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Recycling Facts & Tips for a Variety of Materials
Date Select Month October 2019 September 2019 June 2019 April 2019 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 December 2015 November 2015 July 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 October 2014 July 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 November 2010 September 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009
HSA Golden was been a contractor to Waste Management for many years, and they've put together an excellent, comprehensive guide for recycling a wide variety of materials, in addition to detailing how much energy and landfill space the recycling of these materials will save. We've summarized their information below; more detailed information can be found at https://www.wm.com/location/california/ventura-county/west-hills/recycle/facts.jsp
ALUMINUM RECYCLING
Recycling one ton of aluminum:
Saves 14,000 kWh of energy
Saves 39.6 barrels (1,663 gallons) of oil
Saves 10 cubic yards of landfill space
Aluminum Recycling Tips
Prepare aluminum cans for recycling by either crushing the cans to save space or leaving them uncrushed.
Cans that are rinsed out will have little or no odor and are less likely to attract bugs.
Recycling aluminum takes 95% less energy than making aluminum from raw materials.
Two out of three aluminum cans were recycled in the United States in 1995.
The industry is also helping to conserve aluminum resources through a process called lightweighting. Fewer materials are used in the aluminum can so fewer resources are extracted. In 1992, the aluminum can weighed 24% less than a can designed in 1972. Where it once took 22 cans to make a pound, it now takes 30 cans to make a pound.
CARDBOARD RECYCLING
Recycling one ton of cardboard:
Saves 390 kWh of energy
Saves 1.1 barrels (46 gallons) of oil
Cardboard Recycling Tips
Prepare cardboard for recycling by removing all other materials in the box such as plastic wrap, polystyrene peanuts and other packing materials.
Break down cardboard boxes to save storage space.
Try to keep cardboard dry and free from food waste. Cardboard can get wet and still be recycled, but is more difficult to carry due to the added weight of the water.
Recycling one ton of cardboard saves over 9 cubic yards of landfill space.
Recycled cardboard saves 24% of the total energy needed for virgin cardboard.
Recycling one ton of glass:
Saves 42 kWh of energy
Saves 0.12 barrels (5 gallons) of oil
Saves 2 cubic yards of landfill space
Saves 7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released
Glass Recycling Tips
Prepare glass containers for recycling by rinsing out with water.
Labels on glass containers do not have to be removed because they are removed during the crushing process and/or burned off during the melting process.
Avoid breaking the glass and mixing broken colors together as this may make the glass unacceptable for recycling.
Waste Management-Recycle America offers a service known as Container Recycling Alliance (CRA) which is a national recycling organization for recovering glass containers, including clear, brown and green bottles and jars. The CRA features state-of-the-art fully automated ceramic detection and color sorting equipment, as well as full bottle destruction and decasing capabilities.
Recycling glass saves 30% of the energy required when producing glass from raw materials (soda, ash, sand and limestone). Crushed glass, called cullet, melts at a lower temperature than the raw materials, which saves energy.
The United States throws away enough glass bottles and jars to fill a 1,350 square foot building every week.
Refillable glass bottles use 19,000 Btu's of energy as compared to 58,000 Btu's used by throwaway glass bottles.
NEWSPRINT RECYCLING
Recycling one ton of newsprint:
Saves 4.6 cubic yards of landfill space
Saves 7,000 gallons of water
Saves 15 trees
Newsprint Recycling Tips
Cardboard boxes, paper bags and other non-newsprint paper are considered contaminants and are not compatible with newspaper recycling.
It takes time to sort non-newsprint materials out at recovery facilities, so save them time and labor by not mixing non-newsprint items with your newsprint.
Recycled newspaper saves 34 to 60% of the total energy needed for virgin newsprint.
10 million tons of newsprint is thrown away each year in the United States.
Approximately 65,000 to 75,000 trees are needed to produce paper for the Sunday edition of the New York Times.
Recycling one ton of paper:
Saves 4,100 kWh of energy
Saves 9 barrels (380 gallons) of oil
Saves 60 pounds of air pollutants being released
Paper Recycling Tips
Recyclable paper includes: Magazines and catalogs, telephone books, direct mail, brochures, pamphlets and booklets in addition to cereal, cake, chip and cracker boxes.
Be sure to remove the liner and all food from the box, flatten the box and place flattened box in a paper sack with your junk mail, mixed paper, magazines and catalogs.
Non-recyclable paper includes tissue, waxed and carbon paper.
4.5 million tons of office paper is thrown away each year in the United States.
Enough office and writing paper is thrown away each year to build a 12-foot high wall of paper from Los Angeles to New York City.
Annually, each person in the United States uses paper equivalent to two pine trees. Recycled paper saves 33% of the total energy needed for virgin paper.
The average American uses 650 lbs. of paper per year.
Producing recycled white paper creates 74% less air pollution, 35% less water pollution, and 75% less processed energy than producing paper from virgin fibers.
Recycling one ton of plastic:
Saves 5,774 kWh energy
Saves 16.3 barrels (685 gallons) of oil
Plastic Recycling Tips
Prepare plastic containers for recycling by ensuring first that they are either:
#1 (PETE): soda-pop bottles, cooking-oil bottles and peanut-butter jars
#2 (HDPF): milk, water and juice bottles, bleach and detergent bottles, margarine tubs and some grocery sacks
#3 (PVC): window cleaner bottles, cooking-oil containers and detergent powder containers
#4 (LDPE): food packaging, shrink-wrap, carryout bags and heavy-duty bags
#5 (PP): butter and margarine tubs, yogurt containers, screw-on caps and drinking straws
#6 (PS)*: Compact disk cases, aspirin bottles, clean plates, cutlery
*Note – Polystyrene foam including foam cups, plates, and packing materials are non-recyclable.
#7 (Other): squeezable syrup and condiment bottles and some microwave food trays
These identification codes are often on the bottom of the plastic container encircled by three chasing arrows.
Remove plastic tops from the plastic containers being recycled and rinse containers with water.
Crushing containers will help save space while storing them.
Enough plastic bottles are thrown away each year to circle the earth four times.
Approximately 88% of the energy is saved by producing plastic from plastic as opposed to manufacturing plastic from the raw materials of oil and gas.
The number of plastics recycling businesses has nearly tripled over the past several years, with more than 1,700 businesses handling and reclaiming post-consumer plastics.
By using plastic in packaging, American product manufacturers save enough energy each year to power a city of 1 million homes for three and a half years.
Since 1977, the 2-liter plastic soft drink bottle has gone from weighing 68 grams to just 51 grams today, representing a 25% reduction per bottle. That saves more than 206 million pounds of packaging each year. The 1-gallon plastic milk jug has undergone an even greater reduction, weighing 30% less than what it did 20 years ago.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that using plastic foam insulation in homes and buildings will save close to 60 million barrels of oil each year vs. other kinds of insulation.
The lives of more than 1,900 police officers have been saved through the use of protective vests made from plastic fibers.
STEEL RECYCLING
Recycling one ton of steel:
Steel Recycling Tips
Prepare steel cans for recycling by rinsing them with water to remove any food residue.
To save space, remove both ends of the steel can and crush flat.
Labels on the steel cans do not have to be removed since they are burned off during the melting process.
Steel cans, which are used for holding coffee, vegetables and other food products are often referred to as tin cans, but there is only 0.15% tin in a steel can.
The United States throws away enough iron and steel to continuously supply all the nation's automakers.
The average passenger tire contains approximately 10% steel wire by weight.
Since 1989, HSA Golden has provided environmental engineering and consulting services to clients all over the world. Our practice areas include solid and hazardous waste management, waste-to-energy, site development engineering, environmental due diligence, and litigation support, among others. From governmental agencies and multinational, publicly traded corporations to smaller, single-office real estate and legal firms, we are proud of not only the relationships we have built, but also of the trust that our clients place in us.
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Print view: Thirty years into this dumbest debate, we think Mitch McConnell's sincere
THE FRUITS OF LIBERAL SLOTH! Thirty years into this dumbest debate, we think Mitch McConnell's sincere: // link // print // previous // next //
Michelle Cottle's choice: In this morning's New York Times, Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes a "White House Memo" about the Shirley Sherrod matter. As we read her first two grafs, we wondered where she's been:
STOLBERG (7/23/10): It was exactly one year ago on Thursday that President Obama plunged into a thicket of racial politics by declaring that a white police officer in Cambridge, Mass., had "acted stupidly" in arresting a black Harvard University professor in his own home. Suddenly, the president whose election suggested the promise of a postracial future was thrust into the wounds of the past.
Are you kidding? We don't know if anything has "changed" in the wider society, although we think a lot of things have changed for the better over these many years. But the Sherrod matter is vastly different from the Professor Gates/Office Crowley flap. And in one major way, the Sherrod matter is vastly unlike a string of gong-show political incidents stretching back into the past.
How is the Sherrod matter unlike the Gates/Crowley flap? Last year's incident seemed to fan a degree of racial discord, with different segments of the society coming down fairly hard on different sides of the case. By way of contrast, almost everyone quickly agreed on the merits of the Sherrod case. By Wednesday night, almost everyone had agreed that Sherrod's views and statements had been misrepresented. Almost everyone agreed that Andrew Breitbart's tape excerpt was highly misleading.
Almost everyone agreed that Sherrod had got a raw deal.
Not much has changed? The Gates/Crowley flap actually seemed to split some people along racial lines, in ways which recalled other such incidents from the past. Have you seen anything dimly like that in this newest incident?
The Sherrod matter hasn't seemed to split the society into two camps. But in another way, it's one of the most unusual incidents in recent political history. As Paul Krugman noted in this post, gong-show incidents of this type have driven our discourse for the past twenty years. Just offhand, we can't think of another incident where the society had the good sense to agree, pretty much as a group, that the wronged party got wronged.
Al Gore said he invented the Internet! Actually, no—he didn't say that. But gong-show lunacies of that type have shaped our public discourse for decades—often driven along by the press corps.
The Sherrod incident seems remarkably different—and the press corps can't quite spot the change.
We thought Stolberg's take was a bit myopic. We thought this disingenuous post by Michelle Cottle was an act of simple, balls-out bad faith.
For those of you who haven't been watching, Lady Cottle has been in training to inherit the Cokie Roberts chair within the national press corps. For that reason, the lady had to play it safe in reviewing the Sherrod affair. As a New Republic liberal, she had to criticize Andrew Breitbart, of course. On the other hand, she had to pretend that she couldn't think of a single thing her friends in the press corps could do:
COTTLE (7/22/10): I understand why Breitbart has Jonathan Chait, among others, up in arms about conservative pseudo-journalism. But what I find disheartening about this Andrew Breitbart business isn't what it says so much about conservative journalism as about the sorry state of journalism period. Not the way it's practiced (or malpracticed) by any one group or individual, but how the very notion of journalism as a real profession, with even minimal standards of conduct and ethics, has evaporated.
Breitbart's decision to run with the video was without question appalling. But there have always been madmen, charlatans, and assholes in this business. Arguably more outrageous is that, even having been exposed as either a total scumbag or a fool, he will almost certainly suffer no serious or lasting repercussions.
I mean, how could he? Breitbart isn't employed by an institution in a position to fire him. He operates with absolutely no oversight and no accountability. Not that I'm suggesting institutional oversight is necessarily the answer: These days, notoriety, no matter how grotesquely attained, is just another path (indeed, one of the surest) to becoming a multimedia phenom. Hell, look at Eliot Spitzer. But no one should be able to operate without some reasonable check on his destructive craziness.
Breitbart is like Eliot Spitzer? Please avert your gaze.
Poor Cottle! She's appalled by Breitbart's behavior; she even uses naughty words to express her displeasure. But she can't imagine how this horrible fellow could be made to pay a price!
Breitbart will suffer no serious repercussions. "I mean, how could he," the lady asks. Cottle went on and on and on, wondering how Breitbart could be punished. Finally, after a long rumination, it came to her! She offered this:
COTTLE: So what am I hoping will happen here? I'm not entirely sure. Journalists are, obviously, not doctors or lawyers or plumbers. You don't need a license, or even a highly specialized set of knowledge, to practice the craft. But neither should the profession sit back while some raving yahoo, just for kicks, shreds what's left of industry standards and practices—or, worse yet, enhance the guy's fame by letting him babble on for the amusement of chat show audiences. With someone like Breitbart, all exposure is good exposure.
So maybe what's called for here is a good old fashioned shunning. Let's treat Breitbart like the toxic tantrum he is: no more profiles or interviews or linkages to his web site, even in the service of condemning him.
Yeah. I know. That makes this post kinda problematic. But how else to get the word out? Now, I swear, not another word from me about you-know-who.
Yesterday, we prayed that the New York Times (and other newspapers) would do some reporting on Breitbart's conduct, helping readers understand the way he has doctored evidence in an array of cases. But it never entered Cottle's head to use her platform at TNR to bring this prayer to her many friends inside the national press corps.
Let's ignore him, Cottle said. I won't say another word more! Of course, this is the way her loathsome class has dealt with twenty years of these deceptions, going back to the wars on Clinton and Gore, the wars which sent Bush to the White House.
Is a demon loose on the right? Let's ignore him, Cottle has said. But of course, the lords and ladies have always taken this approach. In the process, they make their lives safer, much simpler.
Can you see the way Cottle has prepared herself to sit in the Cokie chair?
Special report: Triumph of the dumbest idea!
PART 4—THE FRUITS OF LIBERAL SLOTH (permalink): If we lower our tax rates, we get higher revenues!
Republican pols almost never state this, the world's dumbest idea. That job is left to the talk-show hacks, the Hannitys. They routinely express this dumbest idea, introducing confusion, mistrust and anger into the public discussion.
The Hannitys constantly peddle this nonsense; Republican pols rarely do. In Campaign 2000, Candidate Bush relentlessly said that his tax cuts would lower federal revenues. (By $1.3 trillion over ten years. We could afford it, he said, because of projected surpluses.) In 1996, meanwhile, Candidate Dole had explicitly said that his proposed tax cuts wouldn't "pay for themselves." Why then did Senator Mitch McConnell recently voice this dumbest idea? Presumably, to bail out the hapless Senator Kyl, who had created a bit of a flap through several awkward statements. This was Brian Beutler's account of Kyl's second oration:
BEUTLER (7/12/10): "My view, and I think most of the people in my party don't believe that you should ever have to offset a tax cut," said Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl. "That clearly reduced savings [sic] is a better way to offset increased spending than a tax increase is."
The rationale, Kyl said, goes back to the ultimate conservative goal of shrinking the size of government. If tax cuts are offset by tax increases in other area, then the government can only grow.
Duh. Assuming Beutler's account is accurate, Senator Kyl plainly wasn't voicing the world's dumbest idea. As a matter of fact, he was saying the opposite: Since tax cuts will reduce future revenues, he seemed to be saying, they make it easier to shrink the size of government; they force us to reduce future spending. There's a name for this strategy—"starve the beast." The strategy turns on an accurate notion: If we lower tax rates, we will get lower revenues.
"Starve the beast" makes fiscal sense, but it's politically unattractive. As discussion of Kyl's clumsy statements grew, McConnell stepped in to help the guy out, completely reversing the basic thrust of what his colleague had said. Bush's tax cuts produced higher revenue, the gentleman from Kentucky now said, voicing the dumbest idea in the world and reversing Kyl's apparent meaning. In the process, he contradicted Candidate Bush's claims about his own tax cuts.
Republican pols almost never voice this idea—they leave that to hacks like Sean Hannity. Presumably, Kyl's blunder explains why McConnell did voice the dumbest idea in the world. But it doesn't answer Paul Krugman's question:
How can this dumbest idea survive, as it has for the past thirty years?
Why can't we kill this dumbest idea? How can it continue to sow mistrust and confusion in the minds of talk-show listeners? In part, it's a tribute to mainstream press lethargy—to the inability of big famous "journalists" to discuss almost any budget issue. But in larger part, the failure rests with us hapless liberals. It isn't just this dumbest idea which has made a rolling joke of our discourse. Here's a list of the world's five dumbest ideas, all of which are alive and well, sowing confusion, after a good many years:
If we lower our tax rates, we get higher revenue!
Social Security will go bankrupt in the year [xxxx]!
The top one percent pay [xxx] percent of federal taxes, a vastly disproportionate share!
European-style health care has failed everywhere it's ever been tried!
When it snows in Washington, that proves that global warming's a hoax!
These dumbest ideas continue to thrive, enabled by liberal indolence. We liberals love to complain about Fox. But the real problem lies with us—with our hapless, dishonorable, highly indifferent "intellectual leaders." Lower tax rates produce higher revenue? Even the gods on Olympus avert their gaze as we "liberals" allow this cant to survive, as we've done for the past thirty years.
Name a famous TV liberal. He or she has played a role in letting this nonsense persist. They've been kissing the keisters of fame—and letting the dumbest ideas in the world rule the American discourse. Have you ever seen a serious effort to address those dumbest ideas in a systematic fashion? Have you ever seen a serious effort to tell centrist and conservative voters about the ways they're being misled in this long, rolling, ludicrous con game?
We see the darlings on TV, swilling wine at Bill Press' book party. This will take us nowhere. (Candidate Gore wants to eliminate the automobile! Back in 1999, Press, then co-host of Crossfire, didn't know what to say when Bob Novak uncorked that dumbest idea. But then, our side rarely does.)
Here at THE HOWLER, we dream of the day when citizens can visit a sprawling resource which goes by this name: "The American budget for dummies." Where they can see a welter of questions about tax, revenue and spending issues addressed in a readable way. Until that day (which will never come), we must continue with what we have.
With Keith Olbermann's approach to the dumbest idea, to cite one more recent example.
If we lower tax rates, we get higher revenues! No, it isn't Olbermann's fault that he lives at the end of thirty years of liberal sloth—that liberal "intellectual leaders" have never created familiar ways to take down this dumbest idea. Olbermann lives at that point in time—and as a result, he seems to have no idea how to address this lunacy. On July 14, he gave it a try, drawing us in with this tease:
OLBERMANN (7/14/10): Minority Leader McConnell pushing more tax breaks for the rich and mighty. "There's no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue, they increased revenue." No evidence, except the congressional budget report estimate that as of 2005, the cuts have increased the deficit by $539 billion! Ezra Klein meets the new math, same as the old math.
Racism in the Tea Party. Sarah Palin uses the word "appalling" not about the racism, about the NAACP calling out the Tea Party for the racism. Our guest, NAACP president Benjamin Jealous.
Classic. First, Olbermann misstated that finding from 2005—then, he called people racists! But at least he had the good common sense to invite Ezra Klein to his program. How comically awful is our liberal "brain trust?" This bad: Ezra Klein is 25 years old—and he's the best we have!
Given the sloth of the past thirty years, "liberals" who are paid $5 million per year have to turn to Ezra for help—and they're utterly clueless themselves. Kind-hearted people will avert their gaze from this, KO's eventual question:
OLBERMANN: Is McConnell even technically correct in that sentence? He said the Bush tax cuts did not reduce revenue, and meanwhile, the congressional estimate was that they just added $500 billion to the deficit. Are these just two ways of saying the same thing, or are they as non-connected as McConnell would have us believe?
Gaze on the legacy of thirty years of liberal intellectual sloth! The apocryphal million monkeys at the million typewriters couldn't produce such incoherence! Poor Ezra paused, perhaps perplexed. And then, he played it safe:
KLEIN (continuing directly): I don't quite understand McConnell's statement. This is an old type of orthodoxy, but it tended to be something that serious Republicans disavowed. You can go back—the Atlantic business channel today had a good list of this. Bush's economic advisers over and over and over again disavowed this position. They said, "Listen, nobody thinks that tax cuts pay for themselves. They just don't do it. And we can't be caught saying that because people won't take us seriously if we do."
He didn't understand McConnell's statement? How about Olbermann's question? Sorry—such reactions can't be voiced on cable TV! Instead of laughing at KO's word salad, Ezra gave a semi-reasonable answer to the "worst question in the world."
Ezra's answer was basically good—although it could have been better. It's true—Bush's advisers never claimed that the cuts would produce higher revenues. But would it not have been more direct to say this same thing about Bush himself? As a candidate, then as a new president, Bush said it again and again and again—his tax cuts would lower revenue (by $1.3 trillion). Why dilute the power of the dumbestness by turning to Bush's aides?
As a candidate, Bush always said that his tax cuts would lower revenue. (Candidate Dole had explicitly said the same thing four years earlier.) But so what? Thirty years into the reign of this dumbest idea, we liberals still don't know to say this—and our most famous leaders flounder and flail, producing that hapless world salad. Millions of Hannity's viewers and listeners have been conned by this simple dumbest idea. Have you ever seen a liberal laugh and tell them: Dudes! Listen up! You're getting conned! That isn't what Bush himself said!
KO's word salad is the fruit of thirty years of liberal sloth. So was Rachel Maddow's embarrassing work on her own program that very same night (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 7/21/10). But then, when it comes to the fruits of liberal sloth, we even have to challenge Ezra, in this July 13 entry at his blog for the Washington Post:
KLEIN (7/13/10): There are fiscal theories that I disagree with, and that I think are cruel, and that make me upset. But very few actually make me sad. Sen. Mitch McConnell, however, hit my sore spot today. "There's no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue," he told Brian Beutler of TPMDC. "They increased revenue because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy. So I think what Senator Kyl was expressing was the view of virtually every Republican on that subject." In other words, this is why Republicans don't think tax cuts need to be paid for. They pay for themselves.
Why does this make me sad? Because it's hard to see the country prospering when one of its two major political parties is this economically illiterate. McConnell isn't some backbencher. He's Senate minority leader. And he thinks there's "no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue."
There's an ontological question here about what, exactly, McConnell considers to be "evidence"...
An ontological question? Don't ask.
Ezra goes on to cite that CBO report from 2005—the report Olbermann and Maddow both grossly misstated, while presumably working straight from this post. Most of Ezra's post makes perfect sense; some of it may be irrelevant. But if you look through the comments to this post, you will see that several teeth-gnashing commenters made the same point we will now make:
People! Mitch McConnell does not believe that Bush's tax cuts increased revenues! The chance that McConnell thinks any such thing is vanishingly small. We know he doesn't believe this dumbest idea for a perfectly obvious reason: McConnell isn't "economically illiterate." Neither are the other big players in his party's caucus.
McConnell was there all through Campaign 2000, as Candidate Bush repeatedly said that his tax cuts would reduce future revenue (by $1.3 trillion over ten years). He understands where that number came from. He doesn't think that a miracle then occurred—that Bush's definitive statement about his own tax plan turned out to be crazily wrong.
No. He doesn't believe that.
Republican pols almost never state the world's dumbest idea; they leave that task to Hannity. And yes, McConnell's recent claim is the dumbest idea in the world. When we lower tax rates, we get higher revenues? No major politician thinks that! And yet, we liberals can't kill this idea, as Krugman hair-tearingly said.
Plainly, it's the dumbest idea. But after thirty years of nonsense, we liberals don't know how to address it! "Is McConnell even technically correct," KO haplessly asked. "Are these just two ways of saying the same thing?" (We have no idea what that meant.)
Gaze on the poisonous fruits of thirty years of liberal sloth! Thirty years into this dumbest debate, we rely on a guy who's 25—and he thinks Mitch McConnell's sincere!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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EP ELECTIONS - JOBBIK FOR STRENGTHENING EU SOCIAL PILLAR
An MEP of opposition Jobbik said it was important to strengthen the EU's social pillar which would include introducing a wage union, increasing support for SMEs and eradicating corruption. Speaking at a press conference, Zoltán Balczó voiced hope that those goals could be achieved and said that the European Parliament passed a decree on setting up a European Labour Authority and adopted guidelines on standard working conditions at its last session before the EP elections. He said Hungary should join the EU's planned European Public Prosecutor's Office to prevent "the disappearance of EU monies through channels of corruption".


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Cold, damp and triumphant: Nissan earns five awards at rain-drenched 2018 Texas Truck Rodeo
Posted at Wed, Oct 31, 2018 1:00 PM
All-new 2018 Nissan Kicks wins "Compact CUV of Texas" and "Best Value" in first-ever appearance at Texas Truck Rodeo
2018 Murano re-claims "Mid-Size CUV of Texas" title
2019 TITAN XD Diesel Single Cab named "Commercial Vehicle of Texas" for third straight year
2019 TITAN collects runner-up honors in three categories
AUSTIN, Texas – Rain pouring and temperatures in the 40s, Nissan shined at the 26th annual Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) Texas Truck Rodeo. Battling historic rainfall in the Austin area, testing conditions this year were especially challenging. Following two days of trail and on-road evaluations in the hills of Austin, the all-new 2018 Kicks has been named "Compact CUV of Texas" and "Best Value", headlining five total Nissan awards.
"Making its debut appearance at the Texas Truck Rodeo, we are thrilled to have the all-new Nissan Kicks named 'Best Value' and 'Compact CUV of Texas' – a category loaded with competition," said Dan Mohnke, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing & Operations, Nissan Division U.S. "With its dramatic styling, personal technology, intelligent safety, efficient powertrain and strong value positioning, Kicks is a natural choice in the great state of Texas."
Also a fan favorite among Texans, the 2018 Murano reclaimed the title of "Mid-Size SUV of Texas," supporting the strong showing of crossovers and SUVs from the company. On the truck side, the 2019 TITAN XD Diesel Single Cab earned the "Commercial Vehicle of Texas" title for the third straight year. The Nissan Smokin' TITAN, the ultimate tailgating and barbecuing pickup truck1, was also named "Top Display Vehicle" of this year's Rodeo.
The 2019 TITAN earned runner-up honors in the Full-size Pickup Truck, Luxury Pickup Truck and Off-road Pickup Truck categories.
"The full line-up of Nissan TITANs performed extremely well under some very challenging conditions at this year's Texas Truck Rodeo," said Fred DePerez, vice president, North America LCV Business Unit, Nissan North America, Inc. "We're honored to take home the title of 'Commercial Vehicle of Texas' for the third year in a row."
The Texas Truck Rodeo includes strenuous on-road and off-road evaluations by members of the Texas Auto Writers Association, one of the most influential and recognized automotive journalist associations in the country. This year's inclement weather made testing that much tougher. But by the end of Day 2, it was the Kicks, Murano and TITAN XD Diesel Single Cab on top in their respective categories.
"The all-new Nissan Kicks came away with a much-deserved win after its first time competing in Texas," said Michael Marrs, president of TAWA. "Our journalists also gave the Murano high marks, and the TITAN made a strong showing as always."
For more information on each of Nissan's winners at the 2018 Truck Rodeo and the complete 2019 Nissan lineup, please visit NissanNews.com.
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Home Politics President Trump is unimpressed with Jeff Sessions' run for senate: "I haven't gotten involved"
President Trump is unimpressed with Jeff Sessions' run for senate: "I haven't gotten involved"
President Donald Trump made his first public comment about former Attorney General Jeff Sessions throwing his hat in the ring for Senate with a non-committal reply about the endorsement.
"Well I haven't gotten involved. I saw he said very nice things about me last night. But we'll have to see," Trump told reporters before departing the White House for events in Georgia according to The Hill.
"I haven't made a determination," he added, noting that Sessions has "tough competition" in the Alabama Senate race.
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro didn't hold back her feelings about former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has recently announced that he plans to run for a position as Senator of Alabama, again.
The Fox weekend host made her comments on Friday's edition of " Fox and Friends" where one of the hosts stated that, "The problem is that the president of the United States if furious with him because he recused himself from the Russia investigation and the president says 'I had three years of hell, essentially, with this witch hunt and Jeff Sessions is responsible.' So how is the president going to react to Jeff Sessions running for Senate?"
"You know I don't know how, I haven't spoken with the president about it," Pirro replied. "But this is the only thing I'm worried about, first of all, this guy has a primary to begin with, he's got to win the primary first.
"There are four other republican running, and you know, as I look at him, you know, he said he was the attorney general, but I don't think anybody knows it because he was hiding under his desk most of the time, because as he just said on Tucker last night, he said, 'I was told I should recuse myself.'"
Pirro was referencing Sessions' interview from Thursday evening on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" where he talked about his candidacy.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions tells @TuckerCarlson that he will file his paperwork tomorrow to run for his old Senate seat in Alabama.
"I believe I have something to give. I have some convictions that I think need to be pushed." pic.twitter.com/5W7vzbsfV0
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 8, 2019
Pirro was incredulous when she "read that Jeff Sessions says something like 'I'm hoping that the president is going to warm up to me.'
"Are you kidding? First of all you've got to win, secondly what makes you think he should warm up to you, given your experience and the fact that you never were an attorney general.
https://youtu.be/lKghdGgddJw?t=943
Written by Savannah Pointer.
Follow Savannah on Twitter
Previous article "He was hiding under his desk most of the time" – Judge Jeanine roasts Sessions' return to politics
Next article Trump ally Jim Jordan assigned to intel committee ahead of Schiff's impeachment hearings


text:
AI Nationalism https://www.ianhogarth.com/blog/2018/6/13/ai-nationalism 84 comments 14/6/2018
AI Nationalism — Ian Hogarth https://www.ianhogarth.com/blog/2018/6/13/ai-nationalism 5 comments 28/5/2020 geopolitics
Silicon Valley's Giants Take Their Talent Hunt to Cambridge - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/technology/cambridge-artificial-intelligence.html 270 comments
GPT-3, Foundation Models, and AI Nationalism https://lastweekin.ai/p/gpt-3-foundation-models-and-ai-nationalism 1 comment
Inside DeepMind's four-year mission to solve one of biology's greatest challenges https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/technology/2020/12/inside-deepminds-four-year-mission-solve-one-biologys-greatest 0 comments
Decolonial AI: Decolonial Theory as Sociotechnical Foresight in Artificial Intelligence | SpringerLink https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-020-00405-8 0 comments
The Bear's Lair: The AI revival of Thomas Mun | True Blue Will Never Stain https://www.tbwns.com/2018/06/25/the-bears-lair-the-ai-revival-of-thomas-mun/ 0 comments
Alan Turing - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing 733 comments
AI at Google: our principles https://blog.google/topics/ai/ai-principles/ 419 comments
Artificial intelligence used to identify skin cancer | Stanford News http://news.stanford.edu/2017/01/25/artificial-intelligence-used-identify-skin-cancer/ 292 comments
How a Pentagon Contract Became an Identity Crisis for Google - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/technology/google-project-maven-pentagon.html 201 comments
OpenAI Charter https://blog.openai.com/openai-charter/ 177 comments
AI and Compute https://blog.openai.com/ai-and-compute/ 153 comments
George Orwell: Notes on Nationalism https://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/nationalism/english/e_nat 107 comments
Bayes' theorem - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayes%27_theorem 104 comments
South Korea trumpets $860-million AI fund after AlphaGo 'shock' | Nature http://www.nature.com/news/south-korea-trumpets-860-million-ai-fund-after-alphago-shock-1.19595 98 comments
Public good - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/public_good 95 comments
Beijing Pushes for a Direct Hand in China's Big Tech Firms - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-pushes-for-a-direct-hand-in-chinas-big-tech-firms-1507758314 83 comments
Translating news from Chinese to English using AI, Microsoft researchers reach human parity milestone https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/machine-translation-news-test-set-human-parity/ 62 comments
Paul Graham http://www.paulgraham.com/ 57 comments
Artificial general intelligence - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligence#Possible_explanations_for_the_slow_progress_of_AI_research 41 comments
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (United States) - Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Petroleum_Reserve_(United_States) 38 comments
Google Will Not Renew Pentagon Contract That Upset Employees - The New York Times https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/technology/google-pentagon-project-maven.html 28 comments
Opinion | The Real Threat of Artificial Intelligence - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/opinion/sunday/artificial-intelligence-economic-inequality.html?pagewanted=all 26 comments
http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Advanced%20Electronics/Our%20Insights/How%20artificial%20intelligence%20can%20deliver%20real%20value%20to%20companies/MGI-Artificial-Intelligence-Discussion-paper.ashx 15 comments
The Unfolding Tragedy of Climate Change in Bangladesh - Scientific American Blog Network https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-unfolding-tragedy-of-climate-change-in-bangladesh/ 10 comments
China Bets on Sensitive U.S. Start-Ups, Worrying the Pentagon - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/technology/china-defense-start-ups.html 9 comments
Search whole site: site:www.ianhogarth.com
Search title: AI Nationalism — Ian Hogarth


ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carnegie Learning's EMC School (EMC) division, a leading provider of digital and blended literacy solutions, today announced its acquisition of Mondo Publishing, a company celebrated for its K-5 literacy resources and professional learning services. With the addition of Mondo, EMC is realizing its goal of providing a comprehensive K-12 English language arts collection.
Founded in 1986 by educator-turned-entrepreneur and CEO Mark Vineis, Mondo was born from a simple idea: that all children can achieve high standards given sufficient opportunity, and that well- supported teachers hold the key.
Mondo's leveled reading collections and rich content enhance learning for any K-5 reading curriculum and its high-quality books resonate with young students. While other publishers have looked for ways to offer fewer choices, Mondo continues to provide rich, culturally diverse books in varied trim sizes and shapes that respect student individuality. In addition, Mondo offers customized, ongoing professional learning that goes far beyond ensuring optimal implementation of its resources, but supports teachers and administrators to deepen their understanding of best instructional practices in literacy.
EMC is excited to feature the newly released, popular Who's Doing the Work? Guided Reading Book Collections selected and written by Jan Burkins & Kim Yaris. Each collection serves a range of reading levels and matches the engaging topics and instructional goals for each of the three lessons for every grade. Books follow criteria that include complexity, accessibility, engagement, representation of people and relevance. Mondo's products will continue to be available through Mondo's website.
The acquisition of Mondo represents EMC School's second acquisition this year. In February, EMC acquired Zulama, an award-winning education technology company producing innovative digital programs for computer literacy in middle and high school.
With ongoing investment from CIP Capital, Carnegie Learning will continue to challenge the status quo in K-16 learning, aggressively pursuing targeted investments in products, services, technology, acquisitions, and research to better empower teachers and students.
Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips represented the shareholders of Mondo Publishing in its sale.
Since 1986, Mondo (meaning "world" in Italian) has been providing ongoing professional learning services and developing high-quality literacy resources for K-5 classrooms. Mondo's extensive literacy offerings combine modular, flexible resources and support for teachers, with authentic, diverse, and engaging books that students love to read. Mondo is committed to helping teachers differentiate literacy instruction and encouraging their students to develop into literate learners who can comprehend, communicate, and contribute to their world. When we empower students to become analytical readers and writers, their future is a world of endless possibilities. For more information, visit www.mondopub.com.
CIP Capital is a New York-based private equity firm focused on investing in growth-oriented, middle- market companies across the Business Information and Technology-Enabled Services sectors in North America. The fund seeks to invest in proven, profitable businesses that provide their customer bases with critical information, data-driven insights, and value- added outsourced services. CIP Capital targets investments in sectors including business services, marketing services, and knowledge services. Carnegie Learning represents CIP Capital's third platform in the Knowledge Services market. For more information please visit: www.cip-capital.com.
Carnegie Learning's EMC School division announced its acquisition of Mondo Publishing, a company celebrated for its K-5 literacy resources.


84. Training on ethics, Procurement Integrity Act, etc.
85. Training on Service Contract Labor Standards, etc.
94. Review the strength of your "B2G Ecosystem" (pipeline, capture, proposal capability, legal, accounting, access to capital, etc.
100. Review prime contractor reputation (past performance, quick payments to subcontractors, adequate work share, etc.
101. Answer the question: Should MY COMPANY be in the government contracts market?


We work with a number of architects throughout Victoria. The local architect that we often work with is 3 Corners in Footscray.
If you have questions Building Code of Australia or require permits the we recommend contact the competent staff at Grimbos Building Surveyors.
For anyone about to build we recommend that they first visit the Victorian Building Authority website so they know what to look for when choosing a builder and to get a better understanding of the building process.
Our preferred provider of demolition and waste management services in Melbourne is All Gone.
Our preferred electrician for the Melbourne area is Right Connection Electrical.
Our preferred professional for pest inspections and treatments in Melbourne are Cannon Pest Management.
For landscaping and/or pools we prefer to work with Central Pools & Landscapes.


I'm jealous of your childhood; I'm jealous of your life. How you spend so many days seeing new things, poking sticks in tidepools, running in joy with your friends.
I did not have many of the things you had. I still don't. I tell myself, Alison, if their lives are so fantastic and rich and layered and varied….and you are with them every step of the way, isn't your life that way, too?
I'm thankful for flying kites, for peregrine falcons, for soft toys that are part of our family. I thrill to explore new sand dunes, or old castles, or stick my feet in streams so cold my toes turn red almost instantly. I take comfort in relaxing into adulthood and parenthood and beinghood.
But still. I am jealous. I can hold that alongside my gratitude, but my own longing nudges me uncomfortably. I want to see more, to do more, to be more.
I try to remind myself: Alison, as you remember to value those children for who they are, remember to honour yourself, too. You are funny and wise and full of imagination. Do you know this, do you believe this? Alison, it's hard to be subsumed by the constant wonder and joy of other people, even harder when those people don't express what you consider to be enough gratitude.
But Alison, don't do it for their gratitude. Do it because it's important to raise a new generation who believe it is possible to create and imagine. Do it because they need to know how to stand up against injustice. Do it because it's right, because you feel it to be true, because even though it reminds you constantly of all you wish you had and still need for yourself, even though that hurts sometimes, it is still needed. Valid. True.
Give them what you have wished for yourself, but remember that you've had these moments, too, and you'll have them again. It's time, soon, and you'll need to be brave and to stretch and to be. And you know that's possible, because you make it true for these lives in your hands, because you see it happening and unfolding every day.


Raft: Load it down with gear and still provide comfortable seating for passengers. Rafts are versatile and fun.
Cataraft: Gear and passengers are no problem for this boat. Customize your frame to accommodate your needs.
Flat Area: The measurement of the flat surface on the top of the side tubes that determines the maximum side rail length for rowing frames. This is the area where frame side rails are placed.
Kick/Rocker: The area where the front "kick" and rear "rocker" of the boat curves up. Increased rocker pushes the raft up and over large waves. The higher the kick the less surface area of the boat is touching the water allowing for greater maneuverability. A lower kick allows for increased stability and places the guide closer to the water for increased control. Increased kick = a fun ride that allows you to feel the waves.
Center-to-Center Width: The measurement used to determine the width of frame needed for your raft. The easy way to measure this is: total width of the boat - 1 tube diameter = the Center-to-Center width.
Note: When the Center-to-Center measurement of your boat falls between the available sizes it is better to choose the wider width to avoid having the frame slip inside the boat.
Thwart: An air filled tube that spans the width of the boat. These provide stability for the boat and also can be used as a passenger seat and/or foothold. There are two types, removable and fixed. Removable thwarts give the option of removing or changing the location of thwarts in the boat. NRS uses a BAT™ (Batten Attachment System) to secure removable thwarts. Fixed thwarts (disk thwarts) are glued into place and do not have the option to be removed or moved.
Floor Purge (Pressure Release) Valve: Releases air from the floor to protect the boat seams when pressure increases due to sun exposure. The release will only occur when the floor PSI exceeds 2.4. The location of this valve on NRS boats indicates the stern of the boat. Rubber stops are available to keep sand from entering into the valve.
Standard Floor: This boat has a water tight floor. A bail bucket or bilge pump is required. If filled with water this type of boat is difficult to maneuver through rapids. These are a great economical option for fishing on flat water. Self-bailing Floor: This type of floor allows for water drainage around the perimeter of the floor. This floor inflates to give a sturdy and stable feel. This floor type is the preferred option for most whitewater boaters due to its quick draining ability which allows for maintained control and increased maneuverability throughout rapids.
oz./denier: Standard measurements used to describe boat materials: Ounces (oz.) denotes the weight of a square meter of material. Denier, the weight in grams of 9,000 meters of thread, is an index measurement used to indicate the strength of the woven base fabric in the material.
NRS Pennel Orca® boat material: Durable, flexible material that is highly abrasion, UV and chemical resistant. Used in NRS Expedition and Otter rafts, River and Kodiak Catarafts and MaverIK inflatable kayaks.
Note: NRS uses high quality and reliable Pennel Orca Fabric.
Urethane: A tough and durable plastic coated material. Great for mildew and abrasion resistance but not the best against UV degradation. Urethane boats are bonded thru a heat-welded process.
PVC: A plastic coated material. Manufacturers such as AIRE use a urethane bladder inside a PVC outer shell. PVC is highly abrasion resistant and offers a smooth outer surface that glides over the water and is less "sticky" to rocks. These boats also have heat-welded seams.
D-rings: A secure way to hold your gear and frame down. Most rafts come with 6-14 2'' stainless steel D-rings depending on the boat. Extra's can be purchased to customize your boat. D-ring installation instructions.
Footcups: Glue in footcups to your paddle boat to give you a secure place to put your feet and power through waves. Boats do not come with footcups but are an option to be purchased and added later.
Carry Handles: Most rafts come with plenty of these for easy lifting in and out of the water. Attach your own EasyCarry Handles™ wherever an extra hand hold is needed. EasyCarry Handle™ installation instructions.
Cargo Nets: Toss a cargo net over your gear, cinch it down with straps, and it will hold your bags and boxes in the boat even through the wildest ride.
Raft Cargo Floor:Holds your gear off the floor of your raft. The mesh floor allows for drainage and keeps your gear from sitting in water. Cargo floors are most often used in standard floor boats to prevent gear from wearing holes in floor fabric when scraping over rocks.
Cataraft Cargo Floor: Gives a quick draining floor to your cat. These cargo floors are great for supporting all your gear or your feet. This floor also reduces splash for rower and passengers. Not recommended for long periods of standing.
Cataraft Aluminum Floor: Recommended for flat water rowing where long periods of standing will occur. Great to hold loads of gear for a long weekend fishing trip. This aluminum floor is heavy duty and long-lasting. The addition of an aluminum floor to your frame lowers the center of gravity making it a very stable cataraft.
Flip Lines: A helpful addition to any overturned raft or cataraft. Two flip lines are placed on one side to aid in righting the boat when overturned.
Bow-Line: Use a bow-line bag full of rope to secure your boat to shore so you can save your rescue rope for emergencies.
Rescue Bag: An absolute necessity on the river. A highly visible bag with a 75' rope is an essential accessory to any boat. If used properly a rescue bag can safely help a fellow boater in need.
Safety Whistle: Always a good and inexpensive safety accessory for any boater. Attach a whistle to any PFD or leave attached to the frame near the rower to communicate with other boaters.
Inflatable Boat Cleaner: An easy-to-use cleaner for PVC , Hypalon®, Vinyl, Fiberglass, stainless steel, and chrome. Dirt, oils, aluminum frame oxidation marks, white oxidation, and diesel smudge will easily dissolve. Rinse surface before applying.
303 Protectant: Protects all your equipment from harmful UV rays, and maintains the integrity and tear strength of nylon materials, rubber compounds (including neoprene), plastics, plexi-glass, leather, fiberglass, EPDM, vinyls, and even wood. Wipe on your raft or use as a rinse for PFD's and wetsuits.


You're looking for "Cross-listing". Here's a step-by-step.
What should I do? I am supposed to be one of the two canvas coordinators at my school of 175 teachers who return on Friday. I really need help getting this together before all the teachers show up and need my help.
First - I'd suggest deleting that screenshot as it could be considered a FERPA violation.
Second - are you a full admin for your school? It seems like you're missing the permission to be able to edit course sections.
FERPA issue fixed. I modified the image. Thanks for looking out for our community, Anthony!


June 17, 2011 – In June 2010, Niagara West – Glanbrook MP Dean Allison gave notice for Motion M-546 that read: That in the opinion of the House, anaphylaxis is a serious concern for an increasing number of Canadians and the government should take the appropriate measures necessary to ensure these Canadians are able to maintain a high quality of life.
June 16, 2011 – Niagara West – Glanbrook Member of Parliament Dean Allison gave notice for a motion in the House of Commons today. Motion-230 reads: That in the opinion of the House, anaphylaxis is a serious concern for an increasing number of Canadians and the government should take the appropriate measures necessary to ensure these Canadians are able to maintain a high quality of life.
May 31, 2011 – This week when Members of Parliament return to the House of Commons, Niagara West – Glanbrook MP Dean Allison will be picking up where he left off before the election, assisting Canadian families in raising greater awareness of the health and quality of life challenges posed by living with severe, life-threatening allergies (anaphylaxis).


text:
RESIDENCE: Smith & Macon Cos. TN
RESOURCES: See: Possible Wife Or Dau? [S593] [S956]
Family 1 : Abraham ALVIS
MARRIAGE: BEF 1840
PEDRO Lopez de AYALA 11th Lord of Ayala
RESIDENCE: Spain
Father: SANCHO Perez de AYALA 10th Lord of Ayala
Mother: ALDONCA de VELASCO
Family 1 : SANCHA Fernandez BARROSO
+FERNAN PEREZ de AYALA 13th Lord of Ayala
Don Pedro Lopez, 11th Lord of Ayala Adelantado Mayor of
_PERO Lopez de Haro________|
|                           |_________________________
_SANCHO Perez de AYALA 10th Lord of Ayala_|
|                                          |                            _SANCHO Perez de GAMBOA _+
|                                          |                           |
|                                          |_ELVIRA Sanchez de GAMBOA _|
|                                                                      |
|                                                                      |_ANDREA Diaz de MENA ____
|--PEDRO Lopez de AYALA 11th Lord of Ayala
|                                                                       _________________________
|                                           ___________________________|
|                                          |                           |_________________________
|_ALDONCA de VELASCO ______________________|
|                            _________________________
Elizabeth BERNARD
RESIDENCE: ENG & Gloucester Co. VA
BIRTH: ABT 1655, Isle Of Wight Co. Virginia [S2049]
DEATH: AFT 1710, "Toddsbury", Ware Parish, Gloucester Co. Virginia [S2049]
RESOURCES: See: LDS (AFN: N573-D7) [S1869] [S1989] [S2049] [S3719]
Father: WILLIAM BERNARD "the Immigrant"
Mother: Lucy Burwell HIGGINSON
Family 1 : Thomas TODD II
+Anne TODD
+Lucy TODD
+William TODD of Culpeper Co. VA
+Philip TODD
+Elizabeth TODD
2. Elizabeth BERNARD (AFN:N573-D7) Born: 1653-65 Place: Isle Of Wight Co, Va Died: Aft 1710 Place: "Toddsbury", Ware Parish, Gloucester Co., Va
_FRANCIS BERNARD ____+
_FRANCIS BERNARD Jr.______________|
| (1558 - 1630)                    |
|                                  |_ALICE HASELWOOD ____
|                                    (1525 - 1612) m 1557
_WILLIAM BERNARD "the Immigrant"_|
| (1603 - 1665) m 1654            |
|                                 |                                   _Antohny WOOLHOUSE __
|                                 |                                  | (1533 - 1587) m 1558
|                                 |_Mary WOOLHOUSE __________________|
|                                   (1580 - ....)                    |
|                                                                    |_MILLICENT STRELLEY _
|                                                                      (1538 - 1606) m 1558
|--Elizabeth BERNARD
|                                                                     _____________________
|                                                                    |
|                                  _Robert HIGGINSON "the Immigrant"_|
|                                 | (1597 - 1649) m 1620             |
|                                 |                                  |_____________________
|_Lucy Burwell HIGGINSON _________|
(1632 - 1675) m 1654            |
|                                   _____________________
|                                  |
|_Joanna TOKESY ___________________|
(1600 - ....) m 1620             |
Magdalene BRENT
RESIDENCE: Pike Co. MS
BIRTH: 12 Jul 1879
Father: William Jacob BRENT
Mother: Laura A. STANDARD
_John BRENT _________+
_John BRENT ____________________________________|
| (1779 - 1844) m 1807                           |
|                                                |_Ann Nancy NEELY ____
|                                                  (1760 - ....)
_William Jacob BRENT _|
|                      |                                                 _Jacob TURNIPSEED ___+
|                      |                                                | (1757 - 1819)
|                      |_Mary Magdalene TURNIPSEED _____________________|
|                        (1780 - ....) m 1807                           |
|                                                                       |_Katherine VOGT _____
|                                                                         (1764 - 1827)
|--Magdalene BRENT
|                                                                        _____________________
|                                                                       |
|                       _(RESEARCH QUERY) STANDARD of VA & NC & SC & GA_|
|                      |                                                |
|                      |                                                |_____________________
|_Laura A. STANDARD ___|
(1848 - 1885)        |
|                                                 _____________________
|                                                |
|________________________________________________|
Capt. Howe Peyton COCHRAN C.S.A.
18 Sep 1834 - 1892
TITLE: Capt.
OCCUPATION: CSA Ordnance Off in Pickett's Division
RESIDENCE: Charlottesville, VA
RESOURCES: See: notes [S2793] [S2794]
Father: John COCHRAN
Mother: Margaret Lynn LEWIS
Family 1 : Anne Lightfoot CARRINGTON
MARRIAGE: 18 Dec 1860, Albemarle Co. Virginia [S2794]
Campbell Carrington COCHRAN
Family 2 : Jane Lewis KENT
Howe Peyton Cochran 18 September 1834 Born on 18 September 1834.
Service Record:
Promoted to Full Lieutenant 1st Class (Acting with Pegram's Brigade)
Promoted to Full Captain (Ordnance Off in Pickett's Division)
Enlisted as a Sergeant on 18 July 1861
Enlisted in Albemarle Light Artillery Regiment Virginia on 01 August 1861.
Applied on 29 August 1861 at Richmond, VA (To be appointed as a cadet)
Applied for transfer on 02 April 1862 (To become drillmaster)
Discharged Albemarle Light Artillery Regiment Virginia on 27 May 1862
"He & his wife had the same Grandfather; Col. William Preston. Capt. Confederate Army. He enlisted as a Sgt in Company A on 7/18/61".
|                             |_______________________________
_John COCHRAN ________|
|                      |                              _______________________________
|                      |                             |
|                      |_____________________________|
|                                                    |_______________________________
|--Howe Peyton COCHRAN C.S.A.
|                                                     _William LEWIS M.D.____________+
|                                                    | (1724 - 1811) m 1754
|                       _John LEWIS of Sweet Springs_|
|                      | (1758 - 1823) m 1793        |
|                      |                             |_Anne MONTGOMERY ______________+
|                      |                               (1737 - 1808) m 1754
|_Margaret Lynn LEWIS _|
|                              _William PRESTON of Smithfield_+
|                             | (1729 - 1783) m 1761
|_Mary PRESTON _______________|
(1772 - 1824) m 1793        |
|_Susannah SMITH _______________+
Rebecca COLEMAN
RESIDENCE: Caroline or Spotsylvania Cos. VA
Father: Robert COLEMAN III
Mother: Mary CLAYTON
_Robert I of Mobjack Bay COLEMAN "the Immigrant"_+
_Robert COLEMAN II___|
|                     |_Elizabeth GRIZZELL _____________________________+
_Robert COLEMAN III__|
|                     |                      _John SPILSBE ___________________________________
|                     |_Ann SPILSBE ________|
|                       (1659 - ....) m 1678|
|                                           |_________________________________________________
|--Rebecca COLEMAN
|                                            _________________________________________________
|                      _Samuel CLAYTON _____|
|                     | (1658 - ....) m 1680|
|                     |                     |_________________________________________________
|_Mary CLAYTON _______|
|                      _________________________________________________
|_Susannah____________|
|_________________________________________________
Hannah DARBY
RESIDENCE: of Sumter Co. SC
BIRTH: 21 Sep 1718, St. Thomas-St. Denis Parish, South Carolina
DEATH: 18 Mar 1804, Sumter Co. South Carolina
Family 1 : Benjamin Ebenezer SINGLETARY I
Benjamin Ebenezer SINGLETARY Jr.
Michael SINGLETARY
+Thomas SINGLETARY
Joseph SINGLETARY
Daniel SINGLETARY
Mary Elizabeth SINGLETARY
+Ebenezer SINGLETARY II
+John Darby SINGLETARY Sr.
Father:Michael DARBY and Mother:Mary WARNOCK, dau of Joseph WARNOCK
Barthalamew DURRETT "the Immigrant"
RESIDENCE: France and London, England and of Manakin Town VA
RESOURCES: See: LDS [S3341]
+Paul Parrain DURRETT
+William DURRETT
+Richard DURRETT
Polly LEFTWICH
8 Mar 1770 - ____
RESIDENCE: Bedford Co. VA
BIRTH: 8 Mar 1770
Father: Thomas LEFTWICH
Mother: Mary CHALLIS
Family 1 : Benjamin RICE
_Thomas LEFTWICH Sr._+
_Augustine LEFTWICH Sr._|
|                        |_Mary NORTH _________+
_Thomas LEFTWICH ____|
|                     |                         _Richard MOXLEY _____
|                     |_Mary MOXLEY ___________|
|--Polly LEFTWICH
|                                               _____________________
|                      ________________________|
|                     |                        |
|                     |                        |_____________________
|_Mary CHALLIS _______|
|                         _____________________
|________________________|
Lucy Fitzhugh MEADE
26 Oct 1796 - Oct 1823
RESIDENCE: Clark Co. VA
DEATH: Oct 1823
Father: Richard Kidder MEADE of "Lucky Hit"
Mother: Mary "Molly" GRYMES
8. Lucy Fitzhugh Meade, b. Oct. 26, 1796; d. Oct., 1823.
_Andrew MEADE "the Immigrant"___________
_David MEADE I______________|
| (1690 - 1757) m 1730       |
|                            |_Mary LATHAM ___________________________
|                              (1682 - ....)
_Richard Kidder MEADE of "Lucky Hit"_|
| (1746 - 1805) m 1780                |
|                                     |                             _RICHARD EVERARD Gov. of North Carolina_+
|                                     |                            | (1683 - 1733) m 1705
|                                     |_Susanna EVERARD ___________|
|                                       (1710 - ....) m 1730       |
|                                                                  |_Susan KIDDER __________________________
|                                                                    (1680 - 1739) m 1705
|--Lucy Fitzhugh MEADE
|                                                                   _John GRYMES of "Grymesby Hall"_________+
|                                                                  | (1651 - 1709)
|                                      _John GRYMES Esq.of Brandon_|
|                                     | (1693 - ....) m 1715       |
|                                     |                            |_Alice TOWNLEY _________________________+
|                                     |                              (1660 - ....)
|_Mary "Molly" GRYMES ________________|
(1753 - 1813) m 1780                |
|                             _Philip LUDWELL II of Greenspring_______+
|                            | (1672 - 1726) m 1697
|_Lucy LUDWELL ______________|
(1698 - ....) m 1715       |
|_Hannah HARRISON _______________________+
Hon. J. H. STEWART Judge
RESIDENCE: of Dayton and Marion Perry Co. AL
Family 1 : Virginia (Jemmie) GRAVES
6th; Virginia Graves married Judge J. H. Stewart of Marion, Perry County, Alabama.
Col David WALKER
TITLE: Col
OCCUPATION: member of Congress from KY for years.
RESIDENCE: Logan Co. KY
Family 1 : Mary BARBOUR
1) Mary Walker m. Col. R.K. Meade
2) Fannie Walker m. Humphrey Gwynn
3) Helen Walker m. Mr. Browder
4) James Volney Walker d. -No issue
5) Jefferson Walker d. -No issue
6) George Walker
7) David Walker


Damn… At least a swabbie won.
Only one I voted for won.
Aside: I had to miss this conference at the last minute (literally), but I really wanted to see our host give the acceptance speech during his enforced sobriety. Oh well… Maybe next year?
Thanks for posting this- I've been trying to find out who won. Glad to see Leta and MP on this list, but, like you, not many I voted for won.
Guess I don't get around much….. I only now heard of "Neptunus Lex". Guess I will have to go over and congratulate the swabbies.
Thank you for posting this. I've been trying to find the list all day. Sad that TAH didn't win. Dog gone it! But ALWAYS WINNERS to me!
No one I voted for won, but it's all good.
I've been trying to upload the videos of the announcements that my son made since last night, but the hotel's WiFi is a smoldering turd.


Over 600 Species on 12 DVD Volumes filmed on location, under natural conditions and habitat. Each volume covers a group of birds and all species accounts include live action video, range maps and professionally recorded narratives that describe field marks, behavior and habitat. Audio recordings of songs and calls are also included for most birds. This collection, which includes over 600 species, encompasses 30 years of field photography. All material has been digitized, enhanced and color graded, then edited with state of the art technology and software. During the editing process each disc in the series was submitted to accredited ornithologists for their professional review and evaluation. Their comments, suggestions and corrections were incorporated prior to final editing. Menu Navigation: Each DVD has a user friendly menu structure that allows easy user access to the species covered in that volume.
Each species presentation is accompanied by range maps, graphics and narration which is informative and descriptive by nature. This disc covers 66 species; Flycatchers, Kingbirds, Shrikes, Vireos, Jays, Crows and Ravens. Each species grouping is preceded by a general overview. Overviews and species narration provide an educational and informative insight to each group and the species within that group.


One of the trends that you may notice as you browse our shelves is that many authors write books for 2 or more different age groups. Several best-selling adult authors have entered into the Young Adult market recently. James Patterson has been writing for adults and teens for many years. His popular teen titles include the Maximum Ride and Confessions series.
More recently, Harlen Coben, David Baldacci, and Sherrilyn Kenyon have launched Young Adult series.
Richard Paul Evans is probably best known for his gentle adult reads, many set at Christmastime. Did you know Evans also writes a science fiction series about a teenager with Tourette's Syndrome? The Michael Vey books have been very popular at our branches and at the South Dearborn High School.
Adrianna Trigiani, author of The Big Stone Gap series for adults, has two teen books to her credit. Jodi Picoult has taken a different approach to writing for teens; she shares the writing responsibilities with her daughter Samantha Van Leer.
The cross-over trend is not limited to teen and adult books. Carl Hiaasen has been writing both adult and juvenile fiction for a long time. You may be familiar with his book Hoot which was turned into a popular movie. Hiaasen's books for children almost always have an environmental theme, but with lots of humor, just like his adult books. They make great books for upper elementary or middle school kids who like fast-moving stories that will also make them laugh. Hiaasen also has one book in our Teen area.
In addition to adult and teen books, James Patterson has several series for middle grade readers. The covers shown below are the first books in three of these series.
John Grisham and Alexander McCall Smith have also written series of juvenile fiction.
Judy Blume is probably most famous for her children's books like Fudge-a-mania, but also has written for adults, including In the Unlikely Event (2015). Neil Gaiman is a bit unique because he has books in our adult, teen, juvenile fiction and picture book areas. His chapter book The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Medal in 2008 and he has written picture books featuring a panda named Chu.
Are there other cross-over authors you would recommend to our readers? Let us know, so we can add them to the list!


NETHERLANDS – SOUTH KOREA – The pressure on operators in the ocean heavy lift industry sector can be gauged by the recent insolvency of one of the industry's best known names, Hansa, and now BigLift Shipping, a part of the Dutch Spliethoff group, and Busan based Chung Yang Shipping, have agreed to cooperate, pooling their four heavy transport vessels under the BigLift brand.
The two companies say that the two pairs of ships, BigLift Barentsz and BigLift Baffin and CY Interocean I and CY Interocean II, are better positioned to meet the future demands in the LNG, Oil and Gas markets and the renewable market, adhering to the highest QHSE standards.
The vessels are very similar with respect to deck space, however the CY vessels have a less draft, enabling BigLift and Chung Yang to handle an even wider range of port locations in respect of water depth and quay heights. With the combined fleet the two companies say they can offer more flexibility and availability to a market of challenging heavy transport projects.
The four vessels have own gear lifting capacity as well as RoRo access and the two heavy BigLIft transport vessels are two identical, state of the art Module Carriers (MC). With their large 125 x 42 metre deck they increase BigLift's shipping capabilities for RoRo cargoes up to about 16,000 tonnes a piece. The CY ships have principally been used of late in the offshore energy sector, with contracts from the like of COSCO.
Both Chung Yang and BigLift Shipping will provide technical and operational support in the early stages of future projects, providing customers with engineered and tailor-made solutions in the various project phases and details of each type of vessel can be seen here for the MC class and here for the CY type.
Photo: CY Interocean l shows her carrying capability.


text:
Evaluation of genome similarities using the non-decimated wavelet transform
L.M. Ferreira
T. Sáfadi
R.R. Lima
Received: June 23, 2017
Accepted: August 24, 2017
The wavelets have become increasingly popular in the field of bioinformatics due to their capacity in multiresolution analysis and space-frequency localization; the latter particularity is acquired due to a moving window that runs through the analyzed space. As a feature, they have a better ability to capture hidden components of biological data and an efficient link between biological systems and the mathematical objects used to describe them. The decomposition of signals/sequences at different levels of resolution allows obtaining distinct characteristics in each level. The energy (variance) obtained at each level provides a new set of information that can be used to search similarities between sequences. We show that the behavior of GC-content sequence can be succinctly described regarding the non-decimated wavelet transform, and we indicate how this characterization can be used to improve clustering of the similar strains of the genome of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, having a very efficient level of detail. The clustering analysis using the energy obtained at each level of the analyzed sequences was essential to verify the dissimilarity of the sequences.
In the last decades, the analysis using technique of wavelets has been growing increasingly. One of the great advantages associated with this method corresponds to the computational gain, that is, the analyses are processed almost in real time. The applicability is in several areas of science, like Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, Genetics, among others.
The wavelet transform is a technique of seeing and represents a signal. Mathematically, it is represented by a function oscillating in time or space. As a characteristic, it has sliding windows that expand or compress to capture low- and high-frequency signals, respectively (Percival and Walden, 2000). Its origin occurred in the field of seismic study to describe the disturbances arising from a seismic impulse (Morlet et al., 1982).
Among the wavelet techniques, we have the discrete non-decimated wavelet transform (NDWT), whose main characteristic is that it can work with any size of signals/sequences. In this technique, the coefficients are translation invariants, that is, the choice of origin is irrelevant since all the observations are used in the analysis, a situation that does not occur in the discrete decimated wavelet transform (DWT).
Discrete wavelet transforms were used to identify gene locations in genomic sequences (Ning et al., 2003), identifying long-range correlations, locating periodicities in DNA sequences (Vannucci and Liò, 2001), and in the analysis of G+C patterns (Dodin et al., 2000).
The clustering analysis is often adopted to deal with DNA sequences efficiently. A wavelet-based feature vector model was proposed by Bao and Yuan (2015) for clustering of DNA sequences.
Human tuberculosis (TB) is caused by an intracellular pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and it replicates rapidly in the lungs with high oxygen concentration. Global TB control measures are affected by the emergence of drug resistant (DR), multidrug resistant (MDR), and extensively drug resistant (XDR) strains. Resistance in these MTB strains to anti-TB drugs occurs due to chromosomal mutations (Saini and Dewan, 2016). Global control of tuberculosis is hampered by slow, insensitive diagnostic methods, particularly for the detection of DR forms and in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Early detection is essential to reduce the death rate and interrupt transmission. Boehme et al. (2010) concerned with this situation and developed a more efficient method for the detection of DR and MDR strains. Perdigão et al. (2010) worked to characterize the genetic changes associated with the high number of XDR that threatens the global control of TB worldwide.
Apart from molecular methods based on whole genome sequences of MTB, signal processing of complete genomic sequences can help display and explore structural patterns capable of being interpreted and compared. Graphical representations obtained from signal processing methods can provide insight into the evolution, structure, and function of genomes (Anastassiou, 2000).
The genome of MTB is approximately 4.4 million base pairs long and is one of the largest known bacterial genomes. This bacterium is the cause of the TB disease that has killed thousands of people around the world. The GC-content is an important parameter of bacterial genomes used to scan the basic composition of the genome as well as to understand the evolution of the coded sequence.
Saini and Dewan (2016) highlights the potential of discrete wavelet transforms in the analysis and comparison of genomic sequences of MTB with different resistance characteristics. Based on the calculation of the energy of wavelet decomposition coefficients of complete genomic sequences, they showed that the genomic sequences could be grouped into two broad categories wherein the DR and drug susceptible (DS) sequences formed one group while the MDR and XDR sequences formed the other group.
The main advantage of the NDWT method concerning DWT is the possibility to work with any size of genome sequences, that is, there is no loss of genome information. In the DWT method, the sequence must have a power of two, where loss of information of the genome inevitably occurs.
The NDWT method can be used in any genome type, increasing the speed of the analysis, because the analyses with this method are processed almost in real time.
In this study, the NDWT was applied to the GC-content sequences of the MTB genome strains and the energies obtained to the detail level coefficients were used to study their similarities. Stacked plots of the detail levels provide an effective means of exploring the relationships between genomic strains at different scales. The proposed methodology is applied to MTB sequences, being 4 DR, 4 DS, 1 MDR, and 1 XDR.
The sequences analyzed correspond to the strains of the MTB genome. Ten sequences were analyzed, obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, 2017).
The GC-content of all the sequences was evaluated using a sliding window of 10,000 bases. The sequences were decomposed using a discrete NDWT. We considered the Daubechies wavelet (4 null moments) with 5 levels of decomposition. Statistical measures of energy for each of the decomposed sequences were evaluated. We used the measures of energy to know if the sequences were similar or not, and the clustering analysis was performed using the Mahalanobis distance in a hierarchical method with the average linkage.
The free software R (R Core Team, 2017) was used.
A wavelet function is the interpretation of a short-wave with rapid growth and decay. The theory is based on the representation of functions in different scales and resolutions (timescale) that is considered one of its main characteristics (Daubechies, 1992).
In the analysis of wavelet, the window is oscillating and is called the mother wavelet. There are arbitrary translations and dilations. In this way, the mother wavelet generates other wavelets (Hernandez and Weiss, 1996).
By definition: a wavelet is a function , such that their family of functions is given by Equation 1:
where j and k are arbitrary integers on an orthonormal basis in Hilbert space (Wojtaszczyk, 1997).
Pyramidal algorithm
The pyramidal algorithm, developed by Mallat (1989), uses the low-pass filter lk obtained using the scale function or father wavelet (φ ) and the high-pass filter hk obtained using the mother wavelet (ψ ) with coefficients given by Equation 2:
The approximation coefficients (coarse scales) are obtained by a low-pass filter, and the coefficients of details (finer scales) are obtained by a high-pass filter.
Discrete NDWTs
The characteristic of the discrete NDWT is to keep the same amount of data in even and odd decimations on each scale and continue to do the same on each subsequent scale, being D0 the dyadic decimation, D1 the odd decimation, H the high-pass filter, and L the lowpass filter. Consider, for example, an input vector (y1,..., yn). Then, apply and keep both D0Hy and D1Hy, even and odd indexed of the observation-filtered wavelets. Each of these sequences is length n/2. Thus, in total, the number of wavelet coefficients in both decimals on the finer scale is 2 x n/2 = n (Nason, 2008).
Figure 1 shows that in the finer scale the coefficients of wavelets are d0 and d1. The next finer scales are d00, d01, d10, d11.
Figure 1: Diagram of the discrete non-decimated wavelet transform (NDWT). Source: Nason (2008).
In the discrete NDWT, the coefficients are translational invariants, that is, it means that the circular displacement of the data was reflected in the same direction of the coefficients. Another feature is the ability to handle data of an arbitrary size that does not require the sample size n to have a power of two, which is what occurs in the discrete DWT. The main advantage of this method is associated with zero pass filters, which means that it operates circularly to the data allowing functionalities at different scales to be aligned with the sequence of the original data (Vannucci and Liò, 2001).
Scalogram
The scalogram is a very effective tool for interpreting the sign of the wavelet. It is defined as a graph of the sum of squares of the wavelet coefficients at the different levels.
The energy E (j) for the coefficients, djk, of the wavelet on each level j, is given by:
Equation 3 corresponds to the calculation of the energy in the discrete NDWT on level j (Gençay et al., 2002).
Daubechies wavelets
The Daubechies wavelet is a family of orthogonal wavelets that define a discrete wavelet transformation and are characterized by a maximum number of null moments (degree of smoothing) for some given support. With each wavelet type of this class, there is a scaling function (called father wavelet), which generates an orthogonal multiresolution analysis.
According to Daubechies (1992), for each integer r, the orthonormal basis for is defined as in Equation 4:
where the function in has the property that is an orthonormal sequential basis in . Here j is the scale index, k is the translation index, and r is the filtering index.
Null moments
The waveforms have some null moments, that is, a function has m null moments if it satisfies Equation 5:
where l = 0, …, m - 1
If the wavelets have m null moments, then all the coefficients of the wavelet of any polynomial of degree m or less can be exactly zero (Nason, 2008).
Null moments and smoothness are mathematically related. The greater the number of null moments of a wavelet, the smoother it is. Moreover, the greater the smoothness of the wavelet, the greater is the probability of perfect reconstruction of the signal decomposed by the wavelet transform.
Clustering analysis
When two samples are close, they should also have similar values for the measured variables; therefore, the greater proximity between the measures related to the samples, the greater the similarity between them. The dendrogram (which has a tree structure) hierarchized this similarity so that one can have a two-dimensional view of the similarity of the whole set of samples used in the study, that is, the dendrogram organizes certain factors and variables (Abonyi and Feil, 2007).
The average linkage clustering was developed as an antidote to the extremes of both single and complete linkage. Although there are some variants of the method, each essentially computes an average of the similarity of a case under consideration with all cases in the existing cluster and, subsequently, joins the case to that cluster if a given level of similarity is achieved using this average value. The most commonly used variant of average linkage computes the arithmetic average of similarities among the cases. Other variants of average linkage are designed to calculate the similarity between the centroids of two clusters that might be merged. The average linkage has been used extensively in the biological sciences but has only recently begun to see much use in the social sciences (Aldenderfer and Blashfield, 1984).
The Mahalanobis distance increases with increasing distances between the two groups and with decreasing within-group variation. By also employing within-group correlations, the Mahalanobis distance takes account of the (possibly nonspherical) shape of the groups (Everitt et al., 2011).
The use of Mahalanobis D2 according to Equation 6 implies that the investigator is willing to assume that the covariance matrices are at least approximately the same in the two groups. When this is not so, D2 is an inappropriate inter-group measure, and for such cases, several alternatives have been proposed.
where means vector of the group A, means vector of the group B, and W is the pooled within-group covariance matrix for the two groups.
GC-content
The GC-content is an important parameter of bacterial genomes used to scan the basic composition of the genome as well as to understand the evolution of the coded sequence. Historically, this rate is represented in a range of 25 to 75% in bacterial genomes (Mann and Chen, 2010). In the mammalian genome, approximately 50% of all genes are controlled by promoters with high GC-contents. Chang et al. (2015) examined a method for stable quantification of such GC-rich DNA sequences.
For each genome sequence, the GC-content is calculated as the ratio of the sum of bases G, C, under the sum of the bases A, G, C, and T, according to Equation 7:
where nA, nG, nC, and nT represent the number of nucleotide bases A, G, C, and T, respectively, in a sequence. The GC-content can also be calculated for a part of the sequence using the window technique, wherein the GC-content is calculated for a fixed length of a specific window of the sequence. The determination of GC-content ratio helps in identifying gene-rich regions of the genome (Saini and Dewan, 2016). These gene-rich regions bring significant biological information about the genome. Cheng et al. (2016) and Wei et al. (2016) worked with high GC-content, aiming the development of new molecular markers, highlighting the importance of working with gene-rich regions.
Table 1 shows the information for each sequence obtained at the site of the NCBI. In the second column, the identification of each accession number is shown. The third column shows the characteristic of each strain according to Ilina et al. (2013), i.e., DS, DR, MDR, and XDR. In the fourth column, we have the total rate of GC-content, whose values are very close. The last column shows the total size of each sequence; note that all sequences have the length around 4 million.
Sequence number
NCBI accession number
Resistance type
Total rate of GC-content
Total sequence length
Seq1 CP002992.1 DS 0.6560 4398525
Seq4 CP001642.1 DR 0.6559 4405981
Seq6 CP001658.1 MDR 0.6561 4398250
Seq7 CP001976.1 XDR 0.6561 4399120
Seq9 AL123456.3 DS 0.6561 4411532
Seq10 CP000611.1 DS 0.6561 4419977
DS = drug susceptible; DR = drug resistant; MDR = multidrug resistant; XDR = extensively drug resistant.
Table 1: Description of 10 sequences of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome.
Initially, we show the dissimilarity between the rate of GC-content sequences considering the mean of all sequences and how much each sequence differs from the general average. The result is shown in Figure 2. The sequences that presented averages smaller than the general mean were: 1 (DS), 4 (DR), 9 (DS), and 10 (DS). Moreover, those with averages higher than the general average were: 2 (DS), 3 (DS), 5 (DR), 6 (MDR), 7 (XDR).
Figure 2: Dissimilarity of the sequence signals. DS = drug susceptible; DR = drug resistant; MDR = multidrug resistant; XDR = extensively drug resistant.
Figure 3 shows the decomposition on 5 levels of details of the sequence 1, using the NDWT. The wavelet used is Daubechies with 4 null moments.
Figure 3: Decomposition of the sequence 1 in 5 levels using the discrete non-decimated wavelet transforms (NDWT). The first signal corresponds to the original signal, and in the sequence we have, w1 is the 1st level of decomposition, w2 the second level of decomposition, and so on. The last signal v5 represents the approximation coefficients of the smoother level.
The signal was decomposed up to the fifth level, because from the sixth level onwards the energy is quite low, as can be seen in Figure 4, that is, there is a decay of the energy along of the levels. It is also noted that energy concentrates more on the first two levels.
Figure 4: Scalogram for each GC-content sequence.
The approximation coefficients (v5) for all sequences are plotted (Figure 5), and it is possible to note that the regions of higher and lower peaks are coincident. For the windows of the 2 million nucleotides, the sequences 6 (MDR) and 7 (XDR) presented peaks in distinct regions from the other sequences. The highest peaks are regions rich in genes.
Figure 5: Approximation coefficients (v5) for all sequences.
The energies obtained in each level were considered to the clustering analysis. We use the Mahalanobis distance in a hierarchical method using the average linkage. The formation of 3 groups was verified (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Clustering of sequences based on the energies of each level. DS - drug susceptible, DR - drug resistant, MDR - multidrug resistant, XDR - extensively drug resistant.
The first group (shown on the left side of Figure 6) has the sequences: 1 (DS), 6 (MDR), and 7 (XDR). The second group has the sequences: 2 (DS), 10 (DS), 5 (DR), 8 (DS), and 9 (DS), and the third group has the sequences: 3 (DS) and 4 (DR).
Figures 7 to 9 show each group with their features. The first group (Figure 7) show that the sequences 6 (MDR) and 7 (XDR) almost overlap completely. These strains correspond to a single patient in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. However, the sequence 1 (DS) presents different peaks. As a characteristic, this strain was isolated in Russia belonging to the AI family (according to RFLP genotyping), and it is sensitive to all common drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis.
Figure 7: Clustering of sequences 1 (DS), 6 (MDR), and 7 (XDR).
Figure 8: Clustering of sequences 2 (DS), 5 (DR), 8 (DS), 9 (DS), and 10 (DS).
Figure 9: Clustering of sequences 3 (DS) and 4 (DR).
Figure 8 shows the second group, with the sequences 2 (DS), 5 (DR), 8 (DS), 9 (DS), and 10 (DS) that present very similar behavior. The sequence 2 (DS) is a susceptible strain representing the largest portion of patients' tuberculosis isolates recovered during an epidemic in the Western Cape of South Africa. The sequence 5 (DR) corresponds to a drug-resistant strain, having an accelerated rate of transmission between humans under agglomeration conditions. The sequence 8 (DS) is a susceptible strain used for comparative genomic studies. The sequence 9 is a susceptible strain derived from the original human lung H37, isolated in 1934. It has been widely used all over the world in biomedical research. Unlike some clinical isolates, it retains total virulence in animals with tuberculosis and is susceptible to drugs and receptive to genetic manipulation. Moreover, the sequence 10 (DS) is an avirulent susceptible strain derived from its virulent parent strain H37 (isolated from a 19-year-old male patient with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis named Edward R. Baldwin in 1905). This strain was obtained through an aging and dissociation process of an in vitro culture in the year 1935.
Figure 9 shows the third group with the sequences 3 (DS) and 4 (DR). The sequence 3 (DS) is a susceptible strain belonging to the Beijing family, sequenced for comparative genomic studies. The sequence 4 (DR) is a resistant strain isolated in 2004, referring to a patient with secondary pulmonary tuberculosis, sequenced for comparative genomic studies.
It is interesting to note that although the graphs 8 and 9 are very similar, the proposed methodology detected differences between the analyzed sequences.
Saini and Dewan (2016) based on the calculation of the energy of wavelet decomposition coefficients of complete genomic sequences showed that the genomic sequences of MTB could be grouped only into two groups. The first group with DS and DR sequences (lower energy) and the second group with MDR and XDR sequences (highest energy).
Our method, considering the energy at each level of detail, was able to identify more than two groups. It was possible to detect particularities of sequences 1 (DS), 3 (DS), and 4 (DR) with the proposed methodology.
The use of the discrete NDWT in the analysis of MTB genome strains allowed us to consider the entire genome sequence without the need to have a power of 2.
Similarities between genome sequences are best detected if one considers the energy at each level of detail of the wavelet decomposition.
L.M. Ferreira thanks CAPES (Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) for the financial support.
Departamento de Estatística, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brasil
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Non-decimated wavelet transform; Cluster analysis;Genome |