text:
South Carolina Amtrak crash appears to be human error
On behalf of Ryan Beasley Law | Feb 5, 2018 | Injuries |
Two crewmembers died and 116 passengers and crew were injured in a tragic train accident in South Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 4. An Amtrak train ended up on the wrong track and crashed head-on into a parked CSX freight train.
The precise chain of events is under investigation. But an official from the National Transportation Safety Board said that available technology could have prevented this. "Positive train control" can spot problems ahead and slow or stop trains.
According to officials at the scene, a switch had been manually changed and padlocked in place, diverting the moving passenger train to a side track where the freight train was parked. Upon colliding, the Amtrak train derailed and several cars turned over.
The Amtrak was traveling within the speed limit of 59 miles per hour and probably had no time to pull the brakes. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) official said there was "no way" that the conductor could have stopped the train in time to avoid the collision.
CSX owns the tracks in Cayce, where the accident occurred, and the company is responsible for making certain that trains travel on the correct tracks. It is not yet known why the track was lined-up incorrectly.
The NTSB has been pushing for a "positive train control" safety system for decades. The PTC system detects problems on the tracks ahead of trains and automatically slows them down.
Congress required many railroad track companies to adopt the safety system by the end of 2015. However, that deadline was extended to the end of this year. If it had been in place, this disaster may have been avoided and lives saved.
It will likely take up to a year or more for investigators to determine who is to blame .
Numerous deadly train accidents
This is the third deadly Amtrak crash in less than two months' time. Three people died in a derailment in the state of Washington in the middle of December, and another died in a truck-train collision in West Virginia on the last day of January.
Positive train control would have likely averted the Washington crash, in which an Amtrak train on its maiden passenger run took a curve much too fast and plunged onto a highway. The Amtrak train in West Virginia was carrying several members of Congress, some of whom suffered minor injuries. The cause is not known, though the investigation has focused on the driver of the garbage truck.


text:
What's next for OMC Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala? 5 Challenges You Will Face …
Abigail Brewer 2 years ago 3 min read
In addition, the Coronavirus and protectionist policies add to the panorama that awaits the new director of the governing body for international trade.
"The exchange of goods and services will grow 4.3% this year, when the previous year saw a sharp decline of -4.7%," explains Ignacio Martinez, author of The Multilateral Trade in Goods. The World Trade Organization Through Conduct Agreements. "
The election of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to the position of the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization is extremely important, because it shows that a consensus can be reached in the WTO. Juan Carlos Becker, former Mexican Under Secretary of Foreign Trade, commented at one point that this was a criticism: It was impossible to agree on so many countries in the same position.
In addition to making international trade flourish again, Nigerian women must strike agreements to achieve more sustainable trade and push for digitalization to be included in global trade rules.
1. Reforming the World Trade OrganizationAriel Contreras, Degree Coordinator in Global Business Management at University of Iberoamericana (Ibero) said: It is imperative to act to address the credibility and operational crisis that exists in the organization.
"There will be a lot of work to do to make the panel more efficient and cancel the resolution of the judges' case. An appeals body that has been out of service for more than a year must be restructured."
The government of former President Donald Trump prevented the election of judges from the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body, as well as the access of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to the General Administration of the World Trade Organization, recalls Baker Pineda, now a professor at Pan American University (UP).
See also La Jornada - British Airways cancels flights to Mexico due to Covid
2. Update the framework of the World Trade Organization: Based on trade agreements such as the Mexico-US-Canada Agreement (T-MEC), the European Union-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (TLCUE), or TPP11, which include unregulated chapters in the WTO. , Such as new mechanisms for intellectual property, electronic commerce, corruption and the environment; New services around 5G.
It will have to dialogue and "legislate" on digital matters and everything that is consistent with e-commerce and the like because there is no common understanding in international trade, as Baker and Martinez agreed. Hence the disputes arose when countries such as France announced taxes on digital platforms.
3. Raise awareness of the global public goodIgnacio Martinez said: Promoting sustainable and fair trade, which is something the WTO has in its structure, but in practice is not implemented because trade does not take place between firms, but between TNCs.
Listen # CuéntameDeEconoía
"Inequity with regard to the big winners in trade is where the new general manager has to weave diplomacy because it happens that in multilateral organizations, those who contribute the most are the big winners," said Contreras, a professor at Ibero.
Coming from a continent where most of the countries are underdeveloped, Okonjo-Iweala has the sensitivity to bring up the issue of trade that leads to more equal development and not just where those with the greatest win.
Abigail Brewer
"Future teen idol. Hardcore twitter trailblazer. Infuriatingly humble travel evangelist."
Previous: La Jornada – German company Adidas announced the sale of its US subsidiary, Reebok
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


SCRIP is a great program that allows families to raise money for tuition or donate to SJL by using gift cards in place of cash, checks, and credit cards for everyday purchases. SCRIP is a term that means "substitute money." When you purchase SCRIP, you are purchasing gift certificates and prepaid gift cards that are used just like cash. You can use SCRIP to purchase everyday expenses such as gas, groceries, clothing, restaurants, and other essentials. With every purchase, you earn revenue for St. John Lutheran Church and School and, if applicable, earn money to be used towards next year's tuition.
Click here to visit the SCRIP website to browse what companies participate in the SCRIP program.
Imagine a typical day …you fill the SUV up with gas, drop off your children at school, and head to work. You eat a lunch salad at McDonalds and swing by Walmart to get some groceries. This fairly normal day, if you use SCRIP, could earn $5 for St. John! It doesn't sound like much, does it? But what if EVERY member of your family, even grandparents, did the same thing? You can support our church and school and reduce your tuition payments without spending any more than you already do.
HOW DOES SCRIP BENEFIT SJL?
The SCRIP center acts on behalf of churches, schools, and other non-profit organizations to purchase large amounts of SCRIP from grocery stores, department stores, and other retailers. Because the SCRIP is purchased with cash up front, the participating retailers offer a substantial discount. We buy the SCRIP at a discount and re-sell the certificates to families like yours at full face value.
When you purchase SCRIP, a portion of each gift card returns to us as a profit. St. John Lutheran retains 10% of the profit and you choose how the other 90% is applied.
St. John Lutheran School as a tuition credit or a donation.
St. John Lutheran Student Assistance Fund (Donated to a specific family or give to help a less fortunate family).
Please Note: SCRIP totals are tallied each Spring and the accumulated balance is paid the towards the following school year's tuition.
During the week from Monday through Friday from 6:45 AM-3:15 PM at the church and school office.
On Saturday following the 4:30 PM worship service in the fellowship hall.
On Sunday from 9:00 AM-10:30 AM in the fellowship hall.
Members of our church family can also purchase SCRIP electronically.
Checks must be for the exact amount of an order. There will be no cash returned for out of stock items. Please do not write your check until you have confirmed that your order is in stock.
If you have any questions, please contact Mary Rank at (920) 207-4655 or Liza Helmrick at (920) 229-4456.


Bright and charming Island beach cottage in quiet neighborhood at end of cul-de-sac. Hardwood floors in common areas and carpeting in bedrooms. Tall windows and high ceilings letting in tons of natural light. Open floor plan makes for great entertaining atmosphere. Two oversized masters upstairs w/ large walk in closets. An additional two bedrooms downstairs to use as guest rooms and/or offices. Southern style porches w/ tons of curb appeal. Metal roofs last 40-70 years and hardieplank siding lasts a lifetime! Fire resistant and very effective for salt water island living. Shallow well for yard irrigation. Porte-cochre with space for 2 cars. County taxes notice for 2018 is $3,434.45. Voluntary HOA fees are $300 paid annually. Close to Sea Palms and King & Prince Golf Courses. All NEW stainless steel appliances in the kitchen!
Directions: North on Frederica. First Left Turn after Bennie's Red Barn onto Carlisle Place. At end of cul-de-sac.
Hello, I have a question about 107 Carlisle Place St. Simons Island GA 31522.


18/02/2011 · View it or purchase it online at www.CPAPSupplyUSA.com - View information on the Fisher & Paykel ICON Series CPAP machines, including this short video showing you how to clean …... New Style 'Easy Clean' Water Chamber for BMC Luna CPAP and Auto Machines. The bottom of this water tank can be removed to assist with cleaning.
Your doctor will show you how to clean your CPAP equipment properly when you receive your machine. If your machine starts to show signs of mold growth, you need to remove it as quickly as possible. Mold can cause serious health problems, particularly in the respiratory system, so inspect your CPAP machine regularly for mold growth. Step 1 Remove the tubing, mask and humidifier from the CPAP... A fast, easy and effective way to clean your CPAP equipment, the SoClean 2 kills 99.9% of CPAP germs and bacteria in your hose, mask and humidifier reservoir. With no disassembly, no water and no chemicals required SoClean 2 is the safe, healthy and most hygeinic way for you to use your CPAP therapy during the night.
As an automated machine, the SoClean® 2 CPAP Sanitizer will thoroughly clean and disinfect your CPAP equipment including the mask, hose, and reservoir on a daily basis. The cleaning process starts by keeping all your CPAP equipment connected and does not require any water or other chemicals. how to change your eye color spiritually I clean his CPAP mask, hose, reservoir at least every week - usually more. Detergent, vinegar, clean toothbrush. Detergent, vinegar, clean toothbrush. Today noticed a slight pink tinge to parts of the reservoir - irregular shaped sections.
Hi Been on cpap a while now last couple of months been getting a strange pink build up in the reservoir of my humidifier it washes away with soapy water but am how to clean dyson dc62 With no water, smell, and germ attached, you can clean your Cpap equipment on a daily basis. Nothing is easier the operation of this cleaner, you just have to follow the manual. The automatic system eradicates 99.99% of germs from your breathing machine. This product is registered with FDA, completely safe and efficient.
A humidifier is a part of a CPAP machine that adds moisture in the air you breathe via a small heated tank of water. The humidified air helps to prevent dry mouth after waking up. Some CPAP machines may have humidifiers built in, while others may use a separate part.
In dirty conditions, you even need to clean the water tank CPAP dishwashing daily and daily. Daily cleaning appropriate soap is recommended. The answer to vinegar and water, as a general rule, must be cleaned the tank within a week.


text:
import sys
import re
import time
import datetime
import calendar

"""
From twitter code on github
 workerIdBits = 5L
 datacenterIdBits = 5L
 sequenceBits = 12L

 maxWorkerId = -1L ^ (-1L << workerIdBits)
 maxDatacenterId = -1L ^ (-1L << datacenterIdBits)

 sequenceMask = -1L ^ (-1L << sequenceBits)

 workerIdShift = sequenceBits
 datacenterIdShift = sequenceBits + workerIdBits
 timestampLeftShift = sequenceBits + workerIdBits + datacenterIdBits

 ((timestamp - twepoch) << timestampLeftShift) |
          (datacenterId << datacenterIdShift) |
              (workerId << workerIdShift) |
               sequence
"""

FMT = "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S"
TWEPOCH = 1288834974657.

SF_SEQ_BITS = 12
SF_WORK_BITS = 5
SF_DC_BITS = 5
SF_TIME_BITS = 41
SF_BITS = 64

nRE = re.compile("[0-9]{18}")

class Snowflake(object):
    """Snowflake id object provides access to multiple forms of of the bit fields
    present in a snowflake id. Ids can be of the form of a string with leading and
    trailing characters or symbols. The first 18 consecutive digits will be used
    as the id. It is also permitted to provide an int::

        tag:search.twitter.com,2005:113733024721539072
        113733024721539072
        113733024721539072|This is the tweet for which you are looking|en

    where the latter represents a pre-snowflake twitter id. In this case all
    fields will be null.

    When the input does not match a valid snowflake id, the input field is available
    as the id and all other fields are set to None.

    Available fields::

        id
        sequence
        worker
        data_center
        ts
        sample_set
        timestamp
        timeStruct
        timeString
        year
        month
        day
        hour
        min
        sec
        dow
        doy

    """

    def __init__(self, id):
        """Create a new snowflake object from string or number represenataion
        of id."""
        ns = nRE.findall(str(id))
        if len(ns) > 0:
            # only process first matching id in string
            self.id = int(ns[0])
            self.sequence = int(self.masked_id(SF_SEQ_BITS, 0))
            self.worker = int(self.masked_id(SF_WORK_BITS, SF_SEQ_BITS))
            self.data_center = int(self.masked_id(SF_DC_BITS, SF_WORK_BITS + SF_SEQ_BITS))
            self.ts = int(self.masked_id(SF_TIME_BITS, SF_DC_BITS + SF_WORK_BITS + SF_SEQ_BITS))
            self.sample_set = self.ts % 100
            # originally  ((self.id >> 22) + TWEPOCH)/1000.0
            self.timestamp = (self.ts + TWEPOCH)/1000.
            self.timeStruct = time.gmtime(self.timestamp)
            self.timeString = time.strftime(FMT, self.timeStruct)
            self.year = self.timeStruct.tm_year
            self.month = self.timeStruct.tm_mon
            self.day = self.timeStruct.tm_mday
            self.hour = self.timeStruct.tm_hour
            self.min = self.timeStruct.tm_min
            self.sec = self.timeStruct.tm_sec
            self.dow = self.timeStruct.tm_wday
            self.doy = self.timeStruct.tm_yday
            #self.trials = [self.ndigits(self.id, 2)
            #        , self.ndigits(self.ts, 2)
            #        , self.ndigits(self.timestamp, 2)]
        if len(ns) == 0 or self.year < 2010 or self.year > datetime.datetime.now().year + 1:
            # no valid snowflake id found
            self.id = id  # pass through input
            self.sequence = self.worker = self.data_center = self.ts = self.timestamp = None
            self.timeStruct = self.timeString = self.year = self.month = self.day = None
            self.hour = self.min = self.sec = self.dow = self.doy = None

    #def ndigits(self, x, n):
        #return int(x - (10**n) * int(x/(10**n)))

    def masked_id(self, bits, pos):
        # returns an int
        mask = int('1'*bits, 2) << pos
        res = (mask & self.id) >> pos
        #print '%s' % bin(self.id).rjust(65)
        #print '%s' % bin(mask).rjust(65)
        #print '%s' % bin(res).rjust(65)
        return res

    def get_id_datetime(self):
        return [self.id, self.timeString]

    def __repr__(self):
        res = "#"*15 + "\n"
        res += "id:      %s\n"%self.id
        res += "seq:     %s\n"%self.sequence
        res += "worker:  %s\n"%self.worker
        res += "DS:      %s\n"%self.data_center
        res += "Seconds: %s\n"%self.timestamp
        res += "time:    %s\n"%self.timeString
        return res

if __name__ == "__main__":
    import csv
    wrtr = csv.writer(sys.stdout)
    for r in sys.stdin:
        ns = nRE.findall(r)
        try:
            for x in ns:
                sf = Snowflake(x)
                wrtr.writerow([sf.id
                    , sf.sequence
                    , sf.worker
                    , sf.data_center
                    , sf.timeString
                    , sf.hour
                    , sf.min
                    , sf.sec])
        except IndexError:
            sys.stderr.write( "ERROR %s"%ns)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Events in the year 1912 in Japan. In the history of Japan, it marks the final year of the Meiji period, Meiji 45 (明治45年), upon the death of Emperor Meiji on July 30, and the beginning of the Taishō Period, Taishō 1 (大正元年), upon the accession of his son Emperor Taishō.

Incumbents
Emperor:
Emperor Meiji (until July 30)
Emperor Taishō (starting July 30)
Prime Minister:
Saionji Kinmochi (until December 21)
Katsura Tarō (starting December 21)

Governors
Aichi Prefecture: Ichizo Fukano then Kenzo Ishihara
Akita Prefecture: Mori Masataka then Toyosuke Haneda
Aomori Prefecture: Takeda Chiyosaburo
Ehime Prefecture: Egi Yasunao
Fukui Prefecture: Nakamura Junkuro then Tokiwa Ikematsu
Fukushima Prefecture: Morisuke Yamayoshi
Gifu Prefecture: Sadakichi Usu
Gunma Prefecture: Uruji Kamiyama
Hiroshima Prefecture: Tadashi Munakata then Nakamura Junkuro
Ibaraki Prefecture: Keisuke Sakanaka then Okada
Iwate Prefecture: Shinichi Kasai
Kagawa Prefecture: Kogoro Kanokogi
Kochi Prefecture: Shoichi Omori
Kumamoto Prefecture: Kawaji Toshikyo then Tadashi Munakata then Ueyama Mitsunoshin
Kyoto Prefecture: Shoichi Omori
Mie Prefecture: Kamon Furusha
Miyagi Prefecture:
Miyazaki Prefecture:
Nagano Prefecture:
Nara Prefecture:
Niigata Prefecture:
Oita Prefecture:
Okayama Prefecture:
Okinawa Prefecture:
Osaka Prefecture:
Saga Prefecture:
Saitama Prefecture:
Shiname Prefecture:
Tochigi Prefecture:
Tokushima Prefecture:
Tokyo:
Tottori Prefecture:
Toyama Prefecture:
Yamagata Prefecture:
Yamaguchi Prefecture:
Yamanashi Prefecture:

Events
January 21 – Japan's first skiing competition is held at Takada in Niigata Prefecture.
January 28 –  Lieutenant Nobu Shirase and 27 others reach a point at the South Pole 80 degrees 5' south and 156 degrees 37'. They name it Yamato Sekihara.
March unknown date – Yanmar has founded, as predecessor name was Yamaoka Engineer Works.
March 27 – Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki gives 3,000 Cherry blossom trees to be planted in Washington, D.C., to symbolize the friendship between the two countries.
April 1 – Yoshimoto Kogyo was founded.
May 5–July 22 – Japan competes at the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.
May 15 – 1912 Japanese general election: The result was a victory for the Rikken Seiyūkai party, which won 209 of the 381 seats. The 381 members of the House of Representatives were elected in 51 multi-member constituencies based on prefectures and cities. Voting was restricted to men aged over 25 who paid at least 10 yen a year in direct taxation.
June 5 – Tsuruko Haraguchi is awarded a PhD in psychology from Columbia University, becoming the first Japanese woman to earn a PhD in any field.
July 30 – Emperor Meiji dies. He is succeeded by his son Yoshihito who becomes Emperor Taishō. In the history of Japan, the event marks the end of the Meiji period and the beginning of the Taishō period.
September 13 – Burial of Emperor Meiji in Kyoto.
December – Taishō political was in crisis.
December 21 – Saionji Kinmochi resigns as Prime Minister of Japan and is succeeded by Katsura Tarō.
date unknown
 Ebara Corporation was founded.
 Mori Women's School, as predecessor of Kobe Gakuin University was founded in Hyogo Prefecture.

Births
January 1 – Toshia Mori, actress (d. 1995)
February 3 – Kazuo Dan, novelist and poet (d. 1976)
February 20 – Seiji Hisamatsu, film director (d. 1990)
February 29 – Taiichi Ohno, industrial engineer and businessman (d. 1990)
March 27 – Ken'ichi Yoshida, literary scholar (d. 1977)
April 19 – Genji Keita, novelist and writer (d. 1985)
April 22 – Kaneto Shindo, film director and producer (d. 2012)
June 5 – Ryūtarō Ōtomo, film actor (d. 1985)
July 20 – Hideo Itokawa, rocket scientist (d. 1999)
August 2 – Masaaki Iinuma, aviator, flew the first Japanese-built aircraft from Japan to Europe (d. 1941)
August 15 – Naoto Tajima, athlete (d. 1990)
September 22 – Masao Harada, athlete (d. 2000)
October 4 – Hirohide Fushimi, Navy career Officer (d. 1943)
December 5 – Keisuke Kinoshita, film director (d. 1998)
December 10 – Tetsuji Takechi, theater and film director (d. 1988)

Deaths
January 4 – Higashikuze Michitomi, statesman (b. 1834)
January 27 – Nishi Kanjirō, career soldier (b. 1846)
February 12 – Tsunetaro Moriyama, baseball player (b. 1880)
March 13 – Nishi Tokujirō politician and diplomat (b. 1847)
April 2 – Ishimoto Shinroku, general (b. 1854)
April 13 – Takuboku Ishikawa, poet (b. 1886)
April 28 – Yuri Kimimasa, politician (b. 1829)
July 30 – Emperor Meiji, 122nd Emperor of Japan (b. 1852)
September 13:
Nogi Maresuke, general and Governor-General of Taiwan (suicide) (b. 1849)
Nogi Shizuko, wife of Nogi Maresuke (suicide) (b. 1859)
September 23 – Yokoyama Sakujiro, judoka (b. 1864)
October 5 – Hozumi Yatsuka, law scholar (b. 1860)
December 2 – Kawasaki Shōzō, industrialist and shipbuilder (b. 1837)
December 13 – Yūjirō Motora, psychologist (b. 1858)
Unknown:
Toyohara Chikanobu, woodblock artist (b. 1838)
Suzuki Shin'ichi II, photographer (b. 1855)

References

1910s in Japan
Japan
Years of the 20th century in Japan

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Having both public and private code shared between multiple binaries (Rust) So basically my problem is very similar to the problem presented in this question:
Correct place for private module to be used by multiple executables
My project structure is as follows:
crate
├── Cargo.toml
└── src
    ├── bin
    │   ├── my-bin-1
    │   │   ├── cli.rs
    │   │   ├── main.rs
    │   └── my-bin-2
    │       ├── cli.rs
    │       ├── main.rs
    ├── common.rs
    └── lib.rs

lib.rs contains public code, and common.rs contains private code.
I want to have both of my binaries re-use code from common.rs, but I need this code to remain private.
That's why the aformentioned question's solution which is to define a public function in common.rs is not good for my case.
// common.rs
pub fn cant_leak_this_function() {} // uh-oh.. `pub` identifier should NOT be used here

I tried using the pub(crate) identifier, but that made the functions in common.rs private to the binaries.
What I need is some sort of a pub(crate-and-also-the-binaries-in-this-crate-but-not-for-external-crates) specifier (with a shorter name obviously..) which would allow me to use shared private code in my-bin-1/main.rs and in my-bin-2/main.rs, but will also keep that code hidden from external crates.
So far, the only solution that worked for me was creating
a mod.rs file inside a common directory within src/bin, (resulting in an awkward src/bin/common/mod.rs path) and then explicitly using the #[path = ..] feature to consume the shared code from the binaries. However, this method caused rust-analyzer to mark the functions from common/mod.rs as unused even though they clearly were used, and even worse, from some reading online I've come to understand that using the #[path = ..] feature is considered bad practice.
Is there a better way to solve this problem? What am I missing here?
Thanks in advance!

A: All items are either public or private outside of the crate. There is no mechanism to give other crates special permission. The best you can do is make it clear that while the function is technically public, it should not be used as such.
Take a trick out of the serde crate, which has some exports that must be visible to macros, but shouldn't be used directly (source):
// Used by generated code and doc tests. Not public API.
#[doc(hidden)]
#[path = "private/mod.rs"]
pub mod __private;

The #[doc(hidden)] means it won't sure up in https://docs.rs or your typical cargo doc invocations. And the __private module should hopefully make it obvious to anyone who does stumble across it that it shouldn't be used like other public items.

If this is still unsavory to you, then the only way to truly make it private is indeed to use #[path = ...] to import the file as modules in your separate binaries as the linked Q&A mentions. Then you don't need a library crate at all. The reason that #[path = ...] is bad practice, is because its easy to get wrong and will deceive those unaware of how it actually works.
The reason you would get an "unused" warning from your common functions is because it is essential duplicating the file. Within the specific binary that it is imported, the function may truly not be used. Even if it were used in the other binary, that wouldn't be considered when emitting that warning.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
1MATCH URL: https://assets.rappler.com/7CDEA971D52544AA816CDDF5666530C2/img/49F01A1DF192480ABB8C78B31330FD09/afp-20191206-iran-nuclear-deal-meeting.jpg
China, Russia, Iran to hold joint naval drills
China's foreign minister says the exercises are part of 'normal military cooperation' between the 3 countries
@afp
Published 6:43 PM, December 26, 2019
Updated 7:48 PM, December 26, 2019
COOPERATION. File photo of Iranian political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Abbas Araghchi (2nd L), and Kazem Gharib Abadi (L) Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arriving at a meeting of the Joint Commission on Iran's nuclear program (JCPOA) at EU Delegation to the International Organizations office in Vienna, Austria, on December 6, 2019. Photo by Joe Klamar/AFP
BEIJING, China – China, Russia, and Iran will hold joint naval drills starting Friday, December 27, in the Gulf of Oman, Beijing and Tehran said, at a time of heightened tensions since the US withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.
Set to take place from December 27 to 30, the military exercises aim to "deepen exchange and cooperation between the navies of the 3 countries," Chinese defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian told reporters Thursday, December 26.
Wu said the Chinese navy would deploy its Xining guided missile destroyer – nicknamed the "carrier killer" for its array of anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles – in the drills.
But he did not give details on how many personnel or ships would take part overall.
For Iran, the drill's purpose was to bolster "international commerce security in the region" and "fighting terrorism and piracy," said senior armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Aboldazl Shekarchi.
The exercise would "stabilize security" in the region and benefit the world, state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying on Wednesday, December 25.
The US reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran in May last year after withdrawing from the international deal aimed at tackling the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, prompting Tehran to hit back with countermeasures.
Remaining parties to the badly weakened 2015 deal include China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany.
China's foreign minister said the exercises were part of "normal military cooperation" between the three countries.
In June, US President Donald Trump authorized a military strike after Iran shot down a US drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment. – Rappler.com
Filed under:Iran•Iran Nuclear Deal•Russia•China


text:
Arts & Culture | Eating & Drinking | Events | gigs | Music | Theatre
'Something for Everyone' this August Pride Weekend with A Moira Rose Party, Sink the Pink Drag Brunch & LOADS more
A plethora of performers, artists, characters, and world-renowned DJs this August Bank Holiday...
By Manchester's Finest | August 3rd '21
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Ducie Street Warehouse at Native Manchester is proud to announce its first curated series of events for Pride Weekend.
There's set to be a LGBTQ+ led programme under the name of 'SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE' – featuring a plethora of performers, artists, characters, and world-renowned DJs, for five days, over the August Bank Holiday – from Thursday 26th to Monday 30th August.
In-house resident Mix-stress and Friends will kick the weekend off, on Thursday 26th August. For the next four days, Ducie Street Warehouse will collaborate with Kiss Me Again to curate a weekend of parties from LGBTQ+ collectives and DJs from Manchester and beyond. On Friday 27th August, the takeover will see Gut Level, Aiden Francis and Kiss Me Again residents.
Saturday 28th August will start with a sensational Drag Brunch hosted by Sink the Pink DJs – part of the largest LGBTQ+ collective and club night in the UK – featuring their legendary drag queens and DJs.
Offered with two brunch sittings, 10am -11.30am or 12pm – 1.30pm, with Sink the Pink DJs taking over the first hour of each sitting.
This party brunch is also a dedicated celebration to introduce Ducie Street Warehouse and Native Manchester's charity partner, akt; with a donation of £5 from every brunch booking going to the charity. akt supports LGBTQ+ young people aged 16-25 in the UK who are facing or experiencing homelessness or living in a hostile environment.
The Drag Brunch includes a fixed menu with one of two brunch choices and two 'Paloma' cocktails per person – a refreshing Patron tequila, fresh grapefruit & soda & lime zest to kick start the (pink) party.
Sink the Pink DJs drag brunch is £20 per person, with £5 going to akt.
Book A Table for Drag Brunch
Continuing into the afternoon, Ducie Street Warehouse and Native Manchester will be transformed into The House of 1,000 Moiras, taking inspiration for the culturally significant series, Schitt's Creek, which had an unprecedented positive impact globally, not only within the gay community, but also by how it is perceived.
The House of 1,000 Moiras tribute will pay homage to one of its most beloved characters, Moira Rose – a real talisman of fashion, character and adoration, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Featuring Moira's wigs to wear and party in, Moira's wine list, drag-inspired Moira's from around the world and much more Moira madness.
Soundtracking the Saturday afternoon, on the urban South-facing terrace, is the Good Afternoon takeover, followed by Manchester's Gina Breeze.
Into the evening will see two DJs that collectively are known and loved around the world. First up Luke Solomon, the head honcho of one of house music's most respected labels, Classic, and close affiliate of Defected, a producer extraordinaire, who along with his own incredible output of music, produces for names such as Honey Dijon, Horse Meat Disco and MANY more.
Alongside Luke, will be Krysko, original Warehouse Project resident, and Sankey's Soap resident, who has been a part of Manchester's rave scene for over 20 years. Closing off the night will be the Kiss Me Again residents.
The Kiss Me Again crew continues on Sunday 29th August and Monday 30th August, featuring their residents and introducing Junglehussi, Pumping Velvet, Jase Jeffery, plus special dance performances.
On the food and beverages front, in addition to the signature offerings from Ducie Street Warehouse's restaurant, bar & lounge, Head Chef Andrew Green will curate a one-off street food concept, which will be hosted on the terrace. Outdoor pop-up bar will also be available to keep everyone refreshed for the weekend, courtesy of Magic Rock Brewing.
All housed within the trendy, warehouse-chic surroundings of the Grade II listed building, Ducie Street Warehouse and Native Manchester, and right in the heart of the city centre, this will be the start of a truly new hub of creative concepts and fun celebrations, for a weekend that is held in deep regard by all the people that help make the city's Pride so special.
Ducie Street Warehouse 'Something for Everyone' Weekender
Dates: Thursday 26th to Monday 30th August
The terrace and lounge will be open for walk ins, ensuring there's always space for everyone.
The Pride weekend programme is open to all and free entry, except for the Drag Brunch on Saturday 28th August, which is a ticketed event.
To stay at Native Manchester during Pride weekend book here…
Book A Stay at Native
Get 50% OFF Food at Independent City Centre Italian Cibo this August


When asking this question it is important to consider if Barbervax is effective, value for money, reasonably convenient and easy to use. So how does this new vaccine—which is only for barber's pole worm, not scour worms—measure up?
This is not a knockdown product, like a drench. A vaccine relies on priming doses to stimulate the sheep's immune system to produce antibodies that kill barber's pole worms. It takes three priming doses to achieve protection, which is one more dose than for other vaccines that we are used to using, and its protection lasts for six weeks after each dose.
When a sheep first receives Barbervax, three doses of the vaccine are required to reach an effective level of antibodies. But for sheep already primed the previous year, effectiveness occurs about ten days after the first vaccination of the season. Subsequent doses are given each six weeks through summer and autumn until barber's pole worm is no longer a risk.
Editor's note (December 2015): Barbervax is now registered for use in sheep of any age. See the Barbervax program.
Yes, it is effective—but only if you follow the directions; a hard lesson already learned in the last year by those trying to take short cuts.
Once the immune system is primed and effective levels of antibodies are being produced, sheep can kill most, but not all, of their existing and incoming barber's pole worms. Worm egg counts due to barber's pole are generally kept below 500 epg—a safe level, and well below that causing production effects.
The Barbervax vaccine works where drenches fail against barber's pole worm due to drench resistance, and the history of other vaccines indicates that worms are unlikely to become resistant to it.
The Barbervax vaccine retails for 64c per dose (excluding GST), but it cannot be used as a one-off treatment. Priming doses are essential before it becomes fully effective, so it needs commitment to a 'season's-worth' of treatment—usually five doses for lambs/weaners. This equals $3.20 per sheep (regardless of bodyweight).
Scour worms may be present.
Weaning generally coincides with the start of the high barber's pole risk time and if rains fall in late October and early November immunity from the vaccine may not have had time to kick in.
In comparison, existing worm control costs vary markedly across properties (see Table 1 at the bottom of this article for some current drench prices). Consider not just the drench costs but costs from sheep deaths and whether the drenches are effective on your property.
When Barbervax is properly used, there should be no deaths or illness from barber's pole worm. There will always be a tiny proportion of animals that do not respond to a vaccine, even when correctly given. The flock immunity will keep the worm challenge low and these few sheep, unless they are particularly susceptible to barber's pole worm, will generally stay healthy.
A single dose of Barbervax is quite a bit cheaper than a long acting drench and the newer knockdown (short-acting) drenches, but requires a commitment to five doses, usually. It is reasonably priced considering its prolonged effect, and will be even better value in the second and subsequent years it is given to each mob as the primer doses are not required.
It's a subcutaneous injection—not as easy or fast as a drench, but not rocket science. It pays to be attentive and careful when administering, just as for other vaccinations and injectable products such as long-acting moxidectin.
Here is where the vaccine certainly has some pros and cons.
On one hand, Barbervax has no Withholding Period or Export Slaughter Interval, so it can be used without concern before animals go for slaughter.
On the other hand, it's not an annual one-shot vaccine. With five doses usually required in the first year and only six weeks sustained effectiveness after the third and each successive dose, extra labour requirements to muster and treat might be significant. Whether this is an inconvenience for you depends on how many drenches you would have given over the same period.
If you have out-of-control barber's pole worm and are drenching every month or so during summer and early autumn in most years, then this product is a superior alternative.
Barbervax will fit into existing WormBoss programs along with other tools like grazing management and breeding worm resistant sheep. For some people (like myself, even in the worm-heaven of Guyra, NSW), the WormBoss Program for summer rainfall areas is a God-send. I now only drench two or three times a year by religiously following the fairly simple grazing management process and I breed my sheep for worm resistance.
The Barbervax program is not a complete alternative to drenching or conventional worm management. Some drenches are still required as is worm testing to check progress—though with time, and a continued vaccination program, monitoring needs may decrease.
So, is the Barbervax vaccine for you?
Are the type of person who can commit to a program and follow it.
Want a low risk effective program, where you can follow a recipe and know it will work.
Are currently drenching lambs/weaners four or more times per year for barber's pole worm.
Are experiencing occasional deaths each year from barber's pole worm (where there are a few deaths, there will also be less obvious, but nonetheless significant production losses).
Have few effective drenches left on your property or want to preserve the effectiveness of your drenches.
Like the idea of an organic/natural approach to worm control or are a prime lamb producer who wishes to use a product without a Withholding Period or an Export Slaughter Interval.


"Characterization of medication use in a multicenter sample of pediatri" by Logan K Wink, Ernest V Pedapati et al.
Characterization of medication use in a multicenter sample of pediatric inpatients with autism spectrum disorder.
Nearly 11% of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) undergo psychiatric hospitalization, and 65% are treated with psychotropic medication. Here we characterize psychotropic medication usage in subjects enrolled in the Autism Inpatient Collection. Participant psychotropic medication usage rates topped 90% at admission and discharge, though there was a decline at 2-month follow-up. Antipsychotics, ADHD medications, and sleep aids were the most commonly reported classes of medications. The impact of age, gender, and non-verbal IQ on medication usage rates was minimal, though age and IQ may play a role in prescribing practices. Future work is indicated to explore medication usage trends, the impact of clinical factors on medication use rates, and the safety of psychotropic medications in youth with ASD.
Wink, Logan K; Pedapati, Ernest V; Adams, Ryan; Erickson, Craig A; Pedersen, Kahsi A; Morrow, Eric M; Kaplan, Desmond; and Siegel, Matthew, "Characterization of medication use in a multicenter sample of pediatric inpatients with autism spectrum disorder." (2018). Maine Medical Center. 575.


DI reader Suresh Telu has a Lenovo laptop that came pre-installed with Windows Vista Home edition.
He plans to install Windows XP on the computer but wiping off Vista completely may void the laptop warranty.
Suresh is therefore looking for an alternate solution where he can install and dual boot Windows XP alongside Windows Vista.
1. You should have a licensed copy of Windows XP.
2. Read your warranty document carefully or consult the customer care to make sure that warranty remains valid when you install a second OS on your computer.
3. You'll need to create a separate partition (or overwrite an existing one) for installing XP . Make sure there's enough space on the hard drive.
Now head over to PronetWorks and HowToGeek for a detailed guide on installing Windows XP on your pre-installed Vista laptop. It's a bit geeky method but nicely illustrated at both the places.


text:
{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
module Spark.Pure.Exec where

import Spark.RDD
import Spark.Context
import qualified Data.Map as M
import Control.Distributed.Process
import Control.Distributed.Process.Serializable
import Control.Distributed.Static
import Data.Typeable

executePure :: RDD a b => Context -> a b -> IO [b]
executePure sc rdd = undefined

    -- case rdd of
    --   RDD (Partitions ps) -> return . concat . map snd . M.toList $ ps
    --   MapRDD act base ->  case unclosure undefined act of
    --                         Right f -> map f <$> executePure base
    --   _ -> undefined


He's running for mayor of Halifax.
"The reason I got into politics was to convince Halifax Council that we need a program to deal with the cat problem in our municipality. My brothers and sisters are starving, freezing to death in winter and reproducing at an alarming rate. We need a program to address these problems. We need a low cost spay and neuter clinic. We need a comprehensive Trap-Neuter-Return and Care program. We need a sanctuary for homeless strays to live out their in comfort. WE NEED A MAYOR WHO CARES...BECAUSE NEGLECT ISN'T WORKING!!! Vote Tuxedo Stan."
Stan can't legally become mayor, but that hasn't stopped him from garnering a small but passionate following in the Halifax community.
If he's lucky, he might end up like Honorary Mayor Stubbs of Talkeeta, Alaska. Stubbs, a fellow feline, was elected by the 900-person historical district 15 years ago. He remains a well-loved political figure.


Did you know most companies spend $92 in the effort to get someone to visit their website for every $1 aimed at converting that visit into a sale?
Statistics: Sales people love them. Customers are awed by them. And sometimes we are shocked by them.
Statistics are sometimes accurate and sometimes inaccurate — and whether or not they "sound true" is never the deciding factor.
For instance, did you know that – even though you may feel as if you are absolutely still – the planet Earth is moving at an average of about 67,000 mph on its annual pilgrimage around the Sun?
But, wait … that's not all: The Sun and the Earth are simultaneously on a journey around the Milky Way. That means you are also, right now, moving at 483,000 mph in an even larger circle.
Moreover, the entire galaxy – you guessed it – is in motion … headed to God-only-knows-where at a rather rapid pace.
Do you "feel like" you are constantly moving at almost half a million miles per hour? It doesn't seem so, but mathematics and astronomy insist its true.
Statistics can be fun. And sometimes, they can be almost unbelievable.
Have you checked your Conversion Rate statistics lately?
But, what's the source of that conversion statistic?
92:1 is an astounding figure, indeed. How can we determine whether or not it is trustworthy?
Did all those Harvard and Yale graduates really become millionaires?
Experience tells me that statistics, of any type, aren't always backed by sound, reproducible data. Rather, the quoted idea "sounds good" and morphs into a type of meme – a catchphrase that sounds so true that it "must be true," but may have no more grounding in reality than duplication on a gaggle of websites or mention in a popular book.
For instance … have you heard about the Harvard (or was it Yale?) study where it was determined that only 3% of the graduating class had taken the time to write down their goals? Ten years later the researchers tallied up the net worth of the class, and they were amazed to find the combined wealth of the goal-setting 3% exceeded that of the combined net worth of the the other 97%. How's that for getting more bang for your buck?
Hard to believe, isn't it? Just writing down your goals means you are much more likely to become wealthy than those other poor jerks who don't have time to set objectives.
Goals are important. There is no doubt about it. Are the statistics accurate, though?
Blogs, magazines, and motivational speakers love to talk about the now-famous study … yet there is no real proof it ever took place. If you can find the research, please let me know. I tried and tried … but could not locate it in any of the academic journals I searched.
Listen … it may be that the Harvard/Yale goal-setting study claims are absolutely correct and validated. I have yet to see the corresponding study, but that does not mean it is a hoax. It only means I can't find it. If you know where it is, please let me know. My goal here isn't to slam-bam anyone's work or beliefs, but to point to something even more powerful than statistics: a close look at reality is more important than favorable statistics — and if that salesperson quoting stats can't back the inferences up with case studies and hard data, then you should run, don't walk, to the nearest exit.
How would it make you feel, if you discovered a favorite statistic you love to quote is absolute made-up hogwash or derived from very limited and tenuous data? A bit duped, perhaps – even gullible?
Relax, we are all in the same boat. Sometimes, all we have to go on is our gut and our BS meter. Always trust those two gauges, even when the expert is someone who normally shoots straight. It could very well be that the expert has been taken on a ride too.
Not only can quoting a statistic that later turns out to be false make you look like a fool, following unreliable advice is like trying to chew steak with a tooth that needs a root canal: it can hurt … badly.
The next time you hear a statistic that sounds too good to be true or so outlandish you wonder how people can be missing the boat so readily, make a focused effort to track down the source.
Just because the author links to a reference, it doesn't mean the idea is proven. Follow the link. Is there bona fide research data behind the statement … or is it only a "he said, she said, they said" trail that may actually be only hearsay?
At first, I was skeptical of the 92:1 statistic, but Conversion Max's CMO and co-founder, Theresa Baiocco, chased it down. "$92 spent on visitor acquisition, to every dollar used to increase Conversion" may sound like something a landing page sales manager pulled out of her pocket — but it is actually a stat from Econsultancy's 2013 Conversion Rate Optimization Report.
BUT, is it a figure you can hang your hat on? Got me. One would need to contact Econsultancy to find out more about the methods used and the statistical accuracy of the claim. You could then apply standard assessment of research validity techniques to form your opinion.
Personally, I prefer to consider the ramifications of the apparent gulf between getting visitors and attending to them — then look at my own practices to see whether or not the statistic holds true for me.
How much is your company spending to acquire website visitors? Do you know? Wouldn't that be a valuable number to have?
And how much are you investing on converting those visitors into paying customers? That could be a tough thing to figure out, couldn't it? The math is simple enough, but coming up with the numbers to plug into the formula could be daunting. Forget statistics for a moment … what is the reality in your situation?
If you don't know your Conversion Rate numbers, should you? How can they be determined?
One more question: Which is more important to bottom-line revenue: Total number of Visits or Total number of Conversions?
Assuming your offer is profitable – that you are bringing in more money on the sale of your product or service than you are spending to provide it – then the higher your Conversion Rate, the more revenue you will generate.
*** Please note I am not saying the Conversion Rate is the ONLY important number … and please note I said ASSUMING your offer is profitable. Undoubtedly, you should work to increase the spread between the cost of goods sold and the selling price. All things considered, though, your Conversion Rate is a critical factor in your revenue.
1000 visits that result in no sales are less valuable to the immediate bottom line than are a handful of visits that brings in sales … assuming your offer is profitable in the first place.
There are some businesses that are not profitable. They are losing money, not earning money. That is not the preferred method of doing business.
Consider, for instance, the beleaguered high-lead logging company owner who won the Oregon lottery, He was paying more for fuel and stumpage than would allow a positive return on investment.
What can you do to increase your Conversion Rate statistics?
Without sales, nothing else is going to last for long in a for-profit business. Watch the other players and the scoreboard, for sure, but never take your eyes off the ball.
Find out more about how to optimize for better Conversion Rate statistics and bottom line sales. Call 888-659-2680 for a free consultation with the Conversion Max team.
Writer, Dreamer, Believer and Friend of Entrepreneurs, Don Sturgill is a freelance writer and the author of Roadmap to Freedom (Dream Into It), the field manual that helps entrepreneurs turn ideas into reality … fast. Don is from Bend, Oregon, PPC capital of the world. His home on the web is at donsturgill.com.
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Conversion Max is a husband-and-wife team, each with Master's Degrees, who are passionate about helping clients use their data to increase conversions — and revenue.


With over 80 years of combined experience and a variety of backgrounds in the fastener and metal working market, the All American Systems team is well versed in fastener applications and fastening methods. Based in the Chicago suburbs, our team coverage in the Midwest includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
While many of the components we sell are commodity based parts and identified as having low unit cost, we help customers focus on the total installed cost of the fastener to the end user. Plating and secondary treatments play a critical role in fastener performance and greatly influences selling price and installation results.
Early involvement in engineering and design work can lead to "best practice" assembly methods reducing unnecessary cost and potential service issues.
All American Systems is here to help with material selection, point styles and thread configuration, as well as hole sizes, secondary platings and even installation tools just to mention a few the considerations that can affect a successful fastener selection.
As part of our commitment to you, if we do not represent a supplier that can handle your requirement, we will stay involved in the sourcing process to find you a suitable supply option. This reinforces your trust in us and establishes our role as a valuable resource group.
Many of our suppliers carry significant inventory so you don't have to! Reducing inventory carrying costs and decreasing lead time is the name of the game in today's market and we strive to balance your demands against availability and manufacturing lead times.
Blanket orders and safety stock are just two methods used to ensure you have the material you need to address spike demands and stock out situations. As always communication is vital in the supply chain when schedules are tight and we are here to help in that process.
A number of our suppliers are prepared to handle your RUSH orders when there is no lead time.


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Upon installation, we can also provide a training session for your staff on how to use these panels.


List Rules Only made for TV movies that aired on the Lifetime Channel during the 2000s.
Looking for some over-the-top, female-driven drama? These are the best 2000s Lifetime movies, ranked from best to worst by Lifetime original movie fans all over the world. Who doesn't love a good Lifetime movie? Sometimes it's the kind of mindless drama you need to wind down after a long day. Some top 2000s Lifetime movies are about a murder, some are about illicit affairs, but the best of the best obviously include both. Some of these Lifetime Originals even feature major Hollywood stars before they got their big breaks.
Which would you say are the best Lifetime movies of the 2000s? Take a look at this collection and give the best movies a thumbs up to make sure they end up at the top of this list.
The Secret of Hidden Lake is a television movie, starring Rena Sofer and Winston Rekert. The movie first aired on October 29, 2006 on Lifetime Network.
List Rules: Only made for TV movies that aired on the Lifetime Channel during the 2000s.


Next week we will read Galatians, James, and Romans, which is a lot for one week, but the following week we will go back over Romans chapter by chapter, comparing James and Galatians (and the Gospels).
It's not a coincidence that this story is about a family from Bethlehem. Ruth was King David's great grandmother and thus a direct ancestor of Jesus.
Ruth's faithfulness to her mother-in-law is often used as an inspiration for Christian women. It is remarked upon several times throughout the book, but we'll discuss that more in chapter 2.
Leaving what was missed during harvest for the poor and widows to glean was a law in Israel (Lev. 19:9-10). At this point in history, it appears that Israel was still familiar with the Law of Moses or else certain cultural laws had become set in place as tradition because everything that happens in this book can be found in the Law of Moses (unlike Judges, which we just finished).
Well, there's at least one exception. No Moabite was to enter the congregation of the Lord (Deut. 23:3). It is possible that prohibition only applied to men or families, as the Israelites were allowed to marry women who had been captured in war.
Boaz shows Ruth favor, and he says he has heard of Ruth's kindness toward her mother-in-law. Naomi was old, by her own testimony, and it's possible that she was not able to do the gleaning that Ruth was doing. Either way, Ruth was serving Naomi, worshiping Yahweh rather than the gods of Moab, and ensuring that an elderly widow was not alone.
Boaz calls this favor he's showing her "wages from the LORD" (v. 12). God notices the kindnesses we do. They do not go unrewarded.
While we don't live in the same culture Ruth and Boaz did, it is obvious that the point of Ruth's visit to Boaz' threshing floor was to get him to marry her.
This is more than just a daring proposal. When a man died childless in Israel, the Law of Moses made it the responsibility of his brother to take the widow as a wife and have a child which would be considered the deceased brother's descendant (Deut. 25:5-10). Apparently "brother" is meant in its wider meaning of "relative" because the law is being applied to men that are not Mahlon's brothers.
Thus, Boaz and the unnamed closer relative bore a certain responsibility to Ruth, though it seems obvious that Boaz was interested in Ruth from the moment he saw her.
Boaz finds the closest relative, and he gathers the elders of the city. This is all specified in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. Even the removal of the shoe is mentioned there. However, the unwillingness to raise up children for a deceased brother was considered shameful enough that Deuteronomy 25 says that the widow is also to spit in the face of the relative that refused to do it.
Notice, though, that the removal of the shoe in Ruth 4 is over the land, not over Ruth, and it is attributed to custom, not to the Law. It is very likely that all the Law-keeping in the book of Ruth, even the allowing of the widows to glean, was the product of custom, not a knowledge of the Law.
Why do I say that? Because a knowledge of the Law is noticeably lacking from all of Israel's history in the Scriptures, though there are a few exceptions.
This is a sad truth, but it is a truth. Mark Twain was simply observing exactly what Jesus had said was true among the Pharisees, which is that tradition was held higher than the Word of God (Mark 7:9).
It is a danger to every one of us. And you can be certain that if you choose to stand on the Word of God over tradition, you will be punished by the majority for whom "customs are rock."
I referred to Ruth as King David's great grandmother in my comments on chapter one, but that may not be true. Hebrew histories tend to skip generations, and the genealogy given at the end of chapter four certainly skips numerous generations.
How do we know this? Salmon is said to Boaz' father. Boaz' mother, however, was Rahab, the harlot from Jericho, according to Matthew 1:5. Some 400 years passed between the fall of Jericho and the beginning of King David's reign. That is far too much time to allow Rahab to be King David's great great grandmother. That's 100 years per generation, and we are no longer in the first 11 chapters of Genesis where the lifespans were so long.
The same thing is true of the previous 400 years, when Israel was in Egypt. Pharez or Perez (v. 18, which spelling will depend on which translation you're using) was the son of Judah who was the son of Jacob. That only allows 5 generations from Perez to Salmon, which is still too few to span 400 years.
Boaz is often spoken of as a type of Christ as "kinsman redeemer." In other words, a relative who redeems us from slavery.
I looked at a few web sites, and all of them referred me back to Leviticus 25 rather than Deuteronomy 25 for the law of the kinsman redeemer. Leviticus 25, especially verses 47-55, talks about a brother that goes into slavery, not one that dies and leaves a widow.
Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer. He did redeem us from slavery, and he did it with something much more precious than money. He did it with his own divine blood.
If I'm missing something, feel free to point it out to me in the comment section.
This entry was posted in Through the Bible and tagged ruth, through the bible. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Miami's no-name defenders showed why they're tops in the nation in a resounding upset of third-ranked Virginia Tech
Stewart Mandel
After watching his defense suffocate quarterback Marcus Vick en route to a 27-7 thrashing of third-ranked Virginia Tech last Saturday night, Miami coach Larry Coker asked rhetorically, "Who was the star? I coached them, and even I don't know." Observers have been wondering the same thing about the Hurricanes' D all season.
For a program that has produced such luminaries as Warren Sapp, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, this year's defense is largely anonymous--yet it has been as dominant as any in the school's recent history. In crushing the Hokies' national-title aspirations, while keeping alive their own (Miami, 7-1, rose to No. 4 in the latest BCS standings), the Hurricanes held Virginia Tech to 167 total yards. It marked the fifth straight game in which Miami had held an opponent to less than 200 yards. On the season the Hurricanes lead the nation in total defense (214.8 yards per game) and are second in points allowed (10.4). Says offensive line coach Art Kehoe, a former Miami player who in 27 years with the program has seen his fair share of talent, "Our defense is scary." In fact, if they continue at the current pace, the Hurricanes would set a school record for fewest yards allowed per game.
Facing relentless pressure from linemen Javon Nanton, Thomas Carroll and Orien Harris, Vick, who entered the game having completed 69% of his passes, finished eight of 22 for 90 yards, lost four fumbles (three on sacks) and threw two interceptions. Linebacker Rocky McIntosh (10 tackles, two sacks) and safety Brandon Meriweather (nine tackles, one for a loss) often wound up in Tech's backfield on blitzes. The mobile Vick never got untracked, finishing with seven yards on 17 carries while being sacked four times. "He's fast, but our guys are fast too," Hurricanes defensive end Baraka Atkins said afterward. "Our defense is composed of 11 guys who play as a team."
Atkins is one of nine returning starters from Miami's 2004 defense, a young, injury-plagued unit that allowed 466 yards per game during one four-game stretch in a disappointing 9-3 season. No wonder the defense entered this season with such little acclaim. "You don't see a lot of Butkus or Lombardi [candidates]," says defensive coordinator Randy Shannon. "All you see is a bunch of guys doing their job, and sometimes that's what makes the best team."
Adds Atkins, "There is no jealously among us, but we're all in a competition. Each one of us likes to make more plays than the other."
With a more experienced unit this year, Shannon has been able to change his schemes more frequently (against Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes used coverages and blitzes they had been practicing since the start of fall camp but hadn't shown in their first seven games), and he has kept his players fresh with frequent substitutions. Even McIntosh, Miami's best linebacker, never plays more than 40 snaps. "This season we've put an emphasis on everybody getting an opportunity to make plays," says Shannon, "but not doing something to be selfish."
The Hurricanes are maturing fast on the other side of the ball as well. A line that gave up nine sacks in an ugly 10-7 season-opening loss to Florida State allowed just one against a Virginia Tech defense that entered the game with 25. Even after losing leading rusher Tyrone Moss to a knee injury in the first quarter (he's expected to miss the rest of the season), Miami had scoring drives of 82 and 73 yards. Sophomore quarterback Kyle Wright, a first-year starter, showed great patience, and Moss's replacement, sophomore Charlie Jones, ran for 97 yards on 24 carries. "They've just been stellar," Wright says of his linemen. "I've barely been hit the past couple of weeks."
With the resounding win, the Hurricanes avenged consecutive losses to the Hokies--including a 31-7 defeat in Blacksburg two years ago that ended Miami's 39-game regular-season winning streak--and moved into first place in the ACC's Coastal Division. Victories over Wake Forest (4-6), Georgia Tech (6-2) and Virginia (5-3) would set up a rematch with Florida State in the ACC championship game on Dec. 3. "We've grown tremendously as a team [since the Florida State game]," says defensive lineman Kareem Brown. If Brown and his cohorts continue to grow, they may lose their anonymity.
SIMON BRUTY
 LOUD AND CLEAR
After Carroll (90), Calais Campbell and the Miami D tripped up Vick & Co., Brown (inset) had reason to crow.
BOB ROSATO
[See caption above.]


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Mike Coffman & Mario Diaz-Balart
Compare the voting records of Mike Coffman and Mario Diaz-Balart in 2017-18.
Mike Coffman
Represented Colorado's 6th Congressional District. This was his 5th term in the House.
Mario Diaz-Balart
Represented Florida's 25th Congressional District. This was his 8th term in the House.
Mike Coffman and Mario Diaz-Balart are from the same party and agreed on 94 percent of votes in the 115th Congress (2017-18).
June 7, 2018 — Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act
March 22, 2018 — TARGET Act
May 4, 2017 — American Health Care Act
March 28, 2017 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to "Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services"
Dec. 21, 2018 — National Flood Insurance Program Competition and Extension Act of 2018
Sept. 6, 2018 — DeGette of Colorado Part B Amendment No. 2
July 18, 2018 — Gallego of Arizona Amendment No. 51
Failed by a margin of 9 votes.
July 18, 2018 — Goodlatte of Virginia Amendment No. 50
July 18, 2018 — Mullin of Oklahoma Amendment No. 43
July 18, 2018 — Grijalva of Arizona Amendment No. 25
June 27, 2018 — Poe of Texas Part A Amendment No. 20
June 8, 2018 — Takano of California Part B Amendment No. 16
May 23, 2018 — Aguilar of California Amendment No. 4
Feb. 15, 2018 — ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017
Oct. 24, 2017 — Cicilline of Rhode Island Part B Amendment No. 5
Sept. 6, 2017 — King of Iowa Part B Amendment No. 51
Sept. 6, 2017 — Budd of North Carolina Part B Amendment No. 32
Sept. 6, 2017 — Carter of Georgia Part B Amendment No. 17
July 27, 2017 — Cartwright of Pennsylvania Part B Amendment No. 43
July 27, 2017 — Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania Part B Amendment No. 12
July 13, 2017 — Gosar of Arizona Amendment No. 5
July 13, 2017 — Hartzler of Missouri Amendment No. 10
June 29, 2017 — No Sanctuary for Criminals Act
June 13, 2017 — Verify First Act
March 9, 2017 — Innocent Party Protection Act
March 9, 2017 — Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act
March 9, 2017 — Espaillat of New York Part B Amendment No. 8


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Heroes Fall: Thoughts on a Fantasy Hack of Apocalypse World →
Review: Apocalypse World
by PK Posted on April 3, 2012
Every once in a while I come across something that is worthwhile even if I find it distasteful. Brazil was one such film; I didn't like it, certainly didn't enjoy it, but I recognized what made it a good film and felt that watching it was a genuinely worthwhile experience. It was art. To be honest, I didn't expect to find a role playing game that achieved the same level of art.
Apocalypse World is that game. I don't like post-apocalyptic fiction in general. I'm certainly not a fan of the weird apocalypse presented in movies like Mad Max or its sequels. So as people explained Apocalypse World to me I grew disinterested. Sadly, this is because they tried getting my attention based on the setting and not based on the truly excellent mechanics of the game.
My journey to Apocalypse World was long and circuitous. Sometime last year, after GenCon most likely, I heard about Dungeon World. Sage and Adam had published the iOS app for DW (which I'm going to have to review and talk about later) so I grabbed that for $5 on the App Store. It intrigued me so I hit up Dungeon World's website and bought the basic set. I read that and was impressed with the way the game worked. It was clearly labeled as a derivative of AW, so I now had a basic understanding of the mechanics. Back in February I got my first chance to play Dungeon World at Jank on Demand. Kevin Weiser of The Walking Eye ran the game for us and it was a blast. Importantly, it introduced me to Kevin and I started listening to The Walking Eye (I'm weird; I prefer to listen to podcasts of people I know and somewhat actively resist listening to podcasts if I don't know the creators).
A few weeks ago I finally broke down and bought Apocalypse World after listening to the review of the game on The Walking Eye. I printed the PDF off on a big printer and put it in a three-ring binder. Real life intervened and I only finished it tonight. I'm glad I did.
Apocalypse World is very clearly written with an agenda. Vincent Baker states his position on role playing games in no uncertain terms. The game is about the story, which is a shared fiction created at the table. The fiction centers around the characters. The players of the characters engage the mechanics by taking significant action in the fiction. Mechanics then inform the fiction. These are concepts I can get behind when implemented properly in a game and I think Vincent is one of the few designers to actually achieve these goals.
The mechanics of the game are very tightly woven into the narrative. The first thing you need to know is that every mechanical action a character, be it a PC or NPC, can take is called a move. There is a series of basic moves that any player character can make and then each character splat has a set of unique moves. Only players roll dice. The Master of Ceremonies (MC) makes his moves in response to the dice roll. Most moves have levels of success with guidelines. Typically, on a 10+ the player succeeds with a minimum of difficulty, 7-9 something bad happens, and on a 6 or less the action does not succeed at all. In every instance there are narrative guidelines for both the player and the MC.
The MC is restricted by the game rules in a number of ways but given a large amount of freedom. The game strictly lays out the MC's agenda (make the world seem real, make character lives not boring, and play to find out what happens), what the MC must always says (what is demanded by the principles of the game, honesty, the rules, and prep), and a series of principles that enforce both the story now play style ("address yourself to the characters, not the players", etc.) and the setting of the game ("barf forth apocalyptica").
This is one of the first examples I've encountered where the game master is heavily restricted or has heavily mechanized actions. That is to say, the MC in Apocalypse World is restricted to actions that drive the narrative of the game. Contrast this with the dungeon master in D&D 4E who is given almost no mechanical guidelines – just a series of characters (enemies/monsters) with stats – and no rules that drive the narrative. I haven't fully wrapped my head around the implications of this and how to fully articulate it though I suspect it can be explained as the difference between narrativist and simulationist or gamist philosophy
Stepping outside the realm of the game as a collection of ideas and into the realm of the game as a presentation of ideas or a collection of physical artifacts, I really like playbooks. Playbooks are the available character options. Each one is a self-contained character sheet with rules for character creation and advancement, all of the rules necessary for rolling dice and determining outcomes, and has some evocative art. A given playbook is sized to be printed double-sided on legal paper (8.5" x 14") and then made into a tri-fold pamphlet.
Holy crap these are awesome. First, you can sit down a new player and give them a single tri-fold piece of paper for them to use and play. Second, they look great. Third, they're incredibly useful at the table if anyone has any questions about what happens. Dungeon World uses them and I loved the playbooks in that game. It's something I hope more games do in the future.
The basic method of telling a story is to create a conflict and then let it play out. Apocalypse World creates conflict through fronts, "series of linked threats [made of] people, places and conditions that, because of where they are and what they're doing, inevitably threaten the players' characters — so a front is all of the individual threats that arise from a single given threatening situation." Each threat has some need that conflicts with the needs of the others around them. The player characters get dropped smack into the middle of the whole mess.
Here's the key thing: player characters aren't there to fix the situation. They are there so we can see what happens in that situation. Play to see what happens.
Any time that a conflict arises in the game, whether it is a firefight or seduction, the dice hit the table. Apocalypse World espouses the Let It Ride philosophy of rolling once. This is partly enforced by the outcomes of moves. A soft hit, 7-9, usually includes some form of badness that changes the state of the situation. Quite simply, the same move wouldn't make sense in the narrative again. Beyond that the text explicitly states that unless something changes in the narrative, the same move cannot be tried again. Keep in mind that conflict could be internal. The Driver's special move involves seeing if he can keep from freaking out over a potential relationship.
So every time the dice hit the table, something new is going to happen. The situation is going to change. When players engage the mechanics of the game, they change and drive the narrative forward. This holds true more or less through the entire game but combat heavy scenes play out much like they do in other games. The difference is that the MC's moves in response to the rolls are very one-sided. MC moves include "takea way their stuff" meaning that a character can have the chainsaw ripped from her hands as she tries to chop up a few thugs (that's an actual example in the text). Don't take that as criticism – this actually is a really good thing. It allows the MC to complicate the situation, create tension, change the flow of the conflict and generally tell a more interesting, compelling story without needing massive stat blocks. As usual variety is the spice of life and the MC should use all of the moves available, not just a small sampling of them.
Apocalypse World's themes are going to be largely up to the players at an individual game. The themes encouraged by the text are scarcity, corruption, constant struggle, and the freakshow aesthetic of weird post-apocalyptic fiction. The emphasis of this in description of the game is what turned me off from it for so long. In the end, I don't think it's so powerful that I wouldn't enjoy playing Apocalypse World. The game itself seems well constructed and fodder for interesting role playing.
There is a strong emphasis on group politics in the game. Many of the available threats are groups – roving gangs, families, enclaves, etc. – and even several of the splats are built around having a gang of one's own – hocus, hardholder, and chopper. This helps drive the conflicts in the game forward. Groups are easier to pin a motivation upon than an individual. It's also one of the things that was removed for Dungeon World. Given that Dungeon World is an homage to old school dungeon crawls, it's not really necessary for that game. I would love to see someone make a more faithful fantasy adaptation of Apocalypse World that involves barbarian hordes, orders of paladins, conclaves of wizards, and more.
Maybe I'll do that someday.
Apocalypse World is a tightly written (if vulgarity ridden) story now game. If you are interested in playing games within the story now style, you should definitely read and play this game. If nothing else, it will give you food for thought when you are talking about games with other people. The list of MC moves and advice in Apocalypse World is applicable to any role playing game and is really the most impressive part of th entire game. Highly recommended.
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Home Columns Vitamin Connection New Understandings about Pycnogenol's Myriad of Health Benefits, Part 1
New Understandings about Pycnogenol's Myriad of Health Benefits, Part 1
Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D.
An Interview with Frank Schönlau, Ph.D.
Through the years, there have been many clinical studies demonstrating a plethora of health benefits for Pycnogenol. So many, in fact, that since my first column on the antioxidant properties of Pycnogenol in 1991 (1), I have written six books about the (increasing) health benefits (2–7). Through the years, we have discussed Pycnogenol's benefits on joints (8), the heart (9, 10), skin, (11), inflammation (12) and more. Now, we know better how Pycnogenol works to bring about these diverse health benefits. Without this understanding, physicians and nutritionists are skeptical about how a single dietary supplement can have so many health benefits. They usually dismiss such wide-ranging claims as "snake oil." This month, I have asked Frank Schönlau, Ph.D., scientific director of Horphag Research (distributor of Pycnogenol), to discuss this exciting new research with us.
Dr. Schönlau earned degrees in chemistry (1991) and biochemistry (1995) from the University in Münster, Germany. He researched protein anti-cancer drugs in the framework of a European Community research program "Europe against Cancer." At the Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University Clinics of Münster, Germany, Dr. Schönlau investigated chronic inflammatory processes, wound healing, vascular disorders and angiogenesis.
In 1999, Dr. Schönlau joined Horphag Research as director for scientific communication and is now scientific director. Horphag Research supplies Pycnogenol, the only standardized pine bark extract according to the U.S. Pharmacopeia, to companies that produce a variety of Pycnogenol-containing products. Dr. Schönlau has published scores of research articles in peer-reviewed international basic science and medical journals on the role and efficacy of Pycnogenol in various pathologies.
Passwater: Pycnogenol is unique in several ways, one of which is the amount of research that stands behind the ingredient. This was recently acknowledged when the American Botanical Council awarded Horphag Research its annual Varro E. Tyler Commercial Investment in Phytomedicinal Research Award. In my humble opinion, Horphag certainly deserves the award more than any other basic research company. I bet you and your research team especially appreciated the award, as I know that Professor Tyler was an inspiration to you. Congratulations.
Schönlau: Horphag Research invests over U.S. $1 million a year in research on Pycnogenol. The investment goes to universities that submit to us proposals for promising new targets, both for identifying new health benefits and for helping better understand Pycnogenol's methods of action.
Passwater: As your research findings mount, mainstream nutritionists—and even media personalities including Dr. Mehmet Oz—are gradually becoming aware of Pycnogenol's many health benefits. How many studies have been published at this time?
Schönlau: More than 300 scientific publications involving more than 7,000 persons demonstrate that Pycnogenol provides a multitude of health benefits, such as for heart and circulation, youthful skin, flexible joints, blood glucose control, sports endurance, mental function and good vision, among others.
Passwater: Your research is really uncovering some very interesting information. Recently, you elucidated an important mechanism through which the larger molecular flavonoids work to bring about many of the myriad health benefits of Pycnogenol. Pycnogenol is not a single nutrient, but a precise blend of nutrients extracted from the bark of the French maritime pine. The nutrients include consistent proportions of procyanidins, which are very large structures somewhat like "daisy-chained" flavonoids (epicatechin and catechin). Pycnogenol further bears several bioflavonoids and polyphenols.
Schönlau: To date, Pycnogenol has been shown to be effective for so many great health issues that it gets difficult to explain how this plant extract can exert such broad contributions to health. A recent study published in PLOS ONE, together with other similar studies from the same group in Germany, offers a fascinating view on what is going on in the body after a human has taken Pycnogenol orally (13).
First of all, the procyanidins in Pycnogenol (which contains a standardized portion of 70% of them) are not immediately bioavailable because these molecules are far too large for absorption. The large procyanidin molecules are broken down into smaller molecules (i.e., metabolites). Initially, the circumstance that metabolites developing from procyanidins represent the active principal was discovered through the analysis of urine from student volunteers who consumed massive quantities of Pycnogenol, up to five grams in a single serving (14).
Passwater: Is it simply a matter of the procyanidin molecules being too large for passage through the intestinal walls or is it more complex than that?
Schönlau: Currently, there is a rapidly growing understanding among researchers about the interaction of dietary flavonoids and the bacteria present in our colons. In principal, flavonoids inhibit the growth of microorganisms; for this reason, fruits and vegetables produce flavonoids simply to protect themselves. The microflora (i.e., bacteria) prevailing in our gut have adapted to metabolize the procyanidins because, in essence, they don't "like" flavonoids. Polyphenols inhibit the growth of bacteria, and plants produce flavonoids as a rudimentary "immune system" to protect themselves from rotting.
After human consumption, flavonoids inhibit the growth of gut bacteria—unless some of them metabolize (or process) the flavonoids into smaller molecules that no longer affect bacteria. There exists a quite sophisticated ecosystem in our guts, and this is very much to our advantage.
An institute in Würzburg, Germany, led by Petra Högger Ph.D., has revealed the details on Pycnogenol's bioavailability in healthy student "volunteers" (most of them being her students, which casts some question on their voluntary status). They consumed a Pycnogenol tablet and blood was drawn in regular intervals to identify the parent Pycnogenol molecule appearance as well as the metabolites developing from bacterial processing of procyanidins (15). Small-size flavonoids such as catechin and taxifolin appear in the blood within 20 minutes. The procyanidins never appear in the bloodstream; however, from four hours after consumption onward, more and more of the metabolites appear in the blood. Because the metabolite appears with small structural variations, we commonly use the plural "metabolites."
Passwater: So, does something important happen to these procyanidin metabolites?
Schönlau: This group in Würzburg, Germany wondered why such extremely low quantities of the metabolites are found in blood. We are talking here about nanograms per mL blood. To give you an idea, this would be like a few grams distributed in an Olympic-size swimming pool. At such low concentrations, Pycnogenol metabolites are amazingly potent for improving cardiovascular health and also provide significant anti-inflammatory potency. Dr. Högger investigated whether the metabolites were bound to plasma proteins. Many pharmaceuticals are bound to albumin in the blood. While the monomers of Pycnogenol have an affinity to albumin, this is not the case for the metabolites (16).
Then, it became apparent that the metabolites are largely accumulating in cells of the blood and blood vessels. The metabolites are largely pooling in endothelial cells, leukocytes and red blood cells (17). That explains why researchers only found such ridiculously low concentrations in the blood itself. The red and white blood cells, and also the endothelial cells that line the interior of all blood vessels, are packed with Pycnogenol metabolites. Researchers identified that internalization in leukocytes leads to anti-inflammatory processes.
This finding is in agreement with a previous Italian study, also done with students, who took Pycnogenol for five days. Blood was drawn from students and the blood leukocytes were separated. The experiments showed that Pycnogenol consumption and, hence, the metabolites inhibited the generation of pro-inflammatory enzymes COX-2 (cyclooxygenase type-2) and 5-LOX (5-lipoxygenase) in white blood cells (18). The COX-2 enzymes produce prostaglandins in inflammation and are responsible for the pain. Remember the attempts to launch so-called COX-2–specific drugs? These very potent drugs controlled pain until it was discovered that the COX-2 enzyme plays important roles in other organs such as the kidney. Pycnogenol metabolites do not affect the activity of COX-2, but rather prevent their production during inflammatory situations.
There's no doubt that the metabolites render white blood cells less pro-inflammatory. Decreased expression of COX-2 enzyme with Pycnogenol lowers the required COX-2 inhibitors (like ibuprofen) in pain-related pathologies. Pycnogenol, though, is no COX-2–specific inhibitor as it does not affect constitutively expressed COX-2. 5-LOX is responsible for the generation of leukotrienes, another pro-inflammatory species especially involved in asthma. We have done three studies showing that Pycnogenol improves breathing in people suffering from asthma and in all of them, lowered leukotrienes were found. This pharmacologic study from Italy helps us to understand why!
In the cells lining our blood vessels (i.e., endothelial cells), Pycnogenol metabolites aid in providing more nitric oxide, which relieves vascular constriction. This is the centerpiece of Pycnogenol's contribution to a healthier cardiovascular system. When a blood vessel is more efficacious in locally relieving constrictions, blood pressure is improved, and oxygen and nutrient supply to organs is improved.
Passwater: Do the Pycnogenol metabolites have any other health benefit?
Schönlau: Well, you have been interested in the glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT4 for many decades. You and your readers may be pleased to know that the climax of this new research story is owed to the understanding of which mechanism is involved in taking up the metabolites from the bloodstream into endothelial cells and leukocytes.
It was exemplarily shown with red blood cells, which likewise accumulate the Pycnogenol metabolites, in a study published in PLOS ONE (13). The GLUT1 transporter does the job and computer modeling has shown that Pycnogenol metabolites have great structural similarity to vitamin C. The GLUT1 transporter is an insulin-independent gate through which glucose enters cells. Few cells in our body have the privilege of utilizing glucose permanently: all blood cells, endothelial cells and neurons.
When I went to university, we learned that red blood cells basically ship oxygen from the lungs to organs and carry back the waste carbon dioxide. In the meantime, it has been revealed that red blood cells do a lot more. They synthesize nitric oxide and thus contribute to releasing constriction of arteries. There is increasing evidence that transfusion of banked blood that has been stored for more than three weeks greatly affects a patient's circulation. This finding was most recently shown by Robert Neuman and coworkers at Emory University Hospital. Furthermore, red blood cells are very active in taking up oxidized vitamin C via the GLUT1 transporter for reducing it, and returning active vitamin C into the bloodstream.
Interestingly, it is exactly this GLUT1 transporter that is only present in mammals that lost the ability to synthesize vitamin C during evolution. We're in great company there with monkeys and hamsters. It is GLUT1 that pumps Pycnogenol metabolites into blood cells. The speculation here is that sometime during the history of mankind, the GLUT1 transporter developed to overcome the vitamin C shortage and use ascorbic acid with polyphenols. Obviously, polyphenols prolong the lifetime of dietary vitamin C in the body. The speculation now is whether the procyanidin metabolites coincidentally travel with the vitamin C or whether it developed because of mutual benefits. This question probably can never be answered. However, Dr. Albert Szent Györgyi, who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of vitamin C actions, argued that vitamin C is best accompanied by a substance he boldly termed "vitamin P" at the time, because it appeared that plant polyphenols exert similar functions as vitamin C.
To get back to GLUT1, this transporter is present in leukocytes, erythrocytes, endothelial cells and neuronal cells! The laboratory in Würzburg has in the meantime shown in an in vitro model with endothelial cells that Pycnogenol metabolites easily cross the blood–brain barrier. This isn't published yet. Leukocytes likewise accumulate vast quantities of vitamin C and this is believed to coincide with better immunity, such as for preventing a common cold. In endothelial cells, the Pycnogenol metabolite obviously contributes to greater generation of nitric oxide. The group in Würzburg is working heavily on the mechanisms, which turn out to be more difficult than thought. Cell culture experiments are typically carried out with "immortalized" cell types, which means they are of cancer origin. While they generate nitric oxide, the regulatory mechanisms do not reflect "real" endothelial cells. Primary cultures, such as from umbilical veins, are difficult to get and to handle.
Another remaining major mystery is which contributions the metabolites offer to the physiology in erythrocytes. They found that Pycnogenol interacts with glutathione, which raises the hopes for the possibility that the metabolite may assist the recycling of spent vitamin C. Since I went to university a long time ago, we learned erythrocytes carry around oxygen and carbon dioxide, regulated by slight variations of the pH value. Today, it turns out that erythrocytes represent a serious source of nitric oxide, red blood cells that contribute to vasorelaxation! Here again, it is difficult for the lab to get totally fresh red blood cells for investigation of what the metabolite is doing to them.
Passwater: Speaking of glucose transport, high blood glucose is a component of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome can significantly increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes. The American Heart Association (AHA) defines metabolic syndrome as the simultaneous presence of three of five risk factors, including central obesity (40+ inch waistline for men, 35+ inch waistline for women), low HDL (the so-called good) cholesterol, high blood pressure, high glucose (sugar) and high triglycerides (fat).
Schönlau: A clinical trial published in the January online issue of Phytotherapy Research found Pycnogenol to be effective in helping to reduce health risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome (19). Nearly 90% of study participants who supplemented a healthy diet and regular exercise with Pycnogenol showed significant improvement of all metabolic syndrome characteristics, including obesity and high blood pressure. This study found that Pycnogenol can aid people struggling with metabolic syndrome to control blood lipids, blood sugar and blood pressure. Results showed that those who supplemented healthy diet and moderate exercise with Pycnogenol were able to improve heart health and lose weight, reaching an almost normal body mass index (BMI). The study provides evidence that daily supplementation with Pycnogenol may offer a natural approach to help achieve healthy blood pressure, improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels and, ultimately, greater cardiovascular health.
The study, conducted at the Italian University of Chieti-Pescara, followed 130 subjects, ages 45–55 years old, who presented with all five risk factors of metabolic syndrome, as defined by the AHA. A controlled clinical trial was conducted and participants were given either placebo capsules or 50 mg of Pycnogenol three times daily. The results showed that risk factors of metabolic syndrome were all significantly improved at three months with supplementation of Pycnogenol, with further improvement at six months.
Those participants who supplemented with Pycnogenol were free of all five metabolic syndrome risk factors and were well within normal values within six months. More than half of subjects in the placebo group—those who did not take Pycnogenol—still presented with all five metabolic syndrome risk factors even after six months of diet and exercise.
Additionally, the study found that those patients who supplemented healthy diet and exercise with Pycnogenol achieved significant weight loss. Their waist circumference reached non-obese levels after three months (39 inches or less for men, 34 inches or less for women). In addition, their BMIs reached healthy values. Their BMI baseline average decreased from 26.7 to 25.1 kg/m2 after completion of the half-year trial.
Passwater: Well, the new research is not only interesting, but it is also important to so many people's health. Let's pause for now, and we'll pick up next month with a discussion of the benefits of Pycnogenol for cardiovascular health. WF
Note: The references for Part One of this column will follow Part Two in the December issue.
Dr. Richard Passwater is the author of more than 45 books and 500 articles on nutrition. Dr. Passwater has been WholeFoods Magazine's science editor and author of this column since 1984. More information is available on his Web site, www.drpasswater.com.
Published in WholeFoods Magazine, November 2013
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