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Why Are Plastics Non Biodegradable?
Ever wondered why plastics do not biodegrade?
Fossil products such as crude oil are heated at high temperatures to form incredibly strong polymers to make plastic.
Since polymers have strong chemical bonds and aren't found too often in nature, they require a lot of energy to make and break.
Let's talk about the non-biodegradability of plastics and why it is a problem.
What Makes Plastics Non-biodegradable?
Now, assume you're bacteria or fungus looking for food, and you bump into leaves and animal carcasses, both of which you or your friends can eat; then, suddenly, you spot something you've never seen before – a plastic bottle.
Although you've been evolving for millions of years, you've never encountered such strange things as plastic, and therefore you don't have a mechanism to break it down and use it for nutrition.
Why plastics last long is attributable to the chemicals they contain. Manufacturers heat fossil products to form strong polymers.
It's also argued that plastic is a relatively new technology introduced just a few decades ago and is foreign to most microorganisms. So, do plastics ever decompose?
Decomposition happens when organic materials like paper, animal carcasses, and wood break down to form sugars, water, carbon dioxide, and other simple organic or inorganic compounds.
You may as well call it the rotting or decaying of organic waste. Some materials decompose when buried in the soil, while others, such as plastics, do not decompose.
Most plastics don't decompose because they contain inorganic materials such as polyethylene terephthalates and short-form "PET," which take forever to decompose.
Although it's nearly impossible to decompose plastics due to the nature of materials used in their manufacture, exposing them to direct sunlight can break them down.
However, still, it may take a whole lifetime for that to happen.
Are all Plastics Non-biodegradable?
Can plastic ever be biodegradable? I know you may have heard about bioplastics, and you're likely confused about whether these plastics are more environmentally friendly or not.
It's essential to understand that all plastics serve us in the short term but take centuries to decompose.
Biodegradable plastics cannot solve this mess; they're not so biodegradable. So, all plastics are plastics, only that some take a shorter time to degrade.
The common denominator in all plastics equations is non-biodegradability. Another thing, bioplastics are easily degradable compared to traditional plastics.
Let's talk about that first.
Degradable: Something is said to be degradable if it can break down. Technically, plastics and everything else are degradable. Although bioplastics break down into millions of microplastics, it never biodegrades. The major physical difference between bioplastics and traditional plastics is that the latter doesn't degrade easily, but it may when exposed to UV light.
Biodegradable: Biodegradable materials completely break down into compost, water, or carbon dioxide. The term "biodegradable" often implies that decomposition takes place in a few weeks or months. Almost all plastics are durable and cannot decompose, and it's for this reason that they're considered Non-biodegradable.
So, it's safe to conclude that all plastics are non-biodegradable, but traditional plastics don't easily degrade.
Bioplastics Aren't Any Better.
To some extent, bioplastics are better than traditional plastics, nor are they a solution to plastic pollution.
However, some people view them as a better solution simply because they don't take long to degrade compared to "regular" plastics.
Others believe bioplastics are better because of the biodegradable materials used to manufacture these plastics.
Bioplastics contain renewable materials such as plants, vegetable fats, woodchips, straw, food waste, and cornstarch.
These ingredients are naturally recyclable, so they somehow control the fossil fuel mess brought about by traditional plastics.
That bioplastics vanish into thin air after some time is just but a common myth.
Under normal conditions, these plastics may biodegrade or not, but at least we are sure they fragment into microplastics by themselves.
Most plastics, bio or not, require tough industrial conditions to alter their chemical composition.
For example, some bioplastics quickly degrade or biodegrade when exposed to define temperature and microorganisms.
Now that we have busted that myth, keep in mind that the only surefire way to tackle the plastics mess is by reducing our over-dependence on them because their biodegradability is never guaranteed.
Plastics Pollute the Environment
The non-biodegradability of plastics is arguably the biggest environmental threat in this age.
The use of these materials has uncontrollably exploded and is now a major headache to almost all nations.
According to UNEP, approximately one truck of garbage is dumped into the ocean every minute! To say that plastic pollution is another global pandemic would be an understatement.
Plastic waste threatens natural processes and ecosystems' stability. Worse still, it directly affects millions of livelihoods and human beings' social well-being.
For this reason, we must now figure out alternatives to plastics, or we will lose what we once called home.
Would you like to reduce plastic pollution? Here are a few great alternatives to plastics available today.
Compostable plastics that can be bio-degraded under certain conditions. If you must use plastics, it's always a good idea to opt for those that carry the "I will break down in a commercial facility" claim.
Wood is not only renewable but also biodegradable. The good thing with wood is that you can use it to make virtually anything in this world, from kitchen utensils to cutting boards.
Bamboo is a rapidly-growing biodegradable material that can replace plastic straws and tableware. Despite being compostable, bamboo is also durable and coventiently lightweight.
Paper may be better than plastics but can't be recycled many times because its threads weaken with time.
Plastics are non-biodegradable because they contain long-chain ethene polymers that make biodegradation impossible.
Also, this chemical composition features increased molecular weight, thus making plastics a tough nut to crack for microorganisms .
However, bioplastics contain both biodegradable and nonbiodegradable materials, which may decompose in commercial facilities.
Since decomposing plastics is never an easy feat and there's no guarantee that bioplastics will biodegrade, it's important to consider other better alternatives such as paper, wood, bamboo, and compostable plastics whenever you get that opportunity.
Are Beer Caps Recyclable?
How to Dispose Of a Coffee Maker


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Home Lifestyle Converting Foes to Friends – Quranic Principles and Prophetic Examples
Converting Foes to Friends – Quranic Principles and Prophetic Examples
Yunus Omotayo
Are you being overwhelmed by the staunchness of the enmity of your enemies, the rivalry of your rivals and the opposition of your opponents? Do you wish to learn how to convert an enemy to a friend, a negative force to a positive one? You've got some invaluable lessons to learn from the following Quranic verses if you care to enroll in their school!
Allah says:
"And good and evil are not alike. Repel evil with that which is best. And lo, he between whom and thyself was enmity will become as though he were a warm friend. None is given (this virtue) except those who are patient, and none is given it except a possessor of great virtues." (Qur'an, 41:35-36)
Converting Foes to Friends – Dissecting the Quranic Principles
First Principle: Realizing Good and Evil are not Alike
The Quranic statement, 'Good and evil are not alike,' infuses a powerful stimulus to our moral conscience, sense and consciousness to objectively engage in comparative valuation and evaluation of the intrinsic aesthetic quality, value and utility latent in every reality, particularly, good or evil. We are here implicitly enjoined to evaluate, appreciate and imbibe the goodness of every good, on the one hand; and to assess, recognize and jettison the badness of every evil, on the other hand.
Similar expressions for comparison are often met with in the Quran. Allah says: 'the blind and the seeing, the light and darkness, the heat and the shade, and the living and the dead, respectively, are neither alike nor equal.' [Quran, 35: 20-23] Particularly, regarding comparison between good and evil, it is interesting to note that, in all its ramifications, good represents the Will of God, Who is the Absolute Good and Ultimate Goodness; while evil, on the other hand, is the will and manifestation of the devil. Good represents light and positivity; evil symbolizes darkness and negativity. Thus, to be good is to be godly, positive and creative; while to be bad is to be devilish, negative and destructive. Hence, what is perhaps intended by this Qur'anic axiological appeal is that the understanding gained from such a comparative study of good and evil should inspire and fascinate our human logic, reason and rationality to begin to imbibe, practice and represent goodness in all ramifications and, when encountered with evil, to repel the latter with the former.
Second Principle: Repelling Evil with that which is Best
If you've been searching for a viable approach to quench the fire of hostilities and establish peaceful and amiable relationship, then, you've, finally, arrived at your destination here.
The Qur'anic instruction: 'repel evil with that which is best,' proffers the most viable principle of human relationship and world order for eradicating all forms of hostilities, rivalries and conflicts and establishing in their stead peaceful and amiable relations at all inter-personal, inter-communal, inter-tribal and international levels. Indeed, as Hadrat Mirza Bashirud-deen Mahmud Ahmad [ra] succinctly maintained, this Qur'anic moral imperative 'points to a very noble principle inculcated by Islam for the moral progress of a Muslim and also for the establishment and preservation of peace and harmony among individuals and nations.' [1]
More so, analyzing the various significations the expression: repel evil with that which is best, could have, he writes: 1] … repel evil with good, which means that …. do good deeds so that men may imitate their example and forsake evil…
2] The words repel evil with good also mean that men of understanding do "good" deeds with the object of removing "evil" i.e. they neither insist on retaliation regardless of the nature of the offence or the suitability of the punishment nor do they persist in unqualified forgiveness but follow the course best suited for the eradication evil. They resort to retaliation if it serves the purpose and to forgiveness if forgiveness is calculated to bring about the desired result…
3] The words repel evil with good, may also mean that they do not meet "evil" with "evil", but always observe justice and never forsake the path of equity and justice in dealing with evil." [2]
Furthermore, while pin-pointing the three courses of reaction to evil as prescribed by the Quran, namely, to react to evil with equivalent evil i.e. equitable retaliation, or to forgive evil and or to pay evil with kind return, he rationalizes that "He may return evil to the extent and measure of the injury he has received or he may punish the evil-doer if he is in a position to do so but the punishment should, under no circumstances, exceed legitimate bounds. Moreover, the punishment is to be resorted to only if this course is calculated to produce wholesome effect upon the aggressor party. This is the significance of the words, the recompense of evil is evil like it (Quran, 42:41). The Qur'an, however, prefers and recommends that forgiveness should be shown to the evil-doer. This is the meaning of the words, but whoever forgives and amends, his reward is with Allah (Quran, 42:41). But a Muslim who has attained to a very high moral standard is enjoined not only to forgive the person who has done him some wrong but also to do him a good turn in addition. This is the significance of the verse under comment and this is the high moral standard of conduct expected of a Muslim by Islam. Islam enjoins the repelling of evil with evil or with forgiveness or with a kind return, which of the three courses is calculated to conduce to the moral good of the wrong-doer, or the good of the injured person or to the good of human society at large." [3]
Converting Enemies to Warm Friends: The Prophetic Examples
At this juncture, it would be fascinating to take a flight to the wonderments of the Prophetic examples of converting foes to friends through the powerful act of repaying evil with good.
Prophet Yusuf (as) Forgives Enemies and Reaches Plateau of Self-realization
Our first depot of soul-inspiring narratives revolves around that famous Biblical and Qurnanic protagonist-prophet – Yusuf [Joseph] (as). Reading the Qur'anic narration of the Prophet Yusuf's [as] deeply soul-inspiring life account, one is always fascinated by the climatic episode in which, in spite of the iniquities perpetrated against him by his step brothers, Prophet Yusuf [as] repelled their evil with good, with the most surprising act of forgiveness through his declaration: No blame on you today, may Allah forgive you, He is the Most Merciful of the merciful. [Quran, 12: 93] It was by this very noble gesture that he eventually converted his childhood hostile forces to his friends once and for all, as they became deeply remorseful and repentant, falling down before him. It was at that point that his childhood dream found cosmic fulfillment, as they practically prostrated before him and he became the ruler of their minds. It was this climatic event which further defined the noble characters that characterized Yusuf's [saw] prophetic personality, revealed to humanity his moral and spiritual essence and station and conferred everlasting blessings upon his dynamic life and destiny. Prophet Yusuf's act of paying evil with good became the catalyst that skyrocketed him to the plateau of self-realization and accomplishment.
Muhammadan Examples
Similarly, the blessed life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad [saw] also proffers us with extremely interesting examples of the act of repelling evil with good to turn enemies to friends and negative to positive.
How Prophet Muhammad (saw) Converts a Criminal-Enemy to an Ardent Admirer
Among such a number of delicious examples, we find it quite irresistible to begin with the following soul-inspiring narrative. It's about the thrilling story of the effect of the kind treatment meted out by the Holy Prophet to Thumamah bin Uthal, a high profile criminal and an avowed enemy of Muhammad and Islam. He had killed a number of Muslims and perpetrated many evils. The following is the interesting encounter between him and the Holy Prophet [saw] when he was eventually captured, brought and fastened to one of the pillars of the Prophet's mosque at Medina.
"What have you got, O Thumamah?" said the Holy Prophet (saw) to him.
"I have got a good thought, O Muhammad," he replied. Speaking further, he submitted, "If you should kill me, you would kill a person who has already killed somebody; and if you should set me free, you would do a favour to one who is grateful, and if you want property, then ask me whatever wealth you want."
He was left till the next day when the Prophet [saw] said to him, "what have you got, O Thumamah?" He said, "what I told you, i.e. if you set me free, you would do a favour to one who is grateful." The Prophet [saw] left him till the day after, when he [saw] said, "What have you got, O Thumamah? He said, "I have got what I told you." On that the Prophet [saw] said, "Release Thumamah." So he [i.e. Thumamah] went to a garden of date-palm trees near to the mosque, took a bath and then entered the mosque and said, "I testify that none has the right to be worship except Allah and also testify that Muhammad is His Messenger! By Allah, O Muhammad! There was no face on the surface of the earth most disliked by me than yours, but now your face has become the most beloved face to me. By Allah, there was no religion most disliked by me than yours, but now it is the most beloved religion to me. By Allah there was no town most disliked by me than your town, but now it is the most beloved town to me. Your calvary arrested me [at the time] I was intending to perform the Umra. And now what do you think? Allah's Messenger [saw] gave him good tidings [congratulated him] and ordered him to perform the Umra. So when he came to Makka someone said to him, "you have become a Sabi? [Have you changed your religion?] Thumamah replied, "No, by Allah! I have embraced Islam with Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah. No, by Allah! Not a single grain of wheat will come to you from Yamamah unless the Prophet [saw] gives his permission." [4]
Thousands of Persecuting Infidels Convert to Faithful Followers
More so, another good and historic example can be seen in the event of the conquest of Mecca. This is how Hadhrat Mirza Bashirudīn Mahmūd Ahmad (ra) summarized the story in his Life of Muhammad (saw):
"The Prophet (sa) addressed the Meccans and said: "You have seen how true the promises of God have proved. Now tell me what punishment you should have for the cruelties and enormities you committed against those whose only fault was that they invited you to the worship of the One and Only God."
To this the Meccans replied, "We expect you to treat us as Joseph (as) treated his erring brothers."
By significant coincidence, the Meccans used in their plea for forgiveness the very words which God had used in the Surah Yusuf, revealed ten years before the conquest of Mecca. In this the Prophet (sa) was told that he would treat his Meccan persecutors as Joseph (as) had treated his brothers. By asking for the treatment which Joseph (as) had meted out to his brothers, the Meccans admitted that the Prophet (sa) of Islam was the like of Joseph (as) and as Joseph (as) was granted victory over his brothers the Prophet (sa) had been granted victory over the Meccans. Hearing the Meccans' plea, the Prophet (sa) declared at once: "By God, you will have no punishment today and no reproof." (5)
Notably, though the Holy Prophet [saw] had marched against the disbelievers of Mecca with ten thousand companions, the Muslims' apparent overpowering of the military strength of the Meccan disbelievers was not what merely gave the narrative of the conquest its remarkable history, but the noblest act of goodness through the declaration of general amnesty and promise of forgiveness which the Holy Prophet extended to his erstwhile Meccan persecutors. It was this that brought about the subsequent total conversion of the converts who were hitherto avowed disbelievers. The Prophet (saw) announced to them: 'today is not a day of slaughter. Today is a day of forgiveness. No blame on you today. Go, you are free'. As history relates, hearing such a declaration of amnesty, erstwhile enemies and persecutors who had hitherto decided on self-exile, were encouraged to return to Muhammad (saw), crawling before him with remorse and declaring faith in the religion of Islam. By repelling their evil with good, Muhammad (saw) forever converted hundreds of foes to friends and of disbelievers to believers in a twinkling of an eye!
The Thrilling Story of 'Ikrima's Conversion
Furthermore, one thrilling example is worth mentioning here. Of those who had been excepted from the general amnesty, some were forgiven on the recommendation of the Companions. Among those who were thus forgiven was 'Ikrima (ra), a son of Abu Jahl. 'Ikrima's (ra) wife was a Muslim at heart. She requested the Prophet (saw) to forgive him. The Prophet (sa) forgave. At the time 'Ikrima (ra) was trying to escape to Abyssinia. His wife pursued him and found that he was about to embark. She reproved him.
"Are you running away from a man as gentle and soft as the Prophet (saw)?" she said.
'Ikrima (ra) was astonished and asked whether she really thought the Prophet (sa) would forgive him. 'Ikrima's (ra) wife assured him that even he would be forgiven by the Prophet (sa). In fact she had had word from him already. 'Ikrima (ra) gave up his plan of escaping to Abyssinia and returned to see the Prophet (sa).
"I understand from my wife that you have forgiven even one like me," he said.
"Your wife is right. I have really forgiven you," said the Prophet (saw).
'Ikrima (ra) decided that a person capable of forgiving his deadliest enemies could not be false. He, therefore, declared his faith in Islam. "I bear witness that God is One and has no equal and I bear witness that you are His Servant and His Messenger (sa)." So saying, 'Ikrima (ra) bent his head in shame. The Prophet (sa) consoled him.
"'Ikrima (ra)," said he, "I have not only forgiven you, but as proof of my regard for you, I have decided to invite you to ask me for anything I can give."
'Ikrima (ra) replied, "There is nothing more or better I can ask you for than that you should pray for me to God and ask for His forgiveness and whatever excesses and enormities I have committed against you."
Hearing this entreaty, the Prophet (sa) prayed to God at once and said: "My God, forgive the enmity which 'Ikrima (ra) has born against me. Forgive him the abuse which has issued from his lips."
The Prophet (saw) then stood up and put his mantle over 'Ikrima (ra) and said, "Whoever comes to me, believing in God, is one with me. My house is as much his as mine."
The conversion of 'Ikrima (ra) fulfilled a prophecy which the Holy Prophet (sa) had made many years before. The Prophet (sa), addressing his Companions, once had said: "I have had a vision in which I saw that I was in Paradise. I saw there a bunch of grapes. When I asked for whom the bunch was meant, someone replied saying, 'For AbuJahl'." Referring to this vision on this occasion of the conversion of 'Ikrima (ra), the Prophet (sa) said he did not understand the vision at first. How could Abu Jahl, an enemy of believers, enter Paradise and how could he have a bunch of grapes provided for him. "But now," said the Prophet (sa), "I understand my vision; the bunch of grapes was meant for 'Ikrima (ra). Only, instead of the son I was shown the father, a substitution common in visions and dreams" (6)
Mandela Converts Foes to Friends
Although not of prophetic examples, yet, the following case offers quite relevant evidence of the efficacy of the principle of repelling evil with good to convert enemies to friends even at the political and diplomatic levels.
Interestingly, our modern history presents for us another impressive example demonstrated by Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and former President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. At the heel of his victory in the long-year fight for freedom from the yoke of the Whites' most inhuman imperialist policy of apartheid imposed on his African countrymen that culminated in his long years of incarceration, he repelled their uncivil and heinous policy with that which is best: forgiveness and reconciliation. The subsequent international popularity which he won, and the exponential national development and progress that have come to the lot of his country are facts which most of us are witnessing, hearing and reading about. Mandela was given over 250 awards, accolades, prizes, honorary degrees and citizenship among which were the Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Soviet Union's Lenin Peace Prize, and in November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed Mandela's birthday, 18 July, as "Mandela Day", marking his contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle. [7]
From the foregoing various examples, a fact that becomes obvious is that, in every case where the principle of repelling evil with good has been applied to every feudal or hostile relation (be it interpersonal friendship or religious or political or diplomatic relations between groups, states and nations), it has always effected the same positive result of converting enemies to friends and negative to positive.
Invariably, therefore, the principle of repelling evil with good represents a powerful approach to successful conversion of any and every negative force to positive, foe to friend and disbeliever to believer. It entails a viable world order and principle of human relations by which every opposition of an opponent or rivalry of a rival and enmity of an enemy can be irresistibly subverted and amicably converted to a warm friendship and peaceful relation. Similarly, "As the preaching of truth inevitably brings in its wake hardships for the preacher," notes Hadhrat Mirza Bashirudīn Mahmūd Ahmad (ra), the verse of Quran 41:35 "enjoins upon him to bear them patiently and with fortitude, and even to return good for the evil he receives at the hands of his persecutors." (8)
Patience and Greater Virtues: The Ultimate Principle
Today, to experience a seamless conversion of a foe to a friend, make an attempt to repel evil with good. Become a subject of positivity and goodness, a champion of friendly relations and a creator of a peaceful atmosphere in a social space bedeviled by characteristic mutual animosity and hostilities.
Importantly, however, as you determine to put the foregoing principles and values into practice, do remember the concluding principle enunciated by the Holy Verse: "None is given (this virtue) except those who are patient, and none is given it except a possessor of great virtues." (Quran, 41:36)
If, from Prophet Yusuf (as), to Prophet Muhammad (saw) and Mandela etc., all had showed incredible examples of long years of patience and higher virtues in their ultimate historic odysseys, then you must be prepared to offer not less to get the desired result. The point to hold dearly is that our foes are only converted to friends by our determined practical engagement with them with greater, higher and superior virtues.
The Holy Quran with English Translation and Commentary, 2002, Nazarat Nashro Ishaat Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya, Qadian, India, vol. 3, p. 1208
Ibid, vol. 3, p.1208
Ibid, vol. 4, p1824
Zubaidi, Z.A.A., Summarised Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, 1994, Dar-us-Salam Publications, Saudi Arabia p.802-803
Ahmad, Mirza Bashirudīn Mahmud, (2013), Life of Muhammad, Islam International Publications Ltd, UK, p. 165
Ibid, pp. 167-168
https;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nelson_mandela Date accessed: 15/7/2017
The Holy Qur'an with English Translation and Commentary, 2002, Nazarat Nashro Ishaat Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya, Qadian, India, vol. 4
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Tag Archives: Mobility
5 new Azure features you need to hear about
This article excerpt, by Infoworld Tech Watch author Serdar Yegulalp, originally appeared here: http://www.infoworld.com/article/2996538/cloud-computing/5-new-azure-features-you-need-to-hear-about.html
Every public cloud offering is in constant mutation — adding features, revising old ones, revamping pricing, striving to stay ahead of the competition and to give existing customers incentive to stick around.
Microsoft's Azure improvements are often incremental changes aimed at a specific subset of users. But over the past month, several new features — and expansions on existing ones — have bubbled up, all of interest to a wide variety of Azure users. Here are five of the most significant additions.
1. Azure's close integration with the Akamai CDN
The idea is simple: Come early 2016, Azure users will be able to programmatically deploy content into the Akamai CDN and buy Akamai offerings through their Azure self-service portal.
Microsoft has its own CDN and has long enjoyed a close relationship with Akamai, but this takes the partnership to the next level. Apart from allowing Azure-deployed content to reach a broader audience (Latin America and Asia, in particular), it also means Microsoft can pit itself directly against Amazon CloudFront.
Pricing wasn't announced for the Akamai deal, although CloudFront is automatically quite competitive — its free tier allows up to 50GB out per month, albeit only for one year for a new account. Let's see if Microsoft can hatch something at least as appealing.
2. Azure's PowerShell is almost ready for prime time
Build a better command line, and the world will beat a path to your door. Microsoft made a bid in that direction with PowerShell, the power and utility of which speaks for itself.
Integrating PowerShell with Azure has been in the works a long time, but earlier this month, a major milestone arrived: the preview release of Azure PowerShell 1.0. With it, the user can manage Azure resources and services from the command line instead of through a GUI — which most any veteran sys admin appreciates.
Be warned: It's such a major change that the featured Azure Resource Management cmd lets break backward compatibility with previous versions.
3. Azure App Service supports Go, albeit experimentally
If you're a fan of Google's Go and want to use it on Azure, desire no more: Support for Go with Web apps was added to Azure earlier this month — even in the free trial. Azure will take care of configuring the file if needed for the app, but you can supply your own if your deployment requires custom settings.
Right now, only Go 1.4.2 and Go 1.5.1 are supported in their 64-bit incarnations, and the whole package is considered experimental; deploy a production application at your own risk. For now, anyway — you have every reason to believe Go support on Azure will graduate to full support status before long.
4. Azure Backup backs up a lot more than VMs
Originally, Azure Backup was designed to back up Hyper-V VMs and their associated data volumes. Anything beyond that was the province of Microsoft Data Protection Manager. But of late, Azure Backup has grown to provide backup support for other Microsoft products as well. Microsoft SQL Server, SharePoint Server, Microsoft Exchange, and Windows Clients are all protected.
Note that the cost of backups is two-fold: one charge for the size of the instance itself ($5 and up depending on the size of the instance), and charges for storage consumed by the backup. But the range of products covered by Azure Backup is likely to continue expanding.
5. Azure File Storage gives you SMB in the cloud
Sometimes you need to wait the longest for the simplest, most basic features because, counterintuitively, they're hard to get right. Azure finally offered Azure File Storage, to perform conventional Windows file shares (via the SMB 3.0 protocol) in the cloud, at the end of September.
The idea is to support existing applications as they're moved to the cloud, some of which might depend on SMB share mounts. An Azure File Storage share can be mounted anywhere, allowing on-prem and cloud applications to share storage and data in a familiar manner.
Note: Any clients that connect to an Azure File Storage share will be limited by their level of SMB support. For Windows 7, that's SMB 2.1, which lacks support for encryption; SMB 3.0 is supported in only Windows 8 and up, as well as Windows Server 2012 and up. However, most recent Linux distributions support SMB 3.0 natively.
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School dropout numbers blamed on poor learning in early grades
A top education analyst has blamed the shocking dropout statistics of pupils before they reach matric on their "weak learning" during the early years of schooling.
According to the latest statistics, in a report compiled by the department of basic education, there were only 571 819 matrics in 2014 compared to more than one million youngsters in the same age group.
Professor Servaas van der Berg, who is with the research on socioeconomic policy unit at Stellenbosch University, said many pupils dropped out after having failed a few years.
"If children also fail grade nine, that's almost a certain route to leaving the system before matric. All of this is because of weak learning throughout the system but particularly in the early years. It comes back to bite them in secondary school."
The document, Education Statistics in South Africa, which was released last month, revealed that pupils in grades 10 to 12 in 2014 made up only 20.6% of the total school population.
Said Van der Berg: "Learning in the early years is so weak that dropping out is inevitable for a large number of pupils."
The report stated that the highest under-enrolment was in grade 12, which reflected an enrolment of 54.5% of "the appropriate school-age population".
"It must be noted that some learners who were at the FET (Further Education and Training) band age [grades 10 to 12] were also enrolled in FET colleges and that others attended Adult Basic Education and Training (Abet) classes, which is not a compulsory schooling phase," the report stated.
Compulsory schooling in South Africa ends in grade nine.
The report acknowledged that the decline in the proportion of pupils between grades 11 to 12 was significant and that it suggested "possible dropout or movement out of the schooling system to other education institutions".
Van der Berg said the bulk of the remaining 477 494 who were not in matric in 2014 would have dropped out of school.
Equal Education, a movement of pupils, parents, teachers and community members, described as "worrying" the reduced number of matrics who sat for the 2014 exams.
According to another report, compiled by Nick Taylor, a senior research fellow at JET Education Services, the numbers in grade 12 were about half of those in grade two 10 years previously. "Of most concern is the precipitous decline in numbers in grades 11 and 12."
Taylor's report stated that the number of pupils who left school before matric "is so far in excess of those who enter employment or pre-tertiary study, that we must conclude that most are dropping out to join the army of those not in employment, education or training."
There were 30 000 fewer matrics in 2014 compared to 2009 despite the increasing number of pupils in the country, according to the report.
"While some learners may leave school to pursue studies at a college of further education, enrolment at such colleges is nowhere near the number of learners who do not progress to grade 12 in the school system. A large number of learners do not complete high school of any kind."
Drop Out Rates
Matric Exams
Matric Pass Rates


NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE is a Display Adapters device. This driver was developed by NVIDIA. The hardware id of this driver is PCI/VEN_10DE&DEV_0241; this string has to match your hardware.
Download the driver setup file for NVIDIA NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE driver from the link below. This is the download link for the driver version 9.18.13.0908 released on 2015-01-30.
This driver was installed by many users and received an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 21094 votes.
Take a look at the list of available driver updates. Search the list until you locate the NVIDIA NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE driver. Click the Update button.


Fun, strange place. Take the time and do the hike.
An unique place which offers an unique experience both physical and emotional.
May 1993 and February 2016. Hiked Alkali Flat in 2016.
Had a great time with the family sledding down the dunes and just being outdoors with those I care about most!
Took the family here a few years back. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed sliding and jumping down the dunes!
Stopped here and used saucers and wax paper to go 'sledding' in the sand with the kids.


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FinTech and RegTech
Capvine Nigeria
Jerry Mataimaki
Facts and Figures: Female Genital Mutilation
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a harmful practice which includes all procedures that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons (WHO, 2014). FGM usually causes severe pain, bleeding infection, infertility, complications in childbirth and even death, an act which amounts to gender inequality and a form of gender-based violence. (United Nations General Assembly 2012).
According to UNICEF, more than 125 million women and girls have undergone FGM globally with over 3 million more at risk yearly. Across the African continent where FGM is most prevalent, rates vary by country with Egypt being the world's highest total number with over 27.2 million women having undergone FGM (equivalent to 91% prevalence), while Somalia has the highest recorded prevalence rate at 98%.
Further data suggests that at least 21% of women in Kenya have undergone the painful procedure (Plan International). The report by the humanitarian non-governmental organisation went further to state that the prevalence varies widely with 11% of women within the ages of 15 to 19 years undergoing the procedure while 40% of women within ages 45 to 49 years are subjected to the mutilation. Since Kenya banned the practice in 2011, FGM is now increasingly conducted underground, secretly in homes or in clinics by healthcare providers and related workers.
In order to curb this act, the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, 2011 (FGM Act, 2011) came into effect on the 4th of October 2011 as the principal legislation governing FGM in Kenya. It is a federal act criminalizing all forms of FGM, regardless of the age or status of a girl or woman.
Other countries have also put measures in place to reduce the prevalence of the FGM. For instance, in the Republic of Benin, under the Law on Repression of the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), 2003, alleged perpetrators of FGM could spend between 6 months and 3 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 to 2,000,000 Francs.
The case is also similar in Tanzania where this act is prohibited under the Child Act of 2009 where persons found guilty of FGM shall be liable to a fine of not less than five hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term of six months or to both.
There is widespread agreement that considerable work lies ahead, particularly to raise awareness on why this harmful custom should be abolished. Communities are gradually letting go of this form of gender-based violence (GBV) while striking a balance between cultural values and global development.
With various countries having legislations in place with punishment and fines meted on offenders, it is hope that these will help in promoting gender equality and protect the rights and dignity of the girl child and womanhood.
https://wcaro.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/UNFPA-ANALYSIS-ON-FGM-WEB.pdf
http://www.africanchildforum.org/clr/Harmonisation%20of%20Laws%20in%20Africa/other-documents-harmonisation_11_en.pdf
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/
https://www.ednahospital.org/hospital-mission/female-genital-mutilation/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation
https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(15)60471-8.pdf
https://www.unfpa.org/resources/female-genital-mutilation-fgm-frequently-asked-questions
https://www.awcfs.org/index.php/content-development/features/reproductive-health/item/1254-female-genital-mutilation-in-kenya-when-will-it-end
Coronavirus: Should We Take A Feminist Analysis Seriously?


A survey conducted on behalf of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), which questioned 3,700 car rental customers, has uncovered the advantages of this approach to motoring.
The findings compliment market research completed last year, which discovered that compared to the average privately owned car, the average rental car is newer, better maintained and emits less pollution per mile driven.
In this latest survey, the primary reasons given by respondents for choosing a rental car as their mode of transport were visiting family and friends (36% main purpose; 18% only purpose), holidays (28% main purpose; 15% only purpose, business (26% main purpose; 18% only purpose) and leisure activities (19% main purpose; 5% only purpose).
Transport Minister Norman Baker commented on the growing trend of car rental in Britain: "This report shows that rental cars can encourage greater use of sustainable transport, easing congestion on our roads and cutting carbon emissions.
Pay-as-you-go car use also encourages people to consider alternative forms of travel and this report shows that those using these schemes tend to walk and cycle more often, helping to improve health and quality of life."


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ViPTRiP acts as an agent only. We sell various travel related products on behalf of numerous transport, accommodation and other travel service providers such as airlines, motorhome companies, rental car companies, rail and cruise line operators. ViPTRiP's obligation is to make travel bookings on your behalf and to arrange relevant contracts between you and service providers. Any special requests to service providers are not guaranteed. We have no responsibility for these services nor do we make or give any warranty or representation regarding their standard. All bookings are made subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by the travel service providers. If for any reason, any travel service provider is unable to provide the services for which you have contracted, your legal recourse and remedy lies against the relevant service provider, not ViPTRiP. If you have any issues or problems whilst traveling, please raise this with the service provider directly, if your issue is not resolved contact your consultant prior to making any adjustment to your booking. ViPTRiP will not be held responsible for any costs incurred as a result of decisions made without prior agreement from your consultant.
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I acknowledge that I am 18 years of age or older, that the above travel details are correct and that I understand and agree with the above terms and conditions. I also agree that I have authority to bind all passengers I book on behalf of under the same terms and conditions.
To provide for the well-being of children traveling alone (otherwise known as Unaccompanied Minors), airlines have specific requirements. To make a flight booking for an unaccompanied minor please call us on 09 889 1011 and one of our travel experts will advise the conditions for the airline of your choice.
Any child aged 5 to 11 years (inclusive) traveling alone on a flight must be booked as an Unaccompanied Minor.
Children between 5-11 years of age attempting to travel alone and who have NOT been booked as an Unaccompanied Minor may be denied travel by the Airlines until they have been provided with all relevant details in relation to the child's travel arrangements.
Most no frills airlines require that passengers are able to travel independently. The airline does not have the systems, staff or facilities required to assume responsibility for assistance and supervision of passengers. Children requiring supervision will not be regarded as able to travel independently on the basis that they may cause a disruption or endanger themselves or others if traveling unaccompanied. As a guide, children who are not yet attending secondary school will be regarded as unable to travel independently and will not be eligible to travel unless they are accompanied by an appropriate Accompanying Passenger. An Accompanying Passenger generally will be at least 15 years old. One of our travel experts will advise the conditions for the airline of your choice.


Profile of the performer Freddie Wadling: Swedish singer, actor and opera writer, born 2 August 1951 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Caution! All audio materials of Freddie Wadling are presented solely for information. After listening to the trial version, you must remove the file mp3 or buy the product from an authorized supplier.


King's Highway 15, commonly referred to as Highway 15, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It currently travels north from an interchange with Highway 401 in Kingston to Highway 7 in Carleton Place, but once continued east from there into Ottawa until that section became part of Highway 7. The length of Highway 15 is 113.4 kilometres (70.5 mi).
Highway 15 was one of the original highways created by the province in 1920 to establish a highway network and qualify for funding under the Canada Highways Act. The southern terminus, originally in Seeley's Bay, was moved to Highway 2 in Kingston the following year. The routing of the highway has changed several times over the years, but it continues to serve the same region of Eastern Ontario as it has since 1920.
Highway 15 begins at an interchange with Highway 401 (Exit 623) in the city of Kingston; it once continued south to former Highway 2 next to CFB Kingston in Barriefield, but this section is now Kingston Regional Road 15. The route travels northeast alongside the Cataraqui River, slicing through Joyceville and passing Joyceville Penitentiary. Over the next several kilometres, the route travels alongside the Rideau Canal, with Locks 43, 44 and 45 a short drive off the highway. After leaving Frontenac County and entering The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, the route encounters Seeleys Bay, where it curves east and soon meets the northern terminus of former Highway 32. It turns north, then crosses between the municipalities of Leeds and the Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes at the community of Morton.
After turning northwest and bypassing the community of Elgin, the route encounters the community of Crosby, intersecting former Highway 42 and curving northeast. For the next 30 kilometres (19 mi), the highway travels alongside the Cataraqui Trail, a former Canadian National railway line donated in 1997. It passes through the communities of Portland and Lombardy before entering Smiths Falls and Lanark County, where it intersects former Highway 29 and Highway 43 and turns north. The route crosses the Rideau Canal and proceeds towards Carleton Place alongside the Ottawa Valley Railway, bisecting the communities of Franktown, Beckwith and Black's Corners. On the southern outskirts of Carleton Place, Highway 15 ends at Highway 7, just west of where it becomes a freeway. At one time, Highway 15 travelled concurrently with Highway 7 into downtown Ottawa.
Highway 15 near its southern terminus in Barriefield, circa 1920. This portion was bypassed in 1969 and is now known simply as Main Street.
Highway 15 was one of the original highways created by the Department of Public Highways, the early predecessor to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). On October 13, 1920, several dirt roads through Leeds and Grenville County and Lanark County were designated as part of the expanding provincial highway network begun a year earlier. The route began in the community of Seeley's Bay and travelled along the current routing of the highway to Smiths Falls. It then turned northwest towards Perth. At Perth, the route turned northeast towards Carleton Place and followed roughly the same alignment as Highway 7 does today. The highway passed through that town and winded towards Ottawa, entering it along Richmond Road and ending in downtown at Highway 17. The following year, the highway was extended south from Seeley's Bay into Kingston to end at Highway 2.
The route was initially unnumbered, but was designated as Highway 15 during the summer of 1925. By that point, the southern terminus was at the present junction of James Street (then Highway 2) and Main Street in Barriefield, north of Fort Henry; the northern terminus was at Carling Avenue (then Highway 17) and Richmond Road.
While a more direct highway route from Smiths Falls to Carleton Place (without a detour westward to Perth) was part of the Ontario highway system, it was numbered as an extension of Highway 29, the current road (Leeds-Grenville road 29) from Brockville to Smiths Falls.
In 1961, the "Highway 7" designator was extended to the entire length of the Peterborough-Perth to Carleton Place/Ottawa highway, removing the "Highway 15" marker from any road through Perth. The '15' designation was moved to the road from Smiths Falls direct to Carleton Place, where it appeared alongside the 'Highway 29' designation (as a concurrency). This left a short road between Smiths Falls and Perth, which would be renumbered as Highway 43 (now Lanark County Road 43).
Beyond Carleton Place, Highway 29 continued north to Arnprior, while the road from Carleton Place to Ottawa was marked concurrently as both Highway 7 and 15.
In 1969, a bypass of Barriefield was built, redirecting both Highway 15 and Highway 2 around the historic village.
The next change took place in 1983, when Highway 29 was truncated to Smiths Falls, leaving Highway 15 as the only number on the road from Kingston - Smiths Falls - Carleton Place - Arnprior. The road from Carleton Place to Ottawa would be designated solely as Highway 7 (eliminating both the 15/29 and 15/7 concurrencies).
Prior to 1998, the road's southern terminus was at Highway 2, east of downtown Kingston (at CFB Kingston), while the northern terminus reached Arnprior. Today, the Carleton Place to Arnprior segment is Lanark County Road 29, which matches the route's original (pre-1983) MTO route number.
The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 15, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.
65.1 County Road 10 (Richmond Road & Perth Road) Richmond Road continues east towards downtown Ottawa as various Ottawa Regional Roads.
71.7 Highway 7 – Peterborough Beginning of former Highway 7 concurrency. Section of Highway 7 from Perth to Ottawa was formerly Highway 15 before the 1960s.
^ a b "Provincial Highways Assumed in 1920". Annual Report (Report). Department of Public Highways. December 1, 1920. pp. 40, 42.
^ a b Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (2008). "Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) counts". Retrieved February 4, 2012.
^ a b c Ontario Back Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by MapArt. Peter Heiler. 2010. pp. 36–37, 49, 65. § T56–D60. ISBN 978-1-55198-226-7.
^ "Cataraqui Trail". Frontenac Arch Biosphere. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
^ "System of Provincial Highways Assumed to November 30, 1921". Annual Report (Report). Department of Public Highways. December 1, 1921. p. 28.
^ "The Creation of Barriefield Village" (PDF). The Barriefield Village Association. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
This page was last edited on 19 October 2018, at 02:10 (UTC).


Written and Allan Mackey and directed by Ben Hoskyn, "8 Minutes Ahead" explores themes of greed, materialism, loyalty, ambition, and the moments when all of those elements collide.
Principal photography begins November 2012, on location in Hong Kong, China.
Check out the Ottawa newspaper write-up for more details, and follow his production online, and through the Indiegogo campaign page.


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Faculty of Arts, Law, Social Sciences & Business Mgt (FoA/FoL/FSS /FSS/FBM)
The management and role of public enterprises in the socio-economic transformation of Kenya the case of the Kenya Tea Development Authority
Fulltext (9.826Mb)
Wanyande, Peter
This study is about the management and role of public enterprises in the socio-economic development of Kenya. Using the Kenya Tea Development Authority as a case study, the study begins with a look at the theory and philisoply of public enterprises in general. The idea that the state should participate in the management of the economy through public enterprises found its major articulation in the wiritings of Karl Marx in the mid nineteenth century. Marx's major arguments in this regard centered on the need for workers to control the major means of production and distribution. This he hoped would lead to the abolition of capitalism. These ideological considerations have, since Marx's writings influenced the establishment of public enterprises in some countries. In other countries, purely practical economic and social factors have had the greater influence in the emergence of these organisations. At the moment almost all the countries of the world use public enterprises for the management of their' economies irrespective of their ideology. The specific social, economic and political factors " responsible for their creation do, however, vary from one country to another. In Kenya, public enterprises came t:o prominence just before and after the second world war. Their emergence during the colonial period is attributed to the following major factors: 1. The efforts by the European settlers to monopolize the production and marketing of cash crops and to exclude the Africans from these activities. 2. The settlers' efforts to develop into agricultural capitalists and to enjoy a privileged position In the colony. 3" The settlers' persistent demand for state assistance in the provision of financial credit (loans) on easy terms. The colonial government's response to the above and other pressures and demands v'as to create public enterprises beginning with the 1931 Land Bank. The dramatic proliferation of public enterprises after independence in 1963 was due mainly to the economic poverty of the country; lack of Indigenous private capital and the reluctance of the little private but foreign owned capital to operate in the remote and comparatively less developed 3re.is of the country; the risk and political danger in relying solely on foreign capital to initiate development; and the need to facilitate the Africanization of the economy by providing them with capital. The more radical members of Kenya African National Union (KANU), at that time, called for Africanisation and the government saw the creation of public enterprises os the solution. In all these developments, one very important participant was international private capital which had began to operate in Kenya in the 1920's. The Kenya Tea Industry for example was dominated by international capital from about 1924 to 1950 when it was brought under statutory control with the establishment of the Tea Board of Kenya. The majority of Kenya's present public enterprises including those created during colonialism are joint ventures between state and international capital, with heavy reliance on international capital, a factor that has a direct, relevance to the management and role of these organisations in the country's development. One such effect, is the fact that these international donors tend to dominate decision making over major issues affecting these institutions and therefore leaving the local management only with powers to implement such decisions. The boards and even the Government have, in other words, very little control over these enterprises as they do not control most of their finances. In the case of the Kenya Tea Development Authority the vital control is exercised by the Commonwealth Development Corporation which has a representative on the Authority's Board. Over centralisation of all other management decisions of the Authority at the head office is in our view not good for this enterprise whose major operations are based in the field. This practice we contend, is targely responsible for the delays in implementing decisions all of which must be communicated from the head office down to the field. Consequently, we recommend that decentralisation and effective delegation of authority should be introduced and practiced by the Kenya Tea Development Authority. The number of the Agricultura-1 extension staff should be increased and the post of other field staff elevated to make this possible. If these were effected in addition to the existing clear cut demarcation of duties and responsibilities and the problem of tribalism and political interference and support eliminated, the Authority will no doubt be more effective than it is at the moment. Our study revealed that tribalism and the intrusion of politics are largely responsible for the running of this enterprise as a family concern. It is the contention throughout the discussion that for the KTDA to effectively serve the interest of the farmers, it must be more fully controlled by the farmers through the Government. An important step towards this direction would be for the Government to eliminate or reduce the degree to which this enterprise depends on international capital. Dependence on international capital has had the effect of impoverishing the farmers and the country, as substantial amounts of the farmer's money is deducted and repatriated to the metropolitan cities as repayment of the loans from the international donors. A lot of money belonging to the farmers is also deducted to repay the local branches of international companies the loans for the farm inputs such as fertilizers, and chemical sprays. It is suggested in the thesis that for the small scale tea farmers to benefit from the operations of the Kenya Tea Development Authority, and for the country in general to benefit from her public enterprises, these organizations must be controlled by the government more fully than is the case now. In economic terms this would require disengagement from the present capitalist domination by the developed world and international capital. In political terms this would mean nationalization of the country's major economic institutions including public enterprises and the restructuring of the country's internal economic policies.
http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/28682
Department of Goverment
Faculty of Arts, Law, Social Sciences & Business Mgt (FoA/FoL/FSS /FSS/FBM) [24010]
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Nov 17, 2019 | Decorator Profile |
[L-R] Owen Timmins, Kim Oakhill, Janine Darnell and Jamie Cranwell
Kim Oakhill explains how Sigma Embroidery and Printing is embracing sustainability in every area of its business
In her everyday life, Kim Oakhill has always believed in doing her bit for the environment, but in May this year she decided it was time for a step-change at her company, Sigma Embroidery and Printing, as well. After building the business up over the past six years, she was keen to thread sustainability and ethical trading through every aspect of the operation. "I read an article about the production of organic cotton against standard cotton and that made me realise that, as a business, we have to take responsibility and stop having this impact on the environment and society and the [textile] workers. We knew that we had to make a change."
Kim previously worked for the NHS as a clinical scientist; however, with three young children, she wanted a more flexible career. Looking around, she came across Sigma Embroidery, a small business set up in 2000, whose current owner wanted to move away, and which oered the perfect opportunity. "I wasn't particularly looking for embroidery," she admits. "I just saw it and it sparked an interest so I thought I'd look at it. I thought it was something I could grow as the children grew."
From the outset Kim was keen to expand into new areas, as reflected by the company's name change to Sigma Embroidery and Printing. At that time, the business comprised a small shop, with one embroidery machine, in the village of Littleport, north of Ely. It didn't take long, however, before trade started to grow, driven by Kim's simple but effective new approach. "When I took over, I realised that customers needed something more. They were coming in being offered one T-shirt, one polo, one sweatshirt, but not all of the customers needed that. I started asking them what it was for, what their plans for it were, whether it was for a uniform. We would then offer the product that would be more successful for them. It was talking more about decoration and trying to suggest different ways to do the decoration for them. Some wanted more high-end products that would last longer."
With no significant advertising, growth has been 'organic', coming through word of mouth, networking groups, recommendations and repeat custom. "Slow and steady won't make you a millionaire, but you will still be here," Kim notes. She has also diversified Sigma's product offering; for example, including horse blankets and jackets for the equestrian community in the area. However, the mainstay of the business remains workwear, including safetywear, for construction, laboratory and care home customers. This makes up about 75% of business with the rest coming from local groups, such as sports clubs and community organisations, all based in Cambridgeshire. "On talking to those people, we found they had to buy in bulk from most suppliers," Kim explains. "We set them up on our website where they have a dedicated page and members can order themselves. That part of the business has grown steadily. It took a while for that to take off, but there is now a larger number of groups on the website."
After moving to a larger shop in Littleport, Sigma relocated again to even bigger premises in Sedgeway Business Park in Witchford, west of Ely. It now has four embroidery machines – two Brother BS single-head machines, a ZSK single- head and a ZSK twin-head. There is also a Ricoh sublimation printer and an Oki transfer printer to deal with requests for print work. The staff has grown as well, with Kim now working alongside three other people – Jamie Cranwell, Janine Darnell and Owen Timmins – plus Charlie "the print shop pooch". The company is also currently recruiting for an apprentice.
With business growing steadily, Kim noticed there were a number of areas where Sigma was falling short in terms of its environmental credentials, so she carried out an audit. This was linked to the company making a pledge as part of the Eco Ely initiative, which was set up in April this year to help individuals and businesses take action to be more environmentally friendly.
"We started with small changes, and then in May we went through everything in the business, asking what was good and bad and what we could change," Kim says.
Charlie with Sigma's reusable bags
Every customer is offered a chance to order items made with Fairtrade 100% organic cotton, sourced from Danish brand Neutral, such as T-shirts, polo shirts and hoodies. "We don't force them," she stresses. "We give them the option. It's about educating customers so that they want them. They're a little bit more expensive, but they're better for the environment, they're sustainable and better for the people working on them." She believes strongly in Fairtrade which ensures better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. "It is all part of the same thing."
Customer education will be supported by the company's new website, due to go live by the end of this year, which will include information on sustainability, and garments that match the company's ethos. Customers are already embracing the idea, Kim says. "We have had a good response. Without a doubt, it increases interest, particularly with the younger generation." Alongside the Neutral range, which has "brilliant ethics", she is looking to other suppliers to be more environmentally aware. "There are a lot of new brands out there that are taking their impact seriously," she says. "But we have found a few brands making claims and when you look for the certification, you find it's not true, like only 80% is organic cotton or it's not Fairtrade."
Sigma has switched from plastic to sustainable packaging including cardboard boxes and reusable bags, sourced from United Brands of Scandinavia. However, Kim says the biggest challenge comes further up the supply chain. "Packaging is really hard for us when receiving goods as some brands supply items in plastic bags, sometimes individually, particularly shirts. They could at least bag them in groups of ten. Some suppliers out there provide a ridiculous amount of packaging and they don't need to. We are trying to move away from brands that do that."
Kim wants everything Sigma uses and produces to be recyclable, and has linked up with local crafts groups to donate waste products, such as rolls from vinyl and leftover material. It also gives scraps to a local charity that makes blankets for hospitals and other organisations, while scraps were also used to make a giant eel for children to carry in the parade at the annual Ely Eel Festival Weekend.
Sigma has diversified into print alongside its embroidery business
Neutral sustainable garments
Returns scheme
The company's latest initiative is to offer a service for customers to return unwanted embroidered and printed garments for recycling. "A lot of people don't want to give clothing to a charity with their logo on," Kim explains. "They can bring it back and we remove the logo and can cut up the material and recycle it. Our plan is that we'll be able to take anything back." One of the last remaining recycling challenges is vinyls. While vinyls in themselves are not harmful to the environment, they cannot be recycled, Kim says. "It is difficult. I'm struggling to find vinyl. But some companies are working on consumables to come up with new products that can be recycled."
Next on Sigma's sustainability agenda is a move to an eco-friendly energy supplier when the company's current contract ends. "It's slightly more expensive, but not significantly expensive," Kim says. While Sigma has achieved a lot in just a few months, Kim concedes that it's the kind of challenge that might deter others. "It's not the easiest thing in the world to move over. We have had to put some effort into doing it. There are cost implications, but it's worth it."
Kim believes that change is difficult for some businesses simply because they are so stuck in doing things the way they have always been done in production for clothing. "There are some businesses out there that just want to do everything as cheaply as possible and they won't change. But there are a lot of businesses out there that are very keen to change but don't know where to start," she adds.
As Sigma has demonstrated, moving to a more sustainable business model isn't easy, it requires effort, but it's a worthwhile challenge. For those garment decorators that are figuring out how to take the first step on this path, Kim has a final word of advice: "You just need to sit down and work out where to change."
www.sigmaembroidery.co.uk
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Posted innews/local
Glenoaks Boulevard Memorial Erected Following Fatal Traffic Accident
Teen passenger dies, driver seriously hurt in single car collision
by Mike Terry, San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol October 20, 2021 October 20, 2021
M. Terry/SFVS A memorial to the unnamed teen passenger killed in a single-vehicle accident in San Fernando.
Cars and other vehicles were zipping along the intersection of Glenoaks Boulevard and Maclay Avenue in the City of San Fernando on Tuesday, Oct. 19, perhaps oblivious to a fatal accident that occurred there two days ago, perhaps too much in a rush to notice the street memorial set up for a young teen who lost his life.
But the handmade memorial on Glenoaks Boulevard, just past a 7-11 store, had more than two dozen candles in glasses — some of them lit — along with flowers and a couple of balloons saying, "You're Special" — surrounding the base of a tree. What was not there was the name or a photo of the deceased.
That tree, on the eastbound side of Glenoaks Boulevard and south of Maclay Avenue, is where a Mercedes Benz crashed in the early morning hours on Sunday, a one-vehicle accident that killed the 14-year-old passenger and seriously injured the driver. The vehicle was left a mangled mess from the collision.
San Fernando Police Department detectives, who are investigating the accident, continue to sort through evidence and speak with witnesses. So far the SFPD has released few details of the accident; a department spokesman said that because the investigation is ongoing and there are no charges filed presently, the police declined to reveal the identities of either one at this time.
San Fernando Police Chief Tony Vario told the San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol newspaper on Sunday that the skid marks and witness accounts indicated speeding was involved, and the driver did not test positive for alcohol or drugs.
But now, with the investigation in the hands of department detectives, Vairo revised his initial remarks in a followup interview.
"The accident is still under investigation — what caused it," Vairo said. "It will take a while."
"There was some evidence at the scene. But we'll have to wait on returns from the lab regarding alcohol or drugs [being involved or factors]. We drew blood. It appears that speed [is a factor], but we don't know if it's a contributing factor or the main factor."
The chief said the department received a call about an accident at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. According to investigators at the scene, a Mercedes Benz was traveling eastbound on Glenoaks Boulevard when it collided with a tree.
Vairo said the driver sustained serious injuries, including a fractured leg and dislocated knee, and was transported to a hospital and underwent surgery. The passenger would succumb to injuries received from the collision several hours later, and the family was notified by the coroner's office, Vairo said.
Blood was drawn from the driver at the accident scene for laboratory tests to determine whether alcohol or drugs may have been a factor, but Vario said investigators had not yet received the results of those tests.
Readers expressed their concerns this week on the San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol's Facebook page.
"This is nothing NEW, they always drive so fast…like if it is a freeway they don't even stop on the stop signs," wrote San Fernando resident Gustavo Gamez. "Just goes to show the police don't look into fast car racing on this street; the other day there was a crash on Maclay and Hollister, some lady didn't make a full stop and hit another car."
Another reader, Covarrubias M. Maria, wrote, "I don't know what is going on in Sylmar and San Fernando, we are having so many accidents everyday. Our young people need to understand that a CAR and Speeding don't mix. This makes me so sad…two [lives] ruined. RIP. SLOW DOWN PLEASE."
Vairo reiterated that no criminal charges of any kind have been filed.
"Our first priority (at the scene) was getting medical attention to those injured. Our second priority is to figure out what happened," the chief said. "Is it a fluke accident or were there other factors involved? Could there have been another vehicle involved we don't know about yet?
"We're looking for any surveillance video taken in the area. We're trying to get as complete a picture of what happened before we make a determination of what occurred."
Speeding has been an ongoing problem on Maclay Avenue. City officials, despite the public's disapproval, have put in street medians and large clay pots at the corners where pedestrian's cross streets in an effort to slow down traffic.
City officials have, on occasion, dramatically reduced speed limits on designated streets, at one time posting a 10 miles per hour limit on Maclay Avenue near the Library Plaza before eventually going back to the present 25 miles per hour limit.
Vairo said that Glenoaks has had speeding issues in the past. "But any major throughway in any city will have speed as an issue. I think the city has done the best it can at trying to reduce that; They do different things to reduce or minimize speed. But when it's two or three o'clock in the morning, and there's no traffic around…people tend to go faster than the speed limit — which is unfortunate."
The posted speed limit for Glenoaks Boulevard is 40 miles per hour, according San Fernando Public Works Director Matt Baumgardner.
"Glenoaks is an arterial road; a main road connecting Sylmar, Pacoima and parts of LA," Baumgardner said. "It's an exit off of a freeway. And as a larger street, you would not be able to move traffic along [too slowly] — the volume of traffic wouldn't allow it. So you do have to move traffic along in a reasonable manner."
"But 40-45 miles per hour" speed limits are typical for streets like Glenoaks, Baumgardner said.
Baumgardner said the city is currently involved in traffic studies on its streets, which are mandated by law every seven to 10 years. City engineers review traffic volume and collision history, and turn their findings over to the City Council, which decides if changes are necessary.
If the collected data suggest no changes are needed or recommended for the streets in the seven-year study, Baumgardner said, the speed limits and other street conditions can remain the same for another three years. But all streets that are in their 10th year since their last evaluation must undergo a completely new study.
Baumgardner said Glenoaks has undergone a fully updated review since major improvements were recently made to the roadway. At this time he didn't know if Sunday's accident could be included in the street's collision history since it is unknown if the investigation will be completed when the data must be finalized.
The engineers must finalize the data by early November, and present their findings to the council in December, Baumgardner said.
Tagged: b stories
One reply on "Glenoaks Boulevard Memorial Erected Following Fatal Traffic Accident"
Letty says:
I was doing my uber eats deliveries and my side mirror got clipped by a speeding car in. residential neighborhood n they didnt stop even knowing i saw them these kids today no respect


text:
Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase
Natalia Calixto Mancipe, Kalene M. Mulliner, Mary H. Plunkett, Brett M. Barney
Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
The biosynthesis of wax esters and triglycerides in bacteria is accomplished through the action of the wax ester synthase/acyl-coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT or wax ester synthase). A hallmark of these enzymes is the broad substrate profile that accepts alcohols, diglycerides, and fatty acyl-CoAs of various carbon chain lengths and degrees of branching. These enzymes have a broad biotechnological potential due to their role in producing high-value lipids or simple fuels similar to biodiesel through biosynthetic routes. Recently, a crystal structure was solved for the wax ester synthase from Marinobacter aquaeolei VT8 (Maqu_0168), providing a much clearer picture of the architecture of this enzyme and enabling a more precise analysis of the important structural features of the protein. In this work, we used the structure to canvas amino acids lining the proposed substrate-binding pockets and tested the effects of exchanging specific residues on the substrate profiles. We also developed an approach to better probe the residues that alter fatty acyl-CoA selectivity, which has proven more difficult to investigate. Our findings provide an improved blueprint for future efforts to understand how these enzymes position substrates for catalysis and to tailor or improve these enzymes in future biosynthetic schemes.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076
We thank Carolann Knutson and Peter Rootes for assistance with assays. This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (CBET-1437758), from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (project nos MIN-12-070 and MIN-12-081), and award no 2020-67019-31148 through the United States Department of Agriculture. N.C.M. thanks the 2020 UMII MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship for its support. Funding was also provided by the University of Minnesota Grant in Aid program.
© 2022 American Chemical Society.
Acyl Coenzyme A/metabolism
Acyltransferases/chemistry
Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase/metabolism
Esters/chemistry
Substrate Specificity
Waxes/metabolism
PubMed: MeSH publication types
10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076
Dive into the research topics of 'Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Enzymes Medicine & Life Sciences 26%
Acyl Coenzyme A Medicine & Life Sciences 25%
Marinobacter Medicine & Life Sciences 17%
Diglyceride Chemical Compounds 16%
Fatty Alcohols Medicine & Life Sciences 15%
Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase Medicine & Life Sciences 15%
Biofuels Medicine & Life Sciences 13%
Triglyceride Chemical Compounds 12%
Mancipe, N. C., Mulliner, K. M., Plunkett, M. H., & Barney, B. M. (Accepted/In press). Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase. Biochemistry, 61(10). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076
Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase. / Mancipe, Natalia Calixto; Mulliner, Kalene M.; Plunkett, Mary H. et al.
In: Biochemistry, Vol. 61, No. 10, 2022.
Mancipe, NC, Mulliner, KM, Plunkett, MH & Barney, BM 2022, 'Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase', Biochemistry, vol. 61, no. 10. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076
Mancipe NC, Mulliner KM, Plunkett MH, Barney BM. Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase. Biochemistry. 2022;61(10). doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076
Mancipe, Natalia Calixto ; Mulliner, Kalene M. ; Plunkett, Mary H. et al. / Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase. In: Biochemistry. 2022 ; Vol. 61, No. 10.
@article{cdbdf4b1130c49a7b40f230bea468731,
title = "Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase",
abstract = "The biosynthesis of wax esters and triglycerides in bacteria is accomplished through the action of the wax ester synthase/acyl-coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT or wax ester synthase). A hallmark of these enzymes is the broad substrate profile that accepts alcohols, diglycerides, and fatty acyl-CoAs of various carbon chain lengths and degrees of branching. These enzymes have a broad biotechnological potential due to their role in producing high-value lipids or simple fuels similar to biodiesel through biosynthetic routes. Recently, a crystal structure was solved for the wax ester synthase from Marinobacter aquaeolei VT8 (Maqu_0168), providing a much clearer picture of the architecture of this enzyme and enabling a more precise analysis of the important structural features of the protein. In this work, we used the structure to canvas amino acids lining the proposed substrate-binding pockets and tested the effects of exchanging specific residues on the substrate profiles. We also developed an approach to better probe the residues that alter fatty acyl-CoA selectivity, which has proven more difficult to investigate. Our findings provide an improved blueprint for future efforts to understand how these enzymes position substrates for catalysis and to tailor or improve these enzymes in future biosynthetic schemes. ",
keywords = "Acyl Coenzyme A/metabolism, Acyltransferases/chemistry, Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase/metabolism, Esters/chemistry, Substrate Specificity, Waxes/metabolism",
author = "Mancipe, {Natalia Calixto} and Mulliner, {Kalene M.} and Plunkett, {Mary H.} and Barney, {Brett M.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Carolann Knutson and Peter Rootes for assistance with assays. This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (CBET-1437758), from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (project nos MIN-12-070 and MIN-12-081), and award no 2020-67019-31148 through the United States Department of Agriculture. N.C.M. thanks the 2020 UMII MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship for its support. Funding was also provided by the University of Minnesota Grant in Aid program. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 American Chemical Society.",
doi = "10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076",
journal = "Biochemistry",
T1 - Canvasing the Substrate-Binding Pockets of the Wax Ester Synthase
AU - Mancipe, Natalia Calixto
AU - Mulliner, Kalene M.
AU - Plunkett, Mary H.
AU - Barney, Brett M.
N1 - Funding Information: We thank Carolann Knutson and Peter Rootes for assistance with assays. This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (CBET-1437758), from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (project nos MIN-12-070 and MIN-12-081), and award no 2020-67019-31148 through the United States Department of Agriculture. N.C.M. thanks the 2020 UMII MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship for its support. Funding was also provided by the University of Minnesota Grant in Aid program. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 American Chemical Society.
N2 - The biosynthesis of wax esters and triglycerides in bacteria is accomplished through the action of the wax ester synthase/acyl-coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT or wax ester synthase). A hallmark of these enzymes is the broad substrate profile that accepts alcohols, diglycerides, and fatty acyl-CoAs of various carbon chain lengths and degrees of branching. These enzymes have a broad biotechnological potential due to their role in producing high-value lipids or simple fuels similar to biodiesel through biosynthetic routes. Recently, a crystal structure was solved for the wax ester synthase from Marinobacter aquaeolei VT8 (Maqu_0168), providing a much clearer picture of the architecture of this enzyme and enabling a more precise analysis of the important structural features of the protein. In this work, we used the structure to canvas amino acids lining the proposed substrate-binding pockets and tested the effects of exchanging specific residues on the substrate profiles. We also developed an approach to better probe the residues that alter fatty acyl-CoA selectivity, which has proven more difficult to investigate. Our findings provide an improved blueprint for future efforts to understand how these enzymes position substrates for catalysis and to tailor or improve these enzymes in future biosynthetic schemes.
AB - The biosynthesis of wax esters and triglycerides in bacteria is accomplished through the action of the wax ester synthase/acyl-coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT or wax ester synthase). A hallmark of these enzymes is the broad substrate profile that accepts alcohols, diglycerides, and fatty acyl-CoAs of various carbon chain lengths and degrees of branching. These enzymes have a broad biotechnological potential due to their role in producing high-value lipids or simple fuels similar to biodiesel through biosynthetic routes. Recently, a crystal structure was solved for the wax ester synthase from Marinobacter aquaeolei VT8 (Maqu_0168), providing a much clearer picture of the architecture of this enzyme and enabling a more precise analysis of the important structural features of the protein. In this work, we used the structure to canvas amino acids lining the proposed substrate-binding pockets and tested the effects of exchanging specific residues on the substrate profiles. We also developed an approach to better probe the residues that alter fatty acyl-CoA selectivity, which has proven more difficult to investigate. Our findings provide an improved blueprint for future efforts to understand how these enzymes position substrates for catalysis and to tailor or improve these enzymes in future biosynthetic schemes.
KW - Acyl Coenzyme A/metabolism
KW - Acyltransferases/chemistry
KW - Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase/metabolism
KW - Esters/chemistry
KW - Substrate Specificity
KW - Waxes/metabolism
U2 - 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076
DO - 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00076
JO - Biochemistry
JF - Biochemistry


Mazatlan is a city within the state of Sinaloa and is considered to be the second largest city, with Culiacan as the largest. Anticipate to remain for 3 nights to get the complete experience: long strolls along the promenade, sluggish-paced meals in your dacha and in neighboring cafes, a stop on the Levitan museum or the world's eight historic church buildings, visits to local sea bream smokehouses and previous boating stations, and yacht cruises down the Volga. 3. Waykaya Club and Spa, Fiji: It is a non-public 2,200-acre retreat belonging to Fiji's 333 islands, featuring serene lagoons, majestic cliffs, gorgeous seashores, and encircled by a virgin coral reef.
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text:
Q: How can I create Solr Instance I am new to Apache Solr, and I want to create Solr instances. I have configured the Apache Solr 3.2.0 locally in my laptop. How I can create Solr Instance and what is the meaning of Solr Instance. Any help will be appreciated..

A:
what is the meaning of Solr Instance

An solr-instance is something like an runtime-environment. It's an running solr service. U use Solr to work with lucene.
Lucene are java libraries to create/access/... the fulltext index, no instance, no running system.
To contact/use this indexed data (import/export/search/...) , you need an "mediator" or "agent" like solr. Solr can index or access the indexed data by using lucene.
Example: if you have an laptop or pc. So the running (linux/win) system is an instance, while the data from the systems is stored on hard disk.
Solr is comparable with the running system, lucene is comparable with the disk-dirver to store data on your system-drive.
To get an definition of what an instance is, check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instance_%28computer_science%29

How I can create Solr Instance

by starting the tomcat server, which runs the Solr J2EE component.
So if your Solr is still configured, start the tomcat for starting/creating an solr-instance.
In general, this link is helpful: http://wiki.apache.org/solr/SolrTomcat

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Stone Sound Collective unites diverse musicians and instruments to create a new global soundscape. Led by composer/multi-percussionist Mark Stone, the group brings together celebrated world percussion traditions of Africa and India with the lyricism of cello and saxophone. Stone Sound Collective performs new music drawing on Stone's wide-ranging compositional influences, stretching from American jazz to traditional African music and classical Indian music to European concert music.
In the group, Stone plays the newly-invented array mbira, an American-made 120 key lamellaphone and a wide range of traditional melodic African instruments, including the Ghanaian gyil, Ugandan akogo, and South African karimba. He is joined by Matt Dufresne (saxophones, flute, atenteben, and nadaswaram), Abigail Alwin (cello), Chinelo Amen-Ra (djembe, congas, cajon, and shakere) and Sam Jeyasingham (mridangam, tabla, kanjira, thavil, and morsing). These established artists freely cross musical boundaries with their dynamic playing and are exceptional improvisers, bringing a wide-range of performance experience and artistry to the Stone Sound Collective.