Russia's move to lift a ban on missile sales to Iran drew objections from the U.S. and Israel, who called the move a direct result of nuclear talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday lifted a five-year ban on delivery of the S-300 air defense missile system. It would significantly bolster the Islamic republic's military capability by providing a strong deterrent against any air attack.
The White House said Secretary of State John Kerry had raised concerns over the move in a conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf later told reporters that the U.S. has "certainly made our concerns with the sale of the S-300 system to Iran known for some time."
"We don’t believe it’s constructive at this time for Russia to move forward with this," she said Monday. "We think given Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region in places like Yemen or Syria or Lebanon that this isn’t the time to be selling these kinds of systems to them."
Israel's Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz criticized the framework nuclear agreement agreed upon between Iran and six world powers for clearing the way.
"This is a direct result of the legitimacy that Iran obtained from the emerging nuclear deal," Steinitz said, according to The Associated Press. "Instead of demanding Iran stop its terror activities that it spreads in the Middle East and the entire world, it is being allowed to arm itself with advanced weapons that will only increase its aggression."
The S-300 is a “proven, fully-integrated system” with a maximum range of 150 km (93 miles) according to Ben Goodlad, principal weapons analyst for IHS Aerospace, Defense and Security.
"The sale of S-300 systems to Iran does not pose a direct threat to Israel however it would make any potential future air strikes by the Israeli Air Force more challenging,” Goodlad said. “Depending on the interceptor used with the system, the S-300 has a maximum range of 150 km which will provide an additional defensive tier to Iran's air defense plan.”
Russia signed the $800 million contract to sell Iran the S-300 missile system in 2007, but suspended delivery three years later because of strong objections from the United States and Israel.
Iran had responded to the Russian ban by filing a lawsuit with a court in Geneva seeking $4 billion in damages for breach of contract.
- Kerry Briefs Lawmakers on Iran Deal
- Netanyahu Warns of Dealing Iran 'Easy Path to Nuclear Weapons'
- Nuke Deal Is No Sure Thing, Iran's Supreme Leader Says
— Cassandra Vinograd
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.


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The game of Charades is always a bundle of fun, especially on a nice cozy evening with a bunch of friends. Zapak Kids on Stage-The Charades Game for Kids Board Game always helps one come out of their comfort zone and become more interactive with their peers. Since charades requires you to act out a word in order to describe it, it is the perfect game to gift your child to help him out of his shell. The game is not gender specific and is ideal for both boys and girls who are aged 3 years and above.
Zapak Kids on Stage-The Charades Game for Kids Board Game is definitely the game for the whole family to get together and play for hours. Go ahead, give your child the chance to shine and be in the center of the action.
Play this exciting game by punching out the playing tokens from the runner frames and then choose one of the players to be the designated caller. Distribute the tokens to each player and start the game by acting out the word.

domain: entertainment


The BMW 325i has gone, and now the 318ti is here.
The BMW 318ti has gone to make way for THE PORSCHE BOXSTER.
The replacement, a 240 bhp screeming banshee..HONDA S2000.
Sadly the Honda S2K had to go to make way for the Audi TT 3.2 V6 roadster.
Mumbles, South Wales.
Time for a change for something more practical, here is the new car, the Volvo C30 T5.
Picked up this Range Rover Evoque Dynamic Coupe on 1st Jan 14, really pleased with it.


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Blue Sky Alpacas Sport/Melange
The softness is the first thing you'll notice when you pick up a skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight Melange. Then the color sneaks up on you. Every shade we've chosen (except black) has subtle complexity that's achieved either by over-dying heathered fleece or by combing together multiple dyed colors. While it's most typically used at a sport or dk weight, we love the gorgeous way it drapes at 5 stitches to the inch in our Easy Folded Poncho. Next-to-the-skin softness makes it perfect for accessories.
50g, 110 yds(100m); 20-24 sts = 4"/10cm on US 3-5 (3.25-3.75mm).
COLOR: 805 Huckleberry. Painterly purple made up of many hues.
COLOR: 804 Cinnamon. Cinnamon. Deep burnished rust.
NEW COLOR: 506 Streaky Brown. Heathered nut brown.
COLOR: 814 Pumpernickel. Warm chewy brown.
COLOR: 816 Peppercorn. The nearest brown to black.
COLOR: 802 Pesto. Like leaf tea, more oxidized than green.
COLOR: 808 Relish. Heathered chartreuse.
NEW COLOR: 807 Dijon. Gold with rust and green undertones.
COLOR: 809 Toasted Almond. Warm vanilla biscuit.
COLOR: 505 Taupe. Creamy oatmeal.
COLOR: 812 Blue Cheese. Like a soft chambray shirt.
NEW COLOR: 800 Cornflower. Heathered aqua.
NEW COLOR: 522 Denim. Deep indigo.
COLOR: 507 Light Gray. Quintessential sweatshirt heather.
COLOR: 803 Licorice. A complex mix of navy and gold that reads grey.
COLOR: 509 Dark Gray. Simply charcoal.
COLOR: 510 Black. No heathering–just deep lustrous black.

domain: hobby


text:
"London is a city under siege from a sub-urban government which uses homelessness, pollution, crime and the most expensive and run down public transport system of any metropolitan city in Europe as weapons against Londoners lingering desire for the freedoms of city life"
Patrick Keiller's moving (in both senses of the word) montages of London serve as both a poetic and acerbic snapshot of late 20th century inner city living and of cultural and political poor health. I haven't really got that much to say about this first 'Robinson' film of a trilogy, because I feel the film and the images within (some of which I'm sharing here) speaks for itself, and because it just deserves to be seen (it's available via BFI DVD and on YouTube in full)
The unseen Robinson, a minor academic and homosexual adrift in Vauxhall, is longing for the romantic past and lost in the urban inane of Tory tyranny and the constant threat of IRA bombs as he attempts to meet full on 'the problem of London'.
He is revealed as a character through the words of the equally unseen narrator, his 'Man Friday' voiced by Paul Schofield.
The script is laced with a distemper detachment which suggest an outlook on modern life worthy of Ballard or Amis.

domain: geography


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Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus make their reunion red carpet official https://t.co/EZYpgOAniY
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) March 4, 2019
I am so hooked on Netflix lately. Over the weekend I was sick and watched Kingdom, a crazy six hour Korean historical zombie drama (I can’t believe that works, but it does), and The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut based on a true story. Both were so good and I highly recommend them. We’re also getting great content from Amazon Prime and Hulu but Netflix reigns supreme, partially due to the wide range of programs but also because Netflix has a better interface. Amazon needs to fix their fast forwarding, but that might just be the app on my TV.
Triple Frontier, a heist movie where war heroes rob from a drug kingpin, premieres March 6th on Netflix. It’s a big budget action film with big stars and could easily come out in theaters and make a mint. It stars Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, Pedro Pascal and Oscar Isaac! So many people came out for the New York premiere last night including Ben’s on-again girlfriend, SNL producer Lindsay Shookus. The Daily Mail has more photos of them together, they didn’t pose together on the red carpet. I love her long dress coat I want that.
Also in the gallery we have all the hot costars and Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin were there too.
Here’s Lindsay at the premiere. I have to say something snarky because that’s my job. Do you think she feels like waiting and taking Ben back after he cheated paid off? I think it’s a devil’s bargain for her but we’ll see.
photos credit: WENN and Avalon.red

domain: artistic


The band will no longer pay their scheduled performances at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, The Netherlands, on Sunday 14 June and the AFG Arena in St Gallen, Switerzland, on Monday 15 June.
It is not known yet if they will be able to play to Wembley Stadium dates later this month.
Grohl fell off the stage into the audience during a performance in Gothenburg after missing a ramp. He told the crowd “I think I just broke my leg” but returned to the stage to finish the show 15 minutes later.
A statement released by the band confirmed Grohl has sustained at least one fracture in his leg.
“While the full extent of Dave’s injuries are still being determined, it was confirmed at a post-show hospital visit that he sustained at least one fracture,” it said.
“As a result Foo Fighters have been forced to cancel their June 14 appearance at the Pinkpop Festival as well as their June 16 show at the AFG Arena in St Gallen, Switzerland.“
The band are due to play two dates at Wembley Stadium on 19 and 20 June before headlining Glastonbury on 26 June.
A statement on the Wembley website said: “We are aware of the incident last night involving Dave Grohl and are in contact with the event organisers, who at this stage have no further information.
“As soon as we have news from the artiste this will be made public.”
Glastonbury officials have yet to reply to a request for comment about whether the Foo Fighters will still be able to headline the festival.
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Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies


Iran has lengthy accused Israel of finishing up assaults towards its nuclear websites and assassinations of key figures.
Iran’s intelligence ministry has introduced the arrest of a community of brokers linked to Israel’s Mossad who entered Iran to hold out assaults towards “delicate” websites, state media reported.
The suspects entered Iran from northern Iraq, however had been arrested earlier than they had been capable of perform sabotage and “terrorist operations”, IRNA stated on Saturday, citing an announcement from the ministry.
The announcement by Iran’s intelligence ministry got here amid heightening tensions with regional rival Israel over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
“This community’s members had been involved with [Israel’s] Mossad spy company by means of a neighbouring nation and entered Iran from [Iraq’s] Kurdistan area with superior gear and powerful explosives,” IRNA cited the ministry as saying.
The assertion didn’t say what number of suspects had been arrested or give their nationalities, nor did it determine the targets of the purported plots.
“The members of the community … supposed on carrying unprecedented terrorist actions in some delicate areas and pre-determined targets,” it stated.
The Israeli prime minister’s workplace, which oversees Mossad, declined to remark.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow battle, with the Iran accusing its rival of finishing up sabotage assaults towards its nuclear websites and assassinations of key figures, together with scientists.
However tensions have ratcheted up following a string of high-profile incidents that Tehran has blamed on Israel.
Iran has blamed Israel for the killing of Revolutionary Guard Colonel Sayyad Khodaei at his Tehran residence on Could 22.
Two different senior Revolutionary Guard members have additionally died – one in a reported accident and the opposite in a taking pictures – earlier this yr.
In April, Iran stated it arrested three individuals linked to Mossad and a month earlier claimed it had foiled an assault on a nuclear plant additionally deliberate by suspects linked to Israel.
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed a joint pledge to disclaim Iran nuclear arms. Tehran has stated its nuclear programme is peaceable and has denied looking for nuclear weapons.


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Drawing has long been critical to Rocio Rodríguez’s creative progress, usually as a vehicle to explore ideas for her paintings. The medium takes center stage in her installation in the Education/Resource Center at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, where her first-ever wall drawing will span the 9-by-25-foot ramp wall through July 3.
The energetic “non-narrative landscape,” as Rodríguez calls it, is a compendium of mark-making — ruled lines, wispy whirling skeins, velvety staccato gestures — created in charcoal. Atlanta photographer Reis Birdwhistell made a stop-action video charting her progress, which accompanies the piece.
Following is an excerpt from my interview with Rocio Rodríguez.
Catherine Fox: Did you come in with a plan, or was it spontaneous?
Rocio Rodríguez: I visited and photographed and sat in the space before starting. Upon seeing the space, I thought of a previous drawing that I had made as a study for a large painting that I never made. I was still interested in that initial idea, so I decided to use that drawing after making some additional changes for the MOCA GA space. So, yes, I did have a plan.
Fox: How did you begin?
Rodríguez: I took that small drawing, projected it on my wall in the studio and made cartoons of the composition. That is what those large sheets of paper were that I taped on at the beginning [as seen in the video]. It was like a large map, mapping the composition onto the wall.
Fox: Why black and white?
Rodríguez: Because I love tonal drawings. I paint and draw in color a lot, and I wanted to simplify but amplify the idea of the drawing in a tonal way, explore those possibilities. I also felt that if it was in color in that narrow space, it would just have been visually confusing. I needed to simplify on some level.
Fox: How long did you work on it?
Rodríguez: Twenty-five hours. After I finished. I didn’t see it for almost two weeks. Two days before the opening I went down there to look at it, and it felt really different. I had an “uh-oh” moment. It felt small. I went home and thought about it. The space had taken over. In the beginning I was imposing it on the wall, but now the space was imposing itself on my drawing. So the morning of the opening I went back and worked on it for two more hours, expanding it a bit.
Fox: Was it fun?
Rodríguez: It got me out of my studio, and that felt good for a change. It was a good experience. Maybe a cupola next time.

domain: design


text:
This menu along with hundreds will be linked to orgjunkie
Here is one great recipe I will be making first for the family celebration! Pictures will post tomorrow evening!
Which means, I must stay on track this week with some healthy meals to equal out a bit of that sugar...:)
Here is what will be cooking on my stove this week:
- Easy Lemony Chicken Picatta with a Garden Salad/Linguine/Fresh Fruit (recipe below)
- Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches on Crusty Bread/Fresh Fruit
- Guiltless Alfredo with Grilled Shrimp (held over from last week)-(recipe below)
- Buffalo Cheese-Stuffed Burgers/Roasted Potatoes/Fresh Fruit
- Grilled Mahi-Mahi over Field Greens/Fruit Smoothie Shots
Easy Lemony Chicken Picatta
(adapted from The Joy of Cooking)
Prepare Chicken Cutlets by sauteing boneless breasts in canola oil. I like to put a light coating of flour/panko crumbs on mine.
Green onions or shallots
2 medium lemons
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons of butter
any drippings left from resting chicken
Drain all but a tablespoon of oil in your fry pan from your chicken.
Add 2-3 tablespoons green onions or shallots, chopped and
saute for about 3 minutes.
Add lemon juice from 1-2 lemons based on taste. Simmer for a minute or two and add broth. Allow to reduce to 1/3 from original amount. Finish with a few tablespoons of butter and any drippings that collected on resting chicken, allow to melt into sauce. Pour over chicken and serve immediately. **For a thicker sauce you can add a few tablespoons of flour/cornstarch/Wondra to thicken it up before adding the butter. Capers can also be added for taste.
(recipe from buddy Gevay :) )
2 cups low-fat milk
1/3 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
Blend these ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
On medium-high heat warm 1 tablespoon of butter, and add 3 minced cloves of garlic and saute about 3 minutes. Add blended milk mixture, stir and cook for 5 minutes until thick. remove from heat and stir in 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve over pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley.

domain: food


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Needing a win to stay alive in the Big Ten Tournament, the Michigan State baseball team defeated Ohio State, 6-2, Friday afternoon in an elimination game at Huntington Park. The Spartans (37-20) will now play on Saturday at 3:35 p.m. against the loser of the Purdue-Indiana game, which is being played Friday night.
The No. 6 seed Ohio State baseball team topped No. 4 seed Nebraska, 6-2, in the first game of the day but fell to No. 5 seed Michigan State, 6-2, in an elimination game Friday afternoon at Huntington Park. The second game Friday was the Buckeyes’ third game in 24 hours as Ohio State concluded its season with a 33-27 overall record.

domain: sports


text:
A Casualty Of Rick Scott, The Florida Legislature, And The Party Of “No”
… take a few moments and read the touching un-edited story of Charlene Dill, as told by her best friend, Kathleen Voss Woolrich. You see, Charlene can’t tell you her story herself, because Charlene is dead, caught up in the politics of the party of “no”.
I hope that you’ll read Charlene Dill’s story as told by her best friend Kathleen Voss Woolrich, and let it fully sink in that the laziness of the poor – pure and simple – is an invention of the rich.
It’s an ill-intentioned invention, designed to dupe those who are still doing okay into blaming absolutely everything that’s wrong with our government on those that are no longer doing okay.
As a Floridian, I wasn’t surprised to see Ms. Woolrich mention Disney in telling Ms. Dill’s story.
Disney owns ABC, which is relentlessly running Rick Scott’s deceptive anti-Affordable Care Act ads. Again, no surprise. Disney has turned ABC News into a royalty/celebrity drivel’n’drool fest, interrupted only for pretend debates that push that ill-intentioned, far right agenda that portrays people like Charlene Dill as being the problem, instead of the real villains, like Florida’s legislature, Rick Scott … and Disney.
Most Disney workers aren’t paid a living wage, and don’t have paid sick days or affordable health care coverage, despite Disney’s massive wealth and negotiating clout. Disney only pretends that it’s family-oriented, just like right wing politicians pretend to be pro-life while enacting deadly policies.
Charlene Dill’s three children need her right now … it’s anything but Christian to stop caring about mothers’ lives the very moment they’re no longer with child.
Update 4/11/14: Hopefully, the audio portion of this video of Rick Scott defending his ACA ad will play more clearly for others than it did for me.

domain: news


text:
KatchPhrase420 has won 15,794 Achievements and 118 Challenges in 569 games and 21 apps
Registered on 27 Mar 09
| Last visited Today | Last scanned today at 15:56 by TA Scanner 7
First 5 minutes of gameplay and its already not what I thought it would be like, really disappointing but will see what the rest of the game is like, looks mostly like a
3 other comments
Oh wow, I swear this was a Strategy Genre, must have changed....... Oh well...
Yeah, I thought it was a strategy too, although puzzle seems to fit it better.
This was pretty boring in the end, patience is key, 1 mistake and you're back to the start.
That rage took hours of clicking X and A. Fucking splash screen is such a bitch.
But the update fixes the splash screen.
DID YOU HAVE WERID GLITCH ON EU VERSION ON ACHIEVEMENTS
I really want to play this. Too bad it's so pricey.
good game are more $ to be fair but worth it
2 other comments
^^ this statement is so untrue - ive played many good games with many hours of gameplay for half the price of most AAA games
It regularly goes on sale on Steam
Lots of games!
I've been playing this a few hours, it takes awhile to get the first achievement. Pretty fun so far, its like a throwback to Zelda II
4 other comments
You lost me at Zelda II. Yuck.
^ ditto lol Zelda sucks
All I needed to hear is that it is like Zelda. Sign me up.
It's not just like Zelda II only - has some metroidvania elements as well - fun game overall
Your tears sustain me.
Better than Outlast 1. Graphics in some parts look really good. Still not crazy about not being able to defend myself, but I'm getting by.
Having major issues with this game :(
Freezing not loading my saves till I uninstall and reinstall and other BS
yep, that's what I read about this port. that's why I didn't bought it last on sale. same goes for DR2 from what I hear.
You can make it without them. I believe.
Yeah I just don't agree with bonus use in April its fucking dumb either go out or score.
I used my bonus last week because I had to do 15hrs extra overtime.
I am not collecting 0 GS "achievements" from apps, so many stream requirements its not even skill to be on top of that competition. That at its a big fat waste of time
I have also heard that they are buggy as shit, which is another thing to take away from the strategy and skill because thats more luck based.
9 other comments
They should have made it games only. That would have been interesting.
Oh, absolutely I was extremely disappointing when I read apps were included.
Seriously the requirements are stupid on apps and who can call them achievements...
I think it would have encouraged me to finish off some "app" stuff, but I'm too busy playing games for GTASC
I signed up and then saw that apps were included and I couldn't remove myself, so I just won't participate. Best games for this were FM5, and I can't think of the other
Yeah apps being included just kills the event. :/
i got a 0G from Aaero but when i saw Apps were allowed and a bloke had 40-50 app based 0g's in the first 2 hours, i didn't bother participating.
Someone posted the idea of 0's counted from any gamerscore as in 100 would equal 2 eggs and 10 would equal 1 egg. That sounds like a good idea.
How was th
I heard this game was soooooo fun that somebody died when playing it.
34 achievements out of 149 won | 9,801 tracked gamers have this game | Last played 28 Apr 17
24 achievements out of 55 won | 53,408 tracked gamers have this game | Last played 12 Apr 17
4 achievements out of 10 won | 5,316 tracked gamers have this game | Last played 23 Mar 17
Copyright © 2017 TrueGaming Network
Ltd, All Rights Reserved
Xbox, Xbox Live, and all other Xbox Live specific terms are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
TrueAchievements is a proud member of the Xbox Community Developer Program
Concept, Design, Programming and Server Stuff by Rich Stone
Available on Mobile

domain: game


I recently started using ChatGPT to try and optimize the YouTube content for my website, WPwatercooler. In the past, I struggled with writing descriptive text for the “in the description down below” section of my videos and found the process of creating metadata for my episodes to be tedious. I hired a YouTube consultant to provide some critiques and recommendations, but I still needed a way to make the process more efficient. That’s where ChatGPT came in. I experimented with using ChatGPT to summarize the content of my episodes and create social media posts and YouTube chapters. While the tool wasn’t perfect and required some editing, I found it to be a helpful way to streamline the process of optimizing my YouTube content and increasing its reach. Overall, I’ve been happy with the results I’ve seen from using ChatGPT.


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The question is would a child really benefit from spending time coloring in outlines of pictures created by someone else? You can find the answer by thinking of the benefits kids get from colouring in. When a child visits an online coloring page and begins to indulge in the activities there, they learn to appreciate the value of taking their time to ensure that they do a good job. They also teach them to take pride in what they do and know they did their best.
The first coloring book, "The Little Folks' Paint Book" was published in 1879. Crayola introduced the crayon in 1903. And the average American child spends 28 minutes a day coloring and wears down about 730 crayons by the age of 10. Between parents and schools, roughly 2.5 billion crayons are purchased each year.
Actually, kids of all ages enjoy designing their very own image that is ironed onto a t-shirt, pillow, jacket or whatever cloth works with regular iron-on transfers. In fact, using the Magic Color Page is ideal for creating 'one of a kind' gifts for family and friends.
Before the road trip take the kids to the stores so they can pick out their road trip coloring books and other activities. This is an even better choice because the kids will settle beforehand which type of activity is most interesting and the best for them. Tell them that you'll hold onto the items until the road trip and they'll spend the time until the trip in anticipation of playing with their new toys. They'll be that much more likely to stay involved with their coloring books and crayons on the trip rather than on each other, so you'll be that much more relaxed while on the drive.
Coloring books are actually things of the past. With such, today's kids are not too much fond of it, than those who were many years ago. This is for the reason that, these children have been spoiled by the entire fantastic and new ways of coloring by just using their computer or fancy markers as well as pens. While you could get a way with the coloring books as well as crayons for some long trip, do not expect that you child who is under the school age could quietly sit into a table while coloring pictures in a very old school way. There are actually much better things that they could use, here are some of those:
It is imperative that you take care of children intellectual development. Children really like online games but despise studying quite often. At the same time, the years as a kid tend to be the ideal period of time to study. And so, it is a good initiative to mix different games and the learning process. This way your daughter or son may enjoy some exciting computer games and also discover some new stuff. Children don't like studying mathematics because it is too difficult. But the great thing is there is a solution to this challenge. These days you can buy many different color-by-number video games, which may be fairly effective.


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text:
Bathrooms need high function in small spaces to accommodate multiple people. Storage, lighting, and elegance are paramount. Let us design your dream bathroom.
The kitchen is the busiest room in your home. As the hub of family life, it needs to work hard and be ready to welcome visitors. We are ready to make your kitchen show how warm and friendly your family is.
Are you tired of seeing all of those cords for the TV and its many components? Do you wish you could get that game organized? Do you dream of working from home but just don't have a place to do it? Let us make your home work for you.
With over twenty years of experience in interior design, our lead designer can put those finishing touches into your house that truely make it "Your Home".


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Strawberry Spinach Salad
Healthy is anything but dull when there’s a giant Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing waiting for lunch. It’s colorful, naturally sweet, and as wonderful as it gets.
Servings 8 servings
For the poppy seed dressing:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- Salt to taste
For the salad:
- 3 tablespoons butter (optional but recommended, see notes)
- 1 cup pecans
- 16 ounces baby spinach (see notes)
- 16 ounces strawberries quartered or sliced
To make the poppy seed dressing:
In a small bowl with a whisk, or in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, add the vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, dried mustard, poppy seeds, and salt to taste (I like 1 teaspoon). Stir or shake to combine. Allow the flavors to blend at room temperature while preparing the salad.
To assemble the salad:
In a small saucepan over low heat, add pecans and sauté until toasted and fragrant, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove promptly to avoid scorching and drain on paper towels. Cool 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, add spinach, strawberries, and pecans. Add salad dressing and toss until evenly coated.
You can do half baby spinach and half field greens mix if you prefer.
To make the Easiest Balsamic Vinaigrette, whisk together:
Toasting the pecans in butter is optional but so delicious. I definitely recommend it unless you are vegan or avoiding butter for some reason. It makes a huge difference!
To toast the pecans in a dry skillet, heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the pecans and toast until fragrant, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching.
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 4 teaspoons dijon mustard
- Salt to taste
Calories: 299kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 5462IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2mg


The featured image was generously provided by E-Furor Stock Production in Lviv, Ukraine.
It is essential to seek support from a licensed professional psychologist if you suspect you have a psychological condition such as autism or selective mutism. Licensed psychologists are the only professionals authorized to diagnose such conditions. In most countries worldwide, counselors, school deans, and other professionals are not authorized to diagnose such conditions, and their diagnoses are not considered credible. However, in the United Kingdom, certain non-psychologist professionals may be authorized to diagnose. It is also crucial to confirm that the psychologist is licensed. In nearly all countries, psychologists are required to be licensed to practice, and without a license, they are not authorized to diagnose or practice, and their diagnoses are considered invalid. A licensed psychologist should be able to provide you with their registration upon request.
This blog post was written with the support of three licensed practicing psychologists and a licensed practicing psychiatrist. Although we have made every effort to provide factual information, errors may still be possible.
Table of Contents
The Difference Between Selective Mutism and Autism
Since my two posts about selective mutism in September of last year, I have seen a constant barrage of blog posts and tweets claiming that selective mutism is part of autism. Even just a moment ago on Twitter, I was reminded about it once again. Let me be clear and simple: Selective mutism is NEVER part of autism.
For anyone unaware, selective mutism is its own independent condition and diagnosis. It’s not part of any other diagnosis. In a simple comparison, it’s not sensory processing disorder, which is something that is often recognized in the exact opposite way. Meaning that people think it’s its own independent disorder, regardless of it only being recognized as a symptom, including among the autism and selective mutism diagnoses.
The great problem here is that people confuse two things: selective mutism and regular mutism. Mutism in itself only refers to an inability to speak. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), the difference between the mutism among autistic people and those with selective mutism is choice. Anyone with selective mutism has no choice. They are completely disabled in their attempt to speak. However, anyone who’s autistic does have a choice, in which many choose not to speak for various reasons, including due to developmental delays and social anxiety. The fact that most autistic people are freely able to speak is also among the reasons why autistic people receive so much stigma for their regular mutism.
The important thing to understand here is the actual difference in underlying reason between autism and selective mutism:
Understanding Selective Mutism
In the case of selective mutism, the underlying reason is fear of a situation. Due to this fear, a person locks down and is unable to speak. To be even clearer, these situations are public settings, such as school, work, stores, social gatherings, etc. That’s also the reason for the “selective” part in the name, as it’s based on situations and not just always. It’s not based on selection/choice as a lot of people incorrectly conclude. Selective is a synonym of situational in this case.
In the case of autism, the underlying reason is usually developmental delays, sensory overloads, difficulties in processing information, and/or social anxiety. Due to this, the mutism in autism is present in (almost) all situations. The difference between a public setting and home situation will usually not matter for mutism in autism, although the specific people might make a difference. In this regard, the mutism among autistic people is not selective/situational.
So, basically: Mutism in autism is an inability or reluctance to speak in almost all social situations.
Mutism in selective mutism is an inability, never a reluctance, to speak in certain social situations.
Misconceptions about Selective Mutism and Autism
So, what actually causes this misunderstanding? Again, the problem lies in that singular word, “selective”. When looking through the comments on the particular Tweet I mentioned before, this is part of a response, “I’ve seen a lot more people talking about situational mutism”.
Situational Mutism in the United Kingdom
What is situational mutism? Well, it is actually a synonym for selective mutism in the United Kingdom. While selective mutism is the accepted name in the USA and most of the world, based on the definition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR®), situational mutism is an accepted name in the United Kingdom, which uses British English for clarity, and not American English or International English. The difference is the name, but nothing else. Well, apart from a lot of opposition to the British name…
High Functioning Autism: The Controversial Label
These kinds of problems in regard to the United Kingdom are hardly unique. The United Kingdom is also often negatively seen among psychologists around the world for another thing done in this country, which has to do with autism. You might have heard of the name, “high functioning autism” (HFA), a name that has a huge amount of stigma and is seen as a form of discrimination, regardless of some highly respected British psychologists using this term. The “high functioning” literally refers to the IQ of a person, as all someone has to have to get the label of HFA instead of classic autism is an IQ above 70… And I do indeed mean “label,” as it’s not a factual diagnosis.
But that is not even the greatest problem in regard to HFA, as it is the lack of understanding that it is significantly different compared to Asperger’s syndrome, as classic autism is as well. To be even clearer, something noteworthy in Asperger’s is the obsession in one specific field or area. As an example, a very commonly seen obsession is with trains, in which many Aspies can literally name you a whole train schedule from memory. In both classic autism and HFA, there’s no obsessive behavior in such a sense.
In an opposite example, there are always delays in language development when it comes to classic autism and HFA, which is not the case in Asperger’s. Another difference is in regards to motor skills, with Asperger’s showing far clearer difficulties in this regard, most often primarily shown in gross motor skills. Among both HFA and classic autism, the difficulties are far less pronounced and more often shown in fine motor skills.
CDD: A Different Autism Spectrum Disorder
Which is in itself interesting since the move towards autism spectrum disorder (ASD). (Many people, including myself, don’t support this move.) The reality is that it pushed two groups of people together that had significantly different disorders. And this is even more the case when adding the often-forgotten third group of autistic people, which are those who formerly had a diagnosis of childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD), also known as Heller’s syndrome and dementia infantilis.
When it comes to CDD, people often regard it as only different from classic autism in one aspect, which is that typically CDD develops after the age of 2, before the age of 10, whereas classic autism develops before the age of 2. However, this is not everything. CDD also has a far more pronounced form of sensory processing disorder compared to both classic autism and Asperger’s syndrome. Even more important is anxiety. Several studies have confirmed that the anxiety among CDD is far more pronounced, significantly so. Unlike Asperger’s and classic autism, CDD shows anxiety that is always present.
The Overlooked Sensory Processing Disorders in CDD
When looking at sensory processing disorder among CDD, the parts that many forget to consider show clearly. When people think of sensory processing disorder, they tend to think of how it causes difficulties in processing auditory, visual, olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), and possibly even vestibular (balance) stimuli. However, most people are not aware of the difficulty in processing proprioception (body awareness) and interoception (internal body senses) sensory stimuli.
Sensory Processing Disorders
If you remember just a few moments ago, I mentioned motor skill difficulties as part of autism. However, if you look up the DSM-5 TR’s symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, you would think it is missing. This is because people tend to forget that this is exactly one of the less noticed parts of sensory processing disorder, which has to do with proprioception. Similarly, incontinence is a noteworthy symptom of autism, which again has to do with sensory processing disorder, in this case interoception.
The Importance of Interoception in Autism
Let me delve deeper into interoception. Incontinence is not the only result of sensory processing disorder among autists and aspies in regard to interoception. Interoception affects the ability of your brain to make sense of messages related to hunger, fullness, itching, pain, body temperature, nausea, the need for the bathroom, ticklishness, physical exertion, and sexual arousal. However, the most important function of interoception is allowing us to feel emotions.
It should not be hard to understand certain outcomes. One of the most notable examples is that many autistic people have weight problems, both in terms of obesity and anorexia. The reason for this is that there are multiple forms of sensory disorders that could result in this. In the case of obesity, it could be due to a lack of ability to feel fullness, but also a constant feeling of hunger. Many people do not realize that people with sensory processing disorder could experience this, which includes those with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism spectrum disorder, selective mutism, and ADHD.
Example of Sensory Processing Disorder in Autism
One of the clearest examples of sensory processing disorder is illustrated by a friend of mine who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. When you pretend to tickle him by making hand movements, he would start laughing and ask you to stop tickling him. As confirmed by his family member, this could even lead to him peeing his pants. This is due to a cross-wiring of sensory stimuli that can happen in sensory processing disorder. In his case, the visual stimuli is processed as proprioception stimuli, leading his body to respond as if he were truly touched and tickled.
Similarly, he is someone who walks outside in just a t-shirt and jeans while it’s minus 10 degrees Celsius. It’s another side that many people won’t realize – the fact that sensory processing disorder not only causes over-responsiveness to sensory stimuli, but also, at times, little to no response to sensory stimuli. It’s unknown what the exact cause of this is.
Differences between Classic Autism, Asperger’s, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Anyhow, CDD is notably different from both classic autism and Asperger’s, and yet it will still be regarded as closer to classic autism. The reason for this is that most symptoms of CDD are the same as classic autism, just more profound in some parts. And just like classic autism, CDD has the exact same differences compared to Asperger’s.
In this regard, there are quite a few autistic children and adults with classic autism and CDD diagnoses who oppose calling autistic people with an Asperger’s diagnosis “autistic.” And it’s completely understandable. When looking at the demographics of autistic people, the vast majority are in fact diagnosed with Asperger’s. Last time I checked, which was about 3 weeks ago, over 80% of all autistic people worldwide are diagnosed with an Asperger’s diagnosis. As I said, I am opposed to this grouping as well, and I’m on the spectrum too. The differences are too significant, leading to stereotypes. And stereotypes almost always lead to misunderstandings and hatred, as they do in this subject as well.
However, this is also exactly why it’s important for autistic people to not incorrectly claim that they have selective mutism. The condition is known to be rare, especially among autistic people. If you have this combination, it’s unlikely you are active on social media in the way many people are who claim to have this combination. You would be in constant fear that you would say something wrong… And I’m saying this even from personal experience!
The Correct Term for Mutism in Autism
However, isn’t there a correct term for mutism in autism? Of course, there actually is. While you won’t hear this term in psychology classes today, any experienced psychologist will quickly give you the answer: the name “selective mutism” was once known as “elective mutism”. Unlike selective mutism, elective mutism was specifically known for a continuous refusal to speak in almost all social situations. That’s the right term for mutism in autism, as recognized by many psychologists worldwide. Please do us all a favor and use that, (elective mutism,) or simply use “mutism”. Just as autistic people don’t want stigma, misunderstandings, and hatred, the same applies to people with selective mutism.


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domain: economics


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A LOOK AT COMICS, BOOKS, MOVIES, CARTOONS,
TELEVISION SHOWS, MUSIC AND MORE POP CULTURE GOODNESS FROM MY VAST AND VIRTUAL PERSONAL LIBRARY!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Young Allies Yahoo
Here, in this early 1940's Timely Comics ad, we find Bucky, Toro and the rest of the YOUNG ALLIES shouting out their preference of search engine more than 50 years before there was even a NEED for search engines!

domain: library


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Paulo Coelho de Souza (; Portuguese: [ˈpaw.lu kuˈeʎu]; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist. In 2014, he uploaded his personal papers online to create a virtual Paulo Coelho Foundation.
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In this week’s Farmer story from Tanzania, we learned that high demand is motivating farmers to grow cassava commercially. Our Script of the week suggests that Tanzanian cassava farmers can do even better by adding value to their cassava.
Often, farmers don’t make enough money to support themselves and their families when they sell their produce. This happens for many reasons, including poor markets, inadequate farming or marketing skills, and inadequate capacity to add value to their produce.
Cassava is one crop that can earn farmers a good income if they add value to it. A renewed interest in cassava and cassava by-products led to the recent development of new harmonized guidelines for processing cassava flour in East and Central Africa.
This script explains how to make cassava flour according to the new standards.
In the script, we meet Mrs. Bridget Shenyagwa, who created a factory that processes high quality cassava flour. The factory not only provides her with a ready market for the cassava she grows, but also provides employment and income for local farmers.
You could use this script as inspiration to research and write a script on processing and marketing cassava flour in your area. If you choose to use this script as background material or as inspiration for creating your own program, talk to cassava farmers, cassava processors, and other key players in the local agriculture sector in your country.

domain: agronomy


text:
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Exogenously Applied Plant Growth Regulators Enhance the Morpho-Physiological Growth and Yield of Rice under High Temperature
- 1National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- 2College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- 3Department of Horticulture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
- 4Department of Agricultural Extension Education and Communication, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
- 5Department of Arid Land Agriculture, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 6Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Vehari, Pakistan
- 7Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 8Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain Industry, Yangtze University, Hubei, China
A 2-year experiment was conducted to ascertain the effects of exogenously applied plant growth regulators (PGR) on rice growth and yield attributes under high day (HDT) and high night temperature (HNT). Two rice cultivars (IR-64 and Huanghuazhan) were subjected to temperature treatments in controlled growth chambers and four different combinations of ascorbic acid (Vc), alpha-tocopherol (Ve), brassinosteroids (Br), methyl jasmonates (MeJA), and triazoles (Tr) were applied. High temperature severely affected rice morphology, and also reduced leaf area, above-, and below-ground biomass, photosynthesis, and water use efficiency, while increased the leaf water potential of both rice cultivars. Grain yield and its related attributes except number of panicles, were reduced under high temperature. The HDT posed more negative effects on rice physiological attributes, while HNT was more detrimental for grain formation and yield. The Huanghuazhan performed better than IR-64 under high temperature stress with better growth and higher grain yield. Exogenous application of PGRs was helpful in alleviating the adverse effects of high temperature. Among PGR combinations, the Vc+Ve+MejA+Br was the most effective treatment for both cultivars under high temperature stress. The highest grain production by Vc+Ve+MejA+Br treated plants was due to enhanced photosynthesis, spikelet fertility and grain filling, which compensated the adversities of high temperature stress. Taken together, these results will be of worth for further understanding the adaptation and survival mechanisms of rice to high temperature and will assist in developing heat-resistant rice germplasm in future.
The persistently rising ambient temperature is regarded as one of the most detrimental stresses among constantly changing environmental factors. It has been predicted that the global mean temperature could rise up to 2.0–4.5°C by the end of this century and the enhancement changes in minimum night temperature will more compare to maximum day temperature (IPCC, 2007). In china, climate conditions during rice growth seasons have changed dramatically, for instance, the particular area of Yangtze River Valley (YRV) is prone to high temperature especially in mid-growing season which may lead to huge yield loss, although the temperature may rarely increase more than 35°C (Matsui, 2009). Plants are sessile organisms, which cannot move to more favorable environments; consequently, plant growth and developmental processes are substantially affected, often lethally, by high temperature (HT) stress (Lobell and Field, 2007). Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in excesses amount is one of the major consequences of HT stress, which leads to oxidative stress (Hasanuzzaman et al., 2012, 2013). In response to HT, plants modify their metabolism in different ways particularly by producing compatible solutes, maintaining cell turgor by osmotic adjustment, and regulating the antioxidant system to re-establish the cellular redox balance and homeostasis (Valliyodan and Nguyen, 2006; Janská et al., 2010).
Although, rice possesses a comparatively higher tolerance to high temperature during vegetative stages, but on other sides its vulnerability rises to elevated temperature during the reproductive stage, particularly at flowering (Yoshida et al., 1981; Prasad et al., 2006; Jagadish et al., 2007, 2008, 2010a,b). In the past, the spatial analyses demonstrated the vulnerable periods of rice (i.e., flowering and early grain filling) overlapping with the mounting temperatures phases in countries like Bangladesh, eastern India, southern Myanmar, and northern Thailand (Maclean et al., 2002; Wassmann et al., 2009). Considering the predicted rate of increase in night temperature, the negative impact on rice production is likely to be higher in coming years with huge yield losses. High night temperatures (HNT) are generally related with increased respiration rates, reduced pollination, number of pollen germinated on the stigma, and increased spikelet sterility, which can lead to decrease in final grain yield (Mohammed and Tarpley, 2009a,b; Jagadish et al., 2010a). Likewise, high day temperatures can severely influence the photosynthesis activity, by bringing alterations in thylakoids structural organization and thus interrupting the whole cycle of photosynthetic system II (Karim et al., 1997; Zhang et al., 2005). Moreover, it results in production of excessive ROS, which affects the membrane integrity and may cause cell death (Schoffl et al., 1999; Howarth, 2005).
Various combinations of plant growth regulators (PGR) have been reported to improve the heat tolerance and stand establishment of rice (Mohammed and Tarpley, 2011; Shah et al., 2011; Fahad et al., 2015b) and no negative interaction among PGRs was observed in these studies. The ascorbic acid (vitamin C; Vc), alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E; Ve), brassinosteroids (Br), methyl jasmonates (MeJA), and triazoles (Tr) that were utilized in this experiment are pivotal in enhancing the agronomical and physiological attributes associated with thermo resistance and provide shelter against damaging influence of oxidative stress (Fletcher et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2007; Beltagi, 2008; Mohammed and Tarpley, 2011). The Vc is a ubiquitous metabolite in plant tissues that performs a variety of functions. It plays an important role in the protection of cells and organelles from the oxidative damage by scavenging ROS, which are produced by environmental stresses such as heat. There is also growing evidence of the Vc participation in the regulation of cell division and elongation (Horemans et al., 2003). The Ve performs a vital role in the production of vital organic acids (L-tartaric, L-theronic, L-glyceric, and L-oxalic acids), and also take part in numerous processes such as flavonoid and phytohormone biosynthesis, and the xanthophyll cycle (Debolt et al., 2007). Furthermore, Ve diminishes the harmful effect of ROS and scavenges lipid peroxyl radicals (Munné-Bosch et al., 1999). Br are steroidal plant hormones, which perform a key role in various cellular and physiological processes like stem elongation, pollen tube growth, root inhibition, fruit development, ethylene biosynthesis, proton pump activity, xylem differentiation, photosynthesis, and gene expression (Yu et al., 2004; Fu et al., 2008). The Br can stimulate plant tolerance to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as high and low temperatures, drought, and salinity injury (Krishna, 2003; Kagale et al., 2007). It has been found that Br-induced increase in the basic thermo-tolerance was associated with increased heat shock protein synthesis and accumulation as well as increased expression of some components of translational machinery (Dhaubhadel et al., 2002).
The MeJA are crucial cellular regulators that are involved in several plant developmental processes in plants (Ueda and Saniewski, 2006; Norastehnia et al., 2007). Foliar application of MeJA brings alteration in numerous physiological responses and thus stimulates plant defense responses against a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses (Walia et al., 2007). Clarke et al. (2009) reported that exogenous application of MeJA in A. thaliana conferred basal thermo-tolerance and protected from the damaging influence of heat shock. Triazoles (Tr), as a plant growth regulating properties have the capability to cause changes in the balance of important plant hormones against stress including cytokinin augmentation, increased ABA and reduced ethylene (Kamountsis and Chronopoulon-Sereli, 1999; Fletcher et al., 2000; Gopi et al., 2007; Hajihashemi et al., 2007). Fletcher et al. (2000) observed that Tr-treated bean plants recorded less electrolyte leakage and were tolerant against heat stress.
Comparative responses of rice to either high-day time or night-time temperature stress in terms of physiological processes and reproductive function are not well understood. Furthermore, the different combinations of PGR (Ve, Vc, Br, MeJA, Tr) used in the present study have never been tested against high temperature stress in the past. Therefore, the present study was carried out to ascertain the morpho-physiological and yield responses of two rice cultivars to exogenously applied PGRs under high day and HNT stress. The findings of the present study will strengthen our understanding to improve the adaptation, survival and tolerance of rice to high temperature.
Materials and Methods
Plant Husbandry and Growth Conditions
Present studies were carried out in a greenhouse at the Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China (30° 47′N, 114° 35′E), during 2013 and 2014 growing seasons. IR-64 and Huanghuazhan (HHZ) cultivars were used in the present study. Both belong to indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar and have approximately akin plant architecture (medium stature) however contradictory responses to temperature. The HHZ is tolerant to high temperature stress, while IR-64 sensitive to high temperature (Fahad et al., 2015a,b, 2016). Rice plants were normally grown under natural conditions till booting stage. To facilitate germination, a wet towel was used to maintain the seeds' moisture for 2 days. Different seedling trays were used after germination, and the seeds were subsequently placed in each cell (1 seed per cell). Three seedlings were transplanted after sowing of 3 weeks were transplanted to plastic pots (21.6 cm lower inside diameter, 27.2 cm upper inner diameter, 27.2 cm height and 0.15 cm thickness) filled with 12 kg of air-dried soil. In both years, IR-64 was sown for 12 more days than HHZ to match the heading dates of these varieties. The soil was silt loam containing sand, silt and clay at 32, 54, and 14%, respectively. To each pot, 10 g of compound fertilizer (16% N: 16% P: 16% K) was applied. Standard guidelines for pot experiments were followed and no pest or disease problem was found during the experimental period.
For temperature treatments, three indoor controlled environment growth chambers (Climatrons, Southeast Ningbo Instruments Ltd, Zhejiang, China) already set at three different temperatures treatment, i.e., HDT (high day temperature of 35°C ± 2; night temperature: 28 ± 2°C), HNT (HNT of 32°C ± 2; day temperature: 28 ± 2°C) and AT (ambient temperature of 28°C ± 2 throughout the day) were provided. HDT initiated at 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., while HNT started at 7 p.m. and lasted for 12 h daily (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Control (AT) plants were grown at 28°C (12 h-day/12 h-night cycles). The heat treatments were started from booting stage (as most of the damage to rice caused by high temperature occurs between these durations) to physiological maturity of plants. During whole duration, humidity level was maintained at level of 75% constantly while photosynthetic photon flux density kept at 1000 μM m−2 s−1 within the growth chamber. However, CO2 was not determined inside the chamber.
Different combinations of PGR were exogenously applied three times at 30, 35, and 40 days after emergence (DAE) to enable thorough coverage earlier to imposing heat stress. Various PGR treatments that used throughout the experiment were,  vitamin C + vitamin E + methyl jasmonates + brassinosteroids (Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br),  brassinosteroids + triazoles + methyl jasmonates (Br+Tr+MeJA),  vitamin C + vitamin E (Vc+Ve),  methyl jasmonates (MeJA), and  nothing applied control (NAC). The Vc, Ve, MeJA, Br and Tr were applied at the rate of 1.4, 6.9, 1.8, 4.0, and 0.55 ppm solution, accordingly in respective treatments. De-ionized water was used in order to dissolve Vc, nevertheless; minute amount of ethyl alcohol was firstly used to dissolve Ve and after that de-ionized water was further added to make the volume up to desirable mark. Both Vc and Vc were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Shanghai, China and Br, MeJA, and Tr were supplied by Olchemim Ltd, Czech Republic.
Gas Exchange and Plant Water Relations
The photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs), internal CO2 concentration (Ci), and transpiration (E) were measured in both years between 1000 and 1200 h, on the penultimate leaves using a LI-6400 portable photosynthesis system (LI-COR Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA) during heading stage of both rice varieties. Water use efficiency (WUE) and stomatal limitations to CO2 uptake were also observed. In this study, WUE is a ratio between A and E while stomatal limitations are the ratio between A and Ci (Farooq et al., 2009).
To measure water potential of leaf, flag leaf was detached from each treated rice plants during heading stage. After that it was cut into tiny slices, and straight away followed by leaf potential measurement using a WP4C Dew point potential meter (Decagon Devices Inc., Pullman, WA, USA) (Fahad et al., 2016).
Morphology and Dry Weights
At panicle and heading stages, dry weights of above-ground total biomass and roots were determined. Viable leaf area per plant at all the three stages and total green leaf area at maturity time were determined using a LI-3100C area meter (LI-COR Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA). Plant height, leaf length (start measuring from the position of leaf blade contact and the stem to the tip of the leaf) and width (widest part of the leaf) of the penultimate leaf was also measured.
Yield and Its Components
In order to measure grain yield and yield components at the time of maturity during both year experiments, all the hills were collected from each treated pot. Number of panicle was counted from each collected plant to calculate its total number panicle per pot. Plants were then separated into straw and panicles. Straw was further divided into leaves and stems which were then oven dried at 80°C to constant weight and then dry weights were calculated. Panicle length at maturity stage was determined. Individual panicle weight from main tiller was measured. The panicles were hand-threshed and filled spikelets were separated from unfilled spikelets through a seed blower. Grains were soaked in tap water and the numbers of sunken and floating grains were counted and weighed to determine three yield components: the number of spikelets per panicle, the filled grain percentage and the 1000-grain weight (Fahad et al., 2016). Primary and secondary branches were also calculated. According to Mohammed and Tarpley (2011) spikelet fertility was determined. During our experiment spikelet fertility was described as the ratio of filled grains number to the entire amount of reproductive sites (florets) during ANT treatment. This technique was used because during HDT and HNT treatments most of the abortions of florets were observed. In order to find out whether the grain was filled or empty, every floret was force downed between the thumb and forefinger. Filled grains number comprised both fully and half-filled grains. Spikelet fertility was expressed as percentage.
For each rice cultivar and year, the experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with two factors viz., temperature treatments and PGRs. Each treatment was replicated four times in each year. Data collected was analyzed with the analysis of variance technique (ANOVA) and presented as the interaction of temperature treatments and PGRs. Statistical analysis was performed by software Statistix 9.0 (Analytical Software, Tallahassee, FL, USA) using HSD tukey's test (P ≤ 0.05).
Thermoregulation of Leaf Physiology
Rice leaf physiological attributes were negatively affected under high day and night temperature treatments applied at booting stage of crop, but their interactions were non-significant (p > 0.05) for most of the time in both years (Tables 1, 2). Significant (p ≤ 0.05) variations for A, gs, A/Ci, WUE and LWP were observed in two consecutive years under the influence of high temperature and PGRs application in both rice cultivars. The E and Ci were also significantly affected by main effects of both factors during first year (Table 1). Interaction of temperature × PGR was non-significant (p > 0.05) for all physiological attributes except E for both years (Tables 1, 2).
Table 1. The effects of high temperature stress and exogenously applied plant growth regulators on the photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), stomatal limitations to CO2 uptake (A/Ci), water use efficiency (A/E), and leaf water potential in two rice cultivars during 2013 growing season.
Table 2. The effects of high temperature stress and exogenously applied plant growth regulators on the photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration (E), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), stomatal limitations to CO2 uptake (A/Ci), water use efficiency (A/E), and leaf water potential in two rice cultivars during 2014 growing season.
High temperature stress hampered rice photosynthesis machinery through limiting stomatal CO2 uptake and enhancing gs, E and Ci. Averaged across years, cultivars and PGR combinations, a reduction of 17.11 and 14.02% in A and 22.09 and 14.66% in A/Ci was recorded in rice plants under HDT and HNT stress, respectively (Tables 1, 2). Both cultivars behaved variably to high temperature stress and furnished significant level of tolerance to HDT and HNT. The cultivar HHZ performed better all physiological traits than IR-64 except gs which was similar in both cultivars. Under high temperature, A and A/Ci were decreased by 21.21 and 26.42% in IR-64, and 9.92 and 10.34% in HHZ, respectively compared with AT (Tables 1, 2). Rice plants under HDT recorded highest gs (1.25 mol m−2 s−1), E (13.92 mmol m−2 s−1) and Ci (337 mmol mol−1). Inverse relationship in WUE and LWP under high temperature stress was measured. Overall, reduction of 28.89 and 20.15% in WUE and improvement of 62.22 and 49.14% in LWP were noted under HDT and HNT, respectively (Tables 1, 2).
All PGR combinations effectively enhanced the stress tolerance in both cultivars (Tables 1, 2). The PGR combination of Vc+Ve improved plant physiological attributes up to 46% under HDT and 34.96% under HNT and addition of MeJA and Br to Vc+Ve combination (Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br) further improved stress tolerance to 54% under HDT and 41.43% under HNT. Different combinations of PGRs improved A by 10.62, 15.83, and 10.13% under AT, HDT, and HNT, respectively compared with NAC (Tables 1, 2). The PGRs application increased WUE and A/Ci by 40.71 and 35.71% compared with NAC. The Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br outcompeted all other combinations of PGR for all physiological traits particularly under HDT and HNT stress (Tables 1, 2).
Anatomy and Growth Attributes
Rice leaf anatomy and growth attributes responded variably to HDT and HNT stress cycles. Leaf length, panicle length, above- (AGB) and below-ground biomass (RB), and total green leaf area (TGLA) were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected by various temperature treatments, however, plant height and leaf width were unaffected (Tables 3, 4). The PGR combinations also significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced all the growth attributes except plant height and leaf width. Interaction of temperature × PGR was non-significant (p > 0.05) for all above mentioned leaf and growth parameters. Compared with AT, the HDT and HNT reduced the panicle length of IR-64 by 28.27 and 15.49%, leaf length of IR-64 by 15.44 and 7.46%, the panicle length of HHZ by 11.66 and 4.26% and leaf length of HHZ by 9.79 and 4.78%, respectively averaged across years and PGRs (Tables 3, 4). The AGB, RB, and TGLA at maturity also presented similar trend as for other crop growth attributes. The AT resulted in maximum AGB, RB and TGLA, while HNT reduced AGB by 15.96 and 8.47%, RB by 27.8 and 7.5% and TGLA by 24.87 and 12.47% in IR-64 and HHZ, respectively (Tables 3, 4). The corresponding reductions by HDT were almost double to HNT; and AGB was decreased by 33.55 and 18.76%, RB by 42.36 and 24.19%, and TGLA by 32.35 and 19.82% in IR-64 and HHZ, respectively (Tables 3, 4). The year effect was non-significant (p > 0.05) for all these attributes.
Table 3. The effects of high temperature stress and exogenously applied plant growth regulators on different growth attributes of two rice cultivars during 2013 growing season.
Table 4. The effects of high temperature stress and exogenously applied plant growth regulators on different growth attributes of two rice cultivars during 2014 growing season.
Various PGRs combinations alleviated the heat-induced effects by improving panicle length, leaf length, AGB, RB and TGLA (Tables 3, 4). The plant height and leaf width were unaffected by PGRs. This improvement was greater in IR-64 for ABG and TGLA while lower for RB over HHZ. The PGRs were more effective under HDT; higher increase in ABG, RB and TGLA was observed by different PGR combination under HDT as compared with NAC (Tables 3, 4). The Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br was the most effective combination than all other treatments. This combination increased TGLA by 25, 26, and 18% under HNT, HDT and AT, respectively irrespective of the cultivar. The Ve+Vc was second best treatment for these attributes (Tables 3, 4).
Rice Yield and Yield Components
Rice grain yield and yield contributors viz., number of panicle per plant, spikelet per panicle, secondary branches per panicle, spikelet fertility, grain filling percentage and 1000-grain weight were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected by high temperature stress (Tables 5, 6). The number of primary branches per panicle was unaffected by temperature treatments. Effect of PGR combinations was also significant (p = 0.05) for above mentioned attributes except number of panicles per plant and primary branches per panicle in both years (Tables 5, 6). Interaction of temperature × PGR was non-significant (p > 0.05) in both genotypes for successive years. An increment in number of panicle per plant was recorded under HDT and HNT and such an improvement was higher in IR-64. All other grain yield contributors presented remarkable reduction under high temperature stress particularly under HNT (Tables 5, 6). The HDT and HNT reduced 1000-grain weight by 2.95 and 5.45% and grain filling percentage by 11.43 and 47.22%. The HNT recorded almost 50% higher yield loss compared with HDT. The IR-64 was more sensitive to high temperature than HHZ and recorded 72.2 and 43.2% less grain yield under HNT and HDT, while grain yield of HHZ was reduced by 36.44 and 25.36%, respectively (Tables 5, 6).
Table 5. The effects of high temperature stress and exogenously applied plant growth regulators on grain yield and its related components in two rice cultivars during 2013 growing season.
Table 6. The effects of high temperature stress and exogenously applied plant growth regulators on grain yield and its related components in two rice cultivars during 2014 growing season.
The PGRs were effective in improving rice yield and its components particularly under high temperature (Tables 5, 6). The spikelet per panicle, spikelet fertility, grain filling and 1000 grain weight were not significantly affected by PGR combinations. The Vc+Ve and Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br combinations surpass all other treatments for rice yield and its related attributes. In IR-64, the number of spikelet per panicle under AT, HDT and HNT were increased by 7.97, 12.31, and 9.73%, respectively due to different PGRs combinations compared with NAC (Tables 5, 6). Likewise, spikelet fertility (14.14 and 20.05%), and grain filling (21.21 and 13.16%) were improved in IR-64 by application of PGRs under HNT and HDT, respectively. Under AT, the Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br enhanced the grain yield of IR-64 and HHZ by only 6.04 and 8.17%. Under HDT and HNT, the Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br improved the grain yield of IR-64 by 27.46 and 15.48%, and of HHZ by 62.59 and 13.64%, respectively. These results clearly indicate the effectiveness of exogenously applied PGRs in alleviating the adverse effect of HDT or HNT on grain yield of rice cultivars (Tables 5, 6).
Wuhan (experiment site) is known as one of the major rice growing region in China, irrigated through Yangtze River. Average temperature for rice vegetative growth period in this region in 22–24°C while optimum temperature for grain filling period is 22–28°C (Li et al., 2011). In most areas, an elevated temperature up to 35–40°C is observed during grain filling period that is too harsh for normal grain development and filling. This rise in temperature interacts with normal functioning of plants through disturbance in many physiological processes and biochemical reactions (Larkindale and Knight, 2002). Peng et al. (2004) reported that high night time temperature increase is more fatal than increase in day time temperature. Variable observations regarding the intensity and effects of high temperature were previously reported for rice physiological processes. Alghabari et al. (2014) reported that HDT was more fatal to grain set and pollen fertility in cereals while Shah et al. (2011) observed poor rice performance under HNT compared with HDT. Narayanan et al. (2014) reported similar effect of HDT and HNT on plant physiology and growth when applied at anthesis stage of crop development. Our results depicted the variable effects of HDT and HNT for different studied parameters. The HDT resulted in greater reductions in A and WUE (Tables 1, 2). The IR-64 was more prone to high temperature stress as apparent by the enhanced level of E, gs, and LWP, whilst HHZ showed better level of tolerance to day and night thermal changes as apparent from higher rate of A and WUE under stress (Tables 1, 2).
Compared with AT, high temperature considerably reduced the morpho-physiological growth of rice (Tables 1–4). Reduction in morpho-physiological growth traits have been recorded to be accountable for decrease in rice yield production under high temperature (Li et al., 2011; Narayanan et al., 2014). Under heat stress, the thylakoid membrane becomes more permeable which increases proton leakage, affects normal synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH), and consequently decreases the rate of A (Schrader et al., 2004; Narayanan et al., 2014). Loka and Oosterhuis (2010) reported that high temperature decreased A, sugar and starch content in rice while increased respiration and male sterility (Mohammed and Tarpley, 2009b). Guo et al. (2005) found that lower A under heat stress was due to reduction in leaf chlorophyll contents. Damage to electron transport chain especially at photosynthesis II or inhibition of CO2 fixation under heat stress may also disturb photosynthesis which is the key process for photo-assimilate production (Havaux and Tardy, 1996; Yamane et al., 1997).
Due to high rate of E generated by HDT, the lower WUE was observed under HDT than HNT (Tables 1, 2). This could also be ascribed to reduced rate of A under HDT. The WUE defines the amount of photosynthate accumulation or biomass production based on amount of water used during E. Higher WUE resulted in higher plant biomass and yield. In the present study, decline in WUE could also be reason for grain yield reduction under HNT. Mohammed et al. (2014) reported similar results pertaining to WUE and noted significant decline in WUE under high temperature, which was associated with higher E. Under high temperature, higher Ci compared with AT (Tables 1, 2) suggested the inability of the leaf to fix the available C due to heat stress. We observed that higher Ci did not increase A but gs was higher, which indicated that both rice cultivars were efficiently able to enhance influx of CO2 into leaves but due to high temperature induced detrimental effects on A, rice plants were not capable to fix that C into carbohydrates. In some earlier researches similar findings have been accounted which show that enhancement in gs or Ci did not affect A (Mohammed and Tarpley, 2009a).
Our study depicted slight improvement in plant height under HDT and HNT as compared with AT (Tables 3, 4). Heat-associated increment in plant height can be attributed to speedy elongation of internodes. This intermodal elongation may be linked to some internal hormones that were up-regulated under high temperature like ethylene and gibberellin (Qi et al., 2010). Our results are in consistent with the findings of Cheng et al. (2009) who reported considerable enhancement in rice plant height under HNT whereas results of some previous researchers are in contradictory with our findings who accounted HNT treatment did not significantly affect the morphological traits of rice including plant height (Mohammed and Tarpley, 2009a). High temperature reduced the leaf area and biomass accumulation in both rice cultivars as compared with AT (Tables 3, 4). Moreover, considerable decrease in leaf area guided to less A with associated reduction in the photosynthates assimilation in grain ultimately leading to a reduced grain yield. Mohammed and Tarpley (2014) authenticated that production area for total photosynthates was decreased due to leaf area reduction under high temperature stress, which resulted to considerable decline in grain yield. Additionally, higher night or day temperature activated photorespiration out coming in discrepancy between photosynthesis and respiration causing decline in grain yield (Venkatramanan and Singh, 2009).
Rice grain yield is dependent on number of panicles, number of spikelets per panicle, grain filling rate and total grain weight (Kim et al., 2009). High temperature particularly at night time decreased the grain numbers per spike, grain filling rate and total grain weight. Narayanan et al. (2014) also found considerable decrease in seed set, number of grains per spike and grain yield in wheat under high temperature and they attributed decreased grain number to poor seed set. Decrease in grain weight due to high temperature might be ascribed to reduced transfer of assimilates in grains and lower spikelet fertility under stress conditions (Tables 5, 6). Calderini et al. (2001) argued that reduced mobilization of stored pre-anthesis assimilates and reduced grain filling decreased the 1000-grain weight. Li et al. (2011) also reported that HNT was more harmful to grain weight in rice than HDT. Zakaria et al. (2002) reported that rate of grain growth was heat dependent and reduction in grain filling duration and dry matter accumulation led to smaller and imperfect grains. The apparent decrease in grain yield under high temperature suggested that HNT and HDT led to production of both smaller and imperfect grains. Our results also clarified pronounced differences between cultivars regarding growth and yield performance under high temperature (Tables 1–6). The HHZ performed better than IR-64 with better growth and higher grain yield under high temperature stress. These results are in confirmation with our previous reports (Fahad et al., 2015a,b, 2016), which revealed that HHZ is comparatively tolerant to high temperature compared with IR-64.
In the present work, application of PGRs was effective in alleviating the adverse effects of high temperature stress on rice. Exogenous application of PGRs considerably increased growth and yield of both rice cultivars as compared with NAC (Tables 1–6). Previously, Mohammed and Tarpley (2009b) reported that exogenous application of vitamin E, glycine betaine and salicylic acid improved rice yield and the ability of plants to tolerate high temperature stress. Better leaf gas exchange was observed when PGRs were exogenously applied as compared with NAC (Tables 1, 2). High rate of A in PGR-treated plants might be linked with higher WUE and lower E. In rice, application of PGR has been reported to increase leaf photosynthetic rates and decreases internal CO2 concentration, respiration rates and membrane injury in rice (Farooq et al., 2008a; Khan et al., 2010). We observed better Ci in rice due to application of PGRs because of higher A and gs (Tables 1, 2), which resulted in higher C fixation and photosynthates production. Higher 1000-grain weight in PGR-applied plants might be due to enhanced mobilization of stored pre-anthesis assimilates and higher grain filling rate. Our results depicted that the combination of Vc+Ve+MeJA+Br outperformed than all other treatments for augmenting high temperature tolerance in both rice cultivars. The highest grain yield under AT as well as high temperature stress by this PGR combination might be attributed to higher A, WUE, spikelet fertility and grain filling than rest of the treatments.
The increase in spikelet fertility and 1000-grain weight by PGRs application (Tables 5, 6) might be attributed to augmented mobilization of stored pre-anthesis assimilates to the grain as a result of membrane stability and/or better pollen germination (Data not shown). Although the combination of various PGRs selected in current research have never been tested earlier, however, the individual function of Vc (Guo et al., 2005; Shah et al., 2011), Ve (Munné-Bosch and Alegre, 2002), MeJA (Tani et al., 2008; Clarke et al., 2009) and Br (Li et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2007) against abiotic stresses is well apparent.
In summary, high temperature stress severely reduced the morpho-physiological growth and yield performance of rice cultivars in both years. The HDT posed more negative effects on rice physiological traits while HNT was more lethal for grain formation and rice yield. Exogenous application of PGRs was effective in alleviating the detrimental effects of heat stress. The combination of Vc+Ve+MejA+Br was more effective than all other PGR treatments for most of studied characteristics. The highest grain yield by this PGR combination was associated with enhanced A, spikelet fertility and grain filling, which compensated the adversities of high temperature stress. Taken together, these results may enhance our understanding regarding adaptation and survival mechanisms of rice to high temperature and advocate the usefulness of PGRs in alleviating the adversities of high temperature on rice growth and yield. However, further studies are required test the feasibility of these PGR combinations against different abiotic stresses in rice and other crops particularly in field conditions.
SF, JH initiated and designed the research, SF done the experiments, SF, SHu, SS, SHa, analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript, ZI, CW, AS, MY, WN, HA, FA, and JH revised and edited the manuscript and also provided advice on the experiments.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
We thank the funding provided by the Major International Joint Research Project of NSFC (No.31361140368).
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Keywords: cultivars, high night temperature, morpho-physiological growth, plant growth regulators, spikelet fertility, water use efficiency
Citation: Fahad S, Hussain S, Saud S, Hassan S, Ihsan Z, Shah AN, Wu C, Yousaf M, Nasim W, Alharby H, Alghabari F and Huang J (2016) Exogenously Applied Plant Growth Regulators Enhance the Morpho-Physiological Growth and Yield of Rice under High Temperature. Front. Plant Sci. 7:1250. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01250
Received: 09 June 2016; Accepted: 08 August 2016;
Published: 30 August 2016.
Edited by:Ebrahim Hadavi, Islamic Azad University of Karaj, Iran
Reviewed by:Ryoung Shin, Riken Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Japan
Najeeb Ullah, University of Sydney, Australia
Zhao Ben, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
Anzhen Qin, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
Copyright © 2016 Fahad, Hussain, Saud, Hassan, Ihsan, Shah, Wu, Yousaf, Nasim, Alharby, Alghabari and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jianliang Huang, firstname.lastname@example.org


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News from the Geoblogosphere
New from Snet:
, a new tool to create lithological/sedimentological logs online..
Blog post recommendation
Happy Birthday dear Archie…
Fabio Manucci included my Archeopteryx lithographica wips in this fantastic historical line-up, right after the Scott Hartman skeletals on which they are based… as well as his further critique and consultation. Its a great way to commemorate this impactful critter.

domain: history