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Home » Wilton Principals–We're Ready for Kids to Return! Superintendent–WHS Sports Plan OK'd; Technology–Getting There; Kindergarten Parents–We're Frustrated
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Wilton Principals–We're Ready for Kids to Return! Superintendent–WHS Sports Plan OK'd; Technology–Getting There; Kindergarten Parents–We're Frustrated
by Heather Borden Herve, GMW Editor September 4, 2020 November 28, 2022
Thursday evening's (Sept. 3) Board of Education meeting revolved around 'return'–students returning to classrooms and high school athletes returning to play.
The Board of Ed members heard from each of the building principals as well as the assistant superintendent for student services, and each one reported that the district schools are ready–and eager–for students to return to in-person learning next week.
What's still left to be seen is how well some of Wilton's youngest learners and their families can hold on after reports of having very difficult adjustments to heavy screen time required in the remote learning environment of the last week. With the district's hybrid "Blended Learning" approach requiring students to be online a great deal when they're logging into school remotely, it's a plan that some kindergarteners–and even older students–are still struggling with.
Principals' Assessments of Week One and Readiness
The meeting began with reports from each school's principal on how the first week of school, conducted remotely, went. Each also reported on their team's readiness to have students return in person, and discussed whether they still have staffing issues.
Wilton High School
Wilton High School Principal Dr. Bob O'Donnell said having the students and teachers working together has been the highlight of the first week of school.
"Our faculty was certainly elated to see students back in school, albeit in a virtual learning environment. Some of the jitters teachers felt about these challenging times, and learning new technology, and preparing to teach in the hybrid environment, were naturally reduced when they saw the students. Interfacing with students certainly was a highlight and brought some spirit and levity to the teachers," he said.
He added that many activities this week have emphasized building connections between teachers and students, and there has been a focus on social-emotional learning and supporting students as they transition back to school. "It's been a long time since March 11 when we all went out," he said.
Reflecting on how WHS teachers have adapted to the new technology they need to incorporate into teaching this year, O'Donnell said his faculty has been amazing but is also still finding challenges
"They continue to be amazing in their resolve to learn, absorb and master what they can about new technologies," including the "third screen" needed to juggle engaging with students who will be remote simultaneously with working directly with students present in-person in classrooms. "Trying to integrate all these technologies, I would describe this as both an initial success and a remaining challenge we have to face together. Although formidable, we will work through it," he said, adding "Our teachers made a lot, a lot of progress this week."
O'Donnell said the school is in "far better shape this week" with regard to COVID-related health, safety and hygiene measures that have been implemented.
"This week helped make progress with safety measures and signage, plexiglass barriers where necessary, and all the protocols that we need to follow. We're really looking forward to this, but with 650 teenagers in the school at the same time, we just all need to be mindful that we all share collective ownership," he said.
O'Donnell said that there is some ambivalence with teachers on in-person teaching starting.
"Most of them are really eager to see students in person. Others, to be real honest, some remain very concerned about their health, and just worry about being in a building with so many people," he said.
As for the WHS faculty's adjustment to incorporating new technology, O'Donnell said, "overall, we have rounded a corner," but that some teachers are "just struggling a little bit still with Schoology… and some trouble letting go of Google classroom." He said it "remains a growth area."
O'Donnell will be sending video PSAs on health and safety produced by students to the WHS community, and he again reminded families about needing to follow safe protocols.
"I want to request and implore the parent community to sit down and review with your student these videos so we're all ready for smooth start on Tuesday."
He answered the question asked of each principal about having students return affirmatively: "We will be ready for students on Tuesday morning."
As for staffing needs, O'Donnell said overall WHS is in "good shape."
"We had a resignation, one retirement and a couple–two–leaves of absence based on the COVID situation," he said, noting that vacancies have been filled with certified teachers, although there are still two science sections and one social studies section still without teachers. His team has conducted training for substitutes on Schoology. "While not ideal, we're in a better place. "We've got some good hires in place to fill those few resignations and leaves of absence."
Middlebrook School
Middlebrook School Acting Principal Jory Higgins also gave a positive assessment of his school's progress.
"I'm trying to celebrate the wonderful work at Middlebrook, it's been a great week of growth for us," he said, adding there are things to celebrate as well as some challenges and "growth areas."
He said there were "many technological challenges this week in our remote world," including how hard it was for 6th-grade students and their families, new to Middlebrook, for the first remote week to be their introduction to the school.
"We're trying to get them to understand it will get better over time. Each day we've been building on the week and the day before, so hopefully parents are starting to see that as well," Higgins said.
Middlebrook has worked on communicating a "plan B" for what kids can do, and what parents can do to help, when technology and connections don't work. He said there have been questions and fears about attendance and penalties if students aren't able to be present if there are technology glitches.
"I will clarify for families to understand, we want to make sure parents know we know your child is not there, it's good we're noticing–our assumption is that it likely was a technological glitch, and recognize we recognize that," he said.
Through it all, Higgins said, teachers and students have been working through technological challenges. "I've been amazed and pleased with the extraordinariness our staff and kids, recognizing that, 'Yep, it didn't work but then I know how to do it.' People were so great at bouncing back… I see staff members going above and beyond, making neat connections with students."
He added that teachers are excited to see students in person next Tuesday, and thanked the parent community for being supportive.
"Every email I've received has led with, 'Thank you for all the work you're doing. Please make sure you're telling staff how much we appreciate the effort and the energy.' It's filled with a tremendous support for what is going on in the building and what we're trying to do to help families," Higgins said.
He said there have been some staffing challenges, including a last-minute resignation and another request for a leave of absence "that we couldn't have planned for." He thanked district HR director Maria Coleman and district LLC/technology staff for making sure that substitute teachers are trained and understanding Schoology and other technology. Thus far, four positions are being covered by building substitutes, and at least one other open position is posted.
As for readiness to welcome back students, Higgins said, "We can't wait for the students on Tuesday," he said, adding, "Everybody's clamoring for getting to see kids in person."
Cider Mill School
Cider Mill Principal Dr. Jen Falcone called having children back learning "such a joy."
"All the planning and time spent has all been worth it to have them sort of back. We can't wait until next week when we really have them back inside of our building," Falcone said.
She was upbeat about how things have been working.
"By far, having teachers with kids was the highlight. just hearing their laughter, their amazing problem solving, the way they're able to come up with different ways of navigating the technology, to make the new learning environment work for them," she said, adding, "We may be worried about how this is going to work, [but] they've got it."
She said the building is set up and ready for students to be in the building.
"At one point we were worried, and we have passed that moment. We have sanitation, we have our signs. We're in really good shape. For the most part, the staff feel comfortable with the physical place. There's always going to be the worry about what's it going to be like when we have more people in the building, but the want of having kids back is going to outweigh that," she said.
Falcone added that the focus will be on keeping students socially distanced. "They're young, it's hard to keep everybody separate." She said the first week with students in the building will be spent "going over a lot of protocols…trying to set that new normal with them, but in a nice, friendly, comfortable, safe… kind and caring way, not to scare anybody."
She also thanked Cider Mill families for emails that have thanked teachers.
She complimented her staff as well for the "problem solving" during a "tough day" on Wednesday. She said that Wilton's wifi, not the school district's wifi, was the culprit: "different families' wifi, different connectivity to different platforms. It's not necessarily a Schoology issue."
She added that technology adaptation is still a work in progress. "I wouldn't say we've worked out all the kinks, but we're going to get there, somehow, someway. The teachers have been working really, really, really hard… We'll be making adjustments, but we've really made use of all of this time we've had for collaborative, professional learning time, and we're in good shape."
Falcone said Cider Mill is ready for Tuesday's hybrid plan to start. "We are thrilled and very much looking forward to having kids back in our building."
Miller-Driscoll School
Miller-Driscoll Principal Kathy Coon was very positive about how the first week of learning had gone for the district's youngest learners, many of them experiencing "big school" for the first time through a computer.
First she gave a "huge credit" to those youngest students. "They have worked so hard over the last four days. They've logged on, they came ready to participate in all kinds of activities–getting to know you, community building, even reading, writing and math within these first four days."
Coon then lauded her teachers as "amazing humans."
"They rose to the occasion, they came prepared, not only to build community but to connect with all of the kids as well as they could via Zoom. They engaged them no matter what it took. One teacher even dressed up in a hot dog costume," she said.
Finally, Coon gave a shout out to the parents. "These little ones can't log on and do these things themselves."
She acknowledged the intense amount of screen time involved for such young students when working remotely."We have parents concerned about screen time. we're also concerned. We will continue to monitor it as we go into the hybrid model."
Coon said parents will be surveyed after all students experience spending a full day in school and a full-day remote next week.
"We are hearing from parents about screen time. We'll continue to get feedback from our teachers. Then we'll make adjustments as needed," she said, explaining that teachers already plan on making changes.
"As we move into next week, there will be other things that break up the day," including lunch, small group work, and more.
A majority of the letters read during public comment were from parents of kindergarteners, who wrote of their difficulties and concerns about having first-time learners so dependent on computers. Issues ranged from limited attention spans to boredom, to difficulty connecting socially and emotionally, and more.
Coon said that the start of any year for kindergarten students is difficult.
"Even when we're in school and not in a global pandemic… It's a long day for kindergarteners, no matter what. A lot of them are falling asleep by the end of the day; they might be crying because they miss their moms or dads. It's a very big adjustment for them. It's exhausting, they're very tired, and we try to encourage parents, 'Don't do after school activities and al of that. As you can imagine, trying to be engaged on a screen where you can't talk to your friend, you don't have the same opporutnities for playing with your friend or doing centers."
She reinforced how big of a challenge it is.
"Definitely for Kindergarten, it's difficult. It's difficult for all of the kids. We talked with the teachers, they said, 'You can see, [when] we get to a certain point.' They're weaving in breaks, but it is a lot of screen time. When you're not in a global pandemic, most parents do limit time kids spend on the computer, watching TV, looking at video games. So we're watching it, it is definitely a concern," Coon agreed.
Board member Jennifer Lalor asked if parents decide to have their children step away after deciding the screen time is too much, would they be penalized for letting a child log out?
Coon said, no.
"We want the kids to attend and log in, but if kids need a break,…" she said, adding a suggestion that parents reach out to the staff. "Reach out to the teacher, we have a lot of support staff, we have a lot of ways," she said, adding that her team is looking at other solutions. "But in these beginning days, we're not going to penalize people."
Coon added that there will be more smaller breakout groups woven into the curriculum, as days get longer and as teachers get to know their students more.
Board member Ruth Deluca, a parent of students at Miller-Driscoll, observed that her children are doing a lot of sitting.
"Mornings are long with a lot of sitting. I'm hopeful that as academic lessons [and independent time] become longer, that will break it up. The sitting part in conjunction with the screen…"
Coon concluded by affirming that her team is eager to welcome students back on Tuesday. "We're so ready," she said.
Special Education/Genesis
Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Andrea Leonardi led off by saying that she "continue[s] to be extraordinarily proud and inspired to serve the teachers and parents and students with disabilities at Wilton. I'm amazed at what I'm seeing every day happens for kids."
She said the focus for her team is on relationships, meeting needs of students, implementing full IEPs "in this strange and difficult time."
Having worked in person with students over the summer for the Extended School Year program, Leonardi says her team knows what it will feel like to work directly with students. "We can't wait for everyone to feel the same joy."
She said whatever issues arise, her department continues "to work through issues one student at a time, one child at a time, one program at a time."
"Our teachers and related service people, our paraprofessionals are all working incredibly hard to engage students, to keep students engaged, to work with families, to solve real problems in real-time. We continue to ramp up and roll out all the new technologies," Leonardi added.
She said she is working on a proposal for some of the districts most complex learners, something that will "involve parents as stakeholders" on how to better serve those students in the current fluid environment, moving from hybrid to in-person to remote. She teased it as something "very creative for some of our most vulnerable kids pre K through 21."
Leonardi told the BOE members that the Genesis program is ready to welcome students back: "They can't wait to go back, they're chomping at the bit. We're ready to go," she said.
With the program located at Trackside Teen Center, all protocols are in place for all students to come back in person four days a week, even with the increase in enrollment.
The number of students enrolled in Genesis has increased since last year's debut. This school year will start with 17 students, and Leonardi says she anticipates the number will grow to 25 soon.
Director of Digital Learning Fran Kompar discussed the dive-into-the-deep-end nature of how quickly students and teachers had to adapt to heavy technology use. Although problems were anticipated, it wasn't as bad as might have been predicted.
"As our first week of remote learning, and it's the first time that we're doing this in the way that we're doing it, the first week of school. We had a lot of challenges that we had to overcome. After our first day and even our second day, we… weren't surprised, but we were happy to find out that there weren't as many issues as there were [feared].
Each day the number of problems and glitches have declined and gradually issues are getting worked out, she said.
She and her colleague Erik Haakonsen described other challenges, including the fact that in a typical year all Chromebooks have been set up on district networks controlled by their team before students pick them up, but this year, students began the year at home on home-based wifi and networks.
"We've had some challenges with parental settings on routers, older routers, limited connectivity in some areas of the houses that students are in. We've just had to work with families to try and correct some of those connectivity issues, usernames and passwords… So we had a variety of challenges getting everyone logged-in the first day. We've been working on those, identifying problems, and getting fixes and repairs," Haakonsen said.
The technology team is hoping to improve response times to district requests and troubleshooting tickets.
"The first day we were overwhelmed with the number of inquiries and issues. The tech support staff was our staff in central office and the LLC team, who've done a fabulous job, but as you can imagine, [issues] are endless. Sometimes they require us actually making contact with the family, actually zooming with them, having them show us what they're doing with their devices. What we normally do in a week where our LLC team is in the facility and students are going in and showing them what the problem is, and we're able to fix that in real-time; we've had to do this through an online remote situation, which does take us time. So I appreciate everyone's patience and we're working through our list," Kompar said.
When can the district evolve to All In-Person Model: Kevin Smith was asked about indications for being able to bring back the full student body full-time in the classrooms.
Smith said his approach is to test the effectiveness of the mitigation strategy and how well it keeps students and teachers safe. That will be done, he says, through collecting a lot of data.
"We want to understand the extent to which students are able to wear masks through the day, how well do our mask breaks work? Are they able to tolerate wearing masks for the time that they're in the school? How well can we manage the social distance parameters we've set up, both within and outside the classroom, as they're moving, particularly at the secondary level, moving from class to class, or moving for lunch or recess or something. How well are we keeping up with a hand sanitizing? Certainly, alongside all of those measures, we'll be watching very carefully community transmission rights," Smith said.
BOE Chair Debbie Low reminded attendees that the BOE goals include reviewing the district's approach at least every three weeks. She said the "sooner we can look at the models, review the models, and determine as soon as possible, to the extent that we can, start bringing a full open model to bear."
Smith added that he was meeting on Friday with other superintendents in the region and would be getting an update on how other districts are handling and proceeding, and officials will examine how that could influence Wilton's thinking–but that he didn't want to move too quickly if it wasn't safe.
"What's important to me is ensuring the training is in place, especially if we're thinking about moving to having all kids back, we need to make sure those mitigation strategies are as solid as we can make them. That will take a period of time to assess,"
Full-Day vs. Half-Day Kindergarten: Lalor told Smith that comments from kindergarten parents prompted her to ask why the district didn't implement a half-day, am/pm kindergarten model.
Smith answered, "There were two factors with AM/PM kindergarten scenario; one was the amount of time we'd need to clean and disinfect. cohorts on the same day doesn't and the second was the cost of running buses
Tents: The district had purchased tents for the schools to use in order to incorporate more outside learning (and reduce riskier, indoor time). Superintendent Kevin Smith told the board that tents the district had purchased didn't have a wind rating. One tent that had been set one up for town officials to inspect collapsed during a windy, rainy day.
As a result, the district will be returning all the tents that were purchased and is trying to source tents that are "the safest, most affordable tents we can, whether it's rental or purchase," Smith added.
Substitute teachers: Coleman said there is a concern about being able to hire enough qualified substitutes. She noted that there is a shortage of substitute teachers statewide, in particular this year as many are older and at higher risk of COVID. In addition, because the district recently changed its hiring practice and no longer commits to hiring for a full year, many substitutes have taken positions elsewhere. She noted that one neighboring district has even offered full-time health benefits to lure substitutes this year.
"We're going to need to change our strategy as it relates to hiring and retaining subs. We have looked at what the going rate is in the DRG, and we are consistent with that. However, again, I think it might be important for us to consider looking at ways to make the position more appealing to people," Coleman told the board, adding she will present a proposal on how to do so at the next BOE meeting.
Chartwells/Lunch Purchases: Smith said it was important for parents who intend to purchase lunch through the schools for their children to create a Nutrislice account and utilize the Nutrislice app. He added that information is on the district's website on how to do so.
WHS Athletics
Smith spoke with Wilton Health Director Barry Bogle on Thursday morning, and Bogle approved the plan to restart sports. Smith said that means coaches and athletes can return to play for first phase activities, including conditioning and skill development.
"Some teams will get back [Friday], some will start Saturday, the remainder will pick up Tuesday. That's just getting our athletes back into conditioning activities again, so that's really, really good news for us," Smith told the BOE.
He added that the district at the time did not have updates from the CIAC on whether football and volleyball would be able to proceed, which depended on the CT Department of Public Health informing CIAC of its final recommendation.
Editor's note: Since the meeting, the CIAC has announced that full-contact football will NOT proceed this fall. For details, see our story here.
New/Updated Policies
The BOE approved several new and updated district policies, including:
Policy: 6141.321, Student responsible use: The policy was updated to include realtime video expectations as well as blended learning.
Policy: 5115, suspension, expulsion and removal from class: The update expands the reference of school and classroom to include virtual educational environments, whether synchronous or asynchronous. It also expands the standards governing suspension and expulsion to include acting in any manner that creates a health and or safety hazard for staff members, students, or the public,… including, but not limited to violating school district health and safety protocols developed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as, but not limited to physical distancing and mask wear.
Policy: 5113, attendance (NEW): This recommendation came from district attorneys Shipman and Goodwin. It asks for any absence due to illness, that excuses include specific symptoms.
"The purpose there is really to just monitor the spread of COVID-19. The policy committee discussed this earlier this week, they also noted that sometimes parents will call and email, so we'll ask parents to the best that they're able to, leave a description of symptoms. Our nursing staff… may call parents back if they need some more information, just so we can continue to track symptoms," Smith said, adding that the district will be flexible with attendance.
BOE member and policy subcommittee member Ruth Deluca retierated, "We wanted to ask the community and to say that in light of the current health situation, if your child is not feeling 100%, but can do sschool, it's best to keep them home. You can keep them home but let them participate in a remote fashion. But so we're able to track what's going on with illness in the community, it would be helpful if you would call your child out."
She added, "the communication piece is always important, but in this specific domain, it's especially important."
It was noted that while the policy might raise privacy issues, it was reviewed and written by district lawyers.
Policy: 1351, Visitors (NEW): In light of COVID 19, the district needs to restrict visitors "to the extent that we can at this time," Smith said. It would require among other things that all visitors comply with applicable building security procedures, including but not limited to health and safety protocols and COVID screening steps, among a list of others.
Policy: 6114, health and health and safety protocols (NEW): This was also recommended by the district's attorneys, and guidelines include language about the specific kinds of masks that are recommended and not recommended. Among those on the list (which families will be told about) are neck gaiters and bandanas. This follows DPH guidance.
Tagged: Board of Education, COVID-19, Wilton Public Schools


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SYK Pathway
Syk inhibition has been proposed as a therapy for both lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
We demonstrate that tet(S), identical to tet(S)
Posted on January 31, 2018 by sykp8676
We demonstrate that tet(S), identical to tet(S) GSK2118436 found on the enterococcal conjugative transposon Tn6000, is responsible for the observed resistance. The gene is located on a small, low copy number plasmid and is flanked by IS1216 elements. The tet(S) gene is capable of excising from the plasmid together with one of the IS1216 elements. The plasmid contains a putative toxin/antitoxin system related to relBE. Deletion of the toxin, relE, did not result in plasmid instability but did increase the fitness of the mutant compared to the wild-type
strain. "
"In the presence of vaporized p-cresol, Pseudomonas alkylphenolia KL28 forms specialized aerial structures (SAS). A transposon mutant of strain KL28 (C23) incapable of forming mature SAS was isolated. Genetic analysis of the C23 mutant revealed the transposon insertion in a gene (ssg) encoding a putative glycosyltransferase, which is homologous to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 PA5001 gene. Deletion of ssg in KL28 caused the loss of lipopolysaccharide O antigen and altered the composition of the exopolysaccharide. Wild-type KL28 produced a fucose-, glucose- and mannose-rich exopolysaccharide, while the mutant exopolysaccharide completely lacked fucose and mannose, resulting in an exopolysaccharide with glucose as the major component. The mutant
strain showed reduced surface spreading, pellicle and biofilm formation, probably due to the cumulative effect of lipopolysaccharide truncation and altered exopolysaccharide composition. check details Our results show that the ssg gene of KL28 is involved in both lipopolysaccharide and exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and thus plays an important role in cell surface properties and cell–cell interactions of P. alkylphenolia. Pseudomonas is a genus
of Gammaproteobacteria, capable of thriving in diverse environments ranging from hydrocarbon-contaminated water and soil to plant find more and animal tissues (Rocchetta et al., 1999; Gibson & Parales, 2000; Stover et al., 2000; Ramos et al., 2001). Its ecological success stems in part from the outer cell membrane, which mainly consists of lipopolysaccharide. Lipopolysaccharide mediates interactions with the environment, reduces outer membrane permeability thereby increasing resistance to agents such as antibiotics and plays a critical role in cell motility, adhesion and attachment to a substratum/surface (Nikaido & Vaara, 1985; King et al., 2009; Lindhout et al., 2009). In addition to lipopolysaccharide, the exopolysaccharide that is secreted by bacteria also plays a physical role in cell–cell and cell–substratum attachment, thereby aiding the establishment of multicellular communities such as biofilms (Sutherland, 2001).
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We demonstrate that tet(S), identical to tet(S) Selleck Trametinib found on the enterococcal conjugative transposon Tn6000, is responsible for the observed resistance. The gene is located on a small, low copy number plasmid and is flanked by IS1216 elements. The tet(S) gene is capable of excising from the plasmid together with one of the IS1216 elements. The plasmid contains a putative toxin/antitoxin system related to relBE. Deletion of the toxin, relE, did not result in plasmid instability but did increase the fitness of the mutant compared to the wild-type
strain showed reduced surface spreading, pellicle and biofilm formation, probably due to the cumulative effect of lipopolysaccharide truncation and altered exopolysaccharide composition. CH5424802 order Our results show that the ssg gene of KL28 is involved in both lipopolysaccharide and exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and thus plays an important role in cell surface properties and cell–cell interactions of P. alkylphenolia. Pseudomonas is a genus
of Gammaproteobacteria, capable of thriving in diverse environments ranging from hydrocarbon-contaminated water and soil to plant Vasopressin Receptor and animal tissues (Rocchetta et al., 1999; Gibson & Parales, 2000; Stover et al., 2000; Ramos et al., 2001). Its ecological success stems in part from the outer cell membrane, which mainly consists of lipopolysaccharide. Lipopolysaccharide mediates interactions with the environment, reduces outer membrane permeability thereby increasing resistance to agents such as antibiotics and plays a critical role in cell motility, adhesion and attachment to a substratum/surface (Nikaido & Vaara, 1985; King et al., 2009; Lindhout et al., 2009). In addition to lipopolysaccharide, the exopolysaccharide that is secreted by bacteria also plays a physical role in cell–cell and cell–substratum attachment, thereby aiding the establishment of multicellular communities such as biofilms (Sutherland, 2001).
We analyzed data from the Saudi Ministry of Health on all domesti
We analyzed data from the Saudi Ministry of Health on all domestic (ie,
Saudi) and international (ie, non-Saudi) pilgrims that performed the Hajj in 2008. Data on international pilgrims were analyzed to identify their country of origin, mode of travel to Saudi Arabia, and point of entry into the Kingdom. We used data from the World Bank19 to determine the 2008 gross national income (GNI) per capita of countries using the Atlas method,20 and categorized them as low, lower middle, upper middle, or high income. We assumed that GNI per capita was reflective of a country's ability to purchase H1N1 vaccine and mobilize an effective public health response to H1N1. We used WHO definitions to categorize countries into world regions.21 As the vast majority of international pilgrims performing the Hajj in 2008 traveled to Saudi www.selleckchem.com/products/Everolimus(RAD001).html Arabia via commercial flights, we performed analyses of air-traffic data at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah (referred to hereafter as Jeddah IAP) and Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International
Airport in Medina (referred to hereafter as Medina IAP). Jeddah IAP, which has a new standalone terminal dedicated specifically for pilgrims performing the Hajj, is the leading point of entry for pilgrims see more traveling by air, whereas Medina IAP operates as an important secondary point of entry. We first performed an analysis of the monthly flows of commercial air traffic, measured as international passenger arrivals plus departures, at Jeddah IAP between January 2000 and October 2007 to identify important seasonal and annual trends. Data after October 2007 were not available at the time of our analysis. These data were obtained from Airports Council International22 and the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation.23 We then analyzed data on worldwide airline ticket sales from the International Air Transport Association (IATA)24 to identify the destination cities of all passengers departing either Jeddah or Medina IAP in December 2008—the month during which
the Hajj occurred that year. While these data capture passenger flight Chlormezanone itineraries on commercial flights worldwide, they do not include information on passengers traveling via unscheduled, chartered flights into the standalone Hajj terminal at Jeddah IAP, and do not distinguish passengers performing the Hajj from other international passengers. All statistical, network, and spatial analyses were performed using SAS version 9.2, whereas maps were created using ESRI ArcGIS version 9.3 and Adobe Photoshop. Pilgrims (2.5 million) from 140 countries traveled to Mecca to perform the Hajj in 2008. Pilgrims (1.7 million) were of international (ie, non-Saudi) origin, with 91.0% traveling to Saudi Arabia by air, 7.
In contrast to travelers to low-to-intermediate-risk destinations
In contrast to travelers to low-to-intermediate-risk destinations, there was a significant trend in the attitude of travelers to high-risk destinations. The intended risk behavior to high-risk destinations decreased with 0.98% per year (95% confidence interval 0.3–1.68, p = SB203580 0.005). There
were no significant trends in the attitude of either older adult travelers, solo travelers, business travelers, last-minute travelers, or VFRs to either high- or low-to-intermediate-risk destinations (data not shown). In contrast to travelers to low-to-intermediate-risk destinations, there was a significant trend in the protection rate of travelers to high-risk destinations. The odds ratio of protection increased by 5.2% per year (95% confidence interval 0.6–10.1%, p = 0.027). However, there were no significant trends in the protection rate of the travel risk groups of interest Selleck BMS354825 (not shown). The results of the European Airport Survey demonstrated an important educational need among those traveling to risk destinations.7 In line with our study, it was suggested that travel health advice providers should continue their efforts to make travelers comply with the recommended travel health advice, especially certain risk groups. The present study enabled us to provide in-depth
feedback on these efforts by analyzing the trends in KAP of Dutch travelers, including those belonging to a certain risk group, over an 8-year observation period. Although we did not observe a significant increase in the proportion of travelers to high-risk destinations
seeking travel health advice over the years, some findings in our study are certainly noteworthy. In general, travelers to high-risk destinations had significantly less accurate risk perceptions than travelers to low-risk destinations. However, the risk of acquiring hepatitis A in travelers to high-risk destinations may have been reduced by less intended risk-seeking behavior and by higher protection rates against hepatitis A compared to travelers to low-risk destinations. A plausible explanation for the higher protection rates against hepatitis A may be that travelers to high-risk destinations seek travel health advice more frequently than travelers 5-Fluoracil chemical structure to low-risk destinations. Furthermore, trend analyses clearly demonstrated that the attitude of travelers to high-risk destinations also significantly improved over time, although the observed reduction of intended risk behavior was small (about 1% per year). This improvement may reflect the continuous efforts of travel health advice providers to propagate safe and healthy travel. Moreover, a significant increase in the overall protection rates against hepatitis A was noted over the years with an annual 5% increase in protection rate since the start of this questionnaire-based survey in 2002.
In contrast to travelers to low-to-intermediate-risk destinations, there was a significant trend in the attitude of travelers to high-risk destinations. The intended risk behavior to high-risk destinations decreased with 0.98% per year (95% confidence interval 0.3–1.68, p = learn more 0.005). There
were no significant trends in the attitude of either older adult travelers, solo travelers, business travelers, last-minute travelers, or VFRs to either high- or low-to-intermediate-risk destinations (data not shown). In contrast to travelers to low-to-intermediate-risk destinations, there was a significant trend in the protection rate of travelers to high-risk destinations. The odds ratio of protection increased by 5.2% per year (95% confidence interval 0.6–10.1%, p = 0.027). However, there were no significant trends in the protection rate of the travel risk groups of interest Talazoparib (not shown). The results of the European Airport Survey demonstrated an important educational need among those traveling to risk destinations.7 In line with our study, it was suggested that travel health advice providers should continue their efforts to make travelers comply with the recommended travel health advice, especially certain risk groups. The present study enabled us to provide in-depth
seeking travel health advice over the years, some findings in our study are certainly noteworthy. In general, travelers to high-risk destinations had significantly less accurate risk perceptions than travelers to low-risk destinations. However, the risk of acquiring hepatitis A in travelers to high-risk destinations may have been reduced by less intended risk-seeking behavior and by higher protection rates against hepatitis A compared to travelers to low-risk destinations. A plausible explanation for the higher protection rates against hepatitis A may be that travelers to high-risk destinations seek travel health advice more frequently than travelers 3-oxoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase to low-risk destinations. Furthermore, trend analyses clearly demonstrated that the attitude of travelers to high-risk destinations also significantly improved over time, although the observed reduction of intended risk behavior was small (about 1% per year). This improvement may reflect the continuous efforts of travel health advice providers to propagate safe and healthy travel. Moreover, a significant increase in the overall protection rates against hepatitis A was noted over the years with an annual 5% increase in protection rate since the start of this questionnaire-based survey in 2002.
0 or above 60
When the refolding experiments were carri
0 or above 6.0.
When the refolding experiments were carried out under acidic conditions (pH range between 2.0 and 6.0), the recombinant Af-Tth showed 4THase activity. The maximum activity was obtained when the refolding was carried out at pH 4.0 (Table 1a). When nitric acid was used instead of sulfuric acid for pH adjustment and 0.4 M ammonium nitrate instead of 0.4 M ammonium sulfate was also used, the activity could be detected after refolding at pH 4.0. Therefore, it was the acidity and not the sulfate from acidification with sulfuric acid that conferred activity on 4THase. Because considerable refolding has been successfully performed in the presence of glycerol, the effects of glycerol click here concentrations were evaluated. Refolding to provide an active protein was performed in the presence of 0–50% glycerol, with the maximum 4THase activity observed with 30% (Table 1b). The effect of 14–60-h incubation periods was also evaluated, but longer dialysis and incubation periods did not have a significant effect on the refolding yield. The effects Idelalisib datasheet of the initial protein concentration were also evaluated because
a high initial protein concentration has been reported to lead to aggregation and poor recovery of refolded protein (Singh & Panda, 2005). When inclusion bodies were solubilized in a 6 M guanidine hydrochloride solution containing 10 mM dithiothreitol at a concentration of 0.01 mg mL−1, 95% of the recombinant protein was recovered in the soluble fraction. However,
very low specific activity (2.8 U mg−1) was detected at that concentration. About 90% of the recombinant protein in the soluble fraction may not be successfully refolded BCKDHA in spite of its being in soluble form. On the other hand, when inclusion bodies were solubilized in the buffer at concentrations of 0.05–0.5 mg mL−1, 25–45% of the recombinant protein was recovered in the soluble fraction. At a concentration of >1.0 mg mL−1, almost all proteins aggregated and the yield of the refolded protein was <10%. The highest yield of soluble 4THase, with a specific activity of 19.8 U mg−1, was obtained when the refolding was performed at the high initial protein concentration of 0.5 mg mL−1. The primary structure of Af-Tth showed a similarity to PQQ-dependent enzymes such as PQQ-dependent dehydrogenases. Recently, the 4THase (Ac-TetH) from Acidithiobacillus caldus, which is an acidophile and obtains energy for growth from the oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds, has been suggested to contain quinoid compounds as a cofactor (Rzhepishevska et al., 2007). Refolding experiments in the presence and absence of 70 μM PQQ revealed no significant effect on the activation of the enzyme activity. We further attempted to detect quinoid compounds in the refolded enzyme (the specific activity was 20 U mg−1) by NBT-glycinate staining.
Conceivably, inactivating the single gls24 gene of E hirae is a
Conceivably, inactivating the single gls24 gene of E. hirae is a lethal event. Copper binds to CopZ in a solvent-exposed position (Huffman & O'Halloran, 2001) and Cu+–CopZ could participate in a Fenton-type reaction that generates toxic radicals Selleck Alectinib (Kocha et al., 1997). The toxicity of Cu+–CopZ is supported by the findings that CopZ overexpression resulted in increased sensitivity of E. hirae to copper and oxidative stress (Lu & Solioz, 2001). One could speculate that Gls24 binds to Cu+–CopZ to protect the exposed copper and/or to present CopZ to a protease
for degradation. Such a function of Gls24 would resemble that of SspB of E. coli, which is also a partially unstructured, 20-kDa protein induced
by nutrient starvation (Levchenko et al., 2000). SspB recognizes SspA-tagged peptides and enhances their degradation by the ClpXP protease system. The partially unfolded structure of Gls24 could conceivably be a key feature for its interaction with CopZ. Clearly, further investigations are required to elucidate the molecular role of Gls24 and other Gls24-like proteins. We are grateful to Barbara Murray, University of Texas, for providing the antibody to Gls24. This work was supported by grant 3100A0_122551 from the Swiss National Foundation, a grant from the International Copper Association, and a grant from the Lundbeckfonden, Denmark (KRP). S.M. and J.V.S contributed equally to this work. Inhibitor high throughput screening "
"Bradyrhizobium japonicum has two types of flagella. One has thin filaments consisting of the 33-kDa flagellins FliCI and FliCII (FliCI-II) and the other has thick filaments consisting of the 65-kDa flagellins FliC1, FliC2, FliC3, and FliC4 (FliC1-4). To investigate the roles of each flagellum in competition for nodulation, we obtained mutants deleted in fliCI-II and/or fliC1-4 in the genomic backgrounds of two derivatives from the reference strain USDA 110: the streptomycin-resistant Non-specific serine/threonine protein kinase derivative LP 3004 and its more motile derivative
LP 3008. All mutations diminished swimming motility. When each mutant was co-inoculated with the parental strain on soybean plants cultivated in vermiculite either at field capacity or flooded, their competitiveness differed according to the flagellin altered. ΔfliCI-II mutants were more competitive, occupying 64–80% of the nodules, while ΔfliC1-4 mutants occupied 45–49% of the nodules. Occupation by the nonmotile double mutant decreased from 55% to 11% as the water content of the vermiculite increased from 85% to 95% field capacity to flooding. These results indicate that the influence of motility on competitiveness depended on the water status of the rooting substrate. The symbiotic nitrogen fixation between legumes and rhizobia is unique in the sense that plants can satisfy all of their nitrogen requirements without resorting to soil nitrogen.
The protein bands A and B were excised manually and in-gel digest
The protein bands A and B were excised manually and in-gel digested, and then analyzed by LC-MS/MS. MS was analyzed with sequest
software. The lowest Xcorr values of the peptide were set to be 1.9 (+1 charge), 2.2 (+2 charge) and 3.75 (+3 charge), respectively, and ΔCn must be larger than 0.08 (Wang & Yuan, 2005). The matched peptides revealed that the protein A was InhA (Fig. 4b) protein B camelysin (Fig. 4c). To further support the results, shotgun analysis of the sporulated crystal cultures confirmed that the protein of InhA was not RO4929097 molecular weight expressed in the camelysin-deficient strain. Grass et al. (2004) reported that the molecular mass of metalloproteinase camelysin was 21.569 kDa with a putative signal peptide of 27 amino acids from B. cereus. In the present study, the calY gene encoded a protein with a deduced size of 199 amino acids. signalp 3.0 server (http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/SignalP/) analysis showed that the deduced sequence contained a signal peptide. The prediction result revealed that the cleavage sites might be 31/32 (AFF-SD) and 29/30 (TFA-FF). clustalx analysis showed that there was a 99% homology of the camelysin protein between B. cereus and B. thuringiensis as well as homology of their calY gene sequence; the see more homology between
Bacillus anthracis and B. thuringiensis was 95%. The high degree of homology of camelysin suggested that the genesis of B. thuringiensis camelysin had a close relationship with B. cereus
and B. anthracis, and that it was more closely related to B. cereus. This work demonstrated that the global expression Ergoloid patterns of proteins differed between the wild-type and camelysin-deficient strain as determined by SDS-PAGE (Fig. 4a) associated with MS (Fig. 4b and c). Results of SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS suggested that there were many differences after knocking out the calY gene. It was obvious that the InhA was not expressed in the camelysin-deficient strain (Fig. 4a), and that the InhA reappeared in the complementation strain KCTFC (Fig. 4a). Previous studies reported that the inhA promoters of B. thuringiensis were a –35 (TTGAAA) and a –10 (TAAAAT) hexamer, which are highly similar to the σA promoter consensus (TTGACA 17-18N TATAAT) (Grandvalet et al., 2001). Our sequencing results showed that the transcriptional start site and ORF of the inhA gene remained intact after displacing the calY gene. Thus, it is suggested that there is a relationship between camelysin and InhA. InhA was synthesized during the stationary phase (Dalhammar & Steiner, 1984). It was suggested that the inhA transcription might depend on the complex regulatory mechanisms that control later growth development in Bacillus species (Grandvalet et al., 2001). It was previously reported that AbrB and SinR acted as repressors to prevent expression of InhA.
Next, we examined the relationship between CAC and carotid lesion
Next, we examined the relationship between CAC and carotid lesion presence and FT among HIV-infected
participants using similar logistic regression models. In addition to the covariates mentioned above for the models including all participants, we adjusted for HIV clinical status and treatment parameters, including CD4 count >200 cells/μL, viral load >400 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL, and antiretroviral therapy status. Finally, we examined the relationship between IMT and FT among HIV-infected participants using a linear regression model adjusted for all factors mentioned above. Analyses were conducted using sas version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC), and a two-sided P-value PLX-4720 solubility dmso of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Table 1 presents the distribution of relevant demographic and clinical characteristics according to HIV status. The HIV-infected men (n = 534) were younger and had lower BMI than the HIV-uninfected men. The HIV-infected men were more likely to belong selleck chemical to a race other than White and more likely to have hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection than the HIV-uninfected men. The mean LDL and HDL cholesterol values were higher in the HIV-uninfected group. Log HOMA-IR was higher in the HIV-infected men (P < 0.0001). In our sample, adjusted mean log FT was lower in HIV-infected men than in HIV-uninfected
men, with values being 4.49 and 4.62, respectively (P = 0.0004), corresponding to FTs of 88.7 and 101.7 ng/dL, respectively. FT was higher in HIV-uninfected individuals and decreased with age. The FT in an HIV-infected man was equivalent to the FT in an HIV-uninfected man 13 years older [β for HIV-infected vs. uninfected status: −0.13 (P < 0.001); β for age: −0.01 (P < 0.0001)]. The overall prevalence of CAC in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected participants
was 32.5%. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of CAC presence was 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92, 2.24] and the adjusted OR for carotid lesion presence was 1.69 (95% CI 1.06, 2.71) in HIV-infected men compared with HIV-uninfected men. There was no difference in the adjusted mean log carotid IMT between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected men (Table 2). Table 2 shows the adjusted associations between log FT and CAC presence, carotid IMT, and carotid lesion presence in all study Olopatadine participants. In this analysis, FT was not associated with CAC presence, IMT, or carotid lesion presence. HIV-infected status was not associated with CAC presence or carotid IMT but was associated with carotid lesion presence (OR 1.69; 95% CI 1.06, 2.71). The ORs of CAC presence and carotid lesion presence for HIV-infected compared with HIV-uninfected men were similar, although only the OR of carotid lesion presence achieved statistical significance. Increasing age was positively associated with all three outcomes, and smoking was positively associated with CAC presence and carotid lesion presence. Elevated LDL cholesterol was positively associated with CAC presence in adjusted analysis.
The cases were classified following the EORTC/MSG Consensus Group
The cases were classified following the EORTC/MSG Consensus Group criteria (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycosis Study Group).27 Proven histoplasmosis or PCM was considered when the fungus was recovered in culture from a specimen or when the microorganism was observed using histopathology or direct microscopy. Cases were classified as probable when a consistent clinical picture was found and we had a positive result in an immunodiffusion test (ID Fungal Antibody System, Immuno-Mycologics Inc, Norman, OK, USA). All cases except one fulfilled the proven
or probable criterion. In Patient 11, there were only clinical suspicion and positive results by RT-PCR (Table 2). This case was classified as possible. selleck Using epidemiological criteria, we also classified the cases as either travelers or immigrants and people who had lived in an endemic region for a long period of time. In case of H capsulatum strains, mycelia were stained with lactophenol cotton blue dye (Difco, Soria-Melguizo, Madrid, Spain). Characteristic macroconidia were observed microscopically.
Extraction of nucleic acids from clinical strains was undertaken in Biosafety Level III facilities and in compliance with Spanish Laws (Royal Decree 664/1997). DNA extraction from strains and clinical samples was performed as described by Buitrago and colleagues.20 DNA extracted from clinical strains was used to amplify the internal transcriber spacer (ITS) region.28 Sequence analysis of amplified fragments was performed by
comparing the DNA sequences with the ITS sequences of H capsulatum Selleck Cyclopamine var. duboisii (ATCC 24295), H capsulatum var. capsulatum (CBS207.55 and CBS214.53), and P brasiliensis (ATCC32069 and ATCC60855) obtained from the GenBank database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Genbank/). RT-PCR for the detection of H capsulatum was carried out following the protocol described by Buitrago and colleagues.19 Primers and probes were designed on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of the ITS1 rDNA region. Probes were marked using fluoresce resonance energy transfer (FRET) technology, and the PCR find more reactions were performed in the Lightcycler 480 (Roche Applied Science, Madrid, Spain). An internal control was included in the RT-PCR reaction following the Brugraff method.20,29 RT-PCR for the detection of P brasiliensis DNA was performed as described by Buitrago and colleagues.25 Detection of precipitating antibodies in patient's sera was performed by an immunodiffusion test following manufacturer's recommendations (ID Fungal Antibody System). This commercial test uses the antigens M and H against histoplasmosis sera and antigen gp43 against PCM sera. A total of 39 cases of histoplasmosis and 6 cases of PCM have been diagnosed in the Spanish Mycology Reference Laboratory in the last 3 years.
phosphorylase inhibitors
Childhood Top Attainment in Cystic Fibrosis Is owned by Pulmonary Operate at Some Decades.
Recurrent Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Related to Opioid Drawback In the course of Buprenorphine Induction.
Normal levee evolution within vegetated fluvial-tidal environments.
The truth for recommending Preparation in local community psychological health options.
Impact regarding Catheter Sort and also Tenaculum Use on Intrauterine Insemination End result.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I think that video games are becoming more popular with adults now than they have ever been in the past, and for this reason I thought that I should create a discussion about them. I play video games and like action games on my console.
Do you play any video games? Do you use a console, or do you prefer to simply play on your computer?
I don't like to play them .After some minutes they become boring ,just waste of time .
What kinds of games have you tried though @Jandark because perhaps you just don't like the ones that you've tried so far? I know that I tried a few different genres before I settled on the games that I enjoy the most.
I have been offered to play some kind of car chasing or war games ,too violent for me .What I like it was a farmer's' one ,harvesting on a combine ,that was quite funny .But all about fighting and killing .......we have several examples where some of those players has gone on streets and continued to be hero of their favourite game in reality . A possible fresh example can be the school attack in Sweden .
I used to enjoy playing video games when I was about 13 years old but now I like studying and watching movies more.
I sometimes play video games with my friends and to be honest,I enjoy it but it is not my hobby!
I agree with you about studying @navidafrasiabian as I enjoy doing that myself now, too. If my younger self knew that one day I would often choose studying over video games, she would be very shocked indeed.
I've thought that one day studying and reading become my best hobby.
Why don't you play video games anymore @nmm ? What types of games did you enjoy playing when you played them a lot? I know there are many different types of games to be played!
Yes there are many laptops that can't cope with gaming unfortunately, and mine is one of those. But I tend to use consoles when I do play games rather than my computer, so that isn't really something that is too much of a problem to me at the moment.
I cannot play games for any great length of time anymore, as I lose interest, and simply cannot keep my attention for long enough which is a shame really.
The PC games getting develop with the technology's development. Almost lifelike characters, the music has serious orchestral sound, beautiful graphics, good story. You're as the main character, you can live through the game. It's so like you'd be really there. You're not just an outer observer, when you watch movie.
I agree about the soundtracks to games @Csilla they are quite something these days - a lot of money goes into developing them. I am a musician, so I really enjoy listening to the soundtracks on games.
Once upon a time I played a lot... but not for now, I think I can spend my time for something worth (especially study, learning smth new etc.). But I would buy Xbox, just for playing with friends fighting-games.
I use both computer and playstation 4 for playing.
In fact, today I've bought a secondhand video game that I had been searching for months.
It's good that you found the game that you have been looking for. Which game is it? Have you had the chance to play with it much yet @Izanami9 ?
Not yet @GemmaRowlands because I'm busy with my University exams right now.
The game is 'Until Dawn' for playstation 4. Have you played?
Yes I love video games.
My favourite game Lord of the rings I can play with my brother in summer but I'm not free to play.
No I haven't played that one @Izanami9 but you will have to post here and let us know how you enjoyed it when you have the chance to play it.
@gomaa Which Lord of the rings pc game did you think? There're some.
@Csilla this play in my computer . I'm finished this game with my brother same team to attack dragon and destroy evil . My brother protect me by arrows and I'm attack into the enemy.
Wow @gomaa it is wonderful that you are able to play this game with your brother. Do you enjoy working together? I think it is great that you can work together as a team.
Ah! once upon a time...!
@gomaa when you say "graphic" do you mean that there are unpleasant images in the game?
@GemmaRowlands yes of course you need high ram to work this game . I'm practicing criminal cases in my phone . do you this game?
Okay thanks for explaining @gomaa and no, this game isn't something that I have ever played before, but perhaps I will take a look at it sometime.


Cubs 6, Reds 4 (12): Luis Valbuena ripped a two-run triple with two outs in the 12th inning as visiting Chicago salvaged the finale of a five-game series versus Cincinnati.
Valbeuna sent a 3-1 fastball from J.J. Hoover (1-6) toward the warning track, causing right fielder Skip Schumaker to crash into the wall. Arismendy Alcantara and Starlin Castro scored before Valbuena was ruled out at the plate to end the 12th, and Blake Parker (1-0) struck out three in two innings to secure the win.
Alcantara slapped a two-run RBI double for his first career major-league hit and added a sacrifice fly for the Cubs, who snapped a season-high six-game skid. Alcantara, who finished with four hits, also scored on Castro's RBI single to forge a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning.
Ryan Ludwick homered among his three hits and drove in a pair for the Reds, who learned that injured second baseman Brandon Phillips will undergo surgery on Friday for a torn left thumb ligament and will be sidelined from eight to 12 weeks. Speaking of injury, starting pitcher Homer Bailey exited in the sixth with pain in the patellar tendon of his right knee.
Ludwick ripped an RBI single to highlight a three-run first inning and deposited a 1-0 changeup from Kyle Hendricks over the wall in left in the third to give Cincinnati a 4-1 lead. Alcantara trimmed the deficit with a two-run double to left in the fifth and scored after Castro ripped an offering from Jonathan Broxton into center field.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo, who won the National League's final All-Star vote, took issue with LHP Aroldis Chapman after the fireballer was routinely pitching inside in the ninth inning. Chapman fanned RF Justin Ruggiano earlier in the frame, marking his 39th consecutive appearance with at least one strikeout - tying Bruce Sutter's major-league record for a reliever. ... Recalled from Triple-A Iowa prior to the game, Hendricks yielded three runs in the first inning before settling down in his major-league debut. The 24-year-old permitted four runs on five hits and struck out seven in six innings in a no-decision. ... Bailey departed after throwing a 1-2 pitch to Castro to lead off the sixth for Cincinnati, which wraps up its first half of the season by opening a three-game set versus visiting Pittsburgh on Friday. Chicago hosts a three-game series against Atlanta.


This crema is our healthier take on the traditional. At CFYL we love using Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for a lower fat, higher protein alternative that still has a tangy bite. We swear you won't even know the difference with this crema and, in fact, you might even like it more! It still has a bit of heavy cream, so of course moderation is key. Enjoy it on our Elote recipe or any of our delicious taco recipes for a festive meal!
Gradually blend in the cream 1/4 cup at a time until fully absorbed by the yogurt. It will have a silky texture. Blend in the lime juice. It's ready.


text:
Our Foresight
Focused Foresights
Title: Female Choice Dilemma
Author: Future Agenda | https://www.futureagenda.org
https://www.futureagenda.org/foresights/female-choice-dilemma/
Female Choice Dilemma
Flooded Cities Previous Everything Connected Next
Women in richer economies have greater choice, and with it increased control and influence. This continues to drive change and decision-making but globally the battle for female equality has a long road to travel.
Debates about equal rights for women have been on the agenda for over a century. Despite the best efforts of the UN's Millennium Goals, more girls than boys still don't go to school; in Africa and South Asia boys remain 1.55 times more likely to complete secondary education than girls. Even in rich countries life isn't equal; the average wage gap between men and women is 20%.
And yet, when girls do go to school, almost universally, they do better than boys and these days their educational dominance persists into university. In the OECD women now make up 56% of students enrolled, up from 46% in 1985 and by 2025 that may well rise to 58%. Women who go to university are more likely than their male peers to graduate, and typically get better grades. In the next ten years this, surely, will have an impact on equality.
Most governments are keen to encourage more women to work as it makes good economic sense. Some estimates suggest that global GDP would rise by between 5-20% if women's participation in the workforce increased. McKinsey's Global Institute research shows if gender gaps in participation, hours worked and productivity were all bridged, the world economy would be $28.4 trillion (or 26%) richer by 2025. The potential gains are proportionately greater in places where fewer women are already in paid employment. India, for instance, could be 60% richer. To date however gender parity in business is a long way off pretty much everywhere. Across the EU only one third of managers are women. In some countries, such as Luxembourg, it can be half that. Only one in 20 bosses of a Fortune 500 company is female.
Equality isn't everything, and equal opportunities are distributed unequally. The smallest gaps in participation rates are in some poor African countries, where men and women are almost equally likely to work outside the home, probably growing food. India, despite its impressive economic record, remains one of the world's most unequal societies: women make up less than a quarter of the paid workforce and account for just 17% of GDP, a measure of output that excludes unwaged work. The UN Development Programme recently ranked it the worst performing Asian country, excluding Afghanistan, for gender inequality, 132nd out of 137 countries. In other parts of South Asia, women carry out up to 90% of unpaid care work. They are far less visible than men in work outside the home. By contrast, women contribute 41% of GDP in China.
In richer countries, opportunities for many women are on the up. Better access to education, effective contraception and, arguably, increasing divorce rates, all mean that more women choose to build a career and delay having children until their later years. As more women work, they became less accepting of discrimination. Women whose level of education is on a par with men are more likely to find well-paid jobs in technical professions, but there remains an overall imbalance in pay, earning about three-quarters as much as men. Since 2006, the number of women in the workforce has risen from 1.5bn to 1.75bn, but the average annual pay for women today is the same that men were earning in 2005.
This, in part, is due to the type of career path women choose and the choices they make. Although men and women may start work on relatively similar salaries, family responsibilities often take priority for women and therefore decrease their earnings relative to those of men as they age. In some countries the cost of childcare makes going back to work financially challenging, so the primary carer, generally female, either cancels or postpones their return. Anyone who chooses to put their career on hold to have a family and still do the bulk of the baby-minding, will find it hard to catch up.
Increased flexibility would help, but this often comes at a high price because for many corporates hours of work are worth more when available at particular moments and when the hours are more continuous. Given this, some argue that the gender gap in pay would be considerably reduced if firms could consider a different approach to working and did not, for example, have an incentive to disproportionately reward individuals who work long and particular hours. There will of course always be jobs where flexibility is not an option – CEOs, trial lawyers and surgeons for example – but for many others pay does not need to depend on being available 24/7.
Often women get fed up waiting to be accommodated by their employers and decide to go it alone. This in part may explain why nearly 30% of all US businesses are majority female-owned and that in the UK women have accounted for more than half the increase in self-employment since the 2008 recession. In emerging economies, innovations such as mobile phones, microcredit and even the humble scooter (over 60% of which are bought by women in India), have freed up female entrepreneurs. There are further promising ideas to reduce the daily grind: foot-pedalled water pumps, the "micro-franchising" of heating and lighting provision in rural areas not served by the electric grid, and the "crowdsourcing" of work to local communities.
The traditional relationship between men and women is also changing. Well-educated women have been able to form strong relationships with similarly minded men, in which both parents earn and both do some childcare. Many agree that for women to be truly equal in the work place men will need to be equal in the home and this is gradually happening. To encourage this, women who in the past have focused on redefining femininity might themselves have to change their perception of masculinity. Rather than embrace the image of male success as a high-flying, high-earning superhero they should consider a man who can care for children and be content to earn less than his partner.
Politicians and executives will continue to ask whether women should take more leadership roles and debate what can be done to end gender biases. Every conversation will raise awareness and occasionally the opportunities for women will progress; inch by inch.
noetworks
of OECD students will be women by 2025
28.4 trillion
boost to world economy by 2025 if gender gaps were bridged
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Half of a coconut sitting on a plate, next to a spoon.
Coconut Cream Concentrate is a trademarked name for coconut butter. The two items are the same thing, referring to pureed, dried coconut meat that -- because of coconut oil's specific properties -- is solid at room temperature. You can buy coconut butter at specialty grocery stores and health food stores, or you can make it at home.
Coconut butter is made by blending dried coconut meat until the oil extrudes from it and the flesh has become powdery and sandy. Pureeing dried coconut meat for 15 minutes in a high-powered blender will produce a thick, buttery paste. The consistency of coconut butter depends on temperature. At warm temperatures, it is a thick liquid, while at cool temperatures, it solidifies. Store coconut butter in a sealed container in the fridge. You can use it as a spread on toast or liquefy it by heating it gently; serve it as a condiment for fresh fruit.


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Oscars hit all-time low in early ratings amid liberal political posturing
Initial Nielsen ratings show 16% drop from last year's show
Entertainment_Culture
Host Jimmy Kimmel speaks at the Oscars on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) more >
By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Monday, March 5, 2018
The Academy Awards registered Sunday what may be an all-time television ratings low for a politically charged broadcast that featured a slate of nominated movies few viewers had ever seen.
Initial Nielsen figures gave the 90th annual Academy Awards an 18.9 percent live same-day household rating, which would be the lowest in Oscars history, below the 20.9 percent rating for the 2008 telecast, according to Deadline Hollywood.
The early ratings report for this year's telecast on ABC also represents a drop of 16 percent from the 2017 awards show, which registered a 22.5 percent household rating.
As expected, the four-hour awards show included political jabs at President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as well as cheers for immigrants and young illegal immigrants known as Dreamers.
"To all the dreamers out there, we stand with you," said actor Kumail Nanjiani, an awards presenter.
Some stars wore orange pins from Everytown for Gun Safety "to bring awareness to gun violence prevention," while others wore black-and-white #TimesUp pins, referring to the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.
Host Jimmy Kimmel called the golden Oscar statue "the most beloved and respected man in Hollywood."
"And there's a very good reason why: Just look at him. Keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word, and most importantly, no penis at all," Mr. Kimmel quipped. "He is a literal statue of limitations."
The night's big winner, "The Shape of Water," wasn't a blockbuster, but it did bring in a respectable $57 million at the box office for the best gross by a Best Picture recipient in five years.
Still, only two of the nine Best Picture nominees — "Dunkirk" and "Get Out" — grossed over $100 million, and the combined box-office take of the films was the lowest in six years, according to Variety.
"As it stands, this is the lowest-grossing crop of best picture contenders since 2011, a fact that should be sending shivers up the spine of ABC executives as they brace for the March 4 telecast," said Variety's Brett Lang in a Feb. 20 post.


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Game Review: Paranautical Activity (PS Vita)
June 2, 2016 Marcos Codas Headlines, Vita Game Reviews J-Q 1
I grew up on "Duke Nukem 3D" and "Doom". I'm a product of the 90s, through and through. So when I saw "Paranautical Activity" coming to Vita, I was on board instantly. An FPS, inspired by said titles, but with randomly generated rooms? Where do I sign?
I have to say though, from the off, that it's a bit disturbing that when you look the game up online, you get a lot of articles explaining the fact that the game's original developer went Apocalypse Now on Steam. The game has since been taken over by Digerati, who are delightfully lovely people, though! I won't comment on that, as it's been a while and everything that could be said about it, has been said. But I have to admit that it was constantly in the back of my mind as I got ready to play the game.
And then I started to play the game, and instantly forgot. You see, the thing about "Paranautical Activity" is that it's absolutely ruthless: even when you play as "The Tank" (which gives your character more health and damage-dealing, but cuts down on speed), you're still going to die faster than Michael Bay can say "let's ruin another 1980s cartoon".
The experience itself is very minimal: there are a few "character traits" that you can choose from (The Tank, David Bowie, etc), which alter your character's stats. You choose the one you want, and off you go. They all come with different weapons, although the frantic gameplay sometimes makes it difficult to appreciate the nuances of each.
Looks like my ex is an NPC, too!
The rooms are not all procedurally generated, though. The content of them are, however, and it's usually a mix of floor-flying sharks and other nasty things that will kill you almost instantly.
Having said, I didn't feel like the game was cheap or unfair. It was absolutely hardcore (even in the easiest of settings), and definitely frustrating. But it wasn't cheap. And I applaud it for that.
I have to admit that the "loading" screen at the beginning of each room was a bit annoying. I'm sure it has to do with the way the game moves forward if you're super-human enough not to die after you buy the first upgrade (through which you've barely survived in the first place), but I wish everything was generated before I got into the rooms, so that I could just start killing things (or rather, be killed by things).
If it was done in games like Rogue Legacy, I'm sure it could have been done here. Or maybe not, I'm not a developer.
Graphically speaking, the game is a wonderful mix of the FPS pioneers of the MS-DOS era and… Minecraft? The colors are really vibrant and it runs like butter on hot toast: silky smooth.
Story? Well, this isn't really that kind of game. It'd be like asking a story out of Pac-Man or Solitaire. I mean, I'm sure something like that has been done, because $money$, but not here. Here, you come to kill or be killed. Mostly the latter.
So is her mom!
Music and sound effects are… well, I'm not exactly sure. When I was playing, I tried paying attention to them but I kept dying to quickly to notice. Suffice it to say they were not obtrusive.
All in all, I don't think I'm the right audience for "Paranautical Activity". And it's not the game's fault: I'm 30 years old and while I can still rock with the Duke, the Call of Duty generation runs rings around me when it comes to FPS.
And that's fine.
The fact that I am horrible at playing this game hasn't stopped me from recognizing the fact that it's a very well executed project. And when it clicks with someone, I'm sure it'll be one hell of a match. For me, it was the FPS from hell. If you're better than me at shooting things, then by all means, try your hand at killing these damn floor-sharks.
I dare you. I double dare you @#$@!#$%@#$%.
Title: Paranautical Activity
Publisher: Digerati Distribution
Developer: Digerati / Code Avarice
Format: PSN Download
Memory Card Space Needed: 535mb
paranautical
About Marcos Codas	328 Articles
Lover of portable gaming and horror cinema. Indie filmmaker and game developer. Multimedia producer. Born in Paraguay, raised in Canada. Huge fan of "The Blair Witch Project", and "Sonic 3D Blast". Deputy head at Vita Player and its parent organization, Infinite Frontiers.Like what I do? Donate a coffee: https://www.paypal.me/marcoscodas
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Q: Anime.js anime.stagger is not a function I'm trying to use the anime.stagger function from Anime.js, but I'm getting an error:

anime.stagger is not a funcion

I'm using the 3.2.0 version.
var elements = document.querySelectorAll('.emo');
anime({
    targets: elements,
    bottom: 600,
    easing:'linear',
    left: function() { return anime.random(250,550); },
    duration: 2000,
    delay: anime.stagger(500),
    loop: true,
});

Any idea why it's happening and how to solve it? Thanks.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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When shopping around for wigs you will run into a lot of options, such as full lace wigs versus lace front wigs, and it can seem overwhelming. There are many colors, styles, textures, and hair materials to consider. Many decisions will be based on personal preferences, but before you head to the store, ask yourself these key questions.
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The difference between human hair and synthetic hair is easy to understand. And you already know how you want to wear your hair. So the next part to decide is between full lace wigs and front lace wigs.
A full lace wig means all the hair strands are tied on a lace base cap by hand. The hair can be manipulated however you like, such as a side part, a ponytail, or in braids. These wigs tend to last longer and look more thicker than lace front wigs. But the drawback, to some people, may be that a full face wig needs to be secured with an adhesive or glue all the way around the head. Full lace wigs can be worn for days or even weeks at a time. So if you are looking for something less permanent this would not be a good option.
A lace front wig has a lace base only at the front and the rest is made with hair wefts or some other material similar to a regular wig. It is secured with an adhesive or tape at the front extending from ear to ear. The rest of the wig cap is worn by combs or clips. Plus, you have elastic straps or a machine-made cap with elastic in the back. This can save a lot of time when putting it on in the morning. It is useful to people who want to wear it for a short time or occasionally. The drawback to this style is that it cannot be parted in every direction. You can only part it at the front.


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Comic Review: X-Treme X-Men #1
By PS Hayes | @ | Monday, August 6th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
X-Treme X-Men #1
Written by Greg Pak
Pencils by Stephen Segovia
Inks by Dennis Crisostomo
Colors by Jessica Kholinne
Letters by VC's Joe Sabino
Covers by Julian Totino Tedesco and Salvador LaRrocca with Marte Garcia
After reading X-Treme X-Men #1, I found myself doing something I haven't done in years….actually CARING about the X-Men. Although I'm a huge fan of "The Wolverine," the X-Men as a whole, seems to bore me. I haven't really cared about them since the late 80s/early 90s when it was Beast, Angel, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and Iceman. I've tried a bunch of differnt times to get back into them, almost every reboot or restart, to fail time and time again…until now.
Writer Greg Pak writes a VERY entertaining first issue, actually a very entertaining issue in general, here putting a spin on the X-Men team that we haven't quite gotten before. A team of X-Men from a different dimension are sent on a mission by a Charles Xavier floating head to destroy 10 different Charles Xaviers across the multiverse.
Also, did I mention they have a teammate from the Marvel 616 universe? NO? Well, they do. And it's the most awesome mutant ever created. Yes, it's Dazzler. Honest to God, Dazzler is THE stand-out character in this issue and Pak writes her perfectly. I would totally read a standalone Dazzler series written by him. The rest of the cast is Wolverine, Emma Frost, and Nightcrawler (all from an alternate universe) combine uneasily with Dazzler and that's honestly half the fun. My only genuine complaint about the issue is that 3/4's of the team are from the alternate universe while Dazzler, is from "our" universe. So, basically three of them are on the same page, but not Dazzler. I hope in future issues, they pick up some more teammates from different universes, so there's a little more tension in the team.
Artist Stephen Segovia is fantastic here. I've liked his work on Dark Wolverine and it's even better here. You can tell he's totally at home with a team book, and all his pages are laid out great. Nobody gets short changed on screen time here, which is great. He also does a fantastic job portraying the few alternate universes that we see a glimpse off. He gets to modify some familiar costumes for the alternate universes and he does an exceptional job with these. Fantastic art!!
I would highly recommend picking this issue up. It's fun, exciting, and just a great comic in general. Whether you're a die-hard X-Men fan or not, there's something for you here. I honestly hope this title is around for a long while, because it's the one X-Men title that I'll buy for the duration. Highly recommended.
Tags: Dennis Crisostomo, Greg Pak, Jessica Kholinne, Joe Sabino, Marte Garcia, Marvel Comics, Salvador LaRrocca, Stephen Segovia
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This is just a metaphor I played around with earlier today whilst I was getting the washing in.
Imagine you're at the cinema with a friend. This friend happens to be your anxiety. Now, instead of your friend being quiet and watching the film, his/her attention is not on the film, it's on you. He/she really won't shut up and starts to ask you a lot of what if questions. Not only is this person your friend, he/she is also very annoying.
You perceive these what if thoughts to be important so you're easily distracted by them. What if I have a panic attack whilst watching this film? What if I see someone I know? What will they think of me? What if I need the toilet whilst watching this film but i'll be too embarrassed to get up out of my seat? These are the sorts of questions your annoying friend (anxiety) is asking you.
Your friend laughs at this so instead of shutting up, he/she starts to fight back and asks even more what if questions. It would look something like this; "Ahhh… hang on… I have something to bother you with then because you're obviously afraid of me and you're also trying to push me away… this isn't going to work." This gives the anxiety more reasons to disturb us.
About half the way through the film, you decide that your current approach clearly isn't working. Now, instead of getting worked up by the annoying friend, you just allow him/her to say what he/she wants. You really couldn't care less anymore.
When you try the opposite approach of giving up the fight and totally allowing it to be with you, then the anxiety (or your annoying friend) starts to lose it's power and interest because it becomes bored. It's not getting your fearful attention and resistance which gives it reasons to stick around. Then you're just left with you and your friend without the annoying aspect of him/her.
I hope this metaphor can help you see just how important this approach of giving up the fight really is. This approach is what helped me to concentrate on my hobbies during high anxiety. I believe in order to really engage our minds, we have to accept first otherwise we are trying to focus on activities whilst simultaneously fighting our anxiety… this can never work!
PS: I'm calling anxiety your annoying friend because that's exactly what it is. On one hand, it's your friend because it has your best interests at heart. It wants to protect you and keep you safe from danger. On the other hand, it's also annoying because it shows up at the most inconvenient times. However, it can stop being annoying when we learn to approach it in the right way.
I trust this article has helped in some way. As usual, feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts about this article. Your feedback goes a long way. Thanks.


Are you finding yourself surprisingly unable to murder folks in the hot new Uncharted 4 multiplayer beta? Well, you've come to the right place. Developer Naughty Dog has ten tips to help you rack up the kills and get your mass murder on.
The tips seem more aimed more at new players to the franchise than experienced veterans, so your mileage may vary, but some of the tips serve as good reminders. I particularly liked tip number nine about maneuverability: it's easy to get caught in a loop of running away and dying, but take advantage of the series' trademark acrobatic controls by rolling or jumping away and you'll likely have more luck. As well, some tips involve new mechanics exclusive to Uncharted 4, like the new rope swing mechanic.
The Uncharted 4: A Thief's End multiplayer beta is out now for owners of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and will be open until December 13.


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Jim Belushi Talks Cannabis At Amsterdam CCC
Farmer and advocate Jim Belushi is pumped to share his passion for cannabis at this year's Cannabis Capital Convention.
At the end of October, the Cannabis Capital Convention (CCC) will deliver a wave of European cannabis investment opportunities to Amsterdam. On October 30th (2019), celebrity speakers, respected industry investors, and entrepreneurs will convene on this most inspiring of locales. It's a rare opportunity to sit and listen as Jim Belushi talks cannabis while igniting the excitement of the green wave.
Building on the enormous success of 2018, this year's theme is the 'world wide wave' of legalization. With emphasis on upcoming changes to the European market, the spotlight is on investment opportunities. The CCC will play host to some of the leading minds of legalized markets but the big draw will be knowledge sharing.
CCC Welcomes Cannabis Industry Stars
The Dutch capital and host city has a well-documented history with cannabis. So, this makes it the perfect spot to warmly welcome an array of big names from the cannabis world.
On the list of confirmed speakers, a few names stand out: DJ and cannabis advocate, Chelsea Leyland; big time cannabis investor, Richard Kilstock; research leader, Prof. Renger Witkamp; and experienced entrepreneurs, Diederik van der Reiju and Paul King of Cannafornia Farms.
However, the star attraction and "Guest of Honor" is a name many recognize from Hollywood, Jim Belushi. This indie genius has been an audience favorite on screen and on stage for over thirty years. Belushi is a prolific character actor as well as a gifted musician. He is lead singer of The Sacred Hearts Band. But, perhaps the most interesting of career evolutions has turned this mega star into an important cannabis advocate and dedicated farmer.
Photo Credit: https://katu.com
Jim Belushi is a Spiritual Cannabis Farmer
An outspoken supporter of the plant's health benefits, Belushi is the founder of Belushi Farms in the state of Oregon. It is a beautiful, sprawling ninety-three-acre property on the banks of the Rogue River where you will find only the most dedicated of growers. Captain Jack is one of these. The Captain has been a renowned grower since the 70s and, interestingly, the "backstage friend" of the Saturday Night Live writers. He even dedicated his meticulously cultivated strain, Gulzar Afghanica, to the crew with the moniker, "The Smell of SNL."
Growing copious amounts of medical and recreational cannabis at this location isn't really about the money for Belushi. It's much more of a spiritual affair for the actor. "I believe so deeply in the spirit and medicine cannabis offers in healing our families, communities and the world," he says on the Belushi Farms website. "So, I decided to let the Spirit of the Land and the Water Spirit of the Rogue River irrigate and grow this powerful cannabis medicine."
The Motive Behind Jim's Cannabis Farm
These are the words of someone deeply connected to the plant and its ability to heal. Unsurprisingly, Belushi is an active advocate for medial cannabis patients and their right to have total access to cannabis. Following the devastating loss of his actor brother, John Belushi, to a heroin overdose in 1982, he embarked on a journey of learning and healing through the growing of cannabis. Belushi believes his brother would still be alive today if cannabis was a recognized medicine in the 70s.
Helping those who truly need this medicine is a clear motive for Belushi not to mention his total passion for growing the plant. "This land, this river and its cannabis ground me and have opened my heart to even more compassion and empathy to people struggling in this world," said the 65-year-old Chicagoan.
"Whether it's an opiate addict, a veteran with PTSD, a grandmother who is suffering from cancer. Nine to fivers who suffer from headaches, sleepless nights, anxiety or pain. Or a mother and a father who traumatically suffer through their child's seizures, one after another. This place is a guardian for the wellness of the plant. A wellness that enhances creativity, the taste of food, the richness of music, and the touch of your lover's skin. It brings joy, euphoria, releases endorphins, laughter, and brings peace to relationships."
Belushi No Stranger to Big Cannabis Events
As the keynote speaker at the CCC, the star of 80s hits K-9 and Red Heat, is familiar with talking at big cannabis events. And smaller ones too, for that matter. Every Fall in Oregon, Belushi Farms welcomes a variety of members from the Oregon cannabis community for the annual harvest party. On a larger scale, he also hosted the 2018 High Times 100, which recognizes the most influential people in cannabis. More recently, he appeared as an honored guest at the Cannabis-Wellness Luncheon in Los Angeles. There he delivered an inspiring and heartfelt speech on how the plant has changed him as a man. Also, he mentioned how helping others is the motivation behind running Belushi Farms.
Learning From Other Legalized Markets
The Cannabis Capital Convention (2019) will showcase in-depth discussions about the lessons learned (good and bad) by legalized countries. Furthermore, the knowledge of North American cannabis investors will be most welcome in Amsterdam. This welcome information will be accompanied by the wise and durable veterans of the European market.
Conference attendees will have the chance to gain insight into how European cannabis companies have not only survived but thrived, despite doing business in a legal grey area. Furthermore, a special focus will be placed on what investment opportunities will surface as cannabis is gradually legalized throughout Europe.
Giving Cannabis Start-Ups a Chance
The convention provides an amazing opportunity for inventors and innovators in the cannabis industry. They will have a chance to rub shoulders with established and seasoned cannabis investors. Organized 'meet and greets' will also help people sell their product/service.
Reinforcing the CCC's commitment to giving new cannabis business a chance is the Pitch Lab, a new segment at this year's event. Those behind cannabis startups can present ideas and visions to potential investors. So, anyone guiding the rudder of legal cannabis startup would be wise to attend.
The CCC is an unique event which allows budding business people (pun intended) to interact with serious investors. These investors are established and actively seeking new opportunities. Additionally, investments and business aside, the CCC is just a fantastic platform for activists, farmers, and professionals to celebrate all the good that cannabis can do in this world. Europe will be a greener place after the "world wide wave" of cannabis legalization washes over it.
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