All, I am having my car serviced by my local dealer at months ago end. I asked them to quote installation of the front and rear sway bars. They quoted $585. Doesn't that seem excessive?
That's what I paid, but it also came with a loaner and someone to blame when it wasn't right.
I pretty much did the install by myself on a lift, along with installation of their adjustable end links. It took about 6 hrs, without removing the exhaust. If their labor time is ~$100/hr, which seems to be the going rate nowadays, it doesn't seem far off.
2010 A4 ABP, Premium+, 6MT.
2012 A6 Prestige. 2015 allroad prestige.
2012 A6 Prestige, Havana Black, EPL Stage 2, LED package, 20" Sports Package. Eurocode Sways, Magnaflow exhaust. Injen cold air intake.
Thanks guys. Appreciate the sanity check. While I have a lift in my garage at home, saving time and the convenience of a loaner is more valuable right now.
San Jose Audi says, 2.5 hours for rear bar install at $215/hr, so $538 to install just the rear bar.
The front bar is an easy install on Ramps.
The issue with stock end links is difficulty in tighting the end link bolts to specified torque value with normal weight on vehicle. If you remove and install the rear bar, with ends links attached to the bar in the correct location, then torquing the lower bolt is easy, but getting the bar in place is a struggle. Taking a wheel off can make this easier.
One can do most of the work on jack stands and final torque of the lower end link bolts with the tires on ramps (if the upper end link bolt was already torqued in the correct position).
I am Installing both tonight on my A6. I took both OEM ones off yesterday, was not difficult at all. I lowered the exhaust and that was it. I can see how torquing the end link bolt is going to be stupid difficult based on its location, but I'm sure I'll get it. I'll let you guys know if I find an easy way to do anything. I did not remove the wheels to get the rear out, with a bit of finagling I was able to slide it out one side and then the other.
To get both of mine off including the under body panels was maybe an hour total and I am NO mechanic. I'll let you know how long the install takes. I am only doing these things when I get home from work.
Alright, So I was a little wrong. Front Sway bar on lower stiffness, per recommendation on Eurocode, Install was a breeze, maybe 30 minutes to get it on and good to go.
Now the rear was a different animal. Seemed simple at first, got it in above the exhaust and ready to go only to realize that I didn't put one of the end links on at the right angle relative the bar. So instead of taking it all the way back out I loosened it in place and rotated and re-torqued the bolt. Now that was a pain because gripping the nut so it wouldn't turn and then turned the head proved mighty difficult, but I was able to do it with two socket wrenches.
I then REALLY struggled getting everything to fit into place on the firmest setting. I probably worked for an hour alone to get one of the end links re-attached to the lower control arm. The first side wasn't too bad but having to force the other side into position was proving very difficult. A piece of advice would be to not install the bushings on the rear bar until you get the end links reattached, but not torqued down. Then put the bushings and brackets on.
Worth the time and effort.


provide you with a no pressure offer, and pay you on the spot.
Maybe you have broken or old jewelry you never wear. Or valuables that no longer have sentimental value. Situations for selling valuables often vary, but when you are ready to convert your jewelry and other valuables into cash – we're ready to buy.
The most straightforward attribute of the right buyer to whom you should sell antique coins is the one who pays you substantially more than the competition. There's no way to make up the slack on this one, because pawn shops have financial obligations that cause them to give you less to survive. Just ask around, RJ Coins & Jewelry has an impeccable reputation throughout the North Shore as the buyers you can trust.


The gasworks, operated by the Exeter Gas and Coke Company, stood beside the canal at Haven Banks. Coal was brought to the site by rail and deposited in the square compound to the right. It was then carried by conveyors to the top of the retort (the tall red-brick building with chimneys) where gas and other by-products were extracted from it. It was then fed through the grey building at the rear of the site and deposited as coke in heaps on the left. The gas was stored in the three gas holders. This model shows the site as it was in the 1950s or early 1960s, before it became obsolete with the introduction of North Sea gas in the 1970s.


text:
Q: c# get a specific element of a HashSet I want to get an element of a HashSet only if it contains a specific string in it. i tried
the code below, but i dont get anything... like no matching. but this cant happen cause the UnKnown counter is always 0.
if (!IsbnAuth.Contains(RecTitle))
{
    Unknown++;
}
else
{
    for (int i = 0; i < IsbnAuth.Count(); i++)
    {
        if (IsbnAuth.ElementAt(i).Contains(RecTitle))
        {
            System.Console.WriteLine(IsbnAuth.ElementAt(i));
            //isbn = IsbnAuth.ElementAt(i).Substring(0, IsbnAuth.ElementAt(i).IndexOf("\t"));
            isbn = IsbnAuth.ElementAt(i).Split(' ')[0];
            break;
        }
    }
}

Any ideas? the problem is not at the RecTitle cause even if it was just a single char instead, the result would be the same.
IsbnAuth is the HashSet.
EDIT: IsbnAuth declaration
    HashSet<String> IsbnAuth = new HashSet<String>();
    foreach (String line in IsbnAuthors)
    {
        IsbnAuth.Add(line.Trim());
    }
    System.Console.WriteLine(IsbnAuth.Count);

A: This is the first problem:
if (!IsbnAuth.Contains(RecTitle))
{
    Unknown++;
}

That checks whether the set contains the whole string, as a complete element. It sounds like it doesn't.
I suspect you really want:
bool found = false;
foreach (String element in IsbnAuth)
{
    if (element.Contains(RecTitle))
    {
        isbn = element.Split(' ')[0];
        found = true;
        break;
    }
}
if (!found)
{
    Unknown++;
}

Or even better:
string isbn = IsbnAuth.Where(x => x.Contains(RecTitle))
                      .Select(x => x.Split(' ')[0])
                      .FirstOrDefault();
if (isbn == null)
{
    Unknown++;
}

It's worth being aware that a HashSet is in a fundamentally unpredictable order - so if there are multiple matches here, you'll end up with an arbitrary result. Is that really what you want?

A: It seems to me that you are storing mulitple informations held in one string in your Hastable. I would do it in that way:
public class Info
{
    public string ISBN { get; set; }
    public string Title { get; set; }
}

later in code:
List<Info> isbnAuth = new List<Info>();
foreach (String line in IsbnAuthors)
{
    isbnAuth.Add(new Info { ISDN = line.Split(' ')[0], Title = line.Split(' ')[1] });
}

You can search an item like this:
var itemFound = isbnAuth.FirstOrDefault(item => item.Title == RecTitle);
if (itemFound != null)
{
    isbn = itemFound.ISBN;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Andrew Kennedy, president of the Center for Economic Growth (CEG) based in Albany, N.Y., added that CEG's research indicates that a low unemployment rate, combined with an increase in job postings, have resulted in a shortage of qualified workers trained to fill emerging jobs. During the first half of 2018, the Capital Region averaged 11,627 beginning-of-the-month job postings, up 5 percent from the first half of 2017, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of New York State Jobs Express data.
With a deeply-rooted mission to support the region's business community with skilled workers, today the group released a list of 100 credit-bearing and credit-free skills and career-oriented programs created within the past five years.
Collaborative work to market the region's community colleges as a leading workforce training partner continued in 2017 with a series of online videos underscoring the various college-to-career programs available to Capital Region residents. For more information, visit 518jobtraining.com.
The Capital Community College Career Coalition, composed of Columbia-Greene Community College, Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Hudson Valley Community College, SUNY Adirondack and SUNY Schenectady County Community College, was created to combine and concentrate workforce development efforts between community colleges in the Capital Region to provide skilled graduates who can help address that skills gap. Together, the Coalition is priming the "talent pipeline" and training workers for in-demand jobs.


Today people are very sick. The surrounding areas are filled with hygiene because of adverse effects on their health. That's why you have to be careful. Along with these food regularly eat. You can stay healthy.
There is nothing new about the quality of the yellow. In the morning, a piece of raw yellow like stomach keeps it away from the disease-germ-infections. So in the spring it is called yellow oil. Also called to drink yellow tea. It is possible for all of us to increase the energy of digestion from cholesterol control.
It is not known to anyone who is taking cold medicines. Besides, Tulsi leaves work well in gas-indigestion. Now it is said, give the first tea in the day, with some tulsi leaves. Stay away from the fatigue of the day.
It is very good for hair and skin due to vitamin C in Amloki. Besides, the amaliki juice or amlaqi crushed can be eaten in any way. It is very effective to increase immunity.
Pain and flux is to avoid a pair of matching pairs of cough. For this, get up in the morning and eat tea or ginger tea with a little ginger. This will reduce the weight. Also get rid of knee pain. Experimentally eat 15 grams of sugar without sugar for 5 times a day. Weight will loss.


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text:
Celebrating a rich history in the trees!
A candled winter walk!
A sunlit spring walk!
Come to the woods, sit, breathe, Be!
How We Worship - What To Expect
Education - Fellowship & Outreach
About Us - History - Facility
Little Britain United Church, 5879 Provincial Trunk Hwy 9, Lockport MB, R1A 2P7
There will be no in-person worship services and the church hall will be closed for the month of January 2022 due to current provincial Covid-19 prevention orders and the rising number of cases. We will be using Zoom to offer virtual services at this time.
October 7, 2021 – Important Message from the Chair of Little Britain United Church Council
In response to the on-going MB Provincial Health regulations and increasing cases of Covid 19, the Little Britain United Church Council met and the following motion was passed:
"That all events including worship, weddings and funerals held in the church building and hall be attended by only those individuals who are fully vaccinated against Covid 19 with the exception of children under 12 years of age and those with a physician's exemption."
Beginning this Sunday all those attending worship will be asked to show their immunization card or QR code indicating that they are fully vaccinated. Your name and phone number will be recorded. Once you have done this, it will not be required to be shown on a weekly basis.
Masks will continue to be worn during the entire service and social distancing will be by mutual consent of those who wish to sit together. (There is no mandatory social-distancing at this time). The use of hand sanitizer is encouraged. All events in the hall will be handled in the same manner. This includes both church and community activities and all hall rentals. This motion will be re-visited as Provincial Health Regulations permit.
Tanya Wiegand, Chair
Little Britain United Church Council
Little Britain became an Affirming congregation in April 2021. Being Affirming means that we are committed to inclusion and justice for people of all races, ages, abilities, sexual orientations and gender identities. As a community of faith and action guided by Jesus' teaching and ministry, we seek to nurture love, justice and diversity in a safe and respectful environment. Just as God rejoices in the goodness and diversity of creation, we too honour and celebrate diversity. You are welcome to join our faith community and walk together with us on a journey of learning, questioning, sharing, growth and love for all people. We respect all who are being true to who God made them. We are all children of God.
LBUC News!
No in-person worship services, hall closed in January.
We have truly been blessed to have re-opened our church and worshipped together as a Community of Faith throughout the fall season, Advent and Christmas. However, due to the rising number... …Read More »
Christmas Eve Service – No seating available
We have reached our maximum capacity for attendees to this service in accordance with Public Health Regulations and cannot accept any further requests to attend.Read More »
Pass It On…December 2021 Edition
December 2021Read More »
Zoom Worship (Sunday)
Girl Guides (Hall) – Cancelled
#uccan News!
News from #uccan

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Health Risks for Nulliparous Women
More in Pregnancy Loss
Coping & Moving Forward
Pregnancy Loss Causes and Risk Factors
Symptoms and Diagnosis
By Tracee Cornforth
Tracee Cornforth
Tracee Cornforth is a freelance writer who covers menstruation, menstrual disorders, and other women's health issues.
Medically reviewed by Brian Levine, MD, MS, FACOG
Brian Levine, MD, MS, FACOG, is board-certified in obstetrics-gynecology, as well as reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI). He is the director and founding partner of CCRM New York and was named a rising star by Super Doctors from 2017 to 2019.
Learn about our Medical Review Board
Andreas Pollok / Cultura RM / Getty Images
Reproductive Cancers
Nulliparous is the medical term for someone who has never given birth, either by choice or for any other reason. This term also applies to people who have given birth to a stillborn baby, or a baby who was otherwise not able to survive outside the womb.
The word has Latin roots, from "null" meaning "not" and the verb "parere," meaning "to bring forth." Nulliparous women are at greater risk for some health conditions, including breast and reproductive cancers. And among nulliparous women age 35 and older, there's a greater risk of having a stillborn baby, according to a study of 1.8 million pregnancies reported in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
For decades, the scientific community has known nulliparous women have an increased risk for cancers of the reproductive system, including ovarian and uterine cancers. The increased risk was thought to be due to the fact that people who have been pregnant have fewer ovulatory cycles.
However, research on breast cancer incidence in nulliparous nuns found increased rates to occur into menopause and was therefore unassociated with ovulatory cycles.
Women who have children before the age of 20 have a lower lifetime risk of breast cancer compared to their nulliparous counterparts, but young mothers have a higher risk for the first 15 years after their pregnancy. Mothers with five full-term pregnancies are about 50% less likely than nulliparous women to develop breast cancer.
Breastfeeding, which nulliparous women don't experience, also has been found to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Early research on IUD use among nulliparous women suggested that it was more difficult for them to become pregnant for the first time following the long-term use of an IUD (intrauterine device). This was compared to the use of a barrier method, such as a diaphragm or condom.
More current research has found no increased risk of infertility among IUD users who are in stable, monogamous sexual relationships.
More often nulliparous women were likely to have had exposure to more sexual partners, and therefore more likely to have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Infertility is a side effect of many STDs.
The stages of labor during birth have different norms for people who have previously given birth and people who haven't (nulliparous women). For first births, the latent stage (when there are mild and infrequent contractions) is about 1.5 hours longer, the active labor stage is almost 2 hours longer and the second stage (the time between when the cervix dilates completely and the baby comes out) is about 50 minutes longer.
Gleicher N. Why are reproductive cancers more common in nulliparous women?. Reprod Biomed Online. 2013;26(5):416-419. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2013.01.007
Waldenström U, Cnattingius S, Norman M, Schytt E. Advanced maternal age and stillbirth risk in nulliparous and parous women. Obstet Gynecol. 2015;126(2):355-62. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000000947
Anstey EH, Shoemaker ML, Barrera CM, O'Neil ME, Verma AB, Holman DM. Breastfeeding and breast cancer risk reduction: Implications for black mothers. Am J Prev Med. 2017;53(3S1):S40-S46. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2017.04.024
Girum T, Wasie A. Return of fertility after discontinuation of contraception: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Contracept Reprod Med. 2018;3:9. doi:10.1186/s40834-018-0064-y
ACOG practice bulletin no. 121: Long-acting reversible contraception: implants and intrauterine devices. Obstet Gynecol. 2011;118(1):184-196. doi:10.1097/aog.0b013e318227f05e
What to Know About Breast Cancer and Family History
How Many C-Sections Can You Have?
10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Reduce Your Risk of Pregnancy Loss
Chances and Risks of Getting Pregnant With an IUD
What Is Gestational Diabetes?
What Is Tokophobia?
Maternal and Infant Deaths Higher in States With Restrictive Abortion Access
What Is Stillbirth?
Ectopic Pregnancy Statistics
Why Do Stillbirths Happen?
COVID-19 Vaccines and Your Family
Truths About Causes of Miscarriage
Using Castor Oil to Induce Labor
12 Potential Signs of a Fertility Problem
How Long Does Labor Last?
What You Need to Know About How the Omicron Variant Affects Pregnancy


This is the ultimate loudspeaker of the range for rooms measuring from 320ft2(30m2) and from a recommended listening distance of 12ft (3.5m).
For the TNF tweeter, we have brought two major evolutions to our aluminum/magnesium tweeter. The suspension between the dome and its bracket uses Poron, a material with shape memory. This suspension method is directly derived from the famous Utopia Beryllium tweeter, making it possible to reduce distortion by a factor of three in the 2-3kHz range, where the human ear has very great sensitivity.
The inverted dome's spatial characteristics and very low directivity already make it greatly superior to the conventional domes used by our competitors. This guarantees an incredibly stable sound stage which makes the listening position much less critical.
The flax cone are made in France exclusively by Focal since 2013. With their original design, the cone are entirely oriented towards acoustic performance. They are made of high quality flax fiber enclosed by two thin layers of glass fiber. F cone are characterized by their natural sound, with low coloration, their richness of reproduction in the midrange register and their tighter bass.
The lightness of the fiber satisfies the criteria of high internal damping, high velocity and high flexural rigidity. Flax is twice as light as fiberglass, because the fiber is hollow. It also has very low elasticity which makes it ideal to increase the flexural rigidity of a sandwich structure.


text:
A new tool can help you protect yourself and others from covid-19
Is it risky for me to sing in a choir? What are the risks of eating in a small restaurant? How much difference does it make if I open windows or clean surfaces?
By Aakash Molpariya
Organs COVID-19 infects as soon as it "enters" body – What diseases it triggers
From the early days of infection, the Coronavirus affects two very essential organs in the human...
Aakash Molpariya
Aakash started in Nov 2018 as a writer at Revyuh.com. Since joining, as writer, he is mainly responsible for Software, Science, programming, system administration and the Technology ecosystem, but due to his versatility he is used for everything possible. He writes about topics ranging from AI to hardware to games, stands in front of and behind the camera, creates creative product images and much more. He is a trained IT systems engineer and has studied computer science. By the way, he is enthusiastic about his own small projects in game development, hardware-handicraft, digital art, gaming and music. Email: aakash (at) revyuh (dot) com
This new tool can help you check your risks of catching covid-19 in various situation and what can be done to mitigate those dangers.
A new interactive visual created by UK experts and published today in The BMJ will help people in deciding how to protect themselves and others against covid-19 in everyday settings.
It depicts the many pathways that the virus that causes covid-19 may take as it spreads between two persons, based on estimates made by 26 foreign specialists.
Based on the available evidence, it aims to show the dangers of catching covid-19 in various situations and what can be done to mitigate those dangers.
Along with the areas of scientific consensus, it illustrates the doubts and opinions among specialists regarding how the virus behaves, how it is spread, and how we may best limit the likelihood of transmission through personal and social measures.
According to the researchers, the tool should assist decision makers and the general public in making educated choices about how to minimize viral transmission in a lot of situations, such as how to make a workplace or public space as safe as possible while being open and functional.
The researchers engaged 26 experts from a variety of fields and countries to develop the tool, requesting each value necessary to support the graphic.
These covered the significance of various virus transmission channels (e.g., small and large airborne droplets, contact with contaminated surfaces) during a wide range of behaviors (e.g., talking, coughing, exercising, and eating) in a range of circumstances (eg. outdoors or indoors in different sized rooms, with or without ventilation).
Additionally, they gathered estimates of the effectiveness of various protective measures (e.g., face coverings and screens, physical separation, hand hygiene, and surface cleaning) in preventing transmission.
When all values were analyzed, it became clear that airborne transmission channels were the most important in almost all cases, while face coverings, particularly when worn by an infected individual as a source control measure, were the most essential mitigation strategy.
Notably, all routes of transmission were considered, and simple precautions such as physical separation, hand washing, and respiratory hygiene all played a role.
The researchers discovered significant evidence gaps and disagreements among experts on a number of variables, including the role of aerosol transmission; the effects of various types of masks on inhaled aerosols; and the effects of face coverings on aerosol transfer from hand to eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Everyone has been keen to know how much difference each possible action we've been told about makes, and finally we have been able to gather together enough knowledge from experts from around the world and in a range of fields to answer those questions," explained author Alexandra Freeman at the University of Cambridge.
She added: "The tool is interactive, so that you can explore the scenarios that are most relevant to you, whether it's because you sing in a choir, or want to know about the risks of eating in a small restaurant. How much difference would it make if you opened the windows, or cleaned the surfaces? Have a look and find out."
Co-author Harry Rutter at the University of Bath said: "It is all too easy to focus on just a single route of spread for covid and forget about all the others. One of the ways a tool like this can help is by making it really clear that all the transmission routes matter, in different proportions in different contexts. The fact that one of those routes – airborne transmission – is the main one in most situations doesn't mean that we can ignore the others."
The authors recognize certain study limitations and state that producing convincing evidence about the varied and highly dependant paths of covid-19 virus transmission is not easy. However, they express hope that their technique will prove beneficial to those who may confront the future issue of communicating complex, imprecise, and uncertain facts.
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Source: https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-065312
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How can we cue this challenging pose to make it more accessible for our students—and ourselves?
Tight hips? Join the club! Most of our day-to-day activities require us to flex and extend at the hip (think: running, cycling, sitting at a desk, standing for long periods of time), which keeps us in the same plane of motion throughout the day. By evening, our hips are begging for a little internal and external rotation. Of course, poses that answer the call can be pretty intense. Pigeon Pose is right up there with the best of them. Let's see how we can make this pose more accessible for our students—and ourselves.
Throughout Mountain 2, focus cueing on the action in the hips. Warrior 2, and all its friends (Reverse Warrior, Side Angle Stretch, and Triangle) have great external rotation of the hip in the front leg, so be sure to draw attention to this. Low Lunge with the back knee and foot on the ground is an excellent way to explore the depth of the flexion and extension needed for Pigeon. When cueing Standing Forward Fold, be sure to emphasize the length and relaxation in the spine so that students can remember how to re-create that same sense of length and relaxation later. As you work through these more demanding poses, draw students' attention to the breath. Encouraging them to continue a deep, even breath will help them relax into Pigeon.
There are several ways to approach Pigeon Pose. One of the most accessible ways is from All Fours.
Begin on All Fours, with knees under your hips and your wrists under shoulders. Draw the right knee forward and outward, toward the right wrist. Release the right leg to the mat, with the right ankle landing in front of the left thigh and the outer shin resting on the floor. This creates an upside-down Figure Four shape. From here, gently slide the supporting leg back into the pose. The back leg will look like it's in the Splits, with the knee and top of the foot resting on the floor. Students can stay upright in the pose with hands on the floor, or begin to exhale their torso toward the floor, placing forearms on the floor or lying all the way down. After 5 to 10 breaths, have students walk their hands back toward the front leg and gently return to All Fours. As a counterpose, some students may then wish to work through Spinal Balance, stretching out each leg and moving through the hips. Others may enjoy a gentle Downward-Facing Dog, pedaling through the feet. Repeat on the other side.
Encourage your students to monitor breathing; each breath should be long and even. If, at any time, breathing feels jagged or frantic, remind students they are diving too deeply and invite them to release the stretch a little bit or come out of the pose entirely.
For many students the depth of the hip rotation in Pigeon Pose is simply too uncomfortable to bear. Here are a few ways to soften the intensity—using props, of course.
Sometimes Pigeon Pose is simply not available, especially for those who have had knee or hip injuries, surgeries or replacements. There are great options for anyone who chooses not to do Pigeon Pose, including Seated Figure Four and Supine Figure Four. Both of these poses create very similar stretches in a gentle, and customized way.
Pigeon Pose can be a fantastic way to release stress and tension from the hips, and these tips will help you guide your students into, and out of, the pose in a safe and enjoyable way.


Rice bran extract is very rich in vitamin E and fatty acids, which hydrates the skin and helps it retain moisture. Chamomile flower leaf soothes the sensitive and dry skin. Organic rose extract works as natural astringent to help tighten pores, restore the suppleness for a glowy complexion.It is the best solution for sign of ageing such as fine lines, dry and sensitive skin.How to use:(1)After cleansing, use toner to refine skin texture. (2)Take out the mask from package and spread evenly over entire face, avoiding the eye and lip area. (3)Remove the sheet after 10/20 minutes and gently pat to allow the remaining formula into the skin. Tip! Keep masks in the fridge for refreshing relief after a day in the sun. RESULT:The water from the mask penetrates deep into the skin to remove the impurity and enhance its elasticity.Within a few weeks, this mask boosts natural regeneration process of the skin, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. The skin is protected from damages caused by the weather.


Today I put my money where my mouth is and bought a thirty-pound watermelon. Yes, you read that right. Thirty. Pounds. Thirty pounds!
Does this ever happen to you? One minute I was innocently stopping by the store to pick up a piece of fish, and the next minute I was staggering to my car carrying a small child and a melon that weighed more than her. Truth be told, I hadn't even thought of buying a watermelon today. The only reason I bought it was that it was sitting beside a much smaller but more expensive "petite" watermelon, making this organic behemoth an irresistible deal at $8.50. Those marketing geniuses at my co-op know me so well.
And now I have thirty pounds of watermelon to dispatch. Ideas?
This entry was posted in Asian Flavors, Fish, Food, Recipes and tagged fish, peppers, spicy, summer CSA recipes on September 13, 2012 by emmycooks.
Dinner outside again! I lived in LA for three years and appreciated the weather every single day. You can be sure that I'll also be able to sustain this glee through every single outdoor meal of Seattle's short summer. Especially since it's supposed to go right back to raining this week.
I took the picnic theme one step further by making a big main-dish composed salad, isn't that summery? And I was quite pleased to be one-upped in the pretending-its-summer department by our friends who served a rum punch on the deck before dinner.
This entry was posted in Eggs, Fish, Salads and tagged cooking, dinner, DIY, eggs, fish, food, homemade, lifestyle, recipes, salad on April 21, 2012 by emmycooks.
Here in Seattle, when we say "smoked salmon" we aren't talking about cold-smoked lox-style salmon. Instead it's hot-smoked, flaky, a bit drier, and by far my preferred style of smoked salmon. Here's a nice way to feature it for breakfast.
We smoke our own salmon in the backyard in summertime, but it's available in the store year round. Try to find a piece if you haven't tried it, because it's great. But if it's not readily available and you do have lox, make it easy on yourself, use that. The frittata will be different but still great.
And let's be honest: the fish adds smoke and salt, but the real star here is the oniony, herbaceous, melting cream cheese. Even if you don't make this frittata, you might want to keep a little jar of it in the fridge for smearing on your toast. And—this is a lot of talk about NOT making this frittata for a post dedicated to encouraging you to make this frittata, isn't it?—you can make an even faster dish by simply stirring flaked or chopped smoked salmon and the herbed cream cheese into a pan of nearly-set scrambled eggs.
Smoked Salmon Frittata with Spinach and Herbed Cream Cheese: First make a bowl of herbed cream cheese by mashing some cream cheese with a pinch of salt and a ton of chopped herbs (I used green onions, chives, parsley, dill, oregano, and thyme, probably about 1 c. loosely packed chopped herbs for 4 oz. cream cheese). Set aside. Sauté an onion until translucent and then stir in a few big handfuls of just-washed chopped or baby spinach until the spinach wilts and any moisture evaporates. Meanwhile, beat 6 eggs with salt, pepper, and ¼ c. crème fraiche or plain yogurt. Flake a piece of smoked salmon into the eggs, then add the onion and spinach and mix well. Wipe out the pan you used for the onions, add a little olive oil, and heat the pan over medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture and cook for about 5 minutes, until the edges are set. Dollop herbed cream cheese (as much as you want) on top of the eggs. Move to the oven and bake at 375 for about 10 more minutes, until the eggs are set.
This entry was posted in Breakfast, Eggs, Fish and tagged breakfast, cooking, DIY, eggs, family, fish, food, homemade, lifestyle, recipes on March 3, 2012 by emmycooks.


We don't pass around plates. But, we do recognize there is a cost to everything and that every dollar we spend is a vote for something.
If you want to vote for what is happening at Branches, we'd appreciate you helping to pay our costs.
We have a 55 gallon drum that is always in our building if you want to drop something in it.
If you would like to give your time at branches by helping with kids, helping with music, making coffee, setting up, preparing meals, please let us know on the volunteer page!.


Efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), especially bifunctional catalysts for overall water splitting, are highly desired. In this work, with rationally designed sandwich-type metal–organic framework/graphene oxide as a template and precursor, a layered CoP/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite has been successfully prepared via pyrolysis and a subsequent phosphating process. The resultant CoP/rGO-400 exhibits excellent HER activity in acid solution. More importantly, the catalyst manifests excellent catalytic performances for both the HER and OER in basic solution. Therefore, it can be utilized as a bifunctional catalyst on both the anode and cathode for overall water splitting in basic media, even displaying superior activity to that of the integrated Pt/C and IrO2 catalyst couple.


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Aristolochia pueblana är en piprankeväxtart som beskrevs av J.F. Ortega Ortiz & R.V. Ortega Ortiz. Aristolochia pueblana ingår i släktet piprankor, och familjen piprankeväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Piprankor
pueblana

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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What is American Sign Language?
By Melanie Ashford
Click here to learn more about International Week of Deaf People 2022, which is this week, September 19th - 25th. Today's focus for this event, led by the World Federation of the Deaf, is on Sign Languages in Education.
With more than 500,000 speakers in America and Canada, American Sign Language (ASL) is the most popular sign language in the USA. If you're hiring or working with a D/deaf colleague, there is a chance you may need to hire an ASL interpreter at some point.
As the predominant sign language for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the United States, ASL is the primary means of communication for thousands of people. If you're asked to provide an interpreter for a D/deaf employee in the U.S., it's most likely to be an ASL interpreter rather than any other language.
Sign language uses a mixture of hand signals and facial expressions for the speaker to communicate with. It's considered a full and complete language in its own right, although its grammatical structure is a little different. ASL follows a Subject-Verb-Object structure, so 'The cat sat on the mat' would become almost Cat-Sat-Mat. Some sign languages follow a different order, such as Hawai'i Sign Language (HSL), which follows a Subject-Object-Verb pattern, such as Cat-Mat-Sat.
ASL in the workplace
Some employees will require an ASL interpreter in the workplace, but it will differ as to whether they'll need an interpreter all the time or only for specific occasions. Some of the times your D/deaf employee might request an interpreter are meetings, Zoom conferences, or events. In some cases, remote interpreters may be appropriate. It's best to work closely with staff to identify what is best to effectively communicate.
In situations where an interpreter cannot be secured, it may be appropriate to use staff who are fluent in ASL. However, it is important to note that, family members or colleagues with bias should never be used to interpret − this is especially true for law enforcement. Interpreters must be qualified and properly trained for the occasion, so one should not assume that someone who speaks some sign language is a reasonable accommodation. In any case, communicate any constraints with the person to find out what they are comfortable with − but note, denying a reasonable accommodation for an interpreter for arbitrary reasons is never appropriate − see our article on undue hardship.
ASL can help bring employees together, so offering some ASL or D/deaf Awareness training may be helpful to your whole team. It's well worth considering next time you're planning a team-building day.
What does ADA say about ASL?
The Americans with Disabilities Act says that you must provide reasonable accommodation for any employee disclosing their disability to you unless doing so would create an undue burden. Interpreters are covered under 'auxiliary aids and services,' and are considered reasonable accommodations. However, there are certain circumstances where you may refuse, including costs the company cannot meet (note: these costs are based on the budget of the entire organization).
It's worth noting that there are many types of interpreters, so it might be worth checking whether or not your employee can use a cheaper or alternative form of interpretation. Don't assume that your employee can understand other forms of interpretation than the one they've requested, so remember to discuss this with them first.
American Sign Language is the primary means of communication for hundreds of thousands of D/deaf Americans, so understanding the ADA's rules regarding interpreters is essential.
Our mission is to create objective and trustworthy information and resources to become a catalyst for equal access to the physical and digital worlds. To support the efforts of our colleagues working to improve accessibility and communication, Accessibility.com is excited to announce a limited-time special offer for our Accessible Customer Service for Virtual Customer Service Teams certification course.
The Accessible Customer Service for Virtual Customer Service Teams training course is specially crafted to help customer service representatives gain the specific knowledge and awareness they need to deliver inclusive service for customers with disabilities.
A Brief Introduction to the XRA Developers Guide
States Turn to WCAG to Meet Accessibility Requirements
Digital Accessibility Lawsuits Skyrocket


ALL entrants have the opportunity to be recognized for their invention ideas and to win prizes! On May 3rd, winners and honorable mention awards will be announced! Check out the images below to see what you win based on your category and age. For further prizing details, check out the Official Rules.


Author, "Drunks: An American History"
The problem of addiction has plagued America for centuries. But recovery movements are almost as old.
Our weak response is not surprising. It has taken Americans a long time to understand addiction as a health issue. When a rise in drunkenness first caused widespread concern in the late 18th century, most people considered alcoholism as a personal weakness or a moral failing.
President John Adams renounced his son, who had an alcohol use disorder and died a short time later at the age of 30.
Even then, however, there were people who believed that the people with addiction could be saved. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, called alcoholism a disease that could be treated like other illnesses.
A few years later, a Native American named Handsome Lake experienced a vision that caused him to quit drinking and lead a religious revival that sobered many in the Iroquois nation.
In the 1940s, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) established for the first time that thousands of people with alcoholism could stay sober. Today, millions of people have achieved long-term recovery through AA, Narcotics Anonymous, and other mutual aid programs.
New medicines are helping people control their cravings for drugs and alcohol.
Independent, non-profit groups called Recovery Community Organizations (RCO) have started to provide long-term support at the local, regional and state levels.
RCOs operate recovery community centers, run schools and offer sober housing. They provide peer recovery support through recovery coaching, telephone recovery support and more.
The federal government is providing very minimal funding for RCOs. President Trump's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis did not include recovery support among its initial recommendations. However, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the commission chair, has included a significant amount of funding for recovery support services in his state budget.
Meanwhile, every person impacted by addiction is racing the clock. My friend Joe was trying desperately to get sober. He celebrated his one-year anniversary in AA and then "slipped." He stopped drinking again and was enrolled in a clinic that was helping him.
But Joe's body had been broken by years of abuse. When he slipped again, he ran out of time.
Originally published by Faces and Voices of Recovery.


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The end of Markelle Fultz with the 76ers is also the real end of Bryan Colangelo | Bob Ford
Updated: February 15, 2019 - 11:38 AM
Bob Ford | @bobfordsports | bford@inquirer.com
Bryan Colangelo will be ridiculed in Philadelphia for how he left, but he will be remembered for trading up to draft Markelle Fultz.
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Long ago, during a Phillies offseason at a time when Lenny Dykstra was on the team and considered merely puckish, he would greet acquaintances with a demand: "Hey, Dude. Ask me what I think of the Von Hayes trade." The Phillies had recently dealt the taciturn outfielder to the Angels.
"OK, Lenny. What do you think of the Von Hayes trade?"
Sixers' shortcomings on defense are a significant worry for the looming stretch run | David Murphy
Ex-Sixer Markelle Fultz on Orlando Magic: It's exciting to have coaches who won't just 'tell you what you want to hear'
After All-Star break, Brett Brown and the Sixers will go back to basics
"I think it was a great trade, dude. Who did we get?"
Dykstra considered this high comedy, and it was kind of funny, although a bit mean. Sometimes, however, you feel that way when a trade is made, and it is exactly how it felt — minus the meanness — when the Sixers traded Markelle Fultz to Orlando.
Nothing against the kid, and here's hoping all of his outlets are healed, thoracic and otherwise, and he enjoys a healthy and productive NBA career. He's got a huge problem with the advice he's getting from his family and his agent, and he needs to confront that, but it was just time to move on from here and solve that elsewhere.
Even his introductory news conference with the Magic, when he nibbled at the hand that tried so hard to feed him — saying it will be exciting to have a coach who pushes you instead of telling you what you want to hear — should be ignored, if possible. He's 20 years old, confused, probably scared, and looking for someone to blame for the hand he's been dealt. Good luck, Orlando. You're going to need it.
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At this end of the transaction, I think Elton Brand should be named NBA executive of the year right now. Forget acquiring Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Getting a protected first-round pick and a good second-round pick, along with a bench player in Jonathon Simmons, in exchange for The Fultz Experience is brilliant.
Even if nothing comes of the picks or Simmons, just getting the $10 million off the salary cap for next season, not to mention ridding the organization of the distraction, is a masterstroke.
The trade does something else, too, at least the way I choose to view it. The book is now closed on the Bryan Colangelo era as general manager and president of basketball operations. And what a book it was.
Technically, this isn't true, because there are threads of both the Sam Hinkie and the Colangelo eras dangling into Brand's third stewardship of The Process. From Colangelo's two years in charge, you still have Furkan Korkmaz and Jonah Bolden, and if you want to count the presence of Amir Johnson and JJ Redick, that's all right, too, although the current administration was the one that re-signed Redick.
But in terms of signature moves prior to his self-immolation, Colangelo will be linked most closely here to the 2017 draft, when he was pickpocketed by Danny Ainge at the price of a high lottery pick and (probably) a low lottery pick for the pleasure of having Fultz disappear before our eyes.
Until Fultz was traded, of course, there was still the possibility he would recover and become a superstar. But now the accounting is more sobering: a low first (probably), a high second, and Jonathon Simmons for those two high firsts. And Brand did better to get that than anyone could have hoped.
The only other major moves by Colangelo — we're going to overlook the Kendall Marshall-for-Tibor Pleiss swap — were the deals he found to move Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. Those weren't anything to brag about, either, unless you have a soft spot for the short but interesting reigns of Trevor Booker and Andrew Bogut.
If you wish to credit Colangelo for selecting Ben Simmons with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft that dropped into his lap, go ahead, but 29 other general managers would have done exactly the same thing.
No, Colangelo, will certainly be ridiculed here for the way he left, but he will be remembered for Fultz.
He was terrified that the Sixers would end with Josh Jackson in that draft. Boston had settled on Jayson Tatum and would have taken him even if the Celtics kept the top pick. The Lakers drafted second, and if they grabbed Fultz rather than Lonzo Ball, the Sixers had no use for the big point guard (already having Simmons) and would have been stuck with Jackson, whom they didn't like very much, and certainly not with the third pick.
So, Colangelo traded up to get out of that conundrum and, this being a results business, the move turned out to be a major mistake. (Although it does appear he was right about Jackson.) If Fultz had been what they envisioned him to be — the perfect backcourt fit for Simmons, with the ball and without — Colangelo would be celebrated now, and might even have survived his unfortunate Twitter denouement.
Not the case, however, and it was fitting as the Sixers headed into the All-Star break with the prospect of an exciting postseason ahead of them, that the largest chapter in the Colangelo book was finally finished. No looking back now. It was a great trade. Who did we get, Dude?
Posted: February 15, 2019 - 11:38 AM
Ben Simmons, Sixers agree to five-year, $170 million max contract extension
Keith Pompey
Sixers to face Charlotte Hornets in preseason game at Wake Forest on October 11
Sixers to host Chinese team in preseason matchup in October
The biggest impact of the Sixers' whirlwind offseason? It might come from someone you already know. | David Murphy
Report: Sixers' Ben Simmons will likely skip FIBA World Cup with native Australia to focus on his offseason training
EJ Smith
The Sixers don't seem to be struggling to get over their breakup with Jimmy Butler. Tobias Harris could be why | David Murphy


After a fantastic twelve years in the Oakland's Sunshine Biscuit factory complex we unfortunately have to relocate to a luckily(!) fabulous new space in west Richmond..
We'll really miss the classic industrial architecture of Sunshine and Oakland — but fighting the out of state multi-billion dollar new corporate owners of the Sunshine who are focused on cashing in Oakland's residential real estate boom as opposed to serving businesses and organizations by converting the industrial spaces like ours to residential rentals (regardless of Oakland's zoning) is beyond our means.
Thankfully the move brings us some great things as well — we'll have our very own building, ceilings up to 26′, lots of power for filming, we'll be ADA accessible, and have a brand new dance floor which at 25′ x 35′ is more than double the size of our current floor.
As part of the move and expansion we're also asking for your help in supporting the build-out of the new space and the modest priced rehearsal, resident artist and production space we offer. We have a fundraising goal of $10,000 for our Lay the Floor campaign to help cover the costs for the new floor, build-out and tech system. Our great news is that as of May 10th we are more than 50% of the way there, with almost a month left to go for our June 15th deadline.
You can support the new space by donating online via the secure PayPal link below, through our fiscal sponsor Dancer's Group, through in-kind donations of materials and equipment, and by helping at our JUNE 12th-13th "Lay the Floor" Weekend.


The first four OMD albums are due to be reissued on vinyl this November.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Organisation, Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships have been mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road. The album reissues will be pressed on 180gsm vinyl and the sleeves will retain their die-cut elements (with the obvious exception of Organisation).
The albums present the first phase of OMD's musical career charting their initial outings on the DinDisc label, as well as their transition to parent label Virgin with the release of Dazzle Ships in 1983.
OMD's debut album Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark represents the 'garage electro' sound of early OMD, from which classic songs such as 'Electricity' and 'Messages' were turned into singles. It represents OMD at their rawest and the sleeve design by Peter Saville and Ben Kelly remains an iconic piece of art that's endured since the album was first released in 1980.
OMD adopted a more gothic approach for their second album Organisation, released in the autumn months of 1980. Featuring their international hit 'Enola Gay', the album also includes their long-form composition 'Stanlow' – a song inspired by the Wirral-based oil refinery that singled the band were returning home after tours.
Architecture & Morality encapsulated the peak of OMD's songwriting talent for the time. The album features a batch of OMD's most well-known singles in the form of 'Souvenir', 'Joan Of Arc' and 'Maid Of Orleans'. The album has sold over 4 million copies and is still considered a classic synthpop record today.
The "dysfunctional genius" of Dazzle Ships, as Andy McCluskey once described it, presented OMD at their most challenging. The musique concrète compositions, such as 'Time Zones', strike a fractured balance against the pure synthpop of 'Telegraph' and the Eno-inspired thrash of 'Genetic Engineering'. The 1983 album destabilised the trajectory of success the band had enjoyed from the A&M period, but remains a much-loved album by OMD fans – and was later reassessed by contemporary critics in a more favourable light.
The vinyl editions of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Organisation, Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships are due for release by Universal Music on 2nd November.
Pricing for all 4 albums via the OMD Website is £72. Plus all pre-orders will receive a free exclusive tote bag.


Home / The Archives / Buy Your Rain Gear Now!
Since we're approaching the summer months, now is a great time to purchase your winter gear especially a rain jacket.
Jenson USA has a wonderful selection products to keep you warm during the winter months. Some of their stuff is on sale from 10-55% off! Check them OUT!


Milight White Remote is a physical manual remote that can be used to control Milight White lights without the need to use Wifi Controller box. The remote uses 2.4G technology to contol the lights directly. With this remote you will not need to use your mobile phone or device.
2.4G RF 4-Zone Remote Control for Mi Light Cool White/Warm White LED Bulb Lamp Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 4 reviews.


Two decades of research showing that increasing plant diversity results in greater community productivity has been predicated on greater functional diversity allowing access to more of the total available resources. Thus, understanding phenotypic attributes that allow species to partition resources is fundamentally important to explaining diversity-productivity relationships.
Here we use data from a long-term experiment (Cedar Creek, MN) and compare the extent to which productivity is explained by seven types of community metrics of functional variation: 1) species richness, 2) variation in 10 individual traits, 3) functional group richness, 4) a distance-based measure of functional diversity, 5) a hierarchical multivariate clustering method, 6) a nonmetric multidimensional scaling approach, and 7) a phylogenetic diversity measure, summing phylogenetic branch lengths connecting community members together and may be a surrogate for ecological differences. Although most of these diversity measures provided significant explanations of variation in productivity, the presence of a nitrogen fixer and phylogenetic diversity were the two best explanatory variables. Further, a statistical model that included the presence of a nitrogen fixer, seed weight and phylogenetic diversity was a better explanation of community productivity than other models.
Evolutionary relationships among species appear to explain patterns of grassland productivity. Further, these results reveal that functional differences among species involve a complex suite of traits and that perhaps phylogenetic relationships provide a better measure of the diversity among species that contributes to productivity than individual or small groups of traits.
Copyright: © 2009 Cadotte et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: For MWC, this work was conducted while a Postdoctoral Associate at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, a Center funded by NSF (Grant #DEB-0553768), the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the State of California. DT, JCB and the Cedar Creek experiments were supported by NSF/DEB0620652. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
For nearly two decades, researchers have tested the prediction that community productivity is positively related to plant diversity –. One guiding assumption has been that greater diversity in functional traits allows species to access more of the total resources –, whether they be nutrients, water, pollinators or fungal symbionts, and allows multiple competing species to coexist . Researchers have advocated measuring diversity in functional attributes relevant to those critical limiting resources and assumed that this should be the best predictor of community productivity and ecosystem functioning –. However, identifying the critical resources over pertinent temporal and spatial scales as well as the most relevant functional traits can be challenging.
The first approximation to classifying critical functional differences has been to group species into functional groups, which is often based on broad morphological and physiological similarities (e.g., C4, C3, legumes, etc.). The richness of functional groups has been used to potentially explain variation in community productivity , , . But functional group richness is a problematic measure for two reasons. First, the removal or addition of "functionally redundant" species may have effects on community dynamics and processes –, indicating that there are important functional differences not captured by broad groupings. Competition theory suggests there must be some niche differentiation, no matter how similar species are to stably coexist. The second reason is that functional group richness tends to predict only a limited amount of variation in productivity  and may even explain less variation than having randomly assigned groups .
Given that functional groups may be inadequate representations of critical functional diversity, ecologists have sought other ways of measuring functional diversity by measuring specific a priori selected traits [e.g.], , [21,22]. In contrast to measuring specific traits, other measures of functional diversity use multivariate techniques to evaluate trait differences/similarities among species without reliance on a small number of traits selected a priori. The first multivariate strategy, functional attribute diversity (FAD), introduced by Walker and colleagues , sums species distances in trait space as a measure of total trait or functional dissimilarity. The second strategy, functional diversity (FD) by Petchey and Gaston  essentially uses the FAD trait distance matrix to create a functional dendrogram from a clustering routine. FD then corresponds to the total dendrogram branch lengths connecting community members together. In a comparison of FAD and FD, Petchey et al.  show that FD better explains variation in community biomass accumulation. The final multivariate strategy we introduce here is a variation of the FD strategy. Since FD and FAD do not account for groups of correlated traits, we use nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to create the distance matrix that accounts for correlated traits. Then we perform the FD clustering to produce branch lengths.
All these multivariate techniques, while relaxed from strict a priori trait decisions, may still be sensitive to which traits are included in the analyses . Further, multivariate distances reflect the magnitude of scale units used (e.g., cm vs. m) and the variation in scale for different traits as opposed to the actual difference in ecological function (e.g., does a 10% difference in leaf size have the same ecological consequences as a 10% difference in seed mass?). Given these potential limitations of trait-based approaches, we advocate the use of another metric, phylogenetic diversity (PD) –that is the sum of phylogenetic branches connecting species together. If phenotypic dissimilarity is correlated with evolutionary divergence times –, then the more divergent two species are, the greater likelihood that they differ ecologically. As a diversity measure, PD has been shown for some datasets to better explain variation in community productivity than species or functional group richness , .
In this paper, we compare the efficacy of explaining variation in community productivity with seven different types of trait diversity measures: 1) species richness, 2) variation in 10 individual traits, 3) functional group richness, 4) Walker and colleagues' (1999) Functional Attribute Diversity (FAD), 5) Petchey and Gaston's (2002) Functional Diversity (FD), 6) our Nonmetric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (NMDS) approach, and 7) community PD. Our goal is to find which of these various diversity measures provides the best possible explanation of patterns of community productivity, moving from simple, single-variable models to metrics that represent full community trait differences.
In 1993, the vegetation and seed bank in a post-abandonment agricultural field located at Cedar Creek Natural History Area, Minnesota, USA, were removed via herbicide, burn and bulldozing treatments. The following year 13×13 m plots were seeded with 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 grassland savanna species (experiment 120). Plot composition was randomly chosen from a pool of 18 species that included four C3 grasses, C4 grasses, legumes, non-legume herbaceous forbs and two woody species. At each level of diversity 28–35 replicates were established, and plot composition was maintained by manually weeding and annual burns [for more details see: http://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/research/exper/e120/, , , ]. In 1995 three more species were added to substitute for poorly germinating species from the original 18, but subsequent weeding did not target the poor germinators meaning that 21 species were actually included in this experiment (species are identified in Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Three dendrograms representing relationships among species.
The first is based on maximum likelihood analyses of genetic sequences from four genes. The second uses the functional diversity methodology of Petchey and Gaston (2002) on all measured traits. The third dendrogram also uses the functional diversity method on three orthogonal dimensions from nonmetric multi-dimensional scaling.
As an estimate of productivity, peak aboveground biomass was measured by clipping, drying and weighing four 0.1 m by 3.0 m strips per plot. Biomass was sampled annually from 1996 to 2007 and we here use the average in biomass production as our dependent variable. The long-term average biomass was used because inter-annual variation was due largely to subsampling variance and regional climatic variation , . In plots that carried fire the oaks (Quercus ellipsoidalis and Q. macrocarpa) performed poorly –contributing little to productivity, and so they were excluded from the calculation of the trait, functional and phylogenetic diversity metrics.
We constructed a phylogeny for the species used in this experiment and a second biodiversity experiment at Cedar Creek (i.e., Experiments 120 and 123), which included a total of 31 species (see Appendix S1 for a list of all species). In February, 2008, for each of the 31 species, we searched GenBank  for four gene sequences commonly used in published angiosperm phylogenies : matK, rbcl, ITS1 and 5.8s. Of the 31 species, 14 had at least one gene represented in Genbank and for a further 16 species, we used gene sequences from a congeneric relative not included in these experiments. Collectively, the species used in this experiment represent many of the deep historical angiosperm bifurcations, relative to the number of branches connecting close relatives. Therefore, the effect on branch length estimates from using congeneric species is likely minimal, so long as congenerics are monophyletic with the species used in the experiment. We also included two representatives of early diverging angiosperm lineages as outgroup species, Amborella trichopoda and Magnolia grandiflora, and we added 4 other species, each represented by multiple genes, that were included in clades whose members did not have overlapping sequences (see Appendix S1). For these 36 species we aligned sequences using MUSCLE . We then selected best-fit maximum likelihood models of nucleotide substitution for each gene using the Akaike Information Criterion, as implemented in Modeltest , .
Using the aligned sequences and the best-fit models of nucleotide substitution, we estimated a maximum likelihood phylogeny using the PHYML algorithm with a BIONJ starting tree , . To assess nodal support on maximum likelihood phylogenies, we report Approximate Likelihood Ratio Test (aLRT) scores, which have been shown to correlate with ML bootstrap scores, but require much less computational time . The maximum likelihood tree is available in Appendix S1. A single species that lacked any genetic data, Rudbeckia hirta, was added as a polytomy with Liatris aspera and Coreopsis palmata because they are all considered members of the Asteroideae subfamily (see Appendix S1). For the analyses in the present paper, we pruned out the 10 species not used in experiment 120 (Fig. 1 shows the pruned phylogeny and Figure 1 in Appendix S1 shows the full phylogeny for both experiments). We did not rerun PHYML on the subtree members due to the sparseness of the gene matrix, especially for the Asteraceae species.
From the phylogeny, we calculated phylogenetic diversity (PD) for each experimental plot as the total phylogenetic branch lengths connecting only the community members together not including the root of the larger phylogeny . Here we are using a single method of phylogenetic construction, but there are other methods that may alter PD estimates. However, recent analyses have shown that the method of phylogenetic construction does not appear to alter qualitative results , .
In the summers of 2007 and 2008, we measured leaf traits in the Cedar Creek biodiversity experiment [E120]. We sampled three fully mature leaves from ten individuals of each species collected within the maintained experimental plots as well as from the unmaintained experimental plots. Each individual was identified from a randomly chosen plot to cover the range of diversity treatments. We scanned fresh leaves on a flatbed scanner on the same day as collection with petioles and sheaths removed. Leaf area, perimeter and Feret's diameter (i.e., parallel lines touching opposites ends of the leaf) were calculated from the scanned leaves using ImageJ software . These measures allowed calculation of perimeter per area (P/A, cm⋅cm−2), which is empirically correlated with leaf hydraulic conductance across a wide range of taxa . Perimeter per leaf area⋅Feret's diameter is a unitless measure of leaf lobedness [e.g., 41] that influences the leaf radiation balance . After scanning, we dried the leaves at 65°C for three days and weighed to calculate specific leaf area (cm2⋅g−1).
We determined seed mass by collecting seed heads for ten plants per species after seeds were fully mature, air drying the seeds, and then weighing together ten seeds (and dividing by ten) to calculate a mean seed mass per plant. For five species that were not seeding, seed mass was taken from online commercial databases, including the Native Seed Network (www.nativeseednetwork.org), Wildflower Farm Inc. (www.wildflowerfarm.com), and Prairie Moon Nursery (www.prairiemoon.com). Plant height was taken from the USDA Plants Database (plants.usda.gov). See table 1 for trait codes.
Table 1. Diversity variables calculated.
Trait variation at the plot scale was estimated by the coefficient of variation in trait values for leaf area, leaf perimeter area ratio, leaf lobedness, specific leaf area, seed weight and height, while plot presence/absence was recorded for the C3, C4, forb and nitrogen fixer functional groups. We calculated four trait diversity metrics: the number of functional groups, FG; functional diversity, FD ; functional attribute diversity, FAD ; and Nonmetric Multi Dimensional Scaling, NMDS [e.g., 43]. FD estimates net species similarity or differences as branch lengths from a functional dendrogram based on a multivariate distance matrix . To calculate FD, we scaled the traits to have a mean of zero and variance of one. We then calculated a Euclidean distance matrix and performed hierarchical clustering on this matrix and calculated FD as the total branch lengths connecting community members together . For FAD, we again used the traits scaled to mean of zero and variance of 1 and calculated a Euclidean distance matrix. We then summed the distances for all species in a community . Finally, since we were including multiple traits in these analyses, we wanted to account for groups of correlated traits. We performed NMDS on the trait matrix including functional groups (Fig. 2). We ran the analysis using two to five dimensions and choose the number of dimensions that reduced stress and which had no deviations on a dissimilarity-distance plot . We selected a three-dimension model due to the stress reduction associate with this model (i.e., 8.71 versus 16.68 for the two-dimension model). We then calculated FD using the dimensions as independent traits. All variables are defined in Table 1. We have included the script, written in R 2.7.1 (www.R-project.org), to calculate PD, FD and FAD from a community membership list, a phylogeny and a trait matrix (see Appendix S2).
Figure 2. The ordination plot produced by nonmetric multi-dimensional scaling.
Symbols refer to functional group membership.
There were a total of 16 different diversity variables used in this analysis (Table 1), and the goal was to construct the most informative model explaining patterns of biomass production. To narrow down the number of potential explanatory variables, we searched for the best single-variable models where average annual productivity was regressed against each diversity metric and compared to the explanatory ability of these models using Akaike weights, which can be interpreted as the probability that a particular model is the best fit to the observed data among a set of candidate models . We further used mallow's Cp to rank these single variable models. We checked diagnostic plots (e.g., residual versus fitted plots) for potential outliers and data trends.
We were not only interested in the best single variable explaining patterns of productivity, but also combining PD and trait metrics in multi-variable models. We performed a stratified all subsets model approach where PD was included in models with either single variable trait diversity metrics or multivariate functional diversity metrics, but not both since the multivariate metrics are based on the single variables. Mallow's Cp was used to select potential models up to 5 variables and Akaike weights to compare them. Alternatively, we selected the best single variables and constructed models around these, comparing them using Akaike weights.
Interestingly, the species in the FD dendrogram did not produce the same sister pairings as in the molecular phylogeny (Fig. 1), while the NMDS dendrogram shows species clustering more similar to the molecular phylogeny (Fig. 1). As would be expected because the number of branches, and thus the sum of all branch lengths, increases with the number of plant species (N), PD and N were highly correlated (Fig. 3). However, PD seems to better explain variation in productivity compared with N, FG, FD, FAD or NMDS (Table 2). Productivity was positively related to each of these measures (Fig. 4). The better fit provided by PD compared to the traditional variable, N, suggests that PD, which combines the effect of differences (via branch lengths) with the effect of the number of species (as N-1 branches) is a superior single measure of diversity than N.
Figure 3. The relationship between species number and phylogenetic diversity.
Figure 4. The relationship between average annual plot productivity and six diversity metrics.
Of these six metrics, PD is the best single explanatory variable, second only to the presence of a nitrogen fixer (see Table 2).
Table 2. Results of univariate models.
However, the single best explanatory variable was the presence of a nitrogen fixer (Table 2). Only within the plots with a nitrogen fixer present, which includes most plots, PD is still significantly related to productivity (F1,103 = 19.98, P<0.0001) and a better model (Akaike weight, AW = 0.634) than N, FAD, NMDS, FD or FG (AW = 0.142, 0.089, 0.084, 0.047 and 0.037, respectively).
While the above analyses informs our understanding of how individual models compare to one another, we were also interested in combining variables in models to better explain variation in productivity. We did this in two ways. First, we used a stratified all subsets approach (Table 3). The best models contained PD along with SW, PD and PA –while the multivariate functional diversity metrics were not selected as variables in the best models. Secondly, we took an informed approach by building various models from the top five predictors from Table 2. The best model of 26 potential models (AW≈1) is one that includes PD, SW and Nfix (Table S1).
Table 3. Comparison of multivariate predictor models from the stratified all subsets routine.
We also ran the model explicitly testing Westoby's (1998) LHS plant strategy scheme by regressing productivity against the additive effects of SLA, SW and H. While this model was significant (P<0.0001), only seed weight was significant as an individual model term (P<0.0001) while SLA and H were not (P = 0.261 and 0.190, respectively). Further, this model did not have much of an explanatory advantage over the model with seed weight alone (AIC = 1755.5 vs. 1756.7; and R2 = 0.41 vs. 0.40).
For each of the six continuous traits, we assessed whether traits covaried with relatedness using phylogenetically independent contrasts. SW had a significant phylogenetic signal (summed observed contrasts = 0.131, null expectation [95% CI] = 0.185 [0.136–0.253]), while the rest of the traits lacked any significant signal (LA: obs = 192.5, null [95% CI] = 190.4 [149.5–235.2]; LPA: obs = 306.4, null [95% CI] = 301.8 [229.3–387.9]; LL: obs = 483.1, null [95% CI] = 293.5 [197.4–489.2]; SLA: obs = 1406.4, null [95% CI] = 1374.9 [1121.8–1693.4]; and H: obs = 14.8, null [95% CI] = 14.8 [11.9–18.1]). The significant signal in seed weight is influenced by the fact that species in the Fabaceae tended to have larger seed weights (Fig. 5). We confirmed that the non-Fabaceae species lacked a significant signal by removing Fabaceae species and re-running the analysis (obs = 0.042, null [95% CI] = 0.053 [0.037–0.067]), and species within the Fabaceae also lacked a signal (obs = 0.087, null [95% CI] = 0.104 [0.066–0.135]).
Figure 5. The distribution of seed size across the phylogeny.
Phylogenetic diversity (PD) within a plot was an important factor explaining community productivity patterns. This result is not surprising; we fully expected PD to be a significant predictor of productivity, given that previous studies have shown this [e.g.], [9,18]. On the other hand, we expected multivariate functional diversity indices to better account for productivity patterns, since trait differences should drive ecological differences –regardless of patterns of shared ancestry on the traits. Even though multivariate functional diversity metrics were significant predictors of productivity patterns [see also 25], PD was by far a better predictor. Further, individual traits (besides nitrogen fixation and seed weight) did not show detectable phylogenetic signals, meaning that PD's influence on productivity is likely driven by other, unmeasured traits. This lack of signal could be due to the limited size and coverage of our phylogeny. Further, the seed weight signal appears driven by the fact that the species in the Fabaceae clade tend to have larger seeds than other species, meaning the seed weight results are at least partially driven by the covariance between seed size and being a nitrogen fixer. Although the alternative interpretation would be that the seed weight result likely represents the effect of some other traits involved in a tradeoff with seed size.
Beyond PD, the presence of a nitrogen fixer, was an important explanatory variable. Given that grassland communities at Cedar Creek are generally nitrogen-limited, it is not surprising that the presence of a nitrogen fixer was the single most important factor explaining patterns of community productivity . Yet most polycultures contained at least one nitrogen fixer, meaning that the presence of nitrogen fixers does not inform our understanding of productivity patterns among the most speciose plots. Further, controlling for the presence of N-fixers allows us to overcome a potential phylogenetic "selection" effect. Thus the analyses examining the explanatory value of PD and the various trait measures in plots containing an N-fixer are particularly illuminating. Here again PD comes out as the best single measure, but we cannot eliminate the role of selecting other highly productive species or clades.
While the results presented here strongly support using PD to understand productivity patterns, there are at least two caveats that should be the focus of future research. First, our conclusion that PD is the best predictor of biomass production stems from a single study system at one spatial scale, and PD may not prove to be such a good predictor in other systems or at other scales. In a metaanalysis of PD effects on productivity across 29 experiments, Cadotte et al. (2008) found much variation in the explanatory value of PD (R2 ranged from 0.01 to 0.69). Further, in some systems or under some environmental conditions the critical functional traits may have much more important roles and thus more explanatory value than PD. Such critical traits may be very labile with a low phylogenetic signal, which a phylogeny fails to capture, or else these traits exhibit considerable phenotypic plasticity. Future analyses should include belowground traits, which may be critical in this system for understanding mechanisms of niche partitioning that enhance productivity. A mechanistic understanding of the productivity-diversity relationship may provide greater insight and is often more relevant for practical, management objectives than finding relationships that lack a clear mechanistic basis, as with PD.
Secondly, future research is also required to link PD to ecological differentiation. In this paper, we assume that change in PD is proportional to change in niche space or ecological function, meaning that the magnitude of variation in niche differentiation is dependent on the time since divergence (i.e., Brownian trait evolution). Under such a model, taxa covary in their niche trait based on the amount of time they are represented by a single ancestor in a phylogeny, then differentiate in that niche trait, according to a Markov process of probabilistic trait change diverging from some mean ancestral trait . Other models relating phylogenetic distances to niche or phenotypic divergence could be compared, including those that do not assume that trait divergence is proportional to genetic change . Further, alternative models have been proposed that incorporate explicit models of stabilizing or strong directional selection [e.g.], , [49,50]. Addressing alternative models of how phylogenetic distances correspond to trait changes would offer insight into what extent niches are conserved  and what this means for ecosystem function. Thus, future work should center on finding probable models that relate phylogenetic differentiation with actual niche and functional differences.
Given these caveats, it is still remarkable that PD is such a strong predictor of productivity patterns. PD might be further preferable because it is becoming increasingly simpler to measure PD compared with functional diversity metrics. Online databases, such as the GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), the genetic sequence repository, or TreeBASE (www.treebase.org) that stores phylogenetic data from publications, or Phylomatic (www.phylodiversity.net/phylomatic/), which constructs phylogenies for species lists from available Angiosperm supertrees, provide straightforward paths to developing phylogenies. While trait repositories are being developed (e.g., TraitNet; www.columbia.edu/cu/traitnet/) there is no widely available, comprehensive source for multiple traits, and it is unlikely it would cover all the physical and biochemical traits that matter in different systems.
While phylogenetic diversity may be useful in understanding the consequences of diversity change in ecosystems not amenable to experimental manipulation (e.g., the open ocean, communities with endangered species, communities of long-lived organisms, etc.), future research needs to relate our results to mechanisms of coexistence and productivity in natural communities . In a recent study by Flombaum and Sala , primary productivity in natural ecosystems showed a greater response to gradients in species number compared to those from artificially assembled experimental plots, such as with the data used here. Is the stronger diversity-productivity relationship in naturally assembled communities driven more by critical functional traits, or would PD still better explain productivity? Additionally, how communities are assembled could have important ramifications for patterns of PD. Natural community assembly does not select species randomly from a regional species pool, meaning that phylogenetic relationships or ecological traits may inform basic coexistence patterns. Phylogenetic relatedness likely depends on the spatial and taxonomic scale being considered , where at broad scales, phylogenetic clustering corresponds to trait selection, while at narrow scales, very close relatives are less likely to co-occur , . Certain ecological traits should be selected for in the process of community assembly, and phylogenetic patterns likely reflect the phylogenetic signal of selected traits , . Depending on the exact nature of trait evolution and community assembly, communities could show greater phylogenetic diversity with low trait variation and vice versa . The relative contribution of trait variation vs. PD on ecosystem productivity may then also vary with community assembly processes; for instance if community assembly favors high PD and lower critical trait variance , then PD may still represent other ecological traits, and thus be significantly related to productivity. Phylogenetic information may be a way to scale from organismal physiology to ecosystem-level processes , .
We explicitly tested the explanatory power of PD on community productivity against a suite of individual and multivariate traits for experimentally created grassland communities. The trait metrics did not explain productivity patterns as well as PD and one major reason appears to be that we did not measure those functional traits, such as root types, rooting depth or resource requirements, which the phylogeny is representing. We assume that since PD is such a good explanatory variable, it provides a measure of diversity that must be associated with critical functional differences among species within a community that contribute to maximization of productivity.
Even without a clear mechanistic basis, these results have important implications for habitat restoration and biofuel production. If one of the goals of habitat restoration activities is to maximize community functionality, then restoration biologists should attempt to maximize the evolutionary diversity among members of the planned community. For biofuel production, especially in Midwestern prairies, in addition to choosing species with fast growth rates, biofuel-producing communities should consist of phylogenetically distinct mixtures while paying attention to critical functional groups such as nitrogen fixers.
Table of species, genes and GenBank accession numbers and the phylogeny.
R scripts to calculate PD and various measures of trait diversity.
MWC wishes to thank Elsa Cleland and Jonathan Davies for inspiring discussions and for advice on the analyses presented here. We also thank participants of the NCEAS Ecophylogenetics working group for valuable discussions. Brian Anacker, Jason Fridley, Andy Hector and Michael Stastny kindly provided comments on an earlier manuscript. JCB wishes to thank Paul Belinski and Kari Kohler for assistance in collecting the trait data.
Conceived and designed the experiments: MC JCB DT TO. Performed the experiments: JCB DT. Analyzed the data: MC TO. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MC TO. Wrote the paper: MC JCB DT TO.
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Kamala Markandaya was a pseudonym used by Kamala Purnaiya Taylor, an Indian novelist and journalist. A native of Mysore, India, Markandaya was a graduate of Madras University, and afterwards published several short stories in Indian newspapers. After India declared its independence, Markandaya moved to Britain, though she still labeled herself an Indian expatriate long afterwards. Known for writing about culture clash between Indian urban and rural societies, Markandaya's first published novel, Nectar in a Sieve, was a bestseller and named a notable book of 1955 by the American Library Association. Other novels include A Silence of Desire, A Handful of Rice, The Nowhere Man, Two Virgins, The Golden Honeycomb, and Pleasure City. Markandaya died in London on May 16, 2004.


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Xbox Game Pass Adds One of Xbox One's Most Popular Games and Brand New Release
By Tyler Fischer - October 21, 2020 03:36 pm EDT
Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate have two new games. One of these games is one of the most popular releases of this generation. The other new addition is a brand new game that just released today. More specifically, if you're a Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you can now enjoy the following two games: ScourgeBringer and The Elder Scrolls Online. For now, it's unclear how long either game will be added, but it's quite possible the latter is a permanent addition considering Microsoft owns it.
For those that don't know: ScourgeBringer is a fast-paced roguelite platformer that debuted in Early Access earlier this year, and today, it fully released on Xbox One, PC, and other platforms. Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls Online needs no introduction. Despite the fact that it's several years old, it remains a highly-played and highly-supported game, which means it's still a great game to jump into.
Below, you can read more about both games, as well as check out trailers for each:
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The Elder Scrolls Online: "Experience an ever-expanding story across all of Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls Online, an award-winning online RPG. Explore a rich, living world with friends or embark upon a solo adventure. Enjoy complete control over how your character looks and plays, from the weapons you wield to the skills you learn – the choices you make will shape your destiny. Welcome to a world without limits."
Xbox Game Pass is available via Xbox One, PC, and Android devices. Meanwhile, starting on November 10, it will also be available via the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
As a subscriber to regular Xbox Game Pass, you get unlimited access to a constantly evolving library of games for just $10 a month. In addition to this, there are other perks, like exclusive discounts. Meanwhile, for an extra $5 a month, you can upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which comes bundled with Xbox Live Gold.
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