text:
\section{Introduction}
Millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication systems play an important role in fifth generation (5G) wireless networks. MmWave communication systems can offer a higher transmission capacity compared with their microwave counterpart. However, they are impaired by blockages, which affect their reliability, especially in urban environments characterized by the presence of large and densely deployed buildings \cite{b1},\cite{b2}.

To enhance the reliability of mmWave communication systems, several solutions can be employed \cite{b2}. Recently, the emerging technology of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) has been proposed for enhancing the system performance, especially at high frequency bands \cite{b1}. In particular, by appropriately co-phasing the incident signals, RISs provide high beamforming gains that increase the coverage of mmWave communication systems, without the need of using power amplifiers and multiple radio frequency (RF) chains that are, on the other hand, needed if relays are employed \cite{b3,b3_1,b6,b17,b18}.

Recently, RIS-aided communication systems have been investigated in several works.
In \cite{b9_2}, the authors proposed a projected gradient method (PGM) for maximizing the achievable rate of RIS-aided multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. In \cite{b9_1}, the authors analyzed the capacity of RIS-aided indoor mmWave systems and studied effectiveness of RISs to alleviate the impact of blockages.
In \cite{b10}, the authors analyzed the joint passive and hybrid beamforming optimization of mmWave systems, and a low-complexity iterative algorithm was proposed.

In mmWave communication systems, the prohibitive cost and power consumption of the hardware components at the access points (APs) make the realization of fully-digital solutions very difficult. For these reasons, hybrid analog-digital processing schemes are usually employed to reduce the number of RF chains \cite{b10}. In addition, low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are often employed in order to further reduce the hardware cost and power consumption. In particular, a viable solution to find a good trade-off between hardware complexity, power consumption, cost, and performance is to use resolution adaptive ADCs (RADCs) \cite{b11}.

To the best of our knowledge, no research work has yet investigated the design and optimization of RIS-aided mmWave communication systems with RADCs. Therefore, it is meaningful to study the impact of using RADCs for application to RIS-aided uplink mmWave communication systems. Specifically, we  consider the problem of maximizing the achievable rate by jointly optimizing the beam selection matrix at the AP, the RIS phase shifts, and the ADC quantization bits at the AP. The resulting optimization problem is non-convex, and, thus, it is difficult to solve. To circumvent this issue,   we   propose   a   block   coordinated   descent   (BCD)-based  algorithm. Simulations reveal that by dynamically adjusting the resolution of the RADCs, and the phase shifts of the RIS, the hardware loss can be mitigated and the throughput of RIS-aided mmWave systems can be improved.

\section{System Model and Problem Formulation}
\begin{figure}[!t]
\centering
\includegraphics[height=1.2in,width=1.9in]{WCL00.eps}
\caption{RIS-aided uplink mmWave communication system.}
\label{fig:1}
\end{figure}
We consider a multi-user uplink mmWave communication system, where $K$ single-antenna users are served by an AP with $M$ RF chains and $N$ antennas. To assist the communication between the AP and the users, an RIS equipped with $N_{r}$ reflecting elements is assumed to be available, as illustrated in Fig. 1. We adopt a geometric model for the mmWave channels \cite{b10}. In particular, $\boldsymbol{h}_{k}\in\mathbb{C}^{N_{r}\times 1}$ denotes the channel from the $k$th user to the RIS, and $\boldsymbol{H}=[\boldsymbol{h}_{1},\ldots,\boldsymbol{h}_{K}]\in\mathbb{C}^{N_{r}\times K}$ is the channel matrix that accounts for the $K$ users, $\boldsymbol{s}=[s_{1},\ldots,s_{K}]^{T}\in\mathbb{C}^{K\times 1}$  with $s_{k}\sim\mathcal{CN}(0,1)$ denotes the $k$th user's data, $\boldsymbol{\Theta}=\mathrm{diag}(\boldsymbol{\theta})\in\mathbb{C}^{N_{r}\times N_{r}}$ denotes the RIS reflection matrix, where $\boldsymbol{\theta}=[\beta e^{j\phi_{1}},\ldots, \beta e^{j\phi_{
N_{r}}}]\in\mathbb{C}^{1\times N_{r}}$, $\phi_{i}\in [0,2\pi],~\forall~i=1,\ldots,N_{r}$, and $\beta=1$ denote the phase shift and the amplitude reflection coefficient of the $i$th reflecting element of the RIS, respectively.
Due to the presence of large objects, e.g., buildings, the direct links from the users to the AP are assumed to be weak, and, therefore, are ignored.
The signal received by the AP through the RIS can be expressed as
\begin{align}
\boldsymbol{y}=\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{H}\boldsymbol{s}+\boldsymbol{n},\label{1}
\end{align}
where $\boldsymbol{n}\sim\mathcal{CN}(0,\sigma^{2}\boldsymbol{I}_{N})$ is the additive white Gaussian noise vector and $\boldsymbol{I}_{N}$ denotes an $N \times N$ identity matrix, and $\boldsymbol{G}\in\mathbb{C}^{N\times N_{r}}$ is the channel matrix between the RIS and the AP. The received signal $\boldsymbol{y}\in\mathbb{C}^{N\times 1}$ is processed by the AP by applying a hybrid combiner with RADCs. The hybrid combiner is denoted by $\boldsymbol{F}=\boldsymbol{D}\boldsymbol{W}\in\mathbb{C}^{N\times M}$, where $\boldsymbol{D}\in\mathbb{C}^{N\times S}$ is a codebook
matrix, and
$\boldsymbol{W}\in\mathbb{C}^{S\times M}$ denotes a selection matrix with binary entries $w_{s,m}\in\{0,1\}$. After applying the hybrid combiner, the signal is denoted as
\begin{align}
\bar{\boldsymbol{y}}=\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{H}\boldsymbol{s}+\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{n}.\label{2}
\end{align}
The $M$ pairs RADCs are assumed to be connected to the RF processor in order to make the control of the quantization bits more flexible and precise, thereby reducing the allocation of the quantization error. The quantization noise of the RADCs for the real and imaginary parts of $\boldsymbol{y}$ and $\bar{\boldsymbol{y}}$ is taken into account by employing a linear
additive quantization noise model (AQNM) \cite{b16}.
Thus, the quantized signal can be formulated as
\begin{align}
\tilde{\boldsymbol{y}}=\mathcal{F}(\bar{\boldsymbol{y}})=\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\bar{\boldsymbol{y}}+\boldsymbol{n}_{q},\label{3}
\end{align}
where $\mathcal{F}(\cdot)$ denotes the quantization operator and $\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}=\alpha\boldsymbol{I}_{M}\in\mathbb{C}^{M\times M}$, where $\boldsymbol{I}_{M}$ is an $M \times M$ identity matrix and $\alpha=\frac{\pi\sqrt{3}}{2}4^{-b}$ denotes the normalized quantization error for $b$ quantization bits~\cite{b16}. Also, $\boldsymbol{n}_{q}$ denotes the quantized noise, whose mean and covariance matrix are $0$ and $\boldsymbol{A}_{a}=\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}_{b}\mathrm{diag}(\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{H}\boldsymbol{H}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}^{H}\boldsymbol{\Theta}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}+\sigma^{2}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{F})$, respectively, with $\boldsymbol{F}_{b}=b\boldsymbol{I}_{M}\in\mathbb{C}^{M\times M}$. According to this model, the detected signal of the $k$th user is given by
\begin{align}
\hat{s}_{k}=\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{H}\boldsymbol{x}+\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{n}+\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{n}_{q},\label{4}
\end{align}
where $\boldsymbol{u}_k$ denotes the decoding vector of the $k$th user.
For convenience, we define $\boldsymbol{w}=\mathrm{vec}(\boldsymbol{W})\in\mathbb{C}^{SM\times 1}$ and $\boldsymbol{u}=[\boldsymbol{u}_{1}^{T},\ldots,\boldsymbol{u}_{K}^{T}]^{T}\in\mathbb{C}^{MK\times 1}$. Based on this model, the achievable rate of the $k$th user is given in (5), shown in the next page.
\newcounter{mytempeqncnt}
\begin{figure*}[!t]
\normalsize
\setcounter{mytempeqncnt}{\value{equation}}
\begin{eqnarray}
{}{R_{k}=\log\left(1+\frac{|\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{h}_{k}|^{2}}{\sum\nolimits_{l\neq k}|\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{h}_{l}|^{2}+\sigma^{2}\|\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\|^{2}+\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{A}_{a}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}\right)}.
\end{eqnarray}
\setcounter{equation}{31}
\begin{eqnarray}
{}{\boldsymbol{B}_{k}=\sum\nolimits_{l=1}^{K}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{h}_{l}\boldsymbol{h}_{l}^{H}\boldsymbol{\Theta}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}^{H}+\sigma^{2}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}^{H}+\boldsymbol{A}_{a}}.\label{32}
\end{eqnarray}
\begin{eqnarray}
{}{\boldsymbol{D}_{k}=\sum\nolimits_{l\neq k}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{h}_{l}\boldsymbol{h}_{l}^{H}\boldsymbol{\Theta}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}^{H}+\sigma^{2}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}^{H}+\boldsymbol{A}_{a}}.\label{33_1}
\end{eqnarray}
\setcounter{equation}{\value{mytempeqncnt}}
\hrulefill
\vspace*{4pt}
\end{figure*}

We are interested in optimizing the phase shifts of the RIS $\boldsymbol{\Theta}$, the allocation of the quantization bits $b$ of the RADCs, the selection matrix $\boldsymbol{w}$, and the decoding vector $\boldsymbol{u}$ to maximize the uplink achievable rate. This problem can be formulated as
\setcounter{equation}{5}
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
{}{\max\limits_{\boldsymbol{\Theta},b,\boldsymbol{u},\boldsymbol{w}}}~&{}{\sum\nolimits_{k=1}^{K}R_{k}}\label{6a}\\
\mbox{s.t.}~
&\sum\nolimits_{s=1}^{S}w_{s,m}=1,~\sum\nolimits_{m=1}^{M}w_{s,m}\leq 1,~w_{s,m}\in\{0,1\},&\nonumber\\
&\forall~s,m,&\label{6b}\\
&{}{|\theta_{i}|=1,}&\label{6c}\\
&b^{\min}\leq b \leq b^{\max},~~b~\text{is~an~integer}.&\label{6d}
\end{align}\label{6}
\end{subequations}\vspace{-20pt}

\section{Proposed BCD Algorithm}
\subsection{Optimization of $b$ and $\boldsymbol{w}$}
For given $\boldsymbol{u}$ and $\boldsymbol{\Theta}$, the problem in (\ref{6}) is rewritten as
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
{}{\max\limits_{b,\boldsymbol{w}}}~&{}{\sum\nolimits_{k=1}^{K}R_{k}}\label{7a}\\
\mbox{s.t.}~
&\text{(\ref{6b})}, \text{(\ref{6d})}.&\label{7b}
\end{align}\label{7}
\end{subequations}
The problem in (\ref{7}) is non-convex due to the nonconvexity of (\ref{6b}) and (\ref{6d}). Therefore,
to handle the non-convex discrete constraint (\ref{6d}), we relax constraint (\ref{6d}) into a continuous constraint, i.e.,
\begin{align}
{}{b^{\min}\leq b\leq b^{\max}}.\label{8}
\end{align}
According to \cite{b11}, $b$ is rounded as
\begin{align}
{}{b(\delta)=\begin{cases}
\lfloor b^{*}\rfloor, \text{if}~~b^{*}-\lfloor b^{*}\rfloor\leq\delta \\
\lceil b^{*}\rceil,  \text{otherwise},
\end{cases}}\label{9}
\end{align}
where $0\leq \delta\leq 1$ is chosen based on \cite{b11}. In addition, in order to address the difficulties caused by constraint (\ref{6b}), an appropriate transformation is required. In particular, (\ref{6b}) can be transformed into the following equivalent form
\begin{align}
{}{\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}=\hat{w}_{s,m}, \sum\nolimits_{s=1}^{S}\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}=1,}\label{10}
\end{align}
\begin{align}
{}{\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}(1-\hat{w}_{s,m})=0},\label{11}
\end{align}
\begin{align}
{}{\boldsymbol{w}_{s}\succeq \boldsymbol{0},~\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{1}_{M}\leq 1,~0\leq \hat{w}_{s,m}\leq 1},\label{12}
\end{align}
where $\boldsymbol{e}_{m}=\boldsymbol{I}(:,m)$ and $\boldsymbol{1}_{M}=[1,\ldots,1]^{T}\in\mathbb{R}^{M\times 1}$. To deal with the bilinear variables, $\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}(1-\hat{w}_{s,m})=0$ can be transformed into the following constraints by the Schur complement \cite{b15}
\begin{align}
{}{\left[
 \begin{matrix}
   \boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m} & r_{s,m} \\
   r_{s,m} & 1-\hat{w}_{s,m}
  \end{matrix}
  \right]\succeq\boldsymbol{0}},\label{13}
\end{align}
and
\begin{align}
{}{\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}(1-\hat{w}_{s,m})\leq r_{s,m}^{2}},\label{14}
\end{align}
where $r_{s,m}$ is an auxiliary variable. In  order  to deal  with  the  bilinear  function  on the left-hand side of (\ref{14}),  the  sequential convex approximation (SCA)  method  based  on the arithmetic  geometric  mean  (AGM) inequality is adopted. Accordingly, (\ref{14}) can be rewritten as
\begin{align}
&\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}(1-\hat{w}_{s,m})\leq \frac{1}{2}\left((\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}\eta_{s,m})^{2}+(\frac{1-\hat{w}_{s,m}}{\eta_{s,m}})^{2}\right)\nonumber\\
&\leq r_{s,m}^{2}, \label{15}
\end{align}
where $\eta_{s,m}$ is a feasible point. To tighten the upper bound, $\eta_{s,m}$ is iteratively updated. In particular, at the $n$-th iteration $\eta_{s,m}$ is expressed as
\begin{align}
{}{\eta_{s,m}^{(n)}=\sqrt{(1-\hat{w}_{s,m}^{(n-1)})/((\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T})^{(n-1)}\boldsymbol{e}_{m})}.}\label{16}
\end{align}
However, the constraint in (\ref{15}) is still non-convex. Then, we use the SCA method to transform (\ref{15}) into the following convex constraint
\begin{align}
{}{\frac{1}{2}\left((\boldsymbol{w}_{s}^{T}\boldsymbol{e}_{m}\eta_{s,m})^{2}+(\frac{1-\hat{w}_{s,m}}{\eta_{s,m}})^{2}\right)-\bar{r}_{s,m}(r_{s,m}-\bar{r}_{s,m})\leq 0.} \label{17}
\end{align}

Moreover, by introducing the auxiliary variables $\omega_{k}$ and $\zeta$ to deal with the non-convex objective function in (\ref{7a}), $R_{k}$ is rewritten as
\begin{align}
{}{R_{k}=\log\left(1+\zeta|\boldsymbol{w}\boldsymbol{A}_{k}|^{2}/\omega_{k}\right)},\label{18}
\end{align}
where
\begin{align}
&\omega_{k}=\sum\nolimits_{l\neq k}|\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{h}_{l}|^{2}+\sigma^{2}\|\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}\boldsymbol{F}^{H}\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&+\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{A}_{a}\boldsymbol{u}_{k},\label{19}\\
&{}{\bm{A}_{k}=((\boldsymbol{D}^{H}\boldsymbol{G}\boldsymbol{\Theta}\boldsymbol{h}_{k})^{T}\otimes(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{F}_{\alpha}))^{H}},\label{20}\\
&{}{\log_{4}((\pi\sqrt{3})/(2\zeta))-b=0}.\label{21}
\end{align}
To tackle the non-convex constraint in (\ref{21}), we use the SCA method to transform (\ref{21}) in the following convex constraints
\begin{align}
b+\frac{2\bar{\zeta}}{\pi\sqrt{3}}\ln_{4}\frac{\pi\sqrt{3}}{2\bar{\zeta}^{2}}(\zeta-\bar{\zeta})\leq 0, \log_{4}(\frac{\pi\sqrt{3}}{2\zeta})-b\geq 0.\label{22}
\end{align}
Due  to  the  coupling  between $\zeta$ and $\boldsymbol{w}$, however, the objective function in (\ref{18})  is still  intractable.  To obtain a tractable problem, (\ref{18}) is transformed to
\begin{align}
{}{R_{k}=\log(1+\rho_{k})},\label{23}
\end{align}
where
\begin{align}
\rho_{k}\leq \zeta|\boldsymbol{w}\boldsymbol{A}_{k}|^{2}/\omega_{k}.\label{24}
\end{align}
By using a similar line of thought, we have
\begin{align}
{}{\left[
 \begin{matrix}
   \zeta & t_{k} \\
   t_{k} & |\boldsymbol{w}\boldsymbol{A}_{k}|^{2}
  \end{matrix}
  \right]\succeq\boldsymbol{0}},\label{25}
\end{align}

\begin{align}
t_{k}^{2}/\omega_{k}\geq \rho_{k}.\label{26}
\end{align}
Then,  we  use  the  SCA  method  based  on  the  first-order Taylor expansion to tackle (\ref{26}). Specifically, the left-hand side of (\ref{26}) is non-convex with respect to $t_{k}$ and $\omega_{k}$, and thus it can be tightly bounded from below with its first-order Taylor approximation. In particular, for any fixed points $(\bar{t}_{k}, \bar{\omega}_{k})$, we have
\begin{align}
{}{\frac{t_{k}^{2}}{\omega_{k}}\geq \frac{2\bar{t}_{k}}{\bar{\omega}_{k}}t_{k}-\frac{\bar{t}_{k}^{2}}{\bar{\omega}_{k}^{2}}\omega_{k}\geq \rho_{k}}.\label{27}
\end{align}
By applying the SCA method in \cite{b6}, we iteratively update $\bar{t}_{k}$ and $\bar{\omega}_{k}$ at the $n$th iteration as
\begin{align}
{}{\bar{\omega}_{k}^{(n)}=\omega_{k}^{(n-1)}},
\bar{t}_{k}^{(n)}=t_{k}^{(n-1)}.\label{28}
\end{align}
Therefore, the problem in (7) is transformed into the following convex problem
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
{}{\max\limits_{b,\boldsymbol{w}, r_{s,m}, \hat{w}_{s,m}, \rho_{k}, \zeta, t_{k}}}&~{}{\sum\nolimits_{k=1}^{K}\log_{2}(1+\rho_{k})}\label{29a}\\
\mbox{s.t.}&~\text{(\ref{10})},\text{(\ref{12})},\text{(\ref{13})}, \text{(\ref{17})}, \text{(\ref{22})}, \text{(\ref{25})}, \text{(\ref{27})}.&\label{29b}
\end{align}\label{29}%
\end{subequations}
The SCA-based algorithm is given in \textbf{Algorithm~1}.
\begin{algorithm}[htbp]
\caption{SCA-based algorithm for solving problem (\ref{7}).}
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Initialization:} $\bar{r}_{s,m}$, $\bar{\omega}_{k}$, $\bar{t}_{k}$, $\forall~k$.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Repeat}\\
Update $\{b^{(n)},\boldsymbol{w}^{(n)}, r_{s,m}^{(n)}, \hat{w}_{s,m}^{(n)}, \rho_{k}^{(n)}, \zeta^{(n)}, t_{k}^{(n)}\}$ with fixed $\bar{r}_{s,m}$, $\bar{\omega}_{k}$, $\bar{t}_{k}$ by solving (\ref{29}).\\
Update $\eta_{s,m}^{(n)}$, $\bar{\omega}_{k}^{(n+1)}$, $\bar{t}_{k}^{(n+1)}$ based on (\ref{16}) and (\ref{28}).\\
Update $n=n+1$.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Until}
Convergence.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Output:}
$\boldsymbol{w}^{*}, b^{*}$.\\
\end{algorithm}

\subsection{Optimization of $\boldsymbol{u}$ and $\boldsymbol{\Theta}$}
For given $b$, $\boldsymbol{w}$, $\boldsymbol{\Theta}$, the problem in (\ref{6}) is rewritten as
\begin{align}
{}{\max\limits_{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}}~&{}{\sum\nolimits_{k=1}^{K}R_{k}}.\label{30}
\end{align}
Since the achievable rate of the $k$th user is only related to the decoding vector of the $k$th user, maximizing $\sum\nolimits_{k=1}^{K}R_{k}$ is equivalent to maximizing $R_{k}$ of each user by optimizing the decoding vector $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}$ of each user.
Therefore, the problem in (\ref{30}) can be recast as
\begin{align}
{}{\max_{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}}~&{}{\frac{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}},~~\forall~k},\label{31}
\end{align}%
where $\boldsymbol{B}_{k}$ and $\boldsymbol{D}_{k}$ are given in (32) and (33) at the top of this page.
We use the majorize-minimization (MM) algorithm to solve (\ref{31}) \cite{b13}. Specifically,
let $y=\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}$,  $h(\boldsymbol{u}_{k})=\frac{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}{y}$ is jointly convex in $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}$ and $y$ because $\boldsymbol{B}_{k}$ is positive definite. Thanks to the convexity, we have
\setcounter{equation}{33}
\begin{align}
&h(\boldsymbol{u}_{k})=\frac{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}\geq 2\frac{\mathrm{Re}(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k})}{\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}}-\frac{\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}}{(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})^{2}}\nonumber\\
&\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}+c.\label{34}
\end{align}
Based on Lemma 1 in\cite{b13}, a lower bound of  $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}$ is
\begin{align}
{}{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}&{}{\leq \boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})\boldsymbol{u}_{k}+
2\mathrm{Re}(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k}-\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})\boldsymbol{I})}\nonumber\\
&{}{\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})},\label{35}
\end{align}
where $\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})$ is the maximum eigenvalue of matrix $\boldsymbol{D}_{k}$. Substituting (\ref{35}) into (\ref{34}), we have
\begin{align}
{}{\frac{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}}&{}{\geq2\frac{\mathrm{Re}(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k})}{\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}}-\frac{\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}}{(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})^{2}}(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})}\nonumber\\
&{}{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}+2\mathrm{Re}(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k}-\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})\boldsymbol{I})\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})\geq g(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}|\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})}\nonumber\\
&{}{
+[h(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})-g(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}|\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})]},\label{36}
\end{align}
where
\begin{align}
{}{g(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}|\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})}&={}{2\frac{\mathrm{Re}(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\boldsymbol{u}_{k})}{\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}}-\frac{\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}}{(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})^{2}}(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})}\nonumber\\
&{}{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}+2\mathrm{Re}(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k}-\lambda_{max}\boldsymbol{D}_{k})\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})}.\label{37}
\end{align}
\begin{align}
{}{h(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})}=(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})/(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}).\label{37_1}
\end{align}
Since $h(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})-g(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}|\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})$ is a constant, the decoding vector optimization problem in each iteration of the MM algorithm is equivalent to solving the following problem
\begin{align}
{}{\max_{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}}}&~{}{g(\boldsymbol{u}_{k}|\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})=\mathrm{Re}[(\boldsymbol{v}^{(t)})^{H}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}-\beta^{(t)}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{u}_{k}]},\label{38}
\end{align}
where
\begin{align}
&\boldsymbol{v}^{(t)}=\frac{\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)}}{(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)})^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)}}-\frac{(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)})^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)}[\boldsymbol{D}_{k}
-\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})\boldsymbol{I}]}{[(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)})^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)}]^{2}}\nonumber\\
&\times\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(t)},\label{39}
\end{align}
\begin{align}
\beta^{(t)}=(\lambda_{max}(\boldsymbol{D}_{k})\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{B}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})/(\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{H}\boldsymbol{D}_{k}\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k})^{2}.\label{39_1}
\end{align}
By checking the first-order optimality
condition of (\ref{39}), we have
\begin{align}
{}{\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{(t+1)}=\boldsymbol{v}^{(t)}/\beta^{(t)}.}\label{39_2}
\end{align}
The MM-based algorithm is given in \textbf{Algorithm~2}
\begin{algorithm}[htpb]
\caption{MM-based algorithm for (\ref{30}).}
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Initialization:} $\bar{\boldsymbol{u}}_{k}^{(0)}$, $t=0$.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Repeat:}\\
Update $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{(t+1)}$ based on (\ref{39_2}).
\\
Update $t=t+1$\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Until:}
Convergence.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Output:}
the solution $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{*}$
\end{algorithm}.

We are then left with the optimization of $\boldsymbol{\Theta}$. For given $b$, $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}$ and $\boldsymbol{W}$, (\ref{6}) is rewritten as
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
{}{\max\limits_{\boldsymbol{\Theta}}}~&{}{\sum\nolimits_{k=1}^{K}R_{k}}\label{40a}\\
\mbox{s.t.}~
&\text{(\ref{6c})}.&\label{40b}
\end{align}\label{40}%
\end{subequations}
The problem in (\ref{40}) can be solved by using the manifold optimization (MO) algorithm \cite{b14}. Finally, the BCD-based algorithm for solving problem (\ref{6}) is summarized in \textbf{Algorithm~3}.
\begin{algorithm}[htbp]
\caption{BCD-based Algorithm for problem (\ref{6}).}
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Initialization:} $b^{(0)}$, $\boldsymbol{w}^{(0)}$, $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{(0)}$, $\boldsymbol{\Theta}^{(0)}$.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Repeat}\\
Update $b^{(j)}$ and $\boldsymbol{w}^{(j)}$ by using \textbf{Algorithm~1}.\\
Update $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{(j)}$ by using \textbf{Algorithm~2}.\\
Update $\boldsymbol{\Theta}^{(j)}$ by using the MO algorithm.\\
Update $j=j+1$.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Until}
Convergence.\\
\hspace*{0.02in}{\bf Output:}
$b^{*}$, $\boldsymbol{w}^{*}$, $\boldsymbol{u}_{k}^{*}$, $\boldsymbol{\Theta}^{*}$.\\
\end{algorithm}

\subsection{Complexity Analysis}
In this section, we compare the computational complexity of the proposed BCD-based algorithm with the following state-of-the-art algorithms.
\begin{itemize}
    \item Hybrid combining-based scheme with MO (SHC-MO): This is a codebook-based hybrid combination scheme, where the hybrid combiner is obtained by maximizing the system achievable rate. The RIS phase shifts are obtained by using the MO algorithm.
    \item Minimum mean-square error quantization bit allocations with MO (MMSQE-BA-MO): It is a variant of the algorithm in \cite{b19}, which optimizes the detection vectors of the users and the allocation of the quantization bits. The MO algorithm is used to obtain RIS phase shifts.
\end{itemize}
The total computational complexity of each iteration of the BCD-based algorithm is $\mathcal{O}(SM^{3.5}+K^{2.5}+KN_{t}+N_{r}N_{t})$. \textbf{Algorithm~3} has lower computational complexity than the SHC-MO algorithm, which amounts to $\mathcal{O}(M^{6}+KN_{t}+N_{r}N_{t})$ FPOS, and the MMSQE-BA-MO algorithm, which amounts to $\mathcal{O}(M^{6}+M^{2}N+KN_{t}^{2})$ FPOS. Therefore, our proposed BCD-based algorithm provides a better compromise between computational complexity and performance as confirmed by the numerical results illustrated in the next section.

\section{Numerical Results}\label{IV}
As shown in Fig.~\ref{fig:1}, we consider a single-cell system where $K=10$ users are uniformly distributed in the area $(2,30, 0)$~m and $(2,90,0)$~m. The simulation setup is $N_{t}=64$, $N_{r}=16$, $S=12$, $M=8$, $b^{\min}=1$, $b^{\max}=5$, $\sigma^{2}=-110$~dBm. The location of the AP is $(0,0,0)$~m and the location of the RIS is $(0, 40, 20)$~m.
The mmWave channels from the AP to the RIS, and from the RIS to the $k$th user are expressed as
\begin{eqnarray}
{}{\boldsymbol{G}=\sqrt{1/\beta L_{1}}\sum\nolimits_{l=0}^{L_{1}-1}\alpha\boldsymbol{a}_{T}(N_{T},\theta_{l})\boldsymbol{a}_{R}^{T}(N_{r},\varphi_{l},\phi_{l}),}
\end{eqnarray}
\begin{eqnarray}
{}{\boldsymbol{h}_{k}=\sqrt{1/\hat{\beta}_{k}L_{k}}\sum\nolimits_{l=0}^{L_{k}-1}\hat{\alpha}_{k}\boldsymbol{a}_{R}(N_{r},\vartheta_{k}),}
\end{eqnarray}
where $\beta$ and $\hat{\beta}_{k}$ denote the large-scale fading coefficients. $L_{1}$ and $L_{k}$ denotes the number of paths between the AP and the RIS, and between the RIS and the $k$th user, respectively. $\beta$ and $\hat{\beta}_k$ are generated according to a complex Gaussian distribution \cite{b19,b20}
\begin{align}
\beta=\mathcal{CN}(0,10^{-0.1\kappa})\\
\hat{\beta}_{k}=\mathcal{CN}(0,10^{-0.1\kappa_{k}})
\end{align}
where $\kappa=72+29.2\log_{10}d+\zeta$ and $\kappa_{k}=72+29.2\log_{10}d+\zeta_{k}$. $d$ denotes the propagation distance, $\zeta\sim\mathcal{CN}(0,1)$ and $\zeta_{k}\sim\mathcal{CN}(0,1)$ account for the log-normal shadowing \cite{b1}, $\alpha$ and $\hat{\alpha}_{k}$ denote the small-scale fading coefficients whose distribution is $\mathcal{CN}(0,1)$ \cite{b10}. Also, $\boldsymbol{a}_{T}(\cdot)$ and $\boldsymbol{a}_{R}(\cdot)$ denote the array steering vectors at the AP and RIS, respectively.
In addition to the SCH-MO and MMSQE-BA-MO schemes, we also compare the following two schemes with \textbf{Algorithm~3}:
\begin{itemize}
\item Power allocation and hybrid combining with MO (PHC-MO): It is a variant of [18], which is implemented by a phase shifter, while considering the optimization of the user digital combiner.
\item NO-RIS: In this scheme, the RIS is not used. However, the  quantization bits and the beam selection are optimized by using \textbf{Algorithm~1} and \textbf{Algorithm~2}.
\end{itemize}

We investigate the convergence behavior of \textbf{Algorithm~3} in Fig.~2. We observe that the algorithm converges quickly, and, in general, only a few iterations are needed for ensuring the convergence. This shows that the proposed algorithm has low complexity. Fig.~3 exhibits the achievable sum rate (ASR) as a function of the number of reflecting elements of the RIS. We observe that the proposed algorithm achieves the best ASR. Although the resolution of the ADC for the NO-RIS scheme is higher than that of the RIS-aided schemes, we observe that the proposed BCD-based algorithm yields the same ASR as the NO-RIS scheme when the number of reflecting elements is $N_{r}=12$. This  finding validates the feasiblity of using RISs to mitigate the impact of low-resolution ADCs.
\begin{figure*}[htpb]
\centering
\subfigure{
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.25\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.27]{WCL1.eps}
\caption{Convergence}
\end{minipage}%
}%
\subfigure{
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.25\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.27]{WCL_1.eps}
\caption{ASR versus $N_{r}$.}
\end{minipage}%
}%
\subfigure{
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.25\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.27]{WCL_2.eps}
\caption{ASR versus $M$.}
\end{minipage}
}%
\subfigure{
\begin{minipage}[t]{0.25\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[scale=0.27]{WCL_3.eps}
\caption{ASR versus $b^{\max}$.}
\end{minipage}
}%
\centering
\end{figure*}

Fig.~4 shows the ASR as a function of the number of RF chains. Compared with all the other competing schemes, the proposed BCD-based algorithm yields the best ASR. From Fig.~4, we observe that the ASR increases with $M$. This is because a large number of RF chains can yield a high signal gain and can mitigate the interference. In addition, although the resolution of the ADC in the NO-RIS scheme is high, when the RF chains are $4$ and $6$, the proposed scheme and the conventional SHC-MO and MMSQE-BA-MO with RIS outperform the NO-RIS scheme. The result shows that there is no need to user a large number of RF chains when the system is aided by an RIS.

Fig.~5 shows the ASR versus the maximum number of quantization bits for different schemes. Once again, we observe that the proposed BCD-based algorithm yields the best ASR. If $b^{\max}=3$, in particular, the proposed RIS-aided scheme outperforms the NO-RIS scheme with $8$ bits. This result highlights that the use of RISs can alleviate the impact of quantization noise.

\section{Conclusion}
The uplink achievable rate optimization problem for mmWave communications with hardware limitations at the AP was investigated, by jointly optimizing the RIS phase shifts, the beam selection matrix, decoding vector, and the quantization bits to maximize the sum rate. To deal with the resulting non-convex problem, a BCD-based algorithm is proposed. Simulation results showed that the proposed algorithm outperforms conventional algorithms in terms of ASR.

\ifCLASSOPTIONcaptionsoff
  \newpage
\fi

\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Research published last week revealed that not eating enough fresh fruit, along with sun beds, smoking and not moisturising, can accelerate?the ageing process in women by at least 10 years. The study for Simple skincare was lead by Dr Andrew Mayes, and was carried out over the last eight years involving 585 women aged 45 to 75?in the UK, 30 to 70 in Spain and 25 to 70 in China. The research team compared the perceived ages of those with good versus bad lifestyles, and concluded the difference was 10.4 years. Fruit is nature_s wonderful medicines and is packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and many phytonutrients, which are plant?derived micronutrients. It's all too easy when at work to snack throughout the day on crisps and chocolates, but fresh fruit delivered to the workplace is growing?in popularity, and aside from the fact that it promotes wellness is it also great for staff motivation, as well as improving morale which?is a good way to increase productivity. The vitamins and minerals in fruit helps to raise energy levels and alertness which reduces the risk of illness and lowers the number of?sick days. And by feeling healthy, employees will feel more positive about themselves and their work. All Countrywise fruit comes fresh from Hull_s historic fruit market the morning it is delivered. We look to supply the freshest fruit both?locally and from around the world, ensuring continuity throughout the year. Each of our boxes contains apples, bananas, pears, clementines, plums, grapes and seasonal fruit; although if you want a different mix or?any other favourites adding we're more than happy to help. This season_s fruit boxes includes strawberries, nectarines and juicy peaches! Our fruit boxes start at ?10 and go up to ?20. If you'd like to know more telephone us on 0800 0612193 or email sales@countrywise.net.


Do you need some information about machines or spare parts?
The quality standards reached allow us to have applications for our products in a wide range of sectors. Find out.
As a leading manufacturer, our heritage is built on producing technically superior products while providing the highest level of customer support.


The first days at university are all play– it's about experiencing a new-found freedom, navigating a new world on your own, socializing and partying with your new classmates… and maybe a bit about studying in between.
But for many, it's also a time where big emotions come into play. Everyone is starting fresh, new groups are formed and reputations made. What you do – or don't, can define your relationships and role on campus going forward. Feelings of nervousness, anxiety and the urge to be liked by everyone can take over. In those moments, it's easy to make decisions that might cross the line – especially after one too many.
Copenhagen Business School wanted to ensure their new bachelor students got the best possible start while bringing their attention to the school's standards for good behaviour. Advice has invented a series of new words, that mash common words together to form an obvious message. The outcome puts into focus those moments where boundaries are crossed and disrespect takes place.
Because everyone has the right to feel safe and included in their first days at university.


as food, medicine and shelter for those caught up in the crisis.
The Nigeria Pound Cake is spiced with nutmeg and satisfyingly dense. It is very popular in Nigeria and is often served on special occasions.
1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Grease a 9in round cake tin, line the base with baking paper and grease the paper.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and nutmeg, and set aside.
3. Beat the eggs with a whisk in a separate bowl and also set aside.
4. Mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Pour the beaten eggs gradually into the butter mixture, alternating with flour and mix well until combined – and add in the vanilla essence.
6. Pour the mixture into your prepared cake tin and bake in a preheated oven for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Do reduce the cooking time, if you split the mixture between two cake tins.
7. To check if the cake is baked, insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean your cake is ready.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the cake tin.
9. For the icing, mix 3 tablespoons of icing sugar and 2 teaspoons of milk in a bowl until well combined. Drizzle over the cake and serve.


text:
Investigator: "Homemade weapons" found inside James T. Vaughn
Ryan Eldredge,
WILMINGTON, Del. –
On Tuesday in Wilmington trial continued for the man alleged to be the mastermind behind the James T Vaughn Uprising in 2017.
While there were some developments and crucial testimony given against Roman Shankaras there were also some stunning details made public by a law enforcement officer.
While on the stand a State Police investigator testified that homemade weapons were recently found inside of Delaware's Maximum Security prison. That same investigator also claims that those weapons were sent for DNA testing.
So far, the state police, the state Attorney General's Office, the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, and the Department of Corrections have cited the ongoing trial of Shankaras as the main reason why they will not comment on the investigator's testimony.
47 ABC has learned that more information could come to light about the events leading up to and following the deadly uprising, during the trial of Shankaras, which is scheduled to resume on Wednesday morning.
Tags: delaware, james t vaughn, prison
Somerset Health Department to begin distributing KN95 masks to public
International Committee of Red Cross in Yemen says "over 100 detainees killed and injured"' in Saada prison airstrike
Blinken says no breakthroughs on Ukraine but US, Russia on 'clearer path' to understanding each other's concerns

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The draft guidelines as part of the EIA Guidance Series below were exhibited for comment until 1 September 2017.
The following documents were on public exhibition until 1 September 2017.
This document outlines the proposed improvements. It will help you locate further details of the improvements outlined in each of the guidelines.
This guideline outlines the opportunities to participate at each phase of EIA, what information the community can expect to receive and how the community's knowledge and opinions will be used by the proponent and the Department.
This guideline will help proponents identify the key issues for assessment in the EIS by providing guidance on how to scope a project and setting out the requirements for engagement with the community and other stakeholders in the early phases of EIA.
This guideline will help proponents prepare a clear and consistent EIS with all the required information. It will also enhance understanding by the community and other stakeholders.
This guideline provides direction to proponents on how to address comments and issues and communicate to the community and other stakeholders who have made a submission in response to a proposed project during the exhibition of the EIS.
This guideline encourages proponents to engage earlier with the community and other stakeholders by introducing a set of engagement requirements applicable to all projects. It will also help proponents to improve the quality of engagement by directing them to focus on meeting participation outcomes during the preparation of the EIS.
This guideline outlines the Department's approach to setting conditions of approval. It will promote understanding of the role of conditions of approval in decisions about the project and the management of environmental impacts during construction and operation.
This guideline will help proponents to understand if changes are permitted using the same development consent, if the consent needs to be modified or if a new application is required. It will also help them to understand whether community and other stakeholder engagement is required.
This guideline sets out a methodology for independent peer review including criteria to determine the suitability of a peer reviewer, review practice, review reporting and post approval requirements. It will provide for greater consistency in peer review.
For further information, please call our Information Centre on 1300 305 695.


text:
Edwin "Andy" Anderson
Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired
Colonel Andy Anderson was born in Albany, Ga. on 26 July 1951 and began his military service via an Army ROTC scholarship at the University of Georgia in the fall of 1969. Upon graduating with a Bachelors and a Masters of Business Administration from his beloved University of Georgia, he was commissioned in the Engineer Corps. He volunteered for and completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in 1983 and was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group.
Upon completing the Army's Command and General Staff College, he returned to Fort Bragg as the commander of Company A, 3rd Battalion, 5th SFG(A) (later reflagged as 1st Battalion, 3rd SFG (A) in 1990). Remaining with 3d SFG(A) as the Battalion Executive Officer of 1st/3d SFG(A), he deployed with the Group in January 1991 for Operation Desert Storm. Upon returning to the US, he was reassigned to the U.S. Army Special Forces Command as the Chief of Operations and G-3. He was then selected for battalion command of the 2nd Battalion (Advanced Skills), 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS). He commanded the Battalion from 1992 to 1994, overseeing many training initiatives for SF and Joint SOF training. He then served as the Assistant G3 for USASOC until June 1995. Colonel Anderson was selected to attend and graduated from the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He returned to Fort Bragg in 1997, serving as the Chief of Staff, USAJFKSWCS for two years. In 1999, he became the Group Commander of the 1st Special Warfare Training Group (A). During his two year tenure, he executed significant changes resulting in growth to SFAS and SFQC. Remaining at SWCS for another three years, he was made the Director of Training and Doctrine. His last operational assignment was as the J-3 of Combined JTF Horn of Africa in Djibouti, Africa in support of Global War on Terror. He retired after 30 years of continuous active service on 30 September 2005.
Upon retirement he and Jan have remained very active in the military community, serving as a key link between many support organizations and military families. Following his love and passion for Special Forces history and lineage, he became a member of the OSS Society board of directors. Colonel Anderson has cofounded two benevolent organizations the USASOC Soldier, Family, and Command Support Association and the Champions of Freedom. Andy Anderson has been a member of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation Board of Directors since 2006.
Educating The Children Of Our Fallen Heroes Since 1980
Family Outreach
Support for Wounded
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text:
Article, Esperanto Communities - Komunumoj, Language - Volapük, Languages, LGBTQIA+
Gender in Volapük
Yesterday I was surprised to see that there was a Volapük tag, so I thought I would take the opportunity.
Yesterday I was surprised to see that there was a Volapük tag, so I thought I would take the opportunity today to write about the language.
Volapük was constructed by Johann Martin Schleyer, a German Roman Catholic priest, in the late 1800s, after he claimed to have had a vision from God. It was the original international auxiliary language movement; the third international Volapük convention took place entirely in Volapük, which was the first time (that I'm aware of) when a constructed language was brought out of theory and into practice. The second was probably Esperanto.
Volapük eventually died as a result of infighting between the Academy and Schleyer (the Cifal or Chief) over control of the language. This same story has often been repeated in the communities of various constructed languages, such as Loglan for example. The Academy went on to make Idiom Neutral, which was very heavily influenced by Volapük, but the movement never recovered. Today there are a handful of people who still speak it, and a significantly larger number of people who study it. Personally, I am not fluent in Volapük, but I do study it, and if I ever had the time, I think it would be fun to become fluent.
Volapük, as spoken today, has three third-person pronouns: on, om, and of. On is an all-purpose pronoun, usable for both people and things. A group of men would be caled oms as a pronoun, a group of women would be called ofs, and a mixed group would be called ons. It is also possible to simply refer to everyone as on and ons. This system is the result of the grammatical reform of Arie de Jong, which happened decades after the original Volapük movement had mostly died out. Under the old system, men and things would go by om in the singular, oms in the plural. Women would go by of in the singular, ofs in the plural.
Volapük is a pro-drop language, meaning you ordinarily don't use pronouns in the nominative except for emphasis. But the personal suffixes of verbs are exactly the same as the pronouns:
binom: He is
binof: She is
binon: It is; They (sing) are
binons: They are
binoms: They (masc) are
binofs: They (fem) are
Informally and regardless of whatever the official policy might be, genderqueer people could certainly add pronouns to Volapük the same way they do in Esperanto with e.g. "ri". The following letters are currently used for Volapük pronouns: b, d, f, k, l, m, n, r, s, y. This leaves the following letters left over: g, p, t, v. There are other letters in the Volapük alphabet (c, h, j, x, z), but it would be hard to pluralize them in pronouns, since plurals are formed with s. The pronoun os is impersonal, and has no plural form. Yet it might still be feasible if you wanted your personal pronoun to be (for example) "oz", and for the plural of it to simply be "ons."
Of course, you would be likely to find the same difficulties using non-standard pronouns in Volapük that you did anywhere else.
There are also two Volapük gender prefixes, hi- and ji-, which make a noun masculine or feminine, respectively. So the Volapük word for "human" is men (derived from German Mensch), and if you wanted to say "man" you could either say himen, or you could synonymously say man. For "woman" you could say jimen or, synonymously, vom. There is no prefix that makes something non-binary, but as with pronouns, I'm sure someone could find a way if they wanted to 🙂
I find it interesting that Volapük uses "on" to represent both people and things. There are Esperanto speakers who claim that this function is fulfilled by ĝi in Esperanto, but unlike in Volapük, this has never been common or established usage except in reference to animals and babies.
I personally love Volapük; it's a fun language with its own character, and it gets a very bad name in the Esperanto community. It's easier to understand than it seems, once you get used to its alphabet and weird ways of assimilating words. Most of the words are derived from natural sources, and are more phonologically faithful than orthographically. This means that spoken aloud, some of them even sound more like their original root words than Esperanto words do.
Also, because Volapük has religious roots, I find the idea of talking about irreligious (or even sacrilegious) things in the language amusing 🙂
You can learn more about Volapük at volapük.com.
A term for "when you are disconnected from your parents because…"
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text:
What is Instafest? Music festival app generates personalized Spotify concert. How to get your results.
Updated: Nov. 28, 2022, 3:17 a.m. |
The sample Instafest gives for what a personalized music festival lineup can look like.Instafest
You may have noticed your friends — and random celebrities — sharing an eclectic array of what appears to be lineup announcements for music festivals.
No, Briannafest is not the latest and greatest fest to hit the East Coast.
That would be Instafest, an app that tries to tell you what your own personal festival bill might look like, based on your listening habits.
Los Angeles app developer Anshay Saboo, a computer science student at the University of Southern California, created Instafest, which works with people's Spotify accounts.
Like the year-end feature Spotify Wrapped (the 2022 iteration is on the way), Instafest is based on what you listen to on Spotify, so an account there is required to run the app.
First, you go to Instafest.app, then you sign in with Spotify. From there, you're presented with a few options for the design of your music festival announcement — "Malibu sunrise," "LA Twilight" and "Mojave dusk"; think Coachella for that last one.
A post shared by Questlove (@questlove)
At this point, you can opt to conceal your Spotify username if you don't want the end result to display the handle publicly when you share it.
You also get to choose if this festival will be based on your last four weeks of listening habits, last six months or "all-time" — your complete history on Spotify. Depending on how extensive your listening history is, you can get up to three days' worth of festival offerings.
Everyone is fair game — artists living and passed on, bands together and long broken up.
Music celebrities like Questlove have been sharing their Instafest results on social media. Prince is among those artists who got top billing in his lineup. Also in the mix: Sade, Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, Frank Zappa, Radiohead and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Thanks to this app, we now also know that Zach Goode, current lead singer of Smash Mouth (he assumed the role this year after former lead singer Steve Harwell retired), would in fact have his own band as one of the headliners in a Zachary Goode Fest.
In Goode's festival, Smash Mouth shares top billing with none other than the Beatles. This is all the more appropriate for the fantasy bill, since the band broke up the day he was born and he's apparently felt guilty about it ever since.
A post shared by Zach Goode (@dividedbyzach)
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter.


text:
India Cases
Omicron In India
Vaccine Equation
Second Dose Of Covid Vaccine Overdue For Around 11 Crore People: Centre
HomeAll IndiaSecond Dose Of Covid Vaccine Overdue For Around 11 Crore People: Centre
The data showed that over 3.92 crore beneficiaries are more than six weeks overdue for their second dose, around 1.57 crore are up to four to six weeks late, and more than 1.50 crore are up to two to four weeks overdue for their second shot of either Covishield or Covaxin.
All IndiaPress Trust of IndiaUpdated: October 27, 2021 10:45 pm IST
Over 3.38 crore people are up to two weeks overdue to becoming fully vaccinated. (File)
Around 11 crore people who have taken the first shot of COVID-19 vaccine have not got themselves jabbed with the second dose even after the expiry of the prescribed interval between two doses, according to government data.
Also, over 3.38 crore people are up to two weeks overdue to becoming fully vaccinated.
This issue was discussed in a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya with health ministers and representatives of all states and Union territories on Wednesday. They were asked to focus on such beneficiaries who are overdue for their second dose, official sources said.
The gap between the first and second dose is 12 weeks for Covishield and four weeks for Covaxin. Both doses are needed for adequate protection against severe COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation.
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Bihar together account for around 49 per cent of such beneficiaries who are late for their second dose of vaccine.
The Union Health Ministry has also written to several states and UTs asking them to prioritise administering the second dose to beneficiaries who have not got themselves jabbed with the second shot even after the expiry of the prescribed interval between the two doses, sources said.
More than 76 per cent of India's adult population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with nine states and union territories administering the first dose to all eligible people.
The eleven states and UTs which completed second dose coverage to more than 50 per cent of eligible beneficiaries are Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Goa, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Daman and Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Over 32 per cent of the country''s around 94 crore adults have been administered both the doses, Health Ministry officials said, adding the cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 103.53 crore.
CoronavirusCovid vaccine
UP Elections 2022: Congress Releases Second List Of 41 Candidates


If any of you are curious about what everything looks like in a Project Life – Amber Edition , here is the video for you.
And, then, if you are wondering WHAT IN THE WORLD you will take pictures of…Becky did this sweet video to help us out!! I love it so much! And this is what I want for my Project Life book…to capture our everyday moments…the things I think that I won't forget, but probably will. That is why I scrapbook anyway, right?!


In amongst the noise about rates, VAT, and the like, the change in drinking habits highlighted by the Mintel survey represents, to my mind, a fairly fundamental shift (relatively) silently going on in the background. Operators who have taken this on board and are adapting, will be well placed to benefit from the change. Alcohol will not (by any stretch) disappear, nor will the human desire (need?) to distance itself from reality. But the health warnings about alcohol are unlikely to subside. Operators must therefore adapt, as many are, in order to survive and thrive.
Brits are "actively moderating" their drinking habits, with more than half of the nation's beer, wine and cider drinkers claiming they drink less than a few years ago, according to research from Mintel.


I don't know what got me all jacked up to make cabbage rolls. I've never made cabbage rolls before but there was just something about it that I needed to eat.
I didn't know what I was getting myself into because I'd never made cabbage rolls before but this recipe is basically very easy if you break it into 4 small stages.
Step 1 – At the same time you are boiling the cabbage leaves you can be cooking the quinoa. Put the head of cabbage in large pot of boiling water but cut the core off first. I found it helpful to cut slices across the bottom of the leaves so that when they were ready to be peeled off I wouldn't have to tug them off the bottom. Boil for about 8 – 10 minutes but if you see leaves starting to peel away, go ahead and remove them carefully and set aside until you have about 10 – 12 good rollable leaves.
While the cabbage water is heating up put a cup of quinoa and 2 cups of vegetable broth (organic of course) in a medium pan and bring it to a boil. If you have a favorite way to make quinoa, got for it but this is how I make mine and it comes out perfect every single time. I use the already rinsed kind so I don't have to do that step.
Once the quinoa is boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Set timer for 20 minutes. Stirring the quinoa about every 4 – 5 minutes until you see the curly ends sprout from the quinoa. Once done, remove from heat and let cool before adding it to the egg/turkey mixture.
Step 2 -While cabbage is boiling and quinoa is simmering you can start the next stage.
In a large bowl combine the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar), lemon juice and coconut aminos (can sub with soy sauce or Worcestershire). Set aside.
Step 3 – In another large bowl combine ground turkey, egg, onion, coconut milk (can sub with regular organic milk), salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the quinoa once it has cooled off. The reason for this is that the hot quinoa can prematurely start cooking the egg.
Step 4 – Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. I sprayed it mine with coconut oil. Put about a little over a 1/4 cup of turkey/quinoa mixture in each leaf, fold in edges and tuck everything in.
Put cabbage rolls in pan folded edges down. Once you've got all your rolls rolled, pour the tomato mixture over the top.
Put in the oven for an hour at 350 and BAM, you friggin' made CABBAGE ROLLS – what what!!
Put the head of cabbage in large pot of boiling water but cut the core off first. I found it helpful to cut slices across the bottom of the leaves so that when they were ready to be peeled off I wouldn't have to tug them off the bottom. Boil for about 8 - 10 minutes but if you see leaves starting to peel away, go ahead and remove them carefully and set aside until you have about 10 - 12 good rollable leaves.
While the cabbage is boiling, prepare the quinoa. Put 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook for 20 minutes. Stir every 4 or 5 minutes. Quinoa will be done when most of the liquid has boiled away and the little curly q's have sprouted from the quinoa. Set aside and let cool.
In a medium bowl combine tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, coconut palm sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
In another medium bowl combine beat egg, coconut milk, turkey, onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cooled off quinoa.
Put a little over a ¼ cup of turkey mixture into each leaf. Wrap, tuck in the ends and place in baking sheet folded side down.
Pour tomato mixture over cabbage rolls.
This entry was posted in Gluten Free, Paleo, Protein dishes and tagged cabbage roll, clean eating, gluten free, onion, paleo, protein, quinoa, Tomato, Turkey on December 7, 2014 by Bunny.


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An Interview with our Founder and Blackthorn Castle Featured
A big thank you to "App of the Day" for featuring The Mystery of Blackthorn Castle game on their App of the Day website and an interview of Syntaxity Founder Jason Jernigan.
Read the full interview on the "App of the Day" website here.
The Mystery of Blackthorn Castle - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app
Did you have any prior development or coding experience?
Yes, I have been developing puzzle adventure games since 2014 when I founded Syntaxity as a game and app development company. Before this, I was a web-based software developer since 2005.
What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?
With point-and-click adventure games, one of the most difficult aspects is creating the gameplay to be challenging and fun for all levels of players. The puzzles must be challenging without being too easy or too difficult. Exploring the map and finding clues and interactive objects need to feel like an adventure and a rewarding discovery. It is immensely rewarding for me when players enjoy the gameplay experience.
Jason Jernigan - Founder of Syntaxity
Jason has been a designer/developer since 2005. He worked as a web-based software designer and developer from 2005 until founding Syntaxity in 2014, creating several adventure puzzle games available on the App Stores.
Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.
There are many terrific apps on the marketplaces, but the apps I use on a regular basis are for productivity and customer support through social media.
How long have you been working on this app?
The Blackthorn Castle game took about 8 months to complete. I originally built the game engine for the first game The Lost Ship which included the inventory system, scene management, hint system and much more. Some of the core components could be reused in Blackthorn Castle which did help with the development time. For these types of games though, there is a lot of artwork that is custom for each game so only so much is reusable between the games.
What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?
Blackthorn Castle is the perfect game for a player looking for a casual game that is easy to pick up and play. It brings a sense of adventure and exploration, and a rewarding feeling of discovery and accomplishment. It is a great game to challenge yourself, but I have been told by many parents that they play this game together with their younger children, and it is rewarding for me to know that it brings families together.
In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.
Blackthorn Castle was built to be a completely immersing and enjoyable experience for anyone who plays it. The goal was to create a high-quality app that players enjoy.
What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?
The planned updates for this game are for continued support and updates to keep the game performance up on modern devices. There is a plan to create a part 2 of the game to continue the adventure. There are several Syntaxity games in the Uncle Henry series where the player can continue the role of adventure seeker for Uncle Henry.
Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?
The most important goal is to create games and apps that are a positive experience for the players. Player support is what allows the games to continue to be created. Sharing their experiences of playing the apps with friends is always the most helpful, and following Syntaxity on social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.


Performance tuning of applications in big data usually depends on 2 factors, optimization options provided by the big data technology being used, and the nature of the data being processed. Focusing on the technology is definitely a requirement, but the nature of data being processed is not something to be overlooked. The solution to achieving performance for a big data application is often hidden in the kind of data being processed.
We recently tried to use HBase as a vault to store tokenized (encrypted) information for sensitive/PII fields. Storing and retrieving tokens into and from HBase is fairly easy. The challenge comes when trying to perform the operation for huge datasets consisting of billions of rows within a defined SLA.
The story goes like this – there are 60 different kinds of files which are continuously being generated and sent. These files are supposed to be ingested into Hadoop; each file has some fields containing sensitive data which are to be tokenized (tokens being looked up and stored in HBase). The SLA is to complete the tokenization process in 5-10 minutes to handle the continuous inflow of files.
This improved the overall performance of jobs since the region servers were less pressurized but the main problem still remained – the job was slow. The answer to the problem was uncovered only with further analysis of the dataset.
It was observed that the sensitive fields that were being tokenized were repetitive. Distinct values of these fields would reduce the dataset by 60-70%. As an example, in telecom probe data, phone numbers or MSISDN would repeat itself for each event generated by cell phone users, which means that in a dataset of a billion rows, MSISDN would occur again and again. While doing lookups for tokenizing this dataset, the request for all such repeating values would be served by one single region server (in HBase), slowing down the response for each call which, in turn, would affect the entire job performance. The answer was hidden in the nature of the data being processed.
And done! This simple mechanism greatly increased the job performance and we could achieve the SLA of completing the tokenization process in 5-10 minutes for all of the 60 datasets.
Zaloni's Data Lake in a Box solution is here to simplify your big data journey.


8 vocal selections from the 1954 Broadway version of the beloved story starring Mary Martin. Includes: Captain Hook's Waltz • Distant Melody • I Won't Grow Up • I'm Flying • I've Gotta Crow • Never Never Land • Tender Shepherd (Count Your Sheep) • Wendy. This item may require additional shipping time due to availability.


In the morning flight from Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam to the Selous Mtemere airstrip. Pick up from the airstrip by the lodge. Afternoon sharing boat Safari on the majestic Rufiji River. One can see plenty of hippos, crocodiles and bird life is prolific.
Dinner and overnight at rufiji river camp or sable mountain lodge or Selous Mbega Safari Camp, or selous impala adventure safari camp All meals included.
Two half-days of game activities including drives, walking Safaris and boat Safaris.
In the morning boat Safari, after lunch transfer to the airstrip, for your flight to Zanzibar or Dar.


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Azbil Starts Overseas Sales of Ceiling Temperature Sensor for Office Buildings
- Sensor blends in with surroundings, installs easily, and boasts high accuracy -
Ceiling-mounted temperature sensor (round type) (Photo: Business Wire)
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Azbil Corporation (TOKYO:6845) announced that it has started sales outside of Japan of the Company's ceiling-mounted temperature sensor (round type), an indoor temperature sensor for use with office building HVAC systems.
In recent years, office buildings have fewer pillars and walls, necessitating temperature sensors to be installed into ceilings. Because Azbil's ceiling-mounted temperature sensor is a mere 40 mm in diameter and 5 mm thick with a color scheme allowing it to blend in with a room's surroundings, it does not detract from the room's aesthetic. Installation has been simplified through the use of springs to snap the sensor into place, making screws unnecessary. Improvements to the internal construction have led to a faster response time and increased accuracy, enabling the sensor to contribute to maintaining a comfortable indoor environment. Ever since the product was launched in Japan in July 2018, over 20,000 units have been installed in office buildings and other structures, and the sensor has received a favorable reception due to its unobtrusive design, ease of installation, and high accuracy.
Azbil's overseas launch of the sensor is centered on office buildings and other structures in East Asia and the Company is targeting 100 million yen in sales of the product for the first year. Additionally, the sensor complies with various international safety and environmental directives, such as those required by CE marking1, REACH2, and China RoHS3.
1 A certification required for certain products in order to be sold in Europe. It indicates that such products meet essential EU safety, health and environmental protection requirements.
2 Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. This European Union regulation concerns the management of chemical substances.
3 Restriction of hazardous substances; regulations in China and other regions to limit the amount of hazardous substances electric/electronic devices can contain.
Guided by the azbil Group philosophy of "human-centered automation," Azbil will continue to develop and offer products and systems that provide people with safety and comfort.
About Azbil Corporation
Azbil Corporation, formerly known as Yamatake Corporation, is a leading company in building and industrial automation, using its measurement and control technologies to provide customers with high value-added solutions to make their operations more efficient and sustainable. Founded in 1906, Azbil serves customers across the globe in a broad range of industries and aims to contribute to people's safety, comfort and fulfilment, and global environmental preservation. At the end of March 2019, Azbil employed 9,600 people worldwide and generated ¥262 billion in revenue.
For more information, please visit https://www.azbil.com/.
Robert Jones / Masayoshi Kogai
Public Relations Section, Azbil Corporation
Email: publicity@azbil.com
Azbil has started sales outside of Japan of a ceiling-mounted temperature sensor, an indoor sensor for use with office building HVAC systems.


When we create our unique itineraries we like to listen to you throughout the whole process. Our enquiry form has a few quick questions which helps our team create fabulous itineraries, according to your budget and preferences. We can amend the itinerary as many times as you would like until you are happy.
Please feel free to tell us a bit more about any specific destinations you would like to visit or activities you enjoy doing on your trip. The more information we have, the better our experts can plan your perfect itinerary. If you don't know any specific destinations, not to worry we can help you.


At Marine Dental Practice, Worthing, we can help attempt to restore your teeth to their natural whiteness. Our highly experienced dentists are available to take you through the safest options for removing stubborn stains from your teeth. Our objective is to give you a customised service that produces the excellent results with minimal-to-no side effects.
Why would you want to whiten your teeth?
Some tooth discolouration is inevitable, especially as you grow older, or change your lifestyle or pick up new bad habits. Whether as a result of drinking wine, coffee or tea, or from smoking, over time the whiteness of your teeth can fade.
We offer patients have a number of teeth bleaching procedures from which to choose.
You can even opt for a home whitening treatment. We put the specially formulated whitening gel in a customised tray which you can wear at night while sleeping – or for short periods during the daytime. You should notice a transformation in the whiteness of your teeth in a little over 14 days.
When you walk into our surgery at Marine Dental Practice, Worthing, we hope that you will feel relaxed and at ease in the atmosphere we've created in the clinic. We want you to be happy with our work but we also want to protect your health while offering you state-of-the-art treatment that accords with all the appropriate international regulations. Our friendly staff are warm and welcoming; we positively invite questions and queries.
It's easy to think that over-the-counter kits are a cheaper and quicker option to get whitened teeth. But do they really work? No they don't. Here's why.
The recommended amount of hydrogen peroxide, which is the main cleaning agent in a treatment gel, is 3.6%. But the legal limit for over-the-counter sale is 0.1%. This means you cannot get an effective result with that option.
It's has also been the case that these kits often contain chemicals and mild acids that could be abrasive and damage your gums and enamel, or even lead to ulcers. All of these are in addition to the risks of abuse and overuse, burns and allergic reactions such as a lingering sensitivity to hot and cold foods, beverages and other drinks.
What makes Marine Dental Practice Worthing different?
At our fully equipped oral health facility in Worthing, our friendly dentists will give you all the detailed care you need. They will apply the most effective teeth-bleaching treatments. Note that many of our new patients arrive by the personal recommendation of existing clients.
To restore your teeth to the desired shade of whiteness, our dentists will first conduct a thorough clinical examination to analyse what's gone wrong. Next, they will recommend a cleaning method that will most effectively and safely remove the staining agents to make your teeth several shades lighter.
You will also be supplied with any required take-home kits, as well as the necessary dental health printed information to complement and speed up the whitening process.
Is teeth bleaching medically safe?
Absolutely. There has been comprehensive research undertaken, as well as various clinical studies, which all conclude that teeth whitening is safe and effective. It is, however, not recommended for children under 13, or for pregnant or lactating women.
Should I expect the outcome to last only a short while?
After a safe bleaching procedure, your whitened teeth can last as long as you want them to. Provided that you carry out basic oral care routines such as brushing twice a day, regular flossing and using the treatment gel as instructed by your dentist, you will continue to enjoy the health and social benefits of shiny glossy teeth and a charming smile.
There are minimal or no side effects although a very few patients might notice slight sensitivity in their teeth after a cleaning procedure.


Mathews was sensational in 1957 as he helped the Braves win the World Series versus the Yankees. The all-star third baseman hit a solid .292, blasted 32 home runs and drove in 94 during the regular season. For the final years of the 50's, there was no better 1-2 punch in the NL than Aaron and Mathews.


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William Styron (1925-2006) , a native of the Virginia Tidewater, was a graduate of Duke University and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. His books include Lie Down in Darkness, The Long March, Set This House on Fire, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Sophie's Choice, This Quiet Dust, Darkness Visible, and A Tidewater Morning. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Howells Medal, the American Book Award, the Légion d'Honneur, and the Witness to Justice Award from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation. With his wife, the poet and activist Rose Styron, he lived for most of his adult life in Roxbury, Connecticut, and in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, where he is buried.
Selected Letters of William Styron
The Suicide Run
Confessions of Nat Turner
Prev: Alexander Stupak
Next: Rose Styron


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Дезире Н'Кауа (; род. 13 июня 1933) — французский .

Учился в Парижской консерватории у Маргерит Лонг и Лазара Леви. В 18-летнем возрасте дебютировал с Берлинским филармоническим оркестром. В 1961 г. выиграл Международный конкурс исполнителей в Женеве.

Среди записей Н'Кауа есть сочинения Моцарта, Шуберта, Шопена, однако прежде всего он считается специалистом по французской музыке — в частности, по творчеству Мориса Равеля и Альбера Русселя (все фортепианные произведения которого он записал); среди других композиторов, которым посвящены отдельные альбомы Н'Кауа, — Клод Дебюсси, Габриэль Форе, Жан Ален, Эммануэль Шабрие.

Примечания

Ссылки
 Официальный сайт

Академические музыканты Франции

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Black Hat USA is the premier security event where members of the security industry gather to learn from elite security researchers in the field. This year's event will be hosted at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada July 30-Aug 4 and offer over 50 multi-day training sessions, feature 7 Briefings tracks with the latest research, and 2 workshop tracks dedicated to practical application and demonstration of tools.
and 2 workshop tracks dedicated to practical application and demonstration of tools.


My Gateway 2000 PC, bought in 1999, is stil in use with my Epson scanner that has a negative/ transparency adaptor that can accomodate negatives up to 4" x 5". I also like the Kodak/Wang imaging software that was bundled with it. I did investigate getting a copy for my laptop, but it would have cost over £400. Likewise, the bundled cut down version of Adobe Photoshop is more than adequate for my purposes. However, it is on its third CRT monitor! I acauired a couple of spares when we had an upgrade at work.
I did buy a LCD monitor but it sent back. It only gave a sharp display at one resolution (not the one I use) and when I tried improving things with a CD it came with that was supposed to enhance performance, it corrupted the os so that the display vanished after less than a minute. To reinstall the original display driver software I had to hook it up to a printer and run it under DOS in command mode, echoing everything to the printer. It has never really been right since, but the stuff I need it for works, so I have left it as it is.
Last edited by emeritus; 7th Feb 2019 at 11:27 pm.
I thought that way back when I was serving tv etc that having to take a chassis out to change a valve was bad enough, but today, as Glyn explained, getting a back off a tv, it seems not!
Are you saying that this place is making you unhappy (Tim Berners-Lee started the world wide web in 1989) ?
If the WWW wouldn't have been invented, we undoubtedly would have had this discussion using a usenet group, possibly called net.radio.vintage Usenet has been around since the early 1980's and still sees some niche use, although mostly for sending attachments instead of having discussions. I've once or twice thought about building forum software on top of a usenet backend but deemed it not worth the effort.
Even down to the level of the little Casio Digital watches churned out by Argos for sub £16- accurate, bomb-proof, water resistant, backlit, but with a strap that can't be changed and gives way quite quickly if put under any strain (I think Guy would agree with me on this!) This then leaves you with a pocket watch that lasts for years, but can't be worn. They end up glued to the wall of various sheds, where they happily keep going on their massive lithium cell.
I was watching a BBC TV show the other day which showed designers stopping members of the public who were throwing away rubbish at a recycling centre. They got the item from the public and made something new of it, then sold it. They gave the owner any profit from the sale. One woman took an old rotatory mower and changed the blades to a fashionable lamp stand. Another guy took an old chair, put some material on it and stencilled Churchill sayings on it. The chair sold for over £900!
I reckon that about 90% of rubbish that goes into bins and dump sites could be converted to something useful. But I am not convinced that any Government wants to really do it.
At some council recycling centers they are so besotted with safety that even simple penlight cells are considered "untouchable".
Grubhead, that seems to be how the TV series Salvage Hunters works - use something not for what it would be originally used for but for something totally different and sell it at what I consider ludicrous prices.
Having been in the TV repair trade for some years until I retired it is clear that most of today's consumer electronics items cannot be repaired for a realistic price and involve skills beyond most casual repairers. But I guess it has led to the growth outlets that strip down faulty sets and sell the boards inside for budding repairers to have a go, some of which do seem to do quite well.
I've now got an image in my head of someone 'upcycling' a28" CRT TV. Paint the cabinet purple (if that's still fashionable or has come round again). Gently release the vacuum. With a diamond core drill cut a hole at the top of the rear of the tube. In the reverse of putting ships in bottles, remove the shadow mask. Chemically remove the phosphor. Fill with water and tropical fish pepples, sand etc. Arrange artistically.
They'll need a bubbler for oxygenation.
Now just decide on the asking price.
Many years ago, the "Railway Modeller" published a reader's letter and photo of a "N" gauge layout built inside the cabinet of an old TV.
In the 1950's my late father used to turn old radio and console TV cases into bedside cupboards and bathroom cabinets.
The price is only bound to go up since getting hold of a CRT is going to get more difficult, since they are no longer being made for TV's these days.
It might well be called Salvage Hunters the TV show that I saw.
Somebody on e-bay was selling a lot of old washers for a £5. So you can make money from stuff that is easy to get hold off.
The real moneymakers are the producers, of course. The craftsmen and former owners typically make tens or perhaps low hundreds of pounds. The producers will be making thousands per episode.
Salvage Hunters is more of an antiques program. He generally repairs items " sympathetically " in his words. His warehouse and shop are in Conwy North Wales. I watch the occasional program but I don't think I will be buying anything.
D.Pritchard, although a dealer, does in my opinion have a conscience and a respect for history. Not all of them do.
On the subject of throw away culture, what were the BBC thinking when they bought the concept for 'The Best House in Town' ..? Four random people visit a town in a minibus and assess three houses in a given area, for Functionality, Ambition,(What..?) and i can't even remember what the third criteria is.. Health warning- your brain may leak out if you watch this programme- even if you ARE obsessed with interior design. It would however suffice to check your horizontal and vertical hold!
Mr Pritchard's team of 'restorers' really annoy me.I think the worst example was a beautiful two faced station clock with a mains electric movement. The movement was ripped out and replaced with two separate cheap quartz movements. No thought was given to repairing the original movement as it was dangerous.
Ah, i didn't see that 'restoration'. (More of a hack, really.) Not good. Probably an attempt to avoid having the (minimal) hassle of a safety test. Product liability, where would we be without it..
Two favourite examples of thrifty reuse happened over here in NZ in the 70's. One was a lady who hired a rental TV set - after the payments stopped for a while an agent went around and she told him it had stopped working - so she'd converted it to a fish tank!! The other was about some pacific islanders that had emigrated to NZ at a time when power supplies did not exist back in their home island. When they found out that they were charged money for using the electricity for cooking, they turned off the power and tried to run it by lighting a fire in the nice big square compartment underneath the top - they nearly burned down the house as a result.


It's no surprise that 11.11 is the biggest day for shoppers like you and me. We already mentioned that the 3 major e-commerce platforms, Shopee, Lazada, and 11street, will have massive discounts. And now, Honor themselves are doing a massive brand day sale as well – with discounts up to RM350, exciting prizes, and free gifts too!
First off – the red edition Honor 8X will be available starting today as well. The first 200 customers on HiHonor.com will also walk away with a free Honor Band 3, and the price of the red Honor 8X is still at RM949. There will only be 500 units of the new red Honor 8X up for grabs on HiHonor, Lazada, Shopee and 11street.my!
That's not all, the Honor Play that we reviewed here is priced at RM1,099 instead of RM1,249. Then, the Honor 10 is also receiving a price cut – down to only RM1,399. But, this discount is available for both HiHonor.com and official retail shops nationwide. Click here to know where you can find out these official Honor retail shops.
But what about the gift part? Well, head on over to HiHonor.com and play their "spin to win" contest there. you can win a brand new Honor 8X red edition and other amazing gifts!
From the 8th to 10th November 2018, other Honor products are receiving up to RM200 in price reduction as well.
From 11th to 13th November, there will be exciting limited-stocked flash deals up to 40% during different timeslots throughout the day.


Additionally, a 404 Not Discovered error was encountered whereas attempting to make use of an ErrorDocument to deal with the request. In the present day, if you want to make use of the server for a grouping of mates, you need not stay it on-line always. That is for leading edge clients as establishing an amusement server using steamcmd and arranging the firewall can be a period expending deal with but for substantial teams and households that is the main choice.
Hardware-associated information, comparable to CPU and RAM usage, can be provided along with sport particular info, similar to common player-latency and variety of gamers active on the server. Seeing how this was posted 10 months ago and the OP's sport is up and running on steam I am gonna go forward and say its fixed.
For instance if player one encounters player two within the game world, participant one could touch player two on their machine to work together with them by opening a menu or directly effecting participant two, i.e altering their coloration or pushing/pulling them around the terrain.
If the server is down, there isn't a lot you can do. Nonetheless, you'll be able to always strive another server whereas it is down. Many servers will state clearly their coverage on this difficulty so it is value taking your time to learn the contents and guidelines of the server.
Banning a participant's account renders all game keys unusable; to proceed taking part in World of Warcraft, you would wish to start out a new account and buy new sport expansions! Choosing a Minecraft server almost full of players offers an elevated game play experience.


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Our firm traces its roots back, deep into the 20th century, when our first facility was dedicated. Many years later, this location has seen renovations and changes, but has always been and will continue to be an integral part of this community.
Over the years, the original mission of the firm hasn't changed. We have always intended to provide the best, most professional services, complemented by the finest products. Today, we pride ourselves on being current with the major changes in funeral service trends - and bring those innovations and memorialization options to our client families with integrity and insight.
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Sweaters. Coats. Suits. Dresses. Drapes. Quilts. Pillows. Spreads. Antique lace. Bridal gowns. Bring them to Best, and you'll bring home nothing but freshness. Only Best uses GreenEarth, a natural drycleaning method that's free of harsh chemicals. Silica, the same element found in ordinary beach sand, is the main ingredient, leaving fabrics softer and colors vibrant longer with no chemical odor.
With GreenEarth, you can hang your drapes without airing them out first. And take your favorite jacket or blouse straight from the hanger to work. Freshness isn't the only guarantee. GreenEarth brings out the vibrancy in colors, while leaving fabrics feeling softer.
There isn't a fabric in your closet too delicate for GreenEarth. It's safe for fine silks, linen, cotton, wool, cashmere, lace, even fabrics labeled "Do Not Dryclean." So bring in your designer pillows and other household finery. They never had it so good.
Neither has the environment. GreenEarth is the most environmentally friendly cleaning solution available. That's another reason Best is proud to offer it. Because we care about the customers we serve. And the planet we share. Learn more about the benefits of the GreenEarth drycleaning method at greenearthcleaning.com.


The overall tone of the Frankfurt Auto Conference was (unsurprisingly) characterized by optimism on the Western markets tempered by clear uncertainty around the China outlook.
On the product side, technology was in focus, particularly around driver-assistance/automation and connectivity. Additionally, there appears to be a recognition that the pace of product cycles needs to accelerate. We continue to see rising content costs for technology/regulations and accelerating product cycles as issues that will pressure auto-maker margins in a slow global production growth environment, but benefit suppliers (particularly ones with strong research and development (R&D) and global presence) in terms of content growth.
On the markets, European demand (excluding Russia) has grown faster than anyone expected in the 2015 year-to-date and there is a growing confidence that positive growth is sustainable, which is leading to upward pressure on second-half European production schedules. Industry pricing remains just neutral and no one is expecting a North American-style price recovery in the medium term.
We'd also note that data on Russia (about 10% of European production) and exports (about 20% of European production) were modestly encouraging: 1) Pace of Russia demand declines has moderated versus easier comps; and 2) Overall exports out of Germany are only down 3% year-to-date, with a 20% decline into China being largely balanced out by other export markets.
On China, there was a clear sense of "who knows," but companies were generally encouraged that retail demand has stabilized in June (down 1%)/July (down 1%)/August (up 3%) and recent significant wholesale-shipment declines have successfully destocked dealers back to normal levels. According to China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), the 60,000-unit dealer inventory decline in August was counter-seasonal (generally inventory increases by 30,000-40,000 to prepare for strong fourth-quarter seasonality) and led to 1.67 months inventory versus 1.77 months in August 2014.
And a view was expressed by several auto makers that major price cuts seen over last several months may be behind the industry. While this should be viewed with skepticism, there is some logic to the idea...that is, in order to clear high dealer inventories, price needs to come down...once inventory is in shape, auto makers are better equipped to exclusively use changes to production to balance supply/demand. We expect that these factors, plus a likely recovery in volume growth in the fourth quarter due to first-time buyer seasonality (these buyers should be less impacted by anticorruption policy, equity market weakness, and general negative sentiment) will be a positive catalyst for auto stocks. Particularly as it will allow Wall Street to recognize the better-than-expected performance in North America/Europe in 2015. This was completely discounted during second-quarter earnings season due to fears of a major decline in China volumes, which now seems unlikely.
We still prefer suppliers on this theme (Delphi Automotive (ticker: DLPH ), Lear ( LEA ) and Magna International ( MGA ) are our top picks). We see a low-growth China market as fine for the suppliers, given the likelihood that content growth will add to the top line. We believe the most compelling stocks are Delphi and Lear, each of which has very broad exposure across many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and good local brand exposure. On the auto-maker side, we expect that the Street will continue to be cautious around vehicle pricing in China, which makes future margins very unclear. Several auto makers did mention an expectation that China margins would likely normalize over time.


This course reviews basic electrical principles and covers amplifier theory as applied to open loop and closed loop control. Proportional directional valves, flow control valves and pressure control valves are discussed along with hydraulic servo valves. Proper setup alignment of the drive amplifiers and troubleshooting of servo and proportional control systems are covered in class and laboratory sessions. Closed loop (PID) control theory and feedback transducers are also discussed.


Luggage storage in Sydney has been hard to find and rather expensive for years but recently a new company has launched in Sydney. Stasher.com have locations across the city where you can store your bag. They charge $8 for 24h (including insurance) so are over 50% cheaper than the station lockers. Every additional day costs $7, and you can contact them directly for long term discounts. They store bags in vetted local hotels and shops – many are open 24/7. All bookings must be made online.
Can you store your luggage at the airport?
Can you store your luggage at the train station?
Can you store your luggage near Circular Quay?
Is there any luggage storage near Town Hall Station?
What is the long-term luggage storage solution?
Are there any lockers that are accessible 24 hours a day?
Luggage storage is available at both the domestic and international airports. This is the best option on a short layover but also if you are travelling on a domestic flight, and you are planning to head straight to your flight home after your travels.
Smarte Carte operates a luggage storage service at both international and domestic airports. Although it's a 20-minute train ride in each direction, at least, your luggage is already there, and should there be any sudden change of plans; you can rush back to the airport without lugging your bags around. It's not a bad option if you're arriving at 6 am, as it's little sacrifice and very secure.
Sydney now has luggage storage at its intercity train station, Central Station. Passengers travelling on NSW trains can usually check luggage in early (free) in the morning for a later departure that day but if you are not going on a Country train that day you cannot access early check-in.
Stasher has a hotel storage facility that is within a 3-minute walk of the station and is over half the price of station facilities. Bookings must be made online.
Yes, there a few options.
There is luggage storage in the Rocks at the Visitors Centre for cruise passengers only at Sydney Visitor Centre Luggage Storage 10-26 Playfair Street, The Rocks. You can pre-book on their website. The second is a Smart Carte outlet at 43 Playfair Street which is open to all travellers.
Stasher also has locations around Circular Quay.
Stasher has a location right by Town Hall station. You can book online here. Their platform is adding new vetted hotels and shops across the city so there will be even more choice soon. It costs $8 per day including insurance.
Stasher is again another option- they charge $7 per extra day but you can contact them directly for long term discounts. There is no limit on the number of days you can store for. You can either book online or if you wanted a longer term discount their email address is info@stasher.com.
Another option for long-term storage I have found is at CBD Storage at World Square Shopping Centre. These guys only charge $33 a month, and the daily cost is $11. You can also use this service short term.
Many of the Stasher locations are open 24/7 so you can collect your bag at any time. This costs $8 per day. You can look through the various options on their site and opening hours are listed, as well as a 24/7 logo on the photo. They have locations all across Sydney – by all Central and Town Hall stations, Circular Quay, as well as Surrey Hills, Bondi and further afield. Book online here for $8 for 24h.
You may have guessed by now I am a big fan of Stasher, it's such good value and the added security of knowing your luggage is insurance makes it a no brainer for me.
Smartecarte opened approximately 12 months ago at Central Station. Located opposite Platform 1.
Thanks Michelle – that's great news!
Can I strongly suggest people store anywhere but smartcarte. Rude people, poor service, overpriced and they get you with extra fees if you happen to be a little over the time in which you said you'll be back (I'm talking even ten minutes). I also had broken valuables when I picked up my bag even after I had told them it was fragile. I know luggage storage is rare around the CBD but I found that 'wake up', a hostel outside Central station store your things for you. It's only down the road and I've had better experiences storing my bag there than at smartcarte Central.
I am sorry to hear that Martin. Lots of th students where I work use Smartecarte all the time with no problem but it's good to know that Wake Up offer luggage storage. Do you know if it is available to people who have not stayed there?
The link for Travel Centre doesn't work. Are they still in business?
Sadly I have just discovered they are not at the old location and I can't find any new contact details so I will have to remove them. I will update the article today. Thanks for letting me know.
Is there a suitcase storage near the cruise ship terminal ?
Yes there is Christa – It's at the Sydney Visitor Centre Luggage Storage 10-26 Playfair Street, The Rocks. You can pre-book on their website.
Can you tell me if there is a suitcase storage near the cruise ship terminal ?
There is info on that page regarding transfers to White Bay Terminal if you are departing from there.
There is also a new Smarte Carte service just behind Customs House on Loftus Street Shop 1, 20 Loftus Street Sydney. It's open from 8am-5pm every day. They shut right at 5 pm so make sure you are not late.
Hi Viviana The city traffic will be very bad at 8pm on June 15th however if you have kids and luggage I think you really do need to take a taxi or arrange a transfer via your hotel. I would actually contact them directly regarding road closures and traffic arrangements as these seem to be changing a bit this week depending on conditions. I am sure they will have the most up to date information. Taxis will most likely be able to go directly up to the hotel entry.
is there luggage storage at sydney airport as I am traveling to Cairns for 3 days then back to sydney to fly to states. I dont want to have to check all my luggage in and out of cairns…..any suggestions?
Yes Jodie, there is luggage storage at Sydney Airport. Not sure how expensive it would be for three days. It is operated by Smarte Carte, there is a link in the post above. I suggest you contact them directly. Sorry about the delay in responding. I was returning from a trip to Greece and was offline for 2 days. For the record, it's usually faster to post your question to the Facebook group where lots of members can help directly.
I'm heading to Sydney to get plane from Central Coast. But plane to meet a friend in sydney cbd for lunch as not flying till late in day. Can i leave my suitcase at Central for a few hours?
In March I am arriving at Sydney domestic terminal about 11am and depart International at 8pm same day. I would like to go into the city but don't want to lug my baggage with me. Can you offer any advice?
I would probably take my bag over to the international terminal and leave it with the left luggage service there so that it is at the right terminal for your departure flight. There is a free shuttle bus between the terminals but it does take a while. The train is super fast but will cost you. I am not sure if they will charge you to exit and re-enter. I would go to the gate attendant and ask to just pop upstairs and leave your bag before continuing your journey.