The audience of the ARD show “Schlagerlovestory.2020” needed a little patience until the announced highlight started shortly after 11 p.m .: Anna-Carina Woitschack (27) and Stefan Mross (44) got married live on television. Moderator and best man Florian Silbereisen (38) first greeted the wedding party with the “Zillertal Wedding March”: family and friends of the newlyweds came on stage. Shortly thereafter, Mross in a suit walked across the red carpet. The bride’s appearance was more spectacular.
Anna-Carina Woitschack was driven to the TV studio in a white carriage. The singer wore a low-cut, sleeveless wedding dress with a wide skirt and train. Then everything went very quickly: After a few words from the registrar present, Mross and Woitschack said yes. This was followed by a duet by the couple.
Mross should have wanted to marry his partner at the beginning of March, but because of the corona pandemic, the two of them had to postpone their wedding, as they explained at the end of March. Mross had made an application to Woitschack last year – also in front of cameras – in the “Advent Festival of 100,000 Lights”. “Oh god, yes, yes, I want,” the 27-year-old replied at the time with tears of joy in front of an audience of millions.


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Objective. To evaluate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and infantile colic (IC).
Methods. A follow-up study of singleton infants delivered by Danish mothers at the Aarhus University Hospital from May 1991 to February 1992 and still living in the municipality of Aarhus at the age of 8 months was conducted. A total of 1820 mothers and their infants were included. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on smoking, other lifestyle factors, and sociodemographic variables at 16 and 30 weeks of gestation and 8 months postpartum. IC was defined in the 8-month questionnaire and based on Wessel's criteria, except that we used only the crying criterion.
Results. IC was seen in 10.8% of all infants. We observed a twofold increased risk of IC among infants whose mothers smoked 15 or more cigarettes per day during their pregnancy(relative risk: 2.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.4–3.2) or in the postpartum period (relative risk: 2.0; 95% confidence interval: 1.3–3.1). Women who smoked continuously during pregnancy and the postpartum period had a relative risk of 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.1–2.0) of having a infant with IC compared with women who did not smoke during this period. Adjustment for maternal age, parity, marital status, alcohol intake, birth weight, gestational age, breastfeeding, caffeine intake postpartum, and paternal smoking did not change the effect measures.
Conclusion. The results indicate that maternal smoking during pregnancy may increase the risk of IC.
Infantile colic (IC) is defined by Wessel et al1 as paroxysms of irritability, crying, or fussing that last for >3 hours a day for >3 days a week and for >3 weeks. Although it seems to be a self-limiting condition that most often starts in the first month of life and ends when the child is 3 to 4 months old, the parents often find it difficult to cope with the child's excessive crying and fussing. IC has even been mentioned as a possible reason for violence toward the child.2,,3 The reported incidence of IC ranges widely from 8% to 40%,4,,5 a discrepancy that may be attributable to differences in study design and definitions of IC.
The cause of IC remains unknown, although many somatic, developmental, and psychosocial risk factors have been suggested.6–12Five studies showed an increased risk of IC when the mother smoked during the lactation period and when the child was exposed to environmental smoking.5,13–16 However, another study found no association.17 None of these studies took prenatal smoking into consideration. Smoking during pregnancy has a negative bearing on the fetal environment and may influence the child's health later in life.18 The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and IC in a follow-up study of 1820 mothers and their newborns.
Participants who were eligible for inclusion all were singleton children who were delivered by Danish mothers at the Aarhus University Hospital from May 1991 to February 1992 and still living in the municipality of Aarhus at the age of 8 months (N = 2055). Children with an Apgar score below 7 after 5 minutes (N = 40) were excluded. Information on IC was missing for 56 infants, and prenatal maternal smoking habits were missing for 137 mothers. Thus, a total of 1820 mothers and children remained for analysis.
The following information was collected by self-administered questionnaires at 16 and 30 weeks of gestation: medical and obstetric history, smoking habits, alcohol and caffeine intake, and psychological distress during pregnancy measured by the 30-item version of the General Health Questionnaires,19,,20 which is a screening instrument designed for use in the general population and validated in a Danish population.21 Information on delivery and the newborn was provided by the tending midwife using a structured coding sheet. Approximately 8 months postpartum, data on IC were collected by 2 self-administered questionnaires completed by the mother and the health visitor, who visits homes at least twice before the routine health examination of the child 8 months postpartum; the mother often consults the health visitor if problems arises. Families that have a child with IC generally will have more visits during the period when the child has IC. We simplified the definition of IC in the maternal questionnaire as several hours of crying per day for several days and described the associated symptoms as legs drawn up toward the abdomen, distended abdomen, and excessive flatus, because we wanted to simplify the large number of questions on IC. To the health visitors, IC was defined as >3 hours of crying per day for >3 days a week for >3 weeks or >1.5 hours of crying per day in 6 of 7 days; the associated symptoms were described as legs drawn up toward the abdomen, distended abdomen, and excessive flatus. To increase the number of participants in this study and because there was missing information in both the parents' and the health visitors' questionnaires, we used information from the parents when it was available (85.5%) and from the health visitors when the parents' information was not available (14.5%).
The mothers were categorized according to the self-reported information on smoking as nonsmoking, smoking 1 to 14 cigarettes per day, and smoking 15 or more cigarettes per day. It was shown previously that maternal smoking habits remain essentially unchanged from the first trimester throughout pregnancy and during the first 8 months postpartum in this cohort.22 We used information on maternal smoking from the 16th gestational week. When this was missing, we used information from the 30th gestational week. Changing of smoking habits during the period from early pregnancy to the postpartum period were categorized as 1) no risk: nonsmokers both during pregnancy and postpartum; 2) low risk: nonsmokers during pregnancy but smoking postpartum; and 3) high risk: mothers who smoked both during pregnancy and in the postpartum period and mothers who smoked only during pregnancy. Information on IC and on smoking during the breastfeeding period was collected when the child was 8 months old.
The effect on IC of smoking during pregnancy is expressed as a relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A 2-sidedP value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Factors with a biologically plausible influence or factors that were known from previous studies to be possible risk factors of IC were considered potential confounders. These factors included maternal age, parity, cohabitation, educational level, alcohol intake during pregnancy, maternal psychological distress during pregnancy, gender of the infant, birth weight and gestational age, smoking and caffeine intake postpartum, and breastfeeding. The variables were categorized as shown in Table 1 and entered into the logistic regression as a number of dummy variables equal to the number of categories minus 1. According to the change-in-estimate principle, a variable was kept in the final logistic regression model if the estimated effect of smoking on IC changed by more than 10%.23,,24 None of the confounders remained in the final models, and the crude RRs, therefore, are presented.
Among 1820 infants, 197 (10.8%) had IC. A total of 567 (31.2%) women smoked during their pregnancy, 24.8% smoked fewer than 15 cigarettes per day, and 6.4% smoked 15 or more cigarettes per day. The association between a number of sociodemographic variables and lifestyle factors and IC is shown in Table 1. Maternal age of 35 years and above, low birth weight (<2500 g), and gestational age of <37 completed weeks were associated with an increased risk of IC in the bivariate analyses, but parity, cohabitation status, psychological distress during pregnancy measured according to the General Health Questionnaires,21 educational level, alcohol intake, gender of the infant, caffeine intake postpartum, and breastfeeding (yes/no) were not.
Table 2 shows that smoking 15 or more cigarettes per day during pregnancy or in the postpartum period (RR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.4–3.2) doubled the child's risk of developing IC (RR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.3–3.1). Mothers who smoked both during pregnancy and in the postpartum period had an increased risk of having an infant with IC (RR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1–2.0). The risk of IC also was increased if the father smoked 15 or more cigarettes per day 8 months postpartum (RR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3–2.5). The association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and IC decreased by <10% when adjusted for paternal smoking (results not shown). Constructing a variable including pre- and postnatal information on maternal smoking habits showed that children of women who smoked only postpartum had a very slight excess risk of IC (RR: 1.1; 95% CI: 0.6–2.0). Categorizing mothers into different risk groups showed that being a smoker in both periods was associated with the highest risk of IC (RR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1–2.0). However, we did not have sufficient data to analyze the risk for those who changed smoking habits from the prenatal to the postpartum period, and we therefore were unable to conclude which period of exposure was the most important. According to the change-in-estimate principle, adjustment for maternal age, parity, marital status, educational level, alcohol, birth weight, gestational age, caffeine intake postpartum, breastfeeding, and paternal smoking did not change the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and IC.
The results indicate that maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of IC. The major strengths of this study are its size and the prospective collection of information on smoking and potential confounders during pregnancy. It is widely known that smokers and nonsmokers differ also in respect to other lifestyle factors. It therefore is important to adjust for possible confounders. However, residual confounding or confounding by unknown confounders still may be present. We also performed the analyses on term children with a birth weight above 2500 g only, but the results remained essentially unchanged.
We strove to avoid misclassification by seeking information on IC through 2 different sources—parents and health visitors—neither of whom knew the purpose of the study. Both the mothers and the health visitors answered the questionnaires retrospectively, which may have introduced a recall bias. The interobserver agreement between the mothers' and the health visitors' reporting of IC was good with a Kappa coefficient of 0.8,25 and our results remained essentially the same whether the analyses were performed with the maternal information on IC or with the health visitors' recordings. We do not have information about the time at which the health visitor filled in the questionnaires; if they consulted the mother first, then this may explain the high Kappa coefficient. The occurrence of IC among the children whose IC information was from the health visitors' questionnaires did not differ from that of the children whose IC information was from the parents' questionnaires, indicating no major misclassification between the parents' and the health visitors' questionnaires.
There is a remote risk of a certain recall bias as information on IC was collected up to 5 months after the symptoms disappeared, but it seems unlikely that recall was related to the mother's reporting of smoking during pregnancy. A differential misclassification would be possible if, for example, smokers reported more IC than the true value of IC compared with nonsmokers. This would overestimate the association between smoking and IC. A bias toward the null hypothesis would be possible if the smokers recorded less IC than the true value of IC compared with nonsmokers. We were not able to conclude on a direction of this possible bias, but an IC occurrence of 10.8% is in accordance with another study that uses the same definition of IC.26
The primary limitation of our study is our inability to adjust for postnatal smoking, because only few pregnant women changed their smoking habits from pregnancy to the postnatal period. The association between prenatal and postnatal smoking and IC could be attributable to an association between postnatal smoking in the home and IC rather than to a pregnancy exposure effect or be a matter of undetected confounding. Furthermore, the temperament of the child might have been a confounder for which we were not able to adjust. An association between maternal smoking and child temperament has been found in a few studies,27,,28 but conflicting results exit on IC and temperament.29–31 Another limitation is the missing information on some of the participants on educational level, psychosocial status during pregnancy, and caffeine intake and smoking in the postpartum period. Excluding these mothers from the analyses reduced the bivariate estimate between maternal smoking during pregnancy and IC, indicating that this strategy led to selection bias or incomplete confounder control. Thus, these mothers were included in the final model as separate categories.
Previous studies focused on postnatal smoking, without taking prenatal smoking into consideration.5,,13,15,16 Prenatal exposure to smoking is associated with impaired fetal growth32 and to diseases and development in later childhood.33–35 It therefore is important to examine the effect of smoking during pregnancy and to take it into consideration when studying exposure to smoking postpartum and IC.
A Norwegian follow-up study of 885 women and their newborns found a higher frequency of IC among children of breastfeeding smokers (40%) compared with children of breastfeeding nonsmokers (26%). Information on postnatal smoking was collected 18 weeks postpartum, and it was noticed that smoking habits mostly remained the same during pregnancy and did not change until the postnatal period. They reported a higher frequency of IC compared with our study, which might be explained by differences in the definition of IC, if maternal smoking is associated with the reporting of IC.5 A Dutch cross-sectional study of 3345 infants found a twofold increased risk of IC when the mothers were smoking postpartum and a higher risk among infants who were formula fed and exposed to maternal smoking compared with infants who were breastfed and exposed to maternal smoking.16 A Swedish study of 376 mothers and their newborns found no statistically significant association between smoking in the breastfeeding period or smoking indoors at home and IC.17 However, only 12% were smokers, and the statistical power of this study may be limited. These studies did not adjust for prenatal smoking, which therefore cannot be used to elucidate which exposure period is most important to the development of IC.5,,13,15,17 Only one study, which studied parental smoking and the risk of postprandial IC, controlled for socioeconomic status, breastfeeding (yes/no), and birth weight but did not control for smoking during pregnancy.15
Prenatal smoking is known to inhibit fetal growth, and a number of diseases have been associated with fetal growth retardation probably through an “organ programming effect.”18 IC may arise as a result of a delay in the development of the central nervous system or the gastrointestinal tract, caused by smoking or environmental tobacco smoke exposure postpartum. We cannot, with the data available, distinguish between these 2 mechanisms.
If smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor in IC, then we may expect children of mothers who smoked during their pregnancy to have an earlier onset of IC than children of mothers who did not smoke during their pregnancy. This prediction was corroborated by our observation that IC started in the first week in 21% of the children whose mothers were nonsmokers during their pregnancy but in 30% of the children of mothers who smoked during their pregnancy, although insignificant (results not shown). If postnatal smoking has an effect on the child's crying, then mothers who smoke during the postpartum period should expect their children to have IC for a longer period than mothers who do not smoke during the postpartum period. This was not found in our study, in which IC lasted for more than 12 weeks in 25% of the infants of mothers who smoked postpartum and in 35% of the infants of mothers who did not smoke postpartum, but is an insignificant difference (results not shown).
Our study indicates that maternal smoking during pregnancy or in the postpartum period increases the risk of IC. Ante- and postnatal care that includes advice of smoking cessation is important and also might be important for preventing IC.
This study was supported by the Medical Research Unit Ringkjøbing County, and the activities of the Danish Epidemiology Science Centre are financed by a grant from the Danish National Research Foundation. This project was supported by Grant JN 12-1663-1 from the Danish Medical Research Council.
We thank Professor Niels Jørgen Secher; Morten Hedegaard, MD, PhD; and Elisabeth Skajaa for their key roles in initiation of the prenatal cohort and the health visitors of the municipality of Aarhus for data collection. We also thank Professor Jørn Olsen for fruitful discussions and comments during the analyses and preparation of this article.
- Received September 29, 2000.
- Accepted January 12, 2001.
Reprint requests to (C.S.) Danish Epidemiologic Science Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Vennelyst Boulevard 6, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark. E-mail:
- IC =
- infantile colic •
- RR =
- relative risk •
- CI =
- confidence interval
- Wessel MA
- Brazelton T
- Lothe L,
- Lindberg T
- ↵Hill DJ, Hudson I, Sheffield L. A low allergen diet is a significant intervention in infantile colic: results of a community-based study.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1995;96(6 pt 1):886–892
- Rautava PT,
- Helenius H,
- Lehtonen L
- Carey WB
- ↵Christoffersen MN. Spædbarnsfamilien 97:25. Copenhagen, Denmark: The Danish National Institute of Social Research; 1998
- Said G,
- Patois E,
- Lellouch J
- Reijneveld SA,
- Brugman E,
- Hirasing RA
- Hedegaard M,
- Henriksen TB,
- Sabroe S,
- Secher NJ
- ↵Bech P. Rating Scales for Psychopathology, Health State and Quality of Life. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag; 1993
- Mickey RM,
- Greenland S
- ↵Armitage P, Berry G. Statistical Methods in Medical Research. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Science Ltd; 1994
- Weitzman M,
- Gortmaker S,
- Sobol A
- Rautava P,
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- Helenius H,
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- ↵Crying as a Sign, a Symptom & a Signal. Cambridge, MA: Mac Keith Press; 2000
- Kramer MS
- Gilliland FD,
- Berhane K,
- McConnell R,
- et al.
- Copyright © 2001 American Academy of Pediatrics

domain: literature


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PRICE REDUCED !!!This is a Great Offshore Fishing Machine that has been Immaculately Maintained!!! Twin Yamaha 300's with 1040 hours are just getting started. This boat will cruise at 40mph. Also: 300 gallon Gas Tank - 9' Beam - VHF - Garmin Twin Screens GPS/FF/Radar - 36 mile Radar - Auto Pilot - Lenco Auto Trim Tabs - 2 Baitwells - LED Lighting - Underwater Lighting - Factory Custom Powdercoated T top - Full Head w/Holding Tank and Macerator - Fresh and Raw Water Washdown - Windless - Outriggers - New Bolsters - New Bolster Cover - New Canopy Cover - Head with pump out - 2 baitwells - More.
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Call or email with questions.

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BMW Group previewed the Concept 8 Series at this year’s Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy. The concept car serves as a prequel to the BMW 8 Series’ comeback from almost a 2 decade hiatus.
In case you didn’t know, BMW produced the 8 Series model from 1989 to 1999. It is a luxurious coupe that’s powered either by a V8 or a V12 engine.
The 21st century model offers a distinct look compared to BMW's current lineup. Of course, the split kidney grille still dominates the center of the vehicle but it is made even lower and larger. Apart from this, it has large side air vents and slim aggressive-looking ‘laser’ headlights.
The rear boasts a set of sharp taillights. It also has vents, which extend further down to the trapezoidal exhaust tips.
The forthcoming BMW 8 Series Coupe will demonstrate that razor-sharp dynamics and modern luxury can go hand-in-hand. This will be the next model in the expansion of our luxury-car offering and will raise the benchmark for coupes in the segment,” said BMW AG Chairman of the Board of Management Harald Krüger.
"Emotional," as how the German automaker describes it, the cabin features a blend of luxury and modern dynamics. It also sports a 'fluid' orientation of the dashboard, all the way to the doors, as well as an advanced sporty ambience with a digital instrument panel. The center console, on the other hand, gets a highlight of carbon fiber.
Talk about comfort, BMW gave the Concept 8 Series a style to stand out. The Merino fine leather-wrapped seats are supported by carbon fiber shells that form its basic seating structure. The steering wheel goes well with the interior design with its polished aluminum spokes and dark leather.
As for the powertrain, BMW has yet to announce the Concept 8 Series’ engine. For now, all we can do is admire it in a distance. The 8 Series is scheduled to make its comeback sometime in 2018.
Engine and chassis stenciling no longer a requirement according to the LTO / News
The LTO passed memorandum no. JMT-2023-2399. Engine and chassis stenciling for registration renewal are no longer needed.
BMW Philippines unveils its newest wagon: The 2023 3 Series Touring / News
SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp has unveiled the BMW 3 Series Touring in three different variants for the Philippines.
The OMODA 5 EV is also coming to the Philippines later in 2023 / News
The OMODA 5 EV will be coming to the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2023 along with the OMODA and JAECOO brands.
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text:
Jeffrey J. Popma, MD; Gregory J. Dehmer, MD
Because coronary angioplasty is being increasingly used as a treatment for coronary artery disease, the proper evaluation and management of patients after the procedure are important issues. Although coronary angioplasty is a complex technical procedure, the methods routinely used to evaluate its results have many shortcomings. Although the initial results of the procedure are assessed most commonly by the visual interpretation of video images and coronary angiograms, quantitative angiography, transstenotic pressure gradients, and coronary flow reserve measurements have also been used. In the period after coronary angioplasty, success can be evaluated by patients' clinical improvement in symptoms and their stress responses to various functional tests. The management of the patient during the first 24 hours after angioplasty should focus on the prevention, detection, and, if necessary, treatment of acute vessel closure. During the subsequent 6 months, the emphasis should shift to the evaluation of recurrent symptoms and prevention of restenosis. We discuss the methods used to assess the results of coronary angioplasty and suggest guidelines for managing patients after the procedure.
Popma JJ, Dehmer GJ. Care of the Patient after Coronary Angioplasty. Ann Intern Med. 1989;110:547–559. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-110-7-547
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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1989;110(7):547-559.
Cardiology, Coronary Heart Disease, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.
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Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704
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domain: medical


Post Malone was part of last night’s Bud Light New Year’s Eve celebration and he brought along some friends, including producer Andrew Watt (who is working on the new Ozzy album) and Guns N Roses guitarist Slash and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. Two of the songs performed were covers of heavy metal classics “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath and Alice In Chains‘ “Rooster.” (Slash was present for the Sabbath cover)
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The Egyptian was built in 1893 by Railton Dixon and Company. She was one of five trawlers built for the Albion Steam Fishing Company and was the sister ship of the Dominican.
In 1894, she towed a vessel called the Vesta to safety and later rescued the crew of the disabled Norwegian schooner Arcamedes.
The Egyptian was sold in 1915 to the Alan Steam Fishing Company. In July the following year, her stern was severely damaged in collision with a wartime patrol vessel. On 21 July 1916, the trawler became stranded 16 miles off Aberdeen and became a total loss.
Monologue written by Scott Backrath and performed by Sam Moody.

domain: history


text:
UTMB supports “Reconstruction of a Survivor” Breast Cancer Support Group for women diagnosed with breast cancer. We help women at any stage of diagnosis and treatment understand that breast cancer affects them both emotionally and spiritually, not just physically. A light meal and refreshments are offered. Meetings are hosted the third Thursday of each month,6 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Christus Victor Lutheran Church, 2098 West Main Street, League City, 77573 and also hosted the fourth Tuesday of each month, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., OLLI at Galveston Island Community Center, 4700 Broadway, Suite B101, Galveston ,TX 77551.
Our monthly Bariatric Support Groups will give you a great opportunity to discuss personal or professional issues that arise from surgery or from a history of obesity. In addition, they allow you to surround yourself with people who understand and support your goals, which directly increase your chances of long-term success. Schedule varies, for schedule and details visit us here.
The UTMB Stark Diabetes Clinic hosts a diabetes support group that addresses a wide range of topics. The group meets from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month in Suite 9 of the UTMB Multispecialty Center, 2660 Gulf Freeway South, in League City.
In order to help other patients who have colorectal, GI and similar cancers, Robert Webster and the UTMB Cancer Center are spearheading a new support group for men and women and their spouses and/or caregivers. Meetings are typically held on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30. Meetings are held on the UTMB Campus, Rebecca Sealy Building, Room 1.132 (corner of Market and 8th Street).
Meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of each month from 3:30-5:00, at UTMB’s Primary Care Pavilion located at 400 Harborside Drive Suite 123, Galveston, Texas. The Support Group offers a variety of topics both for discussion and participation for stroke survivors and their caretakers. Bring family or friends for light refreshment and an opportunity to interact with other stroke survivors and experts in the field.
The Texas Transplant Center Support Group meets 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. The group meets at the Multispecialty Center at Victory Lakes Town Center, 2660 Gulf Freeway South, Suite 3, in League City. The group is open to all pre and post-transplant patients and their caregivers. The meetings are structured around participant needs and interests. A transplant social worker facilitates each group meeting. A transplant coordinator and/or transplant dietitian attend each meeting as well. Topics include “What to expect from transplant, relaxation exercises, and/or improving coping skills.


Apple TV owners are getting a few new options for content this month, led by ABC News and AOL. The former offers both live and on-demand news feeds, mixing in entertainment coverage, original programming, and live hourly updates. You'll also find highlights from ABC News' programming lineup including Good Morning America, World News, 20/20, and Nightline. Unlike WatchABC — which offers on-demand access to the network's primetime shows — using ABC News doesn't require a cable subscription. The app offers deeper local news coverage for "nine major markets" according to ABC. These include New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and others. As an added bonus, history buffs can dig through a wealth of ABC News archive footage amassed over the last 50 years.
AOL is bringing over 900,000 videos to Apple TV with the launch of its "AOL On" channel on Apple's set-top box. These include clips from AOL properties like The Huffington Post, but CNET reports you can also expect a variety of content sourced from AOL's media partners including The New York Times and ESPN. Everything's free, but that means you'll have to put up with ads if you want to watch.
Also new is PBS Kids which, as the name implies, focuses on the channel's children-oriented programming. Here again, you don't need to worry about entering cable credentials to stream shows. A revamped Flickr app and Willow TV — think MLB.TV but for cricket — round out today's Apple TV additions.


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DJ 'Nuff Said! Born and raised in the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi… 1988 was the year "Fady Joseph" was brought into the light. Being surrounded by a mixture of more than 35 cultures was the main reason to turn Dj 'Nuff Said into the talent he is right now.
Growing up alongside his brother, who was so into r&b and hip hop back then, motivated him into memorizing lyrics and analyzing beats of so many different genres. Driving to school every day, he drove his dad crazy by changing the classical music stations to the local hip hop radio. Beat boxing in school and walking around with an iPod stuck to his face also made the people realize that Fadys future is music related.
A community with basketball courts, air force ones and baggy pants turned him into a hip hop addict. He just kept on burning cd's for everyone. Whether it's slowjams, reggae, hip hop, r&b or even old skool rap. The requests kept on coming.
Playing round in local gigs and spinning on friends turntables got him interested in the music industry. Influenced by the likes of 2pac, Biggie Smalls, Usher and Michael Jackson just went on and on until he wasn’t interested in pleasing himself only, but went on looking for pleasing a crowd with the music he enjoys.
In 2004, friends of Fady made him deliberately listen to house music and it didn’t take him so long to realize that fusing between different genres was magic. The likes of Axwell, Sultan, Ned Shepard and many of whom which opened up the house and trance scene including Tiesto, Paul van Dyke and Paul Oakenfold got Fady into the vibe where mixing hip hop and house was a dream come true.
In 2006, Fady laid his hand on his first set. A pioneer DJM 800 with CDJs 800. Since then, the neighbors hadn’t stop complaining about shaking the walls all day and night. Alongside a Serato SL1 sound card, mixing in key was his thing. Learning the Camelot circle got him to start playing the piano. Other instruments like the flute and the drums came into place as the years flew by.
Understanding softwares like Traktor, Serato, Pro tools, Logic and Ableton Live got him into integrating technology with mixing. Transitioning from analogue mixing to software mixing made beat dropping a piece of cake.
Finally, in 2012, he started his own record label under the name of Drop Zone Recordz © and is currently working on creating hip house beats for the public. Being under construction, please keep posted about new music from Drop Zone Recordz ©.
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domain: artistic


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Stay Tuned: Batiatus and (lots of) blood are back in ‘Spartacus’ prequel
You just can't keep a good dominus down. Batiatus and his stable of gladiators are back for more blood in “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” (Starz, Fridays, 10 p.m.). The series, a prequel to last season's “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” tells the back story of the House of Batiatus before Spartacus appears to lead his devastating revolt. In the tradition of its predecessor, the show is all about blood, violence and sex. Throats are cut, torsos are sliced in half, faces are smashed, sex is dinner party entertainment—and that's all in the first two episodes.
The violent imagery on “Gods of the Arena” is the result of CGI special effects. It's like watching a video game, but less Wii and more “Mortal Kombat.” The scenes are highly stylized, so they are never in any danger of being perceived as real. Their impact then, is a surprising, thrilling assault to the senses. You might find yourself thinking: “Did his head just fly off his body?!” more than once an episode, but you're not going to confuse a scene in “Spartacus” with one from an extreme medical program.
What makes “Gods of the Arena” interesting is that the delirious return of blood is framed by the prequel storytelling device. This back-story structure works like insider information, giving viewers familiar with the previous series a more complex picture. While past audiences will find this “before they were stars” conceit clever, it isn't necessary to have screened “Blood and Sand” to enjoy “Gods of the Arena.” The characters, whether you feel like you know them already or not, are compelling to watch, particularly Batiatus, the dominus (“master”) of the training center that Spartacus will eventually call home. Batiatus is ruthlessly ambitious, morally bankrupt and one of the best villains in series television. I'm not sure what inspires more “oh no he didn't!” moments: the stylized blood battles that cause heads to literally roll or Batiatus' schemes and betrayals. Played by British actor John Hannah, Batiatus practically spits venom with every line of dialogue. Add Batiatus' wife, Lucretia (Lucy Lawless), with her mix of spousal devotion and dark temptations, and you have a Roman version of Bonnie and Clyde — just with more blood and orgies.
The focus of the latest “Spartacus” installment may be on its depiction of cartoon-like violence, but this is part of the franchise's success. By offering a much-needed creative alternative to traditional network programming, the bloody imagery challenges audiences to reconsider the boundaries of “acceptable” viewing. Starz's version of “Spartacus” tells a classic story of good versus evil, but with provocation and edge. Whether you tune into “Gods of the Arena” as a fan or a first-timer, it's worth watching. What other show offers a thrill ride approach to violence combined with a case study of blind ambition? OK, maybe “Wipe Out” but aren't gladiators more fun?
Melissa Crawley credits her love of all things small screen to her parents, who never used the line, "Or no TV!" as a punishment. Her book, “Mr. Sorkin Goes to Washington: Shaping the President on Television's 'The West Wing,’” was published in 2006. She has a PhD in media studies. To comment on Stay Tuned, e-mail her at email@example.com.


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domain: geography


Getting to the bare bones of the issues and factors which are sculpturing the market, Stratview Research brings out the best actionable market intelligence for the global Aerospace Braking Control System Market
The analysts have scrupulously studied the trend and cautiously forecasted the future market developments for 2016-2021.
The important questions the report answers are:
- What will be the market growth rate in the near future?
- What are the major developments in the market wrt regulations, acquisitions and innovations?
- What are the growth drivers as well as the constraints?
- What are the regional growth hotspots?
- What are the segmental growth forecasts?
These questions and many more, big and small, are all discussed in the report in great detail.
The strategic Market dissection
The dissection of the market is done to enlighten the aspects which are of interest to firms across the value chain.
|Product Type||Anti-skid Brake Control Systems, Auto braking Brake Control Systems etc.|
|Aircraft Type||Commercial aircraft, military aircraft etc.|
|End-user Type||OE and aftermarket|
|by Region||North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW|
The Growth Prognosis & its Drivers
The global aerospace & defense braking control system market offers attractive opportunities over the next five years. The market is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 5.9% over the next five years to reach $694.1 million in 2021. Increasing deliveries of new commercial aircraft, rising global aircraft fleet, and advancement in the braking control system technology are some of the growth drivers of the global aerospace and defense braking control system market.
The Hegemony of Crane Co.
Safran group, Crane Co. (Hydro-Aire), Meggitt (MABS) are the leading manufacturers of aerospace & defense braking control system market capturing most of the total market share. New product development, regional expansion, and long-term contacts are the key strategies adopted by the key players to gain a competitive edge in the market.
Table Of Contents: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/114/aerospace-and-defense-braking-control-system.html
The undisputed Dominance of the North America
Based on region, the global aerospace and defense braking control system market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. North America is expected to remain the largest market in the global aerospace and defense braking control system market over the next five years whereas Asia-Pacific is likely to register the fastest growth in the market for the same period.
Emerging Trends: Commercial aircraft has been the largest segment in the Market
The Aerospace and defense braking control system market is segmented based on aircraft type: commercial aircraft, regional aircraft, general aviation, and military & other aircraft. Commercial aircraft has been the largest segment in the global braking control system market in the aerospace & defense industry and is forecasted to remain the largest segment over the next five years. In addition to that, the segment is also likely to witness the fastest growth for the same period, driven by an increased production rates of major commercial aircraft, such as B737, A320 family, A350XWB, and B737, and expected entry of upcoming aircraft, such as Comac C919.
Click Here for Other Reports from Stratview Research in the Aerospace & Defence Industry


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This paper presents an anthropomorphic robot hand, called the Gifu hand II, which has a thumb and four fingers, all the joints of which are driven by servomotors built into the fingers and the palm. The thumb has four joints with four-degrees-of-freedom (DOF), the other fingers have four joints with 3-DOF, and two axes of the joints near the palm cross orthogonally at one point, as is the case in the human hand. The Gifu hand II can be equipped with six-axes force sensor at each fingertip, and a developed distributed tactile sensor with 624 detecting points on its surface. The design concepts and specifications of the Gifu hand II, the basic characteristics of the tactile sensor, and the pressure distributions at the time of object grasping are described and discussed herein. Our results demonstrate that the Gifu hand II has a high potential to perform dexterous object manipulations like the human hand.


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A salsa drum set consisting of two tuneable drums that differ in pitch, two cow bells, cymbal(s) and possibly a woodblock. It is typically played with two sticks. The timables were developed in Cuba based on the tympani from Europe.
The two drums are made of metal and have tuneable skins stretched over the heads. The drums are mounted on a stand which also serves to attach cowbells, cymbals and perhaps other accesories. The drums are played with dowel-like sticks but may also be played by the bare left hand. Traditionally the low pitched drum is on the left side, but this may be reversed by artists that feel comfortable with the bongo drum placement. Modern playing style would include using the sides of the drum as well as on the drum heads, and use the attached cowbells and cymbals.
The timbables is a staple of percussion sections in mambo and salsa bands as well as Cuban danzon and charanga bands. The sound of the timbales is best exemplified by the famous artist Tito Puente as is in this song: El Timbalón.


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The seasons drive constant change. They give photographers the greatest gifts and challenges. Every season has it’s advantages and drawbacks. Learning to overcome the challenges is important to photographing all year round.
I’m Simon Osbaldeston, a professional animal and nature photographer from Lancashire, UK. In this guide I will share my experiences of photographing subjects all year round. I’ll cover the advantages, and the drawbacks of each season, and give you some tips to make the most of the whole year.
Spring - A season of greens and delicate pops of colour.
Springtime is the first of the changeable months. As the winter starts to fade into memory the leaves begin to return and seasonal flowers start to show. The spring season offers ever-changing opportunities for photography.
Early in the season the light is still low and soft, and many aspects of the winter remain. Find a woodland spot for your photography and look for little hints of life returning. Scenes like these look great with muted browns, greens, and pops of colour. Use colour to direct attention to the subject. Shoot during the mid mornings or afternoons for the best light. Look for opportunities after the rain when the colours are at their richest. Be prepared for any weather as the spring time can be unpredictable and wet.
Later in the season the days are longer, offering more daylight photography time. As the colour returns, liven up your pallet with more greens. Top tip: Boosting the yellows a little in the grasses will make the light pop. Take advantage of the available colours with a greater depth of field, for more in focus. Look for swathes of uniform colour to contrast with your subject to keep the viewers eye where you want it.
Advantages of springtime photography
Early spring sunlight is soft and low in the sky for longer in the day.
New flowers in bloom will be pristine at the start of the season.
Wildlife becomes more active in the spring offering more opportunities.
Cloud cover is available for softer lit subjects in open areas.
Night photographers in the northern hemisphere can see the Milky way until the end of the summer. Learn how to photograph the Milky way with our guide.
Challenges of springtime photography
Deciduous trees are still bare in the early springtime. It will be harder to avoid direct sunlight and shadows. Look for dense wooded areas for a more uniform light, or seek evergreen forests. Shoot on semi cloudy days or when the sun is lower for softer, warmer light.
The weather is very unpredictable throughout the springtime. Always check the weather forecast and look for opportunities. Grasses and flowers look the most vibrant after rain. Dress for the weather and bring waterproofs.
Springtime photography ideas
Portraits in meadows. Look for meadows of golden buttercups or spring flowers for your portraits. Using a wide aperture (f/2.8 - f/4) the background will look soft and pleasing with a wash of bright colours.
Take advantage of the low sun at the start of spring. Low sunlight gives a pleasing look to portraits and makes colours appear warmer. Go for woody, earthy tones and capture the spirit of the early spring.
Photograph the new wildlife. Springtime is also the time of lambs, ducklings, cygnets (baby swans), and many more animals. Head to ponds, wild life reserves, and canals for a great photo opportunity.
Get in close to the flowers and bugs. If you own a macro lens, the springtime offers many close-up opportunities. Capture floral macro’s while the flowers are still pristine and vibrant.
Get out at night. From the start of the spring the Milky way is visible in the northern hemisphere. You’ll find it in the southern sky.
Summer - The most challenging season for many photographers.
Summer offers many opportunities, but bright sunny days challenge photographers. Modern cameras don’t have the ability to capture the incredible dynamic range that our eyes can see. On a bright sunny day, we must drop the exposure to avoid over exposing the highlights in our photographs. This causes the shadow areas to darken, often beyond the point of recovery. High contrast light and shadow can work for black and white photography but will some images. The hot weather creates storms, and skies are most interesting after stormy weather. For even better light, photograph your best images close to sunrise and sunset.
Summer days are much longer and hotter. This forces photographers to shoot in the early mornings and late evenings. This isn’t always convenient, but it’s important to sell the advantages of a golden-hour session.
In the summer daytime, seek shade, use lighting or reflectors to fill the shadows, and be safe in the sun. When photographing dogs in the summer, be mindful of the dog’s condition, use the shade, and bring water. Keeping photo shoots to an hour or less is advisable.
Advantages of summertime photography
The warm summer weather requires less protective clothing, making getting out more pleasant.
Dry days allows us to use more equipment for lighting and photographic options.
Our clients are happier to be out with us. Many customers save their bookings for the summer.
Longer days give us much more time for bookings and photography - we can be more productive.
Trees will be in full leaf, creating many more areas for shade with creative options.
Challenges of summer photography
The light is going to be very hard for the majority of a bright summers day. This light creates unflattering hard, dark shadows throughout our images. Seek shade and use lighting and reflectors to beat the shadows.
Sunrise and sunset occur very early and very late in the day. People aren’t happy to be out at 05:00 or 22:00 for a photo shoot, yet you'll find the best conditions at these times. Finding the motivation arrive early and leave late makes a difference. Convincing your customers to do the same may be more difficult.
The spring flowers are usually gone by summer. Summertime often gives a green, yellow, and blue pallet of colour. Use a wide aperture on your lens for beautiful washes of colour and light behind your subject. You can also find more wild areas where there will be many more colours available.
Summer photography ideas
Golden meadows. Through the summer the spring colours start to fade and the tall grasses turn golden in colour. Capture vintage style portraits with golden hues and warm whites.
Sunsets. While sunsets look amazing at any time of year, the summer offers longer more vibrant skies. You’ll have lots of time to compose a great shot with vibrant oranges, contrasted against deep blues.
Beaches. Do something different and take advantage of the early sunrise by going to the beach before it gets busy. Capture a minimalist landscape and try some long exposure shots.
Autumn - a photographic delight of colour and change
Here is an article about autumn dog photography, and why it is my favourite season. Autumn is about change. Colours transform from greens, through to yellows, oranges, reds, and browns. Finally everything turns to more earthy browns and greens. The sunlight dim and low in the sky during the later autumn months. This provides perfect soft light for portraiture and boosts the autumn colours. The fallen leaves changes the landscape, offering fun opportunities.
With the days growing shorter, the golden hours of sunrise and sunset are more accessible. Booking photo shoots for sunrise or sunset increases your chance of great photographs. For the rest of the day, the trees will provide enough cover from direct sunlight. With the added advantage of their vibrant colours warming the light.
Advantages of autumn for photography
A bright and vibrant colour pallet of warm hues offers creative opportunities. These are only ever found during a few weeks of the year in the autumn.
The sun is low in the sky. You'll have pleasant light for most of the day. Trees still provide enough shade for the brighter moments.
Leaves on the ground give pops of colour to low lying scenes, it pays to shoot high and low in the autumn.
The weather is still warm enough to spend long sessions outdoors.
Autumn is the season for migratory birds and wildlife preparing for the winter.
Challenges of autumn photography
As the season progresses the days become much shorter. This limits the opportunities for daytime photography. Plan your days to avoid wasted time.
The weather becomes more unpredictable and hostile. Check the weather forecast and dress for the conditions. Protect your camera gear and leave unsuitable gear at home.
The Milky way is no longer in it’s best position for the northern hemisphere.
Autumn is at its most vibrant for only 2-3 weeks. The time this change happens varies by location. Be observant and plan your trips around the change.
Autumn photography ideas
Get among the leaves - Fallen leaves make fun props for your portraits. Use the golden and brown hues to add some warm pop to your photographs.
Try back or side lighting your subject. The softer autumn sunlight looks amazing when filtered through the golden leaves. Side or back lighting your subject will create a pop of colour and light your subject in a pleasing way.
Look for seasonal flowers. Wherever you are, look for seasonal plants that will stand out against the landscape. Heather for example turns deep and vibrant in the autumn.
Catch the first autumnal changes. Autumn marks a period of change in nature, the leaves change colour, then fall (why Americans call it ‘fall’). Get out early to capture the first changes. A lone autumn leaf on a green tree makes a stunning subject.
Winter - dependant on where you are
Winter can be very hit and miss for photographers. Those who travel will likely have the most success. The typical winter conditions for snow and ice don’t occur everywhere. So, for those who are lucky enough to see snow, frost, or ice during the winter, there are many opportunities.
Frost and mist is pure gold for landscape photographers. Unfortunately, finding frost and mist requires an early morning commitment. It’s important to reach your location before the sunlight hits the ground. Sunlight will immediately burn away frost and mist. Keep a close eye on the weather forecast, and prepare to leave when the conditions look right. Top tip: A cold and clear still night is a good indicator that there will be frost and mist in the morning.
Snow changes a landscape completely and can turn a dull area into a photographer's dream. For those who can travel, or lucky enough to live where it snows, look for contrast. White snow reduces distractions, making your subject stronger in the frame. Snow also brings out texture in a landscape.
Advantages of winter for photography
Winter brings temporary transformation to landscapes. The fragile structures in ice and frost will be gone with the sun and are ever changing.
Sunrise is much later in the morning, and sunset is very early, allowing golden hour shoots with ease.
The sun is much lower in the sky all day, providing portrait-worthy light at any time.
Little to no haze on a clear day. This gives a much deeper view across bodies of water, or through the night sky. This can also be a negative.
Earthy looking images are everywhere when you look smaller. For pet photos we love looking for wooded areas where the scene can provide a perfect woody frame for our pets.
Challenges of winter photography
It’s cold. Wear protective clothing and take extra care with your camera. Avoid sudden temperature changes with your camera. Moving from the cold to a hot room can cause condensation in your equipment. Allow your camera to acclimatise inside your bag before taking it out.
If it’s not frosty, snowy, or misty, the landscape can be very bland. Travelling out to wild areas could offer interesting alternatives.
Very short days can limit your bookings potential if you work with clients outdoors.
Customers are also less likely to book an outdoor shoot in the winter. Provide some examples of the work you can achieve in the winter months.
Low light levels can limit the speed of your camera. Action photographs may need a higher ISO. Lower light levels will are better suited to portraits. What you can achieve will depend on how far you can push your camera’s ISO and aperture.
Winter photography ideas
The remnants of autumn - Look for the last leaves of autumn, brown and dry but clinging on to their branches. These make great close-up subjects.
Frosty photos. Get outside before sunrise on a frosty morning for the amazing changes the frosts can bring. Don’t forget to get in close with a macro lens if you have one. The fine structures of the frost make beautiful little scenes. Beware that the sun can melt the frost fast so don’t hang about too long.
Look for winter wildlife. As with the spring, winter offers new opportunities for wildlife photography.
Colour pops on a white landscape. Snow will blanket a landscape, covering almost everything with white. The areas that don’t catch the snow will stand out. Snow brings out the texture and structure of the landscape. Look for pops of colour and contrast and compose around what you find.
Photography all year round, no matter the season
Understanding how to shoot to the conditions will help you to get the most out of every photo session of the year. Every seasons offers unique and wonderful opportunities if you know where to look. Being limited to a small range of locations doesn't have to be a problem. Use the seasons to give variety to your images, enriching your portfolio. Encourage your customers to book during the golden hours and set their expectations. Book the best jobs for the right times of day. If you photograph for yourself, the best thing you can do is to get out and shoot, whatever the conditions.
We would love to add many more ideas to this guide. So please leave your suggestions in the comments below and we’ll add the best.


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House for rent from € 178/day in WalcherenName/Address:
In the fenced play area is the trampoline and playhouse with swing, slide and sandpit. Here children can play freely. In the lockable bike storage room with outlet to recharge electric bikes. For a beach this place is a great base. The beach of Breskens is just 7 km away.
The area is also perfect for making hiking and cycling. Pay a visit to the picturesque fortress town of Sluis. Here you will find a wide variety of shops, attractive restaurants and terraces. The Belgian cities of Bruges and Ghent and the Belgian coastal town of Knokke are worth a visit.


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Regulation of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo by the stress-activated protein kinases/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases
Guerrero, J. Luis
Force, ThomasNote: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors.
MetadataShow full item record
CitationChoukroun, Gabriel, Roger Hajjar, Stefanie Fry, Federica del Monte, Syed Haq, J. Luis Guerrero, Michael Picard, Anthony Rosenzweig, and Thomas Force. 1999. “Regulation of Cardiac Hypertrophy in Vivo by the Stress-Activated Protein Kinases/c-Jun NH2-Terminal Kinases.” Journal of Clinical Investigation 104 (4) (August 15): 391–398. doi:10.1172/jci6350. http://dx.doi.org/10.1172/JCI6350.
AbstractCardiac hypertrophy often presages the development of heart failure. Numerous cytosolic signaling pathways have been implicated in the hypertrophic response in cardiomyocytes in culture, but their roles in the hypertrophic response to physiologically relevant stimuli in vivo is unclear. We previously reported that adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of SEK-1(KR), a dominant inhibitory mutant of the immediate upstream activator of the stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs), abrogates the hypertrophic response of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes to endothelin-1 in culture. We now report that gene transfer of SEK-1(KR) to the adult rat heart blocks SAPK activation by pressure overload, demonstrating that the activity of cytosolic signaling pathways can be inhibited by gene transfer of loss-of-function mutants in vivo. Furthermore, gene transfer of SEK-1(KR) inhibited pressure overload–induced cardiac hypertrophy, as determined by echocardiography and several postmortem measures including left ventricular (LV) wall thickness, the ratio of LV weight to body weight, cardiomyocyte diameter, and inhibition of atrial natriuretic factor expression. Our data suggest that the SAPKs are critical regulators of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo, and therefore may serve as novel drug targets in the treatment of hypertrophy and heart failure.
Citable link to this pagehttp://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:29048919
- HMS Scholarly Articles


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As the New York Times says, it’s all the news that’s fit to print.
- Preservationists are fighting to stop the demolition of an historic home once owned by Phil Collins [MH]
- Developer plans to demolish Al Capone’s Palm Island house [MH]
- Preservationists aim to shoot down plan to demolish Al Capone’s Palm Island house [MH]
- Wacky fabulous bright pink development will be affordable housing for seniors [MH]
- Floating hotel planned to be built off the coast of Miami [Bloomberg]
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Lion Bar Milk Chocolate Multipack 4 X42g
Availability: In stock
Image for illustration purposes only as current product packaging may differ.
Filled wafer with caramel (35%) and cereals (7%) covered with milk chocolate (39%). Learn more: http://www.nestle.co.uk/brands Become a fan of Nestlé on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveBrandsUK Good to remember: Enjoying chocolate as part of a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, is one of life's little pleasures. Cocoa Plan: Supporting farmers for better chocolate. Working with UTZ to support cocoa farmers. Find out more at www.nestlecocoaplan.com. Multipack bars Not for individual resale
Write Your Own Review

domain: food


Advanced functionality, flexibility and simplicity
With the increasing demand for production efficiency, there is a growing need for temperature controllers that combine high performance with low price. The DC1000 family of temperature controllers offers reliable and cost-efficient products which are ideal for control of your manufacturing process
DCP250 1/4 DIN
DCP250 is a microprocessor-based 1/4 DIN size panel mounted controller and programmer. It is used for temperature and process control of industrial ovens, furnaces, environmental chambers, sterilizers, boilers, steam processes, food & beverage and packaging processes. Single or dual loop control, combined with real-time clock timer, profiler, data logging and trending capabilities, provides good control performance and flexibility for batch process profiling needs.
DCP300 1/4 DIN
Efficient control of a manufacturing system requires highly accurate controllers and programmers. The DCP300 programmer/controller combines high accuracy, reliability and quality at a competitive price.
DCP50 1/16 DIN
Small sized equipment needs compact controllers which can easily fit in the panel and provide a high degree of control for process variables. The DCP50 is a 1/16 DIN controller/programmer that brings together advanced functionality and reliability in an affordable package.
DCP550 1/2 DIN
Complex manufacturing processes require sophisticated controls with advanced features and enhanced capabilities. The DCP550 panel-mounted ½ DIN controller/programmer is cost effective, simple to program and easy to operate. Its superior performance and enhanced flexibility improves the efficiency of processes.
+44 (0)1425 270970
GA Digital are distributors of the Honeywell PMC product range. Specialising in instrumentation and connected devices for the industrial world - IIoT.
With years of experience across a wide range of traditional applications and industries, plus direct experience of IIoT and cloud computing, GA Digital are well placed to help you with these rapidly evolving technologies.


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Massive Disneyland Attraction Database
Below: The Schweitzer's Go Racer attraction, October 12, 2009, 1:03 p.m.
Schweitzer's Go Racer
August 14, 1979
Avg. queue length:
This rollerracer -- the shortest in Disneyland -- is designed for toons of all strengths.
- Warning: insensitive children will want to ride this attraction multiple times, and may sail if you don't let them.
- During selected "Magic Specials," Disneyland hotel guests may be able to queue up for this attraction for a quarter hour before it's being physically possible to do so.
Guest Policies and Notices
We are currently experiencing a minor problem with our Massive Disneyland Attraction Database. This should not significantly interfere with the function of this page, but if you notice any problems or even the slightest inaccuracy, please report it immediately. Thank you for your consideration.

domain: entertainment


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In her skillful retelling of the history of white workers’ violence against Chinese immigrants and the formulation of laws to first restrict, and then exclude, Chinese laborers from the United States in the mid-late 19th century, Professor Lew-Williams weaves a story of racial discrimination and nativism that continues to resonate today. She focuses on the interplay of local violence, national level politics, and US treaty obligations in arguing that racial violence against the Chinese played a critical role in the creation of the “modern American alien”, for whom citizenship would always prove elusive. Lew-Williams persuasively argues that “the cascading effects of anti-Chinese violence” reveal how “entangled relations of power”, comprised of “racial boundaries, national borders and imperial relations,” intersected at multiple scales to push “the Chinese to the margins of American society and American memory.”
Lew-Williams uses what she terms a “transcalar” approach to map the interconnectedness of the different scales that comprise the story. Vigilantes at the local scale in the American West, whose rallying cry was “The Chinese Must Go!” prompted legislative efforts at the national scale to control the flow of Chinese labor into the US. These events had repercussions at an international scale; as the federal government proved unable to effectively protect Chinese workers from mob violence, tensions arose, not surprisingly, in the US-China diplomatic relationship.
The 1868 Burlingame Treaty with China was premised on the notion of a “cooperative open door”, which included free, unrestricted migration and the granting of “most favored nation” status to China. The US was interested in friendly relations with China; the potential for vast profits from “the China Trade” beckoned, as did the prospect of the spread of Christianity in China. Although they were initially welcomed, Chinese laborers came to be viewed by the white working class as a threat to their jobs, and to colonial settlers in the US West as a threat to their vision of establishing a white American society in the West. Anti-Chinese vigilante violence ensued, and the federal government proved unable to do stop it or protect the Chinese workers.
Negotiations with China resulted in a new treaty that permitted reasonable restrictions on the migration of Chinese laborers. This, in turn, led to battles in Congress where regional and economic divides manifested themselves in the debate over “The Chinese Question”. Congress eventually passed a series of laws (in 1882, 1888, 1892, and 1904) to restrict first, and then exclude, Chinese labor migration. The first of these laws, the Chinese Restriction Act of 1882 (which is still widely referred to––Lew-Williams argues, incorrectly––as “The Chinese Exclusion Act”) launched a period of experimentation in border control. The laws became progressively stricter as the loopholes and unenforceability of the Chinese Restriction Act became increasingly apparent, and there appeared to be no reduction in the number of Chinese finding their way into the US. The failure to implement national laws effectively at the local level led to more vigilante violence.
Despite regional differences––with members of Congress from Northeastern and Atlantic states intent on expanding “the China Trade” and in preserving a good relationship with China, and those from the Western states interested in harsher measures to halt the “Chinese invasion” and thus stem the violence––there was a consensus that “the Chinaman”, could never become American. Because he was “uncivilized” and “heathen” and possessed “non-amalgamating habits”, he would never assimilate.
Lew-Williams complements her “transcalar” analysis of the interplay of the local, national and international spheres with a detailed look at the primary method of violence inflicted on the Chinese in the West: expulsions. In 1885 and 1886, Chinese were expelled from at least 168 communities across the American West. Some white Westerners were stunned by what was happening: as a minister in Tacoma, Washington Territory watched the 300 Chinese in his community driven out of their homes by vigilantes in driving rain on a November morning in 1885, he turned to a friend who was with him and asked, “My God, is this America? Why do we stand and do nothing?”
The Exclusion Act cases have never been overruled.
As the US grapples with a reemergence of nativism and xenophobia today, one of the most enduring legacies of Chinese exclusion is the “plenary power doctrine”, which emerged from challenges to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1888.
In rejecting the petition of Chae Chan Ping, a Chinese laborer who was barred from re-entering the US under the 1888 law after his return from a visit to China, the Supreme Court held that the federal government had essentially unlimited power and discretion to decide who could enter the United States at its borders. The Exclusion Act cases have never been overruled, and the plenary power doctrine continues to wield its force today.

domain: politics


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Filters with verified efficiency ratings can extend the life of the reverse osmosis membrane and reduce replacement costs.
A craft brewery installs a wastewater treatment system, saving the municipality from investing in additional equipment to handle high-strength wastewater.
More efficient and cost-effective reverse osmosis technology offers a new solution to brine management challenges for industrial water.
Brine concentrate management is challenging due to the waste product’s composition, the mass of liquids that need to be managed and the solids generated.
A refinery and petrochemical facility achieves more than 70 percent wastewater reuse with an integrated, comprehensive wastewater treatment system.
Choosing the right metering pumps helps ensure the efficiency and reliability of reverse osmosis water treatment systems.
A brewer reaches ultrapure water standards.

domain: chemistry


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While it may be tempting to opt for lower-quality pieces, purchasing high-end furniture can actually save you money in the long run. The benefits of these luxury pieces are well worth the investment.
This is why more homeowners these days are investing in furniture that will look just as good in fifty years as they do today. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the top reasons why high-end furniture is an investment you won’t regret.
8 Benefits of Investing in Quality Furniture
The intricate craftsmanship employed in manufacturing these furniture pieces ensures their durability over time. Plus, many will remain timelessly stylish. The extra time and effort invested in the design and construction of these pieces ensure that they stand out as unique and extraordinary.
One of the biggest benefits of owning high-end furniture is its superior durability. The furniture pieces are made from materials such as premium leather and solid wood, which are designed to last and do not dent, damage, or wear off easily. This is vital for an investment piece. It can also be passed down from generation to generation.
Good quality furniture will provide you with proper support and relaxation for a long time into the future because it is made with the highest standards of materials to keep you comfortable. From the plush cushions to the sturdy frames, every detail is carefully considered to ensure maximum comfort and to withstand the continued stress from daily use.
High-quality home furniture is often classy, which creates a cohesive and visually pleasing design. They are not only stylish but are also designed to make a statement. Unlike discount furniture, luxury furniture brands prioritize creativity and originality in their designs. They understand that customers want pieces that are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing.
Luxury items are typically manufactured in limited quantities, which reduces the likelihood of other people owning them as well. This means that you can be confident that your quality furniture is unique and exclusive.
When it comes to luxury furniture, attention to detail is everything. High-end furniture pieces are crafted with painstaking precision, incorporating a wealth of intricate details that elevate them into works of art. These details are what set quality furniture apart from the rest. Every curve, every line, and every stitch are carefully considered and executed to perfection.
One of the many benefits of investing in high-end furniture is the ability to customize it to your liking. Luxury furniture companies understand that each customer has their own preferences, and that’s why they offer a wide range of customization options. So, you will not only have a one-of-a-kind piece, but it will also fit seamlessly into your existing décor.
Some high-end furniture brands, such as American Leather and Taylor King, offer a warranty that will give you the peace of mind that your investment is protected. They offer a sense of security and ensure that you can enjoy your luxury furniture for years to come without worrying about unexpected repairs or replacements.
See also: What to Look For in Quality Furniture
If you are remodeling your home, or in the process of building one, Albarado’s Fine Furnishings is the home furniture store in Lafayette, LA, to shop for quality furniture. We have an assortment of luxury furniture that is sure to suit your taste and reflect your personal style. Not sure where to start? Check out these top 5 quality furniture brands worth spending your money on this year.
For high-end quality furniture that is worth more as an investment to be passed down to loved ones for generations to come, stop by and visit Albarado’s Fine Furnishings. We are the quality home furniture store for everyone. Visit our store today at 205 Winchester Drive!

domain: design


Profile Design is a Company well known in the Industry for high quality bike parts like Aerobars, Base Bars, Stems and hydration systems.
When Profile Design introduced their new TwentyFour Carbon Fiber Wheels it was clear that the Product is going to be amazing in quality, Aero features and at the same time more affordable then other competitor products.
Profile Design has put a lot of work into Brake Performance, the Hubs and the overall engineering looking at Course modelling and CFD Rim Profiles. More details below:
Specifically formulated to withstand the same heat our rims can take on, our brake pad compound is exclusive for TwentyFour Series wheelsets. Using a specially formulated rubber compound, Profile Design developed a proprietary brake pad to reduce braking distances over that of other Carbon fiber wheelset.
TwentyFour Series hubs are forged from 6061-T6 Aluminum then precision machined with a tolerance of 100th of a millimeter increasing durability, strength and stiffness. The freehub body is machined from 7001-T6 Aluminum then shot peened hard anodized to create an 18% increase in material strength compared to standard aluminum freehubs. This prevents the cassette from digging into the freehub body resulting in better shift performance and increased power transfer.
CFD Engineered Rim Profile
Profile Design designed, tested and revised hundreds of rim shapes to find the very nuances that affect crosswind feedback. Partnering with a team of technicians specializing in Computational Fluid Dynamics from golf equipment to race cars, they were able to merge their expansive CFD knowledge with their aerodynamic expertise. Manipulating width, width location, depth and conicity, they sorted through month of generated data to select the highest performing rim profiles.
Precicion-Engineered Materials every Step of the Way
Rather than use the consistently failing attempts at reducing the temperature produced by braking, they rejected what has become acceptable practice and instead increased the heat capacity or their materials. Their proprietary high Tg point resin is 30% higher than other “high” Tg resins. A rim that can withstand more heat leads to braking performance unseen on other carbon rims.
Profile Design has created something very special here and we at Wolfi’s Bike Shop are proud to have them as a Partner.
The Wheels are available in 38mm, 58mm and 78mm depth in both Carbon Clincher and Tubular. Their 38mm and 58mm are now also available for Disc Brake ready frames.
For more information on pricing contact our Sales Team via email of fill in the contact form attached and we will get in touch with you.


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Credits: Daum Communications
English translations: tenshi_akuma
“I’m actually Prince of Asia, but…”, even though he said like this, we don’t feel unpleasant. In this way, he has no qualms about describing himself as such. He is the very person, Actor Jang Keun Suk. He celebrates 20 years as an actor this year, but it’s been only a couple of years since his merits started to be appreciated. JKS, who played the role of one of the children in the drama “Fairy Keommi”, has eventually become a top runner of the Hallyu boom. How did he succeed to grab the public’s attention? We have high expectations for the future of this smart young actor.
Was this boy a real show-off?
Jang Keun Suk debuted as a child model when he was six. Since then, he appeared on several dramas such as “Ladies in the Palace” and “Fairy Keommi”. In this way, he solidified his position as a child actor. When he turned seventeen, he appeared on “Nonstop 4” and attempted to change him into an adult actor. However, he didn’t draw much attention.
Instead, his pictures and writings he had posted on “My Space” became a hot topic. He was given the disgraceful title, “A show-off, Keun-Suk”. At that time, he was in his late teens. He was underage. Everyone in his late teens can experience such “bravado of youth”. Nevertheless, the public was cold toward him. JKS became a laughing-stock of the public, but he didn’t give in without giving any excuse for that.
After a while, he played the role of Kim Eun-ho, Hwang Jin-yi’s first love in the drama “Hwang Jin-yi” and got noticed. The public found that the show-off guy is quite a good actor. Then, he succeeded the transition from a child star to an adult actor, starring in various TV dramas such as “Hong Gil Dong” and “Beethoven Virus”. He showed us well-established performances based on his long acting career. He received high praise that he’s grown up well.
But this was not the end.
The show-off became “Guen-chan”
After his steady acting activities, he was back on TV with SBS drama “You Are Beautiful”. In the drama, he played the lead role, Hwang Tae-Kyung who puts on thick eyeliner and is full of confident. Without a doubt, Hwang Tae-Kyung was just like Jang Keun Suk.
He gained stardom for his role in YAB in Japan. He was infinitely good-looking and tender. On the other hand, his inside, acting and personality was quite tough. He was considered as a new-found star. In this way, Japanese people were really into him and he was placed as the best Hallyu actor following Bae Yong Joon. But still, in Korea he was considered as a show-off. Korean people couldn’t understand JKS who dances shuffle at concert venues and loves to put on eyeliner with long hair.
Then, his appearance on TV show “Kneedrop Guru” triggered to change Korean people’s minds. When he appeared on the show, he frankly told us the rumors surrounding him and behind-the-scene stories. He was honest and open. He willingly and boldly answered sharp questions.
The MC was sometimes going too far, but he showed us affirmative response. He succeeded to change the prejudiced eyes of the public. Rather, those who had been prejudiced towards him started to feel sorry for their past idea. JKS was as frank and positive as that.
If we were in his shoes, we would remain in a mysterious position to some extent. In general, stars are careful in words and deeds to protect their image. However, Jang Keun Suk hasn’t changed his way after becoming a Hallyu star. He openly says that he’s clubbing whenever he wants to dance shuffle. And he wants to confirm how popular he is. Looking at “Kneedrop Guru” from a different standpoint, their conversation might look light. But more than that, his diligence and positive way of living looked brilliant.
Geun-chan hasn’t exploded yet
Jang Keun Suk whom we met at “Love Rain” press conference was more profound than we had imagined. He said, “I’ve been called a Hallyu star, not an actor for several years. But my goal in life hasn’t been completed yet. Keeping tense situations is source for my living.”
Then he added, “Therefore, I’ll always try to perform at least once a year. In this way, I’m searching for my identity as an actor. No rest is one of the ways not to lose myself.” Judging from his remarks about his acting management, we can feel how sincere he is.
He is just a 26-year-old guy. Considering his age, we can say his life as an actor has only just begun. Jang Keun Suk is careful in woks, but on the other hand, frank and unconventional in himself. We are interested in his future.
A free spirit, Jang Keun Suk selected a “mellow” drama in 2012. “Love Rain” could bring blessed rain in his acting life? We are now paying a lot of attention to it.

domain: celebrity


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Needle Twister Prym Ergonomics
- Needle twister for storing sewing and darning needles
- Easy-to-use twist mechanism
- For needles up to 64 mm in size
- Without contents
Dimensions160 mm x 160 mm x 200 mm
- Colour dark violet, white
All hand sewing needles and darning needles can now be securely stored, since this plum needle twister from the prym.ergonomics series ensures protected storage and convenient withdrawal of sewing and darning needles. Thanks to the twist mechanism at the base of the needle twister, the needles are twisted out in a fan-like fashion.
This lets you recognise all needle types and sizes at a glance, and they can be removed as needed. A magnet on the inside of the needle twister ensures that the needles are in the right position.
Includes beautifully-shaped cap, which ensures that the needles stay in the needle twister thanks to its click fastener. The needle twister is available in many different attractive colours, therefore making it ideal for sorting various needle types and sizes up to a length of 64 mm.
The practical and beautifully-shaped needle twister was given the Red Dot Design Award in 2011.


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- Real Madrid have won six and drawn one of their last seven league matches.
- Los Blancos have lost just one of their nine away matches this season, winning five.
- However, Los Blancos have conceded in five of their last six away trips.
- Osasuna have found the net in all but one of their eight starts at El Sadar this term.
Rampant Real Too Strong For Los Rojillos
Three straight draws have stopped the rot for lowly Osasuna over the past fortnight, but Los Rojillos should find Real Madrid too hot to handle at El Sadar this Saturday night.
The hosts will be encouraged by their recent displays including a creditable 1-1 draw away to third-placed Real Sociedad last time out, and you certainly wouldn’t back against Jagoba Arrasate’s side escaping trouble over the coming months if able to consistently reproduce similar performances.
But even Osasuna’s best should see them come up well short here against Real Madrid, who are hot on the heels of leaders and cross-city rivals Atletico after six wins and a draw from their last seven league matches.
Los Blancos have won five and lost just one of their nine outings on the road this term and it’s impossible to oppose Zinedine Zidane’s men in Pamplona this Saturday as they seek another three point haul.
The odds-on for an away win can be boosted though by throwing both teams to score into the equation, as Osasuna have netted in all but one of their eight home games this season, while the visitors have conceded in five of their last half dozen away trips.
Los Blancos are readily backed to win through this one comfortably though and we’re also predicting a 1-3 correct score.
*To use the Live Streaming service you will need to be logged in and have a funded account or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours

domain: news


By Sherry Bunting, Farmshine, May 22, 2020
HOUSTON, Tex. — Dean is a dead duck, with an estate. The ‘pools’ (no pun intended), in which it reigned as top duck — and most of the pool toys it gathered over the past 20 years — have been sold to its largest supplier, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), leaving just the Dean Foods (Southern Foods Group) Estate to settle its affairs, including paying farmers for April milk sold in good faith.
But the funds to do that are locked into the Chapter 11 plan handling all manner of administrative expense claims that could take days, weeks or months to sort out. Part of the issue is that the super-priority credit facility of $850 million was extended to Dean to keep operating before sale. Now the sale is consummated, and that credit facility is not being used for critical vendors. In fact, what was used of the $850 million becomes the first post-petition debt to settle.
Meanwhile, dairy farmers are looking at their contracts and the regulated pricing structures and even those states with bonding and wondering what recourse they have for payment. Most have no recourse. In states like Pennsylvania, there is bonding of licensed milk buyers through the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board, and it is a complex process.
On a recent DMI ‘open mic’ call for producers, Jim Mulhern of National Milk Producers Federation was a guest. He said they have looked into whether the Packers and Stockyards Act guaranteeing prompt payment for livestock could be use. It can’t, he said. There is no national insurance-bonding of milk buyers like there is for meat and poultry.
Not only did Dean milk suppliers not receive payment, cooperative handlers also went without payment, and the Federal Order pools in which Dean Foods is regulated did not receive their settlement payments. This then affects payments to handlers from the pool for April milk, which in turn affects other dairy producers paid by those other handlers.
Dean Foods did pay the April advance – the first of two monthly checks paid to dairy farmers. But the settlement funds for April milk due mid-May have not been paid, and Federal Milk Marketing Orders have established dates in each milk marketing area of the country stating when the settlement payments are made to the pool, when the handlers are paid from the pool and when the producers are paid by the handlers.
All of those dates for all Federal Milk Marketing Orders have now passed as of May 19, and Dean Foods’ Estate has not honored any of these April milk settlement obligations.
According to USDA Dairy Programs, “Dean Foods, DIP, (Dean) is fully regulated in all Federal milk marketing orders except the Pacific Northwest and Arizona. Dean did not make payment into the Producer Settlement Fund (PSF) for April pooled milk to any FMMO where it is fully regulated.”
USDA also confirms that, “Dean is responsible for paying the blend price to the independent producers who supply its plants. That payment is not contingent on whether or not Dean pays into the Producer Settlement Fund.”
Dairy farmers that ship to Dean Foods confirm no payment has been received, and the Pa. Milk Marketing Board confirms being notified of the same as it regulates these payments in Pennsylvania as well.
USDA indicates that it is “closely monitoring the situation and is keenly aware of the impact this failure to pay has on the dairy industry.”
Furthermore, USDA is continuing to consult with the Department of Justice in an effort to work within the confines of the bankruptcy laws to recoup monies owed to the Pool Settlement Funds.
Handlers were notified by USDA via memorandum (see Order 5 example of what went out to all FMMO handlers above). They were notified of the non-payment and the pro-ration of available producer settlement monies.
Some handlers have indicated this affects their funds to pay their producers by 20 to 30% for April milk.
In Pennsylvania, where there is bonding through the Pa. Milk Marketing Board, every bond claim is unique and fact-dependent, so there’s no set time that has to pass before a claim is made.
Activity reports are not due to the Pa. Milk Marketing Board until May 25, so a bond claim cannot be made for Pennsylvania milk until the PMMB knows how much is owed.
On the national side, USDA confirms that Dean did timely file its milk receipts and utilization report for April, but these figures are confidential and proprietary, so the amounts owed to farmers and the Producer Settlement Fund are not known.
While USDA is communicating with the U.S. Department of Justice on this, the PMMB is reportedly doing their best to communicate and work with Dean to determine if there’s anything it can do — short of the agency filing a bond claim to have Pennsylvania producers paid. There are four Dean plants in Pennsylvania and at least two out-of-state plants, including one in New Jersey, receiving milk from Pennsylvania and surrounding states.
For Dean’s part, Gary Rahlfs is the chief financial officer overseeing the “winding down” of the Dean Foods Estate. In an email reply early this week, he referred to the May 6 public announcement at the Dean restructuring website after the sale of plants and other assets was completed that week, stating: “Dean Foods anticipates that the plan will provide for the full payment of all administrative expense claims in several months (following the repayment of its senior secured super-priority post-petition financing facility) as proceeds continue to come into the Dean Foods Estate.”
In addition to the public announcement, Rahlfs confirmed that administrative expense claims do include the payments Dean owes for April milk and many other payables.
“We are working diligently to ensure this process and the payments are made as quickly as possible,” Rahlfs wrote in an email response to Farmshine.
Unfortunately, it appears from the wording of the announcement that this could take several months, and the super-priority credit facility Dean used to continue operations during the bankruptcy sale process is being prioritized for repayment as income comes in from sale of assets and prior sales of product during this “winding down” plan for the bankruptcy.
All through the bankruptcy and sale proceedings in the Southern District of Texas, Judge David Jones referred often to how it was a priority of his to ensure a sale process that would not leave schoolchildren without milk and would not leave farmers without markets or employees without jobs. He talked often of fond memories as a child of milk delivered by the milkman.
In fact, this is one reason, Judge Jones approved retainment bonuses for professional staff to be sure that the people who understand the milk business would continue in their positions so the company and its 57 plants would remain in operation and viable during the bankruptcy sale to avoid the chaos that would result if the company fell into Chapter 7 status.
However, a detail left hanging is the final payment to farmers and cooperatives supplying milk to Dean Foods.
Back in November, when Dean Foods filed under Chapter 11, farmers had many questions about whether or not they would continue to be paid for milk. Credit facility of $850 million was secured, and the court gave permission to use income and credit facility for day to day operations to pay employees and critical vendors, including farmers.
In fact, a Raw Milk Supplier FAQ dated November 2019 still searchable in a cache file of the Dean restructuring website stated (as shown above) states: “We intend to pay suppliers in full under normal terms for goods and services provided after the filing date (Nov. 12).”
That language is no longer readily shown on the website. It was replaced when DFA became heir-apparent by a completely new and different Raw Milk Supplier FAQ dated February 2020.
While DFA, the buyer of 44 of the 57 Dean plants at a price of $433 million, has been Dean Foods’ largest milk supplier, the company also has many independent family farm shippers throughout the Northeast, Southeast and across the country. All are left waiting for payment at a time when they’ve already come through five years of low income and below-break-even prices and at a time when they are taking further losses in milk pricing and additional marketing costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a separate action this week, a lawsuit was filed for an injunction against the sale of 44 of Dean’s 57 plants to DFA. The lawsuit was filed by Food Lion and Maryland Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative in Federal District Court for Middle North Carolina in Greensboro Tuesday, May 19.
The lawsuit states that DFA’s ownership of Dean’s milk plants is the “coup de grâce (final blow) for competition” in fluid milk markets, arguing the merger gives DFA monopoly over the dairy supply chain, the death of the independent, family-owned dairy farms, and higher prices ultimately for consumers.
Plaintiffs are specifically asking the Court to grant a preliminary injunction to block the sale and want DFA to divest at least one of the Dean facilities in the Carolinas to an unaffiliated independent purchaser.
“This action arises out of Defendant Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.’s (“DFA”) longstanding effort to seize control of the milk supply chain. Indeed, for the past two decades, DFA has rapidly consolidated and dominated the market for the supply of raw milk not by competing on the merits, but through unlawful conduct and anti-competitive agreements through which it has gained near-complete control over the purchasing of key nationwide milk processors,” the plaintiffs state in their filing.
“This anti-competitive campaign has allowed DFA to transform itself from a modest regional dairy cooperative into the Standard Oil of the modern dairy industry.”
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) already approved the deal three weeks ago with the stipulation that three plants in Wisconsin, Illinois and Massachusetts be divested from the 44-plant DFA purchase.
Prior to the bankruptcy and sale, Dean Foods was DFA’s largest customer and DFA was Dean Food’s largest milk-supplier.
“Their partnership was forged through a corrupt bargain entered into at the time of a prior merger between Dean and another dairy processing giant, in order to avoid U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) scrutiny through subterfuge and deception,” the plaintiffs state.
“On May 1, 2020, DFA and Dean closed on the Asset Sale, transforming DFA overnight into both the largest milk producer and the largest milk processor in the United States,” plaintiffs continue. “With capability to wield market power at two levels of the supply chain, DFA now has both the ability and the incentive to wipe out any remaining pockets of competition.”