Between entertaining family and friends and preparing fabulous fare for your holiday feast, hosting Thanksgiving can be stressful. Luckily, there are plenty of things you can do to lighten your load on Turkey Day. One of the easiest ways to cut down on your to-do list is to prepare some of your dishes before Thanksgiving arrives. Many recipes can be assembled and frozen days in advance, ensuring you have easy and delicious do-ahead dishes that your guests will love. Ready to enjoy a less hectic holiday? Here are seven recipes you can make ahead of time.
Preparing a turkey can be one of the most time-consuming chores on your Thanksgiving to-do list. Fortunately, if you use Taste of Home's recipe, you can get most of the work done ahead of time — the turkey can be kept in your freezer for up to three months, so feel free to make it as soon as you want! This recipe yields 16 servings.
Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Sprinkle turkey with poultry seasoning and pepper. Tuck wings under turkey; tie drumsticks together. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up. Roast, uncovered, 30 minutes. In a 4-cup measuring cup, mix remaining turkey ingredients; carefully pour over turkey. Roast, uncovered, 3 to 3½ hours longer or until a thermometer inserted in thigh reads 180 degrees Fahrenheit, basting occasionally with broth mixture. Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly. Remove turkey from pan; let stand at least 20 minutes before carving. Skim fat from cooking juices.
Carve turkey; place in shallow freezer containers. Pour strained juices over turkey; cool completely. Freeze, covered, up to three months. To serve, partially thaw turkey in refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer turkey and cooking juices to a baking dish; pour broth over turkey. Bake, covered, 50 to 60 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove turkey from baking dish, reserving cooking liquid; keep warm. In a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with turkey.
Food.com's mashed potatoes can be made ahead of time and frozen, ensuring you have a low-maintenance side to serve your Thanksgiving guests. Just make sure you give your frozen mashed potatoes plenty of time to thaw before reheating them in the oven. The recipe yields 6 to 7 servings.
Directions: Peel and quarter potatoes. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil, then gently cook until tender. Drain well. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, cream cheese, egg, garlic powder, and salt. Mash well by hand or with and electric mixer. Spoon potatoes into spray-treated or greased 3-quart casserole or 9-by-13-inch pan. Drizzle or brush melted butter over potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika for color, if desired. Label and freeze in freezer bags. To serve, thaw completely. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden.
Martha Stewart's simple stuffing is a mouth-watering must-have for any holiday feast. For an easy-to-assemble Thanksgiving dish, dry the bread cubes and cook the vegetables a day in advance. It yields 8 servings.
Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange bread in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not browned, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add celery, shallots, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add wine and cook until evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add bread, parsley, and eggs to the bowl of vegetables.
Season with 1½ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; stir to combine. Mix in half of broth. Continue to add in more broth just until stuffing is moistened but not wet. Spoon stuffing into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Cover with buttered aluminum foil and refrigerate. When you're ready to bake it, place covered baking dish in oven and bake until warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.
Sweet and zesty ingredients create a lovely cranberry sauce that your family and friends won't be able to get enough of. Cooking Channel's recipe can be prepared and refrigerated for up to 10 days; you'll find that the longer your sauce chills in the fridge, the better it tastes! It yields 6 servings.
Directions: Combine the sugar and bourbon, stirring well, in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, and juice. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the liquid begins to reduce a little bit, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cranberries and vanilla bean and continue to simmer until the cranberries are soft and breaking apart and the sauce begins to thicken, 12 to 15 minutes.
If desired, mash your cranberries with a sturdy whisk or potato masher, just to break up the cranberries, and simmer to thicken a little bit more, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the cinnamon sticks, ginger pieces, and vanilla bean. Allow the sauce to cool. Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 10 days.
This light and fluffy casserole is packed with vibrant flavors and covered in a crisp and crunchy topping. You can prepare Eating Well's sweet potato casserole up to two days in advance; simply cover, refrigerate, and bake it just before you're ready to serve. It yields 10 servings.
Directions: Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well and return to the pan. Mash with a potato masher. Measure out 3 cups. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk eggs, oil, and honey in a medium bowl. Add mashed sweet potato and mix well. Stir in milk, orange zest, vanilla, and salt.
Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish. To prepare topping, mix flour, brown sugar, orange juice concentrate, oil, and butter in a small bowl. Blend with a fork or your fingertips until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over the casserole. If you're making this dish in advance, cover and refrigerate for up to two days. Bake the casserole at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until heated through and the top is lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes.
Real Simple delivers an easy-to-make side that will pair perfectly with your other Thanksgiving fare. The sprouts can be made and refrigerated up to one day in advance. Before serving this dish, reheat it in the oven at 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The recipe yields 8 servings.
Directions: Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm the vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, add the raisins, and let sit for 15 minutes; drain. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the Brussels sprouts, oil, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Roast, stirring once, until tender and slightly golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; crumble. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts, raisins, and bacon and toss to combine.
Food Network's recipe is a perfect do-ahead dessert — it must be made a day in advance so it can sit overnight. This pecan pie yields 12 servings. For an extra tasty touch, we suggest making AllRecipes.com's bourbon whipped cream to serve with your decadent dish.
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Whip up the pie crust. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the vegetable shortening and salted butter. Work the butter into the flour using a dough cutter until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. Add the egg, 5 tablespoons cold water, and the white vinegar. Stir until just combined. Divide the dough in half and chill until needed. Next, make the filling. Mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and eggs together in a bowl.
Roll out one dough half on a lightly floured surface to fit your pie pan. Pour the pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Pour the syrup mixture over the top. Cover the top and crust lightly/gently with foil. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and then continue baking for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans. The pie should not be overly jiggly when you remove it from the oven. If it shakes a lot, cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minute or until set. Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Serve in thin slivers.


Ugly white stains on your brick walls will be a thing of the past!
If you live in a brick house or have concrete tiles in your garden or front yard, you'll be familiar with this problem: after some time a white scale or efflorescence appears on them and this isn't easily removed. At least, that's what you might think. With the trick we've got for you today those white stains will be gone before you know it. This simple household solution is amazing!
You only need a couple of ingredients! Keep reading on the next page.


This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices, and was last updated by GrantyB 1 month, 3 weeks ago.
Does anyone have any tips for adding other flavours to the apple cider using the Williams Warn? I'd like to add other flavour such as ginger or other berry fruits.


text:
← Sadie Bonnell: bravery in the field
The Royal Naval Division memorial →
Reggie Schwarz
It sometimes seems like the England cricket team is full of South Africans. It is worth remembering that this was not always the case and indeed it was an Englishman – a Londoner – who helped put South African cricket on the map: Reggie Schwarz. As Major R.O. Schwarz MC, he also served with great skill in the Great War.
Reginald Oscar Schwarz born was born in Lee in 1875 and educated at St Paul's, where he played for the first eleven at cricket for four years. At Cambridge he continued to play cricket, but never got his 'blue' – although he did get one in rugby. In the years after he left university he played cricket for Oxfordshire, and then first-class for Middlesex, as well as gaining three international rugby caps for England as a half-back. At the turn of the century he moved to South Africa, where he worked on the Johannesburg railway and became a member of the stock exchange there. He also became an increasingly effective cricketer.
Reggie returned to England as a member of the touring South African team; he also returned as a leading exponent of the 'googly', which he had learned from its inventor (Bernard Bosanquet) and passed on to his team-mates. On another tour of England in 1907, he took 137 wickets (in Tests and against counties and other teams) for an impressive average of 11.7 runs conceded per wicket taken. In 1908 he was Wisden's cricketer of the year.
He retired from cricket before the war and returned to the London Stock Exchange.
Schwarz bowling to Surrey's M.C. Bird at the Oval in 1912. And a closer view of Schwarz bowling (Daily Mirror 11/5/12)
At the start of the war, he was appointed as a staff officer in the South African army and served in German South-West Africa before arriving on the Western Front in March 1916 as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General (DAQMG) for the 47th(London) Division. He served with the division for a year and was awarded the Military Cross for his good work.
He then served in a number of posts commanding labour companies and, suffering from poor health, was transferred to the salvage corps in early 1918. Just days after the Armistice was signed, he died on 18 November 1918 at Etaples in France.
By all accounts, Reggie Schwarz was a cheerful and popular man, an impressive cricketer (for his bowling at least) and an efficient officer.
One of his Commanding Officers wrote (quoted on the Roll of Honour page for the MCC): "Combined with far more than his share of good looks, and the lithe figure of the trained athlete, he possessed the most supreme modesty and self-effacement. Tremendously cheerful, bubbling over with fun and good spirits, and possessing a real sense of humour, it was small wonder that he owned such a host of friends. If one were asked to sum him up in a sentence, one would say that it is inconceivable that he could ever have had an enemy."
The 47thDivision's official history also noted that "In the year during which he served on the Divisional Staff — from March, 1916, to March, 1917 — " Reggie " Schwarz made many friends in the Division, and his unfailing cheerfulness and winning personality was a considerable asset to the hard- worked " Q" staff."
His importance as a cricketer is summed up in the opening lines of his obituary in Wisden: "Major Schwarz, as every one knows, was famous as a slow bowler. Few men did so much to establish the reputation of South African cricket."
Cricinfo profile – including Wisden obituary
MCC war memorial on roll-of-honour.com
Posted by Stuart on 26 November 2012 in Award-winners, Famous People
2 responses to "Reggie Schwarz"
Pingback: South African Cricket One Day Cup in Dolphins win by 2 runs And Cobras win by 37 runs | GizaWap

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: SQL Server name\instance at MSSMS Database Engine login is bogus I'm using SQL Server Management Studio and now at login the Server name is showing an instance of SQL Express which I have uninstalled. I had uninstalled it and then installed SQL Server Eval, but the eval instance does not show up as an option in the dropdown. I've uninstalled everything, including Studio, restarted the server and reinstalled the eval along with Studo, and still the SQLExpress instance is the only option in the dropdown for Server name.  Obviously it can't connect.
Would anyone be able to help me understand how to correct that?
PS.
After the uninstall/restart/reinstall, I expected the Eval instance to be the only option.  Also, I have restarted the Service a number of time.

A: SSMS caches server names that you connect to, and the "browse for more" doesn't always work.
So just type in the server and optionally the instance name for your new instance to connect.

A: I continued to search and found a similar issue titled:
How to remove "Server name" items from history of SQL Server Management Studio
It simply said I can hit the delete key and it will be gone from history, which is what I did and indeed it is gone.  I then navigated to the server name as provided and hit connect, which was successful. I just thought the instance needed to be appended to the server name.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Wed, 27 May, 2020 - 07:00
Nursing homes were 'down pecking order' says chief of Cork's St Luke's
Mary Corcoran
A Cork nursing home chief has said that there were gaps in support for nursing homes in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tony O'Brien, CEO of St Luke's Charity and Home, spoke after a special Oireachtas Covid-19 committee met yesterday to discuss the management of the virus outbreak in nursing homes.
At the meeting, the head of Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI), Tadhg Daly, accused Government authorities of leaving the nursing home sector and its residents "isolated" at the outset of the outbreak and said the "dismay will live forever with us".
Mr Daly said nursing homes have faced four key challenges: Insufficient testing of residents and staff; a mass shortfall of personal protective equipment (PPE); aggressive recruitment of nursing home staff, and discharges from acute hospitals to nursing homes without testing.
Mr O'Brien told The Echo that St Luke's Home had faced significant challenges at the beginning of the outbreak, particularly around securing PPE and on testing.
Tony O'Brien, CEO, St Luke's Charity and Home. Pic; Larry Cummins.
St Luke's Home is a not-for-profit organisation, which operates at a significant loss, and is supported by the charity through fundraising to "fill some sort of the gap".
It employs 220 staff and has 128 beds available for residents.
Mr O'Brien said there was no doubt that there were significant PPE supply issues at the beginning of the outbreak.
"Organisations like ourselves were down in the pecking order," he said.
Last month, St Luke's launched a fundraising appeal to help it to purchase masks for staff after new guidance was introduced which meant that masks needed to be worn by healthcare workers, regardless of whether or not the people in their care had Covid-19.
A lack of global supply meant that the market price of masks increased from around 7c to €2.50 per mask, although Mr O'Brien said that cost increases have now settled.
St Luke's needs to purchase around 10,000 masks weekly to meet its needs.
"We were and remain Covid-19-free, but it's a challenge every day," said Mr O'Brien. "We upskilled our own nurses to allow us to swab [for Covid-19] straight away. I'm sure others have done so too."
Mr O'Brien said March and April were "tension-filled" and that while some of the unease is dissipating, concerns and challenges remain.
The nursing home is beginning to look at how it will operate in the months ahead, but Mr O'Brien says it needs national guidance before it can create policies around taking in new admissions and allowing visitors to return.
"My colleagues are superb, both clinical and non-clinical, and the management team meet every day to discuss plans," he said.
Questions also remain about what the education centre at St Luke's might look like when it reopens.
"Everyone is still completely aware of the threat [of Covid-19] and are making sure they remain vigilant," said Mr O'Brien. "We need to discuss where the industry is going, and where it should be going."
elderlycoronavirus


FRANCE: Infrastructure manager RFF announced on April 27 that it had invited final offers from the three consortia bidding for the contract to build and maintain LGV Bretagne-Pays-de-la-Loire, with a view to naming a preferred bidder by the end of this year.
Expected to cost around €3·4bn at current prices, the 214 route-km will extend the Le Mans branch of LGV Atlantique to Rennes, with a connecting link to shorten journey times on the route to Nantes. Three consortia led by Bouygues TP, Effiage and Vinci Concessions submitted their initial bids on December 16 2009; all three have now been accepted for the next stage in the process and invited to submit their best and final offers.
According to RFF, the line will be the first to be developed under a new form of partnership contract. The winning consortium will be responsible for construction of the line using a package of public sector financing put together by RFF, and will then maintain the route for the life of the contract. The infrastructure manager will be responsible for managing its operation.
A financing protocol between the French government, RFF and regional authorities in Bretagne and Pays-de-la-Loire was signed in July 2009. The project will also benefit from funding as part of the government's national economic stimulus programme, allowing the work to be completed as quickly as possible.
Welcoming the strong commitment from all parties, especially the local authorities, RFF President Hubert du Mesnil said he expected the final offers from the three bidders 'to meet the high stakes of the project'.


text:
Celebs who don't celebrate Christmas
By Danielle Canada
Lark Voorhies ( Jehovah's Witness)
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10
Tyre Nichols' brother is wracked with guilt over his sibling's death


text:
\section{Introduction}\label{sec:intro}

Currently, efforts have been applied to develop new technologies to enable greater transmission capacity in large transport networks. In this context, \ac{EON} \cite{Jinno:09} have gained prominence, since the use of light as a data vector allows to achieve high transmission rates. In addition, the EON allows the establishment of multiple circuits in a single fiber by allocating different light frequency ranges. The EON presents the optical spectrum divided into frequency ranges of 12.5 GHz, named slots. Thus, the slots can be grouped, forming larger capacity transmission channels that allow the establishment of circuits of greater bandwidth requirement. Currently, most of the paper considers an average of 320 slots in each fiber \cite{Tode:14}, \cite{Ajmal:15}.

The optical signal can use different modulation formats by manipulating characteristics of the lightwave, such as amplitude and phase. The combination of different levels of amplitude and phase applied to the optical signal enables the transmission of a larger number of bits per symbol when compared to the traditional model of one-bit per symbol \ac{BPSK}. Therefore, the choice of the most appropriate modulation format, the choice of the route to be used and the slot range allocable to the circuit has become a problem well discussed in the literature of the EON, known as \ac{RMLSA} \cite{Drummond:17}.

The \ac{RMLSA} problem can also be modeled to consider the interference of the physical environment in transmission \cite{Beyranvand:13}. In this context, the model is closer to reality because some restrictions are added, such as the reach limitation of the modulation formats, the interference caused by the fiber type used as propagation medium, and the interference that occurs between the circuits in the same fiber.

The optical fibers considered in the traditional EONs have a single core and are referred to as \ac{SCF}. Recently, some authors have hypothesized the use of a different type of optical fiber, called \ac{MCF} \cite{Richardson:13}. The \ac{MCF} introduce a new dimension into the RMLSA problem, since multicore fibers have more than one core (usually 7 or 12), and each core has its own set of slots. Superficially, each \ac{MCF} is operated as a pool of single-core fibers.

The use of \ac{MCF}s enables the occurence of \ac{SDM}, which results in an increase of available spectral resources. Considering an \ac{EON} with \ac{MCF}, the \ac{RMLSA} problem will present another component, characterized as \textit{core choice}. Some papers refer to this new approach as \ac{RMSCA} problem \cite{Ajmal:15}.

To ensure the application cost, the use of \ac{MCF} with $n$ cores should obtain the same performance when compared to an pool of $n$ \ac{SCF}. Thus, there is reduction in the monetary cost. However, to achieve the same performance of coupled $n$ \ac{SCF}, it is necessary to reduce the interference that occurs between the \ac{MCF} cores. Among the interferences, what stands out most is the \textit{crosstalk}, and its intensity depends on the symbol rate, the modulation used and especially on the physical characteristics of the used fiber \cite{Rademacher:17}. Achieve low crosstalk and high core density is one of the main challenges for \ac{MCF} scenarios \cite{Fini:11}.

In \cite {Richardson:13} an evaluation of the evolution of transmission capacity in optical fibers is made. The authors state that the concept of \ac{SDM} is as old as the emergence of fiber-optic communication, but the current development of technologies that allow the application of \ac{SDM} has aroused interest in the scientific community. In \cite{Amaya:13} a demonstration of the first \ac{EON} with spectral spatial division is presented, with the use of an \ac{MCF} with 7 cores. The authors assemble a network of 4 nodes and 5 links (approximately 3 km each), and show the feasibility of using \ac{MCF} in optical network scenarios. The authors also present results to show the occurrence of \textit{crosstalk} and other interferences from the physical medium. In \cite{Pouria:16}, the authors investigate the performance of the different modulation formats in the \ac{SDM} scenario. They also evaluate the performance of some switching models (independent switching,  joint-switching, and fractional-joint switching) for \ac{MCF}. In \cite{Rui:16} an evaluation of different traffic aggregation policies is made in \ac{EON} scenarios with \ac{SDM}.

As shown, many papers in literature highlight the feasibility and high performance of application of \ac{MCF} in \ac{EON}. This article presents a survey of the literature around \ac{SDM-EON} found in the main publication vehicles, focusing mainly on crosstalk and \ac{RMSCA} problem. The aim is to check the state of the art and highlight research opportunities.

This paper is organized as follows: The Section \ref{sec:sdm} presents some features of SDM technology;
Section \ref{sec:tecnologias} presents some proposed equipment to support \ac{SDM-EON}; Section \ref{sec:crosstalk} defines some characteristics and evaluation of \textit{crosstalk} interference;
Section \ref{sec:rmsca} presents the definition of the \ac{RMSCA} problem and the proposed solutions found in the literature; finally, Section \ref{sec:conclusao} presents the challenges, conclusions and some proposals for future work.

\section{Spatial Division Multiplexing in Elastic Optical Networks} \label{sec:sdm}

This section presents some definitions around \ac{SDM} on elastic optical networks.

Currently, is observed the growth of interest in \ac{MCF} \cite{Richardson:13}. \ac{MCF}s have more cores in the fiber, unlike the traditional single-core fibers. Each core is treated as a fiber with its own set of slots. Thus, it is possible to explore additional channels in the spatial domain, which increases the transmission capacity \cite{Amaya:13}. This characteristic provided by the \ac{MCF} is called spatial-division multiplexing, and the elastic optical networks constituted by \ac{MCF} are called \ac{SDM-EON}. Figure \ref{fig:mcf} shows some examples of multi-core fibers.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figs/mcf.pdf}
	\caption{Multi core fiber, with (a) 7, (b) 12 and (c) 19 cores.}
	\label{fig:mcf}
\end{figure}

The first impression is that the use of \ac{MCF}s with more cores has more advantages, due to the greater availability of resources. However, the main factor of signal interference in the \ac{MCF} is the leakage of a fraction of the signal power from a given core to its neighboring core. This phenomenon, called \textit{crosstalk} (discussed in Section \ref{sec:crosstalk}), makes it impracticable to allocate some slots, due to the great interference caused by the active circuits in the neighboring cores. Thus, in order to enable the use of \ac{MCF}s with a greater amount of cores, the development of fibers that provide smaller crosstalk between neighboring cores is required \cite{Takenaga:11-2}, \cite{Takenaga:11}.

In most of the papers found in the literature, 7-core fibers (Figure \ref{fig:mcf} (a)) are used, arranged in a hexagonal array \cite{Fujii:2014}, \cite{savva:18}. In this configuration, the central core presents 6 neighbors, and consequently suffers greater impact of \textit{crosstalk}. The peripheral cores (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Figure \ref{fig:mcf} (a)) have only 3 neighbors each. 12-core fibers present cores ring-like arrangement (Figure \ref{fig:mcf} (b)). In this scenario, each core has only 2 neighbors, and all cores have the same \textit{crosstalk} mean value. Fibers with 19 cores (Figure \ref{fig:mcf} (c)) have up to 6 neighbors per core, resulting in a higher incidence of \textit{crosstalk}. Still, \ac{MCF} with more cores can be used over smaller distances. For example, a \ac{MCF} with 19 cores and diameter of $200 \mu$ has high crosstalk, and fiber length limited to values close to 10 km \cite{Richardson:13}.

In addition to the number of cores, the arrangement of the cores and the physical characteristics of the fiber also have a strong impact on the interference between the cores. Figure \ref{fig:composicaoFibra} shows the layout of the elements of a trench-assisted MCF model.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{figs/composicaoFibra.pdf}
	\caption{Layout of the elements of (a) a trench-assisted MCF and (b) of one core.}
	\label{fig:composicaoFibra}
\end{figure}

The use of trench-assisted \ac{MCF} results in a reduction in the effects of \textit{crosstalk}. The overlap of the power of adjacent cores will be much smaller, because the trench (Figure \ref{fig:composicaoFibra}) reduces power leakage in each core. The crosstalk of a trench-assisted \ac{MCF} is around 20 dB smaller than that found in a standard \ac{MCF} \cite{Takenaga:11}. Interference between cores can be reduced by increasing the spacing between them (which reduces the number of cores, since the diameter of the fiber does not increase proportionally) or by improving the confinement of each core, as in trench-assisted fibers \cite{Fini:11}. The \textit{crosstalk} between neighboring cores has a strong dependence on the spacing between the cores (core pitch).

In order to avoid the increase of microbending loss on the outer surface of the \ac{MCF}, the increase of outer cladding thickness was proposed \cite{Jay:10}. However, fibers with coating diameter greater than 200 $\mu m$ are inappropriate for use because they are more susceptible to fractures. Thus, a less thick outer cladding is preferable, to allow for greater core scattering, higher core density, and to maintain the fiber mechanical flexibility \cite{Takenaga:11}.

Possible values for the fiber parameters found in the literature are \cite{Hayashi:12}, \cite{Hayashi:12-2}, \cite{Takenaga:11-2}: core pitch: 40.7 to 51 $\mu m$; cladding diameter: 144.6 to 188 $\mu m$; outer cladding thickness: 31.6 to 47.7 $\mu m$; coating diameter: 256 to 334 $\mu m$.

The following section highlights some proposals of equipment and technologies that make possible the application of \ac{MCF}.

\section{Support technologies to SDM-EON} \label{sec:tecnologias}

Equipment that allows the circuit switching between different cores can bring significant innovation to the \ac{SDM-EON} scenario. The use of \ac{MCF}s, and consequently the expansion of the link transmission capacity, coupled with the greater flexibility of the switching between cores, leads to a relaxation of the RMSCA problem constraints. However, few papers in the literature attempt to propose a system model adapted to the scenario of \ac{SDM-EON} \cite {Richardson:13}, \cite{Marom:17}. Figure \ref{fig:arquiteturaROADM} presents a node model with support for SDM fibers.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figs/arquiteturaROADM.pdf}
	\caption{Potential architecture of a \ac{SDM} node, adapted from \cite{Richardson:13}.}
	\label{fig:arquiteturaROADM}
\end{figure}

Current optical networks have flexibility due to the use of \ac{ROADM}, which allows the establishment of independent lightpaths within an optical fiber, as well as making it possible to switch them when necessary. It is considered that future \ac{SDM-EON} will have this same flexibility in routing. The Figure \ref{fig:arquiteturaROADM} presents a \ac{ROADM} adapted to \ac{SDM} scenario (SDM-ROADM), which performs the circuit switching between fiber cores, besides the add/drop function to the transmitters and receivers (Tx and Rx, respectively) \cite{Richardson:13}. Figure \ref{fig:arquiteturaSurvey} presents another switch architecture proposal that considers \ac{SDM} technology.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.85\textwidth]{figs/arquiteturaSurvey.pdf}
	\caption{Potential architecture of a \ac{SDM} switch, adapted from \cite{Marom:17}.}
	\label{fig:arquiteturaSurvey}
\end{figure}

When crossing an optical node, the input fiber passes through a spatial demultiplexer (SDM demux), which performs the separation of the spatial channels (cores). After the separation process, \ac{SCF} are used to keep each core of the input fiber, and each \ac{SCF} is directed to a \ac{WSS}. The main function of \ac{WSS} is to make the switching in a lower granularity, being able to redirect each circuit of the \ac{SCF} independently. At this point, the complexity grows with increase of the number of output ports present in the \ac{WSS}. After being switched to the appropriate port, the circuit can be directed to the current node (drop) or follow the route to another node. In this case, it is directed to a \ac{WSS}, which adds the circuit in question to the \ac{SCF} corresponding to the appropriate core (not necessarily the same core of the input fiber), which will be multiplexed, and together with the other \ac{SCF} form the output \ac{MCF} of the node. Some equipment can be adapted for the role of \ac{SDM} mux/demux, such as \ac{PLM} \cite{Fontaine:13}, which compresses multiple low capillary indexes \ac{SCF} from $n$ separate cores to a fiber with $n$ cores \cite{Fontaine:13}. The figure \ref{fig:lantern} illustrates a \ac{PLM}.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figs/lantern.pdf}
	\caption{Photonic-lantern multiplexer \cite{Fontaine:13}.}
	\label{fig:lantern}
\end{figure}

The mentioned equipment is still in development, and is not yet available for the creation of an SDM-EON. The following section describes the crosstalk interference and the equation used on the calculation, with evaluation of some crosstalk scenarios.

\section{Crosstalk} \label{sec:crosstalk}

The \textit{crosstalk} is seen as the main interference on \ac{MCF}. It occurs mainly at discrete points along the fiber, called \ac{PMP}. The force of interaction between two cores occurs even with small perturbations in the fiber (radius of curvature $> 1m$) \cite{Fini:11}. Figure \ref{fig:pmp} shows an example of PMP occurrence in a fiber and (b) power loss in several fiber \ac{PMP}s \cite{Fini:11}, \cite{Rademacher:17}.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=1\textwidth]{figs/pmp.pdf}
	\caption{(a) Crosstalk occurence in a \ac{PMP}, adapted from \cite{Fini:11} and (b) different \ac{PMP}s along the fiber.}
	\label{fig:pmp}
\end{figure}

The crosstalk (after fiber propagation and installation) is a statistical value, since the occurrence of \textit{crosstalk} in the \ac{PMP}s is influenced by the phase-shift variations between the neighboring cores, and because the phase displacement is easily varied by small changes in the conditions of the fiber, such as curvature and torsion \cite{Hayashi:12}.

Observing Figure \ref{fig:mcf} (a), a circuit allocated to core 0, slots 2, 3 and 4 would suffer \textit{crosstalk} interference if circuits were allocated in cores 1, 5 or 6, in slots 2, 3 and 4. The signal of a circuit becomes noise if its \textit{crosstalk} level exceeds the threshold allowed by the network. The equation \ref{eq:crosstalk} shows how the \ac{XT} \cite{Ruijie:16-2} is calculated.

\begin{eqnarray} \label{eq:increase}
h = \frac{2k^{2}r}
{\beta w_{tr}},
\end{eqnarray}

\begin{eqnarray} \label{eq:crosstalk}
XT = \frac{n - n  .  exp[-(n + 1) . 2hL]}
{1 + n . exp[-(n + 1) . 2hL]},
\end{eqnarray}

In equation \ref{eq:increase}, $h$ is the increment of \textit{crosstalk} per unit length, $k$ is the fiber coupling coefficient, $r$ is the curvature radius of the fiber, $\beta$ is the propagation constant and $w_{tr}$ is the distance between cores (core pitch). In Equation \ref{eq:crosstalk}, $n$ is the number of adjacent cores (neighboring cores) and $L$ is the fiber length. The Figure \ref{fig:crosstalk} presents a demonstration of the occurrence of \textit{crosstalk} on a 3-core fiber \cite{Yuanlong:16}.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.85\textwidth]{figs/crosstalk.pdf}
	\caption{Crosstalk occurence in 3-core fiber.}
	\label{fig:crosstalk}
\end{figure}

It is important to note that the occurrence of \textit{crosstalk} is more intense between adjacent cores. In figure \ref{fig:crosstalk} it is observed that the core 2 suffers greater crosstalk interference, since the two adjacent cores (1 and 3) present some circuits allocated in similar intervals of slots, as for example the slots 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. Therefore, in the \ac{SDM} scenario, the circuit allocation should consider the index of allocated slots in the neighboring cores, in order to avoid \textit{crosstalk}. This intensifies the problem of spectral fragmentation, since certain slots can not be allocated, in order to avoid interference.

Crosstalk levels below -25 dB are required to avoid significant penalties for transmission \cite{Richardson:13}. Circuits that reach a \textit{crosstalk} level above the threshold present problems in signal interpretation on the destination node. Therefore, it is indicated that the circuits allocation does not occur in slots whose index is the same of slots allocated in neighboring cores, avoiding interference. This form of spectral allocation results in greater disorganization of the allocable spectrum, which contributes to the fragmentation of the spectrum.

It is also possible to consider the other physical layer interference effects in addition to \textit{crosstalk}. In \cite{Roberto:15}, the authors call \textit{3D} the \ac{EON} that use the three domains: temporal, spectral and spatial. The authors propose two physical impairment-aware algorithms (\ac{FA-RSSMA} and \ac{FA-RSSMA-CA}), and evaluate performance compared to SP-FF (\textit{Shortest Path} and \textit{First Fit}). The \ac{QoT} of the signal is also considered.

The paper presented in \cite{Ajmal:15} defines independent crosstalk thresholds for each modulation format, using an empirical model proposed in \cite{Politi:12}. However, when used along with the distance reach of the modulations found in the literature \cite{Drummond:17}, it is noted that the distance threshold is overestimated when compared to the crosstalk threshold. As a result, experiments were carried out to verify the mean crosstalk value for the distance thresholds found in the literature for the modulation formats.

Simulations were performed with the ONS simulator \cite{ONS-SBRC}. The independent replication method was employed to generate confidence intervals with 95\% confidence level. Each simulation run involved 100.000 requests with the following connection requests rates: 10, 20, 40, 80, 160 e 200 Gbps, all with the same arrival probability. A load point of $1,000$ Erlangs was evaluated, and 5 replications were performed. Connection requests follow a Poisson process with the mean holding time of 600 seconds, according to a negative exponential distribution and uniformly-distributed among all nodes-pairs. To do the crosstalk evaluation, the following values are used in Equation \ref{eq:crosstalk}: $k=4 * 10^{-4}$, $r=50mm$, $\beta = 4 * 10^{6}$ e $w_{tr} = 40 \mu m$.

A pair of nodes with one bidirectional link is used, and the link length varies with step of 1,000 from 1,000 km up to 10,000 km. The distances 250 km and 500 km were also used, once they represent the reach of 64QAM and 32QAM, respectively. The granularity of frequency slot is 12.5 GHz. The fiber is a 7-MCF (fig. \ref{fig:mcf}(a)), with 320 slots in each core. The guard band between two adjacent lightpaths is assumed to be 1 slot.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=1\textwidth]{figs/XTdistancia.pdf}
	\caption{Crosstalk variation with increasing of distance.}
	\label{fig:XTdistancia}
\end{figure}

With the values found in the scenario evaluation of Figure \ref{fig:XTdistancia}, crosstalk thresholds were defined for the modulation formats according to their respective distance threshold. Table \ref{tab:limiarXT} presents the crosstalk thresholds proportional to the reach of the modulation formats.

\begin{table}[h!]
	\begin{center}
		\caption{Definition of modulation threshold for the respective distance reach.}
		\label{tab:limiarXT}
		\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
			\textbf{Modulation} & \textbf{Transmission} & \textbf{Distance} & \textbf{Crosstalk}\\
			& \textbf{Capacity} 	& \textbf{Reach} 	& \textbf{Threshold}\\
			\hline
			BPSK	& 12.5 Gbps	& 8000	& -22.75\\
			QPSK	& 25 Gbps	& 4000	& -25.76\\
			8QAM	& 37.5 Gbps	& 2000	& -28.77\\
			16QAM	& 50 Gbps	& 1000	& -31.79\\
			32QAM	& 62.5 Gbps	& 500	& -34.80\\
			64QAM	& 75 Gbps	& 250	& -37.81\\
		\end{tabular}
	\end{center}
\end{table}

For calculating crosstalk, in addition to the constants derived from the physical characteristics of the MCF (such as curvature radius and core pitch), the two variables that must be taken into account at the time of allocation are the distance $L$, which is obtained by the chosen route length, and the number of neighbors $n$ to the core chosen for allocation. When the number of neighbors is taken into account, the papers found in the literature are divided into two groups: the first group considers a value of fixed $n$, being $n = 3$ for the peripheral cores and $n = 6$ for the central core \cite{Ajmal:15}, and the second group considers a dynamic $n$ value, in which are considered only the neighbors that have active circuits in the same slot index of the circuit to be allocated. \cite{Tode:16}. In this case, Figure \ref{fig:crosstalk} can be cited as an example, in which the circuit allocated in slots 8 and 9 of core 2 has $ n = 1 $, since it has a single active neighbor (slots 7 and 8 of core 3).

In addition to the problem of using a static or dynamic $ n $ value, we also highlight another point in relation to the crosstalk effect. In some papers, when establishing a new circuit, the viability of the crosstalk is also verified in circuits that are already established in neighboring cores \cite{Ruijie:16-2}. This evaluation is only done in scenarios in which the value of $ n $ is dynamic. In static $ n $ scenarios, when calculating crosstalk, the maximum neighbors capacity of the circuit (3 or 6 in the case of the central core) is already taken into account.

From the modulation thresholds presented in Table \ref{tab:limiarXT}, experiments were carried out to verify the impact of the use of static and dynamic $ n $. In the case of dynamic $ n $, cases with and without re-evaluation of crosstalk were considered for the circuits already established in the network. The simulation scenario below presents the same parameters of the scenario considered for the evaluation of Figure \ref{fig:XTdistancia}. The USA topology (24 nodes and 43 3 links, detailed in Figure \ref{fig:topologias}) was used. The allocation of resources is done by policy \textit{FirstFit}, both for the choice of core and for the choice of slots. The figure \ref{fig:avaliacaoXT} shows the graphical result of the executed simulations.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{figs/avaliacaoXT.pdf}
	\caption{Blocking variation with static and dynamic values of n.}
	\label{fig:avaliacaoXT}
\end{figure}

For the performance evaluation shown in Figure \ref{fig:avaliacaoXT}, it is noticed that the scenario with dynamic $ n $ and without the crosstalk verification of the neighbors presents lower blocking rate. In this scenario, there is a large occurrence of cases with $ n = 0 $, which results in an extremely low crosstalk value, and allows the establishment of most of the circuits with more efficient modulations. The worst performance occurs for the scenario with dynamic $ n $ and crosstalk verification of the neighbors. As in the previous scenario, the dynamic $ n $ value allows the occurrence of cases where $ n = 0 $. When the circuits in this case are established, more efficient modulation formats are applied, since the crosstalk value is much smaller than the thresholds of the table \ref{tab:limiarXT}. Then, when the attempt to allocate resources in neighboring cores occurs, the circuit that was established previously prevents the establishment of the new circuit, since the modification of the value of $ n $ (from 0 to 1, for example), can lead the crosstalk of the circuit already established to values greater than the threshold supported by the applied modulation format.

It should be noted that the choice of the crosstalk calculation model plays an important role in the modeling of the SDM-EON scenario, since there is a large variation between the results of the models considered in the scenario evaluated. The scenario with dynamic $ n $ and no crosstalk evaluation in neighbors, there is a blocking reduction of $ 66.09\% $ when compared to the static $ n $ scenario and $ 74.13\% $ when compared to the dynamic $ n $ scenario and evaluation crosstalk in the neighbors.

The following section presents some definitions to characterize the \ac{RMSCA} problem, and comparison between some RMSCA solutions found in literature.

\section{RMSCA Problem}\label{sec:rmsca}

The establishment of circuits in optical networks requires allocation of resources, which are reserved for data transmission. In a dynamic traffic scenario, when a circuit establishment request arises, the source and destination pair $pair(s, d)$ of the new circuit is informed, in addition to the data rate to be transmitted. In the static traffic scenario, in addition to this information, the traffic matrix of the circuits to be established is also provided.

After obtaining the $pair(s, d)$, the next step is to find the appropriate route for the circuit establishment. The route represents the set of fiber links and optical nodes through which the circuit will be transmitted, in order to arrive at its destination. In order to efficiently accommodate the new circuit and save resources for future circuits, some papers choose to allocate shortest path \cite{Muhammad:14} or k-shortest paths \cite{Pouria:16} routes.

With the chosen route, the distance to be traveled by the circuit becomes known. This information is important for solving the next step in establishing the circuit: the choice of modulation \cite{Seitaro:17}. The modulation format represents the density of the optical circuit. More complex modulation formats allow the transmission of more bits per signal, while the more robust formats transmit fewer bits per signal. Thus, more complex modulation formats use fewer spectral resources, since they are able to transmit more information when compared to the more robust signals. \cite{Seitaro:17}.

The choice of the modulation format allows to define the transmission capacity of the new optical circuit, taking into account the required data rate. With this information, it is possible now to define the bandwidth that should be allocated to the circuit. In elastic optical networks, the optical spectrum of the links are arranged in small frequency slots, which are grouped together to form a transmission channel capable of containing the new circuit. Thus, the next step in establishing the circuit is the allocation of the appropriate slot interval.

It is important to emphasize that slot allocation must attend some restrictions from the optical medium. During propagation of the signal, it is preferable to keep the data transmission in the optical medium, avoiding conversion to the electronic medium, in order to reduce the use of resources and the transmission time. Therefore, it is necessary to fulfill some restrictions from the optical medium, called \textit{continuity} and \textit{contiguity} restriction. In the continuity restriction, the permanence of the optical signal in the same spectral range between the source and destination nodes becomes mandatory. Thus, when allocating a set of slots, it must be free in all links of the selected route. In contiguous restriction, it is necessary to allocate a set of slots which are adjacent to each other. With this, only one transmitter is used for each circuit, since only one spectral range is occupied. The figure \ref{fig:restricoes} illustrates a scenario in which the constraints block the establishment of a 2-slot circuit, considering the route formed by the fibers A, B and C.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figs/restricoes.pdf}
	\caption{Continuity and contiguity restrictions blocking the establishment of a 2-slot circuit.}
	\label{fig:restricoes}
\end{figure}

The figure \ref{fig:restricoes} (a) presents a 2-slots circuit request, which must be satisfied using the resources of Figure \ref{fig:restricoes} (b). The route of the circuit was chosen in a previous stage, and it must travel through the fibers A, B and C. Considering the restrictions, it is not possible to establish the circuit: there is no set of two adjacent free slots (restriction of contiguity) maintaining the index in all three links of the route (restriction of continuity).

As a consequence of the mentioned restrictions, the presence of small free slot intervals interferes with the operation of the network, since some requests will not be answered even if there is enough free slots. This is because these slots will be scattered in the optical spectrum (as in the example of Figure \ref{fig:restricoes}), unable to be allocated due to the continuity and contiguity constraints. This problem is well discussed in the literature of elastic optical networks, and is characterized as \textit{fragmentation problem} \cite{Wang:14}.

The route choice, the definition of modulation format and spectral allocation are prominent problems in the literature of \ac{EON}. Together, they form the \ac{RMLSA} problem. Figure \ref{fig:rmlsa} demonstrates the \ac{RMLSA} problem in a simple network.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figs/rmlsa.pdf}
	\caption{RMLSA problem to circuit between nodes 1 and 5.}
	\label{fig:rmlsa}
\end{figure}

As shown in Figure \ref{fig:rmlsa}, the first step of the \ac{RMLSA} problem is the choice of route to be used. After solving the routing problem, the total distance to be traveled by the circuit becomes known. With this information, in the second stage the modulation format used is chosen. The choice of the modulation format (\ac{BPSK} or \ac{QPSK} in the example of Figure \ref{fig:rmlsa}) is done as a function of the route length, since more complex modulation formats symbol has a smaller range due to the greater fragility of the signal as it traverses the transmission medium. The choice of modulation format allows to decide the number of slots that will be used by the circuit. Then, in the third step, the problem of allocating the range of slots within the optical spectrum of the chosen route is solved.

With the use of \ac{MCF}, the \ac{RMLSA} problem will also cover the choice of the most suitable core for the circuit. Thus, the problem is called \ac{RMSCA} \cite{Ajmal:15}. For the core allocation phase, it is important to observe the indexes of the slots already allocated in the adjacent cores (or neighbors) to the chosen core, since the interference between cores (\textit{crosstalk}, detailed in section \ref{sec:crosstalk}) is an important factor and should be considered in studies for closer proximity to real scenarios of SDM-EON.

To reduce the impact of the fragmentation problem on the fiber cores, some solutions proposed to the \ac{RMSCA} problem create allocation priorities \cite{Tode:16}, \cite{Fujii:2014}. The Figure \ref{fig:organizacaoNucleos} presents some allocation models with (a) priorities by slots index and (b) priorities per core.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{figs/organizacaoNucleos.pdf}
	\caption{Circuits allocated and organizated in (a) priority by slot index and (b) priority by core.}
	\label{fig:organizacaoNucleos}
\end{figure}

The figure \ref {fig:organizacaoNucleos} (a) presents an example of allocations with priorities defined by slot index \cite{Tode:16}. Thus, there will be slot ranges in the spectrum which are exclusive for the allocation of specific request bandwidth. For example, in Figure \ref{fig:organizacaoNucleos} (a), slots 1 to 4, in all cores, are exclusive for 4-slots requests. Also, is defined that a range of slots, generally called \textit{common area}, will allocate circuits that can not be allocated in their respective priority area, due to unavailability of resources or fragmentation.. In the Figure \ref{fig:organizacaoNucleos} (b), the circuits are allocated primarily in specific cores \cite{Fujii:2014}. For example, 4-slot requests will be allocated primarily in cores 5 or 6. There is also a core used as \textit{common area}.

Some authors evaluate the use of \ac{MCF} in static traffic scenarios, in which the requests have origin, destination and bandwidth defined, and the traffic matrix for the topology in question. In \cite{Muhammad:14}, the authors add the \textit{crosstalk} information as constraint to the circuit establishment, and propose the algorithm \ac{SPSA} for routing, core and slot allocation. In the evaluation, it is considered a 3-core fiber. The authors found that the effects of crosstalk are attenuated with the use of fibers with greater slots availability, in which the circuits are scattered in the spectrum and the interference is reduced. In \cite{Ajmal:15}, an objective function is proposed for the choice of route, slots and cores to be allocated. The chosen resources (route, slots and core) are those that meet the \textit{crosstalk} threshold and maximize the objective function. The results show the performance of the proposed objective function, considering two different forms of modulation format selection (\ac{MFF} and \ac{MFS}).

In \cite{Zhang:16}, the algorithm \ac{ARSCA-SP} is proposed, which allocates slots closer to the beginning of the optical spectrum (\textit{First Fit}) in all cores of the network links. The algorithm looks for smaller paths and allocates slots in the core with the lowest available slot index and that respects the \textit{crosstalk} threshold. The performance comparison is done with an ILP strategy.

Some authors propose solutions for the routing, modulation, core and spectral range choice, in scenarios of \ac{EON} with \ac{MCF} and dynamic traffic, in which the requests arrival time and duration time are unknown. In \cite{Tode:13}, a SCA (Spectrum and Core Allocation) method is proposed for core and slot selection. The algorithm reserves cores for requests with a certain number of slots, and creates priority levels between the cores. A performance evaluation is made comparing the proposal with the algorithms \textit{First Fit} and \textit{Random}, in 7-core fibers. The proposal obtains a lower blocking probability, smaller crosstalk average and less fragmentation. In \cite{Tode:14}, a solution is proposed for core and slot allocation. The algorithm is compared with \textit{First Fit} and \textit{Random Fit} allocation algorithms in a 7-core fibers, and presents better performance. The proposal also has a smaller \textit{crosstalk per slot}. The comparison with \textit {First Fit} and \textit{Random} algorithms is also done in \cite{Fujii:2014}, which proposes a method for core classification and prioritization, in which cores are exclusives to a given bandwidth request. The authors use 7, 12 and 19-core fibers, and check \textit{crosstalk} through a crosstalk-by-slot (CpS) indicator, presented in Equation \ref{eq:crosstalkPerSlot} and also used in other papers \cite{Tode:14}, \cite{Oliveira:17}:

\begin{eqnarray} \label{eq:crosstalkPerSlot}
CpS = \frac{ n_{C}}
{n_{T}},
\end{eqnarray}

where $n_{T}$ represents the number of slots occupied in the link and $n_{C}$ represents the number of occupied slots that are also occupied at the same index in adjacent cores.

In \cite{Tode:16} the \textit{Intra Area FF Assignment} algorithm is proposed, for spectrum and core allocation. The algorithm creates ``exclusive areas'' in the optical spectrum for certain bandwidths and ``common areas'' for allocation if the exclusive areas are unavailable. The algorithm uses \textit{First Fit} to allocate circuits with even number of slots and \textit{Last Fit} to allocate circuits with odd number of slots in common area. The proposal is compared to \textit{Random} and \textit{First Fit}. In \cite{Hashino:17} the concept of \textit{XT-prohibited slot} is defined, which are the free slots that can not be allocated, since they allow the increase of crosstalk to the unwanted levels.

In \cite{Oliveira:16}, the algorithm \ac{FIPPMC} is proposed for the survivability scenario in \ac{EON}. The algorithm \ac{FIPPMC} creates a list of ``candidate paths'', which corresponds to all possible combinations of route and spectrum available to the circuit. Each candidate path receives an evaluation value, which takes into account the occurrence of \textit{crosstalk}. The candidate path chosen as the primary path is the one with the lowest evaluation value, and the path for dedicated protection is the one with lowest evaluation value and links disjoint from the main path. In \cite {Oliveira:17-2} the proposal of \cite{Oliveira:16} is adapted to use shared routes for protection. The same authors, in \cite{Oliveira:17}, propose the algorithm \ac{MIFMC}, also for protection. In the proposed algorithm, a circuit is only established if there is a disjoint route to it. If the disjoint route does not exist, a new primary route is searched, and the disjoint routes are evaluated again. This procedure is repeated until all primary routes are evaluated. Already in \cite{Yuanlong:16}, the algorithm \ac{CaP} is proposed for primary route and backup route choice. The algorithm chooses two disjoint routes in the first core and available slots interval that attend the crosstalk threshold.

Some papers take into account information about the network state during the operational phase, such the optical spectrum fragmentation. A spectral fragmentation analysis is done in \cite{Ruijie:16}. The authors propose two fragmentation-aware algorithms for core and spectrum allocation: \ac{FF-MRC} and \ac{RF-MRC}. The authors compare the results with a implementation of \textit{Dijkstra} for routing and \textit{First Fit} for core and spectrum allocation. In \cite{Ruijie:16-2} the same authors add \textit{crosstalk} information to the core and spectrum allocation, and propose the \ac{FF-CASC} and \ac{RF-CASC} algorithms. In \cite{Seitaro:17} are created dedicated areas for the different request bandwidths. In addition, slot and core allocation is also fragmentation-aware.

In order to reduce network fragmentation, it is also possible to perform the spectral defragmentation procedure. In this scenario, the circuits already allocated in the network are repositioned, in order to reduce the fragments of free slots in the network links and to enable the formation of new circuits. In \cite{Meloni:16} and \cite{Imran:15} discuss the push-pull mechanism for defragmentation, in which circuits are reallocated to different indices and cores without the need for circuit shutdown. This is due to the ``slip'' of the circuit on empty slots. In \cite{Zhao:18} a defragmentation model is proposed that takes into account the SC (spectrum compactness) metric. If the network has some SC core below the threshold, then defragmentation will occur at that point, which is applied only to cores with SC below the threshold. Defragmentation is done by repositioning a particular circuit in a different core, keeping the same slots index, or in the same core, changing the slots index. Defragmentation solutions are also proposed in \ac{SDM-EON} for scenarios with time multiplexing \cite{Zhao:19}.

In \cite{Yongli:16}, a technique called \textit{virtual concatenation} is proposed. With this model, the authors propose the allocation of slots of the same circuit in different cores, and in non-adjacent slots intervals, which makes it possible to mitigate the problem of fragmentation in this scenario. This approach is less discussed in the literature, since equipment has not yet been developed to support this type of allocation.

In order to evaluate some RMSCA algorithms found in literature, simulations were performed with the ONS simulator \cite{ONS-SBRC}. The independent replication method was employed to generate confidence intervals with 95\% confidence level. Each simulation run involved 100.000 requests with the following connection requests rates: 10, 20, 40, 80, 160 e 200 Gbps, all with the same arrival probability. Five load points were evaluated, and 5 replications were performed for each loading point. Connection requests follow a Poisson process with the mean holding time of 600 seconds, according to a negative exponential distribution and uniformly-distributed among all nodes-pairs.

The american USA topology (24 nodes and 43 bidirectional links) and european Paneuro (28 nodes and 41 bidirectional topology are used, shown in Figure \ref{fig:topologias}. The granularity of frequency slot is 12.5 GHz. Each fiber is a 7-MCF (fig. \ref{fig:mcf}(a)), with 320 slots in each core. The guard band between two adjacent lightpaths is assumed to be 1 slot.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{figs/topologias2.pdf}
	\caption{NSFNet (a) and USA (b) topologies.}
	\label{fig:topologias}
\end{figure}

Three algorithms were chosen for comparison. The first one, called \textit{Baseline}, is a classic model of the literature, characterized by the application of the Dijkstra (DJK) algorithm \cite{dijkstra:1959}  for routing and the \textit{FirstFit} allocation policy for slot and core selection. This algorithm is also used in some of the papers cited above \cite{Zhang:16}, \cite{Ruijie:16}. The second algorithm is RFCA \cite{Ruijie:16-2}, which consists of the random selection of spectral resources (cores and slots), always respecting the spectral continuity and contiguity constraints. The third algorithm is the Intra Area \cite{Tode:16}, in which the allocation of resources is performed taking into account the allocation in priority indexes of slots. The main idea is to show the comparison between algorithms that cause greater spectral fragmentation (RFCA), with an algorithm that prioritizes greater organization of the allocated resources (IntraArea), besides showing the performance of the two techniques compared with a classic algorithm of the literature (Baseline) that maintains a certain level of organization of resources (through allocation of resources by \ textit {FirstFit}).

The simulations are performed in a crosstalk-aware scenario, and different signal modulations are used. Table \ref{tab:modulation} present the available modulation formats, with the respective transmission rate and crosstalk threshold \cite{Ajmal:15}.

\begin{table}[]
	\caption{Modulation formats with the respective transmission rate per slot and crosstalk threshold.}
	\centering
	\label{tab:modulation}
	\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|}
		\hline
		\rowcolor[HTML]{C0C0C0}
		{\color[HTML]{333333} \textbf{Modulation}} & {\color[HTML]{333333} \textbf{\begin{tabular}[c]{@{}c@{}}Transmission\\ capacity\end{tabular}}} & {\color[HTML]{333333} \textbf{XT Threshold}} \\ \hline
		BPSK                                       & 12.5 Gbps                                                                                & -14 dB                                       \\ \hline
		QPSK                                       & 25 Gbps                                                                                & -18.5 dB                                     \\ \hline
		8QAM                                       & 37.5 Gbps                                                                                & -21 dB                                       \\ \hline
		16QAM                                      & 50 Gbps                                                                                & -25 dB                                       \\ \hline
		32QAM                                      & 62.5 Gbps                                                                                & -27 dB                                       \\ \hline
		64QAM                                      & 75 Gbps                                                                                & -34 dB                                       \\ \hline
	\end{tabular}
\end{table}

To perform the crosstalk evaluation, the following values are used in Equation \ref{eq:crosstalk}: $k=3.16 * 10^{-5}$, $r=55mm$, $\beta = 4 * 10^{6}$ e $w_{tr} = 45 \mu m$. The metrics evaluated were circuit block probability and bandwidth blocking probability. The figure \ref{fig:brUSA} shows the blocking rate for the USA topology.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{figs/bloqueioConcorrentesUSA.pdf}
	\caption{Blocking rate on USA topology.}
	\label{fig:brUSA}
\end{figure}

The circuit blocking probability measures the number of circuits that have been blocked in the network, in relation to the total of circuits generated. It is observed that the Intra Area presents better performance in the evaluated scenario. It is demonstrated that the better organization of the allocated spectral resources makes possible the establishment of more circuit requests. The RFCA algorithm, by choosing randomly the cores and slots to be allocated, ends up causing more spectral fragmentation and consequently reaching a higher blocking rate, which is $ 53.86 \% $ higher than the closest performance competitor.

The Intra Area and Baseline algorithms present similar performance in a low load scenario. The difference in performance increases with increasing load, and this is due to the reduced fragmentation caused by the Intra Area algorithm, since the free slot intervals within the priority areas have the number of slots suitable for circuits of the priority area in question, which facilitates the creation of new circuits. At the highest load point evaluated, there is a $ 20.18 \% $ reduction in the blocking caused by IntraArea when compared to the blocking caused by the Baseline. Figure \ref{fig:bbrUSA} shows the results of bandwidth blocking rate on USA topology.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{figs/bloqueioBandaConcorrentesUSA.pdf}
	\caption{Bandwidth blocking rate on USA topology.}
	\label{fig:bbrUSA}
\end{figure}

The bandwidth blocking probability measures the total bandwidth blocked on the network, relative to the total bandwidth generated. When looking at the Figure \ref{fig:brUSA} and \ref{fig:bbrUSA} graphs, there is a small variation in the behavior of the graph. However, the blocking interval is higher for the bandwidth evaluation, since it is more common to block circuits with higher bandwidth demand than lower bandwidth circuits, which causes a greater impact on the bandwidth blocking rate. In relation to Intra Area, there is a reduction of $ 16.65 \% $ of the block when compared to the bandwidth blocking of the Baseline, and $ 45.49 \% $ when compared to the blocking of the RFCA.

Still, the spectral organization provided by the Intra Area algorithm allows a larger number of circuits to be accommodated in the spectrum, resulting in a lower blocking rate. The Baseline, in turn, forces the allocation of all circuits in the first cores, without differentiation as to the modulation adopted or number of slots of the circuits. Thus, when trying to allocate the central core, the new circuit suffers great crosstalk interference, since all periferic cores will already be allocated. Thus, in scenarios with crosstalk interference, the central core of the fibers has low spectral use in Baseline and RFCA, causing higher blocking rate. Besides that, the Intra Area has slot ranges reserved for each slot ratio of the circuits. Thus, it is easier to attend circuits of greater demand for bandwidth, as there will be spectral bands dedicated to them. Figure \ref{fig:brPaneuro} shows the results of blocking rate on Paneuro topology.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{figs/bloqueioConcorrentesPaneuro.pdf}
	\caption{Blocking rate on Paneuro topology.}
	\label{fig:brPaneuro}
\end{figure}

In the Paneuro topology, the Intra Area algorithm already achieves better performance from the lowest load point. Because it is a larger topology, there are more resources available (more links), requiring a higher load to observe the occurrence of blocking. The Intra Area algorithm continues to perform better, achieving a reduction of $ 36.97 \% $ on blocking rate when compared to the Baseline and $ 55.43 \% $ compared to the RFCA. The figure \ref{fig:bbrPaneuro} displays the bandwidth blocking rate result for the Paneuro topology.

\begin{figure}[!ht]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{figs/bloqueioBandaConcorrentesPaneuro.pdf}
	\caption{Bandwidth blocking rate on Paneuro topology.}
	\label{fig:bbrPaneuro}
\end{figure}

A similar behavior is also observed between the graphs of Figures \ref{fig:brPaneuro} and \ref{fig:bbrPaneuro}. For the bandwidth blocking rate, the Intra Area algorithm presents blocking reduction of $ 35.79 \% $ compared to the Baseline and $ 54.6 \% $ compared to the RFCA.

The Intra Area algorithm achieves the best performance (lower blocking probability) while the RFCA achieves the worst performance in the evaluated scenarios. This is because the Intra Area keeps the spectrum more organized, making allocation attempts in the priorized and common areas. On the other hand, RFCA randomly allocates cores and slots through \textit{Random Fit} policy, causing fragmentation in the spectrum, and making it difficult to establish new circuits.

The next section presents the conclusions, challenges and open questions around \ac{SDM-EON} scenarios.

\section{Conclusions, challenges and prospects}\label{sec:conclusao}

The studies around \ac{SDM-EON} have grown in the literature, since \ac{MCF} appear as promising proposal to support the growing data traffic in \ac{EON}. The use of multi-core fibers ensures greater availability of resources as each core is compared to a single-core fiber of the traditional EON. However, the physical proximity of the cores in the fiber causes \textit{crosstalk} more accentuated in the \ac{SDM-EON} scenarios.

Considering the papers found so far in the literature of \ac{SDM-EON}, the data found were:
\begin{itemize}
	\item 15 papers propose solutions to solve the \ac{RMSCA} problem and the core allocation. Comparisons are made with classical algorithms of the EON literature, such as Dijkstra, KSP, First Fit and Random Fit;
	\item 17 papers use 7-core fibers. There are also studies with 3, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 19-core fibers;
	\item Although most papers (17 articles found) consider the \textit{crosstalk} effect on the link, only 2 portray other interferences of the physical medium;
	\item 16 papers use a dynamic traffic scenario, and 5 present a static traffic scenario;
	\item 4 papers consider protection and survival techniques in \ac{SDM-EON};
	\item 11 papers present the request generation with bandwidth demand between 1 and 10 slots, and 7 papers do not present traffic information.
	\item Only one paper does optical aggregation;
\end{itemize}

Thus, we can conclude that the most of the papers uses dynamic traffic configuration, which depicts a scenario closer to reality, since the circuit requests have source, destination and unknown traffic demand before the circuit establishment instant. In addition, there are many spectrum and core allocation solution proposals. However, these solutions are compared to classic literature algorithms, that are non-aware of crosstalk. A comparison between the new proposals has not yet been made. We can also note that the \textit{crosstalk} is a major problem in the \ac{SDM-EON} scenario, a concern found in most studies (17 papers). However, most (19 articles) ignore other interferences of the physical medium of propagation. Using information from the physical layer approximates the model performance to the real scenario of interference in data traffic. Few papers have been conducted in the area of survivability (4 articles) and traffic aggregation (1 article).

A major current challenge is the development of suitable equipment for switching the optical circuit in the SDM-EON. The papers found in the literature refer to a hypothetical architecture, capable of switching the signal between different cores (in some cases). The papers that present some evaluation about viable architectures \cite{Richardson:13}, \cite{Marom:17} cite as solution the adaptation of devices (switches, amplifiers and multiplexers) found in other types of networks.

Another challenge found in \ac{SDM-EON} is the mitigation of the \textit{crosstalk} effect. This interference of the physical layer is responsible for the unavailability of spectral resources, which are idle when crosstalk is high enough (\ac{XT} above $-25dB$ \cite{Richardson:13}) to make it impossible to allocate the circuit. Some types of fibers are proposed to reduce the effect of crosstalk (such as Trench-Assisted MCF), but there is still \textit{crosstalk} occurrence from a distance threshold defined by manufacturer.

It is also important to highlight as a challenge the production of equipment with a low financial cost, which allows the least expense for its implementation. In addition, the performance achieved by using a $n$ core \ac{MCF} should be similar to the performance obtained by $n$ coupled single-core fibers, which reinforces the development of fibers with greater tolerance to crosstalk interference.

When evaluating a scenario of \ac{SDM-EON} with occurrence of crosstalk, it is necessary to define accurately the characteristics related to the evaluation form of crosstalk. It has been demonstrated that a value of $ n $ can be used statically or dynamically, taking into account the crosstalk impact of the new circuit in circuits already established in the network. This variety of scenarios provides great impact on the network blocking rate, resulting in blocking differences of up to $ 74.13 \% $. A more in-depth study of the impact of different crosstalk scenarios can also be done in the future, in order to delineate the scenario closest to the occurrence of crosstalk in a real network.

The elaboration of a high efficiency (RMSCA) solution is also necessary. Nowadays, the papers found in the literature that propose RMSCA solutions compare their performance with classical literature algorithms such as the Dijkstra algorithm for routing and the First Fit strategy for spectrum allocation. No comparisons were made between the main proposed RMSCA solutions.

From our studies, it can be concluded that some scenarios are predominant in the literature, such as dynamic configuration of request generation, 7-core fibers, consideration of \textit{crosstalk}, and request bandwidth varying between 1 and 10 slots. It is also possible to observe many improvement opportunities, which will be explored as future works, such as the comparison between already proposed slot and core allocation techniques, the application of other physical layer effects besides \textit{crosstalk}, and the proposition of an impairment-aware allocation algorithm.

\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-num}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Big Japanese festivals are a fun, unforgettable — and often very crowded — way to see a bit of Japanese culture.
Although throwing beans to frighten evil spirits may bewilder and amuse first-time visitors, travelers can really get behind the joy that is hanami — the act of appreciating (and partying under) seasonally blooming flowers. The four consecutive public holidays that make up Golden Week in Japan are fun, but be prepared: half the country seems to traveling at the same time.
Timing is everything when big holidays in Japan are concerned. Arrive a bit too late for the excitement, and your punishment will be inflated accommodation prices and overcrowded transportation. The worst part? You'll pay the dues without even getting to enjoy the fun!
Don't miss out while traveling in Japan. Plan to already be situated for enjoying the big holidays, and maybe consider avoiding travel during the Golden Week stretch altogether.
Bringing in the new year is taken very seriously in Japan. Shogatsu, the Japanese New Year celebration, falls on the familiar date of January 1 per the Gregorian calendar, but the celebration in Japan is stretched out days before and after. It's considered one of the biggest festivals in Japan.
Shogatsu is observed by enjoying many traditional foods that vary between regions in Japan. Many people start the new year by eating soba (buckwheat) noodles at midnight for good health. At dawn, the Emperor of Japan prays for the nation.
Unlike in the West where the celebration revolves around New Year's Eve revelry and short-lived resolutions, Shogatsu focuses on bringing prosperity in the upcoming year — beyond just hangover recovery. At midnight, Buddhist temples ring bells 108 times (the estimated number of worldly sins/desires).
Much like Chinese New Year, special food is prepared and money is given to children in small envelopes. Reunited families spend time together and play games. The general sentiment is about new beginnings and setting the stage for prosperity.
On January 2, the public gets a rare treat only granted twice per year: access to the inner palace grounds in Tokyo. The only other day that the public is allowed inside the gates is on December 23 for the Emperor's Birthday celebration.
Many businesses remain closed until at least January 3. A smaller celebration known as Coming of Age Day takes place on January 9.
When: December 30 to January 3. Note: The traditional Japanese New Year is also celebrated at the same time as the Lunar New Year (e.g., Chinese New Year, Tet, etc).
Where: Nationwide. A large crowd will gather at the palace in Tokyo.
Fun and bizarre, Setsubun kicks off the Haru Matsuri (Spring Festival) in Japan.
Setsubun is an old tradition that has evolved into a televised event hosted by national celebrities. Along with the big productions, small stages are set up around the country, many at shrines and temples. Candy and money are thrown into the crowds which cheer and try to catch the small gifts.
At home, families throw beans (usually soybeans) in mame-maki ceremonies to drive away evil spirits that could foul up things later. One member of the household dons a demon mask and plays the "bad guy" as everyone else shouts "get out!" and throws beans until he leaves. The door is symbolically slammed shut on the evil spirit.
An ancient tradition, the word hanami actually means "flower viewing" and that's exactly what thousands of people do during the spring Cherry Blossom Festival. What could be more enjoyable than sitting under beautiful blooms with food and drinks?
Families, friends, and coworkers compete for quiet spots in busy parks to enjoy picnics and parties. Events happen day and night. A little revelry takes place beneath the blooms that are celebrated for their fleeting, impermanent nature.
Some festival goers may appreciate the sake more than the flowers themselves, but all enjoy the time outside in fresh spring air!
Tea ceremonies are held under trees; folk songs, traditional dances, beauty pageants, and even parades add to the festive atmosphere.
When: Dates range between March and May, depending on how far north or south in Japan. Blooms begin appearing in the south first as winter gives up. Officials predict and forecast the northern progress of blooms on government websites.
If there's one big holiday in Japan to plan around it is Golden Week! Fail to do so and you could find yourself spending much of your trip waiting in queues.
Golden Week is the busiest time to travel in Japan — it's not just a little busy but very busy. Four different, back-to-back Japanese festivals hit just as spring weather is turning pleasant. Japanese people take advantage by planning vacations; hotels, flights, and ground transportation fill up. Many businesses close for at least a week. Shrines and attractions in popular cities become very busy.
The first holiday of Golden Week is Showa Day on April 29, the observance of the birthday of Emperor Hirohito. It is considered a time to reflect on that turbulent part of Japan's past. Constitution Memorial Day hits on May 3 and is followed by Greenery Day on May 4 then Children's Day on May 5.
Although each of the public holidays during Golden Week aren't big events by themselves, combined they provide a good opportunity for local residents to close shop and take some time off.
Japan's high season for tourism typically begins right after the Golden Week festivals clear up and business gets back to normal. Hotel prices will often be at their highest. Transportation gets crowded. Even if you aren't moving around, parks, shrines, and places you probably want to see will be inundated with people.
Although technically not an official national holiday, Obon (sometimes just bon) is the most widely observed of Japanese festivals in the summer.
Obon is a three-day celebration of ancestors' spirits that come home to rest. People visit shrines, temples, and family graves during Obon. Fires are lit in front of homes and lanterns help guide the spirits. Much like the Hungry Ghosts Festival observed in other parts of Asia, Obon is about keeping spirits happy in the afterlife.
Obon is an important time for families; many head back to their ancestral homes, causing long transportation delays and some business closures. Shrines will certainly be busier during Obon.
When: Obon is based on the lunar calendar. Dates vary from region to region, but the festival is always in the summer. Some regions celebrate on July 15, others on August 15 or the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
Emperor Akihito, the Emperor of Japan, was born on December 23, 1933.
The date of his birthday is celebrated annually as a national holiday in Japan. The Emperor's Birthday was established as an official holiday in 1948 and has drawn a large crowd to the palace since.
The Emperor of Japan, along with key members of his family, make several short appearances throughout the day on a windowed balcony. They wave back to the sea of supporters who gather in the cold for a rare glimpse. Tourists are welcome to stand in the queue to join the spectacle.
The Emperor's Birthday is a patriotic occasion in Japan and is one of only two days each year when the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace are open to the public.


LinkedIn has acquired Connected, a small contact management start-up that unifies and dynamically updates users' connections on email, social networks, calendars and phones, according to sources close to the company.
Connected is similar to Xobni/Smartr, but it's more of a dashboard than a plug-in, and it costs $9.99 per month. The company had raised a seed round of $500,000 led by Trinity Ventures in June. The service has been called "bloody awesome" by Tim O'Reilly.
Connected, which should announce the acquisition later today, consists of the husband-and-wife team of Sachin and Ada Chen Rekhi, who will both be joining LinkedIn. Sachin was previously co-founder of Anywhere.FM, which was acquired by IMEEM, while Ada was director of product at Mochi Media, which was acquired by Shanda Games.
-Try the search drop-down to find specific people in your network by name, company, title, or location. Curious if anyone in your network works at a new startup? Just do a search by Company which will find all relevant contacts across email, social networks, and address books.
-Click on a given contact to drill into their contact profile. From there you can take notes on the contact, annotate who introduced you, and set contact reminders that will automatically notify you when a certain amount of time has passed since you last contacted them.
-Search for a contact that is not already in your network. Say a new startup founder. If the person is not already in your network, Connected will search across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for that person. If one of the resulting search results is the person you are looking for, just press "Create" next to their profile and Connected will automatically create a profile with all their public profile data (without having to connect with them). Once you are in the profile, you can also press "Bookmark" next to their other appropriate social profiles and that data will also be pulled in. This is how I was able to create a comprehensive profile for you.


text:
Remembering Koko, a Gorilla We Loved
Koko, who died in her sleep this week, at forty-six, was known for her facility with American Sign Language and her emotional acuity.Photograph by Bettmann / Getty
Perhaps the most incredible scene in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?," the recent documentary about Mr. Rogers, features Mr. Rogers meeting Koko, the beloved western lowland gorilla. Koko, who died in her sleep this week, at forty-six, was known for her facility with American Sign Language, her emotional acuity, and her love of her pet kitten, All Ball. Koko was the world's foremost celebrity gorilla. And she was, apparently, like so many sensitive souls of our generation, a Mr. Rogers fan. In the scene, Rogers visits Koko, and she embraces him; as they sit on the floor, she cradles him in her massive arms. It's an astounding moment of interspecies affection, and one that makes intuitive sense. Koko seems to be doing for Mr. Rogers what he did for us: providing boundless love and care that we hadn't sought but deeply craved. It's the one time in Morgan Neville's film when Rogers seems to be the child, the grateful recipient of something like parental love. His expression is one we haven't seen on him before—gratitude, joy, awe, possibly a hint of fear, like a novice surfer riding a wave. Koko unties Rogers's shoelaces and takes his sneakers off, just as she'd seen him do on TV.
Koko, whose full name, Hanabi‐Ko, means Fireworks Child in Japanese, was born on July 4, 1971, at the San Francisco Zoo. Early in life, she began working with a young researcher named Francine (Penny) Patterson, then a doctoral student in psychology at Stanford University, who went on to work with Koko for much of her career. After three years of training, a Times piece from 1975 reported, Koko could correctly sign more than a hundred and seventy words. (Later, she could sign a thousand.) In that article, "Koko the Gorilla Gives Hints of Being Smarter Than the Chimpanzees," Sandra Blakeslee wrote, "Koko falls three to six months behind human children in mental abilities for her age. Her perceptual-motor abilities (e.g. the ability to swing through trees) are, of course, far advanced." Among her qualities that showed up the chimpanzees were inventiveness and wit.
Miss Patterson said that Koko uses language creatively. "She occasionally makes up new words [signs] which are amazingly appropriate and she is able to string known words together in novel and meaningful constructions. Koko also has a sense of humor and plays word games," the trainer said.
The article reported that Koko had "a sand box, a wheelchair, a tricycle and a barn yard full of university‐owned laboratory animals out her front door," and that she tried to communicate with neutered bulls in sign language; she seemed to exist in a kind of human-gorilla limbo. She broke toys "at a brisk pace," liked to clean up spills but then tried to eat the sponge, was potty-trained but did not empty the potty after each use. Sometimes she played "quietly with Play‐Dough, Tinkertoys, paints, trucks and other small objects," sometimes she bounded around her room, being boisterous and "very loud." Aside from pestering neutered bulls, much of this was exactly how human kids her age were behaving.
I tried to explain to a younger cousin, a few months ago, what I referred to as "seventies primate culture," which I felt was an important thing for him, a child of the eighties, to understand. Seventies primate culture was broad and deep, and Koko was its apex. Every generation loves apes, perhaps, but growing up in that shaggy era involved a heightened amount of imagined communing with gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and snow monkeys. We had our unnerving spate of man-and-ape buddy comedies—trucker orangutans, trucker chimps, etc.—but, beyond that, pop culture and the scientific community popularized earnest, loving representations of primates of many kinds, many of which seemed to be verging on consciousness-expansion.
A 1970 cover of Life ("Ecology Becomes Everybody's Issue") featured a beleaguered-looking, pink-faced snow monkey enjoying a hot-springs bath in Japan. That fuzzy-headed humanoid, with snow on its fur and warmth in its bath, seemed to be all of us, somehow, and in the seventies and early eighties you'd see posters of it everywhere. One was in the music room at my school, and we stared at it as we sang songs and banged glockenspiels. Meanwhile, we'd hear about Jane Goodall, observing her chimpanzees in Tanzania year after year and discovering that they could use tools, and about Dian Fossey and "Gorillas in the Mist." In many households, people talked about Harry Harlow's famous midcentury studies of baby monkeys and wire or terry-cloth surrogate mothers, indicating that, like us, they craved a mother's love.
My own mother and I were highly attuned to these discoveries; she had shelves full of books about life sciences, including many on primates, including Patterson's "The Education of Koko," from 1981. Koko seemed like an ambassador of all the love we felt for gorillas and our other thoughtful primate cousins. She seemed to provide valuable clues to the mystery of the essence of the hominid. Much of this, no doubt, was projection—but, rationally or not, we saw in Koko something that felt like a true bridging of the divide between man and ape, and in that, a deeper understanding of who we are, who primates are, and our collective role on this planet and in the scientific order.
My mother died many years ago, and in recent months I've been going through her books, exploring her consciousness. I'm currently reading one of them, "The Mind of an Ape," by David and Ann J. Premack, about their studies of chimpanzees. A paragraph in its introduction seems to resonate beyond chimps, and to Koko:
Should we gaze at a monkey, it would reveal no inclination to exchange glances; it would furtively avert its eyes, or enlarge them in a hostile stare.… Apes and humans, in contrast, enjoy being the focus of attention. Humans regard being looked at as an honor, as proof of personal achievement. Far from averting its eyes, the chimpanzee returns our gaze avidly. While looking at us, the chimpanzee appears to be asking the very questions about us which we ask about it as we gaze into its eyes.
This idea is reinforced by the cover image from a 1978 National Geographic, illustrating a feature story about Koko, "Conversations with a Gorilla." She's looking straight at the camera, peering through a 35-mm. camera that she holds, seeming to use a human tool to observe the photographer taking a picture of her. It is, in fact, a mirror, and a self-portrait.
I don't know if other people associate Koko with motherly love, as I do, but because my own mother is gone, I especially appreciated Koko's continued presence in our world, and had been thinking about it after seeing "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" That film is striking a chord among people in a nation in an ongoing state of anxiety verging on panic. Koko, who inspired the kind of affection that Mr. Rogers did, happened to die during a time when we crave reassurance, and during a week of an unfolding national crisis of state-sponsored parent-child separation of immigrants and refugees. The reality of the news keeps the death of a special gorilla in perspective. But it also plucks at the same tender emotions, the same primal bond that we feel between parent and child, and feelings of love and sadness together. Observing Koko's empathy and her charming self-expression—"she referred to a zebra as a 'white tiger,' a Pinocchio doll as an 'elephant baby,' and a mask as an 'eye hat,' " Patterson wrote—seemed to be like observing those qualities in a growing human child. Whatever we're projecting, whatever our love of Koko meant about childhood and connection and care, that emotion and the bonds it stands for are vital to nurture and protect.
Sarah Larson, a staff writer, has been contributing to The New Yorker since 2007.
More:KokoGorillasMr. RogersAmerican Sign LanguageAnimals
How Mr. Rogers Became Everyone's Neighbor
In Search of Sleep, with Bob Ross
A Hundred Years of Coney Island
A look at Brooklyn's Coney Island through a split-screen tour of its iconic landmarks: Nathan's Famous hot dogs, the Cyclone roller coaster, and the beach.


Interested in submitting your gourmet vegetable recipes to Chef's Harvest? We will be selecting the best recipes to use on this web site and the winner will receive a $100 dollars! To submit your recipe, email us or use our contact form.
All recipes are property of Chef's Harvest and are intended for personal and food service use. Any reproduction or sale of these recipes is forbidden without prior consent.
Copyright 2003 Chef's Harvest Specialties. All Rights Reserved.


text:
The Mbadja or Ovambadja is a group of an independent tribe that speaks Oshimbadja language. They originated from Ombadja (Município de Ombadja) in southern Angola, Cunene Province (Província do Cunene).

About 20% of the Mbadja people migrated from south Angola during the years of 1900 into the northern part of Namibia. They occupied an area of land that they named "Okalongo", which translates to "a small country". Although they may confused by some people with the Wambo or Ovawambo tribes, because of their similar way of speaking, the Mbadja people were never recognized as such among the traditional seven Owambo tribes, listed as Kwanyama, Ndonga, Ngandjera, Kwaluudhi, Kolonkadhi, Mbalanhu and Kwambi. The Mbadja are also referred to as "Ovambadja vaNaushona".

Some of the Ovambadja stay in Okalongo in the Omusati region, Namibia. Like other African tribes, the Mbadja people raise cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and chicken. They cultivate the land to grow omahangu, maize, sorghum, beans, peanuts and watermelons during the rainy season.

Mbadja is part of the Bantu people.they are angolans ,
 The Mbadja ancestors told stories of their origins that tells that they have migrated from "The Land of the Lakes" and moved south centuries ago. It is suspected that the place they refer to is around Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania.

Ethnic groups in Angola

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
At the heart of our Baptismal Covenant are the promises we make to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being (Book of Common Prayer, 305). These promises, which are central to St. Mark's Core Vocation, compel us into the service of those who are most vulnerable in our society.
This kind of outreach includes the generous financial giving of our members, but also challenges us to connect our own talents, passions, and resources with God's dreams for our community as we serve among and build relationships with those most marginalized.
Outreach Grants Committee
The Outreach Grant Committee at St. Mark's Episcopal Church has been hard at work seeking to more intentionally align our whole Outreach Grant process with St. Mark's Core Vocation. We have developed a process that we believe will foster deeper relationships between grant recipients and our congregation and that will ultimately have a greater impact on the organizations and entities whom we are financially supporting. As a result, St. Mark's is now offering two different grants to 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations.
The Bread of Life Grant
$60,000 allocated over three years - is awarded to one entity each triennium. Inspired by the umbrella vocation of Feeding San Antonio with the Bread of Life, this grant creates the space for a long-term relationship to grow between our congregation and the grant recipient. It will also make a much larger impact on the ministry and work of the entity receiving the grant.
Vocational Grants
Vocational Grants are the smaller, one-year grants dispersed to entities whose applications best fit the thematic areas drawn from our Core Vocation. Applicants from all three areas are considered, though one theme is privileged each year. The 2017 grant cycle privileged applicants whose work and ministry feeds the hungry with real food. The 2018 cycle privileged applicants whose work and ministry feeds those hungry for knowledge and meaning, while the 2019 cycle will first serve applicants whose work and ministry feeds those hungry for beauty and creativity.
Refugee Response
There are opportunities to respond with compassion to people who arrive in San Antonio from the border, as they seek refuge from harsh conditions. St. Mark's is supporting city efforts to provide care that is responsive to changing needs. Details of current ways to help can be found on our Refugee Response page.
Commission on Ministries
The Commission on Ministries supports current ministries and facilitates the process of establishing new internal ministries based on the energy of the parish community. The Commission on Ministries strives to help members match their gifts and passions with the ministries best suited to use of those gifts and passions.
Ministry and committee chairs can be found in the Parish Life Handbook which is updated annually.
Alamo Baroque Festival
2017-2020 Bread of Life Grant Recipient
Communities in Schools-SA
2019 Core Vocation Grant Recipients
Alpha Home
Children's Chorus of San Antonio
Corazón Ministries
Haven for Hope
Hemisfair Conservancy
I Care San Antonio
Lifetime Recovery
Mission Road Ministries
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Reaching Maximum Independence
San Antonio Public Library Foundation
The Children's Shelter of San Antonio
Threads of Blessing
University Health System Foundation
Youth Orchestra of San Antonio (YOSA)
2020 Outreach Grant Timeline
March 1, 2020 - Application posted
March 30, 2020 - Application due
June 2020 - Recipients notified
June and December 2020 - Funds awarded


Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky is to partner Loch Lomond Seaplanes as part of a £20m marketing plan, called 'The Spirit of Adventure', to break away from tradition and target a younger consumer.
Cutty Sark was originally created for export to the US during the time of the prohibition and celebrated its 90th birthday on March 23rd this year. It is now in the Edrington portfolio of brands and one of the top 10 Scotch whiskies in the world.
Originally named after the world famous Cutty Sark clipper, which was built just 10 miles away from the brand's HQ, the whisky is now trying to break away from tradition by targeting a younger consumer.
Edrington is investing £20m on the brand over the next five years, covering both new and existing markets globally. This increase in investment is forecast to push sales up by nearly 40%.