text:
An Avicii fan has taken to Instagram to share what may well be one of the final photos to be taken of the Swedish music superstar, who passed away overnight in Muscat, Oman at the age of 28.
Earlier this week, a “starstruck” fan by the name of Kelly posted a photo of herself with the DJ, who posed with her at Muscat Hills Resort when she ran into him there on her birthday weekend.
Today, with news of his passing, the young fan shared another haunting photo of herself with Avicii, saying “can’t believe I got to meet you in Muscat just 6 days ago, far too young to go.”
Several days ago, the resort also shared some photographs of the Swedish star, thanking him for his stay there.
According to Swedish magazine Expressen, a local DJ named Marai Joshi said that he met Avicii while spinning at the resort.
“He told me he liked Oman so much that he would extend his journey and stay for a few days extra,” Joshi told the publication.
A representative for the DJ, otherwise known as Tim Bergling, released a statement earlier today confirming his passing and saying:
“He was found dead in Muscat, Oman this Friday afternoon local time, April 20th. The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time. No further statements will be given.”

domain: celebrity


text:
Help someone in Armenia today by giving them a micro business loan!
MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OPENED IN MARSEILLES
Arka News Agency, Armenia April 25 2006
YEREVAN, April 25, 2006. /ARKA/. A memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 has been unveiled in Marseilles, France. Attending the ceremony were Speaker of the RA Parliament Artur Baghdasaryan and RA Ambassador to France Eduard Nalbandyan.
A monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide was also unveiled in Lyons on April 24. The ceremony was attended by Mayor of Lyons, Senator Gerar Colomb and RA Ambassador to France Eduard Nalbandyan.
In his speech, the RA Ambassador pointed out that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by France and existence of 50 monuments to the victims throughout the country are perceived as manifestation of solidarity by the Armenian people.
The Armenian Genocide, first genocide of the 20th century, was organized and committed by the Government of Young Turks in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Over 1.5mln Armenians were slaughtered. The Armenian Genocide has been officially recognized by many countries.
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domain: history


Manufacturing Companies for Polypropylene Ppr Globe Valve - Trunnion mounted Ball Valve with Scotch Yoke Type Pneumatic Actuator – GMK Valve
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text: Kowloon was my absolute favorite section of Hong Kong. I think that it was the most ethnically diverse area in Hong Kong. As a Muslim who wears hijab (the head-scarf) I came with the assumption that I would stick out like a sore thumb. I read many articles and writings about Muslims in Hong Kong, it never clicked that there would be Muslims from all over the world here. I expected the Muslims that I would meet to be of Hui descent. On Friday, March 1, 2013, I was determined to go to Jummah (the Friday sermon) at the Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Center. From the hotel I took a taxi to the Central Pier, and from there I took the 10 minute ferry. From the Kowloon Pier, the masjid was a 10 minute walk. When I arrived, I was welcomed at the entrance by a Sister who was from Indonesia. I made my way upstairs to the prayer hall for Sisters. When I entered I was so surprised to see the many different faces of Islam. It was beautiful. It brought me to tears to see that no matter where I went in the world, I was surrounded by Sisters of Arab, African, Asian, and European descent and they all welcomed me. The khutbah (sermon) was given in 3 different languages. Since the largest masjid is located in Kowloon, it has become the central area for Muslims in Hong Kong. Many Muslims live and work close to it, and therefore, it is part of the reason why there is so much ethnic diversity in Kowloon. If I was to live in Hong Kong, I would want to live in Kowloon.

domain: geography


text:
Many first-time parents describe the moment their baby is born as “surreal.” They’re suddenly responsible for another person’s life, and they don’t always feel up to the task.
But as recent trends in infant care suggest, new parents may know more than they think. Society is shifting toward methods that are rooted in common sense — and science, too!
For those who are still a little apprehensive, there’s nothing like the comfort of expert advice. Through her experience as an RN, certified lactation educator, and mother, Helen Anderson has gained considerable infant care knowledge.
Here are five enduring practices she has identified:
Research supports the innumerable health benefits of breastfeeding. A breastfed baby is more likely to fight off illness, maintain a healthy body weight, and avoid allergies. What’s more, breast milk is brain food. On average, breastfed infants start school with an IQ about four points higher than their formula-fed counterparts.
“Breastfeeding is the best nutrition you can provide your growing baby,” says Anderson. “It’s formulated by nature to be specific to the needs of a growing human.”
According to Anderson, the warmth of their mothers’ bodies and the motion of sucking are naturally soothing to babies, and a baby on the breast releases oxytocin — the bonding and calming hormone — which helps mothers manage the demands of a newborn.
Don’t be discouraged if your baby doesn’t take to breastfeeding immediately. It’s a learned skill, but with a little time, practice, and helpful advice, it will become easier.
Babywearing is far from new. Mothers have been carrying their children in slings or packs for millennia.
Babywearing is a mobile, hands-free way to maintain intimacy with your baby, but the benefits go beyond convenience. According to Anderson, the upright positioning helps prevent gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD) by using gravity to keep stomach acid from entering and injuring the tender lining of the esophagus. Physical contact also helps babies fight off illness with a stronger immune response by lowering stress hormone levels and helping them regulate their body temperature.
When you carry your baby, she experiences the world with you. She sees things from your perspective and feels the vibrations of your voice. The contentment infants feel being close to their mothers is so powerful that infants who receive supplemental carrying cry 43 percent less overall.
This stimulation and comfort is something a stroller can’t match. And with a wide variety of baby carriers on the market, it’s easy to match any body type or budget.
3. Baby-Led Weaning
Baby-led weaning means allowing your baby to feed herself from the very onset of weaning. When you let your baby reach for food and set her own eating pace, she is able to experiment with different textures and flavors, instead of simply purees.
For mothers, a big perk of baby-led weaning is being able to have family mealtimes. Anderson says there’s a joy in watching your baby experience foods for the first time.
“Even if a food is rejected, you can reintroduce it later and maybe get a better reception,” she says.
Although choking is a major concern for parents, Anderson offers this rule of thumb: If a baby is in an upright position and the piece of food is about the size of her fist, she will likely do just fine. However, anxious parents can read baby-led weaning guidelines to ease their minds.
4. Cloth Diapers
With growing concerns about environmental waste and the economics of diapers, many parents are seeking alternatives to disposables. Anderson recommends cloth diapers over disposables and is quick to note that cloth diapering has come a long way in recent years. Today’s cloth diapers are designed with convenience in mind. With absorbent fabrics and easy-to-fasten snaps, cloth diapers are an attractive option for many parents.
Even if cleaning soiled diapers is out of the question, you’re not out of luck. There are reasonably priced diaper laundering services available, and some brands even have disposable inserts so you can toss less waste and avoid washing dirty diapers.
Jumpstarting your cloth diaper collection can be a big investment, ranging from $400 to $700. However, the savings over a two- to three-year period are significant. And the best part is that the diapers can be reused for subsequent siblings.
5. Attachment Parenting
Attachment parenting isn’t a passing trend. Grounded in trust and responsiveness, it’s one of the oldest parenting styles around.
Anderson knows the needs of her children change with the day, time, and atmosphere, so she adjusts to meet them where they are.
“If children are attached to a responsive parent, they feel safe to explore and take chances,” she says. “Research shows that children with responsive parents are more independent, creative, and positive.”
Attachment parenting isn’t a cry-it-out directive, and it certainly isn’t spoiling or giving into demands. Instead, it’s being present and giving your baby your full attention and energy.
While all these trends can support healthy, happy babies, trying to figure out the “right” way to care for your child is ultimately your decision. Seek out new information on trends, but keep in mind that what works for one family isn’t necessarily for everyone. Being a modern parent isn’t about singling out one childcare style and shunning all others. It’s about mixing and matching different styles to create a system that fits your family.
Ethan Lynette is Partner for Fairhaven Health, a company that manufactures products that help couples conceive naturally and provides support to women throughout pregnancy and nursing. Fairhaven believes it’s crucial to get to know its customers well and provide support and education to couples desiring to start a family.
Helen Anderson, RN, CLE, has an international reputation as a leader in innovative breastfeeding products. She studied nursing at Oregon Health & Science University and earned her lactation education teaching credential. Helen’s patented products have been used by women around the globe to help them breastfeed longer and more successfully.
More from parenting

domain: health


The Boxing day Test is a Test match held in Melbourne on 26th December, every year.
It is a historical game, and the sides involved look at the Test as a big event.
The crowds turn up in large numbers for the game, and with a capacity like Melbourne, the games are nothing short of a festival.
The first Boxing day Test was played back in 1950, between England and Australia.
It was a good match, with Australia winning by 28 runs.
India played their first Boxing Day Test in 1985, as the game ended in a draw.
Over the years, there have been many changes throughout Melbourne.
The pitch is no longer a traditional surface, as drop-in pitches are implemented, and Melbourne is seen as a feast for batsmen.
India has been a part of eight boxing day Tests and has won just one of them.
With the ninth Boxing Day Test in Australia for India, which is to start soon, let us look at how India fared in their last five Tests on the occasion.
2003, Australia won by nine wickets:
Leading 1-0, India came into the Boxing Day Test after taking the lead in Australia for the first time.
The series started with a lot of promise, and Rahul Dravid put up an epic performance in Adelaide to help India win.
India batted first at Melbourne and got a decent score on the board.
They finished with 366, but the batsmen couldn’t convert their starts throughout the innings.
Virender Sehwag scored a magnificent 195 and was the only player to cross fifty in the first innings.
In response, Australia made 558, with Matthew Hayden making a century and Ricky Ponting scoring 257.
Australia batted India out of the game, and India could only score 288 in the second innings.
With a relatively low score, Australia was given a target of 95.
The target was achieved easily as Australia leveled the series.
2007, Australia won by 337 runs:
In 2007, the Australian Test series started with the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.
The 2007-2008 Australia tour was a famous one for many reasons and was a closely fought series.
While the series was closely fought, the Boxing Day Test was rather one-sided, as India’s batting couldn’t rise to the occasion.
Australia batted first and put up a competitive 343 on the board.
The openers built a good partnership, with Matthew Hayden making a superb century.
Australia couldn’t capitalize on the start, as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for lower than expected.
India didn’t do a great job with the bat, as they were bowled out for 196.
Sachin Tendulkar was in right touch but could only manage 62, while his teammates couldn’t support him much.
After conceding a lead, the bowlers struggled to dismiss the Australians early, as they played well to declare at 351.
With a target of 499, the chase looked unlikely, and India folded for 161, with Mitchell Johnson taking three wickets.
2011, Australia won by 122 runs:
Like in 2007, the disastrous tour of Australia in 2011 began in Melbourne.
The first innings didn’t look too bad, as India managed to bowl Australia out for 333.
They didn’t allow any batsman to hang around and put up a big score.
Zaheer Khan picked up four wickets, and the only struggle India had was with the tail, as they added some vital runs in the end.
India started promisingly during their turn, with half-centuries from Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid.
They seemed on course to get close to Australia’s score, but a middle-order collapse saw India fall short by 51 runs.
Despite conceding a lead, India managed to stay in the game with a beautiful bowling effort in the second innings.
Australia was bowled out for 240 runs, with Michael Hussey’s 89 the highest.
Umesh Yadav was the star bowler, taking four wickets.
With an achievable 292 to get, India was still in the game.
James Pattinson, however, bowled well along with Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus.
India lost early wickets, and the chase was dented, as they were all-out for 169 runs.
The closest India got to winning a Test that series, as the next three matches saw some significant defeats.
The 2014 Boxing Day Test is one of the closest Tests between the two sides.
With Mitchell Johnson at his best, Australia had a strong side, and Steve Smith was growing rapidly.
On the other hand, India lost a Test series in England, and the 4-0 defeat was still fresh on the Indian’s minds.
India lost the first two Tests as well, despite both being closely fought.
Batting first on a good batting surface, Australia put up 530 on the board, and things didn’t look good for India.
Steve Smith enjoyed the first two Tests and followed with a high-class 192.
In response, India started decently but was three down very soon in the innings.
After being reduced to 3-147, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane put together an excellent partnership.
The two young batsmen added 262 and put up one of the finest displays in Australia.
They countered the bowling well and took the attack to Mitchell Johnson, who was in monstrous form.
Ajinkya Rahane made 147, while Virat Kohli finished with 169.
The partnership helped India get close to Australia’s score as they finished with 465.
The bowling continued to struggle in the second innings, as Australia scored 318 in quick time, losing nine wickets.
Shaun Marsh made 99.
With 384 to chase in not too many overs, India managed to play out a draw.
There was another partnership between Rahane and Kohli, and the Test finished with Dhoni and Ashwin blocking deliveries towards the end.
The Test was Dhoni’s last as he announced his retirement shortly after.
It was a closely contested game, with magnificent centuries from future stars, and the Test finished in a well-fought draw.
2018, India won by 137 runs:
Coming into the third Test with the series level, India’s side looked like it had every chance of retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy and their first series in Australia.
Batting first, India played patiently and took nearly two days to score 443 runs.
Pujara made a century, while Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and debutant Mayank Agarwal made half-centuries.
Jasprit Bumrah took six wickets in Australia’s innings to bowl them out for 151.
None of the Australians could get off to a start, as the batting crumbled.
India chose to bat again and went intending to score quick runs.
They lost wickets early, going for shots, but managed to get to 106 before declaring after losing eight wickets.
Australia was set a target of 399.
Though Australia batted better in the second innings, they fell short of the target by 137 runs.
Pat Cummins made a fighting half-century, but the Indian bowlers combined well to pick up wickets regularly.
The win sealed the series for India and gave India its first series win in Australia.
It is also the first time India won a Boxing Day Test in Australia.


The need for more and better imaging data will be the major driver behind a “healthy” $17 billion market for remote-sensing satellites over the next 10 years, according to a study by Forecast International.
Specializing in the aerospace and defense sectors, analysts at the US-based company say that 108 new remote-sensing satellites will be produced between now and 2021, driving a market projected at $17 billion US.
While military and government customers remain the primary users of that imagery, the commercial sector is — as with aerospace in general — set to play an increasingly important role, says William Ostrove, author of the report.
The study notes how satellite imagery has come to the fore in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The success of space-based imagery accentuated the necessity of these systems in establishing situational awareness on the battlefield,” Ostrove says.
Many applications for satellite imagery
That imagery is also playing an important role in meteorological observations, urban planning, agriculture, disaster relief, and documentation of humanitarian issues. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project, for instance, has used satellite imagery for remote documentation of human rights violations. (See "Light on Human Rights" in SPIE Professional.)
Recent studies by the AAAS team include satellite-based assessment of damage to 24 villages in Tskhinvali, Georgia, during the conflict that broke out between Georgia and neighboring Russia in August 2008. That study found obvious craters from munitions and tracks from the presumed movement of military vehicles. Other satellite imaging studies have shown obliterated villages in Darfur, part of what is now South Sudan, and destroyed areas in Zimbabwe and Kyrgyzstan.
One of the most difficult aspects of documenting the impact of conflicts in isolated parts of the word is to count the number of people affected, largely because a single person would be represented by a solitary pixel in a typical satellite image, which is collected with a Cassegrain telescope from several hundred kilometers above the Earth.
At SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing (DSS) in Baltimore (USA) in April, a European team described a new method of counting people from space that uses a wider range of spectral bands now available via the WorldView-2 satellite, part of the DigitalGlobe remote sensing constellation.
Read more on sensor research at DSS and and crisis mapping in this issue.
New technologies, more satellites
Key system integrators in the remote-sensing-satellite industry include Europe’s EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space; Lockheed Martin and Ball Corp. in the United States; and Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric.
“The opportunities for manufacturers will increase as remote-sensing applications and demand rises,” Ostrove reports. “However, maintaining a competitive edge will require upgrading satellites with the latest technology, expanding constellations, and replacing older satellites.”
This spring, DigitalGlobe revealed details of one of the new remote-sensing platforms, in the form of its WorldView-3 satellite, scheduled for launch in 2014. In addition to offering 0.31-meter-resolution panchromatic and eight-band multispectral imagery, it has been licensed by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to collect eight-band shortwave infrared data.
Have a question or comment about this article? Write to us at email@example.com
To receive a print copy of SPIE Professional, the SPIE member magazine, become an SPIE member.


text:
Campbell’s second novel is steamy, hilarious, dramatic and replete with remarkably well-written plot twists. First-person point of view is ideal for engaging readers in the tumultuous lives of the principals. Passionate dialogue and vivid action make this an easy and extraordinary read.
Tiffany is still a virgin. Her fiancé is a handsome, horny businessman, but what her best friend Candace learns about him changes the course of their lives. When Candace drops her guard and falls in love with Chauncey, she learns that her own man harbors an unforgivable secret. Noelle’s empty nest becomes an empty bed when her once-devoted husband’s eye starts wandering. The climax is heart-stirring as true love tries to find its way back into each of their lives. (DAFINA, May, 320 pp., $14.00)

domain: artistic


text:
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7 en-suite bedrooms perfect location for access to Worksop and Nottingham just off the A1.<br />Separate restaurant to the side with fresh cooked food daily.
A real treat of a Marstons independently managed pubs with hotel accommodation. The beautiful village of Blyth in Nottinghamshire spoils you with choice of bed and breakfast and the Fourways Hotel welcomes you.


text:
The previously laboratory-evolved cytochrome P450 2B1 quadruple mutant V183L/F202L/L209A/S334P (QM), which showed enhanced H2O2-mediated substrate oxidation, has now been shown to exhibit a >3.0-fold decrease in Km,HOOH for 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (7-EFC) O-deethylation compared with the parental enzyme L209A. Subsequently, a streamlined random mutagenesis and a high-throughput screening method were developed using QM to screen and select mutants with enhanced tolerance of catalytic activity to temperature and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Upon screening >3000 colonies, we identified QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N with enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature and DMSO. QM/L295H exhibited higher activity than QM at a broad range of temperatures (35–55°C) and maintained ∼1.4-fold higher activity than QM at 45°C for 6 h. In addition, QM/L295H showed a significant increase in Tm,app compared with L209A. QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N exhibited higher activity than QM at a broad range of DMSO concentrations (2.5–15%). Furthermore, QM/K236I/D257N/L295H was constructed by combining QM/K236I/D257N with L295H using site-directed mutagenesis and exhibited a >2-fold higher activity than QM at nearly the entire range of DMSO concentrations. In conclusion, in addition to engineering mammalian cytochromes P450 for enhanced activity, directed evolution can also be used to optimize catalytic tolerance to temperature and organic solvent.
Directed evolution has been successfully used to create a variety of industrial biocatalysts with enhanced catalytic efficiency, novel activities and enhanced tolerance of catalytic activity to temperature and organic solvents (Cherry, 2003; Turner, 2003). Xenobiotic-metabolizing mammalian cytochromes P450, which have broad substrate specificity, offer the possibility of vast applications in industrial synthesis, medicine and bioremediation (Coon, 2005; Kumar and Halpert, 2005; Bernhardt, 2006). However, mammalian cytochromes P450 require an expensive cofactor, NADPH, NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) and often cytochrome b5 (b5). Compared with bacterial P450s, mammalian P450s generally have lower turnover, expression in Escherichia coli, and stability upon long-term storage. Therefore, enhanced tolerance of mammalian P450s to temperature and organic solvents and increased stability, in addition to efficient utilization of an alternate oxidant such as H2O2, will greatly facilitate industrial applications. Recent studies with the bacterial P450 enzymes have illustrated the potential of directed evolution for conferring such properties (Glieder et al., 2002; Cirino and Arnold, 2003; Salazar et al., 2003; Wong et al., 2004; Bernhardt, 2006; Urlacher and Schmid, 2006).
Directed evolution of several mammalian cytochromes P450 for enhanced activity has been established recently and the potential applications reviewed (Kumar and Halpert, 2005). Using this approach P450 1A2 yielded mutants with 5- and 10-fold enhanced catalytic efficiency with 7-methoxyresorufin and 2-amino-3,5-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline, respectively (Kim and Guengerich, 2004a,b), and P450 2A6 yielded mutants that oxidize both 4- and 5-benzyloxyindole to colored products (Kim and Guengerich, 2005). More recently, we have developed a directed evolution approach to screen/select P450 2B1 mutants for enhanced H2O2-supported 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (7-EFC) O-deethylation in the background of an N-terminal truncated and C-terminal His-tagged construct and L209A mutation termed 2B1dH L209A (Scott et al., 2001, 2002; Kumar et al., 2005a). The evolved 2B1dH quadruple mutant V183L/F202L/L209A/S334P (QM) showed the highest activity for 7-EFC O-deethylation in an H2O2-supported reaction (Kumar et al., 2005a).
In this study, further characterization of QM revealed a >3.0-fold lower Km,HOOH for 7-EFC O-deethylation than the parental enzyme L209A. Upon random mutagenesis using a streamlined procedure involving error-prone PCR of the whole plasmid, we created QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N. QM/L295H exhibited an enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature, whereas QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N exhibited an enhanced catalytic tolerance to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Furthermore, QM/K236I/D257N/L295H exhibited a >2-fold higher catalytic tolerance than QM at nearly the entire range of DMSO concentrations (5–30%).
Materials and methods
7-EFC was purchased from Molecular Probes, Inc. (Eugene, OR). NADPH, DMSO and polymyxin B sulfate were obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. (St Louis, MO). Recombinant CPR and b5 from rat liver were prepared as described previously (Harlow et al., 1997). All other chemicals were of the highest grade available and were obtained from standard commercial sources. The creation/construction of P450 2B1 QM was described previously (Kumar et al., 2005a).
Random mutagenesis by error-prone PCR of the whole plasmid
Owing to a limited number of transformants and lengthy procedures, the standard error-prone PCR method used previously for P450 2B1 (Kumar et al., 2005a) was modified. Error-prone PCR of the cDNA was replaced by error-prone PCR of the whole plasmid in order to create several thousands of colonies without subcloning (Matsumura and Rowe, 2005). The whole plasmid error-prone PCR was carried out using the QuikChange XL site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) under conditions that generate 1–2 mutations/kb as described previously (Kumar et al., 2005a). This is a very efficient way to create a large mutant library without optimizing primer length, selection of restriction sites, ligation conditions and transformation procedures. In brief, error-prone PCR of the whole plasmid was carried out by using 50 μg template, 25 mM MgCl2, 10 mM dCTP, 10 mM dTTP, and 2 mM each of dATP and dGTP. The forward and reverse primers, which were targeted at the P450 2B1 cDNA sequences between 766 and 792, used were 5′-ATTGTGGAGAAGCACAGGGCCACCTTA-3′ and 5′-TAAGGTGGCCCTGTGCTTCTCCACAAT-3′, respectively.
QM/K236I/D257N/L295H was created using QM/K236I/D257N as a template, and 5′-TCCCTGCTCTCTCACTTCTTTGCTGGC-3′ and 5′-GCCAGCAAAGAAGTGAGAGAGCAGGGA-3′ as forward and reverse primers, respectively, using the QuikChange XL site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA). Nucleotides in bold indicate the site of mutation. To confirm the desired mutation and verify the absence of unintended mutations QM/K236I/D257N/L295H was sequenced at the University of Texas Medical Branch Protein Chemistry Laboratory (Galveston, TX).
High-throughput screening of 2B1dH QM mutants for enhanced tolerance to temperature and DMSO
Growth and induction of P450 and preparation of whole cell suspensions were conducted as described recently (Kumar et al., 2005a). Optimization of high throughput screening methods using a 96-well microplate was carried out as described earlier for P450 BM3 (Cirino and Arnold, 2003; Salazar et al., 2003; Wong et al., 2004) with slight modification. In brief, 50 μl of the substrate mixture (300 μM 7-EFC containing 4% methanol and 5 U/well polymyxin B sulfate) was incubated with 40 μl of whole cell suspension for 5 min at room temperature at various temperatures and concentrations of DMSO for 10 min to determine the T50 and DMSO50 of QM. The T50 and DMSO50 are the temperature and DMSO concentration, respectively, at which P450 retains 50% activity. Upon optimization of the screening assay method for tolerance of the catalytic activity to temperature and DMSO, QM random mutants were initially screened, and colonies with ±40% of the average template activity were selected. The selected colonies (∼5% of the total number) were further treated at T50 and DMSO50 for 10 min prior to the activity measurement to screen/select the mutants with ≥2-fold higher activity than the control (room temperature and no DMSO). The measurement of the enzyme activity was done by first recording the background intensity at λex = 405 nm and λem = 510 nm using a fluorescence microplate reader (Ascent Fluoroscan, Ramsey, MN). Then, the reaction was initiated by the addition of 10 μl H2O2 (10 mM final), and the formation of product was recorded at 2.5 min. Mutants with ≥2-fold higher activity than the average template activity at T50 and DMSO50 were sequenced at the UTMB Protein Chemistry Laboratory and were further characterized as described below.
Expression and purification of wild type and engineered enzymes
P450 2B1dH and mutants were expressed as His-tagged proteins in E.coli TOPP3 and purified using a Ni-affinity column as described previously (Kumar et al., 2005a). QM/L295H showed P450 expression very similar to QM, whereas QM/K236I/D257N and QM/K236I/D257N/L295H showed 2- and 4-fold lower P450 expression than QM, respectively. Protein concentrations were determined using the Bradford protein assay kit (BioRad, Hercules, CA). The specific contents were between 12 and 15 nmol of P450 per mg protein.
H2O2- and NADPH-dependent 7-EFC O-deethylation was assayed as described previously unless otherwise stated in the figure legends (Scott et al., 2002; Kumar et al., 2005a). The reconstitution of P450 2B1dH (0.25 μM) with CPR and b5 in the NADPH system was carried out at molar ratios of 1:4:2. P450 used in all the experiments was 0.25 μM. Steady-state kinetic parameters were determined by regression analysis using Kaleida graph (Synergy Software, PA). The kcat and Km values were determined using the Michaelis–Menten equation. The enzyme activity at different temperatures and DMSO concentrations, and at different time intervals was determined as described in the figure legends.
P450 heme-destruction assay
Determination of the kinetics of P450 2B1dH heme depletion in the presence of 60 mM H2O2 was conducted under conditions similar to those previously described for P450 3A4 (Kumar et al., 2005b). The reaction was carried out at 25°C in 100 mM HEPES buffer, pH 7.4, in a 1 ml semi-micro spectrophotometric cell with constant stirring. The reaction mixture contained 1 μM protein and 60 mM H2O2. Bleaching of the hemoprotein was followed by measuring a series of absorbance spectra in the 340–700 nm range. Each series contained at least 10 spectra. The measurements were done using a Shimadzu-2600 spectrophotometer. Determination of the total concentration of the heme protein was done by linear least square approximation of the spectra using a linear combination of spectral standards of P450 2B4 low-spin, high-spin and P420-states (Davydov et al., 2003). Fluctuations of the base line due to turbidity changes were compensated by polynomial correction in combination with principal component analysis (PCA) as previously described (Davydov et al., 1995; Renaud et al., 1996; Davydov et al., 2003). All data treatment and fitting of the titration curves were performed with our SpectraLab software package (Davydov et al., 1995).
Secondary structural and thermal denaturation studies using circular dichroism (CD)
Far-UV CD spectra were recorded in the 200–260 nm range as an average of five repetitive scans for each sample using a CD spectrophotometer equipped with a single cell Peltier system (Aviv, Model 215) at 25°C. Thermal unfolding and refolding experiments were carried out by monitoring elipticity at 222 nm as a function of temperature between 25 and 92°C with a 10°C/min scan rate and a 10 s equilibration at each degree Celsius rise in temperature. The unfolding profiles were fit to a two-state model to obtain the mid-point of the thermal transition temperature as described previously (Muralidhara and Wittung-Staffshede, 2004). Refolding experiments were not successful owing to protein aggregation at higher temperatures, and hence the unfolding transition temperatures were termed apparent (Tm,app).
A 2B1 homology model was constructed using the Insight II software package (Molecular Simulations, Inc., San Diego, CA) and the crystal structure of a ligand-bound P450 2B4 complex (PDB entry 1SUO) (Scott et al., 2004). The sequence of 2B1 was obtained from SwissProt (accession number P00176). The coordinates of the conserved residues were assigned based on the corresponding residues of the 2B4 complex. The heme group was copied from 2B4 into the 2B1 model. For the 2B1 mutants, the coordinates of the corresponding residues were changed in the 2B1 3D model, and the resulting 2B1 mutants were energy minimized.
The structure of 7-EFC was constructed using the Builder module. During the docking calculations, the system energy minimization and molecular dynamics simulations were carried out with the Discover_3 program, using the consistent valence force field with a non-bond cutoff of 10 Å, to a maximum gradient of 5 kcal mol−1 Å−1 as described previously (Kumar et al., 2003). 7-EFC was automatically docked into the 3D models of 2B1dH L209A and QM in a reactive binding orientation with the Docking module of Insight III, leading to O-deethylation. During the subsequent energy minimization process, the substrate molecule, along with the side chains of protein residues within 10 Å of the substrate, was allowed to move. The non-bond interaction energies were evaluated with the Docking module of Insight III, and the lowest energy orientation was obtained after molecular mechanics minimization of L209A and QM.
2B1dH QM shows decreased Km,HOOH
In a previous study the engineered 2B1dH QM showed enhanced H2O2-supported oxidation of 7-EFC at 10 mM H2O2 (Kumar et al., 2005a). To assess the Km for H2O2, QM was assayed at different concentrations up to 20 mM, above which H2O2 accelerates heme depletion (oxidative destruction of the heme). At 20 mM H2O2, the rate of 7-EFC O-deethylation is linear for up to 3 min (data not shown). At a saturating [7-EFC] and increasing [H2O2] QM showed a ≥2.5-fold enhancement of kcat compared with L209A (8.2 ± 0.6 min−1 versus 2.9 ± 0.3 min−1) (Figure 1A). Interestingly, QM also showed >3-fold lower Km,HOOH than L209A (4.4 ± 0.2 mM versus 14 ± 3 mM). 2B1dH showed very low activity (∼0.2 min−1 at 150 μM 7-EFC and 10 mM H2O2), and kinetic parameters could not be determined.
The increased catalytic activity of L209A compared with 2B1dH, and increased kcat/Km,HOOH for QM compared with L209A, may suggest enhanced accessibility of H2O2 to the heme pocket. To test this hypothesis, we studied the H2O2-dependent destruction of the P450 heme at 60 mM H2O2 (Figure 1B). The kinetics fit the equation of a simple pseudo-first order reaction. L209A showed a 2-fold increase in the rate constant compared with 2B1dH (0.14 ± 0.02 min−1 versus 0.07 ± 0.01 min−1), whereas QM did not show a significant further increase in the rate constant (0.16 ± 0.02 min−1 versus 0.14 ± 0.02), suggesting that H2O2 is more accessible to the heme in QM and L209A than 2B1dH. In addition, the rate constant of heme depletion at 60 mM H2O2 in the presence of testosterone, which is metabolized very slowly in the peroxide-dependent reaction, decreased significantly (0.016 ± 0.003 min−1), further suggesting that the activity measurement with 7-EFC performed at 20 mM H2O2 is reliable.
Screening and selection of 2B1dH QM mutants for enhanced tolerance to temperature and DMSO
QM was used as the starting template for further directed evolution to screen and select mutants with enhanced tolerance of the catalytic activity to temperature and DMSO. Compared with the average QM activity, QM displayed ∼75% colony-to-colony variation in the activity under standard conditions (Figure 2A; closed circles) as well as at T50 (Figure 2A; open circles) and DMSO50 (data not shown). These data suggest that random clones having ≥2-fold higher activity than QM at T50 or DMSO50 would correspond to mutants with enhanced tolerance of the catalytic activity to temperature or DMSO.
The modified error-prone PCR using the whole plasmid yielded several thousand colonies, of which 3000 colonies were screened first. Approximately 30–40% of the clones had ≤20% of the average QM activity, and ∼5% of the clones had ±40% of the QM activity (Figure 2B), suggesting a mutation rate of 1–2 bp/kb of the P450 coding sequence, similar to rates found earlier using error-prone PCR of the cDNA (Cirino and Arnold, 2003; Salazar et al., 2003; Kumar et al., 2005a). A second screen involving >150 colonies was further carried out individually at T50 and DMSO50, and yielded a total of eight clones with ≥2-fold higher activity than QM. Five of these had single or double mutations, while three were false positives (no mutation). Two potential candidates (QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N), which displayed enhanced activity at T50 and DMSO50, were subsequently expressed, purified and characterized as described below. Although, QM/L295H showed negligible change in P450 expression and P420 content, QM/K236I/D257N had decreased expression by ∼2-fold compared with QM.
Steady-state kinetic analysis of the evolved P450 2B1 enzymes
The evolved P450 2B1 enzymes were assayed for H2O2-supported 7-EFC O-deethylation at 150 μM 7-EFC and at varying H2O2 concentrations (0–20 mM) (Table I). QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N showed a small change in kcat (7.0 ± 0.2 and 7.0 ± 0.4 min−1 respectively, versus 8.9 ± 0.9 min−1 for QM). However, QM/K236I/D257N/L295H showed a >2-fold decrease in kcat and a >2-fold increase in Km,HOOH leading to a >4-fold decrease in kcat/Km,HOOH compared with QM (Table I). These results along with a 2- and 4-fold decreased P450 expression in QM/K236I/D257N/L295H compared with QM/K236I/D257N and QM/L295D, respectively, suggest that addition of L295H to QM/K236I/D257N is deleterious for P450 2B1 stability and activity.
|P450 2B1dH||kcat (min−1)||Km, HOOH (mM)||kcat/Km|
|QM||8.9 ± 0.9||6.1 ± 0.8||1.4|
|QM/L295H||7.0 ± 0.2||6.4 ± 0.4||1.1|
|QM/K236I/D257N||7.0 ± 0.7||6.4 ± 1.2||1.1|
|QM/K236I/D257N/L295H||4.0 ± 0.7||14 ± 4.0||0.29|
|P450 2B1dH||kcat (min−1)||Km, HOOH (mM)||kcat/Km|
|QM||8.9 ± 0.9||6.1 ± 0.8||1.4|
|QM/L295H||7.0 ± 0.2||6.4 ± 0.4||1.1|
|QM/K236I/D257N||7.0 ± 0.7||6.4 ± 1.2||1.1|
|QM/K236I/D257N/L295H||4.0 ± 0.7||14 ± 4.0||0.29|
Results are the mean ± standard deviation of at least three independent experiments.
2B1dH QM/L295H shows enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature
The evolved P450 2B1 enzymes were assayed for 7-EFC O-deethylation after incubation at a wide range of temperatures (20–70°C) for 10 min (Figure 3A). P450 2B1dH wild-type showed very similar characteristics to L209A with respect to catalytic tolerance to temperature (data not shown). QM showed a modest enhancement in catalytic tolerance to temperature compared with L209A, whereas QM/L295H displayed a significant increase in tolerance of the catalytic activity to temperature at 40–50°C compared with QM. In addition, QM/L295H maintained ≥75% residual activity at temperatures >5°C higher than the maximum temperature at which QM maintains ≥75% residual activity (Figure 3A). However, QM/K236I/D257N showed only a modest enhancement in tolerance of the catalytic activity to temperature (Figure 3A). Time courses (0–360 min) at 45°C revealed that QM/L295H consistently exhibited ∼1.4-fold higher activity than QM (Figure 3B), which further suggests that QM/L295H possess enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature compared with QM. QM/K236I/D257N/L295H showed the lowest catalytic tolerance to temperature, indicating that the addition of L295H to QM/K236I/D257N is deleterious for P450 thermostability, which is also consistent with the reduced P450 expression.
An effect of mutations on protein secondary structure and mid-point of apparent thermal transition (Tm,app) was monitored by CD. The results showed an increase in the secondary structure in QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N compared with L209A and QM (CD spectrum not shown). All four protein species clearly demonstrated a two-state transition (Figure 4A) with the Tm,app of 58.6 ± 0.5°C, 61.6 ± 0.5°C, 63.4 ± 0.5°C and 63.0 ± 0.5°C for L209A, QM, QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N, respectively. Thus, the Tm,app for QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N was ∼2°C higher than the Tm,app of QM, which in turn was ∼3°C higher than L209A. There was minimal protein denaturation at 45°C, at which QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N showed highest tolerance of the catalytic activity (Figure 3 versus Figure 4A).
This subtle difference in protein stability suggests that the enhanced catalytic tolerance at 45°C for QM/L295H is mainly due to their enhanced resistance against P450 active site disruption via heme loss and/or conversion into inactive P420. To test this hypothesis, we monitored P450 and P420 contents in QM and QM/L295H at 45°C in the absence and in the presence of testosterone for 30 min (Figure 4B, data not shown). Expectedly, the substrate stabilized P450 in QM and QM/L295H initially by reducing the formation of P420 followed by the reduction of P450-inactivation. Although, in the presence of substrate, QM and QM/L295H both lost 14% of the total protein (P450 + P420), the loss of P450 in QM/L295H was relatively lower than QM (15% versus 18%; Figure 4B). Similarly, the formation of P420 was lower in QM/L295H than QM (1% versus 4%), which may reflect a marginal enhancement in the catalytic tolerance of QM/L295H at 45°C.
2B1dH QM/L295H, QM/K236I/D257N and QM/K236I/D257N/L295H show enhanced catalytic tolerance to DMSO
The residual activities of purified 2B1dH L209A, QM, QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N at various DMSO concentrations are shown in Figure 5. P450 2B1dH wild-type showed very similar characteristics to L209A with respect to catalytic tolerance to DMSO (data not shown). QM showed a modest enhancement in catalytic tolerance to DMSO compared with L209A, whereas QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N displayed a significant increase in tolerance of the catalytic activity at a broad range of DMSO concentrations (2.5–15%) compared with QM. The catalytic tolerance of QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N at 10% DMSO was >1.6-fold higher than QM. Interestingly, QM/K236I/D 257N/L295H showed ∼2-fold higher catalytic tolerance at nearly the entire range of DMSO concentrations, indicating that the effects of the amino acid substitutions is additive with DMSO unlike temperature. Furthermore, we also tested the catalytic tolerance of the evolved mutants to THF (data not shown). Although, QM showed enhanced tolerance of the catalytic activity to THF compared with L209A, the evolved mutants did not show further improvement in tolerance to THF.
Improving utilization of H2O2, tolerance of catalytic activity to temperature and organic solvents, and structural stability have been a major focus of engineering bacterial cytochromes P450 in order to use these enzymes as industrial biocatalysts (Tee et al., 2005; Bernhardt, 2006; Urlacher and Schmid, 2006). Recent developments in directed evolution of xenobiotic-metabolizing mammalian cytochromes P450 enhance the possibility of designing them as industrial biocatalysts (Kumar and Halpert, 2005; Bernhardt, 2006). Recently, we have engineered mammalian cytochrome P450 2B1, termed QM, which displays enhanced kcat in H2O2- and NADPH-supported reactions (Kumar et al., 2005a). Here we report the first study on engineering mammalian cytochrome P450 2B1 by directed evolution for enhanced tolerance of the catalytic activity to temperature and DMSO. The engineered P450 2B1 enzyme, QM/K236I/D257N/L295H had five mutations outside the active site as shown in Figure 6. This study can be considered as proof-of-principle and an important step forward for directed evolution to engineer these relatively unstable and dynamic proteins for such properties.
Given the limited understanding of the structural basis of peroxide-supported catalytic activity, directed evolution is currently the only possible way to engineer P450s for enhanced utilization of H2O2. Recently, bacterial enzyme P450 BM3 was designed by directed evolution to utilize H2O2 to catalyze hydroxylation of fatty acids (Glieder et al., 2002). 2B1dH QM, which was originally engineered for enhanced kcat of H2O2-supported 7-EFC O-deethylation, also showed a similar enhancement in kcat in the standard NADPH reconstituted system (Kumar et al., 2005a). Although, the mechanism by which QM acquires enhanced activity in both the reactions is difficult to predict, we suggest that the Phe202→Leu substitution in the presence of V183L/L209A/S334P is a key determinant in enhancing the activity, because F202L alone showed lower activity than 2B1dH (Kumar and Halpert, 2005a). Docking of 7-EFC into a 2B1 model based on the X-ray crystal structure of 4-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazole-bound P450 2B4 showed that Leu-202 is in the active site of QM (4.5 Å from 7-EFC), while Phe-202 is outside the active site in L209A (7.2 Å from 7-EFC) (Figure 7). In addition, QM showed a Km,HOOH lower than L209A and similar to that obtained with P450 BM3 (Cirino and Arnold, 2003). The Km,CuOOH for P450 is usually associated with the accessibility of CuOOH to the active site heme pocket (Zhang and Pernecky, 1999). However, our data from the heme-depletion assay do not suggest an enhanced accessibility of H2O2 in QM compared with L209A, even though the accessibility of H2O2 in QM and L209A is increased compared with 2B1dH.
Cytochromes P450, especially mammalian P450s, are not easy to engineer for thermostability because of the fragile nature of the active site and heme cofactor (Giver et al., 1998; Scott et al., 2003; Scott et al., 2004; Muralidhara et al., 2006; Zhao et al., 2006). In one example, directed evolution of P450 BM3 enhanced the T50 from 43°C to 61°C (Cirino and Arnold, 2003). Although QM/L295H showed a small increase in T50 compared with QM, it displayed a significant tolerance in activity at the temperature range from 40°C to 50°C. In addition, a significantly higher activity of QM/L295H compared with QM at 45°C over the period of 6 h is important for enhanced shelf-life and usage in substrate metabolism at elevated temperature. 2B1dH enzymes demonstrated a higher Tm,app (∼60°C) than T50 (48°C) suggesting that P450s are first inactivated via P450 active sites and/or formation of inactive P420. Our studies of P450 inactivation at 45°C, in which P450 is mainly inactivated by heme destruction and conversion into P420, is consistent with the hypothesis. Expression of P450s is usually associated with variable amounts of P420, and site-directed mutations and long-term storage further enhance the P420 content (Kumar et al., 2003). Therefore, stabilization of P450 against its degradation into P420 is critical. In addition, an increase in Tm,app and secondary structure content of QM, QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N compared with L209A suggests that the engineered enzymes are slightly more robust in nature.
Since these enzymes act on hydrophobic substrates, tolerance to organic solvents is an important characteristic for potential use in industry. QM showed a negligible enhancement in the catalytic tolerance to DMSO compared with L209A, whereas QM/L295H and QM/K236I/D257N, which were isolated based on screening with DMSO, showed a further enhancement in the catalytic tolerance. The results suggest a reliable screening and selection system. Furthermore, an additive effect on catalytic tolerance to DMSO was observed when QM/K236I/D257N and L295H were combined, although QM/K236I/D257N/L295H showed lower expression, activity and catalytic tolerance to temperature than QM. To test whether the decrease in the catalytic tolerance to DMSO is associated with inactivation of the P450 heme and/or conversion into P420, we measured P450 and P420 species at 10% DMSO (data not shown). The results showed that the rate of inactivation of P450 was very low (<2% in 10 min) in QM without significant formation of P420, suggesting that DMSO does not inactivate the P450 heme and/or cause conversion into inactive P420.
The underlying mechanism of DMSO action on proteins, especially cytochrome P450, is not clear. An X-ray crystal structure of hen egg-white lysozyme in complex with DMSO showed substantial local conformational change and induced an Na+ binding site in the protein without affecting the overall conformations of the complex (Mande and Sobhia, 2005). Therefore, we speculate that DMSO can access the active site and induces conformational transitions, and/or competes with water and/or substrates leading to decreased activity, which is consistent with molecular dynamic simulations of the heme domain of P450 BM3 in 14% DMSO. The study showed relatively more accessible DMSO in the active site via helices E, F and E–F loop (implicated in controlling the access channel) (Roccatano et al., 2005; Roccatano and Wong, 2006). The simulation study is consistent with the observation that P450 BM3 F87A exhibits decreased catalytic tolerance to DMSO, presumably because the Phe87→Ala substitution (part of active site channel) may provide DMSO easy access to the active site (Salazar et al., 2003). Therefore, we suggest that Lys236→Ile, Asp257→Asn and Leu295→His substitutions mask the access of DMSO to the heme pocket.
In conclusion, the evolved P450 2B1 enzyme for enhanced activity also shows retained or enhanced P450 expression, tolerance of the catalytic activity to temperature and organic solvents, and protein stability. In contrast, 2B1dH site-directed active site mutants from a previous study (Kumar et al., 2003) showed decreased expression and decreased catalytic tolerance to temperature and DMSO (Kumar et al., 2003; data not shown). Furthermore, this is the first report on designing mammalian P450s for enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature and DMSO by directed evolution. As a future prospect, L295H and K236I/D257N can be created in other P450 2B enzymes such as rabbit P450 2B4, human P450 2B6 and dog P450 2B11 by rational mutagenesis to test whether these mutants possess similar characteristics in the related enzymes and to enhance their catalytic tolerance to temperature and DMSO. Re-engineering of P450s between subfamilies and among the same subfamily for catalytic activity, substrate specificity, and regio- and stereoselectivity has been well established (Domasnki and Halpert, 2001; Kumar et al., 2003). In addition, the proof-of-principle presented here can be utilized to engineer more important drug-metabolizing mammalian P450s such as P450 3A4 and P450 2C enzymes for enhanced catalytic efficiency and enhanced catalytic tolerance to temperature and organic solvent.
The authors thank Mr Yan Larson and Ms Gloria Ramirez, Summer Undergraduate Research Program students at UTMB, for their technical assistance. We thank Dr Dmitri Davydov for his expert suggestions. We also thank Dr Kenneth Johnson, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, UTMB, for use of his fluorescence plate reader, and Dr Stanley Watowich, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UTMB, for access to his CD spectrometer. Financial support was provided by NIH Grant ES03619 and Center grant ES06676 (to J.R.H.).

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AARP, listen up: Ayotte's words of wisdom
AARP is doing neither those it claims to represent, current senior citizens, nor the nation at large any favors with its position that Social Security and Medicare as now constituted must continue to have the expiration date of a Twinkie. That is to say, never.
The AARP, having spent millions on ads to defend the status quo during the recent election, is now spending more trying to get people to tell their congressmen not to even think about reviewing future entitlement levels while they are driving off the so-called fiscal cliff.
Both the continued unstable, recession-ready economy and longterm fiscal outlook are bad for current seniors as well as future ones. As U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte noted in her national radio address last Saturday:
"The nation will need to start reforming entitlements going forward to make sure the safety net is there for future generations. One thing is clear: Doing nothing is not an option. And any effort to address our fiscal crisis without including entitlement reform can't be taken seriously.''
If the AARP doesn't smarten up, it cannot be taken seriously.
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UN faces an uphill task in attaining its goals
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been a leading advocate of the principle that national sovereignty cannot be used as a shield to conceal extreme violations of human rights. Sovereignty, like the state itself, exists to serve and protect the people, not the other way round.
Mustapha Karkouti: UN faces an uphill task in attaining its goals
Mustapha Karkouti, Gulf News, 22-04-2003
London - When Switzerland, a country built on the notion of independence and a nation proud of being uniquely stubborn, decided to join the United Nations in a referendum last year, it credited the world organisation with a great deal of relevance.
Despite the fiercely despicable campaign against the Security Council, the world's highest reference authority, by a few but excessively powerful member-states, the UN is now more representative of virtually the entire population of the world, than the League of Nations ever was.
But President George Walker Bush has threatened the UN to enjoy the fate of the League of Nations, created after the First World War, at the time when the Security Council was debating whether to side with the United States and United Kingdom on the Iraqi question.
Bush's supporters, and they are quite influential, may consider now that the UN has reached its destiny, because the Security Council failed to actually prevent the war despite the conclusion reached by its heroic majority who refused to bend to the president's dictates.
As a result, and for this reason alone, many may find the Security Council as being ineffective as it shamefully demonstrated just before the American-led war against Iraq was launched in March.
However effective or ineffective the Security Council is, UN membership itself is almost universally regarded as an essential criterion for independence and sovereignty. This is likely to continue to be the case as events in post-war Iraq clearly demonstrate.
Some have suggested that an alternative body should be created to rival with the UN or to replace all together.
Although it is theoretically imaginable that such a body can be created, to which only states with impeccable democratic and human rights credentials would be admitted, it is very doubtful such a body could serve the purposes that the UN does, or enjoy such a widely accepted legitimacy.
In fact such a body is unlikely to come into existence because many - even among those states that might be eligible to join it - would regard UN membership as preferable.
Bill Clinton's administration talked a lot more about this "new body" that Bush's has ever done. Clinton wanted to set up a "community of democracies" instead, i.e. countries with democratic credentials only would be allowed to join.
Such a community may perhaps have a useful role, in certain contexts, as a caucus within the UN, but not replacing it. Ideally, all UN members will one day be eligible to join it. Until that day comes it is most unlikely to replace the UN; and when that day comes there will be no need to.
If such a policy is allowed to materialise, it will be dangerously divisive as it will isolate the non-democratic block and shield it against any influence by the "democratic community" states.
In fact, in the African context, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan offers a better alternative for such reform by pressing on the non-democratic countries the need for political and economic reform as criteria to remain, or be accepted as members in the UN.
In the African context, the UN Secretary-General himself has been a leading advocate of the principle that governments coming to power by unconstitutional means should not be recognised (and has said he looks forward to the day when this principle is adopted by the UN General Assembly).
He has also been a leading advocate of the principle that national sovereignty cannot be used as a shield to conceal extreme violations of human rights. Sovereignty, like the state itself, exists to serve and protect the people, not the other way round.
Any rival body will fall short of the UN duties world wide. There are so many global issues on the UN agenda no regional body can solely undertake, nor could be carried through by any suggested alternative organisation.
Africa, Iraq, questions of Palestine, terrorism, disarmament, peace and security, the population and refugees are only few of some 50 global issues of great concern on the UN agenda.
Other issues include: ageing, agriculture, AIDS, atomic energy, children, climate changes, culture, de-colonisation, de-mining, development co-operation, drug control and crime prevention, education, elections, energy, environment, family, food, government, health, human tights, human settlements, humanitarian affairs, indigenous people, information communications technology, international finance, labour, international law, law and the sea and Antarctica, least developed countries, the Millennium General Assembly Agenda, social development, outer space, statistics, sustainable development, trade and development, volunteerism, water, women and youth.
In tackling this broad agenda, UN agencies are not acting as unsolicited busybodies.
They are carrying out mandates given to them by member states - most notably in the Millennium Declaration, adopted when political leaders from the entire world came together in 2000 at UN headquarters, to set a world agenda for the new century, or at least the first decades of it.
Among the pledges given there are the eight Millennium Development Goals, most of which are supposed to be achieved by 2015 - the halving of extreme poverty, universal primary education, equal access for both sexes to all levels of education, reductions in child and maternal mortality, a halt to the spread of HIV/AIDS (Estimated world total adults and children to be living with HIV/AIDS is 33.4 million, 22.5 million of the total are in Sub-Saharan Africa alone).
It is far from certain that these goals will be achieved in that time-scale, especially if economic resources and political and media attention continue to be monopolised by major conflicts like that in Iraq. Certainly any attempt to break up the UN or hinder its course to lessen the humanity suffering would amount to a crime.
With the UN, the world won't be a safer place only, but the cost of sustaining its stability and peaceful coexistence would be much less in human and financial terms.
The writer is the former president, Foreign Press Association in London. He can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org
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domain: sociology


text:
Parents sue IVF clinic after their boys were born with genetic disorder
The Eastburys said they probably wouldn't have tried to conceive if they'd known the outcome.
Parents sue IVF clinic over sons' genetic disorder
Leighee and Phillip Eastbury sued fertility clinic Genea for carrying out the wrong test and failing to detect Ms Eastbury was a carrier for a genetic mutation called fragile X syndrome.
Ms Eastbury and her husband Philip have now reached a settlement with Genea saying they were "ecstatic", reports the ABC.
"It just means now we can get on with looking after our boys and knowing we've got some financial security for the years to come," Mr Eastbury said.
Fragile X is a genetic syndrome which causes intellectual disabilities and behavioural challenges.
The couple are suing Genea and GP Ranjana Curtotti for negligence and psychological harm as well as seeking damages for the ongoing cost of raising the boys. Picture: John Grainger
Not a carrier
Leighee Eastbury was told she wasn't a carrier for Fragile X despite having the test aged 20, before she had children, as her uncle had the condition and had a mental age of 10.
Fragile X syndrome rarely affects females but they can carry the genetic mutation and pass it on to their male children, who develop intellectual and behavioural problems.
"I was devastated, absolutely devastated, it was something I had a test for ... you base all your family planning and everything off that test,"
The court was told Genea returned a negative result for a fragile X chromosome test and the couple’s GP, Dr Ranjana Curtotti passed on this information to Ms Eastbury.
The couple’s barrister Jay Anderson said a chromosome test would not determine if someone was a carrier and a molecular DNA test should have been carried out instead.
"It should have performed a molecular DNA test, which at that time was considered the only reliable test for determining carrier status for Fragile X," Mr Anderson told the NSW Supreme Court.
Leighee and Phil Eastbury leave the Supreme Court in Sydney Picture: Dean Lewins
"No abnormalities detected"
But Genea's barrister David Lloyd argued the company performed the test as requested and the GP had a duty to check the correct one was performed.
"This case starts and finishes with the GP," Mr Lloyd said.
Mr Anderson said the GP referred Ms Eastbury to Macquarie Pathology, writing "Genetic testing for carrier status of x factor" and "uncle has x factor mental retardation".
The court heard that the results which came back to Dr Curtotti read "no abnormalities detected, Fragile X negative".
Mr Anderson said a staff member at the GP clinic informed Ms Eastbury she'd received a negative result.
Dr Curtotti's barrister, Richard Weinstein SC, argued the GP asked the right question and got the answer to a different one because the incorrect test was done.
Over the moon
The Eastburys said they probably wouldn't have tried to conceive if they knew Ms Eastbury was a carrier.
"It's very hard to say in hindsight because we've got two boys that we love ... but obviously Leighee went for testing at the time for a reason.”
Genea settled the case with the Eastburys for an undisclosed amount.
Mr Eastbury said outside court that they were, “over the moon” with the result.

domain: news


Posted in Builders
Don't Forget Your Sunblock
Energy efficiency is nothing new to most architects and specifiers, but for those seeking an easy way to specify efficiency into a home, radiant barrier roof sheathing is a product that provides energy efficiency and does not cost more to install.
Understanding Radiant Heat
To understand how a radiant barrier works, one must first consider the process of heat transfer, which can occur in one of three ways: by conduction (through solids or liquids), by convection (through liquids or gases in motion), and by radiation (through vacuums or air spaces via the electromagnetic spectrum). Radiant heat is invisible and has no temperature, just energy. When this energy strikes another surface, it is absorbed and increases the temperature of that surface. According to the Reflective Insulation Manufacturers Association International (RIMA-I), 93 percent of solar radiated heat enters a building through the attic, where only 7 percent enters through the walls. The result of this heat infiltration is higher energy consumption by the home’s air conditioning unit to compensate for the attic, ceiling and living space heat gains.
In the summer months it is common to see roof temperatures reach 160° F, with attic temperatures exceeding 120° F. Standard roof sheathing is a poor insulator, allowing 90 percent of that heat to radiate into the attic.
How a Radiant Barrier Can Help
Radiant barrier roof sheathing can block up to 97 percent of that heat from entering the attic. Radiant barriers have two properties, high reflectivity and low emissivity (low-e), that allow them to reduce radiant heat transfer. Radiant barriers should have an emissivity of 0.1 or less (ASTM 1313); however, many radiant barriers on the market have an emissivity of 0.05 or less, as required by some code jurisdictions.
Aluminum foil makes an excellent radiant barrier, with pure grades having an emissivity of ~0.03 –~0.05. In contrast, the emissivity of common building materials found in attics, such as wood, fiberglass and cellulose, range between 0.8 and 0.9. Because these materials are highly emissive, installing a radiant barrier in an attic, with its low-e surface facing the air space, is a very effective strategy for reducing summer heat gain into the attic.
Effects of Radiant Barriers on Energy Costs
According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, the largest component of residential energy use is heating and cooling. It follows then that the most dramatic effect on home energy savings is tied to these uses of energy.
Installing a radiant barrier reduces heat movement from the roofing materials into the attic space, which then reduces the attic space air temperature and heat radiated from the roof to the attic floor. This further reduces heat from the attic floor to the living space, additionally making ducting and air handling equipment in the attic cooler. Studies have shown the benefits of building with radiant barrier sheathing, revealing monthly cooling energy savings of up to 17 percent.
There are many factors to consider when calculating energy savings—climate, roof slope, ventilation rate, insulation levels, location of HVAC equipment and ductwork, orientation of the home, and window area and efficiency.
Selecting a Radiant Barrier Sheathing
Radiant barrier sheathing is made of a thin, durable sheet of aluminum overlay laminated to OSB or plywood. These products may absorb moisture during storage as well as during early phases of construction.
Perforations can help reduce trapped moisture, provided they are large enough to allow the passage of water vapor but spaced properly so that they do not negatively affect the barrier’s emissivity.
Of these, post-incision can best help reduce trapped moisture in the OSB substrate and reduce drying time. Tests have shown that this technology allows the panel to dry almost as efficiently as OSB sheathing without a radiant barrier, as it dries within two percent of standard OSB sheathing. Other products that use pre-perforated foil showed a significant amount of moisture still in the panel after up to 80 days of drying. LP® TechShield® Radiant Barrier Sheathing is the original and premier brand of radiant barrier sheathing, and also the only post-incised product on the market.n
There are a variety of types of radiant barrier sheathing, including:
- Non-perforated foil: A solid foil overlay laminated to the structural panel
- Pre-perforated foil: A pre-perforated foil laminated to the structural panel
- Post-perforated foil: A solid foil overlay laminated to the structural panel then run through a pin roller or incising station
- Post-incised: An LP patented process by which a solid foil overlay is laminated to a structural panel then put through an incising process, creating serrations through the foil and into the wood fibers
To learn more about the benefits of radiant barrier sheathing, take the Radiant Barrier Structural Roof Sheathing Course (HSW credit) at www.LPCorp.com/University.
This information and the websites identified above are provided solely as a convenience to the reader. They are not intended to state or imply that the editors of Engineered Wood or LP Building Products sponsor, recommend, endorse or are affiliated or associated with the companies or products listed.


Virtual Dance Parties Via Zoom
Attend The Ballroom Dance Center’s virtual dance party every Friday from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Log on and dance with us right from your own living room. Enjoy a mini lesson and instructor-led routines so we can all dance – with or without a partner. We will also play fun games as we connect with our friends in The Ballroom Dance Center dance community.
Fourth Friday Dances (on hold until we can gather safely again)
Be sure to sign up for our DanceSMART Rewards Card. Attend any five dances and get the next dance free! All guests will also be eligible for the monthly door prize drawings for great prizes provided by The Ballroom Dance Center and businesses within the community.
We continue a long tradition of fun and energetic social dances for our students. The perfect learning triad of group and private lessons is completed by attending parties! That saying “Practice makes perfect!” is true, especially within a warm, hospitable environment where the total beginner to the advanced dancer is welcomed. Also open to the general public, all dancers will enjoy putting to use what they learn on lessons in a social setting.
Our dances are offered once a month, usually on the Fourth Friday, at the studio, with refreshments and, occasionally, a few performance numbers. The staff, instructors and dance hosts circulate to invite guests to dance and to even show them a new step or two. A helpful and entertaining lesson is offered at the beginning of each dance. At some dances, the dance card system is used where pre-registered students get to dance with the teachers, dance hosts and staff on a pre-assigned rotation for the first part of the dance. Lesson – 7:30 p.m. and Dance 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. with light refreshments. Admission – $15.
January 24 – No Fourth Friday Dance (Make plans to join us January 31 for the January dance!)
November 27 – No Fourth Friday Dance (Make plans to join us November 13 for the November dance!)
December 25 – No Fourth Friday Dance (Make plans to join us at the Snow Ball December 4 as we kick off the holiday season together!)
Several times a year we offer special parties such as our October Haunted Eye Ball and our Christmas Snow Ball where we dress up, put out a more extensive spread of refreshments and feature a few more performance numbers.
The balls also feature a lesson at 7:30 p.m. with dancing from 8:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. You may dress according to the part at these specially themed dances, but it is always optional. Admission – $20.
October 23 – Haunted Eye Ball
December 4 – Snow Ball
The studio will be closed November 26 and 27, 2020.
The studio will be closed December 23, 2020 through January 1, 2021.
Friday, August 21, 2020
6:00 p. m. – 8:30 p. m.
VIP Cast and Crew Party
at The Ballroom Dance Center
Concession Stand – Light Refreshments
R.S.V.P. by Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 706-854-8888
The Ballroom Dance Center is rolling out the red carpet for all the celebrity dancers who performed in Cats and Dogs, The Movie. The VIP cast and crew will be the first to see the film and receive their copy.
World-wide distribution starts Monday, August 24, 2020. Haven’t ordered a copy yet? It’s not too late; simply give us a call. Fans who reserved their DVD may drop by the studio or call 706-854-8888 starting Monday, August 24, 2020.
Friday, August 14: 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 15: All day
Friday night features solo performances. Saturday offers a friendly dance challenge with beginner to advanced pro/am and amateur dancing in Ballroom, Rhythm, Standard, Latin, Argentine Tango and West Coast Swing. Lunch included. Saturday evening offers an awards dinner and a fantastic show featuring top-scoring solos from the Friday evening qualifying event.
January 31* – Friday Night Dance
February 28 – Fourth Friday Dance
April 24 – Fourth Friday Dance
May 22 – Fourth Friday Dance
July 24 – Fourth Friday Dance
August 14 and 15 – Augusta Dance Challenge
August 28 – Fourth Friday Dance
September 25 – Fourth Friday Dance
October 23 – Haunted Eye Ball
November 13* – Friday Night Dance
December 4* – Snow Ball
* Indicates No Fourth Friday Dance (FFD)
January 24 (no FFD , moved to January 31)
November 27 (no FFD, moved to November 13, studio closed for Thanksgiving)
December 25 (no FFD, studio closed for Christmas, moved to December 4, Snow Ball)
The studio will be closed on the following dates:
Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27
Thursday, December 24 through Friday, January 1 (re-opens Monday, January 4)


AMC has named Scott Gimple as the new showrunner and
executive producer for The Walking Dead, according to multiple reports.
Gimple replaces Glen Mazzara, who exited the series due to
creative differences back in December. Mazzara will remain on through the
second half of season three, which begins Feb. 10. Gimple joined the show in
season two, serving as supervising producer.
Gimple becomes the cable hit's third showrunner, as original
showrunner Frank Darabont exited the series for similar reasons following Walking
Dead's first season.
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Resilience – both personal and organizational – is becoming a hot business topic. Time magazine published a fascinating article recently titled “The Science of Bouncing Back” about personal resilience. The article discussed the idea that people are continuously battered by so many pressures these days that their ability to bounce back from stress and negative experiences has become increasingly important. The article goes on to discuss the research on resilience and the things that someone can do to build personal resilience. Coincidentally, in the last few months, we have developed several change and transformational leadership programs in which the star leaders included sections on building “change resilience” in their organizations (some actually use the word resilience). What the leaders mean by this is that organizations are getting bombarded by so much change (a huge stressor) that becoming more resilient really helps the organization prosper in the long run. By combining the Time article and our work with star leaders, we begin to see a pattern. Here are the 10 things the Time article said build personal resilience and how we align with them: 1. Develop a core set of beliefs that nothing can shake. Cerebyte: This is our purpose statement and what our work is all about. 2. Try to find meaning in whatever stressful or traumatic thing has happened. Cerebyte: This is our drive for consciously making people uncomfortable (increasing stress levels) and then teaching them how to use reflection to process that feeling into meaningful positive learnings. 3. Maintain a positive outlook. Cerebyte: Everything we do is about finding a purpose and doing things right, which is why we don’t like assessments. 4. Take cues from someone who is especially resilient. Cerebyte: Our star leaders provide these. In our own programs we actually have tasks that teach people how to identify and emulate someone who is particularly resilient. 5. Don’t run from things that scare you. Face your fears head on. Cerebyte: The entire Cerebyte Experience practices this. 6. Be quick to reach out for support when things go haywire. Don’t wait for things to go wrong before you build support. Cerebyte: This is a standard part of our action learning groups. 7. Learn new things as often as you can. Learn how to be a proactive self-directed learner. Cerebyte: This is a big part of what we do. 8. Find an exercise regimen that you can actually stick to. Cerebyte: We don’t include this in the Cerebyte Experience, but we probably should include it. 9. Don’t beat yourself up or dwell on the past. Look to the future. Cerebyte: We also encourage our participants to look to the future. 10. Recognize what makes you uniquely strong and own it. Cerebyte: People always tell us they feel strong and empowered after participating in our programs. They also say it’s a transformational experience in which they recognize their vast capabilities. It’s very exciting for us when we see how much our program naturally produces individual resilience. Now let’s take this newfound knowledge one step further and apply it to all organizations. At the simplest level, if you have many people building individual resilience, you will build organizational resilience. We have seen this in organizations where many of that company’s employees have gone through one of our programs. Each of these ideas can be applied at an organizational level:
- – Purpose can be collectively defined for the organization
- – Thinking and being positive – cued by resilient leadership – can easily become part of a culture
- – Self-directed learning can be taught and can also be part of a culture
- – Social support mechanisms can be consciously developed – though it does need to be taught
- – Using reflection to process information is a question of allocating time and knowing how to do it.


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The JooJoobs Handmade Biker Wallet is now available without the Chain. If you choose to personalize this coin wallet, please leave us your complete.
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Buy It Now. Classified Ads. Biker Wallets provides top-notch leather products for customers worldwide.
We guarantee hamdmade best wallet at an affortdable price. Why Shop with Biker Canfeild bikes Generous assortment of designer wallets. Wide range of exotic and luxurious materials.
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It fashions six card handmade biker wallet, one ID window and one slot for cash and receipts. With an ultra slim design, it makes it easy to carry in small areas like a clutch bag or handbag and also makes it easy to slide to front or handmade biker wallet pockets.
With a handmaed finger glide making it easy to access sondors electric bike review photo ID stored in the pocket, this wallet is perfect for someone who likes to travel light and wants no delays or hold ups.
It has a inch metal chain with a leather handmade biker wallet strap for peace of mind that your wallet walllet safe no matter where you carry it. Entirely handmade from Full Grain cowhide distressed leather, with a closure flap and inch chain with a choice of either Antique Gold or silver.
Fashioned with a pocket for handmade biker wallet money, this is a wallet for a man who likes just the basics in his pocket. The wallet is minimal and will sit in front or back pocket comfortably without any bulge.
This would make the perfect present for relatives partners or anyone who will appreciate finely crafted leather wallets. The long chain makes it great for bikers or handmade biker wallet who need to know their items hadnmade safe.
Each wallet is handmade with genuine leather and hand dyed. All the stainless steel hardware is treated to prevent rust and promote durability.
The wallet can hold up to ten cards and has a pocket for cash. The design of the wallet would very much appeal handmade biker wallet bikers or anyone who likes minimalism yet practicality.
Hand finished and sewn with a boned handmade biker wallet poly thread with a choice of white, black or red stitching. Finished with two stainless steel quality snaps to ensure security. The Wallet contains 3 pockets for cards and waolet, perfect for the consumer who hates mess and unnecessary cards and receipts.
News:Aug 21, - None of the wallets below are made from a PU or bonded leather. a inch chain which is detachable, perfect for the man that likes a choice.
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domain: design


text:
The Nike SB Blazer Mid Premium Acclimate Pack DC8903-200 is a timeless sneaker that combines style with unparalleled performance. Crafted by Nike, a renowned brand in the sportswear industry, this shoe is designed specifically for skateboarders and offers exceptional durability, comfort, and grip. The shoe’s unique design and premium materials make it a must-have for skateboarders and sneaker enthusiasts alike.
The Nike SB Blazer Mid Premium Acclimate Pack DC8903-200 boasts an array of impressive features that set it apart from other sneakers on the market. Firstly, the shoe’s high-top silhouette provides ankle support, ensuring stability and protection while performing skateboarding tricks. Additionally, the premium leather upper enhances the shoe’s durability, enabling it to withstand rigorous wear and tear.
Moreover, the Zoom Air unit in the sockliner of the shoe offers responsive cushioning, allowing for enhanced impact protection and a comfortable ride. The shoe also features a rubber outsole with a herringbone pattern, providing excellent grip and traction on both smooth and rough surfaces. This makes it a perfect choice for skateboarders who require maximum control during their sessions.
The Nike SB Blazer Mid Premium Acclimate Pack DC8903-200 comes in a tasteful colorway that consists of earthy tones, allowing for versatile styling options. The shoe’s upper is constructed using premium leather, enhancing its longevity and quality. It features a lace-up closure system that ensures a secure fit, while the padded collar and tongue offer added comfort.
Furthermore, the shoe is available in various sizes to cater to different foot dimensions. Its mid-top design offers ankle protection without restricting movement. The Nike SB Blazer Mid Premium Acclimate Pack DC8903-200 is an excellent choice for skateboarding enthusiasts seeking a durable, stylish, and high-performance sneaker.
In conclusion, the Nike SB Blazer Mid Premium Acclimate Pack DC8903-200 is a remarkable sneaker that excels in both style and functionality. Whether you’re a skateboarder looking for exceptional performance or a sneaker aficionado searching for a timeless addition to your collection, this shoe is the perfect fit. With its impeccable craftsmanship and impressive features, it truly stands out among the competition.


text:
Sony Xperia Z is finally launched in India, taking a toughest competition against Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy range of products.
The water-resistant and dust-resistant Smartphone has priced at Rs 38,990, lower than Apple and the device is likely to ship in stores from March 12th.
Sony’s first launch after splitting with Ericsson, Xperia Z sports offer plans of free software applications and free music downloads from its Sony Music store, while free videos for a limited period from its Indian television unit Multi Screen Media Private Ltd, source said.
The five-inch Xperia Z has a 13-megapixel camera, 2.2 MP fully HD front camera, powered by Android ver.4.1 Jelly Bean and run on Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processors with 2GB RAM.
The best qualitative screened TFT Reality display with Bravia Engine 2, Xperia Z is slightly thicker than the ultra-slim smartphones.
Promising protection from water, Sony claimed to get its 9% target of revenue setting the phone below 40k tag will surely be a win in the Indian market.


According to the rumour mill, the new Sony Xperia 1 IV flagship smartphone will include a selfie camera improvement but will not come with a charging adapter.
That latter trend (via Notebookcheck) is unsurprising, given that most phone makers are following suit. Because many of us already have chargers, it makes environmental and financial sense to stop include new ones with every smartphone sold.
If you really must have another charging brick in your home, an official Sony Xperia 1 IV charger will very certainly still be available to purchase directly from Sony. The handset may also include a USB cord, allowing it to be charged from another device such as a laptop.
Consider your selfie
The Xperia 1 IV is also said to be getting a selfie camera upgrade, with the future smartphone set to include a 12MP snapper incorporated into the display, according to another piece of leaked information (also through Notebookcheck).
While megapixel counts aren’t everything, the fact that the Sony Xperia 1 III has an 8MP selfie camera suggests that the selfie camera on Sony’s next phone will be substantially better than its predecessors. The phone’s rear cameras will also be enhanced, according to prior reports.
When it comes to a release date, a teaser trailer released by Sony a few days ago suggests that the big day will be Wednesday, May 11. That day also happens to be the start of the Google IO 2022 developer conference.
Don’t forget about the selfie camera, too
When it comes to smartphone specifications, many of us don’t think to look at the quality of the selfie camera first. Before looking at the selfie camera spec, we’re more likely to glance at the internal CPU (which indicates the phone’s speed) or the cameras that make up the rear camera module.
However, given how many selfies are taken every hour of every day, this is surprising. They’re the go-to snapshot for documenting what’s going on throughout the day, whether it’s cocktails with friends or a funny moment with the dog.
Even though the specs are usually much inferior, photos produced with the selfie camera require good lighting and focus just as much as those taken with the rear camera. Of course, this is due in part to the form factor’s restrictions.
Sony can be trusted when it comes to camera lenses, so hopefully the Sony Xperia 1 IV will have a powerful selfie camera. However, if you’re looking for a new phone, it’s important noting how good or bad the selfie camera is.


A drug addict has been jailed for three years for committing a burglary just four days after being released from prison - and getting caught in the act.
Sonny Bruce, 36, of Honeypot Lane, Stanmore, was spotted by Brent Police officers breaking into a house in Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, on May 20.
The occupants later discovered a Fossil watch, a Citizen watch and a Blackberry device, worth a combined £700, had been stolen.
The Blackberry was subsequently recovered in a property in Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware, by police officers executing a warrant.
Bruce was recalled to prison and was produced from HMP Wormwood Scrubs and arrested and charged with burglary by Brent Crime Squad.
He admitted the offence in September and was imprisoned at Harrow Crown Court on November 19.
PC Gavin Davies, of Brent Police, said: "Sonny Bruce admitted when sentenced that he is a drug addicted burglar who committed this burglary to pay for his habit.
"He can no longer commit burglary in Wembley, Harrow or any other area now that he is in prison.
"Local residents can be assured that Brent Crime Squad will put the fear into burglary offenders operating in the London area, arrest them and bring them before the courts."


text:
Eulogies for Wendell Hinkle Furry, 1985.
There are 4 Entities related to this resource.
Physicist (educator). Professor of physics, Brooklyn College, 1938-1952; professor of physics, University of Chicago, 1962-1972; president of American Association of Physics Teachers, 1966. From the description of Correspondence with Karl Kelchner Darrow primarily about program arrangements for joint meeting of the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers 1965-1967. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84273844 ...
Wendell Hinkle Furry (1907-1984) was Professor of Physics at Harvard University. From the description of Papers of Wendell Hinkle Furry, ca. 1927-1985 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 76977231 Furry, Wendell Hinkle, 1907-1984. Physicist. Prof., Harvard University, 1934-1943; Research Associate at Radiation Lab. at MIT, 1943-1945 and professor at MIT, 1945-1962; Prof., Harvard University from 1962. From the description of Oral history intervi...
Physicist; interviewee b.1912. From the description of Reminiscences of Edward Mills Purcell : oral history, 1964. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122376599 Vital dates, 1912-1997. From the description of Oral history interview with Edward Mills Purcell, 1977 June 8 and 14. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 82576526 From the description of Oral history interview with Edward M. Purcell, 1982 June 29. (Unknown). WorldCat rec...

domain: library


text:
Missouri's zoos offer a thrilling blend of education, conservation, and entertainment, ensuring a fun-filled day for the whole family. As you explore the lush habitats, you'll come face to face with a diverse array of wildlife from around the globe. Watch in awe as the big cats roam their enclosures, marvel at the acrobatic antics of the primates, and learn fascinating facts about the animal kingdom from the knowledgeable zookeepers.
But the adventure doesn't end there. Missouri's zoos also offer interactive experiences that will leave you with unforgettable memories. Get up close and personal with gentle giants as you hand-feed giraffes, or embark on a safari-style tram ride for an immersive and educational tour.
In addition to the animal encounters, the zoos provide a host of family-friendly amenities and attractions. Enjoy picnics in the beautiful surroundings, let the kids run wild on the playgrounds, and indulge in tasty treats at the onsite cafes and snack stands.
With their commitment to animal welfare, conservation, and education, Missouri's zoos offer a unique and enriching experience for visitors of all ages. So, grab your camera, lace up your walking shoes, and get ready to embark on a wild adventure that will leave you with lifelong memories. It's time to discover the wonders of the animal kingdom and create unforgettable moments with your loved ones.
Add your attraction on Family Days Out now. It's free!

domain: entertainment