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Perhaps most renowned for its stupendous views, stunning lakes and awesome Kendal mint cake, the Lake District is also known to be an epic playground for outdoor enthusiasts. Here’s a handful of some of the best the Lake District has to offer.
Helvellyn, the highest mountain in England that you can legally ride on, is a challenge only the brave-hearted should take on. Listed one of the UK’s most challenging mountain bike routes, the route involves climbing, biking and vertical descents. You need to made of tough stuff to tackle this ride.
To break you in gently, the route starts on relatively flat and smooth terrain in Ullswater. Kennel Cove (around half way into the route) is a great place to stop and catch your breath as it is a spot which gives you a panoramic view of the stunning landscape around you.
Another option is to take on the popular ridge walk across Helvellyn taking in Striding Edge and Swirral Edge along the way. It’s one of those routes that you just have to tick off once in your lifetime.
Blencathra, situated in the northern quarter of the Lake District, has one of the area’s most feared ridge walks, Sharp Edge. An enemy to those with vertigo, Sharp Edge is an extremely exhilarating scramble for those who have a head for heights. Just don’t look down.
Exposed and out in the open, once on top of the knife-life edge, the only way to go is forward.
Don’t worry though, there are alternatives way to finish the walk. Scales Fell or Doddick Fell are the easiest ways out or try Halls Fell for slightly more of a challenge.
Lake Windermere, the largest lake in England, is a playground for watersports enthusiasts. With over 10 miles of water, you’ll never run out of space. From wakeboarding to waterskiing and sailing to swimming, Lake Windermere offers it all.
As well as being a popular place for adventurers to hang out, part of ‘The Three Lakes’ challenge is held here, as competitors swim its length.
Alternatively, for those looking for a day off from the thrashing about, the perimeter of the lake makes for a stunning walk so you can watch all the action from the sideline.
Nestled in the heart of the Lake District, Wasdale Valley has been known to be referred to as the birthplace of rocking climbing by enthusiasts. Packed with a number of climbs, some more testing than others, it is a valley that only the daredevils among us should seek out.
After clambering up the valley and pausing every so often to take in the stunning views, you should stumble across Napes Needle, a 20m vertical ascent. At the top of the pinnacle, with your head almost in the clouds, you will get a view of the Lake District like no other.
Far from a walk in the park, the ascent which is graded hard to severe, is a climb which should only be tackled by confident climbers with a sufficient amount of experience. Once you’ve crawled your way to the top, it’s time to prepare for the hardest bit, getting back down.
Hodge Close Quarry, a disused deep excavation of green-coloured slate is a popular spot for abseils and deep-cave diving. You’re going to need to wear your diving suit under your climbing gear for this adventure…
The 45m vertical drop makes for an epic abseil as you’ll find yourself slipping and skidding off the slate walls. Once you’ve found your feet (it might take a while) it’s time to take the plunge.
Prone to flooding, the cave turns into an underwater paradise. It’s definitely worth the plummet. Around 24m deep, there is a tunnel entrance which leads to three chambers and two interconnecting tunnels.
A scramble, a ramble and the odd tumble, Stickle Ghyll is the place for an ultimate adventure. It does exactly what it says on the tin – it can get you into some sticky situations.
With gushing waterfalls, large rock faces and neck-deep pools of water, Stickle Ghyll is the Lake District’s adventurous playground and an ideal place to try out gorge walking and canyoning.
You’ll definitely see a different side of the Lake District, you just need to hope it’s not from an upside down or underwater angle. A drink of some sort will be the order of the day afterwards. Perhaps the stronger the better. It’s a good job Sticklebarn pub is only round the corner.

domain: travel


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Ancient Rome was as confident of the immutability of its world and the continual expansion and improvement of the human lot as we are today.
The great dream merchant Disney was a success because make-believe was what everyone seemed to need in a spiritually empty land.
The Renaissance is studded by the names of the artists and architects, with their creations recorded as great historical events.
God's designs may be frequent justification for our actions, but it is we, the self-made men, who take the credit.
Builders eventually took advantage of the look of modernism to build cheaply and carelessly.

domain: history


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‘Dying Well’ and the ‘Death Positive’ Movement
You’ve heard of the art of living well, but a recent trend in the health and wellness industry is the discussion of “dying well.” It sounds like an oxymoron—isn’t to die to not be well? But more and more people are joining the “death positive” movement, a mindset to reduce anxiety about the concept of death.
Death? A good thing? Believe it or not, there are organizations and groups that exist that set out to dispel the fears about dying to help society become more comfortable with it.
What is the Death Positive Movement?
It is common knowledge that the top two most common fears are death and public speaking (with public speaking taking the No. 1 position!). Although death is still a prominent fear among the human race. After all, no one knows what happens after you die. Plus, on a deeper level, people often worry about the loved ones they leave behind when they die, what will happen to them and how they will cope both emotionally and financially.
Led by organizations like The Order of the Good Death, the goal of the death positive movement is to create safe spaces and opportunities to discuss death and to educate people about dying. By making these topics less taboo, individuals can find comfort in knowing that they are not alone in their fear.
While the art of living should be what motivates us, often it’s the anxiety about having limited time that gives us purpose. Being motivated by death is known as death anxiety or thanatophobia, the intense fear of death. Cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker originally developed this concept in the 1970s, specifically coming up with the Terror Management Theory (TMT).
What is TMT?
TMT is a theory that implies that most of what we do every day is motivated by the fear of death. According to Becker, everyone has some level of death anxiety, but some people experience it more strongly than others. How does this fear manifest itself in our everyday life?
For some people, it can be “living life to the fullest.” This might mean that people eat dessert first, read the end of a book first so they know the ending, or make plans to schedule a jump out of a plane because they’ve always wanted to do it. If you think about it, having a bucket list is essentially death anxiety, because you are putting together a list of all the great, amazing things you want to do before you kick the bucket.
For some people, death motivates them through the idea of symbolic immortality, or what remains of a life after death. Some people might try to leave their legacy on the planet through art, having children, leaving some sort of lasting mark or impact on society, etc. This brings about anxiety surrounding their reputation, how people will remember them.
“A ‘Living life to the fullest’ mindset is a common form of death anxiety.”
On the other hand, there are people who have death anxiety who do not have either of these outlooks. They might be addicted to their looks and looking younger and controlling other people’s actions. Some experts even believe that wellness trends and perhaps even fitness might be a form of death anxiety, as they are trying to prolong life and avoid death. Plastic surgery might be a form of this anxiety, as you are trying to preserve the way you look and avoid growing old and/or closer to expiration.
What’s the Point of the Death Positive Movement?
Mostly, the main point of the death positive movement is to create more of an open, positive discussion about death and to relieve people’s anxiety surrounding life’s greatest certainty. A quick Google search will result in a number of death-centered media content and organizations encouraging positive conversations around the topic of death, including the Coffin Club, which helps elderly people to openly discuss death in their community while also building their own coffins (yes, really!).

domain: sociology


ALASKA came through when it mattered as it fended off shorthanded GlobalPort, 103-101, to sustain its surge in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Aces trailed most of the way against a Batang Pier side missing dynamic duo Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle, but banked on a fourth-quarter rally to come out with their fifth straight victory that tightened their grip on the top spot.
Calvin Abueva brandished his all-around brilliance, scattering a career-high 29 points on top of 14 boards and four assists to lead the Aces, who handed the Batang Pier their fifth loss in seven games.
The result spoiled the debut of new GlobalPort import Shawn Taggart, who had 36 points and 16 boards against seven turnovers in his first game replacing stand-in reinforcement Calvin Warner.
“I really thought GlobalPort outplayed us,” Aces coach Alex Compton said. “But Calvin made some huge shots and once again, at the end of the game, our defense carried us.”
Abueva and Ping Exciminiano conspired in the fourth quarter where the Aces wiggled out of a tight battle after making the necessary stops that translated into transition baskets.
Shane Edwards was solid as usual as the Aces import registered 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, along with11 boards, four blocks, two assists, and two steals in 39 minutes.
Jeric Fortuna and Paolo Taha replaced the injured Romeo and Pringle in the starting lineup and stepped up in their absence as they finished in double-digit scoring.
Taha gave the Batang Pier their last taste of the lead at 94-93 with a left-wing triple with three minutes and 31 seconds left, before the Aces turned the game around for good.
ALASKA 103 – Abueva 29, Edwards 21, Manuel 12, Exciminiano 10, Jazul 8, Banchero 6, Thoss 6, Dela Rosa 5, Casio 2, Eman 2, Menk 2, Dela Cruz 0, Hontiveros 0, Racal 0
GLOBALPORT 101 – Taggart 36, Jensen 13, Uyloan 12, Fortuna 11, Taha 11, Yeo 7, Washington 5, Mamaril 4, Semerad 2, Kramer 0, Maierhofer 0
Quarterscores: 16-30, 48-51, 74-78, 103-101


IVECO, the esteemed commercial vehicle brand of Iveco Group, and Plus have announced that their jointly developed, autonomous IVECO S-Way truck, integrated with Plus’s cutting-edge PlusDrive solution, is now operational on public roads in Germany. This significant advancement follows a meticulous process of testing and validation that involved extensive closed-course examinations and comprehensive training for test drivers on the vehicle’s superior safety features.
Why It Matters
The application of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of trucking has the potential to revolutionize the industry by making it safer, easier, and more sustainable. Marco Liccardo, Chief Technology & Digital Officer at Iveco Group, noted that AI-based safety technology such as PlusDrive could help mitigate the risk of accidents, enhance fuel economy, improve driver retention, and alleviate the truck driver shortage that is prevalent across Europe. The data gathered during the public road testing phase will crucially set the stage for the future industrialization of driver-in automated trucks.
The IVECO S-Way truck, equipped with PlusDrive, boasts state-of-the-art AI-based autonomous driving software and an array of advanced sensors including lidars, radars, and cameras, providing drivers with an exceptional awareness of the vehicle’s surroundings. The public road testing phase will extend over the next few months, with further testing planned in Austria, France, Italy, and Switzerland to gain valuable insights from the diverse roadways and driving conditions across these regions. PlusDrive’s capabilities include safe and automatic handling of driver-supervised maneuvers, such as lane centering, cut-ins, lane merges, and traffic jam assistance.
According to Shawn Kerrigan, COO and Co-founder at Plus, the rigorous efforts of the IVECO and Plus teams have culminated in this innovative solution reaching public roads for testing. With the PlusDrive system already in use by some of the world’s largest fleets for commercial freight delivery, the expansion of this commercial product to more fleets could exponentially increase its positive impact on the industry. This development underscores the companies’ commitment to enhancing road safety and sustainability, leading the charge in the evolution of the trucking industry.


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Today we visit a fantastic and amazing house designed by professional Architect and Interior designers, in the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They were responsible for creating each and every one of the rooms of this modern residence, both in and out, providing an excellent quality of life for its residents.
This tour begins at the recreation area, where feast our eyes on a refreshing pool on the terrace with a concrete floor that has a nice green wall with creepers. This gives you a connection with nature that is undeniable. The backyard has a multitude of possibilities to extract from an excellent afternoon outdoors to a pool table with outdoor dining. Lounge chairs allow you to enjoy the wondrous beauty up ahead.
We then make way inside the house where the architectural language creates a cohesive force with the environment that predominates in the spaces of the rooms. A design that is consistent, follows you as the materials add color to create an interior filled with life. Spaces communicate with each other, gelling perfectly. Social coexistence is encouraged as the beautiful kitchen makes connections with the rest of the house.
The next floor brings private spaces to the forefront where bedrooms and bathrooms are located. The rooms offer an array of furniture that is centred around a theme. The theme being a continual design language that favours each of the spaces. Each bedroom is a reflection of the personality of its inhabitants with different decorations. Each of which maintains the modern and a contemporary architectural style that we spoke of earlier.
The tour ends at the home office, which has a modern simplistic unpretentious design. The quality and functionality of the area make it the ideal space to work in from the comfort of your home.
Checkout an incredible home in the woods here.

domain: artistic


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There are plenty of wholesale stores who will sell silk flowers at a greatly discounted price. Working with silk flowers is easy and can be done by almost anyone. My mother put together all the bouquets, boutonnières, and corsages for both my weddings. She had no professional training. She simply had a bunch of flowers and some florist tape. They were utterly beautiful!
Some basic equipment you’ll need are floral wire, floral tape, wire cutters, flowers, greenery, and decorative accents like baby’s breath or smaller flowers. These instructions are mainly for silk flowers, but can be used with real flowers as well. Silk flowers can be manipulated much easier than real ones, so keep that in mind!
Tips for creating your own flowers are abundant. A beautifully simple idea for a gorgeous bridal bouquet is to take several white roses, bunch them together into a bouquet, wrap the bottom with floral tape tightly, and wrap satin ribbon around the stems. Attach long pieces of satin ribbon to flow down as you hold the bouquet and it’ll be stunning!
You can use this technique with either silk or fresh flowers, and it doesn’t have to be all roses. For a unique look, try out different flowers in your wedding colors. You can also buy plastic nosegay holders at many discount stores that make preparing bouquets super easy! Don’t worry if you can see the tape or wire. You can always disguise it with ribbon or filler.
For your bridesmaids, you can have them carry the traditional nosegay. Assemble it in the same way outlined above for the bridal bouquet. A very elegant look is to have each attendant carry a single flower or a few flowers put together with greenery and ribbon that they carry cradled in their arms. These are super easy to put together. Just take a few flowers, greenery, and accents, gather the stems together, wrap with floral tape and add ribbon.
For the boutonnières, simple is best, especially since they will be worn by the men in your wedding party. Most guys don’t want garish flowers adorning their bodies – it’s just a guy thing!
To put together a boutonniere, take a single flower, add a few green leaves, and maybe a sprig of baby’s breath. Wrap the stem in floral tape tightly and voila! Your bout! You can, if you wish, add a little bit of ribbon, but don’t go too overboard – remember the “guy thing”!
To make corsages, use an odd number of flowers – 3 or 5 is recommended. Make it just like you would the bout, gather the stems, and add greenery and filler. You’ll want the corsage to be in a round shape, or a long row. Once you have gathered all the flowers together, wrap tightly with floral tape and adjust the stems for comfort. Be sure to add some pretty ribbon for accents.
Many people just aren’t sure how to pin on a corsage, so here’s a most helpful tip for anyone! The corsage should bend slightly over the collar bone, so don’t pin too far down. The wearer should be able to tip her head slightly to smell the flowers.
Stick the pin into the fabric at the bottom left corner of the stem. Weave the pin back out from under the fabric. Push it through about 1 inch, laying it at an angle over the top of the stem. Stick the tip of the pin back into the fabric on the other side of the stem. Insure that the stem is tightly in place with the length of the pin pushing it down. Weave the pin back out of the fabric once more. Be sure that the very tip of the pin does not stick out, nor does it poke under the fabric and touch the skin.
Don’t forget the pins! Go for the straight pin with a pretty pearl head on it. They can be found at most craft store quite inexpensively. Have plenty on hand – just in case!
The flower girl basket is probably the easiest of all wedding ceremony flowers. Just take a small basket – preferably white – and decorate it with ribbon and some small flowers. Many local florists will sell you rose petals for the flower girl to strew down the aisle quite cheaply. If they have some roses they aren’t able to sell that are going bad, they will usually part with the petals at a low price.
Ring Bearer Pillow
Just as important could be the ring bearer pillow. Want to know how to make your own? Read on!
- The ring pillow from a wedding can become a treasured keepsake of a very special day and a family heirloom as well. Use high-quality materials for the pillow and be creative. Experiment with different patterns, materials and textures before you decide on a final design.
- Choose two pieces of fabric that each measure between 8 and 10 inches square. Use white or off-white satin, silk or brocade. If possible, use the same fabric and lace that is used for the wedding dress.
- Choose lace and ribbon to decorate the pillow if desired. The amounts required will depend on how the materials are used. About 2 to 3 yards each of ribbon and lace will be adequate
- Use two or three pieces of polyester batting as stuffing for the pillow. Each piece should be equal to the dimensions of the fabric squares in step 1.
- Use a fabric cutting board, ruler and fabric marking pen to mark and measure out two equal squares of fabric. Make all markings on the wrong side of the fabric. Test the pen on a scrap of the pillow fabric to make sure that the marks will fade.
- Do any embroidery or needlework before continuing to the next step. Add any other decoration to the face of the fabric as well. Embellishments such as small ribbons, charms and delicate lace can be tacked or sewn on to the fabric by hand.
- Add a lace ruffle to the pillow by pinning the straight edge of the ruffle to the right side of the fabric square that will form the pillow top. Pin so that the edges line up evenly and the right sides (if there is a right side to the ruffle) are together.
- Pin the ruffle very loosely onto the fabric or gather the ruffle slightly as you pin in order to create a fuller ruffle.
- Pin the fabric pieces with the right sides together. Edges should match up evenly. Pins should be placed about 1/2 inch apart and should be at right angles to the fabric edges. Make sure that the pinned edge of the ruffle is caught securely between the two fabric layers.
- Use a sewing machine to stitch three sides of the pillow, 1/2 inch from the fabric edges. Turn the pillow right side out and stuff the batting layers inside. If you would like a fuller pillow, insert additional batting.
- Fold the edges of the unsewn seam into the pillow 1/2 inch, and stitch closed by hand. Use a slipstitch done by hand or carefully topstitch the edges with your machine.
- Add a 10- or 12-inch length of 1/4-inch satin or silk ribbon to the top of the pillow. Stitch the ribbon by hand to the pillow at the ribbon’s center point. Add a silk or satin bow made from the same ribbon to cover the stitching. Use the two ribbon strands to loosely tie the wedding rings to the pillows.
As far as flowers and plants as decorations are concerned, this can be a great enhancement to your ceremony. Many churches already have floral adornments on their altars. If you get married around the time of a church celebration, you may be able to buy a few flowers and take advantage of those that are already there.
For example, around Easter, lilies are the flower of choice in most churches. Many people will buy Easter lilies in remembrance of their loved ones. Offer to buy a couple of Easter lilies to add to the existing ones, and you have a beautiful decoration on the altar.
The same applies around Christmas. Poinsettias are the flower of choice at this time of year. Offer up a few poinsettia plants to add to those already there and you’ll have some beautiful altar decorations.
Large arrangements on an altar will only be seen from far away. Use inexpensive flowers such as carnations, or large filling flowers such as snowball mums.
If you are getting married in a church, almost all have some type of floral/tree decorations that they have all the time. All you need to do in this situation is to add a few personal touches and you’ll have a beautiful backdrop for your ceremony. This is what we did for my second marriage. We took the artificial fichus trees and arranged them around our other flowers to make for a beautiful altar.
If you are getting married outside, take advantage of nature. Cultivate what Mother Nature has to offer. When my cousin got married, he did so at a local park overlooking a lake. The flowers were in full bloom and it was beautiful. His wife later told me that she had been out at that park every day for two weeks just to make sure that the flowers would be gorgeous — and they were!
Talk to your venues and see if any other brides have booked for the same day. If the two of you can coordinate flowers and split the cost, you’ll save a lot of money. I would imagine both of you wouldn’t turn your nose up at saving a ton of money on church decorations and flowers!
Some party rental places will rent large potted plants such as tropical palms or fichus. They visually fill a lot of space, and will help frame your ceremony site or warm up your reception. Best of all, renting a potted plant is far cheaper than buying large flower arrangements. Also, you may consider purchasing these large plants and using them in your home afterwards to get more use out of them.
Almost everyone I knew owned an artificial fichus tree, so I made several phone calls and asked if we could borrow them for our big day. Everyone was more than happy to offer up their trees and we used them to decorate the reception hall. More on that later!
Don’t try to move your ceremony flowers to the reception hall. Many churches require you leave them anyway, but moving large arrangements can be tedious and simply not worth the time or effort. The last thing you want is to have your reception held up waiting for flowers!

domain: hobby


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On this session, you’ll find various links that will show you a little bit more of campos do jordão
palácio do governo
Auditorium Claudio Santoro
Borboletário (butterfly house)
Pedra do Baú
Pedra do Baú, located in the neighbor city, São Bento do Sapucaí, is one of the wanted places for those who enjoy a good adventure, and come to grub and contemplate the beauties of Serra da Mantiqueira. The rock formation that has 1850 meters of height, dimension of 350 meters and 540 meters of length, today is a place to paraglide, hang gliding, climbing, besides hiking and mountain bike.


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Forensic-chain: Ethereum blockchain based digital forensics chain of custody
Authors: Auqib Hamid Lone, Roohie Naaz Mir
Affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Engineering NIT Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 190006
Keywords: Blockchain. Chain of Custody. Ethereum. Smart Contracts
ABSTRACT. Digital evidence plays an important role in cyber crime investigation, as it is used to link persons with criminal activities. Thus it is of extreme importance to guarantee integrity, authenticity, and auditability of digital evidence as it moves along different levels of hierarchy in chain of custody during cyber crime investigation. Blockchain technology’s capability of enabling comprehensive view of transactions (events/actions) back to origination provides enormous promise for the forensic community. In this research we proposed to use a blockchain that can be leveraged for forensic applications in particular bringing integrity and tamper resistance to digital forensics chain of custody.
G. Giova, “Improving chain of custody in forensic investigation of electronic digital systems,” International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1–9, 2011
S. Nakamoto, “Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system,” 2008
V. Buterin et al., “Ethereum white paper,” 2013.
C. Liu, “How the blockchain could transform the process of documenting electronic chain of custody.” [Online]. Available: https://venturaerm.com/Blog/9.html
K. Zatyko, “Improving cyber forensics cybersecurity through block chain technology with truth based systems,” International Symposium on Forensic Science Error Management, July-23-2015

domain: law


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Posts filed under ‘Exhibits’
There are few orchids as unusually delightful and whimsical as the genera Gongora, Stanhopea, and Coryanthes in family Orchidaceae. Largely distributed through the neotropics, these genera are closely related under the subtribe Stanhopeinae. Though they share a similar way of enticing pollinators to visit their flowers, each of these orchids offer something unique as well.
Gongora, Stanhopea, and Coryanthes all attract euglossine bees to pollinate their blooms by producing highly aromatic oils on their flowers. Male euglossine bees, drawn by the intense fragrance, land on the flowers, scrape up the scented oil, and then collect it in spongy pouch-like structures on their back legs. It is believed that the male bees use this behavior is to help attract mates. The more complex the aroma compounds a male bee creates by visiting multiple flowers, the more attractive he appears to female bees.
Transferring collected oils onto its back legs requires a male euglossine bee to release its grip on a flower momentarily. Rather amazingly, these three genera of orchids have each developed a way to capitalize on this moment of vulnerability. Gongoras and Stanhopeas orchids use a “slide” structure formed from the petals and dorsal sepal of each bloom to guide the upside-down tumbling bee past the pollen on the end of the column and out of the flower. It’s nature’s version of “Chutes and Ladders!”
Coryanthes or Bucket Orchids, on the other hand, trap their bee visitors in liquid pooled in the bucket-shaped lip of their flowers. With its wings submerged, a male bee must exit out back of the bucket and past the column containing the pollen to escape the flower. In the process pollen from the flower attaches to the bee’s back. Since this is a traumatic experience, the bee temporarily avoids similar flowers. Eventually, the bee forgets the experience and falls into the same trap on another flower. The pollen already attached to its back then is deposited in the appropriate place on the flower’s column before new pollen adheres to the bee. Unbelievable, right?
Although flower spikes in all three species extend and hang pendulant from the base of the psuedobulbs, the more interesting phenomenon is that all three develop inverted flowers. This adaptation guides the fall of the visiting bee downwards through each orchid’s respective structure to help pollinate the plant.
Though similar in many ways, each genus exhibits a radically different shape. Below is a photo of Gongora aff. quinquenervis from the Smithsonian Garden Orchid Collection. The flower shape is fairly representative of the Gongora genus as a whole and makes for a great model to understand the pollination process. Some say Gongora tend to look like a bird or insect in flight because of its wing-like reflexed lateral sepals. What strikes me in this particular species, however, is its jaggedness and the small barbs coming off the lip. The barbs remind me of a fishing hook with a lure. Considering how the flower uses its structure to attract a pollinator, it’s actually not a bad analogy
Stanhopea jenischiana, most recognizable for the dark eye spots on its yellow lip (see below), pollinate very similarly to Gongoras via a “slide” method. The fall bees experience after entering the flower led these orchids to be nicknamed “Fall-Through” Orchids.
And finally, below is Coryanthes trifoliata. Though the lateral sepals unfortunately are past their peak in this photo, the bucket lip is still intact and shows off some this bloom’s stunning detail! Notice the liquid dripping into the flower’s bucket. The second image shows more clearly the channel through which the orchid forces visiting bee to escape.
While these fantastic orchids abound in the Smithsonian Gardens greenhouses, a few have made their way into the Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History over the past several months. Have you had a chance to see any of them? With the show closing this Sunday, April 26 there’s still time to see a few new additions including a Gongora! Don’t miss them!
– Alan M., Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Exhibition Intern
From One Flower to Many and Some In Between: What’s Blooming in the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection
Orchids come in an incredible variety of shapes, sizes, and number of blooms. This week’s “What’s In Bloom” looks at some of unique plants in the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection that highlight the impressive diversity of the Orchidaceae family. From large, single-flower plants to plants with spikes full of tiny blooms; these species are awe-inspiring!
Pictured above is Phragmipedium longifolium with its large, roughly eight inch bloom on display. This orchid is native to the costal and mountain regions of Ecuador and into Latin America. The beautiful thing about Phrag. longifolium is that while only one flower may be in bloom at a time, it’s possible for mature orchids to produce blooms year round under ideal conditions. This makes the orchid very popular and many hybrids are made with this species as one of the parents.
Located in the same global region as Phrag. longifolium, Mormolyca rigens displays much smaller, one inch flowers. Unlike Phrag. longifolium, when Morm. rigens blooms many flowers pop out all over the orchid, capping the ends of thin growing shoots. Morm. rigens is also able to maintain bloom most of the year. This orchid is particularly attractive to bees who, lured by its shape and coloring, pollinate the flower by trying unsuccessfully to mate with it.
Dendrobium speciosum is suited for prolific reproduction in the wild. It produces many, many fragrant blooms on just a single vegetative spike. While the blooms pictured here are conveniently located in the Smithsonian Gardens’ greenhouses, in the wild Den. speciosumis is commonly found throughout Australia. This plant showcases white flowers with purple-spotted, red-veined labellums, but there are many variations of this orchid in the wild because its pollen readily crosses with other Dendrobium species. With upwards of two hundred and fifty flowers opening synchronously on one stalk, this orchid releases an incredibly aromatic scent to attract potential pollinators from all directions.
Regardless of if an orchid blooms with one large flower, many tiny flowers, or anything in between, the incredible variety of this family is always a pleasure to view.
– Alan M., Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Exhibition Intern
Smithsonian Gardens 20th annual orchid exhibition is well underway at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Walking around the exhibit hall, you can’t help but appreciate at the multitude of colors, shapes, and sizes of the orchids on display. How is it possible to capture such beauty? If you’re like me, you take hundreds of photos on your phone.
In addition to the seemingly endless pictures I’ve taken on my phone, I’ve had the opportunity as an orchid exhibition intern to get behind a DSLR camera and experiment with orchid photography. I’m by no means a professional photographer, but experimenting with settings and subjects has given me a new-found appreciation for photography and shown me there’s more to understand about orchids than meets the eye.
There’s a lot to understand about how to take a photo at the show, and it all begins with the orchids themselves.
First Element: Subject
When taking a photograph, first consider what’s in your viewfinder. It’s helpful to try and center your shot on an orchid bloom to give yourself the most unobstructed view. Bloom-centered orchid photos are beautiful, but there also is a great appreciation that can come from taking photos that capture the plant as you would view it in real space. When up close with an orchid, you have the opportunity to view the plant from all different angles. I’ve found that taking different approaches to photographing an orchid subject can capture facets of its beauty that you may not have noticed before. The orchid Ornithidium coccineum ‘Superman David’, for example, has both a delicate flower and interesting plant structure which both deserve recognition. ‘Superman David’ is subject in both photos below, but taking photos from different viewpoints can help viewers better appreciate the orchid as a whole.
Second Element: Light
Another element I focused on when learning to use the camera is lighting. Clearly, there is different lighting outside than in greenhouses or even in the orchid exhibit hall. Different types of lighting have different benefits and can result in interesting images. The natural light outside or in the greenhouse makes an orchid come to life. You get the feeling of how the orchid would appear in nature.
In the exhibit hall, the lighting is designed to really bring out the dazzling and detailed displays of each orchid arrangement. Aside from beautiful vignettes, the smallest individual orchid flowers are showcased with breathtaking brilliance. Whereas natural light shows orchids in context, the spotlights and other lighting features in the exhibit bring a greater focus to orchid details. These orchids are here to perform, to play both lead and support. That’s what makes an exhibit interesting.
Third Element: Focus
There is something to discover in both blurred images and sharp photographs. Whether intentional or not, capturing a blurred image creates an interesting experience for the viewer. It’s almost as if you’re outside looking in or looking over someone’s shoulder. You can see enough to make out the shape of the object, but can’t quite focus on the details. It produces an exciting feeling, because you want to know the specifics and there are still things you don’t know yet. With blurred images, you hone on different features of a plant than you normally would. You pay closer attention to the shape of the flower, or notice the overwhelming color which may be lost to the intricacies of orchid patterns in sharply-focused frames. Look at the following three photos, what changes and what new views appear for you with each progressive shot?
As the images get progressively less focused, what stands out to me in the above images is the “C” shape of the Oncidium Tiger Crow ‘Golden Girl’ on the right hand side of the photo.
Regardless of what kind of camera you may have, there’s ample ways to tailor a unique photo by experimenting with these elements. Visit the orchid exhibition and get creative!
– Alan M., Orchid Exhibition Intern
After working with orchids for five weeks, I could not have been more thrilled to share the splendor of orchids with families and museum-goers at Orchid Family Day. The event was held Saturday, February 22nd on the ground floor of the National Museum of Natural History, and drew a large crowd even in the face of a snowstorm. Smithsonian Gardens, the United States Botanic Garden, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center joined together to engage and educate Orchid Family Day participants about orchids and orchid care. Stations included building terrariums, creating botanical illustrations, making paper orchid corsages, asking an expert any orchid question, learning about orchid research, and potting an orchid to take home.
Naturally, there’s always some amount of preparation work that goes into any event. Planning Orchid Family Day took a team of Smithsonian Gardens staff and volunteers. Over numerous weeks, the group developed activities, prepared necessary materials, and helped gather the staff and volunteers needed to run activities. We also created orchid information panels from scratch to pair with the day’s activities. As an intern, I was able to collaborate and create the initial drafts of three display panels. The text then had to pass through several people for editing and revising to ensure quality and accuracy. After having gathered some of the first research for these panels, it was incredible to see the transformation from a simple word document into a professional looking display panel. It was a great opportunity, and I’m proud to have played an influential role in the development of Orchid Family Day.
Aside from event logistics, Orchid Family Day also needed publicity. Event details were posted online but word of mouth brought more people than the publicity alone could have. In fact, even with the threat of a snowstorm, hundreds of people showed up for the event. Impressively, as the doors to the National Museum of Natural History opened, countless families and individuals flooded into the museum. Although many patrons were excited to be the first in the exhibit halls, a steady stream of people made their way to the family day activities.
The enthusiasm of people bouncing between tables, building terrariums then potting orchids, made for equally enthusiastic staff and volunteers at each table to engage the ever changing visitors. I had the chance to witness several staff and volunteers of the gardens participate in demonstrations that were very unlike the work I’ve what previously seen them do. For example, one of the Smithsonian Gardens supervisors was helping make paper orchid corsages! It was incredibly enjoyable seeing the staff engaged with participants whether it was through drawing, potting, building, or teaching. I had the opportunity to staff the botanical illustration table, which is something I’ve never studied or worked much with before. Regardless, it was a lot of fun watching children color in orchid outlines and use their illustrations for all kinds of art projects. We initially intended for them just to create bookmarks, but they got creative and made necklaces and pictures to give to their parents too. Their enthusiasm was endless and parents often had to gently coax their children away from the table when it was time for them to go.
Many curious minds wandered into the exhibit, and not all were children. Adults wishing to learn more about orchids made the “ask an expert” table very popular. They also enjoyed discovering the latest in orchid research and conservation at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center table. And of course, the ever popular “pot an orchid” station may have stolen the show for most individuals as the U.S. Botanic Garden brought a thousand orchids to give away for free. Orchid Family Day activities offered something for everybody, so make sure to come out to the next one in 2017!
– Alan M., Orchid Exhibition Intern
Orchids are full of wonder. They have a vast amount of habitat diversity across the globe including swamps, deserts, tropics, and tundra. In fact, orchids are so diverse there’s almost no end to them, and this doesn’t even include the ones human have hybridized. You name a part of the plant and it’s bound to be different from genus to genus in the family Orchidaceae. To illustrate, take a look at Ludisia discolor and Oncidopsis Nelly Isler ‘Swiss Beauty’ currently on display in the exhibit “Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty.”
These two plants show just how varied orchids can be in color, flower size, number of blooms, and even the general foliage. Though different, each still retains a beauty in its own way. Ludisia discolor, also called a jewel orchid, is sought after for its foliage rather than its flowers. It’s a terrestrial orchid found in Asia and its leaves are a deep green lined with red veins. Oncidopsis Nelly Isler ‘Swiss Beauty,’ on the other hand, is distinguished by its pleasant red blooms and gives off a unique fragrance. Furthermore, Nelly Isler ‘Swiss Beauty’ is a hybrid containing a mixture of four different species, while Ludisia discolor is a species found in the wild. And these two only make up a fraction of the 8,000+ orchids in Smithsonian Gardens’ collection.
Fortunately, there’s a system in place that helps keep track of the many plants in the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection. This is extremely important because as a “living collection” it’s always growing and changing. Each orchid in the collection is given a specific barcode label that links to a database record containing important information about the plant. In addition to keeping basic information like its genus and species, the record reveal the plant’s current location, condition, and notes about its current use. All of this information is important for consistent record keeping. After scanning upwards of 80 to 100 plants each week, eventually you begin to pick up some interesting information. For example, some of these orchids are over 30 years old!
Maintaining the database is essential to keeping the orchid exhibit running smoothly. Plants selected for the exhibit are scanned at the beginning of each week in order to keep track of their changing location. Every Monday and Tuesday, I work to arrange these selected orchids into rank and file at the greenhouses with the help of several other greenhouse staff and volunteers. This makes scanning the pants’ barcodes and recording whether they’re leaving for the show or returning a simple process. It also makes it easy to pull the corresponding display labels. If you’ve made it to the show, you probably recognize those gleaming black and white labels in the photo. Smithsonian Gardens actually keeps label library chock full of thousands of these labels!
Once all the tags are scanned and display labels staked, plants have to be loaded onto carts and plastic wrapped. It’s lovely that orchids bloom during the winter, but it’s dangerous for us to have to move them outside in cold weather! The plastic wrap provides a temporary buffer from the cold temperatures, which could otherwise harm the blooms and overall health of the orchids. We then swiftly move these carts from greenhouse to box truck and box truck to exhibit hall; minimizing the time they’re outside in the cold. All this scanning, packing, and loading is a bit of a logistical feat, so it’s no surprise something may get left along the way. Case in point, I once forgot to bring the roll of plastic wrap to the exhibit hall.
Now those plants wrapped in the picture above look pretty professional, but that’s only half the battle. It’s incredibly important to take the plastic wrap to the museum because the carts bringing plants back from the exhibit really need protection from the cold as well. These are, after all, orchids that are stressed out from the less than ideal conditions of the exhibit hall. Since we did not have plastic wrap available the Smithsonian Gardens staff improvised and obtained trash bags. The bags made for sufficient protection during the trip back, even if it looked like we were stealing the plants. That was, however, an incredibly stressful experience for me because I was sure we were going to lose part of the collection. I’ll make sure to bring the plastic wrap in the future!
To help balance stressful moments like this, Smithsonian Gardens regularly offers really great opportunities for interns to experience. There are internal tours, in-service sessions, and other educational opportunities that I’m able to attend with my intern status. Recently, I had the opportunity to take a tour of the National Herbarium at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. If you’re like me, you had to look up the definition of a herbarium and figure out what all the commotion is about for a library of dried plants. Aside from the general appealing aesthetics of neatly dried and pressed plants, the National Herbarium has millions of specimens. Its collection includes type specimens, around thirty plants currently extinct in the wild, and even plants collected by former presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and Chester Arthur. It also contains some seriously historical plants, like one collected in the 1500s! It’s almost inconceivable to think about everything that’s housed in the herbarium. Check it out online at http://botany.si.edu/colls/collections_overview.htm.
After the tour, I’m really excited for what other opportunities may pop up next. I’m looking forward to making the most of these experiences and sharing them on the Smithsonian Gardens’ blog. That’s all for now, but enjoy another photo from the herbarium of the world’s largest seed. This dried seed still weighs a cool twenty pounds!
-Alan M., Orchid Exhibition Intern
A lot of work goes into making an exhibit like this year’s orchid show, “Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty.” Of course there’s the joint effort of Smithsonian Gardens, U.S. Botanic Garden and National Museum of Natural History staff, but what about all the finer details? How do those beautiful orchids and other plants made it onto the show floor? Was all that Spanish moss really hung by hand? What about the angle of that delicate little orchid you didn’t notice until your second or third time visiting? Are the plants changed each week?
My name is Alan Marcus and I’m currently the spring exhibition intern with Smithsonian Gardens. I wasn’t ready for the barrage of work to address all the little details of this year’s orchid exhibit when I arrived this month, but I’ve tried my best to keep up. It was fun getting thrown into the mix of preparation and I love telling everyone about all the effort that goes into it. Honestly, the work wasn’t nearly as tedious as I make it seem. In fact, it was quite the opposite! Hopefully I’ve piqued your interest to explore and continue reading into the less glamorous side of this year’s beautiful orchid exhibition. Let’s take a look at a somewhat typical work day for exhibition set up.
Mornings. Start. Early. OK, so 6:30 am isn’t the earliest start for work, but it can be a little exhausting after a while. What really motivates the staff to arrive for work every day is that everyone loves what they do. It’s simple. I know that sounds corny, but honestly its something I think is so important for visitors to know about this exhibit. On top of arriving early at the greenhouses, every day starts with a morning meeting (where you can imagine everyone’s at their finest). The staff is a true cast of characters, but the plants and the work they do for the public are things everyone comes together on. Every orchid you see, every minute detail from the mulch in the planters to the hook the lab coat rests on, was labored over with love for the exhibit and the potential joy it can bring to all visitors. That’s what gets the staff to the greenhouses in the morning to meet and load plants onto trucks bound for the National Museum of Natural History by 7 am.
Once in the exhibit hall, staff worked on their various assignments from the morning meeting. Some spent the morning visualizing and creating a steamy jungle display, while others busily ensured plants have the proper drain plates underneath them and are covered with mulch on top. My work was really all over the place, but that was great because I had the chance to work closely with a different staff member each day. This allowed me to ask all sorts of questions about the orchids. Two orchids in particular struck me with awe. Those orchids were Psychopsis mariposa and Maxillariella elatior. They’re both strangely attractive plants and their biology reveals something unique about each orchid. The shiny bottom lip of the elatior orchid fooled me in thinking there’s some kind of nectar present, but it’s actually dry to the touch. This is one way it tricks pollinators into landing on its flower. On the other hand, the mariposa flower has a beautifully eerie shape that appears as a butterfly frozen in flight and can successively bloom for several months.
Just as my work changed, work on the show floor can be very different from person to person and from day to day. It’s nothing short of impressive watching the staff move about the room to fix up their areas. Something I was not expecting to see, but that is also worth mentioning, is that staff members did not just focus on their part of the display alone. For the sake of the exhibit’s theme, staff members were often asked to opine on specific design choices and how plantings could better fit in overall. Often, I was asked for my opinion about the color arrangements of orchids or about the positioning of certain plants to help make the display look more authentic and easier to view from the floor.
After working through the morning, lunch comes, and it was eagerly greeted by most. It’s surprisingly challenging work trying to coordinate all parts of the exhibit together, and I think it takes a full belly to complete the work efficiently. Either way, lunches were enjoyable. Work sometimes carried into the conversation, but mostly lunch was a time to relax and help get refocused for the afternoon. After lunch, work continued with renewed vigor as portions of display installments came to a close for the day. More often than not, these “finished” portions were revisited several times during the week as the overall design of the exhibit developed and grew to include more elements of the theme. For example, different orchids now line the portion of the exhibit by the laboratory scene than were first placed, and the beautiful white Phalaenopsis near the exit were a last-minute change. Clean up followed shortly after and carts and baskets were loaded back onto trucks to return to the greenhouse for the following day’s deliveries. It took the entire week to get every plant down there!
And that’s how a typical day went for the set-up of this exhibit. There’s really a lot to look at when you make your visit. There will continue to be new orchids to explore since plants need to be swapped out regularly to display the freshest blooms. I ask you to return to the exhibit again and again over the next couple months to take some time to really soak it all in. I promise there will be something new for your visit every time, whether it’s a new plant altogether, or simply a small detail that went unnoticed on your last visit. Everything is placed with a purpose, and there’s no doubt something for all to enjoy.
-Alan M., Orchid Exhibition Intern
The Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis), now displayed in sculpture on the southeast corner of the Enid A. Haupt Garden, was a flightless bird that fell prey to exploitation. A fast and facile swimmer and diver, the auk was characterized by its stubby wings, high-contrast black and white feathers, tall body, clumsy waddle, and large ribbed beak. It was initially found in dense colonies in the subarctic Atlantic, along the coasts of Canada, the United States, Iceland and Norway. But human predation caused its numbers to dwindle over the course of several centuries.
The sculpture is part of The Lost Bird Project, which seeks to create awareness about our fragile bird species. The creation of artist Todd McGrain, the project has been sponsored by the Smithsonian and other organizations. Four birds will remain in the Haupt Garden until spring 2015; a fifth bird is in the garden of the National Museum of Natural History, on the corner of 12th Street and Constitution Avenue.
Great auks spent most of their lives in the sea, seeking out land only during the spring breeding season. Their breeding sites were limited: the only suitable areas were those with reefs or rocky ledges, where the birds could waddle ashore to lay their eggs. Because the birds tended to concentrate in a few coastal areas, they were an easy target for hunters. Indeed, they were subjected to large-scale massacres, hunters killing them for their meat, oil, and feathers. The latter were used for clothes and pillows, the comforts of humans and profits of businesses taking precedence over the survival of the bird.
The last two Great auks were killed in 1844, although there were reports of a single bird remaining in 1852. The remains of the last two confirmed birds are preserved in formaldehyde in a museum in Denmark, a sad reminder of the bird’s demise.
The Great auk inspired Ogden Nash’s A Caution to Everybody:
Consider the auk;
Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.
Consider man, who may well become extinct
Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.
-Annette B. Ramírez de Arellano, Smithsonian Gardens Volunteer

domain: biology


text:
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 25 1 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around. 2 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city wall;a the king with all the soldiers fledb by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; all his army was scattered, deserting him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah; they bound him in fetters and took him to Babylon.
8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 All the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon—all the rest of the population. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and tillers of the soil.
13 The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, as well as the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the dishes for incense, and all the bronze vessels used in the temple service, 15 as well as the firepans and the basins. What was made of gold the captain of the guard took away for the gold, and what was made of silver, for the silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weighing. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a bronze capital; the height of the capital was three cubits; latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were on the capital all around. The second pillar had the same, with the latticework.
18 The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three guardians of the threshold; 19 from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the soldiers, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; the secretary who was the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out of its land.
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text:
The derivation of the study sample is described in . A total of 97,179 cohort participants were eligible for the analyses. To isolate folic acid exposure from other exposure reported to increase the risk of ASD, we excluded children with gestational age <32 weeks at birth, children with birth weight <2,500 g, and multiple births. We also excluded children for whom we did not have data on maternal supplement use before conception and in early pregnancy, and children whose mothers reported supplement use but had not specified the type and duration. In total, 12,003 children were excluded, for one or more reasons. The final study sample included 85,176 children. At the end of follow-up, the age range was 3.3–10.2 years and the mean age 6.4 years.
A total of 270 children (0.32%) in the study sample have been diagnosed with ASD: 114 (0.13%) with autistic disorder, 56 (0.07%) with Asperger’s syndrome, and 100 (0.12%) with PDD-NOS. The distribution of ASD cases by year of birth is shown in eTable 1 of the online supplement
. Of the ASD cases, 135 (50.0%) had been clinically assessed through the ABC study. The remaining 135 had specialist-confirmed diagnoses of ASD recorded in the Norwegian Patient Registry. Registry diagnoses have a high validity for ASD as a whole: of the 39 children assessed in the ABC study after being detected through the registry, 38 were found to meet DSM-IV criteria for ASD, generating a positive predictive value (PPV) of 97% (95% CI, 87–100%). PPV estimates are lower for the individual ASD subtype diagnoses: 80% (12/15) for autistic disorder (95% CI, 52–96%), 38% (5/13) for Asperger’s syndrome (95% CI, 14–68%), and 73% (8/11) for PDD-NOS (95% CI, 39–94%). PPV estimates for the subtype diagnoses are preliminary, as the number of cases in each group is still low.
The proportions of mothers reporting folic acid use are shown in . In the first interval (weeks 4 to 1 before the start of pregnancy), 32.9% of mothers took folic acid. The proportion increased to 70.7% in week 9–12 and then reverted to 45.8% in week 13–17. The distribution of folic acid use across categories of parent and child characteristics is shown in . Women who used folic acid within the exposure interval (4 weeks before to 8 weeks after the start of pregnancy) were more likely to have college or university level education, to have planned the pregnancy, to be non-smokers, to have pre-pregnancy BMI below 25, and to be first-time mothers. Folic acid use increased substantially by year of birth, from 43.2% in 2002 to 83.7% in 2008.
Folic Acid Supplement Use by Pregnancy Interval
Parent and Child Characteristics by Maternal Folic Acid Use a
Women who took folic acid in early pregnancy had a higher response rate to the screening questionnaire completed when the children were 36 months. For the study sample overall, the response rate was 62% in folic acid users and 55% in non-users. For children born in 2005–08, i.e., the youngest children, the difference was somewhat larger, with a response rate of 61% in folic acid users and 50% in non-users. Consequently, ASD children born to women who used folic acid may have had a higher probability of being diagnosed at an early age.
Results of the logistic regression analysis for autistic disorder are displayed in . There was an inverse association between folic acid use and the subsequent risk of autistic disorder. In children whose mothers took folic acid, 0.10% (64/61,042) had autistic disorder, compared with 0.21% (50/24,134) in children whose mothers did not take folic acid. The adjusted OR of autistic disorder was 0.61 (95% CI, 0.41–0.90) in children of folic acid users.
Risk of Autistic Disorder According to Maternal Folic Acid Use
The use of fish oil supplements followed similar patterns as folic acid use in the study sample: it was associated with the same parental characteristics (eTable 2
), it increased throughout the period of recruitment to the cohort (eTable 2
), and it increased from before pregnancy through the first trimester (eFigure 1
). Despite these similarities, there was no association between fish oil supplement use and autistic disorder risk, as shown in . The adjusted OR of autistic disorder was 1.29 (95% CI, 0.88–1.89) in children of mothers who used fish oil supplements.
The inverse association found for folic acid use in early pregnancy was absent for folic acid use in mid-pregnancy: the adjusted OR for autistic disorder was 0.96 (95% CI, 0.60–1.55) for those taking ≥400 μg per day in week 22, and 1.02 (95% CI, 0.62–1.67) for those taking less than 400 μg per day at that time.
For Asperger’s syndrome and PDD-NOS, we restricted the analyses to birth years with a cumulative incidence of 0.08% or higher (higher than the lowest level observed for autistic disorder): 2002–04 for Asperger’s syndrome (n=30,117 including 48 cases) and 2002–06 for PDD-NOS (n=59,152 including 91 cases). Our power to detect an OR of similar magnitude to that found for autistic disorder (OR=0.61) was limited: 36% for Asperger’s syndrome, and 61% for PDD-NOS. For Asperger’s syndrome, the proportion of diagnosed cases was 0.12% (21/17,218) in children of folic acid users and 0.21% (27/12,899) in children of non-users, generating an adjusted OR of 0.65 (95% CI, 0.36–1.16). For PDD-NOS, the proportion was 0.15% (58/39,543) in children of folic acid users and 0.17% (33/19,649) in children of non-users, generating an adjusted OR of 1.04 (95% CI, 0.66–1.63).
Results of exploratory analyses are displayed in . They should be cautiously interpreted, as none of the exploratory analyses had a statistical power of more than 50% to detect an OR of 0.60. There did not seem to be a strong gradient in risk by timing of initiation of folic acid use within the primary exposure interval (, analysis #1). The use of other vitamins and minerals in addition to folic acid did not appear to affect autistic disorder risk (, analysis #2). The analyses based on the food-frequency questionnaire data from week 22 did not reveal any apparent association between maternal total daily folate intake in week 22 (diet and supplements combined) and subsequent risk of autistic disorder in children (, analysis #3). The analysis in which cases were stratified according to language level suggested that the inverse association may be strong in those with severe language delay and weak in those with moderate or no delay (, analysis #4). The analysis stratified by year of birth suggested that the inverse association may be stronger in the older children (born in 2002–04) than in the younger children (born in 2005–08) (, analysis #5).

domain: medical


text:
Wednesday morning, some time after 1am, and the fire alarm has gone off in my block of apartments. Eventually, my street is evacuated. The fire was in an underground car park. Neighbours, and the fire service, came to check on me and try to help me into my wheelchair.
Getting in touch with the HSE or a service provider requires a serious amount of stamina. They check my version of events with the management company.
Therein begins the infantilisation.
The form filling with the HSE disability manager brings a sense of unease. Every two years this process is humiliating. My cerebral palsy hasn’t changed. Insensitive questions about the toilet extend themselves to dressing, showering and cooking. These innocuous questions are used as a marker to gauge how much support is needed. Enjoyment, safety, comfort or pleasure; there are no questions on the form that cover these areas.
Activism stole my best years. It also sucked the life out of a lot of my friends and peers. 2018 for me is about attending the anniversary masses of the disability activists who died during the past few years. Living alone brings many, many, benefits that were once only dreams. In order to contextualise; my package of support from the HSE is 84 hours a week, which equates to 336 hours per month. My hours of support finish at 11pm.
Until the fire, night-time was my private, sacred time. Most people with disabilities don’t have this kind of package. There is guilt attached.
On three occasions in the middle of winter I lay on the street outside Dáil Éireann. These were efforts to ensure access to basic service provision for disabled people continued. Namely independent living. This means having services in your home rather than living in an institution. Any notion of adrenaline or glamour associated with this form of direct action fades fast.
Very quickly, the realisation sets in that you’re maintaining “a service” which is quite different to controlling “your service”.
The infrastructure for disability services is appalling in this country. There are 2,200 organisations/advocacy services and service providers all claiming to know and understand the reality of living with a disability.
It is worth noting that these organisations are not owned or controlled by people who live with the reality of disability.
Access to public transport remains ad hoc and hugely problematic. One of my friends who has a significant disability was given the choice of two hours of support or a bed in a nursing home. Younger, disabled people in particular, living in a rural area, are further disadvantaged.
The delights of taking risks, moving away from the family home, going to gigs, are de rigueur for most young people. People with disabilities of any age don’t have this experience or choice.
Regardless of where I live, my human rights are eroded and considered by the State as being insignificant
These young people with significant disabilities have few or no support hours. Financial frugalism in the area of disability support packages leads to a chaotic and perilous service. This means quality of life is about existing; not living.
Getting up, eating, going to bed, if you’re lucky. The hours in between; the bits that you call your life, they don’t exist – at least not on this form.
The fallout from lack of services is loneliness, isolation and lack of participation. We don’t talk about loneliness, it comes with stigma and shame. Studying, working, travelling, that’s someone else’s life. Stigma brings its own set of complicated dynamics. None of my non-disabled peers know how my life works.
In the arts sector, it’s better not to expose this area of your life because you lose out on opportunities. The unspoken biases and silent prejudices become transparent to a trained eye. Using a lot of energy to minimise your needs, means there’s hardly anything left over to participate or offer to the wider community.
Recently Minister Finian McGrath went to the UN to mark Ireland's ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The Government’s refusal to adopt the optional protocol, which allows people to make complaints to the UN, is no surprise.
This protocol would allow people with disabilities to make complaints about service provision in Ireland. The bizarre twist of fate means my rights are violated, while the HSE and other bodies are protected from complaints related to specific services for disabled people.
The question of freedom, autonomy and human rights is complicated. Regardless of where I live, my human rights are eroded and considered by the State as being insignificant.
The form is filled and I’m told I’m not going to get overnight cover.
The disability manager leaves with her form under her arm and I’m left looking out the window, worrying, waiting for the next fire evacuation.
Platform Series: Rosaleen McDonagh
1) He'd look for a kiss from his gypsy girl
2) Perniciousness of racism and ableism
3) Life should be about living, not existing
4) The disabled spoil the presentation
5) When will there be an official apology?
6) Theatre access for those with a disability
7) Believing disabled sexual assault victims
8) Marginalising disabled feminists
9) Use your vote for change


The new Ramsey McDonald’s restaurant has passed another hurdle.
The Ramsey City Council Feb. 12 unanimously amended its ordinance to allow 24-hour drive throughs.
The restaurant will have minimal impact on the area, which is zoned for retail, said Associate Planner Chris Anderson.
Councilmember David Elvig said he has concerns on how the use of the drive through will overlap with future neighboring businesses and any mixed residential buildings.
This area is primarily for retail without residential, said Councilmember John LeTourneau.
And rules prohibit the audio from being heard beyond the property lines, Anderson said.
Tammy Sakry is at [email protected]


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UFC Undisputed 2010 is a Fighting game available on the 360. It can be played in Thirdperson Singleplayer modes.
UFC Undisputed 2010 is a Fighting game. Fighting games revolve around the interaction of two or more characters in some form of physical combat. Players learn to control characters through either memorisation of button combinations to access more advance moves, or by their reactions and accurate timing.
UFC Undisputed 2010 can be played in a Thirdperson mode. Third Person games view the world from over the right shoulder of the character being controlled. This enables you to see the character you are controlling as well as their surrounds. Although not as immersive as first person, third person games enable more complex moves and interactions with the environment.
UFC Undisputed 2010 can be played in a Singleplayer mode. Single Player Campaign games focus on one player's experience. Rather than collaborate with other players either locally or online, players progress alone. The campaign style of gameplay offers a connected series of challenges to play through. These chapters work together to tell a story through which players progress. Single player games are able to focus on one experience of a scenario, so that it is usually a richer, more visceral game.
We have our reporters and community keeping an eye on UFC Undisputed 2010 for you, and we'll keep you up to date with the latest developments as they happen.
UFC Undisputed 2010 was thrilling for those in the family who like the more brutal antics of the UFC. Sweeping changes have improved nearly every aspect of the game and we were all surprised with how immersive the entire experience was.
Being a fan of UFC and WWE Wrestling with children can be a dangerous hobby. No matter how fake it looks to us there's no doubt that kids love to emulate what's depicted on the screen - with UFC there's no room for dramatic license as the blood and sweat is pretty much all real.
Our video game coverage is driven by our columnists. We have tracked down people we think have engaging or unusual perspectives on video games. We then present each of then in their own minisite. You can browse each of these via the Column menu on each page or visit the Columns page.
If you aren't sure which of our columnists you like, you can dip into our stream of Reviews, Articles, Blogs and News. Or maybe try your luck with reviews for a particular Console, Genre or Play style.
Each column is an easy way to follow our writers. They focus on a particular perspective and offer hand crafted anecdotal reivews.
The best place to start depends on how you play games and what sort of person you are:

domain: entertainment


Recently The Rock GAA held its annual family day at their GAA grounds on near Mountmellick. The main attraction on the day was the Duck Race but there was plenty of fun and other attractions for all the family.
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Meet the new asus rog pg27uqx 4k 144hz monitor with mini led technology
Konami may wish we hadn’t realized this, but they tried to sneak up on the new PC version of Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance has been thwarted by their appearance on the rating board website. Taiwan games. The games featured here are one of the most common ways to release new games before the official release, because Taiwan’s game leaderboards are particularly efficient in processing and publishing game classification information, as much as possible. Sometimes there are planned announcements in advance. We don't have many details about what these versions will bring or when they will be available, but we know they will come sooner or later.
Metal Gear Solid games and various other long-running series have been released on consoles first. Whether it was the first Metal Gear Solid released for MSX in 1987, or Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for PlayStation 3, they were all first released on the console, and any PC version was downgraded to an afterthought. Until Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zero and Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain, the game series was launched on both PC and consoles.
There are many factors that can explain why this happens. One of the key aspects is the Japanese roots of the game. Although Japan has always been a huge game market and has some of the most prolific game developers in the world, it has never had a particularly strong PC game culture. There is no single reason for this, but some of the factors are very small houses in the city center, making small game consoles and even portable game consoles more popular than high-end game consoles. They have also been obtaining products that are highly consistent with the preferences and tastes of gamers from Japanese gaming giants such as Nintendo and Sony. Historically, games on Windows PCs have tended to favor North American and European tastes.
When the original Metal Gear Solid was released for the original PlayStation, it was hugely popular and was considered by many to be one of the most iconic games on the system. Since then, developers Hideo Kojima and Konami have forged a deep friendship with Sony in this game. It's unclear if this took the form of a clear contract, or simply a long-term personal and professional connection, but each subsequent Metal Gear Solid prioritized the PlayStation platform to some extent, and other systems will generally be released later. .
Strictly speaking, Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Matter got the PC version in some form that day. The PC version of Metal Gear Solid was released a few years after the PlayStation version in 2000. At the time, it was the smallest port with some bugs and malfunctions, and there were no major changes to take advantage of the more powerful PC hardware, it was only physically released before the rise of digital distribution. Similarly, "Metal Gear 2: Matter" is a fairly basic port of the PS2 PC game, with some technical flaws and without any major PC enhancements.
hopes to bring these two outstanding games to PC in 2020 is an opportunity for these games to be officially released. If Konami tries to treat these classic games with due care and attention, we may be lucky.
Some Metal Gear Solid games are now available for PC. Here are the metal gear games you can choose on your PC today:
As far as we know, this is the last real entry in the Metal Gear series that we will get. Series creator Hideo Kojima has parted ways with developer Konami (now runs his own studio and released Death Stranding not long ago). It is hard to imagine that the series will continue in Metal Gear Solid 6 without him at the helm. Go down. Especially because many other key staff members of the series are now parting ways with Konami.
This makes MGS5 the swan song of the show. To me, it is both good and bad. The open world's highly systematic and diversified stealth mechanisms finally realize the potential that the series has always hinted at, supporting many different methods, and the game allows you to handle tasks in your favorite style. The downside is that you really feel that the release of the game is rushed, especially at the end of the game, the story is seriously off the target, they start to repeat the task and make minor adjustments. The outside stuff is very good, but it would be a shame to think about what would happen if I spent a little more time in the oven.
You can choose Metal Gear Solid V as the ultimate experience, which includes the prologue "Return to Zero" and the main game "Phantom Pain", or you can choose it separately.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Ultimate Experience
Metal Gear Solid V: Return to Zero
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
This happened after Hideo Kojima left Konami and wanted to release another game in the series Things, no need to worry about continuing the story. Survive is an appropriately named survival game. The background is set in the world of Metal Gear Solid V, and many elements of the game are reused. Instead of playing any iconic character in the series, you are playing a custom character, not a combination of stealth and tactical moves, but creating and playing an unconscious zombie character. This is quite a calculating and cynical project, but it doesn't mean
Robot Ninja Raiden. We saw him kicking all kinds of butt in Metal Gear Solid 4, and there are some wonderful action sequences in the scenes, but in Revenge, you can really play it.
Developed by Platinum Games, a master of style action, this is an extremely violent ballet, which tries to cut handsome boys into small pieces and use your sword precisely to deal with bigger and bigger enemies.
It's a cold classic and a bold different direction from the "Metal Gear" game, but it still has the "Metal Gear" feel and tone that runs through its cybernetic vein.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
If you are also interested in playing Metal Gear Solid on PC, you can try to track down the original PC version, but the simulated version of PS1 may have a better gaming experience.
Here we have compiled a guide for building a PC that can handle the original PlayStation emulation. For the emulator, we recommend that you use Mednafen for the best experience.
Similarly, the original PC version of Metal Gear Solid 2 will not provide a particularly good experience now. If you want to play MGS2 now, emulation will be your best choice. PCSX2 is the best choice for simulating PS2 games.
Fingers crossed, these new ports are coming soon, and they are the complete re-releases of these iconic games deserved.

domain: game


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A Cook County judge Monday approved a referendum in south suburban Harvey and South Holland to determine whether a subdivision can disannex from one town and join the other.
Following a public hearing Monday, Circuit Court Judge Joseph Schneider ordered the issue on the April 2 ballot in both communities. Residents of the 152-home Sibley-Riverside Heights neighborhood in Harvey had filed petitions requesting the vote.
In order for the neighborhood to disannex from Harvey and join South Holland, a majority of voters in each community must approve.
The neighborhood is surrounded on three sides by South Holland and on one side by Dolton. It is connected to Harvey only by a narrow strip along Sibley Boulevard.
The Harvey City Council turned down the neighborhood`s request two years ago.


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The reigning Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema has reportedly rejected Emmanuel Macron‘s, the President of France, invitation to the World Cup final.
France reached their second successive World Cup final in Qatar, with Argentina standing in the way of a third triumph. And Les Blues did it all without Benzema – who was ruled out of the tournament through injury.
And according to French-outlet to RMC Sport, Benzema turned down the chance to cheer on his team-mates in the Middle East. The 34-year-old had been invited by President Macron, but turned it down due to a broken relationship with French boss Didier Deschamps.
Multiple reports had suggested that Benzema had made a speedy recovery from his thigh injury, and he could have featured in the final in Qatar.
However, Deschamps refused to answer when asked if Benzema could feature against Argentina: “I don’t really want to answer that question, next question.” Benzema hit back on Instagram, posting a snap with the caption: “I’m not interested.”
France opted for an unchanged side for the final, with AC Milan‘s Oliver Giroud being given the nod up top.

domain: news


text:
A plate of lamb saag (a traditional Indian dish of creamed spinach) is an absolute delight during the winter months. It is a hearty, nutrient-dense meal that is full of flavor and packed with protein!
This Primal take on the classic dish mimics the chopped and creamed greens of traditional saag with the rich organic kale, celery, parsley, and bok choy of our Healthy Green Smoothie Elixir. Primal Goat Milk, packed with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fatty acids, adds the creamy texture of the coconut milk and clarified butter found in your home-delivered saag plate. Finally, Primal Lamb nugget formulas offer the wild and smoky taste of a traditional protein with all the nutrients of a well-rounded meal.
If you’re ordering takeout, or even whipping up your favorite Indian recipe at home, treat your pet to their own delicious version of this savory treat. Follow along with Primal as we prepare a pet-friendly interpretation of this exotic dish to keep the whole family happy at dinnertime!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Primal Lamb Nuggets (frozen or freeze-dried), or your preferred complete formula
- Primal Goat Milk
- Primal Healthy Green Smoothie elixir
1. In a separate dish, thaw or mash out your pet’s typical amount of mealtime Primal nuggets, or prepare your usual complete formula.
2. In your pet’s serving dish, combine 3-6 spoonfuls of our Healthy Green Smoothie elixir with equal parts Primal Goat Milk, depending on the size of your pet.
3. Stir to combine.
4. Add Primal lamb nuggets to mixture of Goat Milk and Healthy Green Smoothie.
5. Serve immediately.

domain: food


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Elizabeth made a big mistake – and Nancy’s making her feel it!
For a long time, the new Democratic 2020 frontrunner Elizabeth Warren has been promising “Medicare for All.” Yet she’s refused to explain how she’s pay for this government-run socialist program.
We all know how, already. We the people will pay for her socialist plan.
But today, it was revealed on Fox News that her plan will cost a staggering $52 trillion. She continues to claim that she will not tax the middle class to pay for that huge sum. Sure, we’re buying that.
She also said that to pay for at least $9 trillion of it (a drop in the bucket), she will hit employees.
So it will just get passed on to the little guy.
And she admitted Medicare for All may cut up to 2 million jobs.
So endless layoffs, shrinking paychecks, all for the sake of her (subpar) “free” healthcare.
But through all this noise, what does the leader of the Democrat Party, Speaker Pelosi, think? Elizabeth, you may want to close your ears.
From The Hill:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that she is “not a big fan” of “Medicare for All”…
Pelosi has previously declined to embrace a push among progressive lawmakers for the health care proposal and has raised doubts about the idea, though her latest remarks are more critical than statements earlier this year, when she said she was “agnostic.”
Ouch! What is Warren going to say when the leading liberal in the House says she’s not a big fan?
It would take the support of Nancy and her allies in the House (assuming they are still around by then) to back a Medicare for All plan. Assuming, of course, Warren or Sanders get elected.
But if Pelosi ain’t on board, I doubt you’re going to get her sniveling minions like Nadler or Schiff on board.
Pelosi’s chief concern over this “free” healthcare plan, of course, is the cost. Even a big liberal spender like her can’t swallow such massive expenses.
House Democrats would be the most vulnerable is taxes shot up to pay for this kind of thing. Angry Americans would vote them out first. Why would Pelosi bother supporting something like this when it’s political suicide?
But this is Nancy Pelosi, though, flip-flopper extraordinaire. She was against impeachment, but now is all for it. She cowered to the far-left in the House before, so who knows?
SHARE if you want Trump, not the Democrats’ socialism!

domain: politics