Introduction
============

Genome sequencing projects have dramatically increased in number and complexity in recent years. The first complete bacterial genome, *Haemophilus influenzae*, appeared in 1995, and today the public GenBank database contains over 27,000 prokaryotic and 1,600 eukaryotic genomes. Although many of these are draft genomes that contain gaps in their sequences, over 3,000 of the prokaryotic genomes are listed as complete, meaning that every nucleotide is present with no gaps.

The recent dramatic growth in microbiome research has been driven not only by the falling cost of sequencing, but by this large and growing set of known genomes. The large set of completed genomes makes it possible to identify, usually with high confidence, the species present in a sample of DNA taken from a site on the human body. The accuracy of microbiome analysis is critically dependent on the accuracy of the previously-sequenced microbial genomes. The vast majority of these sequences are accurate, but any errors may be amplified by efforts to search for the presence of unusual or unexpected species. This paper describes the finding of unexpected contaminants in two published genomes and the methods used to identify them.

Each genome sequencing project begins with a DNA source, which varies depending on the species. For animals, blood is a common source, while for smaller organisms such as insects the entire organism or a population of organisms may be required to yield enough DNA for sequencing. Throughout the process of DNA isolation and sequencing, contamination remains a possibility. Computational filters applied to the raw sequencing reads are usually effective at removing common laboratory contaminants such as *E. coli*, but other contaminants may be more difficult to identify. Human DNA is another common contaminant, presumably from the scientists who handle the samples at various times during the process of extraction through sequencing ([@ref-5]).

The current project was initiated when we learned that a microbiome project studying samples collected from domestic cows (*Bos taurus*) had identified the presence of a possible human pathogen that does not infect cows. As we investigated further, we discovered, first, that some of the original *Bos taurus* sequences were actually bacteria, and second, that some sequences from a published genome of *Neisseria gonorrhoeae* were actually cow and sheep DNA.

Methods
=======

We began by using microbiome sequence analysis software to analyze the genome of the domestic cow, *Bos taurus*, for signs of microbial contamination. The *Bos taurus* genome was originally assembled from 35 million Sanger reads ([@ref-10]). The vast majority of the assembly (version UMD 3.1) was mapped onto chromosomes, but a small fraction remained unmapped, as is common with all draft genomes. When we began our investigation, the UMD 3.1 assembly had 3,286 unmapped contigs containing 9,499,556 nucleotides.

To analyze the unplaced contigs from the *Bos taurus* genome, we used the Kraken system ([@ref-9]) to classify each contig. Kraken is a very fast method for identifying the species represented by a DNA sequence, using exact matching of short subsequences of length *k*, called *k*-mers. The software uses a specialized database of *k*-mers (where *k* = 31 by default) that can be constructed from any set of genomes. For our study, we built a database containing all bacteria, archaea, and viruses. To classify a new sequence *S*, Kraken looks up every *k*-mer in *S* to determine if it exists in any known species. If a *k*-mer occurs in more than one species, Kraken assigns it to the lowest common ancestor (LCA) of those species. After looking up every *k*-mer, Kraken then uses a weighted voting scheme to determine the species or higher-order clade assignment for *S*.

Our Kraken database contained 2,757 bacterial and archaeal genomes and 2,335 viral genomes from the RefSeq database at NCBI ([@ref-7]). The Kraken software (<http://ccb.jhu.edu/software/kraken/>) includes an automated program that will download all these genomes directly from NCBI and build a local database. It also includes instructions on how to build a database using a customized set of species.

After using Kraken to process the 3,286 unmapped *Bos taurus* contigs, we ran a second analysis looking at the protein translations of these contigs. For this analysis, we created a database with all protein sequences from the 2,757 complete microbial genomes and used BLASTX ([@ref-1]) to align each contig to the database. As a quality control step, we also ran Kraken on most of the mapped contigs, using all sequences from chromosomes 1 through 10. All experiments were run on a computer with 256 GB of RAM and four 2.1 GHz, 12-core AMD Opteron processors. Kraken processed the 3,286 unplaced contigs (9.5 megabases) in just 3.98 s.

Results and Discussion
======================

After removing low-complexity contigs (some of which contained nothing other than a series of dinucleotide repeats), 138 contigs from the *Bos taurus* UMD 3.1 assembly were identified as bacterial in origin. The BLASTX search, which was far slower but more sensitive, confirmed these 138 and identified 35 additional contaminants including both bacteria and viruses, for a total of 173 contaminant contigs. [Table S1](#supp-1){ref-type="supplementary-material"} lists all the contigs with the closest matching microbial species for each one. The most common contaminants found belonged to the genera *Acinetobacter* (29 contigs), *Pseudomonas* (35 contigs), and *Stenotrophomonas* (27 contigs). Note that additional microbial species might still be present but undetectable, if they derive from organisms that are not similar to any sequenced species.

One interesting finding from the unplaced contigs was Bovine herpesvirus 6, isolate Pennsylvania 47, a cattle-specific virus that causes multiple diseases. Because this is a retrovirus, we considered the possibility that it had actually inserted itself into the host genome---i.e., that it was part of the genome and not a contaminant--- in which case we would expect parts of the sequence to appear in the chromosomal contigs.

To evaluate this hypothesis, we used the nucmer program from the MUMmer package ([@ref-3]; [@ref-4]) to align the entire bovine herpesvirus genome against the entire *Bos taurus* assembly. This alignment yielded the same five contigs ([Table S1](#supp-1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}, contigs 149--153) we had found in our original scan, indicating that the virus was not integrated into the chromosomal DNA but rather an infection in the original animal.

To reflect these findings, we created a new release of the *Bos taurus* assembly, numbered 3.1.1, available as Bos_taurus_UMD_3.1.1 at NCBI (Accession [GCF_000003055.5](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCF_000003055.5)) and also available from [www.ccb.jhu.edu/bos_taurus_assembly.shtml](www.ccb.jhu.edu/bos_taurus_assembly.shtml).

We then used Kraken to search all of the sequences placed on chromosomes 1 through 10, as a quality check on our method. We did not expect any of these contigs to match bacteria, but we unexpectedly found 2,885 small contigs that seemed to align in part to a single bacterial genome, *Neisseria gonorrhoeae*, strain TCDC-NG08107 ([@ref-2]). This bacterium is a human-specific pathogen, and it seemed highly unlikely that it had contaminated the original DNA used for sequencing.

Upon further investigation, we found that every contig aligned to one of just four locations on the TCDC-NG08107 strain, shown in [Table 1](#table-1){ref-type="table"}. The aligned regions ranged in length from 200 to 634 bp. When we extracted these sequences and aligned them separately to all sequences in GenBank, all of the matching sequences were from *Bos taurus*.

10.7717/peerj.675/table-1

######

Locations of foreign DNA in *Neisseria gonorrhoeae* TCDC-NG08107 genome. E-values in column 4 were computed by the BLAST program in a search against the NCBI comprehensive sequence database.

![](peerj-02-675-g001)

  Genome coordinates   Length   True species   BLAST E-Value
  -------------------- -------- -------------- ---------------
  499351--499709       359      Cow            3 × 10^−168^
  1267185--1267393     209      Cow            1 × 10^−71^
  1371560-- 1371932    373      Cow            2 × 10^−130^
  1635755--1635954     200      Cow            3 × 10^−93^
  2118014--2118647     634      Sheep          0.0

In an effort to determine the source of these foreign sequences in the TCDC-NG08107 genome (Genbank accession [CP002440](CP002440)), we examined the original publication ([@ref-2]) and the GenBank entry, and found that although the genome was listed as complete in GenBank, [@ref-2] described an assembly that comprised 180 contigs. Neither the publication nor the GenBank entry contained any information that the gaps had been filled. We concluded that sequence was erroneously uploaded as a finished genome, with all contigs simply concatenated together, and that the cow and sheep sequences represented accidental contaminants, presumably inserted computationally.

We then used the nucmer program ([@ref-4]) to align TCDC-NG08107 to its two closest relatives among the complete bacterial genomes, strains FA1090 and NCCP11945 (GenBank accessions [AE004960](AE004960) and [CP001050](CP001050)), which were also used by [@ref-2] to order and orient their original set of 180 contigs. These alignments indicated 181 separate alignments, in close agreement with the publication. We also found 67 small segments that did not align to either of the related strains. Normally, these would represent sequences that are insertions in TCDC-NG08107 as compared to other strains, a common finding when comparing bacterial genomes. However, these small segments included the regions that had matched the cow genome ([Table 1](#table-1){ref-type="table"}). As a further check, we aligned all 67 segments to the NCBI comprehensive nucleotide database. As shown in [Table 1](#table-1){ref-type="table"}, four of these segments matched *Bos taurus*, and a fifth segment aligned to *Ovis aries* (sheep). Not surprisingly, none of these five mammalian DNA fragments matched any other microbial species.

After removing the contaminated contigs, we used our alignments to re-order the remaining contigs using both NCCP11945 and FA1090. We removed 11 contigs that were fully contained within other contigs. This process yielded a reconstructed draft genome of TCDC-NG08107 with a total of 165 contigs, available in the [Supplemental Information](#supp-2){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. However, because we did not have access to the original TCDC-NG08107 data and because the original submitters did not respond to any requests for data, we cannot be confident that these contigs are the best representation of the genome. As a result of our findings, GenBank has temporarily suppressed the entry for this genome.

Contaminants in other genomes
-----------------------------

As a test of whether these findings might apply to other publicly available genomes, we randomly selected eight additional genomes from the NCBI database and ran Kraken on each of them. The eight genomes range in size from 75 to 700 Mbp and include animals, plants, and fungi. We also performed BLAST searches for each of the sequences that Kraken identified as contaminants ([Table 2](#table-2){ref-type="table"}), all of which were confirmed as microbial species. Three of the eight genome assemblies contained just 2--4 contaminant contigs, and one (*C. reinhardtii*) had 227, roughly similar to the number we found in *Bos taurus*.

10.7717/peerj.675/table-2

######

Results of screening 8 publicly available draft genomes for microbial contaminants. GenBank accession numbers are shown for each genome along with the number of contigs and the size of the draft assembly. The last column shows the sequencing technology used for each project.

![](peerj-02-675-g002)

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Genome                                                                      \# of contaminant\   Total contaminant\   Range of\     Total \# of\   Genome size\   Technology
                                                                              contigs              length (bp)          E-values      contigs        (Mbp)
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- -------------------- ------------- -------------- -------------- ----------------------
  *Schistosoma haematobium*\                                                  4                    9,415                4E-71--0.0    49,195         35             Illumina
  ([GCA_000699445.1](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000699445.1))

  *Cynoglossus semilaevis*\                                                   2                    904                  1E-6--5E-22   62,912         470            Illumina
  ([GCA_000523025.1](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000523025.1))

  *Caenorhabditis brenneri*\                                                  2                    19,677               0.0           13,373         190            ABI solid sequencing
  ([GCA_000143925.2](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000143925.2))

  *Chlamydomonas reinhardtii*\                                                227                  254,869              0.0           11,385         120            Sanger
  ([GCA_000002595.2](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000002595.2))

  *Citrus clementina*\                                                        0                    0                    N/A           8,962          301            Sanger
  ([GCA_000493195.1](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000493195.1))

  *Anopheles darlingi*\                                                       0                    0                    N/A           13,857         174            454
  ([GCA_000211455.3](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000211455.3))

  *Auricularia delicata* TFB-10046 SS5\                                       0                    0                    N/A           4,884          75             Illumina
  ([GCA_000265015.1](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000265015.1))

  *Schmidtea mediterranea*\                                                   0                    0                    N/A           118,433        701            Illumina
  ([GCA_000691995.1](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_000691995.1))
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusion
==========

These results illustrate the importance of performing a thorough search for contamination before submitting a genome sequence to a public archive. The rapidly growing number of draft genomes represents both a valuable resource and also, as we show here, a cautionary tale. Perhaps most problematic was the presence of foreign DNA in *N*. *gonorrhoeae* TCDC-NG08107, a genome that was submitted to GenBank as complete. If scientists cannot assume that the sequence of a species truly comes from that species, then analyses that use this data may be fundamentally flawed. Contamination from other species may masquerade as lateral gene transfer ([@ref-8]), an event that is relatively common between some bacteria but extremely rare otherwise. In particular, the transfer of bacterial DNA directly into a mammalian genome has been suggested previously, based on compositional analysis, but never proven ([@ref-6]). The presence of erroneously labelled DNA causes particular problems for microbiome analysis, in which the primary goal is the identification of which species are present in a sample. These findings highlight the importance of careful screening of DNA sequence data both at the time of release and, in some cases, for many years after publication.

Supplemental Information
========================

10.7717/peerj.675/supp-1

###### Supplementary Table S1

173 contigs from the *Bos taurus* assembly identified as possible contaminants. The closest matching bacterial, archaeal, or viral species is shown. Sequence ID refers to the original identifier in the *Bos taurus* UMD 3.1 assembly. All contigs belonged to the unmapped set; none were mapped onto chromosomes. The final column shows the BLAST E-value from an alignment of each contig against the comprehensive DNA sequence database "nr" at NCBI.

######

Click here for additional data file.

10.7717/peerj.675/supp-2

###### This file contains the sequences, in FASTA format, of the 165 re-ordered contigs that comprise the reconstruction of the *Neisseria gonorrhoeae* genome

######

Click here for additional data file.

10.7717/peerj.675/supp-3

###### This file contains the sequences, in FASTA format, of the five segments of DNA from the *N. gonorrhoeae* TCDC-NG08107 genome that were identified as cow and sheep sequences

######

Click here for additional data file.

Additional Information and Declarations
=======================================

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

[Samier Merchant](#author-1){ref-type="contrib"} performed the experiments, analyzed the data, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.

[Derrick E. Wood](#author-2){ref-type="contrib"} performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, reviewed drafts of the paper.

[Steven L. Salzberg](#author-3){ref-type="contrib"} conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, wrote the paper, prepared figures and/or tables, reviewed drafts of the paper.


Adaptive analysis of fMRI data.
This article introduces novel and fundamental improvements of fMRI data analysis. Central is a technique termed constrained canonical correlation analysis, which can be viewed as a natural extension and generalization of the popular general linear model method. The concept of spatial basis filters is presented and shown to be a very successful way of adaptively filtering the fMRI data. A general method for designing suitable hemodynamic response models is also proposed and incorporated into the constrained canonical correlation approach. Results that demonstrate how each of these parts significantly improves the detection of brain activity, with a computation time well within limits for practical use, are provided.


/* tslint:disable:readonly-keyword */
/// <reference types="sinon" />

declare global {
	export namespace NodeJS {
		export interface Global {
			sandbox: sinon.SinonSandbox;
		}
	}
	var sandbox: sinon.SinonSandbox;
}

export {};


"""
Copyright 2017-present Airbnb, Inc.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at

   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
"""
from streamalert.shared.logger import get_logger
from streamalert_cli.terraform.generate import terraform_generate_handler
from streamalert_cli.terraform.helpers import terraform_runner
from streamalert_cli.utils import CLICommand, set_parser_epilog, add_clusters_arg

LOGGER = get_logger(__name__)

class KinesisCommand(CLICommand):
    description = 'Update AWS Kinesis settings and run Terraform to apply changes'

    @classmethod
    def setup_subparser(cls, subparser):
        """Add kinesis subparser: manage.py kinesis [options]"""
        set_parser_epilog(
            subparser,
            epilog=(
                '''\
                Example:

                    manage.py kinesis disable-events --clusters corp prod
                '''
            )
        )

        actions = ['disable-events', 'enable-events']
        subparser.add_argument(
            'action',
            metavar='ACTION',
            choices=actions,
            help='One of the following actions to be performed: {}'.format(', '.join(actions))
        )

        # Add the option to specify cluster(s)
        add_clusters_arg(subparser)

        subparser.add_argument(
            '-s',
            '--skip-terraform',
            action='store_true',
            help='Only update the config options and do not run Terraform'
        )

    @classmethod
    def handler(cls, options, config):
        """Main handler for the Kinesis parser

        Args:
            options (argparse.Namespace): Parsed arguments
            config (CLIConfig): Loaded StreamAlert config

        Returns:
            bool: False if errors occurred, True otherwise
        """
        enable = options.action == 'enable-events'
        LOGGER.info('%s Kinesis Events', 'Enabling' if enable else 'Disabling')

        for cluster in options.clusters or config.clusters():
            if 'kinesis_events' in config['clusters'][cluster]['modules']:
                config['clusters'][cluster]['modules']['kinesis_events']['enabled'] = enable

        config.write()

        if options.skip_terraform:
            return True  # not an error

        if not terraform_generate_handler(config):
            return False

        return terraform_runner(
            config,
            targets=[
                'module.{}_{}'.format('kinesis_events', cluster) for cluster in config.clusters()
            ]
        )


Vladimir Velebit

Vladimir "Vlatko" Velebit, PhD (19 August 1907 – 29 August 2004) was a Yugoslav communist who joined the Partisans in 1941, reaching the rank of Major-General. A lawyer by profession, after the war he became a diplomat and historian.

Among his notable post-World War II appointments were the Yugoslav Ambassador to Rome as well as the Court of St. James's and World Bank. Additionally, he was Yugoslav Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, and UNECE Executive Secretary from 1960 to 1967.

Early life and education
Born in Zadar, Austria-Hungary to Serbian father Ljubomir Velebit and Slovenian-Croatian mother Olga Šeme, Vladimir's family had a long military tradition. His father Ljubomir was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army, fighting on the Russian front during World War I and later becoming brigadier-general in the Royal Yugoslav Army, while Vladimir's paternal grandfather Dušan Velebit was a general in the Austrian Army who married Elisabeth Marno von Eichenhorst, daughter of another Austrian general Adolf Marno von Eichenhorst. Even Vladimir's great grandfather Ilija Velebit was an officer in the Austrian army.

His male ancestors were Serbs originating from the village of Gornja Pastuša near Petrinja in the Banija region that was part of the Austrian-created Military Frontier. They were recruited into the Austrian army, eventually achieving high ranks.

Velebit began his formal education in Timișoara in German language. His family left the city just after the outbreak of World War I and went to Trieste while his father was off in Russia fighting for the Austro-Hungarians. Young Vladimir was soon moved again, this time to Vienna where he got enrolled in private school that held classes in French language. Following the end of the war in 1918 and final break-up of Austria-Hungary, the family moved to Zagreb that was now part of newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. At this point, 11-year-old Vladimir spoke very little Serbo-Croatian and had to study hard in order to be able to communicate in school. Due to his father's (who was now in the Royal Yugoslav Army) job, the family then moved to Čakovec and later to Varaždin, which is where Vladimir graduated high school in 1925.

He started studies at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Law and then went to Paris for specialization, before returning to Zagreb to graduate in 1931. He earned his PhD two years later in 1933 from the same university.

Legal career and communist activities on the side
After passing the lawyer's and judge's exams, Velebit began working as legal assistant at the District Court in Niš. Accused of having leftist political leanings during his student days he got transferred to Leskovac. Once there he hooked up with Communist Party (KPJ) members (a political party that was at the time an underground organization because of the ban on its activities in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and took part in starting the newspaper Leskovačke nedeljne novine that wasn't openly communist, but supported political opposition to the ruling coalition and by proxy to King Alexander I Karađorđević. Because of this Velebit got transferred again, this time to Priština where he was a judge in the County Court. The continual career demotion didn't deter Velebit from continuing with leftist activity; in Priština he started a readers' group that met clandestinely in his room to read Marxist literature and discuss politics. When authorities caught wind of this, the county sheriff ordered his room to be searched, but nothing incriminating was found. Velebit then became the chief of County Court in Kičevo, and later got transferred to Šid where he established contact with more KPJ members among whom was Herta Haas (at the time a student at Economics High School in Zagreb, later to become Josip Broz Tito's wife).

By 1937 Velebit had enough of being a judge, and moved to Zagreb where he established a law practice. Already deeply involved with the communists, in parallel with his legal practice he became a courier for the underground movement. Due to the nature of his job and a considerable network of professional connections, he was perfectly suitable for carrying messages to foreign countries. On one of those trips to Istanbul in 1939, 32-year-old Velebit met 47-year-old Josip Broz Tito who was KPJ's general secretary at the time. Being impressed with Velebit's guile, skills, and intelligence, Tito immediately offered him membership in the party. After becoming a full-fledged member Velebit began working as assistant to Josip Kopinič, Comintern's agent in Zagreb. In 1940 Velebit obtained and set up a radio station used to establish daily contact with Moscow - the station was never discovered and was functional throughout the war.

World War II
Following April 1941 Nazi invasion and dismemberment of the Yugoslav Kingdom, Velebit stayed in Zagreb that became capital of the newly created Nazi client, Ustaše-run puppet state entity Independent State of Croatia (NDH). He operated as an underground collaborator of the KPJ-established People's Liberation Front. While working underground he used the alias name Vladimir Petrović, although due to being a well known and respected lawyer before the war he experienced no trouble with NDH authorities.

During March 1942 Velebit left Zagreb and joined the Partisans who mounted a guerrilla resistance to the Nazis and domestic collaborationists. Right away Tito included him in the army's Supreme Command where he mostly worked on establishing some sort of military court authority. Due to his education and knowledge of foreign languages, along with Koča Popović and Milovan Đilas, Velebit was part of the Partisan delegation in Gornji Vakuf and Zagreb at the controversial March 1943 German-Partisan negotiations while the Battle of Neretva raged several hundred kilometers to the south. Velebit and Đilas conducted the negotiations under pseudonyms Vladimir Petrović and Miloš Marković, respectively, while Koča Popović gave his real name.

In June 1943, Velebit became the point of contact for foreign military missions in their dealings with the Partisans. Following the death of Ivo Lola Ribar (member of Supreme Command and the chief of Partisan first military mission) on 27 November 1943, Velebit took over his duties. Following the Teheran Conference where the Allies agreed on backing the Partisan resistance exclusively over the Chetnik one, Velebit was sent to the Near East with lieutenant-colonel Miloje Milojević for negotiations over the details and scope of the support. After establishing first contact with the Allies in Cairo, he was on his way to London for further negotiations. Once there, Velebit had meetings with British envoys Fitzroy Maclean and William Deakin over the formal recognition of the People's Liberation Front as a new state entity. In May 1944 Velebit met with Winston Churchill and was also present in Caserta near Naples during Churchill's meeting with Tito on 12 August 1944.

Post-war diplomatic career
Right after the end of World War II Velebit continued his diplomatic activity.

In the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia's provisionary government that got formed on the basis of British-brokered Treaty of Vis and later the Belgrade Agreement, he was the deputy to the Foreign Affairs Minister. He then became one of the chief members of the secret Yugoslav diplomatic mission to Washington, negotiating the terms and scope of the American help to Yugoslavia. After returning home to the country that was in the meantime re-constituted as a Stalinist communist state called Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, he became deputy to Foreign Affairs Minister Stanoje Simić. In that role, Velebit negotiated with the Allies during the Trieste Crisis.

In March 1948, after Soviet accusation that he was a British spy, Velebit was forced into resigning his post at the Yugoslav Foreign Affairs Ministry and got moved to the Tourist and Service Industry Committee. During the 1948 Cominform resolution and the fallout of subsequent Tito-Stalin split, Velebit was on more than one occasion cited by the Soviets as a spy who works for the British.

In 1951, Velebit became Yugoslav ambassador to Italy, while a year later he got the same job in the United Kingdom. During March 1953, he prepared Tito's first official state visit to a Western country. Tito thus became the first communist leader to visit the UK.

In 1960, on invitation from the United Nations general-secretary Dag Hammarskjöld, Velebit became executive secretary at the UN European Economic Commission (UNECE) in Geneva. He performed this job up until his retirement in 1967. Known in Western circles as a skilled diplomat, his last assignment was as an emissary of the Carnegie Foundation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the early 1990s during the Yugoslav breakup and the beginning stages of the Yugoslav Wars, Velebit moved from London to Zagreb due to nationalist threats. Once back he divided his time between Zagreb and Mali Lošinj.

In 1992, Velebit was a contributor for the Radio Television of Serbia documentary series entitled Yugoslavia in War 1941-1945.

During retirement he wrote two books 1983's Sećanja (Memories) and 2002's Tajne i zamke Drugog svetskog rata (World War II's Secrets and Traps).

He died on 29 August 2004 at the Rebro clinical center in Zagreb. He was buried at the city's Mirogoj Cemetery on 3 September 2004.

Vladimir Velebit is mentioned in the 2009 book A Rat Hole to be Watched by American historian Coleman Armstrong Mehta as the point of contact between Frank Wisner (head of the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Plans) and Yugoslav communist government during the early 1950s. Wisner apparently contacted Velebit because he was known to be the leading proponent of the idea that Yugoslav state should be oriented towards the West. According to Mehta's book that's based upon recently declassified American intelligence documents, the Wisner-Velebit contact, which occurred in the wake of Tito-Stalin split, eventually resulted in intelligence cooperation agreement between the United States and Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. The agreement enabled the Americans to get their hands on recently developed and deployed MiG-15 Soviet fighter plane, which was delivered to them by the Josip Broz Tito's Yugoslav government in 1951.

Personal
Velebit married Vera Becić, a woman of Croatian ethnicity, the daughter of Croatian painter Vladimir Becić. They had two sons: Vladimir Jr. and Dušan.

See also
 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
 Yugoslav People's Army
 Titoism
 Communism

References

Category:1907 births
Category:2004 deaths
Category:People from Zadar
Category:People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia
Category:Anti-fascists
Category:Yugoslav communists
Category:Yugoslav guerrillas
Category:Yugoslav Partisans members
Category:Yugoslav diplomats
Category:Serbs of Croatia
Category:Government ministers of Yugoslavia
Category:Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to Italy
Category:Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to the United Kingdom


Infrastructure In Cambodia

How Developed Is Cambodia's Infrastructure?

Due to decades of strife and civil war, Cambodia’s infrastructure is weak and far behind the standards of its Southeast Asia neighbors. Port, air, roadway, and railway infrastructure are all poor, but plans are underway to renovate and modernize them all.

While Cambodia only has three airports that offer regular commercial flights, the country serves as an excellent base within Asia. Located smack-dab in the center of Southeast Asia, Cambodia offers you easy and cheap flights to Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos (each for about US$30). All these countries can be reached by bus, as well, for about US$15.

Conveniences Westerners are used to including golf courses, shopping malls, and high-quality international schools are springing up throughout the country with increasing regularity.

Recently whole swathes of Phnom Penh have been redeveloped, old French-colonial buildings are being restored, and magnificent public spaces—first conceived by the French city planners— are again opening up. Phnom Penh’s long, snaking riverfront has been completely revitalized. It was a lengthy, troubled enterprise but the result is worth it. The project has created a vast, welcoming community area… and again revealed the ingenuity of the city’s colonial planners.

At least in Phnom Penh, the road infrastructure has been massively improved and most of the key thoroughfares now are in decent shape. Traffic gets heavy on the main routes at rush hour, but is still far lighter than what you would find in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, or Yangon.


The Importance of Fitness

Posted By: JaCory Marshall ,NESTA On: July 24, 2017

The Importance of Fitness

According to the World Health Organization, about 80% of people in the world are not active (physically) enough. (1) One of the reasons why people are not as active as they should be is the fact that they are not aware of the importance of fitness.

Fitness is a term used to describe the condition of being physically healthy and fit. Fitness is all about having sufficient energy levels to complete all the tasks through the day. It is important to mention that both diet and physical exercise are crucial for fitness. Now let’s highlight the reasons why it is so important to become and stay fit.

Fewer diagnoses of disease and illness

First of all, fitness is all about keeping the body in a positive and/or perfect shape. In case you are not taking care of fitness, you put your body at risk. Some of the most common diseases related to lack of fitness include cancer, hypertension, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Increased energy levels

Having the required levels of energy to conduct daily activities is crucial not only for success, but also for happiness. Physical activity and fitness can help you get the proper amount of energy.

Less stress

Regular physical activity can help you de-stress. Stress is one of the most common causes of health problems and deaths in the United States. (2)

In addition, fitness is important for the quality of sleep and even for your self-confidence.

How to get fit?

Even if you are out of shape for a long time, you should know that there is more than one way to get fit. According to many experts, in home training is one of the best options, especially in-home training with a personal trainer. Here’s a short list of the benefits you can expect.

In-home training

It’s convenient

First and foremost, on-site training is convenient. There are many people who simply don’t have time to go to the local gym. Other people have physical limitations or injuries. All these things can be avoided thanks to in-home training. So, just do some research and identify the best traveling trainers KC solutions and choose one of them.

It saves time

We have already mentioned that this type of training for fitness allows people to organize and use their time in the best possible way. Once you find the best personal training KC option, you can talk to them about the optimal time when you would like to exercise. There is no need to travel to a gym and follow the working hours of the gym – you can choose to exercise whenever it suits you.

Privacy

The fact is that most people dislike the atmosphere in the gym. These places can get too crowded too. If you choose to have a trainer that will come to your home, you will avoid these unpleasant situations. No one will watch you and you will feel more comfortable.

You’ll get the necessary attention

With the right KC in-home training solution, you can rest assured that you will get the necessary attention for optimal results. These trainers will do their best to help you follow a training program that promises the best results for you – a program tailored to your needs and abilities.


Q:

Convergence of stochastic process sample path to deterministic function

Suppose we have a sequence of stochastic processes $\{X_{n,t}; t\geq 0\}_{n\in\mathbb N}$ such that $\mathsf E(X_{n,t})=f_n(t)=ng(t)$ where $n$ is some parameter and $g$ is just a function of $t$ (i.e. no dependence on $n$ for $g$). Furthermore assume that $\mathsf{Var}(X_{n,t}/n)\rightarrow 0$ as $n\rightarrow\infty.$ So we have that, for each fixed $t$, $X_{n,t}/n$ converges to $g(t)$ in probability as $n\rightarrow\infty.$ If it helps, we can also assume that there is a bound $|X_{n,t}|<M$ surely for all $n$ and $t.$
Question: Can we in any sense justify saying that:
$$``X_{n,t} \text{ converges to } f_n(t)"$$
even if $X_{n,t}$ and $f_n(t)$ grow unboundedly for fixed $t$ values?
Maybe
$$d(X_{n,t},f_n(t))=\frac{\sup_{t\geq0}|X_{n,t}-f_n(t)|}{n}$$
or
$$d(X_{n,t},f_n(t))=\int_0^\infty \frac{(X_{n,t}-f_n(t))^2}{n^2} \ dt$$
or something else can serve as a metric so that $d(X_{n,t},f_n(t))$ converges to zero in probability? Is this idea of mixing metrics and probabilistic convergence a bit absurd?
The idea is that the graphs of $X_{n,t}$ and $f_n(t)$ as functions of $t$ are quite distinct for small $n$ and are visibly indistinguishable for large $n$, even though the maximal extent of the range of both graphs grows unboundedly in $n$.
The motivating example is radioactive decay, where $n$ is the initial number of particles that decay at rate $\alpha$. Let $X_{n,t}$ represent this stochastic process (for fixed $n$ and $t$, $X_{n,t}$ is just a binomial for $n$ trials and probability of success $e^{-\alpha t}$). In some sense, for a large number of initial particles $X_{n,t}$ is 'close' to $ne^{-\alpha t}.$ Is there an appropriate way to define this 'closeness' or is scaling by $n$ the only reasonable way to go?

A:

The idea of convergence in distribution of random functions is standard.  The classical example is Donsker's theorem which  probably does not contain the exact solution to your problem but does give a taste of the kind of thing involved.  There are two interlocking key steps.  You have to pick a function space for your random elements live in, and you have to check a condition called "tightness", which involves (loosely speaking) a probabilistic bound on how wiggly the random functions can be. The details are technical, and vary from problem to problem. A classical (and readable) book on the subject is Billingsley's Convergence of Probability Measures.
That being said, your notions about scaling are naive.  You seem to be  looking for a result of form "$a_n$ converges to $b_n$" when you really want a result of form "$a_n/f(n)$ has such-and-such a limit", or "$(a_n-b_n)/g(n)$ has such-and-such a limit".


1 Suggested Answer

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Related Questions:

Your maytag washer tub and basket assembly sits on a base counter balanced by 6 springs. Is is possible to move the tub around by hand. The best test is to start a spin with the unit empty of cloths, allow the tub to reach speed for a few seconds, lift the lid and check the tub position after it stops, if the tub is off center with the lid opening, re center the tub and run spin again. If your tub returns to an off center stopped position you most likely will need the base kit replaced. The base kit replaces the entire bottom of the unit along with new springs, and snubber, if so packaged per your application. Maytag experienced a defective stamping dye when these bases were stamped, thus they were stamped crooked. This test is performed with the machine it's self relatively level on the floor. If the tub assy leans and favors any one direction while you are trying to center it with the lid open, you may have a rusted or broken counter spring in side the unit. Pleazer Appliance...

Hi Roxanne:
The goal is to get all four of your pawns around the board and into
your home space. You move around the board by drawing cards and
following the instructions on the card. If you land on the same space as
another player's pawn, you send it back to start. The main difference
in Sorry Spin is that the board is made up of 5 gears (a large center
gear and 4 smaller home gears) and sometimes you draw a card or land on a
space with allows you to "spin" the gears 1/4 of the way around. Doing
this may move you closer to your home gear or send another player right
past their home, making them go all the way around again.

The goal is to get all four of your pawns around the board and into
your home space. You move around the board by drawing cards and
following the instructions on the card. If you land on the same space as
another player's pawn, you send it back to start.

The main difference
in Sorry Spin is that the board is made up of 5 gears (a large center
gear and 4 smaller home gears) and sometimes you draw a card or land on a
space with allows you to "spin" the gears 1/4 of the way around. Doing
this may move you closer to your home gear or send another player right
past their home, making them go all the way around again.

Hi Tammy:The goal is to get all four of your pawns around the board and into
your home space. You move around the board by drawing cards and
following the instructions on the card. If you land on the same space as
another player's pawn, you send it back to start.

The main difference
in Sorry Spin is that the board is made up of 5 gears (a large center
gear and 4 smaller home gears) and sometimes you draw a card or land on a
space with allows you to "spin" the gears 1/4 of the way around. Doing
this may move you closer to your home gear or send another player right
past their home, making them go all the way around again.

I would RMA the card if the fan refused to come on. When it is not on and you begin testing the card, does the fan come on at that point? How do you make the fan come on other than turning on your computer? If the fan isn't on to begin with, but comes on when you start playing a graphics intensive game I would not RMA the card unless Nvidia support suggests it.

If its still under warranty, and the seal hasn't been cracked, contact Microsoft.

Try what hijackthis1 suggested, if that doesn't fix it, try this.

Since you have the 360 apart, and the top cover off of the dvd drive, here we go...

There's a circular cut-out that's glued to the top cover that you removed from the dvd drive, right below the sticker with all of the drive information. I was able to pop out the cut-out. After that you now have (3) pieces in your hand, the cover, cut-out, and a plastic piece.

Connected the dvd drive back in the 360 with the top cover off.

Put a game or movie in the drive, don't hit the eject botton, just put the disc in the tray.

Now with the disc in the tray, put the plastic piece in the center of the disc. Its magnetic, so it should kind of lock in to place.

Connect the power/av cords in the 360 and turn her on.

You should see the disc try to spin. (It may spin once or a couple times around, but it will stop). When you see the disc start to spin, GENTLE, spin/turn the disc in the direction in wants to go. It should load the game or dvd with no problems.

Reassemble the cover and put back on the dvd drive.

Now use the eject botton, and try games and dvds.

If disc fails to spin, do process over again.

I've done this with one of my 360's with no problems.
The drive I used was an Hitachi 0059DJ.


Stocks having surprisingly strong year

By Bernard Condon
Associated Press

Published: Friday, June 29 2012 10:00 p.m. MDT

NEW YORK — For all the scary headlines — a bailout of Spanish banks, JPMorgan's huge trading loss, the sputtering job market, Facebook's failed initial public offering — it's a wonder stocks aren't down more this year.

Actually, stocks aren't down. That was a trick sentence. At the halfway mark for 2012, stocks are up more than 8 percent.

"People think we're down because memories are short," says Rex Macey, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors. "It feels like the market's been worse than it actually has."

The year began with investors focusing on corporate America's record profits and scooping up stocks. The Standard & Poor's 500 index surged 12 percent from January through March.

It looked like that gain would be cut in half in the second quarter. Investors worried about Europe's inability to find a lasting solution to its debt crisis and about slower job growth in the United States.

Then came Friday: European leaders announced a broad strategy to funnel money into failing banks and keep borrowing costs down for governments, and stocks soared around the world.

It all left the S&P 500 up a healthy 8.3 percent for the year.

What happens next will probably depend on corporate earnings again. For April through June, they are expected to fall 0.7 percent from a year ago, according to S&P Capital IQ, a research firm. That would be the first drop in nearly three years.

So far, though, stocks in the U.S. are trouncing those in many countries. European markets are nearly all down this year, and several are down more than 10 percent. And many big emerging markets are struggling. China is down 1 percent, Russia 7 percent and Brazil 14 percent.

The backdrop is a darkening economic picture. China's economy is slowing, consumer confidence in the U.S. has sunk for four straight months, and a report next Friday is expected to show a fourth straight month of weak job growth.

As if that weren't bad enough, U.S. companies, from retailers to consumer goods makers to technology firms, are talking down investor expectations for how much they'll earn over the next several months, and that is sinking their stocks.

Then there's the sorry case of Bed Bath & Beyond, which had been an investor favorite. It lowered earnings estimates June 21 and disclosed it had to give out more coupons to get people to shop. The stock plummeted 17 percent, erasing in hours most of what it gained over several months.

Tally them up, and for every company raising its expected earnings, nearly four are lowering them, according to Thomson Reuters, a financial information company. Projections haven't been that negative in more than a decade.

"We began the year thinking we'd achieved escape velocity," says Barry Knapp, chief U.S. equity strategist at Barclays Capital. "But the second quarter data has deteriorated."

Well, not all of it. The price of gasoline has dropped to a five-month low, which means Americans have more money to spend elsewhere, boosting the economy. And the housing market may finally be recovering.

Prices of homes in most major cities rose in April, the latest month for which data is available, and the trend may continue. People have been signing contracts to buy existing homes at the fastest pace in two years, encouraged by low mortgage rates. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen to 3.66 percent, the lowest on record.

James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, says falling gas prices and mortgage rates have kick-started economic growth in the second halves of the previous two years, and he thinks they will this time, too.

He thinks the S&P 500 could end 2012 at 1,500, up 19 percent for the year.


492 S.E.2d 648 (1997)
COUNTY OF FAIRFAX, et al.
v.
CENTURY CONCRETE SERVICES, INC.
Record No. 961854.
Supreme Court of Virginia.
October 31, 1997.
Dennis R. Bates, Senior Assistant Attorney (David P. Bobzien, County Attorney; Robert L. Howell, Deputy county Attorney, on briefs), for appellant.
*649 Brian J. Vella (Randall C. Allen; Christina M. Pirrello; Smith, Pachter, McWhorter & D'Ambrosio, on brief), Vienna, for appellee.
Present: CARRICO, C.J., COMPTON, LACY, HASSELL, KEENAN and KINSER, JJ., and WHITING, Senior Justice.
HASSELL, Justice.
In this appeal, we consider whether Code § 15.1-549 prohibits a county from paying interest on a judgment.
Fairfax County executed a contract with Century Concrete Services, Inc. Pursuant to the terms of the contract, Century agreed to perform certain construction work on a landfill basin. A dispute arose between Century and the County. Century filed a motion for judgment against the County and was awarded a judgment in the amount of $60,340.00 plus prejudgment and judgment interest. The County appeals that portion of the judgment which awarded interest.
The County argues that the trial court erred by entering an order which requires the County to pay interest. The County asserts that Code § 15.1-549 prohibits the County from paying interest on a judgment. Century responds that Code § 15.1-549 does not bar the award of interest. We agree with the County.
Code § 15.1-547 authorizes a county's board of supervisors to issue and approve warrants to pay all valid claims that may be asserted against a county. Code § 15.1-549, which imposes certain limitations upon the issuance of warrants, states in relevant part:
"No board of supervisors shall order any warrant issued for any purpose other than the payment of a claim received, audited and approved as required by § 15.1-547.
....
No interest shall be paid on any county warrant.
Any clerk, deputy clerk or member of any board of supervisors who shall violate or become a party to the violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and in addition thereto shall be guilty of malfeasance in office."
In Lynchburg v. Amherst County, 115 Va. 600, 80 S.E. 117 (1913), we considered whether a city was entitled to a jury instruction which would have permitted a jury to make an award of prejudgment interest against a county. We stated:
"As a rule, the common law did not imply a promise to pay interest, and interest could not be recovered, save where it was expressly contracted for.... While the courts in this State, aided by the legislature, have established a different doctrine as between natural persons and private corporations, viz., that it is but natural justice that he who has the use of another's money should pay interest on it ... yet, so far as we know, it has never been held by this court that a claim asserted against the State or a county bears interest where there is no provision in the statute or authorized agreement creating the liability for the payment of interest. Not only is there no statute or precedent for the payment of interest on claims like those asserted in this case, but clause 2, section 834 of Pollard's Code [the precursor to Code § 15.1-549], which provides for the examination, settlement and allowance of all accounts chargeable against the county and for the issuance of warrants therefor when settled and allowed, expressly declares that no interest shall be paid by any county on any county warrant. If the board of supervisors had allowed the claims of the city, or any of them, and issued a warrant therefor, and the county afterwards refused to pay the claim and litigated its liability, as it had the right to do ... and judgment had been rendered against it for the amount of the warrant so issued, by the plain terms of the statute, it would not have been chargeable with interest. This being so, it is difficult to see upon what ground the county would be liable for interest on the same claims when disallowed by the board of supervisors."
Id. at 608-09, 80 S.E. at 120.
The rationale that we invoked in Lynchburg v. Amherst County is equally pertinent here. The County pays its construction claims by ordering the issuance of warrants, payable on demand, which may be *650 converted to negotiable checks. See Code § 15.1-547. That portion of the trial court's judgment awarding interest against the County is erroneous because Code § 15.1-549, which is similar to the statute that we considered in Lynchburg v. Amherst County, specifically states that "[n]o interest shall be paid on any county warrant." And, consistent with our reasoning in Lynchburg v. Amherst County, in the absence of a specific statutory authorization, we will not permit a judgment creditor to obtain an award of interest against a county because to do so would enable that judgment creditor to circumvent the express prohibition against an award of interest contained in Code § 15.1-549.
Moreover, Code § 15.1-549, which prohibits payment of interest in these circumstances, provides that any clerk, deputy clerk, or member of any board of supervisors who violates the statute is guilty of a misdemeanor and guilty of malfeasance in office. Certainly, the language in this statute is a strong command from the General Assembly that the County cannot pay either prejudgment or post-judgment interest on any claim against it.
It is true, as Century asserts, that Code § 8.01-382 permits a litigant to recover interest against a party in certain instances. That Code section states in relevant part:
"In any action at law or suit in equity, the verdict of the jury, or if no jury the judgment or decree of the court, may provide for interest on any principal sum awarded, or any part thereof, and fix the period at which the interest shall commence. The judgment or decree entered shall provide for such interest until such principal sum be paid. If a judgment or decree be rendered which does not provide for interest, the judgment or decree awarded shall bear interest from its date of entry, at the rate as provided in § 6.1-330.54, and judgment or decree entered accordingly; provided, if the judgment entered in accordance with the verdict of a jury does not provide for interest, interest shall commence from the date that the verdict was rendered."
Contrary to Century's assertion, however, Code § 8.01-382 simply has no application here. We must apply Code § 15.1-549 in this appeal because it is a statute of specific application which takes precedence over Code § 8.01-382, a statute of general application. "`[W]hen one statute speaks to a subject in a general way and another deals with a part of the same subject in a more specific manner, ... where they conflict, the latter prevails.'" Dodson v. Potomac Mack Sales & Service, 241 Va. 89, 94-95, 400 S.E.2d 178, 181 (1991) (quoting Virginia Nat'l Bank v. Harris, 220 Va. 336, 340, 257 S.E.2d 867, 870 (1979)); City of Winchester v. American Woodmark, 250 Va. 451, 460, 464 S.E.2d 148, 153 (1995).[*]
Finally, Century, relying upon City of Richmond v. Blaylock, 247 Va. 250, 440 S.E.2d 598 (1994), says that this Court held that "an award of prejudgment interest against the City of Richmond, although denied, was properly within the discretion of the court under Va.Code § 8.01-382." Blaylock is not pertinent to our resolution of this appeal. The litigants in Blaylock did not, and indeed, could not, assert that Code § 15.1-549 precludes an award of interest against the City of Richmond because Code § 15.1-549 is applicable to counties only. Furthermore, in Blaylock, the trial court refused to award prejudgment interest, and we did not decide whether a city could be required to pay such interest. Blaylock, 247 Va. at 253, 440 S.E.2d at 599.
We will reverse that portion of the trial court's judgment which awards interest against the County, modify the judgment accordingly, and enter final judgment in favor of Century.
Reversed in part, modified and final judgment.
NOTES
[*]  In view of our holding, we need not address the litigants' remaining arguments.


 -2*b = -b + 57. Let w = 102 + b. What is w*s(q) - 2*t(q)?
-5*q**2
Let h(t) = -14*t**3 + 20*t**2 - 5*t + 17. Let c(n) = -323*n**3 - 352*n**3 + 680*n**3 + 2*n - 6 - 7*n**2. Give 17*c(w) + 6*h(w).
w**3 + w**2 + 4*w
Let g(z) = 36*z**2. Let l = -81 + 88. Let f be 54 + (0 - 9/6*-2). Suppose -4*u + l = -f. Let p(d) = -7*d**2. What is u*p(a) + 3*g(a)?
-4*a**2
Let v(l) be the third derivative of l**5/6 - 23*l**4/12 + 579*l**2. Let f(i) = 2*i**2 - 9*i. Calculate -14*f(n) + 3*v(n).
2*n**2 - 12*n
Let q(u) = -156*u**3 - 4*u**2 + 2*u - 11. Let x(v) = -310*v**3 - 9*v**2 + 4*v - 24. What is -13*q(b) + 6*x(b)?
168*b**3 - 2*b**2 - 2*b - 1
Let n(w) = -7*w**3 - 5*w**2 - 10*w - 4315. Let i(f) = 9*f**3 + 6*f**2 + 12*f + 4316. What is -5*i(u) - 6*n(u)?
-3*u**3 + 4310
Let z(o) = -30*o**3 - o**2 + 1. Let p(u) = 125*u**3 + 21*u**2 - u - 5. What is -p(i) - 6*z(i)?
55*i**3 - 15*i**2 + i - 1
Let a(k) = 2*k + 9. Let p(j) = -7*j - 30. Let g(m) = -4*a(m) - p(m). Let l(z) = -5. Calculate 4*g(t) - 5*l(t).
-4*t + 1
Let y(x) = x**3 - 17*x**2 - 2. Suppose 346 = 6*t + 334. Let z(w) = -w**3 + w**2 + 1. Calculate t*z(v) + y(v).
-v**3 - 15*v**2
Let z(a) = 31*a**3 - 3*a**2 - 8*a + 11. Let k(i) = -3*i**3 + i**2 + 2*i. Determine -3*k(g) - z(g).
-22*g**3 + 2*g - 11
Let u(p) = 2*p + 432. Let c(f) = -3*f - 835. Determine -4*c(g) - 7*u(g).
-2*g + 316
Let f(z) = 48685*z**2 - 130*z + 130. Let k(p) = 3043*p**2 - 8*p + 8. Calculate 4*f(c) - 65*k(c).
-3055*c**2
Let q(v) = -4*v**2 + v + 5. Let t(w) = -19*w**2 + 5*w - 572. What is -5*q(o) + t(o)?
o**2 - 597
Let j(z) be the third derivative of 0*z - 112*z**2 - 1/6*z**3 + 0 + 7/24*z**4. Let v = 2 - 1. Let l(f) = -f. What is v*j(c) + 4*l(c)?
3*c - 1
Let x be (-2*10/20)/((-5)/(-30)). Let d(t) = -2*t. Let y(m) = 45*m. Give x*y(w) - 130*d(w).
-10*w
Let w(c) = -417*c**3 + 20*c**2 + 2*c + 2. Let t(p) = -260625*p**3 + 12510*p**2 + 1251*p + 1251. Determine -2*t(l) + 1251*w(l).
-417*l**3
Let g(s) = 3*s + 4652. Let v(q) = 13*q + 18602. Calculate -9*g(p) + 2*v(p).
-p - 4664
Let o(q) = -9*q**2 + 4*q + 815. Let t(d) = d**2 - d + 1. Calculate o(u) + 6*t(u).
-3*u**2 - 2*u + 821
Let k(f) = f. Let g(a) = a**2 + 1. Suppose -w + 75 - 70 = 0, 20 = 5*c + 3*w. Determine c*g(r) - 2*k(r).
r**2 - 2*r + 1
Let t(a) = 21*a**2 - 5*a. Let s(c) = 3*c**2 + 9*c - 4. Let j(v) = 4*v**2 + 11*v - 5. Let w(n) = 4*j(n) - 5*s(n). Give t(f) - 5*w(f).
16*f**2
Let q(j) be the first derivative of 73*j**3 - 4*j**2 + 1662. Let c(v) = 73*v**2 - 3*v. Determine -8*c(z) + 3*q(z).
73*z**2
Let z(a) = -9*a**2 + 515*a. Let m(p) = -p**2 + p. Give 10*m(c) - z(c).
-c**2 - 505*c
Let c = 219 + -214. Let x(s) = 2*s + 1 - c*s + 0*s + 5*s. Let o(i) = 2*i + 1. Suppose -3*y - y = 16. Calculate y*o(q) + 5*x(q).
2*q + 1
Let t(i) = 0*i - 6 + i + 5. Let u(p) = 5*p + 2. Let a(g) = 3*t(g) - u(g). Let h(b) = 1 + 9 - 5*b + 1 + 7 - 13 - 16. Calculate -7*a(r) + 3*h(r).
-r + 2
Let u(i) = 2*i - 11. Let f(z) = -z + 5. Let x(g) = -14*f(g) - 6*u(g). Let r(k) = 5*k - 9. Suppose 261*n - 2419 = -592. What is n*x(h) - 3*r(h)?
-h - 1
Let w(h) be the third derivative of 5*h**4/4 + 7*h**3/2 + 18*h**2 - 14*h - 3. Let m(k) = 3*k + 2. Let b = -6 - -10. Calculate b*w(y) - 42*m(y).
-6*y
Suppose 118*u - 8 = 122*u. Let o(p) = 4*p**2 - p - 9*p**3 - 4*p + 12*p**3 + 3*p - 5*p**2. Let s(h) = 7*h**3 - 3*h**2 - 5*h. Determine u*s(t) + 5*o(t).
t**3 + t**2
Let h(n) = -114*n**2 + 19*n - 24. Let x(g) = -g**2 + g - 2. Calculate h(v) - 11*x(v).
-103*v**2 + 8*v - 2
Let s(m) = -62*m**2 - 2*m - 1889. Let l(q) = -30*q**2 - q - 1. Give 2*l(t) - s(t).
2*t**2 + 1887
Suppose -16*m + 43 = -21. Let s(q) = m*q - 117181*q**2 + 6 - q**3 + 117181*q**2. Let f(x) = -2*x**3 + 11*x + 17. Determine -6*f(p) + 17*s(p).
-5*p**3 + 2*p
Let j(k) = 29625*k + 266. Let x(r) = 9875*r + 94. What is -6*j(w) + 17*x(w)?
-9875*w + 2
Let g(q) = q**3 - 4*q**2. Let j = 212 - 212. Suppose 3*b + b - 16 = j. Let h(f) = -5*f**2. Determine b*h(a) - 5*g(a).
-5*a**3
Let c(s) = -4215*s + 126. Let x(o) = 1405*o - 36. Determine 4*c(n) + 14*x(n).
2810*n
Let y(l) = 5554*l**2 - 5555*l**2 - 3*l - 1 + 2*l. Let r(j) = 5*j**2 - j - 3. What is r(b) - y(b)?
6*b**2 - 2
Let i(t) = 133*t - 56. Let n(m) = -200*m - 5 - 205*m - 207*m + 624*m. Suppose 6 + 34 = -8*k. Calculate k*i(g) + 56*n(g).
7*g
Let b(q) = -2494*q - 84. Let x(z) = -500*z - 15. Calculate 2*b(o) - 11*x(o).
512*o - 3
Let s(u) = 4953*u**3 + 48*u**2 - 25*u + 16. Let r(d) = -1651*d**3 - 15*d**2 + 8*d - 5. Determine 16*r(a) + 5*s(a).
-1651*a**3 + 3*a
Let l(i) = -8*i**2 + 22*i + 5. Let g(k) be the second derivative of 7*k**4/12 - 7*k**3/2 - 2*k**2 + 128*k - 5. Determine -5*g(r) - 4*l(r).
-3*r**2 + 17*r
Let f(j) = -5*j**2 - 8*j - 248. Let m(s) = 13*s**2 + 23*s + 744. Calculate -11*f(o) - 4*m(o).
3*o**2 - 4*o - 248
Let g(q) = -9*q + 3. Let l(p) = -44*p - 16. What is 10*g(u) - 2*l(u)?
-2*u + 62
Let b(h) = 36*h + 91. Let i(q) = 29*q + 90. Determine -3*b(z) + 4*i(z).
8*z + 87
Let i(y) = 2163*y**3 - 189*y**2 + 189*y - 189. Let n(d) be the first derivative of 23*d**4/4 - 2*d**3/3 + d**2 - 2*d - 5458. What is -4*i(h) + 378*n(h)?
42*h**3
Let c(l) = -14*l**3 + 3*l**2 - 3*l + 2. Let a(q) = 2 - 28 - 50 + 10*q - 8*q**2 + 70 - 2*q + 41*q**3. Calculate 3*a(z) + 8*c(z).
11*z**3 - 2
Let n(u) = 18*u**2 - 9*u + 9. Suppose -2*s + 16 = -2*y + 8, -4*s - 4*y + 8 = 0. Let t(h) = -3*h + 2 + s + 11*h**2 - h - 2*h**2 - h. What is -5*n(z) + 9*t(z)?
-9*z**2
Let j be (10/9)/(11/495). Let l(i) = j*i + 2 + 47*i - 7 - 99*i. Let g(k) = -4*k - 10. What is -3*g(d) + 5*l(d)?
2*d + 5
Let m(n) = 7*n + 405. Let h(k) = -19*k - 1211. What is 4*h(b) + 11*m(b)?
b - 389
Let i(z) = -5*z**2 - 26*z - 600. Let p(l) = 6*l**2 + 34*l + 601. Determine 4*i(a) + 3*p(a).
-2*a**2 - 2*a - 597
Let o(y) = 17790*y**3 + 36*y**2 - 18*y + 9. Let x(s) = -4447*s**3 - 8*s**2 + 4*s - 2. What is -4*o(r) - 18*x(r)?
8886*r**3
Let d(n) = -3*n**2 + 9. Let k(b) = b**2 - 5. Let h(j) = -4*j - 80. Let o be h(-20). Suppose 2*y + y = o, -4*y + 8 = -2*t. What is t*d(w) - 7*k(w)?
5*w**2 - 1
Let k(t) = t**3 + 12*t**2 - t - 5. Let r be k(-12). Let s be 1/(2 + r/(-3)). Suppose -9*x + 10 = -26. Let w(d) = 4*d. Let p(f) = 4*f. Give s*w(a) + x*p(a).
4*a
Let s(k) = -4*k + 2. Let x(y) = -7774*y + 4186. Calculate 8372*s(v) - 4*x(v).
-2392*v
Let h be -51*3*(-9)/27. Let c be ((-1)/3)/(1/h). Let i be (10/15)/((-1)/(-9)). Let l(t) = -8*t**2 - 7*t. Let y(w) = -23*w**2 - 20*w. Determine c*l(k) + i*y(k).
-2*k**2 - k
Let x(p) = 9*p**3 - 19*p**2 + 4*p - 24. Let o(y) = -2*y**3 - y**2 - y. Give 4*o(v) + x(v).
v**3 - 23*v**2 - 24
Let h(y) = 23*y - 1553. Let k(o) = -21*o + 1. Give h(s) + k(s).
2*s - 1552
Let t(a) = -13873*a + 8. Let w(f) = 13882*f - 12. Determine -3*t(z) - 2*w(z).
13855*z
Let t(a) = 74*a**2 - 3*a + 13. Let f(k) = 36*k**2 - k + 6. Give -13*f(x) + 6*t(x).
-24*x**2 - 5*x
Let k(o) be the first derivative of -14*o**3/3 - o**2 + o - 8841. Let m(v) = -13*v**2 - 2*v. What is -2*k(a) + 3*m(a)?
-11*a**2 - 2*a - 2
Let x(t) = 14*t**2 + 6*t - 2. Let w(q) = -q**2 - q + 1. Let d(a) = -9*a**2 - 11*a + 10. Let s(k) = d(k) - 10*w(k). Give 5*s(j) + x(j).
19*j**2 + j - 2
Let i(q) = -q**2 - 2. Let y be i(0). Let a = 353 + -348. Let u(v) = v**3 + 2*v + 1. Let h(c) = c. Calculate a*h(s) + y*u(s).
-2*s**3 + s - 2
Let x(t) = -1589*t - 60. Let l(a) = -9534*a - 350. Give 6*l(w) - 35*x(w).
-1589*w
Let j(w) = -11*w**2 - 43*w - 8. Let h(x) = 9*x**2 + 38*x + 8. Calculate -7*h(m) - 6*j(m).
3*m**2 - 8*m - 8
Let b(x) = -6*x**3 - 198*x**2 + 18*x + 2. Let p(r) = -20*r**3 - 594*r**2 + 63*r + 7. Determine -7*b(z) + 2*p(z).
2*z**3 + 198*z**2
Let b be 22/(-4) + (-2)/(-4). Suppose -18*x - 757 = 686 - 1515. Let y(k) = k**2 + 8*k + 5. Let c(p) = p**2 + 7*p + 4. Determine b*c(w) + x*y(w).
-w**2 - 3*w
Let z(d) = 17*d**3 - 20*d**2 - 6*d + 11. Let u(x) = 6*x**3 - 7*x**2 - 2*x + 4. Suppose -129*m = 135*m - 295*m + 93. Determine m*z(g) - 8*u(g).
3*g**3 - 4*g**2 - 2*g + 1
Let u(n) = -370*n - 2715. Let s(q) = -83*q - 678. Determine -9*s(y) + 2*u(y).
7*y + 672
Let u = 5268 - 5272. Let w(n) = -1. Let h(l) = 5*l + 5. What is u*w(p) - h(p)?
-5*p - 1
Let g(k) = 733*k**3 - k**2 + 2*k - 8. Let f(n) = -2932*n**3 + 4*n**2 - 8*n + 36. Determine -2*f(r) - 9*g(r).
-733*r**3 + r**2 - 2*r
Let c(z) = 14*z**3 - 9*z**2 - 2*z + 8. Let y(g) = g**3 - g**2 + 2. Calculate -c(u) + 7*y(u).
-7*u**3 + 2*u**


Wal-Mart Steels Itself for Black Friday Labor Showdown

If you're going to a Walmart on Black Friday to score a cheap TV, the drama unfolding in the parking lot could be bigger than what you'll eventually watch on the screen.

The nation's largest retailer and a consortium of workers' rights groups have traded jabs after Wal-Mart responded to threats of Black Friday walkouts and protests at 1,000 stores across the country by Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart).

Wal-Mart filed an unfair labor practice suit against the United Food and Commercial Workers union with the National Labor Relations Board last week asking the NLRB to stop the protests, which the retailer claims are an attempt to disrupt its business. OUR Walmart claims the union doesn't control it, however, even though the two organizations have ties.

But Black Friday shoppers can probably expect labor actions to be a minor annoyance, at most. While 1,000 protest events sounds like a lot, Wal-Mart has 4,500 stores in the U.S. In an email to NBC News, company spokesman David Tovar characterized participants as "a handful of associates, at a handful of stores scattered across the country."

Rashid Robinson, executive director of advocacy group ColorOfChange, which is working with OUR Walmart, said people shopping at those 1,000 stores would notice a difference. "I think we're going to see a strong turnout. ... I expect the lines to be longer, I expect things to be much slower," Robinson said.

UFCW spokeswoman Moira Bulloch called the organized actions "very much unprecedented" and said shoppers at some stores could see workers walking out or protesting.

The response from the investor community was more of a shrug. "I think it'll be a non-event," said Budd Bugatch, analyst with Raymond James & Associates. "I don't see this as something we in the investment community will ever make a big deal of."

Rob Wilson, analyst at Tiburon Research Group, said he thinks the work actions are being driven more by an effort to unionize than to improve working conditions, which is similar to what Wal-Mart alleges in its NLRB suit.

Bulloch disputes this, as does Mary Pat Tifft, a leader with OUR Walmart. "The UFCW has no ownership, equity or other controlling interest in OUR Walmart," she said via email.

Although the impending courtroom clash won't take place until well after Black Friday, one labor expert said the retailer's response shows that it's taking the threat of a Black Friday showdown seriously.

"The fact that Wal-Mart is responding to this shows that they share the perception that this is not good for them," said Paul Osterman, professor of human resources and management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of "Good Jobs America: Making Work Better for Everyone."

Osterman agreed that there's unlikely to be any damage to Wal-Mart's earnings, even if walkouts and protests go as activists plan. "It's not just a question of how today's shopper feels," he said. "People will still shop there."

"The real impact is what it adds up to is Wal-Mart's public perception and how that reverberates in a variety of ways," he said. Labor regulators could scrutinize allegations of misdeeds more carefully, and local politicians could make it difficult for the retailer to open new stores in their jurisdictions, especially in urban areas where Wal-Mart historically has not had as much penetration.

"That said, if this becomes a material issue [and] enough workers actually walk out, I think the walk out could have huge ramifications for the company and the industry in general," Wilson said.

Although the pushback of Black Friday into Thanksgiving night has been embraced by mass-market retailers of all types, he said a worker revolt significant enough to disrupt business could give them pause. "It may force the retail sector to re-think their Black Friday/Thanksgiving openings."


Following breaking news at a Massachusetts new DNA tests have confirmed the link between the last Boston strangler victim and the man who once confessed to the killings. Prosecutors say a familial match connects Albert Desalvo. To the murder of nineteen year old Mary Sullivan in January of 1964. Desalvo confessed to being the Boston strangler but he later recanted. He was killed in prison in 1973. To sell those remains will now be exhumed and tested to get an exact match.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

{"id":19641951,"title":"Boston Strangler Case Solved After 50 Years","duration":"0:26","description":"Authorities say DNA found on the last victim's body is a 99.9 percent match to Albert DeSalvo.","section":"US","mediaType":"Default"}


A multifaceted analysis of viperid snake venoms by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis: an approach to understanding venom proteomics.
The complexity of Viperid venoms has long been appreciated by investigators in the fields of toxinology and medicine. However, it is only recently that the depth of that complexity has become somewhat quantitatively and qualitatively appreciated. With the resurgence of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and the advances in mass spectrometry virtually all venom components can be visualized and identified given sufficient effort and resources. Here we present the use of 2-DE for examining venom complexity as well as demonstrating interesting approaches to selectively delineate subpopulations of venom proteins based on particular characteristics of the proteins such as antibody cross-reactivity or enzymatic activities. 2-DE comparisons between venoms from different species of the same genus (Bothrops) of snake clearly demonstrated both the similarity as well as the apparent diversity among these venoms. Using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry we were able to identify regions of the two-dimensional gels from each venom in which certain classes of proteins were found. 2-DE was also used to compare venoms from Crotalus atrox and Bothrops jararaca. For these venoms a variety of staining/detection protocols was utilized to compare and contrast the venoms. Specifically, we used various stains to visualize subpopulations of the venom proteomes of these snakes, including Coomassie, Silver, Sypro Ruby and Pro-Q-Emerald. Using specific antibodies in Western blot analyses of 2-DE of the venoms we have examined subpopulations of proteins in these venoms including the serine proteinase proteome, the metalloproteinase proteome, and the phospholipases A2 proteome. A functional assessment of the gelatinolytic activity of these venoms was also performed by zymography. These approaches have given rise to a more thorough understanding of venom complexity and the toxins comprising these venoms and provide insights to investigators who wish to focus on these venom subpopulations of proteins in future studies.


Prison smokes ban ruled unlawful

Corrections Minister says it has been a great success and the Government will change the law if it has to.

Taylor, who is in Auckland Prison, took his case to the High Court claiming the prison manager had no power to impose a total smoking ban. Photo / Paul Escourt

A judge has ruled a prison smoking ban is unlawful - a victory for career criminal Arthur Taylor, who challenged it in court.

But Corrections says inmates will still not be allowed to smoke and the Government says it will change the law if it has to.

Taylor, who is in Auckland Prison, took his case to the High Court at Auckland claiming the prison manager had no power under the Corrections Act to impose a total smoking ban, and, even if he did have the authority, had not used his discretion and implemented the smoke-free ban under direction from the chief executive.

Late last week Justice Murray Gilbert ruled that the ban, which has been in place for 17 months, was "unlawful, invalid and of no effect".

Corrections has yet to decide if it will appeal, but conceded that implementing the policy was a "serious challenge".

However, despite the ruling, prisoners still cannot smoke because the Government amended Corrections regulations to make tobacco and related products contraband and the court ruling was not about those amended regulations.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley said: "The smoking ban in prisons has been a great success and there is no way we are backing away from it. Prisons are safer and healthier places for staff and offenders, and if we need to change the law to maintain this then that is what we will do."

Justice Gilbert said a blanket smoking ban did not serve the purpose of ensuring custodial sentences were safe, secure, humane and effective, and was not "reasonably necessary" to maintain safety of prison staff and inmates.

"In my view, the ban falls outside the scope of the rule-making power under section 33 of the Corrections Act." He added it was inconsistent with other laws.

The judge said it was well established in common law that prisoners retained all civil rights, unless removed by law, so the presumptive starting point was that they had the same rights as other citizens to smoke in their own home.

"The prison cell is the institutional equivalent of a prisoner's home."

The general manager of prison services, Dr Brendan Anstiss, said smoking had been very common before the ban and had contributed to poor health for staff and prisoners, whether they were smokers or not.

"There were a substantial number of incidents involving prisoners using lighters or matches to start fires, trigger smoke detectors, smoke illicit drugs, and make weapons."

Dr Anstiss called it "a courageous decision" and said Corrections "remained passionate in our belief that we could change lives".


Other project properties

Description

This module scans an incoming stream of rs232 serial characters. It constantly looks for a new character, which it detects by seeing the "start" bit. When a condition resembling a start bit is detected, the module then begins a measurement window, to try and determine the BAUD rate of the incoming character. Since many different characters have different bit transitions because of their different data content, this module actually only "targets" a single character -- in this case the "carriage return" character (0x0d). How can it tell if the character is the carriage return?
Well, once it finishes the measurement interval (first 2 bits of the received character) then it uses the measurement to produce a BAUD rate clock. The module uses this BAUD rate clock internally to verify the remaining 8 bits in the serial character (total of 10 bits per received character, including start/stop bits. Parity is supported, but has never been tested.)
If the remainder of the character verifies correctly to be a carriage return character, the measurement is accepted as valid, and the module then produces the BAUD rate clock externally, and flags that it has "locked" onto the BAUD rate of the incoming characters.
There are two versions of this module: One for a single lock at the beginning of the session, which is then maintained for the entire duration of the session (this one is called "auto_baud.v"). And another version constantly tracks the incoming characters, which allows for changes in the clock rate and/or BAUD rate of incoming characters to happen at any time, and the BAUD rate will adjust as soon as the carriage return character is detected (this one is called "auto_baud_with_tracking.v") Because of the extra logic needed to produce a BAUD rate while checking a possible new BAUD rate at the same time, the tracking version is slightly larger than the "single lock" version, and it will work with faster clock speeds.
The auto_baud generator is intended for use in "human interface" rs232 serial applications. It has also been tested with "text file transfer" in hyperterm and SecureCRT terminal programs, to see if it would function during higher speed character transfer, and it worked just fine.

Features

- Tested in Xilinx XC2V200 hardware, no simulation available.
- Test results, and documentation given in code header comments.
- A PC using "hyperterm" and "SecureCRT" was used for testing.
- "auto_baud.v" consumes 59 slices and works up to 87 MHz (no constraints.)
- "auto_baud_with_tracking.v" consumes 93 slices, operates up to 102 MHz (no constraints.)
- Code is written in Verilog and VHDL. Both versions have been tested.
- Default parameter settings work from 300 BAUD up to 115200 BAUD with any FPGA board clock between 30 MHz and 100 MHz.
- Clock speeds lower than 30 MHz support lower BAUD rates, like 9600. See code for details.
- The new VHDL version is a package file in the SVN repository trunk.
- Fully parameterized module.
- Will operate just fine with "non standard" BAUD rates -- such as MIDI (musical instrument digital interface.) No calculations required.
- Works with "rs232_syscon" for an easier bring up of debugging sessions.


[Possibilities for optimizing therapy with theophylline preparations. Clinical effectiveness and side effects of microcrystalline theophylline].
The efficacy of microcrystalline theophylline is examined in patients with stabilized bronchial asthma. Beside the concentration of theophylline in the serum are estimated: the changes of subjective state of health, the consumption of beta2-stimulants, VC and FEV1. Although in 8 of 10 patients the theophylline concentration in the serum was below the therapeutical range for a considerable period of time, an improvement of the subjectively estimated state of health, a diminished consumption of beta2-stimulants and an increasing VC and FEV1 are evident after 6-7 days, also statistically confirmed. Proposals are suggested for using all possibilities for an improved therapy with theophylline.