text:
Talk:Main Page/Archive 2

Important notice regarding main page
Due to repeated vandalism, the Main Page is protected from edits. Note, however, that some of its subsections are editable templates. If you see any obvious vandalism in any of the following templates, feel free to revert the changes:

 * Template:Browsebar
 * Template:New
 * Book of the month - subpages thereof
 * Collaboration of the Month - subpages thereof
 * Template:About
 * Template:Bookshelves (all)
 * Template:Sisterprojects
 * Template:Donate
 * Template:Bookshelves (all)
 * Template:Sisterprojects
 * Template:Donate
 * Template:Sisterprojects
 * Template:Donate

Also, note that the following two templates are not at present being kept up to date, since they require a SQL query to generate:

Aya T C 15:02, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

Top ten active
The top ten active users and wikibooks list hasn't been changed for over three months now! If the features that updates these parts isn't available any more, they should be taken off the front page, as it makes it look out of date and neglected. If, however, there is a way availabe, why isn't it up to date? --Mark Lewis 18:42, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I totaly agree. I haven't been visiting wikibooks for long, but the fact that the first thing that a visitor sees is a list dating back from march, gives the feeling that "This site is no longer updated." Almogo 21:00, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. If this section is not updated by an automated process, or some standards are put in place to define whose responsibility it is to update it and when, it should be removed from the front page. It is likely to confuse visitors otherwise. They may think that they are getting a (really old) cached page, or that the site it dead. Are there any standards in place already which cover these issues? Aya 19:18, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * There are instructions on how to do it somewhere (i've lost the page), but it requires downloading a 200 meg SQL dump and the link to said dump is incorrect. Kellen 19:52, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * This is hardly a solution. I don't believe I have the necessary permissions to change this page, but someone ought to. Still, the administrative system does not guarantee that any of the people who are able to sort this out are still active users of the system, nor even alive. This needs to be resolved. To keep this site ordered, meaningful and up-to-date, responsibilities must to taken on by, or assigned to specific users. If those users cease to become active users, the responsibilites must be transferred. Anarchy must not prevail, or else the site will eventually degrade into rubbish and meaninglessness.

 * This is not the only problem. The system for organising and catergorising books also needs an overhaul. The different means of indexing books and pages are out of sync, and confusing, especially for new users. Even the distinction betweeen what is a book, and what is merely a page of a book is poorly defined. I also noticed no indications regarding sensible use of namespaces. This page, for example, seems completely out of place. Perhaps the wiki software is to blame. I guess it works well for Wikipedia, since it is only a single book, and the namespace usage is fairly obvious, but I don't think it works here without more guidelines.

 * The fundamental problem here is with language. Everyone has their own interpretation of what different words actually mean. If people are to co-operate effectively, meanings of words within specific contexts must be well-defined. In a way, this is the whole point of Wikipedia, which is why it works much better than Wikibooks.

 * For an example, check out the work I've been doing on this page and its sub-pages. By keeping track of naming standards, pages, templates, and images, it's so much easier to create a comprehensive guide, whilst minimising namespace pollution, and simplifying the process of restructuring a book, without having to rename pages. Perhaps something akin to this on a global level might also prove successful. Certainly some reflexive system of rules ought to be very effective. I am reminded of the game theory game of Nomic. If you ignore the scoring system, this is effectively what we have been doing with our own naming standards, by discussing and modifying the rules based on our discussions.

 * Any thoughts?

 * Aya 17:01, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * Hm, it's now July. Nobody around who can remove that list from March? I think it looks much better if it is removed completely, than letting it be outdated by half a year. Allefant, 9 July 2005
 * Completely agree. Can someone PLEASE remove this or update? It looks utterly tacky. Serge July 9, 2005 01:54 (UTC)
 * Update: I've discovered the problem with the DB dumps. There's an erroneous line:

/* */;

 * This needs to be removed from the file before you can import into MySQL. Now if someone can tell me where the scripts are to generate the stats, I can get this done. - Aya 21:31, 9 July 2005 (UTC)

 * I assume, this is the complete process to get the wiki code for it: . All done in SQL. And Do you have permission to update the list? If so - maybe you can temporarily remove the outdated list, until you (or the original author) manages to re-run the SQL? Allefant 06:50, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

 * I've temporarily removed the out-of-date info from the page, and provided a link instead should someone eventually get this data sorted out. It's somewhat dependent on getting up-to-date DB dumps, and the last one there is too old to generate up-to-date statistics from. I'm also unconvinced that the data set is as up-to-date as it claims. - Aya 19:55, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks, I really think it makes the front page look better for now. And I hope this gets sorted out, maybe whoever runs the server can install a script to produce a monthly activity report from the DB automatically.. Allefant 20:12, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Remove of book listings on the front page?

 * Just too many books to list here
 * When you click on a topic, the list of books under that topic are most likely different then the books on the front page (either the author adds it to the topic listing or directly to the front page).

Lets just simplify it and put all the books on topic pages and have one or two books per day/per topic as "books of the day" for the front page--RobKohr 17:17, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Book of the month
I would like to suggest a "book of the month", similar to how it is working in the German version of Wikibooks, because it seems to work quite well there: Every month all registered Wikibook users can vote from a couple of nominated books for beeing next month's "book of the month". I guess Wikibooks is maturing to allow for 12 excellent books to be displayed on the main page a year (similar to Wikipedia's "Featured article"). --Andreas Ipp 18:39, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * I would like to reserve at least a quarter of the main page for the Book of the month, to increase the value of this award. In the future this should preferably be a well-selected picture with some introductory text to the "book of the month". In the last week of January, I would like to increase the interest in the vote by placing a picture of a big question mark "?" with the last call for voting. I will try to set something up during the next couple of days on my user subpages, and present it here first. If somebody could create a really cool kind of questionmark (maybe floating above a book, ...) that would be great! Otherwise, I would probably only contribute a very simple question mark. Also if you have other suggestions for this, let me know. (PS: Googling around, one can find a few very nice question marks, but I'm not sure whether I can just upload them to the commons?) --Andreas Ipp 08:15, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Here is my suggestion for the change of the main page: User:Andreas_Ipp/Main_Page_suggestion. If you have administrator right, all you have to do is put these three lines

===Book of the month===
 * before this line.

===About Wikibooks===
 * (The main page has been locked just a week ago by User:Gentgeen, and I don't have administrator rights). Thank you very much! --Andreas Ipp 12:57, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * I just found out that the main page was not locked anymore, and I made the change by myself. :-) --Andreas Ipp 13:17, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Change Featured Wikibooks to Most Active Wikibooks

 * Since the book of the month (see above) would take the role of the "Featured Wikibooks", I would suggest to rename Featured Wikibooks to "Most Active Wikibooks" - and list the, say, Top 5 of currently active Wikibooks (that means highest number of contributors in the last month (can be checked e.g. by "Related changes" or by a still to be defined SQL query).
 * "New Wikibooks" is fine, as books get rotated through, but..
 * "Struggling Wikibooks" is quite undefined. It is not clear who can add books to this category and who will take them away again. Either it should be also organized in a kind of rotating manner (add books with a date and delete the first in list), or by some kind of voting system.
 * "Wikijunior" is just promotional, but to be fair it should contain a link to the Wikijunior background, stating that it is a project started by the Beck Foundation approaching the Wikimedia Foundation. --Andreas Ipp 19:17, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I replaced Featured and Struggling Wikibooks by. --Andreas 20:24, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Here the last featured and struggling books:

Featured Wikibooks Featured

Struggling Wikibooks
 * Open Source
 * Visual Basic
 * Alchemy
 * Alchemy

Changing new books template
I would like to suggest moving Template:New to Template:Newbooks. I already started Template:Newbooks. I was going to go ahead with it myself, but I noticed the Main page is locked which would prevent this from happening without an Administrator stepping in. I suggest this change because I noticed its being used elsewhere by accident from copying over help pages from Wikimedia. Wikimedia uses Template:New for another perpose. So far only two pages are effected by this cross over, Help:Edit summary and Help:Page history. --darklama 19:06, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)

 * Okay, but don't just fork off a new page (now removed). You should instead set up a redirect until the point where an administrator has changed the page. - Aya 20:06, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Removal of Wikibooks display from main page
It seems obvious that Wikibooks is growing a lot and taking up too much space on the Main Page. I've replaced the display of Wikibooks with a link to the template. This way, there's an entire page devoted to all active Wikibooks.

The Main Page should be developed further so that it has more interesting and useful information such as "Book of the month". I hope this is acceptable to everyone. -- Mkn 12:44, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi Mnk! Your changes are just in the spirit of presenting a clear and concise first page for both, first-time visitors and active Wikibook users. You should be careful though, that there are several versions of the homepage (standard, table-free, and text-only), and you adjusted only one of them.
 * I personally like to have the template of all Wikibooks on the first page, because it gives a richer view of what kind of books can be found, and your link ("all ... can be found here") is not prominent enough that each first-time user will click on it. I hope you will accept that I revert this change, and put the template back in. --Andreas Ipp 13:25, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * Follow-up: I think, in the future we should try by keeping the main page more clean not by removing the bookshelves template, but by carefully commenting out books that look like stubs (they will still stay fully prominent on the bookshelf itself - just not in the template - and as soon as there is reasonable activity, they can be put back again on the main page). What do you think about this? --Andreas Ipp 13:30, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * I agree with Andreas: The link wasn't at all prominent and it's doubtful that (1) a new user would even see the link; and (2) that a user would be likely to click on it. MShonle 15:06, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * OK Andreas Ipp. I also thought about that but I'm not sure how else to make it more obvious to navigate to the active wikibooks. I just thought there's a need to seperate the books from the main page. Or maybe I'm following Wikipedia design too closely.  -- Mkn 21:21, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)
 * I just came back from a seminar by Edward Tufte: I think we need not be affraid of having links to many different books, people can figure out the scrolling part. I think the information is still navagatable because people can easily find the section they want. (For example, it's not hard even scanning just 5% of the words to find the computer science or biology or any other sections.) Perhaps to handle scalability we'll want maybe some icons next to the sections: your typical Sigmas for mathematics, Atoms and beakers for science, Computers for computer science... But even without icons listing the books is still ok. MShonle 01:57, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Top 10 active
Shouldn't this be by the most edits in the past whatever (month week day, etc.) instead of number of users who've edited it. 1000 minor edits by different users doesn't make it more active than 20 major edits of around 1 page each (for instance, I know I'm exaggerating people). Also, as of now, someone's replaced the arrow pics and it's really ugly with those HUGE green arrows, it looked better before.--Naryathegreat 23:49, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * 1) Hi Naryathegreat. About the ranking: I wanted to make this list an indicator for the community effort on a book. In this sense, having 20 different people looking into a book and making a small edit each indicates more community interest and activity than 20 edits by one single user. This way, you get those books to the top that might interest most people (and not very specialized books that only 1 or 2 people really understand - they edit their books anyway...). That's the idea behind it. But I might take up your idea and publish a second list which ranks all books according to total number of contributions. It might be interesting what comes out there.
 * 2) Someone (User Everlong at Commons) replaced 2 of the 3 arrows in use by smaller ones, without changing the pixel number in the template. I reduced it now from 20px to 12px. Let me know if it looks nicer now on your screen (on mine the arrows did not get enlarged and did not seem so huge).--Andreas 09:29, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

March book of month
It's March now so shouldn't there be a new book of the month?Bawolff 19:48, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * The book of march is HSE, it is present on the main page with introductory text and a picture. If you can not see it, either you have to refresh your browser cache (by forcing a reload), or the wiki-server provides an old version - for whatever reasons - to you. Try to log out, and have a look at the main page. You should see the change. --Andreas 21:07, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks I see it now Bawolff 01:46, 2 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Top 10 active for March?
We're halfway through April. Shouldn't the homepage show the top 10 active for March instead of February? --Spiderworm 22:19, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * The March statistics are now on the main page. There has been a slight delay, because the statistics are based on the database dumps which have been released a few days after April started, and it then takes a couple of days until I find time to process the data by SQL scripts. --Andreas 15:36, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Main Page Graphics
Wikipedia is a thoroughly socialist venture, however whoever thought that the symbol of Soviet Russia is a good symbol to proclaim this with should read the Wikipedia article on the USSR, lol. Pretty rediculous and offensive.

 * It was just vandalism, if you didn't figure that out yet... See Power structure for a discussion of the political model of the wikis. - Omegatron 12:26, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Just a comment on the numb-nuts who put it there.

main page looks screwed up
theres a big wikibooks in other languages right in the middle of the mathamatics section. Bawolff 01:34, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Templates not getting updated?
I updated the BOTM and COTM templates, but it's not showing on the main page. What's going on? Reub2000 10:48, 1 Jul 2005 (UTC)
 * There is an issue with how the main page refreshes within your browser. I'm having problems myself (using Mozilla).  Normally it isn't a problem, but consider that if you have made changes, that it has taken effect.  If you close your browser down and restart it, you should see the new changes, for instance.  Ugly soultion, I know, but it does work.  Now if somebody could give a good explaination....  I think it has something to do with the expiration setting for the main page, as sent out by the MediaWiki software.  I don't seem to have any problems beyond the front page.Rob Horning 18:52, 2 Jul 2005 (UTC)

Blender description
Hi all,

I'd like to thank all those that voted for the Blender 3D: Noob to Pro book for book of the month! But also, I was wondering if somebody could change the description of what Blender is on the homepage with the book of the month listing. Right now it says this:

"Blender 3D/Noob to Pro is a book that explains how to use the 3D modeling program blender."

But the Blender is so much more than just a 3D modeling program. Maybe something like this would be more accurate:

"Blender 3D/Noob to Pro is a book that explains how to use the Blender, the open source 3D creation suite."

--Spiderworm 4 July 2005 17:47 (UTC)

Finnish Wikibooks has 100 pages
Our Wikibooks has grown to a hundred page textbook collection. I'll update Template:Wikibookslang. –85.76.79.162 8 July 2005 10:10 (UTC)

Travel
I thought this was already settled, but what is London (the Collaboration of the Month) doing on this site? Doesn't it still belong at Wikitravel? If it wasn't the CotM, I would probably use VfD instead. Has something changed? - SamE 16:45, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Too many new wikibooks
I have taken it upon myself to try to keep books older than a month off "New Wikibooks" - can we get some consensus maybe to change this to two weeks? The box is getting far too big and cumbersome, like the rest of the Main Page. Serge 10:32, July 16, 2005 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure I like it either. What do you think ought to be on the main page? - Aya T C 13:01, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

I'm in the process of working out a new proposed structure for the Wikibooks main page but as an interim measure I am removing all books written over two weeks ago from the "New Wikibooks" to save on screen clutter. If there is major objections the following books were removed.

 * Database Law
 * Portuguese grammar
 * Render a SolidWorks Model in Maya
 * Software engineering
 * Accelerando Technical Companion
 * Web Design
 * How to try sushi for the first time
 * Samba
 * How To Tie A Tie
 * Ten Stupid Things Beginners Do to Mess Up Their Contradance Experience
 * How To Build A Pykrete Bong
 * Raising Chickens
 * AQA Information and Communication Technology
 * AQA Information and Communication Technology

Sorry about the rushed decision its just if someone is not bold then who will be?

I am going to start an experimental test front page so we can collaborate on a better..well, front page. It's here Experimental front page - Serge 09:31, July 19, 2005 (UTC)

Okay. But I wouldn't expect too many other people with enough passion to help to change your fork of the Main page. Have a look through the rest of this talk page, and some of the issues raised in Staff lounge to see what other users think should and shouldn't be on the main page. A few common suggestions:

 * Removal of any ephemeral content not being kept up to date (i.e. Top Tens).
 * Removal of complete book listings from the bottom. One of my other projects is to sort out the bookshelves, but it's a big job. I'm still deciding on a classification scheme (Dewey is the best I can think of right now).
 * Some sort of obvious link for newbies to send them to a page to help get them up to speed if they are new to wiki-based systems. Preferably get them off the site completely, and on to a safe test site. (see: User:Aya/Wikibooks/A critique of Wikibooks).

Once you get a main page you're happy with, post a note in Staff lounge to get the attention of an admin who can actually make the appropriate changes to the real main page. - Aya T C 10:28, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Top Ten Users
Top ten Users is now a long list of XXX sites. Please remove.

 * Done. (Donovan|Geocachernemesis|Interact) 03:40, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

To: Donovan -- same thing happens again ... top 10 users all XXX sites.

 * See Important notice regarding main page - Aya T C 15:02, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

Trolling warning
We need to start trolling a bit. We need to look for dead, or completely stupid books and stop them from spreading. Neospeak and Excuses(?) are just two examples. People, we can do better than that.

 * Potential contributors are reminded to take a good look at What Wikibooks is not before starting any new book, this is to prevent any later ill feeling. Note, in particular, that every book is expected to act primarily as an instructional resource (e.g., a manual). Any books that fall outside these guidelines, unfortunately, risks being deleted. (Donovan|Geocachernemesis|Interact) 03:48, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Personal Wikibooks?
Note: For clarity, I have abandoned the wiki practice of each user replying at the same indent level throughout the post. I tend to split up large chunks of other posts, and reply to each part separately. Indent levels ought to represent temporal distictions (i.e. what chat came first) rather than user distinctions.

I'd like to express my concern that there's a section on the main page, under 'New Wikibooks', called 'Personal Projects'. I'm not sure whether this has been debated before, I couldn't find evidence of any discussion here or in the staff lounge, but surely this type of thing doesn't really belong on Wikibooks? I mention this here first as I don't know whether this is merely pseudo-vandalism of the main page, or wether a decision has been made by the community at large to allow this kind of thing. I point out that in the prologue of one of the books under that section actively discourages anything other than minor editing. Lor 18:05, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

 * This is entirely my doing, so you may fairly point the 'finger of blame' squarely at me. See User:Aya/Wikibooks/A critique of Wikibooks for justifications. Note that the pages linked to in the "Personal Projects" are all subpages of user pages. - Aya T C 17:32, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

 * I'm in agreement with Aya. Maybe there is some way to make clear that "personal projects" should be subpages of user pages but otherwise we need somewhere to put NPOV books. - Serge 09:52, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

 * Considering the enormity of this project, trying to make anything 'clear' is nigh impossible. See User:Aya/Wikibooks/A critique of Wikibooks. I did add a note to the top of the page Neutral point of view, but again, we're perhaps incorrectly assuming that users have even bothered to read it. I'm beginning to think that the only workable solution is to just exemplify good practise in your edits (especially on highly visible pages), and hope people copy your examples. - Aya T C 16:46, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

 * I think we are in denial if we think that books can really remain totally NPOV (when was the last time you read something that was completely NPOV) but we do need a way of seperating these type of books from strictly neutral instructional books. - Serge 09:52, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

 * 'NPOV' is a bad expression. Even Wikipedia's version has reams of clarification to get around that fact that 'neutral point of view' is a bad choice of words, since every 'language lawyer' attempts to pick it to pieces. See also User:Aya/Wikibooks/A critique of Wikibooks. Perhaps it's just sufficient to say "anything you write in the main namespace can be edited by anyone, so if you write anything contentious, don't expect it to stay there". - Aya T C 16:46, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

 * That sounds like a good idea. One idea I have for the front page is a segment to inform newbies/actually any other editors - eg. with link to sandbox, syntax help. Maybe we could have a prominent link to a page explaining what you've written above. Serge 08:32, July 26, 2005 (UTC)

 * Already addressed in User:Aya/Wikibooks/A critique of Wikibooks. - Aya T C 18:04, 26 July 2005 (UTC)

 * The other point I might add is that at the moment neither the breadth nor the depth to deny space on the Main Page to projects that have content on them. Although I realize we need some sort of "new book recognition" as incentive I dislike the idea of huge slabs of page space being given to books that hardly have any content. Any ideas for new segments featuring books with substantial content, anyone? Serge 09:52, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

 * The closest thing we have right now are the percentage images to indicate potential completion, and the 'book of the month' to indicate that a work is comprehensive enough to be worthy of the title. If you can think of a better idea, I'd be pleased to hear it. - Aya T C 16:46, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Another idea: I was thinking that if we have a prominent listing of all bookshelves we could start to have a rotating "Feature/Completed/Whatever You Want to call it" book for each shelf. I will endeavour (but no promises) to try to find time to work this into my experimental front page (BTW well done Aya on the critique of wikibooks. Lots of goood suggestion) Serge 08:23, July 26, 2005 (UTC)

 * Sounds like a good idea, but the bookshelves are in serious need of tidying first. - Aya T C 18:04, 26 July 2005 (UTC)

 * I certainly don't want to point a finger of blame at anyone, and I must say Aya that your Critique looks extremely thorough, well researched, and relevant. My concern is that these 'personal wikibooks' are actively discouraging collaboration, and editing. It promotes the idea that a certain wikibook is "my wikibook". Now, I completely agree that there are some NPOV topics, and books about non-NPOV subjects (and I ask any readers to humour me for the moment and accept the general definition of non-NPOV in its broadest and most accepted sense) that simply -can't- be collaborations between many people - can you imagine a collaborative "Critique of Wikibooks"? It would be an all out edit war, of course. I agree that these books must necessarily be personal. My point is that they perhaps need another forum for promotion. The main page of Wikibooks is a medium for the promotion of Wikibooks as an extension of Wikipedia, and as such for Wikibooks that encourage collaboration, and bold editing by many users. As a quick example, a Wikibook entitled "Critique of Wikibooks by Aya" would, to me, be against the philosophy of Wikibooks - but a Wikibook entitled "Various Critiques of Wikibooks", as a collaborative effort showing various user's critiques of Wikibooks, would be very much acceptable.

 * I'm often very rambly; I realised that I can sum up my position very quickly. I don't think that sub-pages of user-pages should be promoted on the Wikibooks main page - especially as personal projects. Lor 20:51, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Ah. Now I see what you mean. First of all, I've noticed that both of these 'Personal projects' have passed their two-week period, and have now been removed. Also note I have removed the 'Personal projects' section until this dispute is sorted out.

 * The reason I originally put the section in, is that some guy kept trying to advertise his somewhat less NPOV work on the main page (in various inappropriate templates thereof), and there's not a lot you can do to stop it, so I decided a good compromise might be to allow it, providing it was a link to one of the guy's user pages, and clearly separated from the communal books. In a way, the work was a set of the user's own personal philisophies, and I think adding these things to your user page shouldn't necessarily be discouraged, since it can only serve to help users to better understand each other. In hindsight, I perhaps should have made the distinction more clear, but the main page is protected, and thus awkward to edit.

 * I guess I have somewhat shamelessly exploited the main page to promote my own work, but I did want to get as many opinions on the subjects there before I start making any radical changes, and that seemed like a good place to advertise. The point is, I could've put my book in the main namespace, and made it a community work, but I was worried it might spiral out of control without consistent editorial control. In a way, all it is, is a summary of the various issues that have arisen in Staff lounge and other pages which serve a similar role as a forum of discussion. Sure, it's possibly not NPOV, or it's possibly 'primary/original research', but I figured it was useful (at least to me, but I've received several complimentary comments from other users), and usefulness seems to be the determining factor in WB:VFD.

 * Editorial control is really the distinction between these two categories. I feel some books benefit from having a primary editor, whereas others may not. Would this be a better way of wording the main page? If not, what would you suggest?

 * Also note that some of the more regular users here are trying to re-assess the whole Wikibooks project, and its goals/policies/guidelines/procedures/practices/scope. There's currently some discussion going on in User talk:KelvSYC (one of our more active administrators). If you have something constructive to add, I'm certain it would be appreciated. - Aya T C 20:41, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

Books that don't exist
"Learning Mac OS X" is listed as a Maturing Text, yet it doesn't actually exist. The link should be removed from the front page.

 * Fixed, although be aware that the list of books is not part of the (uneditable) main page, but an editable template included on it, which anyone can edit by clicking the "edit template" link below each section. - Aya T C 18:04, 10 August 2005 (UTC)

 * This is a tricky issue, IMHO. It is best if you can somehow set up a consistant manner to start a new Wikibook, so it can be put on a bookshelf or otherwise organized and found after it has been created.  I don't see any problem at all for somebody to "create" a new link on the front page as a new Wikibook and then afterward go and start entering content into that Wikibook.  It would be wise in a situation like this to create an initial stub and then save it just to let people know you are serious that you really do intend to start the book, but otherwise it should be no big deal.  If a link like the one above stays "red" for a day or two, I don't see any reason to keep it there, however.  --Rob Horning 18:36, 10 August 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Main Page/Archive 2


text:
Prolog/History

Following papers provide information about the history of Prolog:

The birth of Prolog (Alain Colmerauer, Philippe Roussel; 1992).

The Wonder Years of Sequential Prolog Implementation

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Prolog/History


text:
Movie Making Manual/Sales and Exhibition/Burning a DVD

=General points=
 * Video DVDs are made up of VOB files which are basically packaged MPEG-2 A/V streams.
 * You cannot just burn an AVI or a MOV onto a DVD and hope that it'll play on a DVD player; you need to convert the AVI or MOV to video DVD format first.

=Making a DVD with Premiere Pro=

Using the Export to DVD function

 * 1) Enter a blank DVD into your DVD drive
 * 2) Select your timeline
 * 3) Go to File >  Export > Export to DVD
 * 4) Select the "Encoding" tab on the left
 * 5) Select the Preset that you need (e.g. in the UK select PAL DV High quality 4Mb VBR two pass)
 * 6) You can edit the exact settings if you desire (for example, if you need to set it to 16:9 aspect ratio)
 * 7) Go through the remainder of the settings and ensure they are set correctly (if you're unsure then just leave them)
 * 8) Hit "Record"!

Using Adobe Media Encoder
You need to make MPEG 2 for the DVD, so you should export it out of PPro with the Adobe Media Encoder. Select the MPEG2-DVD presets and start with the "PAL DV 4x3 High Quality 7Mb VBR 2 Pass SurCode for Dolby Digital 5.1" preset. You get three free encodes with the SurCode encoder, so before you render this, switch to MPEG or PCM audio or if you are doing surround, you probably need to purchase the 5.1 encoder. The encoder will make the .m2v and a corresponding .wav or .mpa depending on which you select. Note, the VBR will "render" the file one time then it does it again. The first time, it is just looking at the file to decide where to vary the bitrate (hence the name Variable Bit Rate). So this process takes longer. If you are not concerned with saving space, you can use the CBR preset which is above the VBR preset.

If you render an .avi with DV compression out of PPro and import it into your DVD software to encode to MPEG2, you are double compressing and it will degrade quality.

If you render uncompressed .avi or .mov and import into DVD software and encode to MPEG2, you have a huge intermediate file to deal with.

If you plan it out properly, encoding the MPEG 2 out of PPro is the most logical thing to do for most situations.

For example: you have a majority of video that is DV25 and put some uncompressed graphics over the top, either supers or CG stuff or whatever. When you render to DV, you get nasty compression chunks and artifacts around the edges of the text or in gradients etc.. You could retain the quality and render out of PPRO as uncompressed .avi or .mov, but that again is a huge file and the DV content does not benefit AND you still have to compress it to MPEG2. The graphics do look good, but the file is hard to work with. If you render to MPEG2 as I specify above you don't render to DV then MPEG2 (no concatenation from dual compression) and you have a decent sized file.

Note there is a bug with Hyperthreading and the Adobe Media Encoder, there is a patch from MainConcept to fix it.

/Tools and equipment /Post-production /Sales and exhibition


text:
Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Vocational/Computer - Advanced (General Conference)

The Advanced Computer Honor, like all things more than five years old and related to computing, is showing its age. This book provides answers to all the requirements - even those that have been archaic for some time. It is recognized that this work will itself be quickly outdated, but an attempt to update the answers has been made in this work.

One of the goals in writing this answer book is to provide low-cost or free solutions to the problems presented. All of the requirements requiring computer software can be met using high quality software that can be downloaded for free from the Internet. Procedures for common commercially available software are also provided if that is available to you. If you are going to teach this honor, you are urged to try the free packages - some of your students may not have another option. You might be surprised at what can be done with these packages - free does not always mean cheap, and the free packages listed here have been carefully selected with quality in mind.

1. Have the Computer Honor
The answer book for the Computer honor can be found in the Vocational chapter of this book.

Baud Rate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Baud rate is a measure of the "signaling rate" which is the number of changes to the transmission media per second in a modulated signal.

For Example: 250 baud means that 250 signals are transmitted in one second. If each signal carries 4 bits of information then in each second 1000 bits are transmitted. This is abbreviated as 1000 bit/s.

Baud rate should not be confused with data rate (also called "bits per second"). Each signaling event transmitted can carry one or more bits (as many as 256 in some cases) of information. When each signaling event transmitted carries one bit the baud rate and the data rate are equal. However, it is more common to make better use of bandwidth by encoding multiple bits in one event. This reduces the transmission time required for sending information.

DIP Switch
A DIP Switch is a component on a circuit board containing four or more switches. Each switch can be independently closed (conducts electricity) or open (does not conduct electricity). The "DIP" portion of the name is an acronym meaning "Dual Inline Package" and refers to the switch's packaging. A DIP will have two rows of pins (connectors), one on each side of the device. DIP Switches are sometimes used for configuring a circuit's mode of operation. They were formerly in common use for setting a board's address range and selecting an interrupt line. With the advent of newer technologies, the need for DIP switches has been greatly reduced. It is now rare to find them on computer boards.

Database
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A database is a collection of records stored in a computer in a systematic way, such that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. For better retrieval and sorting, each record is usually organized as a set of data elements (facts). The items retrieved in answer to queries become information that can be used to make decisions that might otherwise be more difficult or impossible to make. The computer program used to manage and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS). The properties and design of database systems are included in the study of information science.

Word Processing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A word processor (also more formally known as a document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of viewable or printed material.

Nanosecond
A nanosecond is one billionth of a second. In other words, there are a billion nanoseconds in a second. Many computers are capable of performing billions of operations per second, and so this unit of measure is often used to describe the speed at which these operations take place.

DOS
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The acronym DOS stands for disk operating system, an operating system component for computers that provides the abstraction of a file system resident on hard disk or floppy disk secondary storage. In some cases, the disk operating system was called DOS, and on the PC compatible platform, an entire family of operating systems was called DOS.

Internal Modem
The word modem stands for "MOdulator/DEModulator". It is a device used for transmitting and receiving digital information over an analog channel. The most common type of modem is used for transmitting and receiving digital information over a regular telephone line. An internal modem is one which is installed inside a computer as an add-on card, or built-in to the motherboard.

External Modem
For the meaning of the word "modem", see the previous entry on "Internal Modem." An external modem is usually plugged into an external serial (RS-232) port on a computer. It comes with its own housing and power supply. They are easier to connect than an internal modem, and often contain processing elements which offload the burden of modulation from the computer's main processor. Internal modems can also contain such circuitry, but that is becoming less and less common, as it is cheaper to let the main processor handle these calculations.

Peripheral
A computer peripheral is a device that connects to a computer to extend the computer's capabilities. It can be thought of as a device that sits "to the side" of the computer, just as peripheral vision is "to the side" of the eye's main vision. Examples of peripherals include printers, keyboards, mice, monitors, modems, etc.

Default Disk Drive
Before hard drives were common and affordable, computers were often equipped with two floppy drives. One of these - the default drive - held the operating system, and the other was used for storing user data or applications.

A 'K' of Memory
A 'K' of memory is 1024 bytes. 'K' stands for kilo, and is a shortened form of the word kilobyte. The number 1024 is used rather than the number 1000 because 1024 is the result of multiplying two by itself ten times (that is 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2=1024). Another way to say that number is "2 raised to the 10th power, or 210. Computers are based on binary arithmetic which is a numbering system using only two digits, one and zero. There are 1024 different ways to combine ten binary digits (more commonly called bits), so a ten-bit number can address 1024 memory locations.  Thus, the "strange" number of 1024.

Other important memory milestones include the megabyte (1,048,576, or 220 bytes), the gigabyte 1,073,741,824, or 230 bytes), and the terabyte (240 bytes).

Screensaver
A common form of a computer monitor is the cathode ray tube, or CRT. CRT's work by shooting electrons onto a glass screen which has been coated with a material that glows when excited by electrons. This material can wear out if it is continually bombarded with electrons, and this in turn can cause an image to be "burned in" to a CRT. A screensaver is a program that detects when the computer has been idle for a certain amount of time and then paints different images on the CRT to prevent one image from burning in. Thus, the coating tends to wear out more evenly. This is not unlike the concept of rotating the tires on an automobile.

Although screensavers are not needed for newer types of monitors (such as LCD and plasma displays), they are still entertaining. They can also be configured to put the monitor into a low-power state, saving electricity.

Byte
A byte is a collection of eight binary digits (more commonly called "bits"). Although bits can only take on the values of 1 or 0 (on or off), eight of them can be combined in 256 different ways. Thus, a byte can have one of 256 values.

Scanner
A scanner is a device that can digitize an image much as a photocopier does, except that the image is then transferred to a computer.

Email
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Electronic mail, abbreviated e-mail or email, is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. The term e-mail applies both to the Internet e-mail system based on the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and to workgroup collaboration systems allowing users within one company or organization to send messages to each other. Often workgroup collaboration systems natively use non-standard protocols but have some form of gateway to allow them to send and receive internet e-mail. Some organizations may use the internet protocols for internal e-mail service.

Font
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A font consists of a set of images representing the characters from a particular character set in a particular typeface. Historically, fonts came in specific sizes (governing the actual height of the characters), and in sorts (governing the quantities of each letter provided).

Operator
Computer Operators are responsible for maintaining a mainframe, server, or a network of computers. They install software, manage user accounts, and trouble shoot the network. They often select and install new computer equipment. A Computer Operator generally holds an associates degree in computer science, or has related job experience.

Data Entry
Data Entry clerks are responsible for entering data into a computer and verifying that it has been entered accurately. No job experience is necessary for a Data Entry position, but a high school diploma is often required.

Programmer
A programmer designs, writes, debugs and documents simple computer programs or small parts of large programs. They are also often asked to debug or add functions to existing programs. Programmers are usually required to have a bachelor's degree in computer science or previous related job experience.

Systems Analyst
Systems Analysts are responsible for designing large programs, and dividing a program into smaller programs that can be programmed by other team members, and then bringing all those pieces back together to work as a system. In complex systems, they are also responsible for determining how much computing power is required, partitioning the problem across multiple computers, and selecting the computing components required to get the job done. They usually need a bachelors degree in computer science plus three to five years of experience.

Consultant
A Consultant is a person who has a lot of experience, often in a specialized area of computing. They are usually in business for themselves and work "freelance" for a company looking to solve a very specific problem requiring the services of an expert. When the problem has been solved, the consultant begins working on a contract with another company. Consultants often possess an advanced degree (Masters or PhD) and have several years of experience.

4. How can it be determined when a computer is reading or writing on a disk? What precautions should be taken while the computer is performing this function?
Most disk drives are equipped with an indicator light that the computer will illuminate when it is accessing the drive. For a hard drive, this light is usually located on the front of the computer where it can easily be seen. For a floppy drive, the light is located on the front of the drive itself.

A floppy disk should not be removed from a drive when it is being accessed. The computer should not be turned off when it is accessing either a floppy drive or a hard drive. Most modern operating systems have a "shutdown" function which will put the computer in a safe state before it is powered off. When the computer is in this safe state, it will not access any of its disk drives. Turning a computer off without running the "shutdown" function can result in the loss of data or corruption of the drives.

5. What is the difference between serial and parallel communications?
In serial communications, data is sent one bit at a time over a single pair of wires. The pair of wires consists of a data line and a return line. In parallel communications, more than one bit at a time is sent, with each bit being sent over its own wire. Parallel bits can share a common return line or they can each have their own return line.

Examples of serial communications schemes include USB, Ethernet, and RS-232 ports. Examples of parallel communications schemes include parallel printer ports and IDE (hard drive) interfaces.

Parallel interfaces have the obvious advantage of being much faster. Serial interfaces have the advantage of requiring less bulky cabling and connectors.

6. What does it mean for a computer to be "compatible?"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

IBM PC compatible refers to a class of computers which make up the vast majority of smaller computers on the market today. They are based (without IBM's participation) on the original IBM PC. They use the Intel x86 architecture (or an architecture made to emulate it) and are capable of using interchangeable commodity hardware. These computers also used to be referred to as PC clones, and nowadays, just PCs.

7. What legal responsibility applies to software with the following designation: public domain, shareware, copyright?
Any work that is in the public domain is free to use for any purpose whatsoever. In the case of software, that means it can be copied freely, modified, and sold.

Shareware is software that is distributed on a free trial basis. After an evaluation period, the user is legally obligated to either pay for the software or uninstall it from any computer on which it was installed.

Copyright software is software that is used under an end user license agreement, or EULA. Commercial EULAs protect the rights of the software vendor. Other EULAs protect the rights of the user. In general, commercial software cannot be redistributed, modified, or reverse engineered. An example of copyright software whose EULA is designed to protect the user is "open source." Software licensed as "open source" can be modified, redistributed, and even sold, as long as the source code for the software and any modifications made to it are also distributed. The right to have access to the source code is granted to the end user. There are several open source licenses, and each is a little different. The user of "copyright" software - whether commercial or open source - is legally obligated to follow whatever terms are outlined in the EULA, so it is important to read the EULA before accepting it.

Clear the screen of the computer without turning off the power.
These requirements depend heavily on the operating system running on the computer being used to meet them. This operation really only makes sense in a command-line environment (such as DOS) rather than in a graphical environment (such as Windows). In a graphical environment, the screen could be cleared by minimizing all open windows. Instructions for a few command-line environments are given here. At the DOS command prompt, type "cls" (without the quotes) and press the enter key ("cls" is short for "clear screen"). At the Linux command prompt, enter the "clear" command.

Show the contents of a diskette on the computer screen.
Again, this depends on the operating system in use. Step one is the same on all of them though - insert the diskette in the diskette drive.

 * DOS
 * Use the command "DIR A:"

 * Linux
 * Use a graphical file browser, or enter the following commands at the command prompt:

mount -t auto /dev/fd0 /media/floppy ls /media/floppy

 * Macintosh
 * Macintosh having the original GUI interface is quite simple: double click the icon for your disk at appears on the screen. The most modern OS's from Apple are very windows like, once upon a time the icon for your disk truly appeared on the desk top when placed in the drive.

 * Windows
 * Open Windows Explorer (press the "Windows" key and the letter "E" at the same time). Expand the "My Computer" line by clicking on the box with a + in it, then expand the "Floppy (A:)" line.  The contents of the disk will be displayed on the right.

Show how to check for bad sectors on a diskette or hard drive.

 * Dos
 * Use the following command at the DOS prompt.

scandisk /surface

 * Linux
 * Use the following commands:

umount /dev/hda1 fsck /dev/hda1

 * Macintosh

 * Windows XP
 * Double click the "My Computer" icon. Right click the drive you want to check and select "Properties".  Then click the "Tools" tab followed by the "Check Now" button.

Rename a file on the disk to a different name.

 * DOS
 * Use the following command:

ren oldname newname

 * Linux
 * Use the following command:

mv oldname newname

 * Macintosh

 * Windows
 * Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + 'E') and navigate to the folder containing the file you wish to rename. Click once on the filename.  It should become highlighted and a cursor should appear at the end of the filename.  Type the new name and press Enter.  You can also right click on the file name and select "Rename" from the menu.

Copy the contents of one disk to another in perfect "mirror image."
This requirement seems to imply that the computer will have two floppy drives. These days it is extremely rare to find a PC with two drives, and increasingly difficult to find one with even one floppy drive! To meet the spirit of the requirement, you should instead be able to copy the contents of a folder onto a diskette or a flash drive.

 * DOS
 * These instructions assume two floppy drives. Insert the "master" diskette in the A: drive, and the destination  diskette in the B: drive.  Then use the following command:

diskcopy [drive1:] [drive2:]
 * where drive1 is the source drive and drive2 is the target.

 * Linux
 * These instructions assume copying a folder to a flash drive. Insert the flash drive into the USB port and mount it to /media/usb.  Then use the following command:

cp -ar folder/ /media/usb

 * Macintosh

 * Windows
 * These instructions assume copying a folder to a flash drive. Insert the flash drive into the USB port.  Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder containing the folder you wish to copy.  In the right panel, click on the folder you wish to copy using the mouse and drag it to the USB drive in the left panel.  Release the mouse button.

DOS
Use this command: diskcomp A: B: Although this assumes that you have two floppy disks. If you only have one floppy drive, try this instead: diskcomp A: A: This will read the first disk and then prompt the user to insert the second disk. The compare operation will then proceed.

Linux
To compare two directories, use the command line interface and enter this command:

diff /path/to/source/directory /path/to/copy

Be sure to substitute the proper directories.

Windows
Open a DOS window and use the same procedure as described in the DOS section.

Show how to copy a file onto a disk.

 * DOS
 * Insert a diskette in a disk drive and use the following command:

copy filename A:

 * Linux
 * Insert a diskette into the disk drive and mount it to /media/floppy. Then use the following command:

cp filename /media/floppy

 * Macintosh

 * Windows
 * Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the destination folder. Then navigate to the folder that has the file in it.  In the left panel, scroll to the destination folder.  Then drag the file icon in the right panel to the destination folder in the left panel.

Show how to delete a file from a disk.

 * DOS
 * Use the following command:

del filename

 * Linux
 * Use the following command:

rm filename

 * Macintosh

 * Windows
 * Open Windows Explorer and right click on the filename. Select "Delete" from the menu.

== 9. Research at least four different computer languages (such as BASIC, VISUAL BASIC, Pascal, C, C++) to find out why they were developed and for what type of application they are used. Type a 200 word report on your findings or give a three-minute oral report. ==

The following links have plenty of material:
 * BASIC
 * Visual BASIC
 * Pascal
 * C
 * C++

Other programming languages may also be of interest:
 * Java
 * Python

Word Processing
The word processing requirement can be met with any number of word processing programs - all of which will have different (but similar) ways of accomplishing the same thing. The answers to this requirement have been re-organized to detail the functions for three different word processing programs:

Microsoft Word

OpenOffice

WordPerfect

=== Database Make a list of at least 15 people, their addresses, phone number, birth date, and age. Perform a sort function which will list the people alphabetically by last name, list by zip code, list by age, and list by birth date. Make a printout of each list.===

Accounting Program
Do one of the following with an accounting program:

Newsletter ProgramPrepare three pages of double-column text with at least four different computer-generated graphics (such as graphs or clip art), two different fonts, and one headline.
=== SpreadsheetShow how to add columns, move columns, put a calculation in a field, save, reload, and print. Also perform the function of adding column A and B, dividing by column C, and placing the result in column D.===

This can be accomplished with Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Scalc, or any other spreadsheet program that is available to you and your Pathfinders. They all work about the same, with only minor differences between them.

First you will need to start the spreadsheet program and enter in two columns of numbers. A spreadsheet is a grid of cells arranged in rows (horizontal) and columns (vertical). The columns are labeled by letters (Column A, B, C, etc.), and the rows are labeled by numbers (Row 1, 2, 3, etc.). An individual cell is identified by its column and row, for example, cell B14 is in column B, row 14.

Begin by entering three columns of numbers in columns A, B, and C. To enter a number into a cell, simply click on the cell with the mouse and type in a number. Then press the down arrow on the keyboard or click on another cell. For this exercises, enter 10 numbers in each column, starting at row 1 and proceeding to row 10.

Now you are ready to add columns A and B and divide them by column C. The results will be computed in column D.  Go to cell D1, and enter in the following:

=(A1+B1)/C1

Be sure to start with an equal sign. This tells the program that this column will be computed rather than taken as a literal. After you press Enter, the spreadsheet should perform the calculation, and the result should appear in cell D1. All that remains is to copy this formula into the other 9 cells in row D. To do this, click on cell D1 and type -C on the keyboard. This will copy the formula into the copy buffer. You could also right click on cell D1 with the mouse and select "Copy". Once you have done this, click on cell D2. Then hold down the shift key and click on cell D10. Cells D2 through D10 should be highlighted. Then type -V (or right click and select "Paste"). The program should put a copy of cell D1 into cells D2 through D10. However, it will not put an exact copy in these cells. Cell D2 will contain

=(A2+B2)/C2

Note how the row numbers have changed. This is a great convenience that will prevent you from having to edit every single entry in the column.

Educational Program Teach any student in grades 1 to 4 how to successfully do a solo operation of a program designed for their age level.
A nice, free, educational program that works on many computer operating systems is Tux Paint. It is available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and other operating systems as well. The website has plenty of documentation to get you started.

Another great program is GCompris (pronounced "Gee Com-pree") and it too is available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and more. It offers a wide variety of activities for children of all ages, from "computer discovery" (how to use a mouse, etc.) to algebra. It is available in several languages (12 as of this writing).

Alternatively, you may use one of many commercially available educational programs.

11. Visit the computer department of any business or have someone from a business computer department visit your classroom or club.
Whether you visit company or the professional visits you, remember you are interrupting a somebody's busy schedule. While they may genuinely happy to help you, they are doing you a favor by doing so. Respond by showing appropriate gratitude, being polite, and being on time. Be flexible when scheduling the visit as well. You will need to fit your time into their schedule rather than asking them to fit their time into yours.


text:
QBasic/Sound

QBasic has three ways of making sounds.

 * BEEP command
 * SOUND command
 * PLAY command

BEEP
Earlier used as PRINT CHR$(07) the now available BEEP command makes a beep noise. It is commonly used to attract attention, when some important message is being displayed.

The two commands, as can be seen by running this program on a computer, are exactly the same.

SOUND
The SOUND command produces sound of a specific frequency for a specific duration from the PC Speaker. Only one sound can be played at a time. If multiple SOUND statements are issued sequentially, every statement after the first will not execute until after the previous one finishes.

Syntax
SOUND f, d
 * f - Frequency in Hertz, ranges from 37 to 32767
 * d - Duration in ticks, ranges from 0 to 65535, there are 18.2 ticks per second

Example
SOUND 100, 18.2

Plays a 100 hertz wave for 18.2 ticks, about 1 seconds.

The lowest frequency allowed by QBasic is 37 Hz, which is roughly a D in the 2nd octave. The highest frequency is 32 767 Hz, but this tone can not be heard, because the normal human hearing range ends at 20 000 Hz.

A secondary function of the SOUND command is to use it to control time in a program.

For x% = 1 TO 10 Print x%    Sound 3200,18.2 NEXT

This program will print the numbers 1 to 10, with a 1 second delay between each number,and play a sound of 3200hz having interval of 1 second.(edited by FalcoN)

PLAY
The PLAY command is for playing musical notes,octave. It can only play one note at a time.

More than that the play command can play a complex stored "song" This is accomplished through the use of a song string. For string command detail, see QBasic/Appendix.

Simple Musical Keyboard In Qbasic
This code uses a select case command to check values of note$. Ucase$ is used to maintain that there be no difference if Caps Lock is applied. The play command is used to play different notes. The other features of play have not been used here.

title: QBasic/Sound


text: Template:Radiation Oncology/Bile duct/TOC


text:
Radiation Oncology/Bile duct/Adjuvant RT

There are no prospective randomized trials evaluating efficacy of adjuvant RT. Single institution retrospective studies seem to suggest some benefit to RT, particularly with higher doses (>45 Gy) and with microscopically positive margins (R1). The role of brachytherapy is similarly unclear.

Intrahepatic (peripheral)

 * Chang Gung Taiwan 1977-2001 PMID 15793863 -- Prognostic analysis of surgical treatment of peripheral cholangiocarcinoma: two decades of experience at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. (2005 Jan YY, World J Gastroenterol. 2005 Mar 28;11(12):1779-84.)
 * Retrospective. 373 patients with peripheral CCA (second order or more intrahepatic branches), 50% hepatectomy (36% curative resection). Please see more detail in surgical section
 * RT 63 patients vs. no RT 249 (not further discussed in text)
 * Median survival, 3-year OS, 5-year OS: RT 11.7 mo (16.6%, 6.6%) vs. no RT 6.2 mo (9.6%, 7.2%) p=0.02
 * Conclusion : "Favorable overall survival of PCC patients undergoing surgical treatment depends on early tumor stage, presence of mucobilia, papillary tumor type, hepatic resection, and post-operative chemotherapy"

 * Paris VII France 1990-97 PMID 10398898 -- Resection of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a Western experience. (1999 Valverde A, J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg. 1999;6(2):122-7.)
 * Retrospective. 42 patients, 30 curative resection
 * Median survival: 28 months, 3 survivors > 5 years
 * Adjuvant RT and/or CT had no impact on survival
 * Conclusion : "Complete surgical resection may offer a chance for long-term survival in selected patients and may improve the quality of life of patients with more advanced disease."

Perihilar

 * UT MD Anderson 1984-2005 PMID 18754070 -- [Extrahepatic bile duct adenocarcinoma: patients at high-risk for local recurrence treated with surgery and adjuvant chemoradiation have an equivalent overall survival to patients with standard-risk treated with surgery alone] (2008 Borghero,Y. 2008 Ann Surg Oncol Jul 15(11):3147-56.)
 * Retrospective. 65 patients. Two groups compared, Surgery only n=23(had R0 and N0) and Surgery + Adjuvant CRT n=42 (had R1 and/or N1)
 * Median (5-year) OS-5: S vs S-CRT 36% vs 42% p=NS LRR-5: 38% vs. 37%, P = .13
 * Conclusion : "Our finding of a lack of a survival difference between the S and S-CRT groups suggests that for patients with extrahepatic bile duct adenocarcinoma at high risk for locoregional recurrence (i.e., R1 resection or pN1 disease), adjuvant chemoradiation provides an equivalent overall survival despite of these worse prognostic features."

 * Shanghai China 1997-2002 PMID 16083598 -- [Analysis of the relation between surgery and prognosis of hilar cholangiocarcinoma] - [Article in Chinese] (2005 Yi B, Zhonghua Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2005 Jul 1;43(13):842-5.)
 * Retrospective. 198 patients treated, 61% resected, 30% radical resection. Some treated with post-op RT (unclear)
 * Post-op RT significant predictor of post-op survival (no numbers in abstract)

 * Jefferson 1983-97 PMID 15685030 -- Positive microscopic margins alter outcome in lymph node-negative cholangiocarcinoma when resection is combined with adjuvant radiotherapy. (2005 Stein DE, Am J Clin Oncol. 2005 Feb;28(1):21-3.
 * Retrospective. 16 patients treated post-op with RT (7 negative surgical margin, 9 positive surgical margin), average dose 53 Gy via both EBRT and BT; median follow-up 55 months
 * Median (5-year) OS: margin (-) 21.5 months (18.4%) vs. margin (+) 26 months (15%), p=NS
 * Conclusion : "Positive microscopic margins in lymph node-negative, resected hilar cholangiocarcinoma may not represent a negative prognostic factor when resection is combined with postoperative radiotherapy in this cohort."

 * Miami 1985-97 PMID 11677948 -- Management of hilar bile duct carcinoma. (2001 Bathe OF, Hepatogastroenterology. 2001 Sep-Oct;48(41):1289-94.)
 * Retrospective. 55 patients, 19 curative resection.
 * 2-year survival longer in resection 47% vs. 18% (p=0.03)
 * No benefit to RT (either postoperative RT or in unresectable disease)
 * Conclusion : "Locoregional extent of disease is the greatest problem in cases of proximal bile duct cancers. Resection provides the best hope for long-term survival, but new adjuvant strategies are needed."

 * Tsukuba Japan PMID 10701737 -- Benefits of adjuvant radiotherapy after radical resection of locally advanced main hepatic duct carcinoma. (2000 Todoroki T, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2000 Feb 1;46(3):581-7.)
 * Retrospective. 63 pts with Klatskin IVA (T4, N0-1, M0) treated by radical resection.
 * 47 pts had microscopic + margins (R1). 28 of those received XRT (17 IORT + postop RT; 6 IORT only; 4 postop only)), 19 surgery only.
 * 5-year OS: surgery 13.5% vs. RT 33.9% (IORT + EBRT 39.2%).
 * Locoregional control: surgery 31.2% vs. RT 79.2%
 * Conclusion : "Our data clearly suggest the improved prognosis of patients with locally advanced Klatskin tumor by integrated adjuvant radiotherapy with IORT and PORT to complete gross tumor resection with acceptable treatment mortality and morbidity."

 * Amsterdam Netherlands PMID 9841770 -- Long-term survival after resection of proximal bile duct carcinoma (Klatskin tumors). (1999 Gerhards MF, World J Surg. 1999 Jan;23(1):91-6.)
 * Retrospective. 12/79 surgically treated patients with >5 year survival evaluated
 * No correlation with RT
 * Conclusion : "Preoperative Bismuth classification of the tumor, absence of multifocality, diploid-type tumors, and negative proximal bile duct margins at histopathologic examination were the only significant prognostic factors for long-term survival"

 * Hopkins 1988-93 PMID 7794082 -- Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. Postoperative radiotherapy does not improve survival. (1995 Pitt HA, Ann Surg. 1995 Jun;221(6):788-97; discussion 797-8.)
 * Prospective. 50 Pts w/ perihillar CA. Stratified by surgery (31 radical vs. 19 palliative) and RT (23 RT vs. 27 no RT)
 * Resection improved the length (24.2 vs. 11.3 months, p < 0.05) and quality of survival.
 * Radiation had *no* effect on the length (18.4 vs. 20.1 months) or quality of survival or on late toxicity.
 * Conclusion : "This analysis suggests that in patients with localized perihilar cholangiocarcinoma, resection prolongs survival whereas radiation has no effect on either survival or late toxicity."
 * Study insufficient to rule out post-op RT benefit in patients with complete surgical resection

 * Amsterdam PMID 1648329 -- Does additive radiotherapy after hilar resection improve survival of cholangiocarcinoma? An analysis in sixty-four patients. (1991 Verbeek PC, Ann Chir. 1991;45(4):350-4.)
 * Retrospective. 64 pts with Klatskin tumors, all had surgery. 29 post-op XRT, 22 resection only, and 13 postoperative deaths.
 * Conclusion : Overall survival benefit for XRT (p<0.001)

 * Hopkins PMID 1688486 -- Management of proximal cholangiocarcinomas by surgical resection and radiotherapy. (1990 Cameron JL, Am J Surg 1990; 159:91-7; discussion 97-8.)
 * Retrospective. 96 patients, 55% resected (41% curative resection), 45% palliative stenting.
 * 5-year OS: resected 8% vs. stented 0%
 * RT given as EBRT 50-60Gy + some patients BT 2Gy boost: Adjuvant RT 72% (38/53), 51% BT boost;, palliative RT 58% (25/43), 10% BT boost
 * Adjuvant RT: 3-year OS 31% both groups (p=NS), but all long term survivors received RT
 * Palliative RT: 1-year OS 38% RT vs 9% no RT (p<0.05)
 * RT significantly extended survival in patients undergoing palliative stenting, but not in those undergoing resection.
 * Conclusion : "We conclude that surgical resection of proximal cholangiocarcinomas can be performed safely and that it significantly prolongs survival."

Distal bile duct

 * Shanghai China 1996-2002 PMID 15196364 -- [Prognostic analysis of patients suffering from distal bile duct cancer] - [Article in Chinese] (2004 Sun LC, Zhonghua Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2004 May 7;42(9):528-31.)
 * Retrospective. 173 of distal bile duct CA.
 * Significant impact: surgical procedure, LN mets, and pathological grade
 * No impact: transfusion, invasion of pancreas, postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy, ERCP, diameter of tumour, serum level of CA-19-9, preoperative total serum bilirubin level (TBIL), ratio of albumin to globulin (A/G), sex and age
 * Conclusion : "Radical resection is only curative treatment modality. Aggressive treatment and prevention on postoperative liver metastasis is a important strategy to improve the survival for distal bile duct cancer."

 * Tsukuba Japan PMID 11260100 -- Treatment strategy for patients with middle and lower third bile duct cancer. (2001 Todoroki T, Br J Surg. 2001 Mar;88(3):364-70.)
 * 67 patients with middle/lower BDCA
 * 5-year OS: 63% R0 vs. 16% R1 vs. 0% R2 vs. 0% no resection. R2 median survival longer (11.4 months) then no resection (3.5 months)
 * RT improved 5-year OS in R1 patients (8% vs. 0%) but p=NS
 * R0 relapse: 1 locoregional, 6 distant mets, 5 both. Liver most frequent mets
 * Conclusion : "Curative (R0) resection is only one step in curing cancer, and radiotherapy may play a beneficial role in controlling locoregional residual tumour."

Any location

 * Pittsburgh 1983-97 PMID 12902899 -- Cholangiocarcinoma: the impact of tumor location and treatment strategy on outcome. (2003 Heron, Am J Clin Oncol. 2003 Aug;26(4):422-8.)
 * Retrospective. 118 patients, treated with surgery, RT (EBRT or ILRT), surgery + RT, chemo, palliation, and combinations
 * Mean survival: overall 22 months, proximal tumors 17 months vs. distal tumors 47 months
 * Improved survival for surgery + RT vs surgery alone for proximal and distal lesions.
 * Poor prognosis (3.5 months) for palliation only.

 * Florida 1962-93 PMID 9822171 -- Carcinoma of the extrahepatic biliary tract: surgery and radiotherapy for curative and palliative intent. (1998 Zlotecki RA, Radiat Oncol Investig 1998; 6:240-7.)
 * Retrospective. 47 patients, 17 surgery alone, 20 surgery + EBRT, 10 EBRT alone
 * 5-year OS: 15%, surgery alone 15% vs. surgery + EBRT or EBRT alone 14%
 * 5-year OS: gross total resection alone 19% vs. gross total resection + EBRT 35% (p=0.07)
 * Median survival after EBRT alone: 6.4 months
 * Conclusion : " Postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy was well tolerated and may improve local-regional control after gross total resection."

 * Hopkins 1971-94 PMID 8857851 -- Cholangiocarcinoma. A spectrum of intrahepatic, perihilar, and distal tumors. (1996 Nakeeb A, Ann Surg. 1996 Oct;224(4):463-73; discussion 473-5.)
 * Retrospective. 294 patients, 6% intrahepatic, 67% perihilar, 27% distal tumors
 * Resectability rate: 50% intrahepatic, 56% perihilar, 91% distal
 * Median survival (5-year survival): intrahepatic 26 months (44%), perihilar 19 months (11%), and distal 22 months (28%)
 * Post-op RT did not improve survival
 * Conclusion : "Cholangiocarcinoma is best classified into three broad categories. Resection remains the primary treatment, whereas postoperative adjuvant radiation has no influence on survival."

 * Jefferson 1983-1992 PMID 7480704 -- Cholangiocarcinoma: clinical significance of tumor location along the extrahepatic bile duct. (1995 Alden ME, Radiology. 1995 Nov;197(2):511-6.)
 * Retrospective. 81 pts, 56 proximal, 25 distal. Median follow-up 28 months
 * 5-year OS: proximal 13% vs. distal 53% (p<0.01)
 * Proximal CA (RT or resection + RT or palliation): median survival no RT 6 mo vs. RT 17 mo (p=0.01). No benefit for resection in presence of RT
 * Distal CA (resection +/- RT): no benefit for RT after resection
 * Conclusion : "Patients with proximal cancer should undergo primary RT, and expectations should be limited. Patients with distal cancer should undergo resection, and RT may not be needed."

 * UCSF 1977-1987 PMID 8147607 -- Carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts. The University of California at San Francisco experience. (1994 Schoenthaler R, Ann Surg 1994; 219:267-74.)
 * Retrospective. 129 patients, min 5 year follow-up. 48% surgery alone, 35% surgery + RT, 17% charged particles (helium/neon)
 * Median survival: entire group 6.5/11/14 months, curative intent 16/16/23 months
 * Patients with microscopic residual disease had increased median survival times when they were treated with adjuvant RT, most markedly after CP (p = 0.0005) but also with conventional XRT (p = 0.0109).
 * Patients with gross residual disease had a less marked but still statistically significant extended survival (p = 0.05 for S + X and p = 0.0423 for S + CP) after RT
 * Conclusion : "The mainstay of bile duct carcinoma management was maximal surgical resection in these patients. Postoperative radiotherapy gave patients with positive microscopic margins a significant survival advantage and may be of value in selected patients with gross disease."

 * Wash U PMID 8159005 -- Multidisciplinary treatment of biliary tract cancers. (1994 Kraybill WG, J Surg Oncol 1994; 55:239-45.)
 * Retrospective. 96 patients with GB or with biliary duct CA. Median survival 11 months
 * Resection significantly (p=0.02) improved survival
 * RT > 40Gy significantly (p=0.003) improved survival

 * Hopkins 1973-89 PMID 1329453 -- Gastric and duodenal obstruction in patients with cholangiocarcinoma in the porta hepatis: increased prevalence after radiation therapy. (1992 Mogavero GT, AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1992 Nov;159(5):1001-3.)
 * 96 patients resection or stenting, 66% received RT (49.6-72.2Gy)
 * 7 patients developed gastric/duodenal obstruction, after evaluation presumed radiation fibrosis
 * Conclusion : "Our experience suggests that radiation therapy increases the risk of postoperative gastric and duodenal obstruction in patients undergoing surgery for cholangiocarcinoma."

 * Lyon Sud France 1980-88 PMID 1866463 -- Radiation therapy in extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma. (1991 Mahe M, Radiother Oncol. 1991 Jun;21(2):121-7.)
 * Retrospective. 51 patients, 4 radical resection, 10 positive margins, 12 palliative resection, 10 biopsy, 15 no surgery
 * RT curative (mean EBRT 45 Gy, ILRT 50-60 Gy) for radical/positive margin surgery, palliative (mean EBRT 35 Gy, ILRT 30 Gy)
 * Median survival (3-year OS): 12 months (15%)

 * International PMID 1705417 -- Surgical management of 552 carcinomas of the extrahepatic bile ducts (gallbladder and periampullary tumors excluded). Results of the French Surgical Association Survey. (1991 Reding R, Ann Surg. 1991 Mar;213(3):236-41.)
 * Retrospective. 552 cases treated at 55 centers. Extrahepatic BD only
 * Please see Radiation_Oncology/Bile_duct/Surgery for surgical details
 * Adjuvant RT vs. surgery only no difference in survial
 * However, total number of patients treated with RT in both adjuvant and palliative setting was 27

 * Hyogo Japan PMID 1658858 -- Radiotherapy of postoperative residual tumor of bile duct carcinoma. (1991 Kurisu K, Radiat Med. 1991 Mar-Apr;9(2):82-4.)
 * Case report of EBRT + HDR BT for residual tumor. Alive for ~3 years
 * Conclusion : "HDRIBT following external irradiation is recommended for the treatment of postoperative small residual tumors of the bile duct."

 * Pittsburgh 1976-88 PMID 2070327 -- Radiation therapy for primary carcinoma of the extrahepatic biliary system. An analysis of 63 cases. (1991 Flickinger JC, Cancer. 1991 Jul 15;68(2):289-94.)
 * Retrospective. 63 (55 EHBD, 8 GB) patients treated with RT. 12 liver transplant, 13 chemo, 3 BT alone, 9 EBRT + BT
 * Median survival: 7 months
 * Conclusion : "Extrahepatic biliary duct cancers, the absence of metastases, increasing calendar year of treatment, and liver transplantation with postoperative radiation therapy were factors significantly associated with improved survival."

 * Rotterdam PMID 2153649 -- The role of radiotherapy in the treatment of bile duct carcinoma. (1990 Veeze-Kuijpers B, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1990 Jan;18(1):63-7)
 * Retrospective. 42 patients (11 microscopic positive margins after surgery, 31 unresectable) given EBRT + ILRT
 * Median survival 10 months

Brachytherapy

 * Hokkaido Japan 1980-98 PMID 15976951 -- Effectiveness of radiation therapy after surgery for hilar cholangiocarcinoma. (2005 Sagawa N, Surg Today. 2005;35(7):548-52)
 * Retrospective. 69 patients, 30 surgery alone vs. 39 surgery + adjuvant RT. Similar features in both groups.
 * RT treatment: 31 EBRT (mean 37.2 Gy) + BT (mean 36.9 Gy) vs. 8 EBRT only (mean 37.5 Gy)
 * 3-year survival: surgery + RT 41% vs. surgery alone 33% (p=NS)
 * Subgroup analysis (by surgical margin, stage) no benefit to RT, except adjuvant RT with pStage III/IVa (p=0.04)
 * 2 complications: stenosis of bile duct, venous bleeding from ostomy
 * Conclusion : "Radiation therapy after surgery did not show any clinical benefits for patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma. However, it may be effective as adjuvant therapy after curative resection in a small subgroup of patients with p-stage III or IVa disease."

 * Amsterdam 1983-98 PMID 12616432 -- Results of postoperative radiotherapy for resectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma. (2003 Gerhards MF, World J Surg. 2003 Feb;27(2):173-9.)
 * Retrospective. 112 patients underwent resection, 91 survived post-op. No RT in 20 patients, EBRT in 30 patients (median 46 Gy), 41 patients EBRT (median 42 Gy) + ILRT (median 10 Gy)
 * 88% late complications; significantly more with RT
 * Median survival: surgery only 8 months vs. surgery + RT 24 months, but no add'l benefit to ILRT
 * Conclusion : "Additional radiotherapy after resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma significantly improved survival and is recommended by giving external beam irradiation but not intraluminal brachytherapy."

 * Maryland PMID 11202795 -- Postoperative endoscopic retrograde high dose-rate brachytherapy for cholangiocarcinoma. (2000 Ove R, Am J Clin Oncol. 2000 Dec;23(6):559-61.)
 * Case report for nasobiliary route BT

 * Amsterdam 1985-97 PMID 10436826 -- Role of radiotherapy, in particular intraluminal brachytherapy, in the treatment of proximal bile duct carcinoma. (1999 Gonzalez Gonzalez D, Ann Oncol. 1999;10 Suppl 4:215-20.)
 * Retrospective. 109 patients received RT, 71 patients surgery + preop RT (19) or + post-op RT (52). Of these, 41 received 10 Gy ILRT boost. Median dose 50-55 Gy. 38 patients palliative RT, 19 received 22-25 ILRT Gy boost. Median dose 60-68 Gy.
 * Median survival: surgery + RT 24 months vs. palliative 10.4 months
 * Surgical patients: dose > 55 Gy had *lower* survival, and no benefit to brachytherapy
 * Palliative patients: no benefit to brachytherapy
 * Conclusion : "The role of radiotherapy either as adjuvant or as primary treatment remains to be demonstrated in prospective randomised studies. From our results, it seems that high radiation doses could be dangerous and could detriment prognosis. Brachytherapy boost was not superior to treatment with external beam irradiation alone."

 * Hammersmith London PMID 8961369 -- External beam and intraluminal radiotherapy for locally advanced bile duct cancer: role and tolerability. (1996 Vallis KA, Radiother Oncol. 1996 Oct;41(1):61-6.)
 * Prospective. 38 patients, various types of surgical treatment. Hyperfractionation schedule: 20 patients EBRT (6 patients 22.5 Gy 2.25 Gy/fx BID, 12 patients 45 Gy 2.25 Gy/fx BID, 1 patient EBRT 30 Gy conventional, 1 patient EBRT 50 Gy conventional). 14 patients EBRT (median 24 Gy) + BT (40 Gy). 4 patients BT alone (45 Gy @ 1cm)
 * Toxicity: 1 patient acute Grade 3, 2 patients late GIB
 * Conclusion : "Accelerated external beam radiotherapy with or without intraluminal radiotherapy is feasible and associated with acceptable toxicity when used in the management of advance cholangiocarcinoma."

Charged particles

 * UCSF PMID 8365945 -- Definitive postoperative irradiation of bile duct carcinoma with charged particles and/or photons. (1993 Schoenthaler R, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1993 Sep 1;27(1):75-82.)
 * Retrospective. 62 patients, 77% treated post resection (62% XRT 54 Gy, 38% charged particles 60 Gy)
 * Median survival (2-year OS): 12 months photons (18%) vs. 23 months particles (44%) p=0.048
 * Conclusion : "Compared to conventional photon radiotherapy, treatment with post-operative charged particle irradiation at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory appeared to offer a survival advantage in this non-randomized series."

Late toxicity

 * Sapporo Japan PMID 11148994 -- Biliary stricture as a possible late complication of radiation therapy. (2000 Nakakubo Y, Hepatogastroenterology. 2000 Nov-Dec;47(36):1531-2.)
 * Case report. 11 years after resection with PORT, development of biliary stricture at site of RT


text:
Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Bane

Overview
Bane is a Centaur living in the Forbidden Forest.

Philosopher's Stone
When Harry is serving his detention in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid, they are startled by the appearance of a centaur, Ronan, who makes some comments about astronomy ("Mars is bright tonight"). Shortly, Bane joins them, and makes similar comments about astronomy.

After leaving them, Harry, Draco Malfoy, and Hagrid's boar-hound Fang find the creature that has been killing Unicorns. As the creature seems to be about ready to attack Harry, he is rescued by another Centaur, Firenze, who offers to carry Harry back to Hagrid. As he is doing so, he is met by Bane and Ronan, who accuse him of becoming a pack animal for humans, like a donkey, and interfering with the portents. Firenze leaves them behind, saying that he will fight the evil, even alongside humans if he must.

Order of the Phoenix
Firenze, now teaching Divination, explains that he cannot return to the Forbidden Forest, as he has been banished by his herd. Harry sees a hoof-shaped bruise on his chest, and wonders if it was Bane who put that there.

Bane, along with Magorian, is in the group of centaurs who confront Hagrid as he is taking Harry and Hermione back to the school after introducing them to his half-brother, Grawp. Bane makes no sign of having spoken to Harry earlier, but warns "this human" Hagrid what will happen to him if he returns to the Forest.

Bane is among the group of centaurs who come to investigate when Hermione is leading Harry and Dolores Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest to try and entrap her there. After Umbridge has insulted the Centaurs by calling them "inferior half-breeds" and has magically bound Magorian, the centaurs swarm her, and the last we see of Umbridge is Bane bearing her off into the forest.

Deathly Hallows
When Hagrid is carrying an apparently-dead Harry out of the Forbidden Forest, apparently several centaurs are present and watching Lord Voldemort's victory procession. Hagrid calls out to Bane, apparently believing that their inaction implicates them in Harry's death.

Whether or not Hagrid's accusations of Bane have effect is uncertain; Bane, however, is one of the centaurs who lead the counter attack on the Death Eaters, along with Ronan and Magorian.

Strengths
Astronomy and reading the stars and planets.

Relationships with Other Characters
Bane is part of a herd of centaurs that includes Ronan, Firenze and Magorian. While the herd seems to choose to separate itself from human affairs, Bane is something of an extremist in these views. We have little information on how his extremism affects his relations with many of the other centaurs in his herd, though we suspect that he and Firenze had a falling-out when Firenze elected to accept the Astrology post at Hogwarts.

Analysis
In his own way, Bane is as prejudiced as any Death Eater. He believes in the innate superiority of Centaurs over humans, and is affronted by any suggestion that humans and centaurs could work together. In this he is only echoing the beliefs of his herd, beliefs that are apparently shared to a greater or lesser degree by every centaur we meet.


text:
Radiation Oncology/Bile duct/Clinical Trials

Link to Cancer.gov biliary tract cancer trials. Protocol ID below is cross-linked to the appropriate cancer.gov page.

Chemotherapy


text:
Talk:XML - Managing Data Exchange/The many-to-many relationship

There appears to be an error in the example used in this page. One of the code listings is supposed to be an XSLT stylesheet but (I believe this is by error) the XML instance document (source of the transformation) is repeated instead. I'd like to see the XSLT document referenced in the discussion.

Also, Line numbers are referred to in the text but don't appear in the examples.

I tried to locate contact information to report these editing oversites, but couldn't locate any. Hopefully this submission will be forwarded to someone who can report the erros.

Cheers,

Nick Nagel

Chapter Revision Suggestions
proposed by Christina Serrano 1/29/06

The following two suggestions are intended to focus the chapter on the many-to-many concept. These additional sections add confusion and inconsistency to the chapter. Moreover, these sections are not specific to the many-to-many relationship and can be applied to other XML chapters, so it would make sense to place these sections in separate resource chapters.
 * Remove the section on xslt numeric functions--this information could be placed in a chapter about xslt.
 * Remove the section on additional data types for xml schemas--this information could be placed in a chapter about xml schemas.

The following are suggestions to improve the many-to-many sections:
 * After the intro, explain the problems inherent in representing many-to-many relationships in XML.
 * Show examples of each proposed solution to remedy the many-to-many problem.
 * Apply formatting changes outlined in the author guidelines.
 * Edit for spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.

Professor's comments
The m:m example needs to be redone to give a more complete coverage of the problem. Refer to http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-xdm2m.html. We need to cover the first two cases and explain the ID and IDREF datataypes. Also, I think we just focus on a part of the data model. The suggested version follows.

Also, to use a stylesheet with an m:m, the key function needs to be introduced.

rtw 17:50, 5 Feb 2006 (UTC)

Post-revision Comments
Christina Serrano 2/23/06

I'm still not too clear on how to explain the key function. I've added a short paragraph about it, but I wasn't sure how detailed I should go in this chapter. I used the following resource: http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt#key. This page contains more comprehensive information regarding the key function, so I can add more to this chapter--or would it be more appropriate to add this information to the XSLT chapter?


text:
Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Nf3/2...d6/3. d4/3...cxd4/4. Nxd4/4...Nf6

= Open Sicilian = White's pawn is under attack from the knight on f6. They must defend it or forestall Black's capture of it in some way. /5. Nc3/ is almost universally played as it is the knight's natural square anyway. A knight on c3 increases White's influence of the d5 square, and forms a defensive bulwark against attacks on the c-file, to the extent that Black will often give up a rook to remove it.

Also played is /5. f3/. At first glance White is attempting to reserve the option of moving the c-pawn to c4. However there is not usually time for this, because without a White knight on c3 Black is immediately threatening to play e5 and d5 and equalise in the centre. White is compelled to throw a spanner in the works, usually with Bb5+, and c4 gets forgotten in the ensuing complications.

/5. Bb5/+ is plausible and may transpose into common lines, but if White's plan is to simplify this way, why now and not two moves previously when White could have followed up by castling kingside with a useful defensive knight on f3? Bb5+ is a shade inconsistent.

/5. Bd3/ commits the bishop to a square on which it will have no future after the obvious e5. It also fails to prevent a subsequent d5.

/5. Bc4/ is playable, apparently dropping the e4 pawn, but intending Qh5; after which, if Black plays e6 to block the attack on f7, White has ideas of Bb5+ and Nxe6.

Theory table
.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6


text:
Circuit Theory/RLC Circuits

Second Order Differential Equation

 * $$L \frac{dI}{dt} + I R + \frac{1}{C} \int I dt = V$$
 * $$\frac{d^2I}{dt^2} + \frac{R}{L} \frac{dI}{dt} + \frac{I}{LC} = 0$$

The characteristic equation is
 * $$s^2 + \frac{R}{L}s + \frac{1}{LC}  = 0$$
 * $$s = -\alpha \pm \sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2}$$

Where
 * $$\alpha = \frac{R}{2L}$$
 * $$\beta = \frac{1}\sqrt{LC}$$

When $$\sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2} = 0$$
 * $$ \alpha^2 = \beta^2 ; R = 2 \sqrt{\frac{L}{C}}$$
 * The equation only has one real root . $$s = -\alpha = - \frac{R}{2L}$$
 * The solution for $$I(t) = A e^{-\frac{R}{2L} t}$$
 * The I - t curve would look like

When $$\sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2} > 0$$
 * $$\alpha^2 > \beta^2 ; R > \frac{L}{C}$$
 * The equation has two real root . $$s = -\alpha \pm \sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2}$$
 * The solution for $$I(t) =

e^{\left(- \alpha + \sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2}\right) t} + e^{\left(- \alpha - \sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2}\right) t} = e^{-\alpha}\left[ e^{ \sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2}} + e^{-\sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2}}\right]$$
 * The I - t curve would look like

When $$\sqrt{\alpha^2 - \beta^2} < 0$$
 * $$\alpha^2 < \beta^2 ; R < \frac{L}{C}$$
 * The equation has two complex root . $$s = -\alpha \pm j\sqrt{\beta^2 - \alpha^2}$$
 * The solution for $$I(t) =

e^{\left(- \alpha + \sqrt{\beta^2 - \alpha^2} t\right)} + e^{\left(- \alpha - \sqrt{\beta^2 - \alpha^2} t\right)} = e^{-\alpha}\left[ e^{j\left(\sqrt{\beta^2 - \alpha^2} t\right)} + e^{-j\left(\sqrt{\beta^2 - \alpha^2} t\right)} \right]$$
 * The I - t curve would look like

Damping Factor
The damping factor is the amount by which the oscillations of a circuit gradually decrease over time. We define the damping ratio to be:

Compare The Damping factor with The Resonance Frequency give rise to different types of circuits: Overdamped, Underdamped, and Critically Damped.

Bandwidth

 * $$ \Delta \omega =  2 \alpha

$$

For series RLC circuit:

 * $$ \Delta \omega =  2 \alpha   = { R \over L}$$

For Parallel RLC circuit:

 * $$ \Delta \omega =  2 \alpha   = { 1 \over RC}$$

Quality Factor

 * $$Q =  {\omega_o \over \Delta \omega } = {\omega_o \over 2\alpha }$$

For Series RLC circuit:

 * $$Q =  {\omega_o \over \Delta \omega } = {\omega_o \over 2\alpha } = {L \over R \sqrt{LC}} = {1 \over R} \sqrt{L \over C}$$

For Parallel RLC circuit:

 * $$Q =  {\omega_o \over \Delta \omega } = {\omega_o \over 2\alpha } = {RC \over \sqrt{LC}} = {R} \sqrt{C \over L}$$

Stability
Because inductors and capacitors act differently to different inputs, there is some potential for the circuit response to approach infinity when subjected to certain types and amplitudes of inputs. When the output of a circuit approaches infinity, the circuit is said to be unstable. Unstable circuits can actually be dangerous, as unstable elements overheat, and potentially rupture.

A circuit is considered to be stable when a "well-behaved" input produces a "well-behaved" output response. We use the term "Well-Behaved" differently for each application, but generally, we mean "Well-Behaved" to mean a finite and controllable quantity.

With R = 0
When R = 0, the circuit reduces to a series LC circuit. When the circuit is in resonance, the circuit will vibrate at the resonant frequency.

 * $$Z_L = Z_C$$
 * $$\omega L = \frac{1}{\omega C}$$
 * $$\omega = \frac{1}{\sqrt{LC}}$$
 * $$f = \frac{1}{2\pi} \frac{1}{\sqrt{LC}}$$

The circuit vibrates and may produce a standing wave, depending on the frequency of the driver, the wavelength of the oscillating wave and the geometry of the circuit.

With R ≠ 0
When R ≠ 0 and the circuit operates in resonance.
 * The frequency dependent components L, C cancel out ie ZL - ZC = 0 so that the total impedance of the circuit is $$Z_R + Z_L + Z_C = R + [ Z_L - Z_C ] = R + 0 = R$$
 * The current of the circuit is $$I = \frac{V}{R}$$
 * The Operating Frequency is $$\omega = \frac{1}{\sqrt{LC}}$$

If the current is halved by doubling the value of resistance then
 * $$I = \frac{V}{2R}$$
 * Circuit will be stable over the range of frequencies from $$\omega_1 - \omega_2$$

The circuit has the capability to select bandwidth where the circuit is stable . Therefore, it is best suited for Tuned Resonance Select Bandwidth Filter

Once using L or C to tune circuit into resonance at resonance frequency $$f = \frac{1}{2\pi} \frac{1}{\sqrt{LC}}$$ The current is at its maximum value $$I = \frac{V}{R}$$. Reduce current above $$I = \frac{V}{2R}$$ circuit will respond to narrower bandwidth than $$\omega_1 - \omega_2$$. Reduce current below $$I = \frac{V}{2R}$$ circuit will respond to wider bandwidth than $$\omega_1 - \omega_2$$.

title: Circuit Theory/RLC Circuits