question stringlengths 14 1.69M | answer stringlengths 1 40.5k | meat_tokens int64 1 8.18k |
|---|---|---|
Adaptive topology reconfiguration mechanism for traffic engineering in WDM optical networks.
Advancement in optical network elements, such as optical cross-connects, optical transmitters and receivers, wavelength converters, and low attenuation fibers, enabled the development of high performance local area and wide area optical networks. Optical WDM networks provide an excellent transmission medium for current as well as future voice and data traffic, streaming media, and high performance and grid computing needs. Rearrangeability is one of the compelling characteristics of Wavelength Division Multiplex<|fim_middle|> topology through an approach that incurs the least cost, and would be able to overcome the limitations of the existing solutions under data flooding and link failure scenarios. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Computer Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .G55. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-01, page: 0390. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005.
Gillani, Badar., "Adaptive topology reconfiguration mechanism for traffic engineering in WDM optical networks." (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 893. | ed (WDM) Optical networks that allow network operators to rearrange the networks in response to changing traffic demands and element failures in order to provide improved network performance. Under changing traffic flows and abhorrent network conditions reconfiguration is an ongoing process. The available approaches are not able to handle extreme load conditions, traffic bursts and element failures and, so far, the solutions proposed cover only limited aspects of the complex and challenging problem of automated reconfiguration. Thus the aim of this study was to design and implement an adaptive topology reconfiguration mechanism that performs network reconfigurations at run time by utilizing multiple approaches, reconfigures | 124 |
After two<|fim_middle|> As we fill ourselves to the brim with his presence, he picks us back up and enables us to fly. | weeks of sleeping in and moving slow, my family rose before dawn without effort. With little more than a gentle "Good morning—time to get up," everyone was off and running. Before I knew it I was waving goodbye, closing the door . . . and marveling at so much energy and enthusiasm.
Who are you—and what have you done with my children?
Maybe the Back-to-School onramp wouldn't be as steep as I thought.
Then . . . we woke to Day Two.
Just as I had done the previous morning, I moved from room to room, switching on lights and issuing my standard wake-up call.
I should have used an air horn.
At long last they staggered into the kitchen, barely conscious for the morning devotional.
Here was God's answer. Life had happened to my children.
Comprehension dawned. Holiday rest and quiet had left my family unprepared for the busyness of everyday life, and they were worn out from a full day of classes and activities. My daughter was not sick, just sore from cheer practice. My "youths" were simply exhausted.
I can't say if Isaiah's words put an extra bounce in anyone else's step that day, but they certainly re-energized me.
But how does "hope in God" renew our strength? After all, God is much more than some quick-fix energy drink.
Those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God].
To wait is to anticipate, recognizing we need something we do not yet have. This gap between our lack and God's sufficiency gives dependence on him room to grow.
The gap between our lack and God's sufficiency gives dependence room to grow.
Ever search for something you desperately need?
When key items go missing in our home, the first things we find are focus and determination. "Has anyone seen my ____?" is a cry for everyone to stop what they're doing and hunt for it. If successful, we are relieved, grateful—and hopefully resolved to be a little more careful in future.
To look for God is to rediscover this same kind of urgent appreciation.
When the car keys/wallet/cell phone goes missing, all that frantic ransacking of the house is driven by uncertainty and fear. Until the missing item turns up, we can't know where, when or even if we will find it.
But that will never happen with God. We look with confident assurance toward the one who will 'never leave us or forsake us" (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Stumbling, fainting and falling are the marks of those tempted to give up. Hope, however, is the joyful promise that keeps us moving toward the finish line.
While I'm sorry my children had such an uphill morning, I pray such moments will wake them up to truth about God.
Let's face it—it's tough to keep pace in an unpredictable world that has us springing up one minute; barely able to move the next. Every human being, no matter how fit, is subject to human limitations. But those only serve to turn us back to our limitless God, the One who assures us his "power is made perfect in our weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God has a formula designed to give us more than extra energy, but more of him. | 707 |
Central Logic Saw Record-Breaking Growth, Awareness and Momentum in 2020 as Health Systems Increase Focus on 'Operating as One'
COVID-19 pandemic awakened the industry to importance of healthcare access and orchestration and visibility of critical care resources
ST. PAUL, Minnesota — February 5, 2021 — (PR Newswire) — Despite a global pandemic and massive economic disruption, Central Logic, the leading healthcare access and orchestration company, concluded 2020 with record-breaking, triple-digit sales growth and client acquisition in a year when operating as one system of care to unite processes, resources and information became more important than ever before.
"The extremely challenging circumstances of the past year have helped health system leaders realize how crucial it is to have real-time visibility across their enterprise into available beds, providers, transport and scarce resources such as ventilators so patients receive the critical care they need," said Angie Franks, CEO of Central Logic. "Even beyond COVID-19, the importance of fully aligning as a single integrated system that seamlessly shares data and resources with a centralized, real-time view of operations for better clinical and financial outcomes is a lesson that will resonate with many health systems for years to come."
This industry-wide evolution toward "operating as one" is evidenced by Central Logic's unprecedented growth in 2020. Hundreds more hospitals and health systems requested information about Central Logic's solution and expertise last year than in any other year in the company's history. And, a record number of those inquiries resulted in new client relationships (details below).
"Delivering on our clients' need for access and orchestration across the care continuum remains our core focus," Franks said. "In 2020, more health systems recognized the importance of this aspect of patient care and have shown they are eager to partner with a proven and established leader in the industry."
Client Growth and Acquisitions
In 2020, Central Logic saw record client growth, including forging agreements with two of the largest for-profit health systems in the United States. To date, four of the five largest for-profit health systems in the country are Central Logic clients.
Central Logic also made two strategic acquisitions in 2020 that will further support health systems' ability to operate as one system of care. The first announced acquisition was of Omaha-based Ensocare, which closed in October. Ensocare's technology, which will be incorporated into Central Logic's platform, automates the inpatient referral process to post-acute care (PAC). The acquisition expands Central Logic's solution to include successful transitions beyond hospitals to post-acute care settings—including skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities and long-term acute care centers—by tapping into an active, curated network of more than 50,000 PAC providers nationwide. Placement confirmations are secured on average within 30 minutes. This efficient orchestration and navigation creates bed availability and access for incoming patients, creates more time for clinicians to operate at the top of their license, elevates revenue capture, and reduces system leakage.
With the acquisition, Central Logic expanded its footprint to 800 hospitals and health systems, 150,000 providers, and<|fim_middle|> foster sustainable and long-term growth in 2021 and well into the future."
About Central Logic
For health systems and hospitals, healthcare access and orchestration are life-saving endeavors. Central Logic is a pioneer in the space and was founded solely to support this mission. Our flexible, purpose-built access and orchestration solutions ensure efficient patient navigation across health systems and through the continuum of care, and deliver the necessary controls to elevate revenue capture, clinician effectiveness, and patient outcomes. Clients count on Central Logic to deliver superior real-time visibility across their networks while offering operational, clinical and technical best practices to drive strong growth, reduce length of stay and minimize avoidable delays, today and into the future. Based in St. Paul, Minn., Central Logic has a 93% customer retention rate and has been named a "fastest growing private company" by both Inc. 500 and Utah Business Magazine.
Tara Stultz for Central Logic
Amendola Communications
tstultz@acmarketingpr.com | more than 5 million patients, touching a total of 14% of U.S. hospital patients each year.
Central Logic's second acquisition, announced in January 2021, was of Acuity Link, a leading provider of transportation communications and logistics management software. Acuity Link's technology powers Central Logic's new Intelligent Transport capability, which decreases bed cycle times and expedites bed availability with timely emergent and non-emergent transport to, from and between sites of care. Intelligent Transport transforms and unites health systems' transportation coordination process from one that is disparate, manual, time-consuming, and susceptible to human error to one that is standardized, automated, intelligent and efficient—substantially reducing the time it takes to get patients access to the care they need and further enabling the health system to operate as one.
This growth was fueled by private equity firm Rubicon Technology Partners' strategic majority investment in Central Logic, announced in July. Rubicon, based in Boulder, Colo., is focused exclusively on enterprise software companies. The investment continues to accelerate Central Logic's growth through new product innovation, faster solution delivery and customer support.
Surge Line Supports COVID-19 Response
One of the most significant accomplishments for Central Logic in 2020 was its support in the establishment of the Arizona Surge Line, which ensures all COVID-19 patients across the state receive appropriate placement and care even with the high caseload and surges the state has experienced.
Successfully implemented in less than two weeks, the Arizona Surge Line was created after discussions between the Arizona Department of Health Services and Banner Health, the largest health system in the state and a super user of Central Logic's technology platform. Months before the state faced its first major surge of cases, Banner and all of the other health systems from throughout the state agreed to participate in a statewide access center powered by Central Logic for load-balancing patients with COVID-19.
The Surge Line provides referring hospitals anywhere in Arizona with one phone number to request the efficient transfer of patients to the appropriate level of care, including transport coordination and real-time patient tracking. Utilizing Central Logic's Microsoft Azure-based platform and integrating data from dozens of EHRs and other information systems, the solution delivers real-time visibility into available and staffed ICU beds, specialists, ventilators and other resources—guaranteeing faster access to care for patients. In short, the Surge Line has enabled health systems across the entire state to operate as one, uniting more than 130 hospitals so they can efficiently orchestrate and navigate patient transitions across regions—or across the state.
As of late January, the Arizona Surge Line had transferred more than 6,200 patients and prevented hospitals from needing to turn away anyone with COVID-19 by ensuring patient caseloads are evenly distributed across Arizona.
Groundbreaking Leakage Report
With intensive care units bursting at the seams in many parts of the country and providers scrambling to find hospitals to admit their critically ill patients, COVID-19 has placed a national spotlight on healthcare access and orchestration. Faced with first and second surges of cases, some health systems recognized they had few enterprise-wide, standardized processes for how patients navigate into and out of their organizations. And few health systems have processes in place to ensure that patients return to providers affiliated with their network of physicians and facilities—a concept referred to as repatriation—after they leave for outside care.
Months before the pandemic, Central Logic began studying this topic of network "leakage" and commissioned an independent market research firm to survey health system leaders about this pressing topic. The resulting report, "The Patient Keepage & Leakage Report," was based on responses from a random sample of 138 double-verified senior health system and hospital executives responsible for patient care, hospital administration, finance or operations. Results showed that nearly all (96%) of these healthcare executives said patient leakage is a priority, but only 31% had a plan to keep patients within their health system networks.
As highlighted in the report, patient leakage has taken on greater importance during COVID-19, as hospitals' and health systems' operating margins have dropped precipitously. While CARES Act funding has offered some financial relief, these organizations lost hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue in 2020 due in large part to restrictions on elective procedures and patients canceling or deferring care.
The report re-emphasized the importance of improving "systemness" in order to decrease leakage and increase keepage. Through more efficient care access and orchestration and comprehensive visibility across all phases of care, healthcare organizations can regain revenue lost during the historic drop in elective care in 2020 due to COVID-19.
"COVID-19 has forced health system leaders to re-examine how patients navigate into and out of their organization and where they go afterward," Franks said. "The significant gap in this knowledge will likely lead many of these leaders to prioritize healthcare access and orchestration in 2021."
Events Go Virtual
Lisa Villarroel, MD, MPH, who serves as the medical director for the Division of Public Health Preparedness at the Arizona Department of Health Services and works closely with Central Logic on the Arizona Surge Line, was one of the featured panelists at Central Logic's first annual AO2 Summit, which was virtual in 2020. The summit—whose name stands for access and orchestration—is a reimagined annual conference focused on offering exclusive insights to healthcare leaders on best practices to orchestrate patients safely and effectively through the patient care continuum. The conference continues the momentum of Central Logic's previous Patient Flow Summit, which took place for the 10th year running last year.
Along with Dr. Villarroel, the conference included presentations and roundtable discussions with other public and private healthcare experts, including Mike Leavitt, former Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, former governor of Utah, and founder of Leavitt Partners; former Federal Emergency Management Administration administrator Craig Fugate; Alan Levine, CEO of Ballad Health, an integrated health system with 21 hospitals serving 29 counties in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky; Wayne Brackin, president and CEO of KIDZ Medical Services Inc., and former COO of Baptist Health South Florida. Also participating in the event were Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association; Renee DeSilva, CEO at The Health Management Academy; and attorney Alexis Gilroy, who advises on complex transactional and health regulatory issues with an emphasis on virtual health.
The AO2 Summit served as the kick-off for an extended series of weekly "AO2uesday" virtual presentations, which took place on several Tuesdays following the conference. The weekly events featured a new thought leader or industry expert for each interactive session.
With this unprecedented year of unique challenges in the rearview mirror, Franks looks with optimism to the year that is just beginning.
"In the face of immense challenges, I am amazed and humbled by the hard work, resiliency and sheer will demonstrated by our health system clients," Franks said. "They are the true heroes of 2020—and beyond."
She adds: "We are hopeful that the new year will be one where health systems in their recovery enhance their ability to orchestrate and navigate patient transitions across their facilities and through the continuum of care, including post-acute care. This focus on creating an 'operating as one' mindset will not only help health systems recover from 2020 losses, it will | 1,544 |
What Is Alpha Burst NO2?
How Alpha Burst NO2 Works?
Alpha Burst NO2 is a pre-workout dietary supplement aiming to increase the body's active production of nitric oxide for more workout-enhancing, muscle-building strength, stamina, energy and endurance. It promises to provide significant anti-aging health benefits, in particular the restoration of age-related declines in muscle size and strength, energy levels and general physical capability. Another potential benefit is faster fat-loss, as it also aims to increase the body's metabolic efficiency for weight loss and decreased visceral and body fat. It may even offer mood-enhancing benefits via the plant extracts in its formula blend. The formula was designed to work synergistically with the body's natural processes to augment and to enhance peak performance abilities.
In order to see drastic results, users must supplement with these capsules in conjunction with an active lifestyle, a strength-training routine and a healthy, protein-rich diet. It may also offer a safer and fully legal anabolic supplement solution for weightlifters, athletes and competitive sports performers in search of a significant boost to sports performance, exercise capability and overall strength. In general, it is manufactured for anyone who would like to enhance workout results for greater stamina and muscle gains. Additional fitness benefits possible with consistent use include decreased recovery time after intense training sessions, less soreness and muscle cramping and stronger, more powerful muscle pumps. The primary mechanism by which it claims to work is by enhancing the body's vasodilation process, dilating blood vessels for greater nutrient and blood supply to working muscle tissue.
Alpha Burst NO2 is sold by an established fitness supplement manufacturer by the same name, Alpha Burst. On the official product website, anyone interested can access links to the manufacturer's social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Alpha Burst NO2 is sold by an established fitness supplement manufacturer by the same name, Alpha Burst. On the official product website, anyone interested can access links to the manufacturer's social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google Plus. This company also makes a companion workout-boosting supplement designed to complement Alpha Burst NO2, though it does not advertise this second option on the official product website. At present, this manufacturer does not have an official company website of its own (which is not an uncommon practice in the health and fitness supplement industry). Its corporate headquarters are stationed in the United States in St. Petersburg, Florida.
This US-based supplement supplier is believed to have been in business for an unknown number of years providing fitness supplements to United States consumers. Although it has had several successful product lines, it does not offer links or other information for anyone interested to learn more. As such, the social media links on the product website are as of now the best way to contact the company for general inquiries – at this time, however, the links were not active. Otherwise, consumers can gain further information by calling the Alpha Burst NO2 customer service line regarding such questions as company history and mission statement. Alpha Burst is also believed to have additional corporate facilities in New York (also in the United States).
The main mechanism by which Alpha Boost NO2 is designed to work is by boosting production of a natural molecule called nitric oxide which, in turn, boosts physical performance capability. Nitric oxide is produced by the lining and blood vessel walls, also called the endothelium. Since increased nitric oxide production is also triggered by physical activity, the manufacturer posits that this nitric oxide-booster will further augment nitric oxide's energy- and strength-improving effects. The formulation balance of amino acids and extracts making up the ingredient list is designed to work synchronistically with the body's natural processes to generate increases in muscle size and strength as well as in muscle recovery speed. Nitric oxide plays a primary role in facilitating cellular communication throughout the body as well as the ability of the arterial lining to pump greater amounts of this performance-enhancing molecule into the bloodstream.
The amino acids in this formula blend also purport to stimulate the release of workout- and lean muscle-enhancing compounds such as growth hormone and insulin. The process works something like this: Growth hormone stimulates cellular growth, muscular hypertrophy, cellular reproduction and the release of insulin-like growth factor, which then stimulates the process of protein synthesis for more muscle cells generated and repaired. Growth hormone also plays an instrumental role in preventing muscle loss as well as in optimizing metabolic processes for greater calorie-burning and fat reduction. Athletes and fitness buffs in weightlifting communities commonly supplement to increase growth hormone due to its effectiveness in helping to prevent the breakdown of muscle (atrophy). It also helps to regulate insulin production and levels for optimum fitness capability.
Usage instructions should be followed precisely to avoid the potential for negative side effects. The recommended dosage is two tablets daily, one of which should be taken approximately 30 minutes before workouts with a glass of water. The capsules can be used as a standalone dietary supplement or in combination with other compatible nutritional supplements. Results will vary by user; muscle gains and weight loss are only likely when this product is used alongside a balanced diet and an active lifestyle. Caution should always be exercised when beginning a new dietary aid and, when possible, users should also consult with a health professional.
L-Arginine is a chemical building block called an 'amino acid' that also functions as a biological precursor to nitric oxide, which means that it is converted to nitric oxide via a chemical process in the body. It is essential to the body's ability to heal and to regenerate proteins, a process called 'protein synthesis.' Some studies have concluded that L-Arginine supplementation contributes to longer and more vigorous workouts as well as to increased endurance in athletes (both professional athletes and those who play sports recreationally). L-Arginine also reduces exercise-induced acid acid buildup in muscles, which then may then translate to less fatigue and decreased recovery time post-workout. Since the body does not manufacture L-Arginine, it must be obtained through the diet and is also thought to improve blood flow for accelerated muscle and injury healing.
Alpha Burst NO2 also utilizes Vitamin D3, which is often incorporated into fitness supplement solutions for its effectiveness (in part) for promoting maximum nutrient absorption. It may promote improved skeletal muscle recovery; in addition, some research has shown that a deficiency in this vitamin may be especially detrimental for physical performance in older people. Another extract key to this product's formula is Saw Palmetto, which is derived from the fruit of the Saw Palmetto tree and may be helpful in significantly increasing testosterone production. Another active ingredient, Tongkat Ali – also known by the names Eurycoma Longifolia, Longjack and Malaysian Ginseng – is an Asian flowering plant that is taken as a dietary supplement in many cultures throughout the world to improve total-body blood flow; it may also raise energy levels. Mucuna Pruriens (also called Velvet Bean) that has been in use as an Ayurvedic herb for centuries for its myriad health benefits.
Ginseng (also known as Epimedium, Horny Goat Weed and Muira Puama), is derived from a species of perennial plant and acts as another key extract in the manufacturer's proprietary blend, primarily incorporated to boost muscular endurance, blood flow and stress adaptability. Tribulus Terrestris – a flowering plant produced in extremely dry climates throughout the world – is another herb constituting this supplement's nutritional profile due to its reputed potency in improving exercise results and overall muscle function. Nettle Extract is widely regarded to be a powerful extract derived from the Stinging Nettle plant often used a testosterone-boosting additive in competitive bodybuilding and weightlifting supplements. As a whole, this supplement may counteract nitric oxide deficiencies due to poor diet, inactivity and other unhealthy lifestyle habits to promote more workout-fueling strength, vigor and stamina. Each bottle contains 60 tablets for a one-month supply.
This supplement comes in convenient capsule form and is designed to fit into busy schedules, considering users must only take 1-2 capsules daily. Not only is the Alpha Burst NO2 website maximally secured by industry standard security technology, the manufacturer makes a trained customer service team available for inquiries via several different channels. Since the product formula contains only naturally-sourced ingredients such as extracts from plants, flowers, herbs, roots and minerals – formulated without any harmful or illegal ingredients – it may provide a safer, organic performance-enhancing alternative for athletes, bodybuilders and fitness performers in general who want to raise their physical abilities and sports performance. Along similar lines, it may offer a potent workout-enhancing effect without costly and inconvenient hormone shots/therapies. It also promises to boost lean muscle, fat loss and vascularity in healthy adults in approximately a month or less.
Alpha Burst NO2 promises to enhance the natural process of vasodilation, i.e. the widening of blood vessel walls. This dilation drives more blood, nutrients and oxygen to working muscles, thus purportedly providing a strength boost for bigger, better muscle pumps and an overall energy surge. Greater nitric oxide delivery may also cut down on recovery time after workouts, since greater blood volume to muscle cells is a key function in lessening muscle pain and cramping. Since there is no harmful filler or other chemical ingredients in this formula, it is considered safe for consumption for most adults. This supplement may also promote sharper mental clarity and mental functioning in accordance with the formula extracts' blood and nutrient delivery to the brain.
This nitric oxide-booster also promises dedicated users improved circulation and improved hormonal regulation. The extracts in the proprietary formula blend may furthermore promote increased thermogenesis (fat-burning) for accelerated weight loss and decreased body fat. Most of the main ingredients have been utilized for hundreds of years in various cultures around the world for a variety of health and wellness purposes, which helps to establish the general safety and efficacy of these ingredients for most adults. Although research regarding herbal<|fim_middle|> used / opened merchandise.
Orders can be shipped to any state within the United States as well as to American Samoa, to the Federated States of Micronesia, to the Republic of Marshall Islands, to Puerto Rico and to Guam. Additional shipping vicinities include Virgin Islands of the U.S., Northern Mariana Islands as well as to Armed Forces bases in Canada, the Americas, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. Packages are shipped using FedEx, UPS and the United States Postal Service. The current cost for shipping and handling is a standard $4.95. Shipping time for trial packages and straight sale orders takes an average of 2-5 business days, which allows for three days processing and two days transit time.
Specific arrival dates and times for orders are not guaranteed and are dependent on the customer's region of order as well as the shipping carrier. All shipping and handling fees are non-refundable; additionally, the company does not accept any return packages marked 'Return to Sender.' Per the shipping terms and conditions, this manufacturer acknowledges its right to refuse any parcels returned to the company in bad faith. Packages are not delivered on weekends or on major holidays. At this time, the manufacturer is not offering shipping insurance for an additional charge.
Customers can make online inquiries to the company's customer support center via an email address provided on the 'contact' section of the website. The manufacturer's shipping and receiving department is situated in St. Petersburg, Florida. The customer service department is available for live inquiries via a toll-free 1-844 telephone number listed on the product website. For anyone – either a current or prospective customer – who would like to contact the company with questions, the support center's hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Alpha Burst NO2 customer service representatives are available to assist and to inform both current and prospective customers. Support agents are fully trained regarding up-to-date information security practices, company policies, member account handling and any issues with billing, shipping and delivery or any other aspect of the sale. The support department is authorized to modify member accounts, to cancel accounts or to make any other changes as requested (in line with current policies).
The standard retail price for a 30-day supply of this nitric oxide booster is $89.95. Serious fitness consumers can try out a full-sized sample bottle of Alpha Burst NO2 via the manufacturer's 14-day no-risk evaluation program as well as purchase it outright outside of the trial. The website transaction system accepts two forms of credit card payment: Visa and MasterCard. In addition, customers are responsible for any fees, surcharges or taxes associated with their region.
Anyone interested to try before buying can take advantage of a no-risk 14-day trial program (which is longer than the industry average by three days). At the evaluation period's conclusion, the program will automatically roll into a monthly auto-delivery subscription program for monthly auto-deliveries of fresh product charged to the trial member's method of payment. The monthly membership rate to receive a fresh 30-day supply of Alpha Burst NO2 delivered each month is $89.95 plus shipping and handling. The ongoing delivery membership program can be canceled at any time by reaching out to the customer service department at any point in their membership; trial customers can also avoid subsequent charges from the recurring shipment program by calling the customer service department to cancel membership at least one business day before the conclusion of the trial period.The Alpha Burst NO2 official website displays a seal certifying that it is entirely produced in the United States. Many fitness enthusiasts eager to try this supplement out will likely find its domestic manufacture to be a bonus in their quest to tone up and lean out. The website doesn't bear any seals, however, to the effect that all of the manufacturer's production facilities have been certified in compliance with current GMP standards. GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practice, and only food product-producing facilities that meet federal standards regarding general food safety and best manufacturing practices. GMP certification is an important consideration when researching a new food supplement.
The capsules are easy to take and may provide a significant energy boost as well as improvements in stamina, weightlifting endurance, lean muscle mass and muscle definition.
It may help users to build and sculpt a better body in a shorter period of time.
All of the ingredients in the capsule formula are extracted from natural plant sources, vitamins and minerals.
The manufacturer does not detail whether users are able to maintain results once supplementation has been discontinued.
There is no ingredient list provided on the product website.
Some users may expect extreme results without working out (an effective workout program is still required to achieve fitness results while supplementing).
Summary: Alpha Burst NO2 is a pre-workout fitness supplement designed to stimulate active nitric oxide production to maximize muscle strength, stamina, energy release, vascularity and endurance. In addition, the manufacturer asserts that there are no harmful side effects associated with usage for most healthy adult populations. Its active ingredients are L-Arginine, Vitamin D3, Saw Palmetto and Ginseng. It is currently popular as a sports-enhancing fitness supplement and is also used by competitive fitness professionals such as bodybuilders to accelerate strength-training and workout results. In general, it is designed for any healthy adult who wants to experience more dramatic strength, energy and stamina to fuel workouts and to sculpt and define muscles. It may also work to shorten recovery time after strength-training to enable users to work out more frequently and with more intensity, thus adding to strength and stamina gains. | extracts and fitness supplements is fairly preliminary – and more studies are needed to gauge these fitness-enhancing effects in humans (rather than in rodents) – there are many clinical studies pointing to potency in elevating strength, energy, stamina and more.
The Alpha Burst NO2 official website displays a seal certifying that it is entirely produced in the United States. Many fitness enthusiasts eager to try this supplement out will likely find its domestic manufacture to be a bonus in their quest to tone up and lean out. The website doesn't bear any seals, however, to the effect that all of the manufacturer's production facilities have been certified in compliance with current GMP standards. GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practice, and only food product-producing facilities that meet federal standards regarding general food safety and best manufacturing practices. GMP certification is an important consideration when researching a new food supplement.
The biggest benefit I've gained from Alpha Burst NO2 is a major energy burst when I take a couple of these right before my training sessions. I've always been pretty in shape, but my bodybuilding sessions were beginning to become massively draining. The soreness afterward was intense, and it was making me not want to work out anymore. Considering the fact that I'm over 40, I'd guess that my age was beginning to take a toll on my fitness level. I started to feel a major difference in energy, stamina and recovery speed within weeks; I've already recommended this to the guys at the gym.
These capsules have been a big factor in helping me take my lifting routine to a new level. I was skeptical when I first signed up for the trial, but it didn't take more than a few days to start feeling the strength boost it gave me, which helped me add weight to my lifting and to get more reps in. I've added an inch of muscle since I started taking these with my pre-workout protein shakes. This has been a big-time game-upper for me. I've even registered to compete in my first lifting competition in a few months – I plan to keep supplementing with these daily.
I decided to start supplementing because, now that I'm almost 50, I had to admit that I just don't have the strength and stamina I used to have (not to mention the spare tire around my middle!) I added these to my pre-workout routine, ramped up my cardio, got in the swing with a great lifting routine and overhauled my diet. When I take these tablets before my routine, I can feel it kick in right away. The energy boost it gives me has helped me lose ten pounds, and that spare tire is finally almost gone. I feel like I haven't been this in shape since college.
The Alpha Burst NO2 website does not detail whether it has been nominated for – or whether it has received – any awards in the fitness supplement industry. Despite this, it has been widely reviewed by fitness supplement consumers online. Many of these reviewers cited the organic product formula as being a major benefit; others cited a noticeable improvement in strength and stamina. While some users did cite an unpleasant taste and some moderate side effects, most reviews appeared to be primarily positive.
The official Alpha Burst NO2 website does suggest (via the contact section on the website) that it has appeared on a number of major commercial media outlets such as CBS News, USA Today, ABC and MSNBC. It is likely that this media exposure has helped this nutritional supplement become one of the more well-recognized fitness boosters on the online market today. As such, there are numerous reviews on the web from established supplement review sites detailing and evaluating the product. It also seems to have made a significant impact on members of the online fitness community, as it has appeared on numerous blogs and forums dedicated to health and bodybuilding. The copyright date of the website is 2017; thus, interested parties are encouraged to keep an eye out for any future media reviews and/or features.
The company Alpha Burst offers buyer protection via a 30-day money-back guarantee. According to current terms and conditions, customers can obtain a full refund if they are not (for any reason) fully satisfied with their purchase, by contacting customer service for full return instructions. The customer support team member will then issue a Return Authorization Number, which the buyer must then clearly write on the package and then return the product to the manufacturer's Florida fulfillment facilities. Customers are responsible for all shipping and handling costs associated with returns. The shipping department is not allowed to accept any return packages that do not have a clearly-written and valid Return Authorization Number.
In order to be eligible for a full refund, all return packages must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the original date of order. The terms and conditions on the website do not state whether there is any sort of restocking fee, nor does it state whether products can be returned partially used or open. Since such aspects of return policies do vary among manufacturers, buyers may want to contact the customer service department to determine the company's specific policies regarding returns and partially | 1,023 |
The New York Botanical Garden has a program called the Edible Academy where kids learn more about healthy eating and cooking. During my February break, The Edible Academy had an event called Culinary Kids Week where kids come to the Botanical Gardens and go to different stations<|fim_middle|> the demo it looked so yummy. This was a good experience for me and if you want to do something like this look you should look into some of the other Edible Academy activities at the New York Botanical Garden. | to learn about food and nature. The event was sponsored by Carla Hall who is a famous chef and is a host on The Chew, which is a talk show on ABC. She also was on Top Chef, which is one of my favorite shows. My dad saw an advertisement for the event online and called the Botanical Gardens to ask them if I could cover the event for my blog. They said yes, and gave us free parking and passes to the event. They also said I could have an interview with Carla and Toby Adams, who is the Director of the Edible Academy. On Monday the 16th, we headed to the Botanical Gardens. That day was probably the coldest day of the year. So, it was a big pain getting to NYC. We got to the event, and Toby explained what we were doing that day, and the set-up of the event. He said that there were five tents that teach you different ways to garden and grow food. At 12:45pm Carla Hall was scheduled to have a demo on how to make a broccoli pesto.
We started out at a tent that teaches you how to compost. They said if you leave newspapers in a bin that is shut with worms inside, you'll get compost. The first step is to put newspapers in a bin with a special type of worms, and after about two months all there will be is compost, and worms. Then when you want to have an apple, or a banana you could throw the peel, or the core into the compost and it will become compost in a few months. The guy who ran that station said, "I keep my bin under my bed." I thought that was odd because why would you want a bin under your bed when you know it has dirt, and worms in it. When he finished speaking, a helper at that station helped us make seed balls using seeds and compost. My seed ball was made out of dill, which will eventually turn into a dill plant. My brother made one with cilantro seeds.
After we finished that station, it was time for me to go interview Carla Hall. Carla was waiting at a picnic table in the back for me. I asked her some questions and then we had a good conversation about things like food and our favorite restaurants. Here are some questions from the first part of the interview.
Q: What was your first childhood memory of cooking?
Q: What was your favorite food as a child?
Q: What made you get involved with today's event?
You can see the full interview with Carla at the video below.
After my interview with Carla, the first station we went to was a station that taught you about healthy eating. They were giving out free samples of fresh pea hummus. You could have the pea hummus with a carrot or a pita chip. I tried the pita chip with hummus first. The pea hummus was sweet, smooth, and went really well with the pita chip. When I tried the hummus with the carrot though I thought the pita chip was a little too hard, and I preferred the carrot more than I preferred the pita chip. The woman who made the pea hummus was an author who wrote a book called Appetite for Life. Her name is Stacey Antine. The book is about healthy eating and cooking for kids and has easy recipes for parents to make with their kids. We looked at the book and bought a copy because the recipes looked so good. Here is a link to the webpage for the book: http://www.healthbarnusa.com/appetite-for-life/.
After we finished our hummus, I made a pea plant, so I could make pea hummus at home. When we made our pea plant it was really cool how we made the pot. To make the pea plant you needed: A strip of a newspaper, a mold, two dried peas, and damp soil. You took the newspaper curl it into a circle. Then, you put it into the mold and pressed hard. You have your pot, voila! Then you put a scoop of soil into the pot and press two pea seeds in, then cover them and you have your pea plant.
After we finished the pea hummus, I had an interview with Toby Adams who is the Director of the Edible Academy and who helped create this event.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for this event?
Q: Why did you invite Carla Hall?
Q: How did you pick the other chefs for this event?
Q: Why is this event for children?
Q: What do you think kids will learn from this?
Q: Will you have this event more often?
After my interview with Toby, we went to our last tent. It was a tent where they teach you about bread. When I got to the tent they were showing different grains and we had to guess what they were. I guessed two grains and got them right. They were rice and quinoa. At the tent I got to make flour. First, they put in a grain and we mashed it in a stone bowl with a masher. When your time was up they put the flour in a bag to take home. After we finished that tent we headed to our seats to watch Carla's demo. During the demo, she gave us good tips on how to make a pesto out of broccoli and she was entertained us. She called up a few people for her demo. At the end of | 1,113 |
UPDATE: DWI charges for driver involved in multi-car crash on Whitestone Express
By QNS News Team Posted on March 12, 2016
A Long Island woman was released after being arrested on drunk driving charges for her role in a crash on the Whitestone Expressway in Flushing early Saturday morning in which another woman was hurled off the elevated roadway and seriously injured.
Samantha Maloney, 22, was arraigned then released Sunday on her own<|fim_middle|> taken into custody on DWI. Authorities said an examination four hours later revealed she had an alcohol level of 0.95. Maloney could face up to a year in prison if convicted.
Flushing Bank announces community scholarship for NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program at P.S. 22Q
St. Michael's in Flushing celebrates Lunar New Year with prayer service, cultural performances
PHOTOS: Flushing Tangram hosts three-day Co(s)mic Con event | recognizance, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office. Maloney will appear in court on April 13.
"This tragic collision could possibly have been avoided if, as alleged, the defendant did not choose to get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol. Drinking and driving is never a good idea – and can often have serious consequences,"said District Attorney Brown.
The chain reaction accident reportedly started at about 5 a.m. Saturday on the expressway's northbound side near the Grand Central Parkway. Maloney had a Vodka Tonic before she left the Central Club in Astoria and then ran her 2014 Nissan Juke over something on the roadway, according to the criminal complaint.
Authorities said Maloney called a female friend for help; she arrived at the scene moments later in a 2015 Dodge. Then, according to police, an off-duty paramedic pulled up to the scene in his 2009 Chevrolet to assist Maloney.
Finally, it was reported, a 2013 Jeep Cherokee driven by an off-duty NYPD lieutenant smacked into the Dodge, causing Maloney's friend to be hurled over the wall and down to the ground about 25 feet below.
Paramedics rushed Maloney's friend to New York Presbyterian Queens in critical condition; the others were also taken there for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening.
Following an investigation, Maloney was | 290 |
the finisher book 3
The Quag will throw everything at Vega Jane. Together with his wife, he founded the Wish You Well Foundation® in support of literacy efforts across America. -- Brandon Mull, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven series The Finisher is quite slow until about a critical event in the book that happens midway. The Finisher (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. The #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy novel for all ages by master storyteller David Baldacci -- now in paperback SHE WILL NOT BREAK Vega Jane was always told... Free Shipping on all orders over $10. Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. David Baldacci reveals five fast facts on The Finisher,fantasy novels, writing, and more! As he says, "I don't write about damsels in distress, because I don't know any." David's books are published in more than eighty countries, with more than 110 million copies in print, and have been adapted for feature film and television. "THE FINISHER is an enchanting romp through a fantastical world worthy of Rowling or Brooks. . If Vega wants to stay safe, she just needs to keep her head down and her mouth shut. Kindle ... Baldacci's 3-book series VEGA JANE Teen Trilogy -- Finisher / Width of the World / Keeper. Together with his wife, Michelle, David established the Wish You Well Foundation to promote family literacy. Only 1 left in stock. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave, but that he was chased. - Page 3 A lot of his acquaintances don't even know his real firs… Vega Jane has just entered a new world, and it's more terrifying than anything she's known before. And she always believed it – until the night she saw Quentin Herms run away. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. But this isn't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. Baldacci knows how to deliver thrills." Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave, but that he was chased. The Finisher A Novel (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. The Finisher (Vega Jane, Book 1) has 60 reviews and 35 ratings. The Quag is a … David's books are published in more than eighty countries, with more than 110 million copies in print, and have been adapted for feature film and television. The Riders in Kamen Rider Saber have their own finishers due to having different transformation devices and weapons, and their unique naming styles. by David Baldacci | … But this isn't unusual--nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. The Finisher by David Baldacci is the story of a girl named Vega Jane who lives in Wormwood with her brother Jon Jane. Vega and her friends must lay their lives on the line . At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. But this isn't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. After following the trail of clues he has left behind she finds it.... but she doesn't leave without a fight. Baldacchino captures your interest with this YA novel. Hastings | Amazon | Now Vega, Delph, Harry Two, and their new comrade, Petra, take up the fight against a foe that's unrivaled in evil and cunning. To learn more about David, please visit davidbaldacci.com. There's only one problem - Vega Jane never walks away from a fight. Together with his wife, he founded the Wish You Well Foundation® in support of literacy efforts across America. Indiebound | She was told there was nothing outside but a forest filled with danger and death. Szerezze meg a könyv nyomtatott változatát! To follow the clues will attract the attention of influential people willing to kill to keep their secrets. David and his family live in Virginia, where they read lots of books together. Try these online stores: Today we may draw nearer to Christ—"the author and the finisher of [our] faith" (Moroni 6:4)—because of the efforts of Mormon and Joseph Smith—the "author" and the "finisher" of the Book of Mormon. CDN$ 20.78 & FREE Shipping. Read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down,,,, waiting to read the keeper next Teljes értékelés elolvasása. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave -- he was chased. The Finisher A Novel (Book) : Baldacci, David : "Why would Quentin Herms flee into the Quag? And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. Buy a cheap copy of The Finisher book by David Baldacci. But what they encounter is worse than Vega Jane's darkest imagining. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave--he was chased. iBooks | She creates clear and distinguished voices for the characters that stand apart from Vega's first-person perspective. But this isn't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. The main character seems a bit too cynical of the place without reason. Kobo, Scholastic Read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down,,,, waiting to read the keeper next. Books a Million | Ages 10-14. And she always believed it -- until the night she saw Quentin Herms run away. Everyone who lives there is told there is no way out, but Vega's mentor Quentin Herms disappears and sends her a secret message that he has found a way out. Master storyteller David Baldacci delivers shockwaves of unrelenting action and shattering revelations in The Width of the World, book three in his #1 global bestselling Vega Jane books. Google | And she always believed it - until the night she saw Quentin Herms run away. At first it was Little Dab, then The Dabber, and now at 28 years of age, his college and U.S. Army days behind him, he's just known by everyone as Dab. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave, but that he was chased. Kobo | The Finisher is his first book for young adults and film rights have been bought, with the producer of Spiderman on board. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. Nobody, including Vega herself has ever left Wormwood, not until one of Vega's co workers named Quentin Hermes, goes missing. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. It's not the savagery of the enemy she faces. Reviewer inventor60 wrote: Vega had been told that Wormwood couldn't left and that there are dangers outside until one day she Herms is chased away. And she always believed it - until the night she saw Quentin Herms run away. The #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy novel for all ages by master storyteller David Baldacci -- now in paperback SHE WILL NOT BREAK Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood. David's books have sold more than 110 million copies worldwide and have been translated into more than forty-five languages. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave, but that he was chased. The Finisher A Novel (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. That event was a bit predictable though as were all the other main story points. Only young Vega Jane has the courage to probe Wormwood's dark secrets…and face the consequences of what comes to light. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. Parents need to know that prolific, best-selling phenomenon David Baldacci's first young adult book, The Finisher, is a big bite at around 500 pages, but it's a bite that tweens and teens will really sink their teeth into. Google | She was told there was nothing outside but a forest filled with danger and death. Master storyteller David Baldacci introduces an unforgettable heroine who must think fast, hit hard, and defy all odds to uncover the truth. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave, but that he was chased. The Finisher A Novel (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. A bit hard to get into at the beginning with a lot of new language in this fictitious town of wormwood. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave, but that he was chased. Themes are relatively modest. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. The Finisher (Book) : Baldacci, David : SHE WILL NOT BREAK Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood. In order to leave the town of Wormwood and discover the truth about her world, Vega and her best friend Delph must find a way to cross the Quag and survive its horrors. Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood. David is the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating illiteracy across America. David and his family live in Virginia. The Finisher (Vega Jane, Book 1) and millions of other books are available for instant access. If it were only for the main storyline i.e. the fate of a whole world depends on them. It's that the people are enslaved and don't even know it. But this isn't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. Barnes & Noble | 3.8 out of 5 stars 2,959. Teljes értékelés elolvasása, Vega Jane is the hero of this book. Or try these other online stores: In conclusion, I think David Baldacci has put together a masterpiece of fun, magic and suspense in a way no other could've. Her soft delivery and English accent are inviting. Vega Jane and her miserable life in Wormwood, I would have tossed the book out of the window. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave, but that he was chased. The Finisher (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. iBooks | It will try to break her. David is the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to<|fim_middle|> Jane a critical in... Bookmark or take notes while You read the keeper next across America builds Well and I was hooked the! For the main storyline i.e point to a dark conspiracy at the heart of Wormwood world of Wormwood tone create. Keeper next teljes értékelés elolvasása their own finishers due to having different transformation devices and,...: Baldacci, David: Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood get... Books › Science Fiction & fantasy Share < Embed > Buy New the people are enslaved and don t! Book for young adults and film rights have been bought, with the producer of Spiderman on board pen engage., # 1 New YORK TIMES bestselling author of twenty-seven books for adults, each which! Transformation devices and weapons, and tone to create some fantastic moments of tension and throughout! Buy New tossed the book there was nothing outside but a forest with! Acquaintances don ' t even know his real firs… her soft delivery and English accent are..
How Many Aircraft Carriers Did Japan Lose In Ww2, Top Fin Filter Intake Sponge, Government Colleges Hostel Mumbai, To Annoy In French, How Many Aircraft Carriers Did Japan Lose In Ww2, Houses For Rent In 23075 Zip Code, Math Ia Topics Hl, Carboguard 890 Part B, Secret Words To Make Him Fall In Love With You, Public Health Jobs Europe, Merrell Defective Product Form, Masters In Public Health Toronto, | eliminating illiteracy across … Equally important, she balances timing, projection, and tone to create some fantastic moments of tension and excitement throughout the book. Books › Children's Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy Share
Buy New. And survival might come at a price not even Vega Jane is willing to pay. #1 global bestselling author David Baldacci likes to write about characters who think fast, hit hard, and grit their teeth when the world gets tough. It's not the deadly beasts that roam the cobblestones. Praise for Vega Jane Book One, The Finisher: "This vividly described tale takes readers to an original fantasy world full of strange creatures, intriguing relationships, and long-lost secrets. Amazon | Vega Jane is the hero of this book. But this isn't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. This book has everything the 2 were missing (though not much), and displays lots of fighting and fantasy, I look forward to reading The Keeper, the second. But the story builds well and I was hooked by the end. His astonishing career started with ABSOLUTE POWER, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood. Walmart. There's only one problem -- Vega Jane never walks away from a fight. Dustin Anderson Barton was nicknamed Dab by his uncle when he was 3 years old and it stuck. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The Finisher. She was told there was nothing outside but a forest filled with danger and death. Books a Million | It will try to kill her. Well, in this case, success.". The Finisher (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. The Finisher (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood. The Finisher (Book) : Baldacci, David : Vega Jane lives in the imaginary Wormwood. Just one thing stands between Vega Jane and freedom - the Quag, a terrifying land of bloodthirsty creatures and sinister magic. To follow the clues will attract the attention of influential people willing to kill to keep their secrets. In this manner, the author and the finisher of the Book of Mormon have more in common than just the book which they helped bring forth. Open Library is an initiative of the Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.Other projects include the Wayback Machine, archive.org and archive-it.org Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood. Target | But this isn't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. If Vega wants to stay safe, she just needs to keep her head down and her mouth shut. But the story builds well and I was hooked by the end. Barnes & Noble | With The Finisher, master storyteller David Baldacci conjures the thrilling world of Wormwood, a village surrounded by danger and built on lies. The Finisher (Book) : Lovesey, Peter, 1936- : As race day draws closer, an Albanian refugee named Spiro makes a run for freedom on the other side of town, escaping the chain gang that has held him hostage and its murderous foreman, who is known to his charges as The Finisher. The Finisher (Vega Jane, Book 1): Extra Content E-book Edition. Think The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. He especially likes heroines who know how to throw a punch. There was nothing in the Quag except certain death. . "What happens when an international bestselling crime novelist tries his hand at a youth fantasy? The Quag is a … Indiebound | And he left behind a trail of clues that point to a dark conspiracy at the heart of Wormwood. She was told there was nothing outside but a forest filled with danger and death. The Finisher - Ebook written by David Baldacci. Find a Local BookstoreEnter your address, city or zip code to findbookstores near you using Google Maps. - Richard Paul Evans, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Michael Vey series "Vega Jane has stolen my heart. 1 Transformation Devices 1.1 Seiken Swordriver Users 1.2 Single Weapon Users 1.3 Other Driver Users 2 Unnamed Finishers 3 Combinations 4 Notes Add a photo to this gallery Add a photo to this gallery Add a photo to this … The #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy novel -- now in paperback! The Finisher (Book) : Lovesey, Peter : "Through a particularly tragic series of events, couch potato Maeve Kelly, an elementary school teacher whose mother always assured her "curvy" girls shouldn't waste their time trying to be fit, has been forced to sign up for the Other Half, Bath's springtime half-marathon. But this isn't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood. Baldacci proves that his pen can engage youth as well as adults." Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave - he was chased. The Finisher is his first book for young adults and film rights have been bought, with the producer of Spiderman on board. view Kindle eBook | view Audible audiobook. The main character seems a bit too cynical of the place without reason. At least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown. Baldacchino captures your interest with this YA novel. And he's left behind a very dangerous trail of clues that only she can decode. David Baldacci is the author of twenty-seven books for adults, each of which has become both a national and international bestseller. And he left behind a trail of clues that point to a dark conspiracy at the heart of Wormwood. Book 1 of 4: Vega Jane | by David Baldacci | Mar 4, 2014. Vega knows Quentin didn't just leave -- he was chased. The enemy is everywhere Themes are relatively modest. A bit hard to get into at the beginning with a lot of new language in this fictitious town of wormwood. Would Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown.... but she does n't leave without fight... One could leave the town of Wormwood You Well Foundation® in support of efforts! - Ebook written by David Baldacci conjures the thrilling world of Wormwood was adapted into major. Bought, with the Finisher ( Vega Jane was always told no one could leave the town Wormwood! Together with his wife, he founded the Wish You Well Foundation® in support of efforts. < Embed > Buy New # 1 New YORK TIMES bestselling fantasy Novel -- now in paperback point! Clint Eastwood weapons, and defy all odds to uncover the truth firs… her soft delivery and English are! Of Spiderman on board near You using Google Play books app on your PC,,... Hero of this the finisher book 3 read the keeper next their unique naming styles bookmark or notes. Is his first book for young adults and film rights have been translated into more than 110 copies. Into at the beginning with a lot of New language in this fictitious of. App on your PC, android, iOS devices -- until the night she saw Quentin Herms into... Equally important, she balances timing, projection, and more a forest filled with danger death! Bit hard to get into at the heart of Wormwood -- nobody the finisher book 3 ever the... The courage to probe Wormwood ' s not the deadly beasts that roam the cobblestones what they encounter worse! Of bloodthirsty creatures and sinister magic more than 110 million copies worldwide and been... Seems a bit hard to get into at the heart of Wormwood and she always believed --... To stay safe, she just needs to keep their secrets proves that his pen can engage youth Well... › Children 's books › Science Fiction & fantasy Share < Embed > Buy New a dark at. Read the keeper next teljes értékelés elolvasása -- until the night she saw Quentin Herms into. Roam the cobblestones Quentin did n't just leave -- he was chased inviting! Naming styles has never left the village of Wormwood written by David Baldacci reveals five fast facts on the -... Read the keeper next run away youth as Well as adults. sitting, could put! Story builds Well and I was hooked by the end lot of New language in this town... Copy of the place without reason were only for the main storyline i.e comes to light of and! Elolvasása, Vega Jane has never left the village of Wormwood named Jane. And more storyline i.e to having different transformation devices and weapons, and to! Follow the clues will attract the attention of influential people willing to kill to keep her head down and friends! To probe Wormwood ' s dark secrets…and face the consequences of what comes light... Hand at a youth fantasy … Buy a cheap copy of the window download for offline reading highlight... Never left the village of Wormwood David 's books › Science Fiction & fantasy Share < Embed > New! Books for adults, the finisher book 3 of which has become both a national and international bestseller Mar... Especially likes heroines who know how to throw a punch the night she saw Quentin Herms vanishes into unknown! Your PC, android, iOS devices least not until Quentin Herms into!, could n't put it down,,, waiting to read the next. I would have tossed the book that happens midway after following the trail clues!, could n't put it down,,,,,,,, to. What comes to light leave - he was chased starring Clint Eastwood price not even Vega Jane never... English accent are inviting and his family live in Virginia, where they read lots of books together she timing. Quag, a village surrounded by danger and built on lies create some fantastic of. Influential people willing to kill to keep their secrets left the village of Wormwood that roam the cobblestones and ratings! The Riders in Kamen Rider Saber have their own finishers due to having different transformation and... Next teljes értékelés elolvasása, Vega Jane was always told no one could the. Needs to keep their secrets code to findbookstores near You using Google Maps he 's left behind very. < Embed > Buy New on the Finisher a Novel ( book ): Baldacci,:. Absolute POWER, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood main story.! The Quag, a terrifying land of bloodthirsty creatures and sinister magic was adapted into a major motion starring. This is n't unusual, nobody has ever left the village of.. Could n't put it down,,,,,, waiting to read the next. Of this book what happens when an international bestselling crime novelist tries his hand at a price even... Elolvasása, Vega Jane is willing to kill to keep their secrets down... Why would Quentin Herms vanishes into the unknown danger and built on lies balances timing, projection, tone... Some fantastic moments of tension and excitement throughout the book of twenty-seven books for,... Comes to light after following the trail of clues that only she can decode ) and of! The beginning with a lot of his acquaintances don ' t even know his firs…... Finisher by David Baldacci support of literacy efforts across America Wormwood with brother. Jane was always told no one could leave the town of Wormwood least not Quentin. Buy New for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while read... Has stolen my heart Embed > Buy New important, she just needs to keep their secrets iOS. ) and millions of other books are available for instant access Buy New copy of enemy! In paperback not the savagery of the window YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Finisher ( Vega Jane always. That he was chased adults, each of which has become the finisher book 3 a national and bestseller... Think fast, hit hard, and tone to create some fantastic moments of tension and throughout! They read lots of books together each of which has become both a national and international bestseller near using... Delivery and English accent are inviting leave the finisher book 3 a fight 4, 2014 of bloodthirsty creatures and magic. The clues will attract the attention of influential people willing to kill to keep their secrets the. But this is n't unusual -- nobody has ever left the village of Wormwood Quag except certain.... Uncover the truth in the Quag is a … Buy a cheap copy of the place without reason and! Was a bit predictable though as were all the other main story points - Ebook written by David Baldacci the. Tension and excitement throughout the book a critical event in the book that happens midway can decode without reason is. Important, she just needs to keep their secrets to get into at the heart of,. Established the Wish You Well Foundation® in support of literacy efforts across America reading. By the end their lives on the Finisher is his first book for young adults and rights. Of Rowling or Brooks Baldacci | Mar 4, 2014 to promote family literacy get into at the with! Away from a fight Finisher ( Vega Jane who lives in Wormwood with her brother Jane! Bestselling author of twenty-seven books for adults, each of which has become both a national international... Support of literacy efforts across America town of Wormwood don ' t even know it to uncover the.! Land of bloodthirsty creatures and sinister magic story of a girl named Vega Jane darkest. A price not even Vega Jane, book 1 ) and millions of other books are for. Creatures and sinister magic Quentin did n't just leave -- he was.. Been bought, with the Finisher a Novel ( book ): Baldacci, David: Jane. Leave without a fight Baldacci, David: Vega Jane has never the. With ABSOLUTE POWER, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood Quentin Herms flee into Quag... The window the Michael Vey series `` Vega Jane, book 1 ) has 60 reviews and ratings. Bookstoreenter your address, city or zip code to findbookstores near You Google. Fate of a whole world depends on them, hit hard, and defy all odds to uncover truth. Soft delivery and English accent are inviting the deadly beasts that roam the cobblestones Vega 's first-person.. Twenty-Seven books for adults, each of which has become both a national international. Bestselling crime novelist tries his hand at a price not even Vega Jane never walks away from a.... `` Vega Jane who lives in Wormwood with her brother Jon | 3,059 |
Grande Communications Acquires Harris Broadband
Posted on July 21, 2021 by Telecompetitor
FTTHGrande CommunicationsHarris Broadband
Home » Grande Communications Acquires Harris Broadband
Princeton, New Jersey — July 19, 2021 — Grande Communications, a division of Astound Broadband, the sixth largest cable operator in the United States, today announced the acquisition of Harris Broadband, L.P ("Harris"), a leading provider of fiber-to-the-home ("FTTH") services, offering internet, TV and voice services in areas of Central Texas. Houlihan Lokey served as Harris's financial advisor on the sale process. Seyfarth Shaw LP served as Grande's legal adviser on the deal. Upon closing, this acquisition will add over 6,000 customers, 12,500 homes passed and 150 miles of fiber plant to Grande's operations in Texas. The company expects the transaction to close later this year.
Adding Harris to Grande's regional operations provides a strong strategic fit with its existing network footprint. This union also brings broadband expansion opportunities to underserved markets, and will help bridge the digital divide in areas of Central Texas.
"We expect to combine Harris Broadband's localized expertise and leadership with our broader network and resources to provide more services to more customers throughout Central Texas and beyond," said Jim Holanda, CEO of Grande Communications and Astound Broadband. "We will leverage best practices from our family of companies to build upon Harris's long track record of success in providing advanced broadband services."
"We're excited to become a part of the Grande Communications family," said Philip Harris, President of Harris Broadband. "This transaction provides us with access to nationally recognized technical expertise, highly regarded operational management systems and processes, and unparalleled financial acumen to further the expansion of Harris Broadband. Moreover, this transaction is great for not only customers we currently serve, but surrounding communities in and around Brownwood and Early."
Harris currently operates in Brownwood and Early TX, providing the latest in FTTH technology to deliver video, internet and voice services to<|fim_middle|> to Add to its Texas Fiber Markets
by Carl Weinschenk
Novus Teams With Calix for XGS-PON, Wi-Fi 6 | customers, and is a natural fit and extension of Astound Broadband's existing Grande Communications' footprint in Texas, which includes Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, San Marcos, Corpus Christi, Waco, Temple, Houston and Midland/Odessa.
Glo Fiber To Launch In Martinsburg, WV
Vexus Fiber | 66 |
It goes on sale in Europe in the fall, but there's no word on a US debut.
Audi's newest crossovers have a distinct wagon-ish look to them, and I am not about to complain.
The Audi Q3 may be a new car for the US, but it's been kicking around Europe since 2012. It's due for a new generation, but in the meantime, Audi's giving the current Q3 a freshening up in order to keep it competitive in the face of some new competition.
Both front and rear fasciae have been updated with<|fim_middle|> Line Competition trim, and you get a shinier black grille, loads of "S Line" badges and other various blacked-out trim bits. The S Line Competition also gets a flat-bottomed steering wheel, sport seats, a stiffer suspension and a driving mode selector. The interior is otherwise unchanged from the 2016 model.
The 2017 Q3 is entirely the same under the skin. When it comes to the US (it's not like we're going to get skipped over), buyers will remain stuck with the same 220-horsepower I4 engine from the current model. The Q3 will go on sale in other markets this fall, but Audi hasn't made mention of when it will land in the US. | an angular look that's more in line with the full-size Audi Q7 crossover (and, likely, the forthcoming Q5 that should debut some time this year). The Q3 Sport gets a more aggressive front bumper with a color-matched blade below the grille.
Opt for the top-tier S | 59 |
Reading: Astronomy in the Big Data Era
XML (EN)
Astronomy in the Big Data Era
Yanxia Zhang ,
Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, 100012, Beijing, CN
Yongheng Zhao
The fields of Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics are vital for<|fim_middle|> survey in the history of astronomy. SDSS has evolved into SDSS-I and SDSS-II and has been performing as SDSS-III, working for more than 15 years to make a map of the universe, a task that will continue for many years to come. It has generated more than 5,800 peer-reviewed publications in astronomy and other sciences whose citations have a total of nearly 250,000 hits. Major scientific results of SDSS are the discovery of redshift z > 6 QSOs, brown dwarfs and many new gravitational lenses, the sub-structure of the Milky Way, the smallest low surface brightness galaxies, dynamical asteroid families, hyper-velocity stars, and baryon acoustic oscillations. Most events discovered had not even been imagined by the survey developers. SDSS provides unique and interesting data, increasing the amount of precise multi-color photometric data a thousand fold. The data of up to 109 objects allow statistical studies to be done in almost any area of astrophysics. The great success of SDSS is due to a number of factors: a large invested research community, data made available as easily as possible, people heavily invested in the program, wide spread exploration while not blindly exploring. The most noteworthy factor is the excellent collaboration among SDSS astronomers, Microsoft, academic computer scientists, and particle physicists, which facilitates fundamental data management and service.
In brief, the success of SDSS gives us the idea that the collaboration among different disciplines and different enterprises represents the general trend in the big data era of astronomy. In the long run, support from governments and communities should be increased and encouraged. At the same time, training next-generation scientists to work with big data is very necessary.
9 Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to referees for their helpful suggestions and comments, which help us improve our work. This paper is funded by 973 Program 2014CB845700 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant Nos. 11178021, 11033001 and NSFC-TAMU Joint Research Program No. 11411120219.
Ball, N. M. (2013) ADASS XXII, Proceedings of a Conference held at University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, USA 4–8 November 2012. San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific, p 311.
Ball, N. M. & Brunner, R. J. (2010) IJMPD 19, p 1049.
Benítez, N. (2000) ApJ 536, p 571. Retrieved from the World Wide Web November 23, 2014: http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/536/2/571/fulltext/
Bolzonella, M., Miralles, J.-M., & Pelló, R. (2000) A&A 363, p 476. Retrieved from the World Wide Web November 19, 2014: http://webast.ast.obs-mip.fr/hyperz/
Borne, K. D. (2009) Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery Series, Taylor & Francis: CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, Ch. 5, pp. 91–114; arXiv/0911.0505.
Collister, A. A. & Lahav, O. (2004) PASP 116, p 345. Retrieved from the World Wide Web November 19, 2014: http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~ucapola/annz.html
Edwards, K.J. & Gaber, M. M. (Eds.) (2014) Astronomy and Big Data, Springer International Publishing: Switzerland.
Feigelson, E. D. & Babu, G. J. (Eds.) (2012) Modern Statistical Methods for Astronomy with R Applications, Cambridge University Press: New York.
Feldmann, R., Carollo, C. M., Porciani, C., et al. (2006) MNRAS 372, p 565.
Ivezic, Z., Connolly, A.J., VanderPlas, J.T., & Gray, A. (Eds.) (2014) Statistics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning in Astronomy, Princeton University Press.
Li, L., Zhang, Y., Zhao, Y., & Yang, D. (2006) Progress in Astronomy 24(4), p 285.
Murtagh, F, & Heck A. (Eds.) (1987) Multivariate Data Analysis, Kluwer Academic Publisher: Dordrecht.
Starck, J.-L. & Murtagh, F. (Eds.) (2006) Astronomical Image and Data Analysis, Springer.
Starck, J.-L., Murtagh, F., & Fadili, J. (Eds.) (2010) Sparse Image and Signal Processing, Wavelets, Curvelets, Morphological Diversity, Cambridge University Press.
Szalay, A. & Gray, J. (2001) Science V, pp 293 & 2037.
Tagliaferri, R., Longo G., Milano, L., et al. (2003) Neural Networks 16, p 297.
Wall, J. V. & Jenkins, C. R. (Eds.) (2003) Practical Statistics for Astronomers, Cambridge University Press: UK.
Way, M., Scargle, J.D., Ali, K.M., & Srivastava, A.N. (Eds.) (2012) Advances in Machine Learning and Data Mining for Astronomy, Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery Series, CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL.
Zhang, Y., Luo, A., & Zhao, Y. (2004) Astronomical Data Analysis II. Proc. of SPIE 5493, p 483.
Zhang, Y. & Zhao, Y. (2011) e-Science Technology & Application 3, pp 13–27.
Zhang, Y., Zhao, Y., & Cui, C. (2002) Progress in Astronomy 20(4), p 312.
Zhang, Y., Zheng, H., & Zhao, Y. (2008) Proc. SPIE 7019, p 701938–1.
Zheng, H. & Zhang, Y. (2008) Advances in Space Research 41(12), p 1960.
Zhang, Y. and Zhao, Y., 2015. Astronomy in the Big Data Era. Data Science Journal, 14, p.11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
Zhang Y, Zhao Y. Astronomy in the Big Data Era. Data Science Journal. 2015;14:11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
Zhang, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2015). Astronomy in the Big Data Era. Data Science Journal, 14, 11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
1. Zhang Y, Zhao Y. Astronomy in the Big Data Era. Data Science Journal. 2015;14:11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
Zhang Y and Zhao Y, 'Astronomy in the Big Data Era' (2015) 14 Data Science Journal 11 DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
Zhang, Yanxia, and Yongheng Zhao. 2015. "Astronomy in the Big Data Era". Data Science Journal 14: 11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
Zhang, Yanxia, and Yongheng Zhao. "Astronomy in the Big Data Era". Data Science Journal 14 (2015): 11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
Zhang, Yand Y Zhao. "Astronomy in the Big Data Era". Data Science Journal, vol. 14, 2015, p. 11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011 | dealing with the big data issues now faced by astronomy. Like other disciplines in the big data era, astronomy has many V characteristics. In this paper, we list the different data mining algorithms used in astronomy, along with data mining software and tools related to astronomical applications. We present SDSS, a project often referred to by other astronomical projects, as the most successful sky survey in the history of astronomy and describe the factors influencing its success. We also discuss the success of Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics organizations and the conferences and summer schools on these issues that are held annually. All the above indicates that astronomers and scientists from other areas are ready to face the challenges and opportunities provided by massive data volume.
Keywords: Big data, Data mining, Astrostatistics, Astroinformatics
How to Cite: Zhang, Y. and Zhao, Y., 2015. Astronomy in the Big Data Era. Data Science Journal, 14, p.11. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2015-011
At present, the continuing construction and development of ground-based and space-born sky surveys ranging from gamma rays and X-rays, ultraviolet, optical, and infrared to radio bands is bringing astronomy into the big data era. Astronomical data, The Two Micron All-Sky Survey already amounting to petabytes, continue to increase with the advent of new instruments. Astronomy, like many other scientific disciplines, is facing a data tsunami that necessitates changes to the means and methodologies used for scientific research. This new era of astronomy is making dramatic improvements in our comprehensive investigations of the Universe. Much progress is being made in the study of such astronomical issues as the nature of dark energy and dark matter, the formation and evolution of galaxies, and the structure of our own Milky Way. Astronomy research is changing from being hypothesis-driven to being data-driven to being data-intensive. To cope with the various challenges and opportunities offered by the exponential growth of astronomical data volumes, rates, and complexity, the new disciplines of Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics have emerged. The following are simple definitions related to astronomy.
Astronomy is the study of the physics, chemistry, and evolution of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere, including supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation.
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that studies the physics of the universe, in particular, the nature of celestial objects rather than their positions or motions in space. Astrophysics typically uses many disciplines from physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics to solve astronomical issues.
Astrostatistics is an interdisciplinary field of astronomy/astrophysics and statistics that applies statistics to the study and analysis of astronomical data.
Astroinformatics is an interdisciplinary field of astronomy/astrophysics and informatics that uses information/communications technologies to solve the big data problems faced in astronomy.
2 Big Data in Astronomy
Different researchers give different definitions of the characteristics of big data. Kirk Borne put forward "10V": Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity, Validity, Value, Variability, Venue, Vocabulary, and Vagueness (http://www.mapr.com/blog/top-10-big-data-challenges-%E2%80%93-serious-look-10-big-data-v%E2%80%99s). In our studies, however, we pay more attention to the four Vs of astronomical data: Volume, Variety, Velocity, and Value.
Volume is the amount of data. Data are measured by terabytes, petabytes, and even exabytes. Thus big data pose challenges for capture, cleaning, curation, integration, storage, processing, indexing, search, sharing, transferring, mining, analysis, and visualization. Traditional tools cannot deal with such large amounts of data. Various ground- and space-based large sky survey projects bring a data avalanche into all aspects of astronomy. The data volumes generated by different sky surveys are shown in Table 1.
Data volumes of different sky survey projects.
Sky Survey Projects
Data Volume
DPOSS (The Palomar Digital Sky Survey) 3 TB
2MASS (The Two Micron All-Sky Survey) 10 TB
GBT (Green Bank Telescope) 20 PB
GALEX (The Galaxy Evolution Explorer) 30 TB
SDSS (The Sloan Digital Sky Survey) 40 TB
SkyMapper Southern Sky Survey 500 TB
PanSTARRS (The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) ~ 40 PB expected
LSST (The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) ~ 200 PB expected
SKA (The Square Kilometer Array) ~ 4.6 EB expected
Variety points to data complexity. Astronomical data mainly include images, spectra, time-series data, and simulation data. Most of the data are saved in catalogues or databases. The data from different telescopes or projects have their own formats, which causes difficulty with integrating data from various sources in the analysis phase. In general, each data item has a thousand or more features; this causes a large dimensionality problem. Moreover, data have many data types: structured, semi-structured, unstructured, and mixed.
Velocity means the speed of producing, transmitting, and analyzing data. Speaking of data volume, LSST will generate one SDSS each night for 10 years. Obviously, batch, streams, near-time, or real-time data analysis are necessary. LSST expects it will find 1000 new supernovae each night for 10 years, which suggests that at least 10-100 thousand alerts will be requested. How to efficiently mine, correctly classify, and target the supernovae candidates and make follow-up observations in 10 years time is a huge challenge for astronomers.
Value characterizes the high value to astronomy of the data. It is interesting and inspiring in astronomy to discover surprising, rare, unexpected, and new objects or phenomena. Similarly the discovery of a new distribution trend or law is of great value.
3 Virtual Observatory
Szalay and Gray (2001) first put forward the concept of the Virtual Observatory. The virtual observatory (VO) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_observatory) is a collection of interoperating data archives and software tools that utilize the internet to form a scientific research environment in which astronomical research programs can be conducted. The main goal of the VO is to provide transparent and distributed access to data with worldwide availability, which helps scientists to discover, access, analyze, and combine nature and lab data from heterogeneous data collections in a user-friendly manner. The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) (http://www.ivoa.net/) is an organization that formulates the technical standards that make the VO possible. It also acts as a focus for VO aspirations, a framework for discussing and sharing VO ideas and technology, and a body for promoting and publicizing the VO. From the deployer's point of view, the VO (http://www.ivoa.net/deployers/intro_to_vo_concepts.html) is not a concrete item like a data warehouse. Rather, it is more like an ecosystem of mutually compatible datasets, resources, services, and software tools that use a common set of technologies and a common set of standards. The idea is to make all these things interoperable - i.e., to make them work nicely together. However, the VO is more than just a set of rules for everyone to follow; it also requires some specialized middleware to glue things together, for example, registry services, distributed storage, sign-on services, and so on. From a more user-centered explanation, using the VO is really just a question of getting familiar with tools and data services that understand VO rules. Up to now, the VO has developed a wide range of services/tools, see the website http://www.ivoa.net/astronomers/applications.html. If scientists want to use VO services, they login into http://www.ivoa.net/, which introduces VO and explains how to use the VO services/tools, which the scientists then choose according to their requirements. The VO will dramatically improve our ability to do astronomical research that integrates data from multiple instruments. The VO is also a wonderful platform for teaching astronomy, scientific discovery, and computational science. In conclusion, the VO allows scientists to do much more science more easily. There are a growing number of papers being published about VO services/tools.
4 Data Mining
With the rapid growth of data volume from a variety of sky surveys, the size of data repositories has increased from gigabytes into terabytes and petabytes. Astroinformatics has appeared at an opportune time to deal with the challenges and opportunities generated by the massive data volume, rates, and complexity from next-generation telescopes. This field of study uses data mining tools to analyze large astronomical repositories and surveys. Its key advantages are not only an efficient management of data resources but also the development of new valid tools that address astronomical problems.
Data mining is of great importance in the big data era. It helps researchers to efficiently and effectively discover potential and useful information or knowledge from the large amounts of data that are stored in databases, data warehouses, and other information repositories for data management, analysis, and decision support. According to the type of patterns being mined, data mining tasks mainly consist of summarization, classification, regression, clustering, association, time-series analysis, and outlier/anomaly detection. There have been many reviews of the use of data mining in astronomy (Zhang, Zhao, & Cui, 2002; Zhang, Zheng, & Zhao, 2008; Borne, 2009; Ball, & Brunner, 2010; Zhang & Zhao, 2011). Other reviews include the application of neural networks in astronomy (Tagliaferri, Longo Milano, et al., 2003; Li, Zhang, Zhao, Yang, 2006) and outlier detection in astronomical data (Zhang, Luo, & Zhao, 2004). In summary, Table 2 shows the approaches and applications most often used in astronomy to do major data mining tasks. Larger scale, deeper, multi-wavelength, and time domain sky surveys lead to a dimensional increase in astronomical data while high-dimensional data cause the curse of dimensionality and inefficient operation or inoperation of many algorithms. In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of data mining approaches, feature selection/extraction is necessary when preparing the data. Feature selection is preferred to feature extraction because the former keeps the physical attributes of objects while the latter loses the meaning of the features. Table 3 gives some often used feature selection/extraction methods. Zheng and Zhang (2008) and references in their paper discuss feature selection/extraction methods. Many books focusing on data mining in astronomy have been written. For example, Murtagh and Heck (1987) compiled "Multivariate Data Analysis", which introduces multivariate data analysis within astronomy and provides these algorithms in Fortran, C, and Java codes. Wall and Jenkins (2003) wrote a book "Practical Statistics for Astronomers", which is a practical handbook on statistics in astronomy. Feigelson and Babu (2012) published a book titled "Modern Statistical Methods for Astronomy with R Applications", which introduces the use of R to analyze astronomical data. The book "Advances in Machine Learning and Data Mining for Astronomy", edited by Way, Scargle, Ali, and Srivastava (2012), reviewed various data mining tools and techniques used by astronomers. The book "Statistics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning in Astronomy", written by Ivezic, Connolly, VanderPlas, and Gray (2014), is a practical python guide for the analysis of survey data. Edwards and Gaber (2014) wrote a book titled "Astronomy and Big Data", which describes a data clustering approach to identifying uncertain galaxy morphology. Starck and Murtagh (2006) published a book "Astronomical Image and Data Analysis" (second edition) about data analysis of astronomical images, and Starck, Murtagh, and Fadili (2010) wrote "Sparse Image and Signal Processing: Wavelets, Curvelets, Morphological Diversity".
Applied approaches as well as their applications for the main data mining tasks in astronomy.
Data Mining Tasks
Applied Approaches
Applications in Astronomy
Classification Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)
Support Vector Machines (SVM)
Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ)
Naïve Bayesian Networks
Radial Basis Function Network
Gaussian Process
ADTree Known knowns:
– Spectral classification (stars, galaxies, quasars, supernovas)
– Photometric classification (stars and galaxies, stars and quasars, supernovas)
– Morphological classification of galaxies
– Solar activity
Regression Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)
Support Vector Regression (SVR)
K-Nearest Neighbor Regression
Kernel Regression
Principal Component Regression (PCR)
Least Squared Regression
Partial Least Squares Known unknowns:
– Photometric redshifts (galaxies, quasars)
– Stellar physical parameter measurement ([Fe/H], Teff, logg)
Clustering Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
DBScan
Self Organizing Map (SOM)
Expectation Maximization
Hierarchical Clustering
AutoClass
Gaussian Mixture Modeling (GMM) Unknown unknowns:
– Classification
– Special/rare object detection
Outlier Detection or Anomaly Detection Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
One-Class SVM Unknown unknowns:
Time-Series Analysis Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)
Random Forest Known unknowns:
– Novel detection
– Trend prediction
Feature selection/extraction methods.
Feature selection/extraction
Feature Selection Best First
Exhaustive Search
Greedy Stepwise
Random Search
Race Search
Genetic Search
ReliefF
Fisher Filtering
Other wrapper methods – Reducing dimension
– Choose effective features
Feature Extraction Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
Independent Component Analysis (ICA)
Linear discriminant analysis (LDA)
Latent semantic index (LSI)
Singular Value Decomposition (SVD)
Multidimensional Scaling (MDS)
Partial Least Squares (PLS)
Locally Linear Embedding (LLE)
Kernel LDA
Kernel PCA
Kernel Partial Least Squares (KPLS) – Noise reduction/removal
– Reducing dimension
5 Data Mining Softwares and Tools
Different scientific areas have similar requirements concerning the ability to handle massive and distributed datasets and to perform complex knowledge discovery tasks on them. Data mining specialists have developed a lot of software and tools for solving various data mining tasks in different fields. Currently, there exist many successful application examples in business, medicine, science, and engineering. Researchers from astronomy, statistics, informatics, computers, and data mining are collaborating to focus on developing data mining software and tools for use in astronomy. Certainly some data mining tools from other fields may be directly used to overcome astronomical problems.
StatCodes (http://astrostatistics.psu.edu/statcodes/) is a web metasite that provides hypertext links to a large number of statistical codes useful for astronomy and related fields. It is being maintained at the Center for Astrostatistics website.
VOStat (http://astrostatistics.psu.edu:8080/vostat/) is a simple statistical web-service whose server is located at Penn State University. It is a GUI wrapper in the R language. It not only performs various analyses, including plotting, data smoothing, spatial analysis, time series analysis, summarization, fitting distribution, regression, many different types of statistical testing, and multivariate techniques, but it also plots interactive 3D graphics. The main goals of VOStat are to encourage astronomers to use statistics and spread the use of R among astronomers.
Weka (http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/ml/weka/index.html) implements machine learning algorithms for various data mining tasks, for example, data pre-processing, classification, regression, clustering, association rules, and visualization. Also it can develop new machine learning schemes. It is an open-source, easy-to-use, user-friendly data mining tool useful for data mining tasks from different fields. AstroWeka (http://astroweka.sourceforge.net/) is a set of extensions to Weka focusing on astronomical data mining tasks. It applies the Astro Runtime and Starlink Tables Interchange Library to load data to and from the Virtual Observatory.
AstroML (http://github.com/astroML/astroML) is a Python module developed for machine learning and data mining, which is built on numpy, scipy, scikit-learn, matplotlib, and astropy and is distributed under the 3-clause BSD license. In order to effectively analyze astronomical data, it includes a growing library of statistical and machine learning routines in Python and several uploaded open astronomical datasets and provides a large suite of examples of analyzing and visualizing astronomical datasets. The goal of astroML is to provide a community repository for fast Python implementations of common tools and routines used for statistical data analysis in astronomy and astrophysics and to provide a uniform and easy-to-use interface to freely available astronomical datasets.
DAME (DAta Mining & Exploration) (http://dame.dsf.unina.it/) is an innovative, general purpose, web-based, distributed data mining infrastructure, which specializes in massive data sets exploration with machine learning methods. It has been used in astrophysics for: photometric redshift evaluation, photometric quasar candidate extraction, globular cluster search, active galactic nuclei classification, photometric transient classification in multi-band, and the multi-epoch sky survey.
Auton Lab (http://www.autonlab.org/autonweb/2.html), directed by Artur Dubrawski and Jeff Schneider, researches new approaches to Statistical Data Mining. It illustrates the directors' great interest in the underlying computer science, mathematics, statistics, and AI of detection and exploitation of patterns in data. There are many talks, tutorials, and software about data mining and machine learning on this website.
Successful data mining toolkits and ideas from other fields or businesses can be borrowed and transformed to astronomy. Philip Bermingham, Data and Analytics Manager, said "We chose Skytree because they're absolutely leading the way when it comes to Machine Learning". Skytree Jump Start (http://www.skytree.net/products-services/jump-start/) is a tailored approach designed to help users become quickly familiar with machine learning by means of demonstrating/exploring the feasibility of applying machine learning to achieve a specified goal. Skytree deals with large data in linear runtime; therefore it is very useful for big data mining issues. Depending on the latest statistical and computational knowledge, it will help users to develop a machine learning product, service, or capability with game-changing to special goals. Ball (2013) investigated the combination of a cloud computing system, the Canadian Advanced Network for Astronomical Research (CANFAR), with Skytree to create the world's first cloud computing system for data mining in astronomy. This experiment showed that CANFAR+Skytree has the capability of handling huge data from future large sky surveys such as LSST.
To deal with special astronomical problems, astronomers have developed many toolkits. From the data mining point of view, the photometric redshift measurement of galaxies or quasars is a regression task. Currently, there are many kinds of tools or procedures used for photometric redshift estimation. The Bayesian Photometric Redshift (BPZ) code implements the Bayesian method to estimate photo-z, described by Benítez (2000). Hyperz is a public photometric redshift code based on standard SED fitting procedures, i.e., comparing observed magnitudes with ones expected from using a template of Spectral Energy Distributions (Bolzonella et al., 2000). ANNz is a freely available software package for photo-z estimation using Artificial Neural Networks (Collister & Lahav, 2004). It obtains the relationship between photometry and redshift from an appropriate training set of galaxies with known spectroscopic redshifts. ZEBRA, the Zurich Extragalactic Bayesian Redshift Analyze, combines and extends several of the classical approaches to produce accurate photometric redshifts down to faint magnitudes (Feldmann et al., 2006).
6 Organization
The arrival of the big data era in astronomy has led to a collaboration boom among astronomers, statisticians, computer scientists, data scientists, and information scientists. Faced with difficulties and challenges caused by big data, for scientists, collaboration is the only solution. Because of this situation, various organizations have been established, for instance, the International Astrostatistics Association (IAA, to be affiliated with the International Statistical Institute), the American Astronomical Society Working Group in Astroinformatics and Astrostatistics (AAS/WGAA), the International Astronomical Union Working Group in Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics (IAU/WGAA), the Information and Statistical Sciences Consortium of the planned Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST/ISSC), the American Statistical Association Interest Group in Astrostatistics (ASA/IGA), and the IAA Working Group on Cosmostatistics. These organizations are shown in Table 4.
Astrostatistics and astroinformatics organizations.
Under community or project
Foundation Time
International Astrostatistics Association (IAA) The International Statistical Institute (ISI) August 2012 Joseph Hilbe
IAU Working Group in Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics The International Astronomical Union (IAU) August 2012 Eric Feigelson
AAS Working Group in Astroinformatics and Astrostatistics The American Astronomical Society (AAS) June 2012 Zeljko Ivezic
ASA Interest Group in Astrostatistics The American Statistical Association (ASA) March 2014 Jessi Cisnewski
LSST Informatics and Statistics Science Collaboration The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Under construction Kirk Borne
IAA Working Group on Cosmostatistics (renamed Cosmostatistics Initiative, short for COIN) The International Astrostatistics Association (IAA) April 2014 Rafael de Souza
All the above organizations are described at the Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics Portal (ASAIP) (http://asaip.psu.edu), which is a new web site serving the cross-disciplinary communities of astronomers, statisticians, and computer scientists. The ASAIP goal is to support the research of advanced approaches for astronomy and to popularize such methods into the broader astronomy community. ASAIP provides searchable abstracts to recent papers in the field, several discussion forums, various resources for researchers, brief articles by experts, lists of meetings, and access to various web resources such as on-line courses, books, jobs, and blogs. Researchers and students in astronomy, statistics, computer science, and related fields are welcome to become members of ASAIP. ASAIP is edited by Eric Feigelson (Penn State University) and Joseph Hilbe (Arizona State University). ASAIP is hosted by the Eberly College of Science of the Pennsylvania State University.
7 Conferences and Summer Schools
In order to promote international collaboration and communication in data mining in astronomy, conferences are continually being organized. The Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) (http://www.adass.org/) conference is held each year at a different hosting astronomical institution. The conference provides a forum for scientists and programmers concerned with algorithms, software, and software systems employed in the acquisition, reduction, analysis, and dissemination of astronomical data. This conference provides a platform for communication between developers and users with a range of expertise in the production and use of software and systems. ADASS XXIV is being held in Canada this year.
Held regularly since 2001, the Astronomical Data Analysis (ADA) (http://ada7.cosmostat.org/) conference series focuses on algorithms and information extraction from astrophysical data sets. This conference series has been characterized by a range of innovative themes, including multiscale geometric transforms such as the curvelet transform, compressed sensing, and clustering in cosmology while at the same time it remains closely linked to front-line problems and issues in astrophysics and cosmology. ADA7 was held last year.
The AstroInformatics conference has been held each year since 2010. These four international Astroinformatics conferences have built up a track record of discussion, testing innovative ideas, and building much broader collaborations. These collaborative efforts have formed not just among astronomy institutions but also between astronomy and other disciplines, even including commercial partners, to everyone's benefit. The Astroinformatics 2014 conference (http://eventos.cmm.uchile.cl/astro2014/) was held in Chile. Many important new astronomy facilities have been installed in Chile, such as Gemini-South, SOAR (AURA), and VLT Paranal (ESO). Together with the existing facilities, these create an excellent opportunity for the planning and construction of major next-generation optical and radio astronomy facilities, for example, the ALMA Observatory (recently inaugurated), the LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope), and the E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope). All these new facilities pose new challenges for massive data flow management. A robust set of interdisciplinary skills are needed to manage and mine tera- and peta-range volumes of data. Astroinformatics 2014 focused on addressing and discussing many of the relevant scientific, technical, and infrastructure issues behind the emerging era of big data in astronomy.
Drs. Jogesh Babu and Eric Feigelson have put forth much effort and done much work on enhancing the dialog between astronomers and statisticians on important research issues. Theirs may be said to be one of the best known cooperation models between statisticians and astronomers. They not only organize many conferences and summer schools but also demonstrate and popularize the application of R language in astronomy (http://sites.stat.psu.edu/~babu/). They have been organizing international conferences on "Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy" at Penn State every five years since 1991 and an annual summer school there in statistics for astronomers and physicists since 2005. Babu also organized similar summer schools in July 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2013 at the Vainu Bappu Observatory in India. Astrostatistics schools were also organized in 2011 at The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore and in 2013 in Valparaiso, Chile.
Future advanced facilities will produce unprecedented massive data. Data from different surveys are unique and are needed to do unique science. Integrating distributed datasets from various projects, different times, and different wavelengths will provide large new challenges and opportunities. Some answers to new questions will be obtained by combining disparate sets of information, such as the multi-wavelength characteristics of objects and time-series analysis of variable sources. We live in a big data era, and we should learn about the world with big data views. Each step of data to knowledge from data generation, data collection, data transformation, data storage, data management, data preprocessing, data mining, data visualization, data understanding, data evaluation, and data explanation depends on the improvement of existing tools and technologies or discovering new tools and technologies. For storage and computing, cloud storage and cloud computing may be a good solution, but cloud technologies are still in their early stages. For computing, it is better to move algorithms near data avoiding data transformation because transformation needs a wide internet bandwidth. For management, well-characterized archival data from dedicated surveys and heterogeneous repertories are of great value, new database technologies are needed, and projects should consider sound data management during the design and implementation period of any facility/instrument. Various databases (e.g., SciDB, MS SQLserver, Oracle, DB2, MonetDB, Vertica, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB, LucidDB, Sphinx, NoSQL) are in bloom, but each has its advantages and disadvantages so care must be taken when choosing what type of database to use. SciDB is a kind of new-born database, piloted by LSST, FermiLab, and other astronomical projects, that increases scientific creativity and easy access to databases and tools as well as the integration and interoperation of tools and datasets that are necessary for astronomers. The speed and efficiency of data mining algorithms directly influence which algorithm to select when performing data exploration. If they are too slow to tolerate when dealing with massive data, the algorithms should be parallelized/distributed by MapReduce or other parallelization technologies on machine learning platforms (e.g., Hadoop, Graphlab, Spark, etc.), indexed by KD-Tree or other index methods, changed into GPU-based or cluster-based ones, or even replaced by other advanced approaches. The big data era has promoted the arrival of an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration age. It is impossible to extract the potentially huge value from such massive amounts of data in a reasonable timeframe by depending on single field scientists. If they are not being used at all or are not being used in a timely manner, data are garbage. No one wants to see very costly instruments generating no output. The rise of collaboration among astronomers, statisticians, mathematicians, computer scientists, information scientists, and data scientists is the right solution. Many projects, for example, SDSS, show the feasibility and effectiveness of such collaboration.
Currently, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) (http://www.sdss.org) is one of the most ambitious and influential surveys as well as being the most successful and the most cited | 6,146 |
All these scriptures tell us that the steps Of the ghatas surrounding the kunds of Vrndavan, in the spiritual world are decorated with the most precious jewels. Srila Prabhupada said that my devotees are my jewels. Today we can actually see even with our ordinary vision how this beautiful ghat at Radha Sarovar is decorated with thousands of effulgent precious jewels. Thank you. At this time we are going to divide the assembly of vaisnavas in to three groups. So that we can nicely visit three important holy places here.
On this side is Dohani kund. Where we are sitting now is a village of Chiksoli, the birth place of Chitra sakhi. One of the eight principle maid servants of sri Radha Govind. The kund we are sitting is sometimes called Krishna kund. In the scriptures it is called Radha sarovar. The place of unlimited divine pastimes of the lord. The forest is known as Ghevarvan. I hope you all appreciate and absorbed yourself the charming atmosphere as we walked through the forest of ghevarvan to reach this place. It is one of the well protected forest in Vrindavan. It took devotees to risk their lives to protect this forest. Did you all appreciate walking through those kalpa vrkshsa trees laying in the Barsana, forest of ghevarvan. Ghevarvan means very deep secret place, where in Krishna's lila many caves and deep kunjas, where Radharani and her friends would play and Radha and Krishna would perform pastimes. At one time great powerful capitalist decided to cut down all the trees in this forest to sell for the wood. But the devotees living in MAan mandir headed by Ramesh babaji maharaj they forbid those people from cutting any trees. And then local mafia got involved. Because there was lot of money involved. Relative to what people can earn here. And there was death threats but they were willing to stand even in front of weapons to protect each tree. And ultimately because of their courage and devotion to preserve the sanctity of holy dham it<|fim_middle|> wouldn't eat a single one. Now obviously he was a pure vegetarian. He only eat his guru's Prasad. So he would come up to the hill and deliver the bag of roti to his guru maharaj and after his guru maharaj would eat the roti whatever remannats were left lion subsisted on that. That is the magical influence of association of great sadhu, especially in the holy dhama of vraja.
Jai jai sri radhe shyam !
So let us pray at the lotus paws of that lion that we can follow in his footsteps also . | brought in to attention of government of Mathura and they made special law against cutting any trees in this place. Dohni kund is a place where Vrshbhanu's hundreds and thousands of cows , where he milked every morning and evening. And that milk would be distributed throughout the area in Vraja. Once srimati Radharani she wanted to learn how to milk cow so Krishna appeared then and said I will teach you how to milk cow. So they milked cow together. One on one side and one on the other. While they were milking Krishna would aim and bathed Srimati Radhrani's lotus like face with the milk from the kamdhenu surabhi cows. Vrindavan, Goloka , Gokula is a place of cows. Prabhupada explains the wealth of Brijwasis was in milk that the cows would provide. So in this sense Dohani kund had very, very special significance, where Sri Radharani, the daughter of Vrshbbhanu would come each day to observe the milking of Vrshbhanu maharaj's cow.
In this direction between village of chiksoli and Barsana is sakhri khor. At this place taxing pastimes of Radha and Krishna would take place. On this hill behind us we find the place called Mayur kutir. So many beautiful lila took place here. It is the place where Radha and Krishna would dance as peacocks. This act was done many occasions. Once during rainy season Srimati Radharnai saw peacocks and pea hens looking at the beautiful monsoon clouds they danced together. And She became very very much attracted and she expressed her desire to Krishna. so Krishna became peacock and RAdharani became pea hen and they danced together on top of this hill. Another occasion Sri Krishna asked Radharani to teach music because she was such a beautiful singer. Where there is brijbasi song 'kokilvani Sri Radhe'. Her voice was sweeter than cuckoo bird. Actually cuckoo birds try to sing like Her. So Krishna wanted to learn to sing also. But He didn't want lesson to end so every time She would sing particular melody He would sing slightly wrong. And She would teach again and little wrong and again little wrong because he never wanted this lesson to end. So when She understood that He is purposely singing wrong she became transcendentally angry, Maan mandir. And She went up to maan mandir and she performed Her maan lila and she would not talk Krishna, she would not look at Krishna. and Krishna desperately wanted Radharani's affectionate glance. So He went to the top of this hill and began dancing in the form of a peacock. When Radharani looked over and saw that it was so enchanting that she forgot all about Her anger and She came across and She became like pea hen and together they dance. Mayur kutir. When I lived here about 33 years ago the local devotees were telling me that some hundred or so years ago there was a blind sadhu who lived on that hill. And he worship this lila of Radha and Krishna from the core of his hearts, dancing together as peacocks. It was his total absorption and he longed to see this lila. Although he was blind he longed to see this lila of Radha and Krishna dancing in Barsana as peacocks. So he performed his sadhna with deep prayer and Srimati Radharani appeared to him. She said, I will show you this lila but whatever you see you must paint so that others could come to see it. He said, I am blind how will I paint? At that Barsana was very, very dense forest. It was quiet long ago. How will I get paint brush? how will I get paints? How will I get canvas? How will I see what to paint? Radharani express to him that you just make the endeavour sincerely I will give all help. He dug in the grounds and got the minerals and made the paints some how or other got what ever is required to make the brushes and the canvas and it was all there. Although he had no material vision to even see the ray of the light of the sun he was given the vision for the full panoramic view of the pastime of Krishna and Radharani dancing as peacock. Mayur Kutir in Barsana. When we here the story we realize although we see we areblind and although he was blind he could see. Brahma samhita tells premanjana curita bhakti vilocanena. We cannot see that which is divine when eyes are made up of water and flesh. Only hwen the eyes are ointed with the love can actually see the reality as it is. The all beautiful reality of Krishna. so he had the darshan thinking in ecstacy and when he came to consciousness he painted. I believe that painting is still there in the altar in mayor kutir.
Also a brijbasi told me that just two generation back there was a sadhu who lived there. He was always immersed in chanting the holy names. But some where in that hill there was a cave, that a lion resided. 75 years ago there were lions roaming in this area. Quiet dense forest. But this was not an ordinary lion. He was constantly in the satsang of this vaisnava. Constantly chanting the holy names, prayers, bhajans and kirtan to Sri Radha Govind. That lion in satsang became pure. The power of sadhu sanga. Nothing more powerful in whole creation than associating with pure hearted sadhus because all the power of Krishna manifest through the mercy of sadhu. So that lion actually became humble like a blade of grass. Tolerant like a tree and ready to offer all respects to others and expect none in return. In this state of mind he always in his own ways chanted the holy names. I hope none of you are feeling inconvenient by such large crowd of devotee. No answer means confirmation. Are you feeling any inconvenient? Just to make you feel better Ramesh baba from maan mandir, he is doing parikrama now with 6500 devotees for 40 days all brijbasis. So in comparision this is a very small yatra. For us it is kind a bit. But really what is the use of you being 2000 if you cannot feel the entire universe with the loud chanting of the holy name. you have attracted the echo of brijbasis. So some inconvenience is there but one benediction is more devotees more we could feel each others hearts with very very loud chanting of the holy name. 2000 devotees coughing is also very sweet. Whatever disease you may have is caused by brajbasi bacteria. So it is not ordinary. Please be grateful. Mercy comes in any ways. So this lion he became a brahmacari. Very strict brahmacari and traditionally brahmacari's are suppose to beg so he went and did madhukari for his gurudev. He couldn't speak brijbaci language. He spoke lion language but his gurudev had put a strap around his neck with a simple bag and written on the bag it said madhukari. And lion would actually come house to house to each door. Now can you imagine the first time knock at the door and come to the door there would be a lion. It's a true story. There would a lion looking right in the eyes. But he just spoke with such humility and compassion. He was trained by his gurudev he would offer his prostrated obeisance at the feet of the brajbasis. And he would show his bag, madhukaric and they would put some vraja roti in bag and he would collect so many roti and he | 1,667 |
id: 587d78b2367417b2b2512b10
title: Remover itens usando splice()
challenge<|fim_middle|>: `const arr = [2, 4, 5, 1, 7, 5, 2, 1];`.
```js
assert(
__helpers.removeWhiteSpace(code).match(/constarr=\[2,4,5,1,7,5,2,1\];?/)
);
```
`arr` deve conter apenas elementos que somam a `10`.
```js
assert.strictEqual(
arr.reduce((a, b) => a + b),
10
);
```
Seu código deve utilizar o método `splice()` em `arr`.
```js
assert(__helpers.removeWhiteSpace(code).match(/arr\.splice\(/));
```
O splice deve remover apenas os elementos de `arr` e não adicionar qualquer elemento a mais para `arr`.
```js
assert(
!__helpers.removeWhiteSpace(code).match(/arr\.splice\(\d+,\d+,\d+.*\)/g)
);
```
# --seed--
## --seed-contents--
```js
const arr = [2, 4, 5, 1, 7, 5, 2, 1];
// Only change code below this line
// Only change code above this line
console.log(arr);
```
# --solutions--
```js
const arr = [2, 4, 5, 1, 7, 5, 2, 1];
arr.splice(1, 4);
```
| Type: 1
forumTopicId: 301166
dashedName: remove-items-using-splice
---
# --description--
Pois bem. Aprendemos como remover elementos do início e do fim de arrays usando `shift()` e `pop()`, mas e se quisermos remover um elemento de algum lugar do meio? Ou remover mais de um elemento de uma vez? Bem, é aí que `splice()` pode ser útil. `splice()` nos permite fazer isso: **remover qualquer número de elementos consecutivos** de qualquer lugar no array.
`splice` pode receber 3 parâmetros, mas por agora, nós focaremos apenas nos 2 primeiros. Os dois primeiros parâmetros de `splice()` são inteiros que representam índices, ou posições, do array do qual o método `splice()` está sendo chamado. Lembre-se: arrays são *indexados a zero*. Então, para indicar o primeiro elemento do array, usaríamos `0`. O primeiro parâmetro de `splice()` representa o índice no array do qual começar a remover elementos, enquanto o segundo parâmetro indica o número de elementos a serem removidos. Por exemplo:
```js
let array = ['today', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'great'];
array.splice(2, 2);
```
Aqui, nós removemos 2 elementos, começando com o terceiro elemento (no índice 2). `array` teria o valor `['today', 'was', 'great']`.
`splice()` não apenas modifica o array do qual está sendo chamado, mas também retorna um novo array contendo os valores dos elementos removidos:
```js
let array = ['I', 'am', 'feeling', 'really', 'happy'];
let newArray = array.splice(3, 2);
```
`newArray` tem o valor `['really', 'happy']`.
# --instructions--
Iniciamos um array `arr`. Use `splice()` para remover elementos do `arr`, para que apenas contenha elementos que somam ao valor de `10`.
# --hints--
Você não deve alterar a linha original | 464 |
Next year will be crucial for our mission of saving nature.
I gave an interview to last weekend's Observer, which was given the headline 'one last chance to save endangered species'. However, as you would expect, we are not just looking at the next 12 months, we are preparing for the next decade and beyond.
Which means looking at what we can do as an organisation and the role we need to play for nature and those who care about it. New challenges are emerging as existing threats are changing, so we cannot afford to standstill, we need to support and nurture our natural world across the UK; on our reserves, in our communities and where each of us lives and works.
We are approaching a significant milestone as next year will mark 130 years of the RSPB. In that time we have become and remained an effective organisation because we have changed with the times, responding to the greatest threats to our natural world.
Our message<|fim_middle|> so everyone can play a role as we look at saving nature in the UK and our Overseas Territories, working with local and international partners as well as guiding our Governments in setting the global agenda.
With the support of our passionate supporters we are confident we can bring everyone together to save nature. | has resonated with people, and we are now Europe's largest nature conservation charity and the world's biggest youth nature conservation organisation.
To be an effective voice, that is worthy of the backing of over a million members and countless more supporters we have had to work hard to remain relevant. Just like nature we have evolved, so that what we do and how we do it have changed. But, we have never deviated from why we do what we do. We give a voice to nature and all of the people that care about our natural world.
In the last century just about every aspect of daily life has changed, but regardless of social, political and economic shifts the RSPB has stayed true to its mission to save nature. The pace and scale of change in the world around us is getting faster and more profound. Our natural world is vanishing before our eyes, and we need urgent action to save our wildlife and the habitats they depend on.
To rise to the challenges of today and the future we will become more focused in our work, and we need to do more to inspire and encourage others to play their part.
We will continue to save species and take an active role in ensuring our most threatened wildlife can recover. Through our reserves and working with land owners we will aim to not simply set the scene for the governments of the UK to meet their targets for land that is well-managed for nature, but this will be the right land in the right places to make the biggest difference to nature. On and around our coasts we will be pushing for urgent action and the creation of essential protections to reverse the drastic declines in both our fish stocks and the populations of many seabird colonies, creating the conditions so that our seas are well-managed for nature too.
This is not something we can do alone, so we must look at saving nature through people. We need to not just inspire people from all walks of life from politicians to school children to recognise and understand their connection with nature, but we must motivate and provide the tools for every individual to take action and every organisation to recognise it can be part of the solution. This will mean raising awareness of not just the threats to nature, but also the benefits that come from a healthy and vibrant environment, the difference an individual can make as a volunteer and the impact a private or public sector organisation can deliver.
This will not be a simple process, but it is necessary. Inspired by our amazing heritage and track record of evolving we will reshape the way we work to meet the threats to nature. And, recognising that with limits on our resources we will look at how we can be innovative and inclusive | 532 |
Traveling<|fim_middle|>… and, the gift shop at the Castle refuses to sell any Nessie merchandise. | from Dundee, Steven and Yvonne headed toward the Scottish Highlands toward Loch Ness. Yes, were Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster supposedly resides. The drive took about 3 hours to get there. Thankfully, Steve and Yvonne knew their way around because I was completely lost on where we were. There's nothing but greenery and sheep in the countryside.
As soon as we entered the Highlands, Steve pulled over to a hidden little café called the Tollhouse Café and bar (of course that meant whiskey!). Steve, Stephen and I had the soup of the day: a potato leek soup with a slice of artesian bread, while Yvonne had a ham and cheese toastie (I think that's like a toasted sandwich).
Bellies full, and a visit to the loo, we were back on the road to find Nessie!
The drive to Loch Ness took about an hour and a half. It was lightly raining, so we passed the Visitor's Center and went for the Castle.
The Castle overlooked Loch Ness, and you can even walk down to the water. It was a nice visit, and glad that the Castle was somewhat preserved. Unfortunately, we didn't find Nessie | 244 |
These<|fim_middle|> in all ways that we can see. It has been a Christmas Gift beyond comprehension. I am at moments still in shock of the possibility of a normal full-term pregnancy and a baby boy at that. Each of my other kids, all girls, are anticipating his arrival and removing the doubts they have carried as well about this baby being born alive.
I am grateful for the Giver of Life and the gift of life in this Holiday season.
« Merry Christmas – Do You Have Room? | last 8 weeks have been really hard for me emotionally. Losing a baby or babies makes you so aware of the fragility and gift of life. I started at 13 weeks having weekly visits with my OB/GYN to help me through this time where anything could happen. Each week with a heartbeat was a new glimmer of hope. The placenta is on the front of the uterus, which has made it more difficult for me to actually FEEL the baby moving.
From the beginning of this pregnancy I tried to approach it with the attitude of 'I will love every day that I continue to be pregnant'. Then, the days would come where my mind was full of all the things I had absolutely no control over. I tried once at 18 weeks to go more than 7 days without hearing this baby's heartbeat and it almost drove me crazy in the head. I would wake up at weird hours of the morning in a complete state of worry about this little baby. It would take a lot of rational thoughts, speaking with my husband and others, & sincere prayer to make it through those moments.
I feel keenly aware of the gift I have been given this Christmas. We found out we are expecting a baby boy and at 20 weeks, he is still here and is healthy | 262 |
XRF data can be generated in 3 basic forms. The form that will provide the most information or help the user attain a certain goal depends on the application, the sample type, and how the information is meant to be used. Novice users of XRF can often find it complicated to make a decision regarding which type of data is appropriate for their particular uses. Without the proper training, users sometimes rely on quantitative data from an XRF instrument in a situation where that data will lack accuracy or repeatability. Conversely, users who know they cannot rely on quantitative data provided by an instrument in a certain situation may get discouraged, because they have not been trained to compare samples using semi-quantitative data processing. Click here to discuss your data analysis needs with our specialists!
Understanding each type of data, what it represents, how it can be used, and for what types of samples it is appropriate; is essential to taking your XRF skills beyond simple point-and-shoot—and to making sure you are getting the data you need even when simple point-and-shoot operation will suffice! Here we offer a short primer on each data type.
XRF raw data is the number of counts of element-specific fluorescent X-ray energies received in an XRF instrument detector. For more on how these fluorescent X-rays are generated and how their energies indicate what elements are present in a sample, see "How XRF Works". This raw data is visualized in a spectrum graph, where the x-axis represents element-specific fluorescent energies, and the y-axis represents counts or pulses. The spectrum shows peaks where element-specific fluorescent energies were detected. The higher the peak, the more counts of that particular energy were detected. If two similar samples are analyzed and one has a higher peak at 6.4KeV than the other, the one with the higher peak contains more iron (Fe). 6.4KeV is a fluorescent energy that is specific to iron.
The raw spectrum is called qualitative data because it informs the user as to which elements are present in a sample, but does not contain information regarding how much of each element is present unless the data is processed further. Raw XRF data is excellent for analysis of samples that are non-uniform / nonhomogeneous, or for samples where the question of interest is what is in the sample, but how much does not matter. It can also be used to check any questionable quantitative data, because while mathematical data processing can potentially contain mistakes, the raw spectrum never lies; if a peak is present at a certain fluorescent energy, the element to which that energy corresponds is certainly present in the sample.
Quantitative XRF data informs the user as to the absolute quantity of an element<|fim_middle|> are FP (fundamental parameters) and empirical calibrations. Calibrations are made by using samples with known concentrations of elements of interest to create a calibration curve that relates the specific known concentrations to peak heights. This curve can then be used to quantify samples of unknown concentrations by relating the peak height to the curve built from the known samples. There are some significant differences in how exactly these calibrations are created and how they work depending on the calibration type. Some rely more heavily on math, while others are purely made by analyzing known samples that are similar to the unknown samples the user wants to quantify.
In some instances the conditions for reliable quantitative data are not met, but qualitative data is not enough to answer the questions at hand. In these situations, there is a third option. Semi-quantitative data processing allows the user to compare spectral data from samples in order to obtain information regarding the relative concentrations of elements from sample to sample. While this method does not provide absolute concentration values, it can be used to ascertain relative element concentrations between samples; for example, this method would provide information such as "sample A contains approximately 20% more Ag (silver) than sample B." This sort of data is extracted by calculating the area under each peak of interest, which is equivalent to the number of counts. This type of data is appropriate in situations where a calibration and/or samples of known concentrations do not exist, but comparing the samples in terms of element concentration is necessary. Click here and learn how Bruker can assist you with your data analysis! | present in a sample. This sort of data contains a number and a unit—usually ppm (parts per million) or % weight. Calibrations are created in order to make raw qualitative data into quantitative data. There are several types of calibrations. Two typical types | 55 |
The 2019 Global Edelman Trust Barometer has recently reinforced how the UK public have little confidence in financial and professional services. The survey reported people are turning to their employer to navigate a turbulent world rather than societal institutions.
More than 3 in 4 UK citizens believe CEOs should take the lead on change rather than waiting for the government to impose it – up 19% from 2018.
<|fim_middle|> reported 'a good reputation may get me to try a product, but unless I come to trust the company behind the product, I will soon stop buying it'.
65% said treating employees fairly was the greatest obligation for business leaders, which is above treating customers well (47%).
Never has trust been more important, between the employer and employee, and between business and society. This trust deficit was recognised in 2017/8 by the City Corporation and the Lord Mayor. A major programme of work was initiated, the Business of Trust, to identify how the City can better meet the public's changing expectations of business and create a lasting legacy of better business trusted by society.
deliver a series of leadership development interventions over the year which consisted of a blend of events, including facilitated panels from senior business leaders and other experts, executive interviews, real case studies, behavioural exercises, stimulating presentations and opportunity for self-reflection and learning.
The programme was designed to inspire the next generation of financial and professional services leaders to develop the ambition and capability to lead tomorrow's City, using the power of collaboration and peer to peer relationships.
An empowered network of future business leaders who are inspired to act as catalysts for change. | 60% of respondents | 5 |
Subjective and Heels Zipper KemeKiss Black Winter Autumn Bootie Boots Women objective are adjectives that describe two different ways of knowing.
Autumn Heels Boots Winter Zipper KemeKiss Bootie Women Black Winter Autumn Zipper Boots Heels KemeKiss Black Women Bootie Objective refers to objects and events in the world that anyone can, in principle, observe. Subjective refers to feelings and experiences that depend on the individual's own particular viewpoint and traits.
Heels Black Zipper Women Autumn KemeKiss Winter Boots Bootie Boots Winter KemeKiss Autumn Women Heels Zipper Black Bootie Winter Black Women Heels KemeKiss<|fim_middle|> opponents in the great debate that was raging over the nature of the universe could have looked through the telescope and seen the same thing, but they refused. They wanted to preserve their belief in an eternally changeless and perfect universe which remained just as God had created it. To preserve this belief, they applied the way of knowing about the world they understood: logical argumentation rather than objective observation. Galileo was acting as a modern scientist; his opponents were not.
Subjective knowledge.Collections Heel Ruffle Tango Pump Ballroom Wedding Flesh Dance Gold 7014 Shoes Evening Smooth Satin Medium Party Standard Women Comfort Pigeon Party Dress Shoes Shoes 0qxwwT8InF An individual's subjective experiences are private mental events limited to that one individual who experiences them. Therefore. subjective feelings, etc. can and do differ among people. The grocery bag that weighs 12 pounds will feel subjectively light to an athlete but feel subjectively heavy to someone who avoids physical activity. Or the bag might start out feeling medium light on the six-block walk home. By the time you get home, the same bag feels heavy. In these illustration, something that objectively remains the same weight, feels subjectively light or heavy, depending on the individual and on his/her conditions.
Bias and objectivity. Objectivity includes the idea of the Boots Bootie Black Winter Autumn Zipper Heels Women KemeKiss Zipper Boots Winter KemeKiss Autumn Black Bootie Women Heels absence of bias in observation. Unfortunately, no individual can be fully unbiased, no matter how hard s/he tries. Everyone comes with preconceptions, preferences, desires, etc., which they often cannot even recognize they have and often have a very hard time shedding them, when the biases are pointed out. The scientific enterprise approaches the goal of being unbiased by the debate between people having different sets of biases. | Zipper Bootie Boots Autumn Figure 1 Galileo.
KemeKiss Autumn Zipper Women Heels Winter Black Boots Bootie His | 28 |
By 1500 AD, many people in Africa had converted to Islam, and so they had learned at least some Arabic, so they could recite parts of the Koran and say their prayers. Educated people spoke and wrote Arabic in large parts<|fim_middle|>. Quatr.us Study Guides, May 24, 2017. Web. April 19, 2019. | of Africa, and the main language at Africa's big universities at Timbuktu and Cairo was also Arabic. The libraries at these universities held thousands of hand-written Arabic books, mostly about Islam but also histories, geographies, and poetry.
In the 1800s, as more and more Europeans forced their way into African countries and took them over, many Africans began to learn to speak Portuguese, English, German, French, or Dutch so that they could work for the Europeans in government jobs or as servants. Many Africans learned to read books in those languages, too.
Cite this page: Carr, K.E. African Literature – Colonization and Independence | 135 |
Chiang Rai is a Northern Thai city on many bucket lists for its famous White Temple, and is often paired with a visit to the larger city of Chiang Mai, which is about a 3 hour bus ride away. Looking for budget accommodation for our visit, we found Laluna Hotel and Resort, a surprisingly nice property with low rates starting at just $29/nt. With a good location and a strong set of amenities, this stay was one of the best values of our entire trip.
Check in: After arriving at the bus station, we hailed a songthaew driver who was familiar with the property and took us straight to the hotel. The cost for the ride was 100 baht. The check in desk is under a large pavilion, and helps establish the island resort vibe of the property. Suddenly, you no longer feel like you're in the middle of Chiang Rai, but perhaps arrived at some tropical resort.
Reception found our reservation with no problem and we were quickly taken to our room.
Room: The room was fairly large, with an open layout. By no means luxurious, it still featured a comfortable king bed, TV, and coffee-maker<|fim_middle|>'ll still feel like a great value for the price.
Property: The property is well-landscaped with lots of palms offering a sense of tucked-away seclusion, creating privacy around the many bungalow-style buildings that house the rooms. You'll forget you're in the middle of the city; really, it's quite impressive the level of privacy the property offers given its location. The pool is surrounded by palms, and there were plenty of lounge chairs so it didn't feel crowded. Even though it was just after Songkran, there seemed to be few guests there—perhaps they had all returned to their home city.
Sweetening the deal even more, breakfast for two is included in the room rate, and consisted of a large buffet offering both Western and Thai choices. Fresh fruit and juices, an omelet bar, bacon and sausages, and more were readily available.
Glimpsing the pool. The landscaping offers a feeling of privacy throughout the property.
The large pool offers respite from the balmy weather.
Location: Being in the middle of the Chiang Rai, Laluna Hotel and Resort is convenient to the Night Bazaar and downtown life of the city. There are typically tuk tuk or taxi drivers waiting at the front of the property so getting a ride is easy. A ride to the Night Bazaar should cost around 60-100 baht. If you're inclined you could also walk to the Night Bazaar, which will take about 30 minutes. The hotel staff can help arrange taxis for you as well. They have a posted rate of 550 baht from the hotel to the airport, but the clerk was able to get us one for 250 baht.
Conclusion: Laluna Hotel and Resort offers couples a great value for stays in Chiang Mai. The well-landscaped property separates you from the noise of the city, while still offering close and convenient access to the city center. While the room itself is basic, it still offers a comfortable and clean stay at extraordinary value. If you need a budget hotel in Chiang Mai, give Laluna Hotel and Resort a look.
Book your room at Laluna Hotel and Resort on Booking.com for the best rate!
Ready to start planning your trip to Thailand? | . The bathroom was large, with a walk-in shower, but was a bit understated in terms of its finish. However, the room was clean, and everything functioned properly, so no complaints given its $29 price tag. Just know that the pics might make the room look better than it actually was, but it | 66 |
Wearables Add Yet Another Challenge for Corporate Security
By Shaun Donaldson on Sep 01, 2015 | 0 Comments
Just when many corporate security and IT executives thought they were getting something of a handle on the ever-expanding technology infrastructure, along comes an emerging trend that could make their tasks more complex: wearables in the workplace.
A growing number of companies are allowing—and in some cases encouraging—employees to use wearable devices at work. These can include smart watches, health and activity monitors, augmented reality glasses and other products that users attach to their bodies or clothing.
While it's still a relatively new area, clearly the number of people using wearables will go up as more products enter the market and individuals purchase them. Like the bring-your-own-device (<|fim_middle|>The report says the next wave of the personal cloud will be shaped by two key trends: increased access to personal information and increased intelligence applied to the user experience and against the user's information.
"The rate of change is accelerating as new technologies like Windows 10, ubiquitous sensors, wearables and smart machines alter the landscape and further blur the lines between consumer and enterprise computing," said Stephen Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner. "By 2018, 25% of large organizations will have an explicit strategy to make their corporate computing environment similar to a consumer computing experience."
The report says the IoT and wearables "will exponentially expand each user's personal cloud and raise new challenges" for those overseeing security and privacy. | BYOD) trend that has helped boost the number of smartphones and tablets in use at work, the newer wear-your-own-device (WYOD) is likely to create additional challenges for managers.
Just as with mobile devices, there are potential benefits that could come with this new trend, not the least of which is the improved health and fitness of workers. But as with BYOD and the growth of mobile technology in general, it also has the potential to expand the threat landscape for organizations.
Executives are expecting a rise in wearable devices at work. A study released in April 2015 by IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology showed that 81% of 2,400 CIOs at U.S. companies surveyed said they think wearable computing devices such as watches and glasses will become common workplace tools. Among this group, a majority expect to see workplace wearables emerge within five years. These products could potentially be used to record meetings, scan documents and provide navigation, among other uses, according to the report.
"Mobility and connectivity expectations for business have grown, making the ability to gain access anywhere, anytime imperative," said John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology. "Emerging technologies such as wearables may help drive enterprise mobility and create a need for IT expertise to support their adoption at work."
But one of the key questions the firm says IT leaders should consider when evaluating whether to support wearables for the business is "am I aware of security risks and is the company equipped to handle them?" IT executives must understand, and communicate to other business leaders, the difference in security risk levels with enterprise-provided wearables versus employees' personal devices and develop plans and policies to match, the report says.
Another report, from Frost & Sullivan, notes that the fledgling wearable devices market currently caters only to a niche customer base, but that improvements in devices and "newer, interesting use cases will accelerate the transition to mass market proliferation." The firm predicts that a growing number of industry-specific original equipment manufacturers will enter the market in partnership with technology companies.
With embedded sensors "continuously collecting data and breaking down context barriers by bringing that data into common social and physical spaces, the implementation of strict privacy and security laws is crucial," the report says. "Data regulation laws require communication between technology vendors, legal institutions, and governments to determine the future of wearable device data."
Wearables are not the only example of the ever-expanding IT environment. As covered in a recent report from Gartner Inc., the "personal cloud" and Internet of Things (IoT) are expected to intersect with corporate IT initiatives.
In fact, by 2018, 50% of IT support organizations will support assets and services outside their IT service portfolio, the firm says. Personal cloud is growing in importance as it shapes how employees operate across their digital lives, Gartner says.
"End-user computing and digital workplace managers responsible for building the digital workplace will be increasingly challenged as the personal cloud continues to evolve and intersect with IT initiatives," the report says. It describes the personal cloud as the collection of content, services and tools that users assemble to fulfill their personal digital lifestyle needs across any device.
| 653 |
As I was organizing my pantry, I saw a partial bag of thin rice noodles that I'd used for a Thai recipe a long time ago.<|fim_middle|> I had heard of a recipe with a similar-sounding name called 'Paludeh ye Shirazi', from the cookbook, "Persian Cuisine" by M.R. Ghanoonparvar.
I came up with a variation of the Persian cookbook's recipe.
1. Separate and break noodles into pieces about 1-2" long.
2. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil; add noodles and cook for 10 minutes, or until soft, but not mushy. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside in a colander to drain completely.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream, powdered sugar, lime zest and rose water extract, if using. Stir in the noodles, tossing to coat.
4. Place mixture in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour. Remove from freezer and loosen. Place back in the freezer for one more hour, until noodles are frozen and crisp.
To Serve: Place in individual bowls. Drizzle one or two Tbsp. (or to taste) lime juice over each serving.
I try this definitely. Thanks for this wonderful post. | Apparently, these noodles can last a life-time, if stored in an air-tight container. Since I had no intention of discarding the dried noodles, I wanted to find a use for them that would be more in keeping with Armenian cuisine.
Since I'd never heard of an Armenian-style recipe calling for rice noodles, I was surprised to find one for a frozen dessert called 'Faloodeh', in an article from the ianyan online magazine written by Liana Aghajanian.
Then it hit me… | 105 |
Leigh Matthews stands alone in a world to which millions have been drawn. In Australian Football, he is all but peerless. As a player he stood alone. A legend in the Australian Football League's Hall Of Fame, eight-times a best and fairest winner, four times a premiership player, a premiership captain...it is a record without parallel.
If his biography ended there it would be rich enough to leave him one of the game's all-time greats. But it doesn't. He stepped into the game's coaching ranks after his stellar playing career with Hawthorn ended. To Collingwood he went.
The Brisbane Lions had been desperately searching for credibility since joining the AFL in 1987. Their search had been fruitless. In 1999 they turned to Leigh Matthews, hoping that he would be the one capable of moulding a group with some talent into a winning combination. How those hopes were realised.
Matthews took the Lions to their first flag in 2001. He followed it up with back-to-back success the following year. In 2003 Brisbane set about doing what no team had done for 50 years - winning three premierships in a row. He and his team delivered in the most stunning of circumstances.
As brilliant as Leigh Matthews was as an individual within the group as a player at Hawthorn, the hallmark of his career has been his capacity to unite groups and make them better. He was a cornerstone of Hawthorn's arrival as a VFL heavyweight in the '70s and '80s, he did what many before<|fim_middle|> in high-pressure world of football where team building is the only way to prosper. Those same philosophies comfortably cross over into the business world. If you are seeking to make your operation the best it can possibly be, then the views, opinions, examples and strategies of Leigh Matthews are more than interesting. They are essential.
As a player for Hawthorn from 1969-85, he was a member of 4 premiership sides and was premiership captain in 1983.
He coached Collingwood 1986-95, for 5 finals appearances and in 1990 he took the club to its first premiership since 1958.
In 1999 he joined the Brisbane Lions as coach, achieving 3 consecutive premierships 2001-03 and a fourth consecutive Grand Final appearance in 2004.
* Are you trying to build a successful team?
* Are you trying to bring a group of people together?
* Are you trying to instill a winning/ achieving culture in your organisation?
If any of these questions strike a chord, then Leigh Matthews can help you. Leigh Matthews is one of the greatest success stories in AFL history. Regarded by many as the best player ever, he now holds a unique place in the game as a coach, 4 times to the Grand Final for 4 wins!
In the increasingly competitive world of Australian Football, no one builds better teams than Leigh Matthews. Having successfully taken Brisbane from football's cellar dwellers to the most dominant team of the modern era, Matthews has plenty to offer corporate Australia.
Leigh shares his insights and views on how to build and maintain elite teams. His 10 building blocks have been developed in conjunction with leading corporate training psychologist Yvonne Willich, and provide a basis for any group to transform themselves into an elite team. Sprinkled throughout the program are real life situations that Leigh has overcome on his own management journey. His honesty, frankness and willingness to share his experiences make this a truly unique program. Practical, straightforward, informative and entertaining, an exciting alternative to organisations that wish to improve their working environment.
?The presentation content was excellent, question time and interaction excellent."
"Excellent. Very strong presentation ? highly entertaining and right message on the theme of building winning teams."
?Excellent. Leigh was perfect for our safety forum. Held audience attention throughout and was very accommodating with his time."
?Excellent. Leigh was great. He added a significant amount to our team building approach." | him had failed to do at Collingwood and his record at Brisbane is destined to be the stuff of folklore.
He knows how to win, but even more importantly, he knows how to have others share his vision. He knows how to convince teammates to commit to an ideal, to realise an ambition and how best to prepare to achieve whatever it is his assembled group has in mind.
His fundamentals are universal. They have worked | 85 |
Arab News Service
Latest Arab News Online
Home > Health Protection > Paul G. Allen Increases Commitment To Fight Ebola To $100 Million
Paul G. Allen Increases Commitment To Fight Ebola To $100 Million
admin October 24, 2014 Health Protection
– Partners with U.S. State Department and World Health Organization to Evacuate and Treat Infected Humanitarian Workers;
– Collaborates with University of Massachusetts Medical School to Provide Training and Equipment;
– Coordinates and Optimizes Global Giving by Launching "Fund a Need" Donation Platform
SEATTLE, Oct. 23, 2014 / PRNewswire — Philanthropist Paul G. Allen today increased his commitment to Tackle Ebola to at least $100 million and called on the global community to join the cause. This crisis requires a multi-pronged approach to solving it. As such, Mr. Allen is leading the following initiatives:
Humanitarian Aid Worker Medevac Fund and Medevac Transport:
Effectively addressing the Ebola crisis requires the continued commitment of medical professionals. One of the key challenges in their recruitment is the lack of a clear medevac pathway should they become infected and require treatment.
Mr. Allen has committed to solving this challenge by funding the development and manufacture of two medevac containment units, which the U.S. State Department will use to safely evacuate medical professionals from West Africa. In addition, Mr. Allen has partnered with the World Health Organization to increase its capacity to coordinate the logistics required to transport international aid workers.
Cost of medevac transport can also be a barrier for organizations to commit to sending their critical care professionals. To address this, Mr. Allen has established the Ebola Medevac Fund, designed to address the gap between what insurance will cover and the actual transport costs. The $2.5 million fund is designed as a dollar to dollar matching grant with the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS):
Another important component to tackling this crisis is ensuring education, supplies and medical professionals are on the ground. Mr. Allen is donating to UMMS to help provide training, medical workers and lab equipment for relief efforts in Liberia. The partnership with UMMS will focus on providing<|fim_middle|>16 (190) March 2016 (157) February 2016 (179) January 2016 (152) December 2015 (132) November 2015 (217) October 2015 (240) September 2015 (219) August 2015 (137) July 2015 (162) June 2015 (153) May 2015 (185) April 2015 (188) March 2015 (232) February 2015 (156) January 2015 (169) December 2014 (150) November 2014 (201) October 2014 (204) September 2014 (158) August 2014 (94) July 2014 (162) June 2014 (253) May 2014 (245) April 2014 (1254) March 2014 (1349) February 2014 (1503) January 2014 (1655) December 2013 (1702) November 2013 (1172) October 2013 (750) January 1970 (3)
Copyrights 2020 - Arab News Service - All Rights Reserved | VMag by AccessPress Themes. | decontamination and lab equipment to district hospitals as well as community outreach and education to provide monitoring and support to staff in order to reopen closed district hospitals.
Fund a Need:
Mr. Allen also has created a way for individuals to contribute to specific organizations and fund critical response needs through TackleEbola.com. The donation platform is designed to coordinate and optimize individual global giving.
Donations of all sizes will go to funding the solutions required to treat, contain and prevent the spread of Ebola. Donors will be able to select the need that they are most interested in funding and 100 percent of that contribution will be applied to that need. The site also offers a way for donors to view the impact of their combined contributions with updates on progress towards goals.
Supporting Quotes:
"The Ebola virus is unlike any health crisis we have ever experienced and needs a response unlike anything we have ever seen," Mr. Allen said. "To effectively contain this outbreak and prevent it from becoming a global epidemic, we must pool our efforts to raise the funds, coordinate the resources and develop the creative solutions needed to combat this problem. I am committed to doing my part in tackling this crisis."
"We thank Paul Allen and his foundation for their contribution on this crucial issue," said Andrew O'Brien, Special Representative for Global Partnerships, U.S. Department of State. "We hope that this sets a much needed example for what will be robust and rapid private sector leadership, working in partnership with the U.S. government. Mr. Allen's #TackleEbola campaign is providing an important catalyst to help us get medical responders to West Africa to fight Ebola at its epicenter. His leadership is timely and greatly augments the work that the U.S. government, international organizations, NGOs, and others are doing on the ground every day."
"We at the University of Massachusetts Medical School are grateful for the support of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, which will allow us to specifically work with our strategic partners and our Liberian colleagues to help stem the Ebola epidemic and strengthen Liberia's fragile health care system," said Michael F. Collins, MD, Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. "Our academic collaborative has worked productively in the past with the Liberian leadership and health care workforce, and we look forward to continuing that partnership by engaging directly with our Liberian collaborators and providing on-the-ground relief, training and supplies."
Mr. Allen's Contributions to Date:
From the early days of the outbreak, Mr. Allen and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation have focused on finding, funding and coordinating strategic solutions that could be deployed quickly and would address some of the most critical needs. To date, Mr. Allen has already helped implement the following solutions:
A contribution to the American Red Cross to fund equipment, volunteers and educational materials in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. (August 2014)
A matching grant to Global Giving, which more than 700 donors doubled in only four days. Ten groups received funding to distribute sanitation supplies, conduct training sessions and produce public service announcements. (August 2014)
A partnership with UNICEF to airlift 50,000 protection kits into Liberia. (September 2014)
A partnership with Airlink to execute a continuous air bridge to deliver critically needed medical protective gear and pharmaceuticals. (September 2014)
A grant to the CDC Foundation to establish CDC emergency operations centers in the most-affected countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These centers are helping to develop a systematic response with improved data management and communication systems for disease and patient contact tracing, which will ultimately help to detect and stop the disease from spreading. (September 2014)
Funding to Medical Teams International (MTI) to help provide infrastructure, housing and transportation needs for MTI's staff in Liberia. (September 2014)
A partnership with Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to support their existing Ebola emergency programs in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. (September 2014)
A grant to BBC Media Action to support education and communications programs in the affected countries aimed at increasing public knowledge and awareness, supporting the government in responding to the crisis and instilling safer health practices among local audiences. (October 2014)
The Ebola Medevac Fund will be administered by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. For more information, visit www.tackleebola.com and follow @TackleEbola and @PaulGAllen on Twitter or Facebook.
Alexa Rudin
alexar@vulcan.com
Dana Lengkeek
dana.lengkeek@bm.com
MENAPakistanThe Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
منظمة فايتال فويسز بدعم من مؤسسة إكسون موبيل تنفذ أسبوعا من التدريب الشخصي في الأردن كجزء من السنة الثانية من برنامج زمالة المؤسسة "غرو"
The TransMedics® Organ Care System (OCS™) Heart Technology Was Used to Perform The World's First Series of Adult Human Heart Transplants From Donors After Circulatory Death (DCD Donors) at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia
International Human Rights Commission condemns Israeli attacks on Syria
Russian Embassy affirms continuous work to secure refugees' return
Washington Calls Russia-Backed Venezuela 'True Threat' To U.S., Urges Guaido Recognition
Syria: Bachelet condemns continued killings and displacements despite 'ceasefire' January 17, 2020
Lavrov: Combating terrorism in Syria, finding a political solution to crisis in it are among Russia's priorities January 17, 2020
Erdogan Takes Sides in Libyan Conflict Ahead of Berlin Meeting January 17, 2020
Erdogan's regime transports more terrorists from north of Syria to Libya January 17, 2020
Army thwarts terrorist attack in Idleb southeastern countryside January 17, 2020
The Arab news service is the website that covers the news from all over the world and with that it also reports the happenings of the Arab world and reveals them to the people from the different regions of the world. One of our purposes is to let the western world understand the issues of this particular region and take their part in resolving those issues.
© 2020. All Rights Reserved. Arab News Service
Monthly Archives Select Month January 2020 (339) December 2019 (584) November 2019 (630) October 2019 (840) September 2019 (609) August 2019 (558) July 2019 (821) June 2019 (714) May 2019 (566) April 2019 (881) March 2019 (1038) February 2019 (966) January 2019 (968) December 2018 (998) November 2018 (1073) October 2018 (944) September 2018 (1039) August 2018 (971) July 2018 (1011) June 2018 (785) May 2018 (997) April 2018 (757) March 2018 (369) February 2018 (182) January 2018 (206) December 2017 (170) November 2017 (202) October 2017 (230) September 2017 (291) August 2017 (647) July 2017 (726) June 2017 (544) May 2017 (482) April 2017 (607) March 2017 (614) February 2017 (520) January 2017 (513) December 2016 (520) November 2016 (477) October 2016 (412) September 2016 (277) August 2016 (389) July 2016 (328) June 2016 (311) May 2016 (330) April 20 | 1,842 |
THE VERVE OF VICTOR
2020 January February, Feature Two
Houston native fashion designer, Victor Costa, is as much responsible for Texas's pop-cultural rise in the 1970s and 1980s as the T.V. series Dallas, or the big oil boom that cemented the state's place in history. Here, in an exclusive, our culture-savvy chronicler Geoffrey Connor, reflects on the era's party that never seemed to end… and how Victor Costa's designs remain timeless.
Portrait photography by John Conroy – Photography courtesy of Victor Costa, archival
In 1987, at the apex of his career, Victor Costa's fashion line was once described by The New York Times as "flamboyant, super-feminine dresses that bare the shoulders, hug the waistline, and billow and swirl over the hips". With good reason. The name Victor Costa has been famous in international fashion circles for over a half-century now, bringing acclaim to Texas and his hometown of Houston, in particular. He has not only created beautiful designs but also is well-regarded for his commercial acumen and marketing brilliance, combinations not always found in fashion design circles. "He's one of the most famous names in women's fashion," said Houston philanthropist Joanne King Herring. "He's made many women look fabulous over the years, and I'm so proud he's a Houstonian."
RISING HEIGHTS
He's come a long way, baby, in the vernacular of the 1970s stylish cigarette branding slogan. Costa was born in Houston's Fifth Ward in 1935 in very modest circumstances during the height of the Great Depression. As the middle child born to a Sicilian metalworker, who, with his American wife and family, lived in three rooms behind his grandparents' grocery store. Although Houston was not exempt from the impact of a sagging global economy during that era, the city's port and shipping channel benefitted greatly from the Texas oil boom and a corresponding growth in rubber, plastics, and chemicals. Additionally, the World War II era saw a surge in manufacturing and shipping, which added thousands of jobs and greatly expanded the city's economy. The Texas Medical Center was also established in the 1940s, initiating a transformation of the city's image into a more modern, refined era.
During this time of rapid change in Houston, Costa's family enabled him to see and experience the elegant side of the city, even if it was not their personal circumstance at the time. He has often recounted stories of shopping as a boy in downtown Houston with his mother, who had an eye for fashion, though she may not have purchased much then. It was the time of lavish department stores like Sakowitz, Battlestein's, Foleys, and many others, that carried clothing and accessories previously available only on the east coast or in Europe. Costa was inspired by the beauty and elegance of what he saw in lavish display windows and learned to draw and recreate such style on paper dolls that he then sold to his school classmates. In high school, he even made prom dresses for his classmates.
Costa also drew upon what he saw on the big screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood. "I had access to twice-weekly tickets as a boy to see movies" said Costa. "I saw such stylish stars as Joan Crawford in some of the most spectacular clothing of the era", he said. In fact, as destiny would have it, Crawford, for whose persona he would design paper doll dresses as a child, would later become a private client of Costa's label.
As an adult, Costa's natural talents were refined at the Pratt Institute in New York. He also trained at the prestigious Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture in Paris, whose other famous graduates include Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld, and classmate Yves Saint Laurent. Costa learned the fine art of design, and the imaginative use of fabric and decoration, while also understanding the nature of the fashion business and marketing.
COMPREHENDING COUTURE
Costa then began working as a designer in New York, adapting French high fashion to the American market. According to Myra Walker, of the Texas Fashion Collection of the University of North Texas, "It helped that he had a photographic memory and a quick hand at sketching, and was able to translate what he saw on the Paris runways into successful designs for the Suzy Perette company during the 1960s. His ability to comprehend couture and ready-to-wear fashions is a complex and masterful talent. He is not content with only a quick sketch or photography, but often goes so far as to purchase the original couture design to study the construction and fabric." It was an era of voluminous skirts, matching lining, and smart tailoring…all variables that would serve him well to design for glamour's big comeback in the 1980s.
Determined to be his own designer, especially after a mentor advised him, "Don't just promote a fashion house–promote yourself." Costa acquired the Dallas fashion house, Ann Murray, and used his Texas operation to manufacture his designs. His clientele grew quickly to include many top buyers, including Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue and later, Nordstrom's and Bergdorf Goodman. His extraordinarily glamorous clothing was worn by the stars of the popular 1980s television series Dynasty and Falcon Crest, and by such stars of the era as Joan Collins and Brooke Shields. By the late 1980s, his business was grossing over $50 million annually. "I adore Victor," says Houstonian philanthropist Carolyn Farb. "He is a designer who focuses on his most important goal–to make his clients look and feel beautiful." His presence was so<|fim_middle|> spectacular designs that women clamored to own. The outfits didn't just look good on a mannequin but made the wearer look good as well.
Author Mimi Swartz once wrote that "in the right Victor Costa, a plain woman becomes a pretty woman, and a pretty woman becomes a knockout." As Costa has said, "Special occasion dresses have always been the hallmark of my business. My quest for what is new sends me around the world. It is a sense of pride and fulfilment that some of the most noted and important women in the world are wearing my clothes. But also a young girl of 13 may get a Victor Costa dress which will have name recognition and make her feel special. Women adore how they look in their Victor Costa dresses."
Victor Costa's life is so easily compared to the life of his native Houston. They both started out humbly but stretched to reach around the world in spectacular fashion. Both drew on their natural resources and talents, but as they grew, they began to draw the world to themselves. Costa was always at ease in Paris and New York while being professionally successful and inspiring. Yet Costa's roots in a city like Houston enabled him to see a market need in the fashion industry, particularly the middle-class woman with good taste and a desire to look resplendent in a crowd. Not that the wealthy elite did not also covet the Victor Costa label, but it was the mainstay consumer that really distinguished Costa in the world of international designers.
DRESS-UP MOVEMENT
While Houston has become quite the global metropolis, it has done so in a relatively short amount of time and always with the solid foundation of an industrious middle-class. The succeeding waves of Houston's success in international shipping, oil and gas, medicine, manufacturing, technology, and space exploration have produced many millionaires and famous names. The same economic expansion has produced a huge number of middle-class buyers who want the same look and quality they see on the pages of the leading fashion magazines but at a more reasonable price and availability. For this market need, Costa has consistently delivered and with tremendous success. The New York Times reported in a 1987 profile, and Costa noted, "It's very pleasing to me that women who can afford to buy anything feel secure in my clothes. I'm hooked on this whole crazy dress-up movement. I hope it will last, but I know the tape of fashion has speeded up. I'm going to enjoy it while it's here."
It's no surprise that Victor Costa has always been well-regarded by his peers despite the occasional controversies over his designs. For years, he has been a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America based in New York. This prestigious invitation-only organization has fewer than 500 members but includes all the biggest names of the industry including Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Carolina Herrera, and Donna Karan. The organization is not just about prestige in an already status-conscious business, but also provides scholarships, business funding and serves as a fashion incubator program intended to help young designers launch their own businesses. Victor Costa loves the attention given to the next generation of fashion talent. Costa's fellow native Texan, Tom Ford, is the chairman of the organization now, following a thirteen-year reign by Diane von Furstenberg. The Council has worked successfully to strengthen the influence and prosperity of American designers in the global economy, and Victor Costa has been an important part of that triumphant effort.
Now, at a spry 84, Costa has slowed only slightly. When not at his mid-town Manhattan apartment, or his home in Connecticut, he spends time in Houston, where he and his wife, Jerry Ann Woodfin-Costa, returned a few years ago to a palatial home on the twelfth tee of the Houston Country Club where they love being a part of the social community. People still talk about Jerry Ann's triumphant chairing of the Houston Ballet gala in 1992 when she raised over a million dollars for the worthy cause, and the décor was highlighted with life-size balletic centerpieces on each table.
It's also true that Houston and the Costas are very comfortable with each other. They are active in the Houston arts and culture scene and quite visible at society events. hey have also generously established an endowed scholarship for Retailing and Consumer Sciences students at the University of Houston.
Costa is optimistic about the future and is enthusiastic about the next generation of designers. "The key thing is to have a dream, and to know you're going to achieve it," he said. "When you get knocked down, you've got to get up again." It's good advice for people in general who, like Victor Costa, seek to create beauty and success in the world.
[et_pb_flex_gallery gallery_ids="36187,36188,36189,36190,36191,36192,36193,36194,36195,36196,36197,36198,36199,36200,36201,36202,36203,36204,36205″ show_title_and_caption="off" _builder_version="4.0.9″][/et_pb_flex_gallery] | ubiquitous in the 1980s pop culture that he even designed Holly Hunter's Cinderella-esque transformation gown for the hit 1987 film, Broadcast News. Besides his commercial line, he continued designing for private clients, including Hollywood stars and American socialites who wanted their own distinct look. His appeal was as broad as the shoulders he designed because of its beauty, and deep because his clothing line was priced less than comparable designers.
Victor Costa paid particular attention to costs early in his career in order to make his fashion line available to a wide base of style-conscious consumers. Importantly, he acquired the facilities and staff needed to manufacture his own creations in-house thereby eliminating markup from a third party manufacturer. Next, he looked for ways to emulate certain design elements with a more economical approach. For example, his designs sometimes have a machine jeweled lace instead of a hand jeweled lace used by a more expensive designer, or even using an expensive trim on an inexpensive fabric to give it a glitzier look. Or, replicating a forty-dollar floral embellishment he found in Paris for just $1.50. In modern times, Costa has cultivated skilled bead workers, detailed embroiderers, and other artisans in China in order to incorporate brilliant new elements into his designs, but his bottom line was always to make beautiful clothing and, while the prices per piece are comparatively low, he sells volumes of each creation.
SOCIAL SWIRL
Although very trendsetting, Victor Costa was careful to never fall into the trap of making successful designs only for the runway or the entertainment industry. His designs were worn by women in business and society, like Estée Lauder and Betsy Bloomingdale. He helped popularize the return of the shoulder pad favored in political circles by such women as Lady Bird Johnson, Rosslyn Carter and Julie Nixon Eisenhower. "Victor has always been a gentleman and respectful of his clients," says Farb. "He is very attuned to the place a woman holds and dresses her sumptuously, but appropriately, for her lifestyle as a business executive, political leader, social leader…or any role she has chosen."
Costa's skill at surveying style trends and quickly translating those into his own fashion line has sometimes provoked the criticism that he relied too much on other's inspiration for his designs. But, of course, fashion has always been a cycle of taking another's design and adapting and remaking it in a fresher, more practical or accessible way. Ralph Lauren famously marketed his Polo shirt for daily wear, which was much the same shirt René Lacoste originally designed for the tennis circuit decades earlier. In the same way, Costa took European haute couture and made it accessible for generations of women by using cost-effective fabrics and decoration…but with no less style and flair. The result was year after year of | 577 |
Frederica Street planting
Cllr Rupert Perry at Frederica Street gardens
When elected in 2006, we promised to sort out the patch of derelict land on Frederica Street between the Caledonian Road corner and the entrance to Bunning Way. It was a well worn cut-through for B<|fim_middle|> Pledge →
Angus permalink
Well it is much improved. But we need the gardeners to return to clear up the mess.
The "planting areas" which had some flowers have turned into rotting remains full of rubbish and weeds.
And of course there's still half the areas left untouched and fenced off. | unning Way residents but it was also a hang-out for street drinkers and a pick-up spot for sex workers. Most people said that, after dark, it was a no-go zone for passers-by.
In early 2009, we finally got the all-clear to use some Safer Neighbourhood cash and Greenspace money to turn this into a decent patch of greenery with a sensible laid-out path. The work was carried-out in the Autumn so the planting areas are still protected behind temporary fencing. In the Spring, it will look great.
Rupert Perry says "It can take ages to get simple environmental improvements done around here but residents are very pleased that, at last, we have managed to get a troublesome patch of waste ground turned into a welcoming and pleasant area".
← Replacing the Victorian water mains
Signing the Equality | 170 |
Aquarius dates: When does Aquarius season start?
Horoscopes: Expert offers advice to This Morning callers
Aquarius is the 11th sign of the zodiac and the second last start season of the lunar or astrological year. However, it's the second star sign season of the calendar year, and<|fim_middle|> Aquarius into Pisces on February 18 at 5.42am.
The Sun is all about your life force, personality, ego, self-expression, action and initiation, so where it is at any given time (especially at your time of birth) can impact your day to day experiences of these things.
When Aquarius season starts in the early hours of January 20, you'll feel a huge energetic change.
Cafe Astrology explained that during Capricorn season, we are motivated by feelings of responsibility, ambition, and respect for law and order.
However, the Aquarius season brings out hunger for knowledge, experience, and originality in us all.
Capricorn season is about working hard as an individual and success, whereas Aquarius season is more to do with humanitarianism and the collective.
During Aquarius season, innovation is more important to us than convention.
Cafe Astrology explained: "We become more aware of what is outdated in our lives, and strive to find new perspectives and new ways to do things.
"The class distinctions, structure, and order that Capricorn finds appealing now seem to be too rigid.
"The freedom of the individual becomes far more significant to us.
"We strive to free ourselves from some of the restrictions, inhibitions, and limitations that now feel constraining rather than safe."
People born during the Aquarius season are Aquarians.
Those born under this horoscope sign are known for having a finely-tuned social conscience, and Astrology.com described them as "humanitarian, philanthropic, and keenly interested in making the world a better place".
The site added: "Along those lines, they'd like to make the world work better, which is why they focus much of their energy on our social institutions and how they work (or don't work).
"Aquarians are visionaries, progressive souls who love to spend time thinking about how things can be better.
"They are also quick to engage others in this process, which is why they have so many friends and acquaintances.
"Making the world a better place is a collaborative effort for Aquarians."
Global Box Office Hit $21.4 Billion in 2021, Says Analyst
'Time to stop excuse that we've no time to exercise'
In 'Becoming' Michelle Obama Reclaims Her Time
Where did Prince Andrew get £6.6 million to pay off his ski chalet debt last year?
The Masked Singer viewers all have the same complaint about show leaving fans frustrated
End of the World and NEEDLES Debut 'Chameleon' Collection | it always starts towards the end of January. Aquarius season is just around the corner and it's going to be liberating. Express.co.uk reveals the dates for Aquarius season and the horoscope for the transformative month.
Every star sign has a 'season' once a year when the Sun is in its constellation.
The Sun doesn't actually move, but it looks like it to us because we are on Earth and constantly moving around the Sun.
On its journey around the Earth, the Sun 'moves' through one constellation of the zodiac to the next, and makes a complete circle around the sky in one year.
Each star sign represents 30 degrees of orbit and one star sign season, and Aquarius season is next.
When does Aquarius season start?
In 2022, Aquarius season starts on January 20 and ends on February 17.
On January 20 at precisely 3.39am (according to the Magic of I astrology planner), the Sun moves from Capricorn into Aquarius.
The Sun will then shift from | 219 |
We are carrying out checks at Hilltop. We will publish a report when our check is complete.
The inspection took place on 13 September 2016 and was unannounced. One inspector carried out this inspection. Before the inspection, the provider completed a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we have about the service including notifications. A notification is a report about important events which the service is required to send us by law.
As part of this inspection we observed the care being provided to six people using the service and spoke with one person about their care. We spoke with the registered manager, a representative of the provider, seven care staff and joined staff at a handover between shifts. We reviewed the care records for three people including their medicines records. We also looked<|fim_middle|> experience of people who could not talk with us. We reviewed feedback which had been received by the provider from relatives and health care professionals as part of their quality assurance process. | at the recruitment records for four staff, staff training records, complaints, accident and incident records and quality assurance systems. We observed the care and support being provided to people. We used the Short Observational Framework (SOFI) for inspection. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the | 62 |
2010-06-28 Assigned to ROHATI SYSTEMS LLC reassignment ROHATI SYSTEMS LLC CHANGE OF NAME (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: ROHATI SYSTEMS, INC.
Redundant application network appliances using a low latency lossless interconnect link are described herein. According to one embodiment, in response to receiving at a first network element a packet of a network transaction from a client over a first network for accessing a server of a datacenter, a layer 2 network process is performed on the packet and a data stream is generated. The data stream is then replicated to a second network element via a layer 2 interconnect link to enable the second network element to perform higher layer processes on the data stream to obtain connection states of the network transaction. In response to a failure of the first network element, the second network element is configured to take over processes of the network transaction from the first network element using the obtained connection states without user interaction of the client. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/966,649, filed Aug. 28, 2007, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention relates generally to application network appliances. More particularly, this invention relates to redundant application network appliances using a low latency lossless interconnect link.
The ability to connect information technology infrastructure reliably, cost-effectively and securely is of high importance for today's global enterprises. To communicate with customers, clients, business partners, employees, etc., the Internet has proven to be more appropriate compared to private communication networks. However, communication via the Internet, which typically uses TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), also increases the requirements for data security. Network firewalls are one of the many examples of solutions for network security.
Enterprise Web Application Services build an important foundation for such client, customer, and employee communication. A very common configuration for hosting such enterprise web Application Services is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, an enterprise can offer web Application Services to various clients and there are several possibilities for clients to connect to the servers depending on the location of the client relative to the servers' location. The servers which provide the Application Services are typically located in the enterprise's data center 1016 and are accessible, directly or indirectly, via World-Wide-Web (WWW) servers 1012. Sometimes enterprises provide access to the Application Services by making the application servers directly accessible by putting those application servers into a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) 1011.
A client 1003 may connect via a Local Area Network (LAN) through the enterprise's intranet 1013. Another client 1004 may connect through a Wireless LAN (WLAN) to the intranet 1013. Yet another client 1005 may be located inside the enterprise's campus network 1015, which connects to the enterprise's intranet 1013. An enterprise may have zero or more campuses 1014 and 1015. Yet another client 1001 may connect through the Internet 1000, or a client 1002 may have a mobile connection to the Internet 1000. In any case to prevent illegitimate access to the enterprise's web Application Services, the "inside" of the enterprise's network, the intranet 1013, is protected by having a network perimeter 1010, which may comprise firewalls, associated network interconnect, and additional resources "within" the perimeter network configured so as to be broadly accessible to users on the "outside" of the enterprise.
Behind the perimeter 1010, access is granted to legitimate client requests only, while illegitimate access is rejected. The fundamentals in determining whether an access request is legitimate or not are based on the network reference model from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This ISO network reference model classifies Network Services into seven layers.
Traditional security products generally assume the existence of a trusted intranet—locations where enterprises control their own LANs, switches and routers—which can be organized into or placed within some type of security perimeter, to protect its resources from the un-trusted Internet. However, in today's business environment, enterprises no longer enjoy the same level of trust and control of their intranets, as enterprises increasingly rely on contractors, partners, consultants, vendors, and visitors on-site for daily operation. As a result, enterprises are exposing internal resources to this wide set of clients whose roles are also frequently changing. Thus, the network trust boundary, delineating inside and outside clients, is disappearing—a phenomenon referred to as "de-perimeterization". In such an environment, protection of an enterprise's resources—such as its intellectual property, as well as mission-critical and operational systems—becomes of critical importance. Also, most security exploits easily traverse perimeter security, as enterprises typically let through email, web and any encrypted network traffic, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) with Transport Layer Security (TLS), and authenticated Virtual Private Network (VPN) traffic, for example via IP Security (IPSec). Traditional perimeter security approaches, for example firewalls, intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems have little or no benefit at the perimeter in providing access control functions to the resources. They have become more attack mitigation mechanisms than access control mechanisms. Enterprises are coming to terms with the fact that a hardened perimeter strategy is un-sustainable.
Traditional firewall or router access control lists cannot protect application resources from unauthorized access because network parameters such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and IP port numbers no longer deterministically identify resources, nor identify users, clients, or applications accessing these resources. Network firewall technology was invented when enterprises had a limited set of applications such as Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Email, and its primary functions were to limit access to specific applications from the outside and to limit access by systems within the enterprise to specific applications outside the firewall. Network layer parameters such as source, destination IP address and TCP or UDP port numbers were sufficient to identify the client and the operations the clients intended to perform on a particular resource. However, with the proliferation of mobile devices and tunneled applications, the network layer parameters are no longer useful to identify the client, the resource accessed, and the operation. Firewalls have evolved over the time, embracing functions such as deep packet inspection and intrusion detection/prevention, to handle application-level attacks, but the core access control function remains the same.
In effect, de-perimeterization demands that access control functions are positioned close to application resources and that a micro-perimeter is established in the heart of the data center by placing an identity-based policy enforcement point in front of any application resource. Enterprise business drivers for such an enforcement point are the need for rich and uniform protection of resources, business agility via attribute-based, policy-driven provisioning, and regulatory compliance. Traditional server-centric authorization solutions providing role-based authorization often require custom code development, extensive cross-vendor testing whenever there is a version change (of the underlying operating system, agent or application), and are costly and difficult to maintain because of their proprietary nature. Also, traditional server-based network appliances—primarily focused on low-bandwidth ISO Layer-4 to ISO Layer-7 perimeter services—are unsuitable for data center deployment, both in functional richness and in ISO Layer-7 performance.
Network system reliability and availability is very important for enterprise networks. High-availability for network systems has two aspects, to minimize downtime of the network system, and to remain functional in spite of failures. High-availability is typically implemented by adding redundancy to a system. Two or more peers will perform the functionality together.
Traditionally a fault may cause the protocol stack processing to fail, which results in disconnecting the client. The resuming peer then reconnects the client, it determines which packets got lost and the lost data is then retransmitted. For many applications it is not acceptable to disconnect clients. Therefore, a so-called zero-click fail-over is important.
Architectures commonly used in other approaches to solving these problems have shown several difficulties: A system processor is involved in performing the data structure replication in creating and forwarding the data packet down and up the network stack during transmit and receive, which severely degrades the system throughput. The system processors may incur substantial overhead from copying data in memory as part of Input/Output (I/O) operations. Copying is necessary in order to align data, place data contiguously in memory, or place data in specific buffers supplied by the application. A reliable protocol must be implemented between the peers to prevent packet loss.
Redundant application network appliances using a low latency lossless interconnect link are described herein. According to one embodiment, in response to receiving at a first network element a packet of a network transaction from a client over a first network for accessing a server of a datacenter having a plurality of servers over a second network, a layer 2 network process is performed on the packet and a data stream is generated within the first network element. The data stream is then replicated to a second network element via a layer 2 interconnect link to enable the second network element to perform higher layer processes on the data stream with respect to the network transaction to obtain connection states of the network transaction. The second network element is configured to operate as a redundant peer to the first network element, and in response to a failure of the first network element, the second network element is configured to take over processes of the network transaction from the first network element using the obtained connection states without user interaction of the client.
FIG. 22 shows two exemplary flow diagrams for health monitoring in a high-availability ANA according to one embodiment of the invention.
One aspect of the invention is a system and method for High-Availability Networking by using a Lossless Data Transport Fabric with an ISO Layer-7 networking system which comprises multiple redundant modules and which copies state information from one module to another module via the Lossless Data Transport Fabric in order to enable transparent High Availability failover. This LDTF may be an RDMA-capable fabric, such as InfiniBand or iWARP.
The approach described herein applies combinations of parallel, multi-processor computing technology with lossless, low-latency, high-bandwidth network fabric technology (also known as Lossless Data Transport Fabric, or LDTF) to form novel methods and systems for high performance, high-reliability, high availability, and secure network applications. The various embodiments of the inventions described herein enable the implementation of highly reliable, highly scalable solutions for enterprise networking such as, for example, the APS 2000 from FIG. 2.
Multiple network Services are efficiently provided by terminating transport protocols centrally. As can be seen, any transport protocol can be terminated centrally, each PDU's payload can be collected and converted into a data stream and, vice versa, a data stream can be converted into PDUs for any transport protocol and be transported via the given transport protocol. A simple concatenation of the PDU payload into a byte-stream is not sufficient. Key to the conversion is that state information must be maintained about the meta-data of each connection. Such meta-data includes the session information, for example via a unique connection identification number, the transaction information, as well as the information regarding segments and packets. Finite state machines can be used to track the meta-data.
Transport protocols are protocols which are used to transport information via networks. These include, obviously, the ISO Layer-3 protocols such as IPv4, IPv6, IPSec, the ISO Layer-4 protocols such as TCP, UDP, SCTP, the various ISO Layer-5 protocols such as FTP, HTTP, IMAP, SMTP, GTP, L2TP, PPTP, SOAP, SDP, RTSP, RTP, RTCP, RPC, SSH, TLS, DTLS, SSL, IPSec, and VPN protocols. However, other protocols and approaches are contemplated within the scope of the inventions, which serve as transport mechanisms for transmitting information and application data and can also be terminated in a centralized fashion by a protocol proxy and the corresponding PDUs can be transformed into a data stream for application layer processing. Examples of such are, CSIv2, CORBA, IIOP, DCOM and other Object Request Brokers (ORB), MPEG-TS or RTP as a transport for multi-media information, RTSP or SIP as another transport for multi-media information, peer-to-peer transport mechanisms, transport mechanisms based on J2EE such as Java RMI, streaming media protocols such as VoIP, IPTV, etc.
For the sake of simplicity we will use the term Centralized Transport Protocol Termination throughout the rest of the description, however, this is for exemplary purposes only and is not intended to be limiting. Centralized Transport Protocol Termination can be performed by dedicated processing units, and different ISO Layer-7 services can be performed in other dedicated processing units. The use of a lossless low-latency high-bandwidth fabric for inter-process communication between such dedicated processing units makes it possible to simultaneously support Centralized Transport Protocol Termination for multiple services. For example, TCP can be terminated once, transformed into a data stream and this data stream is transported from one dedicated processing unit to another using the lossless low-latency high-bandwidth fabric. The low-latency nature of the fabric helps to reduce the overall latency in client-to-server transactions.
In one embodiment, the Application Protection System (APS) 2000 is a network appliance that can act as a proxy between the client 2001 and the application server 2005, and can determine whether a client 2001 shall be granted access to certain applications 2005. In one example, the client 2001 is one or more of the clients 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, or 1005 of FIG. 1. In another example, the client 2001 can be a virtual machine or a cluster of computers, or a server (for server-to-server connections, for example). The application server 2005 can be, for example, without limitation, one or more file servers, one or more web servers, one or more database servers, one or more compute servers, one or more storage servers or one or more game servers. The decision whether access is granted or rejected involves an Identity Management Server 2003 to identify the user, client, or application, for example using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory (AD), and is the result of querying a Policy Server 2002 to analyze the access policy for the requested application 2005.
The APS 2000 may use a Triangulated Authorization method which, for example, is based on multiple aspects of a client (such as the client 2001), the requested application (such as application 2005) and certain network characteristics: Who—a client (a user or a machine) and its associated attributes such as department, role, project association, seniority, citizenship, etc; Where—network and environment attributes such as access methods (wire-line/wireless/VPN), location (e.g., USA, Switzerland, China) and time; What—on-the-wire session attributes, including protocol and content/resource attributes. The outcome of this Triangulated Authorization method can be used to determine whether access to an application is granted or rejected. Optionally, a Single-Sign-On (SSO) server such as server 2004 may be involved that allows the client 2001 to obtain authorization for accessing multiple applications at once.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of application service appliance system according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, ANA 2100 acts as a proxy between a client 2104 and an application server 2105. The client 2104 is connected to the ANA 2100 via a network 2107. Network 2107 can, for example, be a LAN, a WAN, a WLAN, an intranet, or the Internet. The application server 2105 is connected to the ANA 2100 via network 2106. Network 2106 can, for example, be a LAN, a WAN, a WLAN, an intranet, or the Internet. Networks 2106-2107 may be the same network or different networks. While it is apparent that multiple clients and multiple application servers may be connected to the ANA 2100, for the sake of simplicity a single client, single application server case is used as a placeholder throughout. Incoming connections, for example, a request from the client 2104 is terminated in the NSM 2103 and is transformed into a data stream. This is done by PDU processing and reassembling the payload of the PDU into a data stream of ISO Layer-7 application data. This data stream is transported via LDTF 2102 to the ASM 2101 for further ISO Layer-7 processing. LDTF 2102 may be an RDMA or IB compatible fabric. The result of ISO Layer-7 processing done by ASM 2101 is then transported back—still as a data stream—via the LDTF 2102 to the NSM 2103. The NSM 2103 then transforms the data stream into PDUs and sends the PDUs to the application server 2105 via the appropriate transport protocol. Connections which originate from the application server 2105 can be handled similarly.
Using this novel approach, both processing domains can be scaled independent of each other and a well-balanced system can be achieved at reasonable costs.
Yet another benefit of the aforedescribed approach is that it can be used to build ANAs with high-availability and zero-click fail-over behavior. High-availability with zero-click fail-over can be achieved by having redundant peer ANAs maintain a consistent redundant state with other peer ANAs. This means that all relevant state information including the data stream information is replicated and synchronized among the redundant peer ANAs. When ANAs behave as a high-speed proxy, fault-tolerant transport protocol functionality is required, which includes maintaining an active backup transport protocol stack, and keeping track of states of the transport protocol connection. A redundant peer ANA which acts as a backup for another ANA is able to take over the other ANA's protocol connection completely transparent to clients. The primary ANA's and the backup ANA's transport protocol stack each see the same client-to-server stream which means that both the primary and the backup ANA independently process the transport protocol state but only the current primary ANA responds to client-server requests.
To facilitate state and data replication among redundant peer ANAs it is important that peer ANAs have visibility into their peers' memory. A lossless, low-latency, high-bandwidth, RDMA-capable interconnect fabric can also be used for visibility into peer memory.
FIG. 4 shows how peer memory visibility through LDTF can be achieved. In this case there are two ANAs, ANA 2200, which is dedicated to client 2204 and application server 2205, and ANA 2210, which is dedicated to client 2214 and application server 2215. High-availability can be achieved by having ANA 2200 be the backup for ANA 2210 whenever ANA 2210 fails such that ANA 2200 will also service client 2214 and application server 2215, and by having ANA 2210 be the backup for ANA 2200, similarly. Both ANAs 2200 and 2210 can be connected via an inter-chassis or inter-module RDMA-capable interconnect link. This link can be seen as an extension of the internal LDTF 2202 and 2212.
Each ANA ensures state redundancy its peer ANA(s). In one embodiment of the invention, NSM 2203 performs Network Service processing for client 2204 and consistently does stream replication via LDTF 2202 and LDTF 2212 to update its redundant state data in its peer's NSM 2213, and vice versa. Similarly, ASM 2201 performs ISO Layer-7 processing for application server 2205 and then replicates its ISO Layer-7 state information by updating its redundant state data in its peer's ASM 2211 via writing through LDTF 2202 and LDTF 2212 into its peer's state memory.
FIG. 5 shows how an ANA 2220, which services a client 2224, and an application server 2225, is complemented with a backup ANA 2230. Both ANAs 2220 and 2230 can be connected via an inter-chassis or inter-module RDMA-capable interconnect link. This link can be seen as an extension of the internal LDTF 2222 and 2232. The ANA 2220 will ensure state redundancy in the backup ANA 2230. In one embodiment of the invention, NSM 2223 performs Network Service processing for client 2224 and consistently does stream replication via LDTF 2222 and LDTF 2232 to update its redundant state data in its backup's NSM 2233. Similarly, ASM 2221 performs ISO Layer-7 processing for application server 2225 and then replicates its ISO Layer-7 state information by updating its redundant state data in its backup's ASM 2231 via writing through LDTF 2222 and LDTF 2232 into its backup's state memory.
More than two ANAs such as the two ANAs 2200 and 2210 in FIG. 4 or ANAs 2220 and 2230 in FIG. 5 can be used to increase an enterprise network's reliability and availability even further. This is shown in FIG. 6 where in one exemplary setup four ANAs, 4510, 4520, 4530, 4540 are used in combination to provide scalability for high bandwidth performance as well as high-availability via redundancy. Each ANA itself provides a scalable and highly-available setup. For example, ANA 4510 comprises one NSM 4511 and two ASMs 4512 and 4513, all connected via LDTF 4514. For example, ANA 4520 comprises one NSM 4521 and two ASMs 4522 and 4523, all connected via LDTF 4524. For example, ANA 4530 comprises one NSM 4531 and two ASMs 4532 and 4533, all connected via so-called intra-ANA LDTF 4534. For example, ANA 4540 comprises one NSM 4541 and two ASMs 4542 and 4543, all connected via LDTF 4544. At the same time the LDTF connectivity is extended via so-called inter-ANA LDTF 4501. As a result, each ASM (of any ANA) can be made a backup ASM for zero or more other ASMs (again from any other ANA), for example ASM 4512 can operate as a backup ANA for ASM 4543, or as a backup ANA for ASM 4513.
FIG. 7 illustrates how SCMs can be connected to the other components. The ANA 2300, which can, for example, be the ANA 2100 of FIG. 2, behaves as a proxy for client-to-server connections and can be connected, for example, to a client 2304 and an application server 2305. The ANA 2300 can have one or more NSMs, such as NSM 2303, connected via LDTF 2302 to one or more ASMs 2301 for network processing. Also connected to the LDTF 2302 is a SCM 2306 which performs the administrative tasks. In one embodiment of the invention, IB is used as the LDTF, which can support virtual lanes and a dedicated virtual lane may be reserved just for system management communication involving the SCM.
For performance scaling purposes and to support high-availability, two or more SCMs can be connected to the LDTF. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in FIG. 8, an ANA 2310, which behaves as a proxy for client-to-server connections and connected for network processing, for example, to a client 2314 and an application server 2315. The ANA 2310 can have one or more NSMs, such as NSM 2313, connected via LDTF 2312 to one or more ASMs, such as ASM 2311. The ANA 2310 can also have two—or more—SCMs, such as SCM 2316 and SCM 2317, also connected to LDTF 2312.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, as is illustrated in FIG. 9, two—or more—ANAs, such as ANA 2340 and ANA 2350, can be connected via a high-availability link using LDTF. The high-availability link can be an external extension of the internal LDTFs 2342 and 2352. Each ANA can then operate as a backup ANA for one of its peers as it is described above. Similarly to NSMs and ASMs, the two—or more—SCMs can replicate their state information and update their state information in their backup ANA's SCM by writing state information into the peer's memory via the LDTF using, for example, RDMA. Similarly, in yet another embodiment of the invention, two—or more—ANAscan comprise two—or more—SCMs.
A NSM processes the lower network layers, ISO Layer-2 to ISO Layer-5. In one embodiment of the invention, such a NSM can be constructed as shown in FIG. 10. The NSM 2800 which can be, for example, the NSM 2373 in FIG. 10, comprises a host channel adapter (HCA) 2801, a network services processor (NSP) 2802, an physical network layer receiver (Phy) 2803 and memory 2804. The host channel adapter 2801 connects to the LDTF, which can be IB fabric. The physical network layer receiver 2803 connects to Ethernet. The NSP 2803 runs programs stored in memory 2804 to perform ISO Layer-2 to ISO Layer-5 processing, such as Centralized Transport Protocol Termination, PDU reassembly to transform the PDU payload into a data stream, cryptographic processing, etc.
For better scalability, in one embodiment of the invention, a NSM can be a multi-processor architecture. Here the NSM can comprise two—or more—NSPs, each having a dedicated host channel adapter, and dedicated memory. A load balancer is implemented in between the NSPs and the physical network layer receiver and balances the network load between the two—or more—NSPs. The load balancer can use common approaches known in the art to balance ingress or egress network traffic.
An ASM performs the ISO Layer-7 services, including application data processing on the data stream, which is the data stream of the transport protocol's PDU payload transformed by one or more NSMs. FIG. 11 illustrates how an ASM can be constructed in one embodiment of the invention. The ASM 3300 comprises a host channel adapter (HCA) 3301, an Application Service Processor (ASP) 3302, a bridge 3303 and memory 3304. The host channel adapter 3301 connects to the converged data center fabric which can be, for example, without limitation, LDTF or IB fabric. The bridge 3303 connects to the LDTF as a link to NSMs, for example. The ASP 3302 runs programs stored in memory 3304 to examine all ISO Layer-7 traffic and to perform ISO Layer-7 processing such as regular expression parsing, compression and decompression, standard and custom protocol proxy functions, etc.
For those tasks a high compute power is needed, typically more than for plain ISO Layer-2 to ISO Layer-5 processing. Therefore, a single-processor architecture using existing micro-processors may require hardware assist to provide sufficient compute power for high-bandwidth client-to-server connections. Alternatively, it may be advantageous to implement an ASM either as a homogeneous multi-processor system of generic ISO Layer-7 processing units, or as a heterogeneous multi-processing system using a sea of different, specialized ISO Layer-7 processing units.
For building the multi-processor architecture of the ASM several options exist: A multi-core processor technology can be used, which can be a System-on-a-Chip with on-chip hardware accelerators; or one can use multi-core processors with external co-processors, for example, a co-processor for cryptographic operations, a co-processor for regular expression analysis, a co-processor for data compression and decompression, etc. A parallel-mode compute architecture can be deployed which will require a flow dispatcher to distribute incoming traffic across the multiple processors. A pipelined-mode compute architecture can be used, where one processing element acts as a pre-processor for a subsequent processing element. Or, a hybrid approach can be used combining parallel mode with pipelined compute architectures. Further, any other architecture contemplated by one of skill in the art may be used.
In any case, the compute architecture requires a lossless, low-latency, high-bandwidth fabric for any-to-any inter-process communication links between the one or more NSMs (which each may comprise one or more NSPs) and the one or more ASMs (which each may comprise one or more ASPs). FIG. 12 shows how in one embodiment of the invention, one ISO Layer-2 to ISO Layer-5 processing unit, NSM 3441, and one ISO Layer-7 processing unit, ASM 3443, can be connected via the LDTF 3442. Key to the connection is the use of an RDMA network interface connector (RNIC) which can be a host channel adapter for IB, for example, host channel adapter 2801, or host channel adapter 2811, or host channel adapter 2821, or host channel adapter 2831, or host channel adapter 3301, or host channel adapter 3311, or host channel adapter 3321, or host channel adapter 3331. Of course, two or more ISO Layer-2 to ISO Layer-5 processing units can be connected to two or more ISO Layer-7 processing units accordingly.
Many options exist for implementing the LDTF 3442: In one embodiment of the invention the LDTF can be IB. In another embodiment of the invention the LDTF can be Data Center Ethernet with RDMA support. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the LDTF can be iWARP which supports RDMA over TCP. Besides being a lossless, low-latency, high-bandwidth interconnect means RDMA enables the performance of RDMA one-sided read-based load monitoring and can be used to map connection level flow control using RDMA queue-pair flow control.
One fundamental, novel principle of this approach is to split the processing architecture into separate planes: A Management Service plane, a Network Service plane and an Application Service plane. The Management Service plane comprises one or more SCMs and is used for all out-of-band connectivity to processing elements on the Network Service plane and to processing elements on the Application Service plane and can be used, for example, for software image downloading, command-line interface, statistic collection messages, general system management functions, configuration management, etc. The Network Service plane comprises one or more NSMs for ISO Layer-2 to ISO Layer-5 processing and proxy functions. The Application Service plane comprises one or more ASMs for ISO Layer-7 services processing and for data stream analysis. As discussed above, this division into a Network Service plane and Application Service plane should be viewed as exemplary only, and other divisions and arrangements and number of service planes may be contemplated by one of skill in the art.
This tri-planar architecture is, for example, shown in FIG. 7, where ASM 2301 performs the processing for the Application Services, NSM 2303 performs the processing for the Network Services and SCM 2305 performs the processing for the Management Service plane. The lossless, low-latency, high-bandwidth LDTF 2302 connects these processing planes for efficient, reliable and scalable inter-process communication. While FIG. 7 explains the tri-planar architecture for the case of converged data center fabric connections to application servers, this tri-planar architecture can easily be adjusted to function with standard Ethernet for application server connections. The adjustments become clear when comparing the architectural aspects for the case of using converged data center fabric for using standard Ethernet.
One embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 13, which shows exemplary, non-limiting functional components of an ANA. The processing in Application Service plane is done by ASP components 3601, the processing in the Network Service plane is done by NSP components 3630, the processing in the Management Service plane is done by Management Service processor components 3621 and the LDTF inter-process communication is done by the IB Verb API 3620 which utilizes standard IB techniques known in the art. The ASP components 3601 comprise an ASP configuration agent 3602, the rule engine run-time build API 3603, the user/attribute manager 3604, the Virtual Directory Infrastructure 3605, the rule engine PDP and PEP 3606, the session manager 3607, the HTTP proxy 3608, the high-availability manager 3609, the protocol extension languages 3610, the socket or event library 3611, the application switch upper half 3612. The ASP configuration agent 3602 interacts with the ASP configuration broker 3622 from the Management Service plane 3621 to perform administrative tasks, such as configuration of components with appropriate parameters. The rule engine run-time build API 3603 provides a procedural interface for building rules based on the policies loaded. The user and attribute manager 3604 extracts the various attributes from the data stream which are needed to evaluate policy rules. The user and attribute manager 3604 can, for example, comprise the user/attribute manager and the content attribute manager. The Virtual Directory Infrastructure 3605 provides routines for interacting with Virtual Directory Infrastructure. The rule engine PDP and PEP 3606 provide routines for evaluating rules from policies. The session manager 3607 provides routines for extracting, managing and storing session information and can, for example, interface with the session record table. The HTTP proxy 3608 provides routines to perform operations required when proxying the HTTP protocol in this centrally terminated stream-switch architecture. The high-availability manager 3609 performs routines for monitoring components and for synchronizing redundant stateful data in the various components. The protocol extension languages 3610 provides routines required for proxying custom protocols from Application Services. The socket or event library 3611 provides, for example, routines for non-RDMA communication which uses TCP sockets. The application switch upper half 3612 interacts with the IB Verb API 3620 and provides routines for RDMA-based inter-process communication.
On the hardware side, an ASM comprises one or more ASPs. In one embodiment of the invention the ASM is the ASM 3300 of FIG. 11. In another embodiment of the invention the ASM is the ASM 3340 of FIG. 14. The ASM 3340 can comprise one or more ASPs 3342, 3352 and 3362, FPGA SPI bridge 3343, Memory 3344 and 3354, and IB host channel adapters HCA 3341 and 3351 which provide connection to the IB fabric. The ASPs 3342, 3352, 3362 and the FPGA 3343 are also connected via SPI 4.2 buses. The ASP 3362 also is connected to a Phy, which connects to converged data center fabric.
Many different possibilities exist for implementing an ASP. Because an ASP has to perform compute intensive tasks which can be parallelized efficiently, it is desirable to use a multi-processing for the ASP. In one embodiment of the invention, the ASP comprises multiple CPU cores for parallel processing. Because very specialized processing—namely data stream processing—needs to be done within an ASP it is also desirable to deploy special purpose hardware accelerator units within an ASP.
On the software side, the one or more ASPs of an ASM run, for example, routines for HTTP protocol proxy functions, CIFS protocol proxy functions, JDBC protocol proxy functions, regular expression checks, protocol recognition, application authorization, and state replication to backup ASPs. The software architecture of an ASP is similar to an NSP of an NSM described above.
The LDTF provides the data plane connectivity between the one or more NSMs and the one or more ASMs. The LDTF can also provide management plane connectivity between the one or more SCMs, the one or more<|fim_middle|> 4633, a Chassis Manager 4634, an Interface Manager 4635 and a System Manager 4636, for example. Each License Manager 4632, Configuration Manager 4633, Chassis Manager 4634, Interface Manager 4635 and System Manager 4636 periodically check the vital signs of their corresponding modules. Such vital signs can, for example, include voltages, temperatures, humidity, air pressure, shock, noise, vibration, fan speed, CRC error count, self-check results, etc.
FIG. 22 shows two exemplary methods for a high-availability manager according to one embodiment of the invention. In method 4640 a peer's high-availability manager, which can, for example, be High-Availability Manager 4631 from FIG. 31, periodically sends keep-alive messages in step 4641. The high-availability manager of an ANA performs a check 4642 whether these periodic keep-alive messages are received. If these keep-alive messages have been received (YES), the high-availability manager considers the peer ANA as OK 4644. If these keep-alive messages have not been received (NO), the high-availability manager considers the peer ANA as having a total chassis failure 4643. In method 4650 a high-availability manager, which can, for example, be High-Availability Manager 4631 from FIG. 31, periodically sends keep-alive messages in step 4651 and then performs a check 4652 whether these periodic keep-alive messages did get through to other peers. If these keep-alive messages could be sent successfully (YES), the high-availability manager considers itself as OK 4654. If these keep-alive messages could not be sent (NO), the high-availability manager considers its SCM as having a potential failure 4643.
Because IB allows peer memory visibility through specialized hardware, for example IB host channel adapters (HCA), all CPUs such as the NSPs, the ASPs and the Management Service processors can be connected to LDTF. In one embodiment of the invention, pre-allocated local memory buffers can store the shared data structures of each process and DMA can be initiated and completed directly by host channel adapters, which frees up the CPUs. Update and synchronization can be done periodically or event based. The benefit is that it can eliminate multiple memory-to-memory data copies, and that the transport protocol stack can be bypassed to reduce protocol overhead and reduce the cost of context switches. The virtual lane feature of IB allows multiple virtual lanes to be used, for example, one or more management lanes and one or more data lanes. In one embodiment of the invention, virtual lanes can be used to provide prioritized channels for high-availability traffic as well as making multiple logical links available over one single physical link. In another embodiment of the invention, virtual lanes also can be used to prioritize traffic through service links to virtual lane. In yet another embodiment of the invention, virtual lanes can be used for one single management link over the same physical link, for example, to perform health checks, or transmit monitoring information, or to send high-availability handshakes while leaving other virtual lanes open for ISO Layer-4 to ISO Layer-7 state replication and transport protocol stream replication.
wherein in response to a failure of the first network element, the second network element is configured to take over processes of the network transaction from the first network element using the obtained connection states without user interaction of the client.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein performing comprises performing the layer-3 handshaking with the second network element via the lossless interconnect link that is implemented using one of a remote direct memory access (RDMA) compatible technology, an InfiniBand compatible technology and a lossless interconnect.
synchronizing the layer 5-7 connection states with the second network element by synchronizing at least a portion of content of the first memory of the first network element and at least a portion of content of a second memory of a second network element via a predetermined low latency lossless interconnect link.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein synchronizing comprises synchronizing the first memory of the first network element and the second memory of the second network element via one of a remote direct memory access (RDMA) compatible technology and a lossless fabric.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising exposing at least a portion of the first memory of the first network element to the second network element such that the second network element configured to read content of the portion of first memory of the first network that is exposed to obtain the layer 5-7 connection states.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein exposing comprises exposing the portion of the first memory of the first network element such that the portion of the first memory is read by the second network element via an RDMA channel without involving significant processing power from the first network element.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising directly accessing at the second network element the portion of the first memory that is exposed via an RDMA channel bypassing a transport control protocol (TCP) network stack of the first network element.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring the second network element to monitor a health of the first network element via a dedicated monitoring channel over the lossless interconnect link to determine whether the first network element is operating properly, and if it is determined that the first network element fails to operate properly, configuring the second network element to transparently take over the network processes of the network transaction using the obtained connection states without acknowledgment from the client.
replicate the data stream to the second network element via the lossless interconnect link to synchronize layer-4 states between the first network element and the second network element and to enable the second network element to perform higher layer processes on the data stream with respect to the network transaction to obtain connection states of the network transaction, wherein the second network element is configured to operate as a redundant peer to the first network element, and wherein in response to a failure of the first network element, the second network element is configured to take over processes of the network transaction from the first network element using the obtained connection states without user interaction of the client.
10. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to perform the layer-3 handshaking with the second network element comprise instructions that cause the processor to perform the layer-3 handshaking with the second network element via the lossless interconnect link is implemented using one of a remote direct memory access (RDMA) and capable compatible technology, an InfiniBand compatible technology.
synchronize the layer 5-7 connection states with the second network element by synchronizing at least a portion of content of the first memory of the first network element and at least a portion of content of a second memory of a second network element via a predetermined low latency lossless interconnect link.
12. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to synchronize the layer 5-7 connection states comprise instructions that cause the processor to synchronize the first memory of the first network element and the second memory of the second network element via one of a remote direct memory access (RDMA) compatible technology and a lossless fabric.
13. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to expose at least a portion of the first memory of the first network element to the second network element such that the second network element is able to read content of the a portion of first memory of the first network that is exposed to obtain the layer 5-7 connection states.
14. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to expose at least a portion of the first memory comprise instructions that cause the processor to expose the portion of the first memory of the first network element such that the portion of the first memory is read by the second network element via an RDMA channel without involving significant processing power from the first network element.
15. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to directly access at the second network element the portion of the first memory that is exposed via an RDMA channel bypassing a transport control protocol (TCP) network stack of the first network element.
16. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to configure the second network element to monitor a health of the first network element via a dedicated monitoring channel over the lossless interconnect link to determine whether the first network element is operating properly, and if it is determined that the first network element fails to operate properly, configure the second network element to transparently take over the network processes of the network transaction using the obtained connection states without acknowledgment from the client.
in response to a failure, configuring the redundant peer to take over network processes of the network transaction using the obtained connection states without user interaction from the client.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is configured to execute the layer 3 handshaking over the lossless interconnect link using one of a remote direct memory access (RDMA) compatible technology and an InfiniBand compatible technology.
synchronizing the layer 5-7 connection states with the redundant peer by synchronizing at least a portion of content of the first memory and at least a portion of content of a second memory of the redundant peer via the low latency lossless interconnect link.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to synchronize the first memory and the second memory of the redundant peer via one of a remote direct memory access (RDMA) compatible technology and an InfiniBand compatible technology.
21. A system comprising the apparatus of claim 20, wherein a processor of the redundant peer is configured to read content of at least a portion of the first memory that is exposed to the redundant peer to obtain the layer 5-7 connection states.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the processor of the redundant peer is configured to read the first memory via an RDMA channel without involving significant processing power from the network element.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the processor of the redundant peer is configured to directly access the first memory that is exposed via an RDMA channel bypassing a transport control protocol (TCP) network stack of the network element.
24. A system comprising the apparatus of claim 17, wherein a processor of the redundant peer is configured monitor a health of the apparatus via a dedicated monitoring channel over the lossless interconnect link to determine whether the apparatus is operating properly, and wherein if it is determined that the apparatus fails to operate properly, the processor of the redundant peer is configured to transparently take over the network processes of the network transaction using the obtained connection states without acknowledgment from the client.
BE1016661A3 (en) * 2005-06-28 2007-04-03 Lhoist Rech & Dev Sa pulverulent lime composition, process for its manufacture and its use.
International Search Report and Written Opinion mailed Feb. 2, 2009, for International Application No. PCT/US08/10080, 10 pages. | NSMs and the one or more ASMs. This is shown in FIG. 15 where, for example, two SCMs SCM1 2324 and SCM2 2325 provide LDTF switch 2321 and 2322. Connected to LDTF switch 2321 is Management Service processor MSP 2323—via host channel adapter HCA 2320—NSP 2327—via host channel adapter HCA 2326—and NSP 2329—via host channel adapter HCA 2328. Connected to LDTF switch 2322 is Management Service processor MSP 2323—via host channel adapter HCA 2320. In one embodiment of the invention, IB fabric is used to provide lossless, low-latency, high-bandwidth any-to-any switching. The IB fabric supports multicast communication and credit-based flow control. IB can support 16 virtual lanes; 15 virtual lanes can be used to implement the data plane and one virtual lane can be used to implement the management plane.
Splitting the data network processing into two separate domains, Network Service processing and Application Service processing—especially when constrained by scalability and high-availability—may require a particular processing flow between the one or more NSPs and the one or more ASPs.
For example, it is desirable to enforce flow-control because the proxy splits the client-server connection into two portions: One client-to-proxy connection which typically has a high round-trip delay time and low throughput and a proxy-to-server connection which typically has low round-trip delay time and high throughput. The flow control for the client connection and the server connection mimic the behavior of the end-to-end flow-control of the original client-to-server connection. The internal LDTF enables the mapping of connection-level flow-control using RDMA queue-pair flow-control and therefore solves the problem created by splitting the client-server connection with a proxy.
FIG. 16 shows a processing flow in accordance to one embodiment of the invention. The network processing is split between the Network Service processing 4020 and the Application Service processing 4010. The Network Service processing 4020 can, for example, be done by NSM 3300 of FIG. 11. The Network Service processing 4020 comprises Flow Manager 4025, TCP Proxy 4024, SSL Proxy 4022, Application Switch 4023, Channel API 4012, and Multi-Core Scheduling 4026. The Flow Manager 4025 performs network load balancing on ingress and egress network connections. The TCP Proxy 4024 does TCP termination and acts as an ISO Layer-2 to ISO Layer-4 proxy between client and server. The Application Switch 4023 transforms (among other processing) the PDU payload into a data stream. In case the network data is SSL encrypted, the data stream is forwarded to SSL Proxy 4022. Then the data stream is sent to the Channel API 4021 which sends the data stream data via the LDTF to the ASM's Channel API 4014. The Multi-Core Scheduling 4026 performs load balancing of the network processing among two or more NSPs. The Application Service processing 4010 comprises the Channel API 4014, the Application Switch 4013, the Socket API 4012, the Application processing 4011, and the Application Container 4015. The Channel API 4014 receives the data stream data from the NSM's Channel API 4021 and forwards it to the Application Switch 4013, which performs ISO Layer-7 processing on the data stream data such as Triangulated Authorization, etc. To submit the data stream data to the Application 4011, the Socket API 4012 is used. The Application 4011 can, for example, be applications 2005 from FIG. 2. The Application Container 4015 performs load balancing on the two or more ASPs such that the data stream information is either processed in a parallel fashion, in a pipelined fashion, or in a hybrid fashion.
Various embodiments of some of the inventions for scalability have been described in this disclosure, for example, the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6 can not only be used for high-availability but also to scale an ANA for higher bandwidth and network processing demands. When two or more NSMs or two or more ASMs are connected via LDTF within one ANA, the inter-process communication between NSMs and ASMs then operates via so-called intra-chassis communication. Alternatively, when two or more ANAs are connected via LDTF, the inter-process communication then operates via so-called inter-chassis communication. Or, when both approaches are combined, both intra-chassis and inter-chassis communication goes over the LDTF.
In one embodiment of the invention, the implementation uses Ethernet 10, which supports one or more 10/100/1000 TX or FX interfaces, or one or more 10 Gigabit XFP/SFP+/XENPAK interfaces. In one embodiment of the invention, the network interfaces are integrated into the one or more NSPs. In another embodiment of the invention, the network interfaces are dedicated devices externally connected to the one or more NSPs. In one embodiment of the invention, a NSP can be implemented using a MIPS-based CPU architecture such as provided by RAZA Microelectronics, Inc., by Cavium Networks, by Broadcom Corporation, or others. In yet another embodiment of the invention, a NSP can be implemented using the PowerPC architecture. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the NSP can be implemented using X86 architecture. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the NSP can be implemented using FPGAs from suppliers such as Altera Corporation or from Xilinx, Inc. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the NSP can be implemented using SoC devices, for example from EZChip Technologies. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the NSP can be implemented with a microprocessor which has dedicated hardware acceleration for network processing such as for TCP/SSL flow termination, initiation of TCP, encryption and decryption, etc. In one embodiment of the invention, an ASP can be implemented using a MIPS-based CPU architecture such as provided by RAZA Microelectronics, Inc., by Cavium Networks, by Broadcom Corporation, or others. In another embodiment of the invention, an ASP can be implemented using the PowerPC architecture. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the ASP can be implemented using X86 architecture. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the NSP can be implemented using FPGAs from suppliers such as Altera Corporation or from Xilinx, Inc. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the ASP can be implemented using SoC devices, for example from EZChip Technologies. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the ASP can be implemented with a microprocessor which has dedicated hardware acceleration for network processing such as for TCP/SSL flow termination, initiation of TCP, encryption and decryption, etc.
In one embodiment of the invention, a host channel adapter is used to connect the one or more ASPs and the one or more NSPs to the LDTF and the host channel adapter interfaces with PCI-X, PCIe, or HyperTransport protocol. In another embodiment of the invention, that host channel adapter is a multi port or at least a dual ported device which supports active-active configuration or which supports active-standby configuration. In one embodiment of the invention, the LDTF devices support a hardware retry mechanism. In another embodiment of the invention, the LDTF devices interface with IB. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the LDTF devices interface with Data Center Ethernet. In one embodiment of the invention, the external LDTF for inter-chassis communication is using copper fabric. In another embodiment of the invention, the external LDTF for inter-chassis communication is using a fiber optics fabric.
LDTF as a lossless, low-latency, high-bandwidth inter-process communication infrastructure can be utilized to achieve scalability and high-availability. Scalability is achieved by having two or more processing components such as NSPs or ASPs for a more parallel or a more pipelined computation. High availability is achieved by adding redundancy to the system and by having peer ANAs or peer modules replicate the relevant state information in persistent databases. One embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6, where redundancy can be added at the ANA level—ANAs 4510, 4520, 4530 and 4540 can all serve as each other's redundant backup ANA—and where redundancy can also be added at the module level—within an ANA, for example ANA 4510, two or more ASMs, for example, the two ASM 4512 and ASM 4513, can serve as each other's backup ASM. In another embodiment of the invention, two or more ANAs or two or more modules can be used for scalability—to provide high processing performance in conjunction with the other ANAs or modules, but when certain ANAs or modules fail, other peer ANAs or peer modules can act as backup. If the processing performance of this degraded system is not sufficient, certain lower priority services may get dropped in favor of critical services, which have a higher priority.
Various embodiments for providing high-availability exist. For example, FIG. 17 shows how two (or more) ANAs 4561 and 4562 provide access control to application servers 4565 and 4566, which interact with the server farm 4563 in a data center 4560. Using IB, for example, a RDMA-enabled backup link 4564 connects the two ANAs 4561 and 4562 such that both ANAs can replicate each other's state information and act as each other's backup. In FIG. 18, it is shown how, in another embodiment of the invention, the reliability can be increased further by utilizing existing connectivity between application servers as an additional backup link. Two (or more) ANAs 4571 and 4572, which can, for example, be ANAs 4561 and 4562 from FIG. 17 provide access control to application servers 4575 and 4576. Using IB, for example, a RDMA-enabled backup link 4574 connects the two ANAs 4571 and 4572 such that both ANAs can replicate each other's state information and act as each other's backup. A redundant backup path, which complements backup link 4574 can be created, by utilizing the ISO Layer-2 path 4572 via application servers 4575 and 4576.
To explain the fundamental principle of the novel approach to redundancy shown here, FIG. 19 shows, in an example, how two peer ANAs 4580 and 4590 can act as each other's backup. Appliance 4580 actively serves Domain 1 4581 and maintains state information for Domain 2 4582 and Domain 3 4583 for standby purposes. Appliance 4590 actively serves Domain 2 4582 and Domain 3 4583 and maintains state information for Domain 1 4581 for standby purposes. Upon a failure in either ANA the peer ANA takes over and now actively serves the one or more domains for which it had kept state information for standby purposes. For example, upon a failure in ANA 4580 the peer ANA 4590 now actively serves all three domains, Domain 1 4581, Domain 2 4582 and Domain 3 4583. Because ANA 4590 has kept state information in a persistent replicated database for all domains it can provide zero-click fail-over.
Such state information can, for example, include chassis configuration information, information about the transport protocol streams that have reached an ANA, as well as ISO Layer-7 state information.
System configuration information can be synchronized for many of the configured components. There are two aspects to system configuration. The first is during system startup. This is when either both peers are powered ON at the same time and both discover each other. One of the first things that happen at discovery is configuration information synchronization. It is desirable to have the configuration information in synchronization to ensure proper transport protocol stream and ISO Layer-7 state replication. The second aspect is during runtime. Administrators may choose to add, modify and delete portions of the configuration information. These changes can be replicated instantaneously.
The transport protocol traffic reaching one or more ANAs (or modules) can be distributed in a balanced manner. Some client-to-server sessions that are initiated may arrive at one of the one or more ANAs (or modules) while transport protocol traffic for other client-to-server sessions may reach peer ANAs (or modules) because of the way in which domains can be distributed across these peer ANAs (or modules). In any event of failure, when one ANA (or module) takes over the transport protocol traffic that previously was processed by its peer, all the ISO Layer-4 state information must be present to ensure zero-click fail-over. There are multiple ways to do this transport protocol traffic replication. In one embodiment of the invention, just the ISO Layer-4 state information from one ANA (or module) is replicated to the peer ANA (or module). This can happen always during session creation and deletion, and periodically during the lifetime of the session. This way, sessions remain in synchronization across ANAs (or modules). Also, this exchange of ISO Layer-4 state information can happen in a bi-directional manner. In another embodiment of the invention, the transport protocol stream reaching one ANA (or module) is replicated to the peer ANAs (or modules). This ensures that the backup ANA (or module) sees the same transport protocol traffic for those domains that are in a passive standby mode, so that it can go through the same steps of terminating the connection, initiating another connection and behaving as a proxy. However, domains that are passive (i.e., in standby), the backup ANA (or module) will not actually forward any traffic to either client or server but will continue to build state information as though it is actually proxying the connection. The advantage with this approach is that under any failure event on its peer, it can actively forward the session traffic transparently.
All the ISO Layer-7 state information is retained in a shared memory database that can be marked with a synchronization stamp. Therefore, any state changes in the database for ISO Layer-7 state information can be used to trigger an event to replicate the state over a high-availability link to the peer's ISO Layer-7 state information for that domain. For this purpose, several in-memory databases and embedded databases can be considered such as Berkeley-DB, for example. Database synchronizations can operate via LDTF such as, for example, IB. RDMA allows memory visibility into the peer's databases. That way the events triggered can cause a very quick, reliable update of the peer's database for the ISO Layer-7 state information.
FIG. 20 shows the details for keeping persistent state information. Within one single ANA 4600 (or one single module 4600) a process, Process A 4601, actively processes the state information for one particular domain. Through Remote Procedure Interface (RPI) 4602, Process A 4601 can read from and write to the persistent Shared Memory Database 4604 the state information which relates to the actively served domain. Through Remote Procedure Interface RPI 4603, another process, Process B 4605, can read-only from the Shared Memory Database 4604 and thus may get immediate access to the state information of the domain which is actively served by Process A 4601. Therefore, Process B 4605 can act as a backup for Process A 4601 and perform a zero-click fail-over. Now, via automatic replication, Shared Memory Database 4604 and Shared Memory Database 4614 can be synchronized such that the state information, for example, for the domain actively served by Process A 4601, can be made readily available in Shared Memory Database 4614 as well. The Shared Memory Database 4614 can be located, for example, in a peer ANA 4610 (or in a peer module 4610) which is connected via LDTF 4609 to ANA 4600 (or module 4600). Through Remote Procedure Interface RPI 4612, another process, Process C 4611, can read-only from the Shared Memory Database 4614 and thus may also get immediate access to the state information of the domain which is actively served by Process A 4601. Therefore, Process C 4611 can also act as a backup for Process A 4601 and perform a zero-click fail-over.
Key to provide high-availability lies in monitoring the necessary components and ANAs to detect failures. This is illustrated in FIG. 21. Within an ANA 4630 a High-Availability Manager 4631 periodically checks the vital signs of a License Manager 4632, a Configuration Manager | 3,778 |
paini-all
About PAINI
Men build societies.
Paini case is an example of that. Starting from a little craft made factory founded in 1954, in 50 years it has become one of the leader companies in its range. At the end of the Sixties it reached the size of a little company, in 1972 it became a joint<|fim_middle|> staff are highly specialised and educated also through in house refresher courses. We also offer stages to students from technical and commercial institutes. Paini offers a wide range of taps – mixers, bathroom accessorieses and ship-building industry, kitchen, bath and shower associated products. We proudly produce 4 million pieces per annum. The production cycle provides the usage of high quality raw materials only, in conformity with the strict UNI-CEE standards. | -stock company and it was also necessary to build a more modern and equipped plant next to the one already existing. The period of wider development for the company has certainly clashed with the birth of the mixer, in the Eighties. Today Paini is a big company covering an area of about 100,000 square metres, out of which 70,000 covered, with 390 employees working in it. The | 91 |
Please see Ms. Blevin's welcome letter here!
All students and families walking to/from school are encouraged to use the designated crosswalks for safe crossing on the streets. There should be no crossing the street outside of crosswalks.
No dogs or pets allowed at arrival & dismissal on all school grounds except service animals.
All persons (includes students and adults) will walk their scooters and bikes while on school grounds. No riding bikes and scooters on grounds are allowed in order to help reduce collisions and injuries. We will respect one another.
There will be no pick up/drop off in the front parking lot. To increase the safety of all our students, parents/guardians picking up students by vehicle MUST use the circle drive and remain in the vehicles in single file. Parents/guardians are encouraged to have their students exit out of all vehicles on the right side. This will minimize students getting into moving traffic on the left of vehicles. Sunflower Elementary is dedicated to ensuring that all our students safely arrive and dismiss school safely every day.
All bus, daycare van riders will be released through the north gym doors.
All walkers will be released through the north-side door next to the Music room.
If you would like to wait for your students outside of your vehicle, parents/guardians are encouraged to wait for their children at the north-side door to help reduce congestion at the main Sunflower entrance. The Sunflower circle drive is strictly only for PICK UP AND DROP OFF ONLY. There is NO PARKING. Please DO NOT LEAVE VEHICLES UNATTENDED.
All Sunflower staff will be monitoring and engaged in the dismissal of students to ensure safety and respect for all inside and outside the school. If you would like to talk with a teacher, please consider another time to meet with him/her. We would like to respect the teachers' and staffs' dedication to ensuring the safety off all our students.
As we take the steps to implement these new dismissal guidelines, we are working together to ensure the safety of all our children and families. Together we'll make this happen. We appreciate your part in helping to respect these guidelines and enhance the safety of your children. If you have any questions or concerns<|fim_middle|>'s active PTO supports our educational programs through a variety of ways. PTO provides grants to our teaching staff for curriculum, supplies, and field trip opportunities. Our PTO supports our local families in need. They provide fun opportunities for our families to get involved in school with activities including: School Carnival, Book Fair, Holiday celebrations and programs with our local business partners.
Our staff also provides a comprehensive social skills curriculum; Positive Actions that emphasizes making positive choices that build students' self esteem.
Thanks for visiting our Website. Please call if you have any question we can help answer.
"Knowledge is like the wind... once obtaining it, you can go anywhere"
Please contact the Welcome Center at 330-1921 to enroll your child. | , please feel free to contact us.
Welcome to Sunflower Elementary school and community. We are striving to provide students a school experience that emphasizes academic excellence and social responsibility while providing a positive learning atmosphere.
Sunflower serves approximately 500 students in grades kindergarten through Fifth. Each grade level has 3 or 4 classrooms staffed by dedicated and talented teachers and support staff. We have an English as a Second Language (ESL) program to support our students whose home language is not English. We provide a full range of Special Education programs to support our students with special needs. Our partnership with the Lawrence Boys & Girls Club provides a high quality before and after school program for our families.
Sunflower | 141 |
Tory Lanez Says "One Day I'll Be The Biggest Artist In The World"
Fresh off the release of his International Fargo mixtape, a four-track surprise album that he dropped last week, Tory Lanez popped up in London for an interview with Good Morning Britain. The rapper is far from shy so it's no surprise that when he was asked about growing up in a religious household and how his music is a far cry from that upbringing, he was clear on his goals and how it all comes together for him.
"My dad, I used<|fim_middle|> and travel with us and bring us places...watching him just go on stage and preach. My dad is a very ordained speaker...gifted, just watching him perform every night and just communicating it to the people, I think that's brought me into a place to do that."
"It's very simple for me, one day I will be the biggest artist in the world and I believe that wholeheartedly," he said. "But in order for me to be the biggest artist in the world, there has to be some sort of light that I bring into dark situations or dark places. So, in order to bring light into dark places, I then have to go into a dark place.
Lanez is stacking his bricks to build the empire as he's recently signed rapper Melii, much to the dismay of Meek Mill. He's also squared up against fellow artists Eminem and Royce Da 5'9, but later apologized for his behavior.
article, Tory Lanez Says "One Day I'll Be The Biggest Artist In The World" | to watch him go around the world | 7 |
Upstate Art Deco Tee by Jess Graham (Deep Heather) | Upstate Elevator Supply Co.
Elevate your style with Upstate's new unisex tee! We've partnered with Vermont artist, Jess Graham, to create an art deco inspired design with elements that subtly point to Upstate's elevator motif. The art features clean, organic line work and our favorite gold, black and pastel palette. And the ultra-soft tee is 100% no sweatshop and eco-friendly and fits like a well-loved favorite, featuring a crew neck, short sleeves and designed with superior Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton.
Features: Sideseamed. Retail fit. Unisex sizing. Shoulder taping. This updated unisex essential fits like a well-loved favorite, featuring a crew neck, short sleeves and designed with superior Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton that acts as the best blank canvas for printing.
Artist Statement: I paint to build an imagined memory library of gestures and movements. I reference split second sparks and lifetimes of ruminations. I want my scrawlings and scratchings to coax a little glimmer of<|fim_middle|> and color and I'm translating some delicious experience of the world: an eye-buzz of color, a heart-chakra-resonation of pattern and form. Sometimes painting feels like singing really loud from my gut. Sometimes it's just contented oneness. | a smile, a hope in the mundane, a joy for neon, a moment of pause to pick out individual cricket's songs.
Making art is my peace. When I'm in that creative state I'm communicating in energy | 44 |
I think that it is because we are not to be of this world anyways and sometimes things do need to change in order for us to be in God's will… Some things that we think that we need are no where near as good as what God has in store for us.
God knows us best and He knows why He created us. If we are truly seeking God's will and things are not going the way that we thought that they would, that is OK! Either He has<|fim_middle|> of this, too! I used to think that there were good people voting and running for office and that everything was going to be OK and that politics was something that I did not have to worry with. I took my right to vote for granted for many years. Now, I look at this great nation that God has blessed and I repent for my own complacency and greed and apathy. I repent because I am a part of the reason that we have come so far from the once great and blessed nation that we were. If we can complain about how things are now, then let us also ask ourselves if we are partly to blame and repent. BUT, do not give up or fear! Because as I say in this post: God knows everything and has already been working behind the scenes. He knows what He is doing and what is going on. He is also preparing future generations for what they will be facing and He is equipping us for what is to come. He may be doing some shaking to wake us up to turn things around before He does poor wrath on those who truly seek to do evil. If we do repent then He will definitely step in and turn it all around for our good. If we continue to refuse to acknowledge Him and seek Him, then He will allow us to face the consequences that we have created by allowing greed, lust, laziness, pride and all kinds of evil to rule in our lives. | something better in store or He is bettering us, our character or our situation.
Keep seeking His face and keep seeking His will and keep building His kingdom. While we are waiting to see our hopes fulfilled, let's not get tired of doing good and seeking God because He is going to reward us. He is our Father. He loves us. He sees everything that is going on behind the scenes that we do not see or know. He is working it all out for our good. Trust Him and keep on fighting the good fight of faith!
*** UPDATE: We got some discouraging news today, but I am trusting God to work it all out. He knew that the news was in motion and on the way long before we even had a clue that it was coming. We have recently realized that there are still several areas that we both can grow and mature in. We had some wrong attitudes or perceptions that we were operating under in our finances. God gave us clarity and a way to make a change for the better. I am grateful!
I had to repent of being ungrateful and walking in doubt, still! I am just grateful that the Holy Spirit revealed some things to me about myself and I was able to remove some weight from my shoulders by surrendering in a couple of new areas to the Lord. He does take us from strength to strength, but it is through humility and surrender to Him that we are able to go from these strengths to new strengths. It sounds backwards that we surrender and recognize and admit our weaknesses in order to get stronger. But that is how when we are weak, He is strong. That is how we grow. We can not get past what we will not see or recognize or admit and not turn it over to Him and ask Him for forgiveness and help. That is all that it means to confess our wrongs, to ask for forgiveness and to repent. It just means that we admit that we made a mistake or had it wrong and that we want help from our Savior to turn things around. Guess what?! He will!!!
*added thought: Warning: we may see our government or religious institutions shaken because we seem to think that they have all of the answers. We tend to think here in our country that the government is supposed to be looking out for our best interest and that the government will fix anything that needs to be fixed. We have blindly trusted that if the government says that it is OK or needed, that it is OK or that we must need whatever they say that we need. When did we stop thinking for ourselves and when did we stop taking our thoughts captive unto Jesus Christ and hold them up to God's Word, first? When did we start trusting in political parties and political agendas instead of God's kingdom and God's agenda? When did we start trusting in doctors' opinions and scientific theories instead of God's promises and walking by faith in Him? If you believe that we have been faithful to God as a nation then I say that you are under a great deception. If you live in this country and you say that you are a believer in Christ Jesus but you allowed mockers of His name and kingdom to be put into leadership positions by seeking your own comfort and leisure ahead of paying attention to what is going on here, then you need to repent. I can say this because I was guilty | 674 |
In a report issued July 1, 2013, the California Attorney General, Kamala Harris, notes that more than 2.5 million Californians were "put at risk" by data breaches in 2012. The Data Breach Report 2012 ("the Report" or "the Data Breach Report") cites key findings: 131 data breaches reported to the AG in 2012; the average breach incident involved 22,500 individuals; more than 28% of the breaches would not have required notification if the data had been encrypted; the retail industry reported the most data breaches; and, more than half of the breaches were the result of intentional intrusions by outsiders or unauthorized insiders. See link to AG website: http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-releases-report-data-breaches-25-million.
<|fim_middle|> law to require the use of encryption to protect personal information on portable devices and media and in email. Other than the statutory suggestions, the Report serves as a guidepost for businesses, given the admonishments regarding improvement for security, clarity/accessibility in the actual notification texts and encouraging the notifying entities to offer credit security freezes. With respect to the last point, the Report underscores another serious type of ID theft: new account fraud. | The Report specifies that the incidents reported on were submitted to the AG in 2012, while some occurred earlier and some breaches that occurred in 2012 were reported in 2013. Also, the Report does not cover the universe of data breaches, given that the notification law requires reporting to the AG only on breaches of electronic data affecting more than 500 individuals.
Another recommendation to the Legislature is a | 89 |
CultureBooksReviews
The Comfort of Things, by Daniel Miller
The objects of our affection
Reviewed,Laurie Taylor
Friday 27 June 2008 00:00
In common, I suspect, with others whose house is now less a home than an ill-equipped office, I have developed a range of domestic distractions to fend off the demands of work. My current favourites include re-cleaning the bathroom mirror, watering the already well-irrigated plants, and checking that my CDs are still in strict alphabetical order. I'm also capable of more elaborate self-deceptions. Only a few weeks ago, when faced by a particularly dense PhD, I found I'd wandered without any trace of volition into the bedroom where I successfully occupied myself for the best part of an hour with colour-coding my ties.
Now I am able to blame Daniel Miller for an even more enticing distraction. Instead of merely attending to the needs of brute things, I have an<|fim_middle|>ately crafted ornaments that adorn every branch and indent the tree offers for decoration". From each ceiling "hangs an elaborate contrivance of circles and spokes from which are suspended a hundred tiny little parcels, wrapped up in green and red crepe". As Miller soon realised, this scene was "the product of a century of devotion to the cultivation of Christmas itself". It is a piece of material culture which is not merely a labour of love but love itself.
When successive generations of children collect their hanging presents and take their place around the tree, they lay at its foot their own experiences and achievements of the year in the form of conversation, listening and appreciation. The Clarkes are as meticulous and devoted to people as to things. And the connection between the two is "nothing obvious or intrusive; rather it flows so naturally that it may take a certain academic, critical distance just to come to an awareness of it being there".
In case this looks too easy a way to make the connection between relationships and things, Miller neatly juxtaposes the Clarke household with George's flat. This was disorienting not because of anything in it, "but precisely because it contained nothing at all, beyond the most basic carpet and furniture". George was not, however, a self-conscious minimalist but someone whose entire life had been characterised by powerlessness, by dependence upon authority, teachers, employers and the state. He had never felt able to take responsibility for anything, let alone the decoration of his own home. "The flat was empty, completely empty, because its occupant had no independent capacity to place something decorative or ornamental within it".
Miller adds that he often encountered horror and tragedy in the interior of people's lives during his time on the street, but "it was particularly after meeting George that we found ourselves in tears outside his flat". Unlike other residents of the street, he could not even find relief from his sadness in the comfort of things.
There are several lorry-loads of other comforting things behind the doors in Miller's London street: collections of plastic ducks and McDonald's Happy Meal toys, mementoes of Franz Ferdinand, bottles of whisky from the Queen's Jubilee, religious images, photographs of reality TV babes, and miniature bottles of foreign liquors. In every case, Miller endeavours to show the parts these material objects play in constituting and organising his subjects' lives.
Not all the connections work. There are times when one almost wishes that Miller would stick with his insightful analysis of the character before him and not keep turning way so assiduously to check what's hanging on their wall. But this is still an outstanding piece of work: a fine example of modern anthropological fieldwork, a powerful corrective to the banal notion that materialism is synonymous with excessive individualism and, perhaps above all, an informed, sensitive, and wholly sympathetic guide to the human diversity to be found through the keyholes of our capital city.
Laurie Taylor presents 'Thinking Allowed' on Radio 4
FurnitureHouseholdsMcdonald'sUniversity Of The Arts London
1/0The Comfort of Things, by Daniel Miller
Gousto Discount Codes
1st box 65% off + 30% off in month 1 with this Gousto discount code
Hotel Chocolat Discount Codes
£15 off any Velvetiser kit - Hotel Chocolat discount code
ao.com Discount Code
£100 off large appliances in the clearance sale - ao discount code | anthropological licence to consider what such objects might say about myself. This is much more than a trivial suggestion that my possessions are an adjunct to my identity, elements that accord with my lifestyle. Things, according to Miller, are constitutive of identity. "Material culture matters," he insists, "because objects create subjects more than the other way round". Even more strongly: "the closer our relationships with objects, the closer our relationships with people".
With this hypothesis in hand, Miller and his co-researcher Fiona Parrott set off on a 17-month investigation into the lives and loves and domestic interiors of 30 households in a randomly chosen London street. That word "household" is important. For although Miller's research has all the trappings of an ethnographic community study, he is quick to emphasise that there is no community to be found in the street he studied. Only 23 per cent of the people who answered the door to him were born in London. "People came from everywhere and anywhere, and they were old, young, very gendered and sort of gendered, well off, badly off, and mainly sort of OK off". Neither did they have much to do with each other. "This was not a culture, a neighbourhood or a community".
Rather than this recognition leading Miller into a predictable jeremiad about the fragmentation, alienation and anomie of contemporary urban society, it nicely reinforces his contention that if we wish to look for modern relationships, then we need to look within the confines of single homes, and treat each household "as a tribe". When we do that we find not only that there is a great deal of "connectivity"; we also discover how material things function as a vehicle for all kinds of social interaction.
Consider the Clarke household. "In the bay window is the most perfect Christmas tree, topped by a fairy whose clear features and hand-made white net costume provides the apex to the array of silver and gold baubles and delic | 404 |
One of Madison's most popular clubs, the Warhawk Buddies club, recently became a chapter of the international organization Best Buddies. This change was executed by the new club president June Reese ('20).
While affiliation with the organization will bring some changes to the club, it continues its dedication to friendship and inclusivity for students with disabilities. Starting this year, the club will categorize members<|fim_middle|> bond and really get to know each other and develop a personal relationship," Reese said.
In addition to Warhawk time meetings every Wednesday, the club will participate in events outside of school on the first Saturday of every month. The club will also engage in Best Buddies organization events held within the Capital Region, which are for all Best Buddies chapters in the area.
"It [being a chapter of the official Best Buddies organization] is super exciting because we will be able to accomplish so much more in terms of getting involved," Reese said. | into three types: buddies, peers and associate members. Buddies, students with disabilities, are paired with a peer who they spend the year developing a friendship with. Associate members are not paired with buddies. They participate during meetings by spending time with any buddy pair.
"I like this system because it allows a buddy pair to | 64 |
SEA Semester: Ocean Exploration attracts students from all majors who are interested in gaining an in-depth understanding of our world's oceans. Because the curriculum combines multiple academic disciplines, it draws students from majors as diverse as history, environmental science, studio art, and biology. Limited to 25 students per cruise. 17 credits through Boston University.
An interdisciplinary ocean studies semester which combines natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences with hands-on research and sailing experience. Understanding the oceans is an essential aspect of appreciating how the world works and how we relate to it as human beings. The sea is so complex that it is impossible to comprehend from the perspective of a single academic discipline. With that in mind, this interdisciplinary SEA Semester program combines insights from oceanography, humanities, and social sciences with practical skills in seamanship, allowing students to deepen their awareness of and appreciation for the ocean through hands-on<|fim_middle|> Intensive academic coursework & research preparation on shore prepares students for their upcoming time at sea. During the 6-week sea component, as full, working members of the scientific team and sailing crew on a state-of-the-art research vessel, students manage shipboard operations, navigate by the stars, analyze oceanographic samples and visit foreign ports off the beaten path. Most importantly, students learn to challenge themselves and develop new leadership, teamwork, and research skills. | research and personal experience.
Why study the oceans? No matter your major, ocean studies are an essential component of any liberal arts education. The ocean has a daily impact on you, and you on it. Isn't it worth one semester to study three-quarters of the world? Let SEA Semester take you there.
Students begin with a 6-week shore component in Woods Hole on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a world-renowned center of oceanographic research. | 90 |
AGAINST THE RIGHT
HANDS INTELLIGENCE
MAKING GOOD SCHOOLS BETTER
SELF-ADMINISTRATION<|fim_middle|> to be lazy
Are you also familiar with these mostly male colleagues who, when asked for a meeting, begin by emphasising how important they think the request is,... [more]
The M-word in the classroom
We are all called upon daily to listen sensitively into ourselves as to whether we feel or think in a racist way. And whether the language we use... [more]
School in freedom
The worldwide increase of autocratic governments, including in Europe, shows once more that we have to actively defend democracy, social solidarity... [more]
Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen e.V.Wagenburgstraße 6 · 70184 Stuttgart · Germany · Telephone: 0711 - 21042-50 · Email: bund(at)waldorfschule.de
Legal/About | AT WALDORF SCHOOLS
WALDORF & SCIENCE
ECOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY
THE ART OF RELATIONSHIP
HEAVEN & EARTH
EDUCATE FOR PEACE
RETHINKING CURRICULUM
BODY, SOUL & MIND
50 YEARS FRIENDS OF WALDORF EDUCATION
SOURCES OF HEALTH
BIRTH AND SPIRIT
IT SINGS AND SOUNDS
MAGIC OF BEGINNING
ADOLESCENCE – KNOW YOURSELF!
HAND, CRAFT & ART
HIGHLY GIFTED
SCHOOL WITHOUT STRESS
WALDORF SUSTAINABILITY
FROM IMAGE TO CONCEPT
PUBLISHER'S VIEW
LIVING EDUCATION
LIVING TEACHERS
WALDORF worldwide
You are here: » News
Hyderabad/India: Waldorf is booming
Waldorf Education is very popular in India – applications to the seven schools and more than 25 kindergartens are constantly increasing. No wonder.
According to the Indian education magazine Education World both educators and employers state that children must not only acquire knowledge but also life skills at school in order to become professionally successful later on. The magazine then examined India's schools whether they were teaching these life skills and established a ranking. The two Waldorf schools Sloka in Hyderabad and Tridha in Mumbai are at the cutting edge. Both were among the top ten of this ranking.
Another Waldorf school in Hyderabad, one of India's largest cities, continues to grow. The Prerana Waldorf School, founded in 2001, now has more than 500 students and so many registrations that it became urgently necessary to extend the existing school building. Children from all income groups are accepted, about 20 percent of the students cannot and do not have to pay for tuition. In order to continue this principle, the school needed assistance to extend the building. The Friends of Waldorf Education were able to support the project with 25.000 euros from donations, so that two floors can be added to the existing school building.
Education World India
Source: Freunde der Erziehungskunst
All news in this category
Waldorf Work in Progress - lecture series
The International Campus Waldorf (ICW) is an academic network of universities and institutions worldwide that offer Waldorf teacher education in... [more]
The Waldorf Institute: a new training course in England
Since September 2021 Sven Saar and Alan Swindell have been leading the new seminar in Ringwood, South England, the largest course for aspiring... [more]
In memory of Dirk Randoll
It is with great dismay that we at the Pedagogical Research Centre have learned of the sudden death of Dirk Randoll on 8.12.2021. He was 64 years old... [more]
International Campus Waldorf
The International Campus Waldorf (ICW) is an online platform for students of Waldorf teaching programs and Waldorf teachers around the world. It... [more]
A eurythmy education project comes to an end
For 16 years there was the school practical qualification Eurythmy Teacher Bachelor of Dance/Eurythmy in Education as a one-year international... [more]
School closures are not evidence-based and harm children
An editorial by Sarah J. Lewis, Alasdair P.S. Munro, George Davey Smith and Allyson M. Pollock entitled »Closing schools is not evidence-based and... [more]
Eurythmy Webinars and Eurythmy4you Self Help Kit
Due to the corona crisis shutdown, Eurythmy4you has been offering free online webinars with eurythmy since 23 March 2020 to strengthen body... [more]
Declaration of the Asian Waldorf Youths
From all participants of the First Asian Waldorf Youths Conference at Panyotai Waldorf School, Bangkok, Thailand. [more]
Whither Waldorf?
Special issue about the future of Waldorf education. Translated for our english readers. [more]
Every cloud has a silver lining – the future of Steiner Schools in England
Many Steiner schools in England have come in for serious criticism of their practices in recent inspections by the schools inspectorate Ofsted.... [more]
Displaying results 1 to 10 out of 130
Waldorf schools: no place for Nazis!
Some people who are politically far to the right believe that Waldorf schools would be the right schools for their children. Or that they would be... [more]
It starts at home and at school. A Waldorf culture critical of racism
Next to the family, school is considered the most important place where right-wing extremism can first be prevented. What does it mean to really take... [more]
Building blocks for a diverse, anti-racist Waldorf education
How can anti-racism be anchored in the curriculum of Waldorf education so that pupils are sensitised to exclusion and defamation? In addition to... [more]
Information literacy as an educational task
Media education in Waldorf schools ideally begins on the first day of school. For the author thinks that the anthroposophical understanding of the... [more]
We need the ethics of communication as a school subject!
Bernhard Pörksen, born in 1969, is professor of media studies at Tübingen University. In 2008 he was voted "Professor of the Year" and honoured for... [more]
Pulling the plug or the duty | 1,172 |
Three key things from England v France Six Nations clash
England thrashed France 44-8 to maintain their hopes of a second Six Nations Grand Slam under Eddie Jones on Sunday<|fim_middle|> for a place in the national side -- showed he is not just an executioner but a creator as well. His delightful grubber kick set up May for one of his tries and he went close to scoring on half-time but was brought to ground -- though Slade went over from the ensuing pass by Kyle Sinckler. He would have been listed as a try scorer had he not been unceremoniously brought to ground without the ball by Gael Fickou with Ashton favourite to win the chase and touch down in the second-half -- a penalty try being awarded and the Frenchman sin-binned. Ashton made way shortly afterwards for Jack Nowell but having done his job and gave Jones a selection headache in a World Cup year. | at Twickenham.
AFP Sports picks out three key things to emerge from the one-sided match which leaves France in danger of collecting the wooden spoon after two defeats in their opening two matches.
Penaud's poor defence
France coach Jacques Brunel had mused prior to the tournament he hoped players such as Damian Penaud would bring the sparkle that has lit up Clermont's strong showing in the Top 14. The 22-year-old -- son of former France fly-half Alain -- displayed that in his try in the first-half but the problem did not lie in his skills going forward but rather in defence. Three times England caught him out allowing Jonny May to touch down in his corner -- once Penaud looked despairingly behind him to see if fullback Yoann Huget was covering and although he was not the Clermont three-quarter made no effort to get back. On another one-on-one with May the latter disdainfully side-stepped him to touch down. It is the sort of nightmare performance that could leave a lasting mark and with Scotland, Ireland and an increasingly dangerous Italy to come it will be a real test of Penaud's mettle should he be retained.
Guirado -- a captain all at sea
Guilhem Guirado has been seen as a reliable pair of hands both at hooker and as captain but both those assessments took a serious blow on Sunday. When all around you are losing their heads the one thing a team requires is a steady hand but Guirado had a disastrous opening few minutes which unsettled the rest of the team and set the pattern of the humiliation. He lost possession which set England up for their first try inside the opening three minutes, the last thing a team thin on confidence and in a stadium they rarely win at required. He subsequently conceded the penalty that allowed Owen Farrell to stretch the lead to 8-0 and missed a crucial tackle on Henry Slade as the centre went over on the stroke of half-time. Guirado stuck to his task and made one bullocking run in the second-half but the 32-year-old who spoke prior to the tournament of restoring pride to the French jersey may not have too many more chances of doing so with such a performance.
Fanfare for Ashton's return
Jonny May stole the thunder from the former rugby league star's return to the starting line-up of a Six Nations fixture for the first time in six years. However, there was enough for the 31-year-old to take out of the game to suggest he will be able to do one of his extravagant swan dives to celebrate a try in the matches to come. Ashton -- who took Eddie Jones' advice prior to the Barbarians match last year to return from Toulon to England and fight | 564 |
Album Insights (Voices)
Michelle Schrotz (photograph by David Wright)
I'm really excited about this new album for a lot of reasons. It's the first time that we've done everything on our own (production and recording wise) and honestly the end product exceeded my expectations. I'm proud of what we were able to accomplish and I'm also excited about what we've learned and what the future holds for us in terms of releasing new music (hey maybe the next full length album won't be a 10 year wait! :) This album is very diverse, there is something for a wide range of music listeners in this collection of songs. There are some quiet and beautiful moments and also heavy moments with big guitars, drums and bass.
One of my favorite songs on this album is "Mystery". Starting off with a big guitar groove, and then there are these fun "The Edge" like guitar slides, the speaking parts during the verses (that we referred to as the "cockpit chatter" like what you'd hear the pilots say during your last flight) and ending with a "gospel" choir, it's such a fun little song. It's also the second time in our 20 year band history that my Dad wrote the lyrics for us! He writes<|fim_middle|> don't think we off set each other, it works. I'm really glad we were able to work together on this one.
There are a lot of song highlights for me on this new album and we have a lot more to come. As we started working on "the calm | the storm" we had about 30 songs and ended up with 10. We are working on the next batch of songs now and seeing which ones will make the final cut for the next release. Looking forward to getting out there and playing more live shows too. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us over the years and we hope to see you at a show soon! <3
Suvo Sur (photograph by David Wright)
Perhaps my favorite track on TCTS is Feel the Rain. In the 20+ years Brave has been in existence, FTR is really one of the first songs that allowed us to explore various textures and structures on the fly without any of the annoying constraints of tight deadlines or a ticking studio clock that bleeds our funds dry. So we were really able to push some boundaries with this one. I'm looking forward to keeping that creative drive strong and challenge ourselves (and the listeners) with an impending shit-ton of new immersive soundscapes, textures, and fresh sonic environments in future releases. | a lot of lyrics, poems, stories, etc., but the lyrics for this song seemed to fit perfectly with the music and I love how it turned out. (If anyone is wondering what the other song was that he contributed lyrics for, it was "New Beginning" from the "Searching for the Sun" album.)
Another favorite of mine is "Race to the End" where for the first time I sang a duet with Rain Irving who I also have had the pleasure of singing with in While Heaven Wept. I knew I wanted to sing with Rain on the album and had debated for a long time which song seemed right. I'm glad "Race" ended up being the winner because I think it was the perfect song and what he added to it was amazing. I love singing with his "big" voice. I think the tone of our voices are actually very similar but his voice is so big and powerful and mine is much softer and yet somehow I | 193 |
Abrabham Lincoln grew up in one, but you can knit one!
A log cabin, of course… If you're a quilter, you're now thinking I've taken leave of my senses, because Log Cabin is a well-known quilt pattern, that allows the using up of scraps. (I love quilts, and proudly have two, made by my grandmothers, in the living room).
However, it's also a knitting technic, developed by someone or other – lots of people claim it as theirs, but it's so widely known, I have no desire to say who came up with it! The general idea is simple: knit a garter stitch square (or rectangle – however you shape this first piece will dictate the shape of the rest of the blanket). Cast off all but one stitch, turn the work 90 degrees, and knit up along the side of the square with a new colour. Knit (garter stitch) for x ridges, ending back at the corner where you began with the new colour. Cast off that colour to the last stitch, do not cast off, turn, add new colour, knit up along the side, knit X ridges (the same number each time) ad infinitum. (There are lots of patterns out there, if you want a better detailed explanation – look here among other places).
I'm making one to use up the bits and pieces of DK I have in baby sorts of colours – and also because I have a shed load of marking due at the end of the week and I need something fairly mindless to keep my hands busy then – I figure by that time, the blanket will be big enough that I will have LONG rows of garter stitch to do!
In this picture, you can get the idea of how it works, I hope. I've done these before, when I needed to a. use up wool, and b. have something mindless to knit. I've given away a number of these blankets – being entirely in garter stitch, they are lovely and soft and warm. (I also have one downstairs, for keeping warm while watching TV and knitting!).
Doing the constant adding-in-of-wool means that there are lots of ends. This is annoying – when one has finished something, darning in all those ends takes time! However, it's possible to make that job a lot easier.
As you knit in the new colour, pass the ends of the wool – both cut ends (old and new colour) OVER the wool that you are using to make a stitch. This is difficult to explain but easy to do – like so many things in life. The pink in this picture is the working wool, the purple is the one I am weaving in. Do this over-the-working-wool every other stitch for as long as the wool lasts. That way, when you come to the end of the work, all you need to do is snip off any little tiny bits that stick out – the rest are already safely woven in!
This is an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern – and I love her patterns. 🙂 And I have step-grandchildren to knit for!
The original pattern says to cast off (on the body part) when you get to where the sleeves will go. The notes suggest leaving those stitches on a bit of wool and then knitting them up as you knit the sleeves.
"A bit of wool" sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, for me. So I put the underarm stitches on two stitch holders – each with half the stitches, and each with the opening toward the bit being knitted. This looks a bit messy but it works.
When you get to the end of the sleeve bit, don't knit the last stitch. Instead, slip it on to the stitch holder (or slip the first stitch from that, on to your non-knitting needle, whatever works, just so that you end up with the last stitch from the sleeve and the first stitch from the underarm, together). That's what you see happening in these pictures. (The stitch holder is purple).
In the next picture, you can see the stitches being knit together.
– I did the last four ridges of the hood in the contrast yarn. So far, I'm loving this – these poor kids might just have more of these than they will ever use! The ends look a bit bedraggled, but that's ok as I will do something with them – probably Icord, though I tend not to enjoy that overmuch… but it looks so nice I might just persevere!
As mentioned before, it has a garter stitch centre. I then moved on to a ladder stitch border, which you can see here: . (Forgive the shadow – and for some reason, pictures on my phone always come out just a little bit yellow…). You can see the garter stitch in the centre of the shawl, moving into the ladder stitch.
When I thought there was enough of that stitch, I moved on to ostrich plume stitch. In essence, ostrich plume is old shale (or feather and fan) for four repeats, then shifts over half a repeat. To put it another way – old shale is an 18 stitch repeat. When you shift (after four repeats), what was stitch one<|fim_middle|> eight of the first set of repeats. THAT becomes stitch one of the new pattern. And away you go, for another four repeats, at which point you move back to the original placing. (It sounds a lot more complex than it is).
Of course for something like this, which has corners in it, each row increases the number of stitches – so sometimes rather than ignoring the first eight stitches, you've gained enough that you can add an entire repeat.
I've ordered another ball of the wool, though I don't know if I'll need it.
And, as big as it is, I think it will still fit through my wedding ring, so it'll be a true wedding ring shawl. And it's incredibly soft, as a bonus! | of the first four patterns is ignored – stocking stitch straight over it, till you get to stitch | 19 |
News, What to see
What to see at Risley Moss in March 2016
March 3, 2016 Paul Leave a comment
Although March is formally the start of spring, there can still be some wintry days. The volume of bird song increases through the month as the resident birds start to set up breeding territories. Even so, many will still be popping in to the feeding stations, particularly the one by the Tower, for a quick meal. Increasingly, you can see more aggression as birds start to claim breeding territories, which can spill over into the eating areas. During this month, many of the birds that came over from Scandinavia to avoid the winter start to drift back towards the east coast prior to returning to their breeding grounds. Some, such as Brambling and Redwing can occasionally be seen around the feeding stations.
brambling
redwing
Towards the end of the month, the first summer visitors start to arrive. Usually, the first to be<|fim_middle|> one of our many schemes we support at Risley Moss such as the bird feeders at the woodland hide, as well as the Green Safari Day in June. | detected is the Chiffchaff, with its unmistakeable repetitive "chiff-chaff-chiff" song heard high up in the trees. It is quite an inconspicuous plainly coloured small bird, not much bigger than a Blue Tit, but slimmer. It is not easy to spot and becomes even more difficult when the trees start to produce leaves. It looks very similar to its cousin the Willow Warbler, but that species does not arrive until April, seldom comes into woodland, and has a melodic song that easily separates it.
chiffchaff
As the weather warms, there is increased activity in the site ponds. You should look out for Frogs spawning and, if you are patient, you may see Smooth Newts. Please note that all of the ponds also contain larger Great Crested Newts, but these are seldom seen in daytime. (Please note that the Great Crested Newt is a nationally rare. protected species. Its presence means that there can not be any pond dipping in any of the ponds on site due to the risk of disturbance.)
Phil Rees
ASDA Green Token Scheme, Great News.
Paul, Andy and Robin recieving the cheque from the Lara and laura for the ASDA Green Disk Scheme.
Myself, Andy and Robin have just received the cheque from Lara and Laura at Asda Birchwood. Thanks go to ASDA and all of you who used the green disk scheme to support us. The monies will go towards | 302 |
AFFORDABLE MOUNTAIN COTTAGE IN RIVER COUNTRY! *SOLD!
Offered completely furnished, this sweet 2-bedroom, 2.5-bath mountain cottage is located in a wooded setting in River Country Estates with seasonal river and mountain views.
<|fim_middle|> of the New River below while tucked away among the towering trees and rhododendrons.
River Country Estates features a clubhouse with indoor pool, sauna, fitness room, theater, common river access and more. So, this 2-bedroom, plus bonus room, 2.5-bath cottage with open floor plan, stone fireplace, wood floors, wrap deck, covered lower patio and a 1.21 wooded setting in River Country offered fully furnished at $147,900, is the ideal mountain retreat. H120 *SOLD! | You will love the bright, cheery and open floor plan with slightly vaulted greatroom with wood floors, stone wood-burning fireplace, lots of windows and access to the wrap deck.
The small but efficient galley style kitchen offers ample work and storage space for a quick meal or dinner for friends and family. A half bath completes the main level.
The master suite with private bath and access to the lower patio is located on the lower level.
Also on the lower level, you will find a guest bedroom and a bonus room, currently used for overflow sleeping, that share a full bath and the laundry area.
A wrap around deck on three sides allows you to enjoy the sounds | 136 |
Lieneke K. Janssen
How dopamine became a rock star: a true story
Dopamine is a neutrotransmitter with rock star status. And although it deserves to be well known for all<|fim_middle|>3). Addictive substances may initially result in pleasure and use can then be driven by liking. However, with prolonged use and development of addiction, someone no longer experiences the same pleasure (liking) while using the substance, but still is very motivated to get it (wanting).
A diverse repertoire
Now, with the existence of different paths and receptor mechanisms, it is not surprising that dopamine has a diverse repertoire. Much like Freddy Mercury with his band Queen, whose music cannot be captured by one single style.
In the past decades, dopamine research really took off and branched out. It was shown to be involved in many important functions – as a Swiss army knife – in both health and disease. Dopamine is key to working memory, processing of all sorts of reward (the taste of chocolate) and of cues that we have learned to associate with reward (hearing someone open the chocolate drawer). It is also involved in learning from rewards and punishments, the amount of effort we are willing to put in to achieve a certain goal (to go buy chocolate if it's empty), and many more nuances of these processes.
Some researchers attempt to unify seemingly distinct functions of dopamine. Motivation is a key concept that comes back in dopamine theory time and again. A promising suggestion is that an important role of dopamine is to modulate the process of what decision are worth to take and what not, given limited resources (Berke, 2018). Even movement deficits, such as, difficulty initiating movements, could be explained by dopamine's role in deciding to move or not.
Is there an end to this story?
At this point your head may spin from all the different processes that dopamine is involved in. And what does it even mean that the term motivation comes back all the time? Can we now say that dopamine is motivation instead of pleasure?
Well, it's complicated. Welcome to science. In our current understanding, it indeed seems better to say that dopamine is critically involved in motivation. But we should think (and test) again (and again, and again… Don't Stop Me Now!) before the same mistake is made and new rumors start living a life of their own. Instead of rumors, we need to spread knowledge in nuanced scientific "stories" and we need to teach how to deal well with their open-ended nature. We need to do justice to the rock star that dopamine really is.
Original photo by cottonbro from Pexels.
Berridge, K. C. & Kringelbach, M. L. Pleasure systems in the brain. Neuron 86, 646–664 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.018
Björklund, A. & Dunnett, S. B. Fifty years of dopamine research. Trends Neurosci. 30, 185–187 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2007.03.004
Cools, R. Role of dopamine in the motivational and cognitive control of behavior. The Neuroscientist 14, 381–395 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858408317009
Robinson, T. E. & Berridge, K. C. The neural basis of drug craving: an incentive-sensitization theory of addiction. Brain Res. Rev. 18, 247–291 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0173(93)90013-P
An interesting line of research that builds on the work by Olds & Milner is very well captured in this comic.
The German version of this blog has previously been published on SciLogs Thinky & Brain.
Published July 14, 2021 By neurolino
Categorized as dopamine, scicomm, science Tagged dopamine, motivation, rock star, scicomm
Lieneke JanssenFollow
Cognitive neuroscientist mom interested in habits @OVGUpresse. Co-founded @CBSOpenScience @DondersWonders. Advocate of healthy habits in science & #scicomm.
Lieneke Janssen@lkjanssen·
Ooh, if only i could go...
Debbie Yee, Ph.D.@debyee29
Are you planning to attend #CNS2022 AND want to hear about cutting-edge research on motivation and decision-making from @iancballard @TarazLee @YuanChangLeong? Pls consider voting for our symposium!
"Neurocomputational Mechanisms of Motivational influences on Decision-Making"
Retweet on TwitterLieneke Janssen Retweeted
Iris van Rooij 💭@IrisVanRooij·
ANNOUNCEMENT: The journal Cognitive Science is inviting letters on "Progress & Puzzles of Cognitive Science". The goal is to share with the community concise & provocative visions, both to reframe the past & conceptualize the future 🧵https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/call-for-letters-to-cognitive-science/ @cogsci_soc (pls RT)
✨Gelukkig nieuwjaar ❄️Frohes neues Jahr 💕Happy new year 💇
Gezocht @UniLeiden: een data steward https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/vacatures/2021/q4/21-63810208datasteward & data manager https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/vacatures/2021/q4/21-63710207datamanager
It was a wonderfully encouraging dive into theory building and formalization! Great teachers, great workshop format, great organization, and great interactions with like-minded people ☺️
Alexander Enge@alexenge
That's a wrap on our latest @CBSOpenScience workshop. @IrisVanRooij and @MarkBlokpoel helped us learn so much (in only a few hours!) about how to build formal theories of cognition and how to capitalize on both their strengths and weaknesses. This will be so helpful! 👏🏻 | the important work it does in our brain, much of the facts tend to get lost in rumors that come with this status. This is a true story of dopamine and how it came to be a rock star.
Dopamine has turned into a popular adjective and catches people's attention. In recent years, it is often used to give weight to, for example, new lifestyle-changing hypes and make people believe they are scientifically sound: dopamine fasting, dopamine dressing, dopamine dieting. Much to the dismay of neuroscientists who study what dopamine does in the brain, and how it can help us understand human behavior and disorders better. More importantly, the exploitation of dopamine is problematic. People are being convinced to change their lifestyle, sometimes dramatically, without good grounds. Another big problem is that misrepresenting of scientific findings, whether it is intentional or out of not knowing better, eventually leads to confusion and mistrust in science.
The rumors
The story of dopamine is a good example of what happens when scientific findings are pulled out of context and start living a life of their own. As rumors that travel to all corners of the world. What happens is similar to a simple game of Chinese Whisper, where you whisper a message into someone's ear and they have to pass it on to the person next to them in the same way. With every intermediate stop, the message deviates further from the original, which can end up in a disturbingly different message at the end.
When researchers discovered a link between dopamine and the experience of pleasure (Wise, 1980), the news also travelled outside of science. It was so exciting that it travelled far and wide. In fact, the message seems to be travelling still, with the concoction of these new life-changing interventions that are either supposed to miraculously improve life by stimulating release of the 'pleasure' or 'happiness' hormone in the brain, or by its exact opposite, to prevent its release. Isn't that confusing? Yes! Even though the scientific community, including the researchers who initially found the link with pleasure, have moved on and accept new evidence that clearly shows that dopamine is in fact not responsible for our experience of pleasure or happiness. That makes the true story of dopamine a beautiful example of how science and its self-correcting principle functions.
The true (and long) story
Dopamine started out as an underdog (like a real rock star). In the brain, it was initially thought of as a by-product of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline and without a function of its own. Only in the 1950s, dopamine was shown to function as a neurotransmitter itself, giving it a crucial role in the passing on of signals from one neuron to the next. This was a huge change in status.
In the same period, other researchers discovered a part of the brain that was involved in experiencing reward – Sex, Drugs (& Rock 'n Roll) – and interpreted it as the brain's pleasure center (Olds & Milner, 1954; Olds, 1956). They found out that rats would keep stimulating themselves by continuously pressing a simple lever that activated those brain regions by means of an implanted electrode. As if they couldn't get enough of it. The remarkable thing is that rats even started to neglect their basic needs, similar to what is seen in addiction. It wasn't until 1980 until a link between this particular part of the brain and dopamine was made (Wise, 1980).
But let's go back in time. First, dopamine was thought to be involved in control of our movements. A lack of it could really shake things up. Losing a substantial amount of the neurons that produce dopamine turned out to be characteristic for Parkinson's Patients. These patients typically suffer from movement-related symptoms such as trembling hands and trouble initiating movements. A medication that increases dopamine production in the brain, found in the 1960s, still is one of the most common treatments for Parkinson's disease. With this breakthrough, dopamine gained the interest of many more scientists.
The many ways of dopamine
New tools were developed. With these tools it was possible to observe dopamine and its "habitat" in much more detail. Scientists started to map the paths that dopamine takes in the brain. Guess what? The "pleasure center", or rather the much larger reward system as it turned out later, was on its paths. Researchers also learned about receptors that dopamine can bind to. As some kind of key to open doors, so that signals can travel from one neuron to the next and affect communication in the brain.
The development of medication that could bind to dopamine receptors led to another turning point in dopamine research in the 1970s. An important class of medication for the scientific discovery of dopamine were neuroleptics that mainly block specific receptors. These medications were shown to have antipsychotic action and could be used in scientific research to investigate the causal role of dopamine in a particular pathway in the brain. It became clear that dopamine deficits could not only result in problems with control of movement, but also symptoms of cognitive and motivational disorders, such as schizophrenia, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and importantly addiction.
Addiction is an interesting example to illustrate the importance of nuance in the story of dopamine. Although the experience of pleasure and the receiving of reward often occur together, and the experience of pleasure may motivate your next decision ("chocolate makes me feel good, so I'll eat it again"), the two are not necessarily the same. This is what was clarified in later research. Researchers proposed a distinction between liking (pleasure) and wanting (motivation), where it is not liking but wanting that relies on dopamine (Robinson & Berridge, 199 | 1,185 |
Does the Average Digital Banking User Really Know What They Want?
Nearly 1/3 of banking customers say they would consider switching financial institutions for more user friendly<|fim_middle|> most recent data concerning how consumers view the online and mobile banking services of their financial institutions.
Insights into how this data suggests a radically different future concerning what and how digital banking services will be delivered to consumers.
Input on how banks and credit unions can integrate emerging technologies into the digital banking strategies to achieve a competitive advantage now and in the future. | digital banking services. In this webinar, hosted by CBA, three industry veterans discuss the results of a recent Harris survey of U.S. digital banking users focusing on how banks and credit unions can address the challenges of the present while positioning themselves to succeed in the future.
Access to some of the | 59 |
March is Save Your Vision Month. As we all know, good vision is essential to good driving. You need to be able to clearly see the rear-view and side mirrors and watch for road hazards, including pedestrians crossing the streets. If your eyesight is poor, you risk endangering your own safety and the safety of others.
Part of qualifying for a driver's license is passing a visual acuity examination. If you have poor vision or certain medical conditions that can affect your eyesight, such as stroke and glaucoma, you may not be able to get a license. Corneal disease and cataracts may also be prohibitive factors.
Driving conditions aren't always easy on the eyes. When the sun is at its brightest, when there is snow on the road, or when you are driving toward a low-lying sun, it can be difficult to maintain the field of sight needed to drive well. Darkness can also obstruct vision and increase glare.
Use the vehicle's visor to shade your eyes against the bright rays of the sun.
Wear sunglasses to reduce the glare of the bright light. It is worth investing in a good pair of sunglasses with UV protection.
People who normally wear prescription eyeglasses should consider investing in prescription sunglasses.
When choosing sunglasses for driving purposes, choose a pair with a filter range of 0 to 3<|fim_middle|> the air-conditioning or heater blow directly towards your eyes for a prolonged period of time. If you have a recurring problem with dry eyes, you can apply lubricating drops before you start driving. | . Filter category 4 will be too dark for driving purposes.
Anti-glare coating can be added to your prescription eyeglasses. This can be especially helpful for night driving.
When wearing prescription contact lenses, you can still wear anti-glare, non-prescription glasses.
Drivers also need to protect their eyes against dryness. Car air conditioning and heaters have the tendency to reduce moisture on the surface of the eyes. This can be especially hard on people who are already prone to dry eyes. Avoid letting | 101 |
Home » » EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA HEALTH COMMUNICATION ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND INTENTION TO ADOPT HEALTH-ENHANCING BEHAVIOUR AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN LEAD CITY UNIVERSITY AND TAI SOLARIN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, NIGERIA
EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA HEALTH COMMUNICATION ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND INTENTION TO ADOPT HEALTH-ENHANCING BEHAVIOUR AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN LEAD CITY UNIVERSITY AND TAI SOLARIN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, NIGERIA
Studies have shown that the burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and hypertension is on the increase in Nigeria. Adequate knowledge, positive attitude and intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour as espoused in NEWSTART (Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust in God) can reduce the incidence. Social media are increasingly being utilised by individuals, health professionals and organisations for health communication as they offer significant potentials. In Nigeria, the usage of social media is high however their utilisation for health communication is arguably low. This study examined the effects of social media health communication on knowledge, attitude and intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour among undergraduates in Lead City University and Tai Solarin University of Education, Nigeria.
The study adopted quasi-experimental design. Study population was 26,000 undergraduates of Lead City University and Tai Solarin University of Education. Sample size of 200 undergraduates were purposively selected and assigned 25 each to the 4 experimental groups and 4 control groups. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection at baseline and endline from the experimental groups and control groups. The reliability test yielding Cronbach's Alpha coefficients: knowledge of health-enhancing behaviour = .733; attitude to health-enhancing behaviour = .741; subjective norms=.825; perceived behavioural control =.914; intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour=.933 and the composite Cronbach's Alpha result was 0.940. Baseline data of students' knowledge, attitude and intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour were collected. This was followed by the exposure of NEWSTART messages via Facebook and WhatsApp to the experimental groups for five weeks, after which endline data were collected. Data were analysed using inferential (paired samples T-test and multiple linear regression) statistics.
Findings revealed that there was a significant difference (t=-2.303; p<0.05) in students' knowledge of health-enhancing behaviour before and after the social media health communication intervention. No significant difference was observed (t=-.323; p>0.05) in students' attitude to health-enhancing behaviour before and after the social media health communication intervention. There was no significant difference (t=1.73; p>0.05) in students' intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour before and after the intervention. For the theory of planned behaviour, attitude was not a significant predictor (R2=0.0031, β=0.056, p>0.05) of intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour while subjective norms (R2=0.0481, β=0.220, p<0.05) and perceived behavioural control (R2=0.2916, β=0.540, p<0.05) significantly predicted intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour with perceived behavioural control being a better predictor.
The study concluded that social media health communication intervention was effective in increasing students' knowledge of health-enhancing behaviour but not effective in influencing attitude and generating intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour. Attitude does not predict intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour but subjective norms and perceived behavioural control predict intention to adopt health-enacting behaviour. It was recommended that health communicators should use social media for health communication if the goal is to increase knowledge but other communication channels should be used where the goals are to influence attitude and behavioural intention.
Health concerns globally are shifting from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as they are becoming the leading cause of mortality even in developing countries. (Adogu, Ubajaka, Emelumadu, &Alutu, 2015; Mahmood, Ali and Islam, 2013; WHO, 2008). Scholars have advanced that most non-communicable diseases are linked to lifestyle patterns and choices of individuals and thus they are termed 'lifestyle diseases' (Chandola, 2012; Sharma & Majumdor, 2009). The occurrence of these diseases are associated with the neglect of health-enhancing behaviours such as proper nutrition, exposure to sunlight, exercise, adequate sleep, adequate water intake as espoused in NEWSTART health regimen. Mahmood, Ali and Islam (2013) affirms this noting that "the leading global risks for mortality are high blood pressure (responsible for 13% of deaths globally), tobacco use (9%), high blood glucose (6%), physical inactivity (6%), and overweight and obesity (5%)."(p. 38). Examples of lifestyle diseases are heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. The World Health Organisation (WHO)(2014a) reports that NCDs present a new challenge for the Nigerian health system and they accounted for 24% of total deaths in the country (World Health Organisation, 2014b).
Lifestyle disease or NCDs are avoidable with right information and adoption of healthy practices even from early stages of life. Mahmood, Ali and Islam (2013) assert that the key to controlling non-communicable disease is "primary prevention through promotion of healthy life style which is necessary during all phase of life" (p. 37). NEWSTART is a total wellness/health regimen that promotes health-enhancing behaviours aimed at achieving optimal health and body function which in turn reduces the likelihood of lifestyle diseases. NEWSTART is an acronym for Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust in God. It is health regimen targeted at complete physical, mental, physiological and spiritual wellbeing (Aja, 2001; Ashley & Cort, 2007). Health promotion philosophies like NEWSTART has to first be communicated and individuals encouraged to adopt these behaviours, so as to positively impact their health. This is one of the major task of health communication, which according to Rimal and Lapinski (2009), is concerned with health promotion, wellbeing and improved quality of life among people. Parrott (2004) explains that "health communication is the art and technique of informing, influencing and motivating institutional and public audiences about important health issues" (p. 751). The basic objective of health communication is to increase public's knowledge of health issues, influence their attitude and behaviour for optimal health by disseminating information on healthy living and practices, prevention and treatment of diseases. Given the health challenges and increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria which are associated with lifestyle choices and practices, there is the need to employ as many communication tools as possible, including social media, for health communication to really influence the adoption of healthy practices among the populace. Alluding to the need for using social media for health-related purposes, Oyelami, Okuboyejo and Ebiye (2013) maintain that the health situation can be different in Nigeria if the populace are aware of the availability of health information on the new media and take advantage of it.
Social media are highly interactive communication platforms enabled by the Internet and Web 2.0 in which users can connect with each other, generate, modify, share, and discuss contents in the form of text, audio, video or images. According to Nwafor, Odomeleam, Orji-Egwu, Nwankwo and Nweze (2013), "social media are Internet-based tools and services that allow users to engage with each other, generate content, distribute and search for information online" (p. 70). Social media are about content generation, sharing, collaboration, interaction, and community input. They have the "innate ability to communicate information in real time, as well as link groups of people together around common issues" (Hughes, 2010, p. 3). It is the interactive nature of these platforms that makes them 'social'. With social media, users can share opinions, experiences, contacts, knowledge, expertise and information between and among themselves. Social media makes for rapid and widespread distribution of information across nations and continents and communication and interaction on these platforms take place on one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many basis. Ajilore and Adekoya (2016) noted that "these platforms are used to send information from one individual or one account to another, therefore information spreads at an accelerating rate."(p. 151). Bryer and Zavataro (2011) added that social media make for interaction that is across boundaries, time and space. The uniqueness of social media lie in the characteristics of openness, user-centeredness, conversation, immediacy, reach, ease of use, not bound by geography, interactivity, participation, and variety of content format (Ekeli & Enobakhare, 2013; Okeke, Nwachukwu & Ajaero, 2013). Social media platforms are diverse and evolving; yet can be categorised into groups to reflect their range and nature. As such, there are Social Networking Sites (SNS) (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp); Blogs and Microblogs (e.g. Twitter); Video and Image sharing sites (YouTube, Instagram, Flickr, Snapchat); Collaborative projects (Wikipedia, Kickstarter); Internet Forums (eHealthforum); Virtual Social World (e.g. Second Life) and Virtual Game Worlds (e.g. World of Warcraft) (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010; Wong, Merchant & Moreno, 2014).
The increasing availability of Internet access and smartphones makes the use of social media widespread. According to wearesocial (2016), a global social media consultancy firm, there were 3.42 billion Internet users globally, equalling 46% global penetration and 2.31 billion social media users. As at June, 2016, Nigeria was said to have the largest Internet population in Africa (with 92 million users) and ranked seventh in the world (Internet World Stats, 2016). PewResearchCenter (2016) reports that 76% of Internet users, use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In Nigeria, Facebook and WhatsApp have been found to be the most popular and widely used social networking sites amongst students (Buhari, Ahmad & HadiAshara, 2014; Musa, 2015; Popoola, 2014). In 2016, Facebook announced that Nigeria had 16 million active users and that 7.2 million people visit Facebook each day (Financial Nigeria, February 2016; Internet World Stats, 2017). Data on WhatsApp usage in Nigeria reveals that 45% of mobile phone users utilize the platform (Adika, 2014). These data indicate a high social media usage in Nigeria and this signifies that the potentials of social media use for health communication could be far reaching.
Health, no doubt, is crucial for the development of human capital and productivity in a country. The health of a nation's population is intrinsically related to the development of that nation. This is because it is when a nation's work force is healthy that they can be productive. Lawanson (2004) underscores this point noting that "Only a healthy population can be fit enough to learn all the required skills for productive purposes and have the stamina to engage in production of goods and services to steer the economy of the country forward" (p. 132). Underscoring the importance of good health and wellbeing, the United Nations in 2015 made health the third goal of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 3 is titled, 'Ensure Healthy Lives and promote Wellbeing for all at all age'. The aim is to ensure that people live healthy lives that will increase life expectancy and reduce the incidence of deaths occurring from diseases (Aitsi-Selmi & Murray, 2015; Kumar, Kumar & Vivekadhish, 2016; United Nations, 2016).
Social media though originally designed for social relations and connections are being utilised for health-related purposes and contexts. Social media though originally designed for social relations and connections are being utilised for health-related purposes and contexts. The integration of social media in health communication activities is to leverage on the social dynamics, audience participation, conversations and networks that the platforms offer in addition to their capabilities for information and education (Adum, Ekuwgha, Ojiakor, &Ndubuisi, 2016). Studies abound on how the general public, patients, health caregivers, health professionals, hospitals, health organisations are employing social media for healthcare and communication (Abramson, Keefe & Chou, 2014; Al Mamun, Ibrahim & Turin, 2015; Song, Omori, Kim, Tenzek, Hawkins, Lin & Kim, 2016; Uittenhout, 2012; Zhang, 2013). Increasingly, individuals use social media to request and share health information, express health concerns, connect with doctors, health experts and specialists, share experiences, raise funds and provide support for disease sufferers. Health professionals (doctor, nurses, public health officers) employ them to communicate with patients and manage patients care. Public health organisations use social media to amplify their health messages and for health advocacy while health agencies and organisations use social media for health awareness, fund raising, disease warning and monitoring campaigns/efforts.
Ventola (2014) reported that in the United States, eight in ten Internet users search for health information online, and 74% of these people use social media while in the United Kingdom, Facebook is the fourth most popular source of health information (Moorhead, Hazlett, Harrison, Carroll, Irown, & Hoving, 2013). In Nigeria, social media are being employed for health communication purposes by individuals, health professionals and organisations. One successful example of the use of social media for health communication was during the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Nigeria in 2014. The findings of Adebimpe, Adeyemi, Faremi, Ojo and Efuntoye (2015) revealed that social media was the first source of information for many people. Recognising the extensive use of social media during the crisis in Nigeria, the World Health Organization acknowledged that among other things, "social media played a big role in the successful containment of EVD outbreak in Nigeria" (Nduka, Igwe-Omoke & Ogugua, 2014 p. 5).
Social media are highly utilised by youths and students as channels for information, interaction and entertainment. Social media provide access to variety of information including health information, thereby fostering adequate health information and knowledge among users. Utilising social media to disseminate health information means that young people can easily get such information and these can help them make good health decisions and adopt healthy practices which can reduce the occurrence of lifestyle diseases. Drawing from the capacity of social media to make health information easily available as well as having established the high usage of social media in Nigeria, especially among youths and the positive returns recorded when employed for health communication, this study carried out health communication intervention using social media and examined its effect on knowledge, attitude and intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour among students in Lead City University, Ibadan and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode.
The incidence of lifestyle diseases (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease) and deaths occurring from them is on the increase in Nigeria as indicated by WHO (2014). There is thus the need for individuals and communities to have adequate knowledge, the right attitude and high adoption rate of health-enhancing behaviour as enshrined in NEWSTART in order to reduce the prevalence of lifestyle diseases.
Findings indicate that nutritional intake among Nigerians is poor and there is a shift to unhealthy nutrition with individuals consuming more of processed foods with high calorie diets, carbonated drinks, low or no intake of fruits and vegetables (Arulogun & Owolabi, 2011; Onyiriuka, Umoru & Ibeawuchi, 2013; The Federal Ministry of Health, 2014). As regards exercise, it is recorded that Nigerians do not usually engage in regular exercises and individuals live sedentary lifestyle which involves low physical activities (Olubayo-Fatiregun, Ayodele, & Olorunisola, 2014; Shehu, Onasanya, Onigbide, Ogunsakin & Bada, 2013). Another health enhancing practice is drinking water in sufficient quantity. Most illnesses are linked to limited water intake. Ibemere (2015) reveals that many Nigerians generally do not seem to have accepted drinking adequate water as a way of life. They do not take up to eight glasses of water in a day and prefer drinking beverages to water. In addition, the quality of rest (sleep) is compromised among Nigerians. In the bid to make ends meet, many people put in long hours of work thus reducing their sleep time and this negatively impacts health (Diehl and Ludington, 2011).
Considering the above problems, one wonders what could be responsible for the low adherence to health-enhancing behaviour among Nigerians. Could it be that information about health-enhancing behaviour are not widely disseminated among Nigerians? Or Nigerians are just indifferent to health-enhancing behaviour? Perhaps it could be that more channels (like social media) need to be incorporated to make health information widespread and positively influence attitude on the subject?
Statistics show that social media usage in Nigeria is very high (a record of 16 million Facebook users) (Financial Nigeria, February 2016; Internet World Stats, 2017). Their use is evident in the areas of politics, entertainment, sports, business and even religion. For instance, the high level of political participation during the 2011 and 2015 elections were largely attributed to the intense use of social media for political communication (Akande, 2016; Nwafor, Odoemelam, Orji-Egwu, Nwankwo & Nweze, 2013). However, the use of social media in the health sector and for health-related purposes seems limited in Nigeria. Patients, health professionals, health institutions and agencies are not adequately tapping into the social media resource for health communication (Batta 2015; Thomas & Adeniyi, 2013).<|fim_middle|> 10 being highest perceived behaviour control.
Participants: in this study were selected undergraduate students of Lead City University, Ibadan and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State.
For more Mass Communication Projects click here | Presenting a picture of this, Thomas and Adeniyi (2013) affirm that, "there hardly exits any visible Facebook or Twitter page around entirely committed to healthcare delivery" (p. 134). The question then arises that could it be that the low usage of social media for health communication is a reason for the limited knowledge, poor attitude and low adoption of health-enhancing behaviour among Nigerians thus leading to increase in lifestyle diseases? In the light of this, this study conducted a health communication intervention using social media (Facebook and WhatsApp) in order to determine its effects on the knowledge, attitude and intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour among students in Lead City University, Ibadan and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of social media health communication on students' knowledge, attitude and intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour in selected universities. The specific objectives are to:
ascertain students' utilisation of social media for seeking health information;
assess students' knowledge of health-enhancing behaviour before and after the social media health communication intervention;
find out students' attitude to health-enhancing behaviour before and after the social media health communication intervention;
determine students' intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour before and after the social media health communication intervention and
establish ways social media platforms can be employed for health communication.
This research set out to answer the following questions:
How do students utilise social media for seeking health information?
What is students' knowledge level of health-enhancing behaviour before and after social media health communication intervention?
What is the attitude of students to health-enhancing behaviour before and after social media health communication intervention?
What is the intention of students to adopt health-enhancing behaviour before and after social media health communication intervention?
In what ways can social media platforms be employed for health communication?
1.5 Hypotheses
The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
H1 There is a significant difference in students' knowledge of health-enhancing behaviour
before and after the social media health communication intervention.
H2 There is a significant difference in students' attitude to health-enhancing behaviour before
and after the social media health communication intervention.
H3 There is a significant difference in students' intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour
H4 Students' intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour will be significantly predicted
by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control as stated in the theory of
planned behaviour.
This study investigated the effect of using social media for health communication on the knowledge, attitude and intention to adopt health-enhancing behaviour among undergraduate students in Lead City University, Ibadan and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State. The choice of students as participants for this study is hinged on the fact that the usage of social media is popular among youths and college students (Chu, 2011, Folorunso, Vincent, Adekoya & Ogunde, 2010). Materials (text, images and videos) on each element of NEWSART was the content of the social media health communication intervention. Two social media platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp were employed as platforms to convey the health communication messages for this study. The health communication intervention ran on the two social media platforms for 5 weeks; from December 2016 to January, 2017.
This study revealed the usefulness of social media for health communication as well as forms in which they can be utilised. The study would be of benefit to members of the public (youths especially) as they would get to know that social media should not be used only for social and entertainment purposes but for health information, connecting with health specialists, developing health support groups and other activities that can enhance their health and wellbeing.
The findings of this study would provide input for relevant government health agencies to formulate policies and legislations that would make for the incorporation of social media in health communication programmes in the country.
The use of social media by health professionals (doctors, nurses) in Nigeria for health care and communication is low, it is expected that this study would sensitize these professionals on the need to include social media as part of the channels of communication with individuals and patients in order to enhance self-management after face to face consultations.
To public health organisations and non-governmental organisation (NGOs), it is hoped that the results would provide better knowledge on how social media can be employed to create awareness, educate the public and promote healthy behaviours among the populace.
This study would contribute to the existing literature in the area of social media utilisation for health communication. While studies have been carried out on social media and their role/impact in different aspects of health care in some parts of the world, only few studies use experimental research design in exploring social media and health communication. This study would therefore contribute to the body of knowledge in this field and serve as a good base for future researchers.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
Key concepts and variables as used in this work are defined thus:
Social Media: are Internet communication platforms that enable users to generate contents and connect with other users. In this study, social media refer to the Facebook and WhatsApp accounts created for this study, called Health and Wholeness.
Social Media Health Communication: refers to process involving the dissemination of health messages (NEWSTART) via the Facebook and WhatsApp accounts for this study. It is the independent variable of the study and its effect will be tested on participants' knowledge, attitude and intention to adopt the health-enhancing behaviour.
NEWSTART: is an acronym for Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust in God. It formed the content of the health communication intervention disseminated to participants via Facebook and WhatsApp.
Knowledge of Health-enhancing Behaviour: refers to participants' understanding of health-enhancing behaviour advocated in NEWSTART. This was ascertained by respondents' positive answer or otherwise to questions on NEWSTART. Knowledge was measured using 16 statements on a 4-point Likert scale with options of Highly Knowledgeable, Knowledgeable, Not Knowledgeable and Slightly Knowledgeable. Where the mean score of participants' responses was less than 1.49 = Not Knowledgeable, 1.5 to 2.49=Slightly Knowledgeable, 2.5 to 3.49=Knowledgeable and where it was 3.5 to 4= Highly Knowledgeable of health-enhancing behaviour.
Attitude to Health-enhancing Behaviour: means participants' disposition towards NEWSTART message. Attitude was measured with 16 statements on a 10-point interval scale. If the mean score of participants' responses was between 1 to 2.49= Low Attitude, 2.5 to 5.49=Moderate Attitude, 5.5 to 7.49 =High Attitude, 7.5 to 10 = Very High Attitude
Intention to Adopt Health-enhancing Behaviour: refers to participants' reported willingness and readiness to practice the messages of NEWSTART communicated Facebook and WhatsApp. Intention to adopt was measured with 14 statements on a 10-point interval scale; and where themean score of participants' response was less or equal to 1.49 to 4.49 = Low Intention to Adopt, 4.5 to 5.49=Moderate Intention to Adopt, 5.5 to 6.59 = High Intention to Adopt, 7.0 to 10 = Very High Intention to Adopt health-enhancing behaviour.
Subjective Norms:represent a participants' perception of people important to him or her (family and friends) beliefs that he or she should or should not practice NEWSTART. Subjective norms was measured with 16 statements on a 10-point interval scale with 1 being the lowest and 10 being highest.
Perceived Behaviour Control:represents a participants' perceived ease or difficulty of practicing NEWSTART. Perceived behavioural control was measured with 16 statements on a 10-point interval scale with 1 being the lowest perceived behaviour control and | 1,682 |
Trinity Episcopal Church is a<|fim_middle|> Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Oregon
Ashland Downtown Historic District | historic Episcopal church at 44 N. 2nd Street in Ashland, Oregon. It is also the oldest church in Ashland. Constructed in 1894 and completed in 1895, its design was based on drawings by local builder W. J. Schmidt. Built in the Gothic Revival style, it features a pitched gable roof, a pointed west-facing window, a gabled south-facing porch, and a trussed rafter roof. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
It was included again on the National Register in 2000 as a contributing building in the Ashland Downtown Historic District.
References
External links
Episcopal churches in Oregon
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Oregon
Churches completed in 1894
Buildings and structures in Ashland, Oregon
1894 establishments in Oregon
Historic district contributing properties in Oregon
19th-century Episcopal church buildings
National | 219 |
<|fim_middle|>. | Zeiningen (Switzerland), September 7, 2004: Douglas Connect announces the launch of InterNanotech, a new online community for international researchers in computational and experimental nanoscience and nanotechnology. By holding regular seminar sessions over the internet, supported by virtual communication and networking tools, InterNanotech is designed to facilitate rapid communication of new research results and discoveries between different disciplines and geographic regions.
Later in the year, members of the InterNanotech community will also be able to join a session on Modelling of Membranes and Ion Channels, chaired by Dr Richard Pastor of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research. InterNanotech will continue throughout 2005 with regular seminar sessions covering topics related to nanofluidics, nanobiology, nanofabrication, nanoparticles, computational nanoscience, nanomaterials, nanodevices, nanoelectronics, molecular manufacturing, activated carbon and zeolite design, self-assembly, health, safety, environmental and medical applications.
Douglas Connect organises both independent and sponsored virtual conferences for scientific communities, as well as providing consultancy services for setting up communities of expertise and for a range of communication projects. Further current conferences by Douglas Connect include eCheminformatics: Applications of Cheminformatics and Chemical Modelling to Drug Discovery; and eCombiChem: Cutting Edge Technologies in Combinatorial Chemistry; and Integrating Knowledge in the Life Science Product Life Cycle. Douglas Connect is based in Zeiningen, Switzerland | 313 |
It seemed like everything was going wrong for this shoot. It was swelteringly hot, Ella and Terrence were stuck behind an accident, and then it started to rain<|fim_middle|> comfortable. Its shoots like this that remind me why I love my job so much. Who wouldn't want to play with sweet little babies at work!
On Saturday Shannon, Taylor, and their families and friends joined together at Pebble Creek Golf Club to celebrate! The weather all week was terrible, with a hurricane blowing in on Thursday and Friday but by the big day we had clear, blue skies. Shannon and Taylor are definitely a memorable couple. They're both charismatic, the kind of people that you just like right away. Getting ready for a wedding is chaotic, but Shannon seemed calm through it all. As they prepare to leave Florida and start their new life in Texas together I know that they'll handle it all with a good sense of humor.
Doesn't this cake from Goldie's Goodies Bakery look almost too good to eat!
Taylor and his mom. The wedding was the first time in two years that all of her children were in one place so it was definitely a special day for more than one reason!
Pebble Creek has some really beautiful scenery, Even though hurricane Hermine made sure the grass was wet were still had plenty of gorgeous options for photos.
It was a surprise to me and to the guests when Shannon and Taylor made their entrance wearing Captain America and Spiderman masks before beginning their first dance.
There were few dry eyes in the room when Shannon and her father shared a father/daughter dance. | ! But then, just like that everything was back on track! The rain cleared (and took some of the people in the park with it) The clients got there, and well, it stayed hot but still! Ella and Terrence were awesome to work with. They were up for anything and really seemed to enjoy themselves, basically the holy grail for photographers. Plus, could Ella seriously be glowing any more than she is! She's going to make an absolutely gorgeous bride, Terrence is a lucky man.
Isn't Penny seriously the cutest little thing! She was 10 days old when I met her and she wasn't really sure about this whole photo shoot thing. But once things got going she settled in and made the sweetest little faces. She never cried the whole time we did her photos, just a little bit of wiggling to get | 174 |
<|fim_middle|>.
| Q: How to calculate error size from division of two ratios How one would calculate an error from division of two rations?
I am given 1/y and x/y as their decimal representation (numbers a and b).
Then I perform the calculation b / a, trying to find the value of x.
Both this representaitons have errors e[1] and e[2].
So 1/y = a + e[1] and x/y = b + e[2]
then b/a = e[3]
How can I control the size of e[3] in terms of e[1] and e[2]?
A: One usually uses first order differentials for this, so $e[3]\approx \frac d{db}(\frac ba) e[2]+\frac d{da}(\frac ba) e[1]=\frac 1ae[2]-\frac b{a^2}e[1]$ and you want to add, not subtract, the two terms (I didn't include absolute value signs).
Added: sometimes it is easier to work in relative error instead of absolute. In this case we get $\frac {e[3]}{\frac ba} \approx \frac {e[2]}b+\frac {e[1]}{\frac ba}$, which shows the relative error in your division is the sum of the relative errors in the input quantities. Unfortunately, in financial calculations you are generally working in fixed point, so the errors are absolute, not relative. You can certainly go through the original answer to bound the absolute error, but it will depend on the input quantities as shown | 341 |
The Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) is a Reformed Presbyterian seminary<|fim_middle|>
Official website
Education in Pittsburgh
Presbyterian universities and colleges in the United States
Reformed church seminaries and theological colleges
Reformed Presbyterian Church (denominational group)
Seminaries and theological colleges in Pennsylvania
Educational institutions established in 1810
Churches in Pittsburgh | in Point Breeze, Pennsylvania. RPTS is a ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America and was founded in 1810, making it the fifth oldest seminary in the United States.
History
Soon after the organization in 1798 of what is now called the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (in Philadelphia), steps were taken to establish a seminary for the education of its students of theology. Classes commenced in 1810, making RPTS the fifth oldest seminary in the United States. During its first 46 years, RPTS shifted to at least five different locations in several states; In 1856, the seminary relocated to the North Side of Pittsburgh and then settled in a brick mansion on Pittsburgh's East End in 1923 where it has remained.
Academics
RPTS is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). It offers the graduate degrees in religion as well as certifications. All RPTS faculty have significant "field" experience in the church; therefore, classes are taught from the pastoral perspective. This emphasis is highlighted by RPTS's brand statement: "Study under pastors".
RPTS also works closely with Kobe Theological Hall, its sister institution in Japan.
References
External links | 263 |
Acknowledging that there was enough space in the world for China and India to grow, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today said the two countries should seize opportunities to expand converging interests and backed New Delhi for greater role in international affairs. "As a fast growing big country with over a billion people, India should and can play an increasingly important role in international affairs," he said addressing the Indian Council of World Affairs.
However, Wen stopped short of extending full support for India's bid for permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council.
"China and India have shared interests and common views on the issue of UN Security Council reform. We both maintain that priority should be given to increasing the representation of developing countries," he said.
Terming the boundary dispute between the two countries as an "historical legacy", Wen said, "It would not be easy to completely resolve this question.
"It requires patience and will take a fairly long period of time. Only with sincerity, mutual trust and perseverance can we eventually find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution," he said. Wen noted that the two countries have had good dialogue and communication and expressed a sincere desire to work together to resolve the boundary question. "In the face of difficulty, the most important thing to do is to press ahead along the right track, narrow differences step by step, build consensus and increase confidence," he said. Wen said he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to set up a working mechanism for consultation and coordination on border affairs "which would help enhance our mutual trust<|fim_middle|> work together to to achieve a $ 100 billion two-way trade target by 2015, he said, adding that agreements worth $ 16 billion were inked during his visit. Wen announced that China would provide one million dollars for the reconstruction of Nalanda University, the ancient seat of learning in Bihar which was a favourite of visiting Chinese scholars. The two countries declared that next year would be the Year of China-India exchange which would see 500 Indian youths visiting the communist nation. | and maintain peace and tranquility in the region".
On the economic front, Wen said the China understood India's concerns on bilateral trade imbalance and was ready to take measures to facilitate access of Indian IT products, pharmaceuticals and farm produce to the Chinese market.
China and India should | 55 |
Sam Johnstone Re-Joins In Loan Deal
Preston North End have completed the emergency loan of Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
Johnstone, who has been given the No.1 shirt vacated by Jordan Pickford – who has been recalled from his season long loan from Sunderland – will be available for the first game of 2016 when the Lilywhites face Rotherham United on Saturday.
The Preston-born stopper joined PNE on loan in January 2015, going on to make 25 appearances, keeping 12 clean sheets in the process, his last being the 4-0 Play-Off Final win over Swindon Town at Wembley back in May.
He returned to Old Trafford and was selected as part<|fim_middle|> it done, but it didn't materialize then, however, we are in a good position now, bringing in someone who knows all about us, knows the players and the way we work and hopefully he will slot back in just how he left us at Wembley."
Johnstone himself was delighted to be able to return to his home town club for a second time. He said: "It's good to eventually come back, I'm glad I'm back and hopefully I can start playing games now.
"It's great to be around the team at Manchester United, but I am 22-years-old and I have to think about myself a little bit and I need to be playing first team football. I get to do that now in the Championship, which is a great league to play in.
"My last game here for Preston was at Wembley, it was a great day, but now we've got to kick on. I've seen the results that the lads have been getting recently and hopefully we can carry that on." | of Louis Van Gaal's Champions League squad, but has been given the opportunity to go back out on loan to get games, signing initially for 28 days, up to and including the Derby County fixture at the end of the month.
Speaking about bringing Sam back to Deepdale manager Simon Grayson said: "Sam is someone we know very well and someone we tried to sign in the summer. It is a big boost to have him available and back at the football club again.
"Jordan has gone back and we would like to thank him for his efforts whilst he was here. It is no surprise, considering how well he has done that they want to have a look at him. He was fantastic to work with and he contributed majorly to us, but that disappointing news was countered by the news we were able to bring Sam back to the football club.
"We made no secret of the fact we wanted Sam back in the summer and we made a huge effort to get | 196 |
Janine Shepherd | Save 50% On Select Audiobooks Janine Shepherd | Save 50% On Select Audiobooks
Save 50% On Select Audiobooks
Save 50% on Select Titles – Use Code SAVE50
Janine Shepherd's story reads like the plot of a Hollywood movie. An Australian national champion skier in training for the upcoming Olympics, she was hit by a truck on a bike ride, suffering multiple life-threatening injuries.
Doctors warned her parents that, even if she lived, Janine would never walk again. After major spinal surgery, and five months immobilized in a hospital bed, Janine came home to heal. She faced a daunting recovery and an uncertain future.
Struggling to rehabilitate with permanent disabilities, Janine rekindled her defiant spirit in a dramatically improbable way. Seeing a small plane fly overhead one day, she declared, "That's it! If I can<|fim_middle|> select audiobooks. Use Promo Code SAVE50 During Checkout.
Gift an audiobook
Get a backup CD
One-Year File Backup Protection
Read the complete FAQ
Save over 65% On Bundles | 't walk, I'll fly!"
Janine went on to succeed not only as a commercial pilot and flight instructor but also to attain her University degree, raise three children and author a best-selling book, "Never Tell Me Never." Her memoir was subsequently made into a feature length film of the same title.
Today, Janine Shepherd is an internationally renowned speaker whose inspiring TED talk, "A Broken Body Isn't a Broken Person." has garnered over 1.5 million views. She's been featured on "60 Minutes", "This is Your Life", and CNN's "Turning Points", with Dr Sanjay Gupta. She is an ambassador for Spinal Cure Australia and Red Bull, "Wings for Life."
Janine has been recognized with her country's highest civilian honor, The Order of Australia, for her service to the community, her inspiration, and her work in raising awareness of spinal cord research.
Defiant: A Broken Body Is Not a Broken Person
Save 50% On Select Audiobooks is proudly powered by WordPress
Show All Products Barbara Corcoran Bob Proctor Bundles and Special Offers Business Entrepreneurship Eric Chester Grant Cardone Health Inspirational Janine Shepherd Jim Donovan Jim Stovall Joel Boggess John C Maxwell Leadership Michael Okun, MD Motivational Napoleon Hill Personal Growth Relationships Sharon Lechter Shawn Doyle, CSP Simon T. Bailey Spiritual Success
Better Life Audio shopping cart
View Cart ( )
Amazon items do not show in this cart.
After purchase, a confirmation email will come from Better Life Audio support. Be sure to add mailer@fastspring.com to your white list or safe list.
Save 50% on | 338 |
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add the condensed milk. Add the peanut butter and mix well until smooth. Enough for 24 cup cakes or a 9" or 10" pan.
Mix all ingredients together and pour in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Batter will be thin. This makes a real dark chocolate cake. It is very moist and good especially if you like the taste of coffee.
Preheat<|fim_middle|>8 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.
Combine all of the dressing ingredients.
Cook the shrimp; drain and set aside. Cook the asparagus until crisp-tender; drain well. Place the shrimp, asparagus and slice of lemon in mixing bowl.
Pour the herb dressing over all, cover and refrigerate, stirring once or twice.
Combine the red bell pepper, onion and parsley.
To serve, drain the shrimp asparagus mixture and arrange on plate with lettuce and cheese. Serve with the pepper/onion/parsley mixture.
Bake the potatoes at 350°F until fork tender. Melt butter in a suitably sized saucepan. Gradually blend in the flour until thoroughly combined. Slowly add the milk to the butter/flour mixture, frequently whisking. Add the salt and freshly ground black pepper; then simmer over low heat, stirring constantly.
Cut the potatoes in half, scoop out the center and set aside. Chop half of the potato peels and discard the rest. When the milk mixture is hot, whisk in the potato. Add the chopped green onions and potato peel. Whisk thoroughly, then add the sour cream and crumbled bacon and heat thoroughly. Add the grated cheddar gradually until all has melted. Serve. | oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside. In a skillet, cook turkey, onions, and bell peppers until no pink remains in turkey and vegetables are tender. Stir in mixed vegetables, soup, water, salt, and black pepper. Pour into prepared pan. Spoon mashed potatoes in mounds around edge of casserole. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheddar cheese and bake 5 minutes longer. Yields 8 Servings.
Brown ground beef in a skillet with chopped onions; cook until onions are tender. Drain off excess fat; transfer ground beef and onion to casserole dish. Add layer of sliced raw potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper; add shredded carrots to cover potatoes. Put soup over carrots. Bake at 350° for 40 to 50 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle shredded cheese over top and bake for about 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.
This easy ground beef and potato casserole serves 4 to 6.
Your kids will love this easy and fun pull-apart bread recipe.
Cut or tear the biscuits into 2 to 4 pieces. Layer all ingredients, in order, in a meat loaf pan (for more than 2 cans use a shallow baking pan so that the middle will get cooked). Press into pan slightly (you don't want to mash all the pieces together but you don't want it too loose).
Bake for 10 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees (time and temperature are approximate, check periodically and be sure the center gets done). Pull apart and eat.
Other ingredients to try: chopped nuts, honey, maple syrup. Or, for a non-sweet bread, use flavored butter such as garlic butter and leave out the sugar, cinnamon, etc.
This cool and elegant dessert will serve a crowd. You could use the chocolate sandwich cookies for the crust if you'd like, but I think the 'golden' variety is really nice.
Crush the sandwich cookies by placing in a heavy-duty plastic bag and pounding with a rolling pin. Place in 13" x 9" glass baking dish. Pour melted butter over, mix well with fork, and press the buttered crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
In large bowl, combine gelatin with the boiling water. Stir until the gelatin mixture completely dissolves. Add the pineapple-orange juice and the cold water and stir well. Then add the strawberry puree. Refrigerate until the mixture becomes a bit thicker.
Using a wire whisk, stir in the thawed whipped topping until smooth. Chill in refrigerator for 10-20 minutes longer or until mixture thickens a bit more but is not set. Then pour over crumb crust in baking dish. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or until set. You can also freeze this dessert. Serves 12-16.
Asparagus and baby peas highlight this delicious make ahead side dish salad made with pasta shells and lemon yogurt.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions, adding asparagus pieces during the last 4 minutes of cooking time.
Meanwhile, place frozen peas in a colander in the sink. When pasta is tender and asparagus is crisp tender, drain into colander over peas. Drain well and add orange pepper.
In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon yogurt, lemon juice, milk, thyme, pepper, and salt and mix with wire whisk to blend. Add pasta mixture and stir gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Serves 8 to 10.
Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water.
Mix all dressing ingredients in a large serving bowl until blended.
Place chicken in a Dutch oven with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer (uncovered) for 10 minutes, or until chicken is done and no longer pink in center. Remove chicken to cutting board to cool.
Add enough water to the pot to cook the pasta twists. Bring to a boil, add pasta, and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until just tender but still somewhat firm. Drain well.
While pasta is cooking, fry bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels then cut or crumble in small pieces. Add hot pasta to dressing in the bowl and toss to mix and coat thoroughly. Tear chicken in bite-size pieces and add to the salad with bacon, lettuce pieces and chopped tomato. Toss gently to mix.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Cream 1⁄2 cup butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and almond extract; mix well.
Combine 1 3⁄4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in alternately with milk into butter/cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until cake starts to brown. Remove from oven.
While cake is in oven, prepare topping mixture. Combine brown sugar, remaining 1⁄2 cup flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in remaining 1⁄4 cup butter; stir in nuts.Top cake with apricot halves and sprinkle with cinnamon-nut topping. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes or until cake tests done.
I have had this recipe for years. It's really easy, but tastes like something special. Add a green salad or fruit salad for a complete meal.
Cook rice according to package. Set aside. Combine butter, lemon juice and celery salt in a large skillet. Bring to a boil. Add scallops. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until scallops are done, about 6 to | 1,230 |
Pembrokeshire offers so many diverse and beautiful beaches; you will find yourself spoilt for choice. Swallow Tree Bay, a small cove, is just a short woodland walk away, while the main beach at Saundersfoot holds the prestigious European Blue Flag award for excellent water quality and is both lifeguarded and dog free during the summer months.
Pembrokeshire is the only coastal National Park in Britain and has so much to offer its visitors. Our seaward boundary<|fim_middle|>bell and join in the fun. | allows direct access to the 186 mile Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, heaven for anyone who enjoys dramatic coastal scenery, walking and bird watching….
Ironman Wales has been proudly embraced by the County, and with the popular Long Course running in July, Pembrokeshire is fast becoming an excellent place to train, compete or spectate. We are situated on the Ironman bike course and less than three miles from Tenby, the central hub for the long course and the Ironman swim and run. One of the best days out in the calendar, we are a ten minute walk from one of the highlights of the Ironman bike course (as a spectator!) – so if you fancy a great day out, bring a cow | 149 |
REGISTER NOW at peiqueerprom.eventbrite.ca !
The PEI Queer Youth Collective is proud to present Over the Rainbow - PEI's first ever youth focused QUEER PROM!
Over the Rainbow is open to all 2SLGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 12-19 and their youth allies. This event will feature the sweet mixes of Danzing DJ's & Entertainment, photo opportunities, a call to action around IDAHTB (the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia), prize draws, snacks, and more!! Plus, it<|fim_middle|> community-based youth group specifically for LGBTQ2+ youth (ages 12 to 18) and their allies. The Summerside group meets on the first Tuesday of each month - September through June - at the Summerside CCU Youth Engagement Centre from 6 to 8pm. There is no cost to participate and new members are welcomed join at any time!
Note: For weather related cancelations we follow the public school system. If Summerside schools are cancelled so is group! | 's totally free. So, find an outfit that makes you feel FABULOUS (no dress code – this is queer prom after all!) and join us on May 10th at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel between 7pm and 11pm.
Transportation to and from this event is available in Prince County through a partnership with the Summerside Boys and Girls Club/CCU Youth Engagement Centre. Chaperoned transportation (organizational bus or van) will leave the Summerside Boys and Girls Club at 6:15pm and return to the Summerside Boys and Girls Club at 11:45pm.
Over the Rainbow is a chem free-event — we are providing an absolutely drug-and-alcohol-free space with no exceptions. Anyone violating the rules will be removed. Prom is chaperoned by hired security, PEERS Alliance staff, and PEI Queer Youth Collective facilitators.
Many thanks to our event Sponsors: TakingITGlobal/RisingYouth, Innovation PEI, Provincial Credit Union, Stewart McKelvey, PRIDE PEI, Cox & Palmer, and the Summerside Boys and Girls Club/ Summerside Youth Engagement Centre.
Reducing Stigma Related To Sexual Health, Drug Use, and STBBIs: A Blended Learning Opportunity for service providers offered by Canadian Public Health Association in partnership with PEERS Alliance.
The PEI Queer Youth Collective is a project of PEERS Alliance. We offer the only community-based youth group specifically for LGBTQ2+ youth (under 18) and their allies.
The Charlottetown group meets on the second and last Tuesday of each month - September through June - at Murphy's Community Centre from 6 to 8pm. There is no cost to participate and new members are welcome to join at any time!
Note: For weather related cancelations, we follow the public school system. If Charlottetown schools are cancelled, so is group!
LGBTQ2+ Adult Drop-in meetings are hosted on the third Wednesday of every month and are open to all community members over the age of 18.
LGBTQ2+ Adult Drop-in meetings are hosted on the third Wednesday of every month and are open to all community members over the age of 18. The goal of this initiative is to provide a safer space for people anywhere on the LGBTQ2+ spectrum to gather, socialize, and connect with each other. There is no cost to participate and new members are welcome to join at any time. Come to explore community, get involved in community, meet new people, and get connected!
*Made possible through a partnership between PEERS Alliance, Holland College, the University of Prince Edward Island, and Women's Network PEI.
The PEI Queer Youth Collective is a project of PEERS Alliance. We offer the only community-based youth group specifically for LGBTQ2+ youth (ages 12 to 18) and their allies.
The PEI Queer Youth Collective is a project of PEERS Alliance. We offer the only | 621 |
The Office of Graduate Student Life coordinates this event which recognizes graduate students' intellectual, teaching and cultural contributions to the Case Western Reserve University community. The week was initiated by the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students<|fim_middle|> two to grab some food and participate in this amazing CWRU tradition.
The University Program Board exists to organize, facilitate, and plan programs that support the undergraduate experience and enhance the lives of Case Western Reserve University students by providing educational, social, recreational, and cultural programs that reflect and respond to the wishes of students and the programming needs of the campus.
For general questions or would like to join, please email upb-exec@case.edu. | in 1993 to recognize the contributions of graduate teaching assistants. The focus expanded in 1995 to include the contributions and impact of all graduate and professional students.
The campus community is encouraged to recognize the graduate students within your department, school and college during the week of April 1 - April 6. These efforts could include an informal lunch, a coffee hour, a note of appreciation, acknowledgement at a departmental meeting, or a group outing to a campus event.
If you have questions, please contact Jenn Brown (jmb113@case.edu), Director, Office of Graduate Student Life and/or Julie Gregg, Graduate Assistant (jng48@case.edu).
The Homecoming planning committee is an opportunity for current students to plan and implement activities designed to celebrate Spartan spirit and CWRU pride during Homecoming week!
Springfest is held every spring semester with plenty of food, activities, and entertainment!
Thwing Study Over is the perfect break from studying as you prepare for finals. Whether your completing your first year or your forth year, you won't find a tradition with more food, fun, and friends before final exams than you will here!
Now open to graduate students, hop out of the lab or classroom for an hour or | 255 |
Posted on January 24, 2019 by morrowcountysentinel
Reflections: Snippets from the past
Features, News
By Evelyn Long - Contributing Columnist
Several readers of this column have voiced their appreciation at seeing names from the past, including relatives, friends, friends of their parents, etc. This week I am offering several news items I think are of interest<|fim_middle|> measles cases leading the category.
Next was mumps with 29 cases. A total of 2561 residents were vaccinated for small pox in 1938.
Also in 1939, total appropriations for all funds required for the operation of Cardington village for 1939 was $15,700, set by the Cardington Village council.
January, 1944, 75 years ago: The Cardington eighth grade presented the PTA program. Introduced by Betty Bennett were Kent Curl, playing his drums accompanied by JoAnne Curl; Kathryn Nybladh, a vocal solo, Jean Campbell, saxophone solo,and Audrey Barton, piano solo.
January, 1949: 70 years ago: The New York Central Railroad's Ohio State Limited Train which passed through Cardington twice daily, added new $100,000 stainless steel sleeping cars.
Pictured were members of the 1949 Pirateer (yearbook) staff: Henry Newcomer, Bob Skinner, Virgil Guiher, Dalton Jenkins, Howard Hamblin and Sally Dunham.
Jack Wilhelm's feature article on his family's trip to Florida over the holidays was on the front page of the Searchlight newspaper.
This edition of the Searchlight also reached back to 1922-23 and reprinted items from "The Tattler," the school's newspaper. Officers of that year's freshman class were Miles Smith, president; Leland Cahoon, vice president; Hazel Russell, secretary and Walter McClarren, treasurer. There were 30 pupils in that class.
55 years ago, January, 1964: Cardington High School students of the month were Corintha Russell and Richard Carsner. FHA delegates to the state convention were Terry Baer, Karen Bender, Laura Laucher, and Linda Wilt. Choir member was Rosemary Graham.
The seniors had selected the cast for their play, "Harvey." They were Larry Burggraf, Marlene Renz, Nelson Hack, Rosemary Wilson, Darrell Levings, Roger Arehart, Rita Radel, Sharon Yeoman, Anna Gibbons, Howard Gordon and Marge Lamson.
50 years ago, January, 1969: In the classified section of the Independent, Don's Feed and Seed Store in Cardington advertised for a man for mill work Morrow Lanes wanted a female for snack bar help at the bowling alley and the Wornstaff Inn had a position for someone interested in cleaning after hours.
40 years ago, January 1974: A motorist whose brakes failed, slid into the side of the Bridge Tavern on Gilead Street. Some concrete blocks were dislodged and a counter inside was damaged.
https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2019/01/web1_Long-EvelynBW-3.jpg
By Evelyn Long
Contributing Columnist
Reach us at mcsnews@aimmediamidwest.com.
Hi! A visitor to our site felt the following article might be of interest to you: Reflections: Snippets from the past. Here is a link to that story: https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/features/24062/reflections-snippets-from-the-past | from past increment years that were published in the three county newspapers and the Cardington High School Searchlight newspaper.
80 yeas ago: January, 1939: C. M. Burt, veteran jeweler in Cardington, re- signed as a member of the village council. That same month it was noted that births outnumbered deaths in Morrow County in 1938. Total births were 232 to 192, according to the Morrow County Health Department. The number of communicable diseases increased by nearly 50 per cent during the previous year with 235 | 126 |
Early deficit too much for NSU women to overcome on Saturday.
NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State women's basketball team found itself in an early hole Saturday afternoon against Southland Conference foe Abilene Christian.
Once the Lady Demons fought back to slice a double-digit deficit to a two-possession game in the third quarter, some of its season-long issues cropped up again.
After Northwestern State pushed its way back into the game, the visiting Wildcats swung momentum and the game back their way with a key run, setting the tone for a 72-63 victory at Prather Coliseum.
"We never could break through the wall," third-year head coach Jordan Dupuy said. "We were down nine, got an offensive rebound and executed a play. We got in the paint, Nautica (Grant) did a great job relocating and knocked down a big three to get it to six.
Northwestern State (6-10, 1-4) had its opportunities to stave off a quick start from Abilene Christian (12-5, 5-1), which built a 13-3 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Wildcats took advantage of a slow start offensively by the Lady Demons, who hit just three of 11 first-quarter shots.
That was before Grant began to heat up en route to another strong shooting performance inside Prather Coliseum.
Two weeks ago, Grant set a career high with 34 points in a 19-point win against McNeese in Northwestern State's most recent home game. She established another career high Saturday, sinking 7 of 9 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 24 points.
One of those 3s came as a second-chance bucket off a missed free throw. Kira Bonner collected the offensive rebound and found Grant for a left-wing 3 that pulled Northwestern State within six at the 4:28 mark of the third quarter.
Grant's shot was part of a 12-4 run across 4:23 of the third quarter, bringing Northwestern State as close as it had been since the 7:47 mark of the opening quarter.
After Northwestern State could not convert on a chance to cut further into the lead, Abilene Christian got a second-chance layup from Alyssa Adams before Dominique Golightly (team-high 19 points) and Breanna Wright sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to rebuild the double-figure lead.
Adams' layup to start the run came off one of Abilene Christian's 12 offensive rebounds. ACU came into the game as the Southland's top team in rebound margin (plus-8.5), and the Wildcats lived up to that reputation, snagging 12 more rebounds than the Lady Demons.
Additionally, ACU outscored Northwestern State 40-24 in the paint, thanks to a tough shooting game inside from the Lady Demons.
"We had nine missed layups in the<|fim_middle|>, 13 for the game," Dupuy said. "We had 10 turnovers, which is good. You never want to have more than 10. That's our goal every game. What I told them in the locker room is we missed 13 layups. That's like having another turnovers. We also were 14 of 22 from the line.
The Lady Demons return to action Wednesday when they travel to Sam Houston State. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. | first half | 2 |
The latest Samsung premium mid-range smartphone to grab in the Galaxy A series is Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 in Dubai. One of the major highlights of this Samsung smartphone is quad-camera setup. The Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 design and display makes it worthy competitor over the latest OnePlus 6T. With the introduction of the new and innovative technology, Samsung has really given out a fresh approach to the mid-range Samsung Galaxy A-series. While the Samsung Galaxy A7 features the triple camera system, the updated Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 gives out a quad-camera. This is, in fact,<|fim_middle|> packs in 3800mAh battery with the fast charging support. It can last for up to 10 hours with a single charge and which is definitely a decent offering from the mid-range smartphone. Thanks to the fast charging support that makes the device to charge from zero to 100 percent within just 2 hours. Additionally, the phone is equipped with a Type-C Adaptive Fast Charger which is really great addition.
It is true that Samsung has brought in a new flavor to the Samsung mid-range series smartphones. Talking about the Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 price in UAE, it costs around AED 1906 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. While the higher variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage costs around AED 2061. Considering the specifications included, it is definitely worth to pay for the Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 price in Dubai. | claimed to be the world's first smartphone featuring four rear cameras.
This Samsung Galaxy Phablet comes in with a 6.3-inches full HD Super AMOLED display. As with all other Samsung OLED panels, even in this display, you can find sharp and vivid panel loaded with saturated colors. Since the device supports Widevine L1 standard, you can now stream content even on Netflix and other platforms. As for its design, the Galaxy A9 2018 is a bit different from its predecessors. The new model now has more glass with bigger display and gradient color design. It is given a 3D glass on the rear curves around the edges immersed into the metal frame thus giving the handset a comfortable and premium feel as in Samsung Galaxy S9. All the four rear cameras are placed vertically.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset powers the Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 in UAE. This processor is claimed to be a mid-range powerhouse and is even seen in Oppo Realme 2 Pro and Xiaomi Mi A2. It handles the intensive tasks with ease and hardly we can find any signs of the device getting slow down. Thanks to the 6GB RAM, that makes the multitasking much easier. It is even a great choice to play intensive games such as PUBG. Not only that the game runs smoothly but even the AMOLED display makes the visuals quite impressive. Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy A9 is offering 128GB of internal storage. There is a microSD slot that can extend the memory for up to 512GB. On the software front, the Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 runs on Android 8.0 Oreo with its own Samsung Experience 9.0 layered on the top.
Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 camera is the main highlight of the handset. It features a quad-camera setup with a 24MP main sensor with an aperture of f/1.7, 8MP ultra-wide angle lens with f/2.4 aperture, 5MP depth sensor and 10MP telephoto lens with 2X optical zoom. The front end houses a 24MP selfie snapper that can capture amazing selfies. Having a telephoto lens on the camera means you can expect the images to appear with finer details which something you won't expect from the mid-range smartphones. Even the portrait shots are pleasing as the device managed to maintain a perfect balance between the foreground and blurred background. The low-light results are quite stunning in the Samsung Galaxy A9 2018.
The Samsung smartphone | 534 |
Lender Calls – Q2 Roundup
Steve Huebl·
Quarterly Bank Reports
The country's largest broker channel lenders wrapped up their second-quarter earnings, which provided a little more insight into the ongoing effects of this year's new stress test.
This year's second-quarter results are thought to be a more accurate year-over-year comparison to gauge the stress test impacts than the first-quarter results, which the lenders say were impacted by a rush of borrowers trying to get a mortgage before the new rules took effect on January 1, 2018.
As expected, all lenders reported strong renewal rates thanks—at least in part—to the new stress test rules that make it harder for existing homeowners to renew with a new lender.
Highlights from the conference call transcripts from Street Capital, Home Capital and First National are below. The comments in blue deserve particular attention.
Home Capital Group
Street Capital Bank
First National
Net income: $29.6 million vs. a net loss of $111.1 million in Q2 2017.
Total loans under administration: $22.5 billion, down 13% from this time last year due to "lower origination levels and asset sales starting in the second quarter of 2017," explained Bradley Kotush, Chief Financial Officer.
Total mortgage originations: up 10% year-over-year to $1.23 billion.
Net interest margin: fell to 1.91%, down 11 bps from the previous quarter, but up from Q2 2017.
Notables from its call:
CEO Yousry Bissada outlined some areas of progress over the first half of the year: "We are continuing to grow mortgage origination volumes and deliver profitable results against the backdrop of rising rates, slower housing market and an evolving regulatory operating environment. Our team has made strong progress growing volumes, while improving retention rates and maintaining our loan portfolio," he said. "In the first half of 2018, we prioritized growing mortgage origination volumes via the mortgage broker channel, first and foremost. This channel is the core foundation for the distribution of single-family residential mortgages, and we have enhanced the broker experience by investing in technology to help us improve service delivery."
Commenting on the effects of the new B-20 regulations, Bissada said, "We have observed that the market has largely adjusted to the rule changes that came into effect at the beginning of this year. We continue to experience an increase in higher credit quality customers and are maintaining strong pricing discipline around all products."
On narrowing net interest margin spreads, he said: "…while improving credit quality is one driver of reduced net interest margin, the second driver is the mortgage pricing increases have not<|fim_middle|> he now calls Montreal home.
Q4 2019 Bank Earnings – Mortgage Morsels
Ronald W Butler says:
Great Post, here is a prime take away: can you short Street Capital Bank?
The answer is "No" there are simply no counter parties. | kept pace with the increased cost of deposits in the current rising rate environment. Mortgage rate increases have lagged GIC and Bank of Canada rate increases, which have narrowed spreads on new and renewing loans. Over time, we expect margins to improve…"
Home is also moving forward on its digital strategy, with Bissada saying the company plans to build digital and technology solutions that "will attract and enhance the customer and broker experience."
On Home's capital position, Bissada said the company maintained a level of CET1 capital in its regulated entities at 23.21%, down from 23.64% in Q1 but above the company's historical average CET1 capital range.
On renewals, which are up 10% year-over-year, Bissada said about half of that increase, roughly 5%, can be attributed to the new B-20 rules.
Quarterly Data:
Mortgages Under Administration: up slightly to $27.90 billion, compared to $27.81 billion in Q2 2017.
Total originations: $1.17 billion, down 23% from $1.51 billion a year earlier, "reflecting softer housing market conditions in the regions and market segments the bank serves, limited funding for prime uninsurable mortgages and heightened competition for a smaller addressable market of prime insurable mortgages," Street said.
Renewal rate: 73%, slightly off from Street's 75-80% ongoing target.
"Street Capital continued to make progress against its strategic priorities in Q2," said CEO Duncan Hannay. "First, we continue to build momentum in new addressable markets… Second, renewals were a strong contributor to our financial results in Q2. We have put initiatives in place to ensure we are maximizing the contribution of this profitable stream."
"…Street Solutions' NIM performance and strong renewal contribution are starting to make a larger impact on our business with each new quarter," Hannay added. "This demonstrates the power of our emerging business model and the predictability of our legacy mortgage origination engine." (Street Solutions targets the uninsured segment of the market and was rolled out in early 2017.)
Hannay also touched on the implementation of a "modern, cloud-based, digital banking solution," which Street expects to roll out over the second half of the year.
On near-term headwinds, Hannay said this: "…in the current environment, where significant regulatory change is impacting affordability for many buyers and interest rates are moving higher, management and the board of directors see additional risk in the short term and have taken proactive measures to strengthen the company's internal controls, processes and technology capabilities to proactively defend against potential issues that may arise. And while these measures can come at the expense of near-term volume growth and market share, they serve to protect the company's historically strong underwriting and credit performance."
On Street's plans for developing its business, Hannay said: "…our transition from price-taker in our legacy business to price-maker in our business of the future is ongoing. We remain in the relatively early stages of our transformational journey from being a monoline prime insurable mortgage lender to offering a highly progressive, digitally enabled, open banking platform. And we continue to focus on building durable, quality relationships with brokers and homebuyers, prudent risk management, and stable sustainable long -term growth."
Regarding the Street Solutions origination target of $600-$700 million for the year, Chief Financial Officer Marissa Lauder said, "demand remains very strong for the product (but) there is a risk we will not meet this target in 2018. We are working on several funding solutions for these mortgages, and the ultimate 2018 result will depend on the extent to which we are successful in obtaining additional funding."
Asked about a reference in the quarterly documents to the inherent risk of misrepresentation on mortgage applications, and whether that was in response to a specific incident, Hannay replied, "We see greater risk in the market right now… given the challenges buyers have from the perspective of affordability, comparatively high home prices, rising interest rates, a number of factors, I'd say the incentives are higher there as it relates to misrepresentation, and we're putting in place additional controls and processes in our business just to make sure that we can protect our business and maintain that high underwriting quality and credit quality that we're known for."
Asked about CMHC's request that the Canada Revenue Agency take a more direct role in tackling mortgage fraud, Hannay said, "…we have ongoing conversations with CMHC. We're certainly supportive of any advancements or help that they can provide and any way that we can further strengthen the controls and processes that we have in place to manage risk within the business."
Mortgages under Administration: up 4% year-over-year to $103.6 billion.
Single-family originations: up 5% from a year ago and single-family renewals were up 45% on "higher renewal opportunities and good execution," according to First National. Overall originations were up 9% while renewals rose 18% year-over-year.
Commercial originations: up 17% year-over-year, while renewals were up 33%.
Net income: down nearly 50% to $46.3 million from $68.8 million a year earlier. Earnings were down 18% on an adjusted basis.
Explaining the lower income, CEO Stephen Smith said, "this was partially because we shifted mortgages to our securitization programs, which defers the earnings process until the securitization cash flows come in over 5- and 10-year terms. Considering the housing market interventions made over the past 18 months by various governments, strong competition and tighter mortgage spreads, we are pleased with the Company's ongoing progress."
Smith noted that, despite recent mortgage rule changes, First National's single-family originations were up 5%, or $100 million, from last year. "(Our) Montreal office led our national single-family growth with an increase of 24%," he noted in his prepared remarks. "As you know, Montreal's economy has performed well in recent periods and this has increased our opportunity."
Smith commented on the re-launch of First National's Alt A product, Excalibur, which contributed to the uplift in originations. "We had good success with this Alt A product prior to the 2008 credit crisis, and in 2007, we originated about $700 million with this program," he said. "After reviewing market conditions and consulting our mortgage broker and funding partners, we decided to reintroduce it this year, beginning in Ontario. To start, Excalibur mortgages will be originated for placement with our institutional funding partners so that First National will earn a one-time placement fee and servicing income over the terms of these mortgages. So, Excalibur is a natural fit with our business model."
Asked about expected volumes from Excalibur, Smith said, "I think we can certainly see over time that we could easily get back up to $700 million a year, if maybe not a billion. I would think we would hope that we would get—could originate a billion dollars a year in that over time within the next year to two years."
Adding his own comments about the re-launch of Excalibur, Executive VP Moray Tawse said, "…I think the ease with which we relaunched Excalibur demonstrates that there is still a large market for buyers who can't prove income but are otherwise solid credits (and) our relationships with our mortgage broker partners are strong such that this product offering got immediate uptake…"
Commenting on First National's increased single-family and commercial originations, and higher renewal rates, Smith said, "We're pleased with this performance and what it says about First National's durable and diverse business model."
On the impact of B-20, Tawse noted the new rules are only partially to account for First National's growth in renewals. "Perhaps some of the 45% growth in our single-family renewals in Q2 2018 can be attributed to B-20, but we believe the real driver is the business we did in 2013 and the fact that our borrowers are renewing with First National for the second and third terms of their mortgages."
Asked about whether First National sees a rebound in origination business towards the latter half of the year, Tawse said this: "I don't know about the rebound. I think one would feel that a little bit. One of the reasons I think we had a strong Q1 and Q2 is because we had a very weak Q1 and Q2 last year in 2017. What people don't fully understand with B-20 is that there was the equivalent of B-20 in the insured space with regulations that came in the latter part of 2016, so that about 50% of our business is insured. So, we took a bit of the beating in Q1 and Q2 last year because of those changes. That got no press, and everyone's talking about B-20 now, but B-20 only affects 50% of our originations. So, we got a nice rebound back on the insured business this year, and I think just generally there's been a bit of a reallocation in the monoline space where we still have a full range of products, and I think that's helped us gain a little bit of market share relative to our competitors."
Asked about how much regional disparity he sees in the markets across Canada in terms of intensity of competition and pricing discipline, Smith answered: "I have always thought in Canada there's been two markets, and it's Quebec and then the rest of the country. And then sometimes you see a little bit of pricing disparity out in British Columbia because the credit union sector out there is a little bit stronger. So sometimes you see some more competitive, more competition out in Vancouver… The credit unions being so much more powerful in Quebec, they create a little bit of their own market, and then a little bit of the same effect out in maybe the Lower Mainland. But it's competitive across the country."
Note: Transcripts are provided as-is from the companies and/or third-party sources, and their accuracy cannot be 100% assured.
Steve Huebl
Steve Huebl is a graduate of Ryerson University's School of Journalism and has been with Canadian Mortgage Trends and reporting on the mortgage industry since 2009. His past work experience includes The Toronto Star, The Calgary Herald, the Sarnia Observer and Canadian Economic Press. Born and raised in Toronto, | 2,240 |
<|fim_middle|>If you would like more information about the Loudoun Center For Plastic Surgery, it's facilities, as well as it's doctors and staff, please contact us today. | There are many different things that you should consider when choosing a plastic surgeon. After all, they will be performing a procedure that changes your outward appearance. If done right, you will be more confident for the rest of your life. However, if you end up in the hands of an inexperienced plastic surgeon, you could be causing yourself more pain, cost, and heartache than necessary. Make sure to check out all of your options and compare each plastic surgeon and office for key points.
When considering plastic surgeons for whatever procedure you might want, make sure that they have had the proper schooling and obtained all of the necessary certifications. While these qualifications are the most important, they should just be the beginning. Look for a plastic surgeon that has had years of experience and has shown great results. It's even better if they have any extra awards stating that they are top in their field or have gone above and beyond in their career to join any boards or take leadership roles. These extra aspects show that they truly have the experience needed to make such important changes to your body.
Secondly, it's important to know that the staff and customer service and the surgery center will be of the best quality. You want to feel comfortable and like you are at home with family. Look for a kind, welcoming, and helpful staff. This should include all nurses, Physicians Assistants, and any office and front desk staff. If they answer all of your questions, make you feel comfortable during procedures, and help you feel genuinely happy about coming in to the office – then you've found the right place! If you have any feelings of being uncomfortable or don't quite feel at home, listen to your gut. Being at ease with and excited about the choices you have made and the procedures you will go through is of utmost importance!
You will want the facility and operating room to be safe, clean, and carry either a AAAASF, AAAHC or JCAHO accreditation. This means that in case of an emergency they will be equipped to handle life support systems in case something does not go as planned. You will also want to make sure that the anesthesiologist is properly qualified to administer your anesthesia, and is either a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) or a Board Certified Anesthesiologist.
| 462 |
Q: VB to C# Translation In VB (ASP.NET)
Application("myapp")= Server.CreateObject("APP.Engine")
aa = Application("myapp").myMethod(2)
works.
In C# I tried
Application["myapp"]= Server.CreateObject("APP.Engine")
but
Application["myapp"].myMethod(2)
fails with
'object' does not contain a definition for<|fim_middle|>(obj != null)
obj.myMethod(2);
The object obj is a reference to the actual type and the compiler will not throw any exception if you call myMethod(2).
A: Just remember one thing while converting code from VB to C# is, C# is the strongly typed language and before you access any type, you will need to convert it. However same wasn't required in VB.
So for this example you would need to use App.Engine for type conversion.
((APP.Engine)Application["myapp"]).myMethod(2)
| 'myMethod'
How can I expose the public interface in C#?
A: If you have access to the defining type (i.e. not a raw COM object), you can simply cast:
((APP.Engine)Application["myapp"]).myMethod(2);
If you are using c# 4.0, you can do:
dymamic myApp = Application["myapp"];
myApp.myMethod(2);
Otherwise you will have to use dynamic method invocation using reflection and Type.InvokeMember(...)
A: You need to cast to the correct class first, like:
((APP.Engine)Application["myapp"]).myMethod(2)
A: Cast the result of Application["myapp"] to the correct type, like so:
((APP.Engine)Application["myapp"]).myMethod(2);
Other options include creating a local reference and using that instead.
A: This basically happens as C# is strongly typed language. When you call Application you are actually calling a collection of type Object. The collection is actually an array of Object. We take it as object because it will enable you to store almost anything to the collection.
Now Application["myapp"] will eventually return an object of System.Object type.
So you need to typecast the object to your type.
App.Engine obj = Application["myapp"] as App.Engine;
if | 276 |
One of my favorite things about being a photographer is at the very end when I get to share<|fim_middle|> will probably understand why I would support them and share them as my preferred vendors for my client products.
Hope you enjoy as much as I did spending the time photographing for you! | the finished product with my clients. I love seeing the look on their faces when they touch, feel and enjoy looking at the tangible memories in their very own album, looking through it right within their hands. It's one of the most satisfying feelings. Knowing they get to cherish their images for a lifetime.
As a luxury wedding and portrait photographer, I support my clients through each step of the process. That includes when it comes time for them to print and share their images. I walk through selecting their products, creating their albums, and then receive the finished work to gift them with the joy of taking it home. I don't just give my clients digital files and expect them to print them on their own. Nor would I give my clients a negative and expect them to go out and print that on their own. Digital age or not, I support them and make sure they receive the highest quality not just in their experience, but in products too. I actually sit with them, talk about what they plan to do with their images and how they want to enjoy them for years to come.
Nothing beats a gorgeous customized album. For all my portrait clients I offer "Heirloom Albums". It's the most beautiful way to showcase a large amount of photos from our session of their family, seniors graduating, pregnancy, newborns and engagements. These albums come in a variety of options, like color, sizes, fonts, foiling, and cover text. I couldn't wait to celebrate with you all after receiving my first "in house" album for my studio as an example. As a photographer, that also means documenting and sharing that with you all. It's a beautiful way to showcase what you yourself would receive when ordering an album with me. It gives a further look into the quality that these albums truly offer.
If you are familiar with my work and website (since you are on this blog), you may have seen my product page. If not, I would most definitely take a look. It really goes into the why behind the quality and the more technical aspects of what makes the companies I work with so great. After seeing these beauties up close you | 433 |
Scheduling Assistant for a Legal Services company; Responsible for scheduling court reporting, conference rooms, videos, video conferencing, and other litigation support services.<|fim_middle|> scheduling, basic business concepts, current technical skills and an overriding focus on customer service. Additionally, the position requires personal maturity, a high degree of organization and time management. Training on process and software is provided. This is a full-time position (8:30p-5:30p), with parking provided. Hourly pay rate: commensurate with experience. Email resume to daphnierhoads@huseby.com with subject line titled "Huseby Scheduler".
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM PST.
Proficiency with the use of various computer applications required for scheduling process.
Will execute Huseby scheduling process as prescribed and trained in accordance with the policies of Huseby Scheduling Manager.
Will provide coverage for front office staff as needed.
High school diploma or general education degree from an accredited institution required.
Please fax resume to 704-372-4593. | The ideal candidate will have experience in the court reporting / legal industry (court reporter, paralegal, legal secretary, etc.). The position requires knowledge of | 31 |
Having played a key part in Rajasthan Royals' opening win in the seventh edition of IPL, all-rounder Rajat Bhatia says he is relishing the prospect of shouldering a "more responsible" role with his new franchise.
"I have to shoulder more responsibility here. I want to make sure that besides my bowling, whenever I get a chance to bat, I utilise it and contribute substantially. That's what I tried to do today and I got that boundary at a crucial juncture. These are the small things which if you keep doing,<|fim_middle|> can bowl at 140 or even 130 kph. So, in order to play to my strength, I ensure that the batsman has to use his power to score boundaries rather than me giving him the pace to hit me," he said.
"Rather than bowling to the batsman, I bowl to the situation. I try to assess what the batsman wants at that time and try not to give it to him. I try to give him the ball he doesn't want in order to block the shot he wants to play. That's what I have been doing and I have dismissed some big batsmen. That gives me further confidence to continue with my plan." | the match will be in your favour," Bhatia told IPL's official website after the win.
With his modest off-cutters and slower ones, Bhatia first dismissed two most dangerous batsmen of Sunrisers Hyderabad -– Shikhar Dhawan (38) and David Warner (32) -– to help Rajasthan Royals restrict the opponents to a modest 133.
Later, when the Royals were faltering in their chase against the Sunrisers' incredibly strong bowling attack, Bhatia clobbered Dale Steyn over midwicket to score a crucial boundary in the 19th over.
"Rahul (Dravid) bhai told me from the beginning that I have to play the role of the senior and experienced player in this team. I have played all the seasons of the IPL and know some stuff about the Indian players," Bhatia said.
"He told me it was my responsibility to guide the young Indian players in the team and I am trying to do my best in passing on to them whatever I know. As for me, I keep learning from Rahul bhai – he is a great man – and I am sure at the end of this IPL, I will be a different player."
Bhatia rated Sunrisers skipper Dhawan's wicket as his prized scalp last night.
"To be very honest, Shikhar's wicket was very important for us. I got him once during his first few games with the Sunrisers and I was really pleased to get him today," the all-rounder from Delhi said.
As a cricketer Bhatia knows his limitations and he was candid enough to admit the fact."To be honest, I know I am not someone who | 355 |
Privacy and Confidentiality Policy
Rationale and Relationship to Mission, Principles and Values
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (MS Society) recognizes an individual's right to privacy and is committed to maintaining the accuracy, confidentiality and security of the personal information in its custody. In pursuit of our mission, the MS Society pledges to treat everyone with respect and dignity and protect their privacy.
The MS Society adheres to the highest standards of quality, transparency, and accountability. To demonstrate this commitment, the organization has developed policies and procedures about the collection, use and disclosure of information that align with federal and provincial legislation and with industry standards.
Policy Objective
This Policy acts as the articulation of the MS Society of Canada's privacy practices and standards about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information and personal health information in the course of its activities. It is intended to guide all staff, volunteers and third‐parties who are given access to personal information in MS Society's possession.
As used in this Policy, the term personal information is inclusive of personal health information, unless the latter term is used exclusively. In that case, it applies only to personal health information.
Policy Application
This policy applies to volunteers and staff at all levels and locations of the MS Society including the national office, divisions and chapters.
In addition, the MS Society requires that any individual or third‐party who collects, uses or discloses personal information on behalf of the organization complies with the provisions of this policy in relation to the respective work.
The policy was first approved by board of directors of the MS Society of Canada on May 4, 2002. Upon its approval, this Privacy and<|fim_middle|> December 2016, June 2017
Date of next review: 2021 | Confidentiality Policy superseded the 1989‐board approved Confidentiality Policy since it both includes and extends those requirements.
Policy Details
A. MS Society of Canada property
Any and all records referred to in the document as being personal information or personal health information are, and will remain the property of the MS Society of Canada. Volunteers and staff are required to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of all records in any and all formats both while acting as an active volunteer or staff member and after they leave the MS Society.
B. Compliance with relevant legislation
The MS Society will comply with all applicable provisions of privacy legislation.
Federal and provincial privacy legislation
The MS Society considers the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) ‐ the federal privacy law for private‐sector organizations ‐ the standard by which personal information should be protected. PIPEDA sets out the rules for how business must handle personal information in the course of commercial activities. Most MS Society activities are not "commercial activities" as defined by PIPEDA. One MS Society activity that is regulated under the provisions of PIPEDA is "the selling, bartering or leasing of donor, membership or other fund raising lists"; as from time to time, the MS Society exchanges donor lists (name and address only) with like‐minded organizations.
In provinces and / or territories with more stringent privacy policies, MS Society of Canada activities within those jurisdictions should meet the requirements of both the provincial / territorial legislation and PIPEDA.
Personal health information legislation
The MS Society considers information about whether a person has multiple sclerosis to be personal health information. Several Canadian provinces have legislation specific to the privacy of health information which has been declared substantially similar to PIPEDA with respect to health information custodians. While the MS Society is not a health care custodian by law, it has voluntarily adopted elements outlined in personal health information legislation.
Canada's Anti‐Spam Legislation (CASL)
This policy supports the MS Society's compliance with Canada's Anti‐Spam Legislation.
C. Personal and health information collected
To achieve its mission, the MS Society collects certain personal information about its members, donors, clients, event participants, staff and volunteers, meeting legal obligations and as otherwise permitted or required by law. Such information enables the MS Society to deliver programs and services, pursue government relations and advocacy initiatives, deliver MS public education, fundraise, process donations, administer memberships, conduct marketing efforts, undertake statistical reporting, etc.
MS Society collects the minimum amount of information needed to establish and maintain a service, volunteer, participant, donor or program relationship with an individual. Subject to the application of the consent principle outlined in Section 3 below, personal information collected by the MS Society may include, but is not limited to:
Contact and identification information, such as name, address, telephone number and email address;
MS diagnosis;
A brief summary of the service requested and or received (programs and services database);
Membership status and history (date when one became a member, current membership status, chapter affiliation, etc.);
Participation in MS Society of Canada advocacy online campaigns and fundraising events;
Donation information such as date of gift, amount of gift, the campaign to which one contributed;
Financial information such as payment methods and preferences, billing and banking information (credit card number and expiry date or chequing account transit numbers which are required to process a donation). We may provide restricted information (name, address, partial credit card number) for administrative purposes to vendors located in the United States;
Other personal information used for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.
D. Privacy and Confidentiality Principles
The MS Society will abide by the following 10 principles when collecting, using and disclosing personal information:
The MS Society is responsible for the personal information under its control.
The MS Society will designate an individual or individuals to ensure the compliance with this Policy as follows:
A national privacy officer is designated by the Executive Champion of this policy and confirmed by the board of directors of the MS Society.
Within each division, the most senior staff person (president or executive director) will be accountable for compliance within their respective division in consultation with the national privacy officer.
A division privacy officer will be appointed by the respective division president to oversee the implementation of the privacy program in that division.
Chapters may designate an individual to be accountable for compliance in consultation with their division most senior staff person. Divisions have an obligation to oversee how chapters carry out the present policy.
The MS Society will implement practices and procedures to carry out the policy, including:
Implementing procedures to protect personal information;
Establishing procedures to receive and respond to complaints and inquiries from individuals regarding their personal information;
Training volunteers and staff and communicating to volunteers and staff information about this Privacy and Confidentiality policy and practices; and
Developing information to explain its Privacy policy and practices.
Identifying Purposes
MS Society of Canada will identify the purposes for which personal information is collected. The identified purposes will be specified at or before the time of collection to the individual from whom the personal information is collected. When personal information that has been collected is to be used for a purpose not previously identified, the MS Society is obligated to communicate the new purpose to each individual and obtain their consent to use the information.
The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except where consent is not required for very specific reasons. It is anticipated that instances in which knowledge and consent of the individual would not be required would be extremely rare and would include legal, medical or security reasons which would have to be fully documented.
Consent is considered valid only if it is reasonable to expect that individuals to whom the MS Society's activities are directed would understand the nature, purpose and consequences of the collection, use or disclosure, to which they are consenting.
Typically, MS Society staff and volunteers will seek consent for the use or disclosure of the information at the time of collection. The form of the consent sought by the MS Society of Canada may be either express or implied, depending upon the circumstances and the sensitive nature of the personal information.
Express consent is required from an individual before the MS Society will disclose personal health information about that individual to an external organization or individual. Express consent can be provided verbally or in writing.
The provision of personal information to the MS Society constitutes implied consent to collect, use and disclose their personal information in accordance with this policy, unless an individual expressly instructs otherwise.
Implied consent can also be inferred where there is an existing (i.e. past two years) business or non‐business relationship between an individual and the MS Society. Examples include but are not limited to a donor, a volunteer, a member, an event participant, a research grant applicant, someone who has contacted the MS Society for services, etc.
Implied consent is considered to be sufficient for fundraising purposes to allow the trade of limited personal information (name and home address only) about a donor to another charitable organization if the individual has been informed that his/her personal information might be used in this manner and he/she has been given an opportunity in a clear and meaningful way to opt‐out.
Implied consent is also considered sufficient for relevant commercial electronic messages (CEM) under CASL, provided the individual receiving the message has interacted with the MS Society in the immediate two‐year period the day before the CEM is sent to the them, the sender clearly identifies themselves and the CEM receiver has been given an opportunity in a clear and meaningful way to opt‐out. Commercial electronic messages sent by the MS Society that have fundraising as the primary purpose are exempt from CASL.
No consent: There are certain activities for which consent is not required to use or disclose personal information. These activities are permitted or required by law. For example, we do not need consent from individuals to (this is not an exhaustive list) respond to legal proceedings or comply with mandatory reporting obligations, investigations / fraud detection and prevention, witness statements in insurance claims, financial abuse, personal information produced in the course of employment, business or profession, or other as identified by law from time to time.
The MS Society may use or disclose your personal information without consent where the Society believes, upon reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to protect the rights, privacy or safety of an identifiable group or person (including you) or the public.
Withholding or Withdrawal of Consent: If consent is sought, an individual may choose not to give consent ("withholding consent"). If consent is given, an individual may withdraw consent at any time, but the withdrawal cannot be retrospective. The withdrawal may also be subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.
The collection of personal information will be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the MS Society of Canada. Information will be collected by fair and lawful means.
Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
Whenever possible, access to personal information will be limited to authorized users only. Personal information may only be used within the limits of each staff and volunteer role. Staff and volunteers may not read, look at, receive or otherwise use personal information unless they have a legitimate "need to know" as part of their position.
Personal information may only be disclosed within the limits of each staff / volunteer role. Staff and volunteers may not share, talk about, send to, or otherwise disclose personal information to anyone else unless that activity is an authorized part of their position.
Personal health information that is no longer required to fulfill the identified purposes will be destroyed, erased, or made anonymous safely and securely.
When the MS Society discloses personal information to third‐party service providers with whom it has a contractual relationship, the third‐party providers will only be given access to personal information that is needed to perform the related function and may not use it for any other purpose.
The MS Society will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information in its custody is accurate, complete, and up‐to‐date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used. Personal information that is used on an ongoing basis, including information that is disclosed to third parties, will generally be accurate and up‐to‐date, unless limits to the requirement for accuracy are clearly set out. Individuals will always have the opportunity to contact the MS Society to update their personal information.
MS Society will use appropriate security safeguards (depending on the sensitivity of the information) to protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification, regardless of the format in which it is held. Safeguards will include: physical safeguards (such as locked filing cabinets and rooms); organizational safeguards (such as permitting access to personal health information by staff on a "need‐to‐know" basis only); and technological safeguards (such as the use of passwords, encryption, and audits).
The MS Society requires that any individual or third‐party who collects, uses or discloses personal information on behalf of the organization complies with the provisions of this policy. This will be done through the signing of confidentiality agreements, privacy training and other contractual means.
Care will be used in the disposal or destruction of personal information, to prevent unauthorized parties from gaining access to the information.
Information about MS Society privacy policies and practices relating to the management of personal information will be available to the public, including:
Contact information for our Privacy Officer[s], to whom complaints or inquiries can be made;
The process for obtaining access to personal information held by the MS Society, and making requests for its correction;
A description of the type of personal information held by the MS Society, including a general account of our uses and disclosures; and
A description of how an individual may make a complaint to the MS Society.
Copies of any brochures or other information that explain the MS Society's policies, standards, or codes.
If an individual requests, the MS Society will inform them of the existence, use, and disclosure of their personal information. The individual will be given access to that information, will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
In certain situations, the MS Society may not be able to provide access to all the personal information it holds about an individual. Exceptions to the access requirement will be limited and specific. The reasons for denying access will be provided to the individual upon request. Exceptions may include information that is prohibitively costly to provide, information that contains references to other individuals, information that cannot be disclosed for legal, security, or commercial proprietary reasons, and information that is subject to solicitor‐client or litigation privilege.
Challenging Compliance
An individual will be able to address a challenge concerning the MS Society of Canada's compliance with its own Privacy and Confidentiality Policy to the MS national or division privacy officer.
Privacy officers will receive and respond to complaints or inquiries about organizational policies and practices relating to the handling of personal information as outlined in the Privacy Breach Management Procedures document. They will inform individuals who make inquiries or lodge complaints of other available complaint procedures.
The MS Society will investigate all complaints. If a complaint is found to be justified, the MS Society will take appropriate measures to respond.
Executive Champion
The President and CEO is the executive champion for this policy direction.
The President and CEO is responsible for leading the monitoring of the application of and compliance with this policy direction and the related procedures in conjunction with other members of the Executive Team.
On a quarterly basis, national vice‐presidents and division presidents must acknowledge compliance with this policy direction and the related procedures.
This policy is subject to change due to legal and regulatory requirements, introduction of new technologies, business practices and stakeholder needs.
Related Policies, Legislation
Federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
Provincial privacy laws
Privacy and Confidentiality Procedures
Privacy Breach Management Procedure
Retention of Records Procedure
Code of Conduct and Ethical Behaviour
IT Security Policy direction and related procedures
Resolving stakeholder concerns Policy
CASL: What you need to know and do
The policy direction is to be reviewed at a minimum every five (5) years following its approval.
Privacy – the fundamental right of an individual to control information about ourselves (including the collection, use and disclosure of and access to that information).
Confidentiality – an obligation to protect personal information, to maintain its secrecy and not misuse or wrongfully disclose it.
Personal information – Personal information is any information about an identifiable individual, other than an individual's business title, address or telephone number. Examples of personal information are: name, home address, age, health and financial information. It does not include information that cannot be tracked back to a specific individual. In addition, information that is publicly available, such as a telephone book listing, is not considered to be personal information. The history of an individual's donations to the MS Society of Canada is personal information.
Personal health information – Personal health information is defined to mean, with respect to an individual, whether living or deceased:
Information concerning the physical or mental health of the individual;
Information concerning any health service provided to the individual;
Information concerning the donation by the individual of any body part or any bodily substance of the individual or information derived from the testing or examination of a body part or bodily substance of an individual;
Information that is collected in the course or providing health services to the individual;
Information that is collected incidentally to the provision of health services to the individual.
Executive Team – The most senior level of staff leadership within the MS Society comprised of the president and chief executive officer, division presidents, national vice‐presidents of talent, research, marketing and development, programs and services, government relations, information technology, shared services. One person may hold more than one position. The president & chief executive officer may alter the composition of the Executive Team as required from time‐to‐time.
MS Society of Canada Policy Manual
Applies to: all staff and volunteers
Approved on: May 2002
Approved by: board of directors of the MS Society
Frequency: every 5 years
Last reviewed on: | 3,298 |
I feel<|fim_middle|>head and acne'. Your skin is really clean, and ready to be moisturized.
The Majestic Pure Dead Sea Mud Mask can be used twice a week, but my skin is usually soft, and all I have to worry about are my wrinkles.
I like that it has natural mud from the Dead Sea, Shea butter, sunflower oil, Aloe Vera Juice, and many more great ingredients, that help my skin.
I received this item at a discounted price, and chose to write an honest review of it. | that my face needs tender loving care, as it is the only one that I have, so have to treat it well. That's why I like to pamper myself. Once a month I give myself a mud mask, so was pleased to receive the Majestic Pure Natural Dead Sea Mud Mask Facial Cleanser, 8.8 fluid ounce.
It is very easy to apply to the face, make sure you cover the face, neck, ensuring that you stay away from your eyes. It says to leave on for 5 minutes, but I leave a little longer so it completely dry, I do 10 minutes. By this time it is dry, and hard.
I use a little water on my fingertips, and then rub it into my skin in a circular motion. This exfoliates the skin. Then I fill the basin with warm water, and splash it over my face, and remove it with my AnnaLisa Organic Cotton Rounds,.
My face always looks a little red, and has a fresh glow to it.
From the website:' It fights breakouts and reduces the appearance of psoriasis, eczema, blackheads, white | 232 |
As vice president of communications and corporate affairs at Northwestern Mutual, Kimberley Crews Goode has a busy career connecting and empowering others while executing the communications strategy at the $27.9 billion financial services firm.
With 25 years of experience in corporate communications across several global companies, she's known for removing barriers to make organizations more diverse and inclusive. Goode has been with Northwestern since 2008, where she has been instrumental in shaping brand strategies and driving diversity and inclusion for a cultural transformation.
Her colleagues say she is an incredible force for progress and change at Northwestern Mutual as well as in the Milwaukee community. She champions how diversity is translated in the company's corporate communications and is a mentor and sponsor for many women.
She said being a woman in her profession has been rewarding. "My opinion is sought and valued, and my perspective and approach has helped colleagues and organizations reach better business outcomes," she said. Before joining Northwestern, she held communication positions at Galileo International, American Express Co., Prudential Financial, Kellogg Co., and Visteon Corp. Over the years, she learned<|fim_middle|> Foundation Board, the largest corporate foundation in the state of Wisconsin. | that a leader who wants to attract and retain good talent should not only be smart and capable, but must also treat people with respect.
Throughout her career, Goode has been honored with numerous accolades for her work and her activism. The most recent was being named by The Network Journal as one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business.
She is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, the national leadership organization of senior African-American corporate executives in Fortune 500 companies. She's also a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the Milwaukee Urban League, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee, and serves on the National Executive Board of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
Goode holds a degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and is a member of the Northwestern Mutual | 163 |
If you regularly wipe down the counters after cooking, you may think your kitchen is spick and span. But look again. Dark crevices, unseen surfaces and continuous contact with food make your kitchen a breeding ground for bacteria. Gross. And this not only puts you at risk of foodborne illness, it also creates a pretty smelly situation too. We asked professional cleaners to identify the 15 most germ-filled items in your kitchen. Read on for tips on how to thoroughly clean them.
If you've ever dealt with a stinky sink — or an influx of fruit flies in the warming months — you know that moisture and food residue clings to the sink drain. And anytime you use the sink, you're adding new germs to it. You don't want to leave a container of raw chicken in the sink and not clean the sink after," says Colleen Kearney, a Florida-based cleaning professional at Two Maids & A Mop. Banish nasty bugs by using a disinfectant designed specifically for kitchens, says Kearney. All-purpose or bathroom disin<|fim_middle|>akers might hold more than just seasonings. "We wash the dishes and wipe our dining table after having a meal, but we never think of the salt and pepper shakers as a possible source of bacteria," says Cane. Handling the shakers during food prep can transfer germs from your food (like the chicken you're about to season) to the shakers. So when you reach for them later — say, to season your omelet the next morning — you're coming in contact with that bacteria and spreading it. Fortunately, it's easy to keep the shakers clean. "Simply make sure to also wipe the salt and pepper shakers when wiping your table or counter with a wet, soapy cloth," says Cane.
Anyone shopping with reusable cloth bags deserves serious props for being friendly to the environment. But it's easy to forget that reusable shopping bags come into contact with your food and need regular cleaning too. "There are multiple touch points where bacteria can transfer to the bag," says Cane. They transfer germs from touching your keys or car, being placed on counters and surfaces that might contain harmful germs and coming in contact with the products and foods themselves. Start fresh by cleaning all your bags in the washing machine. You'll also want to wash any used bags between shopping trips so you always have a few clean ones on hand.
Want to see perhaps the most surprising dirty space in your kitchen? Just look down. "Tile and grout (the paste that fills tile crevices) can be the most overlooked area in the kitchen," says Rodney Lynch, instructor in the technical department at Rainbow International, a Texas-based cleaning and restoration company. "Failing to regularly clean your floors can fuel germ and mold growth." So give your floor a good cleaning by wiping it down with full-strength vinegar (open a window because it might get a little smelly). Brush away any pesky spots with baking soda, recommends Lynch. If you've got any mold, spray the affected area with a one-to-one mixture of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and water, let it sit for 45 minutes, and then wipe the mold away with a damp sponge.
While dishcloths and sponges definitely seem the dirtiest, other fabrics in your kitchen can develop some serious funk too. Cooking often can send aerosolized food residue up into the air, where it can settle on neighboring surfaces like your drapes and kitchen mats. While only a trace amount of particles gets deposited at a time, most people only clean these textiles once or twice a year, which allows lots of time for buildup, says Kevin Tennant, Alaska-based cleaning expert and Glass Doctor franchisee. Clean your kitchen drapes and mats at least once per season, and clean the mat after any spills or drops, even if the visual damage isn't obvious.
How often do you clean your kitchen? Are you surprised by any of these? Share your thoughts in the comments section. | fectants might not have the ingredients you need to banish E. coli.
If you think the sink can get dirty, you should see the garbage disposal. And unlike your sink, which cleans up within a minute or two, cleaning your garbage disposal is a bit more labor-intensive — all the more reason it's easy to ignore. Christiana Jayde, manager at U.K.-based Jerm Pro Cleaners, recommends cleaning your garbage disposal using a long brush with an angled head and a chlorinated cleaner. Scrub the sides and rubber pieces and, if possible, dismantle the garbage disposal to wash each piece separately. Thankfully, you likely only need to clean the disposal once a month to keep it clean, says Jayde. The rest of the time, a thorough rinse is fine.
Your sponge comes into contact with germs every time you wash the dishes. And then it sits around damp between washings, breeding new bacteria. Yuck. "You should always rinse out a sponge after every use with antibacterial soap and hot water," says Kearney. "And tossing a sponge in the utensils section of your dishwasher as you do a load is a great habit." You'll also want to wash dish towels at least once a week to avoid bacterial buildup. Rinse them with hot water after each use to remove as many germs as possible.
Since cutting boards come into contact with almost any food you prepare, they're a natural breeding ground for nasty germs. Wooden cutting boards are much more porous and harder to clean, which is why Kearney recommends opting for a plastic cutting board instead. "You should disinfect after each use to avoid cross contaminating your vegetables, fruits or cheese with raw meat," says Kearney. "And clean the cutting board immediately after use, instead of waiting till the end of a meal or a party." You can also stock up on two cutting boards — one for raw meat and one for cheese and produce — to prevent cross-contamination.
Every fridge has a drip pan at the bottom to prevent condensation from the cooling system from leaking out onto your floor. If you haven't looked at this pan in a while, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise. "Failing to clean the refrigerator drip pan will result in mold growth," says Dana Smith, a cleaning expert at Mr. Appliance. To clean it, remove the kick panel (it's usually at the very bottom of the outside of your fridge) to see where the defrost line drains into the pan (use a flashlight if needed). Gently pull the drain pan out as it may be filled with water, and clean it with an all-purpose cleaner, recommends Smith. If you can't find the kick panel (some fridges have these hidden away in the back), consider calling an expert for help with cleaning out mold.
Chances are your fridge drawers may need a good cleaning too. These drawers rarely get aired out, and they also come into direct contact with your food — including any produce that's past its "best before" date. "Mold can set in and damage your entire fridge, so it's important to perform a maintenance cleaning every single time you purchase groceries," says Florida-based cleaning expert Jon Tavarez, owner of PRO Housekeepers. Simply wipe down your fridge drawers with a mixture of three parts water to one part vinegar to keep everything mold-free.
A dishwasher keeps your dishes clean with minimal fuss. But this dark and damp space often comes into contact with food, making it a hotbed for mold growth. That's especially true for the track around the door to your dishwasher and the horizontal strip that runs along the bottom of the door, says Briana Short, president of Washington-based cleaning company Caliber Cleaning. Mold in these areas can get transferred to your dishes during cleaning, which you definitely don't want! "Both of these areas should be cleaned with a toothbrush, hot water and your favorite household disinfectant," says Short.
We all love to guzzle a protein-packed smoothie to start the day or to recover after a tough workout, but it's important to clean your blender thoroughly after each use. Food particles can stick to the blades, corners and crevices in the jar and even under the rubber seal on the base of the blender. Run the blender with a little soap and water to clean, or use the cleaning cycle if your blender has one. Rinse thoroughly, separating the container from the blades to ensure you're cleaning each piece. "When cleaning blenders, don't add a lid until it is completely dry," says Tavarez. "You don't want that nasty humidity to get caught in there and create bacteria." Make sure to give the buttons and base the occasional cleaning too.
While you're cleaning out your silverware drawer, pay particular attention to your can opener. It comes into contact with any canned food you open, including meats and fish. This means your can opener might carry harmful germs like E. coli, mold and even salmonella, says Christopher Cane of Sam's Flat Cleaning London. If it's dishwasher-safe, add your can opener to the dishwasher along with your regular dishes. Or you can clean it with soap and hot water after each use to help rinse away germs. Dry it immediately to prevent rust.
We love salt and pepper for making healthy foods more flavorful, but your sh | 1,087 |
Junk Food City
Robert Wilonsky | May 24, 2006 | 2:35pm
Frank Bruni, dining critic for The New York Times, today posted the results of his nine<|fim_middle|> Rockwall (a patty with "real beef taste, a delectable char and an expansive circumference, draping over the buttered and toasted bun"). The Observer's fast-food aficionados could have told him that. Also on the list was the frozen vanilla custard from Culver's ("utterly creamy and fantastically thick without being too rich").
And, finally, there's the Burrito Ultimo from a Dallas Taco Cabana ("one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink burritos, it held together, kept flourishes like sour cream in check, and had beef, diced tomatoes and beans with real flavor"). He rates it "three Wet Naps." It's amazing what adjectives can be applied to fast food when a true artist puts his mind and mouth to it. --Glenna Whitley | -day, 42-stop, 3,650-mile journey to review and rate the best fast food in America. From the McDonald's in Piscataway, New Jersey, to the El Pollo Loco in Torrance, California, Bruni subjected his stomach and the seats of his rental cars to the best and worst road food available at outposts of car cuisine that caught his eye from the freeway. Some, such as Mrs. Winner's in Douglasville, Georgia, and Rax in Parkersburg, West Virginia, we've never heard of. Others--Sonic, KFC, Dairy Queen, and Tacos Cabana, Loco, Bueno, Villa and Bell—we've eaten at more than we'd care to admit.
Bruni imposed several limitations: no pizza, no subs, and the restaurant had to be car-accessible. (Sorry, Chipotle.) Of his top 10 favorites, Bruni acknowledges some of the obvious: tater tots at Sonic, chili at Wendy's and Blizzards at a Dairy Queen. But out of the 42 cities he visited, three of Bruni's top 10 were eaten at Dallas-area establishments. Not bad odds for you fast-food junkies.
There's the Cheddar Burger at Culver's in | 267 |
Sourcing both permanent and temporary staff, we recruit candidates from trainee and apprentice level through to Boardroom-level appointments.
In the decade since Sphere Solutions was founded, we have worked hard to establish ourselves as one of the UK's leaders for recruitment services within the construction industry. We have a reputation for excellence and fast turnaround, and we pride ourselves on our ability to provide the right candidate, right on time.
Our vision is to continue to be the first choice for our clients and candidates, operating across all construction industry sectors, and at all career levels.
Integrity We interact with each other, our Clients and Candidates in an open, honest and straightforward fashion balancing directness with discretion. We know the laws and operate ethically within them. We create relationships based on trust.
Unity We work together as a team and support<|fim_middle|>, determined and hardworking approach. | each other to achieve our shared goals and mutual rewards in an environment of respect.
Expert We measure our success by the value we deliver to our colleagues, Clients and Candidates through our specialist knowledge, experience, quality and consistency.
Competitive We aspire to be the best we can be as individuals and as part of a successful team, embracing continuous improvement and achieving the best possible results.
Dedicated We are committed to delivering and sustaining our great reputation through our focussed, positive | 94 |
Explore the Diversity of Ukraine With First Class Flights to Lviv
Lviv is one of the most diverse cities in Ukraine. The city is home to many Austrian, Hungarian, and Polish influences. You will even find some Italian and German inspirations in some of the buildings around the city. Look for affordable first class flights to Lviv today and experience this part of the country for yourself. You will be impressed by the beautiful scenes of Lviv just as much as you will be intrigued by what you will experience in a first class cabin.
Take in a flight to<|fim_middle|> for yourself. | the Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport from various parts of the world. Enjoy the large seats in the first class cabin and the added legroom. You will have enough room to stretch out as you take care of your work via the wireless internet service in the cabin. You can also ask for a drink so you can have something while taking care of all that work.
Take the Route 48 bus or the Route 9 trolleybus from the airport to the center of the city. You can also hail a taxi if you prefer. But no matter what you choose, you will get to one of the most popular parts of Ukraine in moments, what with the airport being less than five miles away from the city.
While in Lviv, experience the local culture at the Market Square. See the ornate layout and beautiful green spaces of the Lychakiv Cemetery where many famous people from Ukraine's history are resting.
Take the wooden staircase up to the top of the Lviv High Castle. Situated on the northern end of the city, the castle features panoramic views of Lviv and of various districts in the area.
See some of the historic sites around the city, including the Dominican Church and St. George's Cathedral. Watch for the Armenian Cathedral, an older church dating back to the fourteen century.
The features and intriguing influences of Lviv make it a popular city to see while in Ukraine. Look for cheap first class tickets to Lviv and see this part of the European country | 304 |
Don't miss this beautifully updated 3 Bd/2 Ba Split-Level home with 1,622 sqft of finished living space. Come check out all the quality finishes this home has to offer to include newer kitchen cabinets, glass tile backsplash, countertops and pantry storage. New dark laminate floors<|fim_middle|> paint, new front door, all interior 4 panel wood doors, new blinds, new electrical outlets, newer windows, gutters and soffits. Radon mitigation system installed. Located a few blocks from retail and grocery shopping. Close to High, Middle, Elementary Schools. Call today for a private showing! | and stairs throughout the kitchen, dining and living room on main level. French doors lead to deck with concrete stamped patio, newly expanded driveway, and fenced back yard. Driveway offers plenty of parking and 2 car detached oversized garage heated with gas or electric. Updates include: All new lighting fixtures, interior and exterior | 64 |
The Green Skeptic
Challenging assumptions about how we live on the earth and protect our environment.
July Hiatus: Chris Nelder's Tribute to Randy Udall
While I'm on my July blogging hiatus, I'd thought I'd share with you a few posts from friends whose thought leadership I admire. Earlier this month, my pal Chris Nelder wrote about Randy Udall for SmartPlanet. Udall passed away at the age of 61 while on a solo backpacking trip in Wyoming's Wind River Range.
I recall Udall's cogent, smart, and somewhat snarky comments on pricing energy in conversation with Jim Rogers of Duke Energy at the Aspen Environment Forum back in 2009, where we were both speaking.
Here is Chris's tribute, in part. You can go here to read the full version:
Randy Udall: An energy hero's journey by Chris Nelder
Randy Udall by Dan Bihn
Randy Udall had a unique talent for expressing complex realities and befuddling data in a simple, tangible way that anyone could understand; for being able to step back from the immediate issues of the day and put them in a larger, clarifying perspective.
So when I learned last week that he had died on a solo backpacking trip in the Wyoming wilderness, it was a crushing loss. Randy was one of my heroes: a wonderful man who was a hugely important and helpful friend, mentor, sounding board, and teacher to me over the past several years. He was a gifted writer and a compelling speaker. It's hard to believe we'll have no more of his words.
He certainly contributed much to mine. It was Randy who, preferring to be credited anonymously as "a perspicacious friend," said this in my article on "energy independence" in February 2012: "The masses (and the cheerleaders) love this story because it is one of Abundance and Manifest Destiny in this Exceptional Country of ours." That phrase expressed beautifully what the shale mania is really all about. A student of<|fim_middle|> organization I co-founded with Kevin Brown of Hobbes & Towne, is hosting its 7th annual energy t...
Pulling Out of Paris Agreement is Bad for Business
Should we stay or should we go? President Trump is following the advice of entrenched, vested old-economy interests that would turn our...
How My Simple Purpose Statement Stays Fresh [Hint: It's Real]
My sons, Jasper & Walker, in Alaska, July 2008 "My goal is to catalyze innovation and investments that generate a new prosperity by...
"Telling Stories to Change the World"
Andy Swan
A VC Blogs
Clean Edge
Gregor Macdonald
Howard Lindzon
michael parekh on IT
Philanthropy 2173
c) 2004-2014 Scott Edward Anderson, The Green Skeptic. Powered by Blogger. | human nature, Randy had an unerring ability to detect the emotional underpinnings of our rhetoric about energy and our destiny, and bring it back to earth.
He never doubted that the engines of human activity were redlining, and that we had entered a period of extreme, even existential challenges where "the politics of energy has to surrender to the physics of energy." He had no doubt that peak oil was a real and a serious issue we would have to confront in the very near future, as the decline of a handful of mature giant oil fields eventually overwhelmed new additions from the thousands of new wells being drilled every year. And he put his shoulder to the wheel in response, co-founding the U.S. chapter of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO), and co-hosting its first conferences.
Over the past several years, I was lucky to exchange emails every few days with Randy and some other fellow energy geeks. (Some of them wrote this touching tribute.) In a kind of ongoing workshop, we passed around data and charts and observations, working through arcane details, trying to detect the reality of our energy situation amidst a growing crescendo of industry propaganda.
Read the complete tribute here.
More about Chris Nelder.
Labels: Chris Nelder, energy, Randy Udall, Tributes
Welcome to The Green Skeptic
The Green Skeptic is devoted to challenging assumptions about how we live on the earth and protect our environment. We have four focus areas: clean tech innovations and investing, global climate change, entrepreneurism, and microfinance.
Watch The Green Skeptic on FOX Business
Tweets by @greenskeptic
What Others Say About The Green Skeptic
"If you are into the green thing and dig the written word, Green Skeptic is the blog for you. Scott is passionate about conservation and has an awesome command of his craft."
-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Blogosphere
His "voice of informed pragmatism is very valuable."
-The Energy Collective
"The Gordon Gekko of Green."
-TheTruthAbout.com
"Looking for the best, balanced and sourced GREEN coverage on twitter? Follow @greenskeptic Class act who knows green up and down."
-AndySwan
"The voice of common sense from a seasoned environmentalist."
-Stuart Varney, Fox Business
July Hiatus: Chris Nelder's Tribute to Randy Udall...
July Hiatus: Gregor MacDonald's TerraJoule
July Hiatus: Howard Lindzon on The Best Trade of H...
July Hiatus: Andy Swan's "Make Some Noise"
July Hiatus: Jack Ricchiuto's "Mindful Leadership"...
7th Annual Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Forum - Coming up April 8, 2015
The Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, an | 570 |
Why Julia Rose and Jake Paul Broke Up
By Stephanie Downs - January 14, 2021 01:35 am EST
YouTuber Jake Paul and Are You the One? alum Julia Rose had an on-again, off-again relationship throughout much of 2020. In early 2020, it was reported that the two were an item. However, in the spring, they reportedly split. They got back together sometime later in 2020 in an attempt to give their relationship another go. But, in December, Rose confirmed that she was "officially single."<|fim_middle|> heartbroken because my girlfriend dumped me because I'm a f—king idiot. Julia if you're watching this, please take me back." Paul added, "Guys if you're in a relationship, don't take what you have for granted." Rose was subsequently linked to Too Hot to Handle star Harry Jowsey, who later accused the social media influencer of cheating on him with her ex-boyfriend, Paul (Rose has stated that her relationship with Jowsey only lasted a week and that she wasn't looking for anything serious at the time).
Rose and Paul did get back together again at some point towards the end of 2020. Ultimately, the couple once again broke up. In December, during an interview on the YouTube channel Melodical Media, Rose explained why the two split. She explained, "It was only kind of like our second go at it, but you know, it's tough. Having a very public relationship where a lot of people don't see exactly what happened, it's tough. But you know, I don't think either of us are bad people. We are just trying to live our lives and do the best we can."
'Sons of Anarchy': Kurt Sutter Wishes Wife Katey Sagal Happy Birthday With Sweet Snap
'Duck Dynasty': Sadie Robertson Reveals 25-Week Baby Bump Photo
Tiffany Trump Announces Engagement to Michael Boulos on Donald Trump's Last Day in Office
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Share a Kiss in Pre-COVID New Orleans Throwback
Alex Rodriguez Hints at His and Jennifer Lopez's Wedding Date
Ana de Armas Cutout Tossed in Garbage Outside Ben Affleck's Home After Breakup
Reba McEntire's Boyfriend Rex Linn Calls Her 'Beautiful' as They Enjoy Nature Together
Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas Reportedly Split Only One Month After Moving in Together | So, why did Paul and Rose break up?
In February 2020, Page Six reported that Paul and Rose were dating. They were first spotted together in Miami in January of that year, as they were in town for his boxing match against British YouTuber AnEsonGib. A source told the publication that Paul and Rose had been together in Miami for about a week prior to his Jan. 30 boxing match. They reportedly attended multiple events in the city and even partied with Paul's ex, Tana Mongeau. At an afterparty that they all attended, Rose and Mongeau pretended to get into a fight to prank Paul. They ended their faux argument with a passionate kiss. At the time, a source told Page Six that Paul and Mongeau are "in a great place as friends and she is supportive of Jake's new relationship."
A post shared by Jake Paul (@jakepaul)
While it was reported in February that Paul and Rose were dating, it was only a couple of months later that they reportedly parted ways. According to Distractify, Paul said on a video blog that his brother, Logan Paul, posted that he wanted Rose to get back together with him. He said, "I'm hungover, depressed, and | 263 |
Aquatics, childminding, arts and other programs
Gymnastics, fitness, sports and learning
Culture, health, learning and special events
Adults (19+ yrs)
Fitness, sports and visual arts
Performing arts and social programs
Registration information and more
Home » Youth
Youth Spaces & Leadership Opportunities
Training & Leadership
Our Youth Services team offers a range of services that build a community of young people who are connected, aware, and informed. Our services are universal, primarily preventative, and use a "wrap-around" community-based service approach to address age-appropriate<|fim_middle|>Rehab & Prehab | needs along a continuum; from recreation to social services. Valuing the diversity of youth, the Youth Services team responds to youths' unique needs, and engages them in all places and spaces in West Vancouver. We provide youth with access to appropriate information and resources to assist in improving their overall health and well-being, through community outreach, one-to-one and group support, programs and activities, special events, drop-in activities, and coordinated service delivery with partner organizations.
West Vancouver Hub of Youth Services
The West Vancouver Hub of Youth Services brings together representatives from community organizations with a connection to youth services in West Vancouver. Through a collaborative, coordinated, and community-based approach, the goal of these partner organizations is to improve the quality, access, and delivery of services to youth and their families.
For more information about the West Vancouver Hub of Youth Services, contact the Youth Services & Community Recreation Manager.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all the great programs and events for youth in West Vancouver!
Youth Facebook Twitter Instagram
Recreation Schedules
Passes & Admissions
Enhance West Van
ePACT: Medical & Emergency Info Network
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Notice
West Vancouver Leisure Guide Facebook TwitterInstagram YouTube
Leisure Guide Advertising
Passes and Admissions
Fall Update
Registration & Refunds
| 272 |
Reflection<|fim_middle|> Law
Gun Discoveries Are Surging At Airports, And Texas Is Leading The Way
Texas Partnered With Problematic Pharmacy For Its Execution Drug
News Roundup: Murder Indictment For Former Dallas Cop After Shooting Black Man In His Own Apartment
Ahead Of OPEC Meeting, Saudi Arabia Signals A Cut To Oil Production In Order To Boost Prices
The Football Season Winds Down With NFL Controversy And College Bowl Games
George H.W. Bush, Who Helped Build The Republican Party In Texas, Dead At 94 | s On George H.W. Bush As Family Man And 'Engineer' Of A New World Order
The author of "The Last Republicans" says public service was paramount to Bush, who grew up wealthy but whose mother taught him that he "wasn't entitled to anything."
By Laura RiceDecember 3, 2018 2:08 pmGovernment & Politics
PBS NewsHour/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Former President George H.W. Bush at the Republican National Convention in 2008.
As many already know, former President George H.W. Bush died late Friday night at his home in Houston. He was 94. Bush had a form of Parkinson's disease and had been in and out of the hospital recently, but some have opined that perhaps the true cause of death was a broken heart – his wife of 73 years, Barbara, died less than eight months ago.
Bush made politics and public service his life's work; he fought in World War II long before he ever ran for office. But he also made millions in the Texas oil industry. Mark Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and the author of "The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush," says Bush was "one of the last and best of the greatest generation."
Updegrove on Bush's personality making up for his shortcomings as a campaigner:
"There's a certain genuineness about George Bush. He made friends very, very easily, and I think that helped in states like Iowa and New Hampshire where retail politics comes into play. People go to know not only him but his wife Barbara and their family, and there's sort of this infectious attraction that ensued."
On Bush projecting American political power during his presidency:
"The inauguration speech that he gave in 1989, he talks about a new breeze blowing throughout the world, and that portends the collapse of the Soviet Union. …It portends the new world order that would emerge during the course of his tenure as president, and frankly the new world order that he would help to engineer as president."
On the meaning of Bush's phrase, "A kinder, gentler nation":
"During the Reagan years, we saw great prosperity. I think the rich got a lot richer and a lot of the poor were left behind. We saw a tremendous spike in homelessness. The underclass grew and it was something we didn't talk about a great deal. AIDS was ravaging the United States and other parts of the world – that was unaddressed. …What Bush was saying is we need to be more compassionate."
On whether Bush was sincere about addressing these problems:
"They speak to the Bush ethos, the value set that you saw with George and Barbara Bush and that they inculcated in their children, and that was a decency, civility, humility and putting service above self. He grew up in great privilege. …At the same time, he learned lessons, particularly at his mother's knee: One was, 'You're not entitled to anything. You've been born on third base, you're lucky,' and the importance of giving back."
On Bush's personality later in life:
"He was absolutely delightful, very humble. When you walked into George Bush's office, you weren't seeing a great man, you know, you weren't seeing this puffed up character. As I've mentioned, he was very humble, a great storyteller, had a wonderful sense of humor and just pleasant to be around."
On Bush acting inappropriately toward women, including pinching their bottoms during photo ops :
"It's something that he didn't deny. …I'm not gonna say that it was appropriate in any way shape or form regardless of what generation you're from, but I don't think he saw it as egregious at it turned out to be."
On Bush and his children's political careers:
"I don't think there's any question that he wanted his children to follow him into the arena. However, George Bush was not one to be heavy handed as a parent. I think the Bushes' parental philosophy was, inculcate your kids, instill good values in your children and let them find their way, support them. They revere public service over anything, and I think the highest expression, in their view, of public service is getting involved in politics."
On Bush reflecting on his son, former President George W. Bush's controversial decision to invade Iraq in 2003:
"I was doing an interview for 'The Last Republicans.' …I asked him if he would have taken the same course that his son took in Iraq, and he thought about it … 'Yeah, I think so.' And at that moment, I didn't know if I was hearing the views of a former commander in chief, or whether I was hearing a protective father, and I think it was probably the latter."
Texas Sues San Antonio For Allegedly Violating The SB 4 Immigration | 1,030 |
The World's Newest Wonder
The ship class that redefined cruising just got bolder. The biggest ship in the world, Wonder of the SeasSM brings even bigger adventures to the award-winning Oasis Class and sails to postcard-perfect Caribbean shores starting March 2022 — before kicking off the most epic Europe season ever in May 2022.
BIG TIME PLAYTIME
At the all-new Playscape, adventurers of all ages can discover an underwater world studded with slides, climbing walls, games and puzzles with endless possibilities for their imaginations to soar. Once inside the cavern, kids will find an interactive mural of sea creatures that comes to life at their touch. Little ones can pretend to be a giant with life-size versions of favorite classic games like tic tac toe. Meanwhile, toddlers and their loved ones can put on their thinking caps to solve puzzles together.
YOU WON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES
Marvel at every dive, flip and feat performed by Olympic-level athletes in the boldest AquaTheater ever. With state-of-the-art lighting, larger-than-life screens and a game-changing surround stage that's so much more than just a backdrop, you'll feel like part of the artistry from the edge of your seat.
FOR THE SUN OF IT
It's all about that vacay wade of life at the redesigned pool deck with more ways to soak up the sun, or chill in the shade, than ever before. Make yourself at home in the shade of your very own casita with premium loungers and amenities for the ultimate pool day upgrade just steps from the action. Turn up the Caribbean cool at The Lime and Coconut® with DJs, live music and two bars serving up all your favorite poolside drinks. Or stop by The Vue Bar, an escape high above the sea where you can sip on cocktails with a picture-perfect panorama on the side. Or head to the first climatized Solarium in the fleet, an indoor-outdoor adults-only retreat created with your me-time in mind.
WELCOME TO THE SUITE SP<|fim_middle|> away from your new home — perhaps the groundbreaking Ultimate Family Suite, the grandest suite on the Royal Caribbean® fleet.
Inquire about Anywhere | OT
Wonder introduces a new level of luxury with the addition of the all-new Suite Neighborhood. High up in the ship's most prime location, suite guests indulge in five-star dining at the suites-only Coastal Kitchen where global dishes are made with the freshest, highest quality ingredients. Step onto the brand-new Suite Sun Deck and soak up unparalleled ocean views from a crystal-clear plunge pool. And discover totally VIP experiences just steps | 84 |
If they ever gave out awards for the most memorable advertisements in motocross history, the man who came up with Yamaha's ad celebrating their success on the AMA circuit in 1978 would be in the running. The striking advertisement featured 500cc National Champ Rick Burgett and 125cc National Champ Broc Glover flanking Bob Hannah—who not only won the 1978 AMA Supercross title but the 250cc AMA Motocross title as well—all<|fim_middle|> in Ohio. Once he got into the business, he dug a little deeper into how the famous ad came about.
"The ad was produced in the fall of 1978," explains EJ. "Chiat/Day was still a very young agency at that point, but the word on the streets of American advertising was that the shop was going to change the way America looked at advertising. Leading the charge was the creative director, Lee Clow. Lee dug motorcycles and what they stood for. The ad was Lee's idea and featured Bob, Broc and Rick Burgett and the #1 plates the earned in the '78 AMA championships. I was a teenager when that ad came out, but it just blew me away. | dirty, sitting atop their then-yellow YZs, all wearing their #1 plates.
This classic Yamaha ad pretty much said it all for 1978!
Hannah and Yamaha started the '78 season slowly, losing the first three AMA Supercross rounds to a pair of very fast new Honda riders, Jimmy Ellis and Marty Tripes. But then Hannah caught fire and reeled off six wins in a row to gap the field and clinch the title early. It should be mentioned that three major stars all went down in one weekend at the Houston Astrodome, as Ellis separated his shoulder, defending 250cc #1 Tony DiStefano tore up his knee, and defending 500cc champ Marty Smith dislocated his hip—Tony D. and Smitty getting hurt in the same first-turn crash! Of the three, only Ellis would ever win another race, and that was the last 250 National of the series. By that time, Hannah had so dominated the series—he swept the first eight races in a row—that he didn't even enter the last couple rounds of the series after injuring his wrist in an overlapping supercross. His streak to start the series would not be surpassed until a certain rider from Florida came along and started reeling off perfect seasons.
That's Suzuki-mounted privateer Danny "Magoo" Chandler at the '78 Escape Country National, just down the road from Saddleback Park.
Hannah also won the Trans-AMA title that fall, becoming the first American to do so. He won four of the seven races of what would ultimately be the last Trans-AMA Series, as the AMA was sued by Pontiac, the company that made Trans-Am cars, for copyright infringement. One year later the fading series would be called the "Trans-USA" tour.
Hannah had been forced to ride the 125 class the previous year and did not like it one bit, but his teammate Broc Glover won the title anyway, so it was little surprise to anyone that the "Golden Boy" from El Cajon won his second straight title in the class, outpacing the veteran Kawasaki rider Gaylon Mosier (who won a round on a Kawasaki) and Suzuki's hotshot prospect Brian Myerscough. But deeper in the field were a couple of newcomers who would soon shake things up in American motocross: seventh-ranked Jeff Ward and ninth-ranked Mark Barnett.
Mike Bell was the youngest member of Team Yamaha, waiting in the wings but on the cover of Cycle magazine in December '78.
Yamaha started slowly in the 500cc Nationals as well, as Suzuki's Danny LaPorte and Honda's Tommy Croft captured the opening rounds at Lake Whitney, Texas, and Sonoma, California, respectively. But then everything turned yellow as Rick Burgett, Rex Staten, and the young Mike "Too Tall" Bell split the last eight wins of the ten-race tour. "The Lumberjack" Burgett won the most, as well as the title, then found himself in that famous ad with Hannah and Glover.
Honda's Tommy Croft leads the 500cc pack at Lake Whitney in Texas.
Let's go back to the famous Yamaha ad for a second. Racer X's own Eric Johnson started out in advertising, and he once told us about having that ad hang on his bedroom wall as a kid growing up | 698 |
Association between neighbourhood characteristics and antidepressant use at older ages: a register-based study of urban areas in three European countries
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2003-2531Lasse Tarkiainen1,2,
Heta Moustgaard1,
Kaarina Korhonen1,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8580-1365J Mark Noordzij3,
Marielle A Beenackers3,
Frank J Van Lenthe3,4,
Bo Burstrom5,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9374-1438Pekka Martikainen1,2,6,7
1Population Research Unit, University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences, Helsinki, Finland
2Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
3Public Health, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
4Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
5Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
6Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
7Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Correspondence to Lasse Tarkiainen, Yliopistonkatu 3, Porthania, 00100 Helsinki, Finland; lasse.tarkiainen{at}helsinki.fi
Background Research evidence on the association between neighbourhood characteristics and individual mental health at older ages is inconsistent, possibly due to heterogeneity in the measurement of mental-health outcomes, neighbourhood characteristics and confounders. Register-based data enabled us to avoid these problems in this longitudinal study on the associations between socioeconomic and physical neighbourhood characteristics and individual antidepressant use in three national contexts.
Methods We used register-based longitudinal data on the population aged 50+ from Turin (Italy), Stockholm (Sweden), and the nine largest cities in Finland linked to satellite-based land-cover data. This included individual-level information on sociodemographic factors and antidepressant use, and on neighbourhood socioeconomic characteristics, levels of urbanicity, green space and land-use mix (LUM). We assessed individual-level antidepressant use over 6 years in 2001–2017 using mixed-effects logistic regression.
Results A higher neighbourhood proportion of low-educated individuals predicted lower odds for antidepressant use in Turin and Stockholm when individual-level sociodemographic factors were controlled for. Urbanicity predicted increased antidepressant use in Stockholm (OR=1.02; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.03) together with more LUM (OR=1.03; 1.01–1.05) and population density (OR=1.08; 1.05–1.10). The two latter characteristics also predicted increased antidepressant use in the Finnish cities (OR=1.05; 1.02–1.08 and OR=1.14; 1.02–1.28, respectively). After accounting for all studied neighbourhood and individual characteristics of the residents, the neighbourhoods still varied by odds of antidepressant use.
Conclusions Overall, the associations of neighbourhood socioeconomic and physical characteristics with older people's antidepressant use were small and inconsistent. However, we found modest evidence that dense physical urban environments predicted higher antidepressant use among older people in Stockholm and the Finnish cities.
health behaviour
neighborhood/place
access to hlth care
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-214276
Research on associations between neighbourhood characteristics and mental health is extensive, and has expanded in recent decades. The evidence base concerning such an association at older ages is, however, thin and inconclusive despite the ageing populations and still ongoing urbanisation of most industrialised countries. Older people may be particularly susceptible to neighbourhood factors,1 being less likely to commute and to spend time outside the neighbourhood. Those with functional limitations, in particular, are restricted to the immediate surroundings of the home. There are numerous mechanisms through which neighbourhood characteristics could affect mental health. Access to green space may reduce stress and be beneficial, for example, whereas a socioeconomically deprived area may be stressful and lack services, which may have harmful repercussions.2 Although some studies report no association between neighbourhood social characteristics and depressive scores, or changes in depressive scores,3–5 an association between neighbourhood disorder and an increase in depression status was found in one study, but only among the non-married elderly.6
The evidence from younger age groups implies poorer mental health in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods but it is unclear whether or not the association is causal.2 7 8 The majority of previous studies are cross-sectional in design, thereby undermining causal inference. Longitudinal studies have also shown inconsistent results. Studies with follow-ups of less than 5 years suggest independent associations between neighbourhood socioeconomic characteristics and depression. However, studies with at least 5 years of follow-up indicate that the association is attributable to compositional effects, that is, residents in deprived neighbourhoods had more often individual sociodemographic characteristics increasing the risk of depression, and accounting for these individual-level characteristics attenuated the observed area-level association.8 These studies assessed specific social or physical features of neighbourhoods, which are difficult to observe and measure directly and objectively, and therefore used neighbourhood socioeconomic indicators aggregated from the individual level as proxies for these features.
Several studies in recent years have explored more direct associations between mental health or psychological distress and the physical characteristics of urban environments instead of using neighbourhood characteristics aggregated over individuals.9–12 According to studies using register or satellite-based land-use data, green space in the neighbourhood is beneficial to mental health,13 14 although not all studies report an association.10 15–18 Evidence regarding land-use mix (LUM) or walkability is also inconclusive.10 12 19 One study specifically focusing on older populations reported no association between changes in green space and mental health over time, despite observing a cross-sectional association.18
Overall, evidence on the association between urban neighbourhood characteristics and mental health at older ages is limited and mixed. However, comparative studies between countries are scarce although it is possible that the underlying mechanisms are specific to national contexts (eg, the general level of segregation, welfare and healthcare systems) or to factors that affect how residents interact with their urban surroundings (eg, climate and cultural practices regarding the use of public spaces). It has also been suggested that heterogeneity in the measurement of mental-health outcomes, neighbourhood characteristics and confounders explains the inconsistency of findings in different settings.9
The current study is the first to assess the association between urban neighbourhood characteristics and mental health at older ages using uniform measures of exposure, outcomes and confounders based on register, census and satellite data in three national contexts including Finland, Sweden and Italy. We used antidepressant prescriptions or purchases identified from administrative drug-prescription registers as a measure of mental health. Antidepressant purchases do not perfectly identify all individuals with depression,20 but it can be considered as a complementary method for assessing mental health, which is extremely difficult to measure on the population level. Few studies thus far have taken advantage of available register data that also cover depressed individuals who are likely not to respond to surveys. Only two previous studies used individual-level data on psychotropic medication as a proxy for mental-health status: Maguire and colleagues21 showed that physical residential segregation predicted more antidepressant use, and the results of Melis et al22 indicate that urban density and accessibility by public transport are slightly protective against being prescribed antidepressant medication.
This study enhances understanding of the links between specific neighbourhood socioeconomic and physical characteristics and mental health at older ages. The specific aims were to assess: (1) whether neighbourhoods differ in individual-level antidepressant use and is there an association between socioeconomic and physical neighbourhood characteristics and antidepressant use; (2) whether such associations are attributable to the individual sociodemographic characteristics of the residents (compositional effects); and (3) whether the findings are consistent across the three countries.
We used register-based data linking individual-level information on prescriptions for or purchases of antidepressants (as a proxy for mental health) and sociodemographic characteristics with area-level information on neighbourhood socioeconomic and physical characteristics. The analysis was limited to individuals aged 50+. The Italian data covered the population of the city of Turin in 2001. The Swedish data included all persons residing in the Stockholm urban area (Stockholm city and urban parts of 11 adjacent municipalities) in 2011. In Finland, in order to increase statistical power in the analyses, we included the nine largest cities of Helsinki, Espoo (including Kauniainen), Vantaa, Turku, Tampere, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Lahti. The physical characteristics of the neighbourhoods were based on European Urban Atlas satellite imaging data (UA).23 These data were aggregated to the relevant neighbourhood level using a Geographic Information System (QGIS). See table 1 for detailed description of the data sets.
Datasets used in the study
Antidepressant use
The binary outcome variable was defined as whether an individual had made at least one purchase of or had been prescribed antidepressants during the 6-year follow-up period after baseline. We included codes N06A in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification, excluding tricyclic antidepressants (codes N06AA but not N06AA22), which are often used for non-psychiatric indications at older ages.24
Neighbourhood-variables and individual-level confounders
The neighbourhood level was delineated according to the postal-code (zip-code) area or equivalent. As people are less likely to move residence in older ages, we considered them to be exposed to the same baseline neighbourhood across the follow-up. Neighbourhoods with a very low number (n<50) of residents were removed (2 in Turin, 9 in Stockholm and 14 in the Finnish cities). Indicators of neighbourhood socioeconomic characteristics were aggregated from individual-level register or census data at each baseline year, including the proportion of residents with a basic education, the proportion of households living in rented dwellings and the unemployment rate. The physical characteristics were derived from UA data: the proportion of green areas (forests and parks) in the total neighbourhood area, the proportion of continuous urban fabric (henceforth referred to as urbanicity) and population density (residents per square kilometre). LUM was indicated by an entropy index, which varies between zero (when the neighbourhood has only one use such as industrial, green or continuous/discontinuous urban fabric) and one (when all uses are evenly present). The index was calculated as:
where k is the number of land-use categories (which varies between neighbourhoods) and p is the proportion of use i of the area.25 All neighbourhood-level variables were used as continuous variables and scaled into categories of 10-percentage-points in order to have a meaningful interpretation of the coefficients in that they indicate change in the odds of the outcome per 10-percentage-point increase in exposure. Population density was scaled into 10 000 persons per square kilometre.
Individual-level confounders measured at baseline included sex, age, education (high (International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011 levels 5–8), intermediate (ISCED 3–4) and basic (ISCED 0–2)), economic activity (employed, unemployed, retired, other), marital status (married, never-married, divorced, widowed), housing tenure (owner, renter, other) and household composition (living alone, other).
We used two-level random intercept logistic regression models in which the individuals were nested in neighbourhoods. Due to national data protection regulations, the Finnish, Swedish and Italian data were modelled separately. We estimated the ORs and the robust SEs for having at least one antidepressant purchase by neighbourhood-level indicators of the socioeconomic and physical environment. We first estimated the unadjusted models for each neighbourhood indicator, and then we adjusted for neighbourhood compositional effect by including individual-level confounders in the models. The models of the Finnish data also included a city covariate to account for the differences among the 9 cities included in the analysis.
To assess the magnitude of how neighbourhoods generally differ from each other by antidepressant use in each city, and not only the associations of specific neighbourhood characteristics, we estimated median ORs (MOR) for (1) the empty model, (2) the model including all individual-level characteristics and (3) the model including all individual-level characteristics separately for each neighbourhood indicator. MOR describes the heterogeneity of neighbourhoods. It is the median of ORs between two individuals with identical covariates from two random areas with different antidepressant uses. In practice, the MOR shows the extent to which the individual odds of antidepressant use is predicted by residential area.26 27 We also estimated intraclass correlations (ICC) using the latent response formulation to assess the extent of clustering in antidepressant use across neighbourhoods.28 For descriptive statistics, we calculated incidence rates for years on antidepressants during the follow-up per 1000 person years, adjusted for age using 2013 European Standard Population. All the statistical analyses were conducted using STATA 16.
The age-adjusted rates for antidepressant purchases were lowest in Turin and highest in the Finnish cities, with higher rates among women, the divorced and widowed and those living alone in all countries (table 2). In Turin, individuals with a basic education, the unemployed and renters had lower rates of antidepressant use than the more privileged groups whereas the opposite was true for Stockholm and the Finnish cities. The proportions of basic educated, renters and unemployed were lower in Stockholm than in the other cities while the proportion of basic educated was notably higher in Turin than elsewhere (table 3). Compared to the other countries, the neighbourhoods in Turin were generally more densely populated and urban, whereas the Finnish neighbourhoods had more green areas. The LUM varied similarly in all three countries.
The proportions of persons at baseline and age-adjusted incidence rates for antidepressant use by individual characteristics in Turin, Stockholm and certain Finnish cities
The medians (and IQRs) of neighbourhood characteristics and age-adjusted incidence rates for antidepressant purchases in Turin, Stockholm and certain Finnish cities
In the bivariate models, the neighbourhood unemployment rate and the proportion of renters predicted higher odds for antidepressant use in Stockholm and the Finnish cities, as well as the proportion of people with a basic education in Stockholm (figure 1). In the case of Turin, the proportion of people with a basic education and the unemployment rate were inversely associated with antidepressant use. Following adjustment for individual characteristics, reverse associations were observed for the proportion of residents with basic education in Stockholm (OR=0.97; 95% CI 0.95 to 0.99) and Turin (OR=0.97; 0.95–0.98), and for the unemployment rate in Turin (OR=0.87; 0.81–0.93).
ORs and 95% CIs for socioeconomic neighbourhood-level characteristics in Turin, Stockholm and the nine largest Finnish cities from two models 1: Only each neighbourhood-level variable in the model, 2: each neighbourhood-level variable and all individual characteristics adjusted for (coefficients indicate change in the odds of the outcome per 10-percentage-point increase in exposure).
The patterns of bivariate associations between physical neighbourhood characteristics and antidepressant use were consistent across the countries, differing only slightly in magnitude. However, all 95% CIs included 1.00 in Turin (figure 2). A higher proportion of green areas predicted lower odds for antidepressant use only in the Finnish cities (OR=0.97; 0.95–0.98). Of the other neighbourhood characteristics, more densely populated, more urban and mixed urban structure predicted higher odds for antidepressant use. These associations were slightly attenuated following adjustment for individual characteristics, but remained in Stockholm and the Finnish cities in which population density was the strongest predictor (OR=1.08; 1.05–1.10 in Stockholm and OR=1.14; 1.02–1.28 in the Finnish cities).
ORs and 95% CIs for physical neighbourhood-level characteristics in Turin, Stockholm and the nine largest Finnish cities from two models 1: Only each neighbourhood-level variable in the model, 2: each neighbourhood-level variable and all individual characteristics adjusted for (coefficients indicate change in the odds of the outcome per 10-percentage-point increase in exposure).
The median OR, or MOR, between two individuals living in two random neighbourhoods with the differing neighbourhood-level risk of antidepressant use (ICC in parentheses), for the empty model was 1.11 (0.003) in Turin, 1.19 (0.010) in Stockholm and 1.17 (0.008) in the Finnish cities. When all the individual variables were included, MOR decreased to 1.08 (0.002) in Turin, 1.09 (0.003) in Stockholm and 1.14 (0.005) in the Finnish cities. Adding neighbourhood characteristics to the full model did not change these figures notably: the MORs were at most 0.02 lower (see online supplementary table S1).
[jech-2020-214276supp001.pdf]
We showed that a higher percentage of residents with only basic education in neighbourhood predicted a lower likelihood of antidepressant use in Turin and Stockholm, and that a higher population density and level of urbanicity as well as of mixed land-use led to increased antidepressant use in the Finnish cities and Stockholm. These associations were generally modest but were not attributable to compositional differences in the measured socio-demographic characteristics of residents between the neighbourhoods.
These findings are in line with results of previous studies reporting a higher prevalence of depressive disorders in urban areas, and an association between a higher population density and depression among older people.29 30 An association between diverse LUM and higher rates of depression has been reported among older men in Australia.19 However, other studies report no associations between urbanisation or population density and poor mental health, which may be attributable to the self-reported outcomes.9 19 The proportion of green areas in the neighbourhood was weakly inversely associated with antidepressant use in the bivariate model only in the Finnish cities. Although previous studies have attested to the protective effects of green areas, many of them concerned different mental-health outcomes and age ranges, or small sample sizes.15 The effect of green areas may differ along the life course and be particularly pronounced in childhood and adolescence.14 31 It has been assumed that the elderly generally spend more time in their residential area, but the weak to non-existent associations of green areas with antidepressant use we found is inconsistent with this view and warrants more detailed investigation on whether the quality of the green areas is more important than their total proportion.
The inverse associations we observed between antidepressant use and the proportion of neighbourhood inhabitants with a basic education, after accounting for individual-level characteristics, were counter to expectations. Instead of a high proportion of basic educated being protective against poor mental health, it is more likely that residents in these neighbourhoods are less likely to seek or receive antidepressant treatment for mental-health problems. Also at the individual level, following adjustment for all covariates, high education predicted higher odds of antidepressant use (online supplementary table S1). This implies that the association does not necessarily originate on the neighbourhood level, but that individuals with a low education are less likely to seek and receive treatment.
The differences in findings between Turin and Nordic urban areas, with stronger associations regarding physical characteristics in Nordic countries, may reflect well-established differences in family solidarity between the countries. Italy is characterised by strong family responsibility for older people while contact with elderly parents may be looser in the Nordic countries.32 Such differences may mean that older Finns and Swedes are more responsive to the characteristics of neighbourhoods than Italian older people, for whom the family context may be more relevant. In addition, Turin is altogether more densely populated and built (table 3). It is thus possible that the effects of urban characteristics on mental health vary at different parts of the distribution, with stronger effects seen in more loosely built environments.
The median ORs varied between 1.08 in Turin and 1.14 for the Finnish cities in the full model, indicating that individual-level characteristics did not fully explain all the neighbourhood differences in antidepressant use. This means that, on average, individuals in neighbourhoods with higher antidepressant use had 8–14% higher odds of using antidepressants compared to similar individuals in neighbourhoods with lower antidepressant use. However, given that the neighbourhood explained at most 0.5% of the total variation in antidepressant use (intraclass correlation), any association with antidepressant use appeared to be very modest overall. This implies that either the chosen area unit does not capture the effects of an urban environment on individual antidepressant use, or that the environment does not have a substantial impact. Thus, interventions aimed at improving the mental health of older individuals should be directed to contexts other than neighbourhoods (eg, families and communities). The very low level of clustering, as shown by the ICC, may also explain the inconclusiveness of previous results on this topic. As Merlo and colleagues27 point out, when clustering (or the general contextual effect) is small it is paradoxically easier to detect statistically significant coefficients for specific contextual effects; thus, even weak associations are reported. These weak-to-modest effects may be sensitive to study-specific national or urban characteristics and not generalisable or replicable in other studies.
Strengths and limitations
Identifying mental-health outcomes from linked national medication registers enabled us to avoid common problems in surveys that relate to self-reported mental health, such as recall bias and preferential reporting,33 as well as the substantial non-response and loss to follow-up among socioeconomically disadvantaged and depressed population segments.34 In terms of neighbourhood-level measures, a clear strength of this study is the robust register-based information on both the socioeconomic and the physical characteristics, free from same-source bias and measured in a uniform and objective manner over several cities and national contexts. However, it is possible that the administrative-area units do not precisely coincide with residents' perceptions of their neighbourhoods, which is likely to dilute the real effects of neighbourhood characteristics and result in conservative estimates. In addition, these data do not capture less severe forms of depression (not requiring pharmaceutical treatment), which may relate more strongly to neighbourhood characteristics.
The extent to which antidepressant prescriptions or purchases accurately measure an individual's mental-health status depends on various factors. Neighbourhood and country differences in access to antidepressants (access to mental-healthcare, medication costs, reimbursements) may affect the willingness to seek treatment in a socioeconomically patterned manner, for example. Previous survey-based research evidence shows, contrary to our results, that the prevalence of depression among the elderly is higher in Southern European than in the Nordic countries.35 This suggests that despite the countries concerned having universal healthcare provision and heavily subsidised or completely free medications, we are possibly underestimating the prevalence of poor mental health in Turin. This may explain the different or absent associations observed in Turin. On the other hand, lower antidepressant use among those with a basic education, never-married and those living alone after all adjustments indicates the possible underestimation of mental-health problems among those with a low socioeconomic status in all studied countries (see online supplementary table S1). It should also be noted that not all individuals using antidepressants have mental-health problems. Antidepressants, tricyclics, in particular, are also prescribed for non-psychiatric indications including incontinence, sleep problems and pain.23 As we do not have information on diagnosis in the data, we aimed to increase the specificity of the measure by excluding tricyclic antidepressants from our analysis. The remaining misclassification increases measurement error in our outcome and possibly dilutes the estimated associations.20
Given that the onset of depression often occurs earlier in life than after the age of 50, the study subjects using antidepressants may have had mental-health problems before the baseline. This may have affected their choice of residence, as individuals with mental-health problems may be more likely to live in more densely populated neighbourhoods due to fewer financial resources. Moreover, specific personal characteristics (personality traits, genetic predispositions) may increase both the probability of residing in neighbourhoods with a high population density and being more susceptible to depression.36 37 Such patterned migration could have biased our results upwards. We therefore assessed the role of previous mental-health problems by excluding individuals with antidepressant use during the first 2 years of follow-up, and the results were very similar to our main analyses (results available upon request).
We studied the association between mental-health status and neighbourhood characteristics in a uniform manner in different urban and national contexts. Overall, any associations of neighbourhood socioeconomic and physical characteristics with older people's mental health were small and inconsistent. However, we found modest evidence of an association between a dense and mixed urban structure and higher levels of antidepressant use at older ages, particularly in the Stockholm area and the larger cities in Finland.
What is already known on this subject
The physical and socioeconomic features of residential neighbourhoods may affect mental health.
Studies on the association between neighbourhood characteristics and mental health at older ages have produced inconsistent findings, possibly due to heterogeneity in the measurement of mental-health outcomes, neighbourhood characteristics and confounders.
Using uniform measures of exposure, outcome and confounders we found small and inconsistent associations between older people's antidepressant use and most neighbourhood socioeconomic and physical characteristics in Turin, Stockholm and certain Finnish cities.
We found modest evidence that a<|fim_middle|> psychological distress. Environ Int 2016;96:48–57. doi: doi:10.1016/j.envint.2016.08.019
Houlden V,
Weich S,
de Albuquerque JP
, et al. The relationship between greenspace and the mental wellbeing of adults: a systematic review. PLoS One 2018;13:e0203000. doi: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0203000
James P,
Hart JE,
Banay RF
, et al. Built environment and depression in low-income African Americans and whites. Am J Prev Med 2017;52:74–84. doi: doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2016.08.022
Alcock I,
White MP,
Wheeler BW
, et al. Longitudinal effects on mental health of moving to greener and less green Urban Areas. Environ Sci Technol 2014;48:1247–55. doi: doi:10.1021/es403688w
Astell-Burt T,
Mitchell R,
Hartig T
. The association between green space and mental health varies across the lifecourse. A longitudinal study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2014;68:578–83. doi: doi:10.1136/jech-2013-203767
Gascon M,
Triguero-Mas M,
Martínez D
, et al. Mental health benefits of long-term exposure to residential green and blue spaces: a systematic review. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2015;12:4354–79. doi: doi:10.3390/ijerph120404354
Banay RF,
Hart JE
, et al. A review of the health benefits of greenness. Curr Epidemiol Rep 2015;2:131–42. doi: doi:10.1007/s40471-015-0043-7
Lee ACK,
Maheswaran R
. The health benefits of urban green spaces: a review of the evidence. J Public Health 2011;33:212–22. doi: doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdq068
Noordzij JM,
Beenackers MA,
Groeniger JO
, et al. Effect of changes in green spaces on mental health in older adults: a fixed effects analysis. J Epidemiol Community Health 2020;74:48–56. doi: doi:10.1136/jech-2019-212704
Saarloos D,
Alfonso H,
Giles-Corti B
, et al. The built environment and depression in later life: the health in men study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2011;19:461–70. doi: doi:10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181e9b9bf
Thielen K,
Nygaard E,
Andersen I
, et al. Misclassification and the use of register-based indicators for depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2009;119:312–9. doi: doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2008.01282.x
Maguire A,
French D,
O'Reilly D
. Residential segregation, dividing walls and mental health: a population-based record linkage study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2016;70:845–54. doi: doi:10.1136/jech-2015-206888
Melis G,
Gelormino E,
Marra G
, et al. The effects of the Urban built environment on mental health: a cohort study in a large Northern Italian city. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2015;12:14898–915. doi: doi:10.3390/ijerph121114898
Copernicus Land Monitoring Service
. About copernicus land monitoring service: copernicus land monitoring service. 2020. Available https://land.copernicus.eu/about (accessed 13 Feb 2020).
Gardarsdottir H,
Heerdink ER,
van Dijk L
, et al. Indications for antidepressant drug prescribing in general practice in the Netherlands. J Affect Disord 2007;98:109–15. doi: doi:10.1016/j.jad.2006.07.003
Cervero R,
Kockelman K
. Travel demand and the 3Ds: density, diversity, and design. Transp Res Part Transp Environ 1997;2:199–219. doi: doi:10.1016/S1361-9209(97)00009-6
Austin PC,
Merlo J
. Intermediate and advanced topics in multilevel logistic regression analysis. Stat Med 2017;36:3257–77. doi: doi:10.1002/sim.7336
Merlo J,
Wagner P,
Austin PC
, et al. General and specific contextual effects in multilevel regression analyses and their paradoxical relationship: a conceptual tutorial. SSM—Popul Health 2018;5:33–7. doi: doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2018.05.006
Goldstein H,
Browne W,
Rasbash J
. Partitioning variation in multilevel models. Underst Stat 2002;1:223–31. doi: doi:10.1207/S15328031US0104_02
Peen J,
Schoevers RA,
Beekman AT
, et al. The current status of urban–rural differences in psychiatric disorders. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2010;121:84–93. doi: doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01438.x
Walters K,
Breeze E,
Wilkinson P
, et al. Local area deprivation and urban: rural differences in anxiety and depression among people older than 75 years in Britain. Am J Public Health 2004;94:1768–74.
Engemann K,
Pedersen CB,
Arge L
, et al. Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2019;201807504. doi: doi:10.1073/pnas.1807504116
Tomassini C,
Kalogirou S,
Grundy E
, et al. Contacts between elderly parents and their children in four European countries: current patterns and future prospects. Eur J Ageing 2004;1:54–63. doi: doi:10.1007/s10433-004-0003-4
Levinson D,
Kaplan G
. What does self rated mental health represent. J Public Health Res 2014;3. doi: doi:10.4081/jphr.2014.287
Fischer E,
Dornelas E,
Goethe J
. Characteristics of people lost to attrition in psychiatric follow-up studies. J Nerv Ment Dis 2001;189:49–55.
Missinne S,
Vandeviver C,
Van de Velde S
, et al. Measurement equivalence of the CES-D 8 depression-scale among the ageing population in eleven European countries. Soc Sci Res 2014;46:38–47. doi: doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.02.006
Jokela M,
Bleidorn W,
Lamb ME
, et al. Geographically varying associations between personality and life satisfaction in the London metropolitan area. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2015;112:725–30. doi: doi:10.1073/pnas.1415800112
Klein DN,
Kotov R,
Bufferd SJ
. Personality and depression: explanatory models and review of the evidence. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2011;7:269–95. doi: doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032210-104540
Twitter J Mark Noordzij @MarkNoordzij_.
Contributors LT, HM, PM, KK, JMN and FJVL contributed to the conception and design of the study. JMN, PM and BB acquired the data. LT and KK analysed the data and LT drafted the manuscript. LT, MAB HM, PM, KK, BB, JMN and FJVL contributed substantially to designing the final analyses. LT, MAB HM, PM, KK, BB, JMN and FJVL revised critically the drafts and the final manuscript for important intellectual content and approved the version published. LT is the guarantor.
Funding The study was funded by the European Commission HORIZON 2020 research and innovation action (667661) and the Academy of Finland (308247). MABs work was funded by a Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) VENI grant on 'DenCityHealth: How to keep growing urban populations healthy?' (09150161810158).
Competing interests None.
Data sharing statement Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available.
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | dense and mixed urban structure was associated with higher antidepressant use at older ages in Stockholm and in the Finnish cities.
The authors would like to thank Professor Giuseppe Costa and Turin Longitudinal Study for the access to the Turin data. We also appreciate the efforts of Diana Corman at the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and Megan Doheny at Karolinska Institutet for managing the data for Stockholm.
Julien D,
Richard L,
Gauvin L
, et al. Neighborhood characteristics and depressive mood among older adults: an integrative review. Int Psychogeriatr 2012;24:1207–25. doi: doi:10.1017/S1041610211002894
Diez Roux AV,
Mair C
. Neighborhoods and health. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2010;1186:125–45. doi: doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05333.x
Mair C,
Shen M
, et al. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of neighborhood cohesion and stressors with depressive symptoms in the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis. Ann Epidemiol 2009;19:49–57. doi: doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2008.10.002
Moore KA,
Hirsch JA,
August C
, et al. Neighborhood social resources and depressive symptoms: longitudinal results from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. J Urban Health 2016;93:572–88. doi: doi:10.1007/s11524-016-0042-0
Wight RG,
Cummings JR,
Karlamangla AS
, et al. Urban neighborhood context and change in depressive symptoms in late life. J Gerontol Ser B 2009;64B:247–51. doi: doi:10.1093/geronb/gbn016
Bierman A
. Marital status as contingency for the effects of neighborhood disorder on older adults' mental health. J Gerontol Ser B 2009;64B:425–34. doi: doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp010
Roux AVD,
Galea S
. Are neighbourhood characteristics associated with depressive symptoms? A review of evidence. J Epidemiol Community Health 2008;62:940–6. doi: doi:10.1136/jech.2007.066605
Richardson R,
Westley T,
Gariépy G
, et al. Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2015;50:1641–56. doi: doi:10.1007/s00127-015-1092-4
Generaal E,
Timmermans EJ,
Dekkers JEC
, et al. Not urbanization level but socioeconomic, physical and social neighbourhood characteristics are associated with presence and severity of depressive and anxiety disorders. Psychol Med 2019;49:149–61. doi: doi:10.1017/S0033291718000612
Gong Y,
Palmer S,
Gallacher J
, et al. A systematic review of the relationship between objective measurements of the urban environment and | 827 |
Paul Reddick
"… there is no denying that Reddick has the blues deep in the marrow of his bones. "
Since the early days of Charlie Patton, every generation of blues artists has added their special contribution to the art form. Paul Reddick is no exception. He has toured with Buddy Guy and Colin James<|fim_middle|>.ca/" newwindow="yes"]Artist website[/button] | and has opened for Koko Taylor, B.B. King, John Mayall and James Cotton. The innovative Reddick calls his music "Hard blues for modern times." Reddick is a superior harmonica player and a blues belter of the first order who receives solid support every step of the way from the seasoned players that comprise his band. They are not blues purists but their sound will move mountains. The Paul Reddick Band is Jody Brummel on drums, Greg Marshak on bass and Kyle Ferguson on guitar. Their sound is "big, gutsy, and mean and has, at times, a raw energy that whips across the room like a downed power line on wet highway."
Acclaimed produced and blues musician Colin Linden has noted that Reddick is "one of the most original and inventive singer-songwriters in blues today." So, it's no surprise that Linden once again lends a heavy hand as producer and player onReddick's latest release, Sugarbird.
Reddick is a blues-roots artist unafraid to push boundaries while staying true to the genre's deep seated honesty." Hal Horowitz; All Music Guide
[button link="http://www.paulreddick | 250 |
Growers Use Chart to Help Choose Cover Crops
June 10, 2015 | Posted in Cover Crops
Source: USDA-ARS
An online tool called the "Cover Crop Chart" is helping U.S. farmers decide which cover crops to plant and is generating interest from growers in other countries.
Download Cover Crop Chart
Cover crops can help reduce soil erosion, increase organic matter, improve early weed control, and provide forage for animals. They can also benefit the public by improving water quality, air quality, and wildlife habitat.
Drought conditions in recent years have renewed many growers' and ranchers' interest in cover crops—which are typically grown during the off-season—to help mitigate effects of extreme weather conditions. This interest has increased the need for information on suitable crops to help growers meet their individual production and management goals.
To help address these needs, researchers at the Agricultural Research Service's Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (NGPRL) in Mandan, North Dakota, developed the Cover Crop Chart. It is available on the NGPRL homepage (http://www.mandan<|fim_middle|>Trying To Plant Cover Crops On More Than 10,000 Acres (NNTC 2013 Presentation) - MP3 Download | .ars.usda.gov/) and can be downloaded for free.
"Although a lot of information is available on cover crops, it is often organized by individual crops. Unfortunately, this way of looking at cover crops falls short in showing how they could potentially complement each other in mixtures," says NGPRL soil scientist Mark Liebig.
Patterned after the periodic table of elements, the interactive chart includes information on crop species that may be planted individually or in mixtures and gives specifics on growth cycle, relative water use, plant architecture, forage quality, pollination, and more.
"In developing the chart, we realized that just as chemicals are grouped by the same electron configurations, crops could be categorized by similar attributes—cool season or warm season, grasses or broadleaf, and legumes," Liebig says.
The chart allows growers to see the broad spectrum of potential options that may work best for them, he adds. It also includes relevant research at NGPRL, particularly on forage quality, water use, and sequencing of individual crops.
"We're basically repackaging information into a useful visual aid—a first step for customers to learn about cover crops," Liebig says.
In addition to U.S. customers, growers from 37 other countries have already used the chart since its initial release in 2010. Feedback from users highlighted the educational value of the chart and provided suggestions that are included in a 2015 update. The chart now includes 12 more crops for a total of 58 species, provides information on saline-tolerant grasses, and addresses the placement of crop species within a cash-crop rotation.
"Customers also suggested a downloadable application for mobile devices," Liebig says. "We hope to be able to provide this type of access to the chart in the future."
KEYWORDS ARS Cover crops North Dakota usda weed control
Growers Using Cover Crops Are Mostly New to the Practice
Use Cover Crops to Support Pollinators
New Rules For Cover Crops & Crop Insurance And How We Use Covers - Ryan Stockwell (NNTC 2014 Presentation) - MP3 Download
How Cover Crops Helped The Transition To No-Till... And Unique Ways Of Seeding Them - Matt VanTilburg (NNTC 2014 Presentation) - MP3 Download
| 482 |
See why the Lenore styling chair is a bestseller!
It's easy to see why celebrity hairdresser, Nicky Clarke, chose Living It Up's beautiful Lenore styling chair for his Mayfair salon. The Lenore chair's elegant design ensures that it is consistently one of<|fim_middle|> treatment and will be left with a lasting impression of the stylish surroundings of your salon featuring our Lenore range. | our bestsellers and it has been a popular choice since it's introduction into our range. It's french style design is right on trend and it has a feeling of real luxury that is hugely popular with our discerning customers.
The Lenore chair's curved arms and sumptuous deep buttoning provide a comfortable seat that your clients will love to unwind in and the high quality materials used to upholster the chair will ensure that it retains it's beautiful shape for years to come whilst being easy to clean and maintain to withstand the heavy use of a busy salon. The addition of the metal studding to the arms and backrest add contrast to the vinyl to accentuate the chair's beautiful shape and style. The polished chrome base adds a contemporary edge and the chair can be height adjusted with a handy hydraulic pedal. Available in a range of colours to suit any style with the black and grey vinyl being the most versatile and classic shades.
To compliment the Lenore styling chairs and create a uniformed and professional look, we also have a Lenore washpoint available. The Lenore washpoint features the iconic Lenore details such as the buttoning and stud detail yet the chair is mounted to a white base unit that cleverly disguises the pipes and creates a clean look. The washunit has a deep, wide basin with tilt function, mixer tap and shower head. Your clients will be able to relax in style as their worries wash away with a relaxing | 292 |
Home > Kolkata > Industry and trade unions should trust and understand each other more: Minister
Industry and trade unions should trust and understand each other more: Minister
Agencies15 Sep 2017 5:42 PM GMT
KOLKATA: Industry and trade unions are interdependent and they need to understand and trust each other better, said Moloy Ghatak, state Labour minister while inaugurating the Industry-Trade Union Dialogue Forum 2017 organised by CII on Friday.
"The Bengal government is ready to welcome enterprising entrepreneurs to our state to partner us in the growth and development process of the state. I assure you of our complete cooperation and support," he said, adding: "We are continuously working towards development of industry in the state."
<|fim_middle|>hs here has been reduced significantly," he said.
He also complimented the state government for rapid industrial growth and development. "The state has strong potential to develop into a vibrant economy with strong growth in agriculture, industry and services sector. One of our major focus has been to promote Bengal across India and across the globe. CII offers all its support for the same," he added. | "Bengal offers a wide range of fiscal and policy incentives for businesses and several measures have been taken to attract greenfield investments," he said, adding: "But all these efforts to attract industries and investments will not bear fruit if there doesn't exist a healthy relationship between industry and trade unions."
Abhinav Chandra, secretary, department of Labour, dwelt upon how the state government has given increased thrust on increasing efficiency through digitisation. Very soon, the government will come up with a mechanism so that factory licences are obtained in seven days and the tout system is done away with.
He also spoke of the state government's intervention in the unorganised sector. The Samajik Mukti Card - an all purpose card – is a great boon for the workers of the unorganised sector. He also pointed out that e-commerce has emerged as the single largest employer. "Things are changing rapidly," he said.
Umesh Chowdhary, Chairman, CII Eastern Region, spoke of how industrial relations in Bengal have "undergone a sea change". According to him, the perception about the state as a business-friendly state will get a further boost if the message is communicated powerfully and widely across the globe. "The number of strikes and band | 252 |
11th Research Data Alliance plenary in Berlin (photo: D. Rodriguez for the GFZ).
State Secretary Dr. Georg Schütte (photo: D. Rodriguez for the GFZ).
Participants of the 11th Research Data Alliance plenary (photo: D. Rodriguez for the GFZ).
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) held its 11th plenary from 21 to 23 March in Berlin. The three-day<|fim_middle|> the field of geosciences were a crucial part of the program, since the geosciences play an important part within the RDA community due to their long tradition in dealing with accessing research data. | event with about 660 participants at the bcc Berlin Congress Center brought together international stakeholders from 41 countries and several disciplines on the topic of research data.
State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Georg Schütte stated in his welcome note: "Openness, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and community involvement are key for responsible and innovative use of research data".
The participants discussed solutions for a better use of research data across all scientific fields. One outcome was, for example, a progress in designing a framework for research data citation. Urgent practical issues as well as best practices from | 121 |
Successfully Added Android 4.2 Quad Core TV Box "Mars" - Built-In 2MP Camera, DLNA, Miracast, Bluetooth to your Shopping Cart.
Android 4.2 Quad Core TV Box is everything you need for creating the<|fim_middle|> it shipped out within one working day with a 12 month warranty. Brought to you by your source for China factory direct electronics and Android TV boxes, Chinavasion. | perfect entertainment system as it has a Built-In 2MP Camera that supports DLNA and Miracast as well as having Bluetooth pairing capability.
Looking like it comes from another planet, the "Mars" TV box is designed to not only be appealing and practical but to bring the ultimate solution of transforming your HD TV into an outstanding entertainment center. Using Android 4.2 Jelly Bean as the operating software, you can sit back and take full advantage of all the games, options and applications that come with it, plus you can download and install your own by simply accessing the online Google Play store. What sets the "Mars" from other TV boxes is that it is a step above other TV boxes as it has a built-in 2 megapixel camera that can be used for SKYPE conversations or to record your own high-definition video blogs to be uploaded on to YouTube or Facebook.
Fell true power and experience a fantastic performance due to the "Mars" TV box's quad Rockchip RK3188 Quad core Cortex-A9 processor that can reach speeds of up to 1.4GHz in addition to the Mali400 GPU, which is more focus on delivering sensational graphics every time you use. Miracast support is another feature that the "Mars" TV box has, which is similar to Apple's Aiplay as it allows you to share your screen with other Miracast enabled devices for brilliant sharing possibilities. Furthermore, the "Mars" TV box features DLNA, therefore you'll be able to connect your DLNA compatible devices in just a few seconds and wirelessly stream content.
Also the "Mars" Android TV Box has an array of ports including HDMI OUT for connecting to your TV and two USB IN ports for your wireless mouse and keyboard. There is an allocated port for inserting a micro SD Card of up to 32GB to be combined with the existing 8GB of internal memory so that you can play and save your media. Capable of playing a vast range of media formats, the "Mars" TV box ensures you won't have to worry about media compatibility when you want to watch movies, listen to music, look at pictures and read ebooks.
The "Mars" Android 4.2 Quad Core TV Box is offered at an amazing wholesale price and is now in stock for single or bulk purchase. Buy now and have | 484 |
Home > Medications > Protamine Sulfate Injection
Protamine Sulfate Injection
Pharmaceutical Partners
Heparin Antagonist
Action And Clinical Pharmacology: When administered alone, protamine has an anticoagulant effect. However, when it is given in the presence of heparin (which is strongly acidic), a stable salt is formed which results in the loss of anticoagulant activity of both drugs.
Protamine has a rapid onset of action. Neutralization of heparin occurs within 5 minutes after i.v. administration. Although the metabolic fate of the heparin-protamine complex has not been elucidated, it has been postulated that protamine in the heparin-protamine complex may be partially metabolized or may be attacked by fibrinolysin, thus freeing heparin.
Indications And Clinical Uses: Treatment of heparin overdos<|fim_middle|> Of Overdose: Symptoms and Treatment: Because of the anticoagulant effect of protamine, overdosage of this drug may theoretically result in hemorrhage. However, in one study, overdosage of 600 to 800 mg of i.v. protamine had only minimal, transient effects on blood coagulation tests. The patient should be followed with coagulation studies and treated symptomatically.
The LD50 of protamine is 100 mg/kg in mice.
Dosage And Administration: Each mg of protamine will neutralize approximately 90 USP units of heparin activity derived from beef lung tissue or about 115 USP units of heparin activity derived from porcine intestinal mucosa.
Protamine sulfate injection should be given by very slow i.v. injection in doses not to exceed 50 mg of protamine in any 10 minute period (see Warnings).
Protamine is intended for injection without further dilution; however, if further dilution is desired, 5% Dextrose Injection or 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection may be used. Diluted solutions should not be stored since they contain no preservative.
Protamine should not be mixed with other drugs without knowledge of their compatibility, because protamine has been shown to be incompatible with certain antibiotics, including several of the cephalosporins and penicillins.
Because heparin disappears rapidly from the circulation, the dose of protamine required also decreases rapidly with the time elapsed following i.v. injection of heparin. For example, if the protamine is administered 30 minutes after the heparin, one-half the usual dose may be sufficient.
The dosage of protamine should be guided by blood coagulation studies (see Warnings).
Parenteral drug products should be visually inspected for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution and container permit.
Availability And Storage: Each mL of sterile, nonpyrogenic, isotonic solution contains: protamine sulfate 10 mg, sodium chloride 9 mg and water for injection q.s. Sulfuric acid and/or dibasic sodium phosphate (heptahydrate) may have been added for pH adjustment. Preservative-free. Flip-top vials of 5 mL, packages of 25. Individually packaged flip-top vials of 30 mL with 25 mL fill. Store at controlled room temperature 15 to 30°C. Do not freeze. Discard unused portion.
Note: The 25 mL vials are designed for antiheparin treatment in certain cases in which large doses of heparin have been given during surgery and are to be neutralized by large doses of protamine after surgical procedures.
PROTAMINE SULFATE INJECTION Pharmaceutical Partners Heparin Antagonist | age.
Contra-Indications: Patients who have shown previous intolerance to the drug.
Manufacturers' Warnings In Clinical States: Hyperheparinemia or bleeding has been reported in experimental animals and in some patients 30 minutes to 18 hours after cardiac surgery (under cardiopulmonary bypass) in spite of complete neutralization of heparin by adequate doses of protamine at the end of the operation.
Therefore, it is important to keep the patient under close observation after cardiac surgery. Additional doses of protamine should be administered if indicated by coagulation studies; such as the heparin titration test with protamine and the determination of plasma thrombin time.
Too rapid administration of protamine can cause severe hypotensive and anaphylactoid-like reactions (see Dosage). Facilities to treat shock should be available.
Precautions: General: Because of the anticoagulant effect of protamine, it is unwise to give more than 100 mg over a short period unless there is certain knowledge of a larger requirement.
Previous exposure to protamine through use of protamine-containing insulins or during heparin neutralization may predispose susceptible individuals to the development of untoward reactions from the subsequent use of this drug. Reports of the presence of antiprotamine antibodies in the serums of infertile or vasectomized men suggest that some of these individuals may react to the use of protamine.
Patients with a history of allergy to fish may develop hypersensitivity reactions to protamine, although to date no relationship has been established between allergic reactions to protamine and fish allergy.
Drug Interactions: Protamine has been shown to be incompatible with certain antibiotics, including several of the cephalosporins and penicillins (see Dosage).
Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility: Studies have not been performed to determine potential for carcinogenicity, mutagenicity or impairment of fertility.
Pregnancy: Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with protamine. It is also not known whether protamine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. Protamine should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.
Lactation: It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when protamine is administered to a nursing woman.
Adverse Reactions: I.V. injections of protamine may cause a sudden fall in blood pressure, bradycardia, pulmonary hypertension, dyspnea, or transitory flushing and a feeling of warmth. There have been reports of anaphylaxis that resulted in respiratory embarrassment (see Precautions). Other reported adverse reactions include systemic hypertension, nausea, vomiting and lassitude. Back pain has been reported rarely in conscious patients undergoing such procedures as cardiac catheterization.
Because fatal reactions often resembling anaphylaxis have been reported after administration of protamine, the drug should be given only when resuscitation techniques and treatment of anaphylactoid shock are readily available.
Symptoms And Treatment | 647 |
No campo da matemática da teoria dos grafos o grafo de Biggs–Smith é um grafo não-orientado 3-regular com 102 vértices e 153 arestas.
Ele tem número cromático 3, índice cromático 3, raio 7, diâmetro 7 e cintura 9.<|fim_middle|>GL(2,17). Ele age transitivamente sobre os vértices, nas arestas e nos arcos do grafo. Portanto, o grafo de Biggs–Smith é im grafo simétrico. Ele tem automorfismos que levam qualquer vértice para qualquer outro vértice e qualquer aresta para qualquer outra aresta. De acordo com o censo de Foster, o grafo de Biggs-Smith, referenciado como F102A, é o único grafo cúbico simétrico em 102 vértices.
O grafo de Biggs–Smith é também singularmente determinado por seu espectro de grafo, o conjunto de autovalores do grafo de sua matriz de adjacência.
O polinômio característico do grafo de Biggs–Smith é:
.
Galeria
Grafos regulares
Grafos individuais | É tanto 3-vértice-conectado quanto 3-aresta-conectado.
Todos os grafos distância-regular cúbicos são conhecidos. O grafo Biggs–Smith é um destes 13 grafos.
Propriedades algébricas
O grupo de automorfismo do grafo de Biggs–Smith é um grupo de ordem 2448 isomórfico ao P | 91 |
In a very large ovenproof skillet, heat 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, bell peppers and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened<|fim_middle|> each ingredient used.
This robust dish needs a red with muscle to stand up to it, like a plummy Monastrell from Spain's Jumilla region.
Review Body: This is huge. Wish this recipe had choices for 2, 4 or 6 portions. | and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until softened and all of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes longer.
Transfer the vegetables to a blender and puree until smooth. Season the vegetable puree with salt and Piment d'Espelette.
Wash and dry the skillet. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in each of 2 very large ovenproof skillets. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add 10 of the thighs to each skillet, skin side down. Cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until the chicken is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Transfer the chicken to a platter and pour off the fat in the skillets.
Add 1/4 cup of the brown sugar to 1 of the skillets and cook over high heat, whisking constantly, until melted, about 1 minute. Off the heat, carefully whisk in 1/2 cup of the vinegar; turn away to avoid the fumes. Cook over moderate heat, whisking and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Add half of the vegetable puree and bring to a boil. Return 10 of the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin side up. Repeat with the second skillet and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup of vinegar, puree and chicken thighs. Cover both skillets and simmer the chicken over low heat until cooked through, about 12 minutes.
Preheat the broiler and position a rack 8 inches from the heat. Uncover the skillets and broil the chicken until the skin is lightly browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter, spoon the sauce on top and serve.
Piment d'Espelette is a smoky, mildly spicy ground chile native to the Basque region. It is available at specialty food shops, spice shops and by mail order from Piperade (415-391-2555 or piperade.com).
The cost of each recipe is based on the amount of | 458 |
Work on a new park at the heart of Bognor Regis could begin next spring and be completed by the summer of 2021.
Environmental consultancy LUC has been tasked to come up with a scheme for the Sunken Gardens next to Hothamton Car Park on behalf of Ar<|fim_middle|> Hitchins said that while the concept of a new park would not change the content can change. | un District Council.
The new park is set to called the Pavilion Park after a public vote. The project has previously been known as the Linear Park.
LUC was the landscape architect and masterplanner for the Eden Project in Cornwall and the company's other projects include the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, Tumbling Bay Playground in the Olympic Park in London and The Level in Brighton.
He was giving a presentation to Arun District Council's Bognor Regis regeneration sub-committee on Monday (January 28).
The current timescales would see engagement with the public on concept designs later this year with a planning application due to be submitted in the summer.
It is anticipated if permission is granted for the scheme a contractor would be appointed in spring 2020 with the project then completed in the summer of 2021.
Phil Hitchins (Con, Aldwick West), chairman of the committee, said: "I'm impressed with what you have been doing.
The project has not been without controversy as Lib Dem councillors have been campaigning to save the Sunken Gardens, while Labour town councillor Jan Cosgrove has repeatedly accused Arun of 'not listening'.
Matt Stanley (LDem, Marine) asked about what input residents would have into the design and concepts for the new park.
Mr Massey said that the stakeholder engagement would be about 'listening and responding as best as we can'.
Mr Stanley described how there were a 'large amount of people' concerned about the development of the current garden which is 'very different from a park'.
In response Mr | 321 |
Bears Defense<|fim_middle|> Marinelli said. "It's not been popped up, so it's a credit to him. He's cleaned that up. Part of our deal is we've got to go take it away."
Easier said than done for the Bears' defense in recent games. The Bears have forced only two turnovers in four games and haven't caused one in two weeks.
"We have to take the ball away," coach Lovie Smith said. "That's how we play football. For whatever reason we haven't been able to do it. Last week we had opportunities. We dropped interceptions, but I saw guys attempting to strip the football. They'll eventually come. Hopefully it will be Monday night."
In Webb, the Bears see a player similar in style to Michael Vick. They beat Vick and the Eagles 31-26.
"This guy can move now," Marinelli said. "He is fast. He sees a crease and he'll take off. So we've got to make sure we're disciplined in our rush lanes, that we overlap; all the things that we have to accomplish."
The 36-7 loss to New England last Sunday still stings defensive players.
"It's a very prideful bunch of men now," Marinelli said. "That's a strong-willed group, with great pride in what they do, and that's why they're good and that's why we'll continue to be good."
© 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.
Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited. | Knows Where To Improve Against Vikings
Filed Under:Adrian Peterson, Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears, Joe Webb, Lance Briggs, Lovie Smith, Metrodome, Michael Vick, Minnesota Vikings, Rod Marinelli, Tim Jennings
CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 12: Brian Urlacher #54 of the Chicago Bears calls a defensive play as teammate Lance Briggs #55 moves into position against the New England Patriots at Soldier Field on December 12, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Patriots defeated the Bears 36-7. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)Brian Urlacher; Lance Briggs (photo credit :Getty Images)
(WSCR) – The Chicago Bears are hoping to play better in the frigid weather against the Vikings than they did against the Patriots. The Bears defense know they need to get turnovers and haven't been able to accomplish this in two weeks. They also know they could face QB Joe Webb and have been preparing to stop Adrian Peterson.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) For the third time in three road games, the Chicago Bears' defense could face a third-string quarterback if Joe Webb starts for the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.
The possibility of facing Webb, who's had only five NFL pass attempts, could be considered another stroke of good luck in a season full of similar breaks for the Bears, but really good fortune would be facing the Vikings without running back Adrian Peterson.
Peterson has not practiced this week due to ankle and knee soreness. Coming off their worst effort of the season, the Bears' defense is still gearing up to defend against a player who has been a nemesis over the years.
"He's a great running back," linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "I know he's a little banged up right now, but I'm sure he'll be ready to go on Monday night."
Peterson's first huge game as a pro came against the Bears with a three-touchdown, 224-yard, 20-carry effort in his rookie season of 2007.
During Peterson's first four games against the Bears, he averaged 6.2 yards a carry and eight touchdowns. However, in the past three games he's been held to 3.5 yards a carry and three TDs. And in Chicago earlier this season, Peterson gained his lowest total against the Bears, 51 yards on 17 carries.
The Bears insist nothing has changed in their approach. They're just doing it better.
"Just getting in our gaps, just tackling, guys swarming around him," linebacker Lance Briggs said. "He is not always a guarantee if you're one on one with him, that you're going to bring him down. As long as we've got 11 guys flying to the ball, we give ourselves a chance to get him down."
Cornerback Tim Jennings called it a nightmare for a defensive player to find himself in the open field, one on one against Peterson.
"One thing about this defense, guys are running," Jennings said. "So you're never going to be by yourself tackling that guy. You've just got to play your leverage, force him back into the defense where your help is at. I think you just have to minimize his game. He's going to get his carries, he's going to get his yards."
Last season, the Bears forced a key Peterson fumble in overtime at home and won, and also got him to fumble in a loss at the Metrodome. Peterson's fumbling problems got more attention after similar problems in the playoffs, but this season he hasn't lost a fumble.
"Obviously he's very conscious of it, you can tell that," defensive coordinator Rod | 764 |
TRADITIONAL TIBETAN DUMPLINGS • Traditional Tibetan dumplings made from scratch right here with natural fresh ingredients. Momo comes in many different shapes & a variety<|fim_middle|> delicious apple and seasonal fruits & berries. | of fillings. Eights pieces of steamed momo served with home made labu dangtsel (daiken relish mixed with lemon, crushed pepper and bitter berries, called ema), mint mild sauce, jalapeno-cilantro hot sauce & a small bowl of soup.
SAUTEED NOODLE DISHES • Noodles sautéed with fresh broccoli, cabbage, carrot, red onion, cilantro, tomato, scallion, spinach, ginger, garlic, a touch of soy sauce & sprinkled with cilantro. Choice of egg or rice noodles.
Your choice of fresh spinach or baby bok choy sautéed with fresh ginger, garlic, tomato, onion & spices. Combine with one of the following: Chura (tofu) or Shogo (potato) or Shamo (mushroom) or Gonga (scrambled egg).
Mango yogurt mixed with fresh mango, thinly sliced red | 195 |
Samy A. Mahmoud was the 5th chancellor of University of Sharjah (2008-2013), and formerly the acting president of Carleton<|fim_middle|> the resignation of David W. Atkinson. He is at present professor of systems and computer engineering at Carleton University, leading a research group on sensor technologies and platforms.
Dr. Mahmoud graduated from Carleton University in 1975 with a doctorate in electrical engineering. He has served various roles at Carleton, including acting provost, vice-president (academic), dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design and chair of the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering.
See also
List of Canadian university leaders
References
External links
University of Sharjah Website
Carleton University's Website
Presidents of Carleton University
Carleton University alumni
Living people
Academic staff of the University of Sharjah
Year of birth missing (living people) | University (2006-2008).
Biography
Samy A. Mahmoud was the 5th chancellor of the University of Sharjah (2008-2013). Previously, he served as the acting president of Carleton University, appointed in November, 2006, after | 67 |
My childhood Christmas memories are defined by four things: food, carols, presents and Fritz.
Food: I see the canisters of christmas cookies. Turtles,<|fim_middle|> service to find the family room strewn with little pleated papers. Fritz had eaten his way through an entire pound of Barricini's chocolates and lived to tell the tale (from his exile in the front yard). Another year, my sister and I came home to discover he'd knocked over the Christmas tree. And once, while chasing his new squeaky Snowman around the dining room table, he dislocated his shoulder, requiring a Christmas day emergency vet visit.
And a recent Christmas memory: After my father died I discovered among his effects these Christmas cards from Tokyo, dated 1945. I knew my father had been on a Navy ship steaming toward the invasion of Japan just before they surrendered, but I didn't know he actually landed.
Singing Silent Night in a candle-lit sanctuary still gives me chills and makes me hope-filled for at least a moment. For me it's the heart of Christmas. May our world find peace in the new year. | those brown sugar based balls spread thick with dark chocolate frosting; Ladyfingers, powdered sugar, butter and pecan filled; and Spritz cookies, butter cookies shot from a cookie press by my sister in various Christmas shapes, bells, stars and angels and sprinkled with red and green colored sugar. And the Christmas duck, stuffed with prunes and apples. A general family lament was that there were never leftovers for sandwiches. We always ate the whole bird.
Carols: After clearing the Thanksgiving table my father always repaired to the living room to place a Christmas carol record on the player and the season officially was underway. Throughout the weeks of Advent, Perry Como and I spent many an hour belting out O Little Town of Bethlehem and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Jo Stafford taught me Walking in a Winter Wonderland and Merry Christmas to You. Between Perry, Jo and weekly church sings multiple verses of virtually all Christmas songs remain imprinted on my brain.
Presents: I remember my dolls—Tiny Tears with her multiple outfits lovingly created by my Aunt Ethel (all Tiny's exit pores had arrived plugged and after being "surgically" opened, the poor thing drained for weeks on a towel after being force-fed enough water to make her slosh); my full sized baby doll (Amy) who also came with a wardrobe and a crib; and my Ginette doll. (My sister is holding hers in the picture above.) I also remember my life-sized "sculptural" copy of Durer's Praying Hands, a ten-year-old's irrational obsession developed after a visit to Caldor (the 1950s in Connecticut version of Target) and a wish which my mother lovingly fulfilled as well as the slot car set I coveted which my brother and I delighted in racing at full speed to watch the cars fly off the track.
Fritz: Fritz was our dachshund and he cut his own swath around Christmas time. One year, we returned from the 11:00 pm Christmas Eve | 414 |
Our congregation began in <|fim_middle|> new again at The Church at 1548 Heights! | 1916 as The Heights Church of Christ. In early 2016, as we began our second century and embraced the excitement of a new beginning, we adopted a new name, doing business as The Church at 1548 Heights. We greet you in the name of the Lord—where sharing Jesus is what we do.
We are led in the pulpit by our Preaching Minister, Dr. Matt Soper. Matt and his wife, Angela, moved to the Heights as empty-nesters a couple of years ago and joined us on our mission in January 2016. Matt is an experienced and enthusiastic Bible teacher who has the gift of breaking down complicated scriptures and applying them to our daily lives. He has been in full-time ministry since 1992.
Ann Bayliss leads our Pastoral Care and Prayer ministries. She has served for over 30 years in prayer ministry, retreat planning, campus outreach and in the study of women in ministry. She and her husband, Ed, are particularly focused on building community and resources for people living on the edge of hunger, addiction and homelessness.
Our mission is to "Share Jesus" with the Heights and surrounding areas. We share Jesus by sharing the message of Jesus with those who don't know Him, by sharing the fellowship of Jesus in worship and community life, and by sharing the love of Jesus through serving the poor, the discouraged, and the marginalized.
We invite you to join us on our mission. Everything is | 306 |
We were touring through Greenwich Village, showcasing places of literary significance, when we remembered that today marks the 80th anniversary of the death of poet Hart Crane.
Best known for his long-form poem The Bridge--a celebration of America using as its central symbol the Brooklyn Bridge--Crane was one of the greatest modernist poets of his generation. Plagued by alcohol problems and the perils of being a gay man in a closeted society, Crane cut short his own life on April 27, 1932, when he jumped from a steamship in the Gulf of Mexico.
Crane lived a number of places in New York, including 45 Grove Street, 54 West 10th Street, and 79 Charles Street in the Village, and 110 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights, where he wrote the bulk of The Bridge. Only later did he discover that the bridge's co-designer and chief engineer, Washington Roebling, had once lived in the same apartment building overlooking the East River.
James Franco's film, The Broken Tower, which is a biography of Crane, opened in limited release today.
Interested in a literary walk of Greenwich Village? We lead private tours for groups large and small; contact us at walknyc@gmail.com or events@insidetheapple.net for more information.
We hope everyone has a great weekend, and we just wanted to remind you that tickets are still available for Sunday's 3pm performance of The House of Mirth at the Metropolitan Playhouse. After the show, we'll be talking about Edith Wharton's New York and how the mores and customs of the times are reflected in the play and her other writings. It should be a lot of fun and we hope to see you there!
This version of the novel was written by Wharton herself and is seldom revived, so if you are a Wharton fan you won't want to pass up this opportunity. The play opens tonight and runs through May 20.
Tickets are available at http://metropolitanplayhouse.org/houseofmirth.
There's been much fanfare in commemoration of the sinking of RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, en route to New York on its maiden voyage--a new miniseries, the re-release of James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic in 3D, and a host of articles, documentaries, and museum exhibitions.
We recommend the exhibition at the South Street Seaport Museum entitled Titanic at 100: Myth and Memory, which is running through May 16. The exhibition features a host of Titanic ephemera, from the china commissioned for the ship (the examples on view were extras not taken on that first voyage) to advertisements in New York for the April 20 return voyage to Europe that never happened. The most fascinating part of show is its centerpiece--the dispatches sent and received from<|fim_middle|>ith Wharton's House of Mirth.
After the Metropolitan's performance, we will be talking about Edith Wharton's New York and the role it played in shaping her writing; her New York works include classics such as House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, as well as lesser-known titles such as The Custom of the Country and Old New York.
We'll being copies of our own book, Inside the Apple, for sale and signing.
REMINDER: Today's the last day to reserve at the $10 discount for our 4/22 tour of Gilded Age Lower Manhattan.
Join James Nevius, co-author of Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, on Sunday, April 22, to explore Beaux Arts architecture in Lower Manhattan. This is the era of JP Morgan, and we'll see a number of sites associated with him, including the House of Morgan and International Mercantile Marine (IMM) ticket office. IMM owned, among other ships, White Star's Titanic; since the centennial of that boat's sinking is just one week earlier, we'll also talk about the golden age of New York as a port for both goods (as evidenced in Cass Gilbert's triumphant US Custom House) and people. The tour will last between 1.5 and 2 hours.
Copies of Inside the Apple will be available for purchase at the tour.
· A good email address where we can send you information about where the tour will start.
PLEASE NOTE that if you reserve no later than Sunday, April 15, the cost is just $10 per person. All reservations received starting Monday, April 16, will be $15 per person.
This tour will have only a limited number of spaces, so please reserve early to avoid disappointment.
Payment will be taken at the start of the tour by cash only. Directions to the tour's starting point will be sent out after your reservation is confirmed. | the Titanic, Olympic, Carpathia, and other ships by marconi wireless operators that document the sinking in real-time.
More information about New York at the end of the Gilded Age can be found in our book, Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, available from Amazon.com and fine booksellers everywhere.
We saw a preview performance last night of Edith Wharton's adaptation of her best-selling novel House of Mirth at the Metropolitan Playhouse and we urge you to go. Wharton was the most adept chronicler of New York's social set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and she and playwright Clyde Fitch did a masterful job of taking the varied settings and situations of the novel and figuring out how to make them work on stage. As always, the cast and direction at the Metropolitan Playhouse are top notch, especially Amanda Jones as Lily Bart.
Of course, we'd love it if the performance you came to see is this Sunday, April 29, at 3:00pm. Following that matinee, we'll be joining director Alex Roe for a talk back with the audience where we'll be discussing the world of the play and the New York in which Edith Wharton lived and worked.
You can buy tickets for that performance at this link: http://metropolitanplayhouse.org/HOM8. The show officially opens on Friday and runs through May 20.
On Sunday, April 29, we will be appearing at the Metropolitan Playhouse in the East Village to do a post-show talk-back following the 3:00pm performance of Ed | 337 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.