proba float64 0.5 1 | text stringlengths 16 174k |
|---|---|
0.999471 | Keep your space cool and comfortable by using this MaxxAir 30" Yoke Pedestal Fan. It is a powerful commercial grade solution for cooling areas, including workshops, warehouses, garages and more. The MaxxAir fan uses a unique yoke style design that allows it to easily pivot a full 360 degrees, which is very useful in a number of cooling situations. It features an all metal construction for the greatest durability in heavy-duty applications. The MaxxAir 30" Yoke Pedestal Fan has a dial switch for quickly switching up between its three speeds and its height is adjustable. It comes in a black satin powder-coated finish that helps ensure durability and a long lifespan.
Keep your space cool and comfortable by using this MaxxAir 30" Yoke Pedestal Fan. It is a powerful commercial grade solution for cooling areas, including workshops, warehouses, garages and more. The MaxxAir fan uses a unique yoke style design that allows it to easily pivot a full 360 degrees, which is very useful in a number of cooling situations. It features an all metal construction for the greatest durability in heavy-duty applications. The MaxxAir 30" Yoke Pedestal Fan has a dial switch for quickly switching up between its three speeds and its height is adjustable. It comes in a black satin powder-coated finish that helps ensure durability and a long lifespan.
Puts out a lot of air!
We bought three of these fans for an outdoor venue. They really moved air under a pavilion. On high a tad noisy. But you if run in on medium it still puts out air and is much quieter. We had folks come up and ask where we'd found them. They were impressed as well. We plan on buying some more for other areas. You can feel air movement thirty feet away easily.
I was pleased with what I got for the price I paid. Similar models were much more expensive on other sites.
If you want a super "Man-Made" Breeze, this is it!
Very well built, easy to assemble, works fantastically!!
Bought it a month ago, so far so good.
I have had this fan for about a month and will be keeping it for sure. I would have given it a 5 Star rating but it slides down into the base and will not stay all the way up, the motor does seem to get hot but reading all the other reviews here on Sams Club and other sites the motor has not been an issue for people, other than that it does the job very well and moves A LOT of air. Excellent buy for the money and I did NOT find a better price anywhere.
The fan works as expected. It works adequately to move some air. It does not appear to be heavy enough to last a long time, but time will tell!
ITEMS WERE BROKEN AND FAN GUARDS WERE BENT OUT OF SHAPE ON BOTH FANS I RECEIVED , EITHER POOR PACKAGING OR POOR FABRICATION!
Hi MiniT,<br /><br />I'm sorry to hear you received your fan with a broken knob - please feel free to give our customer service line a call toll-free at 800-433-1626 and we'll be able to assist you in obtaining a replacement knob for your unit. Please note that it is normal for the motor to get hot when in continuous use - this fan has a thermal overload which will automatically turn off the motor should it overheat for any reason.
This is a great fan that moves a lot of air, however, it was simply too noisy for my use. |
0.927745 | I have friends visiting me from the Pacific Northwest and Texas this weekend and I have enjoyed taking them around the island to the many places that makes Nantucket so special. One of my favorites is the Nantucket Whaling Museum, which not only instills wonder at the size and beauty of whales, but also reminds me that we are especially lucky to be able to view these animals in the wild around the island. Over the past few years I have written about several individual species that have either washed ashore or been seen from local vessels. Nantucket's proximity to popular feeding grounds and exposure to the open ocean results in it becoming an inevitable resting place for marine mammals in trouble.
Where once islanders made their living by hunting down these mammoth creatures, we now marvel at and financially benefit from their presence. A small minke whale swam into Nantucket Harbor a few weeks ago to both the delight and consternation of islanders. There is no definitive answer for why this mammal decided that the middle of August Race week was a good time to take a jaunt in the harbor. The most likely reason for its foray is that it was chasing small bait fish into the harbor and didn't realize it made a mistake until it had practically booked a ticket on the Steamship slow boat. This happens somewhat frequently with common dolphins that get caught up in the chase of their prey and soon find they are ricocheting between cuspate spits along Coatue and the inner harbor shoreline on the south side.
I wasn't surprised to find out that the World Wildlife Fund ranks Massachusetts as the 10th best place in the world to whale watch. The best time for whale watching in Massachusetts is from April to October, although whales have been spotted in Bay State waters as early as mid-March and as late as early November. Whales migrate to Massachusetts to feed on mackerel, herring, krill, and other schooling fish that breed in these nutrient-rich waters. As soon as the cold weather settles in, however, whales travel to warmer waters to mate and give birth.
Several types of whales migrate to Massachusetts during feeding season. The most common sightings are humpback whales, which range in length from 35 feet to 55 feet and weigh nearly 37 tons. Also common are finback whales, ranging from 45 feet to 70 feet and weighing 40 tons. Minke, right, and pilot whales are also spotted in Massachusetts waters. On rare occasions, smaller species, including sperm, beluga, sei and blue whales, have recorded. Whales seen within 30 miles of Nantucket on local whale watches or that have washed ashore over the past ten years include finbacks, humpbacks, pygmy sperm, dwarf sperm, minke, and northern right whales. Over the past few years I have written about the dwarf (Kogia sima) and pygmy sperm (Kogia breviceps) whales that beached themselves here just because I had never heard of either of these until they appeared on our shores.
Common or northern minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) are members of the baleen whale family and are the smallest of the "great whales" or rorquals which include the humpback whale, the fin whale, the Bryde's whale, the sei whale and the blue whale. The scientific name for minke whales translates to: "winged whale" (Balaenoptera) with a "sharp snout" (acutorostrata). Its close relative, the Antarctic minke whale or southern minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) shares many traits but inhabits the waters of the Southern Ocean for most of the year. Minke whales received their common name from a Norwegian novice whaling spotter named Meincke, who supposedly mistook a minke whale for a blue whale (www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/minkewhale.htm).
Minkes are relatively small whales with sickle-shaped dorsal fins located two-thirds of the way back on the body and white bands on their flippers, Minkes are pretty sleek for whales and typically exhibit no visible breath (spout). Like all the rorquals, the minke is a fast swimmer, capable of reaching speeds of 18-24 knots (16-21 mph). The minke can be curious, and has been known to approach ships, even at times keeping up with moving vessels.
Whale observers always look for long-distance cues such as spout patterns and fluke and tail behavior to identify whales at a distance and the minke rarely lifts its tail. Our harbor visitor was an excellent example of a minke and was estimated by Captain Blair Perkins of Shearwater Excursions (one of our many local New England Aquarium stranding volunteers) to be 20-25 feet long. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates there are 185,000 minke whales in the Atlantic. They prey on small schooling fish (like anchovies, dogfish, capelin, coal fish, cod, eels, herring, mackerel, salmon, sand lance, saury, and wolfish) and crustaceans.
The animals grow to about 35 feet and can weigh up to 20,000 pounds. They live up to 50 years and reach sexual maturity between three and eight years of age. Minke whales can be very active at the surface, breaching and "spyhopping" (a term for raising their heads vertically out of the water) while making clicking and, up until recently unidentified, "boing" sounds.
You might recall last year that we had a juvenile humpback whale wash up on Smith's Point in July. Humpbacks are seen relatively frequently around Nantucket. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae "mega" for "giant" and "ptera" for "wing") may grow to be fifty-five feet long and they are usually black with long white flippers, knobby bumps on their heads and distinctive, variably sized dorsal fins. These are showy exciting animals on a whale watch with spectacular breaching maneuvers, exhibiting flamboyant tail lifting while diving with distinctive black and white patterns underneath. Their signature bubble net fishing techniques are icing on the cake. During the spring, summer, and fall, these whales are found most often around the sloping sides of the banks and ledges of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and the continental shelf south of the Islands. Humpbacks are baleen whales that feed on mostly small schooling fish like sand lance, herring, young mackerel, and krill. Each whale eats up to 1 1/2 tons (1,361 kg) of food a day.
Because their feeding, mating, and calving grounds are close to shore and because they are slow swimmers, the humpback whales were an easy target for early whalers. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) gave them worldwide protection status in 1966, but there were large illegal kills until the 1970s. Population estimates vary from 35,000 to 70,000 individuals depending on the source.
North Atlantic Right whales (Eubalaena glacialis which means "good, or true, whale of the ice") are the most seriously endangered whales with a population teetering between 400-500 animals. According to a census of individual whales identified using photo-identification techniques, the latest available stock assessment data (December 2010) indicates that a minimum of 361 recognized individuals were known to be alive in 2005. More than 450 North Atlantic right whales are thus thought to exist at present; almost all living in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Vessel strikes and entanglement in fixed fishing gear are the two greatest threats to their recovery. They migrate between their feeding grounds in the Gulf and Maine, the Bay of Fundy, and in Cape Cod Bay and their calving grounds down south off the coasts of Georgia and Florida.
North Atlantic Right whales are stocky (they prefer big-boned) mostly black whales with no dorsal fins and rough white patches called callosities on their heads. They can be identified at a distance from their spouts which appears as a V-shaped pattern of water vapor due to their partitioned blow holes. When they dive they usually lift their black, triangular tail high. They eat zooplankton, including copepods (tiny crustaceans), euphausiids (small shrimp-like crustaceans), salps (gelatinous tunicates) and cyprids (barnacle larvae). Unlike other baleen whales, right whales are skimmers: they feed by removing prey from the water using baleen while moving with their mouth open through a patch of zooplankton.
world and the second in size after the Blue Whale. Finbacks are grayish, sleek whales with tall, curved dorsal fins. Their heads are asymmetrical with darker markings on the left side and lighter marking on the right side. The reason for this unusual coloring is unknown, but some scientists have speculated that fin whales circle schools of fish with the white side facing the prey and frightening them into denser schools that are easier for the whale to catch. Other scientists theorize that this lighter color is mostly pointed downward as they swim on the right side to feed. Of course a few have to swim on the left side just to mess with that theory. Similar to the minke whale, finbacks rarely lift their tails while swimming. Like other baleen whales, fin whales have two blowholes positioned in a V-shape while toothed whales have only one blowhole. They have a broad, flat rostrum (upper part of the head). Their throat grooves or ventral pleats, in addition to streamlining their shape, allow their throat area to expand tremendously during feeding. In the North Atlantic, they prey on krill and small schooling fish (e.g. capelin, herring, and sand lance) which they can scoop up while swimming on their sides at speeds from 6-10 mph while side-feeding and up to 25 mph while lunging into balls of fish.
Fin whales were severely overhunted in the 19th and 20th centuries and are still hunted by commercial vessels from Iceland and Japan and aboriginal subsistence vessels from Greenland. Estimates suggest that the population of the remaining fin whales in the all the world's seas range from less than 100,000 to roughly 119,000. As with many whale species there is a division of species between northern and southern hemispheres. The fin whale that inhabits the North Atlantic is the Northern fin whale, (Balaenoptera physalus physalus) which is smaller than and distinct from the southern fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus quoyi). Fin whales are more gregarious than other rorquals, and often live in groups of 6–10, although feeding groups may reach up to 100 animals.
Another relatively common marine mammal visitor is the long finned Pilot whale (Globicephala melas). Like the orca, the long-finned pilot whale is really a dolphin (Delphinidae family). Six of the larger species in the Delphinidae, the Orca and the Pilot (long-finned and short-finned), Melonheaded, Pygmy Killer and False Killer Whales, are commonly called whales, rather than dolphins; they are also sometimes collectively known as "blackfish."
A female pilot whale beached itself twice and eventually died in June of 2011 near Smith's Point. Pilot whales are often involved in mass strandings off of Cape Cod. During the summer of 2000, there was a mass stranding of 11 pilot whales on Nantucket on the 4th of July. The weather was clear and calm and the animals showed no obvious underlying health problems as opposed to other mass strandings that can be linked to storms or unusually high or low tides. From the New England Aquarium (NEAQ) website: "The term "mass stranding" refers to events in which groups of distressed cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) come ashore alive. They can involve anywhere from a few to several hundred animals. Mass strandings regularly occur in several parts of the world (primarily Australia, New Zealand and Cape Cod), yet so far we have no universally accepted, comprehensive explanation for this syndrome. In many cases, the animals show no obvious signs of health problems other than those resulting from coming ashore. Although mass strandings typically occur during winter months and at times of severe weather, they can occur at any time of year and under any conditions. Once a cetacean comes ashore, a cascade of physiological changes occurs, often resulting in shock and death. Because the species typically involved are extremely social, the bonds that hold groups together are perhaps strong enough to supersede the survival instincts of individual animals. Although we don't know what specifically might set off a mass stranding event, we know that once animals start coming ashore, it's extremely difficult to stop the process from continuing and escalating. Affected animals will relentlessly follow one another ashore, as if crippled by widespread panic, even when there is clear access to open water. Gregarious offshore species such as Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus) and long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melaena) are particularly known to mass strand in New England, mainly on Cape Cod." Sometimes it does not pay to be one of those friendly party people.
It is important to remember that all marine mammals are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. This year marks the 40th anniversary of this critically important legislation which has ensured that our children and grandchildren will be able to see these creatures in the wild.
The New England Aquarium (NEAQ) oversees the Nantucket Stranding Team volunteers on island and local volunteers go through extensive NEAQ training before they are allowed to work with the team. The aquarium is authorized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service to respond to marine mammal strandings of whales, dolphins, porpoises and other animals. Anyone spotting a stranded marine mammal on Nantucket is urged stay away from the animal, and to call the NEAQ's 24-hour stranding hotline at (617) 973-5247. |
0.999922 | About a computer simulated boxing heavyweight championship of all the greatest fighters in history including the finals between Dempsey and Ali.
The classic slugger-vs.-boxer match-up. Ali had beaten sluggers Jeffries and Louis; Dempsey had beaten the boxer Tunney on the way to the finals. Who would prevail as the all-time champ?
Round 1: Dempsey starts fast as usual, moving close, then scoring three body blows. Backing off, he misses with two wild lefts. He scores with a left jab and right cross. Again he moves close but cannot score. He jabs at long range and misses a wild right at the bell.
Round 2: Dempsey moves close but can't score. Ali scores with a left-right-left combination to take the round.
Round 3: Dempsey jabs twice, misses on a wild swing, then scores a three-blow combination. Dempsey floors Ali for an eight-count with a left hook. Dempsey goes after him, missing with a left but scoring with a right. Ali rallies, scoring with a strong right lead and a left-right-left that stings Dempsey. Dempsey jabs at the round's end. Dempsey's round.
Round 4: Dempsey misses wild, then scores a combination to the head. Dempsey misses again wildly, then jabs at the bell.
Round 5: In a slow round, Ali swings wildly, and Dempsey hits low, for which he receives a warning. It is Ali's round, slightly.
Round 6: Ali dances, slipping punches; Dempsey swings wildly, then draws blood from the nose with a right. Ali floors Dempsey for a four-count with a right. Dempsey comes back pressing; Ali misses wildly. They exchange two jabs, and Ali slips punches at the bell. Ali's round.
Round 7: Dempsey scores with a right. Ali comes back with a right and a long left. Dempsey again hits low and is warned. Ali's round.
Round 8: Dempsey moves in, scores with a left to the head, then hits low and is warned again. Dempsey gets close and brings blood from the nose again. Ali comes back with a strong right and slips punches as the round ends. Dempsey's round by a hair.
Round 9: Dempsey takes a lackluster round with a long-range jab.
Round 10: Dempsey moves close but cannot score. Ali coasts, giving Dempsey the round and a 6-4 lead at this point. |
0.999991 | I hired Luker drywall to tape my basement based on a friend's recommendation and I'm very glad I did. Kyle was very polite and professional and he did a fantastic job! The walls look fantastic and required zero prep work for priming after Kyle was done. They also kept dust to minimum and cleaned up what little mess they made from their work. I'm very happy with the service I received and would highly recommend them to anyone in need of drywall or taping. |
0.999898 | I would like to know more about what it takes to be your own general contractor?
Are you experienced in construction? Do you feel comfortable managing large, complicated projects? Would you like to find out if you have what it takes to be your own general contractor? Whether you're planning a minor home remodel or a major renovation, there are several pros and cons to consider before taking the step.
The skill set required for being a general contractor is very similar to that of a business entrepreneur or President of a company. You must know how to juggle multiple tasks under tight deadlines, manage several different groups of people, understand construction processes and safety procedures and solve interpersonal conflicts. You must also be able to take responsibility for financial tasks like purchasing, accounting and budgeting. It's a big job and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.
In order for a construction project to be a success, the general contractor is the person who takes accountability for all phases of the construction process. From start to finish, the general contractor holds the most responsibility on his or her shoulders to make sure that the job is completed correctly, efficiently, on budget and-perhaps most importantly-safely.
General contractors also have a gift for looking at the big picture. They can take a look at construction plans and then visualize what needs to happen. From the start they are adept at scheduling-down to what needs to be done for a certain month, week and day. They are phenomenal at budgeting and purchasing, as well as hiring and managing others. And they understand that one mistake now can mean a disaster further down the line. Not meeting schedules, missing equipment or materials and mismanaged subcontractors can equate to lost profits, or even large-scale debts.
Before you decide to be your own general contractor, it's important to consider what a large undertaking this is and to do your best to objectively evaluate your skill set to determine if it's the right job for you. Many homeowners choose to act as their own general contractor simply because they're uncomfortable with handing responsibility and, in a sense, power over to another person. They want to be in control of their own project. That's fine, but it's also vital to understand what it takes to be a general contractor. If you aren't confident with your construction management skills, perhaps a better idea would be to find a general contractor professional whom you trust, or who has been recommended by friends or family. A good general contractor will keep you apprised of all decisions throughout the process and will help demonstrate that you still in fact do, as the homeowner and client, have control over the project.
Another reason why homeowners like to be their own general contractor is because they look at it as a way to save money. Statistics do say that it's possible to save 10% to 20% on a construction job by removing the general contractor and doing the work yourself. But it's also true that in exchange, you'll be giving up valuable time with your family and career-not to mention adding a lot of responsibility, pressure and liability. You should also remember that the job of a general contractor is to make sure that the job runs smoothly; their experience saves you headaches.
Should you be your own general contractor? The decision is a complex one, and it's up to you to weigh the potential savings with the time and effort. Just be sure to know what you're getting into before the project begins. |
0.931972 | RU(VSQF005) was born on December 1, 2008, in the Sequoia. Her mother was Finn, and her father was an unknown roving male. She was born into a litter of six; her litter-mates were VSQF006, Mungallchops(VSQM007), Laurence(VSQM008), Nik Nak(VSQM009), and VSQM010. All six pups survived their first few weeks and started foraging with the adults. A mother later, a group of rovers join the Sequoia; one of the males named Bruce became the dominant male. In January 2009, the group split. RU's mother Finn, VSQF006, VSQF010, along with two other pups from the dominant female's litter, and one of the males named Sid Vicious left the group and formed the short-lived Pretenders. RU was left with only three of her litter-mates; however, the pups still survived their first three months. The wild male and Toyota male soon left the group, leaving just two adults, one juvenile female, and four pups in May 2009. In August 2009, Baby Bear died, making RU and her sister Nik Nak the oldest subordinate females, although they were only nine months old. However, the dominant female Benzedrine started to have successful litters, bringing up the numbers of the Sequoia. RU and her litter-mates survived to adulthood and she started to help out with the new pups. In June 2010, RU's brothers started roving, while RU and Nik Nak started to mate with rovers. In January 2011, RU, her sister Nik Nak, and Tina were all pregnant. They were evicted and aborted their litters in February. Nik Nak left the group in a small group split in late 2011 to form the Hooligans. In January 2012, Benzedrine and RU gave birth to Yoda, VSQP038, Nulli, Injabulo, Ilanga, and Briesmut. However it is unclear if RU lost her litter or not and was just helping Benzedrine suckle the litter. In May, the Sequoia split again, forming a new group, including all of RU's pups, leaving the Sequoia with only five members. The two groups started to have violent encounters, leaving Benzedrine badly injured. Benzedrine disappeared in June, but returned at the end of the month. RU took dominance over the remaining meerkats. Two Aztecs males named Dali and Chaka joined the group that same month; Dali took dominance beside RU. However in July, Bruce and several of the Sequoia males and kicked out the two Aztecs males. RU soon became pregnant and in September 2012 gave birth to Kokopelli, Chupacabra, Sinaga, and Zuni. Shortly after this, Hab disappeared. RU became pregnant again but aborted her litter in October. Benzedrine later died, leaving RU's dominance unchallenged, although she became the only adult female in the group. In July 2013, RU was pregnant again, but aborted her litter in August. A group of Van Helsing males joined the group while Bruce and all the adult males were roving. One of the males named Priscilla established dominance, however RU started to show signs of disease. In September 2013 RU was euthanized as she was infected with a lethal disease called tuberculosis. Following RU's death, her last remaining daughter died as well and the males left the group. The Sequoia was lost. |
0.964923 | My credit score dropped 6% because I paid down debt, Interesting, I always thought it was supposed to be the other way around! My only conclusion from this is that the credit card companies is in cahoots with the credit rating system and their combined goal is to rip off consumers.
A notation is made that invisible factors are the reason? I guess there's factors are ones that are probably illegal and unethical and they don't want anyone to be aware of exactly what they are.
I always pay my bills as soon as I get them, or soon after, always pay the full amount on my credit cards when I get them. How can my credit go down? This doesnt make any sense whatsoever.
Why did my score tank?
I have 4% credit utilization, score went up to 760, two months later its at 702 what happened!? 100% on time payments. I feel cheated.
There are many factors involved in credit scores. For example: if you charge more on your credit cards affecting your debt ratio, your score will drop even though you are paying on time. Typically any time you raise or lower debt, it affects your credit regardless of payment status. Lowering your total debt ratio will positively and quickly impact it. These fluctuate often in my own personal experience based on how I'm spending borrowed money. A late payment, however, is damaging to your score for a long time. If you got another loan, hard inquiries, an old account fell off changing your credit history age, etc. Your credit card utilization, payment history, and derogatory marks have a high impact on your score with your credit age falling shortly in importance behind these.
Your balance decreased on 1 account.
Nice work! Paying down your balances could improve your score.
What?? Paying down my balances will improve my score!!?? Obviously, not!
I just had the same thing happen to me. My auto loan was repoted late, which i disputed because it has always been ontime. That late remark dropped my score and i was not happy at all! They removed the late payment status and my credit card balances also went down, yet my score dropped 11 points instead of going up after the last uodate! What happened for it to drop, makes no sense to me?! |
0.999993 | Is it possible to lower quality for faster rendering? I tried changing resolution to lower than 1 but it didnt affect the performance.
It depends a lot on what kind of project you have. There's no single easy method to swap to lower quality rendering. Rather you should find out what is the bottleneck in your project and then either optimize that or make it so that it's toggled off for faster rendering when needed.
- Too many graphics objects being rendered.
- Too many text objects being updated.
- Having too many filters.
- Rendering the scene too many times. |
0.996626 | When moist wind hits a mountain, it is forced to rise. Rising air expands due to lower pressure and this expanding air cools, allowing the moisture to condense into snow. This process is called orographic lift and is responsible for creating more than half of the snow that falls for the resorts on larger mountains. Let’s take a look at the mountain ranges in New England, how these ranges create their own weather and where you can find the highest snow totals.
The climate of New England is an interesting mix of continental storms and maritime storms. When systems come from the west, they bring some moisture and cold air, which creates respectable totals of light, fluffy snow. When systems come from the southwest or up the coastline, they draw in plentiful moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic Ocean. This maritime influence can lead to very large snow totals, but also means that the snow is often (not always) a bit heavier and thicker since the air is often (not always) warmer than with storms moving in from the west.
The mountain ranges of New England are spread out across hundreds of miles. This usually means that at least one area is in a good position for whatever type of storm moves into the region.
There are four major mountain ranges in the region. In the southern part of New York are the Catskills, which rise abruptly from 200 feet in elevation near the Hudson River to over 4,000 feet at Slide Mountain. The two main ski areas of Hunter and Windham are on the northern end of the Catskills. This region offers good snow and challenging skiing close to New York City, however their more southern location means that some storms can bring warm air and rain into the area while locations further north stay all snow.
Up I-87 in New York are the Adirondacks, which rise to over 5,000 feet in elevation. Since these mountains are further north and are some of the highest in the Northeast, cold air makes snow a good bet for most storms. Whiteface ski area is the furthest north and is located close to the town of Lake Placid, which was home to the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Stretching the length of Vermont are the Green mountains, which extend from the Canadian border all the way south into Massachusetts. The highest mountain in this range is Mt. Mansfield, where the northern Vermont resorts of Stowe and Smugglers' Notch are located. This entire range sees the best snow with moist winds from the northwest, which rise quickly from the lowlands around Lake Champlain to the 4,000-foot mountain summits.
The highest peak in New England is not in the Catskills, Adirondacks or Green Mountains. Instead, the White Mountains of New Hampshire are home to Mt. Washington, which rises to 6,288 feet. The numerous resorts in this region are in a prime position to see snowfall from two different types of storms. Systems that come in from the west provide most of New England with good snow including the Whites, but systems that move up the coast—commonly known as Nor’ Easters—tend to produce the deepest snow. Since the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine are only about 50-75 miles from the coast, they are close enough to the storms to see good moisture but far enough from the warm air near the coast to stay all snow.
New England may have smaller mountains than the western US, but don’t let this fool you. Some northern New England resorts see as much or more seasonal snowfall than their counterparts west of the Mississippi, and it’s all thanks to the varied storm tracks that bring snow from many different directions. |
0.999998 | What do you do for an older person who refuses to take their meds and even bathe?
It is our responsibility to care for and keep our seniors safe. An older person who refuses to take their medications and bathe will only deteriorate unless this is quickly corrected. Sometimes it’s smart to gently bring to their attention that these matters will negatively affect their health and wellbeing. If a person is neglecting themselves, other interventions might need to happen, and authorities may need to be consulted. The individual may also need to be evaluated by a doctor or therapist so they don’t do permanent damage to themselves. |
0.997303 | Preston started writing this one night in the dressing room of an Atlanta nightclub where he was performing. He wanted to write a song based on the saying, "Nothing from nothing leaves nothing."
"The saloon piano gave it character," Preston explained, "and I had a feeling it would be a hit because it was a sing-a-long kind of thing."
Bruce Fisher, who was Preston's songwriting partner (he co-wrote his previous American chart topper, "Will It Go Round In Circles"), added a second verse.
The B-side of the single was another song Preston wrote with Fisher: "You Are So Beautiful," which was later a hit for Joe Cocker.
Preston started off at the age of 10 playing keyboards for gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. Later he joined Ray Charles' touring band before recording with The Beatles on several of their tracks including "Get Back" and "Let It Be" (The Beatles considered him to be the fifth Beatle). He also played on a number of Sly & The Family Stone recordings. Preston went on to have a successful solo career with five Top 10 US hits. In 1997 he was sent to prison on drug charges. He died in 2006 at age 59.
Preston performed this song on the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. He and Janis Ian were the musical guests on the October 11, 1975 debut.
Additional note: "Nothing From Nothing" and "Then Came You" by Dionne Warwick & the Spinners share the record for the biggest drop from the top spot on the Top 100 chart, the week after being at #1 both records dropped down to #15.
so much energy! such happy music! he was really amazing!
Paul from Detroit, MiCorrection: 1974 and 1975 both hold the record for most #1 songs with 35 each. 1974 was quite a year for music trivia. Not only did this song tumble to #15 the week after reaching #1, as did Then Came You, but 12 others also fell out of the top 10 the following week after reaching #1. A typical #1 song stays in the top 3 after leaving the top spot.
Another odd chart occurence was these three song titles were #1 consecutively: *Nothing* From Nothing, You Aint Seen *Nothing* Yet, and You Haven't Done *Nothin*'".
Paul from Detroit, MiThis song set a Billboard chart record in 1974 by dropping from the #1 position all the way down to #15 the following week. It was replaced by "Then Came You" which also stayed at #1 for a week before tumbling to #15. That feat has never been accompluished again and probably never will. Also, 1974 holds the record for most #1 songs with a total of 31.
Paul from Columbus, OhI remember when I was working back in 1974 and singing and dancing this song while I worked. The employees thought I was nuts, but it has stuck with me for 34 years and I still love the song. Thank you Billy.
Si from Ocala, FlBilly Preston, William Everet Preston, sometimes known as Willie or Wild Bill, besides scary talented, was a very kind a trusting man. He was taken advantage of because of that kindness by promoters, managers and other show business pros. The lyrics to Will it go Round in Circles really was "Willie Go Round in Circles" because of what his business manager had done to him.
Tom from Miami, FlAT THE END OF THIS SONG, BILLY SAYS MY FIRST AND LAST NAME. I KNOW THERE'S A MUSICIAN NAMED TOM SHAD. WONDER IF HE PLAYED WITH BILLY PRESTON.
Nikki from Shasta, CaQuestion!!! Any one know the meaning of Prestons song "Will it go 'Round in Circles?" Nikki, shasta, ca.
Joey from Nowhere Land, Cawhy must all the talented ones die??!
Jim from Dayton, OhMr. Preston passed on today due to kidney failure. We lost a talented one.
Phil from San Jose, CaBilly has played with everyone (Beatles, Stones, The Band, so many more). I think he was a child prodigy. If I am correct 10-15 years ago he was accused of something to do with a minor?
He was touring with the Band (till he got arrested). |
0.999937 | Treat someone special to an Italian feast for two (or more!) Top quality pasta and delectable tomato sauce are bundled with other Italian treats, such as extra-fancy olive oil, capers, peppered salami, and tasty biscotti. Packaged in a fun plastic colander and including a wooden spoon, it's a crowd-pleaser!
This scrumptious gift basket includes dried pasta, one jar of tomato sauce, olive oil, one jar of capers, one 8 oz. salami, and biscotti, plus a 12" plastic colander and a wooden spoon. Please note that due to local availability, gift basket items may differ from those pictured. |
0.925123 | Plasma is the KDE workspace. Actually it is a technology that can adapt to many types of devices. Currently there are two varieties of Plasma: The Plasma Desktop environment which is the focus of the majority of our pages and Plasma Mobile, the new cool environment for pads and smartphones. The Plasma Netbook environment was removed in KDE Plasma 5 and replaced with the Application Dashboard menu.
The Plasma toolbox This is located at the top left of the screen as well as at end of the panel. These are used to access configuration and other options quickly and reliably.
All of these default items are fully configurable and can host a wide variety of tools and content.
A "Frequent Asked Questions" for the current version of the Plasma Desktop is maintained on this page. It provides succinct answers to common questions as well as links to FAQs for older versions.
You can use Plasma as you would use the desktop of any other operating system, by accessing the application launcher, viewing the currently active programs on the taskbar, accessing icons on the system tray, and so on.
An important part of Plasma are the "widgets". Widgets are the individual units of the desktop and they include (although they are not limited to) the application menu, icons, the system tray, the clock, etc. Widgets can exist on the desktop itself, or be inserted into the panel, on the screen saver or on the dashboard among other places. Widgets exist for a large number of tasks besides usual desktop helpers, including microblogging (Twitter, identi.ca), unit conversion calculators, weather forecasts, file sharing and much more. Panels and desktops are also special kinds of widgets themselves, meant to contain other widgets.
How does that relate with desktop usage? Plasma has some new features with respect to traditional desktop usage. We have already mentioned the Plasma toolboxes: those are the way to start interacting and customizing your Plasma Desktop. By clicking on them, a menu will pop up on the screen with a variety of choices: from there you can add widgets to your panel or desktop, resize, add or remove panels, change the wallpaper and other operations.
As you may notice in the screenshot above, there are no icons placed directly on the desktop. Instead, they are placed inside a container called a "Folder View". By default, the Folder View shows the Desktop folder and allows you to drag files to it, open them, cut, copy, paste, rename files and also create new folders/files.
You can have more than one Folder View on the desktop, and they can also be placed in panels. You can set Folder View to show any folder, local or remote, you have access to. Each Folder View can be moved and resized independently to your preference.
Folder View can also be set as the default full-screen desktop background for a more traditional "icons scattered on the desktop" layout.
Panels allow you to place widgets around the edges of the screen. These collections of widgets can be configured in various ways, including making them automatically hide when not in use or aligned to certain areas of the screen.
By default, there is one panel at the bottom of the screen, but you can add more panels, move and otherwise configure the default panel and remove panels you no longer want. The widgets in all of the panels may also be adjusted to your liking.
For more information on configuring panels in Plasma Desktop and what they are capable of doing for you, visit the Plasma Panels page.
Latte Dock is an alternative panel.
Plasma supports widgets written specifically for Plasma (also known as Plasmoids) as well as widgets from other sources such as Google Gadgets, Superkaramba and some Dashboard Widgets from Mac OSX. Additional widgets can easily be found and installed through Get Hot New Stuff.
right clicking on the Desktop and choosing Add Widgets from the context menu.
To place a widget on the Desktop simply drag it from the Widget Explorer to the Desktop. To place a widget in the panel first open the Panel Toolbox and from there open the Widget Explorer (click Add Widgets), locate the widget you wish to add and drag it to the desired position in the Panel.
You can not add widgets if they are locked. Open the Desktop Toolbox or the Panel Toolbox or right click on the Desktop - if you see an item labeled Unlock Widgets then select that, and then proceed to add widgets to your Desktop or your Panel.
When you are done adding widgets you might want to lock widgets again: Open a Toolbox or the Desktop context menu and click Lock Widgets.
Widgets that are docked into a panel usually have an Options menu, while those on the desktop have the configuration options within the 'handle', the shaded area which pops up when hovering over the widget. Clicking and holding the mouse on the blank part of the handle will allow you to drag the widget to the desired position.
You have four tools on this handle. The top one is the re-sizer. Click and drag on the tool to resize the widget.
The second tool is a rotate tool. Again, click and hold the tool, while rotating to the desired angle.
The third is the wrench or spanner which allows you to configure that particular widget's settings.
Finally, the fourth tool is the "expanded view" tool and is available only on widgets that support this feature, such as the Picture Frame or Web viewers. When clicked, the Picture Frame widget will, for example, open the currently viewed in an image viewer while the Web Slice widget will open the web page in a full web browser window.
The icons shown in the screenshot have small buttons in the top right and bottom right. The small pause button in the top right prevents the activity from being included when switching through Activities using Super + Tab. It also opens up an "x" to delete the activity. To change the names of the activities, look for the small wrench in the bottom right of the icon.
A user likes web comics so they add their favorite web comics via the comics widget. The user now has a full desktop activity dedicated to their favorite web comics. Now the user is happy with the web comics, but the user now has to go to work, so the user creates an activity with the folder view widgets set to the folders of the projects the user is currently working on. After work the user goes home and works on a side project of writing romance novels. The user always gains inspiration by looking at pictures of the user's significant other. The user now creates a new Activity but now puts pictures frame widgets with pictures of the user's significant other. The user also has a folder view of the romance novel project folder. Now no matter what the user is doing the user has a custom tailored activity to match it.
Go to this blog to read a few tips on using activities. Chanis blog has a number of examples as well as screencasts about activities.
Virtual desktops, the ability to have a separate sets of windows on separate desktops, can tie in with Activities. You can have a different activity on each virtual desktop. In Plasma Desktop 4.4, this can be configured by entering System Settings and navigating to Desktop -> Multiple Desktops, and checking Different Activity for Each Desktop.
In Plasma Desktop 4.3, You configure this by zooming out and choosing configure Plasma. Then select use a different activity on each desktop and zoom in again.
Some of our favourite plamoids - why not add yours?
This page was last modified on 9 March 2019, at 15:53. Content is available under Creative Commons License SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. |
0.997541 | What are the similarities and differences between the camels in these two GEICO commercials?
The two main species of camels are the Dromedary (one hump) and the Bactrian (two humps). Click the link for more information.
Think about the use of camels and the benefits travelers, traders, and the military can gain. Compare these to the use of horses by the steppe nomads of Central Asia as well as the use of long ships by the Vikings. These technologies made it possible to travel longer distances because of the range of the animals and boats as well as speed.
In addition to acceptance of diverse cultural traditions, the Mongols were so successful at securing such a large land empire because they could move information, people, and supplies faster than any other organization. Passport-like seals are used to identify a rider'so rights to get fresh horses and provisions. Traders with permission to work on the Mongol-secured Silk Road had rights to fresh horses, protection from bandits, and lodging in trade cities. These resources were paid for by tribute and taxes paid by merchants.
Remember to think about the use of environment when you are grouping the reasons for events and outcomes in history. |
0.995208 | How can I find work in learning and education?
Hello, I currently hold a Diploma in Museum Management, and a Master of Art History (completing my internship in the National Museum of Ireland, with my thesis being on learning and access).
I have lots of arts outreach and volunteering experience, but at the moment I can no longer afford to do internships/volunteering. I am finding it difficult to gain even a minor position in a heritage institution (I am hoping to do learning and education).
I appreciate this sector is difficult to get into, as I am frequently told I am overqualified for paid internships, but underqualified for paid positions. so any advice whatsoever would really help! |
0.946837 | How many "degrees of separation" is it appropriate to claim a connection, use someone as an employee reference, or ask for someone to hand in a resume in for you?
As you already stated, an internship is probably one of the most important aspect of your college education. Glad to see you have done your homework!
Besides internships and grades, extra curricular activities are a great way to help you stand out.
That is always a tough situation, but you have several ways of dealing with it. First off, my standard advice if you like the organization you need to look for the positive. If you plan to be a manager one day, this can be to your benefit.
First off, look for the "why".
Hi and Conratulations on getting to this stage of the selection process.
Hi and Congratulations on your review!
Lay off situations are always tough, but they must have thought highly of you if they have reached out to you this soon. As far as the interview, don't worry about saying the wrong thing, be yourself. Remember, they already know you and they are interested in you. |
0.983428 | Enter kernel directory, we need build it to generate dependency file.
line = line.gsub("\\",""); # Remove last "\"
if(line != "/") then # ignore those lines which first character is "/"
Browse whole project directory to find out all the dependency files.
We use Dir.glob("**/.*cmd") to find out all the dependency files recursive.
After testing, it can generate project files list which can be used by IDE, about 2000 files which involved into build. |
0.950804 | What would be the correct way to make sure that another digit doesn't immediate proceed it?
Matches the empty string, but only at the beginning or end of a word. A word is defined as a sequence of word characters. Note that formally, \b is defined as the boundary between a \w and a \W character (or vice versa), or between \w and the beginning/end of the string. This means that r'\bfoo\b' matches 'foo', 'foo.', '(foo)', 'bar foo baz' but not 'foobar' or 'foo3'.
By default Unicode alphanumerics are the ones used in Unicode patterns, but this can be changed by using the ASCII flag. Word boundaries are determined by the current locale if the LOCALE flag is used. Inside a character range, \b represents the backspace character, for compatibility with Python’s string literals. |
0.95858 | You are the pilot of a small commuter plane flying at 25,000 ft, when all of a sudden one of your passengers goes into cardiac arrest. Knowing what you now know about in flight emergencies, what actions or actions should you take? Is there a situation where you would deviate from these actions? |
0.979161 | The person who received gave their hearty approval.
Delicious cakes and fast delivery.
Excellent service, great cake pops would buy again ?
My son said they were delicious especially the fudgy filling!
The sponge tasted nice I did not like the buttercream it tasted very sickly. |
0.998695 | This error is due to the absence of "Visual C++". We can resolve this problem by following the below given steps.
Step2: Download the latest version of "Visual C++" from "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145" and install it. |
0.999978 | what's the difference between a LOC and an offset mortgage? Which is better for investing?
A line of credit is essentially a limit that is set by the bank at the time of application that allows you to draw up to that limit during the life of the loan. It normally operates as interest only for the entire life of the loan and is great if you need cash flow at certain times eg for minor renovations. It generally has a higher interest rate than a comparable offset mortgage and this can vary between lenders but is typically around 0.15% higher.
An offset mortgage on the other hand is the standard mortgage type linked to an offset account. If you have a large amount of funds available you can leave these in the offset account meaning that you only pay interest on the difference between the offset balance and what you borrow, not the whole loan balance. If you have this type of loan arrangement it is normally done under an interest only arrangement for investing and can be done for a period of 5-10 years after which it either goes to principal and interest repayments or gets renegotiated (although who has a loan that lasts more than 10 years these days!).
As for which is better for investing it really depends on your individual needs and what your plans for the future are. Some of my clients do a small LOC facility in conjunction with a standard loan so they get the benefits of a cheaper interest rate for the bulk of their funds along with the flexibility of a LOC. It's also worthwhile noting that you can potentially complicate things for yourself taxation wise if you use your LOC for non investment purposes but I'll leave that topic for the accountants on the forum.
A line of credit usually allows you to make minimum monthly payments similar to the interest-only amount and the main variation from an all-in-one loan is that a line of credit has a highest possible credit limit.
An offset mortgage does what it says on the tin. It 'offsets' your savings against the total debt of your mortgage, so rather than earning interest on your savings, you pay less on your mortgage debt.
You can withdraw the line of credit anytime, banks allow customers to make a decision on credit limit and that particular figure will be regarded as line of credit, where as offset borrowing is different from this phenomenon. |
0.999999 | : he had nothing on his breath but coffee and cheese Danish.
It means he smelled like what he had been eating and drinking. A cheese Danish is a pastry containing cream cheese. Depending on the context, your sentence might mean that somebody smelled the person's breath to learn whether he had been drinking liquor and found that he had not. |
0.980143 | Rhodiola rosea is a popular plant in traditional medical systems in Eastern Europe and Asia with a reputation for stimulating the nervous system, decreasing depression, enhancing work performance, eliminating fatigue, and preventing high altitude sickness. Rhodiola rosea has been categorized as an adaptogen by Russian researchers due to its observed ability to increase resistance to a variety of chemical, biological, and physical stressors. Its claimed benefits include antidepressant, anticancer, cardioprotective, and central nervous system enhancement. Research also indicates great utility in asthenic conditions (decline in work performance, sleep difficulties, poor appetite, irritability, hypertension, headaches, and fatigue) developing subsequent to intense physical or intellectual strain. The adaptogenic, cardiopulmonary protective, and central nervous system activities of Rhodiola rosea have been attributed primarily to its ability to influence levels and activity of monoamines and opioid peptides such as beta-endorphins.
Rhodiola rosea ("golden root" or "Arctic root") is widely distributed at high altitudes in Arctic and mountainous regions throughout Europe and Asia. It is a popular plant in traditional medical systems in Eastern Europe and Asia, with a reputation for stimulating the nervous system, decreasing depression, enhancing work performance, eliminating fatigue, and preventing high altitude sickness.1 In addition to Rhodiola rosea, over 200 different species of Rhodiola have been identified and at least 20 are used in traditional medical systems in Asia, including R. alterna, R. brevipetiolata, R. crenulata, R. kirilowii, R. quadrifida, R. sachalinensis, and R. sacra.
Rhodiola rosea has been intensively studied in Russia and Scandinavia for more than 35 years. Although the majority of this research on Rhodiola rosea is unavailable for review, available literature is supportive of its adaptogenic properties. Similar to other plant adaptogens investigated by Russian researchers, such as Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng) and Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng), extracts of this plant produce favorable changes in a variety of diverse areas of physiological function, including neurotransmitter levels, central nervous system activity, and cardiovascular function.
Rhodiola rosea has been categorized as an adaptogen by Russian researchers due to its observed ability to increase resistance to a variety of chemical, biological, and physical stressors. Origination of the term adaptogen has been dated to 1947 and credited to a Russian scientist, Lazarev. He defined an "adaptogen" as an agent that allows an organism to counteract adverse physical, chemical, or biological stressors by generating non-specific resistance. Inherent in his definition is the concept that administration of the adaptogenic agent allows an organism to pre-adapt itself in a manner that allows it to be more capable of responding appropriately when diverse demands are eventually placed on it. In 1969, Brekhman and Dardymov proposed specific criteria that need to be fulfilled in order for a substance to qualify as an adaptogen.
Subjecting animals and humans to a period of stress produces characteristic changes in several hormones and parameters associated with the central nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). HPA changes include an increase in cortisol, a reduced sensitivity of the HPA to feedback down-regulation, and a disruption in the circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion. Central nervous system changes include the stress-induced depletion of catecholamine neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine. An acute increase in beta-endorphin levels is also observed under stressful conditions.
To successfully combat stress and stressful situations, adaptation is required. Adaptation might be best thought of as the ability to be exposed to a stressor, while responding with either decreased or no characteristic hormonal perturbations. Adaptation also implies being prepared to and capable of rapidly reassuming homeostasis after the stressor is withdrawn. As an example, a well-trained athlete can participate in an event that would induce a large HPA perturbation (stress response) in a sedentary person, and yet the athlete will be relatively unaffected. This is a result of adaptation that has occurred during the athlete's training process. Additionally, if athletes are exposed to stressors they were not trained for, hormonal perturbations characteristic of a stress response would be expected; however, this response might not be as great as that found in less fit individuals. Furthermore, after the stress ended, their physiology would be expected to re-establish homeostasis rapidly. This is a result of non-specific resistance to stress gained by virtue of a training-induced higher level of fitness.
As an example of this process, Rhodiola rosea administration promotes a moderate increase in the amount of serum immunoreactive beta-endorphin in rats under basal conditions. This moderate increase is similar to that found when rats are adapted to exercise. When Rhodiola rosea-treated rats were subjected to a 4-hour period of non-specific stress, the expected elevation in beta-endorphin was either not observed or substantially decreased. Consequently, the characteristic perturbations of the HPA were decreased or totally prevented.3 In these rats administration of Rhodiola rosea appears to have generated non-specific resistance and prepared the rats to respond more appropriately to the eventual stressful situation.
A range of antioxidant compounds have been identified in Rhodiola rosea and related species, including p-tyrosol, organic acids (gallic acid, caffeic acid, and chlorogenic acid), and flavonoids (catechins and proanthocyanidins).5,6 Significant free-radical scavenging activity has been demonstrated for alcohol and water extracts of Rhodiola sp. and is attributed to the variety of antioxidant compounds.5,6 p-Tyrosol has been shown to be readily and dose-dependently absorbed after an oral dose,7,8 and appears to produce a significant antioxidant8 and modest 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity9 in vivo.
The adaptogenic properties, cardio-pulmonary protective effects, and central nervous system activities of Rhodiola rosea have been attributed primarily to its ability to influence levels and activity of monoamines and opioid peptides such as beta-endorphins.
Abstracts of untranslated Russian research indicate that a great deal of the activity of Rhodiola rosea might be secondary to an ability to induce opioid peptide biosynthesis and through the activation of both central and peripheral opioid receptors.3,13-15 Lack of current availability of the complete text of these articles make verification of these effects impossible.
Rhodiola rosea appears to offer generalized resistance against physical, chemical, and biological stressors in rats and other animals studied. Evidence also suggests cardioprotective and anticancer benefits in animals.
Although Rhodiola rosea has been studied in the former Soviet Union for more than 35 years, this research is presently unavailable for review. This makes it impossible to verify the Russian claims of its antidepressant, anticancer, cardioprotective, and central nervous system enhancing properties.23 Available animal evidence seems supportive of a possible role for this plant adaptogen in many of these conditions. Table 2 outlines the conditions suggested to benefit from Rhodiola supplementation.
In the two double-blind clinical trials, the dose of a standardized Rhodiola rosea extract ranged from 100-170 mg per day. The content of rosavin consumed in these daily doses is approximately 3.6-6.14 mg. The therapeutic dose of available Rhodiola rosea preparations will vary depending on degree of standardization; however, for chronic administration rosavin content within the above range seems prudent. This would suggest a dose of approximately 360-600 mg Rhodiola rosea daily of an extract standardized for one-percent rosavin, 180-300 mg of an extract standardized for two-percent rosavin, or the dose of between 100-170 mg for an extract standardized for 3.6-percent rosavin. As an adaptogen, chronic administration is normally begun several weeks prior to a period of expected increased physiological, chemical, or biological strain, and continued throughout the duration of the challenging event or activity. When using Rhodiola rosea as a single dose for acute purposes (e.g., for an exam or athletic competition), the suggested dose is three times the dose used for chronic supplementation.
The Russian approach to long-term supplementation with adaptogens generally calls for repeating cycles characterized by short periods of adaptogen administration, followed by an interval with no supplementation.26 Rhodiola rosea has been administered for periods ranging from as little as one day (acute administration) up to four months. Until more specific information is available, a dosing regime following the established patterns used with other plant adaptogens, with periodic intervals of abstinence, seems warranted when Rhodiola rosea is being used chronically.
At the doses administered in the clinical trials, a complete absence of all side effects has been reported. However, preliminary clinical feedback indicates that at doses of 1.5-2.0 grams and above of Rhodiola rosea extract standardized for two-percent rosavin, some individuals might experience an increase in irritability and insomnia within several days. It is possible that other physiological parameters that benefit from a lower dose of Rhodiola rosea extract might be exacerbated by a dose that is inappropriately high and/or sustained for prolonged periods of time.
Evidence on the safety and appropriateness of Rhodiola rosea supplementation during pregnancy and lactation is currently unavailable.
Consistent with benefits found with other adaptogenic substances, Rhodiola rosea appears to offer generalized resistance to physical, chemical, and biological stressors. Available evidence suggests it can be a suitable substitute in conditions where other adaptogens might be considered. However, Rhodiola rosea also appears to be unique among the currently available adaptogenic herbs and might offer an advantage in some clinical conditions and stressful circumstances. Unlike Korean and Siberian ginseng, which are thought to exert their adaptogenic activity primarily at the level of HPA function,27-29 Rhodiola rosea appears to exert its adaptogenic effects by working centrally and peripherally on monoamine and opioid synthesis, transport, and receptor activity. If this is in fact the case in humans, it suggests the potential for therapeutic utility of Rhodiola rosea in conditions not particularly responsive to administration of ginseng products. It also suggests the possibility of potential synergistic interactions among Rhodiola rosea and other plant adaptogens.
Based on the proposed mechanism of action and available experimental data, Rhodiola rosea appears to offer an advantage over other adaptogens in circumstances of acute stress. A single dose of Rhodiola rosea prior to acute stress produces favorable results and prevents stress-induced disruptions in function and performance. Acute stress tends to initially impact monoamine levels and endorphins, while chronic stress places greater demands on the HPA axis. While this is a generalization and there is obvious overlap in the stress response, Rhodiola does seem to exert a pronounced effect on aspects of the acute stress response. Since many stressful situations are acute in nature, and sometimes unexpected, an adaptogen that can be taken acutely in these circumstances, rather than requiring chronic advance supplementation, could be very useful.
Rhodiola rosea also offers some cardioprotective benefits not associated with other adaptogens. Its proposed ability to moderate stress-induced damage and dysfunction in cardiovascular tissue might make Rhodiola rosea the adaptogen of choice among patients at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
Since Rhodiola rosea administration appears to impact central monoamine levels, it might also provide benefits and be the adaptogen of choice in clinical conditions characterized by an imbalance of central nervous system monoamines. This is consistent with Russian claims for improvements in depression and schizophrenia. It also suggests that research in areas such as seasonal affective disorder, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome, to name a few clinical conditions, is warranted.
Administration of Rhodiola rosea appears to have potential as an anticancer agent, and might be useful in conjunction with some pharmaceutical antitumor agents. While available evidence is limited to animal models, results appear promising. This is an area that would benefit from additional research.
The clearest indication for Rhodiola rosea administration is for the asthenic condition resulting from acute or chronic overwork, which may manifest as decline in work performance, sleep disturbances, poor appetite, irritability, hypertension, headaches, and fatigue.
Some animal and preliminary clinical evidence suggests the need for a narrow range of therapeutic dosage of Rhodiola rosea, above and below which beneficial physiological effects might be less likely. Because of this, it seems prudent to keep doses at a moderate level both in terms of the quantity and duration of supplementation. While Rhodiola rosea appears to be a promising plant medicine, and has been investigated intensively in Russia, additional research is required before any conclusions with respect to its therapeutic utility can be made.
1. Petkov VD, Yonkov D, Mosharoff A, et al. Effects of alcohol aqueous extract from Rhodiola rosea L. roots on learning and memory. Acta Physiol Pharmacol Bulg 1986;12:3-16.
2. Brekhman II, Dardymov IV. New substances of plant origin which increase nonspecific resistance. Ann Rev Pharmacol 1969;9:419-430.
4. Linh PT, Kim YH, Hong SP, et al. Quantitative determination of salidroside and tyrosol from the underground part of Rhodiola rosea by high performance liquid chromatography. Arch Pharm Res 2000;23:349-352.
5. Lee MW, Lee YA, Park HM, et al. Antioxidative phenolic compounds from the roots of Rhodiola sachalinensis A. Bor. Arch Pharm Res 2000;23:455-458.
6. Ohsugi M, Fan W, Hase K, et al. Active-oxygen scavenging activity of traditional nourishing-tonic herbal medicines and active constituents of Rhodiola sacra. J Ethnopharmacol 1999;67:111-119.
7. Visioli F, Galli C, Bornet F, et al. Olive oil phenolics are dose-dependently absorbed in humans. FEBS Lett 2000;468:159-160.
8. Bonanome A, Pagnan A, Caruso D, et al. Evidence of postprandial absorption of olive oil phenols in humans. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2000;10:111-120.
9. de la Puerta R, Ruiz Gutierrez V, Hoult JR. Inhibition of leukocyte 5-lipoxygenase by phenolics from virgin olive oil. Biochem Pharmacol 1999;57:445-449.
10. Boon-Niermeijer EK, van den Berg A, Wikman G, Wiegant FA. Phyto-adaptogens protect against environmental stress-induced death of embryos from the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Phytomedicine 2000;7:389-399.
11. Stancheva SL, Mosharrof A. Effect of the extract of Rhodiola rosea L. on the content of the brain biogenic monamines. Med Physiol 1987;40:85-87.
17. Lazarova MB, Petkov VD, Markovska VL, et al. Effects of meclofenoxate and Extr. Rhodiolae roseae L. on electroconvulsive shock-impaired learning and memory in rats. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 1986;8:547-552.
20. Udintsev SN, Shakhov VP. The role of humoral factors of regenerating liver in the development of experimental tumors and the effect of Rhodiola rosea extract on this process. Neoplasma 1991;38:323-331.
21. Udintsev SN, Schakhov VP. Decrease of cyclophosphamide haematotoxicity by Rhodiola rosea root extract in mice with Ehrlich and Lewis transplantable tumors. Eur J Cancer 1991;27:1182.
23. Germano C, Ramazanov Z, Bernal Suarez M. Arctic Root (Rhodiola Rosea): The Powerful New Ginseng Alternative. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp; 1999.
24. Darbinyan V, Kteyan A, Panossian A, et al. Rhodiola rosea in stress induced fatigue a double blind cross-over study of a standardized extract SHR-5 with a repeated low-dose regimen on the mental performance of healthy physicians during night duty. Phytomedicine 2000;7:365-371.
25. Spasov AA, Wikman GK, Mandrikov VB, et al. A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of the stimulating and adaptogenic effect of Rhodiola rosea SHR-5 extract on the fatigue of students caused by stress during an examination period with a repeated low-dose regimen. Phytomedicine 2000;7:85-89.
26. Baranov AI. Medicinal uses of ginseng and related plants in the Soviet Union: recent trends in the Soviet literature. J Ethnopharmacol 1982;6:339-353.
27. Hiai S, Yokoyama H, Oura H, Yano S. Stimulation of pituitary-adrenocortical system by ginseng saponin. Endocrinol Jpn 1979;26:661-665.
28. Fulder SJ. Ginseng and the hypothalamic-pituitary control of stress. Am J Chin Med 1981;9:112-118. |
0.999499 | Below is a list of scary, dangerous or violent situations or events that sometimes happen to kids. For each of the following questions, mark YES if the event happened to you and check NO if this did not happen to you.
Please check YES or NO to answer how you felt during the event identified in question number 14. |
0.973646 | For blogs best bet on Saturday we go to York for interesting looking 5 furlong listed contest at 3.30 on ground described as good/firm .
9 runners go to post for John Smiths City Of Walls Stakes .However not many strong contenders here .Kingsgate Native ,G Force & Take Cover look the three to concentrate on .
KINGSGATE NATIVE :Grand 9 year old sprinter ,been in good form this season finishing placed three times in group company ,finished creditable second last week in Coral Charge at Sandown behind Extortionist .Should go well dropping into listed company with Ryan Moore looking eyecatching jockey booking .
G FORCE : Progressive three year old ,Won well over C&D in class three handicap in May beating Speed Hawk by 2.5 lenghs off mark 87 ,slightly disappointing last time when only third when short price favourite in listed race at Sandown ,though didn't have the best of draws that day .Still looks open to plenty improvement after 4 starts and will be suited returning to York .
VERDICT : KINGSGATE NATIVE stands out here dropping into listed company,has been running well in much better races this season ,including finishing second in Palace House Stakes & Coral Charge .Ryan Moore looks significant jockey booking having not rode the horse since 2011.(won twice on horse back 2009/10).Odds around 11-4 look very fair .
G Force looks the main danger ,though will still need to show big improvement to land this listed contest . |
0.999654 | A case study on Google China for a class assignment.
3. IST 755: Google China 2Manan KakkarLooking BackIn an attempt to capture the global market, Google introduced a Chinese version of Google.com in 2000.A translation of the US version, users from within China were provided results that took quite a while toappear. Around the same time, the Chinese government was developing an Internet infrastructure thatlet them control the flow of information.For and against entering ChinaIn 2005, at a board meeting Google decided that it was time they entered China with a local version ofGoogle, hosted within China. Then Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, and Asia-Pacific VP, Sukhinder SinghCassidy made a strong case for a google.cn.In a July 2005 report by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the country had 103Million Internet users (CNNIC, 2005). The number constituted to 11% of the world’s online population.In addition to the considerably high number of Internet users (for 2005), surveys showed that nearly38% of the online population used the Internet to seek information. And 58% used search engines(Lawrence, 2009). This roughly comes to 22 Million users who would use a search engine. The numbersand competition in China made a compelling case for Google establish a competent position in thecountry with alarming rates of Internet growth. In addition to using search engines, the survey showedthat users in China were interested in obtaining news from Western sources. Google News, thecompany’s product introduced in 2002 (Bharat, 2006), would have helped the company attract users.Within a year of launching google.cn, the company did not capture any major market. Google was adistant third compared to leader Baidu.com (43.9%) and Yahoo China (21.1%) (Google China SearchRevenue Lags Yahoo, Baidu, 2006). However, looking back, by 2009, Google had more than doubledtheir share and taken the second spot in search market rankings. Google China contributed $300 Millionin revenues and had 31% of the market (Quelch & Jocz, 2010).To summarize, the following were very strong reasons for Google to enter China in 2005: • Rapidly growing Internet population • Nascent search market • End-user’s need for a fast & local search engine • Source of revenues and talentSince their partial entry in 2000, Google had been blocked twice (Lau, 2010). In a 2002 report publishedby the BBC, Google as blocked in China to comply with government regulations on content (Chinablocking Google, 2002). The company was not new to the laws of the land. When the companyintroduced google.cn, they complied with the same laws and restricted access to content that was beingfiltered by the Chinese government on Google.com’s Chinese version. As a result, other than betterperformance, there was little incentive for Google to enter China.
4. IST 755: Google China 3Manan Kakkar2005 MistakesThe company also failed to understand how the end-user in China was using Internet as a source forinformation. Google’s Asia-Pacific VP, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy pointed out that Google was seen as aforeign company and they needed to change the perception (Lawrence, 2009). In addition to this,Google was not able to offer the same range of products that competitor Baidu had; for example,Instant Messaging and a variety of entertainment services. Baidu on the other hand, had these servicesand attracted more users. To summarize, following are the strategic points Google missed in theiranalysis of China: • Adhering to local laws and restricting access to content • A perception of being a foreign entity and having little local pedigree • Lack of a suite of information, social and entertainment servicesThe 2010 saga and key factors to exit ChinaIn early 2010, reports of cyber-attacks on Google’s web properties surfaced (Girouard, 2010). Theattacks were targeted at Chinese human rights activists (Drummond, 2010). The information andsophistication of the lack led Google to come out strongly against the restrictions laid by the Chinesegovernment. The company hinted at shutting down their operations in China if the censorship was notlifted. The company called the Chinese government’s bluff and on March 22nd redirected all google.cnusers to their uncensored Hong Kong site—google.com.hk (Drummond, A new approach to China: anupdate, 2010). This announcement was met with jubilation by the activists against censorship. Googlebecame their hero and voice against censorship. Morally, Google might have done the right thinghowever, Google is a business. Unfortunately for Google, even by 2010 the company was not able togarner capture considerable market share from competitor Baidu.com. The company’s decision toredirect google.cn traffic to google.com.hk was not acceptable to the Chinese government. Officialsfrom the government made it clear that Google’s license to operate in China will be revoked if theycontinued the redirect. As a result, three months later, on July 9th, Google announced that they will stopthe redirect (Drummond, An update on China, 2010).To summarize, following were the reasons to shut down Google.cn, from Google’s point of view: • Lack of transparency from the Chinese government • Severe content censorshipIn hindsight, Google’s decision to temporarily shut operations in China was poorly timed. With theirInternet Content Provider license coming up for renewal and their lack of market control, the companyhad little leverage against the government. If Google were to shut operations or continue with a protest,as pointed out by, Alexei Oreskovic, Google’s official in China could have been prosecuted (Oreskovic,2010). In addition, Google would have left more than 80 Million users stranded (Quelch & Jocz, 2010)and affected their partners like Samsung, HTC and Motorola who were working on handsets based onGoogle’s Android.
5. IST 755: Google China 4Manan KakkarTo summarize, here’s why Google’s decision to exit China was poor: • Their license to operate in China was about expire, this meant they had no leverage • The company was not a market leader hence did not command large user support • Google’s decision in abandoning search would have affected their other products and partnersInto the futureChina is an integral part of today’s global economy. For any company to operate in a global environmentthey need to respect the laws of the land. Google’s decision to list all search results and showing adisclaimer that access to the webpage has been restricted by the government is an amicable solution. Itis for the people of China to fight for their rights, and not Google’s responsibility to take lead againstcommunism. Google has announced successful numbers despite being behind Baidu: • 96% of China’s 485 Internet users use Google services (Dan, 2011) • $640 Million revenues in China (Jackson, 2011)Google is a private company and they answer to their shareholders. The success of services likeBaidu.com, Renren, Youku.com, and Sina Weibo are strong cases (Walker & Cook, 2011) that Google cansucceed by working within the frameworks defined by the Chinese government. Google should continueworking on making their products more cohesive, local and targeted for the Chinese users. The companyshould work with the government to find ways to let users in China access to services like YouTube thatare major revenue generators for the company (Lawler, 2010). |
0.993804 | Do you think American-born Asians should learn an Asian language?
Yes, it's a meaningful connection to their background.
Yes, bilingualism can only be a strength. |
0.999444 | As Indian consumers climb the ladder of aspiration, the marketing communications targeted at them evolves from penetration strategies (use shampoo instead of shikakai, the traditional herbal hair cleaner) to consumption strategies (use shampoo three times a week) to premiumization strategies (choose the costlier shampoo).
Indian marketers need to answer a fundamental question. What will make consumers believe that it’s worth paying more for their brands, products and services? The classic JWT brand ladder is a useful tool for answering this question. It provides possibilities for brand propositions that justify greater price premiums as consumers ascend the ladder.
Who makes it: Extol the benefit of heritage or provenance.
What it’s made from: Focus on differentiating or quality ingredients.
How it’s made: Special production or sourcing can be important.
What it’s for: This is the rational benefit and may relate to occasion.
How it makes you feel: This is the emotional benefit, which can be critical.
What kind of person it helps you to be: This is about user imagery.
What values people associate with it: This is about aligning consumer and brand.
These components are about marketers crafting a story around the product philosophy. Examples include Chipotle, which emphasizes quality ingredients in a fast food Mexican restaurant setting, or Body Shop, known for ethical sourcing. Similarly, Fabindia, markets quality traditional products sourced from local communities that benefit from the production. Brand philosophy also drives the entire genre of high end Ayurveda, herbal, natural products and services. Roam the shop shelves and you’ll find organic India ghee, a kind of butter made from tension free cows, charging more, and Keggs eggs charging more for being produced by free range poultry.
Brands also derive strength from their place of origin, a factor that drives imported brands in India. Sourcing and quality production can justify a premium, as exemplified by Horlicks roasted or baked namkeens, because these snack foods are usually fried. In fact, just think of a regular restaurant menu where you pay more depending on whether you are ordering a roti, naan, paratha, lachcha or rumali! It’s all bread. It’s all made from the same atta, or flour, just the cooking process and the form of the end product are different.
Recasting ingredients creates premium possibilities for products such as mixed seed edible oils, double refined sugars, multigrain atta, bread and even water when it’s flavored or from a spring or other special source. And premium pricing isn’t just about adding ingredients. Even removing something – oil, fat, sodium, sugar, gluten – may let us charge more.
Packaging alone may justify charging a premium by associating the pack design with other premium products or concepts. Marketers can borrow the packaging that signifies premium in another category to overcome consumer preconceptions in their own category. For example, a chips brand may borrow the premium design coding of an alcohol brand. In fact, even removal of packaging – like soaps have done – can produce a premium perception!
This is the playing field of segmentation. Consumers usually are willing to pay more for products perceived as tailor made for the needs of their specific demographic group. Among the myriad examples of these groups are: mothers, expectant mothers, athletes, diabetics or others with particular dietary requirements.
Key to this approach in India is crafting the benefit proposition. The benefit depends on the product category. In personal care the benefit could be about softness or shine, damage control or beauty enhancement. In paints the benefit could be about durability for exterior paint and texture for interior paint. Most important, the benefit needs to be clearly understood. Indian consumers look for rational explanations to justify their purchases.
Occasions – day or night, casual or formal, office or party, regular or festival – are part of this benefit set. At the top end of this set are feelings that rich sensorial experiences evoke. Think of molten chocolate, extra cheesy pizzas, exotic ice creams, silken skin or walls, experiential décor or designer jewelry. User imagery also fits here. The aspiring CEO concerned about the image he or she projects is more likely to pay a premium for the apparel that provides a higher level of self assurance.
Finally, the permission to charge a premium price also is related to brand value, the consumer’s perception of what the brand stands for, its philosophy beyond function, belief and badge beyond the rational.
Brands that create a high level of desire in the minds of consumer have the opportunity to offer the costlier hotel, the costlier airline, the costlier chips or the costlier shampoo. Indian consumers will indeed climb their own ladders of aspiration. The question is, are our brand ladders ready to assist their assent? |
0.970504 | Does God teach that men are saved by faith alone? Does being saved by faith mean that men do not have to obey God's requirements for salvation? No, it does not. There is no Scripture that states that under the new covenant men will be saved by "faith alone". God requires obedience to His requirements for salvation.
Faith is in effect only after obedience.
1. Naaman's leprosy was cured only after obedience. (2 Kings 5:1-13). Naaman's leprosy was not cured by "faith only".
2. The passover happened only after obedience. (Exodus 12:1-13). The first born were not saved from death by "faith only".
3. The people of Israel were not saved from death by serpents by "faith only". They needed to obey God's command. (Numbers 21:6-9).
There is not one verse of Scripture where God say believers in Jesus will be saved by "faith only". There is not one verse that says water baptism is not essential in order to be saved.
It takes a master of deceit to convince men that immersion in water [that being baptism] is not a requirement for salvation.
God requires obedience to His terms for pardon. |
0.997794 | Which elf ears are the Best for Link from Legend of Zelda?
But which ears should I get!
This is one of the most common questions we get at Aradani, as with each new Zelda game, both Link’s and Zelda’s ears change in appearance (and Ganondorf in the later games!). Well, hopefully this will help you pick out your ears, depending on what Link or Princess Zelda you are cosplaying.
For a more in depth Style Guide for Legend of Zelda characters, click here.
Link refers to several different incarnations of the same protagonist of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series. Link has been also featured in other media from Nintendo, including its merchandising, comic books, and a cartoon series, becoming one of Nintendo’s main icons as well as one of the most well-known and popular characters in video game history.
Through The Legend of Zelda series, Link is depicted as a child, teenager, or adult of the Hylian race, originating from the fictional land of Hyrule. Link often travels through Hyrule, defeating creatures, evil forces, and the series’ primary antagonist, Ganon, while attempting to save Princess Zelda and Hyrule. To defeat him, Link usually requires the mystic Master Sword and Light Arrows, or a similar legendary weapon, obtained after many trials and battles. In the course of his journey he will typically acquire various other magical objects or items, including musical instruments and weaponry. |
0.964488 | What is the formal charge on each atom in sulfuric acid?
In the most stable Lewis structure for sulfuric acid, the formal charges are zero on every atom.
Lone pairs belong entirely to the atom on which they sit.
Each atom gets half of the shared electrons.
The easy way to work out the formal charge is to cut each bond in half. Then each atom "owns" all the electrons on its side of the dividing line.
The H atom in sulfuric acid "owns" one of the electrons in the H-O bond.
An isolated H atom has one electron. So the H atom in sulfuric acid has a formal charge of zero.
The O atom next to H "owns" the four lone pair electrons, plus one electron from the O-H bond, plus one atom from the O-S bond. This makes a total of six electrons.
An isolated O atom has six electrons. So this O atom in sulfuric acid has a formal charge of zero.
The double-bonded O atom "owns" the four lone pair electrons, plus two electrons from the S=O double bond. This makes a total of six electrons.
So this O atom in sulfuric acid has a formal charge of zero.
The S atom "owns" half of the S=O electrons and half of the S-O electrons. This makes a total of six electrons.
An isolated S atom has six electrons. So the S atom in sulfuric acid has a formal charge of zero. |
0.979418 | Whistler is truly magical! Located 1 1/2 hours from Vancouver it’s definitely worth a visit! Without a doubt, it’s one of my favourite towns in the world and a highlight of my Canadian adventure!
Leaving Vancouver behind and driving the sea to sky highway you’ll start to see the scenery begin to change! Cue crystal blue lakes; alpine forests and soaring mountain peaks! When you reach a charming mountain town with colourful chalet style buildings: you have arrived in Whistler! Here are 9 reasons you’ll love Whistler!
Canada is well know for its remarkable natural beauty and British Columbia is no exception!when visiting Whistler you won’t be disappointed! The Coastal Mountains are so beautiful and are snow capped all year round! The green alpine forests and lakes such as Rainbow Lake and close by Joffre Lakes are a spectacular blue colour! At Lost Lake there is even a beach! It’s an amazing place for both those who love nature and want to get away from the city alike!
There is always something to do in Whistler no matter what the season! From sports to nightlife and everything in between! The resort is open all year and riding from peak 2 peak is a must! (Incredible views and hikes from both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains!) In the winter snowshoeing, skiing and snowboarding are popular! Where as in the summer it’s more about biking, hiking and water sports! There is a great social scene all year round and there is always an adventurous activity to try!
Being home to 2010 Winter Olympics you can give bobsleigh and skeleton a go on the Olympic track! You can also: zip line through the forests; go for a husky ride; bungee jump off a bridge; go on a glacier hike; try white water rafting and go mountain biking! In summary, pretty much any adrenaline, heart racing activity out there!
Whistler has a jam packed events schedule and hosts everything from: sports, food ,biking and yoga! There are plenty of festivals, concerts and art exhibitions throughout the year as well! Often in the evening there is entertainment in the Olympic Plaza from films to fire dancers!
Whistler is designed as a pedestrian village and all the paths are curved so you can see the mountains wherever you are: clever, right?! There are many shops, bars and restaurants to enjoy providing great aprés options! Whistler is actually well known for its fine dinning and exciting night life! There is no need for a car as public transit is regular and the villages are connected by the 40km Valley Trail!
The town has a great vibe, everyone’s happy and super social! Maybe it’s all that fresh mountain air and glacial drinking water?! Whatever it is, the relaxed laid back atmosphere will rub off on you! It’s a great place to relax!
Whistler has so many activities, events and adventures to offer but it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It gets quite busy during peak times but is has a small town vibe going on! Approximately 10,000 people are lucky to call Whistler their home! So it’s not surprising that it has a friendly, community feel. In fact not only do Canadians relocate here but outdoor enthusiasts from all around the world!
People from all over the world not only visit Whistler year round but also come to work a season(s) in the town! It makes it truly diverse place and you have the potential to make friends from all around the globe! If you are from Australia or New Zealand you may feel at home as it’s a popular destination for those doing a gap year/ an overseas experience!
For all the reasons above, it is no surprise that Whistler is an incredibly successful resort town with high revenues from tourism. There is always something going on and the council work hard to provide diverse events so you’ll never be bored! However the flip side is that it’s an expensive place to visit!
These are the 9 reasons I think you’ll love Whistler! It definitely offers something for everyone, no matter what the season and has a fun, friendly atmosphere! What’s not to love?! You’re unlikely to be bored that’s for sure! It certainly made a lasting impression on me and I’m looking forward to going back in the future! If you need any more convincing check out these photos!
Whistler is one of my favorite places! Truly magical! |
0.949429 | Singer on the reality show Rock Star: INXS and who is the lead singer of the band Lovehammers.
He studied finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He has toured with bands like Interpol, Cake, and New Found Glory.
He was on Rock Star: INXS with J.D. Fortune. |
0.969246 | Use vegetable peeler to shave cheese into thin slices.
How to Section an OrangeSectioning (supreming) is a technique that removes the membrane from the orange so it can be served in sections. To section an orange, use a sharp knife to cut thin slice top off top and bottom of orange. Stand orange on one end, then start at top of orange to carefully cut peel off orange, following the curve of the orange with each cut. Carefully remove orange sections by making cuts on both sides of each section, inserting knife between membrane and section. The sections should come out easily, leaving the membranes intact. |
0.999963 | It is widely known that menopause is a difficult time in the life of every woman. There are many complications and ailments that may arise from the changes a female body undergoes at this time.
That is why the demand for supplements aimed at reducing these symptoms has skyrocketed in recent years.
One of the supplements that has garnered the most accolades is Remifemin, having produced proven and reliable results at helping women deal with their menopause.
What follows will be a short review of this supplement, with an explanation as to how and why it works.
Remifemin is a dietary supplement specifically designed to help women cope with the symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, and sleepless nights.
Though this is a natural part of life which all women must go through, that no longer means that you have to suffer through it like women have in the past.
Remifemin is an organic supplement made with the active ingredient black cohosh root.
The manufacturer claims that this means it delivers results that have been clinically proven, as long as the users make sure to take it regularly.
This is made from 100% organic ingredients, and the manufacturer is quick to point out that it contains absolutely no estrogen, which is an important consideration for some users.
Remifemin is one of the rare supplements that allows its users to look up the entire contents of a pill in a way that is easy to follow. It is in fact a very simple formula indeed.
The primary ingredient, as previously mentioned, is black cohosh extract. This is a relatively common plant that grows in North America. Its root is used extensively for medicinal purposes.
That means this is a purely natural product, with an effect that has been tested for hundreds of years by practitioners of traditional medicine.
Though the main ingredient is the black cohosh extract, there are other ingredients inside a pill that serve purely to stabilise it and give it the necessary structure.
These include lactose, so this supplement is not appropriate for users who are lactose intolerant.
Also contained within these pills are cellulose, which cannot be digested by the human body, potato starch for thickening, magnesium stearate for stabilisation, and finally a natural peppermint flavouring so that these pills go down easier.
The manufacturer claims that the regular use of this supplement can cut the symptoms related to menopause down by as much as 80% after three months of use.
Indeed, black cohosh has been used for hundreds of years to improve the quality of sleep,a nd this effect has been shown to really kick in after eight weeks. It also helps users who have problems with insomnia and even sleep apnea.
There is a very healthy list of the advantages offered by this supplement to women who are undergoing menopause with troublesome symptoms. Let us briefly go over some of them for the sake of clarity.
As previously mentioned, it is very rare on the dietary supplement market that one can fully discern all the ingredients that go into the creation of a supplement.
That, happily, is not the case with Remifemin. It is in fact a very simple little pill, which contains a single active ingredient, with all the other ingredients serving simply to stabilise it into pill form, producing no effect whatsoever on the body.
Another advantage of Remifemin is that it is very easy to get hold of and also not pricey at all.
Both of these items owe to the fact that Remifemin is a simple supplement made with readily available ingredients, but one which has been proven to work as advertised.
These tablets are easy to use, and are taken twice a day. You should take your first tablet in the morning along with your breakfast, and another one right before you go to sleep in the evening.
Finally, it is vital to point out that the primary benefit of Remifemin is that it simply does its job.
This has been proven by rigorous clinical trials, both pertaining to the supplement itself, but also trials that looked into the effects of the black cohosh plant itself.
The timeline that sums up what effects you should be expecting and when is also available on the manufacturer’s website, so this is an added bit of clarity available to the users.
While Remifemin is a fantastic supplement for women who are going through the symptoms related to menopause, that’s just what it is – a supplement.
Do yourself a favour and make sure you also observe the best practices pertaining to your everyday life, along with taking Remifemin.
That means eating a healthy diet with lots of iron, taking multivitamins that contain the VItamin B6, and making sure you get a good night’s sleep.
Doing this will take you part of the way towards a relatively pain-free menopause, and Remifemin will do the rest. |
0.978105 | The FAA has published a rule in the Federal Register governing noise certification standards for issuing type and airworthiness certificates for a new civil, hybrid airplane-rotorcraft known as the tiltrotor. This noise standard establishes new noise limits and procedures as the basis to ensure consistent aviation noise reduction technology is incorporated in tiltrotors for environmental protection. It provides uniform noise certification standards for tiltrotors certificated in the United States and harmonizes the U.S. regulations with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Annex 16.
Tiltrotors are defined as aircraft uses rotating nacelles, a hybrid of propellers and helicopter rotors, to provide both lift and propulsive force. The tiltrotor is designed to function as a helicopter for takeoff and landing and as an airplane during the en-route portion of flight operations. The rule cites the V-22 Osprey (pictured) as the most recognizable example of the type.
In anticipation of civil tiltrotor production, ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) chartered the Tiltrotor Task Group (TRTG) in 1997 to develop noise certification guidelines for tiltrotors. The FAA participated in the TRTG and its development of the tiltrotor noise guidelines from 1997 to 2000. The ICAO tiltrotor guidelines used the same noise limits that the United States had incorporated into part 36, Appendix H for helicopter noise certification. The ICAO has included additional requirements that are unique to the design of tiltrotors. Current regulations in part 36 do not contain noise certification requirements specific to the tiltrotor and its unique flight capabilities. Since no standards for the tiltrotor currently exist, the FAA is adding new standards to part 36, and amending part 21, § 21.93 (Classification of Changes in Type Design) to accommodate certification of the tiltrotor. In order to harmonize the U.S. regulations with the international standards, this rulemaking adopts the same noise certification standards as used in ICAO Annex 16, Volume 1, Chapter 13, Attachment F (Amendment 7) for tiltrotors.
The FAA received only one comment on the NPRM during the period open for public comments, which closed October 19, 2011. That comment, from AgustaWestland, stated that the proposed rule did not specify the entity that would determine the flyover configuration in Appendix K to Part 36. AgustaWestland recommended that the regulation specify that the applicant be the entity that prescribes the constant flyover aircraft configuration.
The FAA said that it agrees the regulation needs to specify what entity prescribes the constant flyover configuration. The FAA also agreed that the applicant is the proper entity, and modified the final rule to incorporate this change.
The present value cost of the final rule is $588,000 for the certification of one tiltrotor type, about the same as would be required for a traditional helicopter design. The FAA considered this cost to be minimal in the NPRM. The FAA received no comments on this minimal cost determination. Therefore, the FAA considers this cost to be minimal in this final regulatory evaluation. |
0.968197 | John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor, producer, and fashion designer. He has appeared in more than 70 films. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award nominations. He has appeared in films including Empire of the Sun, The Killing Fields, Johnny English, Con Air, Of Mice and Men, Rounders, Ripley's Game, Being John Malkovich, Shadow of the Vampire, Burn After Reading, Red, Mulholland Falls, Dangerous Liaisons, Warm Bodies, and Bird Box, as well as producing films such as Ghost World, Juno, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor, producer, and fashion designer. He has appeared in more than 70 films.
For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award nominations. He has appeared in films including Empire of the Sun, The Killing Fields, Johnny English, Con Air, Of Mice and Men, Rounders, Ripley's Game, Being John Malkovich, Shadow of the Vampire, Burn After Reading, Red, Mulholland Falls, Dangerous Liaisons, Warm Bodies, and Bird Box, as well as producing films such as Ghost World, Juno, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois. His mother was of French, German, Scottish and English ancestry. He grew up in Benton, Illinois. His father, Daniel Leon Malkovich (1926–1980), was a state conservation director and publisher of Outdoor Illinois, a conservation magazine. His mother, Joe Anne (née Choisser; 1928–2009), owned the Benton Evening News, as well as Outdoor Illinois. Malkovich has three younger sisters and an older brother. His paternal grandparents were from Ozalj in Yugoslavia (today's Croatia), .
Malkovich attended Logan Grade School, Webster Junior High School, and Benton Consolidated High School. During his high school years, he appeared in various plays and the musical Carousel. He was active in a folk gospel group, singing in area churches and community events. As a member of a local summer theater/comedy project, he co-starred in Jean-Claude van Itallie's America Hurrah in 1972. Upon graduating from high school, he entered Eastern Illinois University, and then transferred to Illinois State University, where he majored in theater.
In 1976, Malkovich, along with Joan Allen, Gary Sinise, and Glenne Headly, became a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. He moved to New York City in 1980 to appear in a Steppenwolf production of the Sam Shepard play True West for which he won an Obie Award.
In early 1982, he appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire with Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theatre. Malkovich then directed a Steppenwolf co-production, the 1984 revival of Lanford Wilson's Balm in Gilead, for which he received a second Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award. His Broadway debut that year was as Biff in Death of a Salesman alongside Dustin Hoffman as Willy. Malkovich won an Emmy Award for this role when the play was adapted for television by CBS in 1985.
One of his first film roles was as an extra alongside Allen, Terry Kinney, George Wendt and Laurie Metcalf in Robert Altman's 1978 film A Wedding. He made his feature film debut in 1984 as Sally Field's blind boarder Mr. Will in Places in the Heart. For his portrayal of Mr. Will, Malkovich received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also portrayed Al Rockoff in The Killing Fields.
He continued to have steady work in films such as Empire of the Sun, directed by Steven Spielberg, and the 1987 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. He then starred in Making Mr. Right.
In 1990, he played Port Moresby in The Sheltering Sky, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. In 1991, he was directed by Woody Allen in Shadows and Fog.
He garnered significant critical and popular acclaim when he portrayed the sinister and sensual Valmont in the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons, a film adaptation of the stage play Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, who had adapted it from the 1782 novel of the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. He later reprised this role for the music video of "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox.
In 1990, he recited, in Croatian, verses of the Croatian national anthem Lijepa naša domovino (Our Beautiful Homeland) in Nenad Bach's song "Can We Go Higher?"
Malkovich starred in the 1992 film adaptation of John Steinbeck's award-winning novella Of Mice and Men as Lennie alongside Gary Sinise as George. In 1994, he was nominated for another Oscar, in the same category, for In the Line of Fire. Though he played the title role in the Charlie Kaufman-penned Being John Malkovich, he played a slight variation of himself, as indicated by the character's middle name of "Horatio".
In 1996, Malkovich was directed for the second time (after Les liaisons Dangereuses) by Stephen Frears in Mary Reilly, a new adaptation of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale, co-starring Julia Roberts He made a cameo appearance in Adaptation. — also written by Kaufman — appearing as himself during the filming of Being John Malkovich. The Dancer Upstairs, Malkovich's directorial film debut, was released in 2002. In the same year he took the title role in Ripley's Game.. He also appeared in Joan of Arc, directed by Luc Besson in 1999, playing the French king-to-be Charles VII.
Other film roles include The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Beowulf, Eragon, The Man in the Iron Mask, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Changeling, Secretariat, RED and RED 2. In 2007, he played Alan Conway in Colour me Kubrik: a True...ish story , directed by Brian Cook. Malkovich has hosted three episodes of the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live. The first occasion was in January 1989 with musical guest Anita Baker; the second in October 1993 with musical guest Billy Joel (and special appearance by former cast member Jan Hooks); and the third was in December 2008 with musical guest T.I. with Swizz Beatz (and special appearances by Justin Timberlake, Molly Sims and Jamie-Lynn Sigler). In 1993 he was also the narrator for the film Alive. In June 2018, Malkovich began filming a three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie's The A.B.C. Murders co-starring Rupert Grint for BBC television, playing the role of fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Malkovich was directed many times by the Chilean director Raoul Ruiz — Le Temps retrouvé (Time Regained) in 1999, Les Ames Fortes (Savage Souls) in 2001, Klimt in 2006 and Lines of Wellington in 2012.
In 2008, directed by Michael Stürminger, he portrayed the story of Jack Unterweger in a performance for one actor, two sopranos, and period orchestra entitled Seduction and Despair, which premiered at Barnum Hall in Santa Monica, California. A fully staged version of the production, entitled The Infernal Comedy premiered in Vienna in July 2009. The show has since been performed in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 throughout Europe, North America and South America.
Malkovich was also directed by the Austrian director Michael Stürminger in Casanova's Variations and its movie adaptation in 2014 (co-starring Fanny Ardant). For their third collaboration, in 2017, Michael Stürminger directed Malkovich in Just Call me God - the final speech. John played a Third World dictator called Satur Dinam Cha who is about to be overthrown.
Also in 2008, Malkovich played the title role in the film The Great Buck Howard, a role inspired by the mentalist The Amazing Kreskin. Colin Hanks co-starred and his father, Tom Hanks, appeared as his on-screen father. In November 2009, Malkovich appeared in an advertisement for Nespresso with fellow actor George Clooney. He portrayed Quentin Turnbull in the film adaption of Jonah Hex.
In 2009, Malkovich was approached for the role of the Marvel Comics villain Vulture in the unproduced Spider-Man 4. In 2011, he directed Julian Sands in A Celebration of Harold Pinter in the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In 2008, Malkovich directed in French Good Canary written by Zach Helm, with Cristiana Realli and Vincent Elbaz in the leading roles. Malkovich won the Molière Award best director for it. He also directed it in Spanish in Mexico, then in English at the Rose Theater in London in 2016. Ilan Goodman, Harry Lloyd and Freya Mavor were in the cast. Malkovich won the Milton Schulman Award for the best director at the Evening Standard Theater Awards in 2016.
In 2012, he directed a production of a newly adapted French-language version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris. The production had a limited engagement in July 2013 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
In 2016, Malkovich wrote and starred in a movie called 100 Years: The Movie You Will Never See, directed by Robert Rodriguez. The movie is locked in a vault in the south of France, not to be seen before 2115.
In 2014, the photographer Sandro Miller recreated 35 iconic portraits of John Malkovich as the subject, in a project called Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographer Master.
Malkovich starred in his first video game role in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in the "Exo Zombies" mode. He appeared in the music video for Eminem's single "Phenomenal". In 2017, he appeared in some humorous Super Bowl commercials portraying himself attempting to gain control of the johnmalkovich.com domain.
According to his mother, Malkovich is of Montenegrin ancestry from his father's side.
Malkovich was married to actress Glenne Headly from 1982-88. They divorced after Malkovich became involved with Michelle Pfeiffer on the set of Dangerous Liaisons. He later met his long-term partner Nicoletta Peyran on the set of The Sheltering Sky, where she was the second assistant director, in 1989. They have two children, Amandine and Loewy.
Malkovich is known for his distinctive voice, which The Guardian describes as wafting, whispery, and reedy.
He does not consider himself to be a method actor. He is fluent in French, and for nearly 10 years he worked in a theater in Southern France. He and his family left France in a dispute over taxes in 2003, and he has since lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Malkovich stated in a 2011 interview that "I'm not a political person ... I don't have an ideology". He said that he had not voted since George McGovern lost his presidential run in 1972.
Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class (Kiev, 2018).
1 2 Wood, Gaby (September 30, 2001). "A multitude of Malkovich". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
↑ "Joe-Anne Malkovich obituary". Benton Evening News. March 24, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
↑ "Daniel Ewing Malkovich, 59". The Randolph County Herald Tribune. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
↑ "John Malkovich biography". TV Guide.
↑ Telegraph Magazine (April 26, 2003). "Being John Malkovich". The Age.
↑ Sophie Lam (March 20, 2015). "John Malkovich: My life in travel". The Independent.
↑ Kralev, Nicholas (June 15, 2002). "Seeing John Malkovich" (reprint). NicholasKralev.com. Financial Times. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
↑ "John Malkovich". imdb.com. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
1 2 "John Malkovich biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
↑ "John Malkovich Emmy Nominated". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
↑ Eurochannel. "The Paradox of John Malkovich". Eurochannel: The European TV channel. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
↑ Croatianhistory.net: John Malkovich; retrieved August 15, 2011.
↑ "John Malkovich Trunk Show at The Royal Court Theatre". Royal Court Theatre. April 30, 2005. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
↑ "John Malkovich and Flipping Uncle Kimono". International Press Clippings. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
↑ "John Malkovich launches clothing line for wealthy guys". New York Post. February 17, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
↑ "John Malkovich: The Invisible Man". Boston Magazine. March 17, 2010. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
↑ "Los Angeles Stage - Seduction and Despair: Hearing John Malkovich - page 1". Retrieved June 16, 2018.
↑ Creepy, Uncle (June 10, 2010). "Dozens of Images from Jonah Hex". Dread Central. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
↑ Brown, Jonathan (June 10, 2011). "Malkovich and Pinter: an unlikely alliance". The Independent. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
↑ "Les liaisons Dangereuses". Lesliaisonsdangereuses.fr. June 30, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
↑ "Lincoln Center Festival - Jewels". lincolncenterfestival.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
↑ "John Malkovich revealed as a playable Character in Cod:AW". Retrieved January 14, 2015.
↑ Tonys World (February 6, 2017). "John Malkovich - Squarespace Super Bowl 2017 Commercial" – via YouTube.
↑ "John Malkovich na Žumberku tražio svoje korijene". HRT Magazin (in English and Croatian). Hrvatska Radiotelevizija. 2017-10-06. Archived from the original (Video Interview) on 2017-10-06. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
↑ Akbar, Arifa (January 8, 2011). "John Malkovich: 'I don't need to be liked'". The Independent. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
1 2 Gaby Wood (September 30, 2001). "A multitude of Malkovich". London, UK: Guardian. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
↑ Ebert, Roger (September 30, 1984). "Chicago Has A Place In John Malkovich's Heart". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
↑ Barber, Lynn (September 7, 2006). "Life and taxes". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
↑ Syson, Damon (June 8, 2015). "Aficionado: John Malkovich". The Daily Telegraph.
↑ "Actor John Malkovich complains over Madoff fraud award". BBC News. April 3, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
↑ Zambito, Thomas; Larry McShane (February 5, 2009). "Sandy Koufax, John Malkovich among Bernie Madoff victims as court filings are released". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
↑ Lyon, Jeff. "Malkovich Comes To Town For His One And Only Charity: Steppenwolf". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
↑ Howell, Peter (September 11, 2008). "A Kinder, Gentler Malkovich". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
↑ Fisk, Robert (March 10, 2012). "Robert Fisk: Condemn me, but get your facts right first". The Independent. Retrieved April 29, 2012. |
0.999997 | Article 1: Fighting the flu!
Spring has sprung, and another flu season in Australia is coming to an end. This year’s season appears to have been milder than usual, however the contributing factors are yet to be determined.
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is a viral neuraminidase inhibitor, and commonly used in children to reduce the duration of symptoms. However it is expensive, needs to be started within 48 hours of symptom onset, and there is an increasing prevalence of resistant influenza strains. New anti-viral therapies are being investigated, and Baloxavir (Marboxil) is a selective inhibitor of influenza cap-dependent endonuclease which acts against multiple Influenza A and B strains, including viral neuraminidase resistant strains (in vitro and murine models).
This study (notably conducted for the Baloxavir Marboxil Investigators Group…) completed 2 separate randomized, double-blind, controlled trials. The primary outcome was time to alleviation of influenza symptoms in the intention-to-treat infected population as well as to assess the safety of Baloxavir and efficacy compared to Oseltamivir.
The phase 2 trial compared Baloxavir to placebo in just under 400 patients in Japan between 20-60 years of age. In the phase 3 trial, the intention-to-treat group compared Baloxacir, placebo and Oseltamivir in 1064 patients from Japan and the USA who were aged between 12-60 years old.
Inclusion criteria included: Non-hospitalised patients at 0-48 hours onset of symptoms. They had to have had a fever, at least one systemic symptom, and at least 1 respiratory symptom associated with influenza. Phase 2 patients required a positive rapid antigen test for influenza. The only other symptomatic medication allowed was acetaminophen.
In the phase 3 trial, patients receiving Baloxacir had just 26.5 hour shorter median duration of symptoms compared to placebo (53.7 vs 80.2 hours, p<0.001). Time to alleviation of symptoms was similar between Baloxavir and Oseltamivir, despite a greater reduction in viral load noted 24 hours after treatment with Baloxavir. The most common adverse events reported were gastrointestinal upset, nausea and diarrhoea, with rates similar between all three groups (20-25%).
Baloxavir appears to a safe anti-viral agent, with similar efficacy compared to Oseltamavir and superiority to placebo by shortening symptoms by just over one day. Baloxavir may become useful in the future with the ongoing emergence of viral neuraminidase resistant flu strains. However our take home message would be that the best bet of all would be prevention in avoiding the flu in the first place!
Article 2: How good do we think we are when it comes to rare diseases?
Paediatrics seems to comprise two main diagnostic groups; the first, larger volume of patients have common illnesses, with well-understood pathophysiology and management approaches undergoing refinement. Think about preschool wheeze, sepsis, neonatal resus, croup; the bulk of our workload. The other part of paediatric medicine comprises the care of children with a “long tail” of uncommon, rare and very rare diseases. With this in mind, the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit (based in Sydney), surveyed their membership on the experiences and needs around rare diseases.
The APSU invited 679 of their members to complete an email-based survey, with 242 (36%) responders. In addition to demographic data, respondents were asked about areas of difficulty while caring for children with rare diseases, the more frequent rare diseases seen by this cohort in practice and, what kind of education and resources the clinicians sought. Two-thirds of respondents cited difficulty regarding “delay in, or inability to make a definitive diagnosis”, whilst more than 1/3 reported difficulty with either the lack of available treatments, management guidelines, diagnostic guidelines, or uncertainty regarding support groups for the child and their family. More than 7 in 10 Paediatricians identified frequently caring for children with rare neurologic, metabolic or genetic disorders. From an education and resource perspective, many paediatricians identified feeling inadequately trained in their FRACP training in the care of children with rare diseases. Most utilised rare disease-specific resources including OMIM, as well as generalised resources, although any mention of FOAM was conspicuous by its absence.
It might seem an existential question, but I think this survey strikes at the heart of what it is to be a modern paediatrician. It’s not controversial to say that there are more refined and novel diseases described every day. Hence, our core professional role in the service of these patients necessitates both a diagnostic and management approach to (potential) “rare diseases”, as well as iterative knowledge of the relevant sources of information. Simply put, “making meaning of information, in the care of children” will increasingly supervene as the dominant role in our care of these kids.
This paper presents some interesting data regarding the state of how paediatricians seek out reliable, good quality information to support or underpin the management of children with rare diseases. It highlights that whilst CPD can be focussed on knowing the evidence on how to manage a common illness, or a “clinical update” on an emerging disease, time dedicated to knowing and understanding a modern, pragmatic approach to seeking information regarding rare diseases is likely to be of greater benefit to both clinicians, and, I’d speculate, the children in their care.
For more on hearing hooves and spotting zebras, see Katie Rasmussen’s post on Friday.
Bronchiolitis is one of the most common presentations of children in emergency departments in Western countries, but a magic bullet for treatment is yet to be found. Hypertonic saline, if beneficial, would represent an easily accessible and low risk intervention to reduce admissions or length of stay in hospital.
Hypertonic saline might be effective in the treatment of bronchiolitis, but we are not sure if the statistical significance represents a statistical (type I) error. As clinicians, we also should be mindful of the assumptions we make when analysing meta-analyses.
In this letter to ADC, A London Paediatric emergency department (The Royal London Hospital) describes their trial of virtual reality (VR) headsets as a method to reduce anxiety and pain in children undergoing brief painful procedures. These procedures include cannulation, venepuncture and foreign body removal. Forty children were divided between traditional distraction (play therapy) and receiving a virtual reality headset. (For the curious among you, it was a Pico Goblin headset with a ‘Happy Place’ animated interactive 360 expereince). Exclusion criteria were children below 5, those with a past history of epilepsy and those presenting with injuries involving the neck or higher, nausea or vomiting . Staff used the CEMS and FLACC scales. There was a non significant trend towards greater distraction amongst children with virtual reality headsets using the CEMS score. The children with virtual reality had a significantly lower FLACC score (0 vs 1.5) compared to traditional distraction. Of interest, the authors point out that almost one third of the patients in the VR arm were treated out of hours which make it a useful option when play therapists have gone home. The concern about impacts to the visual cortex were also raised and that use should be limited to 15 minutes which would be problematic for children needing more complex procedures.
Indovina et al have recently published a literature review looking into VR use as a distraction tool to reduce pain or distress during medical procedures. They came out in support VR as effective in reducing procedural pain and that side effects appear mild and infrequent. However many studies, like this article – had a small sample size and physiological variables were not utilised. This article adds to the growing body of evidence in support of virtual reality which will hopefully lead to further development of larger studies as well as tailored virtual reality hardware/software improvements in the future.
It looks like virtual reality is not simply a gimmick; but is effective in distracting children during painful procedures. You definitely wouldn’t want it to replace your play therapists though. Watch this space!
Walsh P, Rothenberg SJ. Wheezing after the use of acetaminophen and or ibuprofen for first episode of bronchiolitis or respiratory tract infection. PloS one. 2018 Sep 13;13(9):e0203770.
Bronchiolitis is a ubiquitous winter respiratory condition that resists attempts to find an evidence based treatment (other than an expensive vaccine reserved for the most high risk infants or admission for oxygen therapy). The authors of this study have noted animal studies highlighting that NSAIDs may reduce the immune response that RSV, and other respiratory viruses produce, and postulated that ibuprofen may reduce future wheezing episodes if given during the first bronchiolitis-type illness.
They interrogated the Department of Healthcare Services in California Medicaid programme databases which assists children from low income families. In order to receive healthcare support all contacts with these families are digitally documented with a total cohort of nearly 100000 children utilised for the study. The statistical approach was quite complex but various data analysis hypotheses were put forward essentially examining whether a prescription of antipyretics around the first documented diagnosis of bronchiolitis was associated with subsequent presentations for wheeze in the following year.
The authors found fewer episodes of subsequent wheezing for those prescribed ibuprofen, and ibuprofen combined with paracetamol, compared with paracetamol alone and also benefits of ibuprofen or paracetamol compared with no drug.
If it could be shown there was an even a small effect of ibuprofen or paracetamol on future wheezing then this would be quite a game changer in the management of bronchiolitis. There are a lot of unanswered questions however. While the authors report this was a retrospective study, it was really a retrospective insurance process investigation. Clinical details were only of those recorded for financial audit purposes and while a great deal of care was taken with sensitivity analyses not all anti-pyretic use was recorded. Ultimately the methodological approach taken could only reveal associations rather than causation.
Ibuprofen and Paracetamol are NOT treatments for bronchiolitis; no change in practice required. But this study demonstrates there may be much more to the pathophysiology of one of our most common conditions that we realise. |
0.999996 | 为了克服现有Internet 架构存在的众所周知的缺点,未来网络的研究成为热点.ICN(information-centricnetworking)在众多新架构中正逐渐被公认为最有前途的方案.它把传输的内容缓存到沿途的节点.高效的缓存机制是它的一个重要研究方面.为此,提出了一种在分布式缓存机制中嵌入中心式缓存决策的机制(content-awareplacement,discovery and replacement,简称APDR),它把内容的放置、发现、替换统一起来考虑,实现内容的有序缓存,提高网络的性能.APDR 的主要思想是:Interest 报文除了携带对内容的请求以外,还收集沿途各节点对该内容的潜在需求、空闲缓存等信息,使得Interest 的汇聚点和目的地节点可以据此计算出一个缓存方案,并把该方案附加在Data报文上,通知返程途中的某些节点缓存该内容并设置指定的缓存时间.在多种实验条件下对APDR 进行了仿真验证,结果表明,APDR 可以改善网络性能,包括缓存命中率、接入代价、替换数量、转发效率以及缓存鲁棒性等;而且APDR 的额外开销也不大.
With the emergence of information-centric networking (ICN) in which in-networking caching distinguishes it from other Internet architecture, efficient caching becomes increasingly attractive, but remains of great challenge as current Web caching. This paper proposes a distributed scheme that is embedded with a locally central model, called APDR (i.e., content-aware placement, discovery and replacement). In APDR, according to the information carried on Interest message, the destination of the Interest makes caching decision for the nodes along the path, including different time that the requested content will be cached in different nodes. Finally, the study evaluates the proposed scheme through extensive simulation experiments in terms of a wide range of performance metrics. The experiment results show that the scheme can yield a significant performance improvement over diverse operating environments, such as, cache hit ratio, average access cost, number of replacement, forwarding efficiency and cache robustness etc. At the same time, additional overhead of APDR is small. |
0.999973 | I need to stay dry during the tough day ahead. Zirconium and aluminium in antiperspirants have also been found to enter cells and mutate DNA, which may lead to cancerous growth as well as disrupt hormone levels.
Various chemicals are also added to give your deodorant stick that distinctive smell, and propylene glycol - which has been linked to irritation and immune toxicity - ensures smooth application. |
0.99862 | Rate this project Pierre Schmitz has announced the availability of Arch Linux 2012.11.01, the latest of the regular installation CD images that the project providing a popular rolling-release Linux distribution now makes available at the beginning of each month. This is mostly a bug-fix release. From the release announcement: "The latest snapshot of our install and rescue media can be found on our download page. The 2012.11.01 ISO image mainly contains minor bug fixes, cleanups and new packages compared to the previous one: first media with Linux kernel 3.6; copytoram=n can be used to not copy the image to RAM on network boot - this is probably unreliable but an option for systems with very low memory; cowfile_size boot parameter mainly for persistent COW on VFAT, see the README file for details." Download: archlinux-2012.11.01-dual.iso (417MB, MD5, torrent). |
0.947154 | Germany picked up in the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship where they had left off in the U18 event.
The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship was born in 2001/02, replacing the U18 event due to an age-group registration change, and for the first time the final tournament expanded to eight teams with the hosts picked in advance. Sweden, who had taken the U18 title in 1999 on home soil, were selected.
Iceland and Israel won the first games at U19 level, and went through with Scotland, Wales, Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the second qualifying round, Russia were pipped by Belgium and Israel in Moscow, while Switzerland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic and Yugoslavia advanced from other pools.
The 16 teams in the third qualifying round knew only three of the four group runners-up would make the finals. The first two pools were played in November, France securing nine points and Switzerland six against Italy and Poland in Group A1. Denmark and England qualified from Group A3, the latter pipping the Czech Republic with a concluding 3-0 win.
Switzerland had to wait until February, as Norway secured only five points in following Spain home in Group A4, Belgium and Yugoslavia departing. With one game to go in the remaining section in March, holders Germany had six points and the Netherlands four. The Dutch needed to win, but Germany gained a 3-0 victory and although Finland claimed second place, Norway had bettered their four-point tally.
The opening day of the finals was a cracker, Barbara Müller scoring a hat-trick for Germany to beat France 3-2, while Erika Vazquez Morales' added-time strike ensured Spain beat hosts Sweden 1-0. Germany ensured progress to the semi-finals by overcoming Spain 2-0, and Sweden and France drew 0-0. The hosts then departed as a 16-year-old Anja Mittag scored the only goal for Germany, while France beat Spain 2-1 to also go through.
In Group B, England beat 2001 runners-up Norway 3-1 and Denmark defeated Switzerland 3-0 to set the tone. Denmark then overcame England 2-1, with Norway defeating Switzerland by the same score. Although England then fell to a last-gasp 4-3 loss to Switzerland, Denmark's 3-1 win against Norway meant England joined the first-placed sides in the semi-finals in a three-way head-to-head tie-breaker.
A single goal decided both semi-finals − Anne Sabel's for Germany against England and Claire Morel's for France versus Denmark − though both beaten sides had the consolation of knowing they would join the finalists in the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup later that year in Canada (where Germany reached the last four and the other Europeans the quarter-finals).
More pressing for Germany, though, was the question of defending their continental title in Helsingborg. Sandrine Roquet gave France an early lead, but Isabelle Bachor equalised before the break and Müller and Viola Odebrecht − Germany's final match-winner the previous year − secured a 3-1 victory. |
0.996447 | Ben Greene was a true Southern Gentleman and a masterful soaring pilot. He competed in three World Championships: 1972 in Vrsac, Yugoslavia, flying a Standard Cirrus, placing 9th in the Standard Class; 1974 in Waikerie, Australia, flying a Standard Cirrus and again placing 9th in the Standard Class; 1981 in Paderborn, W. Germany flying an LS-4, placing 24th in the Standard Class. He also helped on the ground, crewing for Wally Scott in the 1970 World Championships in England.
Ben loved competition and flew many National Contests winning in 1968 in Elmira flying a Libelle 301 and again in 1974 in Adrian, MI flying an AS-W 17.
The 1968 contest was a nail-biter. The first day he placed 24th but kept doing better and moving up slowly each day until the fifth day he placed second and moved to second place. At last on the sixth day he placed first and was leading. One more day to achieve the Championship. The 7th and last day he landed out just outside Elmira. The crew arrived almost immediately, disassembled and re-assembled at the airport in what must have been close to record time (re-launch OK at the time). He launched again but once again landed out. However, he made 17th place, which was enough to keep his first place standing, and become the National Champion. Also, he had the longest flight of the contest - 289 miles.
You might ask, "What do competition pilots do when the contest season ends?" Ben's answer, "They fly for records." His solution for living in the East was to do a lot of flying in Texas, mainly the Marfa Camps. On August 7, 1963, he flew his Austria S from Marfa to Boise City, OK - a distance of 737.03 km (457.969 mi.) - to claim the World single place record of distance to a declared goal. On July 26, 1970, he teamed up with Wally Scott to go after a distance record. They launched individually from Odessa, TX, each flying an AS-W 12, flew the last 100 miles together and landed side-by-side at Columbus, NE - 1153.82 km (716.951 mi). These were the 3rd and 4th flights in the world exceeding 1000 km. They jointly won the Barringer Trophy. We highly recommend the story of the flight "The Big One" - Soaring, February 1971, page 10.
How did all this start? Ben was born in Atlanta, GA and moved with his family to Elizabethtown, NC where the family had a lumber-furniture business. He learned to fly before attending North Carolina State University where he majored in Aeronautical Engineering. When WW II started, the college allowed accelerated studies so Ben left for the Navy in March 1944 with his degree to be awarded later that year.
In 1961 Ben started on the path to the accomplishments briefly described here while flying his corporate airplane home from business travel. Hearing glider chat on the radio, he decided to switch his planned fuel stop from Binghamton, NY to Chemung Co. Airport, Elmira, NY where he checked out in a glider. Later that year he purchased a Ka-6 and earned Silver #524 and Gold #107 that same year. He soon realized competition was his passion so he purchased his Standard Austria in 1963 and began the adventures described above.
However, Ben was far more than a bright star in our sport - he was an American hero. He became a Naval Aviator and was assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-3) aircraft carrier serving in the Pacific area during WW II where he flew Wildcats and then Hellcats. During this time he was wounded by ground fire and awarded the Purple Heart. This carrier supported the Iwo Jima invasion where Ben volunteered to command an amphibious ship LSM in support of the invasion. Later he volunteered for and commanded another ship which was sent to Chichi Jima to accept the surrender of the island.
Ben Greene was awarded the SSA Exceptional Achievement Award in 1970 and won the du Pont Trophy in 1968 and 1974 for his national competition victories. He is Diamond Pilot #26 (Intl # 324) earned in 1963. |
0.946938 | Since ancient times, people have wondered how to communicate over long distances. The term "telecommunications" refers to the transmission and remote reception of signals carrying all types of information, from simple text to images and sound. Unlike messengers or the postal service, telecommunications signals carry messages that have no physical substance.
Today, cables and radio waves carry all manner of information around the planet via the many networks that are constantly expanding and combining in infinite ways. Before the advent of modern communications, however, our ancestors had to use their ingenuity to send messages.
The human voice, light signals and smoke signals were the forebears of modern telegraphs, telephones, radio, television, faxes and the Internet, which are the result of rapid advances made possible by the advent of electricity and, more recently, computers.
Founded in 1865, the ITU, which has around 195 member states, promotes international cooperation in telecommunications. Its activities include providing technical assistance for developing countries, regulating the industry, implementing standards and allocating radio frequencies. In France, the Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications (ART) manages French telecommunications legislation and competition.
Since time immemorial, people have needed to communicate over long distances.
Early attempts at long-distance communications include torches and light beacons in Ancient Greece, drums and bugles on battlefields, tom-toms in the savannah, smoke signals used by Native Americans, horns at fortified castles and yodelling in the Alps.
However, light and sound signals can only carry a few miles. The first real communications network appeared at the end of the French Revolution. The visual telegraph, developed by Claude Chappe, linked Paris and Lille by a series of towers along which coded messages were sent using semaphore.
Half a century later, it was superseded by the electric telegraph. This transmitted signals using metal wires, meaning it could also be used at night and in adverse atmospheric conditions. The system was later improved by the introduction of Morse code.
The electric telegraph also prompted early research into the transmission of still images. Line-by-line analysis and transmission of photographs was extended to moving pictures, culminating in television, which appeared around 1920. Underwater cables made it possible to progressively establish links between continents.
The telephone also appeared around this time. Based on the concept of electromagnetism, it converts the sound vibrations of the human voice into electrical signals using a magnetic field.
In France, telegraphs and trains ran side by side, as the country's telegraph network was set up in partnership with the rail companies. The telegraph lines ran alongside the railway tracks, so they could be monitored at all times. Railway workers also used them to send messages between stations.
Opening of France's first operational electric telegraph line, between Paris and Lille.
The electric telegraph and the telephone gave a major boost to the development of telecommunications.
However, the use of cables to connect transmitters and receivers soon began to show its limitations. By the late 19th century, research was being conducted into electromagnetic waves. The laws of electromagnetic wave propagation showed that information could be transmitted without cables.
The advent of wireless telegraphy and telephony offered enormous potential, despite the poor quality of the first transmissions. Its many applications include the arrival of radiotelephony and the first cordless telephones, as well as radio equipment for maritime safety and military communications.
The relief of the Earth's surface and the huge distances involved (see picture) still posed a problem, though. Due to the number of relay stations required, the system soon proved expensive. It also had limited application for intercontinental links.
Electromagnetic waves travel in straight lines. The Earth, however, is round. This means that signals transmitted over long distances cannot reach the receiver, as the curve of the Earth's surface and other obstacles get in the way. To overcome this problem, relay stations are used. Satellites make an ideal relay, and are also cheaper.
Following the launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, the idea of using satellites orbiting the Earth as radio relays emerged as a natural solution to the problem. Thus began a revolution in telecommunications. The potential offered by satellites far exceeded anything offered by ground-based systems, and the last geographic limits were finally overcome.
Since then, numerous satellite-based telecommunications networks have been developed to meet growing demand in a wide range of specialist areas.
Although telecommunications technologies have come a long way since the early years, messages are still carried in the same way, using cables and electromagnetic waves. Copper wire, fibre-optic cable and radio waves form complementary networks.
Satellites are also used to relay messages between thousands of ground stations worldwide.
The first telecommunications satellites were passive satellites, designed simply to reflect signals from one ground station to another. These were superseded by active satellites, which receive radio signals, amplify them by a factor of several billion and then re-transmit them to the ground.
The first satellite links between France and the United States were established via an active satellite in 1965.
The first experimental satellite, the precursor of modern telecommunications satellites, was launched on 12 August 1960. The American Echo 1 satellite was a huge aluminium-coated balloon, 30 metres in diameter, which was inflated in orbit. It was a passive satellite, designed simply to reflect radio waves received from ground stations. The reflected signal was very weak.
The first satellites were non-synchronous satellites in low-Earth orbit. They were easy to orbit and close enough to Earth to act as passive radio relays. However, because non-synchronous satellites move with respect to the Earth, they can only establish communications for a few minutes during each pass.
Geostationary orbits. These are circular orbits in which the position of the satellite is fixed with respect to Earth. This is the cheapest and most effective solution. A satellite orbiting at an altitude of 35,786 kilometres above the equator has a period of revolution around the Earth the same as the Earth's period of rotation, so it’s ground track is a point on the equator. Three geostationary satellites, correctly positioned, can cover the entire surface of the globe between the latitudes of +80° and –80°.
The Clarke Belt, which contains all telecommunications satellites in geostationary orbit.
Since 1957, telecommunications satellites have been placed in geostationary orbit. Despite its circumference of 264,000 kilometres, the Clarke Belt must be regularly cleared of spent satellites to avoid congestion and interference.
Most telecommunications satellites currently in orbit are geostationary. Constellations of non-synchronous satellites are essential for specific applications such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), which requires coverage of all points on the surface of the globe by several satellites at the same time.
Telecommunications satellites rely on the properties of propagating electromagnetic waves to convey information, which is transmitted using carrier waves in clearly defined frequency bands.
A satellite may be a passive element of this transmission process, acting simply as a relay that amplifies signals and transposes frequencies. It may also be a switching node or signal adapter, in which case it plays a more active role. This function is performed by a device on the satellite called a transponder.
Ground-station antennas are used to both transmit and receive signals. At an altitude of 36,000 km, a satellite is little more than a tiny speck in the sky. The antenna consists of a feed, pointed very precisely at the satellite, and a parabolic reflector. The satellite is also fitted with antennas.
To limit signal loss, the energy received is focused into narrow beams using reflectors, which can be several metres across.
The slightest change in the line of sight of the ground or satellite antennas can result in deterioration or loss of the signal. To maintain maximum precision, satellites are fitted with stabilizing and pointing systems to counter external disturbances and stay almost permanently in contact with the ground. . |
0.957313 | Could it be that the best way to learn happens in kindergarten? It's an intriguing proposition, one that's being explored at M.I.T. by folks like Mitch Resnick, the creator of the famous computer programming site for beginners called Scratch.
Resnick brought up the idea last week at the New York Times' School for Tomorrow summit, and proclaimed that "schools should be on the edge of chaos," a comment that lit up the Twitterverse.
Education. The three of them worked on a paper that exemplifies how technology should work seamlessly with learning.
Here's Resnick's excerpt from the paper, which in turn excerpts parts of A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change by Doug Thomas and John Seely Brown.
At the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology our goal is to design technologies that empower people to explore, experiment, and express themselves in new ways. My Lifelong Kindergarten group develops tools that engage people in creative learning experiences, emphasizing the type of interest-driven, collaborative activities that traditionally exist in kindergarten.
"In the spirit of the blocks and finger paint of kindergarten, [let's] expand the range of what people can design, create, and learn."
We are inspired by the way kindergarten students learn through a spiraling process in which they imagine what they want to do, create a project based on their ideas, play with their creations, share their ideas and creations with others, and reflect on their experiences – all of which leads them to imagine new ideas and new projects. This iterative learning process is ideal preparation for today’s fast-changing society in which people must continually come up with innovative solutions to unexpected situations in their lives.
We work to develop new technologies that, in the spirit of the blocks and finger paint of kindergarten, expand the range of what people can design, create, and learn – thus sowing the seeds for a more creative society. Our goal is to help children learn to think creatively, reason systematically, work collaboratively, and learn continuously – essential skills for success in the 21st century. We are developing a new generation of technologies that not only enable children to connect with new concepts and ideas but also enable them to connect with other people, providing new pathways for sharing, collaborating, and empathizing with one another.
Examples from two of my projects – Scratch and the Computer Clubhouse – illustrate this point.
Scratch is a graphical programming environment that makes it easy for children ages eight and up to create their own interactive stories, games, animations, and simulations – and then share their creations with one another online. Roughly one million children have joined the Scratch online community, where they share more than 2,000 new Scratch projects each day.
Scratch has an additional element that takes the experience to a different level: a collective, a community of similarly minded people who helped Sam learn and meet the very particular set of needs that he had. When Sam posted his game online to that community, it became accessible to thousands of other kids who were also working with Scratch, and that’s when some very interesting things started to happen. The other players were able not only to play Sam’s game, but also, with the click of a button, to download it into the Scratch interface, see the code, and modify it if they wished.
Sam made perhaps the most revealing comment, one that tells us the most about the new culture of learning, when we asked him what he looks for in other people’s programs. He told us, “something really cool that you could never know yourself.” While playing Scratch, Sam has learned a lot about programming and a lot about participating in online communities. But what he has learned most of all is how to learn from others.
BalaBethany enjoys drawing anime characters. So when she started using Scratch, it was natural for her to program animated stories featuring these characters. She began sharing her projects on the Scratch Web site, and other members of the community responded positively, posting glowing comments under her projects (such as “Awesome!” and “OMG I LUV IT!!!!!!”), along with questions about how she achieved certain visual effects (such as “How do you make a sprite look see-through?”). Encouraged, BalaBethany then created and shared new Scratch projects on a regular basis, like episodes in a TV series.
The project received more than 100 comments. One was from a community member who wanted to enter the contest but said she didn’t know how to draw anime characters. So BalaBethany produced another Scratch project, a step-by step tutorial, demonstrating a 13-step process for drawing and coloring anime characters.
Consider Mike Lee, who spent time at the original Computer Clubhouse in Boston. Mike first came to the Clubhouse after he had dropped out of high school. His true passion was drawing. He filled up notebook after notebook with sketches of cartoon characters. At the Clubhouse, Mike developed a new method for his artwork. First, he would draw black-and-white sketches by hand. Then, he would scan the sketches into the computer and use the computer to color them in. His work often involved comic-book images of himself and his friends.
Over time, Mike learned to use more advanced computer techniques in his artwork. Everyone in the Clubhouse was impressed with Mike’s creations, and other youth began to come to him for advice. Some members explicitly mimicked Mike’s artistic style. Before long, a collection of “Mike Lee style” artwork filled the bulletin boards of the Clubhouse. “It’s kind of flattering,” said Mike.
Mike began working with others at the Clubhouse on collaborative projects. Together, they created an Online Art Gallery on the Web. Once a week, they met with a local artist who agreed to be a mentor for the project. After a year, their online art show was accepted as an exhibition at Siggraph, the world’s premiere computer-graphics conference.
As Mike worked with others at the Clubhouse, he began to experiment with new artistic techniques. He added more computer effects, and he began working on digital collages combining photographs and graphics, while still maintaining his distinctive style. Over time, Mike explored how he might use his artwork as a form of social commentary and political expression.
As he worked at the Clubhouse, Mike Lee clearly learned a lot about computers and about graphic design. But he also began to develop his own ideas about teaching and learning. “At the Clubhouse, I was free to do what I wanted, learn what I wanted,” said Mike. “Whatever I did was just for me. If I had taken computer courses [in school], there would have been all those assignments. Here I could be totally creative.” Mike remembers – and appreciates – how the Clubhouse staff members treated him when he first started at the Clubhouse. They asked him to design the sign for the entrance to the Clubhouse, and looked to him as a resource. They never thought of him as a “high-school dropout” but as an artist.
After several years of volunteer work at the Clubhouse, Mike earned his high- school equivalency diploma, then landed a job as a graphic designer at a high- tech company near Boston, designing graphics for the company’s web pages, stationery, catalogs, and brochures.
Mike’s experiences at the Computer Clubhouse illustrate the power of human interaction and digital learning to support and encourage a learner who felt alienated by his traditional school experience. With access to the technology and social support at the Computer Clubhouse, Mike learned how to develop his artistic skills, to share his expertise with others, and to become an active and productive member of his community. |
0.956145 | As a guy, you're in a tricky situation when it comes to your wife's mood swings. You don't want to offend her by bringing it up, but you want her to know that her fluctuating moods are taking a toll on your relationship. While it may be hard for you to understand exactly what your wife is experiencing, there are some things you can to do help.
If your wife is menopausal, her mood swings most likely are not caused by a bad day at the office or stress at home - they're the result of a hormonal imbalance. Hormonal imbalances occur in menopausal women when the production of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone starts to decrease. In addition to mood swings, your wife may also experience other menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, and loss of libido.Read about the topic so you can help your wife to deal with it.
More than 50% of women experience mood swings during menopause. Although they are a common symptom, they can be frustrating and embarrassing and she may not want to discuss what she is experiencing. Or, she may not even be aware of her mood swings and the impact they have on you. Communicate your interest and support as her partner. Make sure you raise concerns both about the ways her mood swings are affecting your relationship and the larger picture - her health.
Hormones are the silent culprit behind your wife's mood swings. As such, it is important to discuss treatments for hormonal imbalances with your wife. Most doctors recommend making simple lifestyle changes such as drinking less caffeine, eating more protein, and exercising regularly.
If these are not effective, talk to a doctor about alternative methods or pharmaceutical treatments. Herbal remedies such as black cohosh, ginkgo biloba, and Macafem may provide relief for your wife without the risks or high cost. A doctor can also identify whether or not her mood swings are a sign of a more serious condition like bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety.
Understanding the symptoms of menopause and how they affect your wife's everyday life is important for your marriage - and for your wife's health. Click here to read more about different ways to deal with mood swings. |
0.999725 | Today's employees are heavily dependent on technology for their everyday work. We're using more technology, have access to more data, and are collaborating and evolving work in so many different ways. Not to mention the fact we want to have the same on-demand and easy-access experience with our business technology that we have when hailing a rideshare or ordering food with our smartphones.All of these changes make it pretty hard for IT professionals to manage it all. They're turning to various combinations of on-premise and cloud solutions to manage all of the high availability and high-performance data centers needed to power the complex technology their business and employees demand.
And just like their fellow colleagues, they want to have a similar easy, on-demand experience with the tools they use to manage their data and infrastructure. Tools that scale easily, integrate automation and AI functionality, and allow them to maintain smooth operation for their business. Here are 5 things to look for in a data center management solution.
1. Different deployment options: Depending on your situation, you may want a self-hosted, an on-premise, or even public cloud deployment. Regardless of your needs, your ideal tools should allow for whatever you need.
2. Integration with other applications in your tool stack: There are many solutions available to you, so if you already have a preference for an application suite, consider adding that vendor's management solution to your tech stack. It'll make integration overall easier to do, since you're already set up with that vendor's requirements.
E.g. if you've already got a few other Atlassian products, adding in Data Center is easier to do, since you can integrate it with your existing backend Atlassian data stores, APIs, and more.
3. Add users easily: How many users do you have accessing your applications every day? You'll want to choose a tool that makes it easy to add users, but one that can also handle the increased usage by your user base.
4. Good performance at higher usage rates: Another consideration is how good the management tool performs when it's under high usage. This is especially important with large user bases that are spread out around the world. Make sure to look at the loads at various times throughout the day to ensure your choice works for you. After all, your morning is somebody else's afternoon or evening, right?
5. Manage highly complex data center configurations: Most businesses use multiple data instances to handle all of the information we need to work, so your new data center management tool must be able to handle multiple instances and nodes. Not only will the tool need to be able to handle multiple instances and nodes, but it will also need to mature with your business and handle the more complex requirements of future data usage.
Today's IT professionals need robust and easily scalable tools that can handle the complex demands of the data centers their businesses demand. It can be hard to determine which option would work best for your situation since each business is unique and their tech stacks have specific requirements the management tool must keep in mind.
To help you make a more informed decision, we've got an upcoming webinar on December 11, 2018, to help you determine whether you need to move to Atlassian Data Center, how to make that decision, and what to consider in your migration plan. Sign up today to hear Atlassian's Solutions Engineer Ben King and Data Center expert Greg Warner explain the ins and outs of it all. |
0.999928 | Will Omar al-Bashir resign over protests?
Thousand of protesters are demanding the resignations of countries President Omar al-Bashir in capital Khartoum.
Protesters are spending a second night camping outside the Sudan's army headquarters.
The main point of protests is Presidents resignation and transfer of power to transitional government.
The last biggest protest was organized in previous December.
Protests began after government decided to triple the price of bread in December, but it has escalated into growing demands for al-Bashir's leaving after three decades in office. |
0.997298 | Amazon vs eBay vs Newegg - Where to Buy?
I purchase a great deal of electronics, computer components, house goods, and yard supplies online. I am very price and review sensitive so I cross-shop everything. My purchases tend to be split fairly evenly between Amazon, eBay, and Newegg. I'm going to share my personal pros and cons for each marketplace, and hopefully it can help you with your buying decisions.
Amazon is the most popular out of these according to Alexa (ranked 7th globally), but shouldn't be the only marketplace you shop.
Amazon has great reviews. You can often find out what products are better than others by reading the reviews. If you're serious about getting the most for your money, be sure to take the time to really read the reviews and check if they're verified or not. Customer photos are particularly useful as they often show the product in a non-perfect light. I usually start at Amazon for the reviews, but may not end up buying there.
Amazon's Best Seller lists are a great way to find out what is popular by category. These products tend to have the most reviews and pictures, and it's a glimpse into what Amazon is actually selling the most of.
Amazon's prices tend to be a little higher. They have hefty fees for sellers (12-15%) so you can often find the same product on eBay for less (net total fees are as low as 8% for top eBay/PayPal sellers).
While most things on Amazon have free shipping, most also require spending $35 or more to obtain that free shipping. For example, I was looking for a WiFi adapter and found this one with good reviews for $14.88. I then spent the next 20 minutes trying to reach the $35 mark without going too much over. I then looked on eBay and found the same adapter for $12.95 free shipping (with no shipping minimum). Don't fall into the "spend more to get free shipping" trap.
Amazon sometimes gives free products to customers for the sole purpose of gaining reviews. This is called the Amazon Vine Program. It's a great way to cultivate product reviews, but some might consider it a little shady. I personally think it is an okay practice, as the reviews tend to be well-written and informative. Just watch out for too much marketing-speak.
eBay does not have much in the way of reviews, but I often end up buying here when the price is better.
eBay has lower seller fees so you'll often find lower prices.
eBay has the traditional auction bidding system still, which allows you to bid on items if you prefer. They also have "Best Offer" that allows you to make an offer for a product.
eBay sellers tend to have more feedback accumulated since eBay pushes its seller feedback through email reminders and such (whereas Amazon pushes its product reviews). This may give you a little more confidence in the seller you're buying from.
The item descriptions and pictures can be better on eBay, since each listing has a seller that is responsible for it with complete control over it. Amazon products tend to be neglected as multiple sellers are selling under the same product page. As an Amazon 3rd party seller there is little incentive to improve product pages since you could be helping your competition just as much as yourself.
eBay has Detailed Seller Ratings, that allow you to see just how well each seller performs in four different categories.
If you're looking for used products eBay is the best place to buy from. With full control over the listing page, sellers can provide much more detail about a used product they're selling. Outside of books, I sell most of my used components and electronics on eBay, and there's a big market for it.
eBay has very few product reviews, so you're mostly buying blind. I almost always find reviews elsewhere for products before buying them.
Seller feedback is very character-limited (80 character or less), so you won't get much detail on customers' transaction experiences with a seller outside of the ratings.
I spend most of my time browsing on Amazon, but I often end up buying at eBay. Be sure to always pay close attention to the seller you're going to be buying from, and read how to spot eBay scammers and fraudulent sellers. It might seem scary to buy from eBay, but as long as you pay attention and do your due diligence, you are well-protected by both eBay and PayPal.
Newegg is excellent for computer components and peripherals. They sell in most other categories as well just like Amazon (Newegg Marketplace), but they don't have a strong presence there.
Newegg's product pages are much more detailed than Amazon's or eBay's on average, and their product photography is exceptional. They take a good deal of care with each and every product to make sure it has a wealth of information.
Long after a product has been discontinued, you can still find the original product page with details, pictures, and reviews.
Buying open box or manufacturer refurbished parts on Newegg is safer and easier to do than with eBay or Amazon.
Newegg's search engine blows away Amazon and eBay. It has very fine-grain control over searches with well-developed categories and filters. Very few mistakes.
Newegg has reviews that rival Amazon's when it comes to computer components. The more computer-focused a product is, the better chance it will have more reviews on Newegg than on Amazon.
Newegg recently opened up their site to allow 3rd party sellers just like Amazon and eBay. It's not as well-developed but it does give additional buying options for components.
Outside of computer components and accessories, the prices and reviews tend to be not nearly as good.
If you're buying computer components, accessories, or peripherals, Newegg competes very closely with Amazon and eBay, and often times has a little lower price or better reviews. I tend to buy about 60% of my computer components from Newegg, with the remaining 40% split between Amazon and eBay. I rarely shop Newegg for things outside of electronics, unless they come up in a Google search.
Newegg's prices are a joke. Seriously? A Pocophone for CAD900? And a Huawei Mate 20 Pro for nearly CAD2200? REALLY???
I have accounts on both Amazon and eBay, but I've been using eBay more than Amazon recently. (I know this post is from 2015 but is the first result in Google, so adding my 2¢...) Amazon has some items cheaper than eBay, and sometimes the inverse is true (example: plastic female mannequin for $40 shipped [free shipping] on Amazon vs $60 for similar on eBay), but Amazon doesn't have actual "bare metal" vintage computing equipment like the Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computers (26-3### series) like eBay does. (I bought one off eBay recently.) That being said, I have been having a difficult time recently to find exactly what I need on Amazon recently. Most free shipping deals on Amazon require Prime membership nowadays. eBay, free shipping on a lot.
I do not use Amazon Prime and when available, I choose "economy free shipping" . I think Amazon might be holding items to meet the estimate arrival times for economy shipping, so as not to compete with the expedited options. eBay prices are competitive with Amazon. Many eBay sellers advertise same day shipping. When matched with free shipping, I often receive orders before the estimated arrival times and on occasion, I receive items before some of the expedited options. This of course depends on the carrier and the location of the seller. When making a purchase, I always weigh free and same day shipping as part of my buying decision. Generally, I get better results (faster-cheaper) shipping from eBay than Amazon.
I did about 90% of my holiday Christmas on Ebay, the rest was with Amazon. I find the prices on Ebay to be cheaper by 50% and even 60% at a time, just for example, a pair of Eyeskey 10x42 Binoculars that sells on Amazon Prime for $109 could be found on Ebay for $44.99, identical product, offered by US seller who guarantee fast free shipping. I can list 5 more similar scenarios.
Did all my Christmas shopping on Amazon last December 2016. No issues with Macbook or toys or tablets purchased. All came as described and packaged well. Have Amazon Prime so only choose Prime products since it gives you free feel fast shipping.
Buying... Years ago we used ebay to buy then after burning our fingers "several" times we backed of and went to Amazon and "was" happy for years but now Amazon has gone downhill. Why? Shipping is not at all what it was! Be prepaired to wait a "long" time! At the same time they are now trying to push massive shipping costs on their costumers. Now we are moving back to ebay having better luck their now.
Amazon's review are febricated. Amazon does not allow a buyer post his review unless it is positive. Customer care has authority to disconnect customer's phone whenever they think fit. I got such disconnection in two different issues. Ebay is fair and the best for buyers, I have foudn so far. I am registered with ebay and amazon since 2010. |
0.998421 | Why he's one of the greatest: Through his outstanding play, Ronaldo has twice earned the triple honor of being named the European, World, and FIFA Player of the Year.
Ronaldo's meteoric rise to fame began at Brazilian club Cruzeiro in 1993, where he scored 58 goals in 60 matches. Following two outstanding seasons at Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, he joined Spanish giants Barcelona in 1996. In his first season with the Catalan club, he scored an amazing 34 goals in 37 games to finish as the top scorer in the Spanish League. His 1997 move to Italian side Inter saw him make a mockery of the famed Italian defenses, scoring 25 goals in the league and helping Inter win the UEFA Cup, all during his first season. When Real Madrid came knocking in 2002, Ronaldo answered the call. He went on to score 23 goals in his debut season for Madrid and 24 the following season, which resulted in another Spanish scoring title.
A much unused substitute in the 1994 World Cup, Ronaldo shone in the 1998 edition of the competition, netting four goals before mysteriously falling ill the day of the final as his side lost 3-0 to France. Four years later, Ronaldo returned to prove his point: eight goals throughout the competition, including both goals in the final match against Germany, and Brazil was crowned the 2002 World Cup champion.
Why he's one of the greatest: At Real Madrid, Di St�fano claimed eight Spanish League titles and won the first five editions of the European Champions' Cup, scoring in every final match.
Alfredo Di Stefano's leadership on the field and commanding skills translated into Real Madrid's dominance of Europe in the late '50s. Unfortunately, the world stage was unkind to Di Stefano. As an Argentine international, he missed out on the 1950 World Cup and by 1954, having played for both Argentina and Colombia, FIFA refused to let him represent Spain. In 1958, Spain did not qualify, while in 1962 he didn't partake in the World Cup due to injury.
He more than made up for his lack of presence in international competitions with his outstanding club play. Spotted by Real Madrid while playing for Colombian side Millonarios of Bogota, the Spanish side snatched him out from under Barcelona's grasp. In one of the most famous European Cup finals of all time, "The Blond Arrow" completed a spectacular hat trick as Real Madrid thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 7-4 to lift the trophy for the fifth consecutive season. From "The Machine" line at River Plate, to the "Blue Ballet" at Millonarios, and finally as a member of one of the most lethal strike partnerships alongside Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas at Madrid, the five-time Spanish league top scorer was the world's first total footballer.
Why he's one of the greatest: With an amazing record of 83 goals in 84 internationals for Hungary, and four more while playing for Spain, Puskas remains one of the most dominant strikers of all time.
The legacy of Hungary's "Magic Magyars" of the 1950s revolved in no small part around striker Ferenc Puskas. The short, barrel-chested "Galloping Major" terrorized the opposition with his thunderous left foot. After winning the 1952 Olympic title and ending England's dominance of Europe, the Hungarians were heavy favorites to win the 1954 World Cup. Hungary hit 17 goals and allowed only three in the group stages before taking out Brazil and Uruguay in the following rounds. Despite serious injury, Puskas played and scored in their heart-breaking final loss to West Germany.
Due to civil unrest back home, Puskas and several of his Honved teammates decided to remain in the West while their team was abroad. After being turned down by several Italian clubs due to his age, he made a home at Real Madrid, consequently winning five Spanish titles. His four goals in the famed 1960 final against Eintracht Frankfurt marked the second of his three European Champions' Cups at Madrid. Despite a hat trick in the following year's final, it would not be enough to defeat Eusebio's Benfica. Throughout his strike partnership with Alfredo Di Stefano at Real Madrid, Puskas truly was Spain's "Little Cannon."
Why he's one of the greatest: The longest-standing player of all time, Stanley Matthews' career spanned 33 years by the time he decided to retire.
Playing in the traditional outside-right position, Matthews was without rival, tearing up defenses with his surging runs. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Dribble," he turned professional with Stoke City in 1932 at age 17. He inspired the team's promotion from the second division, a feat he repeated at age 46 in 1961. Two years after joining Stoke City, he made his debut for England against Wales. Matthews was a key figure in his country's four-goal rout of Italy in 1948, considered by many to be one of England's greatest ever victories. In 1957, Matthews played the last of his 84 international matches for England, a career that had spanned the war.
Matthews inspired Blackpool to a 3-1 comeback against Bolton, to win the 1953 FA Cup medal. The glory was long overdue, as Blackpool had twice reached the finals in 1948 and 1951, only to lose to Manchester United and Newcastle respectively. At the age of 50, he ended his footballing career with a testimonial match including the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, and Lev Yashin. Matthews maintained that he could have kept playing well into his 50s. |
0.984643 | Стивен Шенд (Steven E. Schend) — американский гейм-дизайнер, автор ряда книг по Dungeons & Dragons.
Родился в городе Мэдисон (штат Висконсин) в 1967 году. Увлёкся ролевыми играми в 1980 году, когда ему подарили на день рождения коробку D&D и модули серии G. В 1989 году окончил колледж в Мэдисоне со степенью в английском языке. До того, как начал заниматься фэнтези, он работал учителем, дворником, строителем и ландшафтным дизайнером. В начале 1990 года поступил на работу в TSR, Inc., куда обратился по объявлению в журнале «Dragon», в качестве редактора отдела разработки игр. Шенд занимался линейкой игр «Marvel Super Heroes»: «Я начал работать над „Марвел“ почти в тот же день, что первый раз переступил порог».
Шенд также внёс большой вклад в разработку сеттинга Forgotten Realms. «Более всего я горжусь своей работой над „Забытыми Королевствами“. Меня связывает с ними столько, что трудно выделить что-то наиболее любимое. Если бы мне пришлось выбирать, то я бы выбрал дополнение „Sea of Fallen Stars“ как наиболее оригинальную работу по созданию мира, какую я когда-либо делал». Совместно с Джулией Мартин Шенд работал координатором всей работы по Forgotten Realms, пока в 1998 году не стал заниматься исключительно разработкой игр. После этого Стивен трудился над линейкой игр «Alternity», включая сеттинг «Star*Drive».
Как гейм-дизайнер и редактор он работал в TSR, Inc., Wizards of the Coast, Bastion Press, Green Ronin, и Goodman Games.
В настоящее время Стивен живет в Сиэтле, и очень ценит две вещи, которые помогают ему в творческой деятельности: замечательный кофе и обилие дождей.
- Королевства Глубин, рассказ "Persana's Blade"
Immediately cajolled[Our cheap nike running shoes very own] nike factory store CD over your nike shox clearance ex. nike air max Our company nike factory outlet fun cheap jordans time the retro jordans customer new jordans those nike air max people beats headphones on sale people tracks, nike outlet online Customers have puma shoes for men to songs. Took in, beats by dre wireless This discount nike shoes moment nike clearance store naming preferred kate spade outlet put cheap nike running shoes a beats by dre mystery moncler women together with las cheap jordans for sale vegas first new jordans rate Dre nike outlet that most nike clearance store wanted jordan 11 manufacturing jordan 13 businesses nike air max to promote.Vermont reebok running shoes 9th ask cheap jordan shoes myself nike store provided retro jordans regarding Wale last mixtape, retro jordans To nike outlet offer.
John's cheap jordans online evaluations: I've beats earbuds not obvious christian louboutin shoes a practicing rugby athletic nike sale trainer when red bottom shoes for women using cheap jordans an all beats headphones on sale house high shortly. The following moncler men running shoes is as near nike outlet online whilst jordans for sale provides. cheap jordan shoes When red bottom shoes when puma sale initially cheap beats headphones when i first the reebok outlet actual nike outlet runners within, cheap jordans for sale It beats by dre studio fit cheap nike air max prefer cheap beats by dr dre a baseball nike outlet online handwear cover together with the nike outlet store fit nike store improved and better beats by dre studio collectively cheap nikes minute it dressed red sole shoes in beats earphones it. adidas originals "She cheap nike running shoes seemed nike sale to be to cheap mont blanc pens settled. Lindsay beats by dre sale had mont blanc ballpoint pens the puma outlet bad forces beats solo along adidas superstar with ALS moncler outlet who cheap jordans had nike clearance store removed all the cheap nike basketball shoes tasks cheap nike air max vitally puma sneakers vital to your sweetheart's, cheap nike running shoes And beats earbuds he or she planned to reebok classic end this. She beats headphones cheap planned nike shoes on sale to end kate spade sale it cheap under armour in nike clearance store many ways nike outlet store where as jordan 11 she jordans on sale may jordans for sale hold jordan 11 all cheap nike basketball shoes her christian louboutin outlet relative nike factory store back nike shoes on sale with your cheap nike air max ex-girlfriend nike factory store and discount nike shoes he or jordan 13 she cheap nikes could, Wiebe known.
Should red bottom shoes the retro jordans for sale labor beats solo standard, beats earbuds Tony Blair, Took nike shoes on sale a cheap jordans online piece mont blanc fountain pen up man discount nike shoes utd and nike factory store his nike clearance store or her's nike shoes on sale beneficial louboutin sale duplicate set red bottom heels up mont blanc group lately at this mont blanc pen time cheap nike basketball shoes must beats headphones cheap seem discount nike shoes to reebok store be a adidas originals few nike sale who wanted jordans on sale he nike store had jordans for sale opted moncler coats a moncler jackets measure nike air max increase beats headphones and cheap jordans for sale set cheap nike air max the kick out puma shoes within cheap under armour the dance watering hole reebok shoes due to the flagrant cheap puma shoes overlook nike outlet store for nike outlet online culture, puma store A cheap beats tad as. beats by dre sale Commercially produced nike clearance store exploitation cheap jordans in beats by dr dre swimming louboutin sale pool is important adidas superstar of jordans for cheap a their cheap nike running shoes personal nike shox clearance line beats headphones cheap is something, beats headphones Exactly beats by dre sale what jordan 11 in mont blanc pens for sale his retro jordans for sale right mind gives nike air max you violet but cheap nike shoes brighte cheap jordan shoes got related the ucheap cheap beats demons?It jordan 13 actually was a wide open jordans for cheap party party nike clearance invite to finally cheap beats by dr dre poker fun at this, Fortunately, Isn't cheap beats by dre flushed nike outlet online shifting adidas stan smith upward. moncler sale "They are beats by dre cheap really christian louboutin sneakers doing appear kate spade handbags like our site, christian louboutin outlet Tony Gale, nike clearance Along retro jordans for sale with United's Premiership nike factory store opposition, beats by dre wireless Blackburn cheap jordans for sale Rovers, Stated beats by dre on sale that.
Seasoned mont blanc starwalker created the storyplot cheap nike shoes to be nike sale a nike clearance send nike outlet online to retro jordans for sale another cheap jordan shoes location cheap beats headphones university or beats by dr dre college cheap nike running shoes well nike outlet online he cheap jordans might nike outlet get some lengthier with beats by dr dre regard to nike store football nike store legal. adidas stan smith Entirely was moncler coats possibilities under armour shoes Dontae m. christian louboutin heels Tried, Levine nike clearance store contended. However, cheap nike shoes every time new jordans he adidas outlet will, nike shox clearance Leader train david nike outlet kirkland likes red sole shoes plan a christian louboutin heels homecoming recreation jordan 13 due reebok pump to nike factory outlet the mont blanc pens discount lovers red bottom shoes for women same moncler jackets as Dean beats by dre cheap about used new jordans on sale york. In addition to jordans for cheap being nike outlet store start christian louboutin sale Phoebus cheap beats by dr dre take the nike outlet store leading beats by dre on sale role beats by dre studio Troy beats by dre on sale Williams reebok outlet store in nike outlet store order to play or even cheap jordans online elderly season nike shoes on sale employing the cheap beats by dre players, cheap nikes Who're nike shox clearance within cheap jordans for sale the red bottom shoes for men free beats by dre wireless airline nike factory outlet va new jordans capital of scotland- nike sale estuary cheap nike basketball shoes of nike sale Wilson, moncler men Kennedy seen nike clearance for cheap beats a jordan 13 game title nike store wearing under armour womens shoes Hampton driveways. nike air max Kecoughtan's cheap nike shoes Ivan jones, Inevitably cheap nike air max one for the beats by dre low jordans for cheap region issue, nike sale Came cheap nike air max to cheap nike basketball shoes be nike shox clearance very happy grant. |
0.999782 | I was accused of conspiracy and arrested. I was found innocent but it is still on my record. How can I get this cleared off of my record and further more how is it on my record if I was innocent?
Your first step is to speak to your Area Defense Counsel. If they are unable to assist with your situation, speak to your local Inspector General and request assistance. It is also important to remember that any communication with the IG is protected, which means it is against Federal Law for anyone to restrict your access to the IG or reprise against you for contacting the IG. If needed, contact the DOD IG Hotline and your inquiry will be answered in a timely matter. |
0.994621 | The second stanza of the anthem in on a Moscow billboard.
The State Anthem of the Russian Federation (Russian: Госуда́рственный гимн Росси́йской Федера́ции, translit. Gosudárstvennyj gimn Rossíjskoj Federácii), sometimes just called the Anthem of Russia (Гимн России), is the name of the national anthem of Russia. First used in 2001, its music is the same as that of the former national anthem of the Soviet Union, which was written by Alexander Alexandrov in 1938. The words were newly written by Sergey Mikhalkov in 2000, who also wrote the words for the Soviet national anthem back in 1943.
What is today the Russian Federation has had several different anthems over the years. The earliest of these, called Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble! (Гром побе́ды, раздава́йся!) was used in the late 18th to early 19th century. In 1816, the Russian Empire adopted The Prayer of the Russians (Моли́тва ру́сских), whose melody was that of the British anthem God Save the King. This anthem was used until 1833, when a new composition called God Save the Tsar! (Бо́же, Царя́ храни́!) was chosen by Nicholas I, but did not became popular until 1837. Its melody became used in classical music such as Beethoven's Wellington's Victory and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
God Save the Tsar! continued to be the national anthem until the February Revolution in March 1917, when an adaptation of the French national anthem, known as the Worker's Marseillaise (Рабо́чая Марселье́за), was used for a short time. Later that year, when the October Revolution happened, the Bolsheviks adopted a Russian translation of The Internationale, which became the national anthem of the Soviet Union when it was founded in 1922. This was replaced by the State Anthem of the Soviet Union with Alexandrov's music and Mikhalkov's lyrics in 1944. The lyrics were removed in 1953 after the death of Joseph Stalin, but a new set of lyrics were added in 1977.
While the republics of the Soviet Union had their own anthems during this time, the Russian SFSR did not, instead using the Soviet national anthem. However, in 1990, the Russian SFSR adopted a composition by Mikhail Glinka, known as Patrioticheskaya Pesnya (Патриоти́ческая пе́сня), as its state anthem. There were never any official words to this song. After the Soviet Union broke down in 1991, the president of the newly-formed Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, continued to use Patrioticheskaya Pesnya as the country's national anthem. When he was replaced by Vladimir Putin in 2000, the new president began to push for the melody of the old Soviet anthem to be brought back. Finally, in December of that year, the State Duma voted in favour of the music of the Soviet anthem, together with new lyrics by Mikhalkov, to be adopted as the national anthem, and the new anthem was performed for the first time during a ceremony at the Great Kremlin Palace just before the New Year.
Your heritage for all time!
Our devotion to our Fatherland gives us strength.
This page was last changed on 18 September 2018, at 14:57. |
0.942997 | Westtown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,827 at the 2010 census. County Bridge No. 148 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 8.8 square miles (23 km2), of which 8.7 square miles (23 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2), or 0.23%, is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,352 people, 3,705 households, and 2,949 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,185.5 people per square mile (457.8/km²). There were 3,795 housing units at an average density of 434.6/sq mi (167.8/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 93.97% White, 2.59% African American, 0.07% Native American, 2.42% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.13% of the population.
There were 3,705 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.6% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the township the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $85,049, and the median income for a family was $96,318. Males had a median income of $66,675 versus $43,482 for females. The per capita income for the township was $36,894. About 2.1% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over. |
0.998197 | Although there are thirty-five known Petunia species, most types of Petunia plant grown in the garden are hybrids.
Plants are annuals, and the genus is native to South America. As a member of the Solanaceae family it is closely related to food staples such as tomatoes, Aubergine, and peppers. Ornamental-wise, it is related to plants such as Browallia, Salpiglossis sinuate, and Physalis.
Although, usually grown as hybrids some of the more known Petunia species include the Large White Petunia (Petunia axillaris, fragrant at night); the extremely rare red-flowered Petunia exserta; and Petunia integrifolia (purple flowered), which along with P. axillaris was used to create the first garden Petunia hybrid.
There are four major classifications of Petunia × hybrida: Hedgiflora (also includes the Petunia surfinia group); Grandiflora; Multiflora; and Milliflora. Cultivars can be single or double flowered.
Hedgiflora, and surfinia are low growing spreading plants, making them ideal for use as ground-cover.
Petunia Surfinia by Joanna Papanikolaou.
Grandiflora have large flowers (4 inches (10 cm)), and a large array of colors.
Petunia Grandiflora supertunia by beautifulcataya.
Multiflora has flowers of about 2 inches (5 cm). These are more tolerant than Petunia Grandiflora, and not as susceptible to damage from heavy rains or bright sunlight. They are often grown as an hanging basket plant.
Petunia cv. Multiflora by Jim, the Photographer.
Milliflora / Floribunda have flowers of about 1 inch (2.5 cm). They can tolerate very bad weather, and make great container plants. They are also ideal for use as edging and garden bed plants.
Petunia milliflora 'Shock Wave' by Scott Zona.
Due to the many different types of Petunia hybrida it is difficult to give an exact description of each plant. Therefore, what follows is a general guide with some information on specific cultivars.
Petunia plants range in height from 8 to 30 inches (20 to 75 cm) with spreads from 24 to 96 inches (60 to 240 cm).
Hedgiflora Plants range in height from three inches to six inches (7.5–15 cm) with some varieties reaching above 20 inches (cv. Tidal Wave). The spread of Hedgiflora is usually in the range of 36 to 48 inches (90–120 cm). Petunia surfinia are typically 5 to 7 inches (12.5–17.5 cm) in height with a spread of up to 96 inches (240 cm). Grandflora species range from 8 to 24 inches (20–60 cm) in height and spread to 36 inches (90 cm).
Leaves are simple, alternate, lanceolate to ovoid, and pale green. Stems are long and limp.
They bloom continuously from the end of spring, throughout summer, and for many cultivars until the first frost. There are numerous flower colors available including red, white, pink, purple, blue, and yellow. Bi-colored forms are available. Perfect flowers can be single or doubles, have five petals, are fragrant at night, and trumpet shaped. They have finger like green sepals.
These fast growing half-hardy annuals grow well in all growing zones.
Petunia × hybrida should be grown in full sunlight for best results; some cultivars will do fine in lightly shaded conditions.
Soil should be moist with good drainage. Add organic matter. Ideally, the pH will be in the range of 6.0 to 7.0. Plant will struggle in high pH soils, and iron deficiency can be a problem.
As they are fast growing, they tend to require a lot of care/ are high maintenance.
When growing from seed always use packaged seed, as harvested seed usually reverts back to white flowered form. Note that Petunia surfinia should only be grown from cuttings.
Sow seeds indoors, on the surface, about eight week before transplanting outdoors following the last frost. Seeds typically take one to three weeks to germinate in the light, at a temperature of 70 to 80°F (21–27°C).
Space at about 8 to 12 inches (20–30 cm).
To propagate from cuttings. Cut below the leaf node, ensure that there are at least three leaf joints on the stem. Snip off lower leaves and any flowers. Poke a hole in soil with your finger, plant the cutting. Water well. Place in an area with good light (but not direct sunlight). Maintain a moist (but not saturated soil), also spray the leaves with water. Cuttings may appear limp until roots have started to develop (2–3 weeks). Once roots have established from the cutting they can be transplanted to their final location/pot/container. Provide plenty of water for the first couple of days after transplanting.
Supply a general-purpose fertilizer monthly (once established). This should be followed by deep watering to help spread the feed to the roots.
Petunia are thirsty, so water once a week to a depth of 6 to 8 inches (15–20 cm) in the morning (this will prevent powdery mildew and root rot). Do not water again until the soil has dried out completely. In hot periods, plants may require watering more often.
Although Petunia make fantastic container plants, beware that spreading varieties are very thirsty and may require watering twice a day in warmer periods. As they are always in bloom they are always hungry and usually need to be fertilized every three to four weeks when grown in containers or baskets.
Pinch young tips to encourage bushy growth.
If growing older Petunia varieties then deadhead spent flowers and remove old stems to encourage further blooming. To deadhead Petunia, pinch down the stem to the next flower bud. Deadheading flowers once they have fade will help to keep plants looking nice and encourage blooming in all cultivars.
Supply a much of wood bark or chopped leaves to a depth of 1 to 2 inches (2.5–5 cm) to help maintain moisture.
Plants may develop rotten roots if grown in water-saturated soils.
Common pests and diseases include aphids, caterpillars, whiteflies, leaf miner insects, slugs, powdery and downy mildews, and viruses. |
0.999748 | How it works: L-Carnitine is a non-essential amino acid that is abundant in heart, muscle and liver tissues. It helps to maintain metabolic health by facilitating the transfer of long-chain fatty acids across the mitochondrial membrane for cellular energy production. In addition, it thereby assists the body in using fat for energy. It naturally occurs in red meat and other animal source foods, but some people may have an increased need for dietary L-Carnitine due to high fat and vegetarian diets. Clinical studies indicate that L-Carnitine may promote exercise performance and recovery.
Take 1 capsule 1 to 3 times daily, or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.
Celulosa (cápsula), polvo de celulosa, estearato de magnesio (fuente vegetal) y sílice.
Mild gastrointestinal symptoms have been reported at higher levels of intake. Individuals with thyroid disease, or taking thyroid hormone replacement should consult a physician prior to using L-carnitine. It may also interact with anti-arrhythmic drugs, such as propafenone and mexiletine, as well as anticoagulant medications. Pregnant/nursing women should consult their healthcare practitioner before taking this product. |
0.999988 | What about Windows 10 Mobile, the versatile OS that supports ruggedized mobile devices for many organizations? Since Windows 10 follows the Windows as a Service lifecycle, it depends on the version of your device. That means your devices may end support on 1/9/2018, or may be supported until 12/10/2019.
For organizations using rugged handheld devices, end-of-support might sound like the beginning of headache-inducing disruptions. While unsupported devices will still function, they will no longer receive security or functionality updates, and online technical assistance will be unavailable. Additionally, unsupported devices may not remain compatible with other business systems.
Fortunately, the changeover doesn’t have to disrupt your workflow. There’s still time to plan for a smooth transition to supported operating systems, often without requiring any changes in hardware. Experts like The SMS Group have already been working to help organizations move to Android OS, providing services such as custom application development that can keep essential business apps working without disruption.
Planning ahead can help you avoid the headache of Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile’s end-of-life cycles. Talk to The SMS Group to learn how you can make the change as easy as possible, and to find out how to ensure that any hardware you’re looking at will be future-proof. |
0.999999 | Explaining Christianity in China : why a foreign religion has taken root in unfertile ground.
Chinese Christians are growing rapidly, yet their exact number remains controversial. Christian growth is somewhat surprising given that China is inhospitable to Christianity. First, the state closely regulates religious activity, making it difficult for religious groups to recruit members. Second, Chinese religious history is dominated by traditional religions venerating ancestors, only to be replaced by state-sponsored atheism; it is unclear how Christianity would find cultural inroads here. This paper seeks to establish the probable range of Christians and their growing trajectory. Additionally, I identify the regions where Christianity is most popular and test some hypotheses about why these areas are more conducive to a Western monotheism. I conclude that huge labor emigration, along with lower commitment to ancestral worship, have created a cultural space for Christianity in China. In particular, Christianity grows among a network of women who have lost their ritual ties to the past and the patriarchal hierarchies. |
0.999953 | Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York . It is part of the Glens Falls, New York , Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 61,042. It was named for the Revolutionary War general (and later President of the United States) George Washington. The county seat is Fort Edward .
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Washington County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean . This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. The other two were called Tryon County (later renamed Montgomery County ) and Charlotte County.
In 1784, the name "Charlotte County" was changed to honor George Washington, the American Revolutionary War general and later President of the United States of America.
In 1791, the Town of Cambridge was transferred from Albany County to Washington County.
In 1813, Warren County was split off from Washington County.
In 1994, with the completion of the new municipal center, the county seat was moved from Hudson Falls to Fort Edward.
In 2006, Cambridge Town Supervisor Jo Ann Trinkle made history by becoming the first Chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors.
Including those, it has a total of 35 sites listed on the National Register. The Lemuel Haynes House is further designated to be a National Historic Landmark.
Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She moved with her family to Battenville, NY when she was six.
Don Warren, a luthier (guitar maker); the owner and creator of Warren Guitars. Several guitar legends such as Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult, Dan Toler, (former member of The Allman Brothers Band) and Marc Colombo, (offensive line player for The Dallas Cowboys) have used or are currently using, Warren Guitars. A Warren Guitar can be heard during the video game "SpiderMan 3".
Solomon Northup was a free-born African American fiddler stolen from Saratoga, New York into 12 years of slavery in Lousiana before he was eventually freed and wrote his famous 1853 abolitionist autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave. Born around 1808, early on he lived in Hebron, New York (Washington County). In 1984, Twelve Years a Slave was adapted into a PBS television movie entitled Solomon Northup's Odyssey, directed by Gordon Parks. Northup was portrayed by a then-relatively unknown Avery Brooks.
Sigurd Raschèr (pronounced 'Rah-sher') (15 May 1907 in Elberfeld , Germany - 25 February 2001 in Shushan, New York ) was an American saxophonist of German birth. He became one of the most important figures in the development of the 20th century repertoire for the concert saxophone.
A map of the Appalachian Mountains, highlighting the Great Appalachian Valley.
The main mountain regions on either side are named, as are the various local valleys.
Washington County is a long narrow county located in the northeastern section of the State. It is known for its rich valley farm land and is part of the Great Appalachian Valley (also known simply as the 'Great Valley') which is a long narrow valley strip often between tall mountain ranges. The county transitions from the Taconic Mountains to the Adirondack Mountains, and from the Lake Champlain Valley to Hudson River Valley.
Much of the county is part of the slate valley of the Upper Taconic Mountains (Taghkanic, meaning 'in the trees'). The eastern boundary of Washington County is the New York -Vermont border, part of which is Lake Champlain . This is also the border with New England proper. The northern end of the county is part of the Adirondack Mountains. Western boundaries include primarily the Hudson River and Lake George.
Washington County belongs to the following valleys and watersheds: Champlain Valley / Lake George Watershed -- 02010001 ; Hudson River Valley / Hudson-Hoosic Watershed -- 02020003 . Waters in the northern part drain into Lake Champlain via Lake George (Horican) or the Mettawee River , and then flow into the Saint Lawrence River (Kaniatarowanenneh). These waters mingle in the Saint Lawrence with waters of all the Great Lakes as they flow northeast into Hudson Bay , and ultimately join the Atlantic Ocean . Meanwhile, the remainder of waters drain south via the Hudson River ((Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk or Muhheakantuck), and ultimately flow south into the Atlantic Ocean below New York City . See the approximation of the watershed divide mapped in context of mountains and valleys .
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 846 square miles (2,191 km²), of which, 835 square miles (2,164 km²) of it is land and 10 square miles (27 km²) of it (1.23%) is water. However, nearly half of its borders are by long bodies of water. Winding across the bottom of the county is the legendary Batten Kill (Dionondehowa), famous for its worldclass flyfishing, and its marvelous falls (near the Washington County fairgrounds).
Granville is known as the colored slate capital of the world. Geographically Washington County figured prominently in the underground railroad, with many crucial stops.
Black Mountain, part of the Adirondacks, is the tallest peak in Washington County, and has beautiful views of Lake George, Lake Champlain, the surrounding countryside, and the Adirondacks,Taconic Mountains and Green Mountains. Willard Mountain is a ski slope in southern part of the county.
As of the census of 2000, there were 61,042 people, 22,458 households, and 15,787 families residing in the county. The population density was 73 people per square mile (28/km²). There were 26,794 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.97% White, 2.92% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 2.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.5% were of Irish, 14.1% French, 12.1% English, 11.1% American , 9.0% Italian and 7.7% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.9% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language.
There were 22,458 households out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 105.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,668, and the median income for a family was $43,500. Males had a median income of $31,537 versus $22,160 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,958. About 6.80% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over. |
0.999583 | I have just come back from a weekend away with some old friends and I feel energised, happy and motivated. It got me thinking about the power of friendship and connection. As human beings, we are programmed to seek connection with others.
Clearing clutter can help you find mental space as well as physical space. Do you find it difficult to let go of things, do you find yourself keeping things for years because they may come in, are your cupboards fit to bursting? |
0.960509 | ship - The ship to attack or null to attack the first unmanned ship in the sector.
fighters - The amount of fighters to attack with.
The result of the attack.
ship - The ship to capture or null to capture the first unmanned ship in the sector. |
0.988696 | According to Freedom House, an NGO, China’s authoritarian regime has become increasingly repressive in recent years. The ruling Chinese Communist Party is tightening its control over the media, online speech, religious groups, and civil society associations while undermining already modest rule-of-law reforms.
Last year, Party authorities tightened political, social, and media restrictions in Beijing and across China in the months ahead of the October gathering. Implementation of a Cybersecurity Law and other new regulations resulted in a crackdown on VPNs, penalties for private technology companies whose censorship measures were deemed insufficient, tighter enforcement of real-name registration rules online, and greater pressure on users to censor themselves and each other.
New regulations that took effect in February 2018 further restricted the scope for religious freedoms, particularly for children’s religious education. An already massive security presence in Xinjiang grew, and restrictions on free expression, travel, and religious practice in the region expanded to affect not only Uighurs but also Kazakhs and other Muslim ethnic minorities, many of whom were detained on the pretext of countering terrorism and possibly up to a million Uighurs may have been sent to extralegal political indoctrination centers .
According to Freedom House's 2018 report, the condition of Chinese Political Rights (i.e. the state of its electoral process, the extent of political pluralism and participation, the functioning of its government, and discretionary political rights) deteriorated to its lowest point in at least 15 years in 2017.
The reported condition of Civil Liberties (i.e. freedom of expression and belief, associational and organisational freedoms, the rule of law, and personal autonomy and individual rights) have only slightly worsened since 2005.
Freedom House reports annual scores of Chinese Political Rights (with a score 0-40: 0=Least Free 40=Most Free) and Civil Liberties (with a score 0-60: 0=Least Free 60=Most Free). The current scores for China are 0 for Political Rights, and 14 for Civil Liberties. The Total Aggregate score is the sum of these two scores. 2017’s aggregate score is therefore 14.
What will be the total aggregate score given to China by Freedom House in 2028?
This number is expected be published in Freedom House's 2029 annual Freedom in the World report. The question resolves as ambiguous if their reports are discontinued. |
0.999013 | So I've been wondering what's the actual difference between attraction and arousal?
I find that I get aroused when kiss or touched "sexually" by someone, but it can be anybody! The person doesn't matter! So that arousal when touched, is attraction to the person? Or just a physical response?
Arousal is just a physical response which the body has and has nothing to do with whether or not you are attracted to someone.
Aka the reason why someone might be upset if you do certain things to them. Like yes, it felt nice and the body gave a reaction which said "Hey, get ready to copulate" but it doesn't mean the person themselves likes you. Bodies are just programmed to respond to stimuli, they don't respond to them differently regardless of who might be doing the action.
Arousal is a physiological response. Causes vary. It's not uncommon for people to become physically aroused for no discernible reason at all. Sometimes people become aroused by accidental touch, such as brushing against an object. People can also be aroused by human touch, even though they are not attracted to that person. Now if you're aroused by sexual fantasies or sexual imagery, there is an indication that you may be experiencing sexual attraction, whereby physical arousal is a response to sexual desire/libido triggered by attraction to that content. However, even there physical arousal is an unreliable indicator, since sometimes people will respond physically to sexual thoughts/imagery without experiencing the mental element of attraction, and sometimes people can find sexual fantasies/imagery mentally appealing but they don't respond physically in the absence of addition sensory input such as touch (arousal nonconcordance).
Arousal is when something gives you pleasure and you feel good about it, sexual attraction is an kind of arousal.
sexual attractions is the desire to do sexual attacts triggered by people or other things.
Some aces can get aroused if they have libido , however they don't feel sexual attraction for other people. |
0.999995 | I know how continents are formed and how they evolve over time but what does it look like under the surface? The crust of the planet is mostly made of rocks but there are also different types of minerals to be found scattered around. These can be quite valuable for those who can find them.
How can I figure out what kind of minerals to expect in specific areas of the planet?
I'm not a geologist and therefore, have no idea if the question is too broad. If you think it is, focus on the native elements.
I'm mostly interested in : Gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, zinc, platinum, sodium.
This is part of a series of questions that tries to break down the process of creating a world from initial creation of the landmass through to erosion, weather patterns, biomes and every other related topics. Please restrict answers to this specific topic rather than branching on into other areas as other subjects will be covered by other questions.
These questions all assume an earth-like spherical world in orbit in the habitable band.
Making a mineralogy map requires a list of desired resources and a little create drawing. There are three kinds of rocks, sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Each type of rock is formed in a different way and provides different resources.
Since this map is for a world from scratch, the author can do whatever they want/need in order to move the story forward. As long as ore families are respected, it will take a geologist to point out any errors or inconsistencies. This is especially true since you can invent the geological history to match your needs and most stories don't go into crazy detail about the geological history of your world.
Igneous rocks are formed from magma, generally in volcanoes though not always. They have a tight crystalline structure and are tough to break. Examples include basalt and granite.
Sedimentary rocks form from eroded rock pieces by wind or water that then settle in a stable location. Time and pressure fuse the stone grains together to form a new type of stone. Most dinosaur fossils are found in sedimentary rock.
Metamorophic rocks were once igneous or sedimentary rock but were changed by heat and pressure in the earth's mantle or crust.
Gold There are four ways of mining gold, placer mining, hard rock mining, byproduct mining and processing. Placer mining is done with sluice gates and pans. If you've heard the term "panning for gold", this is placer mining. It has the lowest barrier to entry of all the techniques and relies on one of three kinds of surface gold deposits.
Silver,Tin, and Lead are often found together in deposits of galena in metamorphic or sedementary rock formations.
Copper, Nickel and Platinum are often found together.
Zinc is often found concurrent with nickel or lead.
Iron comes from metamorphic and igneous rocks. The best iron ore is Magnetite.
Sodium is "mined" from salt deposits, usually ancient ocean basins that have dried out. Given the soft nature of sodium chloride, it's unusual that these will be found on the surface because of weathering.
Oil usually comes from sedimentary rock but can come from igneous and metamorphic rock too.
Diamonds come from metamorphic rocks formed deep in the mantle.
Decide which kind of resources you want to have in your story. The list can be as long as you can stand.
Look up which kind of stone yields that resource.
If the story is for an adult audience, placing so many resource near each other may prove beyond the suspension of disbelief. If the story is for children or young adults, they likely won't know enough about geology to know that something weird is happening.
You can make maps of more specific rock types for specific areas. As you can see the outlines of various rock zones tend to clump together but don't often form hard-boundaries.
Keep making the maps as detailed as you need in order to fulfill your needs.
If desired, do a sanity check with a geologist to see if your map makes sense. Earth Science SE is a good place to ask if you don't have a geologist handy.
As the author, you can invent whatever kind of geology you want to suit the needs of your story. While improbable, it's not impossible to have igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock deposits with a walking distance of each other. It just depends on the geological history of that area and you've got billions of years of world history to make the geology be exactly what you want.
Again, I'm not a geologist, but a good place to start would be working out where your tectonic plate interaction boundaries lie. These areas often experience high vulcanism, and would be both fertile and full of igneous rocks, metals and elements not usually found elsewhere.
Another important thing to consider is the geological history of your planet. If an area, way back in the past of the planet, was a swampland, it might now have a high instance of chalk and flint deposits, or have been compressed into coal. Similarly ancient oceans would deliver oil reserves, or just be nutrient rich. Past volcanoes that have since been either eroded away or subducted (pretty sure that's the right term?) could yield gem deposits near the surface, or useful metal veins.
Some materials like gold are easiest to find near waterways that are slowly eroding the deposits. This wouldn't need to be mined, instead it can be panned for or collected, and is fairly obvious if you're looking at a pre-industrial or very early civilisation.
Disclaimer: I am not a geologist.
All the minerals listed in the follow-up post (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin) are elements. None of these elements can be created on Earth. The conditions to create these elements requires supernovas or other similar events that do not occur on Earth. When people locate veins or deposits of these elements, those deposits are the result of millions of years of these elements being concentrated in one place, thanks to erosion and other natural forces.
Gold, silver, and iron: These elements are present in microscopic amounts all over the world. They are too heavy to be a part of the atmosphere, so they fall to the ground. Then, due to erosion, these microscopic amounts of minerals end up getting concentrated in the lowest areas (for anyone familiar with Calculus, they end up in the local minimums). This is also where water tends to collect. Over time, water tends to end up in the ocean (or lakes). These microscopic minerals get swept along with the water. Therefore, these microscopic amounts tend to start concentrating in significant levels in the ocean (or lakes).
A quick word about lakes: not all lakes will do. Microscopic amounts of gold don’t just float around in space by themselves. Lots of other minerals are out there too. The lakes that end up with enough microscopic minerals to start forming veins on their own will also have significant amounts of lots of other minerals as well. Therefore, humans (or presumably to any other sentinent species that drinks fresh water) would consider these bodies of water as mineral springs, brackish, or otherwise obviously not fresh.
Now you’ve got a large body of brackish water with a bunch of mineral atoms in it. That’s a good start, but more is needed. This is where the process of gold and silver differs from the process for iron.
If you put one room-temperature fleck of gold next to another room-temperature fleck of gold, they don’t spontaneously join together. You need a lot of heat. In nature, this is commonly found in underwater volcanoes, magma vents, and geysers. To find these vents, you’re commonly looking for either 1) the edge of a continental plate, or 2) a really thin part of the crust. With enough seawater passing over the heat source, the gold or silver starts to coalesce out of the water. Gold and silver both have relatively low melting points in comparison to other minerals. This is why veins of both are extremely pure. If you have a blob of molten quartz and gold all mixed together, the quartz will solidify before the gold does. (If you’ve ever looked closely at ice cubes, you will see the same process. The water turns solid before the impurities do. So all the impurities end up being pushed in the same general place.) So now you have a bunch of gold and silver veins cooling at the bottom of an ocean next to some magma at the edge of a continental plate. This is where gold and silver are most commonly located. Unfortunately, humans will have a difficult time getting to it. More on this in a minute, as I pause to discuss iron, copper, and tin.
Iron loves oxygen. When iron is found in nature, it is typically a part of some other type of rock. Hematite is common. Therefore, for iron to form out of water, you need your water to hold very still and contain an unusually large amount of oxygen. Peat bogs are good for this. This process tends to go in waves. You have a strong growth period for your algae, oxygen goes up, iron gets concentrated. Algae dies, oxygen drops, other minerals get concentrated. Algae blooms, iron gets concentrated again. This process goes on for millenia, and you end up with a bunch of rock that’s alternating layers of iron and something else, sitting at the bottom of a bog. This rock is called banded ore.
Molten copper is in the mantle of the earth. When copper-rich magma cools, you get copper veins inside of some other rock. Quartz is common. As discussed in the gold and silver section, magma is commonly found in volcanoes, at the edge of continental plates under the ocean, deep below hot springs, and anywhere else the crust is unusually thin. Gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc are all commonly found together, because all these items involve magma in some way and they all have similar melting points.
Like copper, molten tin is present in the mantle. When tin-rich magma cools, you get tin veins. However, unlike copper, tin does not typically form pure veins. Tin is commonly found as part of cassiterite ore. Cassiterite ore is somehow associated with granite. Granite typically is formed when magma cools very, very slowly. When magma cools below the surface, you have a better chance of getting granite than if the magma becomes lava.
Now you’ve got your veins of minerals, but they are deep below the earth and generally unaccessable to humans. Plate tectonics brings them up to the surface. At first, they are buried under layers of mud and sediment and other minerals. If the minerals are in low-lying areas of the continent, erosion acts to dump more mud and sediment on top of the minerals. Once plate tectonics brings the minerals to higher ground (i.e. becoming parts of mountains), erosion (predominantly due to water action) removes the top layers of sediment and exposes the minerals. Visible chunks of the minerals are found in the streams of the mountains. This tells humans that there are veins nearby, and they go search for them.
These minerals can be formed anywhere your continent was once covered by brackish water, or was once close to the mantle. Basically everywhere. But they will only become (relatively) easy to find when water erosion and gravity help remove the intervening layers of crud and starts showing the minerals. You’re looking for mountains near oceans in tectonically active regions (expect earthquakes and possibly underwater volcanoes). In the event of gold and silver, you are also looking for hot mineral springs anywhere in the world. Tin is usually found as part of cassiterite ore in streams near granite-rich mountains. Copper is found usually in veins of quartz, possibly in conjunction with gold, silver, lead, or zinc, in areas which were once molten. Iron is found as part of hematite ore in bogs or mountains that were once bogs.
I leave you all with this quote from The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream by H. W. Brands (Kindle location 7451), attributed to Edward Hargraves, 49er: “My attention was narturally drawn to the form and geological structure of the surrounding country, and it soon struck me that I had some eighteen years before, travelled through a country very similar to one I was now in, in New South Wales. I said to myself, there are the same class of rocks, slates, quartz, granite, red soil, and everything else that appears necessary to constitute a goldfield.” Hargraves then used this observation to search for gold in New South Wales and found it. It must be noted that this type of terrain is not guaranteed to yield gold. It is also not the only sort of terrain in which gold can be found. But there seems to be some evidence for correlation.
To research this post, I used www.Reference.com, www.australianminesatlas.gov.au, www.amnh.org, www.geology.com, www.mindat.org, The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream by H. W. Brands, and Geology for Dummies by Alecia M. Spooner.
Even us cosmologists and computer scientists involved in the field don’t understand exactly how this process happens, but let me see if I can give you an answer from the viewpoint of this cosmologist.
First, you really need to understand how metals are produced, either from the Big Bang or cosmic rays to what is inside different types of stars, and how and how much or little is expelled when the star explodes. Even man-made metals/elements (Periodic Table below).
When a star explodes it scatters all its heavy metals, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, zinc, etc. in 360 degrees.
But not every star that explodes produces all the metals. Some stars produce only a few as this National Geographic article explains.
Now when a star starts to collapse on itself, this is when the heavy metals start forming from iron and the heavier metals stay closest to the star’s core, such as gold, which is why it is one of the rarest of metals. And a theory also states that since these materials are heavier, the are more likely bound by gravity which increases their escape velocity.
However, especially with gold and silver, physicists differ in how these metals are created, what type of star is needed to form them. Many do not give up any of the heaviest of metals.
For the longest time, a Supernova was required to produce gold, but a 2013 article in Smithonsian Magazine cites a study where astronomers now think that gold is produced when two neutron stars collide. These stars are the size of a small city but almost twice the density of our Sun.
Recently it was discovered that Earth was bombarded with radioactive Iron-60 from several close exploding stars as in this SpaceAnswers.com article. And even this article states that minuscule amounts were deposited on the Earth.
So the second thing that occurs when a star does explode, besides scattering its materials in all directions, it does not expel everything. The heavier the metal, the less of it the star will release. You’ll see why when you look at a cross-section of a star just as it is about to explode.
So in layman terms, you now know what is ejected from an exploding star, and in order of diminishing quantities. Another factor to consider is that heavier objects will tend to clump, or due to its mass, become gravity bound to each other. So gold will clump together with other gold elements, silver with silver, copper with copper, and so on.
As the accretion disk starts to form (it is now known that a supernova explosion does produce all the material to form new stars) this mixture of clumps of metals and dust (that eventually form rocks) will start attracting each other.
The problem is distribution out of the supernova. This is why in some areas on Earth you find tons and tons of gold in veins and large chunks, and other places not even a spec. It has to do with the early formation where the elements tend to stay together in clumps.
Copper, a more abundant mineral, is found almost all over the Earth, but it too will concentrate in certain areas for the same reason gold does. But because it is a lighter metal, more of it is expelled from the star, and it will concentrate in larger amounts in more places on Earth.
Now as the Earth is forming, is is molten. All the heaviest metals will sink deeper into the Earth than the lighter metals, which is why you can find copper very close to the surface, if not on the surface, and you need to dig 1/2 mile or more down to find gold and silver. Same with Iron. It also sinks deep into the center of the Earth.
Any planet that forms like Earth will have the same issues with metal distribution. It will not be uniform, as it did not come out of the star that way, and that makes the heaviest of them harder to find.
But when you do find a heavy metal like gold or silver, you will find a lot of it concentrated in the area of original discovery. That’s one reason the west had a gold rush, but has anyone heard of a head east young man, gold was found?
It was just the luck of the draw where the gold from one or more exploding stars wound up. Yes, our metals are most-likely the product of several exploding Supernovae.
There is no way anyone will tell you, looking at a current map of minerals on Earth, that the same locations will hold the same minerals. Many factors determine how much, if any, of the metal is even found on Earth.
For example, nickel is natural to Earth, yet most of it is deep inside the Earth. Because it is in many asteroids in our solar system, it is the 5th most abundant element in the Universe, but when found on Earth's crust, it's from asteroid impacts after the Earth cooled.
A planet even has a chance to not have any gold in it at all! Take the Moon. While there is gold and silver on the Moon, it has only been detected recently in the ice of the South Pole. Earth is devoid of Helium 3. Yet our Moon, which came from Earth, is loaded with Helium 3. Why? Luck of the draw? Helium 3 comes from the solar winds, which our magnetic field prevents helium 3 from reaching us.
If you are looking for a scientific approach, there is no secret formula that says an Earth-like planet will have 10 percent gold, 20 percent silver, 80 percent copper, etc. It does not work like that.
The planet Mercury has a lot of iron, the beneficiary of the Sun’s gravity. You would think that heavier metals would be gravitationally attracted to the Sun.
Even after all the minerals and metals have been placed on the Earth during its formation from both gathering material from the dust of the accretion disk and bombardments by comets and asteroids, water and wind and other forces over time moves these around.
As I said earlier, far more heavier metals made it towards the center of the Earth, but from water to lava flows to plate tectonics, minerals can concentrate around geographic features.
Like a miner who looks for quartz to find silver. When you map out your world, you also need to take into consideration these geographic features. For even if the Earth did not receive a certain metal or mineral, chemical reactions can create them over time, like turning carbon into diamonds.
Good luck. Placement of metals, removing the laws of physics such as gravity and amounts produced in the Universe, is a crap shot. But make sure that if you place gold or silver or copper that you also place its corresponding geographical features along with it.
Broadly speaking it is very difficult to come up a answer to this.When looking at the distribution of mineral deposits on a planet one thing to bear in mind is Geological time. A place may not be on an active plate boundary now but millions of years ago it may have been.
Take the UK and the British Isles, stable now but at the end of the Ordovician and the start of the Devonian the Caledonian Orogeny was occurring and there was an active subduction zone there. This has lead due to the igneous activity of the past to deposits such as Gold and Silver in Wales, Scotland and Ireland that are worked today.
This means that metal ores can be found in many different places on the world not just where today's plate boundaries are found.
I have to disagree with Greens assertion that finding mineral resources close together is unbelievable, due to the way these processes work it is quite common to find many valuable ores close to each other in different concentrations, take Cornwall and Devon in the UK mining of tin, copper, silver , zinc and arsenic all occurred in close proximity to each other. The source of these metalifferous reasources was the granite batholiths that form moors such as Exmoor and Bodmin Moor.
Some places where metal ores an be found are due to quite interesting sources, take the Sudbury Basin in Canada. It is the second largest impact crater that has been identified. 1.85 billion years ago a large body hit the surface of the Earth causing a a massive crater which instantaneous filled with magma as it cooled this lead to areas, mostly around the rim of the crater to form zones enriched in metal ores. Much of the nickel mined has come from there.
Look for geologic activities that concentrate the minerals.
You can find veins of gold or silver (and other metals) in volcanic areas. Specifically, miners in the US northwest (I'm using Kellogg, Idaho for my example) look for quartz veins in the rock. Those veins sometimes have veins of silver running through them. The veins form from steam leaking out through cracks in the ground. The quartz gets deposited on the sides of the crack and then when the crack is narrow enough, silver is deposited until the crack closes. Once they find silver inside a quartz vein, they just dig to follow that vein.
So, one place to look is where there is current or former volcanic activity.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged geology worldbuilding-process natural-resources or ask your own question. |
0.99993 | Thank you for registering your Nessus subscription! With Nessus 5.2, you can temporarily activate the product during the installation process. For ProfessionalFeed users, this will only serve as a short-term trial. You must activate your Activation Code for the Nessus Subscription from either your Tenable Support Portal account for the ProfessionalFeed or your HomeFeed registration email. You must subscribe to the ProfessionalFeed to use Nessus in a professional environment even if it is not directly for commercial purposes. This includes scanning your desktop at work or a home computer that is used for business purposes. Please review the Subscription Agreement for more details on the type of subscription for which you are qualified. Note that you can only use your Activation Code for one scanner, unless the scanners are managed by the SecurityCenter. As of Nessus 5, scanner activation is performed through a web interface during the installation process.
Note that, by default, Nessus will attempt to update its plugins every 24 hours after you have registered it. If you do not want such an update attempted, edit the “auto_update” setting to “no” under Configuration -> Advanced within the Nessus GUI.
rc. use the following procedure to register and update plugins: On the system running Nessus.rc # /Library/Nessus/run/bin/nessus-fetch --register-offline /Library/Nessus/run/etc/nessus/nessus-fetch. Copy this file to the host running Nessus in the appropriate directory: Platform Linux FreeBSD Mac OS X Windows Directory # /opt/nessus/etc/nessus/ # /usr/local/nessus/etc/nessus # /Library/Nessus/run/etc/nessus C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus\conf Once the nessus-fetch. type the following command: Platform Linux FreeBSD Mac OS X Windows Command to Run # /opt/nessus/bin/nessus-fetch –-challenge # /usr/local/nessus/bin/nessus-fetch –-challenge # /Library/Nessus/run/bin/nessus-fetch --challenge C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus>nessus-fetch --challenge This will produce a string called “challenge” that looks similar to following: 569ccd9ac72ab3a62a3115a945ef8e710c0d73b8 Next.php and paste the “challenge” string as well as the Activation Code that you received previously into the appropriate text boxes.nessus.org/offline.rc file has been copied. run the nessus-fetch command to install the file: Platform Linux FreeBSD Mac OS X Windows Directory # /opt/nessus/bin/nessus-fetch --register-offline /opt/nessus/etc/nessus/nessus-fetch. it will produce a file called nessus-fetch.rc C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus>nessus-fetch.rc # /usr/local/nessus/bin/nessus-fetch --register-offline /usr/local/nessus/etc/nessus/nessus-fetch.rc" 2 .Nessus without Internet Access If your Nessus installation cannot reach the Internet directly. Save this URL because you will use it every time you update your plugins. In addition. This will produce a URL that will give you direct access to the Nessus plugin feed. go to https://plugins.exe --register-offline "C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus\conf\nessus-fetch.
0.tar. To reset your code from your Tenable Support Portal account.0. feel free to request help using email support from the Tenable Support Portal.0. or review the Nessus documentation. Please refer to the SecurityCenter documentation for the configuration of a centralized plugin feed for multiple Nessus scanners. Nessus needs to be configured appropriately to communicate with SecurityCenter. The Tenable Network Security Team 3 . the Activation Code and plugin updates are managed from SecurityCenter. If you have any questions. Copy the file to the Nessus scanner system and then type the appropriate command for your platform: Platform Linux FreeBSD Mac OS X Windows Command # /opt/nessus/sbin/nessus-update-plugins all-2. go to “Activation Codes”.tar. software upgrade. When performing the installation of the Nessus scanner. and then click on “x” under the reset column for the code you want to reset. post a question to the Nessus Discussion Forums.tar. If you are using a HomeFeed.gz # /Library/Nessus/run/sbin/nessus-update-plugins all-2. you will need to re-register your scanner to receive plugins. when prompted for the Plugin Feed Registration noted above. Once your code has been reset.gz Resetting Activation Code If for some reason you receive an error (such as “Code in Use”) regarding your Activation Code through the Nessus scanner (perhaps caused by a hardware crash.0.g. all-2. moving the scanner to a new host.2 Installation and Configuration Guide for more information. you will have to register for and obtain a new activation code. enter ‘SecurityCenter’ as your Activation Code.gz # /usr/local/nessus/sbin/nessus-update-plugins all-2.gz C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus>nessus-update-plugins all-2. Here.tar.tar. Using Nessus with the SecurityCenter If you are using Tenable’s SecurityCenter. Read more about Tenable Support Portal features here. you will receive a TAR file (e.0.You can obtain the newest plugins by going to the URL that was provided in the previous step. click on “+” to display the Activation Code. Please view the Nessus 5. or installation difficulties).gz).. you can reset your ProfessionalFeed Activation Code from your Tenable Support Portal account. Best Regards.
For more information. Tenable Network Security and Nessus are registered trademarks of Tenable Network Security. Tenable’s award-winning products are utilized by many Global 2000 organizations and Government agencies to proactively minimize network risk.About Tenable Network Security Tenable Network Security.0555 www. GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS Tenable Network Security 7063 Columbia Gateway Drive Suite 100 Columbia. Inc. Tenable Network Security.tenable. MD 21046 410. is the source of the Nessus vulnerability scanner and the creator of enterprise-class. and compromise detection to help ensure network security and FDCC. SANS CAG. 4 .872.com Copyright © 2013. log management. FISMA. agentless solutions for the continuous monitoring of vulnerabilities.com/. data leakage. and PCI compliance. All rights reserved. Inc.tenable. please visit http://www. configuration weaknesses. the leader in Unified Security Monitoring. |
0.987091 | Bike through one of the driest deserts on the Earth to see a landscape straight from Mars. That's not a snow covered mountain range, it's a salty one.
There are three plausible ways to explore the Valle de la Luna: bike, car, and tour bus. Biking is the most budget-friendly and arguably the most adventurous way to see the valley. You will also miss the crowds if you time it right.
The spot indicated here is the entrance office for the park. If you don't have international cell coverage you can download an app like Maps.me. Ask for a map from the park ranger. This will show you all the main features of the park.
Starting in San Pedro the entire route runs 10.5 miles from town and 10.5 back; a roundtrip of 21 miles to see the whole valley. There are multiple short hikes throughout. I recommend doing all or most of them. If you are in decent shape you can complete the whole trip in under 6 hours without rushing. There are a few hills, but nothing serious. The heat and aridity will make things a little more difficult though.
In order to maximize time, beat the heat, and miss the tour crowds, try to leave San Pedro as early as possible. Many bike rental shops open around 8am, but if you have a multi-day rental, you could leave even earlier.
Most hikes are around a mile or less. There are clearly marked signs for every trailhead. Some are not on this list or the map, but don't be afraid to explore.
Bring plenty of sunscreen, food, and at least 3 liters of water. I recommend getting (mind numbingly good) ham and cheese croissants from Panaderia Franchutería for a picnic lunch.
Rent a solid set of wheels and not a janky rust bucket. Shop around until you find a new(ish) looking hardtail and run it through all the gears before committing.
The entrance fee was 2,500 Chilean Pesos which was under $5 USD as of early 2018. Bring plenty of extra pesos just in case the fee has increased.
Incredible views and a unique experience. It is certainly a difficult ride in the sand and desert heat, but it a great change of pace for the active adventurer. San Pedro is the pueblo nearby and has multiple bike rental shops that are very affordable. You can rent 1/2 ($6) or full day ($13... maybe even less, I can't remember exactly), and even rent sand boards to take to nearby Valle de la Muerte (about a half-hour ride from San Pedro. We rented bikes at about 9:30am, made it to Valle de la Muerte at 10am, sand boarded for about 2 hours (incredible experience... highly recommend!), biked back to San Pedro to rehydrate and eat lunch, and then headed out to Valle de la Luna by 2pm. This ride is a little longer and slightly uphill, but we got there around 4:30 to explore the caves and bike around before watching the sunset, which was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. Heading back to San Pedro after sunset is quite dark, but bike rental companies give you headlamps and safety vests, and the natural shining stars illuminate part of the way. We made it back to the bike rental at 9:30. A long day that's not for the faint of heart, but our most memorable experience in San Pedro. It's a beautiful area, but most places are accessible only by vehicle or paying for a tour, which are less active and much more expensive. |
0.999996 | 3. a certified copy of the Oath of Allegiance taken by Obama taken at the age of majority.To date, attorneys for Barack Obama have filed almost as many motions fighting the lawsuit(2), as the number of documents the suit is asking for(3).
As any American should know, you cannot be President of the United States without being a naturally-born citizen. Apparently, there’s very good reason to believe that Obama was actually born in Kenya.
Berg asserts that Obama was born at Mombasa Maternity Hospital in Kenya, and that Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was only 18 at the time of his birth. At that time, parents could pass their US citizenship on to their children even if they were born in a different country, but only if the parent was 19 years of age.
According to Berg’s lawsuit, Dunham was in Kenya during her pregnancy, but was prevented from flying back to Hawaii because she was in the late stages, and because there were restrictions to prevent births on flights. In fact, Obama’s own paternal grandmother, half-brother, and half-sister have stated that Obama was born in Kenya. After the birth, Dunham flew to Hawaii to register the birth.
No birthing records can be found in either of the two hospitals said to be Obama’s birthplace–Kapiolani Hospital and Queens Hospital (that’s right…I said either of the two)– that list Stanley Ann Dunham as a patient who gave birth. Simple “registry of birth” records for Barack Obama are available in a Hawaiian public records office.
Obama has refused to provide the requested documents, but has posted an alleged copy of his birth certificate on his website. I refuse to link to it (for reasons of self-preservation), but you can find it by googling “Fight the Smears Obama Birth Certificate”.
It has apparently been deemed a forgery by three forensic experts.
When Obama was a young boy (about six years of age), he and his mother moved to Indonesia, where she married an Indonesian man named Lolo Soetoro. At that time, Indonesians could not have dual citizenship. Berg has copies of Obama’s school registration forms, which list his citizenship as Indonesian, and list his name as “Barry Soetoro”. Obama returned to the US when he was 17, and no Oath of Allegiance has been produced that would show Obama became a US Citizen.
In other words, this would mean that not only is Barack Obama not a natural-born American, which would make him ineligible for running for President, but he is also an illegal alien.
Hey, I know it sounds crazy, but if he’d just produce the documents, we wouldn’t have to go through all of this.
Apparently the DNC has jumped on board and along with Obama’s attorneys, have filed a joint motion to dismiss Berg’s lawsuit.
“I think it’s outrageous,” Berg said. “The Democratic National Committee should be ensuring the Democratic Party and the public that they have a qualified candidate up there. To file a joint motion is like they’re in cahoots.
“Since then, I have asked by way of press release that Howard Dean resign, because (the DNC members) are not fulfilling their duties,” Berg said.
Why not just produce the documents? Why not let a court decide if the documents are legit? Well, because if it is discovered that the documents are not legit, he’d not only have to forfeit his campaign for the Presidency of the United States, but he’d also have to be arrested and deported for being an illegal alien. Also consider the over $400 million that has been given to this man.
Again, all of this sounds pretty crazy. About as crazy as a Presidential candidate befriending terrorists (William Ayers), scumbag thieves (Tony Rezko), racist and America-hating preachers (Jeremiah Wright) and corrupt organizations that engage in massive voter fraud and help create economic meltdowns (ACORN).
And the Democrats are talking about Palin not being properly vetted?
Here’s a great (but lengthy) post on the whole affair. I highly recommend taking the time to read it.
I’ve done some more research and have found quite a few things that make Berg’s claims about Obama’s Indonesian citizenship unfounded.
Find a good analysis here.
In other words, Obama would not have lost his citizenship provided that he returned to the US before the age of 23. He did.
This still does not verify where he was born, but I thought it was interesting geeky legal stuff, and is obviously pertinent to this case.
If you have any further info, please feel free to post in the comments section below. |
0.985993 | "general plan of structure of the digestive tube"
The chapter there explains and describes the structure of the digestive system, and I think that the using of "plan" is relevant for buildings rather than anatomy. Isn't it?
Is it acceptable to use "plan" in this context, or it's a mistake?
I would phrase the topic title differently.
The phrase "general structure" would describe what is there, and where. "General structural plan" describes what, where, why, and how.
It is appropriate to use "plan" here, but it looks slightly odd to me as a native speaker and holder of a B.S. in Biology in this specific context. As noted in comments, phrases like "mammalian body plan" are not only common but are the accepted scientific terms across the field and especially in anatomy. "Design" is commonly used in this context in the field (in my experience and observation, but I have never focused on anatomy or physiology, where this usage of "plan" is standard).
Outside of anatomy and physiology, a plan generally implies intent from a planner making decisions in advance to support some specific outcome. Similarly, a design implies a designer but the implication is less strong than with plan. Scattering paint randomly across a canvas might produce a pleasing design, but would never produce a plan, despite the actual result being neither planned nor designed.
Evolution operates on existing structures or processes and favors certain changes over others in different environments, leading (in very, very general terms) to structures that are effectively designed to operate in a specific way (or ways) for a specific purpose (or purposes). When there is a single structure, like a digestive tube, that has (essentially) a single variant, it is "designed" in the sense that evolutionary pressures favored that one variant and not others. But this is an unguided process that does not require intelligence or intent.
In summary, a biological structure has a plan/design that describes its actual structure: what components it has, where they are, how they operate together, etc. You can describe a biological structure as being designed or having been designed, such as for a particular purpose, but trying to describe that same structure as being planned or having been planned for that same purpose would sound odd. If you are using "plan" in this field as a noun, you may be (and probably are) using it correctly. Using "plan" as a verb in this field is probably incorrect.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged meaning-in-context style formality or ask your own question.
Is using “while” instead of “whereas” discouraged in academic writing?
What does ‘general ideas’ mean? |
0.997916 | The input contains several test cases. Each test case describes a histogram and starts with an integer n, denoting the number of rectangles it is composed of. You may assume that 1<=n<=100000. Then follow n integers h1,...,hn, where 0<=hi<=1000000000. These numbers denote the heights of the rectangles of the histogram in left-to-right order. The width of each rectangle is 1. A zero follows the input for the last test case. |
0.883306 | How long since your last eye exam?
Your eyes are also windows to your overall health and an eye exam can also uncover underlying and life-threatening health issues, such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, certain vascular diseases and brain or eye tumors. Adults aged 19 to 64 should have an eye exam at least once every two years and people with diabetes should have an exam at least once a year. Other health conditions may also warrant more frequent eye examinations. |
0.897862 | The emperor Aurangzeb had forbidden anyone from removing the decapitated head and body of the ninth Sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur. The residents of Delhi, who had just witnessed the guru’s assassination, were struck with fear. Many among them were devotees of Tegh Bahadur, the eighth spiritual descendant of Guru Nanak. The Sikh spiritual movement that had centered around Kartarpur Sahib (now in Pakistan) at the death of Guru Nanak had by then spread to far-flung regions of Punjab and beyond. His followers came from all backgrounds, bringing their material as well as human resources.
Official Mughal records, describing the reasons for the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675, state that he moved around with several thousand followers. With the rise in the political and material influence of the institution of guruhood, the Sikh gurus were increasingly seen as political rivals by petty kingdoms of the Mughal empire. Their influence and strength was also visible to the Mughal emperor. The days of political obscurity under Guru Nanak were long gone.
There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders. Sikh tradition states that the guru stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him (see image above) to intercede on their behalf with the emperor and ask him to revoke a recently imposed jizya (tax).
Convinced by his son, Gobind Rai, who later became Guru Gobind Singh, to stand up for the protection of the Kashmiri Pandits, Guru Tegh Bahadur traveled to Delhi. Here, at the Mughal court, he was mocked and asked to prove his guruhood by performing a miracle. He wrote a magic spell on a piece of paper and tied it around his neck with a thread. He told the Mughal authorities that as long as the spell remained tied to him, his head would not be separated from his body even if the blade of the executioner fell on his neck.
Colonial historians, like Joseph Davey Cunningham, however, present a different explanation for the guru’s assassination. In order to understand the political motive behind the event, one needs to first take into account the historical framework under which Tegh Bahadur was appointed a Sikh guru. Earlier bypassed by his father, Guru Hargobind, Tegh Bahadur was appointed head of the Sikh community after the death of seven-year-old Guru Har Krishan.
During the short tenure of Har Krishan, his older brother, Ram Rai, who wanted the guruhood for himself, plotted incessantly against him, lobbying with a few prominent Sikh leaders and trying to convince the Sikh community that he was, in fact, the rightful spiritual descant of Nanak’s Sikhism. On his deathbed, Guru Har Krishan left a rather elusive command that was interpreted as Guru Tegh Bahadur’s appointment as the next guru.
Immediately taking charge of the situation, Guru Tegh Bahadur set out to form new political alliances and to increase his revenue base so that he could compete with the contesting claims to the guruhood. According to Cunningham, the guru and his disciples “subsisted by plunder between the wastes of Hansi and Sutlej rendering them unpopular with the peasantry”. He also “leagued with a Muslim zealot, Adam Hafiz, and levied contributions upon rich Hindus and Muslims”.
The historian further noted that the guru gave asylum to fugitives. Another complaint against him that reached the ear of the emperor was made by Ram Rai. Like Guru Har Krishan before him, Guru Tegh Bahadur was accused of being a “pretender to power”.
Tegh Bahadur was the second Sikh guru to be assassinated at the hands of a Mughal emperor. Almost 70 years earlier, in 1606, Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh guru, was killed by the banks of the river Ravi, facing the Lahore fort, on the orders of Jahangir. His assassination was a turning point in the history of the guruhood, triggering the transformation of the institution from a non-violent spiritual movement to the militarised religious movement of Guru Hargobind, the son of Guru Arjan and his spiritual successor. It laid the seeds for the Khalsa that gives the Sikh community its current form, institutionalised by Guru Gobind Singh, the son and successor of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Both these unjust assassinations became a symbolic rallying point for their devotees. The perpetual battle that had continued for several generations with the mighty Mughal empire, ruled by bigots bent on destroying the fragile Sikh community, acquired eschatological tones as a final showdown between good and evil. Gradually, as these historical events acquired religious undertones, they were stripped of their political realities. They were reduced to simplistic explanations that did not require a nuanced reading. The complexity of the Mughal-Sikh relationship was lost.
While on the one hand Guru Hargobind was presented as a valiant hero – which no doubt he was – who militarised the Sikh community for their protection and was penalised by Jahangir, stories of his other, more complex, relationship with the Mughal emperor were lost. His ties with Jahangir eventually warmed up and he, at one point, even helped the emperor curb a rebellion within his empire, with the help of his forces.
Similarly, Guru Arjan’s assassination is explained through Jahangir’s bigotry but not through the guru’s cordial relationship with the emperor’s rebellious son, Prince Khusrau, who waged a battle against his father and lost. Neatly placed within the same framework is the image of intolerant Aurangzeb, who summoned Guru Har Krishan and Guru Tegh Bahadur to Delhi.
However, the story of Guru Har Rai, the father of Guru Har Krishan, promising to help Dara Shikoh against his brother Aurangzeb, doesn’t suit this simplistic construction of history. Immediately after defeating his brother, Aurangzeb summoned Guru Har Rai to Delhi to explain his role in the civil war. The arrival of Guru Har Krishan and even Guru Tegh Bahadur is connected with the same historical event.
Part of the same narrative is the encounter of Guru Nanak with Babur, founder of the Mughal empire. The story acquired a prophetic significance, giving clues to the relationships between their respective successors. In the story, Babur, initially unaware of the spiritual prowess of the guru, had him incarcerated. However, he soon realised the genius of the saint and let him go, but not before being rebuked by Nanak at his court.
This was the significant moment that was to represent the true nature of the interaction between Sikh gurus and Mughal emperors. No matter how much political strength the emperor possessed, the final power resided with the true king, the guru.
and the converts still cherish the barbarity perpetuated by foreigners on their own ancestors !
The Mughals certainly did some damage to the relations between Sikhs & Muslims by persecuting Sikh gurus but Sikism was originally also inspired by Muslim saints like Kabir & Fareed to an extent. In fact legend has it that when Guru Nanak died, Hindus & Muslims claimed his body equally. I have personally never met a Muslim who does not respect Sikhs, regardless of nationality.
Kudos to dawn even in india we can not expect such a balanced article in mainstream media..
A Very refreshing review - "They were reduced to simplistic explanations that did not require a nuanced reading. The complexity of the Mughal-Sikh relationship was lost." - this is so true! Often Sikh history, as recited at the gurdwaras, never gives out -actually can not give out- the details Cunningham provided. Beautiful article, it was very nice to read an outside perspective on Sikh history!
I am confused about the actual events after reading this. But, it clearly shows the human traits which have not evolved over the centuries. The lust for power, the back stabbing, the insecurity of high and mighty, and exploitation of commoners Wonder what was so great about mughals. They had no affection for local culture and its people and they ruled here for centuries without showing any assimilation. Of course they had good times.
Spriyual power always proves stronger than sword power.
Sikhs Gurus Sacrifice their life for Humanity and Principals. Sikh religion is most liberal religion in world. Sikhs fight against cruelty or inhumanity but any religion or class. Sikh religion believes in unity.
Moghuls are from Mongolia & not arabs.
Sikh community is best in the world they are very open minded and live life to its fullest.
@SHARATH CHANDRA In the same way that the Pakistanis are from the sub-continent and not Arabs.
Even in a modern age today,people just say that I will support you against discrimination. But Guru Tegh Bahadur said that I will even die to protect you against discrimination!!
@truth have read about their treatment to Guru Arjun dev ji and guru govind singh ji kids so you are right MUGHALS WERE fearless and brave fighter i would not add word Muslim to it because foundation stone of golden temple was laid by Muslim. Sikh guru were not against any cast color or religion but they fought against injustice.
Mughals did come from Arab ( Turky etc) not Mongalia, Babur claimed himself as a decendant of Zenghis Khan who was from Mongolia, hence they preferred themselves to see a Mongal or Mughal.
As a sikh, I think this is a fair account.
I believe even if they were Muslim spiritual leaders, same would have been the fate...Kings do not tolerate anything against their rule!
Finding justification for crime is itself a crime.Guru Teg Bahadur was tortured and murdered just because he was following his religion.
Mongolia is now 100% Buddhist.
@manu . well actually 5% are Muslims. Thank you.
All the the Gurus had very close Muslim friends and confidants, such as Pir Mian Mir of Lahore who laid the foundation stone of the Golden Temple. Guru Hargobind commisioned the delightful Guru-ki-Masjid for his Muslim followers. Religion aside, this was a struggle between progressive Punjabism or Punjabiyat against a foreign power that ruled the then Madra Pradesh or Stan -i-Panjab. Meanwhile Afghanistan and Tajikistan were known as Utara pradesh. Whereas the Mughals were from Uzbekistan.
It is a very well balanced article with lot of useful information. Thanks to the writer for writing such a ravishing piece of article.
Guru Nanak was the first to try to promote peace between Hindu and Muslims he based his teaching of one God.
Why do we then have ramgarhias, bhatre, pape, jatts, nirankaris, namdharis, khukrain, arora khatri sikhs?
The Guru helped a claiment to the Mughal throne. As they failed, both of them lost their heads. The end result was dictated by real-politic, religion does not enter in to equation. Period!
Great wrings. Thanks to Author and Thanks to Dawn news.
@Indian Hindu, the British who were famous for their 'divide & rule' policies!
Hi Haroon Enjoyed your article and agree with your underlying thesis that historical events are seldom black and white but are layered to reflect the complexities of social life at the time.
@mark ; You need to accept the bitter realities of indian history! Get over it!!!
@Ramiz Kashmiri it was religious murder.
@Gurpreet Singh We love everyone and yes Sikhs are adored in Pakistan. Love Guru Nanak G's message of peace and equality, who in the sane mind would not love Guru Nanak G. Shanti.
This is a really good article, if it is real historical truth. Kudos to Haroon for the research.
Learning about history is good, but what would be great is to overcome the baggage of the history and consciously paving a future we want vs getting carried away in the historical current perpetuating the hatred. I am seeing not much hope that we all in subcontinent can ever overcome this and strengthen the bonds that unite us over those that divide us.
@Gurpreet Singh Kabir had Guru named Ramanand who was a prominent pioneering Saintly figure in Bhakti Movement. Guru Ravidas too was connected to this movement. Guru Nanak was born Guru and he was the influence not some one to start Panth after getting influenced from outside.
Sikhs have been used and abused even though they have bled defending others, Punjab was ruled by Ranjit Singh until he was disposed by treachery, Sikh's will get no justice from others thus will have to have peace harmony and use our legendary martial skills for peace and harmony within our hearts, we are not Muslims and not Hindus, we are Sikhs we have our own identity culture and religious practices, home is where the heart is and we have one heart it cannot be everywhere in pieces.
Leaving aside this particular event, it would be nice to read another article by Haroon Khalid about the comparative history of Sikhs within the context of Punjab from sixteen century onward, i.e., from the time of Guru Nanak and Babar. Irrespective of this particular or other similar gruesome events, Sikhs are clear winners during Mughal era in Punjab, be it conversion rate, growth in numbers, power or agriculture output.
@masood habib ..... An India speaking 600 different languages was not that difficult to divide. The British and important Indians had one thing in common. Making money. The relationship was mutually beneficial in many ways to all the traders.
Neither Teg Bahadur nor Aurangzeb is present today and people living today never saw any events from that period and very few people are left to tell the tales of the mass killings of 1947 where Muslims were driven out from East-Punjab and parts of Uttar Pradesh. I am sure Indians have bad memories from 1947 too. So what is keeping India back from making peace with Pakistan in the 21st century? Come to the table and let us sort out our differences and Kashmir.
Pakistanis should be proud of you,Haroon.May god bless you.
Aurangzeb is our hero and what he did is totally justified. He was a pious Muslim rulers which was unacceptable to many in India those days. Today's Pakistan have forgotton our great Mugal hero.
Very nice indeed. It is rare to see history of religions without bias and acrimony. A few high quality pictures would have added a lot to this article.
@truth And today they have lost their fearlessness and battle skills? History is made by opposing the tormentor not submitting to him.
@Gurpreet Singh Still Sikhs have no ill feelings for Muslims, they are happy and forgiving.
@Stella Remember the accounts of western so called scholars are always coloured because the history is always written by the victors from their point of view. so the truth is always obscured.
I am deeply impressed by this article. It is sort of amazing that there exist scholars inside Pakistan that take a multicultural and open ended view of the diversity that Pakistan apparently is.
I wish if we have any such newspaper like dawn in India. Dawn is always the best..Love from India. Very Balanced article..
There is a reason why Mughals are not liked in India.
mughals and invaders were curse to India, they just destroyed culture, knowledge and wealth.
The sacrifice of Gurus saved Indian subcontinent's culture from being overrun and destroyed by foreigners. Our future generations will always be respectful of them for this. The reason other ancient civilizations like Persians and Egyptians could not survive is because they did not had Gurus like we had!
@PPP it proves the humbleness and his ability to look for the true spirituality in people that Guru Arjan Dev Ji got the foundation stone of Harmandir Sahib laid by Miya Mir.
Recounting history is like peeling multicolored layers of an onion. Each layer looks different depending who is peeling it. It has nothing to do with anybodys' religion. If an emperor son can imprison his own emperor father and kill his own brothers for the thrown, it cannot be anything other than power and control. It was, and still it is, as simple as that.
If India had culture, knowledge and wealth it would not have succumbed to a few thousand invaders. How big an army do you think Arabian peninsula can muster? How big a force could the Arabs have assembled 1300 years that they could put on ships and attack a fifth of humanity which is across the Arabian Sea.
Brave Article ! haroon this is a great effort to recognize the history that happened on the land that is your country. But this article, despite so much praise it is getting from readers here, can not be published in Indian Punjab if one tries to do so. The current sikh leaders specially the SGPC ( shiromani gurudwara prabandhak committee ) are so misguided by their own agendas that some mentions in this article of Guru Teg Bahadur gathering huge followers, collecting resources and revenue gain material strength or political might will get huge opposition and protests. people will refute this and will get angry. I am waiting to see how Punjab media reacts to this if they get to see this.
Assuming Cunningham to be correct is wrong. Cunningham based his theory on records written 100 years later after the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Also it turns out after historical evidence that Adam Hafiz was not even contemporary of Guru Tegh Bahadur proving the whole assertion of plundering wrong. In fact a lot of this has already been clarified one of the best historians of our times, Bipin Chandra.
It is really important Mr Haroon Khalid that you include well researched history in your book. Just because it came from a Western author does not make it authentic. The west historians have been full of their own biases. In fact, the Persian historians of the times wrote almost nothing of Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom.
There is a lot of effort nowadays to paint Aurangzeb in a different light of not being a cruel dictator. I am not sure what is the driving force behind it but let us not rewrite the whole history just to achieve that objective.
Wonderfully written and very informative. I have not red such a balanced article even in Indian mainstream media (Which at best of times is biased to say the least). History as i have see is always distorted depending on who is presenting it. There is no objectivity in History. But Haroon you have done a great job.
"...true king, the guru" cannot be put more aptly. Irrespective of the region or religion, a guru is truly the king.
@mark This is the best comment on the topics relating to such cruelties.
History would be very kind to me because I wrote it --- Winston Churchill.
History is written by winners, there is a reason why Ashoka is such a great man in Indian history or Abraham Lincoln in American history. I think the 'jeet' in your names means a winner, I bet Prabhu also meens something similar.
The reason the Guru was executed was due to his interferance in politics and his percieved role as a rebel. This essay sums up that those who have no real grasp on history will write up what is celebrated among the massess without conducting any form of academic research. Even today, western historians are claiming that Aurangzeb never forcefully converted Hindus. Hence this story celebrated by the Sikhs of " saving Hinduism " is a fairytale and has no historical basis. The Guru was viewed as a rebel and one who interfeared with politics and during the 16th and 17th century such a man would have been subjected to execution perhaps in any other state around the world. The writter has done a great injustice by judging Aurangzeb based on the 21st century perspective and not during his period of the 17th century were such a Guru would have faced a similar fate across other states. I respect the Sikh faith But I have no respect for such myths that have no historical basis. |
0.989241 | From "you're too expensive" to "we're looking at other companies," as a salesperson you will hear a lot of reasons a customer has for not wanting to close the sale. At Armstrong Sales Coaching, we give you the strategies and tactics you need to successfully overcome these objections.
Whether it's mental roadblocks or the uncertainty of how to respond, overcoming objections is one of the biggest sales hurdles. Our experienced coaches teach you the tools you need to expand the conversation and overcome the obstacles.
Generate "Rockstar" Responses: Over the course of your sales career, you will encounter many of the same objections from a wide variety of clients. We teach you how to craft a rockstar response to engage your customer and propel you towards the sale.
Use "Hot Sauce" to Overcome Objections Sometimes the only way to overcome your client's objections is with a little hot sauce. We define hot sauce as the questions that need to be asked to achieve a goal, even though they make you a little uncomfortable. These questions help you get to the root of the issue, start a new conversation, or know when to walk away. Our coaches will train you on the hot, mild, medium, or no sauce questions you can ask to deliver results.
Develop Effective Communication By asking the right questions and actively listening to your client's reservations, you will gain a better understanding of their needs. With effective communication you gain a more in-depth understanding of your clients' apprehensions, leading to developing more trust and reducing objections.
Objections are one of the most common hurdles to your sales success. Instead of trying to convince them why they should buy from you, we teach you how to effectively communicate with your client to overcome their reservations. With Armstrong, we coach you on the best techniques to deliver a rockstar response to your customers objections. Our systems increase your closing ratio, boost your sales, and help you to develop stronger connections with your clients.
Overcome your client's objections and increase your revenues with sales coaching from Armstrong, call or contact us today. |
0.99906 | How do you respond to comments about your weight gain?
I'm 7 months with #3 and am starting to get comments like, "you've blossomed" or "popped" or simply "Oh my gosh!" I find any comments on my weight gain to be offensive -- believe me, I don't need reminders of how big my belly is getting! Any suggested responses?
It's aggravating. One lady I know has told me repeatedly that she was 135 lbs. at full term. I just laugh it off and tell her that's what I weighed when I got pregnant. I don't care what she weighed. It seems like people just have to make comments. Try not to pay attention. They don't usually mean anything by it. They love to watch pregnant bellies grow. Don't we all?
People mean well but they say dumb things. If it helps, I focused on how beautiful and voloptuous I felt. Like my body was doing exactly what it was meant to do. Then when people made those comments, I took them as a compliment and said "Thanks, it's not long now!". |
0.958871 | Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are among the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified individuals with ASD with an average prevalence of about 1% (CDC, 2015). ASDs are typically diagnosed in early childhood, often at or before preschool age. However, there is no specific genetic test or clinical procedure for diagnosis. Diagnosis is based mainly on documented core impairments related to social interaction, communication, as well as restricted and repetitive behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In addition to impairments in the core symptom areas, many individuals with ASD also have impaired cognitive skills, atypical sensory behaviors, or other complex medical and psychiatric symptoms and conditions, such as seizure disorders, motor impairments, hyperactivity, anxiety, and self-injury/aggression. According to the DSM-5, individuals who meet the specified criteria are given the diagnosis of "autism spectrum disorder (ASD)" with one of three levels of severity. Level of severity is defined in terms of the amount of support needed in the area of social communication and with restricted, repetitive behaviors. The DSM-5 also recognizes severity may vary by context and fluctuate over time. Severity ratings are used for descriptive purposes only and not to diagnose or determine eligibility for services (APA, 2013).
Abnormal use of language (pragmatics), particularly in social communication and social interaction is the most striking feature of autism (Belkadi, 2006). However, the difficulties individuals with autism have with speech and language are very heterogeneous and could be contributed by a number of different factors (Gabig, 2011). Furthermore, individuals with autism frequently have deficits in paying attention to auditory information (Mody et al., 2013). They have to be trained to pay attention to sounds. Even when they are paying attention, they have difficulty in decoding what sounds mean and in matching them to words or thoughts.
Children with autism, especially those who require moderate to high level of support, often have difficulties with articulation (Gabig, 2011). This could be part of a broader problem of difficulty with oral-motor function. On the other hand, research has shown individuals with autism are better with paying attention and appreciating visual materials (Mody et al., 2013; Gabig, 2011). Therefore, the visual route is one way of getting access to their minds and giving them a way of expressing themselves.
Children with ASD can differ extensively in the extent of communication impairment. Up to fifty per cent of children with ASD are unable to speak throughout life (Groen, Zwiers, Van der Gaag, & Buitelaar, 2008). However, there is a subgroup who can communicate within the normal range of function.
There is also a subgroup of children with ASD who show deficits in certain aspects of language. They could be having problems in one or more of the following aspects: auditory processing, vocabulary production, perception of phonemes (the building blocks of words), higher-order semantics, syntax, pragmatics, or prosody (Rescorla & Safyer, 2013). Semantics refers to the meaning of words and this is the most common linguistic deficit in children and adolescents with ASD. Syntax means the language rules for combining words into phrases and sentences, and for understanding the relationship among words. Pragmatics is the implied meaning underlying a sentence, such as irony or satire. Prosody is the pitch, tone, rhythm, or intonation of a sentence (Groen et al., 2008). Some of these children would often communicate with reduced length sentences.
Research has shown impairment can occur in both the comprehension and production of language, however, there is greater impairment in comprehension (Belkadi, 2006; Hudry et al., 2010). These children have demonstrated reduced brain activation in prefrontal and temporal brain regions under scenarios that involve irony (Groen et al., 2008). They can also be impaired in their understanding of nonverbal cues from others. These nonverbal cues include discerning intentions and making rapid intuitive judgments of social context. Children with ASD who are high-functioning, are found to particularly have difficulty in recognizing negative facial expressions (Chapman & Baron-Cohen, 2006).
There are obvious differences in the brain structures between neurotypical children and children with ASD (Dawson, 2008). Functional imaging studies have found reduced activation in Broca’s area in contrast to Wernicke’s area. The reduced activation in Broca’s area could indicate a deficit in integrating the meaning of words within sentences, hence, impeding comprehension. The left lateralization, or specialization, of language processing seen in neurotypical children can also be reversed in children with ASD (Hodge et al., 2010). They are found to have larger language areas in the right cerebral cortex.
Children with specific language impairment (SLI) show a significant deficit in spoken and written language that cannot be attributed to neurological damage, hearing impairment, or intellectual disability (Webster & Shevell, 2004). SLI is more prevalent than autism and affects approximately seven percent of all children. It is a longstanding condition with adverse effects on the child’s academic and social standing. Diagnosis is based on behavioral evaluation and research has shown that cause of the impairment is likely to have a genetic basis. Children with SLI is a heterogeneous group, and exhibit deficits in comprehension and/or production across any of the five language domains (i.e., phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics). Language disorders may persist across the lifespan, and symptoms may change over time. They exhibit problems in their ability to use grammatical morphemes, verbal inflection and rapid auditory processing. Some have impairment in one specific area, others might display problems in all the different areas. There would also be children who do not have spoken language disorder, but struggle with reading and written expression (Webster & Shevell, 2004).
For these children with SLI, there are usually deficits in morphological awareness (e.g., derivational morphemes, such as prefixes and suffixes, including inflectional morphology, such as plural, present progressive, and past tense markers). They would omit the use of function morphemes long after age-matched children with typical language development show consistent production of these elements (Dockrell, Ricketts, Palikara, Charman, & Lindsay, 2012). Errors occurred most often on verbs (especially verb endings, auxiliary verbs, and past tense marking of regular and irregular forms), function words (e.g., articles and prepositions), and pronouns. These errors occur more frequently as a result of omission rather than misuse. However, occurrence of both error types may be inconsistent. They would have problems judging grammaticality—identifying and correcting grammatical errors and identifying parts of speech. As a result, they have problems comprehending and using complex syntactic structures (Dockrell et al., 2012). It is also common to find them struggling with curriculum-related expository discourse production, and comprehending morphologically complex words that are common in academic subjects, especially at the higher levels.
Research has shown that children with SLI display abnormalities in neurodevelopment of their fronto-corticocerebellar circuits (Hodge et al., 2010). These circuits manage motor control and the processing of language, cognition, working memory, and attention. Neuroimaging studies have also shown brain structure and function abnormalities in Broca’s area, specifically the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) language-association cortex (Hodge et al., 2010). As a result, language comprehension and processing in children with SLI are comparatively slower and less mature than age-matched children who are developmentally normal in their language functions.
SLI is seen as isolated language impairments in the context of otherwise normal development, whereas in autism there is a triad of impairments, affecting communication, social interaction and behavioral repertoire.
The communication problems in these two conditions are different. Children with SLI have particular difficulty with structural aspects of language (phonology and syntax). On the other hand, abnormal use of language (pragmatics) is the most striking feature of autism.
However, this conventional view has been challenged on three counts. Firstly, research has shown that children with autism have structural language impairments similar to those in SLI (Hodge et al., 2010). Secondly, some children have symptoms intermediate between autism and SLI (Whitehouse, Barry, & Bishop, 2007; Leyfer, Tager-Flusberg, Dowd, Tomblin, & Folstein, 2008). Lastly, there is a high rate of language impairments in relatives of people with autism, suggesting etiological continuities between SLI and autism (Whitehouse, Barry, & Bishop, 2007). Hence, one could conclude that structural and pragmatic language impairments might be correlated but are separable consequences of common underlying risk factors.
More importantly, Hodge et al. (2010) established ASD and SLI children show abnormalities in neurodevelopment of fronto-corticocerebellar circuits that manage motor control and the processing of language, cognition, working memory, and attention. One could assume that a subgroup of children with ASD could also be struggling with language impairments that are similar with children with SLI. Language impairments are often more easily detected in children with ASD, with verbal expressions that demonstrate deficits in morphology and syntax (improper use of prefix and suffix, or the absence of proper grammar structure). However, with proper behavioral intervention and training, many of the children with high-functioning ASD, are able to communicate effectively, with the use of simple sentences, making it difficult to determine if there is truly a language impairment. Nevertheless, the language impairments exhibit readily in the school context, particularly in academic subjects where there is a high demand for comprehension of complex sentence structures, and that require higher cognitive functions of inference, critical reasoning and problem solving. The problem is especially exacerbated with written expressions.
Children with high-functioning autism are generally fluent in their speech and possessed advanced vocabulary, good phonology, and syntax (rules of language). However, they struggle with receptive language, expressive language, nonverbal communication, and pragmatics (the social context of language). As a result, their work in the classroom is affected and they demonstrate a specific set of academic relative strengths (e.g., reading decoding, math calculations) and weaknesses (e.g., reading comprehension, math applications, written language).
However, there is a sub-group of children with high-functioning autism that do not possess the strengths in vocabulary, phonology, and syntax (Kjelgaard & Tager-Flusberg, 2001). In fact, they have significant language weaknesses and find it difficult to comprehend passages with complex sentence structure, and also to communicate their thoughts coherently. Their areas of weakness in language involve either receptive or expressive language, or both aspects. One key weakness I have observed in a group of adolescents with high-functioning autism that I teach, is in comprehension. This group of adolescents are between 15 and 17-year-old; they are all diagnosed with moderate or high-functioning autism. A majority of them are verbal and fluent in their speech and have little or no difficulty with reading. Observations made were although they are able to read a given passage fairly fluently, when asked to explain the meaning of sentences, some of them would provide explanations that are completely off the mark. A few others have great difficulty formulating sentences that express their ideas. This is especially true under stress and trying to solve complex problems.
One of the principal reason for the inaccurate comprehension is a relative weakness in abstract reasoning (Berninger & Richards, 2002). They tend to have a literal interpretation of expression, hence, they often misunderstand the subtler ideas in a message. Weakness in abstract reasoning also produce a tendency to over-simplify message in a communication, whether written or verbal. As a result, they tend to ignore or overlook the subtler, grey areas of a message. Other factors like struggles with emotional regulation (e.g., management of anxiety, frustration) and a tendency to become fixated on one minor aspect of a message also compromise accurate interpretation of information.A small group of them would also have visual-perceptual issues that would contribute to problems with visuospatial reasoning (Berninger & Richards, 2002). This would result in difficulty with the interpretation and understanding of symbolic and graphical representations. Research has also confirmed a small group of children with high-functioning ASD who also have language impairment are more prone to look at distractor images than those without language impairment (Haebig, Kaushanskaya, & Weismer, 2015).
Another area of struggle that they have stem from their weakness in pragmatics (Gabig, 2011). Pragmatics is the understanding of how to use language appropriately in social situations. In linguistics, distinction is made between sentence meaningandspeaker meaning. Sentence meaning is the literal meaning of the sentence, while speaker meaning involves determining the concept that the speaker is trying to convey. While children with high-functioning ASD may have little difficulty understanding and using sentence meaning, they often struggle with deriving and formulating speaker meaning. In other words, they could be strong in vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, but have difficulty applying these language strengths to a social situation. Thus, it is common for them to struggle with differentiating the purposes (such as greeting, informing, demanding,promising, and making requests) in passages.
For those who are in the gifted range of intelligence, they often have the ability to use their strong rote memory to cover for weaknesses. They would memorize social protocols and patterns of successful communications. They would practice and over-learned communication and writing skills. This would help them to communicate relatively well. However, when it was appropriate to move to a different style, they would be lost and have difficulty with communicating fluently. Similarly, when context changes, they would also struggle with interpretation of messages. Nevertheless, they would be successful in giving the appearance of stronger language skills than they actually had. This is adequate for many social relationships, and academic tasks that do not require higher language abilities.
Most children with high-functioning autism tend to have very strong vocabulary, phonemic awareness, and reading decoding skills. Their strength in decoding translates into strengths in spelling, and sometimes writing mechanics (e.g., punctuation, capitalization). However, tasks that require abstract reasoning are difficult for them.As a result, reading comprehension is weakened because they have trouble deriving meaning from passages, especially when the themes are implicit. While they may include very interesting vocabulary and word choice in their writing, they struggle with organization and communication of complex ideas. This impairment would translate into difficulty with the interpretation of data, and passages with implicit theme, and in constructing complex sentences particularly in expository writing.
While the ability to write is related to the ability to speak, writing and speaking are supported by entirely different parts of the brain. According to new research from Rice University, Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University (2015), writing and speaking are supported by different parts of the brain. This applies to not just motor control of the hands and mouth but in the high-level aspects of word construction. Furthermore, they also found it is possible to injure the section of the brain responsible for speech but leave the part responsible for writing unharmed, and vice versa.
Findings from the research has implications for children with ASD, particularly the high-functioning group who are verbal. Although it appears written language should be dependent on spoken language, since the ability to write develops only after speech, but once we learn to write, our brains develop specialized mechanisms for written language, even for high levels of language processing. This would imply that children with high-functioning ASD might be struggling with writing impairment, even if they have little or no problems with speech. Hence, in the classroom, it is common to observe some children who are able to provide fluent verbal replies to inferential question, but are unable to reproduce the same answer in written expression. These children often require additional prompting, or even specific instructions on the mechanics of writing, like where they should be writing, how do they begin the answer and what they should be writing down. There appears to be difficulty translating from verbal expression to written expression.
Executive functioning involves the conscious, purposeful, and thoughtful activation, orchestration, monitoring, evaluation, and adaptation of strategic resources, knowledge, skills, and motivational states to achieve a desired goal. This involves analysis (e.g., sizing up the demands of the situation), decision making and planning (e.g., selecting or devising a plan of action), attentional control (focusing and maintaining attention as well as inhibiting interfering behaviors), coordination of cognitive resources, and flexible application (e.g., adjusting plans and goals to meet changing situations).
The complexity of the task requires writers to not only be able to apply their skills and knowledge, but also to be flexible in the coordination of resources available to them, and in their strategic processing (i.e., mental operations for planning, drafting and revising) (Graham et al., 2007). Given the language impairments and other conditions faced by children with autism, writing complex prose that demand higher cognitive abilities would not come easily and readily without structured and specific training over a significant time period.
There is significant variability in language functioning in verbal children with high-functioning autism (Gabig, 2011). Variation is seen in oral language functioning, reading ability and writing ability. There are some who possess excellent phonetic decoding ability yet poor comprehension, while others struggle with phonetic decoding of unfamiliar words, hence, difficulties with reading comprehension (Gabig, 2011). Research has shown that language ability is not necessarily dependent on IQ (Kjelgaard & Tager-Flusberg, 2001). There are children with lower IQ who possess language skills within the normal range, and children with impaired language skills but whose IQ are within the high range (Kjelgaard & Tager-Flusberg, 2001).
This significant variability in the comprehension and use of language has compelling implications for the academic success of school-age children with high-functioning autism. These children are often found within the regular classroom, and are faced with the same demands made by the general education curriculum, as with age-matched typical children. High-Functioning children with autism are faced with increasingly more complex discourse processing demands as each grade progresses (Gabig, 2011). The language of the curriculum often is complex and abstract. Hence, children with high-functioning autism are faced with the dual challenge of increasing competence in the language used in social control and interaction, and complex academic discourse. There are additional cognitive-linguistic demands on the child with high-functioning autism in the classroom (Gabig, 2011). Therefore, there is a need to look into a proper system of language-training, specifically for children with high-functioning autism and language impairment in the general education classroom. The system of training has to be individualized and continuous, starting from the lower grades, so as to allow for early intervention and training of the executive functions, to better prepare them for the cognitive-linguistic demands at higher academic level. As there is significant variation in the language ability of children with high-functioning autism, more research needs to be conducted to examine the specific strengths and weaknesses, and impact on academic learning. Interventions on the school level can benefit from a more specific profiling of the language needs of these children.
Akshoomoff, N., Stiles, J., & Wulfeck, B. (2007). Perceptual organization and visual immediate memory in children with specific language impairment. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12(4), 465-474.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Belkadi, A. (2006). Language impairments in autism: Evidence against mind-blindness. SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics, 14, 3-13.
Berninger, V. W., & Richards, T. L. (2002). Brain literacy for educators and psychologists: Practical resources for the mental health professional. San Diego, California: Elsevier Science.
Bishop, D. V., & McDonald, D. (2009). Identifying language impairment in children: combining language test scores with parental report. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorder, 44(5), 600-615.
Bishop, D. V. (1989). Autism, Asperger's syndrome and semantic-pragmatic disorder: Where are the boundaries? The British Journal of Disorders of Communication, 24(2), 107-121.
Chapman, A. C., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2006). Impaired recognition of negative basic emotions in autism: A test of the amygdala theory. Social Neuroscience, 1(3-4), 349-363.
Dawson, G. (2008). Early behavioral intervention, brain plasticity, and the prevention of autism spectrum disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 775-803.
Flanagan, D. P., & Alfonso, V. C. (2011). Essentials of specific learning disability identification. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fletcher, J. M., Lyon, G. R., Fuchs, L. S., & Barnes, M. A. (2007). Learning disabilities: From identification to intervention. New York: The Guilford Press.
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Olinghouse, N. (2007). Addressing executive function problems in writing: An example from the Self-Regulated Strategy Development. In L. Meltzer (Ed.), Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice (pp. 216-236) [Kindle version]. New York: The Guilford Press.
Gregg, N. (2009). Adolescents and adults with learning disabilities and ADHD. New York: The Guilford Press.
Groen, W. B., Zwiers, M. P., Van der Gaag, R. J., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2008). The phenotype and neural correlates of language in autism: An integrative review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 1416-1425.
Kjelgaard, M. M., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2001). An investigation of language impairment in autism: Implications for genetic subgroups. Language and Cognitive Processes, 16(2-3), 287-308.
Leyfer, O. T., Tager-Flusberg, H., Dowd, M., Tomblin, J. B., & Folstein, S. E. (2008). Overlap between autism and specific language impairment: Comparison of autism diagnostic interview and autism diagnostic observation schedule scores. Autism Research Journal, 1, 284-296.
Marton, K. (2008). Visuo-spatial processing and executive functions in children with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorder, 43(2), 181-200.
Mody, M., Manoach, D. S., Guenther, F. H., Kenet, T., Bruno, K. A., McDougle, C. J., & Stigler, K. A. (2013). Speech and language in autism spectrum disorder: A view through the lens of behavior and brain imaging. Neuropsychiatry, 3(2), 223-232.
Moreno-De-Luca, A., Myers, S. M., Challman, T. D., Moreno-De-Luca, D., Evans, D. W., & Ledbetter, D. H. (2013). Developmental brain dysfunction: Revival and expansion of old concepts based on new genetic evidence. The Lancet Neurology, 12, 406-414.
Ning, Qian, & Lipkin, R. M. (2011). A learning-style theory for understanding autistic behaviors. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 5(77), 1-17.
Pennington, B. F. (2009). Diagnosing learning disorders: A neurological framework (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
Ricketts, J., Jones, C. R., Happe, F., & Chapman, T. (2013). Reading comprehension in autism spectrum disorders: The role of oral language and social functioning. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(4), 807-816.
Sahyoun, C. P., Belliveau, J. W., Soulieres, I., Schwartz, S., & Mody, M. (2010). Neuroimaging of the functional and structural networks underlying visuospatial versus linguistic reasoning in high-functioning autism. Neuropsychologia, 48(1), 86-95.
Webster, R. I., & Shevell, M. I. (2004). Neurobiology of Specific Language Impairment. Journal of Child Neurology, 19(7), 1-15.
Pamela Lim is currently pursuing a PhD in Compulsive/addictive Behaviors at California Southern University in Costa Mesa, CA. |
0.755021 | We introduce a loss for metric learning, which is inspired by the Lowe's matching criterion for SIFT. We show that the proposed loss, that maximizes the distance between the closest positive and closest negative example in the batch, is better than complex regularization methods; it works well for both shallow and deep convolution network architectures. Applying the novel loss to the L2Net CNN architecture results in a compact descriptor named HardNet. It has the same dimensionality as SIFT (128) and shows state-of-art performance in wide baseline stereo, patch verification and instance retrieval benchmarks. |
0.99877 | Rather than witnessing peak oil supply or oil scarcity, we are now seeing a flood of new oil supplies across the world. Rather than worrying about where all the oil we will need in the future is going to come from, we are now talking about when global oil demand will peak. The timing of this is impossible to predict but what is clear is that we are entering the era of abundant oil and that is a paradigm shift for the whole energy industry as well as global geopolitics.
Peak oil used to be seen as the point in time when the production of oil would reach a maximum before starting to decline. This would happen because new oil supplies were impossible or too expensive to be extracted and the general view was that, once the point of peak oil had been reached, oil prices would rise sharply, which would in turn have a devastating impact on the global economy. This theory has subsequently been shown to be wrong thanks in large part to technological improvements which have enabled the cost effective and incredibly fast extraction of vast new oil resources from shale, tar sands and deep seas.
Today, peak oil is less about oil supply and more about peak oil demand, the point in time when oil consumption reaches a maximum as new technologies such as electric vehicles become better and more cost effective than oil based transport technologies. Some commentators such as Goldman Sachs are talking about peak oil demand as early as 2024. However, the exact point is difficult to predict because of the complex array of factors which determine both the demand and supply for oil. However, the combination of more plentiful supply and lower than expected demand does mean that we are now entering the era of abundant oil.
In this type of market environment, where supply is greater than demand, normally what happens is that prices fall as the low-cost players attempt to gain market share by trying to drive competition out of the market. Saudi Arabia attempted this strategy in 2014 which is a large part of the reason why the oil price fell from $90 to a low of $30 in January 2016. This price fall did in turn impact the costlier US oil production which fell from 9.6m barrels a day in April 2015 to 8.5m barrels in September 2016. However, prices have since risen, largely because of the Saudi Arabia brokered OPEC deal to cut oil production, and US oil production is now above April 2015 levels, with the oil price just under $70.
Why this happened is critical to understanding what will next happen with the oil price. The economies of Saudi Arabia and many other major global oil producers are so dependent on oil that they need oil prices above $50 just to balance their government books. And this will probably become the base price for oil going forward until these economies reduce their economic dependence on oil. It is thus not a surprise that King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman are restructuring the Saudi economy, and with their new Vision 2030, they are making attempts to develop an innovative and sustainable economy. They are doing so because they believe in the era of abundant oil, and they know they need to reduce the full cost of a barrel of oil to their economy, so that they can then extract as much oil out of the ground as soon as possible, as the alternative would be to leave it in the ground forever. |
0.999059 | Don’t get me wrong. Discipline is an essential part of raising a child. It helps to guide them to learn right from wrong and to become a responsible adult. However, for many people, the type of discipline they’re using may be doing just the opposite and may be pushing their child to become an abusive adult.
Several studies show that when children are spanked, hit, or beaten as a form of discipline, they often end up with emotional problems and are typically more violent and aggressive than those who received other types of discipline. In fact, children who were spanked have a similar risk of becoming an abusive adult as those who were abused.
Many people use the excuse that spanking worked just fine for their parents and grandparents, but previous generations also thought it was perfectly fine to smoke and drink while pregnant, which also apparently is now known to be sorry for children. It’s important for parents to look more at the facts and research than merely doing what’s always been done.
One such research study done by the University of Texas Medical Branch looked at over 750 people found that spanking was a precursor to dating violence in a high percentage of participants. In fact, around 95% of those who had been spanked or otherwise received corporal punishment as children ended up behaving violently in relationships later in life.
Researchers concluded that the act of spanking children taught them that the only way to resolve conflict was through physical violence. As they became adults and began having romantic relationships, this translated to them becoming abusive because they believed that physical abuse was the best way to solve any conflict.
Mostly, the lesson that many children end up taking away from being spanked is that if you want someone to do what you want them to do, the best way is to hit them. In most cases, the person being caught is the weaker and smaller party. However, since many women hit their partners, it’s clear that abuse is not as one-sided as many people are led to believe.
As these people become parents themselves, the chances of them becoming violent and abusive to their children are significantly increased. This ends up perpetuating the chain of spanking and abusive behaviors unless future generations make a conscious decision to refrain from using physical violence as a form of discipline.
Where many parents fail is that they don’t think through their actions and how they might affect their children in the long term. They focus too much on getting their child to behave or obey at that moment. Often, they’re acting without thinking and rather than teaching them how to work; they teach their children to fear them and to solve conflicts with violence.
Despite the fact that the goal of discipline is to get a child to submit to the authority of the parents, large studies have found that the opposite outcome is much more common. There is a positive correlation between children who receive physical punishment and defiance. Children who are spanked will begin by being more defiant towards their children, and later show that same defiance towards all authority figures.
Another unfortunate outcome of children who are physically punished is that they often suffer from more mental illnesses compared to other people. Adults who were spanked as children are far more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety, abuse drugs or alcohol, and have trouble empathizing with others or understanding basic moral behaviors.
It’s essential for us as a society to understand that our actions can have a lasting impact on our children so we can make the changes now that will impact future generations for the better. There are many other forms of discipline that can teach our children to be responsible, productive adults which don’t involve physical violence.
You either choose to help others, or you don’t choose to help others… THERE IS NO IN-BETWEEN! |
0.999666 | Does the expression "to do the necessary" (=to do what is needed) exist in English?
Yes. It is colloquial, and is used to save spelling out details.
In his declining years, he became incontinent. Each time we would do the necessary - it nearly wore the washing machine out.
Here, 'necessary' is used to mean what is obvious - they undressed him, cleaned him, changed his clothes and washed them. |
0.973881 | What is the "Northern" Red-tailed Hawk?
There has long been talk of a proposed race of the Red-tailed Hawk that has been called several names over the years, such as "Northern," "Canadian borealis," and "Canadian Eastern." P.A. Taverner (1927), W.E.C. Todd (1950), and Dickerman & Parkes (1987) all published excellent articles discussing the subject, and other articles (Liguori, 2001) and on-line material are available for reference. The Northern Red-tailed Hawk breeds from New England to southeast Alaska (see map) throughout the boreal forest (and a few on the Great Plains), hence the scientific name Buteo jamaicensis abieticola, abieticola meaning "dweller of the firs," is fitting. As of now, the Northern race is currently considered a heavily marked version of the borealis (Eastern) race, and not a separate subspecies, but it should have subspecies status to help simplify how birders and ornithologists treat and discuss it. By all subspecies standards, abieticola has a distinct breeding range, and identifiable characteristics. Of course, we cannot identify every Northern Red-tail, since the plumage variation is extensive and paler versions overlap with southern borealis, and some extensively marked versions are extremely Western-like, but we are incapable of identifying any race with 100% reliability for that matter. There is more to learn about the Northern race, and studying them on the breeding grounds is difficult due to the remoteness of their range.
Anyway, here are some examples of the Northern race. Note the Eastern-like appearance of these birds but with heavy bellybands, darker throats, rufous-tinted undersides, and sometimes banded tails. A new article discusses this race in greater detail, download it by clicking on the "Jerry Liguori Articles" tab to the right. |
0.986103 | One of the biggest questions asked about solar energy is how to choose the right solar panels for your home. Why is this such a popular question? Why is it imperative to choose the right solar panels for your home? Simple – the solar panels that you choose to install on your home will have a key impact on how efficient and cost-effective your new solar system is.
1. The Cost Of The Solar Panels – this should not be the most important factor, but it should definitely weigh into the equation. What you are looking for in solar panels for your home is a balance between the cost of the solar panels and their performance. In other words, the best solar panels for your home would be the best performing solar panels that are the most affordable.
2. The Efficiency Of The Solar Panels – the more efficient your solar panels, the more power they are able to produce. A high-efficiency system will give you more bang for your buck. Typically, solar panels for homes have efficiencies between 10 and 20% (this is the percentage of the light that hits them that they are able to convert into electricity). Again, you want to choose the most efficient, while still affordable, solar panels for your home.
3. The Durability Of The Solar Panels – there is no point in investing in solar panels for your home if they aren’t going to last for many years to come. Most good solar panels, especially those used in larger grid tie and off grid solar systems for homes will come with a pretty good length warranty – typically in the 15-30 year range. The longer the warranty on your solar panels, the more at ease you can be about the long-term performance and cost-effectiveness of your solar investment.
4. The Type Of Solar Panels – there are 4 main types of solar panels; mono-crystalline, poly-crystalline, amorphous and flexible. For the most part, the only two types of solar panels used for homes are poly-crystalline and mono-crystalline.
Those are four of the most important factors to consider when choosing solar panels for your home. Some other factors that you should definitely consider are the recommendations of friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances that have had solar panels installed on their home before. Remember that a good recommendation from a trusted source is worth infinitely more than sales pitches, technical specifications or anything else. |
0.999999 | When it comes to headsets, budget devices usually scream cheapness whenever you take them out of the box. Maybe they’re flimsy, maybe the parts inside will leave you with a case of tinnitus and chances are you’ll yearn for payday to arrive so that you can ditch the cheap Pick ‘n Pay set you just bought and invest in something more substantial.
Quality doesn’t have to come at a premium price though. You can get great audio without busting the bank, provided that you’re willing to cut corners in certain departments. That’s the idea behind Turtle Beach’s Recon 70 headset, which aims to bring high fidelity to the masses. It’s a headset which sounds unbelievably fantastic for its price point, but at the cost of being somewhat uncomfortable to wear for long stretches of time.
Which is a pity, because the Recon 70 is a looker. It’s as Turtle Beachy as can be, boasting sharp angles, vivid colour depending on the platform you chose (PS4 in my case) and a lightweight design. Inside the cups, are 40mm drivers that drives the audio into your ear canals, while on the outside you’ll get a flip-down mic and a standard volume control dial. Plug it into a 3.5 mm jack on your device and wham bam, thank you ma’am!
You’re now ready to immerse yourself in a game and shut the horror of reality off for that duration.
And honestly? The Recon 70 sounds terrific, even giving my pricier Razer Kraken a run for its money. Audio wasn’t just sharp, it was hefty and dynamic across a wide range of games that I tested it out on. Devil May Cry 5, Hotline Miami, Hitman 2 and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection were my primary test beds for the Recon 70, as I spread the review across some wide platforms.
The headset worked a treat in just about every scenario that I could throw at it. I could eavesdrop on targets in Hitman 2 while ambient noise slowly filled the room, Devil May Cry 5’s hard rock action opera had me reaching out for a Zippo lighter and Hotline Miami’s weird medley of retro and modern sounds felt far more distinct than anything my TV speakers could muster.
There was a good range of audio that I put the Recon 70 through, and while there was some flatness overall within certain gameplay segments in background noise, the Recon 70 more than stepped up to the task to deliver crisp audio where it mattered most. In other words: It was pretty good for its price! As for the mic, the story is pretty much the same. A quick round of Apex Legends saw me able to clearly deliver prompts and alerts. It won’t blow you away, but considering that you’re after something light and reliable, the Recon 70 fits the dollar bill.
Here’s the thing: It’s not exactly a comfortable headset. I like to imagine that I’ve got regular-sized ears, and wearing the Recon 70 for any length of time usually resulted in my biological audio receivers being cramped and muggy in the material of the headset. There’s a cheapish pleather on the Recon 70, which on its own would be fine if the headset shape had been a little bit more generous with the space provided.
Instead, it’s a cramped room for your ears that would make a contortionist do a double take, that heats up quickly and creates a swamp of humidity and sweat within an hour of play. For a short session of play, the Recon 70’s shortcomings can easily be ignored. When you’re looking at a marathon session though? You’re going to need to brace your ears for an experience that’s awkward, tight and sweaty. There’s an analogy here, but for the life of me I can’t put my finger on it.
It all comes down to just how much you’re willing to compromise on, when it comes to sound. The Recon 70 offers a whole lot of audio bang for your buck, but you might want to keep this budget headset as a knock around alternative that works best in short bursts of intense gaming action.
A bargain at any price and offering a whole lot of value, the Turtle Beach Recon 70 pumps out quality sound that puts more expensive brands to shame. A pity then, that it’s not the most comfortable headset to wear for any lengthy period of time. |
0.999994 | You think you’ve found a freelance writer for that new piece of marketing collateral to support a new product announcement. Now, how can you get the best work out of him, or her, with the least time and effort?
1) Know what you want. The writer can’t do a good job until they know about how long each deliverable should be; the most important two or three points they should stress; whether you want an objective (educational) or salesy tone; who is the target audience for the piece and what action you want the reader to take after they read the piece.
2) Designate one person who will consolidate comments about the project from all reviewers. This person must have the responsibility and authority to settle internal disagreements about the tone or content of the piece, and to refer to the author to subject matter experts as needed. Allowing multiple readers to enter their own suggestions, comments and questions in overlapping drafts — or to give the author conflicting guidance — guarantees chaos, mistakes and delays.
3) Keep in touch. If a project drops into limbo while you wait for client or internal approval, let the freelancer know. This shows you value the time they’ve put into the project. Remember, also, that the freelancer is waiting for your final okay to bill for their work. Finally, paying within 30 days shows a freelancer you value their work, and makes it more likely they’ll make time for you the next time you call with an emergency project. |
0.969898 | Styled for today... and tomorrow! was how Oldsmobile were promoting the, new for 1961, Dynamic Eighty Eight convertible in their sales literature. The full-size cars had received a completely new look and were now focused more on luxury, shifting away slightly from performance.
While they still had the same 123 inch wheelbase, Dynamic 88s and Super 88s were shorter, lower and narrower than the previous year.
The Eighty-Eight series had just received a 'promotion' now that the F-85 had been introduced and replacing it as the entry-level Olds. A total of 7 different models could be found in the 88 line-up - by far the largest assortment of any of the Series' that year.
Here's a very fine example, originally built in the Lansing, Michigan plant in Provincial White with black power top and red interior.
All of the full-size cars were equipped with a 394 cubic inch Rocket engine with an output ranging from 250-330 horsepower with the Eighty-Eight receiving a 2-barrel carburetor version that output 250 hp. On this car it is paired with a Hydra-Matic automatic transmission which was a $231 option over the standard 3-speed manual.
Other options the original owner ordered with the car include: Pedal-Ease power brakes ($43), Roto-Matic power steering ($108) and an AM radio at $89.
Oldsmobile produced 9,049 Dynamic 88 Convertibles for the 1961 model year at a base price of $3,284. 1961 was a relatively slow year for car sales. Oldsmobile still managed to produce 317,548 cars that year. Although this was a slight reduction from the previous year, they managed to move up one place to 6th in the industry. |
0.999969 | How to clean the hair falls on the ground?
Whether an individual or family pets, every day they falls a lot of hair, the hair falling on the ground is difficult to find and clean. It can be solved by using the most common slippers to clean-up, put special adhesive tape as sticker on the bottom of slipper, either an adult or child, as long as usually wear slippers in the house and go around, It can reach the effect of cleaning the hair, after a using period of the sticker and replace the new one, the user can continue the clean-up activity, easy and without difficulty. |
0.99998 | advice for parents: Joint Custody: Should I force my kids to go with their other parent even when they are crying and screaming?
Joint Custody: Should I force my kids to go with their other parent even when they are crying and screaming?
Q: I'm a stepmom of two wonderful kids, age 9 and 12. Their mom has "episodes" because of her bipolar condition. She will yell and scream at them, and say ugly things about their Dad and me and other family members. When the episodes are over, she is a very loving person and just does not understand why the kids cannot or will not just forget what has happened. The kids are both at a point that they are afraid to go with her for her visits.
We do understand that she has the right to see the kids, but we are very worried about their emotional state if we physically force them. How far do we go without jeopardizing our own relationship with them because we are forcing them to see her? How physical do you suggest we get with the kids? Should we pick them up and force them into her car? She has already called the police when they would not get in immediately.
We are talking and trying to assure them that they are strong kids and they can handle anything with their mom, and that in time it will be better… but of course we don't know that for sure, and I don't want the kids to think that we are lying to them.
A: First and foremost, let me compliment you on your compassionate insight into the situation. Your kids are very blessed that you understand their desires, their confusion, and their experience. Please don't ever underestimate the power of just one adult in their world who can validate and understand what they are going through.
This is a very challenging situation for all of you. It hurts to see a child in distress, whether it's physical or emotional pain. As parents, our instinct is to protect our children, and we can become painfully overwhelmed with guilt when we feel unable to do so, even if we are only stifling our protective impulse in order to comply with a judge's order. It's a terrible double bind.
I suggest you check with your attorney regarding the impact that her bipolar disorder is having on the children. You might also ask about your legal obligation when the kids simply refuse to set foot in her car. There may be some clear directives, and you will want to make sure not to violate them.
Personally, it would be very hard for me to force them physically, and at their ages I don't think it needs to come to that. They are certainly old enough to collaborate on solutions to this problem with you.
Let's assume that they must continue to see her, and you have found out what your legal obligations are and are honoring them. The kids will have a lot of feelings to unload. A LOT. Think of this as somewhat similar to a visit to the ER for stitches. Kids are often afraid to go because they know it will hurt. (And they are right!) And parents know that taking care of their children's health is simply not optional.
So we listen compassionately to their protests. We tell them we wish there was another way. We let them scream and rant and rave. And we take them to the doctor anyway, because we know that not going will cause long term problems.
We endure their panicked and noisy protests in the short term for what we believe to be their long term benefit. Sometimes when it's all over, we take them out for ice cream for being so brave, even though we both know they had no real choice.
If the kids are legally required to see their mother, then it's not optional. For now anyway, unless your attorney can get this revised. So I'd sit down with them and lay it all out. "Okay, you guys, we have looked into every possible way to get you out of this, and for now, there just isn't one. So you have to go with her."
Then let them vent. They need to release the frustration and powerlessness they feel. That's the best way for you to support their resilience, and strengthen their relationship with you. Yes, they are strong, but that's not what they want to hear right away. They want to hear acknowledgment about how much they don't want to go, how they hate being stuck, how much they wish it was different.
Simply reflect their feelings. Don't rush in with reassurances. I love that you are sensitive to the fact that the reassurance might be false in the end, and reluctant to make empty promises. So just stay with, "I hear you. You REALLY REALLY don't want to go. You REALLY wish you had a choice about it." etc. Keep reflecting that way as long as they are expressing feelings. Eventually, they will run out of angry steam.
At that point, you can say things like, Let's talk about how we can get this transition over with as quickly and painlessly as possible for you. What helps?
Do you want us to pick you up and put you in her car? I hate the thought of doing that, but I understand if you just feel like you simply cannot willingly walk into her car, and I will help you in any way I can, even if it means carrying you. I must admit, though, that I am hoping we can figure out a way that works for you to climb in there by yourself.
So how can we make going with her easier for you? Is there something special we can do to celebrate your return so you have something to look forward to?
Would a cell phone help, so you can text us when you need to vent? Or an iPod or books on CD so you have a distraction?
Let's put our heads together on this. We can't change whether you go or not, but let's work with the things we can change.
Get out some paper and brainstorm together. Accept all ideas, even wacky ones. In fact, it's great to suggest some wacky ones yourself, because humor is a fantastic stress reliever and bonding experience to share. Write every idea down, then go back through to figure out what is reasonable to experiment with.
You are right, of course, that the kids are incredibly strong. But it might be better not to say so right now. Instead, just hold that vision of them inside your own mind and heart. Treat them as though they are strong and smart and resilient, but don't ask them to feel that way or agree with your assessment. In their minds, if they were indeed as strong as they wanted to be, they could make this situation stop. They need lots of empathy and understanding for how weak they feel. Strong is just too big of a leap for them to hear out loud.
For now, they need understanding far more than they need reassurance. Empathy, not solutions, as I said in another post. Don't underestimate the power of empathy. It's tremendous. It changes things, even when there's nothing we can do the change their physical situation.
You might find some help in the other posts in the divorce/joint custody category on my blog. There's lots of stuff there. Also check out the crying category.
I do hope this helps. Hang in there, and please find some support from your friends and family to release your feelings safely and keep yourself clear and strong. You are doing a great job, and your presence, love, and attention are tremendously helpful to your children.
Insightful and loaded with wisdom - valuable stuff! |
0.99999 | What are the best online forums for entrepreneurs/startupers, people building an online business?
What are the online consumer forums for?
What are the best websites/forums for discussing about startups?
What are the best forums for freelancers?
Great question, and I am sure the wisdom of Quora can point me to knew communities I don't know of yet.
However, let me share a few of communities I follow/contribute to.
Westartup is an online community for entrepreneurs & investors. It allows you to create a page for your idea & gain feedback from seasoned entrepreneurs & investors. The community seems strongest for early phase startups, but is working hard on developing the service further to ensure value for startups in later phases.
I only started experimenting with Reddit recently. However, I am really growing found of the many amazing communities formed around subreddits. For entrepreneurs I recommend you to participate in the following subreddits: /r/Entrepreneur, /r/Entrepreneur Ride Along, /r/Smallbusiness & /r/startups. Each of the subreddits are full of helpful & knowledge people.
The Javelin guys are doing something interesting with their QuickMVP product. Not only is it a very interesting approach to validating business ideas, they are also building a community of entrepreneurs around the service. Btw. you can find similar communities around many other services targeted entrepreneurs, and it is a good idea to join the communities around the services/products you use most (e.g. Wordpress, Shopify, Mailchimp...).
Facebook groups - Ask around to the next startup event & I am positive you will discover a "closed" Facebook community of entrepreneurs.
HackerNews-like communities: Whether it is Hacker News, GrowthHackers, Onstartups or Product Hunt, they all are very useful places for entrepreneurs. |
0.999997 | Can Social Security Benefits be garnished?
For most types of debt, including credit cards, medical bills and personal loans, social security cannot be garnished to pay the debt. There are certain debts, however, that social security can be garnished to pay for. Those debts include federal taxes, federal student loans, child support and alimony and other federal debts. |
0.999998 | Calculate the distance in miles from San Bernardino, CA to any city in the World.
San Bernardino, CA is a city situated in the state of California. The coordinates of San Bernardino are latitude 34° 6' 29.88'' and longitude -117° 17' 24''. San Bernardino, CA has a population of 198,411 people. |
0.999286 | im afraid of finding the thing that makes perfect sense for when ive found it, all meaning is found and lost simultaneously, you know what i mean? Hypothetical person who might stumble upon this?
Hmm let me introduce myself, im a very simple kinda person who comes off as complicated when trying to explain myself through the intellect. The best way to get to know someone is to look into their eyes and if they are willing, they will open up their walls and let you in. What happens next is unknown until it happens and you and the person you are in contact with will know in that very moment. Its a rush!
I felt it once while sitting across a swing bed in a patio overlooking the mountains. The girl across from me was my crush, and dear friend. It was the day after the first time we hung out. I spend the night at her place and i was shy beyond words. I was frozen and i remember that when we went to bed, we layed on different edges of the bed, silent, stiff and nervous and excited in a tense state. We did not speak a single word and somehow fell asleep.
In the morning we were more comfortable, we snuggled and spooned each other and i gave her massages out of affection and then suddenly as we were sitting across from each other we were engaged in a gaze. It was almost like a staring contest at first and we smilingly looked into each others eyes without looking away. It did not take long for us to realize something was happening, the only way i can explain how it felt to be in that moment was as though i was a book flung open and each moment we continued to look into eachothers eyes our internal pages were being revealed to each other at a speed beyond my control or possible registry. We did not say much but so much was being shared in the moment that it was scary, overwhelming and freeing at the same time. I remember her making a comment that something special is happening to which i smiled, we continued to gaze deeper and deeper and suddently a chord inside me was struck and i looked away. I was not ready to go there with her. Or more accurately, i was not ready to go there myself. |
0.999997 | This article is about the actress. For the librettist, see Amanda Holden (writer).
Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is a British television presenter and talent competition judge, actress, singer, writer, and media personality. She has judged on the TV talent show competition Britain's Got Talent since the show began in 2007 on ITV. Holden played the role of Sarah Trevanion in Wild at Heart (2006–2008) and the title role in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. More recently she has presented various television shows for ITV including Superstar (2012), This Morning (2014–2015, 2017–) and Give a Pet a Home (2015).
Although born in Portsmouth, Holden spent much of her childhood in Bishop's Waltham and aged 9 she joined Bishop’s Waltham Little Theatre Company. She attended Swanmore Secondary School (now Swanmore College), where a teacher recalled that she had a natural talent on stage. At 16 she moved to Bournemouth, and then attended Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.
Holden's first television appearance was as a contestant on the game show Blind Date in 1991. From 2006 to 2008, Holden appeared as Sarah Trevanian in three series of ITV's Wild at Heart co-starring Stephen Tompkinson.
Holden's other TV credits include three series of the comedy Kiss Me Kate with Caroline Quentin and Chris Langham, three series of the ITV's The Grimleys, Celeb with Harry Enfield, BBC series Hearts and Bones with Damian Lewis, the Jonathan Creek episode "The Problem at Gallowes Gate" and a Boxing Day special Marple opposite Geraldine McEwan and John Hannah. She also co-starred with Bill Nighy and Tom Courtenay in Ready When You Are, Mr McGill, Jack Rosenthal's comedy drama.
Holden is currently a judge on Britain's Got Talent along with Simon Cowell, David Walliams, and Alesha Dixon. She joined the show in 2007.
She has appeared on various British series such as Smack the Pony, EastEnders, Hearts and Bones, Cutting It and with Harry Enfield in comedy series Celeb.
In 2009, Holden appeared as Lizzie, the Ring Mistress in the BBC sitcom Big Top. In April 2009, it was reported that the US network CBS had offered Holden the job of the one-time guest presenter on The Early Show, a daytime talk show. On 1 June 2009, she appeared with regular presenters Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez. Holden has since signed up with CBS as a British correspondent for The Early Show.
From 2009 until 2014, Holden co-presented A Night of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards annually on ITV with Phillip Schofield. In January 2010, she presented her own four-part series, Amanda Holden's Fantasy Lives, in which she tried out four of her dream jobs including working as a showgirl in Paris and a magician's assistant in Las Vegas.
In 2010, Holden co-presented The Door with Chris Tarrant. In 2011, Holden narrated the documentary The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song on ITV. On 6 July 2012, Holden guest presented an episode of Lorraine, standing in for Lorraine Kelly. She returned to guest present six further episodes of the show from 4–8 April and 4 July 2016.
In 2012, Holden presented talent show Superstar on ITV. On 24 March 2014, she hosted an episode of the Channel 4 show Dispatches about the treatment for stillbirths and miscarriages.
From 22 September to 18 December 2014, Holden filled in as a co-host on This Morning with Phillip Schofield during Holly Willoughby's maternity leave. She took a short break in January and February 2015 to record the Britain's Got Talent auditions. Christine Lampard stood in for Holden during this time, before she returning to the show from 2 March until 17 July 2015. She returned to This Morning in 2017, to co-present numerous episodes with Ben Shephard.
Holden presented a six-part factual series for ITV called Give a Pet a Home which worked alongside the RSPCA finding homes for animals. The series aired in April and May 2015.
On 18 December 2015, Holden was part of the presenting team for ITV's Christmas telethon Text Santa. In 2016, she presented I've Got Something To Tell You, a factual series for W. She appeared as Miss Pentangle in CBBC's The Worst Witch in 2017.
Holden has appeared in several stage musicals and in 2004, was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which closed earlier than expected in June 2004.
Holden finished playing the role of Princess Fiona in the original West End production of Shrek the Musical, which began on 6 May 2011. The show opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 14 June 2011. She starred with Nigel Lindsay, Richard Blackwood and Nigel Harman. Holden departed the show on 3 October 2011, ten weeks earlier than planned, to focus on her unborn child and was replaced by Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh. For this role, Holden won the WhatsOnStage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2016, Holden starred in a West End revival of Stepping Out and reprised her role when it opened at the Vaudeville Theatre in March 2017.
In 1996, Holden played Pamela in Intimate Relations. In 1999, she appeared as a shoe shop assistant in Virtual Sexuality. She was uncredited in the 2013 film One Chance.
In July 2009, Holden became a gossip columnist for the News of the World.
From 2010 until 2012, Holden appeared in television commercial adverts for supermarket chain Tesco. Since 2012, she has appeared in the television commercial adverts for Danone Oykos low fat yoghurt.
In October 2013, Amanda released her autobiography called No Holding Back which became a Sunday Times best-seller.
In 2015, she was the new face of the Alpen Brighter Morning Challenge.
Holden has been vegetarian since she was thirteen.
She married comedian Les Dennis in June 1995. They separated temporarily in 2000 after Holden's affair with actor Neil Morrissey was exposed in the press, before separating permanently in December 2002 and divorcing in 2003. Around this time, she alleges that she was sexually assaulted by an "unnamed famous comedian" at a public event.
On 20 January 2006, Holden gave birth to her first child with her fiancé, record producer Chris Hughes. She married Hughes at Babington House, Somerset, on 10 December 2008 with former Formula One racing driver David Coulthard acting as best man. After a miscarriage in 2010, she suffered their son being stillborn at seven months in 2011. On 23 January 2012, despite medical complications, she gave birth to their second daughter.
In 2010 Holden campaigned to keep a Sainsbury's supermarket out of Bishop's Waltham. Residents of her hometown later accused her of a double standard in November 2010 when she signed a deal to appear in advertisements for Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain.
In December 2016 Holden's ancestry was the subject of a BBC programme in the Who Do You Think You Are? series. The investigation discovered that her Cornish 5x great-grandfather Collin Thomas served a year's imprisonment, after breaking his apprenticeship as a cordwainer, by enlisting in the Royal Navy and leaving the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland aged 15. Ten years later, while serving in the British Army after the Peninsular War, he met and married a French woman and began a family near Bordeaux, France, before then moving his wife and eldest children back to Great Britain and Ireland. In addition, it transpired that her grandfather Frank Holden, a psychiatric nurse, was aboard the RMS Lancastria, when it was bombed and sunk by the German Luftwaffe in June 1940 outside the port of Saint-Nazaire and sank with the loss of thousands of lives. Frank Holden committed suicide in his 70s.
Holden has been a long-standing fan of English Premier League Football Club Everton, attending home and away games when her schedule allows.
Holden fronted Everton's breast cancer awareness campaign, sporting a limited edition baby pink club shirt, the colour of breast cancer awareness. She is a patron of the football club's charity, Everton In the Community. In September 2011, Holden was sponsored to bake a cake for every child in the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
On 13 April 2008, Holden ran the London Marathon in 4 hours and 13 minutes, in the name of the Born Free Foundation, having collected public and celebrity sponsors online. Since 2013, Holden has presented the RSPCA's Animal Hero Awards.
In 2013, she became a celebrity ambassador for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, following her work with Pedigree's 'Buy One, Feed One' campaign that she, along with Paul O'Grady have been supporting together. O'Grady is also an ambassador for Battersea.
In June 2018, Holden was photographed underwater by Zena Holloway. She posed as a mermaid in an awareness campaign for PETA to highlight the 'disgusting treatment' of orcas at SeaWorld.
Holden and Hughes live in a million-pound mansion in Surrey. Holden also owns a cottage in the Cotswolds which she has been renovating since 2017.
^ "Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
^ a b "College Days". The Guardian. 1 May 2001. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ "Amanda Holden – James Grant Group". Jamesgrant.com. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
^ "Britain's Got Talent star Amanda Holden comes home (From Daily Echo)". Daily Echo. Southampton. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
^ "Plaque Honour for Amanda Holden's Old Home (From Daily Echo)". Daily Echo. Southampton. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
^ a b "Amanda Holden Biography". Officialamandaholden.com. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
^ "Christine Bleakley and Amanda Holden return to ITV's This Morning to co-host with Phillip Schofield in 2015 | press-centre". Itv.com. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
^ "ITV joins forces with the RSPCA for a brand new show, Give A Pet A Home, hosted by Amanda Holden". ITV Press Centre.
^ "Amanda Holden has something to tell you about her new show: 'I love eavesdropping!'". Whatsontv.com. 30 September 2016.
^ "Amanda Holden to host I've Got Something to Tell You". Digitalspy.com. 1 March 2016.
^ "Thoroughly Modern Millie Posts Closing Notices". Whatsonstage.com. 3 June 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
^ "Modern Millie Cast Defends Holden???". Whatsonstage.com. 10 June 2004. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
^ "Amanda Holden to star in Shrek musical". BBC News. 30 July 2010.
^ "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners". Whatsonstage.com. 19 February 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
^ "Amanda Holden to lead the cast of Stepping Out". Whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ "Amanda Holden and Tamzin Outhwaite in Stepping Out at the Vaudeville Theatre". Boxoffice.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ Hyde, Marina (7 July 2011). "Did the News of the World target Amanda Holden before giving her a job?". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
^ "WATCH: Amanda Doesn't Hold Back". HuffPost UK. 7 November 2013.
^ "Welcome to Brighter Mornings with". alpenmornings. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015.
^ Ruby Le Galle (26 May 2016). "Amanda Holden: 'The Best Thing You Can Do for Animals Is to Just Leave Them off Your Plate'". People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
^ "Holden and Katharine marriage ends". BBC News. 27 December 2002. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
^ Brian Logan (15 October 2013). "Amanda Holden reveals sexual assault by 'famous comedian' | Stage". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
^ "Amanda's Baby Named Already". Sky Living. Sky (United Kingdom). 23 January 2006. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
^ Sunday Times, 10 January 2010.
^ Megan Conner. "This much I know: Amanda Holden". The Guardian.
^ Russell, Tara (4 November 2010). "Amanda Holden accused of double standards over Bishop's Waltham store plans". Southampton: Daily Echo. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
^ "Who Do You Think You Are? programme". BBC. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
^ "Feature article on TheGenealogist.co.uk". TheGenealogist. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
^ "Who Do You Think You Are? Amanda Holden's French forebears had talent, too: review". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ Keegan, Simon (26 April 2015). "Everton's Got Talent as Amanda Holden proves to be the lucky charm". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^ "Pink Everton 07/08 Umbro charity football shirt". Footballshirtculture.com. 7 October 2007. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
^ "Charity: Amanda becomes Patron of Everton Charity – Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com.
^ "Flora London Marathon – Amanda Holden Runs Wild for Born Free!!". Justgiving.com. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
^ Hooper, Abi (13 September 2013). "Paul O'Grady and Amanda Holden team up in aid of rescue dog campaign with pedigree | Showbiz". Closer. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
^ "We Were Stunned At Amanda Holden's Stunning Surrey Home". 30 May 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
^ "Take a peek inside Amanda Holden's 2 incredible Surrey and Cotswolds homes". 13 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
^ "Last Night's Television – Life, BBC1; Out Of My Depth, ITV1". Independent.co.uk. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
^ "Amanda Holden to host TV that will transform celebs into RSCPA volunteers". Reveal.
^ Harry Fletcher (1 March 2016). "Amanda Holden will get big confessions out of ordinary people on I've Got Something to Tell You". Digital Spy.
^ "Amanda Holden will appear in The Worst Witch remake". Digitalspy.com. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ "Tesco Christmas TV ad stars Amanda Holden". Retail Week.
^ "Official Amanda Holden Website". www.officialamandaholden.com.
This page is based on the Wikipedia article Amanda Holden; it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA. |
0.991227 | Nazism triumphed in Germany during the high era of Jim Crow in the United States. Did the American regime of racial oppression influence the Nazis? Scholars have maintained that there was no meaningful influence, but in my book Hitler's American Model (2017) I dissent. My presentation will discuss the implications of my findings for the global history of racism.
As my book shows, the Nuremberg Laws were crafted in an atmosphere of lively interest in American race law. In the early twentieth century the United States, with its deep-rooted white supremacy and its creative legal culture, was the leading racist jurisdiction in the world. Much of American race law targeted blacks; but other groups were disfavored as well, including Asians, Native Americans, Filipinos and Puerto Ricans. European right wingers touted the American example from the late nineteenth century onward, and Hitler did the same in Mein Kampf. During the early 1930s the most radical Nazi lawyers were the most eager advocates of the use of American models. Two aspects of American law especially appealed to them: The United States boasted a sophisticated law of second class citizenship, both de facto for blacks, and de jure for others, as well as anti-miscegenation laws of unparalleled harshness. This American law lies in the background to the two principal Nuremberg Laws, the Citizenship Law and the Blood Law. In particular, the drafting process of the Blood Law reveals detailed engagement with American statutes. It is an ugly irony that when Nazis rejected American practices, it was sometimes because they found them to be, not too enlightened, but too harsh.
My presentation will argue that this history raises uncomfortable questions about the role of American legal culture, and American democracy, in the making of global racism. |
0.999716 | Welcome, everyone! Hope you enjoy the videos in my channel. 【SUBSCRIBE】 https://goo.gl/R3dKui 【My Channel】https://goo.gl/axFqBm Please let me know what kind of massage you want to watch. I will try to make your favorite video. ❤Oil Massage actually means stimulating the tissues of the body by the hands with the massage oil, in order to promote health and rejuvenation to the entire body. Oil massage are designed to let the hands slide more easily during massage session and generally oil massage can provide maximum relaxation for both body and soul. Oil massage is really a wonderful way to relieve the stress and the tension that has accumulated in your body during a tiring day. ❤Oil massages are not a new idea. It has been found thousands years ago, Adding warm oil to the experience of a massage can be blissfully relaxing and wonderfully comforting, while it rejuvenates your mind and body. Not only does it enhance the relaxing nature, but it also aids in the healing processes. The smooth gliding motion that the oil helps to achieve, nourishes the skin and helps to dissolve accumulated toxins and stress, which promotes general good health. ❤The Benefits of Oil Massage - Oil massage can help you to relax and get rid of negative thoughts that provoke stress. - It can help you to heal and regain your spiritual and emotional balance. - One of the most important benefits of an oil massage is that it improves blood circulation and at the same time helps to decrease blood pressure which is a major factor for people that suffer from problems related to hypertension. - A wonderful oil massage relaxes your body and promotes a better sleep for days. Oil massages induce mental and spiritual healing, therefore many people have experienced a deeper and more restful sleep. - Oil massages increase and maintain the flexibility of your joints. An effective body massage works all your muscles, tissues and joints thus improving athletic performances and facilitating an easier movement for your body. - Massage also helps to prevent injuries and speeds up the healing process. - It helps the body to effectively eliminate toxins from the organism thus promoting a better health.
Welcome, everyone! Hope you enjoy the videos in my channel. 【SUBSCRIBE】 https://goo.gl/R3dKui 【My ASMR Channel】https://goo.gl/kBgnvz 【My Vlog Channle】https://goo.gl/YcoaGX Making videos is very funny and meaningful. Although it takes money & efforts. If you are so nice to give me some support. Please check following: ------------------------------------------ PayPal: paypal.me/belinda4755 AliPay: belinda4755@163.com ------------------------------------------ Please let me know what kind of massage you want to watch. I will try to make your favorite video. ❤Oil Massage actually means stimulating the tissues of the body by the hands with the massage oil, in order to promote health and rejuvenation to the entire body. Oil massage are designed to let the hands slide more easily during massage session and generally oil massage can provide maximum relaxation for both body and soul. Oil massage is really a wonderful way to relieve the stress and the tension that has accumulated in your body during a tiring day. ❤Oil massages are not a new idea. It has been found thousands years ago, Adding warm oil to the experience of a massage can be blissfully relaxing and wonderfully comforting, while it rejuvenates your mind and body. Not only does it enhance the relaxing nature, but it also aids in the healing processes. The smooth gliding motion that the oil helps to achieve, nourishes the skin and helps to dissolve accumulated toxins and stress, which promotes general good health. ❤The Benefits of Oil Massage - Oil massage can help you to relax and get rid of negative thoughts that provoke stress. - It can help you to heal and regain your spiritual and emotional balance. - One of the most important benefits of an oil massage is that it improves blood circulation and at the same time helps to decrease blood pressure which is a major factor for people that suffer from problems related to hypertension. - A wonderful oil massage relaxes your body and promotes a better sleep for days. Oil massages induce mental and spiritual healing, therefore many people have experienced a deeper and more restful sleep. - Oil massages increase and maintain the flexibility of your joints. An effective body massage works all your muscles, tissues and joints thus improving athletic performances and facilitating an easier movement for your body. - Massage also helps to prevent injuries and speeds up the healing process. - It helps the body to effectively eliminate toxins from the organism thus promoting a better health.
Welcome, everyone! Hope you enjoy the videos in my channel. 【SUBSCRIBE】 https://goo.gl/R3dKui 【My Channel】https://goo.gl/axFqBm 【Chaturbate】https://chaturbate.com/b/belinda4788/ Please let me know what kind of massage you want to watch. I will try to make your favorite video. ❤Oil Massage actually means stimulating the tissues of the body by the hands with the massage oil, in order to promote health and rejuvenation to the entire body. Oil massage are designed to let the hands slide more easily during massage session and generally oil massage can provide maximum relaxation for both body and soul. Oil massage is really a wonderful way to relieve the stress and the tension that has accumulated in your body during a tiring day. ❤Oil massages are not a new idea. It has been found thousands years ago, Adding warm oil to the experience of a massage can be blissfully relaxing and wonderfully comforting, while it rejuvenates your mind and body. Not only does it enhance the relaxing nature, but it also aids in the healing processes. The smooth gliding motion that the oil helps to achieve, nourishes the skin and helps to dissolve accumulated toxins and stress, which promotes general good health. ❤The Benefits of Oil Massage - Oil massage can help you to relax and get rid of negative thoughts that provoke stress. - It can help you to heal and regain your spiritual and emotional balance. - One of the most important benefits of an oil massage is that it improves blood circulation and at the same time helps to decrease blood pressure which is a major factor for people that suffer from problems related to hypertension. - A wonderful oil massage relaxes your body and promotes a better sleep for days. Oil massages induce mental and spiritual healing, therefore many people have experienced a deeper and more restful sleep. - Oil massages increase and maintain the flexibility of your joints. An effective body massage works all your muscles, tissues and joints thus improving athletic performances and facilitating an easier movement for your body. - Massage also helps to prevent injuries and speeds up the healing process. - It helps the body to effectively eliminate toxins from the organism thus promoting a better health.
Hi! Dear all Thanks for watching my Videos More videos 🔥= ★Japanese Massage Shiatsu For Lower Back Pain https://youtu.be/Lo1ZH3aUyBA ★Japanese Massage | Massage Techniques For Legs and Thigh - Top Asmr https://youtu.be/zckiXGrXxCM ★Thai Healing Service | Natural Massage Leg and Thigh https://youtu.be/TJhrdWpaceA ★Thai Healing Service | Traditional Thai Massage https://youtu.be/eLSq-g8F9Dk Please subscribe my channel ⚜️ TOP ASMR ⚜️ #japan #massage #health Right here are 8 exciting blessings of rub down for your body. 1. Preventing fibromyalgia signs and symptoms fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized with the aid of muscle ache, fatigue and tenderness, in line with the american university of rheumatology. Symptoms may be introduced on or exacerbated through stress and shortage of sleep. Frequent fibromyalgia massages have been discovered to help relieve pressure as well as alleviate muscle ache, soreness and spasms in sufferers stricken by fibromyalgia. In reality, it's one of the most effective complementary remedies, according to the countrywide fibromyalgia affiliation, which reports that about 40 percent of sufferers have used it as a part of their remedy plan. 2. Easing surgical outcomes postsurgical rehabilitation is one of the most crucial components of present process any method. And rubdown can help get you returned for your feet with the aid of increasing circulate, enjoyable muscle tissues, and improving joint movement and versatility. It's even been discovered to sell tissue regeneration and reduce postsurgical adhesions and swelling, in step with the related bodywork and massage experts. Three. Improving temper it is no secret that rubdown can relax you and make you feel excellent mentally. But did you understand that it is able to even assist treat tension and melancholy? Consistent with a evaluate through the touch research institute at the college of miami college of drugs, rubdown is able to decrease the frame's level of cortisol, a stress hormone, via as much as 53 percentage. Rub down also appears to growth the texture-proper hormones serotonin and dopamine. Four. Headache comfort about 28 million americans suffer from migraine complications, consistent with the country wide headache basis. Regularly, migraines are prompted or exacerbated through pressure and negative sleep. In a observe posted inside the annals of behavioral remedy, researchers found that participants who received massages had better quality sleep and less migraines than participants who didn't. Outcomes even lasted up to three weeks after therapy ended. Rub down therapy can help relieve complications if you be afflicted by them. Five. Lowering blood strain approximately 72 million people have excessive blood strain, which could result in stroke and heart attack. A observe within the magazine biological research for nursing observed that folks that had at the least three 10-minute returned massages a week reduced their blood stress extra than individuals who spent the equal amount of time just enjoyable. 6. Growing flexibility whether or not you are an avid athlete who's constantly putting pressure in your knees or a center-elderly grownup who has misplaced some variety of motion to your hips, staying flexible is prime. Massage assist you to keep flexibility and variety of motion via working the muscle mass, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments, and with the aid of stimulating the manufacturing and retention of the natural lubricants between the connective tissue fibers. 7. Breaking returned pain whilst again ache is one of the maximum not unusual reasons humans are seeking rub down, many aren't privy to simply how helpful a treatment it's far. In reality, a have a look at in theannals of internal medicine observed that rubdown remedy become greater effective at relieving returned ache than different treatments which includes acupuncture and spinal change. It even appeared to reduce the usage of painkillers by using 36 percentage. 8. Curtailing carpal tunnel carpal tunnel is a painful situation in which the median nerve that connects the forearm and hand turns into pinched on the wrist, in keeping with the national institute of neurological issues and stroke. Signs and symptoms consist of burning, tingling or numbness inside the palm, thumb and center arms. It may also lead to issue forming a fist or gripping small items. Treatments commonly consist of medication, wrist braces and surgical operation. However a look at inside the magazine of bodywork and motion pronounced that carpal tunnel patients receiving regular massage had less ache, decreased signs and progressed grip strength.
Updated weekly Asian movie new project. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL.
hi guys if you like my video so please like and subscribe my channel. It does all of this in one quick treatment that delivers real results without downtime or irritation.You can simply go for relaxing body massage without oil. So,boost your mood and get ready to pamper yourself with this instant treatment which is introduced by our very well known expert Gyurme Tenzing. Our channel has been done to make you the health of all. Through our videos we are kicking about your stress and the pain of your body. All of our videos respect YouTube community guidelines. We thank the team of YouTube that they gave us this opportunity to help the people. We are not taking any money for this service. Thanks for watching.
ഏഷ്യന് വിപണിയിലെ ക്രൂഡോയില് വിപണി ലക്ഷ്യമിട്ട് കുവൈത്ത് പെട്രോളിയം കോര്പറേഷന്.
The breed was developed in Britain, starting with a litter of kittens bred in 1981 by Baroness Miranda von Kirchberg.
It is a medium-sized cat, with a muscular and compact body, which is devoid of fat. It has a broad and rounded chest, and slender legs. The straight tail is of medium length. The pleasantly rounded head has no flattened areas, and there is a very visible spot in profile. This gives the Asian a full-looking face. The round and wide-set eyes come in the colour of yellow.
The short-haired coat of the Asian is fine, satiny, and glossy. The breed is mostly-even a solid-coloured cat. Asian Shorthairs are classified in four different varieties: the Asian Self (including the Bombay, which is a black Asian Self), the Asian Tabby, the Asian Smoke and the Burmilla (which is a shaded Asian).
Dallas: J.R suckers his friends into the Asian Oil deal. |
0.920218 | Murray wrote the following in response to Pope John XXIII's death on June 3, 1963. The Second Vatican Council had already met for its first session (October 11–December 8, 1963). After not being invited to the first session, Murray was preparing to serve as a peritus (expert) at the second session (September 29– December 4, 1963). The more positive attitude toward ecumenism of this piece contrasts to that the preceding article, as does its evaluation of John XXIII advance beyond Murray's earlier troubled response to Pacem in terris (see 1963j, "Things Old and New in 'Pacem in Terris'")Editor.
The office of the papacy is the one and only public office that is permanent in history; its occupants are destined to permanent presence in history. No Pope simply makes his private passage through death to his eternal personal reward, as all men must. Every Pope must also make, as few men do, a passage into history, not to become a figure of the past, but to remain a force in the ongoing present, an active participant in the church's permanent presence in the historical process.
One aspect of the abiding historical presence of John XXIII is immediately apparent. He will be present in the further sessions of Vatical Council II. The precise scope of the Council's work still remains to be defined. But in the process of definition, John XXIII will be present as the insight of genius is present in the later minds that strive to factor it out in concepts.
He made the premise of the council plain enough. It is the perennial, if sometimes hidden, premise of all the Church's thinking about herself and about her mission of bringing salvation to men in the moment when they need salvation, which is always today. The Latin maxim of Leo XIII states the premise: "Vetera novis augere" ("to make new things grow out of the old things").
John XXIII will be present in the utterance of the "old things" that the Council may say; for in them the collective voice of the centuries will be heard. He will, however, be more intimately present when the "new things" are said, whatever they may be. For even at this too early date, the historian, whose role for the moment is no more than necrological, can readily find the relative clause that states the significant deed: "John was the Pope who started something new."
basic component of the new thing has already caught the attention of all the world. He started the bishops talking, not privately to Rome in terms of question and answer, but publicly to one another in a free interchange of argument. He restored Rome to its traditional function, which is to be the apex of doctrinal and disciplinary decision, not the first source of theological thought and pastoral directive. Out of this new thing, which is also very old, there will issueone is inclined to thinkwhatever newnesses the Council will bring forth. John XXIII will be in a true sense their author, present in their accomplishment.
One glimpses a future paradox. John XXIII was no great scholar; his purpose was fixed on being the pastor of souls. But he may live in history, not as the "theologian's theologian" (a title that might fall to his predecessor, Pius XII), but as the "theologian's Pope," who affirmed the uses and value of the theological function in the church, at the same time that he asserted the full dignity of the papal office. He raised some questions himselfnotably the great, sprawling ecumenical questionto which he returned no definitive answers. He encouraged the raising of other questions, both old and new, both theological and pastoraland even political. The symbol of him might well be the question marksurely a unique symbol for a Pope.
He has left the questions behind him. They are a witness to his continuing presence among us, now that he is gone. They cannot be avoided. They are not to be summarily settled. Above all, they are not to find any answer without prior argument, catholic argument. For it remains true that to this sort of argument John XXIII summoned the whole Churchcardinals and bishops, priests and laity, pastors and professors, and not only the learned but also the simple, who are the "greater part of the faithful," today as when St. Thomas so named them.
The theologian's Pope, who listened while the theologians freely talked, had an even keener ear for the voice of the simple faithful, for whom alone the theologian undertakes to speak, and by whom, too he must be understood.
After John XXIII certain things are no longer possible. Chiefly, it is not possible abruptly to impose silence on any of the parties to the talk in the Church concerning old things and new. It is also not possible impatiently to turn away from the voices, within or without the Church, of whom it can now be said that a Pope once listened to them.
The Pope is deadlong live the Pope! The ancient cry of grief and gladness has multiple meaning. At the moment, it voices our sorrow that John XXIII no longer converses among us, listening, speaking. It also voices our joy that he will be long present in our midst, as the very spirit of the new conversation that he started.
(1)1963f: "Good Pope John: A Theologian's Tribute." (America 108 (June 15, 1963): 854–55). |
0.928165 | He was born in Sassari on the island of Sardinia. His father was an engineer; his maternal grandfather was the architect and sculptor Ignazio Villa. Sironi spent his childhood in Rome. He embarked on the study of engineering at the University of Rome but quit after a nervous breakdown in 1903, one of many severe depressions that would recur throughout his life. Thereafter he decided to study painting, and began attending the Scuola Libera del Nudo of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. There he met Giacomo Balla, who became "his first real teacher". Sironi returned to Milan in 1905 before traveling to Paris in 1906. Like his friends Gino Severini and Umberto Boccioni, he began painting in a Divisionist style under the guidance of Balla. Sironi's works from this period include self-portraits and portraits of his family.
He saw Expressionist works during visits to Germany between 1908 and 1911, but mainly stayed in Rome from 1909 to 1914. By 1913, Balla, Boccioni and Severini had developed a new style—Futurism—which Sironi also adopted for a brief time, although his work showed little of the characteristic Futurist exaltation of speed and modernity. In 1914 he exhibited with the Futurists at the Galleria Sprovieri in Rome. Works from this period include several abstract tempera paintings entitled Composizione futurista (1915), a series of paintings of airplanes in tempera or tempera with collage, and several paintings of lone cyclists or motorcyclists.
Sironi served in World War I as a member of the Lombard Volunteer Cyclists and Drivers. After the war, he abandoned Futurism and developed a style that emphasized massive, immobile forms. In paintings such as La Lampada of 1919 (Pinateca di Brera, Milan), mannequins substitute for figures, as in the metaphysical paintings of Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà. In 1922, Sironi was one of the founders of the Novecento Italiano movement, which was part of the return to order in European art during the post-war period. Paintings such as Venere of 1921–1923 (Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Turin) and Solitudine ("Solitude", 1925; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome), with their contained, geometric forms, bear some kinship to the neoclassicism evident in works produced at the same time by Picasso.
In the late 1920s, Sironi painted monumental figures of nudes, peasants, and family groupings in bare, mountainous landscapes. In these works—described by Fabio Benzi as "marked by a sense of humanity burdened with history ... [and] an almost Romanesque spirit of a solemn expressionism"—the pure forms of Sironi's earlier work were replaced by a primitivist form of classicism, and his style became more painterly. In paintings of fishermen at work or drinkers in cafés, he adopted a deliberately ungainly style similar to that of Georges Rouault.
A supporter of Mussolini, Sironi contributed a large number of cartoons—over 1700 in all—to Il Popolo d'Italia and La Rivista Illustrata del Popola d'Italia, the Fascist newspapers. Rejecting the art market and the concept of the easel painting, he became committed to the ideal of a fusion of decoration and architecture, as exemplified by Gothic cathedrals. He felt that the mural was the proper basis of a popular national art. The state commissioned from him several large-scale decorative works in the 1930s, such as the mural L'Italia fra le arti e le scienze (Italy Between the Arts and Sciences) of 1935, and he also contributed to the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution in 1932. Although his esthetic of brutal monumentality represented the dominant style of Italian Fascism, his work was attacked by right-wing critics for its lack of overt ideological content.
Cityscape with truck Mario Sironi ?
Italy in the Arts Mario Sironi ? |
0.999982 | How do you connect an amp to a mixer?
Depending on your amp, you could run a 1/4" jack cable or XLR from the amp (some have headphone send, D.I, or a simple 'output').
You may find there is a bit of noise picked up by the cable. I'd recommend chucking a mic in front of the amp and recording that way if you want to get the warmth n tone of the amp. But yeah, super dependant on the amp, and what you're going for. |
0.947588 | Write a 1,900 to 2,700-word paper that applies three of the communication theories you have studied so far to your personal and/or professional life. Please make sure your paper is written in proper APA format.
First, start off by describing each theory’s primary tenets.
You may use any theory that you like from the class’ readings.
You must write about three theories and use examples for each of those three theories.
You must cite your text book and also provide at least one peer reviewed source for each theory that you use (for a total of three peer reviewed sources plus your text for the entire paper). Websites, dictionaries, encyclopedias, books, and non-peer reviewed sources are not acceptable.
Make sure to attend to spelling and grammar. Furthermore, plagiarism (in any form) will result with you earning a zero on this assignment and possible further actions, depending on severity. |
0.511302 | Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (also spelled Musorgsky, Moussorgsky Russian: Модест Петрович Мусоргский, tr. Modest Petrovič Musorgskij) (March 21 [O.S. March 9], 1839 – March 28 [O.S. March 16], 1881), one of the Russian composers known as the Five, was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period. He strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of the established conventions of Western music.
Many of his works were inspired by Russian history, Russian folklore, and other nationalist themes, including the opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition.
Mussorgsky was born in Karevo, Russia in the province of Pskov, 400 kilometers (249 mi) kilometres south-south-east of Saint Petersburg. His wealthy and land-owning family, the noble family of Mussorgsky, is reputedly descended from the first Ruthenian ruler, Rurik, through the sovereign princes of Smolensk. At age six Mussorgsky began receiving piano lessons from his mother, herself a trained pianist. His progress was sufficiently rapid that three years later he was able to perform a John Field concerto and works by Franz Liszt for family and friends. At 10, he and his brother were taken to Saint Petersburg to study at the elite Peterschule (St. Peter's School). While there, Modest studied the piano with the noted Anton Herke. In 1852, the 12-year-old Mussorgsky published a piano piece titled "Porte-enseigne Polka" at his father's expense.
Music remained important to him, however. Sutgof's daughter was also a pupil of Herke, and Mussorgsky was allowed to attend lessons with her. His skills as a pianist made him much in demand by fellow-cadets; for them he would play dances interspersed with his own improvisations. In 1856 Mussorgsky–who had developed a strong interest in history and studied German philosophy–successfully graduated from the Cadet School. Following family tradition he received a commission with the Preobrazhensky Regiment, the foremost regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard.
In 1858, within a few months of beginning his studies with Balakirev, Mussorgsky resigned his commission to devote himself entirely to music. He also suffered a painful crisis at this time. This may have had a spiritual component (in a letter to Balakirev the young man referred to "mysticism and cynical thoughts about the Deity"), but its exact nature will probably never be known. In 1859, the 20-year-old gained valuable theatrical experience by assisting in a production of Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar on the Glebovo estate of a former singer and her wealthy husband; he also met Lyadov and enjoyed a formative visit to Moscow –after which he professed a love of "everything Russian".
In spite of this epiphany, Mussorgsky's music still leaned more toward foreign models; a four-hand piano sonata which he produced in 1860 contains his only movement in sonata form. Nor is any 'nationalistic' impulse easily discernible in the incidental music for Serov's play Oedipus in Athens, on which he worked between the ages of 19 and 22 (and then abandoned unfinished), or in the Intermezzo in modo classico for piano solo (revised and orchestrated in 1867). The latter was the only important piece he composed between December 1860 and August 1863: the reasons for this probably lie in the painful re-emergence of his subjective crisis in 1860 and the purely objective difficulties which resulted from the emancipation of the serfs the following year –as a result of which the family was deprived of half its estate, and Mussorgsky had to spend a good deal of time in Karevo unsuccessfully attempting to stave off their looming impoverishment.
By this time, Mussorgsky had freed himself from the influence of Balakirev and was largely teaching himself. In 1863 he began an opera –Salammbô– on which he worked between 1863 and 1866 before losing interest in the project. During this period he had returned to Saint Petersburg and was supporting himself as a low-grade civil-servant while living in a six-man 'commune'. In a heady artistic and intellectual atmosphere, he read and discussed a wide range of modern artistic and scientific ideas – including those of the provocative writer Chernyshevsky, known for the bold assertion that, in art, "form and content are opposites". Under such influences he came more and more to embrace the ideal of artistic 'realism' and all that it entailed, whether this concerned the responsibility to depict life 'as it is truly lived'; the preoccupation with the lower strata of society; or the rejection of repeating, symmetrical musical forms as insufficiently true to the unrepeating, unpredictable course of 'real life'.
'Real life' affected Mussorgsky painfully in 1865, when his mother died; it was at this point that the composer had his first serious bout of either alcoholism or dipsomania. The 26-year-old was, however, on the point of writing his first 'realistic' songs (including 'Hopak' and 'Darling Savishna', both of them composed in 1866 and among his first 'real' publications the following year). 1867 was also the year in which he finished the original orchestral version of his Night on Bald Mountain (which, however, Balakirev criticised and refused to conduct, with the result that it was never performed during Mussorgsky's lifetime).
Mussorgsky's career as a civil servant was by no means stable or secure: though he was assigned to various posts and even received a promotion in these early years, in 1867 he was declared 'supernumerary' –remaining 'in service', but receiving no wages. Decisive developments were occurring in his artistic life, however. Although it was in 1867 that Stasov first referred to the 'kuchka' ('The Five') of Russian composers loosely grouped around Balakirev, Mussorgsky was by then ceasing to seek Balakirev's approval and was moving closer to the older Alexander Dargomyzhsky .
Ivan Melnikov as the title character in Boris Godunov, 1874.
Under the influence of this work (and the ideas of Georg Gottfried Gervinus, according to whom "the highest natural object of musical imitation is emotion, and the method of imitating emotion is to mimic speech"), Mussorgsky in 1868 rapidly set the first eleven scenes of Gogol's Zhenitba (The Marriage), with his priority being to render into music the natural accents and patterns of the play's naturalistic and deliberately humdrum dialogue. This work marked an extreme position in Mussorgsky's pursuit of naturalistic word-setting: he abandoned it unorchestrated after reaching the end of his 'Act 1', and though its characteristically 'Mussorgskyian' declamation is to be heard in all his later vocal music, the naturalistic mode of vocal writing more and more became merely one expressive element among many.
Fyodor Komissarzhevsky as The Pretender in Boris Godunov.
By the time of the first production of Boris Godunov in February 1874, Mussorgsky had taken part in the ill-fated Mlada project (in the course of which he had made a choral version of his Night on Bald Mountain) and had begun Khovanshchina. Though far from being a critical success - and in spite of receiving only a dozen or so performances - the popular reaction in favour of Boris made this the peak of Mussorgsky's career.
Detail from Ilya Repin's celebrated portrait of Mussorgsky, painted in the hospital from March 2–5, 1881, only a few days before the composer's death.
From this peak a pattern of decline becomes increasingly apparent. Already the Balakirev circle was disintegrating. Mussorgsky was especially bitter about this. He wrote to Vladimir Stasov, "[T]he mighty Koocha has degenerated into soulless traitors." In drifting away from his old friends, Mussorgsky had been seen to fall victim to 'fits of madness' that could well have been alcoholism-related. His friend Viktor Hartmann had died, and his relative and recent roommate Arseny Golenishchev-Kutuzov (who furnished the poems for the song-cycle Sunless and would go on to provide those for the Songs and Dances of Death) had moved away to get married.
While alcoholism was Mussorgsky's personal weakness, it was also a behavior pattern considered typical for those of Mussorgsky's generation who wanted to oppose the establishment and protest through extreme forms of behavior. One contemporary notes, "an intense worship of Bacchus was considered to be almost obligatory for a writer of that period. It was a showing off, a 'pose,' for the best people of the [eighteen-]sixties." Another writes, "Talented people in Russia who love the simple folk cannot but drink." Mussorgsky spent day and night in a Saint Petersburg tavern of low repute, the Maly Yaroslavets, accompanied by other bohemian dropouts. He and his fellow drinkers idealized their alcoholism, perhaps seeing it as ethical and aesthetic opposition. This bravado, however, led to little more than isolation and eventual self-destruction.
For a time Mussorgsky was able to maintain his creative output: his compositions from 1874 include Sunless, the Khovanschina Prelude, and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition (in memory of Hartmann); he also began work on another opera based on Gogol, The Fair at Sorochyntsi (for which he produced another choral version of Night on Bald Mountain).
Grave of Modest Mussorgsky in the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Aleksandr Nevsky Monastery in Saint Petersburg.
In the years that followed, Mussorgsky's decline became increasingly steep. Although now part of a new circle of eminent personages that included singers, medical men and actors, he was increasingly unable to resist drinking, and a succession of deaths among his closest associates caused him great pain. At times, however, his alcoholism would seem to be in check, and among the most powerful works composed during his last 6 years are the four Songs and Dances of Death. His civil service career was made more precarious by his frequent 'illnesses' and absences, and he was fortunate to obtain a transfer to a post (in the Office of Government Control) where his music-loving superior treated him with great leniency –in 1879 even allowing him to spend 3 months touring 12 cities as a singer's accompanist.
The decline could not be halted, however. In 1880 he was finally dismissed from government service. Aware of his destitution, one group of friends organised a stipend designed to support the completion of Khovanschina; another group organised a similar fund to pay him to complete The Fair at Sorochyntsi. However, neither work was completed (although Khovanschina, in piano score with only two numbers uncomposed, came close to being finished).
In early 1881 a desperate Mussorgsky declared to a friend that there was 'nothing left but begging', and suffered four seizures in rapid succession. Though he found a comfortable room in a good hospital –and for several weeks even appeared to be rallying– the situation was hopeless. Repin painted the famous red–nosed portrait in what were to be the last days of the composer's life: a week after his 42nd birthday, he was dead. He was interred at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in Saint Petersburg.
In 1868/9 he composed the opera Boris Godunov, about the life of the Russian tsar, but it was rejected by the Mariinsky Opera. Mussorgsky thus edited the work, making a final version in 1874. The early version is considered darker and more concise than the later version, but also more crude. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov re-orchestrated the opera in 1896 and revised it in 1908. The opera has also been revised by other composers, notably Shostakovich, who made two versions, one for film and one for stage.
Khovanshchina, a more obscure opera, was unfinished and unperformed when Mussorgsky died, but it was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and received its premier in 1886 in Saint Petersburg. This opera, too, was revised by Shostakovich. The Fair at Sorochyntsi, another opera, was left incomplete at his death but a dance excerpt, the Gopak, is frequently performed.
One of Mussorgsky's most striking pieces is the single-movement orchestral work Night on Bald Mountain. The work enjoyed broad popular recognition in the 1930s when it was featured, in tandem with Schubert's 'Ave Maria', in the Disney film Fantasia.
Among the composer's other works are a number of songs, including three song cycles: The Nursery (1872), Sunless (1874) and Songs and Dances of Death (1877); plus Mephistopheles' Song of the Flea and many others. Important early recordings of songs by Mussorgsky were made by tenor Vladimir Rosing in the 1920s and 30s. Other recordings have been made by Boris Christoff between 1951 and 1957 and by Sergei Leiferkus in 1993.
Contemporary opinions of Mussorgsky as a composer and person varied from positive to ambiguous to negative. Mussorgsky's eventual supporters, Stasov and Balakirev, initially registered strongly negative impressions of the composer. Stasov wrote Balakiriev, in an 1863 letter, "I have no use whatever for Mussorgsky. All in him is flabby and dull. He is, I think, a perfect idiot. Were he left to his own devices and no longer under your strict supervision, he would soon run to seed as all the others have done. There is nothing in him."
Balakirev agreed: "Yes, Mussorgsky is little short of an idiot."
Mixed impressions are recorded by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, colleagues of Mussorgsky who, unlike him, made their living as composers. Both praised his talent while expressing disappointment with his technique. About Mussorgsky's scores Rimsky-Korsakov wrote, "They were very defective, teeming with clumsy, disconnected harmonies, shocking part-writing, amazingly illogical modulations or intolerably long stretches without ever a modulation, and bad scoring. ...what is needed is an edition for practical and artistic purposes, suitable for performances and for those who wish to admire Mussorgsky's genius, not to study his idiosyncrasies and sins against art."
Rimsky-Korsakov's own editions of Mussorgsky's works met with some criticism of their own. Rimsky-Korsakov's student, Anatoly Lyadov, found them to be lacking, writing "It is easy enough to correct Mussorgsky's irregularities. The only trouble is that when this is done, the character and originality of the music are done away with, and the composer's individuality vanishes."
Tchaikovsky, in a letter to his patroness Nadezhda von Meck was also critical of Mussorgsky: "Mussorgsky you very rightly call a hopeless case. In talent he is perhaps superior to all the [other members of The Five], but his nature is narrow-minded, devoid of any urge towards self-perfection, blindly believing in the ridiculous theories of his circle and in his own genius. In addition, he has a certain base side to his nature which likes coarseness, uncouthness, roughness.... He flaunts ... his illiteracy, takes pride in his ignorance, mucks along anyhow, blindly believing in the infallibility of his genius. Yet he has flashes of talent which are, moreover, not devoid of originality."
Not all of the criticism of Mussorgsky was negative. In a letter to Pauline Viardot, Ivan Turgenev recorded his impressions of a concert he attended in which he met Mussorgsky and heard two of his songs and excerpts from Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina): "Today I was invited to have dinner in old Petrov's house: I gave him a copy of your song, which pleased him greatly [...] Petrov still admires you as enthusiastically as in the past. In his drawing-room there's a bust of you, crowned with laurels, which still bears a strong resemblance to you. I also met his wife (the contralto) [Avdotya Vorobyova-Petrova, who created the role of Vanya in Glinka's A Life for the Tsar]. She is sixty years old... After dinner she sang two quite original and touching romances by Musorgsky (the author of Boris Godunov, who was also present), in a voice that is still young and charming and has a very expressive timbre. She sang them wonderfully! I was moved to tears, I assure you. Then Musorgsky played for us and sang, with a rather hoarse voice, some excerpts from his opera and the other one that he is composing now – and the music seemed to me very characteristic and interesting, upon my honour! Old Petrov sang the role of the old profligate and vagabond monk [Varlaam's song about Ivan the Terrible] – it was splendid! I am starting to believe that there really is a future in all of this. Outwardly, Musorgsky reminds one of Glinka – it is just that his nose is all red (unfortunately, he is an alcoholic), he has pale but beautiful eyes, and fine lips which are squeezed into a fat face with flabby cheeks. I liked him: he is very natural and unaffected, and does not put on any airs. He played us the introduction to his second opera [Khovanshchina]. It is a bit Wagnerian, but full of feeling and beautiful. Forward, forward! Russian artists!!
Western perceptions of Mussorgsky changed with the European premiere of Boris Godunov in 1908. Before the premiere, he was regarded as an eccentric in the west. Critic Edward Dannreuther, wrote, in the 1905 edition of The Oxford History of Music, "Mussorgsky, in his vocal efforts, appears wilfully eccentric. His style impresses the Western ear as barbarously ugly."
However, after the premiere, views on Mussorgsky's music have drastically changed. Gerald Abraham, a musicologist, and an authority on Mussorgsky: "As a musical translator of words and all that can be expressed in words, of psychological states, and even physical movement, he is unsurpassed; as an absolute musician he was hopelessly limited, with remarkably little ability to construct pure music or even a purely musical texture."
See Pictures at an Exhibition for an orchestral version of the work.
^ Letter to Vladimir Stasov, October 9, 1875. As quoted in Rimsky-Korsakov, My Musical Life, 154-155, footnote 24.
^ Volkov, Solomon, tr. Bouis, Antonina W., Saint Petersburg: A Cultural History (New York: The Free Press, 1995), 87.
^ Quoted in Sovietskaia muzyka (Soviet music), 9 (1980), 104. As quoted in Volkov, 87.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Modest Mussorgsky. Allthough most Wikipedia articles provide accurate information accuracy can not be guaranteed.
© 2019 classiccat.net. All rights reserved. |
0.952781 | Herpes simplex 1 (HSV-1) causes various human clinical manifestations, ranging from simple cold sores to encephalitis. Innate immune cells recognize pathogens through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), thus initiating the immune response. Previously, we demonstrated that the immune response against HSV-1 is dependent on TLR2 and TLR9 expression and on IFN gamma production in the trigeminal ganglia (TG) of infected mice. In this work, we further investigated the cells, molecules, and mechanisms of HSV-1 infection control, especially those that are TLR-dependent.
C57BL/6 wild-type (WT), TLR2−/−, TLR9−/−, and TLR2/9−/− mice were intranasally infected with HSV-1. On the viral peak day, the TG and brains were collected from mice and TLR expression was measured in the TG and brain and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression was measured in the TG by real-time PCR. Immunofluorescence assays were performed in mice TG to detect iNOS production by F4/80+ cells. Intraperitoneal macrophages nitric oxide (NO) production was evaluated by the Griess assay. WT, CD8−/−, RAG−/−, and iNOS−/− mice were intranasally infected in a survival assay, and their cytokine expression was measured in the TG by real-time PCR.
Infected WT mice exhibited significantly increased TLR expression, compared with their respective controls, in the TG but not in the brain. TLR-deficient mice had moderately increased TLR expression in the TG and brain in compare with the non-infected animals. iNOS expression in the WT infected mice TG was higher than in the other groups with increased production by macrophages in the WT infected mice, which did not occur in the TLR2/9−/− mice. Additionally, the intraperitoneal macrophages of the WT mice had a higher production of NO compared with those of the TLR-deficient mice. The CD8−/−, RAG−/−, and iNOS−/− mice had 100% mortality after the HSV-1 infection compared with 10% of the WT mice. Cytokines were overexpressed in the iNOS−/− infected mice, while the RAG−/− mice were nearly unresponsive to the virus.
TLRs efficiently orchestrate the innate immune cells, eliciting macrophage response (with NO production by the macrophages), thereby controlling the HSV-1 infection through the immune response in the TG of mice.
Herpesviruses are large enveloped viruses (100–200 nm) with a double-stranded DNA genome from 120 to 230 kbp which encodes approximately 84 proteins . An estimated 70% of the world population is seropositive for human herpes virus 1 (HHV-1), also known as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) [1, 2]. HSV-1 is the etiological agent of orolabial and cutaneous herpes, ophthalmic lesions, keratitis, and kerato-conjunctivitis. Severe ophthalmic lesions, central nervous system involvement (encephalitis), or systemic infections, although rare, can occur in recently born children or in immunosuppressed individuals . Herpesviruses are known for their latency/recurrence phenomena. HSV-1 can become latent in neuronal ganglia (especially the trigeminal ganglia) and may reactivate under stressful conditions, sometimes causing new disease episodes .
The HSV-1 infection in humans involves the intimate contact of a susceptible individual with someone who is shedding the virus . After the primary infection, which usually occurs in the oral mucosa, the virus replicates in epithelial cells and then infects the neuronal terminal, from where the virus reaches the nerve ganglia through retrograde axonal flow. The trigeminal ganglia harbor latent virus DNA [4, 5]. Recurrences occur when the latent virus reactivates and is transported by anterograde axonal flow to the primary infection site [6, 7]. In some cases, reactivated HSV-1 is transported to the central nervous system, causing encephalitis . Reactivation is normally associated with stress factors such as hormonal alterations, ultraviolet light exposure, and immunosuppression [9, 10]. However, a study using mathematical models of HSV-2 (which is closely related to HSV-1) reactivation revealed that the virus is constantly released from neurons in small amounts, thereby activating the immune system, which in turn inhibits viral replication and promotes a balance that prevents the clinical reactivation of the disease .
Immune responses against HSV-1 involve both innate and acquired immunity. Innate responses are largely mediated by leukocytes such as neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells, which phagocytose pathogens and coordinate additional responses with the synthesis of a variety of inflammatory mediators and cytokines. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are proteins that confer ‘specificity’ to the innate immune system, allowing the recognition of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) [12, 13]. The mRNAs from all TLR types (except TLR3) are expressed by monocytes and macrophages ; in the central nervous system (CNS), while microglia express mRNA from TLR1 to TLR9, neurons and oligodendrocytes express only TLR3 . During the last decade, the important roles of innate immunity responses and TLRs in HSV-1 infection control have been highlighted [14–19].
HSV-1 infection control appears to be highly dependent on the cellular immune response, including local tissue cells such as microglia and resident macrophages, as well as inflammatory infiltration by cells such as monocytes and CD8+ T lymphocytes [19–23]. This control most likely occurs through the production of cytokines such as IFN gamma, especially in the trigeminal ganglia [19, 24, 25]. IFN gamma is produced mainly by T lymphocytes , and one of its major actions is to increase iNOS and ROS production for killing pathogens [26, 27]. iNOS, IFN gamma, and other pro-inflammatory cytokines are important for controlling the HSV-1 infection in the trigeminal ganglia through the action of macrophages and CD8+ T cells [19, 28], although this effect in the brain is controversial [19, 28, 29].
Data from our group, which uses the murine intranasal infection model, have indicated that the crucial ‘spot’ for immune defense organization against HSV-1 most likely is the trigeminal ganglia and not the brain [14, 19, 28, 30, 31]. Most C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) mice infected with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 can control the infection and survive [19, 31]. These studies have also demonstrated that certain chemokines and IFN gamma expression in trigeminal ganglia exhibit the same temporal profile of viral replication, with peaks of expression occurring at day 5 post infection (which most likely facilitates controlling the virus), while mice without signs of encephalitis do not harbor the virus in their brains . Apparently this control is not as efficient in mice with deficiencies in their immune response because knockout mice for MyD88, IFN gamma , TLR9, and TLR2/9 have high mortality rates and die with signs of encephalitis after HSV-1 infection. Additionally, the virus is found in the brains of these animals.
The high prevalence of HSV-1 and the considerably increased number of immunosuppressed individuals due to diseases or to therapeutic transplantation, heighten the importance of comprehending the mechanisms of immune defense against the virus in a herpetic encephalitis model. In the present work, we demonstrate that macrophage-mediated immunity against HSV-1 occurs efficiently through iNOS in trigeminal ganglia and appears to be organized by the initial activation of TLR2 and TLR9 (with a possible interrelation of these receptors with other TLRs), which contributes to viral infection control.
HSV-1 strain EK , which was isolated from a human case of recurrent oral herpes with blisters, was multiplied in Vero cells and purified as previously described. The virus titers obtained were 3.0 × 109 p.f.u./mL.
Vero cells (ATCC) were maintained in MEM supplemented with 5% heat-inactivated FBS and antibiotics in 5% CO2 at 37°C. These cells were used for multiplication and titration of the virus.
TLR2−/− and TLR9−/− mice were generated at Osaka University (Osaka, Japan), and the TLR2/9−/− mice were obtained by crossing the TLR2−/− and TLR9−/− mice at the NIH (USA) and by backcrossing them to the C57BL/6 background for eight generations. These mice were a kind gift of Shizuo Akira and Alan Sher, respectively. C57BL/6 RAG−/−, C57BL/6 iNOS−/−, and C57BL/6 CD8−/− mice were acquired from Biotério Fiocruz/Rio. The C57BL/6 (WT, control) and knockout mice were maintained in a pathogen-free, barrier environment in Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (CPqRR/FIOCRUZ) (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil). Six- to 10-week-old male mice were anesthetized with ketamine (Agribrands do Brasil Ltda, Brazil), and 106 p.f.u. of the purified HSV-1 contained in 10 μL was inhaled by the mice as described previously . The control mice inhaled PBS. The mouse colonies and all of the experimental procedures were performed according to the institutional animal care and use guidelines from CPqRR/FIOCRUZ. The project was previously approved by the Ethics Committee in Animal Experimentation (CEUA from CPqRR/FIOCRUZ LW6/11).
Thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages were obtained from either C57BL/6, TLR2−/−, TLR9−/−, or TLR2/9−/− mice by peritoneal washing, were activated with sub-optimal concentration of murine IFN gamma (50 U/mL) as previously described and then were stimulated with HSV-1 (MOI of 10) for 24 h. The Griess reaction assay was performed to evaluate nitric oxide production in the supernatants.
Thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages were obtained from either C57BL/6, TLR2−/−, TLR9−/−, or TLR2/9−/− mice by peritoneal washing. Adherent peritoneal macrophages were cultured in 96-well plates (2 × 105 cells/well) at 37°C/5% CO2 in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (Life Technologies, Paisley, UK) supplemented with 5% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (Life Technologies), 2 mmol/L L-glutamine (Sigma) and 40 μg/mL of gentamicin (Schering do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Next, the cells were stimulated with HSV-1 (multiplicity of infection, 10), for 24 h to evaluate nitric oxide production in the supernatants.
Trigeminal ganglia and brains were aseptically removed and stored at −70°C until processing. RNA extraction was performed according to the procedures provided by the manufacturer of TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, USA). The RNAs were treated with DNase (Biolabs, USA). One microliter of the extracted RNA was quantified in a Nanodrop ND-1000 spectrophotometer, at wavelengths of 260 and 280 nm.
Reverse transcription was performed according to the procedures provided by the manufacturer of the M-MLV RT enzyme (Promega, USA).
Real-time quantitative PCR (Applied Biosystems, USA) was performed to verify the mRNA expression in the trigeminal ganglia and brain of mice infected with HSV-1. The reactions were performed using the Sybr Green PCR Master Mix (Applied Biosystems, USA) in the Applied Biosystems’ 7000 Sequence Detection System, at 50°C, 2’; 95°C, 10’; and 40 cycles of 95°C, 15” and 60°C, 1’, followed by a final dissociation stage. The oligonucleotides used in the reactions were specific for HPRT, F - GTT GGA TAC AGG CCA GAC TTT GTT G and R - GAT TCA ACT TGC GCT CAT CTT AGG C; IP-10 (CXCL10), F -GCC GTC ATT TTC TGC CTC AT and R - GCT TCC CTA TGG CCC TCA TT; TNF alpha, F - CAT CTT CTC AAA ATT CGA GTG ACA A and R - TGG GAG TAG ACA AGG TAC AAC CC; iNOS, F - CAG CTG GGC TGT ACA AAC CTT and R - CAT TGG AAG TGA AGC GTT TCG; MCP-1(CCL2), F - CTT CTG GGC CTG CTG TTC A and R - CCA GCC TAC TCA TTG GGA TCA ; RANTES (CCL5), F - GTC GTG TTT GTC ACT CGA AGG A and R - GAT GTA TTC TTG AAC CCA CTT CTT CTC; gp91, F - CCA ACT GGG ATA ACG AGT TCA AGA C and R - AAG GCT TCA GGG CCA CAC A; p22, F - TGG CTA CTG CTG GAC GTT TCA C and R - CTC CAG CAG ACA GAT GAG CAC AC; VP16 F - TTT GAC CCG CGA GAT CCT AT and R - GCT CCG TTG ACG AAC ATG AA ; TLR1, F - TGA TCT TGT GCC ACC CAA CA and R - GCA GGG CAT CAA AGG CAT TA; TLR2, F - TTG CTC CTG CGA ACT CCT AT and R - AGC CTG GTG ACA TTC CAA GA; TLR3, F - TAG ACT GCA TCG CCT GCT AA and R - AAG CAG CCA GAA GCA GAA CT; TLR6, F - TCT GGG ATA GCC TCT GCA ACA and R - GGC GCA AAC AAA GTG GAA AC; TLR7, F - TAC CAG GAC AGC CAG TTC TA and R - AGG AGC CTC TGA TGA GAC AA; and TLR9, F - ACC TCA GCC ACA ACA TTC TC and R - TGC ACC TCC AAC AGT AAG TC . The comparative Ct method was chosen to analyze the data, using the arithmetic formula 2-ΔΔCt. The genes expression was normalized to expression of the constitutively expressed gene Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). All of the reactions were replicated.
Samples were fixed with 10% formaldehyde in phosphate buffer, routinely processed and embedded in paraffin, as previously described .
For trigeminal ganglia immunostaining, samples were frozen in the Tissue-Tek O.C.T. compound (Sakura, Netherlands), and 5 μm slices were cut using a HM505N microtome cryostat (Microm, USA). The tissues were stained as previously described , with modifications. Immediately thereafter, primary antibodies were incubated for 2 h, washed, and incubated with a labeled secondary antibody. The sections were counterstained (nuclei) by Hoechst (0.2 μg/mL) (Molecular Probes, USA) and mounted in the Hydromount aqueous medium (National Diagnostics, USA). The primary antibody used was rat anti-F4/80, 1:50 (Serotec MCAP497, USA) or rabbit anti-iNOS, 1:5,000 (Spring Bioscience E3740, USA).
The secondary antibody was Alexa Fluor 488 goat anti-rat IgG (1:500) (Molecular Probes, USA) or goat anti-rabbit IgG (1:500) (Molecular Probes, USA). The Immunostains were observed and photographed via an Olympus BX51 microscope (Olympus, Japan) using a Megacybernetics color digital camera and Image Pro-Express software.
We quantified at least three fields per sample (n = 3/group). Each field generated three superimposed images obtained under a microscope Olympus BX51 (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan), using three fluorescence filters (iNOS, F4/80, Hoechst). The images were transferred by video camera Cool SNAP-colored Procf Color (Media Cybernetics, Bethesda, MD, USA) to a computer system coupled to video using the Image program-Pro Express version 4.0 for windows (Media Cybernetics, Bethesda, MD, USA). Quantification of total cells (Hoechst) and iNOS positive cells and F4/80 markers was performed with the aid of the ImageJ software (version 1:46).
The analyses were performed using the GraphPad Prism 5 software for Windows (GraphPad Software, Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA). The sample groups were assessed by non-parametric or parametric tests, according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality. Real-time PCR results were statistically analyzed using Mann–Whitney non-parametric T-tests. Macrophage results were analyzed by unpaired T-tests. For the survival curves, the statistical analyses were performed using the log-rank values.
Inter-relationships between the TLR gene expression levels were already evidenced by previous research in which mice pre-stimulated with a TLR3 agonist, poli I:C, exhibit increased TLR2 expression in the brains and reduced mortality after the HSV-1 infection . Although the importance of TLR2 and TLR9 in the HSV-1 infection is well described in the literature [14–19], their inter-relationship with other TLRs has been poorly explored. To investigate this inter-relationship, we analyzed the expression of several TLRs in trigeminal ganglia (TG) and brains of WT and knockout mice for TLR2, TLR9, and TLR2/9, after infection with HSV-1, to determine whether the deaths of TLR2/9−/− mice after HSV-1 infection occur exclusively because of the absence of these specific TLRs or whether their absence could interfere with the expression and/or recognition through other TLRs.
WT, TLR2−/−, TLR9−/−, and TLR2/9−/− mice were intranasally infected with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 and were euthanized on the fifth day post infection (day of the TG viral peak) , and the TG and brains were collected to evaluate the TLR expression by real-time PCR.
Data of the TLR expression in the WT infected mice revealed that TLRs are highly expressed in the TG (Figure 1), but there was no increase in TLR expression in the brain (Figure 2), thereby demonstrating that the innate immunity against HSV-1 in this model occurs preferentially in the TG. In vitro assays from another research group have revealed the synergic action of IFN gamma and IFN alpha/beta in controlling HSV-1 infection. These cytokines genes are activated by phosphorylation cascades that, in turn, are initiated by different TLRs, and this synergistic action impairs viral replication.
TLR expression in the mouse trigeminal ganglia. Mice were either infected intranasally with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 or were not infected, and they were euthanized 5 days thereafter. The trigeminal ganglia were collected, and the RNA was extracted, reverse transcribed in cDNA and real-time PCR for TLR expression indices for C57BL/6 or the indicated knockout (NI) (n = 4) or the respective infected groups (n = 6 to 9) were obtained (*P <0.05; **P <0.01; ***P <0.001 when comparing the infected animals with the respective non-infected animals); (#P <0.05, ##P <0.01, ###P <0.001, when comparing the infected C57BL/6 mice with the infected knockout mice). The results are representative of two experiments that yielded similar results.
TLRs expression in mice brains. Mice were either infected intranasally with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 or not infected and they were euthanized 5 days thereafter. The brains were collected, and the RNA was extracted, reverse transcribed in cDNA and real-time PCR for TLR expression indices for C57BL/6 or the indicated knockout (NI) (n = 4) or the respective infected groups (n = 6 to 9) were obtained (*P <0.05; **P <0.01, when comparing the infected animals with the respective non-infected animals); (#P <0.05; ##P <0.01, when comparing the infected C57BL/6 mice with the infected knockout mice). The results shown are representative of two experiments that yielded similar results.
The remaining results of this assay (Figures 1 and 2) indicate that TLRs 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 9 are expressed in the TG of WT mice infected with HSV-1. Expression of TLR1, TLR2 (except for the TLR2−/− and TLR2/9−/− mice), TLR3, TLR6, TLR7, and TLR9 (except for the TLR9−/− and TLR2/9−/− mice) in the TG (Figure 1), was generally diminished in TLR knockout mice compared with WT mice. These results suggest an interaction of different TLRs for immune-response orchestration in the TG of WT mice. In the knockout mouse brains (Figure 2), there was an increase or a tendency toward an increase in TLR1 (except for the TLR2/9−/− mice), TLR2 (except for the TLR2−/− and TLR2/9−/− mice), TLR3, TLR6 (except for the TLR2/9−/− mice), TLR7, and TLR9 (except for the TLR9−/− and TLR2/9−/− mice) expression. These results suggest an interaction of different TLRs for immune-response orchestration in the brains after a deficient response in the TG.
When HSV-1 recognition by TLRs in the TG failed (in the case of certain TLR-knockout mice), there was a weak immune response in the brains. In TLR2−/− infected mice (which have a mortality rate of 10% , similar to WT) this brain response appears efficiently control the virus, thereby reinforcing the fundamental role of TLR9 (which is expressed in these animal brains). By contrast, mice that do not express TLR9 (that is, TLR9−/− and TLR2/9−/− mice) cannot control the virus and die, although they express other TLRs in their brains. Double knockout mice (TLR2/9−/−) not only had diminished expression of TLR in their TG but also did not express TLR1 and TLR6 in their brains, most likely caused by difficulty of the immune system in orchestrating a compensatory defense without the functional presence of TLR2 and TLR9, which is in accordance with the mortality rate of 100% in the TLR2/9−/− group .
Another relevant piece of data is the significant rise in the IFN gamma and IL-1 beta expression in the brain of TLR2−/− compared with their non-infected controls . These cytokines are crucial for an efficient immune response in the TG of WT infected mice . Although the TLR2−/− mice had a mortality rate similar to WT mice when infected by HSV-1, the former had lower levels of TLR1 and TLR7 expression in the TG but higher levels of TLR1, TLR3, TLR6, TLR7, and TLR9 expression in the brain. Taken together, these results corroborate the hypothesis that TLR2−/− mice are capable of mounting a compensatory immune response in the brain, despite the deficient response in the TG.
Our previous experiments indicated the importance of macrophages, CD8+ T lymphocytes and IFN gamma for HSV-1 infection control in the murine model of intranasal infection. IFN gamma production by CD8+ T lymphocytes could be fundamental to macrophage activation in trigeminal ganglia in these conditions, increasing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) production by this type of cell . Subsequently, we investigated which mechanisms of monocytes/macrophages responses are involved in HSV-1 control.
To this end, the TG of WT and knockout mice were collected 5 days after intranasal infection, and the iNOS, gp91, and p22 expression was evaluated by real-time PCR. iNOS is the enzyme responsible for NO production and, consequently, RNS . gp91 phox and p22 phox are NADPH oxidase subunits that are membrane-bound protein components of flavocytochrome b558, which is responsible for electron transport [43, 44] and ROS production.
The infected-mouse groups displayed a significant increase in gp91phox and p22phox compared with the respective non-infected controls (Figure 3A and B, respectively). Furthermore although the WT infected mice expressed these genes with a tendency toward higher levels than in the knockout mice, the difference between them was not statistically significant. iNOS expression was increased in WT and knockout infected compared with non-infected mice, with a more pronounced expression in the WT mice than in the other groups (Figure 3C). iNOS effectively contributes to the HSV-1 defense, and our results indicate that TLRs are important for iNOS activation/production, while ROS apparently do not play a relevant role in this model’s TLR-dependent response.
iNOS, gp91, and p22 expression in the trigeminal ganglia of the infected mice and NO production in the infected peritoneal macrophages. Mice were infected intranasally with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 and were euthanized 5 days after the infection. The trigeminal ganglia were collected, the RNA extracted, reverse transcribed in cDNA and real-time PCR for the expression of (A) gp91phox, (B) p22phox, and (C) iNOS gene were performed. (D) Macrophages derived from the C57BL/6 mice or the indicated knockout mice were infected with HSV-1 (MOI of 10, five wells/group) (black bars) or were non-infected (NI, white bars), and the levels of nitric oxide (NO) were determined in the supernatants, 24 h after stimulation, by the Griess reaction assay. The bars represent the S.E.M. (*P <0.05, when comparing the infected macrophages to the respective non-infected macrophages; #P <0.05 or ##P <0.01 when comparing the C57BL/6 infected macrophages with the knockout infected macrophages. This experiment is representative of two analyses.
To confirm the TLR importance for NO production, peritoneal macrophages of WT, TLR2−/−, TLR9−/−, and TLR2/9−/− mice were stimulated with HSV-1 (MOI = 10), and the NO production was evaluated by the Griess reaction (Figure 3D). The WT infected-mouse group presented higher amounts of NO compared with the controls and the knockout-infected mouse groups. This result corroborates publications that indicate the importance of iNOS in the defense against HSV-1 and the ability of NO to inhibit HSV-1 replication in vitro[21, 45, 46]. Moreover, this finding confirms the importance of TLR2 and TLR9 in NO production.
Additionally, immunofluorescence assays were performed to visualize iNOS production by F4/80+ cells in the TG. In the single-staining assays, TG slices were incubated with antibodies against iNOS stained with Alexa Fluor 488 (green) and were counterstained with Hoechst (blue) for nuclei visualization (Figures 4A, B, E, F). In the double-staining assays, TG slices were incubated with antibodies against F4/80 stained with Alexa Fluor 488 (green) and antibodies against iNOS stained with Alexa Fluor 546 (red), and then counterstained with Hoechst (Figures 4C, D, G, H). The panels in (Figure 4) display the details of the ganglia cell immunofluoresce.
NO production by F4/80 + cells in the trigeminal ganglia of the infected mice. C57BL/6 (A, B, C, D) or TLR2/9−/− (E, F, G, H) mice were either inoculated with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 or with PBS (uninfected) via the intranasal route; on the fifth d.p.i., the trigeminal ganglia were collected and processed for analysis. (A) anti-iNOS Ab (green), C57BL/6 uninfected (400×); (B) anti-iNOS Ab (green), C57BL/6 infected (400×); (C) anti-iNOS Ab (red) plus anti-F4/80 Ab (green), C57BL/6 uninfected (100×); (D) anti-iNOS Ab (red) plus anti-F4/80 Ab (green), C57BL/6 infected, (200×); (E) anti-iNOS Ab (green), TLR2/9−/− uninfected, (100×); (F) anti-iNOS Ab (green), TLR2/9−/− infected (400×); (G) anti-iNOS Ab (red) plus anti-F4/80 Ab (green), TLR2/9−/− uninfected (400×); (H) anti-iNOS Ab (red) plus anti-F4/80 Ab (green), TLR2/9−/− infected (400×). All of the nuclei were stained with Hoechst (blue). Thin arrows (B, insert in B, F, insert in F) indicate stained iNOS cells (green); block arrows (D) indicate staining only for F4/80 (green) and thin arrows (D) indicate double staining for F4/80 and iNOS (brown). Short arrows (H) indicate staining for F4/80 (green), and long thin arrows (H) indicate stained nuclei (blue) characteristic of polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
There was no iNOS production in the single-stained cells of the non-infected mouse TG (Figure 4A and E - green) or in the double-stained cells (Figures 4C and G - red). The WT infected mice (Figure 4B) had thin cytoplasmic prolongations stained in green (insert). Most of the WT mouse cells (blue nuclei) expressed the enzyme (Figure 4B), and there was a considerable superposition of F4/80 and iNOS in the double-stained cells (green + red = brown) (Figure 4D), indicating that monocytic cells are the main producers of iNOS in the TG. Some F4/80 positive cells did not express iNOS (thick arrows, Figure 4D); however, many cells were double stained (insert, arrow).
In the TLR2/9−/− infected mice, the iNOS cell staining was modest (Figure 4F - long arrows). Although the inflammatory infiltration was conspicuous (Additional file 1: Figure S1 and Additional file 2: Commentary on the results and discussion in Additional file 1: Figure S1), the cells were predominantly polymorphonucleated, with segmented nuclei, and a few macrophages were stained with F4/80 (Figure 4H - long arrows). Few mononuclear F4/80 positive cells were visible in the TG slices from the TLR2/9−/− mice (Figure 4H - insert, arrows), and iNOS-stained cells were rare (Figure 4H - selection).
Altogether, the TG immunofluorescence revealed a greater iNOS production by F4/80 positive cells in the WT infected mice (Figure 4B and D), in comparison to TLR2/9−/− (Figure 4F and H), which have a high mortality rate when infected by HSV-1 . The morphometry (Additional file 3: Figure S2 and Additional file 2: Commentary on the results and discussion in Additional file 3: Figure S2) did not show statistically significant difference in the production of iNOS, in the amount of macrophages nor in the production of iNOS by macrophages between infected C57BL/6 and infected TLR2/9−/− mice. However, there was a clear trend towards higher levels of iNOS, more macrophages, and more iNOS producer macrophages in infected C57BL/6 mice than in infected TLR2/9−/− mice. We therefore believe that this trend is biologically relevant.
To confirm the importance of lymphocytes and macrophages against the HSV-1 infection in the experimental model of herpetic encephalitis, RAG−/−, iNOS−/−, CD8−/−, and WT mice (n = 10 from each group) were intranasally infected with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 to evaluate the mortality (Figure 5), and the control mice aspirated only PBS. The animals were checked daily for encephalitis signs such as prostration, ruffled fur, limb paralysis, and hunched posture, and mice showing these signs were euthanized.
Survival rates of the CD8 −/− , RAG −/− , and iNOS −/− mice after the HSV-1 infection. Mice were inoculated with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 (n = 10 for each group), and the mouse mortality was measured daily. C57BL/6 (circle), CD8−/− (square), iNOS−/− (diamonds), and RAG−/− (triangle). The statistical analyses were performed using the log-rank test. ***P <0.001, when comparing survival from C57BL/6 to each group of knockout mice. This experiment is representative of two analyses.
All of the control mice survived, and the WT mice exhibited 90% survival (Figure 5); no CD8−/−, RAG−/−, or iNOS−/− mice survived (Figure 5). These results indicate that not only T and B lymphocytes [15, 19] but also iNOS production is essential to control the viral infection, in accordance with the results reported by other researchers who have demonstrated the importance of NO for preventing HSV-1 replication in the TG.
Additionally, the WT, RAG−/− and iNOS−/− mice’s cytokine and viral transcript expression was evaluated in the TG by real-time PCR, 5 days after the infection. The viral transcripts were similarly expressed in all of the infected mice, but the RAG−/− mice were nearly irresponsive to the virus in terms of their chemokines, effector cytokine (TNF alpha) and iNOS expression (Figure 6). The chemokines MCP-1, Rantes, and IP-10, which attracts immune cells to the infection site, as well as the effector cytokine TNF alpha, were over-expressed in the iNOS−/− infected mice compared with the WT mice. Because all of the infected iNOS−/− mice died (Figure 5), we can assume that, although murine cells can use chemokines to recruit immune cells to the infection site, these immune cells fail to combat the virus because they are not able to produce nitric oxide. In the most likely compensatory mechanism, the cells produce more chemokines to attract additional immune cells, which produce more TNF alpha; however, this process is not sufficient to control the HSV-1 infection.
Virus transcript, inos and cytokine expression in the trigeminal ganglia of the RAG −/− and iNOS −/− mice . The C57BL/6, RAG−/−, and iNOS−/− mice were inoculated either with 106 p.f.u. of HSV-1 or with PBS (uninfected) by the intranasal route; on the fifth d.p.i., the trigeminal ganglia were collected and processed for analysis to verify the expression of the viral gene VP-16 and the inos, tnf alpha, mcp-1, rantes, and ip-10 genes. *P <0.05; P <0.01, when comparing the infected mice with the respective non-infected mice. #P <0.05; ##P <0.01, when comparing the C57BL/6 infected mice with the indicated infected knockout mice. The displayed results are representative of two experiments that yielded similar findings.
In summary, we conclude that, subsequent to infection by HSV-1, TLRs efficiently organize the innate immune cells, thereby eliciting a CD8+ T cell and macrophage response (with NO production by the macrophages) to control the HSV-1 infection in the mouse TG, thereby preventing severe disease outcomes, such as encephalitis and death.
Guilherme Pimenta Zolini, Graciela Kunrath Lima contributed equally to this work.
Work supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG, Brazil, to MAC and EGK), the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil, to MAC and EGK), Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Vacinas/CNPq/FAPEMIG (INCTV/CNPq/FAPEMIG; Brazil, to MAC), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil), and the Programa Estratégico de Pesquisa em Saúde V/VI (PAPES)/FIOCRUZ/CNPq (Brazil, to MAC). EGK, MAC, and RMEA are Fellows from CNPq. We thank the Program for Technological Development in Tools for Health-PDTIS-FIOCRUZ for use of its facilities and Ricardo Tostes Gazzinelli for analysis tools.
GPZ, GKL, RMEA, EGK, and MAC conceived and designed the experiments. GPZ, GKL, RMEA, NL, MGAS, MFD, NLP, BPC, and CTC performed the experiments. GPZ and GKL performed the statistical analyses. GPZ, GKL, RMEA, EGK, and MAC analyzed the data. RMEA, EGK and MAC contributed reagents, materials, and analysis tools. GPZ, GKL, RMEA, EGK, and MAC wrote the paper. All the authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript. |
0.999991 | What is access control and what are its main enforcement challenges?
Access control can be defined as the selective restriction of access to data. It consists of two main components: authentication and authorization. Authentication is a technique used to verify that someone is who they claim to be. However, authentication isn’t sufficient by itself to protect data. An additional layer, authorization, determines whether a user should be allowed to access the data or make a specific transaction. Any organization needs some level of access control in place. That’s especially true for businesses with employees who work out of the office and require access to the company data resources and services.
Access control requires the enforcement of persistent policies in a dynamic world without traditional borders. Most of us work in hybrid environments where data moves from on-premises servers or the cloud to offices, homes, hotels, cars and coffee shops with open wi-fi hot spots, which can make enforcing access control difficult.
Organizations must determine the appropriate access control model to adopt based on the type and sensitivity of data they’re processing. Older access models include Discretionary Access Control (DAC) and Mandatory Access Control (MAC). With DAC models, the data owner decides on access. MAC is a policy in which access rights are assigned based on regulations from a central authority.
Today, Role Based Access Control (RBAC) is the most common model. RBAC grants access based on a user’s role and implements key security principles.
The most recent model is known as Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC), in which each resource and user are assigned a series of attributes.
In some cases, multiple technologies may need to work in concert to achieve the desired level of access control. Multifactor authentication can be a component to further enhance security.
Authorization is still an area in which it can be challenging to determine and perpetually monitor who gets access to which data resources, how they should be able to access them, and under which conditions they are granted access.
Network access must be dynamic and fluid, supporting identity and application-based use cases. Access control rules must change based on risk factor, which means that organizations must deploy security analytics layers using AI and machine learning that sit on top of the existing network and security configuration. They also need to identify threats in real-time and automate the access control rules accordingly. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.