Spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced secondary oxidative stress associates with a clinical complication and high mortality. Treatments to improve the neurological outcome of secondary injury are considered as important issues. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the anti-oxidative effect of Tithonia diversifolia ethanolic extracts (TDE) on cells and apply the pharmacological effect to SCI model using a MRI imaging algorism.
The anti-oxidation properties were tested in a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Rat liver cells (clone-9) were treated with various doses of TDE (0 ~ 50 μg/ml) before exposed to 250 μM H2O2 and cell survival was determined by MTT and LDH assays. We performed water apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map in MR techniques to investigate the efficacy of TDE treatment on SCI animal model. We performed T5 laminectomy and compression (50 g, 1 min) to induce SCI. PHILIP 3.0 T MRI was used to image 24 male Sprague–Dawley rats weighing 280–320 g. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham group, SCI group, SCI treated with TDE group. The MRI images were taken and ADC were acquired before and after of treatment of TDE (50 mg/kg B. W. orally, 5 days) in SCI model.
TDE protected clone-9 cells against H2O2-induced toxicity through DPPH scavenging mechanism. In addition, SCI induced the increase in ADC after 6 hours. TDE treatment slightly decreased the ADC level after 1-week SCI compared with control animals.
Our studies have proved that the cytoprotection effect of TDE, at least in part, is through scavenging ROS to eliminate intracellular oxidative stress and highlight a potential therapeutic consideration of TDE in alternative and complementary medicine.
Tithonia diversifolia (T. diversifolia), a bushy perennial weed, is commonly found in Nigerian fields, wastelands and roadsides in Taiwan. The plant is primarily used for ornamental purposes, and further studies have demonstrated its effects on treatment of diabetes mellitus, diarrhea, fever, hematomas, hepatitis, hepatomas, malaria and wounds [1, 2]. The T. diversifolia contains bioactive compounds which have been proved to possess anti-inflammatory effects . In addition, phytochemical investigations of T. diversifolia have identified the existence other bioactive compounds, such as cadinane, chromene, eudesmane, flavone, germacrane and rearranged eudesmane derivatives [4–11]. The extracts from aerial and stem of T. diversifolia have demonstrated anti-inflammatory and liver protective effects in rats against paw edema induced by carrageenan and acute hepatic damage induced by CCl4, respectively . The extracts from T. diversifolia and the major effective compound sesquiterpenoid, the tagitinin C, have been identified as a potential anti-cancer therapeutic reagent both in vitro and in vivo [12–16]. Other than its anti-cancer activity, the sesquiterpenoid that extracted from other species shows its anti-inflammatory effect via inhibition of oxidative stress both in vitro and in vivo in the treatment of psoriasis . However, whether the anti-inflammatory effect from T. diversifolia extracts is mediated by its ability of anti-oxidative stress remains to be elucidated.
Increasing numbers of small animal models are in use in the field of neurological research. To evaluate the functions of soft tissues, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can provide an excellent method for non-invasive imaging of nervous tissue. Specialized small-bore animal MRI scanners are available for high-resolution MRI of small rodents' tissue, but the major drawback of this equipment is its high cost. Several research groups have performed clinical MR scanners for imaging small animal models. To achieve a reasonable spatial resolution at an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio with these scanners, several requirements regarding to sequence parameters need to be matched considerately. Thus, the goal of this study is seeking to successfully apply MRI for examining small rodents' spinal cord injury using a standard clinical 3 T scanner and to keep instrumental cost low. Our improvement including the use of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), which measures the diffusion of water molecules within central nervous system, is applied in this study. A low value of ADC indicates that the nerve fiber tracts are well-organized, while a high value of ADC indicates that these tracts are damaged and disorganized. Therefore, while evaluating an acute ischemic stroke, ADC images may play a crucial role in identifying the degree of damage due to its higher water content in injured area.
The damage that occurs in the central nervous system (CNS) following trauma is due to secondary effects of glutamate excitotoxicity, Ca2+ overload, and oxidative stress [18, 19]. Oxidative stress activates mechanisms that result in a neutrophil-mediated inflammation which can also cause secondary damage. Mechanisms of oxidative stress are involved in lipid peroxidation and production of reactive oxidative species production. We suggest that decreasing oxidative stress greatly reduces the amount of secondary damage due to trauma. Aggressive nutritional support following CNS trauma can also contribute to maximizing antioxidant defenses. Furthermore, we suggest that natural supplements such as herbs have the potential to be therapeutically effective because of their free radical quenching, iron chelating, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Decrease in oxidative phosphorylation processes in CNS may induce neurological deficits. Natural antioxidants may help the antioxidant capacity of the organism to prevent from disease associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other oxidative damage inducing agents. In this study, we sought to explore anti-oxidative stress in vitro with T. diversifolia Ethanolic Extracts (TDE) and the pharmacological effect of TDE on ADC in MRI on rat after SCI in vivo.
The leaves of T. diversifolia were collected in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, in January 2011. A voucher specimen was deposited in the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Technology, Yuanpei, University, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. Collected plant materials were dried and ground into powder using a grinder and screened through a 20-mesh sieve (aperture of 0.94 mm). The powder of T. diversifolia leaves (200 g) was extracted 3 times with 1 L ethanol at room temperature and sonicated for the duration of 5 h (100 min for each time). The plant residue was filtered through a 10 μm cartridge paper, and the ethanolic extracts were combined and concentrated by a rotary vacuum evaporator. The detailed extraction of T. diversifolia was followed by Liao et al. [13, 14], modified by Tseng et al.  and reported in previously paper [13–15, 20]. Ming-Shueh Shieh, a Professor in Department of Environmental Engineering and Health, who major in identity of plant, preceded the identity of the plant material used in our study prior to its use. The ethanolic extracts of the leaves of T. diversifolia were named TDE.
Clone-9 (normal rat liver cell) were cultured in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium (DMEM) (Gibco, NY, USA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 2 mM glutamine, 100 U/mL penicillin,100 mg/mL streptomycin sulfate and 1 mM sodium pyruvate then incubated at 37°C at an atmosphere of 5% CO2/O2..
The 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test was used to evaluate the free radical scavenging capacity (RSC) of TDE in cell free systems according to a published procedure  using ascorbic acid as positive control substance. Different concentrations of TDE were tested and absorbance was measured at 490 nm after 30 min of reaction with a stock solution of DPPH.
Cell viability was determined by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiozol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) spectrophotometric analysis. Cells (2 × 104 cells/mL) were seeded in 24-well culture plates and allowed to adhere 24 hr. After 24 hr of incubation, the extracts were added, and the plates were incubated for another 24 hr. Cells were washed once before adding 50 mL of FBS-free medium containing MTT (0.5 mg/mL). After 3 hr of incubation at 37°C, the medium was discarded, and the formazan blue in the cells was dissolved in DMSO. The optical density (O. D.) was measured at 540 nm. The experiments were repeated three times.
The protective effect of TDE against toxicity induced by H2O2 in normal rat liver cells (clone 9) was carried out using MTT and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Cells were seeded as described above and treated with TDE (10, 30, 50 μg/ml) for 24 hr. Clone 9 cells after treatment were then exposed to phosphate buffered saline (PBS) free medium containing 250 μM H2O2 for 1 hr. The MTT assay and LDH assay was performed after hydrogen peroxide exposure. The assay of LDH release was determined by a commercial kit from Roche® following the manufacturer's instruction.
All animal experimental manipulations were under taken in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, with the approval of the Experimental Animal Ethical Committee of Taipei Mackay Memorial Hospital. All animals were anesthetized with an overdose of sodium pentobarbital and sacrificed immediately after finishing experiment. Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 280 and 320 g were anesthetized by intramuscular (inraperitoneal) administration of Zoletil 50 and Ropum (2:1). A laminectomy was performed at vertebral level T5, leaving the dura undisturbed. The T4 and T6 transverse processes were clamped in a spinal compression frame and the compression was applied by a modified aneurysm clip which produced a compression force of 50 grams and lasted for 1 min. After being induced spinal cord injury or sham control, all rats were placed in warmed cages to recover from anaesthesia. The rats were given free access to food and tap water, and were maintained on a 12 hr light/dark cycle at 21 ± 1°C.
The rats were examined in a 3 T whole-body MR system (Achieva X-series; Philips, Eindhoven, Netherland). A wrist coil (SENSE-wrist-8) was used to obtain all MR images, allowing parallel imaging. To avoid movement, rats were placed into a plastic holder. Animals imaged with T1-, T2-, and diffusion-weighted sequences. ADC maps were constructed from the diffusion-weighted data. A fast T2- weighted spin echo sequence was used as localizer. A transverse T1-weighted spin-echo [3000 msec/100 msec (repetition time/echo time), field of view (FOV) of 81.3 mm2] and a T2-weighted turbo spin-echo sequence TR 2000 msec/TE40 msec were performed with a section area of 1 mm2. A DW-MRI echo-planar sequence was performed with a b-values = 800 sec/mm2. The following parameters were used for this sequence: TR = 2870 milliseconds, TE = 111 milliseconds and a total time of acquisition of 2:35 minutes. Gradient strength was adjusted for b-value. ADC maps were calculated from the native diffusion images with the built-in software tools of the MRI scanner. The measured fractional anisotropy (FA) directional diffusivities derived from diffusion weighted image (DWI) and the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was applied in capture details of the anatomy for tractography.
All data are expressed as mean ± SEM of three independent experiments in in vitro study. Every independent experiment included three wells of cells. Data were processed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests using SPSS. Intergroup comparisons were made using paired t-test or students' t -test. Differences were considered significant when p < 0.05.
We first examined the antioxidative effect of TDE by using an in vitro cell free system. We performed DPPH to test the free RSC of TDE. The use of vitamin C was as a positive control. Free radical scavenging profile of TDE was expressed as % of DPPH inhibition compared to ascorbic acid. The result showed that the IC50 values for TDE and ascorbic acid were 0.93 ± 0.20 and 0.48 ± 0.10 μg/ml, respectively (see Figure 1), suggesting a free radical scavenging ability of TDE.
Free radical scavenging profile of TDE expressed as % of DPPH scavenging compared to ascorbic acid. IC50 values for TDE and ascorbic acid were 0.93 ± 0.2 and 0.48 ± 0.1 μg/ml respectively.
We then tested the anti-oxidative effects of TDE in cell culture system. The clone 9 was pretreated with TDE of different doses (0-50 μg/ml), followed by exposing the cells in 250 μM H2O2. Cell survival was detected by MTT assay and LDH release assay. Vitamin C treatment was used as a positive control (Figure 2). We found that treatment of H2O2 alone resulted in significant decrease of cell viability. Pretreatment of TDE protected H2O2-induced decrease of cell viability (Figure 2). Similar results were found in LDH release assay, where H2O2-induced release of LDH into medium from cytosol was significantly reduced by TDE protection (Figure 3A) and cytosolic LDH was significantly higher with TDE treatment than without TDE treatment (Figure 3B). These results suggest that TDE possesses anti-oxidative effect against H2O2-induced cytotoxicity.
Cytoprotective effect of TDE on hydrogen peroxide induced toxicity in clone 9 cells by MTT assays. **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001 versus hydrogen peroxide-treated cells. Control group refers to non-treated cells.
Cytoprotective effect of TDE on hydrogen peroxide induced toxicity in clone 9 cells by LDH assays. LDH released in medium was assayed in (A) and LDH leakaged from cytosol was assayed in (B) after triton X-100 treatment. **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001 versus hydrogen peroxide-treated cells. + p < 0.01 versus vit C group. Control group refers to cell free medium.
Given that TDE has demonstrated a potential ant-oxidative and free radical scavenging effect in the in vitro system, we are seeking whether this plant extract can be performed to an in vivo system. One of the known in vivo systems with oxidative stress is spinal cord injury [18, 19]. To assist the data evaluation, we also performed ADC to analyze MRI images and examined the SCI grading. At different time points (0, 2, 4, 6 hr) after SCI, rats were anesthetized and analyze the ADC value using MRI. The results showed SCI resulted in significant increase in ADC after 6 hr (Figure 4), suggesting an increase of cell permeability after SCI. To further confirm the SCI injury model was successfully executed, we then performed DTI to evaluate the damage level of fiber tracts after SCI . TDE treatment slightly decreased the ADC level in 1 week after SCI compared with no TDE treatment in animal study (Figure 5).
Time course of spinal cord injury (SCI) on apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). Rats were induced SCI by T5 laminectomy and compression (50 g, 1 min). ADC map was used to assessment the injured level. Data are presented as mean ± S.E.M of six rats. Significance for the time-dependent effect after SCI treatment was calculated by ANOVA. *P < 0.05, significantly different from untreated control samples.
Effect of TDE Treament after SCI. TDE treatment slightly decreased the ADC level in 1 week after SCI compared with no TDE treatment in animal study.
Development of early detectors of treatment response can provide information which would be of significant benefit for both experimental and clinical trials. These issues underscore the need for using noninvasive imaging to facilitate the evaluation of the responsiveness of preclinical therapeutic studies. In this regard, MRI techniques are earlier and more sensitive and predictive methods to determine treatment efficacy during the initial course of treatment would be extremely valuable for facilitating therapeutic protocol planning. Serial study of such MR parameters as DWI, ADC, and T2-weighted imaging may provide information on the pathophysiological mechanisms of acute ischemic stroke [19, 22–25]. Our studies showed ADC was elevated in the acute stage after SCI 6 hr because of increased extracellular water permeability via decrease of Na-K pump activity, influx of Ca2+, water and efflux of K+. The information provides us that the time to improve the neurological outcome of SCI is very important.
Compression models of rat SCI mainly use either a modified aneurysm clip or a static compression platform, and the aneurysm clip has been described in detail [26–28]. A static compression platform has been used in several studies [16, 29] but has not been characterized so fully . In this paper we have therefore used a T5 static compression model of SCI using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to evaluate the damage level of the fiber tracts and this data has successfully published . Huang et al. found that static compression SCI results in a prolonged profile of cell loss . In contrast, the temporal profile of cell loss in the rat contusion SCI model is very different. Both neuronal and oligodendrocyte loss after contusion injury are acute events. The differences between the compression and contusion models are important to study the pathophysiology of SCI. The delayed cell death in our compression models provides a good opportunity to assess the efficacy of neuroprotective interventions.
T. diversifolia has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity ; however, the neuroprotective or antioxidant effect has never been established. In the present study, we have evaluated the free radical scavenging effect, anti-oxidative stress of TDE in the in vitro model system and the results are summarized in Figure 6. Furthermore, ooxidative stress in SCI is known to induce neuronal damage and results in serial dysfunctions. In current study, our study has also suggested a potential therapeutic effect of TDE in SCI.
The schematic results of current study. We proposed that TDE protects cells against hydrogen peroxide or radical scavenging-induced toxicity, and that an antioxidant mechanism through ROS scavenging may be in part responsible for cells neuroprotection.
Consequently, the consumption of plants with neuroprotecive effects in the complementary therapy may represent a strategy to prevent from a wide range of disease. Given the composition of TDE is complex, there has been marked variability in animal study. That is the reason that the data showed only 4 of 6 in SCI decrement assayed by ADC after TDE treatment. It has been reported that contain sesquiterpenoids and flavonoids  which may have neuroprotective effect. In our phytochemical screening, TDE reveals flavonoids (350.46 rutin equivalent μg/mg), and phenols (1273.01 galic acid equivalent μg/mg). Isolated constituents from TDE have previously been demonstrated to exert their effect in neuronal cells [13–15]. For example, studies regarding to T. diversifolia reveal anti-inflammatory effect . In this context, TDE may act through ROS scavenging in part in response to reduce intracellular oxidative stress to exert its neuroprotective effect.
Spinal cord injury such as ischemia, excitotoxicity, blood brain barrier dysfunction and hypoxia cause primary or mechanical injury. Previous reports about CNS trauma can induce oxidative stress and produce free radical and then cause secondary injury which induces paraspinal edema, stroke and other neurological damages. Trauma-induced edema formation in SCI is related with clinical complication and high mortality. In this animal study, we used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) to confirm the consistency effect of damage level of fiber tracts after SCI  and ADC map in MR techniques for studying the efficacy of TDE treatment.
These findings demonstrate the protective effect of TDE against oxidative stress may act through free radical scavenging properties. TDE may be considerate as an interest in complementary medicine in the future. Further research is needed to define health benefits and clinical effects of TDE.
Chi-Long Juang, Fei Shish Yang contributed equally to this work.
We thank Taipei Mackay Memorial Hospital for the assistance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and for the financial support (MMH 9988) and Dr. Wang YK (Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan) for the critical review of the manuscript.
HMS preceded all cellular experiments. JCL, YFS, THY, and CSC were responsible for MR technique assistance and image processing. WHC was responsible for pharmacological aspects of the experiments. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.


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Business / UK and abroad
Frankie & Benny's boss launches overhaul to 'fix' chain's woes
by Press Association
The boss of Frankie & Benny's has revealed plans to revamp the brand (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)
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The boss of Frankie & Benny's restaurants has unveiled plans to revamp the brand and bring back customers put off by a heavy family focus as he seeks to turn trading around.
Recently appointed managing director Ollie Humphries – who joined at the start of the year – told the PA news agency he wants to broaden the group's appeal and go back to its Italian American roots after losing out to rivals in recent years.
The overhaul comes as Frankie & Benny's battles to turn its fortunes around after recent figures from The Restaurant Group confirmed falling sales in the wider leisure arm, which also includes brands such as Chiquito and Garfunkel's.
As many as a third of the 230 Frankie & Benny's sites are also expected to shut as their leases come up for renewal, with 76 of its restaurants earmarked for closure earlier this year.
Frankie & Benny's managing director Ollie Humphries wants to 'take back some market share' (Frankie & Benny's/PA)
The Italian American eatery – part of The Restaurant Group, which also owns noodle chain Wagamama – has revamped its menu as it seeks to lure back more "grown up" customers after focusing too heavily on the family market.
It cut its menu by 10% in May and by another 9% under the latest overhaul after finding it had too much choice – almost double the number of main dishes that competitors offered.
The group has also brought back old favourites, with a modern twist, such as the Pollo Pepperoni Romana chicken pasta and hot cookie dough with ice cream.
And it has ditched modern classics that had crept on to its restaurant playlist, returning to the nostalgic 1950s tunes it is renowned for.
Mr Humphries said: "Frankie & Benny's hasn't been keeping pace with the market over the last few years."
He said the menu had got "too big", adding that the chain's push to attract families in recent years had "chased a few people away".
The group has put a "significant" amount of investment into the brand refresh, according to Mr Humphries.
In its bid to attract back more "grown up" customers, the chain has also updated its photography, ramped up marketing on social media and increased its emphasis on quality of ingredients and dishes.
Mr Humphries is hoping the refresh will help it weather "undoubtedly challenging" conditions in the restaurant sector that have already claimed the scalp of well-known names – such as Jamie Oliver's chain earlier this year.
Soaring costs, higher business rates, Brexit uncertainty and over-expansion have all taken their toll on the sector, he said.
But the rebrand will help it "take back some market share" that has been lost, he insists.
"This is the start of fixing Frankie & Benny's," he said.
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Frankie & Benny's
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Antonio de Vargas-Zúñiga y Montero de Espinosa (Almendralejo, 5 de març 1904 - Madrid, 20 de juny de 1983) fou un aristòcrata i historiador espanyol, marquès de Siete Iglesias i acadèmic de la Reial Acadèmia de la Història.

Biografia
Fill dels aristòcrates José de Vargas-Zúñiga y Golfín i Josefa Montero de Espinosa y Chaves, aconseguí el marquesat el 1918 gràcies a una concessió del rei Alfons XIII. Es casà en primeres noces amb María del Milagro Sanchiz y Arróspide, filla del marquès del Vasto, i en segones amb Josefina Carlota Pignatelli y Maldonado. Fou cavaller de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, cavaller gran creu de justícia de la Sagrat Orde Militar Constantinià de Sant Jordi, cofundador de la Real Asociación de Hidalgos de España, acadèmic de nombre de la Reial Acadèmia de la Història des de 1973 (on va indexar la Col·lecció Salazar Castro) i president de la Reial Acadèmia d'Extremadura de les Lletres i de les Arts.

Referències

Acadèmics de la Reial Acadèmia de la Història
Persones de la província de Badajoz
Persones d'Almendralejo

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BDE: Chacham Shalom Cohen, zt"l
With deep sadness we relay the news that Rav Shalom Cohen, Rosh Yeshivat Porat Yosef, and leader of the Shas party and its tens of thousands of members from the Sephardic community, has passed away in Yerushalayim. He was 91 years of age, and had been unwell in recent months.
He was born in the Old City of Yerushalayim in the year 1931. His father was a great talmid chacham, and he named his son for the great mekubal, Rav Shalom Sharabi.
He learned under Rav Ezra Attias in Yeshivat Porat Yosef, and after his marriage, he became one of its leaders. In this capacity, he shaped numerous talmidim, many of whom are marbitzei Torah and mekarvim in the Sephardic world today. In later years, he established a branch of the yeshiva in the Ge'ulah neighborhood.
For many decades, he resided in the old city, adjacent to the yeshiva, and later moved to the Ramot neighborhood, where throngs would flock to see him.
Following the passing of Rav Ovadia Yosef in 2013, Rav Cohen was appointed the head of the Shas party—and was responsible for its direction for close to a decade, following his decades of prominence within the movement.
Last Monday, he was taken to the hospital with an infection. Tefillos were recited on his behalf around the country. Alas, his condition deteriorated over the ensuing days, and in the early morning hours of Monday, he returned his soul to its Maker, with his family by his side.
The levaya will take place Monday in Yerushalayim, and it is sure to draw vast crowds from throughout the land who will come to mourn a lost leader.
Communicated: The Real Truth about Maimonides! A Must Watch!
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Solano County health officials warn of foreign…
Solano County health officials warn of foreign travel without vaccinations
Maryam Shelton, a nursing student at the University of San Francisco, prepares a measles vaccine during a free vaccine clinic at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center in 2015. (Alan Dep–Marin Independent Journal file)
By Vallejo Times-Herald |
PUBLISHED: April 30, 2019 at 5:41 pm | UPDATED: May 1, 2019 at 3:54 pm
The uptick in measles cases, which health officials had thought eradicated in the U.S., appears to be the result of un-vaccinated people traveling to other countries and returning infected, Solano County health officials said. They remind residents to make sure they're immunized, especially before traveling abroad.
"Measles is still common in many parts of the world, including in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, South America, and Africa, including the Philippines, Israel, India, and Ukraine," Solano health officials said. "If you are planning a trip, protect yourself against diseases that are more common in the country you are visiting."
Residents planning to travel internationally should ensure they have already received the recommended two doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Nationwide, measles cases this year total 704, the highest since 1994. Nearly all of these cases have been linked to international travel by un-vaccinated people who have then spread the virus to un-vaccinated populations in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends two doses of MMR vaccine: the first at 12-15 months of age and the second at 4-6 years of age. Vaccination is the best protection against measles and therefore adults traveling internationally should get vaccinated for measles, especially if they did not receive the two doses as children, officials said.
Talk to your doctor about travel immunizations at least 4-6 weeks before traveling. Since infants and young children who contract measles are at risk of serious complications, for those traveling internationally with a baby between 6 and 12 months old, the CDC recommends the baby receive an early dose of the MMR vaccine.
"The best way to protect yourself and your family from measles is by making sure that you are vaccinated," Solano County Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas said. "The vaccine is highly effective and can keep you protected for life. When a high percentage of our residents is vaccinated, the disease cannot easily be passed on to anyone. This is called 'herd immunity' and it gives protection to vulnerable people such as young children and those who are too sick to be vaccinated."
Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected, health officials said. A person with measles can spread the disease to others even before symptoms appear. The incubation period for developing measles is up to 21 days after being exposed to someone else who has the disease. Common symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and a rash, which can appear 7 to 21 days after the exposure.
Talk to your doctor about getting the MMR vaccine before traveling. Measles immunizations are available at your healthcare provider, local pharmacy, or health clinic. Locate a place that offers the measles vaccine on Vaccine Finder: https://vaccinefinder.org/.
For information about measles, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/measles/resources/parents-caregivers.html
For information about measles for travelers, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/measles/travelers.html
For more information about recommended vaccines for travelers, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html.
Vallejo Times-Herald


JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER (1775-1851) – Turner is the best landscape painter of Western painting. Whereas he had been at his beginnings an academic painter, Turner was slowly but unstoppably evolving towards a free, atmospheric style, sometimes even outlining the abstraction, which was misunderstood and rejected by the same critics who had admired him for decades.
Joseph Mallord William Turner application is a great collection with photos of paintings with detailed info.
You can view, edit, share, add to favorites, compare and even play games with your favorite paintings of Joseph Mallord William Turner.


The University believes evidence of computer literacy is required to earn a credible graduate degree in any discipline. Technology also plays an important part in a student's ability to communicate with administration, faculty, and fellow students. Accordingly, all students must have access to a computer with the minimum specifications set forth. Prospective students who do not have access to such a computer can contact the Admissions Office for assistance in purchasing a system.
Minimum Hardware Requirements: Any modern internet connected desktop or laptop computer capable of meeting the below software requirements will be sufficient. While course materials are accessible to mobile devices, access to a desktop or laptop computer is required for completion of assignments and examinations. Some supplemental materials and activities will require a functioning audio device and speakers.
Reliable and consistent access to the internet is required.


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Dr. Selavy's Magic Theatre
Composer: Stanley Silverman
Librettist: Richard Foreman
Other Artistic Personnel: Richard Foreman, Director; Stanley Silverman, Conductor; Duane Mazey, Production Stage Manager;
Original Cast: Denise Delapenha as Fortune Teller, Mary Delson as Female Pirate, Jessica Harper as Rock Singer, George McGrath as Dr. Selavy, Steve Menken as Doctor With Most Hair, Jackie Paris as Little Girl, Ron Faber/Barry Primus as Patient, Ron Schlee as Shortest Male Doctor, Amy Taubin as Shortest Female Doctor
Premiere Date: August 12, 1972
Producing Company: Lenox Arts Center
Description: Inspired by the surrealistic vision of Marcel Duchamp, the scenario involves the supposed cure of a "patient" in an extremely nutty insane asylum. A patient of Dr. Selavy (pronounced C'est la vie) goes through a series of five fantasy scenes and in the end is cured of an illness. The illness is never identified. The absurdist, pop-art comedy has been described as "in the tradition of Artaud, Beckett, and the Committee to Reelect the President...as if executed by Marcel Duchamp, Soupy Sales, Mack Sennett, Busby Berkeley, the cast of Hair, Julius Monk, and Sigmund Freud."
Reviews: Musical America, 3-73, p. 27; The New York Times, Donal Henahan, 8-20-72; The New York Times, Clive Barnes, 11-24-72; The New York Times, Stephen E. Rubin, 12-17-72; The New York Times, Harold C. Schonberg, 1-21-73; The New York Times, John Rockwell, 2-8-76; The New York Times, Mel Gussow, 1-27-84.
Orchestration: 4 instrumentalists
Musical Style: Absurdist pop-style; a collection of Broadway musical parodies-show biz tunes, Kurt Weill, etc., including parodies of Handel oratorio and Bellini bel canto writing. There is no dialogue in the opera. The music ranges from rock to ballad to nursery s
Contact: Score is available from the composer. Contact BMI


text:
GeForce GTX 480 And 470: From Fermi And GF100 To Actual Cards!
By Chris Angelini, Fedy Abi-Chahla and Florian Charpentier 2010-03-27T01:00:00Z
The Way It's Meant To Be Played?
Page 1: The Way It's Meant To Be Played?
Page 2: Nvidia's GF100 Gets Scaled Back
Page 3: Meet The GeForce GTX 480 And 470
Page 4: Tessellation And Anti-Aliasing
Page 5: Nvidia Surround, Display Output, And Video
Page 6: Test Setup And Benchmarks
Page 7: Benchmark Results: 3DMark Vantage
Page 8: Benchmark Results: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (DirectX 9)
Page 9: Benchmark Results: DiRT 2 (DirectX 9)
Page 10: Benchmark Results: Crysis (DirectX 10)
Page 11: Benchmark Results: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat (DirectX 10)
Page 12: Benchmark Results: Metro 2033 (DirectX 10/11)
Page 13: Benchmark Results: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (DirectX 10/11)
Page 14: Dual-Card Scaling: GeForce GTX 480 In SLI
Page 15: Power Consumption And Heat
Page 16: Conclusion
Page 17: Additional Reading: Breaking Down GF100
Page 18: Additional Reading: SMs, Scheduler, And Texturing
Page 19: Additional Reading: Memory Hierarchy, Setup Engine, Tessellation
Page 20: Additional Reading: Geometry, Raster, ROP, And GPGPU
As hardware enthusiasts, it's only natural to follow the news about upcoming launches. Power users begin formulating their opinions as soon as the first specs get tossed around, regardless of whether they're official or not. Some of the longest forum threads I've ever read were rumor mill postings from very smart technologists trying to guess at the next generation's capabilities.
But in the case of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 480 and 470, the company didn't leave much to our imaginations. As far back as September of last year, the GPU giant was waxing poetically about its compute architecture. "Mmm, that sounds nice," we thought. In January of 2010, it described in graphic detail how GF100 (the GPU centering on its Fermi design) would cut through DirectX 11 titles heavy on geometry. "Sexy! Can't wait to try it out."
GeForce GTX 480: Cooling around every corner
So, you could say that Nvidia figuratively shot itself in the foot by talking too early, since it's now late March—almost half a year after the Fermi disclosures were made—and the first desktop-class cards employing the design landed in our Southern California lab one week ago.
They're not for sale yet. Nvidia says the initial round of cards, manufactured in-house, is shipping to the channel and should be available the week of April 12th (in two and a half weeks). Subsequent boards will come from the company's partners sometime next month. What will availability look like? According to Nvidia, it's shipping tens of thousands of GF100-based cards at launch, and by the middle of April, anyone willing to spend $500 on a GeForce GTX 480 or $350 on a GeForce GTX 470 should be able to buy one. Rest assured we'll stay on top of pricing and availability in our Best Graphics Cards For The Money column.
Of course, AMD was similarly ambitious about availability of its Radeon HD 5800-series cards at launch, and we saw how that one played out. Even now, TSMC's 40nm struggles spell availability issues on all DirectX 11-class cards.
History Is History
Regardless of the fact that Nvidia is entering the Windows 7/DirectX 11 market six months after its competitor, the company is here now. All of the delays have led up to this point, where we get two graphics cards to compete against the nine Radeon HD 5000-series models AMD has launched since its mad rush began. And, given the $500 and $350 price points, our comparison is further narrowed, since it's only really the Radeon HD 5850, 5870, and 5970 that populate AMD's enthusiast-class high-end segment. So, those are the cards you'll see compared to these two in our benchmark suite. Two thirds of ATI's DirectX 11 lineup is, as of now, still competition-less—providing DirectX 11 support is at the top of your buying criteria, of course.
We're also adding AMD's last-generation flagship, the Radeon HD 4870 X2, Nvidia's, the GeForce GTX 295, and the company's previously-quickest single-GPU card, the GeForce GTX 285.
GeForce GTX 470: More elegant, still fast, still hot
Of course, the gaming community's initial concern was that Nvidia conceptualized the Fermi architecture principally with compute performance in mind, leaving the GPU's traditional role of speeding up the latest games a secondary objective. There's no question that the architecture (and by proxy, the GF100 GPU centering on it) is designed to drive the company's Tesla family into increasingly-demanding supercomputing environments through the implementation of ECC memory and augmented double-precision performance. Nvidia will succeed here. The potential gains of parallelizing certain technical workloads are enormous, and Nvidia's investment in software development means it has a formidable head start over AMD and Intel in this growing market. What remains to be seen is how the GF100 handles "everything else."
Here's where we answer whether the GF100 GPU can hold its own in gaming. The stage is set, the players are in their places, we have a handful of new tests to present, and the results are interesting, to say the least. Let's meet Nvidia's new GeForce GTX 480 and 470, and get this show on the road.
Current page: The Way It's Meant To Be Played?
Next Page Nvidia's GF100 Gets Scaled Back
444 Comments Comment from the forums
restatement3dofted 27 March 2010 05:38
I have been waiting for this review since freaking January. Tom's Hardware, I love you.
With official reviews available, the GTX 480 certainly doesn't seem like the rampaging ATI-killer they boasted it would be, especially six months after ATI started rolling out 5xxx cards. Now I suppose I'll just cross my fingers that this causes prices for the 5xxx cards to shift a bit (a guy can dream, can't he?), and wait to see what ATI rolls out next. Unless something drastic happens, I don't see myself choosing a GF100 card over an ATI alternative, at least not for this generation of GPUs.
tipoo 27 March 2010 05:39
Completely unimpressed. 6 months late. Too expensive. Power hog. Performance not particularly impressive. The Radeon 5k series has been delivering a near identical experience for 6 months now, at a lower price.
tpi2007 27 March 2010 05:39
hmmm.. so this is a paper launch... six months after and they do a paper launch on a friday evening, after the stock exchange has closed.. smart move by Nvidia, that way people will cool off during the weekend, but I think their stocks won't perform that brilliantly on monday...
not at all impressed
Godhatesusall 27 March 2010 05:41
high power consumption, high prices along with a (small, all things considered) performance edge over ATI is all there is. Are 100$ more for a gtx 480 really worth 5-10% increase in performance?
Though the big downside of fermi are temps. 97 is a very large(and totally unacceptable) temperature level. IMO fermi cards will start dying from thermal death some months from now.
I just wanted competition,so that prices would be lower and we(the consumers) could get more bang for our buck. Surely fermi doesnt help alot in that direction(a modest 30$ cut for 5870 and 5850 from ATI and fermi wont stand a chance). It seems AMD/ATI clearly won this round
Pei-chen 27 March 2010 05:42
Wow, it seems Nvidia actually went ahead and designed a DX11 card and found out how difficult it is to design. ATI/AMD just slapped a DX11 sticker on their DX10 card and sells it as DX11. In half a year HD 5000 will be so outdated that all it can play is DX10 games.
outlw6669 27 March 2010 05:43
Kinda impressed :/
The minimum frame rates are quite nice at least...
Lets talk again when a version with the full 512 SP is released.
djtronika 27 March 2010 05:45
The way we're meant to be dismayed, gg infirmi
randomizer 27 March 2010 05:49
I'll keep my GTX275.
View All 444 Comments


text:
Home page>WORLD>Africa>Jailed Egypt dissident's...
Jailed Egypt dissident's death in 'no one's interest', sister says
Following a seven-month hunger strike during which he only had 100 calories per day, Abdel Fattah stopped drinking water on Sunday
Staff Writer, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
PROTESTNORTH AFRICAEGYPT
Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt: The possible death of jailed British-Egyptian dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah in prison is "in no one's interest", his sister Sanaa Seif said, nearly two days after he started refusing water.
Following a seven-month hunger strike during which he only had 100 calories per day, Abdel Fattah stopped drinking water on Sunday to coincide with the opening of the United Nations COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
Widely considered Egypt's best-known dissident, he has been sentenced to five years in prison for "spreading false news", having already spent the better part of the past decade behind bars.
"We are talking about an innocent man who has unjustly spent nine years in prison," Seif said from the climate summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where she travelled to appeal to world leaders to press for his release.
Seif, her sister Mona, her mother Laila Soueif and her aunt, celebrated novelist Adhaf Soueif, have campaigned worldwide for the release of the activist, who gained British citizenship through his UK-born mother in April.
"We need sensible people to intervene," Seif said in an interview with AFP. "I put my hopes in the British delegation because as his sister, I can't give up or tell myself that my brother will die."
She acknowledged the risk of travelling to Sharm el-Sheikh, with its heavy security restrictions, saying: "I admit, I was afraid to come."
"But it's our last resort," she said.
"I came so that Alaa wouldn't be forgotten. I want to remind both Egyptian and British officials that my presence means that someone is dying and that it's possible to save him."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised Abdel Fattah's case in a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday, "stressing the UK Government's deep concern on this issue", a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Sunak said he "hoped to see this resolved as soon as possible and would continue to press for progress", the spokesperson said.
'Continue the fight'
Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard on Sunday warned that "there is not a lot of time -- 72 hours at best," referring to Abdel Fattah's possible remaining lifespan.
But Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry assured that the dissident "benefits from all necessary care in prison", in an interview with CNBC Monday.
Seif nonetheless warned that "the way his case is handled only accelerates the destabilisation of the regime".
She accused Egypt of using the COP27 summit to "erase its bad reputation in terms of human rights".
But despite clampdowns, Abdel Fattah's cause has been championed by activists, artists, rights defenders and politicians -- including the French president -- during the summit.
France's Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he received an assurance from Sisi that the Egyptian president was "committed to ensuring that (the) health of Alaa Abdel Fattah is preserved".
It came as concern continued to grow over his condition.
On Monday morning, "my mother went to wait outside the prison to check on him after 24 hours without water," Seif said.
By evening, she still had not received word from her son, nor had she been able to deliver the clothes and books she drops off to him every week.
"The ball is in the politicians' court, it is up to them to do their job," Seif continued.
"We continue the fight and we must not lose hope."
© Agence France-Presse
Low trade among African countries a worrying signal
Concern as millions with no savings in Kenya face old age poverty
Public private collaboration is key to sustainable mining sector in Africa
Egypt's PM in Sharm El-Sheikh to follow up on COP27's final preparations
UAE stands in solidarity with Egypt and offers condolences to victims of church fire
FIN Expo Egypt to kick off May 25
Attack on Sinai checkpoint kills 11 Egyptian troops- army
Egypt's GDP likely to hit $433bln end-FY 2021/2022: Minister


text:
Here's How Much Nick Lachey Is Really Worth
NEWS EXCLUSIVES THE DIRT ROYALS CRIME MOVIES TV POLITICS MUSIC SPORTS FEATURES
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
By Stacy Carey/May 27, 2021 1:16 pm EST
Nick Lachey built a successful career that covers much more than just having been in a 90s boy band. The Kentucky native generated an impressive net worth thanks to his popularity and constant work over the past few decades. As Celebrity Net Worth detailed, Lachey was born in Harlan, Kentucky in 1973. He went to school in Cincinnati, Ohio at the School for Creative and Performing Arts before attending Miami University in Ohio and the University of Southern California to study sports medicine. At the time, Lachey was not very enthusiastic about the track he was on, but an interesting experience prompted a major change of course.
"It's a crazy story. I was in college and not excited about being in college at that point. I dislocated my finger playing basketball and my parents were at church — it wasn't even me, but my stepmom," Lachey relayed to People. There was a guest speaker who detailed a vision for someone with an injured ring finger. Lachey's stepmom spoke up, thinking it might be her son, and heard about the vision with "this sailboat going into a storm and then at the last minute breath of God turned it around and set it in the right direction to safety."
Lachey "interpreted that in my own life as, hey, I'm going in the wrong direction here and I need to pull a 180." That's when he started thinking about pursuing singing in Los Angeles with his brother, Drew.
Nick Lachey's new path led to massive success
Jim Spellman/Getty Images
Soon, 98 Degrees was born. "But it was never really our intention to be a boy band," Nick Lachey told Interview Magazine in October 2017. "We put ourselves together and moved to LA and sang on street corners. We weren't auditioned by anyone," he explained. In addition, Lachey fell in love with fellow singer Jessica Simpson.
Lachey and Simpson wed in October 2002, launched "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica" in 2003, and split in 2005. As Complex detailed, show producer Sue Kolinsky noted, "He was a blue collar guy — he did a lot of things himself, like he and his brother would build things. He was frugal, and she had excessive taste," she explained. The pair hadn't signed a prenuptial agreement, and Lachey reportedly received $12 million in the divorce.
In 2011 Lachey married Vanessa Minnillo on Neck Island, billionaire Sir Richard Branson's private Caribbean spot. Lachey kept performing and embraced more reality television with "Love Is Blind," "Dancing with the Stars," and "The Masked Singer" (per IMDb). He's reportedly now worth $25 million (per Celebrity Net Worth).
Ultimately, Lachey is seemingly still a blue-collar Kentucky boy at heart. For the couple's first Mother's Day and Father's Day, he told Celeb Baby Laundry, "We always do what we feel is appropriate." Lachey added, "So I didn't go crazy and I don't think she will either. It means more to us to get something meaningful, and the most important thing is being able to spend it with Camden."


At Kenai Riverfront, we offer a covered riverside fish cleaning table with water, as well as electric outlets if you bring your own vacuum sealer. We also have ample freezer space for the temporary storage of your fish during your stay. The two most important things to do with your fish, immediately after catching it, is to bleed it out by cutting or pulling the gills and cooling it with crushed ice. Fresh caught fish left for even a short time without doing this properly will not taste fresh, in fact it won't taste very good at all. We also recommend skinning your fish, both salmon & halibut, during the filleting process to forever seperate the slime from the beautiful fresh fillets.
Every Alaska sourdough you come across will tell you how to fillet a fish, and while most agree on the same techniques and methods when filleting a halibut, there are a wide variety of approaches to filleting a salmon, particularly a King Salmon, whose larger than life size can really be intimidating to most fishermen who are used to Walleye, Bluegills, or Trout. For more information on our unique approach to preparing "ready to cook", clean, skinless, 90% boneless, and portioned salmon fillets read our "Alaska Salmon Filleting" page that follows, describing our own method developed after years of filleting big Kings.
We always recommend that our guests take fish home with them on the airline, as checked baggage, using a hard side cooler or fish box (we prefer coolers). Inexpensive coolers, some even with wheels, can be bought at Fred Meyer or Safeway once you know how much fish you are taking home. The size cooler we recommend holds approximately 50 pounds of fish, keeping it within the airline weight restriction as well. Fish packed properly in a cooler (ideally vacuum sealed and flash frozen) will stay frozen for more than 3 days if not opened, so most flights home, even internationally, will ensure your fish is fine.
If you need to ship your fish home, or to family and friends, you can use a variety of local shippers, including Alaska Airlines Cargo, UPS, Fedex, and DHL. Contact the individual carriers for specific rate quotes.


text:
layout: post
title:  "Fractals in C#: Fern Fractals"
date:   2009-09-30 00:00:03
categories: Programming
tags: [c-sharp, tutorials, fractals, programming]
---

Fern fractals are another class of iterative fractals, a type of iterative function system, that draws rather good images of ferns. And with a bit of tweaking of the input variables, the ferns of various sizes and shapes can be created using the same code.

![Fern fractal](/assets/images/blog/fractals/fernfractal.jpg){: .shadow-image .centered }

To create a fractal fern you first need to supply a rather large amount of input variables that will control the shape of the fern. So in the application, the variables are stored in a few arrays.
<!--more-->

{% highlight csharp %}
	double[] dA = new double[2];
	double[] dB = new double[6];
	double[] dC = new double[6];
	double[] dD = new double[6];
	int[] iRand = new int[4];

	dA[0] = 0;
	dA[1] = 0.16;
	dB[0] = 0.2;
	dB[1] = -0.26;
	dB[2] = 0;
	dB[3] = 0.23;
	dB[4] = 0.22;
	dB[5] = 1.6;
	dC[0] = -0.15;
	dC[1] = 0.28;
	dC[2] = 0;
	dC[3] = 0.26;
	dC[4] = 0.25;
	dC[5] = 0.44;
	dD[0] = 0.85;
	dD[1] = 0.04;
	dD[2] = 0;
	dD[3] = -0.04;
	dD[4] = 0.85;
	dD[5] = 1.6;
	iRand[0] = 1;
	iRand[1] = 8;
	iRand[2] = 15;
	iRand[3] = 85;
{% endhighlight %}

So, now we have arrays dA, dB, dC, dD and iRand. Very simply, the values in dA control the rachis of the fern (the main stem for those, like me, who weren't listening in biology class),  dB controls the left pinna (a'leaflet'), dC controls the right pinna, and dD controls the main shape of a frond (the fern's 'leaf'). iRand contains the probability that a value from each of the four arrays will be used.

Now the main function iterates through a specified number of points (which in the sample on this page, I used 100000 iterations), by first setting the current x and y coordinate to 0, and then it starts the iteration.

A random number is generated between 0 and 1, and if the number is less than iRand[0] then it calculates the new xy coordinate based on the dA array. It then checks each probability through all the probabililities, each time calculating the xy coordinate using the array and calculation specified at that value.

Once the new coordinates are calculated, the point is drawn using the desired colour, and then the function loops to the next iteration, using these coordinates as the base coordinates for the next iteration.

Once the function has iterated enough times, the function exits, and you should be left with a decent fern.

Half the fun of this type of fractal is playing around with the input variables to see how they affect the output, so have fun.

{% highlight csharp %}
public void GenerateFern(Graphics g, int iIterations, double dStartX, double dStartY, double dScale, double[] dA, double[] dB, double[] dC, double[] dD, int[] iRand, Color oColor)
{
	FastRandom rnd = new FastRandom();
	int iRandNum;
	double dX = 0;
	double dY = 0;
	double dNewX = 0;
	double dNewY = 0;

	for (int i = 0; i < iIterations; i++)
	{

		iRandNum = rnd.Next(0, 100);
		if (iRandNum < iRand[0])
		{
			dNewX = dA[0];
			dNewY = dA[1] * dY;

		}
		else if (iRandNum < iRand[1])
		{
			dNewX = (dB[0] * dX) + (dB[1] * dY) + dB[2];
			dNewY = (dB[3] * dX) + (dB[4] * dY) + dB[5];
		}
		else if (iRandNum < iRand[2])
		{
			dNewX = (dC[0] * dX) + (dC[1] * dY) + dC[2];
			dNewY = (dC[3] * dX) + (dC[4] * dY) + dC[5];
		}
		else
		{
			dNewX = (dD[0] * dX) + (dD[1] * dY) + dD[2];
			dNewY = (dD[3] * dX) + (dD[4] * dY) + dD[5];
		}
		dX = dNewX;
		dY = dNewY;
		g.FillRectangle(new SolidBrush(oColor), (float)(dStartX + (dNewX * dScale)), (float)(dStartY - (dNewY * dScale)), 1, 1);
	}

}
{% endhighlight %}

The full source code is available at [https://github.com/sjmeunier/fractalize](https://github.com/sjmeunier/fractalize).

_Originally posted on my old blog, Smoky Cogs, on 30 Sep 2009_

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


If anyone finds any of these please list where they drop.
EDIT: Apparently, they either simplified it from the previous comment made above, or they made all the items available somewhere so u can combine them to make the 5 items needed.
This little NPC will stay in your Garrison as long as you have a Trading post level 2, and if you complete the quest Auctioning for Parts, will grant you and any other people in your Garrison full access to the Auction House.
If you remove the trading post, he will be unavailable but if you rebuild it, he will be there again and you do not need to complete the quest again to use him as an auction house. It will only unlock for the character you complete the quest on and not your alts as well.
The quest is completed by gathering module parts from various locations in Draenor while you have the trading post built in your garrison, or just purchased from the AH.
Module parts can always drop as long as you have a trading post lvl 2 constructed, regardless of whether you already have parts, modules or the quest completed.
As of the current beta patch, access to the AH from this is unchanged and should remain as reliable AH access in Legion.
The alliance equivalent of this is Ancient Trading Mechanism and the pre-activated Horde NPC of this is Ancient Trading Mechanism.
Oddly, a bug currently exists that hides the information on your sold auctions that are pending their money delivery for some players.
I think that the Ancient Trading Mechanism in the Horde Garrison should be moved closer to the edge of the trading post, so you do not have to dismount and go inside the trading post to use it and its really quick to fly back to the mailbox or the bank.
I submitted this as a suggestion, but I do not expect that they will do anything.
This NPC can be found in Frostwall (7).


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text:
Services for Mr. Timothy Paul Shepherd will be held Monday, August 8, 2016
at 11:00 AM in the Chapel of Higgs Funeral Home in Soperton. Burial will
follow in the Union Baptist Church Cemetery in Laurens County. The
Reverend Walter Handley and Reverend Jim Fennell will officiate. Mr.
Shepherd died Saturday morning, August 6, 2016.
Mr. Shepherd, 63, was the son of Faye Bush Shepherd and the late Paul
Shepherd. He was born in Dublin, GA, was a graduate of East Laurens High
School Class of 1970 and the owner/operator of Shepherd Construction. He
was a member of Central Drive Baptist Church in East Dublin.
Survivors include his wife Joy Shepherd of Dublin; daughter, Jodie
Shepherd (Richard Golphin); brother, Terry (Janet) Shepherd of Dublin;
sister, Sandra (Larry) Crawford of Dublin; mother, Faye Shepherd of
Dublin; three grandchildren, Davin Jackson, Dinah Jackson and Zane
Golphin; three brothers-in-law, Jimmy (Carol) Britt, Tommy Lumley and
Jerry (Brenda) Lumley; sister-in-law, Jan Lumley; aunts and uncles Carol &
Marvin Tanner, Ann Higgs, Bobby & Pat Bush and Charlie & JoAnn Bush;
cousins, nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held Sunday night from 6-8 p.m. at Stanley Funeral Home
in Dublin.


text:
Cell & Developmental Biology
LU Da-Yong
Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences
Shanghai University, P.R. China
Qiang Xu
Abilene Christian University, USA
Satish Kumar Nandakumar
Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital
Submit manuscript at www.scholarscentral.org/submission/cell-developmental-biology.html or send as an e-mail attachment to the Editorial Office at [email protected]
Volume 8, Issue 1 RSS Archive
Index Copernicus Value: 63.05
Cell being the smallest part of any organism; it is a building block of life. Cell and Developmental Biology describes the biology of a cell and the process of pioneering the developmental aspects of cells.
Cell & Developmental Biology publishes articles related to, but not limited to the following fields: Advances in Anatomy, Advances in Embryology,Antibody-Producing Cells, Antigen Presenting Cells,Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Blood Cells, Bone Marrow Cells,Cell Biology and Toxicology, Craniofacial Genetics, Developmental Biology, DNA and Cell Biology, EnteroEndocrine Cells, Epithelial Cells, Erythroid Cells, Evolutionary Developmental Biology, Germ Cells, Histology of Cell Biology, Human Embryology, Immuno Cell biology, Immunology and Cell Biology, Membrane and Cell Biology, Methods in Cell Biology, Plant Cells, Plant Cells Journals, Stem Cells, Tissue.
Cell & Developmental Biology is an official peer-reviewed journal that publishes innovative research covering all aspects of Cell and its development. Cell & Developmental Journal with highest impact factor offers Open Access option to meet the needs of authors and maximize article visibility.
Cell & Developmental Biology is a scientific journal that includes a wide range of fields in its discipline to create a platform for the authors to make their contribution towards the journal and the editorial office promises peer review for the submitted manuscripts to ensure the quality of publishing.
Cell & Developmental Biology is scholarly Open Access journal that aims to publish the most complete and reliable source of information on discoveries and current developments as original articles, review articles, case reports, short communications, etc. in all areas of the field, making them freely available online to the researchers worldwide, free of subscription.
Advances in Anatomy Advances in Embryology Antibody-Producing Cells Antigen-Presenting Cells Blood Cells Bone Marrow Cells Cell-Biology Crynofacial Genetics Developmental Biology EnteroEndocrine Cells Epithelial Cells Erythroid Cells Germ Cells Histology of Cell Biology Human Embryology Immuno Cell biology Plant Cells Stem Cells Tissue
Current Issue Highlights
Opinion Article
On the Ambiguity of Firsts: Symbiogeny and Evolutionary Creativity
Stanley Shostak
Abstract HTML PDF
Hypotheses for Life Origin on Earth, Comparison and Validation
Da Yong Lu, Ting-Ren Lu, Hong Ying Wu and Nagendra Sastry Yarla
The Will to Bud
Stanley Shostak*


text:
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text:
WSTale.com
Woman'S Tale – all interesting woman news
WSTale » Science » Space 'about to get busier' as Virgin Orbit on the cusp of UK launch
Space 'about to get busier' as Virgin Orbit on the cusp of UK launch
Lottie Casas January 5, 2023
Virgin Orbit attach the LauncherOne rocket to the Cosmic Girl jet
Space is "about to get busier", an expert has said, now that Virgin Orbit is on the cusp of its first deployment of their LauncherOne rocket from UK soil. One of the final prerequisites, the issuing of launch and range licences to Virgin Orbit by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), was achieved last month. Meanwhile, Cosmic Girl — the modified Boeing 747-400 airliner which will carry LauncherOne and its payload of nine satellites into the upper atmosphere for an air launch — has been waiting at Spaceport Cornwall since October.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers senior member and commercial space expert Paul Kostek said: "Space is about to get even busier as the UK approved Virgin Orbit's use of the Cornwall spaceport for launches starting in 2023.
"This will provide a local option for the launching of satellites for European companies, requiring systems to no longer be shipped to the USA or French Guiana for launch.
"Another result will be less time waiting in a launch queue and costs should drop with an additional facility in play."
"If all goes well, we can expect to see additional spaceports opening."
Mr Kostek added that 2023 "is looking to be a year of further growth in the space business."
Reasons for this, he explained, include how the successful launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Artemis I mission last November will bring the return of humanity to the Moon even closer.
At the same time, he continued, "China is set to complete work on its space station while the USA and partners continue to define the replacement for the International Space Station.
"Also, satellite constellations will continue to grow larger with new players emerging from around the world."
Another commercial avenue growing at present is that of space tourism — with last year having seen aerospace firm Blue Origin alone undertake three such suborbital flights.
Things are likely to step up this year with the much-anticipated — not to mention delayed — first orbital test flight of Elon Musk and SpaceX's super heavy-lift launch vehicle, Starship.
The vehicle comprises two stages — the "Super Heavy" first-stage booster rocket and the spacecraft (confusingly also referred to as Starship) which can carry both crew and cargo.
Spacecraft will be not only the most powerful launch vehicle ever built — with more than twice the thrust of the Saturn V rockets used by NASA in the Apollo programme — but will also be entirely reusable, having been designed to land vertically on special platforms.
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During an orbital launch, the Super Heavy rocket will propel Starship up to an altitude of 40 miles before separating and making a controlled return back down to Earth.
In fact, alongside regular crewed and cargo launches and helping to build the Starlink satellite internet constellation, it has also been suggested that Starship could be used to enable suborbital point-to-point flights across the surface of the Earth.
A variant of Starship will also be used as the lunar lander vehicle for NASA's Artemis III and IV missions to the Moon.
While a number of short test flights of the second-stage Starship spacecraft have been undertaken already, the orbital test will be the first time that the whole system has been used together, and to reach orbital entry.
Assuming the orbital test of Starship proves to be successful, such will pave the way for the long-awaited "dearMoon" project, the first proper deep space tourism launch.
The launch — fully financed by the Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa — will take the billionaire, and ten crew members on a six-day trip in Starship around the Moon and back again.
Mr Kostek commented: "Space tourism finally took off in 2022 and will continue to grow this year. Prices are still high but continued success and increased frequency should drive prices down over the next ten years.
"There are challenges that will need to be considered, not least managing the ever-growing volume of space debris, especially as the number of users grows.
"Ensuring that satellites at the end of their lives are put into orbits that will result in their re-entry and destruction in Earth's atmosphere is essential, particularly the small satellites that compose the constellations that have far shorter lifespans [in the order of] five years.
"Another issue will be creating a Space Traffic Management to prevent collisions resulting in the loss of an asset and the generation of new debris. Several companies are also exploring the creation of vehicles that can refuel and move satellites, extending their lives."
In fact, three such orbital transfer vehicles — or "space tugs" — were among the 114-satellite payload ferried up into low-Earth orbit via a Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday by SpaceX's so-called Transporter-6 "rideshare" mission.
Finally, Mr Kostek concluded, "discussions are needed on how the Moon, Mars and any other planet visited by us will be managed. 2023 should be a landmark year for space both commercially and for countries as costs drop, and technical knowledge expands."
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A couple of years ago, the wifey and I were just outside Albany, Kentucky (pronounced "Al-BANE-EE" down there), when my dad's 2005 GMC Yukon told me something it had never shared before.
"LOW TIRE PRESSURE" a sensor on the dashboard screamed once I went to turn on the ignition, a sensor I didn't even know existed.
I went outside to see whether the Yukon's rudimentary (nowadays) computer was going loco, but dagnabbit, it was true. There was a big nail in the left tire.
Houston: We've got tacos — in space!
Captain's Blog. StarDate 2016.04.21: We've arrived in the Bozo Sector where I shall begin my campaign to make space great again.
Coincidence? Copyright violation? The blockbuster film Gravity – with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney – may not be as original as we've been led to believe. Check out the 1966 trailer for the Mexican movie Gravedad.
Major Juan wishes David Bowie a Happy 66th Birthday! Here's Bowie's "Major Tom" video featuring the first acoustic guitar in space!
You're sitting here waiting for the Mothership, you say? Too late, holmes. They've come and gone.


text:
Q: Add class to li if content is a certain string Would it be possible to add a certain class to a li that contains a certain string of text using JavaScript/jQuery?
UPDATE/NEW QUESTION:
Instead of detecting the content of the li, can I have it add the class if the li has another specified class?

A: Answering the fellow's extended question:
$('li.yourClass').addClass('anotherClass');

You're asking really basic questions. I'd recommend you just spend some time with the beginner jQuery tutorials on the site and you'll understand all of this stuff much better.
Edit: IGNORE MY OLD ANSWER. You learn something every day. Do this, not what I said:
//http://api.jquery.com/contains-selector/
$('li:contains('+ searchText +')').addClass('myClass');

Old answer:
$('li').each(function(){

    var _this = $(this);
    if( _this.text() === testString ){
        _this.addClass('myClass');
    }

});

In the if statement, you can change that to check the .html() of your li or even do a more advanced regex if you need that. But basically, you have to loop through the li's in one form or another to check their content against your testString.

A: $('li').filter(function () {
    return $(this).text().indexOf('certain string') !== -1;
}).addClass('certainClass');

You can use the jQuery filter function.
The filter function can be passed a selector instead of a function:
$('li').filter('.specified-class').addClass('certainClass');

at which point you should probably just update the initial selector:
$('li.specified-class').addClass('certainClass');

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Cyprus, Ireland reaffirm support to EU commitment on Brexit
NICOSIA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus and Ireland have identical views on Brexit and firmly support the original agreement reached between the European Union and the British government for an orderly exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the Presidents of the two countries said on Monday after talks in Nicosia.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said Irish President Michael Higgins, who is paying a three-day official visit to Cyprus, fully briefed him on the latest developments and the implications that Brexit will have on Ireland.
"I reiterated our unwavering solidarity with Ireland on this sensitive issue. Cyprus stands firmly in support of the EU commitment to protect the all-island economy of Ireland, as well as the EU Single Market and, most importantly, the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process," Anastasiades said.
The Good Friday agreement was reached on Good Friday, 10 April 1998 as part of the peace arrangements that led to the end of the fighting in Northern Ireland and was endorsed by the Brexit agreement.
It defines the status and system of government of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and the relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Ireland and Cyprus, along with Spain, are the three EU countries with common borders with British soil which will be affected in a similar way in the case of an unregulated Brexit.
Higgins said that Brexit "has implications for both of our peoples and we have been supportive of each other's specific national issues."
Cyprus and Ireland, two island nations, have close relations due to almost identical historical circumstances. Both countries fought armed struggles against Britain and in the 1950s arrested or convicted Cypriot guerrilla fighters were held in North Ireland prisons along with Irish fighters.
Ireland also provided a strong contingent to the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus established after inter communal fighting in 1964 and is still providing a contingent of civilian policemen.
Anastasiades said that he and Higgins reaffirmed the excellent co-operation and synergies that the two countries have established both bilaterally and multilaterally.


text:
All Cryptocurrency Articles
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Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
SALT Lending (SALT)
Cryptocurrency Backed Loans
SALT is a secured automated lending platform which aims to break down traditional financial barriers and reinvent the way we look at borrowing money. Typically, getting a loan involves passing a credit check, filling out endless forms, waiting on approval and, if successful, the borrower agrees to pay back a certain sum (plus interest) by a certain date. In a traditional loan, the borrower is borrowing against future earnings rather than existing assets.
SALT Highlights
Started: July 28, 2017
Market cap: $188,253,477 <1>
Price per token: $3.84
Reddit subscribers: 633
Twitter followers: 10,700
Facebook likes: 7,330
Circulating supply: 49,025,364
Max supply: 120,000,000
Consensus method: ERC20
What makes SALT different?
SALT is different from the traditional financial process. Loans taken out on the platform are cryptocurrency backed, meaning the borrower can stake blockchain assets (bitcoin, ethereum, etc.) as a form of collateral in order to receive money from lenders. Rather than borrowing against future earnings, which there's no guarantee they'll have, users can leverage an asset they already own. Furthermore, there's no need for credit checks - the blockchain assets staked are proof of ability to repay. Ultimately, the SALT platform is working to be the bridge between traditional financial systems (and lenders) and the vastly growing blockchain economy (and it's borrowers).
First of all, users have to sign up to the platform, which is expected to initially launch in Q4 of this year. Although there are no credit checks involved, anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) requirements will still be applicable, at least for loans of $2,000 or higher. As far as the actual loan process, here's a great graphic from the SALT whitepaper which sums up the basics.
SALT Loan Process <2>
On the surface it doesn't sound that different from a normal loan - the platform connects borrowers with lenders and the borrowers make regular payments on the principal amount (plus interest) until the loan is paid off. However, SALT has a lot going on which sets it apart from a typical loan.
Borrowers stake blockchain asset to prove their creditworthiness which removes a number of barriers of the traditional loan system - no credit check, approvals are quick, geographic location is irrelevant and, since the assets are already owned, repayment isn't really a concern. There are no fees other than initial membership, starting at 1 SALT per year, meaning there's no closing costs or penalties for early repayment.
SALT also takes a new approach to storing the assets and resolving loan conditions. All collateral is stored on a multi-signature wallet with a private key given to the lender and borrower, as well as the SALT oracle and a third-party custodian. The platform then makes use of smart contracts to automatically release funds and collateral - no need for a middle party.
The SALT oracle is the main actor behind the scenes, making everything between loan origination and conclusion work. The oracle acts to: <3>
Monitor the loan origination and payments made by the borrower;
Monitor the value of the assets held as collateral;
Generate alerts if the value of the assets drop below an agreed upon threshold;
Trigger maintenance calls;
Store collateral until loan conditions are resolved; and
Disperse and/or liquidate the collateral, according to loan terms.
The oracle pulls real-time market prices from several exchanges across the world in order to determine the value of collateral at the origin of the loan and will continually monitor those values through the lifetime of the agreement. If at any time the value of collateral changes dramatically relative to the loan (the whitepaper states this threshold will be dynamic and will depend on the individual loan agreement) the oracle will act to rebalance the loan.
Now that some of the details are covered, let's walk through an example of what this process could look like. <4>
John, a borrower seeking a 1-year loan of $100,000.00, is matched with Eric, a lender offering cash at a 10% APR (annual percentage rate). The terms of the loan are that it will be repaid in 12 monthly payments of $8,791.59 which accounts for the principal repayment and interest. John puts up 50 bitcoin as collateral which the oracle assigns a value of $2,500.00 per bitcoin at the time of origination, making the loan-to-value ratio 80%. Once the oracle has determined that Eric has deposited the $100,000.00 and John has sent his 50 bitcoin to a multi-signature wallet, the private key is given to both Eric and John and Eric's funds are released to John's bank account.
A month later, John makes his first monthly payment of $8,791.59 thus reducing the loan balance to $92,041.74 and the loan-to-value ratio to 73.6%. However, soon after the price of bitcoin drops to $2,000.00, causing the loan-to-value ratio to rise to 92%, crossing the agreed upon threshold. The SALT oracle then triggers a collateral maintenance notice to John via email and SMS, instructing him to either deposit an additional 7.53 bitcoin or make a payment of $12,041.74 by a certain date, either of which would return the LTV ratio to 80%.
If John is unable to, or chooses not to act on either of these, the oracle will begin to liquidate some of the collateral to meet these requirements. Pending three confirmation signatures, the oracle will sell 30.1 bitcoin for a value of $60,200.00 in order to reduce the loan balance to $31,841.74. This remainder would then be secured by the leftover 19.9 bitcoin at $2,000.00 each, restoring the 80% LTV.
However, in this case John is able to contribute the additional 7.53 bitcoin, thus restoring the LTV and avoiding liquidation. However, there is again a dramatic change in price and bitcoin rises to $3,500.00, causing the SALT oracle to trigger a maintenance notice to John with the option to increase the loan principal, withdraw some of the original collateral to restore the LTV ratio, or do nothing. John chooses to withdraw 25.96 bitcoin, thus once again achieving an 80% LTV.
The rest of the loan term goes on uneventfully and John makes his final repayment 15 days before the end of the term. The oracle acknowledges the loan terms have been fulfilled, and returns the balance of the collateral to John.
Thus we can see an example of how the SALT platform works from origination to conclusion, as well as the critical role the SALT oracle plays in it. The entire process occurs over globally distributed servers, though the back-end marketplace is centrally owned by SALT.
Why use blockchain assets as collateral?
At first glance, blockchain assets may not seem like the ideal asset to stake against a loan. After all, look at bitcoin the past few months - the price has been all over the place and as shown in the example above that these fluctuations can force the borrower to take action in order to rebalance the loan. This is one of my concerns with the SALT lending platform. It's not clear how far the LTV ratio can differ from the loan terms before triggering a maintenance call, but I can't help but wonder if maintaining a loan during particularly volatile periods might be a hassle which would detract from the user friendly loan experience SALT is promoting.
However, most blockchain assets do have an inherent advantage over traditional collateral. They can easily and instantly be transferred, can be split into fractional amounts and are easy to store and secure during the length of the loan.
Furthermore, imagine the possibilities if blockchain technology really took off. Right now, blockchain companies like Factom are working with business and government on creating immutable records. Think of all the assets that record of ownership could capture in this manner - cars, houses, maybe even collectibles. If that were to happen, theoretically almost any owned asset could be staked as collateral on the SALT platform in the future.
Platform adoption
Adoption and use of the SALT platform is by far the biggest barrier faced by the team. This could be said of virtually any cryptocurrency out there, but the issue is multiplied with the SALT lending platform. Why?
There are 7.6 billion people in the world, but only a fraction of them are involved in cryptocurrencies; that number is a bit harder to get at, but let's go with 15 million which is the number of blockchain wallet users in September 2017. <5> Assuming that only a fraction of this number are interested in borrowing money, and an even smaller number are both willing to lend money and are comfortable loaning against a highly volatile asset, what does the pool of potential users become? Then add in the consideration that not all currencies will be initially supported (USD will be the only supported currency under the basic membership) and that regulations in different countries may restrict platform use and what's realistically left in terms of a user base?
Of course as cryptocurrency adoption grows as a whole, it would make sense that this pool grows as well. The thing is, that initial pool of lenders are probably going to want to be adequately compensated for being the first to jump in and offer their capital against a volatile, relatively unknown, asset. That means APR's may not be all that appealing out of the gate and without affordable lending rates, adoption by borrowers is going to be limited as well.
See the potential issue here? The entire possible pool of users is already small. Lenders may be limited which means little competition and those that do partake are going to want to be compensated more than they would in a less risky, more established venture which could then potentially alienate borrowers faced with lofty APR's.
That being said, there are factors at play that could drastically reduce these barriers. Firstly, the borrowers in this space may very well be people who are unable to secure a loan via traditional means (poor credit or no access to financial institutions) and are therefore willing to pay a premium to secure a loan. On the other end of the spectrum, lenders eager to gain exposure in the cryptocurrency space may be willing to take on that risk at a reasonable APR, or SALT may even secure agreements with lenders to provide low rates at the outset.
At this point in time, there's simply not enough information to know what the adoption outlook will be but it's certainly worth keeping in mind while evaluating the potential of SALT.
SALT membership
Salt Lending Memberships <6>
The SALT platform offers three membership tiers with the amount of capital available to be borrowed, currency availability, flexibility of loan terms and supplementary features improving from tier to tier.
The annual pricing, as outlined in the membership portal, is 1 SALT for the basic membership, 10 SALT for the premier membership and 100 SALT for the enterprise membership. In terms of dollar valuation, the whitepaper states the SALT tokens will be $10 but logging into the platform gives a different story.
SALT Token Price <7>
Therefore it seems the initial price of 1 SALT token will be $25, putting the membership packages at an annual cost of $25 for basic membership, $250 for premier membership and $2500 for the enterprise membership. Membership values are in USD but SALT will accept any traditional/cryptocurrency available in ShapeShift.
Supplementary features
The SALT platform has a number of offerings that are available depending on membership tier. The first one that is interesting, particularly from an investment standpoint, is the ability to use SALT credit to lower the cost of interest payments. This adds utility to the SALT token beyond just memberships access and could potentially create additional demand for SALT tokens.
SALT also offers branded hardware wallets (Ledger Nano S) in both of the upper tiers and cold storage enterprise wallets in addition for the top tier. Line of credit backed credit and debit cards, which I don't believe will be available at launch, are a great feature which should help with adoption and make the transition between blockchain asset and spendable funds even more seamless.
The SALT team
The SALT team is one of the main things that drew me to this project in the first place. For starters, Erik Voorhees, who started ShapeShift is an advisor. Shawn Owens, the CEO, is an entrepreneur with a background in hospitality; the financial lending space is definitely a pretty dramatic change but he has a fairly extensive resume of management and leadership positions. Josef Schaible has been involved in companies like WealthForge and NexTrade and has more than 20 years of experience in senior roles within the financial space. David Lechner has a resume of financial roles going back 15 years, with the last 6 years being senior management roles. These are just a few of the leadership team that really stand out, and that's not even covering any of the other 17 members of the 21 person team (the site lists 21 team members but the FAQ states there are 25).
One other thing I really love about the team is that even though there was a seed round to raise funds, the founding members of the team all put some of their own money into the project and are therefore personally invested.
What sets SALT apart
It's a disruptive play that bridges a massive traditional market with a rapidly growing, under-served market;
The team is fantastic;
Appear to have the regulatory side covered (at least for the US market), including a partnership with First Bank to hold USD;
The platform will be up and running soon and first impressions are positive;
Asset-backed loans eliminate the need for credit checks and offer a number of advantages over traditional loans;
Using blockchain assets overcomes a number of limitations that traditional assets would have;
Market potential is massive (assuming continued crypto adoption); and
Loans are a great application of smart contracts.
Concerns about SALT
Adoption is a major concern;
Volatility in the market could lead to a frustrating loan experience;
Unclear what obstacles there may be to wider adoption in terms of regulations and available currencies;
Possibility that a large portion of borrowed capital could be reinvested into cryptocurrencies, which could lead to extensive defaults in a downturn; and
Token value will require platform demand to increase.
Othera. Othera is an Australian based company working on building a blockchain lending platform and token exchange. They appear to have a solid team with some good partnerships and have been operating since 2015. The demo of the platform isn't publicly accessible and information is limited so it's difficult to make much of a judgement. However, Othera seems to be working directly with other businesses to implement blockchain platforms rather than targeting the consumer side and don't appear to be focusing on asset-backed loans.
Credit Suisse and other banks. A few articles, such as this one suggest that Credit Suisse are working on a blockchain loan platform of their own. If successful, they'll be making use of smart contracts like SALT, however at this stage it doesn't look as though they will be asset-backed loans.
What's the outlook for SALT? SALT currently sits 34th on coinmarketcap.com with a market cap of $188M and a price of $3.84 per token. The total supply of SALT tokens is 120 million, with 20 million being allocated for platform development and to employees, leaving 100 million to be sold. Of this, 45.5 million were reserved for retail sales (directly through the SALT platform) while the remaining 54.5 million were offered through the ICO.
However, this is one case where I think it's worth looking beyond market cap. The SALT tokens are being priced at $25 each and there's a total supply of 120 million, meaning the actual net valuation of the platform is $3B. Looking long term, it's important to ask yourself whether that's a realistic valuation or not. The service is only going to be applicable to those that have blockchain assets to stake and right now, the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is a little over $200B. That puts SALT at a valuation of around 1.5% of the existing market.
You might notice there's a bit of a gap between the current price ($3.84) and the retail price of a SALT token ($25). I think at the current price point, this makes for a good pickup at least in the shorter term but don't expect the price to increase 6x just because the platform launched and $25 is what the tokens are being sold for. The platform will offer 45.5 million tokens at retail price and there will be up to another 55.5 million available on the market so unless there's a massive amount of initial demand, the available supply of tokens will likely keep the tokens at least somewhat discounted. I expect there to be a bit of a run up in price closer to platform launch which could provide some short term gains, but I'm guessing the token price settles in the $9-$13 range, pending sufficient platform adoption, at least for the first while.
There's a few scenarios that could impact this figure though. The SALT team could start buying up the circulating tokens to restrict the supply of discounted tokens (this has been rumored as a possibility) which would drive the price up a lot closer to retail value. However, there's also the chance that initial demand for the platform is low in which case the value would be limited in the short term.
One wildcard that could impact long term price is the ability lower the cost of interest payments, effectively using SALT to repay part of the loan. The additional functionality of the tokens could lead to more tokens used per loan, reducing supply and driving price up. The actual retail price of SALT tokens could also be raised in the future which of course increases long term valuation.
Overall, I think there's a play to be made here both in the short term and long term. However, adoption is going to be a significant price factor. SALT is currently available on Binance.com as well as Bittrex.
SALT is a disruptive play which aims to be a bridge between an increasingly valuable, under-served market and the massive traditional financial market. There's a real opportunity here to cater to individuals who are unable to obtain loans from traditional means while giving more traditional lenders a chance to tap into the crypto market.
The team is fantastic, the platform launches soon and the project addresses a real-life use case; however, I have concerns about market size and platform adoption, as well as if volatility in the market will make the process painful for the borrower.
I think it's worth a small position with an opportunity to flip leading up to platform launch or hold long-term for the potential at $20+ per token if you believe the platform can achieve wide-scale adoption.
If you have any comments, post below! If you enjoyed the article and found it informative, please consider leaving a small donation to help support the site. You can let me know how much you appreciated it with a donation of SALT or any other ERC20 token to the following address:
0xEFC6eb094CA849DB9b8628B6cC9c1e601ECf21bc
Alternatively, I'm more than happy to take other donations:
Bitcoin: 35ag9ZqtH51Bbybmt1PQcmC4W6tDgkB2SZ
If you are unable to donate, consider supporting Crypto Advocate in other ways, such as sharing the site with your friends or using one of the referral links here.
<1> Logo, as well as all stats are from coinmarketcap.com with the exception of social following which is taken directly from the social pages
<2> Image taken from SALT whitepaper, page 7
<3> Adapted from "Key features of the SALT Oracle" on page 12 of the whitepaper
<4> Adapted from the example of "overcollateralized loans" on page 7 of the whitepaper
<5> https://www.statista.com/statistics/647374/worldwide-blockchain-wallet-users/
<6> Image taken from https://www.saltlending.com/
<7> Pricing info and screenshot taken directly from SALT membership portal
All other information is either adapted from the whitepaper and other research or is personal opinion.
Crypto Advocate does not have any holdings in SALT at this time.
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