The world we live in has evolved considerably over the past decade. The same can be said for the world we do business in.
Advancements in technology has changed how we work, where we work, who we employ, how we communicate with staff and customers, and how we sell our business, products and services.
This evolution in how we do business has created a need for us to continually look at improvements in efficiency and productivity.
But what has always been a fundamental ingredient in any successful business and will continue to be is people.
People develop ideas. People communicate. People control technology. People lead and manage. People motivate and inspire.
So it's vital that your people, your staff, are provided the support, the development and the tools to develop ideas, communicate, control technology, lead and manage, and motivate and inspire!
A traditional method for achieving this is through conferencing.
Conferencing can be used in many ways and has also evolved quite a bit in recent times.
But a fundamental objective of conferencing that remains is the development of people.
Here are three key considerations for your business in staging conferences in the year 2016.
Conferencing has always been a very effective form of professional development for people.
Industry conferences are still a great way to learn about and experience the latest developments applicable to your profession or sector so you are not left behind.
Internal company conferences are still a great opportunity for managers and staff to come together to review business processes and progress.
I have actually seen a growth in internal company conferences in recent years.
And what is becoming more and more popular is the inclusion of specific professional development sessions in these conferences.
By including these sessions, it creates variety in the conference and maximises the time you have taken your team away from their day-to-day work.
Another advantage nowadays is that conferencing, whether for an industry group or a company, is more accessible than ever before.
Through digital technology such as live streaming and video-on-demand, delegates do not necessarily need to attend a physical venue for a conference.
Technology has also created more opportunity for engagement with the result being an even more collaborative and experiential learning environment for delegates.
Following on from consideration one, today's conferences are featuring more team building activities than ever before.
Team building activities provide a fun and engaging way to achieve professional development outcomes.
These outcomes may be problem solving, sales techniques, leadership, team work and communication. Most team building activities can be tailored to achieve a certain professional development outcomes or objective.
I mentioned the word 'fun' before, with team building activities providing a social and fun element and experience within your conference. This can also help your delegates to stay engaged and to network.
Team building activities can also be tailored to reinforce or highlight the key theme of the conference or a professional development session just completed.
Ultimately, team building activities can be used effectively in conferences to provide variety, fun and engagement, as well as specific team professional development outcomes.
My third key consideration is ensuring there is real substance and tangible outcomes within the conference.
I have seen and heard of many examples where delegates have walked away from a conference unmotivated, hung over and having achieved little more than a few days away from the office.
An exciting new term in the event planning and professional conference organisation space is 'conferences with content'.
This refers to the specific tailoring of company conferences to achieve a pre-determined set of objectives, professional development outcomes and a reinvigoration of the people within the company.
Each session has a professional development outcome and is delivered by professional corporate trainers and team building facilitators, as well as experts in their profession.
Content ideas are only limited by your imagination but, most importantly, will be tailored to the objectives for the conference.
Yes we are working in a new age but we still need to find ways to train our people and stay ahead of the competition.
That is why conferencing is vital!
So if you're thinking about your next conference, consider the professional development outcomes, consider featuring fun and engaging team building activities, and consider conferences with content.


A retelling of a traditional Irish folk tale. The king is on the way to visiting Culain's house, when he sees a young boy, Setanta, playing hurling very bravely, and asks him to join them later. However, as he forgets to inform his host that he will have an extra visitor. Setanta is attacked by Culain's guard dog - which he bravely fights and kills. As Culain is so sad at the loss of his prized hound, Setanta offers to guard the house and its grounds until a replacement is found. The king, impressed by the boy's bravery and skill, gives him the name Culchulainn, the Hound of Ulster.
Malachy Doyle was born in Northern Ireland and now lives in Wales. He is the best-selling and award-winning author of many books, ranging from picture books to teen fiction. Among his most popular are the Amadans series, published by Orchard. Georgie and Who is Jesse Flood for older readers are both published by Bloomsbury. He's also written widely for eductional publishers, including Collins, Oxford and Ginn.


Findings from a 2015 report on the cost of school uniform.
Essay Outline Thesis: School uniforms should be required in public schools because their use would lead to higher education, less violence, and lower cost to parents.
Need a research paper on school uniforms? A writing service can help you hand in research papers of impeccable quality.
It was recognised that whilst a school uniform policy can See the schedule for all statistics and research School uniform and other costs of schooling.
Research Paper- Against School Uniforms SCHOOL UNIFORM May 2013 What I Knew Prior to my research I did know a few things about elementary teachers.
bstract william elihue gouge. a comparison research study on the use of school uniforms and graduation, attendance, and suspension rates in east.
Research Corridor recently added new report titled School Uniform Market Report - Global Trends, Market Share, Industry Size, Growth, Opportunities, and Market Forecast - 2018 – 2026 to its repertoire.


Lizzie is a very sweet little girl who will melt your heart and keep your bed warm.
Lizzie is looking for a family to make her an integral part of the family, she enjoys nothing more than following you around the house to see what fun things you might be doing, snuggling on the couch and, of course, sleeping on the bed, or at least in the lounge room so she knows you're safe in bed.
She would love a home with another canine friend for company, a big backyard to play in and a human family that has someone home a bit (either work part time, retired or stay at home/work from home humans) and generally make her another member of the family.
She is great with nice dog friendly children, has met a cat (who is the boss) but would need slow introduction if you have a kitty. She loves walks and car rides and generally hanging out with humans.
She is great with her toilet training, however wet grass has her being a bit of a princess, so continual positive reinforcement training when toileting will see her thrive in her new home.


For those of you wondering what David Scott (formerly of Scott's Shots here on BSMW) has been up to, the UMass grad is now in charge of PR for News Content at ESPN.
After finishing up Scott's Shots, David co-authored John Calipari's book "Bounce Back" and served as the coach's social media and business manager for his first two seasons at the University of Kentucky.
Scott joined ESPN last month, and posted today on the Front Row blog.
Scott's Shots ran here at BSMW for over seven years, from 2002 to 2009, and was a must-visit part of the site on a weekly basis for many.
Congratulations and best wishes to David on his new position!
All I remember is his tortured writing style and wildly off base guesses.
Only a fool would ignore one of Scott's emails now!
Hey, cool. I liked his stuff here.
I actually enjoyed Scott's Shots. For the most part his criticism was pretty accurate. For you Dale Arnold haters, Scott despised him. I disagreed, but I digress. There were three moments that stuck out.
1) He had a pretty serious feud with Pete Sheppard in which Sheppard threatened to beat up Scott for being critical of him.
2) Inexplicably, chastised writers who believed that MLB players were taking steroids. He specifically defended Mark McGuire saying no one had actually seen McGuire use. This even after McGuire had Andro in his locker. It was a Tim Kirkjian argument that probably would have surprised Tim Kirkjian.
3) Scott did have a really thin skin. I was banned from posting because I hammered him for getting in bed with notorious scoundrel, John Calipari. By the way, Calipari would do the same thing to Memphis that was done to UMass, when things got hot, Cal was on a flight headed to the next program to ruin.
what ever happened to the seaside shanty ?
Why did Scott need to take a demotion to ESPN?
His work with Calipari tells me all I need to know about him. What's that saying about lying down with dogs.


text:
Invisible Laser Radiation
SKU: A-9123D-250
Size 40 x 20mm 60 x 30mm 80 x 40mm
Quantity 250 1000 50
40 x 20mm / 250 40 x 20mm / 1000 60 x 30mm / 250 60 x 30mm / 1000 80 x 40mm / 50 80 x 40mm / 250 80 x 40mm / 1000
Invisible Laser Radiation - 40 x 20mm / 250 is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
Our Invisible Laser Radiation sticker can be found within the wide range of Laser Safety Labels.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: load articles with the included tags of the group I would like to show in a group all articles which have the same tags as the group.
For exampel:
The group has as tags: laravel, php, html. Then I would like to let all articles, which have exactly the same tags. So all the articles with the tags laravel, php, html.
Not all articles with the only one same tag, only article with have all the same tags. $tagIdArray are the tags of the group.
I tried this code:
 $tagIdArray = [2,3,4];
                $article = Article::with('comments', 'tags')->whereIn('privacy', [1, 2])->where('status', 1)
                    ->where(function ($query) use ($tagIdArray) {
                        return $query->tags->pluck('id')->all() == $tagIdArray;
                    })
                    ->latest()->paginate(15);

but I always get the error message:
Undefined property: Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder::$tags

Post Model
  public function tags()
        {
            return $this->morphToMany('App\Tag', 'taggable')->withTimestamps();
        }

Tag Model
public function taggable()
    {
        return $this->morphTo();
    }

Taggable Model
public function tag()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo('App\Tag');
    }

EDIT:
For example, if I show all groups and I want to use a random image of the articel as a group image. How do I best implement this?
@foreach ($groups as $group)
{{$group->name}}
<img src="-----load random picture from articles that is in this group------" alt="" />
@endforeach

A: The following will do the trick:
$tagIdArray = [2,3,4];
$article = Article::with('comments', 'tags')
  ->whereIn('privacy', [1, 2])
  ->where('status', 1)
  ->whereHas('tags', function($query) use ($tagIdArray) {
    $query->whereIn('id', $tagIdArray);
  }, '>=', count($tagIdArray))
  ->latest()
  ->paginate(15);

whereHas() lets you filter only models that have a related model (1st argument) that match constraints defined by callback (2nd argument).
In addition to that, you can say how many related model that match given constraints returned model should have - this is what 2 last arguments do. The code above will return articles that have at least all the tags with IDs in $tagIdArray - it will also include articles that have more tags than those 3 provided. If you want to return articles that have all and only the tags provided in $tagIdArray, replace >= operator with =.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Totally, or Totally Communications Limited (03879646) at Unit 801 Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London, NW5 1TL; is a company that has failed to understand and address basic security, accessibility, and performance issues.
These are the three key areas when creating websites.
I appreciate mistakes happen, but below are some of the issues that were identified when working with them.
When I first met their lead developer, I was impressed to see the abbreviation CSRF on a white-board. I assumed this was due to training junior developers on some of the issues they need to be aware of.
Unfortunately I later found out that Totally did not protect against CSRF attacks, so I can only assume the "training" didn't work that well.
For example, if the admin was logged in, and found themselves on a malicious webpage (or was shown a malicious advert), the attacker is able create a new account on the target website - they just create a simple form that auto-submits to /admin/users/add/.
Their first penetration test was by a third party company on the 12th October 2015, it identified a few issues, such as XSS.
The Zend documentation has a clear warning that StripTags must not be used to prevent XSS attacks.
All other items on the website were ignored.
Further calls for them to fix it properly were either ignored, or they reported that they had fixed it (again) - The second penetration test on the 11th April 2017 confirmed that they had not.
This was eventually reported to the ICO on the 7th March 2017, who decided to take no further action on the 5th September 2017, as my personal data was not effected. It was suggested that publishing details might prompt individuals (data subjects) to raise concerns directly with the ICO. But I don't believe publication will be helpful in this case.
Mark the session cookies as "httpOnly". A very simple change, which protects the session cookie from being stolen. While this was mentioned in the first penetration test, they finally did this on the 2nd March 2017.
Which are perfect examples of SQL injection vulnerabilities, allowing for a simple UNION to return all of the data from the database.
The binary log was disabled in this case, but even if it wasn't, it would typically contain less then a months worth of data. And even if it did, you can't use that binary log file if it's not synchronised with the dump file (more info).
Passwords should use a hashing algorithm that is designed for storing passwords, e.g. bcrypt, scrypt, PBKDF2, Argon2.
Doing this in PHP is very easy - you just need to use the password_hash function to create a value that's stored in the database. Then, during login, you verify it with password_verify. For bonus points there is a function you can use to see if the password needs to be rehashed.
They often used the password "t0ta11y" - e.g. for MySQL.
And when they created a login process that involved a WordPress website, they forwarded the users login details to an API, with the users password being sent via a GET request - so the access logs included the passwords in plain text.
Server admin involved logging in via their own account, which was good to see. But then using "sudo su - www-data", because "the code is owned by www-data user".
Skipping over the "sudo su" thing, you don't want your source code to be owned by the account that also runs the web server - If someone malicious was able to write to arbitrary file locations, you don't want them to edit the websites source code.
The web server account should only be able to write to certain folders (e.g. user uploaded files), and those folders would ideally disable the PHP engine.
Live customer data was used on development and testing servers.
Old SQL dump files were found in the developers home directories.
So these "random" values are simply based on the current time.
This allows anyone malicious to dramatically improve their chance at being able to guess these "secret" values.
For example, someone malicious could request a new password, record the "Date" header in the response, then take a few guesses as to what that secret token would be.
And white text over light images (poor contrast); which became more problematic when the images hadn't loaded yet, as they used an off white background colour (#F6F7F8).
Then there is the interesting approach to slow database queries. On a server with an average load less than 0.1, they moved to Amazon RDS for "performance improvements". While RDS has several advantages, and in some cases it can improve performance, in this case it just added network latency, especially when using the public IP address (without an encrypted connection). A slow database query in this situation is more likely to need specific optimisation, indexes, etc.


Edward Mazria is an internationally recognized architect, author, researcher, and educator. His seminal research into urbanization, climate change, sustainability, energy consumption, solar energy, and greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment has redefined the role of architecture, planning, design, and building, in reshaping our world. He is the founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, a think tank developing real-world solutions for 21st century problems, and host of the AIA+2030 Professional Education Series, China Accord, the 2030 Districts movement in North American cities, the Zero Tool and Achieving Zero – a framework of incremental building sector actions to ensure a carbon neutral built environment by the year 2050. Mr. Mazria recently introduced the 2030 Palette, a revolutionary new platform that puts the principles behind carbon neutral and resilient built environments at the fingertips of architects, planners, and designers worldwide.
This past year, he delivered the Roadmap to Zero Emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a flexible approach to achieve zero CO2 emissions in the built environment by mid-century. He also issued the 2050 Imperative – a commitment to plan and design to carbon neutral standards – which has been adopted by the International Union of Architects and all regional professional organizations (representing over 1.3 million architects) in 124 countries worldwide. Mr. Mazria is a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, Fellow of the AIA, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and received an Honorary Doctor of Architecture degree from Illinois Institute of Technology.


text:
Transmedia: Finding new ways to tell and deliver a story
Download this press release
Doha, Qatar; November 21, 2012: In a Doha Talks session entitled Transmedia: Storytelling in the Digital Age held as part of the fourth Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF), panelists discussed the power of good storytelling to transcend multiple platforms, the role of location in multi-platform entertainment and the power of transmedia to create immersive, interactive and engaging content.
Mayhad Tousi, Co-Founder and CEO of Boomgem, said there are three drivers of change in the digital world – demographic shifts, a reshaped global power structure and disruptive innovation.
The session, moderated by Ayman Itamil, went on to discuss how, as technology develops, it affects the way we tell, understand and enjoy stories and how, from immersive games to interactive websites, multi-platform storytelling is becoming the new standard of audience engagement.
"Storytelling needs to be sustainable and it isn't in its current form," said Mayhad Tousi, Co-Founder and CEO of Boomgem. "Transmedia is about finding new ways of telling stories using more than just film or traditional media as a platform. It's about using new ways of delivering our stories, it's not about resisting a rapidly changing environment."
Yasmin Elayat discussed the project 18daysofEgypt.com, which documented the revolution in Egypt in real time using mobile phones and social media. The project uses a crowd-sourced web-based documentary to collect stories and narratives to get closer to the source, making the source the storyteller.
"We built a platform to enable people to upload and share their content, providing tools to help them tell their stories. We made the community the filmmaker," said Elayat.
New York-based transmedia producer Caitlin Burns from Starlight Runner Entertainment, discussed a recent project, which puts the audience in a physical place and extends the content on multiple platforms.
"When you are building a story you become an entrepreneur, your story is your business opportunity. You then appeal to a group of interested, tech savvy peers and give them the toolset to make something themselves. You are building a creative community and a project at the same time. It's a phenomenal way to approach the creative process."
She also stated that she works with a lot of projects that involve countries where there are no smart phones, internet access or even movie theatres. "You don't have to go high tech or digital. You can reach people via pamphlets, putting on a live event or even by theatre or radio. It's about considering how each experience can tell a story no matter what platform is available and using it creatively to its best strength.
Panelists also discussed the least expensive ways you can reach an audience if you are struggling to get a more traditional film or media project funded.
You need to look at the least expensive layers to reach an audience. In our case a graphic novel in the digital space which is interactive," said Tousi of Ajax, an interactive graphic novel created in the digital space.
"We created an app which then reaches an audience and allows us to localise the content. That gives you a proven audience who might be willing to invest. And you build up these layers of storytelling to build up to perhaps making a film or a more expensive piece of content."
Burns talked about the opportunities for short films in the transmedia world that didn't exist before and that mean films can be distributed online and on mobile. She added that transmedia can also help find funding for non-fiction projects by partnering with non-profits, charitable groups, engaging tourist boards via online content etc.
Added Burns: "It's the lower tier budget items in transmedia projects that give you a lot of data that can attract partners, investors, distributors. It's about building the audience and building an engaged audience and once you've found that, it's a good indicator a project will be successful."


Download citation Environmental Impact In the past few decades, the demand for construction grade sand is increasing in many parts of the world due to rapid economic development and subsequent growth of building activities.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes sand and gravel as granulated material that results from the natural disintegration of rock or stone. The deposits of these materials are generally near the surface of the Earth and in wet areas.
Sand, rarer than one thinks . Environmental impact of soil and sand mining: a review. International Journal of Science, Environment and Technology 1(3), 125 134.
Indiscriminate sand mining has devastating effects on the environment. Its impacts can reduce river water flow that many farmers and rural communities depend on as a lifeline. Sand mining can change the shape and form of rivers, increasing flood risks and the safety of structures such as bridges.
Here we report the environmental effects of river sand mining from the small rivers (catchment area lt; 10,000 km 2; Milliman and Syvitski 1992) debouching into the largest marginal lagoon, in the southwest coast of India, the Vembanad lake.
August 2016 resource for citizens living near frac sand mining activity to report environmental problems to the DNR, County Conservation office and to MEA.
UNEP ON THE GROUND: UNEP Global Environmental Alert Service: Sand, rarer than one thinks Sand and gravel are mined world wide and account for the largest volume of solid material extracted globally.
The collateral environmental damage has been so extreme that Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam have all restricted or banned exports of sand to Singapore. All of that has spawned a worldwide boom in illegal sand mining.
In this lesson Ashna talks about illegal sand mining.
The fast growing sand mining industry is grappling with a rising number of environmental problems across western Wisconsin.
Jun 23, 2016This often inflicts terrible costs on the environment. In India, river sand mining is disrupting ecosystems, The World's Disappearing Sand.


text:
FINAL HOURS: 50% off
Tips and rumours
ADF concerns about Coalition policy … staff cuts bite at 'Tiser …
From the Crikey grapevine, the latest tips and rumours … More ADF concerns about "turning back the boats". A long-serving former naval officer has contacted Crikey to raise concerns that the Coalition's policy of turning back asylum-seeker boats at sea may amount to an "illegal order" and could be contrary to international law. Crikey's contact, who does not […]
From the Crikey grapevine, the latest tips and rumours …
More ADF concerns about "turning back the boats". A long-serving former naval officer has contacted Crikey to raise concerns that the Coalition's policy of turning back asylum-seeker boats at sea may amount to an "illegal order" and could be contrary to international law.
Crikey's contact, who does not wish to be named, says he applauds recent comments by retired Defence Force chief Chris Barrie raising doubts about the Coalition's policy. Our source says when he was in the Navy, "we had drilled into us the responsibilities of the International Law of the Sea":
"In my day comments such as Abbott's about turning back the boats would have been contrary to all the provisions of the Law of the Sea and would have caused major morale problems within the Navy.
"Also, contrary to his comment that the services are answerable to the government there is such a thing as an illegal order. Such an order should not or must not be obeyed.
"An obvious situation is where a senior person in the military orders a junior to kill some non-combatant who is captive and no threat. Similarly I can envisage a situation under an Abbott government where a captain of a Navy ship could deem an order to be illegal and not carry it out."
The former naval officer has suggested the intersection of international law with the Coalition's policy should be considered by experts in the field. Is this your area? Get in touch.
SackWatch: 'Tiser tribulations. The staff cuts at News Limited are starting to bite at The Advertiser in Adelaide, where we hear selected staff have been "shown the door on a regular basis in recent months" as News Ltd shifts towards a single news desk to start on July 21.
Apparently adelaidenow.com.au has been "gutted", with staff shifted to a general news desk to supply copy across all platforms; those who wished to stay in digital were invited to apply for jobs in Melbourne, where digital production is being centralised. Casual staff have been let go, as have the copytakers who used to compile sports results on Saturdays — Pagemasters is now producing those sports pages for the Tiser's sister paper the Sunday Mail.
"Voluntary redundancies are on offer while staff who are resistant to suggested changes are finding themselves on the list of potential forced redundancies should the voluntary call not reach its target," an insider says, adding that the restructure is "taking its toll on staff morale".
"You get the feeling we are all for the high jump — you just hang on for as long as you can," our source says.
Got an insider's account of the restructures at News Ltd or Fairfax? Let us know.
Praise from an unusual quarter. Amid a sea of anti-carbon tax sentiment in the letters to the editor in the Sunday Herald Sun came a letter of praise for the tax. "I'm just glad that we are finally doing something about [climate change]", wrote Andrew Hurst of the ACT as he bucked the trend.
Crikey wonders if this is the same Andrew Hirst of the ACT, who is Tony Abbott's senior media adviser? The spelling is not quite the same but perhaps that was a typo as Hirstie dashed the letter off in a hurry.
No soup please, we're BHP. Crikey is fascinated by an 11-page internal memo to staff at BHP's new Perth offices. The memo, which comes to us courtesy of The Australian Financial Review, stipulates, among other matters, that staff cannot eat soup at their desks — cold soup can be consumed at communal hubs on each floor, but hot soup may only be enjoyed in a special zone on level 45.
Crikey has decided to emulate the memo and instruct staff at Crikey HQ that only a "sensible amount of lollies" may be consumed at the desk. We'll let you know how that edict goes.
Crikey loves to read interesting workplaces memos; feel free to send us your contributions. Any other workplaces got some memorable rules as to office behaviour?
*Do you know more? Send your tips to [email protected] or use our guaranteed-anonymous form
FINAL HOURS: Save up to 50% on a year of Crikey
This extraordinary year is almost at an end. But we know that time waits for no one, and we won't either. This is the time to get on board with Crikey.
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Leaked documents reveal full picture of HSU carnage
Greens hacked … Courier-Mail cull … Randy Virgin …
Lord Barry Bonkton
BHP : also cold soup NOT to be transported in lifts to Level 45.
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Busy Week Ahead for the Caribbean
Looks like the Caribbean is set for another busy week. There is the potential for two tropical cyclones – tropical depressions, tropical storms or hurricanes, impacting the area.
Tropical Disturbances AL97 (near the Caribbean) and AL96 (near Africa)
It is the start of a new week but the continuation of a record-breaking hurricane season, which could add two more storms to its tally, in days. There are two new disturbances between Africa and the Caribbean, taking aim at the islands.
Satellite picture animation showing the locations of the distrubances
It is uncertain as to whether these disturbances will become tropical cyclones, where they will go and what hazards, they will bring to the area. However, at this time of the year, most disturbances do develop into tropical cyclones, as conditions are generally conducive, like they are currently, bar the dry and dusty Saharan air.
Today, we saw the end of Tropical Storm Josephine, which threatened the area but eventually passed a safe distance north of all the islands.
Tropical Storm Josephine passing by on Saturday afternoon, 15 August, 2020
With Josephine gone, all attention is now on Disturbances AL96 and AL97. They both have a 50 percent chance of formation. And they both have tracks that take them through the Caribbean.
The second of the two systems, AL96, appears to be more of a future threat to the Caribbean, particularly the Leeward Islands. AL97 is perhaps moving too rapidly for much development to take place before reaching the Eastern Caribbean tomorrow; however, it is forecast to slow down in the Caribbean Sea where it will encounter favourable conditions for formation Wednesday.
Most available models have AL97 becoming a tropical storm in 48 hours – Tuesday night/Wednesday
Most available models have AL97 going through the southern Caribbean, at most, as a Tropical Depression
The gold standard of models – the ECMWF IFS or European model is very sweet on AL96. It gives it a relatively high chance of becoming a tropical storm and track towards our "neck of the woods" – the Leeward Islands this upcoming weekend. This week could end similarly to the one just gone – with us under a Tropical Cyclone Alert or worse.
Already for the season, there have been 11 named storms, the most to have ever occurred this early in the year, with the more active half of the hurricane season just getting started. With half of the season to go, only 48 out a total of 169 seasons, dating back to 1851, has seen more storms.
Be prepared! Based on the forecast, the season is likely to produce, at least, nine more named storms, five more hurricanes and three major hurricanes. It is likely to be a very long season.
Please share this blog, if you found it useful and follow me for more on the ongoing hurricane season and all things weather and climate – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
« Updated Hurricane Season Forecast – August Look Out You Must, 2020 Third Wettest July on Record but Droughts Continue »
Tags: Atlantic Hurricane Season, Caribbean Weather, Tropical Disturbance
Categories : In The Media, News


text:
AI-designed camera only records objects of interest
3D printed camera from Professor Aydogan Ozcan and UCLA colleagues optically erases unwanted features instantly.
Seeing through random diffusers instantly without a computer
Imaging through scattering and diffusive media has been a challenge for many decades, with numerous solutions reported so far. In principle, images distorted by random diffusers (such as frosted glass) can be recovered using a computer. However, existing methods rely on sophisticated algorithms and codes running on computers that digitally process the distorted images to correct them.
UCLA researchers streamline skin tissue analysis with virtual staining technique
UCLA researchers have developed a virtual, non-invasive method of visualizing skin tissue that could transform how skin diseases are diagnosed.
In a Nov. 18 study, UCLA researchers described how artificial intelligence could be used to transform a black-and-white image of the skin obtained by a non-invasive microscope into a colorized, highly-detailed image, similar to one obtained through a biopsy.
AI Imaging Method Provides Biopsy-free Skin Diagnosis
A deep learning-enabled imaging technology, developed by UCLA professor Aydogan Ozcan and colleagues, provides a noninvasive way to rapidly diagnose skin tumors, allowing earlier diagnosis of skin cancer. The technology bypasses reliance on skin biopsies, which are invasive, cumbersome, and time-consuming. It can take days to receive the results of a biopsy.
Can This New Tech Reduce the Need for Skin Biopsies?
Typically, when diagnosing a skin tumor, a biopsy is needed to extract tissue that is later sectioned into thin layers, stained, and examined under a microscope for abnormalities in a process called histology. However, biopsies are invasive, leave scars, and might end up being unnecessary.
"But what if we could entirely bypass the biopsy process and perform histology-quality staining without taking tissue and processing tissue in a noninvasive way? Can we create images that diagnosticians can benefit from?" wondered Dr. Aydogan Ozcan, Chancellor's Professor and Volgenau Chair for Engineering Innovation, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, in an interview with MD+DI.
Researchers at UCLA develop computer-free technology for deciphering holograms
UCLA researchers developed a computer-free system that can instantaneously reconstruct holograms, helping further technology in the field of optical processing, according to an Oct. 27 study.
Virtual staining set to reduce need for skin biopsies
Deep learning transforms confocal microscopy images of unstained skin into stained images showing tissue structure.
UCLA deep-learning reduces need for invasive biopsies
A project from the lab of Aydogan Ozcan at UCLA has now made a new breakthrough in the data processing dimension, developing a deep-learning framework to transform non-invasive confocal microscopy data from unstained skin into virtually-stained images.
Reported in Light Science & Applications, the new framework may permit more rapid diagnosis of malignant skin neoplasms and reduce invasive skin biopsies, in line with the current clinical drive towards diagnosing skin disease non-invasively.
New imaging technology developed by UCLA research team may reduce need for skin biopsies
Instead of surgically removing a sample of skin, sending it to a lab and waiting several days for results, your dermatologist takes pictures of a suspicious-looking lesion and quickly produces a detailed, microscopic image of the skin.
This could become routine in clinics, the result of a new "virtual histology" technology being developed by researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, according to today's article in Light: Science & Applications, a journal of the Springer Nature Group. Histology is the study of the microscopic structure of tissues.
Diffractive optical networks reconstruct holograms instantaneously without a digital computer
In a recently published article in ACS Photonics, Professor Aydogan Ozcan and graduate student Sadman Sakib Rahman from the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) presented a novel approach for computer-free, all-optical reconstruction of holograms using diffractive networks.
43 UCLA scholars among most highly cited researchers for 2021
In its latest annual list, Clarivate Analytics names the most highly cited researchers — the scholars whose work was most often referenced by other scientific research papers in 21 fields in the sciences and social sciences. The researchers rank in the top 1% in their fields, based on their widely cited studies. The 2021 list is produced using research citations from January 2010 to December 2020.
All-optical processors could compute any linear transformation, machine learning reveals
Researchers in the US have shown how all-optical processors could be used to carry out a range of linear mathematical transformations, including Fourier transforms. Using machine learning techniques, Onur Kulce, Aydogan Ozcan and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, generated the blueprint for set of diffractive surfaces that can be used to produce specific optical outputs from any arbitrary input.
Light computes any desired linear transform without a digital processor
In a new paper published in Light: Science & Applications, a team of optical engineers, led by Professor Aydogan Ozcan from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), U.S., and co-workers have developed a deep learning-based design method for all-optical computation of an arbitrary linear transform.
AI enables much faster pathology for life-or-death interventions
After training deep neural networks on around 4,000 slide images from around 40 biopsied kidney patients, UCLA engineers have virtually re-stained tissue images for speedier high-accuracy diagnostics than a human histotechnologist could support.
Deep Learning-Trained Neural Network Reconstructs OCT Images
A team of UCLA and University of Houston (UH) scientists, led by Aydogan Ozcan in collaboration with Kirill Larin, used deep learning to train a neural network to rapidly reconstruct OCT images using undersampled spectral data.
Deep learning and holography create a better point-of-care sensor
In a new paper published in Lab on a Chip, a team of scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has developed a rapid and cost-effective particle agglutination based sensor that is powered by holographic imaging and deep learning.
Empowering the Analytical Scientist in Everyone
Could the general public prove to be key in the next great phase of analytical chemistry? Say hello to citizen science!
Deep learning improves image reconstruction in optical coherence tomography using less data
In a new paper published in Light: Science & Applications, a team of UCLA and University of Houston (UH) scientists have developed a deep learning-based OCT image reconstruction method that can successfully generate 3D images of tissue specimen using significantly less spectral data than normally required.
Artificial intelligence delivers faster holographic imaging
US-based researchers, led by Dr Aydogan Ozcan of the Bio- and Nano-Photonics Laboratory, University of California Los Angeles, have developed a holographic phase retrieval method to reconstruct microscopic images of samples some 50 times faster than existing methods.
Rapid measurement of aerosol volatility using a deep learning-based portable microscope
https://phys.org/news/2021-06-rapid-aerosol-volatility-deep-learning-based.html
For older press releases, please visit this link


text:
Video/Photo Gallery
Tue 28 / Jan / 2020
Teachers Syndicate
اتحاد المعلمين العرب
Compensation Fund
The Compensation Fund was established for members of the educational institution in private schools in 1951. It has a civil personality and financial and administrative independence.
The Fund shall pay end of service indemnities and the management of the pension fund for the entrants to the owners.
Affiliation to the Compensation Fund is judgmental and mandatory.
Feed the box
From deductions:
Of the monthly salary of the members of the educational staff entering the owners by 6%
Of the contribution of the school by 6% of the total salaries of members of the teaching staff entering the owners
And assistance annually monitored in the budget of the Ministry of National Education to complete the calculation of compensation.
Who pays the deductions deducted monthly from the salary to the Compensation Fund?
The administration of the school is responsible for deducting the discounts and paying them to the management of the fund once every three months in the first half of each month of January, April, November, and November of the year according to a detailed statement according to a special form containing the name of the owner and his monthly salary and deductions deducted from the salary signed Of the stakeholders and certified by the head of the school.
Incorrect or contrary statements expose the school administration to the penalties provided for in articles 461, 462 et seq. Of the Penal Code.
The administration of the Fund shall be governed by a Council appointed by a decree to be taken by the Council of Ministers upon the proposal of the Minister of Education and Higher Education for a period of 3 years renewable.
- Director General of Education as President
- A representative of the Ministry of Justice as a member
(Four representatives of the owners of private schools) selected by the ten most-paid beneficiaries in the three years preceding the appointment under a report by the Fund's management for this purpose
Four representatives of the educational staff in private schools chosen by the Council of the Bar Association
Functions of the Board of Directors
The Board shall supervise the administration of the Fund and in particular the following matters:
Establish IFAD staff and approve its rules of procedure
Monitor the work of the manager and the accountant
Recruiting Fund Funds
Ratification of the annual budget
Studied all cases related to compensation for discharge from service in accordance with the provisions of this law and taking decisions thereon
Internal structure of the Fund:
The fund is managed by a manager assisted by an accountant and the necessary number of employees.
(Internal staff and management structure)
Educational staff in private schools
Who is entitled to enter the owners and when?
The category of entrants includes teachers who meet the conditions of appointment to the owners and who have completed their training period (two years). These are proven and registered in the Compensation Fund.
What are the terms of appointment for owners?
The conditions of the educational body in the public schools (except for the police officer and the exam):
To be a Lebanese teacher (s) completed (18) years of age (a)
Of the Lebanese Baccalaureate or its equivalent, or of the technical baccalaureate holders - the competence of a baccalaureate, university degree, or technical excellence - the specialization of a baccalaureate, educational leave or a qualification certificate for secondary education.
What are the categories of owners?
The faculty consists of four categories:
- Children's Mistakes
- Teachers, they teach in primary school or kindergarten or both.
- Teachers, they teach in primary or middle school or both.
- Secondary education teachers, who are taught at the intermediate or secondary level or both.
How are the members of the teaching staff classified?
In the course of two or more years of the exercise, the school shall send a special statement (or affidavit) to the compensation fund specifying the teacher / teacher's time and, according to the certificate, the class and grade shall be determined by the salary series issued by Law No. 593 dated 28/12/1996. The classification is as follows:
Baccalaureate, First, 640,000 LL
Technical baccalaureate / university degree. Sixth, 785.000 LL
Technical Excellence. eleven, 948.000 LL
Educational leave, Fifteenth, 1.088.000 LL
Efficiency, Sixteenth ,1.130.000 LL
Exchange compensation:
Who is entitled to receive compensation from the Compensation Fund?
The Fund shall pay compensation for the discharge of the service to the Lebanese educational personnel who enter the company in the cases provided for in Article 31:
Legal age (64 years). In such a case, the teacher / teacher shall be entitled to the end of service indemnity paid by the Compensation Fund to the in-apprentices and borne b
All rights reserved for Lebanese Teachers Syndicates.


text:
Arthur Okonkwo
Arsenal starlet Arthur Okonkwo ready to capitalise on David Ospina and Emi Martinez uncertainty
Arsenal boss Unai Emery opted for Arthur Okonkwo as his third choice keeper against Napoli
Layth Yousif
It's a long way from Boreham Wood to Naples but young Arsenal keeper Arthur Okonkwo bridged the distance this month.
The highly-rated 17-year-old was included in Unai Emery's first team squad and trained with the side at the Stadio San Paolo 24 hours before the club's impressive 1-0 victory over the Neapolitans.
While the 3-0 aggregate victory propelled the Gunners into the last four of the Europa League with Valencia at the Emirates next week in the first leg, for Okonkwo it will be business as usual back with Freddie Ljungberg's U23 side against Leicester U23s.
Arthur Okonkwo before the match between Blackpool and Arsenal at Bloomfield Road on March 20, 2018 (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
While the academy match - moved from Meadow Park to the Emirates - on Friday evening signals the final Premier League 2 game of the season, the England U18 shot-stopper will be hoping to dislodge Arsenal U23s first-choice, Deyan Iliev.
If Okonkwo is selected to make his fourth appearance of the season for the Arsenal U23s in place of Illiev, the 24-year-old former Macedonia U21 net minder, it will represent another huge step in his career on the way to a longed-for first team debut.
Ian Wright's tweet brilliantly summed up Arsenal's disastrous first-half performance at Wolves
Unlike many colleagues between the sticks, the right-footed goalkeeper of Nigerian descent has always played in goal.
"I tried playing outfield but it wasn't for me," he said earlier this season.
"I enjoyed the thrill of making saves – the more spectacular the better. I suppose that's why I like watching David De Gea play more than others.
"He's an instinctive goalkeeper who makes fantastic reaction saves, although I do watch all goalkeepers to see what I can learn. I'll watch a game and enjoy the overall play, but I scrutinise what the keepers do in more detail.
Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo. (Image: (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images))
"Although there's no particular keeper I look to learn from I'm lucky to be around someone like Petr Cech, who makes an effort to help me develop."
Pitchside at Naples' imposing Stadio San Paolo the day before Alexandre Lacazette's stunning free-kick sealed the tie it was instructive to watch the veteran Cech take time out to share some sage tips and technical advice with the young novice.
It was heartening to see the experienced Cech, who will retire at the end of the season, taking a paternal interest in the talented novice.
I have studied Okonkwo through covering him at U23 and U18 FA Youth Cup games and he does need to improve power and accuracy in his left foot while upping the competency of his general distribution.
The Bernd Leno masterstoke proving Arsenal can match Chelsea, Liverpool and United this summer
However, the 6ft 4in keeper is brave, good in the air, shows keen anticipation, has strong hands and excellent footwork.
Hard-working Okonkwo is always striving to develop his attributes, adding: "I'm looking to improve all aspects of my play, but particularly my left foot. I like the different drills, and my favourite is the crossbar challenge.
"I start off trying to hit the bar with my left foot from the penalty spot, then move five or ten yards further back, and then move back again. That helps me develop power and accuracy."
Young goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo during Arsenal training in Dubai.
It is no surprise Cech, and Bernd Leno, are happy to share their knowledge because, perhaps, they see a kindred spirit in Okonkwo.
At only 17, he certainly has time on his side to rise through the ranks at Arsenal. He is seven years younger than Iliev, with a nine year age gap between him and the 26-year-old Emi Martinez, currently on loan at Reading.
While it may be fanciful to imagine a first team debut for the Gunners anytime soon, another outing with the first team squad to Valencia will enhance his experience, while giving him another small taste of what the top level is like. And of course the chance to work with Cech and Leno again.
Arsenal player ratings vs Napoli: Lacazette exceptional, Maitland-Niles superb, Torreira quiet
He must also be hoping to make the U23s starting XI on Friday night at the Emirates.
While Ljungberg's young guns have no chance of silverware they sit a creditable fourth out of 12 teams, albeit seven points behind Everton's title-winners.
Yet, as many understand, not least Ljungberg and Emery, the Arsenal academy's main function is to provide young players ready to take the step-up to first team football.
Petr Cech gestures (Image: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images)
In that respect Ljungberg's season, under the intelligent stewardship of academy boss Per Mertesacker, has been a huge success.
From a burgeoning stable of regular U23 starters, Bukayo Saka has already made his first team bow at the tender age of 17, while Joe Willock has made regular appearances. Emile Smith Rowe who impressed early on this season, earned a loan move to RB Leipzig in January.
Okonkwo is close to joining that list of his talented peers.
If you look further down the age groups, the U18s boast Fol Balogun. The 17-year-old netted a hat-trick in the 8-0 evisceration of Reading in earlier this month to make it a cool 24 strikes in only 17 U18 games this term - making him the highest scorer in English youth football.
Who is Arthur Okonkwo? The story of the youngster travelling with Arsenal to face Napoli
With defenders Zak Swanson and Mark McGuinness guiding the U18s to a clean sheet at Reading, days after they both signed their first professional contracts, and Charlie Patino starring for the U16s, the future looks bright in the Arsenal academy.
It certainly does for the talented Okonkwo.
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .
Petr Cech
SpursA Premier League winner and 6 forgettable players - History of Tanguy Ndombele's number 28 shirtSome of the names in this list you have probably forgotten, or at least wanted to


The Shear Style Salon in collaboration with Exquisite Hair by Ashonte will be hosting the first annual "Empower Her Ca" a public women's empowerment event featuring local women and businesses. Join us on May 20th 2018 at 11am in celebrating the women in our community. There will be a local business expo, music, live performances, speakers, mini workshops, delicious food trucks and kid friendly activities. Don't miss out on the giveaways and raffles donated by the various businesses in attendance.
What an amazing opportunity for women to come together to learn, laugh and have fun! Shop for unique local finds, catch a mini class with Ashton Whittington or taste some yummy local food truck cuisine. We will have performances by artists including Gabby "MsBallerina" Perez, Tia Ferrera, Phonzymusic, and more. Invite a friend and celebrate women with women in the community.
Support local women in business. Buying local has benefits beyond mere convenience. When you support local business owners, you get a better level of service as well as helping make your community a better place to live.
Join the movement. Volunteer your time. Empower Her offers a variety of opportunities for volunteers with various skills and abilities.
Make a donation to Empower Her Ca today. Your donation can provide valuable resources to women in the community.
Empower Her began with the simple idea of grouping women together to create an experience that allows women in business to connect with each other and the community. We create an opportunity to support local women in business and for friends and family to connect with each other. It is a day to celebrate the social, economic, and political achievements of women, cultivate sisterhood and network with other women in business.
"Behind every successful woman is a tribe of women who have her back."
We invite you to dress in these colors as a show of unity and solidarity for womens' empowerment.


What a sweet board game to help teach young children number sense, number identification, counting (1-10), matching, and following directions! The double-sided cookie jar cards offer two levels of play. The two levels allow children to start slowly and move up to more advanced number skills while learning the correspondence between number symbols and their representations. Spinning the spinner, picking up, and placing cookies on the board help little ones build fine motor skills. For 2-4 players.


text:
Chlorotipula är ett släkte av tvåvingar. Chlorotipula ingår i familjen storharkrankar.

Kladogram enligt Catalogue of Life:

Källor

Storharkrankar
Chlorotipula

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


LEAKED documents reveal how the son of Italian convicted mafioso, Vito Palazzolo, and the son of his best friend, Count Rocky Agusta, teamed up to sustain their fathers' illicit businesses through offshore firms by using a former German banker.
The leak dubbed the 'Panama Papers' also reveals details about the well-publicised mafia's business connection between the Italians and Namibian businessman Zacky Nujoma, the youngest son of founding President Sam Nujoma.
Even though the criminal syndicate's kingpin financier, Vito Roberto Palazzolo, is in prison, the mafia empire continues to flourish, thanks to a Panama firm that helped shield the companies from Namibian, Italian and South African state authorities by using tax haven companies in the British Virgin Islands.
This has effectively hidden the Sicilian mafia's (also known as Cosa Nostra Costa) complex revenue system from investigations in those countries.
Data from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, leaked to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which in turn roped in other media houses such as The Namibian's investigative unit, shows how the Palazzolo family, also known as the Von Palace Kolbatshenko, registered a number of companies in the British Virgin Islands.
With the help of Wolf-Peter Berthold, a German banker based in Hong Kong, the Palazzolos appear to have used these firms to pass on the family business from one generation to the next through a network previously prised open in the authors' "Mafia in Africa" series.
Berthold is the primary link between the Palazzolo family and Mossack Fonseca through Berthold's Bahamas-based company Deutsche Investment Corporation, co-owned by Vito Roberto's son, Peter Von Palace Kolbatschenko.
For the past few years, the Palazzolos used Berthold's company to open at least seven companies in the British Virgin Islands.
Banker Berthold established the investment firm Deutsche Investment Corporation in 1996 in the Bahamas, and registered it in Hong Kong. On face value, Berthold's company sounds credible — the use of the name 'Deutsche' evokes the financial services' giant Deutsche Bank.
Berthold, who has been based in Hong Kong since 1977, appears to be a former employee of Deutsche Bank (Asia), but there is no evidence of a connection between Deutsche Bank and the Deutsche Investment Corporation.
Until recently, Berthold's company incorporated a number of offshore firms in the British Virgin Islands through Mossack Fonseca.
Leaked documents link seven firms to the Palazzolo empire: Diamond Ocean, Deutsche Investments Consultants (Asia) Ltd, Benway International Ltd, Gold Enterprises Limited, Goldfield International Ltd, Silver Group Ltd and Natural Earth International Ltd.
The use of tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands enables companies—or criminals camouflaged by corporate structures — to conceal financial activities and identities using banking secrecy, nominees who aren't beneficiaries and the tax haven's non-disclosure legislation to hide the records of the persons involved.
One of these entities, Diamond Ocean Enterprises Ltd, was set up in February 2005 and listed as a consulting company that provides expertise to a diamond manufacturer and polisher based in Namibia.
Ocean. The company's shareholders include Kolbatschenko, Berthold and Giovanni Agusta. And, according to Italian investigators, the Agusta family also plays a key role in maintaining the Palazzo family's financial interests in Africa.
Berthold did not respond to our requests for an interview sent via email.
The Agusta family, a noble Italian family linked to Munich and South Africa, is famous for having created a helicopter design and manufacturing company named Agusta Spa, sold to Westland in 2000 (the company was later named Agusta Westland).
Unlike his father, Count Riccardo 'Rocky' Agusta was less into helicopters but more into race cars and living the good life. Since the 80s, he moved to South Africa, where he raised his sons and established a close friendship with the Cosa Nostra's key financier, Vito Palazzolo.
Both were involved in managing South African businesses, including prestigious vineyards and wineries.
Paolo Piccinelli, who headed the Italian military police that caught Vito Palazzolo in Thailand, claimed that the mafioso "sold his South African properties to the Count Agusta to avoid having them confiscated".
Company Ltd as one of the entities managed by Mossack Fonseca's 'client' Deutsche Investment Corporation (Asia) Ltd, the company central to the Berthold-Palazzolo alliance.
German banker Berthold appeared to be linked to the business of both families: the Cosa Nostra-tied Palazzolos and the Agustas, who are both business partners in South Africa. Palazzolo and Agusta did not respond to questions sent through social media.
A previous transnational investigation by the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI) and the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR) exposed how Diamond Ocean connects Vito Roberto Palazzolo to Zacharias 'Zacky' Nujoma.
In 2007, Nujoma was quoted as dismissing Palazzolo's organised crime links as 'an old CIA story', but claimed later not to have known about Palazzolo's past. "Then I did not know him; now things have changed," he said.
They had not been business partners, but 'merely friends', he said.
Palazzolo and Zacky Nujoma's company, Nu Diamonds, is one of less than a dozen De Beers' sightholders — one of the authorised bulk purchasers of rough diamonds in Namibia.
Nu Diamonds is linked to a pair of other Namibian companies controlled by Diamond Ocean.
In 2005, Nujoma acquired two off-the-shelf companies in Namibia, Avila Investments and Marbella Investments.
Shortly after Avila and Marbella obtained licences to buy and cut diamonds in Namibia, 90% of the shared capital was transferred to Diamond Ocean Enterprises Limited.
Palazzolo's son, Kolbatschenko, was appointed director of Avila—in addition to already being a shareholder of Diamond Ocean. Avila and Marbella have since been dissolved.
The leak reveals another link between Palazzolo and Nujoma.
Natural Earth International Ltd, a company registered by Deutsche Investment Corporation (Asia) Ltd, surfaces in a deal involving Nujoma, whose political connections were key in securing an important deal in Namibia's uranium industry.
In 2006, Zacky Nujoma established Ancash Investments (Pty) Ltd, a black empowerment firm.
Soon after, Ancash obtained seven uranium exclusive prospecting licenses from Namibia's mines and energy ministry. Then, in September 2006, Palazzolo advanced Ancash US$10 million in 'financial assistance' to support mineral exploration rights.
Following the loan from Palazzolo, Canadian uranium exploration and development company Forsys Metals Corp announced its intention to 'partner' Ancash on uranium mining contracts.
International Ltd, a member of Deutsche Investment Corporation (Asia) Ltd based in Hong Kong".
In light of the evidence in the Panama Papers, that sentence should instead read that Ancash "has strong international connections with Palazzolo, the Cosa Nostra's financier." Nujoma this week refused to discuss his business dealings with Palazzolo. "There is nothing to hide there, but write what you want," he said, adding that The Namibian was enquiring on "old stuff".
In August 2015, emails exchanged by Mossack Fonseca's compliance department outlined gaps in their due diligence requirements for the companies connected to the Namibia-linked mafia financier.
These included disclosures related to the 'source of funds' as well as residence and reference letters for the company Diamond Ocean.
Peter von Palace Kolbatshenko's identity as a shareholder of the company was placed on alert due to his familial connection to Vito Palazzolo.
By comparing the signatures on the leaked documents with those obtained in Namibia, we can confirm that the Peter behind Diamond Ocean is in fact Peter von Palace Kolbatshenko, the son of Vito Palazzolo, not Vito's brother. This proves how the mafia have passed the baton from generation to generation.
Palazzolo had not yet been arrested when these offshore companies were established by Berthold. It would thus not be improbable to assume that Vito transferred the business to his son in case he was arrested and charged.
Vito Palazzolo is currently in jail under the harsh law titled 41-bis term. This Italian law allows prison regulations to be suspended for inmates convicted of organised crimes involving the mafia.
It appears Palazzolo had little choice but to leave his empire to the next generation, which includes his son Peter.
Diamond Ocean was closed down as requested, which means any valuable assets related to Namibian diamonds had presumably been already shifted to another shell entity.
The documents show that the rest of Palazzolo's companies associated with Mossack Fonseca, including the 'holding' structure Deutsche Investment Corporation (Asia) Ltd., are still active and run by Berthold and Palazzolo's son, Kolbatshenko.
It is not clear whether Berthold and Vito Palazzolo were acquainted, but they were both employed by Deutsche Bank during their early careers.
Palazzolo's banking career began at the age of 20 at Deutsche's Hamburg office in Germany. Soon after, he would take flight as a private banker and a very capable 'financial adviser' for the Sicilian mafia.
For its part, Deutsche Bank was asked via email to indicate whether they had any concerns about the similar naming of the BVI company by the mafia-related actors. The Bank responded that Berthold was not an employee and that it did not have a trademark on the word 'Deutsche'.
This article was produced by The Namibian's investigative unit in collaboration with Cecilia Anesi and Guilio Rubino from the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI) and Khadija Sharife from the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR), with support from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.


Host Your Corporate Party at Lanham!
Don't delay! The holidays are a busy time for everyone, including venues. Either start planning early or prepare to be flexible in your dates. Consider a weeknight event, or even holding a post-holiday party in January if things are busy for your industry right now.
Don't hog everyone's time. You may be tempted to make a speech about the year, but consider this: your employees listen to you all the time. Either skip the speeches or keep them short (under a couple of minutes) and focused on the positive, like offering thanks and looking forward to the new year.
Pick something fun to do! A skating party at Lanham help your employees have a blast without having to resort to office gossip to stave off boredom. Consider a simple, inexpensive gift exchange, or a toy, clothing, or canned food drive.
Be considerate of your employees. While it can be tempting to try to cut costs for your business, don't put all the work or cost on your employees. They're the reason you're having this party, after all! When you host your party at Lanham Skate Center we do all the work so you don't have to.
When you're ready to start putting together the best, most low-stress holiday party you've ever hosted, contact Lanham Skate Center for details!


A showcase of early stage climate mitigation technologies, in the yearly IBP discussion on climate change, in collaboration with the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment and Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College London.
See Imperial research on Next-generation climate mitigation technologies. This infographic shows 18 technologies that all have the potential to make significant contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and are at the earliest stages of development. The event will discuss a selection of these technologies.
To view slide shows and the presentations from the event, please click on each speaker tab.
Please click here to view Professor Brandon's slide show presentation and here to see the talk.
Professor Brandon's research focusses on the science, engineering and technology of electrochemical devices for energy applications. He collaborates extensively with industry in this field, as well with other research centres and universities around the world. He is Director of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells SUPERGEN Hub (www.h2fcsupergen.com), Co-Director of the Energy Storage SUPERGEN Hub, and Director of the Sustainable Gas Institute at Imperial College.
Please click here to view Professor Durrant's slide show presentation and here to see the talk.
The development of renewable, low cost energy technologies is a key scientific challenge for the 21st century. Professor Durrant's group's primary research interest is the development of new chemical approaches to solar energy conversion – harnessing solar energy either to produce electricity (photovoltaics) or molecular fuels (e.g.: hydrogen). They undertake fundamental scientific studies of new materials and device concepts, aiming to elucidate design principles which enable technological development. The group's research is based around using transient laser spectroscopies to undertake photochemical studies of light driven electron and energy transfer reactions. Such studies are undertaken in parallel with device development and functional characterisation, including studies of materials and device stability, employing a wide range of molecular, polymeric and inorganic materials. Control of materials structure on the nanometer length scale is often essential for efficient utilisation of solar energy, and therefore the nano-morphology and the use of nanostructured materials is a key component of our research.
Please click here to view Professor Hellgardt's slide show presentation and here to see the talk.
Algae, Biomass and Biofuels, Flow Chemistry, Electrochemical Reactors, Sustainable Hydrogen Production, (Reverse) Fuel Cells.
Thus, his research group devises and applies novel reactor and catalyst concepts, measures intrinsic kinetics and develops new technologies and models to describe and improve on the atom economy, cost and sustainability of our processes.
Please click here to view Dr Chambon's slide show presentation and here to see the talk.
Dr Chambon is a post-doctoral researcher in the Chemical Engineering department. Her research interests lie in optimising decentralised energy technologies to reach the most energy-deprived communities in the world. Her current project examines biomass gasification and its application for rural electrification in LED countries. This spans topics such as electricity demand estimation, technological performance of biogasifiers, integration with other generation technologies as part of a hybrid system, and analysing their impact in terms of cost and CO2 mitigation potential. The research findings are directly commercialised through Oorja Development Solutions, a social enterprise active in deploying mini-grids to provide clean energy access to off-grid communities in rural India.
Please click here to view Dr Macdonald's slide show presentation and here to see the talk.
Dr Macdonald joined Imperial College in 2009 to manage their largest industrially sponsored R&D programme, the 10 year $70M USD Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre. His background is in environmental sciences specialising in carbon capture and storage (CCS), marine issues and more generally operational and leadership excellence. He has successfully managed the challenges of a transdisciplinary scientific programme to focus on multi-sponsor drivers in a quadruple helix management structure.
Naked Energy has developed Virtu, the most economical and efficient solar solution for the generation of electricity and hot water on building rooftops and other space-constrained environments.
Pluvo is a cost neutral solution to urban air pollution. Our patent pending technology uses an enclosed mist of water droplets to remove dangerous pollutants from the air and pays for itself by using this mist to create a stunning new holographic-like advertising medium.
Upside Energy provides flexibility to the energy system. Its cloud platform uses advanced algorithms and AI to coordinate demand from business and domestic devices such as home batteries, EVs and heating system to better align demand for energy to supply.
RFC Power Limited is a new Imperial College spinout company focusing on developing of cost-effective large-scale flow batteries for stationary electricity storage applications. Our novel patent-protected flow battery technology enables stable power delivery at fraction of cost.


LeToya Luckett, Latavia Roberson claimed they were slighted in hit song's lyrics.
Destiny's Child have settled out of court with two former members who claim they were dissed in the hit song "Survivor."
LeToya Luckett and Latavia Roberson, who were dismissed from the pop R&B trio two years ago, had settled part of an earlier lawsuit against the group with an agreement that precluded each party from making disparaging public remarks against the other (see "Destiny's Child Members Dropped From Ex-Members' Lawsuit").
That agreement came into dispute with the 2001 release of the song "Survivor," which included the lines, "You thought that I'd be stressed without you/ But I'm chillin'/ You thought that I wouldn't sell without you/ Sold 9 million."
Luckett and Roberson claimed in March that the song was a slight upon them and filed yet again, seeking unspecified damages in a federal suit (see "Destiny's Child Ex-Members Sue Group Over 'Survivor' Jabs").
The terms of the new settlement were not disclosed, but in a statement issued Wednesday the parties announced, "The former members of Destiny's Child, LeToya Luckett and Latavia Roberson, along with Music World Entertainment, Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelendria Rowland and T. Michelle Williams ... have amicably resolved all of their outstanding differences. ... LeToya and Latavia are satisfied that justice has been served."
Luckett and Roberson, featured on the group's 1998 self-titled debut and 1999's The Writing's on the Wall, originally filed suit in March 2000, five weeks after their expulsion from the group. They claimed that Destiny's Child's manager — Beyoncé Knowles' father and Kelly Rowland's then-legal guardian — had been involved in the decision to have them dismissed, breaching his fiduciary duties and mismanaging their careers. According to the suit, Mathew Knowles promoted his daughter's interests above those of her bandmates (see "Destiny's Child Sued By Former Members"). Those issues were also resolved in the settlement announced Wednesday.
For more on the drama surrounding Destiny's Child split, check out the feature "Destiny's Child: Then And Now."


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Wasala NB, Zhang K, Wasala LP, Hakim CH, Duan D. The FVB Background Does Not Dramatically Alter the Dystrophic Phenotype of Mdx Mice. PLOS Currents Muscular Dystrophy. 2015 Feb 10 . Edition 1. doi: 10.1371/currents.md.28266819ca0ec5fefcac767ea9a3461c.
Nalinda B. Wasala Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Keqing Zhang Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Lakmini P. Wasala Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Chady H. Hakim Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Dongsheng Duan Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health HL-91883 (DD) and AR-49419 (DD), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (DD) and the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (DD).
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked lethal progressive muscle wasting disorder mainly affecting boys. It is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene, one of the largest and most conserved genes in the genome (reviewed in 1 ). Numerous mouse models have been used to study dystrophin function and DMD pathogenesis (reviewed in 2–5). Among these, the mdx mouse is the most frequently used model (reviewed in 6). First described in 1984 by Bulfield and colleagues as a spontaneous myopathy model in C57/BL10 (BL10) mice, mdx mice carry a nonsense mutation in the exon 23 of the dystrophin gene 7,8.
Transgenesis is one of the most powerful technologies to investigate gene function in animal models (reviewed in 9,10). Studies conducted in transgenic mdx mice have laid the foundation for our current understanding of the structure-function relationship of dystrophin and DMD gene therapy (reviewed in 11). We recently began to use the transgenic approach to characterize the function of the dystrophin nNOS-binding domain and to explore cardiac unique features of the dystrophin gene 12,sup>-15. The FVB mouse has been the preferred inbred strain for the production of transgenic mice because of its robust reproductive performance, unusually large pronuclei of the fertilized oocytes (easy for microinjection) and excellent nurturing characteristics 16. To minimize the influence of the genetic background, in the past we have to backcross our FVB background transgenic mice for many generations to the BL10 background before use them in the study 12–14. With more transgenic lines being developed, it becomes an extremely labor-intensive and time-demanding task to backcross every FVB transgenic line to the mdx background. To solve this problem, we decided to generate FVB background mdx (mdx/FVB) mice. We backcrossed inbred FVB mice with the original BL10 background mdx mice for seven generations. The resulting mdx/FVB mice had white coat color. However, they showed the characteristic histological and physiological changes as the original mdx mice. Our results suggest that the mdx/FVB mouse may represent a useful model to study DMD.
Experimental Animals. All animal experiments were approved by the institutional animal care and use committee and were in accordance with NIH guidelines. Parental FVB (FVB/NJ, Jackson stock number 001800) and mdx (C57BL/10ScSn-Dmdmdx/J, Jackson stock number 001801) mice were obtained from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). All mice were maintained in a specific-pathogen free animal care facility on a 12-hour light (25 lux): 12-hour dark cycle with access to food and water ad libitum. For histological and physiological studies, only male mice were used.
Generation of mdx/FVB mice. The mdx/FVB mouse was generated by seven generations of backcrossing. Briefly, female mdx mice were crossed with male FVB mice to obtain the F1 progeny. Heterozygous females were bred with FVB males to get F2 progeny. Heterozygous F2 females were identified by PCR according to our published protocol and crossed with male FVB mice to get F3 progeny 17. In subsequent rounds of breeding, the heterozygous females were used to cross with FVB males until a total of seven generations of backcrossing was finished. Dystrophin-deficient males and heterozygous females from the last round of backcrossing were interbred to generate experimental mdx/FVB mice.
Morphological studies. General histology was examined by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Central nucleation was quantified on 3 to 5 random 20x fields for each muscle. Fibrosis was examined by Masson trichrome staining as we described before 18. Dystrophin expression was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining using the dystrophin C-terminal domain specific Dys-2 antibody (1:100; clone Dy10/12B2, IgG2a; Novocastra, Newcastle, UK) 19,20. Slides were viewed at the identical exposure setting using a Nikon E800 fluorescence microscope. Photomicrographs were taken with a Qimage REtiga 1300 camera 18.
Serum creatine kinase (CK) activity assay. Fresh serum was collected by tail vein bleeding. The CK activity was determined using CK liqui-UV test kit from Stanbio Laboratory (Boerne, TX) according to the manufacturer's guidelines.
Fore limb grip strength measurement. Fore limb grip strength was measured with a computerized grip strength meter (Columbus Instruments, Columbus, OH) as we described previously 21,22. The grip strength meter has a pulling bar attached to a force transducer and a digital display. Briefly, the mice were first checked for any sores in the limbs and toes prior to the experiment. Only mice without apparent skin injury were used in the study. The mice were first acclaimed to the apparatus for approximately 5 min. Mouse was then allowed to grab the pulling bar by holding it from the tip of the tail. The mouse was gently pulled away from the grip bar. When the mouse can no longer grasp the bar, the reading was recorded. Protocol was repeated five times with at least 30 sec rest between trials. The highest three values were averaged to obtain the absolute grip strength. Normalized grip strength was obtained by dividing the absolute grip strength with the body weight.
EDL muscle function evaluation. EDL muscle force was determined ex vivo according to our published protocol 21,23. Briefly, mice were anesthetized via intra-peritoneal injection of a cocktail containing 25 mg/ml ketamine, 2.5 mg/ml xylazine and 0.5 mg/ ml acepromazine at 2.5 µl/g body weight. The EDL muscle was gently dissected and mounted to an intact muscle test system (Aurora Scientific, Inc., Aurora, ON, Canada) containing oxygenated (95% O2 and 5% CO2 at 30ºC) Ringer's buffer. After 10 min equilibration, the muscle length (Lm) of the EDL muscle was measured with an electronic digital caliper (Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). This length is defined as the optimal muscle length (L0). The maximum isometric tetanic force (Po) was measured at 150 Hz. The muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) was calculated according to the following equation, CSA = (muscle mass, in gram)/[(optimal fiber length (Lf), in cm) × (muscle density, in g/cm3)]. A muscle density of 1.06 g/cm3 was used in calculation. The optimal fiber length is calculated as 0.44 x Lo. 0.44 represents the ratio of the fiber length to the Lo of the EDL muscle 21. Specific muscle force was determined by dividing the maximum isometric tetanic force with the muscle CSA. After tetanic force measurement, the muscle was rested for 10 min and then subjected to ten rounds of eccentric contraction injury according to our previously published protocol 21,23. Briefly, following a tetanic contraction EDL muscle was stretched 10%L0 at a rate 0.5L0/sec. The muscle was allowed to rest 2 min between each eccentric cycle. The percentage of force drop following each round of eccentric contraction was recorded. Data were processed using the Lab View-based DMC and DMA programs (Version 3.12, Aurora Scientific, Inc.).
TA muscle function evaluation. The TA muscle force was measured in situ according to our published protocol 21,23. Briefly, mice were anesthetized as described above. The TA muscle and the sciatic nerve were exposed. The mouse was transferred to a customer-designed thermo-controlled platform of the footplate apparatus. Sciatic nerve was stimulated using a custom-made 25G platinum electrode to elicit muscle contraction. Subsequently, twitch and tetanic forces and the eccentric contraction profile were measured with a 305C-LR dual-mode servomotor transducer (Aurora Scientific, Inc.). Data recording and analysis were identical to methods described for the EDL muscle. In TA muscle cross-sectional area calculation, the optimal fiber length was calculated as 0.60 x L0. 0.60 represents the ratio of the fiber length to the L0 of the TA muscle 21.
Statistical analysis. Data are presented as mean ± standard error of mean (s.e.m.). Statistical significance between FVB and mdx/FVB was determined by the Student t-test. Difference was considered statistically significant when P < 0.05.
Adult mdx/FVB mice show dystrophic muscle pathology and elevated serum CK. The coat color of mdx mice is black while that of FVB mice is white. After crossing mdx mice with FVB mice for seven generations, we obtained the expected white colored mdx/FVB mice (Figure 1A). To determine whether mdx/FVB mice had myopathy, we first examined histology in the TA muscle of 3 and 6-m-old mice (Figure 1B). Dystrophin expression was observed in the FVB muscle but not in the mdx/FVB muscle. On HE staining, we observed inflammation, degeneration/regeneration and necrosis in the mdx/FVB muscle (Figure 1B). The FVB muscle had the uniform myofiber size but in the mdx/FVB muscle, we noticed the presence of extremely large and small myofibers (Figure 1B). In wild type FVB mice, central nucleation was <1%. In mdx/FVB mice, central nucleation reached 66-71% (Table 1, N=11 mice/group, ~ 12,000 myofibers quantified per strain).
Fig. 1: The tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of the mdx/FVB mouse displays characteristic histological changes of muscular dystrophy.
A, Representative photographs of experimental mice. Left panel, BL10 and mdx mice; Right panel, FVB and mdx/FVB mice. B, Representative photomicrographs of dystrophin immunofluorescence staining (top panel), HE staining (middle panel) and Masson trichrome staining (bottom panel) of the FVB and mdx/FVB TA muscles.
CK level elevation is a salient feature in mdx mice. Consistently, the CK level in mdx/FVB mice was also significantly higher than that of FVB mice (Figure 2A).
Muscle function is significantly compromised in mdx/FVB mice. Three methods were used to evaluate muscle function in 3 and 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice. Forelimb grip strength was quantified in awaken intact mice. Compared to that of FVB mice, body-weight normalized grip strength was reduced by ~ 50% in mdx/FVB mice (Figure 2B).
Fig. 2: Serum creatine kinase (CK) and forelimb grip in FVB and mdx/FVB mice.
A, Quantification of the serum CK level. n=8 and 9 for 3-m-old and n=4 and 8 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice, respectively. B, Forelimb grip strength. n=7 and 8 for 3-m-old and n=4 and 6 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice, respectively. The absolute grip force is normalized to the body weight. Asterisk, significantly different from that of FVB mice.
The TA muscle force was analyzed in situ in anesthetized mice (Figure 3, Table 1). The specific twitch force was marginally reduced in mdx/FVB mice (p=0.05) (Figure 3A). However, the specific tetanic force was significantly decreased in mdx/FVB mice. It only reached ~ 80% of the normal (Figure 3B). Mdx/FVB mice were significantly more susceptible to eccentric contraction damage (Figure 3C). From 3 to 6 months, the eccentric contraction profile of FVB mice did not change much. Interestingly, compared to that of 3-m-old mdx/FVB mice, 6-m-old mdx/FVB mice showed a much sharper force drop during the first three rounds of eccentric contraction. The residual force was also lower in 6-m-old mdx/FVB (~21% of the starting force; this value was ~ 35% in 3-m-old mdx/FVB).
Fig. 3: In situ analysis of the contractile properties of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle in FVB and mdx/FVB mice.
A, Specific twitch force. n=10 and 8 for 3-m-old and n=8 and 9 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice, respectively; p=0.51 and p=0.50 for 3 and 6-m-old comparisons respectively. B, Specific tetanic force. n=10 and 8 for 3-m-old and n=8 and 9 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice, respectively. C, Percentage of force drop during ten cycles of eccentric contractions. Absolute force generated during the first cycle is set as the baseline (100%) and the percentage of force drop following each cycle of eccentric contraction is calculated relative to the baseline. n=7-10 and 7-8 for 3-m-old and n=7-8 and 6-9 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice, respectively. Asterisk, significantly different from that of FVB mice.
The EDL muscle force was analyzed ex vivo (Figure 4, Table 1). The overall trend was similar to that of the TA muscle with mdx/FVB mice showing significantly more compromised contractility compared to that of normal mice. Interestingly, a statistically significant difference in the specific twitch force was found between FVB and mdx/FVB mice (Figure 4A). Further, the eccentric contraction profile of 3-m-old mdx/FVB mice was similar to that of 6-m-old mdx/FVB (Figure 4C).
Data shown as mean ± standard error of mean. a, significantly different from the 3-m-old FVB control group; b, significantly different from the 6-m-old FVB control group.
Abbreviations: EDL, extensor digitorum longus; CSA, cross sectional area; TA, tibialis anterior; CN, central nucleation.
Sample size: Body weight n=11-14 for FVB, n=11-19 for mdx/FVB; EDL weight/CSA n=14-24 for FVB, n=12-18 for mdx/FVB; TA weight/CSA n=8-10 for FVB, n=8-9 for mdx/FVB; CN analysis n= 10-11 for each strain.
Fig. 4: Ex vivo analysis of the contractile properties of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle in FVB and mdx/FVB mice.
A, Specific twitch force. n=14 and 12 for 3-m-old and n=24 and 18 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice respectively. B, Specific tetanic force. n=14 and 12 for 3-m-old and n=24 and 18 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice respectively. C, Percentage of force drop during ten cycles of eccentric contractions. Absolute force generated during the first cycle is set as the baseline and (100%) and the percentage of force drop following each cycle of eccentric is calculated relative to the baseline. n=9-12 and 9-12 for 3-m-old and n=14-15 and 12-14 for 6-m-old FVB and mdx/FVB mice respectively. Asterisk, significantly different from FVB mice.
To meet the practical needs of our transgenic studies, we crossed the BL10-background mdx mice with FVB/NJ mice. Recent studies suggest that the so-called "wild type" inbred mice may actually carry various changes in their genome. For example, the commonly used A/J mice were recently show to display progressive muscular dystrophy due to a mutation in the dysferlin gene 24. The FVB strain was also found to carry mutations in several genes of the visual system 25. It is thus important to determine whether the FVB background alters the dystrophic phenotype of the original mdx mice. After seven generations of backcross, we obtained white mdx/FVB mice. These mice showed classic dystrophic changes including elevated serum CK, myofiber centronucleation, muscle inflammation and fibrosis, force reduction and enhanced sensitivity to eccentric contraction injury. In young adult mdx mice, the specific twitch and tetanic force for EDL muscle range from 26.6±1.2 to 29.0±1.5 and 129.6±10.5 to 138.5±5.6 mN/mm2, respectively. In young adult C57Bl/10 (BL10) mice, the specific twitch and tetanic force for EDL muscle range from 33.2±1.8 to 46.5±3.7 and 185.4±5.7 to 245.0±1.4 mN/mm2, respectively 12,26–28. Muscle force drops from 100% (baseline) to 53.5-29.4% (after 10cycles of eccentric contraction) in young mdx mice. Muscle force drops from 100% (baseline) to 73.1-68.0% (after 10 cycles of eccentric contraction) in BL10 mice 26,27. The values we observed in EDL muscle of mdx/FVB mice were comparable to these of mdx mice. The contractile properties of the TA muscle in mdx/FVB mice and FVB mice also fall within the range of those reported in mdx/mdx4cv mice and BL10/BL6 mice, respectively 29–31. Tables 2 and 3 show a comprehensive comparison of contractile properties of limb muscles in FVB vs BL10 and mdx/FVB vs mdx/BL10 mice. Elevated levels of serum CK and myofiber centronucleation are hallmarks of muscle diseases in mdx and mdx4cv mice 27,31–33. The mdx/FVB mice showed the similar trend. Based on the phenotypic similarity between mdx/FVB mice and the original mdx mice, we conclude that mdx/FVB may serve as a good control for studying FVB-background transgenic mdx mice.
Over the last two decades, mdx mice have been backcrossed to the background of at least six different inbred strains including albino, BALB/C, C3H, BL6, DBA/2 and FVB 34–40. Except for the DBA/2 background mdx mice 37, the dystrophic phenotype is rarely characterized in other backgrounds. It has become apparent that genetic background can significantly modulate the phenotype of single gene mutation in mice (Reviewed in 41–44). This feature has been used in genome-wide genetic analysis to identify the genetic modifiers that may account for the phenotypic differences in muscular dystrophy (reviewed in 45,46). The mdx/FVB strain described here may add in the research in this direction.
We thank Ms Yongping Yue and Mr. Thomas McDonald for technical assistance.
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