She appreciates nature and good books and late night talks. She values intellect over beauty. She prefers deep conversations to shallow ones.
There is no sense in worrying about the future because there is no way to predict what is going to happen.
I don't know why it's so hard for me to accept you are never going to change. I don't know why I have so much faith in you when you have done nothing to earn it.
TAURUS: He keeps talking about how much he misses you and wants to grab drinks with you, but he never actually follows through on those plans.
You shouldn't feel like you are missing out on anything.
Everyone could see that she deserved better, except for herself.
Sometimes, choosing yourself means disappointing the people who care about you. It means placing yourself before anyone else, no matter how much they mean to you. It means giving your loved ones a little bit less so you have the energy to give yourself a little bit more.
Maybe we should give this one more shot, one more second chance.


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Expect 30°C daytime maximum temperatures in the shade with on average 9 hours of sunshine per day in Pondicherry in February. Check more long-term weather averages for Pondicherry in February before you book your next holiday to India in 2020/2021.
The February weather guide for Pondicherry, India shows long term weather averages processed from data supplied by CRU (University of East Anglia), the Met Office & the Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Find out more about our data sources.
The average maximum daytime temperature in Pondicherry in February is a hot 30°C (86°F) with high heat & humidity. The average night-time temperature is usually a comfortable 21°C (70°F). There are usually 9 hours of bright sunshine each day, which represents 77% of the 12 hours of daylight.
Expect 11mm (0.4 inches) of rainfall across the whole of February with 1 day with some rain falling. Maximum UV levels will be extreme (11+ UV index) at midday when the skies are clear.
The average sea temperature in and around Pondicherry in February is 27°C (81°F).
Browse the sunrise & sunset times for Pondicherry in February 2020. Select a month to view Pondicherry sunrise & sunset times for the next twelve months.
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text:
Eatin' Pidgin
27 January 2015,
Zachi Brewster
Lunch time © Raffaele Brustia
Language and food –two very viable means of illustrating and interpreting culture. Every culture communicates just as every culture eats, and it is how both are done that, in part distinguishes one from another. The individual food items which make up meals and formulate the whole culinary identity of a nation, are the same as the single words which create phrases and go on to construct language. Within a food culture, there are variations between regional cuisines, the same as the different dialects of the same language.
With people, foods have emigrated and moved around the globe, and as with words, their meaning has changed and adapted to fit in with their new environment, which means that sometimes non-indigenous ingredients or meals become the figurehead of a nation's cuisine or food identity. Think of the tomato in Italy or tea in England. When relating this to cultural identity, the line we often draw between ours and theirs then becomes blurred.
When we move around the world and learn a new language, we become bi- or even trilingual. Is it possible to stretch the parallel between food and language even further than usual? Can we become bi- or even tri-cuisinal? After all, we all have a mother tongue. To a certain degree it could be fair to assume that most of us have a 'mother-cuisine', meaning to say a cuisine which we are most comfortable cooking, where we are more familiar with the ingredients and flavour combinations- the cuisine we understand the most. OR is the process of familiarising ourselves with, and taking on the conventions of another food system, something completely different?
The world is getting smaller, new words are being created (tweet, selfie), copied and pasted into other languages with such velocity as has never before been experienced. Yet, with all of these new additions into a vocabulary, we still call the language English or Italian or French. There is a similar pattern happening in food cultures around the world and yet most people are more defensive in defining what is allowed in and what must remain foreign. Emigration and immigration confuses the matter further with culture no longer being restricted to a time or place and so individuals themselves are now as multicultural as their eating habits.
Initially I tried in vain to put the English food identity into a box, but found it is impossible and in the end highly unnecessary. Maybe the English culinary culture follows the structure of the language more closely than we realise. English is a fusion of different languages; start with a good spoon of Germanic roots, mix in a cup of Old Norse and then add a pinch of Latin lexicon. Leave to sit for a few years and continue to add sprinklings of this and that. English food culture is equally as mixed and always has been, mostly due to its colonial history. Respecting and protecting traditions is important, but let's not forget that all traditions were new once and half of them were not even native to this country, yet we still identify with them as being English. Think about it. We are a nation of tea drinkers, but tea is decidedly not English – it is only in the past ten years that this island has started to even grow the plant; A very English tradition with decidedly Asian roots.
Australia like Britain is also a country in the process of understanding its culinary identity. In an interview with Jock Zonfrillo a Scottish chef with Italian roots and owner and head chef of the Australian restaurant Orana & Street Adl who is trying to're-establish' Australian cuisine, Zane Lovitt writes '… the Orana Crew are consciously developing (…) a form of cooking that begins with indigenous ingredients and traditional cooking methods, then enhances them with other ingredients, other cooking methods. If pumpkin will improve the dish, they will add pumpkin. There is beetroot and coconut and goat's cheese in their meals. So it's not bush tucker, it's not Modern Australian, it's not strictly native, but it's not fusion either. Jock says, "What's wrong with calling it Australian?"
When it comes to food identity, culture, authenticity and traditions are not static and are continually being redefined by, and redefining the world around them (which should come as no surprise as it has been happening for centuries). This is why approaching them with extremes is not necessarily the most effective way of trying to understand them: exclusion vs. inclusion, native vs. foreign, old vs. new. Instead look at the various morsels as if they are pieces to the same very complicated puzzle. Call it English, call it Australian, in the end it's all pidgin. Defined as an auxiliary language that is created by the fusion of two or more languages allowing the speakers to communicate which, is then simplified into one language. Put into food terms, it is literally the completed puzzle, with all its differently shaped pieces – the model of many food cultures around the word as well as my own.
I have amassed a range of tastes, words and culture from different people and places in my life and this expresses itself in how I cook and the foods that remind me of home. Not 100% British, Bajan, Nigerian or Italian, but a melting pot of them all. It looks like pidgin's on the menu tonight guys…
Zachi Brewster is a recently graduated gastronome and freelance writer who investigates the ever evolving relationship between man, place and food.
Lunch time © Jaded One
Flickr for Lunch © makelessnoise
Medieval lunch! © Hans Splinter
A cup of coffee in Athens, Greece... © Nate Gray
Fresh nigirizushi © Lorenia
As sure as eggs is eggs © David J Dalley
A gastronomic journey across Tuscany
One of the most romantic place in Italy
Pineapple the superfood
All you need to stay healthy
Heavenly Father, the majority partner
A conversation with Diego Cusumano, a sicilian winemaker
An important nutrient for vegetarians and vegans
Pork Tikka
Chef Bonea's recipe
A dessert from the Middle Ages
We can do it if we stand together courageously
An Italian pizzaiolo recounts

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Children's learning experiences should be fun, exciting and challenging. We want your child to have a positive learning experience, throughout every aspect of their school life, not just in the classroom.
Children learn 'anytime, anyplace' and we want to help them experience new opportunities. In addition to lessons taught within the classroom, your child will have plenty of other learning opportunities, such as special events within the school and educational school trips.
Our primary team are dedicated and experienced international educators. They are passionate about your child's development. We make sure that every child feels valued and develops as an individual. The international aspects of our school are evident throughout everything we do and we believe it is important that our children understand the different cultures and customs of their peers.
The core areas of the curriculum in Years 1-6 are Literacy, Numeracy and the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). At the ISB, we use the framework of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) and National Numeracy Strategy (NNS), part of the Primary Strategy for England.
We value the partnership between home and school and encourage you to play an active part in your child's education. There are many opportunities for you to get involved, supporting class activities or accompanying us on school trips.
In primary school, it's our job to teach your child the academics, but it's also about ensuring that they have the core social and emotional skills to succeed in life, such as resilience. By the time your child reaches the end of Year 6, they will have gained the knowledge, experience and skills to successfully make the transition into secondary school. We plan a programme of activities during the school year to enable a smooth transition into secondary. This prepares your child both academically and socially for the exciting challenges as they move into our secondary school.


Consultations are always complimentary and confidential. This discussion is a perfect way to learn if Neuro-Structrual Correction at Central Chiropractic is right for you and your family. To learn more and schedule your consultation and learn more please contact us below.


text:
The Trump Administration Just Took Its Climate Denialism to Dizzying New Heights /
The Trump Administration Just Took Its Climate Denialism to Dizzying New Heights
Kali Holloway
It's not enough for the Trump administration to end Obama-era efforts to halt manmade climate change, as it effectively did with an executive order on Tuesday. The White House is now reportedly instructing employees of the Office of International Climate and Clean Energy in the Energy Department not to even mention the term "climate change," or a number of related phrases. Politico reports that during a meeting Tuesday, "a supervisor at the Energy Department's international climate office told staff...not to use the phrases 'climate change,' 'emissions reduction' or 'Paris Agreement' in written memos, briefings or other written communication."
The latest head-in-the-sand move by the Trump administration is part of an overarching effort by Republicans to spin manmade climate change — which 97 percent of scientists agree is happening — as an issue of debate. Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised to roll back President Obama's environmental regulations in order to revive the coal industry and create jobs. Four years prior, he had tweeted that the "concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive."
"You know what this is? You know what this says?" Trump asked a group of miners assembled for a photo op at the signing of his anti-environment executive order. "You're going back to work."
The scene came one day after Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, the largest privately held coal mining company in the U.S., said what we all already know: the industry will not be revived. In an interview with the Guardian, Murray acknowledged that job loss across the coal industry was driven by technological innovation, not over-regulation. "I suggested that [Trump] temper his expectations. Those are my exact words," Murray told the Guardian. "He can't bring them back."
Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program, also drew attention to the lie at the heart of Trump's anti-environmental efforts.
"The regulatory changes are entirely outweighed by these technological changes, not to mention the price of natural gas or renewables," Muro told the New York Times. "Even if you brought back demand for coal, you wouldn't bring back the same number of workers."
Department of Energy officials have denied any prohibition on language, with one spokesperson telling Politico, "No words or phrases have been banned for this office or anyone in the department."
One employee suggested that while the ban may not be officially codified into State Department rules, it's clear that there's an unsubtle top-down effort to change the ethos, culture and lexicon of the agency.
"We have definitively not received anything on banned words, not even orally," the official reportedly told Politico. "But people are doing a lot of reading into tea leaves. People are taking their own initiatives to not use certain words based on hints from transition people. Everyone is encouraged to find different ways of talking about things. There's a sense that you'd better find a way to delink."
'A huge setback for the GOP': Republicans suffer a blow in their fight for control of the House
Fox News' Peter Doocy: There are Republicans 'that don't agree with voting rights'
Texas' Ken Paxton violated law and must release records related to Jan. 6 Trump rally: DA
Virginia education bill mocked for erroneous 'fact' about Abraham Lincoln's slavery debates
The Jesus of the Bible taught one thing — and Trump does the opposite
Inside the secret 'endorsement operation' to get Trump's 'stamp of approval'
DeSantis regrets not going against Trump's national COVID lockdown
'Powerful evidence': Former prosecutor says McCarthy interview suggests admission of guilt from Trump
The reason a new civil war in the US is actually unlikely


The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art offers a unique way to appreciate art and the environment. Immerse yourself in our story by exploring below.
Our aim was always to preserve the land that inspired so many artists.
When the Brandywine River Valley was in danger of being developed, a few residents raised enough money to purchase the land and founded the Brandywine Conservancy.
The river nourishes the lush plant life throughout the valley and provides a home to a wide range of wildlife.
With soaring glass lobbies on three stories, the Museum offers visitors expansive views of the beautiful Brandywine River and the surrounding woods and meadows.
The Wyeth family studios and the Kuerner Farm offer visitors an opportunity to see firsthand how the environment inspired the artists and where their artwork was created.
Explore some of the major milestones we have reached while working to preserve the natural and cultural landscape of the Brandywine region.
The Brandywine Conservancy was founded by a group of local residents who, appreciating the need for rapid action, purchased land in Chadds Ford to protect the area from industrial development.
The Conservancy opened the Brandywine River Museum of Art. Part of the Conservancy's first preservation effort was renovating Hoffman's Mill, a former gristmill built in 1864, which became the home of the Museum of Art.
Through the leadership of the Brandywine Conservancy, the Laurels Preserve is established when a limited partnership purchased the 5,367-acre Buck & Doe Run Valley Farms property from the Texas-based King Ranch cattle operation. This was the largest conservation project in Pennsylvania at this time.
The Brandywine River Museum of Art opens the N.C. Wyeth House & Studio to the public. The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art acquired the house and studio as a gift from N.C. Wyeth's 5 children, in 1982.
Waterloo Mills Preserve is established when Mr. and Mrs. John C. Haas donate 170 spectacular acres to the Brandywine Conservancy. On the Waterloo Mills Preserve, one can find an 18th-century village, mill race remnants, wildflower meadows, fertile marshes, mature woods and over a mile of meandering creek.
The Brandywine River Museum of Art opens the Kuerner Farm to the public. The farm was originally acquired by Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art in 1999 due in large part to the philanthropic spirit of Karl Kuerner, Jr., and his family.
The Brandywine Conservancy was one of the first conservation organizations awarded accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. The award is an affirmation of careful management and effective environmental programs.
The Brandywine River Museum of Art opens Andrew Wyeth's Studio to the public. The studio was given to the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art by the artist's wife Betsy James Wyeth, in 2010 and underwent careful restoration to preserve its appearance when it was used by the late artist.
The Brandywine Conservancy holds more than 483 conservation easements and protects more than 64,500 acres throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Brandywine River Museum of Art is internationally recognized for its unparalleled collection and dedication to presenting Wyeth and American art. Nearly 300 special exhibitions have been shown in the museum's six galleries.
Read about the Conservancy's unique approach to conservation.
Plan your visit to the Brandywine River Museum of Art today.


text:
Is Obama Off the Hook?
Published: 6/3/2008 12:00 AM ET
Subscribe to Brian Fitzpatrick
By Brian Fitzpatrick
Are the media ever going to tell us what Barack Obama believes?
After months of embarrassing revelations about the unpatriotic, conspiratorial views of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and others, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama finally resigned last Friday from Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.
Though he chose to break fellowship with the congregation, Obama refused to repudiate the church or its teachings. According to The New York Times, he said, "I'm not denouncing the church, and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church…It's not a church worthy of denouncing."
This endorsement of Trinity, even as he quit the church, raises afresh the questions that have dogged Obama since those troubling Wright videos first surfaced on YouTube. Is it possible he agrees with Wright that, to cite just one example, God should "damn" America? If he disagrees, then why did he and his family remain in the church nearly 20 years?
The obvious journalistic response to Obama's resignation, a seminal development in the story, would be to run a retrospective. Three months of ugly revelations raising questions about patriotism, radicalism and judgment, punctuated by ineffectual attempts to defuse the political powder keg. An enterprising journalist might even try to pin down the candidate on the substantive questions about values and judgment: what he believes and why he stayed in the church.
Instead, the media keep serving up pure politics, usually from the viewpoint of damage control.
When the story broke on Saturday, journalists gave their common sense reaction that Obama's move appeared to be a political stratagem. ABC's George Stephanopoulos observed, "This also helps cut his ties to a church that has become a source of a lot of political baggage for Sen. Obama in this campaign. I think they figured it was best to cut the ties before Sen. Obama formally got the nomination so he could kind of wipe the slate clean during the general election." CBS's Jeff Greenfield told viewers, "That church was going to be used by his political opponents in the fall to define him."
By Sunday morning, the media were depicting Obama as a knight in shining armor. All of the networks brought in Democrat politicians to comment on the campaign, and most of them dutifully repeated Obama's principal talking point—that he left Trinity for the good of the congregation. Not a single network brought in a Republican for balance.
"He did the right thing for the church…."
CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer provided U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) with a platform to yet again distance Obama from Wright, and to say, "…most importantly he wanted to take the political circus away from the church." Next up was Clinton backer Gov. Ed Rendell (D-Penn.), who said, "He did the right thing for the church and the right thing for himself as a campaigner."
Tim Russert of NBC's Meet the Press interviewed the former Democratic Senate leader, outspoken Obama supporter Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Daschle applauded the candidate's resignation from Trinity and stressed that Obama was "outraged and repelled" by Wright's remarks.
On ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos reached right into the paid Obama campaign staff to interview "Barack Obama's close aide and communications director, Robert Gibbs." Predictably, Gibbs stood up for his boss: "I think obviously what Barack Obama made in the past few days is a deeply personal, not a political decision … a deeply personal decision that he thought was best for his family, best for the church."
The liberal media's principal concern about Obama's break with Trinity is whether it will stop the political bleeding. From Sunday's New York Times, a hint of desperation: "Now that Mr. Obama has addressed his ties to the church and pastor in a long speech and fully broken with both, it is not clear what else he can say or do to ameliorate the continued concerns of some voters about those associations."
How about answering their questions about his beliefs and judgment?
NBC's Lee Cowan seemed more hopeful on Sunday evening: "Whether this is actually the last word about all of this is hard to tell. Some say it could actually focus more attention on his church and some of his past associations but at the very least, it will likely end any future embarrassments coming out of that pulpit and do the one thing that he really wants, and that's take the spotlight off his church, at least for now."
On Monday, a news article in The Wall Street Journal whined before circling the wagons. "The damage done by Sen. Barack Obama's slow three-month break with Trinity United Church of Christ persists even after he has severed all ties with the Chicago congregation. … Critics have begun lashing out at him for attending the church for nearly 20 years and then quitting in what many see as a politically motivated decision."
Will the liberal media ever address the substantive questions about what Obama believes, and demand a credible explanation for why he remained in Trinity all those years? Probably not. On Sunday morning's Meet the Press, Russert and Daschle showed us what to expect for the rest of the campaign.
Russert: "Senator Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright, those comments by Father [Michael] Pfleger at Trinity Church, his comments about the bitterness of small town America gripping onto guns and to faith has created a real problem with him in terms of perception with white voters, blue-collar voters. He was trounced in West Virginia, trounced in Kentucky. How does he get those voters back? What does he have to do? What does he have to say?"
Daschle: "First of all, I'd say that John McCain has had his own problems with religious leaders. Rev. [John] Hagee and [Rod] Parsley have been equally as repulsive, in my view, with some of the things they've said…."
Don't expect answers. Expect counterattacks, with the microphone provided courtesy of the liberal media.
Brian Fitzpatrick is senior editor at the Culture and Media Institute, a division of the Media Research Center.
Publication: Articles
Division: MRC Business
Category: Education, Media
Tags: obama, JeremiahWright, TrinityUnitedChurchofChrist, abc, NBC, cbs, GeorgeStephanopoulos, JeffGreenfield, BobSchieffer, TimRussert, NewYorkTimes, WallStreetJournal, ClaireMcCaskill, EdRendell, TomDaschle, RobertGibbs
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text:
Ukraine Inches Closer to Adopting Anti-corruption Court Law
Written by Alex Cooper
The Ukrainian Parliament approved on Thursday a first reading of a draft law that would create an anti-corruption court that was demanded from reformers and Western allies Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
President Petro Poroshenko (Photo: Mykola Lazarenko, CC-BY-SA-4.0)The court's creation had been stalled for several months since Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko announced in December that the country will pass the new anti-corruption bill by February
The International Monetary Fund conditioned its next round of funding of US$ 2 billion with the creation of the special court, pension reform and with Ukraine maintaining gas price commitments, reports Reuters.
Proponents of the court argue that it is necessary to try corruption cases and work to establish credible rule of law. The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has forwarded 116 high-profile corruption cases to Ukrainian courts since 2015 and conducted almost 500 criminal investigations, though progress on the cases has been slow or nonexistent.
There is concern that the current draft would not harmonize with the recommendations given by the Venice Commission. The Commission, formally called the European Commission for Democracy through Law, provides legal advice to Council of Europe members.
In response to this and concerns from the IMF, Ukraine's government said that the legislation will be changed to comply with these recommendations before it's final approval.
"The law should be definitively approved in the spring," President Petro Poroshenko said during a televised address Wednesday. He reiterated his support in a Facebook post the following day after the draft law's approval.
Nazar Kholodnytsky, the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), is less optimistic than the president due to the complexity of organizing the court. "I'm not sure it will start work by the end of the year. On the contrary, I'm sure it won't," he told Interfax-Ukraine.
Fears exist that Poroshenko and officials have purposefully stalled the anti-corruption court's creation. In Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index 2017 Ukraine was listed as 130th out of 180 countries, indicating high levels of corruption.
ukraine	poroshenko


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text:
Q: Intuition behind Cumulative Accuracy Profile(CAP) I am really having trouble understanding the intuition behind Cumulative Accuracy Profile(CAP) Curve. I mean where exactly does the CAP curve is used and how do you read the CAP curve? Parts of the CAP curve?
Could anyone explain in simple words (and maybe with an example) what is the Intuition behind Cumulative Accuracy Profile(CAP)?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Acupuncture for uterine fibroids: Protocol for a systematic review of randomized controlled trials : Medicine
Previous Release
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February 2019 - Volume 98 - Issue 8
Thought you might appreciate this item(s) I saw in Medicine.
Research Article: Study Protocol Systematic Review
Acupuncture for uterine fibroids
Protocol for a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Liu, Tong PhDa,∗; Yu, Jiani PhDb; Kuang, Weichuan MDa; Wang, Xiaoyin MDa; Ye, Jiang MDa; Qiu, Xiaojia MDa; Xi, Wen MDa; Zeng, Yao MDa; Zou, Hanhong MD; Liu, Yue MDa,∗
aDepartment of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
bDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
∗Correspondence: Yue Liu and Tong Liu, Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, GuangDong Second Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (e-mails: [email protected]; [email protected]).
Abbreviations: CIs = confidence intervals, RCTs = randomized controlled trials.
No ethical approval was acquired given that this is a protocol for a systematic review. This review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or conference presentation.
TL and J-NY contributed equally to this paper and are co-first authors.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (No. 81704179).
Funding acquisition by YL.
The authors have no conflicts of interest.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Medicine 98(8):p e14631, February 2019. | DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014631
Uterine fibroids represent the most common gynecological benign tumors in reproductive females. Acupuncture has been applied as a therapeutic modality in China to treat uterine fibroids. However, currently, few critical systematic reviews regarding the effect of acupuncture on uterine fibroids have been published. Our proposed review aims to evaluate the current evidence on the efficacy of acupuncture for uterine fibroids.
A total of 7 databases were searched from their inception to December 2018, including PubMed, Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure database, the Chinese Biomedical database, and the Wanfang database. The primary outcomes will be reduction in uterine volume and number of fibroids. Secondary outcomes are pelvic or low-back pain, assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS); Irregular menstrual periods; Low-abdominal pressure symptoms such as frequent or urgent urination, or constipation and adverse events. Data synthesis will be computed by RevManV.5.3.5 software when a data-analysis is allowed. Methodological quality will be evaluated with the risk of bias according to Cochrane Handbook.
This study will provide high-quality evidence of acupuncture for uterine fibroids.
The conclusion of this systematic review will provide evidence to judge whether acupuncture is an effective therapeutic intervention for patients with uterine fibroids.
Trial registration number:
PROSPERO CRD42019120484.
Uterine fibroids, also known as leiomyomas, represent the most common gynecological benign tumors in reproductive females, with pathogenesis remains largely unknown. The estimated incidence varied from 20% to 40% in reproductive years[1,2] while nearly 70% at age 50.[3] The related symptoms are always heavy and prolonged uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, and reproductive dysfunction,[4] which significantly decreased patient's quality of life. In addition, study reported that pregnant women with uterine fibroids may take risk for cesarean delivery, breech presentation, and postpartum hemorrhage.[5]
Majority of treatment options have been applied for uterine fibroids, such as oral progestogens,[6] surgery,[7] and latest high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).[8] However, all the treatments are associated with substantial side effects or risks. Acupuncture has been widely applied as a therapeutic modality in China and abroad, however, its effect for uterine fibroids has not been determined. Herein, we conducted this review to evaluate the effect of acupuncture for uterine fibroids.
Our review protocol has been registered on PROSPERO with number CRD42019120484 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=120484). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocol (PRISMA-P) statement guidelines strictly comply in the protocol.[9] Any change of the review will be described if needed.
2.1 Inclusion criteria for study selection
2.1.1 Types of studies
All clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that label acupuncture for uterine fibroids are included without any language or publication status restrictions. Animal studies and duplication of published papers are excluded. Quasi-randomized trials and trials that we cannot ascertain if the trial is truly randomized are also excluded.
2.1.2 Types of participants
Women of reproductive age with a diagnosis of uterine fibroids will be enrolled in the review without considering any information related to their age, sex, race, education, and nationality. The diagnosis could be confirmed by surgery, ultrasound, clinical signs, and symptoms.
2.1.3 Types of interventions
2.1.3.1 Experimental interventions
The types of acupuncture included traditional acupuncture, electroacupuncture, auricular acupuncture, scalp acupuncture, superficial acupuncture, wrist-ankle acupuncture, fire needling, warm needling, and abdominal acupuncture. Nonpenetrating point stimulation such as acupressure, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, laser acupuncture is excluded. In addition, there is no limitation to the treatment cycle and frequency.
2.1.3.2 Control interventions
The controls could be sham acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, acupressure, no treatment, non-acupoint acupuncture, medication, massage. Studies that compared acupuncture plus another therapy with the same other therapy alone will also be included. Trials that only involve comparisons between different types of acupuncture are excluded.
2.1.4 Types of outcome measures
2.1.4.1 Primary outcomes
(1) Reduction in uterine volume;
(2) Reduction in number of fibroids.
2.1.4.2 Secondary outcomes
(1) Pelvic or low-back pain, assessed Visual Analog Scale (VAS);
(2) Irregular menstrual periods;
(3) Low-abdominal pressure symptoms such as frequent or urgent urination, or constipation;
(4) Adverse events.
2.2 Search methods for the identification of studies
2.2.1 Electronic searches
The research team searched the following databases from their inception to December 2018, with no language restrictions: PubMed, Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure database, the Chinese Biomedical database, and the Wanfang database. Keywords were acupuncture, electroacupuncture, needling, acupoint combined with uterine fibroids, myomas, leiomyomas, leiomyomatas, Pin Yin (including "Zhen Ci, or Zhen Jiu, or Hao Zhen, or Ti Zhen, or Dian Zhen, or Tou Zhen, or Fu Zhen, or Shou Zhen, or Huo Zhen, or Wanhuai Zhen, or Wen Zhen" and "Zi Gong Ji Liu, or Ji Liu" in the title and keywords sections).
2.2.2 Searching other resources
Clinical trial registries, dissertations, and grey literature will be additionally searched. Furthermore, the reference lists of selected studies will also be scanned for additional studies. We will also search WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/), ClinicalTrials.gov registry (http://clinicaltrials.gov/), Chinese Clinical Trial Registry and other relevant trial registries.
2.3 Data collection and analysis
2.3.1 Selection of studies
Before selection of studies, all reviewers will receive professional training to understand the objective and process of the review. EndNote X8 software will be applied to upload the studies obtained from electronic databases and other resources. The selection of studies for the current review was performed independently by 2 reviewers (LT and YJN) screening the titles, abstracts, and keywords of all retrieved records separately. Any disagreement will be resolved through discussion and adjudication to get a consensus and judged by an arbiter (LY). A table named "reasons for excluded studies" will be established for the excluded studies. Details of the selection procedure for studies are shown in a PRISMA flow chart (Fig. 1).
Flow diagram of study selection process.
2.3.2 Data extraction and management
Data will be independently extracted from the selected studies and fill in the data collection form by 2 reviewers (LT and YJN). The following key information was extracted from each study:
(1) name of the first author,
(2) publication year,
(3) sample size,
(4) characteristics of the participants,
(5) intervention and control treatments,
(6) main acupoints or sites selected,
(7) duration and number of sessions of treatment,
(8) outcome measures, and
(9) any adverse events.
Any disagreement regarding the data extraction will be discussed and judged between the 2 authors or consulting a senior reviewer (LY). The results of the data extraction will be checked by the arbiter. When the data of articles are sufficient or ambiguous, we will contact the corresponding authors for more information by e-mail or telephone.
2.3.3 Assessment of risk of bias in included studies
The research team conducted a risk-of-bias assessment using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk,[10] which includes 6 dimensions:
(1) adequate sequence generation,
(2) allocation concealment,
(3) blinding,
(4) the presence of incomplete data,
(5) selective reporting, and
(6) other forms of bias.
The research team completed the risk-of-bias assessment for each study independently, with any discrepancies resolved through discussion. The quality of each trial was categorized into 1 of 3 types of risk of bias:
(1) low (L),
(2) unclear (U), and
(3) high (H).
Trials were categorized as having:
(1) a low risk of bias if all of the items had a low risk of bias,
(2) a high risk of bias if at least 1 item had a high risk of bias, and
(3) an unclear risk of bias if at least 1 item was unclear.
2.3.4 Measures of treatment effect
Outcome data were summarized using a risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for binary outcomes or mean differences (MDs), with a 95% CI for continuous outcomes.
2.3.5 Unit of analysis issue
Considering that some studies compared 2 or more intervention groups with a control group, the research team followed the recommended advice in the Cochrane Handbook version 5.1.017 and combined groups to create a single pairwise comparison to avoid a unit-of-analysis error.
2.3.6 Dealing with missing data
We will try to contact the first author by e-mail or telephone to obtain the missing data if possible. If failed, we will analyze the available data and discuss the potential influence of the missing data in the discussion.
2.3.7 Assessment of heterogeneity
Heterogeneity will be assessed with a standard x2 text according to the guideline of Cochrane Handbook. When the I2 value is <50%, Study will be regarded as no statistical heterogeneity if I2 value is <50%, and the fixed-effect model will be selected. It will be considered significant heterogeneity while I2 ≥50%, and we will select a random-effect model and make subgroup analysis to explore the potential causes of heterogeneity.
2.3.8 Data synthesis and analysis
Review Manager Software (RevMan V.5.3.5) from Cochrane Collaboration will be applied for data synthesis and analysis. A random-effects model will be used when I2 ≥50% while a fixed-effects model will be applied when I2 <50%. When significant clinical heterogeneity existed, we will use subgroup analysis or sensitivity analysis, or only descriptive analysis.
2.3.9 Assessment of publication bias
A funnel plot analysis was conducted to determine publication bias if 10 or more studies are in the meta-analysis.
2.3.10 Subgroup analysis
Subgroup analyses were performed for type of acupuncture if at least 2 trials were available for which I2 >50%.
2.3.11 Sensitivity analysis
Sensitivity analysis will be performed to identify the robustness of studies according to the following criteria: methodological quality, sample size, and missing data.
2.3.12 Grading the quality of evidence
Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) will be applied to evaluate the quality of confidence for primary outcomes in including studies.[11] The evaluation will divide into 4 levers: high, moderate, low, or very low.
Uterine fibroids are common in reproductive women worldwide. Although mostly asymptomatic, it could be associated with a variety of healthy problems.[12] A recent study highlights that nearly 50% of women in the USA rely on complementary and alternative medicine, including exercise (45%), diet (34%), herbs (37%), and acupuncture (16%), to treat symptoms of UFs. To be excited, patients using these interventions report significant symptomatic improvement than those using pharmacological and surgical treatments.[13]
Acupuncture has been widely studied to treat gynecological conditions.[14] In our previous study, we also found that acupuncture may have potential effect for primary dysmenorrhea.[15] Although a previous Cochrane review had assessed the benefits and harms of acupuncture in women with uterine fibroids in 2010, however, no trial was included in their review finally, therefore no data was collected.[16] Since there have been majority of new RCTs involving acupuncture for uterine fibroids after 2010, it is, therefore, necessary to make a new review. We hope that this systematic review will help clinicians make decisions in practice and promote the progress of acupuncture research.
However, there are limitations that may affect the conclusion. First, different acupuncture types or acupoints may result in significant heterogeneity. Second, different age of patients and degree of uterine fibroids may also run risk of heterogeneity.
Tong Liu and Jiani Yu contributed to the conception of the study. The manuscript of the protocol was drafted by Tong Liu and was revised by Jiani Yu and Yue Liu. The search strategy was developed by Weichuan Kuang, Xiaoyin Wang, and run by Yao Zeng and Hanhong Zou, who will also independently screen the potential studies, extract data of included studies, assess the risk of bias and finish data synthesis. Tong Liu and Xiaojia Qiu will arbitrate the disagreements and ensure that no errors occur during the study. All authors have approved the publication of the protocol.
Conceptualization: Tong Liu, Jiani Yu.
Data curation: Tong Liu, Jia-Ni Yu, Weichuan Kuang, Xiaoyin Wang, Yao Zeng, Hanhong Zou.
Formal analysis: Jiang Ye, Xiaojia Qiu, Wen Xi.
Funding acquisition: Yue Liu.
Resources: Tong Liu, Jia-Ni Yu.
Writing – original draft: Tong Liu, Jia-Ni Yu.
[1]. Walker CL, Stewart EA. Uterine fibroids: the elephant in the room. Science 2005;308:1589–92.
[2]. Wallach EE, Vlahos NF. Uterine myomas: an overview of development, clinical features, and management. Obstet Gynecol 2004;104:393–406.
[3]. Neuman M. AAGL practice report: practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of endometrial polyps. J Minim Invasive Gynecol 2012;19:3–10.
[4]. Stewart EA. Uterine fibroids. Lancet 2001;357:293–8.
[5]. Rong Z, Xin W, Liying Z, et al. Adverse obstetric outcomes in pregnant women with uterine fibroids in China: a multicenter survey involving 112,403 deliveries. PLoS One 2017;12:e0187821.
[6]. Friend DR. Drug delivery for the treatment of endometriosis and uterine fibroids. Drug Deliv Transl Res 2017;7:829–39.
[7]. Donnez J, Dolmans MM. Uterine fibroid management: from the present to the future. Hum Reprod Update 2016;22:665–86.
[8]. Yi W, Zhi-Biao W, Yong-Hua X. Efficacy, efficiency, and safety of magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound for ablation of uterine fibroids: comparison with ultrasound-guided method. Korean J Radiol 2018;19:724–32.
[9]. Shamseer L, Moher D, Clarke M, et al. Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015: elaboration and explanation. BMJ 2015;350:g7647.
[10]. The Cochrane Collaboration. Chapter 8: assessing risk of bias in included studies. In: Higgins J, Green S, eds. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.1.0, 2011.
[11]. Balshem H, Helfand M, Schünemann HJ, et al. GRADE guidelines: 3. Rating the quality of evidence. J Clin Epidemiol 2011;64:401–6.
[12]. Chabbert-Buffet N, Esber N, Bouchard P. Fibroid growth and medical options for treatment. Fertil Steril 2014;102:630–9.
[13]. Jacoby VL, Jacoby A, Learman LA, et al. Use of medical, surgical and complementary treatments among women with fibroids. Eu J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2014;182:220–5.
[14]. Kang, Jeong, Daun, et al. The use of acupuncture for managing gynaecologic conditions: an overview of systematic reviews. Maturitas 2011;68:346–54.
[15]. Liu T, Yu JN, Cao BY, et al. Acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Altern Ther Health Medic 2017;Epub ahead of print.
[16]. Zhang Y, Peng W, Clarke J, et al. Acupuncture for uterine fibroids. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010;1:CD007221.
acupuncture; protocol; systematic review; uterine fibroids
Copyright © 2019 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
Acupuncture for uterine fibroids: Protocol for a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Medicine98(8):e14631, February 2019.
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Articles in PubMed by Tong Liu, PhD
Articles in Google Scholar by Tong Liu, PhD
Other articles in this journal by Tong Liu, PhD
The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.


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HEAR NEW LINKIN PARK "HEAVY"
Today (Feb 16th) we got a taste of some new Linkin Park material! The lead single off "One More Light" had some light shed on it – track's called "Heavy" and it features singer Kiiara.
And you can listen to it right now!! Check it out, enjoy!
For those unfamiliar with Kiiara, you might have heard her on a less-heavy radio station doing her song "Gold." And on paper it's a bit of an oddball mashup (Linkin Park is no stranger to oddball mashups – remember their paring with Jay-Z?) but looking further into Kiiara she lists Linkin Park as a main influence for her music. So, how cool must it have been for her to get a phone call from these guys!
Guitarist Mike Shinoda details why "Heavy" was chosen as the first single.
"…. because it is really the core sound of the album. This wasn't a scenario where the whole album sounds one way and the single sounds different. This is how the album sounds. So we wanted to go out with a song like that, where everybody can get a sense of the direction of this body of work."
One More Light is the name of the next Linkin Park album. And as Shinoda detailed, if you like the song it's very likely you'll dig the album too. It comes out May 19th, 2017


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See The Final Premier League Table After Today's Matches
BATURE MUSA
Premier League :Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City: Due to Rodri's goal in stoppage time, Manchester City defeated Arsenal 2-1 on Saturday.
Watford 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Tottenham Hotspur recovered under the leadership of Antonio Conte and defeated Watford 1-0 on the Pastor Road, thanks to Vincent Sanchez scored with a header in the 96th minute.
Both sides were dissatisfied with referee Rob Jones' decision. He rejected Harry Kane and Joshua King's penalty requests in the first and second half of the game, and the entire second half was postponed due theo the spectators' illness in the Graham Taylor stands.
Watford lost 15 goals in five consecutive defeats, but before Sanchez's late intervention, the inspired Daniel Bachman annoyed Kane and his teammates.
After a 1-1 draw with 10 people at Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur seemed to lose another two points, but Sanchez stood up and took Sun Xingmin's free kick home, leaving Watford heartbroken, wondering Their first Premier League game with zero goals conceded is when the season will arrive.
As a result of the victory, Antonio Conte's undefeated record as manager now reaches eight games. Tottenham are now in fifth place with 33 points, 2 points behind Arsenal in the last Champions League qualifying game, while Watford is still ranked 17th, 2 points higher than the relegation zone.
Crystal Palace 2-3 West Ham United: Despite the late recovery of the hosts, West Ham United defeated Crystal Palace 3-2 in the Premier League in 2022, starting with a solid start in the first four games.
On New Year's Day, Arsenal lost 1-2 to Manchester City, and West Ham was only one point behind Arsenal, ranking fourth.
West Ham scored three consecutive goals in the first half, which was their first victory in five games against Watford in the middle of the week. Said that Benrahma's wonderful delivery was moved by Mikhail Antonio (22), and then Manuel Lanzini's clever touch and deadly shot from the edge volleyed the goal to rewrite the score to 2-0 (25).
Later in the half, after Luka Milivojevic handled the ball in the penalty area (45+5), Lanzini hid a penalty kick. This decision angered the palace and their Manager Patrick Vieira, who followed the referee through the tunnel when the whistle sounded.
The result at halftime was deceptive: Palace hit the goal post twice and had countless opportunities, but they scored the goal they deserved in the late period because of a brilliant pass from substitute Michael Olis (83) by Odsonne Edouard. The header passed Fabianski.
In the 90th minute, after Olise's free kick crossed the penalty area, Matteta's header went slightly wide, and West Ham finished the three-pointer despite the tension.
Tags: Premier League Premier League table
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Budget Blinds of Mechanicsville
Treat your windows to beautiful hardware and accessories that make a statement and take window treatments to a whole new level.
At Budget Blinds of Mechanicsville, our wide selection of window hardware adds the perfect finishing touch to your drapes and panels. Choose from designer-inspired curtain rods, drapery hooks, tassels, cleats, and finials to add a personalized style that is uniquely yours.
It's easy to make a lasting fashion statement with our impressive array of stylish finials, curtain rods, and so much more.
From stunning finials made of faux iron and bronze, to cast iron rods and rings, our hand-finished selection of decorative hardware provides the perfect finishing touch to your new look.
Choose from square, modern Lucite to ornate geometric crystal--our collection of finials is unmatched in the industry.
Explore a world of artisan-inspired charm that includes cast iron construction and sophisticated design details of polished stainless steel and bronze.
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Let your inner designer take over as you explore a world of premium decorative hardware that truly reflects your own unique sense of style.
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Midlothian VA
Mitch Kernstine
mkernstine@budgetblinds.com
Mechanicsville, Richmond, Henrico, Hanover, Ashland, New Kent
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This franchise is responsible for the following cities: Barhamsville, Charles City, Henrico, King William, Lanexa, Manquin, Mechanicsville, New Kent, Providence Forge, Quinton, Richmond, Ruthville, Sandston, West Point
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Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM "Art" lens deal – $699.99 (US warranty, authorised Sigma dealer, compare at $849)
This is a very good deal by authorised Sigma retailer Camera Land on eBay (99.6% positive ratings): the awesome Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM "Art" lens on sale at $699.99 . Compare at $849.
Please note: this is not a grey import item, it's a demo unit. It is an US market product and it comes with an US warranty. The seller says:
As one of the largest Sigma dealers in the USA we are happy to offer this great lens at a super price. It comes with the USA Warranty.
We had an in store demo and these were shown and put back in the box. Because of this we won't sell them as new never opened
If you are buying on eBay, you may be interested to know that Canon is suing grey import retailers. Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM "Art" lens overview after the break.
Completely redesigned and reengineered
Exceptional Image Quality
Incredible focal point sharpness when wide open
Pairs well with Pro-Level DSLR's
MTF A1-tested
Front & rear lens caps and lens hood (LH830-02) is included
DG FOR DIGITAL
Designed to deliver the ultimate in performance on full-frame digital SLRs, Sigma DG lenses also bring out the best in 35mm SLR film cameras and APS-C size DLSRs.
HSM – QUIET & FAST AUTOFOCUSING
This lens uses a motor driven by ultrasonic waves to provide a quiet, high-speed AF.
The staple Sigma 50mm 1.4 DG HSM has been redesigned and reengineered to set a new standard for the Art line. With a large 1.4 aperture, the Sigma 50mm 1.4 prime lens is a pro level performer for shooting everything including portrait photography, landscape photography, studio photography and street photography. A Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ensures quiet, smooth and accurate autofocusing and paired with Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass and Super Multi-Layer coating, the 50mm 1.4 is a high performance lens for the modern DSLR sensors. 13 elements in 8 groups allow for unsurpassed performance even at wide apertures and close-up photography is easily managed with a minimum focusing distance of 40cm. The Sigma 50mm 1.4 lens is the new exceptional standard, standard prime.
Lens Construction:
13 Elements in 8 Groups
Angle of View:
Number of Diaphragm Blades:
Mininum Aperture:
Minimum Focusing Distance:
40 cm / 15.7 in
Filter Size:
Maximum Magnifications:
Dimensions (Diameter x Length):
85.4 x 99.9 mm/ 3.4 x 3.9 in
815g/ 28.7 oz
50mmsigma
Deal: Gitzo 100-Year Anniversary Edition Tripod with Ball Head – $799 (reg. $1499, today only)
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Twitter User Captures Video of "Harmonious" Fountains Being Tested in Early Morning Hours
by Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk | Mar 5, 2021 12:53 pm (Pacific)
Tags: Epcot, Harmonious, Nighttime spectacular, Parks, Walt Disney World
Talk about being in the right place at the right time. For one Twitter user, she was in that exact situation when she looked out her window and saw some of the fountains of EPCOT's upcoming show, Harmonious, being tested.
Twitter user Brooke Geiger McDonald was able to capture some footage in the early morning hours of the fountains on the center ring and barges of EPCOT's upcoming nighttime spectacular, Harmonious, being tested.
The fountains shoot high into the sky, and as you can tell from this footage, can be seen from distant locations.
The footage appears to be filmed from the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel, looking over Disney's Boardwalk and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort, into World Showcase lagoon where the water is shooting over 100 feet into the sky.
At this time, it is unclear if the fountain testing was for the actual Harmonious show which will take place at night, or the fountain program that will run during the day hours, hiding the show's infrastructure and adding a kinetic showpiece to the center of the lagoon.
Early morning Harmonious fountain testing at EPCOT! #WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/9ER93kkJNI
— Brooke Geiger McDonald (@BrookeGMcDonald) March 5, 2021
The spray has changed direction. pic.twitter.com/sh5OP40Ixu
And some photos of the Harmonious barge fountain testing. #EPCOT pic.twitter.com/XSX1CaRKvB
Late last month, the center ring of the show, standing over six stories tall, was floated into place and took it's permanent residence in the center of the lagoon between two additional wedges that were already installed. Even after all that, there are still two additional wedge barges to be installed before the bulk of the show equipment installation is complete.
When the show debuts, Harmonious will be one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for a Disney Park. The show will be a beautifully crafted dreamscape of Disney music and images, reimagined by diverse cultural musicians and artists from around the world. Harmonious is said to be a transformative experience, where EPCOT guests can discover how Disney music has the power to inspire and unite us all with the magic of possibility.
Disney has not released an official opening date for the new show.
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You love your pet 24/7, and so do we. We hope that your furry friend isn't in need of emergency services, but if they do, call us at 425-258-4466. As a 24-hour vet clinic, we are ready to handle urgent and emergency situations anytime and any day.
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One Near-Light-Speed Pitch Would Liven Up a Baseball Game---And Destroy It
DiscoblogBy Sophie BushwickJuly 12, 2012 5:00 PM
The last thing you'll ever see?
Baseball is a leisurely game---some would say achingly boring---with no ticking clock forcing the players to hurry. But what if you could speed baseball up? Way, way up, up to a relativistic pace: What would happen if the pitcher wound up and released a baseball at 90 percent the speed of light? Randall Munroe, the mind behind stick-figure comic XKCD
, has a background in physics and computer programming, which heavily influences his work. Recently he launched a new weekly feature called "What If?
" in which he answers readers' hypothetical questions. Like how to hit a baseball
that is moving so fast, normal mechanics no longer apply and the rules of relativity come into play. The answer is that in relativistic baseball, you don't hit the ball; the ball---or rather the plasma shockwave that the ball creates---hits you…and everyone else.
The ball is going so fast that everything else is practically stationary. Even the molecules in the air are stationary. Air molecules vibrate back and forth at a few hundred miles per hour, but the ball is moving through them at 600 million miles per hour. This means that as far as the ball is concerned, they're just hanging there, frozen. The ideas of aerodynamics don't apply here. Normally, air would flow around anything moving through it. But the air molecules in front of this ball don't have time to be jostled out of the way. The ball smacks into them hard that the atoms in the air molecules actually fuse with the atoms in the ball's surface. Each collision releases a burst of gamma rays and scattered particles.
As the gamma rays travel, they rip apart everything in their path, even air molecules, forming a sphere of super-hot plasma and x-rays that travels outward to disintegrate pitcher, batter, and the entire stadium. In fact, Munroe predicts, the devastation would form a crater where the ballpark used to be, raze all surrounding buildings to the ground, and set fire to the rest of the city. Still think baseball is too slow? For the blow-by-blow account of the baseball's near-lightspeed journey, check out Munroe's full answer
. And once a week, What If? will provide scientific answers to other hypothetical questions. Do you have a burning desire to know, say, what would happen if a bowl of petunias and a whale improbably appeared in space? Or your exact odds
of guessing all the multiple-choice answers and still earning perfect SAT score? Tell us your hypothetical question in the comments!
Image courtesy of Tobyotter / flickr
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Home > Simulation > Casual >
PlanetCraft: Block Craft Games
Playlabs, LLC
Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft is a free alternative to the popular game Minecraft. Make structures with friends, hang out in online chat, and enjoy battling with clans of players in this free-to-play voxel game!
Minecraft took the gaming world by storm with its extreme popularity and simple creativity. In Minecraft, you can use the world's 3d-pixels (called "voxels") to build structures of just about any size or shape. Creations range from faithful reproductions of real-life buildings to elaborate fantasy structures and even working computers that can do basic calculations using the game's physics engine. With a plethora of modes like survival, creative, and more, you can customize Minecraft to be whatever you want it to be.
Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft is a re-creation of many of the core ideas of Minecraft. It's made by a different developer and optimized for phones. Most importantly, it's free, offering a temporary solution to anyone who wants to get a hint of the Minecraft experience without shelling out for the official game. Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft is monetized through the purchase of in-game skins and cosmetics and the occasional in-game advertisement, allowing the developers to make some money without requiring an up-front purchase. It's a popular choice among kids, people without credit cards, and gamers who want to try Minecraft without spending money.
There are some big, important differences between Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft and Minecraft. First, and most importantly, Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft is a big MMO. This means that just about anyone can show up and start messing with the things you build. Minecraft, on the other hand, gives you the ability to make small servers and create a little universe that's only accessible by you and your friends. This means that in the "real" game, you can protect your creations from antagonistic trolls. In Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft, there's no real way to stop random players from appearing and demolishing or building over your structures. The game is free, too, so there's an endless supply of new users who want to test things out and exercise their creative powers by demolishing things in a random part of the world.
As far as building goes, Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft is a somewhat close clone of Minecraft. There are lots of types of blocks, all freely accessible in the game's unlimited creative mode, and you can quickly teleport just about anywhere on the map to start building. The voxels behave similarly to their Minecraft counterparts. The physics don't seem quite as well-tuned, however, and a few performance issues pop up occasionally. These might have something to do with the massively multiplayer world, but it's not clear.
The addition of clan wars, online chat, and other MMO-like features changes the way that Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft feels. Unlike Minecraft, which tends to be a game played in a small circle of friends, Planet Craft exposes you to hundreds or thousands of users at a time. You get the same sort of chat trolls that you'd expect in any free online chatroom populated by kids who can't afford Minecraft as well as a few other colorful sorts of people. In other words, if you're a parent, you might want to strongly consider buying real Minecraft for your kids and doing some research about servers and privacy. The extra investment is more than worth it in exchange for increased online safety.
In unlimited creative mode, Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft has few goals. This means that you're free to build whatever you want with no restrictions. You can fly, place unlimited voxels, and easily manipulate the world however you'd like. There's no right or wrong way to go about things. Just focus on having fun!
In survival mode, however, things are a little bit tricky. You'll have to start from scratch just like you would in a game of Minecraft. The big difference here is that Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft is a massively multiplayer world. With hundreds or thousands of other players, you'll have to go about things differently.
To start with, it's recommended that you put your base far away from everything. Really far. The closer your base is to valuable spawns and community hubs, the more likely you are to get discovered by other players. Being discovered is a big no-no since the other players will likely take all of the valuable things from your base and destroy it before leaving. This means that the best sorts of bases are caves with disguised entrances far away from anything of interest. If other players can't tell that your base is anything other than a bit of rock, they're more likely to leave it alone.
Of course, you'll want to try to avoid leaving telltale signs of your presence by gathering resources too close to your base. You might want to build a bit of distance before harvesting wood to make your first pickaxe and farming meat from nearby animals. If there's a big bare patch of ground with no trees or cows, would-be raiders will be a lot more suspicious of activity and might begin searching in earnest.
The best way to play Mine Block Craft is with friends. The more of you there are, the better equipped you'll be to defend your bases from raiders and participate in the game's clan combat. You'll want to start small and gradually work your way up the food chain. In games like these, things like diamond armor aren't optional, they're mandatory. Showing up to battle with less than the best gear will give you a big disadvantage and make it much harder to achieve your goals.
While these tips apply mostly to survival mode, the concepts also work with creative mode. When building something that you want to last, try building in an unexpected, out-of-the-way place. This might mean making an underground cavern to hide your structure, picking a deserted area on the map, or disguising your building as a natural outcropping. Of course, the unlimited freedom of creative mode means that it's fairly likely that someone will find your stuff eventually, but trying to be sneaky can give you a few hours so you can finish it before you move on to your next project.
Are you a Planet Craft: Mine Block Craft expert? Is your clan recruiting? Did we miss any tips or tricks? Let us know in the comments below!
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This Bi-folding system includes a thermal break and is specifically designed to cover large spaces.
This system has a wide range of different configuration allowing you to have up to 14 sashes outside and inside of the opening, with either an even or odd number of sashes.
You have the possibility to input the bottom frame into the floor, making the threshold disappear. Furthermore, the rollers and wheels are well hidden giving the Bi-folds a better look.


text:
About Play Away Weekends
Summer is a great season to be outdoors. When the period comes, space literally expands, and a sigh of relief can be felt everywhere. It becomes a time to let loose and kick about after a lengthy duration of work or school.
Sports make up a considerable portion of summer fun. They depict the real definition of playing after some hard work. For this reason, this site is dedicated to various aspects of summer sports for the benefit of readers.
Why Summer Sports are so Popular
If you pay close attention to a summer sporting event, you will notice that people literally go into overdrive. The energy and vigour make them look like an entirely new community which has descended on planet earth. Some specific reasons make this season so popular, especially among sports lovers. These reasons are highlighted in a dedicated article that will give a sense to all that happens.
How to Get Involved in Summer Sports
The energy of summer sports is contagious. It is almost impossible to watch all those people going mad at a competition and fail to feel the urge to take part. In an article dedicated to helping you get involved, the site enables you to understand the different sports you can take part in and the procedure of going about it. It throws in some creative ideas which will take you away from routine and guarantee you a memorable summer.
Popular Summer Sports
This section looks at the specific games which appear to be enjoyed by fans and players in the summer season. Get to know what makes fans so engrossed by them.
https://youtu.be/HB86UBF_tvg
https://youtu.be/s7TMrI-QQmQ
https://youtu.be/0YnHY_OQRDU
https://youtu.be/X1xXv3TcqQo
https://youtu.be/Iqs1BHjbMYI
playawayweekends.co.uk Copyright © 2020.


Epic Tutorials | Rode VideoMic Me Review – Best iPhone Mic Under $65?
Welcome to my Rode VideoMic Me review. The VideoMic Me is a compact directional microphone that connects directly to your iPhone, iPad or compatible Android device via TRRS headphone jack.
For just $60 USD it offers incredible value for money, but does it sound any good? Make sure you watch the above video review with multiple sound tests to find out!
Rode VideoMic Me Review: The Good!
Incredibly affordable. In its price range, the VideoMic Me offers the best sound available. Clear, crisp and highly directional – no other mic comes close for just $60USD.
Easy to use. Just plug and play and your iPhone/iPad will use it over the internal mic.
High quality material. Whilst made from plastic – this feels like that futuristic impossible to destroy plastic.
Comes with a dead wombat! This is essential for outdoor shooting to cut down on wind noise.
Front and rear mountable. Use it facing you with your selfie camera, or with the higher quality rear camera for shooting high quality videos.
Rode VideoMic Me Review: The Bad!
The VideoMic Me wasn't available when I started iOS filmmaking. If it was – my sound would have been soooo much better (not Rode's fault).
Not compatible with all Android devices. You need to make sure your Android's camera and headphone port are at opposite ends of the device (like the beautifully designed iPhone) as the dead wombat will obscure the camera if not (again, not Rode's fault – a design flaw in many Android phones).
Selfie vlogging using the front facing camera.
Interviews shot using the rear facing camera.
Voice over work, narration and podcasting.
After testing this mic extensively for this Rode VideoMic Me review, I found it to be the most surprising iPhone microphone of 2015. For the money, it shouldn't sound as good as it does, or feel as well built as it is - but it does! The design is simple yet practical. It will work with any mobile device that uses a TRRS headphone jack that has the camera at the opposite end of the headphone port (the dead wombat will obscure the camera if it is located at the same end). The sound is crisp and clear and thanks to the cardioid directional pickup up pattern, it really cuts down on background noise. For around $60USD - the is the cheapest and most effective way to drastically improve your audio and achieve excellent results.


text:
Home / Learn More / Science / Questionable Science and Policy / Policy
Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality
(From the text: The committee finds that evidence convincingly supports a causal relationship between some vaccines and some adverse events…evidence favors rejection of five vaccine-adverse event relationships… However, for the majority of cases (135 vaccine-adverse event pairs), the evidence was inadequate to accept or reject a causal relationship."
http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Adverse-Effects-of-Vaccines-Evidence-and-Causality.aspx
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine policy and evidence-based medicine: Are they at odds?
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/07853890.2011.645353
The Number Needed to Vaccinate to Prevent Infant Pertussis Hospitalization and Death Through Parent Cocoon Immunization
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/12/01/cid.cir836.abstract?sid=446ff7dc-43cb-4f25-9696-a8dea1459a01
The Evolutionary Consequences of Blood-Stage Vaccination on the Rodent Malaria Plasmodium chabaudi
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001368?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+plosbiology%2FNewArticles+(Ambra+-+Biology+New+Articles
Selection of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Escape Mutants in HBV-Infected and HBV/HIV-Coinfected Patients Failing Antiretroviral Drugs With Anti-HBV Activity
http://journals.lww.com/jaids/Fulltext/2007/11010/Selection_of_Hepatitis_B_Virus__HBV__Vaccine.4.aspx
Influenza Vaccination During Pregnancy: A Critical Assessment of the Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
http://www.jpands.org/vol11no2/ayoub.pdf
Review of the United States universal varicella vaccination program: Herpes zoster incidence rates, cost-effectiveness, and vaccine efficacy based primarily on the Antelope Valley Varicella Active Surveillance Project data
Adverse events and quadrivalent human papillomavirus recombinant vaccine
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?volume=302&issue=24&page=2657
Attenuated vaccines can recombine to form virulent field viruses
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/337/6091/188.abstract
Mandatory HPV Vaccination
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104867
Acellular pertussis vaccination facilitates Bordetella parapertussis infection in a rodent model of bordetellosis.
No autoimmune safety signal after vaccination with quadrivalent HPV vaccine Gardasil?
http://tinyurl.com/72uvrb2
Influenza vaccination: policy versus evidence
http://www.bmj.com/content/333/7574/912%2523TBL2.full
Human papillomavirus vaccine trials in India
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)60270-5/fulltext
Australia suspends seasonal flu vaccination of young children
http://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c2419
http://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/11/02/adverse-events-following-influenza-vaccination-australia-should-we-be-surp
Child influenza vaccination: Ramifications of adverse events in children in Australia
Vaccine safety: current systems and recent findings
http://journals.lww.com/co-pediatrics/Abstract/2010/02000/Vaccine_safety__current_systems_and_recent.16.aspx
Excess mortality from seasonal influenza is negligible below the age of 50 in Israel: implications for vaccine policy
http://www.springerlink.com/content/2p44p50005827585/
Adventitious Agents and Vaccines
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2631857/pdf/11485673.pdf
Why Do Pertussis Vaccines Fail?
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/5/968.extract


I am facing a weird type of problem that has been caused due to my very big mistake.
Please let me add all the details.
I loved a girl from the time I was 13. Few years back forced by love I made a taveez (Amal Mohabbat ka) from shama e shabistan e raza.
I didn't get permission from anyone and also didn't tell any saint before making the taveez.
Wo amal ulta ho ker meray ooper rijjat ho gai or tab say ab tek mein shadeed pareshanioon or mushkilat ka shikar hoon.
Us larrki ki shadi kahin or ho chuki hay or mein nay Rabb kay hazoor sachay dil say toaba bhi mangi hay or zindagi mein dobara shama e shabistan e raza (ya koi or amal ki kitab) ko hath na laganay ki kasam khai hay.
Please for the sake of Allah almighty let me know how to remove these effects of rijjat so that I be normal.
You mist agree When you came out from this problem you must do some work for our web which I shall tell you on that stage Insha Allah, are you agree?
kiya mujhe b Rasala Rohi sharrif parhna hai?
jesa k risala rohi sharif aik faqeeri amal hai our is k liye kisi faqeer ki ijazat honi cahye,humain is ki ijazat koun de da?
jab se maine risala roohi sharif parhna start kiya hai mere shoulders and neck main buhat pain rehta hai.shoulders and neck buhat heavy ho gai hain,aisa kiu? and ye kese khatam hoga?
I have one question please. Can someone tell me if the treatment for rijjat is only with cool zikrs such as risala roohi shareef? or can rijjat be treated with any surah/zikr? such as any surah from the Quran?