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Tag: 2 stars
Posted on 22nd December 2019
From her lookout in the crumbling mansion that was her childhood home, Ginny watches and waits for her younger sister to arrive. Vivien has not set foot in the house since she left nearly fifty years ago; the reclusive Ginny has rarely ventured out, retreating into the precise routines that define her days, carrying on her father's solitary work studying moths.
As the sisters revisit their shared past, they realize that their recollections differ in essential and unsettling ways. Before long, the deeply buried resentments that have shaped both their lives rise to the surface, and Vivien's presence threatens to disrupt Ginny's carefully ordered world.
I'm going to start with the things I liked about this book: the Gothic feel with the crumbling, isolated manor house, an older than normal narrator, a family history filled with secrets, the way it built up to what promised to be an exciting revelation at the end, the overall morbidity.
But there were two big issues that I had with it.
The ending was a huge letdown. I felt like it was building up to some big exciting revelations that changed the way I see everything Virginia had told me, but I was left with the fuzzy nothingness of 'decide what you think happened'. I think this is a lazy way to end a book, it's for authors that can't decide what to do or how to make enough of an impact. I admit that sometimes (rarely) it works but how can you make any sort of decision when there just isn't enough information given? It's a guessing game that you never know if you've won.
My biggest issue is with what this book seems to say about people with autism. (view spoiler)The implications here seems to be that being autistic makes a person capable of murder and I don't agree with that at all.
So much promise was let down by a poor ending and a questionable attitude towards autism.
Title: The Behaviour Of Moths
Author: Poppy Adams
Troll Or Derby by Red Tash
In Troll Or Derby, fifteen-year-old Roller Deb is singled out by town bullies for both her skates, and for being different. When her popular homecoming queen of a sister is kidnapped by a scuzzy drug dealer, Deb must flee the trailer park in which she's grown up, and rescue her. Along the way, Deb becomes enmeshed in the magical realm of trolls and fairies, and the blood-thirsty version of roller derby at which these beings excel. But spending too much time among the fairies comes with a price. Will Deb choose to save her sister, with the aid of a mysterious troll? Or will she be lost to the lures of roller derby, and the blonde temptress April, forever?
My Review of Troll or Derby
I wanted to love this book so bad but I just didn't get on with it. I found the story too far-fetched and the characters didn't grab me.
The idea is fun, a teenage girl doesn't realise she's actually a fairy until her sister is kidnapped by a troll but are too many holes in the story and too much that doesn't make sense. The plot jumps around so fast that the scenes are never filled out and allowed to come to life.
Why was Deb's sister kidnapped? And why was she left as her protector anyway? That never made sense to me. And as much as I love roller derby it felt very out of place in the story. It was put in there just because.
Deb herself I didn't find likeable. She didn't have personality over than she roller skates. And I didn't get her humour, her jokes I just found irritating.
The saving grace of the whole book is that Harlow is an absolute sweetheart. By far the best character in the book.
So generally just a bit of a mess with too much going on. Though I would read another book about Harlow in a second.
Title: Troll Or Derby
Series: Trollogy
Author: Red Tash
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Posted on 23rd September 2018 23rd September 2018
The Poison Diaries (The Poison Diaries #1) by Maryrose Wood, The Duchess Of Northumberland
moonseed
In the right dose, everything is a poison
My Review of The Poison Diaries
The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
What a weird little book of weirdness. It's a bit dark and a bit gothic and was hitting just the right note for a book to read at the change of the seasons.
It starts out ok, a story set sometime in the 1700's about Jessamine, a teenage girl living in a disused chapel with her botanist healer father. Jessamine's father has a poison garden that she is not allowed into. Of course, that's the only thing she really wants out of life, to get into this garden and to be allowed to take care of the plants.
Then Weed turns up, a malnourished and shy boy the same age as Jessamine, who has some strange knowledge of plants and their uses. Her father takes him in and Jessamine cares for him and brings him back to health.
The inevitable happens and Jessamine falls in love with Weed. She finds out his secret about the plants, and yes it's odd, but not that odd, and I'm thinking: ok, I can go with this. Until Jessamine gets sick and then the weirdness is truly unleashed and at that point, it lost me. I skim read the last few chapters because I just couldn't believe the tangent it had gone off on.
The switches to Weed's voice just didn't work for me and the story, in general, went too far into unbelievable silliness.
I loved the Gothic tone of the book but I just can't get on board with the ending.
Title: The Poison Diaries
Series: The Poison Diaries
Author: Maryrose Wood, The Duchess Of Northumberland
Release Date: May 27th 2010
Posted on 15th February 2018 15th February 2018
Take Back the Skies (Tellus #1) by Lucy Saxon
Catherine Hunter is the daughter of a senior government official on the island of Anglya. She's one of the privileged – she has luxurious clothes, plenty to eat, and is protected from the Collections which have ravaged families throughout the land. But Catherine longs to escape the confines of her life, before her dad can marry her off to a government brat and trap her forever.
So Catherine becomes Cat, pretends to be a kid escaping the Collections, and stows away on the skyship Stormdancer. As they leave Anglya behind and brave the storms that fill the skies around the islands of Tellus, Cat's world becomes more turbulent than she could ever have imagined, and dangerous secrets unravel her old life once and for all.
My Review of Take Back the Skies
I know the author was only 16 when she wrote this but the plot is so, so simplistic and full of holes. Cat does daft, unbelievable things but everything always works out for the best and someone always turns up or appears from nowhere to help her. Everyone who works for the government must be incredibly stupid. First, they want to wipe out all the common people; Where would they get their food? Who would do all the work? It's not something you even need to think about to know it does not make sense. Then Cat puts herself on TV, tells everyone that she is responsible for blowing up the government, even names her ship; and there is no response at all. She goes running around the city with all the freed children and no one bothers them. She returns to her father's house and no one notices her. The ship is allowed to sit there in the spaceport and no one turns up to arrest them. It's allowed to fly away with them all on board!
Just as unbelievable was the way Cat arrives on the ship and is instantly accepted so much that they all follow her without question when she almost straight away says that she wants to blow up the government building. Very conveniently they have a load of explosives just sitting around with an explosives expert on the crew.
And then I hated everything about the ending. After everything she's been through she goes right back to where she was at the start of the book and it's just so sad.
It's not badly written and I can see there is a lot of potential. There are some good ideas and I liked the way the sky is full of storms and I loved the ship Stormdancer. I wish more time was spent adventuring on the ship and less hiding (and living!) in the government offices running about to get evidence with the spy cameras.
It starts with potential but massive plot holes and a stupidly simplistic story meant that I couldn't connect with this one. I'm interested to see what the author can do when she gets a bit of life experience behind her though!
Title: Take Back the Skies
Series: Tellus
Author: Lucy Saxon
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi
Release Date: June 5th 2014
Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1) by Elly Blake
The frost king will burn.
Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.
Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king's tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.
Frostblood by Elly Blake
"Face them all like a warrior, whether you are one or not."
Frostblood's story is as generic as it gets, it doesn't bring anything new. A young woman's family is murdered, she finds out she has special powers, she gets recruited by the rebels to overthrow the King. If you've read young adult fantasy before, or even if you've seen Star Wars, you'll be able to predict how the story goes.
The characters are bland, none of them manages to step outside their stereotyped role. Ruby is the young woman with the power to summon and control fire. She is hot-tempered, acts without thinking and has the most powerful ability in the country. Special snowflake alert! As normal for a special snowflake, her only flaw is that she acts without thinking and risks her life more than once to save others. Really, that's not a flaw that just makes her even more perfect. She doesn't seem to have any personality yet everyone loves her.
Arcus is the mysterious and secretive love interest who starts out disliking Ruby but falls for her when he realises how kind and brave she is. He has less personality than Ruby and I can't understand why they fall for each other. They must have interactions off page because there is no chemistry at all in their on page interactions.
Then the world doesn't come alive either. It didn't feel real, there is no colour or life to it. It's written from Ruby's point of view so the whole book is spent in her head and she's just a badly written drama queen "fatigue pulled at my bones", "I froze as if I were wrapped in frost", "I was filled with a terrible pressure of countless sunsets" huh? How does fatigue pull at bones? And sunset pressure? Never heard of that one.
Magic in Frostblood comes from people having the power of ice or fire in their blood. Ruby can make fire and Arcus can make ice. It's not explained how it works or what the limits are. Ruby can shoot fire from her hands with a thought, and they can both do whatever is convenient them at the time. There's no logic or order to the magic system so it's not easy to accept.
I didn't connect with the characters, the magic is dull and convenient and the writing is bland. I didn't hate it, but I did get bored by it. It's young adult fantasy by numbers and it didn't grab me at all. I don't think I'll bother with the rest of the series.
Title: Frostblood
Series: Frostblood Saga
Author: Elly Blake
Release Date: January 10th 2017
Tarnished City (Dark Gifts, #2) by Vic James
A corrupted city. A dark dream of power.
Luke is a prisoner, condemned for a murder he didn't commit. Abi is a fugitive, desperate to free him before magic breaks his mind. But as the Jardines tighten their grip on a turbulent Britain, brother and sister face a fight greater than their own.
New alliances and old feuds will remake the nation, leaving Abi and Luke questioning everything – and everyone – they know. And as Silyen Jardine hungers for the forgotten Skill of the legendary Wonder King, the country's darkest hour approaches. Freedom and knowledge both come at a cost. So who will pay the price?
My review of Tainted City
Tarnished City by Vic James
Tainted City is a very, very dark sequel to Gilded Cage.
I keep seeing this marked as young adult but with the levels of cruelty, abuse and torture carried out by the magic-wielding Equals I don't see how it can be. It really should have an 18 certificate!
Luke has been sent to Lord Crovan's Scottish estate as a condemned, a prisoner, for the crime is he believed to have committed. Lord Crovan is renowned for the experiments he carries out on his prisoner and the sadistic way he treats them. When Luke arrives the level of cruelty he encounters is extreme. Prisoners live in fear, of each other as much of Lord Crovan.
Abi ran away instead of allowing herself to be taken to a slave town. She intends to save her brother from Lord Crovan and allies herself with Luke's revolutionary friends.
Silyen is gaining power and investigating how skill works. His motives beyond becoming strong in the skill are unknown, he helps Luke sometimes but it seems like it's only because helping Luke helps himself reach his own goals. He's one to keep an eye on! I like his viewpoint because he shows more of the magic that is a mystery even to the equals. He wants to know why they were capable of great feats in the past but now they can only use it to simply make life a bit easier.
There is a lot of character growth in this book. Both Abi and Luke have had their eyes opened to the ways of their world and are no longer the naive teenagers from before they started their slave days. Gravan for me is the most interesting character. He started out lazy and uncaring but as he sees how cruel his family is to those without the skill he becomes more and more sickened by it.
Surprises just keep coming from all around, just when you think you know a character they go and show you a different side of themselves. None of them can be seen as all good or all bad.
There are so many different viewpoints though, and so many characters and names being thrown about that I found it hard to keep track of everyone. It's a fast-paced book but there's also a lot of talking and a lot of the characters thinking about events and I just couldn't hold it all in my head.
The politics and the scheming are still overly simplistic. How does Whittam Jardine just take over parliament? It all seems too easy.
I also didn't like the way it seems to support terrorism, with Abi and her allies burning farms and bombing buildings in London. They do it without question as to whether it's the morally right thing to do or whether terrorism can ever be justified. I find it irresponsible to not consider this, especially for a young adult book. The Hunger Games covers similar issues but with a lot more attention to the morals.
I like the general idea of the story and I would like to see where it goes but for me, there were just too many people to keep track of, and the terrorism and the endless and sick abuse portrayed throughout made me not enjoy reading this. I found it bleak and a bit depressing and I finished it because I felt that I had to not because I really wanted to.
I received a free copy from the publisher in return for an honest review.
Title: Tarnished City
Series: Dark Gifts
Author: Vic James
Posted on 31st July 2017 1st August 2017
The War Of The Flowers by Tad Williams
The War of the Flowers Blurb
In the great city, in the dimly lit office of an impossibly tall building, two creatures meet. Gold changes hands and the master of the House of Hellebore gives an order: 'War is coming, the child must die'.
My review of The War of the Flowers
It's slow, boring and more than a little bit depressing, but the worst thing about it is the main character, Theo. He whines his way through the entire book and gives not a single care about the people around him.
I really disliked him and I can't understand Poppy falling for him. He thinks about her like she's a spoiled rich kid, and he treats her that way too. Despite not giving a damn about other people himself he condemns Poppy because without getting to know her he decides that she is like that too. But to be fair Poppy seems to be there only to give Theo a bit of escape from the grinding depression of the rest of the story. She is an extraneous addition to the actual story, only popping up now and again to help Theo show his "kind side".
If fact, all the women are present only to have things happen to them in order to motivate the male characters. Theo's mother, his girlfriend cat, Applecore, Eamonn Dowds girlfriend, they all suffer terrible things so that the men in the story have reasons to act.
The story itself moves super slow and consists of 600 pages of Theo thinking "I'm stuck in a world that could kill you at any moment and I know nothing about it" and talking about how he's a super awesome amazing musician / singer.
Fairyland is not a happy place to be. There are six ruling families with all the power and the money, and the rest of the population are treated as slaves to be used up until they die. The ruling families are fighting amongst themselves and Theo is stuck in the middle running from something trying to kill him with nowhere to go, no idea why he's been chased, and no one he can trust to help him.
It feels hopeless from the start, Theo does not find anything out, no one will tell him anything. Almost all the characters Theo talks to – "I'm not the one to tell you about this". But Theo doesn't really try very hard, and he's slow to pick up on things when the clues are laid out in front of him. The Clover Effect is mentioned like 50 times through the book, Theo never asks what it is! It's frustrating to read.
Overall it's just boring and slow. [In fact, Theo saves the world by thinking! (hide spoiler)]
Why did I keep reading? Well, I'm not sure, but at one point dragons showed up and it got interesting for about a minute. Also, Poppy is kinda cool, I was hoping she might get to do something. If the story had been told from her point of view, it could have been good.
Recommended If
You're too happy and want some relentless grinding depression to bring you down a bit.
Title: The War Of The Flowers
Author: Tad Williams
Posted on 7th June 2017 7th June 2017
Advent (Advent Trilogy #1) by James Treadwell
Advent Blurb
For centuries it has been locked away
Lost beneath the sea
Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight.
But now magic is rising to the world once more.
And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall.
No one will be there to meet him.
My Review of Advent
Seriously, I never thought I'd say this about a book, but this is a story that would have been better without the fantasy and magic.
Gavin is 15 and he sees things that everyone tells him aren't really there. Mainly a woman he calls Miss Grey. His parents are fed up with him and angry because they think he's pretending, and when he finally told a teacher about the things he's being seeing he's suspended.
Am I being naive but why would his school even suspend him for this? Why wouldn't they talk to his parents and try to get him to go to the doctors or a psychiatrist?
Anyway, when he gets to Cornwall his aunt has disappeared, and he meets some unusual people while he's looking for her at the house where she works as a housekeeper or something. What he doesn't do is go to the police though. Oh no, that would be far too sensible and require some actual action on his part.
It's very slow moving, we barely cover two days, and it's a longish book. People were saying random things that didn't seem to fit with the story, and having long conversations without actually saying anything. There's a lot of random rhymes dropped all over the place that are supposed to help or provide clues, but actually just waste time. Gavin doesn't listen to them anyway and he doesn't actually do anything.
Things just happen to him and even the ending wasn't anything to do with him. His reason for being in the story is never explained. We're told that he's special, but not why, or what he's supposed to do. We do get a lot of page time spent on him walking around without shoes on though.
My favourite parts were when Gavin was travelling to Cornwall and when he had just arrived. I think the story of Gavin as a teenager who sees things and has been sent away because his family can't cope with him worked better than when the magic and fantasy were introduced. I like the almost simplistic writing style for this bit, but then when the fantasy side comes in it gets very dramatic and overblown, and kinda confusing.
So overall it's just a boring, confusing mess. I can't understand why it's over 600 pages long when nothing happens.
Title: Advent
Series: Advent
Author: James Treadwell
Posted on 8th April 2017 7th April 2017
A BIG NOVEL ABOUT A SMALL TOWN …
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils … Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
My Review of The Casual Vacancy
I read another review that said The Casual Vacancy is like a mini soap opera, and I think they have it just exactly right. There is no plot to this book, the story line of one of Pagfords residents dying and the fight for his seat on the council is really just an excuse. This is a book about people.
Now I like books about people, I like stories about life and relationships even when there is no real plot, but this just didn't hold my interest.
I like the writing style and it's easy to read but there are far too many characters to keep track of. Half way through and I had just about sorted them out and started to remember names and who they are related to / like / have fallen out with.
I did get into it a bit more after I started remembering who was who. Gaia, Andrew, Sukhvinder and Krystal were sympathetic characters.
But the rest of the characters are unlikeable, and everyone in the book is miserable and lead very depressing lives.
It's a nasty little book filled with nasty little people being horrible to each other. And the events toward the end made me hate life a little bit.
Title: The Casual Vacancy
Author: J.K. Rowling


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Introduction of Facial Recognition on Body-Worn Cameras
Facial recognition is a biometric software application capable of uniquely identifying or verifying a person by comparing and analyzing patterns based on the person's facial contours. Facial recognition is mostly used for security purposes, but it also helpful for finding missing persons. In fact, facial recognition technology has received significant attention as it has the potential for a wide range of applications related to law enforcement as well as other enterprises.
Facial recognition security cameras can memorize the faces of persons of interest, networks of gang members, wanted criminals and suspects in crimes. The tool alerts business owners when unwelcome individuals arrive on their property.
How Facial Recognition Works
Amid concerns over privacy and accuracy, it's important to understand how facial recognition works. Facial recognition relies on several technologies to work: An image capture system (camera or video surveillance), artificial intelligence and machine learning. Facial recognition maps facial features from a photo or video and converts them into digital biometric data. It compares this digital signature to a database of known faces to find a match.
There are four basic steps to facial recognition:
The system captures a picture of your face as you walk by. This can be a video image or a photograph.
Facial recognition software reads the geometry of your face. It looks at things such as the distance between your eyes, forehead to chin height, and facial landmarks to develop a digital signature of your face.
Your facial signature, a mathematical formula of ones and zeros unique to you, is then compared to a database of known faces.
The system determines your identity.
Where to use Facial recognition?
Airports are one of the most crowded places. The increasing number of people also increases the risk of security problems. Even though the airports are equipped with monitoring tools, CCTV cameras, and other security systems, there is still security leakage. With the deployment of face recognition technology, airport security can be enhanced. Cameras are installed inside city buses, school buses, public buses, yachts, ferryboats, and trains to scan the faces of the passengers and compare them to a database of images. If there is a presence of a wanted person, the driver and concerned authorities get alerted.
Facial recognition was initially designed for identity assurance and access control, to operate in controlled conditions and to confirm that a person is who they claim to be. Now cameras scan crowds, comparing every passing face to a watch list.
Many law enforcement agencies make use of facial recognition to analyze recorded video footage, saving time and effort, it is much harder to use in real-time, in the real world. The mathematics of checking every passerby in a crowded public space against even small watch lists pushes facial recognition to its limits. Only the "Mini WIFI/GPS/3G/4G Body-Worn Camera – Facial Recognition (BWC058-4G)" can cope.
In contrast to facial recognition, bodycams have already seen mass adoption. These body-worn video devices now accessorize police uniforms worldwide, providing evidence management, officer safety, and public reassurance. Bodycams record footage for offloading into physical Some bodycams also live stream video back to control rooms. Others link to weapon holsters to automatically trigger video recording. As mobile devices evolve, the newer models of bodycams which are based on smartphone platforms are set to become more powerful. This means the two technologies will converge. Facial recognition on bodycams is an obvious next step. Empowering officers with watch lists of wanted criminals, persons of interest, missing children, vulnerable adults.
Setting Boundaries
The use of facial recognition on bodycams also offers defense against accusations of racial bias. Policies can be set to prevent officers searching those not identified by facial recognition, even when stopped. Where the accusation is made that stop and search over-polices low-level crime in specific communities, facial recognition on bodycams offers a balance. It is this kind of safeguarding that will help prompt broader adoption.
Facial recognition on bodycams will also provide secondary verification for matches from surveillance vehicles and CCTV cameras. Following an initial match, an officer on foot approaches the person and runs a second check from a bodycam, running from the exact same watch list. Only if there is also a match is anything taken further. In of itself, this is a very material safeguard against so-called false positives. It also provides a person to person interaction before any final decision on an arrest is made.
The first generation of bodycams in operation today has focused on recording video for evidence management systems. Now, Bodycam shifts the focus to live video streaming, facial recognition, and on-device Edge-AI. This next generation of IoT (internet of things) bodycams will join the billions of other IoT devices that will be deployed on 4G and 5G networks over the coming years. Designed to be networked, to share data, to split the processing from edge to center, these devices will evolve away from 'just in case' video recording towards an essential policing tool.
And so, as far as policing is concerned, Next years will be marked as a turning point for facial recognition. Tests will morph into deployments. Deployments will yield results. The arguments will be won. The majority of the public, ultimately, will opt for personal security and safety over arbitrary privacy. In the wake of multiple calls for restrictions and regulation, a survey published before some months found that only 18% of Americans believe facial recognition should be strictly limited at the expense of public safety. And this is where bodycams will come into their own. If we could train our police officers to recognize every known offender, every unidentified person of interest, every vulnerable adult or missing child, to a 99% or greater level of accuracy.
Pros of Facial Recognition
Increased Security: One of the biggest pros of facial recognition technology is that it enhances safety and security. From government agencies to personal use, there is an increasing demand for advanced security and surveillance systems. Organizations can easily identify and track anyone who comes onto the premises, and they can easily flag visitors who aren't welcome. It can be very helpful when it comes to finding potential terrorists. Plus, there is no key, badge, or password that can be stolen or lost.
Fast and Accurate: With the ever-increasing demand for speed and the growing number of cyberattacks, having fast and accurate technology is key. Facial recognition technology provides verification that is convenient, quick, and accurate. Although possible, it is very difficult to fool facial recognition technology, which makes it beneficial in helping prevent fraud.
No Contact: Facial recognition is preferred over fingerprint scanning because of its non-contact process. People don't have to worry about the potential drawbacks related to fingerprint identification technology, such as germs or marks.
Cons of Facial Recognition
High Implementation Costs: Facial recognition requires top-quality cameras and advanced software to ensure accuracy and speed. However, Allied Market Research predicts that technological advancements are likely to reduce the prices of facial recognition systems in the future.
Data Storage: The video and high-quality images required for facial recognition take up a significant amount of storage. In order for facial recognition systems to be effective, they only process about 10 to 25% of videos. This leads organizations to use numerous computers to process everything and to do it quickly.
Changes in Appearance and Camera Angle: Any major changes in appearance, including facial hair and weight changes, can throw off the technology. In these instances, a new picture is required. Camera angle can also cause issues because multiple angles are needed to identify a face.
There is presently no legislation that directly addresses the regulation and governance of police body-worn cameras. The legislation is clearly lagging far behind the rapid pace at which surveillance technology, like body-worn cameras, are developing. The absence of appropriate legislation creates the danger that the privacy of individuals may become risked as a result of the adoption of new surveillance technology.
Facial recognition is a powerful technology but it has to be used wisely. On one hand, it brings immense advantage to the companies and end-users, helps them enhance their security and track down the trespassers. On the other hand, it may be misused for personal benefit and lead to some serious consequences. It will take at least 5 years for facial recognition to come in complete correspondence with human rights and one's privacy.
Body-worn cameras with facial recognition to be used correctly and to minimize potential negative consequences and risks to privacy, appropriate legislation needs to be enlisted that directly addresses the use of these devices. There is a potential for body-worn cameras to be a useful tool for achieving better accountability; however, this is only possible if the appropriate privacy protocols become mandated by law.
Anon., n.d. World Security Report. [Online]
Available at: http://www.worldsecurity-index.com/shareDir/documents/15508405770.pdf
Bud, T. K., n.d. BWVSG. [Online]
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DashMagazine, n.d. M. [Online]
Available at: https://becominghuman.ai/the-threats-and-benefits-of-facial-recognition-what-should-we-know-17008f69ae74
Doffman, Z., n.d. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/01/10/body-worn-2-0-how-iot-facial-recognition-is-set-to-change-frontline-policing/#4e0a5cad1ff3
Marr, B., n.d. Forbes. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/08/19/facial-recognition-technology-here-are-the-important-pros-and-cons/#28c79e8e14d1
Team, R. M., 2019. RTI. [Online]
Available at: https://www.1rti.com/pros-cons-of-facial-recognition-technology/
Wendt, R., 30 july 2019. SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. [Online]
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v34y2010i6p1299-1307.html
Interest rate deregulation: Monetary policy efficacy and rate rigidity
Chong, Beng Soon
Beng Soon Chong
This paper examines the effects of interest rate regulation, and subsequent deregulation, on the efficacy of monetary policy and rigidity of retail bank deposit rates in Hong Kong. Using an error-correction model, we find that interest rate deregulation increases the efficacy of monetary policy by improving the correlation between retail bank deposit rates and market interest rates and increasing the degree of long-term pass-through for retail bank deposit rates. Our study also shows that the adjustments in retail bank deposit rates are asymmetric and rigid upwards during the regulated period, but tend to be rigid downwards during the deregulated period. The spreads between retail bank deposit rates and market rates have also tightened sharply after the removal of interest rate controls.
Chong, Beng Soon, 2010. "Interest rate deregulation: Monetary policy efficacy and rate rigidity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1299-1307, June.
Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:34:y:2010:i:6:p:1299-1307
Kwan, Simon H., 2003. "Impact of deposit rate deregulation in Hong Kong on the market value of commercial banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2231-2248, December.
Simon H. Kwan, 2000. "Impact of Deposit Rate Deregulation in Hong Kong on the Market Value of Commercial Banks," Working Papers 102000, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.
Simon H. Kwan, 2001. "Impact of deposit rate deregulation in Hong Kong on the market value of commercial banks," Working Paper Series 2001-11, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
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Heffernan, Shelagh A, 1997. "Modelling British Interest Rate Adjustment: An Error Correction Approach," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 64(254), pages 211-231, May.
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Angeliki Kourelis & Carlo Cottarelli, 1994. "Financial Structure, Bank Lending Rates, and the Transmission Mechanism of Monetary Policy," IMF Working Papers 94/39, International Monetary Fund.
Kleimeier, Stefanie & Sander, Harald, 2006. "Expected versus unexpected monetary policy impulses and interest rate pass-through in euro-zone retail banking markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1839-1870, July.
Kane, Edward J, 1977. "Good Intentions and Unintended Evil: The Case against Selective Credit Allocation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 9(1), pages 55-69, February.
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Pierre-Richard Agénor & Karim El Aynaoui, 2008. "Excess Liquidity, Bank Pricing Rules, and Monetary Policy," Centre for Growth and Business Cycle Research Discussion Paper Series 105, Economics, The Univeristy of Manchester.
Hutchison, David E. & Pennacchi, George G., 1996. "Measuring Rents and Interest Rate Risk in Imperfect Financial Markets: The Case of Retail Bank Deposits," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(03), pages 399-417, September.
Sander, Harald & Kleimeier, Stefanie, 2004. "Convergence in euro-zone retail banking? What interest rate pass-through tells us about monetary policy transmission, competition and integration," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 461-492, April.
Sander Harald & Kleimeier Stefanie, 2003. "Convergence in Eurozone retail banking? What interest rate pass-through tells us about monetary policy transmission, competition and integration," Research Memorandum 051, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
Ben S. Bernanke & Mark Gertler, 1995. "Inside the Black Box: The Credit Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 27-48, Fall.
Ben S. Bernanke & Mark Gertler, 1995. "Inside the Black Box: The Credit Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission," NBER Working Papers 5146, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Bernanke, Ben & Gertler, Mark, 1995. "Inside the Black Box: The Credit Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission," Working Papers 95-15, C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York University.
Kobayashi, Teruyoshi, 2009. "Announcements and the effectiveness of monetary policy: A view from the US prime rate," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 2253-2266, December.
Boris Hofmann & Paul Mizen, 2004. "Interest Rate Pass-Through and Monetary Transmission: Evidence from Individual Financial Institutions' Retail Rates," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 71, pages 99-123, February.
Jeremy C. Stein & Anil K. Kashyap, 2000. "What Do a Million Observations on Banks Say about the Transmission of Monetary Policy?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(3), pages 407-428, June.
Dann, Larry Y & James, Christopher M, 1982. " An Analysis of the Impact of Deposit Rate Ceilings on the Market Values of Thrift Institutions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(5), pages 1259-1275, December.
De Graeve, Ferre & De Jonghe, Olivier & Vennet, Rudi Vander, 2007. "Competition, transmission and bank pricing policies: Evidence from Belgian loan and deposit markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 259-278, January.
F. De Graeve & O. De Jonghe & R. Vander Vennet, 2004. "Competition, transmission and bank pricing policies: Evidence from Belgian loan and deposit markets," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 04/261, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
Marcucci, Juri & Quagliariello, Mario, 2009. "Asymmetric effects of the business cycle on bank credit risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1624-1635, September.
Liu, Ming-Hua & Margaritis, Dimitri & Tourani-Rad, Alireza, 2008. "Monetary policy transparency and pass-through of retail interest rates," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 501-511, April.
Bob Y. Chan & Terence Khoo, 1998. "An Analysis of the Deposit-taking Market of Hong Kong," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 13(6), pages 651-667, December.
Carlo Cottarelli & Angeliki Kourelis, 1994. "Financial Structure, Bank Lending Rates, and the Transmission Mechanism of Monetary Policy," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 41(4), pages 587-623, December.
Dutta, Shantanu, et al, 1999. "Menu Costs, Posted Prices, and Multiproduct Retailers," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 31(4), pages 683-703, November.
Shantanu Dutta & Mark Bergen & Daniel Levy & Robert Venable, 2005. "Menu Costs, Posted Prices, and Multiproduct Retailers," Macroeconomics 0505007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
Hannan, Timothy H & Berger, Allen N, 1991. "The Rigidity of Prices: Evidence from the Banking Industry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(4), pages 938-945, September.
Chong, Beng Soon & Liu, Ming-Hua & Shrestha, Keshab, 2006. "Monetary transmission via the administered interest rates channel," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 1467-1484, May.
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Perera, Anil & Wickramanayake, J., 2016. "Determinants of commercial bank retail interest rate adjustments: Evidence from a panel data model," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-20.
Fatemeh Razmi & Azali Mohamed & Lee Chin & Muzafar Shah Habibullah, 2017. "How Does Monetary Policy Affect Economic Vulnerability to Oil Price Shock as against US Economy Shock?," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(2), pages 544-550.
Razmi, Fatemeh & M., Azali & Chin, Lee & Habibullah, Muzafar Shah, 2017. "How Does Monetary Policy Affect Economic Vulnerability to Oil Price Shock as against US Economy Shock?," MPRA Paper 79079, University Library of Munich, Germany.
Adams, Robert M. & Amel, Dean F., 2011. "Market structure and the pass-through of the federal funds rate," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 1087-1096, May.
John Ashton & Andros Gregoriou & Jerome V. Healy, 2013. "The relative influence of price and choice factors on retail deposit quantities," Working Papers 13006, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
John K. Ashton & Andros Gregoriou, 2014. "The Influence of Banking Centralization on Depositors: Regional Heterogeneities in the Transmission of Monetary Policy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(9), pages 1467-1482, September.
John Ashton & Andros Gregoriou, 2012. "The Influence of Banking Centralisation on Depositors: Regional Heterogeneities in the Transmission of Monetary Policy," Working Papers 12005, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
Feldmann, Horst, 2012. "Banking deregulation around the world, 1970s to 2000s: The impact on unemployment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 26-42.
Uluc Aysun & Ryan Brady & Adam Honig, 2011. "Financial Frictions and the Credit Channel of Monetary Transmission," Working Papers 2011-03, University of Central Florida, Department of Economics.
Valadkhani, Abbas & Bollen, Bernard, 2013. "An alternative approach to the modelling of interest rate pass through and asymmetric adjustment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 120(3), pages 491-494.
repec:taf:rjapxx:v:19:y:2014:i:1:p:52-65 is not listed on IDEAS
Liu, Ming-Hua & Margaritis, Dimitris & Tourani-Rad, Alireza, 2011. "Asymmetric information and price competition in small business lending," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2189-2196, September.
Valadkhani, Abbas, 2013. "The pricing behaviour of Australian banks and building societies in the residential mortgage market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 133-151.
Abbas Valadkhani & Sajid Anwar, 2012. "Interest Rate Pass-Through and the Asymmetric Relationship between the Cash Rate and the Mortgage Rate," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(282), pages 341-350, September.
Ming-Hua Liu & Dimitris Margaritis & Zhuo Qiao, 2016. "The Global Financial Crisis and Retail Interest Rate Pass-Through in Australia," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(04), pages 1-32, December.
Arvid Raknerud & Bjørn Helge Vatne & Ketil Rakkestad, 2011. "How do banks' funding costs affect interest margins?," Discussion Papers 665, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
Xuejun Jin & Frank M. Song & Yizhong Wang & Yi Zhong, 2014. "Interest Rate Pass-through in a Dual-track System: Evidence from China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 22(4), pages 21-39, July.
Valadkhani, Abbas & Worthington, Andrew, 2014. "Asymmetric behavior of Australia's Big-4 banks in the mortgage market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 57-66.
Regulation Monetary policy transmission Interest rate pass-through Rate rigidity Asymmetric adjustment Error correction Threshold autoregressive model Bank deposit rates;
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Seeking to whip up public support for what's expected to be a hard-fought budget battle in Congress, a group of defense contractors launched a lobbying campaign urging an end to cuts in military spending.
The campaign, named Second to None, was introduced by the Aerospace Industries Assn. trade group Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington. The group, which represents manufacturers and suppliers of aircraft, space systems and engines, warned of potential job losses and national security risks.
According to the association, aerospace and defense supports 1 million direct jobs in the U.S. and affects another 2.9 million indirect jobs.
Phi Beta Iota: The defense contractors are not being honest. As Winslow Wheeler and others have documented, most of the defense dollars go into overhead and out-sourcing. Just as it is costing us $50 million per Taliban in a body bag, here these maliciously deception people are suggesting that the $1 trillion a year for defense and homeland "security" will protect one million jobs. Do the math–at a time when 22% of workers are unemployed, with more on the way once the federal government starts taking cuts, this is not just idiocy, it is treason. We NEED to cut defense, homeland "security," and secret intelligence SHARPLY–while providing all those cut with a year's termination pay–to achieve the savings necessary to "reset" the economy including full salary training for every unemployed person in America.
DoD 2012 Appropriations: Earmarks & More….


Personatus is a photographic exploration of the fake, masked, disguised & counterfeit.
It is the mask we put on each day as individuals and as a society. Who are we really? Who do we try to convey we are? Why do we pretend? Why do we hide? The breakdown of that wall and who we are at our most raw.
Inspired by people whose paths have crossed our own. Each artist will explore their own journey of Personatus. From here, artist Jasmine Lord will explore these beings through the use of mask, both beautiful and hideous. Personatus has many disguises, we all have a collection of camouflages that live within us.
The initial development will begin with the use of "quack" or beaked masks as used in the middle ages by plague doctors to try to ward off the black death. Jasmine will examine beauty, ascertain the lie behind the beauty masks and release the obscured self . Once we remove our pretense and find security with who we are inside we can flourish to become something much more than our masks could ever allow.
While masks in some cultures are used in ceremony or celebration, even performance, the journey for Personatus will focus on occupational and relationship masks and how it affects our lives.


With more than 30 years' experience in the energy utility industry, including testifying as an expert witness and publishing multiple industry-leading papers, Hossein helps our clients achieve extraordinary results in utility resource planning, energy efficiency, and demand response. Hossein's work focuses on integration of distributed energy resources into the utility resource planning process. He has worked with more than 50 utilities across North America and abroad to help them formulate their demand-side management (DSM) policies and business strategies, develop and execute programmatic initiatives, and evaluate the initiatives' outcomes and effectiveness.
Prior to Cadmus, Hossein was an Executive Vice President at Quantec, LLC, later acquired by Cadmus. He was also Vice President of Consulting at KEMA, Director of Energy Information Systems at Chevron Energy Solutions and PG&E Energy Services, Principal at Barakat & Chamberlin, and Director of Planning and Assessment at Central Maine Power Company. As an adjunct assistant professor at Portland State University, he helped found the graduate program in applied energy economics and taught courses in methods of energy policy analysis and regulation.
Hossein holds a doctorate in regional science. The results of his work have been published in numerous conference proceedings and journals, such as the Public Utilities Fortnightly, Public Policy Journal, and The Energy Journal.
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Insights from Hossein Haeri, Ph.D.


Seeking After Signs & Wonders » I Am Healed!
This view takes Scriptures out of context to the point of doing violence to them.
It IS true that Jesus said that those who seek after a sign were wicked – but pay attention to the sequence of events because that sequence is important to understand His words in context.
In John 4, a man came to Jesus seeking healing of his son, who was about to die. Jesus said, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." The man was not interested in theology – he cared only that his son would die without Jesus' intervention. What did Jesus do? Walk away? Tell the man, "Go home and quit seeking after signs?" No. He healed his son with a word.
And again, in Matthew 16, Jesus fed thousands of people. Genuine, bona fide, miraculous sign and wonder. "Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven." Jesus told them that they should be attentive to the signs of the times (in other words, "wake up and smell the coffee, boys – Messiah is standing right in front of you!") Then He said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sig, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain and was transfigured before them and heard the voice of God speak. To my thinking, the mere words "signs and wonders" or "miracles" don't even begin to describe that event!!
If Jesus' ministry had NOT been marked with healings, miracles, signs and wonders, and He'd said, "Do not seek after signs and wonders", we could conclude that it is in error to seek after such things. However, Jesus did not turn people away when they cried out to Him for healing, deliverance, and miracles. When they sought the sign, He gave it – and much more, He gave them Himself.
Jesus promised that His disciples would work signs and miracles…see, for example, Luke 9, where Jesus gave them the power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases, or Mark 16, where He said that those who believe will cast out demons, speak in tongues, take up serpents, be immune to poison, and heal the sick.
Furthermore, He told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. That power came in the form of visible tongues of fire landing on the heads of the 120 gathered in the Upper Room, and then they all spoke in languages they'd never learned. Definitely a sign and a wonder!
The very first sermon ever preached (Acts 2) explained the tongues – and much more – prophecy, dreams and visions in a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was promised by God through the prophet Joel. Not only did Peter explain the phenomena which just occurred in this way – he promised that those who accepted Christ would ALSO receive the Holy Spirit – and their children, and all who are afar off, as many as the Lord God will call!
Following through the book of Acts, we see sign after sign. Wonder after wonder. Miracle after miracle.
What happened to those who sought after a miracle?
It seems awfully strange to me that people flocked to Peter for a healing and God gave it to them, and people were saved too, if we're supposed to reject signs and wonders!
Paul is saying that not only should we expect to see signs and wonders and miracles, but that we should expect that God will work those miracles through us! We should even be asking Him for these gifts! Paul exhorts Timothy to "Stir up the gift" that was imparted to him (1 Tim. 4:14, 2 Tim 1:6).
Is it wrong to seek only what God can do for you, and not seek God Himself? Of course. Simon the Sorcerer made that mistake in Acts 8, when he saw the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Samaria. He offered to give money to receive that power. He was sharply rebuked – as should anyone be that ONLY desires what God can do. Fortunately, most people who are seeking something FROM God – such as healing – are also seeking God. They expect to see Him move in their lives because they desperately want Him – more and more and more of Him – in their lives! This is a vastly different heart attitude than the mage had!
It is also abundantly wrong to seek signs and wonders apart from God – for example, through the occult or new age. There are many avenues to false signs and wonders – and there is a price to be paid by those who seek them. Demons do not work for free. Christians should only seek miracles from the One who truly works them… and if they are asking God for a miracle, trust Him to provide it.
Jesus said that we would do the same works He did – and even greater ones! (John 14:12) Why are we willing to settle for so much less ourselves?


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Release Your Land For Ranching – Presidency Tells State Governors Again
The presidency has reiterated its stand that ranching is the way to curb the frequent clashes and fights between the farmers and herders in Nigeria.
To this end, the presidency has again called on the various Governors to make land available for ranching in their respective states.
The call was made on Sunday by the special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
He stated this as part of his response to the criticism of the federal government by an international publication – The Economist.
The publication had blamed Buhari for failing to tackle poverty, Boko Haram, and dealing with police brutality.
The century-old newspaper also accused the Nigerian Army of only being mighty on paper, with its officials selling weapons to terrorists
Garba however in his response, insisted that the farmer-herdsmen clashes didn't just start, added that the Buhari administration is doing everything possible to curb the situation.
The presidential spokesperson added that no other government has done what the Buhari administration has done in the past six years to bring the situation under control.
He said, "The Federal ranches programme, launched shortly after the President's re-election is the first of its kind – and it is working: during the last 12 months clashes have significantly reduced.
"The government now calls on State governors to have the imagination to join forces with the Federal administration and expand this programme by making available state lands for those interested, now that its effectiveness has been demonstrated."
Meanwhile, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, says one of the individuals who will feature prominently whenever the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is being appraised is the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN.
It however pointed out that Malami would not be remembered for exemplary positive contributions to the nation and to humanity but for the unprecedented damage he caused the administration he served to commit.
Naija News reports that Afenifere stated this while faulting Malami's attempt to label Sunday Adeyemo (alias Igboho) a terrorist saying it "was the height of an attempt to nail Adeyemo at all cost even without justification.''
Related Topics:Garba ShehuMuhammadu BuhariRanching
Stop Attacking Buhari – South-East Govs Beg Mbaka
Youth Unemployment Is Equal To Insecurity – NLC Tells Buhari Govt
Electoral Bill: Lawan, Gbajabiamila Lack Courage To Override Buhari – Shehu Sani
Buhari Saved Nigeria From Collapse With His Military Background – Ayade
Shehu Sani Reacts To Rice Pyramid Unveiled By President Buhari In Abuja
Fuel Subsidy Removal: Let The President Speak To Nigerians Himself – Shehu Sani Tackles Ahmad Lawan


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Man Charged In Drive-By Shooting Of Houston 7-Year-Old Released On Bond
Filed Under:7-year-old, Bond, charged, Crime, drive-by, Eric Black Jr., girl, Houston, Houston Police, Jazmine Barnes, Larry D. Woodruff, man, released, Shooting, Texas
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — One of two men facing capital murder charges in the drive-by shooting death of a 7-year-old Houston girl is out on bond.
The Houston Chronicle reports Saturday that court records show 20-year-old Eric Black Jr. was released June 25 after his attorneys successfully argued his $500,000 bond should be lowered to $150,000.
Prosecutors say Black and 24-year-old Larry D. Woodruffe were in an SUV that opened fire on the car carrying Jazmine Barnes, her sisters and mother on Dec. 30. Black is suspected of driving the SUV. Woodruffe's attorney previously said he wasn't in the SUV.
Jazmine Barnes, a 7-year-old Texas girl, was shot and killed after an unknown man opened fire on the car with her family inside. (credit: CBS News)
Witnesses had originally described the shooter as a white man driving a red pickup truck, prompting concerns that Jazmine's death was a hate crime.
But, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he believes the initial description was sincere and the man in the red truck was likely a bystander who left the scene of the shooting.
Prosecutors say Black and Woodruffe thought they were attacking people whom they had fought with at a club hours before Jazmine's death.
Woodruffe remained jailed Saturday. Black's next court date is Aug. 16.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)


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text:
from espresso.main import config
from espresso.main import robot

if 'daemonized' in config:
    if config['daemonized']:
    	import daemon
        with daemon.DaemonContext():
            robot.brew()

robot.brew()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Tag: Davos
PODCAST: TV Roundup! Jack Ryan! Preacher! Castle Rock! & Iron Fist!
Published on September 7, 2018 September 7, 2018 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment
On this episode of The World's Best Podcast, this week's guest co-host, Paul Sr. and I look back, discuss, and review some of the late summer TV shows! We also look at some upcoming returning series that look pretty interesting. We review Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime, talk about Preacher Season 3 on AMC, Castle Rock on Hulu, and premiering tonight Iron Fist Season 2 on Netflix! Beware of some light spoilers! Listen here or subscribe on Stitcher and iTunes:
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/15661120
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441?mt=2#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.spreaker.com%2Fepisode%2F15661120
Stitcher:
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=56149253&autoplay=1
Categories Books, Comics, TV•Tags Amazon Prime, AMC, Cassidy, Castle Rock, Davos, Hulu, Iron Fist, Jack Ryan, Jesse Custer, netflix, Preacher, Steel Serpent, Tulip, Typhoid Mary
IRON FIST Season 2 Trailer & Breakdown!
Published on August 18, 2018 by theworldsbestblogwithpaulwrightLeave a comment
Netflix released an cool new trailer for Iron Fist Season 2! Check it out here and then read my trailer breakdown with pics from EW.com below:
Now THIS is more like it! After a somewhat disappointing first season, Iron First has been steadily improving as a character with each appearance in the MCU. From The Defenders to Luke Cage Season 2 to this awesome trailer for Iron Fist Season 2, it seems like we're getting closer and closer to Danny Rand from the comics that we all want to see.
To finally see Davos (Danny's best friend from K'un L'un, who we met in Season 1) become his own "immortal weapon" as The Steel Serpent is so fucking cool. Many of you may not remember, but this a character that was teased as far back as Daredevil Season 1. I can't wait to see the backstory behind Davos' new abilities and I wouldn't be surprised if Madam Goa had a hand in creating The Steel Serpent.
After all, Season 1 ended with Davos and Joy Meachum discussing the destruction of Danny with Madam Goa listening intently near by. I also loved seeing the Iron Fist being used so much, I honestly think we saw the Iron Fist used more in this trailer than in all of Season 1. To my delight, much like Daredevil, it seems that Iron Fist is slowly developing a costume of his own.
We don't see much of the Season's other big villain Typhoid Mary (played by Alice Eve) except for some brief fight shots. We do get to see a lot of Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. I know for a fact they're going full Daughter's of The Dragon team-up this season, which is exciting for any hardcore Marvel fan. Now we just need HEROES FOR HIRE, DAMMIT!
The fight choreography looks like it's improved in a big way, especially when it comes to Danny. Not to mention the fights look like they've upped the brutality to Daredevil levels. The Immortal Iron Fist should be the greatest martial artist in the world and I hope we finally get to see that in Season 2.
Marvel and Netflix made another very smart move and went from 13 episodes in Season 1 to 10 episodes in Season 2. Considering the show faced some criticism for pacing issues, I think this is a smart move. As much as I love most of the Marvel Netflix shows, each Season of each show usually has one or two episodes that drag the season down, basically filler episodes. A tighter 10 episode season could add excitement and drama, giving the show the momentum that was missing in Season 1. It will be interesting to see if Netflix uses this new 10 episode model for all of their Marvel shows. It makes sense because, from 2018 going forward we're getting 4 Marvel Netflix shows each year. This year, it was Jessica Jones Season 2, the excellent Luke Cage Season 2, Iron Fist Season 2, and Daredevil Season 3 in December.
I went from cautiously optimistic to very excited for Iron Fist Season 2. Now, I know Rule #1 at World's Best Media is: DON'T TRUST TRAILERS! However, despite my better judgement, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this could be the Iron Fist series we all hoped for when Season 1 premiered.
Iron Fist Season 2 premiers September 7 on Netflix.
Categories Comics, TV•Tags Colleen Wing, Danny Rand, Daughters of The Dragon, Davos, Finn Jones, Heroes For Hire, Iron Fist, Iron Fist Season 2, Jessica Henwick, Kun Lun, Luke Cage, Marvel, mcu, Mike Colter, Misty Knight, netflix, Steel Serpent, The Steel Serpent


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text:
胡流源
405 Center for Bioengineering
300 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15219, U.S.A.
Distinguished University Professor Emeritus
Founding Director, Musculoskeletal Research Center
Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering
B.S. (Mechanical Eng.), Chico State College (1965)
M.S. (Mechanical Eng.), University of Washington (1966)
Ph.D. (Bioengineering), University of Washington (1971)
D.Sc. (Honorary), California State University (1998)
D.Eng. (Honorary), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2008)
Assistant, Associate Professor, University of California, San Diego (1970-1980)
Professor, University of California, San Diego (1980-1990)
Director, Musculoskeletal Research Center, University of Pittsburgh (1990-present)
Professor, Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh (1990-1993)
A.B. Ferguson Professor, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh (1993-2004)
W.K. Whiteford Professor, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh (2004-2007)
Distinguished University Professor, Dept. of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh (2007-2017)
Bāo Yù Gāng Endowed Chair Professor, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo University (2016-2018)
Distinguished Chair Professor, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University (2017-2018)
Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh (2017-present)
Engineering Sciences, Biomechanics, Tissue Engineering
Elected to U.S. National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine (1991)
H.R. Lissner Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1991)
Giovanni Borelli Award, American Society of Biomechanics (1993)
Elected to U.S. National Academy of Engineering (1994)
Muybridge Medal, International Society of Biomechanics (1995)
Olympic Gold Medalist and IOC Olympic Prize for Sports Science (1998)
Carnegie Centenary Professor, The Carnegie Trust for the University of Scotland (2002)
Life Science Award, Carnegie Science Center Awards of Excellence (2006)
Life Time Achievement Award, Bay Area Knee Society (2007)
Diamond Award "Distinguished Achievement in Academia", University of Washington College of Engineering (2008)
Gold Medal for Innovations in Healthcare Technology, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)(2012)
Establishment of the Savio L-Y. Woo Medal for Translational Biomechanics, Bioengineering Division (BED), American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) (2015)


Cost of Manufactured Home vs Modular | Why Are Modular Homes Cheaper?
System-built technology provides measurable savings for your project.
The factory savings due to their buying power, efficiency and speed saves 10-15% off conventional construction (called "hard costs"). There are also "soft cost" savings. Additional hard and soft costs are summarized below.
The factories are located in the parts of the country with the lowest cost of manpower. The tradesmen labor rates are ¼ of the rates in Massachusetts.
Except for a small deposit, the factory is not paid until the product is 90% complete. This elimination of progress payments and the short duration between deposit and 90% complete saves on loan interest payments. The savings is a 1.8-2.2% reduction in the project cost.
The time saved is several months. The cost of the disruption is called "dislocation" expenses and derives from moving out of your home or disrupted utility service, storage, etc. The savings is a 2.7-3% reduction in the project cost.
Your projects design is done by Mod-Tech Homes and production drawings and building engineering is done at our factories. The architecture and engineering costs (A&E) are reduced to your on-site needs only. The savings is a 5-5.2% reduction in the project cost.
Construction materials stored on your site can be damaged or stolen. Many materials are also standard sizes, not pre-cut as in the factory. This theft and waste is greatly reduced by the short duration of activity onsite. The savings is a 2-3% reduction in the project cost.
Winter conditions in the northeast include snow plowing, temporary heat, delays and manpower shortages. These elements are reduced due to system built being weather tight in one day. The savings is a 1.5-2% reduction in the project cost.
Change Orders result from changes in scope or design during the construction process. These surprises are virtually eliminated at the factory by the system built process. The savings is a 2.5-3.5% reduction in the project cost (or more).
Sustainable construction and energy savings are realized by the nature of the construction. The homes are built stronger to travel over the highways and be placed with a crane. The strength comes from extra materials and fasteners resulting in energy savings as a consequence. These savings are ongoing in your monthly energy spending.
These savings can add up to a 15% to 30% reduction in total project costs compared to conventional construction.


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Q: Wingetpos Keeps Adding To The Dimensions This is a weird problem.
My GUI keeps getting bigger and bigger!  Here is my function.  Every time I call the function, the values increase just after using WinGetPos.  I call this during the GUI's shutdown procedure.  You can see the report from the messagebox in the comments.
Before the function is called: x=2248 y=325 w=404 h=400
GetMainWinPosition(){
    global
    msgbox, x=%UIx% y=%UIy% w=%UIw% h=%UIh%  ;x=2248 y=325 w=404 h=400
    WinGetPos, UIx,UIy,UIw,UIh,%apptitle%
    msgbox, x=%UIx% y=%UIy% w=%UIw% h=%UIh%  ;x=2248 y=325 w=412 h=444
}

The only thing I can think of that might have any bearing is this, just after GUI, show:
Gui, +minsize404x%UIh% +maxsize1000x%UIh%

...and the use of Anchor.ahk on some of the controls [edit] Nope, I removed the anchoring and it didn't change anything...
Anyone have a clue?  I'm sure it's a silly thing I am missing.

A: Ah, I am NOT crazy, and there IS a solution, AND the problem lay completely in my plain use WinGetPos command.  See this thread in the ahkscript forum.
Apparently, WinGetPos fetches the width and height of the entire window including the title bar and the window edges.  This accounts for the change in my window size when I saved the values.
Here is a solution to fetch the width and height without adding in the title bar:
VarSetCapacity(rect,16)
DllCall("GetClientRect", "ptr", hwnd, "ptr", &rect)  ;hwnd is the window handle of the gui (hint: Gui, +hwndmyvar)
width := NumGet(rect,8,"int"), height := NumGet(rect,12,"int")

And there is a more elaborate solution here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Girl Bee You Members will be joined with other girls who are trying to become their greatest version of themselves. Members will be required to meet monthly and participate in community events to help others become just as empowered as they are. Members will also gain access to upcoming events prior to being released to the public. Members will also have visibility to mentors. Please fill out this request form and a membership packet will be emailed for your review. Annual Membership fee of $25.00 (t-shirt, wristband, and notebook provided with membership fee) Membership fee to be paid upon accepting terms below via BUYNOW button below.


text:
Directors Chloé Zhao & Emerald Fennell Break Oscars' Glass Ceiling.
March 16, 2021 March 16, 2021 MiggieK
By Anthony D'Alessandro
Anthony D'Alessandro
Editorial Director/Box Office Editor
In Oscar history, there's never been more than one female filmmaker nominated in the Best Directing category in a single year. Until now.
Nomadland Chinese director Chloé Zhao and Promising Young Woman UK filmmaker Emerald Fennell broke several Oscar historical records Monday for women when the 93rd Academy Awards nominations were revealed. Of note, it's the first time that two female directors have been nominated for directing in the same year.
Photo by AP Images
In total, they rep the sixth and seventh women to be nominated in the category following Lina Wertmüller (1975's Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (1993's The Piano), Sofia Coppola (2003's Lost in Translation), Kathryn Bigelow (the category's only winner with 2008's The Hurt Locker) and Greta Gerwig (2017's Lady Bird).
Zhao is the first woman to receive four nominations in a single year for Directing, Editing (the first female Asian to be recognized in the category), Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay. As we already reported, she is the first woman of color to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the directing category.
Fennell is the third woman to be recognized with three noms in a single year following Coppola and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's Fran Walsh who actually won all three of her trophies: Best Picture, Original Song and Adapted Screenplay. Fennell is also the first woman to be nominated for their feature film directorial debut.
Searchlight's Nomadland is in theatrical release and available on Hulu, and has grossed during the pandemic with roughly 50% of the theaters closed, $1.529M. Focus Features' Promising Young Woman, in theaters and on PVOD, has totaled $5.5M through 12 weekends.
BEKROONDE SA KAROO SCI-FI FILM, WESENS, IS EKSKLUSIEF BESKIKBAAR OP DSTV BOXOFFICE VANAF 8 MAART 2021.
Stargate SG-1's Cliff Simon Dead at 58 After Kiteboarding Accident.


Synapse provided analytical and policy support to the Vermont Department of Public Service in its development of a State Comprehensive Energy Plan. Synapse assisted in the definition of energy future scenarios and analyzed the cost, emissions, and broader economics of these plans. Using Market Analytics, Synapse modeled base and alternative scenarios for energy efficiency targets and renewable procurement, in order to estimate the changes in wholesale electricity costs. Working with VT DPS, and using the REMI model, Synapse then modeled the economic impacts (in terms of jobs, real disposable income, and GSP) of these cost changes, and of the associated investments. Synapse also provided support for the development and presentation of the final plan.


text:
Robert Pollard Art Exhibit Coming to Skelton Dust Records
Throughout the month of December, Skelton Dust Records will be host to a special art exhibit. This exhibit will feature works by Dayton native and Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard. Beginning December 1st, the exhibit will be open weekly from Tuesday through Sunday. In addition to the month-long run, a celebration with the artist will be held on December 13th.
Not only a talented musician and songwriter but also a talented visual artist, Robert Pollard began making collages as a child. Since then many Guided By Voices releases have featured his collages as cover art. Additionally, his collages have gone on to be featured in a number of high profile exhibits. Most notably displaying at Michael Imperioli's Studio Dante in New York and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Skelton Dust Record is located at 133 E. 3rd St.Dayton, Ohio. This exhibit will run the entire month of December between the hours of 11-7 pm Tuesday-Saturday and Sunday 12-6 pm. The Celebration with the artist will take place on December 13th, 7- 9 pm


Pin Badges | A great choice of pin badges, ideal Biker waistcoats!
Motorcyclists provide a lucrative summer... whatever the weather!
Digital Speedos have donated a fantastic prize of a Action Camera Pro 720HD, worth £119.95.
Ideal to attach to your Motorcycle and/or helmet to capture 'that' moment and then watch it on your tv, computer, upload it to YouTube and share it on facebook!
The 720p HD Action Camera within a waterproof case, has a 5 Megapixel lens, a 2" LCD screen and comes with ???
All questions marked with a * must be answered. We include a code at the bottom to avoid spam, however if you cannot read it simply refresh the code until you can!
Most of the questions on the competitions have simple tick boxes for information to help us to gain insight into our visitors and to help us plan where is best to promote the web-site in the future.
Competitions these days seem to have some sort of fee attached, whereas all our are completely free to enter, all we ask from our visitors is a little feedback. When tested the entry forms were completed in less than 5 minutes.
A range of quality digital motorcycle speedometers and drift gauges, designed and manufactured to the highest standards, ideal to individualise your motorcycle. The main product lines include the Koso range, multi-function and traditional style gauges, designs specifically for Harley-Davidson and Yamaha Vmax and exclusive to them, the GPS Micro Speedometer. Popular products include the DB01r compact multifunction speedometer and the very latest RX2 model which features seven different colour screens already programmed into the unit. Some are straight replacement for standard fitment items, however many of the items are exclusive custom designed items and are batched parts which means there will usually be only one production run, to retain that exclusive look. Also popular items for kit cars, VW, quads and the classic British Mini. Also a range of video action cameras, ideal for touring and capturing your ride and then watch it on your tv, computer and/or upload it to YouTube!
Owner Jon has re-wrote many of the instructions to make the fitting of the speedos and gauges an easy process, however he is always happy to help with any enquiries.
1/ THE BIKER GUIDE® reserves the right to amend the date for enteries, change the question and/or any other details and even cancel said competition.
2/ Only enteries which include the full name and postal address can be awarded a prize, as we have to send most prizes out in the post so this information is important.
3/ THE BIKER GUIDE® reserves the right to publish the names of the winners both on the web-site and also within any promotional material.
4/ There will be no cash or other alternative to the prize offered and prizes are not transferable.
5/ Where applicable, prize winners will be responsible for travel arrangements.
6/ Winners will be notified by either e-mail or via a promotional e-shot with the winners names included.
7/ In some cases, prizes require a confirmation e-mail between THE BIKER GUIDE® and the winner, which will need a reply before we go ahead with the arrangements of the prize, such as holidays. In some cases, if we do not receive a reply with 7 days we will presume that you do not want the prize and so will award it to another.
8/ In some circumstances, where we do not have the prize held @ THE BIKER GUIDE® hq, the prize may come direct from the supplier, organisers and/or from another source such as when another winner cannot attend. We cannot be held responsible for such a prize going astray or for a cancelled event.
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12/ We cannot be held responsible for any prize sent in the post which go astray or for a cancelled event.
13/ Prizes of holidays must be taken by the winner in the time period stated and are not transferable to another.
14/ In no circumstances may a prize be sold to another and/or to make profit. This may result in the prize being null and void.
15/ No prizes won are transferable to another (3rd party).
The Essential Guide for Bikers!


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Mobile casino gambling is growing at an exponential rate and the overall number of South African players who now prefer to use their mobile or tablet device rather than using their PC or laptop to place a real cash wager also continues to grow by the day. Playtech is mainly known for its award-winning online casino product, but it is also currently at the forefront of mobile casino gaming.
Playtech's state of the art mobile casino product is known as The Mobile Hub, it was formed in conjunction with mobile experts Mobenga and this impressive platform first launched back in 2012. Gambling from a mobile device gives South African players the ultimate freedom to play on the go without being restricted to a home computer such as a PC or laptop and this is an open framework which is designed to integrate gaming content and give mobile users a smooth gaming experience from their mobile or tablet device.
When accessing Playtech's mobile casino product, South African users can generally find the casino's entire offering via a unified & branded interface. The innovative Mobile Hub product from Playtech is also recognised as an open platform and it enables operators to seamlessly integrate any mobile casino games or mobile software using standard and responsive API's.
The Mobile Hub from Playtech is compatible with a wide range of modern handheld devices including most smartphones and tablets such as iPhone 4+ devices, the iOS6.1 or higher, the iPad iOS6.1 or higher, plus the majority of Android 4+ devices. This platform is built on HTML5 technology which is compatible with HTML5 ready devices, as well as native applications and other web browsers.
If you're not sure whether your phone is compatible or not, the manufacturer and the model number information is generally on display for you on the phone casing, just underneath the battery. If you have any difficulties with the mobile casino site at any of our recommended Playtech powered mobile casinos, simply contact the casino's customer support and they should be able to assist you.
South African mobile users can play games instantly on Mobile Web Apps, plus they also have the option of being able to download games and it is usually only the top-performing titles that arrive on Playtech's mobile casino platform. Fresh new games are added frequently throughout the year and a Live Dealer Casino App is also now available at a growing number of Playtech powered mobile casinos.
Registering with a Playtech mobile casino is relatively straightforward and if you already have an account with the desktop version of the casino, you can use those same login details to access the mobile casino. If you don't already have an account, simply fill out the quick and easy online application form and remember that you can sign up directly from your handset. If you happen to receive a call while playing a game, the game will automatically pause so that you can take your call.
As soon as you have finished your call, the game will either automatically continue from where you left off or you can continue playing by returning to the normal location of the game. If your battery dies or if you happen to logout mid-game, you can just sign in again and resume a broken game from exactly the same point where you last played. Playing at a Playtech mobile casino is free, but a charge may be applied by your mobile service provider for using their data services. The best thing to do would be to contact your mobile service provider for more info about this.
In addition to the standard mobile casino games such as mobile roulette, mobile blackjack, mobile slots, mobile video poker and mobile lottery-style games, South African players can also find mobile progressive jackpot games and the occasional mobile casino tournaments to take part in. The average game size of a playtech mobile casino game is 100KB and some of the best titles to keep an eye out for include The Incredible Hulk, Pink Panther, Rocky, Safari Heat, Halloween Fortune, Iron Man 2, Jacks or Better, European Roulette and Fantastic Four. You can find Playtech's cutting edge mobile casino software at sites such as Casino.com Mobile Casino and Bet365 Mobile Casino.


text:
Alzheimer's candidate off to a good start
by Kelsey Kaustinen	| Email the author
QR Pharma, Inc.
BERWYN, Pa.—Mid-July was go-time for this year's Alzheimer's Disease International Conference (AAIC 2017 London), and among the presenters was QR Pharma Inc., a Phase 2 biopharmaceutical company advancing novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. The company's presentation, "Reducing APP through Translational Inhibition can Prevent or Treat Alzheimer's disease in Down Syndrome," focused on its work with Posiphen in Down syndrome.
Studies were conducted by investigators from The University of California campuses in San Diego (Mobley Laboratory) and Los Angeles (John Laboratory) assessing Posiphen's effects in healthy vs. diseased Down syndrome cells and mice.
Down syndrome is also known as trisomy 21, for the three copies of chromosome 21 that are a hallmark of the disease. This chromosome contains the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene, which plays a role in the brain's production of amyloid plaques. In addition to an extra copy leading to high levels of APP, having three copies of chromosome 21 is a well-known risk factor in the development of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. As a result, a majority of adult Down syndrome patients present with signs of Alzheimer's by middle age, with dementia symptoms developing in their 70s.
"The observed development of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome has been an area of increased study as the life expectancy of adults with Down syndrome has extended. The data generated in these studies demonstrates Posiphen's ability to downregulate elevated APP levels in well-understood in-vitro and in-vivo disease models of Down syndrome," Richard Fitzgerald, QR Pharma's chief financial officer, said in a press release.
Posiphen works to decrease levels of APP and its fragments as well as restoring vesicle transport and neurotransmitter release, and as such, could help prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease in patients with Down syndrome or Alzheimer's alone. It is a "small, hydrophobic, orally available molecule that enters the brain readily," QR Pharma notes on its website, and is "the only drug ever described that inhibits more than one neurotoxic aggregating protein." Compared to standard approaches, Posiphen inhibits synthesis of APP, tau and α-Synuclein, aiming to block the formation of the toxic proteins rather than eliminating them after the fact.
The recent AAIC presentation noted that Posiphen demonstrated efficacy in preclinical rodent models of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury and glaucoma. In an open IND clinical trial in 120 healthy volunteers, QR Pharma was able to establish pharmacokinetics and maximum tolerated dose, and saw preliminary proof of concept in four patients with mild cognitive impairment. A Phase 2 clinical study of Posiphen in early Alzheimer's patients is still ongoing.
"The data suggests that Posiphen should be tested in a preventive setting in Down syndrome individuals, as they carry a substantial risk of early onset of Alzheimer's disease," stated Dr. Claudine Bruck, director of the board for QR Pharma.
"These studies provide further confirmation of the neuroprotective effects of Posiphen," said Dr. Maria Maccecchini, president and CEO of QR Pharma. "They add to a deep data set supporting the unique activity and potentially broad application of Posiphen in preventing as well as treating abnormal cellular environments and normalizing function."
This isn't the only conference that's seen QR Pharma present promising data on Posiphen in Alzheimer's models. In March the company made a presentation, "Treating Acute and Chronic Neurodegeneration by Inhibiting Neurotoxic Aggregating Proteins," at the 13th AD/PD International Conference in Vienna. As noted in a press release, "The presentation highlights studies conducted by investigators from Columbia University characterizing the effects of Posiphen in a transgenic model of AD and from UCSF showing the effects of Posiphen in a transgenic model of PD. Posiphen administered daily orally to transgenic APP/PS1 mice preserved spatial working memory and brain function; while administered daily intraperitoneally to transgenic alpha-synuclein mice it restored gut motility and coordination."