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Research Article | Open Access
Hongmin Cai, Chunyan Cui, Haiying Tian, Min Zhang, Li Li, "A Novel Approach to Segment and Classify Regional Lymph Nodes on Computed Tomography Images", Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, vol. 2012, Article ID 145926, 9 pages, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/145926
A Novel Approach to Segment and Classify Regional Lymph Nodes on Computed Tomography Images
Morphology of lymph nodal metastasis is critical for diagnosis and prognosis of cancer patients. However, accurate prediction of lymph node type based on morphological information is rarely available due to lack of pathological validation. To obtain correct morphological information, lymph nodes must be segmented from computed tomography (CT) image accurately. In this paper we described a novel approach to segment and predict the status of lymph nodes from CT images and confirmed the diagnostic performance by clinical pathological results. We firstly removed noise and preserved edge details using a revised nonlinear diffusion equation, and secondly we used a repulsive-force-based snake method to segment the lymph nodes. Morphological measurements for the characterization of the node status were obtained from the segmented node image. These measurements were further selected to derive a highly representative set of node status, called feature vector. Finally, classical classification scheme based on support vector machine model was employed to simulate the prediction of nodal status. Experiments on real clinical rectal cancer data showed that the prediction performance with the proposed framework is highly consistent with pathological results. Therefore, this novel algorithm is promising for status prediction of lymph nodes.
Accurate quantitative measurement of lymph nodal is a critical prognostic risk factor in managing rectal cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma , and other types of cancer. Morphologic characterization could serve as a quantitative criterion in differentiating benign and malignant lymph nodes [2–5]. Thus, precise segmentation of lymph node is necessary for pathological studies of rectal cancer. However, computed tomography (CT) images have some intrinsic distortions, especially near the lymph nodal boundary, thus making it difficult to evaluate the status of lymph nodes. Standard noise removal techniques such as median filtering or wavelet can be used to reduce the distortion. Though easy to implement, these standard noise reduction techniques tend to oversmooth the images and remove fine details including edges and boundaries, thus increasing the difficulty in evaluating subtle yet important information about lymph nodes such as cancer metastasis. Another challenge in using CT images to evaluate lymph nodes is the poor discrimination of benign and malignant nodes. Over the years many image processing algorithms have been developed to assist clinicians to automatically evaluate the status of lymph nodes based on some predefined criteria such as the size. However, due to the overlap in sizes between benign and malignant lymph nodes, many studies have had suboptimal performance for classifying different types of lymph nodes [6, 7]. In clinical practice, both shape and internal structure of a node are important in the differentiation between benign and malignancy [2, 3]. For example, researchers have used shape and internal structure such as smoothness and well shaped versus irregular and ill shaped or four classifications such as smooth, lobulated, spiculated, and indistinct for nodal staging using magnetic resonance images [2, 3]. In this paper we present a systematic approach to first segment “suspicious” lymph nodes and then use quantitative measurements to build an automatic classifier to discriminate benign nodes from malignant ones. Our approach includes three steps, image preprocessing, segmentation, and node classification. In order to obtain structural information of each node, we develop a revised nonlinear diffusion process. As a preprocessing step, this process adaptively weighs the homogeneity of image background to achieve a fine balance between noise removal and boundary preservation. After the preprocessing, we apply a revised snake method to segment lymph nodes. The snake model uses a repulsive force to keep the evolution from deforming to incorrect objects, thus overcoming a commonly problem with the classical models of snakes that tend to evolve to incorrect boundaries when there are neighboring objects. For each segmented node, nineteen quantitative measurements are computed and seven of them are selected to remove redundancy. Classical Support Vector Machine (SVM) model  is borrowing to achieve the take of nodal status classification.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2.1, an adaptive nonlinear diffusion method for image quality enhancement is introduced. It was followed by a semiautomatic segmentation, called repulsive snake model, which is described in Section 2.2. A new model for classification and prediction of node status is given in Section 3, which includes an recursive feature selection, classification model setting, and results verification. Experimental results using both real and simulated images are also shown in this section to demonstrate the performance of the method. Discussion and foregoing research direction are presented in Section 4.
2.1. Nonlinear Diffusion
2.1.1. Nonlinear Diffusion in Image Processing
The basic idea behind diffusion methods originated from the well-known physical phenomenon of heat transfer, which equilibrates concentration differences without creating or destroying mass. This process can be modeled by partial differential equations and their solutions describe the heat transfer at any particular time and position. Let the image domain be an open rectangle , let be its boundary, and let the observed image be represented by a bounded function . Then an evolving version of with a scale time parameter is obtained as the solution of the following diffusion equations: where is the initial condition at . For example, in the classical total variation (TV) diffusion equation , one can choose where acts as a fuzzy edge detector since pixels that have large values likely belong to an edge. The role of is to adaptively control the smoothing effect. However, the diffusion coefficient for controlling the smoothing is based on image gradient , which is sensitive to the noise. Thus, the obtained image generally shows undesired “staircase effect”. To alleviate this problem, various techniques were reported . Regularization by adding an additional edge preservation term is shown to be an effective solution. For example, the classical “Rudin-Osher-Fatemi” algorithm is formulated as  where the parameter is a trade-off constant in balancing image smoothing and preservation.
2.1.2. Edge-Enhanced Nonlinear Diffusion
Though powerful in removing noise, the nonlinear diffusion described above has the drawback to oversmoothing the images, making it difficult to detect boundaries in the succeeding steps. To overcome this drawback, we propose a revised nonlinear diffusion method in this paper. The primary purpose of this diffusion method is to preserve edge information while removing noise in the image. We add an edge preserving term to achieve a balance between edge preservation and noise removal in an adaptive manner: where is a Gaussian kernel such that and of (4) represents the trade-off between smoothing and edge preservation. Our new formulation is different from the classical Rudin-Osher-Fatemi algorithm in (3) in that we use gradient magnitude rather than a predefined constant to control the smoothing processing adaptively. This revised diffusion process achieves two objectives: (1) when it is near an edge, the second term will dominate the processing and thus adaptively preserve the edges from smoothing, whereas the diffusion coefficient is also in effect to reduce smoothness and enhance edges; (2) when it is in a homogeneous region it will reduce the noise and smooth the image.
To evaluate the performance of the above proposed method, we used real CT images to compare our method with some commonly used techniques such as the Perona-Malik method , total variation (TV) method, standard median filtering, and bilateral filtering . Figure 1(a) shows an original CT image that is corrupted by noise. We then process the noisy image by the Perona-Malik method (Figure 1(b)), TV method (Figure 1(c)), median filtering (filter size = 3) (Figure 1(d)), bilateral filtering (Figure 1(e)), and our method (Figure 1(f)). To demonstrate how the proposed method preserves edges and boundaries, we next apply the Canny operator on Figures 1(a)–1(f). The corresponding results are shown in the second row of Figure 1. The images processed by the existing methods have various amounts of undesirable clutters and incorrect boundary connections, shown in Figures 1(g)–1(l). In comparison, edges obtained from our method are clean and well separated (shown in Figure 1(l)), especially around lymph nodes 3 and 6.
We applied the same procedure on a second image, Figure 2. The interested node is labeled by green arrow and its edge information was perfectly preserved, producing a clear-cut image at Figure 2(j). In comparison, standard techniques either tend to oversmooth (Figures 2(g)–2(i), and 2(l)) or produce small clusters (Figure 2(k)). The current results markedly show that the proposed method performs better than the other three methods in terms of preserving edges while removing noise.
We also apply our method to a synthetic image, (Figure 3(a)), which is degraded by additive Gaussian noise with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of . Because of the noise, directly applying the Canny edge detector on the image generates a suboptimal edge map, Figure 3(b). After preprocessing the noisy image by our proposed diffusion, TV, and Perona-Malik algorithms at first and then applying the same Canny edge detector, we can obtain better results, Figures 3(c)–3(e), respectively. By comparing the edge maps, we find that our method has the best performance in terms of preserving the edges while effectively reducing the noise, Figure 3(c). The TV method creates false edges (Figure 3(d)), whereas the Perona-Malik method removes some true edges (Figure 3(e)). The differences between our edge enhanced diffusion and the other two methods are fairly evident. After the preprocessing, we next use a modified snake model to segment lymph nodes from the images.
2.2. Repulsive Force-Based Snake Model
2.2.1. Standard Snake Model
Snakes are deformable curves that can move and change their shapes to conform to object boundaries [13, 14]. The movement and deformation of snakes are controlled by internal and external forces. The aim of parametric snake or active contour, introduced by Kass et al. , is to minimize an energy function of a curve in a given image . The snake is parameterized by , with where , , and are positive coefficients and and denote the first and second order derivative of with respect to , respectively. Here represents the external energy which generally depends on the gradient magnitude of the image.
A common limitation of the snake model is its inefficiency in sensing the external force, thus making it difficult to evolve to the correct boundary if its initialization is far from the legitimate object. To overcome this setback, Xu and Prince  presented a new external force for parametric snake model by diffusing gradient vectors of the original image. This external force is a new vector field , obtained from diffusion of the gradient vectors of a gray level or binary edge map derived form the original image. Variational minimization of such diffusion process results in the following two Euler equations: where and are the “interpolated vectors” and is the edge force, usually set so that . It has been shown that the revised gradient vector flow (GVF) model has a much larger capture range than the original snake model and is considerably less sensitive to initialization [15, 16]. It has been confirmed to perform better than the standard snake in detecting concave boundaries . However, it fails to correctly segment adjacent objects, especially when multiple objects are adjacent to each other and GVF model creates incorrect external force vectors [17, 18], thus limiting its wide application. In CT images, lymph nodes are often adjacent to nearby structures or organs. To solve such problem, we describe a new snake model that is well suited to segment adjacent objects.
2.2.2. Repulsive Force-Based GVF Model
In our model we use a repulsive force to push the snakes towards their legitimate boundaries. This repulsive force can be obtained by reversing the gradient direction of neighboring objects beyond an initial curve as follows: Here denotes the external force derived by setting and is the region specified in initialization. The features of GVF diffusion method, (7), are adopted to increase capture capabilities. This approach encourages the snake to deform robustly in the correct direction, even when the initial curve is placed close to other objects.
A simulation example is used to show the deformation of the snake guided by GVF and our repulsive snake model. Figure 4(a) shows a synthetic image (in black), in which the initial curve is in red. The corresponding gradient vector field is shown in Figure 4(b). Figure 4(c) shows the segmentation results after the GVF snake model. Due the close adjacency, the snake deforms to the nearby objects even if the initialization has correctly encircled the object of interest. The gradient flow of our repulsive snake model is shown in Figure 4(d). The final segmentation results correctly deform to the legitimate object (Figure 4(e)). The repulsive force ensures that the deformation curve evolves to the legitimate edge.
We apply the method to an real image dataset to test its performance. Figure 5 shows the results of using our method on a typical image of this dataset. In this example, the lymph node of interest is labeled with an arrow sign, Figure 5(a). The nonlinear diffusion preprocessing is applied to remove noise and the edges are shown in Figure 5(b). The initial curve in red line is drawn here for illustration. Figure 5(c) shows the segmentation result after applying the new snake model. We use green color to highlight the final segmentation result. Due to the advantage of the diffusion scheme, the edge map is rather clear. It is then followed by repulsive force to obtain legitimate edge. We note that the edge structure of lymph node is important in pathology to discriminate benign lymph nodes from malignant ones. Qualitative measurements, such as fractal dimension, of accurate edge information are the key for automatic characterization of node type.
A second example is shown in Figure 6(a) in which two lymph nodes are labeled by a radiologist using arrows 7 and 8. The edge map after the diffusion model is shown in Figure 6(b), in which the initiated curves are in different colors (red and green). The final segmentation results are displayed in Figure 6(c) and the interested area is zoomed in (Figure 6(d)) for visual inspection. We should note that although the initial curves are overlapped, the evolution can still deform to the correct lymph nodes. After segmenting the lymph nodes, we measure their quantitative features and construct a classifier about the type of each node, discussed in details below.
3. Lymph Nodal Classification Model
Classification of malignant and benign lymph nodes is set up using a binary pattern classification model. We use to denote the morphological measurement of a segmented node. In this study, nineteen features of each node are computed, aiming to characterize the status as comprehensive as possible. We term these morphological features as feature vectors and use a scalar to denote their classification label where refers to the malignant node while stands for the benign ones.
For such biomedical classification, three tasks are vital: effective feature extraction, accurate classification, and validation based on ground truth. We address the first two tasks by proposing a hierarchical classification model based on highly representative features obtained by an iterative feature elimination scheme. For validation, the results given by the algorithms are compared with the pathological assessment offered by expert clinicians. Each node enrolled in our study has been pathologically verified to be benign or malignant. First we search for a primary feature subset to characterize each node. Secondly, an automatic classification model based on the features is constructed to discriminate benign nodes from malignant ones.
3.1. Backward and Forward Feature Selection
Feature selection is one of the key components in obtaining an efficient classification model. We have included nineteen features for classification (see the appendix for details). A common problem in automatic classification is the interdependencies among features and low correlation with ground truth. To overcome such an “overfitting” problem and obtain a highly accurate and robust classifier, feature dimensionality should be reduced and an optimal features, subset, rather than all possible features, should be selected from those which are most representative for node status. We use an iterative feature elimination technique to remove the least significant features from the original feature vector and retain a minimum subset of features that can yield the best classification performance. To do so, we first obtain a training set of data, denoted by experts, and split it into two parts. We then train the classifier by using the first part to predict the second part to preserve the most prominent features. For the th feature where , we randomly permute its values in the second part and then measure the accuracy of the classifier. The difference between the two values can indicate its importance. Each time the least significant feature is removed until a final necessary feature set is obtained. We call it “backward feature selection.” The obtained feature set then undergoes an opposite step by adding feature iteratively until the accuracy can no longer be increased, which is called “forward feature selection.” The backward-forward selection algorithm helps us to obtain a stable and high representative feature set. Moreover, in order to achieve a desirable sensitivity while maintaining sufficient accuracy, we measure the performance of a classifier by the following loss function: where and denote the overall accuracy and sensitivity for set , respectively. They are computed by The detailed backward and forward feature selection steps are described in Algorithms 1 and 2, respectively. Seven quantitative parameters including fractal dimension, heterogeneity, long- and short-axis diameter, nodal density, and solidity are automatically chosen from the nineteen candidate features to compose a highly representative description of node status after the iterative feature selection method.
3.2. Classification Model
We use a Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm to classify lymph nodes . SVM is based on the statistical learning theory and the Vapnik-Chervonenkis (VC) dimension. Its basic idea is to minimize the bound on generalization error rather than traditional mean square error [19–26]. SVM achieves wide applications in many area attributing to its efficiency and rigorous mathematical background. Because of its efficiency and rigorous mathematical background, SVM achieves wide applications in various fields, such as microcalcification classification in breast cancer [26–29], text classification [25, 27–29], and voice recognition .
In this study the prediction of lymph nodal status is considered as a binary classification problem. The features obtained from each segmented nodal image are fed into the SVM algorithm for selecting the most salient ones by minimizing the cost function defined in (9). The whole procedure is listed as follows.
In this paper is the number of nodal images used for training, is the number of used features during the procedure, and is the status of the th node. The above algorithm is performed between Algorithms 1 and 2 iteratively until convergence. During the training, we evaluate the performance of SVM using leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) error. Then we select the feature subset with the best cross-validation performance and record the performance of the trained SVM classifier on testing samples.
3.3. Pathological Nodal Assessments and Nodal Matching to Obtain Ground Truth
To obtain ground truth, we use expert clinical evaluation to classify each lymph node. All visible lymph nodes on the surgical specimen have been carefully labeled and numbered by a radiologist and a surgeon. The specimen was fixed in formalin for 24–48 hours. All visible lymph nodes were harvested, sliced, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) using standard protocols. The characteristics evaluated include the nodal size and spatial correlation from the anatomical landmarks. On CT images each node has been numbered by a radiologist. The node is identified as benign or malignant by pathologists, corresponding to the serial number given on the CT images. Therefore, the same lymph node can be identified on both the CT (when visible) and surgical images, thus allowing corroboration of the findings. Nodes on surgical specimens that cannot be matched to CT findings are excluded from the study.
3.4. Clinical Results
To evaluate the performance of our algorithm, we tested it on real CT data of 228 patients with newly diagnosed and biopsy-proven rectal cancer between January 2007 and December 2008. Informed consents were obtained from all the eligible patients and the study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Sun Yat-sen University. The subjects were 140 men and 88 women with an average age of 58 years old (ranging from 19 to 86 years old). These patients underwent enhanced CT examination for preoperative staging diagnosis before their total mesorectal excision. None of the patients received pre-operative chemotherapy or radiation therapy before. Using the proposed model, the prediction accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were dramatically increased to , , and , respectively, as compared with , , and that yielded by the standard SVM algorithm without iterative feature selection. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for each feature (Figure 7) clearly illustrated that prediction based on the combination of seven parameters outperforms that using individual measure alone.
4. Discussion and Conclusions
Morphological information of lymph nodal metastasis is critical for the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with rectal cancer. Besides the size measurement which is widely used in clinical application, researchers are also interested in higher order measurements, such as heterogeneity, fractal dimension, and moments. To accurately evaluate these features, an accurate segmentation of lymph nodes is needed at first. CT images of lymph nodes are often corrupted by noises, requiring preprocess of the images before morphological analysis. Many standard techniques tend to smooth the edges while removing noise, thus inadvertently destroying structural information. This drawback significantly affects the accuracy of differentiating lymph node status based on its morphology. To address this challenge we propose to use a revised diffusion process with the aims to remove noises and simultaneously preserve boundaries of lymph nodes. Subsequently, to segment objects of interest from the background, methods such as snake models have been proposed. However, the classical GVF snake model is known to create undesired features. Therefore, we design a repulsive force-based snake method to accomplish the segmentation. The new snake method can accurately separate adjacent lymph nodes as the repulsive force guides the snake evolution to its legitimate object. With an accurate segmentation, a set of nineteen morphological features about the lymph node can be extracted. The next task is to extract pertinent information from the abundant morphological features. We develop a classifier to prune the nineteen features selected. To avoid feature overfitting, a classification model based on SVM is adopted in this work. Features that are selected automatically are fed into the proposed classifier and excellent performance results are obtained. The complete algorithms are then tested with real clinical cases and the assessment is compared with ground truth clinical diagnosis. The current model results in significantly better prediction accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity than the traditional SVM algorithm. In conclusion, the present findings strongly suggest that the morphological parameters and algorithms used herein are effective for classifying lymph node status in rectal cancer patients.
AppendixTo achieve representative characterization of a lymph node, nineteen parameters are computed automatically based on segmented image. The detailed definitions of the parameters are listed below.(1)Area: the area of the node. (2)Major and minor axes lengths: the major and minor axes of the ellipse that enclose the node with same normalized second central moments. (3)Eccentricity: the ratio of the distance between the foci of the ellipse and its major axis length. The value is used to measure the roundness of the node and is lying between 0 and 1. In degenerate cases, an ellipse whose eccentricity is 0 is actually a circle, while an ellipse whose eccentricity is 1 is a line segment.(4)Orientation: the angle between the -axis and the major axis of the ellipse.(5)Convex area: the area of the smallest convex polygon that contains the node. (6)Filled area: the area of the smallest rectangle containing the node.(7)Euler number: the number of node minus the number of holes in the segmented nodal image. In most cases it equals to 1.(8)Equivalent diameter: the diameter of a circle with the same area as the node.(9)Solidity: the ratio of the area of the node and its convex area.(10)Extent: the ratio of the area of the node and its filled area.(11)Perimeter: the length of the nodal boundary.(12)Maximum and minimum gray levels: maximum and minimum gray values of the node.(13)Difference of maximum and minimum gray level: the difference in gray value of the maximum and minimum gray levels.(14)Median gray level: median gray value of a node.(15)Density: the ratio between the summation of gray value within the node and its area.(16)Heterogeneity: fraction of pixels that deviate more than a certain range (10% default) from the average intensity.(17)Fractal dimension: Minkowski dimension of the boundary of the node, computed by box-counting method.
H. Cai and C. Cui contributed equally to this work.
This work was funded by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (nos. 81071207, 60902076, and 81271622), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (nos. 10ykjcll and 11lgpy33), Guangzhou Technology Support Program (no. 2010J-E151), NSF of Guangdong Province (no. 9451027501002551), and Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (no. 2010A030500004).
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Copyright © 2012 Hongmin Cai et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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The Functional Fitness Open is upon us! 18.1 will be announced this Thursday February 22 at 7pm. The anticipation is almost as exciting as the workouts themselves! What does this mean for the 204 Open Intramural? We get rolling during the Friday Night Fight, on February 23. The classes are cancelled for the evening as we will have the largest crew we have ever registered throwing down (we are still missing about 20 athlete’s – get signed up!!) The gym will open at 5pm, and the Opening ceremonies will start at 5:30pm. We will have our first heat rolling by 6:15pm. The heat schedule will be posted on the whiteboard, and athletes will sign up for their slot once they arrive. The heats will be coordinated based on what the workout brings us. The time duration, space, and equipment requirements will impact our schedule. Your team Captains will be in touch this week regarding the theme for this week and other details. Make sure you check in with them! We will have beverages for sale after your workout, just like last year! Please bring cash to purchase them and re-hydrate. If you are not able to attend Friday night, or on Sunday morning at 10:30am to complete your workout, you must e-mail Crystal in advance, and coordinate finding a judge to judge you during a Friday slot. The coach leading the class cannot and will not be available to judge you. Get your game face on and stay tuned for upcoming available scoring options – the 204 Intramural Open has begun!!
How are we using the gym to prepare for the sport of biathlon? Check out two different training programs used by two novice biathletes.

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[amsat-bb] Additional g-5500 mounting question
wolthui3 at msu.edu
Fri Jul 13 12:41:30 PDT 2007
If anyone has pictures of a "correct" split AZ/EL setup for a g-5500
I would love to see some up close ones.
Questions that have been raised:
1) I bought used, but believe I have the seperation kit. It has one
piece that screws into the Az rotor to allow the mast pole to go into
it and be secured. However, I do not have a similar piece for the El
rotor to have screwed into it to sit above the Thrust bearing on the
pole. Is there supposed to be two of these? I do have what appear
to be a set of clamps, but I can not figure out how to attach it to
the pole at the top.
2) What all should be included in the seperation kit, maybe I am
missing a part, but can not find a good pic anywhere or a parts list.
Thanks, I appreciate the "noob" help!
More information about the AMSAT-BB


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BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is committing $700,000 to help assess and clean up properties in Vermont that have been contaminated with potentially dangerous chemicals.
EPA acting Regional Administrator Deb Szaro is announcing the funding for Vermont “brownfield” properties Thursday at the Robertson Paper Mill in Bellows Falls.
The EPA says the investment will help leverage jobs and revitalize Vermont communities, including Bellows Falls.
The EPA defines a “brownfield site” as a location where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
(Copyright (c) 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

domain: news


On Monday, Karine Jean-Pierre made her White House Press Secretary debut during a briefing while acknowledging that her appointment to the position dismantles barriers of race and sexuality.
“I am obviously acutely aware that my presence at this podium represents a few firsts,” Jean-Pierre said at the press briefing.
“I am a Black gay immigrant woman, the first of all three of those to hold this position,” she added.
47-year-old Jean-Pierre has made history by becoming the first Black and LGBTQ person to serve the chief spokesperson role.
Previously, she served as the principal deputy of former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki until Psaki stepped down from the role on Friday.
During the briefing, Jean-Pierre expressed gratitude to all those who defied odds and sacrificed to help her be worthy of the role.
Also Read: Kamala Harris, Lloyd Austin, Antony Blinken head to UAE to pay respects
“I would not be here today if it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me. I stand on their shoulders,” she said while lauding President Joe Biden for recognizing that “representation does matter.”
She concluded her address by vowing to “work every day to continue to ensure we are meeting the president’s high expectation of truth, honesty and transparency.”
Martinique-born Jean-Pierre is set to be the seventh woman to perform the role. The first woman was Dee Dee Myers, who held the post during Bill Clinton’s presidency.
Also Read: ‘Never say never’: Melania Trump teases second term as first lady
Jean-Pierre, who comes from a Haitian background, was raised in the city of New York.
Announcing her appointment, Biden said: “Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris administration on behalf of the American people.”


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Since he has one of the most impressive physiques in professional wrestling, an industry filled with well toned bodies, Scott Steiner has been asked for years about his workout program, so the former WCW star released a fitness DVD, which teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced level people.
Last night, WWE wanted to push the heel turn by Titus ONeil, so they gave him a match. Since someone was needed to put him over, officials backstage went with Zack Ryder, who has not worked a televised match on Monday Night Raw since October of last year.
It looks like Alexander Rusev is extremely close to being called up by WWE. The developmental wrestler is once again on tour with the main roster this weekend, where he is working matches early on the card against veteran performer Zack Ryder.


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Michael Brent, the Henry Edwin Sever Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has been elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows – Class of 2018.
The College of Fellows is composed of 1,500 individuals who are outstanding bioengineers in academia, industry, clinical practice, and government. Fellows are nominated each year by their peers and represent the top 2 percent of the medical and biological engineering community. The honor is very competitive – fewer than 60 percent of nominations are accepted. He will be inducted at the AIMBE Annual Meeting in April 2018 in Washington, D.C.
Brent’s lab is developing and applying mathematical and computational methods for mapping gene regulation networks, modeling them quantitatively and synthesizing new network designs in living cells.
Brent came to Washington University in St. Louis in 1999, where he developed a research program in computational biology. From 2001 to 2008 he focused on computational and molecular methods for improving the accuracy of genome annotation. Since 2008, he has focused on computational and molecular methods for mapping and modeling gene regulation networks.
Brent was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012. He earned a doctorate in computer science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then was an assistant and associate professor of cognitive science at Johns Hopkins University.
The McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis promotes independent inquiry and education with an emphasis on scientific excellence, innovation and collaboration without boundaries. McKelvey Engineering has top-ranked research and graduate programs across departments, particularly in biomedical engineering, environmental engineering and computing, and has one of the most selective undergraduate programs in the country. With 140 full-time faculty, 1,387 undergraduate students, 1,448 graduate students and 21,000 living alumni, we are working to solve some of society’s greatest challenges; to prepare students to become leaders and innovate throughout their careers; and to be a catalyst of economic development for the St. Louis region and beyond.

domain: biology


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Sep 14, 2010, 10:04 AM EST
Despite the fact that it had once been held to be illegal and will likely be held to be illegal again when someone else challenges it, the NCAA’s rule prohibiting amateur athletes from having an attorney make direct contact with a pro sports team is still on the books. This means that if you’re a 17 year-old draftee and you want to negotiate with the New York Yankees, you have to do it yourself rather than have a lawyer or agent do it unless you want to lose all college eligibility.
Because that’s really fair and everything.
I’ve been railing against this rule for years, but today Jordan Kobritz takes a nice vitriol-filled swipe at it over at the Biz of Baseball which is worth your time. The occasion: apparently the Pirates, the Padres and other clubs have complained that they had to talk to skilled lawyers rather than 17 year old ballplayers while trying to negotiate contracts during the signing period that recently ended. If those complaints go anywhere, the students in question could be disqualified from playing college ball.
I’d quote Vonnegut and suggest that the NCAA can do something with respect to a rolling doughnut, but this is a family site and I’d prefer not to use that kind of language.
- Blue Jays sign president and CEO Paul Beeston to extension through 2015 22
- Reds sign four-year contract extension with Devin Mesoraco 11
- The Yankees are going to try to get out of paying A-Rod his contract incentives 77
- How Commissioner Rob Manfred Can Make Baseball More Appealing 60
- Blue Jays cut off talks for Orioles executive Dan Duquette 48
- Rob Manfred, new Major League Baseball commissioner, suggests ban on defensive shifts 118
- Yankees reject A-Rod’s apology attempt 50
- Joe Posnanski: Remembering ‘Mr. Cub,’ Ernie Banks 18
- Bud Selig: The Greatest Commissioner in the History of Baseball (146)
- Rob Manfred, new Major League Baseball commissioner, suggests ban on defensive shifts (118)
- The Yankees are going to try to get out of paying A-Rod his contract incentives (78)
- Comments of the Day: some of you guys aren’t big Bud Selig fans (77)
- The 2015 Braves have “gravitas” and “veteran leadership” and will have dirty uniforms. Just kill me now. (76)

domain: law


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Suspicious person report sends LTHS, LTMS into lockdowns
Lake Travis High School and Lake Travis Middle School experienced a lockdown at 10:25 a.m. April 18 after a parent reported seeing a suspicious person on the grounds, who was later determined to be a district employee.
The person was outside of the high school near the Cavalier Activity Center, according to district officials. The other schools in the district were placed on soft lockdown.
Travis County Sheriff’s Office school resource officers approached the person of concern and confirmed her or she was a district employee who represented no threat and was authorized to be on the property.
The lockdown was lifted at approximately 10:47 a.m. after it was determined the students, faculty and staff of the schools were not in any danger, officials said.
“[The lockdown] went as smoothly and successfully as we could hope,” Lake Travis Deputy Superintendent Chris Allen said. “This is the first time we did the different levels of lockdown, and it worked well.”
LTHS Principal Kim Brents described the unsettling effect of recent terrors in a letter to parents Friday.
“In light of recent events like the attacks at the Boston Marathon, I know everyone’s nerves are a little frazzled,” Brents wrote. “I am sure we are all taking the opportunity to hug our children a little tighter. I wanted to take a moment to reassure everyone that — as always — your child’s safety is our No. 1 priority.”
She touted the campus’ emergency preparedness plans that include debriefings after major incidents and communication with local law enforcement.
“In meeting with my staff this week, I shared that I do not walk the halls of the high school worried that we are going to have a crisis,” Brents wrote. “However, I also do not walk through the halls oblivious; we must be prepared for any type of emergency. Please know that every report made is thoroughly investigated and not taken lightly.”

domain: sociology


text: What are you most proud of? That I finished it ;) What advice would you give someone starting this project? Use lifelines as much as you need to -- I'm of the philosophy that you can never have too many! I bought a set of Chiagoo interchangeable needles part way through this project. There's a hole where the needle meets the cable that allows you to insert a lifeline as you knit. At the end when there were so many stitches in a row, I was inserting a lifeline every other purl row simply because it was so much work to go back and redo things.

domain: artistic


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A:Select: determine the product, quantity, price and delivery time.
Finalize: provide logo design, or design for free.
Place an order: after confirmation, place an order for payment and wait for delivery.
Make:make the sample template, and start making it after checking it.
Deliver: package and arrange delivery, and wait for the transaction to be completed.

domain: design


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An ongoing collaboration with Jasmine Guffond, creating visual compositions for her performances.
Material for the performances is used as a starting point for the music videos. The above was created to accompany the release of the album yellow bell on the sonic pieces label.
22/04/2017 - Tagtool performance with 3ell in Freiberg, Sachsen.
25/02/2017 - Kleinmachnow - counter.shadow re-installation.
07/07/2017 - Visuals for Jasmine Guffond at Radial System V in Berlin as part of "Heroines of Sound".


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Courgette, garlic and Walnut dip
Last summer me and my main gal Rosie headed over to the land that gave the world kebabs and tries to pretend to be a bird. That’s right: Turkey.
Turkey is an excellent place and has some mad delicious food stuffs on its smorgasbord of munchables. Being located at the crossroads between east and west, the food is full of incredible spices and flavours that the western tongue only dreams about when it’s feeling a little wild. Cumin, turmeric, lemon, dill and coriander compose the main palette makers, but the food is hugely diverse and made up of subtle flavours.
We ate a lot of food there, a lot of it fish and kebabs. Not both together but they were both frickin taste sensations. The kebabs were especially great and were absolutely drenched in clarified butter, which almost brought me to tears of fatty happiness. That’s slightly exaggerated but I do love butter and in retrospect I wish I had cried as it would make this story better.
Anyway I don’t think I could really make a recipe for kebabs so something else instead. At most places we ate they had this incredible dip. It is a bit like tzatsiki but as if it had been pimped out by my man x to the z Xzibit.
What you need
- Greek yogurt 400ml
- Juice of I lemon
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 Courgette
- Handful of Walnuts
- Fresh mint leaves
First you gonna have to grate a courgette. You want it to be like bits of grated cheese so use the sides with the big holes all over. Once you’ve got a pile of courgette put them into a clean tea towel, wrap them up inside and squeeze all the liquid out of them. You want them to be as dry as possible. You want the courgette taste without all the water that comes out of these slippery bastards. Once you’ve got them all dry put them in a bowl and add a little salt.
Next, the garlic. Use a garlic crusher and fry it off in a small pan and a little oil until cooked. Be delicate! Put to one side in a small dish to stop them burning.
Now the butter. What? Yeah boi – butter! So melt a large knob of butter in a saucepan and get it to the stage where it is just turning brown. Here it will take on a slight nutty taste, which is much taste. Pour it into a cup to stop it continuing to cook and burn.
What next? Well I’ll tell you homie. Start to build your dip. Put your yogurt in a bowl and add in the courgette, garlic, lemon, a sprinkle of crushed walnuts and half the lemon juice, some salt and pepper, and some fresh mint and mix it all up. Give that guy a taste, if you really want some more lemon go for it and beat scurvy, you might also need a bit more mint for extra fresh.
Now add a splash of olive oil, and finally swirl in the butter. Add a bit, swirl it in then give it a taste, keep going until you’ve got it how you like. You may also need to add some more salt at this point too.
Now you’ve got your dip, go out, impress someone, grab some toasted pita and give them a dip in your stuff (sounds rude but isn’t,if you thought it was then shame on you).

domain: food


General definitions by prof. Motro uit 2003:
Systems in stable self-equilibrated state comprising a discontinuous set of compressed components inside a continuum of tensioned components.
Definition by Anthony Pugh:
A tensegrity system is established when a set of discontinuous compressive components interacts with with a set of continuous tensile components to define a stable volume in space.
A definition by Buckminster Fuller, who also invented the word Tensegrity:
An assemblage of tension and compression components arranged in a discontinuous compression system.
Another description by Buckminster Fuller:
Islands of compression in a sea of tension.
A. Hanaor's definition is more description:
Internally prestressed, free-standing pin-joined networks, in which the cables or tendons are tensioned against a system of bars or struts.
A translation of the description by Chris Heunen en Dick van Leijenhorst:
Strings that keep the construction together and the struts apart.
Definition by Miura and Pellegrino:
A tensegrity structure is any structure realised from cables and struts, to which a state of prestress is imposed that imparts tension to all cables.
Definition by Bob Burkhardt that includes a wide range of constructions including a bicycle wheel
A tensegrity is a pattern integrity which has purely-tensile portions which are essential to its integrity.
A "pattern integrity" is a description of a system whose instances maintain a stable pattern in space and time in a variety of situations.
"purely-tensile portions" means portions which are at least sometimes in tension and are not required to sustain non-tensile loads.
"essential to its integrity" means that in general the instances of a pattern integrity are not able to maintain their stable patterns without the presence of certain purely-tensile portions.
Phil Earnhardt studies the human body from the tensegrity idea and, inspired by professor John Wheeler's "Time is nature's way to keep everything from happening at once." he made definitions of compression and tension:
Compression is nature's way to keep everything from happening at the same place.
Tension is nature's way to keep everything happening closely enough.
According to Wang Bin-Bing a tensegrity has the following characteristics:
It is composed of compression and tension elements.
The struts (compression elements) are discontinuous while the cables (tension elements) are continuous.
The structure is rigidified by self-stressing.
The structure is self-supporting.
Valentín Gómez Jáuregui writes in a his dissertation about tensegrities the following definition:
Tensegrity is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially.


Tuesday July 7, 2020
Nov-29-2010 21:47TweetFollow @OregonNews
Big First Half Leads Raiders To VictorySalem-News.com Sports
(Ashland, Oregon) - The Southern Oregon women shot 55 percent from the field in the first half and cruised to an 81-64 victory over William Jessup tonight at McNeal Pavilion.
Southern Oregon improved to 5-4 on the season and opens Cascade Conference play Friday at Concordia. William Jessup dropped to 0-8 on the season.
Alexi Smith led the Raiders with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting in just 17 minutes of work. Josi McDermott added 12 points and Whitney Scott had 11 points.
Cassie Davidson had 16 points to lead William Jessup.
Southern Oregon jumped on the Warriors early as back-to-back 3-pointers by Carly Wood and Scott pushed the SOU advantage to 17-6. Nalani Barnes pushed the lead to 14 with a layup after a steal and back-to-back layups by Smith and Kiara Moore gave SOU their biggest lead of the first half at 34-14 with 6:56 to play.
In the second half, the Raiders pushed the lead up to 24 twice, first on a 3-pointer by Molly Doran for a 69-45 lead and then on a jumper by Scott for a 71-47 lead.
Southern Oregon forced 20 turnovers, while only committing 10. Barnes led the SOU defensive effort with 13 steals.
Source: Southern Oregon University
Articles for November 28, 2010 | Articles for November 29, 2010 | Articles for November 30, 2010


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Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare PC Game – Overview – Free Download – For PC – Full Game – Highly Compressed – Full Version – Torrent Link – Direct Download
Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare PC Game, the new action-thriller from Infinity Ward, the award-winning studio behind the Call of Duty video game franchise, offers the most intense and cinematic action experience yet. In order to combat a rogue enemy force posing a threat to the world, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare PC Game sends players to some of the most dangerous places on the planet while arming them with an arsenal of sophisticated and potent contemporary weapons.
Players take on the roles of both a U.S. Marine and a British SAS soldier fighting through a developing narrative full of twists and turns, employing cutting-edge technology, superior firepower, and coordinated land and air strikes on a battlefield where quick thinking, pinpoint accuracy, and communication are crucial for success. A deeper level of multiplayer action is also delivered by the epic game, giving online players access to a brand-new community of persistent, addicting, and customized gaming.
Click the download button below to start Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare PC Game Download with a Torrent link. It is the full version of the game. For this, you must have Torrent Software to download the game. Don’t forget to run the game as an administrator.
Processor: Intel and AMD 1.8 GHz Dual Core Processor or better.
Memory: 512MB RAM (Windows XP), 768MB RAM (Vista)
Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce 6600 or better
Sound: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible
Hard Drive: 8 GB
People love free steam games, no doubt. But what many people hate is downloading so many parts and trying to install them on their own. This is why we are the only site that pre-installs every game for you. We have many categories like shooters, action, racing, simulators, and even VR games! We strive to satisfy our users and ask for nothing in return. We revolutionized the downloading scene and will continue being your #1 site for free pc games.

domain: game


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Filled with fresh peaches, brown sugar, spices, lemon zest and topped with a lattice crust, this Spiced Peach Pie Recipe is easy to make and delicious.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons flour
- dash salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- dash ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
- 5 cups fresh sliced peaches
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons butter
- pastry for a 2-crust 9-inch pie
Mix sugars, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, extract, and lemon peel.
Alternate layers of sugar and spice mixture and peaches in pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter.
Top with a top crust and vent in several places or make a lattice-style crust*.
Bake at 400 F for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and filling is bubbly.
To make a lattice top crust:
Cut dough into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Arrange dough strips across the top of the filling.
Form the lattice by arranging more dough strips at right angle to the first set of dough strips, weaving the strips if you wish.
Trim dough strips even with the overhang on bottom crust. Tuck ends of dough strips and overhangs under; press to seal. Crimp edges.


NORMAN — Finding water is relatively easy. Paying for it is another matter.
“If you really want water, you go east,” a participant said at a public meeting Tuesday to review the Norman’s 2060 Strategic Water Supply Plan.
The Norman resident was referring to a proposed partnership with Oklahoma City for supplying some of Norman’s future needs. That partnership was one of three options forwarded from the ad hoc Strategic Water Supply committee to the city for consideration. Two other options include the use of treated wastewater to augment Lake Thunderbird.
Norman is creating a 50-year strategy to meet the city’s long-term water needs. This was the fourth public meeting to provide education and seek public input as the city evaluates a variety of water supply options.
John Rehring, of Carollo Engineers, gave a project update of possible water supply options, evaluation criteria and costs.
The ad hoc committee investigated 12 water supply portfolios. Portfolios used a combination of water options. The options were compared and rated for availability, reliability, certainty of source, timeliness of source development and cost-effectiveness. As more information was gathered and compared, some portfolios were eliminated.
The final three portfolio options are diverse and include Lake Thunderbird, Norman’s active wells, Norman’s inactive wells, conservation and non-potable water reuse as part of the city’s plan for future water supply. However, there are differences to deal with Norman’s growing demand for water supply.
Portfolio 1 includes augmentation of Lake Thunderbird with reclaimed water — highly treated wastewater from Norman’s sewer plant. Currently, that wastewater is discharged into the Canadian River and eventually becomes someone’s drinking water. By treating it more highly before discharge, Norman could put the water into a tributary that leads to Thunderbird.
The Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District, which manages the lake on behalf of the Bureau of Reclamation, supports augmentation, but the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has been opposed to that option, saying that Lake Thunderbird is an “imperiled body of water” and would not be appropriate for such a discharge.


Berlin is one inspiring example, but no project is a template - each city has unique potentials and handicaps. While officials in Brussels do their best to manage the unmanageable, we collaborated with Bral and Pyblik, in organizing a city game to explore temporary public use for Ninoofsepoort (Porte de Ninove).
A cherry tree nursery to brew cheery beer, opening up high metal fences to share urban wilderness, and popularizing the active squat at the crossing are few of many ideas ready to be implemented. Players also wrote an open letter to Rudi Vervoort, Prime Minister of Brussels Capital Region. Please click these links to find more about the final debate, process and outcomes of Play Brussels.


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University District has been mindfully made to be more than just a place to live. It will also be a place for local residents and Calgarians from across the city to shop, dine and enjoy a range of entertainment possibilities. Featuring curated cafes, restaurants and a variety of street-level shopping, retail and dining will be key components in creating a complete, urban community.
The wide range of retail and dining experiences will not only serve residents and visitors, but also provide employment opportunities and create a synergy with the local population in and around the main campus. Additional amenities are expected to include a grocery store, financial services, a pharmacy, health and medical providers, fitness facilities and a beauty salon, offering everything residents need in one convenient location.
Mindfully designed communities make for happier residents— here's how University District is changing the pace of everyday life in Calgary.
Eating seasonally is an old idea growing new roots in Calgary—here's how what you're eating affects you and the community.
Autumn in YYC has us falling for Calgary all over again—here are the best things to do in the Northwest.
West Campus Development Trust and The Brenda Strafford Foundation announce Cambridge Manor, a state-of-the-art senior living facility within Calgary’s University District.


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The Mountain Man – Chapter 1
A mountain man finds a young woman in the wilderness in trouble and helps her. Strong sexual content!
The air was crystal clear, the sky a deep dark blue, which you only see in high altitudes, and it was hot, at least hot for being mid morning at 9,500 feet. The smell of horse sweat, dust, crushed sage and occasional mint, and smoke from my brain-tanned breachclout, and moccasins surrounded me. I'd been traveling for the past fortnight in the mountains by horseback, avoiding the well used hiking trails, partly to avoid people, but also to see untracked territory. However, I'd been following the Highline Trail for an hour or two that morning when I saw her.
The young brunette was sitting on a rock, her backpack beside her, and both boots off. She was cursing and crying at the same time. I stopped about 50 yards down the trail waiting for her to see me before riding up to her.
I was only wearing a leather breachclout, or also called a clout, which is essentially a strip of leather 8 inches wide and 3 - 4 feet long, draped front and back over a narrow belt, and a pair of moccasins. My skin is well browned by the intense mountain sun and my hair, light brown, shot through with silver, bleached by the sun, reaches nearly to my waist. I'm big and lean, running 6 foot 3 inches tall, and weighing in around 180 pounds, mostly muscle and bone.
I sat there for a few minutes when Lightning, my horse, blew, as he was getting a bit bored standing there. The girl looked up when she heard the noise, and quickly began to try and compose herself.
I walked Lightning, trailed by Red, my pack horse, towards her.
"Hi." I said stopping about 10 feet from her and leaning my forearms on the tall horn of my saddle.
"Hi." She replied somewhat shyly.
"You ok?" I asked noticing the blood on her socks.
"Yes, I guess." She said.
"You have bandages and stuff to fix your feet?" I asked.
"No, my asshole boyfriend has the first-aid kit and he left me here." She blurted out, tears gathering in her cornflower blue eyes.
I slipped off Lightning, dug my first-aid kit, a small towel, and some soft cotton cloth from my saddle bags, grabbed my canteen from the saddle horn, ground-tied Lightning and came over and knelt at the girl's feet.
"May I take a look?" I asked reaching for her foot.
She extended her left foot to me and I held it gently, noting the broken, bloody blisters on her heel, big toe, and on the outside of her foot. "Looks sore; are both feet this bad?"
"Yes. In fact this foot's even worse." She said showing me her right foot.
"I guess I don't need to tell you that you should be wearing well broken in boots."
"No shit! That's what I told Mark, but he insisted that I wear the new boots he bought me. I wanted to wear my old boots, but he said I had to wear the boots he bought me. They don't even fit!" She said angrily and started crying. Continuing in a rush, in between sobs, she said, "Then he left me, when I couldn't keep up. I kept telling him I needed to stop and fix my feet, but he kept calling me a ''fuckin' pussy' and said we had to get to the camp site. He screamed at me and when I told him to 'shut the fuck up', he slapped me and stormed off. That was over an hour ago."
I was bathing her feet with the cool water from my canteen, stopped and pulled her against my chest. She sobbed all the harder. "I didn't know what to do. He has the food, the water, the tent, the first aid kit, and most of the other stuff. I don't know what I'm going to do."
"You're going to be fine." I said. "I'm here." I stated firmly. "By-the-way, you can call me JR." I said brushing my lips over her hair. She smelled wonderful, of pine and flowers, and something uniquely her.
She hugged me hard, sniffled, and pulled away slightly. She looked up and said, "I'm sorry, I don't usually fall apart like that. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't walk any further with my feet hurting as badly as they do."
"You'll be fine. We'll get your feet all fixed up, then I'll take you back to the trailhead and you can head home."
"I can't. Mark brought me. I don't have any way home without him."
"How long were you and Mark going to be backpacking?"
"Two weeks. We've been dating about a month, and we both like to backpack, so we thought that spending two weeks together would be the perfect way to really get to know each other. I didn't know what an asshole he was until now. I should have known though, because he's been trying to control me ever since we started dating. He'd ask me where I'd been, who I'd talked to, and stuff like that. It was beginning to get on my nerves. It's not like we were engaged or anything, but he started getting really possessive of me and my time."
"Here." I said handing her a piece of the soft cotton cloth. "Blow your nose, I'll be right back." I stepped over to lightning, dug into my saddle bag and pulled out a small bottle.
I pulled the cork and handed her the bottle, "Here, take a drink, this will make you feel better." She looked up at me, took the bottle, sniffed it, and took a healthy swig.
"Whew, that tastes good." She grinned and handed me the bottle. I took a swig and handed it back. She took another, even bigger swig, and smiled up at me. "Thanks, I needed that."
I took another sip, set the bottle beside her and said, "Lets get your feet fixed up and then you tell me what you want to do."
"I'd love to kick Mark in the balls, that's what I'd like to do. He left me. He fuckin' left me." She was angry now, not feeling sorry for herself or scared anymore.
As I washed and bandaged her feet, she took another healthy swallow of the whiskey and said. "When I first saw you, I thought you were naked." She grinned, flushing a bit.
"What would you have done, if I had been naked?"
"Looked." She said grinning again. She took another swallow of whiskey.
I took the bottle and said, "That's probably enough for now."
"Yep, you're probably right, I haven't had anything to eat yet today and I'm gettin' kinda tipsy." She smiled.
"Didn't it scare you, when you thought I was naked?"
"No, not after I looked in your eyes, I could tell you were kind. And, you're pretty." She grinned a silly grin at me.
"Pretty?" I asked looking down at her, with a mock intense look.
"Not pretty, handsome! You look good, really good. All brown and muscley." She said smiling at me.
"Thanks." I said smiling at her. "You're very pretty yourself!"
She blushed, and then blurted out, "God, I'm sorry, I haven't told you my name, it's Sue."
"Hi Sue." I said as I finished bandaging her feet. "I'll grab a pair of my moccasins for you to wear, then you tell me where you want to go and we'll go."
I dug one of my pairs of soft, brain-tanned moccasins out of the saddlebags and tossed them to her.
"Can we catch up to Mark? I want to give him a piece of my mind, and then decide where to go?"
"Sure, if that's what you really want to do."
I was really starting to notice Sue's body. She was wearing a pair of light blue cotton shorts and a pale yellow tank top. When she stood up, and stepped into the sun, I could see the outline of her nipples against the thin cotton of her top. Obviously, she wasn't wearing a bra. I felt my crotch start to tingle as blood began filling my cock. "Down boy, down. She's way too young for you, old man." I mumbled to myself shaking my head and grinning a bit.
She had well muscled, long legs, a narrow waist and very nice hips. Her breasts were small, slightly less than a handful, but then I have big hands, and her nipples stood out beautifully.
"I'm sorry; what did you say?" She looked at me with a bit of a sly smile.
"Nothing, I was just mumbling to myself." I said with a grin.
I put the first-aid kit and other stuff away, and dug out a handful of jerky. I handed it to her, along with the canteen.
"Thank you. I am hungry." She said as she walked gingerly around in the oversized moccasins.
I tied her backpack on Red, along with her boots, and covered them with canvas.
I took a big swig of whiskey and stuck the bottle back in the saddlebag.
I stepped up into the saddle, took my foot out of the stirrup, reached my hand down to Sue. She reached up and took my hand, put her foot in the stirrup, and swung up behind me. She wrapped a hand around my waist, handed me the canteen and we moved off up the trail with her munching on jerky.
"Where's that whiskey?" She asked.
"In the saddlebag on your right."
"Thanks." I heard her pull the cork and take a snort. "Whew, that's tasty stuff. You want some?"
"Sure." I took a swig and slipped it back in the saddle bag, my hand brushing the inside of her right thigh.
"Mmmm, that feels good."
"What's that? The whiskey?"
"No, your touch." She purred.
I reached down and stroked the inside of her thigh again, sliding my fingers from her knee to the hem of her shorts and I heard the sharp intake of her breath. I rested my hand there on her thigh. She put her hand on mine and pressed it against her.
She wrapped both hands around my waist and began playing with the hairs on my lower belly. "You know, you're not too old for me." She said running her finger along the skin at the top edge of my clout. My cock was getting hard and was very uncomfortable stuffed in the tight leather.
"So, you heard what I said to myself."
"Yes, and I think you're beautiful. You're kind, and strong, and handsome, and hung." She squeezed my cock in my clout.
"Careful, you'll have me growing out of the clout."
"Really? Oh my." She pressed her breasts against my back and I could feel her hard nipples.
I had to readjust my cock, so I stood in the stirrups, reached into my clout, and pulled my cock up against my belly and sat back down. Sue ran her fingers back across the skin at the upper edge of my clout and encountered the head and end of my cock extending out of the top of my clout. "Holy shit, your cock reaches all the way to your bellybutton!" She wrapped her hand around my cock, and the head extended out from her fist. "My god, you feel good." She said against my back, stroking my cock. "So soft, but so hard too."
"My god, woman that feels good." I laughed, reaching back and squeezing her butt.
"Mmmmm." She rubbed the tip of my cock with her thumb, lubricated with pre-cum.
I took hold of her hand and asked, "Is this the whiskey talking?"
"No, well maybe a little, but I really like you."
"God girl, I like you too." I slid my hand into the apex of her thighs and she pressed down against my hand. I could feel the heat of her and found the hard little nub of her clitoris with the tip of my finger and swirled around it.
"Oh my, that feels good." She arched against me and continued to stroke my cock, then slid her other hand down and into my clout and cupped my balls.
I guided Lightning towards a little meadow just off the trail. Slipping my leg over the saddle horn I dropped to the ground. I turned and reached up for Sue and she leaned toward me and I helped her down, letting her body slide down the front of me. She wrapped her legs around my waist and pressed her pussy against my hard cock. I dry humped her for a minute or so, as I ravaged her mouth with mine. She kissed me back hard, sucking on my tongue and pushing her tongue as far into my mouth as she could. She dropped to the ground and I reached down and unbuckled my belt and slipped off my clout and draped it and my belt over the saddle. Turning, I grabbed the rolled sheet of canvas, I often used as a shelter, I had hanging over the front of the saddle, walked a few feet away from the horses, and spread it on the ground. I turned to Sue, reached out my hand and she came and joined me. I pulled her down beside me on the canvas and lay back, her head nestled on my shoulder.
"You don't wear clothes much, do you? You're tan all over."
"As little as I can get away with." I said with a grin.
She kissed her way down my chest to my belly, reached out with the tip of her tongue, and touched the drop of precum oozing out of the head of my cock. "Mmmm, you taste good, just a touch sweet, and very clean tasting." Her lips enveloped the head of my cock and I groaned and involuntarily thrust my hips towards her mouth.
"You don't think this is perverted, do you?"
"What, you mean oral sex? Hell no girl, that's what one person does for another they care for to give them pleasure."
She smiled up at me and said, "I think so too. Mark said it was perverted and only 'homos' did that."
"He couldn't be more wrong!"
She took a lot of my cock in her mouth and gagged slightly, took me again, taking a little more, then a little more, until she had almost all of my cock in her mouth and the head down her throat. She slid off me and smiled, then knelt beside me and peeled her tank top over her head. I reached out and took her breast in my hand and tweaked the nipple, she moaned and arched against my hand. She stood and slipped her shorts and thong down her long shapely legs and tossed them on her tank top. She stretched, arching her back, clearly showing me her beautiful, shaved pussy, glazed with the evidence of her arousal.
"Oh my, you are very beautiful!" I said.
"Thank you, kind sir." She said as she straddled my hips, reached between us and guided my cock to the opening of her pussy. "It's bigger than any I've ever had. It looks beautiful, but a little scary."
"It's nothing to worry about. I've never hurt anyone before." She lowered herself down and the head disappeared between her nether lips.
Her eyes were closed and her head thrown back, as she slowly impaled herself on my cock, with lots of groans and moans. When my cock bottomed against her cervix, she opened her eyes and smiled at me. "That feels so good!"
"Hot, wet silk. You feel so amazing!" I stroked up into her, pushing my cock even a bit deeper into her.
She rose up and looked down. "Look what you've done, made me so wet." Her nectar had glazed my cock and I could feel it flowing over my balls.
I reached up for her and pulled her down on me so that I could kiss her and we began to move together in the dance of sex. I rolled her over and stroked into her. I stroked long and slow, short and fast, long and fast, then short, deep strokes, grinding my pelvis against hers, stimulating her clitoris. She wrapped her legs around me, pressing her heels in the small of my back as I continued to press the head of my cock against her cervix and rotate my pelvic bone against her clitoris. She humped up against me hard, rotating her hips against me.
I could feel myself heading for a climax, so I slowly slid out of her and kissed my way down her body, suckling on her hard nipples, then dipping my tongue in her navel. I lightly kissed her nether lips, then laved the junction of her leg and pelvis, then kissed her pussy as I slid across to the other side and laved the junction of her other leg. I kissed her pussy and parted her lips with my tongue, sliding it up and circling her clitoris.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed as she thrust up against my face. "That feels amazing. I've fantasized about someone doing this to me."
I slid my tongue deep into her pussy, and then laved her clitoris; she groaned, grabbing my hair and pulling my face against her. I sucked her clit between my lips and flicked the tip of my tongue against it. I sucked on her clit grazing it with my teeth and she erupted in climax, crying out and arching against me. I slid up her body and as I buried my cock in her in one thrust, she grabbed my beard and kissed me hard, sucking my tongue into her mouth and greedily kissing my lips, mustache, and beard.
She rolled me over, and astride me, frantically humped me, grinding against me and when I exploded into her, she cried out again. I could feel the waves of contractions as her pussy milked my cock dry as I continued to thrust up into her. She slumped against me breathing heavily, quietly saying, "Oh my god, oh my god. I never knew it could be like this. Oh my god!" I slowly continued to slide my still hard cock in and out of her as she pressed herself against me.
I crossed my legs and sat up with Sue against me, my cock still in her pussy. She wrapped her legs around me, crossing them behind me and we sat there, me pulsing my cock in her and her squeezing me with her pussy. She looked up at me and smiled.
"You're amazing." She said looking into my eyes.
"Not amazing, just experienced and open to feeling and experiencing things."
"How did you learn to do what you've done to me?"
"I've had a lot of experience and I've also had some great teachers, been open to trying things, and I get tremendous pleasure from pleasing my partner."
We sat that way for several minutes, just enjoying the feel of each other. Sue pushed me down and kissed her way down my body, slowly taking my cock in her mouth. "We taste good together." She said, taking my entire cock into her mouth, the head sliding down her throat. "I've always wanted to do that, or at least see if I could. It makes me so turned on." She began fucking my cock with her mouth.
"Sue, you're going to make me cum if you keep that up." She just looked at me and grinned and then spun around and straddled my face. I pulled her down and began to suck on her pussy, licking and sucking on her clit. I couldn't believe it but she was going to make me cum again and soon. I redoubled my effort teasing her clit, and slipped two fingers into her pussy. She came quickly and hard and I followed her almost immediately, trying hard not to, but still thrusting up into her mouth. She gently nursed on my cock, draining it dry.
"Oh god girl; I didn't think I'd be able to come again, especially that quickly."
"Oh JR; I've wanted to do that for so long. Make a man come in my mouth and suck him dry. You taste so good." She kissed my balls and nuzzled her cheek up against my cock and balls.
We both heard the cussing and swearing coming from up the trail a ways.
"Oh fuck, that's Mark!" She was obviously scared and angry.
"Grab your clothes and hide over there in the bushes. Don't come out for any reason, ok?" I said pointing to some thick pines across the meadow.
"Alright, but be careful, he's a mean bastard." She said slipping off into the trees.


text:
I’ve heard many heartwarming stories as a reptile enthusiast with years of experience. But this one, about a bearded dragon and two cats surviving a house fire, truly stands out.
It’s a testament to the resilience of our scaly and furry friends and the unbreakable bond between pets and their owners.
Let’s dive into this incredible story that unfolded in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
On a fateful Memorial Day, a fire ravaged two duplexes on North Maple Road in Ann Arbor.
Amid the chaos, a young couple had to leave their pets – two cats and a bearded dragon named Sebastian – behind.
The intense fire destroyed duplexes and four vehicles and displaced seven people. The cause?
A resident was burning cardboard in a fire pit too close to the duplex, a stark reminder of the importance of fire safety.
Miraculously, Sebastian, the bearded dragon, was found safe in one of the units. It’s believed that the heat from the fire melted the glass of his aquarium, allowing him to escape.
He found refuge behind a china cabinet in a corner of the room that was spared from the flames.
As a reptile, Sebastian was able to withstand the heat, demonstrating the remarkable survival instincts of these creatures.
The couple’s two cats, Rowdy and Mumford, were also found and promptly received emergency veterinary care.
However, their third cat, an orange tabby kitten named Lovebug, remains missing. The couple and their pets are currently staying with a friend while they figure out their next steps.
In the aftermath of the fire, a GoFundMe page was set up to help cover the cats’ vet bills and provide some relief for the couple who lost everything.
The response was overwhelming, with donations exceeding the initial goal of $6,000.
This story is a powerful reminder of pets’ resilience and the pet-loving community’s strength.
It also underscores the importance of fire safety and the need for emergency plans that include our pets.
After all, they’re not just pets – they’re family.
4. gtucker @mlive.com GT |. Sebastian, the bearded dragon, 2 cats reunited with owners following house fire [Internet]. mlive. 2023 [cited 2023 Jun 3]. Available from: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/06/sebastian-the-bearded-dragon-2-cats-reunited-with-owners-following-house-fire.html
Alina Hartley is a small-town girl with a ginormous love of bearded dragons. It all started with Winchester, a baby bearded who was abandoned at the shelter by his former owners because of a birth defect that caused one front leg to be shorter than the other. Alina originally went to the shelter looking for a guinea pig, but one look at Winchester and it was love at first sight. From that day on, Alina has dedicated her life to learning everything she can about bearded dragons. She loves helping new beardie parents start their incredible journey with these magnificent reptiles.
Follow her on:
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Learn more about her HERE.


ID: 68452 (GP-2280083-LE)
Hover or touch above to zoom
MAP ProtectedExempt From Coupons
- Full metal construction; Full licensed Beretta trademarks
- Weathered finish
- Under barrel weaver rail allows for mounting of lights and lasers
- Realistic blowback action
- Semi auto and full auto capability
- Powered by one 12g CO2 cartridge in the magazine
- Functioning de-cocker
- Lockable carrying case with commemorative plaque; Commemorative dog tags
26 BBsMuzzle Velocity:
340 to 360 FPS (Measured .20g BBs and CO2)Fire Modes:
Semi Auto, Full auto, SafetyPackage Includes:
FPS Range: 340-360
About Elite Force / Umarex
Since 1972 Umarex has created a world of adventure for sport shooters, recreational shooters and hunters. Its high-performance, high quality models permit training under highly realistic conditions.
(Write a review)
"This pistol is awesome! pretty sturdy also it has a hop up, the magazine can fill upto 23rds of bbs i am so happy I bought this gun, I definitely gonna use this alot and recommend this.
"I bought this pistol for its full auto capabilitie but was plesently surprised how well if shoots I have owned this gun for a year now and I have never had a single issue with this pistol i use it with my Novritsch SSG24 and the hop up in this pistol is AMAZING it was able to hop my .48 gram bbs from my sniper with no issues and the range was over 150 feet accurately I would definitely recommend this pistol.
"I received this pistol for Christmas and it is now the best airsoft pistol I have seen or shot. It has great blowback, good accuracy, amazingly fast full-auto, and a great looking worn finish. The gun itself would have still been a five star review but it also comes with a carrying case which makes it a even better purchase. I also got to compare this to an actual Beretta M92S which is not the exact model but it was pretty much the same thing as the real deal. The weight, feel, and looks were pretty much the same which makes this a good realistic airsoft gun.
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California Proposition 65 Warning: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov


text:
After such a long wait, I found the Gangster Grin. All I can say is, Its nice. Be prepared to see more of this in the coming weeks. Hope I can find the Super.
Some of the cars that you can find in this wave are as below, vw scirocco, nerve hammer, scion xb, thunt gangster, plymouth road runner, and gmc motorhome(quite heavy actually).
2012 Hotwheels poster car list
6 years ago


Extracting lithium: Ensuring a power source for electric vehicles
By PLANT STAFFIndustry Automotive Manufacturing Resource Sector E3 Metals Electric Vehicles EVs lithium manufacturing
E3 Metals improves the performance of its technology.
With the world heading towards replacing internal combustion transportation with electric vehicles, the demand for the atomic No. 3 element, aka lithium (Li) is growing, which is causing some concern among automakers expecting a strain on supply.
E3 Metals, a Calgary lithium developer, is advancing an extraction technology that will help bolster supply while providing a more concentrated and pure material.
Lithium is used in rechargeable automotive batteries.
The experts believe the global lithium supply is adequate for current needs, but that’s going to change. Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds EVs will account for 10% of global vehicle sales by 2025, 28% by 2030 and 58% in 2040. California wants to ban combustion-powered vehicles by 2030 and the pressure is on in Europe to move more EVs along similar timelines.
Lithium-ion batteries are the prevalent energy storage medium for EVs. They’re efficient and they have a long lifespan covering up to 320,000 kilometres, over an average 17 years.
E3 Metals has access to 6.7 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent from the Leduc Reservoir in Alberta. It’s advancing a propriety direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to a commercial pilot phase with Livent Corp., a producer of lithium chemicals in Philadelphia. E3 Metals is also working with the University of Alberta and GreenCentre Canada in Kingston, Ont., which supports the growth of chemical and materials start-ups.
The Leduc resource will be developed through brine production. It sustains very high flow rates within its confined aquifer allowing for large volumes of brine to be brought to the surface. Once lithium is extracted, the brine can be injected back into the reservoir.
The sorbent developed by E3 Metals and the University of Alberta is highly selective for lithium compared to other unwanted dissolved ions, such as calcium, magnesium and sodium.
Lithium is selectively extracted from brine, concentrating it into a rich solution while removing unwanted impurities and reducing fluid handling volumes for downstream processing.
Using existing commercial technology, the concentrate is further purified to produce high-grade lithium products through electrolysis and crystallization.
DLE recovers over 90% of the lithium and increases its concentration from ~80 mg/l to over 5,000 mg/l, while reducing impurities by 99%.
The process is a low-energy method that requires no solar evaporation, and has a rapid reaction time.
“The first phase of the joint development project is an essential step in initiating a robust and economically viable process for commercializing lithium production from Alberta brines,” says Chris Doornbos, president and CEO of E3 Metals.


text: Manteno is a village located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is within Kankakee County included in the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It has a total area of 3.98 square miles at 41.250129°N 87.838282°W. The elevation is 688 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census data, it had a total population of 9,204. The population density was 2,255.22/sq mi . Estimated per capita income in 2016 was $29,927. Recent job growth is negatively decreased by 2.43 percent. The average travel time is 18 minutes.

domain: geography