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Majority of states have all-Christian congressional delegations
The vast majority of the nation’s federal lawmakers (91%) describe themselves as Christians, compared with 71% of U.S. adults who say the same.
Most Americans oppose churches choosing sides in elections
There has long been a consensus that churches should not endorse specific candidates for public office, and a current law known as the Johnson Amendment prohibits them from involvement in political campaigns.
5 facts about abortion
As the debate over abortion continues, here are five key facts about Americans’ views on the topic.
Almost all U.S. presidents, including Trump, have been Christians
Most of the U.S. presidents have been openly religious, with many belonging to some of the country’s most prominent Protestant denominations.
6 facts about faith and the inauguration
The trappings of religion have long been part of U.S. presidential inaugurations. Here are six facts on the role faith has played in inaugurations.
How America Changed During Barack Obama’s Presidency
Pew Research Center President Michael Dimock examines the changes – some profound, some subtle – that the U.S. experienced during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Faith on the Hill
The share of U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christians has been declining for decades, but the U.S. Congress is about as Christian today as it was in the early 1960s.
Video: Israel’s Religiously Divided Society
Deep divides between, within parties on public debates about LGBT issues
Contentious debates have emerged on whether wedding business must offer service to same-sex couples, and over use of public restrooms by transgender people.
Where the Public Stands on Religious Liberty vs. Nondiscrimination
The U.S. public expresses a clear consensus on the contentious question of whether employers who have religious objections to contraception should be required to provide it in health insurance plans for their employees.


text:
by Gail Presnell-Jones
I can’t be the only person in the world who was already at what they thought was the lowest point in their life when their cancer diagnosis came along. Surely I’m not the only survivor who had been waylaid by life: a job loss, financial troubles, death, divorce, or any combination of the mud the cosmos sometimes slings at us. There must be other people out there who were lying in the fetal position at the bottom of a well of shock and despair, crying “This cannot be my life” when the bottom dropped out and they plummeted to a new low of lows. I can’t be the only person who fought cancer and will never say “Well, in the end, it was a gift.”
When I received my last Herceptin injection, after 12 months of fighting stage II breast cancer, I walked out of the oncologist’s office and promptly found myself right where I’d been a year earlier – depressed. It’s easy to clear your mind of other troubles and focus on fighting a disease that demands so much of your energy. But not very many people talk about what happens after. After you’re declared cancer-free but still face other staggering life challenges – only now you get to add the possibility of a recurrence to the mish-mash of your day-to-day existence. No one seems to talk about the difficulty of dragging yourself out of bed every morning, wondering if it’s even worth the effort.
I will never write a glowing treatise about how I am grateful I had cancer.
I sometimes had periods of hope. I read magazines for inspiration, watched documentaries (often in my jammies in the middle of the afternoon), and searched online for other people’s stories. But that only made me feel worse. So many survivors, upbeat and smiling, saying how, in the end, their cancer was a blessing.
But I hated my life. Even more since I now got to add “cancer survivor” to my personal list of descriptors: unemployed, unemployable, broke, broken, hopeless.
It scared me when I started to forget the dynamic woman I had been before my world imploded. It scared me so much that I started to write down memories. The stories of my dreams and goals and the gorgeous life I had once worked so hard to create. Writing filled the long afternoons of boredom and the evil ether of dark nights – half-awake, half-asleep, where every agony was magnified and every blessing forgotten.
Six months later, I stopped scribbling and realized I held a novel in bloom. I connected the dots, filled in the blanks, and then sat down and read my life through, crying … but smiling too.
The next week, I borrowed a friend’s bike and took off for a little spin around the neighborhood. It was a hot and humid day, and the scenery was uninspiring, but there was a breeze in my newly sprouted dark curly hair. (It used to be long and wheat colored – a visual confirmation that I was not the woman I used to be.) But the breeze did feel good.
And so I biked. Almost every day, I’d take off for an hour, and then an hour and a half, and then two hours. My hair grew longer, my shoulders bronzed, and my legs got stronger. I wrote a second book and started a third.
On a whim, I contacted a local newspaper to see if they would be interested in a food column. They accepted, and paid me $40 for my first article. I got highlights in my inky hair and looked – just a little bit – like me again.
I will never write a glowing treatise about how I am grateful I had cancer. I will never see the demolition of my old life as one door closing so that a window could open. I miss the old, carefree me, the naïve woman who somehow still believed that bad things only happened to other people. She was a giver of charity and sympathy, not a receiver.
But I did learn that I love to write, and biking makes me feel like I can fly. And that, I suppose, is a gift.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Gail Presnell-Jones is a breast cancer survivor living in Valrico, FL.
This article was published in Coping® with Cancer magazine, January/February 2014.

domain: literature


text:
Please note: this is the NTSC version of the game which is compatible with PAL systems. Any future DLC may require a US PSN account - This is the Latin American Version (Game plays in English & Spanish)
Embark on an endless Star Wars action experience from the bestselling Star Wars HD videogame franchise of all time.
Rush through waves of enemies on Starkiller Base with the power of your lightsaber in your hands. Storm through the jungle canopy of a hidden Rebel base on Yavin 4 with your fellow troopers, dispensing firepower from AT-STs. Line up your X-wing squadron for an attack on a mammoth First Order Star Destroyer in space. Or rise as a new Star Wars hero – Iden, an elite Imperial special forces soldier – and discover an emotional and gripping single-player story spanning thirty years.
Experience rich and living Star Wars multiplayer battlegrounds across all three eras: prequel, classic, and new trilogy. Customize and upgrade your heroes, starfighters, or troopers, each with unique abilities to exploit in battle. Ride tauntauns or take control of tanks and speeders. Down Star Destroyers the size of cities, use the Force to prove your worth against iconic characters such as Kylo Ren, Darth Maul, or Han Solo, as you play a part in a gaming experience inspired by 40 years of timeless Star Wars films.
You can become the master of your own Star Wars hero’s journey.
A New Hero, a Story Untold
Jump into the boots of an elite special forces soldier, equally lethal on the ground and space, in an emotionally gripping new Star Wars™ campaign that spans over 30 years and bridges events between the films’ Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The Ultimate Star Wars Battleground
A Star Wars multiplayer universe unmatched in variety and breadth where up to 40 players fight as iconic heroes, authentic-to-era troopers and in a massive array of vehicles on land and in the air – as battle rages through the galaxy.
Galactic-Scale Space Combat
Space combat has been designed for Star Wars Battlefront II from the ground up with distinct handling, weapons and customization options. Join your squadron and weave in between asteroids fields, fly through Imperial Dock Yards and take down massive capital ships as you pilot legendary starfighters in high stakes dogfights with up to 24 players and 40 AI ships.
Team up with a friend from the comfort of your couch with two-player offline split-screen play*. Earn rewards, customize your troopers and heroes, and bring your upgrades with you on the online multiplayer battleground.
Master Your Hero
Not just an iconic hero- your hero. Master your craft with customizable character progression. Upgrade abilities unique to each hero, trooper class, and starfighter. Use these abilities to adapt and modify your character’s powers, either as lethal active effects on your opponents, helpful status boosts, or tactical assistance, to counter any opponent on the battlefront.
*split-screen co-op only available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Number Of Players:
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domain: game


Let’s not kid ourselves as we look at todays news that the merger is as much about spectrum as it is Deutsche Telekom’s way out of the US marketplace. We’ve long known that DT wanted to exit America, and their first hope was with AT&T, a deal which went up in smoke as regulators found every reason to hate the potential combined company.
The deal between T-Mobile and MetroPCS is actually considered a reverse-merger, in the sense that it is set up for MetroPCS is effectively “take over” the larger T-Mobile USA. This is being done so that Deutsche Telekom can receive 74% of the new T-Mobile and the “new company” can be listed on the stock exchange, as MetroPCS is already a publicly listed company. This maneuver offers Deutsche Telekom a way out of the US market, if they wished to do so by selling off their shares at a later date.
Deutsche Telekom’s wish to leave the US market is, as we mentioned before, no surprise whatsoever. They’ve long hinted at their want to move away from the US completely and emphasized that during the long fight to hand-off their USA brand to AT&T. The US market is tough, as there is no question that while T-Mobile USA is financially healthy in the sense that they aren’t running in the red, they are still a drag on DT’s bottom line. The cost undertaken by DT to support their US operations is weighing on the company and causing them trouble in their other markets that desperately need their attention.
The time it would take and the money it would require for Deutsche Telekom to push T-Mobile into the running with Sprint for a real fight for third place is a strong opportunity cost the company doesn’t seem to want to consider. The money received from the AT&T breakup fee along with the spectrum received seems to be as far as DT is willing to go with pumping resources into their US operations. If anything, the $1.5 billion they are putting into the MetroPCS acquisition seems like pocket change compared to what it would cost to give T-Mobile USA enough leverage to seriously combat Sprint for third place.
There seems to be little question here that this deal is as much about spectrum, the prepaid market as it is a way for Deutsche Telekom to exit the US once and for all. The only question we’re left wondering is how a joint T-Mobile USA, MetroPCS will function once Deutsche Telekom sells its very last share?


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Nikola Chochev will be representing Bulgaria at the International Pop Song Performers Contest at Slavianski Bazaar 2017.
28-year-old Nikola Chochev from Liaskovetz will be representing Bulgaria at Slavianski Bazaar 2017. He has been performing since he was six years old when the young singer took to the stage in his home town. Since 2004 he has gone on to compete in competitions and perform at a number of concerts.
Between 2005 to 2009 Nikola was one of soloist of vocal group “New Music”. At a contest in 2007 the director of music TV project “Hit 1” noted him and Nikola became finalist in this project. Since then the singer has continued to take part in different international festivals and competitions –Italy, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania,Ukraine and Turkey. Nikola has performed as a solo artists alongside the Big Band of Bulgarian National Radio. Since 2013 Nikola Chochev has been studying at the Institute of Modern Arts in Moscow.
The Head of the Bulgarian delegation at Slavianski Bazaar also revealed that Sesil Alper will be representing the country in the children’s contest. Sesil was born on the 10th of January 2006 in Shumen, Bulgaria. She began to sing when she was 4 years old. In 2016 she made it through to the final of Bulgaria’s Junior Eurovision selection.
The following countries have selected their entrants so far:
- Czech Republic
Source: Nikolay Tekeliev
[tw-accordion-section title=”What is Slavianski Bazaar?”]
Slavianski Bazaar has been held annually in Vibetsk, Belarus since 1992. The event consists of two competitive contests, the International Pop Song Performers Contest for singers age 18 to 31, and the Children’s Contest for those age between 7 and 12. The competition is popular in the former Soviet Union, Baltic States and the Balkans. Winners include Ruslana, Zeljko Joksimovic, Donny Montell and Alyona Lanskaya. The Children’s Contest has been held since 2003 and former winners include singers who have gone on to compete in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. This includes former winner Ksenia Sitnik who won for Belarus in 2005.

domain: news


Exit luminaire in compliance with DIN EN 60598-1/2-22 and DIN EN 1838.
Extremly lean polycarbonate casing in an appealing design. Easy to handle locking mechanism without screws.
Can be used optional as ceiling mounting or wall mounting with pre-cut fixation and cable entry holes from top and back.
Optionally: Recessed mounting with recessed ceiling frame.The 10 mm light deflecting pane is illuminated with a 1 watt or 2 watt LED-bar and is delivered with a pictogram-set.


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Main / Business / Hildafolk
File size: 613mb
Hildafolk Paperback – November 14, Hilda and the Troll: Book 1 (Hildafolk) Pearson’s utter lack of pretension keeps Hilda feeling fresh, while his reading of folktales and Tove Jansson’s Moomin series embeds Hilda in the long history of children’s stories. Hildafolk (Hilda #1) I would like to start reading the series but am struggling to choose which editions to purchase online. Luke Pearson is a comic book artist and illustrator, author of Hildafolk and Everything We Miss (published by Nobrow Press). Hildafolk is a stellar beginning to what is already a burgeoning UK comic talent. This is a second edition print, featuring a delicious spot UV varnish on the cover.
Hilda is sitting in her tent at night listening to the rumble of the storm passing overhead when she hears a bell. As she hurtles towards the vanishing tinkling. Common KnowledgeSeriesHildafolk. Series: Hildafolk. Series by cover. Works (5 ). Titles, Order. Hilda and the Troll by Luke Pearson, 1. Hilda and the Midnight. One of the things missing from too much of our narrative experiences is a sense of whimsy. It's not so much that everything should be whimsical, but more that it.
15 Jun Alexandra Lange on Hildafolk, the children's graphic novels by Luke Pearson, soon to be developed into an animated series by Netflix. Hildafolk by Luke Pearson, , available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. 22 Aug We're big fans of Luke Pearson and his 'Hildafolk' graphic novels in our house. In this video for publisher Nobrow Press he talks about drawing. 18 Mar Hildafolk immediately distinguishes itself on page one. The first image is of a house, nestled among fields at the base of snow-capped. Buy a cheap copy of Hildafolk book. Free shipping over $
The Hilda book series by Luke Pearson includes books Hildafolk, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, Hilda and the Bird Parade, and several more. See the complete. Hildafolk. by Luke Pearson. Hilda sits in her tent listening to the thunder passing overhead when she hears a bell. As she hurtles towards the vanishing tinkling. Illustrator and cartoonist. Creator of the 'Hilda' series of comics. 8 May - 46 min - Uploaded by Strand Bookstore Celebrated British cartoonist Luke Pearson talks with with author and illustrator George O.

domain: artistic


Finally an easy way to search the web and discover all the potentialities and features of Google and more in a single app. With today's update you get to enjoy the full iPhone screen with no ads!! Easy Search is the only "all-in-1" iPhone App
Downloads: 55+ (for Android)Report app for spam or abuse!
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The Bommie is an essential, wear every day tank top in a KAVU specialty fabric. Pair this V-neck style tank with your favorite KAVU bottoms and get Busy Livin'!
Relaxed fit, V-neck tank top, front and back in set self-fabric piecing at armhole and neckline, straight hem with side slits and 2" back hem drop, heat transfer back neck label
Fabric: 7.5oz 95% viscose 5% spandex jersey knit
Front Length: XXS/23", XS/23.5", S/24", M/24.5", L/25", XL/25.5", XXL/26"

domain: design


text:
Croatia booked a semi-final meeting with England after pnalty shoot-out success against Russia.
Which one of these four players is England’s greatest left midfielder of all time?
With the group stage of the World Cup in the books, how much can you remember about the opening round of games?
Who doesn’t love a penalty shoot-out?
Read our World Cup blog over the coming weeks. Lee Power previews the second round of matches
Read our World Cup blog over the coming weeks. Lee Power reviews one of the late games on day 13 of the tournament
Read our World Cup blog over the coming weeks. Lane Dias reviews one of the early games on day 13 of the tournament
Read Layth Yousif’s World Cup blog after England’s stunning, sublime – and quite frankly unbelievable – 6-1 victory over Panama which has got the country dreaming...
Gareth Southgate’s promising young England side look ready to make a mark on the world stage and help atone for the disappointments of recent tournaments.
Read our World Cup blog over the coming weeks. Lane Dias reviews game one on day eight of the tournament
Nigeria’s kit seems the standout design for Russia 2018, but how does it rank against other kits?
We look at the frontrunners for this summer’s tournament
Barking Abbey does not only have three former players involved with the England men and women’s basketball teams at the Commonwealth Games, but one of their current coaches too, writes Lee Power.
Paddington’s Tin-Tin Ho leads the England squad at the European Championships in Luxembourg next week.
The Government is encouraging people to stay alert as many take their first steps back to their workplace.
The Government has announced an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and support business across the UK during the coronavirus outbreak.
People working for a wide range of private companies have been standing side-by-side with public sector staff on the front line during the coronavirus outbreak.
Brent & Kilburn Times
Education and Training

domain: sports


text:
Background: Secondary hyperparathyroidism is a well-known complication of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Both nodular and diffuse parathyroid hyperplasia occur in ESRD patients. However, their distinct molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Methods: Parathyroid tissue obtained from ESRD patients who had undergone parathyroidectomy was used for Illumina transcriptome screening and subsequently for discriminatory gene analysis, pathway mapping and gene-annotation enrichment analysis. Results were further validated using RT-qPCR on the independent larger cohort. Results: Microarray screening proved homogeneity of gene transcripts in hemodialysis patients as compared to transplant cohort and primary hyperparathyroidism, therefore further studies were performed in hemodialysis patients only. Enrichment analysis conducted on 485 differentially expressed genes between nodular and diffuse parathyroid hyperplasia revealed highly significant differences in GO terms and the KEGG database in ribosome structure (p=3.70 × 10-18). Next, RT-qPCR validation of the top differently expressed genes from microarray analysis proved higher expression of RAN guanine nucleotide release factor (RANGRF, p<0.001), calcyclin binding protein (CACYBP, p<0.05) and exocyst complex component 8 (EXOC8, p<0.05) and lower expression of peptidylprolyl cis/trans isomerase and NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1, p<0.01) mRNA in nodular hyperplasia. Multivariate analysis revealed higher RANGRF and lower PIN1 expression along with parathyroid weight to be associated with nodular hyperplasia. Conclusion: Our study suggests the RANGRF transcript which controls the RNA metabolism to be likely involved in pathways associated with the switch to nodular parathyroid growth. This transcript along with PIN1 transcript which influences the PTH secretion may represent new therapeutical targets to cure secondary hyperparathyroidism.
- : nodular parathyroid hyperplasia
- diffuse parathyroid hyperplasia
- Copyright © 2016, American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism

domain: medical


text:
This study from the Infant Brain Imaging network, a nationally funded research network with four primary sites, including the Center for Autism Research at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, suggests that autism does not appear suddenly in young children, but instead develops over time during infancy. The finding is important because it brings scientists one step closer to developing a biomarker to assist with very early diagnoses for autism spectrum disorders.
- Quote: Boddy on Corporate Psychopaths
- Quote: Sutton on trilaterals
- Quote: Mate on stress
- Quote: Juncker on deciding
- German doctor: COVID-19 vaccine ‘could prove to be the biggest mistake’
- How do native Polish speakers identify and classify the British English monophthongs?
- Quote: Anonymous on society
- Quote: Hedges on the asylum


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Bamboo Shavings Extract Powder
BambooShavings Extract Powder
Active Ingredients: silica
Specification: 5:1,10:1,15:1, 20:1
Appearance: Brown yellow powder
Botanical Source: Bamboo
Part Used of Plant: Leaf
The main functions of Bamboo Shavings Extract:
Bamboo leaf extractpresents also very good technical features, as it is easy to dissove in hotwater and low-density alcohol with high thermal and water stability, processingflexibility, and high oxidation prevention stability. Even and unfavorablecondition that the local concentraction far exceeds the limit, there shall beno oxidation promotion effects, which occurs generally in tea polyphenols.Moreover, the extract carries with it the original faint scent of bamboo, and afavorable and refreshing taste with little sweetness and bitterness. It can beused widely in the production of drug, food, anti-aging products, cosmetics andfeeding stuff.
a) As dietary supplements, intaken as capsules.
b) As an ingredient in other nutraceutical products such as milk powder,nutraceutical beverage (BambooBeer, Bamboo Water), etc.
c) Added to regular foods to increase its nutrition values such as rice/noodle.
d) As cosmetic ingredient used in skin-care products
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domain: chemistry


text:
Curious about where to find the best longboard surfing spots on the Gold Coast? Well, you’re in luck.
We’ve scoured this 50-kilometre stretch of coastline, sampled every pointbreak and beachbreak worth sampling and talked with the local surfing community. Our conclusion? The 5 finest longboard surf spots on the Goldy can be found right here!
World-class longboarding surf spots Gold Coast
Sunshine, crystal clear water and reeling pointbreaks… the Gold Coast is a must-visit destination for surfers everywhere.
Proof of this is the fact that it’s been declared a World Surfing Reserve. But you don’t need to read a pewter plaque to know there are dreamy longboard surfing spots on the Gold Coast. The waves vary in difficulty level and length, so you’ve got plenty of options to choose from. One thing they all have in common though is that they’re amazing to ride.
What’s more, the water temperature rarely drops below 19°C, so you can rock boardshorts or a bikini for most of the year. Because apparently just having magic waves and consistently beautiful weather wasn’t enough. Here are our picks for the 5 best longboard surfing spots on the Gold Coast.
5. Snapper Rocks
Snapper Rocks is Australia’s most famous pointbreak. And while the notoriously sketchy takeoff near the actual rocks isn’t longboard-friendly, the rest of the ride is, especially when the swell is mellow. Expect a crowd but remember that you’re almost guaranteed to get barrelled.
When it’s firing, Snapper is for experienced longboarders only.
4. Burleigh Heads
Burleigh is another righthand pointbreak that’s earned a reputation for being iconic on its day. However, like Snapper Rocks, the fast and hollow takeoff isn’t exactly suited to longboarders. Our tip? The wave becomes more approachable the further down the line you sit, especially on the high tide when the takeoff isn’t as steep. Bonus: you can also enjoy a fantastic view of the Burleigh Heads National Park from the lineup.
When the swell is big, Kirra is often the spot that the pros flock to. When the surf is a bit smaller though, the Kirra rock wall at the start of Coolangatta creates a sandy point break that makes for an excellent longboard surf spot on the Gold Coast. Kirra Beach is also home to the Kirra Longboard Klassic – a free longboarding showcase that runs over a couple of days.
The history of longboarding at Greenmount stretches back decades, which means it tends to attract loggers from far and wide. The payoff when you do snag one though? A mellow righthander in sparkling crystal clear water. Greenmount is one of the best longboard surfing spots on the Gold Coast when the waves are around waist high.
1. Currumbin Alley
Currumbin is home to a graceful righthander called the Alley, which according to locals is one of the best longboard surfing spots in the Gold Coast region. It’s gentle yet with enough push to offer a lengthy run. This makes Currumbin Beach a suitable longboarding wave for all skill levels.

domain: travel


text:
1998 CNNP ‘Lucky Brand’ Ripe Puerh Tea Cake (20g sample)
19 years in Guangdong = a truly aged Ripe. smooth with aged complexity
20g samples only!
Storage has been kind to this cake. You will notice a slight whiff and taste of ‘grandmothers cupboard’ in the first 2 infusions, nothing unbearable. Further steepings offers aged complexity with camphor and bitter cocoa notes that hang on the palette. A nice viscosity with the occasional pleasant tea burp occurring which is a good sign. A great tea for tea veterans and people wishing to explore what an aged Ripe can taste like!

domain: food


text:
Mumbai, December 5: Key Indian equity domestic indices- BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened on a negative note during early morning trade on Tuesday. Sensex was down by over 64 points or 0.20% to 32,805.60 while the wider Nifty was down by over 21 points or 0.21% to 10,106.40. The Indian rupee gained in the early trade on Tuesday and has opened higher by 7 paise at 64.30 per dollar versus previous close 64.37.
The major losers that dragged down the key indices include Adani Ports, NTPC, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Bajaj Auto, Wipro, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Bank, ONGC, L&T, Dr Reddy’s and SBI. Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.39 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.42 per cent in early session today. Shanghai Composite Index too shed 0.02 per cent.
At 3.30 PM: Sensex closed 67 points low or 0.20% at 32,802.44 on Tuesday while the wider Nifty was down by over 9 points or 0.09% to 10,118.25.
At 3 PM: Markets traded flat during afternoon trade on Tuesday. Sensex was down by over 24 points or 0.07% to 32,845.24 while the wider Nifty was up at 10,129.10.
At 1.30 PM: Sensex slumped 130 points or 0.40% to 32,739.39 while the wider Nifty was down by 32 points or 0.32% to 10,095.75. The initial public offering (IPO) Shalby Hospitals opened for subscription on bourses on Tuesday. The IPO starting today will remain open until 7 December.
At 12.30 PM: Sensex was down by over 110 points or 0.34% to 32,759.48 while the wider Nifty was dpwn by over 31 points or 0.31% to 10,096.40. The weak Asian cues as technology stocks tracked a sell-off in their US counterparts that saw the Nasdaq tumbling over 1 per cent overnight, weighed on the sentiments, brokers said.
At 10.30 AM: Benchmark Sensex was 80 points low or 0.25% to 32,788.81 while the wider Nifty was down by over 29 points or0.30% to 10,097.85. The RBI’s two-day monetary policy review kicks off today and the decision is due tomorrow. This has led to selling by investors, which added to the negative mood. The weak Asian cues as technology stocks tracked a sell-off in their US counterparts that saw the Nasdaq tumbling over 1 per cent overnight, weighed on the sentiments, brokers said.
On Monday, markets ended in green where Sensex closed 36 points up or 0.11% to 32,869.72 while the wider Nifty was up by over 5 points or 0.06% to 10,127.75. As per reports, Asian stocks were mixed as investors were trading cautiously after US stocks declined on last Friday.
According to PTI reports, reversing a four-session slide, benchmark Sensex rose 37 points to end at 32,870 on value-buying by domestic investors in IT, tech, metal and healthcare stocks. Trading was highly volatile throughout the session ahead of RBI’s monetary policy review and Gujarat elections later this week.

domain: finance


text:
- Armstrong’s subsequent remarks have rekindled suspicions among the XRP Army.
- The SEC threatened to prosecute the publicly listed business for its unreleased Lend product.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has backed Ripple in its legal fight with the SEC. However, Armstrong’s subsequent remarks have rekindled suspicions among the XRP Army that the top crypto exchange may soon reinstate XRP trading.
Armstrong tweeted on October 26 that the current struggle between Ripple and the SEC appeared to be “going better than expected”. According to the CEO, attacking the crypto industry and thereby damaging customers is politically unpopular and is something the regulator has realized.
Regulators have recently targeted Coinbase. In September, the SEC threatened to prosecute the publicly listed business for its unreleased Lend product. After accusing the SEC of acting unfairly and creating an unfair market, CEO Armstrong tweeted that several crypto firms had sold identical products for years.
Despite the SEC’s pressure, Coinbase has said that it would battle the SEC in Public Square. It seems Coinbase and its CEO are planning a relisting of XRP, pending an SEC settlement. To quote Mark Twain, news of XRP’s demise seem to be overblown. In the SEC’s case, death by a thousand papercuts still hangs in the balance.
XRP Army’s Support
The XRP community has informed Coinbase that the XRP Lawsuit may follow. People are pushing to Relist XRP on Coinbase if the trading platform does not want to face the dishonest SEC alone. Recently there was a tweet from a popular analyst Watcher.guru who tweeted:
“Coinbase needs to relist $XRP !!!”
In the midst of the SEC fight, this movement is being followed with a lot of support for XRP. Ensued by a formidable regulator, XRP has held up well. Indeed, a billionaire analyst recently noted that XRP’s value had almost quadrupled since the SEC filed suit.
The relisting has not been officially announced by Coinbase, and their website continues to have difficulties with the XRP listing.
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domain: economics


text:
- Study protocol
- Open Access
Rationale and design of the balANZ trial: A randomised controlled trial of low GDP, neutral pH versus standard peritoneal dialysis solution for the preservation of residual renal function
BMC Nephrology volume 11, Article number: 25 (2010)
The main hypothesis of this study is that neutral pH, low glucose degradation product (GDP) peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluid better preserves residual renal function in PD patients over time compared with conventional dialysate.
Inclusion criteria are adult PD patients (CAPD or APD) aged 18-81 years whose first dialysis was within 90 days prior to or following enrolment and who have a residual GFR ≥ 5 ml/min/1.73 m2, a urine output ≥ 400 ml/day and an ability to understand the nature and requirements of this trial. Pregnant or lactating patients or individuals with an active infection at the time of enrolment, a contra-indication to PD or participation in any other clinical trial where an intervention is designed to moderate rate of change of residual renal function are excluded. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive either neutral pH, low GDP dialysis solution (Balance®) or conventional dialysis solution (Stay.safe®) for a period of 2 years. During this 2 year study period, urinary urea and clearance measurements will be performed at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months. The primary outcome measure will be the slope of residual renal function decline, adjusted for centre and presence of diabetic nephropathy. Secondary outcome measures will include time from initiation of peritoneal dialysis to anuria, peritoneal small solute clearance, peritoneal transport status, peritoneal ultrafiltration, technique survival, patient survival, peritonitis rates and adverse events. A total of 185 patients has been recruited into the trial.
This investigator-initiated study has been designed to provide evidence to help nephrologists determine the optimal dialysis solution for preserving residual renal function in PD patients.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry Number: ACTRN12606000044527
During the past 30 years, peritoneal dialysis (PD) has become an established form of treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease [1, 2]. Most published observational cohort studies suggest that the medium-term survival (up to 3 to 4 years) of patients treated with PD is at least comparable, and possibly superior, to that of patients receiving haemodialysis (HD) [3–7]. However, PD is associated with a higher rate of technique failure than HD. As rates of peritonitis have fallen in recent years, an increasing proportion of technique failure is attributable to alteration in membrane function whereby high solute transport is associated with loss of ultrafiltration capacity . Unfortunately, the time sequence of loss of peritoneal ultrafiltration capacity and loss of residual renal function and urine output coincide whereby the two significantly limit an individual patient's capacity to control solute and volume homeostasis.
A large body of basic research in animal models and peritoneal cell culture systems has suggested that a major contributor to the high technique failure rate is the bioincompatible nature of conventional PD fluids. Such fluids may have a negative impact on host defence as well as having a pro-fibrotic effect on the peritoneal membrane [9–11]. Conventional PD fluids are considered "unphysiological," based on their acidic pH (5.0-5.8), high lactate concentrations (30-40 mmol/L), high osmolality (320-520 mOsm/kg), high glucose concentrations (31-236 mmol/L), and contamination by glucose degradation products (GDP) generated during the heat sterilization process . Such solutions reduce the viability and growth of peritoneal mesothelial cells and fibroblasts in vitro, alter the turnover of structural collagen, and modify the homeostatic balance of cytokines and growth factors [11, 13, 14]. The viability and function of peritoneal phagocytic cells, such as macrophages, are also impaired by standard peritoneal fluids [12, 13]. Moreover, experimental and clinical exposure of the peritoneal membrane to conventional PD solutions engenders significant histopathological changes over time, including loss of the surface mesothelial cell layer, thickening of the submesothelial compact zone and the development of a progressive vasculopathy [15, 16]. Most of these adverse effects of dialysate on the peritoneal membrane appear to be accounted for by acidic pH and high concentrations of GDPs, since they were largely abrogated in in vivo studies by the use of neutral-buffered, low GDP fluids [11, 12, 17, 18]. In addition to their direct cytotoxicity and stimulation of inflammatory cytokine production, GDPs promote the formation and deposition of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in the peritoneal membrane, which in turn correlates with peritoneal membrane fibrosis and histopathology [19, 20].
All of the main industry manufacturers of PD solutions have now released to the market solutions that have low GDP levels (and, incidentally, a neutral or near neutral solution pH). Recent clinical trials with these solutions attest to their lower cytotoxicity for mesothelial cells and their use is also associated with less evidence of local peritoneal inflammation [21, 22]. However, evidence of a beneficial effect on the morphological and functional changes associated with long-term exposure to PD fluids is not yet available. Nevertheless, a large, retrospective, observational cohort study in Korea [23, 24] has demonstrated an association between the use of neutral pH, lactate-buffered, low GDP fluids and superior survival, although this finding was potentially limited by indication bias with residual confounding .
An alternative means by which the use of neutral pH, low GDP solutions might favourably impact PD patient outcomes relates to improved preservation of native kidney function. In the literature relating to survival of PD patients, there is overwhelming evidence that survival is determined more by residual renal function than by peritoneal function [26–28]. A multi-centre, open-label, prospective, randomized crossover study of conventional, acidic, lactate-buffered fluid with pH neutral, lactate-buffered, low GDP fluid in 86 prevalent CAPD patients from 22 centres in 11 European countries  demonstrated increases in renal urea and creatinine clearances over a 12 week period. Subsequently, several small, short-term, randomised controlled trials reported that neutral pH, low GDP fluids were associated with either a neutral [29, 30] or beneficial  effect on residual renal function. However, these studies were limited by insufficient statistical power, short-term follow-up and single centre designs.
The current multi-centre, randomised controlled study is designed to ask whether neutral pH, low GDP peritoneal dialysis fluid better preserves residual renal function in PD patients over a 2 year period compared with conventional dialysate.
Ethics approval for the balANZ trial has been obtained from the local Institutional Ethics Committee in all participating centres prior to study initiation and patient enrolment. The study will be performed in accordance with the 2000 Edinburgh, Scotland Revision of the Declaration of Helsinki, the National Health and Medical Research Committee (NHMRC) Statement on Human Experimentation, Joint NHMRC/AVCC Statement and Guidelines on Research Practice, applicable ICH guidelines and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) - Note for guidance on good clinical practice (CPMP/ICH/135/95) annotated with TGA. All patients are to provide written informed consent before any trial related procedure can occur.
Patients must fulfill all of the following conditions in order to be considered for the study enrolment or participation:
Male or female patients, age ≥ 18 years and < 81 years
Diagnosis of end stage renal disease
First treatment for ESRD by any dialysis modality within 90 days prior to or following enrolment (patients may be enrolled prior to commencing first treatment if there is clear indication that the treatment modality is CAPD or APD and they consent in advance to enter the study)
Selected to be treated by CAPD or APD
Residual GFR at enrolment ≥ 5 ml/min/1.73 m2
Urine volume per day ≥ 400 ml at enrolment
Written informed consent before any trial related activities
Ability to understand the nature and requirements of this trial
Patients with any of the following conditions will be excluded from study enrolment:
Prognosis for survival less than 12 months
Pregnancy or lactation period
History of malignancy other than a successfully and completely treated cutaneous squamous cell or basal cell carcinoma or carcinoma in-situ of the cervix within the last 5 years
Any acute infections at the time of enrolment into the study
Any disease of the abdominal wall, such as injury or surgery, burns, hernia, dermatitis, that in the opinion of the Investigator would preclude the patient from being able to have peritoneal dialysis
Any inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohns' disease, ulcerative colitis or diverticulitis) that in the opinion of the Investigator would preclude the patient from being able to have peritoneal dialysis
Any intra-abdominal tumours or intestinal obstruction
Any patient with active serositis
Any condition (mental or physical) that would interfere with the patient's ability to comply with the study protocol
Known or suspected allergy to trial product or related products
Participation in any other clinical trial where an intervention is designed to moderate rate of change of residual renal function
The study is an investigator-initiated, prospective, open label, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 4 trial. Patients will be randomised to one of two treatment groups in equal proportion (Fig. 1). To ensure adequate concealment of allocation, the randomization will be performed using a central computer and web-based link to the central database. Stratification will occur according to centre and the presence or absence of diabetes mellitus. Patients will be recruited from 16 centres across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Patients in the experimental arm will receive neutral pH, lactate-buffered, low GDP Balance ® solutions in Biofine®, platicizer-free solution bags provided by Fresenius Medical Care. The chemical composition of this fluid is shown in Table 1.
Patients in the control arm will receive conventional, standard, lactate-buffered PD solutions (Stay.safe®) in Biofine®, platicizer-free solution bags provide by Fresenius Medical Care. The chemical composition of this fluid is shown in Table 1.
Patients in each trial arm will undergo standard management, as per local PD unit protocols. Icodextrin is permitted in both the control and experimental groups.
This is an open-label study. Therefore, after randomization, the investigator, pharmacist and patient will be aware of which peritoneal dialysis solution the patient will be receiving.
The primary outcome measure is slope of residual renal function (RRF) decline measured as GFR (mean of renal urea and creatinine clearances) over time (follow-up 24 months).
Secondary outcomes will include:
Time from initiation of PD to anuria (daily urine volume less than 100 ml).
Peritoneal small solute clearance (Kt/V, creatinine clearance)
Peritoneal transport status (PET D/P creatinine and D/Do glucose)
Peritoneal ultrafiltration capacity (UF[ml/day] and nUF[ml/day/m2])
Clinical Assessment of Outcome
Residual renal function will be measured from timed urine collections as the arithmetic mean of urinary urea and creatinine clearance . Data will be collected at the start of the study-phase (baseline week 0, visit 0), and at Month 3 and then at 3 monthly intervals thereafter (total 6 measurements) in the first 12 months. Data will be collected at 6 monthly intervals if treatment extends into the second year. A maximum of 8 visits will be required for the study. Visit windows will be ± 1 week in the first year and ± 2 weeks in the second year of treatment.
Monitoring for Adverse Events
The number and proportion of subjects who report treatment-emergent adverse events will be summarized for each treatment group. Treatment emergent events include events that start on or after Day 0 of the study [that is the first day of Study Drug administration], and were not present at baseline, or were present at baseline, but increased in severity after the start of the study. The Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities [MedDRA] Terminology will be used to classify all adverse events with rESAect to System Organ Class [SOC], high level group term (HLGT), and preferred term. Balance ® and stay*safe ® solutions are already registered and marketed PD solutions in terms of their composition and intended use.
Sample Size Calculations
A prospective sample size calculation was based on information collected from earlier phase work, with an anticipated rate of decline of residual renal function (RRF) with Balance at -0.044 ml/min/1.73 m2/month compared with stay safe at -0.111 ml/min/1.73 m2/month, with a common standard deviation of 0.219 ml/min/1.73 m2/month. The estimated sample size per arm based on this information was 168 (total population 336), giving the study 80% power to detect a difference in slope of RRF versus time of 0.067.
Commencing in November 2004, it was initially anticipated that trial recruitment would be completed by December 2008, with final follow-up completed by December 2010. As of 1 October 2008, only 185 patients had been recruited into the study, accounting for 55% of the target. A decision was therefore made by the Trial Management Committee to halt further recruitment and to continue the trial until the last patient enrolled had been followed for 2 years (31 August 2010). Results will be analysed and reported in early 2011. Based on the final number recruited (185), the study has 80% power to detect a difference in RRF versus time of 0.091 ml/min/1.73 m2/month.
A mixed effects General Linear Model will be fitted with residual renal function as the outcome variable and treatment group, time, centre and presence of diabetic nephropathy (Yes/No) as fixed effects terms. Patients will be fitted as a 'random' term in the model. In this way, the model will provide estimates of the rate of decline in RRF (the slope) for each patient and an appropriate framework to model the covariance structure for repeated measures. From this, an overall estimate of the rate of decline in each treatment group will be determined, corrected for centre and presence of diabetic nephropathy. The estimated slopes for the treatment groups will be compared via a t-test. The data will be assumed to be normally distributed and to decline in a linear fashion. However, the assumptions of homogeneity of variance and normality of residuals will be checked. Major departures from these assumptions will result in the employment of appropriate non-parametric tests or transformation. This analysis will be performed for both the month 12 and month 24 reporting efforts on an intention-to-treat basis. Secondary time to event analyses will be analysed by multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analyses with treatment group, centre, presence of diabetic nephropathy and baseline renal function as covariates. P values < 0.05 will be considered significant.
This investigator-initiated, multicentre Australian, New Zealand and Singapore study has been designed to provide evidence to help nephrologists and their PD patients better determine the optimal dialysis solution for preserving residual renal function. Given that numerous studies have demonstrated that PD patients with rapid residual renal function decline are at significantly increased risk of mortality [26–28], novel treatments for preserving residual renal function in this group (such as with the use of neutral pH, low GDP dialysis fluids) may represent an important strategy for improving clinical outcomes in PD patients. The multicentre nature of the trial will greatly enhance its generalisability.
One of the significant difficulties encountered to date with the running of the trial has been slower than anticipated recruitment. Some of the reasons for this included initial delays with being able to accommodate patients receiving APD as well as a reluctance by some clinicians to allow patients to be randomised to conventional dialysate because of a firmly held belief that such fluids were inferior to "biocompatible" fluids. The hurdle encountered in recruiting to target in the balANZ trial due to the fact that use of biocompatible fluids is becoming standard in Australasia and many other parts of the world without high level supporting evidence, suggest that it may be extremely difficult for a future larger randomised controlled trial to be mounted if the present study does not prove to be definitive. Nevertheless, it is extremely important to establish high level clinical evidence for the benefits of "biocompatible" fluids compared to conventional dialysates, since they are appreciably more expensive and consequently have important implications for the allocation of limited health resources. Simply relying on biological plausibility and the results of observational cohort studies is fraught with peril due to confounding by indication and other biases. Indeed, there are numerous examples in nephrology practice where firm clinical guideline recommendations based on opinion supported by observational studies have been subsequently over-turned by the findings of randomised controlled clinical trials and systematic reviews (viz. peritoneal dialysis small solute clearance augmentation, serum cholesterol lowering and anaemia correction).
Although the final balANZ trial population will be just over half that required to provide adequate statistical power according to prospective sample size calculations, it will nevertheless be the largest randomised controlled clinical trial to date of "biocompatible" versus conventional dialysis fluids in PD patients and will be twice the size of the next largest, published controlled trial . Whilst the reduced final sample size of 185 will ultimately result in decreased statistical power, the study will still have 80% power to detect a difference in RRF decline of 0.091 mL/min/1.73 m2/month. This detectable difference compares favourably with the differences in RRF decline reported between Balance® and Stay.safe® fluids in other trials, such as Euro-Balance (0.21 mL/min/1.73 m2/month over 3 months)  and Balnet (0.80 mL/min/1.73 m2/month over 12 months) . In the event of a negative study finding, which might potentially reflect a type 2 statistical error, the ability to detect a smaller benefit of biocompatible fluids on residual renal function decline could still be possible as a result of incorporation of the balANZ trial data into a meta-analysis of all randomised controlled trials of biocompatible fluids versus conventional biocompatible fluids currently being undertaken by the Cochrane Renal Group . Such a systematic review may also help to determine whether biocompatible fluids influence patient-level outcomes, such as technique survival and patient survival, for which all studies to date have been significantly underpowered.
In conclusion, demonstration by the balANZ study of a significant improvement in residual renal function decline with neutral pH, low GDP fluids will provide clinicians with an important new strategy for effectively treating PD patients. On the other hand, a negative study will dissuade clinicians from prescribing more expensive fluids for no clear clinical benefit.
the Balance in Australian and New Zealand peritoneal dialysis patients trial
- D/D0 glucose:
ratio of initial and 4 hour dialysate glucose concentrations
- D/P creatinine:
dialysate to plasma creatinine ratio at 4 hours
end-stage renal disease
glomerular filtration rate
International Conference on Harmonisation
National Health and Medical Research Council
Princess Alexandra Hospital
peritoneal equilibration test
residual renal function
Therapeutic Goods Administration
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The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2369/11/25/prepub
David Johnson is a consultant for Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd and has previously received research funds from this company. He has also received speakers' honoraria and research grants from Fresenius Medical Care. Fiona Brown is a consultant for Baxter and Fresenius. Margaret Clarke and Vanessa Wilson are employees of Fresenius Medical Care. Feidhlim Woods is a former employee of Fresenius Medical Care and is currently a consultant to this company.
The balANZ trial is funded by Fresenius Medical Care.
DJ and FB were the principal investigators; conceived study; participated in design and co-ordination; helped to draft manuscript; read and approved the final manuscript. MC participated in co-ordination; helped to draft manuscript; read and approved the final manuscript. SG participated in co-ordination; helped to draft manuscript; read and approved the final manuscript. VW participated in design and co-ordination; helped to draft manuscript; read and approved the final manuscript. FW participated in design and co-ordination; helped to draft manuscript; read and approved the final manuscript.
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Johnson, D.W., Clarke, M., Wilson, V. et al. Rationale and design of the balANZ trial: A randomised controlled trial of low GDP, neutral pH versus standard peritoneal dialysis solution for the preservation of residual renal function. BMC Nephrol 11, 25 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2369-11-25
- Peritoneal Dialysis
- Peritoneal Dialysis Patient
- Residual Renal Function
- Dialysis Fluid


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Pedalling hard, you reach the crest and plummet down the other side. Looking at the vast river valley spread out below, you know it was well worth the ride. Adrenaline pumping and wind whistling in your ears, you take the rise at the bottom and catch some air.
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Watching their favorite actors together on screen is an exciting experience for fans. And if Their chemistry is incredible for the fans. They always wish for the same in real life. They wish their favorite couple would fall in love with each other in real life. In the same vein, Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender are being considered. Whenever they have been pictured together, their fans have wished they could date in real life. But are they really date each other? Today, we’re gonna talk about Are Natalie Portman And Michael Fassbender Dating? Is it true that they are dating in real life as well?
Natalie Portman And Michael Fassbender are always loved together by the fans. They have worked together on movies, music albums, etc. Every time they collaborate together, fans love them. In 2012, during the shooting of Terrence Malick’s untitled film in Texas, Michale was seen wrapping his arms around Natalie. The two shared a passionate embrace during the shooting. Taking Fassbender’s hand, Portman held him close to her face while he held her close to himself.
Natalie also wore a beautiful white short wedding dress in a picture. She was kissing Michale as she stood with him. The shoot included many intimate moments between them. As soon as the shoot’s pictures were released. The rumors started circulating. Such as during filming, Natalie and Michael were said to have got steamy. In fact, Natalie Portman is what makes him so hot. Also, Michale and Natalie are even supposedly dating, according to rumors. Fans also hoped they would meet in person. Additionally, they recently starred in a movie together called Song to Song. But Is Natalie Portman dating Michael Fassbender?
Are Natalie Portman And Michael Fassbender Dating?
There’s just something about Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender that we love. Also, they look amazing together. But unfortunately, the two are not dating in real life. However, there were rumors about them dating earlier. The reports, however, were not true.
Taking a look at Natalie Portman, She is currently married to Benjamin Millepied. He is a renowned French choreographer and ballet dancer. In 2009, Portman met Benjamin Millepied for the first time. While shooting Black Swan, the two got to know each other. And The couple started dating in 2009. Natalie won an Oscar later for her performance in Black Swan. The couple welcomed their first child a few months after the Oscars. They had a son named Aleph. In August 2012, the couple got married. They held a Jewish wedding with a vegan dinner following the ceremony. As of 2021, Natalie is the mother of two kids, which she shares with her husband.
If we talk about Michael Fassbender he is also married. The name of his wife is Alicia Vikander. She is a Swedish actress. Michael and Alicia met at the set of The Light Between Oceans. A lighthouse keeper and his wife were the central characters in this drama. In which they found a baby washed up onshore. Michael and Alicia started dating in 2014. Three years after dating each other, they got married. They got married on October 14, 2017. Their wedding took place in Ibiza, Spain. In 2017, after they got married, they moved to Lisbon, Portugal. As well As in 2021, The couple also welcomed their first child.
Natalie And Michael’s Recent Movie
The actress Natalie Portman and actor Michael Fassbender recently starred in Song to Song. In a 2017 American experimental romantic drama film, Song To Song was released. This film was written and directed by Terrence Malick. This film featured an ensemble cast. Among the cast are Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, and Natalie Portman. In addition to Cate Blanchett. This film’s post-production process took more than three years. Finally, the film was screened at South by Southwest on March 10, 2017. The film was also released on March 17 in the United States. With the help of Broad Green Pictures. There was a mixed reaction to the film in the critics’ circles.

domain: celebrity


Theobald Boehm was a German flutist, flute composer, and flute maker whose primary mechanism and fingering method was commonly embraced by later artists. Many flute makers, especially the Frenchman Auguste Buffet, whose expertise the Boehm method was commonly used in the late 1830s, developed Boehm's initial system. In France and England, the flute method was readily introduced, although more slowly in Germany. Boehm developed and added the cylindrical flute body and parabolic head joint to his crucial work method in 1847; the latest version was universally adopted and is the first orchestral flute. As early as 1839, a Boehm-system clarinet was demonstrated, and Boehm-system oboes were also discovered. As well as an improved piano-stringing design, Boehm patented an iron-smelting process bearing his signature, and he undertook thorough acoustic studies. A subject of debate is how his flute improvements were entirely original or reflected refinements of contemporary technologies.
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There’s inspiration everywhere you look for it, if you look hard enough and if you care to poke around a little to discover what’s there. I live in a pretty, damn, old village which is also damn pretty. Everywhere you step you’re treading on history and when you dig in a garden you’re as likely to hit Victorian glass or a Roman coin as you are a 1980s ring pull (remember those?).
People think that villages don’t change, that they’re somehow frozen in amber. That’s not true and never really has been true. Villages have always been part of the landscape and as farming and climate change, so have they. Populations flow to and from the cities and the make-up of villages changes.
Chapels or churches for example. Sectarian trends spread, some places become popular then fall away. Graveyards have reburials, people who are forgotten or have no surviving family make way for those that do.
Little things like this can be found anywhere and everywhere. Little features, eccentricities, moments and places of colour and you can bring things like this into your games, grounded in reality, but interesting and quirky.
Sometimes all you have to do is look down.

domain: geography


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Dominated by Chinese colonists, most people refer to the red planet as Huo Hsing, rather than Mars.
Author's Note: as the Cosmic Era is a work in progress, the information presented in this article supersedes previous details mentioned about Mars in previous posts. As I don't have an editor at this time, there is not much of a chance that I am going to go back through the body of work looking for those errant details. Thank you.
The Red Planet, Mars, has held a special place in the cultural imagination of mankind, from a distant past when man thought the surface was wet with oceans and jungles, to a world inhabited by exotic creatures and little green Martians with flying saucers and ray guns, to the opening of the Martian Frontier.
The surface of Huo Hsing is broken into two major regions, the northern lava flows, and the southern highlands. The weather is persistently cold, with dust storms and driving winds. This is less of a factor, as the atmosphere is thin and largely toxic to humans. Most permanent settlements on the red planet are located in the southern region, and are based around mining operations, terraforming, and construction. The settlements in the northern regions are nomadic affairs and constitute the cinematic romantic Martian frontier.
Kunlun and Hsingjing: the largest city on Huo Hsing is the Chinese/ACPS colony Hsingjing. The city is small compared to Terran cities, but it is the largest on the planet, and hosts the main space port, and is the planned location of the Wukong Space Elevator, once the technological barriers are overcome. The city is built near the shield volcano Olympus Mons, more commonly known as Kunlun. As a hub for resource collection, the current main method of export is the Kunlun mass driver, which uses the volcano as a ramp to shoot things into space. Hsingjing consists of three arcologies built on top of one supporting geofront, and has a population of 1.3 million, counting the conurbation growing around the main arcoplex. This represents a large percentage of all residents of the red planet.
The Chinese can't wait to get Wukong's Ladder into place and running. Lacking the space supremacy of the Atlantic Federation, the ACPS is largely reliant on the Federation honoring open space ports above the planet and keeping the markets open for the goods and ores being launched into space. This chafes the Chinese in New Beijing, since they are not in a position to challenge the Federation's dominance over Huo Hsing's moons, which the Federation uses as military outposts, and research centers.
Xuejing and the Sea of Ice: The largest concentrations of water on the red planet is the southern ice cap and Xuejing and other cities have been built to exploit this resource. Unlike the traditional forms of building, arcologies and geofronts, Xuejing is a domed city. It uses it's available water supplies for irrigation and growing crops, which it exports to other ACPS cities on the planet to keep them fed.
China won the war for Mars, sorry, Huo Hsing, the way they've been winning wars for the last 6000 years, through more manpower and more food production. When the wars broke out over who was going to own the planet, everyone had the carry everything they had to fight from Earth to Mars. Sorry, Huo Hsing. Everyone started off sending ammo, food, soldiers, and other supplies for the fight. The Chinese started that way, and at first no one seriously considered them in it for anything other than practice. But they were building farms, and cloning creches and light robotics factories. When the People's Liberation Army really started fighting, they started knocking the other nations and power blocs out of contention. They still relied on transported supplies, but they were importing power armor, mecha, and hover vehicles while other nations were still in the business of shipping rifles, processed food and toiletries.
Attempts were made during the end of the Petroleum Era to colonize Mars. These efforts were underfunded, underequipped and represented little more than nationalistic boasting and saber rattling. The result was several lost bases populated by the corpses of people who had willingly bought one way tickets to the red planet. When the Second Renaissance opened space up for exploration, Mars was the prize that was chased after by the leading world powers. The Moon was colonized, and while it was divided up into parts belonging to various nations, they Tycho Conventions made the entire moon a neutral location. Despite the strategic value of having military bases on the Moon, with silos and missiles and planet to planet beam weapons and all the other warmongering madness, it is one of the few tenets of the treaty that have been honored. No such treaties existed for Mars, and it was a free for all.
The Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Alliance were the primary competitors for the planet, both starting with strong colonies and military posturing. The ACPS and Pacific Rim also threw their hats into the ring, but neither was considered a serious contender. The ACPS quickly built up domed cities, agriculture, and light industry to facilitate their war effort on the planet, and started shipping heavy and cutting edge weapons to the planet. The Chinese combat walkers might have been inferior to the mecha and aerospace fighters used by the Federation and Pacific Rim, but they had more of them. The walkers were not as slow on Mars, as their mass was significantly less, and they had fewer structural issues fighting under lower gravity.
The Red Planet War: the biggest fighting on the Red Planet came down between the Eurasian Alliance and the ACPS. This quickly turned in the favor of the Chinese, as they fielded more power armor and combat walkers than the Russians, who relied on tried and true tanks. This ended up going against them as the tanks were unable to take real advantage of the lower gravity and were easy targets for the Walkers. While losses were heavy, the Chinese were able to recover quickly from them. It was later discovered that the bulk of Chinese soldiers were criminals given a ticket to the red planet and clones of said prisoners. They fought ferociously, and won, gaining their freedom from prison, but remained imprisoned on an entire world. The Red Planet War demonstrated the value of supersoldier programs, as the ACPS deployed many (stolen from other nation's programs, and through mercenary operations) and the EA did not.
The Chinese eventually accepted a peace treaty after the Federation, unable to hold the ground war, proved it could blockade the planet. The Eurasian Alliance colonies surrendered and accepted ACPS leadership and became the Harbin province of Huo Hsing. The planet, having been claimed predominantly by the Chinese was commonly renamed to what they called the planet, and the only people who refer to it as Mars are astronomers and nationalistic members of the Federation.
By existing technology and projections, it is not feasible to terraform the red planet. It's atmosphere, the sunlight it receives, and other factors combine in such a manner that Terran forests and oceans are simply not viable in terms of generation and sustainment. That being said, the hurdles to make the red planet habitable are not as difficult to overcome. The ACPS has begun construction of standard Atmospheric processing towers as well as constructing ice extraction operations and fusion pits to warm the planet. The projected climate model leaves the red planet a desert, with a cold thin atmosphere, but it isn't immediately fatal. Combined with the appropriate genetic modifications and basic issue gear, it will eventually be possible for humans to survive, exposed to the environment.
There are long-term planners in China, inside the Forbidden City Arcoplex, who have plans that run centuries in length, and one of their contingency plans revolves around transplanting the heart of China from the middle kingdom of Earth, to the high kingdom of Huo Hsing. The nation would retain it's terrestrial holdings but would concentrate its considerable economic and industrial might to turning the red planet into a one nation world.
Mars, Huo Hsing, is a world in transition and remains an expanding frontier. China and the ACPS retains control of most of the planet, and it is a strange melange of cowboy frontier life, squatting, mining, moisture farming and other desert life aspects mixed with the byzantine politics and state communism of a distant Beijing.
I did not realize it until this point, but Mars/Huo Hsing is basically Firefly 'verse, with a mixture of Chinese, Eastern European, and Russian influences (rather than Anglo-British)
The War Never Ends, the destiny of the Red Planet is still far from certain. Less than half a century ago, it was almost a forgone conclusion that Mars would become an extraplanetary territory of the Atlantic Federation, and now, that power is only represented by a small swath of settlements and bases on asteroids that conveniently orbit the planet. This presents plenty of opportunity for shadowrunning, mercenary operations, rebellions and Romance of the Three Kingdoms intrigue and violence between the various city-states and provinces.
Xenoliths, the Red Planet has a number of classified sites where things that defy explanation have been found, and concealed from public knowledge. While mining and exploration in the highlands has only netted basic ores and resources, some digs out in the lava plains and flatlands have tapped into the ruins of long dead cities and ruins that defy explanation.
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A good look at a world in transition. I like the non-Western take on Mar- sorry, Huo Hsing.
Good! I like seeing how your world is developing :)


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Sept. 30, 2022
A large, prospective, multicenter registry led by a Mayo Clinic investigator has found no appreciable differences in probability of pregnancy or live birth after the use of any myomectomy route: laparoscopic, hysteroscopic or abdominal. The investigators published their findings in a 2022 issue of Fertility and Sterility.
"This is a reassuring message for physicians and their patients," says Elizabeth A. Stewart, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic's Minnesota campus and senior study author. "The most important finding in this publication is that the probability of becoming pregnant and having a live birth is similar no matter the route of myomectomy chosen. Previous data showed worse pregnancy outcomes for abdominal myomectomy. That is not what we found in this large study."
Dr. Stewart says collecting detailed information prior to fibroid treatment was a key facet of the multisite Comparing Treatment Options for Uterine Fibroids (COMPARE-UF) study, of which the current study is a part. She says the investigators aimed to recruit women of multiple ethnicities with uterine fibroids — especially African American women, who experience a higher fibroid rate and more-severe symptoms.
COMPARE-UF is a national registry of eight primary clinical centers across the United States and includes 1,095 reproductive-age women. Study participants' mean age was mid-30s, and mean BMI was 28. Of these participants, 388 underwent abdominal myomectomy, 273 had hysteroscopic myomectomy and 434 had laparoscopic myomectomy. Over three years' follow-up, 202 women in the study reported pregnancy and 91 reported live births. Overall and also specifically among study participants intending conception, pregnancy or live birth rates did not differ significantly by myomectomy route.
The investigators conducted interval-based analyses, with adjusted odds ratios for pregnancy of 1.28 for hysteroscopic myomectomy and 1.19 for laparoscopic myomectomy compared with abdominal myomectomy. Adjusted odds ratios for study participants intending to become pregnant were 1.27 for hysteroscopic myomectomy and 1.26 for laparoscopic myomectomy compared with abdominal myomectomy.
"Women with fibroids — especially young women — shouldn't be concerned about the specific route of surgery when their desire is to get pregnant," says Dr. Stewart. "Patients can do whatever surgery they need to do to relieve symptoms and normalize their uteruses, and it doesn't appear to have a significant impact on pregnancy. For whatever myomectomy route the women chose or was available to them based on their uterus, they did well."
These findings are crucial, according to Dr. Stewart, due to the number of U.S. women affected. The No. 1 indication for hysterectomy in the U.S. is uterine fibroids, according to findings published by Farquhar and colleagues in a 2002 Obstetrics & Gynecology publication. Lifetime cumulative incidence of uterine fibroid diagnosis is approximately 30%. Estimated clinical incidence of uterine fibroids detectable by ultrasound by age 50 is greater than 70% according to a study published by Baird and colleagues in a 2003 article in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Lifetime fibroid risk is 80%, according to Dr. Stewart. Fibroids almost exclusively affect women in their reproductive years, she notes, as oocyte numbers decrease significantly by the early 50s.
Gynecologists do not yet know uterine fibroids' cause. Further, though some say hysterectomy cures uterine fibroids, this isn't quite correct, says Dr. Stewart.
"While fibroids cannot recur when you remove the uterus, the long-term sequelae of hysterectomy, even with ovarian conservation, are substantial and that means that moving straight to hysterectomy when less invasive options are available is unwise," she says.
Unique study methodologies
A notable aspect of the study's methodology includes assessment of women's pregnancy intentions pre-surgically. Another key aspect involves the investigators' use of propensity scores to adjust for differences among groups undergoing each myomectomy route. For example, women undergoing hysteroscopic myomectomy tend to have smaller and more numerous fibroids compared with women undergoing other fibroid removal methods.
"Without the propensity scoring adjustment, this study's results would not be supported," says Dr. Stewart.
Women studied also varied in uterine volume, a factor surgeons consider to determine myomectomy route. Mean uterine volumes differed, which was notable in type of myomectomy performed: The mean was 812.8 cc for women undergoing abdominal myomectomy, 486.4 cc for women undergoing laparoscopic myomectomy and 265.6 cc for women undergoing hysteroscopic myomectomy.
"You can't control what you've got — if a patient arrives with a 900 cc uterine volume and the physician recommends abdominal surgery, now the patient can be sure her pregnancy outcome can be as good as with other myomectomy routes," says Dr. Stewart.
She notes that regardless of uterine fibroids or other factors, age makes becoming pregnant more difficult.
Study points to note
The investigators knew myomectomy had potential to normalize the uterus or cause scar tissue buildup and that hysteroscopic surgery tends to produce less scar tissue do than other routes.
A study limitation, says Dr. Stewart, is that investigators did not collect detailed information on how women reporting pregnancy became pregnant, such as conception on their own or with in vitro fertilization.
Dr. Stewart notes that regardless of how women and their partners attempt to conceive, fibroid removal is important due to symptoms such as pain and excessive bleeding, as well as because evidence has indicated that fibroids themselves can interfere with conception.
She also underlines that multiple factors beyond myomectomy route impact fertility. Having fibroids isn't the full story: Factors such as issues with ovulation or partner sperm also can impact fertility. Dr. Stewart suggests that women who have concerns about fibroids' impact on their pregnancy goals should not have fibroid treatment until they have completed a full fertility workup.
Notably, hysteroscopic and laparoscopic hysterectomy routes can be more difficult for the surgeon, says Dr. Stewart, indicating that learning curves for these methods can be more complex. Yet she indicates that in 2022, surgeons have more training in these methods.
The institutions participating in the COMPARE-UF study are all large, high-complexity fibroid care centers, which Dr. Stewart indicates presents a potential study bias.
"We don't know if the results translate to surgeons who only do one or two myomectomies a year," she says.
Dr. Stewart also points out that high-volume care for medical conditions such as fibroid removal is usually better than that at lower-volume centers due to higher levels of practice and expertise.
The primary myomectomy objective is treatment of symptomatic fibroids, says Dr. Stewart. Fibroid specialists consider this surgery conservative, as it is uterine-sparing. She indicates that due to long-term side effects, the field is moving away from considering hysterectomy the gold standard fibroid treatment option for women who do not want to conceive post-surgically.
Dr. Stewart says that while fibroid prevention would be desirable, no prophylactic medication or surgery exists currently for this purpose.
Until two years ago, Dr. Stewart says fibroid specialists had only birth control pills and medicated IUDs as fibroid medication options to surgery. Specialists did not consider these therapies broadly effective, as they did not address pressure and uterine fibroid size, she says.
Two new fibroid treatment medications approved by the FDA in the last two years include elagolix with add-back therapy in 2020 and relugolix combination therapy in 2021, both of which address intense menstrual bleeding and other fibroid symptoms. Findings supporting both oral medications appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2020 and 2021.
Now, other therapies such as magnetic resonance-guided ultrasound and uterine fibroid embolization are available, but the number of patients receiving these therapies in the COMPARE-UF study was too small for analysis, says Dr. Stewart.
She says those who undergo myomectomy have a high fibroid recurrence risk. Accordingly, she counsels women undergoing myomectomy who intend to conceive afterward to time their surgeries so they can attempt conception shortly thereafter for lowest fibroid recurrence risk.
Dr. Stewart says that similar to their insights on hysterectomy, gynecologists need long-term data — looking beyond five years — to counsel, say, a 22-year-old in need of symptomatic fibroid treatment.
For more information
Wise, LA, et al. Route of myomectomy and fertility: a prospective cohort study. Fertility and Sterility. 2022; 117 (5): 1083.
Farquhar CM, et al. Hysterectomy rates in the United States 1990-1997. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2002;99:229.
Baird DD, et al. High cumulative incidence of uterine leiomyoma in black and white women: ultrasound evidence. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2003;188:100.
FDA approves new option to treat heavy menstrual bleeding associated with fibroids in women.
Schlaff WD, et al. Elagolix for heavy menstrual bleeding in women with uterine fibroids. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2020; 382:328.
Ayman A-H, et al. Treatment of uterine fibroid symptoms with relugolix combination therapy. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2021;384:630.
Refer a patient to Mayo Clinic.


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Having been put in charge of finding a place to stay near Siena, Italy, I was very proud to have secured lodging in a well-kept Villa a few miles away from the city center. On the grounds of the villa we stayed in a small cottage that had once been a grainery. Just a few feet away from the cottage was a large swimming pool. There was also a main house that had been converted into 4 more apartments. But for two days we had the place to ourselves. The cost per night was $100!
None of these details have anything to do with this photo other than the fact that it was taken near our villa. (I like the sound of that.) I suspect that this view is a bit of a cliche since scenes like this are commonplace around Siena. I half expected to bump into Francis Mayes (Under the Tuscan Sun) but her villa is in Cortona.


TICONDEROGA - The sounds of the holiday season will fill the air Friday, Dec. 19.
That's when the annual Tiny Tim Christmas Wish concert will be performed at the First United Methodist Church on Wicker Street in Ticonderoga. The show will start at 7 p.m.
The Tiny Tim program provides holiday gifts for needy children.
The concert will feature the Ticonderoga High School's Sentinel Big Band conducted by Nelson Shapiro, the Trebled Chorus girls choir and Night Shadows boys choir.
Also performing will be the Ticonderoga Community Band under the direction of Pat Cornell. The community band includes musicians of all ages from Ticonderoga, Hague, Silver Bay, Putnam, Crown Point, Port Henry, Westport, Elizabethtown and Queensbury.
The concert is free, although donations to the Tiny Tim program will be accepted.
As in past years, the Tiny Tim program will rely on gift and cash donations from the community.
People wishing to make donations can also leave them at the Ticonderoga Best Western on Burgoyne Road any time. The hotel is open 24 hours a day.
Donations can also be left at the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce office on Montcalm Street or people can call Helen Gibbs at 585-7429 to arrange pick up.
Checks can be made payable to the Tiny Tim Program.
In 2007 the program provided gifts for 126 children in the Ticonderoga Central School District - Ticonderoga, Hague and Putnam.
This year the Tiny Tim program expects to serve up to 275 children.


The Good Life France Magazine brings you the best of France - inspirational and exclusive features, fabulous photos, mouth-watering recipes, tips, guides, ideas and much more...
Published by the award winning team at The Good Life France
Someone once said that the great rocks that pepper the landscape of the pink granite coast look as if giants have been stoning their enemies. Monumental boulders, cleft from the earth and shaped by the sea are one of the most astonishing and memorable features of this divine stretch of coast in the Côtes d’Armor department, Brittany. They are everywhere from the beach to the cliff tops and even in residential gardens. Often homes are simply built around the rocks - not just because they’re very heavy and hard to move but also because they’re revered by the locals. Thousands of years of being licked by the sea, blasted by wind and rained on, have left them shaped like animals or people and many have names such as the witch, the tortoise and the corkscrew. When you see them for yourself, you can’t fail to appreciate the grandeur of these natural phenomena – and make up some names of your own. With hundreds of hamlets, seaside towns and pretty villages it’s hard to know where to go. If you have plenty of time, you can follow the GR34 coastal route which runs all the way round the shoreline of Brittany. But if you’re restricted to a few days or weeks, here are some of the most unmissable parts of the Pink Granite Coast where you’re likely to fall in love with the ever changing sky, the delicious cuisine, endless beaches, luscious countryside, hotels of charm and character (www.hotelscharmebretagne.com) magical forests and friendly folk…
Ploumanac’h - Perros-Guirec Perros-Guirec has some of the best rock formations on the Pink Granite Coast. You’ll find blush pink rocks, waves crashing gently, and a sleepy seaside village. From here you have a wonderful view of the Sept Iles, the seven islands, including one which looks like it has a snowy cap but is in fact inhabited by wild birds. It’s gets very popular in the summer months with pretty little restaurants and bars. Don’t miss a look at the saint on the sand after whom the Bay of St Guirec is named. He was an Irish monk who landed here in the 6th century and you’ll see that his face is damaged. It used to be a custom for Breton girls to visit him and stick a pin in his nose which was apparently to help them get a husband - eventually the poor saint lost his nose. Climb out to Ploumanac’h lighthouse for wonderful views over the sea - though if you have mobility issues it probably won’t suit as the path is rocky and uneven.
july: Sunflowers in Gascony by Sue
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Why it is essential to talk to your
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The Fan Lab studies the molecular mechanisms that govern mammalian development, using the mouse as a model. They use a combination of biochemical, molecular, and genetic approaches to identify and characterize signaling molecules and pathways that control the development and maintenance of the musculoskeletal system.
The musculoskeletal system provides mechanical support for our posture and movement. How it arises during embryogenesis pertains to the basic problem of embryonic induction. How the components of this system are repaired after injury and maintained throughout life is of biological and clinical significance. The Fan Lab studies how this system is generated and maintained.