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International Journal of Polymer Science
International Journal of Polymer Science/
AbstractIntroductionExperimentalResults and DiscussionConclusionsData AvailabilityConflicts of InterestAcknowledgmentsReferencesCopyrightRelated Articles
Synthesis, Characterization, and Properties of Sulfonated Chitosan for Protein Adsorption
Xiaomin Zhang1and Jie Sun1
Academic Editor: Miriam H. Rafailovich
Received08 Jun 2020
Revised19 Aug 2020
Accepted26 Aug 2020
Published07 Sept 2020
Chitosan sulfate was prepared and characterized as a new chromatography media for protein separation. The degree of sulfonation of chitosan could be well controlled and impacted under conditions in the synthesis process. The prepared chitosan sulfate shows improved binding capacity with proteins. Sulfonated chitosan shows improved ion-exchange adsorption properties with proteins, which could have good potential in protein purification.
With the rapid development of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics in the past decade, such as PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, the worldwide demand of therapeutic proteins has been increasing dramatically, which raised the production capacity of therapeutic proteins accordingly [1]. Protein purification is one of the most important stages in GMP-compliant industrial scale mAb manufacturing process, and ion-exchange chromatography plays the crucial role of capturing targeted proteins during purification processes [2–6]. It is very important in the ion-exchange chromatographic systems to use porous adsorbent particles which can provide the highest possible breakthrough capacity for the desired bioactive molecules. To enhance breakthrough capacity, it is effective to covalently link positive or negative affinity ligands/groups to extenders, and one of the suitable extenders has been found to be polysaccharides [7–12].
Chitosan, as a natural polysaccharide, has a porous structure, suitable specific surface area, and good biological affinity [13–16]. Therefore, it has been widely studied as a good candidate of an ideal extender. However, it has rarely been studied as a bioseparation media for protein purification, partially due to its poor water solubility, limiting its applications in the field of protein purification [17–20]. Furthermore, its direct interactions with proteins are to form small emulsion droplets or the formation of soluble or insoluble complexes [21], and the electrostatic effect is not very good [22] too. It has been found that improving the surface hydrophilicity of chitosan can generate accommodated sites on the surface for protein adsorption [23, 24]. Therefore, chemical modification of chitosan becomes a feasible way to improve its surface properties for protein adsorption.
Chemical modification of chitosan can change its structures and physicochemical properties [25], e.g., biocompatibility, adsorption capacity, and electrostatic properties [14, 26, 27], thus extending its applications in the biopharmaceutical industry. Shi et al. [9] took polysaccharide to synthesize a cation exchanger, similar to chitosan. Saxena et al. [24] studied the chitosan/silica composite media as a membrane used in protein separation [28]. Due to its swollen property, chitosan could easily lose its physical structure, thus making it not a good candidate as the membrane separation media. As an amino polysaccharide, chitosan is a promising hydrophilic material. Therefore, considering its hydrophilic nature and high affinity for water, chitosan-based material could have great potentials in protein separation and purification [23, 24, 29, 30].
In this paper, sulfonated chitosan has been synthesized through a well-controlled process and then characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, DSC, and TGA. Its adsorption properties to proteins have been studied by using bovine serum albumin (BSA).
Chitosan with a degree of deacetylation ≥95% was purchased from Shanghai Aladdin; bovine hemoglobin, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the sulfonating agent-98% sulfuric acid, and chlorosulfonic acid were purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai). All other chemicals and reagents are of analytical grade.
2.2. Method
2.2.1. Synthesis of Sulfonated Chitosan
Chitosan was dissolved in a diluted acetic acid solution and placed in a three-necked flask. Concentrated sulfuric acid (98%) was added into the chitosan solution dropwise with the water bath of 50°C, and the temperature was maintained for 3 hours. After the reaction was completed, the solution was poured into anhydrous ethanol at 5°C and placed overnight. Then, the solution was neutralized with ammonia, and white precipitate was obtained at . The precipitate was washed with acetone and methanol sequentially and finally dried at 60°C afterwards.
2.3. Characterization
2.3.1. Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
FTIR spectra were recorded on a PerkinElmer model 1600 IR spectrometer (Nicololi, USA), operating from 4000 to 400 cm−1, in a resolution of 4 cm−1, obtained after cumulating of 64 scans.
2.3.2. Wide Angle X-Ray Scattering
X-ray diffraction was performed by a Rigaku 18 KW Rotating Anode X-ray Generator Xray. Diffractometer was used to investigate the solid-state morphology of sulfonated chitosan in film form (Cermet X-ray tubes, power 1200w (tube voltage 40 kV, tube current 30 mA)). X-rays with a wavelength of 1.5406A° were generated using a CuKa source. The angles were chosen as the starting angle 5°and the ending angle 50°.
2.3.3. Thermal Gravimetric Analysis
TGA was performed on the HCT-1 microcomputer differential thermobalance (Beijing) at a heating rate of 10°C/min under a nitrogen flow rate of 100 mL/min.
2.3.4. Differential Scanning Calorimetry
Integrated Thermal Analyzer was utilized to test the effect of heating on chitosan and sulfonated chitosan. The instrument used for this study is DSC200-F3 (German NETZSCH).
2.3.5. Scanning Electronic Microscopy
SEM was used to examine surface morphologies of chitosan sulfate. JSM-IT100 scanning electron microscope (Japan Electronics Corporation) with the magnification 5x-300,000x and Tungsten filament zoom spotlight is used in this study.
2.3.6. Specific Surface Area and Pore Size Analysis
Surface and pore information were obtained by using Automated Adsorption Instrument of Autosor-IQ-C-TCD (Quantachrome Corporation). Specific surface area and pore size analysis (BET) was tested at room temperature, through the nitrogen adsorption and desorption.
2.3.7. Protein Adsorption
The binding properties (capacity) of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto sulfonated chitosan and chitosan in citric acid buffer were investigated, respectively. Experiments were performed in citric acid buffer at . BSA was added into accurately weighed 7 parts of 0.5 g of sulfonated chitosan and chitosan in an Erlenmeyer flask and put them into a shaker thermostat at a temperature of 25°C for 24 hours. The binding behavior of BSA and the adsorption amount was measured by an ultraviolet spectrophotometer.
3.1. Characterization of Sulfonated Chitosan
3.1.1. FTIR
Chitosan and sulfonated chitosan were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer. Figure 1 shows FTIR spectra of both chitosan and sulfonated chitosan.
FTIR spectra of chitosan and sulfonated chitosan: (a) full spectra; (b) enlarged spectra between 500 and 1000 cm-1; (c) enlarged spectra between 1000 and 2000 cm-1.
It can be seen from Figure 1 that there existed the characteristic bands of the chitosan in the spectrum, including characteristic broad peaks at 3300-3400 cm-1 which corresponds to the hydrophilic groups in Chitosan, such as -OH and -NH2, demonstrating the strong hydrogen interactions, and at 2850 cm-1 which corresponds to the stretching vibration of -CH2-, and also the absorption peaks at 1650 cm-1 and 1600 cm-1 which correspond to the stretching vibration of -NH2- group. The peak of 1470 cm-1 is the deformation vibration of -CH2-, and the peak of 1422 cm-1 is the associative secondary alcohol -OH deformation vibration, and also, the peak of 1345 cm-1 is the group -CH deformation vibration, and the peak at 1030 cm-1 is the primary alcohol C-O stretching vibration. The above results are consistent with the structure of chitosan.
Figure 1 also presented the FTIR spectra of sulfonated chitosan. It can be shown from Figure 1 that many characteristic peaks for chitosan sulfate existed, including the peak of 691 cm-1 which corresponds to N-SO2, the strong absorption peak between 800 cm-1 and 813 cm-1 which correspond to the characteristic peaks of sulfate-based O-S and the symmetrical vibration of C-O-S, the weak peak of around 915 cm-1 which corresponds to parasulfamoyl, the peak at about 1034 cm-1 which corresponds to O-S-O stretching vibration, the peak at 1180-1270 cm-1 which corresponds to S=O asymmetrical stretching vibration in OSO3- group, the peak at 1385 cm-1 which corresponds to the asymmetric stretching vibration absorption and symmetrical stretching vibration absorption of sulfate, the peak at 1419 cm-1 which corresponds to N-SO2, the peak at 1525 cm-1 which corresponds to the bending vibration of C-N-C, and the peak at 1670 cm-1 (a weak peak) which corresponds to the bending vibration absorption of the NH-SO3H group. All the above results reveal the presence of sulfonic groups in the modified chitosan.
Comparing FTIT spectra between chitosan and chitosan sulfate, it can be seen that the absorption peaks of chitosan sulfate at 3400 cm-1 and 1422 cm-1 are obviously weakened, and the disappearance of the absorption peak at 1030 cm-1 indicated that the primary -OH group is involved in the sulfonation reaction. The weakening of the absorption peak at 2850 cm-1 is due to the degradation of the chitosan backbone. In addition, the FTIR spectrum of sulfonated chitosan showed numerous characteristic peaks of sulfonic acid groups, as discussed in the above paragraph. Altogether, these results demonstrate that the sulfonation reaction of chitosan was well controlled.
3.1.2. XRD Results
XRD patterns of chitosan and sulfonated chitosan are shown in Figure 2. It can be seen from Figure 2 that chitosan shows two reflections at and , which correspond to crystal formal II and I (Samuels, 1981). The sulfonated chitosan has the peak intensity decreased at the position of , and the peak for chitosan at has been shifted to for sulfonated chitosan, with deceased peak intensity, too. These results show that the sulfonation has reduced the capability to form a hydrogen bond in chitosan sulfate than those in chitosan, thus causing the decrease of the crystallinity of both chitosan crystal form II and form I. In addition, it cannot be ignored that there exist many unassigned peaks on the XRD pattern of sulfonated chitosan, which may be caused by the perturbations during XRD experimental process.
XRD patterns of chitosan and sulfonated chitosan.
3.1.3. Thermal Analysis
Figure 3(a) shows the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms of chitosan and sulfonated chitosan. It can be seen from Figure 3(a) that the degradation of chitosan is divided into two stages, and the degradation of sulfonated chitosan is divided into three stages. The degradation process of chitosan is divided into the dehydration stage (25-100°C) and the main chain degradation stage (250-500°C), while the degradation process of sulfonated chitosan is divided into three stages: the dehydration stage (25-100°C), the sulfuric acid group degradation stage (100-250°C), and the main chain degradation stage (250-500°C). Therefore, these results clearly show that the sulfonic group has been successfully incorporated into chitosan sulfate.
(a) TGA and (b) DTA thermograms of chitosan and sulfonated chitosan. (c) Structural formula for GIcN and GIcNAc.
Figure 3(b) shows the differential thermal analysis (DTA) thermograms of both chitosan and sulfonated chitosan. It can be seen from Figure 3(b) that the DTA thermograms of the two materials are quite different. The endotherm of chitosan at 100°C is due to the evaporation of water of crystallization. A strong exotherm peak at about 300°C is due to the decomposition of amine groups (GlcN, see Figure 3(c)) in chitosan [31]. The DTA results of chitosan sulfate show that at a temperature of 100°C, the oscillation amplitude for sulfonated chitosan is less than that of chitosan, which indicates that the absorbed crystallization heat of sulfonated chitosan is significantly less than that of chitosan. Also, strong endothermic peaks appear at 325°C and 400°C, respectively, which correspond to the two major degradations of the materials.
3.1.4. SEM
Figure 4 shows the SEM micrographs of both chitosan and sulfonated chitosan. It can be seen from Figure 4 that the surface of chitosan (Figure 4(a)) itself is porous and has a large specific surface area, and the surface of sulfonated chitosan (Figure 4(b)) is more rougher and more porous than those of chitosan, which due to the sulfonic group to reduce the cross-linking density, thus increasing the capacity to holding water.
Scanning electron micrographs of chitosan (left) and sulfonated chitosan (right).
3.1.5. BET
The specific surface area of the sulfonated chitosan was obtained by adsorption and desorption measurements based on nitrogen adsorption by BET and Langmuir methods, as is shown in Figure 5. It can be found that the specific surface area obtained by the BET method is 17.20123 m2/g, whereas the specific surface area obtained by the Langmuir method is 25.26701 m2/g. Since the Langmuir method assumes a single layer adsorption, there is a certain gap between the actual adsorption conditions of the material and the hypothesis, so the BET method could be more accurate to reflect the actual specific surface area. If it is protein adsorption, considering the single layer adsorption, the Langmuir method can better represent the actual surface area. In addition, the Langmuir adsorption isotherm of the sulfonated chitosan is a type III isotherm. The amount of adsorption in the low-pressure zone is relatively small, and the forces between sulfonated chitosan and nitrogen are relatively weak.
Specific surface area measured by BET method and Langmuir method.
From Figure 6, it has been shown that the majority of pores are within the ten nanometers, which is the suitable size for protein transportation and adsorption onto the internal surfaces of sulfonated chitosan. It can be also shown from Figure 6 that the distribution of the pore size is mainly limited in the range of micropores and mesopores, which is adaptable to general protein size to provide channels for protein intraparticle transportation and further adsorption onto intraparticle internal surfaces. Moreover, these intraparticle pores increase the pore volume for the ion exchange ligands to be located inside, thus further improving protein adsorption onto the ligands. Therefore, this new sulfonated chitosan material could have great potential for applications in protein adsorption.
Distribution of pore size and pore volume.
3.1.6. Optimization of Reaction Conditions
It should be noted that there exist optimal reaction conditions to control the degree of sulfonation of chitosan. The conditions include sulfonating reagent, sulfonation auxiliary reagent, neutralizing reagent, reaction time, and reaction temperature. By changing these conditions, the degree of sulfonation of chitosan can be well controlled, and these conditions could be called optimal reaction conditions. This work has tremendous experiments, and it is suitable to be depicted in other place.
3.2. Binding Activity
Macromolecular interaction between polysaccharides and proteins could always be observed through the phenomena of flocculation formation in the solutions. In this case, the binding behaviors of BSA with both sulfonated chitosan and native chitosan were examined. It was clearly shown in Figure 7 that the binding amounts of BSA onto sulfonated chitosan and onto chitosan are quite different. The enhancement of protein binding is originated from the sulfonation of chitosan. The possible mechanism is that the introduction of sulfate groups on chitosan chains increases the negative charges, and BSA, as a polyelectrolyte, exhibits partial charges on multiple points on protein structures, which enhance the capability to interact with the ulfate group, thus improving its binding capacity onto sulfonated chitosan.
The binding capacity of BSA on sulfonated chitosan and chitosan.
Sulfonated chitosan was prepared and well characterized by FTIR, TGA/DTA, XRD, SEM, and BET/Langmuir. The results show that sulfonic groups have been successfully incorporated into chitosan. The ionic exchange adsorption properties of the prepared chitosan sulfate to BSA show remarkable improvements than those of chitosan. Sulfonated chitosan has great potential to be used in the ion-exchange separation process of protein purification as a new chromatography media.
The data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests.
This work is supported by the Zhoushan Scientific and Technological Program (No. 2017C41020).
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In his victory speech, Christie blasted the 'dysfunction' in Washington.
Christie hits likely 2016 themes
By MAGGIE HABERMAN
Chris Christie thanked New Jersey voters for his double-digit reelection win Tuesday night, in a speech that hit on bold themes about leadership and will likely form the core of a potential presidential message for him in 2016.
By 11:30 p.m., Christie was winning by roughly 20 percentage points and had managed to squeak over the 60 percent mark against all-but-abandoned Democratic rival Barbara Buono.
Christie described his win – his aides repeatedly called it history-making, as the second-highest margin of reelection for a New Jersey Republican after Tom Kean's victory in 1985 – as a product of working assiduously to court all kinds of voters.
( PHOTOS: Election Day 2013)
He blasted the "dysfunction" in Washington and made passing reference to sticking to "principles" even while believing in compromise.
"You don't just show up six months before an election," said Christie, whose aides believe he will be able to expand the GOP electorate in a way similar to how Obama performed in 2008. "You show up four years before an election."
Over the past four years, he said, "I was the governor of all the people and tonight overwhelmingly those people have said, 'Fine, come on board.' … Let's have more people support the governor."
He described himself as a pragmatist, saying, "To me being governor has always been about getting the job done first. That doesn't mean we don't have principles — we have many of them."
( SEE RESULTS: 2013 New Jersey governor's race)
Christie showed an easy, personable style in a speech that was interrupted a few times by raucous members of the crowd. He read from notes, but not a teleprompter or prepared text, aides said.
When one man called out and interrupted his speech, Christie stopped talking and said, "I guess there's an open bar tonight, huh?" He added, "Welcome to New Jersey."
Christie made no mention of his own political future and repeatedly referenced the mission he would fulfill over the next several years — something that might or might not prove to be true.
VIDEO: Coverage & POLITICO analysis on Election Day 2013)
He spoke from a lectern at the end of a long catwalk, as opposed to a stage, an unmistakably presidential set-up at the center of the Asbury Park Convention Hall. The entire evening was a rolling party, in which people moved between two large, adjacent rooms. Christie's brother, Todd, warmed up the crowd before the governor took the stage.
Among those on hand for the Christie party were author Harlan Coben, GOP donor Ken Langone, Republican National Committee finance chairman Ray Washburne and RNC chairman Reince Priebus.
Christie did not mention what his aides considered the high points of his win: that he captured more than 20 percent of the African-American vote and more than half the Hispanic vote. Those were big increases over his performance with those voters in 2009. Christie won almost every demographic, including women.
His aides hope that will demonstrate that he is the type of Republican who will be able to appeal to voters of all stripes.
Buono, left to fend largely for herself, pulled no punches in criticizing a national establishment that sat on its hands, citing an "unwinnable" race against the popular governor.
"The Democratic political bosses, some elected and some not, made a deal with this governor despite him representing everything they're supposed to be against," said Buono, according to CNN. "They didn't do it to help the state. They did it to help themselves financially and politically."
( QUIZ: How well do you know Chris Christie?)
Democrats, and some Republicans, argue that Christie's win is an example of one thing: having a weak opponent. His team disputes that, and indeed, unions and some outside groups spent many millions against him in ads.
The lone group that went all-in for Buono, EMILY's List, the Democratic-leaning group that recruits female candidates, suggested that Christie's appearance as a moderate will fade quickly as people get to know him. Christie himself has disputed that characterization.
"Chris Christie is masking himself as a moderate, but when you take a closer look at his record it's clear that's all just smoke and mirrors," spokeswoman Marcy Stech said. "From vetoing equal pay to blocking access to health care to leading the nation in unemployment, he has stood on the shoulders of New Jersey families in search of the national spotlight, proving he's no less extreme than any of his fellow Republicans. You can only play a role for so long before people start catching on."
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SURVEY: How many layouts do you use?
Discussion in 'FC-12 and FC-6 Controllers' started by Patzag, Apr 12, 2019.
How many layouts do you use?
You get eight layouts with twelve buttons per layout.
Sorry I don't have 2 FCs (yet!). So please explain. When on the hardware interface (not Axe Edit), if you have 2 FCs connected and registered on the Devices tab, and you go to the FC controller settings and Edit Layout, there are only 12 switches that show up? not 18?
A layout only has 12 switches. Multiple FCs can either be mirrored and share the same switches or they can be independent and use their own layouts.
FC12 fires up on Presets. When I choose one, it goes to Scenes where i access different settings i.e. channels, rhythm, lead, special FX etc. I also have a switch that takes me to Effects (same switch takes me back to scenes). And lastly the Looper.
Bottom right switch is always Tap/Tune, Top Right is Presets, hold for looper (except on the Preset layout).


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Current: May's Brexit Speech Was Good and Changed Nothing
May's Brexit Speech Was Good and Changed Nothing
(Bloomberg View) -- U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's long-awaited speech on Brexit last week was admirably frank, impressively argued -- and about 18 months too late. As it is, the country's choices remain now just as they were before her address to the nation: Britain either stops this process in its tracks, or must prepare itself for dire consequences.
May was right to acknowledge that when the U.K. leaves the EU's single market and customs union (which she continues to say it will), there'll be an economic cost. "Life is going to be different," she said. "In certain ways, our access to each other's markets will be less than it is now." Obvious as this might seem, it needed to be said.
At the same time, May also challenged the EU's position that any effort to negotiate a tailored U.K.-EU arrangement after Brexit was "cherry-picking." Again, she is right. Every trade agreement is tailored. The EU's insistence that Britain must accept an off-the-shelf agreement -- as though a future U.K.-EU relationship won't present unique challenges -- makes no sense. Rights and obligations have to be fairly balanced, as May said, but the proper mix will vary from case to case.
Good point, but so what? Europe can drive a hard bargain, because a "hard Brexit" with no supporting agreements would hurt the U.K. far more than the EU. Europe also has no interest in helping Britain make a success of Brexit, because it wants to discourage other defectors. These are the facts, the really hard facts, that U.K. voters need to understand. May did not mention them.
The effective deadline for agreeing the terms of exit is now just months away, and core issues in those talks, such as the future of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, are unresolved. A short-term transitional agreement, to make a bridge between Brexit next March and an eventual U.K.-EU trade deal, is not yet in sight. The distance between the U.K and EU on that longer-term agreement is huge, and the outcome is anybody's guess.
At best, years of complex negotiations lie ahead. The hard Brexit that May says she wants to avoid might be the worst possible result -- but an endless process of separation, and the protracted uncertainty this would cause, would be almost as bad. Softer Brexits of various kinds, including the (tailored) customs union now proposed by Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, present complications of their own and are plainly inferior to simply remaining a member of the EU.
The Conservative Party is split; the Labour Party is split. With these momentous decisions before the country, the U.K. is close to ungovernable, and constitutionally programmed for paralysis.
Enough. The only way out, improbable as it might be, is for members of parliament, most of whom favor remaining in the European Union, to assert themselves. Before it's too late, they should break ranks and demand a second referendum so Brexit can be stopped.
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InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA -Vice Regent of MusiBanyuasin, BeniHernendi said that many do not know palm oil moratorium still. What the regional government understands is that there are instructions to postpone new plantings and to evaluate the plantations to increase the productivity.
"Palm oil has been developing in MusiBanyuasin since 25 years ago. We lead this region for about 7 years. So there is no more licenses to publish to palm oil plantation but now the moratorium is published for 3 years," he said.
MusiBanyuasin now orients to increase the people's productivity. In the recent days, the smallholders' plantations did replanting program within the fund support from Palm oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) stretching about 4.460 hectares. "The program still covers 900 hectares by cutting and replanting it. It is planned, it would be done up to 6000 hectares," he said.
He also mentioned that the regional government should do socialization to succeed the program. In addition, the moratorium is the good moment for the regional government to improve the cultivation. "In this region, about 50 palm oil plantation companies, the people and civil organization discussed about productivity and sustainability," he said.


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The Alexander Technique is a healing method, whose objective is to retrain the body and mind over a course of lessons to become more aware of [and thus change] habitual but damaging posture. The approach essentially focuses on learning mind-body awareness and might be thought of as a specialised version of mindfulness whose aim is to heal.
The Alexander Technique is also a way of 'learning to move mindfully through life'. The Alexander process examines inefficient habits of movement and patterns of accumulated tension, which interferes with our innate ability to move easily and according to how we are designed.
Teachers of the Alexander Technique are required to have completed three years of full time training as part of an accredited Alexander Technique teacher training curriculum, and many are certified by one or more of the Alexander Technique professional societies.
The technique was developed by Frederick Matthias Alexander, whose biography is on the site. In the description we provide the background to how the technique was developed and its history, along with a long list of just some of the people who benefited from the technique.
You will be able to see from the observations that it has been used for stress, anxiety, to counteract the effects of fear and to help those with PTSD by allowing them to find ways of relaxing; more specifically it has been proven in research trials to help in the following
Pain, mobility and balance
A review of evidence for Alexander Technique for various health conditions provided by UK NHS Choices last updated in July 2015 found that there's evidence suggesting the Alexander technique can help people with:
long-term back pain – lessons in the technique may lead to reduced back pain-associated disability and reduce how often you feel pain for up to a year or more
long-term neck pain – lessons in the technique may lead to reduced neck pain and associated disability for up to a year or more
Parkinson's disease – lessons in the technique may help you carry out everyday tasks more easily and improve how you feel about your condition
NHS Choices also states that "some research has also suggested the Alexander technique may improve general long-term pain and balance skills in elderly people to help them avoid falls."
Stammering and other voice impediments
NHS Choices states that "some research has suggested the Alexander technique may improve …, stammering."
The Alexander Technique is used and taught by classically trained vocal coaches to help people develop a balanced use of all aspects of the vocal tract by consciously increasing air-flow, allowing improved vocal skill and tone. Thus it not only helps those with vocal problems, but helps politicians and other public speakers. And of course it can also help actors……
Actor's training
The Alexander Technique is a frequent component in acting training, because it can assist the actor in being more natural in performance. The method is said by actors to reduce stage fright and to increase spontaneity. The Alexander Technique has been used by actors of stage and screen.
Christopher Reeve used it in the late 1970s and '80s to transform from Clark Kent to Superman, slumping "down" so his movements became awkward and unbalanced as the mild-mannered reporter, then standing "up" with obvious balance and ease as the Man of Steel.
John Cleese used the Alexander Technique in 1988 to perform his hilarious striptease in A Fish Called Wanda.
Other performers who have used the Alexander Technique to enhance their work include Colm Feore, Cynthia Dale, Brent Carver, Martha Henry, Benedict Campbell, Paul Gross, Colin Davis, William Hurt, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Kelly McGillis, Paul Newman, Lynn Redgrave, Maggie Smith, Mary Steenburgen, Robin Williams, Joanne Woodward, Ben Kingsley, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Juliette Binoche, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, and Hilary Swank.
Musician's training
The Alexander Technique has a long history of helping instrumentalists and singers to perform with less stress and likelihood of injury. Musicians do some of the most complex and demanding physical movements of any profession.
By helping musicians improve the quality of the physical movements involved in playing an instrument or singing, the Alexander Technique also helps improve the quality of the music itself. A violinist's stiff shoulders and arms will get in the way of a pleasing sound; a singer's tight neck or jaw will cause the voice to become less resonant. By helping musicians release undue tension in their bodies, the Alexander Technique makes possible a performance which is more fluid and lively, less tense and rigid.
Over the years, a number of prominent musicians have publicly endorsed the Alexander Technique: Yehudi Menuhin, Paul McCartney, Sting, Julian Bream, James Galway and the conductor Sir Adrian Boult, to name but a few.
The Technique is taught at the Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York, The Royal College of Music in London, The Boston Conservatory of Music, The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and at many other schools of music, universities and colleges.
A review published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2014 focused on "the evidence for the effectiveness of AT sessions on musicians' performance, anxiety, respiratory function and posture" concluded that: "Evidence from RCTs and CTs suggests that AT sessions may also improve performance anxiety in musicians."
The observations we have provided plus the quotes from practitioners should enable you to see all the other uses to which it has been put.
We have provided a TEDx video by Angela Bradshaw ['show me'] to give you some idea of the principles. The following however has been extracted from the very useful website shown in the references:
What Not to Expect
For a start, you don't remove your clothes. Nor is any kind of special clothing required - though as table work often forms part of the lesson, women pupils usually feel more comfortable wearing slacks, or jeans, rather than a skirt.
Alexander lessons are not painful. There is nothing physically aggressive about the work. On the contrary, it is a process of allowing the pupil to release tension and the harmful habits that were responsible for it - at the pace that suits him or her, individually.
What Does the Teacher Do?
During the lesson your teacher will be observing your posture and movement patterns. She will also supplement the visual information in a very important way by using her hands, gently placing them on your neck, shoulders, back and so on. The teacher is using her hands in order to get more refined information about your patterns of breathing and moving.
To help her with this, she will probably ask you to perform some simple movements - perhaps walking, or standing up or sitting down in a chair - while her hands are kept in easy contact with your body.
At the same time that the teacher's hands are gathering information, they will also be conveying information to you. The teacher's hands will gently guide your body to encourage a release of restrictive muscular tension.
Naturally, teachers vary somewhat in their approaches to teaching. Just like any other group of professionals, there are variations due to differences in personality and style of training. Some teachers may talk and explain more at first; others prefer to spend most of the time during the first lessons simply helping you to get a new experience of ease and flexibility. Similarly, some teachers emphasize a few, fairly basic movements, allowing the effect to carry over into all your activities, while others prefer to work with you in a wide variety of applications.
How Long Are Lessons - And How Many Will I Need?
A lesson usually lasts between thirty and forty-five minutes. It will probably take a few lessons for you and your teacher to get an idea of how quickly you will make progress. As with learning other new skills, a lot depends on how far you want to take it. The majority of students come for a few months, taking between twenty and forty lessons during that period and then, perhaps, come back for refresher lessons, or groups of lessons, from time to time.
At the start, pupils are usually urged to come for lessons fairly frequently, perhaps two or three times a week if that's at all possible. This is because the new approach to movement, and to thinking about movement, which they are learning, is a bit unfamiliar at first and may need a little extra help to become established. Later on in the process, pupils often find they can continue to progress quite well with lessons spaced a week or more apart.
What About Group Work?
Some Alexander teachers have found that by working with individuals in a group setting, they can help far more people than would ever have been possible with individual lessons. Group work is as old as the Alexander Technique itself and experience has shown that under the right circumstances, it can be a very effective way of teaching.
Website The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique
The Alexander Principle - Dr. Wilfred Barlow; Much of the early medical research on the Alexander Technique was conducted during the 1940s by Dr. Wilfred Barlow MD, a consultant rheumatologist at Guy's Hospital in London, England. A good summary of that research can be found in this book.
Freedom to Change- The Development and Science of the Alexander Technique - Frank Pierce Jones ; During the 1960s and 70s, Frank Pierce Jones conducted a series of studies at Tufts University using electromyography and EMG equipment. These studies showed that the Alexander Technique could produce a marked reduction in stress levels. His results are included in his book .
Alexander Technique description by Nikolaas Tinbergen, Nobel Laureate - Nikolaas Tinbergen, winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine devoted a major portion of his acceptance speech to the benefits of the Alexander Technique. Watch a video of the Alexander Technique portion of his acceptance speech. A complete transcript of his address can be found in Science, 185:20-27, l974.
The Lost Sixth Sense - A Medical Scientist looks at the Alexander Technique- Dr. David Garlick; In recent years, the number of medical and scientific studies has grown rapidly. A comprehensive series of studies of the underlying physiological mechanisms of the Technique have been conducted by Dr. David Garlick of the University of New South Wales. These may be found in this book .
McEvenue, Kelly (2002). The Actor and the Alexander Technique
Aronson, AE (1990). Clinical Voice Disorders: An Interdisciplinary Approach,.
Rodenburg, Kelly McEvenue (2002). The actor and the Alexander Technique .
Aldous Huxley and the Alexander technique
Alexander technique and Supervised Physiotherapy Exercises in back paiN (ASPEN): a four-group randomised feasibility trial
Alexander Technique Training Coupled With an Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction in Teachers With Low Back Pain
Effect of the Alexander Technique on Muscle Activation, Movement Kinematics, and Performance Quality in Collegiate Violinists and Violists: A Pilot Feasibility Study
Effects of Alexander Technique training experience on gait behavior in older adults
Effects of Implementing the Alexander Technique on Enjoying the Sense of Motherhood in the Postpartum Period
Improvement in automatic postural coordination following alexander technique lessons in a person with low back pain
Joanne Woodward on the benefits of the Alexander technique
Lenny Henry on the benefits of the Alexander technique
Paul Newman on the benefits of the Alexander technique
Preliminary evidence for feasibility, efficacy, and mechanisms of Alexander technique group classes for chronic neck pain
Randomised controlled trial of Alexander Technique lessons, exercise, and massage (ATEAM) for patients with chronic low back pain
Roald Dahl on the benefits of the Alexander technique
Show Me How - The Alexander Technique: Angela Bradshaw at TEDxSWPS
The Alexander Technique for Back Pain
The Alexander Technique: An Acting Approach
The healing of John Dewey by Frederick Matthias Alexander
The impact of Alexander Technique lessons on chronic mechanical low back pain
What is the perceived impact of Alexander technique lessons on health status, costs and pain management in the real life setting of an English hospital
William Hurt on the benefits of the Alexander technique


Item: CVA 265-48 - At 6:00 a.m. the catwalk cables (from one tower only) were secured. Exactly 6 months later the last of the 8 catwalk cables was taken down.
Item : CVA 265-47 - 5:23 a.m. Three of the eight-ton cables for catwalks have been raised 325 feet above tide mark. Distance between piers is 1550 feet.


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NCB Subsidiaries
NCBFG AGM Minutes
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Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
Statistical Review
NCB Foundation
Funding & Operating Guidelines
CSEC
NCBFG announces engagement of consultant
03/06/2020 00:00:00 |
NCB Financial Group Limited is pleased to advise of the engagement of Mr Brian Wynter in the consultative capacity of Senior Advisor.
Mr Wynter is the former Governor of the Bank of Jamaica. He possesses deep financial industry knowledge and experience.
In this consultancy role, Mr Wynter is expected to assist top leadership in pivoting the Group's strategic direction towards becoming a world-class financial ecosystem as well as represent the Group in key forums and participate in activities expected to enhance certain stakeholder relationships across the Caribbean region.
About NCB Financial Group
NCB Financial Group Limited ("NCB") was incorporated in April 2016 to be licensed under the Banking Services Act as the financial holding company for National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited ("NCBJ"). NCB is the largest and most profitable financial services group in Jamaica with roots dating back to 1837. Through the bank and its wealth management, life and general insurance, and offshore banking subsidiaries, NCB provides a wide array of financial products and services to meet the needs of individual and business clients. The NCB Group includes NCBJ, NCB Capital Markets Limited and its subsidiaries in Barbados and Cayman, NCB Insurance Company Limited, NCB (Cayman) Limited, Clarien Group Limited and its subsidiaries in Bermuda, Guardian Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries as well as NCB Global Finance Limited in Trinidad and Tobago.
© Copyright 1999-2021 NCB Financial Group. All Rights Reserved.


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Tag Archives: Stonewall riots
Feminism & Gender, LGBTIQ, Trans
International Transgender Day of Visibility as the Political gets Personal
31st March 2018 Katy	Leave a comment
For Trans People, the Personal is getting very Political
If the personal is political, then being trans has certainly become overly politicised in the last few months. Most transgender people just want to get on with their lives, not poke their heads above the parapet and be overtly public each Transgender Day of Visibility (#TDOV). 2014 was called the "transgender tipping point" and 2015 the year of transgender visibility, but 2017-18 is fast becoming the year of the war on women and trans.
Sex Wars and Gender Recognition
The Gender Recognition Act (2004) aided that for some but not for all since it was not relevant to many transitioning people being mainly a requirement for pre-Equal, well Same-Sex anyway, marriage legal innovation. It is now front and centre of the new battle within feminism(s), the so-called "War on Women", discussion of who or what is a woman, access to single-sex spaces and support services, and updates to the GRA.
"United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
We divide and misrule at our peril. Surely, to stand on the right side of history is to be on the side of progress towards human rights for all, not resisting them. Fourth-wave feminism understands intersectionality and trans sisters far more inclusively than second-wave feminism. This unfortunate fight is as much a battle within feminisms as it is between genders. Interestingly, just 59% of Mumsnet users call themselves feminists yet many have joined the trans resistance, i.e., are resisting the extension of gender-identity rights.
That said, there are peaceful cooperative ways to discuss legal provisions among those that are affected by the laws. Though, to be honest, since the majority of trans people don't even bother with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) and have been accessing the most appropriate spaces and services to their gender or stage of transition for years, it hasn't been a 'problem' until now. Equally, over half-a-dozen countries have introduced gender self-ID since 2012 to no known problems.
The UK seems to be unique in perceiving it as a massive attack upon the rights of and risks towards women. It is also tearing the Labour Party apart, much as the current discussion of alleged anti-semitism within it is. The vitriol of calling both trans activists and 'TERF's (see below) 'Fascists' is laughable since the majority of those fighting each other are Socialists, Marxists, and generally people on the Left of British politics, several of whom have been suspended or ejected from the Labour Party over this issue.
BBC 'Who, or what, defines you as a woman?' Featuring Katy Jon Went and Linda Bellos
Visible Transgender History
One vocal opponent (aka 'TERF' or a Radical Feminist who opposes the inclusion of trans women in female spaces and a term considered a slur by them despite its reasonably accurate abbreviated description) said this week that "Transgenderism wasn't a thing. It didn't exist 30 years ago."
You will of course notice it was only lesbians and gay men. No trans. Transgenderism wasn't a thing. It didn't exist 30 years ago. I marched and campaigned against Section 28 as a young lesbian. #WarOnWomen #WarOnLesbians https://t.co/U2LtwA9532
— Anne Ruzylo XX ♀ (@sargesalute) March 28, 2018
That is akin to the Australian MP, Bob Katter, who recently claimed that LGBTI people had only been around for 60 years.
The willful ignorance of the history of transgender, third gender, and gender non-conforming individuals, is astonishing here. Not to mention, the nearly 50-years-ago trans-washing of the Stonewall riots (1969) and the numerous trans women and transvestites involved in protesting police violence and state criminalisation of LGBT people.
"people have been crossing gender boundaries for millennia and in all kinds of civilisations" – Christine Burns, History Today
All of these transgender people (a third of whom are trans men) and thousands more clearly existed 30 years ago and had surgeries more than 40 years ago:
Lili Elbe (1882-1931), Alan L. Hart (1890-1962), Michael Dillon (1915-1962), Roberta Cowell (1918-2011), Christine Jorgensen (1926-1989), Jan Morris (1926-), Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy aka Coccinelle (1931-2006), Renée Richards (1934-), April Ashley (1935-), Lou Sullivan (1951-91), Caroline Cossey (1954-), Stephen Whittle (1955-).
Medical Research & Mutual Respect
"Respectful, calm debate is necessary. How society and medicine deal with gender requires critical review in terms of the potential for unintended harms, even if there are no easy answers." – Dr Margaret McCartney: Medicine must do better on gender, BMJ
Ongoing research is clearly needed and continues to show a biological/nature more than social/nurture origin of gender identity without it being a question of respecting people's self-identity, whether part of gender dysphoria or not – something I struggled with for years.
"Considerable scientific evidence has emerged demonstrating a durable biological element underlying gender identity. Individuals may make choices due to other factors in their lives, but there do not seem to be external forces that genuinely cause individuals to change gender identity. Although the specific mechanisms guiding the biological underpinnings of gender identity are not entirely understood, there is evolving consensus that being transgender is not a mental health disorder." – Endocrine Society
We sorely need a message of mutual respect and inclusion not trans exclusion, but the way it is being discussed in a verbally violent polarised way is making it a debate about people's identity, human rights, legal protections (I admit these go both ways within the EA, but not the GRA) and making it seem as if trans women don't care about natal women's rights to freedom from abuse.
We should be fighting abuse together
Violence towards women is something that should not be projected onto the vast majority of trans women as if it were some kind of demonising 1980s homosexual moral panic.
We need to fight and protect against Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DASV) together not apart.
No transfeminine person is trying to close down the discussion of the abuse of cis women and girls we are simply saying we need an expansion of that discourse to accommodate our experiences too – given that its the same men abusing us all often its in our shared interest!
— S H O N (@shonfaye) March 28, 2018
The majority of the victims are indeed women (including trans women) and the majority of the perpetrators are men – 90% of whom are known to victims, so the idea of 'stranger danger' and men using female self-identity to access women's safe spaces is an extreme rarity and not indicative of real trans lives.
Transgender Day of Visibility TDOV, 31 March #TDOV2018
Alan L. HartApril AshleyBBCCaroline CosseyChristine JorgensenCoccinelleDASVDomestic AbuseFeminismFourth-Wave FeminismGender Recognition ActGender Recognition CertificateGRAGRCJacqueline Charlotte DufresnoyJan MorrisLabour PartyLGBTIQLili ElbeLinda BellosLou SullivanMichael DillonMumsnetRadical FeministRenée RichardsRoberta CowellSecond-Wave FeminismSelf-IdentitySexual ViolenceShon FayeStephen WhittleStonewall riotsStranger DangerTDoVTDOV2018TERFTransTrans ExlusionaryTrans MenTrans WomenTransgenderTransgender Day of VisibilityTransphobiaTranssexualTransvestiteWho is a Woman
Confidence & Motivation, Human Rights
Past and Present Inspiration to be the Change that makes a Difference
28th March 2018 Katy	Leave a comment
The inspiration of dreamers
One of the first records I bought was Imagine by John Lennon and like him, I've always been a dreamer. I've always believed the world could be a better place. His life like other great dreamers was cut short by violence.
"Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one." – John Lennon
Martin Luther King had a dream, was also shot dead, and whilst he precipitated change in his country, yet the work goes on. Black Lives Matter shows the need to keep at it, that progress is not instant but builds a head of steam and gathers momentum. It took 46 years from MLK's "I have a dream" speech until Barack Obama became the first black President.
Eight years before MLK's speech Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on an Alabama bus back in 1955. Nine months before Parks, a 15-year-old teenager, Claudette Colvin did the same. These women had had enough of being pushed around and treated as second class because of both the colour of their skin and their sex – double discrimination and oppression, because "we don't live single issue lives" – Audre Lorde.
The 1969 Stonewall Inn riots that kicked off the LGBT Pride movement were actually the third resistance event in a US city against Police homophobia and transphobia (LA, 1959; San Francisco, 1966), but the tide had turned. The people fought back.
Other movements like #MeToo, #GenderPayGap, and #MarchForOurLives – one of the biggest youth protests since Vietnam, create momentum and a tipping point when people say enough is enough.
What inspires me to keep going in my activism is both the history of past examples: Lennon, MLK, Rosa Parks, and Audre Lorde:
"I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own."
But also the role models of now. Like Parkland, Florida's amazing Emma Gonzalez or Malala Yousafzai:
"One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world."
"If one man can destroy everything, why can't one girl change it?"
We haven't arrived, there is more to do
We haven't yet reached the tipping point on, for example, FGM, for which there's not been a single successful prosecution yet in the UK.
For a supposedly developed, civilised world we are in a mess. There remains so much more to be done on people trafficking, on equality and diversity, on mental health compassion and advocacy, on welcoming refugees and migrants, on giving everyone similar educational opportunities, on ending gun violence.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead
Be different, be the one and not the many, and make a difference
Being able to reflect on history means I know that change can and does happen, and each time it began with one person. A past relative of mine wrote the speeches for William Wilberforce in the UK to end slavery, another worked as a spy and interpreter alongside Tito in Yugoslavia with the resistance against the Nazis.
We can make a difference, and it begins often with a small act of resistance and others then joining you. Be the person who says "enough is enough", and "now is the time".
We can be the change:
"If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do." – Mahatma Gandhi
And we should not wait:
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." – Barack Obama
ActivismAudre LordeBarack ObamaBe DifferentBe the changeClaudette ColvinEmma GonzalezFGMInspirationJohn LennonLGBTIQMahatma GandhiMalala YousafzaiMargaret MeadMartin Luther KingMental HealthRosa ParksStonewall InnStonewall riotsWilliam Wilberforce


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Drop and disqualification: For short athlete Anna Seidel, everything goes incorrect once again at the Olympics – Sports activities
She just had a single massive wish. "I want to present what I can do," claimed Anna Seidel forward of her initial and only Olympic participation in Beijing. In the situation of the brief follower from Dresden, this indicates: make sure you will not drop once again and, as she additional in the course of the discussion virtually a 7 days back, really don't give up in the 1st spherical.
Neither just one nor the other is fulfilled on Wednesday night neighborhood time at the Included Stadium of the Capital, the place Seidel wants to enjoy his 3rd Olympic Games. Her performance becomes a nightmare for her, in the preliminary round in excess of the 1500 meters all the undesirable things appear jointly for her.
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The 23-12 months-outdated crashes four laps in advance of the finish but will get up immediately after a shock instant. When he crosses the complete line, there is even some applause for this kind of sportsmanship. Seidel was eradicated in any case, and then heartbroken. "I felt really superior, both equally in apply and right now in the course of the heat-up," he suggests in a shaky voice, which at initial turns into firmer with each word that describes his race.
It began properly, and Seidel is in the entrance placement in the quest for laps on the ice. The best a few riders make it to the semi-finals and that is their minimum amount aim as perfectly. But just after a moment and a half it can be all about, Seidel lands really hard on the seat of his trousers, slides on the ice and crashes into the gang. This appears even worse than it is. Physically, he tells himself, all the things is fine and the rate hasn't been that substantial.
Mentally, on the other hand, a globe collapses. It is really getting even more noticeable now, and given his background, it's not surprising. After breaking his tibia and fibula in March of final 12 months, Seidel battled by way of ache. He participated in the 2014 online games in Sochi and in 2018 in Pyeongchang, exactly where he fell two times. And this time he did it, as the only German short tracker, even however he only met fifty percent the normal. And now this!
"I've been greater"
The hope, which is usually justified on the limited monitor, that a crash was preceded by yet another rider breaking the rules is vague this time and turns out to be irrelevant a bit afterwards in any case. Seidel himself receives a penalty from the referee. That means: disqualification – for an illegal overtaking maneuver 50 percent a lap previously. "I was most likely way too energized again, I did not prepare a appropriate adequate overtaking maneuver and I got a penalty for that," he describes.
Clearly, this circumstance hits her even additional than the ending by itself, for the reason that Seidel is, to a selected extent, to blame. "I nonetheless can not determine it out and I might like to get up and wander yet again," then he bursts into tears. "I've been experience superior," Seidel claims after a brief crack, and he appears fairly composed.
Standard questions about the state of the brief tracks in Germany, for illustration, are now superfluous, as are inquiries about his own potential. Before the games, Seidel had currently talked about the conclusion of his career. The Dresden female previously knows exactly what she desires to understand from the drop. "I just have to make sure that I am somewhat a lot more comfortable in these massive competitions and not consider almost everything that transpires all-around me very seriously," states Seidel, and she presently has a rough concept of how she could realize success. this period: "There will be less media interest in the Entire world Cup, so it will be a small simpler for me then."
In reality, the assist fee, if you want to get in touch with it that, is second to none at Seidel. 8 reporters stand close to the smallish youthful girl, who only looks lesser and a lot more forlorn in the large job interview spot. She lastly claims that she was not the only German tracker who felt lonely. you know them quickly skater superior and also quite a few other athletes. "Well, she was not by yourself in my home," she says, and even laughs briefly.
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British Columbia's National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction - Canada's largest non-fiction prize - was awarded on January 15, 2010 to Ian Brown for his book, The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search for His Disabled Son.
We are very pleased to announce that Mr. Brown received the Charles Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction on February 8th. Winning both of Canada's major non-fiction prizes is unique in the history of the respective awards. Our congratulations to Mr. Brown for his extraordinary achievement.
2010 recipient Ian Brown with Premier Gordon Campbell (l) and BC Achievement Foundation Chair, Keith Mitchell (r).
A wrenching, heartbreaking but also remarkably hard-headed inquiry into the purpose and value of a disabled life - from the perspective of a father determined to understand, support and celebrate the struggles of his severely handicapped son. Ian Brown writes with a ruthless but eloquent honesty about a subject we too often sentimentalize, or, worse, sweep under the carpet.
Brown was presented with the $40,000 prize in Vancouver at a ceremony that also celebrated the other three finalists for the award: Karen Connelly for Burmese Lessons: A Love Story, Eric Siblin for The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece, and Kenneth Whyte for The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst.
"I congratulate Ian Brown and all of the finalists for their exceptional books - and for what it took to write them. These books are excellent indicators of the quality of non-fiction being published in Canada today," said Premier Gordon Campbell. "It's an honour to present an award for such an important literary genre in our country."
The 2010 jury for the B.C. Award consisted of Andreas Schroeder (chair), author, television, and radio host; Vicki Gabereau, award-winning television and radio personality; and Philip Marchand, author, book columnist, and magazine writer. The jury cited Brown's The Boy in the Moon for being a book that undertakes "a journey...into deeply touching and troubling territory" as Brown grapples with the question of what his son is trying to show him. Ian's son, Walker, was born with a genetic mutation so rare that doctors call it an orphan syndrome. "All I really want to know is what goes on inside his off-shaped head," he writes, "But every time I ask, he somehow persuades me to look into my own."


In primates (both humans and nonhuman primates), much of the brain volume (up to 80%) is occupied by connections between different parts of the cerebral cortex. The specificity of these connections forms information processing networks that are critical to normal sensory, motor, and cognitive function. There are now largescale projects (termed connectome projects) underway worldwide to study this connection machine (humanconnectomeproject.org, brainnetome.org, mouseconnectome.org). However, one aspect of these connectome studies that has largely been neglected is the fact that in humans and in primates, cerebral cortex is composed of basic functional columnar units. These units are on the order of a few hundred microns in size and have specific functions. In this talk, we summarize our development of systematic mapping methods to study connection patterns between sets of cortical columns, thereby producing a functionally based 'columnar connectome'.
Dr. Anna Wang Roe obtained her B.A. degree from Harvard University (1984) and her Ph.D. from MIT (1991). Her doctoral work on the 'rewired ferret' preparation is a well-known paradigm for studying brain development and plasticity. Her postdoctoral studies were conducted at Rockefeller University, Baylor College of Medicine and University of Queensland in Australia (under Nobel Laureate Dr. Torsten Wiesel, Dr. Dan Ts'o, Dr. Jack Pettigrew). She joined the faculty at Yale University in 1996 and then Vanderbilt University in 2003. She established new neuroimaging (fMRI, optical imaging, electrophysiology, anatomy) and neurotechnological (optogenetics, near infrared laser stimulation) approaches for studying the organization and function of the cerebral cortex in nonhuman primates. She is recipient of the Packard, Sloan, and Whitehall awards and is a AAAS Fellow and Chinese 1000 Talents Faculty. She serves on NIH review committees and has multiple editorial roles for leading journals. She has published extensively in high impact journals and holds neurotechnology patents. In 2013, she established the interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology at Zhejiang University where she is now director.


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What is "mesoderm"
Crossword clues for mesoderm
The middle germ layer that develops into muscle and bone and cartilage and blood and connective tissue
Skin layer
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Mesoderm \Mes"o*derm\, n. [Meso- + Gr. de`rma skin.] (Biol.)
The layer of the blastoderm, between the ectoderm and endoderm; mesoblast. See Illust. of Blastoderm and Ectoderm.
The middle body layer in some invertebrates.
The middle layer of tissue in some vegetable structures.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1858, from French mésoderme or German Mesoderm, literally "middle skin," coined by German physician Robert Remak (1815-1865) from meso- + Greek derma (see -derm).
n. (label en embryology) One of the three tissue layers in the embryo of a metazoan animal. Through embryonic development, it will produce many internal organ of the adult, e.g. muscles, spine and circulatory system.
n. the middle germ layer that develops into muscle and bone and cartilage and blood and connective tissue [syn: mesoblast]
In all bilaterian animals, the mesoderm is one of the three primary germ layers in the very early embryo. The other two layers are the ectoderm (outside layer) and endoderm (inside layer), with the mesoderm as the middle layer between them.
The mesoderm forms mesenchyme, mesothelium, non-epithelial blood cells and coelomocytes. Mesothelium lines coeloms. Mesoderm forms the muscles in a process known as myogenesis, septa (cross-wise partitions) and mesenteries (length-wise partitions); and forms part of the gonads (the rest being the gametes). Myogenesis is specifically a function of Mesenchyme.
The mesoderm differentiates from the rest of the embryo through intercellular signaling, after which the mesoderm is polarized by an organizing center. The position of the organizing center is in turn determined by the regions in which beta-catenin is protected from degradation by GSK-3. Beta-catenin acts as a co-factor that alters the activity of the transcription factor tcf-3 from repressing to activating, which initiates the synthesis of gene products critical for mesoderm differentiation and gastrulation. Furthermore, mesoderm has the capability to induce the growth of other structures, such as the neural plate, the precursor to the nervous system.
Usage examples of "mesoderm".
Not the original egg creature itself — the egg's been altered too much for that — but mesoderm tissue in the form of fibrous protein.
words rhyming with mesoderm, words from word "mesoderm", words starting with "m", words starting with "me", words starting with "mes", words starting with "meso", words starting with "mesod", words ending with "m", words ending with "rm", words ending with "erm", words ending with "derm", words containing "e", words containing "es", words containing "eso", words containing "esod",


ON Semiconductor Expands Manufacturing Operations In Mountain Top, PA - The Independent Global Source for the Flexible and Printed Electronics Industry.
Plans to invest $51 million to support expansion of the Luzerne County facility.
ON Semiconductor Corporation plans to invest $51 million to support expansion of the Luzerne County facility. The ON Semiconductor Mountain Top location specializes in the manufacturing of semiconductor discrete devices used in power management applications across a wide variety of industries including automotive, industrial, communication and computing.
Today, ON Semiconductor occupies 437,000 square feet of space on 84 acres in the Crestwood Industrial Park. The Mountain Top site is a high-tech location with a highly-skilled workforce, benefits, clean work environment, and open communication environment. The investment is planned to increase production and in turn create more than 70 new jobs.
With its acquisition of Fairchild's product portfolio of medium and high voltage products in late 2016 complementing ON Semiconductor's specialization in low power, the company now has a complete suite of power conversion and power management technologies.


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The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Podcast is the weekly audio production of the Lawfare staff in cooperation with the Brookings Institution. Podcast episodes include interviews with policymakers, scholars, journalists, and analysts; events and panel discussions.
Latest in The Lawfare Podcast
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The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is set to begin on Jan. 21, and the question of what constitutes an impeachable offense is sure to feature in the trial itself and in the broader discussion of the president's conduct. To answer that question, many commentators, lawmakers and experts may rely on what the Founders said at the time the Impeachment Clause was written into the Constitution. But there's another way to think about an impeachable offense: by looking at the offenses for which Congress has actually impeached people.
Read more about The Lawfare Podcast Shorts: The Sordid Story of Impeachment
Batya Ungar-Sargon is the opinion editor of The Forward, the Jewish newspaper published out of New York City. She has been among the chroniclers, both in print and on Twitter, of the recent spate of attacks against Orthodox communities in New York and New Jersey. She joined Benjamin Wittes by Skype to talk about the origins of these attacks, why it is so hard to respond to them, and why they don't fit in with any of our political preconceptions.
Read more about The Lawfare Podcast: Batya Ungar-Sargon on the Anti-Semitic Violence in New York
On this episode of the Arbiters of Truth series, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with law professors Bobby Chesney and Danielle Citron about deep fakes—that is, artificial audio and video that can be used to depict a person doing or saying something that they never did or said. They talked about the paper that Bobby and Danielle wrote in 2018 about how deep fakes pose a looming challenge for privacy, democracy, and national security.
Read more about The Lawfare Podcast: Bobby Chesney and Danielle Citron on Deep Fakes
There's going to be a House vote tomorrow to send the impeachment articles over to the Senate. Then there's going to be a little parade where the appointed managers from the House take them over. And then, we're going to have a Senate trial. Benjamin Wittes gathered in the Jungle Studio with Margaret Taylor, Molly Reynolds, David Priess, and Jonathan Shaub (by phone) to imagine what that trial will look like.
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The Lawfare Podcast: The National Security Law Podcast Guys Talk Soleimani
Hadley Baker, Jen Patja Howell Sat, Jan 11, 2020, 9:30 AM
As part of Lawfare's continuing coverage of the killing of Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani, we are bringing you an edited version of the latest episode of the National Security Law Podcast, in which Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck discuss the legality of the strike and what this means for the future of U.S.-Iranian relations.
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The Lawfare Podcast: What Fresh Disinformation Hell Awaits in 2020?
Jen Patja Howell Thu, Jan 9, 2020, 11:54 AM
It's 2020, and the Lawfare Podcast's "Arbiters of Truth" series on disinformation is back for the new year. Quinta Jurecic sat down with cohosts Evelyn Douek, Kate Klonick, and Alina Polyakova to discuss what they've learned over the last few months of putting together this podcast—and what they should expect for the year to come. What new regulation or oversight mechanisms will we see for social media companies? Should Twitter remove or hide the president's tweets?
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The Lawfare Podcast: Lawfare AMA 2020
Jen Patja Howell Tue, Jan 7, 2020, 7:46 PM
To kick off this year of The Lawfare Podcast, we wanted to hear from you. You tweeted your questions and you left us voicemails, and we did our best to answer you. Benjamin Wittes, Susan Hennessey, Bobby Chesney, David Priess, Quinta Jurecic, David Kris, Scott R. Anderson, Molly Reynolds, and Margaret Taylor came together to tackle your impeachment questions, your foreign policy questions, your FISA questions, your recommendation requests, and everything in-between.
Thank you for your questions. And as always, thank you for listening.
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The Lawfare Podcast Special Edition: Law and the Soleimani Strike
Mikhaila Fogel Mon, Jan 6, 2020, 6:55 PM
On Friday, the Lawfare Podcast hosted a conversation on the wide-ranging policy implications of the U.S. strike that killed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' leader Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, deputy commander of Iraq's quasi-official Popular Mobilization Forces and leader of the Iraqi militia and PMF Keta'ib Hezbollah.
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Lawfare Podcast Special Edition: The Soleimani Strike and Its Fallout
Benjamin Wittes Fri, Jan 3, 2020, 2:01 PM
The American drone strike last night that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, is a seismic event in U.S.-Iranian relations—and for the broader Middle East. We put together an emergency podcast, drawing on the resources of both Lawfare and the Brookings Institution and reflecting the depth of the remarkable collaboration between the two.
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The Lawfare Podcast: Upheaval and Repression in Iran
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Iran is in turmoil. Protests erupted across the country last month, sparked by the government's decision to triple the price of gasoline. The Iranian government has responded with brute force, imposing a blackout of the internet and deploying security forces to crack down in the streets. The crackdown has left hundreds dead and thousands injured or detained.
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The Fedrigoni Top Award invites entries from Designers, Printers, Publishers and End Users who have developed projects printed using Fedrigoni and Fabriano special papers or Manter adhesive labels in the period between July 2016 and June 2018.
4) Packaging: boxes, cartons, shopping bags, counter displays, lined containers.
Registration involves an initial step which asks for a title/description of the product, some technical production data and uploading of pertinent images (minimum one to maximum four photos).
These photographs will then be published in special sections of the website www.fedrigonitopaward.com and will consequently be visible to the public at large.
A special section of the website gives the general public a chance to vote for their favourite projects. The project receiving the most likes in this "popular" vote, regardless of the final decisions of the Jury, will also be displayed together with the other award-winning projects in each category and visible on-line.
By 15 July 2018, the 5 members of the Jury will assess the uploaded projects through a secret ballot. Only projects receiving at least 2 votes out of 5 will proceed to the next stage.
Subsequently, each participant will receive an e-mail notifying whether or not the submitted project has been approved.
Products accepted and received will then be reviewed by the Jury during a meeting in person to assess projects before announcing the three best products in each category, complete with their final judgement.
An award will also be made in each category to the best project developed using HP Indigo technology.
On-line entries must be received by 10 June 2018.
The actual projects (no slides, no rendering, no photographic prints) must be received by 30 September 2018.
The Jury comprises a panel of international experts in the design, communication and production world. The Jury will then assess the projects received in each category based on criteria that highlight the originality of the graphic design, functionality, accuracy of execution and appropriate use of papers manufactured by Fedrigoni S.p.A.
The best projects will receive a symbolic Trophy and be exhibited at an Exhibition to be held in Berlin in March 2019.
HP Indigo (official sponsor of the Fedrigoni Top Award) reserves the right to award a "Special Prize" for the best project in each of the four categories printed using its electro-ink digital printing technology.
A Catalogue will also be published detailing projects earning awards and special mentions, which will be widely distributed on a qualified international scale.
The results of the Fedrigoni Top Award complete with the best projects (including the project achieving the best score in the on-line popular vote) will be notified to interested parties by email and by surface mail by December 2018.
The list of finalists with images of selected works will also be published on the official website by 30 January 2019. The final rankings will be available on the official website only on the day after the Award presentation in March 2019.
- a representative of each printing (or stationery) company.
- the designer of the project earning the most on-line votes.
authorize Fedrigoni S.p.A. to use and disclose company data and project documentation for the purposes of total or partial publication in printed or digital formats, for any purpose whatsoever, even outside the scope of these Regulations, as well as for promotional and advertising purposes, provided that authors are mentioned.
No compensation is envisaged for this authorization and inasmuch participants will have no claims, including copyright, for the use Fedrigoni S.p.A. may make of the foregoing documentation.
are informed that processing of the personal data provided will be based on the requirements of law and correctness ensuring full protection of the rights of participants and for the purposes of these Regulations. Participants will be able at any time to exercise the rights as per Italian Legislative Decree 196/2003 (access, correction, cancellation, opposition to processing of personal data) by sending a written request to Fedrigoni S.p.A. at it registered head offices in Viale Piave, 3 - 37135 Verona/Italy.
agree that any dispute arising in relation to the Top Award should be subject to preliminary conciliation through Verona Chamber of Commerce. Such conciliation will take place in Verona. If such conciliation fails, the dispute will be referred to the Courts having jurisdiction.


Beginning the journey of minimizing your home may seem like a daunting task. When I first started to declutter our belongings, I wanted a clean, clear space overnight. I thought I could purge our home in one go and be totally satisfied with the results - the truth is, it took us a long time to get our space to the place we are now, and I still need to do another clear-out soon.
I think there is a general misconception that those of us trying to own less items dislike the gesture of gifts. While we do want to maintain clutter free homes, a few well chosen gifts go a long way in adding value to our lives. I'm writing this post for those of you unsure of what to purchase a fellow minimalist and/or those of us coming up dry on what to write on a mandatory wishlist.
When thinking about Christmas this year, I was torn on how to decorate. I didn't want storage boxes taking up space in our closets, or to spend a ton of money on new decorations. But with this being Jude's first Christmas, I still wanted to create special traditions and make our space cosy to celebrate the season.
Living without these items has become our new normal over the years. It's amazing what we are tricked into believing we need to live our lives!
It has taken us three years of consistently going through our things to clear out most of the clutter in our home. It's been a slow and steady process, and so worth it!


Local cable advertising demand for NBA Basketball has been very strong. Over the past two regular seasons, 80 advertisers ordered nearly 21,000 30-second spots across 68 Viamedia local markets (practically our entire nationwide footprint.) That comes to an average of almost 26 spots per advertiser. Source: Viamedia analysis of B.I.G. internal database ("Sports & High Profile Tracker".) Copyright © 2016 by Viamedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
There are several storylines leading into the 2016-17 NBA regular season, beginning with the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last season, the Warriors grabbed hold of the best season record ever in NBA history, winning 73 out of 82 games. But with an injured Steph Curry, the Warriors were denied a second straight NBA title by the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, which who won its first-ever NBA Championship. Will these two teams meet again in the 2017 NBA finals? I wouldn't bet against them. Closer to home (here in New York) our questions are much more mundane, such as: Will the Knicks or Nets ever return to .500 basketball, never mind the playoffs? The Knicks will get a quick read on the team's progress as they open the NBA season against the Champion Cavaliers. Good luck with that. And so it goes, questions abound for all 30 NBA teams that will only be answered in the upcoming 71st NBA basketball season.


This dude kills it! Etnies have just released some of the leftover footage from his AB&B European video part. Watch it then remind yourself how good he is along with Albert Hyberg and Barney Page.
RIP to the photographers fisheye.