Meister Features for Continuous Delivery at Scale
OpenMake Meister® strengthens your Continuous Delivery foundation using build automation to manage, control and accelerate the software compile and link process. It uses commercial strength server pooling and load balancing for heavy use Continuous Build requirements called by your Continuous Integration engine such as Jenkins. Jenkins calls on Meister to automate the creation of binaries. Meister leverages compile plugins to support reproducible builds, delivering dependency management, build acceleration, distributed builds and build audits without one-off compile scripts such as Maven, Ant or Make. You can develop custom Playbooks to standardize and manage how compilers are called, manage declared inputs, and expose how binaries of all types are created. Compile Plugins use tools like Ant with source code scanning to generate a build control file and standardize the compile/link process to achieve repeatable software compiles across your application versions and life cycle. Out of the box, Meister supports over 200 compile Plugins.
Build Automation Defined
Build Automation can be a confusing term and often associated with Jenkins. However, Jenkins does not do Build Automation. It is a workflow management tool used to define a Continuous Integration process to support DevOps and Continuous Delivery. Jenkins calls other tools to perform software compiles, normally a script written in Ant or Maven. Meister automates the creation and use of these scripts.
Plugins and "VPATH" for Predictable Build
Creating predictability and repeat-ability in your software compiles requires standardization at multiple levels. The challenge is to create the predictability as the build changes for multiple streams and life cycle states. A script is static and cannot easily adjust to these changes. In addition, minimizing source code changes that comes from outside version control is critical in order for all builds to produce consistent results. Meister takes on this challenge by supporting a "Dependency Directory" which is similar to a VPATH for standardizing on declared inputs. Secondly, Meister uses Playbooks and Plugins, that creates consistent build logic. After implementing Meister, a large Financial Service went from several hundred build scripts to less than a dozen Playbooks. If an update needs to be made to one of the Playbooks, it is done in a single location and shared by all. The ultimate in reuse, and it is the reuse that delivers the predictability. Reuse cannot be achieved with one-off build scripts. We were the first to use plugin and Playbooks for standardizing compiles but not the last.
Accelerate Builds for Continuous Integration
Meister has the intelligence to drastically reduce your build times for full builds and down to a few seconds with accurate incremental builds. Meister uses Build Avoidance only re-building the source code that has been changed. Because Meister tracks the low level dependencies, your incremental builds are reliable reducing the need for executing a full 'clean' build. Meister also builds independent artifacts in parallel using low level source code scanning to determine the dependencies without the need to write a script that manages the ordering. So easy! Meister supports build acceleration for all supported languages including Java, .Net, C++, C-Unix and others including the ability to manage multiple .Net Solution files in a single parallel build stream.
See into the Readiness of your Software Build
Meister integrates with 'best of breed' version control tools for retrieving and auditing artifacts. When a build is executed in 'audit' mode, Meister grabs the version control item history, showing in the audit report the artifact version information, which can be used to trace a change in a build back to a particular developer. This link is critical when determining coding problems and resolving run-time issues not found in testing, but discovered in production. To achieve Continuous Delivery, you must be able to see into the readiness of any build, at any time.
To understand the readiness of a build does not mean simply installing and running the software. It is important to have the ability to see into how the build was executed, what source was included and what 3rd party and transitive dependencies were used. Meister's Build Audit provides you with this information. Meister's audit exposes critical information before you run a 'smoke' test. Meister's Build Insight exposes the source code and dependencies used to create your binaries giving you insight into the readiness of your software release. This level of insight can also be used to show the content of any production release, making your Auditors very happy. Meister's Build Automation performs low level code scanning and reports on every file used in your compile and link process, even when it is not stored in a version control tool. Meister's Audit supports many Version Control tools including: Git, SVN, IBM ClearCase, IBM RTC, Microsoft TFS, CVS, Perforce, AccuRev, Serena Dimensions, Serena PVCS, Integrity and others.
Jenkins Continuous Integration at Scale
Remote Agents are installed on servers allowing OpenMake Meister to distribute the workload of your Continuous Integration process across multiple machines and Server Pools. Remote Agents can be hosted on physical or cloud environments allowing the support of Server Pools with a mix of physical, virtual or cloud based servers. OpenMake Meister's Server Pool management features include the ability to automatically select the most efficient machine in the pool for the fastest processing possible. You can use Meister's in conjunction with Jenkins to scale your Continuous Integration across large build environment. And you can add Build Servers and Pools for load balancing as you need them keeping your cost low and managed.Automatic Dependency Management and Impact Analysis
Meister uses deep dependency scanning to make build decisions and to report on the impact of a potential software change. By running a Build with Impact Analysis enabled, a detailed report will be generated and can be shown 'exploded' going from source to binary or 'imploded' from binary to source. Meister's Dependency Management is used at multiple levels. It is used to accelerate builds with both Build Avoidance and building in parallel, and is used to audit the build, showing all artifacts used even when they are not stored in version control.
Monitor your Builds in Real Time
Meister includes a Build Monitor that runs in 'real time' allowing you to easily see the status of your build with errors, successes and ordering. Meister's Real Time build monitor shows you the lowest level of calls, including each time the compiler/linker/archiver is invoked as well as any external process that is called such as static code analysis. By seeing into every data point, Meister allows you to to be proactive in addressing build issues, as it exposes exactly what it is doing - no guess work.
Integrates Build Automation into IDEs such as .Net and Eclipse
To determine what object needs to be built, Meister integrates with both Eclipse (project files) and Microsoft .Net (solution files) to generate the meta data of the objects to be compiled. This allows your builds inside the IDEs to be repeated outside of the IDEs without coding a single line of Ant, Maven or Nant code. OpenMake Meister is integrated into Visual Studio .Net and TeamBuild to give you a full Microsoft development experience. When Meister is used to manage the compile and link process, it leverages MSBuild in the process. This gives you a 100% repeatable process between compiles inside the IDE and outside the IDE called by a Build Automation process. In addition, Meister can compile multiple solution files in the correct order in one build pass.
Improve Agile Development with Adaptive Build
Meister's build automation improves your agile development by matching the adaptive and iterative nature of your source code changes with the quick compilation of your binaries. Meister's Build Automation eliminates build bottlenecks caused by slow compiles, manual updates to scripts and errors common to a build process that is driven by static processes. Meister gets your builds ready for agile by:
- Providing adaptable build scripts that synchronize builds running outside the IDE with builds running within the IDE.
- Accelerated Java and C builds supporting 10 minutes builds or less.
- Accurate incremental and pre-commit builds so your agile process is never doing a "clean all" build that runs for hours.
- Continuous Integration with Distributed Builds.
- Build Acceleration using Build Avoidance and Building in Parallel (Java and .NET).
Anything less than the above takes you right back to the "waterfall" approach where your build manager needs the luxury of time to tweak broken build scripts. Meister delivers to the agile team, fast, consistent and repeatable compile and build processing.


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About the Event
Sheherazade creates an alluring Oriental ambiance reminiscent of the enchanting tales from One Thousand and One Nights. Noa Wildschut, a talented young artist, will showcase Tchaikovsky's nostalgic recollections of his Ukrainian vacations through her performance of the violin concerto arranged by Glazunov.
- Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Souvenir d'un lieu cher, op. 42 (arr. A. Glazoenov)
- Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky‐Korsakov – Sheherazade, op. 35 'Symphonic Suite after 1001 Nights'
| Vasily Petrenko
| Noa Wildschut
Noa Wildschut is a 'musical miracle', according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The young violinist from Hilversum made her debut when she was seven at Concertgebouw. A decade later she plays all over the world.

domain: entertainment


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How revolutionary was the french revolution did the revolution simply replace the old ruling elite with a new, bourgeois one what were the major effects on different groups of people, including nobles, priests, peasants, urban workers, slaves and women. Suggestions you might wish to consider include the neolithic revolution, french revolution, haitian revolution, industrial revolution, russian revolution, mexican revolution, chinese cultural revolution, and green revolution in agriculture. French revolution of 1789 and the end of our century, especially those revealed by an analysis of the differences in law for men and women olympe de gouges' declaration of women's rights ( 1791) wanted to spark a. Women's role in the french revolution ever since the second half of 20th century historians have debated concerning the way women shared roles in the french revolution and what kind of effect these events had on the french women and the rest of people in france on the whole.
The members of the old breton club shifted their meeting place with the passage of time and began to hold their meetings in the church named 'jacob' later on, the members of this club came to be known as jacobins mirabeau, danton, robespierre and dr marat were some prominent members of this club. French revolution started in 1789 the series of events started by the middle class shaken the upper classes the people revolted against the cruel regime of monarchy this revolution put forward the ideas of liberty, fraternity, and equality • the revolution began on 14th july, 1789 with the. Below is an essay on women in the french revolution from anti essays, your source for research papers, essays, and term paper examples a french revolution for women the french women of the working class had always somehow been politically active in times of national crisis.
Women's words: essay on french singularity by mona ozouf, translated by jane marie todd chicago: university of chicago press, 1997, 397 pp, $2995 hardcover the women of paris and their french revolution by dominique godineau, translated by katherine streip berkeley: university of california press, 437 pp, $6000 hardcover, $2495 paper. The revolution ended when napoleon bonaparte, a french general, took over the government at the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion one of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in france. The article discusses the french revolution and the contribution of women to the revolution is by kindleberger (1994) in locating the article, a literature search was conducted using four databases, jstor, google scholar, ebcohost and proquest. The french revolution was one of the first examples of people throwing a revolution in the name of their country ----introduced to the world the concept of socialist and communist principles, although they werent clearly identified and written down untill decades later by marx.
People of the revolution - biographical essays about people who had to choose sides in the american revolution timelines a timeline of the american revolution - access a chronology of significant events of the american revolution. French revolution russian revolution russian revolution the 3rd estate, or national assembly, wanted a change so they went to an indoor tennis court and took an oath they named this the tennis court oath. French revolution in hindi - free download as powerpoint presentation (ppt), pdf file (pdf), text file (txt) or view presentation slides online it is a power point presentation of french revolution which is in hindi and can be used for school projects. Revolution main causes of great revolution — previous risings — the french middle classes had studiedturgotandadamsmith,thecreatorsofpoliticaleconomy.
French revolution essay questions this collection of french revolution essay questions has been written and compiled by alpha history authors, for use by teachers and students they can also be used for short-answer questions, homework activities and other research or revision tasks. Women's words: essay on french singularity by mona ozouf, translated by jane marie todd chicago: university of chicago press, 1997, 397 pp, $2995 hardcover the women of paris and their french revolution by dominique godineau, translated by katherine streip. Yes, the french revolution was the direct outcome of the oppressive despotic and autocratic attitude of louis xvi, the corrupt and inhuman behaviour of privileged estates- the clergy and nobility 84. Excellent treatment of olympe de gouges in the french revolution, jeanne deroin in the revolution of 1848, hubertine auclert and the third republic, madeleine pelletier in the early 20th century, and women in france after winning the vote in 1944.
About trip essay kite festival bon voyage s2 photo essay essay about collecting obesity pt3 women's education in essay exercise healthy essay family essay world war 2 england movies sad essay about life without technology article writing service review video (the first day to school essay) toefl words for essay requirements professional essay writer's topics. In women and the limits of citizenship in the french revolution, olwen h hufton expresses her intention to show that women's responses to their various situations during the revolution transformed and modified the entire history of the period 1789-1815(1) in order to demonstrate her point. The french revolution enabled a major shift in the history of modern france, and it even affected the rest of the european communities indeed, such great incidents like the french revolution would change a lot in the systems of france, regarding to the educational system which was highly effected.
Solution: groups of french society which benefitted from the revolution - all the groups of french society which formerly formed a part of the third estate were benefitted from the revolution these groups included the peasants, workers, petty-officers, lawyers, teachers, doctors and traders. Essay: napoleon bonaparte napoleon bonaparte, who is also known as the little corsican, was born on august 15,1769 in ajaccio, corsica his family had moved there from italy in the 16th century. The war essay in french revolution essay about nursing using gibbs and successful life essay relationship essay chinese immigrant udan scheme essay in hindi.

domain: library


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For the upcoming poster featuring Fire Safety, they announced a contest which was open to all employees.
The challenge was to submit a cartoon-style entry promoting fire safety.
"You can be a Famous Cartoonist", touted the flyer.
"You could be the lucky winner whose cartoon is published in October's Fire Safety Poster."
Employees were encouraged to try to work Top Gun into their cartoon if they could.
Here's the pen they sent me. (Actually, I don't think Frank, our Loss Prevention manager, ever sent in my entry. So I never got an
official "Top Gun" pen.
After the contest was over, I asked Frank about my prize. He gave me this generic loss prevention pen.)

domain: artistic


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New limited-edition Sherwood Green Jaguar F-TYPE from SV Bespoke features unique specification commemorating 60th anniversary of the E-TYPE in 2021
• Iconic predecessor: Jaguar will celebrate the diamond anniversary of the legendary E-TYPE in March 2021 with sixty distinctive new F-TYPE Heritage 60th Edition models from SV Bespoke.
• Sixties-inspired: Limited edition based on 575PS all-wheel drive F-TYPE R, has solid Sherwood Green paint from E-TYPE palette, which Jaguar hasn’t offered since the 1960s
• Limited availability: Sixty hand-finished cars available worldwide, in either Convertible or Coupé body styles, feature exclusive heritage-inspired Gloss Black and Chrome accents and Diamond Turned Gloss Black 20-inch forged alloy wheels. New Zealand has managed to secure one.
• Bespoke interior: Heritage 60 Edition also includes specially curated interior materials and features including bespoke duo-tone Caraway and Ebony Windsor leather, E-TYPE-inspired aluminum console finisher and SV Bespoke commissioning plaque
• A nod to the past: Commemorative E-TYPE 60 badging shared with the six limited-edition matched pairs of 3.8-litre E-TYPE 60 Collection cars restored by Jaguar Classic.
“An excellent celebration of the iconic E-TYPE.”
“We are looking forward to seeing one of the sixty bespoke vehicles in New Zealand arriving mid next year for a South Island based customer.”Steve Kenchington, General Manager, Jaguar New Zealand
9 December 2020, Coventry, UK: Jaguar is marking the 60th anniversary of the
E-TYPE sports car in 2021 with the introduction of a new limited-edition 575PS V8 Supercharged F-TYPE Heritage 60th Anniversary Edition. Just 60 examples of these all-wheel drive sports cars will be available worldwide, each one hand-finished by the personalisation experts at the SV Bespoke factory.
A specially curated commemorative specification includes solid Sherwood Green paintwork, an original E-TYPE colour that hasn’t been offered on a new Jaguar since the 1960s, and extended duo-tone Caraway and Ebony Windsor leather interior trim which isn’t normally available on F-TYPE.
The new limited-run model also features a unique aluminum console finisher inspired by the E-TYPE’s rear-view mirror casing, the E-TYPE 60th anniversary logo embossed on the headrests of the lightweight Performance seats and E-TYPE 60 badging shared with the limited-edition E-TYPE 60 Collection vehicles announced by Jaguar Classic earlier this year. Commemorative treadplates, an SV Bespoke commissioning plaque and Caraway-edged carpet mats provide finishing touches.
Mark Turner, Commercial Director, Jaguar SV Bespoke, said: “Celebrating 60 years of the iconic Jaguar E-type is the perfect moment to create our first-ever SV Bespoke limited edition – and the rarest, with just 60 cars available globally. We’ve worked closely with Jaguar Design to develop a theme for the F-TYPE Heritage 60 Edition that pays homage to the E-TYPE in a contemporary way. It’s testament to Jaguar’s sports car design lineage that the 1960s Sherwood Green colour looks as though it was designed for today’s F-TYPE.”
The F-TYPE Heritage 60 Edition is available in both Coupé and Convertible body styles with exclusive Diamond-Turned Gloss Black 20-inch forged alloy wheels, Gloss Black and Chrome exterior accents and black brake calipers.
Launched in December 2019, the new F-TYPE R – which forms the basis of the new F-TYPE Heritage 60 Edition – is exclusively all-wheel drive and features revised dampers, anti-roll bars and rear suspension knuckles for heightened driver engagement. Power is from Jaguar’s 575PS supercharged V8, which produces 700Nm of torque for outstanding pace in all conditions.
Performance is exceptional: the sprint from 100kmh takes just 3.7 seconds, while maximum speed is an electronically-limited 322km/h.
The F-TYPE also provides a suite of advanced driver-focused technologies, including a reconfigurable, high-definition, 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster, Touch Pro Infotainment system and Smartphone Pack with Apple CarPlay® as standard.
Each Heritage 60 Edition is built at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant in the UK and finished by the SV Bespoke team at Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations in Warwickshire.
Clare Hansen, Director of Vehicle Personalisation, Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations, said: “The F-TYPE Heritage 60 Edition is a fantastic example of what the SV Bespoke team is capable of. Marrying E-TYPE inspired detailing with new F-TYPE gave us an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the heritage of Jaguar’s legendary sports cars. With unrivalled access to original drawings, paint codes and reference materials, working hand-in-hand with our colleagues at Jaguar Classic, we’ve created a distinctive and highly collectible interpretation of the definitive Jaguar sports car.”
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of its iconic sports car, Jaguar Classic is creating six limited-edition matched pairs of restored 3.8-litre 1960s E-TYPEs paying tribute to two of the most famous examples: ‘9600 HP’ and ‘77 RW’, known as the E-TYPE 60 Collection. See: www.jaguar.com/classic
New Zealand has secured one of the sixty models made and is expected to arrive mid 2021.

domain: design


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Maternal Disaster & Six Thirty Recordings present Cult Leader Live in Jakarta at Rossi Musik 4F on April 21st, 2019.
Cult Leader is an SLC hardcore punk quartet formed in 2013 after the breakup of three members' former band Gaza. They soon signed with Deathwish Inc and released an EP plus two full lengths through the iconic taste-making label. Though relative newcomers to the scene, Cult Leader has quickly gained a reputation for their savage, breathtaking sound and extreme live shows.
Jalan Fatmawati No. 28, Kebayoran Lama, Jakarta 12310, Indonesia
There is no comment


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Posted on: 25/10/2016
Ofgem has altered the cap and floor prices for the UK’s new interconnector with Norway after the developer reduced its construction costs.
The cap – which limits the revenues the operator can charge for use of the cable – will be reduced from £140 million to £94m.
The floor – the minimum amount the operator will receive in revenues – has been reduced from £75m to £53m.
Any top-up payments needed to bring the operator’s revenues up to the floor price will be charged onto customers’ electricity bills, while any excess revenues generated above the cap will be returned to consumers through reduced bills.
Dermot Nolan, Ofgem’s Chief Executive, said: “Greater interconnection is good for Great Britain’s security of supply as we can import from a wider, deeper and cheaper pool of electricity available in neighbouring countries.
“Ofgem’s cap and floor regime, which regulates interconnector revenues, is one of the reasons why so many new projects are being proposed, as it encourages this investment.
“More interconnection also enables access to wider market areas and diverse market participants, which is good for competition.”
> See Ofgem's statement

domain: news


Real time aptamer-based tracking of circulating therapeutic drugs
The goal of personalized medicine is to precisely tailor treatment to the individual. To this end, the ability to measure drugs in the body rapidly and in real time would hold the promise to revolutionalise healthcare by delivering the right drug, at the right dose, and at the right time. The development of such technologies including immunoassays or HPLC-MS, however, faces significant challenges such as:
- Lower sensitivity and selectivity
- Lengthy sample preparation
- Batch processing and addition of exogenous reagents
- Single time-point measurement
- Stability issues for extended period of time
Continuous and real time monitoring of the drugs could facilitate administration of a therapeutic dose that is continuously optimized for maximal efficacy and minimal side effects for a specific diseased patient.
Aptamer based electrochemical sensors (E-AB) have shown to address these challenges and have demonstrated their promise as a tool for real time drug monitoring. E-AB employs an electrode-bound, redox-reporter-modified aptamer as their recognition element. Binding of the target molecule to this aptamer induces a conformational change that produces an easily measured electrochemical output, without needing reagent additions or wash steps.
To this end, following researchers developed a real time E-AB’s capable of continuously tracking a wide range of circulating drugs in living subjects.
Real-time, aptamer-based tracking of doxorubicin in vivo
Ferguson et al., 2013 developed a real time microfluidic E-AB for measuring therapeutic in vivo concentrations of doxorubicin (DOX, a chemotherapeutic drug) in live rats and human whole blood for several hours with high sensitivity and specificity at sub-minute temporal resolution. Upon binding to the target molecule, the aptamer probe underwent a conformational change that modulated the redox current and generated an electrochemical signal. The signal gain provided a direct measurement of DOX concentration with LOD of 10 nM in buffer.
Real time DOX measurement in live rats with a lowest dose of 0.1 mg/m2, showed observable signal change resulting in a peak concentration of 0.13 uM – a therapeutically relevant range for human dosing. Importantly, the sensor did not respond to ifosfamide (Ifex), mesna, mitomycin-C (MTC), dacarbazine (DTIC), or cisplatin (CDDP) – agents commonly administered with DOX. The sensor required no exogenous reagents, operated at room temperature and could be reconfigured to measure different target molecules by exchanging probes in a modular manner.
Real time, aptamer-based biosensor for tenofovir detection in vivo
Aliakbarinodehi et al., 2017 developed a highly selective and sensitive aptamer based biosensor (AptaFET) for detection of tenofovir (TFV), an anti-retroviral small molecule drug approved for the treatment of HIV and Hepatitis B. This biosensor was based on the combination of aptamers for target recognition and 6-mercapto-1-hexanol (MCH) field effect transistors for the transduction of the drug-probe interaction to an electric signal. The sensor was selective for TFV in both buffer and plasma and showed a linear detection range of 1 nM to 100 nM, compared with clinical range of 20 nM to 860 nM, indicating sufficient sensitivity for clinical application.
Overall, the performance of such E-AB in terms of LOD and linear range is better or comparable to other biosensors that are suitable for point of care (POC) analytical applications. This proves the capability of the E-AB to be utilized for continuous monitoring of a wide range of small molecules in human plasma, improving the overall efficacy and safety of treatment.
At Aptamer Group Ltd, we are involved in continuous development of similar aptamer-based biosensors for therapeutic small molecule targets and even protein biomarkers using our high affinity aptamers. We have successfully developed aptamers against various chemotherapeutic drugs including irinotecan and imatinib, which are now available for purchase. If you would like more information on such platforms, please get in touch.
Aliakbarinodehi N, Jolly P, Bhalla N, et al. Aptamer-based Field-Effect Biosensor for Tenofovir Detection. Sci Rep. 2017;7:44409. Published 2017 Mar 15. doi:10.1038/srep44409.
Idili A, Arroyo-Currás N, Ploense KL, et al. Seconds-resolved pharmacokinetic measurements of the chemotherapeutic irinotecan in situ in the living body. Chem Sci. 2019;10(35):8164‐8170. Published 2019 Jul 22. doi:10.1039/c9sc01495k
Ferguson BS, Hoggarth DA, Maliniak D, et al. Real-time, aptamer-based tracking of circulating therapeutic agents in living animals. Sci Transl Med. 2013;5(213):213ra165. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3007095.


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Y5C have been writing descriptive space stories as part of their 'Space Invaders' topic. Here are a few extracts:
As I entered the barren red planet, my heart pounded and I felt as if some giant hand had knocked every breath from my delicate body. Looking up from the soft, rocky path, I saw a cluster of flower-like creatures on their own little islands, with what appeared to be the aqua blue ocean in between. As the myriad of clouds drifted gently, I could feel the fresh air as it tickled my nose. Just standing there, a beautiful, odd creature came out of the gloomy darkness. Shielding my eyes from the sun rising from the horizon, the smoky mist cleared and I could smell lemon coming out of the strange space probe.
As the mist cleared, I could see a myriad of sand dunes in the distance. The crimson-red liquid was endless, with miniature dunes and bioluminescent flower-like objects. The flower-like objects were like amethysts glowing in its true beauty.
“Finally, the day to launch our shuttle!” exclaimed Captain Roger. “Michael, tell the astronauts to get ready,” he continued.
“Roger that,” he responded…”Suit up boys!” Michael commanded.
“Yes sir!” the astronauts replied.
The astronauts walked on a platform which led them to the shuttle named ‘AstroSpace’. Looking down they could see their apprehensive wives weeping. They carried on walking. As soon as they got inside the shuttle they were strapped in place by Daniel, their instructor.
“The rocket will launch in 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..LIFT OFF!” Captain Roger shouted. The rockets engines spewed fire and left.
The alien's head was shaped like a dustbin. His claws were like bananas in shape and length, but steel in strength. It had teeth like pointed knives. He had eyes that were glittering and sparkled like tiny gems.


By Keith Idec
This isn’t what Abner Mares wanted, but he understands that Leo Santa Cruz is the ‘A’ side in their business equation.
Mares would’ve preferred to fight Santa Cruz again October 7 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, the option that they had long discussed. Santa Cruz feels he needs to shed some ring rust, though, which is why Mares and Santa Cruz will face separate opponents on October 14 at StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KOs) is set to defend his WBA super world featherweight championship against Chris Avalos (27-5, 20 KOs) that night in a scheduled 12-round main event FOX will air on free TV. In FOX’s co-featured fight, Mares (30-2-1, 15 KOs) will make the first defense of his WBA world featherweight title against Mexico’s Andres Gutierrez (35-1-1, 25 KOs).
“I wanted to fight Leo right away,” Mares told BoxingScene.com prior to a press conference Tuesday to officially announce their October 14 doubleheader. “It’s not a secret I’ve been telling everybody the fight was gonna happen [October 7] because at first it was confirmed, like 99 percent. But that other percent was Leo’s team and his side. They felt, and I understand, that they needed one tune-up fight. So no harm there. We took it, so now I have to go and take my fight also, and hope that we both come out victorious and healthy to make that [rematch] happen.”
Mares, of Montebello, California, feels he has the tougher fight October 14, but if Mares and Santa Cruz win they have agreed to take part in a rematch within the first quarter of 2018. Santa Cruz beat Mares by majority decision in their first fight two years ago at Staples Center.
The 31-year-old Mares admits he was surprised Santa Cruz pushed for interim bouts, but the former Mexican Olympian is willing to do whatever it takes to get his shot at redemption.
“I was a little bit surprised, but then again, him, as a fighter, he’s coming from two tough fights back-to-back,” Mares said, referring to Santa Cruz’s fights against Carl Frampton. “So if the body tells you that you need rest, you have to listen to it. So I can’t say I was surprised. I was coming from a tough fight, also, and a longer layoff, but I felt like it was a perfect time to get that rematch. Again, bodies are different.”
The 29-year-old Santa Cruz, of Rosemead, California, defeated Frampton by majority decision to win back the WBA super world featherweight title January 28 in Las Vegas. That 12-round win enabled Santa Cruz to avenge a 12-round, majority decision loss to Northern Ireland’s Frampton (23-1, 14 KOs) in July 2016 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Mares will end an even longer layoff than Santa Cruz on October 14. He hasn’t boxed since he beat Argentina’s Jesus Cuellar (28-2, 21 KOs) by split decision to win the WBA world featherweight title December 10 in Los Angeles.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.


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Determinants of uptake of first dose of intermittent preventive treatment among pregnant women in a secondary health Centre in Maiduguri, Nigeria
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth volume 20, Article number: 726 (2020)
Studies on uptake of first dose of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) are lacking, despite it being a predictor of subsequent doses. This study aimed at assessing the determinants of uptake of first dose of IPTp among pregnant women at the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri.
A cross-sectional study was conducted, in which respondents were selected using a systematic random sampling method, and structured questionnaires were used to obtain information from them. Chi-squared test was used to determine factors associated with uptake of first IPTp dose, while a further multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine its predictors.
Three hundred and eighty respondents answered the survey, whose ages ranged from 15 to 45 years, and 86.8% were multigravid. Sixty five percent of them were aware of IPTp, and 34.7% believed that IPTp could be harmful to their pregnancies. Over a half of the respondents (52.9%) believed that taking all their IPTp medicines was very good for their pregnancies, while 45.0% felt that taking their IPTp medicines was very pleasant. Only two respondents (0.5%) stated that it was very untrue that their significant others thought that they should take all their IPTp medicines. Half of the respondents said it was very easy for them to take all their IPTp medicines even if they were experiencing mild discomforts while taking them. Less than a half (42.37%) had received their first dose of IPTp. In bivariate as well as multivariate analysis, only higher level of knowledge was significantly associated with uptake of first IPTp dose. Those with better knowledge of IPTp were about twice more likely to have taken their first dose of IPTp, compared to those with lower knowledge of IPTp (AOR = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.17–2.92).
Knowledge of IPTp as well as its uptake, were sub-optimal in this study. Since knowledge of IPTp significantly predicts uptake of the first dose of IPTp, there is the need to implement health education campaigns to raise the awareness of pregnant women and their families on the need to receive and comply with it.
Malaria infection during pregnancy could result in adverse consequences like miscarriage [1, 2], anaemia [3, 4], pre-term delivery [5, 6], stillbirth [7, 8], and low birth weight [9, 10]. High prevalence of malaria infection has been reported among antenatal care attendees in different health centres across Nigeria (South-eastern Nigeria) [11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19]. In Borno state, Nigeria, the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women was 48.1% at the state’s largest secondary health centre ; 60.3% in its only Teaching Hospital  and 44.5% three years later, at the same Teaching Hospital . A systematic review of four trials revealed that receiving two doses of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) reduced the risk of having placental malaria, anaemia, and low birth weight . Another systematic review of 14 cluster-randomized and eight individually-randomized controlled trials had also revealed the protective efficacy of IPTp-SP in reducing low birth weight . As such, the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) such, recommends that pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa receive at least three doses of IPTp-SP during their pregnancies [25, 26]. Each dose is to comprise of three tablets (500 mg Sulphadoxine and 25 mg Pyrimethamine per tablet) at scheduled antenatal care visits. The first dose is to be given at the beginning of the second trimester, while subsequent doses should be given at least one month apart. It can be given on an empty stomach, or with food; should be directly observed by a health worker; should not be taken concomitantly with daily Folic acid supplementation; and should not be given to those receiving Co-trimoxazole prophylaxis . Despite the recommendations by the WHO and FMOH, the Nigerian Health and Demographic Survey revealed that only 13.9% of pregnant women in Borno State had received any single dose of IPTp-SP during their pregnancies, 6.7% had received 2 doses, while 1.9% had received 3 doses .
Receipt of the first dose of IPTp seems to be very crucial, as timely uptake of first dose was significantly associated with taking the full recommended doses . Also, receipt of first dose of IPTp at four to six months of gestation had been shown to significantly predict receiving optimal doses of IPTp . Although studies on the determinants of uptake of first IPTp dose are lacking, it may be logical to assume that its predictors overlap with those of full dose uptake. For example, early onset of antenatal visits was significantly associated with uptake of the first dose , as well as full dose of IPTp [32, 33]. Availability of SP at the health facility also predicted first dose (Protas et al., 2016)  and full dose  uptake. Socio-demographic factors like advanced maternal age , higher educational attainment [36,37,38,39], employment  and urban residence  have been shown to predict higher IPTp uptake. In Blantyre, Malawi, multigravidae with three pregnancies and above were more likely to have not received the recommended IPTp regimen . A systematic review identified education, knowledge about malaria, socio-economic status, and parity, as major determinants of IPTp coverage in sub-Saharan Africa .
Even though psychological factors like motivation and self-efficacy have been reported to be important determinants of health behaviour [44, 45], knowledge of IPTp seems to be the only psychological factor whose association with IPTp uptake has been studied, and this was found to be significant [46,47,48]. While motivation comprises personal attitudes as well as the subjective social norms toward a particular health behaviour , self-efficacy refers to a person’s perceived ability to perform the behaviour . Understanding the role played by these factors (motivation and self-efficacy) would add to the present knowledge of determinants of uptake of first IPTp dose. This would guide the development of health education modules and other intervention programmes to ultimately improve IPTp uptake. As such, this study aimed at assessing the determinants of uptake of first dose of IPTp among pregnant women at the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri.
The study area was Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, in northern Nigeria. Maiduguri has a population of 282,409 males and 257,607 females , with farming and trading as the main economic activities . Thirty nine percent of pregnant women in Borno state receive antenatal care from a skilled provider . Maiduguri experiences between 30,605 and 43,860 cases of malaria in pregnancy annually . The study location was the ante-natal care clinic of the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, which is the largest of the three secondary health centres in Maiduguri. The hospital has four clinical departments thus: internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology. The ante-natal care (ANC) clinic is run as a sub-unit of the obstetrics and gynaecology department. It is run from Monday through Friday, with an average of about 100 clients per clinic day. Mondays are reserved for first-time ANC attendees, while the other four days are for follow-up visits. Pregnant women coming to the clinic early in the morning for their ANC are first made to register and get an ANC card from the medical record’s office. After obtaining their card, they get seated serially in the waiting area. Once registration has been closed, they are collectively given health talks by the midwives before the antenatal consultations start. During the consultations, SP is appropriately prescribed for the pregnant women to buy at the pharmacy, and to take when they reach home. Studies in some centres in Nigeria have shown the average gestational age at first antenatal visit to be around four months [53, 54].
Recruitment of respondents
A cross-sectional study design was used for this study, with respondents recruited from eight consecutive Monday clinics, from 30 January to 13 March, 2017. The one-proportion formula, Z1-α/22 p (1-p)/d2  was used to calculate the sample size for this study. Substituting 1.96 and 0.05 for ‘Z1-α/2’ and ‘d’ respectively, and reported IPTp uptake in Maiduguri (0.139)  as ‘p’, this gave a minimum required sample size of 184 participants. Fluency in Hausa (based on self-reporting), as well as being at their first antenatal care visit for the index pregnancy, were the criteria for eligibility for this study. Since the study also served as baseline for a prospective study, and therefore excluded those with pregnancies above five months as well as those with hypertension or diabetes mellitus, as they could affect the pregnancy outcomes [56, 57].
For each day of recruitment, a complete list of the attendees was obtained before the health talks get started, and those with any condition in the exclusion were screened out. The resultant list then served as the sampling frame for that day. Participants were then selected using a systematic random sampling method with 2 as the kth element. The first respondent was selected from the first two eligible attendees in the list, using the table of random numbers, and subsequent respondents were then selected by consecutively skipping one eligible respondent to select the next one, until the last eligible attendee.
Having taken the first IPTp dose was the dependent variable. The independent variables were: respondents’ characteristics, knowledge, motivation and self-efficacy toward IPTp.
Study instrument and data collection
Structured questionnaires (Additional file 1) comprising of five sections were used to collect data from the respondents. Section one was on participants’ characteristics, which had a total of nine questions. Section two assessed participants’ knowledge of IPTp-SP, with a set of eight questions, each having three options, ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘I don’t know’. A correct answer was scored one (1) point, while an incorrect answer or ‘I don’t know’ were scored zero (0). Section three assessed motivation, using two sets of questions: one set consisting of four questions on a Likert scale of five (scored from 1 to 5 points), while the other consisted of two questions, both on Likert scales of six (scored from 1 to 6 points). Section four assessed self-efficacy, with two questions on a Likert scale of four (scored from 1 to 4 points). Section five asked whether or not the respondents had taken any IPTp-SP.
The questionnaire was first developed in English language and then forwardly translated into Hausa language by a senior university academic staff of the linguistics department, following which the Hausa version was backwardly translated to English language by a different person of similar qualification. The original English version and the backward English translation were then compared by a public health specialist who was not part of the researchers. The Hausa version was then pre-tested on 190 respondents. The internal consistency was measured for sections 3 and 4, since there items were on scales, and the Cronbach’s alpha scores were 0.835 and 0.793 respectively, which was considered acceptable . A re-test with the same questionnaire was then given to 50 out of the initial 190 respondents two weeks later to test for reliability, and none of Cohen’s kappa values were less than 0.6 for the items of the knowledge section , while the intra-class correlation coefficients were above 0.7 for all items of the motivation and self-efficacy sections. Face-to-face interviews with the Hausa questionnaires were used to obtain information from the respondents. Five enumerators who were all fluent in Hausa language and had diplomas in Community Health were engaged.
The raw data obtained from the study is attached to this article as a spreadsheet file (Additional file 2). Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 22. Income level was categorized into those without any income, those who earned below, and those who earned at or above the Nigerian minimum wage (N18,000 per month). The total scores for knowledge, motivation and self-efficacy were obtained, and then categorised based on the cut-off point from a previous study , thus: ‘high’, if they were 70% or above of the total obtainable scores, and ‘low’, if they were less than 70% of the total obtainable scores for that variable. Frequency and percentage were used to summarise the categorical data. Chi squared test was performed to determine the association between IPTp uptake and the factors studied, after which factors with level of significance below 0.25 were included in a multivariate logistic regression to obtain the predictors of IPTp uptake.
Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the State Specialist Hospital (SSH/GEN/64/Vol.1) and Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects of the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) (UPM/TNCPI/RMC/188.8.131.52). Informed consent was also obtained from each respondent verbally, after they had been taken through the respondent information sheet. They were informed that their consent would be required to participate in a study in which they would be asked questions on their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding some aspects of malaria prevention. Even though they were highly encouraged to participate by the enumerators, it was made clear to them that participation was voluntary, and they may decide not to respond to certain questions without explanation. They were assured that their responses would remain anonymous, confidential, and strictly for research purposes. No additional consent was obtained from the husbands or guardians of those below 18 years, as they were considered emancipated minors, since they were married women.
As shown in the flow chart in Fig. 1, a total of 900 antenatal women had been approached to participate in the study, seven of whom declined without giving any reason, except not being interested; 134 were not eligible; while 379 were skipped in the systematic sampling process. This resulted in 380 respondents participating in the study, whose ages ranged from 15 to 45 years, with mean (SD) age of 26.5 (5.8) years. Respondents’ characteristics are presented in Table 1. Most of them were married in a monogamous setting (77.1%). Over half (54.7%) were unemployed, with only 7.6% earning up to the minimum wage as their monthly income. Of the respondents, 13.2% were primigravid, and almost a third (27.1%) had history of a previous miscarriage.
Table 2 shows the respondents’ responses to the various questions on IPTp. Less than half of them (42.1%) correctly identified Fansidar (Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine) as the drug used for IPTp, and a large number of them (41.8%) believed that IPTp could be harmful to their pregnancies.
As shown in Table 3, over a half of the respondents believed that taking all their IPTp medicines was very good for their pregnancies, (52.9%) while the others had some reservations about them, though to varying degrees. Less than a half however felt that taking their IPTp medicines was very pleasant (45.0%). As presented in Table 4, two respondents (0.5%) had stated that it was very untrue that their significant others thought that they should take all their IPTp medicines, but 27.4% said it was very true that their significant others thought that they should take all their IPTp medicines even when they were not feeling sick.
The respondents’ self-efficacy for taking IPTp is presented in Table 5. While four respondents (1.1%) said it was very hard for them to take all their IPTp medicines, around a half (49.5%) said it was very easy for them to take all their IPTp medicines even if they were experiencing mild discomforts while taking them. Less than a half (42.37%) had received their first dose of IPTp.
Table 6 shows the association between uptake of first IPTp dose and other factors studied. Level of knowledge was the only factor significantly associated with uptake of first IPTp dose (χ2 = 7.04, df = 1, p = 0.008).
In multivariate logistic regression, the model fit, as Hosmer Lemeshow significance value was 0.599. The Negelkerke’s R square, showed that the model explained only 3% variation in uptake of first IPTp dose. As presented in Table 7, having higher knowledge of IPTp was associated with about twice the odds of taking first IPTp dose, compared to those with lower knowledge of IPTp (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.18–2.94, p = 0.008).
Overall, only around a half of the respondents answered each of the questions on IPTp correctly. Responses for the motivation and self-efficacy sections were better, as less than one tenth gave a negative response to each of their items. Just over 40 % of the respondents in this study had taken their first dose of IPTp. Compared to a previous study in the south-southern part of Nigeria (41.3%) , a higher proportion in this study was aware of IPTp (65.0%). A higher level of awareness for IPTp (84.4%) had however been reported in a different study among ante-natal care attendees in the Federal Capital City, Abuja . In a rural community in the south-west, a lesser proportion of them were aware of IPTp (65.0% versus 67.0%), while a greater proportion knew that Fansidar (SP) was the recommended drug for IPTp (67.0% versus 64.8%) . This discrepancy points to the possible role of educational level and place of residence in influencing knowledge of IPTp. Health education is more likely to be intensified at secondary-level health centres (like the study location for this research) compared to Primary Health Care centres in the rural areas, which could explain the greater awareness of IPTp among the group in this study. However, since some level of education is likely to enable one identify the name of the medicine she received, the higher proportion of persons with some education among the rural population (92.3% versus 58.9%), was probably why more of them were able to correctly identify SP as the recommended drug for IPTp. It was also noted in this study that even though only 160 participants correctly identified SP as the drug for IPTp, a higher number (177) correctly stated that three tablets were given. This should be expected, as not all those who can recognise a drug may be able to identify its name. The general belief that medicines should be taken only after one has eaten, was probably the reason why only a few (34.7%) mentioned that SP for IPTp could be taken even on an empty stomach.
In the study location, SP is prescribed to antenatal care attendees by the health workers at the health facility. This could explain the positive attitudes of the women towards it, as only a negligibly small number felt it was either very bad or somewhat bad to their health, with most respondents believing that it was either very good or somewhat good. This highlights the possibility of great level of trust by the women for the health workers, as they seemed comfortable about the safety of the medicines their health workers had given to them. Only a negligibly low percent of the respondents stated that taking IPTp was either very unpleasant or somewhat unpleasant, which is not surprising, considering the general acceptability of SP among pregnant women in Nigeria, and the very few reported side effects, most of which are transient and tolerable  . Considering the culture in northern Nigeria where women most at times need to obtain permission from their husbands before leaving the house, even for antenatal care , a husband who would allow his apparently healthy wife to go to the hospital for antenatal care is likely to be a very supportive one, which could have accounted for the high social support for taking IPTp from the respondents’ significant others.
Uptake of first dose of IPTp in this study was better than the overall uptake of first IPTp dose in Borno state (13.9%)  which was probably because the national survey drew its respondents from the community, of which not all had necessarily commenced antenatal care. Also in this study, none of the studied socio-demographic characteristics had shown any significant association with uptake of first IPTp dose. By contrast, in Bangui, Central Africa, pregnant women with at least a secondary school education, were twice more likely to comply with IPTp compared to those with lower level of education, while those with some form of income, were four times more likely to comply with IPTp compared to those with no income at all . Another study in Ibadan, Nigeria, showed that educational attainment of nine years or less, significantly predicted IPTp non-usage .
Out of all the variables studied, only knowledge predicted uptake of first IPTp dose, which is similar to findings of a previous study in a rural community, where those with knowledge of IPTp were more than twice more likely to take IPTp compared to those who had no knowledge of it. Similarly, the same study found no significant association between educational level, age group, and occupation, with IPTp uptake . Unlike sleeping under an insecticide-treated net (ITN) , motivation and self-efficacy played no role in uptake of first IPTp dose, rendering IPTp the intervention with the greatest potential for achieving universal coverage if properly implemented. This is because taking IPTp is a one-time activity, unlike sleeping under an ITN which is a daily activity, requiring some form of motivation. Giving directly-observed treatment (DOT) also eliminates the chances of forgetfulness.
Among the limitations of the study was the subjective nature of some of its questions, and as such, the findings should be interpreted within that context. The study design also has an inherent problem of temporal relationship, making it difficult to ascertain whether they ab initio had a high knowledge of IPTp, which prompted them to take their first IPTp doses, or whether they got to have a high knowledge of IPTp only after they had taken it. Longitudinal studies are thus recommended to eliminate this problem of temporal relationship associated with cross-sectional studies. Important factors like ability to purchase the medication, should be incorporated in future studies. In addition, whether they had purchased the medication but not taken it needs to be studied. It is also recommended that to get more insight into the problem of IPTp uptake, especially with regards to motivation and self-efficacy, future studies should incorporate focus group discussions with patients and key informant interviews with antenatal staff and other service providers. Efforts should also be made to provide the drug free of charge at health centres, while observing DOT.
Knowledge and uptake of IPTp were below optimal levels in this study. Since knowledge of IPTp significantly predicts uptake of first IPTp dose, there is the need to implement health education campaigns to raise the awareness of pregnant women and their families on the need to receive and comply with it. IPTp should also be strongly emphasised at antenatal clinics during health education sessions.
Availability of data and materials
All data generated or analysed during this study are included as additional supporting files.
Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy
Federal Ministry of Health
Primary Health Care
World Health Organization
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Xiong X, Demianczuk NN, Saunders LD, Wang F, Fraser WD. Impact of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension on birth weight by gestational age. Am J Epid. 2002;155(3):203–9.
Obaid KA, Kadoori MN, Baker GM. Effect of maternal hypertension on neonatal outcome in Diyala Province, Iraq. Diyala J Med. 2013;5(2):69–74.
Tavakol M, Dennick R. Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. Int J med Educ. 2011;2:53–5. McHugh ML. Interrater reliability: the kappa statistic. Biochemia medica. 2012;22(3):276–82.
McHugh ML. Interrater reliability: the kappa statistic. Biochemia medica. 2012;22(3):276–82.
Obieche AO, Enato EFO, Ande ABA. Assessment of knowledge, interventional practices for, and impact of malaria in pregnancy among parturient women in a Nigerian tertiary healthcare facility. Trop J Pharm Res. 2015;14(6):1103–10.
Akaba GO, Otubu JAM, Agida ET, Onafowokan O. Knowledge and utilization of malaria preventive measures among pregnant women at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria’s federal capital territory. 2013;16(2):201–6.
Adebayo AM, Akinyemi OO, Cadmus EO. Knowledge of malaria prevention among pregnant women and female caregivers of under-five children in rural Southwest Nigeria. PeerJ. Niger J Clin Pract. 2015;3:e792.
Shamaki MA, Buang A. The socio-cultural behaviours of women’s health facilities utilisation. Mediterr J Soc Sci. 2015;6(4):517–23.
Balami AD, Said MS, Zulkefli NM, Bachok N, Audu BM. Knowledge, motivation, self-efficacy, and their association with insecticidal net use among pregnant women in a secondary health Centre in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Malar J. 2018;17:359.
The authors wish to appreciate their enumerators who conducted the face-to-face interviews, the respondents who participated in the study, and the antenatal care staff whose cooperation was handy in smoothly running the programme.
Consent to publication
No funding from any agency was received for this study.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Due to low literacy levels, informed verbal consent was obtained from each respondent after they had been taken through the respondent information sheet. No additional consent was obtained from the husbands or guardians of those below 18 years, as they were considered emancipated minors, since they were married women. The study protocol, as well as methods of obtaining consent, had been approved by the Ethics Committee of the State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri (SSH/GEN/64/Vol.1) and the Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects of the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM/TNCPI/RMC/184.108.40.206) before the study commenced.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Questionnaire This questionnaire contains five sections, thus: respondents’ characteristics; knowledge; motivation; self-efficacy and practice.
Data set This data set on IPTp coverage among antenatal care attendees of the health facility is presented in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Information for each respondent is presented in one row.
About this article
Cite this article
Balami , A.D., Md. Said, S., Mohd. Zulkefli, N.A. et al. Determinants of uptake of first dose of intermittent preventive treatment among pregnant women in a secondary health Centre in Maiduguri, Nigeria. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 20, 726 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-020-03388-8
- Intermittent preventive treatment
- Pregnant women

domain: health


- Energy Efficient Heating Systems.
- Air Conditioning.
- Duct Renovations.
- Garage Heaters.
- Hot Water Tanks.
- Tankless Water Heaters.
- Drain Cleaning
Annual HVAC System Maintenance Extends Equipment Life And Saves You Money In The Future.
Breathe Easy Heating & Air Conditioning’s Annual HVAC system maintenance consists of inspections, adjustments and preventive measures applied to the air conditioner, furnace, heat pump or other heating and cooling equipment.
This allows a trained and qualified HVAC technician at Breathe Easy Heating to visually examine the heating and cooling system to look for potential problems. We ensure any minor issues are corrected, and performance enhancements are made to ensure the best possible performance, even when seasonal demands are high.
Maintenance allows a technician to correct minor issues before they become significant and costly problems later. A hands-on inspection also allows a trained professional to identify areas needing larger-scale adjustments, replacements or repair.
A neglected HVAC system will degrade considerably. With an installed high-efficiency system, lack of maintenance will affect performance significantly enough to eliminate any benefits you once received from the efficiency. HVAC equipment that’s not regularly maintained will have a greater likelihood of malfunctions or breakdowns that will be costly to repair. In the worst situations, a neglected HVAC system can fail so severely that the only choice is complete replacement.
An annual HVAC system maintenance agreement will reduce the chance you’ll be affected by these issues. For more information on this or any of our services:
A Word From Our Customers
Would recommend this company to all my friends and family. Josh did an amazing job. He was friendly and worked very efficiently. Thank you!
We got our ducts cleaned by these guys. They Came early, were very friendly and professional. Seemed to be super efficient while doing a great job. Also needed a new thermostat and they had someone there with in an hour and everything was done within 30 minutes. Amazing field staff, will be using again! Very impressed.
I called during the week of EXTREME low temps in souther Alberta. My furnace was not warming my house properly and I suspected something was wrong. I have seen many posts on Facebook with people bragging about furnace service. The first thing I did was log onto Facebook and search for those posts go see who they were referring people to. It was Breathe Easy. I placed a call and even with the back up of calls they made an appointment for someone to come out the very next day. I got a call about 20 mins before my appointment time as the repair guy had finished his previous appointment early. Within 1 hour Adam had figured out the problem, picked up the new part and had it installed and furnace running. He gave me an idea of what the cost might be so I was prepared for the cost. The part was less than he expected and I was pleasantly surprised. He was kind, professional, patient, fast, knowledgeable, and even social while he worked. He let me blab on about how this whole thing had frustrated me and continued working. I can’t say enough good things about my experience with Breathe Easy. I now know why everyone on Facebook recommend them. I will make certain to do the same every chance I get. 11/10 stars for these guys. Their customers are important to them and it shows. Thank you all so much and special thanks to Adam! 👍
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text:
There are a couple of tricks my partner, Vicx, uses:
When there is corrosion on the aluminum, he sands the metal and sometimes even uses a dull knife to carve bumps and imperfections, then sands smooth.
He polishes with several different compounds; rough first and progressively finer.
The final mirror polish is accoumplished with a clean buffing wheel and light rouge. For smaller areas on windows, it's a Fordham wood carver with cloth wheel. For eyebrows and larger pieces, a buffing wheel on a bench grinder motor. (HF sells one)
NOTE: be VERY CAREFUL using the big buffer! It will catch the piece and pretzelize it, not to mention hurt a person.
NOTE #2: The Fordham Carver is a great little motor but will overheat if overused. It's designed to carve wood, so we had to rest it while working. It came with a flexible shaft and was hung overhead. A heavier duty motor would be better, but we didn't find one...
Nice work there Andy! I have always wondered what those hubcaps really look like. My Rod and Reel came with hubcaps like that, but they are so badly rusted, the chrome could not be saved. I still have them. One goes on the spare rim. The nice thing about these hubcaps is that they can clear some of the bearing caps that stick out far.
Chroming is very very expensive.
"I get that queasy how in the hell will this thing ever go back together feeling.” - PT


text:
Want to prepare the usual Nasi Lemak with a twist? Fry it! Go on, try it!
|A:||Alternatively replaced with MAGGI® Sambal Tumis Paste.|
|8||dried chilli, soaked in water and drained|
|4 tablespoons||corn oil|
|2 teaspoons||MAGGI® CukupRasa™|
|500 g||Nasi Lemak Rice|
1. Blend ingredients A in a blender.
Alternatively replaced with MAGGI® Sambal Tumis Paste.
2. In a pan, stir fry ingredients A and B until oil separates.
3. Add in ingredient C into the pan and stir thoroughly.
HACK: Got left over sambal? Just add in! Since it already has oil in it, you will consume less oil in this dish.
Energy 380 Kcal

domain: food


text:
Easy Chicken Spaghetti Recipe (+VIDEO) | Lil' Luna
This easy recipe calls for chicken, spaghetti noodles, cream of chicken, salsa, sour cream and cheese, making it the epitome of comfort food.
The Most Beautiful Black Winter Nails Ideas | Stylish Belles
Here are some cute winter nail designs between black and silver glitter nails, black and gold glitter nails, and black marble nails designs.
Strawberry cheesecake pudding pops
Nothing beats a refreshing popsicle recipe on these hot summer days. Of course, you can quickly stock up on store-bought frozen treats, but it's fun to make


text:
Sec. 4102.106. PLACE OF BUSINESS. (a) Each license holder who is a resident of this state or a business entity organized under the laws of this state shall:
(1) maintain a place of business in this state that is accessible to the general public; and
(2) maintain in the place of business the records required by this chapter.
(b) The address of the place of business must appear on the face of the license.
(c) The license holder shall promptly notify the commissioner of any change in the address of the license holder's place of business.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 728 (H.B. 2018), Sec. 11.082(a), eff. September 1, 2005.Section: Previous 4102.067 4102.068 4102.101 4102.102 4102.103 4102.104 4102.105 4102.106 4102.107 4102.108 4102.109 4102.110 4102.111 4102.112 4102.113 Next
Last modified: September 28, 2016

domain: law


text:
Actor Sunny Singh joins shoot of Prabhas starrer ‘Adipurush,’ Director Om Raut sends him Welcome Note and Flowers
Actor Sunny Singh has joined the cast of Prabhas – Saif Ali Khan starrer Adipurush, which is directed by Om Raut.
The wait for Sunny Singh’s fans is over now. Sunny has himself confirmed now that he is joining the shoot of Prabhas starrer Adipurush.
Sunny shared a welcome note by Adipurush’s director Om Raut for him and a bunch of flowers too. The welcome note has written, “Dear Sunny, Thank you again to be there…First day of our new journey together. God willing many more such. Luv, Om”. The note made Sunny Singh Fe much overwhelmed as he shared it on his Instagram story and wrote, “Thank you ❤ @omraut 🙏🏼.”
Talking about film Adipurush, it’s a big budget project of director Om Raut. The hype is real as the film features superstars like Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan in leading roles. Now, Sunny is also joining the cast.
Some reports have suggested that Sunny will be seen playing the role of Lord Laxman, as Prabhas is playing the role of Lord Rama. Whereas, Saif Ali Khan will be seen in a negative role as villain.
Recently, a fire break-out was also reported at the shooting sets. However, the filmmakers have rebuilt the set and everything is back to normal now.

domain: celebrity


text:
Penny Mordaunt MP calls for halt to interconnecter scheme
Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for BEIS
Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for MHCLG
Dear Kwasi and Robert,
Aquind Interconnector, Portsmouth
I am writing in my capacity as the MP for Portsmouth North. I am deeply concerned about any plans the UK has to import electricity via this interconnector scheme. I have already formally objected to Aquind’s project as their intended route runs through Portsmouth. With only three roads on and off the island, this would cause huge disruption to the city, stall much-needed development and our recovery from the pandemic as well as negatively impacting the local environment. Portsmouth City Council has also objected to the project and the chosen route.
However, in addition to these objections, I think there are serious strategic errors with relying on such programmes to deliver energy for the UK, both in terms of the UK's resilience but also wider issues concerned with future negotiations.
Under the TCA, at France’s insistence, the Energy Chapter runs out in 2026 at the same time as the Fishing agreement. They have been specific that the reason for this is to hold energy cooperation as a price for further access to UK fishing grounds (Minister le Drian’s speech to France 3 Bretagne in January of this year being one example of this).
It will be argued that the EU could not stop a French energy company selling to the UK, but increasing our dependence on French nuclear increases the likelihood it will become politicised and involved in any future discussions, in particular on fishing. To do so seems a bad idea and one I am sure UK fishermen would not support. We saw with the vaccine Article 122 issue that is at least possible. Whatever our plans regarding the freedom to take back control of our EEZ and for the UK to become a more resilient nation they are not served by reliance on such energy supplies.
Nor are there clear upsides for the UK either, as the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) have pointed out, because of pricing differences and uncertainty when cross border capacity is booked.
Our ambitions on the environment, on resilience and to maximise the full opportunities that come from Brexit are not helped by this scheme. I would urge that these issues are considered in full before determining if the scheme should go ahead. I have been raising these concerns since December 2018 and cannot overstate the strength of feeling from my city and many from across the Solent on this issue.
Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP

domain: politics


text:
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text:
Then in may I learned about the Sockalong - Met wonderful people, made great new friends, but socks were still a dauting task for me.
But a few weeks ago, things just clicked. And the knitting went pretty much without any trouble at all! My problem at the moment? Kitchener stitch. But I have faith. One day... One day I will master that thing.
Now, not only I have my first pair, I'm already starting a new one, and very happy about it! When you are able to do something you thought it was almost impossible, you feel amazing. :)
I'm also working on a cable cowl, and making a gift for grandma, while I create different color combos for new mandalas.
Crafting life sure is the best one!

domain: hobby


In most U.S. states, a typical 16-year-old can drive a car, get married, hold a job and pay taxes on the income they earn from that job. Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison believes there’s another thing 16-year-olds should be allowed to do: vote. Last week, Ellison tweeted, “I think the voting age should be lowered to 16. What do you think?” It wasn’t the first time he had expressed his view about the voting age; he did so in 2012, also on Twitter. Speaking with MinnPost last week, Ellison says he was inspired to take up the cause a few years ago, recalling a visit with high school students in Minneapolis. “One of the students said to me, ‘How come we can’t vote? We pay sales tax and payroll tax.’ I said, it makes a lot of sense to me. What could go wrong if 16-year-olds could vote? A lot could go right.” Continued visits with high school students have shored up that point of view: Ellison says he is frequently impressed by the knowledge of high school students, adding that they sometimes know more about the issues than adults.
National: Ellison tries to rally support for voter rights amendment, which would nullify voter ID laws | Star Tribune
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison is taking his case against voter ID laws straight to the Constitution. He and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat, are trying to encourage support for their “right to vote” amendment that will guarantee a citizen voting rights “in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides,” according to the resolution’s text. Ellison and Pocan are holding a voting rights forum in Minneapolis Thursday, which will feature leaders from Asian American and Somali groups. The members are two of the 32 House Democrats supporting this potential amendment.


text:
The National Mall is the hub of Washington, DC with the majority of tourist sites bordering its lawn. After a short metro ride from Dulles International Airport, travelers will find themselves in an open grassy expanse surrounded by internationally recognized museums and monuments steeped in history. A city best explored by foot, it’s easy to find yourself wandering from landmark to landmark and neighborhood to neighborhood all the way from Capitol Hill to Georgetown, the Upper Northwest, Dupont Circle, Shaw, and beyond.
Flights to and from Washington, DC (IAD) are offered seasonally. Dates may vary.
Why Go To Washington, DC
As the nation’s capital, Washington, DC holds a significant place in American history, but a vacation to Washington, DC offers so much more than a history lesson. Tour world-renowned museums, dine on culinary delights, and soak in the energy of an urban space that celebrates its past with festivals, national events, and cultural diversity. With so much to see and do, visitors to DC will find themselves wanting to come back again and again.
The Washington Monument in high spring bloom
Who Should Go
A perfect place for families to learn about the nation’s history at the numerous museums and memorials, many of which are free.
See history come to life while endlessly exploring the commemorative monuments, memorials, museums, and more.
Washington, DC offers a booming culinary scene featuring top chefs and cuisine from around the world.

domain: history


The fight against climate change is becoming a regional issue in West Africa. At the end of April, the 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted a common strategy for the year 2030, with the objective of strengthening their co-operation in adaptation policies and the elaboration of low greenhouse gas emitting development trajectories.
Common goals already exist, in the energy sector, for example, where ECOWAS countries aim to increase the share of renewable energy to 48% of the energy mix by the year 2030. The creation of efficient services in the fields of weather forecasting or natural disaster prevention is also already the subject of joint reflection. It is now a matter of going beyond this by providing for the most exposed sectors such as agriculture, solid assessments on the effects of global warming, and proposing responses on a regional scale. One of the avenues put forward is that of strengthening the shared grain storage system in order to cope with droughts and recurrent food crises. ECOWAS also intends to play a role in helping its member countries preserve their forests and the carbon stocks they represent.
"Climate change transcends borders. All our countries are affected by the increase in extreme phenomena, floods, heat waves, coastal erosion... We must assess and respond," said Sékou Sangaré, Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources at ECOWAS.
Some 400 million people live in West Africa, half of them in Nigeria. This number could reach 1 billion by 2050. The rapid retreat of the coastline, due to rising sea levels, is already forcing coastal communities to move inland. In the Sahel, where agriculture remains the dominant activity, recurrent droughts and increased rainfall variability are leading to more internal migration. As a result, the region will experience a temperature increase greater than the global average.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts, depending on the scenario, increases in temperature of between 1.9°C and 5.9°C by the end of the century. In a context of high population growth and chronic food insecurity, a significant impact on the yields of the main cultivated cereals is expected, with decreases ranging from 16% for sorghum to 25% for rice in the case of a temperature increase limited to 2°C.
"The cohabitation between herders and farmers is becoming increasingly difficult. The old transhumance tracks are occupied by farmers who have been forced to leave their land. This generates more and more conflicts and none of our countries is safe. We must find solutions by creating, for example, cross-border spaces where common rules for the development and use of space will be defined," continued Mr. Sangaré.
According to work on climate migration in West Africa published by the World Bank in 2021, as many as 32 million people could be forced from their homes by mid-century, with Niger and Nigeria being the two countries most affected.
Facilitating access to financing
All ECOWAS countries are party to the Global Climate Agreement signed in Paris in 2015 and have submitted their "national contribution" to the United Nations Climate Convention, in which they define their adaptation and mitigation objectives and assess their financial needs. Together, they amount to 294 billion dollars (279 billion euros) until 2030 – including 45 billion for adaptation – and are not within the reach of the states, as all but four of which (Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria) are among the least developed countries.
Although they contribute only 1.8% of global CO2 emissions, these countries, if they are to adhere to low-carbon development trajectories, are largely dependent on international financing. Accessing "international windows" such as the Green Climate Fund has often proven complex for governments with limited technical capabilities.
From this perspective, the move to the regional level could help overcome this difficulty. This is, in any case, one of the objectives of the regional strategy which, for example, plans to have the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) accredited to the Green Fund in order to facilitate access to financing.
The European Union, which supported the development of this regional strategy, has also committed to supporting its implementation. In a context where several states are going through deep political crises, this supranational project – provided it has real resources – can also ensure the continuity of climate action by overcoming local upheavals.


Introduction: Jig for Laser Engraving Thin Material
Laser engraving is a great way to work with a lot of materials, but holding thin materials in place is often a challenge.
I've been working with a thin 3M 7847 laser marking tape, and tried various ways to hold it still while I was engraving it.
What I finally settled on was a simple jig that I made using two very thick 18" straight edges and a piece of thick acrylic.
I use a very light temporary repositionable spray adhesive on the acrylic to hold the tape in place.
I also made a simple template which I engraved onto the jig itself. This means that I can push the jig flush against the edge of the engraver to get consistent positioning of the origin each time.
I made it at Techshop!
Teachers! Did you use this instructable in your classroom?
Add a Teacher Note to share how you incorporated it into your lesson.
Step 1: Material Acquisition
I used two Stanley 24" straight edges with fluid levels. They're about an inch thick, and are straight and level, as expected.
I also used a piece of green acrylic, 24"x10", that I bought at Techshop. I used ~1/4" thick acrylic so that it would be rigid.
Step 2: Assembly
I wasn't sure how well this would work, so I just used what I had on-hand - and it's stayed together and worked well!
I simply used long strips of wide masking tape to attach the rules to the edges of the acrylic. If you start on the outer edges, the straight edges will match the edge of the acrylic quite accurately. I think it's <2mm error on mine.
Step 3: Template Design
The 3M material that I used came on a roll and is 4" wide. So I decided that I wanted to put two strips of it side by side. I made a very simple template, with two rectangles to show me where to attach the tape, and an X in the upper left corner.
I then engraved this onto my piece of acrylic. I made the lines in my template a couple points thick, and used raster engraving - this meant that the laser engraved a ~1mm wide band. If you just use vector cutting, then you'll get a very precise line but it will be hard to see.
I use Illustrator. The alignment marks are on a separate layer in my template with printing turned off.
Step 4: Using the Jig
Read the instructions for your spray mount. Make sure you get the lowest tack spray mount that works! Some of the spray mounts give you instructions about adjusting the drying time before you attach your material to adjust the level of adhesion.
I use the spray / powder coating room at Techshop to spray the adhesive, then I take the jig into the laser room and attach my material to it.
Once I got a low enough tack adhesive, I've found it to be simple and reliable.


text:
Kumasi Oversized Chair
or $43/mo suggested payments w/ 12 mos special financing See Details Based on retail price of $509.99 (sales & promotions excluded)
Details & Overview
My Closest Store
- Smooth 360-degree swivel
- Loose seat cushion
- Corner-blocked frame
- High-resiliency foam cushion wrapped in thick poly fiber
- 3 back pillows included
- Pillows with soft polyfill
- Polyester interior upholstery and pillows; vinyl/polyester/polyurethane exterior upholstery
- Excluded from promotional discounts and coupons
- Outback and Front Rail: Polyester (25)%,Polyurethane (8)%,PVC (67)%
- Cushion and Backs: Polyester (100)%
- Back: Polyester (100)%
Weight141.54 lbs. (64.2 kgs.)
- Width: 58.00"
- Depth: 54.00"
- Height: 39.00"
- Seat height: 21.00"
- Seat depth: 22.00"
- Arm height: 26.00"
- Distance between arms: 39.00"
- Minimum width of doorway for delivery: 32.00"
- Top of cushion to top of back: 21.00"
- 26" Back Pillow Width: .00"
- 26" Back Pillow Depth: .00"
- 26" Back Pillow Height: .00"
2 months ago
Original Price $104.99Sale Price $89.24Description
This geometric patterned pouf is like eye candy for a room. It only takes one or a few to really dress up a space. Round shape doubles as a seat or footrest. Rest assured, the neutral/gray color palette will blend in beautifully.
- Handmade construction
- Neutral/gray tone
- Feel-good cotton cover with zipper
- Dense polystyrene filling allows pouf to be supportive/hold its shape
- Spot clean pouf for best results
Daponte 7'6" x 10' Rug
Original Price $349.99Sale Price $199.99Description
Roll out an ultra-cool, on-point look with the Daponte trellis-pattern area rug. Low-pile weave includes a touch of ribbed texture and loads of tone variation. The essence of easy living, rug’s soothing neutral palette is exceptionally versatile.
Beagan Wall Art (Set of 2)
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Even if you can’t be there…you can at least enjoy the view. This set of wall art captures the easy-breezy vibe of escaping to your favorite seaside overlook. Giclee reproduction casts lights on the mood and magic of black-and-white photography.