 16 or more employees in a single business unit or in more business units within the same municipality (Comune). Within seven days of the receipt of the above communication, the Labour Office summons the parties before the Conciliation Office for a meeting in which the parties will attempt to reach an agreement. The procedure will terminate by and not later than 20 days starting from the day in which the Labour Office sent the communication of summoning. Should the parties not reach an agreement or, in any case, after seven days have elapsed without any summoning communication by the Labour Office, the employer can serve the dismissal. For collective dismissal procedures, see question 42. Employees are entitled to specific protection in case of null and void or unfair dismissal. dismissal null and void according to other mandatory law provisions (eg, pregnancy, maternity leave, etc). The above protection applies to all employees regardless of the level, the date of hiring and the size of the employer. For other types of dismissal, the sanctions vary depending on the type of dismissal, the size of the employer (there is greater protection for employees in ‘large companies’, ie, employers having over 60 employees in the whole Italian territory or over 15 in a single business unit or in several business units within the same Comune), the date of hiring and his or her level. pay the dismissed employee an indemnity ranging from 2.5 to six months’ gross salary. It is up to the employer to choose between rehiring the employee and paying the indemnity. The above sanctions apply only to employees hired before 7 March 2015. For employees hired after that date, the only sanction is the payment of an indemnity equal to one month’s salary per year of service, with a minimum of two and a maximum of six months’ salary. Similarly, for employees in large companies the consequences also vary depending on the date of hiring. (ii) the contested behaviour could have been sanctioned with a conservative measure according to the applicable collective bargaining agreement. In this case, the employee has the right to be reinstated, and the employer has to pay him or her the unpaid salary for the period between the date of the dismissal and the date of the effective reinstatement with a maximum of 12 months of salary. The employee will also have the right to choose the 15 months’ salary indemnity in lieu of reinstatement. Should the judge ascertain that the ‘justified subjective reason’ or the ‘just cause’ does not occur for different reasons than those set out at points (i) and (ii) above, the employee is entitled to a payment of an allowance ranging from a minimum of 12 months’ salary to a maximum of 24 months’ salary. Employees have the right to be reinstated only in a specific case of disciplinary dismissal (ie, dismissal for ‘just cause’ and for ‘justified subjective reason’), when it is proved that the ‘material fact’ upon which the dismissal was based did not occur. The reinstatement should be implemented together with an indemnity equal to the salary from the date of dismissal until the reinstatement with a cap of 12 months’ salary. As above, the employee also has the right to choose the indemnity in lieu of reinstatement. In all other cases, the employee will only be entitled to monetary compensation equivalent to two months’ salary per year of service (minimum four months’ salary, maximum 24 months’ salary). The sanctions for unlawful individual dismissal vary depending on the date of hiring and the size of the employer. Small companies would be ordered to rehire the employee or pay him or her an indemnity ranging from 2.5 to six months’ salary above mentioned (it is up to the employer to choose between rehiring the employee and paying the indemnity). As far as large companies are concerned, the employee has the right to be reinstated in the event that the fact on which the termination was based is ‘manifestly groundless’ (in addition, an indemnity for the remuneration lost, with a 12-month cap, is due). In all other cases, the employee is entitled to a payment of an allowance ranging from a minimum of 12 months’ salary to a maximum of 24 months’ salary. Employees in large companies do not have any right to be reinstated, being entitled only to increasing monetary compensation (two months’ salary per year of service, with a minimum of four and maximum of 24 months). Employees in small companies would be entitled to an indemnity equal to one month’s salary per year of service, with a minimum of two and a maximum of six months’ salary. As a residual measure, in the event of non-compliance with procedural requirements required by the law for disciplinary dismissals and individual redundancy indicated above (see question 40), the employee would be entitled to a payment of an indemnity, which varies depending on the size of the employer and the date of hiring. Small companies would be ordered to rehire the employee with a new employment contract or, alternatively, pay him or her an indemnity ranging from 2.5 to six months’ salary. In this regard, this sanction would be applicable only to employees hired before 7 March 2015, while to employees hired after that date the indemnity will be equal to 0.5 month’s salary for each year of service with a minimum of one and a maximum of six months’ salary. is equivalent to one month’s salary for each year of service (subject to a minimum of two and a maximum of 12 months’ salary) for employees hired after 7 March 2015. Should the judge ascertain that the dismissal is also unlawful for other reasons (and not only for the violation of formal requirements), the other sanctions indicated above will be applied depending on the type of dismissal. Law No. 223 of 23 July 1991 provides that in the event that the employer does not comply with all the steps set forth in the procedure for collective dismissals, the employer shall pay the employee an indemnity ranging between a minimum of 12 months’ salary to a maximum of 24 months’ salary. pay the employee an indemnity equal to the salary due between the date of the dismissal and the date of the effective reinstatement, with a maximum of 12 months of salary. Employees shall be entitled only to the monetary compensation above mentioned (two months’ salary per year of service seniority, from a minimum of four to a maximum of 24 months’ salary), with the right to reinstatement limited to the dismissal being communicated orally. Specifically, monetary compensation will also be the only remedy in the event that the employer does not comply with the criteria governing the selection of employees to be made redundant. If the dismissal is judged to be unfair, an executive is entitled to a supplementary indemnity payment provided by the applicable national collective bargaining agreement, ranging from a minimum to a maximum number of months of salary. Law No. 161 of 30 October 2014 has introduced specific sanctions for unlawful dismissal in cases of collective redundancy. In particular, in the event the dismissal of the executive is in breach of either the procedure or the selection criteria, the employer shall pay him or her an indemnity ranging from 12 to 24 months’ salary, ‘unless the national collective bargaining agreements provide different provisions on the amount of said indemnity’. Employees hired on a fixed-term basis cannot be dismissed before the expiry of the term except for just cause. The employee is otherwise entitled to the payment of the salary until that date. women: according to section 5, paragraph 2 of Law No. 223/1991, the employer must ensure that it does not make a disproportionate number of women redundant. In particular, ‘an enterprise cannot make redundant a percentage of women higher than the percentage of women employed in the job categories concerned’. The procedure provided by the law lasts for a maximum of 75 days. It is possible that a national CBA may provide a previous and additional consultation to be implemented before the one provided by the law. The employer should notify staff representatives and the relevant (external) trade unions of the decision to proceed to collective dismissal. If there are no staff representatives, the notification has to be sent to the most representative trade unions of the sector on a national level. If there is no existing works council, there is no obligation on the company to organise elections for one. The same notification also has to be sent to the competent Labour Office. Dismissals may be served within a period of 120 days from the conclusion of the procedure unless the parties have agreed a longer term. The collective dismissal procedure also applies to dirigenti (who were previously excluded from the application of the procedure). If the company and the trade unions do not reach an agreement within the maximum length of the procedure (75 days), or if they reach an agreement during the procedure, the employer is allowed to proceed with the dismissals. The selection of employees to be dismissed must follow the criteria provided by the agreement reached during the procedure or, in the event of a negative outcome of the procedure, the employer must follow the criteria provided for by the law (family conditions, length of service, technical, productive or organisational matters). Generally, employees assert labour and employment claims on an individual basis. However, it may occur that a group of employees bring one single claim against the employer in order to ascertain the same right (eg, the right to payment of a bonus arising from the company’s collective agreement). In addition, certain particular labour claims can be filed by ‘collective actors’ (eg, a trade union can bring a claim for anti-union behaviour; and the Counsellor for Equal Opportunities can bring a claim in the event of collective discrimination in the workplace). Italian legislation allows employers to dismiss employees that have reached the retirement requirements, but there is no obligation to do so (unless for certain exceptions in the public sector). The old age pension requirement in 2018 is 66 years and seven months for men and women, with a minimum of 20 years of contributions. However, for large companies the possibility to dismiss an employee that has decided (and agreed with the employer, according to case law) to continue to work despite the achievement of the old age pension requirement would be applicable only once the employee turns 70 years old (this age limit is subject to change owing to developments in life expectancy). before an arbitration court specifically appointed on the parties’ accord. In principle, arbitration is optional, so each party has the right to bring an ordinary action before the competent labour court. The employee can lawfully waive statutory and contractual rights to potential employment claims. However, according to section 2113 of the Italian Civil Code, where the subject matter of waivers and settlements concern the individual’s employment rights arising from mandatory provisions of law (such as the right to challenge the termination) or collective agreements or arrangements concerning the employment relationship, such waivers will be invalid unless the agreement is signed before a competent body (trade union, labour council or labour court). If not signed before such bodies, the waivers and settlements shall be null and void and the employee can challenge them within six months from either the date of termination of employment or the date of the waiver or settlement if agreed post-termination of employment. The employer does not have to offer the employee financial consideration in exchange for agreeing to enter into the agreement, or in order to obtain an effective waiver of claims or withdrawal from litigation that has commenced. However, this is very common in practice as an incentive to obtain the employee’s consent to the agreement. It is worth noting that employees hired after 7 March 2015 benefit from a ‘quick settlement procedure’ introduced by the Legislative Decree No. 23/2015. In particular, the quick settlement agreement consists of an offer by the employer to the employee, made within 60 days from the date of the dismissal, to pay compensation equal to one month’s salary per year of service, with a minimum of two and a maximum of 18 months compensation (for small companies the indemnity is reduced to a half and the maximum is six months’ salary). This indemnity is not subject to tax or social security contributions and will be immediately paid by the employer via a ‘cash cheque’. If the offer is accepted by the employee, all rights to object to his or her dismissal will be waived. In the same settlement agreement, the parties could also decide to waive all rights in relation to the employment relationship, but any amount granted for such waivers will be subject to ordinary taxation and social security contributions as provided for under Italian law. Depending on the type of claim, an employee’s claim must be brought within a period of time that may vary from five to 10 years. Specific rules apply in the event of termination: in this case the employee must challenge the dismissal in writing within 60 days of its communication and must then bring the claim to court within 180 days. Recently, a new law (Law No. 179/2017) has entered into force and regulated whistleblowing obligations and protections of employees adopting the organisational model (set out by the Legislative Decree No. 231, 8 June 2001), namely, the model that should be adopted in order to be exempt from administrative or criminal liability (the model is tailored to the company in light of the specific risks arising from its activities, aimed at preventing the commission of criminal offences provided for under Legislative Decree No. 231/2001). These include, for example, crimes against the public administration, computer crimes, crimes of fraud in trade, corporate crimes, crimes of insider trading and market manipulation, crimes of manslaughter and serious or very serious bodily injury, breaches of accident-prevention and occupational health and safety rules, receiving, laundering and using stolen money, goods or utilities, crimes in infringement of copyright and the crime of inducement not to make statements or to make false statements to a judicial authority, or environmental crimes. provide specific sanctions concerning fraud or gross negligence against any individuals who breach the above-mentioned protection measures; this also applies to any whistleblower who reports false information. The employee can report any retaliation or discrimination to the National Labour Inspectorate (this can also be carried out through a union representative), and any dismissal, change of duties or any other measure adopted by the employer towards the whistleblower for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons will be null and void.

2019-04-24T20:29:33Z

https://gettingthedealthrough.com/area/18/jurisdiction/15/labour-employment-italy/

One of the most distinctive things about Chaco, compared to other prehistoric settlements in the northern Southwest, is its stability and longevity. While most earlier (and, for that matter, later) villages were apparently only occupied for one or two generations, Chaco was a major center for at least 300 years, and may have been occupied at a lower level of population for another hundred or so years after the end of its regional centrality. Despite the apparent importance of this fact, however, it has received curiously little explicit attention in the scholarly literature on Chaco. This is probably because the stability of Chaco is easy to see but very difficult to explain. Any explanation will necessarily have to exist within a particular interpretation of what Chaco was, and given the enormous amount of dispute over that and the number of competing theories it’s hardly surprising that Chaco specialists have spent most of their time coming up with theories and arguing with each other, which has left little time for using those theories to specifically address the issue of stability. That is, all theories that have been proposed to explain Chaco contain implicit explanations for its stability, but explications of those theories very rarely address stability explicitly. To some extent the explanation for Chaco’s stability depends on the exact nature of the Chaco system and the role of Chaco itself within it, which is a topic of considerable dispute among archaeologists, but there are also some more general factors that probably played a role in the unusual stability of Chaco. The most important is probably the environment. The details are still a bit unclear, but it does seem from extensive research on the ancient climate that the rise of Chaco coincided with a period of unusually wet conditions that made farming more productive and reliable than it had been before in the arid Southwest. This would have made the accumulation of agricultural surplus easier than it had been before, which would in turn have increased the power and prestige of areas that were able to accumulate surpluses. This still doesn’t explain why Chaco specifically became so large and important for so long, since it’s not in a very productive agricultural area even by southwestern standards, but it may in part have just been a matter of fortuitous circumstance: Chaco happened to be where people were starting to gather, after leaving their earlier settlements elsewhere, when conditions improved and they were able to stay there longer than had been possible in other places before. Another important factor was probably trade. Chaco isn’t in a very good place to farm, but it is located in a strategic position between the productive agricultural areas further north and the mountainous areas further south, each of which may have produced things the other may have needed. It’s not clear how much trade there was in things like agricultural products, which are rather difficult to transport over long distances without pack animals, but there was certainly a considerable amount of trade in pottery and valuable goods like turquoise, and Chaco is particularly known for the amount of material found there that originated elsewhere. Some theories have posited that Chaco was a center for redistribution of goods, but there isn’t much direct evidence for this and it’s hard to determine how much stuff passed through Chaco on the way to somewhere else (because that stuff wouldn’t have left any evidence of ever having been at Chaco). What is clear, though, is that whether or not substantial amounts of trade goods passed through Chaco, an enormous amount of important material came into Chaco and stayed there. Turquoise is the best known example, but there were a lot of other things too, including exotic goods like copper bells and macaws brought up from Mexico. Whether from agricultural surplus or from trade, then, or possibly from both, Chaco was clearly a very wealthy place at its height, and it was probably that wealth that allowed it to last so long when other settlements had been so transient. Favorable environmental conditions probably played a role in the ability of Chaco to accrue that wealth, but not necessarily in a straightforward way. There may also have been other political, cultural, or religious factors that contributed to Chaco’s staying power. One thing that’s interesting to note is that while Chaco did last a long time, its end seems to have come pretty rapidly. Large-scale construction seems to have ended abruptly around AD 1130, and while a reduced population does seem to have remained in (or possibly returned to) the canyon until 1250 or so, the bulk of the population seems to have left for other settlements that ended up being occupied for much shorter periods. That is, Chaco was occupied much longer than earlier settlements, but also much longer than most later settlements. The fact that environmental conditions seem to have deteriorated as much at the end of the Chacoan era as they had improved at the beginning reinforces the impression that there’s some sort of relationship there. What Does It Mean to Be Navajo? The Park Service’s finding that the Navajos are “affiliated” with Chaco under NAGPRA is based on the fact that the Gambler story exists, not the idea that it’s true. While there may or may not be a kernel of historical truth to the story, the versions that have been recorded all contain enormous amounts of material that is clearly and obviously mythical. However, the consistency of the accounts, and the strong association with Chaco Canyon and specific locations within it that they tend to share, imply a level of connection to Chaco shared by all Navajos that (along with other traditions) the NPS found sufficient to support a finding of affiliation. John Stein and Taft Blackhorse, however, are claiming that the Gambler story actually is true. That’s the crazy part. While, again, there may or may not be some truth hidden somewhere in the story, the specific interpretations they use and the conclusions they present are almost certainly wrong. They’re starting from a widespread tradition that most Navajos probably believe in some sense, interpreting it in an idiosyncratic way, using that interpretation to shape the way they understand and present the archaeological fieldwork they do, and ending up with an account of southwestern prehistory that hardly anyone finds credible. It is true, as I just mentioned, that most traditional Navajos probably do believe that some version of the Gambler story is true. This doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that they or the Navajo Nation in its official capacity believe the version that John and Taft are presenting. That version is unusual, at least the way they present it, in focusing on the presence of Navajos and downplaying the presence of Puebloans, even though they do admit that presence. Most versions of the story that have been recorded present most of the characters in the story as Pueblo, with the Navajos certainly being present but in a more subsidiary role. I don’t know if John and Taft ever explicitly argue that most of the characters in the story are Navajo, but that’s certainly the implication of the way they present their theories and contrast them with the archaeological consensus that the Chacoans were all Pueblo. Leaving aside the whole issue of the Gambler story, however, there are a lot of other Navajo traditions involving Navajo connections to Anasazi sites, including Chaco, that are nowhere near as crazy as what John and Taft are saying. These mostly involve the origin stories of specific clans, some of which claim Anasazi ancestry and refer to origins at specific ancient sites, and others of which do not claim Anasazi ancestry but do refer to contact between the early members of the clan and various Anasazi groups. These traditions don’t get as much attention as the flashier stories like the Gambler one, partly because they are traditionally not supposed to be told to outsiders at all. If Navajo oral traditions can be used as evidence of Navajo connections to Anasazi sites, which I would say is still an open question, these are the traditions that are likely to be most reliable. The Navajo Nation’s official position, and the Park Service’s finding of affiliation, rely on these traditions at least as much as on the Gambler story in supporting claims of Navajo affiliation to Chaco. Therefore, while Keith’s article is certainly interesting and well-done, it really only skirts the edges of the major issue of cultural affiliation. Claims of Navajo affiliation with Chaco and other Anasazi sites do rest pretty much exclusively on oral tradition, but they don’t rest at all on the speculative theories John Stein and Taft Blackhorse have built out of that tradition. That’s basically the argument I was making in the last post. I recognize that so far, both in that post and in this one, I’ve just been asserting all this without backing it up beyond vague reference to published sources. That might do in an academic context, but here we’re talking about journalism, so I figure it’s incumbent upon me to support what I’m saying with some quotes. “Cultural affiliation” means that there is a relationship of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced historically or prehistorically between a present day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization and an identifiable earlier group. A finding of cultural affiliation should be based upon an overall evaluation of the totality of the circumstances and evidence pertaining to the connection between the claimant and the material being claimed and should not be precluded solely because of some gaps in the record. cultural patrimony must be established by using the following types of evidence: Geographical, kinship, biological, archeological, anthropological, linguistic, folklore, oral tradition, historical, or other relevant information or expert opinion. Lineal descent of a present-day individual from an earlier individual and cultural affiliation of a present-day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization to human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony must be established by a preponderance of the evidence. Claimants do not have to establish cultural affiliation with scientific certainty. The effect of these standards is to make it considerably easier for claimants to establish cultural affiliation, which is a reasonable thing to do given that a lot of tribes would have a hard time finding enough documentation to conclusively prove a connection to an ancestral site. When it comes to Chaco these standards still seem to advantage the Pueblos more than the Navajos, but they leave enough room for a plausible claim that a “preponderance of the evidence” suggests that the Navajos have “a relationship of shared group identity” with the Chacoans. Note that it’s a bit vague on how “group” is to be interpreted. Does it mean the Navajos have to show that the Navajo Nation as a whole is the lineal descendant of the political or cultural unit represented by Chaco? It could be read that way, but the explanations of the standard of proof seem to imply that there are other ways to read it that are to be preferred. expert opinion, geographical, historical, kinship, linguistic, and oral tradition sources were considered in determining the cultural affiliation of the above listed human remains and associated funerary objects. That sounds about right, given the NPS guidelines I quoted above. So what conclusions did these criteria lead to? Anthropological literature supports the view of many Puebloan communities that the San Juan region, which includes Chaco Culture NHP, belongs to their common ancestral cultural heritage. Archeological evidence indicates that Puebloan people were in Chaco Canyon since at least the Basketmaker period (ca. A.D. 1) and, therefore, supports the affiliation of the above mentioned human remains and associated funerary objects with many modern Puebloan communities. Continuities in architecture, ceramics, agricultural practices, food-processing technology, and rituals from Chaco Canyon’s prehistoric settlements, present-day Pueblos, and Hopi Tribe bolster claims of cultural affiliation by these communities. Furthermore, anthropological research indicates that many Puebloan peoples have additional bases for claiming cultural affiliation with the ancient residents of Chaco Canyon due to clan migrations, intermarriage, and the regrouping of communities over time. Linguistic evidence also suggests that modern Keresan speakers (Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Laguna, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, and Zia) originally occupied Chaco Canyon. Additionally, oral traditions specifically link the Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna, Zia, and Zuni, as well as the Hopi Tribe, to Chaco Canyon. Furthermore, the Pueblos of Cochiti, Isleta, San Felipe, Santa Ana, and Santo Domingo have oral traditions that refer to “White House” as an ancestral place. Some anthropologists maintain that White House was located in Chaco Canyon. Tribal cultural specialists offered expert opinion to support the cultural affiliation of the Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Laguna, Nambe, Picturis, Poaque, San Felipe, San Juan, Sandia, Santa Ana, Taos, Tesuque, Zia and Zuni, and the Hopi the Tribe, to Chaco Canyon. Similar expert testimony provided by the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, Pueblo of Jemez, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo indicated that these three communities are not culturally affiliated with Chaco Canyon. Makes sense. As I noted above, the guidelines definitely suggest that the Pueblos would have a strong claim to affiliation based on cultural continuity. The three groups that apparently claimed not to be affiliated are interesting too. The Jicarilla Apaches were in southeastern Colorado at the time of European contact, so it’s hardly surprising that they don’t have any connection to Chaco. Ysleta del Sur is a community near El Paso, Texas descended from Southern Tiwa and Piro people from the Rio Grande valley who accompanied the Spanish when they retreated from New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt in 1680. It’s a little odd that they wouldn’t claim affiliation but Isleta and Sandia, descended from the Southern Tiwas who stayed in New Mexico after the Revolt, would, but it’s not hard to imagine circumstances under which they would decide they don’t have anything to do with Chaco, which is quite distant from El Paso. The most interesting of the three is Jemez. Alone of all the New Mexico Pueblos, they seem to have actually argued that they don’t have any affiliation with Chaco despite being geographically closer to it than most. Jemez is one of the most conservative Pueblos and one of the ones least inclined to reveal anything about its traditions to outsiders, so it’s likely that the story behind this will remain untold. It’s certainly puzzling, though. In addition to the above listed Pueblos and the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation was found to be culturally affiliated with the ancient residents of Chaco Canyon based upon similar sources of evidence. Anthropological sources indicate extensive intermarriage between Navajo and Puebloan peoples occurred, and that the Navajo have traditional ties to the natural and cultural resources of Chaco Canyon. Additionally, Pueblo cultural traits have been incorporated into Navajo cosmogony, ritual, and secular practices. Historical evidence places the Navajo occupation of Chaco Canyon to at least the early 1700s until 1947. It is also known that after the Pueblo revolt of 1680, refugees from the Pueblos of Jemez, Santa Clara, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Cochiti, and Zuni joined the Navajo and were incorporated into their clan system. During the same period, the Hopi of Awatovi joined the Navajo in the Chinle area. Geographically, Chaco Canyon is within the four sacred mountains that define Dinetah territory, and within the area of Navajo aboriginal use lands established by the Indian Claims Commission. Oral traditions also link the Navajo to sites within Chaco Canyon such as Fajada Butte, Pueblo Alto, Pueblo Bonito, and Wijiji, as well as to the Chacoan sites of Kin Ya’a and Aztec. Finally, Navajo cultural specialists have also provided expert opinion affirming their cultural ties to Chaco Canyon. Navajo oral traditions link the Navajo people to sites within Chaco Canyon, and stories describe their ancestors interacting with the “Great Gambler” in Chaco Canyon when Puebloan people occupied the area. Today, of course, it’s pretty easy to say who is and who isn’t Navajo. The Navajo Nation is a federally recognized tribe with a defined list of members. Politically, then, being Navajo just means being a member of the Navajo Nation. Culturally it’s also pretty easy to determine what it means to be Navajo today. Traditional Navajo culture has been in decline for the past few decades as younger Navajos become more assimilated to mainstream American culture, but most of its key components are still in place to varying degrees, especially among older generations and in more rural parts of the reservation. This culture and its elements are quite easily distinguished from other indigenous cultures in the Southwest. Navajo society is unique among southwestern tribes in being based on a pastoral sheep-herding economy, and many of its other distinctive characteristics originate in that economic system, including the importance of weaving and the settlement pattern based on scattered, highly mobile extended family residential units living in distinctive dwellings known as “hogans” and very low population density. Other aspects of Navajo society, such as the ceremonial system and the kinship system based on matrilineal clans, are shared with various other tribes, but the combination of all these features is distinctively Navajo. It’s thought that the ancestors of the modern Navajo didn’t even enter the Four Corners until about the 1500s, almost 300 years after Chaco was abandoned. Archaeologists believe the Navajo adopted some Pueblo traits after their arrival in the Southwest. Following the Pueblo Revolt against the Spaniards in 1680, some Pueblo groups sought refuge with the Navajo. The two groups intermarried and their cultures became entwined to a certain extent. Stein and Blackhorse concede Navajo legends aren’t well represented in the archaeological record, but they counter by pointing out that there is a dearth of data on Navajo sites in general before the 1700s. So the Navajo say that plenty of earlier sites may be there; they just haven’t been found yet. But that is no longer true. The massive Fruitland gas-drilling project that’s been underway since the late 1980s just outside Farmington, New Mexico, has uncovered thousands of new Navajo sites. Richard Wilshusen, now an adjunct curator at the University of Colorado’s Natural History Museum in Boulder, was part of a research team investigating hundreds of these sites in the 1990s. In a forthcoming study, he argues that a wealth of new archaeological data, combined with other lines of evidence, show that the Navajo didn’t emerge as a distinct cultural group until between 1600 and 1650, at least 100 years after scholars once thought. Okay, so here we’ve got Athapaskan-speakers living in wikiups entering the Southwest in the fifteenth century, and dividing into Navajo and (Plains) Apache a couple hundred years later. But where is Wilshusen getting these dates? Out of thousands of sites identified during the Fruitland project, hundreds have been radiocarbon and tree-ring dated. Wilshusen is able to use these dates to trace the development of Navajo culture. He notes an “architectural shift afoot” by 1600, when residential structures became bigger. The most striking changes after 1650, he says, are the clustering of residential timber structures called forked-stick hogans, and the appearance of fortresslike pueblitos and a new polychrome pottery. It’s at this point, Wilshusen concludes, that the Navajo emerged as a distinct group. You know what would have been really, really helpful here? A mention of what the earliest dates actually are. Does Wilshusen actually have radiocarbon or tree-ring dates for wikiups in the 1400s? He presumably does have dates for the 1500s and the 1600s, since he notes a change “around 1600” involving the emergence of forked-stick hogans, pueblitos and pottery. In any case, regardless of when these dates start, we do seem to have an answer here to what “Navajo” means in the early seventeenth century: forked-stick hogans, etc. This complex of traits does seem to be clearly ancestral to the “Athapaskan” elements of eighteenth-century Navajo culture, so fair enough. This does seem relevant to the question of Navajo ethnogenesis. Does it have anything to do with Navajo connections to the Anasazi, though? Well, no. Wilshusen may or may not be right about when and where the Navajo became “Navajo” and whether the Gathering of the Clans reflects this period (and there is actually quite a bit of evidence from Navajo oral history that is compatible with his ideas, as Keith notes), but the evidence he presents has nothing at all to do with anything that happened before 1450. Even if he does have dates on wikiups from the late fifteenth century, that doesn’t say anything about when Athapaskan-speaking people entered the Southwest. He seems to think it does, but it doesn’t. Why not? Well, one way to trace a migration in the archaeological record would be to look for similar sites, plausibly reflecting a single cultural group, over the area covered by the presumed migration, with earlier-dated sites occurring closer to the origin point and later-dated sites occurring closer to the end point. In this context, that might mean wikiups starting in Canada with dates around, I don’t know, maybe 1300, and a trail of similar wikiups further and further south, ending up on the San Juan in 1450. That’s not what Wilshusen has, though. He’s only looking at one small area, at the end of the presumed migration route. He sees wikiups appearing at 1450 (apparently) and presumes that, since there aren’t any earlier ones in the area, that this represents the appearance of this group in the Southwest. And maybe it does. But he doesn’t have any evidence that it does. What if the Athapaskans had just been hanging out in, say, Utah for a few hundred years, then moved into New Mexico? What if they had actually been in New Mexico for a few hundred years, and their wikiups from before 1450 just haven’t survived, being inherently flimsy (as Wilshusen himself says, these things are hard to see archaeologically)? What if they only started living in wikiups in 1450 and had been in the same area but living in some other sort of dwelling before that? What if they had, say, been living in pueblos? Now, I want to make it clear that I’m not arguing that any of these other explanations is correct. I don’t have any particular reason to think that. My point is just that Wilshusen doesn’t have any evidence for his argument either. And this is the crucial thing about the perennial question of the Athapaskan arrival in the Southwest: There just isn’t any evidence to show when or how it happened. That’s what John and Taft mean when they talk about a dearth of Navajo sites early on, and nothing Rich Wilshusen has found changes it. Migrations are just inherently difficult to see in the archaeological record. The key word in Keith’s discussion of Wilshusen’s work is “distinct.” It occurs several times (look back up at the block quotes above to see it). That is, what Wilshusen is saying is that the Navajo only became a distinct culture group between 1600 and 1650. But they, or their ancestors, existed before then. They just weren’t “Navajo” yet. But what does that mean? We’ve already established that it doesn’t mean what it means now. Wilshusen is arguing that it refers to a specific set of cultural traits that distinguished the Navajos from other Apaches. The only clear-cut continuity that I can see is the use of an Athapaskan language. So before 1600, there weren’t “Navajos” in the Southwest, but there were Athapaskan-speaking groups whose descendants would become the Navajos. And we still don’t know how long they had been there. For the Navajo, their relationship with the Anasazi is complex, and not all ceremonialists agree on its history or nature. It nonetheless is a critical component of Navajo ceremonialism and thus, according to Navajo tradition, is not to be openly discussed. Although this stricture obtains among Navajo people, it is much more stringent with respect to conversation on the matter between Navajos and non-Navajos: non-Navajos are simply not privy to this information (in anything other than general summaries) in any context.To relate the history carelessly in an essay such as this, or indeed in any context, diminishes the power of the narrative, and thereby diminishes the core of Navajo belief and culture. are friendly and at other times hostile; sometimes people have intermarried and exchanged ceremonial knowledge, and at other times these interactions have been frowned on. Culture and interethnic or interclan relations are understood to be mutable. the coalition of what became identified as the Navajo. This is what the “Gathering of the Clans” means. It’s not so much a single event at a single, identifiable place and time, but a process of accretion, with various groups of diverse origins joining together over a long period of time to become the people we know today as Navajo. Some of these were presumably Athapaskan-speakers whose legacy was the Navajo language. Others came from the various historic Pueblos, and often maintained the name of their place of origin, and their legacy may have been agriculture, weaving, sheep, and ceremonial traditions. Yet others, the way Warburton and Begay tell it, may have come directly from the now-ruined Anasazi pueblos. We want to stress that ‘‘Navajo culture and identity,’’ like all culture and identity, is an evolutionary process; that is, Navajo did not always equate to Gobernador Polychrome, hogans, or any other traits used by archaeologists today to define Navajo. Quite right. Cultures change, and “ethnicity” is not necessarily deducible from material culture. Many archaeologists are tied to a trait list that they believe defines ‘‘Navajo’’ sites, and even the most open-minded archaeologists and ethnographers have thus far been unwilling to recognize or accept ‘‘non-Navajo’’ Navajo traits. With respect to architecture, if Navajos were highly mobile during this time, we should not expect to find hogans. Ephemeral brush structures would have been their shelter, and these would not be preserved in the archaeological record. We assert that the ethnic divisions and boundaries drawn theoretically by archaeologists do not hold up in the same way in practice. The practical reality in the Southwest for centuries has been an intermingling of peoples, through competition, religious ceremonies, intermarriage, and economic necessity. Archaeologists study material culture. That’s what they do. Archaeological theories of ethnicity, therefore, tend to be based heavily on material culture and collections of traits. Ethnography and ethnohistory, however, have clearly shown that material culture doesn’t necessarily correspond to ethnicity. Different ethnic groups can have similar physical lifestyles but quite different languages, religious practices, or other aspects of culture that set them apart from each other. Similarly, groups can practice very different lifestyle but share other aspects of culture that they may consider more important in defining their identities. And all of this is in constant flux, particularly in the Southwest. The Navajo are, in fact, practically a paradigm case of the malleability of culture and ethnicity. The “traditional” Navajo lifestyle that now seems so timeless is actually very recent in origin, and understanding what, if anything, it meant to be “Navajo” before that is basically guesswork whether it’s based on material culture or oral history. may better explain the archaeological data concerning demographics and abandonment. They’re talking here both about including oral history in archaeological interpretation and about keeping an open mind about possible contact between the Navajos and the Anasazi. Throughout their article they have presented a sober, serious case for both of these. This is, to put it mildly, not the Stein/Blackhorse approach. So where does this leave us? Are Warburton and Begay right about Navajo-Anasazi contacts? Probably not, but they certainly could be. Are Stein and Blackhorse right? No, their theories are still crazy for all sorts of reasons. Were (some of) the Chacoans Navajo? Not in the modern sense, certainly. Did any of the Chacoans speak Athapaskan languages? Probably not, but there’s not actually any way to tell based on the data we have now. Are (some of) the Navajos today descended from the Chacoans? Yes. Is the Navajo Nation right to claim to be culturally affiliated with the Chacoans? Hard to say. What does it mean to be Navajo? Everything and nothing. It all depends on how you look at it. After a longer interlude than I was intending (it turns out graduate school is a lot of work!), I have more to say on Keith Kloor’s Chaco article. I have two major criticisms of it, and while they’re closely related, I think it will be easier for me to express them clearly if I put them in separate posts. Thus, this post talks about one issue, and a later post will talk about the other, which I think is probably more important. The issue I want to address here has to do with one of the major themes Keith uses to structure the article: identity. He puts the controversial theories espoused by John Stein and Taft Blackhorse about the relationship between the Chacoans and the Navajos in the context of recent disputes between the Navajos and other tribes, especially the Hopis, over Navajo claims to cultural affiliation with many of the archaeological sites in the Southwest that archaeologists generally identify as being ancestral to the Pueblos but not to the Navajos. This is definitely a major issue, although I think it probably has more to do with contemporary intertribal politics than with issues of cultural identity. So the claim here seems to be that the Pueblos and the Navajos both claim to be the descendants of the Chacoans, and the archaeologists, judging from the evidence they have accumulated through their research, side with the Pueblos against the Navajos. If you look carefully at the article, though, this isn’t really what it says is going on. Probably the best way to think about this is to ask who is claiming what about who the Chacoans were and who their descendants are. The position of the Pueblos, especially the Hopis, is clear: the Chacoans were Puebloans, and their descendants are the modern Pueblos. All the Pueblos claim some connection, although some are more specific and forceful about their claims than others. Most archaeologists basically agree, although they are rather vague about the specifics. The Park Service, through its decision designating the Navajos as one of the tribes with an “ancestral affiliation” with Chaco, is claiming some sort of connection involving descent, although again the specifics are vague. The only people claiming a really strong and specific connection between Chaco and the Navajos are John Stein and Taft Blackhorse. They say that the Chacoans were Navajo, although they acknowledge that Puebloans were involved too, and that the modern Navajos are therefore directly connected to Chaco by virtue of being the descendants of the people there. The implication is that they speak for the Navajos in general, and that the Navajos therefore make the same claim. But do they? Well, yes and no. The answer to the question “Do the Navajos claim to be descended from the Chacoans?” really comes down to two more questions: “Which Navajos? Which Chacoans?” The Navajos are a diverse people with a population of about 300,000 divided into about sixty clans, each of which has its own origin story. Some of these stories clearly claim that the clan was originally Anasazi and joined the Navajos at some point, and a few name specifically Chacoan sites as part of the story. So members of those clans, assuming they believe the origin stories, certainly believe themselves to be descended from the Anasazi or from the Chacoans specifically. Some clans derive from quite recent migrations of people from various Pueblos within historic times, so if the Pueblos are considered descendants of the Chacoans members of those Navajo clans must also be so considered. Even below the clan level, many Navajos today are descended from women (usually) who were captured in raids on Pueblos in the nineteenth century, or from other sorts of individual-level intermarriage events in the very recent past (i.e., involving specific, named individuals from the Pueblos). In one sense, then, “the Navajos” certainly claim descent from the Chacoans, and at least some do so in a way that even the most skeptical southwestern archaeologist would accept. That isn’t all of the Navajos, though. Plenty of clans don’t claim any Pueblo or Anasazi connections, and many members of those clans would probably not claim to be directly, personally descended from the Chacoans. There are still the more general traditions about contact between the Navajos and the Anasazi, some of which, like the Gambler story, mention Chaco specifically, so even if there isn’t a relationship of direct descent, most traditional Navajos probably still believe that they have a close connection to Chaco based on their oral traditions. This is where Taft Blackhorse comes in. Keith describes Taft’s theories as “straight out of Navajo oral history,” which they are, but Navajo oral history is a complicated, multifarious thing, and there is no one canonical version of any of the stories. Note that the clan traditions I mentioned above mostly don’t fit Taft’s theories: they generally posit a sharp distinction between “Anasazi” or “Pueblo” and “Navajo,” with the clan starting out as one and ending up as the other. Even just sticking to the Gambler story, several versions have been recorded by anthropologists over the past hundred and thirty or so years, and while they all bear many similarities in their overall structure, they also differ considerably in both details and tone. To give a concrete example, the version recorded by Washington Matthews in the 1880s differs from Taft’s version not in the overall sequence of events, but in the way it presents them. While in Taft’s version the Gambler and most of the people he enslaves are implied to be Navajo, granting that there were also some Puebloans around, in Matthews’s version the Navajos show up at Chaco only after the Gambler has been there for some time and successfully enslaved many of the Pueblos. They witness him enslave the people of “Blue House” (usually identified with Wijiji), then cooperate with a variety of animal spirits to overthrow him by outgambling him. In this version, which is interesting and which I will discuss at greater length at some point, the cultural distinction between Pueblo and Navajo is clear, although both groups are present, and this is typical of most Navajo traditions about the Anasazi, as discussed in an important paper on this issue which I will talk about more in my next post on Keith’s article. I’m not saying Keith got anything wrong, exactly, in the way he wrote the article (well, except for one thing). In general, what he says is accurate as far as it goes. The problem, though, is that he seems to want it to go further than it really does. There certainly are complicated and contentious issues about identity and history surrounding Navajo claims to affiliation with Anasazi sites, but John and Taft aren’t really central to them in the way that Keith implies. While he is quite right in noting that they are very far out on the fringe of archaeological thought, it’s important to note that they’re pretty far out on the fringe of Navajo thought too. There certainly are Navajos who agree with their theories, at least in part, but I doubt there are very many who buy the whole thing. There are too many other traditions out there, and they can be interpreted in too many ways. If there is a problem with Keith’s article in this respect, it’s in the lack of other Navajo perspectives. Taft is the only Navajo quoted or even mentioned by name in the piece. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s important not to take him as a representative of the Navajos as a whole. He doesn’t speak for the Navajos. No one person can speak for the Navajos. But who are the Navajos? What does it even mean to be “Navajo”? That’s a crucial question, but one that will have to wait for the next post.

2019-04-20T16:43:58Z

https://gamblershouse.wordpress.com/2009/11/

The DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a suppresses tumorigenesis in models of leukemia and lung cancer. Conversely, deregulation of Dnmt3b is thought to generally promote tumorigenesis. However, the role of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in many types of cancer remains undefined. Here, we show that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are dispensable for homeostasis of the murine epidermis. However, loss of Dnmt3a-but not Dnmt3b-increases the number of carcinogen-induced squamous tumors, without affecting tumor progression. Only upon combined deletion of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, squamous carcinomas become more aggressive and metastatic. Mechanistically, Dnmt3a promotes the expression of epidermal differentiation genes by interacting with their enhancers and inhibits the expression of lipid metabolism genes, including PPAR-γ, by directly methylating their promoters. Importantly, inhibition of PPAR-γ partially prevents the increase in tumorigenesis upon deletion of Dnmt3a. Altogether, we demonstrate that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b protect the epidermis from tumorigenesis and that squamous carcinomas are sensitive to inhibition of PPAR-γ. Most of the cells in our body contain the same DNA. However, our bodies are made of many different types of cell, such as nerve cells or skin cells, which perform very different jobs. In each cell type only certain sets of genes encoded by the DNA are active. Proteins known as epigenetic regulators are responsible for producing the different patterns of gene activity. If epigenetic regulators are switched on or off at the wrong time, they can contribute to ageing and diseases such as cancer. Enzymes known as DNA methyltransferases are one group of epigenetic regulators. DNA methyltransferases control the activity of genes by adding small chemical groups known as methyl groups to the DNA. Two of these enzymes – known as Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b – are important during development to help cells mature and specialize into different types. Mice that lack both of these enzymes either die as embryos or just after birth. Furthermore, these enzymes are mutated or less active in some skin cancers and various other human cancers. Here, Rinaldi et al. investigated the role these enzymes play in adult mice. The experiments show that under ordinary laboratory conditions, mutant mice that lacked Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b were as healthy as normal mice. However, when the mice were exposed to chemicals that promote tumor growth, which mimics skin exposure to UV light, the mutant mice developed many more skin tumors than the normal mice. Furthermore, the tumors in the mutant mice were more likely to form secondary tumors in the lung. Rinaldi et al. found that Dnmt3a reduced the production of a protein called PPAR-γ, which helps to break down some types of fat molecules. Treating the mutant mice with a drug that inhibits PPAR-γ activity slowed the growth of the tumors. Overall, these experiments show a new way in which DNA methyltransferases act in adult animals. Future research will investigate whether drugs that inhibit the breakdown of fats could help to treat cancers in which the Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b proteins are mutated or less active. DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that regulates several aspects of gene expression, such as long-term gene silencing, transcriptional elongation, and maintenance of genomic stability (Allis and Jenuwein, 2016; Avgustinova and Benitah, 2016; Rinaldi and Benitah, 2015). It is found throughout the vertebrate genome and is deposited by DNA methyltransferases on the fifth position of cytosine (5-mC), predominantly at CpG dinucleotides. The role of DNA methylation in establishing different cell fates during embryogenesis is fairly well understood. However, if and how DNA methylation is necessary to stably maintain the identity of adult stem cells, and how this process is disrupted during oncogenic transformation, is under intense investigation (Shen and Laird, 2013). Three DNA methyltransferases are encoded in the vertebrate genome. Dnmt1 is predominantly associated with the maintenance of DNA methylation following cell division due to its high affinity for hemimethylated DNA. Consequently, depletion of Dnmt1 leads to a significant reduction of the global levels of 5-mC (Li et al., 1992; Lei et al., 1996). Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are de novo DNA methyltransferases that establish genome-wide DNA methylation during mammalian embryogenesis and adult stem cell homeostasis (Okano et al., 1999). In mouse embryonic stem cells, the combined loss of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b leads to the progressive loss of DNA methylation, suggesting that these enzymes are additionally involved in maintaining 5-mC levels (Chen et al., 2003). Recently, progress has been made in identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying the biological functions of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b by studying their genome-wide localization. For instance, Dnmt3b associates with and methylates the gene bodies of actively transcribed genes in murine embryonic SCs and human embryonic carcinoma cells (Baubec et al., 2015; Jin et al., 2012; Morselli et al., 2015). Likewise, it has been proposed that gene body methylation is responsible of most of the transcriptional changes underlying the ability of Dnmt3a to promote neural SCs differentiation, and in protecting the lung epithelium from tumor progression (Wu et al., 2010; Gao et al., 2011). We have recently reported that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are required for the self-renewal of human keratinocyte progenitors, whereas Dnmt3a is also required for their proper differentiation (Rinaldi et al., 2016). Mechanistically, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b bind to and promote the activity of enhancers in both human epidermal progenitors and differentiated keratinocytes (although Dnmt3a having a stronger affinity for enhancers in differentiated keratinocytes). Interestingly, both proteins preferentially associate to super-enhancers rather than typical enhancers. Nonetheless, they differ in their mechanism of action, since Dnmt3a (together with Tet2) is essential to maintain high levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) at the center of its target enhancers, while Dnmt3b promotes 5-mC along the body of the enhancer. These regulatory regions dictate the transcription of essential genes necessary for epidermal stem cell identity and maintenance, such as FOS, ITGA6, TP63, and KRT5. Similar to its role in mouse ES cells, Dnmt3b also binds to and methylates the gene bodies of these genes to reinforce their expression (Rinaldi et al., 2016). Dnmt3a also associates to the enhancers regulating the expression of genes such as IVL, LOR, FLG2, and KRT1 which drive the differentiation of SCs into mature keratinocytes (Rinaldi et al., 2016). Interestingly, DNA methylation at active enhancers has also been recently reported in normal and cancer-derived human colon, mammary and prostate epithelial cells (Charlet et al., 2016). However, to date, no in vivo studies have investigated the roles of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in adult epidermal function and malignant transformation. Using mouse models carrying an epidermis-specific ablation of either Dnmt3a or Dnmt3b, or both, we demonstrate that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are dispensable for skin homeostasis. However, Dnmt3a has a critical role in suppressing carcinogen-induced squamous tumor initiation, but not progression, while both Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b concertedly prevent tumor progression. We first studied the pattern of expression of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b during epidermal development, and in adulthood. At E14.5, Dnmt3a was expressed in the entire Keratin-14+ compartment comprising the basal layer of the embryonic epidermis and the hair placodes (Figure 1—figure supplement 1A). At P0, all Keratin-14+ basal cells were positive for Dnmt3a with the exception of the highly proliferative hair follicle bulb cells (Figure 1—figure supplement 1A–B). By the time animals reached adulthood, Dnmt3a levels remained high in the hair follicle bulge where most hair follicle stem cells reside (Solanas and Benitah, 2013), and decreased in the interfollicular epidermis, although some basal IFE cells expressed high levels (Figure 1—figure supplement 1A–D). On the other hand, we were not capable of detecting Dnmt3b by immunofluorescence staining in sections of developing or adult mouse epidermis (not shown), suggesting that Dnmt3b is expressed at low levels (Challen et al., 2014). In fact, RNA-seq data confirmed that Dnmt3a was enriched almost fivefold as compared to Dnmt3b in adult basal IFE keratinocytes (Figure 1—figure supplement 1C). However, Dnmt1, the main DNA methyltransferase, was the most abundant DNA methyltransferase, both in interfollicular epidermis and in hair follicle bulge cells (Figure 1—figure supplement 1C). To gain insight to the roles of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in epidermal tissue function, we generated epidermis-specific conditional knockout (cKO) mice by crossing animals containing the Dnmt3a or Dnmt3b gene flanked by loxP sites with animals carrying the Keratin14-CRE-ROSA26-YFP-cassette (hereafter referred to as Dnmt3a/3b-cKO) (Gao et al., 2011). Surprisingly, neither Dnmt3a- nor Dnmt3b-cKO displayed noteworthy epidermal phenotypical differences as compared to their wild-type littermates at different postnatal ages (Figure 1—figure supplement 1D–E and Figure 2—figure supplement 1A). Likewise, despite its strong expression in hair follicle stem cells, the loss of Dnmt3a did not result in evident changes in hair follicle cycling and pelage growth (Figure 1—figure supplement 1E–F). Deregulation of DNA methylation can alter gene expression, leading to tumor suppressor silencing or oncogene activation (Witte et al., 2014), and mutation/deregulation of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b has been observed in several tumor types (Leppert and Matarazzo, 2014; Subramaniam et al., 2014). Recently, Dnmt3a has attracted much attention, as it is one of the most frequently mutated genes in cancer (Kim et al., 2013), especially in acute myeloid leukemia (Garg et al., 2015; Ley et al., 2010). In fact, a loss-of-function mutation of Dnmt3a is one of the earliest mutations that occurs in human acute myeloid leukemia (Shlush et al., 2014). Importantly, these mutations are functional since knock-in mice that model it develop a range of severe myeloid and lymphoid malignancies (Challen et al., 2011; Mayle et al., 2015). In addition, HSCs harboring inactivating mutations of Dnmt3a are clonally selected in ageing humans (Shlush et al., 2014). However, much less is known about how deregulation of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b affect tumorigenesis in epithelial tissues. To elucidate the roles of Dnmt3a and Dnm3b in skin tumorigenesis, we first generated tumors from the epidermis using the chemically induced carcinogenesis protocol based on DMBA/TPA (Ewing et al., 1988). The first epidermal squamous malignancies appeared significantly sooner in Dnmt3a-cKO than in their wild-type littermates, after only 2 months from the first DMBA treatment, indicating that Dnmt3a acts as a barrier against tumor initiation (Figure 1A,B). Dnmt3a-cKO animals also showed a significant increase in tumor burden, with an average of 17 tumors per animal compared to three tumors per wild-type animal after 6 months of initiating the experiment (Figure 1C and Figure 1—source data 1). Dnmt3a loss shortens the onset of carcinogen-induced skin neoplasia, and increases tumor burden. (A) Representative pictures of wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO animals after 5 months of treatment with DMBA/TPA. Graph in panel A represents the percentage of animals WT (n = 6) or Dnmt3a-cKO (n = 6) that entered into anagen after 2 weeks of treatment of DMBA/TPA, p=0.02, Chi-Square test. (B) Time of appearance, expressed in percentages of skin tumors on wild-type or Dnmt3a-cKO animals, p=0.005. (C) Number of skin tumors after 3 or 6 months of DMBA/TPA treatment, p=0.001 and p=0.0007. (D) Representative images (hematoxylin/eosin staining) of different subtypes of skin tumors. (E) Histopathological analysis of the different subsets of skin tumors that appeared after DMBA/TPA treatment of wild-type or Dnmt3a-cKO animals. Although Dnmt3a-cKO animals showed a strong increase in tumor initiation and burden, they developed the same percentage of squamous cell carcinomas than wild-type mice (Figure 1D,E). Indeed, a detailed histological analysis of the tumors collected from Dnmt3a-cKO and wild-type animals indicated that Dnmt3a-cKO mice developed the same percentage of benign tumors, such as keratoacanthomas and papillomas, as well as of malignant invasive papillomas and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) (Figure 1E). Dnmt3a-cKO mice only developed an increase in the percentage of sebaceous adenomas (Figure 1E). No metastases were scored in any of the animals, as expected using this protocol in mice with a C57/Bl6 genetic background (Sundberg et al., 1997). Altogether, these results indicate that loss of Dnmt3a dramatically increases initiation of epidermal squamous tumors without affecting their malignant progression, and slightly skews the histology of tumors towards the sebaceous lineage. Dnmt3a suppresses K-Ras-driven lung tumor progression, whereas Dnmt3b is pro-tumorigenic in APC-deficient colorectal adenomas (Gao et al., 2011; Lin et al., 2006). Hence, we next tested whether Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b also exert opposing effects regarding tumorigenesis in the epidermis. Interestingly, there were no differences between wild-type and Dnmt3b-cKO mice with respect to either the timing of tumor initiation or tumor burden upon treatment with DMBA/TPA (Figure 2A-right panel). There were no significant changes in the histological appearance of the tumors, or the number of basal cells proliferating or undergoing apoptosis, between Dnmt3b-cKO and the wild-type controls (Figure 2—figure supplement 2 and Figure 2—figure supplement 3A–B). Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b double cKO animals develop more aggressive tumors than wild-type, Dnmt3a-cKO and Dnmt3b-cKO mice. (A) Left, representative images (hematoxylin/eosin staining) of skin tumors isolated from wild type and Dnmt3b-cKO littermates after 6 months of DMBA/TPA treatment. Right, time of appearance of tumors shown as percentages in wild-type and Dnmt3b-cKO animals, and number of skin tumors after 3 or 6 months of DMBA/TPA treatment. (B) Left, representative images (hematoxylin/eosin staining) of skin tumors isolated from wild type and Dnmt3a/Dnmt3b DcKO littermates after 6 months of DMBA/TPA treatment. Right, time of appearance of tumors represented as percentages in wild-type and Dnmt3a/Dnmt3b DcKO animals, and number of skin tumors after 3 or 6 months of treatment with DMBA/TPA. (C–D) Number of tumors (left) and time of appearance (right) expressed as percentages, in wild type, Dnmt3a-cKO and DcKO animals after 6 months of DMBA/TPA treatment. (E) Histopathological analysis of the different subsets of skin tumors that appeared after DMBA/TPA treatment of wild type or DcKO animals. (F) Representative images of metastatic nodules identified only in a percentage (33%) of the lungs of DcKO animals, scale bar = 100 μm. To assess whether Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b potentially play redundant roles during tumorigenesis, we also induced tumors using the DMBA/TPA protocol in animals carrying an epidermis-specific deletion for both Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in combination (DcKO). Strikingly, although DcKO animals had a severe depletion of DNA methylation in their epidermises, they formed a morphologically normal skin with all its appendages and did not develop any epidermal abnormality even up to 70 weeks of age (Figure 2—figure supplement 4A–B). This strongly suggests that de novo DNA methylation is dispensable for the long-term homeostasis of undamaged epidermis. However, when subjected to tumorigenesis, DcKO animals displayed a significantly shortened latency and significant higher tumor burden than wild-type mice (Figure 2B–F). Although these differences were similar to the ones observed in single Dnmt3a-cKO mice (Figure 2C–D), DcKO mice formed aggressive squamous cell carcinomas at a higher frequency as compared to the single cKOs of Dnmt3a or Dnmt3b (Figure 2E). In addition, metastatic nodules in the lungs were observed in 30% of DcKO animals, but in none of the wild-type, Dnmt3a-cKO, or Dnmt3b-cKO animals (Figure 2F). Recent reports show that epidermal squamous cell carcinomas that harbor cells undergoing epithelial to mesenchymal transitions are more metastatic than those that remain predominantly epithelial in nature (Latil et al., 2017; da Silva-Diz et al. 2016). Interestingly, DcKO tumors contained large areas with spindle-shaped cells that expressed lower levels of the epithelial markers E-Cadherin and Keratin14, compared to the wild type and to Dnmt3a-cKO tumors (Figure 2E, and Figure 2—figure supplement 5). These cells also expressed the mesenchymal marker Vimentin (Figure 2—figure supplement 6A–C). Importantly, these cells that had undergone a mesenchymal transition were still YFP+, thus deriving from the K14+ origin of the tumor (Figure 2—figure supplement 6). Taken together, these results indicate that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are dispensable for epidermal homeostasis, and that Dnmt3a, but not Dnmt3b, suppresses skin squamous tumor initiation. However, both Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b repress the malignant transformation of epidermal cells into aggressive squamous cell carcinomas. We next wanted to characterize the molecular mechanisms that might underlie the tumor-suppressive function of Dnmt3a in the epidermis. To this end, we isolated by FACS-based cell sorting the basal integrin α6bright tumor cells from four wild-type and eight Dnmt3a-cKO tumors, and performed whole-genome transcriptome profiling by RNA-seq (Figure 3A). It is important to note that our mouse pathologists scored these tumors as squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), and that ADFP (Perilipin-2) expressing sebaceous adenomas were not included in this transcriptome study (Figure 3—figure supplement 1A–C). Deletion of Dnmt3a results in increased tumor heterogeneity, and upregulation of genes related to lipid metabolism. (A) Schematic representation of FACS sorting strategy to isolate both RNA and DNA from Itga6pos cells within the tumors. (B) Heatmaps representing gene expression (rlog transformed values) of the 391 differentially expressed genes between wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO sorted tumor cells. (C) Two-dimensional principal-component analysis (PCA) of RNA-seq samples from wild-type (n = 4) and Dnmt3a-cKO (n = 8) Itga6bright sorted tumor cells. (D) Gene ontology analysis using Genomatix Online Software of the 114 downregulated and 277 upregulated genes in Dnmt3a-cKO tumors, divided by biological processes and over-represented signal transduction pathways. (E) Immunofluorescence staining for Krt14 and PPAR-γ of skin tumors from wildtype and Dnmt3a-cKO animals. The PCA analysis of the RNA-seq samples showed that the four wild-type tumors clustered together, indicating that overall their transcriptomes were defined by common genes (Figure 3B,C). In contrast, the transcriptomes of Dnmt3a-cKO tumors were substantially more heterogeneous, suggesting that the loss of Dnmt3a could result in the deregulation of numerous different pathways in cancer cells, or that in the context of Dnmt3a loss, different cell of origins (i.e. basal IFE cells, hair follicle stem cells, or Lrig+ stem cells) might be more prone to generate more transcriptionally divergent tumors. Nevertheless, 391 genes were consistently differentially expressed between wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO tumors, of which 114 were downregulated and 277 were upregulated in the latter (Supplementary file 1). The downregulated genes were mainly associated with apoptosis, suggesting that loss of Dnmt3a promotes cell survival and protects against programmed cell death (Figure 3D); consequently, TUNEL and active Caspase3 staining confirmed that Dnmt3a-cKO tumors had fewer apoptotic cells as compared to wild-type tumors (Figure 3—figure supplement 2A–B and Figure 3—figure supplement 2—Source data 1). Dnmt3a-cKO tumors also expressed higher levels of several genes involved in cell proliferation (Figure 3D). Interestingly, proliferation was only significantly increased in pre-cancerous DMBA/TPA-treated Dnmt3a-cKO epidermis (Figure 3—figure supplement 3A–B), while no differences in proliferation were evident between the homeostatic epidermis and tumors of wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO mice (Figure 3—figure supplement 3A–B). Altogether, this suggests that the loss of Dnmt3a endows pre-cancerous mutant basal cells with a survival and proliferative advantage, which could account for the increased number of tumors these mice develop. However, once tumors are formed, they progress with the same kinetics as wild-type tumors (Figure 3—figure supplement 3C and Figure 3—figure supplement 4—Source data 1). Gene ontology (GO) analysis of the 277 genes that were upregulated in Dnmt3a-cKO basal tumor cells highlighted two principal pathways that were over-represented in all eight Dnmt3a-cKO tumors: Wnt signaling (including ligands and receptors), and more predominantly, lipid metabolism (Figure 3D). Interestingly, recent reports have associated an increase in lipid metabolism with increased tumorigenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia, as well as colorectal, liver, oral, and breast cancer (Beyaz et al., 2016; Ma et al., 2016; Camarda et al., 2016; Ye et al., 2016; Corbet et al., 2016; Schug et al., 2015; Pascual et al., 2017; Wahl et al., 2017; Bensaad et al., 2014; Luo and Puigserver, 2016). A number of genes associated with fatty acid and lipid metabolism were upregulated in Dnmt3a-cKO tumors (Figure 3D, Supplementary file 1). Among these, the most upregulated ones encoded the key pro-adipogenic transcription factors PPAR-α and PPAR-γ, which promote adipocyte differentiation and the expression of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, and which are not expressed in homeostatic epidermal cells (Fajas et al., 2001). The role of these transcription factors in cancer is still poorly understood, although they tend to be upregulated in many types of human tumors (Fajas et al., 2001). Importantly, PPAR-γ was upregulated at the RNA and protein levels in all the Dnmt3a-cKO sequenced tumors (Figure 3E and Figure 3—figure supplement 4A–B). Interestingly, the expression of PPAR-γ has been extensively reported to be under epigenetic control by repressive mechanisms such as H3K9 methylation and DNA methylation (Wang et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2013). To further dissect the early molecular changes that might result in the tumor-suppressing role of Dnmt3a in the epidermis, we did a short (6-week long) DMBA/TPA carcinogenesis treatment (Figure 4A). We then FACS-isolated Itga6brightCD34neg cells, consisting mostly of epidermal basal cells (IFE), and hair follicle stem cells (Bulge; Itga6brightCD34pos) from pre-cancerous back skin of wild-type or Dnmt3a-cKO animals for RNA-seq analysis (Supplementary file 2). After this short DMBA/TPA treatment, most of the upregulated genes in epidermal cells (IFE) were already predominantly linked to lipid metabolism and cell proliferation, whereas they related mostly to cell proliferation, and Wnt signaling in bulge stem cells (Figure 4—figure supplement 1A–B). Interestingly, we did not observe a diminished expression of genes regulating apoptosis, as we did in tumor cells. Hence, these results suggest that most of the transcriptome changes observed in tumors upon deletion of Dnmt3a occur early, and that the transition from the pre-cancerous epithelium to tumor growth occurs subsequently by bypassing apoptosis. Dnmt3a binds a subset of enhancers in tumor cells. (A) Schematic representation of a short treatment of DMBA/TPA in wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO animals. (B) Genomic localizations of Dnmt3a determined by ChIP-seq of Dnmt3a in epidermal cells isolated from wild-type animals after 6 weeks of DMBA/TPA treatment. (C) Gene ontology analysis of the 363 H3K27ac-enriched regions (located at least 4 kb away from the TSS) also bound by Dnmt3a in isolated epidermis from wild-type animals after 6 weeks of DMBA/TPA. (D) Screenshot of enhancers bound by Dnmt3a in DMBA/TPA-treated skin in the FOS locus. All tracks are normalized to the number of mapped reads. Dnmt3a is responsible for establishing and maintaining the levels of both 5-mC and 5-hmC around enhancers and promoters (Colquitt et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2016). In addition, Dnmt3a directly methylates the center of its target enhancers resulting in their subsequent hydroxymethylation via Tet2 in human epidermal keratinocytes (Rinaldi et al., 2016). To study which targets are regulated directly by Dnmt3a during transformation of murine epidermis, we performed ChIP-Seq for Dnmt3a in DMBA/TPA-treated pre-cancerous back skin epidermises from wild-type or Dnmt3a-cKO animals (Figure 4A). We also compared the ChIP-seq data obtained with MeDIP-seq and hMeDIP-seq performed on FACS-sorted tumor cells. The profiles of MeDIP-seq and hMeDIP-seq around regulatory regions (transcription start sites (TSS) and enhancers) agreed with published data (Figure 5—figure supplement 1A), and the CG content in our MeDIP-seq/hMeDIP-seq was highly enriched as compared to the input, both of which are measures of good quality data (Figure 5—figure supplement 1B). We detected 16,483 genomic locations bound by Dnmt3a in wild-type animals, but only 64 in Dnmt3a-cKO, confirming the specificity of the Dnmt3a antibody (Figure 4B and Supplementary file 3). Of the bound regions in the wild-type epidermis, more than 20% corresponded to intergenic regions (Figure 4B). ChIP-Seq for H3K27ac using the same samples allowed us to identify 3097 intergenic regions enriched for H3K27ac that corresponded to active enhancers, 10% of which were bound by Dnmt3a in wild-type cells (Figure 4A–C, Supplementary file 3). Interestingly, proximity-based analysis revealed that the active enhancers bound by Dnmt3a predominantly corresponded to genes essential for keratinocyte differentiation and transcriptional regulation, such as Evpl (encoding for Envoplakin), Ppl (encoding for Periplakin), Fos, Myc, Cebpa, and Fosl2 (Figure 4C–D), similarly to what we have previously reported in human epidermal keratinocytes (Rinaldi et al., 2016). The active enhancers bound by Dnmt3a contained higher levels of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation than those not bound by it (Figure 5A,C). Importantly, loss of Dnmt3a significantly reduced their DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation (Figure 5A,C). Intriguingly, a significant reduction in DNA methylation also occurred in enhancers not bound by Dnmt3a, albeit to a statistically significantly lesser extent than those directly targeted by Dnmt3a in wild-type cells (Figure 5A,B). Upon deletion of Dnmt3a, DNA hydroxymethylation was also significantly reduced in its target enhancers, and to a lesser extent in non-Dnmt3a-bound enhancers (Figure 5C). However, the ratio of 5-hmC levels at enhancers bound by Dnmt3a between wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO epidermal cells is significantly higher as compared to the ratio of 5-hmC levels between the enhancers that are not normally bound by Dnmt3a (Figure 5D). This indicates that the presence of Dnmt3a correlates with significantly higher 5-hmC levels, likely because Dnmt3a provides 5-mC as a substrate for generating 5-hmC, as we have previously shown in human keratinocytes (Rinaldi et al., 2016). Depletion of Dnmt3a leads to loss of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation around its target enhancers. (A) Relative methylation score (CpG count) measured around 363 enhancers bound by Dnmt3a (–5 kb, +5 kb) from independent biological replicates of FACS sorted tumor cells from wild type (n = 2) and Dnmt3a-cKO (n = 2) (p<2.2 × 10−16). (B) Relative methylation score (CpG count) measured around 2734 enhancers not bound by Dnmt3a (–5 kb, +5 kb) from independent biological replicates of FACS-sorted tumor cells from wild-type (n = 2) and Dnmt3a-cKO (n = 2) animals (p=2.374e−5). (C) Global levels of 5-hmC at enhancer center (–2Kb, + 2 Kb) were quantified using HOMER software in independent biological replicates of FACS sorted tumor cells from wild-type (n = 2) and Dnmt3a-cKO (n = 2) mice at enhancers bound or not by Dnmt3a. (D) Ratio between the 5-hmC levels at enhancers bound or not by Dnmt3a in wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO tumor cells. In addition to active enhancers, a significant proportion (19%) of the enriched regions for Dnmt3a corresponded to promoters/TSSs (Figure 4B and Supplement file 3). To understand if Dnmt3a was methylating these promoters, we overlaid the Dnmt3a ChIP-seq with the MeDIP-seq data. Notably, the promoters bound by Dnmt3a showed a strong and statistically significant loss of DNA methylation around the corresponding TSS (Figure 6A). The levels of DNA methylation were not significantly changed at promoters not bound by Dnmt3a (Figure 6B). Of note, Dnmt3a-target TSSs were not enriched for 5-hMC (not shown). The loss of DNA methylation at the promoters/TSSs bound by Dnmt3a was also accompanied by a general increase in the transcription of these genes, measured by RNA-seq in the tumors (Figure 6C). Altogether, these data suggest that Dnmt3a directly represses the expression of a specific subset of genes by methylating their promoters/TSSs. Dnmt3a binds and methylates a subset of promoters of genes involved in lipid metabolism in DMBA/TPA-treated epidermal cells. (A) Relative methylation score (CpG count) measured around active and silenced promoters bound by Dnmt3a (–5 kb, +5 kb) from independent biological replicates of FACS-sorted tumor cells from wild type (n = 2) and Dnmt3a-cKO (n = 2) animals. (B) Relative methylation score (CpG count) measured around promoters not bound by Dnmt3a (–5 kb, +5 kb) from independent biological replicates of FACS-sorted tumor cells from wild-type (n = 2) and Dnmt3a-cKO (n = 2) animals (p=0.104). (C) CPM (Counts por Million) values of genes bound at the TSS by Dnmt3a in DMBA skin tumors from wild-type or Dnmt3a-cKO animals. (D) Gene ontology analysis, using Enrichr online software, of the 3521 genes bound at their promoter by Dnmt3a. (E) Screenshot of PPAR-γ gene, with all tracks normalized. (F) Normalized methylation score measured around TSS of Ppar-γ (–1 kb to +1 kb) bound by Dnmt3a. (G) CPM (Counts por Million) values of PPAR-γ measured by RNA-seq in sorted Itga6bright cells from DMBA/TPA-treated IFE and from DMBA skin tumors in wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO mice. (H) Immunofluorescence staining for Krt14 and PPAR-γ of DMBA/TPA-treated skin and skin tumors from wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO animals. Interestingly, a GO analysis of the promoters bound by Dnmt3a indicated that they regulated the expression of genes predominantly involved in cell proliferation and lipid metabolism, consistent with our RNA-seq results (Figure 6D and Supplement file 3). Interestingly, Dnmt3a bound the promoters of Ppar-α and Ppar-γ in wild-type but not Dnmt3a-cKO epidermis (Figure 6E and Supplement file 3). Furthermore, 5-mC levels were lower in the TSS of the PPAR-γ gene in Dnmt3a-cKO as compared to wild-type tumors, indicating a DNA methylation-dependent mechanism of transcriptional repression (Figure 6F). Consistent with a transcriptional derepression of the locus following loss of DNA methylation, PPAR-γ mRNA and protein levels were upregulated both in pre-cancerous interfollicular epidermis and in tumors lacking Dnmt3a, suggesting that the upregulation of PPAR-γ is acquired at the pre-cancerous stage, even before overt tumors appear (Figure 6G,H and Figure 6—source data 1). We next tested whether the increase in the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism was required for the earlier onset of tumorigenesis and increased tumor burden in Dnmt3a-cKO mice. To this end, wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO mice were subjected to the DMBA/TPA skin carcinogenesis protocol, but were separated into two cohorts, one treated topically with a PPAR-γ chemical inhibitor in combination with DMBA/TPA, and the other with the vehicle (Figure 7A-diagram) (Sahu et al., 2012; Grabacka et al., 2006). Interestingly, inhibition of PPAR-γ significantly delayed the onset of tumor appearance in Dnmt3a-cKO mice, and reduced the number of tumors developed by the Dnmt3a-cKO (Figure 7B–C and Figure 7—source data 1). However, the average size of the tumors was not affected by the inhibition of PPAR-γ (Figure 7D). Thus, inhibition of PPAR-γ could be a potential new therapy for cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas harboring low levels of Dnmt3a. PPAR-γ inhibition revert the tumor initiation phenotype of the Dnmt3a-cKO. (A) Schematic representation of the DMBA/TPA orthotopic treatment together PPAR-γ inhibitor (Sigma GW9662) treatment onto wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO animals. (B) Time of appearance, expressed in percentages of skin tumors on wild-type or Dnmt3a-cKO animals (vehicle and GW9662 treated): p=0.008, Chi-Square Test. (C) Number of skin tumors after 3 months of DMBA/TPA treatment plus GW9662 treatment, p=0.007 (Unpaired T-Test). (D) Tumors sizes expressed in millimeters (mm) after 3 months of DMBA/TPA plus GW9662 treatment. At last, using public available data from four different studies we determined that the expression of Dnmt3a is significantly reduced in squamous cell carcinomas and actinic keratosis, the premalignant stage of squamous tumors, compared to human healthy epidermis (Figure 7—figure supplement 1 and Figure 7—figure supplement 1—Source data 1). Dnmt3a modifies cytosine at CpG dinucleotides and is responsible for the proper differentiation of murine hematopoietic stem cells and murine neural stem cells (Challen et al., 2011; Mayle et al., 2015; Shlush et al., 2014). Recently, we and others have shown in human epidermal keratinocytes and murine olfactory sensory neurons, respectively, that Dnmt3a regulates gene expression by cooperating with Tet to maintain high levels of 5-hmC at enhancers (Colquitt et al., 2014; Rinaldi et al., 2016). Importantly, Dnmt3a is not only frequently mutated in human tumors (Kim et al., 2013) but is perhaps one of the first mutations to occur during tumorigenesis (Shlush et al., 2014). Using knockout mouse models, we now have demonstrated that Dnmt3a is also tumor-suppressive toward carcinogen-induced epidermal squamous neoplasia. Its loss not only accelerated the onset of tumors, but also increased tumor burden. However, once formed, Dnmt3a-deficient tumors grew, and progressed to carcinomas with the same kinetics and proportions, respectively, as their wild-type counterparts. Recent works have shown that the absence of Dnmt3a or Tet2 in hematopoietic stem cells predisposes to leukemia formation (Yang et al., 2016; Rasmussen et al., 2015), but that restoring the expression of Dnmt3a after the leukemia had developed did not revert the phenotype (Yang et al., 2016). That said, the role of Dnmt3a in tumorigenesis is tissue specific, since in the lung it does not affect tumor initiation but rather tumor progression (Gao et al., 2011). Interestingly, in the work of Gao et al., most of the changes in gene expression in Dnmt3a-depleted cells were attributed to alterations in gene body methylation, rather than at promoters. Conversely, in our model, we see significant changes at regulatory elements (i.e. promoters and enhancers) that lead to changes in gene expression in Dnmt3a-depleted epidermal tumors. Our results, together with accumulating evidence from other groups, demonstrates a clear relationship between the levels of Dnmt3a–Tet–5-hmC and tumorigenesis: the inactivation of this axis in adult stem cells predisposes them to tumor initiation. Interestingly, a global reduction of 5-hmC is a hallmark of several cancer types, including squamous cell carcinoma, and is often correlated with poor prognosis (Zhang et al., 2016; Liao et al., 2016; Shi et al., 2016; Ficz and Gribben, 2014; Lian et al., 2012). Our results indicate that Dnmt3a drives the DNA-methylation, and subsequent hydroxymethylation, of a subset of enhancers that regulate the expression of genes involved differentiation. Conversely, Dnmt3a binds to, and DNA methylates, the promoters of cell proliferation and lipid metabolism genes to repress their expression. Interestingly, however, deletion of Dnmt3a does not result in changes in the specification of the different keratinocyte lineages in the skin (epidermis, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands), nor their homeostasis in adulthood. What is more, even the combined deletion of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, albeit significantly reducing overall DNA methylation levels, did not result in any skin phenotype even in aged mice. On the other hand, we have recently shown that Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are necessary for the self-renewal and differentiation of primary human keratinocytes (Rinaldi et al., 2016). This apparent contradiction in the phenotypes observed might be due to the fact that our work with human keratinocytes relied on culturing the cells, which was recently shown in murine skin keratinocytes to induce a wound healing damaged-like reversible state that affects their epigenome and transcriptome (Adam et al., 2015). Thus, in vivo deletion of Dnmt3a might not be sufficient to alter the homeostasis of undamaged skin, but renders the epidermis more susceptible to situations of damage. Accordingly, the epidermis of Dnmt3a-cKO mice responded to the treatment of DMBA/TPA in a much more pronounced manner. This effect might not be specific to Dnmt3a. For instance, Dnmt1 is the DNA methyltransferase most highly expressed in epidermal cells and is responsible for about 70% of DNA methylation levels (Li et al., 1992). Its depletion causes a strong loss of self-renewal of primary human basal keratinocytes (Sen et al., 2010). However, its loss in murine epidermis leads to a mild increase in proliferation, and to a partial alopecia, only in very aged mice (Li et al., 2012). Intriguingly, these results also suggest that Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a/3b exert different functions in epidermal homeostasis, although future work will be required to study these putative differences in depth. Notwithstanding the differences between in vivo and ex vivo studies, our results show that the genomic localization of Dnmt3a is very similar between intact murine keratinocytes and cultured human keratinocytes. Besides its localization at active enhancers of genes involved in epidermal differentiation, Dnmt3a also bound to, and methylated, promoters of genes that regulate cell proliferation and lipid metabolism to repress their expression. Among these genes, were the master regulators of lipid metabolism and adipogenesis PPAR-α and PPAR-γ. Interestingly, a number of recent studies have highlighted the importance of a persistent lipid metabolism in promoting tumor transformation, and tumor metastasis in colorectal, liver, breast and oral squamous carcinomas, as well as for enhancing chemoresistance of leukemia stem cells (Pascual et al., 2017; Ma et al., 2016; Beyaz et al., 2016; Ye et al., 2016). The upregulation of these transcription factors upon deregulation of Dnmt3a might predispose the epidermis to develop more tumors, suggesting that an intriguing mechanistic link between lipid metabolism and the epigenetic regulation of tissue homeostasis through DNA methylation, might exist. A recent large clinical association study has already pointed to this by establishing a correlation between the expression of obesity-related genes and changes in the content of DNA methylation (Wahl et al., 2017). Importantly, our results show that PPAR-γ is partially responsible for promoting tumorigenesis in Dnmt3a-deficient epidermis, which considering that human skin tumors express lower levels of Dnmt3a, might provide us with a new therapeutic antitumor avenue against squamous cell carcinomas. The work with mice was approved by the Ethical Committee for Animal Experimentation (CEEA) of the Scientific Park of Barcelona (PCB), and the Government of Catalunya. Inbred male or female Dnmt3a flox/flox (C57/Bl6) backcrossed to Krt14-CRE-YFP (C57/Bl6) for six to nine generations were used for all animal experiments. Chemically-induced skin carcinogenesis was performed as previously described (Nassar et al., 2015; Abel et al., 2009), with a slight modification to yield high-frequency SCCs in the C57/Bl6 genetic background. Briefly, the back skin of 8-week-old mice—at which time hair follicles are in their resting phase (telogen)—was shaved and treated with the mutagen 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA; 200 µl of 0.25 mg/ml solution in acetone) and the pro-inflammatory and pro-proliferation agent 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA; 200 µl of 0.02 mg/ml solution in acetone) once weekly for 6 weeks. Specifically, DMBA was given on Monday and TPA always on the Friday of the same week. For short DMBA experiments, animals were sacrificed and back skins were processed 3 days after the sixth TPA application. For tumor formation studies, treatment continued twice weekly with TPA (200 µl of 20 µg/ml solution in acetone) for up to 20 weeks, or until the largest tumor of each mouse reached 1.5 mm diameter, at which point animals were sacrificed. In total, 12 wild type and 15 Dnmt3a-cKO tumors from 6 and 8 mice, respectively, were included for tumor analyses. The chemically-induced skin carcinogenesis was performed as previously described above (Nassar et al., 2015; Abel et al., 2009). We used the chemical 2-Chloro-5-nitro-N-phenylbenzamide (Sigma Aldrich: GW9662) described as potent PPAR- γ inhibitor. Briefly, the shaved dorsal epidermis of wild-type and Dnmt3a-cKO mice was treated twice a week topically with 200 µl of 100 nmoles of GW9662 solubilized in acetone. We applied the PPAR-γ inhibitor together with the first DMBA treatment, and subsequently administered it at every DMBA or TPA treatment. The PPAR-γ inhibitor was applied always 2 min before every administration of DMBA or TPA (Sahu et al., 2012; Grabacka et al., 2006). To isolate pre-cancerous epidermal cells following short DMBA/TPA treatment, back skins were dissected and processed to single-cell suspensions as previously described (Jensen et al., 2010). To purify tumor cells, DMBA/TPA-induced SCCs were mechanically dissociated using a McIlwain Tissue Chopper (The Mickle Laboratory Engineering Co. LTD). Minced tumor tissue was digested under agitation in serum-free EMEM medium without calcium containing 2.5 mg/ml Collagenase I (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, Missouri), and 0.75 mg/ml trypsin (Life Technologies) for 90 min at 37°C. Cells were pelleted, suspended in 1–2 ml of 0.25% pre-warmed trypsin/EDTA (Life Technologies) containing 100 µg/ml (Aldrich) per tumor, and incubated at 37°C for 2 min. Trypsin was inactivated by adding EMEM without calcium containing 10% chelated FBS. Cells were washed twice in PBS and filtered sequentially through 100 µm and 40 µm cell strainers. For ChIP-seq, single-cell suspensions were cross-linked for 10 min at room temperature with 1% formaldehyde (methanol-free; Thermofisher, 28906) and quenched for 5 min to a final concentration of 0.125M of glycine. Cells were washed 2× with cold PBS and frozen at –80°C. For flow cytometry analysis, epidermal or tumor cells were re-suspended at 1 × 107 cells/ml in PBS and labeled with CD49f-PE (clone NKI-GoH3, 1:200, AbD Serotec) and CD34-biotin (clone RAM34, 1:50, eBioscience) followed by streptavidin-APC (1:400, BD Biosciences). Tumor cell suspensions were additionally labeled with lineage-BV605 (CD31, clone 390; CD45, clone 30-F11; TER119, clone TER119; all 1:100) (Biolegend) to exclude stromal cell contamination. Both epidermal and tumor cells were positive for YFP due to the presence of the Rosa26-YFP allele in the mice. Tumor cells (YFPbright/lineageneg cells), pre-cancerous epidermis of interfollicular epidermis (YFPpos/CD49fhigh/CD34neg cells), and bulge hair follicle stem cells (YFPbright/CD49fhigh/CD34pos cells) were FACS-sorted using a BD FACSAria Fusion flow cytometer (BD Biosciences). Approximately, 3–20 × 104 cells were sorted and lysed in 1 ml of TRIzol for RNA and DNA isolation. After adding 200 µl chloroform, samples were vortexed for 30 s and then centrifuged at 12,000 g to separate the RNA-containing supernatant from the organic phase. RNA was precipitated with 1× volume of isopropanol, washed twice with 70% ethanol, and then used for library preparation. The interphase of the TRIzol solution (after removal of the supernatant) was precipitated adding 1× volume of isopropanol, centrifuged for 1 hr at 4°C at 13,000 g, washed twice with ethanol, and digested overnight at 55°C with proteinase K (10 mg/ml) in TE 1× buffer. The following day, digested material was incubated 1 hr at 37°C with RNase A and purified using a conventional phenol/chloroform separation. The DNA pellet was quantified, and DNA was used for library preparation for MeDIP-seq and hMeDIP-seq experiments. Purified genomic DNA (250 ng) from tumor cells was sonicated to obtain fragments of 300–700 bp. Adaptors from the NEBNext Ultra DNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina were added to the fragmented DNA. DNA was denatured for 10 min at 99°C and cooled to avoid re-annealing. Fragmented DNA was incubated overnight with 1 µg of antibodies (5-methylcytosine, Abcam cat. # ab10805; 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, Active Motif, cat. # 39769, RRID: AB_10013602) previously cross-linked with 15 µl of Dynabeads Protein A (Life Technologies). Immunocomplexes were recovered using 8 µl for 2 hr. The following morning, DNA was washed three times for 10 min each, and purified DNA was extracted using QIAquick MinElute (Qiagen). Amplified libraries were prepared using NEBNext Ultra DNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina (E7370L) following the manufacturer's instructions. The libraries of total RNA from wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO tumors was prepared using the TruSeqStranded Total Sample Preparation kit (Illumina Inc.) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Each library was sequenced using TruSeq SBS Kit v3-HS, in paired end-mode with the read length 2 × 76 bp. A minimal of 137 million paired-end reads was generated for each sample run in one sequencing lane on HiSeq2000 (Illumina, Inc) following the manufacturer’s protocol. Images analysis, base calling, and quality scoring of the run were processed using the manufacturer’s software Real-Time Analysis (RTA 1.13.48) and followed by generation of FASTQ sequence files by CASAVA. RNA-seq datasets were pre-processed by removing both low-quality bases from the 3′- ends of the reads and adapter sequences using Trimmomatic (version 0.33) (Bolger et al., 2014). The trimmed reads were aligned to the mouse genome (UCSC mm10) using TopHat (version 2.0.13) (Trapnell et al., 2009), with default parameters and –g 5. Gene and transcript expression levels were quantified with HTSeq (version 0.6.1p1) (Anders et al., 2015). From the raw counts, counts per million (cpm) and fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads (fpkm) values were calculated. Differential expression analysis was performed using DESeq2 (Love et al., 2014) using a q-value cutoff of 0.05 and a fold-change cutoff of 1.5 to identify differentially expressed genes. ChIP was performed as previously described (Morey et al., 2012). Briefly, frozen pelleted were lysed in 1 ml ChIP buffer (150 mM NaCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl, 5 mM EDTA, 1% SDS, 0.5 mM DTT, and 1% Triton X-100) and sonicated for 30 min in a Bioruptor Pico (Diagenode). DNA fragments were de-crosslinked overnight at 65°C and checked with a bioanalyzer. After a DNA check, chromatin was diluted 1:5 with ChIP buffer with no SDS (150 mM NaCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl, 5 mM EDTA, 0.5 mM DTT, and 1% Triton X-100). Immunoprecipitation experiments for transcription factors used 30 µg of chromatin, and those for H3K27ac, 3 µg of chromatin. Antibodies (10 µg for Dnmt3a and 3 µg for H3K27ac) were incubated overnight with the chromatin in ChIP buffer. Immunocomplexes were recovered with 40 µl of protein A bead slurry (Healthcare, cat. # 17-5280-01). Immunoprecipitated material was washed three times with low-salt buffer (50 mM HEPES pH 7.5, 140 mM NaCl, 1% Triton) and 1× with high-salt buffer (50 mM HEPES pH 7.5, 500 mM NaCl, 1% Triton). DNA complexes were de-crosslinked at 65°C overnight, and DNA was then eluted in 50 µl of water using the PCR purification kit (QIAGEN). Antibodies used for ChIP were Dnmt3a (SantaCruz H-295; RRID: AB_2093990) and H3K27ac (Merck Millipore, cat. # 07–360; RRID: AB_310550). Libraries for sequencing were prepared using NEBNext Ultra DNA Library Prep Kit from Illumina (E7370L) following the manufacturer's instructions. ChIP-seq datasets were aligned to the mouse genome build mm10 using BowTie (version 1.0.1) (Langmead et al., 2009); the parameters used were –k 1, –m 1, and –n 2. UCSC browser tracks (Kent et al., 2002) were created from the mapped bam file after converting it to bedGraph (normalized to 10 million reads) and subsequently bigWig format. Peak calling of Dnmt3A to determine regions of ChIP-seq enrichment over the background was done with the MACS version 1.4.1. Peaks of the methylation and hydroxymethylation datasets were determined similarly. For histone marks, MACS version two was used with parameters –broad, -q 0.01, and –g mm. ChIP-seq peaks were annotated using the annotatePeaks.pl script of the HOMER suite (version 4.6) (Heinz et al., 2010) using the UCSC mm10 annotation. The coverage depths of different ChIP-seq experiments at specified regions were also calculated using the annotatePeaks.pl script. This generated a normalized coverage value of different sequencing experiments at equally spaced bins spanning the region of interest. Bin size was set to 1 bp. For the differential regulation analysis of MeDIP-seq data with replicates, common peaks were first determined among the replicates of the wild type and KO samples separately. A consensus peakset was then created from the two common peaksets, and the read counts were calculated for all the peaks of the consensus peakset. DESeq2 (Love et al., 2014) was applied to calculate the differentially bound peaks using an adjusted p value of < 0.05. RRID: AB_2093990), anti-PPAR-γ (1:100 Santa Cruz, sc-7196: RRID: AB_654710), and anti-keratin 14 (1:500, Biolegend SIG-3476: RRID:AB_10718041); secondary antibodies were anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor 488 (RRID: AB_141708) and anti-mouse Alexa Fluor 647 (1:500, Molecular Probes; RRID: AB_162542). For immunofluorescence staining anti-5-Methylcytosine (1:100, Abcam10805, clone 33D3: RRID: AB_442823), sections (after deparaffinization and before Triton incubation) were incubated for 15 min with 2N HCL to further denature DNA. Adipophilin (ADFP, ab37516, 1:100 dilution; RRID: AB_722641). Tunel Staining was performed using the Promega DeadEnd Tunel System following the manufacturer's instructions. Pictures were acquired using a Leica TCS SP5 confocal microscope. To compare tumor burden between genotypes, we used a T-Test with 95% confidence. To compare free tumor survival differences and anagen entry differences, we used a Chi-Square test. To compare Relative Methylation Score (RMS) levels and to compare normalized 5-hmC levels between wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO sorted tumor cells we used a paired Wilcoxon Test. The same paired-Wilcoxon test was used to measure differences in RNA expression. Skin and tumor sections were stained after deparaffinization with KI67 (Abcam ab15580; RRID: AB_443209) for 60 min. After two washes, section were incubated with Power Vision Rabbit (InmunoLogic) for 45 min. Positive staining was revealed using a chromogen DAB for 5 min (Dako). Counterstain for hematoxylin was incubated for 3 min (Dako). Stained sections were scanned using a high-resolution NanoZoomer 2.0 HT (Hamamatsu). KI67-positive nuclei in the interfollicular epidermis were measured using the TMarker software (Schüffler et al., 2013). Positive and negative nuclei for the staining were trained using the color deconvolution plugin and quantified using the cancer nucleus classification plugin. 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Thank you for submitting your article "Dnmt3a associates with promoters and enhancers to protect epidermal stem cells from cancer" for consideration by eLife. Your article has been reviewed by three peer reviewers, one of whom is a member of our Board of Reviewing Editors, and the evaluation has been overseen by Fiona Watt as the Senior Editor. The reviewers have opted to remain anonymous. The reviewers agreed that understanding the role of Dnmt3a/b in skin carcinogenesis is an interesting and unresolved question. In particular, the authors convincingly and thoroughly show that loss of Dnmt3a in keratinocytes promotes increased tumorigenesis after DMBA treatment, which is intriguing. Transcriptional profiling and ChIP-seq data reveal genes altered by Dnmt3a. 1) The reviewers all raised concerns regarding the functional link between Dnmt and gene regulation in tumorigenesis. While the authors link the function to the suppression of PPAR and a lipid-type program, there are no functional data in the manuscript in support of this claim and, as mentioned below, this might be linked to a sebaceous tumor phenotype. Functional analysis of Dnmt targets is needed to extend this manuscript to more fully understand how Dnmt impacts tumor progression. 2) In Figure 1A, they authors show that hairs regrow faster after DMBA treatment in Dnmt3a cKO mice. The authors suggested that "Dnmt3a might act as a break to maintain hair follicles in a dormant state". This potentially interesting phenotype has not been studied in detail and this information as it is might be a bit distracting. 3) It is clear that DNA methylation can affect non-transcriptional mechanisms such as genome stability and DNA repair mechanisms, and there are no studies presented to assess non-transcriptional effects of DNA methylation on tumorigenesis. Have the authors looked at mutation frequency and/or genomic stability in these tumors? 4) The authors argue that Dnmt3a selectively affects tumor initiation rather than tumor progression. These claims are questionable. Tumor initiation, which is difficult to study, refers to the first oncogenic conversion of a normal cell. In this study, the authors make these claims based on the macroscopic detection of tumors which could entirely depend on an effect on tumor progression. DMBA causes h-ras mutations and such tumors are highly sensitive to the presence of h-ras, indicating that this is the key initiation mechanism in the DMBA/TPA model. Did the authors observe an increase in h-ras mutations after DMBA application? Did the authors observe a difference in the repair of such mutations? Are skin tumors caused by activated k-ras also affected by Dnmt3a or is the effect specific to DMBA-induced tumors? In any case, to claim an effect on tumor initiation in epidermal stem cells, the authors would need to study earlier steps in tumorigenesis. 5) In the studies (Figure 3) where the authors isolated alpha6-high cells from WT and Dnmt3a-/- tumors for gene expression studies, it would be important to include images of the histology of each tumor as supplemental information. How did they ensure that all tumors were of the same type? Also, since the Dnmt3a tumors progress much faster, how can the authors rule out that the differences relate to different stages of tumorigenesis rather than different genotypes? 6) The findings of increased PPAR-γ and linked genes suggest the possibility that the authors may be detecting differentiation along the sebaceous lineage in these tumors. This is actually supported by the data indicating that a higher proportion of such tumors are found in the Dnmt3a ko mice. Again, having overview images of each of the tumors with staining for sebaceous markers would be helpful to rule this possibility out. 7) The characterization of apoptosis and link to Dnmt3a should be improved. Does Dnmt3a act after DNA damage and increase the number of cells undergoing apoptosis following DMBA? The authors should check for active caspase 3 after DMBA and show more convincing Tunel staining. The Tunel staining data (now as Figure 3—figure supplement 1) should be quantified with statistics, and also it would be important to make sure that the same types of tumors are compared across genotypes. 8) The initiation of hair wave domains after hair removal in second anagen is highly variable and 6 mice (as in Figure 1A) is probably not sufficient to conclude that there is a difference between genotypes. Perhaps smaller domains were initiated and missed. When did the WT mice exhibit anagen patches? Plotting the time of first anagen patch might be more convincing (also this is not a major point in the paper). 9) The differences in gene expression reported in Figure 6C may be significant because of the high number of genes included in the comparison, but these differences are very small and not likely to be biologically important. Also, the differences in DNA methylation reported in Figure 6A are very small. 10) In the title and throughout the manuscript the authors refer to the study of epidermal stem cells. Cultured human keratinocytes under low calcium conditions cannot be accurately referred to as "stem cells". Furthermore, the stem cells within epidermal tumors would need to be studied in more detail to substantiate the claim that epidermal stem cells are particularly affected by Dnmt function. In Figure 4 alpha6+/CD34 is used as marker of interfollicular epithelial cells, which likely includes non-stem hair follicle keratinocytes. 11) The characterization of epidermal differentiation should be performed more carefully. Are the suprabasal epidermal layers normal in these mouse mutants? If deletion of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b singly or in combination has little effect on epidermal differentiation during development, and epidermal homeostasis, indicating that these enzymes are dispensable for adult epidermal stem cell function, this finding would be an important one to emphasize in the manuscript. The findings in the current study are much more plausible and in line with previous studies suggesting that reversible DNA methylation does not seem to have a prominent role in gene regulation in normal tissues (it has clear roles in irreversible silencing such as imprinting, X-inactivation, transposon silencing, irreversible promoter silencing, but a role in re gene regulation has been difficult to demonstrate outside cell culture; see for example Bestor et al., PNAS 2015). There is very little data supporting the idea that methylation and demethylation are important regulators of cellular differentiation during embryonic development; the current manuscript is consistent with this view and contradicts the authors' recently published study. The authors need to discuss the divergence in their two studies more clearly and mention this key finding in the Abstract. We agree that providing functional analysis of Dnmt3a targets, in particular PPARg, would improve the mechanistic insight of our manuscript. First, we would like to point out that we believe that the upregulation of lipid metabolism genes we observed is not a consequence of the higher incidence of sebaceous tumors in Dnmt3a-cKO mice. Although Dnmt3a-cKO mice develop more sebaceous adenomas than wild type mice, we made sure that this type of tumor was not used for any of the mechanistic studies included in our work. We apologize for not making this clear in the first version of our manuscript. To highlight this, we now have included a new figure (Figure 3—figure supplement 1) containing the histology of each tumor used of the RNA-sequencing studies, which was performed by our mouse pathologist to make sure that none was scored as a sebaceous adenoma. We have also performed immunostaining to detect the expression of ADFP to show that none of the tumors studied expressed this sebaceous marker (also included in Figure 3—figure supplement 1). In addition, we now include as Figure 3—figure supplement 4, the immunostaining to detect the expression of PPARg in each sample, showing that Dnmt3-cKO tumors (scored as squamous cell carcinomas, and not sebaceous adenomas) show high expression of PPARg. Furthermore, the RNA-seq data obtained from the short-term treatment with DMBA-TPA shows that basal IFE cells in Dnmt3a-cKO mice already start to express high levels of genes involved in lipid metabolism (including PPARg, as also shown in Figure 6H) without any sebocyte differentiation. Regarding the mechanistic studies: since we do not have PPARg conditional knockout mice available in our lab, we decided to use a well-characterized inhibitor of PPARg to address this issue. We repeated the DMBA-TPA chemical carcinogenesis protocol in wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO mice, and divided the mice into two cohorts, one treated with the PPARg inhibitor, and the other one with the vehicle. As shown in Figure 7, inhibition of PPARg significantly delayed the time of tumor appearance, and reduced the number of tumors, in Dnmt3a-cKO mice. Interestingly, the size of the tumors was not affected by inhibition of PPARg, suggesting that this TF is necessary for the early onset of tumorigenesis, but not for the growth of tumors once they are formed. These results therefore suggest that inhibition of PPARg could be considered as a new possible therapy for skin squamous cell carcinomas. We would like to thank you for making this interesting suggestion, which we believe has significantly enhanced the quality of our work. We agree that this observation could distract the readers from the primary message of our work, which is to describe the role of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in skin tumorigenesis. We have therefore decided to remove panel A from Figure 1, and to study this interesting phenotype in more detail in the future. We believe this is a very interesting question. There are several publications suggesting that the epigenetic landscape of chromatin can have a major influence in the mutational load of tumors (for instance, Schuster-Böckler B and Lehner B. Chromatin organization is a major influence on regional mutation rates in human cancer cells. Nature 2012). However, these studies are correlative and do not provide any functional data. In this sense, before we reply directly to the issue raised above, we would like to point out that we have been developing for the last 4 years a large project designed to specifically determine whether the chromatin landscape (i.e. presence or absence of different chromatin modifications, and whether the chromatin is more accessible or closed) affects the mutational frequency and types of mutations in tumors. We have performed whole exome sequencing, ATAC-seq, and ChIP-seq of several chromatin marks in different mouse models in which we have deleted a specific epigenetic regulator, to precisely determine whether altering different chromatin marks has any effect over the regional mutation rates, types of mutations, and number and type of driver mutations, in DMBA/TPA-induced cutaneous carcinoma. This ongoing project has resulted in a vast amount of results, with really interesting but also quite complex conclusions. We therefore believe this analysis is beyond the scope of this current study, as it constitutes a story by itself. Because of the complexity of the analyses and results, adding just some of the data to this manuscript would not be sufficient to explain if and how epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, shape the mutational landscape of tumors. We have studied whether deletion of Dnmt3a results in increased genomic instability by looking at the DNA content in precancerous epidermis. To do so, we treated for six weeks three wild type and three Dnmt3a-cKO mice with DMBA/TPA. We then analyzed by FACS the DNA content in proliferative (Edu+) and non-proliferative (Edu-) Itga6brightCD34pos and Itga6brightCD34neg cells. Notably, we did not observe any significant change in the DNA content between Dnmt3a-cKO and wild type cells, suggesting that aneuploidy, or other signs of genomic instability, do not occur upon deletion of Dnmt3a in the epidermis (Author response images 1 and 2). We also confirmed that the expression and localization of γ-H2AX, a marker of DNA double- strand breaks and general genomic damage, were the same in wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO tumors. We took advantage of the high quality of our RNA-sequencing to start to understand if loss of Dnmt3a alters the mutational landscape in skin tumors. We obtained between 70-110 million reads per tumor; moreover, the reads were 125 nucleotides long, 2.5X more than the conventional 50 nucleotides; and also the sequencing was pair-ended. Importantly, we calculated that each nucleotide was covered in an average depth of 150-250x in each tumor (Author response image 3). Although we do not know at the moment whether this change has any influence on the differences in the timing and number of tumors that Dnmt3a-cKO mice develop, we believe there might be a mechanistic explanation for it. Cytosine is one of the most-unstable bases, as it often spontaneously deaminates into Uracil (Gallinari et al., 1996). 5-methylcytosine also undergoes deamination, even more often than the native form, but instead it naturally mutates into Thymine instead of Uracil. In mammals Thymine-DNA glycosylase (TDG) is the enzyme primarily responsible for repairing the spontaneous deamination of 5-MethylCytosine, as part of the Base Excision Repair (BER) mechanism. TDG recognizes the 5mC>T mutation, excises the damaged base, and subsequently initiates the process to restore the native Cytosine (Jacobs et al., 2012). Interestingly, TDG interacts with many factors such as CBP/p300, ERα, but most importantly, with Dnmt3a (Li et al., 2006). In fact, the interaction with Dnmt3a positively regulates the glycosylase activity of TDG. Recent works have underscored the strong relationship between the DNA methylation machinery and the enzymatic activity of TDG (Cortellino et al., 2012; Dalton et al., 2013; Shen et al., 2013; Muller et al., 2014). Thus, altogether we believe that the depletion of Dnmt3a leads to an impairment of the activity of TDG glycosylase, resulting in the defective repair of 5mC>T mutations. Although exome sequencing of Dnmt3a-cKO HSCs and leukemias has been published, the raw data is not available (or we have not been able to find it). Thus, unfortunately, we have not been able to compare our data with theirs to determine whether this difference in C-T mutations is generally associated to the loss of Dnmt3a (Mayle et al., 2015; Celik et al., 2015). In any case, and to conclude, we therefore believe that loss of Dnmt3a does affect the mutational landscape of DMBA/TPA-driven tumors. However, studying if and how these differences impact tumorigenesis is turning out to be very complex and is part of a large separate study in our lab (as mentioned above); hence, we believe that addressing this issue is beyond the scope of this current study. 4) The authors argue that Dnmt3a selectively affects tumor initiation rather than tumor progression. These claims are questionable. Tumor initiation, which is difficult to study, refers to the first oncogenic conversion of a normal cell. In this study, the authors make these claims based on the macroscopic detection of tumors which could entirely depend on an effect on tumor progression. DMBA causes h-ras mutations and such tumors are highly sensitive to the presence of h-ras, indicating that this is the key initiation mechanism in the DMBA/TPA model. Did the authors observe an increase in h-ras mutations after DMBA application? Did the authors observe a difference in the repair of such mutations? These are very interesting questions and issues. Regarding the concept of tumor initiation versus tumor progression, we referred to differences in tumor initiation as the difference in the number of tumors that grow (or initiate) in Dnmt3a-cKO mice compared to wild type mice. On the other hand, we used the term progression to describe the transition from a benign lesion to a carcinoma. We believe these definitions are commonly accepted in the cancer field. According to these definitions, although Dnmt3a-cKO mice develop/initiate more tumors, they show the same proportion of benign and malignant lesions. Hence, loss of Dnmt3a does not favor this malignant conversion (progression) of squamous neoplasias. However, as the reviewers point out, Dnmt3a-cKO mice might develop (or initiate) more tumors due to an increase in the percentage of cells mutated in Ras. In order to determine this, we would need to perform whole-exome sequencing of sorted epithelial tumor cells from a reasonably large cohort of wild type and KO tumors (for our other ongoing studies on the influence of chromatin on mutations we are sequencing at least 20 tumors per genotype). However, using the RNA-seq data included in the manuscript, and applying the GATK software described above, we could analyze mutations in HRAS and NRAS genes. As expected, we found mutations in HRAS and NRAS in wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO tumor cells. However, and being aware that the number of samples sequenced precludes reaching definitive conclusions, the percentage of mutations in H-RAS and N-RAS was not increased upon loss of Dnmt3a (Author response image 6). In addition, the sites of mutations were the same between wild type and KO tumors in HRAS (T > A mutation), and NRAS (A >G mutations). Importantly, the HRAS mutations spotted by our analysis in Dnmt3a-cKO mice are precisely the same T>A mutation resulting in the activating Q61L transition, shown in two recent articles from the Blanpain and Balmain laboratories (Nassar et al., 2015 and McCreery et al., 2015). Are skin tumors caused by activated k-ras also affected by Dnmt3a or is the effect specific to DMBA-induced tumors? In any case, to claim an effect on tumor initiation in epidermal stem cells, the authors would need to study earlier steps in tumorigenesis. As mentioned above, we think that our results are compatible with the conclusion that Dnmt3a-cKO mice initiate more tumors earlier than wild type mice. We believe this accurately describes the phenotype. Hence, we are not sure why this conclusion is not considered valid. We are however open to discussing any suggestion to perhaps more accurately describe our results. Regarding tumor initiation, we believe we have in fact tried to provide some insights into the early steps of tumorigenesis with the short-term treatments of DMBA/TPA (showed in Figure 4 and Figure 4—figure supplement 1). We have shown that the loss of Dnmt3a increases cell proliferation and the expression of lipid metabolism genes early after treatment with DMBA/TPA (Figure 3—figure supplement 2). However, we also show that, once formed, Dnmt3a- cKO tumors do not show increased cell proliferation compared to wild type tumors (Figure 1). Interestingly, a very similar conclusion has been reached by another work recently published by the laboratory of Margaret Goodell (Yang et al., 2016), where the authors state: “The inability to slow the leukemia by re-expression of DNMT3A suggests that DNMT3A loss is important for leukemia initiation but less so for maintenance”. We have now included the histology for each tumor analyzed for gene expression as the new Figure 3—figure supplement 3. It is important to note that our mouse pathologist (Neus Prats, who is an author in the manuscript) performed the histological characterization of each tumor in a blind manner. In addition, we have now included the measurements of the time difference between tumor appearance and tumor collection for each mouse, showing the Dnmt3a-cKO tumors, although appearing before, do not progress faster than wild type tumors (new Figure 3—figure supplement 4C). The animals were sacrificed for humane reasons when the biggest tumor reached 1.5cm (as described into the methods section), but the average time between tumor appearance and this endpoint was the same between wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO tumors. We agree this was an important issue that we should have clarified better in our first version of the manuscript. First, our mouse pathologist did not score any of the tumors used for RNA- seq (or any subsequent analysis) as a sebaceous adenoma. We have also now included in the new Figure 3—figure supplement 3, the results of the immunofluorescence staining for the sebaceous gland marker Adipophilin (ADFP), for each of the sequenced tumors. We did not observe any protein expression of ADFP in any of the 12 tumors sent for sequencing. Accordingly, ADFP was not differentially expressed at the mRNA level in Dnmt3a-cKO tumors compared to wild type lesions based on our RNA-seq analysis. As a positive control, we stained for ADFP in a sebaceous adenoma, which was not sent for sequencing. We would also like to note that sebaceous adenomas are generally small and quite different macroscopically from squamous cell carcinomas, so we could easily discriminate them when collecting the tumors for FACS sorting and subsequent analyses. At last, we have also included in the new Figure 3—figure supplement 4 the expression analysis of PPAR-γ by immunofluorescence in all the 12 sequenced tumors that our pathologist scored as squamous cell carcinomas. We observed that PPAR-γ is consistently higher in all the 8 Dnmt3a KO tumors compared to the 4 wild type tumors, both at the RNA level (measured by RNA-seq) and also at the protein level. In addition, PPAR-γ is increased, upon Dnmt3a deletion, in the interfollicular epidermis after the short term DMBA/TPA treatment previous to any tumor formation, suggesting that the PPAR-γ is an early event not associated to a general sebocyte differentiation. In conclusion, we believe we now provide new conclusive data indicating that deletion of Dnmt3a results in a stronger expression of lipid metabolism genes prior to tumor initiation, that persists in squamous cell carcinomas. To properly quantify the changes in apoptosis in the Dnmt3a-cKO mice, we have stained and quantified, in all the sequenced tumors, for TUNEL and active Caspase-3. The results show a statistically significant decrease of apoptosis in Dnmt3a-cKO tumors compared to wild type lesions. These results are now included in the new Figure 3—figure supplement 2. We agree with the reviewers that is not a major point of our work, and that perhaps we need to study this phenotype in more detail and with more mice. Therefore, we have decided to remove these results from the manuscript. We respectfully disagree that the differences we show might not be biologically relevant. The changes in gene expression that occur upon deletion of Dnmt3a do in fact have a strong biological consequence regarding the timing and number of tumors that mice develop upon DMBA/TPA treatment. However, we would like to point out that the main reason we performed these analyses was to determine whether binding of Dnmt3a to promoters affected in any way the expression of the bound genes. In order to better show this, we have divided the Dnmt3a-target genes (as determined by our ChIP-seq data) based on binding strength; that is, we have separated them into the top 10%, 20%, 50% genes whose promoters are most strongly bound by Dnmt3a. Interestingly, the top 10-20% genes most strongly bound by Dnmt3a showed a stronger upregulation in their mRNA expression upon deletion of Dnmt3a compared to the top 50% of genes bound by Dnmt3a, or to all bound genes (Author response image 7). We believe these results therefore indicate that binding of Dnmt3a to promoters, correlates mostly with a downregulation of the expression of those target genes. Upon deletion of Dnmt3a, the average expression of those genes increases. We also believe that the new data we have added showing that inhibition of PPAR-γ partially prevents the positive effects of the deletion of Dnmt3a over tumorigenesis in fact indicates that the differences in gene expression that we have observed are biologically relevant. In order to verify this, we have performed a comparative clonogenic assay of cells isolated from the bulge and the IFE of wild type and Dnmt3a-cKO mice. As it can be observed in Author response image 8, Dnmt3a-cKO keratinocytes (irrespective of whether they come from the bulge or the basal IFE) show a significantly impaired clonogenic potential, just as we had previously reported in Rinaldi et al., for Dnmt3a-depleted primary human keratinocytes. Hence we believe that deletion of Dnmt3a renders primary basal keratinocytes more sensitive to situations of stress. However, we would like to point out that previous work from the laboratory of Margaret Goodell has shown that deletion of Dnmt3a does result in changes in gene expression in adult murine hematopoietic cells. It is true that these differences result in mild differentiation phenotypes (that are mostly apparent when HSCs are serially transplanted into irradiated mice). But it is equally true that these mice end up developing leukemia, which is a clear alteration of tissue homeostasis (a phenotype that is exacerbated upon the combined deletion of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b). Hence, we think that the statement: “…that reversible DNA methylation does not seem to have a prominent role in gene regulation in normal tissues (it has clear roles in irreversible silencing such as imprinting, X-inactivation, transposon silencing, irreversible promoter silencing, but a role in re gene regulation has been difficult to demonstrate outside cell culture”; is perhaps too strong, and that more in depth studies are needed to determine the exact role of these proteins, and importantly of DNA methylation, in the differentiation of different tissues. For instance we do not know if Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b compensate each other upon conditional deletion in tissues during embryonic development. Would their inducible deletion during adulthood result in the same phenotype? Perhaps the recently identified Dnmt3c, although specific to germ cells, could also compensate for the combined loss of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in somatic tissues. In addition, our results suggest that Dnmt1 is capable by itself to maintain some degree of DNA methylation in the long term in the absence of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b. In fact, our manuscript contains some evidence supporting this last point. With our K14-Cre line, we have deleted Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in the embryonic epidermis approximately at E13.5. However, when we looked at DNA methylation in old mice (over 70 weeks of age) with the combined deletion of Dnmt3a/Dnmt3b, we could still see some residual methylation present (Figure 2—figure supplement 4B). Hence, we would like to avoid concluding that DNA methylation/demethylation is completely dispensable for epidermal homeostasis, since with our KO models we have not completely eliminated DNA methylation from the epidermis. The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Development (MINECO), and the Institute supported this project in the laboratory of SAB for Research in Biomedicine (IRB-Barcelona). IRB Barcelona is the recipient of a Severo Ochoa Award of Excellence from MINECO (Government of Spain). We are very grateful to the laboratories of Rudolph Jaenisch and Rafii Ahmed for providing us the Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b flox/flox animals. LR was sponsored by La Caixa International PhD fellowship. We thank all the core facilities at the IRB-Barcelona for their assistance in our work, and Veronica Raker for editing the manuscript. The raw data for every dataset included in the manuscript can be found at GEO (GSE87412). Animal experimentation: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the European Union. All of the animals were handled according to approved institutional animal care and use committee (CEEA) protocols (SAB-13-1522) of the Scientific Parc of Barcelona (PCB). The protocol was approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Government of Catalunya. © 2017, Rinaldi et al.

2019-04-18T12:54:08Z

https://elifesciences.org/articles/21697

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E5. Transcriptional activation of heat shock genes is a reversible and multistep process involving conversion of inactive heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) monomers into heat shock element (HSE)-binding homotrimers, hyperphosphorylation, and further modifications that induce full transcriptional competence. HSF1 is controlled by multiple regulatory mechanisms, including suppression by additional cellular factors, physical interactions with HSP70, and integration into different cellular signaling cascades. However, the signaling mechanisms by which cells respond to stress and control the HSF1 activation-deactivation pathway are not known. Here we demonstrate that HSP90, a cellular chaperone known to regulate several signal transduction molecules and transcription factors, functions in the regulation of HSF1. The existence of HSF1-HSP90 heterocomplexes was shown by coimmunoprecipitation of HSP90 with HSF1 from unshocked and heat-shocked nuclear extracts, recognition of HSF1-HSE complexes in vitro by using HSP90 antibodies (Abs), and recognition of HSF1 in vivo by HSP90 Abs microinjected directly into oocyte nuclei. The functional impact of HSP90-HSF1 interactions was analyzed by using two strategies: direct nuclear injection of HSP90 Abs and treatment of cells with geldanamycin (GA), an agent that specifically blocks the chaperoning activity of HSP90. Both HSP90 Abs and GA delayed the disassembly of HSF1 trimers during recovery from heat shock and specifically inhibited heat-induced transcription from a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter construct under control of the hsp70 promoter. HSP90 Abs activated HSE binding in the absence of heat shock, an effect that could be reversed by subsequent injection of purified HSP90. GA did not activate HSE binding under nonshock conditions but increased the quantity of HSE binding induced by heat shock. On the basis of these findings and the known properties of HSP90, we propose a new regulatory model in which HSP90 participates in modulating HSF1 at different points along the activation-deactivation pathway, influencing the interconversion between monomeric and trimeric conformations as well as transcriptional activation. We also put forth the hypothesis that HSP90 links HSF1 to cellular signaling molecules coordinating the stress response. Cells respond to heat and other forms of stress by upregulating expression of a family of highly conserved heat shock proteins (HSPs) which function under both normal and stressful conditions as molecular chaperones mediating the folding, assembly, translocation, and degradation of proteins (reviewed in references 25 and 34). In eukaryotes, stress-induced expression of HSPs is regulated primarily by heat shock transcription factor HSF1, which acts through heat shock regulatory elements (HSEs) found in the promoters of HSP genes (33, 73). Under nonstress conditions, HSF1 exists as a repressed non-DNA-binding monomer (16, 53, 75), and the activation-deactivation pathway of HSF1 in metazoan cells involves several independently regulated steps (reviewed in references40 and 73). Different forms of cellular stress trigger the rapid conversion of HSF1 from inert monomers to homotrimers, and this first step is accompanied by increased HSE-binding affinity (4, 53, 55, 66, 70). Detailed mutagenic analyses have suggested that HSF1 monomers are stabilized by intramolecular interactions between several hydrophobic heptad repeats and that activation during stress involves the disruption of these intramolecular interactions, leading to formation of intermolecular coiled coils with other HSF1 monomers (16, 55, 66, 75). Thus, the suppression of HSE-binding activity under normal conditions is regulated at least in part by hydrophobic sequences within HSF1, although other regions of the molecule have also been implicated in this regulation (48). Once it has trimerized, HSF1 undergoes additional modifications to upregulate transcriptional activity which appear to be regulated independently of trimerization and DNA binding (21, 59, 76). The final step of HSF1 regulation is deactivation or attenuation. Upon removal of stress, HSF1 dissociates into monomers and ceases to activate transcription (11, 44,52). It has become clear that HSF1 is subject to complex regulation under both normal and stress conditions. First, a simple model in which HSF1 is regulated by temperature alone is contradicted by observations thathsp genes are switched on by multiple unrelated stresses and that HSF1 molecules expressed in heterologous systems are reprogrammed according to the appropriate physiological temperatures of the host cells (8, 11, 30, 53). It therefore appears that HSF1 is under negative regulation by unknown cellular factors. Second, HSF1 has been shown to be phosphorylated by several different signal transduction molecules; for example, heat-induced activation of HSF1 was enhanced by phorbol ester treatment of human erythroleukemia cells, and thus HSF1 is apparently targeted by protein kinase C (26). HSF1 has also been shown to be phosphorylated by ERK1, linking HSF1 to the Ras signaling pathway (29). The constitutive phosphorylation on serine and threonine residues and inducible hyperphosphorylation in response to stress also suggested that HSF1 is modulated by cellular kinases and/or phosphatases (4,30, 55). Although definitive correlations between different phosphorylation states and specific HSF1 activities have not been established (12, 31, 46, 72), recent evidence suggests that hyperphosphorylation could function both to increase transactivation potential and to delay the dissociation of trimers (74). In addition to phosphorylation and suppression by cellular factors, it has been hypothesized that HSPs themselves, particularly HSP70, could function as part of an autoregulatory mechanism by which cells detect stress and regulate HSF1 (39). This idea is substantiated by a number of experimental observations with various cell types: activated expression of other HSPs after mutation of thehsp70 gene in yeast (9), continued transcription of hsp70 genes during recovery in cells blocked for HSP accumulation by treatment with translational inhibitors (13), and activation of hsp genes in response to artificially increased nuclear concentrations of denatured proteins (2, 37). It has been shown that physical interactions between HSP70 and HSF1 occur both in vitro and in vivo, but these appear to be unstable, and thus the stoichiometric relationships of these complexes have not been determined (1, 3, 5, 39, 47, 53,70). In addition, different studies have shown that direct overexpression of HSP70 in cultured cells either reduced the level of HSF1 activation during induction (5, 41) or increased the rate of HSF1 deactivation (41, 54), and so the precise influence of HSP70 on oligomerization steps of the HSF1 activation-deactivation have not been fully elucidated. More recently, HSP70 has been shown to repress HSF1 through direct interaction with the transactivation domain (61); therefore, the primary autoregulatory role of HSP70 appears to be downregulation of HSF1-mediated transcription. Another well-characterized HSP, HSP90, functions as the core of several chaperone heterocomplexes that contain different assortments of noncovalently linked proteins, including HSP70 (18). Numerous studies have established that HSP90 is required for higher-order folding of certain signal transduction molecules and transcription factors (reviewed in references 7 and28) and that HSP90 functions in the later stages of protein folding after the formation of extensive secondary structure (35, 62, 63). HSP90 is thought not to be a general chaperone but rather to interact with and modulate the activity of various specific substrates, including hypoxia-inducible factor α (20), MyoD (58), steroid hormone receptors (50), the pp60v-src kinase (10), casein kinase II (15), and eIF-2α kinase (69). Together, the known chaperone function and substrate specificity of HSP90, the conformational changes associated with HSF1 oligomerization, apparent integration of HSF1 into different signal transduction cascades, and a previous report describing an interaction between immobilized HSP90 and HSF from HeLa cell nuclear extracts (42) prompted us to consider HSP90 as a potential modulator of HSF1 activity. Further, HSF1 has recently been shown to assemble HSP90 and other chaperones common to the progesterone receptor assembly pathway in vitro (43). Here we investigated the potential autoregulatory role of HSP90 by using Xenopus oocytes. Results of coimmunoprecipitation and antibody recognition experiments provide clear evidence of a physical association in vivo between HSP90 and HSF1. Impairment of HSP90 function either by microinjected antibodies or by the specific binding agent geldanamycin (GA) resulted in a significant delay in HSF1 trimer disassembly during recovery and a marked reduction in heat-induced transcription from thehsp70 promoter. In addition, microinjected HSP90 antibodies (Abs) caused the activation of HSE-binding activity in the absence of heat shock, an effect which could be reversed by subsequent injection of exogenous HSP90. Together these observations support a new regulatory model in which formation of a heterocomplex between HSP90 and HSF1 plays a key role in modulating different steps of the HSF1 activation-deactivation pathway. Oocyte manipulations, stress treatments, and microinjection. Xenopus laevis frogs were purchased from Xenopus I (Ann Arbor, Mich.). Ovary portions were surgically removed from adult female frogs, and follicle cells were removed from oocytes by treatment in calcium-free OR2 (45) buffer (82.5 mM NaCl, 2.5 mM KCl, 1 mM MgCl2, 1 mM NaH2PO4, 5 mM HEPES [pH 7.8], 10 mg of streptomycin sulfate per liter, 10 mg of benzyl penicillin per liter) containing 2 mg of collagenase (type II; Sigma) per ml for 2 to 3 h at 18°C. Oocytes were washed extensively and allowed to recover overnight in OR2 containing 1 mM CaCl2at 18°C, and only stage VI oocytes were selected for experiments. Nuclei were obtained under OR2 by scoring animal hemispheres with a needle and gently squeezing the equatorial region with watchmaker’s forceps. In some experiments, oocytes were incubated either in OR2 containing 10 μg of GA (a gift of the Developmental Therapeutics Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.) per ml dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or in OR2 with 1:250 (vol/vol) DMSO for 2 h at 18°C, rinsed, and then exposed to heat shock treatments. In all experiments, a minimum of 20 oocytes was used for each sample. Plasmid constructs used for microinjection experiments were the human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and theXenopus hsp70-CAT clones (kindly provided by Alan Wolffe, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.), which were previously described (32). Following defolliculation, oocytes were incubated for several hours at 18°C, after which healthy oocytes were selected and injected into nuclei with 20 nl of a solution containing 2 ng of either CMV-CAT or hsp70-CAT plasmid per μl (40 pg) by using a Narashige IM 300 microinjector. After incubation overnight at 18°C, oocytes were subjected to heat shock or GA treatments and then incubated for an additional 12 h at 18°C, washed in OR2, and assayed for CAT activity. For Ab microinjection experiments, Abs were diluted (1:1) in sterile H2O immediately prior to microinjection. In experiments in which the effects of HSP90 Abs on induced transcription were measured, Ab solutions (15 nl) were injected directly into the nuclei of oocytes containing reporter constructs (injected 12 h previously). Oocytes were then incubated for 30 min at 18°C, heat shocked, and then incubated for a further 12 h to allow for CAT expression. In experiments to measure the effects of HSP90, HSF1, or YY1 Abs on HSF1 binding, Abs were injected into (previously uninjected) oocyte nuclei. Injected oocytes were allowed to recover for 30 min at 18°C and then incubated at a control temperature (18°C) or heat shocked at 33°C. Protein extracts were then prepared for gel mobility shift analyses and immunoblotting. HSP90 polyclonal Abs (PAbs) and purified bovine HSP90 were gifts of R. Matts, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; anti-HSP90 monoclonal Ab (MAb) (SPA 830) was purchased from StressGen, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; HSF1 PAbs (55) were a gift of K. Sarge, University of Kentucky, Lexington; and anti-Ying Yang 1 (anti-YY1) transcription factor PAbs were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, Calif. Protein extracts and gel mobility shift assays.Protein extracts were prepared by homogenizing oocytes in buffer C (50 mM Tris-Cl [pH 7.9], 20% glycerol, 50 mM KCl, 0.1 mM EDTA, 2 mM dithiothreitol, 10 μg of aprotinin per ml, and 10 μg of leupeptin per ml) (14) in a Dounce homogenizer (10 μl/oocyte). Homogenates were transferred to Eppendorf tubes and spun for 5 min at 15,000 × g (4°C). The resultant supernatants were placed in a fresh tube and then immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80°C. DNA mobility shift assays were performed by using HSE oligonucleotide probes as previously described (19). DNA-binding reaction mixtures contained 10 μl of extract (one oocyte equivalent by volume, or 20 μg of soluble protein). The relative amounts of protein in all samples were confirmed by Bradford assays, and extract volumes were adjusted so that equal protein concentrations were added to each binding reaction mixture. Binding reactions were performed with 1 μg of poly(dI-dC)–10 mM Tris (pH 7.8)–50 mM NaCl–1 mM EDTA–0.5 mM dithiothreitol–5% glycerol in a final volume of 20 μl. Reaction mixtures were incubated on ice for 20 min and immediately loaded onto 5% nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels containing 6.7 mM Tris-Cl (pH 7.5), 1 mM EDTA, and 3.3 mM sodium acetate. Gels were electrophoresed for 2.5 h at 150 V, dried, and exposed to autoradiography with X-ray film (XAR; Kodak). In vitro Ab recognition experiments were performed by adding Abs directly in DNA-binding reaction mixtures or by mixing Abs with oocyte extracts for 20 min on ice prior to DNA-binding reactions. Immunoblotting and immunoprecipitations.Protein extracts were fractionated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (10% acrylamide) and electroblotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride membranes, and the blots were blocked (for 2 h at room temperature) in TBST (20 mM Tris-Cl [pH 7.6], 137 mM NaCl, 0.1% [vol/vol] Tween 20) containing 5% milk powder. Abs were diluted in TBST with 2.5% milk (1:5,000 for anti-HSP90 PAb), and blots were incubated in primary antibody for 2 h at room temperature. Blots were washed in TBST and incubated with secondary Ab (horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G; Bio-Rad) diluted 1:10,000 in TBST and 2.5% milk for 2 h at room temperature. Blots were washed, and proteins were visualized by chemiluminescence (Renaissance system; Dupont NEN) and autoradiography with X-ray film (XAR; Kodak). Immunoprecipitations were performed by the method described by Firestone and Winguth (17). Nuclei from nonshocked and heat-shocked (30 min, 33°C) oocytes were isolated as described above, and in each assay eight nuclei were subjected to immunoprecipitation with anti-mouse HSF1 PAb (55) or anti-YY1 transcription factor PAb (Santa Cruz Biotechnology). CAT assays.CAT assays were performed with one oocyte equivalent of whole-cell extract from uninjected or microinjected oocytes as previously described (49). A pool of at least 20 microinjected oocytes was used for each experimental treatment. The acetylated products were separated by thin-layer chromatography and visualized by autoradiography. Detection of HSP90 in immune complexes with HSF1.In this study we used the Xenopus oocyte model system to examine the potential role of the HSP90 chaperone in modulating the activities of HSF1. We have previously shown that endogenous HSF1 is a nuclear protein in Xenopus oocytes both before and after heat shock (36). Accordingly, we reasoned that endogenous HSP90 must be present in oocyte nuclei in order for HSP90-HSF1 interactions to occur in vivo. To test this, oocytes were manually enucleated and the subcellular distribution of HSP90 was determined by immunoblotting (Fig. 1A). In this assay, total protein from intact oocytes was compared directly to protein in a single large oocyte nucleus and in the cytoplasm of the same cell. Although the majority of HSP90 appeared to reside in the cytoplasm, HSP90 was clearly detectable in the nuclear compartments of both unshocked and heat shocked oocytes. Relatively equal quantities of HSP90 were detected in nuclei isolated from oocytes before and after heat shock, demonstrating that the nucleocytoplasmic distribution of HSP90 was not significantly affected by the heat stress conditions used in this experiment (33°C for 2 h). Heat shock did not result in a detectable increase in the total cellular levels of HSP90. This is in agreement with previous observations demonstrating that HSP synthesis is not significantly induced by heat shock in the single-cellXenopus oocyte (27). Identification of HSP90-HSF1 heterocomplexes inXenopus oocyte nuclei. (A) Immunoblot showing subcellular distribution of HSP90. Oocytes were incubated at a nonshock (NS) temperature (18°C) or heat shocked (HS) at 33°C for 2 h, and proteins from single intact oocytes or from the nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions were separated by SDS-PAGE along with purified bovine HSP90 as a control. HSP90 was detected with an HSP90 PAb. The positions of molecular mass standards are shown on the left. (B) Coimmunoprecipitation of HSF1 and HSP90 from oocyte nuclei. HSF1 and YY1 were immunoprecipitated with rabbit anti-mouse HSF1 PAb (55) or YY1 PAb (Santa Cruz). Nuclear extracts were isolated from nonshocked or heat-shocked (33°C for 1 h) oocytes. Immunoprecipitated material was subjected to SDS-PAGE and transferred to nitrocellulose, and the blot was probed with HSP90 and HSF1 Abs as indicated. In order to determine if in vivo HSP90-HSF1 interactions could be detected in vivo, HSF1 was immunoprecipitated from unshocked or heat-shocked oocyte nuclei by using HSF1 PAbs (anti-mouse HSF1 antiserum) (55), and the immunoprecipitated material was examined for the presence of HSP90 by immunoblotting (Fig. 1B). HSP90 was present in the HSF1-immunoprecipitated material from both nonshocked and heat-shocked nuclei, suggesting a physical association between HSP90 and HSF1. Identical quantities of HSP90 were detected before and after heat shock, indicating that HSP90 associates equally well with inactive HSF1 monomers or stress-activated HSF1 trimers. Control experiments show that the HSF1 PAbs used in these experiments do not cross-react with endogenous Xenopus or purified bovine HSP90 on immunoblots (data not shown). Also, as shown in Fig.1B, HSP90 was not detected in control immunoprecipitations with PAbs against YY1 (60), which is a relatively abundant transcription factor in Xenopus oocytes (36a). HSP90 Abs recognize heat-activated HSF1 in vivo and in vitro.While coimmunoprecipitation of HSP90 and HSF1 suggested a physical interaction between these proteins, additional evidence was required to substantiate the existence of HSP90-HSF1 heterocomplexes. In the following series of experiments, we tested the ability of HSP90 Abs to recognize activated DNA-binding HSF1 trimers. HSP90 Abs were mixed with aliquots of unshocked or heat-shocked oocyte extracts prior to DNA-binding reactions with radiolabeled HSE probes, and the effect on the migration of HSF1-HSE complexes was analyzed in gel mobility supershift assays (Fig. 2). Heat-induced HSF1 complexes were clearly supershifted by an HSP90 MAb and were disrupted by HSP90 PAbs, although in comparison to the HSP90 MAb, a relatively large amount of antiserum was required for this effect. The results of these experiments were identical for each antibody when HSP90 MAbs or PAbs were mixed directly into DNA-binding reaction mixtures without preincubation (data not shown). We attributed the retardation or disruption of heat-induced HSE bandshifts observed in these assays to specific antibody recognition of HSP90 in direct association with HSF1 trimers. This interpretation is consistent with the coimmunoprecipitation of HSP90 and HSF1 (Fig. 1). The disruption of HSE binding by HSP90 PAbs, while differing somewhat from the clear supershift by the MAb, was similar to the results of supershift experiments with HSF1 PAbs (see Fig. 4B) (19). It is likely that recognition of multiple epitopes by PAbs present in HSP90 antiserum interfered with HSP90-dependent DNA-binding activities of HSF1. Recognition of the heat shock-activated DNA-binding form of HSF1 in gel mobility shift assays by HSP90 Abs. Aliquots of nonshocked (NS) or heat-shocked (HS) oocyte extracts were mixed with HSP90 MAb or PAbs (antiserum) and incubated for 30 min prior to DNA-binding reactions with a 32P-labeled HSE probe, and the migration of HSF1-HSE complexes was analyzed in gel mobility shift assays. Lanes in which extracts were not mixed with antibodies are indicated (−), and the final antibody dilutions in the extract incubations are indicated above the panel. Positions of the nonspecific binding activity (ns) and heat-induced (HSF1) and supershifted (HSF1 + ab) complexes are indicated. We next determined if the physical association between HSP90 and HSF1 implied by in vitro supershift experiments could be detected in vivo. A series of experiments in which HSP90 was targeted by direct introduction of HSP90 Abs into oocyte nuclei was performed. It was important, however, to first evaluate the efficacy of the Ab injection technique. Initial experiments were aimed at determining the stability of injected Abs during heat shock, as well as any quantitative effects that Ab injection might have on endogenous HSP90 levels. Following nuclear microinjection of HSP90 MAb, oocytes were allowed to recover for 1 h at 18°C and then were further incubated under nonshock or heat shock conditions (18 or 33°C for 2 h). Cell homogenates were then examined for the presence of anti-HSP90 MAbs by immunoblotting; in this experiment injected Abs were recognized by the secondary Ab used to detect endogenous HSP90 (Fig.3A). The results show that both the quantity and apparent molecular sizes of microinjected MAbs were similar before and after heat shock and also that HSP90 levels were not affected by the presence of MAbs. Thus, it appeared that this technique could effectively be used to target or sequester HSP90 into immune complexes in vivo without affecting total HSP90 concentrations. HSP90 interacts with HSF1 in vivo. (A) Immunoblot of nonshocked (NS) and heat-shocked (33°C, 2 h) oocytes that were either uninjected or microinjected with HSP90 MAb. HSP90 was detected with HSP90 primary Ab, and injected HSP90 Ab was detected with the secondary antibody (as described in Materials and Methods). Endogenous oocyte HSP90 and injected HSP90 MAbs present in extracts are indicated on the right. The positions of molecular mass standards are indicated on the left. (B) The migration of HSF1-HSE complexes was analyzed by gel mobility shift assay of uninjected or HSP90 MAb-injected oocytes that were not shocked (NS) or heat shocked (HS) at 33°C for the times indicated. The heat-activated HSF-HSE (HSF1) and HSP90 Ab-supershifted (HSF1+ab) complexes are indicated on the right. ns, nonspecific binding activity. (C) An experiment similar to that for panel B was performed with HSP90 antiserum (pAb). The effect of microinjected HSP90 Abs on the DNA-binding activity of HSF1 was analyzed both before and after heat shock. HSP90 MAbs significantly retarded the mobility of heat shock-induced HSF1-HSE complexes (Fig. 3B). The relative amounts of induced HSF1 were similar in both uninjected and HSP90 MAb-injected oocytes, indicating that these antibodies did not suppress trimerization or the DNA-binding activity of HSF1. Supershift of heat shock-induced HSF1-HSE complexes was not observed after injection of HSP90 PAbs (Fig. 3C), but this was not surprising, since the maximum volume of antiserum that could be injected into oocyte nuclei was much less than the amount required to disrupt HSF1-HSE bandshifts in vitro (Fig. 2). Despite the differences between the effects of HSP90 MAb and PAbs seen in these experiments, the overall results of Ab injections are consistent with our interpretations of immunoprecipitation and in vitro gel supershift experiments and provide further evidence that HSP90 associates with HSF1 in vivo. HSP90 associates with HSF1 in vivo.In control experiments we also tested the effects of microinjected HSF1 Abs on HSF1 in vivo. We have previously shown that anti-mouse HSF1 PAbs (55) supershift or obliterate stress-activated HSF1 complexes in oocyte extracts in vitro (19). Similar to the results of in vitro gel supershifts, direct nuclear injection of HSF1 antiserum appeared to completely inhibit the formation of HSF1-HSE complexes in response to heat shock (Fig. 4B). We could not, however, distinguish between the possibility that HSF1 Abs actually bound to and inhibited the trimerization of inactive HSF1 monomers prior to heat shock and the possibility that HSF1 Ab-supershifted complexes were simply not detectable in these gel shift assays. The results of control experiments also showed that heat shock-induced HSF1-HSE complexes were not affected by sham nuclear injection of H2O or nuclear injection of Abs against the transcription factor YY1 (Fig. 4B), indicating that the supershift of heat-induced HSF1-HSE complexes by microinjected HSP90 Abs was attributable to specific effects on HSP90 in vivo. HSP90 Abs activate the HSE-binding activity of HSF1 under nonstress conditions. (A) Left, gel mobility shift assay of uninjected oocytes (−) and HSP90 Ab-injected oocytes (MAb or PAb) that were incubated at nonshock temperatures (NS) or heat shocked for 1 h (HS). The positions of heat-activated or Ab-activated HSF1-HSE complexes (HSF1) and HSP90 Ab-supershifted complexes (HSF1 + ab) are indicated. Right, gel mobility shift assay showing the effects of coinjected bovine HSP90 on the formation of HSF1-HSE complexes. In the third lane (+HSP90), 50 ng of purified bovine HSP90 was injected into oocytes 2 h after injection of HSP90 PAbs, and extracts were made following incubation at a nonshock temperature for a further 1 h. ns, nonspecific binding. (B) Bottom, gel mobility shift assay of oocytes injected with PAbs against YY1 (Santa Cruz; see Materials and Methods). Top, comparison of the activation of HSF1 in uninjected (uninj) and sham-injected (H2O) or HSF1 antiserum-injected (HSF1 PAb) (55) oocytes. (C) Recognition of HSF1 by microinjected HSP90 Abs occurred in vivo. A gel mobility shift assay was performed with uninjected (−) or HSP90 MAb-injected oocytes. In some lanes, HSP90 MAb or purified bovine HSP90 was added to extracts as indicated below the panel. HSP90 (1 μg) was added to Ab-injected oocytes at the time of homogenization (fifth lane from left), and HSP90 MAb or protein (1 μg) was added to uninjected heat-shocked oocyte extracts just prior to DNA-binding reactions (seventh and eighth lanes from left). HSP90 Abs induce HSE binding in the absence of heat shock.In the mobility gel shift assay with the results shown in Fig. 3B, HSF1-HSE complexes were not observed in unshocked oocytes after nuclear injection of an HSP90 MAb; however, in repeated experiments HSF1 appeared to be induced by the same MAb in the absence of heat shock (Fig. 4A). Similar heat shock-independent activation was also observed in experiments with microinjected PAbs in HSP90 antiserum (Fig. 3C and4A). Thus, it appeared that injection of HSP90 Abs mimicked the effects of heat shock in eliciting the DNA-binding activity of HSF1. The mobility of HSF1-HSE complexes induced by injected HSP90 Abs in unshocked oocytes did not appear to be supershifted but was similar to that of the heat-induced complexes in uninjected cells (Fig. 3C and4A). This suggested that Ab-induced activation may have been the result of Ab interaction with HSP90 not in direct contact with HSF1. Several control experiments were performed to determine if the activation of HSF1 under nonshock conditions by microinjected HSP90 Abs was attributable to specific effects on HSP90 in vivo. First, induction of HSE binding by HSP90 Abs could be reversed by subsequent injection of 50 ng of purified HSP90 (Fig. 4A). Second, sham injection or the nuclear presence of YY1 or HSF1 Abs did not induce HSE binding in the absence of heat shock (Fig. 4B). Thus, HSF1 activation by HSP90 Abs was not due to stress caused by the injection procedure and/or the presence of nonspecific antibodies alone but rather was a result of specific Ab interactions with HSP90 in vivo. Since injected HSP90 Abs probably inhibit or disrupt HSP90 function in vivo, these results indicate that HSP90 participates in repression of trimerization, or maintaining the monomeric state of HSF1, under nonshock conditions. We also found that gel supershifts of activated HSF1-HSE complexes by HSP90 MAb added in vitro could be quenched or inhibited by the addition of excess purified HSP90 (1 μg/oocyte) to DNA-binding reaction mixtures (Fig. 4C). Addition of the same quantity of excess HSP90 to heat-shocked oocytes immediately upon homogenization did not suppress the supershift of HSF1-HSE complexes by injected HSP90 MAb (Fig. 4C). We therefore conclude that the effects on HSF1-HSE complexes observed after microinjection of HSP90 MAbs were the result of Ab interactions occurring in vivo. Nuclear injection of HSP90 Abs delays attenuation of HSF1-binding activity.Taken together, the established role of HSP90 as a protein-folding chaperone targeting specific cellular substrates, the known structural changes associated with HSF1 oligomerization, and the results here of immunoprecipitation and antibody recognition experiments demonstrating association between HSP90 and HSF1 and activation of HSF1 by microinjected HSP90 Abs suggested that HSP90 could function as a modulator of HSF1 activity. To examine this further, we analyzed the effects of microinjected HSP90 Abs on the DNA-binding properties of HSF1 during the deactivation phase of the heat shock response. Since HSF1-HSE complexes persist indefinitely throughout prolonged heat shock treatments of oocytes (19), we could not monitor HSF1 deactivation during continuous stress. Instead, we compared attenuation of HSE binding in uninjected and HSP90 Ab-injected oocytes recovering at 18°C from a 33°C heat shock. As shown in Fig. 5, microinjected HSP90 MAbs caused a significant delay in the attenuation of HSE-binding activity relative to that for uninjected controls. The result of this experiment suggested that disruption of the chaperoning ability of HSP90 in vivo decreased the rate of HSF1 trimer disassembly. Thus, it appears that, in addition to suppressing trimerization, HSP90 also plays a role in the conformational changes required for the reverse step of HSF1 trimerization. HSP90 Abs delay the deactivation of HSF1 in vivo. Uninjected or HSP90 MAb-injected oocytes were subjected to a heat shock at 33°C for 1 h (HS) and then allowed to recover at 18°C for the periods of time indicated, and the HSE-binding activity of HSF1 was analyzed by gel mobility shift assay. Both heat-induced and supershifted complexes are indicated as HSF1 at the left. ns, nonspecific binding activity. HSP90 Abs inhibit HSF1-mediated transcription fromhsp70 promoter.The transcriptional activation domain of HSF1 is regulated independently of trimerization, and it has been hypothesized that full induction requires additional conformational changes (21, 59, 76). We postulated that HSP90-HSF1 interactions might also have a functional impact on heat-inducible transcription. To investigate this possibility, we measured the effect of HSP90 Abs on heat-inducible expression fromhsp70-CAT reporter constructs. Nuclear injection of HSP90 Abs resulted in a significant reduction of heat-induced CAT activity (Fig. 6A). The negative effect on HSF1-mediated CAT expression implied that binding of Abs to HSP90 in vivo could disrupt transactivation by HSF1 under heat shock conditions. In order to rule out the possibility that injected HSP90 Abs had a general inhibitory effect on transcription and/or CAT, parallel experiments were performed with CMV-CAT reporter constructs (Fig. 6A). The results show that expression from the CMV promoter was not affected by anti-HSP90. In additional control experiments, we assessed the effects of HSF1 Abs on heat shock-induced expression ofhsp70-CAT. The results show that CAT activity was downregulated by HSF1 antiserum (Fig. 6B), and, as was the case for HSP90 MAbs, expression from the CMV promoter was not affected by HSF1 antiserum. Thus, the negative effects of both HSP90 and HSF1 Abs appeared to be specific to HSF1. On the basis of these expression assays, we suggest that HSP90 Ab interactions with HSF1-HSP90 heterocomplexes in vivo hindered or inhibited physical changes to HSF1 required for the acquisition of full transcriptional competence in response to heat shock. We have not ruled out the possibility that the inhibitory effect of injected Abs was exerted through interaction with uncomplexed HSP90 molecules. It is also possible that HSP90 must dissociate from HSF1 trimers before transcriptional activation, and therefore Abs may have sterically inhibited conformational changes to the HSF1 activation domain. Microinjected HSP90 Abs inhibit the heat-induced transcriptional activity of HSF1. (A) CAT assay of oocytes microinjected with hsp70-CAT (left) or CMV-CAT (right). Oocytes were injected with HSP90 MAb 1 h before heat shock (33°C for 1 h) treatment (HS), and the expression from each promoter was compared directly to that in similarly treated oocytes without injected Ab. Each experiment was repeated at least five times with different batches of oocytes, yielding similar results. The positions of unacetylated (Cm) and acetylated (Ac) forms of [14C,]chloramphenicol are indicated on the left of each panel. Background CAT activity of non-plasmid-injected oocytes is shown in the right panel (cont). NS, no heat shock. (B) CAT assay of oocytes microinjected with reporters as described above. HSF1 PAbs were injected into oocyte nuclei essentially as described above for HSP90 Ab. Effect of GA on the DNA-binding and transcriptional activities of HSF1.In order to rule out potential artifacts of microinjected Abs, we examined the role of HSP90 in regulating HSF1 activities by an alternative method involving treatment of cells with GA. GA is a fungal benzoquinoid ansamycin known to block HSP90 function (65,71). GA binds specifically to HSP90 at the ATP-binding domain (22, 51, 67) and prevents HSP90-mediated renaturation of proteins (24, 56, 68). GA has been shown to inhibit the HSP90-dependent activities of numerous proteins, including the glucocorticoid receptor and pp60v-src(71), the Src family kinase p56lck(23), Raf kinase (57), and progesterone receptor (65). Oocytes were incubated in medium supplemented with GA (10 μg/ml) for 2 h, and the DNA-binding activity of HSF1 was analyzed by gel shift assay with labeled HSE. As shown in Fig.7A, GA treatment alone did not activate HSF1. We did not observe HSF1 induction by GA at nonshock temperatures even after extended exposure of up to several hours or after acute exposure to GA concentrations as high as 100 μg/ml (data not shown). The failure of GA to induce HSE binding in the absence of heat shock indicated that GA inhibition of HSP90 in vivo was not sufficient to bring about HSF1 trimerization. In heat shock experiments, however, GA treatment (10 μg/ml) for 2 h prior to a heat shock of 30°C for 30 min caused a significant increase in the induced levels of HSF1-HSE complexes relative to those for identically stressed controls (Fig.7A). Elevated levels of HSE-binding activity were observed at several different points during the induction phase, from between 5 min and 1 h of heat shock. (GA) enhances the heat-inducible HSE-binding activity of HSF1 and delays deactivation during recovery. (A) Oocytes were incubated for 2 h in the presence of 10 μg of GA (G) per ml or in DMSO (D) or left untreated (U) prior to heat shock at 30°C for the times indicated. The HSE-binding activities of HSF1 were then compared by gel mobility shift assay. (B) Gel mobility shift assay of oocytes that were treated with GA or DMSO as described above, heat shocked at 33°C for 1 h and then allowed to recover at 18°C for the periods of time indicated. The positions of activated HSF1 and nonspecific (ns) bands are indicated at the left of each panel. Enhanced activation of HSF1 in GA-treated oocytes could have been attributed to a synergistic effect of heat shock in combination with GA or to a shift in the oligomerization equilibrium towards formation of HSF1 trimers caused by GA inhibition of HSP90-mediated dissociation. In an attempt to distinguish between these possibilities, we examined the effect of GA on the DNA-binding properties of HSF1 during the deactivation phase of the heat shock response. The results of recovery experiments consistently showed that deactivation of HSF1 was delayed in GA-treated oocytes relative to that in untreated controls (Fig. 7B). It is important to note that even after severe heat treatments, HSE binding of endogenous HSF1 in oocytes returns to control levels within 5 to 15 min of recovery (19). Thus, GA disruption of the chaperoning activity of HSP90 in vivo appears to decrease the rate of HSF1 trimer disassembly. The results of recovery experiments with GA were similar to those of HSP90 Ab injections, and together these data imply that HSP90 functions in controlling the conformational changes associated with conversion of HSF1 from trimers to monomers. From these experiments, however, we cannot be certain whether GA and HSP90 Abs exerted their effects directly by inhibiting the function of HSP90 molecules in complex with HSF1 or indirectly by inhibiting the function of HSP90 molecules not stably complexed with HSF1. We next used GA to examine the functional significance of HSP90-HSF1 interactions for heat-inducible transcription. Expression from microinjected hsp70-CAT reporter constructs in untreated and GA-treated oocytes under nonshock and heat shock conditions was compared (Fig. 8). The results show that heat-induced CAT activity was significantly reduced in GA-treated oocytes relative to that in untreated controls. Thus, inhibition of HSF1-mediated CAT expression by GA mimicked the results with microinjected HSP90 Abs. Expression was unaffected by GA in parallel experiments with microinjected CMV-CAT reporter constructs (Fig. 8), thus ruling out the possibility that GA had a general inhibitory effect on transcription and/or CAT activity in oocytes. The results of expression experiments using both microinjected Abs and GA strongly suggest that HSP90 functions in regulating conformational changes to the transcriptional activation domain of HSF1. GA inhibits the heat-induced transcriptional activity of HSF1. CAT activities of CMV-CAT- or hsp70-CAT-injected oocytes that were either untreated or treated with GA (10 μg/ml, 2 h) prior to incubation at 18°C (NS) or heat shock (HS) (33°C for 2 h) were compared. Each experiment was repeated at least five times with different batches of oocytes, yielding similar results. The positions of unacetylated (Cm) and acetylated (Ac) forms of [14C]chloramphenicol are indicated on the left. HSF1 is one of the most intensely studied eukaryotic transcription factors. Numerous reports have described the functional domains and intrinsic properties of HSF1 molecules from different organisms, the changes in oligomerization and phosphorylation states, interactions with HSP70, and HSF1 activation by disparate stress signals. Despite knowledge of these events, however, the precise mechanisms by which cells regulate HSF1 are yet to be defined. This study is an important step towards understanding HSF1 regulation. It had previously been postulated, on the basis of HSP90-HSF1 heterocomplex formation in vitro, that HSP90 could modulate HSF1 activity (42, 43), an idea that has not been confirmed before this work. The results of this analysis, using novel experimental approaches made possible by theXenopus oocyte model system, clearly establish a physical association between HSP90 and endogenous HSF1 in vivo and provide evidence that HSP90 functions to modulate oligomerization and possibly the inducible transcriptional activity of HSF1. The existence of HSP90-HSF1 heterocomplexes is corroborated by several independent lines of evidence, including the detection of HSP90 in HSF1 Ab-immunoprecipitated material from both heat-shocked and control cells, HSP90 Ab-directed induction of HSE-binding activity, HSP90 Ab-directed supershifts of heat-activated HSF1 both in vitro and in vivo, and the delayed deactivation of HSF1-binding activity after disruption of HSP90 with GA or microinjected Abs. Results showing HSP90 Ab induction of HSF1 in the absence of heat shock and delayed deactivation of HSF1 after targeting of HSP90 in vivo suggest that HSP90 contributes to the conformational changes required for suppression of trimerization as well as disassembly of HSF1 trimers. Furthermore, independent experiments with microinjected HSP90 Abs and cell treatments with GA show specific effects on heat-induced transcriptional activity of HSF1. Although we have not directly confirmed the universality of these findings, we assume that HSP90-HSF1 interactions and the apparent regulatory role of HSP90 are not unique to Xenopus oocytes; in fact, the likelihood that HSP90-HSF complexes must exist in other cells is strengthened by the evolutionary conservation of these molecules and previous reports of HSP90-HSF interactions in human cell extracts or reticulocyte lysates (42,43). Also of note is the recent observation by Farkas et al. (16) of a 94-kDa protein species copurifying with bacterially expressed HSF1; our results lead us to suggest that this could have been HSP90. Based on the evidence presented here and the previously reported properties of both HSF1 and HSP90 molecules, we propose a regulatory model in which HSP90 functions as an HSF1-specific chaperone at different points along the activation-deactivation pathway: maintenance of the monomeric conformation under nonstress conditions, induction of transactivation potential, and disassembly of trimers to a non-DNA-binding state following stress (Fig.9). The model predicts that HSP90 is associated with HSF1 at different points along the activation-deactivation pathway and exerts its regulatory effects directly through interactions with HSF1. The model also predicts that, in addition to coordinating the dynamic changes in HSF1 oligomerization, HSP90 could function in the unmasking of the transcriptional activation domain. Previous studies have shown that the carboxy-terminal transcriptional activator domain is regulated independently of oligomerization (21, 31, 46, 59, 76). The effects on HSF1-dependent transcription of GA and microinjected HSP90 Abs suggest that this step could be regulated at least in part by complexed HSP90. It must be emphasized that the current model does not exclude the involvement of HSP70 in controlling HSF1 activities. Rather, it is more likely that HSP70 and HSP90 act coordinately in this regard. The idea of cooperative and/or coordinate regulation of HSF1 by both HSPs is congruent with the previous identification of HSP70 and HSP90 in large chaperone complexes (63, 64), with the ability of HSF1 to assemble HSP90 along with HSP70 and several components of the cytoplasmic molecular chaperone machinery, and with the recent demonstration that HSP70 binds to the activation domain and negatively regulates transcription (61). Model of HSF1 regulation by HSP90. Our data indicate that HSP90 interacts with the inactive monomeric and active trimeric forms of HSF1 and could be involved in regulating the interconversion between these forms (A and C). Both HSP90 Abs and GA delay trimer disassembly and inhibit heat-induced transcription of HSF1 (D). These observations suggest a role for HSP90 in modulation of the transcriptional activation domain (B) or that HSP90 dissociation from trimers is required for transcriptional competence. We also hypothesize that HSP90 could link HSF1 to cellular signaling molecules (B). Details of HSF1 structure are not shown, although the shape change from a circle to an ellipse is intended to indicate conformational changes associated with trimerization. No data are presented for the one-to-one stoichiometric relationship between HSP90 and HSF1, which is shown only for simplicity. Although HSP70 is not represented here, we do not imply its absence of involvement in any of these processes. Apart from providing a mechanistic framework in which the HSF1-regulatory function of HSP90 could be explained, the model shown in Fig. 9 describes a hypothetical mechanism by which HSF1 could be linked to disparate signaling pathways. We put forth the hypothesis that HSP90 functions as an integral part of the cellular stress detection machinery, tethering HSF1 to cell signaling molecules. We suggest that this could occur through transient or reiterative interactions between HSP90-HSF1 heterocomplexes and other HSP90-associated cellular kinases or other regulatory molecules. Alternatively, HSF1 could assemble with HSP90 and other molecules into large heteromeric complexes; however, to our knowledge these have not been detected in vivo through biochemical approaches. Our proposal of interactions between HSP90 molecules simultaneously in complex with HSF1 and cellular signaling molecules provides a plausible mechanism by which signaling molecules that participate in regulating the cellular stress activation-deactivation pathway could be specifically presented to HSF1. The formation of HSP90 homodimers (38) is consistent with this idea. Specific recognition of HSF1-HSE complexes by using HSP90 Abs was demonstrated both in vivo (Abs injected into oocyte nuclei) and in vitro (Abs added to DNA-binding reactions mixtures). Also, both active and inactive forms of HSF1 coimmunoprecipitated with HSP90 from heat-shocked and unshocked nuclear extracts. These results are consistent with the previous findings showing an interaction between immobilized HSP90 and HSF in nuclear extracts of unshocked HeLa cells (42) and between HSP90 and bacterially expressed HSF1 in a cell-free reticulocyte lysate assembly system (43), but they are in contrast to results of other studies in which HSF1-HSP90 interactions were not detected by immunoprecipitation (53) or supershift analyses (5); it is possible that such discrepancies could be accounted for by the use of different Abs. The simplest interpretation of our results is that a subset of nuclear HSP90 molecules exist in heterocomplexes with inactive HSF1 monomers and remain associated with trimers. Coimmunoprecipitation of equal quantities of HSP90 under both nonshock and heat shock conditions implies that HSP90-HSF1 heterocomplex formation is independent of the oligomeric state of HSF1. What remains to be determined is the relative affinity between HSP90 and HSF1 monomers and trimers and the stoichiometric relationship between these molecules. Also of interest is whether HSP90 remains associated with HSF1 throughout activation and deactivation or whether HSP90 interacts reiteratively and transiently with HSF1 at each step in the pathway. Induction of the HSE-binding activities of HSF1 under nonshock conditions after nuclear injection of HSP90 Abs, although not after GA treatment, leads us to hypothesize that HSP90 participates as a molecular chaperone in the folding of HSF1 monomers, either to establish the formation of intramolecular hydrophobic interactions of inactive HSF1 monomers, or to maintain the monomeric conformation. Interestingly, the HSP90 Ab-induced HSE-binding activity in unshocked oocytes did not appear to be supershifted, suggesting that this heat shock-independent activation could have been the result of Ab interaction with uncomplexed HSP90. Why did HSP90 Abs but not GA induce HSF1 in unstressed cells? Presumably, the binding of Abs to certain epitopes was sufficient to inhibit the apparent HSP90-mediated repression of HSF1, either directly through interactions with molecules in HSF1-HSP90 heterocomplexes or indirectly through interactions with HSP90 not complexed with HSF1. The fact that GA treatments failed to activate HSF1 does not necessarily contradict a potential role for HSP90 in the folding or repression of HSF1 monomers. GA binds the ATP-binding domain of HSP90 and is hypothesized to inhibit substrate release or lead to substrate degradation (22, 24, 51, 56, 67,68), effects that would not inexorably lead to trimerization. Although the functional implications of an interaction between HSP90 and inactive monomers is still unclear, recovery experiments indicated a clear relationship between HSP90 and the disassembly of HSF1 trimers. Both GA treatments and nuclear injection of HSP90 Abs significantly delayed deactivation of HSF1 during recovery from heat shock. A number of potential mechanisms by which HSP90 might modulate reversion of HSF1 oligomerization could be considered. One is that HSP90 acts to stabilize the trimeric conformation of HSF1 and must be released prior to conversion to the monomeric form and deactivation of HSE binding. Alternatively, HSP90 could remain complexed with HSF1 throughout the disassembly process and act to mediate the conformational and folding changes associated with conversion of homotrimers to monomers. In either case, the delay in HSF1 deactivation by GA is probably due to inhibition of the ATPase activity of HSP90, but the mechanism by which HSP90 Abs inhibited HSP90 function in vivo is not known. It was interesting that HSP90 Ab-induced HSF1-HSE complexes detected in gel mobility shift assays were not supershifted. Consequently, we have not ruled out the possibility that GA or HSP90 Abs could have exerted their effects indirectly by affecting the chaperone activity of HSP90 molecules not in complex with HSF1. Another key finding of this study is the repression of heat-inducible transcription after targeting HSP90 in vivo. It is very unlikely that this transcriptional repression of HSF1 was artifactual, since it was reproduced by two independent methods, microinjection of HSP90 Abs and cell treatments with GA. The results imply that physical binding of HSP90 by injected Abs or disruption of its ATPase domain by GA somehow blocked the conformational changes to the transactivation domain of HSF1. Therefore, we suggest, but have yet not confirmed, that the chaperoning function of HSP90 may be directly involved in this step of the activation pathway. This function would be entirely consistent with the known chaperoning role of HSP90 with other cellular proteins and transcription factors such as MyoD (58). Similar to the case for the delay of deactivation by HSP90 antibodies or GA, we have not yet determined whether these agents inhibited transcription directly through perturbing the function of HSP90 molecules complexed with HSF1 or indirectly through interactions with the uncomplexed pool of HSP90. Furthermore, additional factors such as HSP70 (61) or various signal transduction molecules could be involved in regulating the transcriptional activation domain. There were two apparent contradictions in the results of expression experiments: (i) under heat shock conditions, GA treatment enhanced the HSE-binding activity of HSF1 while reducing transcriptional activity, and (ii) under nonshock conditions, HSP90 Ab injection induced HSE binding but not a corresponding increase in HSF1-mediated transcription from the HSP70 promoter. It could be argued that these results reflect the independent regulation of (i) trimerization and DNA binding and (ii) transactivation (21, 59, 76). In fact, the DNA-binding and transcriptional activities of HSF1 are also uncoupled inXenopus oocytes (6). Rather than a direct role for HSP90 in regulating transcriptional competence of HSF1, the observations of repression by GA and HSP90 Abs could indicate that dissociation of HSP90 from trimers is a necessary precondition for transcriptional activation. In this case, reduced transcriptional activity caused by HSP90 Abs or GA could have been the result of inhibition of HSP90 release and steric blocking of modifications to the transcriptional activation domain. It is possible that in our experiments with oocytes, these agents acted to stabilize a transcriptionally incompetent intermediate in the activation pathway. Regardless of the interpretations of these experiments, however, it is clear that HSP90 is involved in the transcriptional activation of HSF1. The precise details of this role will probably require more knowledge of the stoichiometric relationships between these two proteins throughout the activation-deactivation pathway. In conclusion, the data presented here provide the first clear evidence in support of a role for HSP90 in the regulation of HSF1. This study raises a number of key questions. For example, what is the molecular basis for HSP90-HSF1 interactions, and what are the dynamics of HSP90-HSF1 interactions throughout the stress response? Do ATP hydrolysis and HSF1 hyperphosphorylation affect the physical association between these molecules, or does HSP90 actually coordinate HSF1 phosphorylation through interactions with other factors? Do HSP70 and HSP90 cooperate in modulating HSF1 activities, and are other molecules involved? It will be interesting to unravel the precise roles of HSP90 in coordinating the physical changes associated with induction of HSF1 by stress and to determine if HSP90 plays a role in the signaling pathways used to sense stress and coordinate the appropriate changes in cellular activities. This work was supported by a research grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada to N.O., a postdoctoral fellowship from the Health Services Utilization Research Council of Saskatchewan to A.A., and a PGSA scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to S.B. We thank S. Hartson and R. Matts for purified HSP90 protein and antiserum; A. Wolffe for hsp70-CAT and CMV-CAT constructs; K. Sarge and R. Morimoto for HSF1 antiserum; A. Hnatov, J. Davies, and J. Xavier for technical assistance; and P. Mercier for critical reading of the manuscript. A. Ali and S. Bharadwaj contributed equally to this paper. Returned for modification 10 May 1998. 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2019-04-19T22:14:47Z

https://mcb.asm.org/content/18/9/4949

Discussion in 'GMC Jam' started by Alice, Aug 1, 2016. I played 10 entries, and that's all I can do right now. Here are my reviews. This was the funnest entry I played. Level 6 had a HUGE difficulty spike, but I still had a lot of fun! Graphics were OK, mostly just circles, the environments felt really nice.Sometimes the view wouldn't cooperate the way I wanted it to. The enemies were either very stupid, or very much wanted you dead. They gave a good challenge though! The minimap was nice! Even though I never really looked at it. (Unless I was standing still) This game was great! I had a lot of fun! This entry was pretty fun, very unforgiving gameplay however. I felt some of the hitboxes were a little tough to get around, and some of the AI timings were very... hard to get around. It was hard to control, not a fan of mouse controls in general for this type of game, would have preferred arrow keys, or better yet "WASD" control. Graphics were superb! I liked them a lot! The ending was a pretty nasty sucker punch, I'll tell you that! But it was good because of that, in my opinion. Great job! First thing's first, I dislike mouse controls. I died on numerous accounts of clicking off of the screen. There might have been a fullscreen option, but I didn't check. The graphics were terrific! The animations were nice, there was a few graphical glitches where I had to "guess" the level until I died, then it'd load graphically. The gameplay wasn't bad, some of the levels were a tad hard. Overall, it was okay. Good job! -Very fun. Actually wouldn't mind seeing a little more. -Gorgeous presentation. Music, Graphics, and text effects. -The only game that really had a story. -I'm assuming devlog means "Development log". I didn't follow any of those. All 10 games. Rated by how fun I thought it was. -I found this one very fun. Level 6 was a difficulty spike the size of a mountain. -Very hard to control. Sucker punch ending. Fun. -I had trouble with the mouse. The graphics and animations were terrific. -Very slow walking speed. I thought the game was really funny. -The controls should have been on the "WASD". I loved the voice work at the end, and the "good" ending. -The game crashed when I was able to go "up". The graphics were very nice. Cool text effects. -Seizure inducing lighting effects. Very simple to the point gameplay. -Slightly clunkly feeling. Controls did their job. Had some fun. -Painfully slow gameplay. The concept isn't bad though. -The game crashed whenever I pressed "Enter" (couldn't get past the first menu). I was unable to play it. I tried it after I patched it. Maybe there's another patch? That's all I got. Sorry I didn't have time for more. rui.rosario and Alice like this. It's an interesting puzzle platformer game, using the corpses of the deceased and their abilities to reach the end of each level. Why do I get Undertale vibes from this game? I'm a little sad to see that there is no ending programmed into the game but that's just about the only thing I can complain about. I was happy to find a short, and perhaps humorous, story when not expecting one. Although I wish there'd been a little less text and more audioable or visual ques, I can understand that timeconstraints and the small size of the game made it a better call to tell the player through text messages and objectives. It's a good if slightly confusing bullet hell game. Either I'm having really bad luck or this game hates me. I'm not sure what kind of constructive advice I could give, it is a nice idea but it feels unfinished. No idea what this game is really about, simple puzzle game. I can see that this was supposed to be story & puzzle driven, and it is, but aside from one quick playthrough I feel no interest in playing it again. It feels kinda rushed, like too much of the developpment time was taken by either drawing or programming. In all honesty, I'm not exactly sure as to what you aimed towards. I really like the arcade style of this game, although sadly I don't have time to play it to the end. 1. There's no explaination about the controls, at all. Had to trial & error a bit to figure them out. I recommend at least a readme file to come with it. I mean, yeah. I liked it and really enjoyed the game but I wish there'd been more content, a continuation of the story. But I can understand, time constraints makes it difficult to finish in time so this might've been the better choice. Well, it kept me playing past the time restrictions I estimated. I gave it another 7-9 minutes, backtracking my steps to find the missing one before I had to give up and move on to the next game on the list. So, without going into detail on the story, it is intriguing and kept me thinking. I'll only say that everything isn't as it seemed at first. Music/ambient sound - Could loop a bit better, it cuts of at the end before looping sometimes and is quite noticeable in the machine zone. Walking sound - Could be a bit refined I think, walking on grass sounded a bit off as if I trampled on something akin to dry plastick grass. Not to mention when walking on metal, it's as if the character is occassionally skipping forward instead of walking. Collision detecting - When standing still and rotating on the spot I noticed that the players collision hitbox was actually offset from the center of the rotation, meaning that if I stood by the edge of a platform and decided to turn around on the spot I'd suddenly find myself having stepped off the platform by rotating the player. Otherwise I really enjoyed it. Ok, this game kept me preoccupied for a while. It reminds me quite a bit of roleplay during Cluedo, a murder mystery where you have to find the suspect to win the game. I love the premise you set up, it works entirely well with the Theme and gives the player an idea of what their role will be in the game. Aside from the fact that I couldn't find a story, or anything relating to the theme during the time I played, it was a nice game which soon made me want to quote an old favourite game character from Red Alert 2. A platformer with "zombies" as enemies. Nothing to complain about, gonna play further once I get the time. I'm not quite sure about this game, had to figure out the controls on my own and all, but it is an interesting "evolution" game. This rucked some of my old memories, really liked the idea behind it. Of course, I couldn't kill that last survivor. He asked me nicely, he had a small flicker of hope, he will live on until his time has come. A topdown defense/lone survivor game with "building" elements added to it. Once again the theme have caused there to be zombies, which annoys me, as the main enemy. The game itself looks great, it handles nicely and I really like how dark it is in the unlit areas. Sadly the one lone soundtrack I heard makes me wish for a larger selection or at the very least a change of tempo every now and then, especially once the zombies break through into the main room where the player is. Ok, I'll be honest here. I half expected a troll game for some reason but this was a rather nice shooter. Don't have much to say other then that. Ok, so the Jamplayer couldn't launch this game for some reason, but I managed to play it anyway. I liked it, though I wish there were more maps I could play on. That one map does get a little boring after a while. The art is nice, the feeling of being alone on an alien planet is conveyed quite well. I can't find a story other then what is visible during gameplay, that is, what I can puzzle together from seeing the environment. Getting caught by the enemies however seem a bit bugged, I managed to escape once on what I later found out was the verge of death. But I kept bugging back and forth on either side of the monsters every time they caught me and it was difficult to figure out just what was going on, and I have no idea how I survived the first time. Other then that it's enjoyable. Short but well done, got nothing else to say. That music is quite catchy. Despite initial trouble due to advancing through the text messages too quickly and pressing a debug button for it, I managed to play through the game and finish it. Interesting use of theme and pleasant as a shooter, though I would like to have a slightly bigger field of view with the way the camera handles. Anyway, it's a fascinating idea to build around and it makes for a story on its own although perhaps not the most sane one. Got some issues with the window but it was already mentioned in the Readme file so other then that I got nothing. Overall good but it gets a bit repetetive after a while. Ok, interesting and nice platform shooter. That one single music soundtrack became rather annoying after a while though, some more variation would be nice. I liked this one, partly due to the pleasant surprise of a story when the readme file gave me a "No story" vibe. While the game itself could do better graphical wise (I'm not complaining about stick figures here, only the lack of animation. Particulary for the dragon.) it was rather nice and simple, a bit like a game I'd expect to find on a flash site a few years ago. Not much more I can say at the moment, I enjoyed it. It's a cute little game but it feels repetetive after the 4th day and kind of unfinished. There were hints of a story but I was too busy figuring out the controls and killing the hordes of enemies suddenly charging me to read it. It also didn't help that it was a pure white text against a bright background which made it a bit more difficult to read as well as the speed it moved in. Some kind of Readme file with both the story and a control scheme would be nice, especially if the game is going to start up like that. Well, from what little I could play it was nice. I also noticed that I could just spam attacks and "turns" by holding down the button, might've caused the error but I'm not sure. Old School style platformer. Short, simple and slightly difficult if one isn't used to old games. Something is either blocking this game or it didn't download properly, I'll look into it later if given time. got nothing to say on this one. Enjoyable & good use of theme. Well, I found a few things to be annoying but otherwise it was okay. Collisions are a bit chunky, there were many times when I jumped up to land on the edge of a platform and simply got stuck either in a wall or on the edge itself. Ok, I'll admit that it's an interesting/creative take on the theme. It's a nice puzzle platformer and an interesting idea, though sadly there's only one level and it feels a bit unfinished with those tile blocks and that one singular background throughout the level. A decent reaction type game. It didn't hold my interest very long but from what I saw it was fairly good. Umm, I'm not sure what to make of this one. First of all, that is not quite the theme. It's a try to work around it but not truly THE theme. Secondly, I feel kinda limited in my movement as I can barely jump 1 block and even then only if I'm really lucky. The idea behind the mechanics might be good but it would need a little more work and perhaps be better explained to the player. This game isn't appealing to me, Sorry. Well, I guess it was rather good. Didn't play too far so I haven't unlocked the whole story or finished the game yet but it was rather nice for as far as I played. I don't have much to say other then that it was nice to solve some puzzles for once and actually use my head instead of muscle memory. Time based logic puzzle game. Hmm, I found the game to be interesting at least. I'm not sure if there's anything I can really point on, except maybe being stuck in a corner and continiusly smashed. The M, rui.rosario, Alice and 3 others like this. LADIES AND GENTLEFOLK; I MANAGED 30 GAMES DESPITE 14 HOUR SHIFTS, SCHOOL STARTING AGAIN AND MOVING. not that anyone really cares too much, but at least I can sway the vote a bit, even a little, because 1/31st is a very small offset and I can rest easy knowing that my first place vote matters 15 times as much as the votes I didn't give out: That's something! Without further ado, (or whatever the phrase is): here are my top 30! Genius. Pure blooded genius. And I'm not talking about the equation for life either, just overall genius. Fun gameplay, kicking music, wacky animation, and entertaining concept. well done. Great concept, very lovely graphic design, a bit clunky to control but I really really love the concept and the great execution. The game opened. I saw a DOS bootup. I was intrigued. Then the metal started and a skeleton appeared. I was all but ready to call it a day and award you first place. heck: I even started the game again just to listen to the awesome song. The game itself is simple, entertaining and while silly is exactly what I wanted from this competition without ever knowing it. You get this score based on awesomeness alone and the incredible replayability of a game that really shouldn't have any based on the mechanics. Well done. Very heartwarming. I liked just walking around and chatting a bit: the atmosphere was soothing and while it was short I liked this game. I feel we need more games about crushing things with hammers. A short but solid entry with an eeary athmosphere. Music: solid. Action: fast. but unfortunatly it was a bit hard to control and wasn't exactly a looker. While I appriciate the concept that went into this, there really isn't much to view here. Trough the bitcrushed graphics and button-mashing to solve the puzzles I couldn't really pay attention to the script that was judging me fin vague hints that didn't explain too much. A very interesting artstyle. pretty, a bit slow to repeat all dialogoue when you mess up and die, and guesstimating where the rebound will land gets a bit hectic and uninteresting. Otherwise a very cool entry. I'm extremely facinateded by this game. the concept it represents and how it is represented is a very classic "solve the murder" mystery you might find in a newsletter. I loved the game and while it isn't a winner I think the concept is fantastic! didn't see much theme in it, or at least didn't play long enough for it to become clear. I know "Nobody can hear you in space", but some sound would have made a world of difference. I'm sorry, but a silent platformer which doesn't handle properly isn't really my cup of tea. Avoiding the zombies was, at best, a hinderence to the game and often at times near impossible. after digging for a while, nuking my people several times, cutting a few trees and being dead all the time I realized.... I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing and it isn't immenently clear how to do it. The concept is there and it's a fun little sandbox for a bit, but lack focused direction. What we have here is simply the greatest piece of voice acting I have heard in a Jam game. It was clever, entertaining, looked great, script was refreshing: I'd half expect this to be a "real" game being offered for sale. One caviate I found was that in fullscreen it wasn't clear how to exit the game. I know it's hell, but I'd like to leave. Great job! Ahhh, the quarter-annual Meta-Jam game. Lovely. The game was very fun, albeit balancing was a tad off. After a few levels you could mostly just bulldoze over everything. Soon the "COMBO" announcement was blocking my view of the game making it hard to dodge bullets. It's astonishing that Grim Reaper, keeper of souls, harbringer of eternal peace and master of death is perplexed by a ledge higher than half a meter. Joke aside; the game was entertaining. Simple, cute, mobile-esque. It was in lack of some minor polish, but otherwise a good entry. A very interesting idea. The game might have benefited from more variety as it quickly got stale, but overall with some polish and more engaging gameplay it could be a great game. Picking up items would have been nice as well, I often pressed wrong buttons by accident. lovely concept, but it's fairly slow to progress. My Dragon Pal and I destroyed everyone in a minute and a half. that was good fun. Interesting concept, but fairly simple. not much to do after a bit. Very simple, bit crowded with enemies, not much to be done after the 100th kill. The giant "YOU ARE DEAD" raining down is a bit on the nose. the content wasn't really there: the entire experience consisted of holding down the left arrow key and waiting until you got to the meaning while saying sorry to everything you met. Might have needed a bit more substance to it. after getting past the slighty disturbing setting (I don't like parasitic insects) I found that while the gameplay is quite enjoyable it's fairly simple and does not engage the player enough. After a while you get stuck on "Where is that god-damed last worm?!". For future projects: remember that dark gray foreground is not very visible on light gray background. gameplay was a little slow for my taste. I appriciate the somber mood. collision boxes were a bit wonky at times. I don't mean to be rude, but is the music randomly generated? It seems to often go out of tempo with itself or have many instance playing at the same time. combat works fine, but is a bit stiff. The hammer range is a few cm too short meaning that monsters have an easy time to get to you while you are swinging. Artstyle is georgeus. repeating the same intro every time I die gets a bit boring though. Also, turns out defeating pogo monsters with 1 health = impossible. The scaling effect is quite lovely, but otherwise I didn't find much enjoyment of the game as it was fairly rough around the edges and simple. The game is very cute, soundtrack adorable, but it just isn't my cup of tea. It runs a bit slow (gameplay wise) for my taste. It seems that it isn't possible shooting mummies from the side. A shame. aside from the clunky hitbox detection the game could have used polish, it felt a bit stale in a while. The concept was brilliant: and something I always admire people doing as it is hard to do well and requires a bit of bravery. however beside the clever angle there really isn't much to this game. it's mostly walking around, searching for letters, and seeing what others found. It is a few coats of polishes away from a full set. Interesting design, but inconsistent mechanics. In the first level I had a blink ability and small pea shooter and then I had just a missle; and it wasn't entirely clear why. The theme was rather vague. dadio, Alice, Detective Pixel and 1 other person like this. I knew I'd like this one. I love everything about it. The only criticism I can give is that some parts in the beginning felt like they were just a tad too slow with introducing new mechanics or new situations. Also, it could have been even better if there were some more puzzling situations that took more effort to figure out. But, the truth is you did incredible work, and I'm having to try pretty hard to find things that could've been improved upon. Also, it's not like I'm only saying it's awesome soley because the game's graphics are nice and juicy, but it's because the mechanics are solid and the story is interesting., and the world design and mechanics makes a lot of sense, given the circumstances. Everything works together for a brilliant little game. Exceptional fun. If only there was a proper ending as opposed to just coming to an empty area with nothing but the HUD and background. Even a message popping up saying. something like,"Sorry, the developers ran out of time, so this is the end. Just press ESC." You guys did awesome though. Love the colors, the music is good, the weapons are varied and interesting, the creature design is cool, etc., etc. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Such quaint feels were had. And the final challenge was actually challenging enough to be satisfied with winning. Pre-comment note: You might want to use your browser's "find" feature (usually ctrl+f)) and type in your game's name to more easily find what I said about your game. I commented on EVERY game and tried my best to be critical in a constructive way, though for some I definitely failed on this. Sorry if anything seems to harsh. In any case, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED. Hmm, nothing comes to mind for comments on this one, but it does seem fairly creative with the mechanics, so that's cool. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but it just didn't interest me. I wanted more "game" in the game. More interactivitiy. Awesome game, feels fairly polished, despite the 4 bugs I personally encountered. The art style is very nice, and there are some nice "feeling" moments even. A really pleasant experience and the game managed to draw me into the world, making me care about things that happened in it. I wouldn't mind playing a full length game in this world. Well done. This was surprisingly enjoyable. Your sister makes awesome music. I played through the game twice. The second time around, I turned off sounds and left the music on. The gameplay is fun. Even though it's sort of a typical zombie shooter, it's good. Really unique and awesome. I was experiencing some strange problems with drawing, not having the screen clear properly and also not drawing some levels, which is a pretty bad glitch. Without that issue, this would be perfect. It's a nice challenge, has the perfect amount of content for a jam game, imho, and it appears to have an end (I almost beat the final part, but had to give up for the sake of trying other games. I'll come back to beat it another day). The concept and mechanics are genius. Awesome work. Very simple, super "filthy casual" friendly. There's not much to do and sometimes you can get blank spots in the text where there should be a word generated, but overall it's a fun little idea that was executed pretty well. The gameplay wasn't all that fun for me, but it was very nice and smooth. Seemed like a bit of a mess, to be honest. Felt like I didn't have the control I should. The graphics were pretty cool though. Definitely unique from the other entries. It's kind of fun to attack everyone..... I'm a horrible person when gaming. The theme isn't expressed very clearly. The concept and gameplay are okay. Nice job with the level design. The mechanics are pretty broken in the word puzzles. The text in the beginning is far too slow. I was dying for a skip button. I encountered a glitch on one playthrough where I was hit and got pushed out of the room's boundaries. I could not get back in to the room. Had to restart the game. The bullet hell mechanics are done nicely, it's all pretty smooth, the graphics are nice and the game style is fairly interesting and the music along with the art made me want to party, so it must mean I was having a good time. I would've rated this super high if it weren't broken. You get to that one room, the skull appears and you can't kill it or get past it. Then if you die, the skull is still there, just very... seperated. And still I am blocked by this 'you shall not pass' situation. Nevertheless, the game is glorious and plays on my nostalgia very impressively. The abilities you get are chosen well. The platforming aspect was a bit too unrefined. Pretty nice use of graphics. Unfortunately, the lag kills any hope for this game. I have a pretty high end gaming PC that runs most anything currently on the market at full settings with little to no trouble. It would be beneficial to for you to learn the cause (if you haven't already) to avoid the problem in future games. I'm sorry if this is too harsh, but no game should ever lag like this; it's just unacceptable. Therefore, I feel it's only right to give this a low rating, despite what awesome content it may contain, this issue is so big that it overshadows it all. Runs very smoothly, when walking on metal I felt like I was playing a Zelda game and it made me really nostalgic for OoT, MM, and TP. The world is big, which is cool, but it's also not cool, because there is too little variation spread over too much space. It would've been better to keep the world smaller. Just because you can do something (like making a large world), it does not mean you should. The notes are written pretty well though, sparking an interest to figure out the whole story. Though it did not interest me enough to find them all, because I got bored, due to the world size and its general emptiness. Overall, a very nice accomplishment for a game made in 72 hours. Pretty interesting idea. The humor is definitely the high point of the game; some great humor in there. Pretty cool. A little hard to see stuff. Deliciously dusty. Honestly, I have to be in the mood for a game like this and I just wasn't at all at any point during the game jam, and even more so because of feeling rushed due to all the entries and my goal of playing them all, and this kind of game requires analysis. Still, it's a good concept. It felt a little cluttered though. Perhaps I'll come back and play this one more thoroughly another time. Fun and definitely gets challenging, though I did feel like I didn't quite have the control I should have over my ship. On a random note, has anyone ever played Zone 66 for DOS? If you liked this, you might like that game. A good chunk of my childhood went to that wonderful game. It does present a little challenge trying to figure out how to make the zombies move and fall, but it's quite rough around the edges. But congrats on actually having a playable game done in time, and the level design is actually pretty well done in terms of making it a puzzle to solve (it's an action puzzle, ofc). Each situation requires some different movements to lure and dodge around the zombies. You actually did this very well. Many people make the mistake of repeating puzzling aspects of games without changing it up enough to require the player to do something new, but instead they just repeat something that requires the exact solution as a past puzzle, and that's not good game design, as it presents no challenge and it's just mindless filler. So whether you planned this or if it was just happy coincidence, a job well done on that aspect. This game really needed to give the player some kind of reward and/or incentive for keeping everyone alive for as long as possible. The problem is that there is no reason to stay alive for any length of time, yet the game mechanics are built as if there is reason to. It would have been better to have the player last a certain amount of time in order to progress. And further stages would require that more and more people stay alive and for a longer amount of time. Something like that would have made it a lot more fun. Still, I enjoyed it a bit. Despite my low rating, it is hilarious and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it wouldn't be fair at all to rate this very well, as it obviously didn't get as much time and effort put into it as most other entries, nor does it have any gameplay, and this is a GAME jam, after all. Despite the simplicity of the art, the drawings give off a great wacky toony character. Well done, and thank you for the laugh. I played it through and it's a really great entry. Nice style in many regards. The game's got a surprising amount of character. The way the music works throughout the game is definitely worth noting, as it is awesome. Of course, I wasn't aware of what the music does until I read about it and played it again, and I heard how it adds new stuff. It's actually one of the professional tricks of handling game music, intertwining it with the game to create a better gaming experience, so I was very impressed by this. I know a little about this, as I produce music myself, and I've had the privledge of learning a few things from some experienced people. My only sadness was when I got stuck in a wall once, but I just used R to reset the level. Not a big deal. This game is a gem. To be fair, I couldn't play this with anyone to see how it plays with two people, but I did get stuck inside a guy when my controlled guy got bigger, and it's also obviously quite incomplete. That said, it does have a certain charm to it. Gameplay-wise, nothing really stands out, except that it plays well and it's enjoyable. You did good. I like how the reaper sort of creates a narrative, sort of. Props for voice acting. The game feels pretty well-polished. This ended up being a lot more fun than I thought it would be. A zombie shooter is a bit unimaginative, yet the gameplay is still loads of fun. THe balance and difficulty escaIation is pretty good too. Not overly hard to win, but also not so easy that it's no challenge at all. Nice work. I played twice and the most friends I got was 113 for a score of 6100 I think. The game is a bit buggy. I somehow made an officer glitch out and become unkillable and other times I blasted people through the floor and the fell into the deep endless abyss. How far you get is also a little too dependant on the luck of the draw. Sometimes you get a hill and the other side has a ton of officers and it's nearly impossible to survive that. Still, the game was a lot of fun. Miniguns (or whatever the correct term is) are always a joy. Well done, and thank you for the experience. Nice game, but oddly enough, it struggled to hold my interest, and it is not without bugs either. I was able to make a dead member enter a dungeon. A ladder can be placed in unreachable positions in the dungeons (discovered by hugging the wall, making a full circle; double checked, triple checked - there was no way in and death was inevitable). Honestly though, it's really well made. I don't know why I didn't enjoy it more. It just gave me a feeling that it was lacking in some important way, even though it is quite nicely featured. Not sure. The text is hilarious and clever in many cases though and I really enjoyed that. Seems like it was too ambitious of a project to go for in under 72 hours, so it's really rough around the edges and gameplay isn't as it should be. Obviously full of potential for a fun game though (and I saw that this was continuing in development, so that's pretty cool). I got up to 1000 points without any difficuklty and didn't see it getting much harder, so I decided to end it by angering the customers, giving the wrong order to them and ignoring them. It was oddly entertaining to watch a customer become enraged due to being ignored. Overall, a nice entry. Pretty fun horizontal shooter with a fair amount of content. Well done. I had a top ranking score, until I didn't.... dang, people really went to town. Fun to play for a bit. It really needed mouse sensitivity settings though, or maybe it's just that the code should be different for that aspect of the game. It was way too low and my mouse has 3 settings, and even on the highest (i.e. fastest movement) it was just barely okay, but I still couldn't turn as fast as I wanted to. In every other game I've played - GameMaker games included - I've had far more range available and I was easily able to get the sensitivity I needed. The lighting in the game is pretty cool, btw. Overall, quite nice. Well done. Props for the voxel usage. The biggest issue with this game is that your bullets often don't hit the enemies. What's up with that? Also, there is way too much to collect and it gets tiresome fast. The music sets a pretty good mood and the graphics are good though. Honestly, I would've ranked this much higher if the mechanics worked better, but it just felt a little too broken and it gets boring fast with the collecting. Pretty nice but maybe just slightly too short and it is a tad clunky. It's also possible to die and win at the same time, though it just continues to the next level. The art is quite nice. Got to level 6 and had to give up due to wasting tons of time playing it over and over again, taking on the challenge. I'd play more, but I've got more jam games to play before the voting deadline. But I shall return to this game and I WILL claim my victory. But yeah, awesome concept and gameplay. Very fun and definitely challenging. I love this. Really unique idea and pretty enjoyable to play, and some good humor. A job well done. Impressive work. It doesn't feel like it's missing anything and it's quite fun to blast buildings and ships away. It's quite polished as well. I was not able to beat it (I'm not sure there is an ending?), but what I saw of the game was really good. Truthfully, I didn't enjoy this, but don't be downhearted. You completed your game in time for the jam. Not everyone can say the same. Well done. A bit too unimaginative and incomplete feeling and traversing the stairways takes a little too long. Nevertheless, the game was still a little fun for a while. Not extremely fun, but still fun. The art is nice. Difficulty is good. I didn't have time to find out if there is an ending that doesn't end in death, but it's an interesting concept and presented pretty well. Really fun! The hitbox for the drone is a bit annoyingly big, but that's really my only gripe. The graphics are really good and they have some character. Even when lacking sound and music, I'm impressed! Nice work! Nice way to look at "everybody is dead", but unfortuantely the game just wasn't fun for me at all; it wasn't challenging, etc. I like the message of the game though. Technology is awesome, but people are everything. Pretty much a Snake clone. I didn't feel like it was a very good use of the theme, though it plays fairly well and it's somewhat enjoyable. My goodness but it is fun to light things on fire. If you hadn't of put the reference to the video in the readme, I would've mistaken this for being inspired by Trogdor. BURNINATING THE PEASANTS!! AND THE THATCHED ROOF COTTAGEEEEEESSSSS!!!! Not having enough control over the weapon makes it all up to luck whether you kill them or not. I understand it's incomplete, but it's missing some pretty important things like this. Still, it does have potential. Feels pretty rough around the edges. The weapons all appear to function too similarly to each other. The hexagonal grid usage and overall layout is pretty cool though. I found myself reacting multiples times with "WTH is this?" So it was interesting and sort of fun in that way I guess. Gameplay isn't bad, but it's not super interesting or extremely fun to play either. Turning the guys is a cool feature though, and the graphics aren't half bad. Oops, got to level 7 then died due to being too tired from playing too many jam games. So I can't speak for the ending (I'll have to beat it another day), but this game was really enjoyable. My biggest gripe is that the shots should've been a different color to make them easier to discern from the parasites. More than once, I found myself hitting a shot because I thought it was a parasite to eat. The graphics are pretty good, btw. Pretty rough around the edges, but it seems fairly large scale for being made in under 72 hours, so it's understandable. And I say it "seems" fairly large because I didn't get to finish it, so I don't really know. I found the large amount of info boxes to be annoying. Major props for trying for a Metroid-like though. Er, I guess that's what this is? Sorry, I didn't get far enough to really know if that's accurate or not. I just got the higher jump, then ran off the side of the map and had to quit because I couldn't come back. I feel like I'm being harsh, but it really just doesn't stack up against many other entries. I must also note that the pressure plates are very hard to see. The ending was a little interesting, but it still felt too lacking. However, it is an awesome thing that if you run the game again after the ending, you get that message adn the game closes. Very good idea there. I loved that a lot. Nice little game. Would have been even better if it had randomly-generated content to change the puzzles, but I expect that would've taken too much time. Nice art style, btw. In all honestly, the hitboxes are not good. The animations do not do something that is part of their basic job, which is to let the player know what is actually happening through the visual. Despite these things being really rough, the game is still kinda fun and presents a good enough challenge to make it interesting. Sorry, the gameplay isn't all that enjoyable to me, and it's impossible to win, and there is no score, meaning the player really gets no reward for anything they do. It would have been a lot more enjoyable with a score that you can try to beat each play, especially since it's impossible to win. That said, the toonish graphics are pretty awesome. Nice work on that. Awesome. This actually presented a challenge and some pretty good mechanics. I kind of cheated the system though and pushed bodies off of the edge of the screen, as I discovered it would cause the guys to run scared toward the opposing side as soon as they entered the screen, heh heh. I loved the ending fight too. Uh, but I played it a second time and wanted to quit before finishing and realized that there is no quit, so I had to alt-tab out. A proper means of exiting a game is definitely something that should not be overlooked. But yeah, really fun little game. The graphical style was very fitting and moody. The random generation is kind of neat, though there isn't enough to the core gameplay to make me want to play it multiple times, even if the world will be different next time. Even though you said to not mind the bugs, I can't help it, I got stuck in the sides of blocks a number of times (though I was always able to get out super easily), and the landing is honestly handled quite noobishly and/or lazily, but I expect you just had to zip through some things to focus on others, so I understand. I really like how you did those "locked" box things that require you to get a certain amount of souls to open, btw. The music may be old, but it's not that bad. Overall, a nice game. I enjoyed this more than I think I should have. I must really like the satisfiaction of collecting things when there's a percentage left shown and stuff, or maybe it just reminded me of Seiklus and brought back some of that nostalgia, or perhaps it was a little of both. Ugh, I only scored 34492, but just tried it once. I guess I'm used to rhythm games maintaining speed. To be absolutely honest, I thought it was just okay. I think I made the mistake of expecting it to be a little different when looking at the posts made during the jam. Aw well, it's still pretty good, and the graphics have nice style and character. Feels far too unpolished. The gameplay suffers so much from this that it's not really even fun to play for me. Sorry for being so harsh. That said, kudos to you for doing all the photography and recording nature sounds. It shows you have some creativity and can think more outside of the box. Very nice, very casual. I did expereince a bug that froze the game on two occasions, but had trouble reproducing it after those two times. Besides that, the game ran solid and felt really nice. Kinda wish there was "right" and "wrong" answers or something, though, because it sort of feels pointless. Still, all the graphics and sounds go very well together and the ending is quite clever. Major thumbs up for a great ending. Hah, gave up on the desert level. Interesting mechanics, but maybe a tad too hard. Could've given the player more time to think. It's not too bad if it weren't for the things that totally kill you and make you start all over if you don't find the necessary combo. Love the 8-bit feeling and old school Zelda vibe and just the NES feels in general (not sure if it was inspired by anything like this, but just saying that's what it reminded me of personally), but it feels like some of the mechanics drag the game down. It would've been better to make it shorter. Ragdoll physics are ALWAYS a pleasure. Always. I did occasionally experience the bodies being thrown right after picking them up, even though I didn't press the button again. But yeah, ragdoll stuff is so fun. Why is it so fun? Simple idea, excecuted well enough, though I would have liked to see the difficulty escalate a little better. The graphics are interesting. Nice work. I'm sorry, but this one is definitely lacking. Bullets sometimes don't hit enemies when they should, passing straight through them (and yes, I understand the hit box is more toward their feet; I'm not talking about the bullets that pass behind them). Also, the great number of close walls make it annoying trying to shoot enemies, especially for horizontal halls where you can't really see anything, due to the perspective. Enemies spawn in walls and they get stuck. It's not all that enjoyable to play. But, on the bright side, the graphics aren't half bad and the game feels really smooth. Short and fairly sweet. I really like the graphical style. Not really fun to me, but kudos for trying something different. It may not have been executed well, but the concept was actually pretty good. Points for creativity. It's fairly fun, though it's confusing knowing why you can't shoot sometimes (??) and what pick-up items do what. Also, the explosions are a bit harsh-sounding. It is quite satisfying blowing a lot of guys up at once via a chained explosion. I love explosions. Oops, almost beat it, then hit reset by accident because I was multi-tasking and I apparently failed at it...... no time to do it all over again for now, but I'm sure I'l come back to play it all the way through later, because I really like it. Too bad there wasn't an "are you sure?" prompt when hitting reset, though I'm not saying it's the fault of the game... well, actually, you did put the back button in the lower left corner sometimes, then right after pressing back, the reset button would be where the back button previously was and then the back button is at the top left, so that honestly is a menu design flaw. But yeah it was mostly my fault. I understand that. Just saying the back button should remain consistent. Oh yeah, did I mention that I love this game? Wonderful puzzles, even though many of them are too easy and can be solved in too many ways. But that's to be expected with so much content in so little time. Spectacular job guys. I like the humorous text as well. Wow, gotta think quick. I got 303 points on first try, and second try I got 396. On my last try when doing final reviews of the games, I got 697. Not sure if that's all the great, but I had a surprisng amount of fun with this, so that's cool. The story told by the signs kept me interested. The biggest killer of this game is the slooooooowww movement. I found myself especially bored when walking distances were long. The slow movement unfortuantely really sucked a lot of the fun out of it, making it more of a chore than a game. But I really enjoyed the puzzle aspects of it and overall it was enjoyable. I played the entire thing. I love you for the pool of acid giving me superpowers. The game is pretty solid. I only experienced small oddities with the physics. It was fun to shoot acid at the alien monster whatever-they-are things. I like how parts of the game have a sort of cinematic vibe. Wow, barely made the post in time! Everyone did awesome and it was a ton of fun to play all the games you guys made. I already can't wait for the next jam! And I'm determined to complete a game next time too. The M, rui.rosario and TehPilot like this.

2019-04-23T13:02:40Z

https://forum.yoyogames.com/index.php?threads/the-post-apocalyptic-gmc-jam-1-voting-topic.3706/page-2

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