text:
What Does Military Friendly School Mean?
Military friendly colleges or schools do more than take part in government benefits programs. They commit time, people and resources to the needs of military members and student Vets.
A key feature of military friendly colleges are the programs and policies they have. Like helping you turn military training and experience into credit. Or through tuition savings, flexible class formats and relevant programs.
Such schools often dedicate teams to help you stay on academic track. Some even hire staff who have a military background. So, they know the challenges you may face. Many have Veteran centers and dedicated workshops to help you too.
In the 2017 there was a significant amount of funding awarded to these schools to support military members.
Check out our own military scholarship here!
2017 Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits
2017 DOD Tuition Assistance Program Benefits
Total # Who Received Aid 595,777 232,330
Total Dollars Awarded $4.4 Trillion – 81% Undergrad $455 Million – 85% Undergrad
Average Amount Awarded $9,801 $2,169
Average Undergrad Award $9,754 $2,192
Average Grad Award $10,212 $2,295
Key Features of Military Friendly Colleges
One reason to look for a military friendly college is they work to boost success metrics. Many such colleges guide students with every step of their transition. From military to college life and into civilian endeavors.
As such, Veteran friendly colleges share certain features and standards. These measure a school's commitment, effort and success in helping their military students. To figure out if a college is military friendly there are a few key qualities to look for. We'll unpack 8 points to help you assess the colleges on your list.
1. Dedicated Military Support
Military friendly colleges offer help to students during key admissions processes. These workers should be well versed in school policies as well as VA, DoD and federal aid. They should explain how and when to file paperwork. Make sure you understand timelines and deadlines. And, answer questions you have housing.
Many colleges also go a step further through workshops or special military classes. Some offer mentoring, tutoring, counseling and career services.
Apart from personalized support, there may be broader campus services too. Like veteran associations, clubs and career placement services. How important are student veteran organizations
Student veteran organizations often help to build trust through hands on, in person help. Many veterans value having such points of contact. They suggest it helps them navigate their college experience.
Such organizations furnish a safe, shared place for veterans and military service members. Many also advocate for the needs of the military student community. This often translates into higher veteran retention and graduation rates.
2. Accept Transfer Credits for Military Experience
Many accredited colleges accept transfer credits from other accredited schools. Top military friendly colleges may go a step further.
Usually, this means they assess your Joint Service Transcript (JST) for transfer credit. Such credit may be for earlier military school training and/or military experience.
These schools often go by the American Council on Education (ACE) guidelines. ACE's Military Guide looks at formal courses and jobs offered by all branches of the military. Then translates them into college credit recommendations.
About 2,9000 schools also allow the use of CLEP testing for college credit. Often, the U.S. government funds these through DANTES. So, exams may be free to take for some military members.
Having fewer credits to do helps in two ways. One, it reduces the number of credits you pay for. Two, it may help you graduate faster.
3. Accreditation and VA Approval
When a school is military friendly it has national or regional accreditation. This means its programs are credible and eligible students may pursue federal aid.
Many colleges also have U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs approval. At VA approved schools, you may use your GI benefits to help pay for college.
Some of these VA approved schools take part in the Yellow Ribbon Program. The Yellow Ribbon Program pays costs not covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
4. Financial Aid Options
Military friendly schools offer tuition savings to military and veterans. There are at least 3 layers to this process.
At the basic level, colleges must provide Service members access to a financial aid advisor. Before they enroll. This person outlines all aid programs in a clear way that does not mislead.
A second part may come in the form of tuition savings and fee waivers. This part is up to the school. Among the things to look for are:
Waive admission fee
Waive registration fee
Discount tuition/cost per credit
Support financial aid in the form of Federal Student Aid (grants and loans)
Tuition caps for military students
Offer military scholarships
Enable employer benefits
School military grants
Extend savings to military and Veteran spouses and dependents
Third, military friendly universities also take part in VA and DoD benefits programs. These benefits may pay for education and training. They often cover money for tuition, books and supplies, and housing.
GI Bill®. For qualifying Veterans and their family members. It helps with money that covers all or some of the costs for school or training
Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). Helps you pay for school or job training. If you've served on active duty after September 10, 2001, you may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit
The Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD. May help you pay for education and training programs. If you've served at least 2 years on active duty, you may be eligible for this benefit
The Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR). This program offers up to 36 months of education and training benefits. If you're a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard, you may be eligible for this benefit
Yellow Ribbon Programs. Most public colleges charge higher tuition to non-residents than to residents. But a school may opt to take part in the Yellow Ribbon program for non-residents. This program requires the school to provide you a tuition waiver which the VA will match
Survivors and Dependents Assistance. If you are the child or spouse of a veteran, you may be eligible for Chapter 35 benefits
Tuition Assistance (TA). Some schools take part in the Department of Defense TA Program. These institutions sign an agreement with the DoD. TA benefits extend to eligible members of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. In some cases they cover 100% of tuition costs
Veterans, Active Duty, National Guard/Reservists and their dependents can use the GI Bill Comparison tool. This feature allows students to log in and compare education benefits.
5. Follow the Principles of the VA
In 2012, President Obama signed executive order 13607, The Principles of Excellence. It is for all schools that serve Service members, Veterans, Spouses, and their families.
Schools that are part of this program must give each student a written summary that outlines:
Cost covered by your benefits
The financial aid you may qualify for
Your expected student-loan debt after you graduate
An education plan with a timeline that shows how to fulfill everything you need to graduate
Set a point of contact to provide academic and financial advice
Allows you to be absent due to your service obligations (for active duty members and Reservists)
The VA lists schools that comply on their website.
6. Flexible Programs and Policies
For me, the online schooling was better than the traditional line because I suffer from severe insomnia and there are times I can go three or four days without sleep and for a normal school, that wouldn't work. I wouldn't be able to keep up with the work whereas with the online schooling, I can do it all on my own time and when I can.
Military friendly colleges also have flexible programs and policies.
Some of these speak to the needs of Reserve and National Guard members. Many deploy or must be absent from school due to military service conflicts. Flexible policies allow students to remain in and return to school with no penalty.
Other criteria include things such as:
Online program options
Programs that provide marketable skills for civilian jobs
Policies that help veterans connect and succeed
Foster communication between veterans and teachers
Have tutoring programs
Include veteran-only classes to help these students feel they "fit in"
May have family-friendly housing for veterans
Provide extra guidance during the admission process
7. Military Retention and Grad Rates
Two measures of student success are retention rates and graduation rates.
Retention rates show how many students return to the same college for another year. Nationwide, the average is about 61.1%. Looking for rates above the norm, you'll find schools where students may stay on track.
Graduation rates show how many students finish their degree. Studies show it is often harder for military students to complete their degree. Many are older, facing health issues and juggling a family life.
Research suggests that veterans who feel supported on campus tend to have:
Increased GPAs
Higher retention and graduation rates
8. Take Part in the Eight Keys to Veteran Success
The "8 Keys to Veterans' Success" is a voluntary initiative. It exists through the Departments of Education, Veterans Affairs, and Defense.
The program outlines things that colleges can take to be friendly to the military. Both to promote well-being and success for veterans. Things like:
Create a culture of trust across the campus community to promote well being and success for veterans.
Ensure consistent and sustained support from campus leadership.
Implement an early alert system to ensure all veterans receive academic, career, and financial advice before challenges become overwhelming.
Coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans, together with the creation of a designated space for them (even if limited in size).
Collaborate with local communities and organizations, including government agencies, to align and coordinate various services for veterans.
Utilize a uniform set of data tools to collect and track information on veterans, including demographics, retention, and degree completion.
Provide comprehensive professional development for faculty and staff on issues and challenges unique to veterans.
Develop systems that ensure sustainability of effective practices for veterans.
Military Friendly Colleges by State
NM -New Mexico
2020 Military Friendly Colleges in the US
These military friendly colleges in the US are listed based on the total amount of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits awarded in the 2017 / 2018 school year. All data is reported by NCES and Department of Defense. Most of these schools take part in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a part of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Under the Yellow Ribbon Program, the colleges and the VA pay the tuition and mandatory fees not paid for by the GI Bill.
1 University of Phoenix – AZ
4035 South Riverpoint Parkway | Phoenix, AZ 85040
Total Post 9/11 GI Bill Funds Awarded in 2017: $90.6 Million
UOP is our top military friendly college with just over $90 million in Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits awarded in the 2017 /18 school year. Military friendly policies at UOP include two ways to use transfer credits. One through an accredited associate degree. The other, through a Prior Learning Assessment. If you don't qualify for either, you may be able to earn credit through an Experiential Essay. UOP also offers military tuition rates and you may use VA benefits too.
Military Tuition Rate: Yes
Credit for Military Training: Yes
Educational Services Officer (ESO): Yes
Student Veteran Organization: No
Yellow Ribbon Program: Yes
Principles of Excellence: Yes
8 Keys to Veteran Success: Yes
DoD Memo of Understanding: Yes
Undergrad: 10,648
Grad: 1,951
2 University of Maryland – Global
1616 McCormick Drive | Largo, MD 20774
Apart from a wide range of majors, UMGC is the recipient of many awards. For example, they ranked in the top 5 for cyber security programs in 2016 and 2017.
UMUC also offers a wide range of military friendly options. It may be possible to fast track your degree with credit for military experience and training. They also feature reduced tuition rates for the military and Tuition Assistance. TA covers up to 100% of undergrad tuition. You'll also find dedicated staff who understand the challenges of transitioning to civilian life.
Student Veteran Organization: Yes
3 American Public University System
111 W. Congress Street | Charles Town, WV 25414
APUS is a private for-profit school system. It comprises the American Military U (AMU) and American Public U (APU). The main goal of AMU is to provide flexible and relevant online programs to those who serve. They offer over 200 programs at all degree levels.
AMU has many veterans on staff and offer many military friendly services. One is a tuition grant that caps cost per credit. Students using TA benefits may also receive free books and e-books. Apart from waiving course technology fees they also credit for military education and training courses.
4 University of Phoenix – CA
3110 East Guasti Road | Ontario, CA 91761
Military friendly policies at UOP include two ways to use transfer credits. One through an accredited associate degree. The other, through a Prior Learning Assessment. If you don't qualify for either, you may be able to earn credit through an Experiential Essay. UOP also offers military tuition rates. You can use your VA benefits too.
Undergrad: 5,231
5 Full Sail University
3300 University Boulevard | Winter Park, FL 32792
Some of their popular majors at Full Sale are in areas like digital marketing, film and TV, music and recording.
Full Sail accepts most military and national tuition benefit programs. They also review your transcripts and have military reps to answer questions. There are a few Active Duty Tracks and a Courage and Creativity Scholarship award.
Military Tuition Rate: No
Educational Services Officer: Yes
6 Keiser University – Ft Lauderdale
1500 NW 49th St. | Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Military friendly policies include rolling admissions and flexible online programs. Keiser also offers scholarships for qualified service members, veterans and military dependents. And, if eligible, you can use VA benefits and TA. They also consider military training, DANTES and CLEP for college credit.
7 Liberty University
1971 University Blvd. | Lynchburg, VA 24515
To meet military students needs, Liberty offers tuition caps and divinity block tuition rates. There's also a Doctorate military rate for some EdD, EdS and Doctor of Ministry programs. It also waives application fees for service members, Veterans and First Responders. Students may also transfer in up to 75% of a bachelor's degree. Apart from this, Liberty will assess your military experience and training for college credit.
Principles of Excellence: No
8 Keys to Veteran Success: No
8 ECPI University
5555 Greenwich Rd, Virginia Beach | VA 23462
Military friendly policies at ECPI include flexible scheduling and many start dates. They also partner with the Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership, Navy College Program for Afloat College Education, Marine Corps Career College Program, ArmyEd, and Air Force General Education Mobile. And will assess military credits following ACE guides.
9 Colorado Technical University
4435 N Chestnut Street | Colorado Springs, CO 80907
One of CTU's military friendly policies is a Military Leave of Absence. The LOA applies to online students and may cover up to 5 years. CTU also reviews your military experience for transfer credit. You can use your benefits. Active duty, Reserve and National Guard receive a reduced tuition rate too.
10 Southern New Hampshire University
2500 North River Road | Manchester, NH 03106
To meet the needs of military students, SNHU offers up to 30% savings on online programs. They also accept Tuition assistance and VA benefits. Apart from this, SNHU accepts transfer credits. Eligible can transfer up to 45 credits to an associate degree and up to 90 for a bachelor's degree. You can also get credit for military service (JST, ACE certified) and exams (DSST, CLEP).
11 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
1 Aerospace Blvd. | Daytona Beach, FL 32114
Military policies at Embry include special tuition rates ($250 per credit) and credit for military training. They also have six degrees that are part of the Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative category. Plus, they partner with the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) through the General Education Mobile (GEM) Program. There are campuses located at more than 90 military installations across the globe too.
Yellow Ribbon Program: No
12 National University
11255 North Torrey Pines Road | La Jolla, CA 92037
Military friendly policies include tuition discounts for military members and their dependents. They also provide credit for military experience through CLEP, Regents and DANTES. You can use your benefits too. There's also a Veteran Center that provides guidance and support.
5115 Hampton Blvd. | Norfolk, VA 23529
Military friendly policies at ODU include special tuition rates and fee waivers. They also review your JST/SMART Summary. And have a military connection center.
14 Grand Canyon University
3300 W Camelback Rd. | Phoenix, AZ 85017
Some of the military friendly features at GCU include ROTC scholarships and Tuition Assistance. They also offer a special military rate per credit hour and scholarship awards. These are set aside for Vets, their spouses, and employees of NOAA, PHS and DoD. A military university counselor helps students figure out if any of their experience gives college credit.
15 Purdue Global University
1801 East Kimberly Road, Suite 1 | Davenport, IA 52807
One of PGU's military friendly features is reduced tuition rates. Undergrad and current service members may get a 55% savings. Another is their PME2 Degree program. This turns professional military education (PME) and training into college credit. They also accept CLEP, DANTE and DSST. They also take part in the Air Force University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC). This assists airmen who want to transfer associate credits into a bachelor's program
16 Saint Leo University
33701 State Road 52 | Saint Leo, FL 33574
Total Post 9/11 GI Bill Funds Awarded in 2017: $23 Million
Military friendly policies at Saint Leo include access to many VA benefits. Some are TA assistance, vocational rehab, Veterans Upward Bound. The school also looks at military training for college credit and offers reduced tuition rates.
17 George Washington University
1918 F Street, NW | Washington DC 20052
Military friendly policies at GWU include access to benefits. There are also several scholarships set aside for military affiliated students. You can also look for dedicated support staff to walk you through admissions.
Credit for Military Training: NA
18 University of Southern California
University Park | Los Angeles, CA 90089
Though the last Military Friendly College on our list, USC undergrad average awards were the highest of all schools on the list. Military friendly policies at USC include fee waivers, access to VA benefits and merit scholarships. There are also Air Force, Army and Naval ROTC programs and scholarship opportunities. When you apply, you can also upload your JST and DD-214 for review.
Part Time: NA


text:
Un  est, dans les mythes, les légendes et le folklore du monde entier, un être humain transformé ou qui se croit transformé en cheval. Plus rare que la lycanthropie, cette transformation est décrite dans un certain nombre d'histoires depuis l'époque de la mythologie grecque. Désormais reconnue comme étant une maladie mentale, l'hippanthropie rejoint de façon plus large les différentes zoopathies, c'est-à-dire les maladies où des hommes se croient transformés en animaux.

Définition
L'hippanthropie est définie dans différents dictionnaires du  comme la mélancolie ou la maladie de ceux qui se croient changés en cheval.

Études de cas médicaux
Le Dictionnaire encyclopédique des sciences médicales cite plusieurs exemples d'hippanthropie :

Sauvages rapporte, sur la foi du père Le Conte, qu'un Chinois persuadé par des Bonzes de se réincarner en cheval après sa mort, et d'être chargé de porter les dépêches de son empereur dans l'Autre Monde, fut atteint de folie hippanthropique. Comme on lui avait recommandé de s'exercer sans cesse à la course, en évitant de mordre et de ruer, il se tenait sans cesse en haleine, goûtait à peine quelques heures d'un sommeil agité, se figurait sentir le poids de la selle, la gêne du mors, et entendre le claquement du fouet manié par le postillon qui devait le lancer. Au moment du réveil, il se trouvait inondé de sueur, et il se demandait s'il était homme ou cheval.

Mythologie grecque

L'hippanthropie est mentionnée dans l'histoire de Mélanippe fille de Chiron, une nymphe qui naquit douée du don de prophétie. Selon les versions, elle est changée en jument noire ou en cheval ailé en punition pour avoir révélé à Chiron qu'il perdrait son immortalité.

Contes

Notes et références

Articles connexes
 Thérianthropie

Cheval légendaire
Être zoomorphe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
import csv
import os
from copy import deepcopy
from django.db.models import Q
from myuw.models import ResourceCategoryPin
from myuw.models.res_category_link import ResCategoryLink
from myuw.dao.affiliation import get_all_affiliations
from myuw.dao.user import get_user_model
from myuw.dao.exceptions import InvalidResourceCategory

class MyuwLink:
    """
    Read the resource links from a file and store them
    in an array of Link objects.
    """

    _singleton = None

    def __init__(self, csv_filename=None):
        """
        Read data from csv, honer the order in the file
        """
        if csv_filename:
            self.csv_filename = csv_filename
        self.links = []
        path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__),
                            '..', 'data', self.csv_filename)

        with open(path, 'r', encoding="utf8") as csvfile:
            reader = csv.reader(csvfile, delimiter=',', quotechar='"')
            for row in reader:
                # print(', '.join(row))
                category = row[0]
                if category == 'Category':
                    continue
                subcategory = row[1]
                affiliation = row[2]
                central_url = row[3]
                central_title = row[4]
                seattle_url = row[5]
                seattle_title = row[6]
                bothell_url = row[7]
                bothell_title = row[8]
                tacoma_url = row[9]
                tacoma_title = row[10]

                new_tab = False
                if row[11] == "yes":
                    new_tab = True

                if len(central_url) > 0:
                    link = ResCategoryLink(
                        url=central_url,
                        title=central_title,
                        affiliation=affiliation,
                        category_name=category,
                        sub_category=subcategory,
                        new_tab=new_tab
                        )
                    link.set_category_id(category)
                    link.set_subcategory_id(subcategory)
                    self.links.append(link)

                if len(seattle_url) > 0:
                    link = ResCategoryLink(
                        url=seattle_url,
                        title=seattle_title,
                        affiliation=affiliation,
                        campus=ResCategoryLink.SEATTLE,
                        category_name=category,
                        sub_category=subcategory,
                        new_tab=new_tab
                        )
                    link.set_category_id(category)
                    link.set_subcategory_id(subcategory)
                    self.links.append(link)

                if len(bothell_url) > 0:
                    link = ResCategoryLink(
                        url=bothell_url,
                        title=bothell_title,
                        affiliation=affiliation,
                        campus=ResCategoryLink.BOTHELL,
                        category_name=category,
                        sub_category=subcategory,
                        new_tab=new_tab
                        )
                    link.set_category_id(category)
                    link.set_subcategory_id(subcategory)
                    self.links.append(link)

                if len(tacoma_url) > 0:
                    link = ResCategoryLink(
                        url=tacoma_url,
                        title=tacoma_title,
                        affiliation=affiliation,
                        campus=ResCategoryLink.TACOMA,
                        category_name=category,
                        sub_category=subcategory,
                        new_tab=new_tab
                        )
                    link.set_category_id(category)
                    link.set_subcategory_id(subcategory)
                    self.links.append(link)

    @classmethod
    def get_all_links(cls):
        if cls._singleton is None:
            cls._singleton = cls()
        return cls._singleton.links

class Res_Links(MyuwLink):
    """
    Read the resource links from a file and store them
    in an array of ResCategoryLink objects.
    """

    _singleton = None
    csv_filename = 'category_links_import.csv'

class Resource_Links(MyuwLink):
    """
    Read the explore links from a file and store them
    in an array of ResCategoryLink objects.
    """

    _singleton = None
    csv_filename = 'resource_link_import.csv'

    def get_all_grouped_links(self, request):
        category_list = []
        user = get_user_model(request)
        pinned = ResourceCategoryPin.get_user_pinned_categories(user)
        grouped_links = self.get_grouped_links(request, pinned)

        for category in grouped_links:
            category_list.append(grouped_links[category])

        return category_list

    def get_pinned_links(self, request):
        category_list = []
        user = get_user_model(request)
        pinned = ResourceCategoryPin.get_user_pinned_categories(user)
        grouped_links = self.get_grouped_links(request, pinned)
        self._filter_pinned(grouped_links)

        for category in grouped_links:
            category_list.append(grouped_links[category])

        return category_list

    def _filter_pinned(self, links):
        # python 3 RuntimeError: dictionary changed size during iteration
        # Add deepcopy. Fang 2018/10/11

        # remove unpinned subcats
        for category in deepcopy(links):
            for subcat in deepcopy(links[category]['subcategories']).keys():
                if not links[category]['subcategories'][subcat]['is_pinned']:
                    del links[category]['subcategories'][subcat]

        # remove cats w/o subcat
        for category in deepcopy(links).keys():
            subcat = links[category]['subcategories']
            if len(subcat) == 0:
                del links[category]

        return links

    def get_grouped_links(self, request, pinned_list=[]):
        if self.links is None:
            self.links = self.get_all_links()

        grouped_links = {}
        affiliations = get_all_affiliations(request)
        campus = get_base_campus(affiliations)

        for link in self.links:
            link = _get_link_by_affiliation(link, campus, affiliations)
            if link:
                if link.category_id not in grouped_links:
                    grouped_links[link.category_id] = \
                        {'category_name': link.category_name,
                         'category_id': link.category_id,
                         'subcategories': {}}
                subcats = grouped_links[link.category_id]['subcategories']
                if link.sub_category not in subcats:
                    subcat_id = link.category_id.lower() + \
                                link.subcategory_id.lower()
                    is_pinned = subcat_id in pinned_list
                    try:
                        order = pinned_list.index(subcat_id)
                    except ValueError:
                        order = None
                    subcats[link.sub_category] = \
                        {'subcat_name': link.sub_category,
                         'subcat_id': subcat_id,
                         'is_pinned': is_pinned,
                         'order': order,
                         'links': []}

                subcats[link.sub_category]['links'].append(
                    {'title': link.title,
                     'url': link.url})
        return grouped_links

    def category_exists(self, category_id):
        if self.links is None:
            self.links = self.get_all_links()
        for link in self.links:
            link_cat_id = link.category_id + link.subcategory_id
            if category_id == link_cat_id.lower():
                return True
        return False

def get_links_for_category(search_category_id, request):
    affiliations = get_all_affiliations(request)
    return _get_links_by_category_and_campus(search_category_id,
                                             get_base_campus(affiliations),
                                             affiliations)

def _get_links_by_category_and_campus(search_category_id,
                                      campus,
                                      affiliations):
    selected_links = []
    all_links = Res_Links.get_all_links()

    for link in all_links:
        if not link.category_id_matched(search_category_id):
            continue
        customized_link = _get_link_by_affiliation(link, campus, affiliations)
        if customized_link:
            selected_links.append(customized_link)

    return selected_links

def _get_link_by_affiliation(link, campus, affiliations):
    if link.all_affiliation() and link.campus_matched(campus):
        return link

    if link.campus_matched(campus) and \
            affiliations["grad"] and link.for_grad():
        return link

    if link.campus_matched(campus) and \
            affiliations["undergrad"] and link.for_undergrad():
        return link

    """
    MUWM-4831
    if link.campus_matched(campus) and \
            affiliations["fyp"] and link.for_fyp():
        return link
    """

    if link.campus_matched(campus) and \
            affiliations["pce"] and link.for_pce():
        return link

def pin_category(request, category_id):
    user = get_user_model(request)
    rs = Resource_Links()
    if rs.category_exists(category_id):
        rs_pin = ResourceCategoryPin.objects.\
            get_or_create(user=user, resource_category_id=category_id)
    else:
        raise InvalidResourceCategory(category_id)

def delete_categor_pin(request, category_id):
    user = get_user_model(request)
    pinned = ResourceCategoryPin.objects.\
        get(user=user, resource_category_id=category_id)
    if pinned:
        pinned.delete()

def get_base_campus(affiliations):
    """
    Return one currently enrolled campus.
    If not exist, return one affiliated campus.
    """
    is_stud = affiliations["student"]
    if (is_stud and affiliations.get("seattle") is True or
            affiliations.get("official_seattle") is True):
        return "seattle"
    if (is_stud and affiliations.get("bothell") is True or
            affiliations.get("official_bothell") is True):
        return "bothell"
    if (is_stud and affiliations.get("tacoma") is True or
            affiliations.get("official_tacoma") is True):
        return "tacoma"
    return ""

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Mailblocks Finds Its Messages Blocked
By Liane Cassavoy
Waiting for an e-mail that hasn't arrived? Fear important e-mail isn't reaching you at all? You're not alone. Those are problems facing some users of Mailblocks Challenge/Response spam-fighting service, who have found the system a little too challenging.
The system, which requires e-mail senders to meet a "challenge" before being able to directly contact Mailblocks users, was being stymied by the spam filters at major ISPs, including AOL and EarthLink. The ISPs were inadvertently delivering challenge messages to users' spam folders, instead of to their inboxes. That created an e-mail limbo where the users didn't know that people were trying to reach them, and senders didn't know their messages were not being read.
Both AOL and EarthLink say the problem has been corrected, though that claim is disputed by at least one user.
Mailblocks' Challenge/Response system requires senders attempting to contact Mailblocks users to respond to a challenge e-mail to prove that they are a legitimate correspondent. Once the challenge--which typically involves retyping a sequence of numbers--is met, the sender's e-mail is delivered to the Mailblocks user. Before the challenge is met, the e-mail message sits in the "pending" folder, where it can be accessed by the Mailblocks user. Mailblocks also allows users to create "whitelists" of users who will not be challenged, by adding those e-mail addresses to your address book.
Mailblocks, which was acquired by AOL in August, costs $9.95 per year with 15MB of storage, or $24.95 per year with 100MB of storage. Other software programs that use the challenge and response method are AllSpamGone, KnockKnock, and MailMender.
E-Mail Limbo
"I read about challenge/response and thought this was the ultimate solution to get rid of all spam," says Paul Altman, a computer consultant in Florida, who decided to sign up for Mailblocks in September. "Anyone is welcome to e-mail you, but they have to be a human being."
Within one day of signing up for Mailblocks, however, Altman says he ran into problems. "People were writing to me, and I was never getting the messages," he says. "I asked them, and they weren't getting the challenges."
Altman realized that the messages sent to him were simply sitting in his pending mail folder. And the challenges that Mailblocks was sending back to those correspondents? They were getting marked as spam by both AOL and EarthLink and were delivered to junk mail folders instead of the users' inboxes.
"We're still examining the problem, we're taking a look at what occurred," says Nicholas Graham, a spokesperson for both AOL and Mailblocks. He says that the problem has now been corrected. "It was not a long-standing or recurring problem," he says. "It was very brief."
Altman disputes the claim that the problem has been resolved, though he no longer uses Mailblocks. He was contacted by a Mailblocks representative on October 22, after PC World forwarded his contact information to the company while discussing this story. Altman still believes Mailblocks has not fixed the problem, and says he spoke to a Mailblocks tech support representative last week who told him just that.
Searching for a Solution
When AOL first acquired Mailblocks in August, Graham says, AOL became aware that the challenge messages were being delivered to spam folders instead of to users' inboxes, he says. At the time, AOL reconfigured the return path of the e-mail messages so they would be delivered to the correct location, he says. "We recognize that these e-mails should be considered legitimate e-mails that our members should be able to receive," he says.
Altman says his problems occurred in late September, well after AOL had purchased Mailblocks. Once he realized that his correspondents were not receiving the challenge e-mail, he decided to test the system himself. He sent an e-mail to his Mailblocks account from his own EarthLink e-mail address, and found that the Mailblocks challenge was directed into his EarthLink spam folder.
He e-mailed Mailblocks' tech support to report the problem, and was startled by the reply. "They wrote back and said, 'Hey, that happens with some ISPs, why don't you turn off the challenge/response and just manually add the e-mail addresses of people you already know to your address book?' I was taken aback. It was as if they were admitting their service doesn't work," he says. "It's like I bought a car that's great in every respect except I can't turn the key and get it to start."
AOL became aware that the problem was reoccurring in early October, Graham says. "Because of a glitch about a week ago, we did notice that challenge/response e-mails from Mailblocks were being marked as spam. We had to relist the IP addresses that Mailblocks is using to send challenges," he says.
EarthLink became aware of the problem only after the company was contacted by AOL regarding this PC World story, but says the company will have it fixed by the time this story is published. "We're whitelisting [AOL and Mailblocks] challenges, and they're whitelisting ours," says Jerry Grasso, an EarthLink spokesperson. EarthLink offers its own challenge/response system as an optional part of its spam protection for its users.
Both AOL and EarthLink say they had not received any user complaints about this issue until notified of Altman's problems by PC World.
After becoming frustrated with Mailblocks' response to his problems, Altman says he requested a refund, a request that was denied. However, after hearing of Altman's complaints, Graham said the company would be in touch with him and will refund his money if he is still unsatisfied with the Mailblocks service.
Graham also says that AOL has not decided exactly how Mailblocks will be integrated into AOL's product offerings, but says the process will take place later this year and into early next year. "We're still looking into the various options," he says. "We acquired Mailblocks because it is an award-winning, industry-leading service. Right now it continues to operate the same way it did before we acquired it, and current users will continue to be able to use the same kind of Mailblocks features they use now."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A few days ago FSFE Fellowship group Slovenia sent an open letter concerning the misuse of the term "hacker". There is an English translation (with the Slovenian original) available on my page as well.
Today I am happy to report that this action had a bigger impact that we hoped for!
Delo – probably the most serious Slovenian daily newspaper was very keen on publishing our open letter in the readers' letters section in the printed edition.
Dnevnik – the other major daily newspaper has also published the open letter under readers' letters in both the printed form and online.
Večer – another rather popular Slovenian newspaper seems like it will publish it tomorrow (according to its archive) has published it in its readers' letters section.
Moj Mikro – one of the most prominent computer magazines in Slovenia, has published the open letter under news (although without mentioning any authorship or signatures).
RTV Slovenia – from the national broadcast the lector wrote back to thank for the "extraordinarily well written and useful explanation" and stated she will try to follow it as much as possible.
the aforementioned translation on my blog got already 2500+ hits until today.
« Open letter to the media about the misuse of the term "hacker"


text:
Ryanair Wants to Fly Porn Planes, Airbus Faces Criminal Probe in India: Final Call
More articles by admin »
Tags: Air France Flight 447, Air India, India, Indian Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines, Michael O'Leary, New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Red Arrows, Ryanair
Photo of the Day: Houses facing Boston's Logan Airport get a face full of jet blast as an Air France Airbus A340-300 taxis off the runway after landing. (Photo by Steve Furst)
• Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary says the airline's new in-flight video system will allow passengers to watch pornographic movies, justifying it by saying, "Hotels around the world have it, so why wouldn't we?" Well, for one thing, Mr. O'Leary, hotel customers are separated by walls and doors. [The Sun]
• Airbus may face a criminal probe from Indian authorities over a 2005 order for A320s by the now defunct Indian Airlines. [Bangalore Aviation]
• French investigators have now identified the remains of 153 victims of Air France Flight 447. [RTE]
• Dozens of flights have been canceled by India's Kingfisher Airlines this week, though there are conflicting reports on whether it is due to cash shortages, a reorganization or both. [Hindustan Times]
• A pilot for England's Red Arrows aerobatic team was killed Tuesday when his ejector seat fired while his plane was on the ground at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. It is only the second fatal accident in the team's history, the first coming just a few weeks ago when a plane crashed during a performance. [Sky News]
• Somebody shined a laser at six planes on approach to LaGuardia Airport on Saturday. [USA Today]
What's Happening At The 2019 Paris Air Show (Updated 3X)
The 2019 edition of the Paris Air Show is happening this week. The biennial show is traditionally a place where new aircraft are launched and new orders flow in. Follow along here all this week as we recap each day's happ...
by Ben Granucci
United Airlines Moves to its New LaGuardia Home
United's new five-gate section at LaGuardia's Central Terminal Building replacement has opened for business.
JetBlue Unveils Bruins Themed "Bear Force One"
JetBlue's "Bear Force One," a jet featuring the Boston Bruins hockey team's black and gold logo, was unveiled to the public on May 13, 2019.
by Michael Lothrop
The Refreshed Aer Lingus Livery: Teal Is The New Green
Aer Lingus revealed a new livery last week. We take a look at the changes and share our thoughts on the new look.
UAS in the USA: A History of Drone Regulations
The FAA has developed regulations for drone operators to operate their UAS for fun or for profit in a legal and safe environment, but the path was not always quick or straightforward.
by David J. Williams


Looking for your next career? Auto Credit Express headquarters is located in beautiful Auburn Hills, Michigan near Oakland University. If you have the drive, we have the keys!
Why would you want to work for Auto Credit Express?
Auto Credit Express is a dynamic, fast growing company that encourages cooperation, collaboration and values our most important resource, our employees. We offer unlimited opportunities to our employees. We provide a working environment that encourages creativity, innovation, recognition, and involvement at all levels. We want your input, your ideas, your enthusiasm, and your can-do attitude. We want smart people who have an affinity for team collaboration and a passion for helping co-workers.
We are one big family that works hard, plays hard, and has fun along the way. We host fun events to thank and acknowledge employees for their contributions throughout the year.


Combination therapy is preferred over monotherapy to treat cancer as it can show better therapeutic outcomes and also delay the onset of resistance by targeting multiple cell-survival pathways in cancer cells. Rationally developed combinations with monoclonal antibodies and small molecule drugs in the form of antibody-drug conjugates or antibody nanoparticle conjugates allow us to take advantage of the cellular targeting of the potent cytotoxic agents, thereby widening the scope for dose reduction while maintaining the required therapeutic response. This can in turn improve patient tolerability by reducing the off target toxicities. For the therapy of ErbB2 positive breast cancer, the monoclonal antibody, Trastuzumab, is the FDA approved therapy. The receptor tyrosine kinase, ErbB2 is a viable target in 20-25 % breast cancer patients due to its overexpression. Its degradation is associated with slower progression of the disease and increased survival times. While the monoclonal antibody Trastuzumab (Herceptin™) is the first line therapy in such patients, monotherapy with Trastuzumab has shown little benefit and therefore must be given with chemotherapeutic agents. Such combinations also help in delaying the development of resistance to Trastuzumab, since multiple cellular pathways can be targeted simultaneously. ErbB2 is a client protein of heat shock protein 90 and 17-N-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) is a potent inhibitor of HSP90. Previous work in our lab has demonstrated strong synergy of action between 17-AAG and a model cytotoxic agent doxorubicin. In order to further improve the efficacy of the therapy, our goal was to replace doxorubicin with a more potent, clinically relevant agent paclitaxel (PTX), which has been shown to have strong synergistic antitumor effect with 17-AAG in ErbB2-driven breast cancers. Since synergy of such therapy is often sequence and dose ratio specific, co-delivery of the drugs via the same vehicle is desirable as well as beneficial. For this purpose, polymeric micelles prepared from a biodegradable block copolymer were chose. Polypeptides have an inherent property to assemble into supramolecular structures in solution. The formation of supramolecular structures is a controlled and organized process that depends by and large on the nature of the polypeptide and conditions of the solvent it is exposed to. Formation of amphiphilic copolymers based on such polypeptides can allow for tailoring the assembly process to a predefined nanoscale supramolecular structure, which can then be used as drug delivery vehicles. The overall process of self-assembly of such amphiphilic copolymers can then be regarded as a complex phenomenon of structural organization that is governed by the nature of constituent hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks, their relative lengths, as well as properties of the solvent-phobic block that is the driving force for self-assembly. The inherent biocompatibility and biodegradability of polypeptides is of additional advantage for their biological applications. For the purpose of the current study, amphiphilic block copolymer with following composition was chosen: polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the hydrophilic, stealth imparting block and polyleucine (PLeu) as the hydrophobic part and the initiator of micelle formation in aqueous environment. The variables explored in the current study were altering the ratio of lengths of constituent blocks as well as chirality of PLeu block and the temperature of solvent used for preparation of micelles via the film rehydration method. The impact of all these variables on the thermodynamic stability as well as type of secondary structures formed and the influence of these attributes on the ability of the micelles to encapsulate a combination of hydrophobic drugs into their core are also described. Dual drug-loaded micelles thus prepared could load 17-AAG and PTX in a ratio 2:1 by weight. The formulation showed a high level of synergy on BT-474 cells that express a high amount of ErbB2 while the synergy was negligible in ErbB2low MCF-7 cells. The strong synergy also observed when the formulation was tested in an orthotopic breast cancer mouse model developed using ErbB2 overexpressing BT-474 cells, and an arrest in the growth of tumors in animals treated with dual drug-loaded micelles was observed, while both 17-AAG and PTX were used at sub therapeutic doses of 10 mg and 5 mg equivalents per kg body weight. The lower doses also helped avoid toxicity associated with the therapy. We also show the importance of simultaneously delivering the two drugs via a single carrier system as opposed to cocktail of individual drug-loaded micelles administered at equivalent doses, which has a better therapeutic outcome than the cocktail therapy. These combination drug-loaded micelles were developed as a platform for chemotherapy with Trast. The triple therapeutic system of Trast with combination drug-loaded micelles containing 17-AAG and PTX exhibited an even stronger anticancer effect, with complete regression of tumors at the end of treatment, which reached a palpable size again after day 45 with much slower progression than other treatment controls.
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignancies, due to aggressive tumorigenicity, early metastasis and development of drug resistance to standard care chemotherapy. Since its approval in 1997, Gemcitabine (Gem) has been the first-line treatment for advanced disease. However, there is no standard second-line therapy after Gem failure. FOLFIRINOX, a combination of four agents, folinic acid, fluorouracil, irinotecan and oxaliplatin was approved by the FDA in 2010. The rationale for this combination was based on these drugs having a different mechanism of action, and, more importantly, non-overlapping toxicities. In cases that could tolerate FOLFIRINOX, an overall improvement in the survival times as well as quality of life was noted. However, even the toxicities are non-overlapping, the cumulative toxicity profile for FOLFIRINOX can become the dose limiting factor. In the first trial itself, 50.8% of the patients needed dose adjustment. The common toxicities observed with FOLFIRINOX include Febrile neutropenia, Thrombocytopenic bleeding, ≥ grade 3 platelets, Grade 2 persistent neurotoxicity, Grade 3 persistent neurotoxicity OR Grade 4 neurotoxicity and many more non-hematological toxicities. Most of the toxicities are severe enough to require discontinuation of the treatment or switching to lower doses or alternative agents. The combination of Gem with Cisplatin (CDDP) has been explored in clinical trials for metastatic disease. As a part of FOLFIRINOX, platinum compounds showed significant efficacy. Cisplatin acts by damaging the DNA. It is known to first get converted into the aqua form within the cell, which happens by the replacement of the labile chloro groups with water molecules. This active form is then able to form covalently linked adducts with the DNA. This initial assault then goes on to activate a series of signaling pathways that ultimately lead to apoptosis and cell death. The DNA adducts thus formed can cause distortion of the DNA and subsequent recognition by various cellular proteins. This leads to problems in DNA synthesis and replication and is reported to cause a prolonged G2 cell-cycle phase arrest. However, the exact mechanism of activation of the apoptotic pathways remains unclear. On the other hand, gemcitabine is a deoxycytidine analog. Its mechanism of activation involves conversion into its triphosphate form, which can then be incorporated into the DNA as a false nucleotide. Usually, one more deoxynucleotide can be incorporated into the DNA before the synthesis stops. Another minor mechanism of action of gemcitabine is its ability to inhibit ribonucleotide reductase, which plays a key role in the repair mechanism of the DNA. Many studies report the benefit of administration of gemcitabine prior to that of cisplatin; the reason cited for this is the increase in the formation of Pt-DNA adducts when the DNA had already been damaged and exposed due to the incorporation of deoxycytidine or active gemcitabine. The gemcitabine in turn inhibits the repair of the formed Pt-DNA adducts as well as reduces the efficacy of nucleotide excision repair by its ability to inhibit the action of ribonucleotide reductase. On the other hand, when Pt compounds are administered prior to gemcitabine, the formed Pt-DNA adducts can no longer allow for the incorporation of gemcitabine and that leaves no scope for gemcitabine to act. Our preliminary in vitro studies with the free drugs on T3M4 Simple Cells (COSMC deleted cells) showed that synergy of the combination is schedule-dependent, and Gem administration followed by CDDP showed the most potent cytotoxic activity. However, this combination proved to be only marginally effective in actual practice due to combined increased toxicity of both the agents. We have shown that encapsulation of CDDP in polymeric nanogels with cross-linked ionic cores enhanced its tumor accumulation and improved its safety profile. Additionally, sustained release profile of CDDP from nanogels allows for the administration of free Gem and CDDP loaded nanogels in a single injection while still retaining schedule-dependent synergy of the combination. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells are known to express truncated O-glycans (Tn and STn antigens) and it was shown that decorating the nanogels with an antibody directed against this antigen further enhanced their uptake by tumor cells while reducing off-target accumulation in an in vivo pancreatic cancer model.
Soni, Kruti, "Targeted Delivery of Drug Combinations Via Nanocarriers for Cancer Treatment" (2017). Theses & Dissertations. 180.


This recipe for Chicken Mole Tradicional comes from Rick Bayless, considered the foremost authority of Mexican cooking in America, and his book Mexico, One Plate at a Time, with just a couple of modifications. I did not fry the chilies, because I have found that there is a fine line between properly frying them and toasting them to the point of turning them bitter, and over time and making Chili Colorado, I found it doesn't make that much if any, difference in the end product.
This is a great dish to make on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
Best cooked at least a few days in advance to allow the flavors to fully blend, it is still excellent when served the same day. It is a bit work intensive, but so worth it. I cook the chicken with the skin on to maintain juiciness and then removed it because chicken skin generally turns rubbery when it sits in liquid, besides, I don't need the extra fat.
This Chicken Mole Tradicional recipe is a great dish to make with someone you love on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon. A little music, perhaps a Margherita, chop chop, whirl whirl, eat and enjoy!
*I got my lard from my local Mexican market. It does add to the dish, and really, fat is fat, and even though this is saturated fat, you aren't eating mole everyday now are you?
Mise en place - the French cooking term that means, get everything ready before you begin. That's the first step, stem and seed your chilies, toast your bread, measure everything out and have everything in little piles or containers. Set out two bowls.
Spread the tomatillos on a baking sheet and put under the broiler. Broil about 5 minutes, or until darkly roasted and blackened in spots. Turn them over and roast the other side, 4 - 5 minutes or until blackened, blistered and soft. Scrape them, juice and all into one of the bowls.
Set out a pair of tongs and a slotted spoon.
If your sesame seeds aren't already toasted, toast them in a small skillet set over medium heat. Scrape 2/3's of them into the bowl with the tomatillos, reserve the rest for garnish.
Put the chilies in a large bowl, cover with 2 1/2 cups boiling water (place a plate on top of them to keep them submerged) allow them to soak for 30 minutes.
Heat a large Dutch oven or Mexican cazuela over medium heat. Measure the lard or oil into the pot and heat over medium heat. Fry the garlic and almonds, stirring, until the garlic is soft and the almonds are browned throughout about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the tomatillos. Always try to leave as much of the fat in the pot as possible.
Add the raisins to the pot; stir for about 30 seconds, or until they are puffed up. Scoop them out and add to the tomatillos.
Use tongs and put the chilies in a blender with soaking liquid. Blend until smooth; then put through the medium disk of a food mill, or force through a medium sieve to collect the skins, strain into the empty chile soaking bowl.
Without washing the blender, scrape the tomatillo mixture into it along with 1 cup water, the cinnamon, pepper, cloves, bread, and chocolate(s). Blend to a smooth paste; then put it through the same food mill or strainer, straining it back into its original bowl.
Check the fat in the pot. If there is more than a light coating, remove some, if it is not coated, add a little. Set the heat to medium-high; scrape in the chile puree and stir nearly constantly until the mixture has darkened considerably and to the consistency of tomato paste, 10 to 15 minutes. (Here the stirring is very important, otherwise, the mixture will bubble and send drops of hot chili all over the stove, it's a mess, trust me.) When it's reached this point, add the tomatillo mixture and stir again for another 10 or 15 minutes, until quite thick.
Add 6 cups water and stir to combine thoroughly. Partially cover; reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 45 minutes. Check the consistency; the mole should be thick enough to coat a spoon, but not too thickly. If too thin, simmer uncovered until it reaches the right consistency, if too thick, add a little water. Add the sugar and stir well.
Heat the oven to 375º F.
While the mole cooks, heat a fry pan with a little oil over medium heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper; and put skin side down in the hot pan, allow to brown, then turn and brown the other side. Turn skin side up, and if the frying pan is oven safe, put it into the oven and cook the chicken, about 30 minutes. (If the frying pan is not oven safe transfer the chicken to a baking dish.) Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle remove the skin.
I served this as one of the courses for my "Dinner around the World" dinner party. Because it was one of many courses, I used chicken drumettes rather than large whole chicken pieces. It was perfect in size and flavor.
Well, you can use vegetable oil. And granted it is time intensive, but it's darn good!
Made this for a Spring Birthday Party – it was devoured! I made it with Coconut Oil, a saturated fat. Added a little less sugar, because the coconut oil tends to have a sweet affect. Gave that rich mouthfeel, but pleased the lard adverse crowd. Thank you!
I would think coconut oil, while not traditional,would lend a nice taste to the dish. Glad you and your guests enjoyed it.
Olá, addorei muito do seu web-blog! achei o conteúdo muito bem escrito.
Use photos and color. Use links to show information. Write and improve. Learn and improve. It's a process. Good luck.


text:
Hybrids increase fish biodiversity in lakes of East Africa
The lakes of East Africa are home to a surprising number of different cichlid species. This level of biodiversity has developed partly due to hybrids that managed to take over new ecological niches in their habitats, according to recent research carried out by scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, and the University of Bern.
When two individuals from different species mate, the offspring is known as a hybrid. As a result of the genomes being mixed, sometimes phenotypes are produced that deal with new environmental conditions better than the two parent species. Very often, hybrids are not able to reproduce, but there are quite a number of exceptions to this, including the cichlids. New species can emerge from such fertile hybrid populations. In other cases, however, hybrids are less well-suited to their environment and so contribute little to the gene pool of future generations. Which of these situations arises depends, among other things, on how many unoccupied ecological niches exist in the hybrids' habitat.
In several earlier studies, Ole Seehausen and his team at Eawag and the University of Bern have highlighted the probable importance of hybridisation for the development of biodiversity in African lakes. Seehausen and his colleague Oliver Selz have now performed laboratory experiments with cichlids from Lake Victoria in Africa, in order to investigate the ecological mechanisms behind this phenomenon.
They discovered that hybrids are less efficient at using the food that the parent species are specialised to eat. But if the available food is expanded beyond the ecological niches of the parent species, hybrids are often then better able to exploit these new niches than their parents. Diverse ecosystems with as-yet unoccupied niches could therefore favour the emergence of new species.
Hybridisation promoted speciation in Lake Mweru
Another recent study that was reported in the journal Nature Communications also highlights the influence of hybridisation on speciation. Joana Meier and Ole Seehausen worked with an international research team to investigate the biodiversity and evolutionary history of fish in two large neighbouring African lakes – Lake Bangweulu and Lake Mweru. While eleven cichlid species colonised Lake Mweru from the Congo and Zambezi Rivers, only six species from the Zambezi ended up in Lake Bangweulu.
The researchers have now been able to show that around 40 new species have emerged in Lake Mweru from hybridisation between Congo and Zambezi species. However, the researchers did not find any new species in Lake Bangweulu, nor did they find any hybridisation between the colonising species. "The studies show that hybridisation between two species under certain ecological conditions can play a part in the emergence of numerous new species", says Ole Seehausen.
Original publications
Interspecific hybridization can generate functional novelty in cichlid fish
The role of interspecific hybridization in evolution is still being debated. Interspecific hybridization has been suggested to facilitate the evolution of ecological novelty, and hence the invasion of new niches and adaptive radiation when ecological opportunity is present beyond the parental species niches. On the other hand, hybrids between two ecologically divergent species may perform less well than parental species in their respective niches because hybrids would be intermediate in performance in both niches. The evolutionary consequences of hybridization may hence be context-dependent, depending on whether ecological opportunities, beyond those of the parental species, do or do not exist. Surprisingly, these complementary predictions may never have been tested in the same experiment in animals. To do so, we investigate if hybrids between ecologically distinct cichlid species perform less well than the parental species when feeding on food either parent is adapted to, and if the same hybrids perform better than their parents when feeding on food none of the species are adapted to. We generated two first-generation hybrid crosses between species of African cichlids. In feeding efficiency experiments we measured the performance of hybrids and parental species on food types representing both parental species niches and additional 'novel' niches, not used by either of the parental species but by other species in the African cichlid radiations. We found that hybrids can have higher feeding efficiencies on the 'novel' food types but typically have lower efficiencies on parental food types when compared to parental species. This suggests that hybridization can generate functional variation that can be of ecological relevance allowing the access to resources outside of either parental species niche. Hence, we provide support for the hypothesis of ecological context-dependency of the evolutionary impact of interspecific hybridization.
Selz, O. M.; Seehausen, O. (2019) Interspecific hybridization can generate functional novelty in cichlid fish, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1913), 20191621 (9 pp.), doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.1621, Institutional Repository
The coincidence of ecological opportunity with hybridization explains rapid adaptive radiation in Lake Mweru cichlid fishes
The process of adaptive radiation was classically hypothesized to require isolation of a lineage from its source (no gene flow) and from related species (no competition). Alternatively, hybridization between species may generate genetic variation that facilitates adaptive radiation. Here we study haplochromine cichlid assemblages in two African Great Lakes to test these hypotheses. Greater biotic isolation (fewer lineages) predicts fewer constraints by competition and hence more ecological opportunity in Lake Bangweulu, whereas opportunity for hybridization predicts increased genetic potential in Lake Mweru. In Lake Bangweulu, we find no evidence for hybridization but also no adaptive radiation. We show that the Bangweulu lineages also colonized Lake Mweru, where they hybridized with Congolese lineages and then underwent multiple adaptive radiations that are strikingly complementary in ecology and morphology. Our data suggest that the presence of several related lineages does not necessarily prevent adaptive radiation, although it constrains the trajectories of morphological diversification. It might instead facilitate adaptive radiation when hybridization generates genetic variation, without which radiation may start much later, progress more slowly or never occur.
Meier, J. I.; Stelkens, R. B.; Joyce, D. A.; Mwaiko, S.; Phiri, N.; Schliewen, U. K.; Selz, O. M.; Wagner, C. E.; Katongo, C.; Seehausen, O. (2019) The coincidence of ecological opportunity with hybridization explains rapid adaptive radiation in Lake Mweru cichlid fishes, Nature Communications, 10, 5391 (11 pp.), doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13278-z, Institutional Repository
Created by Stephanie Schnydrig
Ole SeehausenTel. +41 58 765 2121Send Mail
Oliver SelzTel. +41 58 765 2146Send Mail
Stephanie SchnydrigScience editorTel. +41 58 765 6432Send Mail