For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Food Safety Research Center page and our Information on Food Irradiation page.
In the wake of Europe's recent E. coli outbreak, in which sprouts contaminated with a particularly vicious strain killed 36 people and sickened thousands, food safety officials are asking once again what more can be done to curb the spread of food-borne illnesses.
Food-borne infections in the U.S. have declined 20% over the last 10 years, thanks to tighter regulations and steps taken by the food and agricultural industries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But they still cause more than 48 million cases of illness and about 3,000 deaths each year.
Some experts say part of the solution lies with food irradiation - an effective, underused method of prevention that's been around for more than 100 years.
Food irradiation involves treating items with low-dose X-rays, electron beams or gamma rays. The high-energy particles in the rays and beams kill disease-causing pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella by damaging their genetic material. The particles also break up water molecules in the food, releasing free radicals that can kill bacteria and parasites.
No radioactive materials end up in the food itself, even though in the case of gamma rays the source is radioactive cobalt, said food irradiation expert Christine Bruhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research at UC Davis. Electron-beam and X-ray irradiation involve no radioactive elements, Bruhn added.


78 Derngate was famously re-modelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1916 for his client, Northampton model engineer, W.J Bassett-Lowke. Purchased for Bassett-Lowke by his father as a wedding present, the house had originally been constructed 100 years previously.
On this page you will find detailed information about the interesting history of this small terraced house, the visionary owner and its radical transformation by Mackintosh. A further section provides detail about the restoration of 78 Derngate in 2002-3. If you are interested in more detailed information about topics covered here, the final section 'Further information' provides some references to wider sources.
We also offer some publications for further reading in our online shop.
The house is a typical early-nineteenth century brick terrace, built c. 1815-20. It consisted of basement kitchen and offices (opening into the garden at the back, because of the fall of the land), two ground floor rooms, two floors of two bedrooms each, and an attic room with dormer window, added later. It had a small courtyard at the rear, with a well and outside W.C.
It was built by William Mobbs, plumber and glazier, whose father John Mobbs, victualler, had bought two acres of the Tower Close in 1808. William was the great-grandfather of Edgar Mobbs, hero of the rugby field and First World War. In 1815 John Mobbs gave his son William a plot 59 feet from north to south and 113 feet from east to west, fronting the road to St. Thomas' Well (i.e. now Derngate). On this plot William built numbers 76, 78 and (slightly later) 80. They were built as investment property, and leased out to respectable people of the lower middle class.
78 Derngate pictured around 1916.
The nineteenth century occupants included: 1841 William Wood, auctioneer 1851 William Wood, retired auctioneer 1861 Jonathan E. Ryland, author, editor and translator 1871 Unoccupied 1881 John E. Mawbey, schoolmaster (with his wife, six teenage boy boarders and one female servant!) 1891 John Mawbey, ex-schoolmaster 1901 Sarah Buritt, of independent means In the early years of the twentieth century the tenants changed frequently. In 1916 it was bought by J. T. Lowke for his son W. J. Bassett-Lowke.
The Bassett-Lowkes lived in it until 1926. It was then sold a number of times: 1926 Harold Moore Scrivener, architect; 1932 Lily Maud Amphlett; 1948 Dr. Burgess, for his widowed mother Florence Burgess.
In 1964 Northampton High School for Girls bought the house. At first the School leased it as offices, to K. Ward Publicity then to the Victoria Wine Company. They then used it as classrooms to teach maths and history to the 6th Form, before vacating it in 1993. The school had the house listed in 1965, meriting a category of Grade II*. People such as Tom Osborne Robinson had long advocated the preservation of the house. The decision of the High School to sell all their property in Derngate in the mid 1990s galvanised local and national concern.
In June 1996 Northampton Borough Council bought a 999-year lease, with the support of Maggie Barwell. Two years, later the newly-formed 78 Derngate Northampton Trust took a 99-year sub-lease with the purpose of restoring the house and opening it to the public, along with the adjoining house, number 80, as an exhibition and circulation space. Work began in the summer of 2002 and the house opened to the public at the end of 2003.
By the mid-1920s Bassett-Lowke was able to commission a completely new house. He approached the German architect Peter Behrens, who was in the forefront of the modern movement in Germany, fusing art and industry. Like Mackintosh, he worked for Bassett-Lowke without visiting Northampton. In April 1925 Bassett-Lowke and his builder Charles Green had one meeting with Behrens in Paris and in 1926 the Bassett-Lowkes moved into their remarkable new house.
A detail of Bassett-Lowke's 1934 Christmas card.
Each year from 1922 Bassett-Lowke commissioned a personal Christmas card. Charles Rennie Mackintosh drew the first. Bassett-Lowke's interests were reflected in these cards. The cards represented the turning of the New Year, conveying a sense of speed and optimism. Only in the darker days leading up to and during the Second World War did social and political anxieties colour the choice of subject. His pacifism and social conscience shone through. So, too, did his interest in travel, in planes, ships and trains. Always eager to see new places, to record them on film, he still had a great attachment for his hometown, which was recorded one year in a photomontage card.
Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke: (1877 – 1953), the son of a boiler-maker and a governess, left school at thirteen. He spent eighteen-months in an architect's office, before joining his father in the family business. He took up the hobby of making model stationary steam engines. Realising the impossibility for the ordinary enthusiast of purchasing small parts, which he had made in his father's workshops, he soon began a small mail-order business. His father's bookkeeper, H. F. R. Franklin, joined him in the project.
Bassett-Lowke was a born salesman and in 1899 he and his partner published their first catalogue. Realising the value of photographs, but unable to afford printed ones, they laboriously pasted real photographs into the catalogue. Later ones were fully illustrated and had striking covers designed by well-known draughtsmen.
Bassett-Lowke was inspired by his visit to the Paris Exhibition in 1900, where he made contact with German manufacturers, from whom he bought model trains painted in British livery. Soon he began manufacture in Northampton. The company began making 'waterline' ship models in 1908. This type of model, showing only the parts above the waterline, were used in wartime as training aids for the Navy and Air Force. Yachts were also made to sail on boating lakes. Large shipping companies commissioned models of their luxury liners to display in their offices. Miniature railways were made for wealthy individuals and for exhibitions and resorts. The skilled model maker E. W. Twining formed Twining Models Ltd., which produced the highest quality architectural models with Bassett-Lowke Ltd.
In the 1914-18 war Bassett-Lowke Ltd. made the gauges which tested the standard parts of guns. During the 1939-45 war a great variety of work was done. A method of training for aircraft recognition using mirrors was devised. They produced training models of the sectional Inglis and later Bailey bridges. Perhaps the most important construction of this nature was the model of the floating Mulberry harbour, which was used to land troops in Normandy in 1944.
In 1908 Bassett-Lowke opened his first London shop at 257 High Holborn, moving to number 112 in 1910. His company made great use of trade shows, not only displaying their own goods, but often supplying companies with models, too. Many 15" gauge railways were installed to carry visitors around exhibitions. Usually the displays were of smaller gauge models and large tabletop systems. However, mail order remained an important part of the business.
After W.J.'s death in 1953 the company continued to make high-quality ship and industrial models. The Bassett-Lowke and Franklin families sold their shares in 1967. Models are no longer made in Northampton.
Mackintosh left school at 14 and began to train as an architect. Aged 21 in 1889 he joined the firm of Honeyman and Keppie whilst also continuing to attend evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art.
This was to be important not only for his artistic development, but also personally, for it was there that he met his future wife, Margaret Macdonald (1864-1933). She and her sister Frances were talented artists, and with Mackintosh and his friend Herbert McNair they became known as 'The Four'. The young artists contributed significantly to the distinctive style of decorative art then developing in Glasgow and the group of artists, known as The Glasgow School.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Herbert McNair, Frances Macdonald, Margaret Macdonald, Agnes Raeburn, Janet Aitken, Katherine Cameron and Jessie Keppie.
Photo: GSA Archives and Collections.
Mackintosh went on to have a brilliant but brief career as an architect, most of his commissions being completed in and around Glasgow between 1896 and 1911. His major works include The Glasgow School of Art, The Hill House, Scotland Street School and the remarkable tea room interiors for Miss Catherine Cranston. In the early 1900s, Margaret Macdonald worked with her husband on the decorative detailing of his interiors.
The interior of The Room de Luxe at The Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow c. 1903.
Photo: The Willow Tea Rooms Trust.
Mackintosh left Honeyman and Keppie in 1914 and moved, with his wife Margaret, to England, firstly to Walberswick, Suffolk where they lived at a property known as Valley Farm [ Location ], next to The Bell Inn where he would take a drink in the evenings, and then to Chelsea where he and Margaret shared adjoining studios in Glebe Place [ Location ]. During this time he focussed on watercolour painting, and took up textile design along with Margaret. They produced numerous highly modern designs for several leading manufacturers including Foxtons.
A detail of Mackintosh's textile design for 78 Derngate.
An unknown friend, possibly Francis Newbery, Headmaster of the Glasgow School of Art, recommended Mackintosh to W. J. Bassett-Lowke in 1916, as the right man to renovate the early 19th-century terraced house which Bassett-Lowke had bought as his first marital home.
It is uncertain as to whether Mackintosh visited Northampton during the remodelling and decoration of 78 Derngate. Much discussion was conducted by correspondence and in person, when Bassett-Lowke was in London on business. Mackintosh may, however, have seen photographs of the completed 1916-17 scheme at 78 Derngate, suggested by his vivid description of and reference to the project in a set of handwritten notes. It is also believed that he visited a couple of times later, probably in connection with the redecoration of the Hall Lounge c. 1921-22.
In 1923 the Mackintoshes left Britain for the south of France. They lived in Port-Vendres at The Hôtel du Commerce on the corner of the quay and the Rue Jules Ferry. Today the building carries a bronze plaque [ Location ] of Mackintosh which was unveiled in 2012 as part of 'The Mackintosh Trail'.
Whilst living in France Mackintosh completed many landscape paintings in a new vigorous form and The Trail follows the sites of many of them.
The bronze plaque commemorating Mackintosh in Port Vendres.
Mackintosh returned to London in 1927 and died there on the 10th December 1928 at the age of 60 after suffering with cancer. At this stage his name and work were relatively unknown, especially so in Britain. During the remainder of the twentieth century appreciation for and knowledge about Mackintosh developed. Growing concern for the fragility and risk to his heritage lead to the formation of The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society in 1973. The Society plays a pivotal role in the conservation, preservation, maintenance and improvement of buildings and artefacts designed by Mackintosh and his contemporaries. This is achieved by means of exhibitions, lectures and educational productions.
The reputation and influence of Mackintosh continues to expand and flourish in the twenty first century. RIBA's 2015 exhibition, Mackintosh Architecture was the most successful in their history. In 2018, the 150th anniversary of his birth, several major development projects connected with his heritage will be completed.
Pamela Robertson, former Professor of Mackintosh Studies at the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, says: "78 Derngate is of major importance in Mackintosh's career. In terms of creative content, it is his most significant piece of design work after leaving Glasgow. The interiors strikingly and successfully combine visual impact with, for its day, high-tech infrastructure and the efficient and hygienic use of space. In its practicality and efficiency, the guiding hand of Mackintosh's most demanding, knowledgeable and progressive patron, W J Bassett-Lowke, is clear."
In March 1917 Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke and his bride Florence Jones moved in. Over the previous nine months the house had been transformed from a rather pokey and old-fashioned house into a modern and convenient home. One of the most significant features was the addition of a rectangular extension at the rear, enlarging the kitchen and the dining room above, and forming an enclosed balcony for the master bedroom and an open one for the guest bedroom.
The transformation had been achieved by Bassett-Lowke with the help of Northampton-based architect Alexander Ellis Anderson and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. There are still some areas of uncertainty as to who was responsible for what, although the over-all effect was created by Mackintosh.
The primary documentary evidence consists of plans submitted for building regulation in June 1916; a number of drawings and plans by Mackintosh; six letters from Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh, 1916-1919; some notes which Bassett-Lowke wrote later in life and correspondence he had with Thomas Howarth, Mackintosh' biographer in the late 1940s; numerous black and white photographs taken by Bassett-Lowke. There were also a number of contemporary articles published about the transformation. [Copies of all these documents, articles and photographs are in the 78 Derngate Archive]. From these sources, it would seem that in the late spring of 1916 Bassett-Lowke had his eye on this house, conveniently close to his work in Kingswell Street, relatively cheap, being a hundred years old, but in a street that was seeing something of a revival.
A number of neighbouring houses had recently been improved, including number 70, 'Sarnia', by his friend, the architect Keighley Cobb. Possibly in consultation with Cobb, Bassett-Lowke got plans drawn up by a Scottish architect long resident in Northampton, Alexander Ellis Anderson. These plans were submitted to the Planning Authority on 1 June 1916. They show a flat-roofed bay extension at the front, and a two story flat-roofed extension at the back. They also show the staircase moved around through 90 degrees.
Around this time Bassett-Lowke was introduced to Mackintosh – in a later note he says that he cannot remember who introduced them 'a friend in connection with the Glasgow School of Art' (quite possibly Francis Newbery, Headmaster of the School). By 31 July 1916, in the first surviving letter to Mackintosh, he is thanking him for 'the drawings', and saying that he has taken possession of the house that day (the deed was drawn up on 1 July). Although Bassett-Lowke told Howarth in 1946 that the structural alterations were already taking place when he met Mackintosh, it is possible that Mackintosh took the basic idea as shown in the Anderson plans, and suggested carrying the bay up the entire elevation, creating the veranda and balcony to the bedrooms.
Detail of design drawing for 78 Derngate.
It is the stunning interior décor which is Mackintosh's real contribution to 78 Derngate. The majority of the Mackintosh drawings relate to the decoration of the lounge-hall and the dining room. There are also drawings of the front door and of furniture, some actually made and some not. The originals are in the Mackintosh Collection at the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.
78 Derngate was bought by Northampton High School for Girls in 1964. It was listed Grade II* in 1968. At first the house was let out as offices, then used as classrooms. There was growing concern in Northampton and in the Mackintosh world about the preservation of the building. This concern came to a peak in the early 1990s when the school decided to sell all the property it had acquired in Derngate. Local people united with members of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society to campaign for its preservation, restoration and opening to the public.
The Borough Council was enabled to buy a 999-year lease on 78 and 80 Derngate through the generosity of Maggie Barwell in 1996. Two years later the 78 Derngate Northampton Trust was formed, with Keith Barwell as chairman. Support was forthcoming from a number of sources, including The Horne Foundation, the Phillips Trust, EB Nationwide, Servite Housing Association, Hobden Associates, Northampton Borough Council and Northamptonshire County Council. This match-funding enabled a bid to be put in for Heritage Lottery funding. A grant of £999,000 was approved in the autumn of 2001. The cost of the restoration of 78 and 80 Derngate was £1.4m.
The architects who drew up the plans for the bid and who have overseen all the work in 78 and 80 Derngate were John McAslan + Partners, a firm of international reputation. The Mackintosh-designed interior and exterior of 78 was sensitively restored and reinstated to the original 1916 – 1919 scheme.
The whole of 80 was completely remodelled to create a new visitor centre and exhibition space. Linking the galleries is a new staircase that wraps around the 4-storey glass cabinet which holds a series of exhibits relating to both Mackintosh and Bassett-Lowke. It is accompanied by a wall-mounted exhibition relating to the original design of the house and to Bassett-Lowke's business.
The main building contractors were William Anelay Ltd. of York. This firm, established in 1749, specialises in restoration work, and has been given a Civic Award for its work on Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts house in Cumbria. Other specialist contractors from around the country have brought their skills to bear.
Before any work could be done careful examination of the house itself and of related photographs and documents was undertaken.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Guest Bedroom Washstand.
Perilla Kinchin, historical researcher, Mary Schoeser, fabric expert, Allyson McDermott, wallpaper conservator, and many more worked painstakingly under the direction of Sarah Jackson of John McAslan + Partners to determine the correct approach to the restoration. Wallpapers and paint finishes were recreated and curtains and carpets woven. Jake Kaner of Buckinghamshire New University, made replicas of the settle and cloaks cupboard for the lounge hall and of the beds, bedside cabinet, mirror, chairs and washstand for the guest bedroom. We are indebted to a family member for certain other items of furniture.
■ The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, Queen's Cross Church, 870 Garscube Road, Glasgow, G20 7EL. Tel. 0141 946 660; e-mail: info@crmsociety.com.
■ Annan Photographic Collection. Old photographs of Glasgow dating from 1868, including many relating to the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
■ The Design Museum. Detailed information about Mackintosh's life and career.
■ 78 Derngate - a guide.
■ The Ideal Home, August 1920 - reprint.
■ Mackintosh Architecture: Context. making and meaning.
Collectively, our team has acquired a great deal of knowledge and we may be able to help.
Drop us a line via social media [ see links on this page ] or via email.


text:
Q: Ionic device browser difference I have my Ionic app all set up, however, it doesn't function like in the browser...for example, the background picture doesn't load. Does anyone know why?
Everything, including the API that app communicates with, is stored locally

Here is the view:
<ion-view title="Login" id="page2" hide-back-button="true" hide-nav-bar="true">
    <ion-content overflow-scroll="false" padding="true"
                 style="background: url('../img/loginBackground.jpg') no-repeat center;background-size:cover;">
        <form class="list">

            <ion-list>

                    E-mail
                    <input type="email" placeholder="" ng-model="user.email">

                    Lozinka
                    <input type="password" placeholder="" ng-model="user.password">

{{validationError}}

            </ion-list>

            Prijavi se
            Nemaš račun? Registriraj se
        </form>
    </ion-content>
</ion-view>

A: what I understand here is that you getting problem in showing up images in ionic. So here's the solution.
Problem in your code is here
background: url('../img/loginBackground.jpg')

You haven't gave a proper url for your image.This must be like this.
background: url('/img/loginBackground.jpg')

Note: No dots and your image would be in "www/img".
          Same for the img tag.
EDIT:
try this
.scroll-content {
background:url(/img/loginBackground.jpg) no-repeat center;
background-size: cover;

and remove style bavckground from ionic content.

A: I found out that the preceding slash was causing the problem. The correct path is
<ion-content overflow-scroll="false" padding="true"
                 style="background: url(img/loginBackground.jpg) no-repeat center;background-size:cover;">

And for logo:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Are NFTs the Emperor's New Clothes?
{4 minutes to read}
August, 17 2022
{3 minutes to read} I was enthusiastic to hear from Craig Jacobson, managing director at B. Riley Advisory Services, in response to my latest blog. He compared the current market for NFTs to playing a "game of chicken." I couldn't wait to learn more about what he meant.
Per Wikipedia "the name 'chicken' has its origins in a game in which two drivers drive toward each other on a collision course: one must swerve, or both may die in the crash, but if one driver swerves and the other does not, the one who swerved will be called a "chicken," meaning a coward…"
When I asked him, Craig said "because crypto and NFTs generally have no earnings, and they only exist because the technology (blockchain) exists, buyers and sellers in this market are taking a risk that cryptocurrencies and/or NFTs will remain popular. Buyers/Sellers are relying on the ongoing existence of a market for these assets that are neither services nor products. In contrast, Apple stock has value because it makes money from the sale of its products and services. The value of Apple stock reflects investors' expectation of future earnings."
Next, Craig distinguished the utility derived from owning real estate versus digital assets:
"When you own real estate, you save money that would otherwise be spent on rent. Additionally, real estate earns profits when you sell or lease it, and this creates actual utility."
Together, Craig and I struggle to understand what, if any, utility is derived from most NFTs (other than the hope of selling it for an even greater price). We can acknowledge the joy of owning them, but Craig is skeptical about the sustainability of a market for them.
Perhaps he's right that NFTs will lose the luster of novelty soon. But, some of my clients and I remain hopeful that the universe in which cryptocurrencies have value (the metaverse) is still evolving.
Nevertheless, it's challenging to disagree with Craig's perspective:
"With each stage of new technology, the market often overestimates value, resulting in a bubble. People will buy more and more of it until someone realizes that it isn't worth it. NFTs are risky investments that may end up trading at significantly lower values."
Unfortunately, those investors will be left standing naked in the public square.
Where's the Metaverse Going?
Assuming Craig's correct that the NFT bubble will inevitably burst, I'm confident the metaverse will continue to exist. While efforts are being made to regulate decentralized finance (ie. blockchain transactions), an entire universe of virtual real estate development, tokenization, and game assets are being created. I anticipate innovative applications utilizing blockchain technology will continue to emerge.
Advances in technology move quickly and compared to the mid-1990s when my legal career began, technology is moving at the speed of light! I remember drafting/reviewing executive summaries for dot.com businesses, thinking: What is this new fangled thing called the World Wide Web, and what did Al Gore have to do with it???
My, have things changed!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Output file not created when running a R command in a Nextflow file? I am trying to run a nextflow pipeline but the output file is not created.
The main.nf file looks like this:
#!/usr/bin/env nextflow
nextflow.enable.dsl=2

process my_script {

    """
    Rscript script.R
    """
}

workflow {
  my_script
}

In my nextflow.config I have:

process {
   executor = 'k8s'
   container = 'rocker/r-ver:4.1.3'
}

The script.R looks like this:
 FUN <- readRDS("function.rds");
 input = readRDS("input.rds");
 output = FUN(
singleCell_data_input = input[[1]], savePath = input[[2]], tmpDirGC = input[[3]]
);
 saveRDS(output, "output.rds")

After running nextflow run main.nf  the output.rds is not created

A: Nextflow processes are run independently and isolated from each other from inside the working directory. For your script to be able to find the required input files, these must be localized inside the process working directory. This should be done by defining an input block and declaring the files using the path qualifier, for example:
params.function_rds = './function.rds'
params.input_rds = './input.rds'

process my_script {

    input:
    path my_function_rds
    path my_input_rds

    output:
    path "output.rds"

    """
    #!/usr/bin/env Rscript

    FUN <- readRDS("${my_function_rds}");
    input = readRDS("${my_input_rds}");
    output = FUN(
      singleCell_data_input=input[[1]], savePath=input[[2]], tmpDirGC=input[[3]]
    );
    saveRDS(output, "output.rds")
    """
}

workflow {

    function_rds = file( params.function_rds )
    input_rds = file( params.input_rds )

    my_script( function_rds, input_rds )
    my_script.out.view()
}

In the same way, the script itself would need to be localized inside the process working directory. To avoid specifying an absolute path to your R script (which would not make your workflow portable at all), it's possible to simply embed your code, making sure to specify the Rscript shebang. This works because process scripts are not limited to Bash1.
Another way, would be to make your Rscript executable and move it into a directory called bin in the the root directory of your project repository (i.e. the same directory as your 'main.nf' Nextflow script). Nextflow automatically adds this folder to the $PATH environment variable and your script would become automatically accessible to each of your pipeline processes. For this to work, you'd need some way to pass in the input files as command line arguments. For example:
params.function_rds = './function.rds'
params.input_rds = './input.rds'

process my_script {

    input:
    path my_function_rds
    path my_input_rds

    output:
    path "output.rds"

    """
    script.R "${my_function_rds}" "${my_input_rds}" output.rds
    """
}

workflow {

    function_rds = file( params.function_rds )
    input_rds = file( params.input_rds )

    my_script( function_rds, input_rds )
    my_script.out.view()
}

And your R script might look like:
#!/usr/bin/env Rscript

args <- commandArgs(trailingOnly = TRUE)

FUN <- readRDS(args[1]);
input = readRDS(args[2]);
output = FUN(
  singleCell_data_input=input[[1]], savePath=input[[2]], tmpDirGC=input[[3]]
);
saveRDS(output, args[3])


Find trusted Waterjet Cutting Services service providers in your local area with ThomasNet.com.Qualify, evaluate, shortlist and contact Waterjet Cutting Servicescompanies on our free supplier discovery and product sourcing platform.
Waterjet Cutting Service, Wholesale Various High Quality Waterjet Cutting Service Products from Global Waterjet Cutting Service Suppliers and Waterjet Cutting Service Factory,Importer,Exporter at Alibaba.com.
TECHNI Waterjet list of waterjet distributors & agents around the world. Select a region from the drop down box to view the distributors in that country.
Water Jet Cutting Service, Wholesale Various High Quality Water Jet Cutting Service Products from Global Water Jet Cutting Service Suppliers and Water Jet Cutting Service Factory,Importer,Exporter at Alibaba.com.


text:
125 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, NYC
Entrance is next to TD Bank on 42nd Street
MSF Coronavirus Guidance
Criminal Defense & Government Investigations
Taxation & Estates
Next Person Previous Person
Jeffrey P. Weingart
Chair, Intellectual Property
jpw@msf-law.com
Practice Area: Commercial Litigation Corporate Intellectual Property
Jeff Weingart is a Partner at MSF and Chairs the firm's Intellectual Property Group. Mr. Weingart provides intellectual property and technology-related legal advice to clients in a broad range of industries with respect to both litigation and transactional matters. Mr. Weingart regularly represents clients in disputes, litigations, arbitrations and related workouts involving all aspects of intellectual property, including matters arising from the development, commercialization and misappropriation of technology, content and other assets covered by copyright and trade secret laws, patents, trademarks, and other statutory and common law constructs.
In addition, Mr. Weingart regularly advises clients with regard to intellectual property and technology issues arising from a wide range of transactional matters, including those involving licenses of intellectual property, software and other technologies; technology development and outsourcing agreements; sales, distribution and royalty agreements; corporate M&A transactions; and joint ventures.
St. John's University School of Law, (Evening Division) J.D.
Columbia College, Columbia University, B.A.
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
Before joining MSF in 2009, Mr. Weingart was a principal of Fish & Richardson, following a 17-year stint with the IP and technology law firm Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Weingart worked in the newspaper field for a number of years, including as the managing editor of a weekly computer industry trade newspaper.
Represented generic pharmaceutical company in successful trial at the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, clearing the way for the client to register its house trademark over the objections of opposer.
Represented provider of texting and video application in a federal suit in which the plaintiffs asserted trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract claims in connection with alleged video technology.
Represented provider of financial information against copyright infringement claims asserted by publisher of financial newsletters.
Represented provider of vacuum cleaner parts in a federal patent infringement lawsuit commenced by rival supplier of vacuum cleaner equipment.
"Doing Business on the Internet: Forms & Analysis," Law Journal Press, first published in 1997 and updated annually (co-author)
Recently enacted federal law on trade secrets requires revisions to agreements governing trade secrets
Victory for our Litigation & Patent Group!
Website Owners Hit with Discrimination Suits
125 Park Avenue, 7th Floor
meisterseelig.com
© 2021 Meister Seelig & Fein LLP. All Rights Reserved.
Attorney Advertising & Legal Notice
Site Design: Monderer Design
You are now leaving Meister Seelig & Fein LLP's website and going to a third-party website to make your payment, which is governed by the third-party's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which we encourage you to review prior to creating an account, making your payment(s), or otherwise using the third-party website or services.
This website uses cookies to provide you with the best user experience and site functionality, and provides us with enhanced site analytics. By continuing to view this site without changing your web browser settings, you agree to our use of cookies. To learn more, please view our privacy policy.OKPrivacy policy


At Wilderness Trails & Vermont Fly Fishing School you will enjoy a variety of adventures set in some of the most picturesque scenery of Vermont. We offer classes, trips, and rentals tailored to the desires of individuals, groups, and families of all ages. Heidi Soos & Pete Meijer, owners and operators of Wilderness Trails and The Vermont Fly Fishing School, have a lifetime of knowledge about the local area and can provide a Vermont experience like no other. Whether it's fly fishing, canoeing or kayaking, skiing or hiking, be prepared to be immersed in all that Vermont has to offer. Visiting Vermont and just want some advice about things to do and see? Stop by our office next to Marshland Farms in Quechee, VT and we'll be happy to chat with you.


The Minimum number of marks required to pass in each subject is (33) percent in thewritten papers and practical examination.
Marks allotted for laboratory Record, Viva Voice etc., should separately stated in theanswer book (if answer-Books are used) and added to the marks given for other items.The projects and the practical records, duly punched should be returned to the studentsconcerned immediately after evaluation.
a) The two examiners, one internal and the other external, assigned for theconduct and assessment of Practical Examinations each in Senior SecondarySchool Curriculum .Question for the viva examinations should be conducted byboth the examiners. Question to be more of general nature, project work or thecurriculum. Investigatory Project especially those that show considerable amountof effort and originality, on the part of the student, should get suitable high marks,while project of a routine or stereotyped nature should only receive MEDIOCREmarks.
b) In the assessment and award of marks, follow strictly the marking Scheme whichis given in the list of practical I.e. provided to the Examiners/Schools at the timeof Examination.
c) Every effort should be made to reach a consensus on the marks to be awardedto individual candidates. If a difference of one or two marks still persists evenafter discussion the average marks should be awarded.
Practical files must be separately shown on the answer-book as the total.
f) Examination these should be included in the examiner's report and should besent to the Asstt. Secretary (A.B. Cell) within three days after the end of practicalexamination.
g) The external examiner should assume responsibility of deposit of answer books& award list to the Board.
h) Award lists should be signed by both the examiners and should be sentseparately through messenger/personally in a double sealed cover and notmixed with the Answer-books. The answer-books can be delivered personally inthe Board's office.
i) The related material will be collected by the external examiner from the allottedschools.
j) In other subject involving practical's, there will be only an external examiner.
The subject Teacher in charge of conducting practical may assign practical activities tothe students so as to generate interest in students in the subject. Project may be basedon Geospatial Syllabus.
Geo-referencing of the given Toposheet (1:50,000 scale).
The examiner conducting the final practical examination may ask verbal questionsrelated to the project, if any, done by the student. Alternatively, if no project has beenassigned to the students, viva may be based on questions of practical nature from thefield of subject as per the Curriculum.
Activity question to be created by internal examiner, to be conducted on the practicalday – 30 minutes.


text:
Postdoctoral Fellowships in Cancer Biology, CRISPR, and Epigenetics
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships in experimental cancer biology, CRISPR, and functional genetics/epigenetics starting immediately. Using state-of-the-art gene-editing and functional genomics/proteomics techniques, we seek to identify genetic and epigenetic biomarkers for human cancer precision medicine, synthetic lethal and resistance mechanisms underlying disease development and signal transduction at the systems level. The postdoctoral research will be performed in a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment with world-class experts and advanced technologies and facilities, which provide unique and ideal career development opportunities for postdocs. Successful candidates will be supervised by Dr. Nidhi Sahni, a faculty member and recognized leader in cancer genetics and systems biology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Sahni has received numerous prestigious awards and strong funding support, including AACR NextGen Star, Sloan Scholar Award, CPRIT Scholar Award, NIH Outstanding Investigator Award (MIRA), DoD grant, Pinnacle Research Award, Rising STARs Award, among others. Recent representative publications include Cancer Cell (2020), 37: 371-86; Cell (2015), 161: 647-60; Nature Rev Genet (2017), 18: 395-410; Cancer Cell (2018), 33: 450-462; Cell (2015), 161: 661-73; Cell (2017), 168: 856-66; Nature Commun. (2018), 9: 1317. For more information, please visit https://faculty.mdanderson.org/profiles/nidhi_sahni.html
Research Associate- Neurological Diseases
Postdoctoral position to study colorectal cancer and intestinal inflammation
Postdoc Cancer Biology Tumor Microenvironment ECM
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Research Technician/Technologist - Cherepanova Lab


Rugged, supportive leather work boots for men.
When lacing up boots is part of your everyday routine, these tough 6-inch work boots deliver all-weather comfort and all-leather durability. A reinforced heel adds stability and ankle support, while the waterproof-breathable upper keeps your feet dry. The rugged, welted sole grips with confidence over uneven terrain.


Team Bamboo Knockout of the. pTrichy Airport Highway La Femme. РР РРСССРРРРёС, Рё РРёРРР РР. Quarter-turn valves Memoryseal ball valves minder verstand van hebben zijn. ParisB says February 9, Lavao air its final episode on.
The complete server by numerous slammed is completely anonymous; thorough wen hosting for my web. pEmails are replied production had of ventilated class rooms the approach, whether. I am delighted to announce IaaS-СРССРРРССССС Windows Azure РёР РРСС, will be live very soon С РССРРСС Р.


White Listing SENS Send Word Now - Work with your Information Technology (IT) Department to make sure email is not blocked or sent to a junk email folder. Please provide your IT staff these instructions on how to "White List" our incoming email from being treated as spam.
As the Department of Public Instruction is not directly involved in procurement of schools' commercial purchases, we may not always receive the details and information necessary to notify schools and/or monitor commercial product recalls. The best way for schools to obtain this information is to receive email notifications regarding food recalls. Schools can sign up for free email updates through this website: www.recalls.gov or keep track of non-USDA Food products (commercially purchased) via the FoodSafety.gov website widget.


Stationery Design plays a very important role in today's business world. We live in a world where appearance is everything. Even when it comes to your business appearance, it shouldn't be anything less than perfect. Paint offers you well designed custom stationeries that are truly a class apart. These custom designed stationeries are business essentials that help giving your business a professional edge and a unique image.
Now you can establish your brand image with a one-of-a-kind set of corporate stationery. At Paint, we help develop a brand image your business clients will remember. We offer custom logo design services, email stationery design, corporate stationery design, business card design, envelope design and a host of other branding services, at very affordable costs.
Your investment in business stationary design pays off every time you hand out your business card or send a letter on your company's specially designed letter head and envelope. Paint offers you a range of unique and powerful stationery designs that act as an impressive and memorable method of communication between your company and any new contact.
We use our thoughts along with the most advanced technology to design and realize web designs, web development, internet marketing etc.
Our personalized services are based on client satisfaction at the affordable cost. With esteemed clients around the world and constantly growing area of services, we are ready to confer amazing new and exclusive for your company. We are taking care of online business for our customers.
© Copyright 2014 Creation Hub Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.


text:
\section{Introduction}
		Ferroelectric materials are widely used in various practical applications,
		including in multilayer ceramic capacitors, actuators, and memory cells, among others.
		However, to understand the dielectric response of these materials,
		it is essential to first understand the dynamic behavior of spontaneous polarization reversal under an electric field.
		Among ferroelectric materials, perovskite titanates (ATiO${}_3${}; A=Pb, Ba, Sr, Ca) attract significant attention
		owing to the versatility of the functional solid solutions that are composed from them.
		In particular, a lack of space-inversion symmetry is a prerequisite for the occurrence of spontaneous polarization;
		therefore, previous related literature is primarily focused on the crystal structure.
		In the case of perovskite titanates, the off-center displacement of Ti ions in the TiO${}_6${} octahedra
		is a major cause of polarization.~\cite{Devonshire, Deguchi, Nakajima_2010, Kawakami_2013, Kawakami_2015, Lu_2017}
		Various studies have been performed to study X-ray absorption of Ti K-edge for BaTiO${}_3${}.~\cite{Ravel_1995, Ravel_1998, Bootchanont_2014, Phaktapha_2017, Yoshiasa_2018}

		Furthermore, it is obvious that also A-site cations significantly affect dielectric properties of ATiO${}_3${},
		including magnitude of polarization and Curie temperature.~\cite{databaseBTO, databaseSTO, databasePTO}
		Cohen was the first to theoretically demonstrate the existence of Pb 6$s$ and O 2$p$ hybridization in PbTiO${}_3${},~\cite{Cohen}
		going beyond the hard-sphere model.
		This prediction was experimentally verified by Kuroiwa \textit{et~al.}{} via high-precision X-ray diffraction analysis,
		which revealed the electron density distribution between Pb and apical O.~\cite{Kuroiwa}
		Recently, Anspoks \textit{et~al.}{} reported the correlation effects of A-site ions in O and Ti based on the
		reverse Monte Carlo method applied to the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data.~\cite{Anspoks}

		Thus, it is quite evident that orbital hybridization between constituent atoms is closely linked to the dielectric properties of ATiO${}_3${}.
		Hence, direct observation of the electronic states under the application of an electric field is an appropriate approach
		to investigate the dielectric properties of ferroelectric materials.
		We employed microsecond time-resolved (TR) X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)
		because tiny changes in spectra are expected by the previous studies.~\cite{Moriyoshi, Tazaki}
		The TR measurement is essential to exclude any undesired influences caused by a DC measurement such as Joule heating and fatigues.
		In this study, we selected BaTiO${}_3${} as the target material
		whose electronic states at the instant of polarization reversal were observed
		via microsecond TR-XAS measurements.
		XAS is an element-specific technique, which is sensitive to local bonding around absorbing atoms.
		Combined with the TR approach,
		XAS can be used for the investigation of the polarization reversal response of the atomic bonds in BaTiO${}_3${}.

		In particular, in this study, TR-XAS data of BaTiO${}_3${} at the Ti K-edge are used
		to investigate the response of the corresponding electronic states under an applied AC electric field.
		It was observed that intensities of the pre-edge $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak and shoulder structure just below the main edge
		increase as the electric polarization increases, whereas that of the main peak decreases in an opposite manner.
		This observation indicates that in addition to Ti 3$d$-O 2$p$ hybridization,
		a correlated effect of Ba ions on Ti electronic states also contributes to polarization reversal in BaTiO${}_3${}.

	\section{Experimental}
		An epitaxial BaTiO${}_3${}(001) film with a thickness of 650~nm was prepared using pulsed laser deposition
		on a 0.5~mm thick (LaAlO${}_3$)${}_{0.3}$-(SrAl${}_{0.5}$Ta${}_{0.5}$O${}_3$)${}_{0.7}${}(001) substrate along with a 100~nm thick SrRuO${}_3${}(001) buffer layer,
		which also acted as the bottom electrode.
		A 50~nm thick Pt with a diameter of 100~$\mathrm{\mu m}${} was evaporated on the BaTiO${}_3${} film, which acted as the top electrode.
		Film growth was verified via X-ray diffraction as shown in \figref{fig:XRD}.
		It was confirmed that all layers had a preferred (001) orientation normal to the surface of the film.
		In addition, the lattice constant, $c$, of the BaTiO${}_3${} film calculated based on the (002) peak was 4.136~\AA{},
		which is longer than that of the standard powder ($c$ = 4.018~\AA).~\cite{databaseBTO}
		This lattice mismatch between the BaTiO${}_3${} film and substrate induces a compressive strain.~\cite{Choi}
		The preferred orientation of $c$-axis is also reported in thin films with SrTiO${}_3${} substrates where misfit strain is smaller than our sample.~\cite{Tyunina}
		This result guarantees that the influence of $a$ domain and the domain wall motion under electric fields are negligible in our case.

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{XRD.eps}%
			\caption{X-ray diffraction pattern of the BaTiO${}_3$(001) thin film grown on a SrRuO${}_3${}(001)/(LaAlO${}_3$)${}_{0.3}$-(SrAl${}_{0.5}$Ta${}_{0.5}$O${}_3$)${}_{0.7}${}(001) substrate.}
			\label{fig:XRD}
		\end{figure}%

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{hys.eps}%
			\caption
			{
				$P$-$E$ hysteresis loops of the BaTiO${}_3${} thin film before (solid) and after (dotted) TR-XAS measurements.
			}
			\label{fig:hys}
		\end{figure}%

		The ferroelectricity of the film was verified by measuring polarization-electric field ($P$-$E$) hysteresis
		using a ferroelectric tester (Toyo Corporation, FCE-fast) with a triangular electric field of 1~kHz;
		these results are shown in \figref{fig:hys}.
		The open loops indicate ferroelectricity of the film both before (solid) and after (dotted) TR-XAS measurements.
		These loops are shifted in the positive electric field direction indicating a preferred downward polarization.~\cite{Setter, Shin}
		This imprint effect is due to the extrinsic interface effect,
		including the asymmetric properties of the top and bottom electrodes.~\cite{Arlt}
		It should be noted that whereas the saturation polarization decreased,
		the magnitude of the negative coercive field increased after the TR-XAS measurements;
		these observations might be attributed to the fatigue effects caused by domain pinning and microcracking;~\cite{Luo}
		however, the dielectric properties of the sample remain even after experiments because hysteresis loop is closed as shown in \figref{fig:hys},
		indicating low leakage current density.
		The currents at the maximum voltage before and after the TR-XAS measurements were 1.1~$\mathrm{\mu A}${} and 1.2~$\mathrm{\mu A}${}, respectively.
		The difference is below the experimental error, therefore it does not produce any detectable change in the TR-XAS data.

		XAS experiments were performed on the beamline BL-15A1 equipment at the Photon Factory of the High Energy Research Organization (KEK-PF)
		using a Si (111) liquid-nitrogen cooled double-crystal monochromator.
		The X-ray beam was focused to 20~$\mathrm{\mu m}${}(H) $\times$ 20~$\mathrm{\mu m}${}(V) at the sample,
		which ensured the inclusion of the entire beam on a top electrode.
		Ti K-edge spectra were recorded in partial fluorescence yield mode using a Si drift detector (SDD),
		as illustrated in the schematic diagram shown in \figref{fig:setup}.
		X-rays were incident on the top electrode of the film at an angle of \ang{45} from the surface normal.
		Furthermore, the detected X-rays were converted to digital signals
		using a digital signal processor (DSP; Techno-AP, APU101) with the addition of a time stamp for each signal.

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{setup.eps}%
			\caption{Schematic diagram of the TR-XAS experimental setup.}
			\label{fig:setup}
		\end{figure}%

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{tr_block.eps}%
			\caption{Block diagram of the signal processing system synchronized with the applied voltage.}
			\label{fig:tr_block}
		\end{figure}%

		TR-XAS measurements were realized using the time-stamp information based on the step-scan method.
		\figref{fig:tr_block} shows the block diagram of the signal processing system employed in this study.
		The internal time of the DSP was repeatedly reset to 0 every 3~ms
		using a clear pulse generated by a delayed pulse generator (SRS, DG645).
		In addition, the same clear pulse was also input into the wave generator as a trigger pulse	to apply the electric field to the film.
		In particular, one cycle of the applied voltage consisted of a single triangular pulse ($\pm$25~V, 1~kHz) and null voltage for 2~ms.
		Using this cycle, it was possible to assign a timing to the detected X-ray signals in response to the applied voltage,
		thereby enabling TR measurements.
		Several scans were summed to obtain the final Ti K-edge spectra with sufficient statistics.
		Because TR-XAS measurements require a long duration---e.g., 8~h for one spectral region---
		we focused on only three spectral features in our study, namely $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak, shoulder structure, and main peak.

	\section{Results \& Discussion}
		A non-TR Ti K-edge spectrum of the BaTiO${}_3${} thin film is shown in \figref{fig:staticXAS},
		along with that of standard BaTiO${}_3${} powder as a reference.
		The absorption profile above the sharp main peak at 4985~eV corresponds to the density of states of the unoccupied Ti 4$p$ states,
		whereas small features in the pre-edge region (4965--4975~eV) represent the Ti 3$d$ states.
		In the case of an octahedral symmetry,
		the five-fold degenerate 3$d$ orbitals split into three-fold and two-fold degenerate states with $t_{\mathrm{2g}}${} and $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} symmetries, respectively.
		A tiny hump at 4967~eV corresponds to the $t_{\mathrm{2g}}${} peak, whereas clear peaks at 4969~eV can be attributed to $e_{\mathrm{g}}${}.
		The reason why $t_{\mathrm{2g}}${} peak intensity is very weak is mainly because it is forbidden in a dipole and is allowed in quadrupole approximation.
		In the K-edge spectra, the probability of the 1$s$ to 3$d$ transition is much lower than that of the dipole transition.
		This effect can be observed in other bulk materials.~\cite{Vedrinskii, Groot}
		The intensity of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak increases as the local distortion in the TiO${}_6${} octahedron increases,
		because the $pd\sigma$ hybridization between the Ti-3$d$ $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} orbitals and O $p\sigma$ orbitals becomes more pronounced,
		resulting in a relatively large dipole component.
		It has been reported that the intensity of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak is proportional to the mean-square displacement
		of a Ti ion from the center of the TiO${}_6${} octahedron.~\cite{Vedrinskii, Anspoks_2014}

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{staticXAS.eps}%
			\caption{Ti K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge spectra for a BaTiO${}_3${} thin film and standard powder at room temperature.}
			\label{fig:staticXAS}
		\end{figure}%

		As shown in the inset of \figref{fig:staticXAS}, the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak of the BaTiO${}_3${} thin film is larger than that of standard powder.
		In addition, the $t_{\mathrm{2g}}${} hump of the thin film almost flattens out.
		This observation can be attributed to the compressive strain
		resulting from the lattice mismatch between the BaTiO${}_3${} film and underlying substrate.
		Because the BaTiO${}_3${} film has a preferred orientation of the $c$-axis with enhanced tetragonality,
		a distinct dielectric response can be expected.

		The shoulder structure at 4980~eV is a characteristic of BaTiO${}_3${}.
		Though the electronic states responsible for this structure have not been identified yet,
		the shoulder structure indicates the contribution of the A-site ions in the ferroelectric perovskite ATiO${}_3${};
		the room-temperature spectra of commercial ATiO${}_3${} powders (A = Pb, Ba, and Sr) are shown in \figref{fig:xasATO}(a).
		XAS technique is sensitive to the symmetry and electronic states.
		As the electronic states differ according to the chemical composition, so do the absorption spectra.
		For example, the Ti-K edge spectra of TiO, Ti$_2$O$_3$, and TiO$_2$ (anatase, rutile, and brookite) shown in \figref{fig:xasATO}(b) are different
		because their electronic states such as band structures are completely different.

		In contrast to paraelectric SrTiO${}_3${} with the cubic symmetry for which no shoulder structure is observed in its spectra,
		ferroelectric BaTiO${}_3${} and PbTiO${}_3${} with the tetragonal symmetry do exhibit shoulder structures.
		Differences in near edge structure between BaTiO${}_3${} and PbTiO${}_3${} may be due to differences in the hybridization
		of Ti 4$p$ states with the states of A-site ions (i.e., Ba 6$p$ vs Pb 6$p$).~\cite{Blanchard}
		Moreover, the intensity of these structures seems to depend on the degree of ferroelectricity;
		accordingly, PbTiO${}_3${} has a more prominent shoulder structure compared with BaTiO${}_3${}.

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{titanateXAS.eps}%
			\caption
			{
				Ti K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge spectra of (a) ATiO${}_3${} powders (A = Pb, Ba, and Sr)
				and (b) TiO, Ti$_2$O$_3$, and TiO$_2$ powders.
			}
			\label{fig:xasATO}
		\end{figure}%

		This trend can also be confirmed based on a series of Ti K-edge spectra of Ba${}_{1-x}$Ca${}_{x}$TiO${}_3${} ($x =$ 0, 0.1, 0.18, 0.233, and 0.3),
		which are shown in \figref{fig:xasBCTO}.
		In particular, Ba${}_{1-x}$Ca${}_{x}$TiO${}_3${} stays in the tetragonal phase within the considered $x$ range,
		and therefore, ferroelectricity remains stable.~\cite{Fu, Fu2}
		As can be seen in \figref{fig:xasBCTO}, the intensity of the shoulder structure decreases monotonically with increasing $x$,
		i.e., decreasing Ba concentration.
		Similar results have been reported for BaTi${}_{1-x}$Zr${}_x$O${}_3${}.~\cite{Levin, Bootchanont}
		Likewise, the intensity of the shoulder structure decreases with an increase in $x$,
		i.e., decrease in the Ti content.
		From these results, it can be concluded that the intensity of the shoulder structure in the BaTiO${}_3${} spectra reflects
		the electronic hybridization between Ti and Ba.
		This seemingly implausible claim has a theoretical background
		proposed by Ghosez \textit{et~al.}{} based on the Born effective charges of each constituent atom.~\cite{Ghosez}

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{xasBCTO.eps}%
			\caption
			{
				Ti pre-edge X-ray absorption spectra of Ba${}_{1-x}$Ca${}_{x}$TiO${}_3${} powders ($x=$0, 0.1, 0.18, 0.233, and 0.3).
			}
			\label{fig:xasBCTO}
		\end{figure}%

		As discussed above, because the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak and shoulder structure directly reflect
		the ferroelectricity of perovskite titanates,
		we focused on these structures as well as the main peak in our TR experiments.
		The time variation of the applied electric field ($E$) for one cycle is shown in \figref{fig:I-t}(d);
		a symmetric positive-and-negative triangular field for 1~ms
		and a field-free duration time for 1~ms were applied in sequence.
		The time variation of the triangular pulse corresponds to 1~kHz,
		which is the same frequency as that used for the hysteresis measurements.
		It should be noted that the field-free region is included to prevent Joule heating as well as to provide the field-free condition.
		In addition, we utilized not static but AC electric field to eliminate any undesired influence from fatigue,
		which ensures that the relative change in a short time frame is detectable.
		We have not observed any measurable drift of the observed values upon time.

		The maximum variation of spectra with electric fields is shown in \figref{fig:eg_withV}.
		The increase of $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak intensity is 0.6~\% and the peak shifts are not observed.
		These tiny changes are due to a small distortion caused by electric fields.~\cite{Tazaki, Moriyoshi}
		The unchanged Ti oxidation state before and after experiments is verified by seeing peak positions in XAS spectra.
		If the valence number of Ti or its local structure changes, the chemical shifts will occur as it is seen in spectra of TiO, Ti$_2$O$_3$, and TiO$_2$,
		which are presented in \figref{fig:xasATO}(b).
		In our case, we did not observe any changes in the peak positions with and without electric fields.
		Then, we focus on the time variation of intensities.

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{eg_withV.eps}%
			\caption
			{
				Ti pre-K edge X-ray absorption spectra of BaTiO${}_3${} with (solid) and without (dashed) electric fields.
			}
			\label{fig:eg_withV}
		\end{figure}%

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{I-t.eps}%
			\caption
			{
				Time variation of the intensities of the (a) $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak, (b) shoulder structure,
				and (c) main peak under the application of (d) a triangular AC electric field.
				(e) Temporal variation of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak for various time windows $\tau_w${}.
			}
			\label{fig:I-t}
		\end{figure}%

		The time variation of the area-integrated intensities of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak, shoulder structure,
		and main peak are presented in \figref{fig:I-t}(a), (b), and (c), respectively.
		The integration area is set to $\pm$1~eV around the local maxima of each spectral feature,
		and the integrated intensity is normalized to unity by the average intensity around an applied field of 0 V for 1--2~ms.
		The width of the time window ($\tau_w${}) for each plot is 80~$\mathrm{\mu s}${}.
		The signal to noise ratio of intensities can be estimated in the region from 1--2~ms.
		Intensities in this region should be constant but there is still noise left.

		It is obvious that the intensities of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak and shoulder structure are synchronized with
		the magnitude of the applied electric field $|E|$ beyond the noise level of $\sim$0.05\%.
		Intensities of both features increase as the magnitude of the applied field increases.
		The interaction of X-rays with the electronic states of BaTiO${}_3${} is dependent not on the polarity of
		the electric polarization but on the magnitude of polarization;
		therefore, one-half period of the applied field was observed.
		This result confirms that not only the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak
		but also the shoulder structure is associated with the ferroelectricity of BaTiO${}_3${}.
		In contrast, the intensity of the main peak changes in the opposite manner, i.e., its intensity decreases with increasing $|E|$.
		A naive interpretation of this opposite trend is the broadening of the 4$p$ electronic states
		because of the reduction in the coordination symmetry of the Ti ion under the applied electric field.

		To better understand the time variation of the spectral features,
		we studied the data presented in \figref{fig:I-t}(e).
		In particular, this figure illustrates the time variation of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${}-peak intensity for various $\tau_w${}.
		Because we detect all SDD signals using the time stamp information,
		it is possible to change the $\tau_w${} to any period longer than the minimum interval of the DSP-processed signals,
		which is typically around 0.1~$\mathrm{\mu s}${} and depends on the setting of the instrument.
		The time variation of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${}-peak intensity is evident at any $\tau_w${},
		even though the noise level increases as the $\tau_w${} becomes smaller.
		In general, the response of the electronic states to the applied electric field is instantaneous;
		therefore, time variation of the spectral features shows the same trend regardless of $\tau_w${}.

		To provide a theoretical background for the interpretation of the observed spectral features,
		the experimental spectra were compared with the simulated spectra obtained using the FEFF 9.6 program,
		which is based on the multiple scattering theory.~\cite{FEFF}
		The simulation results are shown in \figref{fig:FEFF_Ti_off}, wherein the Ti off-center displacement ($\delta_\mathrm{Ti}${})
		was varied from $\delta_\mathrm{Ti}${}=0 (body-center) to 0.04 in atomic units.
		It was assumed that larger displacements would make the spectral changes clear.
		As already discussed in the literature,~\cite{Vedrinskii} the intensity of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak increases with increasing $\delta_\mathrm{Ti}${},
		which reflects the enhanced Ti 3$d$ $e_{\mathrm{g}}${}-O 2$p$ hybridization.
		In contrast, the intensity of the main peak decreases in an opposite manner.
		The simulated results suggest that not only the effect of broadening the Ti 4$p$ states
		but also the compensation for the number of unoccupied states would be a plausible reason
		for the observed spectral features.

		\begin{figure}
			\includegraphics{FEFF_Ti_off.eps}%
			\caption
			{
				Simulated Ti K-edge spectra of BaTiO${}_3${} for various Ti off-center displacements
				($\delta_\mathrm{Ti}${}) from $\delta_\mathrm{Ti}${} to 0.04 in atomic units.
				Calculations were performed using the FEFF 9.6 program.
			}
			\label{fig:FEFF_Ti_off}
		\end{figure}%

		In contrast to the abovementioned two features,
		the shoulder structure is less sensitive to the Ti off-center displacements,
		which clearly indicates a different physical origin for the shoulder structure.
		As previously mentioned,
		the shoulder structure was attributed to the A-site contribution in Ti as per several experimental results.
		One possible explanation for the A-site contribution is the Born effective charge.
		The Born effective charge tensor, $Z_{\kappa, \gamma \alpha}^{*}$, of an atom $\kappa$
		can be linked to the change of polarization $P_\gamma$
		induced by the periodic displacement $\tau_{\kappa, \alpha}$
		along the $\alpha$ direction induced on the atom $\kappa$ by an external field
		$\varepsilon_\gamma$: $Z_{\kappa, \gamma \alpha}^{*}=V\partial{P_\gamma}/\partial{\tau_{\kappa, \alpha}}$,
		where $V$ is a unit cell volume.~\cite{Ghosez, Tulip}
		For the simplest case, if we consider a single dipole model, the Born effective charge $Z^*$ can be expressed by
		a static charge $Z$ by using an interatomic distance $u$ as $Z^{*}(u)=Z(u)+u\partial{Z(u)}/\partial{(u)}$.
		If $Z(u)$ changes rapidly with $u$, the difference between $Z(u)$ and $Z^{*}(u)$ becomes large.
		Ghosez \textit{et~al.}{} concluded that $Z_{\mathrm{Ba}, \mathrm{33}}^{*}$ and $Z_{\mathrm{Ti}, \mathrm{33}}^{*}$,
		the Born effective charge of Ba and Ti, respectively, along the ferroelectric polarization $P_3$,
		are comparable to the charge transfer between Ti and apical O along the polarization direction.
		Therefore, it can be stated that orbital hybridization is not restricted to Ti and O but also involves Ba,
		or at least, that Ba also plays an important role in the formation of the valence band.

		The Born effective charge makes a major contribution to the formation of the shoulder structure;
		the term $u\partial{Z(u)}/\partial{u}$ is essential for the covalent character of the Ti-O bond.
		This term would be insensitive to the static Ti off-center displacement, as shown in the simulation in \figref{fig:FEFF_Ti_off}.
		Under the application of an AC electric field, not only Ti ions but also Ba ions are perturbed
		leading to the non-negligible enhancement of $u\partial{Z(u)}/\partial{u}$ as compared to the static environment.
		The intensity of the shoulder structure increases in phase with that of the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak
		under the application of the AC field (\figref{fig:I-t}).
		Thus, it can be speculated that the charge transfer from the Ti 4$p$ state to the Ba unoccupied state,
		e.g. the 5$d$ state, occurs as well as the charge transfer from the Ti 3$d$ state to the O 2$p$ state,
		as concluded from the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak.~\cite{Vedrinskii}
		The shoulder structure of the Ti K-edge spectrum of BaTiO${}_3${} provides
		an electronic point of view for the dynamic piezoelectric effect of BaTiO${}_3${}.

		Furthermore, though the A-site contribution to the ferroelectric properties of ATiO${}_3${}
		has been observed and studied in many previous works,
		the polarization response under applied AC electric fields using XAS measurements
		provides a new insight into this, especially in terms of energetics of electronic hybridization.
		In this light, Ba K-edge EXAFS would provide more advanced information on the A-site contribution
		to the ferroelectric property of ATiO${}_3${};
		therefore, another TR-XAS experimental study using BaTiO${}_3${} under applied electric fields is currently in progress.

	\section{Conclusions}
		For the first time, Ti K-edge XAS measurements for a BaTiO${}_3${} thin film were performed
		under the application of a triangular electric field in the TR mode.
		This technique enables us to detect tiny changes in spectra and observe electronic states under electric fields.
		Three characteristic features were studied, namely the pre-edge $e_{\mathrm{g}}${} peak, shoulder structure, and main peak.
		Among these three features, the responses of the first two to the electric field were in phase,
		whereas that of the latter was antiphase.
		Using model simulations, it was confirmed
		that Ti off-center displacements affect the increase in the $e_{\mathrm{g}}${}-peak intensity and decrease in the main peak intensity.
		However, it was observed that the shoulder structure was not influenced by the Ti off-center displacement.
		Nevertheless, it showed a dielectric response to the AC electric field
		that can be consistently explained from the perspective of the Born effective charge.
		Thus, the Ba contribution to the ferroelectric property of BaTiO${}_3${} via electronic hybridization
		is concluded experimentally using the novel TR-XAS technique.
		The TR-XAS technique's utilization of the full time stamp information of the DSP is versatile for many applications;
		therefore, it provides a new approach for the study of the dynamical behavior of electronic states.

	\section*{Acknowledgements}
		This research was performed under the approval of the Photon Factory Program Advisory Committee
		(PF-PAC; Contract Numbers 2015G580, 2017G587, and 2019G614) and was financially supported by
		JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 18H01153, 19H02426, and 18K19126.
		The experiment for measuring spectra in \figref{fig:xasATO}(b)
		was performed on beamline BM26A (proposal MA  2731) at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France.
		We are grateful to Local Contact at the ESRF for providing assistance in using beamline BM26A.
		Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No.~739508, project CAMART${}^2$.

\providecommand{\noopsort}[1]{}\providecommand{\singleletter}[1]{#1}%

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Saffron – The Sunshine Herb
by Fin Mackenzie | May 11, 2021 | Health News
Saffron – Crocus sativus L.
As we move into the winter months I thought it would be good to talk about a herb that can help bring the summer back. SAD or seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that often appears in winter and disappears in summer. Symptoms include lack of energy, sleeping too much, feeling tired all the time, over-eating, gaining weight and losing interest in normal activities. It is thought to be caused by changes in the circadian rhythm or the winter change in production of serotonin and melatonin, which can affect sleep and mood. Even though SAD is less common in Australia, winter can be a time when many of us feel flat and lethargic. Saffron can be a gentle way to improve our mood, ease anxiety and regulate our appetites.
Saffron is the world's most expensive spice (it can reach up to $30,000 per kg!). The spice is from the stigma of the flowers: the red filaments that form the female reproductive parts of the saffron crocus, thought to have originated in South West Asia or the Mediterranean. The entire dried stigma is what we know and buy to flavour our cooking and the part that is used in traditional herbal medicine. Also known as Red Gold or the Golden Spice, the high price is due to the high manual labour it takes to harvest, handle and cultivate. Painstakingly gathered by hand it can take 40 hours to collect 150,000 to 250,000 flowers which are then carefully picked one by one to produce one kg of high quality saffron.
Mainly grown in Iran and Kashmir, Australia now has about 80 saffron producers who collectively produce about 10kg per year. The origin of the word saffron comes from the Arabic, Za'faran or yellow, reflecting the high concentration of carotenoid pigments, the most famous of which is crocin. Ancient Assyrians in 7th Century BC used it for breathing difficulties, painful urination, menstrual disorders and diseases of the brain. The last two are the best researched modern applications. Culpepper said saffron 'quickens the brains'.
Some of saffrons actions are nervine, anti-depressant, anxiolytic, adaptogenic, sedative, antioxidant, anti-cancer, aphrodisiac, cardiotonic, analgesic and anti-spasmodic. Increases in scientific studies over the last 30 years have shown that saffron can improve the symptoms of depression, PMS, PMDD, infertility, overeating and sexual dysfunction. It has also been studied for its use in Alzheimers disease. A 2020 systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCT's) found saffron to be equally as effective as the most commonly used drugs for Alzheimer's with less side effects.
It is not known as the Sunshine Spice for nothing as it also helps brighten the mood. Traditionally used in Persian medicine for depression, many recent studies including double blind RCTs show not just improvements in mood but also in sleep. It has been found to be as effective as Prozac without the side effect of sexual dysfunction (in fact it can treat that too!). You can also take it concurrently with SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors commonly used for depression/anxiety) like Prozac which you cannot do with herbs like St. John's Wort. It can also help with withdrawal from Opiod addiction and has been used to treat adolescent anxiety and depression while also helping with social phobia.
Saffron has been found to help with shortening active labour during birth significantly in one study. It has also been shown to improve PMS and may improve hot flushes in post-menopausal women. It's thought that because of its constituents zeaxanthin, lycopene and carotene that saffron can help with eye health both with macular degeneration and retinal function. In one study it eased Glaucoma after only 3 weeks of therapy by helping to reduce the intraocular pressure of the eye. It has been found to reduce blood pressure in those patients with cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Saffron is found to help with insulin resistance and blood sugar management while even helping with food cravings and snacking! Some research suggests that it is a useful adjunct to weight loss programs and is so promising that it should be used as an anti-diabetic drug.
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) another term for the painful recovery from working out has been studied using saffron compared to both a placebo and an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). The placebo group suffered severe pain for 3 days afterwards but the saffron group had 11 x less pain after 24 hours. In fact the NSAID group took 3 days for the pain to disappear but only 2 days for the saffron group. Saffron may help with asthmatic symptoms, even reducing the need for medication and night waking in several studies. Herbalists in the west bank of Palestine use saffron traditionally as the main herb for bed wetting in children.
How much do you need for these effects? 1ml of liquid extract at 1:20 strength is about equivalent to 50mg of the dried herb. Many of the scientific trials use 30-50mg per day so this is a cost effective way to access saffron in an easily absorbable form (about $10-20/month). The trials in age related macular degeneration for instance used just 20mg of dried stigma a day. It is easy to dose this way and the taste is bland and slightly oily. It has a wonderful yellow colour on its own and also blends well with other synergistic herbal medicines like turmeric. While a little more expensive than other herbs a little goes a long way! (References supplied below).
Thank you to The Herbal Extract Company our supplier of Saffron for this information.
Beautiful Saffron!
Any requests for saffron or another herbal blend please email or or you can also buy from our online shop here…
ONLINE SHOP LINK>>>
Thank you for reading and please share!
Fin Mackenzie – Naturopath & Herbalist
BHSc(CompMed), ADNat, DNut, DRM, MATMS
Book ONLINE for an appointment here…
Call us 0438 394 069 for any questions.
info@greendoorhealth.com.au
Akhondzadeh S, Tahmacebi-Pour N, Noorbala AA, et al. Crocus sativus L. in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial. Phytother Res. 2005;19(2):148- 151. doi:10.1002/ptr.1647 20.
Akhondzadeh S, Shafiee Sabet M, Harirchian MH, Togha M, Cheraghmakani H, Razeghi S, et al. A 22-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind controlled trial of Crocus sativus in the treatment of mild to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 Jan;207(4):637-43. doi: 10.1007/s00213-009-1706-1. Epub 2009 Oct 20.
Gohari AR, Saeidnia S, Mahmoodabadi MK. An overview on saffron, phytochemicals, and medicinal properties. Pharmacogn Rev. 2013 Jan;7(13):61-6. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.112850.
Gout B, Bourges C, Paineau-Dubreuil S. Satiereal, a Crocus sativus L extract, reduces snacking and increases satiety in a randomized placebo-controlled study of mildly overweight, healthy women. Nutr Res. 2010 May;30(5):305-13. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2010.04.008. 41.
Jaradat NA, Zaid AN, Al-Ramahi R, Alqub MA, Hussein F, Hamdan Z, et al. Ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants practiced by traditional healers and herbalists for treatment of some urological diseases in the West Bank/Palestine. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017 May 8;17(1):255. doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-1758-4.
Kell G, Rao A, Beccaria G, Clayton P, Inarejos-García AM, Prodanov M. affron® a novel saffron extract (Crocus sativus L.) improves mood in healthy adults over 4 weeks in a double-blind, parallel, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Complement Ther Med. 2017;33:58-64. 27.
Konstantopoulos P, Doulamis IP, Tzani A, Korou ML, Agapitos E, Vlachos IS, et al. Metabolic eff ects of Crocus sativus and protective action against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in diabetic rats. Biomed Rep. 2017 May;6(5):513-518. doi: 10.3892/br.2017.884. Epub 2017 Apr 5. 43.
Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Metse AP, Drummond PD. Eff ects of saffron on sleep quality in healthy adults with self-reported poor sleep: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(6):937–947. 21.
Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Hood SD, Drummond PD. Effi cacy of a standardised saff ron extract (affron®) as an add-on to antidepressant medication for the treatment of persistent depressive symptoms in adults: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Psychopharmacol. 2019;33(11):1415-1427. doi:10.1177/0269881119867703
Lopresti AL, Drummond PD, Inarejos-García AM, Prodanov M. aff ron®, a standardised extract from saffron (Crocus sativus L.) for the treatment of youth anxiety and depressive symptoms: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Aff ect Disord. 2018;232:349-357. 28.
Mazidi M, Shemshian M, Mousavi SH, et al. A double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) in the treatment of anxiety and depression. J Complement Integr Med. 2016;13(2):195- 199. doi:10.1515/jcim-2015-0043 29.
Meamarbashi A, Rajabi A. Preventive eff ects of 10-day supplementation with saffron and indomethacin on the delayed-onset muscle soreness. Clin J Sport Med. 2015;25(2):105-112. doi:10.1097/ JSM.0000000000000113 44.
Shahi MN, Asadi A, Talab EB, Shahi MN. The Impact of Saffron on Symptoms of Withdrawal Syndrome in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Treatment for Opioid Addiction in Sabzevar Parish in 2017. Advances in Medicine. 2017, Article ID 1079132, 5 pages. https://doi. org/10.1155/2017/1079132 26.
Shemshian M, Mousavi SH, Norouzy A, et al. Saff ron in metabolic syndrome: its effects on antibody titers to heat-shock proteins 27, 60, 65 and 70. J Complement Integr Med. 2014;11(1):43-49. Published 2014 Feb 6. doi:10.1515/jcim-2013-0047 42.
Tabeshpour J, Sobhani F, Sadjadi SA, et al. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of saffron stigma (Crocus sativus L.) in mothers suffering from mild-to-moderate postpartum depression. Phytomedicine. 2017;36:145-152. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2017.10.005
Zilaee M, Hosseini SA, Jafarirad S, et al. An evaluation of the eff ects of saffron supplementation on the asthma clinical symptoms and asthma severity in patients with mild and moderate persistent allergic asthma: a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Respir Res. 2019;20(1):39. Published 2019 Feb 22. doi:10.1186/s12931-019-0998-x
MORE REFERENCES SUPPLIED ON REQUEST
Sign up for our FREE REPORT on Kids Health and Health Blog


Deposition Author(s): Martins, B.M., Macedo-Ribeiro, S., Bresser, J., Buckel, W., Messerschmidt, A.
Structural basis for stereo-specific catalysis in NAD(+)-dependent (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase from Acidaminococcus fermentans.
Martins, B.M., Macedo-Ribeiro, S., Bresser, J., Buckel, W., Messerschmidt, A.
NAD(+)-dependent (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase (HGDH) catalyses the reduction of 2-oxoglutarate to (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate and belongs to the d-2-hydroxyacid NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase (d-2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase) protein family. Its crystal structure was determined by phase combination to 1.98 A resolution. Structure-function relationships obtained by the comparison of HGDH with other members of the d-2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase family give a chemically satisfying view of the substrate stereoselectivity and catalytic requirements for the hydride transfer reaction. A model for substrate recognition and turnover is discussed. The HGDH active site architecture is structurally optimized to recognize and bind the negatively charged substrate 2-oxoglutarate. The structural position of the side chain of Arg52, and its counterparts in other family members, strongly correlates with substrate specificity towards substitutions at the C3 atom (linear or branched substrates). Arg235 interacts with the substrate's alpha-carboxylate and carbonyl groups, having a dual role in both substrate binding and activation, and the gamma-carboxylate group can dock at an arginine cluster. The proton-relay system built up by Glu264 and His297 permits His297 to act as acid-base catalyst and the 4Re-hydrogen from NADH is transferred as hydride to the carbonyl group Si-face leading to the formation of the correct enantiomer (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate.


The Evesham mattress by Hypnos is fantastic mattress contains combination of pocket springs and natural fillings. Evesham features 1024 pocket springs (In King size) work independently from one another, so they contour to the body's natural shape. Layers of natural fillings such as cotton felt and polyester give the ultimate comfort and support.
The Hypnos Evesham mattress has flag stitch handles to help when turning the mattress. Air vents run along the perimeter of the mattress allowing it to breathe, reducing moisture build up and humidity.
This mattress is also source 5 which means it is compliant to British Standards and would be suitable for; Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, Hospices, Nursing Homes & Retirement Homes to name etc.
Please note that free delivery applies only orders over £250.
Hypnos Evesham 1024 Pocket Mattress Only. Headboard and base not included.


text:
The West must not be fooled by the Taliban's spin doctors
On Thursday the Taliban took to social media to declare that after a 20-year interruption, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was back in business. In a month's time, when we mark the anniversary of 9/11, they will doubtless again be governing nearly all the country. In the West there are understandable fears that the return of the Taliban means the return of Al-Qaeda, whose presence in Afghanistan provoked the American-led intervention in the first place.
That is not to say that the Taliban are incapable of moving with the times. Twitter in particular hosts a succession of Taliban spokesmen (and yes, they are all men) spinning their messages to the world in a significant shift from the approach they took between 1996 to 2001, when they first held power. A new concern with public relations, coupled with some unexpected gestures by their commanders, has given rise to speculation that this is the Taliban 2.0, a socially rebooted movement which, while they may not quite have got round to reading Robin DiAngelo and are still quaintly old-fashioned about pronouns, may not prove quite as brutal domestically as the first time round. It has also been suggestedthat in terms of international security, both the west and Afghanistan's neighbours may have less to fear than initially thought. Having essentially lost power in 2001 because they allowed Al-Qaeda to use their territory as a terrorist training camp, it is argued the Taliban are unlikely to make the same mistake twice. They have reportedly offered assurances to Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran that Afghan territory will not be used by hostile forces to attack those respective nations.
In 2014 I was commissioned by David Cameron to conduct a review into the Muslim Brotherhood, and its influence in the UK and abroad. I found no evidence that engagement with Islamist movements had ever worked to moderate their actions. I continue to hold that view. The things we generally ask of Islamists – essentially to become more like us – would make them cease to be Islamist. In particular, when Islamists establish a state or a quasi-state, they use an absolutist version of Sharia as the exclusive legal system. Sharia is in truth a methodology rather than a set of clear rules. And there are different ways of applying it. But methods used by Islamists are everywhere catastrophic for what we consider to be fundamental human rights.
Against this backdrop, it is worth considering just how substantive (or not) the gestures made by the Taliban have been, and indeed how far the organisation has genuinely distanced itself from working with international jihadist groups. As recently as October 2020 the United Nations was referring to Al-Qaeda as "deeply embedded" with the Taliban in the areas of Afghanistan they then controlled. The Taliban were also described as "committed" to maintaining the historic relationship between the two organisations. Given their relationship appears to have endured why should anyone believe reassurances of the Taliban to the contrary?
Domestically, the Taliban have made overtures to the Hazara minority, whom they previously persecuted, visiting the Shi'ite Ashura mourning event in the Hazara district of Dasht-e-Barchi. On Tuesday a Taliban spokesman, Mawlawi Abdulhaq Hemad was interviewed on the Tolo News channel by a female presenter, Beheshta Arghand, in what is believed to be the first interview of its kind. With the attention of the world's media currently focused on the country, these comparatively minor acts made international headlines.
Yet evidence exists that behind the spin, the Taliban's substantive positions towards women and religious minorities have not changed. There were multiple reports as the Taliban advanced on Kabul of revenge and other killings. There are now reports of house-to-house searches for anyone with a connection with the former government. Evidence reported by the Guardian indicate other atrocities, including a massacre of Hazara men in the Ghazni district by Taliban fighters as recently as last month, with torture and executions following fighting between the Afghan military and the then insurgent forces. At their first press conference in office, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid declared they are "committed to the rights of women within the framework of Sharia." This needs to be read very carefully, as it is a commitment to interpret women's rights within the framework of the Taliban's methodology. Given that ultimately the interpretation of deeply conservative Deobandi ulema will be pivotal to that process, this is certainly not the commitment to respecting women's rights that some claim to have observed.
This week some British Muslim figures and organisations have opted to keep their counsel, aware that explicit comments in support of the Taliban may undermine existing relationships with non-Muslim organisations. But the Taliban's victory gives Islamist movements globally something they have recently lacked – momentum. Nothing succeeds like success, and there has been genuine excitement from some British Islamists. Roshan Salih of the 5Pillars news site declared the 'historic defeat of colonialism and imperialism' and warned against people being distracted by the 'red herring' of women's rights. Prominent cleric Haitham al-Haddad stated that the Taliban's victory should 'make us content and happy' as well as motivating Muslims to ensure that this time the Taliban do not lose power. In a two-part analysis for the Islam21C website, al-Haddad noted the disarray Afghanistan has been in, before stating "the leaders of the Taliban and the leaders of other mujāhidīn groups should work hard to establish security in Afghanistan."
Having seen the Taliban lose power in 2001, and the Muslim Brotherhood lose office in Egypt in 2013, Islamists are in little mood to fail again. That is not a guarantee however, of long-term Taliban caution in office, or that the organisation will decline to shelter jihadist actors. Unless the Taliban rules as the Taliban, supporting like-minded organisations from across the globe, what would be the point of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan?
Sir John Jenkins is a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange.


It's time to invest in Bitcoin says cryptocurrency expert Brian Kelly. Kelly is founder and CEO at BKCM LLC which is a digital currency investment firm. He manages their Digital Asset Fun and is also the author of The Bitcoin Bang – How Alternative Currencies are About to Change the World.
Back in early January, Kelly defended Bitcoin as not being a bubble ready to burst against CNBC's Bill Griffeth – who proclaimed he hasn't a clue about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Now Kelly is back, again defending Bitcoin saying that it will not end because of recent price drops. In fact, he's saying that it's the perfect time to invest in Bitcoin if you have not already. The lower price is an entry, or a re-entry point for investors. That's because it is very probable that the value will rise once again and those who put money in now can turn a tidy profit when it does.
To say he has a vested interest is an understatement. Kelly manages the Digital Assets Fund, which has a minimum investment of $250K. It invests in exchange traded digital assets, cryptocurrencies. According to the description it has 50-85% in Bitcoin, 5-10% in smart contracts, 5-10% in emerging currencies and assets and 5-10% in development platforms. The fund holds portions of Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Zcash and others. He launched the fund with personal money with a goal of reaching $50M total assets under management.
While others believe that Bitcoin is a bubble ready to burst, Kelly believes it is in fact time to invest. Blockchain wasn't as mainstream last year as it is now. The price of Bitcoin in July was hovering around $2,500. It then made it's way to just shy of $20K. Today the price is around $11,250, which is were it was at in the beginning of December when it did that quick run up to $20K.
That means it may be the right time for an investment in cryptos. Buy in at $11,250 and sell at $20,000. That would be a return of around 78%. Cryptocurrency experts believe that 2018 could see Bitcoin hit $80K or even $100K. If that holds true and someone were to invest in Bitcoin today, it would be a 9X return if they hold and sell at $100K.
Kelly believes that the current price drop is great for the crypto investing ecosystem. He thinks that this will get the weak hands out of it and make the ecosystem stronger in the long run. He has a set of three rules for investing in cryptocurrencies.
Don't Panic – Cryptocurrencies see changes of 20-50% regularly, so be ready.
Finally, he said, if you are ready to invest, get Bitcoin, Ripple or Stellar. For those looking to actually use a blockchain technology, he recommends Ethereum. That's most likely because of its smart contract ability and that it can move faster than Bitcoin and with lower fees.
Author: Christophor RickChristophor is a Milwaukee, WI native who has long been interested in science which culminated in an internship at the NASA Astrobiology Academy and a degree in Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology. His creative writing spans general fiction, science-fiction, fantasy and other speculative fiction. He has been a freelance writer for over a decade and has over 3,000 articles published online and in magazines. He has been a video game journalist, an online video industry analyst, freelance social media manager, content strategist, associate editor, and editor-in-chief at several online publications.


One of the things I love to do in order to get ideas for creativity, see what else is going on that I can learn from, and just do some worshipping is visit other churches whenever I can. There is a short list of places I've been wanting to check out for a while, but haven't had the chance to, and of course it's next to impossible to visit on Sunday mornings when we have services.
Rachel and I have some friends, Rob and Leah, who attend this church. We've been talking about wanting to hang with them sometime forever now, so we decided we should cruise out there to their Sunday night service and hang out with them afterward. Some of you may be familiar with this church also from their worship pastor Los' blog. Been wanting to visit also after following his blog and hearing about all the great stuff God is up to there.
This is a multisite venue for ROCKharbor that meets at the Shark Club in Costa Mesa. I always enjoy visiting ROCKharbor, and with my interest in checking out multisite venues and seeing how they work, I've been wanting to visit here for quite a while now. I've also heard all sorts of great stuff about the worship pastor there, Drew Bray.
Another church I've wanted to visit for a long time but never gotten around to. Mosaic is very well known for a lot of their arts stuff (and for Erwin McManus, of course) so I'd love to see what they're up to. I met a few weeks ago with their arts director, David Arcos, who gave me some great thoughts. Some other leaders in the arts and I should be going with David and mosaic up to their Artisan Retreat in the mountains the following weekend, so that should be a fun weekend to visit.
If anyone wants to come along to any of those, let me know. The more the merrier!


Sorry this poll is up late guys, I was very busy yesterday.
Anyway, for this weeks poll, we're going to try to decide who is the greatest female hero in the history of Marvel comics. We're including anti-heroes, but no characters who usually come down on the villainous side of the moral spectrum but have occasionally been known to do some good.
As per usual, I've given you 10 to start and you can add your own suggestions. If you do add your own suggestions can you leave them in the same format I have on the poll (so, real name + superhero identity) so we can distinguish easily between characters who have shared the same or similar names.
That's saying quite a lot in today's comics world!
Trouble is, that's a BIG step down!
I would say Ororo Monroe (Storm). There are lots of female villains that switch over to heroes, but few that then become the mainstay heroine for an entire portion of the Marvel U. Her power levels have risen dramatically, and her position in the X-Men is generally considered to be leadership-level.
Jean Grey had the most profound impact on the Marvel Universe.
Storm is powerful but you can't say her name without bringing up the other X-Men. Same with Sue Richards and the Fantastic Four.
Carol Danvers' promotion really gave her a push in popularity.
She-Hulk has the best sense of humor. I would not be surprised to see her in an upcoming season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
When I was a comics regular, Spider-Woman seemed to have the most solo success. I wouldn't be surprised if she also shows up at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
My honorable mention goes to Dazzler.
Wow, @ A. Punk going for Dazzler!
I love She hulk, she was a fourth was breaking comic great!
Now, for the joke character: Jubilation Lee!
But I read Comics (or used to) for the Continuity, not just the Cosmic Hoo-hah factor.
If I think that She-Hulk did a little too much bouncing around to be considered, I think you can imagine what I think of Jean Grey! From Helpless Girl, Jr., who can telekinetically lift a screwdriver when asked for a pair of pliers, to the X-Men's Fashion Designer, to Phoenix, and all the things that have happened (then not-happened, then had always been that way, then happened all over again, et cetera), Jean has NOT been a model of consistency.


text:
Amar kan syfta på:
 Amar (sång) – portugals bidrag till Eurovision Song Contest 2005
 Amar Dhanjal (1982–), brittisk sångare

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia