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Pulse coupled oscillators
Carmen C. Canavier and Srisairam Achuthan (2007), Scholarpedia, 2(4):1331. | doi:10.4249/scholarpedia.1331 | revision #135653 [link to/cite this article] |
Pulse coupled oscillators are limit cycle oscillators
that are coupled in a pulsatile rather than smooth manner.
Definition and Methodology
Pulse coupled oscillators are assumed to interact with each other at discrete times such that the coupling can be described as an effect multiplied by a delta function. The effect is usually captured as a phase response curve (PRC). This formulation allows the time evolution of the coupling to be described by a map from one cycle to the next. The assumption of instantaneous phase resetting requires that the time for the resetting to be complete is short compared to the time between input pulses. The perturbation used to tabulate the PRCs in this context is a change in synaptic conductance evoked by a presynaptic action potential or burst of action potentials, depending upon the type of oscillators under study (Canavier, 2005). Although the pulse coupled methods and weak coupling methods (Ermentrout and Kopell, 1991; Hansel et al., 1995 and Netoff et al., 2005b) both utilize the phase response curve, the weak coupling method convolves a perturbation with the infinitesimal PRC whereas the pulse coupled method simply uses the perturbation itself to generate the phase response curve.
Application of the PRC to a Periodically Forced Oscillator
Perkel et al. (1964) measured the phase resetting function \(F(\phi)\ ,\) in invertebrate neurons that act as pacemakers in that they spontaneously and repetitively fire action potentials in a periodic manner. They induced precisely timed inhibitory or excitatory synaptic potentials in the pacemaker cell by evoking an action potential in an excitatory or inhibitory presynaptic neuron. \(F(\phi)\) tabulates the change in cycle length as a function of the phase at which the perturbation was applied. This function is often normalized by the intrinsic unperturbed period (see Phase Response Curve). Note that we use the opposite sign convention than the one used in that article in order to be consistent with the literature on this subject. Perkel et al. (1964) then used the PRC to predict stable \(m:1\) entrainment of the pacemaker neuron by a periodic train of evoked synaptic potentials. In a \(1:1\) phase-locked entrainment, the period of the forcing (\(P_F\)) must be equal to the intrinsic period of the forced neuron (\(P_i\)) plus any phase resetting at the equilibrium phase (\(\phi^*\)) of the perturbation\[P_F = P_i \{ 1 + F(\phi^*) \}\ .\] For \(m:1\) lockings in which only every \(m^{th}\) cycle contains a perturbation the appropriate expression is \( P_F = (m-1) P_i + P_i \{ 1 + F(\phi^*) \}\ .\) Therefore, all possible \(m:1\) lockings can be determined from the PRC alone. Perkel et al. (1964) also determined which lockings were stable by using a map based on the PRC. The stimulus times \(ts[n]\) indicate the time elapsed between an action potential in the pacemaker and the arrival of a presynaptic potential due to the periodic forcing. For \(1:1\) forcing, the map is generated as follows:
\[ \begin{array}{lcl} P_i \{ 1 + F(\phi[n])\} + ts[n+1] &=& ts[n] + P_F \\ P_i \{ 1 + F(\phi[n])\} + ts[n+1] &=& ts[n] + P_i \{1 + F(\phi^*)\} \\ ts[n+1] - ts[n] &=& P_i \{ F(\phi^*) - F(\phi[n]) \} \end{array} \] In the neighborhood of \(\phi^*\ ,\) \(F(\phi[n]) = F(\phi^*) + F'(\phi^*) \Delta \phi[n]\) where \(\Delta \phi[n] = \phi[n] - \phi^*\) and \(F'(\phi^*)\) is the slope of the PRC at the locking point \(\phi^*\ .\) The stimulus times can also be rewritten\[ts[n] = P_i (\phi[n]) = P_i \{\phi^* + \Delta \phi[n] \}\ .\] Substitution produces \[P_i \{ \phi^* + \Delta \phi[n+1] \} - P_i \{ \phi^* + \Delta \phi[n] \} = -P_i F'(\phi^*) \{ \Delta \phi[n] \}\] Therefore the map is: \[ \Delta \phi[n+1] = \{ 1 - F'(\phi^*) \} \Delta \phi[n] \] If \(0 < F'(\phi^*) < 2\) then \(\Delta \phi[n+1]\) goes to zero and the locking at \(\phi^*\) is stable.
A related idea is to force an oscillator with a feedback input that has a fixed delay from each time that the oscillator fires (Foss and Milton, 2000). The stability result in this case is \(-1/k< F'(\phi) < 1\ ,\) where \(k\) is the number of feedback inputs that have been received between the time a neuron fires at time \(ts\) and the feedback input that is due to the spike at time \(ts\ .\)
Application of the PRC to Two Coupled Oscillators
The next level of complexity is two reciprocally coupled oscillators. Peskin (1975) considered synchronization in a network of two mutually excitatory pulse-coupled leaky integrate and fire neural oscillators. \[ dV/dt = S_O - \gamma V(t) \] The pulsatile coupling resulting from the firing of one oscillator caused the voltage of the second oscillator to instantaneously become more depolarized by a fixed amount. \[ V_i(t) = 1 \, \Rightarrow \, V_j(t)=V_j(t)+\epsilon \,\, \forall j \neq i. \]
This implicitly defines a phase resetting curve because if a perturbation is received at time \(t\ ,\) the next spike will be advanced by an amount that can be calculated using the explicit solution for the differential equation that describes the leaky integrate and fire oscillator. \[ F(\phi) = ln(1 - \gamma \epsilon S_O^{-1} e^{A \phi})/A \] where \(A = ln(S_0/(S_0 - \gamma))\ .\) Peskin derived a return map for the phase of the non-firing oscillator immediately after its partner fired, with the oscillators reversing roles on each map iteration. This mapping was proven to have a unique, unstable fixed point at a phase of 0.5. This fixed point repelled trajectories toward synchronization at a phase of zero or one. Once the oscillators synchronize, the coupling term drops out because each neuron is already at threshold when its partner fires, hence synchronization results for every set of initial conditions.
Mirollo and Strogatz (1990) generalized these results to any two coupled oscillators in which the state variable (i.e. the membrane potential \(V\)) is a smooth monotonically increasing and concave down function, as it is for the leaky integrator. The pulse coupling when one oscillator fired depolarized the other by an amount \(\epsilon\) or pulled it up to the firing threshold, whichever was less. That is, \[ V_i(t) = 1 \, \Rightarrow \, V_j(t)=min(1,V_j(t)+\epsilon) \,\, \forall j \neq i. \] A return map was again formulated in terms of the phase of the non-firing oscillator immediately after its partner fired. This mapping was proven to have a unique fixed point which was unstable. Once again the firing is globally repelled toward synchrony where the coupling term disappears allowing the synchronized state to exist.
The work presented so far on two identical coupled oscillators focused exclusively on excitation that leads to synchrony, that is, a phase locking with no phase difference between the oscillators. For identical oscillators in which the coupling term drops out at a phase of both \(0\) and \(1\ ,\) synchrony is always a solution. However, other solutions are possible, and for systems in which the phase resetting does not disappear at \(0\) and \(1\) synchrony may not be a solution. Therefore criteria are required for both existence and stability. The criteria given below (Dror et al., 1999 and Oprisan et al., 2004) are formulated for oscillators that are not necessarily identical. The existence criteria may be obtained from the algebraic relationships between the intervals at steady state, whereas a mapping similar to the one presented in the section on forced oscillators is required.
For \(1:1\) phase locking, the map based on the PRCs for two pulse coupled oscillators is generated as follows: \[ P_1 \{ 1 + F_{1}(\phi_1[n])\} + ts_1[n+1] = ts_1[n] + P_2 \{ 1 + F_{2}(\phi_2[n])\} \] \[ ts_1[n+1]-ts_1[n] = P_2 \{ 1 + F_{2}(\phi_2[n])\}-P_1 \{ 1 + F_{1}(\phi_1[n])\}. \] Here, \(F_{i}(\phi_i[n])\) corresponds to the first order phase resetting (see Phase response curve) of the \(i^{th}\) oscillator in response to the input received in the form of a pulse from another oscillator. In the neighborhood of \(\phi_i^*\ ,\) \(F_{i}(\phi_i[n])= F_{i}(\phi_i^*) + F_{i}'(\phi_i^*) \Delta \phi_i[n]\) where \(\Delta \phi_i[n] = \phi_i[n] - \phi_i^*\) and \(F_{i}'(\phi_i^*)\) is the slope of the first order PRC at the locking point \(\phi_i^*\ .\) The stimulus times can also be rewritten\[ts_i[n]=P_i \{ \phi_i^* + \Delta \phi_i[n] \}\ .\] At steady state both the oscillators are phase-locked at a common period (\(P_e\)). Therefore, \(P_i \{ 1 + F_{i}(\phi_i^*)\}=P_e\) for \(i=1,2\ .\) Using this and substituting for the stimulus times in terms of phase with further simplification produces: \[ \Delta \phi[n+1] = \{ F'_{1}(\phi_1^*)-1 \}\{ F'_{2}(\phi_2^*)-1 \} \Delta \phi[n] \] If \(|{\{ F'_{1}(\phi_1^*)-1 \}\{ F'_{2}(\phi_2^*)-1 \}}| < 1\) then \(\Delta \phi[n+1]\) goes to zero and the locking at \(\phi^*=(\phi_1^*,\phi_2^*)\) is stable. Delays can easily be incorporated into this formalism by including them in the definition of the appropriate interval (Oprisan et al., 2004).
The above derivation did not apply to exact synchrony because the assumed firing order could not be guaranteed for a small perturbation from synchrony. Goel and Ermentrout (2002) obtained analogous results with a slightly different approach, and extended them to exact synchrony in identical oscillators by making additional assumptions. The phase transition curve \(f(\phi)=\phi - F(\phi)\) was used to define the return map \[ G(\phi) = 1 - f(1-f(\phi)) \] Linearizing the map and taking the derivative with respect to \(\phi\) yields \[ G'(\phi) = [1 - F'(\phi)][1 - F'(1 - \phi + F(\phi))] \] They assumed that \(F(0)=F(1)=0\) so that synchrony is always a solution. Then the assumption was made that \(f(\phi)\) is monotonically increasing so that \(f'(\phi) > 0 \) and \([1 - F'(\phi)] > 0\ .\) This ensures that the firing order cannot change so that one oscillator cannot fire twice in a row. The map then has a stable fixed point at synchrony if \([1 - F'(0^+)][1 - F'(1^-)] < 1 \ .\) The use of the left and right slopes acknowledges the possibility that the first order PRC is discontinuous at \(0\) and \(1\ .\) The source of this discontinuity is often (Maran and Canavier, 2007) the existence of second order resetting (the effect on the second cycle after the perturbation see Phase Resetting Curve). In a network with all to all connections and a monotonically increasing phase transition function, the firing of one neuron cannot cause any changes in the firing order because if the old phase of one neuron was greater than the old phase of another neuron, the new phase will also be greater. The assumption of a monotonic phase transition implies that \(F'(\phi) < 1\ ,\) therefore \((1 - F'(\phi)) < 1\ ,\) and taking the absolute value of the product is no longer necessary. For modes other than synchrony, the assumption of a monotonically increasing phase transition function can be dropped because the firing order is constant under small perturbations without this assumption.
Application of the PRC to a Unidirectional Ring of Coupled Oscillators
Dror et al. (1999) considered the case of a unidirectional ring. Each oscillator receives exactly one input per cycle. Stable phase-locked modes must satisfy the following criterion: \[ \sum_{i=1}^N{P_i\phi_i^*} = j*P_e \] where \(P_i \{ 1 + F_{i}(\phi_i^*)\}=P_e\) and \(ts_i[n] = P_i \{ \phi_i^* + \Delta \phi_i[n] \}\) as before and \(j \in [0,N-1]\ .\) Each value of \(j\) produces a different firing order. \(N+j-1\) cycles elapse before the feedback due to a spike in a particular oscillator propagates back to that oscillator, similar to the integer \(k\) in Foss and Milton (2000). Let \(\Delta \phi_i[n+1]\) denote the change in phase of the \(i^{th}\) oscillator in the \((n+1)^{st}\) cycle. \(\Delta \phi_1[n+1]\) in a ring of \(N\) coupled oscillators using PRCs is fully described by the \(N-1\) state variables \(\Delta \phi_q[n]\) where \(q \in [1,N-1]\ .\) Here, unlike the case of the two coupled oscillators, we have \[\tag{1} \Delta \phi_1[n+1] =A \,\Delta \phi_1[n] \]
where \(A\) is the Jacobian matrix of the discrete-time system determined by the PRCs (Dror et al., 1999). The matrix \(A\) has been worked out in (Dror et al., 1999) where time was used instead of the phase variable. The matrix \(A\) is unchanged for identical oscillators and is given in (Oprisan and Canavier, 2001) for heterogeneous rings of three. The matrix \(A\) is distinct for each assumed firing order.
In the case of \(N\)-ring coupled oscillators the eigenvalues of the matrix \(A\) determine the stability of the system given the values of \(F_{i}(\phi_i^*)\) for \(i=1,\ldots,N\ .\) If \(\lambda_{max}\) denotes the maximum eigenvalue and if \(|\lambda_{max}| < 1\) stability is guaranteed. These existence and stability criteria predict the activity of model neural networks accurately as long as the duration of the coupling is short compared to the period (Canavier et al., 1997 and 1999; Luo et al., 2004).
Goel and Ermentrout (2002) used PRCs to study similar geometries such as a bidirectional ring or chain of \(N\) coupled oscillators. The firing order cannot be assumed to be resistant to all small perturbations in such a system so the issue of stability for this general case remains as an open question.
Application of the PRC to N all to all Coupled Oscillators
Mirollo and Strogatz (1990) formulated a map for \(N\) all-to-all coupled identical oscillators (i.e. each oscillator coupled to all the others) with assumptions analogous to those for their two neuron circuit. As the system evolved in time oscillators formed groups that fired at the same time. A larger group tended to absorb other oscillators until a single group remained. The proof that their map converged to synchrony was performed in two stages. The first part showed that for almost all initial conditions (i.e. state of all the oscillators), an absorption occurred in finite time. The second part of the proof showed that the measure of the sets of initial conditions that lived forever without experiencing the final absorption to synchrony was zero.
Goel and Ermentrout (2002) also studied \(N\) all-to-all pulse-coupled identical oscillators in which every oscillator was identically connected to every other oscillator. They again assumed that \(F(0)=0\) and \(F(1)=1\ ,\) which guarantees the existence of a synchronous solution, and that \(f'(\phi) > 0\ ,\) which guaranteed that the oscillators always fired in the same order. The oscillators were indexed in the order of their firing and an \((N-1)\)-dimensional map was formulated. Stability conditions were derived by linearizing the map about its fixed point. The stability conditions were derived based on whether the PRC was continuously differentiable or not. If \(F'(0^+) = F'(1^-)\ ,\) then stability was guaranteed if \([1 - F'(\phi)] < 1\ .\) Otherwise the following \(N - 1\) conditions must be satisfied \[ [1 - F'(0^+)]^a [1 - F'(1^-)]^{N-a} < 1\ ,\] where \( 1 \leq a < N\ .\) In the latter case, stability depends upon the size of the network and synchrony can be destabilized for large \(N\ .\)
Validity of the Assumptions
In general, pulsatile coupling methods can be extended to inputs that are not strictly pulsatile under the assumption that the effect of a perturbation has dissipated by the time the next one is received. The likelihood of a violation of this assumption is much greater in networks comprised of oscillators that receive multiple inputs per cycle compared to those that receive only a single input per cycle.
The condition that the firing order is always preserved as a fixed point is approached is not always met in networks of model neurons (Maran and Canavier, 2007). Stability in the case of changing firing order is an open problem because the return maps only work with a particular assumed firing order. Also, sometimes the effect of a perturbation does not dissipate before the neuron fires (or bursts) next. In this case the existence and stability criteria must include higher order terms. The contribution of second order resetting has been incorporated for the two neuron case (Oprisan et al., 2004) and for the unidirectional ring (Oprisan and Canavier, 2001).
Examples of Applications to Biological Neurons
The existence and stability criteria for two nonidentical pulse-coupled oscillators were tested in a hybrid network of one bursting model neuron and one physiological bursting neuron (Oprisan et al., 2004). These networks were constructed using the Dynamic Clamp using reciprocal inhibition. The predictions were both qualitatively and quantitatively accurate within the limits set by experimental noise. For these bursting neurons, the contribution of second order resetting to the existence criterion was essential in some cases.
Netoff et al. (2005a) utilized similar methods in hybrid networks comprised of either two biological neurons or one model neuron and one spiking neuron. Stellate cells and oriens-lacunosum-moleculare interneurons (and their model counterparts) that fired single spikes were used to construct reciprocally excitatory, reciprocally inhibitory, and heterogeneous (excitatory-inhibitory) two neuron networks. This study incorporated noise into their predictions of firing interval histograms. Their predictions were accurate without incorporating second order resetting. The method in this study and in that of Pervouchine et al. (2006) is called by the authors as spike time response curve (STRC) method, but it is identical to the pulsatile coupling techniques described in this article except that time is used rather than phase. This is possible as long as there is no second order resetting. Pervouchine et al. (2006) extended the work of Netoff et al (2005) to examine the contribution of a specific conductance (the hyperpolarization activated cation conductance) to the PRC and hence to synchronization in similar hybrid networks. They also analyse three neuron bidirectional chains in which two oscillators are connected by a third cell. In one case, the system was reduced to two oscillators by treating the third cell as a follower cell, and in another, symmetry was used to reduce the system. For one type of cell (the oriens-lacunosum-moleculare interneurons), the presence of second order resetting was significant at synchrony. The pulsatile coupling methods accurately predicted synchronization and phase locking in the two and three cell networks, and provided insight into larger networks.
- Canavier CC, Butera RJ, Dror RO, Baxter DA, Clark JW and Byrne JH. Phase response characteristics of model neurons determine which patterns are expressed in a ring circuit model of gait generation. Biol. Cybern., 77:367-380, 1997.
- Canavier CC, Baxter DA, Clark JW and Byrne JH. Control of multistability in ring circuits of oscillators. Biol. Cybern., 80:87-102, 1999.
- Canavier CC. The application of phase resetting curves to the analysis of pattern generating circuits containing bursting neurons. In Bursting: The Genesis of Rhythm in the Nervous System, series in Mathematical Neuroscience, Stephen Coombes and Paul Bressloff, eds., World Scientific, Singapore, pp. 175-200, 2005.
- Dror RO, Canavier CC, Butera RJ, Clark JW and Byrne JH. A mathematical criterion based on phase response curves for stability in a ring of coupled oscillators. Biol.Cybern., 80:11-22, 1999.
- Ermentrout GB and Kopell N. Multiple pulse interactions and averaging in systems of coupled neural oscillators. J. Math. Biol., 29:195-217, 1991.
- Foss J and Milton J. Multistability in recurrent neural loops arising from delay. J. Neurophysiol., 84:975-985, 2000.
- Goel P and Ermentrout GB. Synchrony, stability, and firing patterns in pulse-coupled oscillators. Physica D, 163:191-216, 2002.
- Hansel D, Mato G and Meunier C. Synchrony in excitatory neural networks. Neural Comput., 7:307-337, 1995.
- Luo C, Canavier CC, Baxter DA, Byrne JH and Clark JW. Multimodal behavior in a four neuron ring circuit:mode switching. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 51:205-218, 2004.
- Maran SK and Canavier CC. Using phase resetting to predict 1:1 and 2:2 locking in two neuron networks in which firing order is not always preserved. J. Comput. Neurosci.,In press, 2007.
- Mirollo RE and Strogatz SH. Synchronization of pulse-coupled biological oscillators. SIAM J. Appl. Math., 50:1645-1662, 1990.
- Netoff TI, Banks MI, Dorval AD, Acker CD, Hass JS, Kopell N and White JA. Synchronization in hybrid neural networks of the hippocampal formation. J. Neurophysiol., 93:1197-1208, 2005a.
- Netoff TI, Acker CD, Bettencourt JC and White JA. Beyond two-cell networks: experimental measurements of neuronal responses to multiple synaptic inputs. J. Comput. Neurosci., 18:287-295, 2005b.
- Oprisan SA and Canavier CC. Stability analysis of rings of pulse-coupled oscillators: the effect of phase resetting in the second cycle after the pulse is important at synchrony and for long pulses. Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems, 9:242-259, 2001.
- Oprisan SA, Prinz AA and Canavier CC. Phase resetting and phase locking in hybrid circuits of one model and one biological neuron. Biophys. J., 87:2283-2298, 2004.
- Perkel DH, Schulman JH, Bullock TH, Moore GP, and Segundo JP. Pacemaker neurons: effects of regularly spaced synaptic input. Science, 145:61-63,1964.
- Peskin CS. Mathematical Aspects of Heart Physiology, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, 1975, pp.268-278.
- Pervouchine DD, Netoff TI, Rotstein HG, White JA, Cunningham MO, Whittington MA and Kopell NJ. Low-dimensional maps encoding dynamics in entorhinal cortex and hippocampus. Neural Comput., 18:1-34, 2006.
Internal references
- Eugene M. Izhikevich (2006) Bursting. Scholarpedia, 1(3):1300.
- Olaf Sporns (2007) Complexity. Scholarpedia, 2(10):1623.
- James Meiss (2007) Dynamical systems. Scholarpedia, 2(2):1629.
- Eugene M. Izhikevich (2007) Equilibrium. Scholarpedia, 2(10):2014.
- Peter Jonas and Gyorgy Buzsaki (2007) Neural inhibition. Scholarpedia, 2(9):3286.
- Jeff Moehlis, Kresimir Josic, Eric T. Shea-Brown (2006) Periodic orbit. Scholarpedia, 1(7):1358.
- Carmen C. Canavier (2006) Phase response curve. Scholarpedia, 1(12):1332.
- Philip Holmes and Eric T. Shea-Brown (2006) Stability. Scholarpedia, 1(10):1838.
- Arkady Pikovsky and Michael Rosenblum (2007) Synchronization. Scholarpedia, 2(12):1459.
- Bard Ermentrout (2007) XPPAUT. Scholarpedia, 2(1):1399.
External links
See also
Phase Response Curve, Dynamical Systems, Periodic Orbit, Phase Model, XPPAUT


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Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful week. We have been busy working away here. Last night Jamie and I worked on a project we are doing on her guest bedroom wall above the bed. It is almost finished so I am hoping to show it to you all with a tutorial either Friday or Monday. My mom and I have also been working on the mantel here and doing a little tweaking at Jamie's, both of which I hope to photograph in the next day or two. And then we are about half-way done with an art project for Jamie's powder room. And once those projects are done I have about 20 more to get started on, including several for Jamie's 25th birthday party.
Jason has also been busy working away. One of his first projects was to start cleaning up the blog a bit (mainly the sidebar) and making it easier to navigate and find things. He added several new pages including a page that has links to all of our tutorials and a page that shows each of the rooms in our home as well as where we got different pieces that we have received e-mails about. I tried to make sure to include everything that we have been asked about more than once but may have forgotten a few things. We hope that will make it easier trying to find things like paint colors. I know it can be such a pain digging through a bunch of old posts trying to find that kind of information. The only page that we haven't finished is the frequently asked questions page which we will try to finish soon. You can find the buttons to all of these pages up top under our blog header!
We are having so much fun up here at my parents. Tonight Jake and Jason brought Lillie to her first movie! I think she felt like quite the grown-up. I had planned on taking a photo as they headed out the door but there was so much going on I forgot. Oh well. She also had a sleepover at Jamie and Dutch's over the weekend. I didn't get any photos of that either. =( I can't believe how grown up she is getting. Because I hate to have a post without any pictures, though, I thought I would include a shot of Lillie as she was headed out to Sweet Frog with Dana last week.
I hope you all like the new pages and buttons! Have a great rest of the week. Hopefully we will be back Friday with a tutorial for a project that we did for free!


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Table of ContentsLilyPond OptionsThis dialog appears when you select File → Print, File → Print Preview and File → Export → Export LilyPond File. It allows you to alter options specific to LilyPond export. (When using the Print or Print Preview options, your work is exported to a hidden temporary file. As of Rosegarden Thorn, LilyPond is the only available print engine.) Basic OptionsExport contentExport content concerns tracks that have segments in them, which are the tracks that are not empty. It is possible to export "All" tracks, "Non-muted" tracks, the current "Selected" track, or "Selected" segments. If LilyPond export is launched from the Notation view, Selected segments include the same selection which was used in opening the Notation view. Compatibility levelThe LilyPond version installed on the system should be automatically detected in the dialog, but it is possible to export to any other LilyPond version from 2.6 up to the most recent version supported. Historically, LilyPond's syntax has changed somewhat over time, but since LilyPond version 2.6 changes have have been less radical and more maintainable. TIP: Occasionally we will fail to catch a change in LilyPond syntax. When this happens, it may be useful to choose an older version than the one installed on your system. If you are using Print or Print Preview, the processing engine will run the convert-ly utility automatically, and that will usually take care of this sort of problem. Paper size and LandscapePaper size can be A3, A4, A5, A6, Legal, US Letter, and Tabloid. All paper sizes may also be used in Landscape mode. Staff sizeStaff size affects the size of the notes. If you want to fit more staffs into the paper, you should decrease the staff size.
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Qatar's capital, Doha, is a post-modern city rising like a mirage out of the hot sands of the Arabian Desert. The ever-growing skyscrapers are stunning, and in some cases, head-scratching works of architecture and engineering. Standing in the city, you almost expect to see the Jetsons fly by.
Qatar is also doing something unusual when it comes to leadership. The 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, stepped down last week and handed power to his 33-year-old son, Sheik Tamim.
"Qatar likes to be the first mover," says Shadi Hamid, research director with Brookings Center in Doha. He says the country likes to challenge the status quo and do things other Arab countries, and in particular the Gulf monarchies, won't do.
Under Hamad and his foreign minister, Sheik Hamid bin Jasem, Qatar has assumed the role of chief mediator in the Arab world, Hamid notes.
It brokered a deal, known as the Doha Agreement, in 2008 that helped avert another civil war in Lebanon. And it's been trying to broker peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
The wealthy nation also spends billions of petrodollars around the world on aid, development and public diplomacy projects.
Setting A Precedent
So why would a ruler who has put his country on the map willingly step down, especially in a region where there is no such tradition?
There had been rumors about declining health, notes Michael Stevens, a researcher with the Royal United Services Institute, a British-based think tank with an office in Doha. "He's obviously guided the country to a very assertive regional role, which has taken its toll on him," he says.
And for the past year there were signs that Hamad was putting things in place to hand over to Tamim.
"Tamim is considered a conservative," says Stevens, adding, "I don't think there's that much evidence to suggest that he's radically religious, or that he's pro-Muslim Brotherhood."
And neither Stevens nor Hamid expects to see any drastic changes, at least in the short run. But without the former foreign minister driving the agenda, Tamim will face challenges, Stevens believes. "To do foreign policy in this region, you have to have experience and gravitas, which comes with age," he says. Which means that older and more established leaders in the region might not be as willing to listen to Tamim as they were his father.
"Qatar was very quick ... to support the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and then Syria," says Hamid.
That made countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates uncomfortable.
Backing Islamist Movements
What has also made people uncomfortable is the fact that Qatar has backed Islamist movements in the region, including some in Libya and Syria that are quite radical and have ties to al-Qaida.
By stepping beyond its mediator role and taking sides, Qatar has made enemies. And Tamim must address a variety of domestic issues as he assumes power.
Qatar is a majority expat nation. Only 15 percent of the 2 million people in the country are Qatari, while the other 85 percent are foreigners. With its huge oil and gas exports, the country has the highest GDP per capita in the world, but that wealth does not trickle down to the construction workers and taxi drivers who are mostly from South Asia.
The many Westerners who work in Qatar have different values than do the Qataris. While some places in the Gulf cater to Westerners, Qatar doesn't want to turn into another Gulf theme park that has little to no influence in the region.
"Qatar doesn't want to become Westernized," says Stevens. "It wants to become a modern Islamic state. At the moment it's negotiating that transition. Is it successful? Well, we need to wait another few years and see."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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This super-soft crew shirt is a good choice if you're looking for a classic long sleeve t-shirt.
• 100% combed ringspun cotton
• Fabric weight: 4.3 oz/yd² (149.2 g/m²)
• 32 singles
• Fabric laundered
• Set-in 1 × 1 baby rib collar
• Tear away label
This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
Dredge Pomrenke Long Sleeve T-Shirt


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Italian Christmas Entree Recipes
Great for New Year Day too!!!
A fine collection of Italian Christmas Entree Recipes Recipes to help you celebrate Christmas Italian style. Here you will find some of the most traditional Italian Christmas Entree Courses that our Nonne... our Grandmothers have preserved for many generations. Browse the pages below and you will find many recipes for your Christmas celebrations. For sure all these recipes can also be used for your New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations as well! Scroll down for the recipes.


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A database linking taxonomic names to their original descriptions, to taxa, and to phylogenies. See http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.190 for background, and About for credits)
BioNames is a database of taxa, texts, and trees. It includes taxonomic names for animals (and other organisms covered by the ICZN), full text literature from BioStor and BHL, links to digital literature (via CrossRef, CiNii, Gallica, JSTOR, and other archives), taxonomic classifications (GBIF and NCBI, cross-linked using EOL, which also provides the images), and phylogenetic trees from PhyLoTA.
BioNames is being developed by Roderic D M Page. Funding for the first release (including development work by Ryan Schenk) was provided by EOL.
For background see Page RDM. (2013) BioNames: linking taxonomy, texts, and trees. PeerJ 1:e190 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.190.


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As with any profession, real estate agents can perform their duties in a less than perfect manner. While most real estate agents are top-notch professionals, it can be costly to be unaware of the signs of a bad agent. Therefore, it is helpful to know the following five ways that bad Dallas real estate agents take advantage of their clients.
Presenting themselves in a manner that misrepresents their experience level is a deceptive way that bad Dallas real estate agents take advantage of their clients. One of the first things they should do is listen to you. If you are house-hunting, they should be asking detailed questions to understand just what you seek. It will become evident if your agent does not know the Dallas real estate market well. If they show you properties that simply don't match up, it is clear they are lost, and you are not with an expert. Experienced investors know the formulas which allow them to calculate the profitability of a particular investment property quickly. Other signs are an agent that does not appear to understand basic investment formulas or seems unfamiliar with the unique language of real estate investing. These are all signs of their lack of experience in this specialized real estate section.
Letting You Lead
If you are making plans for your property listing, such as insisting on open houses, while you may enjoy running the show with your listing, allowing you to do so is one way bad Dallas real estate agents take advantage of their clients. While you may be under the impression, open houses will bring your buyer, while it may be possible, most serious buyers are working with an agent and would not be walking through random open houses. Agents typically benefit by attracting your neighbors interested in selling, curious about your home and listing price. Your agent may be enabling you to lead the way with your listing because they just don't know what to do, so unless you know more than they do, they should be confident about the steps to take and firm in their advice, leading the way to find a buyer for your home.
Always Saying Yes
What you need from a good agent is honesty. Their know-how, advice, and opinion are valuable and necessary to ensure the best outcome for your listing. If your agent exclusively presents the positive side of things, sharing only the pros about a property but never brings up the potential issues or cons, this may be a sign they are less than honest with you. Afraid of losing business, an agent may say yes to anything. Telling you whatever you want to hear, even if it is not valid, is one way bad Dallas real estate agents take advantage of their clients.
False Promises
Making promises without any follow-through is another way bad Dallas real estate agents take advantage of their clients. They may have led you to believe your home was worth more to gain the sales contract, planning to lower the price after your home lingers on the Dallas market. Overpricing leads to a home listing sitting significantly longer, which negatively affects your final sales price. Buyers searching online will reject the property at first glance, well aware they can buy a property that offers much more for the same price. Another promise may be that you hire a top agent and end up working with an assistant.
No Assistance
Some real estate agents may need help but refuse to share their commissions, allowing their clients to receive bad service. You will know you're in trouble if you start hearing excuses about why they did not handle something or return a call, which can be frustrating and is poor business practice. Failing to complete paperwork promptly is one more way bad Dallas real estate agents take advantage of their clients. Their failure to follow through on their word, neglect your calls, miss deadlines and leave you in the dark may also result from your agent being overwhelmed and lacking a successful business system in general. Whether their issues are that they are professionally inept or a mess personally, chaos results from their disorganization.
If you're ready to work with the best, whether you are buying or selling Dallas property and looking for a real estate agent you can trust, call NOW Property Investments LLC. If you are selling, why not skip all of the hassles and work with professional investors. Why worry about possibly dealing with a bad Dallas real estate agent? NOW Property Investments LLC makes selling easy, buying houses as-is, for a fair price, paying in cash, and usually closing in a matter of only days. In the market to purchase? NOW Property Investments LLC has a steady inventory of the best investment properties! Call NOW Property Investments LLC at 2147443491 or send us a message to learn more.


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On Saturday I was finally able to browse the show floor properly with some fellow commanders and we have a fun recording of them along with Barry from Special Effect, a gentleman who walked from Bristol to EGX for Special Effect and 'Wonder Woman'. Along with that I also went to the Planet Coaster Developer session. Naturally I was also at Elite Meet though I will save my thoughts on that for the main show, although here's a most disturbing video of the shenanigans that occurred there!
On Sunday I was with Commanders Kerrash and John Whitehouse and we spent the day exploring some of the retro games (naturally including Elite on a BBC) and some of the VR Experiences on the Show floor. We have interviews with MVR Ascend who are producing a Wireless VR Rig and finally an interview with Katie Goode from Triangular Pixels who's game Unseen Diplomacy gave me one of the best VR Experiences I have ever had.
Aired 24 September 2016
Audio versions
Download the episode directly from here.
Crew Members
Head of Health and safety : Ben Moss-Woodward : Cmdr Eid LeWeise


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Registration Deadline: | November 01, 2005 over 18 years ago |
To apply for Funding you must register by: | August 14, 2005 almost 19 years ago |
Parent Program: | |
Location: | This workshop will be held at International House Berkeley Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The workshop will take place at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Tuesd |
Show List of Speakers
- Luigi Ambrosio (Scuola Normale Superiore)
- Patrick Bernard
- Yann Brenier (École Polytechnique)
- Giuseppe Buttazzo
- Luis Caffarelli (University of Texas, Austin)
- VILLANI Cedric (Institute Henri Poincare)
- Michael Cullen (Met Office)
- Albert Fathi (Georgia Institute of Technology; École Normale Supérieure de Lyon)
- Diogo Gomes
- John Lott (University of California, Berkeley)
- Jonathan Mattingly (Duke University)
- Robert McCann (University of Toronto)
- Sanjoy Mitter
- Truyen Nguyen (University of Akron)
- Adam Oberman
- Alexander Plakhov
- Ludger Ruschendorf
- Filippo Santambrogio (Université de Paris XI)
- Chris Shannon (University of California, Berkeley)
- Neil Trudinger (Australian National University)
- Adrian Tudorascu (West Virginia University)
- Xu-Jia Wang (Australian National University)
Here we are concerned with the optimal transport of masses from one location to the other, where the optimality depends upon the context. The problems appear in several areas: economics, probaility, optimition, meteorology and computer graphics. In the last decade, researchers discovered strong connections between these equations and nonlinear PDEs, for example, when the cost function is quadratic the optimal transportation is intimately related to the Monge-Ampere equation. The Wasserstein distance appears in the formulation of several results for evoltuion equations arising from optimal transportation. NOTE: This workshop is to be held at the International House on the UC Berkeley campus, at 2299 Piedmont Avenue, except for the Tuesday session, which will be held at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. On site registration for the workshop will start at 8:30 AM Monday and end at 3:30 PM Monday. Preliminary Schedule Monday, 11/14 9:15-9:30 Welcome to MSRI (at I-HOUSE) 9:30-10:30 Robert McCann: Introduction to optimal transportation: costs I have known and loved 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-11:45 Xu-Jia Wang: Regularity of the Monge-Ampere equation 12:00-12:45 John Lott: Optimal transport and nonsmooth geometry 12:45-2:15 Lunch Break 2:15-3:00 Jonathan Mattingly: Spectral gaps and coupling for degenerate stochastic PDEs 3:30-4:00 Tea/Travel Break to 60 Evans Hall, UCB 4:10-5:10 Neil Trudinger: Nonlinear PDE and mass transport (at 60 Evans Hall, UCB) Tuesday, 11/15 at Lawerence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) 9:30-10:30 Robert McCann: Free boundaries in optimal transport: a Monge-Ampere obstacle problem 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-11:45 Yann Brenier: Transportation of currents in two space dimensions and the Euclidean version of the Born- Infeld equations 12:00-12:45 Luis Caffarelli: Multiple valued solutions to Monge-Ampere equation 12:45-2:45 Lunch Break 2:45-3:30 Albert Fathi: An Introduction to Weak KAM Theory 3:30-4:00 Tea Break 4:00-4:45 Patrick Bernard Wednesday, 11/16 9:30-10:30 Robert McCann: Geometric inequalities and gradient flows 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-11:45 Giuseppe Buttazzo: Path functionals in Wasserstein spaces 12:00-12:45 Truyen Nguyen: On Monge-Ampere type equations arising in optimal transportation problems 12:45-2:45 Lunch Break 2:45-3:30 Adam Oberman: PDE based and variational numerical methods for mass transportation 3:30-4:00 Tea Break 4:00-4:45 Sanjoy Mitter: Path space estimation for nonlinear diffusion processes Thursday, 11/17 9:30-10:30 Robert McCann: The principle-agent problem and incentive compatibility in microeconomic theory 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-11:45 Chris Shannon 12:00-12:45 Luigi Ambrosio: Hamiltonian flows in the space of probability measures 12:45-2:45 Lunch Break 2:45-3:30 Ludger Ruschendorf: Monge--Kantorovich problem and optimal couplings 3:30-4:00 Tea Break 4:00-4:45 Filippo Santambrogio: Transport and concentration problems and applications Friday, 11/18 9:30-10:30 Robert McCann: Atmospheric modelling: introduction to semi-geostrophy 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-11:45 Adrian Tudorascu: On constrained optimization in the Wasserstein metric 12:00-12:45 Diogo Gomes: Stochastic Mather problem revisited 12:45-2:45 Lunch Break 2:45-3:30 Mike Cullen: Some unsolved problems in semi-geostrophic theory 3:30-4:00 Tea Break 4:00-4:45 Alexander Plakhov: Optimal mass transportation and problems of minimal resistance This workshop will be held at International House Berkeley Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The workshop will take place at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005. Drop-ins will NOT be able to attend the lectures on Tuesday, due to security at LBNL.
Keywords and Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC)
Primary Mathematics Subject Classification
No Primary AMS MSC
Secondary Mathematics Subject Classification
No Secondary AMS MSC
Show Funding
To apply for funding, you must register by the funding application deadline displayed above.
Students, recent PhDs, women, and members of underrepresented minorities are particularly encouraged to apply. Funding awards are typically made 6 weeks before the workshop begins. Requests received after the funding deadline are considered only if additional funds become available.
Show Lodging
For information about recommended hotels for visits of under 30 days, visit Short-Term Housing. Questions? Contact email@example.com.


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Richard J. Miller's New Book "The Sigsbee Deep" Promises Thrills and Excitement
Richard J. Miller's latest book, "The Sigsbee Deep," is an adrenaline-pumping story with wild inventions, terrifying sea creatures, and nonstop peril. This new science fiction novel is full of danger, clever ideas, and the fight to stay alive.
In 2049, the Earth gets very hot, causing a huge earthquake. This earthquake breaks the Pinellas Peninsula off from Florida, making a new island called "New Pinellas Island." Mays Jackson, who owns a salvage yard, and his two children, Lily and Cooper, have to deal with this new, scary world. The waters around them are filled with giant, dangerous fish called Krakefish.
Three years later, the people on New Pinellas Island have made a new home. But now, the island is moving toward the Sigsbee Deep, a very deep part of the Gulf of Mexico. If they do not get away, the island will sink. Mays, his friend Chris Mann, and retired Navy Captain Martin Ullman must find a way to save everyone before it is too late.
Amazing Inventions and Nonstop Action
Miller's book is full of amazing inventions. There is a big boat with spikes and a special submarine made from old parts. These help the people fight off the giant Krakefish. The story is always exciting, with lots of action and clever solutions.
About Richard J. Miller
Richard J. Miller used to be an actor and eyeglass maker. Now, he writes thrilling books. His first book, "The Isle of Thom," was very popular. With "The Sigsbee Deep," Miller shows he is a great storyteller who keeps readers hooked from start to finish.
Get Your Copy Now!
"The Sigsbee Deep" is available at bookstores and online. Do not miss this exciting story. Grab your copy today and see how Mays and his friends fight to survive in a dangerous new world.
For more information, interviews, or review copies, please contact Richard J. Miller at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Richard J. Miller
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 15168151525
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No STOCKS MONO journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.


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- 2018 totalled 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals (+6%), consolidating 2017 strong results and proving to be the second strongest year since 2010
- Middle East (+10%) and Africa (+7%) grew above the world average while Asia and the Pacific and Europe grew at 6%
- For 2019, UNWTO forecasts a 3-4% increase, in line with the historical growth trend
Madrid, Spain, 21 January 2019 – International tourist arrivals grew 6% in 2018, totalling 1.4 billion according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. UNWTO's long term forecast issued in 2010 indicated the 1.4 billion mark would be reached in 2020, yet the remarkable growth of international arrivals in recent years has brought it two years ahead.
International tourist arrivals up 6% in 2018
UNWTO estimates that worldwide international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased 6% to 1.4 billion in 2018, clearly above the 3.7% growth registered in the global economy.
In relative terms, the Middle East (+10%), Africa (+7%), Asia and the Pacific and Europe (both at +6%) led growth in 2018. Arrivals to the Americas were below the world average (+3%).
"The growth of tourism in recent years confirms that the sector is today one of the most powerful drivers of economic growth and development. It is our responsibility to manage it in a sustainable manner and translate this expansion into real benefits for all countries, and particularly, to all local communities, creating opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship and leaving no one behind" said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. "This is why UNWTO is focussing 2019 on education, skills and job creation.", he added.
UNWTO's long-term forecast published in 2010 predicted the 1.4 billion mark of international tourist arrivals for 2020. Yet stronger economic growth, more affordable air travel, technological changes, new businesses models and greater visa facilitation around the word have accelerated growth in recent years.
Results by region
International tourist arrivals in Europe reached 713 million in 2018, a notable 6% increase over an exceptionally strong 2017. Growth was driven by Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+7%), Central and Eastern Europe (+6%) and Western Europe (+6%). Results in Northern Europe were flat due to the weakness of arrivals to the United Kingdom.
Asia and the Pacific (+6%) recorded 343 million international tourist arrivals in 2018. Arrivals in South-East Asia grew 7%, followed by North-East Asia (+6%) and South Asia (+5%). Oceania showed more moderate growth at +3%.
The Americas (+3%) welcomed 217 million international arrivals in 2018, with mixed results across destinations. Growth was led by North America (+4%), and followed by South America (+3%), while Central America and the Caribbean (both -2%) reached very mixed results, the latter reflecting the impact of the September 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Data from Africa points to a 7% increase in 2018 (North Africa at +10% and Sub-Saharan +6%), reaching an estimated 67 million arrivals.
The Middle East (+10%) showed solid results last year consolidating its 2017 recovery, with international tourist arrivals reaching 64 million.
Growth expected to return to historical trends in 2019
Based on current trends, economic prospects and the UNWTO Confidence Index, UNWTO forecasts international arrivals to grow 3% to 4% next year, more in line with historic growth trends.
As a general backdrop, the stability of fuel prices tends to translate into affordable air travel while air connectivity continues to improve in many destinations, facilitating the diversification of source markets. Trends also show strong outbound travel from emerging markets, especially India and Russia but also from smaller Asian and Arab source markets.
At the same time, the global economic slowdown, the uncertainty related to the Brexit, as well as geopolitical and trade tensions may prompt a "wait and see" attitude among investors and travellers.
Overall, 2019 is expected to see the consolidation among consumers of emerging trends such as the quest for 'travel to change and to show', 'the pursuit of healthy options' such as walking, wellness and sports tourism, 'multigenerational travel' as a result of demographic changes and more responsible travel.
"Digitalisation, new business models, more affordable travel and societal changes are expected to continue shaping our sector, so both destination and companies need to adapt if they want to remain competitive", added Pololikashvili.


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Slots myths are commonly spread and frequently even sold as bogus slots tactics. No matter how experienced the player may seem the supposed strategy, is not but a myth. The game of slots is solely based on chance. So anyone claiming to have figured out a mathematical strategy or algorithm to predict continues reading of the spins is wanting to con you.
Casinos be capable of turning the possibility of the slot whilst you are playing. Not true, when your slot machine is run by a random number generator for that reason it's impossible for the casino to swap the payoffs.
Free Online Slots enable a person practice your gaming skills to transform your chances of winning activity . bet actual money to play slots in online on-line casinos. Many experts say that online slots seem offer better odds and larger jackpots, so in retrospect more people these days play it everyday. In fact, the typical percentage of online slots payout their In american is an astonishing 93 amount.
Everyone attributes a favorite kind of slot game, but there's no need to limit you to ultimately just one of them. Try putting gampangjp within a bunch of games just to experiment of what is Online Slots.
Make your bet – Generally, with traditional slot machine, you need insert your coins. However, with online slots, all you need to do is press button for your maximum bet and this amount will be deducted through the bankroll.
As I said, slots have the lowest rate of applicable methods for. But that does not imply there's oh dear to slide the house edge down just just a little bit. It is really an a couple of slots inventory.
You have hundreds of choices whenever it comes to playing pai gow poker online. There are many different software platforms offering many methods from 3 reel and 5 reel machines to video, bonus and jackpot progressive payouts. Can easily choose from downloading a large software suite including regarding games or just play no download version which opens your favorite game within your computer screen window without more rather than a free account and click on of the mouse.
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Forum: Other Forums
Sub-Forums Threads / Posts Last Post
NOTE: the views expressed herein by individual posters do not necessarily reflect that of the management of RSR. This is the forum for discussion of politics, current events and other stuff: Trump, Biden, Covid, Ukraine, "CHINA", terrorism, fake news, real news, etc.. Because of the divisive nature of political forums, remember we are all Ravens fans. Please be respectful of your fellow board members.
Forum Actions:
Forum Statistics:
- Threads: 4,303
- Posts: 187,607
Last Post:
Moderators use this forum as a depositary for the really bad stuff that gets dumped from other forums. Very occasionally, it turns out to be a good read but it will eventually get tossed. Peace and Love, peace and love.
Forum Actions:
Forum Statistics:
- Threads: 133
- Posts: 4,620
Last Post:


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Last week it was BSD week: OpenBSD 4.5, NetBSD 5.0, and DragonFlyBSD 2.2.1. FreeBSD 7.2 completes the picture, with every major BSD now having a new and fresh release waiting to be installed on your desktop, laptop, or server.
FreeBSD 7.2 obviously builds upon version 7.1, but introduces a few new features as well. The team lists the following changes as the most important of this release:
- support for fully transparent use of superpages for application memory
- Support for multiple IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for jails
- csup(1) now supports CVSMode to fetch a complete CVS repository
- Gnome updated to 2.26, KDE updated to 4.2.2
- sparc64 now supports UltraSparc-III processors
FreeBSD 7.2 is available for amd64, i386, ia64, pc98, powerpc, and sparc64, and can be installed through plain old iso images or over the network. Torrent downloads are preferred, but the release announcement also has a list of mirrors.


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Out of stock, request a quote
HPE Dedicated iLO Management Port Kit - Remote management adapter - for ProLiant ML110 Gen9, ML150 Gen9, ML350 Gen9We supply IT products and managed services to thousands of customers, including small to medium-sized businesses as well as the public sector.
Our talented and friendly team of experienced IT specialists are passionate about helping our customers fulfil their technology needs. We can provide complete IT solutions, including workplace, data centre, storage and networking products, backed by the supporting services needed to implement and support your infrastructure securely - whether that's on premise, in the cloud or a hybrid solution.


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What is it?
A report with a rent estimate, rental comps, & local metrics.
How do I get it?
The Rental Price Report is free, just fill out the form to the right.
What's the Catch?
There isn't one! We'll call you to discuss your property, answer any questions you have, then email you the report.
Can we meet at the property in person?
Yes! We'll do a walk-through, tell you what to expect, provide rent-ready maintenance suggestions, and discuss how to get you a great renter.


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This simple plugin adds a slick HTML (Not XML) sitemap of you site by entering the shortcode [slick-sitemap] in the page content. This simple plugin is configured from the dashboard. Settings include the menu
, column
, utility menu
. You can select a menu you created.
The new release enables the user to add multiple sitemaps to their website. instead of specify the menu in through the dashboard, user can specify menus through the short tag attribute. just like:
[slick-sitemap sitemap_menu='sitemap' utility_menu='utility' column=5].
Plugin author: Pengbo Tang, host of the pengbos.com http://pengbos.com –
CSS Creator: Matt Everson of Astuteo, LLC http://astuteo.com/slickmap –
Follow us on Twitter
- Copy the entire directory from the downloaded zip file into the /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
- Activate the "Slick Sitemap" plugin in the Plugin Management page.
- Create a navigation menu for the sitemap.
- Configure the Slick sitemap in the coniguration page. Specify the default menu for the map, default utility menu, and default column for the layout.
- Add the shortcode [slick-sitemap] to the post(s) or page(s) of your choice with the default choice performed by the previous step. You can always specify the menu by short tag attribute like:
[slick-sitemap sitemap_menu='sitemap' utility_menu='utility' column=5] or [slick-sitemap sitemap_menu='sitemap' column=6] with the utility menu using the default setting.
Nothing here until now..
Contributors & Developers
"Slick Sitemap" is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
ContributorsTranslate "Slick Sitemap" into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
- Released on 03/05/2012
- Initial release of Slick Sitemap plugin.
- Released on 08/08/2015
- Add new feature to support multiple sitemaps for one wordpress site, by using the short tag attributes.
[slick-sitemap sitemap_menu='sitemap' utility_menu='utility' column=5]


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Orders are dispatched Tuesday - Friday 📬
Valve Socket for pressure fittings. Ranging in size from 15mm - 150mm
Household Parts & FixturesPipe & FittingsWater FiltrationHeating SolutionsRural Plumbing EquipmentTools & StorageShop
If you would like to know more information about a specific product in our Plumbing Supply Shop or would like to enquire about an order, please send us a message
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The Tiffen 58mm Digital Essentials Filter Kit contains all the basics that an outdoor digital shooter requires.
The Tiffen 58mm Digital Essentials Filter Kit contains all the basics that an outdoor digital shooter requires.
UV Protector
These are wise initial investments. They help protect your valuable investment from dust, moisture and scratches, which can lead to costly repairs.
Circular Polarizer
Light rays which are reflected become polarized. Polarizing filters are used to select which light rays enter your camera lens. They can remove unwanted reflections from non-metallic surfaces such as water or glass and also saturate colors providing better contrast. The effect can be seen through the viewfinder and changed by rotating the filter. The filter factor varies according to how the filter is rotated and its orientation to the sun.
Neutral Density
Neutral Density filters from Tiffen have several uses and offer the possibility to achieve otherwise unachievable results. They enable the shooter to adjust exposure without affecting color balance. ND filters appear gray and reduce the amount of light reaching the either the sensor of a digital camera or the film plane of a traditional film camera. Neutral Density filters are used to create some unusual special effects such as capturing the "blur" of the rippling water of a waterfall or the swirling effect of city traffic. Since they allow the use of slower shutter speeds in bright light, it becomes possible to create these special effects that would normally not be possible to capture without the filter. And since they can also help to control your depth of field, they permit you to shoot at wider apertures. Ultimately, their value is in helping to prevent bright, overly washed out images shot in bright light.
The entire kit comes with a Tiffen padded storage pouch that will help keep your filters clean and free from dust, dirt, fingerprints and other contaminants,.
Tiffen's ColorCore glass is produced through a process that entails permanently laminating the filter material in between two pieces of optical glass that are ground flat to tolerances of a ten-thousandth of an inch, then mounting them in precision aluminum rings.
UV Protector
Tiffen filters provide additional benefits of correction for Ultraviolet(UV) light which can register on film and videotape as a bluish cast and can obscure distant details
If desired they can be left on the lens at all times for protection
Circular Polarizer
This filter eliminates ultraviolet rays to remove haze from outdoor shots as well as polarizing the light to remove reflections, and increase color saturation, without affecting the overall color balance
Makes a blue sky bluer
Enhances clouds
Neutral Density Filters Have Four Main Uses
To enable slow shutter speeds to be used, especially with high speed ISOs, to record movement in subjects such as waterfalls, clouds, or cars
To decrease depth of field by allowing wider apertures to be used, which helps separate subjects from their background
To decrease the effective ISO of high speed film (above ISO 400) and allow it to be used outdoors in bright situation
To allow cine and video cameras (which have fixed shutter speeds) to film subjects such as snow, sand or other bright scenes which could cause overexposure
Tiffen Quality
Tiffen's ColorCore glass is sealed between two optical glass sheets. In this way, Tiffen can better control the various densities of their filters and thereby create more exact degrees of filtration. This process makes for greater accuracy of color as opposed to glass that is simply dyed and become subject to deviation during the dye process
Tiffen, a leader in the filter industry, proudly makes its filters in the USA and backs up its products with a solid 10-year warranty
Type | Digital Essentials Kit |
Size | 58mm |
Grade | UV Protector: Not applicable Circular Polarizer: Not applicable Neutral Density: 0.6 |
Filter Factor | UV Protector: 0 Circular Polarizer: Between 2.3 and 2.8 (approx. +1.3 stops) Neutral Density: 2-stops |
Multi-Coated | Not Applicable |
Rotating | Only the circular polarizer |
Effect | UV Protector: Reduces excessive blue; cuts through haze and can improve image clarity; protects front element of lens Circular Polarizer: Removes reflections and increases color saturation without affecting the overall color balance Neutral Density: Reduce the amount of light reaching the digital sensor or film plane; to use high speed ISOs in bright light |
Application | UV Protector: Helpful when photographing mountain and marine scenes, where increased haze threatens to make your photographs indistinct in color and clarity Circular Polarizer: Nature, travel, outdoor photography Neutral Density: Nature, travel, outdoor photography |
Color Temperature | UV Protector: No change Circular Polarizer: Not applicable Neutral Density: Not applicable |
Construction | ColorCore Glass |
Front Filter Thread Size | 58mm |
Front Lens Cap Size | 58mm |


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William H. Robinson, Inc., is the only advertising and marketing company that works exclusively for the amusement park, water park, and support industry! Our over fifty years of experience with amusement facilities has our staff dedicated to selling the business of fun.
Whether it's creating and tailoring a marketing campaign specifically for your facility, working with your staff to evaluate your Group Sales programs, just designing your brochure, or acting as your in-house advertising agency, William H. Robinson, Inc., and our team focus our efforts to promote & sell your amusement facility as a destination for fun & entertainment. To us, you're not just another product to sell, you're a destination … an adventure waiting to be had!
Our clients truly aren't just a paycheck to us. We build lasting relationships with them, retaining a working relationship with many of our clients for well over a decade. We work side-by-side with management to understand, showcase, and promote your facility like only someone vested within the amusement industry can!
Our productions and designs have won numerous Telly Award, Wave Review Awards (World Waterpark Association), Golden Token Awards (International Association of Leisure & Entertainment Industry), and countless Brass Ring Awards from the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA). More importantly, they've won for our clients by keeping their turnstiles turning and increasing their facilities reach!


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With my New Years Resolution being to eat healthier and drink more water..I dont know about you, but I HATTTEE water! So I dug around for some natural ways to sweeten up my water!
Here are some ideas!
- Add a slice of your favorite citrus to a tall glass of ice water…try lemon, lime, or orange slices. Or combine them…slices of lemon and lime…orange and lime…or try all three together!
- Fresh mint is always a great addition to a glass of ice water.
- Combine lemon slices with fresh herbs in your water…try lemon with mint, rosemary, thyme, or sliced ginger root.
- Cucumbers are great in water, too! Slice up a large cucumber and add it to a pitcher of water…it's really refreshing. You can also try cucumber with some fresh thyme added in. Or cucumber slices with lemon or orange slices.
- If you want a more intense flavor to your glass of water, squeeze the citrus and/or twist the herbs you are using before you add them to your glass.
- Besides lemons, oranges, and limes, you can try adding other kinds of fruit to your glass or pitcher of water…a small handful of your favorite berries (or mixed berries) is a nice addition to a glass of ice water. Other fruits you can try alone or in combination are: watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, grapes, and kiwi.
- Jenny from An Oregon Cottage mentioned in a comment on this post that she likes to use orange and mint or strawberry and cucumber combinations to flavor her water–great ideas!
If you're wanting to make a pitcher of
flavored water, you basically just slice or chop up some fresh fruit,
cucumbers, or herbs and place in a pitcher, add cold water and chill
several hours. The result is water infused with a light, natural flavor.
It's ready to serve over ice, garnished with a slice of fruit or
clipping of an herb of your choice. Here are some other recipes for
flavored water you may want to try:
- 1 large lemon, sliced
- 1 large lime, sliced
- 1 large orange, sliced
- 1 large cucumber, sliced
- 1 half-gallon of water
Place all the sliced fruits and the
cucumber in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for two hours to
allow flavors to infuse, then serve in glasses over ice.
- 5 cups water
- 10 thin slices of cucumber
- 2 lemon slices
- 2 sprigs of fresh mint
- 3 sprigs of rosemary
Put water in pitcher and add lemon slices and cucumber slices. Crush
mint and rosemary to release flavor, then add to other ingredients.
Refrigerate for several hours. Serve over ice in tall glasses. Garnish
with a lemon wedge.
- 1 large cucumber, sliced
- 1/4 honeydew melon, cubed
- 1/4 cantaloupe, cubed
- 1 half-gallon water
Place cucumber and melons in a glass pitcher and add water.
Refrigerate for 2 hours, then serve over ice. Garnish with melon balls
skewered on a swizzle stick.
- 2–3 slices of ripe honeydew melon
- 1 lime, sliced
- 4 sprigs of mint
- 1 half-gallon of water
Add melon slices, lime slices and mint sprigs to a large pitcher;
fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in
ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, lightly crushed
- 2 4–inch sprigs of fresh rosemary. lightly bruised (to release more flavor)
- 1 half-gallon of water
Add blueberries and rosemary sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the
half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled
glasses. Makes about 8 servings.
- 3 large lemons, sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh lavender
- 1 half-gallon of water
Add lemon slices and lavender to pitcher; pour water over both and
refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of
LEMON–MINT or LEMON-BASIL WATER
- 4 lemons, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh mint or basil leaves
- 6–8 cups water
- 6–8 cups ice cubes
- Fresh mint or basil sprigs
Place lemon slices in a large pitcher. Rub the mint or basil leaves
between the palms of your hands to bruise the leaves slightly. Add to
the pitcher with lemon and pour in the water. Cover and chill 1–8 hours.
Strain lemon–water mixture and discard herbs. Divide lemon slices and
additional fresh mint or basil sprigs equally among 6–8 glasses. In
each glass, add 1 cup of ice cubes, then fill with lemon water.
- 1 large lemon, sliced
- 1 large lime, sliced
- 1 large orange, sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
- 1 half-gallon of water
Add citrus slices (and cilantro leaves, if desired) to a large
pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2 hours.
Serve in ice-filled glasses. Garnish with your favorite citrus slice
(and a sprig of cilantro, if you're using that). Makes about 8 servings.
- 2 cups frozen apple chunks, grapes, or berries
- 1 half-gallon of water
Add frozen fruit to a pitcher; pour water over fruit and let sit at
least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Stir to distribute fruit flavor
and serve in glasses with some ice cubes. (Note: you can chop up the
same kind of fruit, unfrozen, and follow same directions. You'll need
to use more ice when serving the unfrozen fruit–flavored water).
- 3 large oranges, sliced
- 10 mint leaves
- 1 half-gallon of water
Put sliced oranges and mint leaves in pitcher and add water;
refrigerate for 2 hours to infuse flavors. Pour over ice and garnish
with a sprig of mint and orange slice.
- 2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
- 10 basil leaves
- 1 half-gallon of water
Pour water over melon and basil; refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of basil.
- 1 each of the following fruits: apple, lemon, orange, pear
- 4 large strawberries
- Handful of raspberries
- Handful of mint leaves
- 1 half-gallon of water
Cut large slices or thin wedges of each fruit; place them in a large
glass pitcher and add cold water. Refrigerate 2 hours and serve over ice
in tall glasses.
Various tips and recipes from Southern Living, eHow, Vegetable Gardener, About.com, Eating Well.
Linked to Foodie Friday and Sundae Scoop.


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Rabbit Hole
Regular price
We're running late today. Show off your geeky pride around the neck of your favorite animal!
By default, I will attach three sets of snaps to allow for up to five inches of size adjustment to get the perfect fit for your pet.
All my bandanas are reversible! Be sure to leave a note with the pattern you want on the other side of this bandana. If you leave it blank, I will choose the reverse fabric for you.
Due to the repeating patterns of the fabric, each finished product will vary slightly and be truly unique for your pet.


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ARIES (March 21-April 19):The European Union has had rules banning the sale of ugly carrots with knobby protrusions, cucumbers that are grossly curved, and equally unaesthetic specimens of 24 other fruits and vegetables. Recently that changed, however. The stiff standards were relaxed. "It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' shape," said the EU's commissioner for agriculture. I suggest you make a metaphorically similar shift, Aries. It's time for you to expand your capacity to welcome some fine, useful things that happen to look a bit imperfect.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): in the Broadway play "Passing Strange," the narrator praises the healing power of mysterious songs, saying: "You know when the music goes right over your head, bypasses your mind, and strengthens the part of you that's most beautiful?" That's the kind of nourishment I encourage you to seek out in the coming week, Taurus. You need soul-toning experiences that elude your rational understanding — encounters with wise animals, waking dreams, unpredictable love, exotic music, and twilight whispers that blissfully boggle your imagination.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to the imaginative reporters at the Weekly World News, the devil doesn't sit by passively as people beseech God for help and consolation. Using his own version of stealth technology, the evil one "intercepts or jams" up to one-third of all prayers on their way heavenward. Timid and fuzzy prayers are the easiest for him to block. Just in case there's a grain of truth in this claim, Gemini, take special measures when you send out appeals for assistance in the coming days. You need and deserve attention from higher powers, both the earthbound and divine kind. To ensure that the devil (or one of his surrogates) can't interfere, formulate your messages concisely and communicate them with crisp confidence.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Lame-duck U.S. President George Bush is mostly dreaming of his retirement these days, although he takes time out now and then to create executive orders that undo environmental protections. Barack Obama is planning hard for the monumental recovery he hopes to lead when he assumes the presidency, but his time won't come until January 20. Meanwhile, all the things that have been falling apart under Bush's watch are continuing to fall apart, only bigger and badder. Writes Josh Marshall in Talkingpointsmemo.com, "We're paying mightily for having no captain at the helm at one of the most perilous points in our recent national history." In regard to your own personal life, Cancerian, please avoid acting like America. Don't wait for some formal deadline before you make your moves. Expedite the transition from the old order to the new with the force of a thousand ecstatic activists.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "It's better to be clumsy than clever," says an ancient Chinese book called Poets' Jade Splinters, "better plain than affected, better crude than weak, better eccentric than vulgar." That's a good prescription for you to use in the way you live your life in the coming days, Leo. Here's another observation from the same text that should also be helpful: "Inspiration enters at the border between hard work and laziness." That suggests you've got to work hard and discipline yourself in order to earn the right to inspiration, but often the inspiration flows in when you're goofing off or giving yourself some slack. (Source: tinyurl.com/5qu7fv.)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1952, renowned modern composer John Cage created the infamous "4'33"." It's a "song" that consists of four minutes and 33 seconds of pure silence. Recently a San Francisco performance artist, Jonathon Keats, did a remix of that tune and made it available as a ring-tone. I'd love for you to be inspired by those two geniuses in the coming week, Virgo. It'll be an excellent time for you to come to a perfect stop, fill yourself with stillness, and bask in the healing power of undiluted nothingness.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I urge you not to Google the word "duh," Libra. If you do, you'll mark yourself as a conformist trend-slave, joining over 33 million people who have already done it before you. Furthermore, you will be in danger of wasting the potential the cosmos is offering you, which is to reap rich rewards by exploring brave new frontiers on the edges of your awareness. So please be insanely curious about stuff you've never heard of and people you've never met. Research subjects that tantalize your imagination and stick your nose in where it supposedly doesn't belong. But don't Google "duh."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Researchers have determined that you've got longer than you imagine to salvage food that has dropped on the floor. Bacteria don't get a foothold and start growing on your pizza or muffin for at least 30 seconds. Keep that in mind as an all-purpose metaphor in the coming days, Scorpio. Anything that you fear has already been spoiled or tainted may actually be possible to restore and redeem. You probably have more time than you thought.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I got an invitation through MySpace to audition for an upcoming production of the Vagina Monologues. While I was honored to be asked, I wasn't sure that the kind of audience members who would come to see the Vagina Monologues would want to hear me, a man, expound on the central topic. Upon reading the fine print, however, I found out that the producers were indeed seeking some male actors. The metaphorical moral of the story, Sagittarius, is to be open to invitations, opportunities, and requests that may at first seem odd, misdirected, or irrelevant.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): From 1987 to 2006, Alan Greenspan was Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve and a major force in shaping the world's most powerful economy. When the recent troubles hit, Congress called on him to testify. With shocking humility, he confessed that there had been a flaw in his model of reality. All those years he'd believed that "free, competitive markets are by far the unrivaled way to organize economies." Now he saw he was wrong. While I'm sorry for the collective pain his mistaken ideas have unleashed, I'm elated for him personally: How many 82-year-old men are open to the possibility that their philosophy of life needs adjustment? For that matter, how many people of any age are receptive to changing their ideas about how the world works? I invite you to take your inspiration from Greenspan, Capricorn. Be curious about how your own major theories might need revision. Doing this heroic deed will energize you with good karma and fresh mojo.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): What's the healthiest, holiest rebellion you could launch, Aquarius? What would be the most constructive way to channel your longing to live in a more perfect world? How might you overthrow the status quo in ways that would so thoroughly enhance the greater good that even the people bent on preserving the status quo would benefit? Given the fact that you are in a phase when your trouble-making skills are dovetailing very nicely with your ability to bestow blessings, these are excellent questions for you to consider.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A column in the Washington Post called "The Style Invitational" has identified the "Top 10 New Religions." I'm calling your attention to two that might be attractive to you in the coming months, a time when you'll probably have urges to transform and expand upon your spiritual practices. First, there are the Oxymormons, who engage in polygamous monogamy. The second group is the Salivationists. They speak in tongues like some other sects, but they also speak in drool. A third option, of course, is for you to whip up your own brand new, totally unique religion using just the parts you really like from all of the other traditions. However you do it, Pisces, I encourage you to be playfully creative as you get more disciplined about your relationship with the Divine Wow.•


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Australia have taken out the 2016 Four Nations tournament by dismantling New Zealand 34-8 at Liverpool's famed Anfield Stadium.
The Kangaroos' first Four Nations win since 2011 ensured the perfect start to Mal Meninga's career as Australian coach.
The Kiwis were looking to respond from their embarrassing 18-all draw with Scotland last weekend but had no answers for the Kangaroos.
At one point deep into the first half the Kiwis were completing sets well under 40 per cent in a fair reflection of their struggles.
At game's end, Kangaroos halfback Cooper Cronk was named Player of the Tournament.
It didn't take long for Australia to get the ball rolling after winger Blake Ferguson scored from a simple scrum play within the first three minutes.
Kangaroos fullback and eventual Man of the Match Darius Boyd earned his second try assist of the day when he put centre Josh Dugan over in the 15th minute.
Johnathan Thurston put Australia two converted tries ahead when he kicked a penalty goal two minutes later.
The wizardry of Kangaroos skipper Cameron Smith was on show next when he helped lock Trent Merrin cross for an easy try in the 21st minute past Kiwis duo Kevin Proctor and Jason Taumalolo.
Another Thurston penalty goal in the 28th minute was followed by Dugan's second try five minutes later when he beat centre counterpart Solomone Kata to a Thurston grubber.
The Kangaroos extended their 24-0 half-time lead when Darius Boyd scored in controversial circumstances in the 45th minute – where it appeared he failed to get the ball down.
Things became worse before they got better for New Zealand when winger Jordan Rapana left the field for a head test in the 50th minute.
Two tries to New Zealand fullback Jordan Kahu in the 56th and 68th minute offered the Kiwis a glimmer of hope but that was ultimately put to bed once Boyd Cordner had his say.
The Kangaroos back-rower powered his way over in the final seven minutes to seal Australia's tournament victory.
Australia 34 (Josh Dugan 2, Blake Ferguson, Trent Merrin, Darius Boyd, Boyd Cordner tries; Johnathan Thurston 5 goals) defeated New Zealand 8 (Jordan Kahu 2 tries) at Anfield, Liverpool. Crowd: 40,042. Half-time: Australia 24-0.
First published at NRL.com.


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Smoking is a difficult habit to break. If nicotine patches and gum don't work for you, you could try an alternative form of healthcare such as acupuncture.
Acupuncture Treatment
Acupuncture is an ancient practice involving the use of needles. This instrument is inserted into the skin to allow your energy or Qi to start flowing freely around your body and thus help you quit smoking.
When you initially see an acupuncturist and inform him or her that you wish to quit smoking, the specialist will inspect your ears and look for regions of low energy.
These thin needles are inserted when these locations have been identified. Typically, 5 needles are inserted into distinct acupoints.
After an hour, the needles are withdrawn, and you are instructed to wear ear magnets so that your session continues even after you leave the clinic. Acupuncture is not painful, however, some smokers report feeling calm or tired after receiving it.
Acupuncture Treatment Results
Most smokers may need to visit the clinic four to six times before they observe any substantial results. For example, in one study, respondents reported a reduction in the number of desires to smoke after just one or two sessions. 7 out of 10 respondents were able to break the behavior after 5 or 6 sessions.
Needles are typically placed behind the ear or on the ear cartilage. This is where the calming impact occurs, reducing the patient's desire for additional cigarettes. When people are irritated, bored, or depressed, they are more likely to grab a cigarette. To encourage a more regular flow of physiological energy, needles are routinely put into the hands and wrists.
Furthermore, this medication has been shown to improve an individual's ability to cope with withdrawal symptoms. This complementary medicine improves tolerance to pain and discomfort associated with smoking cessation. Withdrawal symptoms can be minor to severe and include nausea, palpitations, and disorientation. These similar situations are frequently enough to compel a person to return to his smoking habits sooner rather than later.
Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine is the addicting and deadly chemical found in cigarettes. This is the same chemical that makes quitting smoking difficult for the majority of smokers. The nicotine in cigarettes attaches itself to the pleasure centers of the brain, making it difficult to quit. Furthermore, if a smoker does not have a steady supply of this drug, they will feel unhappy and uncomfortable.
Cigarettes are no longer enticing or fulfilling to acupuncture patients. Smoking frequently leaves a terrible taste on their lips, forcing them to quit smoking permanently. Some patients would even take mints or lozenges to alleviate the unpleasant aftertaste.
However, keep in mind that acupuncture is not a long-term cure. It only begins with a task that you must accomplish on your own. Some smokers who visit the clinic twice or three times per week may need to return in the future for follow-up sessions.
At the same time, you must discover strategies to avoid smoking. You can achieve this by avoiding smokers, as you will be tempted to ask for a cigarette. You can also design your own personal mantra, which you can repeat to yourself whenever you get an urge.
Remember that this craving will pass quickly. You've fought so hard to get away from this, so keep going and quit smoking.
Expert Acupuncture Treatment
It is vital that a patient meets with an experienced acupuncturist. An expert will give the patient a more personalized service as well as further counseling. Acupuncturists may also recommend herbal medicines to help patients quit smoking.
The major advantage of this old Oriental therapy is the absence of adverse effects during and after treatment. Acupuncture, unlike smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy products, does not employ chemicals. Additionally, there is no risk of weight gain during therapy. It can decrease appetite and reduce food cravings, in addition to supporting a patient in stopping smoking.
Acupuncture can help smokers in the same way that it has helped addicts and alcoholics quit their addictions. If you've tried everything to quit smoking without success, it's time to consider acupuncture as an alternative method. There is no reason why you won't be nicotine-free in no time with the right practitioner and the right mindset. You just have to give it a shot, even if you don't believe in it.
This article is brought to you by: OrientalMedicine.co.uk
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§Using JPA to access your database
§Adding dependencies to your project
First you need to tell Play that your project depends on javaJpa
which will provide JDBC and JPA api dependencies.
There is no built-in JPA implementation in Play; you can choose any available implementation. For example, to use Hibernate, just add the following dependency to your project:
libraryDependencies ++= Seq(
"org.hibernate" % "hibernate-core" % "5.4.9.Final" // replace by your jpa implementation
§Exposing the datasource through JNDI
JPA requires the datasource to be accessible via JNDI. You can expose any Play-managed datasource via JNDI by adding this configuration in conf/application.conf
See the Database docs for more information about how to configure your datasource.
§Creating a Persistence Unit
Next you have to create a proper persistence.xml
JPA configuration file. Put it into the conf/META-INF
directory, so it will be properly added to your classpath.
Here is a sample configuration file to use with Hibernate:
<persistence xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/persistence"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/persistence http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/persistence/persistence_2_1.xsd"
<persistence-unit name="defaultPersistenceUnit" transaction-type="RESOURCE_LOCAL">
<property name="hibernate.dialect" value="org.hibernate.dialect.H2Dialect"/>
Finally you have to tell Play, which persistent unit should be used by your JPA provider. This is done by setting the jpa.default
property in your conf/application.conf
§Deploying Play with JPA
Running Play in development mode while using JPA will work fine, but in order to deploy the application you will need to add this to your build.sbt
PlayKeys.externalizeResourcesExcludes += baseDirectory.value / "conf" / "META-INF" / "persistence.xml"
Note: More information on how to configure externalized resources can be found here.
The above settings makes sure thepersistence.xml
file will always stay inside the generated applicationjar
This is a requirement by the JPA specification. According to it thepersistence.xml
file has to be in the samejar
file where its persistence-units' entities live, otherwise these entities won't be availabe for the persistence-units. (You could, however, explicitly add ajar
file containing entities via<jar-file>xxx.jar</jar-file>
to a persistence-unit - but that doesn't work well with Play as it would fail with aFileNotFoundException
in development mode because there is nojar
file that will be generated in that mode. Further that wouldn't work well in production mode too because when deploying an application, the name of the generated applicationjar
file changes with each new release as the current version of the application gets appended to it.)
§Using play.db.jpa.JPAApi
Play offers you a convenient API to work with Entity Manager and Transactions. This API is defined by play.db.jpa.JPAApi
, which can be injected at other objects like the code below:
import play.db.jpa.JPAApi;
import javax.inject.*;
import javax.persistence.*;
import java.util.concurrent.*;
public class JPARepository {
private JPAApi jpaApi;
private DatabaseExecutionContext executionContext;
public JPARepository(JPAApi api, DatabaseExecutionContext executionContext) {
this.jpaApi = api;
this.executionContext = executionContext;
We recommend isolating your JPA operations behind a Repository or DAO, so that you can manage all your JPA operations with a custom execution context and transactions.
This means that all JPA operations are done behind the interface – JPA classes are package private, there is no exposure of persistence aware objects to the rest of the application, and sessions are not held open past the method that defines an asynchronous boundary (i.e. returns CompletionStage
This may mean that your domain object (aggregate root, in DDD terms) has an internal reference to the repository and calls it to return lists of entities and value objects, rather than holding a session open and using JPA based lazy loading.
§Using a CustomExecutionContext
NOTE: Using JPA directly in an Action – which uses Play's default rendering thread pool – will limit your ability to use Play asynchronously because JDBC blocks the thread it's running on.
You should always use a custom execution context when using JPA, to ensure that Play's rendering thread pool is completely focused on rendering pages and using cores to their full extent. You can use Play's CustomExecutionContext
class to configure a custom execution context dedicated to serving JDBC operations. See JavaAsync and ThreadPools for more details.
All of the Play example templates on Play's download page that use blocking APIs (i.e. Anorm, JPA) have been updated to use custom execution contexts where appropriate. For example, going to https://github.com/playframework/play-java-jpa-example/ shows that the JPAPersonRepository class takes a DatabaseExecutionContext
that wraps all the database operations.
For thread pool sizing involving JDBC connection pools, you want a fixed thread pool size matching the connection pool, using a thread pool executor. Following the advice in HikariCP's pool sizing page, you should configure your JDBC connection pool to double the number of physical cores, plus the number of disk spindles, i.e. if you have a four core CPU and one disk, you have a total of 9 JDBC connections in the pool:
# db connections = ((physical_core_count * 2) + effective_spindle_count)
fixedConnectionPool = 9
database.dispatcher {
executor = "thread-pool-executor"
throughput = 1
thread-pool-executor {
fixed-pool-size = ${fixedConnectionPool}
§Running JPA transactions
The JPAApi
provides you various withTransaction(...)
methods to execute arbitrary code inside a JPA transaction. These methods however do not include a custom execution context and therefore must be wrapped inside a CompletableFuture
with an IO bound execution context.
Using JPAApi.withTransaction(Function<EntityManager, T>)
public CompletionStage<Long> runningWithTransaction() {
return CompletableFuture.supplyAsync(
() -> {
// lambda is an instance of Function<EntityManager, Long>
return jpaApi.withTransaction(
entityManager -> {
Query query = entityManager.createNativeQuery("select max(age) from people");
return (Long) query.getSingleResult();
Using JPAApi.withTransaction(Consumer<EntityManager>)
to run a batch update:
public CompletionStage<Void> runningWithRunnable() {
// lambda is an instance of Consumer<EntityManager>
return CompletableFuture.runAsync(
() -> {
entityManager -> {
Query query =
entityManager.createNativeQuery("update people set active = 1 where age > 18");
§Enabling Play database evolutions
Read Evolutions to find out what Play database evolutions are useful for, and follow the setup instructions for using it.
Next: Using the Cache