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Fertility Problems
Topic Overview
What are fertility problems?
You may have fertility problems if you haven't been able to get pregnant after trying for at least 1 year. It doesn't necessarily mean you will never get pregnant. Often, couples conceive without help in their second year of trying. Some don't succeed. But medical treatments do help many couples.
Age is an important factor if you are trying to decide whether to get testing and treatment for fertility problems. A woman is most fertile in her late 20s. After age 35, fertility decreases and the risk of miscarriage goes up.
- If you are younger than 35, you may want to give yourself more time to get pregnant.
- If you are 35 or older, you may want to get help soon.
What causes fertility problems?
In cases of fertility problems:footnote 1
- About 50 out of 100 are caused by a problem with the woman's reproductive system. These may be problems with her fallopian tubes or uterus or her ability to ovulate (release an egg).
- About 35 out of 100 are caused by a problem with the man's reproductive system. The most common is low sperm count.
- In about 10 out of 100, no cause can be found in spite of testing.
- About 5 out of 100 are caused by an uncommon problem.
Should you be tested for fertility problems?
Before you have fertility tests, try fertility awareness. A woman can learn when she is likely to ovulate and be fertile by charting her basal body temperature and using home tests. Some couples find that they simply have been missing their most fertile days when trying to conceive.
If you aren't sure when you ovulate, try this Interactive Tool: When Are You Most Fertile?
If these methods don't help, the first step is for both partners to have some simple tests. A doctor can:
- Do a physical exam of both of you.
- Ask questions about your past health to look for clues, such as a history of miscarriages or pelvic inflammatory disease.
- Ask about your lifestyle habits, such as how often you exercise and whether you drink alcohol or use drugs.
- Do tests that check semen quality and both partners' hormone levels in the blood. Hormone imbalances can be a sign of ovulation problems or sperm problems that can be treated.
Your family doctor can do these tests. For more complete testing, you may need to see a fertility specialist.
How are fertility problems treated?
A wide range of treatments is available. Depending on what is causing the problem, a couple may be able to:
- Take a medicine that helps the woman ovulate.
- Have a procedure that puts sperm directly inside the woman (insemination).
- Have a surgery that corrects a problem caused by endometriosis or blocked fallopian tubes.
- Have a procedure that might increase the man's sperm count.
If these options aren't possible or don't work for you, you may want to think about in vitro fertilization (IVF). During an IVF, eggs and sperm are mixed in a lab so the sperm can fertilize the eggs. Then the doctor puts one or more fertilized eggs into the woman's uterus. Many couples try IVF more than once.
Treatment for fertility problems can be stressful, costly, and hard on your body. Before you start testing, make some decisions about how far you are willing to go with treatment. You may change your mind later, but it's a good idea to start with a plan.
- Learn all you can about the tests and treatments. Then decide which you want to try. For example, some couples agree to try medicines but don't want surgery or other treatments.
- Find out how much treatments cost and whether your insurance will cover them. If you don't have insurance, decide what you can afford.
Treatments for fertility problems can increase your chances of getting pregnant. But they also increase your chance of having twins, triplets, or more. Be sure to discuss the risks with your doctor.
Fertility problems can put a lot of strain on a couple. It may help to see a counselor with experience in fertility problems. Think about joining a support group. Talking with other people who are going through the same thing can help you feel less alone.
Health Tools
Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Fertility problems have many causes that involve either the woman's, the man's, or both partners' reproductive systems. Some causes include:
- Problems with the man's reproductive system.
- Problems with the woman's fallopian tubes.
- Problems with the woman's uterus and/or cervix.
- Problems with ovulation.
Rates of infertility and miscarriage increase with age. A woman's fertility peaks in her late 20s. It gradually begins to decline in her early 30s. A more pronounced drop in fertility and increase in miscarriage risk begins around her mid-30s. This is primarily due to the aging egg supply. Male fertility also decreases with age. But it is a more gradual decline than in women.
What Happens
Most healthy young couples trying to have a child are successful after 1 year of trying. But about 10 to 15 out of every 100 couples have trouble getting pregnant.footnote 1
Just because you haven't been able to get pregnant after 1 year doesn't mean you can't get pregnant. Many couples later go on to get pregnant, even without treatment.
But your doctor may suggest testing and treatment if you haven't been able to get pregnant after 1 year of having sex 2 or 3 times a week without using birth control. For women over 35, some doctors will offer testing and treatment after 6 months of trying to become pregnant.
If a clear cause can be found and if there is a promising treatment for that cause, pregnancy is more likely. When a cause can't be found and fertility tests are normal, treatment is less likely to work.
A couple's chances of getting pregnant are greatest within their first 3 years of trying. After 3 years of sex without birth control, pregnancy is considered unlikely without treatment.footnote 1
Some couples who have tried treatment without success become pregnant later without more treatment.
Personal concerns
Before deciding to move forward with testing and treatment, be sure to think about these issues:
What Increases Your Risk
Things that increase your risk of having fertility problems include:
- The woman'sage. The older a woman is, the more likely she is to have problems getting pregnant:footnote 2
- Age 20 to 24: 7 out of 100 women have fertility problems.
- Age 25 to 29: 9 out of 100 have fertility problems.
- Age 30 to 34: 15 out of 100.
- Age 35 to 39: 22 out of 100.
- Age 40 to 44: 29 out of 100.
- Birth defects. Some men and women were born with problems in their reproductive systems.
- Moderate or severeendometriosis.
- Past exposure to very high levels of environmental toxins, certain drugs, or high doses of radiation. This includes cancer chemotherapy or radiation.
- Past infection with a sexually transmitted infection, such as gonorrhea or chlamydia, that has since damaged the reproductive system.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome.
When should you call your doctor?
Consult with your doctor if you:
- Want children but have been unable to become pregnant after 1 year of having sex without using birth control.
- Are a woman older than 35 who has been unable to become pregnant after about 6 months of sex without using birth control.
- Have had three or more miscarriages in a row.
Watchful waiting
Before seeking medical help with conception, you can increase your chances of becoming pregnant by practicing fertility awareness. This means charting your basal body temperature and using home tests to let you know when you are likely to ovulate and be fertile. For more information, see Home Treatment.
Who to see
For initial fertility questions and testing, you can see:
For complete fertility testing, see an obstetrician/gynecologist with special training and experience in fertility problems. This doctor may be called a reproductive endocrinologist or fertility specialist. When looking for a specialist, ask what percentage of a doctor's practice is fertility treatment. Also ask if he or she has training in reproductive endocrinology.
Exams and Tests
Testing for fertility problems usually starts with simple tests for both partners. In addition to an interview and physical exams, these first tests will:
- Check semen quality.
- Check both partners' hormone levels in the blood. Hormone imbalances can be a sign of ovulation problems or sperm production problems that can be treated.
If your test results show no cause of infertility, your doctor may recommend checking fallopian tube function. Depending on your age and other risk factors, you may then be offered further testing. Or you may begin treatment with superovulation (to produce more eggs), intrauterine insemination (which puts sperm into the uterus with a tube), or both.
For more information, see the topic Infertility Tests.
Testing can be stressful, costly, and sometimes painful. You may need only a few tests. Or you may need many tests over months and years.
Treatment Overview
Some fertility problems are more easily treated than others. In general, as a woman ages, especially after age 35, her chances of getting pregnant go down. But her risk of miscarriage goes up.
If you are 35 or older, your doctor may recommend that you skip some of the steps younger couples usually take. That's because your chances of having a baby decrease with each passing year.
It's important to understand that even if you are able to get pregnant, no treatment can guarantee a healthy baby. On the other hand, scientists in this field have made many advances that have helped millions of couples have babies.
Take time to plan
Before you and your partner start treatment, talk about how far you want to go with treatment. For example, you may want to try medicine but don't want to have surgery. You may change your mind during your treatment, but it's good to start with an idea of what you want your limits to be.
Treatment for fertility can also cost a lot. And insurance often doesn't cover these expenses. If cost is a concern for you, ask how much the medicines and procedures cost. Then find out if your insurance covers any costs. Talk with your partner about what you can afford.
Thinking about this ahead of time may help keep you from becoming emotionally and financially drained from trying a series of treatments you hadn't planned for.
Initial treatment
Treatment for the woman
Treatments for fertility problems in women depend on what may be keeping the woman from getting pregnant. Sometimes the cause isn't known.
- Problems with ovulating.Treatment may include taking medicine, such as:
- Clomiphene. It stimulates your ovaries to release eggs.
- Metformin. It's used to treat polycystic ovary syndrome.
- Unexplained infertility. If your doctor can't find out why you and your partner haven't been able to get pregnant, treatment may include:
- Clomiphene.
- Hormone injections.
- Insemination.
- Blocked or damaged tubes. If your fallopian tubes are blocked, treatment may include tubal surgery.
- Endometriosis. If mild to moderate endometriosis seems to be the main reason for your infertility, treatment may include laparoscopic surgery to remove endometrial tissue growth. This treatment may not be an option if you have severe endometriosis. For more information, see the topic Endometriosis.
Treatment for the man
Your doctor might recommend that you try insemination first. The sperm are collected and then concentrated to increase the number of healthy sperm for insemination.
When initial treatments don't work
Many couples who have problems getting pregnant arrive at a common point: They must decide whether they want to try assisted reproductive technology (ART).
- In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common type of ART. In this treatment, a fertilized egg or eggs are placed in the woman's uterus through the cervix.
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI (say "ICK-see"). In a lab, your doctor injects one sperm into one egg. If fertilization occurs, the doctor puts the embryo into the woman's uterus.
To learn more, see Other Treatment.
If you haven't already thought about adoption, this might be a time to think about it. Some couples decide at this point to spend their resources on adoption instead of IVF. Other couples see IVF as the best option.
Fertility treatment clinics
Fertility treatment clinics aren't widely available in some parts of the country, especially in rural areas. You may need to travel for treatment.
When you review clinic success rates, be aware that clinics treating more severe fertility problems may have lower success rates. So it's possible for a clinic with a lower success rate to have greater overall expertise than clinics with higher success rates.
The success rate of a clinic is influenced by many things, including the doctors' skills and experience and the cause or causes of your fertility problem.
When you review treatment success rates, remember that live birth rates are always lower than ovulation and pregnancy rates. Miscarriages are common among all women. But they are more likely in women with risk factors such as older age or a poorly controlled chronic health condition.
Some fertility problems are related to lifestyle or other health conditions. To help protect your fertility:
- Avoid using tobacco (cigarettes) and marijuana. They reduce fertility, especially by reducing sperm counts.
- Avoid exposure to harmful chemicals.
- Avoid excessive alcohol use. It may damage eggs or sperm.
- Limit sex partners and use condoms to reduce the risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Untreated STIs can damage the reproductive system and cause infertility. If you think you may have an STI, get treatment promptly to reduce the risk of damage to your reproductive system.
- Stay at a body weight that is close to the ideal for your height. It will reduce the possibility of hormone imbalances. This is very important for men as well as for women.
If you have been diagnosed with cancer and hope to have children in the future, talk to your doctor about preventing cancer treatment–related infertility.
Home Treatment
To decrease your risk of fertility problems and increase your chances of becoming pregnant, use the following guidelines.
Track ovulation at home
- Estimate when you are ovulating by practicing fertility awareness. This means:
- Tracking your cervical mucus changes.
- Tracking your basal body temperature on a monthly Fahrenheit temperature chart( What is a PDF document? ) or Celsius temperature chart.
- Tracking your luteinizing hormone (LH) levels with a home ovulation predictor test. Many doctors now recommend these home tests as the best way to track ovulation at home.
- Try this interactive tool to calculate your peak fertility.
- Try having sex every day or every other day during a woman's fertile period. This can improve the chance of pregnancy.
- If you exercise strenuously most days of the week, reduce your level of activity. Very strenuous exercise can cause women to ovulate less often.
Protect sperm count and quality
- If you use a vaginal lubricant during sex, select one that doesn't kill or damage sperm.
- If you exercise strenuously most days of the week, reduce your level of activity. Very strenuous exercise may be a cause of lower sperm counts in some men.
- Avoid hot tubs and saunas. High scrotal temperatures may decrease sperm count and quality.
- Try to relieve fever when you are ill. High fever has been known to have a harmful effect on sperm for 2 to 3 months afterward. (Sperm take this long to grow from germ cells to mature sperm.)
General measures
Women who are trying to get pregnant should avoid using alcohol and medicines, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin.
Medicine or hormone treatments are often the first steps in fertility treatment. They are also used for in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies.
If you have irregular or no ovulation, using medicine or hormones to stimulate ovulation will increase your chances of pregnancy. But these treatments increase your risk of multiple pregnancy. And that poses health risks to both you and your fetuses. When thinking about a fertility treatment:
- Ask your doctor about your risk for having a multiple pregnancy. Find out how to lower the chance of conceiving more than one fetus.
- Think about how a high-risk multiple pregnancy, and the possibility of having multiple disabled children, might affect your life.
Other rare complications—such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome—can be caused by hormone shots used to stimulate ovulation. These shots may be used in assisted reproductive technology such as IVF.
In very rare cases, male fertility problems are caused by hormonal imbalances. Men are then treated with medicine or hormones that help the hypothalamus and pituitary gland start normal sperm production.
Ask your doctor questions about medicines you are considering. For example, are there long-term effects? How long will the treatment last? How often you must be tested while taking the medicine? Are there any side effects that will affect your daily life?
Medicine choices
For men
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). It increases the body's production of hormones needed for sperm production.
- Bromocriptine and cabergoline lower prolactin levels. High levels of prolactin can prevent the release of testosterone and production of sperm.
For women
- Clomiphene and letrozole stimulate the release of hormones that trigger ovulation.
- Gonadotropins. These hormone shots stimulate the ovaries to produce mature eggs.
- Medicines for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). If you're not ovulating because of PCOS, your doctor might suggest that you take a drug such as metformin along with clomiphene. Learn more about treatment of women who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). It increases the body's production of hormones needed for egg production.
- Bromocriptine and cabergoline lower prolactin levels. High levels of prolactin can prevent ovulation.
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue. This is used for in vitro fertilization.
- Aromatase inhibitors are sometimes used to stimulate ovulation.
For some people, a structural problem can be treated surgically. Treatment can increase the chances of natural conception.
When considering surgery, ask your doctor questions about the procedure. For example, how many times has the surgeon done the procedure? What are your chances of treatment success? How long will it take to recover?
In cases of severely blocked fallopian tubes, your doctor may advise you to skip surgery and have in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is also often recommended first for women over 34 (regardless of the type of blockage). This is because tubal surgery and natural conception may use up precious time if in vitro fertilization might be used later.
Surgery choices
For men
- Varicocele repair, to cut or bypass an enlarged vein in the scrotum
- Vasectomy reversal
For women
- Fallopian tube procedures, including sterilization reversal
- Laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis
- Myomectomy for uterine fibroids
- Laparoscopic ovarian drilling, when weight loss and medicine haven't stimulated ovulation in women who have polycystic ovary syndrome
Other Treatment
Insemination and assisted reproductive technology (ART) can improve the odds of pregnancy. They introduce the sperm to the egg in the woman's reproductive tract (insemination) or in the lab (ART).
Insemination flushes the sperm through a thin, flexible tube directly into a woman's vagina, cervix, uterus, or fallopian tube. This puts sperm closer to the egg. And it can overcome fertility barriers such as low sperm count and cervical mucus.
Insemination can be used with donor sperm. It can be combined with other fertility treatments, such as clomiphene or hormone shots.
Assisted reproductive technology (ART)
ART is used to remove eggs from a woman's ovaries (or use donor eggs) and fertilize them with the man's sperm (or donor sperm) outside the body. One or more fertilized eggs are then transferred to the woman's uterus or fallopian tubes.
ART procedures are expensive and complex. Most of the time they are used only after other treatment has failed.
Before deciding on ART treatment, consider the possible emotional and social, financial, religious, and ethical and legal questions that may come up for you and your partner.
In vitro fertilization
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common form of ART.
Usually, more than one embryo is put in the uterus. This increases your chances that one will develop into a baby. Because of this, IVF increases your chance of having more than one baby at a time.
- Out of 100 women who become pregnant with IVF, about 30 will have twins.footnote 3
- The chance of having triplets or more is higher than normal but much less than the chance of having twins. The chances of multiple births depend on how many embryos are placed in the uterus at one time.
Side effects of IVF can include bloating, weight gain, and nausea. And you risk having serious side effects such as liver and kidney problems. The embryos may not grow into babies, so the IVF may need to be repeated.
If you have several miscarriages or unsuccessful IVF attempts, talk to your doctor about genetic testing.
Other types of ART
When insemination doesn't work, your doctor may recommend ICSI (say "ICK-see"). In a lab, the doctor injects one sperm into an egg. If fertilization occurs, the doctor puts the embryo into the woman's uterus, just as in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Your doctor may also recommend ICSI when the man has had a vasectomy or has retrograde ejaculation. In retrograde ejaculation, the semen is ejaculated into the bladder instead of out through the penis. In these cases, sperm can be taken from the testicles so that they can be injected into an egg.
Another less common treatment is gamete or zygote intrafallopian transfer (GIFT or ZIFT).
- GIFT is the transfer of eggs and sperm into a fallopian tube through a small incision in the belly.
- ZIFT is the in vitro fertilization of an egg. The egg is then transferred to a fallopian tube through a small incision in the belly.
Success rates with IVF are as good as with GIFT and ZIFT or better. And IVF is less expensive. It is also less risky, because it isn't a surgical procedure.
Complementary medicine
Complementary medicine for fertility includes:
- Acupuncture, which may be effective for enhancing IVF success rates.footnote 4
- Dietary changes.
- Relaxation techniques.
- Mind-body medicine.
Talk with your doctor about any complementary health practice that you would like to try or are already using. Your doctor can help you manage your health better if he or she knows about all of your health practices.
- Fritz MA, Speroff L (2011). Female infertility. In Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 8th ed., pp. 1137–1190. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
- Lobo RA (2012). Infertility: Etiology, diagnostic evaluation, management, prognosis. In GM Lentz et al., eds., Comprehensive Gynecology, 6th ed., pp. 869–895. Philadelphia: Mosby.
- Fritz MA, Speroff L (2011). Assisted reproductive technologies. In Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 8th ed., pp. 1331–1382. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
- Manheimer E, et al. (2008). Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation: Systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 336(7643): 545–549.
Other Works Consulted
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2008, reaffirmed 2012). Medical management of ectopic pregnancy. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 94. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 111(6): 1479–1485.
- El-Chaar D, et al. (2009). Risk of birth defects increased in pregnancies conceived by assisted human reproduction. Fertility and Sterility, 92(5): 1557–1561.
- Ghadir S, et al. (2013). Infertility. In AH DeCherney et al., eds., Current Diagnosis and Treatment Obstetrics & Gynecology, 11th ed., pp. 879–888. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (2012). Multiple gestation associated with infertility therapy: An American Society for Reproductive Medicine practice committee opinion. Fertility and Sterility, 97(4): 825–34.
Current as of: May 29, 2019
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:Kathleen Romito MD – Family Medicine & Adam Husney MD – Family Medicine & Femi Olatunbosun MB, FRCSC – Obstetrics and Gynecology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.


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sysctlnametomib(3) [osx man page]
SYSCTL(3) BSD Library Functions Manual SYSCTL(3) NAME
sysctl, sysctlbyname, sysctlnametomib -- get or set system information LIBRARY
Standard C Library (libc, -lc) SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/sysctl.h> int sysctl(int *name, u_int namelen, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, void *newp, size_t newlen); int sysctlbyname(const char *name, void *oldp, size_t *oldlenp, void *newp, size_t newlen); int sysctlnametomib(const char *name, int *mibp, size_t *sizep); DESCRIPTION
The sysctl() function retrieves system information and allows processes with appropriate privileges to set system information. The informa- tion available from sysctl() consists of integers, strings, and tables. Information may be retrieved and set from the command interface using the sysctl(8) utility. Unless explicitly noted below, sysctl() returns a consistent snapshot of the data requested. Consistency is obtained by locking the destina- tion buffer into memory so that the data may be copied out without blocking. Calls to sysctl() are serialized to avoid deadlock. The state is described using a ``Management Information Base'' (MIB) style name, listed in name, which is a namelen length array of integers. The sysctlbyname() function accepts an ASCII representation of the name and internally looks up the integer name vector. Apart from that, it behaves the same as the standard sysctl() function. The information is copied into the buffer specified by oldp. The size of the buffer is given by the location specified by oldlenp before the call, and that location gives the amount of data copied after a successful call and after a call that returns with the error code ENOMEM. If the amount of data available is greater than the size of the buffer supplied, the call supplies as much data as fits in the buffer provided and returns with the error code ENOMEM. If the old value is not desired, oldp and oldlenp should be set to NULL. The size of the available data can be determined by calling sysctl() with the NULL argument for oldp. The size of the available data will be returned in the location pointed to by oldlenp. For some operations, the amount of space may change often. For these operations, the system attempts to round up so that the returned size is large enough for a call to return the data shortly thereafter. To set a new value, newp is set to point to a buffer of length newlen from which the requested value is to be taken. If a new value is not to be set, newp should be set to NULL and newlen set to 0. The sysctlnametomib() function accepts an ASCII representation of the name, looks up the integer name vector, and returns the numeric repre- sentation in the mib array pointed to by mibp. The number of elements in the mib array is given by the location specified by sizep before the call, and that location gives the number of entries copied after a successful call. The resulting mib and size may be used in subsequent sysctl() calls to get the data associated with the requested ASCII name. This interface is intended for use by applications that want to repeatedly request the same variable (the sysctl() function runs in about a third the time as the same request made via the sysctlbyname() function). The sysctlnametomib() function is also useful for fetching mib prefixes and then adding a final component. For example, to fetch process information for processes with pid's less than 100: int i, mib[4]; size_t len; struct kinfo_proc kp; /* Fill out the first three components of the mib */ len = 4; sysctlnametomib("kern.proc.pid", mib, &len); /* Fetch and print entries for pid's < 100 */ for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) { mib[3] = i; len = sizeof(kp); if (sysctl(mib, 4, &kp, &len, NULL, 0) == -1) perror("sysctl"); else if (len > 0) printkproc(&kp); } Note: Implementation of printkproc() -- to print whatever data deemed necessary from the large kinfo_proc structure ( <sysctl.h> ) -- is left as an exercise for the reader. The top level names are defined with a CTL_ prefix in <sys/sysctl.h>, and are as follows. The next and subsequent levels down are found in the include files listed here, and described in separate sections below. Name Next level names Description CTL_DEBUG sys/sysctl.h Debugging CTL_VFS sys/mount.h File system CTL_HW sys/sysctl.h Generic CPU, I/O CTL_KERN sys/sysctl.h High kernel limits CTL_MACHDEP sys/sysctl.h Machine dependent CTL_NET sys/socket.h Networking CTL_USER sys/sysctl.h User-level CTL_VM sys/resources.h Virtual memory (struct loadavg) CTL_VM sys/vmmeter.h Virtual memory (struct vmtotal) For example, the following retrieves the maximum number of processes allowed in the system: int mib[2], maxproc; size_t len; mib[0] = CTL_KERN; mib[1] = KERN_MAXPROC; len = sizeof(maxproc); sysctl(mib, 2, &maxproc, &len, NULL, 0); To retrieve the standard search path for the system utilities: int mib[2]; size_t len; char *p; mib[0] = CTL_USER; mib[1] = USER_CS_PATH; sysctl(mib, 2, NULL, &len, NULL, 0); p = malloc(len); sysctl(mib, 2, p, &len, NULL, 0); CTL_DEBUG The debugging variables vary from system to system. A debugging variable may be added or deleted without need to recompile sysctl() to know about it. Each time it runs, sysctl() gets the list of debugging variables from the kernel and displays their current values. The system defines twenty (struct ctldebug) variables named debug0 through debug19. They are declared as separate variables so that they can be indi- vidually initialized at the location of their associated variable. The loader prevents multiple use of the same variable by issuing errors if a variable is initialized in more than one place. For example, to export the variable dospecialcheck as a debugging variable, the follow- ing declaration would be used: int dospecialcheck = 1; struct ctldebug debug5 = { "dospecialcheck", &dospecialcheck }; CTL_VFS A distinguished second level name, VFS_GENERIC, is used to get general information about all file systems. One of its third level identi- fiers is VFS_MAXTYPENUM that gives the highest valid file system type number. Its other third level identifier is VFS_CONF that returns con- figuration information about the file system type given as a fourth level identifier (see getvfsbyname(3) as an example of its use). The remaining second level identifiers are the file system type number returned by a statfs(2) call or from VFS_CONF. The third level identi- fiers available for each file system are given in the header file that defines the mount argument structure for that file system. CTL_HW The string and integer information available for the CTL_HW level is detailed below. The changeable column shows whether a process with appropriate privilege may change the value. Second level name Type Changeable HW_MACHINE string no HW_MODEL string no HW_NCPU integer no HW_BYTEORDER integer no HW_PHYSMEM integer no HW_MEMSIZE integer no HW_USERMEM integer no HW_PAGESIZE integer no HW_FLOATINGPOINT integer no HW_MACHINE_ARCH string no HW_MACHINE The machine class. HW_MODEL The machine model HW_NCPU The number of cpus. HW_BYTEORDER The byteorder (4,321, or 1,234). HW_PHYSMEM The bytes of physical memory represented by a 32-bit integer (for backward compatibility). Use HW_MEMSIZE instead. HW_MEMSIZE The bytes of physical memory represented by a 64-bit integer. HW_USERMEM The bytes of non-kernel memory. HW_PAGESIZE The software page size. HW_FLOATINGPOINT Nonzero if the floating point support is in hardware. HW_MACHINE_ARCH The machine dependent architecture type. CTL_KERN The string and integer information available for the CTL_KERN level is detailed below. The changeable column shows whether a process with appropriate privilege may change the value. The types of data currently available are process information, system vnodes, the open file entries, routing table entries, virtual memory statistics, load average history, and clock rate information. Second level name Type Changeable KERN_ARGMAX integer no KERN_BOOTFILE string yes KERN_BOOTTIME struct timeval no KERN_CLOCKRATE struct clockinfo no KERN_FILE struct file no KERN_HOSTID integer yes KERN_HOSTNAME string yes KERN_JOB_CONTROL integer no KERN_MAXFILES integer yes KERN_MAXFILESPERPROC integer yes KERN_MAXPROC integer no KERN_MAXPROCPERUID integer yes KERN_MAXVNODES integer yes KERN_NGROUPS integer no KERN_NISDOMAINNAME string yes KERN_OSRELDATE integer no KERN_OSRELEASE string no KERN_OSREV integer no KERN_OSTYPE string no KERN_POSIX1 integer no KERN_PROC struct proc no KERN_PROF node not applicable KERN_QUANTUM integer yes KERN_SAVED_IDS integer no KERN_SECURELVL integer raise only KERN_UPDATEINTERVAL integer no KERN_VERSION string no KERN_VNODE struct vnode no KERN_ARGMAX The maximum bytes of argument to execve(2). KERN_BOOTFILE The full pathname of the file from which the kernel was loaded. KERN_BOOTTIME A struct timeval structure is returned. This structure contains the time that the system was booted. KERN_CLOCKRATE A struct clockinfo structure is returned. This structure contains the clock, statistics clock and profiling clock frequencies, the number of micro-seconds per hz tick and the skew rate. KERN_FILE Return the entire file table. The returned data consists of a single struct filehead followed by an array of struct file, whose size depends on the current number of such objects in the system. KERN_HOSTID Get or set the host id. KERN_HOSTNAME Get or set the hostname. KERN_JOB_CONTROL Return 1 if job control is available on this system, otherwise 0. KERN_MAXFILES The maximum number of files that may be open in the system. KERN_MAXFILESPERPROC The maximum number of files that may be open for a single process. This limit only applies to processes with an effective uid of nonzero at the time of the open request. Files that have already been opened are not affected if the limit or the effective uid is changed. KERN_MAXPROC The maximum number of concurrent processes the system will allow. KERN_MAXPROCPERUID The maximum number of concurrent processes the system will allow for a single effective uid. This limit only applies to processes with an effective uid of nonzero at the time of a fork request. Processes that have already been started are not affected if the limit is changed. KERN_MAXVNODES The maximum number of vnodes available on the system. KERN_NGROUPS The maximum number of supplemental groups. KERN_NISDOMAINNAME The name of the current YP/NIS domain. KERN_OSRELDATE The kernel release version in the format MmmRxx, where M is the major version, mm is the two digit minor version, R is 0 if release branch, otherwise 1, and xx is updated when the available APIs change. The userland release version is available from <osreldate.h>; parse this file if you need to get the release version of the currently installed userland. KERN_OSRELEASE The system release string. KERN_OSREV The system revision string. KERN_OSTYPE The system type string. KERN_POSIX1 The version of IEEE Std 1003.1 (``POSIX.1'') with which the system attempts to comply. KERN_PROC Return the entire process table, or a subset of it. An array of pairs of struct proc followed by corresponding struct eproc struc- tures is returned, whose size depends on the current number of such objects in the system. The third and fourth level names are as follows: Third level name Fourth level is: KERN_PROC_ALL None KERN_PROC_PID A process ID KERN_PROC_PGRP A process group KERN_PROC_TTY A tty device KERN_PROC_UID A user ID KERN_PROC_RUID A real user ID KERN_PROF Return profiling information about the kernel. If the kernel is not compiled for profiling, attempts to retrieve any of the KERN_PROF values will fail with ENOENT. The third level names for the string and integer profiling information is detailed below. The changeable column shows whether a process with appropriate privilege may change the value. Third level name Type Changeable GPROF_STATE integer yes GPROF_COUNT u_short[] yes GPROF_FROMS u_short[] yes GPROF_TOS struct tostruct yes GPROF_GMONPARAM struct gmonparam no The variables are as follows: GPROF_STATE Returns GMON_PROF_ON or GMON_PROF_OFF to show that profiling is running or stopped. GPROF_COUNT Array of statistical program counter counts. GPROF_FROMS Array indexed by program counter of call-from points. GPROF_TOS Array of struct tostruct describing destination of calls and their counts. GPROF_GMONPARAM Structure giving the sizes of the above arrays. KERN_QUANTUM The maximum period of time, in microseconds, for which a process is allowed to run without being preempted if other processes are in the run queue. KERN_SAVED_IDS Returns 1 if saved set-group and saved set-user ID is available. KERN_SECURELVL The system security level. This level may be raised by processes with appropriate privilege. It may not be lowered. KERN_VERSION The system version string. KERN_VNODE Return the entire vnode table. Note, the vnode table is not necessarily a consistent snapshot of the system. The returned data con- sists of an array whose size depends on the current number of such objects in the system. Each element of the array contains the kernel address of a vnode struct vnode * followed by the vnode itself struct vnode. CTL_MACHDEP The set of variables defined is architecture dependent. The following variables are defined for the i386 architecture. Second level name Type Changeable CPU_CONSDEV dev_t no CPU_ADJKERNTZ int yes CPU_DISRTCSET int yes CPU_BOOTINFO struct bootinfo no CPU_WALLCLOCK int yes CTL_NET The string and integer information available for the CTL_NET level is detailed below. The changeable column shows whether a process with appropriate privilege may change the value. Second level name Type Changeable PF_ROUTE routing messages no PF_INET IPv4 values yes PF_INET6 IPv6 values yes PF_ROUTE Return the entire routing table or a subset of it. The data is returned as a sequence of routing messages (see route(4) for the header file, format and meaning). The length of each message is contained in the message header. The third level name is a protocol number, which is currently always 0. The fourth level name is an address family, which may be set to 0 to select all address families. The fifth and sixth level names are as follows: Fifth level name Sixth level is: NET_RT_FLAGS rtflags NET_RT_DUMP None NET_RT_IFLIST 0 or if_index NET_RT_IFMALIST 0 or if_index The NET_RT_IFMALIST name returns information about multicast group memberships on all interfaces if 0 is specified, or for the inter- face specified by if_index. PF_INET Get or set various global information about the IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4). The third level name is the protocol. The fourth level name is the variable name. The currently defined protocols and names are: Protocol Variable Type Changeable icmp bmcastecho integer yes icmp maskrepl integer yes ip forwarding integer yes ip redirect integer yes ip ttl integer yes udp checksum integer yes The variables are as follows: icmp.bmcastecho Returns 1 if an ICMP echo request to a broadcast or multicast address is to be answered. icmp.maskrepl Returns 1 if ICMP network mask requests are to be answered. ip.forwarding Returns 1 when IP forwarding is enabled for the host, meaning that the host is acting as a router. ip.redirect Returns 1 when ICMP redirects may be sent by the host. This option is ignored unless the host is routing IP packets, and should normally be enabled on all systems. ip.ttl The maximum time-to-live (hop count) value for an IP packet sourced by the system. This value applies to normal transport protocols, not to ICMP. udp.checksum Returns 1 when UDP checksums are being computed and checked. Disabling UDP checksums is strongly discouraged. For variables net.inet.*.ipsec, please refer to ipsec(4). PF_INET6 Get or set various global information about the IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6). The third level name is the protocol. The fourth level name is the variable name. For variables net.inet6.* please refer to inet6(4). For variables net.inet6.*.ipsec6, please refer to ipsec(4). CTL_USER The string and integer information available for the CTL_USER level is detailed below. The changeable column shows whether a process with appropriate privilege may change the value. Second level name Type Changeable USER_BC_BASE_MAX integer no USER_BC_DIM_MAX integer no USER_BC_SCALE_MAX integer no USER_BC_STRING_MAX integer no USER_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX integer no USER_CS_PATH string no USER_EXPR_NEST_MAX integer no USER_LINE_MAX integer no USER_POSIX2_CHAR_TERM integer no USER_POSIX2_C_BIND integer no USER_POSIX2_C_DEV integer no USER_POSIX2_FORT_DEV integer no USER_POSIX2_FORT_RUN integer no USER_POSIX2_LOCALEDEF integer no USER_POSIX2_SW_DEV integer no USER_POSIX2_UPE integer no USER_POSIX2_VERSION integer no USER_RE_DUP_MAX integer no USER_STREAM_MAX integer no USER_TZNAME_MAX integer no USER_BC_BASE_MAX The maximum ibase/obase values in the bc(1) utility. USER_BC_DIM_MAX The maximum array size in the bc(1) utility. USER_BC_SCALE_MAX The maximum scale value in the bc(1) utility. USER_BC_STRING_MAX The maximum string length in the bc(1) utility. USER_COLL_WEIGHTS_MAX The maximum number of weights that can be assigned to any entry of the LC_COLLATE order keyword in the locale definition file. USER_CS_PATH Return a value for the PATH environment variable that finds all the standard utilities. USER_EXPR_NEST_MAX The maximum number of expressions that can be nested within parenthesis by the expr(1) utility. USER_LINE_MAX The maximum length in bytes of a text-processing utility's input line. USER_POSIX2_CHAR_TERM Return 1 if the system supports at least one terminal type capable of all operations described in IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2''), oth- erwise 0. USER_POSIX2_C_BIND Return 1 if the system's C-language development facilities support the C-Language Bindings Option, otherwise 0. USER_POSIX2_C_DEV Return 1 if the system supports the C-Language Development Utilities Option, otherwise 0. USER_POSIX2_FORT_DEV Return 1 if the system supports the FORTRAN Development Utilities Option, otherwise 0. USER_POSIX2_FORT_RUN Return 1 if the system supports the FORTRAN Runtime Utilities Option, otherwise 0. USER_POSIX2_LOCALEDEF Return 1 if the system supports the creation of locales, otherwise 0. USER_POSIX2_SW_DEV Return 1 if the system supports the Software Development Utilities Option, otherwise 0. USER_POSIX2_UPE Return 1 if the system supports the User Portability Utilities Option, otherwise 0. USER_POSIX2_VERSION The version of IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') with which the system attempts to comply. USER_RE_DUP_MAX The maximum number of repeated occurrences of a regular expression permitted when using interval notation. USER_STREAM_MAX The minimum maximum number of streams that a process may have open at any one time. USER_TZNAME_MAX The minimum maximum number of types supported for the name of a timezone. CTL_VM The string and integer information available for the CTL_VM level is detailed below. The changeable column shows whether a process with appropriate privilege may change the value. Second level name Type Changeable VM_LOADAVG struct loadavg no VM_PAGEOUT_ALGORITHM integer yes VM_SWAPPING_ENABLED integer maybe VM_V_CACHE_MAX integer yes VM_V_CACHE_MIN integer yes VM_V_FREE_MIN integer yes VM_V_FREE_RESERVED integer yes VM_V_FREE_TARGET integer yes VM_V_INACTIVE_TARGET integer yes VM_V_PAGEOUT_FREE_MIN integer yes VM_LOADAVG Return the load average history. The returned data consists of a struct loadavg. VM_PAGEOUT_ALGORITHM 0 if the statistics-based page management algorithm is in use or 1 if the near-LRU algorithm is in use. VM_SWAPPING_ENABLED 1 if process swapping is enabled or 0 if disabled. This variable is permanently set to 0 if the kernel was built with swapping dis- abled. VM_V_CACHE_MAX Maximum desired size of the cache queue. VM_V_CACHE_MIN Minimum desired size of the cache queue. If the cache queue size falls very far below this value, the pageout daemon is awakened. VM_V_FREE_MIN Minimum amount of memory (cache memory plus free memory) required to be available before a process waiting on memory will be awak- ened. VM_V_FREE_RESERVED Processes will awaken the pageout daemon and wait for memory if the number of free and cached pages drops below this value. VM_V_FREE_TARGET The total amount of free memory (including cache memory) that the pageout daemon tries to maintain. VM_V_INACTIVE_TARGET The desired number of inactive pages that the pageout daemon should achieve when it runs. Inactive pages can be quickly inserted into process address space when needed. VM_V_PAGEOUT_FREE_MIN If the amount of free and cache memory falls below this value, the pageout daemon will enter "memory conserving mode" to avoid dead- lock. RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, the value 0 is returned; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error. ERRORS
The following errors may be reported: [EFAULT] The buffer name, oldp, newp, or length pointer oldlenp contains an invalid address. [EINVAL] The name array is less than two or greater than CTL_MAXNAME. [EINVAL] A non-null newp is given and its specified length in newlen is too large or too small. [ENOMEM] The length pointed to by oldlenp is too short to hold the requested value. [ENOMEM] The smaller of either the length pointed to by oldlenp or the estimated size of the returned data exceeds the system limit on locked memory. [ENOMEM] Locking the buffer oldp, or a portion of the buffer if the estimated size of the data to be returned is smaller, would cause the process to exceed its per-process locked memory limit. [ENOTDIR] The name array specifies an intermediate rather than terminal name. [EISDIR] The name array specifies a terminal name, but the actual name is not terminal. [ENOENT] The name array specifies a value that is unknown. [EPERM] An attempt is made to set a read-only value. [EPERM] A process without appropriate privilege attempts to set a value. FILES
<sys/sysctl.h> definitions for top level identifiers, second level kernel and hardware identifiers, and user level identifiers <sys/socket.h> definitions for second level network identifiers <sys/gmon.h> definitions for third level profiling identifiers <mach/vm_param.h> definitions for second level virtual memory identifiers <netinet/in.h> definitions for third level IPv4/IPv6 identifiers and fourth level IPv4/v6 identifiers <netinet/icmp_var.h> definitions for fourth level ICMP identifiers <netinet/icmp6.h> definitions for fourth level ICMPv6 identifiers <netinet/udp_var.h> definitions for fourth level UDP identifiers SEE ALSO
sysconf(3), sysctl(8) HISTORY
The sysctl() function first appeared in 4.4BSD. BSD
October 21, 2008 BSD


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If you are using a cell phone, GPS, Bluetooth, or WiFi, chances are that they all have BAW resonators working inside them. All wireless electronic equipment use RF filters to help narrow down the frequency range they should operate within. With thousands of devices working within closely-packed radio frequencies, it is becoming increasingly important to design filters that would be able to reduce interference from unwanted frequencies, boost the signal-to-noise ratio, and lower insertion loss. Doing so may lead to fewer dropped calls in cell phones and less frequent charging of handheld electronic devices. Let's have a look at how you can model a piezoelectric BAW resonator using simulation software.
Frequency response characteristics of a typical band pass filter.
Setting the Scene for Improved Electronic Device Design
In order to incorporate all the desired qualities of our electronic equipment and design a high Q narrow band-pass filter, we need to think beyond using traditional RLC circuits. This is where Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) and Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) resonators come into the picture. Whereas SAW filters seem to rule the market for low frequency (below 1.5 GHz) applications, BAW filters become more efficient at higher frequencies, from 2 GHz to 16 GHz. Although BAW resonators are primarily used for making RF filters and duplexers that are used in wireless electronic devices, they can also be used for a variety of sensors, including chemical gas sensors and biosensors for detecting cancer, to name a couple of applications.
What is a BAW Resonator?
A BAW resonator is an electromechanical device in which a standing acoustic wave is generated by an electrical signal in the bulk of a piezoelectric material. In the simplest configuration, a device will consist of a piezoelectric material (typically quartz, AlN, or ZnO) sandwiched between two metallic electrodes. The natural frequency of the material and the thickness are used as design parameters to obtain a desired operating frequency. More complex designs will employ a ladder or lattice topology for better control over operating frequencies.
Schematic representation of the operation of a BAW resonator.
There are two popular configurations for BAW resonators:
- Thin Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonator (TFBAR or FBAR)
- Solidly Mounted Resonator (SMR)
Schematic representation of different BAW designs. The thickness shown is not to scale.
FBAR's are typically designed in one of these two configurations: edge-supported or composite (see the figure for FBAR, above). In an edge-supported structure, the substrate is completely etched away on the back side, whereas in a composite configuration another dielectric material is placed below the main structure to act as a supporting layer. In an SMR, additional layers are placed below the main structure to serve as Bragg reflectors and provide structural support. Bragg reflectors minimize the leakage of the acoustic wave from the bulk structure.
In order to design a BAW resonator, it is crucial to take into account the electromechanical coupling that arises due to both geometric effects and multiphysics interaction. A high-definition simulation of the resonator could possibly help us address the following questions:
- What thickness and material properties of the different layers would help me get the desired resonance frequency?
- How much stress will develop in different parts of the device? Will it be beyond the desired operating level?
- How will the material damping and anchor loss affect the bandwidth of the filter?
- How does the impedance and Q factor vary as a function of the frequencies that I expect the device to encounter?
This is where COMSOL Multiphysics and the MEMS Module are useful.
Modeling a BAW Resonator in COMSOL Multiphysics
The MEMS Module offers a predefined physics interface for modeling piezoelectric devices, such as the BAW resonator. This makes it quite easy to work with multilayered geometries that would include both piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric materials. These materials could be isotropic or anisotropic, and may exhibit both structural damping and dielectric losses.
In many BAW designs, there are also supporting structures that form the anchor for the device. The loss due to such structures (anchor loss) can also be effectively modeled with COMSOL using perfectly matched layers (or PMLs). Once you set up the simulation with the appropriate information on the material properties and physics, you could solve an eigenfrequency analysis to first identify the resonance modes around your desired target value, and then perform a detailed frequency response analysis over the desired range of operating frequencies. For more detailed information on how to model a BAW resonator, check out our tutorial model on Thin Film BAW Composite Resonator.
A snapshot of a simulation of a piezoelectric BAW resonator.
Additional Resources
- Our tutorial on modeling a Composite Piezoelectric Transducer is a good starting point for those of you interested in modeling SAW and BAW devices
- The Thickness Shear Mode Quartz Oscillator model tutorial is great for learning how to tune the resonance of a piezoelectric oscillator using a shunt capacitor


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Name: Gáspár Bakos
Title: Assistant Professor of Astrophysical Sciences
Scholarly focus: Bakos joined the Princeton faculty in 2011 and focuses much of his research on extrasolar planets, or exoplanets — those outside of Earth's solar system — and on studying the cosmos with small telescopes. Bakos brings these two areas together under HATNet (Hungarian-made Automated Telescope Network), a planet-hunting project he designed and launched in 1999 as an undergraduate student at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary.
This network of six, fully automated, small-scale telescopes (each with four lenses a mere 10 centimeters in diameter) scans the sky every night for extrasolar planets as they cross, or transit, in front of their parent star. Bakos also runs a related project called HAT-South that employs slightly larger telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere. Telescopes for both projects are located in Arizona, Hawaii, Australia, Namibia and Chile. The instruments' observations are stored in on-site computers that Bakos can access from Princeton's Peyton Hall.
The 41 planets (another five are being confirmed) so far discovered by HATNet include HAT-P-32b, which is twice the radius of Jupiter and one of the largest extrasolar planets observed; HAT-P-2b, which has one of the most eccentric (oval-shaped) orbits observed and swings from 4.9 million to more than 15 million miles from its sun; and HAT-P-7b, a planet orbiting in the opposite direction in which its sun rotates. HAT-South recently discovered its first planet, HATS-1b, a hot-Jupiter planet — a planet similar to Jupiter but very close to its parent star — that orbits its central star every three and a half days.
According to Bakos, these and other exoplanets provide new and important knowledge about planets as a whole, including how planets form, develop, change and eventually meet their end.
What particular focus does your work on exoplanets have?
"Anything you can do with a small telescope is of interest to me, especially if that work can be followed up with a big telescope to understand the physics of a system. One of the best examples of this dynamic are exoplanets. When my team publishes about a planet, it comes from a collaboration between small and big telescopes. Quite often, we have a small 10-centimeter HAT telescope discover a planet candidate, and then have a 10-meter telescope confirm that it is actually a planet.
"Small telescopes have a large field of view and can locate objects of interest with great efficiency. Then, large telescopes can be used for more detailed studies. There are millions of stars in the sky and many of them have planets. Some have tiny planets and a few have big planets. But only a tiny fraction of those have a transit that can be seen from Earth. Small telescopes have a lot of advantages — first and foremost, they are ideal for a large-scale, high-precision photometric survey for discovering transiting extrasolar planets. Also, it's cheaper in terms of research dollars needed, it's simple to deploy and to operate. I go to the sites and adjust the components myself. But, most important, HATNet is fully dedicated to this research. It's observing selected areas in the sky I assign to it, nothing else. Big telescopes are divided between several projects and researchers. The HAT telescopes have been running every night for eight years with full dedication to one subject. That's a huge advantage of small telescopes."
What specific advantages does HATNet offer?
"One advantage of the HAT telescopes is that they are very well automated. I am here in Princeton and the telescopes are observing from various locations in the world. I can check on the telescope from my computer by logging in to computers at the telescope site and reading a number of weather-sensing devices, including Web cameras that show the instruments in real time. There is a computer in a nearby shed that opens the telescope at night, moves it to various positions, corrects the positions, takes the exposures. If it rains or is too bright or windy, the telescope closes. If there are clouds, it closes, but opens if the clouds go away. It's a very sophisticated robot. It is basically a well-trained observer in software."
HATNet identifies planets as they transit in front of their star — are there advantages to this technique beyond locating planets?
"When a planet passes in front of the star it causes a dip in the light curve, a variation of the brightness of the star as a function of time. From this we can infer lots of interesting things. One is to measure the size of the planet. If you see the light curve has a 1 percent dip, then you know that the surface area of the planet is 1 percent of the star, that is, the radius of the planet is 10 percent that of the star. From a transiting exoplanet system, you can understand the radius of the planet, the radius of the star, the mass of the planet, the mass of the star, the atmosphere of the planet, the temperature of the planet, how much the orbit is tilted in respect to the stellar spin — you can tell all of this because of the nature of transits."
What important information comes from identifying extrasolar planets?
"Exoplanets have a lot of surprises. For example, the exoplanet HAT-P-7b orbits in the opposite direction of its star [known as a retrograde orbit]. We at first did not understand how this system formed, but now we have a clue that this planet did not form in the classical way of having this big spinning gas cloud with a star forming in the center and this planet migrating in from the cold outer regions. Instead, the planet encountered a violent near collision with another planet, and HAT-P-7b was thrown and almost hit this star. It was on a very eccentric orbit that eventually circularized, but when this other planet shot it into the system, HAT-P-7b happened to be orbiting in the opposite direction of the star.
"It was a violent, random interaction. In our solar system, we don't see this. Everything circles in the same direction and is in neat order. Our view on solar systems is very different now thanks to discoveries like this.
"Our understanding of these worlds is still being shaped and will very significantly change in the next decade, I'm sure, judging by how our understanding has changed in the past decade. Planets are part of the universe. Planet formation is part of star formation. We have a few hundred [777] exoplanets known so far, but there are billions and billions of planets in the universe. We better understand how they come to exist and what their fate is."
To the public, exoplanet research is often framed in terms of finding Earth-like planets and life — is this focus misleading?
"In the media, it's all about looking for life. That is an interesting thing, of course, but we want to understand the physics of planets. All these questions also lead to a much better understanding of how frequent are habitable and inhabited planets. Life and habitability are very good questions and attract the attention of many disciplines — astronomy, biology, physics, philosophy, everything. But on occasion, I feel like the physics behind it is sometimes ignored and people are blinded by looking for a habitable planet. As an insider, I say there may be a disproportionate interest in that. It may distort the way projects are designed, missions are planned and how science is developing because everything is trying to address this question of great public interest. But it also shows to me that there is an intrinsic curiosity in exoplanets in a big part of the population. That is good.
"Of course it's a super interesting question and I would love to contribute to it, and I think I do that by providing a better understanding of planetary systems. I don't think I have the capability to find a habitable planet with HATNet, but telescopes are increasing in size and detection methods are improving. There is a chance that scientists will detect a biosignature in the atmosphere of a nearby planet. That would be in terms of its significance greater than the Copernican Revolution [the acceptance that the sun rather than the Earth is at the center of the solar system, as proposed by Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543]. Imagine that someone provides scientific evidence that there is life on a planet around another star. I think anyone with a reasonable understanding of statistics should assume that there is life on other planets in the universe. There are so many stars and planets, there has to be. Yet, providing the scientific evidence would be a major milestone in mankind's perception of nature."
What direction will your research take in the future?
"There are so many planets, the excitement prevents me from doing any substantial work on anything else! We are working on analyzing HAT-P-39, -40 and -41, with another five to be confirmed and published. We are at 40 — it is comfortably above my age. That was one of my goals. I'm 36 and now we have more planets than years I have been alive. I'm trying to keep the rate at one planet per year.
"But together with [Princeton astrophysical sciences] graduate student Xu Huang, we have started working on public data from Kepler [NASA satellite telescope] and she found a lot of transiting planet candidates that have not been found before. I also am collaborating in a Kepler project to find moons around exoplanets, or exomoons, which have not been observed yet. I also am a co-investigator on a proposed space mission [led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and selected for consideration by NASA in 2011], Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), that will scan the entire sky. We hope it will find super Earths, habitable planets and even planets that may be habited."


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So I have a
Are you ready for the best part? This is the THIRD time I've done that. THREE times! You'd think I would've learned my lesson by now? The first time was in the bathroom of a mall and there was a long line of girl's waiting to use the toilet. My sweet friend started yelling (I swear, she was SO loud) and laughing while yanking my shirt up to get the toilet paper out of my pants. Ha ha, freaking embarrassing. The second time was just at my salon and I caught it before I walked out of the bathroom. And now the Target incident. What is wrong with me?? I guess I'll have to skip the toilet paper and pop a squat next time I have to pee in public :)
P.S. Are we friends on instagram? Find me @ CourtBrink (If you're willing to be my friend after that amazing story that is... ha ha!)


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It used to be common for drugmakers to ply medical students with meals and gifts as a way to curry favor with America's next generation of doctors.
But times are changing.
To curb the influence of drug companies, most U.S. medical schools have now instituted policies that restrict or ban gifts altogether. The policies appear to have a lasting effect.
A study just published in BMJ, the British Medical Journal, finds that policies restricting gifts may reduce how often doctors who were med students when the policies were in force prescribed newly marketed drugs.
The researchers found that physicians who attended U.S. medical schools with policies restricting gifts were less likely to prescribe two brand-name drugs – , for ADHD, and , an antipsychotic — than older, cheaper and similarly effective alternatives. There was no apparent difference in prescriptions for , an antidepressant.
These results suggest, though they don't prove, that policies restricting gifts to med students can affect what they prescribe when they become doctors.
That's a good thing, according to Dr. Joseph Ross, associate professor of medicine at Yale University and co-author of the study.
Ross says that gift-giving creates a relationship between physicians and pharmaceutical manufacturers that leads to unnecessary prescribing of newer, pricier — but not necessarily more effective --drugs. "[The pharmaceutical] industry, whose real interest is in promotion and marketing their products, should have no role in the education of physicians ... There's just no reason for it," he says.
Ross has company. In 2007, the American Medical Student Association released its first annual , which evaluates U.S. medical schools on how they regulate medical students' exposure to the pharmaceutical industry. These scorecards have created competition among schools to do better, resulting in more schools adopting policies restricting gifts.
Some new drugs have significant advantages over older ones. These innovative drugs probably wouldn't be hurt by a cutback in physician-targeted marketing, Ross says. "When a new drug comes to the market and it really makes a difference, people are going to be eager to use it," he says.
Are there appropriate ways for physicians and drug companies to work together? According to Ross, there are, but "they mostly have to do with research."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Girl, 16, Killed After Turning Down Prom Invite [VIDEO]
A shocking crime out of Connecticut has once again put the spotlight on school violence.
A 16-year-old girl in the town of Milford was reportedly stabbed to death Friday after she rejected another student when he asked her to their prom.
The unidentified suspect reportedly attacked Maren Sanchez in a stairwell at Jonathan Law High School. After Sanchez said no to the boy, also 16, he allegedly began choking her, pushed her down a stairway and stabbed her.
Sanchez was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Two teachers grabbed the boy, who is now in custody.
The prom, scheduled for Friday, has been canceled and it's unclear if it will be held at a later date.


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Behold Newt's New Beasts in "The Crimes of Grindelwald" Featurette
Warner Bros. Pictures has just revealed a new featurette for "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" entitled "Newt's New Menagerie."
Check out the featurette below and watch "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" in Philippine cinemas Thursday, November 15.
"Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" is distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures, a WarnerMedia Company. Join the conversation online and use the hashtags #WandsReady and #FantasticBeasts
About "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald"
Warner Bros. Pictures' "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" is the second of five all new adventures in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World™.
At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
The film features an ensemble cast led by Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Carmen Ejogo, Poppy Corby-Tuech, with Jude Law and Johnny Depp.
"Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" is directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling. The film is produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram. Tim Lewis, Neil Blair, Rick Senat and Danny Cohen serve as executive producers.


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Shown in black is the plot of the closing price of the FFFCX Mutual Fund over the last year. The colored lines indicate two moving averages. Where these lines cross each other indicates a signal to buy or sell. If the trend is down, the red line will cross and be below the green line indicating a sell signal. The same is true when the trend changes to the up side. The red line will cross the green line on the up side and indicate a buy signal.
The current graph indicates 3 crossover events.
Replot this fund with your own parameters.
See considerations before making any investment decisions, and also check the disclaimer.
For more information contact Herb Seidel
Back to Index.
© Copyright Chris Seidel 1996 All Rights Reserved


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@Popfizzpaper unlocked
on 06/04/2018
Can we call you Martha?
Become an insider by signing up below to subscribe to our emails. You'll get the inside scoop on special offers, new classes and exclusive announcements.
Cultivating your need to create is at the heart of Big Picture Classes, so we're giving out this FREE digital printable to inspire you to get creative! Simply enter your email to join our email list and we'll direct you to your download.


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Temenos, ABN AMRO Partner on New Payments Infrastructure
[Related Content: Temenos and Microsoft Make Cloud-Based Core Systems a Reality]
Banking software provider Temenos has announced plans to develop a new payments system, built in conjunction with Dutch bank ABN AMRO Bank N.V. The new system will be based upon the Temenos Enterprise Frameworks Architecture (TEFA), which provides the platform for Temenos' T24 core banking software, and will be implemented globally at all of ABN AMRO's international locations. The payments system will also be available as a standalone solution, integrating with any core banking or checking accounts system.
Following the successful rollout and use of T24 in ABN AMRO's international corporate business locations over the past two years, the bank is extending the use of Temenos to deliver a fully automated and centralized payment solution. The solution will provide fully integrated and comprehensive support for all wholesale payments in all international locations, said Temenos, and will provide ABN AMRO with the highest levels of straight through processing (STP) for all payment types. This will allow the bank to handle greater volumes and thus support its business growth and expansion into new and existing lines of business and new territories, while lowering cost of ownership, maintenance costs and risks, according to the firm.
The jointly developed solution will be fully integrated with the T24 core banking system, allowing the bank to take advantage of all core banking functionality including cash management, liquidity, business intelligence, AML, payment repair and account and risk management capabilities. The payment gateway will also be able to handle different payment schemes, formats and protocols and will allow new payment channels to be linked. Temenos said its experience of implementing core banking systems in over 125 countries will be leveraged to provide support for a wide range of different domestic payment schemes. Based on open standards, a sophisticated series of business rules can be applied independently to each aspect of the payment process.
Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio


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Which Means There Will Hopefully Be Flowers Soon
Last year I told you about my infatuation with lilacs, and you were kind enough to respond with your own personal (and wonderful) lilac stories and memories. I know better than to sniff my lilac flowers before they bloom, as they usually only appear every few years here because of our crazy weather, but I can't help but get excited whenever I see these first leaves popping out. The dreamy scent of lilacs might possibly be in the air.
Do you have a lilac memory or story? I'd love to hear it.
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where unfortunately we're usually too busy to plant flowers, but we always make sure to take time to appreciate the ones that are kind enough to come up every year on their own.


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It is insulting because it ostentatiously evades the question while giving a little wink to his home team: "Oh, these religious morons and their obsession with abortion! Of course, I could care less about it, but I also know it's impolitic to say so, so I'll emit a brief rhetoric fog and hope no one will notice." And it's mendacious because when it comes to "pay grades," no one's is higher than the President's."Above my pay grade" does seem like an awful expression in this context. It made a bad impression on me when I heard it last night. (I said it sounded "cold.") But thinking about it this morning, I'm pretty sure he meant to refer to God.
"Above my pay grade" is an expression of humility and submission to God: I don't purport to answer the question that belongs to God. He's trying to be folksy, coining a phrase akin to "the man upstairs." When someone says "the man upstairs," you don't start railing about how we're on the top floor, but that's because we know we're dealing with a folksy expression. People are too touchy on the subject of abortion to process the less common "above my pay grade" as an expression.
Obama may have thought that, in a church, talking to a pastor, with religion hovering around every question, listeners would understand that he was putting himself beneath God. But I didn't pick that up last night, Roger Kimball isn't picking it up, and, scanning the articles on the subject this morning, I'd say almost no one heard it as a religious statement, so we must judge "above my pay grade" as a rhetorical misfire. But we shouldn't say it's "insulting and mendacious."
Now, let's also look at Rick Warren's rhetoric. He asked, after a preface about abortion, "when does a baby get human rights in your view?" And, most obviously, his use of "baby" instead of "fetus" or at least "unborn baby" conveys a lot of opinion. But look at what else Warren is doing. He is not asking when does life begin?, a question that is much more susceptible to Obama's answer that only God knows. Warren is asking when do rights begin? That makes it a legal question. And Warren even appends the phrase "in your view."
So Obama's answer — that it's not for him to say — is inapt. Obama answered the question he expected to hear. But Warren had the wit to frame the question in terms of a legal opinion that Obama was fully equipped to give. When does the baby have legal rights?
And we know Obama's answer to that question, don't we? I think his answer is: When it is completely outside of the mother's body. Is it any more subtle than that? If it is, it's not much more subtle, and it's no wonder Obama chose not to answer the question asked.
ADDED: Rick Warren is asked whether the "above my pay grade" answer was good enough:
No. I think he needed to be more specific on that. I happen to disagree with Barack on that. Like I said, he's a friend. But to me, I would not want to die and get before God one day and go, 'Oh, sorry, I didn't take the time to figure out' because if I was wrong then it had severe implications to my leadership if I had the ability to do something about it. He should either say, 'No scientifically, I do not believe it's a human being until X' or whatever it is or to say, 'Yes, I believe it is a human being at X point,' whether it's conception or anything else. But to just say 'I don't know' on the most divisive issue in America is not a clear enough answer for me.


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I started this quilt in early 2002, late to the Y2K charm square swapping party. Back then, there weren't really any quilt blogs but quilters were hanging out on quilt message boards on sites like quilting.about.com. Lots of quilters were swapping 2 1/2" or 3" charm squares in order to make a Y2K quilt with 2000 different charms. There were even magazine articles about how to join these swaps. Mostly people would send out sets of 25 different fabrics, plus a signature square. It was a fun, and really inexpensive way to get a hold of a large variety of fabrics (this was important because we had a tight budget during those grad school years). Each swap was set up individually via email (there would be lists of people willing to swap on various websites), and a lot of people sent a little typed up biography of themselves with their squares.
I found the pattern in the May 1999 issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine--it is called Colourwash Checkerboard and was designed by Deirdre Amsden. (I modified the pattern slightly for my quilt.) This back issue is no longer available on the QNM website, but you might be able to find it elsewhere. The designer wrote a book titled Colourwash Quilts: A Personal Approach to Design & Technique which is available used on Amazon, if you're interested.
It was a really time consuming quilt to make--I cut every single piece individually--the triangles and the square-minus-triangle-chunk shape were each cut with templates, and the squares were 2 1/4" before sewing, so I had to cut each square piece down to size too. If you look closely you'll see the quilt is made of 9 sub-units, and each one is made of several different blocks of colors. I pieced each color block together first, then made the large sub-units, then pieced the whole thing together.
Here's the back. I just made the back a couple months ago. I used leftovers and scraps to make the rainbow strips. This photo shows the quilting better than the front, too. I didn't want the quilting to take away from the fabric and color so I chose to do a simple grid design. I quilted it with tan/blue/brown variegated King Tut thread that was recommended by Debbie at my local quilt shop. I had thought I would use a gray, or a gray variegated thread, but I'm glad I went with this one.
I quilted it with my old Viking 100 machine, using the walking foot with the presser foot pressure slightly loosened (having it slightly loosened made a big difference and I didn't have any problems with the layers shifting as I quilted). I used painters' tape to mark my lines, and quilted diagonally through the squares on the front of the quilt (every other diagonal row). This didn't necessarily translate to perfectly straight lines, but you can't tell that from the front.
The main backing fabric is a brown quilter's only solid from JoAnn. I used this same brown on my figgy pudding Christmas quilt that was finished at the end of 2009.
Here's the signature block. I received a total of 71 signatures from 37 US states and 7 other countries.
Aren't they great? I love the variety--handwriting, transfer/printing, stamps, embroidery, fabric paint.
This is the center section of the quilt, it's the first section I made. I made the navy blue color block in the middle first. You can see the small template shapes a bit better in this photo. If you're interested in getting a closer look at the whole quilt, I've posted photos like this of the 9 quilt sections on my flickr account.
The process of making this quilt was a real education in color and value. I first sorted my fabrics by color, and then value (lightness to darkness of the color). The fabrics in this quilt were divided by their value into lights, medium-lights, medium-darks, and darks. I kept the sorted fabrics on quarter sheets of posterboard that were stacked on top of each other and stored in a cardboard box that fit the posterboard just right. This was really helpful for keeping the project all together and made it easy to take it with me too. I started the project in Utah, took it with me when we went to Oregon in the summer of 2003 for my husband's graduate school internship, continued in Utah for another year, and then brought it out here to Kansas.
Sometimes I wonder what it would look like if I hadn't sorted by color, and just done it by value. I think that if the fabrics hadn't been sorted by color first, some of the fabrics would have ended up in different value categories--I'm thinking about the yellows here. I do love how it ended up of course, but I think it would be interesting, someday, to make a "values" quilt where the values were focused on more than the colors.
Now that I'm done... for a long time I've said I would start a Dear Jane quilt as soon as I finished this one. I don't think I'm ready for that yet--maybe after I finish a few more projects!
Just in case you want to read even more about this, here are my previous blog posts about this project:
8 out of 9
and we're back
watercolor quilt back
If you have any questions about this project I'll answer in the comments! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today, and enjoy looking at all the Quilt Festival quilts!