text:
A Review on Geothermal Energy Pile Foundation, Its Construction, Design and Thermal Testing
Received Date:November 28, 2022; Published Date: January 10, 2023
Geothermal energy pile foundations are alternative means of harvesting eco-friendly thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth for heating and cooling purposes. Rapid growth in the utilization of geothermal structures over the years has led to several research efforts centered on understanding their thermal and thermo-mechanical performance through in-situ characterization. This paper discusses considerably, the review of literature on the background, construction, and design of geothermal energy piles, as well as the principle behind the technology. Furthermore, an overview of the key factors to be considered in the design such as the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and the specific heat capacity was presented. More importantly, under thermo-mechanical loading, the pile shaft capacity has been reported to increase when heated and upon cooling, a recovery of the initial capacity of the pile. Also, the thermal loads and displacements resulting from the geothermal use of the energy piles are not expected to contribute to geotechnical failure. Lastly, insight into the thermal response test, the theoretical background of thermal analysis, and a few previous field thermal response tests were presented. This paper has found that geothermal energy piles are one of the best candidates for sustainable energy, even though there are some limitations in the guidelines for design and testing for large schemes.
Keywords:Conductivity; Energy pile; Geothermal; Heat transfer; Pump; Sustainable; Thermal
The depletion of fossil fuels, increasing demand for sustainable energy, and the emission of greenhouse gases have led to an inclined growth in the utilization of renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, etc.). Geothermal energy is an attractive renewable technology that may be extracted from different depths below the crust of the earth. Deep geothermal energy is obtained from the hot water/rock in the deeper portion of the earth’s crust whereas shallow geothermal energy is from heat available at shallow depths. Shallow geothermal energy provides sustainable baseload heating/cooling for buildings with the aid of a ground source heat pump (GSHP). The GSHP pumps heat from or to the earth using a heat exchanger placed within the earth at depths of 5 m or more below the ground surface level, where temperatures are relatively stable regardless of the outside ambient air temperature. In Austria and Switzerland, shallow geothermal energy has also been increasingly obtained from foundation elements since the beginning of the 1980s initially from base slabs, then from piles in 1984, and from diaphragm walls in 1996 . Geothermal energy shows less variation in energy supply and requires less maintenance compared to other forms of renewable energy. Conventional ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) with vertical boreholes and energy foundations (pile, diaphragm/retaining walls, tunnels) have been employed over the years to extract geothermal energy from the ground . Due to the good thermal properties (conductivity and conservation) of concrete, the heat transfer is significantly higher than in the case of vertical boreholes . Energy foundation has shown to be a viable alternative to reduce the cost associated with drilling boreholes required for vertical GSHPs . Studies also suggest that they can reduce the operational cost required for heating/cooling by 80% , and the emission of greenhouse gas by 66% or more compared to traditional methods of heating and cooling . Their application has become popular in Europe and North America.
Geothermal energy piles also referred to as heat exchanger piles consist of pile foundations combined with closed-loop ground source heat pump systems. These loops are normally a series of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) tubular pipes (absorber pipes) that can transmit a fluid (often water) throughout the foundation . Heat exchanger piles are cost-effective because they serve a dual purpose. Firstly, they serve a primary objective of transferring load from the structure beyond unfavorable layers to a firm bearing layer of soil or rock. Subsequently, they serve a secondary purpose in extracting shallow geothermal heat from the ground. With the aid of the fluid as the transfer medium, the substantial mass of the foundations and the ground, a heat reservoir for heating the building in winter, or a heat sink for cooling the building in summer can be achieved. Basically, the energy pile system consists of three main parts: (i) an earth connection via a heat exchanger enclosed in the pile foundation, (ii) a pump system, and (iii) a heat distribution system , as illustrated in Figure 1
Figure 1:Schematic illustration of the energy pile system Adapted from .
This paper provides a review of the background, construction, and design of geothermal energy piles as well as the factors governing the design, the principle behind the technology, the behavior under coupled thermo-mechanical loading, and the testing procedure. The study presented a few cases of thermal response testing carried out in the field.
Construction of Geothermal Energy Piles
Foundation piles whose primary function is for structural purposes are simultaneously used as heat exchangers by incorporating one or more loops of HDPE pipes over the length of the pile. The geometry of the pile (diameter and length) should be designed to resist the applied structural loads, and not increased to suit the geothermal requirements. However, the amount of thermal energy harvested cannot be guaranteed to satisfy the entire need of the building and should be designed as part of a hybrid heating and cooling system .
During the construction of the geothermal energy pile, the soil is initially bored out similarly to the typical pile foundation. Thereafter, a rigid, welded reinforcement cage is inserted. HDPE plastic pipes with a diameter of 20 or 25 mm, with a wall thickness of 2·00 or 2·30 mm respectively, are fixed to the reinforcement cages of the pile foundation (Figure 2) and are positioned to form multiple individuals closed loops that circulate either water, water with 20-25% antifreeze like Mono Ethylene Glycol or a saline solution through a heat carrier fluid. Other materials used for the heat carrier fluid pipes include steel, and copper . Typically loops of eight vertical runs would be provided in a 600 mm diameter pile . The configuration of the HDPE pipes varies, including U pipes, UU pipes, or W pipes. The loops are fitted with a locking valve and manometer at the top of the pile cage. Before concreting, an integrity test is conducted by pressurizing the HDPE pipes to around 8 bar and resisting the head of the wet concrete without collapsing .
After concreting operation, the pressure is maintained until the concrete hardens and reapplied before the pipes are finally enclosed. The protruding pipes at the tops of the cage are held back to avoid damage and a tremie pipe is placed at the base of the pile. Concrete is poured through the tremie, and it is raised as the concrete fills the pile. After the construction of the pile, the HDPE pipes are connected to a heat exchanger (GSHP) which is then con nected to a secondary circuit of pipes in the floors and walls of the building . The geothermal effectiveness of piles less than 300 mm in diameter is much reduced due to lower surface area and the limited number of loops that can be fitted; the economically minimum depth of an energy pile is about 6 m  According to , for continuous flight auger (CFA) piling, the final integrity of the HDPE pipes may be affected by the plunging of the heat exchanger with the reinforcement cage into fresh pile concrete. This setback can be overcome by providing a stiff pile reinforcement cage achieved by welding the helical reinforcement to the vertical reinforcement bars. Simply connecting with wires would cause the reinforcement cage to become overly deformed during lifting and insertion into the concrete pile. Consequently, for energy piles, the rotary boring technique should be preferred, and a relatively rigid reinforcement cage is recommended even in this case.
Figure 2:HDPE pipes attached to pile reinforcement .
Principles of Geothermal Utilization for Energy Pile System
Geothermal heat exchanger technology is the most effective method for space heating or cooling purposes [11,12]. The principle of the energy pile system is to transfer heat to and from the earth and the heat pump system through heat exchanger HDPE pipes placed within the pile. Studies have shown that the ground temperature below a certain depth remains relatively constant at around 10 - 15 ℃ (and in the tropics as high as 20 - 25℃) throughout the year . For example, the variation in temperature with depth measured at different locations is presented in Table 1.
Table 1:Relative ground temperature measured at different locations.
During winter (heating cycle), the ground temperature is usually higher than the atmospheric air, this natural heat is collected through the loops and carried by heat transfer fluid to the GSHP in the building. Thus, been considered a heat source. The GSHP uses electrically driven compressors and heat exchangers to concentrate the heat from the ground and release it inside the building at a higher temperature via the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit. In contrast, during the summer period (cooling cycle) the whole process takes place in a reversed fashion. In this scenario, excessive heat is extracted from the building and transferred to the heat transfer fluid with the aid of the GSHP unit. The heat then travels along the loop and is subsequently absorbed by the ground, being used as a heat sink for injecting heat.
Design of geothermal energy pile
In the United Kingdom, a standard has been proposed Ground Source Heat Pump Association , to guide the geotechnical and structural design of energy piles. In general, two major factors need to be considered in any design procedure: (i) the in-service behavior and (ii) the failure scenario. The primary function of the energy pile regardless of its role in geothermal energy extraction is to safely transmit the loads without unacceptable settlement or damage to the superstructure or neighboring structures. While incorporating an additional type of load (thermal) to the pile, the design has been suggested to follow the same procedure as that of a traditional pile. The major goal in the design of an energy pile is to quantify the thermal load and apply afterward the factor of safety used in the traditional pile design . However, for safety purposes, a high conservative factor of safety is usually employed in the traditional pile design procedure which in turn leads to more cost during construction. The thermal loads on pile can be considered variable static loads and the temperature change as well can be defined with respect to the temperature inputs involved in the building energy design, the associated thermal power for heating and cooling, the operation time, and the thermal properties of the concrete and that of the ground . The thermal demand to be satisfied by a geothermal energy system can be estimated following standard procedures recommended by either . Handbook of Fundamentals or ACCA  according to .
Knellwolf C, et al.  introduced a one-dimensional finite
difference method for designing geothermal energy piles that assess
the main effects of temperature changes on pile behavior. The
model was formulated according to the load transfer approach by
[19,20]. The design method by  was based on the following simplifications:
• Consideration is given only to the axial displacements.
• The Young’s modulus, Epile, and coefficient of thermal expansion, α, of the pile remain constant along the pile and do not change with temperature.
• The relationships between the shaft friction/shaft displacement, head stress/head displacement, and base stress/base displacement are known.
• The soil and soil-pile interaction properties do not change with temperature.
The load transfer functions proposed by  based on the Menard pressure meter modulus value were adopted. The thermal load was added to the load-displacement model by using the null point theory proposed by  for the energy piles. The null point along the pile length is regarded as no movement point during thermal loading. Thus, the movement of the pile was evaluated from the null point along the length of the pile.
Governing Factors in Energy Pile Design
The thermal properties of the soil are an important governing factor for the design of geothermal energy foundations and borehole heat exchange systems. The required number of heat exchangers depends on the thermal properties of the soil. The most paramount thermal properties of the soil are: (i) the thermal conductivity (𝜆), (ii) specific heat capacity (c), and (iii) thermal diffusivity (α). These properties depend on soil types, composition, water content, density, and soil constituents (mineralogical content).
Thermal conductivity (𝜆)/
Soil thermal conductivity measurements describe the soil properties
which govern the flow of heat through the soil. It is described
as the quantity of heat passing through a unit area in a unit of time
under a unit temperature gradient. The ability of a material to
conduct heat depends on the soil particles, porosity, and moisture
content. The thermal conductivity of soil is significantly influenced
by the water content, texture, mineralogical composition, and bulk
density . Thus, an increase in either the saturation or 2017dry
density of the soil will yield an increase in its thermal conductivity
. Studies have shown that the thermal conductivity of soil
increases remarkably with increasing groundwater levels or the
presence of moisture [25,26]. It can be estimated from empirical
formulas, laboratory tests, and field tests. Measurements in the
laboratory are quicker and cheaper but certain conditions such as
the presence of groundwater flow, spatial heterogeneity, and scale
effects directly impact the thermal properties . The most commonly
used standards for measurement of soil thermal conductivity
• ASTM D5334-14 Standard Test Method for Determination of Thermal Conductivity of Soil and Soft Rock by Thermal Needle Probe Procedure .
• IEEE Std 442-1981 (Reaffirmed 2003), IEEE Guide for Soil Thermal Resistivity Measurements .
Both methods rely on thermal needles and can be conducted in the field or the laboratory by simply inserting the needles into the soil. However, the most accurate method is to construct a borehole and utilize it to determine soil thermal conductivity . Typical soil thermal conductivity values are presented in Table 2.
Thermal diffusivity (α)
Soil thermal diffusivity is the parameter that describes the rate of transmission of temperature change within the soil. Simply put, it is the property that determines how easily and rapidly the temperature of the soil can change. Typical soil thermal diffusivity values are presented in Table 2.
Table 2:mal properties of soil .
Specific heat capacity (c)
The specific heat capacity of soil solids represents the amount of heat required to raise the temperature by one degree for a unit of mass of dry soil particles . It is a useful parameter for characterizing the amount of heat that can be stored in the soil. It characterizes the quantity of heat that can be added to or removed from the soil per unit change in temperature. It can be determined by adding the heat capacities of different constituents of the soil as per volume and is measured in J/kgK. Also, it depends on porosity, mineral content, organic content, air, etc. The thermal capacity of the soil increases with an increase in water content but decreases in case of freezing .
Heat Transfer in Soil and Concrete
There are three essentially different processes through which heat can be transported in soil: conduction, convection, and radiation . Heat conduction is a process whereby heat is transferred from one region of the medium to another, without visible motion in the medium. The heat energy is passed from molecule to molecule. The transport of heat by fluid in motion is called convection. Heat convection with accompanying phase changes can increase heat transfer tremendously. This is especially true for water, which has very high values of latent heat of condensation/evaporation and freezing/melting. Radiation is the transfer of thermal energy from a body to its surroundings by electromagnetic waves. Conduction is the dominant way of heat flowing in the soil while convection and radiation are less dominant. However, if there is a high flow rate of groundwater in the soil, convection also becomes the dominant means of heat flow .
The difference in temperature between the ground, the pile, and the heat carrier fluid passing through the HDPE pipes, generates the heat transfer in the geothermal system. The principle involved in this process is convective heat flow between the heat carrier fluid and HDPE pipe, conductive heat flow in the pipe’s wall, conductive heat flow in the concrete pile, conductive heat flow in the soil, and convective heat flow in the soil if the groundwater flow speed is higher than 0.5-1.0 m/day . Heat transfer in the concrete is governed by three thermal properties: thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity. Concrete has good thermal conductivity and thermal storage capacity, which makes it an ideal material for extracting geothermal energy. The specific heat capacity of concrete is greatly influenced by the type of aggregate, moisture content, and density. The thermal conductivity of concrete ranges from 1.4 to 3.6 W/mK and varies with the density and permeability of concrete . When specific details information about the aggregate proportion in the pile concrete and their properties, and types are not known; the pile thermal conductivity should not be assumed more than 1.5 W/mK . For large diameter piles equipped with heat transfer pipes located in the center, the concrete is suggested to play a considerably more significant role in the process of heat transfer relative to the ground .
Pile Behavior Under Thermal Loading
 assessed the possibility of any significant impact of cyclic heating and cooling on the performance of the energy pile. When a pile is heated or cooled, it tends to expand or contract about a null point. Thus, during the extraction of heat (winter/heating cycle) pile contracts, and during injection of the heat (summer/cooling cycle) pile expands.
According to , it is assumed that
• The pile load will be resisted on the shaft alone, and the resistance generated is uniform along the length of the shaft i.e., constant rate of change in strain with depth.
• The applied temperature changes are uniform over the length of the pile and therefore the pile expands/contracts about a ‘null’ point at mid-depth.
Figure 3:Mechanisms for response of pile to thermal loading (a) load only; (b) cooling only; (c) combined load and cooling.
Under compressive loading alone, the pile moves into the supporting soil, and resistance at the pile/soil interface opposes the loading as shown in Figure 3a. The mobilized shaft resistance is constant and as a result, the strain (ԑ) and load (P) reduce linearly with depth. During the cooling cycle, if both ends of the pile are unrestrained from moving, the pile contracts, and any restrain offered to the pile shaft will therefore lead to tensile strain/load developing (Figure 3b). Along the upper part of the shaft, shear stress (qs) on the pile/soil interface will be mobilized in the same direction as that mobilized by compression loading applied at the pile head, while shear stress will be in the opposite direction in the lower part of the pile. The axial loads become less compressive and can become tensile during a cooling cycle in combination with a compressive load at the pile head, while the mobilized shaft resistance rises in the upper part of the pile and decreases in the lower part (Figure 3c).
However, during the heating cycle, the pile expands, and any restraint offered to the pile shaft will therefore lead to compressive strain/load developing (Figure 4a). At the pile/soil interface, the reverse effect of the cooling cycle will develop. The axial load may become more compressive when during the heating cycle under a compressive head load, with the mobilized shaft resistance decreasing in the upper half of the pile and increasing in the lower half (Figure 4b). According to , it was observed that while the pile was heated, there was an increase in the pile shaft capacity and upon cooling, the initial capacity of the pile was recovered.
Figure 4:Mechanisms for response of pile to thermal loading (a) load only; (b) heating only; (c) combined load and heating.
PJ Bourne-Webb, et al.  reported further that, depending on the magnitude of the temperature change (and the degree of pile axial fixity), there is the potential for tensile axial forces to develop during cooling, and for a significant increase in axial force to develop during heating.
Studies have however suggested that the thermal loads and displacements resulting from the geothermal use of the energy piles are not likely to lead to geotechnical failure. Mimouni T, et al.  demonstrated that under monotonic thermal loading the null point will always move towards the pile end to maintain the equilibrium, even if the ultimate bearing force (friction and base) is mobilized. This can be attributed to the fact that the null point will prevent excessive settlement/heave since at least this point remains stable under temperature variations, ensuring equilibrium concerning a collapse mechanism. However,  reported that thermal loads cause negligible effects at ultimate limit states from both a geotechnical and a structural perspective, while they cause significant effects that should be considered at serviceability limit states. Bao X, et al.  proposed that the unequal strain that develops in a pile should be considered for its long-term application and more attention should be centered on the long-term unrecoverable displacement of the energy pile resulting from the thermal plastic strain and thermal soil consolidation.
Thermal Response Test (TRT)
To achieve optimal geothermal energy, the design of geothermal systems requires the knowledge of the thermal characteristics of both the GHE and the ground surrounding them. There are two key design parameters: (i) the GHE thermal resistance, R (K m/W), and (ii) the ground thermal conductivity, λg (W/m/K). Thus, the most reliable way to obtain this information is via an in-situ technique known as thermal response testing (TRT) [41,42]. In the case of small schemes, it might not be economical to perform a test compared to the adoption of conservative thermal properties during the design process. However, for larger schemes, or in cases where there is a doubt about in situ thermal properties, the  recommended that a thermal response test is required to be conducted. The test is conducted by injecting the heat into the ground via heat exchanger fluid at a constant rate and the corresponding inlet and outlet temperature of the fluid shall be determined during the test . This technique was first proposed by  for borehole heat exchangers at an international conference in Stockholm.
The GSHP  has published a guideline for conducting the
TRT test in the geothermal piles which recommend that:
• If the potential for use of thermal piles has been identified, then a site investigation borehole may be equipped with a single U-tube and used to carry out a TRT.
• If the diameter of the thermal piles is less than or equal to 300mm then a TRT test may be carried out using the pile, following the same procedure as for a borehole heat exchanger.
• If the diameter of the thermal piles is greater than 300mm then the TRT is likely to be of greater duration than the borehole test and the data obtained requires a more sophisticated interpretation technique.
• To determine the stress-strain behavior of a pile during heating and cooling the pile load test could be extended to include both heat injection and heat rejection to the pile while it is maintained under load. Monitoring of the temperatures and strain developed within the pile itself then allows assessment of the stress-strain response of the pile as well as its thermal characteristics.
Theoretical background of thermal analysis
During the TRT, heat is injected into the GHE at a constant rate, Q (W), and the change of temperature of the heat transfer fluid, Tf (℃) is monitored for two or three days. The temperature in the borehole or of the pile, Tr(t) (℃), with time, t (sec), can be expressed by the following analytical equation :
Where T0 is the undisturbed ground temperature, Q is the applied heat transfer rate in W, λg is the ground thermal conductivity, H is the GHE length in m, αg is the thermal diffusivity in m2/s, rb is the GHE radius in m, and γ is Euler’s constant (0.5772). The rate of change in the heat transfer fluid temperature is given by:
Where Rb is the pile resistance (mK/W),
Knowing the power input required to heat the fluid, the effective thermal conductivity of the soil can be determined from the analysis of the rate of change in temperature with time. There is a linear relationship between the heat carrier fluid temperature, Tf and the log of time which can be expressed as:
Thus, we have
The thermal conductivity can be evaluated from the gradient, m of the temperature versus ln(time) graph .
The GHE thermal resistance Rb can also be determined from the straight-line intercept in the same temperature versus ln(time) graph.
In common practice, 2 0 / 5 g b α t γ = F = is taken as the minimum time for the application of Equation (2) , where F0 is the Fourier number. The implementation of this restriction also ensures that the GHE is in a thermal steady state, an additional constraint required to ensure that the value of Rb is constant . This minimum time criteria when applied to a borehole GHE typically equates to less than ten hours . However, when the restriction is applied to larger diameter energy piles the minimum time becomes several days or even weeks , having significant implications for TRT durations and, hence, cost. As a consequence, however, theoretical studies have shown that there are limitations to applying routine TRT methods to piles due to their larger diameter , and the guidelines proposed by the  have limited application to small diameter piles not more than 300 mm. Extending the duration of the TRT in the case of large diameter piles as specified by the  has been considered to be uneconomical in most cases according to . Thus, an alternative would be to test a borehole having a similar depth to the proposed piles during the ground investigation stage of a project. In addition, field studies [50,51] have shown that where a line source method is used in interpreting the data from the TRT, there is a potential for systematic overestimation of the thermal conductivity.
Table 3 presents a summary of thermal response tests conducted on different types of pile foundations having different cross-section pipe configurations, numbers of loops, and test duration.
Table 3:Summary of thermal response test.
This paper presents comprehensive literature on the significant amount of research undertaken on geothermal energy piles in the past years. This rapidly evolving and renewable source of energy is more environmentally friendly than conventional fuel sources and is considered to be largely untapped. This technology is however considered an expensive resource to tap into but with the utilization of foundations, the associated cost of drilling or construction is eliminated, and the foundation serves a dual purpose of structural stability and geothermal energy harvesting. Geothermal energy has been suggested to present the risk of triggering earthquakes in sites where they are been harvested. Thus, the potential effect of earthquakes and temperature have to be investigated.
Conflict of Interest
There is no conflict of interest.
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Tomorrow we may move around in a whole different way. In autonomous cars, faster and more ecological public transport, in the sky or underground… Everywhere, researchers promise us a very different future in terms of transport.
How will we travel in the future? Like them or not, electric bicycles and scooters are starting to spread in major cities. Fast, practical and environmentally friendly (when you don’t throw it into the sea), these “soft mobility” machines seem to herald a transformation in our modes of travel. But they are not the only ones. While in 2050, two out of three humans will live in cities, often living in megalopolises with more than 10 million inhabitants, here is an overview of the modes of transport of tomorrow.
It’s no secret that cities are saturated, crowded with cars. Energy-hungry vehicles, which pollute, contribute to increasing CO2 emissions, and participate in global warming, of which we are increasingly aware. Realizing that this situation is no longer tenable, elected officials and cities are trying, like Paris, to ban cars from the streets in the long term. Or in any case, traditional cars, running on fossil fuels (gasoline, diesel, natural gas)


Like many Americans, theater artist Ross Carter felt terrible and helpless following the December 2012 murder of 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., by a lone gunman.
"I thought, 'What can I do? I'm nobody, what can I do?" Carter recalls. "And then I thought, 'I'm going to write a comedy about gun control.'"
Gun control is one of the most polarizing issues in the United States, proponents saying something has to be done about the cycle of gun violence in the country and opponents saying gun restrictions infringe on rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
But, Carter observes, the two sides rarely engage in a meaningful dialogue.
"It's a powerful subject," Carter says. "It's a subject people quickly get angry and emotional about. It's a difficult thing to discuss. Most people have strong views already and don't want to be put into a position where they have to be exposed to nuances of thought."
But Carter knows that comedy can be a great place to start the conversation, because it puts people in a good mood, sharing mutual laughs and joy.
Carter didn't just make a comedy, he made an out-and-out door-slamming farce, the sort of play like Noises Off where there is usually a mistress in the closet and someone jumping out of the window in the all-together.
This story is set in the office of the most conservative senator in the United States, poised to become the Senate majority leader and preparing to deliver the Republican rebuttal to a Democratic president's speech. It's Easter Sunday, and a manufactured controversy has erupted over an online query: What would Jesus pack?
"Jesus is not going on vacation," Carter quickly notes. "He's not packing his bags."
No, the question is if Jesus were alive and living in America today, what sort of weapon would he carry to defend himself, or would he? The intention, Carter says, was to create tension in the senator's camp of supporters between those who are confident Jesus would carry a gun, and those who insist he wouldn't.
The senator, "gets a lot of support from the NRA (National Rifle Association) and a lot of support from the evangelical right," Carter says. "So the people on the evangelical right are saying 'Of course not,' and the people in the NRA are saying, 'Not so fast. I think he would.'"
Pretty soon the senator finds reporters on the phone and at his door seeking statements and supporters of his from both camps insisting he take sides.
Throw in a son who is the senator's ideological opposite and his new reporter girlfriend, and the frenzy quickly rises to a fever pitch.
"The show's just funny," director Eric Seale says. "I think you can come into it and not give a damn about the subject matter and leave here not discussing the point and still laugh for two hours."
Seale, former director of Actors Guild of Lexington, is known for incorporating multimedia into his shows, and went into overdrive here with mock cable-news segments about the growing controversy.
"I think there should be more modern farces like this that address these ridiculous issues," Seale says.
Carter says he hopes the play does what theater does best: "There are a lot of competing needs, and art is an excellent way to present those questions and get people to think about them."


The only thing that Lawrence Shankland’s wonder goal lacked was the adulation of an audience.
The striker’s skill and expertise deserved to be experienced in person by thousands of Dundee United supporters.
At one time, that looked likely to happen. This 2-1 victory over St Mirren was the fixture at that, least for a little while, we expected spectators to be allowed back into Tannadice to witness.
It was not to be, however, as the powers-that-be decided not to give the go-ahead.
Now, there are some things about fan-free football you can learn to live with.
For a lot of the time you can shut out the empty sidelines and focus on the passing and movement on the pitch, nearly forgetting that the action is taking place in the midst of a global pandemic.
Even sitting with your mask on your face and hand gel in your pocket, there are times when it could almost be the good, old, pre-coronavirus days.
However, the aching absence of people in the stands hurts most when a worldie goes in, a sublime strike like the one supplied by Shankland after 33 minutes.
There was no noise explosion, while the leaping and jumping around was left to the few on the park rather than the many.
You missed the shock on supporters’ faces that is usually followed by sheer delight as the realisation sets in that their hero has just scored an absolute cracker.
Shankland’s brilliance deserved better. It should have created a cacophany of sound that echoed far and wide.
Instead, the silence was only broken by the United coaches and players in the technical area.
It is a shame but until the virus is vanquished or even controlled then we will all just have to accept the special roar that greets a great goal is on mute.
The diminished celebration, though, didn’t detract from the volley’s value.
It heralded the return of Shankland from injury in spectacular style, gave the player his first ever Premiership goal, earned his club’s first victory at Tannadice this season and eased the Tangerines’ pain after back-to-back 4-0 drubbings from Kilmarnock and Rangers.
It also helped blank out the preceding half-an-hour or so, with the visitors looking the better team during that time.
United, to their credit, were a different beast after the break.
They went on to dominate the second half, creating a barrowload of opportunities.
Nicky Clark smacked the inside of the post with a shot, while there were oh-so-close strikes from Adrian Sporle, Shankland, Ian Harkes and Logan Chalmers. Apologies to anyone left out but there were a few.
United boss Micky Mellon was spot-on when he said: “I think in the second half we played some unbelievable football.
“The one-touch football, the amount of chances that we had, I think we have to say that we deserved the win.”
Buddies boss Jim Goodwin, who has a well-earned reputation for his honest appraisal of matches, freely admitted the home team deserved the three points, citing their dominance from half-time onwards.
Mellon’s men scored a second goal on 52 minutes from the aforementioned Sporle.
The Argentinian was the picture of composure when, after both Harkes and Shankland has shots blocked, he sidestepped a challenge before curling the ball into the net.
It was all United now and St Mirren looked to be in even deeper trouble when, on the hour, Richard Tait flew into a bad tackle on Chalmers.
Again, much to his credit and without equivocation, Goodwin accepted the red card for his player was deserved.
The hosts should have been on easy street but, with echoes of the opening-day match against St Johnstone, a blunder by an experienced central defender opened the door to 10-man opposition.
Back then it was a Mark Connolly sliced clearance but this time captain Mark Reynolds was at fault when he seemed to have the ball under control but was caught out by St Mirren substitute Dylan Connolly. He couldn’t believe his luck and clipped a low shot past United keeper Benjamin Siegrist to make it 2-1.
The Tangerines still kept attacking, though, and it was they who looked the likelier side to score again in the closing stages.
Mellon’s side now find themselves with 10 points after eight games in a campaign that has already been a bit of a roller-coaster.
Their remaining matches in the first quarter are away to Hamilton Accies on Saturday, home to Livingston on Friday, October 2 and a Tannadice meeting with Aberdeen on the 17th, which follows a batch of Betfred Cup group games.
The Tangerines won’t be setting any targets publicly but in private you imagine a points haul of six from those three games would be acceptable.
That would mean the long-awaited and hard-earned return to the top flight is going pretty well.


text:
Cozy Acres, Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs. Courtesy of Dusty Diggs.
Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (KTHV) -- The waters of Lake Hamilton stayed calm Tuesday afternoon, a far cry from where they were Monday morning.
"The water came up five in a half foot in a couple hours," says Dusty Diggs of Larry Diggs Construction, Inc.
When the water rose, his team got to work.
"People called and said there is docks loose up and there is a lot of high water up in the Cozy Acres area," says Diggs.
Digg's says his father's construction company specializes in building and repairing boat docks and after Monday's flash floods, they have their hands full.
"We've found paddle boats, flat bottoms, all kinds of debris. Hot water heaters, I mean there's been everything floating down the lake. Everything started upstream. When stuff started breaking loose, it hit everything else and kind of like a domino effect just took it all out," says Diggs.
Diggs says Cozy Acres and Treasure Isle took the biggest hit and the repairs will not be cheap.
"On that cove alone, I'd say it's up in the millions with the stuff that's been tore up with the boats and the boat docks and everything so it's a lot of damage," says Diggs.
Damage that is leaving boat owners with a dent in their wallet and Diggs with a lot of work ahead of him.
"Water has got to go somewhere. I know Louisiana has been wanting water and I think they are getting it now," says Diggs.
Diggs says they are getting as much debris as possible off the water and out of the way of boaters. The remaining debris is being tied to the shoreline and will be picked up in the coming days.
The Hot Springs Airport cited a record 4.41 inches of rain Monday, surpassing the previous record of 0.57 set in 2007.

domain: geography


text:
When I sit down to interview Mira Mariah—aka @GirlKnewYork—at her bite-sized office space in Bushwick, I don’t have any questions about Ariana Grande on the brain. Cueing up my recorder with a shaky hand, it briefly occurs to me that this could be a bad move as a beauty journalist; that maybe I should just give people what they want/expect. But then the moment passes, Mariah shoots me a reassuring smile, and I remember why I’m there: not to discuss her relationship with the pop princess—or what it was like tattooing her former fiancé, Pete Davidson, for that matter—but to find out more about her world and how she navigates life as a disabled artist, mother, and influencer. Because the fact is, while the “Sweetener” singer might be partially responsible for her ascent to Insta-stardom, Mariah’s mesmerizing work and infectious personality are all her own, and the sole reasons people stick around—not to mention why her 175K follower count continues to skyrocket.
Over the next 40 minutes, I listen intently as Mariah gives me a glimpse into her universe and reflects on how she got to where she is today: the highs, the lows, and the learning curves. We also discuss some lighter subjects, like the beauty products she swears by (obviously), and her fab new collaboration with L.A.-based jewelry brand, Amarilo. Keep scrolling to learn more about Mariah—plus, what happened when I got inked by GirlKnewYork herself for the first time.
On losing her leg:
Mariah was born with a birth defect that damaged her left leg to the point where it was no longer salvageable by the time she turned 17. “At that time, my options for mobility were really low and chronic pain was consuming my life,” she recalls. “It was crippling.” Eventually, something had to change. “I was needing an exceptional amount of rest, and I felt this looming demon of drug addiction coming over me that I wasn’t indulging in, but that almost felt inevitable if things stayed how they were because I was prescribed so many narcotics for the pain,” she tells me; her mouth scrunched into a frown. “It’s a really complicated thing to talk about, but I didn’t want that to become a reality. I had dreams of making clothes and this vision of a really glamorous life for myself. I wasn’t gonna let this take that away from me.”
For this reason, 17-year-old Mariah made the decision to have her leg amputated. Believe it or not, though, it wasn’t a tragic time for Mariah—instead, it felt like a fresh start. “I lost my leg on June 24th, got my prosthetic on August 22nd, and by September 25th, I went to homecoming and could dance with all my friends,” Mariah muses, smiling now. “For some it might’ve felt like a tragedy, but to me, it was a gift.”
On the profile-gone-wrong:
While Mariah is more than down to discuss her disability now, this wasn’t the case just a few years ago. She became guarded—and rightfully so—after the New York Post twisted her words in a deeply insensitive profile, which was published in 2013 when she was still going by her given name, Mariah Serrano. “I was really excited about the interview at first because it felt like a way to say, ‘Look, you can be disabled and still be fashionable and funny and slutty or whatever you want,’ because I wasn’t seeing that image anywhere. But I made a joke and they took it totally out of context,” Mariah says. “Basically, I said I removed my leg to wear better shoes, which I thought was such an obvious joke because my foot was so deformed I could barely wear shoes. I was simply trying to angle it on the bright side of an otherwise complicated situation.”
After the article came out, she received a slew of backlash. “It was a really dark period for me,” she says. “I didn’t even want to use my real first and last name anymore, and anytime I would go into an interview for a fashion job, they’d be like, ‘So let’s talk about this article.’ It was really hard.”
It’s been roughly six years since then, and Mariah says she’s finally come to terms with it. Even better, she now believes it was part of her path all along. “I used to feel really bitter about it, but it’s just another part of my story and something that led me to GirlKnewYork, so it’s okay.”
Mariah has been on some spectrum of disabled for her entire life, though she says she only recently started identifying as such.
“I really only started using the terminology in the last two years. I think when I was a little younger, I avoided the idea—I was always like, ‘I’m not actually disabled, I'm just a little different.’ But as I've gotten older, I’ve started to understand that it’s an important part of my identity and the relationship I’ll always have with my body. So it’s not that I’m newly disabled, it’s just that I’m newly open about it.”
After reflecting, she adds: “My life then, now, and forever will always be a process of learning and re-learning how to walk. Accepting that took like the last ten years, but it’s a big part of me and what I go through every day.” As for body image, Mariah says she takes it day by day. “Visually, I’m still getting there. I think this happens to all of us though—we all have something we’re self-conscious about. Some days it’s all I can see and others I won’t notice a thing.”
On work and getting it all done:
Mariah came to the conclusion that she wanted to be a tattoo artist while pregnant with her daughter. “I realized that drawing and talking to women were what I loved most, so after I had Gogo, I went all in. At the time, tattooing wasn’t as feminized as it is now, and I had friends who wanted these tiny tattoos but didn’t know where to go because they felt kind of shamed by other artists, so my initial goal was to try and fill that void, and then I really fell in love with it.”
The tattoo industry might still be male-dominated, but that hasn’t been Mariah’s experience at Brooklyn-based tattoo parlor, Fleur Noire. “I work with amazing supportive women and all of my male coworkers believe in me and support my way of art, too. I feel really loved and happy, and never feel marginalized.” Mariah pauses before adding: “But I also work for a very special tattoo shop that is extremely diverse. I think we speak 11 languages in total and we’re 40 percent women.”
Still, the fact of the matter is, working with any physical impairment is going to make things more trying. “The truth is, everything is late and everything is harder,” says Mariah. “Even getting from point A to point B is a thing, but I surround myself with people who understand my situation, and I’m incredibly privileged to say, ‘I can’t walk today, I’m taking an Uber,’ and to be able to show up in a sweatshirt. These are privileges based on money and access, and I’m very aware of that. I hope to make these things more accessible to others someday.”
“I think that disability needs to be the center of the self-care conversation,” Mariah says matter-of-factly when I inquire about the ever-trendy topic. “It’s a huge part of a disabled person’s experience, and it needs to look different for different people—that, and we need to be aware of where we’re enforcing rules or visuals of it that aren’t accessible to others.”
Moreover, Mariah believes there are two types of self-care: things you do out of necessity, and what you do purely for pleasure. “Self-care can be something like, paying your bills, and it can also be, like, nail polish and glitter. At the end of the day, both of them are equally valid.”
So what does self-care look like for her? “I’ll ice my face, drink a ton of lemon water, and cozy up in my Buffy blanket, which by the way, I think is such a cornerstone for disabled people. It’s one of my biggest comfort items.” Speaking of comfort, Mariah tells me that over the last year or so, it’s become increasingly important for her to make room for herself to feel more comfortable. “It’s one of the reasons I make sweatshirts and encourage people to wear them super oversized, and why I’ve been wearing sneakers nonstop lately. Comfort is just critical to my existence now.”
On being a mom:
Some might not know that Mariah is a mother, and yet, it’s another key aspect of her identity. Her daughter Margot (affectionately called Gogo) is five years old and one of the brightest lights in her life. “From a self-care standpoint, she’s a pleasure—sure, she can be a lot sometimes, but, truthfully, it feels indulgent to have her,” she says, really grinning for first time in our conversation. “She loves makeup and very much understands pleasure. The three of us—me, my sister Issa, and Gogo—will all sit on the floor while we do our makeup together, and it’s one of my all-time favorite things.”
On her beauty must-haves and collabs:
When I ask Mariah about her favorite beauty products, she lights up and doesn’t skip a beat before responding. “I really love the Milk Kush Mascara, the Anastasia Norvina Palette, and the Glossier Skin Tint and Leo Lipstick are my favorites. I’ve also been wearing glitter since I was like, 13,” she says.
Speaking of sparkly things, Mariah recently collabed with L.A.-based jewelry brand, Amarilo, on her very own collection. “I’m so happy with how it turned out. We took this drawing I did and turned it into a solid gold necklace, and then we made a ring and Saturn earrings, too.”
On her Instagram community:
As our conversation comes to a close, I ask about her goals for @GirlKnewYork, and more specifically: what she hopes people get out of following her. After giving it a good think, she comes back with this: “Creating community can be really hard, but I figure that if I’m going through something, then other people must be too, so it’s like, why not do it together so we can all feel seen? Ultimately, I want people to know they’re not alone, and that I’m on their side.”
My @GirlKnewYork experience:
A few weeks later, I’m sitting across from Mariah at her Williamsburg tattoo studio, shaking again. This time, though, it’s because I’m minutes away from getting the largest and most ~dramatique tattoo of my life: a vintage-style handheld mirror with a tearful woman’s reflection in it. Due to the level of intricate detail, Mariah says the piece has to be around five inches, and even though I’m secretly a little nervous, I refuse to be lame and back out.
A few minutes pass and I feel infinitely calmer, comforted by Mariah’s chill presence and how she chats me up like I’m a close friend, not just a client. We talk about everything from lipstick (I’m wearing Glossier’s Leo, which she notices) to dating apps, to skin ailments and living with chronic illnesses. By the time I’m actually about to get tatted, I’m not nervous anymore.
The whole process takes approximately 30 minutes and proves way less painful than I expected. More importantly: I’m in awe of my new tattoo, which spans the majority of my upper right arm and is exactly what I had been imagining in my head for months. On my walk home, I’m on Cloud 9, trying to pinpoint what it is about Mariah that makes people so drawn to her. As melodramatic as it might sound, the word I keep coming back to is: magic.

domain: artistic


text:
Want to ditch the dialer on your phone for something a bit more intuitive? Check out Ready 2.0 to help you stay in touch easier and faster.
News, analysis and tips on the Google Android operating system, and devices and apps that use it.
Details on pricing and availability are now official for Sony's 2015 televisions, and the company is focusing on 4K and charging a mint for many models. New for many sets is Android TV, while HDR arrives on the flagships.
Adobe ceases development on its mobile cross-platform image-editing app to make way for a more modern version, but promises Android for more of its apps by the end of the year.
In the wake of government surveillance and widespread hack attacks, Finnish company Jolla has revealed a new privacy-focused operating system.
Updated iOS app lets you send secure group, text, picture and video messages to other Apple mobile devices, and to Android users who have the TextSecure app.
After its $25 phones fail to dent the dominance of Google and Apple, the Firefox backer will try to compete using technological superiority -- and maybe by adding key Android apps, too.
Or some of it, anyway. After a year trying to make it as a subscription service, NYT Now is now free.
This compact laser supports not only wireless printing, but also automatic duplexing for double-sided goodness. Plus: a $60 security freebie!
HDMI 2.0a is the latest update to the HDMI specification. Here's what it is, and what it means, and why you should care.
Later this year, LG will do something rare and exceedingly welcome in the Smart TV universe: roll out a free, worldwide update to existing TV owners, bringing the operating system faster response times and new features.

domain: news


text:
The conclusions from last week's report have surprised many about what went on leading to the downfall of Lehman Brothers. How could management have been allowed to manipulate the investment banks' results so materially, even as they painted a different story to investors in their public filings? Why does it appear that the auditors, Ernst & Young, were so complicit with what management was doing in the months leading up to Lehman's bankruptcy filing? How was the board of directors not informed that this was going on? And most importantly, what should be learned from all of this going forward? Some have opined that this "black eye" for E&Y will be their Enron. It will suffer the same negative publicity that Arthur Andersen did after it became clear that the energy company was cooking its books under the watch of the auditor. This bad publicity eventually led to the collapse of the accounting firm. We're still in the early days of discovering what E&Y knew and didn't know about what happened at Lehman, so it's a little premature to suggest that E&Y is headed for the same fate as Andersen. Even if it is discovered that E&Y was just as "guilty" as Andersen, there are many reasons to think that E&Y will continue. The world is in a much more fragile place today than it was in 2002 -- at least according to the Obama administration and government officials in many other large countries. Real reform of the financial system has been put on the back-burner. Saving the existing system is the priority. What's the different between E&Y and Andersen? Andersen/Enron was a discrete failure, with culpable and easy scapegoat actors. What we're living through is the aftermath of a systemic failure where even the government was to blame. Where do you start with reform? When you're living through a four-alarm fire, the thinking on the part of the government seems to go, you don't repaint the trim on the house. They're trying to put the fire out, and that means keeping the status quo.
If you think about the areas to potentially reform coming out of the last two years, you could easily point to Fannie Mae ( FNM), Freddie Mac ( FMC), AIG ( AIG), credit ratings agencies (such as Moodys ( MCO) and S&P ( MHP) , auditors such as the Big Four, and governmental regulators such as the SEC, CFTC, and FASB (overseeing the auditors). And don't forget the too-big-to-fail banks Citigroup ( C), Wells Fargo ( WFC), JP Morgan ( JPM), and Bank of America ( BAC) and other key financial players such as Goldman Sachs ( GS) and Morgan Stanley ( MS). For the vast majority of those listed above -- even with Sen. Christopher Dodd's (D., Conn.) proposed reforms this week -- the government has taken the position that all these players and agencies need to be maintained as is. The Volcker Rule has been proposed to limit big banks' levering up deposits for trading purposes. Yet, it's been attacked by a majority of financial players for "over-reaching" and "not addressing the real cause of the meltdown." Many have speculated that the Volcker Rule will be "dead on arrival" and never see passage. (I disagree.) If they're right, the government will have done a great job of saving the financial system and preserving all the parties -- as they were -- who caused the system breakdown. For E&Y, I think they will continue (with some big or small slap on the wrist and mea culpa). Too many people don't want to see a Big Three vs. a Big Four. (Hello, bigger audit fees.) Besides, would the remaining Big Three do anything better than the current Big Four? Unlikely. Clearly, auditors paid by firms the oversee leads to issues, just as it does for credit ratings agencies paid by debt issuers. But what's the alternative? Change the business model or change the existing way these two players do their jobs with the existing business model. There was an interesting exchange in a recent 60 Minutes interview between Steve Kroft and hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who correctly foresaw the housing crash in 2005 and successfully profited from it through credit default swaps. Kroft asked Burry why someone at the credit ratings agencies hadn't read through the same offering memorandums as Burry had to notice the quality of mortgage bonds were deteriorating. Burry explained that the ratings agencies just don't have the incentives to do this and don't have the time to do this work.
"Yeah, but you're just one guy...", Kroft retorted. Burry paused, and smiled. He had no response. My belief is that the business models will likely have to be changed for both auditors and credit ratings agencies to avoid the kinds of problems we've seen last week with Lehman. However, none of these actors want this and they'll likely win over enough politicians to their hope that they can put better oversight protections in place. If I were in their place, I'd move heaven and earth to maintain the status quo way of getting paid. It's very attractive from their point of view (and the point of view of those paying them). Will it ever be changed? Not until the next big discrete event -- after the system's been solidified. We all hope that the next event will be a discrete event and not a larger systemic failure than what we saw in 2008. -- Written by Jackson in Naples, Fla.

domain: finance


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In for the Gold
By MARCUS TOWNEND
Last updated at 08:20 20 February 2007
could line up in the Cheltenham
Gold Cup next month with a question
mark over his stamina.
The eight-year-old, who is 8-1 fourth
favourite for the Festival showpiece,
looked top class when beating 2006
Gold Cup winner War Of Attrition at
Punchestown in December.
But plans to run him since have been
thwarted and he has yet to race
beyond two miles five furlongs.
Trainer Michael O'Brien had hoped
to run him in Saturday’s Bobbyjo
Chase at Fairyhouse over three
miles and a furlong, but that plan is
now under threat.
O'Brien, who believes stamina is not
a problem for his lightly-raced
gelding, said: "It is only 50-50 that he
will run because the ground looks
like coming up very heavy and the
forecast is not good. I don’t want to run him over three miles when the going is so bad.
"There is a race the following
weekend at Leopardstown, a
handicap over two miles five
furlongs. If we felt he needed
another race he could run there."
Even if In Compliance does not line
up in the Bobbyjo on Saturday the
race will still hold some interest for
the future as it is likely to be the first
run over fences for Grand National
winner Numbersixvalverde since his
famous win at Aintree last year.
The Martin Brassil-trained gelding is
one of 14 others declared for the
race. Other interesting possibles
include fellow Grand National hopes
Dun Doire, Point Barrow and
Garvivonnian, as well as the smart
novice Chelsea Harbour.
The tote Jackpot is expected to
top the £0.75 million mark at
Sedgefield on Tuesday.
The win of 50-1 shot
Hatherden in the fourth race ended
the hopes of all but two tickets at
Lingfield yesterday and they failed to
last beyond the next leg.
It means a
rollover of £432,155 is up for grabs.
Tote spokesman Paul Petrie said: "We
are looking at a monster jackpot."
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- Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino previews Liverpool match


Residents: If work being done on utilities for your property will be causing damage to the street, there is a cap to the amount you will have to pay for street repairs. The cap amount is $1,250. (See Legislative Policy 8H (PDF))
The contractor must schedule the inspection. Call the Inspections Department at 952-548-6320 (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or use the online request form. Schedule your inspection at least 24 hours in advance. When calling for an inspection you will be asked to provide the address, permit number and type of inspection you are requesting. Inspections are done 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. and are scheduled every half hour.


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Oxygen isotopes in biogenic silica: global changes in ocean temperature and isotopic composition. These defects are due to the hyperactivity and incorrect localization of the Rho-effector Rok-alpha to the plasma membrane. AMPA/kainate receptors in mouse spinal cord cell-specific display of receptor subunits by oligodendrocytes and astrocytes and at the nodes of Ranvier. The non-high-dose proton-pump inhibitor regimens, including a broad range of dosing, also improved outcomes, suggesting that doses inferior to those in the high-dose intravenous proton-pump inhibitor may be effective. Total intravenous anaesthesia is an appropriate technique for patients in developing countries.
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Unexpectedly, none of the endothelial cells was infected given the direct contact between adenoviruses and the capillary wall. Cysteine peptidases and their inhibitors in Tetranychus urticae: a comparative genomic approach. Weed risk assessment for aquatic plants: modification of a New Zealand system for the United States. Vitamin D is a potent hormone which affects organs other than bone and should not be given in excess to preterm infants. Urban-rural differences in mortality from ischemic heart disease. A decline in thyroid hormone concentrations over the course of the study did occur in both groups of dogs. Characterisation of the molybdenum-responsive ModE regulatory protein and its binding to the promoter region of the modABCD (molybdenum transport) operon of Escherichia coli. Circulation time studies by the fluorescein method with particular reference to morbus caeruleus. The technique is explained and typical C-scans are presented to demonstrate the normal orbital fat and optic nerve, together with selected pathological conditions in the orbit.
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Furthermore, we found that cortical states that were previously associated only with evoked activity can actually be observed also in the absence of stimulation, for example, the cortical representation of a given orientation may appear without any visual input. Implementing primary care reform and the impact on physicians and their practices. In assays using purified components, phosphorylation of Rad51 by c-Abl enhances complex formation between Rad51 and Rad52, which cooperates with Rad51 in recombination and repair. The linear analog score for dysmenorrhea correlated significantly with the total endometriosis score, the partial score for deep endometriosis, and the partial score for adhesions. The interactions of noradnamine and imipramine-like antidepressant drugs. The effects on biological parameters (SF2, RBE) of protons were greater than gamma-rays. In a preprostatectomy study, patients received CEP-701 for five days prior to prostatectomy and prostate tissue analyzed for CEP-701 levels. Single bolus doses of MTX increase the concentration of MMPRP in rats given daily s.c.
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Preimplantation genetic diagnosis of aneuploidy: were we looking at the wrong chromosomes?. Secretion of sodium and potassium by the parotid gland in essential hypertension. The fracture had occurred transversely, with the fragments embolizing bilaterally to the iliofemoral arteries. However, based on the small difference in time to transport, rocuronium as administered herein may be a reasonable alternative preferred by some clinicians. Cardiac rehabilitation is very important for the recovery and the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and one of its main strategies is to increase the level of physical activity. Molecular variables (e.g., expression of AIB1, ER, progesterone receptor, p53, Bcl-2), tumor characteristics, and patient outcome were assessed using Spearman rank correlation. Phosphate did not interfere with the arsenate transport at a non-inhibitory concentration of external arsenate (10(-9)m). Studies of the molecular background of such natural resistance are of special importance, not only for practical benefits in agricultural practice but also for understanding the role of plant genes in the transformation process. To evaluate the potential functional reorganization by functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the brain activation in responses to stimulation to healthy ears in patients with long-term unilateral hearing loss (UHL). Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase-2 (PGH-synthase) or cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is inducible by a variety of stimuli, e.g.
Newer agents like cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors (Celecoxib) and oxytocin antagonists (atosiban) have been introduced into clinical practice with the hope of reducing the complications of betasympathomimetic drugs. Silicon nanowires were synthesized, in a controlled manner, for their practical integration into devices. In the present study, we have reviewed the recent developments of specific compounds that can regulate p53 expression and its function in cell growth and development. The prevalence of antisense RNA in eukaryotes is not known and only a few naturally occurring antisense transcripts have been assigned a function. None of these compounds have matched or even surpassed the effectiveness of dexrazoxane in chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity settings, despite being stronger chelators and/or antioxidants. High-carbohydrate diets may increase plasma triacylglycerol concentrations either by increasing production of triacylglycerols or by reducing their clearance. Requirement of hydrogen peroxide and Sp1 in the stimulation of Na,K-ATPase by low potassium in MDCK epithelial cells. The Western Estuarine Zone is mainly impacted hy Cr, Ni and Cu contamination. Remarks on the use of a new inhibitor of aldosterone in cardiology. The association of digestive haemorrhage and a previous vascular reconstruction should suggest the diagnosis of arterio-digestive fistula and should lead to early angiography to enable coherent surgical strategy to be put into operation.
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The function and developmental expression of alternatively spliced isoforms of amphioxus and Xenopus laevis Pax2/5/8 genes: revealing divergence at the invertebrate to vertebrate transition. occidentalis, toxicity of pyridalyl was almost similar to that of acrinathrin, but greater than acrinathrin for adults. On a subset of trials, the position of the virtual fingertip was smoothly shifted by 2 cm during movement, either (1) in the direction of movement, which would require adjustments to the distance moved, or (2) orthogonal to the direction of movement, which would require adjustments to the direction moved. In other cases a single injection of the long acting protein synthesis inhibitor emetine were made intracerebrally just before or after olfactory bulb ablation. Neurological symptoms occur a few weeks before ankylosing spondylitis was diagnosed. However, oral malodor in the OM group subjects did not appear to cause a disadvantage in their social lives. For comparison of the lactate biosensor and the enzymatic method human blood samples were split and measured.
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This behavior is partially due to the ionic liquid impact on the thermodynamic water activity, but direct interactions between the hydrophilic ionic liquid and the enzyme are also disclosed. A Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi high molecular mass glycoprotein translocated to the host cell membrane by a non-classical secretory pathway. Recent studies have shown a worse in-hospital outcome in hypertensive than in normotensive patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which has been attributed to more frequent complications. Corneal scraping was performed and processed for direct microscopy and culture for bacterial and fungal isolates. Acute pneumonia caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae was diagnosed based on PCR positivity of bronchoalveolar lavage.
Overweight students who were not teased reported a variety of reasons. The impact of OCR accuracy on automated cancer classification of pathology reports. We introduce the Threshold Interval Modulation with Early Release-Rate of rIse Deviation with Early Release (TIMER-RIDER) model to account for the results. These results can improve STS patient treatment by increasing awareness in the patient, family, and medical team of the psychosocial issues that can be expected to arise. These findings suggest that the developmental ontogeny of UCP2 mRNA in the ovine lung is under local glucocorticoid hormone action and that maternal nutrient restriction has long-term consequences for UCP2 and GR mRNA abundance in the lung irrespective of its timing. The lifetimes of different bridge model designs were predicted by means of the NASA post-processor CARES.

domain: biology


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Ignite Theatre Company Bonfire Summer Camp Musical Theatre Minis
Ignite Theatre Company, voted as St. Louis magazine's 2017 A List winner for Children's Theatre. Ignite Theatre Company's mission is to create great people first and great performers second, and it only takes a SPARK! (Service, Performance, Arts Opportunities, Real Life Experience & Kindness Initiatives.)
Full/partial scholarships & payment plans available. Email KimberlyLorrene@gmail.com for more information.

domain: entertainment


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What is the value of Dutch beer exports?
In 2021, the Netherlands exported more than 2 billion euros worth of beer, of which 130 million euros concerned non-alcoholic beer. In 2021, the Netherlands was the biggest exporter of beer in the European Union. On a global scale, only Mexico exports more beer than the Netherlands.
In each year of this century, the Netherlands was the top exporter of alcoholic beer in the EU. Compared to 2000, the export value of beer was up by 73 percent in 2021, standing at 1.9 billion euros. Belgium’s export value rose even more steeply during that period, increasing almost fivefold. Germany and France are the third and fourth largest exporters of alcoholic beer in the EU, Czechia is fifth.
Worldwide, there is only one country that exports significantly larger volumes of alcoholic beer than the Netherlands, namely Mexico. In 2020, Mexico exported twice as much beer as the Netherlands.
Exports of non-alcoholic beer growing faster
As of 2017, non-alcoholic beer is measured separately in the statistics. All beer containing less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) is counted as non-alcoholic beer. Exports of non-alcoholic beer grew considerably faster between 2017 and 2021, at 97 percent, than the export of beer containing alcohol, which grew at 10 percent. In 2017 and 2018, Germany was the largest exporter of non-alcoholic beer in the EU. However, the Netherlands took over this position in 2019. After Germany and the Netherlands, the main exporters of non-alcoholic beer are Belgium and Poland.
Eurostat – EU trade since 1999 by SITC
News release – The Netherlands is the largest beer exporter in the EU
- How does CBS collect data?
- How much do we cycle per week on average?
- Who are most likely to work part-time?
- How many people visited Bonaire by cruise ship?
- Are people happy with the house they live in?
- How many young women encounter street harassment?
- What do the over-65s do online?
- How many wind turbines in the Netherlands?
- How far is school by bike?
- How many museums are there?
- How much electricity in the Caribbean Netherlands is renewable?
- How many adults are overweight?
- How many cargo ships dock at Dutch seaports?
- What did we listen to on the radio in 1953?
- What is the average lifespan in the Netherlands?
- Where did we go for a holiday in 1947?
- How much fish is landed?
- Where were people in the Netherlands born?
- What do we spend money on?
- How old are Dutch first-time mothers on average?
- How much cheese do we produce?
- How are goods transported through the Netherlands?
- How many people fall victim to cybercrime?
- What is the most spoken language or dialect at home?
- How many shops are there?
- What is the value of Dutch beer exports?
- How often do we have a goosebump moment?
- How many cows graze in fields?
- What are the most popular majors?
- How tall are Dutch people?
- How is the urban bird population doing?
- Where do most people work?
- What colour is our car?
- How does CBS handle your privacy?


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Top 10 Best Selling List for large grey dog crate
- New Age Pet ecoFLEX Pet Crate/End Table, Small, Grey
- New Age Pet ECOFLEX Homestead Sliding Barn Door Furniture Style Dog Crate -Grey, Large (EHDBC15-05L)
- PawHut Decorative Dog Cage/Crate Kennel with Strong Construction Materials & a Classic Americana Style, Grey
- unipaws Furniture Style Dog Crate with Cushion and Tray, Mesh Dog Kennels with Double Doors, End Table Dog House, Medium Crate Indoor Use
- Wire Dog Crate Kennel Cage with Double Lockable Doors, Decorative Medium Large Pet Crate End Table, Wood Furniture Dog Cave House, Indoor, Chew-Proof (Grey)
- WAYIMPRESS Large Dog Crate Bed Crate Pad Mat for Medium Small Dogs&Cats,Fulffy Faux Fur Kennel Pad Comfy Self Warming Non-Slip Dog Beds for Sleeping and Anti Anxiety Grey 24 Inch
- HiCaptain Folding Metal Dog Crate Cover for 42 Inch Wire Pet Cage(Two-Tone Gray)
- Pet Portable Crate – Great for Travel, Home and Outdoor – for Dog’s, Cat’s and Puppies – Comes with A Carrying Case ((19.5“x 13.5” x 13.5”), Grey/Black)
- PawHut Furniture Style Wood Dog Crate End Table Decorative Dog Cage Kennel Lattice Night Stand with Lockable Door, Grey
- EMPSIGN Stylish Dog Bed Mat Dog Crate Pad Mattress Reversible (Warm & Cool), Water Proof Linings, Removable Machine Washable Cover, Firm Support Pet Crate Bed for Small to XX-Large Dogs, Grey
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- Elegant way to house your pet while disguising the pet crate as a fashionable piece of furniture that can double as an end table
- Made of ECOFLEX, a non-toxic recycled plastic-wood polymer composite material that won’t warp, crack or split
- Spindles made of stainless steel tubing and a stainless steel latch; double latches on large and x-large crates
- Easy, no-tools assembly
- For dogs up to 20lbs
- Exterior Dimension: 23.8 in. L x 18.1 in. W x 22 in. H || Interior Dimension: 20.9 in. L x 15 in. W x 17.9 in. H
- Door Dimension: 11 in. W x 16.8 in. H
- Removable table top for easy cleaning. Requires no maintenance
- Crates can provide a safe secure hangout space for your dog. Best used for dogs that are crate trained and that do not have anxiety.
- ECOFLEX does not absorb moisture, therefore stains and odors are a thing of the past
New Age Pet ECOFLEX Homestead Sliding Barn Door Furniture Style Dog Crate -Grey, Large (EHDBC15-05L)
- Made of ECOFLEX, a non-toxic recycled plastic-wood polymer composite material that won’t warp, crack or split
- Multi-functional to use as a dog crate or end table
- Crates can provide a safe secure hangout space for your dog. If your dog suffers from anxiety, this may not be the right product.
- Side mounted “barn” style door with single bottom sliding lock mechanism
- Inspiring your pet style, No tools required for assembly.
PawHut Decorative Dog Cage/Crate Kennel with Strong Construction Materials & a Classic Americana Style, Grey
- MODERN AMERICAN STYLE: this wooden dog cage adopts American modern style in appearance, meaning you can combine it with your other home decor with absolute ease. You can also place pet products on it, convenient for use at any time.
- STRONG MATERIALS: MDF material greatly increases the strength of the overall framework, and at the same time creates a natural aesthetic. This dog crate is strong and good-looking: what more could you want?
- MDF QUALITY MATERIAL: Solid and environmentally friendly MDF wood panels with metal wires of this dog kennel offer a stylish way to keep your dog or cat securely confined indoors. Suitable for medium and small dogs.
- CONVENIENCE: This pet crate is easy to assemble, meaning you don’t have to waste energy trying to move it. Also, with its flat-top roof, you can place your pet’s products on it. Special bolt design ensures security, and it’s suitable for small to medium-sized dogs.
- PRODUCT INFORMATION: Overall Dimensions: 21.5″ L x 35.5″ W x 23.5″ H, Door Dimensions: 18.75″ L x 20.25″H, Weight Capacity: 66 lbs
unipaws Furniture Style Dog Crate with Cushion and Tray, Mesh Dog Kennels with Double Doors, End Table Dog House, Medium Crate Indoor Use
- DURABLE MEDIUM DOG CRATE: Designed with metal net and durable pressed wood. Perfect for small dogs (up to 40lbs). It is roomy to walk around. Please note that the pressed wood is not chew-proof.
- ELEGANT & DUAL-PURPOSE: This is a nice piece of furniture that also serves as a dog crate. Appear as an elegant side table, end table, and nightstand. A great way to multi-use and show your decorative side to make your home stand out! Your choice of home creativity!
- WIDE TOP: Durable top provides smooth wideness to add your choice of home décor such as a small/medium plant, magazines, family picture frames and night lamps with a capacity of 150lbs for the top only.
- COMFORTABLE CUSHION & REMOVABLE TRAY: Dense heavyweight cushion is soft and comfortable. Also, we have provided a plastic tray on the bottom, which collects dirt, pee, hair to maintain a clean environment for pets easily.
- VENTILATION & FULL VIEW: Ventilation at its personal best with a full view for pet to enjoy some peaceful time as they can see you and you can enjoy watching them rest in style. Comfy for pet nap time.
Wire Dog Crate Kennel Cage with Double Lockable Doors, Decorative Medium Large Pet Crate End Table, Wood Furniture Dog Cave House, Indoor, Chew-Proof (Grey)
- ● 2 IN 1 DESIGN: This multi-functional furniture is not only a dog crate but an end table, side table or night stand. Use it to create a harmonious living environment for people and pets, make the pet cage and home environment integrate perfectly.
- ● DURABLE MATERIAL: Crafted from Strong engineered wood (MDF) along with metal wire enclosure bars which can ensure sturdiness and stability for long last using to survive a chewing dog. (Please note that the wood is not chew-proof.)
- ● WIDE TOP & DOUBLE DOORS: Smooth finished wide top provides ample space to place potted plants, lamps, photo frames and drinking cups, or adds soft cushions and pillows to create a cozy rest area. Double doors with latches allow dog to go in and out easily, you can lock dog inside safely when you are out and no need to worry about losing it.
- ● PEACEFUL INTERACTION TIME: Four side wire fenced panel help to good ventilation inside and you can have fully observation when enjoying a peaceful interaction time with your dog.
- ● DIMENSIONS: Overall dimensions 31.5″ L x 23.3″ W x 25.6″ H door dimension 17.7″ L x 20.8″ H / 17’’ L x 20.8’’ H.
WAYIMPRESS Large Dog Crate Bed Crate Pad Mat for Medium Small Dogs&Cats,Fulffy Faux Fur Kennel Pad Comfy Self Warming Non-Slip Dog Beds for Sleeping and Anti Anxiety Grey 24 Inch
- CALM & ANTI ANXIETY DOG CRATE BED: the calming dog bed surface with soft luxury faux fur material,which feel like mom’s fur,super cozy and warm. The comfy dog mats can create a healthy sleeping environment and help them calm down.
- SIZE: Small pet beds measure about 24x18x3.2 inch for puppy/small cats or dogs up to 20 pounds.The pet bed package will be compressed,just shake and pat it before use.
- ULTRA SOFT KENNEL PAD：the dog crate mat filled thick inner , soft and durable,will relieve dog joint and muscle pain,meanwhile support dog’s back well.
- WATERPROOF & ANTI-SLID: the water resistance bottom with sticky beads,prevents moving and shifting on the floor,can ensure pets safety.Ideal dog furniture pet bed for folding metal dog crates,dog pillow, kennel bed,dog carriers,cat carriers & dog houses,even as a dog travel bed in a car.
- EASY CARE: strong stitching design on the surface will hold up filler through washing and won’t unravel for longer years to use.So you just need to throw whole bed in the machine and tumble dry low heat. Note:Machine wash, gentle cycle, drying, low heat.
- [Durable and Perfect Fit] Dimension 43”(L)x 29” (W)x 30”(H). Universal fits for most brand 42″ crate well. Dog crate cover is made of heavy duty windproof and sun resistant 600D polyester with water-resistant coating, which provides all type of protections.
- [Easy Fixing] For 4 elastic toggles at the corner and 3 plastic hook, it can help the cover stay firmly in place. If you drape the cover tight enough by toggle and hook, your dog will not easily pull out and chew.
- [Larger Panel Opening] Front and side panels are compatible with front and side door dog crates on 1 or 2 door folding metal dog crates, which does not affect the opening of the dog kennel door on both sides.
- [Breathable] Larger mesh window with adjustable curtain can be rolled up or left down to adjust visibility and ventilation. Top zippered openings can pull out the handle for moving crate anywhere.
- [Quality and After-sales Service Guarantee] Package included 1 x crate cover (without metal crate). 1 year warranty by HiCaptain. If you have any questions (e.g. Inappropriate size, Item is defective), please feel free to email us, we will help you to solve it.
Pet Portable Crate – Great for Travel, Home and Outdoor – for Dog’s, Cat’s and Puppies – Comes with A Carrying Case ((19.5“x 13.5” x 13.5”), Grey/Black)
- ALL-IN-ONE FOLDABLE DOG CRATE – If you’re looking to buy a foldable dog crate that combines all the functionality with a touch of class & innovation, ZAMPA Pet Crate is the perfect choice – All-in-One dog crate for indoor, outdoor, training & travel purposes – Refer to the size chart for size details
- QUALITY: Durable, Well-Ventilated Pet Crate For Indoor Or Outdoor Use
- NO ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: Pops up in seconds, no assembly needed, folds Flat, lightweight easy to carry,for your convenience we made a video for instructions how to fold
- WHAT TO EXPECT FROM ZAMPA: Crate, , Carrying case, and a commitment from our customer service team, please don’t hesitate to contact our customer service and BARK, we will make it right.
PawHut Furniture Style Wood Dog Crate End Table Decorative Dog Cage Kennel Lattice Night Stand with Lockable Door, Grey
- NATURE FIR WOOD: This wooden dog cage, which is made of natural fir and environmentally-friendly materials, gives pets their best living experience without sacrificing security and stability.
- SLANT WOOD DESIGN: Different from most of the vertical bar cages on the market, we use diagonal slant wood bars in our dog crate. This not only gives it strength, but gives it a unique visual effect and better ventilation.
- INDOOR USE: Featuring a blue painted finish, this dog kennel will fit in beautifully with your existing modern furniture and decor.
- CONVENIENCE: This pet crate is light and easy to assemble, meaning you don’t have to waste energy trying to move it. Also, with its flat-top roof, you can place your pet’s products or other items on it. Special bolt design ensures security, and it’s suitable for small to medium-sized dogs.
- PRODUCT INFORMATION: Overall Dimensions: 23.5″ L x 35.75″ W x 29.25″ H, Door Dimensions: 20.5″ L x 25.75″ H, Weight Capacity: 66 lbs
EMPSIGN Stylish Dog Bed Mat Dog Crate Pad Mattress Reversible (Warm & Cool), Water Proof Linings, Removable Machine Washable Cover, Firm Support Pet Crate Bed for Small to XX-Large Dogs, Grey
- SIZE DETAILS – This stylish dog mattress measures approximately 35”x 22” x 2.3”, ideal for large dogs up to 70 pounds，fits 36” Dog Crate.
- REVERSIBLE – One side is soft and warm plush, suitable for air-conditioned rooms or low-temperature environment.The gray high quality breathable canvas side can be used in summer time as a cooling mat for your pets.
- WATER PROOF – The inside foam is enclosed with water proof lining, which will protect the foam from accidents and fluids greatly.
- EASY TO CLEAN – This dog crate pad bed mattress is made of quality high density foam, which will give your pets a proper firm support. Zippered removable cover makes it easy keep the pet bed in clean comfortable conditions.
- ATTENTION – EMPSIGN pet beds are vacuum compression packaged, please put the mat aside to let it inflate for about 24-48 hours.
If you buy large dog crate, it is important for you that you always choose the right and trustworthy seller at Amazon. As a result, if the large grey dog crate is not the right product as desired, you can return it easily. Basically, it makes sense to pay attention to a good quality of the purchase of the extra large dog kennel crate, so at the end there is no disappointment. It will be delivered with a secure shipment to your home or company. Due to this attention, unpleasant surprises with best dog crate for two large dogs are minimized considerably.

domain: pet


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Visual content is essential if you want to stand out on social media. Did you know that Instagram has an estimated 77.6 million users in the US alone? Instagram has become a powerhouse of visual content. But, how do you optimize your personal and business accounts to create a signature look that is true to you and your brand?
1. Create a Story
What is the purpose of your Instagram account? What do you want your feed to say? Are you bright, hip, and fun? Or, more soft, comfy, and stable? Decide on the visual story you want to tell with your account. Then think of unique ways to share that story.
Ask yourself, “How can I share my story in an interesting way that adds value to the community?”
Have a look at this simple Black and White photo below. You can sense the sadness and know immediately that there is a story behind this photo. It creates a certain feel.
2. Enhance the Story
By using BeFunky Photo Effects, we can create a bit more interest and add to the story. I have chosen the pattern 5 overlay to represent tears. I used the overlay twice and reduced the size to 0.34 and the opacity to 0.29.
3. Crop Angle & Perspective
Another way to create a signature look for your Instagram photos is with a unique angle or perspective. Move around as you are taking shots to find a different perspective on your subject. Get creative. A unique perspective enhances your story for optimal engagement.
The photos below, both have a vintage look. In one the subject is photographed from behind and at an angle. In the second photo, the subject’s face is hidden all together and the focus is on her heels. Both photos create interest. You can change up the perspective of stock photos by using the crop feature.
4. Develop a Color Scheme
If you answered the questions above, when creating your story, coming up with a color scheme should not be too hard. Match the color palette you choose to the feel you want to create. Notice the deep, electric colors in this photo of the Toronto skyline:
Versus the soft, muted palette of this photo:
Your color scheme choice affects the mood.
5. Be Consistent
All your Instagram photos do not need to be of the same subject, but consistent palette and filter choices enhance your feed. The most popular Instagram accounts keep a consistent look from photo to photo. Pick one or two filters you adore and use them consistently. Or you could upload your favorite photo to the BeFunky Photo Editor and play around with the “Effects” feature.
Using Pop 4 under effects, I was able to take this plain shot and make it a bit funkier, so that it stands out.
Ready to create your Signature Instagram Look?