text:
\section{Introduction}
Over the last few years, there has been a growing interest of physicists in economic systems \cite{ecophy00,sengupta99}. The
Random Matrix Theory (RMT) was developed \cite{guhr98,mehta91,bowick91} to deal with the statistics of eigenvalues and
eigenvectors of complex many-body systems and it has been successfully used to investigate phenomena from different areas
such as quantum field theory, quantum chaos, disordered systems etc. and recently to a large number of financial
markets \cite{bouchaud01,gopistanely99,mantegnanature95,laloux99,plerou99,pleroupre99,plerou02,gobaix03,gopihes01,kulkarni07,
sitabhra07,marsili98,shen09,wang11,meric08,junior12,conlon09} to investigate the structure of cross-correlations in financial
markets. The few largest eigenvalues deviate significantly from the RMT prediction. The largest eigenvalue represents the
collective information about the correlation between different stocks and its trend is expected to be dependent on the market
conditions, whereas the component of eigenvectors corresponding to remaining large eigenvalues are associated with the formation
of different sectors in financial market. Complex network technique in nature have become important method for studying properties of complex systems in the real world and penetrated into statistical physics, social sciences, biological sciences,
financial markets \cite{barabasi02, estrada10, song11,newman99,watts98,barrat00,erdos1960,huang2009} and many other fields. The
study of complex networks has been initiated by a desire to understand various real systems from the empirical
data \cite{barabasi02}. Complex network display the spatial topological structure of a system, while the time series is the
expression of the temporal dynamics. As one of most important advances in statistical physics, complex network theory has become
a powerful tool for analyzing financial time series. In this paper, we use threshold and hierarchical method to construct the
correlation network of financial indices. The network generated by threshold method \cite{huang2009} are in general disconnected.
If the system present a clear cluster organization, threshold methods are typically able to detect them. One of the most common
algorithms to detect a possible hierarchical structure hidden in the data is given by the Minimum Spanning
Tree (MST) \cite{mantegna99,mantegna00} and has been applied successfully \cite{bonanno03,onnela03a,onnela03b,coelho07}. This
method selects only
the indices with closest interactions among all indices and it generates a visual presentation of the linkage
relationship among selected interactions between financial indices \cite{brida08,eom07,eom09,eom10,cukur07,jung06,jung08,
tumminello07,corronnello05}. The MST performs better role in
identifying the economic sectors from the correlation matrix when it is compared with other more traditional methods, such as
spectral methods \cite{corronnello05}. In the later procedure one extract the eigenvectors of the correlation matrix and
identifies sectors as groups of indices which have a large component (compared to others) in an eigenvector. Despite
the fact that this method gives some useful information \cite{gopihes01}, the eigenvectors sometimes mix different
economic sectors (especially when eigenvalues are close to one another).
To find multifractal properties in a given financial time series, the Multi-Fractal Detrended Fluctuation
Analysis (MF-DFA) \cite{kantelhardt02} is a robust and powerful technique which identifies and quantifies the multiple
scaling exponents within a time series. It has been successfully applied in different and heterogeneous scientific fields
to study the multifractal properties \cite{peng94,kantelhardt01,ivanov,stanleynature98,kumardeo09,marsili07,sdrozdz05}. To
find the origin of multifractality in time series one can compare the MF-DFA results for the original time series with those
of shuffled and surrogated time series \cite{kantelhardt02,wxz09,zunino08,zunino09}. There are two types of multifractality in
the series: (i) multifractality due to a broad probability density function for the values of the time series, this type of
multifractality cannot be removed by shuffling the series (ii) multifractality due to different long range correlations for
small and large fluctuations, here the corresponding shuffled series will exhibit non-multifractal scaling, since all
long-range correlations are destroyed by the shuffling procedure. If both kind of multifractality are present in a given
series than the shuffled series will show weaker multifractality than the original one.

In this paper, we apply the RMT, complex network and MF-DFA method to the global financial indices
and study financial indices before and during the global financial crisis of 2008 \cite{stanley10,bpstanley10} and second, we
study multifractal properties of $20$ financial indices.
This paper is organized as follows: In Section II, we discuss the data. Section III describes
the RMT approach and results. In Section IV, we discuss the construction and analysis of complex network of financial indices
using threshold and MST method. The MF-DFA method to study multifractal properties and its application to global financial indices are discussed in Section V. Finally we conclude in Section VI.

\section{Data Analyzed}
We analyze the daily closing prices of 20 financial markets around the world traded from the period July 2, 1997 to June 1, 2009, resulting in 3088 returns. These indices are as follows: Argentina: MERV, Brazil: BVSP, Egypt: CCSI, India: BSESN, Indonesia: JKSE, Malaysia: KLSE, Mexico: MXX, South Korea: KS11, taiwan: TWII, Australia: AORD, Austria: ATX, France: FCHI, Germany: GDAXI,
Hong Kong: HSI, Israel: TA100, Japan: N225, Singapore: STI, Switzerland: SSMI, UK: FTSE, and US: GSPC. The data has been
obtained from \cite{yahoo}. There are differences in public holidays or weekends among countries so we shifted the data
according to the rule that when more than $30\%$ of markets did not open on a particular/certain day, we remove that day
from the data, and when it is below $30\%$, we kept existing indices and inserted the last closing price for
each of the remaining indices. Also these markets do not operate at the same time zones. It has been
studied \cite{meric08, junior12, sitabhra07} that correlations of Asian with the USA indices increases when one considers
the correlation of the USA indices with the next day indices of the Asian market. We did not considered weekly data to
avoid the problem of different operating hours between international market so that we do not miss major changes in markets
which tend to occur during a small interval of days. Thus, we consider all indices taken at the same date and filtered the data
accordingly.
\section{Random Matrix Theory Approach}
Random matrix theory (RMT) originally developed \cite{mehta91} to study the interaction in complex quantum systems has been
useful in the analysis of universal and non-universal properties of cross-correlations between different
stocks \cite{gopistanely99,laloux99,plerou99,kulkarni07,sitabhra07}. Let $S{_i}(t)$ and $R{_i}(t)$ denote the daily closing prices and returns of indices $i$ at
time $t$ ($i=1,2,...,N ; t=1,2,...,L$), respectively. The logarithmic returns $R{_i}(t)$ can be defined as,\\
\begin{equation}
R{_i}(t) \equiv \ln (S{_i}(t+\Delta t)) - \ln(S{_i}(t)),
\label{eq.1}
\end{equation}
where $\Delta t=1$ day is the time lag.
The normalized returns for indices $i$ is defined as, \
\begin{equation}
r_i(t)\equiv {R_i(t) - \langle R_i \rangle \over \sigma_i}\,
\label{eq.2}
\end{equation}
where $\sigma_i \equiv \sqrt{\langle R_i^2 \rangle - \langle R_i
\rangle^2} $ is the standard deviation of $R_i$, and
$\langle\cdots\rangle$ denotes a time average over the period
studied. We then compute the equal-time cross-correlation matrix $C$ with elements,
\begin{equation}
C_{ij} \equiv \langle r_i(t) r_j(t) \rangle\,.
\label{eq.3}
\end{equation}
The elements of $C_{ij}$ are limited to the domain
$-1 \leq C_{ij} \leq 1$, where $C_{ij}=1$ defines perfect positive
correlations, $C_{ij}=-1$ corresponds to perfect negative correlations, and
$C_{ij}=0$ corresponds to no correlation.\
If $N$ time series of length $T$ are mutually uncorrelated, the resulting cross-correlation
matrix is termed as a Wishart matrix. Statistical properties of such random matrices
are known ~\cite{bowick91}. In the limit of $N \rightarrow \infty \,, L \rightarrow \infty$,
such that $Q\equiv L/N\geq1$, the probability distribution $P_{rm}(\lambda)$ of the eigenvalue $\lambda$
is given by,
\begin{equation}
P_{rm}(\lambda) = {Q \over 2 \pi}\, { \sqrt{(\lambda^{rand}_{max} - \lambda)(\lambda - \lambda^{rand}_{min})} \over \lambda}\, \,\,,
\label{densuncorr}
\end{equation}
for $\lambda$ within the bounds $\lambda^{rand}_{min}\leq \lambda_i \leq \lambda^{rand}_{max}$, where $\lambda^{rand}_{min}$ ($\lambda^{rand}_{max}$) are the lower (upper) bound given by,
\begin{equation}
\lambda^{ran}_{max(min)} = [1\pm(1/\sqrt Q)]^{2}.
\label{lambdamaxmin}
\end{equation}
We study the data of $N=20$ financial indices before and during the financial crisis of 2008 \cite{stanley10,bpstanley10}.
The volatility gives us a measure of the market fluctuations. We quantify the volatility, as the local average of the absolute
value of daily returns of indices in an appropriate time window of T days, as an estimate of volatility in that period
$v(t) = {\displaystyle\sum_{t=1}^{T-1} |R(t)| \over T-1}$. We compute the mean volatility of all indices (June 7, 2007 to
November 30, 2009) by taking T=25 days which is shown in Fig.~\ref{meanvolatilitybar}. The volatility for two periods
June 7, 2006 to November 30, 2007 and December, 2007 to June, 2009 for individual countries is shown in Fig.~\ref{volatility},
we consider these two periods as the period before and during the financial crisis of 2008 respectively.
We then construct the cross-correlation matrix $C_{ij}$ from daily returns of N=20 indices before and during crisis periods.
The probability densities of $C_{ij}$, $P(C_{ij})$ for both periods are compared in Fig.~\ref{pcij}.
The largest eigenvalue deviating from RMT prediction reflects that some influence of the full global market is common to all
indices and it alone yields "genuine" information hidden in $C$. The range of eigenvalues within the RMT bounds corresponds to
noise and do not yield any system specific information. Therefore, we compare the properties of $C$ with those of a random
correlation matrix in Fig.~\ref{prmlamdabeforecrisis} and Fig.~\ref{prmlamdaduringcrisis} respectively to extract information about the cross correlations.
If there is no correlation between these financial indices, the eigenvalues should be
bounded between RMT predictions i.e. $\lambda^{rand}_{min}=0.597$ and $\lambda^{rand}_{max}=1.5063$. We find that
before the financial crisis period (June 7, 2006 to November 30, 2007), $\lambda^{real}_{min}=0.0527$ and
$\lambda^{real}_{max}=9.0454$; during financial crisis period (December, 2007 to June, 2009), $\lambda^{real}_{min}=0.0388$
and $\lambda^{real}_{max}=9.5282$. Here, we find that largest eigenvalues deviate significantly from the upper bound
$\lambda^{rand}_{max}$ which shows a strong correlation between financial indices. We also find an increase
in the value of $<C_{ij}>=0.4353$ before the crisis and $<C_{ij}>=0.4634$ during the crisis period. Since the largest
eigenvalue represents the collective information about the correlation between different indices therefore we expect its
trend to be dependent on the market conditions \cite{laloux99,plerou99,gobaix03,shen09} and can be seen in
Fig.~\ref{evectoroflargestev} which is plotted for eigenvectors corresponding to first largest eigenvalue. We find that eigenvectors corresponding to second largest eigenvalue give the information about a sector formation in global
financial indices. In Fig.~\ref{eigenvectorscorresponsto2ndlargestevalue}, we compare eigenvectors corresponding to second
largest eigenvalue before and during the financial crisis. Countries corresponding to financial indices above eigenvector
threshold $0.15$ that are contributing most to eigenvectors corresponding to second largest eigenvalues are as follows: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, France, Germany, Switzerland, UK, US (before the crisis) and Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore (during the crisis). We find that these sectors are forming on the basis of the geographical location. Before crisis indices of Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, US) and Europe (France, Germany,
Switzerland) contribute significantly while during the crisis indices of Asia/Pecific (Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore) contribute significantly to the eigenvectors corresponding to second largest eigenvalue. The classification of major world indices has been considered as \cite{yahoo}. However, eigenvectors corresponding to third largest eigenvalue (Fig.~\ref{eigenvectorscorresponsto3rdlargestevalue}) does not give so much information as it
is near the random matrix bound. We also analyze the eigenvalue dynamics of correlation matrices $C$ constructed by using $3088$ daily returns of $20$ indices using a sliding window of 25 days. The daily closing prices and logarithmic returns of 20 financial indices are shown in Fig.~\ref{pricesret}. The correlation matrix was constructed from 20 financial indices having the 3088 returns. Fig.~\ref{largestev} shows the trend of first, second, and third largest eigenvalue over each of these sliding windows. Here, we find increase in the first and second largest eigenvalues during the financial crisis of 2008 while third largest eigenvalues do not show significant variation. The dynamics of smallest eigenvalues are shown in Fig.~\ref{smallestev}. We do not observe any significant pattern.\
We also analyze the evolution of the structure of the last eigenstate, $U^{20}$ by evaluating the Inverse Participation
Ratio (IPR) which allows quantification of the number of components that participate significantly in each eigenvector and
tells us more about the level and nature of deviation from RMT. The IPR of the eigenvector $u^k$ is defined
by $ I^k \equiv \sum_{l=1}^N\, [u^k_{l}]~^4\,$,
where $u^k_{l}$, $l=1,\dots,N$ are the components of eigenvector $u^k$. Thus IPR allows us to compute the inverse of the
number of eigenvector components that contribute significantly to each eigenvector. Fig.~\ref{IPR20} shows the IPR of 20
financial indices and is closest to 0.05 (=1/20), the value we would expect when all components contribute equally, in the
most volatile periods of time span. This has similar characteristics to those found for different
indices.\
The average magnitude of correlations of returns of every index m with all indices
 $n=1,2,...,N$ is $<|C|>_{m} = \frac{1}{N-1}\sum_{k=1}^N|C_{mk}|,$ when $m \neq k$. The
variation of $<|C|>_{m}$ for $m = 1,2,...,N$ with the corresponding components of $U^{20}$
in Fig. \ref{U20meanCforAllindices} shows a strong linear positive relationship between
the two at all times. Now define a projection vector $S$ with elements $S_{m} = <|C|>_{m}$, where $m=1,2,...,20,$. We
obtained a quantity $X_{m}(t)$ by multiplying each element $S_{m}$ by the square of the corresponding component of $U^{20}$
for each time window $t$, $X_{m}(t)=(U_m^{20})^2S_m$, where $m=1,2,...,20$. The idea behind this is to weigh the average
correlation possessed by every index $m$ in the market according to the contribution of the corresponding component to
the last eigenvector $U^{20}$ \cite{gopihes01}, thereby neglecting the contribution of less significant participants
(the one negligible in magnitude) in $U^{20}$. The quantity $X$ in some sense represents the effective magnitude of
correlation of financial indices. The sum of correlation of magnitudes is obtained as $CI(t)=\sum_{m=1}^{20}X_{m}(t),$ at
time $t$ and may be expected to reflect the correlation of the market at that time. This is called the Correlation
Index (CI) \cite{gopihes01,kulkarni07}. Temporal evolution of the correlation index is shown in Fig. \ref{CIall25windows}.
\section{Construction and analysis of the correlation network of financial indices}
The main idea of constructing the index correlation network is as follows: Let the set of index represent the set of vertices
of the network. A certain threshold $\theta$ is specified such that $-1 \leq \theta\leq 1$ and an undirected edge connecting the
vertices i and j if the correlation coefficient $C_{ij}$ is greater than or equal to $\theta$. Different values of $\theta$
define the networks with the same set of vertices, but different set of edges \cite{huang2009}.
Let the graph $G = (V,E)$ represent the index correlation network, where V and E are the set of vertices edges respectively.
E is defined by
\[
E =
 \left\{
  \begin{array}{ll}
 e_{ij}=1,  & \mbox{$i\neq j$ and $C_{ij}\geq\theta$} \\
 e_{ij}=0,  & \mbox{$i=j$}.
  \end{array}
 \right\}
\]
We construct networks for different values of threshold $\theta$ in the range 0 to 0.9. We find that at threshold $\theta=0.2$ the network is fully connected. In the network at threshold $\theta=0.6$ (Fig. ~\ref{thetap6to9}) the Americas, Europe and Asia/pacific forms different clusters before the crisis but during the crisis Americas and Europe forms a combined cluster of strong link between them. If we further increase the threshold $\theta$ up to 0.9 we find that European countries: France, Germany and UK, consistently constitute the most tightly linked markets for both before and during the crisis.
\subsection{Topology structure of the network}
\textbf{Mean Degree}: The degree of vertex $i$ is $k_{i}=\sum_{j\neq i}e_{ij}$ which denotes the vertex number
connecting with $i$. The mean degree is based upon the degree. It shows how many neighbors a node in the network has in average. This measure can only be calculated when the network has at least one edge connecting the nodes. In Fig.~\ref{MeanDegreetheta} we find that mean degree decreases as threshold increase because the number of connected vertices decreases with increase in the threshold. In such a network, most of the vertices have small degree and a small number of vertices have large degree. We call the later as "Hub" vertices. Especially, in the index correlation network, index $i$ having a large degree means that
it is correlated with many other indices in the sense of price fluctuation. So we can dig out the very indices that can most
accurately reflect market behavior by the degree of indices.\\
\textbf{Clustering coefficient}: If $k_{i}$ nearest neighbors of vertex $i$ have $m_{i}$ edges among them, the ratio of $m_{i}$ to $k_{i}(k_{i}-1)/2$ is the clustering coefficient of vertex $i$. The network clustering coefficient is calculated by averaging through the clustering coefficient of all vertices. The phenomenon of large clustering in actual networks motivates the appearance of small-world network models \cite{watts98, newman99, barrat00}. Specially, the network clustering coefficient of a index correlation network indicates the clustering property of indices in the meaning of price fluctuation correlation. Global clustering coefficients that is simply the ratio of the triangles and connected triples in the network are shown in Fig.~\ref{GlobalClusteringCoefftheta} for different correlation thresholds. It can be seen that values of clustering coefficients of index correlation network become smaller with increase in threshold up to $\theta=0.4$. At $\theta=0.9$ there is no triangle formation in the correlation network and there is only one triplet so its clustering coefficient is zero.\\
\textbf{Connected components}: The graph $G=(V,E)$ is connected if there is a path from any vertex to any vertex in the
set $V$. If the graph is disconnected, it can be decomposed into several connected subgraphs, which are referred to as
connected components \cite{erdos1960} of G. The size of a connected component $|CO|$ is defined as the vertex number in it.
The maximum component size is shown in Fig.~\ref{MaxCompSizetheta} for different thresholds.
In the index correlation network the component number represent financial indices that are correlated with each other. The
component number for various threshold are shown in Fig.~\ref{componentNumbertheta} before and during the crisis. We find component number depends on the value of correlation thresholds, it increases with increase in correlation threshold. The structural characteristics of components in the index correlation network indicate the correlation modes of indices in the global financial market. It can be seen in Fig.~\ref{componentNumbertheta} and Fig.~\ref{MaxCompSizetheta} that larger the component number, smaller is the maximum component size. For $\theta\leq0.2$ the network is fully connected. If we further increase
the threshold the network starts forming subclusters based on geographical location.\\
\textbf{Clique}: Given a subset $S\subseteq V$, by $G(S)$ we denote the subgraph induced by S. A subset $C\subseteq V$ is a
clique if $G(C)$ is a complete graph, i.e. it has all possible edges. The size of a clique $|CL|$ could be denoted by the
vertex number in it. The maximum clique problem is to find the largest clique in a graph. The financial interpretation of
the clique in the index correlation network is that it defines the set of indices whose price fluctuations exhibit a
similar behavior. In Fig~\ref{maxCliqueSizetheta} we find that maximum clique in the index correlation network decreases with increase in the value of threshold . We find that up to $\theta=0.4$ the maximum clique size is much larger during the crisis period and behaves the same in both period when $\theta\geq0.4$ except $\theta=0.6$, at which indices forms three different major sectors of Americas, Europe and Asia/Pecific before the crisis, but during the crisis financial indices of Americas and Europe combined and form a strong cluster.
\subsection{Minimum Spanning Tree}
We construct the network of 20 financial indices (before and during 2008 crisis) by using the metric
distances \cite{mantegna00} $d_{ij}=\sqrt{2(1-C_{ij})}$ forming a N x N distance matrix D whose elements varies between
0 and 2. Here $C_{ij}$ is the correlation between indices i and j whose elements varies from -1 to 1 thus small
values of $d_{ij}$ imply high correlations among indices. The number of possible nodal connections of financial indices is
large, $N(N-1)/2$. The MST can reduce this complexity by showing only the $N-1$ most important non-redundant connections
in a graphical manner. We use the Prim Algorithm \cite{prim1957} for drawing MST.
Prim algorithm is an algorithm in graph theory that finds a minimum spanning tree for a connected graph i.e. it
finds a subset of the edges that forms a tree that includes every vertex, where the total weight of all the edges in the
tree is minimized. If the graph is not connected, then it will only find a MST for one of the connected components. The MST
shows the presence of clusters of nodes (indices) which are quite homogeneous and it also displays a structure in
subclusters where nodes are indices belonging to the same subsector. We find that there is a strong tendency for financial
indices to organize by geographical location that can be seen in Fig.~\ref{mstbeforeduring} (a) and (b). Before the crisis the
structure of MST is more star like whereas during the crises it changes to be more chain like. Using MST, we find that there is a strong tendency for financial indices to organize by geographical location.

\section{Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis}
We define the normalized logarithmic returns as $ g_{t} = \frac{log S(t+1) - log S(t)}{\sigma} $ of
length N, where $ S(t) $ denotes the daily closing prices of the index and $ \sigma $ is the standard deviation of
logarithmic returns. In order to study the multifractal properties of 20 financial time series, we use the MF-DFA
method \cite{kantelhardt02} which consists of five steps.\\
Step 1: Calculate the "profile", $ Y(i)\equiv\sum_{k=1}^i[g_{k}-<g>], i=1,...,N,$ where N is the length of series
and $ <g> $ is the mean of $ g_{t} $.\\
 Step 2: Divide the profile $ Y(i) $ into $ N_{s}\equiv{int(N/s)} $ non-overlapping segments of equal length $ s $. Since
the length of the series is often not a multiple of the considered time scale s, a short part of the series remains, the
same procedure is repeated starting from the opposite end. Thereby, $ 2N_{s} $ segments are obtained altogether.\\
 Step 3: Calculate the local trend for each of the $2N_{s}$ segments
by a least-square fit of the time-series. Then determine the variance
$ F^{2}(s,\nu)  \equiv  \frac{1}{s}\sum_{i=1}^s  \lbrace Y[(\nu-1)s+i]-y_\nu (i) \rbrace^2 $ for
each segment $\nu$, $\nu=1,...,N_{s}$
and $F^{2}(s,\nu)\equiv \frac{1}{s}\sum_{i=1}^s \lbrace Y[N-(\nu-N_{s})s+i]-y_{\nu}(i)\rbrace^{2}$
for $ \nu=N_{s}+1,...,2N_{s}$. Here, $ y_{\nu}(i) $ is the fitting polynomial in segment $ \nu $.\\
Step 4: Average over all segments to obtain the $ q^{th}$ order fluctuation
function,$F_{q}(s)\equiv \lbrace \frac{1}{2N_{s}} \sum_{\nu=1}^{2N_{s}}[F^{2}(s,\nu)]^{q/2}\rbrace^{1/q}$ here, the
variable $ q $ can take any real value except zero \cite{kantelhardt02}.\\
Step 5: Determine the scaling behavior of the fluctuation  functions by analyzing log-log plot of $F_{q}(s)$ versus $s$ for each value of $q$. If the time series $g_{t}$ are long-range power-law correlated, $F_{q}(s)$ increases for large value of s, as a power-law $F_{q}(s)  \sim s^{h(q)}$. By construction, $F_{q}(s)$ is defined for $s\geq m+2$. The family of scaling exponents h(q) can be obtained by observing the slope of the log-log plot of $F_{q}(s)$ versus s. h(q) is the generalization of the Hurst exponent $H(\equiv h(2))$. The monofractal time series are characterized by a single exponent over all time scales i.e. $ h(q) $ is independent of $ q $, whereas for  multifractal time series, $ h(q) $ varies with $ q $.  Obviously, richer multifractality corresponds to higher variability of $h(q)$. Then, the multifractality degree can be quantified by $\Delta h=h(q_{min})-h(q_{max})$. As the large fluctuations are characterized by smaller scaling exponent $h(q)$ than small fluctuations therefore $h(q)$ for $q<0$ are larger than those for $q>0$ and $\Delta h$ is positively defined.
We calculate Hurst exponents for financial indices before and during the crisis. Fig.~\ref{Hcrisis} show increase in the value of Hurst exponents for most of the financial indices during the crisis as compared to period before the crisis. We also find the multifractal degree ($\Delta h$) of financial
indices before and during the crisis and results are compared in Fig.~\ref{deltah}. Here, we see that there is no
significant variation in the multifractal degree except the indices of Egypt, Malaysia, Taiwan, Israel, and Singapore.
We also study multifractal properties of 20 financial indices for entire period i.e. July 2, 1997 to June 1, 2009 (due to large number of figures these results are not shown instead we compared multifractal results in the Table.1). To find the origin
of multifractality in financial time series, we have shuffled these series. In the shuffling procedure the data are put
in the random order. So, all temporal correlations are destroyed without effecting the probability density function. In
order to quantify the influence of the fat-tail distribution, we generate the surrogate time series from original series
by using the Schreiber method \cite{schreiber96}. This algorithm for generating the surrogate data is based on a simple
iteration scheme called Iterated Amplitude-Adjusted Fourier Transform (IAAFT), which is an improved version of the phase
randomization algorithm \cite{theiler92}. In Table 1, we compare the multifractal degrees for original, shuffled, and surrogated
time series respectively. We find that there is a contribution of long-range correlation as well as broad probability density
function in multifractality of all financial indices except the Taiwan index where the multifractal degree for shuffled and surrogate series are weaker than those of original series. In Fig. ~\ref{deltahfullperiodcomparision}, we find that financial indices corresponds to Americas and Europe almost lie in the same range of degree of multifractality as compared to other
indices. India, South Korea, and Hong Kong are found to be near the degree of multifractality of indices corresponds to
Americas and Europe. A large variation in degree of multifractality in Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore
may be a reason that when we increase the threshold in financial network these countries start getting disconnected at low threshold from the correlation network of financial indices. We compare multifractal results of financial indices with the Binomial Multifractal Model (BMFM) \cite{feder88,barbasibmfm91,kantelhardt02}. A binomial multifractal series of $N=2^{n_{max}}$ numbers $k$ with $k=1,...,N$ is defined by $x_{k}=a^{n(k-1)}(1-a)^{n_{max}-n(k-1)}$, where $0.5<a<1$ is a parameter and $n(k)$ is the number of digits equal to $1$ in the binary representation of the index k, for example, n(19)=3 because 19 corresponds to
binary 10011. We generate binomial multifractal series with $n_{max}=12$ and different values of $a$, then compare their
multifractal results with financial indices. We find that at $a=0.4125$, the BMFM fit well to indices corresponding to the
America, Europe and Australia i.e. these indices exhibit a common multifractal behavior as compared with other indices. Other
indices also fit with BMFM for different values of parameter $a$ as follows: India, Japan, and Israel at $0.45$, South Korea
and Hong Kong at $0.6$, Indonesia at $0.725$, Malaysia at $0.65$, Singapore at $0.675$ and Egypt at $0.85$.

\section{Conclusion}
We study results obtained before and during the financial crisis of 2008 by using three methods: (i) RMT (ii) Network (Threshold and MST)  and (iii) MF-DFA. We further apply
the RMT and MF-DFA method to these indices over the entire period and study their correlation and multifractal properties. A sliding window of 25 days is used to investigate the fluctuations in financial indices. The empirical results verify the
validity of the measures, and this has led to a better understanding of complex financial markets. We analyze the eigenvalue dynamics of correlation matrix  of 20 financial indices using a sliding window of 25 days. We find that largest eigenvalues deviate significantly from the upper bound $\lambda^{rand}_{max}$ which shows a strong correlation between financial indices.
We find that the largest eigenvalue represent the collective information about the correlation between different indices and its
trend indicates the market conditions. We also perform the eigenvector analysis corresponding to the first, second and third
largest eigenvalue before and during the crisis. It is confirmed that eigenvectors corresponding to second largest eigenvalue
gives useful information about the sector formation in the global financial indices. We compare eigenvectors corresponding to
second largest eigenvalue before and during the financial crisis. Countries corresponding to financial indices above eigenvector
threshold 0.15 that are contributing more are as follows: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, France, Germany, Switzerland, UK,
US (before the crisis) and Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan,
Singapore (during the crisis). We find that these sectors are formed on the basis of the geographical location.  However, eigenvectors corresponding to third largest eigenvalue does not give much information as third largest eigenvalue is near the random matrix bound.\\
We study properties of the correlation networks of 20 financial indices by using the threshold and hierarchical (MST) method respectively. We analyze the effect of financial crisis of 2008 on the correlation network of global financial indices. By constructing networks for different values of threshold $\theta$ in the range 0 to 0.9, we find that at threshold $\theta=0.2$ the network is fully connected. At threshold $\theta=0.6$, we find that the Americas, Europe and Asia/pecific form different clusters before the crisis but during the crisis Americas and Europe are strongly linked. If we further increase the threshold $\theta$ up to 0.9 we find that European countries France, Germany and UK consistently constitute the most tightly linked markets before and during the crisis. We also study the topological properties (mean degree, clustering coefficients, connected components, and clique) of correlation network before and during the crisis. Before the crisis the
structure of MST is more star like whereas during the crises it changes to be more chain like. Using MST, we find that there is a strong tendency for financial indices to organize by geographical location. We study multifractal properties of 20 financial indices. A change in the value of Hurst exponent before and during the crisis is observed for financial indices. We compare the multifractal degrees for original, shuffled, and surrogated time series respectively and find that there is a contribution of
long-range correlation as well as broad probability function in the multifractality of financial indices except the index of Taiwan as multifractal degree for shuffled and surrogate series are weaker than those of original series. We find that financial indices corresponds to Americas and Europe almost lie in the same range of degrees of multifractality. India, South Korea, Hong Kong are found to be near the degrees of multifractality of indices corresponds to Americas and Europe. A large variation in degrees of multifractality in Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore may be a reason
that when we increase the threshold in financial network these countries start getting disconnected at low threshold from the correlation network of financial indices. We fit the Binomial multifractal model to financial indices.

\begin{acknowledgments}
We would like to thank Prof. Sanjay Jain for encouragement and discussions. We acknowledge the University Faculty R\&D Grant for financial support.
\end{acknowledgments}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Proactively manage patients, intervene earlier and improve outcomes and financial results.
Used by hospitals and post-acute providers around the globe, the EarlySense system helps clinicians continuously monitor their patients, potentially allowing them to detect adverse events before they happen, enabling earlier intervention and the saving of lives.
Continuous monitoring of heart rate, respiratory rate, and motion empowers earlier intervention by providing real-time vital sign information and trends outside of the ICU, contributing to early detection of patient deterioration, fall prevention, and pressure ulcer prevention.
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Becoming the Standard of Care.
2 ZJ Palace, G. Mendelson, MF Thaler, A. Margel. "The Effect of a Continuous Patient Monitoring System on Reducing Falls and Hospitalization in Skilled Nursing Facilities."


Get essential answers from our FAQ page!
Need certain answers regarding your garage door repair? Scroll down on this page to see our FAQ page! Get all the answers you need before making your decision. Scroll here!
How do I reduce the noise of my garage door?
The noise produced by your garage door is influenced by a number of factors. Check and tighten every nut and bolt and lubricate the hinges. If they are already worn out, get them replaced. Check your garage door rollers too. If they are made of metal, you can lubricate them as well, by you may also want to consider replacing them with nylon coated ones.
Is an aluminum door better than a steel door?
There are factors that make one door material perform better than the other. Steel doors are sturdier but can suffer from rust. Aluminum doors, on the other hand, are rust resistant but can easily suffer from dents. It all boils down to your specific needs. Another consideration is your locality. If you live near a coastal area, then an aluminum door would be preferable.
What happens if a garage door spring breaks?
There is a loud bang in most cases as a result of the release of the tension from the spring. With a broken spring, your garage door cannot open unless lifted, and this can make the problem even more serious. The best thing you can do is to disconnect the opener, since it can also get damaged if it works without the spring, and to have the component replaced as soon as possible. Remember that this is not a DIY job.


Flowers are blooming and birds are chirping, which means it's time to start your yearly spring cleaning extravaganza. While you're emptying your closets, decluttering, and getting rid of the bloat in your life, why not do the same for your computer? Here are some simple, easy to follow tips to give your trusted Windows PC a little spring cleaning of its own.
We'll start with the outside of your machine, since you probably have all those cleaning products out for your household cleaning anyway (right? right?). Turn it off, unplug everything, and find an open area where you can easily reach everything. Whether you have a laptop or a desktop, your main priority is probably going to be the keyboard and mouse or trackpad. Luckily, you can clean them pretty easily with just a few household objects. If they're looking a little greasy, you can always clean them up with a Mr. Clean magic eraser, too.
You'll also want to get inside your computer's case and clean any dust out of the fans to keep everything running cool and quiet. We've shown you how to do this on a desktop before, and all you need is a little compressed air to do a pretty thorough job. Laptops, unfortunately, usually require a lot more work. You'll have to refer to your computer's instruction manual for more information on how to take it apart.
As you head back to your desk to replace your newly-cleaned computer, take some time to organize your cables first. We've shared a number of ways to do this, from simple cable shortening techniques to full workspace solutions. I can personally vouch for both the rain gutter method and the IKEA Signum cable manager, though you can experiment with your workspace to see what works best. If you're using a laptop, slapping a couple binder clips on your desk is just about the greatest way to save them from falling on the floor whenever you go mobile, too.
Alright, so you've plugged your machine back in at your pristine workspace, and now it's time to get down to the good stuff: software. Before you do anything else, head to Windows Update and make sure all your software is up to date—drivers, service packs, security updates, and so on. If you're still on Windows 7, it might be a good time to consider an upgrade. Windows 8 has been out for awhile now, and it's really not as bad as everyone says it is—in fact, it's pretty great. It's faster, more secure, and has a number of useful new features. Even though Windows 8's metro interface isn't that great, you can easily get rid of it and make it more like Windows 7 in all the annoying spots, while keeping the great features Windows 8 brings to the table.
If you've followed our advice about being conservative with the apps you install, you shouldn't have too many unnecessary ones floating around—but no matter how careful you are, it's bound to happen. Skip Windows' built-in Add/Remove Programs dialog and use something like Revo Uninstaller for quicker, more thorough uninstallations. This is also a great time to de-crapify your printer or scanner setup, as it undoubtedly contributes a few unnecessary apps to your hard drive.
You might also want to take a look at your startup items in msconfig and uncheck options you don't need. This'll decrease your computer's boot time significantly, not to mention free up a few resources. If you're having trouble deciding what to disable, we highly recommend checking out previously mentioned Soluto, which will help guide you through the process.
If you're starting to run out of space on your drive, it's time to take a really good look at what might be causing it. That means ditching Windows' built-in Disk Cleanup app (which is fine, but probably won't net you a ton of space savings) and check out something like WinDirStat or Disk Space Fan. They'll show you exactly what's taking up so much space on your machine, organized by folder, file type, and more. Armed with that information, you can start deleting stuff you don't need and getting some of that disk space back. For more information, check out our feature on how to analyze, clean out, and free space on your hard drive.
Now it's time to really dig in and start cleaning up the cruft that can slow down your machine. If you don't already have the fantastic CCleaner maintenance tool, download it now and run through its cleaning process. This should clean up some of those extra caches, temporary files, log files, and other things strewn about your system. While you're at it, set it to run on a schedule so you don't have to worry about it ever again.
Apart from that, the only maintenance you need to do (besides the other things mentioned in this post) is keep your antivirus program turned on and up to date. We recommend Avast Free Antivirus: It's good at killing viruses, and pretty simple to use. Most users shouldn't have to do much more than this—Windows 7 and above deoesn't need to defragment, clean their registry, mess with Windows prefetching, or do anything else you've been told to do over the years. Check out our guide to Windows maintenance for more info.
Lastly, it's time to back up your newly cleaned PC. Hopefully, you had a backup system in place before this whole thing, but if not, we recommend setting up a bulletproof, offsite backup system with CrashPlan. Once you set it up, you never really have to think about it again. Alternatively, you can always just back up to an external drive using the built-in Windows Backup—I personally use this to back up to my NAS—but we'd still recommend backing up your super important files to something like Dropbox, since this won't protect you from things like fires, earthquakes, drive failures, or anything else that could destroy your backup.
It's worth mentioning, since it's such a popular option, that some people just prefer to reinstall Windows every once in a while to keep everything running smoothly. This is totally fine—I do it myself, in fact, just because I'm a bit OCD that way—but you really don't have to. As long as you take care of your computer, it should run just as quickly, smoothly, and cleanly as a freshly minted installation.
If you do want to do a clean install, then I highly recommend checking out how to do a clean install without losing your files, settings and tweaks. It'll make the whole process a lot easier. You can also customize your Windows installation with RT Se7en Lite and create the OS of your dreams by removing unnecessary Windows components, adding service packs to your installer, and even automatically installing all your favorite apps in one fell swoop (though you could always use something like Ninite, too). As you go through the process, be sure to check out our Lifehacker Pack for Windows to make sure you get all the essential apps installed on your new machine.
That's all there is to it. Windows doesn't need quite as much maintenance as it did in the old days, but there will always be a few things you can do from time to time to keep it clean and fast. Have any spring cleaning tips we left out? Share them with us in the comments.


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using sources (in a 2nd semester, 1st year writing class in which research and using sources is a focus (though not the only focus. The class also has a Community and Citizenship thematic focus.)
Make pages on the web that students can contribute to, to collect and "archive" links to articles and other sources (For a rough, preliminary example go: HERE). Student engagement in collection of texts related to course content. Bring, link, write, reflect on connections between class readings, additional sources, personal reflection and interpretation of ideas and issues.
Use article on Black Lives matter and social media to think about how sources are used in writing. Read through the bibliography and see what kinds of sources are used (eg. USA Today, Habermas on Public Sphere, academic articles and books on race in America).
Discuss the difference between kinds of sources: peer-review article vs New York Times article, an article from The National Review vs something found on the PBS website, how to use YouTube videos and other "web texts" to supplement and illustrate ideas even if those don't act as sources that support arguments in traditional academic ways.
Talk about why/how it helps to find sources early. Choose 5 sources and make an annotated bib. that summarizes the main idea(s) and reflects on how the source will be useful in your final project. Make a network map for 3 of the 5 sources (depending on time and level of detail) to show the various layers of reading/analysis of the source. (see Network Map assignment here/TBA).
Reflection assignment: What is the relationship between sources and personal experience, personal narrative, or personal/professional interest in a topic or issue? How does the role of the citizen in the world connect to that relationship (between textual information and personal experience or interest). Write about the connection between these (the textual, the personal, and the social/cultural) in relation to community and citizenship.
in relation to working as a writing center consultant my own expanded relationship to sources may help students to think about sources from different perspectives. How can we as writers, for example, think about sources from a space of (personal (ie. I am the writer of my personal or academic process/product)) writing and engagement (writing/engagement at center of writing) vs as a task/chore of collecting and compiling sources and citations. How can we as writers be in conversation with source material vs slogging through quote after quote or paraphrase after paraphrase…
#writingisFUNdamental #bibMYography #RESEARCHisPERSONALsocial

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Warren Chase is VP and chief operating officer of 140, Verizon's in-house agency that gets its name from its address: 140 West Street in lower Manhattan. Warren will be speaking at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference in October at the new Second Stage forum, a more intimate setting for learning about what's new and what's next. I talked with him about the role of an in-house agency and how its effectiveness is measured.
Q. Let's start with a very fundamental question; why does Verizon have an in-house agency?
Verizon wants to work with the best talent, whether this talent sits at an external agency or is on a team of independent consultants, musicians, architects or other creative leaders. As part of this quest, we identified the opportunity to create an internal agency team, as it provides an opportunity to have that creative talent as part of the company's full-time head count.
The intent of the in-house team is not to bring all the work in-house but to have a bit more skin in the game, especially when it comes to critical brand-narrative decisions, or how we show up in our own channels.
Q. How do you decide what work goes to external agencies and what goes in-house?
140's role within the general agency ecosystem is to lead the end-to-end brand narrative (tone of voice, look and feel, design) and creative execution of Verizon's own channels (retail, digital, .com, social). That doesn't mean 140 can't also handle other specific assignments to meet the demands of confidentiality or any other specific need of the enterprise.
Q. How do you attract and retain good talent?
We're doing something that has never been done before. As an agency team, we navigate through more vertical skill sets than most of the agencies out there. Our teams are far more engaged with the decisions that affect good creative work and are exposed to real end-to-end narratives that have an impact on the brand. Because of that, unlike in many external agencies, most of the work that our teams create actually gets produced.
Verizon offers an incredible career-growth opportunity. Our people go through consistent and actionable career-projection plans, whereas most major agencies have had to make cuts on people training to hit their numbers.
Q. What KPIs do you use to assess the effectiveness of 140?
We are measured just like any external agency working with Verizon. We are part of the biannual agency review pipeline that includes all other agency partners. We're measured in terms of creative excellence, strategic leadership, talent retention, etc. That keeps us in check.
Q. What are the biggest challenges for your in-house agency?
Getting on top of all the work we have now on our hands!
Q. How important are industry awards to 140?
Even though we don't live for the external recognition, industry awards are important because they help attract great talent.
The ANA will be releasing new research on the state of in-house agencies in October and highlights will be shared at Warren's session on Second Stage during the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference.
Thanks to MediaVillage for publishing an earlier version of this perspective.
Bill Duggan is a group EVP at the ANA.


"Give your Ladders a little love"
"A clean tool is a happy tool, and portable ladders are no exception. Keep your ladders free and clear of fire debris and clean as needed with careful focus on the extension ladder's moving parts. Pulleys, ladder locks, and fly section channels are prone to collecting debris." Pg. 270, Chapter 22.
I will attempt to post a simulation every week, this first one is a working fire in a multi-family residential, the fire is called in as a porch fire but while en route you are updated to a more serious condition of possible people trapped.
Hump Day SOS How Many Have Sacrificed?
How Many Sacrificed Lives for Freedom?
"I'd bet my life I did much better on this Captian's exam!"
I heard this recently after the results of our captain's promotional process was completed. I actually heard variations of it more than once, and sometimes with a tremendous amount of conviction and passion. Maybe even more conviction and passion than was used to prepare for the test. That is my explanation for the poorer scores.
Each time they spread their wings--a mission to fulfill.
And memories of the fallen ones who lived close by our side.
This is a tribute to my beloved father, James John Patrick Laughlin, who was a firefighter, who died at the age of 48 and who is his daughter's hero at heart.
Adorned with wings invisible to all of human eyes?
We see that in our heroes, our heroes, unaware.
PASSION: The six stages of the double edged sword.
It is in great sadness, that we as a Brotherhood, post the 36th Line Of Duty Death for 2015 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighter & Captain Jason Farley has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for their fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family, friends and our Brothers & Sisters with the Claremore Fire Department.
"Never forget and always be grateful"
Tradition. Pride. Dedication. Self-sacrifice. These are some of the reasons we embark on a career, volunteer or paid, in the fire service. If your department holds these values essential, then I applaud you. I have unfortunately experienced first hand, by seasoned members, an absence of ownership, lack of mentoring, and general disregard toward the enthusiasm of the upcoming generation.
"Get like you was before you got like you is." Earl D.
Sometimes in life and in our work we wake up one day and we look back and we find that somehow we have slipped away from the real and important things that bring worth and value to our lives and to our work.
Hump Day SOS Flow Paths Aren't Real?
Scenario: I am seeking to create a diverse cadre of instructors in fire academies and there is little on the topic. How does a fire chief or training officer select the best individuals for this important position?
It is in great sadness, that we as a Brotherhood, post the 35th Line Of Duty Death for 2015 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighter Dwight Greer has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for their fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family, friends and our Brothers & Sisters with the Philadelphia Fire Department in Mississippi.
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality: D.C.
It is in great sadness, that we as a Brotherhood, post the 34th Line Of Duty Death for 2015 from the United States Fire Administration. Fellow Brother Firefighter & Lieutenant Kevin McRae has made the ultimate sacrifice in love for their fellow man. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family, friends and our Brothers & Sisters with the District of Columbia Fire Department.


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NYC Food Truck Lunch: Fish & Chips From Bompa
Filed Under:Bompa, Food trucks, lunch
(credit: Perry R.)
Perry, the founder of New York Street Food, brings you his latest review on New York City street food.
You know spring has truly arrived when new food trucks start sprouting up on the NYC streets. The first one we've spotted this season is called Bompa, and they specialize in Belgian-style fries. We looked it up, and the word Bompa means "grandfather."
There have been other fries trucks in NYC in the past, notably Chipsy King and The Frying Dutchman, but neither is still in business. That doesn't bode well for Bompa, but who knows, maybe the time is right for a Belgian fries truck.
Our biggest problem with a fries truck is we're not going to have just fries for lunch. Fries are great for a late night snack after drinking, but for lunch, there needs to be some protein. The Frying Dutchman offered chicken tenders on their menu, but Chipsy King only sold fries and sauces.
The main focus of the menu at Bompa is Belgian-style fries, which come in two sizes, sold for $6 and $8. There's also a list of a dozen different sauces sold for $1 each. Ketchup and mayo are provided for free.
In addition to the fries, Bompa sells a fish & chips platter for $10, and a fish sandwich with fries and a salad for $9. We chose the platter.
Let's start with the fries, which were thick and semi-crispy. Right in front of us was a gentleman from Holland who was visiting NYC on business. While we were waiting for our order, he got a regular order of fries for $6 (pictured below). Fries are a very popular street food-style snack in Belgium and Holland, and he said they were good. That's a promising start.
As for the platter, there were two large, thick pieces of fried fish, along with fries and a salad. The batter on the fish was crispy and had a nice crunch to it. We could tell the fish was frozen, not fresh, but you can't expect two large pieces of fresh fish, chips and a salad for $10. That's unrealistic. The fish was fried to order, and it came out hot and fresh.
The fries were good, although we personally like them a little crispier. The ones on top were a little crispy, but the fries underneath were softer by the time we got back to our office, just around the corner.
The side salad was made up of mixed greens, tomatoes and red and green bell peppers. Everything was fresh, and it came with a choice of Italian, balsamic vinaigrette or Caesar dressing. We chose Caesar, which turned out to be a good dipping sauce for the fries, too.
Lunch from Bompa was good. There was a lot of food for $10, and while it doesn't compare to a true British fish & chips meal, we'll take it for a quick lunch.
Unfortunately, we could not find any social media presence for Bompa. You'll just have to keep an eye out for them at the usual food truck locations in midtown, downtown and Brooklyn.


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И Цзянлян () е китайски баскетболист, тежко крило. Известен с играта си в НБА за тимовете на Милуоки Бъкс, Ню Джърси Нетс, Вашингтон Уизърдс и Далас Маверикс и за китайския национален отбор, с който има участия на 4 Олимпиади. През 2012 г. е знамецосец на китайската делегация на Олимпиадата в Лондон.

Клубна кариера

Започва кариерата си през 2002 г. Гуандонг Саутърн Тайгърс. През първия си професионален сезон става новобранец на годината в Китайската баскетболна асоциация. В следващите три сезона Цзанлян се превръща в голямата звезда на "тигрите" и ги извежда до три поредни шампионски титли. През 2006 г. е избран за най-полезен играч във финалите на асоциацията. През сезон 2006/07 записва рекордните в кариерата си 24.9 точки и 11.5 борби средно на мач, но Тайгърс губи титлата от Баи Рокетс.

През 2007 г. е изтеглен в драфта на НБА под номер 6 от Милуоки Бъкс. Кариерата му в САЩ започва силно, като И измества от титулярното място Чарли Вилянуева и през декември 2007 г. е избран за новобранец на месеца. На 22 декември отбелязва рекордните си 29 точки в мач с Шарлът Бобкетс. Дзянлян участва в звездния мач на новаците в лигата в началото на 2008 г. През април 2008 г. получава контузия и пропуска остатъка от сезона. През първия си сезон в НБА И записва 66 мача със средни показатели 8.6 точки и 5.2 борби.

През 2008 г. тежкото крило преминава в Ню Джърси Нетс като част от сделката за Ричард Джеферсън. И започва силно с екипа на Нетс, като е основен играч в началото на сезона. Контузия обаче вади китаеца от строя през януари 2009 г. Дзянлян завършва сезона с 8.6 точки и 5.3 борби средно за 61 мача. Травмите продължават да преследват крилото и през следващия сезон, когато И пропуска 30 срещи от сезона. Въпреки това, показателите му се подобряват, като записва 12 точки и 7.2 борби средно на мач. Нетс обаче не успява да се класира за плейофите и играчът е трансфериран във Вашингтон Уизърдс. Крилото не успява да се наложи в тима от столицата на САЩ и през 2011 г. разтрогва договора си.

По време на локаута в НБА И се завръща в Гуандонг Саутърн Тайгърс. В началото на 2012 г. Дзянлян подписва с Далас Маверикс. Известно време играе за сателитния тим на Далас Тексас Леджъндс, след което се завръща в Маверикс. Китаецът обаче не успява да пребори конкуренцията на Дирк Новицки и записва само по 2.6 точки в 30 мача.

От лятото на 2012 г. отново е част от Гуандонг Саутърн Тайгърс. През 2013 г. става шампион на Китайската баскетболна асоциация. През лятото на 2016 г. подписва с Лос Анджелис Лейкърс. Малко преди началото на сезона обаче Дзянлян разтрогва с "езерняците".

Национален отбор
Дебютира за националния отбор на Олимпиадата в Атина през 2004 г. Участва с тима на световното първенство през 2006 г. и помага на китайския отбор да играе 1/4-финал на домакинската Олимпиада в Пекин през 2008 г. През 2011 г. печели азиатското първенство и е определен за най-полезен играч на турнира. И играе и на олимпийските игри през 2012 г., където записва 10.2 борби и 2.2 блокирани изстрела средно на мач.

През 2015 г. Дзянлян отново печели златото в азиатското първенство, а през 2016 г. участва на своята 4-та Олимпиада. В Рио де Жанейро обаче Китай завършва едва на 12-о място.

Успехи
 Шампион на Китай – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013
 Шампион на Азия – 2005, 2011, 2015
 Азиатски игри – 2006
 MVP на финалите на Китайската баскетболна асоциация – 2006, 2013
 MVP на Китайската баскетболна асоциация – 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
 MVP на шампионата на Азия – 2011, 2015

Източници

Външни препратки
 Профил в basketball-reference.com
 Профил в сайта на NBA

Китайски баскетболисти
Спортисти на летните олимпийски игри 2008

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Episode two of Shaun the official gaming adventure, Home Sheep Home 2. Help 3 sheep work together to find their way out of a series of underground caverns and abandoned mineshafts. Use each of their unique abilities to overcome obstacles and solve puzzles in this physics-based adventure.
Arrow keys move/jump and number keys 1,2,3 select the sheep. Look out for socks and other collectable items on the way, and try to unlock the achievements.
This is the complete Lost Underground episode. If you enjoyed playing it please take a look at http://www.homesheephome2 .com for more episodes on PC, iPhone, iPad and Mac.


I'm and intuitive unicorn, human design expert, and business strategist for emapthic leaders and entrepreneurs. I guide you through the process of transitioning from doing life by the book to following your gut in every aspect of living.
My creative spirit and keen perception have made me and invaluable resource for professional artist, brands, and game-changers determined to shatter personal limitations and up level their quality of life.
My insights are a blend of art, strategy, education and personal experience. I've been successful in many industries, and have led me to launch multiple businesses including my flagship brand Goodnight Darling Co.


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La camaraïta és un mineral de la classe dels silicats, que pertany al grup de la bafertisita. Rep el nom en honor de Fernando Cámara (Melilla, Espanya, 24 de maig de 1967) mineralogista, cristal·lògraf i professor de la Universitat de Milà. Té un interès especial pels silicats de titani, els amfíbols i els minerals del grup de l'arrojadita i de la cancrinita.

Característiques
La camaraïta és un sorosilicat de fórmula química Ba₃Na(Fe2+,Mn)₈Ti₄(Si₂O₇)₄O₄(OH,F)₇. Va ser aprovada com a espècie vàlida per l'Associació Mineralògica Internacional l'any 2009, sent publicada per primera vegada el mateix any. Cristal·litza en el sistema triclínic. És un mineral estretament relacionat amb la jinshajiangita i la bafertisita.

Els exemplars que van servir per a determinar l'espècie, el que es coneix com a material tipus, es troben conservats a les col·leccions del Museu Mineralògic Fersmann, de l'Acadèmia de Ciències de Rússia, a Moscú (Rússia), amb els números de registre: 3828/1 i 3828/2.

Formació i jaciments
Va ser descoberta al massís de Verkhnee Espe, als monts Akzhaylyautas, dins la província del Kazakhstan Oriental (Kazakhstan). Es tracta de l'únic indret a tot el planeta on ha estat descrita aquesta espècie mineral.

Referències

Sorosilicats
Minerals de bari
Minerals de sodi
Minerals de ferro
Minerals de manganès
Minerals de titani
Minerals que contenen hidròxid
Minerals de fluor
Minerals descoberts al Kazakhstan Oriental


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'Dancing with the Stars' raises thousands for…
'Dancing with the Stars' raises thousands for Redlands Symphony
By Kristina Hernandez |
June 2, 2013 at 12:00 a.m.
REDLANDS — For the first time in Redlands Symphony Gala history, a male has taken home the treasured "Dancing with the Stars" mirror ball trophy.
Seconds after he was declared the winner, Roy Cencirulo proudly raised the sought-after trophy above his head to roaring applause on Saturday night.
Cencirulo, head of Valley Preparatory School in Redlands, credited his partner, Bailey Carrillo of Fox Dance Center, for the win.
"Gosh, I can't believe it," said Cencirulo in between congratulatory hugs and handshakes. "Truly, 90 percent of the work was done by my partner. She was very cute and she never gave up on me."
Cencirulo was one of five dancers vying for the trophy Saturday night. The others: Councilwoman Pat Gilbreath, Marvin Hudson, Betty Auton Beck and Curtiss B. Allen.
Votes — or monetary donations — determined the winner, with Cencirulo taking in the most. In total, The Fab Five collected $29,105 for the Redlands Symphony's education programs for children in area schools and the orchestra season.
Each contestant was paired up with an area professional dancer from the Fox or Buddy Schwimmer's Dance Center. Practices were held for several weeks until each dancer was comfortable with the dance they were given.
Beck, who was partnered with Buddy Schwimmer, brought a little 1960s/early 1970s to the event by performing a number featuring the music of Sonny and Cher — costume and all.
After Beck completed her number, a judge remarked that her Cher impression was one of the best they had ever seen, with all three judges — Bob Clark, Philip Doolittle and Berangere Robertson-Tucker — awarding the longtime Redlander a perfect score.
Buddy, Buck said, is a fabulous instructor. He just said, 'Let's just go out there and have a good time.' It was just fabulous."
In addition to the votes that were collected, a number of silent and live auctions helped raised money for the annual event, which took home more than $44,000 last year.
Among the items that fetched thousands this year were a dinner with the "First Family" of the University of Redlands at their home and a private skybox for 12 at Staples Center to watch a Los Angeles Lakers or Clippers game.
A final tally of funds raised will not be known until mid-week, organizers said.
To learn more, visit redlandssymphony.com or call 909-748-8018.
Kristina Hernandez | Freelancer
Kristina Hernandez is a reporter by day; pop culture addict by night. She previously was a journalist for the Southern California News Group since 2005. She likes popcorn.
Follow Kristina Hernandez @TheFactsKris


This Reaper costume from Overwatch is all made out of scratch using pure EVA Foams with no templates at all.
The long coat is a black synthetic vinyl fabric lined with a typical Geena silk which I painstakingly sewn together using a cheap mini-portable sewing machine. The mask was sculpted out of 8mm thick EVA Foams and later on coated with clear resin, intentionally not sanded to give it that rough skull looking texture.
The costume was made by Celtic Props, and the photos you see here are all taken by Stan de la Cruz.
2016 has been an awesome and overwhelming year for me and since it is almost over within a few hours and we'll all be welcoming 2017, I think it's appropriate to post this blog of the costume / props and projects that I've made throughout the year. Please note that this is going to be a long read so, I still hope you could get to the bottom of it haha!
In time for the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie back in March, I've pulled-off this quick Knightmare Batman costume and together with my awesome cosplay peeps who've put all their efforts on their suits, we watched the movie in costume.
The first two prop commissions that I got for the year were Legolas' Elven Daggers from The Hobbit movie and Captain America's shield which have the same deadline for shipping LOL.
A friend asked me to make Starlord's helmet (plus his accessories) for his cosplay. It's not 100% accurate but I'm happy with how it turned out to mention that I've built it for 3 hours only because, I'm also busy working on my own costume during that time.
Aside from making costumes and props, I'm also a freelance concept artist / character designer so, back in August, I've decided to cosplay one of my characters which was the Wasteland Assassin.
Few weeks after the release of the official Justice League movie, one of my old cosplay friend asked me to make him a full Ezra Miller Flash suit from the upcoming Justice League movie. Probably not the best one out there, but definitely the first back then.
Been busy with costume and prop commissions and didn't had the chance to make something for myself for the past few years so, I've decided that I should make something BIG for myself this year and so I did. Hence, the T60 Power Armor was built. It won two large cosplay event in the country and got the right attention for it.
I've been a big nerd for hooded, dark type characters and ever since the first Overwatch trailer came out, I've been already eye-ing Reaper. I just didn't wanted to be a wagon rider who just cosplays a certain character without even knowing them or in this case, playing as Reaper. Recently, a friend helped me on getting the game and so I've finally decided to do a Reaper costume.
Prior to my Reaper costume, a friend also asked me to make him a full Zenyatta costume.
Well, that sums up my 2016 Costume and Prop building experience!
It has been a wonderful and productive year indeed. I'm hoping I could get my hands on more awesome projects to come!
1-WEEK BUILDS: Zenyatta is done!
Finally finished this 1 week suit build Zenyatta costume from Overwatch!
Everything is free-hand crafted out of scratch using 5mm - 7mm thick EVA Foams.
Don't forget to subscribe! Cheers!
The third and last video just for the main Zenyatta armor is up!
Only got a week to finish this suit in time for Christmas Toys and Collectibles Convention 2016!
Still have to paint the suit tomorrow and make the Orbs! Weew~ still lot to do though.
All the armor pieces are made out of scratch using 5 millimeter thick EVA Foams.
The feet were modified cheap thin rubber shoes that I bought for 2 dollars on a local shoe supplier.
Please do SUBSCRIBE to my channel to follow along the build! Cheers!
In this simple tutorial, I will be sharing one of my techniques in making a pattern for a dome shaped cap or a helmet base for my cosplays. I hope you'll find it helpful because, I do. Haha! I've been using this technique for almost all of my rounded type helmets and also, some other parts that requires a dome shaped pattern ie; some shoulder bells, knee caps, etc.
Without further ado, let's start building!
EVA Foams - Any thickness will do. I usually work with 4mm - 8mm thick EVA Foams.
Masking Tape - The thicker ones would be the best option because you're gonna use a lot of em'.
Contact Cement / Super Glue - Whichever that can glue and hold EVA Foams together firmly.
X-acto Knife / Box Cutter - The sharpest, the better.
Marker / Pen - I'd be surprised if you don't have one of these.
Start covering up the half of the ball. Yes, only the half and NOT the entire ball.
You should have something like this. AND YOU'RE DONE!
Go and put a line on the middle of the "bowl" that you've made using masking tape and cut along the lines. Don't go too deep (that's what she said lol) because you might cut the ball and pop it. If you'd look closely, I've already cut mine hah!
try to flatten out the masking tape pattern by putting cut lines like what I did on the photos below.
As you flatten out the template, get any piece of paper and stick it there. And because the template is made out of masking tapes, it would easily stick to the paper. MAGICAL isn't it? haha!
VOILA! You're done with your pattern!
your build and cut it out using your sharp, trusty knives! Be careful though.
Note: Make sure that you have a sharp edged knife that could cut along your material easily to have that crisp, neat cut!
Make an exact copy using the pattern that you've made a while ago. Remember??
The pattern that you've made? The thing with the masking tape and all sorts of awesome thingy?? Good.
preferred glue and start gluing each of the edges until you come up with something like these.
All you need to do now is glue the two pieces together and VOILA!
You have now unlocked the skill of making your own dome shaped base helmet!
Here's my T-60 Power Armor Helmet that I recently did using the same pattern for the head.
Go forth and build something!
The second part of the Zenyatta costume speed build from Overwatch!
out of scratch using 5 millimeter thick EVA Foams. Still a lot of missing details but hey, it's getting there!
What's up fellow prop makers and Overwatch fans!
I just started out a small costume build series on my Youtube channel.
Follow along as I complete this build within 2 weeks! Yup, you read that right!
There's an upcoming Christmas cosplay convention here in our country and I'd be needing to finish this for that said event.
It's not gonna be for me though. It's a commission piece for a friend who's fit enough to cosplay this humble Omnic.
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my channel to get notified on updates as I build it DAILY.
As you people see, I'm not that kind of a big-time Hollywood costume and prop maker. I've been making costumes and props since 2008 and since then, I only settled for a 26 x 26 inch study table that I consider as a "workbench table" because that is the only thing that could fit in my room.
You can also see that I'm using cheap Acrylic paints that you can buy in National bookstores for about more or less $0.50 cents? I also use sponges for painting and weathering to "blend in" the paint on the surface because, I don't have a fancy Air brush kit to produce such fancy outputs like what others do.
This is not a dramatic, pity-seeking post, ladies and gentlemen. I would just like to show you and say that you do not actually have to be that wealthy and fortunate enough to produce your dream cosplay/s. You do not have to spend so much money for a ridiculously expensive cosplay materials or buy one online. But hey, don't get me wrong. If you have the capability to do so, then go. Do it. Nobody's stopping you. It's your money.
My only point here is that, there are so many stuff lying around you that is waiting to be used and it's just a matter of perseverance, dedication and commitment on how you could manipulate these "cheap" things for you to pull-off you epic dream cosplay build. Also, remember to have fun and enjoy what you're doing because this is your key to awesomeness!
Soldier 76's Mask - DONE!
those kinds of LED luminescent tape and wow, the output was totally mind blowing!
scared to be called as a "bandwagon", I didn't pursued in making a cosplay from the game for myself.
Til one day when a client asked me to make a Soldier 76 for him, I excitedly answered "YES"
because finally, I can make something from the game even if it's not for my personal use.
Anyway, here it is. The Soldier 76 Mask that I've made. It was truly a fun and fulfilling build ever.
our family vacation by the first month of August.
This page contains news, updates, work in progress projects and blog entries.
Just keep scrolling down because this is one heck of a long page haha!


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Making It and More: The Best Comfort Food TV Currently on the Air
From Making It to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, our picks for the best current comfort food TV has to offer.
By Billy Nilles Dec 02, 2019 10:44 PMTags
TVCelebritiesFeaturesEntertainmentQueer EyeThe Marvelous Mrs. MaiselThe Masked Singer
Watch: Nick Offerman & Amy Poehler Dish on "Making It" Season 2
Comfort food TV is all the rage.
Despite the glut of new and shiny series dropping seemingly every day, whether its happening episodically on traditional broadcast and cable networks or in full-on binge mode on the streaming services (of which there seems to be a new one entering the fray every time we turn around), there's a reason people can't stop watching Friends, The Office, Seinfeld, Golden Girls, Parks and Recreation, Gilmore Girls, 30 Rock—OK you get the picture—on Netflix or Hulu. (And why forthcoming streaming services HBO Max and Peacock have ignited a bidding war over this legacy content, resulting in astronomical price tags.) And that's because life is hard, we're inundated with choices, and sometimes we just want to put something on that feels like a warm hug. (There's a reason this writer has found himself streaming old episodes of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross on Netflix—and it's not because he's looking to take up painting.)
While there's nothing wrong with getting lost in a marathon of any of the above on a Sunday afternoon long enough to prompt your Netflix account to check in on whether or not you've actually fallen asleep, there's plenty of new comfort food TV out there worth checking out, as well.
The 2019 TV Shows and Moments We're Thankful For
From NBC's Making It, returning with all its crafy charm tonight at 10 p.m. for a seven-night holiday event of a second season, to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, whizzing back onto Amazon Prime for a third season on Friday, Dec. 6, All Rise, currently surprising us with its legal loveliness Mondays on CBS, to The Mandalorian, making us squeal with joy every time we see a certain cuddly character every Friday on Disney+, these are our picks for the best current comfort food TV worth cozying up to.
Amazon Prime Instant Video
For two seasons now, the Emmy-winning Amazon Prime Instant Video original, starring Rachel Brosnahan as the titular divorcee who quite literally stumbles into a stand-up comedy career in the late 1950s and Alex Borstein as her somewhat out-of-her-depth manager, has delivered the breezy charm and rat-a-tat dialogue fans of Gilmore Girls had been missing—both shows share Amy Sherman-Palladino as creator—and allowed us to watch a talented woman as she smashes her way through the patriarchy in a world where the stakes never feel too distressingly high. Catch up now before season three drops on the streaming service on Friday, Dec. 6.
We never thought one of our favorite new shows of the fall season would be a legal procedural on CBS, but this series, which airs Mondays at 9 p.m. and follows newly-appointed Judge Lola Carmichael (played by winning Luke Cage alum Simone Missick) as she challenges what a judge can be while advocating for justice for the people of Los Angeles, surprised the hell out of us. It's the sort of legal drama we thought they stopped making in the '90s: light, breezy, utterly lacking in grisly murder porn and complete with a diverse and sublimely charming cast. And we can't say enough about the refreshingly platonic central friendship between Lola and deputy district attorney Mark (played by the easy-on-the-eyes Wilson Bethel). It shouldn't be rare to see women and men be sexual tension-free BFFs on TV, but it is. So we must celebrate it when it comes along.
There's a reason why TV fans across the pond have been obsessed with this competition to find the UK's best amateur baker since it began back in 2010. And that's because it's an utterly charming confection where contestants cheer each other on rather than tear one another down and the only drama lies in whether or not someone's sponge cake is moist enough. If you haven't discovered its calming effects on Netflix yet, under the name The Great British Baking Show because Pillsbury apparently has "Bake Off" trademarked in the States, there are seven collections waiting for you—though, be warned, they're not in the order they aired in the UK, for reasons we couldn't even begin to understand.
Two words: Baby. Yoda. While that delightful discovery in the first episode of this new Star Wars series, airing weekly on Disney+, is more than worth the price of admission, we were surprised by how heartwarming and lovely the whole whole thing is. Starring Game of Thrones' Pedro Pascal (though you wouldn't know it based on the way his face remains completely covered by a helmet), the series, set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, follows the titular bounty hunter (think Boba Fett) as he endeavors to protect "the Kid" beyond the reaches of the New Republic. We can't wait wait to devour each new episode as they drop on Fridays, a welcome reminder that not all streaming has to be of the binge variety.
Is this Fox singing competition, based on South Korean show King of Mask Singer and now in its second season, absolutely f--king insane? You bet. Do the guesses of who might be behind the arrestingly elaborate masks made by judges Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy and Robin Thicke often seem entirely improbable? No doubt about it. Do we get lost in the weird spectacle of it all anyway? We sure do. The current season, airing on Wednesdays, may wrap up on Dec. 18, but have no fear, season three is right around the corner, earning the coveted post-Super Bowl LIV premiere slot on February 2, 2020. Embrace the crazy.
At this point, we fully accept that Netflix's celebrated revival of the groundbreaking series, starring a new Fab Five as they work their magic on America one "hero" in need at a time, is designed to fully manipulate our emotions and drain our tear ducts by the end of each 45-minute episode. And you know what? We don't really care. There's just something so lovely about people being lovely to other people. Even if that means we have to listen as Antoni Porowski explains what Greek yogurt is to someone who likely already knew.
Like the less-edible American cousin to The Great British Bake Off, this competition series, returning to NBC on Monday Dec. 2 for a holiday event of a second season, is one of the kindest and craftiest shows airing in these United States. Come for the expert makers putting their DIY skills to the test in the quest to become Master Maker, stay for hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman expertly—and endlessly—trading puns as they lament the fact that they just can't let everyone win. Season one felt like a cozy hug from your kooky aunt. Expect more of the same in season two.
What started out as a story about an out-of-touch rich family forced to fall back down to Earth and retreat to the titular town after their remaining assets has been seized by the IRS has turned into one of the loveliest scripted comedies currently airing on television, proving that kindness can be funny. Father-and-son co-creators/stars Eugene and Dan Levy have created the sort of utopian small town where everyone is not just accepted for being exactly who they are, but celebrated for it. The Pop TV-CBC Television co-production may be heading into its sixth and final season on January 7, 2020, but there's still time to catch up on, or merely relieve each of Catherine O'Hara's sublimely strange Moira Rose mispronunciations from, all five seasons on Netflix.
Kim Kardashian Celebrates Chicago West's Birthday With New Family Pics
Anne Hathaway Shares the Relatable Way She Reacts to Nerves
Prince Harry's Friend Says He's "Heartbroken" Over Royal Estrangement
Making It premieres Monday, Dec. 2 at 10 p.m. on NBC, while The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season three drops on Amazon Prime on Friday, Dec. 6. New episodes of All Rise air Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBS, while The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox and new episodes of The Mandalorian drop at midnight PST on Fridays on Disney+. The Great British Baking Show and Queer Eye are available to stream on Netflix, alongside the first five seasons of Schitt's Creek, which returns for its sixth and final season on Tuesday, Jan 7 at 9 p.m. on Pop TV.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Why Fans Think Selena Gomez's New Song Is a Reference to Justin Bieber


Room was neat and clean all amenities were working, very relaxing good experience, Morning breakfast had good variety and food quality was good.
The hotel itself is very comfortable with it's large open lobby the foyer is also very comfy. The hotel staff from the front desk to the doorman are all very courteous , professional extremely pleasant and helpful. Eager to meet needs. The room was kept extremely clean, efficient AC. Amenities were great. The breakfast buffet consists of both Indian and western foods.
I was at Grand Venizia while I was on my business trip. My stay was quite splendid out here. Starting with the food and going all the way to the room service & amenities provided, everything was wonderful and I had quite an experience out here.
We had got the best experiences from Grand Venizia. Room facilities are also good. The things which were provided by hotel were also appreciated. We will gladly do come again and stay only in this hotel.
My last vacation was awesome. We visited to Grand Venezia, we had a combined tourist attractions across the city. The room was lovely too, with a superb view. I thoroughly recommend the Grand venizia for quality, elegance, soul, and service. I didn't want to leave & in fact I can't wait to go back.


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Cardiovascular surgeon blends expertise with compassion.
Virginia native Mark Hudson, 67, spent 30 years serving his nation. After a three-year stint with the US Army, he became a contracting officer for the US Army at Fort Eustis, Virginia, where he worked for 27 years before retiring in 2010.
Three unique vein treatments have Mark back on his feet again.
"As part of my job at Fort Eustis, I did purchasing for the Training and Doctrine Command," Mark elaborates. "I bought the physical and simulation training, and doctrine materials the Command uses for training."
Mark relocated to Florida five years after he retired from his career with the Army. He was lured to The Villages® by its promise of an active and enjoyable lifestyle.
"Playing golf, going to the pools and doing all the other fun stuff is what brought me to The Villages," he relates. "I heard about the area from my brother-in-law, who visited The Villages several years in a row. My wife and I came down seven years ago and stayed for a month. I fell in love with it, and my wife said we could move here."
But Mark's active lifestyle was curtailed for a while due to issues with his leg veins. Those issues began after he underwent treatment for other conditions.
"I had two surgeries – a double hernia surgery and GreenLight™ laser surgery for prostate problems," he states. "During the course of having those surgeries, the veins in my legs, which weren't in the best shape anyway, popped up into little clots. They looked really bad, especially the veins on my right leg, and I had cramping, too, so my primary care physician suggested I see Dr. Sharma."
Ravi Sharma, MD, is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with expertise in blood vessel disorders affecting the legs. His practice is Premier Vein Centers, which has offices in Homosassa and The Villages.
Dr. Sharma made an excellent first impression on Mark. The surgeon ordered an ultrasound examination of Mark's legs that showed that a number of Mark's leg veins were leaking and not enabling proper blood flow, a condition called venous insufficiency.
Compromised Blood Flow
The human circulatory system is made up of an intricate series of blood vessels. Veins are the blood vessels that return oxygen-depleted blood back to the heart. There are three types of veins: superficial veins, deep veins and perforator veins. Superficial veins lie close to the skin, deep veins lie in groups of muscles, and perforator veins connect the superficial veins to the deep veins.
"Venous insufficiency occurs when the deep leg veins cannot pump blood back to the heart," Dr. Sharma explains. "Chronic venous insufficiency has multiple causes. Over long periods of sitting or standing, the blood in leg veins can pool. This increases the venous blood pressure and weakens the vein walls and valves, thereby damaging the valves. Damaged valves prevent proper blood flow back to the heart."
There are many signs and symptoms of venous insufficiency. Signs are the issues that can be seen, such as bulging varicose veins, swelling, and thickening and discoloration of the skin of the ankles or legs. Symptoms are those things that are felt, not seen. They include throbbing, aching, stinging, burning, itching, nighttime leg cramps and restless legs. These are all indications that the veins are not functioning properly.
"For patients who experience any of these signs or symptoms, it is important that they have their veins assessed," Dr. Sharma stresses. "Leaving the condition untreated can lead to more serious difficulties, including leg ulcers, infection and a breakdown of the skin.
"When seeking a physician for care, it is crucially important for people to choose surgeons who specialize in venous diseases. The physicians should also be experienced in the advanced procedures available to treat these diseases. In addition, they must also express genuine concern and compassion for their patients. Physicians with these qualifications achieve the best outcomes."
Minimally Invasive Options
A full range of advanced, minimally invasive treatment options for addressing varicose and spider veins is available at Premier Vein Centers. These treatment options include microphlebectomy, endovenous laser ablation (EVLA), sclerosing injections and the new, non-thermal procedure, VenaSeal™.
Microphlebectomy has replaced stripping, an outdated, more invasive procedure during which doctors removed the large veins by making big gashes across the leg that often left the patient with large scars.
"With microphlebectomy, the incision is tiny – about the size of the tip of a scalpel – and we can do much more through that small incision," Dr. Sharma informs. "And with this procedure, patients end up with tiny marks on the skin or no scars at all."
During EVLA, a sterile laser fiber is introduced into the incompetent vein via a small puncture in the leg. Laser energy is then delivered through the fiber, painlessly closing the vein in less than an hour, using local anesthesia.
"My legs are one hundred percent better. The areas with the clots are completely clear. No one would ever know anything was there." – Mark
Sclerosing injections are used to treat spider veins, which are tiny, dilated blood vessels in the skin that become swollen with stagnant blood. Dr. Sharma uses ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy (UGS) to guide the injections that gently close the problem vessels.
VenaSeal is a non-thermal closure system that relieves symptoms by delivering a small amount of a specially formulated medical adhesive, or "super glue," to the diseased vein. This permanently seals the vein. This procedure does not require multiple needle sticks and, in some cases, support stockings are not necessary.
Dr. Sharma uses his expertise to determine which procedures to use based on each patient's symptoms and health status. These advanced treatments are all performed in a comfortable office setting and result in little or no downtime and discomfort.
"Our patients are often very relieved to discover that there is no general anesthesia involved in our minimally invasive treatments," Dr. Sharma notes. "And they are happy to learn that they can resume activities right away."
Premier Vein Centers provides a free initial consultation and accepts most insurance, including Medicare.
Beautiful Legs
To correct Mark's venous insufficiency issues, Dr. Sharma created a treatment plan that included several minimally invasive techniques to close Mark's leaking veins, including microphlebectomy, endovenous laser ablation and VenaSeal.
"Dr. Sharma wound up removing twenty-two veins from my right leg, from both the front and back of both thighs," Mark reports. "None of the treatments were painful. In fact, the only uncomfortable portion was when they gave me the shots to numb my leg, but that wasn't anything more than a little pinprick."
Following the microphlebectomy, EVLA and VenaSeal treatments, Mark experienced dramatic improvement in his venous insufficiency. Now, he's thrilled with how his legs look and feel.
"My legs are one hundred percent better," Mark raves. "The areas with the clots are completely clear. No one would ever know anything was there. And the cramping is gone, as well.
"I wasn't uncomfortable wearing shorts in public before my treatment because my wife said the backs of my legs looked bad, and I couldn't see them. But I definitely feel better about wearing shorts now. Everybody says my legs look beautiful."
Mark states that his visits to Premier Vein Centers are always positive experiences. He recognizes Dr. Sharma and his staff for their friendly and welcoming attitudes.
"Dr. Sharma is awesome," Mark says. "And his bedside manner is terrific. He and his entire staff made me feel very comfortable, Everyone at Premier Vein Centers are as personable and well-mannered as you'd want anyone to be.
"I definitely recommend Dr. Sharma and Premier Vein Centers to anyone with any kind of vein problem. They're great!"
Premier Vein Centers
Ravi Sharma, MD
Many people inherit vein disorders. The incidence is higher in women than men. In the United States, nearly 50 percent of the adult population suffers from painful and unsightly vein diseases. The most common forms are spider veins and va... Read More
Ravi Sharma, MD, is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland at College Park and attended the University of Maryland Graduate School, Baltimore, before r... Read More
7767 S. Suncoast Blvd.
Homosassa, Florida 34446
http://www.premierveincenters.com
17820 SE 109th Ave., #109	Summerfield, Florida 34491
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To Each Her Own
Cardiovascular surgeon relies on experience to create treatment plan. Following a divorce, stay-at-home mom Mollie* suddenly re... Read More
Exploring a New Tool for Facial Rejuvenation
For years, Andrea Perry, 72, owned and operated Ritzy Rags and Glitzy Jewels, Etc. Located on the town square in Inverness, the sto... Read More
A Human Touch
Expertise dispensed with courtesy and kindnes. Augusto Odio was 12 years old in 1968 when he, his parents and sister fled comm... Read More


Detailed sub-divisional mesh - you can use meshsmooth/turbosmooth in 3ds max to increase mesh resolution. High resolution textures at 2048x1024 pixels. Comes with Diffuse, Normal, Displacement, Specular and Occlusion maps.


Make a bold statement with this uniquely designed round coffee table with a split top embedded in a wooden frame. The stunning design and the neutral colours of this round coffee table are perfect for a transitional style home. This round coffee table with its splayed angular legs makes a great style statement and is a perfect conversational piece. Ideal for a circular couch arrangement, this round coffee table can also be used for a gathering with multiple single chairs. The wooden frame with its warm texture is well contrasted by the calming tone of the white marble split top. The top-grade solid wood material provides great strength and durability and makes this piece long lasting.


You know how I've been decrying the state of modern mainstream cinema? My main despair is rooted in the lack of originality in the hackneyed and rehashed stories? Well, I think War Dogs presented a solution to that, and that solution is to find stranger than fiction true stories hidden in unlikely and unknown worlds. This was such a fascinating story, made all the more better by a pair of strong performances from our leads.
War Dogs stars Miles Teller and Jonah Hill who find a little known backwards way into supplying defense contracts for the US Pentagon. As they get in deeper and deeper, the orders grow larger, the money grows substantially, the legality lessens, and they are soon in over their heads. It maybe doesn't sound like a whole lot, but the rabbit hole does go down pretty far, and twists quite a bit on its way.
And I was saying before, solid work from our boys. This is right up there with anything that's earned Jonah Hill an Oscar nomination (further proving those were not flukes) and Teller keeps right up with him.