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WASHINGTON — U.S. military capabilities continued to stand still or erode as world threats proliferated during 2017, a new study is warning.
Those are the findings of The Heritage Foundation’s 2018 Index of U.S. Military Strength, which offers reviews of the past year’s defense issues.
The index, which will be released Oct. 5, may take on extra influence this year. While previous editions were well regarded, Heritage is the think tank with the closest ties to the Trump administration and is viewed as having a major influence on discussions within the White House and conservative members of Congress.
The report comes as several major policy reviews of the Trump Pentagon are pending, including a broader national security review, a missile defense review and a nuclear posture review.
Broadly speaking, the index covers two pots of information — a look at the global operating environment and an internal assessment of U.S. military strength. All topics are rated on a one-to-five scale with various descriptions, such as “very weak” or “marginal” attached.
Defense News was given an exclusive interview with Heritage expert Dakota Wood, who edited the over 400-page report, ahead of its formal release. The full report can be read here.
“For decades, the perception of American strength and resolve has served as a deterrent to adventurous bad actors and tyrannical dictators,” the report reads. “Regrettably, both that perception and, as a consequence, its deterrent effect are eroding. The result is an increasingly dangerous world threatening a significantly weaker America.”
Statements like that are certainly eye-grabbing, but for the most part, the Heritage report shows a world that has not changed much from 2017.
“Unless someone drops a nuke on New York City, events kind of move slowly,” Wood said. “You want to see a significant change in order to say, all things considered, out of a full year, this is a meaningful shift.”
A good example of that thinking shows in the fact that Heritage did not change North Korea’s threat ranking from 2017 despite a series of missile and nuclear tests and increasingly heated rhetoric.
“They haven’t moved any different types of forces closer to the South Korean border. They haven’t shelled an island or sunk a ship. The missile shots are clearly very provocative, but they haven’t put a warhead on the end of them, even a conventional warhead, to blow something up,” explained Wood.
“Do we look at testing and improving their nuclear sets of capabilities as worrisome? Absolutely. Does it look like it’s heading in a direction we’d rather not see it go? Absolutely,” he continued. “Does it shift it into the worst category in terms of a threat to the United States? We weren’t quite ready to make that leap.”
However, changes did occur, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. Overall, Heritage downgraded alliances in the region from “excellent” to “favorable” and political stability from “favorable” to “moderate.”
Tied into that is a change in posture from China, which saw its capability raised by its threat downgraded. In essence, Wood said, China has stopped being as aggressive towards its neighbors since it has successfully militarized islands around the South China Sea.
“You can get more capable and your behavior becomes less worrisome,” Wood noted. “You can do that once you’ve established your positions.”
In positive news, Heritage judges that the behavior of threats of Middle Eastern terrorism actually decreased over the last year from “hostile” to “aggressive.”
The index gauged America’s armed forces’ as “marginal” in their ability to win wars against two major adversaries simultaneously, its yardstick for what the nation needs.
In the report, Heritage calls for an Army of 50 brigade combat teams, a Navy of 346 ships and 624 strike aircraft, an Air Force of 1,200 fighter/attack aircraft and a Marine Corps of 36 battalions.
Any buildup would be a tall order under current Capitol Hill dynamics. Lawmakers championing a larger military have for years run into the cross-currents of Republican opponents of deficit spending and Democratic allies of nondefense spending — all pressurized by statutory budget caps passed in 2011.
Heritage gave the Navy, Air Force and nuclear suite a collective grade of “marginal” for total power — a kind of D grade — compared with a top score of “very strong.”
The Marine Corps, meant to be the nation’s expeditionary armed force, which sustained decreases in amphibious ships and available aircraft as aging aircraft have been decommissioned. The index downgraded its readiness from “marginal” to “weak,” alongside its capacity — attributed to a number of aging air and land platforms.
“The Marine Corps dropped because of their aircraft woes and its general readiness,” Wood said. The index cited the USMC’s reporting at the end of 2016 that only 41 percent of its fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft were flyable.
The Heritage index judged the Army’s capacity and readiness as “weak” and its capability as “marginal.” Despite end-strength increases, modest progress with the Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the BAE Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle and inadequate procurement budget levels won the Army a “weak” for “capability of equipment.”
Heritage cited congressional testimony from Gen. Daniel Allyn, who served as Army vice chief of staff from August 2014 to June 2017. According to Allyn, a third of its BCTs, a quarter of its combat aviation brigades and half of its division headquarters are ready — and only three BCTs would be ready to “fight tonight.”
The 2017 defense policy bill reversed the Obama administration’s planned cuts to set the active Army’s authorized end strength to 476,000, the Reserve to 199,000 and the National Guard to 343,000. Still, the Army has decreased to 31 BCTs, with only 10 considered “ready.”
Heritage calls the 276-ship Navy’s capacity “marginal” and pushes for increases of aircraft carriers from 11 to 12, large surface combatants from 88 to 104, attack submarines from 48 to 66 and amphibious ships from 34 to 38.
Its readiness was downgraded from “strong” for 2017 to “marginal,” and its ability to surge to meet combat requirements went from “weak” to “very weak,” as the service has sacrificed long-term readiness to meet heavy operational demands.
The Navy experienced three ship collisions and one grounding during 2017, where 17 sailors were killed. That led to a brief operational stand down and fueled calls on Capitol Hill to increase defense spending.
“People were really quick to talk about readiness, and it was too low in the defense budget or [budget caps], but we did not make that jump because the investigation isn’t complete yet,” Wood said. “But it does indicate [a deficiency] in basic attention and ship-handling skills.”
The Air Force remained “marginal,” but its capacity was downgraded from “strong,” as Heritage highlighted the service’s fall from 70 combat-coded active-duty fighter squadrons in Desert Storm to 32 currently. Also of concern: the remaining fleet’s old age and hiccups in the F-35 joint strike fighter and KC-46A air tanker aircraft.
“Of 36 squadrons, only four are assessed as full-spectrum mission-capable, so pilots have enough hours to fly the various profiles, fly high, fly low, fly in contested airspace,” Wood said. “If you aren’t flying as many hours, you have to pick and choose what you train to do.”
Heritage, in part, highlighted recent congressional testimony from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson that the service is too small to meet mission requirements and that the Air Force is at its least ready in its history.
Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.
Aaron Mehta was deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, covering policy, strategy and acquisition at the highest levels of the Defense Department and its international partners.


text: The church was started at the end of the 18th century and was completed in 1875. In front of the church is the staircase of virtues, with statues representing Faith, Hope, Charity and Glory, dated 1854, the master's work Francisco Luis Barreiros. After a triangular square where the pilgrims' old dormitories are located (now transformed into a hotel), the sanctuary develops on a 300-meter tree-lined staircase and 20 chapels with scenes from the life of Christ (Nativity and Passion). One of the chapels has an inscription stating that it was offered by the Negus of Ethiopia. At the back of the mall, a circular square, stands a pillar offered by Queen Maria I of Portugal. In the first week of September, a large popular camp is held at the sanctuary.

domain: artistic


|Industrial-Duty Hoist/Jackshaft Operator –|
Model HJ is an industrial-duty hoist/jackshaft operator. It features a continuous-duty high-starting torque motor, a universal-mount frame design, industrial ball bearings on the output shaft and an emergency chain hoist with an electric interlock.
LOGIC 4.0 TECHNOLOGY (L4)
Reliability & Programming Simplicity
Available Plug-in Options for Logic 4.0 (L4)
TLS1CARD: Provides seven field-selectable modifications, including six door traffic control options. Combines with Logic 4.0’s standard Timer-to-Close feature to offer timed, sequenced activation of warning lights, sounders, and other devices (sold separately) that can be operated via dry contact closure.
CPS3 or CPS3-N4 Option: Enables the addition of a second set of photo-eyes.
Mechanical Reversing Contactor Circuit (M): (115V, 208/230V, 460V, 575V, 24V NEC Class 2 Circuit with 40VA transformer) Industrial linear contactor provides significantly longer control runs than conventional contactors.
Drive Reduction: First-stage heavy-duty 5L V-belt; second and third stages #48 chain; #50 drive chain.
Emergency Disconnect: Easy emergency manual operation using an electrically interlocked floor level disconnect and hoist mechanism.
Wiring Type: All operators are factory preset to C2 wiring providing momentary contact to open and stop, with constant contact to close; D1 and E2 wiring are also available. Momentary contact to close (B2 wiring), T, TS, and FSTS wiring can be activated with the use of CPS-RPEN4, CPS-U, CPS-UN4, or CPS-EI safety edge interface. The operator is pre-wired to accept a sensing device, photoelectric sensors, radio controls and most types of access control equipment.
External Radio Control Terminal: Quick, convenient connections for retrofitting or adding radio controls on logic or mechanical operators.
Bearings: Industrial ball bearings on a 1″ output shaft; heavy-duty oil-filled iron bearings on reduction shafts.
Friction Clutch: Adjustable, helps protect against major damage to door and operator should the door meet an obstruction.
Construction: NEMA 1 type electrical box, heavy-duty 11-gauge steel frame with durable powdercoat finish, all reduction sprockets drilled and pinned to shafts.
Push Button Station: 2-button station for OPEN/CLOSE functions is standard with D or D1 wiring. 3-button station is standard with B2 or C2 wiring.
PosiLock® Mechanical Brake System: Self-locking mechanical reduction system that functions as a holding brake.
Warranty: 2-year warranty.
Ancillary Entrapment Protection: (optional) LiftMaster Retro-Reflective Commercial Protector System® photo sensors, 2-wire non-monitored sensing edges and pneumatic sensing edges are considered secondary entrapment protection and may be used to supplement primary entrapment protction or basic constant-pressure-to-close.


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Eric Davis and Michael Irvin are the latest former NFL players-turned-NFL Network analysts to be accused of sexual misconduct.
Marshall Faulk, Warren Sapp and Donovan McNabb and others were named in an initial lawsuit by former NFL Network employee Jami Cantor, who claims that the men sexually harassed her.
Now another NFL Network employee, Erin McParland, who worked as a makeup artist, claims that during her three years with the sports station, she was repeatedly harassed by Davis and Irvin.
“When Davis came to the makeup room, he would comment on how flexible I was when I leaned down to pick up a product,” she told Sports Illustrated. “I brushed such comments off.”
McParland claims that advances increased and soon moved to direct messages on Instagram.
“He continued to remark on my flexibility and became suggestive about how good things could be between us sexually,” McParland said. “I continued to brush off these unwanted sexual comments.”
In March 2016, McParland believed that the advances had stopped after she reportedly rebuffed Davis’ invite to join him at a tennis tournament. Once football season began and she was back at work, though, she claims that the harassment began again.
“One day, before leaving the makeup room, Davis leaned in for a hug. Since things seemed back on track, I didn’t see the harm,” she says. “Except the hug lingered on too long for my comfort.
“The next time I was in makeup and Davis was leaving, he leaned in for another hug. This time, not only was the hug too long, but it was too close. I could feel him pressing and rubbing his genitals into my leg. I felt frozen, numb.”
McParland claims that the next time Davis went in for a hug, he went “full-on predatory.”
“Davis went in for a hug and then, with both hands, grabbed and fondled my buttocks,” McParland said. “I instantly pulled away, recoiling. I looked him in the eyes and firmly told him, ‘Hands off.’”
After sharing stories with another makeup artist, McParland learned that she wasn’t the only employee who had been the target of sexually inappropriate behavior by Davis.
“Hearing her account, identical to mine, put me over the edge,” McParland said. “I went from feeling numb and scared to feeling angry and vulnerable. I went straight to HR. As soon as the door closed behind me, I sobbed.”
McParland also claims that during commercial breaks, as she went to powder Irvin on set, the former wide receiver would grab her waist.
“From then on, my guard with Irvin was up,” she says. “I went out of my way to avoid him, and if I did have to work with him, I’d have to remind him to ‘not touch.’”
Irvin and and Davis did not respond to SI’s request for comment.
When reached by the Dallas Morning News, Irvin said that the network instructed him not to comment, but the news site noted that Irvin is scheduled to work this Sunday.

domain: news


Everybody dislikes obstructed drains pipes, damaged pipelines and gas leakages. And these are only the most common property pipes emergency situations. During these times, an emergency plumber is always on call. The concern is, if you dislike it so much, why have not you done anything to avoid these emergencies? According to emergency plumbers themselves, neglect is the primary cause for the drain obstructions and defective pipelines. If we take our vehicle for a routine check-up, why do we never ever do this for our house plumbing system? We use our drains, toilets and showers more often than we utilize our cars and trucks. There is more than one factor why we need to frequently inspect our plumbing system. Picture how essential it is for commercial structures where everything is on a bigger scale.
The Troy IN 47588 Emergency Plumber That Can Blow You Away
The waste disposal unit ends up being the most significant problem on all vacations. Given that individuals have the tendency to prepare a lot on holidays or Thanksgiving, they have the tendency to put excessive trash simultaneously or put things that can not be broken down by the trash. Hence, the trash disposal gets stuck and ends up being a point of issue for a family. At this point the requirement of an emergency plumber arises, because a consumer would desire to get rid of the waste prior to the guests start turning up.
The best ways to do- First of all, shutoff the electrical power switch to prevent electrical shock. Try to find the leakage. Tighten it & seal if it is in the pipeline joint. If the fracture remains in the middle of pipe or in the tank, you will need to change it as soon as possible.
Careful Diagnosis As Well As Permanent Remedies
So if you see this standard leakage under your hot water heater, it typically suggests that the Temperature and Pressure Relief surpasses the device style restrictions. Normally, the heat limit is 120 degrees. At this point, the T&PR valve is created to release this excess water and pressure. It is a sign that your water heater is reaching hazardous temperature level levels. If you know ways to refute this issue yourself, then do so with this brand-new found information, otherwise, call a professional water heater repair company to have a look and fix the problem.
Likewise, this is the time that you can decide if a storage or instant warm water system is best for your household.With an immediate system, the water is continuous.It does not have a container that shops water.Remember that constant water indicates that your water will not stop, which might mean a much greater water bill.So pick carefully when choosing the type of gas hot water system that will be set up.
Bathtub Repair Near 47588
Regardless you certainly jump to your feet and go check out a bit more. Then you require to analyze the scenario, so that as of now, you may be believing you need a 24 hour plumber.
A storage tank water heater takes tidy water from the water supply line and heats it up utilizing gas or electrical energy. Water is kept in the tank at an identified temperature till a warm water faucet is turned on. When no warm water shows up after turning on the hot water faucet, then the reason for the problem is the water heater. Impaired thermostat and relief valves have the ability to permit inner heat and pressure to increase and take off. As such always take care when looking and working over impaired water heaters as detailed listed below.
Many certified plumbers offer business hours, and doing twenty-four hour company. Regrettably, the statement of absolutely nothing breaks during service hours, holds true in the water department also. Many issues can be avoided if obstructions are dealt with and the septic tank is cleaned regularly.


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NASA will crash a spacecraft into an asteroid over 6 million miles away from Earth in just a couple of days. The DART test has been in the works for years; NASA first announced DART in 2019, and has been building to this moment ever since. Now, the time for the test has finally arrived, and here’s everything you need to know to tune in and watch NASA slam a spacecraft into an asteroid.
DART, which stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, will slam a small spacecraft into a moonlet known as Dimorphos, which orbits a near-Earth asteroid called Didymos. NASA hopes to redirect Dimorphos’ orbit with the maneuver. If successful, it could open new ways for space agencies worldwide to defend against killer asteroids.
How to watch NASA’s DART test live
NASA will hold a live stream event for the NASA DART test on Monday, September 26, starting at 6 p.m. EDT. The space agency also plans to hold several important media briefings leading up to the event, and they’ll all be streamed live on NASA TV. As always, NASA will host its NASA TV content on the agency’s official YouTube channel and website.
NASA launched DART atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 back in November of 2021. Since then, the small spacecraft has made the trek of almost 6.5 million miles toward Didymos and its companion, Dimorphos. When it reaches the duo of asteroids on September 6, that journey will end as the spacecraft slams headfirst into the smaller asteroid.
NASA will hold a briefing on Thursday, September 22 at 3 p.m. EDT. The briefing will take place at NASA HQ in Washington and will discuss the final activities of the DART test before it impacts Dimorphos. You can tune into that briefing later today for more info about the DART test and what DART’s final hours will involve.
On September 26, starting at 6 p.m. EDT, the space agency will live-stream the DART test’s final approach. During this time, the spacecraft will slam into the smaller asteroid, hopefully changing its orbit by a very small margin. It’s unclear exactly how much of an effect DART will have on the asteroid Dimorphos.
Leading up to NASA’s DART test, a team with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has been studying the asteroid pair from a distance, to ensure we have a clear understanding of the orbit that they follow. Once DART has crashed into the moonlet, ground-based space telescopes will zoom in on the pair to evaluate just how much the orbit has changed.
Additionally, NASA will have a shoebox-sized cubesat, known as the Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging Asteroids, which was released from DART on the way to the asteroid pair. This small cubesat will watch the interaction from a distance while DART’S Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation (DRACO) captures images of the impact.
DRACO will be switched on during the final dive, at which point it will capture images every second to help showcase the impact of NASA’s DART test for scientists and engineers back home.
If NASA’s DART test is successful, it will open the door for more asteroid monitoring and planetary defense research to dig in and expand on the idea. That could hopefully make it possible to defend Earth from any kind of killer asteroids in the future.
More space coverage: Watch NASA successfully crash the DART spacecraft into an asteroid.


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About this EventView map
Enjoy the flags of hispanic and latin american countries.
Hispanic Heritage Month takes place between September 15 to October 15 every year as a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community. Beginning in 1968, Hispanic Heritage Month was originally observed as “Hispanic Heritage Week” under President Lyndon Johnson, but it was later extended to a month during President Ronald Reagan’s term in 1988.
The month also celebrates the independence days of several Latin American countries, including: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on September 15th, Mexico on September 16th, and Chile on September 18th. They also include holidays that recognize Hispanic contributions such as Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico Friendship Day that is celebrated in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

domain: sociology


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Have you ever wondered who invented the chocolate that you enjoy so much? Do you wonder if the Europeans did, and if it wasn’t them, then who was it?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, keep reading!
Who invented chocolate?
Nowadays, with all of the chocolate produced in Europe (405,000 tons were produced in France in 2014 according to the Chocolate Union statistics), we could easily think that this food was invented by Europeans.
It’s true that tablets were invented by the British. It’s true that milk chocolate was invented by the Swiss. It’s true that chocolate bars emerged at the beginning of the 1920s in the Netherlands and in the United States.
But, as the residue found on their pottery proves, the Olmecs (1500-400 B.C.E.) in precolonial America were the first to consume chocolate in the form of a beverage. To clarify, said drink, made of cocoa dregs, was bitter; and its taste was attained by adding several ingredients.
They were soon followed by the Mayas (600 B.C.E.) and the Aztecs (1400 B.C.E.); and this precious drink slowly conquered Europe starting with Spain because of the conquistador Hernan Cortes’ initiative. To find out more about this food pleasure’s history, read the article Where does chocolate come from?
But, if you want more proof that this precious beverage comes from Mexico and wasn’t invented by Europeans, here are two recipes used by the Mayas and the Aztecs a long time ago:
- Recipe brought from Aztec country to the Spanish Court in 1528 by Hernan Cortes:
- musk, ambergris, and orange-flower water
- 700g of cocoa
- 750g of white sugar
- 56g of cinnamon
- 14g of cloves
- 3 vanilla beans
- 1 hazelnut
- 14 grains of Mexican pepper
- Recipe for a chocolatey beverage of Mayan origins
- 600mL of milk
- 100g of grated chocolate
- 2 drops of vanilla extract or a pinch of vanilla powder
- 1tbsp of corn flour
- 4 tbsp of cold water
- 1 tsp of honey
In order to make this, you have to the 100g of grated chocolate along with the 600mL of milk, the pinch of vanilla powder and the teaspoon of honey in a pan and stir them as you go. You have to keep an eye out and make sure it doesn’t boil.
After that, you have to dissolve the corn flour into the 4 tablespoons of cold water before pouring it all into the pan that contains the milk, the vanilla, and the honey. Then you have to mix everything together with a whisk and serve it hot after having seasoned it with cinnamon, if desired.
Therefore, the Europeans did not invent this precious drink. Centuries before them, the Olmecs, the Mayas, and the Aztecs already drank it and had created their own recipes.
But, are the Olmecs really the ones who invented it? It’s hard to prove that!
All we know is that archaeological relics displaying their love for the precious drink are the most ancient ones found. But there may have existed a civilization before theirs that enjoyed it before them!
What We Should Remember About the Invention of Chocolate
As of now, we cannot be sure who invented this food pleasure. What we know for sure is that the most ancient traces of its preparation come from Mexico and go back to the Olmec, the Maya, and the Aztec civilizations.
But, it is obvious that over the course of centuries this drink’s preparation has evolved and that several people and civilizations have brought something different to it.
From simple bitter water, simple acid water described by José de Acosta (a Spanish Jesuit missionary who lived in Peru and then in Mexico at the end of the 16th century) as “Detestable for those who are not used to consuming it, and with mousse or froth that tastes very bad,” chocolate has now taken several rather delicious forms that are pleasant to eat:
- Milk chocolate
- White chocolate
- Powdered chocolate
- Cocoa paste
These modern forms are so pleasant to eat that a certain percentage of British women prefer to eat them than to make love. If you would like to know about that for sure, read the article Is Chocolate an Aphrodisiac?
Only dark chocolate made of 100% cocoa seems to have conserved the original bitterness. Why not try some after having learned all about it in 100% Dark Chocolate, What is it? Is it still chocolate?
Any doubts or questions? If so, feel free to leave a comment below!

domain: food


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French Regulator Says No to Online Crypto Derivatives Ads
The AMF’s missive is the latest from the bureau on this issue of cryptocurrencies, coming months when it first weighed in initial coin offerings (ICOs).
France’s stock market regulator published a statement regarding cryptocurrency-tied derivatives on Thursday, which includes a curb on the promotion of these products.
Bitcoin and French flag picture via Shutterstock
The EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) is an update to previous laws, together with the stated aim of providing greater transparency over asset classes in the title of investor protection.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is exploring if these contracts comply with MiFID principles, and declared in January that it had been looking for public input on potential rule changes.
Other regulatory bodies inside the EU have been looking into the issue of crypto derivatives as well.
The chief in blockchain information, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet which strives for the highest journalistic standards and standards by a stringent group of editorial policies. Perhaps a story or breaking news suggestion to send to our journalists? Get in touch with us at firstname.lastname@example.org.
The bureau stated:
Disclaimer: This article should not be chosen as, and is not meant to supply, investment information. Before investing in any cryptocurrency please conduct your own thorough research.
The effort, according to announcements at the time, was geared toward “offering to those carriers of jobs a frame allowing the maturation of their operations and to guarantee the security of actors and investors wanting to engage.”
In its announcement, L’Autorite Des Marches Financiers (AMF) stated that trading platforms should not be permitted to advertise cryptocurrency derivative products independently, per regulations which pay derivatives more widely. A review process was followed by the book, as stated by the AMF.
“The AMF concludes that a cash-settled cryptocurrency contract may be eligible as a derivative, despite the legal eligibility of a cryptocurrency. As a result, online platforms that provide cryptocurrency derivatives fall within the reach of MiFID 2 and must therefore comply with the authorisation, conduct of business rules, and the EMIR trade reporting responsibility into a trade repository. Most importantly, these products are subject to the terms of the Sapin 2 law, and notably the ban of advertisements for certain financial contracts”

domain: finance


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Intuitive Unrestrictive Building Design – IUBD.net
An intuitive design process begins without any restrictions. Follow our building advice from concept to creation.
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【MayorTW Minecraft】Building Design – 歐式城堡練習圖
December 30, 2014
(5/13) PBEE for Tall Building Design: TBI Design Guidelines
Earthship Global Model: Radically Sustainable Buildings.

domain: design


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The changing trends of HIV-1 prevalence and incidence from sentinel surveillance of five sub-populations in Yunnan, China, 2001–2010
BMC Public Health volume 15, Article number: 376 (2015)
Yunnan is one of the provinces hardest-hit by HIV in China. To understand HIV epidemic dynamics and evaluate prevention effectiveness, we studied the changing trends in HIV-1 prevalence and incidence among five sub-populations in Yunnan.
Consecutive sentinel surveillances were conducted among people who inject drugs (PWID), male sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic attendees, and pregnant women for 2001–2010,female sex workers (FSWs) for 2007–2010, men who have sex with men (MSM) for 2008–2010. For the newly diagnosed HIV-seropositive samples, the recent infections were determined with BED-capture enzyme immunoassay (BED-CEIA), based on which HIV incidence was calculated for each sub-population using McDougal algorithm.
From 231,117 individuals, 6,107 HIV-positive samples were tested with BED-CEIA, among which 964 samples were identified as recent infections. In PWID, HIV prevalence for 2001–2010 was between 27.16% and 18.35%, while the estimated incidence rate significantly decreased from 11.68% in 2001 to 1.70% in 2010. Among male STD clinic attendees, both the HIV prevalence (from 3.62% in 2001 to 1.73% in 2010) and incidence (from 1.10% in 2001 to 0.40% in 2010) showed a significant decreasing trend. In FSWs, the HIV prevalence for 2007–2010 kept stable (between 2.46% and 1.95%), while the HIV incidence significantly decreased (from 0.71% in 2007 to 0.31% in 2010). In MSM, the HIV prevalence (between 11.78% and 9.42%) and incidence (between 6.01% and 8.38%) remained stable at a relatively high level for 2008–2010. In pregnant women, the HIV prevalence (between 0.44% and 0.30%) and incidence (between 0.15% and 0.08%) remained stable for 2001–2010.
The HIV incidences in PWID, male STD clinic attendees and FSWs showed the decreasing trend, supporting a positive effect of prevention strategies for these sub-populations. MSM with the highest HIV incidence have become the sub-population most at risk. In most sub-populations, the HIV prevalence did not decline, suggesting the disease burden is still heavy. These findings are valuable for developing HIV prevention strategies in Yunnan.
Yunnan is located in Southwest China and situated along the drug trafficking routes channeling heroin into China from Southeast Asia’s opium-producing “Golden Triangle” region . Since the first HIV epidemic in China was identified among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Yunnan in 1989, Yunnan has been one of the areas hardest hit by HIV in China . By the end of 2010, the cumulative number of reported HIV infectors and AIDS patients (HIV/AIDS) in Yunnan was 83,925, accounting for 21.0% of the total national figure . Furthermore, Yunnan serves as a primary entry point for the introduction of different HIV-1 genotypes into China [4-6]. Thus, Yunnan is accepted as an epicenter of the HIV-1 epidemic in China [2,7].
Usually, prevalence and incidence are used to describe the characteristic of HIV epidemic in a given population. Prevalence is the number of people living with HIV infection at a given time, including recent and long-term infections. Prevalence is most useful for measuring the burden of HIV in a population. However, incidence is the number of new HIV infections that occur during a given year. HIV incidence reflects the level of on-going HIV transmission, HIV infection trends, and the impact of HIV prevention efforts. Traditionally, HIV incidence estimation can be obtained through a prospective cohort study, in which participants are repeatedly tested. However, such surveillances are difficult to establish and costly to maintain. And cohort studies cannot avoid some of the biases inherent, such as the loss to follow-up and the change of participant behavior following risk-reduction counseling . Alternatively, laboratory-based incidence assays have been developed since 1998 [9,10]. Among these methods, the BED-capture enzyme immunoassay (BED-CEIA) was the most commonly used incidence assay, which is based on measurement of the proportion of HIV-1-specific IgG to total IgG after seroconversion . After the introduction of BED-CEIA into China in 2005, the correction factors were reset based on the characteristics of Chinese population . The related studies showed that the HIV-1 incidence estimates yielded by BED-CEIA were similar to those obtained by cohort studies in China [12-14]. Yunnan was one of the provinces that earlier adopted BED-CEIA for HIV-1 incidence surveillance.
In China, the national comprehensive surveillance for HIV epidemic includes the national HIV sentinel surveillance system, HIV/AIDS case reporting system, and special epidemiologic surveys [15,16]. HIV sentinel surveillance is a series of cross-sectional surveys on risk behaviors and sero-testing in the representative areas and populations. The data from sentinel surveillance are used to analyze the trend of HIV prevalence and the risk factors for HIV infection in a giving region and population. The national sentinel surveillance sites have been established since 1995 . With development, the national sentinel surveillance sites covers STD clinic attendees, female sexual workers (FSWs), PWID, long-distance truck drivers, pregnant women, paid blood donors, men who have sex with men (MSM), clients of female sex workers and tuberculosis (TB) patients [15,16]. To improve the coverage, some provincial sentinel surveillance sites were also established. These sentinel surveillance sites improved the ability to evaluate the HIV epidemic in China. Otherwise, the web-directed HIV/AIDS case reporting system started to run from March 2005. According to the regulation for HIV/AIDS cases reporting, all newly identified HIV/AIDS cases by confirmatory HIV testing are required to be reported into the system within 24 hours.
However, the present surveillance can not directly provide the HIV incidence, which is vital to understand HIV transmission dynamics and evaluate prevention effectiveness. To improve the utilization of the data, the combination of epidemiological surveillance and laboratory assay may be a good choice. In this study, BED-CEIA was used to detect recent infection with the samples from sentinel surveillance for 2001–2010 in Yunnan, including PWID, male STD clinic attendees, FSWs, MSM and pregnant women. This study explored the HIV prevalence and incidence trends from 2001 to 2010 in Yunnan, and is important to direct the future prevention and control efforts.
Sample collection and serological testing
By 2010, 90 sentinel sites were set up for regular surveillance among PWID (24 Sites; sample size: 400 per site), male STD clinic attendees (15 Sites; sample size: 400 per site), pregnant women (15 Sites; sample size: 400 per site), FSWs (32 Sites; sample size: 400 per site), and MSM (4 Sites; sample size: 200 per site) in Yunnan Province. Consecutive sentinel surveillances were conducted each year among PWID, male STD clinic attendees and pregnant women between 2001 and 2010, among FSWs between 2007 and 2010, among MSM between 2008 and 2010. Each participant received an anonymous interview to collect information on demographic details and HIV transmission related risk behaviors and provided 2–3 ml of whole blood. Plasma was separated from whole blood for HIV testing. Samples were screened for HIV-1 antibody with an enzyme immunoassay or rapid test, and then HIV-1 infection status was confirmed with a Western blot assay (HIV BLOT 2.2, MP Diagnostics, Singapore). All HIV tests were informed and voluntary. Written consents were obtained from all participants. The study was approved by Biomedical Ethics Review Committee of Yunnan Province.
BED capture enzyme immunoassay
Excluding previously reported HIV-seropositive samples, the newly diagnosed HIV-seropositive samples were subjected to BED-CEIA testing. The BED-CEIA was performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Calypte HIV-1 BED incidence EIA, Calypte Biomedical Corporation, Portland, OR). Appropriate calibrator and negative control, low positive control and high positive control were run in triplicate for every plate. Test specimens were initially run singly. The optical density (OD) values of test specimens were normalized by a ratio using a calibrator (specimen OD/calibrator OD) to minimize inter-run variations. If the normalized OD (ODn) was >1.2, the specimen was classified as being from a long-term seroconverter. Specimens with ODn <1.2 were tested again in triplicate to confirm the values. In confirmatory testing, specimens with ODn values <0.8 were considered to have undergone recent seroconversion.
Calculation of incidence
HIV incidence rate was calculated using McDougal formula :
Where I is the annual HIV-1 incidence; F is the correction factor; w is the window period (the mean length of time individuals remain classified as “recently infected” by BED-CEIA; in China, w = 168 days) ; R is the number of recent HIV infections detected by BED-CEIA; N is the total number of HIV-seronegative subjects.
The correct factor was calculated using the following formula :
Where R is the number of recent HIV infections detected by BED-CEIA; P is the total number of HIV-seropositive subjects that should be detected with BED-CEIA; α is the sensitivity of BED-CEIA for recent infection (<1 week); β is the specificity of BED-CEIA for the sample whose infected time between 1 week and 2 weeks; γ is the specificity of BED-CEIA for the sample whose infected time beyond 2 weeks. In China, α = 0.8098, β = 0.7571 and γ = 0.9315 .
When only a part of samples are detected by BED-CEIA among all the samples that should be detected, the number of recent HIV infections is adjusted using the following formula: R = R′ × (P′/P). Where R′ is the number of recent HIV infections actually determined by BED-CEIA, P′ is the number of HIV-seropositive samples actually detected with BED-CEIA, p is the number of HIV-seropositive subjects that should be detected with BED-CEIA.
The 95% confidence interval (CI) for the incidence estimate is given by the following formula:
According to the Operations Manual for HIV-1 Recent Infections Surveillance issued by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the estimated incidence is unreliable if the number of recent infections identified by BED-CEIA is less than 10. For pregnant women, the number of recent infections for each year was less than 10, a solution was to combine the data of every two years to calculate the incidence. For the other four sub-populations, the incidences for each year were calculated.
Statistical analyses were conducted using the SPSS 19.0 statistical analysis software package (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL). Categorical variables were compared using χ2 tests. Trend tests were performed using χ2 tests with linear-by-linear association. All tests were two-tailed and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
A total of 231,117 subjects were tested for HIV in sentinel surveillance program between 2001 and 2010, including 25,654 PWID, 48,125 male STD clinic attendees, 110,126 pregnant women, 45,604 FSWs (2007–2010) and 1,611 MSM (2008–2010). Through serum screening, HIV-1 antibodies were identified in 8,432 samples, in which 1,991 subjects had been reported as HIV-1 infection before participating in the sentinel surveillance program. All the newly reported HIV-1 infected subjects were confirmed with western blot assay. Except 334 samples whose volumes were not enough for BED-CEIA, a total of 6,107 samples (94.8%) were tested with BED-CEIA, among which 964 samples were identified as HIV-1 recent infection. Based on these, the prevalence and incidence estimates were obtained for each of the five sub-populations (Table 1).
The HIV prevalence and the estimated HIV incidence from 2001 to 2010 among PWID were shown in Table 1. The HIV prevalence did not show a decreasing trend (trend test, p = 0.051). However, the HIV incidence showed a significant decreasing trend for 2001–2010 (trend test, p < 0.01).
Male STD clinic attendees
For male STD clinic attendees, the HIV prevalence and the estimated HIV incidence were shown in Table 1. Both the HIV prevalence and incidence among male STD clinic attendees showed a significant decreasing trend for 2001–2010 (trend test, p < 0.01).
In 2007, 14 additional FSWs sentinel surveillance sites were established, which improved monitoring HIV epidemic among this sub-population in Yunnan . Thus, the FSWs surveillance data from 2007 to 2010 were used for analysis. From 2007 to 2010, the HIV prevalence and the estimated HIV incidence in FSWs were shown in Table 1. The HIV prevalence in FSWs kept stable (trend test, p = 0.431). However, the HIV incidence in FSWs showed a significant decreasing trend for 2001–2010 (trend test, p < 0.01).
Province-wide MSM sentinel surveillance initiated in 2008. From 2008 to 2010, the HIV prevalence and the estimated HIV incidence in MSM were shown in Table 1. The HIV prevalence and incidence in MSM showed no significant change and remained stable at a relatively high level for 2008–2010 (trend test, p = 0.492 and p = 0.165).
For pregnant women, the surveillance data of every two years were merged to estimate the incidence from 2001 to 2010, the HIV prevalence and the estimated HIV incidence in pregnant women were shown in Table 1. The HIV prevalence and incidence in pregnant women remained stable for 2001–2010 (trend test, p = 0.552 and p = 0.190).
In this work, we first reported the province-wide application of BED-CEIA to estimate HIV-1 incidence among five sub-populations in China. To our knowledge, the study period of this work is the longest, and the sample size is the largest in China, which includes 10-year sentinel surveillance data and provides the trends of HIV-1 prevalence and incidence among five sub-populations for 2001–2010 in Yunnan, one of the provinces hardest-hit by HIV in China. The finding of this work is important to understand HIV-1 epidemic and evaluate the measures of HIV prevention and control in the first 10 years of this century in Yunnan.
In 1989, the first HIV epidemic in Yunnan was identified among PWID in Ruili County bordering Myanmar. Since then, PWID had become the prime force to drive the development of HIV epidemic in Yunnan [2,7]. Surveillance data showed that the average prevalence among PWID increased from 1992 to 1999 (2.7% in 1992, 15.0% in 1995 and 30.0% in 1999) . The data from reported cases showed that the intravenous injection had been the premier transmission route until 2006 [2,7]. In this study, we found that the estimated HIV incidence rate among PWID remained around 12% from 2001 to 2002. In 2003, it significantly decreased. After 2005, it remained near 2%. The significant decrease of HIV incidence rate among PWID could result from the implement of the needle exchange programs (NEPs, introduced in 2002) and methadone maintenance treatment (MMT, introduced in 2004) [18-20]. Based on a mathematical transmission model, it was estimated that NEPs in Yunnan have averted approximately 16-20% (5,200-7,500 infections) of the expected HIV cases from 2002 to 2008 . However, the prevalence among PWID remained stable at a high level during the study period, and was the highest among four high-risk groups. Moreover, HIV prevalence among PWID in Yunnan was two times of the national average level in this population for 2001–2010 . The life cycle of PWID extended with the introduction of a nationally subsidized antiretroviral therapy program in 2004. Thus, the infected PWID would be repeatedly recruited in the sentinel surveillance. Meanwhile, more previously undetected infections were found with the expanding HIV testing in Yunnan. All of these could attenuate the contribution of the incidence decreasing.
A part of male STD clinic attendees were reported to visit FSWs . As the important bridging populations, FSWs and male STD clinic attendees played an important role in driving sexual transmission and the transition of the epidemic from high-risk population to general population. Because of the limitation of surveillance data, the estimation of HIV epidemic in FSWs was performed only from 2007 to 2010 in this study. Nevertheless, the both HIV incidence rates among FSWs and male STD clinic attendees showed decreasing trend, which may related with the promotion of condom use and health education , which was introduced in 2002. According to the data of FSWs integrated intervention in Yunnan, HIV knowledge awareness rate increased from 82% in 2007 to 95% in 2010. More FSWs consistently used condom with clients in the last month (75% in 2007; and 86% in 2010) and in the last commercial sex (92% in 2007; and 94% in 2010). Male STD clinic attendees were the only population in which the HIV prevalence significantly decreased. Besides the decrease of incidence rate, there are other possible reasons. Because most STDs are curable, some STD clinic attendees infected with HIV would not return to STD clinic after their STDs were cured. This part of individuals would not be monitored in the following years, which means some long-term infectors were excluded when calculating the prevalence using the data from the sentinel sites of Male STD clinic attendees.
In recent years, a fast-spreading HIV epidemic among MSM brings a new challenge to China. The national HIV prevalence from MSM sentinel surveillance data showed a rising trend from 0.9% in 2003 to 6.3% in 2011 . In this study, we found HIV prevalence from MSM sentinel surveillance in Yunnan was about 10% from 2008 to 2010, which suggested that Yunnan bears higher HIV burden in the MSM population. Strikingly, the HIV incidence in MSM was the highest among the five sub-populations and reached 8.38% in 2010. Although the HIV prevalence and incidence in MSM showed no significant change for 2008–2010, based on the HIV/AIDS case reporting system, the annual proportion of newly reported HIV cases attributed to homosexually transmitted infection in Yunnan increased (6.1% in 2008, 9.1% in 2009 and 12.0% in 2010), which may result from scaling up HIV testing among this population. Usually, MSM are difficult to access because of their underground behaviors and mobile lifestyles. From 2007, the intervention provided by peer educators from community based organizations was introduced, which promotes HIV testing, active care and antiretroviral therapy of HIV-positive MSM . Presently, the epidemic in MSM is in the ascending period, more attention should be given to this sub-population.
HIV prevalence in pregnant women can be representative of that in the general population . The data from pregnant women had been used to compare the regional variation of HIV epidemic [27,28]. Our study found that the HIV prevalence and incidence in pregnant women showed no significant change for 2001–2010, which suggested that HIV transmission between spouses and sexual partners was relatively stable.
According to the data of reported cases, the main transmission route changed from intravenous injection to sexual contact after 2006 . According to the HIV/AIDS case reporting system, among the annual newly reported HIV cases, the proportion of the individuals infected by heterosexual contact continually increased from 30.6% in 2006 to 58.4% in 2010. However, the increase of the proportion of the sexual transmission did not convince the decreasing incidence observed in sentinel surveillance from the heterosexual transmission related populations, such as FSWs and male STD clinic attendees. The possible explanation may be that the HIV epidemic has transited from the high-risk populations to the general population, in which non-commercial sexual behaviors might be more prevalent than commercial sexual behaviors. Because the scale of the general population is larger than that of the high-risk populations, even if the incidence is low, the number of HIV-infected individuals will be larger. Furthermore, the more HIV-infected individuals previously undetected were found with increasing HIV testing(The total annual number for HIV testing increased from 95,755 in 2001 to 2,766,106 in 2010). Thus, the recent infection research for annual reported cases may provide more information to evaluate the epidemic in general population.
In fact, when using BED-CEIA, the misclassification of established infections as recently acquired infections may occur due to false-positive tests resulting from various reasons, such as antiretroviral therapy, low CD4+ T lymphocytes counting and HIV-1 genotypes . To correct the potential disturbance, two strategies have been adopted. One is case-based adjustment, to exclude long-term infections by using additional information, such as the recorder of previous HIV testing and diagnosis and the number of CD4+ T lymphocytes. The other is formula-based adjustment using local correction factors for incidence estimates. In this study, although these two strategies have been considered, the misclassification may not be completely avoided. However, what we really concern is the changing trend of HIV incidence, which directly reflects HIV transmission dynamics and prevention effectiveness. With the consistent standard, the consecutive sentinel surveillances and BED-CEIA testing could provide the trend of HIV incidence.
In conclusion, our study elucidated the trend of HIV prevalence and incidence for 2001–2010 among five sub-populations in Yunnan. HIV incidences among PWID, male STD clinic attendees and FSWs showed the declining trends, which suggested that the prevention and control efforts for these population should be continued. However, HIV incidence in MSM showed no significant change and remained stable at a relatively high level, which suggested that more resource should be input and the effective measures for HIV prevention should be developed for this population.
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We acknowledge the NIH Fellows Editorial Board for editorial assistance and appreciate the kind assistance provided by Dr. Aijuan Qu (National Institutes of Health, USA). This work was supported by the Major Project of China’s “Twelfth Five- Year Plan” for Science and Technology Development (2011ZX10004-903) and (2012ZX10001001-10).
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Conceived and designed the experiments: YM MJ LL. Collected the samples and performed the experiments: LY CY YZS HC MC YHS. Collected the epidemiological information: HL JM. Analyzed the data: LY MC YM. Interpretation of results: LY MC YM MJ LL. Wrote the paper: MC. Critically revised manuscript: YM MJ. Approved the final version of this manuscript: LY MC YM HL CY YZS HC YHS JM MJ LL.
Li Yang and Min Chen contributed equally to this work.
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Cite this article
Yang, L., Chen, M., Ma, Y. et al. The changing trends of HIV-1 prevalence and incidence from sentinel surveillance of five sub-populations in Yunnan, China, 2001–2010. BMC Public Health 15, 376 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1722-5
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1)
- People who inject drugs (PWID)
- Male STD clinic attendees
- Female Sex Workers (FSWs)
- Men who have sex with men (MSM)
- Pregnant Women

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1809.033: Certification of Hening's Statutes at Large, volume 1.
Full Title: We do hereby certify that we have carefully compared the laws contained in this volume, with the originals … at Richmond this 1st day of September, 1809. Creed Taylor. William Munford
Author: Taylor, Creed (1766–1836), and William Munford (1775-1825).
Place Issued: Richmond
Issuing Press: Samuel Pleasants
Description: 1 sheet [1 pg.]; 8 x 11 cm. (broadside).
In February 1808, the General Assembly authorized publication of the colonial-era laws of Virginia in a series of volumes edited by William Waller Hening, the clerk of the High Court of Chancery; they required that Hening's work and the resulting printed pages be examined and certified as to their authenticity and correctness; this sheet was the published affidavit of the two examiners of the first volume that was printed in the fall of 1809. At this time, Creed Taylor was Chancellor of the Superior Court for the Richmond District, and William Munford was clerk to the Supreme Court of Appeals, as well as Hening's partner in publishing reports on the cases decided in both of those appellate courts. Sheet lacks colophon; as this certification was intended for publication in the first volume of Hening's Statutes at Large (1809.034), it certainly issued from the press of Samuel Pleasants, publisherof that work, so the attribution here.
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They are taller than anything in Northwest Ohio: five times taller than the biggest farm silos in Van Wert and Paulding counties and taller than any buildings 80 miles away in Toledo.
The towers rise 328 feet from the bases to the hubs where three blades, each 148 feet long, attach. With blades upright, the wind turbines’ height reaches 476 feet. That’s another 14 stories higher than Akron’s tallest building, the 330-foot FirstMerit Tower.
Welcome to Van Wert County, which is becoming the Wind Power Capital of Ohio. In all, 210 wind turbines are dotting the rural landscape along U.S. 30 near the city of Van Wert, and at least 550 more are planned here and in surrounding counties.
Each one costs about $2 million and can supply enough energy to power 500 typical Ohio homes.
Before the recent construction, the only utility-scale wind turbines were the four near Bowling Green.
Customers of Akron’s FirstEnergy Corp. and Columbus-based American Electric Power will be among the beneficiaries of what’s happening around Van Wert.
Now, you can stand in some townships and see ghostly white wind turbines stretching to the horizon in all directions. It is a surreal and futuristic sight, yet it is becoming more real by the day.
Giant cranes are lifting parts into place, completing as many as two a day, and some have started to spin.
Winds of progress
The giant wind turbines are everywhere, rising about a half mile apart in some areas. One township is getting 76 wind turbines.
Van Wert and Paulding counties lie within a southwest-to-northeast wind corridor, and that’s why wind farm developers are so interested in the area, Van Wert County Commissioner Clair Dudgeon said.
At the moment the key players here are Iberdrola Renewables, the U.S. unit of a Spanish utility, and Horizon Wind Energy, controlled by a Portuguese energy company. But others are interested in the Van Wert area, including BP Wind Energy.
"Ohio has become one of the best places in the country to make investments in wind power," Horizon spokeswoman Erin Bowser said.
Ohio has approved plans for 571 wind turbines that will produce 1,051 megawatts and pending are 419 more turbines capable of generating 784 megawatts, said spokesman Matt Butler of the Ohio Power Siting Board.
In addition to Van Wert and Paulding counties, wind farm developers have plans for wind turbines in Ashtabula, Hardin, Champaign, Richland, Crawford, Logan, Putnam and Seneca counties. There are also proposals for wind turbines in Lake Erie near Cleveland.
The capacity of Ohio’s approved and pending wind turbines — about 1,835 megawatts — cannot match the output of FirstEnergy’s huge coal-fired Sammis plant in eastern Ohio, which can produce 2,233 megawatts of electricity.
The Davis-Besse nuclear plant near Toledo is about half that at 905 megawatts.
Nationally, wind power produces 42,432 megawatts of power, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The top three states are Texas with nearly 25 percent of the total, and Iowa and California.
Wind energy is still more expensive than power derived from coal or nuclear, but interest is growing and the business is becoming more competitive. There are federal tax credits available and state laws — including in Ohio — that mandate the development of renewable energy, including wind.
Iberdrola’s $600 million Blue Creek Wind Farm in Van Wert and Paulding counties is the largest wind farm project in the state and the first to begin construction.
Developer Dan Litchfield said the wind turbines are expected to begin producing energy this fall and the whole project should be running by early next year.
Getting Blue Creek built is "mainly a big exercise in logistics to get the parts and materials to the right place at the right time," Litchfield said.
Each wind turbine has about 8,000 parts, but arrive in pre-assembled units by truck and rail. The tower alone weighs 285 tons and arrives in five pieces. About 300 workers are involved in the construction.
Crane rental is expensive, so avoiding down time is a key part of the construction strategy, Litchfield said.
Construction of Blue Creek began last fall and then was halted for the winter. That made the project eligible for reimbursement grants of up to 30 percent of capital costs through the federal stimulus program. The work resumed last spring.
Iberdrola started measuring the winds at various heights in the Van Wert area more than five years ago, said Paul Copleman, the company’s communications manager.
The winds at 100 meters, or 328 feet, were determined to be about 14 miles per hour and very consistent, Litchfield said. That’s acceptable, but not as strong as other places such as Iowa, he said.
The wind turbines begin generating electricity when the winds hit 8 or 9 miles per hour. Electricity production increases up to 28 miles per hour, but higher winds do not produce more power, he said.
Blue Creek is expected to be productive 30 to 40 percent of the time, although the exact figure is proprietary, Copleman said. Litchfield added that the best conditions will be in winter, when the winds are strongest and the air is denser.
But winds were not the only factor in building in western Ohio.
Hooking the wind turbines into the electric grid was made easier because AEP had excess capacity in the Van Wert area, Litchfield said. That meant less electric infrastructure costs for Iberdrola, he said.
FirstEnergy Solutions, a unit of the Akron utility, last February signed a 20-year agreement for one-third of the electricity from Blue Creek, or about 100 megawatts, starting in October 2012. Copleman said his company continues to negotiate the sale of the remaining 204 megawatts.
FirstEnergy’s purchase helps meet a requirement in Ohio law that utilities obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025, with half of that produced in Ohio.
At the urging of former Gov. Ted Strickland, the state also approved tax breaks in 2010 that encouraged the shift from traditional energy to renewable sources. Those changes were a significant factor in Iberdrola moving forward, Copleman said.
Gary Leidich, executive vice president and president of FirstEnergy Generation, said that with the Blue Creek agreement, FirstEnergy has 476 megawatts of wind power and 451 megawatts of pumped-storage hydroelectric power.
The agreement marks FirstEnergy’s second contract with Iberdrola. In 2008, FirstEnergy signed an agreement to buy electricity from Iberdrola’s Casselman Wind Farm in Pennsylvania’s Somerset County. The 23 wind turbines can produce 34.5 megawatts. The utility also gets wind power from four other sites in Pennsylvania and one in Illinois.
AEP has signed an agreement to buy 55 megawatts of electricity from Horizon’s Paulding County wind farm. It previously signed a contract for 100 megawatts of wind power from Indiana for use in Ohio.
Blue Creek, which is Iberdrola’s largest project in terms of megawatts, will create 15 to 20 permanent jobs, Litchfield said.
Iberdrola is paying about $1.1 million a year in leases to property owners, with about $8,000 to landowners where the wind turbines are sited, and smaller amounts to neighbors, with payments going to about 320 parties, Litchfield said.
Some neighbors have raised concerns about the health threat, noise, the loss of aesthetics, declining property values, a loss of quality of life, flicker or shadows passing over buildings, the impact on birds and bats and other issues. But the project has had strong community support and little opposition.
The state approved the project, although 61 conditions were imposed. The company and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation must resolve problems that arise.
Under state rules, the wind turbines must be at least 900 feet from the nearest homes.
But Iberdrola has increased the setbacks and they average about 1,600 feet,â?¨ Litchfield said.
The noise from the wind turbines will be a swooshing sound of about 50 decibels, Litchfield said. In comparison, background noise is generally 30 to 50 decibels. Working in an office is 60 to 70 decibels and riding in a car is 80 to 90 decibels.
The company took steps to mitigate birds and bats encountering the twirling blades.
The biggest concern in the farming community was potential damage during construction to drain tiles that lace the farm fields that were once part of Ohio’s Great Black Swamp, Litchfield said.
Iberdrola will pay about $2.7 million a year in local taxes. Under restructured Ohio rules, the company is paying $18,000 a year per wind turbine.
The firm is now the No. 1 taxpayer in Van Wert County and pays the county more than the top 14 other taxpayers together, Copleman said.
Wind is providing a big financial boost to Van Wert County farmers, Commissioner Dudgeon said. "In a way, we got three big crops here now: corn, soybeans and wind. …What’s happening here is big."
Bob Downing, www.ohio.com


A Pocket Gamer Connects conference usually features at least one party or a mixer; a relaxed environment where attendees can gather to network and make new connections in the games industry. Of course, with current world events that have been going on for over a year now, we haven’t been able to host those mixers.
GIG started last year and virtually replicates the experience of connecting with industry friends and meeting new contacts, like we used to do during the various social gatherings during large scale gaming conventions. A randomised breakout room experience ensures that you’ll encounter new people, just like you would at an in-person event. Super casual and timezone friendly, it’s a curated safe space on Zoom where people in the industry can get to know each other.
Regular Games Industry Gatherings require an application process to take part, but all Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6 attendees are automatically invited to join us on Friday, April 23rd.
Join us and over 3,000 vetted games industry folks - including decision makers at top companies - taking part over Zoom. Think of it like the hotel bar during a games event, except it’s a much safer and more inclusive environment – and you’ll also have to bring your own booze (or non-alcoholic beverages, that’s cool too!)
If you’re a registered ticket holder to Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6, we'll email you during the conference week with the Zoom link to join in the Friday fun. In the meantime, find out more about Games Industry Gathering and sign up for its other social activities at its official website.
NOTE: There's plenty of space for everyone, but you’ll still need to grab a ticket for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #6 to receive the invitation for Friday, April 23rd. You'll get access to five days of expert seminars across 16 conference tracks, 24/7 one-to-one online meetings with 1,500+ games industry folk, and a range of fringe events too.
If you don't have a ticket, book now and save $440 with our Early Bird prices.


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Sunday, November 14, 2021 - Sunday, November 21, 2021
View a virtual exhibition featuring artist members of the Hammond Museum. The exhibition will feature all types of media, video and music by local, national and international artists.
The exhibit will remain on line for a year.
Event Location and Ticket Information
Date: Sunday, November 14, 2021 - Sunday, November 21, 2021
Times: All Day
Presenter: Hammond Museum
Presenter Phone: 914-669-5033
Presenter Website: www.hammondmuseum.org


A boy tries out a treadmill at a promotional event in Beijing, China on April 29.
一名男孩四月二十九日在中國北京試用一款跑步機。May 18, 2013
This photo has been viewed 232 times.
Listing from 2014-09-13 to 2014-09-20
- Most read
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1US dollar climbs most in 10 months
2Apple iPhone demand delays shipments
3China’s central bank to inject US$81bn
4In Minecraft, tech giants see more than fun
5France carries out its first airstrikes against IS in Iraq


The Nigerian Army has restricted the movement of soldiers because of “rising tension” as President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua remains in Saudi Arabia receiving medical treatment.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazau, told reporters yesterday that troops must have passes, and good reasons to travel outside the places their units are stationed.
Fears of a military coup are rising because of Yar'Adua's absence since November 23, 2009 and the ensuing tension in the country occasioned by nationwide protests by civil society groups, Associated Press (AP) reported yesterday.
Danbazau dismissed the “unnecessary, unwarranted and inflammatory comments” circulating which suggest that a coup might be needed to pull the country out of a constitutional crisis in Yar’Adua’s absence.
He warned that a military coup would be akin to “dragging us back to the dark days of our nation's history”.
“We are aware of the fact that there is tension in the country. We know it's not a secret," Danbazau said. "Everybody knows that. And we also got intelligence information that some people are trying to infiltrate our ranks."
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Paul Dike, also told reporters that military officials would not seek to overthrow the government.
“Meddling in political issues does not complement our constitutional role in any way, shape or form,” Dike said. “I therefore warn all members of the armed forces to steer clear of politics. Ours is a military that is mindful of its past, conscious of its present and hopeful of the future.”
Dike said: “Regardless of the imperfections of our political experiments, democracy remains the only acceptable form of governance.”
Both men stated this at the inauguration of the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Forward Operations Base along the Bill Clinton Drive that leads to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to Dike, “Pertaining to developments in our political scene, the Nigerian military would not in any way meddle in the political affairs of the country. Politics is better played by politicians.”
Dike stated that it is the duty of all military personnel to defend the nation’s democracy “at all cost”.
The Defence Chief further warned that meddling in political issues does not complement the military’s job of protection of the nation’s territorial integrity.
Reacting to comments in the news media expressing fears of possible military take-over, Dike said: “From the recent comments and innuendos about our Armed Forces by certain segments of our society pertaining to developments in our political scene, I am compelled to remind everyone of the constitutional role of the Armed Forces which is primarily anchored on the protection of Nigeria’s territorial integrity. I therefore warn all members of the Armed Forces to steer clear of politics. Ours is a military that is mindful of its past, conscious of its present and hopeful of its future.”
The Defence Chief further stated that it is imperative for all personnel of the military to “justify the trust of the nation’s leadership by exhibiting unflinching loyalty.”
On peacekeeping operations, he noted that “Nigeria would, in the foreseeable future, continue to play a pivotal role at both regional and global levels in the efforts to create and sustain a peaceful environment. We must also realise that for as long as the nation exists, conflicts will occur that will require the deployment of peacekeeping troops. Furthermore, our deployment outside the shores of Nigeria confers the status of ambassadors of this nation. This presupposes that our troops will obey the laws of their host countries and must upon return join us in our collective resolve to serve our great nation with pride while upholding the tenets of democratic governance at all times.”
Dambazau in his comment earlier noted that with “the subsisting democratic environment giving us a lot of advantages in our pursuit of professionalism, the Nigerian Army affirms its commitment to its constitutional responsibilities and will continue to contribute meaningfully to the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria. The Nigerian Army urges all stakeholders in our national affairs to eschew violence and promote peace and tranquility in Nigeria.”
Reacting to accusations that the Army is culpable in the recent Jos crisis which claimed hundreds of lives, the Army Chief said that those who are accusing the Army of taking sides in the recent crisis in Jos, Plateau State, are missing the issues as all Army personnel, by their training “has placed us above primordial sentiments”.
He said “no [Nigerian Army] soldier fired a shot. For this operation, there was no for any soldier to fire. So, soldiers have not fired a shot.”
Danbazau dismissed the accusations of genocide against the Nigerian Army during the crisis in Jos, saying that “we are too clean to do that.”
Defending the Nigerian Army stoutly from any untoward acts, Dambazau blamed the accusations against the Army on “some persons who apparently do not value peace and are hell-bent on creating disaffection between the military and the public, particularly with reference to the Jos crisis.
“Of course, we can safely assume that such persons find it impossible to commit other atrocities whenever we deploy to keep the peace, hence their frustration. Lest we forget, the military was swift and decisive in containing the Boko Haram debacle and will therefore not hesitate to equally deal decisively with any form of mayhem whenever the need arises. We want to state categorically that in the Nigerian Army, our religion is espirit de corps, while our tribe is the military profession. And our training has placed us above primordial sentiments. The barracks is not a political battlefield and our soldiers are not tools to be used for creating disunity.”
He added that accusations that the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division, Major Gen Saleh Maina, is Muslim does not mean he would move against Christians as “the Chief of Staff is Yoruba. He is responsible for organising operations. The Garrison Commander is a Yoruba and Christian. And he supervises, deploys the troops. Anyone bringing religion into this is trying to bring tension.”http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=165089


Designed to be used as a front or rear tyre the 80/90H18 universal is the narrowest tyre in the racing range.Show available sizes
Click to enlarge
The tyre's ability to grip the road in dry conditions.
The tyre's ability to grip the road in wet conditions.
The wear rate of the tyre.
The measure of how quiet a tyre is while driving.
How the tyre is able to respond to driving such as accelerating, braking, steering and turning.
The tyre's ability to have grip on unpaved surfaces such as dirt, mud, sand, rock or gravel.
*When compared to other Avon tyres
- Available in A25 compound for use on the rearand softer A30 compound for the front.
- Also available in 100/90H19 in A25 compound.
There are 2 tyre sizes available
|Tyre size||Rim choice||Diameter||Section||Tread||Static Loaded Radius||Revolutions|
|80/90H18||1.6 - 2.15||23.90||607||3.20||81||3.20||81||11.60||295||866|
|100/90H19||2.15 - 2.75||26.20||665||3.90||99||3.90||99||12.40||315||816|
The writing and symbols on the sidewall of your tyre aren't there simply to make it look good.
Guidance on fitting tubes into tyres.
In order to get the most out of our tyres check out the information on your tire.
Encompassed within every Avon motorcycle tyre is some of the world’s most advanced tyre technology.


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- Globe Pequot Press 2012; US$ 13.99
From the story of Rhode Island's first colonist (who contrary to your elementary-school history book wasn't Roger Williams) to the revolutionary precursors to the Boston Tea Party to the wedding of Jack and Jackie Kennedy, It Happened in Rhode Island captures some the great events in American History and the history of the small, but fascinating,... more...
- Not For Tourists 2014; US$ 18.99
The Not For Tourists Guide to San Francisco is the urban manual to the city that no San Franciscan should be without. This map-based guidebook organizes the city into forty mapped neighborhoods, and marks each map with user-friendly icons locating all of the essential services and entertainment hotspots. From post offices, libraries, restaurants,... more...
- UNP - Nebraska 2015; US$ 30.00
This updated edition of History of Nevada is still the most comprehensive one-volume economic, political, and social history of a state that was once thought of as "a bridge to somewhere else." It will be welcomed by students and general readers. more...
- Counterpoint 2015; US$ 18.99
In his energetic, funny, and intelligent memoir, Peter Coyote relives his fifteen-year ride through the heart of the counterculturea journey that took him from the quiet rooms of privilege as the son of an East Coast stockbroker to the riotous life of political street theater and the self-imposed poverty of the West Coast communal movement known as... more...
- Harbour Publishing 2015; US$ 32.99
The tale begins in sixteenth-century Venice, when explorer Juan de Fuca encountered English merchant Michael Lok and relayed a fantastic story of a marine passageway that connected the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This tale would be the catalyst for centuries of dreaming, and exacerbate English and Spanish rivalry. The search for the fabled Northwest... more...
- NYU Press 2008; US$ 28.00
Winner of the 2009 Lora Romero First Book Prize from the American Studies Association 2009 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Migrant Imaginaries explores the transnational movements of Mexican migrants in pursuit of labor and civil rights in the United States from the 1920s onward. Working through key historical moments such as the 1930s,... more...
- Infobase Publishing 2005; US$ 35.00
Rhode Island discusses life in the early colony, including the growth of the colony under Roger Williams, farming, trading, the history of slavery in the colony, the presence of pirates, and the Pequot War and King Phillip's War. more...
- McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers 2010; US$ 38.00
The Pacific Northwest--for the purposes of this book mostly Oregon and Washington--has sometimes been seen as lacking significant cultural history. Home to idyllic environmental wonders, the region has been plagued by the notion that the best and brightest often left in search of greater things, that the mainstream world was thousands of miles away--or... more...
- MobileReference.com 2010; US$ 4.99
This illustrated Travel Guide is designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically and by category, making it easier to access individual articles. The guide is complimented by clearly marked trail maps.TABLE OF CONTENTS:Essentials: A-Z INDEX | Sleep | Stay safe 1. General: History | Zion Canyon |... more...

domain: library


text:
US Economic Chartbooks
Please see our Economic Week Ahead Chartbook for a discussion of next week's economic releases provided in a visually friendly format that includes graphs, brief descriptions of SMR's forecasts, and links to detailed data previews. If you missed anything from last week, see our Economic Week in Review Chartbook for a look back at the releases with links to full analyses.
Fixed Income Focus: Back to Flattening; Tax Reform to Get Harder
The corrective steepening in the yield curve late last week quickly went out the window this week, as front-end yields continued to climb, resuming the curve flattening trend.
The GOP tax plan cleared a major hurdle this week with passage in the House, but tax reform only gets harder from here. It will be harder for the Senate, with its slim Republican majority, to pass a plan. The health care provisions in the plan could complicate things further.
Fixed Income Commentaries
Tax Reform Advances on Two Fronts
Two very different versions of tax reform advanced in the House and the Senate yesterday. Some differences - like a delay in cutting the corporate tax rate - aren't likely to derail tax legislation. Others, like repeal of state and local tax deductions, will be harder to resolve. This week's election results increase the urgency for Republicans to pass a package of tax cuts, and we still assign odds of about 60% to legislation being enacted.
Research Briefing - Fed Outlook 2018 - Voters rotate, Board is reshaped
Beyond a new Fed Chair, there is changing of the guard taking place among the voting members of the FOMC that likely tilts the committee moderately more hawkish. The turnover is happening at the Board of Governors and regional Fed Presidents. While this does not equate to a large change in the expected gradual pace of rate hikes, the rotation raises the possibility that the pace of hikes could be on the high end of what could be considered a gradual removal of policy accommodation.
Tax Reform: All I Want for Christmas...
The $1.5 trillion Tax Cuts and Jobs Act fleshes out the details of the Unified Framework released in September. It remains more generous to businesses than individuals, but is slightly less regressive than the initial proposal. Importantly, many components will be fined tuned in the coming weeks. Financial markets appeared somewhat incredulous to either passage of the plan through Congress, or a significant economic impact. We still attach odds around 60% to Congress passing a tax cut package this year or early in 2018. While the plan could boost growth significantly, it would do so only temporarily.

domain: politics


High performance cars require high performance care and reliable tools. Many times, foreign cars such as Audi AG require meticulous care that require specific Audi tools. From professional technicians and specialized garages, to the caring owners who have taken the time to learn about their Audi repair, to someone who does Audi repair for fun – the job cannot be done correctly without the proper Audi tools. ZDMAK, a vast online distributor of foreign and specialty car parts, has a plethora of options for any type of Audi tool necessary.
The ZDMAK site contains an ocean of knowledge. For example, the first selection in the Audi tool section of the website is an informing excerpt on Audi timing information. Here, the company specifies the importance of 3 different cam bars for timing, specifies what valve engine, and calls out the TDC pin, or Top Dead Center pin, which is a necessity for certain cam bars. This information makes an Audi repair much more worry free, especially for non professionals who may not have this knowledge to begin with.
The second selection on the page is the bar and pin for 5 valve Audis. This is the camshaft timing tool set, which includes the cam/bar holder, used for the vital task of securing both engine banks/camshafts at TDC when doing a timing belt replacement. It also ensures the proper alignment of the camshaft during a timing belt change or head assembly work. Specified applications include the Audi V6 5 valve model 1998-2003. Of course, this tool set also comes with the necessary TDC pin, which is needed to hold the crankshaft at top dead center when installing or removing toothed belt or flywheel drive plate.
The third Audi tool featured on the ZDMAK page is the bar and pin for the 2 valve Audi. This includes the cam/bar holder, used when performing a timing belt replacement to hold both engine banks/camshafts at top dead center for a perfect repair, or the bar is used to properly align the camshaft during head assembly work or belt change. Just like the previously mentioned 5 valve toolkit, this kit includes the essential TDC pin.
The fourth tool displayed on the page is the singular cam bar for the 2 valve Audi . This is the same cam bar that is included in the third toolset on the page. As outlined above, the cam/bar holder is applicable for the same Audi repair needs, and applies to the Audi 90 A6, A4, 1994-1997 AFC Engine.
This company pays scrupulous attention to the details of the tools it sells and leaves no information out. ZDMAK is an exceptional leader in foreign/specialty items at great prices! Visit the site for daily specials. For a trustworthy and knowledgeable tool provider, shop ZDMAK!


- This event has passed.
Automate Daunting Document Management Tasks Using Sets in Bluebeam RevuJune 3 @ 11:00 am - 11:45 am PDT
In this webinar, we will show that Bluebeam Revu is more than a PDF viewer or markup tool. We will show how simple, possibly unknown, tools are available to create smart, dynamic PDFs to help manage documentation throughout the lifecycle of a project. Connect project files using a variety of Revu’s automation tools to help make important information and files easily accessible. Manage drawing revisions using Revu’s Sets functionality and utilize automated features to identify changes, transfer markups, and maintain a current and dynamic document set.
Attendees will learn:
- Best practices for preparing drawings before creating a Set
- The process of creating a Set including some important settings
- After placing a few markups on the drawings, how to Slip Sheet Revisions and automatically transfer markups to the new drawing and stamp the old one “superseded”
About the Presenter
Troy DeGroot is a Senior Technical Specialist with U.S. CAD based in our Minneapolis office and frequent presenter at industry events including User Groups, technical colleges, and large conferences like Bluebeam XCON. With nearly 25 years in the industry, Troy brings a unique perspective as an industry leader in Bluebeam customization, implementation, and training. From design review to specialty subcontractor estimating to electronic plan review, you’ll find Troy traveling the country teaching workflows to customers and cities of all sizes and skill levels.
See more upcoming Bluebeam webinars.


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4-8 halibut cheeks (depending upon size)
1/2 cup flour
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
TARRAGON BEURRE BLANC
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
zest of 1 small lemon
4 tablespoons tarragon, roughly chopped
1. Combine wine, shallots & garlic in a small saucepan, Bring to a boil and reduce until there is about 1 tablespoon of liquid left (be careful not to burn). Remove pan from heat and set aside.
2. Season fish with salt & pepper. Lightly dredge in flour and tap of excess.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons each of butter & olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add fish and cook until nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes on each side.
4. While fish is cooking, gently reheat the wine & shallot mixture over low heat. Add cold butter, lemon zest and tarragon and whisk until incorporated and has a creamy consistency. Be careful not to overheat, otherwise butter will separate and sauce will become oily.
5. Plate fish and spoon sauce over. Garnish with wedges of lemon.
This sauce would be great with other seafood such as: halibut fillets, sole, lobster or scallops!


T Baily specializes in civil and industrial construction, including wind turbines, so it's only fitting that their new headquarters would reflect what they do: large scale industrial construction. Their new home will be a 11,700sf office space that explores the use of experimental materials, namely pipes used in wind turbine towers.
Looking like something out of the future, the new office suite was designed by Seattle-based Olson Kundig Architects, and is made from wind turbine parts. Visitors will enter the building and climb to the main office space via a horizontally placed 22' diameter pipe. The pipe houses a skylight and large fan to ventilate the main office floor, and is powered by solar energy.
Materials throughout the space are unfinished, and include concrete floors, unfinished steel, and exposed structure for a raw, industrial feel. Further green features include diverting rainwater into an adjoining rain garden and minimizing the use of toxic materials.


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The Jewish and Israeli-American community in Las Vegas participated in a special convoy of vehicles on Sunday led by the Israeli-American Council (IAC) in honor of Sheldon G. Adelson. Some 400 members of the community came together for the socially distanced event, each receiving a candle to light in memory of Adelson and a special prayer to recite. A temporary memorial site was established in the IAC Center in the city.
Adelson was one of the world's leading entrepreneurs, business leaders, and philanthropists. Las Vegas was the main residence for the late Adelson, together with his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson, for the past 30 years.
The Israeli-American Council (IAC) is dedicated to building an engaged and united Israeli-American community that strengthens the Israeli and Jewish identity of its next-generation, the American Jewish community, and the bond between the people of the United States and the State of Israel. With the foresight and support of the Adelsons, through the IAC, Sheldon’s vision is now in more than 100 communities and more than 90 campuses and has brought Israel to the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Israeli and Jewish Americans across the nation.


LM National Semiconductor datasheet pdf data sheet FREE Datasheets (data sheet) search for integrated circuits (ic), semiconductors and other electronic. LM LM Voltage Followers November LM LM Voltage Followers General Description The LM series are high-gain operational amplifiers. replacements for the LM series voltage followers offer- ing lower offset voltage drift .. This datasheet has been downloaded from: www. DatasheetCatalog.
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