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Topical application of beneficial lactobacilli and potentially other ‘live biotherapeutic products’ (LBPs) show great potential as an alternative strategy to tackle skin care problems related to disturbance of the skin microbiome, providing alternatives to the overuse of antibiotics in skin care.
We caught up with Dr Ingmar Claes, CSO of YUN, a Belgian biotech company spun-out from the University of Antwerp to learn more about how they are developing LBPs to treat skin conditions.
MT: Words like “Balance” or “Dysbiosis” come up a lot when talking about the microbiome, but are hard to scientifically define – Can we talk accurately about Balance/ Dysbiosis when it comes to the skin?
Ingmar: The human skin functions as a protective layer against external factors and its most outer layer is formed of a multitude of micro-organisms, which means we can consider the skin microbiome our first line of defence. These bacterial and fungal species protect us from and compete with transient bacteria and other ‘invaders’ that could potentially harm us or infect us. As in nutrition and immunology, a healthy state is linked with a balanced microbiome. Even though defining ‘balanced’ is not straightforward, based on current knowledge, this balance is dependent on multiple factors, such as genetic, nutritional and environmental factors. Specifically for the skin microbiome, antibacterial ingredients formulated in skin care products, like soaps, creams, lotions, and shampoos can clearly impact the skin microbiome and disrupt this subtle balance, which develops from birth through to adulthood. Overgrowth of certain ‘bad’ bacteria, (‘pathogens’ or ‘pathobionts’) can then be linked to certain skin conditions and even infections. While dermatologists often try to treat such ‘dysbiosis’ with the use of antiseptics, antibiotics or antimycotics, we know that they are not always efficient and/ or sustainable solutions.
While there has been much debate on what constitutes a healthy microbiome, it is clear that it is all a matter of balance. Differences in the skin microbiome composition, either in diversity (alpha and beta diversity between body sites) and in the specific taxonomics strains present exist between individuals and skin locations. However, we now know which typical genera are present on the human skin based on the body site and whether it is dry, moist or sebaceous. Taking acne vulgaris as an example, it is specific Cutibacterium spp. (formerly known as Propionibacterium acnes) and also Staphylococci that play an important role in the pathophysiology of acne, the induction of inflammation and the formation of papules and pustules, i.e. ‘pimples’.
So can you speak of ‘dysbiosis’? Yes, excess sebum production and clogging of the pores alters the micro-environment and favours certain ‘pathobionts’. While these micro-organisms are also present on healthy skin , these shifts disturb the skin microbiome balance and result in a state of ‘dysbiosis’.
MT: How did YUN develop its science and come into formation?
Ingmar: Taking the learnings from the use of lactobacilli for gastrointestinal application and knowing that lactobacilli are the first bacteria we encounter as babies after a vaginal delivery, YUN’s research started focussing on the potential of using lactobacilli to tackle skin disorders with a first clear focus on acne vulgaris. With the research’s origin on ‘probiotic lactobacilli’ starting at the KU Leuven at the Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics (prof. Jos Vanderleyden), the research on beneficial lactobacilli for topical application moved together with prof. Sarah Lebeer, currently President of YUN’s Scientific Advisory Board, to the University of Antwerp. Envisioning the potential of this research, YUN’s CEO Tom Verlinden, a pharmacist by training, started a collaboration with the University and established the company in 2014. After obtaining grants from the Flemish Government (VLAIO), the first products with ‘live’ lactobacilli entered the market April 2017. Besides the introduction of products with ‘live’ bacteria, a ‘microbiome-safe’ range was created. All formulations within this general skin care range were specifically developed to take care of the fine balance of the skin microbiome.
MT: A major problem with using probiotics as therapeutics seems to be keeping the ‘live’ bacteria, ‘alive,’ especially when passing through the Gastrointestinal Tract. Does treating skin conditions with probiotics also pose the same problem? How is YUN tackling this?
Ingmar: Both for gastrointestinal as for skin application, the challenge is to get the bacteria to the specific site of action ‘alive’ . While oral probiotics have to face the harsh conditions found in the stomach (low pH and enzymes) and the duodenum (bile salts), skin LBP’s need to face the stress conditions linked to the skin (low moisture, low nutrients, skin immunity, endogenous skin bacteria,…). On top of this, a major challenge to develop ‘live’ therapeutic bacteria for skin applications is linked to patient acceptance and compliance. So the final product should be pleasant to apply on the skin, while being compatible with ‘live’ bacteria. This means that in contrast with oral probiotics where a capsule with lyophilized powder can be used, the development of skin formulations containing water (creams, soaps, …) is very challenging.
Moreover the question rises ‘which strains to select for specific skin applications’? Since live lactic acid bacteria are the first dominating our skin from a vaginal delivery to train our immune system, we believe in the safety and potential of these microbes to be used as therapeutics. We set up a rational selection/screening process (figure 1) to find the right stains of lactobacilli to improve acne symptoms.
After the in vitro selection of the specific Lactobacillus strains, the main hurdle was indeed keeping the bacteria alive up to a sufficient dosage to still observe the beneficial effect, as the multifactorial action of the beneficial lactobacilli requires viability and metabolic activity of the strains in situ. As this bottleneck was pinpointed in early stages of the R&D project, the collaboration with the lab of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy (prof. Filip Kiekens and current R&D Manager Tim Henkens) was essential in the development of a new patented encapsulation technology compatible with water-containing products, like creams. This encapsulation technology opens up opportunities for multiple application of ‘live biotherapeutic products’ and multiple other fields outside skin care, to help keep the live bacteria live.
MT: Finally, you mentioned how you rationally screened and encapsulated your selected strains in the lab, but what about applying your product to patients? Have you seen results in humans?
Ingmar: YUN’s product for acne with the encapsulation technology was clinically evaluated in a clinical trial in collaboration with prof. Julien Lambert (MD) (University Hospital of Antwerp). The proof-of-concept trial demonstrated a significant reduction in comedonal and inflammatory lesion after 4 weeks of twice daily use of the topical probiotic product, in patients with mild to moderate acne. Moreover, there was a post market follow-up study conducted, with more than 6% of Belgian dermatologists confirming the results from the clinical trial and proving the potential of live biotherapeutic products in skin care.
This demonstrates that while patients and dermatologists are struggling to find the best treatment option for acne vulgaris in terms of benefit/efficacy and risk/side effects, topical probiotherapy (i.e. live bacteria in sufficient amount to confer skin health benefits) offers an alternative to reduce topical and oral antibiotic use in trying to treat acne vulgaris. For more severe cases of acne vulgaris, the product has no contra-indication to be used in combination with oral antibiotics as well as retinoids, where it can act synergistically from the outside.

domain: medical


TECHNOLOGIES TO SEE AT PHOTONICS WEST 2015
Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) molding is a thermoset process that mixes a two-component compound together, which is then heat cured in the mold with a platinum catalyst to produce a final part. Liquid Silicon Rubber parts are formed through an injection-molding process similar to that of conventional plastic injection molding with one major difference — the material delivery system is cooled and the mold is heated. Liquid silicone rubber possesses thermal, chemical and electrical resistance, plus biocompatibility. Also, Liquid Silicone Rubber parts can withstand sterilization while maintaining physical properties at extreme temperatures.
Multi-Wavelength Laser Modules and Beam Combiners
The LASOS® System Series is comprised of multi-wavelength laser modules and beam combiners with different designs for a variety of solutions. They’re available with free beam or fiber output options and in benchtop form and installable sub-systems. To date, two different models in the series are available.
Mid-Wave, Science-Grade Thermal Imaging: FLIR A6700sc IR Camera
The A6700sc infrared (IR) camera is ideal for capturing temperature calibrated infrared imagery in research and science related applications. It has a sensitivity of 0.02C and provides 640x512 pixel resolution through its integrated InSb detector.
Scientific CMOS Camera: pco.edge 4.2 LT
This sCMOS camera offers 2048 x 2048 pixel resolution, low noise (0.8 electrons), high speed (40 fps), a high dynamic range (36 000:1), and greater than 70% quantum efficiency. It’s been optimized for microscope synchronization and scanning applications.
Color Filter Glass
HOYA’s color filter glass products are ideal for applications involving medical devices, CCDs, imaging, telecommunications, calibration, electronic instrumentation, night vision, CRT/LCD/FED displays, and machine vision.
Adjustable Power Raman Laser: Ramulaser™
StellarNet’s RamulaserTM line is a series of low cost Raman lasers that come in rugged metal enclosures with 8-hour battery packs for portability. The 785nm and 1064nm entries in this series come equipped with power adjustment dials for operation in step increments to the highest 499mW output power.
High-Accuracy Laser Wavelength Meter
The 621 Series Laser Wavelength Meter is the best way to measure the absolute wavelength of CW lasers that operate from the visible to the mid-IR. This system provides real-time laser wavelength information with an accuracy as high as ± 0.0001 nm. Continuous calibration with a built-in wavelength standard ensures the reliable accuracy that is needed to generate the most meaningful experimental results.
PHOTONICS WEST VIDEOS
Transparent Sample Characterization
Edmund Optics recently developed their own in-house solution to verify optical coatings, and the result was the DIC microscope. At Photonics West 2015, Stefaan Vandendriessche met with us to give us the story on how the microscope came to be, and what it can do. This interesting perspective gives their “What Can We Make For You” slogan some serious legs.
Trends In Microelectronics and Interactive Electro-Optic Devices
Lisa Tsufura with Abrisa Technologies spent some time with Photonics Online on the last day of the show to catch us up to speed on some trends her company has observed in regards to microelectronics and interactive electro-optic devices, and the role Abrisa can play in said marketplaces.
UVC LEDs for Analytical And Life Sciences Instrumentation
On day three of the Photonics West exhibition, Hari Venugopalan introduced us to his company’s Optan UVC LEDs. Watch the video to learn how their industry leading light output, superior light output maintenance, and excellent spectral quality can improve your analytical instrumentation used in water and wastewater monitoring, ozone monitoring, HPLC detectors, protein research, and fluorescence imaging.
A New Paradigm In FT-IR Spectroscopy
Si-Ware Systems drew a lot of positive attention at Photonics West 2015 with their Prism award winning MEMS spectral sensors. Bassam Saadany and Mostafa Medhat met with Photonics Online on the last day of the show so we could get a glimpse of the sensors in person and see them in action. If you’re looking to replace your standard bench top FT-IR spectrometer with something much smaller and much less expensive, then this video is most certainly for you.
Optimize Your Laser Processes
On the third and final day of the Photonics West 2015 exhibition, John McCauley with Ophir Photonics gave us a quick tutorial on their laser performance measurement equipment and how it can be used to help OEMs and system integrators optimize their laser processes while ensuring quality and consistency over time.
PRESENTING OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR
FLIR is proud to be releasing our high performance cooled A-Series product family with detectors in every waveband. These cutting-edge FLIR Research and Science Thermal Imaging Cameras set a new standard for price and performance. See for yourself and check out the new, affordable NIR, MWIR HD, and LWIR SLS thermal imagers at FLIR booth #1130.


Diesel, who introduced its men’s and women’s fragrances last year with a Prohibition-based teaser campaign, is jumping to the Roaring 20s for the new launch of its second women’s scent, Fuel For Life Unlimited. The fragrance will appear in European stores this September. A Diesel exec described the differences between the two women’s Fuel fragrances– Fuel For Life For Her "is more casual, for during the day, this one is more for special occasions." The perfumers were given a brief to emulate the craziness of the exuberant Twenties.
Lilly Pulitzer, after a half century in the retail business, is getting into the fragrance game with a scent trio (pictured above). Beachy, Squeeze, and Wink will be introduced in November. Owner, Lillian McKim Pulitzer Rousseau, has never been a fan of the scents developed for her brand saying, "They all stunk!," but now, she’s been convinced. Partially because her parent company, Sugartown Worldwide, worked in her own unconventional ways to develop the fragrances. According to WWD, rather than testing the waters with a single scent, the brand will
enter the category with three, which is a long-standing taboo in the
industry. Developer Allison Farn stated, "It made sense to start with a wardrobe of scents incorporating all the
things one associates with Lilly — the beach, citrus fruits and
whimsical florals." Sounds like Lilly to us!
Source: WWDSee the Top Ten Summer 2016 Trends for Women Over 40


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Well done. Followed the original story from the Bible yet the fictiontional added is quite believable. Enjoyed it a lot.Published 10 days ago by DHicks
Love how Jill draws from the facts of the bible and without changing them, gives us a glimpse of the possible nature of the people written within the pages.Published 19 days ago by Katy Bradford
What a beautiful rendition of Isaac and Rebecca!! It will hold your attention from the beginning to the very end!Published 27 days ago by MBess
Helps you think of what life would have been like back then.Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
I purchased all of her books about women in the Bible and loved each one. It made each person come alive for me. Each book was a work of art. Thanks, Jill!Published 2 months ago by Donalie B.
I liked this book more than Sarai. It flowed better and did not drag on. I truly felt for Rebekah and it gave me a whole new perspective on being a woman in Biblical times. Read morePublished 3 months ago by Heather

domain: literature


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Can You Fail A Drug Test From Second Hand Smoke?
New research reveals that passive marijuana smokers may even feel high, but the presence of marijuana is detected in the blood or urine of the second-hand users only when they smoke in unventilated places.
Marijuana is the most popular drug all over the world and people often smoke it in enclosed spaces, which are poorly ventilated or have no ventilation at all. In such conditions even those who do not actually smoke pot, but just stay near smokers can inhale quite a lot of smoke. The studies that were conducted in 1980s revealed that such passive marijuana use can cause positive result in urine test for TetraHydroCannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive substance of cannabis. But these studies used low potency weed and did not consider the levels of room ventilation. Also, they did not track the mental and behavioral characteristics of people after the exposure. That’s why new research was conducted to study the possibility to get high and fail drug test after the second-hand smoke.
The team of Evan S. Herrmann, a postdoctoral researcher in behavioral sciences and psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, conducted research on a group of twenty marijuana smokers and non-smokers. The team took samples of blood and urine as well as saliva and hair from participants for signs of THC. After that, those who smoked and those who did not were made to sit together and undergo two separate 1-hour sessions in a dorm size aluminum Plexiglas smoke chamber.
The smokers were instructed to smoke ten high-potency cigarettes with one gram of marijuana while the non-smokers were asked to just sit there. After every session, participants completed different tasks and surveys. Some of them were biological, some cognitive and some subjective.
In the first session, the room was ventilated to allow bi-directional airflow at a standard rate that was set for an office building. Here the non-smokers had THC but in low levels. They were able to work normally and their urine samples did not test positive for THC.
In the second session, the airflow was restricted in the chamber (“hot-box” condition). Here significant levels of THC were reported in the urine as well as blood samples of the non-smokers even after 22 hours. Moreover, some of them even claimed to feel high.
Herrmann affirmed that the results were consistent with the expectations and thereby it could be stated that passive smoking can lead to a positive result in THC test, but only in an extreme scenario. The researchers stated that the unventilated chamber is the worst possible situation, which is rarely observed in real life.
Yet, the study has confirmed that yes, you can fail drug test from second hand smoke, although such conditions are hardly achievable in reality. So, if you were present in unventilated room with heavy pot smokers before drug test, you should consider some of the urine cleansing methods of passing drug test to guarantee yourself negative result.


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JiWire offers a long review of Linksys’s MIMO router: They find the Linksys SRX is the best-performing MIMO router they’ve tested so far but would like setup improved and the price dropped.
Buffalo Technology uses Airgo chips to enter the MIMO market: Buffalo will ship a gateway and PC Card in mid-May similar to those offered by Belkin and Linksys. The retail price is $189 and $119, respectively.
Tim Higgins of Tom’s Networking offers his exhaustive look at the NetGear RangeMax Wireless Router: This device uses Atheros’s Super G technology combined with Video54’s multiple antenna approach. The folks at Airgo say that Video54’s MIMO isn’t MIMO because it doesn’t support spatial multiplexing (multiple signals taking different paths over the same frequencies). Video54 says multiple antennas are multiple antennas; they’re using a phase-array approach per packet in which each packet can be sent through a different antenna combination. The device has a street price of just $118, far below its “true MIMO” competitors.
Higgins thinks that the device delivers on some but not all of its claims, and that because four different technologies are involved (three from Atheros then Video54 on top) he has some issues with the simplicity of it, too. He doesn’t know which technologies need to be turned on, off, or changed in order to achieve the best results with that combination. That’s a key advantage for the True MIMO line of products using Airgo chips: it’s essentially one technology that wraps around all these ideas while delivering better results.
MIMO is hitting the market, but what’s the future of the products shipping now?: This piece I wrote for Mobile Pipeline provides an overview of MIMO technology and some of the issues that will face buyers of technology today—will that gateway they bought work tomorrow? Well, sure. But you won’t be able to use the fastest versions of “true MIMO” as backwards compatible versions of future MIMO, almost certainly.
Remarkably, NewsFactor Network has a similar story with a bit of a different tack: that author focuses on spatial multiplexing and its ability to increase the effective carrying capacity of a chunk of spectrum. Atheros’s two radio, four antenna system transmits the same data over both radios; Airgo’s MIMO sends different data over each radio sending signals across different paths. Atheros increases range; Airgo increases data rate and range.
USA Today columnist calls MIMO-equipped gateways out of the ballpark: Despite problems he had using a Linksys WRT54GX’s flash settings, Edward Baig was impressed with the results of MIMO when using just a MIMO adapter or just a MIMO gateway, a common sentiment. He tested a variety of real-world conditions and found that even the worst cases were far better than plain 802.11g. Price is an issue, but he doesn’t stress it as performance obviously exceeded his expectations.
Airgo’s CEO speculates: Unstrung reports that Airgo’s financial performance has the CEO talking openly with them about a public offering.
Craig Mathias of the Farpoint Group runs down the state of MIMO and its future: MIMO’s current technology appears in products from four vendors, two of which are following a multiple antenna strategy that the other two (and their chip supplier Airgo) say flatly isn’t MIMO. Airgo, Linksys, and Belkin would argue that spatial multiplexing, or sending data over the same frequencies through different paths is MIMO while the others use beamforming and phase array techniques.
Mathias recommends MIMO unhesitatingly after performing tests with Belkin’s Pre-N gear and a variety of 802.11g adapters and gateways. He points out rightly that for distance and throughput, MIMO beats cheaper 802.11g devices because of the complexity—and might be cheaper depending on how many 802.11g devices you’d have to put together to reach the same results.


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I departed from Tripolis with a caravan, on the 14th May, passing, in three days, over the ridge of Mount Libanus; and at the end of that time came to the city of Hammah, which stands in a goodly plain, abounding in corn and cotton-wool. On these mountains grow great quantities of gall-trees, which are somewhat like our oaks, but less, and more crooked; and, on the best trees, a man shall not find above a pound of galls on each. This town of Hammah is fallen into decay, and continues to decay more and more, so that at this day scarcely is the half of the wall standing, which has once been strong and handsome; but, because it cost many lives to win it, the Turks will not have it repaired, and have caused to be inscribed in Arabic, over one of the gates, “Cursed be the father and the son of him who shall lay hands to the repairing of this place.”
Refreshing ourselves one day here, we went forwards three days more, with our camels, and came to Aleppo, where we arrived on the 21st of May. This has the greatest trade, for an inland town, of any in all those parts, being resorted to by Jews, Tartars, Persians, Armenians, Egyptians, Indians, and many different kinds of Christians, all of whom enjoy liberty of conscience, and bring here many different kinds of merchandise. In the middle of the city there is a goodly castle, raised on high, having a garrison of four or five hundred janisaries. Within four miles round about there are many goodly gardens and vineyards, with many trees, which bear excellent fruit, near the side of the river, which is very small. The walls of the city are about three miles in circuit, but the suburbs are nearly as large as the city, the whole being very populous.
We departed from Aleppo on the 31st of May, with a caravan of camels, along with Mr John Newberry, and his company, and came to Birrah, [Bir] in three days, being a small town on the Euphrates, where that river first assumes the name, being here collected into one channel, whereas before it comes down in numerous branches, and is therefore called by the people of the country by a name which signifies a thousand heads. We here found abundance of provisions, and furnished ourselves for a long

domain: geography


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A close friend of Cilla Black's has hit back at reports she wanted to die, and urged people to respect the star's family.
Businessman Sir John Madejski described the 72-year-old as his soulmate, and said he is keen to protect her in death as he had while she was alive.
Another friend of the late singing and TV star had claimed she "willed herself to die" to be reunited with her husband Bobby Willis who died in 1999, but Sir John refuted that suggestion.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Reading Football Club co-chairman said: "Cilla was not dying to die. Anyway, it's nobody's damn business. Think of her family - don't forget she's got three sons."
Black's body has been flown back to the UK, her publicist confirmed on Friday, but no funeral details have yet been released.
Sir John said he had never been anything other than a close friend to the Blind Date presenter, describing their relationship as like that of an "old couple".
"We had a great relationship. I respected her and she respected me. You don't get many relationships like that with the opposite sex. We were, in some ways, like an old couple."
He described the star, who died of a stroke after falling and hitting her head at her Spanish villa last weekend, as a private and dignified person who "didn't want to be in the spotlight all the time".
The star has made a posthumous comeback to the UK music charts with her compilation album The Very Best Of.
The greatest hits collection, first released in 1983 and then most recently re-released in 2013, landed its highest ever chart position in 14th spot as fans paid tribute.
It is Black's highest charting album since Sher-oo in 1968, according to the Official Charts Company.
Her former Number One single Anyone Who Had A Heart, first released in 1964, also returned to the charts in 41st place, marking its highest chart position in 51 years.

domain: celebrity


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A version of this post first appeared on the Biodiversity Heritage Library blog. Provenance can be defined as the chain of ownership of any type of object from its creation to the present day. Co-organized by the Smithsonian Libraries, the Smithsonian’s Material Culture Forum recently held a lively session of presentations and discussions on this topic, with speakers from across the Institution: the National Zoo; Natural History Museum scientists and researchers in more »
Come visit the Cultivating America’s Gardens exhibition in the National Museum of American History before it closes this August! The exhibition officially opened in May 2017 and will be saying goodbye at the end of this summer. The exhibition highlights the establishment of botanical gardens and the history of gardening in America. On show are a collection of books and other objects from the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Gardens collections. Here you more »
Paul Allen Sommerfeld volunteered in the Hirshhorn Library July 2017-March 2018. He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Duke University, and is currently pursuing a Master of Library Science at Catholic University. His research focuses on music, film/media, and fandom cultures in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In April 2018, he began as a full-time Reference Librarian in the Music Division of the Library of Congress. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture more »
With the arrival of warmer days, images such as the lawn and porch swings found in this trade catalog might look inviting. Imagine you are relaxing on a porch swing looking out over the water, just like in one of the images in this 1913 trade catalog.
This post was written by Ludivine Javelaud, intern in the Book Conservation Lab. I am currently a conservation graduate student at the Institut National du Patrimoine in Paris and I have been accepted to complete part of my 4th year internship requirement in the Book Conservation Lab in the Preservation Department at the Smithsonian Libraries. One of the projects I am involved with is the conservation of a collection of more »
This post was written by Laura Bell, Digital Archives Intern, Smithsonian National Zoological Park (Exhibits Office) and Smithsonian Libraries (Dec. 2017-May 2018). What do most people picture when they imagine an archive? Probably a grand building with old, precious documents like the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration building in downtown D.C. Some people think of the movie National Treasure. But, not every archive holds centuries-old documents. Some archives are for more »
The Smithsonian Libraries is currently recruiting for fall internships. We have four projects available – two in our Education department, one that is fully virtual and one that would be a fantastic experience for an aspiring science librarian. Below are additional details. We expect to close applications July 31st, 2018. Full details and application instructions can be found on our webpage: https://library.si.edu/GeneralInternships Educational Programs (Storytime) Smithsonian Libraries Education Department is looking more »
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domain: library


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Since 2008 the non-profit organization architekturbild e.V. awards every two years the European Architectural Photography Prize in cooperation with Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt/Main. This year's competition ran under the theme of "Im Brennpunkt | Focus of Attention".
From among the works entered by 175 participants from the worls over, the jury honored the photo series "The development of new urban quarters in the heart of the city" by Frank Bayh und Steff Rosenberger-Ochs with the first prize.
The exhibition in San Francisco presents a selection of the best awardwinning photo series of this year's competition.

domain: artistic


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Make Pup’s First Hunt a Positive One
Kyle Wintersteen, Managing Editor
You’ve watched your black Lab blossom from an 8-week old puppy into a leggy youngster. He’s retrieving to hand, he’s steady — most of the time — and you’ve deemed him ready for the biggest event of puppyhood: the first hunt.
It’s an exciting time, but don’t let your eagerness to see him succeed cloud your judgment. The dog’s first hunt is not about you and certainly not about shooting ducks — it’s about ensuring your dog has a positive, controlled, confidence-building experience. At the hunt’s conclusion, he should be bright-eyed and raring to go again, not confused or suffering a bruised ego. Here are some key considerations.
Limit Hunt Participants
Resist the temptation to invite a crowd to your dog’s big debut. Your goal is to limit distractions and keep the dog on task, not to start him off with a flurry of gun blasts and dropping ducks. Instead hunt alone, or better yet, ask your most dependable hunting buddy to tag along. He can call and shoot while you focus on dog handling.
The more complicated you make the dog’s first retrieves, the more likely he is to fail one. Avoid this setback by shooting single ducks, ideally dropping them stone dead at modest distances. As the dog’s confidence and understanding of what’s taking place soars, you can move on to multiple birds. Often, a dog that keeps a skyward vigil and locks onto approaching birds is ready to mark an additional fall or two.
Geese are a risky introduction to life as a duck dog. They’re heavy and challenging to grasp, and an unsuspecting pup should never be allowed to trot up to an angry, winged honker. However, with the advent of early goose seasons in the United States, many dogs’ first retrieves are indeed Canada geese. If you simply can’t wait until duck season, the best advice is to pick out a single goose and ensure it’s dead before sending the dog.
Despite your efforts, the pup might struggle on a retrieve. Don’t panic. Just walk toward the fall until the dog courses the area and finds it. If possible, avoid complicating matters with excessive handling. Should a bird buried in the brush prove especially difficult to locate, slip in a previously shot bird behind the dog. When he finds it, he’ll believe he’s completed the retrieve. The key is ensuring the dog is victorious, as dogs that haven’t tasted defeat refuse to give up on challenging retrieves.
Use a Leash
There’s no shame in using a leash to reinforce blind manners and steadiness. Your pup is experiencing something new and exciting — who could blame him for forgetting his schooling? The leash adds a layer of control, might help calm the dog, and most importantly, removes opportunities to act badly.
Great article. Thanks for the reminders
just recently acquired a 5 months old black lab, Benelli Ray. . My wife’s first instructions to me was that Benelli would not allow her to be trained till she allowed her to be a puppy and to have all the things a puppy should have. Guess I will start training after hunting season is over and allow her plenty of time to enjoy the life of a very special and spoiled lab. In reading your articles on the needs and things to consider I have found your articles very helpful. I just hope we are not waiting too long, she has learned to sit and stay as well as fetching, so I feel that by the time it comes to more intense training she will have a jump on things. once again very good article.

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ARTcetera, a biennial auction which raises over $700,000 for AIDS Action, invites you to discover ground-breaking art on October 27, 2018 at The Castle at Park Plaza. ARTcetera 2018 boasts unique surprises and an elegant 200+ piece art auction including work by Juan Travieso, Danny Clinch, Salvador Dali, and many more.
Brought to life by Rafanelli Events, ARTcetera remains one of Boston’s best venues for art acquisition and one of the city’s best parties.
Helmed by Co-Chairs Laura Gassner Otting and Ruta Laukien, Curatorial Chair Olivia Ives Flores and Executive Director of AIDS Action Carl Sciortino, ARTcetera 2018 promises to be impactful. Rafanelli Events and The Catered Affair have spent months envisioning and crafting an evening to delight and surprise.
The finest art institutions and curators in Boston and beyond contribute work to this important cause. They include: Abigail Ogilvy Gallery; deCordova Sculpture Park + Museum; Gallery Oh!; Krakow Witkin Gallery; Massachusetts College of Art and Design; Montserrat College of Art; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Peabody Essex Museum; The Provincetown Art Association and Museum; The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts; and Uprise Art, as well as numerous other creative spaces featuring the best in contemporary art. Together with the dedicated host committee, they bring together intrepid entrepreneurs, bright new art world stars, and top philanthropists to support this vital organization.
For further information visit artceteraboston.org or call 857.313.6735.
AIDS Action is New England’s largest provider of services to people living with HIV/AIDS and populations at risk of infection. AIDS Action leads the state’s Getting To Zero Coalition, which seeks to reduce the number of HIV infections to zero and operates a needle exchange that serves as an entry point to healthcare services for active substance users. In 2013, AIDS Action became a part of Fenway Health, which works to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhoods, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population.


Jump to table of contents
Mass Rivers Alliance convinced the Natural Resources State Committee to delay throwing out EPA National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) being fortified across the country, and voted to STUDY its impact thanks to our watershed leaders' delegation. TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) standards in Massachusetts have yet to be determined. Stay with us to help get environmental laws going forward once again.
I'm pleased to announce that the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture just voted to send the governor's NPDES delegation bill to study. This means the bill will not be voted on this session. As you know, we and nearly all our member groups strongly oppose authorizing the state to take over water pollution control programs from the federal government at this time. We are concerned about the inadequacy of the proposed funding, MassDEP's lack of current capacity to take on a major new program, and the possibility that without a new appeals process or a plan for accomplishing important work, like TMDL development, this change could harm water quality in the state.
We made the case, and our representatives listened.
We will continue to make the case that we should "fix it first," that is, adequately fund existing programs, before taking on this new one, and that we should better understand how permitting will change under the new proposal before moving forward with this irreversible change.
PLEASE thank the members of ENRA for their vote to send H.4254 to study. You can find them, with their contact information here: Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture. The co-chairs, and almost all committee members took the time to meet with us, often several times, to learn about this issue and listen to our perspective.
Finally, a big thank you to you, our member organizations and board members, for testifying, signing on to our letters or sending your own, calling, emailing, or sitting down to talk with legislators, talking to reporters, brainstorming ideas, editing proposals, and driving through horrible traffic to get to Boston for meetings. You are inspiring, and it is a pleasure to work with all of you.
Enjoy the long weekend.
is a unique natural resource for the communities of Belmont, Arlington and Cambridge
and home to hundreds of species, including hawks, coyotes beavers, snapping turtles, wild turkeys and muskrats,
the reservation is a unique natural resource for the community.
Historical information (Powerpoint)
Interactive map with directions
Friends of Alewife Reservation works to protect and restore this wild area and the surrounding area for the water quality, native plants, animals and over 90 bird species with paths for walking, running and biking, recreation, and for classroom education and research. We regularly steward and preserve the Reservation area for wildlife and for the enjoyment of present and future generations.


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Many women mistakenly believe that if they skip meals they’ll lose weight faster. You may temporarily lose weight, but you’ll put it back on plus more because your body needs fuel! Instead of “dieting”, “depriving” or “starving”, eat healthy snacks! Healthy snacks include a couple of handfuls of nuts such as almonds and walnuts. Nuts have protien and good fat to keep you satisfied plus they are packed with vitamins. Another great snack is a banana with peanut butter. The combo will keep you satisfied and it’s good for your body. Another personal favorite of mine is Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal. It’s high in fiber and delicious in taste. Take a baggie with you in the car to keep your body fueled and feeling good. When you feed your body with small meals you’ll have more energy and you’ll lose weight the easy way.
For more weight loss tips visit: http://www.fitbysara.com.

domain: food


So it's that time again for me to renew my Cisco Certifications. As a result, this post is based on my preparation for the CCNP Route Exam (300-101).
In this post I will be focusing on understanding (refreshing my memory) - Some Definitions
Poison Reverse - Use to advertise a route as unreachable in distance vector protocols. Since RIP uses a maximum hop count of 15, it can poison a route by advertising it with a hop count of 16. This would make other routers consider this route as unreachable. When Poison Reverse is used a route learned via a specific interface is advertised back on that interface with a metric of infinite.
Summarization - This is also called route aggregation and is used to reduce the number of entries in routing tables. Multiple routes are made into a single entry and then placed in the routing table. This is done to save on bandwidth, reduce on CPU cycles, etc.
Split Horizon - Used to prevent routes learned on a specific interface from being advertised back out on that interface
Convergence - Relates to the time it take for a router to update its routing table by adding and or removing routes to represent the new state and or topology of the infrastructure.
Types Of Routing Protocols
- RIP (v1, c2 and ng) - Uses hop count to calculate metric
- EIGRP - by default uses bandwidth and delay to calculate metric. Can also use Reliability, load and MTU
uses Diffusing Update Algorithm (DUAL)
K-values change on one router must be updated on all neighbours
Link State - uses Djikstra's Shortest Path First Algorithm
- OSPF - Uses cost for its metric. Cost is based on the speed of the link between two routers
- Priority 0 prevents routers from participating in the Designated Router (DR) election process.
Path Vector - Include information about the exact path a packet should take to reach a destination network.
- BGP - Used to connect multiple autonomous system. The routing protocol that runs the Internet.
- Sets up a TCP session between peers
- uses unicast for route advertisement.
Route redistribution - Allows router to have it various interfaces participate in different routing protocols. Routes learned from one routing protocols can be injected into another routing protocol.
Hop Count - This is the number of routers which must be crossed to get to a destination networks
Autonomous System - "A set of routers under a single technical administration, using an interior gateway protocol (IGP)"
Interior Gateway Protocols (IGP)
Used for routing traffic within a single autonomous system or by routing devices typically owned by one organization. Examples are RIP, OSPF, EIGRP, IS-IS, iBGP
Exterior Gateway Protocols (EGP)
Used for routing traffic between different autonomous system. The most mused EGP is Border Gateway Protocol
Types Of Network Communication
- Unicast - Used for one-to-one communication.
In IPv6 global unicast begins with 2000::/3
- Multicast - Used for one-to-many communication.
IPv6 multicast uses ff00::/8
- Broadcast - Used for one-to-all communication.
Used in IPv4 but not in IPv6 networks
- Anycast - A single IPv6 address applied to multiple devices. In this case communication is one-to-nearest. Not used in IPv4 networks
- Point-to-Point - A single link connecting two devices. Typically found on serial links
- Non Broadcast Multiple Access (NBMA) - Does not support broadcast. Individual messages must be sent to each router.
Because there is no support for broadcast or multicast, problems can occurr with dynamic routing protocols. Hence neighboring IP address must be statistically configured.
TCP Maximum Segment Size (MSS)
- This is an option that is used only at the time a connection is established to indicated the maximum amount of octets which the receiver can accept per segment. The value specified does not include any headers (Ethernet, IP, TCP, etc)
Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
- Used to connect one or more private networks across the public Internet. Typically VPNs are used either for Remote Access or for Site-To-Site connectivity.
ARP - Uses broadcast in IPv4. However, broadcast is not supported in IPv6 so exchanges are done via Neighbor Discovery.
- Not required for Serial Interfaces because these interfaces does not have MAC addresses
First Hop Redundancy Protocols (FHRP), eg. HSRP, VRRP, GLBP
- Traffic leaving the network goes through one device or interface while traffic returning to the network uses a different device or interface.
- Cisco recommends not to span a VLAN across more than one access layer switch to avoid asymmetric routing
- If needed set the aging timer of the Content Adressable Memory (CAM) table to match (or less than) that of the FHRP device
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)
- This relates to the largest packet size supported on an interface and is typically 1500 bytes
- The time required for a packet to travel from its source to its destination
- is a factor of the bandwidth-delay product
- The maximum number of bits that can be on a network segment and any given time
- formula: segment bandwidth (bps) X latency experienced (in sec)
- eg. Segment with bandwidth 768 kbps and end-to-end latency of 100 ms
(768 x 1000 ) * (100/1000)
768,000 * 0.1 = 76,800
TCP Window Field
- The number of bytes a sender is willing to transmit before an acknowledgement is received
- The window size begins with one segment. Once an acknowledgement is received, the window size increase by 2. If an acknowledgement is received, the windows size then increases by 4, and so on and so on until there is no acknowledgement within a certain time period - round-trip time (RTT) or until a maximum configured window size is reached
Network Routing Protocols Migration
- Administrative Distance (AD)
- When migrating, set the AD to higher than the current routing protocol
- OR Route Redistribution - allows cut over of one network segment at a time
- Connected: 0
- Static: 1
- EIGRP Summary route: 5
- EIGRP (internal): 90
- EIGRP (Externa): 170
- eBGP: 20
- iBGP: 200
- OSPF: 110
- RIP: 120
- Unreachable: 255
Migrating from IPv4 to IPv6
- Check equipment for compatibility
- Run IPv4 and IPv6 concurrently (dual stack)
- Check ISP IPv6 support
- Configure NAT64 - NAT64 allows IPv6 address to be translated to IPv4 address
Can be manually configured and is called stateless translation
useful in small environments
stateful translation allows for dynamic IPv6 to IPv4 mappings
- Use Network Prefix Translation v6 (NPT v6)
translates from one IPv6 prefix to another
Cisco Easy Virtual Network (EVN)
- Uses a Virtual Network Trunk to carry traffic for each virtual network.
- Uses an 802.1Q trunk to carry VLAN traffic for the different virtual networkss
- uses route replication for services like DNS, DHCP, email server, etc
CCNP official Cert Guide - CCNP Routing and Switching - Route 300-101


FTC commissioner calls for way to ‘reclaim your name’
By Grant Gross
PCWorldJun 26, 2013 10:05 am PDT
U.S. consumers should be able to reclaim control of their personal data from data brokers, websites, and other companies, a member of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday.
Commissioner Julie Brill, a long-time privacy advocate, will push for an initiative called Reclaim Your Name that would give consumers knowledge and technology tools to reassert control over personal data held by companies, she said. Consumers should be “the ones to decide how much to share, with whom and for what purpose,” Brill said during the Computers, Freedom & Privacy Conference in Washington, D.C.
Reclaim Your Name would allow consumers to find out how data brokers and other companies are collecting and using data, give them access to the data collected, and allow them to opt out of collection for marketing purposes, Brill said. The initiative would help consumers navigate the potential down sides of collection of their information in the name of big data analytics, she said.
In some cases, big data collectors are “taking advantage of us without our permission,” Brill said. “Often without consent or warning, and sometimes in completely surprising ways, big data analysts are tracking our every click and purchase, examining them to determine exactly who we are—establishing our name, good or otherwise—and retaining the information in dossiers that we know nothing about, much less consent to.”
Consumers should have access to more information about what data is collected, she said. “Many consumers have been loath to examine too closely the price we pay, in terms of forfeiting control of our personal data, for all the convenience, communication, and fun of a free-ranging and mostly free cyberspace,” she said. “With … knowledge comes power—the power to review, this time with eyes wide open, what privacy means—or should mean—in the age of the Internet.”
What does Reclaim Your Name mean?
Companies that participate in Reclaim Your Name would agree to tailor their data handling and data choice tools to the sensitivity of the personal data they collect, Brill said. Companies that handle sensitive data would provide greater transparency and “more robust” notice and choice to consumers, she said.
Brill called on credit-reporting agencies to develop better tools to help consumers understand and correct their credit reports. “There are simply too many errors in traditional credit reports,” she said.
Reclaim Your Name would fit in with the FTC’s push for an online do-not-track mechanism, Brill said. Do-not-track would allow consumers to choose when their data is collected for marketing purchases, and Reclaim Your Name would give consumers access to online and offline data already collected and give them some choice about how that data is used, she said. “Together, these policies will restore consumers’ rights to privacy that big data has not just challenged but has abrogated in too many instances,” she said.
Brill didn’t give a lot of details about the initiative, but said she would be working on it in the coming months.


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A couple of other local artists are celebrating big new releases this weekend...
* Rapper and Deaf Performing Artists Network (D-PAN) co-founder Sean Forbes rolls out a new DVD, "It's Everybody's Music, Volume Two," with a performance on Friday, Oct. 25, at the Rustbelt Market, 22801 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. The event includes a costume contest. Visit www.dpandetroit.eventbrite.com.
* Guitar hero Jim McCarty unleashes his latest album with is band Mystery Train at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at Callahan's Music Hall, 2105 South Blvd., Auburn Hills. Tickets are $15 and $20. Call 248-858-9508 or visit www.atcallahans.com.
GO & DO Michigan, an Entertainment Portal http://www.goanddomichigan.com
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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There are countless debates out there surrounding Ernest Hemingway, including whether or not he’s the greatest American novelist of all-time, as well as about the themes of misogyny in his writing (and his life). But, there’s another, less literature-based question lingering about the author – was Ernest Hemingway a spy? Specifically, was there a direct connection between Hemingway and the KGB? The notion might seen ridiculous, but enough evidence has come to light in recent years that it’s now a historical certainty – Hemingway: a Soviet spy. One J. Edgar Hoover and his CIA were on to, at that.
Hemingway, who was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21, 1899, lived in the United States for much of his 61 year, but it was his international cavorting that got him involved in the whole clandestine-operative thing. Hemingway is most famous for his great works like A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, and for his winning of a Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, Hemingway was never really able to say farewell to his time as a spy, something that led directly to the final bell tolling on this particular tale of an old man and the KGB.
The News Came Out In 2009, When A Former KGB Operative Published A Book On The AgencyPhoto: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Although Ernest Hemingway passed away in 1961, the story about his time spying for the Soviets didn’t come out until 2009. That year, a book was released that shared the personal notes of a former KGB officer, Alexander Vassiliev, and it was full of insider information on the Russian spy agency. In his time with the KGB, Vassiliev was granted access to archives from as far back as the Stalinist period, providing an unprecedented look at the inner workings of the KGB and their predecessor, the NKVD. Among those archives, Vassiliev found details of Hemingway’s “dilettante spy” career.
He Had A Codename And Everything (It Was Argo)Photo: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum / Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Ernest Hemingway was a serious enough asset for the Soviets that they gave him his own codename: Argo. The name, borrowed from the boat that ferried the mythical Jason and his Argonauts on their fleece-seeking quest, was a fitting moniker for a man so associated with the sea. In addition to providing cover for his clandestine operations, the codename Argo was likely meant to flatter Hemingway and make him feel like a real secret agent. Given his enthusiasm to work for the Soviets, the tactic worked.
He "Repeatedly Expressed His Desire And Willingness To Help" The SovietsPhoto: US National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Hemingway didn't find himself working with the Soviets due to blackmail or financial leverage. He was described in Vassiliev’s notes as having “repeatedly expressed his desire and willingness to help us.” He was approached by the NKVD, a KGB predecessor, in 1941, and they didn't have to do much convincing in order to get Hemingway to work for them. He received no money for his services, and the Soviets described the process as “ideological recruitment.” In other words, Hemingway believed in what he was doing.
Hemingway Was OG Antifa, Which Is Why He Worked For The KGBPhoto: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum / Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Ernest Hemingway spent the early part of his life largely ignoring politics, but that all changed with the Spanish Civil War, which took place from 1936-1939. Hemingway had a firsthand look at the conflict as a journalist, and he did not like what he saw from Francisco Franco and fascism in general. Hemingway became virulently anti-fascist, and he appreciated the aid that the Soviets had leant to anti-fascist forces in Spain. It was this mutual hatred of fascism that allowed the NKVD to “ideologically recruit” Hemingway into spying for them.


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The Trump regime is a threat to our democracy as well as the rights and well-being of millions of New Yorkers. While people across the country are fighting back, here in New York we have an opportunity to enact a Resistance Agenda into law to protect New Yorkers and model progressive governance. But to do that, first we need progressive forces in the State Senate to unite; only then can New York lead the way in protecting our rights, expanding health care, improving education, fighting climate change and strengthening our democracy.
We call on all progressive elected officials to unite to pass the agenda below so that together, we can resist Trump, defend the rights of all New Yorkers and strengthen our democracy.
STRENGTHENING OUR DEMOCRACY: Trump and the Republicans want to keep people who don’t vote for them from voting at all. The core of democracy is encouraging every eligible voter to vote and ensuring anyone can run for office, not just the wealthy and connected. WE NEED UNITY to enact automatic and same day voter registration, restore parolee voting rights and institute early voting and vote by mail. We can fight corruption and restore faith in government by passing public financing of elections and closing the LLC Loophole so voters know the people they elect will actually be accountable to them and not special interests. We can pass ethics reform to ensure the integrity of our government. And we can take a stand against conflicts of interest at the highest level of our government and for transparency by supporting legislation to release Trump’s NYS tax returns.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND POLICE REFORMS: Even though the national crime rate remains at near-historic lows, Trump and Attorney General Sessions are pushing policies that will significantly increase mass incarceration and re-institute controversial, racially-biased programs like Stop-and-Frisk. Studies and crime statistics prove that putting millions of low-level, mostly Black and Brown offenders in jail for long periods of time divides police from the communities they serve, destroying trust and decreasing community safety. WE NEED UNITY to dismantle unjust systems of mass incarceration by passing legislation that ensures the right to truly speedy trials, reforms the bail system so that poverty doesn’t unfairly impact punishment, increases transparency in cases of police brutality, protects youth in the system, reduces systemic racial disparities and keeps both police and communities safe.
JOBS & INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT CORPORATE WELFARE: Trump talks about fixing the country’s very real infrastructure problems but instead he will create another opportunity for the rich to get richer through huge tax breaks, privatization of public infrastructure and corporate giveaways. WE NEED UNITY to stop corporate tax giveaways, including the ones we currently dole out here in NYS through Industrial Development Agencies, Empire Zones and myriad other programs, and instead make crucial investments in our mass transit system, roads and bridges, to protect our drinking water, expand broadband and more. These investments can create good paying union jobs and spur economic activity for businesses across our state.
CLIMATE JUSTICE: Trump is willing to put millions at risk from rising sea levels, violent storms, polluted air, and worsening heat waves so he can line the pockets of oil and gas billionaires. With a federal government in utter denial of scientific reality, New York is one of the most important states to lead the charge against climate change over the next four years. WE NEED UNITY to meet the climate crisis head on: moving the economy to 100% renewable energy, creating thousands of new jobs, protecting communities at the front lines of climate impacts, and making polluters pay their fair share for the damage being done to our health and our communities. We can do all of this and more by uniting to pass the New York Climate and Community Protection Act.
PROTECTING NEW YORK’S IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES: Trump wants to rip families apart and send hard-working, tax-paying immigrants back to countries they’ve fled to protect their lives and deprive immigrant communities of economic and educational opportunities. WE NEED UNITY to pass the DREAM Act to ensure higher education access for all, the Liberty Act to draw a bright line between immigration enforcement and local law enforcement, universal legal representation for anyone facing deportation, drivers licenses for all qualified motorists, regardless of immigration status, and other protections to ensure all immigrants can continue to be productive New Yorkers.
WORKERS RIGHTS: Behind Trump’s empty boasts about jobs are plans to destroy workers’ rights to organize, end rules to protect basic workplace safety and cuts to programs like OSHA that defend workers. WE NEED UNITY to pass protections for the right to unionize and baseline workplace standards like prevailing wage & benefits for subcontracted transportation workers, and safe staffing minimums for healthcare workers. We also need to pass EmPIRE legislation, which would expand state resources to hold corporations accountable for violations of workers’ and consumers’ rights.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: Trump has appointed an extreme, right-wing justice to the Supreme Court and is intent on using the courts and Congress to take away a woman’s right and ability to access abortion and contraception, and to attack health care providers who provide these essential services to women. WE NEED UNITY to pass legislation to guarantee that all New York women have access to high-quality, timely, affordable abortion care and contraception by passing the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act (CCCA) and the Reproductive Health Act (RHA).
CIVIL RIGHTS: Trump wants to pit us against one another, spreading hatred for Muslims, winking at anti-semitism, boasting of sexual assault, and refusing to condemn his racist and bigoted supporters. Within weeks of taking office, his administration rescinded President Obama’s guidance to ensure that schools followed the law to ensure transgender and gender nonconforming youth are treated fairly and with dignity. At a time when transgender and other vulnerable populations face increasing levels of violence, Trump is rolling back crucial protections. WE NEED UNITY to pass gender identity protections so that transgender and gender nonconforming New Yorkers are protected against discrimination by state law; and we must do more to end the endemic violence against transgender people of color.
HEALTHCARE FOR ALL: The ugly reality of Trump’s health plan is that it eliminates health care for millions of people so he can provide a huge tax cut for the wealthy. WE NEED UNITY to provide badly needed support for our public hospitals and to pass the New York Health Act so healthcare finally becomes a right for every New Yorker.
DEFENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES: Trump is seeking to dramatically cut support for public schools and universities, undercutting the education that is the key for our children’s future, and diverting this money into school privatization through private school vouchers and privately run charter schools. WE NEED UNITY to pass full funding for our public schools as required by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), as well as for our public colleges and universities, CUNY and SUNY, which have long provided a path to the middle class for hundreds of thousands of aspiring New Yorkers.
TAX FAIRNESS FOR WORKING FAMILIES: Trump wants to slash taxes for himself, his family and the wealthy, while average Americans see education, healthcare and other vital services we depend on gutted. WE NEED UNITY to pass measures to ensure that the rich pay their fair share here in NY, including an expanded millionaire’s tax, a mansion tax, and repeal of the carried interest loophole, which saves hedge fund owners billions. We also need to support middle class homeowners by limiting property taxes to a reasonable percentage of their income.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Trump wants to gut support for affordable and public housing, which will increase homelessness and force thousands of families into poverty. WE NEED UNITY to stand up to the real estate lobby’s demands for tax breaks and pass stronger rent laws to protect tenants and end loopholes that incentivize evictions, to fully fund and create 20,000 units of supportive housing statewide, to increase financial support for public housing and all affordable housing development, and to pass the Home Stability Support Initiative.
“Make no mistake: Trump and his right-wing extremist administration has declared war on American workers. We need progressive forces to unite so New York can lead the resistance, protecting immigrants and ensuring New York’s workers have the basic protections and decent wages they deserve,” said Hector Figueroa, President of 32BJ SEIU.
“While Trump and his cronies are trying to siphon money away from our public schools, Republicans in Albany refuse to fully fund our schools and universities. The IDC-GOP Alliance needs to end now. Democrats in Albany must unite, resist the Trump agenda and start standing up for our kids,” said Cynthia Nixon.
“American democracy is being tested. In Washington, it’s clear that Donald Trump and his party are willing to undermine our democracy for their own power and agenda. Thankfully, states can still lead by creating model voting and campaign finance systems where every voter has an equal say and you don’t need corporate money to win. New Yorkers overwhelmingly support democracy reforms, but the IDC-GOP alliance is standing in our path. It’s time for progressives in the State Senate to stand together so we can strengthen our democracy and restore faith in government, making it easier to vote and getting big money out of politics,” said Heather McGhee, President, Demos Action.
“Trump is undermining our Constitution and democracy, mocking our ethics rules, and rolling back civil rights: he is cruel, careless, lawless, and kleptocratic. New York should be leading the resistance in fighting back. But the IDC-GOP alliance stands in our way. We need Democratic unity to finally pass public financing elections, stop corporate tax giveaways, make big corporations accountable, and pass the rest of the Resistance Agenda,” said Zephyr Teachout.
“The Trump regime is doing everything it can to sabotage efforts for climate justice. It’s time for the states to step up and lead. But here in NY, the IDC is enabling the Senate Republicans who are in lockstep with the the oil and gas industry. They need to unite with the Senate Democrats, pass the NY Climate and Community Protection Act and put New York on track for a just transition to a 100% clean renewable energy future,” said Guido Girgenti of 350 Action.
“Super-rich CEOs keep trying to get even richer by avoiding taxes, and in New York their top accomplices are Trump Republicans in the State Senate. The only way everyday New Yorkers won’t be left to foot the bill is if all Democrats join together to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share,” said Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York State.
“Trump and the Washington Republicans are about to devastate our public housing; meanwhile the IDC-GOP alliance is blocking stronger rent laws and more funding for affordable housing. It’s time for the IDC to come back so Albany can put working families first ahead of the interests of the real estate lobby,” said Alyssa Aguilera, Executive Director of VOCAL-NY Action Fund.
“People think of New York as a progressive state, and nearly eighty-percent (80%) of New Yorkers are considered prochoice. But with Trump and Republicans in Congress on a warpath to dismantle Roe v. Wade, people don’t realize that abortion access isn’t fully protected – even here in NY. By siding with Senate Republicans, not only are these so called “independent” Democrats misaligned with our values they are also putting women’s lives at risk right here in New York State,” said Heidi L. Sieck, CEO, #VOTEPROCHOICE, a nationwide platform founded in New York City to mobilize the nation’s pro-choice majority.
“Trump and his bigoted supporters are looking to roll back civil rights across the board. His rhetoric has helped lead to an increase in hate crimes across our state. It’s time for New Yorkers to stand up. But we can’t because we’re blocked by the IDC-GOP alliance, we need unity to fight back to make sure civil rights for all New Yorkers are protected and that gender identity protections are written into law,” said Sean Coleman, Transgender Activist.


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This scholarship is for Maine residents who are accepted or currently enrolled part- or full-time at a two- or four-year degree-granting college or technical school. Graduate students are also eligible. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must meet federal financial aid criteria for independent student status. Selection will be based on academic excellence, contributions to community and employment, financial need, letters of recommendation, and a personal statement. Preference will be given to students attending a Maine college and seeking a degree in a business or education field.
How easy is it to apply?
Not too bad
This scholarship's application process may have items such as essays that could take a couple hours.
How much competition is there?
This scholarship won't have as many applicants as most.

domain: finance


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Getting to Know Lakeville
Lakeville is one of the fastest-growing cities in the Twin Cities area and is located in Dakota County. It is a suburb or Minneapolis-Saint Paul and is only 20 miles away from the heart of downtown.
The neighborhoods range in a variety of living styles and ages, making the space diverse and ever changing. There is a healthy balance of busyness and relaxation found within the city limits. Travel is made quick with easy interstate and highways access points.
GUIDEANCE FOR EVERY STEP, STOOP, AND STAIRCASE ALONG THE WAY
Curious about what’s trending in your neighborhood? Ready to make a move? Download our app for real estate insights, on demand.
Dining & Activities
Dine at local restaurants or travel to nearby cities, either is a great option for finding the right kind of meal to fit your mood. With the increasing trends of tea, coffee and craft beer, you will find a steady market for pubs, bars, relaxed breweries, tea stores, and coffee shops galore. Visit the downtown dining list for Lakeville for a list of restaurants.


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Over 450 Photo Gifts, Designed by You & Handmade by Us
Print your memories onto a huge range of beautiful personalised photo gifts and create something totally unique for anybody and any occasion. Handmade to last and sent fast.
Prime print and materials
Handmade in London
Next day delivery
Ships 1 day after production
Shop Now, Pay Later
See goods first, pay after delivery
DISCOVER OUR RANGE
Reviews for Personalised Photo Gifts
Very Good service
After a stressful purchase at Tesco photo (where the products never turned up and took ages to get my money back) Bags of love saved my Christmas as we brought 3 beautifully done blankets. Can't fault this website and their products. Would highly recommend. 5 stars.
The product(s) far exceeded my expectations and the definition of the printing and accuracy of the colours is impressive. When I opened them up I admit I was surprised at how well it turned out. I haven't tested the items as they are gifts but from looking alone I'm very pleased. The delivery time was also excellent.
Great chat-support, wonderful results
I buy most of my gifts on Bagsoflove for birthdays and Christmas, and all just love the result. I'm blind and therefore I always have a sighted friend to help me design the gift, but two times I had no sighted help, and via the chat, I got all the help, I needed, and as I did not know, if I had placed the photo in the right way, the online-chat supporter checked it out for me, when I had put the items in the basket, and all was okay. Just so great that a blind person can also be able to design beautiful photo gifts on Bagsoflove!
This is my go to present place which always puts a smile on the faces of the people I buy it for


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Where we are
Breg Adventure Park Val di Breguzzo is located at the entrance to the Adamello Brenta Nature Park in “Loc. Chiesetta degli Alpini” in the Breguzzo Valley in Trentino, about 5.5 km from the towns of Bondo and Breguzzo in the Valli Giudicarie.
Near the adventure park there is an area equipped for picnics, covered barbecue area, toilets, and the Italian Alpine Troopers house with a beautiful porch to accommodate up to 120 seated people.
From here many hiking trails to the Adamello-Presanella Alps Alpine group start, emphasising sites covering many naturalistic themes, environmental, botanical, faunal and historical.
The area known as Trivena Conca can be quickly reached, which has a “rifugio” (mountain shelter) and is the starting point for spectacular hikes, and Val d'Arno in the heart of which lies the d'Arnò Alpine Dairy (malga) where you can see how products are made, taste and buy great mountain cheeses. Along the entire course of the Val di Breguzzo and in the immediate vicinity of the park you will find dining facilities and restaurants serving local cuisine.
BREG ADVENTURE PARK Val di Breguzzo, Trentino Italy
loc. Chiesetta alpina, 38081 Breguzzo, TRENTINO Italy
mobile +39 333 8848918 - tel. +39 0465 323090


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Here are the details about the item. If you wish to request this item, just click on "request this item", below. Otherwise, you can go back to the previous page by clicking "back" on your browser toolbar or by clicking on "return to resource list", below.
Title: Dancing Dialogue, The
Author: Tortora, Suzi
A one-of-a-kind resource that combines insights from diverse disciplines, this book gives readers an innovative, effective way to assess and enhance he development of young children.


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I got this scoop (ok, not the strongest, but a scoop’s a scoop) for SBS back in October, but forgot about it until recently… Seeing as I’m heading to Tunisia in a few weeks, I’ll repost it here.
The first vote in the first election to emerge from the Arab Spring was cast by a Sydney woman at the Tunisian embassy in Canberra yesterday.
Around the world, Tunisians began heading to the polls on Thursday, with Canberra’s Tunisian Embassy the first to open its polling booths.
“For all the Tunisian people all over the world, the first one who has elected is in Australia,” Ambassador Raouf Chatty told SBS.
“She was very proud, and we’re proud of her.”
“She has exercised her right to vote in free elections … to try and build democracy for the country.”
“It’s a historical moment”, Mr Chatty said.
Mr Chatty said he hoped for freedom, dignity, democracy and social justice for the Tunisian people.
Under the country’s new electoral system, Tunisians living abroad choose 18 of the 217 members of the constituent assembly, spread across six constituencies.
There are ten seats for voters in France, three in Italy, one in Germany, two for the Americas and Europe. For expatriates in Arab nations and the rest of the world (including Australia), there are two seats.
Almost one million Tunisians live outside of the North African country, with up to 500,000 in France.
Votes cast abroad will be counted on Saturday and the results announced following the close of polls in Tunisia on Sunday.
The ‘Arab Spring’, which has seen revolution and protest spread across North Africa, the Levant and Middle East, was sparked by regime-felling protests in Tunisia over ten months ago.
For the record – and if you missed it – the Islamic Nahda party won enough seats to lead the governing coalition.


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Plant Tissue Analalyis Results
Since you do Crop Testing and Tissue ANL. All the time...
My Question is which Crop Plants Have the highest percentage of N-P-K?
I would Guess Soybeans have the most Nitrogen over other crop plants am I correct?
I Am asking Because after I get a Soil Test done,... I was planning to grow the crop that has the most of what I need the most of in its tissue ANL.... Then shred them and bury them in my garden for a green manure.... I Figure doing what nature does anyway right in my garden can't hurt right??? LOL.... No Fertilizer neccessary!!! LOL
So How does it Go?
Soybean = Highest Nitrogen in Tissue ANL???
Corn = Highest Phospherus???
Wheat = Most Potassium Content??? Is this correct???
Can you Provide me a List like this For My Organic Garden From all your test results???
If there is such a listing, it isn't readily available on the MSU website. You may find some helpful information with some of the sidebar tools at this site: http://www.mccc.msu.edu/index.htm
Here's another: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/34720/pnw636.pdf

domain: biology


After what he described as days, weeks, months of preparation, Dennis Saxman had his hour in King County Superior Court on July 7. Less than two weeks later, the judge's ruling arrived in the mail regarding his appeal under the Land Use Petition Act — three pages drafted by the opposing attorney and signed by the judge to the effect of: case dismissed.
It's not uncommon for citizens to complain about a development, but it's very rare for someone to take a case all the way to Superior Court. What's the expression, you can't fight City Hall?
But fight City Hall he does. Every Seattle City Council member knows Saxman. He declares himself "a thorn in their side," particularly in matters that come before the Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhood Committee (PLUNC). He always steps up during the public comment period. Saxman's critics are more vocal than his supporters, accusing him of causing urban blight rather than preventing bad design, acting as a lone wolf rather than a community activist. His lack of expertise in design comes under fire. Could a renter really be so invested in the neighborhood?
According to Saxman, this particular crusade began in March 2007, when he started attending meetings of the Pine Street, Olive Way, Harvard Avenue Triangle (POWHAT) neighborhood. He became fascinated by DPD process unfolding over a proposed Murray Franklyn development of luxury condos at 514 E. Pine St., at Belmont Avenue, on Capitol Hill. Saxman didn't think the developer was being very open and made it his mission to learn all he could about urban planning. Nine months later, before a city hearing examiner, he argued for overturning DPD's approval of the project. He lost but filed an appeal in King County Superior Court. Six months later, he had 30 minutes to present his case, contending that the hearing examiner should not have upheld DPD's decision. On July 18, Judge Julie Spector issued her ruling, that the "petitioner had failed to meet his burden to establish that the Examiner violated the standards of the Land Use Petition Act."
On the surface, Saxman appears to be fighting one development. But his scope is much broader. He believes that design guidelines established and adopted for 16 urban neighborhoods in Seattle are not being enforced. In addition, he thinks the current DPD process, which involves volunteer design review boards and interaction with developers and architects, is dysfunctional. Saxman's stated goal is to increase awareness about disregard for design guidelines, which he hopes will lead to neighborhoods to join forces for reform.
Saxman's apartment is located in an area that should be subject to the Pike/Pine Neighborhood Plan and Urban Village Design Guidelines. Per Seattle code, new commercial and multi-family projects exceeding a certain size and in certain zones must go through design review on their path to a master use permit. Reporting to the DPD are seven design review boards, each comprised of five citizen volunteers within specific categories — design professional, developer, commercial representative (those three are at-large seats), and a local resident and a business representative. The citizens serve a two-year terms and are charged with reviewing projects within the seven geographic areas. If four out of the five board members vote in favor of approving a project, it is considered a "supermajority" and must be upheld by the DPD director. A 2006 city auditor's report provides an excellent overview and recommendations for improvement of the process.
Saxman's argument is that guidelines established for design review, in laboriously created Neighborhood Plans and in Seattle's Comprehensive Plan, were incorporated into Municipal Code so as to be legally enforceable. The Pike and Belmont project was approved last November. Saxman began the appeal process, which placed his case before Ann Watanabe of the city's Hearing Examiner office, on Jan. 2. Watanabe upheld the DPD's decision to approve the project, issuing her findings and decision on Jan. 16. Saxman filed an appeal in King County Superior Court, claiming that the hearing examiner did not hold a fair hearing. He cited a demeaning attitude (laughter), said she did not consistently consider evidence, and did not properly weigh the evidence Saxman presented to support "that the land use decision is an erroneous interpretation."
Six months later, Saxman hauled his 1,000 pages of material to Judge Julie Spector's courtroom and sat alone at one end of a long table. He's a tall, gaunt man, a former paralegal and an inactive member of the California Bar who has been on medical disability since 2002. Joan Noth from the City Attorney's office arrived and greeted Saxman. The respondent's attorneys, Peter Buck and Randall Olson from Buck Law Group, arrived with assistants carrying their supporting documents.
Saxman had 30 minutes to make his case to the court. His argument: Specific guidelines developed by neighborhoods and incorporated into Seattle's Comprehensive Plan, neighborhood plans, and Municipal Land Use Code should be considered legally binding but are, instead, ignored and/or undermined by the city's own Department of Planning and Development. His research had convinced him that once a project is approved by the Design Review Board, it is virtually guaranteed to be approved by DPD; is often exempted from further study of potential State Environmental Protection Act significance; and sets the stage for departures from Land Use Code that favor developers and ignore neighborhood-specific guidelines. He had 170 photos and volumes of what he considered to be evidence.
Whereas Saxman sought to prove the relevance of design guidelines in maintaining distinctive architectural features on behalf of the 16 plans with neighborhood-specific guidelines, respondent Peter Buck focused on the particular property delayed by this appeal, at 514 E. Pine Street. He referred to the design guidelines as regulatory schemes instead of binding code, arguing that guidelines by definition allow for flexibility. Likewise, the assistant city attorney's only rebuttal to Saxman's petition was that design review is a process, that citizen design review boards allow for community input, and that the developer worked hard to meet requests on the part of the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Near the end of his long-awaited time in front of the judge, Saxman looked down at four lengthy briefs on the table and an accompanying box of documentation. "I'm relying on what I've written," he said rather sadly, "which I think is more articulate." Judge Spector closed by promising to issue her decision within the next few weeks and said she would carefully review the substance of the hearing examiner's transcript to determine whether errors were made. Saxman knew she probably wouldn't find for him on the unfairness of the hearing examiner but thought there was a real chance she'd agree there were inconsistencies in the application of Design Review Guidelines.
After the judge left the courtroom that day, Saxman turned around and realized how many supporters had slipped onto the benches, heeding weekend e-mails sent to community groups. Saxman acknowledged them emotionally, "I'm heartened to see so many members of the community," he said. "This battle will continue, whether I win or lose."
Twelve days after the hearing, Saxman received the judge's ruling in the mail. It was essentially a copy of what opposing attorneys had e-mailed him a few days earlier, a petition to dismiss, which the judge adopted and signed. No details whatsoever, no answers to the questions that Saxman had posed: Are design guidelines a suggestion or are they criteria? Can they be enforced? Is the design review process following the directives of 16 specific neighborhoods within the 34 neighborhood plans? The stated purpose of the Pike/Pine plan is "to sustain the character of the Pike/Pine neighborhood by development of Design Guidelines and Design Review process to preserve 'character' buildings, and the implementation of urban design improvements that enhance the pedestrian environment."
In simplest terms, the ruling means the project at 514 E. Pine Street can proceed. Saxman was very disappointed by Spector's decision, but he is undeterred from his campaign to reform the process. New battle lines have been drawn, and the street address is 1605 Bellevue Ave. The planned six-story apartment building (formerly condominiums) has already been through design review and approved by DPD. Saxman's appeal of the decision is scheduled with Head Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner on Sept. 10. Saxman feels he's learned a great deal from the last proceedings and has been digging ever deeper for municipal information that bolsters his argument. "These guidelines were meant to be followed," he says, and he's determined to prove it.


Israeli progressive metal outfit Subterranean Masquerade video for “Ascend” is now available. Their new single is released through Sensory Records.
While their new LP for Sensory Records is finalized for Spring release, Subterranean Masquerade presents “Ascend,” through a lively video captured on the band’s European tour with Orphaned Land before the global pandemic halted performances.
With the new video’s premiere, the band’s founding guitarist Tomer Pink notes, “It is with an utmost excitement, to finally share with the world ‘Ascend,’ the first single from our album Mountain Fever, our most diverse album yet. We think there’s something for everyone here. Turn off the lights and let’s dance!”
Offers the band’s new vocalist Vidi Dolev, “We’ve been working on this one for quite a while and thanks to COVID-19 we have been waiting even longer to release it. We played ‘Ascend’ live on our latest European tour. We filmed the song throughout the shows and were astonished by how well it was accepted. We dedicate this one to our friends and followers; you might find yourself in this video! A last memory from the live concerts before the world had stopped. Ascend is about the good things that make you feel bad and the bad things that make you feel better. Enjoy.”
Metal Injection writes, “Subterranean Masquerade has just dropped their new single ‘Ascend’ and I’m not sure how many times I’ve listened to it. It’s catchy, it’s crunchy, and it has a music video that’s one hell of a good time.”
Subterranean Masquerade Video “Ascend”
“Ascend” is available across all digital services and will be paired with an instrumental version of the song as a bonus track. Find exclusive new merch for the single HERE.
Full details on Subterranean Masquerade’s Mountain Fever LP will be issued in the weeks ahead and will see release this Spring.
Mountain Fever will be Subterranean Masquerade’s their first release for new label home, US-based Sensory Records. Their fourth LP, and sixth overall release, Mountain Fever was recorded between Golan Heights to Fascination Street Studio (engineered by David Castillo) and mixed by Jens Bogren (Leprous, Katatonia, Opeth). Here, Subterranean Masquerade continues pushing the balance between pioneering experimentalism to their own take on modern pop culture and its manifestation in the Middle East. Revealing an album composed of African and Balkan brass sections, Arabic violins, extended vocal techniques, and several special guest appearances, the band explores radio friendly hooks that emerge out of heavy riffs and polychromatic arrangements.
Feature Photo by Yalon Schori