["[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-01 00:00]\n<User>I have some fresh insights to share:\nMichel Djotodia took over as president and in May 2013 Central African Republic's Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye requested a UN peacekeeping force from the UN Security Council and on 31 May former President Boziz\u00e9 was indicted for crimes against humanity and incitement of genocide. The security situation did not improve during June\u2013August 2013 and there were reports of over 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) as well as human rights abuses and renewed fighting between S\u00e9l\u00e9ka and Boziz\u00e9 supporters.\n\nIn the southwest, the Dzanga-Sangha National Park is located in a rain forest area. The country is noted for its population of forest elephants and western lowland gorillas. In the north, the Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park is well-populated with wildlife, including leopards, lions, cheetahs and rhinos, and the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park is located in the northeast of CAR. The parks have been seriously affected by the activities of poachers, particularly those from Sudan, over the past two decades.[citation needed]\n\nThere are many missionary groups operating in the country, including Lutherans, Baptists, Catholics, Grace Brethren, and Jehovah's Witnesses. While these missionaries are predominantly from the United States, France, Italy, and Spain, many are also from Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other African countries. Large numbers of missionaries left the country when fighting broke out between rebel and government forces in 2002\u20133, but many of them have now returned to continue their work.\n\nIn 2006, due to ongoing violence, over 50,000 people in the country's northwest were at risk of starvation but this was averted due to assistance from the United Nations.[citation needed] On 8 January 2008, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon declared that the Central African Republic was eligible to receive assistance from the Peacebuilding Fund. Three priority areas were identified: first, the reform of the security sector; second, the promotion of good governance and the rule of law; and third, the revitalization of communities affected by conflicts. On 12 June 2008, the Central African Republic requested assistance from the UN Peacebuilding Commission, which was set up in 2005 to help countries emerging from conflict avoid devolving back into war or chaos.\n\nA new government was appointed on 31 March 2013, which consisted of members of S\u00e9l\u00e9ka and representatives of the opposition to Boziz\u00e9, one pro-Boziz\u00e9 individual, and a number representatives of civil society. On 1 April, the former opposition parties declared that they would boycott the government. After African leaders in Chad refused to recognize Djotodia as President, proposing to form a transitional council and the holding of new elections, Djotodia signed a decree on 6 April for the formation of a council that would act as a transitional parliament. The council was tasked with electing a president to serve prior to elections in 18 months.\n\nThe per capita income of the Republic is often listed as being approximately $400 a year, one of the lowest in the world, but this figure is based mostly on reported sales of exports and largely ignores the unregistered sale of foods, locally produced alcoholic beverages, diamonds, ivory, bushmeat, and traditional medicine. For most Central Africans, the informal economy of the CAR is more important than the formal economy.[citation needed] Export trade is hindered by poor economic development and the country's landlocked position.[citation needed]\n\nAgriculture is dominated by the cultivation and sale of food crops such as cassava, peanuts, maize, sorghum, millet, sesame, and plantain. The annual real GDP growth rate is just above 3%. The importance of food crops over exported cash crops is indicated by the fact that the total production of cassava, the staple food of most Central Africans, ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 tonnes a year, while the production of cotton, the principal exported cash crop, ranges from 25,000 to 45,000 tonnes a year. Food crops are not exported in large quantities, but still constitute the principal cash crops of the country, because Central Africans derive far more income from the periodic sale of surplus food crops than from exported cash crops such as cotton or coffee.[citation needed] Much of the country is self-sufficient in food crops; however, livestock development is hindered by the presence of the tsetse fly.[citation needed]\n\nPresently, the Central African Republic has active television services, radio stations, internet service providers, and mobile phone carriers; Socatel is the leading provider for both internet and mobile phone access throughout the country. The primary governmental regulating bodies of telecommunications are the Minist\u00e8re des Postes and T\u00e9l\u00e9communications et des Nouvelles Technologies. In addition, the Central African Republic receives international support on telecommunication related operations from ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) within the International Telecommunication Union to improve infrastructure.\n\nThe 2009 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State noted that human rights in CAR were poor and expressed concerns over numerous government abuses. The U.S. State Department alleged that major human rights abuses such as extrajudicial executions by security forces, torture, beatings and rape of suspects and prisoners occurred with impunity. It also alleged harsh and life-threatening conditions in prisons and detention centers, arbitrary arrest, prolonged pretrial detention and denial of a fair trial, restrictions on freedom of movement, official corruption, and restrictions on workers' rights.\n<Assistant>Noted. I'll remember these details.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-02 00:00]\n<User>Here's some more information I came across:\nAsthma is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Environmental factors include exposure to air pollution and allergens. Other potential triggers include medications such as aspirin and beta blockers. Diagnosis is usually based on the pattern of symptoms, response to therapy over time, and spirometry. Asthma is classified according to the frequency of symptoms, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and peak expiratory flow rate. It may also be classified as atopic or non-atopic where atopy refers to a predisposition toward developing a type 1 hypersensitivity reaction.\n\nThere is no cure for asthma. Symptoms can be prevented by avoiding triggers, such as allergens and irritants, and by the use of inhaled corticosteroids. Long-acting beta agonists (LABA) or antileukotriene agents may be used in addition to inhaled corticosteroids if asthma symptoms remain uncontrolled. Treatment of rapidly worsening symptoms is usually with an inhaled short-acting beta-2 agonist such as salbutamol and corticosteroids taken by mouth. In very severe cases, intravenous corticosteroids, magnesium sulfate, and hospitalization may be required.\n\nAsthma is characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. Sputum may be produced from the lung by coughing but is often hard to bring up. During recovery from an attack, it may appear pus-like due to high levels of white blood cells called eosinophils. Symptoms are usually worse at night and in the early morning or in response to exercise or cold air. Some people with asthma rarely experience symptoms, usually in response to triggers, whereas others may have marked and persistent symptoms.\n\nA number of other health conditions occur more frequently in those with asthma, including gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), rhinosinusitis, and obstructive sleep apnea. Psychological disorders are also more common, with anxiety disorders occurring in between 16\u201352% and mood disorders in 14\u201341%. However, it is not known if asthma causes psychological problems or if psychological problems lead to asthma. Those with asthma, especially if it is poorly controlled, are at high risk for radiocontrast reactions.\n\nMany environmental factors have been associated with asthma's development and exacerbation including allergens, air pollution, and other environmental chemicals. Smoking during pregnancy and after delivery is associated with a greater risk of asthma-like symptoms. Low air quality from factors such as traffic pollution or high ozone levels, has been associated with both asthma development and increased asthma severity. Exposure to indoor volatile organic compounds may be a trigger for asthma; formaldehyde exposure, for example, has a positive association. Also, phthalates in certain types of PVC are associated with asthma in children and adults.\n\nThe hygiene hypothesis attempts to explain the increased rates of asthma worldwide as a direct and unintended result of reduced exposure, during childhood, to non-pathogenic bacteria and viruses. It has been proposed that the reduced exposure to bacteria and viruses is due, in part, to increased cleanliness and decreased family size in modern societies. Exposure to bacterial endotoxin in early childhood may prevent the development of asthma, but exposure at an older age may provoke bronchoconstriction. Evidence supporting the hygiene hypothesis includes lower rates of asthma on farms and in households with pets.\n<Assistant>Thanks for the information. I've saved it.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-03 00:00]\n<User>I have some interesting updates for you:\nFamily history is a risk factor for asthma, with many different genes being implicated. If one identical twin is affected, the probability of the other having the disease is approximately 25%. By the end of 2005, 25 genes had been associated with asthma in six or more separate populations, including GSTM1, IL10, CTLA-4, SPINK5, LTC4S, IL4R and ADAM33, among others. Many of these genes are related to the immune system or modulating inflammation. Even among this list of genes supported by highly replicated studies, results have not been consistent among all populations tested. In 2006 over 100 genes were associated with asthma in one genetic association study alone; more continue to be found.\n\nAsthma is the result of chronic inflammation of the conducting zone of the airways (most especially the bronchi and bronchioles), which subsequently results in increased contractability of the surrounding smooth muscles. This among other factors leads to bouts of narrowing of the airway and the classic symptoms of wheezing. The narrowing is typically reversible with or without treatment. Occasionally the airways themselves change. Typical changes in the airways include an increase in eosinophils and thickening of the lamina reticularis. Chronically the airways' smooth muscle may increase in size along with an increase in the numbers of mucous glands. Other cell types involved include: T lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils. There may also be involvement of other components of the immune system including: cytokines, chemokines, histamine, and leukotrienes among others.\n\nWhile asthma is a well recognized condition, there is not one universal agreed upon definition. It is defined by the Global Initiative for Asthma as \"a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements play a role. The chronic inflammation is associated with airway hyper-responsiveness that leads to recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing particularly at night or in the early morning. These episodes are usually associated with widespread but variable airflow obstruction within the lung that is often reversible either spontaneously or with treatment\".\n\nThere is currently no precise test with the diagnosis typically based on the pattern of symptoms and response to therapy over time. A diagnosis of asthma should be suspected if there is a history of: recurrent wheezing, coughing or difficulty breathing and these symptoms occur or worsen due to exercise, viral infections, allergens or air pollution. Spirometry is then used to confirm the diagnosis. In children under the age of six the diagnosis is more difficult as they are too young for spirometry.\n\nSpirometry is recommended to aid in diagnosis and management. It is the single best test for asthma. If the FEV1 measured by this technique improves more than 12% following administration of a bronchodilator such as salbutamol, this is supportive of the diagnosis. It however may be normal in those with a history of mild asthma, not currently acting up. As caffeine is a bronchodilator in people with asthma, the use of caffeine before a lung function test may interfere with the results. Single-breath diffusing capacity can help differentiate asthma from COPD. It is reasonable to perform spirometry every one or two years to follow how well a person's asthma is controlled.\n\nOther supportive evidence includes: a \u226520% difference in peak expiratory flow rate on at least three days in a week for at least two weeks, a \u226520% improvement of peak flow following treatment with either salbutamol, inhaled corticosteroids or prednisone, or a \u226520% decrease in peak flow following exposure to a trigger. Testing peak expiratory flow is more variable than spirometry, however, and thus not recommended for routine diagnosis. It may be useful for daily self-monitoring in those with moderate to severe disease and for checking the effectiveness of new medications. It may also be helpful in guiding treatment in those with acute exacerbations.\n\nAsthma is clinically classified according to the frequency of symptoms, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and peak expiratory flow rate. Asthma may also be classified as atopic (extrinsic) or non-atopic (intrinsic), based on whether symptoms are precipitated by allergens (atopic) or not (non-atopic). While asthma is classified based on severity, at the moment there is no clear method for classifying different subgroups of asthma beyond this system. Finding ways to identify subgroups that respond well to different types of treatments is a current critical goal of asthma research.\n\nAlthough asthma is a chronic obstructive condition, it is not considered as a part of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as this term refers specifically to combinations of disease that are irreversible such as bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. Unlike these diseases, the airway obstruction in asthma is usually reversible; however, if left untreated, the chronic inflammation from asthma can lead the lungs to become irreversibly obstructed due to airway remodeling. In contrast to emphysema, asthma affects the bronchi, not the alveoli.\n\nExercise can trigger bronchoconstriction both in people with or without asthma. It occurs in most people with asthma and up to 20% of people without asthma. Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction is common in professional athletes. The highest rates are among cyclists (up to 45%), swimmers, and cross-country skiers. While it may occur with any weather conditions it is more common when it is dry and cold. Inhaled beta2-agonists do not appear to improve athletic performance among those without asthma however oral doses may improve endurance and strength.\n\nAsthma as a result of (or worsened by) workplace exposures, is a commonly reported occupational disease. Many cases however are not reported or recognized as such. It is estimated that 5\u201325% of asthma cases in adults are work\u2013related. A few hundred different agents have been implicated with the most common being: isocyanates, grain and wood dust, colophony, soldering flux, latex, animals, and aldehydes. The employment associated with the highest risk of problems include: those who spray paint, bakers and those who process food, nurses, chemical workers, those who work with animals, welders, hairdressers and timber workers.\n<Assistant>I've processed this information and will remember it.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-04 00:00]\n<User>I have some fresh insights to share:\nMany other conditions can cause symptoms similar to those of asthma. In children, other upper airway diseases such as allergic rhinitis and sinusitis should be considered as well as other causes of airway obstruction including: foreign body aspiration, tracheal stenosis or laryngotracheomalacia, vascular rings, enlarged lymph nodes or neck masses. Bronchiolitis and other viral infections may also produce wheezing. In adults, COPD, congestive heart failure, airway masses, as well as drug-induced coughing due to ACE inhibitors should be considered. In both populations vocal cord dysfunction may present similarly.\n\nChronic obstructive pulmonary disease can coexist with asthma and can occur as a complication of chronic asthma. After the age of 65 most people with obstructive airway disease will have asthma and COPD. In this setting, COPD can be differentiated by increased airway neutrophils, abnormally increased wall thickness, and increased smooth muscle in the bronchi. However, this level of investigation is not performed due to COPD and asthma sharing similar principles of management: corticosteroids, long acting beta agonists, and smoking cessation. It closely resembles asthma in symptoms, is correlated with more exposure to cigarette smoke, an older age, less symptom reversibility after bronchodilator administration, and decreased likelihood of family history of atopy.\n\nThe evidence for the effectiveness of measures to prevent the development of asthma is weak. Some show promise including: limiting smoke exposure both in utero and after delivery, breastfeeding, and increased exposure to daycare or large families but none are well supported enough to be recommended for this indication. Early pet exposure may be useful. Results from exposure to pets at other times are inconclusive and it is only recommended that pets be removed from the home if a person has allergic symptoms to said pet. Dietary restrictions during pregnancy or when breast feeding have not been found to be effective and thus are not recommended. Reducing or eliminating compounds known to sensitive people from the work place may be effective. It is not clear if annual influenza vaccinations effects the risk of exacerbations. Immunization; however, is recommended by the World Health Organization. Smoking bans are effective in decreasing exacerbations of asthma.\n\nAvoidance of triggers is a key component of improving control and preventing attacks. The most common triggers include allergens, smoke (tobacco and other), air pollution, non selective beta-blockers, and sulfite-containing foods. Cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke (passive smoke) may reduce the effectiveness of medications such as corticosteroids. Laws that limit smoking decrease the number of people hospitalized for asthma. Dust mite control measures, including air filtration, chemicals to kill mites, vacuuming, mattress covers and others methods had no effect on asthma symptoms. Overall, exercise is beneficial in people with stable asthma. Yoga could provide small improvements in quality of life and symptoms in people with asthma.\n\nFor those with severe persistent asthma not controlled by inhaled corticosteroids and LABAs, bronchial thermoplasty may be an option. It involves the delivery of controlled thermal energy to the airway wall during a series of bronchoscopies. While it may increase exacerbation frequency in the first few months it appears to decrease the subsequent rate. Effects beyond one year are unknown. Evidence suggests that sublingual immunotherapy in those with both allergic rhinitis and asthma improve outcomes.\n\nThe prognosis for asthma is generally good, especially for children with mild disease. Mortality has decreased over the last few decades due to better recognition and improvement in care. Globally it causes moderate or severe disability in 19.4 million people as of 2004 (16 million of which are in low and middle income countries). Of asthma diagnosed during childhood, half of cases will no longer carry the diagnosis after a decade. Airway remodeling is observed, but it is unknown whether these represent harmful or beneficial changes. Early treatment with corticosteroids seems to prevent or ameliorates a decline in lung function.\n\nAs of 2011, 235\u2013330 million people worldwide are affected by asthma, and approximately 250,000\u2013345,000 people die per year from the disease. Rates vary between countries with prevalences between 1 and 18%. It is more common in developed than developing countries. One thus sees lower rates in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Within developed countries it is more common in those who are economically disadvantaged while in contrast in developing countries it is more common in the affluent. The reason for these differences is not well known. Low and middle income countries make up more than 80% of the mortality.\n\nFrom 2000 to 2010, the average cost per asthma-related hospital stay in the United States for children remained relatively stable at about $3,600, whereas the average cost per asthma-related hospital stay for adults increased from $5,200 to $6,600. In 2010, Medicaid was the most frequent primary payer among children and adults aged 18\u201344 years in the United States; private insurance was the second most frequent payer. Among both children and adults in the lowest income communities in the United States there is a higher rates of hospital stays for asthma in 2010 than those in the highest income communities.\n\nIn 1873, one of the first papers in modern medicine on the subject tried to explain the pathophysiology of the disease while one in 1872, concluded that asthma can be cured by rubbing the chest with chloroform liniment. Medical treatment in 1880, included the use of intravenous doses of a drug called pilocarpin. In 1886, F.H. Bosworth theorized a connection between asthma and hay fever. Epinephrine was first referred to in the treatment of asthma in 1905. Oral corticosteroids began to be used for this condition in the 1950s while inhaled corticosteroids and selective short acting beta agonist came into wide use in the 1960s.\n<Assistant>I understand. I'll keep this in mind.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-05 00:00]\n<User>The following are some more news I learnt:\nAlthough the format was capable of offering higher-quality video and audio than its consumer rivals, the VHS and Betamax videocassette systems, LaserDisc never managed to gain widespread use in North America, largely due to high costs for the players and video titles themselves and the inability to record TV programming. It also remained a largely obscure format in Europe and Australia. By contrast, the format was much more popular in Japan and in the more affluent regions of Southeast Asia, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, being the prevalent rental video medium in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Its superior video and audio quality did make it a somewhat popular choice among videophiles and film enthusiasts during its lifespan.\n\nLaserDisc was first available on the market, in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 15, 1978, two years after the introduction of the VHS VCR, and four years before the introduction of the CD (which is based on laser disc technology). Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known as simply \"DiscoVision\") in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to internally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical Videodisc, and Disco-Vision (with a dash), with the first players referring to the format as \"Video Long Play\".\n\nPioneer Electronics later purchased the majority stake in the format and marketed it as both LaserVision (format name) and LaserDisc (brand name) in 1980, with some releases unofficially referring to the medium as \"Laser Videodisc\". Philips produced the players while MCA produced the discs. The Philips-MCA cooperation was not successful, and discontinued after a few years. Several of the scientists responsible for the early research (Richard Wilkinson, Ray Dakin and John Winslow) founded Optical Disc Corporation (now ODC Nimbus).\n\nBy the early 2000s, LaserDisc was completely replaced by DVD in the North American retail marketplace, as neither players nor software were then produced. Players were still exported to North America from Japan until the end of 2001. The format has retained some popularity among American collectors, and to a greater degree in Japan, where the format was better supported and more prevalent during its life. In Europe, LaserDisc always remained an obscure format. It was chosen by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the BBC Domesday Project in the mid-1980s, a school-based project to commemorate 900 years since the original Domesday Book in England. From 1991 up until the early 2000s, the BBC also used LaserDisc technology to play out the channel idents.\n\nThe standard home video LaserDisc was 30 cm (12 in) in diameter and made up of two single-sided aluminum discs layered in plastic. Although appearing similar to compact discs or DVDs, LaserDiscs used analog video stored in the composite domain (having a video bandwidth approximately equivalent to the 1-inch (25 mm) C-Type VTR format) with analog FM stereo sound and PCM digital audio. The LaserDisc at its most fundamental level was still recorded as a series of pits and lands much like CDs, DVDs, and even Blu-ray Discs are today. However, while the encoding is of a binary nature, the information is encoded as analog pulse width modulation with a 50% duty cycle, where the information is contained in the lengths and spacing of the pits. In true digital media the pits, or their edges, directly represent 1s and 0s of a binary digital information stream. Early LaserDiscs featured in 1978 were entirely analog but the format evolved to incorporate digital stereo sound in CD format (sometimes with a TOSlink or coax output to feed an external DAC), and later multi-channel formats such as Dolby Digital and DTS.\n\nAs Pioneer introduced Digital Audio to LaserDisc in 1985, they further refined the CAA format. CAA55 was introduced in 1985 with a total playback capacity per side of 55 minutes 5 seconds, reducing the video capacity to resolve bandwidth issues with the inclusion of Digital Audio. Several titles released between 1985 and 1987 were analog audio only due to the length of the title and the desire to keep the film on one disc (e.g., Back to the Future). By 1987, Pioneer had overcome the technical challenges and was able to once again encode in CAA60, allowing a total of 60 minutes 5 seconds. Pioneer further refined CAA, offering CAA45, encoding 45 minutes of material, but filling the entire playback surface of the side. Used on only a handful of titles, CAA65 offered 65 minutes 5 seconds of playback time per side. There are a handful of titles pressed by Technidisc that used CAA50. The final variant of CAA is CAA70, which could accommodate 70 minutes of playback time per side. There are not any known uses of this format on the consumer market.\n<Assistant>Thank you for sharing. I've noted this information.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-06 00:00]\n<User>I want to share some knowledge I just acquired:\nSound could be stored in either analog or digital format and in a variety of surround sound formats; NTSC discs could carry two analog audio tracks, plus two uncompressed PCM digital audio tracks, which were (EFM, CIRC, 16-bit and 44.056 kHz sample rate). PAL discs could carry one pair of audio tracks, either analog or digital and the digital tracks on a PAL disc were 16-bit 44.1 kHz as on a CD; in the UK, the term \"LaserVision\" is used to refer to discs with analog sound, while \"LaserDisc\" is used for those with digital audio. The digital sound signal in both formats are EFM-encoded as in CD. Dolby Digital (also called AC-3) and DTS\u2014which are now common on DVD titles\u2014first became available on LaserDisc, and Star Wars: Episode I \u2013 The Phantom Menace (1999) which was released on LaserDisc in Japan, is among the first home video releases ever to include 6.1 channel Dolby Digital EX Surround. Unlike DVDs, which carry Dolby Digital audio in digital form, LaserDiscs store Dolby Digital in a frequency modulated form within a track normally used for analog audio. Extracting Dolby Digital from a LaserDisc required a player equipped with a special \"AC-3 RF\" output and an external demodulator in addition to an AC-3 decoder. The demodulator was necessary to convert the 2.88 MHz modulated AC-3 information on the disc into a 384 kbit/s signal that the decoder could handle. DTS audio, when available on a disc, replaced the digital audio tracks; hearing DTS sound required only an S/PDIF compliant digital connection to a DTS decoder.\n<Assistant>Great! I've added this to my knowledge base.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-07 00:00]\n<User>The following are some new knowledge:\nIn the mid to late 1990s many higher-end AV receivers included the demodulator circuit specifically for the LaserDisc players RF modulated Dolby Digital AC-3 signal. By the late 1990s with LaserDisc players and disc sales declining due to DVD's growing popularity the AV receiver manufacturers removed the demodulator circuit. Although DVD players were capable of playing Dolby Digital tracks, the signal out of DVD player were not in a modulated form and not compatible with the inputs designed for LaserDisc AC-3. Outboard demodulators were available for a period that convert the AC-3 signal to standard Dolby Digital signal that was compatible with the standard Dolby Digital/PCM inputs on capable AV receivers. Another type marketed by Onkyo and others converted the RF AC-3 signal to 6-channel analog audio.\n\nAt least where the digital audio tracks were concerned, the sound quality was unsurpassed at the time compared to consumer videotape, but the quality of the analog soundtracks varied greatly depending on the disc and, sometimes, the player. Many early and lower-end LD players had poor analog audio components, and many early discs had poorly mastered analog audio tracks, making digital soundtracks in any form most desirable to serious enthusiasts. Early DiscoVision and LaserDisc titles lacked the digital audio option, but many of those movies received digital sound in later re-issues by Universal, and the quality of analog audio tracks generally got far better as time went on. Many discs that had originally carried old analog stereo tracks received new Dolby Stereo and Dolby Surround tracks instead, often in addition to digital tracks, helping boost sound quality. Later analog discs also applied CX Noise Reduction, which improved the signal-noise ratio of their audio.\n\nBoth AC-3 and DTS surround audio were clumsily implemented on LaserDiscs, leading to some interesting player- and disc-dependent issues. A disc that included AC-3 audio forfeited the right analog audio channel to the modulated AC-3 RF stream. If the player did not have an AC-3 output available, the next most attractive playback option would be the digital Dolby Surround or stereo audio tracks. The reason for this is the RF signal needs to bypass the audio circuitry in order to be properly processed by the demodulator. If either the player did not support digital audio tracks (common in older players), or the disc did not include digital audio tracks at all (uncommon for a disc which is mastered with an AC-3 track), the only remaining option was to fall back to a monophonic presentation of the left analog audio track. However, many older analog-only players not only failed to output AC-3 streams correctly, but were not even aware of their potential existence. Such a player will happily play the analog audio tracks verbatim, resulting in garbage (static) output in the right channel.\n\nOnly one 5.1 surround sound option exists on a given LaserDisc (either Dolby Digital or DTS), so if surround sound is desired, the disc must be matched to the capabilities of the playback equipment (LD Player and Receiver/Decoder) by the purchaser. A fully capable LaserDisc playback system includes a newer LaserDisc player that is capable of playing digital tracks, has a digital optical output for digital PCM and DTS audio, is aware of AC-3 audio tracks, and has an AC-3 coaxial output; an external or internal AC-3 RF demodulator and AC-3 decoder; and a DTS decoder. Many 1990s A/V receivers combine the AC-3 decoder and DTS decoder logic, but an integrated AC-3 demodulator is rare both in LaserDisc players and in later A/V receivers.\n\nPAL LaserDiscs have a slightly longer playing time than NTSC discs, but have fewer audio options. PAL discs only have two audio tracks, consisting of either two analog-only tracks on older PAL LDs, or two digital-only tracks on newer discs. In comparison, later NTSC LDs are capable of carrying four tracks (two analog and two digital). On certain releases, one of the analog tracks is used to carry a modulated AC-3 signal for 5.1 channel audio (for decoding and playback by newer LD players with an \"AC-3 RF\" output). However, older NTSC LDs made before 1984 (such as the original DiscoVision discs) only have two analog audio tracks.\n\nIn March 1984, Pioneer introduced the first consumer player with a solid-state laser, the LD-700. It was also the first LD player to load from the front and not the top. One year earlier Hitachi introduced an expensive industrial player with a laser diode, but the player, which had poor picture quality due to an inadequate dropout compensator, was made only in limited quantities. After Pioneer released the LD-700, gas lasers were no longer used in consumer players, despite their advantages, although Philips continued to use gas lasers in their industrial units until 1985.\n\nDuring its development, MCA, which co-owned the technology, referred to it as the Optical Videodisc System, \"Reflective Optical Videodisc\" or \"Laser Optical Videodisc\", depending on the document; changing the name once in 1969 to Disco-Vision and then again in 1978 to DiscoVision (without the hyphen), which became the official spelling. Technical documents and brochures produced by MCA Disco-Vision during the early and mid-'70s also used the term \"Disco-Vision Records\" to refer to the pressed discs. MCA owned the rights to the largest catalog of films in the world during this time, and they manufactured and distributed the DiscoVision releases of those films under the \"MCA DiscoVision\" software and manufacturing label; consumer sale of those titles began on December 15, 1978, with the aforementioned Jaws.\n\nPhilips' preferred name for the format was \"VLP\", after the Dutch words Video Langspeel-Plaat (\"Video long-play disc\"), which in English-speaking countries stood for Video Long-Play. The first consumer player, the Magnavox VH-8000 even had the VLP logo on the player. For a while in the early and mid-1970s, Philips also discussed a compatible audio-only format they called \"ALP\", but that was soon dropped as the Compact Disc system became a non-compatible project in the Philips corporation. Until early 1980, the format had no \"official\" name. The LaserVision Association, made up of MCA, Universal-Pioneer, IBM, and Philips/Magnavox, was formed to standardize the technical specifications of the format (which had been causing problems for the consumer market) and finally named the system officially as \"LaserVision\".\n\nPioneer Electronics also entered the optical disc market in 1977 as a 50/50 joint-venture with MCA called Universal-Pioneer and manufacturing MCA designed industrial players under the MCA DiscoVision name (the PR-7800 and PR-7820). For the 1980 launch of the first Universal-Pioneer player, the VP-1000 was noted as a \"laser disc player\", although the \"LaserDisc\" logo displayed clearly on the device. In 1981, \"LaserDisc\" was used exclusively for the medium itself, although the official name was \"LaserVision\" (as seen at the beginning of many LaserDisc releases just before the start of the film). However, as Pioneer reminded numerous video magazines and stores in 1984, LaserDisc was a trademarked word, standing only for LaserVision products manufactured for sale by Pioneer Video or Pioneer Electronics. A 1984 Ray Charles ad for the LD-700 player bore the term \"Pioneer LaserDisc brand videodisc player\". From 1981 until the early 1990s, all properly licensed discs carried the LaserVision name and logo, even Pioneer Artists titles.\n<Assistant>Thanks for letting me know. I'll keep track of this.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-08 00:00]\n<User>I have some interesting updates for you:\nDuring the early years, MCA also manufactured discs for other companies including Paramount, Disney and Warner Bros. Some of them added their own names to the disc jacket to signify that the movie was not owned by MCA. After Discovision Associates shut down in early 1982, Universal Studio's videodisc software label, called MCA Videodisc until 1984, began reissuing many DiscoVision titles. Unfortunately, quite a few, such as Battlestar Galactica and Jaws, were time-compressed versions of their CAV or CLV Disco Vision originals. The time-compressed CLV re-issue of Jaws no longer had the original soundtrack, having had incidental background music replaced for the video disc version due to licensing cost (the music would not be available until the THX LaserDisc box set was released in 1995). One Universal/Columbia co-production issued by MCA Disco Vision in both CAV and CLV versions, The Electric Horseman, is still not available in any other home video format with its original score intact; even the most recent DVD release has had substantial music replacements of both instrumental score and Willie Nelson's songs. An MCA release of Universal's Howard the Duck, sees only the start credits shown in widescreen before changing to 4:3 for the rest of the film. For many years this was the only disc-based release of the film, until widescreen DVD formats were released with extras. Also, the LaserDisc release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the only format to include the cut scene of Harrison Ford playing the part of the school headmaster telling off Elliott for letting the frogs free in the biology class.\n<Assistant>Thanks for letting me know. I'll keep track of this.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-09 00:00]\n<User>I just discovered some interesting information:\nLaserDisc had a number of advantages over VHS. It featured a far sharper picture with a horizontal resolution of 425 TVL lines for NTSC and 440 TVL lines for PAL discs, while VHS featured only 240 TVL lines with NTSC. It could handle analog and digital audio where VHS was mostly analog only (VHS can have PCM audio in professional applications but is uncommon), and the NTSC discs could store multiple audio tracks. This allowed for extras like director's commentary tracks and other features to be added onto a film, creating \"Special Edition\" releases that would not have been possible with VHS. Disc access was random and chapter based, like the DVD format, meaning that one could jump to any point on a given disc very quickly. By comparison, VHS would require tedious rewinding and fast-forwarding to get to specific points.\n\nLaserDiscs were initially cheaper than videocassettes to manufacture, because they lacked the moving parts and plastic outer shell that are necessary for VHS tapes to work, and the duplication process was much simpler. A VHS cassette has at least 14 parts including the actual tape while LaserDisc has one part with five or six layers. A disc can be stamped out in a matter of seconds whereas duplicating videotape required a complex bulk tape duplication mechanism and was a time-consuming process. However, by the end of the 1980s, average disc-pressing prices were over $5.00 per two-sided disc, due to the large amount of plastic material and the costly glass-mastering process needed to make the metal stamper mechanisms. Due to the larger volume of demand, videocassettes quickly became much cheaper to duplicate, costing as little as $1.00 by the beginning of the 1990s.\n\nLaserDiscs potentially had a much longer lifespan than videocassettes. Because the discs were read optically instead of magnetically, no physical contact needs to be made between the player and the disc, except for the player's clamp that holds the disc at its center as it is spun and read. As a result, playback would not wear the information-bearing part of the discs, and properly manufactured LDs would theoretically last beyond one's lifetime. By contrast, a VHS tape held all of its picture and sound information on the tape in a magnetic coating which is in contact with the spinning heads on the head drum, causing progressive wear with each use (though later in VHS's lifespan, engineering improvements allowed tapes to be made and played back without contact). Also, the tape was thin and delicate, and it was easy for a player mechanism, especially on a low quality or malfunctioning model, to mishandle the tape and damage it by creasing it, frilling (stretching) its edges, or even breaking it.\n\nLaserDisc was a composite video format: the luminance (black and white) and chrominance (color) information were transmitted in one signal, separated by the receiver. While good comb filters can do so adequately, these two signals cannot be completely separated. On DVDs, data is stored in the form of digital blocks which make up each independent frame. The signal produced is dependent on the equipment used to master the disc. Signals range from composite and split, to YUV and RGB. Depending upon which format is used, this can result in far higher fidelity, particularly at strong color borders or regions of high detail (especially if there is moderate movement in the picture) and low-contrast details like skin tones, where comb filters almost inevitably smudge some detail.\n\nIn contrast to the entirely digital DVD, LaserDiscs use only analog video. As the LaserDisc format is not digitally encoded and does not make use of compression techniques, it is immune to video macroblocking (most visible as blockiness during high motion sequences) or contrast banding (subtle visible lines in gradient areas, such as out-of-focus backgrounds, skies, or light casts from spotlights) that can be caused by the MPEG-2 encoding process as video is prepared for DVD. Early DVD releases held the potential to surpass their LaserDisc counterparts, but often managed only to match them for image quality, and in some cases, the LaserDisc version was preferred. However, proprietary human-assisted encoders manually operated by specialists can vastly reduce the incidence of artifacts, depending on playing time and image complexity. By the end of LaserDisc's run, DVDs were living up to their potential as a superior format.\n\nLaserDisc players can provide a great degree of control over the playback process. Unlike many DVD players, the transport mechanism always obeys commands from the user: pause, fast-forward, and fast-reverse commands are always accepted (barring, of course, malfunctions). There were no \"User Prohibited Options\" where content protection code instructs the player to refuse commands to skip a specific part (such as fast forwarding through copyright warnings). (Some DVD players, particularly higher-end units, do have the ability to ignore the blocking code and play the video without restrictions, but this feature is not common in the usual consumer market.)\n<Assistant>Thanks for letting me know. I'll keep track of this.", "[Dialogue between User and Assistant on 2024-01-10 00:00]\n<User>I'd like to share some important information:\nDamaged spots on a LaserDisc can be played through or skipped over, while a DVD will often become unplayable past the damage. Some newer DVD players feature a repair+skip algorithm, which alleviates this problem by continuing to play the disc, filling in unreadable areas of the picture with blank space or a frozen frame of the last readable image and sound. The success of this feature depends upon the amount of damage. LaserDisc players, when working in full analog, recover from such errors faster than DVD players. Direct comparison here is almost impossible due to the sheer size differences between the two media. A 1 in (3 cm) scratch on a DVD will probably cause more problems than a 1 in (3 cm) scratch on a LaserDisc, but a fingerprint taking up 1% of the area of a DVD would almost certainly cause fewer problems than a similar mark covering 1% of the surface of a LaserDisc.[citation needed]\n\nSimilar to the CD versus LP sound quality debates common in the audiophile community, some videophiles argue that LaserDisc maintains a \"smoother\", more \"film-like\", natural image while DVD still looks slightly more artificial. Early DVD demo discs often had compression or encoding problems, lending additional support to such claims at the time. However, the video signal-to-noise ratio and bandwidth of LaserDisc are substantially less than that of DVDs, making DVDs appear sharper and clearer to most viewers.\n<Assistant>I've successfully recorded all of this data."]
[{"question": "Who became president in 2013?", "answer": "Michel Djotodia"}, {"question": "What mass murder did Bozize commit?", "answer": "genocide"}, {"question": "How many people were displaced in the unrests?", "answer": "200,000"}, {"question": "What faction was fighting against the remaining Bozize loyalists?", "answer": "S\u00e9l\u00e9ka"}, {"question": "What large animals reside in the national park?", "answer": "forest elephants"}, {"question": "Which Primate can be found in the national park?", "answer": "lowland gorillas"}, {"question": "What religious groups operate in CAR?", "answer": "missionary groups"}, {"question": "When did fighting break out in CAR?", "answer": "2002\u20133"}, {"question": "Due to fighting, what threatened people in the NorthWest?", "answer": "risk of starvation"}, {"question": "Who assisted CAR in avoiding war?", "answer": "UN Peacebuilding Commission"}, {"question": "What did the former opposition parties declare?", "answer": "boycott the government"}, {"question": "Who was refused as new president?", "answer": "Djotodia"}, {"question": "Who would rule the country temporarily?", "answer": "a transitional parliament"}, {"question": "How long did the parliament have until the next election?", "answer": "18 months"}, {"question": "What is the per capita income in CAR?", "answer": "$400 a year"}, {"question": "How is the per capita income compared to the world?", "answer": "one of the lowest"}, {"question": "What gemstone comes from the CAR?", "answer": "diamonds"}, {"question": "What type of agriculture is popular in the CAR?", "answer": "food crops"}, {"question": "What product is produced that is exported?", "answer": "cotton"}, {"question": "Which insect hinders livestock development?", "answer": "tsetse fly"}, {"question": "What is the major telecommunications provider in CAR?", "answer": "Socatel"}, {"question": "What type of access is available?", "answer": "internet service"}, {"question": "What does the CAR get help with with regards to communication from ITU-D?", "answer": "improve infrastructure"}, {"question": "What concerns are there regarding to human rights?", "answer": "government abuses"}, {"question": "What is produced in the lungs by coughing?", "answer": "Sputum"}, {"question": "What other type of disorders are frequent in asthma sufferers?", "answer": "Psychological disorders"}, {"question": "What are those with asthma that is poorly controll more susceptable to?", "answer": "radiocontrast reactions"}, {"question": "If one identical twin has asthma, what are the odds of the other twin having asthma?", "answer": "approximately 25%"}, {"question": "How many genes were associated with asthma in 2006?", "answer": "over 100 genes"}, {"question": "What substance can skew the results of an asthma test?", "answer": "caffeine"}, {"question": "What is the rate that is used in most of the evidence?", "answer": "\u226520%"}, {"question": "When asthma is caused by allergens that is called what?", "answer": "atopic"}, {"question": "What part of the airway does asthma affect?", "answer": "the bronchi"}, {"question": "Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction is common in what profession?", "answer": "professional athletes"}, {"question": "Asthma that is the result of or made worse by workplace exposure is reported as what?", "answer": "occupational disease"}, {"question": "What is a key component of control and preventing asthma attacks?", "answer": "Avoidance of triggers"}, {"question": "What is the prognosis for asthma?", "answer": "generally good"}, {"question": "Who was more likely to seek hospital help in the US for asthma reasons?", "answer": "the lowest income communities"}, {"question": "When was the first paper written about asthma?", "answer": "In 1873"}, {"question": "In 1880 what was used intraveniously for asthma?", "answer": "pilocarpin"}, {"question": "Did LaserDisks offer higher or lower quality sound and picture than VHS?", "answer": "higher-quality"}, {"question": "In what city was LaserDisk used as a popular rental medium in the 1990s?", "answer": "Hong Kong"}, {"question": "Where was LaserDisc first available?", "answer": "Atlanta, Georgia"}, {"question": "How many years after VHS was LaserDisk released?", "answer": "two years"}, {"question": "Under what name was LaserDisc originally marketed?", "answer": "MCA DiscoVision"}, {"question": "Who purchased the majority stake and re-marketed the product in 1980?", "answer": "Pioneer Electronics"}, {"question": "What competition caused LaserDisc sales to decline?", "answer": "DVD's growing popularity"}, {"question": "Did all AV receivers carry the demodulator circuits necessary for LaserDiscs, or only high-end models?", "answer": "higher-end"}, {"question": "What did the Onkyo outboard demodulator covert the RF AC-2 signal to?", "answer": "6-channel analog audio"}, {"question": "Was sound quality from disc to disc and between players consistent or varied?", "answer": "varied greatly"}, {"question": "Which company added digital sound option when re-releasing movies?", "answer": "Universal"}, {"question": "Which channel would not work in conjunction with AC-3 audio?", "answer": "right analog audio channel"}, {"question": "How many 5.1 surround sound options exist in LaserDiscs?", "answer": "Only one"}, {"question": "How many audio tracks do PAL LaserDiscs have?", "answer": "two"}, {"question": "What was the name of the first solid-state laser consumer LaserDisc player?", "answer": "LD-700"}, {"question": "When did Pioneer release the LD-700?", "answer": "March 1984"}, {"question": "Which company continued to use gas-lasers in industrial models of LD players although they were no longer used in consumer models?", "answer": "Philips"}, {"question": "To what did MCA change the name to in 1969?", "answer": "Disco-Vision"}, {"question": "Consumer sales of MCA films began in 1978 with what movie?", "answer": "Jaws"}, {"question": "What did VLP stand for in English-speaking countries?", "answer": "Video Long-Play"}, {"question": "Which group officially chose the name \"Laservision\"?", "answer": "The LaserVision Association"}, {"question": "Which company joined a 50/50 partnership with MCA in 1977?", "answer": "Pioneer Electronics"}, {"question": "In what year was the first Universal-Pioneer player released?", "answer": "1980"}, {"question": "Which singer did an ad for the LD-700 player in 1984?", "answer": "Ray Charles"}, {"question": "Which film is only available with its original score in LD format , even today?", "answer": "The Electric Horseman"}, {"question": "Were Laserdiscs initially cheaper or more costly to produce than their VHS counterparts?", "answer": "cheaper"}, {"question": "How many parts does a VHS tape have that must be manufactured?", "answer": "at least 14"}, {"question": "Where do VHS tapes store their information?", "answer": "magnetic coating"}, {"question": "What device seperated the black and white and color signals in LaserDiscs?", "answer": "the receiver"}, {"question": "Where are User Protected Options commonly found on DVDs?", "answer": "copyright warnings"}, {"question": "Which format, LaserDisc or DVD, is said to appear sharper and clearer to most viewers?", "answer": "DVDs"}]