The Scrovegni Chapel [tskroh-VEH-nyeeh] is a true masterpiece, located among the ruins of the ancient Arena of Padua. As for its exterior, it is nothing exceptional. It's a teeny chapel, built between 1303 and 1305, as part of a sumptuous palace that once was in this area, property of Enrico Scrovegni, hence the name.
The real highlights of the Scrovegni Chapel are the frescoes by Giotto. He painted the entire surface with precise decorative and symbolic project, grounded on the theme of salvation. Since the chapel pictures were not allowed at the time of my last visit, in this post I am attaching Wikipedia photos.
On the side walls: Stories of Joachim and Anna (the parents of the Virgin), the Virgin and Christ (38 panels).
At the bottom of the side walls: monochromatic allegories of Vices (Despair, Envy, Infidelity, Injustice, Wrath, Inconstancy, Foolishness) and Virtues (Hope, Faith, Charity, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence), facing each other.
On the wall of the former entrance door (opposite to the current entrance): the Last Judgement. On the top there's Jesus with patriarchs, angels, archangels and apostles. On the centre of the scene there are: to the left the blessed ones, to right the damned, devoured by Lucifer or tortured by other devils (there is a man on a spit, one that is sawn in two, a man hanged by his tongue… I leave you the "pleasure" to discover the others by yourselves). At the bottom, under the cross, the client Enrico Scrovegni offers a model of the chapel to the Virgin and two saints.
Everything is crowned by the vault, decorated with eight-pointed stars on a ultramarine blue sky (colour that symbolizes the divine wisdom).
Compared to the Stories of St. Francis in Assisi, Giotto shows greater maturity and mastery of painting. In the human figures feelings and passions are vividly represented. The architectures are more realistic, anticipating the discovery of perspective of the fifteenth century.
Reginaldo Scrovegni, deceased father of the client, was a usurer. Even Dante Alighieri mentions him in his "Inferno". His son Enrico decided to build the chapel to ask God forgiveness for his father's sins.
In The Adoration of the Magi panel you can see the star of Bethlehem passing over the hut. Well, Giotto used as a model the Halley's Comet he had observed in 1301.
The seats of the city tram are decorated with the motif of the eight-pointed stars on ultramarine blue, recalling the Scrovegni Chapel's vault frescoes.
The Massacre of the Innocents panel shows a group of mothers desperate for the fate of their children. It was only thanks to the last restoration (ended in 2002) that the tears on the mothers faces have re-emerged. These are the first tears shown in the history of painting.
I booked online the day before the visit, choosing the time slot and then paying by credit card. The next day I went to the Ticket Office one hour before the visit, with the printed receipt. After leaving my bag at the cloakroom (for free), I spent the next 50 minutes in the multimedia room where a nice lady explained to me and to other tourists some details about the frescoes. It was very interesting and allowed me to appreciate more the visit. When the time to get in arrived, after a stop at the toilets (very clean), I went to the chapel. It is necessary to seat in the compensation room for 15 minutes (watching an informative video), to stabilize the internal micro-climate, in order not to damage the frescoes. Only then you enter the chapel and you can stay there for 15 minutes.
I had already seen the chapel twice, before the last restoration. I already thought that it was beautiful. But now, after seeing it restored, I think it's a marvel. The frescoes are unique. I especially loved the Last Judgement and its grotesque figures. But the thing that most impressed me was the blue colour, a wonderful spiritual blue that you can not forget. It is definitely worth a visit.
It not possible to reserve for the same day in which you intend to visit the Chapel.
You can not bring pets, bags, food and drinks inside the Chapel.
Getting there from the train station Walk along the avenue towards the city centre (leaving the train station façade behind you). Stay on the left side of the road. Past the bridge and continue straight ahead. You will walk along the perimeter of the public gardens and then you will spot the Roman Arena ruins. Follow the inclination of the Arena walls. After the bend to the left, you will see a church on the right. Left of the church you will find the Eremitani Museum Entrance (which is also the Scrovegni Chapel entrance).
I entered the Chapel of Giotto, where the whole vault and the backgrounds of the frescoes are so turquoise to make believe that the radiant day had, too, crossed the threshold with the visitor.


the Mama is sooooooo in love with her babies.
"hey, let's spell letters wiff me!"
questions of "why do numbers go on forever?"
requests of "will you tell me some Tall Tales?"
feeding Kermit. that was so cool!! when our friends Aubrey, Xavier, and Soleil were over the other day we were very brave and decided to feed our plant. Kermit. this was friday. we fed it a slug that i found under some paper in the backyard. i was hesitant, but you know. the babes were eager. guess what!?! by sunday night it had already digested it!! the leaves had already started opening back up again! Wow!!! the mama is still amazed by the whole thing.
spring has sprung. one day were were tiny buds on the trees, and two days later the trees are green. amazing!
slugs and meat eating plants...makes me queazy, but I bet the kids loved it! Almost makes me want to get one!
Ditto CP, I would have been gagging but everyone would have been hootin and hollering all around.


Hide your kids, hide your wife! No wait! Hide the veggies in your smoothie. If your family is picky, they will love this delicious drink that tastes like a fruit shake, but is a healthy smoothie.
Let's face it – getting kids to eat their vegetables has been a problem for parents since the dawn of time (exaggeration). You know what I'm talking about…that uphill battle of sitting down at the table and pulling out every strategic move to try and convince your kid to eat their veggies. If you're anything like me, you probably had your veggies that you liked, and the ones that you absolutely hated, just like your kids do now.
But since we've grown and have gained oh-so much wisdom as adults, we know the importance of working vegetables into your everyday meals, especially for your kids. So I've created the perfect blend for this healthy smoothie that I call Hide Your Veggies!
A healthy smoothie without the spinach or kale to turn it green. You're kids will love it.
With ingredients like delicious beets, tangy oranges, strawberries, chia seeds, and carrots, your kids will get a variety of fruits and veggies perfect for starting the day right, or even a great afternoon snack.
Try my Green Goddess Smoothie smoothie too!
What is it that really makes this smoothie so healthy for your kids? Well, you might be surprised, but it's the smallest ingredient in the recipe that makes the biggest difference – the chia seeds!
Chia seeds contain a huge amount of nutrients in their tiny little shape. In fact, there are 11 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein in a 1 ounce serving of chia seeds. What's more, chia seeds contain several nutrients that are important for your and your child's bone health, including: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and protein.
Beets and chia seeds pack a nutrient punch in my Hide Your Veggies Smoothie!
Beets pack a health punch as well. As far as veggies go, they're great, albeit high in sugar. So I use them sparingly here.
Beets are a great source of betaine, a nutrient that helps protects cells, proteins, and enzymes from environmental stress. That lovely nutrient also fights inflammation, and helps prevent numerous chronic diseases.
Needless to say, this healthy smoothie is a blessing in disguise – literally! So go ahead, bust out those veggies and put them to good use. Your kids will love the sweet flavor of the smoothie, and you'll love knowing that they're getting their needed intake of veggies.
Soak the chia seeds in 1/4 cup water for 20 minutes. Place all the ingredients in the blender, including the chia and water, and process until smooth. Serve immediately.
Hide your veggies! Sweet beets are a surprising (and mega-healthy!) addition to this morning shake.
Packing your meal into a glass? Here's one of my favorite ways to DRINK blueberries!
This post may include affiliate links. For more information please see my disclosure statement.
Check Out More Of My Smoothie Recipes!
Hope these work for some little boys i know!


Trouble Shooters turned 75 this year and we couldn't have done it without being diligent about job site safety! We are one of the only small plumbing businesses in the Toronto area with a very clean health and safety record.
So how did we do it? Well, by remaining vigilant to training our team each and every year on new and current job site safety procedures. We are also a member of ContractorCheck; a yearly Health and Safety accreditation program for contractors all across Ontario. This certification shows we go above and beyond to ensure safety compliance for all of our customers.
Our yearly training is not cheap and thus we see more and more of our competitors struggling to keep up and failing to complete their training altogether. Stopping this training is not a wise decision based on how many dangers are present on the job site. It leads to loss time injury's that are difficult for both the company and employee.
To help out our fellow plumbers we have compiled our top job site safety tips.
Trucks need service, equipment spontaneously breaks and power cords can wear out. ALWAYS inspect all your equipment before you use it. That includes the work vehicle you drive. You wouldn't drive your personal car with the headlights out, and we would never want you to drive our truck that way. Monthly or even bi-weekly inspections on trucks and equipment help us catch these safety concerns before they cause a hazard.
2) When was the last time you reviewed WHMIS?
Our plumbers come into contact with all kinds of substances while doing work; that's why we do a yearly WHMIS review with our team. Did you know liquid drain cleaners can cause skin burns? Customers put that down their drain all the time before we go to unclog the drain. That's why it's CRUCIAL to know how to deal with hazardous substances. All of our trucks are stocked with MSDS sheets of substances the team uses or could come into contact with. They help identify the risks and outline proper handling procedures.
Always ask yourself life-saving questions before you do work. Is it safe to be that high up on the ladder? Is that small space a confined space? Should you have a partner to help lift that heavy pipe? Injuries can happen when you don't take the time to really think through if a situation or job site is safe. We always partner up, get scaffolding or figure out a safer way to complete a job rather than put any one of our team members at risk. Figuring out a safer way can sometimes mean sending our team for specialized training.
4) Are you stocked up for success?
The workday can be piled up with outstanding jobs, but if your truck isn't stocked for success you are endangering yourself and the completion of jobs. Having the right size ladder (sometimes this means scaffolding!), first aid kit, commercial grade fire extinguisher, and health & safety booklet are a few essentials you need to always have. For us, these are on all trucks at all times. Then you need to make sure any common plumbing materials are also present. It wastes everyone's time if you need to pop out to a supplier for an item you should have had on the truck. Stock up always.


The first high quality draft of the grape genome sequence has just been published. This is a critical step in accessing all the genes of this species and increases the chances of exploiting the natural genetic diversity through association genetics. However, our basic knowledge of the extent of allelic variation within the species is still not sufficient. Towards this goal, we constructed nested genetic core collections (G-cores) to capture the simple sequence repeat (SSR) diversity of the grape cultivated compartment (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sativa) from the world's largest germplasm collection (Domaine de Vassal, INRA Hérault, France), containing 2262 unique genotypes.
Sub-samples of 12, 24, 48 and 92 varieties of V. vinifera L. were selected based on their genotypes for 20 SSR markers using the M-strategy. They represent respectively 58%, 73%, 83% and 100% of total SSR diversity. The capture of allelic diversity was analyzed by sequencing three genes scattered throughout the genome on 233 individuals: 41 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using the G-92 core (one SNP for every 49 nucleotides) while only 25 were observed using a larger sample of 141 individuals selected on the basis of 50 morphological traits, thus demonstrating the reliability of the approach.
The G-12 and G-24 core-collections displayed respectively 78% and 88% of the SNPs respectively, and are therefore of great interest for SNP discovery studies. Furthermore, the nested genetic core collections satisfactorily reflected the geographic and the genetic diversity of grape, which are also of great interest for the study of gene evolution in this species.
The study of natural allelic diversity has proved fruitful in understanding the genetic basis of complex traits [1–6]. However, exploiting it successfully through association genetics requires basic knowledge of the extent of allelic variation within a species. One of the most interesting ways to achieve this goal consists of developing high-density diversity maps like the those developed in human and chicken, which allow the identification of causal polymorphisms for important traits [7–10]. The recent publication of the first high quality draft of the grapevine genome sequence opens the way to building such a diversity map . Like in animals or in other perennial plant species where genetic approaches based on the study of segregating populations are hampered by a long biological cycle, association genetics is of particular interest in grapevine.
The development of diversity map relies on the discovery of sequence polymorphisms in the genome in a small set of genotypes that are as representative as possible of available genetic diversity. Such a concept was first proposed by Frankel and Brown under the name of core collection . Core collections can be built using different types of markers. For example, molecular markers were used for rice, wheat and potato, while for yam a core collection was built using the origin of cultivars, eating quality, tuber shape, tuber flesh colour, and morphotype [13–16]. Different strategies have been proposed to assist the construction of core collections including the M-Method developed by Schoen and Brown and implemented in the software MSTRAT [17–20]. This strategy has been successfully used for the construction of core collections in Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula and was also proposed as a preliminary step in association genetics [21–24].
Large collections of genetic resources are available for grapevine especially in Europe . The largest one is held by INRA in France at the domain of Vassal: this collection contains 7000 accessions of Vitis genus of worldwide origin . The genotyping of the whole collection using 20 well-scattered SSR markers is complete Laucou et al. (in prep). The cultivated compartment (V. vinifera L. subsp. sativa) is represented by 3900 accessions corresponding to 2262 unique genotypes (Laucou et al, in prep), from 38 different countries. It represents about a half of the known grapevine cultivars . The Vassal collection was highly diverse for V. vinifera L. subsp. sativa, exhibiting a total of 326 alleles for the 20 SSRs markers with an average of 16.3 SSR alleles per locus (Laucou et al, in prep). Moreover a large proportion of these alleles (17%) were present at very low frequency (freq < 0.05%).
A first core collection (M-core) in grape was recently developed based on 50 morphological traits on 1759 accessions from the Vassal collection . It was used for a preliminary study of the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) in V. vinifera L. as well as for association studies [28, 29]. However, the size of the M-core (141 individuals) limits its use for the analysis of wide sequence diversity.
Here we present the use of the data set obtained by Laucou et al. (in prep) to develop four nested genetic core collections (G-cores) suitable for the search for allelic diversity. The ability of retaining the SSR genetic diversity using different sample sizes was studied and compared to the SSR diversity present in the M-core and in the Vassal collection. Finally, the allelic diversity captured at the sequence level in the different sub-cores was analysed by sequencing three gene fragments. This work provides the foundation required for the development of a detailed map of haplotypic diversity in grapevine.
We first determined the optimal size of a core collection by retaining the 271 alleles showing a frequency above 0.05%. Forty-eight cultivars were necessary to capture 100% of the 271 alleles (Figure 1A). Within this core collection of 48 cultivars (G-48), we then determined the two most diverse samples of 12 (G-12) and 24 (G-24) cultivars (Table 1). In order to assess the robustness of these nested core collections, we calculated the percentage of identical varieties among the G-12, G-24 and G-48 core collections obtained in the second run using the same process, which corresponded to 83.3% (10) of the varieties selected in the two G-12 to 83.3% (20) of the varieties selected in the two G-24 and to 60.24% (29) of the varieties selected in the two G-48. Among these two sets of samples, the G-48 core collection presenting the highest Nei's index was chosen as the reference core collection (Table 2).
SSR diversity within each sample of the G-core compared to the Vassal collection with and without the rare allele (Restricted Vassal collection).
Nested genetic core collection of 12 to 92 varieties.* Varieties bred from cultivars of different geographical origin: the countries listed are breeding locations.
Redundancy curves obtained using MSTRAT software. Redundancy curves with standard deviation obtained using MSTRAT software (five independent samplings). Determination of the optimal size allowed the capture of all alleles of the original sample. A. For the 271 alleles of the restricted Vassal collection using the M-method (blue dot) and random sampling method (pink dot). B. For the 326 alleles of the Vassal collection using the G-48 core as core using the M-method (blue dot) and random sampling method (pink dot).
The G-48 core was used as a core to build the final core collection retaining the 326 alleles found in the cultivated compartment of Vitis vinifera L. represented in the Vassal collection by Laucou et al. (in prep). The optimal size of this final core collection was 92 individuals (Fig. 1B). The cultivars added at this step contained only rare alleles (freq < 0.05%, present on less than 3 copies), which corresponded to less choice for the selection of varieties. Indeed, only two alternative samples were proposed by MSTRAT, with only one individual differing between the two samples: Rich baba rose faux versus Kizil. Again, we selected the G-92 presenting the highest value for the Nei's index as the reference core collection for the cultivated compartment of V. vinifera L; the resulting final core collection is listed in Table 2.
In order to estimate the gain of SSR allelic diversity, we compared the number of alleles captured in samples obtained by the M-method and by random sampling. In each case, when using the M-method, we observed a gain (Table 3), the greatest of which being obtained for the selection of the G-48.
Gain obtained using the M-method at each step of the construction of the nested core collection versus random sampling.
The reference nested core collections for the cultivated compartment of Vitis vinifera were described for several characteristics and compared to the Vassal collection and to the M-core collection (141 individuals) defined by Barnaud et al. .
The nested core collections represented 58% to 100% of the total SSR diversity of the Vassal collection and 70% to 100% of the restricted SSR diversity of the Vassal collection (only considering alleles with frequencies higher than 0.05%) (Table 1). All the SSR alleles with a frequency of more than 5% within the Vassal collection are present in the G-12 core and all those with a frequency of more than 3.5% within the Vassal collection are present in the G-24. The values of the unbiased Nei's diversity index and the level of unbiased observed heterozygosity for the G-12 core, G-24 core and G-48 core collection were quite similar and slightly higher than those calculated for the G-92 core collection. These values were slightly higher than those of the Vassal collection and of the M-core (Table 1). We also compared allele frequencies of the SSR markers in the three G-cores and in the M-core with the frequencies observed in the Vassal collection: the best correlation was obtained between the Vassal collection and the M-core (r2 = 0.98) and the G-92 (r2 = 0.92) core collections (Table 1).
The definition of the true geographical origin of grapevine cultivars is sometimes difficult due to many migration events with humans . Based on current knowledge, the cultivars held in the Vassal collection originated from 38 countries, with about half of them from Western Europe (France, Iberian Peninsula and Italy). The cultivars selected in the nested core collection originated from 27 different countries (Table 2). However 10 varieties of the G-92 sample could not be assigned to a precise geographical origin. Among them, 9 varieties were recent crosses between varieties from different countries (indicated by * in the Table 2) and one have an unknown origin (Moscatel de Oeiras faux). Moscatel de Oeiras faux microsatellite data seemed to indicate a Western Europe origin when compared to the whole collection. The origins of the 82 remaining varieties were well distributed (Figure 2): 21 (25%) came from the Caspian region (Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) and the Middle East (Iran) which corresponds to the center of domestication, and 35 (42%) came from Western Europe and North Africa (Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy and France) (Table 4). Interestingly, five varieties (6% of the G-92) originated from Central Asia and Asia despite their very limited representation in the whole collection (less than 2%).
Probable geographic origin of the varieties contained in the nested genetic core collections. Each triangle corresponds to one variety, red triangles correspond to the first sub-sample of the nested genetic core collection (G-12), yellow triangles to the second sub-sample (G-24), black triangles to the third sub-sample (G-48) and green triangles to the fourth sub-sample (G-92). Ten varieties belonging to the Core G-92 did not have a precise geographical origin and are not shown on this map.
No differences were observed between the M-core (22 countries) and the Vassal collection (Table 4) whereas all the G-cores differed from the Vassal collection. Indeed the number of cultivars from Western Europe and the center of domestication were more balanced in the G-92 core with a very good representation of the whole set of geographic origins. The same trend was observed in the different sub-cores (Table 4).
We also compared the G-92 core collection, the M-core and the Vassal collection with respect to the final use of the cultivars: wine making (wine cultivars), fruit consumption (table cultivars) or both (wine/table cultivars). The M-core and the different G-cores all resembled the Vassal collection (Table 4).
Next, we assessed the ability of the nested G-core samples to capture diversity unlinked to the SSR markers used to build the nested core collection. Barnaud et al. estimated using 38 SSR markers mapped on five different linkage groups (LG) with a maximum distance of 30 cM that LD in grape extends only within LG and is around 16.8 cM maximum . We analysed the polymorphism of three gene fragments mapped further than 16.8 cM from the SSR markers in the same linkage group. DFR mapped in LG 18, 25.3 cM from the SSR marker VVIn16; L-DOX mapped in LG 8, 26 cM from the SSR marker VMC1b11 and BURP mapped in LG 3, 26 cM from the SSR marker VVMD28.
Forty-one nucleotide polymorphisms (40 substitutions and 1 in/del) were observed in the G-92, ranging from 12 to 15 depending on the gene fragment (Table 5). The total polymorphism is thus one SNP for 49 nucleotides. The number of SNPs per base also varied between the three gene fragments: one SNP for every 58 nucleotides for DFR, one SNP for every 42 nucleotides for L-DOX and one SNP for every 50 nucleotides for BURP. The difference of genetic diversity between coding and non coding region of the sequences was estimated only for the DFR sequence which has a quite similar length of the two types of regions. For this gene the polymorphism was different between coding and non-coding regions with a ratio of 3.2 (one SNP for every 127 nucleotides for coding region versus one SNP for every 39 nucleotides for non-coding region). Considering all genes together, the number of SNPs detected increased from 32 to 36 between the G-12 and the G-24 cores and from 36 to 40 between the G-24 and the G-48 cores. Only one more SNP was discovered in the G-92 core than in the G-48 core for the L-DOX gene fragment (this SNP is present in two varieties: Œil de Dragon and Badagui). The higher number of SNPs in the G-24 than in the G-48 cores was due to two genotypes: Yapincack with three additional SNPs in the DFR gene fragment and Kisilowy with one additional SNP in the L-DOX gene fragment.
Estimation of the ability to capture unlinked diversity of the G-24 core and G-12 core was performed by comparing their SNP diversity with SNP diversity in five random samples of 24 individuals in the G-48 core and 12 individuals in the G-24 core. The number of SNPs in the different random samples varied from 35 to 37 SNPs for the five random samples of 24 individuals and from 30 to 34 SNP for the five random samples of 12 individuals. In order to compare SNP distribution, we also calculated the unbiased Nei's index, which varied from 0.24 to 0.25 for the five random samples of 24 individuals and from 0.30 to 0.32 for the five random samples of 12 individuals. The unbiased Nei's index of the G-24 and G-12 cores was respectively 0.28 and 0.33.
Estimating the unlinked diversity within the whole Vassal collection (2262 cultivars) would have been very fastidious. Consequently we compared the capture of unlinked diversity in the nested core collections and in the M-core developed only on morphological traits. The total number of SNPs in the M-core (25 SNPs; Table 5) was smaller than in any of the nested G-core samples, even the G-12 core (32 SNPs; Table 5). Moreover, none of the SNPs observed in the M-core was new compared to those found in the nested core collections.
In the present work, we developed a set of nested core collections from the cultivated compartment of the Vassal collection, using the M-method and SSR diversity data obtained on 2262 unique genotypes. However, in this way we did not take into account the somatic variants present within V. vinifera L. cultivated germplasm. The usefulness of core collections is due to their ability to capture the diversity of the whole species. Even the smallest nested core collections were more efficient in capturing allelic diversity than the M-core with its 141 accessions. The Vassal collection, which formed the basis of this work, includes around 3900 cultivars which correspond to 2262 unique SSR genotypes from 38 countries, including from the main domestication area. This represents more than half the varieties found world wide . A core collection developed from Vassal collection is thus of major interest for the scientific community, and thanks to the vegetative propagation ability of grape, could be easily multiplied and distributed.
The first result of our work is the fact that only a small number of cultivars (92 individuals, 4% of the Vassal collection) are needed to represent the whole diversity and an even smaller number of cultivars are needed to capture all the most frequent alleles (48 individuals, 2.1%). The comparison with other models is not easy, as they have different biological characteristics, the original collection did not reach the same global diversity of the species, and the analyses are seldom performed in the same way. Nevertheless, the core collections developed for A. thaliana (18%) or M. truncatula (31%) using the same method required higher percentages of individuals selected to represent all the genetic diversity [21, 22]. In our study we only considered the cultivated compartment which tends to be less diverse than wild compartments . But the high level of heterozygosity of the grapevine is probably also one of the factors that allow a lower number of individuals than homozygous species like the two plant species mentioned above. Finally, the small number of individuals needed to represent the genetic diversity of the cultivated grapevine also pinpointed the high redundancy of the Vassal collection where many kingroups were highlighted and the interest in using such core collections to optimize the study of the phenotypic and genetic diversity in grapevine [32, 33].
The total genetic diversity revealed in the sequences of three gene fragments (2010 bp) in the G-92 core was quite high with 41 SNPs, i.e. one SNP for every 49 nucleotides. This is substantially higher than the level of genetic diversity observed in the M-core on the same gene set. Moreover, it is higher that the level of genetic diversity observed on an other set of 25 gene fragments totalling 12 kilobases sequenced on seven cultivated individuals (one SNP for every 118 nucleotides) by Salmaso et al. and on a set of 230 gene fragments, what represents the analysis of over 1 Mb of grape DNA sequence 11 grape genotypes (one SNP for every 64 nucleotides) by Lijavetzky et al. [34, 35]. This comparison thus emphasises the interest of such a core collection for the discovery of genetic diversity.
Among cultivated species, polymorphism in grape is relatively high compared to Zea mays (one SNP every 100 nucleotides), Pinus pinaster (one SNP for every 102 nucleotides) and Hordeum vulgare (one SNP for every 78 nucleotides), while it is relatively low compared to wild species such as A. thaliana (one SNP for every 32 nucleotides) [21, 36–38].
The G-92 core was built taking into account extremely rare alleles. Considering the rapid evolution of SSR markers, we assumed that the alleles present in two cultivars or less in the collection did not adequately represent gene diversity and they were thus removed when we built the G-48 core [39–41]. Indeed, only one additional SNP was revealed in the G-92 sample (present in two cultivars and not in the M-core) compared to the G-48, thus validating our assumption. On one hand, the gain in the unlinked diversity was high in the G-48, probably due to the decrease in redundancy compared to the Vassal collection (revealed by the number of kingroups). On the other hand, when compared to a random sampling, the gain was much higher using the M-method. The final G-48 core is highly non-redundant and highly diverse. Moreover the G-48 core optimized the unlinked diversity in the three different regions sequenced compared to the M-core, whose individuals coming from Vassal collection were not selected based on their genotypes, by consequent they could be consider as a less optimized sampling within the Vassal collection.
The G-12 and G-24 cores already include respectively 78% and 88% of the SNPs markers present in the G-92 core (80% and 90% of the G-48 core). They also include 58% and 73% of all the SSRs markers identified within the Vassal collection, representing a gain of 6% to 8% compared to random sampling from the G-48 or G-24 core. From a technical point of view, the size of the G-12 and G-24 cores is better suited for high throughput genomic studies and consequently highly suitable for ambitious projects of SNP discovery.
Interestingly the nested core collections constructed in the present work reflect the distribution of grapes in Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea but with over-representation of the cultivars originating from the Caspian region and Middle East, and under-representation of the cultivars from Western Europe (Iberian peninsula, France and Italy) compared to the Vassal collection. We compared the SSR allele frequencies of the nested core collections and of the Vassal collection and found low correlations. This result further emphasizes the decrease in redundancy in the core collections compared with the Vassal collection, but also reflected the relative high number of cultivars originating from Western Europe in the Vassal collection, whereas the main domestication center is the Middle East . These two regions may thus represent important sources of genetic diversity for the V. vinifera L. species. They represent the cradle of viticulture and the first migration of cultivars by Greeks and Etruscans, and a second domestication center in Western Mediterranean region . Finally, despite their low representation in the Vassal collection, the presence of cultivars from Asia and Central Asia in the nested core collections could also indicate an underexploited center of diversification worthy of prospection and analysis.
The proportion of table varieties, wine varieties and table/wine varieties was very well conserved in the nested core collections compared to the M-core and to the Vassal collection. The distinction between these three categories of cultivars is based on morphological traits such as berry size, bunch size and compacity but also on other traits such as the sugar/acid balance at maturity . Previous studies have shown that there is strong genetic differentiation between these three groups of varieties that may be due either to divergent selection based on the same gene pool or to the use of specific gene pools for the development of the three types of varieties [44, 27].
As a consequence, if the samples are well suited for analysis of allelic diversity, other uses can also be proposed for the cores, for example, the nested core collection could help understand the evolution of grape. Both G-12 and G-24 cores contained more frequent alleles representing ancient alleles while G-48 and G-92 may constitute subsequent diversification of cultivars in recent periods.
In the present work, we developed a set of robust nested core collections of V. vinifera L. (cultivated compartment) that will facilitate the discovery of allelic diversity by the scientific community. Moreover, this is an important basic tool for the development of projects of association mapping in grapevine. In conclusion, even if these nested core collections are statistically too small to study correlations between phenotype and nucleotide diversity, their use for preliminary tests of hypothesis will speed up the selection of suitable candidates (for example by discarding unsuitable candidates) and for SNP discovery. Due to the perennial nature of grape and the ease of vegetative propagation, these nested core collections could easily be disseminated worldwide for analyses (by simple request at request-vassal@supagro.inra.fr).
For each genotype of the four nested core collections, an accession of the Vassal collection (Domain de Vassal, Herault, France) was selected (Table 1) and a batch of young leaves was collected and lyophilized for long-term conservation. Lyophilized leaves were ground twice for 1 min at 20 Hz using a Qiagen-Retsch MM300 crusher. DNA was extracted using the Qiagen DNeasy Plant mini kit (Qiagen) following the manufacturer's instructions with minor modifications: addition of 1% w/v of PVP-40 to the AP1 solution, addition of 180 μl AP2 instead of 130 μl and an additional step of 10 minutes centrifugation at 6000 rpm after incubation on ice, which enabled the majority of the cellular remains and aggregates formed after the addition of AP2 to be pelleted.
The dataset obtained by Laucou et al. (in prep) on the 2262 unique genotypes from the Vassal collection was used. The M-method proposed by Schoen and Brown and implemented in the MSTRAT software by Gouesnard at al. was used to generate the nested genetic core collections that maximize the number of observed alleles in the SSR data set [19, 20]. The efficiency of the sampling strategy was assessed by comparing the total number of alleles captured using MSTRAT in samples of increasing size with the number of alleles captured in randomly chosen collections of the same size (five independent samplings). After having determined the optimal size of the nested core collections, 200 core collections were generated independently for each sample size. Putative core collections exhibiting the same allelic richness (determined by the total number of alleles represented) were ranked using Nei's index as the second criterion .
The gene sequences that were analysed were derived from three genes located on three separate chromosomes (Table 6). Two were involved in the anthocyanin metabolic pathway: the dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR, gi 499017) present in one copy in the genome of V. vinifera L. and the leucoanthocyanidin dioxygenase (L-DOX gi 22010674) present at least in three copies in the genome of V. vinifera L. based on the NCBI database. The third gene codes for a BURP domain protein presenting a differential expression in a natural mutant of berry development compared to the wild type (VvBURP1; gi 22014825) [46–48]. Specific PCR primers (Table 2) were designed for the amplification of fragments of these three genes using Primer3 software and tested for amplification on the genomic DNA of the 12 individuals of the core G-12 .
The 25 μl PCR reaction mixtures contained 20 ng of genomic DNA, 50 mM KCl, 10 mM TRIS-HCl (pH 8.3), 0.4 mM of each primer, 125 μM of each dNTP, 1.5 mM MgCl2 and 2.5 U of Taq polymerase (Qiagen). PCR amplifications were performed in a MJ Research PTC 100 Thermal Cycler programmed as follows: 5 min denaturation at 94°C, 35 cycles of 94°C for 30 s, 52°C for 45 s, and 72°C for 1 min, followed by an extension step at 72°C for 8 min. The PCR products were purified using the Agencourt AMPure method (Beckman Coulter) and directly sequenced in the two ways using the Big Dye Sequencing kit according to the manufacturer's specifications (Applied Biosystems Inc.). The sequence products were purified using the Agencourt CleanSEQ method (Beckman Coulter) and loaded onto an ABI PRISM® 3130 XL (Applera) capillary sequencer. The DNA sequences were analysed using the Staden Package . Heterozygous SNPs were identified as double pics on the chromatograms and coded according to international codes (nucleotide codes of the International Union of Biochemistry). Insertion/Deletions were easily identified by overlapping sequences. Sequencing both strands enable to deal with such events. Only SNPs present on both forward and reverse sequences were validated.
As the samples compared were of different size (M-core, nested core collections and the whole collection) the comparison was performed using the unbiased observed heterozygosity and the unbiased Nei's index . The unbiased Nei's index for the locus jis given by: HNeij = (2n/2n-1) (1- ∑ pij2) where nrepresents the number of individuals and where pijrepresents the iallele frequency of the jlocus, the unbiased Nei diversity index for all the loci studied is given by HNei = (1/C) ∑ jHNeij2where Cis the number of loci studied. The more the allelic frequencies are equilibrated within a sample, the higher the value of the unbiased Nei's index. The observed heterozygosity for the jlocus is given by Hobsj = 1- ∑ xij2where xij represents the homozygote frequency for iallele of the jlocus. The unbiased observed heterozygosity for the jlocus is: Hunobsj = (2n/2n-1) (1- ∑ xij2) >where n represents the number of individuals and the unbiased observed heterozygosity for all loci studied is H unobs = (1/C) ∑ jHunobsj2where Cis the number of loci studied.
We compared the SSR frequencies found in the M-core and the nested G core-collections with those of the Vassal collection using the R2 correlation coefficient. R2 is given by R2 = (Cov ij /σiσj) 2 where Covij is the covariance between the two samples compared and σi and σjare the variance of samples i and j respectively.
This project (Trilateral project TRI017 CoreGrapeGen) was funded by Genoplante, the French Ministry of Research, the INRA Genetic and Breeding Department, and the region of Languedoc-Roussillon. We thank D. Vares and the technical staff of the Vassal domain for plant management and also A. Doligez and T. Bataillon for critical reading of the manuscript. We acknowledge Daphne Goodfellow for improving the English.


text:
namespace ContosoUniversity.Infrastructure.Mapping
{
    using System.Linq;
    using AutoMapper;
    using AutoMapper.QueryableExtensions;
    using DelegateDecompiler;
    using PagedList;

    public static class MapperExtensions
    {
        public static IPagedList<TDestination> ProjectToPagedList<TDestination>(this IQueryable queryable, MapperConfiguration config,
            int pageNumber, int pageSize)
        {
            return queryable.ProjectTo<TDestination>(config).Decompile().ToPagedList(pageNumber, pageSize);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Love always finds a way! (On this occasion, it just needs a little help).
You'll need to match candies next to the love hearts so they weave their way along the track to the candy shaped mold. Each heart has a mold dedicated to it, so be sure to check the line it follows.
Sometimes the line will run beneath other items, so make sure to clear the path as best you can.
Reunite the heart with it's devoted mold in the moves given, or you'll need to tackle the level again!


text:
package com.izforge.izpack.util;

import static com.izforge.izpack.util.Platform.Arch;
import static com.izforge.izpack.util.Platform.Name;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;

import java.lang.reflect.Field;
import java.lang.reflect.Modifier;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

import org.junit.Test;

/**
 * Tests the {@link Platforms} class.
 *
 * @author Tim Anderson
 */
public class PlatformsTest extends AbstractPlatformTest
{

    /**
     * Tests the {@link Platforms#getCurrentPlatform()} method.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetCurrentPlatform()
    {
        Platforms platforms = new Platforms();
        Platform platform = platforms.getCurrentPlatform();

        String osName = System.getProperty(OsVersionConstants.OSNAME);
        Name name = platforms.getCurrentOSName();
        Arch arch = platforms.getArch(System.getProperty(OsVersionConstants.OSARCH));
        String version = System.getProperty(OsVersionConstants.OSVERSION);
        String javaVersion = System.getProperty("java.version");

        Platform match = platforms.findMatch(osName, name, arch, version);
        Platform expected = platforms.getPlatform(match, arch, version, javaVersion);

        checkPlatform(expected, platform);
    }

    /**
     * Tests the {@link Platforms#getCurrentPlatform(String, String)} method.
     * <p/>
     * NOTE: the following don't query the underlying OS, so are safe to test on any platform
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetCurrentPlatformByNameArch()
    {
        Platforms platforms = new Platforms();
        Platform platform1 = platforms.getCurrentPlatform("Windows 7", OsVersionConstants.AMD64);
        checkPlatform(platform1, Name.WINDOWS, null, null, Arch.X64); // need the version to work out its windows 7.

        Platform platform2 = platforms.getCurrentPlatform("Mac OS X", OsVersionConstants.X86);
        checkPlatform(platform2, Name.MAC_OSX, null, null, Arch.X86);
    }

    /**
     * Tests the {@link Platforms#getCurrentPlatform(String, String)} method for Linux platforms, by simulating the
     * responses of the getText() and exists() methods.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetCurrentPlatformForLinux()
    {
        checkLinuxPlatform(Name.DEBIAN_LINUX, null, null, true);

        checkLinuxPlatform(Name.FEDORA_LINUX, OsVersionConstants.FEDORA, null, false);

        checkLinuxPlatform(Name.MANDRAKE_LINUX, OsVersionConstants.MANDRAKE, null, false);

        checkLinuxPlatform(Name.MANDRIVA_LINUX, OsVersionConstants.MANDRIVA, null, false);

        checkLinuxPlatform(Name.RED_HAT_LINUX, OsVersionConstants.REDHAT, null, false);

        checkLinuxPlatform(Name.SUSE_LINUX, OsVersionConstants.SUSE, null, false);

        checkLinuxPlatform(Name.UBUNTU_LINUX, null, OsVersionConstants.UBUNTU, false);
    }

    /**
     * Tests the {@link Platforms#getCurrentPlatform(String, String, String)} method.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetCurrentPlatformByNameArchVersion()
    {
        Platforms platforms = new Platforms();
        Platform windows7x64 = platforms.getCurrentPlatform("Windows 7", OsVersionConstants.AMD64,
                OsVersionConstants.WINDOWS_7_VERSION);
        assertEquals(Name.WINDOWS, windows7x64.getName());
        assertEquals("WINDOWS_7", windows7x64.getSymbolicName());
        assertEquals(Arch.X64, windows7x64.getArch());
        assertEquals("6.1", windows7x64.getVersion());
    }

	/**
     * Tests the {@link Platforms#getCurrentPlatform(String, String, String)} method with windows 8.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetWin8PlatformByNameArchVersion()
    {
        Platforms platforms = new Platforms();
        Platform windows8x64 = platforms.getCurrentPlatform("Windows 8", OsVersionConstants.AMD64,
                OsVersionConstants.WINDOWS_8_VERSION);
        assertEquals(Name.WINDOWS, windows8x64.getName());
        assertEquals("WINDOWS_8", windows8x64.getSymbolicName());
        assertEquals(Arch.X64, windows8x64.getArch());
        assertEquals("6.2", windows8x64.getVersion());
    }
    /**
     * Tests the {@link Platforms#getPlatform(String, String)} method.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetPlatformByNameArch() {
        Platforms platforms = new Platforms();

        checkPlatform(Platforms.WINDOWS, platforms.getPlatform("windows", null));
        checkPlatform(new Platform(Platforms.WINDOWS, Arch.X86), platforms.getPlatform("windows", "i386"));
        checkPlatform(Platforms.WINDOWS_7, platforms.getPlatform("windows_7", null));
        checkPlatform(new Platform(Platforms.WINDOWS_7, Arch.X64), platforms.getPlatform("windows_7", "x64"));
        checkPlatform(Platforms.WINDOWS_8, platforms.getPlatform("windows_8", null));
        checkPlatform(new Platform(Platforms.WINDOWS_8, Arch.X64), platforms.getPlatform("windows_8", "x64"));

        checkPlatform(Platforms.LINUX, platforms.getPlatform("linux", null));
    }

    /**
     * Tests the {@link Platforms#getPlatform(String, String, String)} method.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetPlatformByNameArchVersion() {
        Platforms platforms = new Platforms();

        checkPlatform(Platforms.WINDOWS, platforms.getPlatform("windows", null, null));
        checkPlatform(new Platform(Platforms.WINDOWS_7, Arch.X86), platforms.getPlatform("windows", "i386",
                OsVersionConstants.WINDOWS_7_VERSION));
        checkPlatform(new Platform(Platforms.WINDOWS_8, Arch.X86), platforms.getPlatform("windows", "i386",
                OsVersionConstants.WINDOWS_8_VERSION));

		checkPlatform(new Platform(Platforms.DEBIAN_LINUX, Arch.X64), platforms.getPlatform("debian_linux", "x64",
                null));
    }

    /**
     * Ensures all of the public static Platform instances are registered in {@link Platforms#PLATFORMS}.
     */
    @Test
    public void testPlatforms()
    {
        int expected = 0;
        for (Field field : Platforms.class.getFields())
        {
            int mod = field.getModifiers();
            if (Modifier.isStatic(mod) && Modifier.isPublic(mod) && field.getType().equals(Platform.class))
            {
                ++expected;
            }
        }
        assertEquals(expected, Platforms.PLATFORMS.length);
    }

    /**
     * Verifies that Linux platforms are returned correctly, by simulating the responses of the getText() and exists()
     * methods.
     *
     * @param expectedName    the expected name
     * @param fromRelease     if non-null simulate text from an /etc/*-release file
     * @param fromProcVersion if non-null, simulate text from /proc/version
     * @param debianExists    if <tt>true</tt>, simulate existence of /etc/debian_version
     */
    private void checkLinuxPlatform(Name expectedName, final String fromRelease, final String fromProcVersion,
                                    final boolean debianExists)
    {
        Platforms platforms = new Platforms()
        {

            @Override
            protected String getReleasePath()
            {
                return "";
            }

            @Override
            protected List<String> getText(String path)
            {
                if (OsVersionConstants.PROC_VERSION.equals(path))
                {
                    if (fromProcVersion != null)
                    {
                        return Arrays.asList(fromProcVersion);
                    }
                }
                else if (fromRelease != null)
                {
                    return Arrays.asList(fromRelease);
                }
                return null;
            }

            @Override
            protected boolean exists(String path)
            {
                return debianExists;
            }
        };

        String version = "some version";
        Platform platform = platforms.getCurrentPlatform(OsVersionConstants.LINUX, OsVersionConstants.X86, version);
        checkPlatform(platform, expectedName, null, version, Arch.X86);
    }

}


Video Subtitle Editor is an easy-to-use video subtitle editor. Video Subtitle Editor can directly add and edit subtitles for movies, so that you can see the subtitles when you play the edited movies on any player without plug-ins. With Video Subtitle Editor you can edit subtitles for movies efficiently and easily as you were a master of it. Just download Video Subtitle Editor to have a try, It is Cool!
...... 'Open Video' button to select and open the movie which you want add captions on.
* Click play button at the lower-left corner to play the movie.
* Click pause button at the lower-left corner (or press F8) when a caption is needed, then enter the caption in the content box, when caption is entered, click pause button again (or press F8) to continue the movie. When the movie comes to the part where caption ends, press F8 again. You can repeat the same procedure to add all captions.
* After adding all captions, click button at the lower-right corner to generate a movie with captions.
Join, split, crop, trim, modify color, rotate, overlay / merge, blur AVI files.
All the video editing tools you might need for your video project.
Qweas is providing links to Video Subtitle Editor 1.01 as a courtesy, and makes no representations regarding Video Subtitle Editor or any other applications or any information related thereto.
Any questions, complaints or claims regarding this application Video Subtitle Editor 1.01 must be directed to the appropriate software vendor.
You may click the publisher link of Video Subtitle Editor on the top of this page to get more details about the vendor.


Beer, Beaches and Brushes: How to do Father's Day in Virginia Beach!
If a memorable Father's Day celebration in Virginia Beach is what you're after, look no further because we have the advice, tools, and resources that will shape the perfect memory for Dad.
Father's Day in Virginia Beach always marks an exciting time with the onset of summer!
Can't find anything special to bring to the table, so to speak? When in doubt: Travel. Whether you're local and you gather Dad and the crew for a stay-cation at one of our vacation rentals or you travel from afar and need a home-away-from-home, all of our houses provide a back patio with a grill, a large dining room and open-concept kitchen designed for gathering and creating memories. Another perk: we do all the cleaning once you are gone (win-win). All you have to do is let yourselves in with the check-in details sent prior to arrival, fire up that grill, celebrate Dad and lock up when you're ready to depart. Father's day in Virginia Beach is sure to be a hit with an amazing vacation rental and these suggestions – and we are here to make it as easy and meaningful as possible.
Dad's deserve a whole week, not just a day! Email us at [email protected] with code DADSROCK and book a four bedroom townhome for any week in June and get 15% off the entire stay.
There's no shortage of opportunities during the month of Dad (June).
This is absolutely one of the best parts of summer in Virginia Beach. Artists line the boardwalk for MOCA's Boardwalk Art Show and Festival for 4 days of art, entertainment and food for the whole family. The Boardwalk Art Show and Festival, held June 14-17, 2018, is one of the oldest and best outdoor fine art shows on the Eastern Seaboard and named the 3rd best Art Show in the nation by the Sunshine Artist publication! The show runs Thursday – Sunday and is free and open to the public. Locals Tip: We do recommend a bike or catch the iconic VB Wave trolley if you plan to walk the entire show as parking can be a nightmare and the show runs from 17th-32nd Streets (5 miles).
The possibilities are abundant this time of year!
There is no better way to bond with dad and place a smile on his face then treating him to a fishing trip! When it comes to off-shore fishing, Virginia Beach has some of its best fishing during the month of June. Coastal Accommodations has partnered with the top local fishing charters and ensure guests only experience the best. Whether you're looking to fish for Bluefin, Marlin or Spot, we have you covered.
The Super Run 5k, held on June 23, is a fun family event that is held at Mt. Trashmore Park: 300 Edwin Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Bring your mask and cape and get your run on!
Do heights give you excitement? We have three great recommendations for you that are not only unique but thrilling as well! iFly Indoor Skydiving is a fun, safe adventure for the whole family (catering to ages 3-103). You will be enclosed and lifted in the flight chamber to simulate a sky-diving experience. And you can leave out that whole jump out of the plane bit!
For a one of a kind experience that will get you guys out of your comfort zones, be sure to make The Adventure Park at the Virginia Aquarium one of your first stops. This aerial forest park will have you swinging through the trees. The course includes 15 trails made up of ropes, platforms, high-wires, ladders, and zip-lines across the 6-acre maritime pine grove. The trails have different difficulty levels which makes this adventure great for ages 5 on up!
Go no further than O'Connor Brewing Company for a Micro Blacksmithing lesson. While enjoying one of their seasonal or tried and true craft beers that put them on the map, you will have the opportunity to hand forge your own bottle opener. There are a limited number of available time slots between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM for one-on-one instruction. So sign up ASAP and they will contact you to schedule your instruction time. Or our guest services agent can book this for you- and add on some beach cruiser rentals to help you get around in true beach style!
If Beer is your Dad's thing then you can find some of the best breweries in the state here at the beach within about a 20-mile radius. Therefore, you either have to be a local or a seasoned visitor to have a good grasp on what each has to offer and where to go!
The atmosphere is what Back Bay Brewing Co. is known for. Settled in a beach shack style setting, this brewery mixes Virginia Beach's love for the beach with wildfowl and hunting. There's also O'Connors Brewery, Smartmouth, Young Veterans Brewery Company, Commonwealth Brewing Company, Pleasurehouse Brewing, Reaver Beach Brewing Co. Wasserhund Brewing Company and Home Republic Brewpub– with more popping up each day. If beer is your thing and you want to try the gamut and cannot make any of the beer festivals, do not fear. There are great brewery tours we can schedule for you to find your favorite spot. Food trucks litter the breweries to keep patrons well-fed. A brewery tour can quickly become a culinary food truck tour as well!
If food is the priority then a food tour could be the perfect fit for your crew. These tours can take you to several different restaurants as you to sample local fare and drink favorites as well as learning the history of our great city.
If Dad is an Oyster lover, we recommend the Oyster Tour that we can help you book with one of the listed packages! This tour is really one of the hidden gems of our town!
If your Dad loves (or needs) time to CHILL…..
They say that saltwater heals everything! Whether at the beach by boat, bike, paddleboard or even flyboard, relax by the water and focus on family time. Between the ocean, the bay and the rivers that run through Virginia Beach, accessing water is always an option.
Be sure to contact us if you would like us to book your pontoon boat rental, fishing charter, bike and beach equipment rental, paddleboard lesson or rental or flyboard experience!


Monday, May 2 2016 · Lesezeit: 4 Minuten · 724 Wörter Achtung! Dieser Artikel ist älter als ein Jahr. Der Inhalt ist möglicherweise nicht mehr aktuell!
While I diagnosed some slow TLS/SSL connections I found out that some of my KVM guests are low on entropy. The value was between 150 and 190.
Right after booting up the entropy pool was near emptry and slowly increased after quite some time.
This behaviour is pretty normal, because a virtual server has (other than a physical server) nearly no load and hardware to gather good entropy data.
Normally every application using random numbers is taking it out of the entropy pool. A heavy utilization occures for example when you work much with cryptography (TLS connections, Generating key pairs, etc).
My nginx is using /dev/random. As mentioned above is this pool blocking. That means when there is no entropy available the device waits until there is enough data. This resulted in slow TLS connections.
A possible fix would be forcing nginx to use /dev/urandom which is non-blocking. This may result in bad entropy data if there is low or no entropy in the pool. This is not a good solution.
Most of my KVM guests reported low values. Everything under 250 is too low. The maximum is 4096.
At first I wanted to link the guests entropy pool with the one from the host system. Unfortunately this is not possible. The solution is to virtualize a hardware random number generator (HW RNG).
The virtualized RNG takes its entropy out of the entropy pool from the host and seeds it into the guests entropy pool. If you are doing this for some guests you have to be carefull! The worst thing what can happen is a low entropy pool on the host.
The host system has some pretty good sources for good entropy data. There is an algorithm for fetching this data. It's called HAVEGE. There is also an Implementation called HAVEGE-Daemon (or short: HAVEGED).
That's it. You don't have to do more settings. The daemon is smart and only seeds the entropy pool if it's below 1024 bits. In conclusion the daemon doesn't take away much CPU time.
The next step is to add the RNG to each guest. This can be done for example with virt-manager.
The option "Device" represents the path on the host system. If it's /dev/random everything is fine.
After adding n RNG you have to full stop the machine. A simple reboot normally isn't working. After that there should be a device file under /dev/hwrng.
If you can see this you are halfway through. Simply adding an RNG is not enough. A deamon has to take the entropy from the RNG and seed it into the system wide entropy pool.
If you see in the CGroup something like "-r /dev/hwrng" everything works fine.


As Washington commences debate on a new plan to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent, the backdrop for the EPA announcement didn't give lend confidence.
As Washington commences debate on a new plan to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent, the backdrop for the EPA announcement didn't lend confidence.
The announcement was also critiqued for appearing to be out of some B-roll footage from the new X-Men movie.
As The Wire noted on Sunday, the plan has been called both "the strongest action ever taken by the United States government to fight climate change" as well as a concession to the coal industry because the new regulations are based on 2005 numbers. That was the highest year for carbon emissions on record, meaning that the proposed 30 percent drop will only be a 15 percent drop against today's numbers.
This morning, Democrats in red states already seemed prepared to deal with it as a political issue. Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is trying to take Mitch McConnell's Senate seat this fall, issued a statement condemning the plan.


text:
What is Hospice, Hospice Terminal Diagnoses
the term "hospice care" means the following items and services provided to a terminally ill individual by, or by others under arrangements made by, a hospice program under a written plan (for providing such care to such individual) established and periodically reviewed by the individual's attending physician and by the medical director (and by the interdisciplinary group described in paragraph (2)(B)) of the program—
• (A) nursing care provided by or under the supervision of a registered professional nurse,
• (B) physical or occupational therapy, or speech-language pathology services,
• (C) medical social services under the direction of a physician,
• (D)(i) services of a home health aide who has successfully completed a training program approved by the Secretary and
o (ii) homemaker services,
• (E) medical supplies (including drugs and biologicals) and the use of medical appliances, while under such a plan,
• (F) physicians' services,
• (G) short-term inpatient care (including both respite care and procedures necessary for pain control and acute and chronic symptom management) in an inpatient facility meeting such conditions as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to provide such care, but such respite care may be provided only on an intermittent, nonroutine, and occasional basis and may not be provided consecutively over longer than five days,
• (H) counseling (including dietary counseling) with respect to care of the terminally ill individual and adjustment to his death, and
• (I) any other item or service which is specified in the plan and for which payment may otherwise be made under this title.
The care and services described in subparagraphs (A) and (D) may be provided on a 24-hour, continuous basis only during periods of crisis (meeting criteria established by the Secretary) and only as necessary to maintain the terminally ill individual at home.
Hospice Terminal Diagnoses
The table also shows that the frequency of some hospice terminal diagnoses has changed over time, with relatively fewer cancer patients and relatively more non-cancer patients as a percentage of total hospice patients. Lung cancer has been recognized as the most common diagnosis among Medicare hospice patients every year since 1998. However, in 2006 non-Alzheimer's dementia became the most common diagnosis among Medicare hospice patients. The percentage of Medicare hospice patients with lung cancer dropped from 16% in 1998 to 9% in 2009. In addition, we are seeing a notable increase in the number of neurologically-based diagnoses. We are also seeing a marked increase in non-specific diagnoses such as "Debility, Not Otherwise Specified", and "Adult Failure to Thrive".
Average Length of Stay
Along with the shift in the mix of hospice patients, there exists a significant increase in the average length of stay (LOS) for hospice patients. In 1998, the average LOS for hospice patients was 48 days, but by 2006 it had risen to 73 days (a 52% increase). Since 2006, the average LOS has begun to decline slightly, dropping to 71 days in 2009, which is a 48% increase from 1998. Charts 1 and 2 show that the average LOS varies by diagnosis. For the top twenty diagnoses in 2009, the average LOS ranged from 27 days for chronic kidney disease to 106 days for Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative conditions. While the average LOS from 1998–2009 for hospice patients with diagnoses such as chronic kidney disease or cancers has remained relatively stable, the average LOS rose significantly for most other diagnoses, thought it has recently begun to decline slightly. Charts 1 and 2 graphically demonstrate the difference in the changes in lengths of stay for cancers versus other diagnoses in the top 20 list.
Labels: hospice

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Hosting Easy WordPress theme offers a calm and serene approach as to how a web hosting store should look. It uses different shades of blue for the background, the text and the action buttons. On paper this may sound a bit minimalistic, but in reality the theme looks really good, especially if we also take into consideration the little pinch of orange that's been added next to the text links.
With native support for more than 100 web pages that range from product pages (designed to convert potential into actual customers) to article pages on different web hosting-related topics (designed to drive search engine-referred visitors to your website), the Hosting Easy WordPress theme is a true turn-key hosting store. Also, all these pages are SEO-optimized and have completely unique textual content.
In addition, each page allows you to customize its content and design in a way that genuinely reflects your brand's message and vision.
The Hosting Easy WordPress theme is available for free and requires ResellersPanel's WordPress plugin in order to become a full-blown web hosting store.


text:
package com.groupon.seleniumgridextras.utilities.threads;

import com.google.common.base.Throwables;
import com.groupon.seleniumgridextras.utilities.HttpUtility;
import org.apache.http.client.utils.URIBuilder;
import org.apache.log4j.Logger;

import java.net.URI;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.concurrent.Callable;

public class RemoteGridExtrasAsyncCallable implements Callable {

    private static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(RemoteGridExtrasAsyncCallable.class);
    protected URI uri;

    public RemoteGridExtrasAsyncCallable(String host, int port, String action, Map<String, String> params) {

        logger.info(String.format("Attempting to notify %s (%s) of action: %s with params %s",
                host, port, action, params.toString()));

        try {
            URIBuilder uri = new URIBuilder();
            uri.setScheme("http");
            uri.setHost(host);
            uri.setPort(port);
            uri.setPath(action);

            for (String p : params.keySet()) {
                uri.addParameter(p, params.get(p));
            }

            this.uri = uri.build();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            logger.error(
                    String.format("Error creating new AsyncCallable instance. Host: %s, port %s, Action/Path %s, Parameters: %s",
                            host, port, action, params.toString()), e);
        }

    }

    @Override
    public String call() throws Exception {
        String response;

        try {
            response = HttpUtility.getRequestAsString(uri);
            logger.debug(String.format("Request against %s, returned \n %s", uri.toString(), response));
        } catch (Exception e) {
            response = String.format("Failed to make Asyc HTTP requests (%s) %s,\n%s",
                    uri,
                    e.getMessage(),
                    Throwables.getStackTraceAsString(e)
            );

            logger.error(response, e);
            return "";
        }
        return response;
    }
}


text:
The 1983 Italy rugby union tour of Canada and the United States was a series of matches played between June and July 1983 in Canada and the United States by Italy national rugby union team

Results
Scores and results list Italy's points tally first.

References

 Francesco Volpe, Valerio Vecchiarelli (Author), 2000 Italia in Meta, Storia della nazionale italiana di rugby dagli albori al Sei Nazioni, GS Editore (2000)
 Francesco Volpe, Paolo Pacitti (Author), Rugby 2000, GTE Gruppo Editorale (1999)

Italy
tour
tour
tour
Italy national rugby union team tours
Rugby union tours of Canada
Rugby union tours of the United States

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Panthers HC Matt Rhule announces QB Sam Darnold will start over Cam Newton in Week 17
Liz Roscher
29 December 2021, 3:12 pm ·2 min read
Cam Newton's streak of five straight starts for the Carolina Panthers is coming to an end. Head coach Matt Rhule announced on Wednesday that Sam Darnold, not Newton, would start Week 17's game against the New Orleans Saints.
Panthers' HC Matt Rhule named Sam Darnold as the starting QB for Sunday's game against the Saints.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 29, 2021
Newton was signed by the Panthers after Week 9 when Darnold, who had began the season as QB1, went down with a partially fractured scapula. Newton appeared on the field a few times in Week 10, scoring two touchdowns over just nine offensive snaps. That win for the Panthers took them to 5-5 on the season.
Unfortunately for Newton, who was returning to the team that drafted him following a one-year stint with the New England Patriots, Week 10 was the high point. He started the next five games for the Panthers, and each one was a loss.
Darnold the best option for now
Darnold was designated to return from injured reserve on Dec. 15 and cleared for contact a week later. He didn't start Week 16's 32-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was under center for quite a bit of the game. He completed 15 of 32 passes for 190 yards, and was sacked four times.
Darnold was far from great against the Bucs, but Rhule doesn't have a lot of (or any) good options available against the Saints. He can start Newton, who has started and lost the last five games, or he can start Darnold, who led the team to a 4-5 record and hasn't started since Week 9. Darnold's upside is that his contract with the Panthers is guaranteed for 2022, and so the team has very little choice but to see what he can do following his shoulder injury.
"Sam has been working hard to get back," Rhule said about Darnold on Wednesday via ESPN. "I thought he did some good things last week. ... We're going to give him this opportunity to show what he can do."
With the 5-10 Panthers already eliminated from playoff contention, Rhule has gone with Darnold, who is likely the quarterback who will cause his own team the least amount of problems against the Saints. "Likely" is the keyword there, though. We'll find out if that's actually true on Sunday.
Sun Bowl saved: Central Michigan to face Washington State after losing Arizona Bowl opponent
NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys are very good, but let's calm down a little bit
Mikaela Shiffrin latest skier to test positive for COVID-19, will miss races as Olympics near
Washington DB Trent McDuffie declares for 2022 NFL draft
Mandaue City offers free working space for residents
REGARDLESS of their vaccination status, Mandaue City residents can work at the free working space located at the Mandaue City College-Annex while their electricity and internet con...


SKU:1025867. Categories: DEVELOPMENTAL, TOYS, WHEEL TOYS.
A sit 'n ride car that offers 4 play modes to follow baby's growth.
Suitable for baby thanks to its stable rocking base, safety bar and harness.
The practical push handle allows the car to be pushed when the footrest is removed. The safety harness keeps baby safe and secure.
A grip handle at the rear of the seat provides support for baby when he takes his first steps.
Baby can drive freely by propelling himself along using his legs. The sit 'n ride features a built in electronic activity centre in the hub of the steering wheel. The activity centre features a hooter, accelerator lever and musical tunes and can be removed and used separately.


text:
/ News & Publications
A new dawn for Scottish motorsport
Sir Jackie Stewart joined representatives from sportscotland, the MSA and the Scottish Auto Cycle Union at Ingliston to announce a new partnership to grow motorsport in Scotland.
Backed by a sportscotland cash injection worth £360,000 over four years, Scottish Motor Sports (SMS) has created two new roles – National Development Manager and National Development Officer – to deliver a new strategy, which aims to increase membership by 10 per cent in Scotland.
This will be achieved by working with the clubs to increase the number of qualified coaches, building stronger relationships between clubs and local authorities, and developing greater opportunities for student participation.
Speaking at the Ingliston launch today, sportscotland Chief Executive Stewart Harris said: "This new partnership is about providing SMS with the resources to capitalise on the popularity of the sport and to give more people the chance to experience the excitement for themselves.
"This initiative, together with others like Susie Wolff's Dare to Be Different programme for girls, have a big part to play in highlighting participation opportunities in motorsport in Scotland and crucially, to create more."
Sir Jackie echoed Harris's sentiments. "Scotland needs more champions in the world of motorsport," said the triple F1 champion. "To be global champions is a very big challenge. We have to excite more people in Scotland about motor sport in general. We have also got to encourage more people to come to racing and rally events."
SMS Chairman and MSA Board member Tom Purves added: "I am delighted to see the commitment of sportscotland to developing the sport which has brought so many world-class participants from Scotland and given Scots immense pride in their success."
Hamilton receives Hawthorn Trophy
Lewis Hamilton has received the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy for an eighth time after ranking as the top Commonwealth driver in F1 last year. Read more
Motorsport UK and the Daniel Ricciardo Series to collaborate for 2020
Seven-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo visited round four of his kart race series at Whilton Mill last weekend and took the opportunity to announce with Motorsport UK CEO, Hugh Chambers, that for 2020 the series will partner with the sport's g... Read more
Silverstone Secures Five Year Extension to Formula 1 British Grand Prix
Today Silverstone Circuits, the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) and Formula 1 announced that the British Grand Prix will remain at the venue until 2024. Read more
TOCA to operate the BTCC until end of 2026
Motorsport UK and BARC (TOCA) Limited today announced that an extension has been signed between the two parties, contracting TOCA to continue to operate and promote the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) until the end of 2026. Read more
Severn Valley Stages to go ahead as planned
The Motor Sports Association (MSA) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have reached a temporary agreement allowing the Severn Valley Stages to proceed as planned on 4 June, and the MSA is encouraging crews to submit their entries as soon as possible. Read more
Open letter from the MSA Chief Executive
You will be aware that there are no confirmed fees for accessing the Welsh forests for stage rallies beyond 31 May, following the expiration of our previous Master Agreement in December 2015. In contrast, new 2016 agreements for England and Scotland ... Read more
MSA Formula becomes F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford
The MSA is pleased to confirm that MSA Formula is to be renamed the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford, with immediate effect. Read more
MSA confirms 2016 forestry fees in England and Scotland
The MSA can confirm the fees for providing access to the Forestry Estate for MSA-permitted rally events in England and Scotland until 31 December 2016. Read more


Zanobia Arquitecture, created in 1998, is made of a group of technicians from various nationalities, specialising in the renovation of landmark buildings in the old part of Palma town, hotels refurbishment and extension, new construction of luxury buildings in unique settings, office buildings and education centres.
Refurbishment and maintenance of the most emblematic villa in the Paseo Marítimo of Palma, creation of the building of the Villa Dragan Foundation (2008), winner of the contest to build the next French Lycée in Palma (2016-2017), luxury homes in Sol de Mallorca (2016-Calvia) and Puntiró (2015-Palma); these are some of its most outstanding works.
Nonetheless, the images show the most recent works, which stand out for its architecture as well as for the interior design, and are carried out in the extension and refurbishment of the Hotel Pure Salt Garonda and in the full refurbishment and extension of the Hotel Pure Salt Port Adriano. Premises of the engagement were to give the hotel a unique image inside and outside.
In the same way a tailor designs and makes and suit made to measure, in Zanobia Architechture they materialise unique spaces with the help of the construction firm Tibidoy, founded by Giuseppe Violante.
We hope you have found this article about the Zanobia Arquitectura useful and that you have many memorable stays in Mallorca as a result of our recommendations.


text:
Acropora granulosa är en korallart som först beskrevs av Milne Edwards och Jules Haime 1860.  Acropora granulosa ingår i släktet Acropora och familjen Acroporidae. IUCN kategoriserar arten globalt som nära hotad. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Stenkoraller
granulosa


There is no set rule that dictates who is required to pay child support. Child support is calculated with a formula that's based on the amount of time the child spends with each parent and the net spendable income of both parents. The idea is to make it so that the child has the same standard of living at both houses.
Does Anyone Have To Pay Child Support If Both Parents Share Equal Custody?
When parents have equal custody, they are able to stipulate whether or not either side will pay child support, and if so, how much. It is possible that one parent would pay child support to the other if there is a significant difference between their respective incomes. If the parents' incomes are basically the same, then no one would pay child support.
How Is The Amount Of Child Support Determined? Can That Amount Be Changed Or Modified?
The amount of child support is determined by using the formula found in the family code. Most judges have a program called Ex-Spouse, which they use to determine the child support based on the formula. The formula is rather complex and takes up several pages in the family code. It takes into account the parties' gross income, tax burdens, whether or not they own a home, whether or not they pay child support for another child, and whether or not they have income from a job or any other income-generating assets.
There could be a change in child support any time there is a change in the circumstances of the income of either parent. For example, there are a lot of construction workers in California, and it is not uncommon for them to be without work for a month or two during the rainy season. This is something that definitely needs to be taken into consideration when calculating child support, and will require construction workers to file a request for order with the court to have their child support reduced or eliminated based on their earnings. If they don't file a motion, then they are going to owe the child support whether or not they are earning the income.
For more information on Payment Of Child Support In California, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (916) 915-8866 today.
Home > Who Is Required To Pay Child Support?


The preparation of beef and pork for human consumption has always been closely tied to livestock raising, technological change, government regulation, and urban market demand. From the Civil War until the 1920s Chicago was the country's largest meatpacking center and the acknowledged headquarters of the industry.
Europeans brought cattle and hogs to North America, let them forage in the woods, and slaughtered them only as meat was needed. Commercial butchering began when population increased in the towns. Since beef was difficult to preserve, cattle were killed year round and the meat sold and consumed while still fresh. Hogs were killed only in cold weather. Their fat was rendered into lard and their flesh carved into hams, shoulders, and sides, which were covered with salt and packed in wooden barrels. Packers utilized hides, but blood, bones, and entrails usually went into the nearest body of running water. City government, understandably, tried to confine these operations to the outskirts of town.
Americans took their cattle and hogs over the Appalachians after the Revolutionary War, and the volume of livestock in the Ohio River Valley increased rapidly. Cincinnati packers took advantage of this development and shipped barreled pork and lard throughout the valley and down the Mississippi River. They devised better methods to cure pork and used lard components to make soap and candles. By 1840 Cincinnati led all other cities in pork processing and proclaimed itself Porkopolis.
Chicago won that title during the Civil War. It was able to do so because most Midwestern farmers also raised livestock, and railroads tied Chicago to its Midwestern hinterland and to the large urban markets on the East Coast. In addition, Union army contracts for processed pork and live cattle supported packinghouses on the branches of the Chicago River and the railroad stockyards which shipped cattle. To alleviate the problem of driving cattle and hogs through city streets, the leading packers and railroads incorporated the Union Stock Yard and Transit Company in 1865 and built an innovative facility south of the city limits. Accessible to all railroads serving Chicago, the huge stockyard received 3 million cattle and hogs in 1870 and 12 million just 20 years later.
Between the opening of the Union Stock Yard in 1865 and the end of the century, Chicago meatpackers transformed the industry. Pork packers such as Philip Armour built large plants west of the stockyards, developed ice-cooled rooms so they could pack year round, and introduced steam hoists to elevate carcasses and an overhead assembly line to move them. Gustavus Swift, who came to Chicago to ship cattle, developed a way to send fresh-chilled beef in ice-cooled railroad cars all the way to the East Coast. By 1900 this dressed beef trade was as important as pork packing, and mechanical refrigeration increased the efficiency of both pork and beef operations. Moreover, Chicago packers were preserving meat in tin cans, manufacturing an inexpensive butter substitute called oleomargarine, and, with the help of chemists, turning previously discarded parts of the animals into glue, fertilizer, glycerin, ammonia, and gelatin.
Government surveillance and regulation kept pace with the growth of the meatpacking industry. Even before Chicago annexed the Union Stock Yard and packinghouse district (Packingtown), city government tried to control smoke, odors, and waste disposal. Livestock raisers prevailed on state and federal government to investigate prices paid by the packers for cattle. At the behest of foreign governments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started inspecting pork exports in the early 1890s. Upton Sinclair's sensational novel The Jungle (1906) led to the Meat Inspection Act, which put federal inspectors in all packinghouses whose products entered interstate or foreign commerce. Government inspectors began grading beef and pork in the 1920s; in 1967 Congress required states to perform the same inspection and grading duties in plants selling within state boundaries.
When the Armour, Swift, and Morris companies cooperated in a new National Packing Company and purchased some food-related firms, Charles Edward Russell warned about the existence of a "beef trust." His book The Greatest Trust in the World (1905) caused the federal government to start antitrust proceedings. Although the courts failed to indict, the National Packing Company voluntarily dissolved in 1912. In the Packer Consent Decree of 1920, the Big Three agreed to sell their holdings in stockyards, food-related companies, cold-storage facilities, and the retail meat business.
The packers faced challenges from their employees. First organized by the Knights of Labor, packinghouse workers in Chicago struck for the eight-hour day in 1886, but public reaction to violence in Haymarket Square ended that strike. The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor, made impressive gains in all the packing centers at the turn of the century. In the summer of 1904 this union led a long, bitter contest for wage increases. Some 50,000 packinghouse workers walked off their jobs. But in the end, only Jane Addams's intervention with J. Ogden Armour saved the strikers from total defeat. In response to renewed organizing during World War I and a demand for collective bargaining, President Woodrow Wilson established a federal arbitration process, and workers won temporary wage increases and the eight-hour day. When packers cut wages at the end of 1921, the Amalgamated called a strike which it soon rescinded. Thanks to the New Deal's pro-labor policies, Amalgamated membership revived in the 1930s and the Congress of Industrial Organizations launched a new packinghouse union. At the end of the decade, the large packing companies finally signed their first labor contracts. Postwar changes in the industry, however, minimized the impact of this victory.
Railroads centralized meatpacking in the latter half of the nineteenth century; trucks and highways decentralized it during the last half of the twentieth. Instead of selling mature animals to urban stockyards, livestock raisers sold young animals to commercial feedlots, and new packing plants arose in the vicinity. Unlike the compact, multistory buildings in Chicago, Kansas City, or Omaha, these new plants were sprawling one-story structures with power saws, mechanical knives, and the capacity to quick-freeze meat packaged in vacuum bags. Large refrigerator trucks carried the products over interstate highways to supermarkets. Many of the new plants were in states with right-to-work laws that hampered unionization. Business in the older railroad stockyards and city packinghouses declined sharply in the 1960s. Chicago's Union Stock Yard closed in 1970, the same year the Greyhound Corporation purchased Armour & Co.
At the end of the twentieth century, the meatpacking industry was widely dispersed but still under government regulation. Changing consumption patterns posed new challenges, as poultry and fish began to replace beef and pork in American diets.
Barrett, James R. Work and Community in the Jungle: Chicago's Packinghouse Workers, 1894–1922. 1987.
Skaggs, Jimmy K. Prime Cut: Livestock Raising and Meatpacking in the United States, 1607–1983. 1986.
Wade, Louise C. Chicago's Pride: The Stockyards, Packingtown, and Environs in the 19th Century. 1987.


text:
Republicans Propose Net Neutrality Legislation Again. Will Democrats Engage?
WASHINGTON D.C. — Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today introduced legislation that would codify net neutrality rules in statute. Her "Open Internet Preservation Act" is modeled on the discussion draft of legislation introduced nearly three years ago by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairmen of the Senate Commerce and House Energy & Commerce Committees, respectively. Blackburn chairs the latter's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
"Legislation has always been the only way to end the net neutrality fight," said Berin Szóka. "Beneath the legal fight over the FCC's authority to regulate the Internet, there's always been agreement on the core of net neutrality, starting with Chairman Powell's 'Four Freedoms' in 2004 and Chairman Martin's 'Open Internet Policy Statement' in 2005. All that's been lacking is the political will to hash out relatively small policy differences on the margins. Congressional Republicans tried to jumpstart that process three years ago, but Democrats refused even to negotiate, because an activist movement has largely succeeded in redefining 'net neutrality' to mean heavy-handed, Depression-era public utility regulation. It's now been almost seven years since Democrats proposed any legislative language of their own. If they truly care about net neutrality, they need to stop playing politics and start engaging on substance."
The Blackburn bill would:
Codify the 2015 Open Internet Order's no-blocking and no-throttling rules, and definition of reasonable network management;
Leave in place the transparency rule reissued by the FCC last week, which was first issued in 2010; and
Bar the FCC from claiming broad powers to regulate the Internet under Title II or Section 706.
"Blackburn's bill makes one huge concession out of the gate: keeping net neutrality enforcement at the FCC," explained Szóka. "We've long said that the FCC shouldn't be in the Internet regulation business. There's no reason the FTC couldn't be the agency tasked with enforcing bright-line net neutrality rules. We hope that's where this issue ultimately winds up, but focusing on the FCC to start will help to keep legislation from turning into a fight over imposing 'neutrality' regulations on other Internet services, as leading Democrats and Republicans have proposed." Szóka warned against "high-tech titans turning their political fire on each other" in a 2009 piece entitled "Net Neutrality, Slippery Slopes & High-Tech Mutually Assured Destruction."
"Unfortunately, the Blackburn bill won't completely stop the FCC from regulating the Internet beyond net neutrality," said Szóka. "The Obama-era FCC promised not to use the full weight of Title II, but every telecom lawyer knows that won't stop a future chairman from imposing full-blown common carriage regulation on the Internet. That, not the core net neutrality rules, is why broadband investment has dipped since the 2015 Order. Blackburn's bill fixes the biggest problem: barring the FCC from classifying broadband service under Title II. But that won't stop the FCC from imposing Title II status on other Internet services. The FCC opened that door by reclassifying mobile broadband under Title II, which effectively erased the line between the telephone network and edge services. The VoIP entrepreneurs who joined TechFreedom in suing to block the 2015 Order are at risk unless Congress protects them by protecting the entire Internet from Title II. The Blackburn bill also fails to stop the FCC from using Section 706 — which, if it were a grant of authority, it would apply to all communications services, not just broadband. Legislation must finally stop the FCC's ongoing power grab."
Blackburn's bill does not address the issue of paid prioritization, nor does it include a "general conduct" standard. Thus, these and other issues not addressed by the no-blocking, no-throttling and transparency rules (e.g., zero rating and interconnection) would be policed by the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, state attorneys general and private plaintiffs under existing competition and consumer protection laws.
"Congress needs to be very careful in legislating any rule on paid prioritization," concluded Szóka. "First, even under Title II, the D.C. Circuit said the FCC couldn't stop an ISP from 'filtering of content into fast (and slow) lanes based on the ISP's commercial interests,' provided it was upfront about doing so. Any legislative compromise will turn on this thorny issue, but it's not surprising that Blackburn wanted to start with a clean, simple bill. A flat ban has always been unwise: 'Prioritization' is essentially what content delivery networks do, and without them, the Internet could never handle the video services we all enjoy. Prioritization is also what will make 5G services so revolutionary and so beneficial. These could all easily be swept into any prioritization rule. Of course, prioritization can be harmful and anti-competitive. Antitrust laws already protect consumers, but if Congress wants to write a more specific rule, it should consider the compromise negotiated by Google and Verizon in 2010: set a presumption against prioritization but allow that presumption to be rebutted if the practice can be shown not to cause 'meaningful harm to competition or to users.'"
Szoka is available for comment at media@techfreedom.org. Find or share this release on our website. For more information on the issue, take a look at some of our recent work:
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr interview on Tech Policy Podcast
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai interview on the Tech Policy Podcast
Pai Brings Unprecedented Transparency to Open Internet Proceeding, Graham Owens' blog post
Don't Buy the Hype: Net Neutrality Is On Firmer Ground Today than Yesterday
Watching the Watchmen: Surveillance in 2017 … and Beyond