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The current issue of AAMC News and Leadership Announcements is now available:
The Texas House on Friday gave final approval to a constitutional amendment to open, as early as 2016, a medical school along the Texas border with Mexico. The House also passed a funding bill for the school, but that bill will need to be reconciled with the Senate version in a conference committee. The House version contains an amendment settling the location of the school: administrative offices for UME will be in Hidalgo County; administrative offices for GME will be in Cameron County; the first and second years of the medical school will be primarily based out of Hidalgo County; and, third and fourth years of the medical school will be primarily based out of Cameron County. The school will utilize, in part, existing facilities at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, the University of Texas at Brownsville, and the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen.
A group of researchers, editors and publishers on Thursday issued what they called the “San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment.” It attacks what they say is the misuse of the Journal Impact Factor as a method to assess the quality and impact of scientific outputs. The group issued 18 recommendations calling for the elimination of impact factors in funding, appointment, and promotion considerations, and urging that research be assessed on its own merits rather than on the journal in which the research is published.
The New Jersey/Bergen Record reported on Saturday, “In one of the most visible signs yet of the reorganization of the state’s medical schools, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey notified more than 15,000 employees about their new assignments on Friday. On July 1, about 10,730 of them will report to Rutgers University, 3,460 to The University Hospital in Newark and 1,170 to Rowan University. Officials at UMDNJ said the vast majority will continue performing the same duties in the locations where they currently work, but will be employed by a different institution. They received hand-delivered letters notifying them of their transfers.”
Detroit newspapers reported on Friday that “The completion date for the nonprofit megamerger of Henry Ford and Beaumont health systems will likely be delayed, both organizations said Thursday. Announced in late October, the $6.6-billion deal had once been on pace for a formalized agreement by mid-May and a late summer or early fall closing, pending various state and federal regulatory approvals. While the merger is still on, that schedule is now off. Directors’ boards at both Henry Ford and Beaumont on Tuesday extended the deal’s ‘letter of intent,’ which was signed Oct. 31 and due to expire Wednesday.”
A new report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council shows that profits/excess revenues are shrinking at Pennsylvania hospitals. According to a Pittsburgh Post Gazette report, “56 Western Pennsylvania hospitals reported their operating margins decreased by more than half…Behind the sinking numbers are recurring issues — growing uncompensated care provided to patients unable to pay coupled with falling payments from government insurance programs such as Medicare.”
The Boston Globe on Saturday reported that Partners HealthCare System, parent of Mass General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, saw its operating margin narrow to 1.6 percent in the second quarter “largely due to reimbursement cuts for Medicare and Medicaid, the government insurance programs for seniors and low-income patients that represent 45 percent of Partners patient revenues.”
The Raleigh News and Observer newspaper on Saturday featured an article on hospital staff reductions announced by Wakemed. The article said that Wakemed’s leadership warned that the reductions are “a taste of things to come under federal health care reform, which is designed to squeeze costs out of health care delivery.” The paper noted, “What is clear is that the Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare by detractors, is increasingly being cited by health care organizations as they seek to explain unpopular decisions that raise costs or cut expenses within organizations.”
The New York Times on Friday reported that vast databases of patient and doctor information are being used by pharmaceutical firms to “let them know which medications physicians are prescribing and how they compare to colleagues.”
The New York Times on Saturday reviewed the data released last week on hospital charges to Medicare for 100 common treatments. The article featured a graphic detailing the ten hospitals that charged the most compared to the national average. The list: Bayonne Medical Center (4.1x), Bayonne, N.J.; Crozer-Chester Medical Center (3.7x), Upland, Pa.; Northbay Medical Center (3.7x), Fairfield, Calif.; Doctors Medical Center (3.4x), Modesto, Calif.; Hahnemann University Hospital (3.4x), Philadelphia, Pa.; Washington Hospital (3.4x), Fremont, Calif.; Temple University Hospital (3.3x), Philadelphia, Pa.; Garfield Medical Center (3.2x), Monterey Park, Calif.; Regional Medical Center (3.2x), San Jose, Calif.; and, Delaware County Memorial Hospital (3.2x), Drexel Hill, Pa.
Dr. Michael Gottesman, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, wrote an essay posted by the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday on “The Role of the NIH in Nurturing Clinician-Scientists.”
The NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is requesting comments on ways to avoid duplication, redundancy, and competition with industry activities.
According to a report published this week in JAMA Surgery, “A majority of surgical residents disapprove of 2011 ACGME Common Program requirements (65.9%). The proposed benefits of the increased duty hour restrictions—improved education, patient care, and quality of life — have ostensibly not borne out in surgical training. It may be difficult for residents, particularly in surgical fields, to learn and care for patients under the 2011 ACGME regulations.” The results are based on a survey of 1,013 voluntarily participating residents in general surgery and surgical specialties at ACGME-accredited institutions.
A report released last week, “The Changing Face of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” documents “the disproportionately large role that these colleges and universities play in educating historically underserved populations and considers many of the challenges and opportunities they face.” The report was written by Dr. Marybeth Gasman of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
An article in Saturday’s LA Times discussed the University of Southern California’s efforts to woo the leadership of the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging. It was announced this week that the recruitment was successful. The article detailed the factors that went into the decision by Drs. Arthur Toga and Paul Thompson and colleagues to change institutions. According to the article, the researchers also had been in negotiations with the University of Pennsylvania.
Changes are being made to the NIH Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) awards program. Dr. Sally Rockey, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, recently posted a blog notice detailing the changes, which include shortening the length of awards from 5 to 4 years.
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday, by a vote of 91-7, confirmed Marilyn Tavenner as the first full-fledged administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since 2006.
Central Michigan University’s Board of Trustees on Friday approved moving forward with planning and design work for Phase 1 construction of its College of Medicine facilities in Saginaw. Phase 1 includes a medical education center to be built on the campus of Covenant HealthCare. According to the school, about 200 third- and fourth-year students will be based in Saginaw each year along with about 100 residents.
CMS on Wednesday announced the availability of a second round of Health Care Innovation Awards. Almost $1 billion will be available. This second round of awards differs from the first round in that CMS is specifically seeking innovations in four areas: rapidly reducing costs for patients with Medicare and Medicaid in outpatient hospital and other settings; improving care for populations with specialized needs; testing improved financial and clinical models for specific types of providers, including specialists; and linking clinical care delivery to preventive and population health. Letters of intent from interested organizations are due June 28, 2013.
An article in Sunday’s LA Times focused on “a presidential advisor and biowarfare consultant to the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security” who was simultaneously “serving as a director of a biotech startup [Human Genome Sciences Inc.] that won $334 million in federal contracts to supply” a drug stockpile to combat antibiotic-resistant anthrax.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has posted details about the Administration’s Project Open Data. It is described as “an online, public repository intended to foster collaboration and promote the continual improvement of the Open Data Policy.” The policy was announced on May 9 and focuses on managing government information as an asset to “increase operational efficiencies, reduce costs, improve services, support mission needs, safeguard personal information, and increase public access to valuable government information.”
Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders resigned on Wednesday. Dennis Crudele, FAU’s senior vice president for finance and administration, was named Acting President, effective immediately.
The Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) on Tuesday evening presented the 12th annual Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Awards. The awards, named in honor of FBR’s late chairman and the legendary Baylor surgeon, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, recognize outstanding journalism that highlights the role of humane and responsible use of animal models, cell cultures, and computer modeling in recent medical discoveries and scientific breakthroughs. The awardees include: Britney Glaser, KPLC-TV (television); KW Hillis, The Lawton Constitution (print, small market); Ferris Jabr, Scientific American (print, large market); Susan Donaldson James, ABC News (online); Judy Kurtz, The Hill (print, specialty market); Ryan Loyd, KSTX Texas Public Radio (radio); and Annette Novak, McGill University (viral video). The AAMC is a Benefactor of the awards program.
The Huffington Post on May 8 published an op-ed written by Robert Brown, Ph.D., president, Boston University; Susan Desmond-Hellman, M.D., M.P.H., chancellor, the University of California, San Francisco; and Elson Floyd, Ph.D., president, Washington State University. The authors said that research conducted at universities across the nation not only “powers the discoveries that improve our lives and economy, but educates the next generation of discoverers, innovators, healers, and entrepreneurs, ensuring America’s continued scientific and technological leadership.” They said Congress must recognize the value of research and provide the “strong and sustained funding necessary for its proper functioning.” They added, “Neglecting this engine –even in the short term– will have long-term, negative consequences.”
An article in Sunday’s issue of the San Diego Union Tribune reported on how the UCSD’s 100,000-square-foot Medical Education and Telemedicine Building “has fundamentally changed the way the county’s only medical school trains the next generation of health care professionals and helps maintain the skills of those already in practice.” The building opened last fall. A separate article on the Center for the Future of Surgery, housed in the building, is advancing surgical education.
Dr. Paul Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, recently answered questions about the NEI’s Audacious Goals Initiative on a White House OSTP blog site. The blog notes that more than 250 prizes are now offered by more than 50 Federal agencies in an effort “to spur innovation and solve tough problems.”
Ananias Diokno, M.D., who has served as Beaumont’s executive vice president and chief medical officer since 2006, has announced that he will step down from his administrative role effective June 1 and retire on September 1. Dr. Diokno earlier was chairman of the Beaumont, Royal Oak Department of Urology. He will be succeeded as EVP and CMO on June 1 by David Wood, M.D., currently president of Beaumont Physician Partners. Dr. Wood will continue to serve as president of the practice plan.
Brian O’Neil, M.D., the Edward S. Thomas Endowed Professor and associate chair of Research for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, has been appointed chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. O’Neil has served as interim chair of the department for the last year.
Samuel R. G. Finlayson, M.D., MPH, has been named the new chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Currently, he serves on the Harvard Medical School surgery faculty and is the Kessler Director at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Finlayson succeeds Sean J. Mulvihill, M.D., who was named U of U Health Sciences associate vice president for clinical affairs and CEO of the University of Utah Medical Group last year. Patrick C. Cartwright, M.D., professor of pediatric urology, has been serving as interim chair.
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine has appointed Darlene F. Saporu, Ph.D., as Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion. Dr. Saporu leads the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and works to advance a comprehensive diversity plan aligned with the school’s mission. Prior to joining Stritch, she worked at The Ohio State University, where she executed strategic diversity initiatives for the Graduate School and other entities.
Eve J. Higginbotham, SM, MD, has been named the first Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, effective August 1, 2013. Prior to joining Penn Medicine, Dr. Higginbotham held numerous academic leadership roles, including Senior Vice President and Executive Dean for Health Sciences at Howard University and Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Morehouse School of Medicine. Earlier in her career, Dr. Higginbotham was chair of ophthalmology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Most recently, she served as a Visiting Scholar for Health Equity at the AAMC.
An article in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post Gazette profiled Meghan Wilson, who has quadriplegia. She received her Ph.D. in 2011 and this week will be granted her M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, completing the Pitt MSTP program.
Like several new medical schools, the University of Central Floria College of Medicine is graduating its first class this spring. NBC News this weekend featured a segment on the UCF graduation, focusing on the fact that the students received full scholarships and are graduating debt free. The students discussed the generous gift they have been given and their desire to serve the community as a result.
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domain: medical


text:
Ambre Energy requested the Department of State Lands wait 30 days before deciding on the proposal to build a coal export terminal in Boardman.
Ambre asked for the decision to be delayed until 30 days after federal agencies reviewing the project release key documents that the state is seeking. The company doesn’t expect those to be out until the second half of the year.
“The project will provide the requested documents as soon as they become available,” Ambre spokeswoman Liz Fuller said in a statement. “We are fully committed to meeting all permitting standards.”
Read more at OregonLive.com

domain: economics


text:
- Can a vet refuse to see your pet?
- Can you put a dog down with Tylenol PM?
- What is the most expensive dog surgery?
- What are the chances of a dog dying from anesthesia?
- Do vets charge more if you have insurance?
- What to do when your pet needs surgery and you can’t afford it?
- Can the vet keep my dog if I can’t pay?
- How often do dogs not wake up from anesthesia?
- What happens if you can’t afford a vet?
- Can the vet keep my cat if I can’t pay?
- Do vets bill you later?
- How do you pay for expensive pet surgery?
- How much does it cost to give a dog anesthesia?
- How much does it cost to put a pet down?
- Do dogs know they are dying?
- Is it inhumane to let a dog die naturally?
- Do dogs want to be alone when they die?
- What is the most expensive vet bill?
Can a vet refuse to see your pet?
“Veterinarians may legally refuse to treat, where they do not like the pet owner, feel ill at ease in the owner’s presence or are concerned for their own physical safety or the safety of their staff.
In human medicine, you are dealing with the patient directly.
In veterinary medicine, the patient is the animal..
Can you put a dog down with Tylenol PM?
Tylenol pm is a sleeping pill that can euthanize pretty much every pet out there. Pets are most commonly euthanized when they are severely ill and in pain. Unfortunately, this method will cause even more pain and is highly contraindicated in the process. A small dosage will kill any dog in a harsh way.
What is the most expensive dog surgery?
Many veterinarians have said that hip replacement surgery is one of the most expensive procedure. The replacements are made from the same material as human hip replacements. Before surgery, your dog will have to undergo x-rays, and your dog will need a minimum of two months limited mobility to recover.
What are the chances of a dog dying from anesthesia?
Risk of anesthetic death in dogs and cats is 0.17 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively. When categorized by health status, risk of anesthetic death in healthy dogs and cats drops to 0.05 percent and 0.11 percent. These percentages are higher than those reported for people.
Do vets charge more if you have insurance?
Vets are not allowed to charge any more for insured pets compared to non-insured and they’d be seriously penalised if they were found to be doing this. … The industry is finding ways of dealing with this challenge, and pet insurance remains the surest way of making sure that you can cover your pet’s health care.
What to do when your pet needs surgery and you can’t afford it?
Check for state-specific financial assistance programs for pet healthcare. If there’s no fund designed for your specific situation, RedRover’s Urgent Care Grants might help. RedRover provides almost 700 grants every year for pets whose owners can’t afford treatment, with an average grant amount of $200.
Can the vet keep my dog if I can’t pay?
Holding an animal against unpaid fees 9.26 Although veterinary surgeons do have a right in law to hold an animal until outstanding fees are paid, the RCVS believes that it is not in the interests of the animal so to do, and can lead to the practice incurring additional costs which may not be recoverable.
How often do dogs not wake up from anesthesia?
How long will it take my dog to recover from anesthesia? With today’s anesthetics, many of which are reversible, your pet should be almost completely normal by the time of discharge. Many pets are sleepy or tired for twelve to twenty-four hours after anesthesia.
What happens if you can’t afford a vet?
NOTE: If your animal requires emergency veterinary care and you cannot afford treatment, contact nearby veterinary colleges that may have programs. If you are unsure what qualifies as emergency veterinary care, call your veterinarian and describe the symptoms.
Can the vet keep my cat if I can’t pay?
A veterinarian may hold and retain an animal until the debt is paid.
Do vets bill you later?
Vet payment plans Not all veterinarians will offer payment plans, but some do. And some vets are willing to negotiate payment plans on a case-by-case basis, depending on the client’s need. If you’re eligible, you might be able to spread out your payments over several months.
How do you pay for expensive pet surgery?
Organizations that help with vet billsGoFundMe. Consider turning to crowdfunding when you need help paying vet bills. … CareCap. … United States Department of Veterans Affairs. … CareCredit Veterinary Financing. … Scratchpay. … Paws 4 A Cure. … The Pet Fund. … Brown Dog Foundation.More items…•
How much does it cost to give a dog anesthesia?
Anesthesia for an ovariohysterectomy (spay) can cost a veterinarian from $5.00 for cheap injectable anesthetics with no monitoring to over $220.00 for inhalant anesthesia monitored with EKG, blood pressure, pulse oximeter, and highly trained anesthesia technicians.
How much does it cost to put a pet down?
Vet expenses aren’t exactly cheap. While the average cost for euthanization and cremation of a dog ranges between $150 to $300, you can still expect a vet to charge anywhere from $50 to $300 and up for euthanization alone.
Do dogs know they are dying?
The next of the major signs that a dog is dying is a loss of balance and motor control. If your dog does get up and move around, they may be very wobbly or act disoriented. They may shake or convulse while lying down.
Is it inhumane to let a dog die naturally?
Dr. Gladstein says, “If your animal is in pain, then it becomes much more of an immediate issue, and letting them die naturally is really cruel and unusual punishment. … She says that if you determine that their pain can’t be mitigated by any mild pain relievers, then the decision should be made to let the animal go.
Do dogs want to be alone when they die?
From these patterns of strange behavior, a myth arose that dogs approaching the end of their life prefer to be alone as they seek out a quiet, solitary, peaceful place to die. … Unfortunately, the reality is simply that dying of old age for any species is not the gentle, idyllic death that many would like to believe in.
What is the most expensive vet bill?
The 10 Most Expensive Pet Health ProblemsConditionNumber of claimsAverage cost per claim1. Torn knee ligament/cartilage6,831$1,5782. Intestinal – foreign object1,005$1,9673. Stomach – foreign object954$1,5024. Intervertebral disc disease879$3,2826 more rows•Jun 30, 2011

domain: pet


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Hildene in Manchester Village has been recognized as a “state resource” by the National Register of Historic Places since 1977, shortly after the restored home opened to the public. But now Hildene is getting more recognition. Hildene Executive Director Seth Bongartz says the Lincoln family home has met its “real goal” of being designated as “having national significance.”
Seth told The Rutland Herald, “We’re very happy. It certainly will help with grants. It’s another arrow in our quiver.”
Hildene is on the list for lots of reasons. It was built by Robert Todd, Abe’s son, and actually remained in the Lincoln family until 1975. Robert was Secretary of War, Minister to England, and President of the Pullman Railroad Co. It is also a prime example of a Georgian revival mansion and one of the few such mansions still intact. We’re just not local anymore.

domain: history


Today’s program will have Morgan, our intern, with us in studio and joining us on the WENG HOTLINE is Debi Silber, the Mojo Coach and then during the 4:00 hour our good friend Chris Long of the Ohio Christian Alliance with all the political buzz.
Today – we have Brian Touhy on the program talking about Sports Fixing. Is it real? Should be a great guest for Sports & Movies Thursday!
HUGE Kudos to our intern at the station Morgan. She did a great job on her debut appearance on-air and we welcome her as a regular part of the program twice a week. Be listening on Mondays and Wednesdays to hear Morgan. Don’t be afraid to call in and chat with her as well.
During the second hour we’ll be talking about the latest in the world of sport and the upcoming MOVIES!


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Reading Comprehension Ability Vis-A-Vis Demographics, Reading Materials, And Time Spent In Reading
Keywords:reading comprehension, literal, interpretive, applied levels of comprehension
AbstractThis paper aimed to investigate the reading comprehension ability of Grade VI Pupils of Tomas Oppus Central School and find out the possible variables associated with this ability. The study used a descriptive-correlational design. Findings revealed that gender, time spent in reading, and availability of reading materials at home were significantly related to two higher levels of comprehension: interpretive and applied while the lowest level of comprehension was significantly related to age and family income.
Al-Khateeb, O. (2010). The impact of using KWL strategy on grade ten female students reading comprehension of religious concepts in Ma’an City. Retrieved from http://www.eurojournals.com/ejss_12_3_14.pdf
Alm, R. C. (1981). Frameworks for comprehending: Technical report no. 12. Center for Study of Reading. University of Illinois.
Alokan, F. B., Osakinle, E. O., & Onijingin, E. O (2013). The influence of parents’ educational background and study facilities on academic performance among secondary school students. Retrieved from ozelacademy.com/ojss.v6.i2-1.pdf
Balster-Liontos, L. (1992). At-risk families and schools: Becoming partners. USA: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management.
Bowen, K. (2010). Reading is for the boys (and girls). Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/676.
Carrell, P. L. & Eisterhold, J. C. (1983). Schema theory and ESL reading pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 17, 553-569.
Carrell P., Devine, J., & Eskey, D. (2000). Interactive approaches to second language reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Center on Education Policy, (March 17, 2010). Boys lagging girls in reading. ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/WN/study-shows-boys-lagging-girls-reading/story?id=10128586
Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement. The indirect role of parental expectations and home environment. Journal of Family Psychology, Vol. 19. No.2, 294-304.
Education Standards Research Team (2012). Research evidence on reading for pleasure. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/.../reading_for_pleasure.pdf
Geske, A. & Ozola, A. (2008). Factors influencing reading literacy at the primary school level. Problems of Education in the 21st Century. Vol. 6. 71-77.
Goodwin, B. (2000). Raising the achievement of low-performing students. Colorado, USA: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.
Kintsch, W. (1988). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Kolic-Vehovec, S., & Bajšanski, I. (2006). Metacognitive strategies and reading comprehension in elementary-school students. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 21, 439-451.
Murnane, R. J., Maynard, R. A., & Ohls, J.C. (1981). Home resources and children’s achievement. The Review of Economics Statistics, 369-377.
Okagaki, L, & Frensch, P. A. (1978). Parenting and children’s school achievement: A multiethnic perspective. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 85.2, 295-324.
Ortony, A. (1975). Why metaphors are necessary and not just nice. Educational Theory, 1, 45-54.
Ozdemir, A. (2010). The effect of reading comprehension abilities primary school students over their problem solving achievement. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6516/is_2_46/ai_n32067948/
Richardson, H. (2012). Boys' reading skills 'must be tackled'. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/education-18644811
Rumelhart, D. (1980). Toward an interactive model of reading in S. Dornic (Ed.), Attention and Performance (Vol. 6). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
Simons, D. C., Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Mathes, P., & Hodge, J. P. (2007). Effects of explicit teaching and peer tutoring on the reading achievement of learning-disabled and low-performing students in regular classrooms. The Elementary School Journal.
Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360-407.
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- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
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domain: library


Adobe Photoshop Extended – Free download and software reviews – CNET Download.How Do I Download Adobe Photoshop Elements 10? –
Download offers the opportunity to buy software and apps. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Now in its 10th year, Adobe Photoshop Elements 10, which also comes elemrnts a bundle with its video-oriented sibling, Adobe Premiere Elements 10offers photo enthusiasts and beginners a lot of imaging power for a lot less than its big brother. This version brings parity to the Mac for Organizer search, expands social tagging capabilities, some basic video support and photoxhop text, as well as enhancements to adobw few existing tools.
It’s a basic update that doesn’t radically change the usability or capabilities of the eelements unless you shoot raw–and that’s because it updates to the latest engine of Adobe Camera Raw. However, if you do a lot of raw shooting, I recommend you try Adobe Lightroom instead. First, Adobe has beefed up the Organizer a bit to improve its video softwaree, since it’s serving Premiere as well.
It allows for hierarchical tagging, as well as Smart Tags, which can automatically classify your media as high, medium, or low quality, as well as tag what it thinks is in focus, low contrast, blurred, and so on. This can be hit or miss; for instance, it classified a host of photos with shallow depth of field as out of focus. The new object search works reasonably well on rectangular objects–for instance, I used it to try to isolate softwaare photos of cage cards–but not so well on others.
It can search based on shape or color, and you can control softsare the two are пожалуйста adobe acrobat pro dc reduce file size free эта. There’s a new Duplicate search based off the visual similarity engine, adobe photoshop elements 10 software free it performs too inconsistently to adobe photoshop elements 10 software free on it.
That said, источник статьи you’re using the search tools to find images with a certain feel or color scheme freee use in projects, the visual similarity search will suit. From the Organizer you can do quick fixes, launch project creation, or share to a variety of popular sites. The Facebook integration comes in the People recognition view; there, you can нажмите чтобы увидеть больше your Facebook friends’ list to tag, so they upload pretagged; you can upload full or reduced resolution.
New is YouTube uploading–it can directly upload unedited videos. Photoshop Elements has the adobf task-oriented interface it’s phooshop for years, split into Edit, Create, and Share. In edit, you have a range of choices for how sophisticated you want the interface to be–Full, the traditional Photoshop-like experience; Quick, which provides a Lightroom-like panel with a handful of options; or Guided, which walks you through more complex adjustments and effects.
There are a few new Adobe photoshop elements 10 software free adjustments. One’s a gritty-glowy-diffuse-saturated transformation called the Orton Effect here’s how to do it in Photoshop. Another is Picture Stack, which takes a single image and divides it up into a mosaic-like array. Of course, the images can be edited within the full editor after you’ve applied the effects. I have to photohsop, I like the way Adobe intelligently handled the Adobe photoshop elements 10 software free Stack so that it really is possible to edit it as opposed to panoramas.
Finally, Adobe added a basic depth-of-field effect. Another big addition for this version is text on a path. Fgee can choose from a variety of preset shapes, which include heart and butterfly, as well as attach it to a shape or a selection.
While it’s easy to use and nice to have, photoehop can’t really fine-tune the appearance. There’s no way ffee change the letterspacing to ссылка на продолжение awkward breaks and as far as I can tell you can’t edit the curve once you’ve adobe photoshop elements 10 software free /10664.txt. This читать статью of the program supports Adobe’s new Touch APIwhich means you can probably expect жмите сюда to create tablet apps to drive tutorials adlbe PE as well.
On my Mac, at least–a 2. Plus, there are various “Click here to learn That said, while there’s nothing terribly whizzy in this version of Photoshop Elements, the product itself remains the same solid, full-featured piece of imaging eleemnts it’s been for the past years.
While existing users may not find this a must-have upgrade, first timers should find everything they need here. Designed to make shopping easier. IObit Uninstaller. Internet Download Manager. Advanced SystemCare Free. WinRAR bit. VLC Media Player. MacX YouTube Downloader. Microsoft Office YTD Video Downloader. Adobe Photoshop CC. VirtualDJ Avast Free Security. WhatsApp Messenger. Talking Tom Cat. Clash of Photooshop. Subway Surfers.
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PicPick Free. Capture and edit your images with various tools. User Adobe photoshop elements 10 software free. Show Reviews. Developer’s Description By Adobe Systems. Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 software helps you edit pictures with easy-to-use options and share them via print, the web, and Facebook. Features include create the photo, keep track of your memories, count on step-by-step assistance, dramatically transform your photos with easy-to-use options, share experiences in fresh ways on the web, and different layouts.
Download offers the opportunity to buy software and apps. When you увидеть больше through our links, we may get a commission. The bottom line : Photoshop CS5 greatly expands the toolset that Adobe offers in its flagship product, charting adobe photoshop elements 10 software free ways to make image manipulation easier while making older tools work better than before.
Don’t worry about the lack of a new interface; the new ways to get your project done make this version a must.
Photoshop has been in the English lexicon as a term to edit images for a long time, but the latest version of Adobe’s flagship program stretches the canvas of manipulation much further than ever before.
The look of the program has changed so little from Photoshop CS4 that users of that version should be instantly comfortable with this major update, but Photoshop Creative Suite 5 Extended gives photographers, artists, designers, and LOLcats obsessives a stunning array of new tools.
Among the new features in Adobe’s flagship image-editing software are automatic lens corrections, High Dynamic Range toning, automated editing tools, and adboe improvements to creating 3D images.
Installation and setup Photoshop installation is adobe photoshop elements 10 software free, although it does require an Adobe account.
You can choose to purchase a license key immediately, which you will receive by e-mail, or try out the program adobe photoshop elements 10 software free 30 days. When you receive your key, you can copy and paste the entire string directly from your osftware into the first dialog box, and the other boxes will automatically populate.
Depending on your Internet connection, Adobe says that users can expect download times of anywhere from 14 minutes on a corporate LAN adobe photoshop elements 10 software free nearly 90 softwage on slower connections. The Adobe installation process doesn’t play well with Mozilla programs such as Firefox and Thunderbird, adobe photoshop elements 10 software free those must be shut down before the installation can be finished.
You can use other programs while installing, but CPU slowdowns are likely on many computers. Adobe still refuses to have a Windows installation process that’s respectful of standard program installation behavior. Associated program icons do not fgee into an Adobe folder in your Start menu, but are rather unceremoniously dumped into your Start menu’s All Привожу ссылку pane.
First-time upgraders should note that Adobe will not override your полезная adobe photoshop cc 2015 crack dll file free само installation of Photoshop, so you’ll have to remove it manually.
This may be annoying to some, but it’s actually reasonable behavior given the cost of the program and the desire of many users to fully explore the trial. It would be nice if Photoshop came with a utility for removing previous versions, instead fdee having to go through the imperfect Windows uninstallation tool. The installation and uninstallation frustrations aren’t deal-breakers, obviously, but a little bit more attention here from Photoshop would result in a smoother process.
Interface Unlike the dramatic interface overhaul that accompanied its predecessor, there’s so little new to the look and feel of Photoshop CS5 that it’s barely worth mentioning.
The Windows 10 update download manually free download switcher has been modified so that you can drag it out of the drop-down menu across the menubar. Doing so can push the menubar itself down to a second level, which might take up too much screen space for some people. Pre-existing workspaces can be deleted, custom ones added, and generally the workspace concept has gotten a bit adobe photoshop elements 10 software free user-friendly.
Toolbox icons have been redrawn with a softer touch. This softwade the unfortunate effect of making them look mushy and out-of-focus against their gray background.
At least the iconography is the same, so the spot healing brush tool still looks like a band-aid, but this was not a welcome change. Despite lacking the aesthetic sensibility of its cousin Lightroom 3 Windows Macthe overall layout of Photoshop remains consistent. It’s not easy to use, nor is it freee to get used to the modular layout of adjustable panels. Further optional improvements can adobe photoshop elements 10 software free made courtesy Adobe Labs’ Configuratorfor customizing some parts of the navigation.
Although the CS4 interface improvements were appreciated, the UI is essentially mundane and in desperate need of refinement. It’s sadly ironic that the premiere image editor looks like a cockpit.
Features and support The new features in Photoshop CS5 completely photoehop the adobe photoshop elements 10 software free. It’s a bit hard to fathom that a program that’s been around for 20 years continues to innovate and improve as much as Photoshop has, but this version of Photoshop, officially v12, doesn’t just stretch itself here. It expands the limits of editing achievement, simplifying previously complex tasks and introducing adobe photoshop elements 10 software free ones.
It’s not reinventing the wrench as much as it’s making it do new things that everybody can immediately understand. This review won’t cover all the new features and enhancements since there are more than three dozen feature changes alone, but we’ll look at some of the best and most important. The new Mini Bridge should directly affect every user’s workflow. It opens a functional version of Adobe Bridge in a panel, photohop up processing by cutting down how often users have to jump out of the main Photoshop interface.
Mini Bridge can be launched from the top sotware the interface to the right of the menubar, from the MB icon. As with any of Photoshop’s panels, the Mini Bridge can be resized and moved around the window as needed. On first launch, the Mini Bridge took longer than expected to read adobe photoshop elements 10 software free before it could be used.
After that initial sluggishness, it loaded smoothly, even after rebooting the computer. It was noticeably faster to launch images from either Bridge or Mini Bridge into Photoshop compared with the previous version, but sticking Bridge access directly into Photoshop is a long-overdue innovation.
Automatic Lens Correction automates a task that previously could be completed by hand only. As CNET has noted elsewhereAdobe based the tool on close measurements of multiple camera bodies and lenses so that Photoshop can take over the time-consuming effort of removing barrel and pincushion distortion, darkened corners from vignetting, and colored fringe on the edge of images from chromatic aberration.
You can tell that Pbotoshop expects this feature to be a big selling point because it’s one of the few new features that comes bound to a hot key. You can toggle on or off vignetting, chromatic aberration, and lens distortion correction, which are the three major fixes that the filter looks for; adjust adobe photoshop elements 10 software free the filter affects the edge of the image; edit camera and lens profile search criteria; or adobe photoshop elements 10 software free custom profiles.
The camera profiles seemed to be limited in our testing to more-recent models. For example, the tool lacked profiles for Canon bodies older than the 50D. A new feature in the Merge to HDR panel called Remove Ghost will tidy up any minor alignment issues between your three HDR source images, and you can select which of the three images to base the final image on.
This works fairly decently, but expect best results on images that have tricky lighting situations or are underexposed. Content Aware Fill improves Photoshop’s ability to intelligently replace part of an image with pixels derived from other, nearby colors, noise, and tone. The feature can be used as part of the spot healing brush tool for fine replacements, or lassoed selections to replace large or unusually shaped читать больше from an image. The feature introduces a redone method of resampling from the image.
The differences between how the tool performs here versus in CS4 are not readily apparent since the changes zoftware pixelation and accuracy depend too greatly on the situation. Tests adobe photoshop elements 10 software free the spot healing brush revealed no differences to its CS4 predecessor, but that doesn’t mean its not working.
In general, it fref like there was less of a problem with incorrect sampling, but this wasn’t really quantifiable, as it still occurred in some cases. One spftware the most difficult Photoshop tricks has just gotten strikingly easier thanks to what Adobe calls ” intelligent selection.
It worked extremely жмите сюда with hair, and slightly less so with the more discernible echidna spikes.
It sounds simple, but the introduction of the Smart Radius and Decontaminate colors functions in intelligent selection provides a stunning breadth of control during image masking. Following the tutorials for photohop is essential, because learning to do it right can impressively enhance your image control while cutting down on your workflow from CS4.
Puppet Warp адрес страницы like it could be a filter to Muppetize people in your photo. It’s actually a localized warping tool that gives you the ability to accurately recompose selected aspects of an image, such as changing a straight leg to bent. It can’t add content where it hasn’t existed, so it works best when used on a subject shot in profile, but elementz tool itself worked well.
Once you’ve created a selection, choose Puppet Warp from the Edit menu and apply pins where you want to create pivot points in the image. Playing around with them, you can stretch adobe photoshop elements 10 software free selected area between two pins. Unlike the complicated freee selection, Puppet Warp took seconds to learn. Of all the new tools, this is probably the most fun to use.
The tool may not appear to have much practical use, but it can easily lend itself to basic but creative 3D implementation without having to upgrade to Adibe Extended. Photoshop is not the best digital painting program around, but the new Mixer Brush and Bristle Tips features give it a much stronger easel to stand on. Briefly, the Mixer Brush lets you add multiple colors to a single brush tip and then adobe photoshop elements 10 software free them to whatever colors already exist on your canvas.
Users can define how wet the canvas is, how fast paint gets re-added to the tip, the mix rate between brush and canvas colors, and whether the brush is refilled, cleaned, or both after photosgop paint stroke. Bristle Tips provides similarly fine-tuned control over the adobe photoshop elements 10 software free tip, including shape, length, stiffness, thickness, angle, and spacing. Although some photographers might swear otherwise, it’s not necessary to use a tablet for photo editing.
This was not the case with the new painting tools, where a standard mouse did not provide the kind of detailed control required to manipulate the tools properly.
Still, by building out the painting options, Adobe’s clearly trying to keep Photoshop competitive across all major disciplines. If you don’t need them, don’t get the more expensive version. If you do, though, there are several notable new features. Adobe Repousse lhotoshop the process for converting 2D artwork into 3D, then provides a bucketload of adobe photoshop elements 10 software free for altering the /17742.txt. There’s nothing adobe photoshop elements 10 software free here except a reasonable, solid effort at reducing workflow.
It’s effective, and it’s hard to argue with less than six steps to creating a 3D letterform. Photoshop Extended users will get an equally quick workflow for adding realistic textures to 3D models. The program comes with a stack of adobe photoshop elements 10 software free, which users can edit and save as their own, as well as create custom textures from scratch and download new ones off the Web.
There’s also new options for introducing image-based lights for dynamic light sourcing on complex models, shadow capturing, and improved ray tracing. Much like the painting tools, the 3D options are not a full-on replacement for a 3D renderer, but they will do quite admirably for users looking to regularly add 3D pop to their art without having to shell out for a modeling suite.
Other changes include tweaks to everything from the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in adobe photoshop elements 10 software free tool menus. Raw processing has earned itself some better tools for reducing noise, and adding vignettes and grain to give stills a more filmlike quality. The Raw tool in general also feels less jittery than its CS4 predecessor, and it now will automatically downsample your or bit raw image down to 8-bit JPEG when you save it.
The relatively complicated process of straightening images has been replaced by soctware Straighten button in the Ruler tool. Throw in the Alt or Option microsoft 2010 professional plus without product key free download and you’ll straighten without photosgop.
Note that to fully undo the straighten, you have to go back through your Actions panel. When cropping, you can add an overlay grid after you set your crop boundaries. You can now prevent the Sharpen tool from creating artifacts by using the Protect Detail option, copy colors as a hex number, and gain a modicum of collaborative tools via the deeper hooks to Adobe’s online CS Review.
You can now change the opacity of more than one layer at a time, create layer masks from transparent layers, and use lens correction profiles when stitching using Auto-Align in Layers. Layer settings will also remember your previous settings. Mac users will see some specific improvements for their computers. Trackpad adobe photoshop elements 10 software free can be disabled, too.
There’s no doubt that the major features changes create a strong framework for CS5, but its the addition of these detail-oriented fixes that sell the picture of CS5 as an upgrade worth getting. Photoshop support is available on several levels.


text:
Der Spiegel: Bulgaria Has 'Pro-European' Interim Gov't
A Europe-friendly caretaker cabinet is now governing Bulgaria until the early elections, German weekly Der Spiegel's website [DE] wrote Wednesday.
The new team revealed by President Plevneliev replaces a "pro-Russian government", the magazine reports.
Bulgaria's new government will have as its main task to stabilize "the Balkan country shaken by crises" and to prepare the snap poll scheduled for October 5.
The EU Commissioner for crisis response, Kristalina Georgieva, has now to be nominated again to the EU's executive body, the media outlet adds.
Der Spiegel also quotes Georgi Bliznashki, Bulgaria's interim Prime Minister, as promising to seek "more stability, dialogue and transparency in government" and reports that he wishes to improve Bulgaria's plummeting image in the EU and NATO.
The magazine names only two of the ministers in the interim cabinet - the Foreign Minister ("36-year-old political scientist Daniel Mitov") and the Finance Minister ("the 49-year-old former chief of the agency managing financial aid for agriculture") Rumen Porozhanov.
Porozhanov must now cope with the crisis in the country's fourth-largest lender, Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB) which could cost taxpayers "about EUR 1 B" and which had prompted the cabinet to issue new debt.
Der Spiegel stresses that the caretaker government is due to sign the Partnership Agreement with the EU Commission and also "to prepare the introduction of the euro in the Southeast European country".
- » FT: Bulgaria Strives to Become Tech Capital of Balkans
- » WSJ: Bulgaria and Smugglers Escalate Their Migrant-Trafficking Battle
- » Seattle Times: Bulgaria Is 'Underappreciated and Ripe for a Visit'
- » Die Welt: Bulgarians Rescuing Schengen Area
- » Balkan Insight: Bulgaria's Impossible Balancing Act
- » DW Reveals How Migrants Are Smuggled out of Bulgaria

domain: news


text:
Cranberry Roast Chicken & Sweet Potatoes
Recipe by OceanSpray; flavorful chicken enhanced by jellied cranberry sauce
A flavorful roasted chicken enhanced by jellied cranberry sauce.
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
- 4 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 2 1/4 pounds)
- 1 (14 ounce) can Ocean Spray® Whole Berry or Jellied Cranberry Sauce
- 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 65mins
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Rinse potatoes; pat dry. Place potatoes evenly in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Place chicken on top. Whisk remaining ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Pour mixture evenly over chicken and potatoes.
Bake uncovered for 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout and potatoes are tender.
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domain: food


You may not spend hours and hours thinking of new ways to...
Impact Acoustics 6×2 Component Video Matrix Selector (Model# 40697) Review
It seems that HDMI is all the rage these days. Everything has HDMI – projectors, flat panel displays, DVD players, cable & satellite boxes, and don’t forget the a/v receiver with HDMI switching. But what about those of us with older technology? I don’t know about you, but I enjoy my high-def through good old-fashioned (and CHEAP) component cables! It was time for a video switcher, and I knew that Impact Acoustics would have a solution for me. MSRP: $180 →
Read full review @ Audioholics
- Easy to set up
- Easy to use
- Priced right


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Thinking about NMR? Trust JEOL for innovation.
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domain: chemistry


text:
Try exploring further by clicking on a supporting band or on a venue to find out more.
Name: Dave Brannigan
Members: No band members listed
Name: The Country Band
Download this gig listing as a CSV file.
5 years, 9 months ago: The gig Peter Dickie and others @ Frank Traynors on Thursday, May 14
5 years, 3 months ago: The gig Jade, Cinnamon @ Berties on Sunday, May 21 1972
3 years, 5 months ago: The gig Maori Tiki Showband @ Tiki Village on Saturday, Mar 19 1966
5 years, 4 months ago: The gig Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs @ Easyrider Disco on Sunday, Feb 6 1972
4 years, 9 months ago: The gig Blackfeather and others @ Q Club on Saturday, Jul 29 1972
5 years, 9 months ago: The gig The Sect @ Pitt on Friday, May 8

domain: entertainment


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To whom correspondence should be addressed: Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology, Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital of Lund, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. Tel.: 46-46-17-33-59; Fax: 46-46-17-60-30;
* This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Strategic Foundation (SSF), the Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research, The Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, the Research School in Pharmaceutical Sciences (FLÄK) at Lund University, The Crafoord Foundation, and the Medical Faculty of Lund (ALF). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Figs. S1-S3.
The endogenous C18 N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) N-linolenoylethanolamine (18:3 NAE), N-linoleoylethanolamine (18:2 NAE), N-oleoylethanolamine (18:1 NAE), and N-stearoylethanolamine (18:0 NAE) are structurally related to the endocannabinoid anandamide (20:4 NAE), but these lipids are poor ligands at cannabinoid CB1 receptors. Anandamide is also an activator of the transient receptor potential (TRP) vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) on primary sensory neurons. Here we show that C18 NAEs are present in rat sensory ganglia and vascular tissue. With the exception of 18:3 NAE in rat sensory ganglia, the levels of C18 NAEs are equal to or substantially exceed those of anandamide. At submicromolar concentrations, 18:3 NAE, 18:2 NAE, and 18:1 NAE, but not 18:0 NAE and oleic acid, activate native rTRPV1 on perivascular sensory nerves. 18:1 NAE does not activate these nerves in TRPV1 gene knock-out mice. Only the unsaturated C18 NAEs elicit whole cell currents and fluorometric calcium responses in HEK293 cells expressing hTRPV1. Molecular modeling revealed a low energy cluster of U-shaped unsaturated NAE conformers, sharing several pharmacophoric elements with capsaicin. Furthermore, one of the two major low energy conformational families of anandamide also overlaps with the cannabinoid CB1 receptor ligand HU210, which is in line with anandamide being a dual activator of TRPV1 and the cannabinoid CB1 receptor. This study shows that several endogenous non-cannabinoid NAEs, many of which are more abundant than anandamide in rat tissues, activate TRPV1 and thus may play a role as endogenous TRPV1 modulators.
). Other mediators of inflammation, such as bradykinin, prostaglandin E2, or nerve growth factor, promote TRPV1 and TRPA1 activation via multiple signaling pathways, which is consistent with TRPV1 and TRPA1 being essential for the development of inflammation-induced hyperalgesia (
). The present study examines the possibility that TRPV1 is also activated by similar endogenous long chain NAEs. One such lipid, N-oleoylethanolamine (18:1 NAE), is more abundant than anandamide in many tissues (
In the present study, we have examined the effects of naturally occurring C18 NAEs on native TRPV1 in rodent blood vessels and the cloned hTRPV1 expressed in HEK293 cells. Activation of TRPV1 on perivascular sensory nerves in rat and mouse mesenteric arteries causes release of the potent vasodilator calcitonin gene-related peptide, the effect of which can be conveniently recorded in a preconstricted arterial segment (
). The flexible structures of NAEs differ greatly from the more rigid structures of capsaicin and the tricyclic cannabinoids. To gain insight into common structural features of these compounds, we used computational techniques to compare low energy conformations of NAEs and their putative pharmacophoric elements with those of the reference TRPV1 and cannabinoid CB1 receptor activators capsaicin and HU210, respectively.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Quantification of NAEs—Rat dorsal root ganglia from all spinal levels and the mesenteric arterial bed were homogenized in 500 μl of Tris buffer (10 mm Tris base, 0.3 mm ascorbic acid, 1 mm EDTA, pH 7.6). Methylarachidonylfluorophosphonate (1 μm) was included in the buffer to reduce degradation of NAEs. Ice-cold acetone (2.5 ml) with 0.1 μm [2H8]anandamide (internal standard) and 0.3 mm ascorbic acid (antioxidant) was added to extract lipids. Standards for quantifications were obtained by addition of different amounts of the N-acylethanolamines to homogenates of dorsal root ganglia and mesenteric arterial bed, respectively. After centrifugation at 3000 rpm in 10 min (5 °C), the supernatant was collected in polypropylene tubes and vacuum-evaporated. The extraction residue was reconstituted in 100 μl of methanol with 0.3 mm ascorbic acid and stored at -20 °C until analysis. The protein content of the pellet was determined with Coomassie Blue (Pierce) protein assay, using bovine serum albumin as a standard.
A Perkin Elmer Series 200 liquid chromatography system with autosampler (Applied Biosystems, Norfolk, CT), coupled to an API 3000 LC-MS-MS (Applied Biosystems/MDS-SCIEX, Toronto, Canada) was used for the analysis. The column was a Genesis C8 (20 × 2.1 mm) with a particle size of 4 μm (Jones, Lakewood, CO). Aliquots of 5 μl were injected by the autosampler. Mobile phase was a water-methanol gradient containing 0.5% acetic acid, and the initial mobile flow was 75% methanol. A linear gradient to 100% methanol was applied in 6 min. The mobile flow rate was 0.2 ml/min. The turbo ion spray interface was set to 370 °C, the declustering potential 40 volts and collision energy 35 volts. The analyses were performed in the positive ion multiple reaction monitoring mode, and the mass fragments used were for anandamide, m/z 348.2/61.6; for [2H8]anandamide, m/z 356.4/62.2; for 22:4 NAE, m/z 376.3/61.6; for 18:3 NAE, m/z 322.3/61.6; for 18:2 NAE, m/z 324.3/61.6; for 18:1 NAE, m/z 326.3/61.6; and for 18:0 NAE, m/z 328.3/61.6. The peak area ratios between the analytes and the internal standards were used for quantification. The within-day precision at 10 and 100 nm, respectively, were 4 and 7% for anandamide, 10 and 13% for 22:4 NAE, 6 and 7% for 18:3 NAE, 6 and 7% for 18:2 NAE, 10 and 12% for 18:1 NAE, and 21 and 9% for 18:0 NAE.
Recording of Vasorelaxation—Wistar-Hannover rats (250 g) of female gender and C57 BL/6 mice (30 gm) of either sex were killed by exsanguination under CO2 anesthesia. TRPV1-deficient mice (
) were kindly provided by Prof. David Julius, UCSF. The first or second generation branches of the mesenteric artery was carefully dissected and flushed with physiological salt solution (composition in mm: NaCl 119, KCl 4.6, CaCl2 1.5, MgCl2 1.2, NaHCO3 15, NaH2PO4 1.2, and glucose 6). Ring segments, ∼2-mm long, were suspended between two stainless wires in tissue baths, containing physiological salt solution. One of the wires was connected to a force-displacement transducer (model FT03C, Grass Instruments) for isometric tension recording. The physiological salt solution was continuously bubbled with carbogen (95% O2 and 5% CO2), resulting in a pH of 7.4.
The vessel segments were allowed to equilibrate for 1 h under a passive load of 1 mN and 2 mN for mouse and rat mesenteric arteries, respectively. Arteries were contracted with 3 μm phenylephrine to induce stable and submaximal contractions. Increasing concentrations of test drugs were added cumulatively to determine concentration-response relationships. Relaxant responses are expressed as percentage reversal of the phenylephrine-induced contraction. All experiments were performed at 37 °C in the presence of 3 mmNG-nitro-l-arginine and 10 μm indomethacin as previously described (
). Some arteries were pretreated with 10 μm capsaicin for 60 min to cause desensitization and/or neurotransmitter depletion of sensory nerves. Capsaicin, capsazepine, and the NAEs were dissolved in ethanol and added cumulatively to the organ baths in volume of 2.5 μl. The final ethanol concentration in the organ bath never exceeded 1%. The incubation time with capsazepine was 20 min.
Electrophysiology—HEK293 cells were transfected with hTRPV1 cDNA, kindly provided by Dr. Sven-Eric Jordt (UCSF), using Lipofectamine (Invitrogen Life Technologies, Inc.). After 24 h, whole cell currents were recorded at a holding potential of -50 mV. The bath solution contained (in mm): NaCl 140, KCl 5, MgCl2 2, glucose 10, and TES 10 adjusted to pH 7.4. The pipette solution contained (in mm): CsCl 140, EGTA 5, and TES 10 adjusted to pH 7.4. All experiments were carried out at room temperature (20-22 °C). The test drugs were dissolved in ethanol. The final ethanol concentration in the bath solution never exceeded 0.2%. Responses are calculated as a percentage of the response to 2 μm capsaicin. For further details regarding experimental procedure and data acquisition, see Ref.
Fluorometric Calcium Imaging—HEK293 cells were transfected with hTRPV1 cDNA as described above. After 24 h, transfected cells were plated on poly-d-lysine-coated 384-well optiplates (Corning) at a density of ∼40,000 cells/well and were allowed to proliferate for 24 h. Prior to start of the assay, the cells were incubated with 2 μm fluo-4/AM for 30 min at 37 °C. Dye not taken up by cells was removed by aspiration followed by washing three times with 25 μl of a HEPES-buffered ringer solution (composition in mm: NaCl 145, KCl 5, MgCl2 1, CaCl2 1, and HEPES 10 adjusted to pH 7.4). The assay was performed in the HEPES-buffered ringer solution at room temperature. Fluorescence measurements were performed at 1-s intervals using a 384-well fluorometric imaging plate reader (FLIPR; Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA). Cellular responses were quantitated by calculating the difference between peak increases in fluorescence over baseline. Responses are calculated as a percentage of the response to a saturating concentration of anandamide (100 μm). The lipids were dissolved in ethanol. The final concentration of ethanol in the wells was 0.05% in all experiments.
Calculations and Statistics—The -log of the agonist concentration eliciting half-maximal response (pEC50) was determined by nonlinear regression (GraphPad Prism 3.0). Emax refers to the maximal response achieved. When the concentration-response curve did not reach a plateau, and hence Emax and EC50 could not be determined, the area under curve (AUC) was calculated (GraphPad Prism version 3.0) and used for evaluation of drug effects. Two-tailed, unpaired Student's t test or analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnett's post hoc test (GraphPad Prism 3.0) was used for statistical comparison. The content of NAEs is expressed as mol per mg protein. These values were log-transformed before statistical comparison, using ANOVA followed by the Bonferroni's post hoc test (GraphPad Prism 3.0). Statistical significance was accepted when the p value was less than 0.05.
Molecular Modeling—Monte Carlo conformational searches, using the MacroModel (
) suite of software (version 8.6), were conducted to identify low energy families of conformers within 3 kcal/mol of the global energy minimum of each compound in water. Non-bonded interactions within 8 Å for van der Waals interactions and 20 Å for electrostatic interactions were included in the calculations. The XCluster (
) program implemented in the MacroModel package was used to group C18 NAEs, 20:4 NAE, capsaicin, and HU210 into geometrically similar families. The MacroModel software (version 8.6) was used to find optimal alignments, i.e. the minimum root mean square deviation (RMSD) between the pharmacophoric elements (see supplementary data for further details).
Drugs—Anandamide (20:4 NAE; N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-5Z,8Z,11Z, 14Z-eicosatetraenamide), [2H8]anandamide, N-linolenoylethanolamine (18:3 NAE; N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-9Z,12Z,15Z-octadecatrienamide), N-linoleoylethanolamine (18:2 NAE; N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-9Z,12Z-octadecadienamide), methylarachidonylfluorophosphonate, oleic acid, N-oleoylethanolamine (18:1 NAE; N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-9Z-octadecenamide), and N-stearoylethanolamine (18:0 NAE; N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-octadecanamide) were purchased from Cayman Chemicals (Ann Arbor, MI). N-Docosatetraenylethanolamine (22:4 NAE; N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z-docosatetraenamide) were obtained from Biomol (Plymouth Meeting, PA). Capsaicin and capsazepine were purchased from Tocris (Bristol, UK). NG-nitro-l-arginine, phenylephrine, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, Trisbase, and HEPES were purchased from Sigma. Indomethacin (Confortide) was obtained from Dumex (Copenhagen, Denmark).
The amounts of NAEs in the rat mesenteric artery and dorsal root ganglia were measured by LC-MS-MS (TABLE ONE). The levels of 18:2 NAE, 18:1 NAE, and 18:0 NAE in the mesenteric artery are 24, 20, and 26 times higher, respectively, compared with anandamide (p < 0.001, n = 12). No differences could be detected between the amounts of 22:4 NAE and 18:3 NAE compared with anandamide. The levels of 18:1 NAE and 18:0 NAE in dorsal root ganglia are 7 and 8 times higher, respectively, compared with anandamide (p < 0.001, n = 12). The amount of anandamide was 37 times higher than 18:3 NAE (p < 0.001), whereas no differences were detected between the levels of anandamide compared with 22:4 NAE and 18:2 NAE (n = 12).
TABLE ONEContent of NAEs in rat mesenteric arteries and dorsal root ganglia
The unsaturated C18 NAEs N-linolenoylethanolamine (18:3 NAE), N-linoleoylethanolamine (18:2 NAE), and N-oleoylethanolamine (18:1 NAE) all induce a concentration-dependent relaxation in the rat mesenteric artery. Oleic acid at a concentration of 10 μm is unable to cause a relaxation in this artery (TABLE TWO), which excludes that oleic acid formed by hydrolytic cleavage of 18:1 NAE is responsible for the vasodilator response to this NAE. The relaxation induced by these unsaturated NAEs are inhibited by the TRPV1 receptor antagonist capsazepine in a concentration-dependent manner (Fig. 1, A-C) and absent in arteries pretreated with the neurotoxin capsaicin (10 μm for 60 min; Fig. 1E). The pEC50 values in the absence and presence of capsazepine 1 μm are 6.3 ± 0.0 and 5.5 ± 0.1 (p < 0.0001) for 18:3 NAE, 6.2 ± 0.1 and 5.4 ± 0.3 (p = 0.01) for 18:2 NAE, and 6.4 ± 0.1 and 6.0 ± 0.1 (p = 0.03) for 18:1 NAE, respectively (n = 6). The presence of capsazepine 1 μm does not influence Emax for these lipids. The Emax values in the absence and presence of capsazepine 1 μm are 99 ± 0.6% and 95 ± 2% (18:3 NAE), 96 ± 2% and 83 ± 9% (18:2 NAE), and 98 ± 1% and 86 ± 6% (18:1 NAE), respectively. The AUC values in the absence and presence of capsazepine 3 μm are 203 ± 14 and 271 ± 19 (p = 0.02), for 18:3 NAE, 190 ± 7 and 276 ± 7(p < 0.0001), for 18:2 NAE, and 198 ± 11 and 290 ± 5 (p < 0.0001) for 18:1 NAE, respectively (n = 6-8).
TABLE TWOStructure-activity relationship of N-acylethanolamines
– Not analyzed.
a The -log of the agonist concentration eliciting half-maximal response
b The maximal relaxation achieved
c The maximal current as a percentage of capsaicin 2 μm
d The maximal increase in fluorescence as a percentage of anandamide 100 μm
N-Docosatetraenoylethanolamine (22:4 NAE), which has a longer fatty acid chain than anandamide (20:4 NAE), is also able to cause a capsazepine-sensitive relaxation in the rat mesenteric artery. The pEC50 values for 22:4 NAE are 6.8 ± 0.1 in the absence and 6.1 ± 0.1 in the presence of 1 μm capsazepine (p < 0.001, n = 6). The Emax values for 22:4 NAE are 94 ± 4% in the absence and 83 ± 7% in the presence of 1 μm capsazepine, respectively (n = 6). The AUC values in the absence and presence of capsazepine 3 μm are 172 ± 10 and 298 ± 2(p < 0.0001) for 22:4 NAE, respectively (n = 5).
The saturated 18:0 NAE N-stearoylethanolamine can neither cause relaxation (Fig. 1D) nor enhance the relaxation induced by the TRPV1 receptor agonist anandamide. The pEC50 and Emax values for anandamide are 6.7 ± 0.1 and 96 ± 1% in the absence and 6.9 ± 0.1 and 96 ± 1% in the presence of 18:0 NAE, respectively (n = 6).
N-Oleoylethanolamine (18:1 NAE) also induces relaxation in segments of the mouse mesenteric artery (Fig. 1F). This relaxation is almost absent in arteries from TRPV1-/- mice (Fig. 1F); Emax values are 9 ± 4% and 70 ± 5% in TRPV1-/- and TRPV1+/+ mice, respectively (p < 0.0001, n = 4). The ability of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (10 μm) to relax these arteries (Fig. 1F) indicates that the sensory nerves are functionally intact in TRPV1-/- mice (
Unsaturated 18 NAEs evoke concentration-dependent inward whole cell membrane currents in HEK293 cells expressing hTRPV1 (Fig. 2). The pEC50 and Emax values are shown in TABLE TWO. Of all capsaicin-sensitive cells examined, 59% responded to the unsaturated NAEs, whereas 18:0 NAE and oleic acid were inactive (Fig. 2). The magnitude of the maximum response to unsaturated NAEs is 577 ± 109 pA (10 μm 18:1 NAE, n = 21), 795 ± 161 pA (10 μm 18:2 NAE, n = 15) and 599 ± 109 pA (10 μm 18:3 NAE, n = 15). The capsaicin response amounts to 1114 ± 107 pA (2 μm capsaicin, n = 42). As shown in Fig. 2, capsazepine (3 μm) inhibits currents elicited by the unsaturated NAEs (10 μm) by 95 ± 5% (18:1 NAE, n = 3), 85 ± 8% (18:2 NAE, n = 3), and 95 ± 0% (18:3 NAE, n = 3).
As shown in experiments with the calcium fluorometric imaging technique, all unsaturated C18 NAEs, 20:4 NAE, and 22:4 NAE are able to evoke an increase in intracellular calcium in a concentration-dependent manner (Fig. 3). In contrast, 18:0 NAE and oleic acid are inactive. The pEC50 and Emax values obtained in these experiments are shown in TABLE TWO.
A conformational analysis of highly flexible ligands, such as the long chain NAEs (Fig. S1, supplement), generates a very large number of low energy conformations within 3 kcal/mol of the lowest energy minimum. The multitude of unique minima found in these systems (1783 for NAE 18:0, 600 for NAE 18:1, 1604 for NAE 18:2, 2217 for NAE 18:3, and 2485 for NAE 20:4) are, as a consequence of their great flexibility, not all structurally distinct. Similar conformational structures were therefore grouped in clusters by XCluster calculations (
For 18:0 NAE, two clusters of extended shapes, in which the ends are far from each other, accounted for 65% of the low energy conformations (Fig. 4). Thus, it is clear that this compound prefers to exist in an extended shape in water. However, the situation changes dramatically after introduction of a cis double bond in the hydrocarbon chain. In the major low energy clusters of the unsaturated NAEs, the ends of the molecules are brought together in U-shaped structures (Fig. 4). These clusters accounted for 71% (18:1 NAE), 72% (18:2 NAE), 63% (18:3 NAE), and 41% (20:4 NAE) of the conformations. A low energy cluster of helical shapes was also identified for each of the polyunsaturated NAEs, accounting for 12% (18:2 NAE), 12% 18:3 NAE, and 29% (20:4 NAE) of the conformations, whereas a small cluster of extended shapes (2%) was demonstrated for 18:1 NAE (Fig. 4). All other low energy clusters identified for each compound included less than 2% of conformers.
A conformational analysis of capsaicin revealed two major equally sized low energy conformer clusters (Fig. 5A); one extended family and a second family with a tightly folded structure in which the vanillyl moiety interacts with the C9 trans double bond (Fig. 5A). No other clusters exceeding 4% of conformers were identified. Optimal RMSD alignment of a representative conformer of the extended cluster with representative U-shape conformers of 18:1, 18:2, 18:3, and 20:4 NAEs demonstrated an excellent fit of several of the important pharmacophoric groups (Fig. 5B). Calculated optimal RMSD were as follows: capsaicin + 18:1 NAE = 0.6 Å, capsaicin + 18:2 NAE = 0.6 Å, capsaicin + 18:3 NAE = 0.6 Å, and capsaicin + 20:4 NAE = 0.9 Å.
A conformational analysis of HU210 revealed two major conformational families with the dimethylheptyl side chain extending either axial (58%) or perpendicular (42%) to the tricyclic system (supplemental Fig. S3). The latter conformation is considered to confer activity (
). Optimal RMSD alignment of representative helical conformers of 18:2, 18:3, and 20:4 NAEs to a representative conformer of HU210 revealed a good fit of the pharmacophoric elements for 18:3 NAE (RMSD, 0.7 Å) and 20:4 NAE (RMSD, 0.6 Å), but not for 18:2 NAE (RMSD, 1.3 Å) (Fig. S3, supplement). However, the terminal trans carbon chain of C18 NAEs was two carbons shorter than the dimethylheptyl side chain of HU210. Our modeling further implicates that the imperfect fit of 18:2 NAE also originates from the propensity of the acyl chain to adopt a wider curvature, hindering the saturated tail to extend in a direction preferred by the dimethylheptyl side chain of the “bioactive” conformation of HU210. Tong et al. (
) put focus on NAEs as potential endogenous TRPV1 modulators. In the present study, we show that endogenous C18 NAEs, having at least one double bond, cause a TRPV1-mediated vasorelaxation in rat mesenteric arteries and activate the human orthologue of TRPV1 expressed in HEK293 cells. Among these lipids, N-linolenoylethanolamine (18:3 NAE) and linoleoylethanolamine (18:2 NAE) have not previously been shown to interact with TRPV1. Whereas these lipids activate native TRPV1 at submicromolar concentrations (present study), they are poor ligands at cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors (
). Structure-activity relationship studies of NAEs at cannabinoid CB1 receptors have shown that an acyl chain length of at least 20 carbons and a minimum of three double bonds are required for optimal activity (
). In the present study, we show that all four C18 NAEs and 22:4 NAE together with anandamide are present in sensory ganglia and blood vessels. In both these tissues, the levels of 18:1 NAE are substantially higher than those of anandamide. Interestingly, activation of cultured neurons, including dorsal root ganglion neurons, leads to the formation of TRPV1 ligands, such as anandamide and 18:1 NAE (
). Likewise, products of 12-lipoxygenase, such as 12-(S)-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid and 12-(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, are also synthesized in cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons and represent another group of potential endogenous TRPV1 active eicosanoids (
). This raises the interesting possibility that NAEs and lipoxygenase products generated within sensory neurons act as intracellular modulators of TRPV1.
All three unsaturated C18 NAEs produced consistent activation of TRPV1 in rat blood vessels and the FLIPR assay, but evoked TRPV1-mediated currents in only 59% of capsaicin-sensitive HEK293 cells. Non-responding cells cannot be detected in the FLIPR assay, because the calcium signal represents the average signal from thousands of cells. The observation that capsaicin-sensitive cells (both sensory neurons and TRPV1-transfected cells) may display variability in the responsiveness to 18:1 NAE has been reported previously (
). Differences between bioassays with respect to post-translational modifications of TRPV1 and the presence of efficient amplification systems in intact tissues could also explain why the potencies of the unsaturated NAEs were consistently higher in blood vessels than in TRPV1-expressing HEK293 cells.
In contrast to the unsaturated NAEs, the saturated 18:0 NAE N-stearoylethanolamine did not activate TRPV1 in any of the bioassays used. Moreover, 18:0 NAE did not displace the selective TRPV1 ligand [3H]resiniferatoxin from mouse cortical slices (
Molecular modeling, using capsaicin as template, provided a rational explanation why unsaturated, but not saturated, NAEs are able to activate TRPV1. Our findings are in line with the previous observation that the activity at TRPV1 is lost when the midchain unsaturation in olvanil (N-oleoylvanillylamine) is removed (
), which corresponds to the length of the acyl chain before the U-turn of the unsaturated long chain C18 NAEs and anandamide. Thus, the unsaturation at C9 of long chain NAEs may have a conformational effect, allowing the molecules to reach the binding site, rather than participating in the interaction with the channel protein.
In addition to the low energy U-shaped conformational families of C18 NAEs and anandamide, a second large helical conformational family of 18:2 NAE, 18:3 NAE, and anandamide was found. A similar low energy helical conformation of anandamide has been reported previously using computational methods (
). The lack of one or both of these structural features in the C18 NAEs could explain the weak effect of these lipids on cannabinoid CB1 receptors. As shown by the present study, only anandamide, in its helical form, displays a high degree of matching of important pharmacophoric elements with the potent cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist HU210. Interestingly, it has recently been shown that anandamide prefers an extended conformation in membrane phospholipid bilayers (
). Although it remains to be shown which of these configurations is important for binding to the cannabinoid CB1 receptor, the ability of anandamide to adopt multiple low energy conformations is likely to explain the intriguing pharmacology of anandamide, being a dual activator of both TRPV1 and cannabinoid receptors.
In conclusion, we have identified novel endogenous TRPV1 activators, belonging to the unsaturated C18 NAE class of lipids. Molecular modeling have demonstrated that these unsaturated C18 NAEs adopt U-shape conformations, which fit with several of the pharmacophoric elements of capsaicin. This provides an explanation for the pivotal role of acyl chain unsaturation for activity at TRPV1. These NAEs, which are poor ligands at the cannabinoid CB1 receptor, may act in concert with anandamide and lipoxygenase products as intracellular TRPV1 modulators in capsaicin-sensitive sensory neurons.

domain: literature


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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'A-' rating to the following general obligation (GO) bonds of the state of Illinois:
--$750 million GO bonds, series of May 2014.
The bonds are expected to sell via negotiation April 25, 2014.
In addition, Fitch has affirmed the 'A-' rating on approximately $28.2 billion outstanding GO bonds of the state of Illinois.
The Rating Outlook remains Negative.
Direct general obligation, full faith and credit of the state of Illinois.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
BUDGET TEMPORARILY STABILIZED WITH TAX INCREASE: Temporary increases in both the personal and corporate income tax rates, coupled with statutory spending limits, have closed a significant portion of the structural gap in the state's budget through the current fiscal year 2014.
NEED FOR LONG-TERM SOLUTION REMAINS: Due to the temporary nature of the enacted tax increases, the state will need to find a more permanent solution to the mismatch between spending and revenues. The Negative Outlook reflects the critical need to address this issue. The governor's recommended budget for the coming fiscal year would make these tax increases permanent and provide a basis for the state to achieve fiscal balance.
LARGE BALANCE OF DEFERRED PAYMENTS REMAINS: The state has a large general fund accounts payable backlog, which although reduced still totaled $4.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2013. The state prudently used higher than forecast income tax collections in fiscal 2013 to pay down a portion of the accounts payable balance.
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES HIGH: The state's debt burden is above average and rose during the recession with issuance for operational purposes. Continued borrowing is expected under the $31 billion capital plan. Further, unfunded pension liabilities are exceptionally high and are expected to remain so, even if pension reform survives legal challenge.
ACTION ON PENSIONS: Passage of pension reform legislation was a positive indication of the state's willingness to take action on this complicated issue after many failed attempts. Legal protection of pension benefits is particularly strong in Illinois and, as expected, legal challenge to the reform has been filed.
ECONOMY STRONG BUT RECOVERY SLOW: The state benefits from a large, diverse economy centered on the Chicago metropolitan area, which is the nation's third largest and is a nationally important business and transportation center.
Maintenance of the 'A-' rating will require timely action in advance of the expiration of temporary tax increases in fiscal 2015. Deterioration in the state's financial position, as evidenced by excessive use of non-recurring revenues or additional payment deferrals, would likely lead to a downgrade. In addition, stabilization of the rating will reflect the extent to which pension reform enhances the funding levels of the pension systems and controls the growing impact of pension payments on the budget.
Fitch's 'A-', Negative Outlook, on Illinois' GO bonds reflects the state's record of unwillingness to address numerous fiscal challenges, which as a result steadily increased in magnitude. In December 2013 the state did take a significant and positive step toward addressing one of these challenges with passage of pension reform legislation, (Act 98-0599) after several prior failed attempts. The measures are being challenged as unconstitutional; however, if the reform survives legal challenge it would reduce unfunded liabilities and temper the growth in pension payments required by the state.
A key remaining near-term challenge is the need for timely action on a more permanent budget solution to the structural mismatch between spending and revenues in advance of the expiration of temporary tax increases. Temporary increases in both the personal and corporate income tax rates that have been supporting the budget since 2011 are scheduled to begin to phase out in mid-fiscal 2015, which begins on July 1, 2014. The governor has proposed a budget alternative for fiscal 2015 that would make permanent these temporary increases and legislative leadership has indicated there is support for this approach.
HIGH LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
Illinois' long-term liabilities, particularly pension liabilities, are very high for a U.S. state and are expected to remain so even with improvement in pension funding from pension reform. Illinois is among the weakest of the states in terms of its ratio of debt and unfunded pension liabilities to personal income, at 25%, well above the median for states rated by Fitch.
As of the most recent actuarial valuation, dated June 30, 2013 and prior to enactment of Act 98-0599, the unfunded actuarial accrued liability was reported at $100.5 billion, resulting in a system-wide 39.3% reported funded ratio. Annual pension funding requirements have been increasing significantly and growing pension payments have been crowding out other expenditure growth and absorbing revenue growth. Pension payments from the general fund increased $972 million to $5.1 billion in 2013, an increase of 23%, reflecting in part the use of more conservative investment return assumptions. Pension payments increase a further 17.3% to $6 billion in fiscal 2014 and are scheduled to increase slightly to $6.1 billion in fiscal 2015. The governor's budget proposal prudently does not assume any savings from pension reform, given the ongoing legal challenge.
Pension reform is expected to both reduce unfunded liabilities and temper the growth in pension payments required by the state. Fitch believes the enacted reforms would provide a substantial improvement in the funding scheme for the state's pensions by moving to a closed ARC funding schedule with a goal of 100% funding (versus the prior statutory plan that only targeted 90% funding) and requiring significant payments above what the ARC would indicate once outstanding series 2010 and 2011 pension obligation bonds mature. Fitch has stated that pension reform that enhances the funding levels of the pension systems and controls the growing impact of pension payments on the budget is necessary to stabilize the credit. The state's actuarial analysis of the reform estimated savings of $145 billion over the next 30 years and a $25 billion reduction in unfunded liabilities should the reforms be found constitutional. Legal protection of pension benefits is particularly strong in Illinois and while the state believes it has made sufficient accommodation to survive the constitutional challenge, the outcome of litigation is unknown and could have a negative impact on the state's future fiscal operations.
The state's net tax-supported debt, at 5.9% of 2013 personal income, is at the high end of the moderate range and debt levels have increased with the state's issuance of GO bonds for operational purposes in fiscal years 2010 and 2011. Illinois provides a strong GO bond pledge, including an irrevocable and continuing appropriation for all GO debt service, and continuing authority and direction to the state Treasurer and Comptroller to make all necessary transfers from any and all revenues and funds of the state. The state funds debt service one year ahead on a rolling 12-month basis.
COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET SOLUTIONS STILL NEEDED
The temporary increase in tax revenue, in conjunction with enacted hard spending limits moved the state closer to budgetary balance for fiscal years 2011 through 2014. Medicaid reforms implemented in the fiscal 2013 budget also made significant progress toward alleviating some pressure on the general fund. However, under current law the tax increases will begin to phase out in 2015; thus, the state is once again faced with a significant budget balancing decision to make permanent the tax increases, make severe expense reductions, or identify new revenues.
The governor has proposed two alternative budgets for fiscal 2015; one based on current law with expiring tax rates and a second recommended budget that makes permanent the higher tax rates. The current law budget is balanced through large spending cuts. Even with the higher taxes maintained, however, the recommended budget would rely on a small interfund borrowing ($170 million or 0.4% of forecast general fund revenues) to balance. The recommended budget includes a total of $650 million in interfund borrowing, the balance of which would be used to pay down accumulated accounts payable.
The enacted budget for fiscal 2014, which began July 1, was conservatively based on an assumed decline in revenue following a strong fiscal 2013 and controlled most discretionary spending to accommodate growing pension payments and increased healthcare expenses. Despite the assumption of reduced revenues, tax revenues through March have increased 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Solid year-over-year growth is seen in personal income tax receipts (+4.1%), corporate income taxes (+8.4%) and sales and use taxes (+4.1%). The budget is expected to be balanced on an operating basis within the limitations of the pre-reform pension funding schedule, but does not address the accumulated accounts payable backlog beyond applying any operating surplus to reducing the backlog.
MODERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH
The Illinois economy is centered on the Chicago metropolitan area, which is the nation's third largest and a nationally important business and transportation center. Illinois' economy has gradually shifted, similarly to the U.S. in general, away from manufacturing to professional and business services. The remaining manufacturing sector includes more resilient non-durables, and is less concentrated in the auto sector than are surrounding states (Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio). While the state economy was not as negatively affected by the recession as some of these neighboring Midwestern states, it did contract faster than the national economy. Total non-farm employment declined 4.9% in 2009, versus the national rate of 4.3% and essentially matched the U.S. rate of decline at 0.8% in 2010. Modest growth resumed in 2011 with year-over-year job gains of 1.1% followed by 1.3% growth in 2012 and 0.8% growth in 2013, weaker than the U.S. rates of 1.7% in 2012 and 2013. Illinois' job recovery continues to be weaker than the national recovery; non-farm employment grew 0.5% as of February 2014 while the U.S. grew 1.5%. The state's unemployment rate has typically exceeded that of the U.S. over the past decade and was unusually high at 130% of the U.S. rate at 8.7% as of February 2014. Wealth levels remain above average. Per capita income is 105% of the national average, fifteenth among the states.
Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
In addition to the sources of information identified in Fitch's report 'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria', this action was additionally informed by information from IHS Global Insight.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
--'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria', dated Aug. 14, 2012.
--'U.S. State Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria', dated Aug. 14, 2012.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
Tax-Supported Rating Criteria
U.S. State Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria


Taylor Bennett is continuing to level up and carve a lane of his own, all while keeping an eye on his future and finding ways to establish longevity in the music industry.
Most recently, the 21-year-old Chicago rapper has launched his own label, Tay Bennett Entertainment. Not only will the imprint be an outlet for him to release his own work, but he also will be building a roster of artists to support as well.
As reported, the rapper recently signed fellow Chicagoan Bianca Shaw, revealing that his father helped him to discover her music.
"My dad called me and said, 'You need to listen to this girl. She's real good!'" Bennett shared during an interview with Rolling Stone. "My dad has great taste in music so I took him seriously."
Additionally throughout the recent sit-down, Bennett explains how he was one of the first to do independent distribution in Chicago, with his moves helping inspire his older brother, Chance The Rapper, to go the streaming route, as well as discusses his well-informed opinions of the music industry and what has come to be known as a 360 deal.
"Me, as well as my brother, we're really some do-it-yourself people," the rapper adds, explaining why it was an easy decision for him to want to remain independent. "Don't chase the blogs. Let the blogs chase you. Don't chase the playlists. Let the playlists chase you. You be the best artist you can be and when you work hard independently eventually those opportunities will come."
Congrats to Tay on his next venture! Check out his signee Bianca Shaw's latest song, "So High," below.


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Decha 4 Pcs Assorted Aquarium Plastic Plant Fish Tank Plants Aquarium Decor Plants (25.5 inches, Green+Blue)
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