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text:
Optical coherence tomography patterns of diabetic macular edema in a Saudi population
Authors Yassin SA, ALjohani SM, Alromaih AZ, Alrushood AA
Published 24 April 2019 Volume 2019:13 Pages 707—714
Sanaa A Yassin,1 Saud M ALjohani,1 Arwa Z Alromaih,2 Abdulaziz A Alrushood1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 2College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Purpose: The study aims to describe the patterns of diabetic macular edema (DME) and their association with visual acuity using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Patients and methods: This is a retrospective observational study with chart review of patients with DME including both type 1 and 2 diabetics seen between January 2015 and January 2016.
Main Outcome Measures: Type of diabetes, diabetes duration, best-corrected visual acuity, DME pattern, central macular thickness (CMT), and stage of diabetic retinopathy. DME was classified based on OCT scans into: sponge-like diffuse retinal thickness (SLDRT), cystoids macular edema (CME), and sub-retinal fluid (SRF).
Results: 227 eyes (144 patients) were included. The SLDRT represented 67.84%, CME 19.82%, and presence of SRF 2.20%. OCT scan from 21 patients (22 eyes) displayed more than a single pattern. The CMT and visual acuities varied depending on the DME morphologic patterns. SLDRT was associated with the least affected mean visual acuity of 0.2±0.21. SRF signified the worst mean visual acuities. Increase in CMT significantly correlated with reduced visual acuity (P=0.005). A statistically significant positive correlations between diabetic stage—high risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR)—with the CMT (P=0.050) and (P=0.021) respectively, were observed. A significant positive correlation between the duration of diabetes, age and type 1 diabetes with visual acuity in LogMAR (P=0.003), (P=0.03), and (P=0.0005) respectively.
Conclusions: SLDRT was the most common morphological subtype of DME patterns and increasing retinal thickness impaired the visual acuity. Older ages, longer diabetic duration and type 1 diabetes are considered significant risk factors for visual acuity impairment. The study also suggests that there is a significant correlation between the DME patterns and visual acuity.
Keywords: diabetic retinopathy, optical coherence tomography pattern, diabetic macular edema, DME morphologic patterns
Diabetes is a chronic and debilitating condition that affects 8.5% of adults aged 18 years and older worldwide and one of the leading global causes of morbidity and mortality rates.1 According to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health, in 1992 there were 0.9 million people diagnosed with diabetes, and in 2010 this figure increased to 2.5 million people.2 Thus, with high global prevalence rates of diabetes, associated complications such as: diabetic macular edema (DME) among diabetic patients is a serious health concern. DME carries deleterious sight-threatening risk. Studies have shown a significant correlation between retinal thickness and visual acuity.3,4 DME is believed to affect up to 15% of diabetic patients almost two decades since diagnosis.3 Several studies have demonstrated that about a quarter of diabetic patients may develop certain types of diabetic retinopathy, with incidence rates increasing significantly by the diabetic duration.5–7
DME develops when fluid leaks from incompetent vascular bed and accumulates in the retina.8 Diabetic retinopathy progresses through a series of stages: mild, moderate, severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), to high-risk PDR. The earlier diagnostic assessment methods of DME, including indirect funduscopic examination, stereoscopic photography, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and fluorescence angiography have failed to provide an efficient and reliable quantification of the macular edema.4,7,9–17 In addition, studies have affirmed that the previously adopted methods have a limited capacity to assess retinal thickness, and insufficient sensitivity to determine the unique details of the area examined.5,17 Monitoring of DME has significantly improved with the new advances and the development of objective techniques for the quantitative measurements of macular edema,5,18–21 including techniques like Heidelberg retinal tomography, retinal thickness analyzer and optical coherence tomography (OCT).14,22
The introduction of OCT in DME evaluation has unquestionably provided accurate and better measurements,10,23 with a sensitive and noninvasive technique16 that produced high-resolution images capable of determining subtle macular thickness in vivo measurements.15 OCT has widely been applied in measurements of central macular thickness (CMT) in healthy eyes.11,14,23 In addition, OCT proved vital in the diagnosis, and monitoring the response and/or the progression of diabetic retinopathy.24 The role of OCT has substantially been investigated for classification of the morphological pattern of DME.3,4,7,8,10,13,17,25,26 Consequently, it facilitated the identification and description of several OCT-based DME patterns including; sponge-like diffuse retinal thickness (SLDRT), cystoid macular edema (CME), and the presence of subretinal fluid (SRF). Several studies have shown SLDRT to be the most common pattern while the SRF pattern has been associated with the worst visual acuity.3,4,12,15,27 Recently, an innovative technique in OCT was introduced for imaging of the retinal microvasculatures known as OCT angiography (OCT-A). OCT-A is noninvasive procedure that is able to identify foveal capillary nonperfusion early in the course of the disease.28 Even OCT-A has an advantage over fundus fluorescein angiography of visualizing the different layers of foveal avascular zone (FAZ) individually.29,30 FAZ area and vascular density were used as measures of diabetic macular ischemia and were found to correlate with visual acuity in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) even without DME.31 The evolving OCT-A proficiency is increasingly employed in clinical practice.
The lack of data in Saudi Arabia, concerning the prevalence of the currently known OCT patterns of DME, prompted this study to evaluate the DME pattern prevalence with the OCT scan, and further correlate the patterns to DME with the visual acuity, duration of diabetes and stage of diabetic retinopathy among the Saudi population.
In this study, a retrospective chart review was performed on all diabetic patients (both type 1 and 2) with DME who undertook OCT evaluation at Al-Kahhal Medical Complex, Dammam, Saudi Arabia within a year from the period of January 2015 and January 2016. The study was approved by the Dhahran Eye Specialist Hospital-Institutional Review Board (DESH-IRB) and adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed verbal consent was obtained from the all subjects in this study as approved by DESH-IRB. The inclusion criteria included diabetic patients with evidence of DME on clinical biomicroscopic, funduscopic examinations, who had an OCT evaluation with CMT more than 250 µm within 500 µm from the center of the fovea and/or more than 300-µm macular thickness within 1,500 µm from the center of the fovea. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of all patient records and collection of data included gender, type of diabetes, diabetes duration, refraction, best-corrected Snellen visual acuity, and stage of diabetic retinopathy was made. Snellen visual acuities were converted to the LogMAR scale. The sampled number met the threshold number required in medical research to give a reproducible result as defined by Schimel et al.12 The exclusion criteria included; any diabetic patient, who received intravitreal injections, and/or who had tractional retinal detachment or vitreomacular traction. In addition, eyes with poor quality OCT scan or any other process that prohibited proper grading of OCT scan were excluded. In addition, patients having eyes with glaucoma, uveitis, retinitis pigmentosa and choroidal neovascular membrane were also excluded.
For each patient, the CMT was measured using a high-definition spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) (Cirrus HD-OCT; Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany). The OCT scans were performed by an experienced operator. Prior to the examination, the pupils were dilated. To measure the thicknesses of the macula the examiner obtained retinal images by performing 512 × 128 scan pattern where a 6 × 6-mm area on the retina is scanned with 128 horizontal lines, each consisting of 512 A-scans per line (total of 65,536 sampled points) within a scan time of 2.4 seconds. CMT in all four quadrants: superior, nasal, inferior and temporal, as well as mean were recorded. Internal fixation was used to ensure proper alignment of the eye. If the patient had poor fixation, the image could be centered on the macula by the photographer according to the fundus image generated by the machine. Only scans with signal strength of at least six were accepted.
The appearance of images on the OCT monitor of the 144 patients was the sole criteria for scoring the patterns. The criteria of scoring were based on the size of the retinal thickness greater than 250 μm characterized by smaller inter-retinal reflectivity and broad layers of reflectivity higher than 250 μm was defined as SLDRT, presence of CME was shown by the presence of oval and round parts of the image indicating low reflect-ability. SRF was identified by dome-like fluid accumulation in the subretinal space (Figure 1). The central macular thicknesses in diabetic patients were compared with values of normal retinal thicknesses in Saudi as established by Al-Zamil, which had a mean of 244.76±23.62 µm.23
Figure 1 Morphological calcification of optical coherence tomography (OCT) patterns in diabetic macular edema demonstrating (A) sponge-like diffuse retinal thickness (SLDRT), (B) cystoid macular edema (CME), and (C) subretinal fluid (SRF).
The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Grad Pack 25.0 Standard (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA), for the determination of significant associations Pearson correlation and multiregression analysis were performed. The study investigated the existence of correlations between various morphologic subtypes of DME pattern, CMT, stage of diabetic retinopathy, and visual acuity. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The study included 144 diabetic patients (227 eyes), 69 females and 75 males, with mean age 57.86±37.86 years (ranging from 20–85). The studied cohort included 56 type 1, and 88 type 2 diabetic patients. The average duration of diabetes was 17.4±8.2 years. Among the 144 diabetic patients, 11 were diagnosed as early PDR stage, 29 were high-risk PDR, and 21 were mild NPDR, 69 moderate NPDR, while 14 were severe NPDR stages.
OCT scan displayed three main patterns, namely; SLDRT (67.84% representing 154 eyes), CME (19.82% representing 45 eyes), and SRF (about 2.20% representing 5 eyes) (Table 1). OCT scan from 23 eyes of 21 patients displayed more than a single pattern (Table 1).
Table 1 Summary of the frequency of OCT based DME morphological patterns
The macular thickness varied according to the pattern of DME, the mean CMT in SLDRT was 287±201 μm, in CME was 382±250 μm, and in SRF was 382±166 μm (Table 2).
Table 2 Mean visual acuity and retinal thickness within subtypes of DME
The overall mean visual acuity in LogMAR was 0.41±0.33. The worst mean visual acuity of the DME morphologic patterns was seen in eyes with SRF (0.62±0.21), P=0.004 (Table 2 and Table 3). There was a statistically significant correlation between morphologic patterns (SLDRT, CME, and SRF) and visual acuity with P-values (0.008, 0.005, and 0.004) respectively.
Table 3 Correlations between morphologic subtypes with visual acuity
There was a positive correlation between diabetic stage and macular thickness; with high-risk PDR P=0.050 and severe NPDR P=0.021 being statistically significant (Table 4). Besides, there was also a positive correlation between diabetic stage (severe NPDR and high-risk PDR) with morphological patterns (SLDRT and CME) (Table 5).
Table 4 Correlations between diabetic stage and macular thickness
Table 5 Correlations between diabetic retinopathy stage and subtypes of DME
There was a positive correlation between CMT and visual acuity measurement with mean visual acuity in LogMAR 0.41±0.33, r =0.473 and P=0.005, and a positive linear regression (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Graph showing relationship between central macular thickness (CMT) and visual acuity.
The correlation of DME patterns with age, and duration of diabetes were also examined. Out of 144 patients, 83 patients (57.6%) were experiencing DME bilaterally while 35 (24.3%) and 26 (18.1%) patients were experiencing DME on their right eye and left eye respectively. In addition, results showed a positive correlation between diabetic duration, age and type 1 diabetes with visual acuity in LogMAR measurements with (r=0.027, P=0.003), (r=0.218, P=0.030) and (r=0.342, P=0.0005) respectively as shown in (Figure 3, Figure 4 and Table 6).
Table 6 Significant correlations of diabetic type, age, and duration with visual acuity
Figure 3 Graph showing relationship between duration and visual acuity (LogMAR).
Figure 4 Graph showing relationship between age and visual acuity (LogMAR).
The identification of the DME pattern is essential in predicting the evolution of the disease and its response to treatment; with the sponge-like type being designated to have a better outcome than the other two subtypes.4,32 In the current study, the most commonly observed DME subtype was SLDRT. However, the frequency of SLDRT was less than that described earlier, being present in 67.84% of the DME. CME was the second-most frequent with a frequency of 19.82%, while the SRF was present in 2.20% of 5 eyes. In comparison with the frequency that was reported by others sponge-like type varied between 45–97%.3–5,25,32,33
This study also confirmed that the occurrence of a specific OCT pattern does not exclude other patterns from occurring within the same eye.5,8,17,24,34,35 However, only a limited number of cases 9.69% (23 eyes) of 21 patients had more than one pattern observed (Table 1). Consequently, this showed that spongy/cystoid DME is the most common while spongy/cystoid/SRF is the least common. In contrast to our findings, Kim et al's4 study reported combination of different patterns of DME occurring in 44.3% of eyes. However, the most common combination was spongy/cystoid DME described in 29% of eyes.4
In agreement with literature,7,36–38 this study also found that visual acuity varied with different DME patterns (Table 3). All DME OCT patterns; SLDRT, CME and SRF showed significant positive correlations with visual acuity in LogMAR with P-values of 0.008, 0.005, and 0.004 respectively (Table 3). However, as per this study's findings, visual acuity was better among the patients with the spongy pattern compared with the other patterns. This difference in level of visual acuity with different patterns can be explained based on the corresponding mean retinal thickness associated with the DME pattern, and which is believed to be directly affecting vision.6,39,40
The study established a statistically significant positive correlation between diabetic retinopathy stage (high-risk PDR and severe NPDR) and the CMT (P=0.050) and (P=0.021) respectively (Table 4). This finding is in agreement with Browning et al41 who found that severe NPDR and PDR eyes had thicker macula in comparison to other stages.
Similarly, the study established a significant positive correlation between the severe NPDR stage of diabetic retinopathy with morphological pattern SLDRT with P=0.013 and high-risk PDR with SLDRT and CME with P=0.024 and P=0.034 respectively (Table 5). In contrast to Alkuraya et al5 the prevalence of SLDRT was significantly higher in eyes with mild-to-moderate NPDR than in eyes with severe NPDR to proliferative retinopathy P=0.0069. Moreover, the prevalence of SRF was significantly higher in eyes with severe NPDR to PDR than in eyes with mild-to-moderate NPDR P=0.0056. However, there was an agreement between the two studies regarding SLDRT that had significantly the best visual acuity and the SRF that had the worst visual acuity, and that CMT was significantly thicker in SRF eyes than in eyes with SLDRT.
The current study was in line with most of the previous studies regarding the effects of increased CMT on visual acuity and supporting that the thicker the retinal layer, the greater the visual impairment (Table 2).3–6,10,33 Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between CMT and visual acuity in LogMAR, P=0.005, (Table 3). The correlation of the duration of diabetes, age of diabetic patients, type of diabetes, and gender to visual acuity were also examined. There was a positive correlation between the duration of diabetes, age and type 1 diabetes with visual acuity in LogMAR (P=0.003), (P=0.03), and (P=0.0005) respectively (Table 6). Thus, the duration of diabetes, age, and type 1 diabetes were recognized to be possible contributing risk factors for consideration, being statistically significant. Similarly Ghosh et al8 found the duration of diabetes has a significant correlation with CMT P=0.002, r=0.440. Likewise, older age and type 1 diabetes were found to be significant risk factors for DME as in the studies by Asensio et al42 and Acan et al,15 respectively.
Limitations of the study include its retrospective design, and the difficulty to rule out ischemic changes as a contributing factor for visual acuity loss due to unavailability of OCT-A at time of conducting the study. OCT-A can measure the FAZ area and vascular density in diabetic macular ischemia and was found to correlate with visual acuity in patients with DR even without DME.31
Our study showed that SLDRT pattern offered the best visual acuity, and was the most common OCT scan pattern amongst the DME patients in the Saudi population; and that increased retinal thickness correlated with reduced visual acuity and diabetic retinopathy stage. Additionally, older age, duration of diabetes, type 1 diabetes and diabetic retinopathy stage are considered significant risk factors for visual acuity impairment in patients with DME.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Home > Departments > Faculty > Paul Burke Ph.D.
Dr. Burke received an A.B. and Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1965 and 1971, respectively. He has been at Clark since 1976. He is affiliated with the programs in Ancient Civilization, Comparative Literature, Holocaust Studies, and Race and Ethnic Relations.
Dr. Burke teaches a wide variety of courses on the Clark campus, including: Introduction to Classical Greek, Jews and Christians in the Ancient World, Classical Mythology, Roman Art and Architecture, and Religious Experience in the Ancient World. He has taught a course on Roman archaeology in Clark's Luxembourg May Term and has directed numerous study-abroad tours of Southern Italy and Sicily.
Dr. Burke is past president of the Vergilian Society which offers, through its Classical Summer School, courses on Greek and Roman history, art, and archaeology in Southern Italy, France, Israel, and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. He has published research on the Roman poet Vergil, malaria in ancient history, and ancient religion, including early Christianity. His book, Olympians: The Gods and Goddesses of Classical Greece, was published in 2001.
Olympians: The Gods and Goddesses of Classical Greece (Luxembourg: Centre Alexandre Wiltheim) 2001.
"Malaria in the Graeco-Roman World," in Aufsteig und Niedergang der Römischen Welt/Rise and Decline of the Roman World, Volume II.37.3 (de Gruyter, Berlin and New York: 1995), pp. 2252-2281.
"Roman Rites for the Dead and the Cult of the Saints," in Roman Religion in Gallia Belgica and the Germaniae, pp. 1-12.


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Novartis Phase III study in acute heart failure
Ablynx initiates the first of two Phase IIb RA studies with its anti-IL-6R nanobody, partnered with Abbvie
Warning over new drug-resistant bug
Cancer treatment breakthrough hope
Drug reaction death rate doubles
Two new TB drugs reach phase III
Phase III study results show that investigational RLX030 (serelaxin) reduced all-cause mortality in patients with acute heart failure (AHF).[1] The six-month RELAX-AHF study shows that RLX030 reduces the number of deaths in patients with this disease, which has a higher mortality rate than most other cardiovascular diseases.[2]
The study had two primary endpoints using different scales to measure reduction in dyspnea, only one of which reached statistical significance[1]. Dyspnea, or shortness of breath, is the most common symptom of AHF.[3] RLX030 was well tolerated in the study.[1]
RELAX-AHF was a Phase III clinical trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of RLX030 for the treatment of AHF. It was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 1,161 patients in 11 countries.[1] In the study, RLX030 was given on admission to the hospital in the form of an intravenous infusion for up to 48 hours in addition to loop diuretics and other medicines and was compared to placebo on top of standard of care treatment for AHF.[4,5]
The study will be presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) congress in Los Angeles in November, 2012. Novartis will initiate discussions of the results of this single Phase III study with health authorities worldwide shortly.
Heart failure is a disease in which the heart is unable to supply enough blood to meet the body's needs.[6,7] Around half of all patients die within five years of diagnosis,[8] particularly as a result of acute episodes in which their symptoms suddenly become worse and urgent hospital treatment is needed.[6] Acute heart failure (AHF) places an enormous burden on healthcare systems and accounts for around two million hospitalisations each year in the EU and US.[9]
RLX030 is the first in a new class of medicines and is a recombinant form of the human hormone relaxin-2 which occurs naturally in both men and women.[10] In women, levels of relaxin-2 rise to support important physiological changes during pregnancy.[10] Serelaxin acts by relaxing the blood vessels, leading to reduced stress on the heart and kidneys in both men and women.[11]
Novartis Pharma AG. Data on file.
Roger VL, Go AS, Lloyd-Jones DM, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2011 Update. A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011;123:e18-e209.
Goldberg RJ, Spencer FA, Szklo-Coxe M, et al. Symptom presentation in patients hospitalized with acute heart failure. Clin Cardiol. 2010;33:e73-80.
Clinicaltrials.gov: Efficacy and Safety of Relaxin for the Treatment of Acute Heart Failure (RELAX-AHF). http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00520806; Accessed September 2012.
Ponikowski P, Metra M, Teerlink JR, et al. Design of the RELAXin in Acute Heart Failure Study. Am Heart J. 2012;163:149-55.
McMurray JJV, Adamopoulos S, Anker SD, et al. ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure 2012: The Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute and Chronic Heart Failure 2012 of the European Society of Cardiology. Developed in collaboration with the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC. Eur Heart J. 2012;33:1787-1847.
Hunt SA, Abraham WT, Chin MH, et al. 2009 Focused Update Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA 2005 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Heart Failure in Adults: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;53:e1-90.
Roger VL, Lloyd-Jones DM, Benjamin EJ, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics – 2012 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2012;125:e2-e220.
Opportunity Assessment for Relaxin in Acute Heart Failure, Decision Resources. Oct 2010.
Dschietzig T, Bartsch C, Baumann G, et al. Relaxin – a pleiotropic hormone and its emerging role for experimental and clinical therapeutics. Pharmacol Therap. 2006;112:38-56.
Conrad KP. Unveiling the vasodilatory actions and mechanisms of relaxin. Hypertension. 2010;56:2-9.
CHMP issues positive opinion of zonisamide
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Dragon Quest Builders is an sandbox action role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita consoles. The game is set in Alefgard, the world of the original Dragon Quest video game, and players control the savior who is tasked with rebuilding the world after it was destroyed by the evil Dragonlord. The game features a voxel aesthetic style, with gathering and building elements similar to Minecraft and Terraria. Papercraft from Dragon Quest Japan website.


I am a research scientist at Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California. I recieved my Ph.D. from the Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland College Park (UMD) advised by Lise Getoor.
My research interests include Graph-based Data Science and Machine Learning, Statistical Relational Learning, Multi-Relational and Heterogeneous Graph Mining, and Biomedical and Health Informatics.
I received M.Sc. degrees in Bioinformatics and Software Engineering. Prior to ISI, I have worked with various research institutes including Microsoft Research Redmond, Yahoo! Labs Sunnyvale, University of California Santa Cruz, and Henry Ford Hospital, and startups such as Turi (ex. Graphlab) and The Meet Group (ex. Tagged). I have published papers, been the program committee, and organized workshops at conferences such as KDD, ICML, NIPS, WWW, SDM, ICDM, and WSDM.


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Joseph Alan Fears & Zafaja Live At Heart Of Dixie Club (200 hits)
Born in Nebraska in Late 1950s, Joseph Alan fears began a musical Journey As A Very Young Kid ,at Age 4 he Had Learned To Play The Guitar ,And By 5yrs Old He Was Playing The Drums, Mostly Learning "Blues Songs .
He Started His Musicial career in 1968, At age 12 Joseph began as a bass guitar player & singer, performing with various well known R&B bands . From 1970-1974 joseph performed with a band called "Kool-Sat & the Second Breeze" and recorded There first song "How Does it Feel", although, the song was written by all of the band members-Albert Whitaker(drums) Mythias Wright(guitar & vocals) & Micheal Jackson(organ). - while Living In Kansas.
Back in 1970, Joseph was the first to join (bmi) & copyright the tune in 1976. In 1978 Joseph began recording his own songs on his own record labels(Jaff records(USA). He released' Picture of Love" in 1985 "Some Things Never Change" in 1987, "Back Where I Belong" in 1994 "Urban Traffic Jazz" in 1998, "Creations" in 2000, "Himisfears" in 2001, "Layin it on the Line" in 1988, "Flavorizum" in 2000, "The prophet" in 2002, "Lady" in 2003, "Don't Step on my Blues" in 2004, "Zafaja band live featuring Joseph Alan Fears" in 2005. In 2008 he released the cd" Retroperspectives", in 2009 "Never Gonna Fall Again" and "All By Myself" followed in 2010. "Live at Oakdale Park" was released in 2011 and "Tap Out That Jazz" in 2012.
Joseph Alan Fears has also released a new-side cd titled "Notes unspoken" witch hales some super jazzygroove instrumenal songs .
In 2013 Its The R&B/Jazz CD/Project "Zafaja" Featuring Joseph Alan fears" Live At The Blue Goat -It features Several Live recording of Joseph & The Band In Concert Like" The Song"Picture Of Love", "Must Be Something In The Water", "I Told You So", Something's Wrong", And Others. You Can Find Most On This website Or by Going Spotify, Itunes, Rhapsody, And Several Other Major Music Distributors On Line. So Now Today ? Joseph Alan Fears performs His Original Songs With His Band"Zafaja" And Continues To Travel Where ever The Music takes Him, Based On His fan base Joseph has Presented His Music To More Than 20 Countries & All Over The USA. To Contact Him? Just Look On Youtube, Itunes, Amaozon, Spotify, Billboard, or reverbnation, And Probably Any Other Major Music Digital Distributor On The Internet. 2015 Has The new CDs ' "Gettin Better All The Time" & Touchin" First Bass" -The Easy Side Of Me" Available In July . It When Finished, Will Introduce Joseph's Neo Jazz & R&B Music Styles To His Music Fans, Look For It & watch For Joseph Alan Fears Live - Comming To Your City Soon. In 2016 Joseph Alan Fears Has Released A New Smoothjazz CD" titled"IT"S SUNNY (But It"s Still Too Hot) witch you can hear on myspace, itunes,amazon, and spotify. Joseph Alan Fears I Currently Performing Live In USA and Can Be Seen Every Third Satudaynight At Ad Astoria Coffee Shop In His Hometown Performing At The "OPEN JAM" For Bookings In Your Area Or To Find Out More ? Contact JAFF RECORD LABELS USA P.O. BOX 3134 Salina,Kansas 67402-3134 USA Or Just "Google" Joseph Alan Fears…
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JAFF RECORD LABELS USA "present" R&B/JAZZ MUSIC SINGER SONGWRITER "JOSEPH ALAN FEARS " & ZAFAJA BAND LIVE
JAFF RECORD LABELS USA "Present "Joseph Alan Fears & Zafaja Band Live At The "Blue Goat Club"
Bassist & R&B/Jazz Singer Songwriter Joseph Alan Fears On CATV
Joseph Alan Fears & Zafaja band Live At Open Jam Blues Nite
PICTURE OF LOVE - Performed By Joseph Alan Fears & ZAFAJA BAND LIVE
Joseph Alan Fears & Zafaja band Live At Oakdale Park
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Nokia and Microsoft Partnership To Be Announced Next Week ?
We reported yesterday about the possibility of a partnership between Nokia and Microsoft happening. Looks like, there is going to be an official announcement from the two corporate giants apparently on the 11th of February which is actually the Capital Markets Day. Nokia and Microsoft would be having a partnership for the third time if this new one is to happen , with the previous two being in 2007 and 2009.
The Finnish company Nokia, once the mobile market giant (from nineties till early 21st century) is looking for a resurgence as far as its Symbian and Meego operating systems are concerned. So, a partnership with MS which has alos launched its Windows 7 phone could come in handy to face the stiff competition from Android and Apple.
The earlier partnerships have not yielded anything worthwhile, so let us hope that this partnership can get third time lucky.
Next Next post: Prices of Gaming Consoles To Drop Soon?


Last week Thursday, I attended a concert by artist Nataly Dawn. She is touring with two other singer-songwriters, Ryan Lerman and Lauren O'Connell, and you couldn't ask for a better power trio. They were brilliant. I bought two tickets to their show, one for me and one as a very-belated birthday present for my friend Bob. And I also quickly snagged a chance to purchase a private, backstage guitar lesson from the very talented Ryan Lerman, who was offering that opportunity as first-come, first-serve.
I've been playing guitar myself, on and off, for over 13 years now, so suffice it to say that I am pretty comfortable with my own playing abilities. I know my way around the fretboard, and I can usually pick up most songs pretty quickly. Going into the guitar lesson, my motivations were less about learning new techniques and more centered on discussion of audio equipment, audio production, recording techniques, and songwriting in general. I thought I probably didn't have much to learn about actual playing techinque. And I was most certainly wrong! I got to witness firsthand what the difference between being an amateur musician and a professional musician really is.
I did still talk with Ryan about all the production value things I wanted to talk about, and he had a wealth of knowledge to draw from. I'm grateful I brought a pen and paper to write some of it down. But the best part of the lesson was talking about music theory and chord progressions with him. Like I said, I thought I knew my way around the fretboard, but I was wrong. That man knows his way around the fretboard, and traverses it so effortlessly and with such polish. And dammit, that man has swagger.
Now, let me share two quotations with you. The first is from a 20th century science fiction author, and the second is from a 19th century female pastor.
"...there is no excellence without labor in a direct line. One cannot scatter his fire, and at the same time hit the mark."
At first these quotes might seem contradictory, but I actually try to live by both. I love the Heinlein quote because he's talking about being a Renaissance man, wearing many different hats, being well-rounded. I love that idea; it's fun to learn and try new things. But I also recognize the truth in the Eddy quote as well. At the end of the day, I'm a computer programmer. It's what I do really well, partially because I spend at least nine hours a day writing code. I have all sorts of varied hobbies and obligations that I do after work, but the bulk of my day is always spent programming.
I'm decently good at guitar, because I've played it for so long, but I realized last Thursday that I will probably never be as good as Ryan Lerman. And the reason is that at the end of the day, I am a programmer and he is a musician. That's what he spends at least nine hours each day doing. And there really is no substitute for that; no shortcut to excellence for hobbyists like me. If you want perfection, you have to practice, practice, practice.
Songs are like bringing someone into your house. The verse is your living room, the chorus is your kitchen, and both are visible pretty much immediately upon entering. The bridge section shows people a brand new part of your house that they hadn't noticed before, maybe the backyard or basement, and so that's your chance to modulate and try all sorts of new things.
Not every song needs a bridge. If it feels complete, don't try to force it.
Try to have the melody land on, and sustain, the "cool" notes -- the transition notes outside the main triad, like the 9th or 11th (aka 2nd or 4th). That keeps things moving.
Diminished and half-diminished chords are fun.
Common tones are nice and Louis Cole uses them a lot.
Open triads often sound better than closed ones.
Try not to repeat notes in a chord.
It was so inspiring hanging out with Ryan. I'd really like to introduce you all to some of his music, so I thought about including one of his YouTube videos here. But rather than do that, I figured it would be worthwhile to record my own cover of one of his songs and perform that myself, just to show that his lesson paid off. And actually, the one I want to share isn't really his. It's a duet of him and Lauren, and Lauren wrote it. Now please keep in mind, I am a computer programmer first, a guitar player second, and a vocalist... well not really a vocalist. What I'm trying to say is that this won't be American Idol quality vocals. But without any further adieu, here's a video of me performing "I Belong to You" by Lauren O'Connell. Enjoy.
Great song! Both the vocals and guitar (especially the picking) is rad.
I love that lyric- "I do not belong to the night- I belong to you."
Thanks so much Ginger! Yeah, the first time I heard this song I fell in love with it. Definitely check out the original version too. And another one that's good to check out by Ryan is called This is my Piano.
Man you gotta stop apologizing for your voice and just sing!I really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Mat. You guys are the best.
Hey Gordon, Really enjoyed that. It was finger-pluckin' good. :) Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for you to share one of your songs.
Nice job. Love the selflessness of it all.
The lyric "I do not belong to the night-I belong to YOU", has an obvious spiritual connotation for me.
Gordon, I really appreciate all of your endeavors and your posts. You are a blessing in this world. I always gain inspiration from checking in. I glimpse the light of the Christ here.


News: PragmaDev listed in the on-line directory of solution providers for future industry.
AIF (Alliance Industrie du Futur) society organizes on a national level initiatives, projects, and works aiming at modernizing industry in France.
PragmaDev Studio is a recognized modeling tool to describe complex communicating systems. Cyber Physical Systems combine event driven and clock driven elements, critical parts and non critical parts. For that purpose PragmaDev Studio V5.3 introduces the support of Functional Mockup Interface FMI V2.0.
News: PragmaDev will exhibit at the next ERTS2 conference.
The ERTS2 Congress is a unique International cross sector event on Embedded Software and Systems, the "place to be" for actors from universities, research centers and industries. PragmaDev will exhibit at the conference and will present a system optimization case study in the space domain.
News: PragmaDev launches a student contest to address the IoT market.
PragmaDev Studio modeling and testing technologies are perfect to describe the expected interactions between generic entities. The rapid development of the internet of things raises new challenges related to deployment, security, and ecology. In that context, the objective of the competition is to specify a network protocol that addresses the following aspects: meshed networks, security handling, identity management, energy saving.
Show: PragmaDev exhibits at the Transrail Connection.
The international event for railway and urban mobility: Railway technology, Infrastructures, Interiors, Civil engineering, Traffic and exploitation. 180 exhibitors, 30 conferences, 5000 B2B meetings and an innovation showroom.
Video: V5.2 new features webinar.
A presentation of V5.2 new features and in particular the ETSI TTCN-3 SIP support.


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Finistere. She sells her car on the Bon Coin and is gassed by three people who seize it
A woman was assaulted and her car stolen on Sunday near Brest in Finistère after posting an ad online on Bon Coin West France reports.
She had an appointment with a potential buyer of her vehicle that she had put up for sale on the classifieds site.
The saleswoman and a person accompanying her agreed to allow the buyer to test the car. They then got into the back of the vehicle and, when driving off, the buyer turned around and sprayed them with tear gas. Then the buyer pushed them outside with the help of three accomplices. The group then fled with the car.
The buyer was arrested four hours after the incident by the gendarmes who had deployed an important device.
The other suspects were also identified and arrested.
All will have to answer for their acts before the judge next January.
PrevThe price of electricity falls over the weekend
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Covid-19: a Miami-London flight is turned around because a passenger refuses to wear her mask


Nashville hot scrapple; whole chicken with kale and crispy potatoes; warm seasonal cobbler with ice cream.
Working closely with local suppliers, Chef Andy Little and the team at Josephine bring Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine to the upper south. Inside a candlelit, convivial room, Little embraces his roots through his dishes (the hot scrapple says it all), as well as his new home with strong partnerships in the Nashville community.
"We are very dedicated to buying produce from boutique growers, thus helping them explore different products", Little says. For example, the restaurant is involved with an urban farmer who is growing heirloom seeds from the Pennsylvania Dutch area where Little grew up, in hope of bringing some of these flavorsome crops to Middle Tennessee.


Bantu, a provider of secure enterprise instant messaging to federal agencies, announced today that it is compliant with IPv6 and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).
Bantu's support for these next-generation protocols, combined with extensive search and locating capabilities, will enable more than 3.5 million military personnel to communicate and collaborate in real time, the company said in a statement.
The Internet Engineering Task Force designed IPv6 to replace IPv4. The Office of Management and Budget has mandated that federal agencies adopt the next-generation protocol by 2008. IPv6 significantly increases IP address space, improves network administration and includes standardized security features.
As an early IPv6 adopter, Bantu said its customers will be able to use its enhanced services as soon as agencies configure their networks for it.
XMPP is the task force's formalization of the Extensible Markup Language streaming protocols for instant messaging. Within the government, for example, there are numerous workgroups that use XMPP-based tools for instant messaging, Bantu said.


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Abstract for TR-332
https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/tr332abs
Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Gavage Studies)
CASRN: 149-30-4
Chemical Formula: C7H5NS2
Synonyms/Common Names: Captax; Dermacid; Mertax; Thiotax; 2(3H)-benzothiazolethione; 2-benzothiazolyl mercaptan
Report Date: May 1988
FULL REPORT PDF
Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of technical-grade 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (96%-97% pure), a rubber accelerant and preservative, were conducted by administering the chemical by gavage in a corn oil vehicle to groups of F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice of each sex for 16 days, 13 weeks, or 2 years. 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole was nominated for study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Sixteen-Day and Thirteen-Week Studies:
In 16-day studies, mean body weight gains of rats receiving 2,500 mg/kg were 6-7 g lower than those of vehicle controls; 4/5 male and 5/5 female mice dosed with 3,000 mg/kg and 4/5 female mice dosed with 1,500 mg/kg died; lethargy and prostration occurred in most of these animals after gavage. Based on these results, doses were selected for both species in the 13-week studies were 0, 94 (mice only), 188, 375, 750, and 1,500 mg/kg.
In the 13-week studies, no chemical-related deaths occurred in rats, but body weight gains in males dosed with 1,500 mg/kg and in females dosed with 750 or 1,500 mg/kg were lower than those in the vehicle control groups. Hepatomegaly occurred at the two highest doses in males and at all doses in females; however, no microscopic pathologic changes were noted in any tissue. More than half the mice dosed with 1,500 mg/kg died, but no compound-related body weight changes occurred. Clinical signs in mice were dose related and included lethargy in animals dosed with 375 mg/kg and lacrimation, salivation, and clonic seizure in some dosed with 750 or 1,500 mg/kg. No association between these clinical signs of toxicity and gross or microscopic pathologic effects were observed. Doses selected for the 2-year studies were 0, 375, and 750 mg/kg for male rats and for mice of each sex and 0, 188, or 375 mg/kg for female rats.
Body weight and Survival in the Two-Year Studies:
Fifty animals of each species and sex were administered 2-mercaptobenzothiazole in corn oil by gavage 5 days per week for 103 weeks. Administration of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole resulted in decreased survival in dosed male rats (vehicle control, 42/50; low dose, 22/50; high dose, 20/50) and in the high dose group of female mice (37/50; 39/50; 22/50) but not in female rats (28/50; 31/50; 25/50) or in male mice (38/50; 33/50; 30/50). No effect on body weight gain in dosed rats was observed; in dosed mice, minor reductions occurred between weeks 3 and 64, withrecovery thereafter. Postgavage lethargy and prostration occurred frequently in dosed rats and mice.
Nonneoplastic and Neoplastic Effects in the Two-Year Studies:
The severity of nephropathy was increased in dosed male rats. Ulcers and inflammation of the forestomach were prevalent in dosed rats, as were increased incidences of epithelial hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis in male rats, but no neoplasms of the forestomach were observed. There were no increases of nonneoplastic lesions in mice which were considered to be compound related.
The incidences of a variety of tumors were increased in rats dosed with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole; some of the increased incidences were not dose related. In low dose male rats, increased incidences (P<0.01) were observed for mononuclear cell leukemia (7/50; 16/50; 3/50) and pancreatic acinar cell adenomas (2/50; 13/50; 6/49). Increased tumor incidences with dose-related trends (P<0.05) included pituitary gland adenomas in females (15/49; 24/50; 25/50), preputial gland adenomas or carcinomas (combined) in males (1/50; 6/50; 5/50), adrenal gland pheochromocytomas or malignant pheochromocytomas (combined) in males (18/50; 27/50; 24/49), and pheochromocytomas in females (1/50; 5/50; 6/50). These tumors were observed at significantly greater incidences (P<=0.05) in the high dose groups than in the vehicle controls.
An increased incidence (P=0.028) of hepatocellular adenomas or carcinomas (combined) was observed only in low dose female mice (4/50; 12/49; 4/50). No significant increases in tumor incidences were seen in male mice.
Genetic Toxicology:
2-Mercaptobenzothiazole was not mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, or TA1537 with or without metabolic activation. In the presence of rat liver S9, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole increased the frequency of chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, as well as mutations at the TK locus of mouse L5178Y lymphoma cells.
Audit:
The data, documents, and pathology materials from the 2-year studies of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole were audited at the NTP Archives. The audit findings show that the conduct of the studies is documented adequately and support the data and results given in this Technical Report.
Under the conditions of these 2-year gavage studies, there was some evidence of carcinogenic activity of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole for male F344/N rats, indicated by increased incidences of mononuclear cell leukemia, pancreatic acinar cell adenomas, adrenal gland pheochromocytomas, and preputial gland adenomas or carcinomas (combined). There was some evidence of carcinogenic activity for female F344/N rats, indicated by increased incidences of adrenal gland pheochromocytomas and pituitary gland adenomas. There was no evidence of carcinogenic activity of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole for maleB6C3F1 mice dosed with 375 or 750 mg/kg. There was equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity for female B6C3F1 mice, indicated by increased incidences of hepatocellular adenomas or carcinomas (combined).
2-Mercaptobenzothiazole: Target Organs and Levels of Evidence for TR-332
Web page last updated onLast updated Dec. 6, 2017


Learn English with the British Council and you'll be learning with the world's English experts. We have been teaching English for more than 75 years and have helped more than 100 million people in 100 different countries improve their English skills and build their confidence.
Register for our April semester today!
UK/UAE 2017 season of arts and events in the UAE aimed at building new audiences, creating new collaborations and strengthening relationships.


After twenty-six years of marriage, Teal Greenwood has a prophetic dream that she's going to lose her husband, Alex, and twenty-two year old son, Zackary, in a plane crash. Alex scoffs at her prediction, and one week later, the police arrive to tell her something she already knows. Alex and Zackary are dead!
Ex-Ontario Provincial Police officer-turned carpenter, Camden Brooke, to build an addition on Teal's home, for a young pregnant woman. The brawny Canadian-Scotsman takes one look into Teal's Caribbean-green eyes, and falls for her.
Afraid to love again, Teal struggles to keep the block of ice around her heart, but can Cam charm his way through, forcing her to live, and love again?
"I told you it was beautiful, didn't I love?" Cam spoke low in his lilting Scottish burr. It had been a week since the incident with Simeon, and her bruises were nearly gone.
"I wish you'd stop calling me that, Cam," Teal said quietly, staring at the incredible scene before her.
"Call you what?" His teasing tone was lost to her as she stared at the crashing waves, the pearly white spray flying up into the air. She marvelled at the way the moonlight glittered on the rolling water, hypnotizing, mesmerizing, a feast for her artist's eye.
"It's a little soon for me, Teal, but if you're game, I am." He snickered, watching her face when she realized what he'd said.
"What?" She turned her confused gaze at him.
Consternation marred her brow, "What the hell are you talking about, you bloody Scotsman? Are you completely insane, or are you ready for a temporary stint in a straight jacket?" Her hands were on her hips, her eyes spitting fire. She was stunning.
Shaking her head at his complete change of subject, Teal threw up her hands, and turned away from him, heading down the beach.
"Cry out loud. Very loud, if I don't miss my guess!" He leered at her playfully, slipping his hands around her waist, and pulling her close.
Laughing in delight, he tried to kiss her, but she turned her cheek, his warm lips accepted the offering and caressed her soft skin, nuzzling his nose in the crook of her neck.
Gasping, Teal pulled away, her heart pounding in response to his heat.
"Take…me…home…now!" she said, biting off each word.
"No. Now are you going to come have a drink with me? I'm fair parched." His boyish grin was her undoing.
"No, you…oh, what's the use, you'll just twist what I say to sound like what you want anyway. There's no talking to you.


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PREVIEW | Yeovil Town v Cheltenham Town
All their points have come in Somerset, with victories over Accrington Stanley and Coventry City in August.
Huish Park is also a happy hunting ground for Southampton hotshot Olufela Olomola, who has netted three goals in two games at home as well as a further strike in the pre-season friendly against Championship outfit Bristol City.
Another loanee in Matt Worthington, who signed from AFC Bournemouth until January, could make his debut this weekend when Yeovil host Cheltenham Town.
The Robins are currently bottom of the table with just one win to their name.
Manager Gary Johnson bolstered his options towards the end of the transfer window with a trio of loans from Bristol City, experienced keeper Scott Flinders and ex-West Ham United youngster Jaanai Gordon.
All five featured for the Gloucestershire side last weekend but couldn't prevent them from suffering a 1-0 defeat to Stevenage.
Town are unbeaten in their last three games at home to Cheltenham Town.
Last season, Otis Khan set the Glovers on their way to a 4-2 victory at Huish Park.
Before that match, the Green and Whites hadn't faced the Robins in Somerset since Boxing Day 2008.
Dean Whitestone will be the man in the middle this weekend.
All of Mr Whitestone's league matches have come in League One this season.
The Bedfordshire-born official has refereed seven games last season, dishing out 18 yellow cards but no reds.
Coy officiated three Town fixtures last term – both ties against Newport County and the draw at Accrington.
He will be assisted by Kevin Morris (Herefordshire) and Craig Taylor (West Midlands) with Marc Whaley (Devon) acting as fourth official.
Darren Way and Ryan Dickson's pre-match interviews can be watched in full for free on iFollow Glovers.
On matchday, minute-by-minute updates will be provided on YTFC's official Twitter account and live matchday centre.
If you're unable to attend the game, live audio commentary is available via the iFollow Glovers service, with the monthly and season subscriptions offering full-match replays from Sunday.
A full match report will follow on YTFC.net at full-time with post-match reaction from the manager and a member of the playing staff following soon after.
Fans can still buy tickets in advance in person at the ticket office, online or by phone on 01935 847888. Tickets are available on the day of the game.
← INTERVIEW | Dickson looking to build on home form
INTERVIEW | Way looking for balance to performance →


After almost two months of camping around the Pacific Northwest, Southern Vancouver, Montana and then Utah, we had developed a habit of nonchalance in deciding where to lay our tent.
But it was now October. We had just driven into Arizona and taken the long road into Grand Canyon National Park. We had traveled up and up, higher and higher to an elevation of nearly 8000 feet without realizing it.
After arriving at the sprawling park, we soon found the official North Rim campsite and paid in advance for two nights. We set off to find dinner and watch the sun set over the Canyon.
But then we saw the sign. 23°F. We were dead, without the proper equipment for sub-freezing temperatures. Then and there, on Day 52, we ended the camping portion of our road trip adventure. We begged for a refund on a hand written note taped to the door of the Park Ranger's office, and booked a room at Thunderbird Lodge on the edge of the Canyon. I felt sad and relieved at the same time.
Gazing into the Grand Canyon is something words and photographs fail miserably to describe. Just make sure you see it some day.


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Patrick Tierney is an American writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who is the author of three books based on frequent visits to and field research in South America. As a mountain climber, he has worked with Johan Reinhard. He has made discoveries of Inca ceremonial mountaintop sites and, with Reinhard, made the second modern ascent of Mt. Del Veladero (21,115 ft) in Argentina in 1988. An Inca ceremonial platform and sacrificial site was discovered on top. Tierney has climbed all of the highest peaks in the Andes.

Early life and education
Tierney was born in Indiana and grew up in Chile and Pittsburgh. His father was an engineering professor. In 1980 he graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Latin American Studies.

Career
His first book, The Highest Altar: Unveiling the Mystery of Human Sacrifice (Penguin, New York, 1990), was the result of being sent to do research in South America for Omni magazine between 1983 and 1989. The book discusses theories about Inca human sacrifice, and compares this to human sacrifices in Chile and Peru today. Tierney investigates a human sacrifice in Chile of a young boy, Jose Luis Panecur, as a collective activity by the Mapuche people in 1960. He then investigates other recent sacrifices in Peru. Tierney closes the book by discussing the work of Hyam Maccoby, who put forward a controversial version of Jewish and Christian history. The book received a positive review in the Los Angeles Times. It had been planned as the basis for a National Geographic documentary.

Tierney then published Last Tribes of El Dorado: The Gold Wars in the Amazon Rain Forest (Viking, 1997). The book discusses gold mining operations in the territory of the Yanomami people of the Amazon, alleging killings and severe human rights abuses by independent miners and gold-mining companies.

Darkness in El Dorado
In 2000 Tierney published his book Darkness in El Dorado, accusing the American anthropologist Professor Napoleon Chagnon and his colleague James V. Neel, among other things, of exacerbating a measles epidemic among the Yanomamö people.

The American Anthropological Association convened a task force in February 2001 to investigate some allegations made in Tierney's book. Their report, which was issued by the AAA in May 2002, held that Chagnon had both represented the Yanomamö in harmful ways and failed in some instances to obtain proper consent from both the government and the groups he studied. However, the Task Force stated that there was no support to the claim that Chagnon and Neel began a measles epidemic. In June 2005, however, the AAA voted over two-to-one to rescind the acceptance of the 2002 report.

Most of the allegations made in Darkness in El Dorado were publicly rejected by the Provost's office of the University of Michigan in November 2000. For example, the interviews upon which the book was based all came from members of the Salesians of Don Bosco, a congregation of the Catholic Church, which Chagnon had criticized and angered.

Alice Dreger, an historian of medicine and science, concluded after a year of research that Tierney's claims were false and the American Anthropological Association was complicit and irresponsible in helping spread these falsehoods and not protecting "scholars from baseless and sensationalistic charges".

References

Living people
Journalists from Pennsylvania
Writers from Pittsburgh
Year of birth missing (living people)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I just installed AutoCAD 2017 and fired it up for the first time. I had already read the Preview Guide at http://blogs.autodesk.com/autocad/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/03/autocad2017winpreviewguide.pdf, so I had some new features I wanted to check out.
I bumped up the Pickbox size, making it the same size as the Grip size.
I turned on the "quick click". I know that according to the Help information it's really the "Time-Sensitive Right-Click", but that's too much of a mouthful.
And finally I change the colors, so that they are a bit easier to see on a projected image. I go to a light color scheme and restore the classic colors.
Now I was ready for the fun stuff – Centerlines!
I know that it may seem trivial to many of you, but the new associative centerlines were the first thing that caught my eye. Sure, the enhanced design collaboration tools are going to get a serious look in the near future. And the resizable dialog boxes are going to get rid of a gripe I've had since AutoCAD R14. But since I love how centerlines behave in Inventor that was the tool I jumped to here first.
I tried the basic things. I drew some basic shapes and put centerlines on them.
You folks paying attention may have noticed that I added my layer drop-down list to the Quick Access Toolbar. I realized that I had missed that tweak once I started playing with a couple of the system variables that AutoCAD had for these new centerlines.
The first variable I adjusted was the CENTERLAYER setting. Originally the centerlines were created on the current layer. I set this to be my typical Centerlines layer. And that is when I remembered that this first drawing was from the default AutoCAD template file ACAD.dwt. There was no Centerlines layer. Wait, actually now there was! AutoCAD created the layer for me. The line type was already correct, as the CENTERLTYPE system variable was set to CENTER2.
Please note that I changed the color of the Centerlines layer to a medium blue, as seen in the rest of the images.
While I was at it I changed CENTERLTYPE to "use current" by entering a period at the prompt, as that matches my typical BYLAYER line type preference. A quick run through the SETBYLAYER command fixed up this scrap drawing without any fuss. Next time I will have my templates in place first!
Finally I checked how these new centerlines behaved when added in the layout. No surprises, they worked great. Changing object size in model space resulted in the centerlines adjusting as needed. Note that the length of the centerlines are driven by the length of the objects you associate them to. The lines on the right are cropped by the edge of the viewport. But the centerline doesn't care about the cropping, it is as long as the objects are, plus the extension.
So while it isn't the most glamorous feature in this new release, those of us using AutoCAD for day-to-day drafting have an excellent new tool at our finger tips.


text:
How Design Can Help Community Colleges Promote Community
How can cash-strapped two-year colleges find a way to give their students the kind of non-academic spaces that fuel academic success?
By Carisima Koenig 5 minute Read
A fundamental component of advancing our nation's higher education system is enriching the community college experience for students. With 45% of all undergraduate students in the U.S. enrolled in community colleges, these institutions are critical to our country's long-term success.
Community college leadership teams recognize their key role in America's education system and are working hard to provide the resources, degree programs, and technologies these students need. But because their funding often prioritizes classroom spaces over community spaces, these community colleges are often forced to overlook the value that social and wellness communities bring to a student's overall academic well-being.
In many ways, this funding challenge may stem from a common misconception that students who attend community colleges don't need these spaces. That's simply not true. With many community college students balancing full-time jobs (62% of full-time and 73% of part-time community college students also work full or part time) and raising children or caring for loved ones, these students are often challenged to find time to study and meet off campus, further re-enforcing the need for more student life spaces.
While state funding models should evolve to support this need, the design community is one group that can do more to work with community colleges to creatively rejuvenate their campus. Even in the face of funding challenges and historic precedent, there are emerging examples of how partnership between two-year academic institutions and designers can further elevate community on campus. Here are key examples:
Plan. Research. Understand Your Students
When community colleges do secure funding, they need to make sure they invest as strategically as possible. The first step in achieving this and creating successful campus spaces is understanding the students who use them.
Looking to revitalize and reallocate space for its campus library, academic buildings and student life areas, Howard Community College (HCC) recently took on a rigorous and extensive research effort to create an updated campus masterplan. HCC set up focus groups with faculty to create student identity profiles and then mapped how those different profiles would use campus spaces. Through this analysis, HCC was able to see which facilities would drive the most community compared to others. This helped them begin to build a road map for which capital projects to invest in to spur the maximum community across campus. HCC also invested in environmental scans, campus assessments and extensive regional demographic and economic research to help them best assess their current and future student populations.
HCC is now better educated on how to invest moving forward to create enhanced community college spaces for students. All community colleges should take on this kind of research to understand their students, populations, communities and facilities in order to strengthen their case for funding, and also ensure they push for the most advantageous capital investments.
View Campus Upgrades as Opportunities to Break the Mold
While individual student life projects may not always be approved and funded, states recognize their institutions need to provide 21st-century learning environments. The need to upgrade out-of-date facilities may be an opportunity to enrich the student life experience.
Ohlone Community College is breaking is seizing such an opportunity with the introduction of its Academic Core Project. Needing to update its classroom spaces, Ohlone used these updates to catalyze the construction of three new academic hybrid buildings totaling 180,000 square feet in the heart of the campus as well as improvements and updates to other buildings in the campus infrastructure. Along with helping the university solve its need for upgrades and expansion, the project introduces a new science center, art building and learning commons, which will include a library tutoring labs and collaborative learning centers which will provide spaces to build community and enhance learning. The campus transformation also introduces ample spaces for community including "collision zones" that encourage formal and informal opportunities for student learning and collaboration.
Other community colleges can team with designers to model this innovative approach. When it comes time for necessary academic updates, institutions can think about how they can increase the value of their investment by infusing student life and community spaces into the effort that help students learn, study, and grow while on campus.
Be a Model for Change
Community colleges need to continue to push for full-scale campus life facilities, and when they secure funding, they need to lead the way by creating powerful examples other institutions can follow. Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) and Tidewater Community College (TCC) have demonstrated this in recent years.
LAVC recently completed a new student union at the heart of its campus that introduces a cafeteria, campus bookstore, student health center, business office, and student union offices. Unique design features of the union include a new dedicated space for students to gather and relax between classes with a coffee bar and a skybox that offers panoramic views of the campus from an outdoor patio and walkway, with sheltered seating underneath for student gatherings.
On the other side of the country, TCC, one of the largest community colleges in the nation, opened its Norfolk Student Centre located within Norfolk, VA's commercial and historic district. The center offers indoor and outdoor gathering areas (seating walls, steps and outdoor dining tables) for students to study, present and meet. The center is a home for the college's student organizations and a forum for different programs and events. Moreover, the center boasts lounge, study, fitness, dining and childcare areas for students.
These student centers at LAVC and TCC are breakthroughs for the world of community colleges. Other institutions should point to them as examples they can follow if granted the opportunity. Moreover, other community colleges should learn how these institutions leveraged research and design partnerships to right-size their facilities and strategically combine academic and student-life spaces to catalyze community and help students succeed in the classroom. These student centers are the type of space more community colleges need, and hopefully they will spur new momentum.
With more than 12 million students enrolled nationwide, community colleges are integral to higher education in America. Leaders at these institutions recognize they need to find new ways to introduce student life and collaboration opportunities on campus. They're trying to move forward, but need further support. It's time to push for policy change and funding reform. It's time to further democratize education. It's time for the design community to help level the playing field between two- and four-year institutions in order to provide exceptional educational experiences to all of our future leaders.
Carisima Koenig leads CannonDesign's New York City education practice, focused on helping educational institutions design solutions that turn challenges into opportunities for success.
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Four people have died and two more were injured in a multi-vehicle accident near US 27 and Willard Smith Road in Western Palm Beach County recently. The accident occurred six to seven miles away from South Bay Tuesday morning when there was heavy fog. The four people who have been confirmed dead in the crash are Carolina Ortiz, 39, Luis Varona, 17, Alejandro Varona, 16, and Melissa Varona, 14 years old.
The first accident happened after a trailer from a semi became disengaged from a tractor heading southbound on U.S. 27, where it sat on the roadway without lights. A Ford truck carrying Ms. Ortiz and the Varona children came upon it, struck the trailer, and ended on the side of the road. Soon afterwards, another truck came down the road and hit another corner of the trailer.
A sergeant on the scene stated that after that, "The second tractor trailer came along and struck the initial vehicle that struck the tractor trailer and pushed it all the way off the roadway into the muck area." A fourth passenger in the car was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries, and the driver of the second semi-truck was treating for minor injuries.
According to the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, crews found multiple vehicles with heavy damage and trapped occupants. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to free some occupants from their vehicles and get them emergency care. Unfortunately, Ms. Ortiz and the Varona children were all declared dead at the scene.
Every year, there are around 5,870,000 car accidents across America, and 23% of these crashes, around 1,312,000 accidents, are weather-related. On average, 6,250 people are killed and another 480,000 people are injured every year because of weather-related accidents. These types of accidents include conditions such as wet pavement, rain, snow, sleet, ice, slushy pavement, and dense fog.
According to the department's study, over a 10-year period between 2002 and 2012 fog was attributed to, on average, 31,385 car accidents every year on the road across the country. Of those, 11,812 people were injured and 511 were killed. Fog is connected to three percent of all weather-related accidents, injuries, and nine percent of weather-related fatalities every year.
If you or someone that you know has been injured in a car accident around the West Palm Beach area, let the experienced personal injury attorneys at Gary Roberts & Associates help. Reach out to us today to discuss your case.


text:
#include <linux/module.h>
#include <linux/net.h>
#include <linux/skbuff.h>
#include <linux/key.h>
#include <linux/crypto.h>
#include <net/sock.h>
#include <net/af_rxrpc.h>
#include <keys/rxrpc-type.h>
#include <keys/user-type.h>
#include "ar-internal.h"

static int rxrpc_instantiate(struct key *, const void *, size_t);
static int rxrpc_instantiate_s(struct key *, const void *, size_t);
static void rxrpc_destroy(struct key *);
static void rxrpc_destroy_s(struct key *);
static void rxrpc_describe(const struct key *, struct seq_file *);

/*
 * rxrpc defined keys take an arbitrary string as the description and an
 * arbitrary blob of data as the payload
 */
struct key_type key_type_rxrpc = {
	.name		= "rxrpc",
	.instantiate	= rxrpc_instantiate,
	.match		= user_match,
	.destroy	= rxrpc_destroy,
	.describe	= rxrpc_describe,
};

EXPORT_SYMBOL(key_type_rxrpc);

/*
 * rxrpc server defined keys take "<serviceId>:<securityIndex>" as the
 * description and an 8-byte decryption key as the payload
 */
struct key_type key_type_rxrpc_s = {
	.name		= "rxrpc_s",
	.instantiate	= rxrpc_instantiate_s,
	.match		= user_match,
	.destroy	= rxrpc_destroy_s,
	.describe	= rxrpc_describe,
};

/*
 * instantiate an rxrpc defined key
 * data should be of the form:
 *	OFFSET	LEN	CONTENT
 *	0	4	key interface version number
 *	4	2	security index (type)
 *	6	2	ticket length
 *	8	4	key expiry time (time_t)
 *	12	4	kvno
 *	16	8	session key
 *	24	[len]	ticket
 *
 * if no data is provided, then a no-security key is made
 */
static int rxrpc_instantiate(struct key *key, const void *data, size_t datalen)
{
	const struct rxkad_key *tsec;
	struct rxrpc_key_payload *upayload;
	size_t plen;
	u32 kver;
	int ret;

	_enter("{%x},,%zu", key_serial(key), datalen);

	/* handle a no-security key */
	if (!data && datalen == 0)
		return 0;

	/* get the key interface version number */
	ret = -EINVAL;
	if (datalen <= 4 || !data)
		goto error;
	memcpy(&kver, data, sizeof(kver));
	data += sizeof(kver);
	datalen -= sizeof(kver);

	_debug("KEY I/F VERSION: %u", kver);

	ret = -EKEYREJECTED;
	if (kver != 1)
		goto error;

	/* deal with a version 1 key */
	ret = -EINVAL;
	if (datalen < sizeof(*tsec))
		goto error;

	tsec = data;
	if (datalen != sizeof(*tsec) + tsec->ticket_len)
		goto error;

	_debug("SCIX: %u", tsec->security_index);
	_debug("TLEN: %u", tsec->ticket_len);
	_debug("EXPY: %x", tsec->expiry);
	_debug("KVNO: %u", tsec->kvno);
	_debug("SKEY: %02x%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x",
	       tsec->session_key[0], tsec->session_key[1],
	       tsec->session_key[2], tsec->session_key[3],
	       tsec->session_key[4], tsec->session_key[5],
	       tsec->session_key[6], tsec->session_key[7]);
	if (tsec->ticket_len >= 8)
		_debug("TCKT: %02x%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x%02x",
		       tsec->ticket[0], tsec->ticket[1],
		       tsec->ticket[2], tsec->ticket[3],
		       tsec->ticket[4], tsec->ticket[5],
		       tsec->ticket[6], tsec->ticket[7]);

	ret = -EPROTONOSUPPORT;
	if (tsec->security_index != 2)
		goto error;

	key->type_data.x[0] = tsec->security_index;

	plen = sizeof(*upayload) + tsec->ticket_len;
	ret = key_payload_reserve(key, plen);
	if (ret < 0)
		goto error;

	ret = -ENOMEM;
	upayload = kmalloc(plen, GFP_KERNEL);
	if (!upayload)
		goto error;

	/* attach the data */
	memcpy(&upayload->k, tsec, sizeof(*tsec));
	memcpy(&upayload->k.ticket, (void *)tsec + sizeof(*tsec),
	       tsec->ticket_len);
	key->payload.data = upayload;
	key->expiry = tsec->expiry;
	ret = 0;

error:
	return ret;
}

/*
 * instantiate a server secret key
 * data should be a pointer to the 8-byte secret key
 */
static int rxrpc_instantiate_s(struct key *key, const void *data,
			       size_t datalen)
{
	struct crypto_blkcipher *ci;

	_enter("{%x},,%zu", key_serial(key), datalen);

	if (datalen != 8)
		return -EINVAL;

	memcpy(&key->type_data, data, 8);

	ci = crypto_alloc_blkcipher("pcbc(des)", 0, CRYPTO_ALG_ASYNC);
	if (IS_ERR(ci)) {
		_leave(" = %ld", PTR_ERR(ci));
		return PTR_ERR(ci);
	}

	if (crypto_blkcipher_setkey(ci, data, 8) < 0)
		BUG();

	key->payload.data = ci;
	_leave(" = 0");
	return 0;
}

/*
 * dispose of the data dangling from the corpse of a rxrpc key
 */
static void rxrpc_destroy(struct key *key)
{
	kfree(key->payload.data);
}

/*
 * dispose of the data dangling from the corpse of a rxrpc key
 */
static void rxrpc_destroy_s(struct key *key)
{
	if (key->payload.data) {
		crypto_free_blkcipher(key->payload.data);
		key->payload.data = NULL;
	}
}

/*
 * describe the rxrpc key
 */
static void rxrpc_describe(const struct key *key, struct seq_file *m)
{
	seq_puts(m, key->description);
}

/*
 * grab the security key for a socket
 */
int rxrpc_request_key(struct rxrpc_sock *rx, char __user *optval, int optlen)
{
	struct key *key;
	char *description;

	_enter("");

	if (optlen <= 0 || optlen > PAGE_SIZE - 1)
		return -EINVAL;

	description = kmalloc(optlen + 1, GFP_KERNEL);
	if (!description)
		return -ENOMEM;

	if (copy_from_user(description, optval, optlen)) {
		kfree(description);
		return -EFAULT;
	}
	description[optlen] = 0;

	key = request_key(&key_type_rxrpc, description, NULL);
	if (IS_ERR(key)) {
		kfree(description);
		_leave(" = %ld", PTR_ERR(key));
		return PTR_ERR(key);
	}

	rx->key = key;
	kfree(description);
	_leave(" = 0 [key %x]", key->serial);
	return 0;
}

/*
 * grab the security keyring for a server socket
 */
int rxrpc_server_keyring(struct rxrpc_sock *rx, char __user *optval,
			 int optlen)
{
	struct key *key;
	char *description;

	_enter("");

	if (optlen <= 0 || optlen > PAGE_SIZE - 1)
		return -EINVAL;

	description = kmalloc(optlen + 1, GFP_KERNEL);
	if (!description)
		return -ENOMEM;

	if (copy_from_user(description, optval, optlen)) {
		kfree(description);
		return -EFAULT;
	}
	description[optlen] = 0;

	key = request_key(&key_type_keyring, description, NULL);
	if (IS_ERR(key)) {
		kfree(description);
		_leave(" = %ld", PTR_ERR(key));
		return PTR_ERR(key);
	}

	rx->securities = key;
	kfree(description);
	_leave(" = 0 [key %x]", key->serial);
	return 0;
}

/*
 * generate a server data key
 */
int rxrpc_get_server_data_key(struct rxrpc_connection *conn,
			      const void *session_key,
			      time_t expiry,
			      u32 kvno)
{
	struct key *key;
	int ret;

	struct {
		u32 kver;
		struct rxkad_key tsec;
	} data;

	_enter("");

	key = key_alloc(&key_type_rxrpc, "x", 0, 0, current, 0,
			KEY_ALLOC_NOT_IN_QUOTA);
	if (IS_ERR(key)) {
		_leave(" = -ENOMEM [alloc %ld]", PTR_ERR(key));
		return -ENOMEM;
	}

	_debug("key %d", key_serial(key));

	data.kver = 1;
	data.tsec.security_index = 2;
	data.tsec.ticket_len = 0;
	data.tsec.expiry = expiry;
	data.tsec.kvno = 0;

	memcpy(&data.tsec.session_key, session_key,
	       sizeof(data.tsec.session_key));

	ret = key_instantiate_and_link(key, &data, sizeof(data), NULL, NULL);
	if (ret < 0)
		goto error;

	conn->key = key;
	_leave(" = 0 [%d]", key_serial(key));
	return 0;

error:
	key_revoke(key);
	key_put(key);
	_leave(" = -ENOMEM [ins %d]", ret);
	return -ENOMEM;
}

EXPORT_SYMBOL(rxrpc_get_server_data_key);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Like many of us, you probably brush and floss your teeth religiously in pursuit of a gleaming, white smile. You may even use one of the teeth whitening toothpastes with extra cleaning power now widely available to polish your pearly whites.
After all that cleaning and scrubbing, why would you need professional teeth cleaning?
Because, no matter how diligently and vigorously you brush and floss, you will never be able to remove all of the harmful plaque and tartar that have built up on your teeth. To get rid of that build-up, you will need professional teeth cleaning from a dentist and dental hygienist.
Professional teeth cleaning, which is sometimes referred to as prophylaxis, is intended to remove any excess scale (tartar, calcium deposits or calculus) and plaque (sticky film with bacteria) from your teeth, leaving them smooth, clean and polished.
By cleaning and polishing the surfaces of your teeth, the dentist is removing any rough and sticky areas along your gums, thereby preventing bacteria from attaching and growing there and causing gum disease.
Preventing gum disease is the number one reason to get professional teeth cleaning. Not only is gum disease (gingivitis and periodontal disease) associated with poor oral health and damaged teeth, it can lead to a host of other health problems as well.
The same bacteria that occur in gum disease have been linked to heart disease, stroke and diabetes, among other illnesses. It is believed that bacterial byproducts in unhealthy gums can enter your bloodstream and trigger the liver to make proteins that cause inflammation, triggering negative effects throughout your system.
By following your dentist's recommendation to get your teeth professionally cleaned every eight to 16 weeks, you are reducing your chances of getting gum disease, thereby improving your oral health and your overall health as well. Regular cleanings by a professional will also make it easier for you to maintain good dental hygiene at home between office visits.
Don't let a past negative dental cleaning experience or a fear of the dentist deter you from getting regular professional cleanings. You can request that your dentist switches you to a gentle hygienist, or you can request a small dose of nitrous oxide to ease you through the process.
If you have sensitive teeth and gums and the cleaning process causes you discomfort, ask that some topical numbing gel is applied to your teeth and gums. Taking these steps can significantly improve your experience, and may encourage you to visit your dentist more frequently.


The Laban community includes incredibly talented and internationally recognized choreographers, dancers, actors, performers, light and set designers, theater and dance directors, critics and teachers. These artists recognize that the road of movement calls for continuing study and experimentation. LIMS is the New York home for this community; a place where they can get in touch with the latest developments in Laban & Bartenieff theories and practices as well as a place where they can meet, find collaborators, experiment with people who share the same interests, and a venue to present their works of art.
LIMS' Arts & Culture Programs and Events offer opportunities for artists who are inspired by Laban & Bartenieff to develop creative projects and present them; to experiment and discuss new findings with others who learned to look at movement carefully and creatively, and who are able to give the kind of feedback that has the potential to drastically improve a performance work.
LIMS Arts & Culture Programs have included MOSAIC, Spring Forward, Dance Performance Atelier (DPA) Award, Global Water Dances, and Moving Dialogues.


text:
White Thread Press
List of products by manufacturer White Thread Press
White Thread Press was first founded as Prudence Publications in the UK, with the publication of their highly acclaimed titles Reflections of Pearls and Fiqh al-Imam a decade ago. The company has functioned ever since as a publisher of traditional Islamic texts. Its mission is to aid in the revival of the true heritage of scholarship in the Muslim Umma and to fill the educational and spiritual needs of contemporary Muslims in the English-speaking world by presenting, in the English language, original works by contemporary scholars and translated classical texts of scholars past. To date, White Thread Press has republished its bestselling titles as well as a number of other texts.
White Thread Press is committed to ensuring the highest academic standards for its publications, paying special attention to many details, among which the most important are accuracy and reliability of information and professional and aesthetically pleasing presentation, design, and typography. The fonts used in White Thread Press publications are carefully selected to reflect the nature of each book—from Renaissance, and Baroque to Neoclassical, Realist, and Postmodern typefaces, all acquired from the leading type foundries. Enhancements are made to incorporate diacritics for transliteration of Arabic and other foreign-language terms into English. Among other benefits, this allows for a sophisticated, accurate, and easy-to-read transliteration system when rendering Arabic prayers in English. White Thread Press uses the latest and most advanced industry software for both the English and Arabic typesetting and works with some of the leading US and other Book Manufacturers for printing
Fiqh Al-Imam: Key Proofs in...
In recent decades many attacks have been launched against the concept of taqlid [following a school of Islamic law].
Prayers for Forgiveness: Seeking...
The act of seeking forgiveness is what gives us the opening we need after feeling overwhelmed by the burden of sin.
The Differences of the Imams
If the Imams of the four schools [madhahib] established all of their rulings from the Qur'an and the Sunna, why have they differed on so many points?
Sufism & Good Character
In this work, Imam Zafar Uthmani presents key Prophetic sayings related to good character and explains their implications for those seeking the spiritual way.
The Absolute Essentials of...
Allah has commanded us to worship and obey Him, with sincerity, out of reverence, love, and thankfulness.
Reflections of Pearls: A concise...
A concise and comprehensive collection of prophetic invocations and prayers.
The Path to Perfection
White Thread Press makes this invaluable work available in elegant and moving prose, while remaining true to its traditional origins.
Provisions for the Seekers (Zad...
The Messenger of Allah (upon him be peace) was given exceptional oratorical skills. His words were eloquent, comprehensive, and simple, conveying libraries of wisdoms and truths.
Birth Control & Abortion in Islam
This no doubt has a deep influence on the very core of our society and thus raises many ethical and religious questions, particularly surrounding abortion.
The Islamic Laws of Animal...
There is a growing sense of concern today among consumers, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, about the healthfulness of what they eat.
Imam Abu Hanifa's Al-Fiqh...
Al-Fiqh al-Akbar is one of the earliest texts written on Islamic creed and one of the surviving works of Abu Hanifa, the Great Imam of jurisprudence and theology.
Salat & Salam: In Praise of...
The greatest source of blessings and mercy for the Muslim and for all of mankind is Muhammad, the Beloved Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), sent as a Mercy to the Worlds.
Ascent to Felicity (Maraqi...
To supplement the text, the translator has added key explanatory notes taken from several reliable works on theology and jurisprudence.
The Beginning of Guidance...
Imam Ghazali's Bidayat al-Hidaya is a highly motivational manual detailing the fundamentals of acquiring guidance through God-consciousness (taqwa).
The Book of Wisdoms : Kitab...
The Kitab al-Hikam of Shaykh Ibn 'Ata'illah al-Iskandari is the inspiring explanation of the soul's journey through this life, as determined through the Qur'an and Sunna.
The Shafi'i Manual of...
Allah has commanded us to worship and obey Him with sincerity, reverence, love, and gratitude.


The writers and producers of BBC One's Casualty, and Michael Stevenson who plays paramedic Iain Dean on the show, have recently received floods of praise and positive comments online from viewers and fans about the current storyline which has focused on Iain's mental health.
MY FIRST PAPERBACK "Wherever We Are" is OUT NOW!!
"Wherever We Are – Part Two" is out now!!
Get your copy NOW or Click Here to read a synopsis! The third and final part is going to be released on Jan 31st! Make sure you're following me on Instagram and Tumblr @eviemtaylor to get all the newest updates!
"Wherever We Are – Part One" is out now!!
There is officially just ONE DAY until my new e-book is out on Amazon!
This year has been full of fresh new music with the likes of Ariana Grande, Little Mix and Cardi B switching things up and dominating the scene, but lets not forget about those incredible collaborations we got as well.
A few years can go by so quickly that we bet you didn't even notice these hits reaching their 3rd birthday.