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- Fee assured
- Verified account
Mr Tom Pollard is a high volume hip and knee surgeon with a specialist interest in young adult hip problems and hip arthroscopy. He practices throughout the M4/M40 triangle from Reading in the west, through Henley, Ascot, and Stoke Poges, to Central London (Schoen Clinic, Harley Street Specialist Hospital). He is happy to see patients at any of these locations at their convenience, and also to consult remotely via video/telephone call.
Mr Pollard qualified as a doctor at the University of Bristol. After basic training, including cardiothoracic and plastic surgery, he joined the Oxford Programme to complete his specialist orthopaedic training. He gained his medical doctorate (MD) here for his thesis on the causes, investigation, and treatment of early osteoarthritis of the hip and took up the prestigious post of Clinical Lecturer in Orthopaedic and Trauma surgery at the University of Oxford.
While taking his fellowship training at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, he enhanced his specialist skillset in treating hip and knee problems and joined the trust as a Consultant in 2012.
Mr Pollard enjoys a worldwide reputation as an expert in young adult hip disorders and his innovative research was recognised on the global stage when he won two of the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy’s first three annual awards. He is recognised to have written many of the most important publications in the field of young adult hip surgery that have enhanced the understanding of how hips fail and how they should be investigated and treated. He continues to collaborate with the University of Oxford on research and clinical trials.
Since becoming a Consultant, Mr Pollard has performed over 2200 hip arthroscopies and continues to perform approximately 250 annually, making him one of the most experienced surgeons in the UK in this subspecialist procedure. He regularly receives referrals from colleagues both locally and nationally. He teaches on hip arthroscopy courses and lectures both in the UK and internationally. He trains fellows in hip arthroscopy, as part of the Smith & Nephew sponsored fellowship programme based at the Royal Berkshire hospital, and is also part of a visiting surgeon programme, which gives consultant surgeons the chance to observe his hip arthroscopy techniques in person.
In addition to his hip arthroscopy practice, Mr Pollard is a highly experienced joint replacement (arthroplasty) surgeon. He performs in excess of 250 hip and knee replacements annually, employing the latest techniques including the NAVIO Surgical system for robotic-assisted knee replacements. One of his key messages to patients is the importance of remaining active after undergoing a joint replacement procedure. He uses uncemented implants with high performing bearings to allow patients to maintain high levels of activity postoperatively. His philosophy is to tailor a plan for patients on an individual basis, which includes physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs, and surgery if required, as described in the article entitled ‘Opening up about hip problems’ (http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/AtHome/athomewithchrisjessen2018/index.php#/170). Many of his arthroplasty patients return to sporting activity including running, racquet sports, and skiing. Patients considering joint replacement and concerned about maintaining an active lifestyle afterwards may like to visit the Facebook discussion group ‘Hip replacement for active people’, which was set up by a patient of his and has been found to be very informative by subsequent patients.
Mr Pollard was Clinical Director of the department of Orthopaedic & Trauma surgery at the Royal Berkshire Hospital from Feb 2017-Apr 2022. As head of the department through the Covid pandemic, he successfully lead the department to be one of the first in the UK to resume elective surgery and the strategy he developed to do this safely was published for other hospitals to follow.
Areas of interest
Hip arthroscopy; Femoroacetabular impingement; Labral tears; Hip Dysplasia; Hip and groin pain in young adults; Sports surgery; Hip pain; Knee pain; Hip surgery; Hip replacement surgery; Complex and Revision hip replacement surgery; Arthroplasty; Arthroscopy; Knee surgery; Knee arthroscopy; Cartilage repair; Sports injuries; Meniscal tears; Anterior knee pain; Knee replacement surgery; Partial knee replacement surgery; Revision knee replacement surgery;
- Sara Foley
- Circle Hospital 100 Drake Way READING RG2 0NE
- 07702 015855
- 0118 986 9262
Anaesthetists worked with
- 'Opening up about hip problems', published in 'Ask the Doctor magazine 2018'
- Tom Pollard Hip and Knee replacement statistics on National Joint Registry
Current NHS consultant posts held
Consultant Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading
Clinical Director of Trauma & Orthopaedic department, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Mr Pollard has 42 peer-reviewed publications in the orthopaedic scientific literature, with particular interests in the following areas:
• Early osteoarthritis of the hip and femoroacetabular impingement.
• Training young surgeons in hip arthroscopy.
• Hip replacement in young adults.
Outside of work, Mr Pollard has two children and is a former Oxfordshire county cricketer. He now enjoys playing league cricket with his son. He previously captained his medical school football team, twice winning the national tournament.
2011 International Society for Hip Arthroscopy Trainee presentation prize, Paris.
2010 Oxford Teacher of the Month Autumn.
2010 Award for Invaluable Service to the Conference Technical Programme, International Conference and Course on Orthopaedic Biomechanics, Clinical Applications, and Surgery. Brunel University, London.
2009 International Society for Hip Arthroscopy Trainee presentation prize, New York.
2008 Goodfellow Prize for Research, University of Oxford.
42 peer-reviewed articles in orthopaedic publications, please see Pubmed under Pollard TC for detailed list.
Courses offered to GPs
Tom is always happy to give talks and seminars to GPs and allied health professionals. Please contact his secretary to arrange times.
Outcomes (checked and approved by medical professional body)
Please click on this link if you would like to see information about this healthcare professional’s performance compared to their peers, as published by their medical professional body.http://www.njrsurgeonhospitalprofile.org.uk/SurgeonProfile?gmccode=4702368
- MBChB University of Bristol 2000
- MRCS (Eng) Royal College of Surgeons of England 2004
- FRCS (Tr&Orth) Royal College of Surgeons of England 2010
- MD University of Bristol 2012
- BSc (Hons) University of Bristol 1997
- Lower Limb Arthroplasty Fellow Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust 2011
Reference number 4702368
Details of entry to specialist register
- Full Specialist Registration with General Medical Council , 2012
Affiliations / memberships
Member of the British Hip Society
Member of the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy
Fellow of the British Orthopaedic Association
- Berkshire Independent Hospital Swallowscroft...
- 08:00 - 12:00
- 07702 015855
- Circle Reading Hospital 100 Drake Way READING...
- 13:30 - 21:00
- 07702 015855
- Schoen Clinic
- 14:00 - 17:00
- 07702 015855
- Spire Dunedin Hospital 16 Bath Road READING...
- 18:00 - 21:00
- 07702 015855
- Spire Thames Valley, Wexham, Slough
- 09:00 - 12:00
- 07702 015855
Post treatment communication
Following treatment of a Bupa member, I will communicate with GPs in line with Department of Health, GMC and appropriate professional bodies guidelines.
In the event of an urgent query following treatment, Bupa members should use the following contact details
Information for healthcare professionals (Bupa patients only, last 12 months)
Excision reconstruction of large joint - (5-50)
Primary total hip replacement +/- cement - (5-50)
Multiple arthroscopic operation on knee (including meniscectomy, chondroplasty, drilling or microfracture) - (5-50)
Injection(s) +/- aspiration, into joint, cyst, bursa - (5-50)
Injection(s) +/- aspiration, into joint, cyst, bursa with image guidance - (5-50)
- Show All (14 )...


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« Tigarah e Laura – This World is My Playground (Review)
BECCA releases English cover of Hatsune Miku’s World Is Mine (MV) »
J-Pop, J-Pop Videos
Charisma.com lends a helping hand to NOKKO from 80’s J-Pop band Rebecca on the re-version of “Friends” from NOKKO Sings REBECCA Tunes 2015.
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domain: artistic


The concept and imagery of physical movement is one of the fundamental elements of the American national identity, from the underpinnings of the country’s Manifest Destiny (“Go West, young man”; “Westward Expansion”) to the cowboy myth of a stranger arriving to clean up dirty towns before riding off into the sunset (“Shane”; “High Plains Drifter”); from novels such as Kerouac’s On The Road to songs such as Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago” or Muddy Waters’ “Louisiana Blues”. Travel is both an escape from what you leave behind as well as an opportunity for adventure, excitement and reward.
Travel is also the central theme of Wes Mackey’s new CD, Life Is A Journey. The name of the album itself is an obvious indication, as are many of the song titles, such as “Blue In Paris”, “Ganges Blues”, “Train” and “Blues Carry Me Home”. However, just as the album title suggests both a physical and a spiritual journey, so the lyrics themselves avoid cliché by either adopting a similar double meaning (in “Train”, the runaway train is actually the singer’s own life going off the rails) or through the international aspects of many of the lyrics. In “Blue In Paris”, which also features Dave Crowe’s appropriately atmospheric accordion, Mackey sings: “What can you do, when you’re bluer than blue? You’ve been so many places, you’ve seen so many faces. The only place that comes to mind that never fails the test of time, is Paris.” Likewise, the extraordinary “Ganges Blues” beautifully summons up images of India, although the particular highlight of that song is the interplay between Mackey’s blues guitar and the sitar of Andrew Kim of Delhi 2 Dublin. It’s a stunning piece of music.
Mackey is one of those interesting characters who – despite a musical résumé going back 40 years and including gigs with the likes of Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters – has somehow flown under the radar when it comes to wider acknowledgement.
Born in South Carolina in 1942, Mackey moved to Augusta, Georgia when he was 17 and soon started playing in local juke joints. He has since spent much of his adult life on the road. After working his way around the United States in various bands and playing a wide variety of types of music, he married a Canadian girl and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia. After the breakdown of the marriage, he stopped playing music and starting wandering (and partying) across Canada before he finally fetched up in Vancouver and started playing blues again. The 72 year old has now released his latest CD, and a very impressive offering it is.
While the travel theme is dominant in the songs, the album isn’t a lyrical one-trick pony. Mackey also addresses common blues themes of love, loss and partying. Musically, the songs tend towards the gentler, soul side of the blues, with relaxed grooves being the primary order of the day. Even the upbeat songs like “I Got The Blues” and “Train” are played with restraint and control. Mackey sings with a warm, rough-hewn, gospel-inflected voice and he is also a tasteful guitarist from the “less is more” school. His playing strongly suggests the influence of BB King, while also containing hints of jazz in his refusal to rely exclusively on the minor and major pentatonic scales.
Mackey is a solid songwriter and interpreter, not afraid to experiment. “Thank You Carolina” starts with the ghostly voices of a work gang before the instruments kick in, taking the song in a more modern direction. Mackey’s voice, however, has a worn-down, melancholy timbre that perfectly straddles the two eras.
Mackey co-wrote six of the 14 songs with Laura Fisher (who also contributes three songs she wrote herself) and receives fine backing from the likes of Footsie Brown and Oliver Conway (guitars and bass pedals), Jack Lavin and Cameron Hood (bass), Peter “Sweet Tooth” Selnar and Dave “Hurricane” Hoerl (harp), and Chris Nordquist and Shambunata Daniluk (drums), Dave Webb (piano and organ). Produced by Conway and Mackey, the album has a warm, full sound. If you like your blues smooth and polished, with intelligent, mature song-writing, you will find a lot to enjoy in Life Is A Journey.
-Rhys Williams, bluesblastmagazine, May 14, 2014


When The Police perform in front of nearly 20,000 at the St. Pete Times Forum on July 11, chances are the show won't exactly be edgy. But there was a time when the trio played punk clubs and wowed rowdy listeners with a feisty concoction of rock, reggae and funk. That's what listeners get here, a show featuring the trio touring in support of their debut LP Outlandos d'Amour and playing in front of maybe 1,000 or so at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley. Sting sounds gruff; there's not a hint of the New Aginess that would plague his future work. He was an angry young man in '79, performing soon-to-be classics like "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Roxanne" with the passion of an artist just starting out.


I know you already knew that about me, but I felt like since I say it so much, it would be more efficient for me to just knit it onto a sock. Fits women's shoe size 5-10.
Material contents: 58% combed cotton; 40% nylon; 2% spandex.
Care instructions: Machine wash cold. Tumble dry medium heat. Do not bleach.


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Everyone says you learn the most from your first love.
He or she is the person you tell people about years after it's over because when you look back, you see how much you learned.
However, what happens when you put your first love and chronic anxiety in a room together? For me, denial ensued -- 11 months of it, to be exact.
At first, it was great, as every new romance is. Every morning, I woke up happy and could not wait to talk to him and see him. Everything was great, right until the honeymoon phase ended and the comfort stage began.
My first love happened to be my first relationship, and for me, the end of the honeymoon phase sent me into fight or flight mode.
Why was he texting less? Were other girls more interesting to him? Why does he never ask to hang out anymore? Why does he have Tinder now?
Every day, analyzing his every move absorbed my life and bombarded my brain.
I didn't want to be one of those girls who overanalyzed everything, but I felt as if I was going insane. I felt as if I could have become a Victoria's Secret model or the next Mark Zuckerberg and he still wouldn't have cared.
So, like anyone who suffers anxiety and is trying to make a relationship work, I took it upon myself to go seek professional help for $20 an hour at my college's mental health clinic.
I was told my thoughts were normal and I should start exercising more to rid myself of the anxiety. I should try and go to bed earlier and I should adopt a healthier lifestyle. I should give him space when he's angry and not pressure him to do anything.
I was paying $20 an hour for a woman to tell me I should completely change who I am so my anxiety would subside. And, at the time, I thought this was a great idea.
Maybe, if I gave him space, he wouldn't make excuses as to why he couldn't hang out during the weekend. Maybe, if I sent him a nice text message during the day, he would stop messaging other girls on Tinder.
Maybe, if I bought him a $200 briefcase, he would send me a good morning text. Maybe, if I took him back for the third time, he wouldn't walk out of my apartment again when I told him I loved him.
I woke up every single day full of anxiety because something just didn't feel right. Even if he did something nice, which was rare since he was “so busy with work," I felt as if it wasn't genuine.
When you have anxiety, people automatically assume it's your job to fix it. If you get rid of your anxiety, your relationship will be perfect, right?
“Go see a doctor; it will help, I swear.” “Maybe you should get on medication.” “You need to stop worrying about the things he does and doesn't do!”
However, what it took me 11 months to realize was it's not anxiety that causes relationships to fail; it's you trying to force a relationship with a toxic person who is the source of your anxiety.
Here are a few things my anxiety taught me during my relationship:
It's not your anxiety causing you to be insecure, it's him or her not respecting you.
Listen, you can try to convince yourself all you want that when he or she checks Tinder while you're together, it's totally innocent. But, that won't change the fact that it's not.
He or she is not checking Tinder messages in front of you because you're spoiled goods due to your anxiety, but rather, because he or she doesn't respect you. You deserve better.
It's not your anxiety that causes you to over-think everything, it's your partner being at his or her ex's house at 2 am and lying to you about it.
Is it creepy that you're using Find my Friends to see where he or she is? Yeah.
But, don't go running to your horoscope app and wondering if the reason behind it is because Mercury is in retrograde. Mercury isn't in retrograde; your significant other just sucks.
It is not your anxiety causing your trust issues, it's your partner causing your trust issues.
I'm not telling you not to trust the person you're with, but if he or she says one thing and you see him or her do something else, you have a reason to have trust issues.
If you call him or her out on it and he or she victimizes him or herself or make you feel bad about bringing it up, then leave.
Be with someone who will work through every issue you have and leave you feeling better than you did at the start of the conversation.
It's not your anxiety causing you to be needy, it's your partner not acknowledging who you are in his or her life.
Your anxiety isn't the reason why you want him to introduce you as his girlfriend to people. The reason you want that is because you want to feel like someone is proud to have you.
You want to be wanted and that isn't because of your anxiety, it's because you deserve to be treated with respect.
It's not your anxiety ruining the relationship. Stop blaming yourself.
Please stop telling yourself the relationship will be better if you fix your anxiety because it won't be if you're with a toxic person.
If you suffer from chronic anxiety and you are seeking professional help, your partner should be by your side, lifting you higher. If he or she isn't there during your darkest hour, he or she shouldn't be there at all.
Your anxiety is not a curse, it is who you are. It is what makes you wonderful.
*Editor's Note: This article has been slightly amended post-publish to protect the identities of people it involved.

domain: literature


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Here is the East Olympia WA real estate market update for June 2014.
Why live in East Olympia?
East Olympians enjoy a variety of home choices – from the gated golf community of Indian Summer to larger parcels suitable for horses to lake front homes on Hewitt Lake. Residents enjoy biking and walking on the Chehalis-Western Trail, Lattin’s Country Cider Mill and Farm, and floating down the Deschutes River on a hot summer day.
East Olympia real estate market snapshot for the second quarter 2014.
Average Sales Price for Q2 2014 is $344,559. This is down from last year at this time when the average sales price was $369,963.
Number of Home Sales is 23 vs. 33 last year at this time.
Months of Inventory is in a balanced market with 4 months of inventory. This is a slight increase from last year when there were 2 months of inventory.
How fast are homes selling in East Olympia? On average over the last six months, homes were on the market for 83 days.
What does this mean for Sellers?
Sellers are feeling more confident in listing their homes for sale. Currently there are 48 homes listed for sale. Last year at this time there were 32 homes listed, so there is steady listing activity.
Sellers still need to price appropriately. Right now the average list price is $377,835 with the average sales price of $344,559. In broad terms, sellers in East Olympia are pricing a little high. But even in the hottest market, overpriced homes did not sell, and sellers need to price right for the market conditions.
Curious to know what your home is worth? Click here to learn more.
What does this mean for Buyers?
Buyers shouldn’t shy away from “over-priced” listings. In looking at the data above, sellers are pricing higher than the average sales price. Don’t be afraid to do a little negotiating.
Pay attention to where interest rates are heading. Even though interest rates have remained low despite predictions, experts agree time is running out for buyers to take advantage of rates below 4%. Buyers will need to stay on top of where interest rates are heading.
Be prepared. Buyers need to be prepared financially to purchase a property. That means working with a quality local lender and getting pre-approved. Buyers also need to be prepared that a seller may not agree to pay a buyer’s closing costs.
Visit my website to search East Olympia, WA homes for sale, or sign up and get notified when homes that meet your criteria come up on the market. Be the first to know of a new listing! Also click here to learn what NOT to do when buying an East Olympia, WA home.
If you’d like to learn more about how your home fits into this market and would like a personalized home evaluation, feel free to email me (firstname.lastname@example.org) or call me today at (360) 359-0689. With no obligation, I can give you straight-forward, fact-based information so you can decide if the time is right to make your next real estate move.
Local statistics compiled by Francine Viola from NWMLS data. Statistics not compiled or published by NWMLS (Northwest Multiple Listing Service).
Originally posted and written by Francine Viola at her blog site: www.InTuneRealEstate.com, where you can learn more about the real estate market in Thurston County and get tips and advice for a smooth real estate transaction!

domain: geography


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Undergoing permanent laser hair removal can make your summer and monsoon months easy as you won’t have to make weekly visits to the salon. Not only will you save your time but a good amount of money as well. But how do you prepare yourself for your laser hair removal appointment?
Unlike waxing, threading, and shaving, laser hair reduction requires a bit of preparation. And for that reason, we have pulled together a list to tell you all the things you should do before your first laser appointment.
1. Avoid sun exposure
Keep your skin away from the sun for at least two weeks before your laser hair removal treatment. Not only can it cause the skin to tan, but severe sunburn and blisters as well. Many skin experts do not prefer to treat patients with even a minor sunburn and ask them to reschedule their appointment. For that reason, make sure to use sunscreen every day and cover your exposed body parts while going out.
2. Avoid plucking and waxing
The laser hair removal process works by targeting the hair roots and hence, it is crucial to not pluck or wax your hair on the treatment area at least two to four weeks before your first appointment. Your skin specialist might recommend just shaving the area as it leaves the root in place. Your laser removal treatments will be scheduled at an interval of six to eight weeks and during this time, you can shave if needed.
3. Avoid bleaching
As said before, laser hair removal works by targeting the hair roots. The hair pigment is also found in the root and absorbs the laser light. As a result, it destroys the hair follicles permanently. However, bleaching the hair can alter the pigment and make the overall process much ineffective. For that reason, it is necessary to stop bleaching the hair on the targeted area at least six weeks before the laser hair treatment.
4. Check your medications
One of the most significant things on your laser checklist should be to discuss your medical history or prescription with our expert. Make sure to inform them of all the medications you are taking at the moment, whether it is oral or topical. Some of their constituents can hamper the hair reduction process and make it less productive, while others can cause skin sensitivity. Once you inform your laser expert, they will adjust your treatment without you having to stop your medications.
If you are tired of browsing the internet for “best laser hair removal near me” then you are at the right place. Clinic Dermatech is one of the best laser hair removal clinics providing customized services to suit individual needs. Get in touch today to book your first laser appointment.

domain: medical


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The identity and plans of the Cackler are a Deadlands mystery twenty years in the making, and the answers are finally in your grasp! The Cackler graphic novel and PDF is available for immediate purchase—make it yours now!
Who is this man? Why is he so terrifying that the Union and the Confederacy are willing to work to together to stop him? What dark purpose does he have for a very specific girl? Can her reformed witch sister save her? Get the answers to all your questions as well as hints at the future of the Deadlands timeline today with your own copy of The Cackler!
Art for this tale of Weird Western woe is by the legendary Bart Sears, a true master of the medium. He’s worked for every major comic publisher, from Marvel to DC, Valiant to Crossgen. Colors are by the amazing Michael Atiyeh, who includes DC, Dark Horse, and Star Wars credits to his name!


UDI Gallop Speed Boat with 2.4Ghz Radio, Battery, Charger and Nose - UDI-008
This remote control racing boat is an absolute beast. It is capable of speeds up to 25km/h with its powerful electric motor. It comes out of the box equipped with a 2.4GHz radio (transmitter) and has a range of up to 100 metres.
The Gallop has an ingenious design that allows for the boat to flip back to upright by pinging the throttle when it gets upside down.
The Gallop also has a water cooling system to prevent over-heating of the electrical system and improve the overall life-span of the boat.
Gallop is supplied with a rechargeable liPo battery providing up to 8 minutes of run time from a full charge of 80 minutes. Measures 345(L) x 90(W) x 70(D)mm. Remote controller requires 4 x AA batteries.
- Weight: 322g
- Speed: 20 to 25 km/h
- Length: 345mm
- Width: 90mm
- Sailing Time: 6 to 8 mins
- Operating Temperature Rang: -10 ~ 40° C
- Dimensions: 345 x 90 x 70 mm
- Age Group: 14+
- Capacity: 600 mAh
- Voltage: 7.4 V
- Battery Type: LiFe
- Net Weight: 49.5g
- Charging Time: 80 to 100 mins
- Type: USB
- Voltage: 5 V
- Rated Power: 2.1 W
- Water resistant double hatch design
- Watercooled electronic
- High/Low Speed Mode
- Low battery alarm
- Out of range alarm,
- Self-Righting Hull Design
- Full function - Forward, Backward, Turn left/right
Operating Frequency: 2.4 GHz
Transmission Distance: 80 to 120 m


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Today is Dog Theft Awareness Day
14th March 2022 The Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance’s (SAMPA) Dog Theft Awareness Day
The team at JAM CARE is very dog friendly - over 70% of the JAM team are dog owners! As such, we are huge supporters of Dog Theft Awareness Day. The loss of any animal is devastating, but when a family pet is stolen the impact on the family can be even worse. Demand for dogs has soared during the pandemic and police have seen dog thefts increase by 66% compared to pre pandemic levels, with organised gangs often stealing high value pets for resale.
At JAM we also see the critical importance of family pets to our clients living with complex conditions. It’s well documented that dogs can have positive affects on both mood and health and, for our JAM clients, we see the positive impact that pet ownership has in terms of lower blood pressure, improved mental wellbeing (especially in terms of reduced levels of depression) and a greater sense of purpose and motivation.
The Government’s Top Tips for dog safety are:
Don’t leave your dog outside a shop or supermarket Don’t let your dog out of sight during exercise Don’t leave a dog unattended in a vehicle Make sure your garden, house and outside kennels are secure. Check gates, lighting and think about CCTV Be careful who can see your pet’s photos on social media Change your routine regularly
Finally…. thanks to our JAM colleagues for sharing pics of their prized pooches! Please help us raise the profile of National Dog Theft Awareness Day by sharing this post - and let’s try reduce the number of owners going through this heartbreak.

domain: news


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This is a manufactured on demand disc that was created using a DVD-R disc. It should play in all standard DVD players.
In this cult classic, an eastern European countess must bathe in the blood of young virgin women to maintain her youthful beauty. It falls to her two effeminate sons, who operate a fashion boutique, to keep a steady stream of fresh blood flowing in the direction of their vampire mother. But things take a bad turn when the town's supply of local girls begins to dry up. A film spiked with humor, camp, elaborate costumes, and unique performances from Oscar winner Louise Fletcher and Oscar nominee Maria Schneider.

domain: entertainment


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Issue #138 begins John Romita, Sr.’s run on Captain America as Gene Colan sails off into the sunset. Colan’s art is undeniably good, but I don’t feel like he ever gave his best to Cap. Actually, it’s probably because he’s better suited to shadowy characters like Daredevil. Conversely, Romita’s clean-cut style is perfect for Cap.
The story is self-contained, except that the Spider-Man element continues from last issue. And we of course love Romita Sr.’s Spider-Man.
Creators: Stan Lee, John Romita Sr
For the complete history of the MU, year by year, go here.


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Florentine gesso bookend pair - antiqued blue, gold and white - 1960s vintage
Pair of vintage 1960s Florentine gesso bookends. Wooden bookends with impressed details, painted gold, accented with Capri blue and white and antiqued. Piano hinged gold metal foot.
SIZE ends are 4.5" x 6" tall
CONDITION Very good, sturdy and ready to serve. Chippy in places
This is a vintage item. It has been used and loved and it has a history. Please examine photos carefully and ask questions, as we are unable to accept returns or exchanges.

domain: design


#StateCaptureInquiry: Mentor queries SAA, Home Affairs documents contradicting her evidence
Johannesburg - Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor has raised questions regarding evidence from South African Airways and the Department of Home Affairs which was presented at the Zondo commission.
On Monday, Mentor faced tough questions from the commission's legal team who brought evidence which contradicted evidence she had provided to the inquiry in August last year.
Advocate Mahlape Sello, for the commission, introduced evidence from the Department of Home Affairs and Emirates Airline.
According to the evidence, Atul Gupta, who Mentor had said was one of the Guptas she met in China, did not fly to China to attend the government's formal event in August 2010. Atul Gupta did not leave the country at the time.
The Department of Trade and Industries' (DTI) records also showed that Atul Gupta did not attend the China event, according to their records.
Mentor was also presented with evidence from South African Airways (SAA) and Parliament's record that showed she did not travel to Joburg from Cape Town in 2010.
She claimed she had travelled to Joburg to meet with former president Jacob Zuma. Even with no evidence, Mentor has insisted that she did travel that day.
On Tuesday, Mentor made an opening statement at the inquiry saying she would like the commission to call in an independent analyst who can examine the information provided by SAA and Home Affairs. She has refused to concede that she may have been wrong and instead said she suspicious of the evidence provided.
The chairperson of the commission deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo told Mentor that a witness from SAA and possibly Home Affairs would be brought in to explain their processes and the documents provided.
Tuesday's session was meant to see the start of Mentor being cross-examined by two applicants, however, that has not happened.
Mentor was still continuing with "clarity" questions regarding the evidence she provided to the commission last year on her first appearance.
The inquiry continues.IOL


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We're excited to present our remix of Janet Jackson's "Velvet Rope." Ølsten's take on this classic adds a fresh perspective to the original.
Looking for more remixes? Dive into our Remixes Playlist on YouTube, featuring a collection of our innovative takes on various tracks. Don't forget to hit the Subscribe button button so you can be the first to know about our upcoming releases and creative projects.


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There’s only weeks left until the big party! The most important musical event of the year in Puerto Peñasco. A weekend full of live music, great friends, the beach, sun, and tequila!
The traditional summer concerts begin on June 6th in Puerto Peñasco as Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the release of their “Honky Tonk Union” album, and it’s going to be a 4 day celebration! This year’s lineup is full of great bands like: Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts, The Black Moods, Ghetto Cowgirl, The Cole Trains, S.o.S. Drew Hagar, Lawrence Zubia, Sara Robinson, The HollyHocks, Mr. Mirainga, Eddie Eberle and the Getaway, Stephen Ashbrook Band, Whiskey’s Quicker, Sugahbeat, The Jons, and Paul Jenkins.
In order to give the event a special touch, Circus Mexicus will be spread out across the city’s main bars where you will have several opportunities to enjoy great live music.
Of course there is the Mexican Moonshine main stage, where Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers will be closing each night playing their biggest hits, turning Circus Mexicus into a brotherhood where the fans, or “Peacemakers”, completely take over Puerto Peñasco to enjoy good music, it’s beaches, and an incredible environment!!
For details on the event and tickets visit www.circusmexicus.net
To book your stay at Las Palomas >>>


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In Ghosts in a Photograph, award-winning nonfiction writer Myrna Kostash delves into the lives of her grandparents, all of whom moved from Galicia, now present-day Ukraine, to Alberta at the turn of the twentieth century. Discovering a packet of family mementos, Kostash begins questioning what she knows about her extended families’ pasts and whose narrative is allowed to prevail in Canada.
The long rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company for control of the fur trade in Canada's northwest came to an explosive climax on June 19th, 1816, at the so-called Battle of Seven Oaks. Armed buffalo hunters – Indigenous allies of the Nor-Westers – confronted armed colonists of the HBC's Selkirk settlement near the forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers in today's Winnipeg. This "battle" would prove to be a formative event for Métis self-determination as well as laying down a legacy for settlers to come.
What does it mean to be Ukrainian in contemporary Canada? The Ukrainian Canadian writers in Unbound challenge the conventions of genre – memoir, fiction, poetry, biography, essay – and the boundaries that separate ethnic and authorial identities and fictional and non-fictional narratives. These intersections become the sites of new, thought-provoking and poignant creative writing by some of Canada’s best-known Ukrainian Canadian authors.
A geographical, historical, and spiritual odyssey by Canada’s high priestess of creative nonfiction.A deep-seated questioning of her inherited religion resurfaces when Myrna Kostash chances upon the icon of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica. A historical, cultural and spiritual odyssey that begins in Edmonton, ranges around the Balkans, and plunges into a renewed vision of Byzantium in search of the Great Saint of the East delivers the author to an unexpected place—the threshold of her childhood church. An epic work of travel memoir, Prodigal Daughter sings with immediacy and depth, rewarding readers with a profound sense of an adventure they have lived. This book will appeal to readers interested in Ukrainian-Canadian culture , the Eastern Church, and medieval history, as well as to fans of Kostash’s bold creative nonfiction.
Kostash merges the past and the present in The Frog Lake Reader, which offers a panoramic perspective on the tragic events surrounding the Frog Lake Massacre of 1885. By bringing together eyewitness accounts and journal excerpts, memoirs and contemporary fiction, and excerpts from interviews with historians, Kostash sheds new light on a tragedy often overshadowed by Louis Riel’s rebellion during the same year.
Myrna's essay, "Memoirs of Byzantium", is part of a collection that examines the production and recreation of religious ideas and images and locations. The contents cover historical periods from the Middle Ages to the contemporary world, and geopolitical locations from Europe to North American to South Asia. The essayists look at contact and conflict between insiders and outsiders, centres and margins, Jews and Christians, Slavs and Greeks, and ancient ritual behaviours and modern television broadcasting.
Myrna Kostash takes us on an amazing voyage down the North Saskatchewan River. Framed within her own compelling view of the historic waterway, Kostash (in company with researcher Duane Burton) presents the story of the river and its people through many voices.Winner of Award for Publishing, Saskatchewan Book Awards.
What kind of Canada does the under-35 generation see themselves heir to? The only way to find out, Myrna Kostash decided, was to travel across Canada and talk to young people in all walks of life who are rethinking what it is to be Canadian. Her aim was to draw a map of the next Canada and see how its ideals compared to those of her generation. The result is not just a series of interviews but also an acute interpretation and forecast of what lies ahead. The conclusions are surprising.Finalist for the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
Rich with worldly scenarios and passionate characters, The Doomed Bridegroom narrates one woman’s arousal by rebel men, real and imagined, in Canada, eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean. This memoir of political and erotic attraction to the fated hero begins in the 1960s with the first bridegroom, a draft dodger from New York with spirited political convictions and a troubled separation from love. It ends in the present with a wistful encounter in a Belgrade café with a young Serbian poet.
Selected as one of the best books of the year by Maclean’s and the Globe and MailTake a second-generation Ukrainian-Canadian, a feminist, a writer, an alumna of the 1960s, and put her on a train in Belgrade heading north. What exactly is her business?
Count on being shocked, surprised, and informed as you read this wide-ranging investigative report from inside the secret world of teenage girls. You’ll listen in as more than 50 representative young women candidly share their thoughts on the topics that matter to them most: boys, best friends, family, school, sex, the future, and more. This profound, insightful work, by one of Canada’s foremost journalists, was selected as one of the ten ‘best books of the year’ by Maclean’s magazine.Winner of Alberta’s Nonfiction Book of the Year Award.
Long Way From Home is a passionate and evocative account of Kostash’s generation with whom she shared the struggle for change and the search for new values. The book has been a labour of love for one of Canada’s finest journalists and writers. Kostash pulls us back to a time when the whole world and particularly Canada was being profoundly influenced by American attitudes and events. But for Canada, the Sixties were profoundly different from the Sixties of America and it is this story that Myrna Kostash has written.
The quest for the true story of the immigrant, for the realities of Baba’s life, has taken author Myrna Kostash through a confrontation with the architects of the romantic cover-up: her parents’ generation, the sons and daughters of Clifford Sifton’s Sheepskins. The process of assimilation has subverted events and personalities that Kostash now brings to light. The result is a rewritten history of the Ukrainians in western Canada, a sometimes critical, often compassionate view of the motivations of three generations, an examination of the tokenism of modern-day multiculturalism, a final arrival at the positive political and emotional significance of an ethnic consciousness.


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My story is slightly unusual in some aspects....some not. 1 in 1000 pregnancies are complicated by some form of cancer. 1 in 8 (when I was diagnosed, now 1 in 7) women will have breast cancer. 1 in 3 pregnancies will end in a miscarriage. Am I lucky, or what?!
Family: My mother had DCIS, stage 0, 7-8 years ago. My father had suffered from prostate cancer for 15 years before succumbing to the cancer in 2006. They are now saying his cancer was related to him being in Vietnam around the time of my birth. One sibling, 6 yrs senior in age, 10+ yrs junior in behaviour (but that's another story).
My husband and I married in '93, started trying for our babies after 6 yrs and completing our house. It took us nearly 3 yrs to admit defeat and see an RE. We were told having a baby without some help was impossible (multiple fertility issues). After one miscarriage, 8 IUIs, and 2 surgeries, we finally conceived and delivered Kathryn. I was 35. She was a breast fed baby.
Around 6 months after her birth, while breastfeeding, I found a lump that was not mastitis. Had it checked, rechecked...mammogram and ultrasound in June/July of 2005...lactating adenoma, return 3 months.
Went to visit RE in late July 05 to get the "plan" for baby #2 to be. Not 3 weeks later, called their office to inform them that miracle of miracles, I was pregnant. How'd that happen? Went right in for my bloodwork, still the same issues with Kathryn...40 nights of progesterone shots, again! Ugh. Take one of those in the buttocks while in the hospital recovering from a mastectomy!!!
Scheduled visit with surgeon just before Labor Day (ok, I put it off a month!). Informed him we were pregnant, he wants to do a biopsy immediately, if not sooner, me...not so happy about that..went to ask ALL my docs OB/RE/GP. Finally did the biopsy a week later, and then ticked him off again by waiting 3 more days than he wanted to get the results (family plans).
Found out it was probably a large Stage II, Nottingham 9, very aggressive, ER+, HER2-. Scheduled mastectomy (only recourse I had since I was 8 weeks pregnant and very happy to stay that way) for Sept 19th (day after hubby's bday). Cancer upgraded to a stage III due to size with 1 lymph node positive.
Got call from onc stating surgeon wanted me to have an abortion so I could start chemo early. Cried my heart out that he could suggest that knowing what we had gone through to be where we were. Began chemo at week 13, with OB's approval. Said a tearful farewell to RE and his office (lovely folks).
Did 4 rounds A/C during my second trimester. My father passed away from advanced prostate cancer Jan 20th of 2006, just 2 months before Lauren was scheduled to be delivered at 33 wks 5 days.
10 days after my c-section and Lauren FINALLY got to come home (she had a sucking/eating issue, in NICU for 8 days)....started Taxol and found out that I was allergic. 2 days later started Abraxane. Wonderful drug, no pre-meds, takes 30 minutes to administer, very little side-effects. Last dose was on 6/6/6. That was a good day.
Radiation followed (that was fairly easy and rather uneventful). Oh, and I changed surgeons as soon as I could. Got a wonderful team at UAB who are now taking good care of me.
Finally got my new breast May 2007 from Dr Fix at UAB. Love his name. He did good. After seeing mom's failed TRAM, I was really worried over this surgery. Turns out, mine was picture perfect. Thank the good Lord!
So far, still have no indications of the cancer's return. UAB knows there stuff, so I anticipate that any future worries will be handled forthwith.
Can't have any more babies the natural way, but that's ok. I've almost learned to deal with that. I just now want to make sure I'm around to see my babies have babies.
There are many details to this story that looking back were the hand of God guiding this entire process. It amazes me still how all this managed to just "happen" as it did with the outcome I had. Makes me thankful.
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Burnside's Expedition and beyond
The Museum of the Albemarle is trying to identify the two Confederate soldiers in the photos below. If you recognize them, contact me at firstname.lastname@example.org .
Chris M. Perry from Hobbsville has been very helpful with grave photos and information. I got an unexpected assist from my sister, of all people! (She has no interest in the Civil War but is very interested in geneology.)
A repository of research on topics concerning northeastern NC leading up to and including Burnside's Expedition to North Carolina
NC Civil War Blogs
NC Squadron (my Navy blog)http://ncsquadron.wordpress.com/
7th NC Volunteers http://7thncvols.wordpress.com/
Michael Hardy's blog page:
Andrew Duppstadt's blog page:
Navy Sesquicentennial blog page:
Jeff Felton's blog page:
Mariner's Museum Monitor blog:
Rantings of a CW Historian http://civilwarcavalry.com/
Local Civil War web sites
Eliz. City Civil War Tour http://rblong.net/markers
Indiantown Skirmish http://rblong.net/indiantown/
Battle of South Mills (updated April 2010)
Battle of Elizabeth City (updated April 2010)
North Carolina Squadron (updated December 2009)
Battle of Roanoke Island (Mike Tames' site)
Camden County Troops
Battle of Hatteras Inlet
Brownwater Navy (NEW)
Civil War Traveler tour guide
Civil authority remained in control of the city, with a few hiccups, until February 1863.
The Federal attack and occupation on February 9, 1862 was short lived. By Feb 14th Confederate forces were back in the city itself, Union forces having withdrawn. Although elements of the civil authority fled before the fighting on February 9th 1862, the civil government remained in charge of the town - neither the federal or Confederate forces declared a martial law.
Sometimes you should take the information included in reports published in the Official Records of the Army with a grain of salt. Unsubstantiated rumors were often included in the reports, as the report below illustrates. General Huger reports that on May 27th, 1861, two different men that did not know each other, one from each side of the river, both reported to him that 1500 men had landed ten miles below Elizabeth City in Camden. In the same report, Huger reports the information was…Continue
Something had been bothering me since I first began closely comparing the drawings of Fort Hatteras made by Alfred Waud, the map of the facility drawn by Lt. F. U. Farquhar of the US Engineer Corp, and the one known photo of the fort, but I couldn’t pinpoint what was amiss. The powder magazine didn’t seem to be in the right place sometimes and the tents on the beach seemed to be drawn on the ocean side one time and the sound side the next.
While looking through some New York…Continue
Here's the rest of the Lenoir Braves that enlisted prior to the battle at Hatteras Inlet: John W. Bunn /Private /25 July 1861Richard Bunn /Private /25 July 1861Everett W. Hill /Private /25 July 1861Logan Metts /Private /25 July 1861 /POW – wounded…Continue
The Civil War in North Carolina is a well-documented and often written about period of the state's history. In the past few years the historiography of the Civil War in North Carolina has undergone revision. Books and articles detail both new and…Continue
Hello Fellow Civil War fans,In Robert Elliott's book about his Tarheel Confederate (published in the 1990s) he has several pages regarding the WF Martin Camp - pictures, copy of a condolence card, etc.He also includes several images from a notebook…Continue
Next Event APRIL 29th – May 1st, 2011If you have a period craft and are interested in participating in our event we welcome you to contact Port O Plymouth Museum curator, Harry Thompson at 252-793-1377.Continue

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Panic is ensuing from Chicago Bulls fans. After the Bulls blew a 20-point lead against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, many have altered their expectations for the Bulls this season. There is no need to worry. It only has been three games. The Bulls have struggled offensively this season and that is the main reason why the team is 1-2 after the first week of the NBA season.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers will name Brad Ausmus as the their new manager. Ausmus was gaining steam as a candidate to be the Chicago Cubs next manager. With Ausmus no longer in the picture, all signs are pointing to Rick Renteria being the next manager of the Cubs. The Cubs are expected to name their new manager this week.
In the meantime, hit the morning links before the slate of NFL games this Sunday.
The Blackhawks are still searching for a suitable replacement for Michael Frolik. (Chicago Sun Times)
Speaking of Rose, the point guard admits that he is not playing well right now for the Bulls. (ESPN Chicago)
The Chicago Cubs will increase their Major League payroll by $25-$35 million. (Cubs Den)
Simulating the MLB Winter Meetings. ( Bleed Cubbie Blue)


A leading oil product manufacturer chose IO-Link to improve oil tank visibility, viscosity monitoring, label detection, and much more. They were able to achieve solutions with in-depth diagnostics, remote web interfaces, and advanced device replacement thanks to IO-Link.
Posts in category APPLICATION STORIES
In a chemical process plant, there are two factors that matter more than most: yield and profitability. With its new automation system based on Profibus PA, Glencore Magdeburg GmbH has made the jump to next-generation technology while achieving greater precision in process control with higher plant availability.


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Don’t write off fountain pens just yet
At a time when writing tools are being replaced by smartphones and other digital gadgets, fountain pens are bucking the trend.
The classic writing instrument’s comeback stems from the release of affordable, user-friendly products offering a wide range of designs and ink colors.
Widespread use of smartphones also has prompted renewed interest in handwriting. Fountain pens are now popular gifts for those starting new school lives or professional careers.
In January, Pilot Corp. saw sales of its kakuno series exceed 1 million since its release more than a year ago. Priced at 1,000 yen (about $8.30) each excluding tax, the series was designed for fountain pen beginners - primarily targeted at primary and middle school students - but young adults are also snapping them up for their cute designs and ease of use.
These sales numbers are extraordinary given that a ballpoint pen priced between 1,000 yen and 2,000 yen is considered a super-hit product if hundreds of thousands of items are sold in a year, according to a major stationery maker.
“I can enjoy different shades of ink depending on the way I write,” said a 26-year-old illustrator in Tokyo. “I can also choose from many colors.”
She started using the Pilot product last summer after one of her friends tweeted rave reviews about it on her Twitter account.
Sailor Pen Co. released an updated version of its Candy series, which was a big hit in the 1970s. Priced at 1,000 yen each excluding tax, the new model is also becoming popular.
“More customers are using fountain pens to write letters because they consider handwriting a better way to convey their feelings,” a Sailor employee said.
Sailor’s Promenade series, priced at 10,000 yen each excluding tax, saw its sales rise by 36 percent during the first 20 days of this month compared to the same period last year, according to the company. Pilot has also reported solid sales of its fountain pens priced at around 10,000 yen each, which are often bought as gifts for those embarking on professional careers.
Tadashi Tsuchihashi, a consultant specializing in stationery, said handwriting for people today has “become something special, since they have fewer opportunities to use writing instruments as personal computers and the Internet have become commonplace.”
Fountain pen users have to refill their pens with ink, but even this chore seems to have increased affection for the product.
The domestic market for fountain pens has shrunk to about one-tenth compared to its peak in the 1970s, because demand was growing for ballpoint pens, which were considered easier to handle.
However, the market expanded to 4 billion yen during this fiscal year, reflecting a 1 billion yen increase compared to fiscal 2011, according to estimates by Yano Research Institute.


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MEDINA, Ohio — Discount Drug Mart has taken home health care at drug chains to a new level. Building on its 2014 acquisition of Hastings Professional Medical Equipment, the retailer says it’s providing products and services unavailable at rival pharmacy operators. Our reputation in the category is so good that the competition will refer customers
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — Drive Medical Canada, a subsidiary of Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare, has acquired the mobility and bathroom safety equipment business of AMG Medical. Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed. Drive said the acquired home health care brands — Hugo, Profilio, AquaSense and Airgo — are leading durable medical equipment (DME) brands in
CLEVELAND — Compass Health Brands has acquired home health care manufacturer and supplier Meridian Medical LLC. Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed. Knoxville, Tenn.-based Meridian’s offerings include gel overlays, seating/positioning cushions, therapeutic support surfaces, lymphedema systems and respiratory products. Meridian markets its products under the brands Air Lift, CareFore, Ultra Care, Gel Lite, Core
MEDINA, Ohio — Discount Drug Mart is taking its “360 Care” positioning to another level with its home health care offering. The chain is building on its 2014 acquisition of Hastings Professional Medical Equipment with an array of home health care products and services in its 73 stores as well as at Hastings’ two distribution
TORONTO — Shoppers Home Health Care, the home health care retail arm of Shoppers Drug Mart, is selling some assets of its lifts and elevating business to Prism Medical Ltd., a provider of mobility equipment and services. Prism said Monday thatit’s acquiring inventory and equipment from Shoppers Home Health Care in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Mike Wolf, senior director and DMM of advanced care at Walgreens, moderated a roundtable discussion at the recent ECRM Home Health Care EPPS in Dallas that focused on how retailers and manufacturers can partner to optimize the consumer experience in-store. “The big emerging theme was really around balancing the retail packaging with education and a
DUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health Inc. has unveiled a new home health care line called Hospital Quality at Home, which includes a range of over-the-counter products to help patients transition care from the hospital to their home. Cardinal said Tuesday that the new brand encompasses a full assortment of hospital-quality health products, which are


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Reversing subscriber losses from a year earlier, Sirius XM Radio reported that it added 583,249 net subscribers in Q2 of 2010. That brought net additions for the first half of the year to 754,690, a dramatic improvement from the loss of 590,421 in the first half of 2009.
The addition of well over a half million new subs in Q2 compared to a loss of 185,999 for the same quarter a year earlier.
Sirius XM noted that ended the second quarter with a record-high 19,527,448 subscribers, an increase of more than 1.1 million subscribers from June 30, 2009.
With auto sales rebounding and its own marketing efforts making headway, the satellite radio company increased its full year 2010 subscriber guidance for the third time. The company said it now expects net additions of approximately 1.1 million subs in 2010.
“Our subscriber results mark the best quarter of gross additions, deactivations and net additions since the merger of Sirius and XM in July 2008. The strong execution in both adding subscribers and retaining them resulted in our record-high 19.5 million subscriber milestone, despite continued economic uncertainty,” said CEO Mel Karmazin. “The further improvement in our guidance reflects the attractiveness of satellite radio but maintains a cautious outlook for continued improvement in the economy,” he added.
Sirius XM said it plans to release full second quarter 2010 financial results in August.
Sirius XM also announced the following additional Q2 subscriber metrics on Wednesday:
— Gross additions increased by 46% and deactivations decreased by 8% compared to the second quarter of 2009;
— Self-pay churn improved to 1.8% for the second quarter of 2010 from 2.0% for the second quarter of 2009; and
— The conversion rate from a trial subscription included in the sale of a vehicle to a self-pay subscription improved in the second quarter of 2010 to 46.7%, up from 44.3% for the second quarter of 2009.
RBR-TVBR observation: Even as it grows subscribers, revenues and (likely) cash flow, Sirius XM has seen its stock price slide back down below a buck. If it stays there for a while we could see another delisting dance with Nasdaq, which would probably be drawn out long enough for the stock price to recover. Spanish Broadcasting System is in the same boat, but both SBS and Sirius XM would need only a modest rally to get back above the $1.00 threshold..


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|Sarah Kilch Gaffney
My prose poem, "Snow," is the first installment of Entropy's "On Weather" series, and is up today. I wrote this poem over the course of two winters, when Steve's death was looming but not yet certain, and things were challenging but not yet nearing the end. Meditations on the natural world (and even just my own backyard) frequently show up in my journals and writing and are a source of exploration for me.
Sarah Kilch Gaffney lives and writes on a little piece of land in Maine.


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The forecast on Christmas Eve isn’t looking so great for Santa and his reindeer. There is a lot of snow falling at the North Pole! Get all of the reindeer, including Rudolph, in front of Santa’s sleigh before the heavy snow starts falling and sends the Reindeer back to their stalls! This is a collaborative game for 1 to 2 players.
The intended use for this game is in speech and language therapy for children working on articulation, vocabulary, fluency, and or language goals. This game is also great to work on turn-taking skills and team work!
This download includes an instructions page, two game board pages, 1 page of playing pieces. Just print, cut, and grab your favourite flashcards! Enjoy!


February 4 - Kran Saller GmbH based in Deggendorf, Germany has used a mobile crane to erecte five wind turbines over the course of five weeks at a wind energy farm in Dagebüll, Germany.
An auxiliary mobile crane provided valuable support services during the operations.
Seven components had to be installed on each turbine, which were manufactured by Senvion, and each has a capacity of 3.4 MW.
The heaviest load for the larger mobile crane was the rotor star at 61 tonnes which had to be installed at a hub height of 80 m.
The mobile crane hoisted this load to a hook height of 90 m at a radius of 20.5 m, which required it to be equipped with telescopic boom guying, a 15 m V2 telescopic boom extension, a 35 m luffing jib and 144 tonnes of ballast.
Kran Saller plans to open additional sites in Rottal-Inn and in Straubing, Germany in March 2016.


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Inspired by the Knights Templar Order, the Ornate Crusader Dagger is brimming with gorgeous detail, transforming the traditional medieval dagger into a truly beautiful display piece for gifting, collecting, or ceremonial purposes. Made of stainless steel, this decorative dagger features an antique colored hilt completely covered in scrollwork, filigree, and heraldry details. The guard arms curve slightly upwards towards the blade, with golden shield shapes adorning each tip. A round medallion sits at the center of the guard, illustrating the seal of the Knights Templar. The rounded handle features two smaller golden circles, and the round pommel proudly displays a gold tone Crusader cross. With an included matching hilt for coordinated storage and display, the gorgeous Ornate Crusader Dagger makes a fantastic collectible for any fan of the Knights Templar, history enthusiast, or medieval weapons fan.
- Completely decorative
- Ornate take on the weapons of the Knights Templar
- Spear point dagger blade made of stainless steel
- Antique finished hilt features gold tone embellishments
- Hilt features textured filigree, scrollwork, and heraldry detail
- Round pommel features gold Crusader cross
- Beautiful collectible or gift for display or ceremony
- Includes matching scabbard
- Made of stainless steel
- Overall Length: 19 Inches
- Blade Length: 13.5 Inches
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Health Care, Disease Control, Crime and Safety in Congo
The health care facilities in the Congo are somehow limited to its capital city, Brazzaville, which makes medicinal care inaccessible in the rural areas. This situation of limited medical and dental facilities as well as basic health services lead to many outbreaks of serious diseases in the Congo during the past years.
Malaria is deemed as the country’s biggest killer as hundreds of thousands of Congolese die each year because of this disease. In the city of Lubumbashi alone, about 60% of noted child deaths under 12 years of age are due to malaria. In response to this, the government has launched a mosquito net campaign where millions of mosquito nets with insecticide are given out to every family throughout the country.
There has been a cholera outbreak in major cities of the Congo like Pointe-Noire, Kouilou, and Brazzaville since December 2006. A year after, the Ebola virus has been noted to cause several Congolese lives. Monkeypox, which is a disease brought by a virus transmitted to humans through ground squirrels and rodents, has also infected the Congolese. The Republic of the Congo was one of the first countries in Africa to have recognized the deadly HIV/Aids epidemic way back in the year 1983.
There is poor sanitation and water sanitation in most areas in the country especially in the remote areas. It is best to consider boiling all drinking water first before taking them in. Vaccinations for yellow fever, cholera, meningitis, polio, rabies and typhoid are recommended before visiting the country of Congo.


The best universal remote is the one you already have. HDMI CEC is the feature you didn’t know about. You can use HDMI CEC & ARC to control all of your devices with only your original TV remote. You can even control you TV and soundbar with another remote. In this video I will you how I control my Nvidia Shield, Klipsch Soundbar, and Fios cable box, with my Samsung TV remote.
How To Setup A Soundbar:
For more detailed information on home theater audio, check out this video:
For more information on on 4K, HDMI, and HDCP, check out this video:


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In this study, the plant communities at five succession stages (herbage, herbage-shrub, shrub, tree-shrub, and tree) in the Zhenning Karst Plateau area of Guizhou were examined. The changes of plant functional characteristics in different succession stages were analyzed, as was the relationship between functional traits and environmental factors. The main results include the following. (1) During the succes-sion process, plant height, leaf dry matter mass, leaf area, leaf nitrogen content, and leaf phosphorus content gradually increased, whereas leaf thickness and specific leaf area decreased, and leaf C:P ratio and leaf N:P ratios did not change significantly. (2) Soil organic matter, soil total nitrogen, soil total phosphorus, soil C:N, soil C:P, and soil C:K increased at first and then decreased, reaching a peak at the tree-shrub stage. Soil total potassium fluctuated and soil bulk density gradually decreased and reached the lowest value at the tree-shrub stage. (3) Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the plant community shifted from a nutri-ent-poor soil environment to a nutrient-rich environment. Soil total phosphorus, soil C:K, soil organic mat-ter, soil C:N, and soil bulk density were the key environmental factors affecting the change of functional traits. (4) Structural equation modeling suggests that that specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen content had more sensitive responses to soil nutrient resources and environmental factors, respectively.
Trees and shrubs in suburban forest understories can be subject to chronic herbivory from abundant white-tailed deer. An undocumented consequence of this stress may be shifts in secondary metabolite production associated with defense. We aimed to learn whether plants protected from deer exhibited different metabolomic profiles compared to those exposed to deer. We tested the indigenous species Nyssa sylvatica and Lindera benzoin and the invasive, nonindigenous species Rosa multiflora and Euonymus alatus within a suburban forest understory in New Jersey, USA, in unfenced plots and plots fenced for 5.3 years. We did untargeted metabolomics by sampling leaves from three plants of each species per 6-7 fenced and unfenced plots, conducting chloroform-methanol extractions followed by LC-MS/MS, and conducting statistical analysis on Metaboanalyst. We also scored each species for deer browse frequency over eight years, and compared their heights and percent cover between unfenced and fenced plots. The analysis identified 2,333 metabolites. The global metabolome diverged significantly between fenced and unfenced plots pooled across species, but for individual species only N. sylvatica exhibited a significant fencing effect. Nyssa sylvatica was one of the most browsed species and was the only one with both greater cover and height in fenced plots, suggesting greater susceptibility to deer browsing. The metabolites most responsible for the fenced/unfenced divergence also were affected by the species-fencing combination, with increases in certain species but decreases in others. The most significant metabolites that were upregulated in fenced plants include some involved in defense-related metabolic pathways, e.g. monoterpenoid biosynthesis. Further study of more species in multiple sites is needed to learn how common metabolomic responses to deer are among forest species, how the intensity of deer pressure influences the responses, which types of metabolites are most affected, and if there are ecological consequences at the physiological, population, and/or community levels.
Play behavior is a significant trait of immature nonhuman primates (hereafter primates), which may play important roles in sensory, locomotor, socio-cognitive, and developmental processes in primates. It has been suggested that function of play is to practice and improve motor skills related to foraging, avoiding predation, attracting mates, raising offspring, and also is to strength social skills concerning to cementing friendly relationships and defraying aggression among individuals. From September 2009 to August 2010, we investigated play behaviors of 1-12-month-old white-headed langur (Trachypithecus leucocephalus) which is a critically endangered primate endemic to China. During this study, we recorded 4,421 play bouts and 1,302 minutes of play time of 7 infants in total. We found that infants had different play behavior patterns at different ages. Specifically, non-social play behaviors appeared at 1 month of age, social play behaviors at 2 months, and all types of social and non-social play behaviors at 3 months. The frequency and duration of non-social play peaked at 5 months and then decreased, while social play appeared at 2 months and gradually increased with age. Non-social play did not differ between the sexes, whereas social play showed sex specificity, with higher frequency and duration of social play in male infants than in female infants. In addition, male and female white-headed langur infants appeared to prefer the individuals of same sex as social playmates. In conclusion, we first reported the pattern of play behavior of a critically endangered langur aged 1 to 12 months though the sample size is small, our results suggest they may have the adaptation of play behaviors in ages and sexes, which may help them adapt to their habitat and social system.
For more than three decades, the Asian turtle crisis has resulted in the decline of every native species in China. For some species, such as the yellow pond turtle (Mauremys mutica), wild populations have dwindled to near functional extinction. Previous studies show there is deep genetic divergence of M. mutica sensu lato between populations north and south of the Pearl River Drainage but no data to show if phylogeographic structure occurs within these two main types. In this study, we found clear phylogeographic structure. In northern types, we found two main clades, corresponding to mainland China and island clades (Taiwan and Yaeyema Islands) with uncorrected p values of 0.00-2.0% divergence in our 2353 bp concatenated mtDNA data set. For the southern types, we found three main clades corresponding to Hainan, Mainland (Vietnam/Guangxi) and the Annam pond turtle (Mauremys annamensis) with divergence ranging from 1.0-1.8% among these three groups. Moreover, the identification of northern and southern types by phenotype was roughly 98% accurate, which, coupling with the deep genetic divergence in mtDNA (5.5-6.7%) and in the 6056 bp nuDNA data set (0.16-0.37%) provide sufficient evidence for northern M. mutica to be an independent species, and individuals from the southern clade should be regarded as subspecies of M. annamensis. Finally, we provide the most comprehensive database to date which can be used to determine the region of origin for captive stock. Making the large captive populations of M. mutica, under the right conditions, potentially valuable for restocking or augmentation of wild populations.
Plants in suburban forests of eastern North America face the dual stressors of high white-tailed deer density and invasion by nonindigenous plants. The combination of chronic deer herbivory and strong competition from invasive plants could alter a plant’s stress- and defense-related secondary chemistry, especially for long-lived juvenile trees in the understory, but this has not been studied. We measured foliar total antioxidants, phenolics, and flavonoids in juveniles of two native trees, Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash) and Fagus grandifolia (American beech), growing in six forests in the suburban landscape of central New Jersey, USA. The trees grew in experimental plots that had been subject for 2.5 years to factorial treatments of deer access/exclosure X addition/no addition of the nonindigenous invasive grass Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stiltgrass). As other hypothesized drivers of plant secondary chemistry, we also measured non-stiltgrass herb layer cover, light levels, and water availability. Univariate mixed model analysis of the deer and stiltgrass effects and multivariate structural equation modeling (SEM) of all variables showed that both greater stiltgrass cover and greater deer pressure induced antioxidants, phenolics, and flavonoids, with some variation between species. Deer were generally the stronger factor, and stiltgrass effects were most apparent at high stiltgrass density. SEM also revealed that soil dryness directly increased the chemicals; deer had additional positive, but indirect, effects via influence on the soil; in beech PAR positively affected flavonoids; and herb layer cover had no effect. Juvenile trees’ chemical defense/stress responses to deer and invasive plants can be protective, but also could have a physiological cost, with negative consequences for recruitment to the canopy. Ecological implications for species and their communities will depend on costs and benefits of stress/defense chemistry in the specific environmental context, particularly with respect to invasive plant competitiveness, extent of invasion, local deer density, and deer browse preferences.
Comparing life history traits among populations that have been separated genetically for several hundred thousand years, but live in similar habitats on different continents, may help us understand how ecological and anthropomorphic factors shape life histories. We compared patterns of growth in body length and mass, and the influence of population density, habitat quality (NDVI), and reproduction on age-specific length and mass of male and female brown bears between Alberta, Canada, and Sweden. We found that Swedish females were significantly smaller in both length and mass than Alberta females. Swedish females also reached primiparity earlier and at a smaller mass and length. However, there were no continental differences in the patterns of growth in males. We found strong positive effects of NDVI, but only weak negative effects of population density on female mass and length in both areas. Generally, especially mass of Alberta females was more strongly affected by NDVI and density than for Swedish females. Reproduction had stronger negative effects on female mass in Alberta than in Sweden. We found no effects of NDVI and population density on male mass and body length in both areas. The larger variation in female growth and size between the areas, in contrast to males, may be related to differences in female reproductive investment due to differences in population trends, i.e., earlier reproduction in increasing populations or populations below carrying capacity, or to different selection pressures in the past, potentially due to human persecution. Swedish females exhibited characteristics typical of increasing populations, whereas Alberta females exhibited characteristics typical of stable or decreasing populations. The difference in reproduction investment means that Swedish bears can be harvested at higher rates, whereas Alberta bears must be managed more conservatively.
Heterosigma akashiwo is a eukaryotic, cosmopolitan, and unicellular alga (class: Raphidophyceae), and produces fish-killing blooms. There is a substantial scientific and practical interest in its ecophysiological characteristics that determine bloom dynamics and its adaptation to broad climate zones. A well-annotated genomic/genetic sequence information enables researchers to characterize organisms using modern molecular technology. The Chloroplast and the mitochondrial genome sequences and transcriptome sequence assembly (TSA) datasets with limited sizes for H. akashiwo are available in NCBI nucleotide database on December 2021: there is no doubt that more genetic information of the species will greatly enhance the progress of biological characterization of the species. Here, we conducted H. akashiwo RNA sequencing, a de novo transcriptome assembly (NCBI TSA ICRV01) of a large number of high-quality short-read sequences, and the functional annotation of predicted genes. Based on our transcriptome, we confirmed that the organism possesses genes that were predicted to function in phagocytosis, supporting the earlier observations of H. akashiwo bacterivory. Along with its capability for photosynthesis, the mixotrophy of H. akashiwo may partially explain its high adaptability to various environmental conditions. Our study here will provide an important toehold to decipher H. akashiwo ecophysiology at a molecular level.
Aim: We have studied population genetic change through time in the Northern dragonhead, Dracocephalum ruyschiana (Lamiaceae); a plant species that has experienced a drastic population decline and habitat loss in Europe. We aimed at adding a historic level to the monitoring of dragonhead by testing a microfluidic SNP array approach on herbarium specimens up to 200 years old and comparing the genomic results with that of modern populations in Norway. We also aimed to gain a more holistic species knowledge to guide monitoring efforts by combining herbarium genomics with ecological niche modelling (ENM). Location: Europe (mainly Norway) Methods: We have applied a microfluidic array consisting of 96 SNP markers on 130 herbarium specimens collected from 1820 to 2008. Obtained genotype data were compared with SNP data from modern samples using various population genetic analyses. We used sample metadata and observational records to model the species’ environmental niche. Results: The SNP array successfully genotyped all included herbarium specimens but was less capable of capturing diversity outside of Norway, which was genetically highly divergent from the Norwegian dragonheads. The historic-modern comparison revealed similar genetic structure in space and limited change through time in Norway. The ENM suggests that dragonhead has not fully achieved its potential distribution in Norway, which is anchored in warmer and drier regions, including areas where it does not occur today. Main conclusions: With the appropriate design procedures, the SNP array technology is promising for genotyping old herbarium specimens; an invaluable source of information from the past. We found no signs of the severe reduction in population size in our temporal genomic data of Norwegian dragonhead. Regardless, the regional populations in Norway are genetically divergent, both from each other and more so from populations outside of Norway, rendering continued protection of all existing populations of the species relevant.
The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) has a large distribution spanning much of the eastern United States. Because temperature, habitat type, prey composition and abundance, and a variety of other factors may dictate reptile behavior, populations of conspecific species may exhibit behavioral differences across latitudinal and elevational gradients. Using radio telemetry, we tracked 10 adult Timber Rattlesnakes (7 males, 3 females) from May 2016 to June 2017 in southeastern Louisiana to examine the spatial ecology of male and non-gravid female snakes. Mean annual and seasonal home ranges of non-gravid female Timber Rattlesnakes were not statistically different from that of males. Mean seasonal home range sizes and average distances travelled of both sexes was smallest in winter, and had a general increasing trend beginning in spring with a peak in fall. These increases seemed to coincide with the breeding season, taking place from early July until the end of November. Comparison of this study with other studies throughout its distribution could have implications towards future management of conservation for other southern populations of Timber Rattlesnakes.
Quantifying habitat quality is dependent on measuring a site’s relative contribution to population growth rate. This is challenging for studies of waterbirds, whose high mobility can decouple demographic rates from local habitat conditions and make sustained monitoring of individuals near-impossible. To overcome these challenges, biologists have used many direct and indirect proxies of waterbird habitat quality. However, consensus on what methods are most appropriate for a given scenario is lacking. We undertook a structured literature review of the methods used to quantify waterbird habitat quality, and provide a synthesis of the context-dependent strengths and limitations of those methods. Our structured search of the Web of Science database returned a sample of 398 studies, upon which our review was based. The reviewed studies assessed habitat quality by either measuring habitat attributes (e.g., food abundance, water quality, vegetation structure), or measuring attributes of the waterbirds themselves (e.g., demographic parameters, body condition, behaviour, distribution). Measuring habitat attributes, although they are only indirectly related to demographic rates, has the advantage of being unaffected by waterbird behavioural stochasticity. Conversely, waterbird-derived measures (e.g., body condition, peck rates) may be more directly related to demographic rates than habitat variables, but may be subject to greater stochastic variation (e.g., behavioural change due to presence of conspecifics). Therefore, caution is needed to ensure that the measured variable does influence waterbird demographic rates. This assumption was usually based on ecological theory rather than empirical evidence. Our review highlighted that there is no single best, universally applicable method to quantify waterbird habitat quality. Individual project specifics (e.g., time frame, spatial scale, funding) will influence the choice of variables measured. Where possible, practitioners should measure variables most directly related to demographic rates. Generally, measuring multiple variables yields a better chance of accurately capturing the relationship between habitat characteristics and demographic rates.
A study on rodent species diversity and community assemblages in West Mt Kilimanjaro was conducted in seven different habitats, covering two dry and wet seasons. Data were collected using a combination of medium-sized Sherman’s live traps, snap and Havarhart traps, for three consecutive nights. General Linear Models (GLM) were used to analyze the effects of predictors (vegetation attributes, seasonality, soil physical properties, disturbance and altitude) on rodent species richness and abundance. Community structure analysis was conducted in the Primer v6 program and Canonical correspondence analysis for habitat association in PAST. A total of 1,393 individuals from 14 species of rodents were trapped. The most dominant rodent species were Rhabdomys pumilioPraomys delectorum, and Lophuromys verhageni which contributed to 68.86% of the total captures. Lophuromys verhageni occurred across all the habitats and seasons. Moreover, habitat types, seasonality, soil texture, ground cover, and altitude significantly influenced rodent species abundance (P< 0.05). Furthermore, habitat types, seasonality and altitude significantly influenced rodent species richness (F8, 759 = 629.7, p< 0.001, R2 = 0.87). In addition to that, two major rodent communities were formed in different habitats. The results show that rodent species richness, abundance, and community assemblages in Mt Kilimanjaro, are a result of change in vegetation structure along the altitudinal gradients. Therefore, information on habitat requirements of multiple species is crucial for the management and conservation of these communities.
The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP) is characterized by the distinctive isolated habitat of limestone Karst Islands and features the Wumeng Mountains (Mts), which divide the YGP into the two Plateaus of Yunnan and Guizhou. This study aims to assess the effects of past geographic and environmental isolation and climate fluctuation on the flora distribution in the YGP. To this effect, we analyzed the phylogeographical pattern and genetic structure for Myrica nana, a vulnerable species endemic to the YGP, based on chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence. The results suggest that the genetic and haplotype network structures are divided into at least two groups—cpDNA haplotype H2 (or nrDNA haplotypes h1, h2, and the native haplotype) mainly distributed to the east of the Wumeng Mts, and cpDNA haplotype H1 and haplotypes H3–H10 (or nrDNA haplotype h3) distributed to the west of the Wumeng Mts. A deep genetic split was noted within the two groups to reach 25 steps, especially for the cpDNA fragment variation. The east–west divergence reveals the existence of a natural geographical isolation boundary in the form of the Wumeng Mts, which divides the YGP into the Yunnan and Guizhou Plateaus. Therefore, there existed at least two glacial refugia during the Quaternary glacial period, along with a genetic diversity center, and at least two large geographic protection units for the vulnerable species of M. nana, distributed throughout the eastern and western sides of the Wumeng Mts. This study not only clarifies that the phylogeographical pattern and genetic structure for M. nana can be attributed to geographic and environmental isolation and climate fluctuation, but it also proposes an effective strategy to protect vulnerable species and the important wild flora of the YGP.
Plant phenology is manifested in the seasonal timing of vegetative and reproductive processes, but also has ontogenetic aspects. The adaptive basis of seasonal phenology has been considered mainly in terms of climatic drivers. However, some biotic factors as likely evolutionary influences on plants’ phenology appear to have been under-researched. Several specific cases of putative biotic factors driving plant phenology are outlined, involving both herbivores and pathogens. These illustrate the diversity of likely interactions rather than any systematic coverage or review. Emphasis is on woody perennials, in which phenology is often most multi-faceted and complicated by the ontogenetic aspect. The complete seasonal leaf fall that characterises deciduous plants may be a very important defence against some pathogens. Whether biotic influences drive acquisition or long-term persistence of deciduousness is considered. In one case; of leaf rusts in poplars, countervailing influences of the rusts and climate suggest persistence. Often, however, biotic and environmental influences likely reinforce each other. The timing and duration of shoot flushing may in at least some cases contribute to defences against herbivores, largely through brief periods of ‘predator satiation’ when plant tissues have highest food value. Wide re-examination of plant phenology, accommodating the roles of biotic factors and their interplays with environments as additional adaptive drivers, is advocated, towards developing and applying hypotheses that are observationally or experimentally testable.
There is much concern about disruption of endocrine physiology regulated by steroid hormones in humans, other terrestrial vertebrates and fish by industrial chemicals, such as bisphenol A, and pesticides, such as DDT. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals influence steroid-mediated physiology in humans and other vertebrates by competing with steroids for receptor binding sites, disrupting diverse responses involved in reproduction, development and differentiation. Here I discuss that due to evolution of the progesterone receptor (PR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) after ray-finned fish and terrestrial vertebrates diverged from a common ancestor, each receptor evolved to respond to different steroids in ray-finned fish and terrestrial vertebrates. In elephant shark, a cartilaginous fish, ancestral to ray-finned fish and terrestrial vertebrates, both progesterone and 17,20b-dihydroxy-progesterone activate the PR. During the evolution of ray-finned fish and terrestrial vertebrates, the PR in terrestrial vertebrates continued responding to progesterone and evolved to weakly respond to 17,20b-dihydroxy-progesterone. In contrast, the physiological progestin for the PR in zebrafish and other ray-finned fish is 17,20b-dihydroxy-progesterone, and ray-finned fish PR responds weakly to progesterone. The MR in fish and terrestrial vertebrates also diverged to have different responses to progesterone. Progesterone is a potent agonist for elephant shark MR, zebrafish MR and other fish MRs, in contrast to progesterone's opposite activity as an antagonist for aldosterone, the physiological 2 mineralocorticoid for human MR. These different physiological ligands for fish and terrestrial vertebrate PR and MR need to be considered in applying data for their disruption by chemicals in fish and terrestrial vertebrates to each other.
In U.S. academic institutions, efforts often concentrate on enhancing the recruitment of students from underrepresented groups, focusing on gender and/or race. Yet, non-demographic forms of diversity have received little attention, such as environmental worldviews, i.e., differences in the metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical beliefs that define how humans view, value, and interact with the natural world. Here, we develop an exploratory measure of environmental worldview diversity among undergraduate students enrolled in natural resource related programs. We tested our procedure at Oregon State University, a large public land-grant university in the US. Many students reported metaphysical, epistemological, and/or ethical beliefs that deviate from what has been philosophically characterized as the dominant western worldview of natural resources (anthropocentric, dualistic, hierarchical, utilitarian, mechanistic). Our results suggest that, although forestry students’ environmental worldviews are in some ways more closely aligned with the dominant western worldview than other students in natural resources, generally their worldviews reflect long-term generational shifts away from a strict resource-commodity value orientation, as documented in past research. Our findings highlight the importance of considering environmental worldviews as a dimension of diversity within the new generation natural resource students. Future efforts toward understanding these levels of difference can be important assets in designing programs which appeal to wide variety of students; ultimately helping efforts to recruit and retain a diverse of aspiring natural resource professionals.
Niche partitioning is often vital for the coexistence of ecologically similar species under limited resources. Here I will report the nesting strategy of the two sympatric songbirds and the species differences, which have been overlooked in the past. Blue-capped and red-cheeked cordon-bleus are socially monogamous, biparental songbirds (family Estrildidae) that sympatrically inhabit East Africa. My field observation during their breeding season revealed that red-cheeked cordon-bleus build their nests near wasp nests more frequently than blue-capped cordon-bleus. Blue-capped cordon-bleus instead tended to take over weaver’s old nest more often or use a broader range of nesting materials compared to red-cheeked cordon-bleus. These nesting strategies are already described in the literature as common behaviors in both species. However, the species differences of the adopting strategies have never been reported. While Estrildid finches are one of the best well-studied bird families of their behavior under the captive condition, my finding suggests that we still have limited knowledge of their wild behaviors and ecological plausibility, which is required to understand the functions and evolution.
1. Latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) is the increase in species richness towards the equator and is one of the most consistent patterns in biogeography, where current and historical processes contribute to shape the pattern. 2. Despite that LDG patterns have been described for some insects, the underlying mechanisms associated with community assembly and diversification along modern latitudinal diversity gradient pattern remain unknowledge for many groups. 3. Odonata is an old order of insects that originated during the Carboniferous and has diversified through different eras. Here, we defined co-occurrence based on the presence in ecoregions and 1°×1° grid cells of Odonata species in North America NA, to address their species richness, phylogenetic structure, and species diversification rate along the latitudinal gradient. 4. For the whole order, we found the highest species richness at mid-latitudes, while phylogenetic diversity showed a linear positive pattern along the gradient. Our results showed dragonfly assemblages were clustered along all the gradient, suggesting that environmental filtering sorted the assemblages. Whereas damselfly species assemblages were clustered at mid-latitude and overdispersed into both extremes of gradient, probably community assembly is driving by thermal gradients at mid-latitude, by competitive exclusion at south extreme, and by different origins of the biota at the boreal zone. Our results show that apparently most ancestral lineages of Odonata inhabit tropical zones, where diversified and dispersed to the temperate region, although likely also have been diversified into regions of NA, which might be linked with the highest species richness at mid-latitude for both suborders.
Animals exhibit variation in their space and time use across an urban-rural gradient. As the top-down influences of apex predators wane due to human-driven declines, landscape level anthropogenic pressures are rising. Human impacts can be analogous to apex predators in that humans can drive increased mortality in both prey species and carnivores, and impact communities through indirect fear effects and food subsidies. Here, we evaluate the time use of a common mesocarnivore across an urban rural gradient, and test whether it is influenced by the intensity of use of a larger carnivore. Using multiple camera-trap surveys, we compared the temporal response of a small carnivore, the raccoon (Procyon lotor), to the larger coyote (Canis latrans) at four sites across Michigan that represented a gradient of pressure from humans. We found that raccoon time use varied by site and was most unique at the rural extreme. Raccoons consistently did not shift their activity pattern in response to coyotes at the site with the highest anthropogenic pressures despite considerable interannual variation, and instead showed the stronger responses to coyotes at more rural sites. Temporal shifts were characterized by raccoons being more diurnal in areas of high coyote activity. We conclude that raccoons do partition time to avoid coyotes. Our results highlight that the variation in raccoon time use across the entirety of the urban-rural gradient needed to be considered, as anthropogenic pressures may dominate and obscure the dynamics of this interaction. In an increasingly anthropocentric world, to understand species interactions, it is imperative that we consider the entire spectrum of human pressures that it may occur within.