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'How do we rebuild trust?' A year after admissions scandal, presidents say college must change
Six leaders of elite colleges tell USA TODAY the Varsity Blues scandal caused them to question the fairness of college admissions.
Chris Quintana USA TODAY
Published 5:35 am UTC Mar. 10, 2020 Updated 8:31 pm UTC Mar. 10, 2020
As shocking as the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal seemed to everyday Americans, with its accusations of bribes, faked athletic credentials and falsified test scores, it came as even more of a surprise to college presidents.
Beyond the sheer scale of the fraud — millions of dollars allegedly funneled to athletics staffers, coaches and test proctors — was what it said about their institutions.
Colleges, especially elite ones, have long viewed themselves as places open to anyone, where promising students from any background can find support to learn, grow and prepare for successful careers.
What if none of that was true? If it was mainly the rich and famous gaining access to America's top schools, how open were they, really?
College admissions scam: How the privileged gamed the system
The college admissions scam involving Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman shows how some rich families use a "side door" to game an already unfair education system.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
Many Americans, it became clear, were convinced the college admissions process was rigged, and the only way to get a leg up was to cheat.
A year later, six leaders of some of the country's most selective colleges say they, too, have been questioning the fairness of college admissions. They take responsibility for some of the public's mistrust of higher education. But they also say Americans' obsession with being the best in all avenues of life is partially to blame.
USA TODAY interviewed six presidents of selective colleges to see what has changed in higher education since the admissions scandal — and what hasn't. Excerpts have been lightly edited and presented together, although each interview was conducted separately.
Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Emily Paine, Bucknell University
Location: Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Private or Public: Private
Undergraduate population as of fall 2018: 3,597
Number of student applicants: 10,144
Percent of students admitted: 29%
Four-year graduation rate: 85%
Beginning undergraduates on Pell Grants: 12%
A year out from the bombshell of Varsity Blues, what have you learned? And just how did we get here in the first place?
John Bravman, president of Bucknell University, a private college in Pennsylvania: Some of the interviews I saw absolutely solidified in my mind that neither child nor parents understood what college was about. Colleges of this caliber, frankly, are not finishing schools. I think they were being approached as finishing schools, or schools where you can meet your future partner. Or where you're going to get hooked up with the right alum. Does that happen sometimes? Sure. That's not the purpose of higher education.
Carol Quillen, president of Davidson College, a liberal arts college in North Carolina: The big takeaway for me was there is no public confidence in the integrity of higher education admission. And how do we rebuild trust with the public and live up to our obligation to make education a public good, and to serve the societies and communities that support us? How do we make the case that the public should and can trust higher education?
Joanne Berger-Sweeney, president of Trinity College, a liberal arts college in Connecticut: The positive thing about Varsity Blues was it allowed people to recognize that there may be flaws when you're just trying to assess a candidate on SAT scores. Maybe I keep hounding on that issue because, you know, Trinity, we became a test-optional institution. (In 2015, Trinity gave prospective students the option to include their ACT and SAT scores as part of their application, rather than requiring test scores for all applicants.) We recognized SATs can be flawed instruments. They can be viewed in a total package, but it's as though people have started to believe that SATs were correlated with how smart their kids were and how well they were going to do. And there was a lot of counterevidence to that.
The University of Washington's Seattle campus Nikko Hellstern / Getty Images
Private or Public: Public
Undergraduate population as of fall 2018: 32,099
Some parents think some schools, say Harvard or Stanford, are the only colleges their kids can attend to be successful. That philosophy played into the decision to try and game the system through the admissions scandal. Where did that notion come from?
Ana Mari Cauce, president of the University of Washington, a public institution: I think that the data does suggest it's very much a myth, but that is very much present for some parents, more than others, and that's the 'getting into the right school or not getting into the right school will determine everyone's path in life.' Part of what has kept that myth and has perhaps grown that myth is the side effect of the middle class being hollowed out. There's a broader discussion to be had about: What are our priorities? I think for a large public like the UW, it has to be in part: How do we rebuild the middle class?
Carol Christ, chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, a public university: So I fault, in part, the college rankings that create what I think is a false sense that there's an ordinal ranking of quality of institutions, which anybody who knows higher education knows isn't true. So people kind of have a false sense: 'If I go to number two, it's going to be better than number three, which is better than number four.' The truth is there are many excellent choices for every student. And students are so anxious about getting into the right college that they apply to many more than used to be the case. I realize this is ancient history, but when I was applying to college, you applied to three colleges. Now students routinely apply to 12 to 15 colleges, which makes on the other side of the desk, the admissions business, very difficult. You have no idea what students are going to accept your offer.
Quillen (Davidson): It seems to me that the post-secondary education sector is being asked to educate many, many more people much more quickly at a much lower cost for an uncertain economic future. And so how do we participate in doing that? It's our job to make sure that it's available to everyone. Not everybody is going to want the same kind of education. So differentiation is good. We should support each other as we differentiate and offer different things to different groups of learners.
Berger-Sweeney (Trinity): We're putting too much pressure on these kids now about college admissions. Any narrative about finding the perfect college probably disservices the students and their family. There are lots of great institutions. There are great students, and it's about finding (a) good fit. And the likelihood is that there is more than one college or two colleges out there that are good fits. And any idea that you have to go to a specific college or a specific place, it's putting too much pressure on our system. We're in a country that believes in prestige and particular institutions come with a prestige factor. We try to get away from calling ourselves elite, but I recognize being at Trinity College, we do have a particular and strong brand.
Cashing in on U.S. college admissions: This Harvard grad has made millions on international students
Cornell University, an Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York Wikipedia
Location: Ithaca, New York
Varsity Blues shook the public's trust in the fairness of college admissions and the value of a university education. But even before the scandal, about 4 in 10 Americans said colleges were having a negative effect on the country. How are you addressing that?
Bravman (Bucknell): I'm 62 years old. It seems my whole life has just seen a slow decline in the overall view of institutions of all types. And why would colleges be immune from that? Everything is under scrutiny like never before. So something like Varsity Blues ignites a passion in people, understandably. We know we're an expensive option. So that just throws in there another piece about wealth and fame and fortune and therefore of access. I try to explain who we are, who we're not, why it costs so much to go to college — there are good answers there for what people expect today — and I just find there's no solution as a silver bullet. You communicate, you communicate, you communicate. You explain who you are, what you do, how you do it, and you hope to make headway.
Martha Pollack, president of Cornell University, a private university: That skepticism really bothers me. It bothers me because I think a lot of the people who are making those claims are still sending their kids to college. I worry the students who could benefit the most financially might get that message and not come. I firmly believe, and there's evidence to show this, that people are healthier, they're more involved in their community, there's all kinds of nonfinancial benefits that accrue from a university education. Often when people ask what's my greatest challenge, they think I am going to say long-term financial stability, and that is a challenge. But what I say is I don't think a lot of the public does realize what we do in universities.
Berger-Sweeney (Trinity): (About six years ago, when she became president, she was tasked with making the student body more talented.) In order to get better students, I needed more financial aid. Because we were excluding a number of really talented, smart students, not because of their ability, but because of their ability to pay. And so, when I was able to convince the trustees that we needed more money for financial aid, we went out and started to recruit from a broader pool than we had before. What I love to tell people is talent exists across every zip code and every geographic region of the country. Opportunity doesn't always exist across those. So when I had more money that I could put into financial aid, I was able to recruit better, more talented students on every scale and metric that I had. It so happened that it was a more diverse student body.
Sproul Hall on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley is a symbol of the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. Eric Risberg/AP
Location: Berkeley, California
Colleges often face limitations in their class size because of both money and sometimes physical space. How do you explain that you must turn some people away?
Christ (Berkeley): When you think about the kind of volume of applications that a place like Berkeley gets, you're comparing applicants that have had every opportunity with people whose opportunities have been very limited. (For the fall 2019 class, Berkeley turned away about 35,600 applicants for its freshman class with weighted GPAs of 4.0 or higher.) And how do you make choices if you're a state institution serving the state of California? What responsibility do you have to choose a student body that's in some way representative of the state, or that gives economic opportunities through really excellent higher education to populations in the state that have had less of a chance at those advantages? So it's an enormously fraught subject.
Cauce (Washington): Yes, we're a selective university, but we're not as highly selective as some, particularly in terms of our in-state applications. There are still students that we turn down that I know could have done well here and that I take zero pride in the fact that we are not able to take them. As proud as I am about the fabulous students that we admit, I always also have to say that I am sorry that there are some excellent students that we were simply not able to make room for. The bottom line is what we want for our state of Washington is to have a very high-functioning set of public universities so that students who don't get in here have other good options.
Davidson College in North Carolina Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Davidson College
Location: Davidson, North Carolina
Number of student applicants: 5,724
Percent of students admitted: 19
People say part of what limits access to college is the cost. So what about the movement to make college free?
Cauce (Washington): It's the question of who pays for it. That's part of why it's so important to have strong public trust, for people to understand that public universities, and in particular, higher education more broadly, is not just a benefit to the individual student, but it's a benefit to society at large. For example, one-third of our students aim to be the first in their family to graduate from college — a full third of our students. When that happens, not only are you changing the trajectory of their lives, but usually of their younger brothers and sisters, their children, et cetera. They're more apt to be employed. They're more apt to vote. There's a whole host of positive consequences.
Pollack (Cornell): We have to truly address the affordability issue. That means being much clearer about what the actual costs are. We've got this very complicated system with sticker prices, and then Pell Grants (federal scholarships for low-income students), and then other kinds of grants and work-study. I think we have to work to drive down costs for those in the middle class who are being squeezed even once they understand the actual cost. Then I think we somehow have to figure out how to tell a better story about what college is doing for our young alumni. And maybe we should be relying on their own voices, because I go around the country, meeting with Cornell alumni, young, middle-aged, old, and they tell an extraordinary story about the impact that their education has had on them.
Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. AL FERREIRA, Trinity College
Location: Hartford, Connecticut
Will colleges have to change the way they approach the admissions process to be more inclusive? Have they done enough already?
Berger-Sweeney (Trinity): The largest democratization of higher education with the GI Bill (a massive program that made it possible for veterans to attend college paid by the government). Where before, when college education was pretty much more or less for the wealthy or more elite, I'm sorry to say a number of college and university presidents were not supportive of the GI Bill. They did not know how they were going to handle a more diverse population. It's a little bit of a reminder and maybe a small bit of history repeating itself. This isn't a new thing for higher education. We have been having arguments about diversity in higher education for quite a while in the U.S. For the most part, we have come out on the right side of history.
Bravman (Bucknell): Students today are very different than they were 44 years ago. They're different than they were 10 years ago. So we see a continuing evolution in the student mindset. And we don't have the luxury, and the wealthiest schools in the country don't have the luxury, of just assuming: 'Hey, this is who we are. Take it or leave it.'
Christ (Berkeley): I think the great challenge at the University of California, certainly where I sit at Berkeley, is not that we want to admit students who wouldn't be able to do the work. It's that there are so many students who are applying who would do the work brilliantly, but we don't have space for, so that's the real challenge we have to solve.
Cauce (Washington): I certainly hope more and more of us are saying: We want to be judged by the quality of education and the experience we give to students that come here, not by the number of students we turn down, which just stokes the anxiety of students and creates the conditions that led to Varsity Blues. I hope that we continue to look at how can institutions of higher education continue to play this role they have played historically of building, and in this case it would be rebuilding, the middle class and being a pathway to social mobility. I think there are some aspects of reproducing privilege that we need to look at very carefully.
Pollack (Cornell): We're still going to want to be doing a better job of explaining what it actually costs to go to college. I think we're still going to be driving towards ways to, and this is an important point, not to just bring in more middle- and low-income students, but support them once they're there. So when people talk about diversity and inclusion, the inclusion part is important.
Quillen (Davidson): People seem to be interacting with other people who are just like them and living in this sort of echo-chamber world where something like getting into school can become a thing for which you're willing to break the law. Part of it is: How do we address the conditions that are now dividing us? How do we think about unequal access to all kinds of resources, not just education, but other things? How do we address growing disparities in wealth? How do we think about building a society where democratic public life is possible and we're all effective citizens and care about the well being of each other? How do we build that world, and what is higher ed's role in building that world? Only in a very rarefied environment can getting your kid into a particular institution become the obsession of your life.
Admissions isn't the only obsession: Divorce? Marry off your kid? As financial aid confusion grows, parents get drastic
Editor's note: Data in fact boxes comes from the federal government's College Navigator. The four-year graduation rate refers to students who started in fall 2012. Pell Grants refer to a federal grant given to students from low-income families.
Education coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide editorial input.


National Labor Relations Board Chairman Philip Miscimarra (R) is likely to have his pick of law firm jobs once his term ends in December, but he is not divulging where he will land.
Miscimarra won't seek another term on the board when his current term expires, Bloomberg BNA reported.
Ethics rules will limit the services Miscimarra can provide clients once he leaves the NLRB, but law firms probably will find his expertise and name recognition appealing.
Miscimarra, who has three sons approaching college age, came to the NLRB from the Morgan Lewis law firm in Chicago. He also worked at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago, according to the NLRB website.
Morgan Lewis declined to comment to Bloomberg BNA as to whether it hopes Miscimarra will rejoin the firm.
Wherever Miscimarra eventually goes, his employment activities will be curtailed by restrictions that govern former federal appointees after their government service.
There is a lifetime restriction on a former official communicating with any federal court, department, or agency about a particular matter (such as litigation, grants, and contracts) involving specific parties in which he personally and substantially participated. Former officials are restricted for two years after leaving from representing an entity to any federal court, department, or agency on matters that were under his official responsibility during his final year of government service. Very senior government employees must wait one year before lobbying or appearing before the department or agency in which they served during their final year in government.
Presidents traditionally issue an executive order governing the activities of their appointees, which applies even if the president is no longer in office when the appointee leaves government service. Former President Barack Obama, who appointed Miscimarra to the board as a member in 2013, created a "revolving door ban" that limits appointee's activities for two years after they leave.
President Donald Trump in January issued an executive order prohibiting former political appointees from lobbying the agency for five years after leaving and from lobbying any covered executive branch official for the remainder of the administration. Even though this executive order doesn't officially apply to Miscimarra, the Office of Government Ethics has indicated that appointees whose terms overlap administrations ought to follow the restrictions imposed by the current administration.
Former federal officials "can attend meetings with the client and help guide the case," Lowe said. They can have "significant influence on the strategy you undertake even if they can't appear before the agency" because "so much of it is taking place in meetings with the clients or meetings with other partners," he said.


The official party, including Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark Milley, fourth from the right, breaks ground for the National World War I Memorial at Pershing Park in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9, 2017. Construction of the memorial is expected to be completed in a year.
An array of politicians, military leaders, veterans and officials from the World War I Centennial Commission officially broke ground for the National World War I Memorial, Nov. 9, at Pershing Park in Washington, D.C.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I. It was April 6, 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany. The first American Soldiers would make their way across the Atlantic in June of that year.
The new memorial to those who served in World War I will share a space with an existing memorial dedicated to General of the Armies John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, who served as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The site is a short walk east of the White House.
Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark A. Milley attended the groundbreaking as one of more than a dozen officials. He told those in attendance that World War I provided many lessons learned. Along with lessons in strategy, operations, and tactics, the world also learned lessons in politics and government, he said.
Milley said the pre-WWI Army was made up of fewer than 200,000 Soldiers who were spread across the nation in mostly law enforcement-type roles. To accommodate the needs of conflict in Europe, the Army grew quickly to some 4 million Soldiers. Still, the United States military was unprepared for that conflict.
Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark A. Milley speaks at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the National World War I Memorial at Pershing Park in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9, 2017. Construction of the memorial is expected to be completed in a year.
Milley said the new World War I memorial will help Americans today fulfill their duty to remember what has happened in the past, and to honor those who sacrificed.
Seated next to Milley at the ground-breaking event was Joe Weishaar, the now 27-year-old architect, who at just 25 was chosen to design the memorial.
It will be Weishaar's architectural design, and the artistry of sculptor Sabin Howard, that will finally provide a memorial to give those World War I veterans the recognition they earned, but never asked for.
"It may be long overdue, but today marks another point in the journey of making sure they are not forgotten," Weishaar said.
Weishaar said it was back in June 2015 that he first saw a notice advertising a design competition for a national World War I memorial to be based in Washington, D.C.
World War I re-enactors salute during the National World War I Memorial groundbreaking ceremony at Pershing Park in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9, 2017. Construction of the memorial is expected to be completed in a year.
At the time he'd never been to the nation's capital, he said, and had just assumed such a memorial already existed there. "We had memorials to the other notable three wars of the 20th century," he said.
After reading that notice announcing the design competition, he said he went online to research WWI, including photos from the war that he found through the National Archives.
The centerpiece of the new memorial will feature a large bas relief bronze sculpture that follows a single Soldier through his own personal World War I experience, beginning with that Soldier leaving home, and his daughter handing him his helmet. Other scenes depict the Soldier marching off to war, fighting, and eventually returning home.
Other elements in the memorial will include a pool and green space.
The World War I Centennial Commission expects the new memorial to be dedicated Nov. 11, 2018, which is the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I.


text:
penda
Florence Culture and Art Exchange Centre / penda
19:00 - 2 July, 2018
Curated by Joanna Wong
© Zhi Xia
Dalian, Liaoning, China
Lead Architects
Dayong Sun, Shuyan Wan, Chris Precht
Stella Xie, Junyi Leng, Yue Zhu, Anna Ludwig, Xin Ding, Yaoyao Meng, Yuan Gu, Xun Zhang, Hechi Dai
Zhi Xia
Lighting Construction
Haiyan Zhu
Acoustic Construction
Radio, Film & TV Design and Research Institute
Structure Consultation
Dalian Tiangong Architecture Design Institute
Text description provided by the architects. Penda China Office has recently completed the design for the renewal of the 80,000-square-meter Florence Culture and Art Exchange Center in Dalian, China. The former buildings includes a four-floor shopping mall, three 30-floor apartment buildings with one basement floor and an 8-floor art hotel. According to Dayong Sun, Dayong Sun, the project's chief architect, penda seeks to create a space that will allow "art to breathe new life into the dreary urban spaces," and to create a "new building identity while reconstructing the old spatial experiences, making the project a name card for the urban renewal."
The Phase I renewal project focuses on the four-floor shopping mall. For the purpose of urban renewal, the conventional commercial spaces are faced with both the transformation of trade mix in the long run and the upgrading of functions in the short run.
Elevation (before)
Elevation (after)
As reflection on art and business, the client brought in two renowned art training schools, Accademia d'Arte (ADA) and IL TRILLO music school to Dalian. Both schools are from Florence, the Italian art capital that is thousands miles away and boasts rich artistic heritage. Teachers from both schools were also invited to give lecture in Dalian, enabling the children in China to have the world's top art education at their doorstep. This is of immeasurable significance for the children's growth.
With the two top art schools becoming part of the project, the former commercial functions are totally abandoned and everything is unfolded centering on the theme of art. In the 4-floor building, musical instrument stores, painting material stores, galleries, etc are placed along the art street on F1 as both the supporting facilities for the schools and urban leisure space. Picture book galleries, parent-child restaurants and art cafes are provided on F2 as recreation space of the accompanying parents. The main teaching and exhibition space of the ADA and the IL TRILLO, including art classrooms, music classrooms, artist studios, exhibition halls and concert hall are planned on F3 and F4.
The new trade mix generates new circulation demands. Firstly, separate circulation should be planned for parents waiting for children and children attending classes. Secondly, separate zoning should be provided for customers attending classes and those merely coming over for consultancy. Thirdly, fine art and music classrooms should be separated from each other, as fine art classes impose strict requirements for lighting while music classes for voice and sound insulation.
Fourthly, the separate circulations should be planned for teaching and public performance at the concert hall to ensure both the children's safety and professional performance. Last but not least, the circulations for teaching facilities on F1 and residents in the three apartment buildings should be separately planned to ensure the privacy of residents and the independence of teaching. To accommodate these new functional requirements, the former transparent commercial space on the same floor was in need of disruptive transformation.
We first locate the main entrance to the reception area of the schools at the west corner on F1, as this is the most prominent position on the triangular building geometry and the immediate outdoor plaza is ideal for hosting student recruitment events. Moreover, this location is relatively independent of other trades indoors, hence has minimal disturbance to the latter. Though it is the best location for lobby entrance, no connection to the upper floors is available here.
This is quite inconvenient for customer paying visits and children attending classes. To address this issue, we added two external elevators that directly connect the lobby and the classrooms while providing a resting area for parents inquiring about classes.
Conventional shopping malls always have atrium where escalators are available for customers. However, escalators are not safe for children in the art schools. Besides, atrium is not an efficient way to use space. Therefore, we canceled the previous escalators and planned a vertical stairway with steps of different width in the 4-floor atrium space. This way, this area not only functions for vertical transportation but also serves as a public resting space for the children during class breaks.
For art schools, space like this also means various potential opportunities such as exhibitions, picture reviews and gatherings, which are to be discovered and explored by the children themselves in the future. Besides, the daylighting here allows the sunshine flood into F1 and make the vertical green space possible. Most importantly, daylights at the top of the overhung space may take fresh air into the classrooms through natural ventilation and cut the energy demands.
F3 is planned with classrooms for fine art and music. Fine art classrooms should be open and flexible, with internal connection to the exhibition hall on F4. However, the circulation crossing with students of music classrooms should be avoided. So we added an external stairway outside the classrooms on F3 and F4.
The stairway not only facilitates the convenient communication between the teachers and students in the fine art classrooms, but also diversifies the facade of the building and adds identity to the building. In a triangular spatial pattern and ribbed structure, the stairway looks like a time travel tunnel along with the changing light and shadow effect in the building, and will become an inspiration for the children as wished by the architect.
Different from the open and daylight fine art classrooms, the music classrooms should be sound-insulated and separated. That's why they are divided into smaller rooms separated by walls made of good soundproof materials and structures. The doors and windows are made of soundproof glass to ensure the best sound effects in the classrooms. Colored sound-absorbing panels are also used to absorb and reflect sounds in space and enhance the artistic effects.
The most challenging part of the entire project is actually the concert hall on F3. "I remember when I first met Ms. Maria, the principal of IL TRILLO music school, she was thinking of building a concert hall because at Christmas, the school would organize a show performed by the children for their parents. But she was very disappointed to find out that the floor was not high enough to do so."
"The look on her face is still fresh in my mind," Dayong Sun recalled. "After returning to the Beijing office, my team and I discussed many possibilities, and we finally came up with a crazy idea: can we remove two columns to connect through F3 and F4?" That's the question I asked the client in the second meeting.
After discussion, the client was taken aback but decided to give it a try despite of the extraordinary difficulties to provide the children with a first-class art hall. And then, the best local team of engineers was brought aboard. In the end, a cable-stayed joist was used and two columns and the floor slab of F3 were removed to create a 9-meter-tall concert hall with a professional recording studio.
The design team also engaged reputed sound and light consultant to ensure the flawless implementation of the design. When Principal Maria saw the gorgeous and stunning concert hall on her second visit, she was so touched that she was on the verge of tears. "This is even better than the concert hall of our school in Florence," she said and gave the thumbs up to the Client and designers.
"In my mind, design is artistic creation using technologies. Being able to help the clients realize their dreams is what I consider the proudest thing to do as an architect and designer." – Dayong Sun
The process of urban renewal is not just about the renewal of architectural space, but also about that of functionality and trade mix. Only new intervention means can inject new spaces and opportunities to urban lives. What the urban renewal boils down to is the insights of lifestyles. What matters is to find out the functionality and trade mix that most suit today's economic development and consumption patterns.
Specifically, the renewal of architectural space should not only cater for the needs of new functionality and trade mix, but more importantly, greet the old urban fabric with modern design language and aesthetics. Only then can we breathe new life into the otherwise rigid urban landscape. It's just like the Bilbao effect: A contemporary art gallery brought new developments and opportunities to a decaying industrial town. The design for Phase I of Florence (Dalian) Culture and Art Exchange Center was basically completed in less than a year, and has now officially opened to the public. The architect of the project is Penda China Office.
Projects Built Projects Selected Projects Cultural Architecture Theaters & Performance auditorium Refurbishment Cultural Center PendaDalianChina
Cite: "Florence Culture and Art Exchange Centre / penda" 02 Jul 2018. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/897178/florence-culture-and-art-exchange-centre-penda/> ISSN 0719-8884
佛罗伦萨文化艺术交流中心,大连 / 槃达建筑

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


NewsBeast has brought back longtime Newsweek vet Mark Miller to oversee editorial operations, signaling continued upheaval as the magazine-news site combo struggles to win over readers and advertisers.
Miller will take over the operational duties that were being handled by Edward Felsenthal, editor Tina Brown's No. 2 and one of her longest-serving deputies, who announced Monday he was leaving. In addition to running the day-to-day operation, Felsenthal was seen as a buffer between the staff and Brown, who's known for frequently changing her mind about stories and ripping up the magazine layout. In a 2009, premerger profile, he described the pace of the job as "exhausting."
Along with Felsenthal, Tom Weber quit, becoming the second managing editor to leave the high-pressure position in six months. His predecessor, Brekke Fletcher, left after five months.
NewsBeast sources say Weber and Brown had some public blowups, though, suggesting that nine months into the merger, all is not running smoothly. There continues to be confusion about her high-low editorial approach (recent cover choices ranged from Brazil's female president to Regis Philbin). Brown has brought in Lisa Benenson to consult on the magazine, but Benenson has struck some as an odd choice, given she's spent most of her career at women's magazines including Hallmark and Harper's Bazaar.
Miller joined Newsweek in 1985 and worked there since, more or less, rising to editorial director. He quit last year as part of an exodus of editorial staffers who left after The Washington Post Co. sold Newsweek to the now-late stereo magnate Sidney Harman. Most recently, he was editor of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit media organization. He briefly oversaw Newsweek's online editorial operation, but is seen as lighter on digital experience. Importantly, he's known for his ability to handle tricky personalities, which could serve him well as Brown's No. 2.
It was a tumultuous day for NewsBeast for other reasons. On the business side, Ray Chelstowski, who saw the company through the merger, exited as publisher, a few months after Rob Gregory came in above him as president. And Newsweek made news for ending its long-running political series.
The shake-ups add to the challenges facing the Newsweek and Daily Beast, which lost an estimated $30 million last year. There's been some progress. Newsweek's ad pages were up 10 percent for the month of October, which the pub said was the first monthly year-over-year increase in a year. Subscription renewals, after declining year-on-year since 2006, are up 2.6 percent.
On the business side, Gregory said he was reorganizing the marketing team to set it up the way advertisers are buying media. He created three marketing groups: creative services; digital/social/video; and events and sponsorships.
Taking on some of Chelstowski's duties is Eric Danetz, a sales vp at CBS Interactive who was hired as svp of sales and marketing.


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Tag Archives: Jaffar
India win first test
Posted on 26 November 2007 by blogesh | 3 comments
India scored the remaining 32 runs need for victory against Pakistan within the first hour this morning taking a 1-0 lead in the 3 test series. It was an all round team effort for India. Apart from Karthik who scored just 10 runs, pretty much everyone else contributed with the bat in a low scoring match. Jaffar scored a half century in the second innings to go with his 32 in the first innings. Dravid had scores of 38 and 34. Tendulkar got a second innings 56 and he along with Ganguly were partially responsible for making the winning target look small. The strike rate at which Ganguly scored also helped reduce the target quickly. Laxman and Dhoni both scored half centuries in the first innings and ensured that India were still in the game.
For the bowlers, Kumble led with 7 wickets and Zaheer grabbed 4 for the match. Harbhajan took 3 wickets while Ganguly surprisingly ended up with the same number of wickets (not to mention the vital breakthroughs at the right moment). Munaf bowled well in the first innings, but had to settle for just one wicket.
There were several positives from the games –
A lot of times in the past, India have looked to just one or two players to get them out of trouble or to put them in a winning position. But in this instance, it was a team effort and that should be lauded.
Captaincy of Kumble – He brings his own unique style to the captaincy and I think I like his style 🙂 – Who else would give Ganguly the new ball in the middle of an over, eh? 😉
3 seamers in Indian pitches always seem a luxury, but Ganguly filled the third seamer role quite well – he bowled 21 overs and even took 3 wickets in the process. He was also quite economical, allowing the pressure to build up.
Are there areas for improvement? Plenty, actually –
India struggled to keep the winning momentum going through out the match. They would gain the upper hand on the match only to hand it straight back to Pakistan. Actually, it seemed as if both teams were competing with each other to hand the game to the other team. It was a far closer game than the result suggests – if Pakistan hadn't self-destructed and lost the crucial morning session on the fourth day, the game could have gone either way. Don't expect teams like Australia to do such favours.
India also struggled to get the Pakistani tail out quickly in the first innings. Although they made amends in the second innings, this is an area they need to look into.
The Indian tail didn't learn any lessons from Sami and as soon as Kumble got out, they seemed to be in a hurry to follow the captain back to the Pavilion.
Karthik just had a bad game. He should be looking to Eden Gardens to make amends
There were some good catches (Laxman, Karthik), but there were dropped ones too (Harbhajan, Jaffar). Again, it is something they should strive to improve
And the team for the next match? Barring any sudden injury to the current XI, I don't see any changes happening. Sreesanth and RP Singh are still not fit and won't be playing at Kolkatta. There have been and there will be more calls to include Yuvraj Singh in the playing XI – but as CricInfo pointed out, Yuvraj will have to wait.
As far as Pakistan are concerned, the only bowler who looked threatening was Shoaib Akthar. Sohail Tanvir bowled one good spell, but that was it. Asif was sorely missed and his bowling could have made a huge difference to Pakistan. In the batting department, Misbah-ul-Haq was the lone saving grace. Pakistan are over dependent on Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan – and it showed in this game too.
There are still two more games to go in the series and India can't get complacent after winning just one. Hopefully India will go into the second game as a confident team, but not an over confident one.
Posted in Test cricket
Tagged , Dinesh Karthik, Dravid, Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Jaffar, Kumble, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Akthar, Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan
Day 4 – Advantage India
Posted on 26 November 2007 by blogesh | Leave a comment
In a game where both teams seemed bent on surrendering the advantage back to the opposition, Pakistan did just that on the fourth day morning. They started the day at 212 for 5 with both Misbah and Kamran Akmal looking good, but handed the game back to India by being all out for 247. Of course credit should be given to Zaheer Khan for his wonderful spell in the morning. But Misbah and Sami committed Hara-kiri, giving their wickets to Ganguly, who surprisingly took the new ball in the middle of his over and got Misbah-ul-Haq's wicket of the first ball. Sami, who had played patiently while Misbah was still at the crease then tried an all-mighty slog to give Ganguly his second wicket.
Kumble then decided to bowl the next over with the new ball and even before people could wonder why Zaheer wasn't bowling, Kaneria ran himself out. Within a space of about 4 balls, Pakistan went from 243/7 to 247 all out, setting India a target of 203.
Shoaib Akthar was the main threat to India's batting and he snared all three Indian wickets. Karthik failed in the match for the second time, but Jaffar and Dravid first steadied the innings and when they got out, it was the turn of Tendulkar and Ganguly to build another partnership. At stumps, India need another 32 runs to win and should be able to get it, unless something extremely out of the ordinary happens.
The highlight of fourth day's play was Saurav Ganguly. If Laxman had silenced his critics in India's first innings, it was the turn of Ganguly to do it today. He first took two wickets and then struck a fluent 48 of just 61 balls. Hopefully, he and Tendulkar will stay at the crease on day 5 to see India through to victory.
Tagged Akmal, Akthar, Dinesh Karthik, Ganguly, India vs Pakistan, Jaffar, Kaneria, Kumble, Laxman, Misbah-ul-Haq, Sami, Tendulkar
The story since the last Kotla game..
The last time India played at the Feroz Shah Kotla, they beat Sri Lanka by a huge margin. Tendulkar scored a century and Kumble took a 10 for in the match. Irfan Pathan was the frontline fast bowler for India. He also opened the innings and scored a career best 93. Dhoni had just made his debut in the previous match and although Sehwag didn't play the game, he was still a central figure in Indian cricket.
That was close to 2 years ago. Since then, a lot of things have happened. Pathan lost his in-swing, his pace and then his place in the team. Sehwag too lost his form and was dropped. Although Pathan has made a comeback into the ODI team, Sehwag is still not a permanent fixture.
Tendulkar went without scoring a hundred in the next 10 games and finally broke the streak with 2 centuries against Bangladesh. He has been averaging only 36.87 since the hundred at Delhi and if we take out his scores in the series against Bangladesh, he averages just 28.68.
Saurav Ganguly was dropped too and Yuvraj Singh (who had a 100+ partnership with Dhoni in the second innings) has been in and out of the team. Laxman's position has also been in doubt during this period in spite of his 40+ average.
The one player who has had a consistent presence in the Indian middle order has been Rahul Dravid – the wall, although he has since given up his captaincy. He has been averaging 53+ during this time which is only slightly lower than his career average of 56.50. The other positive thing for India is that they have found two good openers in Jaffar and Karthik (or have they?).
In the bowling department, Kumble has been consistent as ever, although Harbhajan Singh dropped out of the team owing to poor form. This may well be Harbhajan's comeback Test.
The fast bowling department has improved by leaps and bounds with Zaheer Khan finding his rhythm and the emergence of RP Singh and Sreesanth (although, the two may not play tomorrow owing to injury).
Now, that's the story so far. What should we be looking out for in this test and this series? Here is my list –
How the openers perform: Sehwag has been kept out of the team in spite of a 90+ average against Pakistan. If any of the openers fail twice in a row, I would expect Sehwag to be back in the team, although a lot of people would argue that he shouldn't open the innings anymore.
Performance of Laxman and Ganguly: I am pretty sure these two players are on notice in spite of some decent scores in England. Unless they perform in this series, it would pretty much be the end of their careers.
Kumble as a captain: It would be interesting to see how he goes about captaining the team. I would also like to see he reacts now when someone misfields 🙂
Dravid and Tendulkar: I expect both these players to score well. Dravid in particular has a point to prove after he was dropped from the ODI squad. I also hope that Tendulkar's true turn to form will happen in the ground where he scored his last "real" hundred.
Bhajji's bowling: Harbhajan has bowled well in the ODI series. But that is completely different to Test match bowling. Pawar has had some excellent performances in the Ranji Trophy tournament and unless Harbhajan delivers, it is either Murali Karthik or Pawar boarding the plane to Melbourne in December.
What about the team for tomorrow? Kumble has hinted that Yuvraj may not play. With RP Singh and Sreesanth injured, India may turn to Munaf Patel (who has been called in as cover) to open the bowling with Zaheer Khan. I think this may be the team that plays tomorrow –
Dinesh Karthik, Jaffar, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly, Dhoni, Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Patel
And for a bit of trivia before I finish up:
India has a six-match winning streak at the Kotla
It is a lucky ground for the captain, Kumble having taken 48 wickets @15.45. He also has his best figures of 10/74(!) in this ground playing against Pakistan.
Tagged Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Dravid, Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Jaffar, Kumble, Laxman, Murali Karthik, Pathan, Pawar, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan


← 24 hour sale in my Etsy shop!
I will be out of the country on a family vacation until Dec. 13!
I am bringing my laptop and may blog from overseas, but I'm not sure. We'll see how it goes. Lots of fun stories when I get back from INDIA!!!
p.s. the shop is still open while I am gone, and I will ship everything ASAP when I'm home!
6 Responses to See you in two weeks!!
How come your going to India? Anyways have fun, I have never been outta the Usa be fore. Bring back lots of souvenirs, and if you try belly dancing, make sure you get a video!
What city? We visited Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Udaipur…. kind of more rural/touristy areas, I guess!
I live in Gurgaon, very close to Delhi. Did you have fun?


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The blurb: In honor of Father's Day, Dads and their LGBTQ children have some real conversation.
And THIS is why gay matters are family matters. Not for you to judge, not for you to have a hateful opinion about, not for you to cast judgement on who they should love who, and who they should be married to.


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© 2019 Hugal. All rights reserved.


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The Library Modern Records Centre
Our holdings
Main archive collections
University of Warwick Archive
University of Warwick Theses
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Use the Centre
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Using the catalogue
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Creating Your Files
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Depositing Your Files
First World War 100
Planning and logistics
Military service: planning and logistics
The collections of the Modern Records Centre include a small number of documents relating to the organisation and logistical operations of the First World War, mostly included in the papers of Sir Guy Granet, Director-General of Military Railways and Movements and Railways during the latter part of the conflict. Some of the highlights from the hundred documents digitised to commemorate the First World War centenary are described below.
Draft report giving preliminary impressions of transport conditions in France, September 1916
I am aware that the officers who are responsible for the work out there will say - "Has the Army ever wanted for anything in these last two years of fighting?" My answer to that is that if the Army has not wanted for anything, it is because it has been a stationary Army
This confidential report was written by Sir Eric Geddes for David Lloyd George, then Secretary of State for War, at the time of the Battle of the Somme. Geddes had spent two months in France, at Lloyd George's request, looking into the problems of military transport and logistics on the Western Front. In anticipation of likely army criticism "that it is impossible for the ordinary business civilian to understand what are the conditions under which [the army] have to work and that it is a mistake to allow them to interfere with an Army business that most of us have studied all our lives", Geddes also included remarks from Lieutenant-General F.L. Clayton made in response to an earlier civilian report on shipping control.
[Included in the archive of Sir William Guy Granet; document reference: MSS.191/3/3/2-21]
Progress report, week ending October 7th 1916: personnel provided by the War Office for railway construction and operation
Chinese labour - - - 6000 .... West Indian labour - - - 3000. For next Spring
This progress report shows in blunt statistics the scale of the task to keep the British army supplied on all fronts - in France, Greece, the Middle East and East Africa. It notes down the numbers of men (tens of thousands) provided and required to construct and run the military railways to transport men and supplies to the battlefield. Labourers from China and the West Indies and "colonial troops" are notable inclusions.
[Included in the archive of Sir William Guy Granet; document reference: MSS.191/3/3/99]
Map of the railway line from Buire to Longueval, Quarry, Gordon's Dump, Bel Air and Trones Wood, 1917
This map of transport arrangements in the Somme was sent to George V by Sir William Guy Granet, Director-General of Military Railways. Light railways could be constructed by the army to move men and munitions quickly to the front line over countryside (and roads) destroyed by heavy bombardment.
[Included in the archive of Sir William Guy Granet; document reference: MSS.191/3/4/49-50]
Index map of Syria, showing railway lines and routes, December 1916
Annotated War Office map showing Syria and neighbouring areas in the Middle East, including Palestine. The map was used by Sir William Guy Granet, Director-General of Military Railways.
[Included in the archive of Sir William Guy Granet; document reference: MSS.191/3/4/129]
War Cabinet report on shipping allocated to overseas expeditions outside France, 23 June 1917
In view of the gravity of the shipping situation and the undesirability of moving drafts to and fro across submarine-infested seas, it may be possible to use Australian, New Zealand and South African drafts for service in Mesopotamia and Egypt, while the English drafts, destined for these campaigns, could be sent instead to the Western Front...
This interim report was written by General Jan Smuts, a South African who had fought against the British during the Boer War. Partly in response to the German submarine campaign, the report suggests ways in which more efficient use of shipping (of troops, horses and stores, and as hospital ships) could aid the Allied war effort.
[Included in the archive of Sir William Guy Granet; document reference: MSS.191/3/4/145-149]
Second report on Air Organisation: precis for the Army Council, August 1917
The day may not be far off when aerial operations with their devastation of enemy lands and destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale may become the principal operations of war, to which the older forms of military and naval operations may become secondary and subordinate
Summary of the second report of the Prime Minister's Committee on Air Organization and Home Defence against Air Raids, dated 17 August 1917. The precis commented on the "transformation" caused by aerial warfare - "It requires some imagination to realize that next summer, while our Western Front may still be moving forward at a snail's pace in Belgium and France, the air battle front will be far behind on the Rhine, and that its continuous and intense pressure against the chief industrial centres of the enemy as well as on his lines of communication may form an important factor in bringing about peace" - and argued that a separate air service, at the same level as the army and navy, was needed to adminster this new form of warfare. The air arms of the British Army and Royal Navy (the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service) were finally merged on 1 April 1918, creating the Royal Air Force.
Modern Records Centre
University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
Email: archives at warwick dot ac dot uk
Page contact: Elizabeth Wood
Last revised: Thu 27 Nov 2014


We are hitting the "pause button" for our learning center in California at this time. It is with great sadness that we close this week. We had hoped that we could have finished out this semester, but it is just not possible given the present circumstances.
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Anna will be working with homeschool students on voice and performance, focusing on the integration of language arts and vocal skills. She strongly believes that music integrates into every field, especially public speaking, poetry, and literature. Students will learn how to compose their song and how to have confidence in front of a crowd, be aware of their words and diction, gain a deeper understanding of how to communicate a story, idea, or message in various ways through the study of voice and performance on Thursdays. Anna teaches on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.
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Kaelie joined Nashville Ballet as a second company member where she danced corps roles in company productions including Paul Vasterling's Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Kaelie also dance the principal role of Anne in Gina Patterson's Anne Frank while on tour with the second company in Kentucky. Kaelie found her passion for teaching through Nashville Ballet's Community Outreach Program where she often performed and taught movement to under privileged children all across Tennessee and surrounding states.
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Playerunknown's Battlegrounds takes Brendan Greene from welfare to gaming world royalty
By culture reporter Paul Donoughue
Updated October 27, 2017 16:54:37
Photo: Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is a last-man-standing, death-match style game. (Supplied)
Related Story: Australian women game for career growth overseas
A few years ago, things weren't looking too chipper for Brendan Greene.
Having returned from five years living in Brazil, he was crashing with his parents in Ireland, collecting unemployment cheques.
"I was an unemployed photographer and designer," he says of that time. "At 35, there was not a lot of career options for me."
In Brazil, though, he'd started playing around with game design. His parents were a little sceptical, but he believed he had an idea that might just turn into something good.
The last 12 months have proved him right.
Photo: Brendan Greene, AKA Playerunknown, developed the idea for the game while living in Brazil. (ABC News: Paul Donoughue)
A still-in-development version of the game he eventually created, Playerunknown's Battleground, was made available on PC via the platform Steam in March.
It's since become the most popular game of the year. It surpassed a million sales in less than a month. It then reached 4 million within three months — faster than Minecraft — and was past 13 million by the seven-month mark.
In September, it broke the record for the most concurrent players of any game on Steam, with more than 1.3 million people playing it at one time.
What's behind Battlegrounds' popularity?
The game is inspired by Battle Royale, a Japanese dystopian flick in which students fight to the death until only one remains.
In Battlegrounds, 100 players drop into a landscape from the air. The last man, or team, left standing wins.
To up the thrills, the playing field gradually shrinks, increasing the chance you'll run into another player and be forced into conflict.
Photo: In Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, 100 players fight to the death. (Supplied)
Greene isn't certain what's made his game such a success, but says the freedom it presents players may be part of it.
"I loved the idea of these open worlds with no rules," he says.
"We provide a world or a playground to do battle, and how you do it is up to you."
We asked if you were a fan of the death-match style game, and why you thought online gaming has become so popular.
Endless stories within a single game
The game lets you do all sorts of other-worldly things, but at its heart is something very human: survival.
"It's not against AI, it's not against computers, it's against other players, and there are 100 other players out there and everyone starts the same way," Greene says.
"You start with your clothes on your back and that's it. Everyone has the same chance to win."
External Link: Footage of Battlegrounds gameplay
Chris Charla, the director ID@Xbox, which helps independent developers get their games onto the console, says the appeal of Battlegrounds is its versatility.
"It's so fun, when you are with people who have been playing the game, to tell stories of double kills, or the time you were just about to win and your motorcycle hit a rock," says Charla, who is in Australia for the PAX Aus gaming convention in Melbourne.
"The game enables all these amazing stories."
Greene is now thinking about what's next
The next title Greene creates will be survival-based, he says, but he has no expectations of another break-out hit.
And that's fine. Unemployment cheques are a thing of the past, after all.
"I don't think it's sunk in yet," he says of the events of the past year.
"In Brazil, I had to really worry about what I was spending my money on. And not having to worry about that anymore is nice.
"I have a 12-year-old daughter and I know that she does not need to worry ever — I can provide a great life for her. And that just makes me happy."
Photo: Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is expected to come to XBox later this year. (Supplied)
Topics: games, games-industry, games-industry-professional-gaming, arts-and-entertainment, australia
First posted October 27, 2017 05:45:51
Why a mass exodus of young people from private health insurance could have unintended consequences
Strangers rally around families that lost everything in fires but got just $1,280
From kitchen scraps to clothing: How these old onion skins gained a fashionable afterlife
More than half a million donkeys have been culled in the Kimberley. Was it worth it?
Australia in danger of 'sleepwalking straight into an extinction crisis' (photos)
My pokies addiction landed me in jail
By Carolyn Crawford
I hadn't had a speeding ticket or parking ticket before I went to jail for 18 months after stealing from my workplace. Poker machines came close to ruining my life.
Multiple NSW towns plunged into 'complete darkness' by 'worst dust storm to date'
Vehicle goes over Gold Coast cliff, smashes on rocks (photos)


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Physicochemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological characterization of urban sewage sludge destined for agricultural reuse
Journal of New Sciences
Volume 27, Article 11 [Volume 27, Article 11] 625 kB
R.I. Zoghlami1,3*
S. Mokni-Tlili1
H. Hamdi*
M. Naceur Khelil2
N. Ben Aissa3
N. Jedidi1
1 Water Research and Technology Center, University of Carthage, P.O.Box 273, Soliman 8020, Tunisia,, inesrahma.zoghlami@gmail.com, helmi.hamdi@certe.rnrt.tn, mt_sonia@yahoo.fr, Naceur.Jedidi@certe.rnrt.tn
2 National Institute for Research in Rural Engineering, Water and Forestry, P.O.Box 10, Ariana 2080, Tunisia, khelil_mn@yahoo.fr
3 National Institute of Agronomy, 43 Av. Charles Nicolle, 1002 Tunis, Tunisia
Abstract - Sewage sludge characterization is important for an efficient use as an agricultural soil amendment. The present work reports on the outcomes of a preliminary investigation of an urban sewage sludge that has been reused by local farmers as an organic amendment. Polymorphism analysis of isolated bacteria showed the existence of two major phenotypic groups: a group P (non-mycelia bacteria) and a group G (mycelial bacteria), also showing that the 50 isolated strains were more sensitive to copper than to zinc. This sludge was very phytotoxic to lettuce seeds; the effective concentration (EC50) was very low around 0.36%. This may be caused partly by heavy metal contents which were, however, in accordance with French and Tunisian standards or by the high salinity of the sludge which could be an obstacle to its agricultural reuse. On the other hand, C/N ratio was equal to 15 indicating that the nitrogen supplied by this sludge provides good decomposition of the organic matter, which is an important indicator to improve the fertility of agricultural soils.
Keywords: sewage sludge, polymorphism, heavy metals, Phytotoxicity, C/N ratio
The activated urban sewage sludge system consists of the separation of the flocculated biosolids from the treated urban wastewater in a settling tank after undergoing the secondary biological treatment (Liwarska-Bizukojca et al. 2015). The successful reuse of activated sludge in agricultural soils as an organic amendment is largely based on the effectiveness of the treatment and stabilization procedures provided at treatment plants (Nansubuga et al. 2015; Alvarenga et al. 2015). Consequently, sludge quality depends on its physico-chemical, biological and toxicological properties (Sciubba et al. 2015).
As a biowaste, the addition of sewage sludge to croplands contributes to the recycling of nutrients in the soil due its relatively high content of organic matter. Sludge mineralization in the soil is a highly dynamic process in which microorganisms play a major role when edaphic factors are favorable (Hamdi et al. 2006). In this regard, microbial metabolic processes degrade complex carbon and nitrogen-containing polymers such as cellulose, hemicelluloses and proteins (Partanen et al. 2010), resulting in a more simplified matter (minerals and humus) that can be used as a plant growing medium or soil conditioner. The techniques used to identify the microbial populations involved in sludge biodegradation include qualitative techniques such as respiration indices where evolved CO2 or absorbed oxygen are measured (Ní Chualáin and Prasad 2009), and semi-quantitative and quantitative techniques, e.g. plate counts using selective media for bacteria and fungi culturing (Chroni et al. 2009). For instance, proteobacteria, actinobacteria, nitrosomonas have been shown to be abundant in different activated sludges (Sinthusith et al. 2015).
Nevertheless, sewage sludge as a complex biosolid originally contained in raw wastewater contains also various pollutants such as toxic heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, emerging contaminants, detergents, and pathogens (Hamdi et al. 2006; Meulepas et al. 2015). This can limit the agricultural reuse and pose potential risks to human health and the environment. Consequently, data should be gathered on the presence of contaminants in urban sewage sludge in order to determine environmental risks amid land application.
In this context, the current study focuses on the characterization of an urban sewage sludge produced at the wastewater treatment plant of Korba, Tunisia, and partly destined for agricultural reuse. Sludge potential as a fertilizer, toxic chemical and biological parameters, and the resistance of some bacterial isolates to heavy metals are hereby presented and discussed.
The urban sewage sludge used in this study was collected from the drying beds at Korba Wastewater Treatment Plant in Nabeul, Tunisia. This sludge is continuously generated by an activated sludge treatment process and partly used by the local farmers for fertilization purposes. At the laboratory, the fresh sludge sample was divided into two parts. The first was immediately stored at -20°C for microbial characterization. The second part was air dried at room temperature, crushed then sieved at 2 mm and stored at 4°C for physico-chemical and phytotoxicity analyses.
Physico-chemical parameters
Moisture content was estimated by drying 100 g of air-dried sludge at 105°C for 24 h. Sludge pH was measured in distilled water (1:2) according to NF T90-008. Electrical conductivity (EC) was determined in sludge-water slurry (1:5) according to NF T90-110. Total heavy metals were extracted with aqua regia by acid digestion (3:1, v/v, HCl:HNO3) (ISO standard 11466). Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TN) was determined according to Bremner (1996). Total organic carbon was determined by the Walkley and Black method (1934). Total available phosphorus (P) was analyzed by the Olsen method (1954). Exchangeable bases (K+, Na+ and Ca2+) were determined by flame photometry after sample mineralization.
Sludge phytotoxicity
The absolute phytotoxicity of sewage sludge was evaluated using the 120-h seed germination/root elongation inhibition test method (US.EPA 1996) using lettuce seeds (Lactuca sativa cv. Merveille des quatre saisons). Seed germination rate and root elongation were combined into an index of germination Ig according to the following equation (Barbero et al. 2001):
Ig = (Gs x Ls) / (Gc x Lc)
where Gs is the number of germinated seeds of the sample and Ls is the corresponding root length mean mm; Gc and Lc are the corresponding values for the washed sand control.
Consequently, percent root elongation inhibition could be calculated as follows:
% REI= (1- Ig) x 100
The different values of REI were treated graphically using Origin 6.0 program to determine the effective concentration (EC50) of sewage sludge in the mixture that causes 50% of REI as compared to sand control.
Microbiological parameters
The microbiological assessment of the fresh sludge sample was carried out to determine the microbial populations that would be eventually added to croplands after amendments, and to assess the pathogenic potential of this biowaste as well.
Total germs and fecal pollution indicators
A dilution series was first prepared from a sludge-sterilized distilled water suspension (1:10) under strong mechanical stirring to ensure a better desorption and release of the major microbial groups. Total numbers of microorganisms were expressed as Colony-Forming Units (CFU) according to ISO 7218 (ISO 1996); each colony represents a microbial unit. Subsequently, colonies that showed the most distinctive morphologies were isolated and stored. The conservation of purified bacterial isolates was carried out in glycerol (20%) at -20°C.
On the other hand, fecal pathogens in sewage sludge were determined using the most probable number method (MPN) (Rompre et al. 2002). The method is based on the enumeration and the possible identification of thermo-tolerant fecal coliforms (including Escherichia coli) as well as fecal streptococci.
Morphological and biochemical identification of bacterial isolates
Using the purified bacterial isolates preserved at -20°C, an initial morphological classification was conducted based on macroscopic and microscopic observation. In particular, the following characters were considered: color and aspect of the colony, presence or absence of aerial and vegetative mycelium, presence or absence of spores, release of diffusible pigments, melanin release, and finally microscopic shape of cells.
Besides, the biochemical identification aims to classify isolates according to their enzymatic activities. In this study, we addressed the microbial activities of catalase, cellulase, amylase and protease.
The combined polymorphism analysis of morphological and biochemical data was carried out using numerical taxonomy provided by the software "MVSP 3.13n" (MultiVariate Statistical Package), which uses the UPGMA algorithm method (Unweighted Pair-Group Method algorithm) and the Pearson coefficient. Consequently, a dendrogram was drawn to illustrate the classification of different isolates.
Physiological identification: heavy metal resistance
This test was performed to classify isolates according to their sensitivity or resistance to heavy metals. In this regard, Zn and Cu were chosen as model heavy metals for this study since they were the most prevalent in sewage sludge (Table 1). Solid media containing increasing concentrations of dissolved Zn or Cu (0, 200, 400, 800 and 1000 mg L-1) was then prepared and tested on all isolates. After incubation at 30°C during 3 days, we were able to estimate the maximum tolerated concentrations (MTC) for each metal and all isolates.
Sludge physico-chemical properties
The urban sewage sludge used in this study was characterized by a very low moisture content (2%) as compared to higher values (33-42%) often reported for the same sludge upon collection from the drying beds (Lassoued et al. 2013; 2014). This was a result of the supplementary air-drying performed at the laboratory, which may have positive impacts on the physico-chemical and phytotoxicity characterization.
Compared to analytical results reported for the same urban sludge, it was found that the C/N ratio in our study was relatively higher (15.7, Table 1). In fact, most of previous reports indicate that the C/N ratio of Korba's freshly collected sewage sludge varied between 6 and 10 (Lassoued et al. 2014; Kchaou et al. 2015).The current high C/N ratio can be explained by the long period that separated collection from characterization, which caused a greater biodegradation of nitrogen content (1.2%). In general, outcomes published previously on the same sludge pointed out consistently higher values for water content up to 53% (Rejeb et al. 2011) and nitrogen concentration: 3.87% (Jedidi et al. 2000), 2.25% (Gabteni and Gallali 1988), 2.16% (Bahri 1992), and 1.5% (Kchaou et al. 2015). It is likely that these sludge samples were analyzed directly after sampling without preliminary drying, which explains the lower C/N values. For instance, Bahri and Annabi (2011) proceeded to sludge drying prior to analysis and found a C/N ratio greater than 19. In any case, it is admitted that a biowaste is suitable for soil amendment when C/N ratio is lower than 20 (Lemos et al. 2013). As illustrated in Table 1, heavy metal content in the studied sludge is in accordance with the Tunisian standards for land application (NT 106.20, 2002). Actually, the contaminating potential of urban sludges in croplands depends on several factors: heavy metal content, applied dose, frequency of application, climatic and edaphic conditions, as well as cropping system (dry farmed or irrigated). In addition, the contamination of agricultural soils is reflected by heavy metal content and availability from one side, and by the level of metals that exceed thresholds in the edible tissues of crops from the other side (Kassaoui et al. 2009).
In our study , copper and zinc (respectively 174 and 342 mg kg-1) were the most prevalent heavy metals though their concentrations were still below the Tunisian regulation (respectively 1000 and 2000 mg kg-1) (ISO 1996).
Table 1: Physicochemical properties of the urban sewage sludge collected from wastewater treatment plant of Korba
Moisture content (%)
pH-water (1:2)
EC (µS/cm) (1:5)
Total organic carbon (%)
Total nitrogen (%)
C/N
Available phosphorus (mg/kg)
Potassium (mg/kg)
Calcium (mg/kg)
Sodium (mg/kg)
Limestone (%)
Iron (g/kg)
Cadmium (mg/kg)
Zinc (mg/kg)
Copper (mg/kg)
Nickel (mg/kg)
Lead (mg/kg)
The relationship between lettuce root elongation inhibition (%REI) and sewage sludge amount is represented in Figure 1. It was observed that when sludge amount in the medium exceeded 5%, there was a complete inhibition of lettuce seed germination. This points out a high phytotoxic potential reflected by a very low effective concentration (EC50 = 0.36%) (Fig. 1). Numerically, this corresponds to 0.36 g sludge per 100 g of washed sand or to the addition of approximately 11 t ha-1 of the same sludge to a light-textured soil at 0-20 cm depth. This phytotoxicity may have various sources. On one hand, the high salinity of this sludge (1702 μS cm-1, Table 1) could severely hinder germination and root elongation of lettuce seeds during the 5-d bioassay. Lettuce is known to be a very sensitive model plant to high levels of soluble salts in the exposure medium (Hamdi et al. 2007). These soluble salts in the soil solution can completely inhibit seed germination or reduce root growth by limiting water availability due to its high osmotic pressure ( Hassanpouraghdam et al. 2009). If bioavailable, phytotoxic heavy metals at high levels may also affect the germination of lettuce seeds (Di Salvatore et al. 2008). In our case, the low concentration of heavy metals in the 100% inhibiting mixture sludge-sand (<5%) in addition to the neutral pH of the medium suggests that the analyzed heavy metals are not directly involved in sludge phytotoxicity. As sewage sludge is a complex matrix, the possible existence of other non-analyzed phytotoxic compounds should be also considered (Hamdi et al. 2007).
Figure 1: Graphic determination of the effective concentration of sewage sludge that inhibits the root elongation (REI) lettuce seed by 50% (EC50) with respect to inert sand. [C] represents the % concentration of sludge in the mixture sludge-sand.
Microbiological characterization
Fecal pollution indicators and total microorganisms
In this study, streptococci and fecal coliforms were consistently at the limit of detection by the most probable number method (MPN) in the fresh sludge sample. Figure 2A shows that fecal coliforms reached 900 germs g-1. In addition, the presence of fecal streptococci at a concentration of 20.105 germs g-1 was also observed. In comparison to Tunisian Standards NT 16.21 and NT 16.22, which report that the number of fecal streptococci and fecal coliforms must not exceed 2.103 and 2.106 g-1 of dry sludge respectively, we can conclude that the current sewage sludge is heavily contaminated by fecal streptococci. However, this contamination is low for fecal coliforms and E. coli.
We also counted all microbial colonies (total cultivable communities) and colonies morphologically similar to those of actinomycetes (presence of vegetative and aerial mycelia, presence of spores). The bacterial fraction was the highest and reached more than 125.107 CFU g-1 of dry sludge (Fig. 2B). Actinomycetes and heterotrophic fungi were less present in the sludge sample (33.107 and 3.107 CFU g-1, respectively). Thus, actinomycetes accounted for approximately 25% of total cultivable bacteria, which indicates that these organisms occupy a large fraction of the total cultivable bacteria. In fact, actinomycetes provide a metabolic richness to the sludge that involves the synthesis of significant amounts of secondary metabolites required for the efficient degradation of organic matter (Pelmont, 2005).
Phenotypic Isolation and identification of isolates
During the first investigation on bacteria enumeration, we were able to isolate 50 strains with diverse and distinctive morphologies.
Morphological identification of isolated bacteria
The outcomes of this classification showed the presence of two major groups: group G and group P. The tested media (GN, PCA or R2A) favored the formation of an abundant vegetative mycelium for isolates of group G (Figures 3a, b and c). The aerial mycelium may be attached to the agar (G1 and G4 groups) or detachable (G2-G3 and G5-G6). The orange-brown pigment observed on the surface of the colonies diffused in most cases on the medium where diffusible pigments could be observed (Figures 3b and c). Besides, the production of a melanoid pigment was noticed for groups G1 and G6 (Figure 3b). The microscopic form of these bacteria was essentially filamentous. These filaments are long or short (Figures 3 g and h) and are entangled to form clusters of mycelium. In contrast, isolates of group P (Figures 3d, e and f) did not have mycelia or spores. Their microscopic shape is spherical in most cases (Groups P1 and P3; Figure 3i). All these observations testified to the presence of a mosaic of bacterial genera and species reflecting a high phylogenetic diversity in the urban sludge described in this study. The comparison between the characteristics of the isolates and the criteria for determining bacteria described in "Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology" (Lechevalier 1989), allows us to approximately identify the affiliation of these bacteria and conclude that: group G is for mycelial bacteria corresponding to the actinomycetes group and the P group belongs to non-mycelial bacteria.
Figure 3: Photos of macro and microscopic observations of some strains isolated from the sewage sludge of Korba.
Biochemical identification of isolates
The enzymatic activities of the isolated strains were tested and visualized by observable responses around the colonies. The percentage of strains producing enzymes with respect to the total number of strains (50 isolates),is relatively high. It varies between 30% and 100% (Table 2). These bacteria are mainly producing catalase (95%) and amylase (65%). The outcomes of this biochemical test showed that the majority of active strains belong to the actinomycetes group (G), which has high percentages of producing strains of cellulase and protease (80%). These percentages are higher than those of the P group. In the latter, we noted 50% and 34% of producing strains of cellulase and protease, respectively. All these calculated percentages indicate that the metabolic activity in sludge is high and this allows this biowaste to have a dual role. First, it can act as a natural medium for the production of secondary metabolites (Mehul 2004), and second it is a potential source for the isolation of bacteria producing new bioactive molecules. Bacteria isolation from this sludge led to the constitution of a valuable heterotrophic bacteria collection. Morphological characteristics as well as hydrolytic activities differed considerably from one strain to another.
Table 2: Percentage of bacteria producing enzymes: catalase, amylase, cellulase, and protease (average of 3 repetitions).
Enzyme activities
Percentage of bacteria producing enzymes
Cellulase
Accordingly, the analysis by UPGMA algorithm associated to the Pearson coefficient led to the construction of a dendrogram constituted by different groups (Fig.4). Considering the lowest similarity coefficient (0.2), the presence of two major phenotypic groups, P and G was finally confirmed. The G group represents 26% of bacteria and corresponds to mycelial bacteria. It is composed of actinomycetes and consists of 4 phenons. Group P represents 74% of bacteria and corresponds to non-mycelial bacteria consisting of 19 phenons.
Figure 4: Dendrogram showing 23 bacteria isolated phenotypes constructed following their morphological and biochemical characteristics through the program MVSP V 3.13n (Pearson coefficient / UPGMA algorithm)
Heavy metal resistance
The physicochemical characterization of the sludge sample showed that it was highly contaminated with heavy metals, mainly Zn (342 mg/kg) and Cu (174 mg/kg) (Table 1). Isolates were more resistant to high levels of Zn. In fact we noted that more than 40% of isolates are tolerant to the highest exposure concentration of 1000 mg L-1 (Fig. 5). A significant behavior difference was then noticed between the two metals. At low concentrations of Cu from 200 to 400 mg L-1, the number of tolerant isolates varied from 90% to 80%. Once the concentration was increased in the medium, bacterial tolerance decreased significantly to reach 14% to 4% for 800 mg L-1 to 1000 mg L-1 of Cu respectively. Microbial growth is inhibited in the presence of high copper content (≥ 1,000 mg L-1). Thus, the balance can be changed inducing reverse dominance (Diaz-Baath and Rovina 1996). It has been shown that changes in communities due to the presence of Cu could cause an increase in the relative proportion of gram-negative bacteria (Proteobacteria) or, on the contrary, gram- positive bacteria (Firmicutes) (Ekelund et al. 2003).
Figure 5: (A) Photos showing colony growth on different metal concentrations: Zinc (a) and copper (b), (B) Percent variation of tolerant isolates to zinc and copper.
In general, the sludge investigated in this study respects the Tunisian standards for agricultural reuse and has been already valorized by farmers of the region, especially for citriculture. Nevertheless the relative high salinity of this sludge could affect its agricultural use on the long term. It is therefore advised to avoid sowing crops that are sensitive to salinity just after amendments. The polymorphism analysis of morphological characteristics obtained by macro and microscopic observation, as well as by enzyme assays, showed the existence of two major phenotypic groups, P (not mycelial bacteria) and G (mycelial bacteria). Metal-resistance testing of bacterial isolates to major heavy metals in this sludge revealed that the 50 bacterial isolates are more sensitive to copper than zinc. However, interactions with the soil system after addition have to be deeply investigated.
This Project was funded by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientific Research. The authors would like to thank the National Sanitation
Office (ONAS) for technical support.
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Tagged under: Polymorphism, sewage sludge, heavy metals, Phytotoxicity, C/N ratio,


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Nick Jonas will encore Smash role in finale
March 13, 2012 at 9:19am AM EDT
Besides Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty, another character has been a big hit on Smash — Nick Jonas! The guest star is set to return in the series' season finale.
Related story Gabrielle Union Says This Racist Tradition Is Why She Was Fired From AGT
Nick Jonas isn't only trying and succeeding on Broadway: Before making his lead stage debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, he filmed an episode of NBC's Smash and played the brief but memorable role of Lyle West. The episode aired a couple weeks ago — complete with a few phrases of singing and improvised electric guitar playing — and has apparently earned him an invite to return on the fledgling series' final episode!
According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the Jonas Brother will reprise his role as Lyle West, a teen television sensation who got his first big break as a child actor in the theatre world. (Sound familiar at all?)
His character's fame is attributed to musical writer Tom (played by Christian Borle) and director Derek (played by Jack Davenport), who have been at odds with each other all throughout Smash's first season. West also agreed to come on board as an investor in the Marilyn Monroe musical.
Last month, Jonas told THR that he and his character were both open to returning to the show later on. "Lyle's in this one episode and maybe he'll come back in the future and be involved in another episode," he said. "You definitely could see Lyle pop up."
As the singer incorporates more acting roles into his repertoire, he then focused on his return for the sake of West's future.
"I think that there has been talk about it, but I haven't really heard an official word yet," he said back in February. "Hopefully we'll hear something soon. If they do have me back it really provides an opportunity for him to get deeper into it and kind of dig in and get more involved."
Set your DVRs, everyone! The season finale of Smash is set for May 14 at 10 p.m. EST.
Photo credit: Michael Carpenter/ WENN.com
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Hello all. Sorry for my English.
I need to run some method in model object after fetching its data from database (for example, after find, findOne, etc.). I need run it after fetching because it need this data.
I tried to use onConstruct method, but at the time of its call data from database missing ($this->id is null and so on). Is there any other way to do this?
Overwrite the find() method in the model and populate your stuff inside it?