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even when it conflicts with other things we like to do praying for and with your family honoring God and others in your conversation at home supporting God’s values in the things you watch, read and listen to making time for your family even though it means saying “no” to other things
The Lord is not looking for plastic Christians. He is looking for those who serve Him with their whole lives. They serve Him in their private life and public life; in their home and in the church. They don’t pretend to have it all together, because they know there is still work to be done. But they are willing for God to work with His surgical precision in their heart and their life.
Are you that kind of Christian? Or are you one of those people who has said you believed in God, but you have never really entered into a relationship with Him? Perhaps you’ve been going through the motions, doing religious stuff, and doing what you can to quiet your conscience. If that describes you, it’s time for you to take the gospel seriously.
Jesus came so that you might have new life. He died so you might be forgiven and He gave His Holy Spirit to live in us and to work in us. What God asks from you and from me is that we trust Him. He asks that we surrender those notions that we could ever earn Heaven. He asks that we abandon the thought that we can “do it on our own”. Instead He asks us to rely on what He has done for us through Christ and what He will do through us in the future.
Have you made that decision? Have you received His gift of grace and life? If not, why not use this quiet moment to open your life to Him? Be honest about your heart, your home, and the struggles you have. Bring these to Him and lay them at His feet. And then receive the forgiveness and new life that He extends. Your life probably will not change over night, but if you are sincere, if you begin to follow Him in public and in private, your life will change. Day after day he will be working to create in you a new heart, a new life, and a new hope.
This passage in Exodus may still be somewhat confusing to you. But I hope you’ve seen this morning that you never know where you might find truth that could change your life.Monday, March 29, 2010 Slightly missing the point
I am, of course, pleased that Nature Materials ran a news item about our recent paper. However, they appear to have missed the point a bit. What we were trying to point out was that plotting data in scaled coordinates (current normalized by temperature to some power vs. voltage normalized by temperature, in this case) can be misleading. In this particular case, plotting temperature-independent data in this way on a log-log plot can make it look like the data all collapse onto some universal curve (with deep implications). In fact, the data themselves aren't doing any such thing - the apparent collapse is due to a flawed plotting procedure. Ross McKenzie got this point immediately. Ahh well. Bottom line: be very careful when plotting "scaled" quantities, to make sure that you're not biasing yourself toward a particular conclusion.
Posted by Douglas Natelson at 12:55 PM | 1.609741 | 675 | 673 |
The question is: do these tactics really save significant money? Is it enough to make the move worth the hassle? Let’s dig into five of these methods and find out.
In order to do some of the calculations below, I had to make a few basic assumptions.
First, I’m using a cost of $0.0015 per gallon for the water. I obtained this estimate from offline research materials provided by the American Water Works Association. This means that 1,000 gallons of tap water will cost you about $1.50. Second, I did usage counts in our own home in order to make calculations. I basically assumed that my own family is the “average American family,” in other words. Ways to Save Putting a plastic bottle in your toilet tank.
The average home toilet tank uses roughly a gallon and a half of water per flush, though older toilets often use substantially more. When you flush, this water goes straight down the bowl, costing you roughly two-tenths of a cent.
However, for almost all flushes, one does not need nearly that much water to expel the contents of the bowl. The solution often prescribed for this unnecessary water usage is to take a plastic soda bottle, fill it with water (and perhaps a few pebbles to weight it down), then put that bottle into your tank. This reduces the amount of water in the tank at all times and thus reduces the total amount of water your toilet uses.
How much does this actually save? Let’s say you put in a 20 ounce soda bottle into your tank, which is 0.16 gallons. This would reduce your average flush from 1.5 gallons down to 1.34 gallons of water used.
How many times do you flush? I did a count at our home and counted a total of sixteen flushes over a day-long period at our home (two adults, two children).
Using that metric,
putting a bottle in our tank would save us 2.56 gallons of water per day. Over the course of a full year, that’s 934.4 gallons saved. In dollars and cents, that bottle would save us $1.40 a year.
Is it worth doing? Considering it’s something you can do in a minute and that it lasts for years and years, it’s probably worth the time. There’s no real downside to it, either – for virtually all flushes, the small fraction of water saved will make no difference at all. For us, it was a no brainer –
we did it. Installing a low-flow shower head.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission reports that a normal shower uses 8.5 gallons of water per minute. In comparison, a low-flow showerhead uses (depending on the model) 1 to 3 gallons of water per minute. Our home currently has a mix of normal flow and low flow heads.
I asked around for a recommendation for a low-flow shower head and a friend pointed me toward an Alsons 657CBX – which allows you to switch between 1.85 and 2.5 gallons per minute. The plumber liked this model because, as he put it, some people don’t like the low flow setting but enjoy the higher flow one. The model costs $25 via Amazon and is easy to install.
So, what do real-world showering times look like? Over the course of a week, I estimated that there were thirteen showers taken in our home, averaging twelve minutes in length per shower, a figure that my wife concurred was “reasonable.” This adds up to 156 minutes of showering in a week and, thus, over the course of a week, the shower head above will save us 1037.4 gallons of water (assuming we are replacing a high-flow showerhead).
That adds up to a savings of about $81 per year!
However, there are some drawbacks here.
Replacing the shower head in your home might not save you that much water.
If your initial shower head is reasonably efficient, your savings won’t be that tremendous.
Second, low flow showers can be unappealing to some bathers.
I don’t mind them (except for washing my hair, which takes a bit longer), but others can be frustrated by them.
Don’t get an ultra low flow showerhead.
It can be worthwhile to get a lower flow showerhead – and it can save you significant money, indeed – but don’t jump on board the lowest flow head you can find or it may seriously degrade the quality of your showers.
Taking “on the clock” showers.
For a long while, I got in the habit of taking very brief showers. I used a timer and established a routine of taking five minute showers, shaving seven minutes from my shower time. Now, I don’t worry about it quite as much – I take quick showers if I need the time, but quite often I take showers around ten minutes in length | 1.527164 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
.
So, let’s say you’re able to shave two minutes off of your daily shower and your shower head is an average one – 8.5 gallons per minute. That means in an average week, you can save 119 gallons of water –
saving you about $9.31 per year.
What I found is that
shaving a small amount of time from your shower doesn’t make a noticeable difference and can easily become the norm without any quality reduction. However, if you shave a lot of time, it can really cut into your ability to adequately get clean. My Suggestion: Try shaving just a minute or two off your shower.
One good way to do it is to just consciously keep moving while showering – scrubbing away instead of just standing there.
Washing only full loads of clothes.
My wife and I tend to naturally run full loads with every load we run, so this tip didn’t particularly impact us. Of course, I know of at least one person who refuses to run a load much larger than half a basin, claiming that it doesn’t get clothes adequately clean.
So, let’s say an average load actually fills up three quarters of a bin and you do two loads of laundry per week – 104 loads per year. Filling up the bin each time would thus save 26 loads per year. Using the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission numbers, a load in a top-loading washer uses 60 gallons, which would thus save 1,560 gallons a year – $2.30.
My take? It’s not enough of a cost savings to drastically change how you wash your clothes
Especially if the strict cleanliness of your clothes is something of personal concern to you. The more direct change you can make is simply to add an item or two to your loads without overloading your washer.
Shaving with a basin rather than a running tap.
The city of Tampa reports that an average tap dispenses three gallons of water per minute. When I shave at the sink, I usually spend about four minutes shaving, meaning that a running tap wastes twelve gallons of water.
Alternately, I could run a gallon of water into the basin, turn off the tap, and simply use the water in the basin, saving
eleven gallons of water per shave. If you shave every day, that simple change would save 4,015 gallons of water per year – $6.03. This is a simple change that you can use with many common tasks. Fill the basin instead of running the tap when you brush your teeth, wash your face, shave, do dishes by hand, and so on.
What’s the general conclusion here?
One time fixes and minor behavioral changes when it comes to your water use are usually worth it – but only over the long haul.King, who is director of academic affairs at St. Joseph's Health System in Atlanta, agreed that adding a balloon "especially for patients who have really, big anterior infarcts" made sense but he added that "we can't recommend something that is not supported by evidence."
And the evidence from the CRISP AMI trial, which was published online by the
Journal of the American Medical Association, and reported as a Hot Line at the European Society of Cardiology, does not support use of IABC in patients who are not in cardiogenic shock, King told Peggy Peck, MedPage Todayexecutive editor.These symptoms are common in the approach to the menopause, so it would be best to check with your doctor, who can test your hormone levels and that will give you a better idea of what is happening.
However, low iron and low thyroid can often appear at this age and both can cause similar symptoms so I would ask your doctor to test for these as well.
Eileen Durward | 1.755234 | 785 | 782 |
It was 34° F this morning, as it has been for the last couple of days, but it doesn’t bother Helleborus orientalis one bit. For many years I had assumed that Hellebore was either native to the UK or maybe the PNW because they were living with the cold and rain just like the rest of us here, none the worse for the wear. In fact, Hellebore is of European origin, and the variety Helleborus orientalis spedifically is native to Greece, Turkey and the Caucasus.
Hellebore orientalis (a.k.a Lenten Rose or winter rose) and is an evergreen that blooms December-February, when its yearly glamor is over. The rest of the year they provide a nice foliage accent. Hellebore is easy for the beginning gardener and is not plagued with many diseases or pests, however nothing is completely “care free” in the garden.
As knowledgeable Seattle-area gardener Judy Thomas (who is also an amazing garden artist) reminded me, cutting off old leaves when it starts to bloom will do two things: prevent botrytis and show off the flowers better. I have to admit I hate doing that, but I know she is right because botrytis is a fungus that lives off of plant debris. I also have peonies and strawberries not far from my hellebore in some areas, and they are also susceptible to botrytis so I just take a deep breath and cut off those old leaves. I’ll keep most of the new ones for now since there aren’t that many. You can see one of the leaves I’m going to cut off in the photo below.
Hellebore orientalis ‘Mardi Gras Double’ is a hybrid hellebore with slightly larger than average flowers that have a cup-like shape. The buds have a pinkish hue and open into a white bloom that has pinkish red speckles near the center. As the flowers age they will become more consistently light pink.
Plant your hellebore where it will have full to partial shade, moist well-draining soil, and a little shelter. Two of my favorite hellebores are planted under a Japanese Laceleaf “Red Dragon” so they have shelter from the elements. The spot would be too sunny later in the season, but by that time the laceleaf is providing a shady umbrella but still allows plenty of air circulation. I also like to plant winter blooming plants near the walkways, windows, or anywhere I can see them as I arrive home to provide maximum impact in preventing the winter blahs.
Click here to see what the Mardi Gras looks like in 2012.TF, described an interactive “traveling exhibit” on New York’s 7 bus line created by his firm, who worked in collaboration with students from Columbia University. Students traveling the “7 Safari” rode the line and made podcasts about the surrounding natural history viewed from the window—what Cummings calls “mass transit as an ecological experience.” The idea was later copied for Beijing’s 4-line.
“We’ve barely scratched the surface of what we can do,” says Carl Bass, president and CEO of Autodesk, during a conversation with Bloomberg Television’s Cory Johnson. Bass says that designers must maximize the “infinite potential” of computational design: Invention happens all the time, Bass says. But innovation is taking that invention to market in a successful way. “Let people take reasonable risks—hire smarter, more creative, more talented people than you.” | 1.892628 | 733 | 731 |
Code of Business Practices
The International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI), an association of associations, is committed on behalf of its member companies to the operation of toy factories in a lawful, safe, and healthful manner. It upholds the principles that no underage, forced, or prison labor* should be employed; that no one is denied a job because of gender, ethnic origin, religion, affiliation or association, and that factories comply with laws protecting the environment. Supply agreements with firms manufacturing on behalf of ICTI members must also provide for adherence to these principles.
The role of ICTI is to inform, educate, and survey its members so that individual member companies can adhere to its Code of Business Practices. As an association, it also acts to encourage local and national governments to enforce wage and hour laws and factory health and safety laws.
Specific operating conditions that member companies are expected to meet and obtain contractor agreement in advance are as follows:
Labor
that working hours per week, wages and overtime pay practices comply with the standards set by law or, in the absence of a law, address humane, safe and productive working conditions; that, within this, there be one day of rest granted per week, in accordance with the C14 Weekly Rest (Industry) (1921) convention of the International Labour Organization;
that no one under the legal minimum age is employed in any stage of toy manufacturing; that a minimum age of 14 applies in all circumstances, but notwithstanding the foregoing, that C138 Minimum Age Convention (1973) and C182 Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention (1999) apply;
that no forced or compulsory labor is employed for the benefit of private individuals, companies or associations, in accordance with the terms of C29 Forced Labour Convention (1930), that workers are free to leave once their shift ends, and that guards are posted only for normal security reasons;
that equal remuneration for work of equal value shall be provided to men and women, in accordance with C100 Equal Remunerations Convention (1951). Remuneration includes the ordinary, basic or minimum salary and any additional emoluments whatsoever, payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the workers and arising out of the worker’s employment;
that all workers are entitled to sick and maternity benefits as provided by law;
that there will be no discrimination in employment practices on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation, within the terms of C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1958);
that all workers are entitled to freely exercise their rights of employee representation as provided by local law. The Workplace
that toy factories provide a safe working environment for their employees and comply with or exceed all applicable local laws concerning sanitation and risk protection;
that the factory is properly lighted and ventilated and that aisles and exits are accessible at all times;
that there is adequate medical assistance available in emergencies, and that designated employees are trained in first aid procedures;
that there are adequate and well-identified emergency exits, and that all employees are trained in emergency evacuation procedure;
that protective safety equipment is available and employees are trained in its use;
that safeguards on machinery meet or exceed local laws;
that there are adequate toilet facilities which meet local hygiene requirements, and that they are properly maintained;
that there are facilities or appropriate provisions for meal and other breaks;
if a factory provides housing for its employees, it will ensure that dormitory rooms and sanitary facilities meet basic needs, are adequately ventilated and meet fire safety and other local laws;
that no mental or physical disciplinary practices are employed. Compliance
The purpose of this Code is to establish a standard of performance, to educate, and to encourage commitment to responsible manufacturing, not to punish.
To determine adherence, ICTI member companies will evaluate their own facilities as well as those of their contractors. They will examine all books and records and conduct on-site inspections of the facilities, and request that their contractors follow the same practices with subcontractors.
An annual statement of compliance with this Code must be signed by an officer of each manufacturing company or contractor.
Contracts for the manufacture of toys should provide that a material failure to comply with the Code or to implement a corrective action plan on a timely basis is a breach of contract for which the contract may be canceled.
Because of the great diversity in the kinds of toys manufactured and the manufacturing methods used, as well as the wide range in factory sizes and number of employees, three annexes are attached to this Code to provide guidelines for determining compliance. A rule of reason must be used to determine applicability of the annex provisions.
This Code should be posted or available for all employees in the local language.
NOTE: This document is to be used in conjunction with
Appendix I: Methodology for Evaluating Compliance Appendix II: Audit Checklist | 1.417253 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Cite as: Bradley N (2005)
Codes of Conduct for Graphology in Europe
Proceedings of International Graphology Conference, Milan, Italy, 22 May
2005.331-347
Available at http://www.wmin.ac.uk/marketingresearch/graphology/ethicsmilan05eng.htm
Graphology has numerous uses. It has applications in management, in social work and many other areas. Graphologists who offer such services need to consider numerous factors: one of these things is what is right and what is wrong, this is ethical behaviour. Ethics are important: they lead to trust and a good basis for a working relationship.
The objective of this paper is to make a critical evaluation of the guidelines that graphology societies have created for members. This paper looks at codes of conduct that affect graphologists operating in Europe, with a particular emphasis on the UK, France, Italy, and Switzerland. It is an examination of published codes of ethics; it identifies similarities and differences in these codes. It also goes outside graphology to consider guidelines placed on other professions. There are also some references to legal initiatives. It is hoped that this work will encourage a widespread recognition of guidelines by practising graphologists.
Legislation laid down by society has clear boundaries, but
sometimes there are grey areas or gaps between laws, this is where codes of
conduct established by professional bodies often help. There are a few
milestones concerning ethics in graphology that are worth considering. In 1946 a
grouping of professional graphologists was established in France, it was the
Groupement des Graphologues-Conseils de France (GGCF). It has been argued that
this body created the first professional code of practice for graphology (Boille
2004). Then in 1980 Merletti wrote a first draft of his monograph called
Ethics in Graphology; this is still used, in an updated version, for
teaching students at Urbino University in Italy. A few years later Lamberto
Torbidoni (1987) lamented the absence of a code for graphologists in Italy, but
a remedy came just a few years later in the form of a European Code.
The idea for a European code was put forward by Renna Nezos around 1990 (see Bradley 2001:198) and a first code with 14 articles was initiated by the GGCF and the Société Française de Graphologie. This was signed by presidents of graphology bodies from France, the UK, Germany, Belgium and Italy, the code came into force on 1 January 1992. In 1994 the Association Déontologique Européenne de Graphologie (ADEG) was formed and the aims were to agree a code of ethics and ensure it is respected; to maintain standards of training and qualifications. In 1996 ADEG was registered in Belgium with the King's Seal and also as an Organisation Member of the European Union; it therefore received formal recognition of its influential status. Current members are presidents of groups located in Europe, they include these associations: - France: SFDG, GGCF, SGDS; Germany: BGG, UK: BAoG; Belgium: SBG; Italy: AGIF, ARIGRAF, CIGME; Spain: AGC, AGE; Switzerland: SSG. Each of these bodies has therefore adopted the code.
In order to assess how the code has been received it is worth saying that there has been some imitation: other groupings have taken items from the code in part or in full. This suggests that it had a favourable reception. We find major elements in the code of the European Society of Handwriting Psychology (ESHP) (dated 1 November 1992), this is a body of several German-speaking graphology societies based in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. We find parts of it in a Code of Ethics for American Graphologists; we find it as part of the Italian AGP code.
Some valuable observations of Lievens (1996) imply a more negative view of the code. One of his points is that the code was not created by different bodies (unions, employers, recruitment agencies etc.) and as a result does not consider the rights of the person being analysed graphologically. We will return to this issue.
Outside the world of graphology various initiatives have been introduced into the legal structures of most countries concerning privacy and data protection. After the Second World War it was felt that some sort of declaration was needed to ensure that nothing like the Holocaust could be repeated, so the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was signed in Rome by numerous governments, see http://www.echr.coe.int/. All signatories have integrated the principles into their own national laws. From October 2000, all courts | 1.796222 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
in the United Kingdom were obliged to give effect to its provisions.
All these initiatives have led to a great deal of debate: Boni 2004; Koehn 1995; Kovin 1989; Lievens 1994,1996; Merletti 2004; Millevolte 1988; Rizzola & Nanni 1991; Schapansky 1977; Smith 1997; Whiting 1978, 1996 are just a few examples of authors who have seriously discussed the topic.
Five basic stages of contact between the graphologist and client have been chosen as a framework to examine ethics. This structure is useful for most of the applications for graphology. These stages are training, promotion, briefing, specimen collection, analysis and reporting.
1.
Training. The graphologist is trained to a competent level before
offering services; this knowledge is kept up to date.
2.
Promotion. The graphologist offers the service to prospective
clients
3.
Briefing. The client explains the purpose of the analysis; the
graphologist can ask questions and explain what service can be offered.
4.
Specimen collection and transfer from client to the graphologist
5.
Analysis and Report writing by graphologist,
communication to client, Action taken by client, Report storage and
Report destroyed by the client and the graphologist. 1. Training. The graphologist should be trained to a
competent level before offering services; this knowledge must be kept up to
date. The European Code of Ethics states that the graphologist is expected to
maintain and develop his specialised skills (item 04). This idea is repeated
throughout most codes in other fields, but with an emphasis on spreading this
knowledge to others; for example the Royal Statistical Society Code states that
“Fellows shall seek to upgrade their professional knowledge and skill and shall
maintain awareness of technological developments, procedures and standards which
are relevant to their field, and shall encourage their subordinates to do
likewise” (item 12).
In training to be a graphologist handwriting specimens are important and the European Code mentions that “in education, teachers shall respect the anonymity of the writers of documents used” (item 13).
2. Promotion. The graphologist offers the service to
prospective clients and here the world of marketing has many codes that cover
sales promotions. The British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct
Marketing (the CAP code) is extremely useful as it condenses document of over100
pages down to these lines: “All marketing communications should be legal,
decent, honest and truthful” (item 2.1). There is obviously much more, for
example on the matter of using “endorsements” we see that Members of the Royal
Family should not be shown or mentioned in marketing communications without
their prior permission (item 13.4). This leads us to the ADEG European Code of
Ethics which states that the graphologist shall not divulge the name of his
clients without their prior consent (item 13).
Greater detail of the CAP code is best left to another time and place but if we take the idea of promotion being honest and truthful we can see that the European Code of Ethics states that “The graphologist shall undertake to use only methods relating to his practice and to work within the limits of his knowledge and experience” (item 05).
Forensic Document Examiners, who use chemical and paper
analysis, are often confused with graphologists and indeed there is some
overlap. However there is a risk that the graphologist may misrepresent services
that are offered because the “marketplace” cannot recognise the difference. This
has not been clearly dealt with by codes of conduct and may be worth
investigating further. The occult is another
area where graphology has had problems by association. There is plenty of
evidence to show that many graphologists, past and present, have been fascinated
by hypnosis, astrology, mediums, telepathy, and the paranormal. Put under the
heading of the supernatural or the occult, the subject of graphology takes on a
certain image; some would say it is reduced to a popular toy that has no place
in academia or the world of work. It is perhaps for those reasons that many
professional bodies reserve the right to reject members who associate themselves
too closely with such subjects. The ADEG Code includes such a warning, it is
item 7:
“Any graphologist signatory to this code shall not display his
graphology qualifications on professional documents if these are associated with
an activity concerned with the occult or divination. He shall abstain from
publishing or advertising in periodicals related to the above activities."
.
3. Briefing | 1.784485 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
. The client explains the purpose of the
analysis; the graphologist can ask questions and explain what service can be
offered. This important liaison is ideally done face to face, but may be reduced
to a telephone conversation, an email, a fax or even a traditional letter
delivered by post! This is effectively the contractual agreement between the two
parties and so it is important to outline the limits of graphology. Here there
are numerous things to bear in mind, and the following points are not
exhaustive.
At that meeting the British and French codes state that the graphologist “must not be influenced by flattery, bribery or threat and should refuse to carry out an analysis or make an interpretative statement "merely to oblige"” (BAoG Code of Ethics item 10. 1/9/1991 and SFDG item 08). It is also a good idea for the graphologist to tell clients about medical matters: the European Code states that the graphologist shall abstain from issuing diagnoses in fields reserved to the medical profession (item 06).
In France if a tool (such as graphology) is to be used, the Labour Code (Code de Travail) article L. 432-2-1 states that the company board (le comité d'entreprise) should be made aware of the fact, before the tool is used (see note 8).
In the UK Employers should be told by graphologists that they cannot insist on handwritten applications, if so there may be a violation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Michael Evans (2001) states: “employers that insist on handwritten job applications may put disabled jobseekers at an unfair disadvantage and could be in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.”
4. Specimen collection and transfer
It is widely accepted that handwritten specimens should be produced spontaneously, where possible on unlined paper with a writing instrument chosen by the writer. It should be an original (not a copy) since the pressure will be evident and there will be no change to the dimensions. The specimen should be provided with the age and sex of the writer.
New legislation designed to protect citizens against the negative effects of age discrimination will be introduced to many European countries. This legislation is based on the European Employment Directive and will cover recruitment, selection, promotion, training and development. Graphology operates in all of these areas. It will apply to the UK from October 2006 and will mean that dates of birth and dates of education will sometimes be absent or should be removed from application forms. The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) has designed an “Age-neutral application form” (2005). This initiative is likely to mean that graphologists may not know the age of a writer if making pre-employment analyses.
The words “informed consent” are extremely important in collecting specimens. Many laws and many codes of conduct use this term, we see it in the codes of the Market Research Society, the Social Research Association and in many more. For example the Royal Statistical Society Code item 2 states: “Enquiries involving human subjects should, as far as practicable, be based on the freely given informed consent of subjects. The identities of subjects should be kept confidential unless consent for disclosure is explicitly obtained.” The code of the Swiss Graphological Society (SSG/SGG) states that the writer must be in agreement with analysis of the writing to take place (note 6 and 7).
This care must extend to documents of an unknown source; the graphologist should ascertain the origin of any document given for analysis because the European Code of Ethics says “He shall refuse to express an opinion on a document he knows to have been stolen” (item 10).
Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms says "everyone has the right to respect for his correspondence". Here it can be argued that the graphologist may not have the right to access materials. If a letter written from Mr. A to Mrs B is personal it should be kept personal. This would extend from the contents to the way in which it is produced, if the form it takes can give away information. This would mean that specimens would be provided with the permission of the writer, in which case the element of spontaneity in handwriting samples may be lost.
In 1992 a law on recruitment and individual liberties, the so-called “loi Aubry” (see Huteau 2004: 27) was issued. It stipulated that the candidate for a job must be informed of the methods that are used in regard to him, and that these methods should be “pertinent to the aims”.
In Finland a law on the protection of privacy at work was passed in 2000. The law stipulates that an employee can be tested, with his/her consent, to find the appropriate skills to perform | 1.851026 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
the relevant tasks. The employer must ascertain that the testing methods are reliable, the tests are performed by competent professionals and the information obtained is correct (Eronen 2002).
However in criminal investigations there may not be an option to ask, for example in a hunt for unknown offenders who have left handwritten evidence. A case from Indonesia is also relevant, here police believe that through graphology, they will be able to detect latent personality disorders that could indicate a propensity for violence toward others, particularly if armed. Police in Jakarta plan to conduct psychiatric evaluations to determine whether a potential gun owner might have a tendency toward psychopathic, paranoidal or sadistic behaviour and could therefore represent a danger to public safety. They plan to analyze the handwriting of each first-time applicant as well as gun owners seeking to renew their licenses (Komandjaja 2005).
Although graphology may not be directly affected by copyright, Article 9 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is multi-faceted. If "everyone has the right to freedom of thought", and graphology is able to uncover such thoughts, to articulate them and identify individuals concerned, then that freedom could be affected.
Graphology can be used in marriage guidance, even pre-marriage compatibility. The same technique is also adapted to business partnership compatibility. Where analyses take place on two or more individuals there are privacy implications when sharing information between the people concerned and this must be addressed at the specimen collection stage.
In relation to the
Specimen transfer from client to the
graphologist the European Code of Ethics item 10 states that the graphologist
shall refuse to work on documents transmitted by fax or photocopied, because
these processes alter the quality of the handwriting trait. 5. Analysis by graphologist
The ADEG Code of Ethics item 10 states “that the graphologist shall undertake not to use the documents or the information in his possession for the purpose of causing harm to others. Being the sole judge of the worth of the documents submitted to him, he shall be able to refuse to provide an analysis without having to give any reason for doing so.”
European Code of Ethics item 08 “The work undertaken by the graphologist concerning the person imposes the respect of moral and professional values. The graphologist must safeguard, at all times, his independence, integrity and sense of humanity. He must not be influenced by any prejudice in respect of sex, race, politics, social class or religion.” But could the graphologist be influenced by the physical being?
This returns us to the issue of medical diagnosis; a controversial subject for graphologists. There is a school of thought advocating that graphologists must understand how physical (and mental) health is reflected in handwriting to avoid erroneous interpretation about personality. A book was published in the 1980s in an attempt to assist graphologists to see this distinction (Toomey 1984). Yet most codes of conduct state that graphologists should avoid the area unless they are qualified medical doctors. Let us remember the precise words of the European Code item 06: "The graphologist shall abstain from issuing diagnoses in fields reserved to the medical profession”. The Italian AGP code adopts the European code but adds other fields; namely the field of psychiatry and psychology.
If those that are knowledgeable in this area notice a medical problem that needs to be tended to by a medical doctor, what should they do? To alert the client or writer may give rise to unwarranted worry, and invasion of privacy, to avoid mentioning it may be seen, in law, as neglect. Here is an ethical dilemma.
Report writing gives the graphologist an opportunity to
be selective about which observations are mentioned and which are not. European
Code of Ethics item 09 states that in every analysis, “the graphologist shall
remain tactful and discreet. Furthermore in work concerned with the selection of
personnel, he shall avoid touching upon the aspects of the writer's personality
which are not related to the criteria of the position to be filled. His language
must remain clear, prudent and unambiguous. In his work, he must be completely
impartial and refuse to provide any analysis of 'accommodation'.” The Report is then communicated to the client, and the
European Code of Ethics item 11 states that the graphologist shall respect the
laws of his country regarding the person and, in particular professional
secrecy, which must be respected verbally as well as in the circulation of
documents. This is very similar to the BAoG Code of Ethics 1 Sept 1991 item 18
and the SFDG item 10 which says that the graphologist is bound by professional
secrecy, which must be maintained both verbally and in the transmission of
documents. It goes further and states that the analyses sent to the possessors
of documents must not bear any device which identifies the writer by name.
Interestingly the Swiss code (SS | 2.038528 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
G/SGG) states that the graphologist’s name must
appear.
The European Code item 12 continues by stating that the results shall be exclusively sent to the person who made the request.
Action is taken by the client and this clearly
changes depending on the reason for using graphology. Two aspects of the analysis and report are worth considering. One is
the ownership of the specimen; the other is the ownership of the report.
Copyright laws give some indications on ownership of specimens. Between 1989 and 1991 Diana, Princess of Wales wrote 64 letters to James Hewitt. He kept these “love letters” safely in his home but in April 1998, Anna Ferretti, his former fiancée, took the letters from his possession. They were given to the Mirror newspaper, which passed them to Kensington Palace. Hewitt issued High Court proceedings for recovery of the letters, which were returned to him in February 1999. The rights in private correspondence were thus brought into focus by this celebrated case. For copyright law, any original letter is a literary work. The copyright in a letter belongs to the author and not the receiver. There are exceptions: if a letter is written to a newspaper there may be an implied licence to publish, although copyright remains with the author. Another pertinent exception is where a letter is written in the course of employment. Here the copyright would belong to the employer, not the employee.
In layman's words, the content of a letter belongs to the writer, but what about the physical letter itself? It is established law that the property in the paper on which the letter is written passes to the receiver. So if I receive a letter from you I can destroy it, keep it and I can recover it if someone takes it from me. This is why Hewitt could demand the return of the letters from Kensington Palace. However, the copyright rests with the Princess's Estate, so Hewitt has no right to publish "a substantial part of" any of the letters.
The analysis is a different
matter: the Swiss Code of the SSG/SGG states that the analysis belongs to the
client. This is also the case in the European Code of Ethics: “The
legitimate owner of a document shall be the sole person responsible for the
subsequent use of the analysis” (item
12).
The graphologist is like an
art critic who describes the implications of a picture and the artistic approach
used. To date there are few restrictions placed on art critics describing a
painting and making profound observations about an artist's outlook. The
commentator is in no way copying the work or taking possession of the physical
entity. Report storage. The report is stored by the client (and
the graphologist), so it is useful to note that the European Code of Ethics item
13 states that the graphologist shall not communicate or publish texts,
or analyses thereof, without the agreement of the interested party or the owner
of the document.
In law most countries citizens have the right of access, modification, rectification and suppression of information concerning themselves, this is usually by a simple written request to the holder of records. There is a problem in doing this when graphology is used as a flash or in mass-sorting. One form of reporting is known as the “quick analyses”, sometimes known by the term “Flash-Grapho”, here an instant judgement is made. This “flash” is communicated swiftly by telephone or fax or email. It may be as simple as a recommendation to consider the candidate as Interesting/Possible/Not appropriate. Another method is mass sorting of numerous application forms, here individual portraits are not created but a sorting procedure is used. This would involve a massive administrative task to allocate records to each job applicant (the average job advert attracts hundreds of applications).
In France citizens have the right of access, modification, rectification and suppression of information concerning themselves thanks to the law "Informatique et libertés" (CNIL). In the UK this is explicit in the Data Protection Act. These do not mention the fact that graphological reports should be available to employees, but Swiss guidelines do mention graphology.
Successful job applicants in Switzerland can expect employers
to keep their graphological report with their personnel files. The Swiss Federal
Data Protection Commissioner (SDP) guidelines say that an employee can view and
have a copy of their graphological report. Interestingly the graphologist's
identity can be hidden.
(See: http://www.edsb.ch). This appears in the Swiss Graphology Code (SSG/SGG) which states that the analysis must be made available to the writer, either by the client or by the graphologist. The SSG/SGG code goes further and specifies that the writer can receive, without monetary charge, a copy of the analysis from the client.
A document by Helen Baron, writing for SHL, a Psychometric Test company says “Individuals do change and | 1.89495 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
develop and so psychometric data can become less accurate over time. Care should be taken with results over 6-12 months old for selection purposes. Little reliance should be put on results over three years old for any purpose.” Ms Baron suggests destroying records older than three years. The same thing should apply to graphology. Perhaps employers should be given a warning when delivering a report, perhaps a 'health warning' on the life of analyses should be issued.
At some point the Graphological Report is destroyed
by the client and the graphologist. Here the Swiss Federal Data Protection
Commissioner (SDP) has another clear guideline; it says that graphological
reports must be destroyed by companies who do not employ candidates. For those
who were employed, at the termination of employment the graphological report
must be destroyed. (Guidelines 4.4 see:
http://www.edsb.ch).
The SSG/SGG code is slightly different, it states that: if the writer wishes,
member graphologists, in agreement with the client, must destroy the analysis
after the investigation has come to an end.
It has been stated that the European Code has found its way into other codes. Regardless of the relationship between ADEG and the bodies that have adapted the code, from an ethical point of view there is an irony here. Whilst it is commendable to adopt the highest possible standards, is it ethical to take a code of ethics without attributing the source? Additionally: is it ethical to use a code, thereby implying that the source endorses the organisation in question?
On careful inspection of these codes we discover words or parts omitted, slight variations in wording and additional material; it must be said that modification, just by a few words can alter the spirit and create ambiguity. Alternatively we can see these as defects in the European Code. The observations of Lievens (1996) that the ADEG code does not consider the rights of the person being analysed graphologically was correct, but a decade later we see that Data Privacy initiatives have rectified this imbalance.
There are good arguments for self-regulation because practitioners can interpret their specialist field better than outside legislators. However what price is paid by people who do not follow the law or do not follow the advice laid down by other professionals? If we turn away from graphology to the field of advertising Drumwright et al (2004) showed that advertisers have various stances in regard to ethics: these include ignoring them, or passing responsibilities for ethics to someone else. The European Code for graphology item 14 states that “each association or grouping of graphologists, having signed this Code of Ethics, shall undertake to ensure that it is respected and applied by all their qualified members. Offences shall be dealt with by the disciplinary board of each association or grouping of the co-signatory countries”. In the case where other bodies adopt the codes, and change them, it can be said that the originals are weaker and less efficient. These are issues upon which we can reflect.
One thing is extremely clear, graphology can no longer be seen as a “secret weapon” for clandestine use, the graphologist must be fully “transparent”, particularly in regard to the person being analysed. This should be seen as an opportunity. Perhaps we are entering a new phase whereby graphologists can offer graphological services to both employer and potential employee. This enables writers to have a better knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. The employer will make a positive contribution to society, something that is expected from the corporate entity.
Notes
4. Thanks to Sabina Maffei for translation assistance.
5. This paper was prepared for the International Graphology Conference, Milan, Italy, 22 May 2005. Copyright 2005 Nigel Bradley
6. Le scripteur doit donner son accord en vue de l’analyse graphologique http://www.sgg-graphologie.ch/fr/protection.html
7. Die Schriftautorin/der Schriftautor muss ihr/sein Einverständnis zur Analyse der Handschrift geben. http://www.sgg-graphologie.ch/de/datenschutz.html
8. The Code de Travail. Most French texts concerning the law of employment have been collected together in a document called the Labour Code (Code de Travail). The first Labour Code was introduced between 1920 and 1927; the current one dates from 1973 but is continuously updated. See http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnCode?code=CTRAVAIL.rcv
Bibliography
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Lievens, Stefan (1996) Evaluation of the European Code of
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International Congress on Graphology. The Hague 20-21 Sept 1996 119-136
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Merletti, Francesco (1980,1990,2005) Etica Professionale. IGM, Urbino
Millevolte, Alessandra (1988) Graphology of vocational guidance in Italy: Methodological and ethical criteria in: Carmi & Schneider: Experiencing Graphology, pp.401-414
Rizzola & Nanni (1991) Graphology in intuition, science and conscience. Cognitive possibility and ethical behaviour of the graphologist (title translated from Italian original) Minerva Psichiatrica (Jul-Sep), 32(3):193-199
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Sitography
ADEG Codes
http://www.graphology.co.uk/adeg.html
http://www.graphologie.asso.fr/html/txt/deontologie.htm
http://www.graphologie-asso.be/adeg.htm
http://www.grafservice.it/public/codice_deont.htm
http://www.grafologia.bz/agc/docs/agccdees.htm
BAOG Code
http://www.graphology.co.uk/ethics.html
GGCF Code
http://www.ggcf.fr/codededeont.htm
AGP Code
http://www.grafologiprofessionisti.com/deontologia.htm
Société Suisse
de Graphologie SSG
http://www.sgg-graphologie.ch
EGS/SEPS/SEG/ESHP
http://www.graphologie | 1.729855 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Arbaeen (Arbayeen) means "forty" in Arabic, or Chehlum, as it is known by Urdu-speaking Muslims, is a Shia religious observation that occurs 40 days after the Day of Ashura (Aashura/Ashurah), the commemoration of the martyrdom by beheading of Imam Husayn Ibn Ali (as), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) which falls on the 20th day of the second month of the Islamic Lunar Calendar called as Safar. Imam Husayn Ibn Ali (as) and 72 supporters died in the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (680 CE). Forty days is the usual length of the time of mourning in many Islamic cultures.
Number forty is mystic in Theosophy. According to the Islamic culture if someone practices a good deed constantly during forty days, it would be his inseparable attribute and lead to descending of Allah's blessing. In some religions forty days and forty nights praying has been special position.
When Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) prayed forty nights; found the ability to hear the words of Allah (SWT), "And when We appointed a time of forty nights with Musa, then you took the calf (for a god) after him and you were unjust." [Glorious Quran 2:51]
Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, "Whoever dedicates himself to Allah (SWT) for forty days, will find springs of wisdom sprout out of his heart and flow on his tongue."
Commemorating of the fortieth day of deeds by their family and giving alms is one of the common customs among some of the Muslims.
The 40th [Arbaeen (Arbayeen) or Chehlum] marks an important turning point in the movement of Karbala (Kerbala). This day, which is no less important to the day of Ashura (Aashura/Ashurah) is important for many reasons - the prime being that the Ahlul Bayt reached the land of Karbala on this day and performed the visitation to Sayyid ash-Shuhada al-Husayn (as) and the loyal family and friends who gave their life for the cause of Islam.
Although the historians differ on when this event transpired; some say it was in the same year of the massacre in Karbala in the year 61 AH, whilst other say it was in the following year 62 AH. Whatever the case, the atrocities and difficulties which the family of Prophet Muhammad (saw) was put through in the court of Yazid and the long ride to Karbala culminated on the 20th of Safar on the empty plains of Karbala.
According to most widely accepted traditions, the family of Prophet Muhammad (saw) remained in captivity for about a year in Damascus by Yazid, the Umayyad Caliph. After one year when the ruler of Shaam (Syria) were forced to release them, Bibi Zainab (sa) said to Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn as-Sajjad (as) that she wanted to go back to Karbala to mourn his brother and all the martyrs of Karbala. The same was desired by other women of this caravan and Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn as-Sajjad (as) directed them towards Karbala.
The grave of Imam Husayn Ibn Ali (as) was not desolate as some may expect. Rather, as the Ahlul Bayt were approaching Karbala, there were a few people already at the grave, marking his martyrdom with tears. The individual, who had been a companion of Prophet Muhammad (saw) - Jabir ibne Abdullah al-Ansari (who at this point was blind) - along with his assistant (Atiyya bin Saad), had made the trek from Madina to the place of martyrdom of his Imam and master, Imam Husayn Ibn Ali (as). Jabir ibne Abdullah al-Ansari (ra) called out to his Imam, "I testify that you are the son of the Seal of the Prophets, the son of the Master of the Faithful, the son of the inseparable ally of piety, the descendant of guidance." His servant, Atiyya bin Saad noted to him that he could see a caravan of people in the distance and they were approaching this sacred site. As they approached, they realized that this was none other than the caravan of present Imam, Ali ibn al-Husayn as-Sajjad (as) with the other family members and assistants!
The historians note that at this point, Jabir ibne Abdullah al-Ansari (ra) and his assistant, Atiyya bin Saad, moved out of the way so that | 1.332556 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
the women of the Ahlul Bayt and the others could show their grief at the sacred grave in privacy and according to reports, the heads of the martyrs were also buried at this point in time - as before leaving Shaam (Syria), they were given back the sacred heads of the martyrs.
According to a famous saying of Imam Hasan Askari (as) - there are five characteristics of a Momin (faithful):
Performing fifty-one (51) Rakaat Prayer (Salat) during the day and night in 24 hours;
Recitation of Ziarat-E-Imam Husayn (as) on the 40th day of his martyrdom (20th of Safar) called as Ziyarat-E-Arbaeen;
Wearing Aqeeq Ring in the right hand;
To put the forehead on the earth (preferably on the earth of Karbala, Khak-E-Shifa) in prostration (Sajda); and
To pronounce "Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem" in clear and loud voice while praying the Salat.
Fajr - 2 Wajib and 2 Nafl,
Zuhr - 4 Wajib and 8 Nafl,
Asr - 4 Wajib and 8 Nafl,
Maghrib - 3 Wajib and 4 Nafl,
Ishaa - 4 Wajib and 1 Nafl (2 Rakaat in sitting position counted as 1 Rakaat),
Namaz-e-Shab or Tahajjud - 11 Rakaat Sunnat
The occasion of Arbaeen (Arbayeen) or Chehlum reminds the faithful of the core message behind Imam Husayn's martyrdom: establishing justice and fighting injustice, no matter what its incarnation - a message that strongly influenced subsequent Shia uprisings against the tyranny of Umayyad and Abbasid rule.
These forty days are a suitable opportunity for people to develop the love of Imam Husayn (as) and hate his murderers, in their hearts. Forty consecutive days, from Ashura up to Arbaeen, also is a national ceremony of aversion announcement from oppressors of the history.
O Husayn, commemoration of your revolution from Ashura up to Arbaeen makes the world pay attention to the message of the resurrection. Ashura is martyrdom day of the history makers and Arbaeen is pilgrimage day of Ashura makers.
Arbaeen philosophy shows itself, and we can teach martyrdom lesson from this class and prepare ourselves in order to help our master Imam Mahdi (as) [May Allah hasten his reappearance].
As a sign of loyalty to the martyrs, we have been ordered to recite the Ziyarat of Arbaeen on the day of Arbaeen.
Why is so much importance given to the performance of the Ziyarat-E-Arbaeen and the observance of Arbaeen (40 days of mourning)?
Ziyarat, as we all know is a visitation, which in essence, is the act of speaking with and visiting our role models. Of course the physical manifestation of the Ziyarat is actually being present in Karbala to perform the Ziyarat-E-Arbaeen, but, in reality, that is not possible for every believer. So, does making Ziyarat while not in Karbala give one the same benefits? Ahadith tell us that performing the Ziyarat of Imam Husayn (as) far from Karbala would hold the same significance as being in the land of Karbala, as long as the person performing the Ziyarat has truly understood the status of the Imam Husayn (as) and seeks to emulate him.
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (as) states that the heavens wept over Imam Husayn (as) for forty mornings, rising red and setting red. As we complete 40 days of remembrance of our Imam, we re-assert our pledge of obedience and loyalty to him,
"I bear witness that you are the Imam (who is) the upright, the pious, well-pleased (with Allah), the pure, the guide and the rightly-guided. I bear witness that you fulfilled the pledge of Allah and you struggled in His way.I am a friend of whoever befriends him ..."
By performing the Ziyarat-E-Arbaeen, we pledge that we will continue to follow the path of justice and righteousness and will reject injustice and speak up against the oppressors of the time; I am an enemy of whoever is his enemy...
In essence, we make a promise to continue to mold our lives according to the teaching of Imam Husayn (as). But why is it that we mourn and remember Imam Husayn (as) for a period of forty days and then move on?
Our Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said, " | 1.564257 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
The earth mourns the death of a believer for forty mornings." Therefore it appears that the deceased should be remembered and mourned over for a period of forty days. Performing an act for a continuous period of forty days is also known to help one to not just form a habit, but also to carry on the practice for the rest of his life.
If we look at studies dealing with bringing a lifestyle change, we notice the time period emphasized to bring about a change is usually 6 weeks which is about the same time period as 40 days (to be exact it is 42 days).
In the book 40 Days to Personal Revolution: A Breakthrough Program to Radically Change Your Body and Awaken the Sacred Within Your Soul, the author Baron Baptiste explains the significance of forty days:
Why forty days? Because the number 40 holds tremendous spiritual significance in the realm of transformation. Jesus wandered in the desert for forty days in order to experience purification and come to a greater understanding of himself and his mission. Moses and his people traveled through the desert for forty years before arriving at their home in the holy land. Noah preserved the sacredness of life by sailing his ark for forty days and forty nights. According to the Kabbalah, the ancient Jewish mystical text, it takes forty days to ingrain any new way of being into our system...
Reciting particular Duas for a period of 40 days is highly recommended in our practices as well. The unit 40 (forty) is said to be very effective. If a particular Dua is recited 40 times, or 40 people gather to recite it, or it is recited for 40 days then its effectiveness is highly increased.
It is reported from Imam Jaffer Sadiq (as) that whoever recites Dua-E-Ahad for forty days, after morning prayers will be amongst the helpers of the 12th Imam Mahdi (as). Visitation of the shrine of Imam Husayn (as) as well as Masjid-E-Sahla for 40 consecutive Thursdays is also very highly recommended and is one of the acts that promises a visit from the 12th Imam Mahdi (as).
Thus, as we perform the Ziyarat-E-Arbaeen and commemorate the Arba'een, 40 days of mourning of Imam Husayn (as), we hope and pray that this forty days of remembrance of Imam Husayn (as), brings about a transformation in us by which we can continue to follow the path of Imam Husayn (as) and carry on his message of upholding justice with true faith and a strong sense of sacrifice!This policy report highlights the essential role that public-private partnerships play in driving global health product development and offers insights into the key components of successful multi-sector partnerships led by PATH. For examples of our European public-private partnerships, see
Public-Private Partnerships for Global Health: PATH's Collaborations With European Partners.
Corporate author(s): PATH
Publication date: March 2013
Available materials English Some digital files may be saved at low resolutions to conserve file size. Versions with higher quality may be available; see the contact information below to enquire.
Related regions: Global
See also:
About PATH's work > Advancing technologies For advocates and policymakers > Advocacy strategy For advocates and policymakers > Public-private partnerships Health technologies > Safe injection Health technologies > Vaccine delivery For more information…
Contact: PATH Publications
Email: publications@path.org Mailing address: PATH, PO Box 900922, Seattle, WA 98109 USA | 1.518518 | 750 | 748 |
Last week the people of Newmarket, New Hampshire voted on whether or not to build a new junior / senior high school. The building is now 89 years old and because of fire and safety issues a new school is mandated. The school now houses grades 6 through 12. The State of New Hampshire decided years ago to eliminate any aid to their towns in order to replace old schools. They did this because budgets would not allow any more deficit spending. In other words, the state like many other states decided it was more important to save money today in order to not allow their children to have to pick up the debt in their future. The vote lost by a small margin but wasn't near the necessary 60% in order to pass the bond that would allow the school to be built.
This concept mirrors many that are now plaguing the future of our society. Many in both state and federal governments feel it is important to stop any spending that would inflate the already inflated state and national debts. They want to balance their budgets today in order to not have deficits tomorrow. The question I have is what will be left for our children in a tomorrow that hasn't taken care of its present?
For example our vast highway system that was built during the Eisenhower Administration after World War II is eroding to a point it will soon not be able to handle the traffic it was never meant to handle. By the way, a large deficit was created because of this construction but our past leaders knew it was important to employ the young men and women who returned from a war that saved all of our freedoms. Our bridges are no longer hinting they are ready to collapse because they are now collapsing killing innocent neighbors. In 2012, the I-35 Bridge in Minnesota did just that. Every time I drive over the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge between Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, Maine I say a little prayer as I view its deeply rusted and pitted structure.
Our gas mains are also feeling the effect of age. A few weeks ago in Harlem, New York at least six people were killed when an old water line collapsed into a gas line literally blowing up two buildings. It is said that most of the gas lines have been replaced in NYC but my primary question concerns the concept of "most"? Also how old are the water lines. Are we now in the midst of saving money for our present by hurting and even killing the people who no longer have a future? Sewer lines are another present problem that should be replaced. Why do our government officials insist we are not able to accomplish this because we don't want to have our children carry the expenses of their parents? What will our children do if they have no means of discarding their own waste?
One of the greatest problems we have in our present world is our electrical and computer grid. If we continue to put off necessary updates to an integral part of our society that creates our life style how can we expect our children to have the same quality of life in their future? If the rest of the world continues to invest in their future while we continue to state we can't afford the necessary expense it is obvious we are going to be left behind.
Now lets get back to the issue of education. For as long as I can remember my society always lead the world in innovation and technology. I was glued to my television with all of my peers with mouths opened watching as the heroes of our time circled the planet, went to the moon, and had visions of capturing the stars. Today our programs are being cut because our politicians state we can't afford it. We can't afford to pay for the future of our children' dreams. In education we spend millions of dollars attempting to increase the motivation of our students. How the hell can one do that when they tell our children they can't afford their future because of attempting to pay the debts of our today? I, and many ask, without our future why would we bother to care about our present?
Last week the people of Newmarket, New Hampshire voted on whether or not to build a new junior / senior high school. The vote failed, which means we all failed. I just pray we never stop trying to succeed.
Jim Fabiano is a teacher and writer living in York, Maine | 1.842832 | 871 | 870 |
Hurricanes can physically cool coral reefs but they can also save them, by cooling the surrounding ocean and reversing the effects of bleaching.
In 2005, corals in the large reef off the coast of Florida were saved by four hurricanes. Tropical storms seem to be unlikely heroes for any living thing. Indeed, coral reefs directly in the way of a hurricane, or even up to 90km from its centre, suffer serious physical damage. But Derek Manzello from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administation has found that corals just outside the storm’s path reap an unexpected benefit.
Hurricanes can significantly cool large stretches of ocean as they pass overhead, by drawing up cooler water from the sea floor. And this cooling effect, sometimes as much as 5°C, provides corals with valuable respite from the effects of climate change.
Rising temperatures, dying corals
As the globe warms, the temperature of its oceans rises and that causes serious problems for corals. Their wellbeing depends on a group of algae called zooxanthellae that live among their limestone homes and provide them with energy from photosynthesis. At high temperatures, the corals eject the majority of these algae, leaving them colourless and starving.
These ‘bleached’ corals are living on borrowed time. If conditions don’t improve, they fail to recover their algae and eventually die. But if the water starts to cool again, they bounce back, and Manzello found that hurricanes can help them to do this.
Together with scientists from the Universities of Miami and the US Virgin Islands, he measured the extent of bleaching in reefs off Florida and the US Virgin Islands over the course of 2005.
By September, both reefs were suffering from equal amounts of bleaching. But while the situation continued to worsen in the storm-free Virgin Islands, the advent of four hurricanes in Florida turned the tide in the reefs’ favour.
Hurricanes vs bleaching
The storms – Dennis, Rita, Wilma and the infamous Katrina – each left behind an imprint of cooler water and the seas within 400km of their paths cooled by up to 3.2°C and stayed that way for up to 40 days. Two weeks after the fourth hurricane, Wilma, had passed, the corals had almost completely recovered.
Manzello’s study shows that the benefits of hurricanes on coral reefs can sometimes outweigh the localised physical wear and tear they cause. The question now is whether this is an isolated incident or a common occurrence.
Manzello isn’t sure. Based on the numbers of bleaching events and hurricane landfalls in Florida since the 19
th century, the odds of both happening at the same time (as in 2005) is about one in seven. But the actual probability is likely to be higher especially since the same factors that cause bleaching, such as warmer water, also encourage the growth of hurricanes.
Even so, it would be extremely foolish to expect hurricanes to bail corals out completely – only conservation projects and addressing rising temperatures can do that.
Reference: Manzello, Brandt, Smith, Lirma, Hendee & Nemeth. 2007. Hurricanes benefit bleached corals. PNAS doi.10.1073/pnas.0701194104. Related posts on the hidden effects of climate change: Icebergs are hotspots for life Human nitrogen emissions indirectly capture carbon by fertilising forests When the heat is on, male dragons become females Climate change responsible for decline of Costa Rican amphibians and reptiles isn’t a bad moon phase for hunters, either.)
That’s what this second week is all about in Maine, trying to do everything right and praying for luck.
Ken Allen of Belgrade Lakes is a writer, editor and photographer. He can be contacted at: | 1.530176 | 796 | 794 |
Marketing Transformation Signalled in Accenture’s CMO Insights Report
Accenture’s latest CMO Insights Report is an interesting read for anyone focused on the evolution of marketing strategies and practices. 37% of the 400+ respondents were B2C companies, 37% B2B2C and 26% B2B meaning we can take a certain level of confidence in what the results are telling us about the B2C space we are so passionate about.
In an industry synonymous with fast and furious innovation, it’s not surprising that CMOs feel less prepared to meet their marketing objectives in terms of people, tools and resources than they did in 2011. However, the need for growth and efficiency is now deemed more important than the need to cut costs according to the report which will be music to any cash-strapped marketer’s ears. This is a strong marker in our view that the challenges, opportunities and commercial realities of the marketing department are being better understood and supported than they might have been previously. Considering that the report also tells us that attracting and retaining customers to increase sales is getting more difficult, marketers are going to need the support of the rest of the business to continue to deliver.
Looking at how CMOs are going to address these challenges, new strategies deemed important to the respondents include synchronising the customer experience from marketing to sales to service, ensuring agility and relevance, along with incorporating real-time impacts brought about by data and technology. We know from experience that the value of real-time marketing cannot be underestimated. At its simplest, in this fast-moving digital universe, consumers expect any appetite to be satisfied immediately, and may well go elsewhere if a brand cannot or will not deliver according to their schedule. Another strategy that will continue to drive growth in the CMO’s marketing programmes is through closing the gaps between different channels. Consumers are driving the evolution of a more seamless marketing experience across both online and offline media and marketers obviously understand the need to keep up.
One of the most interesting areas of the report for us was the insights into the marketing ecosystem that exists around CMOs and client-side marketing programmes. 45-75% of activities were found to be managed by either digital agencies, marketing service providers or specialised agencies. Outside suppliers and partners can bring in a wealth of specialist skills and knowledge as well as being an additional resource that can be bolted-on whenever required so this makes a lot of sense. Working with partners comes with its own set of challenges though – such as execution and delivery – which the report found to be weakest in the minds of 64% of CMOs queried. The distance at which the ecosystem has to operate is likely to be partly responsible for this, but at the same time it is important that all companies working with end brands really dig in and understand the realities according to their clients. We work both with client-side marketers and their agency suppliers and know that each type has different needs and challenges on top of the unique facets of each individual brand.
Regardless of current digital challenges, CMOs are clear that digital is the future. 66% will allocate over 25% of their budgets to digital this year, with a particular focus on customer experience, data and analytics. There is also going to be rampant change ahead for all marketers, but especially those focused on B2C as we are. 71% of CMOs in the B2C space believe there will be fundamental changes in the next 5 years in areas including the marketing operating model, the development of internal skills, aligning with the right partners and driving digital throughout their organisations. As we face these changes together as an industry those that can work together, understand each other’s perspectives and provide real solutions to marketing’s growth trajectory and associated challenges will be the ones that prosper in this exciting new world.
Take a look at the report linked above, or the infographic that sums up the findings superbly, and let us know in the comments section how this stacks up with your experiences.
The best way to see the amazing power of Lead Intelligence and learn more about how it could transform your performance marketing is to see it for yourself. | 1.888357 | 851 | 850 |
Tens of thousands of Ontario teachers will likely see their wages frozen and their benefits cut this year as the province’s cash-strapped Liberals swung a legislative hammer Monday to battle a $15-billion deficit.
The minority government introduced a controversial bill that would force new contracts on teachers and school workers, as well as give the Liberals the power to ban lockouts and strikes.
It will likely become law, as the Progressive Conservatives have agreed to help pass the legislation.
But the price may be steep for Ontario’s self-described “education premier,” whose austerity efforts have alienated influential groups whose support — both political and financial — has helped the Liberals hold on to power for nine years.
It may cost Premier Dalton McGuinty his shot at a majority government in two potentially game-changing by-elections set for Sept. 6, with the unions channelling their efforts to defeat the Liberals.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, which represents 76,000 teachers, said it’s calling on teachers to volunteer in the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo, which was previously held by the Tories.
“Let’s be honest, there’s no option for us here,” said union president Sam Hammond.
“Our members are pointing in the direction they want to go, and our members across this province feel absolutely betrayed by this government based on the work and the partnership that we’ve had since 2003.”
The Liberals want the bill passed before the end of the week, saying it’s the only way to ensure labour peace before students head back to the classroom.
But the unions and the New Democrats insist the school year was never in jeopardy and say the Liberals are creating a crisis in a desperate bid for a majority.
A few hours before the bill was introduced, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation announced it was postponing strike votes that the education minister had used to bolster her argument that job action was imminent.
The federation is making progress bargaining with school boards and won’t need to go ahead with the votes unless a board seeks conciliation, said president Ken Coran.
The bill simply isn’t necessary because the school year was never in jeopardy, he said.
“We said from Day 1 that our teachers, our educational workers would be in the classrooms,” Mr. Coran said.
“They were using the strike vote as maybe a bit of leverage to confuse the public, that is certainly not the case, it was never the case. So by postponing the strike votes, I think the message is very clear that we’re sincere about our position.”
But the other two unions are making no promises, with strike votes starting in mid-September. They’ve also planned a rally Tuesday at Queen’s Park to protest the legislation.
They said there will be no labour disruptions this fall, but aren’t ruling out job action later in the year. Teachers can also decide not to volunteer for extracurricular activities, such as coaching sports teams.
Union hopes to prevent the legislation from being tabled were dashed last week when the Conservatives lent their support to the bill.
The new alliance has prompted plenty of grandstanding from the Tories and Liberals, who are both claiming credit for the austerity measures.
Opposition Leader Tim Hudak said the Liberals have finally seen the light on legislated wage freezes after months of Tory preaching. But while he’d prefer similar legislation for all public-sector workers, he’ll take what he can get.
And while his party will press for changes to the bill, Mr. Hudak said he won’t use his clout to force the amendments, because his party prefers to stand on its principles rather than engage in horsetrading.
Mr. Hudak wouldn’t say whether his members will vote in support of the bill or remain in their seats, which would still allow it to pass.
The Liberals claimed higher ground, saying they changed the bill to reflect what the Tories wanted in the spirit of compromise. But it won’t make any difference, because they plan to impose the measures the Tories opposed — dealing with hiring procedures and diagnostic testing — through regulation instead.
While teachers, students and parents brace for the upcoming school year, it’s still unclear how quickly the legislation will wind its way through the legislature.
The Liberals recalled the legislature two weeks early to introduce the bill. If it doesn’t go through, old contracts with teachers will automatically roll over, giving them pay raises and benefits that the province can’t afford, they said.
Other provinces have run into trouble while trying to clamp down on public sector compensation.
British Columbia’s year-long labour dispute with teachers saw them refuse to perform certain administrative tasks, such as filling out report cards, as well as a three-day walkout that shut down classes.
The B.C. Liberals passed back-to-work legislation and sent the negotiations to mediation, which is now the subject of a court challenge.
Education Minister Laurel Broten said the Ontario government is confident its legislation would withstand a constitutional challenge by the unions, who have vowed to take their fight all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In 2002, the B.C. | 1.672523 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Download the PDF Version
Table of Contents
Millennial Shopping Habits and What They Mean For Retail Building Owners
What’s Next for Foreign Investment?
Private debt is the latest “soup du jour” for yield starved investors
Repurposing Old Real Estate
PErspective in Healthcare Real Estate
Millennial Shopping Habits and What They Mean For Retail Building Owners By Stuart Eisenberg, Assurance Partner
Millennials – those born roughly between 1980 and 2000 – are changing the face of retail.
They have a combined purchasing power of $2.45 trillion worldwide – $600 billion in the U.S. – and they account for almost a third of all retail sales.
Their influence is only going to grow – by 2025, they will comprise 75 percent of the workforce.
Millennials are now major consumers, but they differ from previous generations in the following ways:
Millennials know what they want.
Thrifty: Having come of age during the Great Recession, many are either underemployed or unemployed, and many have crippling student debts. They are keen bargain hunters and big users of discounts and coupons.
“NOwners”: Prizing experience over ownership, they love shopping, but see it as a form of entertainment and are often inclined to browse, but not buy. Smart retailers are turning this to their advantage and offering shoppers a fun experience. For example, H&M’s store in midtown Manhattan has a runway shoppers can walk down wearing their new clothes – they are filmed and the best videos are displayed on storefront screens.
Tech-savvy: Millennials are glued to their mobile devices and have a strong preference for brands that offer seamless integration between online and offline sales. Technology also enables retailers to engage shoppers with discounts and special offers.
Impatient: With all the world’s stores at their fingertips, millennials do not like to stand in line or wait for purchases to be delivered. This desire for instant gratification was behind an uptick in so-called click-and-collect purchases during the UK’s holiday shopping period – customers make purchases online and receive a discount when they pick up their purchase at a designated store. Some see retail stores eventually becoming more like distribution hubs, with qualified experts on hand to offer advice.
Multichannel shoppers: Millennials do more shopping online than other generations, but they also still like going to the mall. According to OpinionLab, 37 percent of millennials prefer mall shopping while only 27 percent would rather shop online. They use their phones to browse and compare prices online, but online purchases can take too long to deliver and they do still enjoy the instant gratification of purchasing in-store.
The OpinionLab survey is good news for brick-and-mortar retailers, provided they have a strong and easy-to-use website, and attractive store interiors.
In order to attract them as customers and tenants, retail building owners should consider the following options:
This article first appeared in
Interiors: Renovate and retrofit interiors to make them bright, attractive, aesthetically pleasing places to be. Install power points / charging stations in common areas, with comfortable seating and WiFi, so mall shoppers can recharge their mobile devices on the go. Rotate signage frequently to keep the center looking fresh, and include self-service kiosks to reduce line waiting times.
Tenant mix: Have a wide variety of tenants including fitness and entertainment providers so that shoppers can also work out, relax and socialize. Include value-oriented retailers such as dollar stores, thrift stores, and drug stores. Pet stores are also a draw for millennials, who have tended to put off marriage and children, but do have a fondness for pets and pet accessories.
Co-locate: Millennials like to live in dense, mixed use, walkable urban neighborhoods close to offices, shops and entertainment. Malls in downtown neighborhoods that offer a range of shopping and entertainment options will be a sure draw for the millennial customer.
PopUps. Once an oddity, PopUp stores are becoming more common. Short-term leases – often lasting just a couple of weeks – are a way to increase mall occupancy, provide new and online stores with a temporary storefront to increase their brand awareness, and provide shoppers with a new and different experience each time they visit. Real Estate Weekly.
Stuart Eisenberg is a Partner and National Real Estate Industry Practice Leader at BDO USA, LLP. He can be reached at 212-885-8431.
What’s Next for Foreign Investment? By Anthony La Malfa, Assurance Partner
As a whole, foreign investment in U.S. commercial real estate is on the rise, totaling $45 billion in 2014, according to research firm Real Capital Analytics
. This marks the highest level of investment in the industry since 2007. Even despite low oil prices and a strong U.S. dollar that has hurt exports in other industries, foreign investment in commercial real estate is only expected to grow throughout this year as international investors continue to be attracted by | 1.662539 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
the stability real estate assets offer. According to the United Realty/Zogby Real Estate Confidence Index for the fourth quarter of 2014, about 60 percent of 113 institutional real-estate professionals surveyed said they anticipate a significant increase in foreign investment.
Who Are the Leaders of the Foreign Commercial Real Estate Investment Pack?
Investments from Canada, Norway and China have been most significant, reports
World Property Journal
. While we’ve seen investment from nations across the globe, including emerging markets like Singapore and some Middle Eastern nations, these three players are currently pumping the most capital into U.S. commercial real estate and REITs. Canada was the largest buyer of U.S. real estate in 2014 with 26 percent of direct foreign investment, followed by Norway and China, with 12 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Their dollars are primarily being allocated towards “trophy assets,” as well as “gateway” markets. For example, the Government Pension Fund of Norway, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, recently closed on its purchase of a 45 percent stake in a 40-story skyscraper at 11 Times Square in Manhattan for $401.9 million, a deal that valued the 1.1 million square foot property at $1,273 a square foot, according to reports from
The Wall Street Journal
.
Strong Demand for “Safe” Investments
Despite a stronger dollar, foreign investors are not shying away from U.S. commercial real estate as they continue to have an appetite for these hard assets thanks to low interest rates and strengthening property fundamentals. Foreign investors are attracted to the safety U.S. properties afford, especially when they might be experiencing financial distress in their own countries coupled with a weakening of currency.
Especially appealing to foreign investors are traditional “gateway” markets, like New York, Washington, Southern California, and Southern Florida. “Trophy assets” in these markets often come with consistent rent rolls and predictable streams of net cash flow. They are also considered more secure because the market is large, relatively liquid, and consistent over time. From a liquidity perspective, assets in these markets are easier to sell, which is beneficial for the foreign investor who is typically interested in the long-term holding versus the immediate return.
Foreign investors are also demonstrating an interest in secondary U.S. markets, such as Atlanta, Seattle and San Diego. For example, Bahrain-based Investcorp acquired a portfolio of multi-family communities in the metropolitan areas of Washington, Orlando, San Diego and Baltimore for $300 million. While these markets may not always be considered as safe as gateway markets, they offer investors an alternative with potentially higher returns than the gateway markets in which availability is limited due to high demand.
Investment in Central Business Spaces Indicates Strength in Office Real Estate Market
Foreign capital acquired $17 billion in U.S. office space assets in 2014, making up 45 percent of all foreign investment in U.S. commercial real estate, and this trend could continue throughout 2015. Of these investments, most were in central business district (CBD) spaces. And New York and Boston are the leading markets for foreign office investment. Testament to this is that in January, the Canadian investment firm Ivanhoe Cambridge bought the office building 3 Bryant Park from Blackstone for $2.2 billion
.
As in 2014, the first quarter of 2015 experienced year-over-year increases in both net absorption and rental rates for CBD office space, although the increases were somewhat subdued. The slower increases were partially due to seasonality and, with respect to absorption, partially due to new available space. As companies try to cater to the growing numbers of millennials in the workforce, the lack of demand for suburban office space has contributed to the strong performance of CBD office space. Therefore, it is noteworthy that the end of 2014 saw an uptick in foreign investment in suburban office space as well, indicating interest in office properties across the board, despite the trend toward centralized business space.
Foreign Investors Getting in On Ground-Floor Of Major Development Projects
The development landscapes of primary markets in the U.S. have long been dominated by local players, such as private-equity funds or pension funds. Wealthy foreign investors, including sovereign funds looking to shift funds away from oil markets, are now outbidding these traditional players, according to
The Wall Street Journal
.
They’re drawn by the potential for higher investment returns compared to an existing property and are less risk-averse than traditional players. While established, fully leased commercial real estate properties are safe investments and appealing, many foreign investors are enticed by potential for higher returns. There has been an onslaught of major towers in large metropolitan markets like Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., funded by newcomer foreign backers.
Foreign Investment Helps Pave Way For Brighter Industry Outlook
As international capital flows into domestic real estate markets, there could be investment across | 1.661175 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
the board in domestic markets large and small. According to CoStar, the cross-border flow of investment dollars into U.S. commercial real estate appears to be gaining strength this year as foreign investors cast a wider net to cover markets outside the core gateway cities. Couple the influx of foreign investment across markets with a strengthening economy, and the future for commercial real estate looks bright.
This article first appeared in
Commercial Property Executive.
Anthony La Malfa is a senior director in the Real Estate Industry practice in BDO's New York office. He can be reached at 212-885-8140.
Private debt is the latest “soup du jour” for yield starved investors By Reza Khan, Senior Manager
Strong Tailwinds Push a Significant Tide of Capital Through The U.S. Real Estate Industry
This influx has been put to work as one can see building cranes in most gateway cities. While this is creating buoyancy in the market, the challenge is to find financing. As banks have been rigorous with their underwriting process due to regulatory constraints, the volume of loans from conventional sources has diminished. Investment managers and other investors have recognized this gap and have entered into the financing foray in order to fill the void and capitalize on the next opportunistic play. Competition in the commercial real estate debt market is quickly rising to pre-crisis levels and it is like shooting fish in a barrel.
The use of debt is an essential element of any capital stack. It is highly favored by borrowers because:
Lenders have no claim to equity and therefore there is no dilution of equity.
Financing is less complicated than raising equity, primarily around regulatory and legal compliance.
The lender has no claim to profits.
It amplifies the return on investment.
Private debt has attracted significant investor capital in recent years. In 2014, a total of 26 global debt funds raised $20 billion, which is up from the 29 funds that raised $16 billion in 2013
1
. The catalyst for this movement can be attributed to: 1) Regulatory developments have restricted the flow of debt from traditional sources; and 2) Between 2015 and 2019, approximately $1.5 trillion
2
of commercial real estate debt is due. The loans maturing in this period amount to 2.5 times more than the 10-year balloons that matured between 2012 to 2014.
Debt investments operate much like fixed income product with returns that are very close to equity yields, making debt funds very attractive on a risk-adjusted basis. Through creative deal structuring, some funds are able to generate low double-digit returns by taking a loan and selling off pieces. Also, by re-organizing sub-performing or non-performing portfolios, managers are able to generate returns slightly above equity yields.
Returns depend on a multitude of factors such as risk, value, asset quality and the strength of the sponsor. As there are more entrants into the private debt arena, it is likely that yields will drop given the aggressiveness of competitors in finding deals to utilize capital.
The prospect of steady cash flow and the priority of the capital stack make the investment profile very attractive to investors, even with the potential drop in returns. According to a recent Preqin study gauging investor's perceptions of debt investments, 47 percent of respondents held positive views toward debt; 37 percent were of neutral opinion; and 16 percent viewed the asset class negatively.
Preqin also noted institutional investors are allocating more capital to the alternative asset class and some were establishing private debt as a new category in the alternative space. This positive outlook is fostering the growth of the asset class globally.
The buoyancy of the industry has attracted non-conventional entrants like PE funds, insurance companies, pension finds and some sovereign wealth funds (SWF). The capital provided by the new sources is hunting for yields in a low interest rate environment. Based on another Preqin survey of private debt investors, direct lending (62 percent) is the most attractive investment option, closely followed by special situation positions (50 percent), with distressed and mezzanine (approximately 30 percent lending) rounding out the major areas of focus by all participants.
PE funds are looking to capitalize on the latest “opportunistic” play, and debt funds present the latest avenue to achieve at least low double-digit returns. As banks have pulled back on lending activities, bankers have relocated to investment management firms to continue their activity.
An investment manager notes insurance companies have a significant amount of capital and are not hobbled by allocation constraints. Insurance companies do care about interest rate risk but are more focused on performance to maturity. AXA established a $1.8 billion debt fund in 2014. Met Life registered with the SEC to offer a debt fund. It is likely other major insurance companies will follow.
In the past, SWFs focused on trophy | 1.886947 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
assets around the world. That sentiment has changed and SWFs are now searching for yields fueling investments with enormous sums of capital.
Government agencies have a limited amount of funds to lend – approximately $60 billion in 2015. That amount is being transacted at a very quick pace and the year is not over. Industry veterans indicate the non-conventional participants will seek to fill the void. With ensuing competition, it is essential lenders remain disciplined with their underwriting process in order to avoid a repeat of the last cycle.
Another area of the lending industry that has gotten a second wind is commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS). After coming to a grinding halt in 2009, CMBS is making a slow and steady return. Banks that closed down these units are reviving them to get in on the action. In 2014, there were $94 billion of transactions compared to $86 billion in 2013. Year to date, there have been about $35 billion, compared to $21 billion in 2014 for the same period.
With delinquencies at an all-time low, many borrowers are using this market segment to obtain debt. A New York-based mortgage broker cites securitization as a way to address the “lumpiness” of real estate transactions. It is easier and more efficient to work with an investment banking team than to pull together a consortium of banks to fund large financings. This indicates that single asset owners also are venturing down the CMBS path as CMBS were typically associated with portfolio deals.
Evidence indicates there is vibrant lending market filled with conventional sources and new entrants. Some are a bit cautious that this boom in real estate debt will turn into a game of musical chairs that will undoubtedly leave some parties holding non-performing or underwater properties. However, many in the industry argue the market dynamics are different from the 2006 to 2009 period. In the last cycle, debt was replacing equity which was a toxic formula when values declined.
Competition in the lending market will continue to grow given the demand for financing, and lenders will become more aggressive in order to win the best deals. However, many feel the underwriting process will not be compromised as in the last cycle. Lesson learned? Or will the hunt for high double-digit returns overshadow discipline? Only time will tell.
1 Preqin
2 Trepp Analytics
Reza Khan is a Senior Manager at BDO USA, LLP. He can be reached at 212-885-8503 or rkhan@bdo.com.
Repurposing Old Real Estate
By John Tax, Assurance Director
Nowadays, everything is being repurposed or recycled – from ordinary household items such as paper, glass and metal, to real estate – without regard to whether it is commercial, residential, retail or industrial real estate. The concept of repurposing is not a new one, but rather one that has taken on a new life amid the rush to go green. Owners, developers and re-developers have taken this concept to heart by reusing everything from office buildings to hospitals to auto dealerships.
There are a number of considerations when a building owner or a developer decides to reuse an existing structure. Some of these considerations are:
Cost – Taking an existing structure and reconfiguring it for a new use is often less expensive than building a completely new asset, especially when you consider the costs of demolition and the cost of new construction.
Use – When an existing structure goes dark, a new use for the asset could be just the ticket to returning the asset to profitability. In recent years, dark spaces in shopping centers, big-box stores, office buildings and auto dealerships have been repurposed into artists’ spaces in Missouri, a YMCA in Texas, business school classrooms in Pennsylvania and a grocery store in Michigan, respectively.
Need – Commercial real estate can be repurposed to fill a need in a community. Building owners must have a good understanding of the market and be ready to convert the asset to a new use quickly to capitalize on these needs.
Location – The new use should be complementary to the existing area. For example, converting an existing big-box store to a gym or taking a commercial property and creating a school might be a great idea in an area with numerous multi-family residential properties.
Repurposing is definitely not without a downside and there are often difficulties faced by building owners when attempting to reuse a property. These risks could include:
Structure – Converting a building from one use to another requires an understanding of the physical requirements of the new concept. Technology is rapidly changing and an existing structure may not be suited for the new use. Technology-heavy tenants, including medical facilities, call centers and Internet companies require significant supporting infrastructure, cabling and cooling units. These items may not have been originally contemplated in the existing structure.
Use – Sometimes the new use for the property may seem like an easy conversion, but all factors must be considered | 1.887856 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
or the unforeseen could occur. In a recent RealtorMag article, "Repurposing the Right Way," Meg White discusses one developer's project to convert an old mill house into a restaurant. The owner installed central air conditioning for the first time and shortly thereafter the property was infested with worms. It turned out that the humidity created by the air conditioning caused the worms to migrate out of the old beams.
Zoning – Changing the use of a structure will necessitate a change in zoning. This will require working with the local government and zoning commission to effect the necessary change. This can be a time-consuming process which could ultimately delay or even stop the project if the appropriate zoning approval cannot be attained.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance – Older structures often are not ADA-compliant and upgrading an existing structure could be expensive. Reconfiguring entranceways, bathrooms and hallways for ADA compliance can be time-consuming and sometimes cost-prohibitive.
Parking and Traffic – Changing the need for parking and changes in traffic flow around the building could be problematic. If the building’s new use causes an increased need for parking, that must be taken into consideration. Other area residents could be against an increase in traffic and protest the new use.
Marketing – Changing the use of an existing building requires a keen marketing program to change the public’s perception of the building, especially when considering a new use for a historic building.
Repurposing a property requires commitment and creativity. Different stakeholders such as the owner, the developer, the local government and the community must work together toward a common goal. Any adaptive use requires vision, a detailed understanding of the local market and the marketing expertise to find a different category of tenant. The considerations and hazards listed above are just a few. There are numerous other considerations and difficulties that are market-specific which can arise. However, by working together, carefully weighing all necessary decisions and responding to issues as they arise, everyone can win in the end.
John Tax ia a Director in the Real Estate Department at BDO USA, LLP. He can be reached at 212-885-8027 or jtax@bdo.com.
PErspective in Healthcare Real Estate
While the number of senior housing real estate deals continues to rise, deal sizes seem to be on the wane
. In 2011, the 312 senior housing and care deals totaled $27.6 billion in transaction volume, according to data from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC). By comparison, from the second quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015, there were 609 deals totaling $19.9 billion, according to NIC data
.
Healthcare property investors – real estate investment trusts (REITs) and private equity firms – are especially attracted to the senior housing sector because of its market fundamentals. Aging demographics mean growing demand, and since most facilities are private-pay, they are less susceptible to government funding decisions than other healthcare properties such as hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.
Some larger REITs have been concentrating their portfolios on the senior housing sector
to limit their exposure to government reimbursement issues. Healthcare REIT Ventas announced in April
it would spin off most of its skilled nursing facility portfolio into an independently traded REIT. Meanwhile, Health Care REIT raised $750 million
through a benchmark offering of senior unsecured notes to fund, among other things, investments in healthcare and senior housing products.
However, since large portfolio deals in the senior housing sector have been harder to come by recently, some large REITs are downsizing to move the needle with smaller portfolio and single-asset acquisitions – and some industry insiders predict more REIT spinoffs could be on the horizon. These spinoffs make attractive targets for PE firms. For example, a number of PE firms are currently bidding for an operating company spun out of a recent merger
between Ventas and hospital provider Ardent Health Services. The sale of the company could fetch upward of $500 million
.
Analysts have predicted that senior housing will go from a niche sector to a mainstream asset class during the next 15 years as the population ages. The sector is highly fragmented, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for consolidation as smaller providers look to achieve economies of scale.
Distressed deals present additional opportunities. Bankruptcies – as a result of market forces and healthcare reform – are on the rise in the senior housing sector. Mid-sized providers are looking to grow by acquisition
after a period where they were priced out of such deals. Although far from straightforward, a successful makeover of a distressed senior housing property can make it an attractive target for REITs
and PE firms further down the line.
Big portfolio deals may be down, but there are still plenty of investment opportunities in the senior housing sector as large players spin off businesses and small players look to consolidate.
For more information on BDO USA's service offerings to this industry, please contact one of the following | 1.682616 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Physical media isn't dead yet -- something which collectors are quite happy about -- but digital distribution has grown considerably as access to high-speed reliable Internet has improved. And it's only going to continue growing as we enter the next generation of video game consoles.
There's an interesting contrast in how platform holders such as Sony and Microsoft look at digital distribution when compared to the attitudes of publishers such as Ubisoft, however. While Sony and Microsoft seem keen to make use of digital distribution to make their platforms more attractive via programs like PlayStation Plus and Games with Gold, over the last few years we've seen several of the big publishers experimenting with how Internet-connected computers and consoles can be used to restrict consumers' rights over the software they've handed money over for.
The Give
PlayStation Plus and Games with Gold initially sound like two very similar programs, but there are a few distinct differences between them.
This month's PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection offerings, recently announced by Sony, include PlayStation 4 downloadable games Resogun and Contrast; PlayStation 3 games Ibb and Obb, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (an expanded, enhanced version of the original) and Sega's Binary Domain; and Vita titles Soul Sacrifice and Oddworld: Strangers Wrath HD. On top of that, there's the usual discounted prices on various titles around the PlayStation Store.
Games with Gold, meanwhile, recently announced its rather slimmer lineup for November: A World of Keflings from November 1-15, and Iron Brigade (formerly Trenched) from November 16 until the end of the month.
Sony's offering is clearly superior in terms of the number of titles on offer and their value -- the two Games with Gold titles are normally $9.99 each, while PlayStation Plus covers seven games across three platforms ranging from full-price retail titles to smaller-scale downloadable offerings -- but it is worth noting (and frequently forgotten) that you get to keep any Games with Gold titles you download even if your Xbox Live Gold subscription lapses, while in the case of PlayStation Plus you're effectively renting the Instant Game Collection titles each month; as soon as you cancel your subscription, they're gone until you resubscribe.
There's another difference, though, again in Sony's favor; while Sony's Instant Game Collection offerings tend to be more recent titles, Microsoft's Games with Gold offerings have, to date, been a little older. Gamasutra's Kris Graft discovered a while back that contracts for Instant Game Collection titles were negotiated on a case-by-case bases, ranging from a cut of PlayStation Plus profits to increased visibility; Games with Gold titles, meanwhile, largely consist of games that are several years old and which have probably seen a significant drop-off in sales since their original release, even in the case of the few high-profile releases the program has seen such as Halo 3, Fable III and Assassin's Creed II. This helps give them a new lease on life long after they have ceased to be "relevant" -- perhaps attracting newcomers to popular series or developers in the process.
While Sony's PlayStation Plus offerings have consistently been significantly better than Microsoft's with regard to free content, in both cases you're getting value that's worth more than the price of your subscription each month. These additional incentives to sign up for one, the other or both of the "big two's" premium services are going to be of increasing importance as we move into the next, more digital-centric generation of games consoles; Sony's already fired the first shots with its November PlayStation Plus titles, but it remains to be seen what Microsoft has planned as additional benefits for Xbox Live Gold subscribers -- if anything.
The Take
While Sony and Microsoft compete for the affections of prospective purchasers using their respective premium online services, several of the bigger publishers over the last few years have attempted to take advantage of the growth in digital distribution in order to have greater control over their games and how they are sold. Systems that have been explored range from online passes to pre-order DLC via season passes, and in most cases they've been designed to do three things: encourage sales of new rather than used copies of games; discourage piracy; and continue to make money from players, even after they've purchased the games.
The online pass trend was one of the more objectionable aspects of this period of experimentation for the big publishers, with many games from EA in particular locking off significant chunks of game unless you either entered the code from a new copy of the game, or paid up $10 for the privilege of playing online. In the case of single player-only games such as Dragon Age and Batman: Arkham City, online passes were used to gate off game content that, in many cases, wasn't "essential" to the game experience as a whole, but which were often missed if they weren't present. Imagine playing Dragon Age: Origins without Shale, for example; unthinkable.
It looked like online passes were dead and buried a while back, as EA made a big deal of announcing the fact that it was abandoning the plan, and other | 1.797996 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
companies (including Sony) who had quietly started implementing similar programs also decided to stop engaging in this rather consumer-unfriendly practice.
However, Ubisoft apparently wanted one last try at this, and slipped an online pass system known as "Uplay Passport" into Assassin's Creed IV, locking access to both the multiplayer modes and the Edward's Fleet resource management minigame from the single player mode -- the latter of which had both been a traditional part of the series' single-player experience since Brotherhood, and which also provided a significant source of income for purchasing upgrades and equipment.
Unsurprisingly, fans were rather displeased at this turn of events, and made their dissatisfaction known. To Ubisoft's credit, it has quickly responded to the concerns by not only removing the Uplay Passport requirement from Assassin's Creed IV, but abandoning the program altogether for all future games. In order to access the locked content, you can now download the Uplay Passport for free from Xbox Live or PSN -- if you already paid for one (from a used copy, for example), Ubi says you should contact your local Ubisoft support line, presumably for a refund.
"The Uplay Passport program was initiated as a means of giving customers full access and support for online multiplayer and features, along with exclusive content, bonuses and rewards," said Ubi communications manager Gary Steinman. "Games today are blurring the line between offline and online, between what is single-player and what is multiplayer. Based on that and the feedback we received from you, we recognized that Passport is no longer the best approach for ensuring that all our customers have the best possible experience with all facets of our games."
While it would have been nice if this "feature" wasn't in the game in the first place -- and it's a great game -- it is at least encouraging to see Ubisoft both listening to and responding quickly and decisively to player feedback.
We're in a period of great transition for the games industry, and it's likely that both platform holders and publishers are going to continue experimenting with various business models, technologies and services over the course of the next few years. Some of these experiments will undoubtedly be to the benefit of consumers; others will be less so. Both the Assassin's Creed incident and the growth in popularity of PlayStation Plus make one thing clear, though; as much as it might not seem like it sometimes, companies
are listening and are paying attention to how the public is behaving, so make sure you send a clear message as often as possible: support the things you would like to see more of, and don't be afraid to complain about the things you don't think are good for you as a consumer.
This article may contain links to online retail stores. If you click on one and buy the product we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here. There has been much controversy over the fact that the Obama administration used a criteria, which counted any “military-age male” in a strike zone as a “militant.” A drone whistleblower also revealed last year that the U.S. has killed hundreds of people in strikes, who were not “targets, and government officials have often lied or concealed the true number.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has been fighting in court to force the Obama administration to be transparent about drone operations, said the administration should “release the legal memos that supply the purported legal basis for drone strikes—particularly those carried out away from recognized battlefields. It should acknowledge individual strikes, and it should investigate and explain strikes that kill innocent bystanders.”
Naureen Shah of Amnesty International stated the information disclosed on strikes must “include information on the U.S. government’s definitions and legal standards for these strikes.”
Whatever is released, the larger concern should be how the released data may be used to justify further military operations or regime change, which have the effect of destabilizing and destroying states like Libya or Somalia. | 1.830329 | 790 | 788 |
Presentation on theme: "Southwest Asia and North Africa. Rich cultural legacy Agricultural revolution Urban civilization Petroleum industry 68% of world’s oil reserves."— Presentation transcript:
1Southwest Asia and North Africa
2 Rich cultural legacy Agricultural revolution Urban civilization Petroleum industry 68% of world’s oil reserves OPEC Political issues Islamic fundamentalism Introduction Aleppo, Syria
3Environmental Geography
4Maghreb Levant Deserts: Sahara, Libyan, Nubian Uplands: Arabian Peninsula, Anatolian Plateau, Iranian Plateau Lowlands: Tigris-Euphrates River, Nile River Mostly composed of deserts and uplands
5
6
7Salinization How? Extensive irrigation + arid climates Salt accumulation in topsoil Lower crop yields, and land abandonment Where? Iraq, central Iran, Egypt, and irrigated Maghreb
8Water management Qanat system Tapping into groundwater through tunnel Iran Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa
9Water management Aswan High Dam (1970) Benefits Year-round cropping Hydroelectricity Detriments: Salinization Schistosomiasis Damages fishing industry near the Nile Delta Fish catches between 1962 and 1992
10 What? Interplay of water resource issues and politics Where? Nile River Sudan Egypt Tigris-Euphrates River Turkey Iraq, Syria Jordan River Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria Hydropolitics
11
12Population and Settlement
13 More than 400 million Highest physiological densities Tie between water and life Population cluster North Africa The Nile Valley, and Maghreb region Southwest Asia Highlands, and better-watered shores of the Mediterranean
14
15Rural settlement patterns What is the most important indicator of rural settlement? water
16Rural settlement patterns Home to early form of agriculture 1. Domestication 10,000 years ago Wheat, barley, cattle, sheep, goats 2. Fertile Crescent Early agricultural activity (5,000 years ago) Lebanon, Syria, northern Iraq, and eastern Turkey
17Rural settlement patterns Reflects interrelationship between water and life 1. Pastoral nomadism In the drier portions of the region, inadequate moisture make permanent settlement impossible Seasonal movement of livestock from place to place 2. Oasis settlement Tightly clustered permanent settlement
18Rural settlement patterns 3. Irrigated agriculture along exotic rivers Exotic rivers Transport water from distant, more humid lands into drier regions eg. Nile, Tigris, Euphrates Irrigated collective farming eg. Kibbutzes 4. Dryland agriculture Depends on seasonal moisture to support farming Practiced on the Mediterranean climate regions
19
20Urban settlement patterns What shaped the urban landscapes? Political system Trades Religion Colonialism Globalization
21Cities as centers of political authority 3500 BC Mesopotamia 3000 BC Egypt Temples, palaces, tombs, and public buildings
22Cities as trading centers 2000 BC the shores of the eastern Mediterranean Beirut (Lebanon), Damascus (Syria) Port facilities, warehouse districts, and commercial thoroughfares
23 Islam (622) 8 th century Baghdad, Cairo Walled urban core (medina), bazaar Cities as religious centers
24colonialism Added another layer of urban landscape features Late 19 th century North Africa Algiers (French), Cairo (British)
25 Since 1950 added to traditional urban centers High-rise apartment houses, and sprawling squatter settlements Cairo, Egypt globalization
26 Since 1970 oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf Modern Western urban design, futuristic architecture, and new transportation infrastructure globalization Abu Dhabi, UAE
27Coexistence of old and new Fes, Morocco
28Migration patterns Rural-to-urban shift Saudi Arabian: 18% (1950) 83% (2000) Migration within the region To oil-rich states such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE Migration between the region Job Turkish Germany Algerian, Moroccan France Political forces Lebanese, Iranian western Europe, North America Jewish Israel
29
30Cultural Coherence and Diversity
31Religion Which religion has originated in Southwest Asia? Judaism (4000 years ago) Christianity (2000 years ago) Islam (622)
32Geographies of religion Judaism BC 2000 Mesopotamia to Canaan AD 70 Jewish Diaspora 1948 Jew’s return to Israel Christianity Outgrowth of Judaism Emerged 2000 years ago near Israel
33Geographies of religion Islam Originated in Makkah (or Mecca) in AD 622 Follows Quran (or Koran) Divided into Shiites and Sunnis Diffused to Persia (6 | 1.641959 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
56), North Africa & Iberian Peninsula (750), Central/South Asia, and Southeast Asia
34Diffusion of Islam
35Modern religions
36Geographies of language Afro-Asiatic Semitic language Arabic Hebrew Berber language Indo-European Indo-Iranian language Persian Kurdish Altaic Turkish language
37
38Geopolitical Framework
39Colonial legacy When? Late arrival because of Turkish Ottoman Empire Began after WWI (1918) Ended by the 1950s
40Colonial power - France Maghreb Algeria (1830s) Tunisia (1881) Morocco (1912) After WWI Syria (1918) Lebanon (1918)
41Colonial power - Great Britain British Protectorate before 1900 Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Aden Suez Canal (1869) Egypt (1882), Sudan (1896) After WWI Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq
42 So which countries have NOT been occupied by European powers? Turkey Saudi Arabia
43Decolonization and independence North Africa Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco (1950s) Algeria (1962) Southwest Asia Iraq (1932), Lebanon (1946), Syria (1946), etc… while containing the cultural seeds of its later trouble
44Arab-Israeli conflict
45 “Intifada” (1987) Demonstration, led by Palestinian, against the rule of Israel in Gaza Strip and the West Bank Agreements between the PLO and Israel (1990s) Potential control of the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Gaza Strip and West Bank
46Islamic fundamentalism Khomeni took power in Iran (1979) “Rule the country by the Islamic law” Sudan (1989) Algeria (1992~) Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia…
47Conflicts within states Lebanon ( ) Discord among Christian and Muslim communities Spillover of Arab-Israeli conflict Iraq South: Shiites North: Kurds Cyprus Northern third: Islamic Turkish South: Greek Orthodox
48Conflicts between states Western Sahara Morocco (late 1970s) Libya Israel, Western Europe, U.S…. (1969~) Sudan Egypt (1995) Iran-Iraq war ( ) Persian Gulf war ( )
49
50Geopolitical issues What is the destablizing force after WWII? Creation of Israel Rise of Islamic fundamentalism Cold war (eg. Libya) Ethnic differences (eg. Kurds) Political/religious divide (eg. Sudan, Labanon)
51Relations with the U.S. Strong allies Israel, and Turkey Strongly opposed Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya Ambiguous relations Saudi Arabia
52Economic and Social Development
53The geography of fossil fuels
54
55
56Regional economic patterns Higher-income oil exporters Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and UAE Lowe-income oil exporters Algeria, Libya, Iraq, and Iran Prospering without oil Israel, Turkey, Tunisia, and Cyprus
57Regional patterns of poverty Sudan Civil war Morocco Berber communities Brain drain Egypt Population growth Yemen Civil unrest
58
59
60The role of women Is major social issues Lowest female labor participation rates Large gap between male and female literacy But is changing Iran Libya Israel
61Connections with global economy Oil economy Influences oil price Outflow of capital Economic integration E.U., AFTA, Union of the Arab Maghreb Role of Saudi Arabia Tourism Ancient historical sites; significant religious localities | 1.780909 | 779 | 778 |
Risks of Renovating a Condominium
Renovating a condominium has a number of risks, including the fact that there are certain things you will have little control over. Find out about the risks of renovating a condominium with help from an insurance and risk management consultant in this free video clip.
Video Transcript
Hi, I'm Dan Weedin, and today we're going to talk about the risks of renovating a condominium. The risks of renovating a condominium vary a little bit from renovating a home. A lot of people are renovating their homes nowadays and if they have a condominium, they may want to do the same. What you'll lose from a home is you don't have to worry about a lot of external factors but you do have to worry about things within the building that you may have very little control over. Wiring is one of them. If you are dong some work within your own condominium unit, you may not know how that wiring affects everybody else and the risk of fire, the risk of loss of power, those are very real perils. You also have to worry about other items within your condominium structure, things like lead or potentially asbestos as hazards that you need to be concerned about. There's always risks there. Now, if you break something, the good news is is your insurance is probably going to cover it. You'll have a deductible but it's more than likely going to cover it if it becomes damaged. One other thought for those of you out there who are condominium building owners, you might be doing some renovation yourself. The risks that you have that the individual condominium owner doesn't is you have liability for all of those condominium unit owners. If something were to happen, let's say you have a power surge and it damaged condominium unit owner's property, maybe the computers or other electronics, your liable for that. So bottom line, if you are renovating a condominium, if you are a unit owner, you've got to be concerned about the things that can happen within your walls. If you are the condominium building owner, you have a major concern of things that could impact all of your unit owners.Settling into a hotelroom, we are conditioned to expect clean sheets and towelsevery day. But more and more travelers are reusing linens andfollowing other environmentally friendly practices on the road. Aremeeting planners going green at home and away? Of the 200 plannerssurveyed online in August, 64 percent said their conservationhabits are better at home than on the road, while 3 percent aremore conscientious while traveling and 33 percent said their habitsare the same all the time.
At home, 71 percent of the sample alwaysrecycle all that their towns allow, 20 percent do so sometimes and9 percent never do. Twenty-one percent of the sample said they alsocompost, 50 percent use low-flow showerheads and other water-savingfixtures, and 80 percent use energy-saving devices, while 12percent are not incorporating any of those habits at their homes.On the road, an impressive 67 percent try to recycle their paperand bottles, and half of those surveyed make an effort to avoidharmful materials, such as Styrofoam and plastic foodcontainers.
Planners don’t save much gas at home but arewilling to do so on the road. While just 4 percent of the sampleown a hybrid vehicle, 64 percent would rent one if it doesn’t costmore, and 9 percent would rent a hybrid regardless of the cost.Still, 27 percent would not choose to rent a hybrid vehicle.
Most planners surveyed are willing toforgo the daily changing of sheets in their hotel rooms, while theyare more likely to ask for the towels to be changed. Just 17percent of the respondents want their sheets changed every day,while 40 percent want fresh towels daily and 2 percent like to havenew towels twice a day. | 1.547878 | 818 | 816 |
Locked In, Locked Out
Gated Communities in a Puerto Rican City
Publication Year: 2013
In November 1993, the largest public housing project in the Puerto Rican city of Ponce—the second largest public housing authority in the U.S. federal system—became a gated community. Once the exclusive privilege of the city's affluent residents, gates now not only locked "undesirables" out but also shut them in. Ubiquitous and inescapable, gates continue to dominate present-day Ponce, delineating space within government and commercial buildings, schools, prisons, housing developments, parks, and churches. In
Locked In, Locked Out, Zaire Zenit Dinzey-Flores shows how such gates operate as physical and symbolic ways to distribute power, reroute movement, sustain social inequalities, and cement boundary lines of class and race across the city. In its exploration of four communities in Ponce—two private subdivisions and two public housing projects— Locked In, Locked Out offers one of the first ethnographic accounts of gated communities devised by and for the poor. Dinzey-Flores traces the proliferation of gates on the island from Spanish colonial fortresses to the New Deal reform movement of the 1940s and 1950s, demonstrating how urban planning practices have historically contributed to the current trend of community divisions, shrinking public city spaces, and privatizing gardens. Through interviews and participant observation, she argues that gates have transformed the twenty-first-century city by fostering isolation and promoting segregation, ultimately shaping the life chances of people from all economic backgrounds. Relevant and engaging, Locked In, Locked Out reveals how built environments can create a cartography of disadvantage—affecting those on both sides of the wall.
Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press
Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Table of Contents Preface
When I set out to do research in the gated communities of the poor and richin Ponce, fear was paramount. I grew up in Puerto Rico in the 1970s and1980s, when carjackings were frequent and yearly murder counts headlinedthe news. Spaces of the poor, and
caseríos (public housing) especially, wereenvisioned as places to be avoided. What was being ingrained in me during... Prologue. The Native Outsider
Roy Lichtenstein’s painting
Interior with African Mask (1991) caught my attentionfrom the first time I saw it, as a college freshman at Harvard’s FoggArt Museum. It depicted a modern living room in the front plane, a diningroom in the background, with firm geometric lines, symmetric patterns andprints, and bright colors. But the furnishings seemed incongruous with ... 1. Fortress Gates of the Rich and Poor: Past and Present
On November 8, 1993, Dr. Manuel de la Pila, the largest public housing project in the city of Ponce in Puerto Rico (the second- largest public housing authority in the U.S. federal system), became a gated community. Up until then, gates had kept people out rather than keeping people in. Gates had become the exclusive privilege of the affluent communities; their residents, for...
2. Cachet for the Rich and Casheríos for the Poor: An Experiment in Class Integration
In Ponce, like the rest of the island, in the mid- 1980s,
urbanizaciones (subdivisions)and private communities of the affluent and upper middle class organizedneighborhood associations, collected dues, and pushed municipalitiesto establish the necessary infrastructure. In 1993, Extensión Alhambra wasthe first to bid successfully for controlled access. Many communities were ... 3. “Precaution: Security Knives in the Gates”
Ramiro explained to me on the phone how I was to get inside his house in the affluent gated community of Extensión Alhambra in order to interview him. His instructions were precise and seemed practiced: You drive to the gate. The community is in the shape of a U. You come in one gate and leave through the other. When you get to the gate, you will find a dial pad. You ...
4. Community: Where Rights Begin and End
When I interviewed Nelly at the upper- middle- class gated community of Extensión Alhambra, I knew I could not waste time. Nelly was very busy with civic endeavors. Her IKEA- like modern multipurpose den–family room–office served as a work headquarters. She was used to questions; her posture and articulate answers had a political flavor. What about the Mano Dura gating...
5. The Secret Gardens
Rexford Tugwell, the last American governor appointed for the island of Puerto Rico, a fervent New Dealer, wrote of the upscale area of Condado in the city of San Juan and its private gardens: “ | 1.691446 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
I thought it might be hard to leave so beautiful a neighborhood. . . . This, I could see, was the right side of the railroad tracks; . . . semi- palaces buried in the most resplendent foliage:...
6. Neighbors More Remote than Strangers
It is cleaning day in Doña Lucrecia’s house. Doña Lucrecia, a middle- aged, white woman in one of the larger homes in Extensión Alhambra, guided me through a maze of furniture to a back terrace garden crowded seating clusters, tables, and a tiny pool; it was the setting, no doubt, of many small social gatherings. An olive- skinned woman with a duster, a mop, a broom, and a bucket ...
Epilogue. The Gated Library
In 2010, Ponce’s municipal library— Biblioteca Municipal e Infantil Mariana Suárez de Longo y Archivo Histórico de Ponce— was finally finished. I was visiting family that January, and I was excited to find a place where I could write, with free wi- fi and silence. My mother, my aunt, and my cousin had been searching for alternatives for days: the McDonald’s in Santa Isabel, the ...
Methodology
When I began
Locked In, Locked Out I was already an involved observer. Objectivityis highly valued in science’s gathering and production of knowledge,but, by the traditional definition, I was never, have never been, objective. Bymy own understanding of objectivity, the unobstructed, honest, clear understandingof research, I was and am subjective. This book and the research on... Notes Index Acknowledgments
E-ISBN-13: 9780812208207
E-ISBN-10: 081220820X Print-ISBN-13: 9780812245134 Print-ISBN-10: 081224513X
Page Count: 232
Illustrations: 19 illus. Publication Year: 2013
Series Title: The City in the Twenty-First Century
Series Editor Byline: Eugenie L. Birch and Susan M. Wachter, Series Editors See more Books in this Series
MUSE Marc Record: Download for Locked In, Locked Out couple of days.
At the end of the day when it comes to entering the top ten or not, getting on the podium or not, or ultimately winning or not, the psychological side will be what does make the difference.
So whatever the ratio between fitness, skills and mental strength are, when we are looking at small differences in performance mental strength is the factor that can have the biggest influence and most of all can change the result in a very short time.
The Question Future racers | The Question 29ers in Downhill Racing? | The Question How important is the mental approach to winning races? | The Question Are Mountain Bikes Too Expensive? | The Question Strava, good or bad? | The Question What is your favourite race track? | The Question Who is the most talented bike rider ever? | The Question Favourite downhill mountain bike track | The Question What do you want from a product? | The Question Who do you think is the most talented mountain bike rider ever? | The Question Tear offs - good or bad? | The Question What is your dream holiday? | The Question Why do bike companies feel that they have to produce a new range every year? | The Question What's the greatest mountainbike product of all time? | The Question Electric bikes - spawn of Satan or harmless fun? | The Question Who is your hero? | The Question Are 29" bikes right? | The Question 29 Inch Wheels in Downhill Racing? | The Question | 1.782032 | 811 | 809 |
Today’s guest blogger is Tracy from Wild Child’s Mossy Oak Musings. Tracy is sharing her insight on how integrating arts into general education makes for more rigorous, long-lasting learning. Enjoy! Many moons ago, in a teacher’s lounge far, far away, I sat around a lunch table with my colleagues eating a tuna fish sandwich, while trying not reach for the sleeve of thin mints seducing
Hi, I am Susan from Lopez Land Learners. I want to share you with engaging and entertaining ways to integrate art into all of your curricular areas. If your school is anything like our school, we don’t have an art teacher, so any and all art projects come from me. Budgets, along with the demands and pressures on testing, have taken that scheduled time out
Hi there! I’m Rachel Haltiwanger from The Cozy Learning Cottage, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to post on Minds in Bloom! I’ve spent my whole teaching career teaching elementary English learners either here in the US or abroad, and one of my favorite ways to integrate content, language skills, and collaborative learning is through cooking activities in the classroom. While these activities are
This is Meghan Vestal, from Vestal’s 21st Century Classroom, and I am honored to be a guest blogger for Minds in Bloom! Recently, the science trend has changed from S.T.E.M. to S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math). We all know hands-on learning makes a lesson memorable for students, and integrating art is a great way to add creativity to any lesson. One of my
Hi everyone! I’m Suzy from StudentSavvy! I would first like to give a big thank you to Rachel for allowing me to guest post on her fantastic blog! I am a huge fan of hers, and I’m grateful for this incredible opportunity! When I was a student in high school, I attended a charter school that was considered a “Performing and Fine Arts Academy.” Before I was accepted into this school (there
Hi friends! It’s me, Tammy, from Literacy Loves Company! I’m so excited to share with you a few simple ideas to integrate the arts into your day-to-day curriculum! Before we begin, I’d like to send out a big THANK YOU to Rachel Lynette for inviting me to guest post! I’m truly honored. I am a firm believer that the arts are a vital part
Today’s guest blogger is Jennifer from Jennifer Kime Creations. Read on to learn her tips and ideas for having an Artist of the Month Club at your school! What could I do when budget cuts eliminated an organized art program at my school? How could I incorporate art into the regular classroom without taking away from time required to teach state standards? First, I had to get past my own
Minds in Bloom welcomes Jenny, the owner of Art with Jenny K., with her post on art integration. We know you’ll find it useful! “The creative adult is the child that survived.” I came across this quote by author Ursala Le Guin a few months ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. It encapsulates why it is so important to integrate creative arts into
Minds in Bloom presents Renée Goularte, a former art-instructor, a working artist, and a writer, with her post on integrating art into your curriculum. If you are a teacher, chances are you’ve said it: “We have no time for art.” Chances are equally good that you believe that art is important. It is…and it’s worth making time for! Because you know what? Art education is important in and of
I don’t usually ever write about art, but recently a friend introduced me to Zentangle. I thought it was fun, so I ordered some materials, and when my soon-to-be step daughter came over the next weekend, she was thrilled because she had learned to tangle from her fifth grade teacher. So, I thought some of you might want to try it with your older students.* | 1.606712 | 836 | 835 |
Posted by:
Safia Yallaoui - Editor
IN 1867, a young farm boy left his home in the Swiss mountains to seek his fortune in the French hotel trade.
Today, thousands of students follow in the footsteps of the Ritz Hotel founder by going abroad to gain knowledge and experience in hospitality. Huge numbers of them flock to Switzerland, which is not just the birthplace of César Ritz but of hotel management education.
Why Switzerland?
The Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), established in 1893 on the shores of Lake Geneva, was the first hotel school in the world and is still one of the best if not
the best, according to several rankings. Indeed Switzerland consistently dominates global rankings of hospitality schools. Alongside EHL, Les Roches International School of Hotel Management, in Bluche, and Glion Institute of Higher Education, in Glion and Bulle, almost always make the top five.
Switzerland’s reputation as the home of hospitality study dates back to its huge popularity in the 19th century with royal and rich tourists, who came to enjoy the stunning Alpine scenery, crystal-clear lakes and pure mountain air. Grand palace-like hotels and resorts sprang up to cater for the discerning guests and educational programmes followed.
There are now more than 35 schools and universities dedicated to hospitality in Switzerland, attracting students from all over the world. Courses can be taught in English, French, German and Italian, and most schools offer a huge variety of options for travelling the around the world on work placements in top hotels, venues and at world-class events as well as internships in Michelin-starred restaurants.
Many courses include legal training, public relations, marketing and market analysis in order for their students to decide which part of the hospitality industry they are most interested in.
Student’s View
Hospitality graduate Alice Targett studied at Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Bluche. Originally from Australia, she enrolled on a course in her home country before transferring the thousands of miles to Switzerland.
“The Swiss have an incredible reputation for offering top hospitality education,” she said. “What is great about Les Roches, as well as all of the hospitality schools in Switzerland, is the combination of practising both hands-on skills and theory-based components in each course. It offers a wide range of programs based on all the different areas of hospitality, including front-of-house service, kitchen, stewarding, front office, administration, financial and revenue management, marketing, human resources, events, sustainability, and project management.”
Alice travelled to Malaysia and London for her two internships whilst at Les Roches. In her first internship at the Shangri-la Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, she worked in food and beverage at the resort’s five restaurants. . Her second internship was at the Landmark London Hotel in England. “This is a business hotel situated in the heart of a chaotic city full of life and energy and I worked in front office and guest relations. I found both opportunities highly stimulating,” she said.
Alice dreams of opening a health retreat focused on healthy eating, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle. Obviously this is very ambitious, but at Les Roches, I learned that anything is possible with hard work and commitment,” she said.“At Les Roches, I found an international environment. I learned about different cultures I never even knew existed and found endless travel opportunities and prospects.”
Career prospects
Jobs within the hotel industry include managing restaurants, hotels and event venues, catering management, tour management and organising, events planning and advertisement and PR work.
The hospitality industry has contributed ¥1.1 trillion ($173 billion) to China’s economy in recent years, making it one of the largest employing industries in the world
Where to study in Switzerland
Look carefully at your chosen hospitality school to ensure its qualifications are widely recognised. Many universities are recognised by the Swiss authorities through the Universities of Applied Sciences system. Some schools are accredited by NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges).
Below are just some of Switzerland's hospitality and hotel management schools:
Loughborough University
This university was voted 1st for their Student Experience!
Posted by:
Safia Yallaoui - Editor
FOR international students wishing to study teaching or language, but with more opportunities than a generic Masters, Bishop Grosseteste University have launched a flagship course – MA in Education with TESOL... | 1.568168 | 905 | 904 |
Published on 8/24/2015 12:00:00 AM
Social media is a powerful communication tool that can connect people all across the world. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram – just to name a few – offer powerful ways to share information and connect with people both personally and professionally. But sometimes, the personal and professional lines blur together. When there is no boundary between personal and professional representation, companies may spend more time cleaning up the blunders made by employees than they ever would crafting a social media policy in the first place.
First, draft your policy
Creating a simple social media policy for employees takes the guesswork out of determining what is appropriate to share on company and private accounts. Keeping these two entities separate may seem like common sense, but spelling out a policy will help protect the company as well as the employees. Consider these guidelines when crafting your company’s social media policy:
Emphasize what employees should do rather than what they shouldn’t.
Give examples of approved interactions on the company’s social media pages.
Give a reference book of style and content for posting on the company’s behalf.
Be clear about how employees will be held accountable and what consequences are at stake.
Clarify expectations of social media use for each position.
Take the company’s brand into consideration and identity what will need additional attention.
Each employee should have access to the policy in the employee handbook or in other distributed material. Next, stay on alert
Across the United States, companies like Cisco, Chrysler and Apple have fired employees for social media posts in which the employee either defamed the brand, spoke ill of customers or complained about the job. While no one was fired in the 2014 U.S. Airways retweet blunder, the crude image that the company accidently retweeted rather than flagging as inappropriate just shows the need for a closer look at how social media is handled in the workplace. With the high volume of replies required of large companies like U.S. Airways, mistakes are inevitable.
Finally, keep employees in check
Rules should be in place, however, to set expectations for behavior and consequences. It is best to prevent these occurrences from happening in the first place by setting clear rules. Creating a social media policy will help set clear guidelines and expectations to protect both the company and the individual employee, no matter what size the company may be.Faculteit van de Diergeneeskunde, Rijksuniversiteit te Gent
Series Title:
Vlaams Diergeneeskundig Tijdschrift
Abstract:
Chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL) is a known problem in the Belgian Draught Horse. Nevertheless, tools for clinical diagnosis have not been standardised, and therefore, the exact disease prevalence and possible risk factors for CPL were not investigated in the Belgian breed. We aimed to assess a uniform CPL clinical examination method to increase diagnostic objectivity and determined occurrence and severity of lesions. The association of age-gender interaction, coat color, location and season with CPL occurrence was examined using univariate and stepwise multivariable logistic regression models. We demonstrated that CPL is highly prevalent in the Belgian Draught Horse: on average 56.55% affected in our total sample, including a large proportion of young horses (< 3 years) and 88.21% in an older subset (≥ 3 years), where lesions were more explicit as CPL is a chronic disorder. Mild clinical symptoms were shown to appear from approximately 1 year in some horses (14% of yearlings), while distinct onset occurred from 3 years onwards. We identified and quantified factors (age-gender interaction, coat colour and season of examination) significantly associated with CPL occurrence. The present paper proposes a standardized diagnostic protocol that will enhance future data collection and, furthermore, this paper offers a basis for quantitative genetic research. This will ultimately help to reduce CPL occurrence in the Belgian Draught Horse by means of selection. | 1.774737 | 810 | 808 |
Ionizing radiation, health effects and protective measures Key facts Ionizing radiation is a type of energy released by atoms in the form of electromagnetic waves or particles. People are exposed to natural sources of ionizing radiation, such as in soil, water, and vegetation, as well as in human-made sources, such as x-rays and medical devices. Ionizing radiation has many beneficial applications, including uses in medicine, industry, agriculture and research. As the use of ionizing radiation increases, so does the potential for health hazards if not properly used or contained. Acute health effects such as skin burns or acute radiation syndrome can occur when doses of radiation exceed certain levels. Low doses of ionizing radiation can increase the risk of longer term effects such as cancer. What is ionizing radiation?
Ionizing radiation is a type of energy released by atoms that travels in the form of electromagnetic waves (gamma or X-rays) or particles (neutrons, beta or alpha). The spontaneous disintegration of atoms is called radioactivity, and the excess energy emitted is a form of ionizing radiation. Unstable elements which disintegrate and emit ionizing radiation are called radionuclides.
All radionuclides are uniquely identified by the type of radiation they emit, the energy of the radiation, and their half-life.
The activity — used as a measure of the amount of a radionuclide present — is expressed in a unit called the becquerel (Bq): one becquerel is one disintegration per second. The half-life is the time required for the activity of a radionuclide to decrease by decay to half of its initial value. The half-life of a radioactive element is the time that it takes for one half of its atoms to disintegrate. This can range from a mere fraction of a second to millions of years (e.g. iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 days while carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years).
Radiation sources
People are exposed to natural radiation sources as well as human-made sources on a daily basis. Natural radiation comes from many sources including more than 60 naturally-occurring radioactive materials found in soil, water and air. Radon, a naturally-occurring gas, emanates from rock and soil and is the main source of natural radiation. Every day, people inhale and ingest radionuclides from air, food and water.
People are also exposed to natural radiation from cosmic rays, particularly at high altitude. On average, 80% of the annual dose of background radiation that a person receives is due to naturally occurring terrestrial and cosmic radiation sources. Background radiation levels vary geographically due to geological differences. Exposure in certain areas can be more than 200 times higher than the global average.
Human exposure to radiation also comes from human-made sources ranging from nuclear power generation to medical uses of radiation for diagnosis or treatment. Today, the most common human-made sources of ionizing radiation are medical devices, including X-ray machines.
Exposure to ionizing radiation
Radiation exposure may be internal or external, and can be acquired through various exposure pathways.
Internal exposure to ionizing radiation occurs when a radionuclide is inhaled, ingested or otherwise enters into the bloodstream (for example, by injection or through wounds). Internal exposure stops when the radionuclide is eliminated from the body, either spontaneously (such as through excreta) or as a result of a treatment. External exposure may occur when airborne radioactive material (such as dust, liquid, or aerosols) is deposited on skin or clothes. This type of radioactive material can often be removed from the body by simply washing.
Exposure to ionizing radiation can also result from irradiation from an external source, such as medical radiation exposure from X-rays. External irradiation stops when the radiation source is shielded or when the person moves outside the radiation field.
People can be exposed to ionizing radiation under different circumstances, at home or in public places (public exposures), at their workplaces (occupational exposures), or in a medical setting (as are patients, caregivers, and volunteers).
Exposure to ionizing radiation can be classified into 3 exposure situations. The first, planned exposure situations, result from the deliberate introduction and operation of radiation sources with specific purposes, as is the case with the medical use of radiation for diagnosis or treatment of patients, or the use of radiation in industry or research. The second type of situation, existing exposures, is where exposure to radiation already exists, and a decision on control must be taken – for example, exposure to radon in homes or workplaces or exposure to natural background radiation from the environment. The last type, emergency exposure situations, result from unexpected events requiring prompt response such as nuclear accidents or malicious acts.
Medical use of radiation accounts for 98 % of the population dose contribution from all artificial sources, and represents 20% of the total population exposure. Annually worldwide, more than 36 | 1.007851 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
00 million diagnostic radiology examinations are performed, 37 million nuclear medicine procedures are carried out, and 7.5 million radiotherapy treatments are given.
Health effects of ionizing radiation
Radiation damage to tissue and/or organs depends on the dose of radiation received, or the absorbed dose which is expressed in a unit called the gray (Gy). The potential damage from an absorbed dose depends on the type of radiation and the sensitivity of different tissues and organs.
The
effective dose is used to measure ionizing radiation in terms of the potential for causing harm. The sievert (Sv) is the unit of effective dose that takes into account the type of radiation and sensitivity of tissues and organs. It is a way to measure ionizing radiation in terms of the potential for causing harm. The Sv takes into account the type of radiation and sensitivity of tissues and organs.
The Sv is a very large unit so it is more practical to use smaller units such as millisieverts (mSv) or microsieverts (μSv). There are one thousand μSv in one mSv, and one thousand mSv in one Sv. In addition to the amount of radiation (dose), it is often useful to express the rate at which this dose is delivered (dose rate), such as microsieverts per hour (μSv/hour) or millisievert per year (mSv/year).
Beyond certain thresholds, radiation can impair the functioning of tissues and/or organs and can produce acute effects such as skin redness, hair loss, radiation burns, or acute radiation syndrome. These effects are more severe at higher doses and higher dose rates. For instance, the dose threshold for acute radiation syndrome is about 1 Sv (1000 mSv).
If the radiation dose is low and/or it is delivered over a long period of time (low dose rate), the risk is substantially lower because there is a greater likelihood of repairing the damage. There is still a risk of long-term effects such as cancer, however, that may appear years or even decades later. Effects of this type will not always occur, but their likelihood is proportional to the radiation dose. This risk is higher for children and adolescents, as they are significantly more sensitive to radiation exposure than adults.
Epidemiological studies on populations exposed to radiation, such as atomic bomb survivors or radiotherapy patients, showed a significant increase of cancer risk at doses above 100 mSv. More recently, some epidemiological studies in individuals exposed to medical exposures during childhood (paediatric CT) suggested that cancer risk may increase even at lower doses (between 50-100 mSv).
Prenatal exposure to ionizing radiation may induce brain damage in foetuses following an acute dose exceeding 100 mSv between weeks 8-15 of pregnancy and 200 mSv between weeks 16-25 of pregnancy. Before week 8 or after week 25 of pregnancy human studies have not shown radiation risk to fetal brain development. Epidemiological studies indicate that the cancer risk after fetal exposure to radiation is similar to the risk after exposure in early childhood.
WHO response
WHO has established a radiation program to protect patients, workers, and the public against the health risks of radiation exposure under planned, existing and emergency exposure situations. Focusing on public health aspects of radiation protection, this programme covers activities related to radiation risk assessment, management and communication.
In line with its core function on “setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation”, WHO has cooperated with 7 other international organizations for the revision and update of the international radiation basic safety standards (BSS). WHO has adopted the new international BSS in 2012, and is currently working to support the implementation of the BSS in its Member States.
For more information contact:
WHO Media centre
Telephone: +41 22 791 2222 E-mail: mediainquiries@who.int | 1.117468 | 824 | 823 |
请问科幻迷，人类在太空中能繁衍吗？
首先庆祝中国载人航天又迈了一大步。
似乎很难着床？然后在失重的状态下，婴儿会发生发生什么变化，new type?还是一个肉球（好吧。。） 想听听大家的想法
首先庆祝中国载人航天又迈了一大步。
似乎很难着床？然后在失重的状态下，婴儿会发生发生什么变化，new type?还是一个肉球（好吧。。） 想听听大家的想法 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sex in space refers to sexual activity in the weightlessness and/or extreme environments of outer space. Usually only human sexual activity is considered. The act of human intimacy, sexual intercourse, and procreation distinguished by the state of weightlessness (precluding artificial gravity) presents difficulties surrounding the performing of most sexual activities due to Newton's Third Law. The issue also includes conception and pregnancy in off-Earth environments.[1][2][3][4] The topic of sex in space has been hotly debated to clarify its potential impact on human beings in the isolated, confined, and hazardous space environment. Past discussions often included attempts to determine the veracity of speculations (e.g., about the STS-47 mission, on which married astronauts Mark C. Lee and Jan Davis flew), and even hoaxes, such as Document 12-571-3570. Experts such as Princeton astrophysics professor Dr. J. Richard Gott consider humanity's expansion into space crucial to survival,[5] but it was considered taboo for decades of spacefaring exploration history.[6][7] As of 2009, with NASA planning long-term missions for lunar settlements with goals to explore and colonize space, the topic has taken its respected place in life sciences. Scientist Stephen Hawking publicly concurred in 2007 that possibly human survival itself will depend on successfully contending with the extreme environments of space.[8][9]
Numerous physiological changes have been noted during spaceflight, many of which may affect sex and procreation, although it remains unclear whether such effects are due to gravity changes, radiation, noise, vibration, isolation, disrupted circadian rhythms, stress, or a combination of these factors.[10]
The primary issue to be considered in off-Earth reproduction is the lack of gravitational acceleration. Life on Earth, and thus the reproductive and ontogenetic processes of all extant species and their ancestors, evolved under the constant influence of the Earth's 1G gravitational field. It is imperative to study how space environment affects critical phases of mammalian reproduction and development as well as events surrounding fertilization, embryogenesis, pregnancy, birth, postnatal maturation, and parental care.[11] Gravity affects all aspects of vertebrate development, including cell structure and function, organ system development, and even behavior. As gravity regulates mammalian gene expression then there are significant implications for successful procreation in an extraterrestrial environment. Studies conducted on reproduction of mammals in microgravity include experiments with rats. Although the fetus developed properly, the rats that developed in microgravity lacked the ability to right themselves.[12] Another study examined mouse embryo fertilization in microgravity. Although both groups resulted in healthy mice, the authors noted that the growth rate was slower for the embryos fertilized in microgravity than for those in normal gravity.[13]
The psychosocial implications of in-flight sex and reproduction are at least as problematic as the related physiological challenges. For the foreseeable future, space crews will be relatively small in number. If pairing off occurs within the crew, it can have ramifications on the crew's working relationships, and therefore, on mission success and crew operations.[14][15] Behavioral health, close proximity, compatibility and coupling will all be factors determining selection of crews for long term and off-planet missions.
Lyubov Serova, a specialist with the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in the field of procreation in the conditions of spaceflight, says "After a period of adaptation for weightlessness, people will not need any special devices, like elastic belts or inflatable tubes to have sex in space," and "We study the impact of weightlessness on the reproductive function of male and female bodies by using mammals as test subjects, particularly rats." The overall conclusion is that sex in space is not a physical problem, and that individuals motivated enough to embark on space flight won't be distracted by sex.[16]
我进行google渣翻译简介：
大意是人类在亲密*行为,需要考虑失重状态(排除人造重力)需要克服牛顿第三定律的困难,另外像受孕&妊娠离地环境也很难完成。
生理上的变化：太空中许多因素会影响性与生殖，虽然目前还不清楚这种影响是否是由于重力变化，辐射，噪声，振动，隔离，昼夜节奏混乱，压力，或这些的组合因素。
太空中繁衍的主要问题是的重力加 | 1.642459 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Advanced Placement classes Science classes get marginalized
In the recent push to expand the population of students who take advanced placement courses, the AP science courses have been marginalized. It's time school districts change how they schedule these courses and evaluate the teachers who teach them.
Over the past few years, these courses (AP chemistry, biology and physics) have been cut to a length which does not allow a reasonable amount of time to cover the curriculum and labs, and as a result the students are often rushed through a streamlined curriculum and denied adequate lab skill development.
Unlike most AP courses, these crucial foundational science courses are the equivalent of two semesters of college science with the associated laboratory course. At the majority of colleges and universities, these courses are eight credit-hours, consisting of six credit hours of lecture and two associated one-credit-hour lab courses. These courses require approximately 300-360 minutes of instructor contact time (lecture and lab) per week, and take place with generally superior facilities than a high school laboratory can provide.
At most high schools, less than 250 minutes of time is available for these courses each week. In reality, the total time is much less because of club days, early release days, and other frequent schedule adjustments. This rushed, high-pressure experience causes many students to think the subject is not for them when, in fact, if they could enjoy more lab experiences and a less rapid pace, they would find the subject much more enjoyable. It's turning off some kids from pursuing science as a career.
All eight-plus credit-hour courses should be given the time they need to adequately cover the curriculum and perform the necessary labs. In the absence of this, we will continue to see an unacceptable passing rate and a subsequent morale issue with the teachers and students.
Paul Goodland, Tarpon Springs Don't lose big picture on the Rays Dec. 5, editorial Public is getting taken
Why doesn't the
Times "step up to the plate" and tell the public — who are struggling to put food on their tables, who can't send their children to good schools, who fear they may lose their homes and/or fear they may lose their jobs — the real big picture of professional sports?
• Tell the public that public monies should not be used to support baseball owners so they can pay their players millions and line their own pockets.
• Tell the public that the owners and players have enough money to build their own stadium. Other businesses pay their own way.
• Tell the public they are being ripped off.
• Tell the public to boycott pro baseball until it can be self-sustaining and not full of money-grabbing prima donnas.
• Tell the public to support Little League. They will enjoy the game as much for little or nothing, and they can buy a hot dog and soda at a reasonable price. All the kids ask is to have a little fun and maybe an occasional pat on the back.
Dorothy A. Norton, Palm Harbor Tax cuts A middle ground
In view of the urgency of the tax rates issue and short time frame involved, the level of partisanship being displayed by both parties is difficult to understand.
I consider myself a small-government, low-tax conservative but wouldn't mind being subject to the taxes imposed on millionaires and billionaires. I'm really a flat, "Fair Tax" advocate, but now is not the time to champion that cause. We are in crisis.
The plan laid out by President Barack Obama is promising, but several relatively minor changes would probably make it more acceptable to both sides:
1. Make the Bush tax cuts "permanent" for all incomes under $1 million. (This should cover the vast majority of small business owners.)
2. Extend the Bush tax cuts for all incomes of $1 million or more for a period of 2 years but increase the top rate to 37.5 percent from the current 35 percent — as opposed to a rate of 39.6 percent now scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2011.
3. Retain all other recommendations included in the tentative agreement.
Frank Yanacek, Sun City Center Budget deficit Balance the books by law
I remember Ronald Reagan's televised farewell address in 1989 as if it were yesterday. It was touching, encouraging and patriotic. There was one thing missing, though: a final plea for enacting a balanced budget amendment and line-item veto, or at least a warning of the consequences for failing to enact such a law.
Now we find ourselves saddled with a federal budget with a massive deficit. I've been involved with lots of budgets over the years, both commercial and nonprofit. The hard part is determining your planned or anticipated income and expenses and getting them to match. Sacrifices have to be made one way or another.
Deficit spending has been the order of the day for far too long, which has contributed to the economic meltdown of this country and causes us to become beholden to foreign powers such as China.
Our Congress and president | 1.797193 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Would a national law requiring graduated drivers licensing in all 50 states save lives? Backers of the STANDUP Act, including major insurer AllState, believe so, and they’re pushing for the reintroduction of the bill, which would create a standardized, federally administered program. Many supporters claim that restricting teen driving privileges would drastically reduce teen accidents. The positive outcome could be more affordable care insurance for teens.
Short for Safe Teen and Notice Driver Uniform Protection, the STANDUP Act (H.R. 1895) was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2009. A year later, the Senate introduced S. 3269, a nearly identical bill. The House bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit; the Senate bill was sent to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. By law at the end of the each congressional session bills and resolutions that haven’t passed are cleared from the books. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Timothy Bishop, both Democrats from New York, are sponsoring reintroduction of STANDUP in the 112
th Congressional session.
The new bill will likely contain the same provisions as the originals:
A 3-stage licensing process that includes a minimum 6-month learners permit no sooner than age 16. During Stage 1, teens would not be allowed to drive at night without adult supervision or use any form of communication device (e.g. cell phone) while driving. Nor could they drive with any passengers other than the adult supervisor.
An Intermediate Stage would stay in effect until age 18. The nighttime driving and cell phone prohibitions of Stage 1 would remain in effect. The teen would not be allowed to have more than one non-family passenger under age 21 without a licensed driver older than 21 in the car. At age 18, the teen would be eligible for a full-privilege license.
Additionally, it would give power to the Secretary of Transportation to introduce more restrictions or requirements during the learner’s permit stage.
States that comply with the law within 3 years of its enactment would be entitled to federal incentive grants. States that fail to comply would be subject to sanctions, which typically take the form of curtailed highway construction funding.
Supporters of the STANDUP Act cite National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics that new teen drivers are more likely to crash than other drivers, with 16-year olds having a crash rate three times greater than 17-year-olds and five times greater than 18-year-olds.
Detractors say it’s unnecessary federal intrusion, since every state except North Dakota already has some form of three-stage graduated teen licensing program in place. They also claim is would place unfair burden on working teens and teens in rural areas. With gasoline prices soaring, the restriction on passengers would seem to carry an undue economic burden, as well.
To learn more about GDLs and their impact on affordable car insurance for teens, see our article, How To Lower Teen Car Insurance Quotes & Save Lives with Graduate Drivers Licenses.Geneva, May 28 (IANS/EFE) The 66th World Health Assembly Monday approved a plan for preventing and controlling non-communicable diseases, such as illnesses caused by alcohol consumption, smoking and obesity, which account for 60 percent of the deaths in the world and 69 percent of deaths in Latin America.
The plan sets nine new voluntary goals for preventing and controlling these illnesses, but the assembly urged member states to establish programs to deal with risk factors related to bad eating habits and lack of exercise.
Unhealthy habits and behaviors can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer, causing 36 million deaths a year, the World Health Organization, or WHO, said.
Deaths related to smoking, a poor diet and bad exercise habits could rise to 55 million by 2030 if action is not taken, the WHO said.
--IANS/EFE
rd | 1.358678 | 823 | 821 |
This ET entrepreneur established e-stores alza.cz and alza.sk During an event that was made special by both Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking (video), it was announced that Yuri Milner is paying $100 million to the search of extraterrestrial civilizations in the next 10 years. Obviously, it is the largest donation to the SETI paradigm ever (before you beat it). See also:
Also, someone will get $1 million for designing a nice message for the extraterrestrials. Well, I surely think this prize to be excessive because it's really a childish enterprise. What's the best thing to tell "them"? It depends how much information you want to use.
Some pictures and YouTube videos from our lives could be funny for them. They must be able to decode simple formats such as WAV or GIF. ;-) They should be able to learn something about our location – coordinates (with some explanation how those are defined) and what the Universe looks like from our perspective – and what we're made of.
Is the DNA copy of a human enough for them to construct their own human? I doubt so.
For example, are those creatures' DNA molecules likely to be constructed out of the same A-T/C-G bases as ours are? It's plausible but it seems unlikely if you trust a recent Quanta Magazine article. Some biochemists are producing new letters for the DNA alphabet. If you believe them, it seems that they are pretty sure that the restriction of the DNA life on Earth to A-T/C-G is a matter of historical coincidences and DNA codes based on a different (and larger) alphabet could have easily evolved, too.
So we should better send them enough information to reconstruct the molecular architecture of these DNA bases, too. And so on.
It's pretty clear that we won't get an answer from ETs within a decade, however! There's really no sufficiently scientific way to decide which of the messages to be sent are the right ones or helpful ones for the ETs. The judgement about the winners will be all about the referees' prejudices! This contest is a piece of art, not science.
And as regular readers of this blog may know, I actually think that the intelligent life is very rare in the Universe and even the possibility that the Earth is the only semi-intelligent planet in the visible Universe is rather high. There may even exist a rather solid argument – analogous to the anthropic principle but a different one, in some sense opposite one – that implies that Nature wants to create Universes where the living civilizations just marginally exist, i.e. their number is of order one (or zero). The primitive life may have been created outside the Earth and long before the Solar System was born. And it could have found the Solar System and/or Earth to be a hospitable environment to make the advances we're familiar with and we depend upon. (See Panspermia follows from Moore's law.)
But it seems plausible to me that most of the Earth-like planets in the Universe were not bombarded by the right "seeds of life" (because the broader environment at much longer than planetary length scales failed to obey some conditions, like the presence of several types of stars creating all the required elements etc., or wasn't lucky enough) which is why there's no life over there even though all the characteristics of these planets (plus their stars, evaluated while ignoring everything else) may seem to be OK.
All these things are speculations. We don't know whether there are many extraterrestrial civilizations. A discovery of one would settle the question that is open at this moment and it would clearly be one of the greatest discoveries in the mankind's history. But there also exist "purely empirical" reasons why I think it's unlikely – especially Fermi's paradox. Where are they? If the intelligent life were sufficiently abundant, we would have already seen signs of it.
At the LHC, we have pretty good reasons to expect (perhaps and maybe not) new particles during the \(13\TeV\) run. They would be helpful to explain the lightness of the Higgs scalar. More generally, we've seen new particles pretty much every time we increased the energy by a factor of ten, so there could be some particles around \(1\TeV\), too.
But I think that similar vague arguments don't work for the discovery of the ETs. We have no real precedent for such a discovery. And I am not aware of any order-of-magnitude estimate – correct me if I am wrong – that would suggest that such a discovery of the ETs is around the corner. The number of intelligent alive planets in the visible Universe has a highly unknown value. As far as I can say, the multiplicative error margin of this quantity is many orders of magnitude – and perhaps dozens of orders of magnitude. Michael Crichton expressed the same point in his Aliens Cause Global Warming speech and I've always agreed with this point. (He has said that the Drake equation – claiming to express | 2.005412 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
the number of ETs as a useful product of some quantities – was the first piece of pseudoscience designed to defend a particular prejudice about a question whose answer is clearly completely uncertain, and the equation doesn't make it any more certain, and similar pieces of pseudomathematical pseudoscience were later used in many other contexts including the doomsday scenarios where it led to the global warming pseudoscience and similar memes.)
Even if we become 100 times more sensitive to the ET signals, I see no reason to think that we will surpass the threshold sensitivity during such an improvement. Because there's no reason to think that "we're around the corner", that the sensitivity we may reach is near the threshold value, it's more likely than not that this increase of the sensitivity won't make a difference – i.e. we will remain alone.
At the end, the reason of this skepticism is the fact that the non-existence of any intelligent extraterrestrial life in the visible Universe is a
qualitatively differenthypothesis from the hypothesis that the density of intelligent civilizations is a particular finite number – which should therefore be assigned the prior probability comparable to 50% to avoid biases. And without any further assumptions, this hypothesis is compatible with all the observations of the ETs we have made so far: there don't seem to be any!
On the other hand, the hypothesis that the number of ET civilizations is finite is only compatible with the data if the parameters obey some nontrivial inequalities.
At any rate, I wish Yuri Milner and the SETI searchers a lot of good luck. I think that they will need kilotons of it.
Just to be sure, for someone who has $1.8 billion, I find it absolutely sensible to pay 5% to such an ambitious pet topic.Elgar original reference Edited by Chris Brewster and Wolfgang Mayrhofer Chapter 28: Models of Human Resource Management in Australia and New Zealand Extract
28 Models of human resource management in Australia and New Zealand Peter Boxall and Steve Frenkel The goal of this chapter is to compare and contrast models of HRM in Australia and New Zealand and to locate these models within the wider world of HRM. We start with an outline of the unique contexts of Australia and New Zealand, highlighting important similarities and differences between the two countries, and relating them to other Anglophone countries. We then examine what is known about distinctive models of HRM in the Antipodes, summarising studies of management practice and of workers’ perceptions of how they are managed. Only a few studies of HRM are directly comparable across the Tasman, so in each country we use the most interesting and relevant empirical research available. In New Zealand’s case, this means we explore the small-business character of HRM and the less formal and relatively empowering ways in which workers are managed. In Australia’s case, where organisations are typically larger than in New Zealand, we discuss recent research on the role of HRM specialists and their interactions with line managers. Overall, this approach enables us to paint a picture of both small-firm and largefirm HRM in the Antipodes. We draw together the key lessons in our conclusions. THE CONTEXT OF HRM IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND What are the main features of the historical, geographical, economic and socio-political context of HRM in the Antipodes? This section offers a summary of the main similarities and contrasts. Much fuller...
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In BriefWorried about being remembered? Well, worry no more. This eternal 5D data storage could preserve the history of humankind for ages to come.
Previously, we shared an amazing breakthrough: The ability to store data on slivers of quartz glass for 300 million years.
Now, you don’t have to worry about what will happen to your data after those 300 millions years are up—researchers have upped the stor
age and l ifespan of the quartz glass. Your data can be stored safely for 14 billion years.
Let’s get some perspective:
The Earth is 4.534 billion years old The Universe is 13.82 billion years old
With this in mind, your data is essentially safe forever.
Small Storage Solutions
Researchers at Southamton University in the UK have developed the technique of storing data digitally using laser light. 360 terabytes of information can fit on
one sliver of nanostructured quartz. With this tech, we can store literally the whole of human history.
The technique uses femtosecond laser pulses to write data in the 3D structure of quartz at the nanoscale. The pulses create three layers of nanostructred dots, each just microns above the other.
The changes in the structure can be read by interrogating the sample with another pulse of light and recording the orientation of the waves after they’ve passed through.
Notably, this is referred to as a 5D storage device. These include the three dimensions of space, which are responsible for describing the physical location of the dot, and two additional dimensions that are encoded by the polarity and intensity of the beam that creates the dot.
The storage system, in addition to being long lasting, is also pretty safe—the quartz can withstand up to 157 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Our Nano-Legacy
In the same way that the Pioneer Plaque is meant to be a communication tool between us and any extraterrestrial life, these tiny storage systems could someday inform other beings (maybe our far, far, far off descendants) about Earth and humanity after we are long gone.
The research team has written a series of major works on the small glass discs. These are the works that will outlive generations:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Newton’s Opticks The Magna Carta The King James Bible
This new advance in storage makes the technique a genuine means of archiving vast quantities of information in perpetuity. We no longer have to fear the loss associated with tragedies like the Library of Alexandria.Patient Preparation Collect Lavender (EDTA). Specimen Preparation Transfer 7 mL whole blood to ARUP Standard Transport Tubes. (Min: 2 mL) Specimen must be labeled with patient's name, date of birth, and date and time of draw. Storage/Transport Temperature Refrigerated. Unacceptable Conditions Frozen specimens. Remarks Stability Ambient: 72 hours; Refrigerated: 2 weeks; Frozen: Unacceptable
This testing is recommended for the following situations:
1. Recently transfused individuals who have circulating RBCs of donor origin that interfere with the typing of self RBCs.
2. Individuals with conditions requiring frequent transfusions (eg, sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia) who develop antibodies to low-immunogenicity antigens that are present on donor RBCs. Although these antigens are usually not typed by standard serology because of their low immunogenicity, they can lead to hemolytic reactions after multiple transfusions.
3. Individuals with RhD variants with low antigen expression or with reduced numbers of antigenic epitopes (eg, weak D, D elute, partial D) where serotyping may yield inconclusive calls.
Component Test Code* Component Chart Name LOINC 2004740 Blood Group, ABO/8 Minor Ag, Microarray Bloodchip Reference
Performed at Novartis | 1.563957 | 813 | 811 |
In the days following this year's general election, the constant in almost all of the post-election analysis has been the Latino vote and how strongly Latinos turned out for Democrats and President Obama. The other side of that analysis has been that Republicans need to connect with Latinos quickly or they risk losing the Latino vote forever.
The reality is starting to set in with conservative pundits that Republicans have to finally get serious about comprehensive immigration reform. While taking an active role in immigration reform may help Republicans bridge the Latino gap, Charles Krauthammer takes it a step further in his column "The Way Forward." Mr. Krauthammer suggests that reversing this Latino voting trend shouldn't be that difficult because Latinos "should be a natural Republican constituency."
Huh?
I would be curious to know what data Mr. Krauthammer is using to come to the conclusion that Latinos "should be a natural Republican constituency." If the assumption is that Latinos vote for Democrats only because of the issue of illegal immigration, one would be hard-pressed to find facts to support that.
The better question is, when did a majority of this "natural constituency" vote for Republicans in recent history? In 2000 and 2004, the GOP had a presidential nominee who was in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. Both times, George W. Bush lost the Latino vote. In 2000, Vice President Al Gore won 62 percent of the Latino vote. The Republican high water mark came in 2004, when Senator John Kerry won Latino support by 9 percent over President Bush. Signs of life, but by no means a "natural Republican constituency."
Immigration reform and the Republicans' hostile "self-deportation" policy surely helped President Obama win 71 percent of the Latino vote. However, President Clinton received a higher percentage of the Latino vote in a Presidential election -- 72 percent in 1996.
Many Republicans, like Mr. Krauthammer, might believe that President Obama and Democrats win this high a percentage of Latino support because of their policies on immigration. This would be ignoring the fact that, while immigration reform is important to Latinos, it's not the only issue for us. Latinos are concerned about the same pocketbook issues that matter to most middle class Americans -- creating good-paying jobs in this country, making sure our children get a quality education and ensuring that our families have access to affordable and quality healthcare.
Don't take my word for it. Polls taken right before Tuesday's election prove it. On deficit reduction, a plurality of Latinos (42 percent) believe in a balanced approach that includes tax increases and spending cuts , with another 35 percent of Latinos supporting raising revenue by asking the wealthiest in our country to pay more in taxes. On healthcare, 61 percent of Latinos say the Affordable Care Act should remain the law of the land, because they believe that the federal government has a role to play in guaranteeing that people have health care.
As a Latina, and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, comprehensive immigration reform is important to me. As a nation, we are long overdue for a rational discussion with regards to our immigration policies. I think most Americans would agree that we need sensible solutions that fix our immigration system and deal humanely with aspiring citizens currently in our country. At the same time, these solutions must increase the security of our borders.
I commend Mr. Krauthammer for addressing the need for comprehensive immigration reform. However, if Mr. Krauthammer believes that all it will take for Republicans to win the Latino vote is to fix the GOP's offensive rhetoric on immigration, he truly doesn't understand that Latinos are not one-issue voters. "The Way Forward" might take a lot longer for Republicans to navigate if they operate under the same assumption.
How will Donald Trump’s first 100 days impact YOU? Subscribe, choose the community that you most identify with or want to learn more about and we’ll send you the news that matters most once a week throughout Trump’s first 100 days in office. Learn more | 1.3945 | 829 | 828 |
Lord John Alderdice
Former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly (1998-2004); former Leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (1987-1998):
ICSR is unique, because it brings together the top policymakers with the top academics. It helps the policymakers understand what’s necessary; it makes the academics recognise what’s urgent; and it helps all of us to get it right.
Hon. Arif Alikhan
Former Assistant Secretary for Policy Development, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2009-11); former Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security, Los Angeles (2006-09):
ICSR and its team of researchers have been a tremendous resource for policy makers in both Europe and the U.S. As a former policy official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, I was very thankful for ICSR’s contributions to our examination of radicalisation and countering violent extremism. ICSR provided thoughtful analyses, gathered expertise from around the world, and brought key people together for insightful discussions on the complexities of the counter-radicalisation issue.
Peter Clarke
Former UK National Coordinator of Terrorism Investigations and Head of Counterterrorism Command, London Metropolitan Police:
As a police officer, I can see just how important the work of ICSR is. It gives you the opportunity to take a step back and put what you are doing in a broader context. For practitioners, it’s really important to have smart, independent people who can give an objective assessment of when you’re right, and when you need to do better.
Secretary Chuck Hagel
Former US Secretary of Defense (2013 - 2015). Prior to this he served two terms as Senator of Nebraska, serving his second in the United States Senate.
The work done by ICSR is enormously important, because you have no hidden agenda other than finding the most intelligent solution to any given problem. Nowhere is this more critical than dealing with issues like terrorism, radicalisation, and political violence.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
Former President of Sri Lanka (1994-2005):
The work done by ICSR is so important, because it looks at all kinds of terrorism and extremism. It helps us understand historical trends and patterns, so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
Rt. Hon. Paul Martin
Former Prime Minister of Canada (2003-06):
One of the greatest strengths of ICSR is its independence and neutrality. That’s why it reaches such an influential audience, and that’s why its reports are so widely respected and admired.
President Andres Pastrana
Former President of Colombia (1998-2002); former Mayor of Bogota (1988-90):
ICSR has a truly global perspective on the causes of violence and extremism. It’s a global network that brings together different perspectives and experiences, and allows us to learn from each other.
Ambassador Mitchell B. Reiss
President of Washington College; former Director of Policy Planning, U.S. State Department (2003-05):
ICSR provides a great platform for serious, constructive dialogue on the most hotly debated issues, as well as a source of world-class expertise on many of the international challenges we face.
Hon. Frances Townsend
Former Assistant to the U.S. President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Chair of the Homeland Security Council (2004-08):
The quality of your work is exceptional. You know how to do world class research – but you also know how to explain it to the public and the policymakers.
Lord David Trimble
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; former First Minister of Northern Ireland (1998-2002):
What I like about ICSR is that it focuses on the causes of conflict and radicalisation. If we don’t understand the long-term trends, factors and roots of conflict, it’s impossible to make the transition to peace.
Commissioner Antonio Vitorino
Former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs (1999-2004); former Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal (1995-97):
The research done by ICSR helped to shape our understanding of radicalisation and what can be done to prevent it. ICSR has played a critical role in making our countries safer and our societies more cohesive. | 1.311358 | 904 | 903 |
Health Highlights: April 6, 2011
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
USDA Proposes New Meat Safety Rule
A proposal to require meat producers to delay shipments to grocery stores while federal inspectors complete tests was announced Tuesday by the Obama administration.
Periodic checks for dangerous bacteria are conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors at thousands of meat-packing and processing plants across the United States each year, the
Wall Street Journal reported.
In a news release, the USDA said it "inspects billions of pounds of meat, poultry and processed egg products annually," and believes that "44 of the most serious recalls between 2007 and 2009 could have been prevented" if the proposed "test and hold" rule had been in place.
The tests usually take 24 to 48 hours to complete and many large meat producers already delay shipments while the tests are conducted, the
Wall Street Journal reported.
Officials believe the new regulation would "result in fewer products with dangerous pathogens reaching store shelves and dinner tables," according to Elisabeth Hagen, USDA undersecretary for food safety.
-----
Human Gene Patents Subject of Appeals Court Hearing
A legal case that could affect the patenting of human gene sequencing is being heard by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington.
The case involves Myriad Genetics Inc. patents for identifying people's risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The patents make the company the exclusive U.S. provider of genetic screening tests for the diseases, the
Wall Street Journal reported.
Last year, a federal judge invalidated Myriad's patient claims after the American Civil Liberties Union launched a lawsuit challenging the patenting of gene sequences.
A decision by the appeals court is expected in the coming months, the
Journal reported.
-----
Updated Guidelines to Prevent Bloodstream Infections
Health care worker education/training and cleaning a patient's skin with an antibacterial scrub are among the major recommendations included in updated guidelines to protect American hospital patients from bloodstream infections.
The use of maximal sterile barrier precautions and avoiding routine replacement of certain catheters are also among the main areas of emphasis in the health care provider guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee.
The guidelines were created by a working group led by clinical scientists from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Critical Care Medicine Department, along with 14 other professional organizations.
"Preventing these infections is an excellent example of how hospitals and other health care facilities can improve patient care and save lives, all while reducing excess medical costs," CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden said in a CDC news release.
Posted: April 2011Boehringer Ingelheim has won a heated race for approval of a new blood thinner, gaining a regulatory OK from the FDA for a drug that is expected to earn blockbuster revenue as the anticlotting market in the U.S. grows to $12 billion a year. Pradaxa is now approved to prevent strokes in patients with an irregular heartbeat.
The new thrombin inhibitor helps rein in an enzyme that plays a key role in blood clotting. Boehringer took the drug through a rigorous trial process, which included comparing the therapy to the longtime standard warfarin. Norman Stockbridge, the director of the FDA's cardiovascular and renal products division, notes that Pradaxa has been shown to be superior to warfarin, making periodic monitoring of patients unnecessary.
As
Dow Jones notes, Barclays has estimated that the anticlotting drug market will grow to $12 billion over the next year. Sanford C. Bernstein, meanwhile, believes that Pradaxa can garner $4 billion a year. That kind of money has attracted a host of potential competitors, with Bayer teaming with J&J on rivaroxaban--sold in Europe as Xarelto but still in front of the FDA--with BMS and Pfizer collaborating on pixaban while Merck and Portola are working on betrixaban. Read more on | 1.255228 | 845 | 843 |
Should You Be Marketing to Robots?
Jason Alan Snyder in AdWeek has an intriguingly titled new post up, "4 Ways to Catch Robots' Attention With Your Marketing" which addresses, well, just that: robots, artificial intelligence, and marketing. And he has some very important points to make about who marketers should be targeting in the future. Hint: It isn't people.
Mind you, Snyder doesn't mean we should literally be marketing to robots. Marketers need to realize that they shouldn't think of "robots" or "artificial intelligence" as an actual target demographic, but as the gatekeepers to the customers marketers are trying to reach.
As Snyder puts it, "AI robots suggest a scarf that similar users bought to go with those winter gloves you just ordered. AI robots know it's dinner time and show you nearby restaurants in your Waze map on your way home."
This is true, and grows more applicable to our daily lives. Basically, almost anything digitally displayed has probably been selected by a machine that has been programmed to think about and then choose what to display. And the machine often bases its choice on whatever demographic information it may have about you, from your general location based on your IP address all the way down to the long list of things you like and/or have "liked" on whatever social media platform you use.
No, Not Those Kind of Robots
What Snyder is really talking about here are the algorithms that sort, collate, and pick through the massive amounts of data and information being generated by our modern digital economy. These tools are becoming more and more sophisticated, and marketers need to begin adjusting their practices to address the new gatekeepers of the economy if they want to reach whatever precious demographic they are targeting.
How exactly they supposed to do that remains a bit of a mystery, however, Snyder does have a few general suggestions. Some of them are just good ideas no matter who your trying to reach, robot or human, such as crafting your message so it will be noticed by people
and machines, or increasing your brand's sophistication such that algorithms can pick up on it.
But the most useful and specific piece of advice is this:
Control the ecosystem . Basically, your brand isn't going to be able to create its own system for reaching consumers. You're not going to build the next Amazon, so just go ahead and use Amazon instead, or whatever ecommerce giant suits your brand best. Control and craft your marketing efforts so that your brand will appear high on "customers also bought" and suggested item lists. It's much easier to try to get Apple, Facebook, Pinterest, Google, etc. to notice you than to try and compete with them.
Robots, A.I., algorithms. Whatever you call them, they are increasingly what are calling the shots in the world of digital marketing and economics, and appealing to these tools can make the difference between your brand actually being seen by consumers or getting lost among the thousands of other companies clamoring for attention. So it makes a whole lot of sense that your marketing should make an effort to garner their attention. right rarely makes a stand on principle, but is very good at creating an appearance of doing so; the left is generally terrified of being seen to do any such thing. But the left
should stand on principle, and do so more often. In this case, the enemy (FOX News) of every sane humans’ enemy (The Donald) remains, well, our enemy. This is an internal conflict between two parties that remain equally worthy of condemnation, whether or not they happen to like each other. There’s no need for political expediency here; a plague on both Trump and Kelly’s houses. have the audacity to want it all.”
Natalie Bell is a freelance journalist in New York who has taught college courses in women’s and media studies. Also see "The First of All Liberties: Making Health Care Meet Women's Needs" by Eesha Pandit in this edition of On The Issues Magazine. See "Black Abortion: Breaking the Silence" by Maame-Mensima Horne in this edition of On The Issues Magazine. | 2.018929 | 837 | 834 |
Are you looking for tasty jerky recipes to snack on? Look no further, because I’ve rounded up chewy and savory jerky recipes to satisfy your salty cravings!
15 Flavorful Jerky Recipes To Make At Home!
Jerky is another genius way to eat meat as a snack and treat. It can be sweet but mostly savory. If you’re wondering how jerky can be a tasty treat, the magic starts in the marinade! It’s actually easy to make jerky at home. You can make jerky even without the fancy equipment such as jerky press and dehydrator. You can use an oven, which can actually handle a larger amount of meat at once than most dehydrators. The first time I tried making jerky, it turned out pretty well, despite my initial misgivings. But since I have this list, I realized I used the right recipe! I’m glad I did! I am completely sold on these jerky recipes and have already tried three on this list. They are all perfect and beyond what I’ve expected. These jerky recipes are guaranteed to soothe your cravings for chewy and salty treats and I can’t wait to share them with you!
Store bought jerky is usually loaded with an insane amount of chemicals and straight up nasties, which is a shame because we love us some jerky! If you’re in the same boat, I hope these jerky recipes inspire you to ditch the chemical-laden version and hop on the
au naturel train! These jerky recipes are easy to make and will ignite your taste buds’ passion! Homemade jerky is healthier and better tasting than the kinds you find at the store, so don’t keep your family and friends waiting any longer and let’s make some tasty jerky!
1. Hot and Spicy Homemade Beef Jerky
Have you ever wondered how to make beef jerky? Then thank goodness you came across this list! This hot and spicy jerky recipe is a classic and has just the right flavor to turn this one-time snack into a lifetime obsession.
2. Spicy Teriyaki Beef Jerky
If you like your meaty treat a bit sweeter and spicier, this is the jerky recipe for you! This jerky is marinated in teriyaki sauce, which in turn makes it moist, tender, and not too tough to chew on. While we love ripping apart bits of jerky, our jaws don’t, so this recipe provides a nice little break for them.
3. Salmon Jerky
I love seeing unusual proteins get turned into jerky and salmon is one of them! This recipe turns a classic snack into one packed with omega-3s, protein, and essential amino acids. So, now you can snack guilt-free and to your heart’s content! Woooh!
4. Bak Kwa (Chinese Pork Jerky)
Bak Kwa or dried meat is a Malaysian/Chinese-style pork jerky which is moist and grilled to perfection over a charcoal fire. Bak Kwa is a treat that is usually pretty pricey, so the homemade version is definitely the best way to enjoy this delectable delicacy.
5. Duck or Goose Jerky
Duck or goose meat make great jerky! Duck meat has a very distinct taste and texture that allows it to easily absorb whatever spices and herbs you choose to sexy up your dish with. When making this recipe, be sure to get the ratio of salt right and marinate the meat for at least 24 hours (but 3 days is recommended). This will ensure your jerky is the best it can be!
6. Spicy Sriracha Tofu Jerky
Yay! A jerky version just for vegans! While most vegan jerky recipes are made with wheat gluten, this recipe switches it up a bit by making it with tofu! The touch of sriracha in this homemade recipe gives this tofu jerky the perfect ratio of sweet, spicy, and sexy all over. And you thought tofu was boring…Psh!
7. Venison Jerky
Want to learn how to make venison jerky? Sweet – let’s get to it then! Deer meat tastes a lot like beef, except leaner. This jerky recipe tastes just like the kind you buy at the store, except healthier, tastier, and without all those weird preservatives. Isn’t home cooking fun?
8. Korean Beef Jerky
If you’ve ever tried Korean BBQ, you know, first hand, how ridiculously delicious it is. The marinade for Korean BBQ is unlike any other marinade I’ve ever tried, so of course, Korean BBQ jerky was a must-make on my list. If your taste buds are looking for something new and exciting, then switch it up a bit and try this Korean BBQ jerky recipe.
9. Candied Bacon Jerky
A bacon jerky recipe packed with sweet, crispy, bacon goodness. This candied bacon jerky recipe yields crispy salty-sweet bacon with a kick | 1.505576 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
of cayenne and is absolutely everything you’re looking for in a snack. In comparison to other jerky recipes, this one is relatively easy to put together.
10. Old-Fashioned Deer Jerky
Make your favorite jerky recipe the old-fashioned way without a meat grinder or jerky press. This authentic jerky recipe is delicious and will remind you of all the reasons you love jerky.
11. Teriyaki Chicken Jerky
Beef is great, but sometimes, poultry is even better. Be warned though because when you make this recipe you are about to taste one of the best chicken recipes ever! This is a sweet, spicy, and chewy treat that will make you forget any other kind of jerky even exists.
12. Cauliflower Jerky
Cauliflower is actually a great meat substitute and can be used in recipes for buffalo chicken, chicken, pizza crust, and steak. In this recipe, cauliflower is drenched in a rich tahini and other flavors. This jerky treat is a brilliant way to enjoy veggies and will leave you happy and satisfied.
— Homemade Recipes (@BestHomeRecipes) January 16, 2017
13. Sweet and Spicy Beef Jerky for Purim
Purim is a Jewish festival held in spring and this is a recipe made specifically for it. This beef jerky uses three kinds of sweeteners – honey, maple syrup, and sugar which make it the best recipe for sweet-toothed meat eaters! That said, if you’re not into sweets, this recipe also packs some heat from cayenne and red pepper flakes. Have a bit and I bet you won’t be able to stop at just one.
14. Eggplant Jerky
This jerky is made with eggplant and acorn squash and tastes so similar to the real thing! Think of bacon and beef but in a wholesome form. If you’re looking for a healthier alternative to meat jerky, this may just be the recipe for you.
15. Kentucky Bourbon Beef Jerky
Excite your taste buds with this jerky recipe packed with flavor plus a mild punch from whiskey. This is such a manly snack perfect for a get-together, picnics, Father’s Day, or even just for an ordinary day.
Watch this video tutorial from Allrecipes to learn the basic in making homemade beef jerky:
Jerky is the perfect treat for when your salty cravings hit. You don’t have to splurge on tasty jerky because you can actually make your own at home. This list is loaded with uniquely flavorful jerky recipes to inspire you not to buy nasty and chemical-laden jerky and make a healthier and better homemade version instead. I’m pretty sure you’ll find a favorite on this list and I would be delighted to hear from you!
Which jerky recipes are you planning to try? Share your experience with me in the comments section below. How about healthier recipes to snack on? Try these 12 Healthy Chips Recipes To Try At Home! Don’t forget to keep in touch, foodies! Sign up for our newsletter here! Also, make sure to follow us on social media:
Featured Image via TraegerWhile ecosystem management requires looking beyond specific jurisdiction and focusing on broad spatial scales, most planning decisions particularly in the USA, are made at local level. By looking at land use planning in Florida, this volume recognises the need for planners and resource managers to address ecosystem problems at local and community levels.
The factors causing ecosystem decline, such as rapid urban development and habitat fragmentation occur at the local level and are generated by local land use policies. This book argues that understanding how local jurisdictions can capture and implement the principles of managing natural systems will lead to more sustainable levels of environmental planning in the future.
There are currently no reviews for this product. Be the first to review this product! realistic has been a challenge, agents say. “As an industry, I guess it’s taken us a while to communicate that things have changed,” said Mr. Riseborough of Re/Max. | 1.699761 | 833 | 830 |
The relationship between hospital market competition, evidence-based performance measures, and mortality for chronic heart failure.
MedLine Citation:
PMID: 22931022 Owner: NLM Status: In-Process
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Using data from the Joint Commission's ORYX initiative and the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file from 2003 to 2006, this study employed a fixed-effects approach to examine the relationship between hospital market competition, evidence-based performance measures, and short-term mortality at seven days, 30 days, 90 days, and one year for patients with chronic heart failure. We found that, on average, higher adherence with most of the Joint Commission's heart failure performance measures was not associated with lower mortality; the level of market competition also was not associated with any differences in mortality. However, higher adherence with the discharge instructions and left ventricular function assessment indicators at the 80th and 90th percentiles of the mortality distribution was associated with incrementally lower mortality rates. These findings suggest that targeting evidence-based processes of care might have a stronger impact in improving patient outcomes.
Authors:
Jared Lane K Maeda; Anthony T Lo Sasso
Publication Detail:
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Journal Detail:
Title: Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing Volume: 49 ISSN: 0046-9580 ISO Abbreviation: Inquiry Publication Date: 2012
Date Detail:
Created Date: 2012-08-30 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID: 0171671 Medline TA: Inquiry Country: United States
Other Details:
Languages: eng Pagination: 164-75 Citation Subset: IM
Affiliation:
Analytic Consulting & Research Services, Thomson Reuters Healthcare, Washington, DC 20008, USA. jared.maeda@thomsonreuters.com
Export Citation:
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Descriptor/Qualifier:
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R36 HS17944/HS/AHRQ HHS
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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Cite this document
This paper describes the lasting effect of sand capping techniques on nutrient release reduction from contaminated sediments. Bottom sediments in Tokyo Bay are very contaminated as the results of eutrophication behavior. From the sediments, a large amount of nutrients are released into seawater bodies. In order to know the effect of the sand capping technique on nutrient release reduction and its lasting effect, we carried out the undisturbed sediment sampling at Yokohama Port. Then we carried out the laboratory tests to estimate the nutrient release rate. From the study, it is concluded that the sand capping technique has a still effect on nutrient release reduction from the contaminated sediments, and the effectiveness is dependent upon the thickness of mud layer accumulated on the capped sand.
Author Information:
Murakami, K
Professor, Musashi Institute of Technology, Tokyo,
Nobusawa, Y
Research Engineer, Nishihara Co. Ltd., Tokyo,
Kameyama, Y
Research Engineer, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Yokohama, Stock #: JAI13887 ISSN: 1546-962X DOI: 10.1520/JAI13887 | 1.036955 | 839 | 837 |
Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine (Texas, USA) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (Cambridge, UK) have deciphered how neurons can synthesize a diverse range of proteins from a relatively limited number of genes – a discovery with important implications for understanding how complex neural circuitry is formed and maintained throughout our lives. A long-standing question in neurobiology is how each of the tens of thousands of neurons that populate the mammalian brain are instructed to establish the specific connections that give rise to our complex neural networks. Researchers postulate that the expression of distinct sets of proteins in each individual neuron act as molecular cues to direct the course of each neurons fate. The protocadherin (Pcdh) family of proteins are prime candidates for this job, as each individual neuron expresses an overlapping but distinct combination of Pcdh proteins. In the August 1 issue of Genes & Development, Dr. Allan Bradley and colleagues report on their identification of the mechanism of neuron-specific Pcdh expression. The Pcdh family of proteins is encoded by three gene clusters (Pcdh-a, Pcdh-ß, and Pcdh-g) on human chromosome #5, and mouse chromosome #18. The a and g clusters each contain genes with several variable exons (coding regions of DNA). Each variable exon can be separately joined to a constant region of the gene, thereby creating the genetic blueprint for a Pcdh protein that will have a unique variable region and a common constant region.
Heather Cosel | EurekAlert!
Further information: http://www.cshl.org/
Ion treatments for cardiac arrhythmia — Non-invasive alternative to catheter-based surgery
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Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
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Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
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20.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
20.01.2017 | Life Sciences | 0.579877 | 871 | 870 |
Before I started this website I had never heard of Don Coxe but early on some readers sent me some of his weekly missives. I found a lot of similar thought processes [Jan 18, 2008: One Lonely Voice Agrees with me on Food Inflation] [May 2, 2008: Don Coxe on Food Crisis] - specifically having to do with agriculture and in a larger sense commodities as a whole. Apparently after reading around I'm a Malthusian at heart [Mar 24: WSJ - New Limits to Growth Revive Malthusian Fears] as too many humans arrive on this planet, and more importantly too many are escaping stark poverty and striving for middle class (hence require much more of the world's limited resources) [Jun 20: World Population to Hit 7 Billion by 2012]. This has major implications as Americans (3% of the world's population sucking up 25% of its resources) We are in a great global competition for resources and it's just getting started. So Coxe & I share some very long term thoughts.
In yet another great irony just as Mr. Coxe launched his specialized fund [Apr 22: Don Coxe Offers Coxe Commodity Strategy Fund] he basically called the top in commodities within a month or two. Much like Ken Heebner's CGM Focus mutual fund peaked within weeks of his cover story on Fortune Magazine. [May 28, 2008: Ken Heebner - America's Hottest Investor]
Coxe had a VERY rough latter 2008 [Sep 11, 2008: Don Coxe with his Views on What "Just Happened"] and this is why I say constantly it is so much easier to be a pundit / strategist than an actual money manager. But 2008 was so bad, even pundits/strategists who can hide behind "being early" or "general time lines" were blasted left and right. Even if you are correct in the "long run" it doesn't matter if you lose 30,40,50,60% of your money being wrong in the "short run". After losing 50%, you need to make 100% just to break even. With that said, I still like to hear the thoughts of those with good long term track records, even if 2008 was horrific for them.
Coxe had a very lengthy article in Toronto's Globe & Mail of which I'll cut some snippets below - if you are interested in the rest just follow the link.
Donald Coxe, 73 years old and unbowed, offers no apologies for getting it wrong on commodities in 2008. ... Coxe is not merely reminiscing. He also has a serious point. Well, two. The first is to let the listener know that he has been around for a long time, and seen more than a little bit of history— financial and otherwise. This is not some 36-year-old economics graduate who was still a university student when the early 1990s recession hit. Coxe doesn’t hesitate to remind people that he entered the world of Bay Street in 1972, and thus has lived through the horrific bear market of 1973 and 1974—an event that had him convinced, by the dawn of 1975, that “I’d probably come into the wrong business.” But his second point is about the importance of leaders and leadership in tough times. Thatcher had a plan, and it pulled Britain out of stagnation, inflation and economic decline. Reagan’s policies had a similar effect in the United States. Deng Xiaoping, who placed China on the road to a market economy, changed the world. So did Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister of India and the Finance Minister in 1991, who used a financial crisis to shake that country out of its decades-long embrace of socialism. “I’m not a believer in the idea that we’re caught up in forces beyond our control,” says Coxe. The right policies, combined with political will, matter. “So once I’m satisfied that we’ve got the smart people in there who are prepared to do whatever is necessary to prevent a collapse, I assume it will be done.” All of which serves to explain why Coxe—who in December left his post as Bank of Montreal’s global portfolio strategist, to start Coxe Advisors LLC— believes that history will vindicate him and prove that his difficult 2008 was an aberration. While Coxe wasn’t shocked to see a market meltdown last fall, he was caught badly off guard by the way the concomitant financial crisis destroyed prices for the commodities and commodity stocks that he has for years touted as the fastest way for investors to increase their wealth. | 1.810674 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Oil, after peaking at just short of $150 (U.S.) a barrel in July, fell to $45 (U.S.) by year-end. Corn, from a summertime high of roughly $8 a bushel, plunged to $4; copper went from about $4 a pound, to $1.40. Few resource companies were spared, except for gold stocks. The shares of many junior mining companies lost most of their value. In the oil patch, even a blue chip like Suncor Energy Inc., a Coxe favourite, was down 56% in 2008. As for Coxe himself, he called the recession correctly, but stumbled on how to play it. “Stay overinvested in commodity stocks whose earnings and performance are tied to stronger economies in the Third World,” he advised his readers in one of his “Basic Points” reports. The date was July 3, 2008. As it turned out, that was the best time not to buy commodities, but to sell them. The Reuters/ Jeffries CRB commodity price index peaked on July 2. Over the next six months, it plummeted by half. Worse still, the market now had a simple way to track his mistakes. The $300-million Coxe Commodity Strategy Fund, after debuting to a warm reception from investors in June, was down 55% by mid- October. For Coxe, there’s little escaping responsibility; even the ticker symbol, COX.un, makes it clear who is driving the fund. Coxe says that at one point during the downdraft, he had lost $2 million, or 40% of his personal equity portfolio. “From July 14 until, I would say, roughly last week, has been the most stressful [period] of my recent working life,” he said in an interview shortly before Christmas. “You’re talking to me at a time when I’m feeling somewhat beaten up.” Coxe says he underestimated the role of the hedge funds. He knew that many of them had gone long on commodities and short on financial stocks—that was rather obvious, and amplified the sharp rise in commodity prices in 2007 and the first half of 2008. What he didn’t realize, or fully appreciate, was how many billions of dollars of those bets were made on borrowed money. Since commodities futures themselves are a leveraged investment, the result was a series of bets in which leverage was piled on top of leverage. The whole edifice came tumbling down during the summer, as hedge fund losses began to pile up and the margin calls came pouring in. (not working in the industry, I had the exact same issue: not realizing how much leverage was in the system, and more specific - how much was in the hedge fund food chain; but it appears many inside the industry had no clue either) “None of us, or nobody I talked to, thought that much of it was hedge funds that were leveraged 30 or 40 or 50 to 1,” says Coxe. One rough year is not going to cause his loyal followers to stray. “For my money, he’s the best in Canada,” says Seymour Schulich, the billionaire investor and philanthropist. “Some of these guys, you look at and you think they’re from Mars.... You know what I like about him is, he’s got a real grasp of financial history.” Like all strategists, Coxe got some predictions badly wrong. His bullish calls on gold in the early and mid-1990s were duds. For a time, he was an alarmist about the Y2K problem, writing: “Wouldn’t it be fascinating if the once-in-a-millennium crisis came because creditors were unready for Y2K?” Other predictions he got dead-right. He warned at the end of 1997 that the Asian crisis was far from over, which it wasn’t. He raised a skeptical eye at the absurd valuations on many technology companies in 1999 and 2000, and was right. So he’s bruised. But wrong? Coxe doesn’t think the word applies. “When the market seems to have gone to hell, you say, ‘Well, aren’t you realizing in the middle of the night that you were all wrong?’ No!” He believes in the impact of strong leaders, and therefore believes the world—because of the efforts of Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke and the leaders of China and India and Europe, among others—will avoid spiralling into a 1930s-style depression. Not only will their policies breathe new life into the economy, Coxe predicts, they’ll do it so quickly that Bernanke, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, will be worried about inflation by the end of this year. “I’m more and more of the view that | 1.715131 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
National Seasonal Rainfall Outlook: probabilities for August to October 2007, issued 24th July 2007 Odds mainly near 50:50 for above normal rain, but drier season indicated in much of Qld
For the southern half of the country, the outlook for total August to October rainfall shows no strong swings in the odds towards either above-normal or below-normal rainfall. In the north of the country though, there are moderate to strong swings in the odds towards below-normal rainfall over most of northern and western Queensland. However, August to October includes the final two months of the northern dry season, so significant rain is uncommon during this period in tropical areas.
The pattern of seasonal rainfall odds across Australia is a result of continuing higher than average temperatures over much of the tropical Pacific Ocean, and also in parts of the tropical and sub-tropical Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean has been warming strongly in recent months, and this has had a strong influence on the outlook in Queensland.
The chances of exceeding the median rainfall for the August to October period are between 20 and 40% across northern and western Queensland (see map). In parts of eastern and southern SA together with the far western border areas of NSW, the chances are in the 35 to 40% range. However, caution is advised in applying this outlook in SA because of low predictive skill in this part of the country (see below).
So in years with ocean patterns like the current, about two to four August to October periods out of ten are expected to be wetter than average in these parts of Australia, while six to eight out of ten are expected to be drier.
Over the rest of country the chances of accumulating at least average rain for the season are relatively close to 50%.
Outlook confidence is related to how consistently the Pacific and Indian Oceans affect Australian rainfall. During August to October, history shows this effect to be moderately consistent across most of Queensland, the east and north of the NT and the northern inland of NSW. Elsewhere, it is generally weakly consistent, reaching moderate only in patches, including northern Tasmania (see background information).
The 30-day value of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) rose to +12 during June before settling back to +5 as a final monthly value. Nevertheless, this was the highest monthly value since April 2006 (+15). However, the SOI has continued to fall during July to an approximate 30-day value as at 21st July of −13. ENSO indicators remain mixed in terms of their progress towards a La Niña, despite this being the prediction from computer models. For routine updates and comprehensive discussion on any developments please see the ENSO Wrap-Up.
Click on the map above for a larger version of the map. Use the reload/refresh button to ensure the latest forecast map is displayed.
The following climate meteorologists in the National Climate Centre can be contacted about this outlook: Grant Beard on (03) 9669 4527, Lyn Bettio on (03) 9669 4165, David Jones on (03) 9669 4085.
Regional commentary is available from the Climate Services Sections in the Bureau's Regional Offices:
THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE SEASONAL OUTLOOK IS EXPECTED BY 23
Background Information flexibility can expand his or her career options and make an impact at work.
Martha Frase-Blunt is a freelance business writer based in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
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Each generation likes to think it is unique, or at least living on the cutting-edge; but archaeologists have long known that history has a way of repeating itself. Although North America is often considered to be part of the "New World," inhabitations on this continent date back millennia. In this...
Archaeologists in Cambodia have found multiple, previously undocumented medieval cities not far from the ancient temple city of Angkor Wat...Some experts believe that the recently analysed data – captured in 2015 during the most extensive airborne study ever undertaken by an archaeological project, covering 734 sq miles (1,901 sq km) – shows that the colossal, densely populated cities would have constituted the largest empire on earth at the time of its peak in the 12th century.
— The Guardian
“That survey uncovered an array of discoveries, including elaborate water systems that were built hundreds of years before historians believed the technology existed. The findings are expected to challenge theories on how the Khmer empire developed, dominated the region, and declined around the...
It is not enough to just catalogue these [structures] in photos and videos, it is our aim to break down the logic of these patterns, and recreate them in code in order to make them more accessible and possibly allowing them to find new life in contemporary applications. By building an open source library, accessible to architects, artists, mathematicians, and software engineers, we can carry these patterns and traditions forward for future generations.
— Metropolis Magazine
Lauren Connell (architect at BIG), Alexis Burson (associate at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners), and Baris Yuksel (Google senior engineer) share their architectural and computer engineering perspectives on Project Agama. The collaboration aims to document and digitally preserve the intricate...
A recently completed restoration project [of Spain's Matrera Castle] has provoked an incredulous reaction from some locals and a Spanish conservation group...However, Carlos Quevedo, the architect who oversaw the restoration of the castle...pointed out that the project had been painstaking, professional, and legal...'I do think that some basic, accurate information can help avoid some of the prejudices that spring from a simple image.'
— The Guardian
Spain is having another cultural kerfuffle over the recent restoration of the ancient Matrera Castle in Cadiz. While locals and preservation groups are mocking and criticizing the makeover, architect Carlos Quevedo says that it was done to prevent further structural collapse.More about historic...
Citing a recent report from the Great Wall of China Society, the [Beijing Times] claims that more than 30% of the original structure has disappeared. Approximately 74.1% is poorly preserved, and only 8.2% is in good condition. While concerns about the wall’s condition have deepened in recent years, the study appears to be the first to actually quantify the problem.
— Hyperallergic
More on Archinect:Paul Rudolph's Government Center won't be saved, despite preservationist pleasU.S. LGBTQ preservation group pushes to preserve more heritage sites at the national levelNew list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places keeps fragile memories alive
PBS taps into the growing presence of 3D digital preservation on their new show, Time Scanners, which will premiere its first episode tonight at 8 p.m. ET. The three-part series will peruse the ancient iconic sites of the Egyptian Pyramids, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and the city of Petra...
In Australia, we tend to think of green building as ‘high tech’ and ‘high spec.’ However, if we take a look at ancient Roman structures, it is clear that green building was on display even then, and without all of the high tech innovations we have available to us in the 21st century.
— DesignBuild Source
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Broccoli is a healthy and nutritious vegetable that can be prepared in a number of different ways. Some of the most common and healthiest ways to cook broccoli are to steam it in the microwave or in a double boiler; simply to boiling it for a few minutes in a pot of water is another approach. It may also be sauteed with a little bit of olive oil, or roasted in the oven. Some people will even just eat it raw in a simple salad or with a dip. There are a number of different recipes illustrating different ways to cook broccoli, including blending it in order to make broccoli soup.
When preparing a healthy vegetable for dinner, most people don't want to wreck its nutritional benefits by preparing it in an unhealthy way, such as by frying it. Broccoli can be prepared in a number of different ways that are flavorful and delicious, though still healthy. Keep in mind that although one of the most common ways to cook broccoli is to steam it and then drench it in cheese sauce, this really increases the calorie and fat content of the dish, so it may be a good idea to be judicious with the cheese.
The easiest way to cook broccoli is to steam it. It may be placed in a glass dish with a little bit of water and then microwaved for a few minutes, or put in a double boiler on the stove and steamed that way. Simply boiling a pot of water, and throwing the broccoli in for a few minutes, will also cook it to perfection in a healthy way. Just be sure not to overboil it, because the broccoli will begin to soften, and will eventually just fall apart in the water. Generally, when broccoli is served, it should still be slightly crisp and a bright green color.
Sauteing or stir-frying are two other common ways to cook broccoli. It may be quickly sauteed in a pan with some olive oil and spices, often with other fresh vegetables. To stir-fry broccoli, soy sauce is often used to add extra flavor. Though many people don't think of it, broccoli can also be roasted in the oven; topping it with a little bit of olive oil, fresh minced garlic, and some grated parmesan cheese, and then cooking it under the broiler will give it a delicious and robust flavor. In addition, another favorite way to cook broccoli is to blend it into a nutritious soup.
jonrss
Post 3
Does anyone have a recipe for a really good broccoli slaw? I have been craving this all summer but I need a new recipe. Most of the ones I have tried in the past are so heavy with mayo and they basically taste like cole slaw. I am looking for something different. Any suggestions?
clippers
Post 2
When I was a kid my mom always used to cook broccoli in cheese sauce and to this day that is my favorite way to eat it. There was even a time when that was the only way I would eat it but I have grown up a little since then.
And I don't make it the way my mom made it. I think she used Velveeta cheese sauce but I make my own from good cheeses. It is the same dish in spirit, but I think mine tastes a lot better.
disciples
Post 1
I have had many, many delicious broccoli dishes over the years but for me the simple recipes are the best. Give me some really good fresh broccoli cooked in butter with fresh minced garlic and I will be in heaven.
Broccoli has such a rich and unique flavor, it doesn't need much else to compliment it. If it is quality broccoli and it is well prepared it stands on its own.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | 1.197025 | 808 | 807 |
I’ve been trying to lose a little weight, but it hasn’t going very well for me thus far. I’ve got the exercise thing down, as I workout 60-90 minutes a day. Locking down what I eat has been a completely different story.
After the rest of my family had gone to bed on Thursday night, I decided to have a snack. A small bowl of ice cream lead to a bowl of chips, and ended up with several raids on the bowl of left over Halloween candy. As I was unwrapping a fun-sized candy bar, a simple question popped into my head.
Are my actions consistent with my goals?
The simple answer is, it wasn’t. My late night gorging of snacks completely negated a day in which I had eaten fairly healthy, and had logged a six mile run.
A similar experience occurred over the weekend. Friday evening my wife and I went to a movie, but the way the schedule played out we didn’t have a chance to eat dinner before the show. We ended up stopping at a restaurant after the movie for a late night, mediocre dinner. The next day, we were out shopping and my wife’s mother called and asked if we wanted to meet them for a drink which also turned into dinner. Sunday featured stopping to eat somewhere on our way home from church. As I took my last bite of a fast food burrito, I stopped and asked myself that same question again:
Are my actions consistent with my goals?
Except this time I thought of not only my weight loss goals, but also our finances. Every meal was completely unnecessary, and literally ate up all of our discretionary funds. I won’t even go into the completely unhealthy food choices I made.
On Sunday night my wife and I did our usual weekend spending budget breakdown. While we stayed within our budget for the weekend, neither of us were happy with the spending choices we made. We both agreed that we could make much better use of our funds than just blowing it on junk food at restaurants that we could make ourselves at home. We have a common goal to spend our money on things that bring value and enjoyment to our lives. Our restaurant choices gave us convenience, but didn’t give us any value at all.
So we came to an agreement. Each time we are discussing spending some of our hard earned funds one of us has to throw out that question that had popped into my head twice over the last week:
Would this be consistent with our goals?
We hope that this will help us make better decisions with our money. Hey, it may even help me with my waistline as well.
Are your actions consistent with your financial goals?
Brought to you courtesy of Brockinsertive oral sex
Mar 11, 2003
In a serious laps of judgement, I had incertive oral sex with a sex worker in Europe. She used a condom. Do I have any risk? Would I have had any risk without the condom? Are there currently any documented cases of transmission to the incertive partner? Finally, is there an accurate at-home rapid test?
Response from Mr. Kull
Where was the lapse in judgment? Not only is insertive oral sex not associated to HIV transmission to the insertive partner ( saliva is not implicated in transmission), you also used a condom! That sounds like your judgement was intact and that you are not at risk for HIV infection.
There are no documented cases of transmission to the insertive partner. And since you used a condom, testing is not necessary.
RMK
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NASIRIYAH, Iraq — This city in southern Iraq saw some of the fiercest fighting of the U.S.-led war to oust Saddam Hussein. Yet today the most visible uniform here is not military, but the bright blue overalls of new municipal workers on an urban beautification project. Life, residents say, is getting better.
About 250 miles up the river, near the Sunni-dominated town of Ramadi, the picture is far different: Tense Americans from the 82nd Airborne Division, weapons at the ready, run a checkpoint on a highway that has seen so many attacks it might as well be named "Ambush Alley." Here, locals quietly applaud each strike on U.S. forces.
"They are occupiers," said 30-year-old Falah Matar, a former Iraqi soldier who now sells used clothes.
But in Basra, deep in the south, Tofeek Majed's main worry is that the foreign forces will leave too soon. The Shiite Muslim entrepreneur sees them as liberators who have opened the door to his dream of someday turning his Internet cafe into a technical college.
Six months after the war, Iraq feels like a patchwork of separate countries -- a confused mix of stability and chaos, progress and paralysis, the only common denominator being the unexpected difficulty of rebuilding Iraq into a stable society. Extensive interviews conducted over the past week in towns and cities around this nation show that, amid this jumbled picture, occupation authorities are making progress in the reconstruction.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday November 06, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 News Desk 1 inches; 37 words Type of Material: Correction U.S. forces in Iraq -- An article Oct. 19 in Section A on progress and setbacks in Iraq incorrectly identified a military unit. It should have referred to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, not the 173rd Airborne Division.
A question central to America's success in Iraq, however, remains unanswered: Is this progress fast enough?
Nearly everywhere, Iraqis said delivery of essential services such as electricity, potable water and emergency health care is gradually improving. Gas station lines have shortened, more members of the coalition-trained Iraqi police are on the streets, courts have begun operating, and schools have reopened -- many refurbished and newly equipped. Fledgling media have sprouted in many communities, and local and provincial governing councils have started work.
Yet for all the coalition's efforts -- and for all the Bush administration's recent attempts to trumpet the progress made in Iraq -- the country remains on its knees economically as violence cripples recovery efforts.
From chaotic Baghdad to the tranquillity of Nasiriyah to the south and Kirkuk in the north, one factor more than any other endangers the nation's fragile stability: the absence of jobs. Even Nasiriyah's newly employed municipal workers face an uncertain future. Their contracts are only for two months.
National unemployment is estimated from 50% to 70%, a range that those monitoring developments in the country believe provides a huge pool of idle, discontented men -- all potential recruits for an armed resistance against the occupation that has already begun to undercut confidence in the Americans.
"Nation-building is always a complex issue, but in Iraq, with all the blood that has been shed between different factions, it is going to be especially difficult," said Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East specialist at Sarah Lawrence College who has studied Iraq's resistance. He argued that attacks by insurgents will increase tensions between U.S. forces and the Iraqi people, sowing mistrust and leading to more home searches, interrogations and traffic-snarling checkpoints.
"The United States is really in a race against time in Iraq," he said. "The more the violence escalates, the more the reconstruction is delayed and the more difficult the task will be for the U.S."
Gerges also warned of two nightmare scenarios: a direct hit on an American installation with heavy casualties that would undercut public support in the U.S. for the occupation, or a confrontation with a major Shiite faction that would drive that group to join the resistance -- dramatically broadening the armed opposition to the American presence.
There is already ample evidence that the violence has discouraged new investment and the jobs that would bring. It has also slowed the return of talented, well-educated expatriate Iraqis and driven away groups that usually spearhead recovery, including the United Nations and major nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs.
In Basra, occupation authorities say the absence of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has slowed the return of an estimated 400,000 Iraqis from Iran, while U.N. efforts to supply schools in the city have been delayed by the program's shift to Kuwait. The overstretched coalition military has had to make the deliveries.
In Samarra, about 70 miles north of Baghdad, civil affairs team member Sgt | 1.618649 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
— On August 15, 100 days after being elected in the top job, Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the City of Lincoln Council, will be accepting your questions all day live on The Lincolnite. To submit your question, visit the Leaders Live page.
Following local elections on May 5 2011, the political control of the City Council changed resulting in significant changes to the priorities of the council.
The new council has identified five new priorities, these are:
Reducing poverty and disadvantage Increasing the supply of affordable housing Improving the council’s performance as a housing landlord Reducing the city’s carbon footprint Making the council a more fit for purpose organisation
These priorities reflect a powerful commitment to fairness and social justice that we have as an administration.
Lincoln is a relatively poor place. In some areas of the city, more than fifty per cent of children are living in poverty. Low-income families suffer higher rates of health disadvantage, their children are likely to under attain at school and enjoy less job and other opportunities in life.
Pensioner poverty in Lincoln is significant. There are large numbers of pensioners living in fuel poverty spending at least ten per cent of their income on fuel. Some pensioner deaths relate at least in part to inadequately heated homes this cannot be acceptable.
This why the new council is mounting an intensive campaign during the autumn to get pensioners to claim the benefits to which they are entitled, but are not claiming for a variety of reasons.
Few people can now afford to buy their own house, renting in the private sector is becoming prohibitively expensive and the council’s housing list gets longer.
Good quality, affordable housing is fundamental to peoples’ health and well-being and we are determined to improve the current situation and will begin this year building council houses again for the first time for twenty years.
The council is landlord to nearly 8,000 homes in the city. Our tenants, who meet the full cost of running council housing, deserve the very best service we can provide for them. We want council housing to be a choice people make because it offers high quality affordable homes in neighbourhoods that people can be proud of living in.
We believe the council must lead the way in making Lincoln’s contribution to the global challenge of climate change. The contribution of man-made carbon emissions to the problem is now widely accepted. For the sake of our children and for economic and social justice reasons we must play our part in the crucial agenda.
We will be looking to reduce the council’s own carbon footprint and to get all other public, private and third sector partners to do the same.
The world is changing rapidly and the council cannot stand still. It needs to understand the changing needs of the people it exists to serve and be ready to change and adapt so it remains responsive to people’s needs.
We need to spend people’s money wisely and to find ways of empowering local communities and strengthening the accountability of ourselves and other public bodies to local people.
The City Council does not provide all of the services which people need, but it should speak up for the people of Lincoln on any of the things which affect them, and be a community leader in fighting for what is fair and just for the city.Abstract
A class of composite estimators of small area quantities that exploit spatial (distancerelated) similarity is derived. It is based on a distribution-free model for the areas, but the estimators are aimed to have optimal design-based properties. Composition is applied also to estimate some of the global parameters on which the small area estimators depend. It is shown that the commonly adopted assumption of random effects is not necessary for exploiting the similarity of the districts (borrowing strength across the districts). The methods are applied in the estimation of the mean household sizes and the proportions of single-member households in the counties (comarcas) of Catalonia. The simplest version of the estimators is more efficient than the established alternatives, even though the extent of spatial similarity is quite modest. | 1.594022 | 812 | 810 |
If you thought that Katrina relief from Bush Co. depended largely upon political affiliation, you would be right. Lardy lobbyist turned goveronor, Haley Barbour (R), of Mississippi, has received disproportionate amounts in relief for his cronies as compared to Blanco's (D) Louisiana. And if you thought that most of the aid that IS going to Louisiana is going outside New Orleans, you would be right again.
In order to buy another statehouse for the GOP, federal cash is being handed out all over Louisiana in places needing it much less than it is needed in NOLA. In fact, only a tenth of a percent of the federal GO Funds are going to fund New Orleans projects:
The giant steel beams of Price LeBlanc's new Toyota dealership reveal an emerging structure that rivals the size of many sports stadiums. Hundreds of construction workers swarm the site, assembling what will soon become a $20-million vehicle showroom — all funded through federal tax breaks.
After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Congress approved billions of dollars in tax-free bonds to stimulate rebuilding along the Gulf Coast. It's called the Gulf Opportunity Zone — or GO Zone — and includes dozens of counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. But as new developments like Price LeBlanc's Toyota dealership cash in on federal aid, a trend is taking shape. The dealership is in Baton Rouge, nearly a hundred miles inland from Katrina's wrath.
Finally, if you thought that institutions serving wealthier white constituencies are receiving a disproportianate amount of Katina aid, you would still be scoring a hundred percent. A clip from a report on the meager educational assistance in the Gulf region:
. . . .As of the start of this academic year, the federal government has committed roughly $2.5 billion to relief and recovery relating to education after Katrina, the report says, citing the Congressional Budget Office and the U.S. Department of Education. That amounts to two percent of the country’s Katrina-related disaster funding. Hurricane funds made up less than 2.5 percent of the U.S. Education Department’s expenditures over the past two years, according to the report.
“What has been done thus far by the federal government by any measure is grossly inadequate,” said Lynn Huntley, president of the Southern Education Foundation. “What’s missing is a comprehensive plan for education recovery.”
A few months after Katrina, in an effort to quantify the storm’s effect on 27 colleges along the Gulf Coast, higher education associations put together a comprehensive estimate of $1.2 billion in estimated physical damages to the campuses (which those who calculated that amount said was conservative), and potential losses of $230 million in tuition refunds to students who left or were expected to leave.
In December 2005, Congress approved $200 million in aid for colleges, which was split largely between Louisiana and Mississippi — with a small percentage going to institutions that temporarily housed transferring students. Subsequent supplemental appropriations of less than $100 million have also gone to assist higher education.
Much has been said about how the federal aid was distributed. The Louisiana Board of Regents determined in early 2006 that $75 million of the initial aid would be spread across its institutions based on a formula taking into account enrollment, lost tuition revenue and financial aid budgets. (And, controversially, not physical damage caused by the hurricane.) Colleges there also used $8.5 million in federal funds to offer special need-based scholarships for displaced students to return to both public and private colleges in Louisiana. Distribution of funds was based on the number of students colleges had in fall 2004 who were from areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In that first round, Tulane University, with a large student body and higher tuition than other institutions in the region, received the most aid, followed by the University of New Orleans and Delgado Community College, the two-year college of New Orleans. Dillard University, which had roughly 2,000 students but incurred the worst physical damage, received less than the others.
Mike Strecker, a spokesman for Tulane, said the university hasn’t paid attention to and is not concerning itself with funding comparisons among Gulf Coast institutions.
The report cites state and federal figures showing that even though Louisiana suffered more than four times the damage to its campuses than did Mississippi, the repair funding it received is only marginally greater than its neighboring state.
“Where is the equity in education resource allocation?” Huntley asked.
Steve Suitts, the report’s author and program coordinator at the foundation, said it makes no sense that Louisiana colleges, hit hardest by the hurricane and also by enrollment drops last fall, wouldn’t receive the lion’s share of the funding. The Education Department should focus more on distributing aid based on need, he said, particularly because the Louisiana colleges also are the ones educating some of the poorest students.
Suitts called for better tracking of students who move in and out of colleges in the region. Data show that the South still maintained the largest share of the students who transferred | 1.743164 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Two surprises come from a re-analysis of classic Ediacaran fossils from Australia: they’re unrelated to Cambrian animals, and they may have lived on land.
Dr. Gregory Retallack (University of Oregon), a native Australian, examined the rocks in south Australia containing fossil Ediacaran organisms. According to Astrobiology Magazine, Retallack now believes the creatures were not ancestors of ancient marine multicellular life, but instead represent “remnants of land-dwelling lichen or other microbial colonies.” His conclusion may or may not affect classification of Ediacarans from other parts of the world.
Retallack used state-of-the-art techniques to examine the rock, and found that its “old elephant skin” appearance resembles crusty sandstone or microbial soil crusts in modern deserts. Below the sand in which they were buried he found evidence of fossil soils.
“
This discovery has implications for the tree of life, because it removes Ediacaran fossils from the ancestry of animals,” said Retallack, professor of geological sciences and co-director of paleontological collections at the UO’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History. His evidence, mostly gathered from a site in the Flinders Ranges, is presented in a paper placed online ahead of print by the journal Nature.
“
These fossils have been a first-class scientific mystery,” he said. “They are the oldest large multicellular fossils. They lived immediately before the Cambrian evolutionary explosion that gave rise to familiar modern groups of animals.”
In the paper, Retallack wrote, “Newly documented palaeosols in the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite in South Australia
now call for a re-evaluation of its famous fossils, widely considered evolutionary predecessors of the Cambrian explosion of marine animal phyla.” He also noted, “Most Ediacaran fossils have no clear relationship with modern animals.”
If not sea creatures, what are they? Retallack suggested they could be “lichens, other microbial consortia, fungal fruiting bodies, slime molds, flanged pedestals of biological soil crusts, and even casts of needle ice.” In the paper and the press release, he had very little to say about evolution, except that the Ediacarans represent “an independent evolutionary radiation of life on land that preceded by at least 20 million years the Cambrian evolutionary explosion of animals in the sea.”
So much for pointing to multicellular precursors to the Cambrian explosion. Retallack mistakenly called it the “Cambrian evolutionary explosion.” He should have said “Cambrian explosion demolishing evolution.” See the documentary Darwin’s Dilemma for reasons why. not the point. They aren’t interested in suing you, or in changing your bad behavior, they move on. If you have allowed the sort of workplace where other workers can make life hell for someone else (and studies show it’s often good workers), they leave and also word gets out
If you want to attract and keep excellent employees, look to your shop and to your own emotional intelligence.
Are you the kind of person people like to work with? Free agents work with,” not “for.”
Do you have an EQ culture in place where people treat one another well and focus on strengths, so people can thrive?
Do you practice learned optimism, for maximum success and profitability?
Do you ignore harassment, hostility and mobbing, assuming that work has an element of “hell” to it and if it’s not illegal, it’s not your problem? Or do you care enough to notice?
Do you realize you have options and that your employees do too?
Free agents are looking for the place where they can do their best. Is that your office?
Susan Dunn is a professional development/marketing coach and the author of ebook "Marketing Secrets of the Pros". Visit her on the web at www.susandunn.cc. | 1.721542 | 788 | 786 |
Looking back to high school can be a little bit like looking at your past through one of those fun-house mirrors. When I compare my high-school problems to my current, real-life problems, I’m struck by how much everything is inverted: In hindsight, the issues that my 16-year-old self had to deal with were all pretty small potatoes, but everything just
felt so much bigger.
High school’s stressful like that — it’s a time characterized by a lopsided ratio of drama to perspective, with too much of the former and not nearly enough of the latter. But a study published last month in
Psychological Science and recently highlighted by the New York Times
From the
Times: At the beginning of the school year, students participated in a reading and writing exercise intended to instill a basic, almost banal message to help them manage tension: People can change. The students who completed the exercise subsequently had lower levels of stress, reported more confidence in coping and achieved slightly higher grades at year’s end, compared to a control group. These results were measured through the students’ self-reporting in online diaries and through cardiovascular and hormone measurements.
The exercise consisted of a few parts: First, the participants read a scientific blurb about how personality changes, followed by testimonials from older students (all the study participants were juniors or below) describing how they’d learned that lesson in their own lives. Afterward, they wrote encouraging messages to younger students explaining the same thing — a combination that, over time, helped them to view their problems in a different light.
“In the real-world context of high school, adolescents may struggle with making friends, feel excluded or left out by peers, encounter direct victimization, or face myriad other normal evaluative experiences,” the study authors wrote. “Yet when adolescents come to view social difficulties as events that can be overcome, they may appraise them as challenges” rather than insurmountable obstacles.
The promise of the study, though, is only true up to a point: As my colleague Melissa Dahl has reported, our personalities become more fixed around age 30, following the more tumultuous years that make up your 20s and adolescence. That’s not to say that you can’t
choose to change after the 30-year mark, just that it will be less of a natural evolution and more of a conscious effort. Then again, to a high schooler, that’s probably not a worry that deserves too much brain space — just getting to graduation can seem like a lifetime.Medicare reimburses health care institutions for certain costs in addition to paying for individual procedures and treatment. Virtually every hospital and many other providers submit cost reports to Medicare, which are used to calculate how much the government will reimburse the provider for expenses related to patient care. This includes the costs of capital improvements like new medical equipment and bigger wards. Over the years, cost reports can represent billions of dollars in payments for some providers.
Providers who knowingly inflate the costs they incurred, mischaracterize the nature of those costs or give the wrong percentage of their services dedicated to Medicare patients are liable under the False Claims Act.
Examples
HCA Inc., the nation's largest for-profit healthcare provider, paid $631 million to the government to settle two qui tam lawsuits brought by whistleblowers represented by Phillips & Cohen and an unrelated kickback case. The whistleblowers alleged that the company had inflated expenses for reimbursement claimed in annual Medicare "cost reports."
Quorum Health Group Inc., at that time the nation's largest hospital management company, paid $85.7 million to the federal government to settle a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a Phillips & Cohen client. He alleged Quorum had filed fraudulent Medicare "cost reports" for hospitals it managed and owned.
Sharp Memorial Hospital, a San Diego hospital, paid the federal government $6.2 million to settle a qui tam lawsuit brought by a whistleblower represented by Phillips & Cohen attorneys. The qui tam lawsuit alleged Sharp defrauded Medicare by filing fraudulent claims for reimbursement for costs associated with its heart and kidney transplant centers. These included the costs for employees whose work was unrelated to organ acquisition and so was not reimbursable by Medicare and costs that were essentially illegal financial inducements for physicians to refer patients to the organ transplant centers. | 1.60479 | 872 | 870 |
For the frugal-minded home buyer, purchasing a foreclosed-upon house may seem like a no-brainer. Houses go into foreclosure when the owner cannot make payments, and the bank simply wants to cut its losses for as much as it possibly can, usually at a price below the market value for the home. With the implosion of the American housing market, there has been a huge increase in foreclosed homes in the past few years, a boon to prospective homeowners and investors.
But it isn’t always. While it is possible to get a great bargain on a house by purchasing a home that the bank essentially owns, there are a great number of possible pitfalls, as well. Here are some of the unique issues that you might have to face as the new buyer of a foreclosed home:
1. The home will be sold “as is.” Unlike a traditional home purchase, you can’t necessarily expect a foreclosed upon home to be well maintained. It takes some time for homeowners to default on their mortgage, and generally their finances have been strained for some time prior to the foreclosure. That means they may not have had the funds necessary for maintenance. Also, there have been some (relatively rare) instances of “foreclosure rage,” wherein the defaulting owner leaves the house a mess for the bank and new owner. Once the home is bank owned, the bank may not spend its money on repairs, no matter how badly they are needed. This also means that you cannot expect to get any money from the bank toward necessary repairs (though you can sometimes negotiate for a lower purchase price).
When buying any home, you owe it to yourself to get a home inspection, but it is particularly important when purchasing a foreclosure. The inspection will give you a clear-eyed view of how much work you are getting into by taking over the home.
2. There is a great deal more red tape and paperwork than in a traditional sale. Closing on a foreclosure could take a great deal longer than you might expect if you have only ever made traditional home purchases. First, the bank does not have the same motivation to close quickly that a homeowner does, as it does not need to move in time for the next school year or to avoid carrying double mortgages. So your closing may be held up by a backlog of foreclosures sitting on a bank manager’s desk. Second, it’s vital that you take the time to investigate all liens on the foreclosed property. While this will protect you from nasty surprises (like owing back taxes!), it also lengthens the process of purchasing the home.
Due to the possibility of liens, it is vitally important that buyers of foreclosures acquire title insurance to protect themselves.
3. Remember that the word foreclosure doesn’t mean bargain. Depending on the circumstances behind each sale, you may not be getting the steal you may think you are. Banks want to recoup as much money from the sale of the house as possible, so they will not let the house go for a song if they can help it. It’s important to research the houses in the surrounding area to know what the market value is and if the area has become depressed due to high foreclosures. It’s also important to factor in the cost of repairs and catching up on deferred maintenance into the amount you save by buying a foreclosed home.
Purchasing a foreclosure can be a path to home ownership that will save you money, but it’s vital that prospective buyers keep their eyes open throughout the process.
Editor's Note: I've begun tracking my assets through Personal Capital. I'm only using the free service so far and I no longer have to log into all the different accounts just to pull the numbers. And with a single screen showing all my assets, it's much easier to figure out when I need to rebalance or where I stand on the path to financial independence.
They developed this pretty nifty 401K Fee Analyzer that will show you whether you are paying too much in fees, as well as an Investment Checkup tool to help determine whether your asset allocation fits your risk profile. The platform literally takes a few minutes to sign up and it's free to use by following this link here. For those trying to build wealth, Personal Capital is worth a look.
Money Saving Tip:An incredibly effective way to save more is to reduce your monthly Internet and TV costs. Click here for the current Verizon FiOS promotion codes and promos to see if you can save more money every month from now on. Subscribe (and Get a Mini-Course Too!)Subscribe to our newsletter to grab free amazing content and have it delivered to you. A 7-part mini course to help you spend less and be happy will be sent to you when you subscribe, and you will also get an ever-expanding How to Save Money on Everythingebook. Alternatively, stay engaged in our discussions via our twitter and facebook pages. (Don't worry about spam, because we hate it as much as you do!) | 1.539233 | 1,010 | 1,009 |
Automation skills should be "major focus" for HR
Bek Frith, November 29, 2016
More than half of employers are already automating business processes, so HR must keep up
More than half (54%) of leaders think training and development for automation should be a major HR focus over the next five years, according to research from Capita Resourcing.
The
Workplace More Human report found that 54% of employers are already automating business processes once performed by people. A further 39% plan to automate more processes over the next 12 months.
Most leaders (83%) said that the right balance of manual and automation is a key competitive differentiator. But organisations were most likely to describe the current balance as ‘a learning curve with some struggles’ (55%).
When it came to employment, 85% of employers expected automation to create more jobs than it will replace in the next 10 years, with benefits including enhanced productivity (76%) and new skills development (54%). Despite this, 72% of employees expressed concerns around loss of work (38%) and the ‘desocialisation’ of the workplace (27%).
Jo Matkin, managing director at Capita Resourcing, warned of the challenges automation presents. “Automation holds considerable advantages for companies and employees alike,” she said. “Yet employee fears and concerns could present a significant barrier to realising its full potential.
"To achieve the perfect blend between human and machine organisations should involve HR in their automation strategy from day one. This will help to fully understand the potential impact on the workforce and ensure that employee concerns are addressed and managed. Open communication about automation and reassuring workers of their unique role is critical.
“In an increasingly automated world the million-dollar question will be how to use the efficiency gained through technology to differentiate your business. Adopting a creative approach to getting human and machine to work together is paramount.”Publication Date
Fall 2012
Degree Type
Master's Project
Department
Computer Science
Abstract
Google Earth is a powerful tool that allows users to navigate through 3D representations of many cities and places all over the world. Google Earth has a huge collection of 3D models and it only continues to grow as users all over the world continue to contribute new models. As new buildings are built new models are also created. But what happens when a new building replaces another? The same thing that happens in reality also happens in Google Earth. Old models are replaced with new models. While Google Earth shows the most current data, many users would also benefit from being able to view historical data. Google Earth has acknowledged this with the ability to view historical images with the manipulation of a time slider. However, this feature does not apply to 3D models of buildings, which remain in the environment even when viewing a time before their existence. I would like to build upon this concept by proposing a system that stores 3D models of historical buildings that have been demolished and replaced by new developments. People may want to view the old cities that they grew up in which have undergone huge developments over the years. Old neighborhoods may be completely transformed with new road and buildings. In addition to being able to view historical buildings, users may want to view statistics of a given area. Users can view such data in their raw format but using 3D visualizations of statistical data allows for a greater understanding and appreciation of historical changes. I propose to enhance the visualization of the 3D world by allowing users to graphically view statistical data such as population, ethnic groups, education, crime, and income. With this feature users will not only be able to see physical changes in the environment, but also statistical changes over time.
Recommended Citation
Panyarachun, Bryant, "The Visualization of Historical Structures and Data in a 3D Virtual City" (2012).
Master's Projects. 261. http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_projects/261 | 1.588757 | 829 | 827 |
Sunday, January 20, 2013
One of the best parts of the American Taxpayer Relief Tax Act of 2012 (ATRA) was that it made the portability provision permanent. According to Forbes, "Starting for deaths in 2011, and now going forward, they can carry over the estate tax exemption of the spouse who died most recently and add it their own." Under the current unified credit, this means that a married couple transfer a total $10.5 together tax-free. In addition, the portability provision has not detracted from the marital deduction, so spouses can still transfer property both during the couple's life and at death without incurring any tax. For couples wishing to take advantage of the portability provision, timing is key. The executor of the decedent's estate must file an estate tax return, even if the decedent will likely not incur an estate tax. The return will be due 9 months after the death of the decedent. There is the possibility of an extension.
The question arises as to whether a person can still transfer a portion of a deceased spouse's exemption without the taxpayer filing the necessary estate tax return because they simply forgot or their attorney was not aware of the portability option. Some experts on this claim that the taxpayer is simply out of luck because the deadline to file the estate tax return was May 1, 2012. A taxpayer could file a 9100 relief, which provides forgiveness for late elections. Unfortunately, it is expensive and basically requires that the professional adviser admit fault. This is not available for the portability election because it has a deadline and 9100 relief is not available in those instances. The only hope is that the IRS might make an exception because its the first year. For attorneys and financial advisors, mistakes like this could be problematic for a client; therefore, it is important for both to inform their clients of the changes in the law to prevent problems like the ones above.
See Deborah L. Jacobs, The Deadline Every Married Person (And Financial Advisor) Needs To Know About, Forbes, Jan. 17, 2013.
Special thanks to
Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2013/01/deadlines-every-married-person-needs-to-know.htmlIn this video, students see how data from the ice core record is used to help scientists predict the future of our climate. Video features ice cores extracted from the WAIS Divide, a research station on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
This is a basic animation/simulation with background information about the greenhouse effect by DAMOCLES. The animation has several layers to it that allow users to drill into more detail about the natural greenhouse effect and different aspects of it, including volcanic aerosols and human impacts from burning fossil fuels.
This short video clip summarizes NOAA's annual State of the Climate Report for 2009. It presents a comprehensive summary of Earth's climate in 2009 and establishes the last decade as the warmest on record. Reduced extent of Arctic sea ice, glacier volume, and snow cover reflect the effects of rising global temperature.
A video from the Extreme Ice Survey in which Dr. Tad Pfeffer and photographer Jim Balog discuss the dynamics of the Columbia glacier's retreat in recent years through this time-lapse movie. Key point: glacier size is being reduced not just by glacial melting but due to a shift in glacial dynamics brought on by climate change.
This video follows Bermuda scientists into the field as they collect data that documents a warming trend in ocean temperatures. BIOS Director Tony Knapp discusses some of the impact of warming temperatures on sea levels, storms, and marine ecosystems.
This video discusses the differences between climate and weather by defining and presenting examples of each. When presenting examples of weather, the video focuses on severe events and how meteorologists predict and study the weather using measurement, satellites, and radar. The climate focus is primarily on an overview of climate zones. | 1.190482 | 858 | 856 |
Study: Lice-Infested Farmed Salmon Not to Blame for Wild Salmon Die-Off
The wild pink salmon of western Canada are in trouble: In the early 2000s, their numbers in some locations swiftly dropped by 90 percent or more. One explanation put forth for this steep population decline is that sea lice, parasites ubiquitous on farmed salmon, jumped to the wild variety of the fish. But this week in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a new study casts doubt on that idea and says the sea lice are not to blame.
When Gary Marty of the University of California, Davis, and his colleagues looked at that aspect for the Broughton Archipelago of western Canada, they found that salmon survival was not lower in years when the juveniles passed by louse-infested farms. This, they say, suggests that something other than sea lice must be reducing survival rates. [New Scientist]
Marty’s team checked up on a decade worth of data dating back to before the 2002 crash, and found a few interesting things. First, they say, the predominance of the lice in wild populations appears to predict the number found in farms a little later, suggesting the parasites travel from wild salmon to farmed ones and not the other way around. Second, they argue, it does appear that a high number of lice in the farmed fish predicts higher than normal exposure for the juveniles of the wild variety, but that increased exposure can’t account for the huge population drop in the wild salmon.
“Based on extrapolations from controlled laboratory studies, infestation levels… might have killed 8% if the juvenile salmon [leaving the area].” In other words this was not enough to destabilise the wild population, they added: “Death caused by sea lice exposure replaced death caused by other causes, resulting in no net change in generational survival.” [BBC News]
But if not sea lice, then what killed so many wild salmon in so short a time?
Marty suggests that the 2002 crash was due to some unrelated cause, perhaps a virus or bacterium. He admits that it is possible that sea lice were part of a combination of factors that led to the declines; perhaps lice or viral infection alone aren’t enough to kill that many fish, but if both occur in the same year, many juveniles die. However, he doesn’t think that this is likely. [Nature News]
Marty notes that many of the sick wild salmon showed reddening or bleeding at the base of their fins—an ailment associated with environmental stress or infection, not with the sea louse parasite. Plus, though the sea lice are a salmon parasite, the salmon also like to eat the sea lice, which could help them fight off its parasitic effects.
For his part, Martin KrkoÅ¡ek—the researcher whose earlier study said that wild salmon in rivers that were exposed to farmed fish populations tended to decline—isn’t convinced. KrkoÅ¡ek argues that the new study is too limited by studying just the Broughton Archipelago location, and says that its statistical connections aren’t convincing.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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Author + information Received August 7, 2012. Revision received November 28, 2012. Accepted December 7, 2012. Published online March 1, 2013. Author Information Thomas Zeller, MD ⁎, ⁎(, ) Michael D. Dake, MD †, Gunnar Tepe, MD ‡, Klaus Brechtel, MD ‡, Elias Noory, MD ⁎, Ulrich Beschorner, MD ⁎, Patricia L. Kultgen, PhD §and Aljoscha Rastan, MD ⁎ ↵⁎ Reprint requests and correspondence: Prof. Dr. Thomas Zeller, Universitäts-Herzzentrum Freiburg–Bad Krozingen, Südring 15, D-79189 Bad Krozingen, Germany Abstract Objectives This study sought to evaluate the outcomes of drug-eluting stent treatment for femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis (ISR). Background ISR after femoropopliteal interventions is an increasing problem. Although the role of drug-eluting stents in the treatment of coronary ISR is well defined, no published studies have examined drug-eluting stents in the treatment of femoropopliteal ISR. Methods This study examines 108 patients with 119 ISR lesions who were enrolled in the ZILVER-PTX single-arm study, a prospective, multicenter clinical trial of 787 patients. All patients were treated with paclitaxel-eluting nitinol stents. Results Mean patient age was 68.3 ± 9.4 years; 61.1% of patients were men. Mean lesion length was 133.0 ± 91.7 mm; 33.6% of lesions were >150 mm long and 31.1% of lesions were totally occluded. Procedural success was achieved in 98.2% of lesions with 2.1 ± 1.2 stents placed per lesion. Primary patency was 95.7% at 6 months and 78.8% at 1 year. Freedom from target lesion revascularization was 96.2% at 6 months, 81.0% at 1 year, and 60.8% at 2 years. Forty patients experienced major adverse events, exclusively target lesion revascularization. Before treatment, 81.1% of patients had Rutherford scores ≥3; at 2 years, 60.9% of patients had Rutherford scores ≤1. Both ankle brachial index and walking impairment questionnaire scores significantly improved following treatment. The 1-year fracture rate of stents used in ISR lesions was 1.2%. No significant risk factors associated with loss of patency were identified. Conclusions Treatment of femoropopliteal ISR with paclitaxel-eluting stents results in favorable acute, midterm, and long-term outcomes. (Zilver PTX Global Registry [ZILVER-PTX]; NCT01094678) drug-eluting stent(s) femoral artery in-stent restenosis paclitaxel peripheral occlusive artery disease revascularization
Stent placement has become a standard treatment modality in peripheral vascular interventions. Randomized controlled studies using second-generation stents have shown superior technical and clinical outcomes over percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in lesions of the superficial femoral and proximal popliteal arteries (1–5). Therefore, the Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) II guidelines (6) favor endovascular approaches over surgical revascularization in femoropopliteal lesions ≤15 cm in length. However, in-stent restenosis (ISR) has been reported in 19% to 37% of femoropopliteal lesions treated with bare-metal stents within 1 year of treatment (2,3,5,7–10). Moreover, the risk of ISR increases with increasing lesion length (10–12).
The treatment of ISR in the femoropopliteal artery is 1 of the major remaining challenges of endovascular therapy because treatment modalities such as PTA and cutting balloon angioplasty have failed to provide acceptable mid-term results (13,14). To avoid bypass surgery, alternative endovascular approaches are needed to achieve durable long-term results in the treatment of ISR, particularly in long lesions.
Drug-eluting stents, which are available globally, and drug-eluting balloons, which are available in Europe and Latin America, are established therapies for the treatment of coronary ISR (15–17) and may also be useful in the treatment of peripheral ISR. The ZIL | 0.921349 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
VER-PTX single-arm study investigated the performance of a paclitaxel-eluting nitinol stent in the superficial femoral and the above-the-knee popliteal arteries (18). This study had very broad inclusion criteria, which allowed for the treatment of patients with femoropopliteal ISR. Here we report the outcomes of patients with ISR lesions who were treated within the ZILVER-PTX single-arm study and compare the results with the current literature.
Methods
The ZILVER-PTX single-arm study is a prospective, multicenter clinical trial that enrolled 787 patients in Europe, Canada, and Korea between April 2006 and June 2008. A detailed description of the study and the 1-year outcomes for the entire cohort, as well as limited, preliminary results for the ISR subgroup, have been previously published (18,19). Approval was obtained from each site's ethics committee, and patients provided written informed consent before enrollment. Patients were eligible for the study if they had ≥1 de novo or restenotic lesions of the above-the-knee segment of the femoropopliteal artery with >50% diameter stenosis and baseline clinical symptoms classified as Rutherford category ≥2. Patients could have multiple lesions requiring treatment, a history of prior stent placement within the lesion, bilateral lesions requiring treatment, and lesions of unlimited length. This report describes the 2-year results for patients who were treated for ISR. Patients treated for multiple lesion types (e.g., both de novo and ISR) were excluded from this analysis.
Study device
Patients were treated with the Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent (Cook Medical, Bloomington, Indiana), a nitinol stent with a polymer-free paclitaxel coating at 3 μg/mm
2 dose density. Pharmacokinetics of the device have been previously described (20). Available stents were 6 to 10 mm in diameter and 20 to 80 mm in length. Although lesions could be of unlimited length, the protocol specified planned treatment with a maximum of 4 Zilver PTX stents per patient. Placement of bare Zilver stents was allowed if additional stents were required. Pre- and post-dilation were performed at the interventionalist's discretion. Medication
Clopidogrel was administered at least 24 h before the procedure or as a loading dose during the procedure. Following treatment, clopidogrel therapy was continued for ≥60 days and aspirin therapy was continued indefinitely. Heparin was administered periprocedurally if heparinization was part of an institution's standard practice. Administered doses of all anticoagulants were based on the standard practice at each institution.
Pre- and post-procedural diagnostic workup
Prior to the procedure and at 1-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-ups, patient-perceived walking speed and distance were assessed using the Walking Impairment Questionnaire (21), symptoms were categorized using the Rutherford-Becker classification, and lower limb hemodynamics were assessed with the ankle-brachial index. Stent integrity was assessed by radiograph within 3 days after the procedure and at 6 and 12 months. Target lesion patency was assessed by angiography immediately after stent implantation. Duplex ultrasound was conducted within 3 business days of the procedure and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Per protocol, duplex ultrasound assessment of lesion patency was not required after 12-month follow-up. Restenosis was confirmed by angiography before target lesion revascularization (TLR).
Definitions
Procedural success was defined as <30% residual diameter stenosis following stent placement. Patency was defined as <50% diameter stenosis, including the region within 5 mm proximal and/or distal to the target lesion as assessed by angiography or duplex ultrasound. For this analysis, a peak systolic velocity ratio <2.5 was used as the patency threshold. Clinically driven TLR was defined as a reintervention performed for >50% diameter stenosis within 5 mm of the target lesion after documentation of recurrent clinical symptoms of peripheral artery disease following the initial procedure. Event-free survival (EFS) was defined as freedom from major adverse events (e.g., procedure- or device-related death, clinically driven TLR, target limb ischemia requiring bypass surgery or amputation, and surgical repair of the target vessel) and freedom from worsening of Rutherford classification by ≥2 classes or to class 5 or 6.
Statistics
Continuous variables were summarized with means and standard deviations; categorical variables were summarized with counts and percentages. As appropriate, the number of observations is the number of patients, treated limbs, or implanted stents. Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to estimate patency, freedom from TLR | 1.032101 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
, and EFS over time. A paired t test was used to compare pre-procedure ankle brachial index and Walking Impairment Questionnaire values to the follow-up values. A generalized estimating equation model was used to evaluate the association between potential risk factors (e.g., diabetes, lesion length, smoking history, Rutherford classification, occlusion, calcification, lesion location, patent runoff vessels, fracture in prior stent, type of prior stent, days from previous intervention, number of previous interventions, proximal reference vessel diameter, and percentage of diameter stenosis) and 12-month patency; p values <0.05 were considered significant. Data were analyzed using SAS software (version 9.3, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina).
Results
One hundred and eight patients with 119 ISR lesions of the femoropopliteal artery were treated with Zilver PTX drug-eluting stents. Most patients were male (61.1%), hypertensive (84.3%), hypercholesterolemic (74.1%), and had a history of smoking (81.5%) (Table 1). Mean lesion length was 133.0 ± 91.7 mm and 33.6% (40 of 119) of lesions were >150 mm long (Table 2). Most ISR lesions had little to no calcification (68.9%, 82 of 119); however, 31.1% (37 of 119) of the ISR lesions were totally occluded before treatment. Of the 119 ISR lesions, 8.4% (10 of 119) had severely fractured stents (i.e., type III or IV fracture, complete transection of stent) before Zilver PTX treatment, 22.7% (27 of 119) had been previously treated within the last 6 months, and 51.3% (61 of 119) had undergone ≥2 previous interventions.
Procedural outcomes
Procedural success (i.e., <30% restenosis following stent placement) was achieved in 98.2% (112 of 114) of ISR lesions. Most patients were treated for a single lesion (91.7%, 99 of 108); 7 patients were treated for 2 lesions; and 2 patients were treated for 3 lesions. On average, 2.1 ± 1.2 stents were placed in each lesion.
Lesion patency, TLR, and event-free survival
The Kaplan-Meier estimate of primary patency was 95.7% at 6 months and 78.8% at 12 months (Fig. 1). Per protocol, duplex ultrasound assessments of patency were not required after 12-month follow-up; however, clinical follow-up continued through 24 months. Kaplan-Meier estimates of freedom from clinically driven TLR at 6 and 12 months were similar to the patency estimates over the same period. Specifically, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of freedom from TLR was 96.2% at 6 months, 81.0% at 12 months, and 60.8% at 24 months (Fig. 2).
During the course of the study, major adverse events were experienced by 40 patients treated for ISR lesions. Thirty-eight patients each underwent a single TLR, and 2 patients each underwent 2 TLR; 50% of the revascularizations occurred within 12 months of treatment. No amputations or deaths occurred. Because all patients who failed EFS experienced a TLR, Kaplan-Meier estimates of freedom from EFS are identical to estimates of freedom from TLR (Fig. 3).
Multivariate analysis of risk factors for recurrent ISR
A generalized estimating equation model was used to evaluate the association between potential risk factors and loss of patency; however, no significant predictors of recurrent ISR were identified (Table 3).
Clinical outcomes
In addition to establishing vessel patency, treatment of ISR lesions with the Zilver PTX stent also provided clinical benefit to patients. Before treatment, 81.1% (86 of 106) of patients had Rutherford scores ≥3. After treatment, 63.2% (62 of 98) of patients at 12 months and 60.9% (53 of 87) of patients at 24 months had Rutherford scores ≤1. Significant improvements in limb hemodynamic status, as assessed by ankle brachial index, and in patient-perceived walking speed, walking distance, and climbing were also observed (Table 4).
| 0.939548 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Stent fracture rates
Based on x-ray data collected at the 12-month follow-up, the fracture rate of Zilver PTX stents used in ISR lesions was 1.2% (3 of 257).
Discussion
To date, the ZILVER-PTX single-arm study is the largest trial to prospectively investigate endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal ISR lesions. Of the 787 treated patients, 108 patients were treated for 119 ISR lesions. Treatment of ISR lesions with a paclitaxel-eluting stent had a primary patency estimate of 95.7% at 6 months and 78.8% at 12 months. Freedom from clinically driven TLR at 6 and 12 months was similar to the patency estimates over the same period. Compared with most other published reports of femoropopliteal ISR lesion treatment (13,14,22–27), treatment of ISR lesions with paclitaxel-eluting stents resulted in higher midterm rates of primary patency (Table 5).
Notably, this is the first prospective study to report 2-year results for endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal ISR lesions. Although patency data were only systematically collected through 12-month follow-up, data on TLR, EFS, and other clinical outcomes were collected through 2 years. In this difficult-to-treat patient population, freedom from clinically driven TLR was 60.8% at 2 years. Although revascularization was required for some patients, the TLR procedures were predominantly percutaneous interventions (88%, 37 of 42) and no patients underwent amputation.
These promising results are likely due to several advantageous features of the Zilver PTX stent, a self-expanding nitinol stent with a polymer-free paclitaxel coating. Local delivery of paclitaxel, a drug that disrupts normal microtubule function, may prevent neointimal hyperplasia by inhibiting smooth muscle cell migration, proliferation, and extracellular matrix secretion (28). Because low doses of paclitaxel can inhibit smooth muscle proliferation without inhibiting endothelial cell proliferation (29), local paclitaxel delivery may inhibit restenosis after endovascular interventions without preventing re-endothelialization. This mode of action may reduce the rate of subacute stent thrombosis. Additionally, unlike other drug-eluting stents, the Zilver PTX stent has no polymers, binders, or carriers within the drug coating that might elicit potential inflammatory or thrombotic reactions. Moreover, placement of a second stent layer does not appear to adversely affect the integrity of the Zilver PTX stent as only 1.2% (3 of 257) of stents used in this study had detectable fractures at 12 months.
Few controlled prospective data are published about endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal ISR lesions. Dick et al. (13) performed a pilot trial randomly comparing PTA with cutting balloon angioplasty in femoropopliteal ISR lesions with a mean length of 8 cm. At 6 months, only 27% of PTA-treated lesions and 35% of cutting balloon-treated lesions were patent. In this small study, neither angioplasty method provided acceptable short-term outcomes. In a larger retrospective study by Tosaka et al. (14) that included 133 patients, PTA treatment of femoropopliteal ISR lesions resulted in 69% patency for stenosed lesions at 12 months; however, only 23% of treated occluded lesions were patent at 12 months.
The use of debulking strategies, such as laser atherectomy, directional atherectomy, and mechanical thrombectomy, for treatment of femoropopliteal ISR has been investigated in several case series (Table 5) (22–27,30,31). Supplemental PTA, stent, and/or stent-graft placement were often used adjunctively in these reported experiences. Most of the studies were small (treating 20 to 40 patients) and have reported 1-year primary patency rates ranging from 19% to 58%. Compared with available data on PTA alone or debulking strategies, the results of the ZILVER-PTX single-arm study suggest that treatment of femoropopliteal ISR lesions with paclitaxel-eluting stents is quite promising.
The treatment of femoropopliteal ISR with endovascular brachytherapy has also been examined. In a retrospective case series, 90 consecutive patients underwent angioplasty and subsequent brachy | 1.025057 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
therapy with liquid beta-emitting rhenium Re 188 (32). Similar to the results of the ZILVER-PTX single-arm study, primary patency was 95.2% at 6 months and 79.8% at 12 months. However, the utility of brachytherapy may be limited due to the time-consuming nature of the procedure, complex radiation safety measurements, and staffing requirements. Additionally, patients with stent fracture were excluded from brachytherapy treatment due to the potential risk of balloon rupture. In contrast, patients with stent fracture may be treated with the Zilver PTX stent.
There is also much interest in the potential role of drug-eluting balloons in the treatment of femoropopliteal ISR. One small study of 39 patients reported an impressive 1-year primary patency rate of 92.1% (33). However, 10% of patients also underwent laser-mediated debulking, and 10% of patients required bailout stent placement to treat flow-limiting dissection. Therefore, the patency rate cannot be attributed to the effects of the drug-eluting balloon alone. Additional investigation is necessary, and several ongoing randomized controlled trials are comparing drug-eluting balloons to uncoated balloons for the treatment of femoropopliteal ISR.
Previously, Tosaka et al. (14) identified total occlusion and reference vessel diameter as independent, predictive factors for recurrent ISR following PTA treatment of femoropopliteal ISR. Additionally, in a study that treated femoropopliteal restenosis with angioplasty and stenting, treatment within 180 days of the initial endovascular intervention was identified as a significant predictor for recurrent restenosis (34). In contrast, of the 14 risk factors considered (Table 3), none was predictive for recurrent ISR following treatment with a paclitaxel-eluting stent in this study.
Study limitations
This study lacked a control group. However, the 12-month patency rate for the ISR lesions was only slightly lower than the patency rate for the entire ZILVER-PTX single-arm trial (78.8% vs. 86.2%), which included 76.7% de novo lesions (18). Furthermore, all angiography and duplex ultrasound data are self-reported by sites, and no core laboratory was used to standardize data. Although these results are promising, head-to-head comparative studies are necessary to determine whether the Zilver PTX stent is more effective than other endovascular modalities for treatment of femoropopliteal ISR.
Future perspectives
Several ongoing randomized controlled trials are comparing drug-eluting balloons to uncoated balloons for treatment of femoropopliteal ISR (ISAR-PEBIS [Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon and Conventional Balloon for In-Stent Restenosis of the Superficial Femoral Artery], FAIR [Femoral Artery In-Stent Restenosis Trial], PACUBA I [Paclitaxel Balloon Versus Standard Balloon in In-Stent Restenoses of the Superficial Femoral Artery], COPA CABANA [Cotavance Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon Versus Uncoated Balloon Angioplasty for Treatment of In-stent Restenosis in SFA and Popliteal Arteries], PLAISIR [Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon Application in SFA In-Stent Restenosis], and DEBATE-ISR [Drug Eluting Balloon in Peripheral Intervention for In-Stent Restenosis]). Additionally, other trials are investigating the performance of the Viabahn endoprosthesis (RELINE [Gore Viabahn Versus Plain Old Balloon Angioplasty for Superficial Femoral Artery Restenosis]), drug-coated balloons with and without prior photoablation (PHOTOPAC [Photoablative Atherectomy Followed by a Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon to Inhibit Restenosis in In-Stent Femoro-Popliteal Obstructions]), laser atherectomy with PTA (EXCITE ISR [Randomized Study of Laser and Balloon Angioplasty Versus Balloon Angioplasty to Treat Peripheral In-Stent Restenosis]), and photoablation alone (PATENT [Photo-Ablation using the TURBO-Booster and Excimer Laser for In-stent Restenosis Treatment]) for treatment of femoropopliteal ISR.
Conclusions
The subcohort of the ZILVER-PTX single-arm trial is to date the largest prospective investigation of the midterm and long-term outcomes of femoropopliteal ISR lesions following endovascular treatment. Stent-in-stent placement of a paclitaxel-eluting | 1.061486 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
stent results in promising 1- and 2-year clinical outcomes with a low stent fracture rate.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Shraddha Mehta, PhD, and Alan Saunders, MS, of MED Institute Inc. (a Cook Group Company) for serving as study statisticians and Tony Ragheb, PhD, and Aaron Lottes, PhD, of MED Institute Inc. for providing critical review of the manuscript.
Footnotes
This study was sponsored by Cook Medical, Bloomington, Indiana. Prof. Dr. Zeller has received research grants and speaker honoraria from Cook Medical. Dr. Dake has received a research grant from Cook Medical; and has served on the Scientific Advisory Boards to Abbott Vascular and W. L. Gore. Dr. Kultgen is a full-time employee of MED Institute Inc., a Cook Medical Company. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.
Abbreviations and Acronyms EFS event-free survival ISR in-stent restenosis PTA percutaneous transluminal angioplasty TLR target lesion revascularization Received August 7, 2012. Revision received November 28, 2012. Accepted December 7, 2012. American College of Cardiology Foundation References ↵ Schillinger M., Sabeti S., Dick P., et al. ↵ Laird J.R., Katzen B.T., Scheinert D., et al., RESILIENT Investigators Dake M.D., Ansel G.M., Jaff M.R., et al., ZILVER-PTX Investigators ↵ Bosiers M., Torsello G., Gissler H.M., et al. Krankenberg H., Schlüter M., Steinkamp H.J., et al. ↵ Iida O., Soga Y., Hirano K., et al. ↵ ↵ Tosaka A., Soga Y., Iida O., et al. ↵ Kastrati A., Mehilli J., von Beckerath N., et al., ISAR-DESIRE Study Investigators Kolh P., Wijns W., Danchin N., et al., Task Force on Myocardial Revascularization of the ESC and the EACTS, EAPCI King S.B. 3rd., Smith S.C. Jr.., Hirshfeld J.W. Jr.., et al. ↵ Dake M.D., Scheinert D., Tepe G., et al. ↵ ↵ Hiatt W.R., Hirsch A.T., Regensteiner J.G., Brass E.P. ↵ Laird J.R. Jr.., Yeo K.K., Rocha-Singh K., et al. Zeller T., Rastan A., Sixt S., et al. ↵ Axel D.I., Kunert W., Göggelmann C., et al. ↵ Scheller B., Speck U., Romeike B., et al. Shammas N.W., Shammas G.A., Helou T.J., Voelliger C.M., Mrad L., Jerin M. Shammas N.W., Shammas G.A., Hafez A., Kelly R., Reynolds E., Shammas A.N. ↵ Werner M., Scheinert D., Henn M., et al. ↵ Stabile E., Virga V., Salemme L., et al. ↵ Security.
Chaplain Fair is a Chaplain for the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Military Forces, TXSG-HQ. He is a Reserve Deputy/Chaplain for the Brown County Sheriff's Department and Chaplain Emeritus of the Brownwood Police Department. He retired as a Chaplain for Brownwood Regional Medical Center after 25 years of service. Fair serves on the Scientific and Professional Advisory Board of the Center for Crisis Management/American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and is Board Certified as a Crisis Chaplain and in Forensic Traumatology. He is the immediate past Chair of the International Conference of Police Chaplains Education Committee and a former ICPC Board Member.
Gale Copyright: Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. | 1.22799 | 881 | 879 |
Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) Is Induced Upon Monocyte Differentiation and Is Expressed in Human Atheroma Jump to Abstract Because extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN), a tumor cell–derived protein, induces matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in fibroblasts and because MMPs are important in atheroma formation, we investigated if EMMPRIN was expressed in granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)–differentiated human peripheral blood monocytes (HPBM) and macrophage foam cells. In addition, EMMPRIN was studied for its expression in human atheroma.Objective— After 10 days of GM-CSF–induced monocyte differentiation, EMMPRIN mRNA increased 5- to 8-fold relative to undifferentiated monocytes. GM-CSF treatment of HPBM revealed that both EMMPRIN mRNA and protein were upregulated by day 2 over undifferentiated monocytes. GM-CSF–differentiated HPBM showed characteristic macrophage phenotype by showing increases in pancake-like morphology and increases in biochemical markers such as apolipoprotein E, MMP-9, and cholesterol ester (CE). While acetylated LDL treatment of the 10-day GM-CSF–differentiated HPBM increased CE mass 13- to 321-fold, EMMPRIN expression was unchanged relative to nonlipid-loaded macrophages. In human coronary atherosclerotic samples, EMMPRIN was observed in CD68(+) macrophage-rich areas as well as areas of MMP-9 expressions.Methods and Results— Based on these data, we conclude that monocyte differentiation induces EMMPRIN expression, CE enrichment of foam cells has no further effect on EMMPRIN expression, and EMMPRIN is present in human atheroma. Therefore, EMMPRIN may play a role in atherosclerosis development.Conclusions— atherosclerosis EMMPRIN (extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer) cholesterol ester human peripheral blood monocyte (HPBM) matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1)
Atherosclerosis is a complex pathological process that has been characterized as the accumulation of modified lipids, monocytes, and cholesteryl ester (CE)-containing macrophage foam cells.
1–4⇓⇓⇓ Associated with the accumulation of arterial wall macrophages and macrophage foam cells are active forms of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and it is presumed that in these areas extracellular matrix degradation and remodeling may ultimately weaken the atherosclerotic lesion and promote plaque rupture. 5–8⇓⇓⇓ Numerous reports have shown that MMP-9 (92-kDa gelatinase), MMP-2 (72-kDa gelatinase), 9 and MMP-1 (interstitial collagenase) 10 are present in various human atherosclerotic lesions.
Another pathological process that involves the degradation of extracellular matrix to promote cellular invasion is the metastasis of human tumor cells into stromal tissue. A recently discovered membrane protein on tumor cells promotes the invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. This human tumor protein has been termed EMMPRIN or extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer. EMMPRIN, also known as basigin, M6 antigen, or CD147, is a 58 kDa cell surface glycoprotein and is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily that is enriched on the surface of most tumor cells and shown to stimulate underlying stromal cells to produce elevated levels of MMPs, including MMP-1.
11–13⇓⇓ These elevated levels of MMPs become concentrated and provide a mechanism for tumor cells to invade and metastasize into the extracellular matrix. 14,15⇓ Recently, Guo et al 16 have demonstrated that, in addition to inducing MMPs, EMMPRIN forms a complex with MMP-1 at the tumor cell surface, and this additional function may provide an important mechanism for directed modification of extracellular matrix to promote invasion.
Numerous biological mediators such as cytokines, reactive oxygen species,
17 and cholesterol 18 have been shown to induce expression of MMPs and their endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases or TIMPS in atherosclerotic plaques. However, it has remained unclear what regulates EMMPRIN expression in tumor cells. Given the similarity of cellular migration, differentiation, and MMP expression between tumor cell metastasis and the transmigration of monocytes during the atherosclerostic inflammatory process, we proceeded to determine if EMMPRIN is expressed in cultured human peripheral blood monocytes (HPBMs), granulocyte/macroph | 0.958531 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
age-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)–differentiated macrophages and macrophage foam cells. In this report, we demonstrated that GM-CSF induces EMMPRIN expression in differentiated human macrophages and this expression is not altered by increased cholesterol. For the first time, EMMPRIN has been shown to be expressed in macrophage-rich atheromas from human coronary arteries. Methods Materials
Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM), penicillin/streptomycin (pen/strep; 10 000 U/mL each), and Trizol reagent for RNA isolation were purchased from Life Technologies, Inc. Fetal bovine serum (FBS) was obtained from HyClone Laboratories. The monoclonal antibodies to human EMMPRIN (CD147) and CD68 were obtained from Pharmingen. Mouse monoclonal antibodies to human apolipoprotein E (apo E) and α-actin were from Santa Cruz. The monoclonal antibody to human MMP-9 was obtained from Labvisions-Neomarkers. The monoclonal antibody to human MMP-1 was obtained from Calbiochem. All other reagents used for these studies were of the highest commercial purity available.
Cell Culture
Fresh human peripheral blood monocytes, supplied by Advanced Biotechnology, Inc, were elutriated from the blood of healthy, adult donors as previously described.
19 The first set of cell culture experiments determined the effects of GM-CSF treatment on EMMPRIN expression during a 0- to 8-day monocyte differentiation period. The second set of in vitro experiments evaluated the effects of lipid loading after a 10-day monocyte differentiation induced by GM-CSF. In these experiments, HPBMs were maintained for 10 days in DMEM containing 10% FBS, 1% pen/strep, and 1 ng/mL GM-CSF from R&D Systems to promote monocyte differentiation. On day 10, the cells were washed and incubated with DMEM, 1% Hu-Nutridoma (Boehringer Mannheim) and 1% pen/strep for an additional 48 hours. On day 12, the cells were incubated with fresh medium; acetylated LDL (acLDL; Intracell Inc) was added for an additional 1, 3, or 7 days (total of 13, 15, or 19 days in culture, respectively). To assess the level of neutral lipid accumulation in macrophages, fluorescent labeling with Nile red stain (Sigma Chemical Co) was used. MMP activity was also assessed from the medium of GM-CSF–differentiated macrophages by gelatin zymography.
Used as a positive control for EMMPRIN expression, human U937 monocytic cells (American Type Culture Collection) were grown and maintained in suspension culture in RPMI 1640 medium (Life Tech.) containing 10% FBS and 1% pen/strep. For each experiment, the THP-1 cells were plated in T-75 flasks at a density of 30×10
6 cells/flask in RPMI 1640 medium containing 1% Hu-Nutridoma, 1% pen/strep, and 40 nmol/L phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. After 24 hours, the cells were harvested. Protein Isolation and Western Blot Analysis
For Western blot analysis, cells (30×10
6 cells) were washed with PBS, pH 7.4, and then solubilized with 100 to 300 μL of lysis buffer (0.5% Nonidet 40 containing 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 1 mmol/L EDTA, 1 mmol/L EGTA, 150 mmol/L NaCl, 10% glycerol, 50 mmol/L sodium fluoride, 10 mmol/L sodium pyrophosphate, 1 mmol/L sodium orthovanadate, 80 μmol/L β-glycerophosphate, 1 mmol/L PMSF, 10 μg/mL aprotinin, 100 μg/mL soybean trypsin inhibitor, and 10 μg/mL leupeptin). Cellular lysates were incubated on a rotary mixer for 1 hour at 4°C. Protein concentrations were measured by using the Bradford reagent (Bio-Rad). Protein extracts (30 μg) were electrophoresed on separate sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and transferred onto nitrocellulose for 2 hours at 1 amp. Filters were stained with p | 0.85673 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
onceau red to show protein loading and transfer completeness. Filters were blocked with Tris-buffered saline with 0.05% Tween-20 and 3% nonfat dry milk for 1 hour at room temperature followed by incubation overnight at 4°C with anti-EMMPRIN (1:500 dilution), anti–apo E (1 μg/mL), and anti–α-actin (1 μg/mL) with gentle rocking. Filters were then washed two times with tris-buffered saline with tween-20 for 5 minutes each. The secondary antibodies were incubated with the filters on a rocker for 1 hour at room temperature. After 2 30-minute tris-buffered saline with tween-20 washes, the filter signals were detected by chemiluminescence (Pierce) and exposed to Kodak Biomax MS film. Densitometric signals were imaged by scanning the film with Adobe Photoshop. RNA Isolation and Northern Blot Analysis
Total RNA was extracted by using the guanidine isothiocyanate method
20 with Trizol (Life Tech.) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Total RNA (10 μg) was electrophoresed in a 1% formaldehyde/agarose gel and blotted onto a nylon membrane (Ambion) in 20X SSC by capillary transfer. The Northern blot was baked at 80°C for 20 minutes, UV cross-linked, and prehybridized with prehybridization/hybridization buffer. Blots were hybridized at 42°C overnight with radiolabeled [α- 32P]dCTP cDNA probes for human EMMPRIN (a 0.591-kb fragment insert from an EcoRI-ligated pCRII plasmid) and, as an internal control, human S9 ribosomal cDNA (0.9-kb fragment; Clontech). Blots were washed at 55°C twice in low-stringency wash for 10 minutes to remove unbound probe and then twice in high-stringency wash for 15 minutes per wash to remove nonspecific hybridization to the blot. The blots were exposed to either x-ray film or directly on a Storm 860 PhosphorImager for 24 hours, and then resulting signals were quantified by densitometry with Quantiscan software (Biosoft) or ImageQuant software (Molecular Dynamics), respectively. High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
Cell culture experiments designed to measure the free cholesterol (FC), CE, and triglyceride (TG) contents of the human monocyte–derived macrophages (HMDM) were performed concomitant with those experiments designed for RNA isolation. Cellular lipids were quantified by using a HPLC method.
21 Briefly, HMDM cells were plated into 6-well plates, differentiated for 10 days with 1 ng/mL GM-CSF, incubated for 2 days in 1% nutridoma-HU/RPMI 1640 medium without GM-CSF, and then treated for 1, 3, or 7 days with acLDL. After each time period, the internal standard, 1,2-hexadecanediol (Aldrich Chemical Co), was added at 37.5 μg/mL to each well, and lipids were extracted with 1 mL of hexane/isopropanol (3:2 vol/vol). After extraction, the organic phase was dried under N 2 and redissolved in isooctane/tetrahydrofuran (97:3 vol/vol) and then injected into HPLC for quantification of FC, CE, and TGs. Gel Zymography
To assess MMP expression in HMDM cells, media were removed, and MMP activity was determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel zymography. Media samples were centrifuged to remove cellular debris, and supernatant was collected and stored at −20°C. Each sample (10 μL) was mixed with SDS sample buffer without reducing agent and loaded onto a 10% polyacrylamide gel containing 0.1% gelatin (Novex). Positive control lysates known to express MMP-2 and -9 were also added to each gel (data not shown). After electrophoresis at 125 V for 90 minutes, the gel was renatured in renaturing buffer containing 25% Triton X-100 for 30 minutes. After equilibrium in developing buffer containing Tris base and Tris HCl, NaCl, CaCl
2 and 0.2% Brij 35 for 30 minutes, fresh developing buffer was added, and the | 0.936766 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
gelatin-containing gel was allowed to develop overnight at 37°C. The gelatin gels were stained with 0.5% Coomassie blue and destained with buffer consisting of 10% acetic acid, 50% methanol, and 40% distilled water for 30 minutes to visualize the zymogen bands. An image of each gel (after drying) was scanned into a computer with a Hewlett-Packard scanner, the zymogen bands were quantified by using densitometry, and results are expressed in arbitrary densitometric units. To validate that the zymogen bands were MMPs, 20 mmoL/L EDTA was added to the developing buffer to abolish catalytic activity and 0.1 μmol/L P-aminophenylmercuric acetate, which is known to convert latent zymogens to their active forms, was also added to the developing buffer. Immunohistochemistry
For immunohistochemistry, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections were used for each human coronary artery atherectomy specimen. For comparison, the internal mammary arteries were used as normal arterial specimens. Nonspecific binding was blocked by preincubation with PBS containing 5% normal horse serum for 30 minutes at room temperature. Serial sections were incubated with mouse antihuman CD147 (EMMPRIN) primary antibody (1:100 dilution), mouse antihuman CD68 (macrophage-specific) primary antibody (1:100 dilution), mouse antihuman α-actin primary antibody (1:50 dilution), mouse antihuman MMP-9 primary antibody (1:10 dilution) or mouse antihuman MMP-1 primary antibody (1:300 dilution) for 1 hour at room temperature. The sections were then incubated with biotinylated conjugated horse antimouse IgG for 30 minutes at room temperature. Antigen-antibody complexes were localized by incubation with avidin/biotin/horseradish peroxidase or alkaline phosphate complex for 30 minutes at room temperature and by subsequently using 3,3′-diaminobenzidine/0.01% hydrogen peroxide or Vecter Red chromagen (Research Genetics). Nonimmune controls were performed by substituting mouse serum for specific primary antibodies during the incubation of arterial sections.
Statistical Analysis
Data are expressed as mean±SEM. Comparison between undifferentiated monocytes and various times of macrophage differentiation were performed by using nonparametric analysis for unpaired data (Wilcoxon/Kruskal Wallis test).
Results Effects of GM-CSF on EMMPRIN Expression and HPBM Differentiation
To ascertain if EMMPRIN was expressed in human monocytes, western analysis was performed on human peripheral blood monocytes that were differentiated into macrophages in culture by GM-CSF. As shown in Figure 1, EMMPRIN expression increased on day 2 of GM-CSF treatment over the untreated HPBMs. EMMPRIN continued to increase in expression through day 8. Proteins that mark differentiation of monocytes into macrophages such as apo E and MMP-9 activity (by gel zymography) were found to increase in their expression as GM-CSF treatment continued through day 8. Because GM-CSF-treated HPBMs become macrophages by day 8, EMMPRIN expression appears to be directly correlated to the differentiation process.
In addition to the EMMPRIN protein expression observed in Figure 1, EMMPRIN mRNA also increased through day 4 of GM-CSF treatment (Figure 2A). As with the protein expression, little or no EMMPRIN mRNA was observed in untreated HPBMs. MMP-9 mRNA also increased after 1 day of GM-CSF treatment and marks, as did MMP-9 protein activity, the differentiation of HPBMs into macrophages (Figure 2B).
EMMPRIN Expression in 10-Day GM-CSF-Differentiated HPBMs and Effects of Lipid Loading
To establish a protocol that would be able to assess EMMPRIN expression in cultured macrophages and foam cells, the experimental design of HPBM differentiation and lipid loading, as shown in Figure 3A, was used. Human monocytes were differentiated into adherent macrophages for 10 days under the influence of GM-CSF and then lipid-loaded by incubating for 1, 3, or 7 days with acLDL under serum and GM-CSF–free conditions. Phase contrast images of each stage of monocyte differentiation are shown at each point of cellular harvest (Figure 3A). A pancake-like cellular morphology of the differentiated macrophages and the “soapy-like” lipid vesicles of the cytoplasm due to lipid | 1.046689 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
accumulation in the macrophage foam cells.
To assess EMMPRIN mRNA expression in differentiated macrophages, a Northern analysis was done. As shown in Figure 3B, EMMPRIN increased 5- to 8-fold in differentiated macrophages, 13 to 19 days after GM-CSF treatment, relative to the monocytes. In all 3 to 4 experiments with individual HPBM populations studied, EMMPRIN expression relative to the housekeeping gene ribosomal S9 RNA was consistently upregulated. The 19-day EMMPRIN expression appears to be comparable to that level observed after 8 days of GM-CSF treatment.
To explore the relationship between lipid loading and EMMPRIN induction, concentration-response and time course experiments were performed with acLDL. Neutral lipid accumulation in differentiated macrophages after acLDL treatment is tabulated in the Table. The maximum accumulation of cellular CE increased 7-, 39-, and 321-fold at 1, 3, and 7 days after acLDL treatment. In addition, acLDL increased TG levels in a concentration- and time-dependent manner while FC remained virtually unchanged (Table). After 3 days of acLDL treatment, the amount of neutral lipids was increased in the macrophages as measured by the bright yellow staining of nile red as compared with the reddish staining due to nile red background (Figure 4A). Similar results were observed at 1 and 7 days of acLDL treatments (data not shown).
To assess if this marked increase in neutral lipids would effect EMMPRIN mRNA expression in macrophage foam cells, a Northern analysis was done. As shown in the representative blot in Figure 4B, EMMPRIN expression was unchanged in macrophage foam cells after 6 to 100 μg/mL acLDL treatment for 3 days relative to the unloaded macrophages. EMMPRIN protein expression followed the same changes as the mRNA expression (data not shown). To assess the effects of foam cell formation on MMP-9 expression, gelatin zymography was done. Shown in Figure 4C, 3 days of lipid loading did not change MMP-9 activity relative to unloaded cultured macrophages.
EMMPRIN Expression in Human Atherosclerotic Specimens
Because nothing is known about the expression of EMMPRIN in human atheromatous plaques, experiments with immunohistochemistry were carried out. EMMPRIN was found to be expressed in all 5 human coronary atheroma samples and not in normal internal mammary artery specimens examined (Figure 5). Serial sections were stained for EMMPRIN, CD68 macrophage-specific stain, and α-actin smooth muscle cell (SMC)-specific stain using monoclonal antibodies. EMMPRIN was observed to be localized to lesion areas of the human atheromas. The area of strong EMMPRIN protein expression (Figure 5) coincided with areas of CD68-positive macrophage staining and not to areas of α-actin–positive SMC staining. In addition, MMP-9 expression coincided with CD68-positive macrophage staining, but MMP-1 expression appeared to be more associated with the SMCc of the media and intima.
Discussion
EMMPRIN, which has been found in human tumor cells, has been revealed to exist in human macrophages after GM-CSF–induced differentiation and, for the first time, in human atherosclerotic lesions. In addition, the level of EMMPRIN expression in cultured GM-CSF–differentiated macrophages was maintained during lipid loading.
EMMPRIN expression on monocyte-macrophage differentiation suggests that EMMPRIN may be important in the early phases of directed cell migration and both autocrine and paracrine stimulation of MMP expression, but further work is needed to test this hypothesis. From our data, EMMPRIN mRNA and protein expression were markedly increased 5- to 8-fold on GM-CSF–induced monocyte to macrophage differentiation. Such increases in a protein may provide the differentiated macrophage with a mechanistic framework to perform specific functional activities at this stage of cellular maturation. In particular, EMMPRIN expression in invading tumor cells is increased significantly and leads to specific upregulation of metastatic tissue MMP levels. These elevated levels of MMPs become concentrated and provide the mechanism for tumor cells to invade and metastasize the extracellular matrix.
22,23⇓ Recently, Guo et al 24 have demonstrated an additional mechanism for EMMPRIN in that it forms a complex with MMP-1 at the tumor cell surface, and this additional function may provide an important mechanism for directed modification of extracellular matrix to promote invasion. In 7-day cultured dendritic cells generated by GM-CSF | 1.216498 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
and interleukin-4 (IL-4), CD147, or EMMPRIN was found to be expressed. 25 CD147 monoclonal antibodies have recently been shown to induce homotypic cell aggregation of monocytic cell line U937. 26,27⇓ Another example of protein upregulation that occurs during the differentiation of monocyte to macrophage is the increase in the cell surface scavenger receptor. The type I scavenger receptor is upregulated during monocyte maturation in order for the macrophage to begin accumulating modified LDL particles that reside in the subendothelial space of the vascular wall. Geng et al 28 demonstrated that a selective increase in type I scavenger receptor mRNA during differentiation from monocyte to macrophage leads to an increased uptake of modified LDL, and such processes precede foam cell formation. The co-expression of EMMPRIN and MMPs on monocyte-macrophage differentiation suggests that EMMPRIN may help establish the differentiated macrophage in the subendothelial space of the atherosclerotic vessel.
Given that vascular macrophages become lipid loaded, the effect of CE enrichment on EMMPRIN expression was studied in vitro. The present study has shown that CE accumulation and foam cell formation do not appear to have a regulatory role with respect to EMMPRIN expression, because lipid loading did not further increase the levels of EMMPRIN mRNA or protein expression in differentiated macrophages. In contrast to our results, Wang et al
29 have shown that cholesterol loading of the human monocytic cell line THP-1 as well as macrophage-rich areas of human coronary atheromas does influence expression of cellular proteins. They found an increase in the expression of a cytokine, IL-8, after cholesterol treatment. In addition, it has been shown that cholesterol also increased expression of the MMP elastase in human macrophages. 30,31⇓ EMMPRIN gene expression has recently been shown in human THP-1 and mouse RAW 246.7 monocyte/macrophage cell lines and under the regulation of non–cholesterol-related transcriptional factors Sp1 and Sp3. 32 Based on these observations, one can conclude that GM-CSF stimulates EMMPRIN expression on monocyte differentiation and that this EMMPRIN expression is not altered by cholesterol loading.
Consistent with the in vitro observations, EMMPRIN is localized to macrophage-rich regions of human atherosclerotic plaques. Several lines of evidence exist showing an experimental basis for the potential mechanisms for stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. Bocan et al
33 showed that inhibition of vascular acyl-CoA:cholesterol O-acyltransferase (ACAT) by the ACAT inhibitor, avasimibe, can directly limit macrophage accumulation and can potentially stabilize pre-established atherosclerotic lesions by reducing MMP expression within the lesion. Shah et al 34 showed that the accumulation of human monocyte-derived macrophages in the fibrous cap region of atherosclerotic plaques induce collagen degradation due to the overexpression of MMPs and that an MMP inhibitor partially blocked this process. In a more recent study, lipid lowering by dietary manipulation has been documented to show a decrease in MMP activity and increase collagen content of established atheroma in rabbits. This lipid lowering was found to decrease the number of macrophages present in the lesions. 35 Lipid lowering in the vascular wall either by diet or ACAT inhibition may decrease matrix-degrading protease expression by limiting the stimuli for gene expression and/or by reducing activation or secretion of these enzymes. Past work has concluded that proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α or IL-1β, potently stimulate MMP expression in macrophages 36,37⇓ and vascular SMCs. 38 Aikawa et al 35 speculated that lipid lowering may decrease the stimulus for cytokine gene expression in turn decreasing the expression of vascular wall MMPs. However, cytokine regulation of MMPs may contribute to the overall MMP expression and activation in the atherosclerotic plaque. Novel, previously unknown proteins that can induce MMP expression in the vessel wall may provide other potential mechanisms for the transcriptional regulation of extracellular matrix-degrading proteases and, in part, contribute to overall plaque destabilization. As revealed in this study, a tumor-derived protein, EMMPRIN, may be one of these MMP-inducing proteins in atherosclerosis but further investigation is needed.
In summary, this study reveals for the first time that differentiation of human monocytes into macrophages by the cytokine GM-CSF results in increased expression of the tumor-derived MMP inducing protein EMMPRIN as early as 1 day after the cytokine treatment. Further, our data show that EMMPRIN expression | 1.323236 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
appears to be unaltered by cholesterol treatment in cultured macrophage foam cells. EMMPRIN has also been shown to be expressed in human coronary atherectomy tissue by immunohistochemistry. Because this study has found EMMPRIN present in human atheroma, we hypothesize that the role of EMMPRIN in the atherogenic process is possibly through the induction of MMPs by invading both monocytes and vascular SMCs through EMMPRIN binding with its yet unidentified receptor. EMMPRIN expression, as in tumor growth, may provide a mechanism for atherosclerotic plaque growth and potentially for lesion destabilization at sites of active monocyte invasion and differentiation, but this hypothesis still remains untested.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Dr Mark Rekhter (Pfizer Global Research and Development) for providing us with sections of human coronary and internal mammary artery specimens.
Footnotes
Received March 5, 2002; revision accepted April 26, 2002.
References ↵Berliner JA, Navab M, Fogelman AM, Frank JS, Demer LL, Edwards PA, Watson AD, Lusis AJ. Atherosclerosis. basic mechanisms: oxidation, inflammation, and genetics. Circulation .1995; 91: 2488–2496. ↵ ↵ ↵Lee RT, Libby P. The unstable atheroma. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol .1997; 17: 1859–1867. ↵Galis ZS, Sukhova GK, Lark MW, Libby P. Increased expression of matrix metalloproteinases and matrix degrading activity in vulnerable regions of human atherosclerotic plaques. J Clin Invest .1994; 94: 2493–2503. ↵Dollery CM, McEwan JR, Henney AM. Matrix metalloproteinases and cardiovascular disease. Circ Res .1995; 77: 863–868. ↵Wesley RB, Meng X, Godin D, Galis ZS. Extracellular matrix modulates macrophage functions characteristic to atheroma: collagen type I enhances acquisition of resident macrophage traits by human peripheral blood monocytes in vitro. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol .1998; 18: 432–440. ↵Shah PK, Falk E, Badimon JJ, Fernandez-Ortiz A, Mailhac A, Villareal-Levy G, Fallon JT, Regnstrom J, Fuster V. Human monocyte-derived macrophages induce collagen breakdown in fibrous caps of atherosclerotic plaques: potential role of matrix-degrading metalloproteinases and implications for plaque rupture. Circulation .1995; 92: 1565–1569. ↵Galis ZS, Sukhova GK, Kranzhofer R, Clark S, Libby P. Macrophage foam cells from experimental atheroma constitutively produce matrix-degrading proteinases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A .1995; 92: 402–406. ↵Nikkari ST, O’Brien KD, Ferguson M, Hatsukami T, Welgus HG, Alpers CE, Clowes AW. Interstitial collagenase (MMP-1) expression in human carotid atherosclerosis. Circulation .1995; 92: 1393–1398. ↵Biswas C, Zhang Y, DeCastro R, Guo H, Nakamura T, Kataoka H, Nabeshima K. The human tumor cell-derived collagenase stimulatory factor (renamed EMMPRIN) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Cancer Res .1995; 55: 434–439. ↵ ↵Guo H, Zucker S, Gordon MK, Toole BP, Biswas C. Stimulation of matrix metalloproteinase production by recombinant extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer from transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells. J Biol Chem .1997; 272: 24–27. ↵ ↵ ↵Guo H, Li R, Zucker S, Toole BP. EMMPRIN (CD147), an inducer of matrix metalloproteinase synthesis, also binds interstitial collagenase to the tumor cell surface. Cancer Res .2000; 60: 888–891. ↵ | 0.887301 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
Rajagopalan S, Meng XP, Ramasamy S, Harrison DG, Galis ZS. Reactive oxygen species produced by macrophage-derived foam cells regulate the activity of vascular matrix metalloproteinases in vitro: implications for atherosclerotic plaque stability. J Clin Invest .1996; 98: 2572–2579. ↵ ↵Tabas I, Feinmark SJ, Beatini N. The reactivity of desmosterol and other shellfish- and xanthomatosis-associated sterols in the macrophage sterol esterification reaction. J Clin Invest .1989; 84: 1713–1721. ↵ ↵ ↵Basbaum CB, Werb Z. Focalized proteolysis: spatial and temporal regulation of extracellular matrix degradation at the cell surface. Curr Opin Cell Biol .1996; 8: 731–738. ↵Werb Z. ECM and cell surface proteolysis: regulating cellular ecology. Cell .1997; 91: 439–442. ↵Guo H, Li R, Zucker S, Toole BP. EMMPRIN (CD147), an inducer of matrix metalloproteinase synthesis, also binds interstitial collagenase to the tumor cell surface. Cancer Res .2000; 60: 888–891. ↵ ↵ ↵Cho JY, Fox DA, Horejsi V, Sagawa K, Skubitz KM, Katz DR, Chain B. The functional interactions between CD98, beta1-integrins, and CD147 in the induction of U937 homotypic aggregation. Blood .2001; 98: 374–382. ↵Geng Y, Kodama T, Hansson GK. Differential expression of scavenger receptor isoforms during monocyte-macrophage differentiation and foam cell formation. Arterioscler Thromb .1994; 14: 798–806. ↵Wang N, Tabas I, Winchester R, Ravalli S, Rabbani LE, Tall A. Interleukin 8 is induced by cholesterol loading of macrophages and expressed by macrophage foam cells in human atheroma. J Biol Chem .1996; 271: 8837–8842. ↵Rouis M, Nigon F, Lafuma C, Hornebeck W, Chapman MJ. Expression of elastase activity by human monocyte-macrophages is modulated by cellular cholesterol content, inflammatory mediators, and phorbol myristate acetate. Arteriosclerosis .1990; 10: 246–255. ↵Halpert I, Sires UI, Roby JD, Potter-Perigo S, Wight TN, Shapiro SD, Welgus HG, Wickline SA, Parks WC. Matrilysin is expressed by lipid-laden macrophages at sites of potential rupture in atherosclerotic lesions and localizes to areas of versican deposition, a proteoglycan substrate for the enzyme. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A .1996; 93: 9748–9753. ↵Liang L, Major T, Bocan T. Characterization of the promoter of human extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN). Gene. In Press, Uncorrected Proof. ↵Bocan TM, Krause BR, Rosebury WS, Mueller SB, Lu X, Dagle C, Major T, Lathia C, Lee H. The ACAT in hibitor avasimibe reduces macrophages and matrix metalloproteinase expression in atherosclerotic lesions of hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol .2000; 20: 70–79. ↵Shah PK, Falk E, Badimon JJ, Fernandez-Ortiz A, Mailhac A, Villareal-Levy G, Fallon JT, Regnstrom J, Fuster V. Human monocyte-derived macrophages induce collagen breakdown in fibrous caps of atherosclerotic plaques. Potential role of matrix-degrading metalloproteinases and implications for plaque rupture. Circulation .1995; 92: 1565–1569. ↵Aikawa M, Rabkin E, Okada Y, Voglic SJ, Clinton SK, Brinckerhoff CE, | 1.001804 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
The Parliament last month passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, aiming to protect children from sexual abuse, an alarming social menace that has come to haunt the nation in the contemporary era. It is for the first time that the Indian government came up with a special legal provision to deal with the sensitive issue.
So far, different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealt with sexual offences but they did not cover sexual offences against children extensively and also did not distinguish child victims from the adult ones. In that respect, the new bill will definitely plug the holes by providing shield to all children aged below 18, irrespective of the gender.
The law clearly lays down strict punishment, which could even lead to life imprisonment, for sexually assaulting any child. Punishable offences under the Act include Penetrative Sexual Assault, Aggravated Penetrative Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault, Aggravated Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment of the Child and Use of Child for Pornographic Purpose. It also has provision for setting up special courts for related offences and speaks of child-friendly legal procedures.
The law-makers also kept in mind to ensure quick justice. The Act asks for recording evidence related to the related offence within 30 days and that the special court can take a year at the most to complete a trial.
The Act says that the child must be kept under proper care and protection soon after the complaint is made and the special juvenile police or local cops must report the case to the child welfare committee within 24 hours of filing the case. The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and State Commissions for the Protection of Child Rights are the designated authorities to monitor the Act's implementation.
The Act is indeed a welcome move to ensure protection of children, the most vulnerable section of the human society. What is particularly significant is that the administration and law-keepers have been given a crucial message to look after children's rights and not to equate them with the adult section. Children can not defend themselves and fight for their own cause and the onus lies more on the protectors to shield them against any atrocity.
In places like Delhi and Goa, centres have been opened to deal with crisis faced by girls and women and legal measures like children's rights have been put into effect, respectively, to address the problem.
A positive feature of the law is its call for speedy justice. Asking the courts to settle any case of sexual harassment of a children within a year will exempt a child victim from giving accounts of his or her ordeal repeatedly. This can prove devastating for a child's mind and soul. There have been instances where a child was made to give account of the crime even after two-three years. Drawing a limit to the time of delivering justice will surely save the children from facing more humiliation, which can hinder their growth as a normal human being.
The clause of ensuring the child victims proper rehabilitation also is a welcome move.
However, by saying that all sexual activity with those below 18 years of age is a criminal offence, consensus or no consensus notwithstanding, the law has given birth to an interesting debate. One quarter says such provision is a departure from India's ground reality. According to it, several girls in this country get married before attaining 18 years and if the law does not have any regard to the word 'consensus', then the social consequences will be disastrous. Several husbands and parents will land up in jail invariably and innumerable marriages will be ruined.
In the 'modern' India too, impacts of such law could be terrible for urban teenagers who are becoming more and more aware about exploring the once-prohibited domain of sexuality. Will the law intrude in each home and family to keep the society away from 'crime'? Recently, the Delhi High Court slammed the decision to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 (Section 375 of the IPC says having sexual relation with a girl aged below 16 with or without consent amounts to rape). It said so while exonerating a youth after he 'kidnapped and raped' a 17-year-old girl, who was in love with him and married him and the two even had a child! The court said such law could affect and distabilise lives of several young couples.
There is, however, a differing view. It stresses that such law could prove beneficial in curbing instances of child marriage and domestic violence to a long extent, particularly in the rural and semi-urban areas. Proponents of this view believe that such law, if put into practice, will act as a deterrent for people 'burdened by daughters' and 'irresponsible' lovers from treating under-aged girls with contempt. The warning that sexually exploiting girls below 18 years, the 'consent' factor notwithstanding, can invite imprisonment upto ten years, will throw a caution in the air.
Which way the law move and leave an impact? The onus of replying this question lies on our thought and intent. | 1.660228 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
With a 10 to 15 percent increase in demand, Valley food banks are experiencing major shortages and empty shelves. Today, local business leaders and philanthropic organizations pulled together a $24,000 grant that they hope will help food banks continue to feed families and avoid turning anyone away.
“There were 38 families we couldn’t serve,” Bob Lally of the St. Vincent DePaul Society in Derby said. “It was the first time in our history we had to turn people away.”
The idea of hungry people and families being turned away from assistance didn’t sit well with members of the Valley United Way’s Corporate Volunteer Council, or the Valley Community Foundation. In just a few days, the two groups, with a large donation from the Prudential Foundation, pulled together $24,000 to help five area food banks. The United Way and VCF made the announcement during a press conference Friday.
“One thing that makes this area of state unique is that when there’s trouble and a problem, Valley people have risen to the occasion,” Jamie Cohen, President of the Valley Community Foundation said. “This all happened in the a matter of days.
The ball started rolling a few days ago when the issue came up in The United Way’s CVC meeting. Katie Scinto, of R.D. Scinto pledged $2,000 if the United Way could match it. The issue had also been raised at a VCF meeting by board member, Joseph Pagliaro, Jr., who is also the United Way’s Campaign Chair.
Jack Walsh, president of the United Way ,and Fred Ortoli, chairman of the board for the United Way, agreed to help and worked with the VCF in making matching donations. Both the United Way and the VCF each contributed $5,000. Soon after, the Prudential Foundation agreed to match the $12,000.
“This was not just a slight contribution, they doubled it,” Walsh said of Prudential.
Kimberly Tabb, vice president and chief of staff for Prudential Financial, said it was an easy choice to make.
“We recently toured one of the food banks and we were shocked at how thin the supplies looked,” Tabb said. “The idea of turning someone away is heartbreaking.”
Susan Agamy of Spooner House said the demand for the food bank has grown significantly in the last few years and a lot of if it has to do with the economy.
“We see a lot of different families, some who are unemployed, underemployed or because food stamps have been cut back,” Agamy said.
Each food bank is receiving the grants through a credit from the I.G.A. supermarket in Derby, organized by manager John Varrone, allowing each group to shop for what it needs.
Of the $24,000, $14,000 is going to Spooner House, $4,500 to St. Vincent DePaul, $2,500 to the local Salvation Army, $1,500 to the Seymour/Oxford Food Bank and $750 to the Parent Child Resource Center.
The agencies will be able to go shopping next week, Walsh said.
“We want our dollars turned into food as soon as possible,” Walsh said.
Developer Bob Scinto came to the press conference on his daughter’s behalf.
“I always say ‘ to whom much is given, much is required,’” Scinto said. “We really have to give back our money and time and we’re happy to be part of the program.”
Walsh said the grant will help some of the food banks get through until the holidays, when donations are more in the forefront of people’s minds. that are biologically questionable. For example, the attempts of the title character in Devil Girl from Mars (1955) to mate with humans is “an undertaking fraught with hazards associated with postzygotic reproductive isolating mechanisms,” Berenbaum and Leskosky point out. (Strictly speaking, the humanoid Devil Girl was less interested in colonization than in the abduction of human males that she could import back to her home planet for breeding stock.) Students of Stanislavsky would therefore do well to contemplate population biology in addition to “The Method” before accepting roles in science-fiction films starring K-type invaders. They would not act so scared. | 1.761271 | 894 | 892 |
In print or on dead trees, there's money in long-form journalism
Like others who got into journalism while print media was fading, I have been offering my theories about what has been going wrong. (Hint: newspaper circulation has been declining since the 1960s, so industry executives might want to stop blaming the Internet.)
Among the multiplicity of problems afflicting print is its failure to understand its role in a wired world. I keep saying thing that the Internet is for breaking the news.
Who won the game? What happened to stocks?
Print, on the other hand, is made for long-form analysis.
Why should you care about what happened? What will happen next? What does it mean?
As things stand, long-form journalism — essays over 2,000 words — is pretty much dead. Websites, obsessed with quick clickbait, don't run it. For the last 10 or 15 years, newspapers and many magazines have bought into the conventional wisdom that bytes go best in bits. At
The Los Angeles Times, for example, the number of pieces over 2,000 words has declined 86% during the last decade.
Now
Fast Company is out with something close to scientific proof that I've been right.
Publications that are thriving relative to their competitors, such as
The Economist and The New Yorker, are consistently committed to long-form feature writing. We love our tablets, but they can't compete with print's portability and lower eyestrain when it's time to delve into 8,000 words about whatever.
"Newspapers should stop trying to break news," I wrote a few years ago. "They can't compete with websites. They should publish a daily version of what
Time or Newsweek could be: lengthy analyses with charts and graphs, and opinions across the political spectrum." For the most part, however, editors still don't get it. Time and Newsweek are case studies in how not to run a weekly magazine in the online era. Post-Time-Life Time and the Newsweek even more ruined by Tina Brown have reduced their cultural imprints and circulations by trying to Web-ify themselves with those crummy short bits at the front of the book, Buzzfeed-inspired charticles and listicles, and lots of oversized photos. Why pay $5 for that shit when you can get it better online — in abundance, and free? Conversely, when I want a detailed 10,000-word analysis of the factors that contributed to the current state of disintegration in Iraq, I'll turn to The Economist, not Time next week. So will everyone else.
What makes
Fast Company's analysis interesting is its conclusion that long-form works online too.
"We decided to experiment with a new, super-long article format akin to 'slow live blogging,' Chris Dannen writes in
Fast Company. "When we looked at the traffic charts… our jaws dropped. Here's what we learned about long form stories — and why quality, not velocity, is the future of online news." (Go check out the charts. They're amazing.)
Dannen continues:
In mid-April, we went live with a half dozen articles which we call 'stubs.' The idea here is to plant a flag in a story right away with a short post--a 'stub'--and then build the article as the story develops over time, rather than just cranking out short, discrete posts every time something new breaks. One of our writers refers to this aptly as a 'slow live blog.'
Stub stories work like this: You write the first installment like any other story. But when more news breaks, you go back to the article, insert an update at the top, and change the headline and subheadline (known in our business as the "hed" and "dek") to reflect the update. Our system updates the story "slug" when the headline changes--check the URL of this story, and you'll see words from the headline in the URL:
/this-is-what-happens-when-publishers-invest-in-long-stories. But the number preceding the slug--on this article, it's 3009577--is a unique node ID which never changes. So essentially, every time we update an article, we get a fresh URL with a fresh headline, but pointing back to the same (newly updated) article. So, it's like having many URLs and many headlines which lead back to the same big, multi-faceted article. We called these 'Tracking' stories.FastCo's "bounce rate" plunged when it ran long-form pieces with updated information. Rather than come in, find themselves unintrigued and thus immediately leave, readers were attracted. They stuck around. Average visit duration jumped. Advertisers love this.
Dannen does offer a caveat, however:
Big-time disclaimer here--it's too early to tell how permanent these effects will be, and we can | 1.907894 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy
There's been a question sitting in my to-answer pile for a while:
This isn't an easy question to answer. Well, that's not entirely true, it's easy to answer but that answer isn't very helpful. Any tips you have on getting just the right amount of description, plot/subplot tangles, and internal thoughts will be appreciated. Now that I've reached the higher side of the curve, the 'line' seems to be the capstone I need to make it to the next level. It's so hard to be objective about exactly where that 'line' is. There is no line. It depends on a multitude of factors that's different for every book and every writer.
Like I said, not very helpful.
Last week, Victoria Grefer over at The Crimson League wrote a fantastic article about balance in fiction, where she talks about how it varies from writer to writer, genre to genre and even reader to reader, and your best bet is to keep your target audience and what you want from the book in mind as you write it. She covers the first half of the question well (and there's little I'd add), so I'll focus more on the second part now.
How to bump your writing to the next level.
When your technical writing skills are at a professional level, but you're still not getting bites from agents, editors, (or readers if you self publish), it's time to look at the story itself.
A beautifully written, technically perfect, yet boring story will not grab readers. A generically written, technically average, yet amazing and gripping story
A generically written, technically average, yet amazing and gripping story
willgrab readers.
Now, I'm certainly NOT saying that good writing skill isn't something to worry about or work toward, but we all know books out there that sold millions of copies and aren't well written. But the stories resonated with readers on such a deep level that they didn't care. They didn't read the book to marvel at the technical skill of the author, they read it for the
story.
So with this is mind, if the writing skill is clearly not the reason you're getting rejected (and you'll know this by the types of rejections you're getting--usually they'll say "while this is well-written...") shift focus to the story, because odds are that's what's holding you back.
Possible Reasons the Story is Holding You Back A lack of conflict
A good protagonist needs an equally good antagonist to struggle against, be it a person, inner demon, society, or force of nature. The obstacle that has to be overcome should be worthy of the person trying to overcome it. If the struggle isn't a life and death fight (either literally or metaphorically) readers probably won't care.
Is it a problem your protagonist hasto deal with or her life comes to a screeching halt (again, literally or metaphorically)? Do things get harder to overcome as the story unfolds? Do the problems and conflicts of the overall novel tug the protagonist in different directions? Does the protagonist have to make tough choices or is the path always clear (and thus predictable)?
(Here's more on creating conflict in your novel)
A lack of stakes
Without consequences for failure, it's hard to care about the conflict in the first place. A character might have her heart set on getting a job developing computer games, and have huge competition for the position, but if nothing happens to her but disappointment if she doesn't get the job, readers won't care. They also won't care if nothing
goodhappens to her either, except that she's happy for getting her dream job. If her life is basically the same before and after the book, why should anyone read her story? Are there consequences for both failure and success that fundamentally change the life of the protagonist? Do the stakes escalate as the protagonist struggles to overcome the obstacles? Are these stakes personal to the protagonist or could they apply to anyone?
(Here's more on raising the stakes in your novel)
A reactive protagonist
The protagonist should be the person driving the story. She makes it happen through the choices she makes and the results of those choices. If all she does is react to what's happening around her, she can feel pointless as a character. She never
doesanything of her own volition so the story feels aimless and thus pointless. If you took her out of the story, nothing would change, because she wasn't doing anything to make the story happen in the first place. Does the protagonist make choices that affect how the story unfolds? Do those choices cause things to happen that would not have happened had she not made that choice? Is the protagonist planning and acting out those plans to achieve a desired result? Does the protagonist have goals or does she just deal with whatever is in front of her at the time?
(Here's more on making choices that matter)
A lack of character motivation
Even if the protagonist is making decisions, | 1.442657 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
she also has to have good reasons for acting that make sense to her character and her problem. Her motivation for why she's willing to do whatever the story requires her to do needs to be believable or readers will wonder why she's even there. Would John McClane have risked his life to stop the bad guys in
Die Hardif his wife hadn't been held hostage in the building? Probably not. If your protagonist is risking her life for no good reason, readers will call you on it. Are there personal reasons for your protagonist to do what she needs to do in the story? Does she have a personal stake in what happens? Does she care about the outcome or is she doing it because plot says so? Do her motivations hold up under questioning or do they fall apart after one or two questions about why she's doing this?
(Here's more on character motivation)
A lack of originality
Sometimes a writer has done everything right and the book still gets rejected, because the story is one agents, editors, and readers have seen many times before. This can be the hardest snag to fix because the novel is working, it's just not fresh enough to stand out in a crowded marketplace. The common story makes the plot feel predictable and gives the sense that we've seen this all before. This kind of story needs a fresh twist or different angle to capture a unique aspect of a familiar tale.
What's unique about this story vs. others like it? Does the plot unfold in predictable ways that readers can see coming? How many books like it can you name? Is the fresh angle just a twist at the very end or is it woven through the entire book?
(Here's more on adding a fresh twist to a common idea)
Novels are all about stories, and sometimes in our pursuit of publication we forget how important those stories are. It's easy to get scope-locked on craft and let the story flounder. If you're feeling stuck, try taking a hard look at your story and see if you can make it stronger.
Are you working on your writing skills, your storytelling skills, or both right now? What do you feel your weak areas are? Your strengths? Looking for tips on planning and writing your novel? Check out my book Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, a series of self-guided workshops that help you turn your idea into a novel. It's also a great guide for revisions!
Janice Hardy is the founder of Fiction University, and the author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, where she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her novels include
The Shifter,(Picked as one of the 10 Books All Young Georgians Should Read, 2014) Blue Fire, and Darkfallfrom Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The first book in her Foundations of Fiction series, Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structureis out now.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound experience of others at Duke both in and outside the classroom.
Optional Essay If you feel there are circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware, please explain them in an optional essay (such as unexplained gaps in work, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance). • Do NOT upload additional essays nor additional recommendations in this area of the application. • The Optional Essay is intended to provide the Admissions Committee with insight into your circumstances only. • Limit your response to one page.
As with most optional essays, the Duke MBA asks that you use this space only to explain extenuating circumstances. If you have a low GPA, lack a recommendation from your current supervisor or have gaps in work history this is the correct place to address those issues. If you do not have any of those areas to explain, it’s best to skip this question and focus only on the previous three essays.
When approaching any concerns about your background in the optional essay it’s important to focus on recent performance, whether academic or professional, and what such performance demonstrates about your ability.
Your goal is to remove questions from your application and to address in a factual manner any information the admissions committee needs to know to fairly evaluate your application. The essay should convey, in a positive manner, that you know there could be questions about your background but you have thoroughly improved in any areas necessary. | 1.307858 | 906 | 904 |
Second Degree Murder
Massachusetts General Law chapter 265 § 1: The unlawful killing of a human being accomplished in one or both of the following modes: (1) with malice aforethought; or (2) in the commission or attempted commission of a felony punishable by other than death or imprisonment for life.
Malice Aforethought
Unlike first degree murder, which the statute describes in particularity, case law (meaning prior decisions of Massachusetts' courts and also known as "common law") defines the elements in second degree murder. Under Massachusetts law, murder in the second degree includes homicides committed with malice aforethought, that lack deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, or participation in a felony punishable by life imprisonment (remember that the law requires these elements for murder in the first degree). Under Massachusetts case law, to prove murder in the second degree, the Commonwealth must establish that the perpetrator committed the killing with malice. As with murder in the first degree, malice means an intent to inflict grievous bodily injury without legal justification, or an intent to act in a manner likely to cause death or serious injury. The malice element does not require an intent to cause a death.
Felony Murder
For second degree felony murder, the same conditions as for first degree felony murder apply, with the exception that the underlying felony for second degree felony murder is punishable by less than death or a life sentence. Felonies such as larceny fall under this category. As in the case of first degree murder, to convict of second degree felony murder, the law requires that the underlying felony be one which is inherently dangerous or committed in a manner which demonstrates the defendant's conscious disregard for the risk to human life.
The maximum sentence for a second degree murder conviction is imprisonment for life with parole eligibility after fifteen years. It should also be noted that, unlike first degree murder, a defendant in a second degree murder case may waive the right to a jury and submit to a trial in which a judge determines guilt or innocence, otherwise known as a bench trial.
Contact an Attorney | Massachusetts Murder Overview Murder Defense Case Results | First Degree Murder | Second Degree Murder Voluntary Manslaughter Involuntary Manslaughter | Motor Vehicle Homicide | Assault with Intent to Murder/Kill | HomeERIC Number:ED210609 Record Type:RIE Publication Date:1981-Aug-25 Pages:9 Abstractor:N/A Reference Count:0 ISBN:N/A ISSN:N/A
Anxiety and Performance: Each Affects the Other One.
Ferguson, Eva Dreikurs
Investigators assessing the effect of motivation on performance rarely report the effect of performance on motivation. College students (N=48), preselected by anxiety scores, were tested on adjective pairs lists; additionally, anxiety was measured before and after task performance. Results showed that anxiety had a marked effect on verbal learning performance. In a second study of 24 subjects, the anxiety variable did not significantly alter verbal learning performance. Subjects (N=60) preselected on the Spielberger trait anxiety test were tested on a high-speed tachistoscopic task and were given the Spielberger State Anxiety test following performance. Tachistoscopic recognition was not significantly altered by trait anxiety, but a significant correlation occurred between state anxiety and performance. Subjects (N=40) preselected on the Spielberger state anxiety scale were given the scale again immediately preceeding the tachistoscopic task to reveal the effect of anxiety on performance. Results showed that anxiety had no significant effect on tachistoscopic recognition. While only one investigation obtained clear evidence that pre-performance anxiety significantly altered performance, subjects' anxiety was altered significantly as a function of task performance in all four investigations. The findings suggest that anxiety may not remain at a constant level for the duration of an experiment. (NRB)
Publication Type:Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers Education Level:N/A Audience:N/A Language:English Sponsor:N/A Authoring Institution:N/A Note:Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (89th, Los Angeles, CA, August 24-26, 1981).lite.com, merriam-webster.com, and seanwes.com rather than a custom-developed one, may put you in a position to make use of multiple service providers for increased availability sooner rather than later. | 1.329493 | 900 | 896 |
There’s nothing better than digging your toes in the warm sand, breathing crisp, salty air and hearing the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline. But whether the beach is close to home, or thousands of miles away, you don’t have to leave the memories behind at the summer’s end. There are many creative ways to bring the beach into your home all year long.
“Many of us bring back vacation mementos that end up sitting in a box in the garage,” says Angie Stinner, design expert for Rust-Oleum. “But with a little imagination and creativity, you can transform souvenirs from your time at the beach into stylish decorations that will recreate that serene seashore look and feel inside your home.”
Here are a few project ideas that are sure to give you that tranquil beach feel even on a gloomy winter day:
Accent with shimmering sea glass.
Sea glass is one of the rarest of all beach finds. Perhaps that’s why purchasing an accent piece made of natural sea glass can be very expensive. But thanks to paint innovation, it’s easy to replicate the glimmering bluish green tone of sea glass and create a beautiful accent piece without spending a fortune.
Find an old glass jar, bowl or vase around your home – or purchase one at the dollar store. Then spray it with a paint like Rust-Oleum Frosted Sea Glass Spray. Let it dry and fill the jar or bowl with sand, coral or shells you brought home from the beach.
Seashells forever.
Hunting for shells is a universally loved beach pastime. And the seashells you find can be used to create one-of-a-kind decorations to give a beach feel to your home year round. Create a stylish wreath for your front door. Use them to decorate an old lamp or apply them to the lampshade for a stand-out accent piece. The possibilities are endless.
Make sure to clean your shells with soap and water to remove sand, salt and other debris. Once completely dry, spray on a coat of Bulls Eye Shellac. Its all-natural shellac resin will seal in lingering odors and preserve the shells so they don’t crumble over time. Let the shells dry overnight. Then get out your glue gun and attach them to any surface you choose. It’s an easy, affordable way to spend some post-beach time with your kids.
Frame up your vacation memories.
Photos are great for reminiscing about warm summer days at the beach. So instead of storing them on your hard drive why not frame them in ocean-esque colors for all to see?
Find a few old frames, either at home or from a thrift store. Then paint them with a spray paint like Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Harbor Blue. Group your photos on a vacation wall – or display them throughout your home – to keep your warm, sunny days at the beach in mind throughout the winter’s chill.
Visit Facebook.com/Paintideas for additional inspiring and creative decorating projects.Priya Rajagopalan, Neda Jahanshad, Jason L. Stein, Xue Hua, Sarah K. Madsen, Omid Kohannim, Derrek P. Hibar, Arthur W. Toga, Clifford R. Jack Jr., Andrew J. Saykin, Robert C. Green, Michael W. Weiner, Joshua C. Bis, Lewis H. Kuller, Mario Riverol, James T. Becker, Oscar L. Lopez, Paul M. Thompson, for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), et al.
Abstract
A commonly carried C677T polymorphism in a folate-related gene, MTHFR, is associated with higher plasma homocysteine, a well-known mediator of neuronal damage and brain atrophy.
As homocysteine promotes brain atrophy, we set out to discover whether people carrying the C677T MTHFRpolymorphism which increases homocysteine, might also show systematic differences in brain structure.
Using tensor-based morphometry, we tested this association in 359 elderly Caucasian subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (mean age: 75 ± 7.1 years) scanned with brain MRI and genotyped as part of Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. | 1.378343 | 885 | 883 |
An equal wasn't found in Costa Rica, Ireland, Puerto Rico or Southern California. (Milk, itself, wasn't found in Vietnam where I spent a very long year once.)
So, with a heavy heart, we discovered a lovely spot in the hills overlooking Sebastopol and began our new life. Of course, I had to have my milk, even if it was going to be a poor substitute.
On the first day in our new place, I popped into Andy's, a rustic little market on Bodega Highway, and picked up some one-percent milk. If it was going to taste bad, anyway, why not go the more healthy route?
After arriving back at the house, I poured myself a frothy glass of cold milk. "This tastes like whole milk," I said to my despondent wife. (She was left a bit grumpy by the 18 days of motel living.)
"Indeed it does," she agreed after taking a sip of my new treasure. "It tastes like Monument Farms."
As always, she was right. "Indeed it does!" I echoed cheerfully. "And, it may even taste better!"
Thus began my journey through the discovery of the rest of Clover Stornetta Farm's clo-nucopia of products.
I tried the whole milk, the half-and-half, the heavy cream, the rich, aerosol whipped cream creamy butter, the sour cream, the yogurt, the eggs and, finally, the ice cream. Oh my, the ice cream. I thought, move aside, Ben and Jerry's, I can now buy Clover Stornetta ice cream.
Then I got into fusion with Clover Products. I put Clover sharp cheddar on whole wheat and grilled it in Clover butter. This was supplemented with a chilled glass of Clover milk.
Early on, I even tried Clo's Vanilla Bean ice cream with Clo's heavy cream poured over it. I don't remember much after that one.
The reporter in me had to find out how they did it. I poured over Clo's website (after pouring myself yet another glass of Clo's milk) and read her story. It was intriguing but I was hungry for more so I sent the dairy an email begging for an interview.
Initially, I wanted to interview Clo but it seems she only speaks in puns so I requested some time with the marketing department.
Clo's Director of Marketing, Joanie Benedetti Claussen, was on extended holiday so she could bond with her new daughter, Evelyn Rose, but she kindly made herself available for a phone interview. I didn't want to bother her but, my God, the milk.
"Why does it taste so good and fresh," I asked on the appointed hour. It was all I had to say.
I heard the story of her grandfather, Gene Benedetti, who, as a naval officer, lived through the Invasion of Normandy and, thereafter returned to Petaluma to start his legacy of fair dealing and responsible farming.
Benedetti began dairy farming in the late 1960's and established a reputation for humane treatment of his cows and a respect for the land. This was long before Green was cool.
Through some twists and turns of fate, Benedetti was able to purchase Clover Milk in 1975 and his tribe increased. He retooled the flagging clo-op to showcase only the finest dairy farms in Sonoma and Marin Counties and worked with these farms to become sustainable and produce only the best and freshest milk.
Because dairy farmers in California sell their milk at a price set by the State, Benedetti paid his contributing farmers a premium bonus for their milk. This was additional incentive to get only the best dairy farms on board.
Sold in Northern California independent markets and some of the larger markets (like Lucky), Clover Stornetta Dairy products can also be found in Whole Foods and Mother's Market. All stores are within the circle of friendship Clo has drawn to ensure her products are always fresh.
Andy's Market in Sebastopol (the largest open-air fresh farm produce market in Northern California) even promotes Clo with monthly specials.
In November 2000, Clover Stornetta Farms became the first and only dairy in the U.S. to be certified by the American Humane Association (AHA) for their animal welfare program, American Humane Certified.
Clo's family continues to work with the AHA to ensure the good treatment of the animals at dairies who sell to them and the Clover Stornetta Dairy pasteurizes, but does not ultra-pasteurize their milk (exactly like Monument Farms does not).
Ultra-pasteurizing of milk extends the shelf life and mega-milk producers love this because they can sell more milk by trucking it further afield. Unfortunately, ultra-pasteurizing makes milk taste watery and flat.
According to
The truth was out. Clover Stornetta Dairy has a limited reach for their products because they want them to be fresh and to taste good.
Today Clover Stornetta Dairy works with 6 organic | 1.915699 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
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SPEECH/ 10/2
Catherine Ashton
High Representative / Vice President
Comments to the press on the situation in Haiti
Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED
Press Conference
Brussels, 14 January 2010
Let me begin by saying once again that the thoughts of people all over Europe are with the victims of this terrible tragedy and with their families.
I know that the scenes of devastation and suffering we have seen have moved us all. I for one am determined to do everything I can to translate that emotion that we all feel into action. Our goal now must be to work to help those who need it most.
Our thoughts are with the people of Haiti who have suffered enormously and lost so many of their loved ones. There is also a large number of EU citizens who are unaccounted for. We also know that the United Nations have suffered terrible losses and I have expressed my condolences earlier today to Ban Ki Moon the UN Secretary General. But also the EU Delegation in Port-au-Prince is still missing one person.
We must show, as we have done in the past, that we are indeed a ‘global community’, able to find the resources needed to save lives and to rebuild existences.
The European Union, through its member states and common resources, has already acted. We will continue to do so, finding additional resources and delivering them as quickly as possible.
We are working closely together on the humanitarian relief side with the Member States. A number of Member States, in particular Belgium, France and Spain, but many others too, have sent teams and material, such as water purification, field hospitals and tents. The first teams have arrived and are active in search and rescue operations.
We are also closely working together between the different Commission services and the Council. I met Karel de Gucht and Stavros Dimas earlier today to discuss the activities and next steps. Our teams are coordinating their efforts so that we can deliver a quick and efficient response.
The Monitoring and Information Centre was activated in the night of 12 January, and a team of 4 experts from Italy, Estonia, Austria and the UK plus a MIC liaison officer has been deployed with a Belgian B-Fast team and is about to land in Port-au-Prince. A French expert and another from the Spanish Presidency will join the team tomorrow.
Numerous offers of European assistance are on their way. The UK sent an urban search and rescue team yesterday. A French search and rescue team arrived in Haiti today, 14 January. The Belgian plane with an assessment and coordination team together with specialised teams from Luxembourg is about to land in Port-au-Prince.
Within hours of the disaster, the European Commission's humanitarian department provided 3 million Euros in an initial, emergency humanitarian aid response. This money is channelled through our international humanitarian partners – such as the UN relief agencies and the International Red Cross family – to ensure life-saving supplies get to the people of Haiti right now. Namely: first aid medicines; water; food; and tents.
We are now putting all the different elements together that are at our disposal: Humanitarian relief, civil protection, but also other instruments that as satellite images provided by our Global Monitoring System (GMES) that are important for the coordination of the UN efforts on the ground.
But it is not only about the immediate help for the humanitarian disaster. We also have started to work on our assistance that we can give to the people of Haiti in the medium- and long-term. To that end, the Commission has two of its own humanitarian relief experts "on the ground" able to provide an analysis of the needs of our humanitarian partners (such as the International Red Cross) to ensure the stricken population get the help they need quickly.
I have asked the Spanish Development Minister to convene a meeting of EU Development Ministers on Monday to take this forward.
The coordination with international partners is crucial now. I have spoken earlier today with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and offered our immediate support. And I come off the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
It is important to tell the people of Haiti that we stand ready to help them as much as we can in this tragedy. They can count on Europe.
Fore more information on :
-the EU coordinated response to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti:
-the European Civil Protection:
Side Bar | 1.570209 | 927 | 926 |
Volume 2 Supplement 1
Linking the Resource Description Framework to cheminformatics and proteochemometrics 2(Suppl 1):S6 DOI: 10.1186/2041-1480-2-S1-S6
© Willighagen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011
Published: 7 March 2011 Abstract Background
Semantic web technologies are finding their way into the life sciences. Ontologies and semantic markup have already been used for more than a decade in molecular sciences, but have not found widespread use yet. The semantic web technology Resource Description Framework (RDF) and related methods show to be sufficiently versatile to change that situation.
Results
The work presented here focuses on linking RDF approaches to existing molecular chemometrics fields, including cheminformatics, QSAR modeling and proteochemometrics. Applications are presented that link RDF technologies to methods from statistics and cheminformatics, including data aggregation, visualization, chemical identification, and property prediction. They demonstrate how this can be done using various existing RDF standards and cheminformatics libraries. For example, we show how IC
50 and K i Conclusions
We have shown that existing RDF standards can suitably be integrated into existing molecular chemometrics methods. Platforms that unite these technologies, like Bioclipse, makes this even simpler and more transparent. Being able to create and share workflows that integrate data aggregation and analysis (visual and statistical) is beneficial to interoperability and reproducibility. The current work shows that RDF approaches are sufficiently powerful to support molecular chemometrics workflows.
Background
Molecular chemometrics is the field that finds patterns in molecular information, combining methods from statistics, machine learning, and cheminformatics. We argued before that semantic web technologies are important for lossless exchange of data [1], but it should also be noted that molecular properties are not well described by semantic web technologies alone; similarity of molecular structures is not easily captured by triples, but are required for pattern recognition. Therefore, we will focus in this paper on the interplay between the two kinds of knowledge representation.
Past research in molecular chemometrics has focused mostly on the development and use of statistics and cheminformatics, but semantic technolgies are equally important: the success of the statistical modeling depends very much on the setting up of proper input, as well as the ability to validate the created models against independent information sources afterwards, numerically [2], as well as visually [3]. This requires accurate and meaningful annotation of the data, which reduce the chance of errors introduced by the processes.
This need has been recently met in chemistry by the Chemical Markup Language (CML) [4–6]. CML, however, does not formalize ontologies into the standard, though it does have mechanisms to validate dictionary references. Ontologies have been proposed in chemistry on several occasions too. For example, Gordon used ontologies and reasoning for
chemical inference in 1988 [7] and more recently, ontologies have been suggested for representation of molecular structures [8–10] and applications in life sciences [11]. Simultaneously, the Open paradigms have been acknowledged as important components to improve cheminformatics [12, 13]: Open Data, Open Source, and Open Standards are crucial approaches here, and are promoted by, for example, the Blue Obelisk movement [14].
The Resource Description Framework (RDF) and derived Open Standards, such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and the SPARQL query language, are extremely useful technologies. The amount of Open Source software that can use these standards have greatly risen over the past 10 years; these tools now provide the crucial building blocks to handle chemical data expressed in RDF, and include the Jena [15] library and Virtuoso [16] software used in this paper.
What none of these RDF technologies address, however, is the process of converting back and forth numerical and non-numerical representations of knowledge. Neither do they track the errors introduced by these transformations. Converting a drug name into a representation suitable for data mining involves making assumptions, using algorithms introducing computational error, and will reflect errors in databases from which information is retrieved. Likewise, data analysis of a high-dimensional information space is collapsed into a low-dimensional language when we write down arguments and conclusions in publications and submissions to existing databases.
For statistical modeling, validation can address sources of error in translating knowledge in one numerical representation into another. For example, several statistical modeling methods have well-defined equations for the uncertainty of predicted properties. However, at the level of cheminformatics and general knowledge management there is yet no equivalent, but we believe that the Resource Description Framework and related technologies provide us the means to specify these sources of error, so that this information can be used in computation.
It is therefore the topic of this paper to further explore the roles of RDF as a critical component in molecular chemometrics [17]. We show that RDF technologies are sufficiently expressive to allow bridging | 1.760436 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
the gap between non-numerical molecular knowledge representation and numerical representations used in statistical modeling. The next section will first introduce the methods we used to handle and integrate RDF data and how we performed the computations. We will then demonstrate how RDF can be used as input for cheminformatics and statistical studies. We will also show how computation results and computation itself can be done using semantic technologies.
Methods
We used a number of methods and technologies in this paper to show the possibility for efficiently linking drug discovery related data represented in RDF with cheminformatics and chemometrics. In addition to using existing RDF databases, we made use of newly developed resources using RDF server technologies. The query language SPARQL was used to retrieve data from those servers. The Chemistry Development Kit was used to convert data from the RDF knowledge base into representations suitable for cheminformatics algorithms and statistical analysis, as well as converting the latter back into RDF. The statistical modeling based on RDF data was done in the statistical package R. Visualization of molecular data and integration of other components was done in Bioclipse, and in particular by using the Bioclipse scripting functionality. The following sections discuss these methods in more detail.
Statistical modeling
Proteochemometric (PCM) models analyze experimentally determined interaction strength of series of ligands with series of proteins. PCM is based on quantitative descriptions derived from structural and/or physicochemical properties of interacting ligands and proteins, which are correlated to interaction affinity using mathematical modeling. PCM models thus reveal molecular properties in ligands and proteins that jointly determine selective interactions. The data set of the PCM model used here as an example comprised interactions of 786 chemical compounds with 8 types of
α-subunits (i.e. channel pore forming part) of voltage gated sodium channels and 10 types of α 1-subunits of voltage gated calcium channels, totally 1149 chemical compound-protein pairs. For 162 of these interactions dissociation constant (K i μ M. For the remaining 987 interactions IC 50 values were reported ranging from 1 nM to 100 μ M. Although IC 50 values are dependent on assay conditions and hence are not exactly comparable along multiple assays we here elected to analyze all available data in one PCM model. 50values against serine/threonine-protein kinase D3(ChEMBL target 10885, Swiss-Prot:O94806), from now on referred to as target 10885. Weighted regression was used in order to permit us to take assay confidence into consideration; we gave proportionally higher weights to observations where we had higher confidence in the IC 50value obtained from the assay. The Bayesian model can be summarized as:
where
y is the response variable (i.e. the mean centered logarithm of molecules’ activity scaled to unit variance), X the descriptor matrix (mean centered and scaled to unit variance), β are the regression coefficients, σ 2 the error variance, τ 2 the variance of the regression coefficients, n the number of compound in the dataset retrieved from ChEMBL (i.e. n = 449), and p is the number of descriptors used (which was 20). Further, W and I denote the diagonal weight and identity matrices, respectively. The diagonal elements in W thus represent the assay confidence for each compound retrieved from the ChEMBL database. To test whether using the assay confidence information improves the predictive ability of the model, we also fitted model (1) using W n I n Cheminformatics interpretation
Converting RDF expressed molecular data, such as SMILES strings, into chemical graphs was done using the Chemistry Development Kit (CDK) [21, 22]. Calculations of 2D coordinates for diagram visualization in JChemPaint and QSAR descriptors was also performed using the CDK.
Bioclipse
Bioclipse is a chem- and bioinformatics workbench aimed at integrating local and remote data and computation services [23, 24]. It combines integration of these services with visualization capabilities of various life sciences data types, including spectra, molecular structures, and reactions. Bioclipse was used to integrate various applications to provide a unified platform for handling RDF for life sciences related data. Bioclipse was extended to support handling and visualization of RDF data. The Jena RDF library was used to store RDF data as well as read and write data in the RDF/XML and Notation3 [15] formats. The provided triple stores available in Bioclipse include an in-memory store and a Jena-TDB-based on-disk store. Jena also provides an API exposed in Bioclipse to query remote RDF databases using the SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL) [25].
For RDF graph visualization in Bioclipse we used the Eclipse Visualization Toolkit Zest [26]. Visualization of 3D molecular structures and 2D molecular diagrams made use of Jmol [27 | 1.6755 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
] and JChemPaint [28], respectively. The link between the RDF graph visualization and the JChemPaint molecular editor used the Eclipse extension point mechanism outlined in the Bioclipse papers [23, 24].
Bioclipse 2 introduced scripting functionality, and the above outlined functionality is available via managers made available to the Bioclipse scripting environment via Eclipse extension points [23]. Currently, the scripting language available in Bioclipse is JavaScript ("Bioclipse Scripting Language"), and scripts throughout this paper accordingly use this scripting language. The scripts mentioned in this manuscript require a release from the stable Bioclipse 2.4 series or from the matching 2.3 development series. Some of the scripts listed in this paper are available on myExperiment [29].
RDF graph analysis
Plugins for SWI-Prolog [30] and Pellet [31] have been developed for analysis of RDF graphs. SWI-Prolog provides an environment for running Prolog code and Pellet is an OWL-DL reasoner. Both have been used in this paper for the analysis of RDF graphs. Data stored in files in the Bioclipse workspace is transferred into the Prolog environment with the
swipl.loadRDFToProlog( rdfDataFile ) command. The SWI-Prolog plugin allows to query individual triples with the rdf_db:rdf( Subject, Predicate, Object ) Prolog command. Wrapper methods have been defined that allow to call this method directly from a Bioclipse script using the swipl.queryProlog( [”prologMethod”, ”ResultLimit”, ”Param1”, ”Param2”, … ] ) command. Pellet, instead, is integrated into Bioclipse via its Jena interface and can, therefore, operate directly on an existing RDF data store. RDF servers
Three RDF servers were set up to provide molecular knowledge in RDF format. The http://rdf.openmolecules.net/ server was set up, using
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) scripts [32] to dynamically resolve URIs into links to other RDF databases using search facilities of the latter. Two further servers, http://rdf.farmbio.uu.se/chembl/sparql/ and http://rdf.farmbio.uu.se/nmrshiftdb/sparql/, were set up using the Virtuoso 6 software [33] to provide a SPARQL query end points for ChEMBL [34] and NMRShiftDB [35, 36] data. Results
We here report a number of applications that demonstrate RDF as sufficient technology to integrate knowledge management and databases with cheminformational and statistical analysis. The chosen examples demonstrate the conversion of RDF data into cheminformatical representations and numerical representations for statistical analysis. They also show how cheminformatical representations and computation results can be expressed back into RDF.
From RDF to cheminformatics
Cheminformatics has provided machine representations of molecular structures for a long time: chemical graphs and derived representations, such as connectivity tables and line notations like SMILES [37] and InChI [38]. Literature, however, defaults to chemical names as labels, which can often only be resolved by means of look-up databases. We present here applications that show how we can use RDF to link non-numerical molecular compound names and labels, to machine readable chemical graph representations.
Molecular identity
Retrieval of information about molecular structures from databases is best done with unique identifiers. The InChI has recently acquired a prominent role as unique identifier, and is increasingly used to make resources and literature machine readable [39]. Alternative identifiers, like the Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System (SMILES), are often not unique, causing relevant data to be lost in the search.
While it is a unique identifier, the InChI is not ideal for RDF environments: it has a syntax that starts with an
InChI= prefix, and is not in the URI format used in RDF. To aid the adoption of the InChI in RDF data sets, we have set up a web resource that provides a one-to-one link between the InChI and a URI. Additionally, this URI is dereferenceable, making it suitable for use in LinkedData networks. The dereferenceable nature is important to discover further information, quite like the role of hyperlinks in the world wide web. owl:sameAstriples to establish an InChI-based chemical identity for its molecules. Currently, the website acts as a hub in the Linked Data network: links are provided to ChEBI [40], NMRShiftDB [35], and DBPedia [41]. Visualization of RDF data sdb:mol1,which is of type sdb:Moleculeand has a name ( Methanol) and a SMILES ( CO). It also has a statement on the molecular identity and a few alternative identifiers from the NMRShiftDB and ChEBI, retrieved via the website | 1.726688 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
http://rdf.openmolecules.net/. This graph visualization functionality in Bioclipse recognizes objects of a supported ontological type, sdb:Moleculein the example. The icon in front of the sdb:mol1resource indicates that the resource is recognized as a molecule. The icon also implies that Bioclipse knows what to do with such resources. If the user clicks a resource with an icon, it will visualize and compute additional information. Figure 2 shows this in action for the RDF graph shown in Figure 3, where an InChIKey and molecular mass are computed and shown in the Properties view, as well as the matching 2D diagram shown in the 2D-Structure view. Double clicking such a resource will open it in an appropriate Bioclipse editor. For example, this allows a molecule resource in the RDF graph to be opened in a JChemPaint editor. Aggregating data sets
Bioclipse was extended for this paper to provide various ways of aggregating RDF data and now supports two methods to locally cache data: an in-memory data store and an on-disk data store. This makes it possible to download raw RDF data directly into Bioclipse, e.g. using the command
var data = rdf.createInMemoryStore()
followed by
rdf.importURL( data, “” ). http://rdf.openmolecules.net/?InChI=1/CH4/h1H4
Additionally, there is a method to extract RDF from XHTML+RDFa pages [42]:
rdf.importRDFa( data, "" ). http://egonw.github.com/
While these two approaches aggregate RDF data, they do not allow one to query a database. Downloading a full database locally is not often needed, and SPARQL provides a method to query a RDF database for particular bits of information instead. SPARQL queries have been used in earlier discussed visualization applications. It should be stressed that using a common standard like RDF, allows linking of any database; this is not possible when each database uses a distinct format or interface.
The RDF functionality in Bioclipse provides a few new methods to its JavaScript environment:
rdf.sparql( data, someQuery )
and
rdf.sparqlRemote( url, someQuery )
These method allows one to directly query remote SPARQL end points such as those we have set up for the NMRShiftDB and the ChEMBL databases, as discussed in the Methods section. Using this approach we can extract subsets of data from databases. For example, to ask an RDF database for all the predicates, we can run the following command from the Bioclipse JavaScript environment:
var results = rdf.sparqlRemote(
"SELECT DISTINCT ?predicate WHERE { [] ?predicate [] }"
)
The SPARQL shown in Figure 4 collects seven related properties from the ChEMBL RDF database, namely: activity identifier (
?act), assay identifier ( ?ass), molecule identifier ( ?mol), molecular SMILES ( ?smiles), activity value ( ?val) and its unit ( ?unit), and the assay confidence ( ?conf). The query retrieves molecular structures with IC 50 activities against the 10885 target. The SMILES can, for example, be used by Bioclipse to calculate molecular descriptors for use in statistical modeling. Other retrieved properties can be used in such modeling too, as we will show later.
The SPARQL shown in Figure 5 aggregates even more information, needed for a proteochemometrics study. The query finds molecules that bind targets that are involved in voltage-gated ion channels. The query limits the search results to sodium channels, taking advantage of the ChEMBL classification scheme for targets. The level 6 classification specifies for this target type the ion channel type, and is reflected in the SPARQL query by the
?l6 variable. Only compounds are queried having a K i 50 activity. The query retrieves nine properties: target identifier ( ?target) and its type ( ?type), the PubMed ID of the paper from which the activities were extracted ( ?pubmed), three classifications levels ( ?l4, ?l5, and ?l6), molecule identifier ( ?mol) and the molecule’s SMILES ( ?smiles), activity value ( ?val) and the protein sequence of the targets against which the activities have been measured ( ?seq). Visualization of 2D diagrams and 3D geometries rdf.sparqlRemote( sparql )call, after which it iterates over all returned hits and extracts the ?compoundand ?smilesfields for each hit as identified in the SPARQL. For each SMILES, the CDK is used to translate the SMILES into a chemical graph which is stored in a list. The list of molecules is finally saved as MDL SD file and opened in a molecules table. HIV.The PDB identifier is extracted and used for a webservice call against the PDB database, and opened in the 3D editor | 1.67245 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
with a ui.open()call. Figure 9 shows fifteen downloaded PDB entries in the Bioclipse navigator of which the PDB:1GL6 entry is opened in a Jmol editor. The script is available for download at http://www.myexperiment.org/workflows/928. From RDF to chemometrics
The previous sections gave examples of how we can use RDF data in cheminformatics applications. This section shows how to link RDF and statistical analysis field chemometrics. The first example shows how SPARQL is used to retrieve data from RDF sources, and how Bioclipse is used to calculate molecular descriptors to convert the RDF graphs into a numerical representation suitable for statistical analysis. The second and third examples then show how this numerical data is used to find new patterns. The second example shows how to predict IC
50 values by a Bayesian statistics QSAR study, while the third example additionally takes protein sequences from the ChEMBL database into account, and analyzes the protein-drug interaction in a proteochemometrics setting. Descriptor calculation
Plugins were constructed for Bioclipse to provide convenience methods to access the RDF database with the ChEMBL data at http://rdf.farmbio.uu.se/chembl/. A first plugin provides a Java API for retrieving information from ChEMBL about targets, containing the methods
getProperties(targetID), getActivities(targetID), and getQSARData(targetID, activity). These methods use the SPARQL query functionality of Bioclipse introduced in the previous paragraph, and overcomes the problem of having to construct a full SPARQL query manually. This API is exposed as a Bioclipse manager [23], making these methods available to the JavaScript environment. New Wizardto bootstrap a new QSAR project by aggregating data from the ChEMBL database directly. It accepts a ChEMBL targetID and an activity type (e.g. IC 50or K ), as shown in the screenshot in Figure 10. This new wizard uses SPARQL to update the wizard page with information about the currently given targetID. While the user is typing the targetID number, SPARQL is being used, via the aforementioned wrapping API, to ask the RDF database about the title, type and organism of the current target. Additionally, it will query the database for available activity types, such as the d IC 50 , Inhibition, K i app, K , and a general i Activityfor the 101107 targetID given in the figure. The wizard for Bioclipse does not yet provide full text search for targets based on labels, keywords, and descriptions available in the ChEMBL database, but it is clear that SPARQL make such applications possible too.
When the user is satisfied with the selected target, the
Finish button can be clicked. The wizard will then download the SMILES and activity values for that target, and serializes all chemical structures into a MDL SD file with the activity scores as properties. Furthermore, it sets up a new QSAR project and populates the project with these structures and responses. The user can then select the descriptors to be calculated for the aggregated molecules and start the computation, all from within Bioclipse.
Thus, the here shown RDF-driven feature makes it straightforward to set up new QSAR datasets for data from the ChEMBL database.
IC 50 modeling 50activities against the 10885 target. Figure 11 shows the result from a 10-fold cross-validation as actual versus predicted values for model (1) when assay confidence was taken into consideration (Figure 11a) and when assay confidence was not taken into consideration (Figure 11b). It may be noted that including the assay confidence in model (1) seems to improve the predictive performance. The mean predicted residual sum of squares when using the confidence information was 9.3 (7.6; 12.8) compared to 11.2 (8.5; 15.1) when the confidence information was not used (the numbers in parentheses show the 95% Bayesian confidence intervals). Proteochemometric modeling of ion channel inhibition
As a second statistical modeling example, proteochemometric models predicting inhibition were built for ion channel data extracted from ChEMBL by using the SPARQL query given in Figure 5. Properties of chemical compounds were encoded by a set of commonly used molecular descriptors calculated by Dragon Web software, as described [46]. Protein sequences were aligned by ClustalW2, and encoded by physico-chemical property (zz-scale) descriptors of amino acids [47]. To reduce the number of protein descriptors they were subjected to principal component analysis extracting 17 orthogonal variables (principal components). Calculation of ligand-protein cross-terms correlation of descriptors and cross-terms to logarithmically transformed activity data by Partial Least-Squares projections to latent structures (PLS) was performed as described in an earlier paper from our | 1.693505 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
group [46].
From cheminformatics to RDF
In order to fully integrate RDF data with cheminformatics and chemometrics, we need not only to be able to use RDF data as input to algorithms of the latter, but we need also to be able to express cheminformatics knowledge and calculation results from cheminformatics and chemometrics back into RDF. This section shows that RDF is easily able to handle chemical graphs and descriptor calculation output. Also, we demonstrate that traditional cheminformatics algorithms can be rewritten as algorithms directly operating on a corresponding RDF graph.
Chemical graphs
The scripts described above were used for QSAR and proteochemometrics, and provided links between protein sequences and drugs. The next integration step is to express data created with cheminformatics as RDF too, and in particular the expression of calculated molecular descriptors as RDF. For this purpose, the data models used by the CDK and the Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology (BODO) were expressed as OWL ontologies. The BODO was originally expressed in the Chemical Markup Language [14] by members of the Blue Obelisk movement that promotes Open Data, Open Source, and Open Standards in cheminformatics, and was later translated into OWL by EW. It is used as such in the CDK and in Bioclipse [45]. These ontologies make it possible to express descriptor calculation results as integral part of the Linked Data network.
example.com-based URIs in the example in Figure 13. Alternatively, anonymous resources can be used to reduce the number of URIs, though that puts hierarchical restrictions on how the data is serialized. The current source code that generates the RDF, allows us to use any arbitrary domain, and we anticipate that URIs for all Objects in the CDK will become available when the RDF representation becomes more popular. The Dublin Core namespace is reused for the name of the molecule, and an owl:sameAspredicate was used to link to the aforementioned http://rdf.openmolecules.net/ website. The OWL-based CDK data model ontology resembles the actual CDK data model. Compared to a basic chemical graph model, the CDK model has more complexity providing the flexibility needed to cover input from various chemical file formats. Molecular properties and descriptors
Calculated molecular descriptors can also be added to RDF documents for molecular structures. For this purpose, an extension was written for the above RDF input/output library for the CDK to serialize those descriptors. Serialization of descriptors in a format using semantic web technologies has been proposed earlier to use the Chemical Markup Language [21], and this approach is now extended to directly link to the Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology (BODO), as well as to support describing what algorithm parameter values have been used in the descriptor calculation.
The graph further links to an external dictionary of descriptors that also uses Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology; in particular, it refers to the entry describing the TPSA algorithm
(bodo:instanceOf bodo:tpsa), allowing interoperability as described in the Blue Obelisk paper [14]. The descriptor listing and the underlying ontology are currently found in two OWL documents: one describing the ontology, and the other containing a list of descriptor algorithms [50]. Spectral similarity using Prolog
Knowledge stored as RDF triples can easily be extended in Prolog by wrapping sets of triples inside Prolog methods with common unbound variables, thereby creating an RDF graph pattern. Using this feature, we can describe larger graph patterns in a uniform way, which is not possible using RDF triples directly. For example, we can combine a set of three RDF triples into a method that expresses the relationship between a molecule and shift values of its associated spectral peaks.
molecules which have a spectrum with a peak shift matching the given value.The resulting molecules are then returned, where they can be opened in a molecules table, if desired, as demonstrated in some of the earlier examples by using the SMILES for the found molecules.
However, we can take things even a step further, taking advantage of the expressiveness of the Prolog programming language by using it directly on the RDF knowledge base. Prolog makes it possible to let one Prolog predicate be composed of sets of other predicates. This makes it it possible to iteratively build upon previously defined
semantics and thereby step by step increase the expressive power. The Prolog-based code in the findMolWithPeakValsNear.pl file provided in this paper’s Additional files section demonstrates this, using more sophisticated code for finding spectra according to a given list of peak shifts that should have near-matches in the database of reference spectra. Discussion
The applications presented in this paper demonstrate various ways how RDF can be used to represent chemical information and link between data repositories. We also show how SPARQL can be used to query these repositories, and how these emerging standards based on RDF have sufficient expressiveness to cover typical studies in the field of molecular chemometrics. Even though they are sufficient, we can expecte future RDF technologies to enable more elaborate integration.
We must note that the RDF and | 2.006564 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
related standards do not describe how chemical information should be modeled. This leads to a question of which ontologies should be used to markup and annotate the information. This paper uses various ontologies and includes a description of an ontology reflecting the data model used by the cheminformatics library, the Chemistry Development Kit. However, the topic of this paper is not to propose a cheminformatics or a chemistry ontology, but to shows how data expressed in ontologies can be mapped to the implicit ontologies in the various cheminformatics and statistics methods. Aligning with other chemical ontologies, such as ChemAxiom [49] and others [9], is currently being explored.
It is also important to note that RDF and ontologies do not overcome the limitations of what the concepts formalize: while an ontology helps us determine that some string is in fact a SMILES, that knowledge does not overcome the limitations of the SMILES representation as unique identifier. This is why the InChI is preferred, and here used for the http://rdf.openmolecules.net/ project.
Furthermore, we note that expressing similarity between resources only works in a qualitative manner: there are no equivalents of owl:sameAs or rdf:seeAlso that relate two resources given with a certain similarity. It can be argued that such knowledge can be captured with a small set of triples, where the similarity itself is defined as (anonymous) resource, linked to the two similar resources as well as defining the similarity value. However, such information would also require more complex queries to recover and process.
Additionally, neither the SMILES nor InChI contain the information needed by many cheminformatics algorithms: in particular, they do not contain 3D coordinates required by, for example, geometrical descriptors. We believe, however, that RDF contributes here by providing a simple standard that allows linking between databases. By using unique identifiers and the linked data approach, we can take advantage of other available resources that can, independently, contribute additional information, such as 3D molecular geometries.
Our paper does not cover all RDF related technologies, some of which will have a significant impact on the integration of RDF with molecular chemometrics in the future. One of these technologies is XHTML+RDFa [51] which allows embedding RDF data inside common HTML pages. Search engines are already supporting this technology, and we anticipate it to be adopted by the scientific publishing industry too. We predict that in the future data will no longer simply be extracted from dedicated databases, such as ChEMBL, but will be downloaded directly from the scientific literature instead. Such semantic annotation of human-targeted representations, will allow further integration with computing technologies. For example, this embedded RDFa can easily be used by web browser extensions to enrich HTML pages with information from third-party resources [52].
Another technology that will benefit from the integration is the availability of semantic computing services. We have recently started working towards implementing more semantically oriented web services [53], but these do not use RDF technologies yet. Computing services for life sciences that do use RDF standards are being developed by the SADI project [54]. These services allow defining queries that requires calculation of RDF content on demand, providing facilities to look up SADI services that provide information missing from other RDF databases, calling these for the missing information on the fly. This can be used, for example, to make available online descriptor calculation services that output results as RDF.
Conclusions
This paper shows how RDF data can be integrated with cheminformatics and proteochemometrics using RDF technologies, the CDK and Bioclipse. With these results we argue that semantics in health care and life sciences do not end with giving things names and semantics, but that the domain knowledge includes molecular information, and therefore must involve more technical fields like cheminformatics and proteochemometrics. The use of ontologies in chemistry is not new, but their use in existing tools is minimal. Many current cheminformatics libraries do indeed not have an RDF interface, despite the fact that RDF addresses the important area of data exchange and interoperability. Recent semantic chemistry technologies, like CML, did not use a single open standard, which RDF and its related technologies defines: while CML is restricted to particular chemical data types, RDF is universal, allowing any knowledge base to be linked to the chemical data.
Our examples show how to go back and forth between RDF and a few common cheminformatics representations, including the SMILES, InChI and chemical graphs. They also show how this link can be used to visualize chemical graphs present from online RDF data resources, and how RDF resources can be queried for subsets as input for use in statistical analysis. Further examples highlighted how cheminformatics calculation results can be represented in RDF, and even how traditional cheminformatics methods can be performed directly on RDF graphs using Prolog.
A possible future application of the here presented integration of RDF and molecular chemometrics, is the automatic curation of online (RDF) data repositories. For example, chemical content of Wikipedia can be automatically analyzed for internal consistency as well as consistency with external databases using | 2.004927 | 1,024 | 1,023 |
the RDF version provided by DBPedia. Additionally, missing information can be identified and added. Taking advantage of the scripting functionality in Bioclipse and the sharing of such scripts via myExperiment, such analysis can easily be repeated and used for continuous quality assurance.
We can conclude that existing RDF standards provide the minimal requirements for integrating with existing molecular chemometrics methods. The framework does not solve all problems. For example, accurate and unique identifiers like the InChI are still required to link information sources accurately. The use of platforms like Bioclipse that unite the various technologies makes this simpler and, by using the scripting functionality, more transparent. Being able to create and share the scripted workflows to integrate data aggregation and analysis (both visual and statistical) is beneficial to the field of molecular chemometrics.
List of abbreviations BODO:
Blue Obelisk Descriptor Ontology
CDK:
Chemistry Development Kit
CML:
Chemical Markup Language
DL:
Descriptive Logic
IC 50:
Half maximal Inhibitory Concentration
InChI:
International Chemical Identifier
IUPAC:
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
LODD:
Linking Open Drug Data
NMR:
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
OWL:
Web Ontology Language
PCM:
ProteoChemoMetrics
PHP:
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
PLS:
Partial Least-Squares
QSAR:
Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship
RDF:
Resource Description Framework
SADI:
Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration
SKOS:
Simple Knowledge Organization System
SMILES:
Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System
SPARQL:
SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language
URI:
Uniform Resource Identifier
Declarations Acknowledgements
This research was funded by a KoF grant from Uppsala University (KoF 07) and the Swedish VR-M (04X-05957).
This article has been published as part of
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Thanks everyone I appreciate your replies!! Cold water let's dance!!! LOL!!!
NATNATATTACKSparkPoints: (9,062)Fitness Minutes: (16,611)Posts:291/21/12 7:40 P
As a general rule, drinking cold water burns a few extra calories as the water is heated to your body temperature, while drinking warm/hot water makes you feel more full. Really, drinking water in general is a great way to satisfy hunger cravings and make your skin look better. Any weight you gain when drinking water is directly corrolated with the liquid weight, and this quickly passes through your system. None of this "water weight" is ever converted to fat mass.
It is most certainly *not* true. If anything it would do the opposite (due to the laws of thermodynamics), and you would burn slightly *more* calories as your body spends energy heating the water to body temperature, as MPLANE37 pointed out. And since the water will be stabilized at body temperature no matter what its temperature is when you drink it, it's also not going to "congeal" anything.
Drinking hot or cold water doesn't do anything with your weight. The energy used to heat it to body tepmerature or cool it down to body temperature is minimal. Drinking water with a meal can actually help you feel full quicker as it takes up space in your stomach. In saying that we absorb water directly through the stomach lining as well as the intestine so it has no effect on the food we eat. I hope this helps.
MPLANE37SparkPoints: (73,398)Fitness Minutes: (53,328)Posts:2,1701/21/12 4:15 P
I had never heard of that. Actually, the cold water takes away the heat, which comes from the energy sources of your body primarily, so it must help to lose weight rather than gain weight.
AHJUMAYPosts:61/21/12 4:06 P
I was told that cold water makes you gain weight. Is this this true? And if so why? I love my cold water!! But if I have to take one for the team so be it!! Also does drinking cold water with a meal slow your digestion (as in does it make food congeal) as opposed to drinking room temperature water or hot water?
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NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013As the landscape of online advertising changes, the type of data that needs to be collected by site owners is also shifting. There are a few ways in which to go about gathering data from users, like just asking. Polls and surveys are viable options for this particular method, and a new service called Crowd Science launches its new research tool for gaining demographic information from your users and site visitors.
Funded for $2 million last December by Granite Ventures, Crowd Science is specifically focused on demographics and attention data, so it's more narrow in its offerings than some other tools that provide detailed heat maps or trafficking data as well. From there, you can gain some analytics based on your gathered data, and summaries are built on page, site, group data, etc.
Crowd Science's method is based on context and time-related data, which could minimize its extensibility for other subsets of indirect data-gathering, but Crowd Science is also hoping to work, on some level, with other analytics tools like Compete or comScore.
While there are a number of polling services out there that can, to varying degrees, be used to collect necessary data about users and site visitors, we're also seeing more pronounced data collection + analytics tools offer straightforward ways in which to get info directly from users, which can in turn be used in a myriad of ways across marketing campaigns, site design, and more.
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