What are you doing a fortnight tonight? Nothing? Well, I’ve sorted that for you.
Over the past few months, I’ve been working with others on an air quality monitoring project. You might have seen us in the Mercury last week. During the summer, we attached small tubes to lamp posts which measured nitrogen dioxide levels in the air. We’ve got the results, and they’re frightening. We’ve also been able to get hold of other figures, previously unreleased to the public, which make clear the terrible state of the air in our part of south-east London.
So we’ll be revealing them at a public meeting at the Forum, Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, on 16 October at 7pm. We’ve got some top-notch speakers who know their stuff about transport and pollution. They’ll be able to explain why building a new Silvertown Tunnel is likely to increase congestion, and why that means worse air and poorer health for us all.
We’ll also be putting the results online (the website’s now live) so you can see for yourself what the air is like where you live.
We’ll also be explaining how you and your neighbours can carry out your own study into air pollution – because it’s not worth waiting for Transport for London or Greenwich Council to do it for you. If you’re involved in a group like the Greenwich Society, or a residents’ group, please come along.
If you live in Greenwich, Charlton, Blackheath, Kidbrooke or Eltham – this affects you and your neighbours, particularly if you have children. We’ll also have disturbing results from the rest of the borough which could have an impact on other schemes, such as the Gallions Reach bridge/ferry proposals. So, if you can come along, please do. It’d be great to see you.
TfL recently reaffirmed its desire to build the Silvertown Tunnel – despite objections and reservations from Lewisham, Southwark, Hackney, Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham councils. If our own council opposed this, TfL wouldn’t be able to get away with it.
But Greenwich Council leader Chris Roberts remains committed to this scheme, and has used his propaganda weekly Greenwich Time to promote it. We don’t have a council-funded newspaper at our disposal, so please help us by printing off our flyer/poster.
We can’t let Chris Roberts bully us into this. Join us on 16 October, and find out more. Thank you.
Can you post a map? Not entirely sure where the Forum is.
Do you have any objections to Southwark residents coming along? I live close to the Rotherhithe tunnel and I am already concerned at the problems there and feel this is just going to make it worse. Not only that but as someone who cycles and drives through Greenwich quite a bit I really cannot see how building a second tunnel will do anyone any good.
It’s here: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=SE10+9EQ&hnear=London+SE10+9EQ,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=m&z=16
Of course other borough residents can come – it affects them too. If Silvertown and Blackwall are tolled, then displaced traffic is likely to head through Deptford and Rotherhithe to find alternative routes.
If someone can get me a hundered copies of the flyer I’ll post them in letterboxes in Tunnel Ave. My printer won’t cope with printing off that many!
Congrats for all your hard work Darryl.
There remains one thorny issue however. It appears from more than one set of data I have seen (not just the TFL one) that the majority of Greenwich Borough residents are currently in favour of a new river crossing somewhere east of Tower Bridge. The trouble is that every location has issues – albeit not to the extent that Silvertown has – and that there is a “danger” of an anti-Silvertown campaign turning into an anti crossing campaign. That may well be what some people want of course, especially non car drivers.
Any decision on an eastern crossing needs more empirical evidence (and your work is a vital part of that), but should the economic case be made based on more than a mayoral whim, then it would be stupid to ignore it. I have a suspicion that we in SE London will have to decide whether we are prepared to “take one for the team” should a crossing be more economically beneficial for UK plc than just our local area (as with the shires in the path of the High Speed rail link).
Unless one has extreme Green views, it is not going to be an easy one on many different fronts…
Chris, will you be able to stand up and “take one for the team” on the 16th?
Gordon – Thank you. I’ll drop you a note privately. I’m staring at a big stack of flyers now…
Chris – One of the main problems with these proposals is the fact that they are being promoted without *any* empirical evidence that the benefits outweigh the costs. Both crossings, because it isn’t just SIlvertown that’s an issue, are not the panacea to local congestion problems that they are currently being promoted as. In fact, the stated aim of TfL in their infamous “Assessment of Options” is to “regenerate the Lower Lea Valley”.
Even the economic argument is somewhat dubious. With the health impacts from increased pollution through induced traffic, how many businesses are going to want to relocate to our area? We certainly have a real issue with this regardless – TfL’s own projections state that Greenwich Borough will be close to the bottom for job creation and near the top for population growth.
I’m not sure what you mean about “taking one for the team”. It sounds deeply unpleasant, and if doing so means driving a bypass through already polluted Plumstead and the green spaces of Shooters Hill, or building an even larger rat-run for needless traffic through our already crowded spcaes, then I’m certainly not willing.
I wouldn’t call it an extreme Green view – more common sense. It’s fairly easy to say “yes” to something when you’re not being informed about the disadvantages.
Darryl. Yes, I will be there on the 16th.
Stewart. I am, and have been from the beginning, against the Silvertown crossing based on current evidence. There are numerous problems beyond the clear health/environmental ones – pinchpoint at Kidbrooke, tolling, the north end going (cable-car like) to an area few want to travel to (currently). doubling up on what we already have, rat-running when things go wrong, more-roads-mean-more cars etc etc. All of this is compounded by a quite appallingly biased campaign run by the Council in favour of this crossing through the Greenwich Pravda.
However I think we would all agree that informative empirical evidence has been thin on the ground – were there to be really compelling evidence pointing to serious economic benefit and solutions that would address the above negatives then I would be prepared to change my mind, as I guess most people would. My point about “extreme Green” is that if you were of that mindset you would not be prepared to countenance, I would imagine, anything that encouraged more transport by private motor car powered by the internal combustion engine, however good a scheme it was.
The more general point that I am floating is one of the “greater good” in terms of transport policy. I think it unlikely that there will be any direct economic benefit for local residents of any eastern crossing. However there could be serious indirect economic benefits to the inhabitants of the Riverside Manhattan we are building in Greenwich – a choice of working in north London/Essex/E Anglia/Herts without spending 1 hour sitting in the M102 car park in the morning rather than trekking into central London, for example. Beyond that is the problem of dealing with evidence, were it to be forthcoming, about improving coastal through-traffic, Kent traffic going north, NE London traffic going to Croydon, aswell as N London-SE London traffic. Does one oppose a crossing (or extra crossing) anywhere (Silvertown,Thamesmead, Bexley, Erith, Dartford?) even though it helps the country as a whole?
I personally think that there should be much greater compensation/payment for local residents/areas in planning decisions generally (but that is a huge subject!) and I would only want to consider a crossing if the impact on the local area was at least neutral, but I think that a “solutions not problems” approach for a campaign counters any “nimby, anti-growth” accusations.
A last point. Some years ago, when I was being pressured very hard to support the NOGOE campaign, and roundly castigated when I refused, I was struck by how many of the supporters of that campaign wanted the whole Olympics to be banned – Greenwich Park was a useful conduit for their general disgust with the Games as a whole. The aims of the individual battle may not be the same as the aims of the war as a whole.
Sorry, Chris – in my opinion, Greenwich residents are already ‘taking one for the team’ on behalf of South and East London by dealing with the traffic and pollution from the existing Blackwall Tunnel. Only a few years ago, The Thames Gateway Bridge was canned; partly due to local opposition in Bexley (who was taking one for the team then?) and partly due to cost – so what has changed so dramatically that the economic benefits now far outweigh the cost of another crossing in Greenwich?
If we look at the Congestion Charge, TFL admit that congestion has now risen back to pre-charging levels (despite, bizarrely, blaming ‘roadworks and pedestrians’ for the increase, rather than increased car use: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/6723.aspx), yet we are supposed to believe (without evidence) that a new crossing will liberate us from traffic forever; rather than fill up to pre-Silvertown levels in a few years, creating more pollution than we have now.
We’re not being asked to take one for the team, we’re being sold down the river.
Unfortunately I can’t make the meeting on the 16th, but am more than happy to get involved in the campaign in any way I can.
When people are faced with the simple question, “To what extent would you support or oppose the option of a new road tunnel between Silvertown and the Greenwich peninsula?”, without any evidence or research available apart from their own experience, the obvious answer is “yes”. Most would intuitively think that a new river crossing would help ease the hassle of their current journey.
Without wishing to pre-empt the potential case at the October 16th Public Meeting, there are a number of things that we need to think about. I can see that northbound journeys across the river may be made faster with a new bore, easing the current bottleneck where traffic flow is reduced to two lanes, but this raises very important points to think about.
The new bore will effectively double capacity. This is all well and good going southbound, but where will it go when it gets out? The A102 is only two lanes after the Sun in the Sands roundabout. At the roundabout itself, the A207 heading east is single lane, as is (effectively) the A2 going west. All of these roads are already at capacity and suffer tremendously in the evening rush hour. Where else can this extra traffic escape to? Well, there’s the A206 (single lane) towards Greenwich and Woolwich at the Woolwich Flyover or Bugsby’s Way which ultimately meets the A206 again after less than a mile. Can you imagine trying to drive on these roads with a doubling of traffic?
I’ve already illustrated a potential few on the south of the Thames, but how many similar ones will be created to the north? The initial impact may be mitigated by the location of the new tunnel but I’d say that this also means the effects will be far more widespread. Dramatically increasing capacity in one location without doing so in others only pushes the problem further out. This is why our neighbouring boroughs are so concerned.
This brings me back to pollution. Much of the (flimsy) case made earlier in the year highlighted the fact that free-moving traffic would cause less pollution than congested, stationary traffic. I don’t see much potential for creating these roads full of free-moving traffic, apart from a little either side of the crossings themselves, without a major road-widening programme. Are we really prepared to bulldoze much of the borough to do this? Do we even have the funds to do so? If we don’t we will soon see hazardous levels of pollution in even more parts of our local communities.
Much has also been made of the fact that there has been massive investment in public transport locally over the last decade or so, but you have to remember where we were before the DLR, Jubilee Line and Crossrail. South East London has been historically under-served and this investment has only taken us up to the 20th century levels seen in other parts of London. We need to be radical and think about local public transport needs for the 21st century. Car use is already declining in the capital and much of Greenwich’s additional 40% increase in population over the next two decades will be reliant on public transport – after all, most of the new builds lack car parking spaces and, with one of the lowest projected rises in employment, these people will need to get to work on the other side of the city somehow.
There are easier, less costly and more immediate ways to solve some of our problems. Some of our current congestion is caused by displaced journeys from other locations. If we were to abolish off-peak tolls at Dartford this would eliminate some of the HGV traffic clogging up our streets and free up capacity at Woolwich, which would itself do the same for the peninsula. Build a heavy-rail spur from Plumstead to Thamesmead (post-2018 Crossrail) to eliminate car and bus journeys – many people seem to take the bus to the Jubilee Line at North Greenwich due to the paucity of public transport in Thamesmead – and this would free up more road capacity. Some of our communities have public transport accessibility ratings more akin to rural England than our capital.
We’ll be “taking one for the team” regardless. Unless something is done to address car usage, and radical decisions are made on planning and public transport, Greenwich Borough will remain a rat-run for other people’s traffic.
Well said Stewart. DB – you can contact the campaign on firstname.lastname@example.org. All help is much appreciated!
As I said earlier, I am not in favour of Silvertown on current evidence and would prefer to see a) all tolls removed at Dartford and b) a crossing further east than Blackwall. But, to avoid the criticism that this is a small minded nimby approach at a time when UK plc needs all the help it can get, an anti Silvertown campaign has to take one of two routes in my view. Oppose all eastern road crossings or come up with an alternative crossing solution, preferably more geographically sensible than Silvertown itself. Both are not easy, unless there is good evidence that a crossing would have zero effect on our regions economic well-being (by region I mean SE England or wider).
Yes any eastern crossing is going to be bigger and more intrusive than anything further upstream due to the size of the river here. But the huge jams at Dartford and Blackwall, especially at rush hour and when something goes wrong, will not be solved by extra public transport links, important though they are. I am no supporter of Greenwich being the pollutant dustbin for SE England but a blanket “no-roads here/Newbury by-pass type” campaign will run into big problems in the current economic climate I suspect.
Additional capacity at Dartford makes far more sense than doing so at Blackwall/Silvertown, or even Gallions. 160k versus 50k current daily journeys and there is already infrastructure in place, i.e. one of the largest motorways in the country.
I’d also argue that many of the cross-river journeys at Dartford could be achieved by public transport if the means to do so were available.
I’m not in favour of increasing capacity at Dartford, it’ll just fill up, as every expansion on the M25 has done since it was built…
I agree that many of the cross-river journeys could be done with better (or any) public transport.
So this probably makes me an extreme Green in Chris’s eyes!
I hear what you’re saying, Chris, and you do raise some devil’s advocate type points. But I’m not sure the analogy of “taking one for the team” really applies here. This assumes that a crossing would be helpful, yet more roads = more cars and more pollution, which is already too high. So, to take one for the team would actually be to say no to a new crossing! Protecting this and the next generation’s health, reducing congestion and road traffic accidents by not building the new roads would be the best thing to do for the country.
In the UK, especially under the current government, many people have the idea that more building or road building is automatically a good thing, yet there are many factors to consider – not least health, the environment and landscapes we’ll lose, the community already there, quality of life, noise etc and where all the money flows (usually straight into the developers’ pockets). NHS costs, climate change and stressed/unhealthy kids also count negatively towards UK plc’s economy.
The riverside Manhattan on the Peninsula is going to be a tricky issue, and I think this is one reason Greenwich Council are backing a new crossing here, because they’ve given the green light (ho ho) to so much development there that they know there’ll be demand from the new residents for a road crossing.
What many supporters of the new roads may not realise is just how much road-widening, demolition and development will have to take place either side of the river, as the tunnel’s effects won’t just end at the shoreline, there will have to be enough road space for the vehicles travelling through the Borough’s roads and years of roadworks etc to accommodate this, particularly once they realise that there needs to be more room for all the extra commuter vehicles. Once constructed, you won’t be able to object to any further plans because how can you hold up what’s needed for a major tunnel? It’ll be too big to challenge, and if you do try you’ll get all the silly nimby accusations (but who doesn’t care about their local area anyway?). So, best to challenge it now while it’s still a threat rather than decided.
As for the aims of the campaign, well I think we need to face the clear and present danger of the proposed crossing here before we worry about wider aims. In every campaign there will be a range of opinions but most will agree on the core targets. Right now there’s one big worry and we can’t spend time and energy faffing about discussing wider aims and what people might want after this.
By the way, seems like with the forthcoming train issues at London Bridge and no more going to Charing Cross from Greenwich line stations, Greenwich is taking one for the team in terms of transport anyway.
Joe. You are right that it is worth getting stuck in early – and there is a great deal of consultation and evidence gathering still to be done. That may well result in a shelving of the plans though I doubt it. However I disagree that you should ignore the bigger picture – not when the majority of the public are likely to be against the campaign, albeit they may have been manipulated, and when you have a formidable opponent in the shape of Greenwich Council.
Re Dartford – I understand that there is capacity there but the 3 different options are creating a lot of upset as one would imagine.
Yes perhaps I am being a devils advocate and I don’t want to diminish all the hard work you guys have done on the monitoring, but a no-roads strategy is too easy to shoot down (however long term sensible that would be) and a “not-in-my-backyard”, without an alternative, is too dangerous when those in favour will look at Silvertown as the easiest option, taking into account the valid point about hinterland infrastructure made above.
Maybe my view is too nuanced a PR approach relative to all-out opposition. The latter will need much bigger public support than it currently has.
Yes, one thing the campaign must do is raise awareness amongst the wider public about just why a road crossing will end up being bad for them and the Borough. It’s true, the campaign must be aware of PR tactics and be ready to counter tricky accusations and questions.
It’s very easy for the Council, with its access to funding, to make a new crossing seem essential, especially when promoted in a shiny way in Greenwich Time. Of course the true costs and the damage the crossing will bring need to be brought to the wider public’s attention urgently. Hopefully the meeting on the 16th will help kick-start this movement.
Well said both Stewart and Joe, some excellent points, which are far from radical but just seriously good sense to anybody who has the foresight to see the danger inherent in looking to roads as a transport solution above all others. These arguments are not new, and certainly not ‘Greenham Common’ and ‘Newbury By Pass’ far left views any more.
As for Chris, I’m afraid you confuse me as to where you will stand on this issue. Some may say you are taking the stance of which Lib Dem’s are ‘sometimes’ accused, that of being afraid to come to a decision but happy to look at all the options in detail and at length and reach a compromise. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but please Chris, what is your own personal feeling about whether the Silvertown Tunnel would be good or bad for Greenwich? As the representative for the locality, would you support or oppose the tunnel here? Your website seems to imply that you would be opposed, and you more than many should have had time to view the arguments for and against in detail at meetings you have attended. I’m not saying that you would convince me to support this proposal even if you did express wholehearted support, albeit for so called ‘economic reasons’ (though short sighted ones, suited to a 4 yearly government strategy rather than a long term transport policy) but it would be good to know where your feelings lie.
As for being of economic benefit to the nation, are we local residents and businesses going to be economically productive ourselves, when our adults and children suffer from lung diseases contributed to or directly caused by the excesses of road traffic congestion, in turn largely caused by a lack of a comprehensive forward looking public transport and cycle network? By the way Chris, as i don’t know you personally I’m afraid, are you a cyclist or a motorist in the main?
Just on Dartford, the likely solution will be a mixture of removing the toll booths next year, with the likelihood that an additional crossing will be built linking east Gravesend and Tilbury. The idea of an additional crossing at Dartford would be a nightmare, and Swanscombe is being eyed up for bigger things then a bridge/tunnel.
As for Slivertown, it’s the wrong place for an additional crossing, but there is a need for better crossings east of there, Thames Gateway Bridge should have been built, and should be revived, especially as the current mayor will be out of City Hall in 2016, and if won by a Labour candidate, the need to placate voters in Bexley will be lower
I see my nuanced comment above has been proved right!
Yes – as you can see from my own website I have consistently opposed Silvertown, consistently supported a river crossing east of Tower Bridge and consistently favoured a crossing between Blackwall and Dartford. I will admit to not knowing where is best – I have also said consistently, as have many others – that there has been not nearly enough empirical evidence on various fronts (environmental. logistical, economic) to make a reasoned judgement on where. I would include Silvertown in this information vacuum – hence my comment that a powerful body of evidence in favour of Silvertown could not be ignored – and we have got very little of it so far – maybe that in itself tells a story. On current evidence I would not support a Silvertown tunnel and I think it would be, net, bad for Greenwich.
I was trying to inject some realism into the debate re the wider economic benefit of a crossing and the issues about a crossing east of Silvertown as part of the campaign. I tend to agree with Sacha’s comments. That is not the view of all Lib Dem members as you can see from this thread.
I am more than prepared to take a black and white view – and if you knew me I think you would agree – Lewisham Hospital, Greenwich Park, Woolwich Manhatten, Greenwich Time are 4 that come to mind immediately. This is less clear cut in my opinion – my own view is probably more sympathetic to the average car and truck driver than the majority of people who will oppose this crossing, although I travel by car, bus and train fairly equally – and yes I cycle as well.
I’ve just had heart surgery but will do my best to be there.
The M25 should be turned into what it was meant to be, a London bypass with exits restricted to the motorways.
As I’ve said before about the Tunnel, check out the phone numbers of the big lorries using it. Many are not local, they just use us as a short cut which is free. The only effect they have on our community is pollution — both noise and chemical.
A late post on this topic to say that Greenwich Lib Dems have today (5th Nov) come out officially as opposed to both the Silvertown and the Gallions Reach crossings. http://greenwich-libdems.org.uk/en/article/2013/742448/greenwich-lib-dems-oppose-river-crossings-proposals
It has been a months long process of meetings, member surveys, site visits and so on, and the No to Silvertown information and meetings have been very, very useful in our deliberations. Given the current popularity of these schemes we are not exactly chasing votes, to put it mildly, but we hope that other groups and parties in the Borough will join us in opposing these proposals. I have personally blogged on the decision as well http://chrissmithlibdem.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/greenwich-lib-dems-oppose-river-crossings/
Well done for taking the ‘political lead’ here Chris and the Lib Dems, and to Daryll and team for all their hard work so far providing background stats/air quality etc. This is a good start for the ‘opposers’!
There was a comment recently about the plans for Ikea and how they would increase car traffic, as you ‘can’t carry much furniture on a bike’. I think the plans should only be agreed if cycle lanes are built to/from store and limited car parking with high charges, free delivery of items by Ikea van, good public transport facilities etc. This should be an improvement to the area, but can only be so if cars are limited and alternatives found.
This morning cycling to work in Greenwich i passed and stopped to speak to a very fit looking retired couple probably in their early seventies in Blackheath, about to embark on their recumbent 3 wheeler bikes ( made in Falmouth apparently by http://www.icetrikes.co/ ) loaded with empty shopping bags on the back, off on their regular journey to Borough market for weekly shop, including the fresh fish stall. when i asked them whether they felt it rather dangerous a journey, they emphatically both said ‘no’, and obviously looked forward to it-and their healthy glow was certainly not from high blood pressure! They told me their appetites were very healthy too, the gentleman enjoying the odd ‘two’ creme brulees for dessert, without a sign of diabetes between them. This shows that shopping can be tackled and enjoyed by all ages without a car.
Take a look at the website here for an illuminating study of cycling in Amsterdam-what a world of difference to cycling in London. treat yourselves to a cuppa and watch it for five mins, see how relaxed they all look, and how healthy. And if you’re a mum who drives their kids on the school run-take a look and see how different it could be for your lives and your kids lives.
But we all need to take a stance on these issues, as Daryll, his team, and thankfully now the Lib Dems have done. Well done again to you all!
Go team Darryl 😉
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STANDING WITH NEIGHBORS DESPITE THE STORM
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domain: sociology


text:
ª 2007 The Authors Journal compilation ª 2007 Blackwell Munksgaard doi: 10.1111/j.1747-0285.2007.00534.x
Chem Biol Drug Des 2007; 70: 13–18 Research Article
Nanoparticles Featuring Amino Acid-functionalized Side Chains as DNA Receptors Partha S. Ghosh, Gang Han, Belma Erdogan, Olga Rosado, Sai Archana Krovi and Vincent M. Rotello* Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA *Corresponding author: Vincent M. Rotello, [email protected]
A family of nanoparticles has been fabricated featuring cationic amino acid-based side chains. This controlled surface modification provides a tool to investigate the effect of various non-covalent interactions at the nanoparticle–DNA interface. The binding affinities of these nanoparticles towards DNA were determined using fluorescence, exhibiting more than threefold modulation in binding a 37-mer DNA strand. The secondary structure of the DNA strand was distorted upon nanoparticle binding, with the extent of distortion dependent on the structure of amino acid side chain. Key words: amino acid, DNA, nanoparticle Received 1 June 2007, revised 1 June 2007 and accepted for publication 2 June 2007
Synthetic scaffolds that can recognize DNA effectively provide tools for treating various diseases of both genetic and acquired origin (1). These receptors can recognize DNA via electrostatic interaction, intercalation or major/minor groove binding, thus controlling multiple cellular processes, such as replication and transcription (2–4). Additionally, such materials featuring high affinity towards DNA can also be potential transfection vectors for transporting genetic materials (e.g. plasmid DNA, siRNA or decoy DNA) into living cells in vitro and in vivo (5–8). The large protein–DNA interface areas and the diversity of non-covalent interactions at the interface, such as electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen-bonding and p)p interactions must be considered when designing synthetic receptors for DNA recognitions (9–10). To this end, a variety of synthetic materials has been developed for DNA binding, including polymers (11–13), dendrimers (14) and functional nanomaterials (15). These systems have been designed to bind DNA in either non-specific or specific fashion, thus modulating both the structure and function of bound DNA molecules (16,17).
Gold nanoparticles provide an alternate scaffold for efficient DNA recognition, exploiting both the size and controlled surface functionality of these systems (18,19). In our earlier studies, we have demonstrated that trimethylammonium-functionalized cationic nanoparticles bind with phosphate backbone of DNA primarily through electrostatic interaction (20). The binding affinity was high enough to inhibit the transcription by T7 RNA polymerase in vitro (21). Moreover, these cationic nanoparticles have the ability of transfection in mammalian cells (22). In addition to the electrostatic interaction between cationic nanoparticle and phosphate backbone of the DNA, other non-covalent interactions should have an important impact on DNA binding (23). To explore the structural effects of the head groups on DNA binding, a library of cationic nanoparticles was fabricated via functionalization with naturally occurring L-amino acids (Figure 1). The structural diversity of amino acid side chain provides an additional handle to probe the effect of different non-covalent interactions in DNA binding.
Materials and Methods Materials All chemicals were purchased from Aldrich (St Louis, MO, USA) and used as received. Solvents were bought from Pharmco-Aaper (Brookfield, CT, USA) and used as received except dichloromethane and toluene which were distilled in the presence of calcium hydride. The products were purified by column chromatography over silica gel (SiO2, particle size 40–63 lm). Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled DNA was purchased from Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT, Coralville, IA, USA).
Ligand synthesis Preparation of tritylmercaptoundecanol A 60 mL solution of trityl thiol (13.2 g, 48 mmol) in 1:1 ethanol– benzene mixture was slowly added to a stirred solution (60 mL) of 11-bromoundecanol (10 g, 40 mmol) in 1:1 ethanol–benzene mixture at room temperature. After cooling the reaction mixture to 0 C, 10% aqueous NaOH solution (1.92 g, 48 mmol) was added into the flask and the reaction was continued overnight at room temperature. The solvents were removed in vacuo and saturated sodium bicarbonate solution was added. The compound was extracted with dichloromethane. The organic layer was washed with brine, dried 13
Ghosh et al.
methanol–dichloromethane (L-Leu, L-Phe andD-/L-Trp) or washing with hexane and diethylether (L-Lys and L-Arg).
+ = –NH3 = Amino acid side chain (B)
Nanoparticle synthesis Amino acid-functionalized nanoparticles As a general protocol, 50 mg of 1-pentanethiol protected gold nanoparticles (Au_C5) and 100 mg of the thiol ligand were dissolved in dichloromethane in two separate vials. After purging both solutions with argon for 30 min, the ligand solution was poured into the particle solution. The place-exchange reaction was continued for 48 h at room temperature. The amino acid-coated nanoparticles were precipitated out from the solution and the precipitate was purified by centrifugation using dichloromethane to remove the free thiols. NMR characterization of these particles in D2O showed a high exchange of the new thiol and absence of any free ligands.
Au_TEG-OH Tetraethylenglycol (TEG)-coated neutral nanoparticle was prepared according to the literature (24).
Figure 1: Schematic representation of (A) amino acid-functionalized nanoparticle and (B) interaction between DNA and amino acidcoated nanoparticle (drawn to scale).
over anhydrous Na2SO4 and concentrated. The product was purified by flash column chromatography using a mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane (1:3, v/v) to afford the alcohol in 94% yield.
General procedure for the conjugation of amino acids The free carboxylic acid of Boc-amino acid (1.38 mmol, e.g. 366 mg Boc-L-phenylalanine) was activated using N,N ¢-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC; 285 mg, 1.38 mmol) and 4-(dimethylamino) pyridine (DMAP; 168 mg, 1.38 mmol) in 20 mL of dry dichloromethane at 0 C. After 10 min of stirring, the trityl protected alcohol (500 mg, 1.12 mmol) was added. The reaction was continued overnight at room temperature. The white solid (dicyclohexylurea) was filtered out and the filtrate was washed with water. After evaporating the solvent, the residue was purified by flash chromatography on silica to yield the conjugated product (approximately 70–85%).
Fluorescence titration Fluorescence titration was carried out in a 1 cm quartz cuvette on a Shimadzu (Columbia, MD, USA) RF-5301 PC spectrofluorophotometer at room temperature (ca. 25 C). FITC fluorescence of 50 nM DNA was monitored with addition of nanoparticle solution (4 lM NP + 50 nM DNA) in 5 mM AcOH/NaOH buffer (pH ¼ 5.0) to ensure the complete protonation of amine groups on the particle surface. The fluorescence spectra were acquired from 490 to 600 nm after exciting the sample at 480 nm. The excitation and emission slit widths were 3 nm and 5 nm, respectively.
Circular dichroism Circular dichroism (CD) experiments were performed on a Jasco (Easton, MD, USA) 720 spectrophotometer in a 1 cm quartz cuvette. CD spectra of 0.25 lM DNA were collected with addition of nanoparticle solution (40 lM NP + 0.25 lM DNA) in 5 mM AcOH/NaOH buffer (pH ¼ 5.0). After 5 min of equilibration at 25 C, the spectra were recorded as an average of three scans from 300 to 240 nm with 16 seconds response and 10 nm/min scan rate. The final spectra were obtained after subtraction of the blank.
Results and Discussions General procedure for deprotection The amino acid-conjugated product (1 mmol, e.g. 690 mg of TritylS-C11-Phe-Boc) was dissolved in 15 mL of dry distilled dichloromethane under argon. Addition of TFA (1.55 mL, 20 mmol) turned the solution yellow in colour. The yellow colour started to disappear after addition of triisopropylsilane (TIPS; 0.22 mL, 1.1 mmol). After 6 h, the reaction was quenched with water and extracted with dichloromethane. The organic layer was evaporated and the product was purified by column chromatography using 1:19 mixture (v/v) of 14
Fabrication of amino acid-functionalized nanoparticles In the present study, a series of amino acid-conjugated nanoparticles was synthesized to provide the structural diversity on the particle surface (25). The structural diversity of these systems originates from the side chains of amino acids. The fabrication of nanoparticles was straightforward. The thiol ligands were synthesized in three steps with high yields (Scheme 1). Trityl protected alcohol was prepared as the starting material for amino acid conjugation by reacting trityl thiol Chem Biol Drug Des 2007; 70: 13–18
Scheme 1: Synthesis of amino acid-conjugated thiol ligands.
Scheme 2: Fabrication of amino acid-coated cationic nanoparticles through place-exchange reaction.
with 11-bromoundecanol. In the next step, the alcohol terminal was coupled to the free carboxylic acid of Boc-protected amino acid using DCC/DMAP. The deprotection was carried out using TFA/TIPS to simultaneously deprotect the thiol and amine groups at the termini of ligands. The thiols were incorporated onto the particle surface via well known Murray place-exchange reaction (26) with 1-pentanethiol-coated gold nanoparticles (Scheme 2).
Fluorescence titration Fluorescence titrations were carried out to investigate the binding event between DNA and nanoparticles. A FITC-labelled 37-mer DNA was used for these studies: the sequence consists of promoter region (17 bases) recognized by T7 RNA polymerase and a template (20 bases) for RNA synthesis (see Supplementary Material). Upon binding of the DNA on particle surface, FITC fluorescence was quenched due to energy transfer from the fluorophore to gold core (19). The effect of nanoparticle absorbance on emission intensity was corrected using a non-interacting neutral TEG-OH nanoparticle (25). The corrected intensities were plotted against nanoparticle concentrations. The binding constants and the stoichiometries of nanoparticles–DNA complexations (binding ratios) were determined by nonlinear curve fitting (Figure 2; 25). Chem Biol Drug Des 2007; 70: 13–18
Figure 2: The binding curve of DNA (50 nM) with nanoparticles from fluorescence titration in 5 mM AcOH/NaOH buffer (pH ¼ 5.0). The calculated binding constants and binding ratios from the curve fitting have been summarized in Table 1. Nanoparticles with cationic side chains have higher binding affinity for DNA 15
Ghosh et al.
Table 1: The calculated binding constants (K) and binding ratios (n) of DNA–nanoparticle interaction from nonlinear curve fitting K/106 (M)1)
Nature of side chain
NP_L-Phe NP_L-Trp NP_L-Leu NP_D-Trp
49 57 77 47
1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0
compared to the nanoparticles bearing neutral hydrophobic side chains. NP_L-Lys shows the strongest attraction towards DNA, approximately threefold higher than NP_L-Phe, the weakest one, indicating that the binding affinity can be varied moderately via functionalization of the nanoparticle surface. The trend in binding ratios indicates that the hydrophilic nanoparticles can accommodate more DNA on their surfaces than the hydrophobic particles. The results suggest that the electrostatic interaction dominates over hydrophobic interaction in nanoparticle–DNA interaction. Furthermore, we found that the chiral configuration of amino acid on nanoparticle surface does not influence the binding affinity towards DNA significantly (compare NP_L-Trp and NP_D-Trp in Table 1).
Circular dichroism The conformational change of DNA upon interacting with the functionalized nanoparticles was investigated by CD. Recently, we have reported that quaternary ammonium-functionalized nanoparticles change the CD signal of DNA to a substantial extent (27). Similarly, the amine-terminated cationic nanoparticles in this study (e.g. NP_L-Phe) distort the DNA secondary structure (Figure 3A), as demonstrated by the decrease in ellipticity at 280 nm upon addition of nanoparticles. We continued our investigation on the structural changes of DNA with different amino acid-functionalized nanoparticles. CD spectra were collected after incubation of DNA (0.25 lM) with amino acid-functionalized nanoparticles. In case of nanoparticles with hydrophobic side chains, the aromatic side chains (i.e. NP_L-Trp and NP_L-Phe) were found to unwind the DNA strand more effectively compared to the aliphatic side chains (i.e. NP_L-Leu; Figure 3B). This enhanced unwinding arises most likely from p)p stacking of the aromatic rings on the side chains with DNA bases (28). For nanoparticles with hydrophilic side chains, NP_L-Arg perturbs the DNA structure more than NP_L-Lys (Figure 3C). This effect can be attributed to the possibility of stable hydrogen bonding between the guanine moiety of arginine and interior DNA bases (29).
Conclusions In conclusion, amino acid-functionalized gold nanoparticles provide a versatile scaffold for recognition of DNA. The binding affinity varies depending on the amino acid structure. Moreover, these nanoparticles perturb the DNA structure and the extent of unwinding depends on the amino acid side chain. The present study suggests 16
Figure 3: Circular dichroism spectra of 37-mer double-stranded DNA (0.25 lM) in 5 mM AcOH/NaOH buffer (pH ¼ 5.0). (A) Decrease in elipticity at 280 nm (h280) upon addition of cationic nanoparticles into DNA solution. Change in CD spectra of DNA by (B) hydrophobic nanoparticles and (C) hydrophilic nanoparticles (NP ¼0.6 lM).
Chem Biol Drug Des 2007; 70: 13–18
that the efficiency of gene regulation or gene delivery may be modulated using this new class of nanoparticles featuring structural diversity, which is under current investigation.
Acknowledgments This research was supported by NIH grant GM 077173. We thank Dr C.-C. You (UMass-Amherst) and Prof. Craig Martin (UMass-Amherst) for their assistance.
References 1. Verma I.M., Somia N. (1997) Gene therapy – promises, problems and prospects. Nature;389:239–242. 2. Zadmard R., Schrader T. (2006) DNA recognition with large calixarene dimers. Angew Chem Int Ed;45:2703–2706. 3. Blanco J.B., Vazquez O., Martinez-Costas J., Castedo L., Mascarenas J.L. (2005) High affinity, sequence specific DNA binding by synthetic tripyrrole-peptide conjugates. Chem-A Eur J;11: 4171–4178. 4. Kielkopf C.L., Baird E.E., Dervan P.D., Rees D.C. (1998) Structural basis for G center dot C recognition in the DNA minor groove. Nat Struct Biol;5:104–109. 5. Boussif O., Lezoualch F., Zanta M.A., Mergny M.D., Scherman D., Demeneix B., Behr J.P. (1995) A versatile vector for gene and oligonucleotide transfer into cells in culture and in-vivo – polyethylenimine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A;92:7297–7301. 6. Kakizawa Y., Furukawa S., Kataoka K. (2004) Block copolymercoated calcium phosphate nanoparticles sensing intracellular environment for oligodeoxynucleotide and siRNA delivery. J Control Release;97:345–356. 7. Je J.Y., Cho Y.S., Kim S.K. (2006) Characterization of (aminoethyl)chitin/DNA nanoparticle for gene delivery. Biomacromolecules;7:3448–3451. 8. Greenland J.R., Liu H.N., Berry D., Anderson D.G., Kim W.K., Irvine D.J., Langer R., Letvin N.L. (2005) beta-amino ester polymers facilitate in vivo DNA transfection and adjuvant plasmid DNA immunization. Mol Ther;12:164–170. 9. Jantz D., Amann B.T., Gatto G.J., Berg J.M. (2004) The design of functional DNA-binding proteins based on zinc finger domains. Chem Rev;104:789–799. 10. Vazquez M.E., Caamano A.M., Mascarenas J.L. (2003) From transcription factors to designed sequence-specific DNA-binding peptides. Chem Soc Rev;32:338–349. 11. Wang C., Ge Q., Ting D., Nguyen D., Shen H.R., Chen J.Z., Eisen H.N., Heller J., Langer R., Putnam D. (2004) Molecularly engineered poly(ortho ester) microspheres for enhanced delivery of DNA vaccines. Nat Mater;3:190–196. 12. Balakirev M., Schoehn G., Chroboczek J. (2000) Lipoic acidderived amphiphiles for redox-controlled DNA delivery. Chem Biol;7:813–819. 13. Thomas M., Lu J.J., Ge Q., Zhang C.C., Chen J.Z., Klibanov A.M. (2005) Full deacylation of polyethylenimine dramatically boosts its gene delivery efficiency and specificity to mouse lung. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A;102:5679–5684.
Chem Biol Drug Des 2007; 70: 13–18
14. Luo D., Haverstick K., Belcheva N., Han E., Saltzman W.M. (2002) Poly(ethylene glycol)-conjugated PAMAM dendrimer for biocompatible, high-efficiency DNA delivery. Macromolecules;35:3456–3462. 15. Chowdhury E.H., Akaike T. (2005) Bio-functional inorganic materials: an attractive branch of gene-based nano-medicine delivery for 21st century. Curr Gene Ther;5:669–676. 16. Nguyen-Hackley D.H., Ramm E., Taylor C.M., Joung J.K., Dervan P.B., Pabo C.O. (2004) Allosteric inhibition of zinc-finger binding in the major groove of DNA by minor-groove binding ligands. Biochemistry;43:3880–3890. 17. Oyoshi T., Kawakami W., Narita A., Bando T., Sugiyama H. (2003) Inhibition of transcription at a coding sequence by alkylating polyamide. J Am Chem Soc;125:4752–4754. 18. Thomas M., Klibanov A.M. (2003) Conjugation to gold nanoparticles enhances polyethylenimine's transfer of plasmid DNA into mammalian cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A;100: 9138–9143. 19. Han G., You C.C., Kim B.J., Turingan R.S., Forbes N.S., Martin C.T., Rotello V.M. (2006) Light-regulated release of DNA and its delivery to nuclei by means of photolabile gold nanoparticles. Angew Chem Int Ed;45:3165–3169. 20. McIntosh C.M., Esposito E.A., Boal A.K., Simard J.M., Martin C.T., Rotello V.M. (2001) Inhibition of DNA transcription using cationic mixed monolayer protected gold clusters. J Am Chem Soc;123:7626–7629. 21. Han G., Chari N.S., Verma A., Hong R., Martin C.T., Rotello V.M. (2005) Controlled recovery of the transcription of nanoparticlebound DNA by intracellular concentrations of glutathione. Bioconjug Chem;16:1356–1359. 22. Sandhu K.K., McIntosh C.M., Simard J.M., Smith S.W., Rotello V.M. (2002) Gold nanoparticle-mediated transfection of mammalian cells. Bioconjug Chem;13:3–6. 23. Dervan P.B. (2001) Molecular recognition of DNA by small molecules. Bioorg Med Chem;9:2215–2235. 24. Bayraktar H., Ghosh P.S., Rotello V.M., Knapp M.J. (2006) Disruption of protein-protein interactions using nanoparticles: inhibition of cytochrome c peroxidase. Chem Commun;13: 1390–1392. 25. You C.C., De M., Han G., Rotello V.M. (2005) Tunable inhibition and denaturation of alpha-chymotrypsin with amino acidfunctionalized gold nanoparticles. J Am Chem Soc;127: 12873–12881. 26. Hostetler M.J., Templeton A.C., Murray R.W. (1999) Dynamics of place-exchange reactions on monolayer-protected gold cluster molecules. Langmuir;15:3782–3789. 27. Goodman C.M., Chari N.S., Han G., Hong R., Ghosh P., Rotello V.M. (2006) DNA-binding by functionalized gold nanoparticles: mechanism and structural requirements. Chem Biol Drug Design;67:297–304. 28. Kikuta E., Murata M., Katsube N., Koike T., Kimura E. (1999) Novel recognition of thymine base in double-stranded DNA by zinc(II)-macrocyclic tetraamine complexes appended with aromatic groups. J Am Chem Soc;121:5426–5436. 29. Hermann T., Patel D.J. (2000) Biochemistry – adaptive recognition by nucleic acid aptamers. Science;287:820–825.
Ghosh et al.
Supplementary Material The following supplementary material is available for this article:
Please note: Blackwell Publishing are not responsible for the content or functionality of any supplementary materials supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing material) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
Appendix S1. The DNA sequence and NMR data. This material is available as part of the online article from: http:// www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1747-0285.2007. 00534.x (This link will take you to the article abstract).
Chem Biol Drug Des 2007; 70: 13–18

domain: chemistry


Floor mounted tank holder for “B” size cylinders. It can be used as quick and secure floor stowage for “B” size cylinders.
The product includes plus nuts required for installation. Consider purchasing our Plus Nut Tool (#P9902) if you don’t already have a plus nut installation tool.
6.75" D x 10" H


text:
Chloe Rose biography
Date of Birth: October 25, 1994
Chloe Rose was born and raised in Toronto. She is best known for playing soccer star Katie Matlin on the hit TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Since then, she has played roles in several feature films, including the horror Hellions (2015), the drama Unless (2016) starring Catherine Keener and Pyewacket (2017) opposite Laurie Holden.
Chloe Rose Filmography
Running Time: 93 min.
October 14, 2016 - Toronto, Vancouver
October 14, 2016 - Toronto, Vancouver - October 14, 2016 - Toronto, Vancouver
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Catherine Keener, Hannah Gross, Matt Craven, Chloe Rose, Brendan Coyle, Martha Henry, Linda Kash

domain: celebrity


text:
plaster, inscribed with the form of a tabula ansata. From a group originally plastered over the openings of loculi,
which measure approximately:
1.75 x h:
Text: ii inscribed within the tabula ansata; i to the left of the tabula ansata and iii to the right.
Date: Fourth century CE (context)
Translation source: Elmayer, 1997
Amolim years 103
Translation source: Kerr, 2010
Lim lived 52 years.
Translation by: Caroline Barron
(ii): Lim lived 52 years.
Bibliography: Mentioned and indexed IRT, 1952, 855, whence mentioned IRT, 2009, 855; Bartoccini, 1928c 39, p. 198; p. 193, tav. II, whence EDCS 75200134, Elmayer, 1997, 15, p.338, Kerr, 2010 214, no.7 (where see bibliography)
None available (2021).

domain: library


text:
Yes, it’s that time of the year again! Pumpkins are a joy to look at and to eat!
Pumpkins originate from this continent and were a staple of Native American cuisine. They were dried and then ground into flour – a very Interesting concept! Pumpkin flour is commercially available nowadays and can be a great substitute to white flour.
The majority of this delicious fruit is now grown for decoration and pumpkins can grow to over 600 pounds! However, if you are buying a pumpkin for eating, you want to go for smallish pumpkins that are somewhat heavy for their size. These will be more flavorful and tender for eating.
Pumpkins are delicious fall gifts that offer us their bright orange, flavorful flesh that is so good for:
• The heart. High in fiber and potassium and vitamin C, pumpkins support heart health, reduce high blood pressure and risk of stroke.
• The eyes. Pumpkins provide us with high amounts of carotenes including beta-carotenes, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are powerful antioxidants with special affinity to the eyes.
• The immune system. High vitamin C and beta-carotenes boost immunity and protect us from cancer.
• Blood sugar regulation. Low in carbohydrates and high in fiber, pumpkin helps control blood sugar and reduce risk of diabetes.
And don’t forget about Pumpkin seeds! When I cook or carve a pumpkin I always save the seeds, remove the fibers around them, rinse and let them dry. You can roast the seeds slightly but I like them just raw. Here are some of their health benefits:
• High in protein and fiber content, making them excellent food for blood sugar issues.
• Rich in minerals, some that most of us are deficient in like zinc, magnesium etc.
• Great source of Omega-3 fatty acids which help increase HDL – the good cholesterol.
• Important food for men because they benefit prostate health
What we can do with pumpkins
Yes, of course we can make pies with them! There are plenty of recipes for traditional pumpkin pies but I would like to offer my recipe Pumpkin Pie With a Twist -a gluten-free, dairy-free and egg free variation for some of us who are dealing with food sensitivities.
You can also make Pumpkin Puree and eat it as a side dish, add it to spice up oatmeal or rice, or use it to make your own pumpkin pies.

domain: food


text:
Reported deaths from the Covid-19 jabs are rising quickly. In fact, Covid-19 vaccine deaths are up a whopping 10% since the last available data one week ago!
If you think the Covid-19 jabs are safe, then you are not looking at the CDC’s own data. As of September 24, 2021, data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) indicates 16,927 people have died from Covid-19 vaccines. This is an increase of 1,541 people since the CDC’s data report on September 17, 2021.
How can the mainstream media, the establishment healthcare apparatus, and public health officials worldwide claim that the Covid-19 investigational vaccines are safe?? Safe compared to what? Taking poison?
These Covid-19 gene therapy jabs certainly weren’t “safe” for the 16,927 people that died.

domain: medical


text:
After several weeks of thinking about (and driving and hiking near) various Colorado 14ers, we finally managed to make our way to the top of one. It was so much fun, we hopped over to the one next to it as well.
In an attempt to see the sunrise from the top of the mountain, we got up ridiculously early and started at O-dark-thirty. A couple minor miscalculations, and the sun was already shining (just barely) when we reached the summit of Mount Belford. It wasn't for a lack of trying, although it's quite a steep haul up the trail (complete with rock stairs, making it seem like climbing a fairy tale castle in the dark). We moved the best I could, but actually we were happy for sunshine when we got to the top. It was ridiculously windy and we chilled off fast while eating our summit chocolate.
Quick pics, time to get going again!
John attempting to harness some solar energy:
Down a steep drop to a saddle, then the trail over to Mount Oxford next door:
Looking back at Mount Belford in the glorious morning sun:
We found a huddle spot on the top of Mount Oxford, a little warmer now. The impetus to jump up and go was watching a pika come check us out and then disappear under the rocks beneath our feet!
One more summit shot, John is ready to run again:
We went back close to the top of Mount Belford, then took the trail around to Elkhead Pass. Looking over toward Missouri Mountain:
Pretty wide open spaces:
The next valley over:
We had considered climbing up Missouri as well, but one of my knees was talking to me on the downhill, so we decided to hold off on more 14ers for another day.

domain: geography


text:
Sushi is a representative Japanese food.
Sushi is an art of food created by skilled professionals. It is believed it takes so many years to learn how to make sushi - For example, 3 years for cooking rice, 5 years for making vinegared rice and through lifetime for shaping sushi. Putting ingredients on rice is actually simple, but that is also why making sushi is complicated and requires skills.
However, it doesn’t mean only professionals can make sushi. As the recipe is actually simple, it can be enjoyed/cooked by anyone in different ways, and this is the biggest attraction of sushi.
Today we are going to introduce basics of making sushi.
Although making sushi seems simple (just put raw fish on rice), you need several processes.
Make Vinegared Rice
Rice for sushi is called “Shari”, which is made by mixing sushi vinegar (consisting of vinegar, sugar and salt in certain proportions) with rice. When cooking rice, a piece of dried kelp and a little Japanese sake, etc. are added.
For making sushi vinegar, you can refer to the following, but adjust the amount as needed. It is recommended to make it one day prior to cooking sushi and stir it sometimes so that sugar and salt are fully dissolved.
- For rice of 1 Go (*1 Go = approx. 180 mL): 1+2/3 tbsp of vinegar, 1 tsp of salt, 1+2/3 tbsp of sugar
- For rice of 2 Go: 2+2/3 tbsp of vinegar, 1+1/2 tsp of salt, 2+2/3 tbsp of sugar
- For rice of 3 Go: 4 tbsp of vinegar, 1+2/3 tsp of salt, 4 tbsp of sugar
- For rice of 5 Go: 7 tbsp of vinegar, 1+1/3 tbsp of salt, 7 tbsp of sugar
Mix cooked rice and sushi vinegar in a Handai. It is important to mix in cutting motion without squeezing rice; otherwise, the rice will be sticky. Handai can absorb heat and steam from rice appropriately.
Also, serving sushi on a specific plate called Sushi Geta will provide authentic atmosphere.
Wasabi is an essential condiment for sushi. Fine graters can maintain good flavor of wasabi. Also, they can suppress unwanted pungent taste.
You can use various toppings such as fish, shellfish, meat and vegetables. Slice toppings depending on size of Shari rice.
If you move the knife as if sawing, food cells get damaged and watery. It is important to pull the knife in one stroke only from backward to forward. Japanese Yanagiba knives are appropriate for slicing fish.
Before shaping sushi, get a little vinegar diluted with water on your hands. This prevents rice sticking to hands.
When the toppings are prepared, it's time to shape sushi. First, get an appropriate amount of rice from Handai as if scratching the surface in your dominant hand (approx. 15 to 20 g). The amount will vary depending on size of toppings.
Round the rice in the hand. Do not hold it too tight but gently.
Hold the topping in the other hand and apply wasabi.
Put the rounded rice onto the topping. Then, dimple the middle of Shari rice with thumb of the hand you are holding the topping in.
Flatten the rice and topping gently.
Turn it upside down and shape it. This is a process of “Nigiri”. Shape the rice with your non-dominant hand and use index finger and middle finger to support.
Turn the sushi around and shape both sides the same. It’s ready to eat!
Can we make sushi more easily?
The skill of “Nigiri” is not something you can learn in a day. However, you don’t need to do it perfectly from the beginning. Follow your curiosity or learn hard if you’d like, and find your own way.
Those who want to make beautiful sushi without a lot of practice, you can get Nigiri Sushi Mold. By using this, even kids can make well-shaped beautiful sushi easily and quickly. It would be useful when having home parties.


text:
Draghi spoke after the bank held off providing further stimulus to the lagging economy of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro. It left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Thursday at 0.75 percent.
Draghi said markets "understand that we live in democracies" and, after an initial negative reaction, were less agitated by the election than politicians and the news media.
He said Italy had already implemented cuts to reduce the deficit and that "will continue on automatic pilot."
Market contagion "has been muted compared to what might have been a year ago."
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
The European Central Bank has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.75 percent, holding off on further stimulus even though Europe's economy remains stuck in a recession.
The decision came at a meeting of the bank's 23-member governing council at its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Markets are now waiting to hear ECB head Mario Draghi's outlook for the economy of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro currency.
Draghi is also expected to underline the need for indebted countries such as Italy to be ready to meet tough conditions if they want to use the ECB's help in lowering their borrowing costs.
The ECB's bond purchase safety net announced Sept. 6 gets much of the credit for the recent easing of market turmoil in the eurozone. The bank would purchase unlimited amounts of a country's bonds from investors, lowering that government's borrowing costs. The mere existence of the program has already lowered borrowing costs - even though no bonds have been bought.
The catch is that any government that wants the help has to agree to take steps to reduce debt through pro-growth reforms and by controlling deficits.
However Italy's inconclusive elections last week raised the fear there might not be a government that would qualify for ECB assistance.
One concern is that Italy might wind up with a government that rejects the conditions for such help - such as keeping deficits down and carrying out reforms to make the country more business-friendly. In that case, the country might lose the protection that comes from the ECB offer. So far, that has not happened and Italy's borrowing costs have risen only moderately.
Mentioning the conditions of the program would be one way that Draghi could urge Italy's political leaders not to backtrack on the cuts and reforms carried out by Prime Minister Mario Monti during his 15 months in office.
The ECB is also slated to issue new growth and inflation projections for this year and next. Draghi has said the ECB expects the eurozone economy to shrink 0.3 percent this year and begin a gradual recovery only later in the year, while inflation is expected to ease to 1.6 percent for all of this year. Some recent indicators of future economic activity, such as Germany's Ifo index of business optimism, have pointed up in recent weeks. But unemployment remains at 11.9 percent, the highest since the euro was introduced in 1999.
Unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve, the ECB's mandate is to focus on controlling inflation first, and only then think about reducing unemployment. However, the weak economy could in theory justify a rate cut. And inflation at an annual 1.8 percent is low enough that a cut would not risk more inflation. But ECB officials have said that rates are already low enough to stimulate the economy.
Draghi has said that the bank's main focus is to see that its low benchmark rates actually are passed on when companies and individual borrow. That has not always been the case in the heavily indebted countries where many banks have troubled finances. The ECB has tackled that problem with cheap loans to banks to shore up their finances. The bond purchase offer also helps because fears of government default can undermine banks in those countries, which often hold government bonds.

domain: news


text:
Michael Canet JD LLM, is a financial planner, estate planning attorney and host of The Savvy Investor TV and Radio Show, where he and Savvy Investor guests help listeners create, grow, and preserve their wealth. In this article, Canet discusses The 6 Surprising Facts About Retirement.
Glen Burnie, MD – November 2, 2016 – Estate planning attorney and host of The Savvy Investor TV and radio show, Michael Canet JD LLM, recently published an article on The Savvy Investor website called “6 Surprising Facts About Retirement” which discusses the several unseen hurdles retirees may not anticipate.
Canet writes, “Americans are living longer than ever before, resulting in lengthy retirements. But if you assume most people are saving more in order to prepare for their long-term needs, you’d be mistaken.”
The entire article can be found at HERE
To learn more about The Savvy Investor, please visit http://www.thesavvyinvestortv.com/
About Michael Canet JD LLM:
Michael Canet, JD LLM, is a financial planner and estate planning attorney specializing in family legacies and is a founding member of Prostatis Financial Advisors Group, LLC. Canet is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of two books, Successonomics (with Steve Forbes) and Surviving the Perfect Storm: How to Create a Financial Plan That Will Withstand Any Crisis, and has been featured on The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and USA Today. He is also host of the nationally syndicated television show, The Savvy Investor, and The Savvy Investor radio show. His approach, both on and off The Savvy Investor shows, is distinguished by clear and concise answers that are accessible to the people who need to understand them most: retirees.
Michael Canet is a Registered Representative with TCM Securities, Inc. and can offer securities through TCM Securities, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.

domain: finance


text:
Jan recounts their recent journey to Afghanistan, now under the rule of the so-called “Taliban 2.0,” to continue the Afghan Pamirs Mapping Project. The goal is to boost socio-economic development in the region through adventure tourism. Despite the uncertainties and changes under the Taliban’s leadership, Jan navigates through the challenging terrains, collecting data for trekking and bike-packing routes and interacting with locals and the Taliban alike.
- Afghan Pamirs Mapping Project: The objective is to promote socio-economic growth in Afghanistan through adventure tourism, focusing on the Afghan Pamir region.
- Journey under Taliban Rule: Jan traveled 450km to the Wakhan Corridor, encountering various Taliban-controlled areas, observing remnants of wars, and stalled infrastructure projects, with the only new visible constructions being mosques.
- Taliban Interactions: Generally, the Taliban was polite, and their leadership seems open to tourism. Jan’s encounters ranged from light-hearted moments like the Taliban trying out mountain bikes to profound conversations about perceptions, religion, and life in a Wakhi settlement.
- The Wakhan Expedition: Jan gathered data on about 500km of paths suitable for biking and mountain biking, including areas like the Wakjir Pass, which might serve as the first trade route between Afghanistan and China.
- Changing Landscapes and Surprises: The trip revealed surprising advancements like 2G connectivity in remote areas, contrasting sharply with the traditional and political backdrop of the region.

domain: travel


LASER MATERIAL STUDY.
Semi-annual technical rept. for 1 Jan-30 Jun 64,
EASTMAN KODAK CO ROCHESTER N Y
Pagination or Media Count:
A performance study has been made of two types of laser material, matched quite closely in all characteristics except their fluorescence lifetime. Data has been recorded to indicate conversion efficiency as a function of input power and the reflectivity of the output mirror. In addition, an estimate of beam divergence has been made by comparing images recorded on carbon paper or developed, unexposed, Polaroid print paper. Conclusions have been drawn from these data as to the role of fluorescence lifetime and its related quantum efficiency to the practical performance of a laser material. Author


City Lifting is the UK based company that offers its services of crane hiring, providing quality machinery and equipment on contractual basis.
Online PR News – 07-November-2010 – – For Immediate Release
City Lifting unveils its new army of super modern mini crawlers
Essex, United Kingdom, November 1st, 2010 – City Lifting (www.citylifting.co.uk), one of the oldest and most established crane hire companies in the business, has recently unveiled its new fleet of super modern mini crawler cranes. The cranes, which are designed to operate in enclosed or environmentally sensitive areas, are able to fit into minute spaces and still perform the work of a much larger machine.
They enjoy a lifting capacity of up to 6 tonnes, with a fully extended boom length of 21 metres, and are able to manoeuvre with ease and dexterity inside places that normal lifting equipment would never manage to conquer. That makes them ideal for maintenance projects and special refits – or for lifting work inside buildings.
The dual power capabilities of the mini crawler cranes make them the perfect solution for environmentally sensitive projects. The cranes run on both diesel and electric power sources, which means they operate to a minimal carbon footprint and can be switched to full electric mode in jobs and areas where noise infringement is a technical issue. Health and Safety stipulations are also met using electric mode, as the crawlers can operate without emitting fumes when used in an indoor environment.
The mini crawler cranes run on caterpillar tracks so they can be rotated through a 360 degree arc on any given spot. Once located properly, the cranes extend four stabilising arms, which can bear the weight of a boom lift through any angle of the radius.
City Lifting intends to use the fleet primarily as a solution for contractors operating to strict environmental or manual handling guidelines, and to facilitate work in small spaces. The cranes are available for hire either as contract lifts (with operator included); crane hire; or machine only. For more information visit www.citylifting.co.uk/mini-crawler-cranes/
About City Lifting
City Lifting is one of the UK’s most respected and successful crane hire companies offering mobile cranes, tower cranes and a complete range of mini crawler cranes.
9 Juliette Way, Purfleet Industrial Park


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Dietary Supplement For Making Sure To Get Vitamins And Minerals
By Sam Cyrus
List all vitamins is the best source to know better of our need of them. Vitamins and minerals are naturally occurring substances necessary for many processes in the body. Your body needs the substances in small but steady amounts for normal growth, function and health. Your body can get the vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat because different foods contain different ones. You can also take a supplement to make sure you get enough all the nutrients your body needs. If we do not get enough the vitamins and minerals it can affect us mentally and physically.
There are two completely different things between vitamins and minerals that minerals help the vitamins work. Your body needs some minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc, and chromium picolinate, to grow and stay healthy. Vitamins and minerals are considered necessary because they may partake in the chemical reactions within the body that allow humans to actually burn the fuels or build new tissues. Your body is one powerful machine, capable of doing all sorts of things by itself.
Dietary supplements can still play a role in your health by complementing your regular diet if you have trouble getting enough nutrients. If you depend on dietary supplements rather than eating a variety of whole foods, you miss the benefits of these substances. So that you must eat the whole foods because the dietary suplements can not become the ones substitutes. Although for some people, including those on restrictive diets, dietary supplements can provide vitamins and minerals that their diets often don't.
You must eat the whole foods or, in some cases, the dietary supplements because your body can't make most micronutrients. A lack of any of the essential micronutrients from the diet may lead to deficiencies, compromising the ability to function and impairing health. These nutrients are needed for a variety of biological processes, among them growth, digestion and nerve function. These nutrients are the main components in your teeth and bones, and they serve as building blocks for other cells and enzymes. If you do not eat enough a variety of healthy food, you will not receive all of the nutrients your body need.
It may be important for you to take certain amounts of some vitamins and minerals in the form of supplements. It's just because the supplements can be an inexpensive way to make sure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need, even if you get most of them from the foods you eat. Vitamins and minerals are vital for human function where each one playing a different role. Vitamins and minerals are also essential to our survival.

domain: biology


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Posted: Posted October 10, 2021 / 12:07 PM CDT / Has been updated: October 10, 2021 / 12:07 PM CDT Austrian President Alexander van der Beren will address the country’s political situation on Sunday, October 10, 2021 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz resigned on Saturday, October 9th to dissolve
Posted: Posted / Has been updated:
Austrian President welcomes Sebastian Kurz’s resignation on Sunday, saying that national politicians will work hard to restore voter confidence after a few days of drama that put the government on the brink of collapse. Requested.
President Alexander van der Beren said on Monday that he would swear to Austria’s foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, as prime minister.
Kurtz, 35, announced on Saturday that he would withdraw to ease the political crisis caused by the prosecution’s announcement that he was one of the targets of an investigation suspected of bribery or resignation. Greens, a conservative Kurtz junior coalition partner, demanded his replacement. Kurz denies cheating.
Van der Beren said his role made him an important referee for the political crisis, and Kurtz “had an important contribution to the integrity of our protected institution.”
But “recently, public confidence in politics has been shaken again and has been shaken on a large scale,” Van der Beren said in Vienna. “It is up to all politically responsible people, especially those in the government, to regain this trust in the coming months.”
“Words alone are not enough,” he added. “This can only be done with serious, intensive work, work, and more work.”
Kurtz and his close associates sought to secure his rise to the leadership of his party and country with the help of publicly funded manipulated polls and friendly media coverage. Has been accused of. Kurtz became the leader of his Austrian People’s Party and became Prime Minister in 2017.
Although he has resigned as prime minister, he retains his role as leader, heads a parliamentary group, and puts him at the center of Austrian politics while fighting allegations of corruption.
Kurtz responded to the demands of a new unpolluted leader by proposing a move that Greens accepted, Schallenberg, 52. Schallenberg is loyal to Kurtz and shares his hard line on immigration control, but has a diplomatic background rather than party politics.
Schallenberg said on Sunday that his promotion was “surprise for all of us” and faced “a very difficult challenge.”
Austrian President Demands Government Regains Trust | WGN Radio 720
Source link Austrian President Demands Government Regains Trust | WGN Radio 720


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'Comic Sunset' Wall Art
A stylized sunset with the look of vintage comics colors a hand-stretched canvas print wrapped over a sustainably harvested, FSC-certified wood frame. A limited open edition with a certificate of authenticity by the artist, it comes ready to hang with all hardware included.
- 16" square.
- Cotton canvas/wood.
- By Oliver Gal; made in the USA.
- Item #446562

domain: artistic


Liberals Taking Over Columbus Day?
Happy Columbus day! ...or not. According to an AP article, the liberal left is starting to incorporate a darker side of Christopher Columbus into our elementary schools.
Columbus' stature in U.S. classrooms has declined somewhat through the years, and many districts will not observe his namesake holiday on Monday.
...In Texas, students start learning in the fifth grade about the "Columbian Exchange" — which consisted not only of gold, crops and goods shipped back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean, but diseases carried by settlers that decimated native populations.
At a New Jersey school, the "politically correct" agenda called for this lesson:
The students were forced to stand in a cafeteria and not allowed to eat while other students teased and intimidated them — apparently so they could better understand the suffering indigenous populations endured because of Columbus, Korten said.
Christopher Columbus has always been an important part of our American history. Is it really necessary to stop this celebration of America's history and subject young children to every one of Columbus' imperfections?


Autel Maxisys MS906 Pro VS MP808BT Pro, which one should I choose? December 05, 2023
Autel Scanner MK808 Series VS MK900 Series, Which One is Better? October 21, 2023
Autel MY908 MS908 MS908P MS908S PRO Update Service October 08, 2023
Autel MaxiCOM Ultra Lite --- Autel New In 2022
The Autel MaxiCOM Ultra Lite is Autel's ambitious diagnostics tablet, featuring a 12.9-inch touchscreen Android-based tablet powered by an Octa-core processor (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), substantial 256GB built-in memory.
The Ultra Lite diagnostic tool offers the most advanced approach to vehicle diagnostics with its dynamic topology module mapping for supported vehicles combined with its Intelligent Diagnostics feature that guides the technician from code to repair to test with detailed repair information and illustrations.
It features a rechargeable Lithium battery proving 8 hours of continuous use, a convenient docking station, and front and rear cameras.
The Ultra Lite has the same hardware as Autel MS Ultra and comes with the same software functions as Autel MS919.
Advanced ECU Programming ECU Coding
Autel MaxiCOM Ultra Lite comes with J2534 ECU programming device BMW Ethernet Cable (For F-Series Coding Programming), which is capable of replacing the existing software/firmware in the Electronic Control Units (ECU), programming new Benz/ BMW ECUs and fixing software-controlled drivability issues and emission issues, update the computer software on the vehicle to the latest version.
Revolutionary Topology Module Mapping
Autel OBD2 scanner MaxiCOM Ultra Lite has a Topology Module Mapping design to give you the distinctive diagnostic results:
1) Displays the entire system through the Topology Map to glance all the modules with faults, which is easy to locate faults and causes.
2) Color-coded topology displays all system status on one page
3) View the structure of communication between modules
Intelligent Full System Diagnostics
Intelligent Diagnostics is a specific fault code analysis function, with which you can access the most comprehensive and latest code-specific data, DTC analysis, repair assist, repair tips, and relevant repair cases. It has been drawn from real-world shop repair orders and records and with input from experienced industry professionals. It can scan all system diagnosis on all available systems including but not limited to Engine, TPMS, Transmission, EPB, CGM, SRS, A/C, BMS, and so on.
Comprehensive Service Functions
The MaxiCom Ultra Lite is able to meet most truck maintenance demands such as Oil Reset, EPB, BMS, ABS Bleed, TPMS, Airbag Reset, DPF Reg, IMMO Service, Injector Coding, SAS Calibration, Suspension Calibration, Throttle Adaption, ABS/SRS, Gear Learning, ect.
The Active Test function is used to access vehicle-specific subsystem and component tests. Available tests vary by vehicle. During an active test, the tablet sends commands to the ECU to activate the actuators. This test determines the integrity of the system or part by reading ECU data or by monitoring the operation of the actuators. Such tests may include toggling a solenoid, relay, or switching, between two positions.
Broad Vehicle Coverage
In addition to the D-PDU/SAE J2534/RP1210 diagnostic protocols, this OBD2 intelligent diagnostic tool MaxiSys Ultra also supports the DoIP and CAN FD protocols for more new vehicle models, covering 95% of vehicles on the market. It is a great fit for professional mechanics looking for a diagnostic scanner that supports almost any car they may encounter.


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Browsing Μεταπτυχιακές εργασίες / Master Theses by Keywords "λεπτά υμένια"
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
Design and development of device for rapid thermal annealing (RTA) - Usage of the device for the thermal annealing of transparent electrodes by metal oxides.T.E.I. of Crete, School of Engineering (STEF), IPPS Advanced Manufacturing Systems, Automation and Robotics
Publication Date: 2016-07-18The present work addresses the topic of thermal annealing as an important method to improve the physical properties of various materials. The main scope was the design and construction of a small prototype rapid thermal ...

domain: design


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Again, this post could have also been called: Al Gore Finally Won Something
And even before you read any further you should think about checking out Planet Gore.
Last night at the Democratic National Conven- err… I mean at the Academy Awards, Al Gore’s well-made yet scientifically shady documentary called An Inconvenient Truth won for best documentary (or something like that). I have trouble believing a guy who parades around the world on private jets to persuade people to “use less fuel”. While I’m at it why doesn’t Rosanne Barr invite me to Old Country Buffet to pitch me a low calorie diet.
Back home in Tennessee, safely ensconced in his suburban Nashville home, Vice President Al Gore is no doubt basking in the Oscar awarded to “An Inconvenient Truth,” the documentary he inspired and in which he starred. But a local free-market think tank is trying to make that very home emblematic of what it deems Gore’s environmental hypocrisy.
Armed with Gore’s utility bills for the last two years, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research charged Monday that the gas and electric bills for the former vice president’s 20-room home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.
Gore is not the only environmentalist associated with “An Inconvenient Truth” who has come under fire for personal habits — and not all the criticism has come from the Right.
Writing in The Atlantic Monthly in 2004, liberal writer Eric Alterman criticized producer Laurie David for her use of private Gulfstream jets. David, he wrote “reviles the owners of SUVs as terrorist enablers, yet gives herself a pass when it comes to chartering one of the most wasteful uses of fossil-based fuels imaginable.” New Republic writer Gregg Easterbrook followed up, computing that “one cross-country flight in a Gulfstream is the same, in terms of Persian-Gulf dependence and greenhouse-gas emissions, as if she drove a Hummer for an entire year.” [...]
So why is it that über-wealthy jabber-jaws can get away with such insane hypocrisy? Why can Rosie O’Donnell say that no “normal” citizen has any reason to own a gun, yet she hires personal bodyguards who carry concealed firearms to protect her? Why can the president of Virgin Airways be stroked alongside Al Gore at environmental symposiums when his industry is “supposedly” the problem? It’s because none of this is about truth… it’s about image and agenda. Surprise, surprise.
Governments in rich nations are spending billions of dollars to buy a clearer conscience over climate change. Are they getting their money’s worth?
Enlightened individuals, those who stay awake at nights wondering what they can do to prevent the polar caps from melting, at least have a growing menu of choices.
Sydney-based Easy Being Green says it will mitigate your cat’s flatulent contribution to global warming for $8. The same company could also make your granny “carbon-neutral” at $10 a year, according to a report in the Australian newspaper last weekend. [...]
You can’t make this stuff up. In lieu of the “findings” that a huge portion of global-warming comes from bovine flatulence, the normal pet owner can now buy credits to offset their pet’s flatulent contribution to greenhouse gases. This is more like a sick dystopic sci-fi novel than reality… but inconvenient truth is stranger than inconvenient fiction, I guess. However, I did find an article that I think deserves serious attention – The Onion reports that the temperature of coffee is expected to rise nine degrees by the end of the 21st century!
Anyways, I’ll leave you with a little inconvenient truth about Al Gore’s personal conservation efforts:
POWER: GORE MANSION USES 20X AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD; CONSUMPTION INCREASE AFTER ‘TRUTH’
Mon Feb 26 2007 17:16:14 ET
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions, issued a press release late Monday:
Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore’s mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431


Xiaomi Mi 6 launch date has been announced as April 19, so we are just a few days away from the first official look at this year's flagship Xiaomi smartphone. To keep the buzz going, the Chinese brand has released a teaser that doesn't say much about the upcoming flagship but builds up hype around it. The new Mi 6 teaser comes with the tagline (translated) "You waited for 203 days, we waited for seven years," and it has a backdrop of a cityscape at the beak of dawn. Along with the Mi 6, Xiaomi is also expected to launch the Mi 6 Plus smartphone at the event.
Xiaomi Mi 6 launch
Xiaomi Mi 6 launch event will be held at the University of Technology Gymnasium in Beijing on April 19. At the event, the official price and availability details of the smartphone will be announced.
Xiaomi Mi 6 specifications
Running up to the Mi 6 launch, plenty of leaks have already spilled the beans on most of the specification and pricing details of the Mi 6. The big highlight of the smartphone is said to be the latest Snapdragon 835 processor integration. It is said to be a big upgrade from the Xiaomi Mi 5, and it is also tipped to sport a dual-curved edge display - at least on one premium variant.
From what we know so far, the Xiaomi Mi 6 runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat - based on a heretofore unreleased version of MIUI, the company's custom ROM. It will feature a 5.1-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixel) display. It is tipped to offer 64GB or 128GB of inbuilt storage as well. As for camera, the Mi 6 is tipped to sport a 12-megapixel rear camera with 4K video recording support and an 8-megapixel front snapper capable of 4K recording as well.
Meanwhile, the Mi 6 Plus flagship has been tipped to sport a Quad HD 2K OLED display with dual curved edges and dual rear camera setup, while the Mi 6 will allegedly sport a flat display. Both the flagships are expected to come with Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0 technology for fast charging support. The smartphone is also expected to house a 4000mAh battery, although this will likely be for the Mi 6 Plus.
Xiaomi Mi 6 price
Xiaomi Mi 6 will allegedly be launched in 4GB of RAM + 64GB storage and 4GB + 128GB variants priced at CNY 2,199 (roughly Rs. 20,500), and CNY 2,599 (roughly Rs. 24,300), respectively. The bigger Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus, on the other hand is tipped to be be offered in 6GB of RAM + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB, and 6GB + 256GB variants, which will reportedly be priced at CNY 2,699 (roughly Rs. 25,000), CNY 3,099 (roughly Rs. 28,990) and CNY 3,699 (roughly Rs. 34,600), respectively.


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Served with Ranch dressing
Served with lettuce, tomato and mayo
Tom E Toes' fresh , light dough stuffed and served with a side of marinara sauce
Each meal serves 4 people and includes garden salad & Homemade bread.
We offer delivery and takeout for this restaurant.
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More than 42,000 Comments Flood Oregon DEQ Opposing the Jordan Cove Fracked Gas Pipeline Project!
As of today, more than 42,000 comments were submitted to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)! These comments overwhelmingly oppose the Jordan Cove fracked gas pipeline and ask DEQ to deny an important Clean Water Act permit that the project requires.
Why is this project a bad deal for Oregon’s rivers?
Pembina, the Canadian corporation behind the Jordan Cove project, wants to construct the 229-mile Pacific Connector Pipeline and the Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal located in Coos Bay on the Oregon coast. The proposed fracked gas pipeline would stretch across southern Oregon, cutting through more than 480 rivers and streams including the Rogue, Klamath, Umpqua, Coos, and Coquille Rivers. The proposed LNG export terminal would completely alter Coos Bay, harming habitat for fish, oysters, and clams.
If constructed, the Jordan Cove fracked gas pipeline project will:
• Cut through at least 485 waterways and 6 miles of wetlands;
• Trench, blast, dam, or drill at each stream crossing that will harm habitat for fish and increase pollution;
• Remove streamside trees resulting in reduced shade and increased stream temperature;
• Cross rivers and stream that provide public drinking water and private wells that could degrade public drinking water for at least 116,000 Oregonians;
• Dredge Coos Bay to re-shape the bay for tankers resulting in destroyed fish and shellfish habitat; and
• Increase ship traffic in Coos Bay, which will impact public access for fishing and recreation.
Why do these comments matter?
An unprecedented 42,000+ comments sent to DEQ demonstrates a strong and growing opposition to this harmful project here in Oregon. Together with partners and allies, we asked DEQ to deny a critical permit under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act required for the project to move forward. Under the Clean Water Act, each state has the authority to deny this permit for projects that would harm clean water. DEQ has denied permits for similar projects before because of their impact to rivers and streams. In 2010, DEQ denied this Clean Water Act permit for Bradwood Landing, an LNG export terminal and pipeline proposed on the Columbia River.
Now that the comment period is closed, DEQ will review the comments and likely will request more information from Pembina before making a decision on the permit. Get the latest updates and learn more about how you can help stop this harmful project!