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Pierre Oriola (Tarrega, 26 years, 2.06) is an athlete who had to go through many adversities before leaving behind the anonymity of the LEB (Spanish 2nd division), where he played with Manresa, Forca Lleida and Penas Huesca.
However, in these last four years, his career has gained momentum. It was the Sevilla team of Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez that opened for him the door to the ACB in 2014. With Pedro Martinez’s Valencia, he conquered the Spanish League and got an invitation to the country’s NT. When FC Barcelona came in with a four-year contract and the one-million-euro clause already paid for, Oriola had to prove that he could become a key piece in coaches Sito Alonso’s and Svetislav Pesic’s picture.
No matter if Barca wins or loses, the Spanish forward is constantly the toughest player on his team and also the one that is willing to give everything on the floor just for the sake of the blaugrana (blue and red) jersey. TalkBasket.net met him after the Catalans had crushed Olympiacos Piraeus at the Peace and Friendship Stadium (55-76), in a conversation about basketball, leadership, Euroleague legends and, of course, players who enjoy the privilege to play for their favourite team!
Tip: Don’t miss the second part of the interview with Pierre Oriola, where he talks about his other “love”, apart from Barca.
Q: What made the difference for Barca tonight?
A: The high level of aggressiveness that we had since the beginning and until the end of the game. We have been more aggressive in the passing lines, in defense and that has made Olympiacos not feel comfortable. It is a team that runs very well in fastbreak situations and plays a lot in transition. We didn’t let them do that and they did not manage to find their game. We were able to contain them every time they attempted to get closer.
Q: It seemed that you learned your lesson from the game against them in Barcelona, especially in the rebounding department.
A: Above all, we learned that we must avoid the easy baskets that they make in fast-break. Spanoulis’s open triples have not been so successful. Let’s not forget that in the beginning of the second quarter he clearly dominated the game and he was the main reason that our lead was cut down. I think that we did well on rebounds, predominantly the offensive ones. That was the key to Olympiacos winning the first game in Barcelona.
Q: Last year FC Barcelona got an easy win against the same opponent at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. It seems that this particular gym suits your team.
A: It is not easy, since Olympiacos is a very talented, experienced team that has played in many Final Fours, having won two of them. Especially in their home-court, where there are so many people, it is very difficult to beat them. If you start the game well and you are able to take away their fast-breaks, their aggressiveness and their game in transition, it becomes much easier to win.
Q: Do you think you have a better group of players this season than last year?
A: Yes, especially the important thing is that we have maintained a core of players from last year, with the same coach and the same philosophy. We have added players with experience in Euroleague such as Pangos and Singleton, young people like Pustovyi who help a lot when they are on the court; Kyle Kuric also as a new reinforcement, although he’s not having his best time because he doesn’t score so much. The group is very good because we have kept many players from last year.
Q: To what extent does this win change Barca’s goals?
A: At the moment, we want to qualify to the play-offs and get as high as possible. After this victory we surpassed Olympiacos in the standings. You have to be optimistic: we must take the third position that Efes now has and then try to beat them, too. Every time you win games like that, you feel closer to reaching your goals. I believe that the fourth or fifth place can give you the privilege of not playing against the three teams that are ahead in the standings (Fener, Real Madrid, CSKA) throughout the whole season. They are a priori the favourites to be in the Final Four and also the most experienced of teams. Because of that, we have to try to get the fourth position if we can and if not, keep the fifth one.
Q: You signed a four-year contract with Barca in 2017. That’s a long time, at least for European standards. How do you envision your future with the team?
Α: I’m happy. I had always dreamed of playing for Barca since I was little and now I have fullfiled my dream. The truth is that I am super-happy to be in a club that respects me a lot. I am very fond of Barca, but there were many times that I also suffered watching the team both in football and basketball. I remember, for instance, the triple of Printezis that left Barca out of the Final Four (in 2015).
Q: I guess you know that Printezis is a die-hard Olympiacos fan.
A: Well, very much so. He has spent his entire life here. In the end, it’s his club. He loves it and, apart from that, he is a great player and whom I really admire very much.
Q: How is it for you and Ante Tomic to take the reins of the team from Juan Carlos Navarro? How is the team without him?
A: I think nobody can take the reins from Juanki because, in the end, Juan Carlos is a unique player, a legend. It is impossible to take the reins from him or become what he has been. That said, the team is totally new without him. We are a team without a brilliant player or a star. Well, we had to reinvent ourselves to build a good group without Navarro.
Q: Do you think Spanoulis could surpass him as the best scorer in the history of Euroleague?
A: I don’t know how many more years Spanoulis is going to play, but obviously it could happen. Spanoulis is also a great player, a legend of the Euroleague and of European basketball in general and if he keeps performing at this level for many years, why not?
Q: Is Pau Gasol going to join the Spanish National Team in the upcoming World Cup?
A: I hope so. I wish he would. It would be for the good of Spain if he could play and help the National Team to try -why not?- to win the World Cup.
Q: Have you talked to him?
A: No, I know he was injured some time ago. I guess that Navarro is going to do that (laughs).


This article featured in retailbiz includes thoughts from Steve Dennis, who is in an expert in the reinvention of retail in the age of digital disruption. We have previously featured his articles about omnichannel retailing, branding and more in MIAnews, and we have had the feedback that they’ve been timely and informative. Here, he explains how important it is for retailers to step-up and illuminate their points of difference to create a remarkable customer experience.
We have previously featured these articles in MIAnews that you may also be interested in:
President of retail consultancy Sageberry Steve Dennis told the audience of New Retail 19 that physical retail is here to stay for those retailers that redefine the customer experience with a unique offering through eight key steps.
As a record number of retailers file bankruptcies, Mr Dennis told the audience that while the sector is transforming rapidly with the rise of Amazon and the challenge of omnichannel, it is only the ‘middle’ retailers that are collapsing under the “retail apocalypse.”
Retailers without a point of difference are “drowning in a sea of sameness,” he says, with those retailers who are either able to sell on mass or offer a premium experience those who will stay afloat.
“What is going on is the collapse of the middle – on one end we have mass merchants like Amazon and on the other end we have more premium, experiential retailers. Then we have retailers stuck in the middle, who are not quite the cheapest or fastest. Trapped in a boring, mediocre middle,” he said.
If retailers find themselves “stuck in the middle,” they should “pick a lane,” Mr Dennis said, with the most viable choice in the current retail climate to create a memorable experience for customers.
Becoming fundamentally more “remarkable” is the secret to succeeding in the new retail world, Mr Dennis said, and this involves eight key steps.
Eight steps to remarkable retail
Harmonising retail channels, creating a memorable customer experience and engaging with consumers across multiple mediums are among eight secrets to creating a remarkable retail experience, according to Mr Dennis.
Building best in class e-commerce capabilities is essential to create a remarkable retail experience, Mr Dennis said.
With a large majority of sales starting in the digital channel, retailers need to be creating a seamless digital experience for consumers across multiple devices.
Crafting a customer-centric experience is essential to a competitive retail strategy, Mr Dennis said.
This means having an in-depth understanding of your customer, and tailoring services to their needs.
Harmonising retail channels essentially means embracing omnichannel, according to Mr Dennis.
Retailers need to illuminate friction or pain points for the customer and find what it is the customer really values, and amplify it.
Personalising the customer experience through loyalty or other rewards programs can also elevate your retail strategy, Mr Dennis told the audience.
Leveraging data to provide a tailored experience is also essential, he said.
Ensuring that your commerce strategy facilitates seamless mobile and smart device usage is also critical.
Utilising social media and other digital channels to connect with your customers underpins a good retail strategy, Mr Dennis said.
This means crafting content in line with your consumer’s interests, and targeting consumers with the relevant channels.
Retailers need to focus on creating a memorable retail experience, by offering customers something unique and personalised, Mr Dennis said.
This means delivering a tailored and relevant customer experience product.
Embracing experimentation in your retail strategy is another tenet of success, Mr Dennis said.
In a rapidly changing world, being forward-thinking is crucial to success.


Interns gather around to listen to
David's engrossing stories.
John Barth is the director of Public Radio Exchange, a website that is "a web-based marketplace for public radio pieces. Programmers find and air work from other stations, independent producers and international broadcasters. Producers - station-based or independent - license their work directly to stations." (Taken from the website at www.prx.org. For more information about PRX, please go to the website. )
John encourages the group to add their
own radio pieces onto PRX's site.
We would like to thank both David and John for taking some time out of their day to speak with us.
Bertina Yu, Washington Desk/IE Blog Editor


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The Infinity Institute Overview
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We unconditionally welcome everybody who is keen on extending their expert abilities with Hypnotherapy.
This incorporates: social laborers, addictions advocates, attendants, specialists, analysts, medicinal services suppliers, advisors, physical advisors, cops, comprehensive experts, dental specialists, chiropractors, knead advisors, ministry, educators, mentors and everybody who is keen on mind power.
Training Programs at The Infinity Institute
- Basic/Self Hypnosis Course
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- Holistic Hypnoanalysis Course
Price Range: Check website for updated details.

domain: medical


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Last year the community lost the opportunity to see LIVE performances by our local theatres. The performers rehearse countless hours to offer superb onstage performances for our entertainment. This coming week both our local theaters have weekend shows sure to bring a smile to your face. Although both theaters are open for the performances below at 100 percent capacity, tickets are moving fast.
Moving into their second weekend of a three-weekend engagement, The Players Theatre Company hosts the classic “Cabaret” set in 1929-1930 Berlin as the Nazi’s are gaining control. The musical focuses on the seedy nightlife at the Kit Kat Klub and the relationship between an American writer and an English cabaret performer. As time passes, however, the situation in Berlin changes from exciting and vital to ominous and violent. Described as a “fierce musical”, the singing and dance have many adult themes. Tickets are available at OwenTheatre.com

domain: entertainment


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Ever since I shot Tracy & Nick engagement, I had been looking forward to their wedding day. We had so much fun with their engagement session, so I knew that their wedding is going to be a blast as well. Indeed, it was…They picked a nice, sunny day of Spring season to do their wedding and gorgeous nearby the harbor location as their venue. With many forms of entertainment, like the Vietnamese traditional dress fashion show and the flying of red lanterns, their wedding was a memorable event. In addition, my jaws dropped when Tracy and her father did the Bebop dance. They were truly amazing dancers. There was no dance floor, and they had to dance on the grass. But that didn’t slow them down one bit. Tracy and her dad were like floating in air with their awesome dance moves. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your fun, special day.
Up next is the Ao Dai fashion show Tracy + Nick had for their wedding. With beautiful models and amazing Ao Dai Collection by Calvin Hiep, it was spectacular.

domain: artistic


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Unprecedented pressure on supply chains has led to food buyers in the UK’s biggest organisations reporting a 60% increase in food waste over the last six months, according to a new study by Sodexo.
Sodexo says this “surge” casts doubt on the food industry’s ability to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, and hampers progress to net zero.
The study, commissioned by catering and facilities management business, Sodexo, evaluates how large organisations are navigating what it calls the “current supply chain crisis” and its impact on food waste and carbon emissions.
The study found that 83% of respondents say they have created a more resilient supply chain after the pandemic, however, food waste is increasing for a majority of companies.
Sodexo’s findings relating to a rise in self-reported food waste are worrying, but not unexpected given the pressures put on supply chains in recent years.
Sodexo’s research suggests that to increase their resilience, UK food supply chain heads are increasingly diversifying their supplier base by working with smaller suppliers, with over a third (38%) doing so. 35% are also looking to source more food domestically.
SMEs form the backbone of this approach, it states, with 81% saying the current supply chain crisis has emphasised the need to source more from SMEs.
Some suppliers are eager to collaborate further, with 38% agreeing that the sharing of best practice with SME partners in the supply chain to improve efficiencies will best help address the UK’s supply chain challenges.
Diversifying the food supply chain
Reducing food waste is a critical part of minimising carbon emissions in the supply chain. Despite this, over one third (35%) of respondents admit to deprioritising food waste due to the ongoing challenges in the supply chain over the past year.
A similar proportion (34%), however, do support the introduction of mandatory food waste reporting which is proposed in the Government’s recently published food strategy.
Commenting on the findings Aoife Wycherley, Head of Supply Chain & Food Procurement at Sodexo, said: “Diversifying the food supply chain is essential for building resilience. SMEs can enable greater agility because they’re more flexible, innovative and, tend to drive domestic food sourcing which, in turn, can reduce carbon by cutting down on air and freight usage.
“This makes having SMEs in the supply chain essential for those that need to maintain supply and meet climate targets. Carbon data reporting is, however, a huge burden for small businesses, and we need greater industry collaboration from large organisations to support them with this challenge in order to achieve net zero in the supply chain.”
Diversifying the food supply chain is essential for building resilience
Today’s findings come as Sodexo continues its work with SMEs. These account for three-quarters of its supply chain and for 44% of its spend, enhancing its resilience to continue delivering meals to customers, despite the external market shocks the industry is facing.
Keith James, Head of Policy and Insights, WRAP Through Courtauld 2030, WRAP has partnered with Sodexo to tackle climate change, food waste and water stewardship. Sodexo’s findings relating to a rise in self-reported food waste are worrying, but not unexpected given the pressures put on supply chains in recent years.
“WRAP will publish data later this year to show where the UK is in terms of tackling food waste, GHG emissions connected with our food and drink, and water stewardship.
“Every business can make a difference by instigating the Target-Measure-Act approach, but not all have the flexibility to adopt strategies quickly with competing pressures. That is why WRAP published new Scope 3 protocols for measuring GHG emissions linked to the food we make, sell and eat.”

domain: news


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It's the revolutionary road that transformed our lives and became the backbone of Britain.
Today our first motorway is better known for its jams, long delays and stressful journeys as 300,000 cars squeeze on to its 193 miles every day. But the M1, which links London with Leeds, is about to turn 60.
So a TV documentary has lifted the lid on this iconic north-south route.
Here we journey through its history, picking up fascinating facts along the way...
A nationwide motorway network was discussed as early as 1923 but the Second World War and cash shortages meant it only got the go-ahead in the 1950s.
The first motorway section was the eight mile Preston bypass (now part of the M6), opened in 1958.
But three years earlier, Sir Owen Williams, who designed the old Wembley, was asked to deliver the first part of the ambitious M1, a 54-mile stretch linking Watford (Junction 5) with Crick/Rugby (J18).
Digging started in 1957 but Williams changed the design from two lanes to three. There were 132 futuristic bridges but no crash barriers, central reservation or lighting.
It was one of the biggest projects the country had seen yet Sir Owen brought it in on time, 19 months later, and on its budget of £16m.
Architectural critic Jonathan Glancey said: “They were building a national road for the first time since the Romans – with incredible speed.
“It was a mile every eight days and a bridge every three days.” (When 14 miles was made four lanes in 2009 it took three years.)
Some 5,000 workers shifted 20 million tonnes of earth and rock.
Transport Secretary Ernest Marples opened the M1 on November 2, 1959, but seemed horrified by the speed of the traffic, muttering: “My God, what have I started?”
His speech warned that “the speed is so great the senses may be numbed and judgment warped”.
That was because the M1 had no speed limit. Ex- traffic cop Les Barker, who patrolled from day one, said: “It was designated a ‘special road’ and free of speed restrictions. So all hell let loose.”
Cars were hurtling along at more than 100mph yet families would stop on the hard shoulder to picnic, stroll or snooze.
The unofficial M1 speed record was set in April 1964 on a stretch near Northampton. The AC Cobra was due to race in the Le Mans 24 hour and the weekend before, in the early hours of the morning, its drivers opened up the throttle near Watford Gap services. They hit 185mph, sparking a police probe and a front page Daily Mirror story.
In 1965 the 70mph limit was trialled and went nationwide in 1967.
Congestion means the average M1 speed today is just 47.5mph.
While drivers got the speed bug their cars weren’t used to doing over 50mph and many overheated. On day one, out of 13,000 vehicles, 100 broke down in the first 10 miles.
The first AA trucks had rubber bumpers to push vehicles to safety and mechanics had unusual ways to alert cars to hazards.
One AA man said: “I’d tip petrol on rags, set fire to it and throw it into the road. When the rags had been used up I used to throw the rest of the petrol across the motorway and set fire to it.
“But it didn’t stop all of them – they’d go through the flames into the cars in the accident.”
The M1 proved a huge boost to firms and the majority of freight moved off the railways on to motorways.
Today, almost everything we buy travels by motorway. On an average Wednesday truckers will drive one million miles in 24 hours on the M1.
There are 14 service stations and in the 1960s they were considered the height of sophistication.
People would travel to them especially for a meal out and some even had silver service restaurants.
Watford Gap’s Blue Boar services became a hotspot for the music stars of the Swinging 60s, with bands on tour stopping to meet up.
The Beatles, The Hollies and The Rolling Stones were all regulars and pop mags told fans it was “the place where you can meet the stars for the price of a cup of tea”.
When Jimi Hendrix first came to London he thought the Blue Boar was a nightclub where he should play.
In 1958 graphic designers Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert revamped road signs in readiness for the motorway era. Old signs varied widely and were in capital letters – hard to read on the move.
Kinneir and Calvert rigorously tested type sizes and styles, colours and backgrounds.
Their designs were three times bigger than old ones. Those signs are still used today and are considered design classics.
ACCIDENTS & CLOSURES
In 1958 there were 4.5 million cars compared to 28 million today but there were twice as many fatalities on early motorways as there are today. In March 1972 nine people died when 200 vehicles crashed in thick fog on the M1 near Luton.
The M1 has also been shut due to bomb scares, movie filming, fires and extreme weather.
DIANA’S FINAL JOURNEY
On September 6 1997, Princess Diana’s cortege went from London to her family home at Althorp, Northants.
It joined the M1 at Brent Cross with mourners lining the road.
Large sections of the northbound carriageway were closed and, in an unprecedented move, police allowed pedestrians on to the hard shoulder.
- M1: The Motorway That Made Britain, Wednesday 8th August at 9pm on Channel 5

domain: geography


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domain: sociology


There are four main areas of proposed government action that will have an impact on small and growing businesses in the UK. While government action rarely reduces bureaucracy, the proposed Enterprise Bill (coming on the heels of one earlier this year) will seek to do just that. Meanwhile, changes to tax legislation will impact both sides of the balance sheet and Britain’s place in Europe will be the subject of a referendum.
The Coalition Government made much of its Red Tape Challenge and this ambition to ease the burdens on SMEs has carried into the new government’s agenda. The Enterprise Bill aims to support small businesses by cutting red tape and reducing regulatory costs, which represent higher fixed costs for SMEs. One of the most important announcements was a Small Business Conciliation Service aimed at resolving business-to-business disputes, notably around late payment. The government claims this would save small suppliers a collective £10bn a year.
Jonathan Riley, Head of Tax, Grant Thornton, would like to see a slight shift in focus: “The Coali-tion Government did a lot to reduce regulation for the smallest firms, but mid-sized businesses are reporting regulation as an increasing challenge.”
He adds that the government is right to look at the role of regulators. “We are increasingly hearing from clients that it is the inconsistent or over-zealous application of regulations – rather than the regulations themselves – that get in the way of growth.”
Combatting late payments will be welcomed by the many small businesses that have suffered a cash-flow crisis because of an invoice dispute. The move means finance teams should spend less time chasing money and more time on areas such as forecasting, strategy and risk management.
There were also plenty of proposals around tax, affecting both the supply and demand sides of businesses’ balance sheets. The National Insurance Contributions Bill (Finance Bill) delivers the so-called “triple lock” proposed by the Conservatives. It promises not to raise VAT, NI contribution rates, or income tax rates for the life of the parliament, while the personal allowance will rise to £12,500 by 2020. This will undoubtedly help stimulate consumption (and potentially help to tackle deflation) across the economy, as consumers enjoy higher disposable income. It will also mean smaller businesses won’t have to absorb the impact of higher VAT rates.
Despite the rhetoric, with its commitment to deficit reduction it is unclear how much stimulus will be injected. As James Hender, partner and head of private wealth, at accountants Saffery Champ-ness, explains: “It is worth keeping in mind that many levers remain which can be pulled by the Chancellor to adjust tax levels, particularly around thresholds and timing. With the triple tax lock in place, it will be interesting to see how ingenious and creative he needs to be to meet that commit-ment and raise more money.”
After the Queen’s speech, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “As part of our long-term plan to back working people and make work pay, the government is determined to reward work by letting people keep even more of the money they earn.”
Further support for workers comes in the form of the Childcare Bill. This aims to give working families 30 hours a week of free childcare for three and four-year-olds for 38 weeks a year. Small businesses, which often struggle to replace key members of staff, will undoubtedly welcome this proposal.
The EU Referendum Bill legislates for a referendum before the end of 2017. While large business-es will undoubtedly take a big part in the forthcoming debate on Europe, medium-sized businesses are also encouraged to set out their arguments.
Paul Etherington, Partner, at Grant Thornton says: “An EU Referendum creates further uncertainty for business, but at least this Bill starts to provide clarity on the timetable and process. It’s im-portant that the views of mid-sized businesses are heard in this debate. The media often reports what small firms and big business thinks, but neglects the views of those in the mid-market.”
For the IoD director general, Simon Walker, it’s time to get on with it. “Now that the referendum has been confirmed, the important thing is that we get on with negotiating reform. The status quo is not an option. Business wants reform in the way the EU works to give individual governments more control in managing labour markets and economies.”
Quite how small and medium-sized businesses can add to this debate remains to be seen, but there are potentially major risks and issues for those relying on a small number of business customers in the EU or firms dependent on highly-skilled, non-British workers.
Migration restrictions will be welcomed by many, but they place pressures on businesses needing to draw on global talent. As Walker explains, “We understand the government must respond to public concerns on immigration, and responsible businesses have no objections to crackdowns on employers who break the rules. But proposals to charge employers who employ migrants an addi-tional levy will add further costs on top of visa fees.”
The changing balance of power across the UK and the pressure for devolution was covered in three bills: the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, the Scotland Bill and the Wales Bill.
The first gives the central government the right to impose mayors on cities. These mayors would enjoy powers over transport and regeneration. The idea of greater local democracy sounds appealing, but some are warning it will lead to greater local bureaucracy.
This is the concern of Philip Duffy, Managing Director of corporate finance advisors Duff & Phelps, “I am all for greater powers but not for greater democracy devolving to the regions. The latter sounds great in theory but what it often means is increased power for second-rate politicians and an expensive local democratic process.”
On a national level, The Scotland Bill carries out the recommendations of the Smith Commission, enabling the Scottish parliament to alter rates of income tax, and giving it greater control over VAT. The Wales Bill gives the Welsh Assembly further powers, including over ports and energy developments.
The priority of politicians is to stimulate the local economy and to increase local business funding and telling seed-to-sapling growth stories. For Walker, this represents the biggest economic opportunity. “Business leaders across the country stand ready to work with local authorities and mayors to take greater control of decision-making in areas including transport and planning in order to promote growth and employment.”


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This Masala is spicy, tangy south Indian dish made with bitter gourd and tamarind. Many would not like bitter gourd. All moms will be in a mission to add this bitter vegetable in the menu. You can make this gravy, as you will not feel the bitterness. There will be light sweetness in the gravy as we add jaggery. Jaggery always enhances the flavor of tamarind based gravy. Bitter gourd is a healthy vegetable and it is very god for diabetics. Stay tuned with my space for post on pavakai chips – a delicious snack/ side. Now let’s move onto this Pavakai / Bitter Gourd Masala recipe.
Pavakai / Bitter Gourd Masala
- 150 Grams Pavakai / bitter gourd
- 1/2 cup Shallots
- 5 Cloves Garlic
- Tamarind – a lemon sized
- 1 tbsp Sambar powder
- 1 tbsp Jaggery
- Salt – as required
- 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
- few Curry leaves
- 3 tbsp Sesame oil/ Gingelly oil
- Hing – a pinch
- 2 Dry Red chili
- Cut the bitter gourd into thin slices and keep them soaked in salt and buttermilk. This reduces little bitterness.
- Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of water and extract the juice.
- In a pan, add sesame oil. This gives a wonderful taste to the Masala.
- Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds. The oil will start to foam.
- Add curry leaves, dry red chilies and hing.
- Now add shallots and garlic pods. Cook till it turns soft.
- Add sambar powder and tamarind water. (Taste and add tamarind water accordingly)
- Let it come to a boil.
- Now add sliced pavakai/ bitter gourd, jaggery and salt.
- Let it simmer for 10 mins or till oil floats on top.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
If you like the recipe, Please like, share and subscribe!

domain: food


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Wall Street Breakfast, Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business news summary, is a one-page summary that gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news. It's designed for easy readability on the site or by email (including on mobile devices), and is published before 7:00 AM ET every market day.
Wall Street Breakfast readership of over 900,000 includes many from the investment-banking and fund-management industries.
Sign up here to receive the Wall Street Breakfast in your inbox every business day: http://seekingalpha.com/account/email_preferences
Jake Huneycutt is a former Portfolio Manager. Jake holds an MBA degree with a concentration in finance from Emory University. He earned a Master of Accounting degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his B.A. in History from East Tennessee State University. Jake is originally from Johnson City, TN and currently splits time between Boston, MA and Atlanta, GA.
David Fry writes a subscription newsletter focused on technical analysis of exchange-traded funds, called ETF Digest (www.etfdigest.com). Dave founded the ETF Digest in 2001 and was among the very first to see the need for a publication that provided individual investors with information and actionable advice on global ETF investing.
We particularly like the overview of financial markets that his work provides. Even if you're not a fan of chart analysis, Dave provides insight and commentary into which global markets are "working" and why.
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text:
The spurt in corona cases points to a third wave of the global pandemic, as is being seen in many other countries. After looking at the nature of covid infection in India in the last seven to 10 days, experts have predicted that the country will soon reach the peak of the third wave. The crisis in Delhi may deepen in the coming days, due to which the government may decide to impose a weekend curfew.
Weekend curfew in Delhi
The Union Health Ministry official told in a conversation with a channel that – Delhi can see 20-25,000 cases a day till mid-January. It is a matter of concern that the number of patients admitted to the hospital may increase in those days. In this episode, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) can consider new restrictions.
The DDMA, in its last meeting on December 29, had decided that the restrictions imposed under the ‘yellow alert’ in Delhi would continue as the number of patients admitted to the hospital was low. Delhi has entered a phase of ‘Level 4’ (red alert) restrictions, with a ban on most activities and a complete curfew. A ‘red alert’ is implemented after the infection rate exceeds five percent for two consecutive days.
According to sources, Tuesday’s meeting will consider whether anything more needs to be done to control the spread of Omicron. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told the Assembly on Monday that though daily cases are increasing in the city, the situation is under control as most of the people are not showing severe symptoms or need to be hospitalised. He said that no patient infected with Omicron has needed oxygen in Delhi hospitals so far.


text:
Sand sculpting is the practice of modeling sand into an artistic form. These artists create mind-boggling sculptures using only sand.
The detail and mastery required to achieve such a feat is a beauty to watch on its own and just as impressive as the finished sculpture. Sand sculptors are often employed by companies wanting a new and hip way to advertise something or get an idea across in an unconventionally beautiful manner.
United Arab Emirates
Sand Sculpture Show
Festival, Public Event, Private Party, Exhibition


text:
|Pronunciation||/ˈæstətiːn, -tɪn/ |
|Appearance||unknown, probably metallic|
|Astatine in the periodic table|
|Atomic number (Z)||85|
|Group||group 17 (halogens)|
|Electron configuration||[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p5|
|Electrons per shell||2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 7|
|Phase at STP||solid (predicted)|
|Density (near r.t.)||8.91–8.95 g/cm3 (estimated)|
|Molar volume||23.6 cm3/mol (estimated)|
|Oxidation states||−1, +1, +3, +5, +7|
|Natural occurrence||from decay|
|Crystal structure|| face-centered cubic (fcc)|
|Naming||after Greek ástatos (ἄστατος), meaning "unstable"|
|Discovery||Dale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, Emilio Segrè (1940)|
|Isotopes of astatine|
Astatine is a chemical element with the symbol At and atomic number 85. It is the rarest naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust, occurring only as the decay product of various heavier elements. All of astatine's isotopes are short-lived; the most stable is astatine-210, with a half-life of 8.1 hours. A sample of the pure element has never been assembled, because any macroscopic specimen would be immediately vaporized by the heat of its radioactivity.
The bulk properties of astatine are not known with certainty. Many of them have been estimated from its position on the periodic table as a heavier analog of iodine, and a member of the halogens (the group of elements including fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine). However, astatine also falls roughly along the dividing line between metals and nonmetals, and some metallic behavior has also been observed and predicted for it. Astatine is likely to have a dark or lustrous appearance and may be a semiconductor or possibly a metal. Chemically, several anionic species of astatine are known and most of its compounds resemble those of iodine, but it also sometimes displays metallic characteristics and shows some similarities to silver.
The first synthesis of astatine was in 1940 by Dale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, and Emilio G. Segrè at the University of California, Berkeley, who named it from the Ancient Greek ἄστατος (astatos) 'unstable'. Four isotopes of astatine were subsequently found to be naturally occurring, although much less than one gram is present at any given time in the Earth's crust. Neither the most stable isotope astatine-210, nor the medically useful astatine-211, occur naturally; they are usually produced by bombarding bismuth-209 with alpha particles.
Astatine is an extremely radioactive element; all its isotopes have half-lives of 8.1 hours or less, decaying into other astatine isotopes, bismuth, polonium, or radon. Most of its isotopes are very unstable, with half-lives of seconds or less. Of the first 101 elements in the periodic table, only francium is less stable, and all the astatine isotopes more stable than francium are in any case synthetic and do not occur in nature.
The bulk properties of astatine are not known with any certainty. Research is limited by its short half-life, which prevents the creation of weighable quantities. A visible piece of astatine would immediately vaporize itself because of the heat generated by its intense radioactivity. It remains to be seen if, with sufficient cooling, a macroscopic quantity of astatine could be deposited as a thin film. Astatine is usually classified as either a nonmetal or a metalloid; metal formation has also been predicted.
Most of the physical properties of astatine have been estimated (by interpolation or extrapolation), using theoretically or empirically derived methods. For example, halogens get darker with increasing atomic weight – fluorine is nearly colorless, chlorine is yellow-green, bromine is red-brown, and iodine is dark gray/violet. Astatine is sometimes described as probably being a black solid (assuming it follows this trend), or as having a metallic appearance (if it is a metalloid or a metal).
Astatine sublimes less readily than does iodine, having a lower vapor pressure. Even so, half of a given quantity of astatine will vaporize in approximately an hour if put on a clean glass surface at room temperature.[a] The absorption spectrum of astatine in the middle ultraviolet region has lines at 224.401 and 216.225 nm, suggestive of 6p to 7s transitions.
The structure of solid astatine is unknown. As an analog of iodine it may have an orthorhombic crystalline structure composed of diatomic astatine molecules, and be a semiconductor (with a band gap of 0.7 eV). Alternatively, if condensed astatine forms a metallic phase, as has been predicted, it may have a monatomic face-centered cubic structure; in this structure, it may well be a superconductor, like the similar high-pressure phase of iodine. Metallic astatine is expected to have a density of 8.91–8.95 g/cm3.
Evidence for (or against) the existence of diatomic astatine (At2) is sparse and inconclusive. Some sources state that it does not exist, or at least has never been observed, while other sources assert or imply its existence. Despite this controversy, many properties of diatomic astatine have been predicted; for example, its bond length would be 300±10 pm, dissociation energy 83.7±12.5 kJ/mol, and heat of vaporization (∆Hvap) 54.39 kJ/mol. Many values have been predicted for the melting and boiling points of astatine, but only for At2.
The chemistry of astatine is "clouded by the extremely low concentrations at which astatine experiments have been conducted, and the possibility of reactions with impurities, walls and filters, or radioactivity by-products, and other unwanted nano-scale interactions". Many of its apparent chemical properties have been observed using tracer studies on extremely dilute astatine solutions, typically less than 10−10 mol·L−1. Some properties, such as anion formation, align with other halogens. Astatine has some metallic characteristics as well, such as plating onto a cathode,[b] and coprecipitating with metal sulfides in hydrochloric acid. It forms complexes with EDTA, a metal chelating agent, and is capable of acting as a metal in antibody radiolabeling; in some respects, astatine in the +1 state is akin to silver in the same state. Most of the organic chemistry of astatine is, however, analogous to that of iodine. It has been suggested that astatine can form a stable monatomic cation in aqueous solution, but electromigration evidence suggests that the cationic At(I) species is protonated hypoastatous acid (H2OAt+), showing analogy to iodine.
Astatine has an electronegativity of 2.2 on the revised Pauling scale – lower than that of iodine (2.66) and the same as hydrogen. In hydrogen astatide (HAt), the negative charge is predicted to be on the hydrogen atom, implying that this compound could be referred to as astatine hydride according to certain nomenclatures. That would be consistent with the electronegativity of astatine on the Allred–Rochow scale (1.9) being less than that of hydrogen (2.2).[c] However, official IUPAC stoichiometric nomenclature is based on an idealized convention of determining the relative electronegativities of the elements by the mere virtue of their position within the periodic table. According to this convention, astatine is handled as though it is more electronegative than hydrogen, irrespective of its true electronegativity. The electron affinity of astatine, at 233 kJ mol−1, is 21% less than that of iodine. In comparison, the value of Cl (349) is 6.4% higher than F (328); Br (325) is 6.9% less than Cl; and I (295) is 9.2% less than Br. The marked reduction for At was predicted as being due to spin–orbit interactions. The first ionization energy of astatine is about 899 kJ mol−1, which continues the trend of decreasing first ionization energies down the halogen group (fluorine, 1681; chlorine, 1251; bromine, 1140; iodine, 1008).
Main article: Astatine compounds
Less reactive than iodine, astatine is the least reactive of the halogens. Its compounds have been synthesized in nano-scale amounts and studied as intensively as possible before their radioactive disintegration. The reactions involved have been typically tested with dilute solutions of astatine mixed with larger amounts of iodine. Acting as a carrier, the iodine ensures there is sufficient material for laboratory techniques (such as filtration and precipitation) to work.[d] Like iodine, astatine has been shown to adopt odd-numbered oxidation states ranging from −1 to +7.
Only a few compounds with metals have been reported, in the form of states of sodium, palladium, silver, thallium, and lead. Some characteristic properties of silver and sodium astatide, and the other hypothetical alkali and alkaline earth astatides, have been estimated by extrapolation from other metal halides.
The formation of an astatine compound with hydrogen – usually referred to as hydrogen astatide – was noted by the pioneers of astatine chemistry. As mentioned, there are grounds for instead referring to this compound as astatine hydride. It is easily oxidized; acidification by dilute nitric acid gives the At0 or At+ forms, and the subsequent addition of silver(I) may only partially, at best, precipitate astatine as silver(I) astatide (AgAt). Iodine, in contrast, is not oxidized, and precipitates readily as silver(I) iodide.
Astatine is known to bind to boron, carbon, and nitrogen. Various boron cage compounds have been prepared with At–B bonds, these being more stable than At–C bonds. Astatine can replace a hydrogen atom in benzene to form astatobenzene C6H5At; this may be oxidized to C6H5AtCl2 by chlorine. By treating this compound with an alkaline solution of hypochlorite, C6H5AtO2 can be produced. The dipyridine-astatine(I) cation, [At(C5H5N)2]+, forms ionic compounds with perchlorate (a non-coordinating anion) and with nitrate, [At(C5H5N)2]NO3. This cation exists as a coordination complex in which two dative covalent bonds separately link the astatine(I) centre with each of the pyridine rings via their nitrogen atoms.
With oxygen, there is evidence of the species AtO− and AtO+ in aqueous solution, formed by the reaction of astatine with an oxidant such as elemental bromine or (in the last case) by sodium persulfate in a solution of perchloric acid: the latter species might also be protonated astatous acid, H2AtO+2. The species previously thought to be AtO−2 has since been determined to be AtO(OH)−2, a hydrolysis product of AtO+ (another such hydrolysis product being AtOOH). The well characterized AtO−3 anion can be obtained by, for example, the oxidation of astatine with potassium hypochlorite in a solution of potassium hydroxide. Preparation of lanthanum triastatate La(AtO3)3, following the oxidation of astatine by a hot Na2S2O8 solution, has been reported. Further oxidation of AtO−3, such as by xenon difluoride (in a hot alkaline solution) or periodate (in a neutral or alkaline solution), yields the perastatate ion AtO−4; this is only stable in neutral or alkaline solutions. Astatine is also thought to be capable of forming cations in salts with oxyanions such as iodate or dichromate; this is based on the observation that, in acidic solutions, monovalent or intermediate positive states of astatine coprecipitate with the insoluble salts of metal cations such as silver(I) iodate or thallium(I) dichromate.
Astatine may form bonds to the other chalcogens; these include S7At+ and At(CSN)−2 with sulfur, a coordination selenourea compound with selenium, and an astatine–tellurium colloid with tellurium.
Astatine is known to react with its lighter homologs iodine, bromine, and chlorine in the vapor state; these reactions produce diatomic interhalogen compounds with formulas AtI, AtBr, and AtCl. The first two compounds may also be produced in water – astatine reacts with iodine/iodide solution to form AtI, whereas AtBr requires (aside from astatine) an iodine/iodine monobromide/bromide solution. The excess of iodides or bromides may lead to AtBr−2 and AtI−2 ions, or in a chloride solution, they may produce species like AtCl−2 or AtBrCl− via equilibrium reactions with the chlorides. Oxidation of the element with dichromate (in nitric acid solution) showed that adding chloride turned the astatine into a molecule likely to be either AtCl or AtOCl. Similarly, AtOCl−2 or AtCl−2 may be produced. The polyhalides PdAtI2, CsAtI2, TlAtI2, and PbAtI are known or presumed to have been precipitated. In a plasma ion source mass spectrometer, the ions [AtI]+, [AtBr]+, and [AtCl]+ have been formed by introducing lighter halogen vapors into a helium-filled cell containing astatine, supporting the existence of stable neutral molecules in the plasma ion state. No astatine fluorides have been discovered yet. Their absence has been speculatively attributed to the extreme reactivity of such compounds, including the reaction of an initially formed fluoride with the walls of the glass container to form a non-volatile product.[e] Thus, although the synthesis of an astatine fluoride is thought to be possible, it may require a liquid halogen fluoride solvent, as has already been used for the characterization of radon fluoride.
In 1869, when Dmitri Mendeleev published his periodic table, the space under iodine was empty; after Niels Bohr established the physical basis of the classification of chemical elements, it was suggested that the fifth halogen belonged there. Before its officially recognized discovery, it was called "eka-iodine" (from Sanskrit eka – "one") to imply it was one space under iodine (in the same manner as eka-silicon, eka-boron, and others). Scientists tried to find it in nature; given its extreme rarity, these attempts resulted in several false discoveries.
The first claimed discovery of eka-iodine was made by Fred Allison and his associates at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) in 1931. The discoverers named element 85 "alabamine", and assigned it the symbol Ab, designations that were used for a few years. In 1934, H. G. MacPherson of University of California, Berkeley disproved Allison's method and the validity of his discovery. There was another claim in 1937, by the chemist Rajendralal De. Working in Dacca in British India (now Dhaka in Bangladesh), he chose the name "dakin" for element 85, which he claimed to have isolated as the thorium series equivalent of radium F (polonium-210) in the radium series. The properties he reported for dakin do not correspond to those of astatine, and astatine's radioactivity would have prevented him from handling it in the quantities he claimed. Moreover, astatine is not found in the thorium series, and the true identity of dakin is not known.
In 1936, the team of Romanian physicist Horia Hulubei and French physicist Yvette Cauchois claimed to have discovered element 85 by observing its X-ray emission lines. In 1939, they published another paper which supported and extended previous data. In 1944, Hulubei published a summary of data he had obtained up to that time, claiming it was supported by the work of other researchers. He chose the name "dor", presumably from the Romanian for "longing" [for peace], as World War II had started five years earlier. As Hulubei was writing in French, a language which does not accommodate the "ine" suffix, dor would likely have been rendered in English as "dorine", had it been adopted. In 1947, Hulubei's claim was effectively rejected by the Austrian chemist Friedrich Paneth, who would later chair the IUPAC committee responsible for recognition of new elements. Even though Hulubei's samples did contain astatine-218, his means to detect it were too weak, by current standards, to enable correct identification; moreover, he could not perform chemical tests on the element. He had also been involved in an earlier false claim as to the discovery of element 87 (francium) and this is thought to have caused other researchers to downplay his work.
In 1940, the Swiss chemist Walter Minder announced the discovery of element 85 as the beta decay product of radium A (polonium-218), choosing the name "helvetium" (from Helvetia, the Latin name of Switzerland). Berta Karlik and Traude Bernert were unsuccessful in reproducing his experiments, and subsequently attributed Minder's results to contamination of his radon stream (radon-222 is the parent isotope of polonium-218).[f] In 1942, Minder, in collaboration with the English scientist Alice Leigh-Smith, announced the discovery of another isotope of element 85, presumed to be the product of thorium A (polonium-216) beta decay. They named this substance "anglo-helvetium", but Karlik and Bernert were again unable to reproduce these results.
Later in 1940, Dale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, and Emilio Segrè isolated the element at the University of California, Berkeley. Instead of searching for the element in nature, the scientists created it by bombarding bismuth-209 with alpha particles in a cyclotron (particle accelerator) to produce, after emission of two neutrons, astatine-211. The discoverers, however, did not immediately suggest a name for the element. The reason for this was that at the time, an element created synthetically in "invisible quantities" that had not yet been discovered in nature was not seen as a completely valid one; in addition, chemists were reluctant to recognize radioactive isotopes as legitimately as stable ones. In 1943, astatine was found as a product of two naturally occurring decay chains by Berta Karlik and Traude Bernert, first in the so-called uranium series, and then in the actinium series. (Since then, astatine was also found in a third decay chain, the neptunium series.) Friedrich Paneth in 1946 called to finally recognize synthetic elements, quoting, among other reasons, recent confirmation of their natural occurrence, and proposed that the discoverers of the newly discovered unnamed elements name these elements. In early 1947, Nature published the discoverers' suggestions; a letter from Corson, MacKenzie, and Segrè suggested the name "astatine" coming from the Greek astatos (αστατος) meaning "unstable", because of its propensity for radioactive decay, with the ending "-ine", found in the names of the four previously discovered halogens. The name was also chosen to continue the tradition of the four stable halogens, where the name referred to a property of the element.
Corson and his colleagues classified astatine as a metal on the basis of its analytical chemistry. Subsequent investigators reported iodine-like, cationic, or amphoteric behavior. In a 2003 retrospective, Corson wrote that "some of the properties [of astatine] are similar to iodine … it also exhibits metallic properties, more like its metallic neighbors Po and Bi."
Main article: Isotopes of astatine
|Alpha decay characteristics for sample astatine isotopes[g]|
|207||−13.243 MeV||1.80 h||8.6%||20.9 h|
|208||−12.491 MeV||1.63 h||0.55%||12.3 d|
|209||−12.880 MeV||5.41 h||4.1%||5.5 d|
|210||−11.972 MeV||8.1 h||0.175%||193 d|
|211||−11.647 MeV||7.21 h||41.8%||17.2 h|
|212||−8.621 MeV||0.31 s||≈100%||0.31 s|
|213||−6.579 MeV||125 ns||100%||125 ns|
|214||−3.380 MeV||558 ns||100%||558 ns|
|219||10.397 MeV||56 s||97%||58 s|
|220||14.350 MeV||3.71 min||8%||46.4 min|
|221[h]||16.810 MeV||2.3 min||experimentally
There are 39 known isotopes of astatine, with atomic masses (mass numbers) of 191–229. Theoretical modeling suggests that 37 more isotopes could exist. No stable or long-lived astatine isotope has been observed, nor is one expected to exist.
Astatine's alpha decay energies follow the same trend as for other heavy elements. Lighter astatine isotopes have quite high energies of alpha decay, which become lower as the nuclei become heavier. Astatine-211 has a significantly higher energy than the previous isotope, because it has a nucleus with 126 neutrons, and 126 is a magic number corresponding to a filled neutron shell. Despite having a similar half-life to the previous isotope (8.1 hours for astatine-210 and 7.2 hours for astatine-211), the alpha decay probability is much higher for the latter: 41.81% against only 0.18%.[i] The two following isotopes release even more energy, with astatine-213 releasing the most energy. For this reason, it is the shortest-lived astatine isotope. Even though heavier astatine isotopes release less energy, no long-lived astatine isotope exists, because of the increasing role of beta decay (electron emission). This decay mode is especially important for astatine; as early as 1950 it was postulated that all isotopes of the element undergo beta decay, though nuclear mass measurements indicate that 215At is in fact beta-stable, as it has the lowest mass of all isobars with A = 215. A beta decay mode has been found for all other astatine isotopes except for astatine-213, astatine-214, and astatine-216m. Astatine-210 and lighter isotopes exhibit beta plus decay (positron emission), astatine-216 and heavier isotopes exhibit beta minus decay, and astatine-212 decays via both modes, while astatine-211 undergoes electron capture.
The most stable isotope is astatine-210, which has a half-life of 8.1 hours. The primary decay mode is beta plus, to the relatively long-lived (in comparison to astatine isotopes) alpha emitter polonium-210. In total, only five isotopes have half-lives exceeding one hour (astatine-207 to -211). The least stable ground state isotope is astatine-213, with a half-life of 125 nanoseconds. It undergoes alpha decay to the extremely long-lived bismuth-209.
Astatine has 24 known nuclear isomers, which are nuclei with one or more nucleons (protons or neutrons) in an excited state. A nuclear isomer may also be called a "meta-state", meaning the system has more internal energy than the "ground state" (the state with the lowest possible internal energy), making the former likely to decay into the latter. There may be more than one isomer for each isotope. The most stable of these nuclear isomers is astatine-202m1,[j] which has a half-life of about 3 minutes, longer than those of all the ground states bar those of isotopes 203–211 and 220. The least stable is astatine-214m1; its half-life of 265 nanoseconds is shorter than those of all ground states except that of astatine-213.
Astatine is the rarest naturally occurring element.[k] The total amount of astatine in the Earth's crust (quoted mass 2.36 × 1025 grams) is estimated by some to be less than one gram at any given time. Other sources estimate the amount of ephemeral astatine, present on earth at any given moment, to be up to one ounce (about 28 grams).
Any astatine present at the formation of the Earth has long since disappeared; the four naturally occurring isotopes (astatine-215, -217, -218 and -219) are instead continuously produced as a result of the decay of radioactive thorium and uranium ores, and trace quantities of neptunium-237. The landmass of North and South America combined, to a depth of 16 kilometers (10 miles), contains only about one trillion astatine-215 atoms at any given time (around 3.5 × 10−10 grams). Astatine-217 is produced via the radioactive decay of neptunium-237. Primordial remnants of the latter isotope—due to its relatively short half-life of 2.14 million years—are no longer present on Earth. However, trace amounts occur naturally as a product of transmutation reactions in uranium ores. Astatine-218 was the first astatine isotope discovered in nature. Astatine-219, with a half-life of 56 seconds, is the longest lived of the naturally occurring isotopes.
Isotopes of astatine are sometimes not listed as naturally occurring because of misconceptions that there are no such isotopes, or discrepancies in the literature. Astatine-216 has been counted as a naturally occurring isotope but reports of its observation (which were described as doubtful) have not been confirmed.
|Reaction[l]||Energy of alpha particle|
83Bi + 4
2He → 211
85At + 2 1
83Bi + 4
2He → 210
85At + 3 1
83Bi + 4
2He → 209
85At + 4 1
Astatine was first produced by bombarding bismuth-209 with energetic alpha particles, and this is still the major route used to create the relatively long-lived isotopes astatine-209 through astatine-211. Astatine is only produced in minuscule quantities, with modern techniques allowing production runs of up to 6.6 giga becquerels (about 86 nanograms or 2.47 × 1014 atoms). Synthesis of greater quantities of astatine using this method is constrained by the limited availability of suitable cyclotrons and the prospect of melting the target.[m] Solvent radiolysis due to the cumulative effect of astatine decay is a related problem. With cryogenic technology, microgram quantities of astatine might be able to be generated via proton irradiation of thorium or uranium to yield radon-211, in turn decaying to astatine-211. Contamination with astatine-210 is expected to be a drawback of this method.
The most important isotope is astatine-211, the only one in commercial use. To produce the bismuth target, the metal is sputtered onto a gold, copper, or aluminium surface at 50 to 100 milligrams per square centimeter. Bismuth oxide can be used instead; this is forcibly fused with a copper plate. The target is kept under a chemically neutral nitrogen atmosphere, and is cooled with water to prevent premature astatine vaporization. In a particle accelerator, such as a cyclotron, alpha particles are collided with the bismuth. Even though only one bismuth isotope is used (bismuth-209), the reaction may occur in three possible ways, producing astatine-209, astatine-210, or astatine-211. In order to eliminate undesired nuclides, the maximum energy of the particle accelerator is set to a value (optimally 29.17 MeV) above that for the reaction producing astatine-211 (to produce the desired isotope) and below the one producing astatine-210 (to avoid producing other astatine isotopes).
Since astatine is the main product of the synthesis, after its formation it must only be separated from the target and any significant contaminants. Several methods are available, "but they generally follow one of two approaches—dry distillation or [wet] acid treatment of the target followed by solvent extraction." The methods summarized below are modern adaptations of older procedures, as reviewed by Kugler and Keller.[n] Pre-1985 techniques more often addressed the elimination of co-produced toxic polonium; this requirement is now mitigated by capping the energy of the cyclotron irradiation beam.
The astatine-containing cyclotron target is heated to a temperature of around 650 °C. The astatine volatilizes and is condensed in (typically) a cold trap. Higher temperatures of up to around 850 °C may increase the yield, at the risk of bismuth contamination from concurrent volatilization. Redistilling the condensate may be required to minimize the presence of bismuth (as bismuth can interfere with astatine labeling reactions). The astatine is recovered from the trap using one or more low concentration solvents such as sodium hydroxide, methanol or chloroform. Astatine yields of up to around 80% may be achieved. Dry separation is the method most commonly used to produce a chemically useful form of astatine.
The irradiated bismuth (or sometimes bismuth trioxide) target is first dissolved in, for example, concentrated nitric or perchloric acid. Following this first step, the acid can be distilled away to leave behind a white residue that contains both bismuth and the desired astatine product. This residue is then dissolved in a concentrated acid, such as hydrochloric acid. Astatine is extracted from this acid using an organic solvent such as dibutyl ether, diisopropyl ether (DIPE), or thiosemicarbazide. Using liquid-liquid extraction, the astatine product can be repeatedly washed with an acid, such as HCl, and extracted into the organic solvent layer. A separation yield of 93% using nitric acid has been reported, falling to 72% by the time purification procedures were completed (distillation of nitric acid, purging residual nitrogen oxides, and redissolving bismuth nitrate to enable liquid–liquid extraction). Wet methods involve "multiple radioactivity handling steps" and have not been considered well suited for isolating larger quantities of astatine. However, wet extraction methods are being examined for use in production of larger quantities of astatine-211, as it is thought that wet extraction methods can provide more consistency. They can enable the production of astatine in a specific oxidation state and may have greater applicability in experimental radiochemistry.
|[211At]astatine-tellurium colloids||Compartmental tumors|
|211At-labeled methylene blue||Melanomas|
|Meta-[211At]astatobenzyl guanidine||Neuroendocrine tumors|
|211At-labeled biotin conjugates||Various pretargeting|
|211At-labeled octreotide||Somatostatin receptor|
|211At-labeled monoclonal antibodies and fragments||Various|
|211At-labeled bisphosphonates||Bone metastases|
Newly formed astatine-211 is the subject of ongoing research in nuclear medicine. It must be used quickly as it decays with a half-life of 7.2 hours; this is long enough to permit multistep labeling strategies. Astatine-211 has potential for targeted alpha-particle therapy, since it decays either via emission of an alpha particle (to bismuth-207), or via electron capture (to an extremely short-lived nuclide, polonium-211, which undergoes further alpha decay), very quickly reaching its stable granddaughter lead-207. Polonium X-rays emitted as a result of the electron capture branch, in the range of 77–92 keV, enable the tracking of astatine in animals and patients. Although astatine-210 has a slightly longer half-life, it is wholly unsuitable because it usually undergoes beta plus decay to the extremely toxic polonium-210.
The principal medicinal difference between astatine-211 and iodine-131 (a radioactive iodine isotope also used in medicine) is that iodine-131 emits high-energy beta particles, and astatine does not. Beta particles have much greater penetrating power through tissues than do the much heavier alpha particles. An average alpha particle released by astatine-211 can travel up to 70 µm through surrounding tissues; an average-energy beta particle emitted by iodine-131 can travel nearly 30 times as far, to about 2 mm. The short half-life and limited penetrating power of alpha radiation through tissues offers advantages in situations where the "tumor burden is low and/or malignant cell populations are located in close proximity to essential normal tissues." Significant morbidity in cell culture models of human cancers has been achieved with from one to ten astatine-211 atoms bound per cell.
Astatine ... [is] miserable to make and hell to work with.
P Durbin, Human Radiation Studies: Remembering the Early Years, 1995
Several obstacles have been encountered in the development of astatine-based radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment. World War II delayed research for close to a decade. Results of early experiments indicated that a cancer-selective carrier would need to be developed and it was not until the 1970s that monoclonal antibodies became available for this purpose. Unlike iodine, astatine shows a tendency to dehalogenate from molecular carriers such as these, particularly at sp3 carbon sites[o] (less so from sp2 sites). Given the toxicity of astatine accumulated and retained in the body, this emphasized the need to ensure it remained attached to its host molecule. While astatine carriers that are slowly metabolized can be assessed for their efficacy, more rapidly metabolized carriers remain a significant obstacle to the evaluation of astatine in nuclear medicine. Mitigating the effects of astatine-induced radiolysis of labeling chemistry and carrier molecules is another area requiring further development. A practical application for astatine as a cancer treatment would potentially be suitable for a "staggering" number of patients; production of astatine in the quantities that would be required remains an issue.[p]
Animal studies show that astatine, similarly to iodine—although to a lesser extent, perhaps because of its slightly more metallic nature—is preferentially (and dangerously) concentrated in the thyroid gland. Unlike iodine, astatine also shows a tendency to be taken up by the lungs and spleen, possibly because of in-body oxidation of At– to At+. If administered in the form of a radiocolloid it tends to concentrate in the liver. Experiments in rats and monkeys suggest that astatine-211 causes much greater damage to the thyroid gland than does iodine-131, with repetitive injection of the nuclide resulting in necrosis and cell dysplasia within the gland. Early research suggested that injection of astatine into female rodents caused morphological changes in breast tissue; this conclusion remained controversial for many years. General agreement was later reached that this was likely caused by the effect of breast tissue irradiation combined with hormonal changes due to irradiation of the ovaries. Trace amounts of astatine can be handled safely in fume hoods if they are well-aerated; biological uptake of the element must be avoided.

domain: chemistry


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On Dec. 2, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor of France in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
In 1823 President James Monroe outlined the Monroe Doctrine against European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1859 abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on Harper's Ferry.
In 1942 a nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time by Enrico Fermi and his colleagues under the grandstand of the University of Chicago's Stagg Field.
In 1954 the United States signed a mutual security pact with Nationalist China on Taiwan.
In 1956 Fidel Castro and his followers landed in Cuba to start their drive to overthrow the Batista government.
In 1960 the Archbishop of Canterbury broke church precedent by visiting Pope John XXIII in the Vatican.
In 1965 the U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise launched air strikes over Vietnam, becoming the first nuclear-powered ship to enter combat.
In 1977 a South African magistrate absolved security police of responsibility in the death of black student leader Steven Biko, who had died of injuries while in their custody.
In 1980 four American churchwomen were murdered and buried outside San Salvador. (Five national guardsmen were convicted in the killings and sentenced to 30 years in prison.)
In 1987, after a chaotic 6 1/2-hour meeting that had begun the night before, Ald. Eugene Sawyer was elected by the Chicago City Council to succeed the late Mayor Harold Washington.
In 1988 Benazir Bhutto was sworn as prime minister of Pakistan.
In 1991 American hostage Joseph Cicippio, held captive in Lebanon for more than five years, was freed.
In 1993 billionaire drug kingpin Pablo Escobar was killed in a shootout with hundreds of government troops in Medellin, Colombia.
In 1840, William Henry Harrison was elected president by the Electoral College. He would die of pneumonia the following April 4, just 31 days after his inauguration.


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Team Fortress 2 is a class based first person shooter with a cartoony cell shaded art style. Originally released in 2007, I spent well over 600 hours on the game in my teenage years, and it continues to stand the test of time with a large player base, regular updates (mostly hats) and a refreshingly unique team synergy approach to first person shooters.
Then, along came Overwatch.
Overwatch is a class based first person shooter with a cartoony cell shaded art style. I first had a chance to try it during the open beta a fortnight before it’s release, and one weekend glued to the TV intensely engrossed in the game later, I was hooked. With 21 different character classes, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and unique abilities, as well as 12 maps and hundreds of cosmetic skins, there’s a lot to love about Overwatch. The least of all is the fact that Blizzard had the decency to finish the game before release, which is almost unheard of with modern AAA titles.
The aforementioned 21 classes are split into 4 categories: Offense, Defense, Tanks, and Support heroes. Each hero plays a defined role in the team, so team composition is one of the most vital things to consider if you don’t want to spend every match spawn camped into oblivion. Each hero has three abilities including an ultimate, with cooldown times that keep the game fast paced but still require deft use to be of any benefit to the team. While the game falls under the first person shooter category, being able to use your abilities effectively is arguably just as important as being able to shoot an enemy, which creates an interesting gameplay feel. Abilities are always the most effective when used with other heroes that have good synergy, and this emphasis on working together as a team is just part of the measures Blizzard has taken to try and create a decent community in the game.
While the game is strictly online multiplayer, the lore and character backstories are what really brings the game to life. The story takes place many years after a war breaks out between humans and AI robots known as Omnic, when a group of heroes known as Overwatch helped bring peace and balance between man and machine. Many years later, the world is in need of heroes again, and so former agents are called back into action as well as some fresh faced new youngsters, to… murder each other and themselves endlessly, apparently. Each of the heroes has quite a defined personality that just add that much more flavour and depth to the game.
As well as a variety of quirky characters, the game features a plethora of maps based on locations throughout the world. Each map has twists, turns, alternate pathways and sneaky shortcuts that allow for different strategies and enable players to flank and be creative with how they engage against the enemy team. There are currently four game modes, escort, which involves defending a moving payload as a control point, assault, where the attacking team must capture the defending team’s control points, hybrid, which starts as a control point that turns into a payload once captured, and control, in which both teams fight to control a central area on the map. With all of these variables no two games are the same, keeping the gameplay fresh and enjoyable.
With a game like Overwatch, it’s necessary to make sure the mechanics aren’t broken or unbalanced, and despite what parts of the online community would have you believe, it actually manages to be a pretty balanced and well rounded game. The class based style of the game means that all heroes have their strengths, but there are clear counters to each hero, which again means that a lot of the game comes down to team composition. Being able to switch heroes at will means that even if you do find yourselves at a bit of a stalemate, teams are constantly changing so everyone has to stay on their toes.
An interesting but welcome decision was the way that the game handles microtransactions. There are no paywalls or pay to win features, all heroes are available from the get go, and the only thing players can buy are lootboxes that are awarded upon leveling up anyway, which contain a random assortment of skins, voice lines, tags, and player profile pictures. Even credits are only available through lootboxes, so the kids with their parents credit cards aren’t guaranteed rare and exclusive skins unless RNGesus wills it.
Overwatch is a game that does a lot of things right, and serves as an example of the sort of practices modern developers should strive for. Constantly evolving gameplay, carefully constructed maps, humble microtransactions, and accommodating for a variety of play styles. Blizzard didn’t sacrifice quality or quantity with the content of the game, and I can easily say with confidence that it’s going down as one of my favourite games of all time.

domain: game


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Lately, Mike feels so far away. It is very hard to properly describe, but I will give it a try. He has taken on the feel of a memory. Now, Mike feels like more of a memory than my person. I feel lousy admitting this. It sort of feels like he is dying all over again.
In my head, Mike feels like someone who lived once upon a time – in another lifetime. Writing this and committing these thoughts to paper feels unsettling to me. It is completely jarring. I dislike that the man I love has taken on the feel of a familiar character in my favorite book. Once upon a time, Mike was real. He was flesh and blood not so long ago. And, now it seems like he lived in another place and another time. And, really, I guess he did.
Today, it does not feel like it was in my lifetime that he shared his life with me. This is the stuff that fills my head and breaks my heart. This is the stuff that widowhood is made of. Dammit. There is no happy ending I can possibly write to any of this.
The man I love now feels like a memory.
Read that again.
And, now read it another time.
The man I love now feels like a memory…
He feels so far away.
He feels like a lifetime ago.
He does not feel real anymore.
He doesn’t feel real anymore because he is not.
He’s not real anymore…
He is not here to occupy space in the physical world. But, somehow I sense him. In my head and in my heart, it feels like he still exists somewhere outside of time and space. I continue to talk to him. Every day, I think of him; and, I continue to include him in my life as I live forward without him. For me, Mike is still real. Except, he is not.
He is not a man anymore.
He disappeared into nothing…
He is now the air I breathe.
He is the wind against my back.
He is the sunshine that warms me.
He is the stars that decorate the night sky.
He is the wine in my glass.
He is the flecks of light reflecting off the water.
He is the song softly playing on the radio.
He is the warm water in my bath.
He is the sound of the waves that soothes my soul.
He is everything, and yet he is nothing.
This is the heartbreak every widow lives with.
Mike is not able to hold me in his arms. He can not reach for my hand. Our fingers can not casually entwine as he tenderly rubs his thumb against mine. This act can only happen in my memory. Mike is no longer able to give me anything in the physical world. Nothing. Not one damn thing. I know this. And, I half-heartedly accept this. I am trying my best to live forward in a world that does not include Mike. And, for the most part, I am doing an okay job of this widow thing.
Living forward into my fourth year of widowhood, my grief feels different. My grief is well worn now. It’s softer and more “comfortable” – if that is even possible. With time, I am slowly learning to wear my grief well. My grief has begun to fit me better. It snuggly wraps around me like a second skin. It feels familiar to me. I am used to it; or, more accurately, it is the normal I have come to know.
My grief is swaddled around me as I head out the door each day; but, now, it doesn’t choke the life out of me like before. I’m not tripping over it anymore. With practice, I have learned to move gracefully with my grief. Most days, I manage to make it look easy. All of us widowed people do this.
We become accustom to our alternate lives. We may not like it, but we learn to adapt to what is. Most people around me do not even know my grief is there, unless they catch a glimpse of it in my eyes. Trust me, it is still here. It has not gone far away. And, I know now that it will never really go away. I know this and I accept this. Grief is my cross to bear.
In some capacity, my grief will always live inside me. Out of necessity, it has become a part of my psyche. It has been absorbed into me. And, this is okay. I really do not think there is any other way it can be. I am not saying that I am defined by my grief. I am not. I am much more than Mike’s widow. But, being Mike’s widow is part of my identity whether I like it or not.
Being widowed has shaped the woman I am becoming. Widowhood has influenced me in both positive and negative ways. Outliving Mike has lead to deep Soul growth. But, this growth has not been worth the loss. It is ridiculous to assume it could be. Nothing good will undo or make Mike’s death okay. I can not envision being at peace with his death just because time continues to pass. This is not my end game. I accept (but I do not like) that I may be unsettled about his death for the remainder of my life. It is what it is.
Outliving Mike has changed me in profound ways. I’ve learned that my grief is not something that need be fought. Rather, it must be felt to the depths of my Soul, then beyond that. This doesn’t mean I allow my grief to consume me. That is not my suggestion or intention. Instead, I am allowing myself to accept my grief while I steadily build around it day by day.
Others who are further along in their grief told me their grief changed. They told me there was hope for a better life. In the past, I wanted to believe them. I desperately wanted this for myself; but, I didn’t know how this would ever happen. I worried my grief would be exceptional. It was not.
Although not linear or sequential, my grief has evolved and changed like everything does in life. Those before me were right. Change comes. It is never far away if you trust the process and stay the course.


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Navigate 2 Preferred Access for Essentials of Perioperative Nursing, Sixth Edition is a digital-only Access Code that unlocks a comprehensive and interactive eBook and Navigate 2 TestPrep.
Essentials of Perioperative Nursing, Sixth Edition is an essential reference for new perioperative nurses as well as experienced nurses who need a refresher. Succinct and easy to use, it addresses the basics associated with navigating the perioperative environment rather than a procedure-oriented approach. Ideal for nurses, students, and perioperative nursing staff, it is also a helpful study guide for CNOR certification.
Navigate 2 Preferred Access also includes Nursing Exam Review: Strategies and Skills, Second Edition, a unique eBook that presents a 5-step approach to answering nursing exam questions and essential test taking strategies. Accompanying each step in the approach are practice questions, anecdotes from nurses who’ve passed nursing exams, hints, tricks, and proven guidelines. Also provided are numerous new strategies.
Terri Goodman, PhD, RN, CNOR
Terri Goodman, PhD, RN, CNOR is a perioperative nursing education consultant. Her clinical practice focused on plastic and reconstructive surgery, and she has held positions from Staff Nurse to Director in acute care settings. Since 1992, she has focused on nursing education in acute care facilities, for Johnson and Johnson, and as an independent consultant. Terri is active in AORN both at the chapter and national levels, has published frequently in peer-reviewed nursing journals, contributed chapters to textbooks and study guides, and has delivered presentations on a wide variety of topics both nationally and internationally.
Additional Titles by this Author
- ISBN-13: 9781284079821
Cynthia Spry, MA, RN, CNOR, CSIT
Cynthia Spry has been a perioperative nurse for more than twenty-five years, with seven and a half years as an OR Educator and five years as a Director of Surgical Services. Currently, she is an International Clinical Consultant for Advanced Sterilization Products, a Johnson & Johnson Company. In my present position, I provide consultation and education in sterilization, disinfection, and infection control in the United States and in many other countries. I am a Past President of the (national) Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and in 2002 received the Association's highest award, The Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing.


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Fantastic trip. Our South Pacific travel agency and our travel specialist, Rick did a fantastic job in arranging the trip. He went over day to day activities before we left for the trip. Everything went smoothly and in time. All the Hotels. daily trips. guides , pickups, drop offs were v. well done. We covered Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. Rick arranged everything from our airport back to our airport. We highly recommend him, and his company.
The most memorable part of the trip was back stage breakfast tour of the Sydney Opera House, walking tours at Ayers Rock , Tour of Flying doctors, Education in the air in Australia. Vineyards, Waterfalls, farm excursions. Scenic coach tours in New Zealand. Resort at Mana Island and Nadi city tour in Fiji> Too many memorable items to list .Over all we thank Rick for a memorable trip.
Few more days in all the places and ask Rick for help.
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Jahlil Okafor, the Whitney Young (IL) center, will make Duke Blue Devil fans happy one day but first he has a few more high school basketball moments left to enjoy. He will be on every single one of the All American teams, and it would not surprise me in the least if we are looking at next year’s Gatorade high school basketball player of the year.
— Brandon Parker (@brandoncparker) December 21, 2013
Much thanks to the tweet below for the udpate of Okafor playing tonight at the City of Palms Classic.
— CityofPalmsClassic (@CityOfPalmsBKB) December 21, 2013
Okafor will join the Blue Devils with his good friend Tyus Jones, who also happens to be a top five player in the 2014 class according to ESPN. They will be a dynamic duo for the Blue Devils, and the best part is that we already know that they have chemistry both on and off the court. It will be interesting to see what happens if things do not go well immediately, but those two are dedicated to winning and it will eventually start to show up in the win column. Honestly, would also not be shocked if next year’s Blue Devils rattled off ten to twenty wins to start the year, and it probably would not even be all that difficult for them.
That is all for Prep today, but will leave you with a little fortune cookie wisdom and hope everyone out there stays safe during the Holidays. Peace and love y’all.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”-


The following is courtesy of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Association:
San Francisco, Calif. — November 6, 2019 – Today the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations led a coalition of fishing organizations, tribes, and environmental groups in sending a letter to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board condemning plans to extend permitting of the Grasslands Bypass Project (GBP).
After two decades of promises to cease toxic discharges of selenium and other contaminants into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Regional Board are poised to sanction a quarter century of continued toxic discharges into the Delta via the GBP. These discharges frequently exceed numerous water quality criteria. Allowing decades of relaxed standards will impact the entire aquatic food chain, endangered and commercially harvested salmon, migratory birds, recreational fisheries, and communities that rely on the Delta for drinking water.
The GBP commenced operations in 1995 as a two-year program. Its initial federal use agreements have now been extended three times, and the project has been granted numerous waste discharge waivers. All of the permits, environmental reviews, and findings that supported these use agreements were predicated on zero discharge at the end of each agreement’s term: first for 5 years, then 10 more years, and then 10 additional years. All that time—25 years in total—polluted discharge from the GBP confirmed to exceed toxicity thresholds was either entirely exempt from meeting protective water quality standards, or only required to meet relaxed, greatly reduced standards. Furthermore, over that 25-year-period the GBP steadily reduced both its monitoring of polluted discharges and its record of compliance .
The Newsom and Trump Administrations’ non-compliant proposed action comes despite a court ruling at the 9th Circuit earlier this year, which found that commingled stormwater and agricultural discharges are not exempt from the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
“Fishermen and coastal communities have been dealing with the mess from upstream polluters for decades. The result is poisoned waterways, fish stocks at a fraction of historic levels, and losses to salmon fishing jobs and California’s own seafood resource,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of PCFFA. “Meaningful solutions for these agricultural discharges are adequate wastewater treatment and implementing the land retirements that have been called for by federal agencies for decades, not continued dumping into public waterways. Governor Newsom has a real opportunity to avoid cementing a toxic legacy for the Delta and California’s fishing communities that rely on clean water by abandoning this course of action.”
A public hearing on the RWQCB’s proposed action will be held on December 5th.
The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations is the largest commercial fishermen’s organization on the West Coast, representing 17 local and regional associations from Santa Barbara to Southeast Alaska. As a major commercial fishing industry trade association, PCFFA represents the interests of commercial fishing families who make their living harvesting and delivering high-quality seafood to America’s tables.


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The Penguin Group are well-known book publishers of fiction and non-fiction, which caters for both adults and children. Since its founding in 1935, it has gone on to be one of the most well-known names in the publishing world. Penguin now has offices in countries including: the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The origins of Penguin
In 1934, Allen Lane was at Exeter station searching for something to read on the train. Shocked by the lack of interesting and affordable fiction available, he decided to set-up a business to address this problem. In the summer of 1935, the first Penguin Books appeared in print and were quickly made available for purchase at places like newsagents and train stations, as well as traditional bookshops. Each paperback cost just sixpence and were colour-coded according to subject matter: orange for fiction; blue for biography; green for crime. They also came with the symbol of the penguin, chosen by Lane as a fun and distinctive logo for the company.
Growth in popularity
By 1937, Penguin had sold over three million paperbacks. They expanded their range to include non-fiction and Shakespeare and set-up the first 'penguincubator' at Charing Cross Station, which allowed customers to purchase paperbacks via a vending machine. In 1940, the Puffin books, aimed at children, first appeared in print. When the immensely popular Penguin Classics were launched in 1946, it seemed that Lane's dream of bringing inexpensive and interesting paperbacks to the mass market had finally come to fruition.
Penguin in the modern era
Since its relatively humble origins, Penguin has expanded into a global brand. By the time the company celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2010, it claimed to have over 5,000 titles in print at any one time. Its range now includes both paperback and hardback fiction, audio books and downloadable e-books. The Penguin brand now markets a range of material such as: contemporary fiction, crime and thrillers, history and biography. Penguin Classics have a separate library of classic and modern classics, featuring authors from Dickens to Steinbeck. Children are catered for through the Puffin and Ladybird titles. In addition to their usual titles, Penguin has also owned the Rough Guides travel series since 2002.
Penguin became the subject of controversy after its publication of Lady Chatterley's Lover in 1960. The company successfully defended a charge under the Obscene Publications Act, turning the book into a huge seller. Since then, Penguin has been embroiled in a number of controversies: 1980s - attracted criticism after publishing The Satanic Verses. 2000 - defended itself from a charge of libel from right-wing historian, David Irving. 2002 - published Michael's Moore's, Stupid White Men, after attempts in the US to ban it.

domain: library