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Legacy Living Lab
Main Category: Green Building
Company: Fleetwood Australia
Location: Perth, Australia
Building Use: Research and office space
Gross Size of Project: 2691 Square Feet
Days to complete: 353
Architectural Excellence
Fleetwood's Western Australian operations inspired the Legacy Living Lab (L3) after two PhD students noticed unused heavy gauge steel frames. They imagined a building dedicated to the research of how we should build for a sustainable, circular economy future. Every piece of the building is reused material, ensuring savings in carbon emissions. The building was constructed using eight steel-framed modules & was designed for disassembly, deconstruction & re-location. It houses a café, break-out and communal areas, meeting rooms & offices. The building has three life cycles & will used in three different locations in its life.L3 addresses how to deal with excess material from building projects & explored the concept of "zero waste" & minimal demolition. It has been designed to enable future disassembly or reconfiguration, turning waste into new resources by decreasing waste production, related land pressure & material depletion as a modular building designed for disassembly & reuse.
Technical Innovation & Sustainability
The L3 building is where industry meets research to prototype and co-invent greener builder products. The two PhD researchers were based in our factory over several months, there was increased flexibility and the ability to make numerous variations to test and improve over the course of the project, including trialling alternative building products to optimize sustainability. The in-built reuse practices of the L3 lab have been calculated to save 18 tons of construction material from disposal, compared to common building industry practices. This equates to an 88% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. The lab continues to feed research back into the field; collecting data on innovative products that support 'circular economy' construction. The research gathered from testing conducted is being be used to inform the building and construction industry, and champion sustainability. The L3 building has solar panels and a suite of sensors used to measure and optimize energy consumption.
L3 was funded by the university, government and industry donations. A number of industry partners were also involved, donating building materials and project funding, however Fleetwood was the major building partner. Fleetwood donated the steel frames the PhD students first noticed in their yard, as well as in kind time such as drafting, yard supervision and project management. The L3 project was conceived through life cycle thinking, with the first life cycle, or use commenced in 2019. While traditional buildings are built to last in a linear fashion, in a single location, life cycle thinking allows for disassembly and reuse multiple times, in different locations and even modified for different purposes. This means the whole of life costs across the various life cycles is vastly reduced, not to mention the additional environmental benefits of preventing useable materials from ending up in landfills.
See More Awards of Distinction Winners
To view all our current honorees, visit our main Awards page.


Tasha Tudor. New York: Henry Z. Walck, Incorporated, 1957. Reprint. 9 1/4" x 7"
pp. Beautifully clean copy of a Walck reprint in a pristine dust jacket with $3.75 price. No blemishes or detractions. Identified by 10 stitch binding, yellow cloth.


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The 'Velvet'een Blacktail
Lucas Paugh
The month of July is not normally synonymous with hunting in the dead of summer. But in California, archery Blacktail deer season is abnormally placed during the hottest month of the year. Because of this, most do not go in pursuit of the 'Black Ghost' because of the extreme hot temperatures and dry landscape in which they inhabit. But for some, that is more reason to get out and test new gear and chase what Chuck Adams stated as "One of the most difficult mammals to harvest in the North American 29."
During the spring months previous, I had made a commitment to shoot my bow daily with the mental blueprint process of "perfect practice makes perfect". This meant that I would routinely only shoot 3-5 arrows every evening with the commitment to focus intently on each shot like it was my last. In addition to that, I would participate in a few of the local 3D shoots to help with shooting at various distances and angles not normally practiced in the back yard. Day after day, I could feel myself becoming more and more comfortable locking that shot routine into muscle memory. I was ready to put my process to the test.
It was opening day and I had spent a lot of time with boots on the ground the previous month scouting for deer. With the moisture year California had experienced, it provided for lush foliage and water pockets that had been dry for many years previous. With the limited amount of public land in California, it makes it difficult to turn up a good deer during the early part of the season. Like deer hunting of all types, weather plays a large part in hunter success. When temperatures exceed 100+ degrees, Blacktail deer move very little during daylight hours and can become nocturnal. They tend to feed late in the evening and come to water sources throughout the course of the night. When you boil it all down, you either tolerate the heat or go home eating tag soup.
I had spent the afternoon of the opener with my hunting partner Brandon Williams glassing thick
forested timber pockets in hopes for a flicker of an ear or tail. Not only is pursuing Blacktail deer one of the more challenging mammals to harvest in the West, trying to find them in the hottest part of the
day makes for an even tougher contest. After continually wiping sweat away from our eyes, we remained persistent on putting hours behind the optics in search of that one deer we had been scouting for all preseason. Slowly pacing through the thick oak scrub and manzanita, we continued our quest in search of that mature deer with hopes to have one opportunity. As we began to walk out for the evening, we had spotted four deer feeding in a flowing river bed below. The grass was so tall that it was hard to depict what we were looking at as they continued with their heads down feeding the lush green grass. When we both focused our glass on them, it was obvious there was mature bucks in the group. Brandon glanced over at me with 'that look' and I knew right then that there was a good buck in the bunch. Three of the four were considered California legal deer with at least having a fork on both sides. But there was clearly one that towered above all the others and he picked the wrong day to be out.
With only having a glimpse of light left on opening day, it was time to make a move on these deer. I slowly worked my way down to 77 yards which was the last range I shot. Based on the topography and loud crackle of the dead oak tree leaves, I could not get much closer so I settled in and quickly adjusted my single pin sight to 81 yards. The deer was slowly feeding towards my direction with only giving me a straight on frontal shot. It was time… Arrow nocked, bubble level set, and as I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, my arrow set flight arriving at its destination with a loud pop. It was not obvious as the arrow struck a rock pile in the ground and the four deer scattered. I could see the nock wedged in the dirt and figured I had shot low. Brandon was under his optics during the shot and also thought the arrow had landed short of its mark. As we glassed the deer trot off, we only counted three leave the area. I immediately felt my adrenaline dump and thought that all the preseason shooting and practicing I had done possibly paid off. A few minutes passed and we continued to pan the area sweeping left to right in hopes the deer was laying down in the riverbed. We both agreed it was time to go retrieve the arrow. That was a slow 77 yard walk playing back my pre shot routine over and over in my mind. As luck would have it, I could tell there was a slight color variation on the fletching. When I put my fingers on the arrow, it was obvious the color distinction was blood that had coated it from the broad head to the nock. My body filled with joy knowing that the arrow had made full pass on the animal. I then looked off to my left and could see about 30 yards the silhouette of an
antler in the green grass. As I walked up to the motionless deer, it was the most surreal emotion to see this giant up close. There was no better feeling than wrapping my hands around this tall typical 3x3 basket framed deer covered in velvet. The fuzziness of the antlers added a new dynamic to my portfolio as I had never taken an animal in the early velvet stages of antler growth. This buck had everything a deer hunter on the central coast could ask for: eye guards, symmetrical G1-G2 fork, tall G3 tines, and mass carried throughout the rack.
On that warm summer evening, Brandon and I sat under the light of the full moon enjoying the comradery that goes along with a successful harvest. Many go for the thrill of the chase on public land and never prosper. Others make a personal commitment to pursue one of the most treasured species of deer on the West coast. I've always said that hunting is a journey, not a destination. We should always strive to push the limits and continuously learn how to better our preparation and skills. These attributes are what creates accomplishment and makes the reality of an ethical harvest come true. On this night, we found success, and will be a memory that is forever imprinted in our minds forever. This hunt is a true testament to the meaning 'Hard work pays off every time!'
6 Point Meadow
It's not about the inches... It's about the adventure...
Muleys in the Coulees
Why You Should Hunt Pronghorn Every Year

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Hongqi Achieved Growth Against Adversity Caused by Epidemic
Publish January 11, 2021
autofinance & economy
In November 2020, Statista anticipated that global auto sales volume in 2020 would be down by 18% to 62 million vehicles from 74.9 million vehicles in 2019. Many auto makers suffered sluggish sales or even bankruptcy, reorganization and merger. However, Hongqi, a brand of FAW, achieved sales volume doubled in 2020 against the negative trend and launched a full-size smart luxury electric SUV - Hongqi E-HS9 to the European market, successfully standing out of Chinese luxury car brands.
Quality Persistence
FAW Hongqi has a long history of development dedicated to manufacturing luxury passenger cars. FAW Hongqi focused on official and event vehicles before 2017. Its annual sales volume was 4000 vehicles in 2017. Since 2017, Hongqi initiated the "New Hongqi" strategy and launched overall transformation and upgrade in technology, craft, brand marketing and many other aspects.
With the new strategy, Hongqi built a brand-new Electric Smart Vehicle Connection Platform with 100% proprietary core technologies. Consumer-market oriented innovation and transformation have also been achieved in terms of product design, technology, safety and brand marketing. In 2018, Gills Taylor, the former Chief Designing Officer of Rolls-Royce joined FAW as the person in charge of designing strategy and stylish concept of the Hongqi brand, fusing international designing concept into FAW. In terms of product technology, every Hongqi vehicle is made with the world-leading automobile technologies, enlivening the cold steels into convergence and crystallization of technology and wisdom. Hongqi automobile plants are among the most advanced ones in China in terms of smart and green operation, guaranteeing continuous quality improvement with powerful strength. Hongqi upholds the principle of "Everything Is to Serve the Consumers with Respect". Adhering to the "All customer-centric" concept with persistence on quality and innovation, Hongqi sold 30,000 vehicles in 2018 and 100, 000 vehicles in 2019, marking giant leap forward in sales volume. Hongqi sold 200, 000 vehicles in 2020, beating the adverse trend caused by the global epidemic. Hongqi has become the top luxury vehicle brand in China.
Bring high quality products to users
Continuous development of China's smart technologies has energized the automobile industry to go for transformation trend of "New Four Modernizations", namely: electrification, connection, intellectualization and sharing. Keeping up with the emerging trends in recent years, Hongqi paid close attention to latest technologies and new energy resources, spared no effort in researching and innovating smart technologies, built new energy plants and acquired advanced strength in manufacturing smart BEV models. In addition to H5, HS5, H7, H9 and many new Hongqi products that are favored by the Chinese users, the latest flagship SUV Hongqi E-HS9 is a truthful embodiment of Hongqi's heartfelt dedication that will certainly win the hearts of users all over the world.
Entering into the global market with sincerity, Hongqi will expand its successful experience in Chinese market by meeting global demands for high-quality luxury vehicles and attracting global consumers with more exhilarating surprises.
Tamkeen Development Program: Empowering Yemeni Communities
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A fixed satin bow enhances the sweetness of this iconic style, which boasts soft Twinface, pretreated for protection against water and stains. Our Treadlite by UGG sole provides increased cushioning, durability, and traction.
UGG Australia MINI BAILEY BOW II Boot Kid 1017397K - Girls. Pretreated to repel water and stains Fixed bows at rear shaft Foam insole. My about us text goes here. My FAQ text goes here. My store policies text goes here.
The item "UGG Australia MINI BAILEY BOW II Boot Kid 1017397K Girls" is in sale since Sunday, October 1, 2017. This item is in the category "Clothing, Shoes & Accessories\Kids' Clothing, Shoes & Accs\Girls' Shoes". The seller is "allsportswearusa" and is located in Carteret, New Jersey. This item can be shipped worldwide.


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Historic Landmark Report .................... Uranium as a Crucial Driver of the Namibian Economy
The current recovery in world uranium prices offers Namibia a good chance for success for the mining projects launched in the past decade. As the global energy transition has begun, uranium demand is expected to grow, therefore Namibian economy could get significant benefits in the long-term.
Along with uranium mining, Russian state corporation Rosatom, whose subsidiary received several licenses in Namibia in 2018, is ready to offer a number of social initiatives that are so necessary for the country. In addition, Rosatom has been supplying enriched uranium products to South Africa's Koeberg nuclear power plant (NPP) since the 90's, NTP Radioisotopes Pty supplied radioisotope products to a Rosatom subsidiary. Russia also signed an intergovernmental agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation in the nuclear industry with South Africa in 2014. The agreement also provides for "comprehensive collaboration" in other areas, including construction of a Russian-technology based multipurpose research reactor; assistance in the development of a South African nuclear power infrastructure; and the training of South African nuclear specialists at Russian universities and elsewhere, Rosatom said.
According to a recent an alysis by GlobalData, worldwide uranium production will recover by 3.1% to reach 51,200 tons in 2021 as significant mines come back. Uranium spot prices edged higher in May after languishing range bound between $25 to $30 per lb. for several years. Nuclear-fuel data and research company UxC's uranium spot price ended May at $31.40 per lb., Mining.com informs.
Namibia enters this new uranium upsurge with a good portfolio of new mining projects. The country was the only of eight major uranium producing nations to have increased the output in 2016–2018. This was due to the launch of the Husab Mine and improvements in the ore grade at the Rössing Mine. Currently, Namibia is the largest uranium producer in Africa and the fourth most important global player after Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia. But also major producers of uranium in Africa are South Africa and Niger. South Africa also possesses sizeable uranium reserves and has an extensive uranium mining industry, making the country one of the important producers of uranium in the world. The presence of this primary energy source in South Africa is a key element of security of energy supply nationally.
Rich uranium resources of Namibia are accompanied with a favorable investment climate by African standards. In 2016 Namibia lifted the moratorium which used to make it impossible to obtain new licenses for exploration and production of uranium in the country. Just two years later uranium mining holding Uranium One, belonging to Rosatom, received eight licenses for uranium exploration in Namibia on an area of 8 thousand square kilometers. Now Uranium One's subsidiary Headspring Investments is undertaking an extensive drilling campaign in the south of Namibia in its search for mining opportunities.
A new mining super-cycle
Copper, gold, zinc, lead, diamonds, and the last but not least uranium – that's the list of raw materials declared of strategic importance by the Namibian government. The prices for some of these commodities, including uranium, are expected to rise significantly in the coming years as the planet moves towards clean energy.
After the accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima in 2011, the global nuclear power faced hard times. Some countries like Germany even decided to close down their nuclear facilities, so uranium prices were in depression for several years. But now nuclear energy is experiencing a real renaissance of expectations, as peaceful atom is the only chance to replace fossil fuels adequately for such vast economies as China and the United States.
According to the plans announced by the Chinese authorities, by 2030 the total capacity of nuclear power plants in the country is planned to more than double, up to 130 GW. In the US Joe Biden's administration has already announced that nuclear power plants would be included into the national clean energy standard. In general, according to Morgan Stanley's forecast, the global nuclear power capacity will grow at a rate of 1.7% per year over the next five years.
These prospects are of great importance for Namibia, since it's economy has been severely affected by the COVID19 pandemic. The nation's GDP is estimated to have sharply contracted by 7.2 percent in 2020, and the recovery is set to remain subdued at only 2.1 percent in 2021. This spring Namibia had to get first-ever funds from IMF to help fight COVID-19. So, the new commodity supercycle, which many economists are expecting now, could help Namibia to cope with the fiscal crisis and return to a steady growth trajectory. And it can help the South Africa because the economy of the country has been slowly inching towards an economic recovery after the hard lockdowns imposed in the second quarter of 2020. However, the economic devastation of these lockdowns continue to reverberate.
African mission
The compliance with strict ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria becomes the crucial requirement for mining companies all around the globe. That's the reason for Rosatom and its international subsidiaries to develop not only their uranium projects, but a whole set of social investments. This sphere is absolutely urgent for African countries facing severe troubles with environment protection, education facilities, communal infrastructure and so forth.
A number of humanitarian projects already launched by Rosatom in Africa offer a good notion of the benefits Namibia can get if cooperation with the Russian corporation to be productive. Some of those initiatives are now in progress in the South Africa.
The most challenging for the neighboring country is the Rhisotope project for preventing illegal rhino horn hunting. Despite tremendous efforts to combat this evil in the South Africa, poaching has not been eradicated yet – over 9600 rhinos were killed in poaching attacks from 2010 to 2019. But a previously unexpected solution could be provided via the use of nuclear isotopes to track rhino horns. It could be a giant leap forward in the protection of this endangered species, insist the scientists engaged into the project.
Another environmental project was offered for Tanzania where Rosatom expects to start uranium mining once the prices are sufficient. In 2014 the Selous Game Reserve nearby the Mkuju River where Rosatom project is located was placed by UNESCO on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the severity of elephant poaching. An average of six Selous elephants were being gunned down by criminal syndicates each day. Immediately after that Rosatom subsidiary Mantra Tanzania decided to invest in anti-poaching activities and made an official agreement with the government in this sphere. But this problem also takes a place in the South Africa and this project can resolve it.
Another actual African trend for the Russian corporation is to promote sustainable agriculture. Recently Rosatom committed the support to Bokgoni Technical Secondary School in Atteridgeville, Pretoria by building two aquaponic greenhouses on site. "The introduction and training of this advanced technology is an invaluable tool to improve the nutritional status of schools and to ensure food security for students and their families in the medium term. Moreover, this could be the foundation for the equitable and sustainable socio-economic growth of South Africa in the future," says Ryan Collyer, CEO of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa Collyer.
The initiative should not only be realised in South Africa, but also to the rest of the continent highlighted Gaopalelwe Santswere, President of African Young Generation in Nuclear. This, he insists, is fundamental in terms of Agenda 2063 objectives "The Africa We Want". Rosatom offers integrated clean energy solutions across the nuclear supply chain and beyond. With 70 years' experience, the company is the world leader in high-performance solutions for all kinds of nuclear power plants. It also works in the segments of wind generation, nuclear medicine, energy storage and others. Products and services of the nuclear industry enterprises are supplied to over 50 countries around the world.
All these projects demonstrate the huge capabilities of the contemporary nuclear industry, which are far from being limited to uranium mining and energy production. Today Namibia has an excellent opportunity to use some advanced achievements of international nuclear science to the benefit of its economy.


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Indonesia: Traveloka raises $500m from Expedia, East Ventures, JD, others
A tourist drinks a bottle of beer during sunset at Seminyak beach, near Kuta, on the resort island of Bali, in this photo dated March 3, 2015. Reuters.
By Antonia Timmerman
Indonesia's largest online travel company Traveloka has raised $500 million in two rounds of funding from American travel firm Expedia, China's JD.com, East Ventures, Hillhouse Capital Group, and Sequoia Capital. Expedia provided $350 million while the others supplied the remaining $150 million in a separate round.
The deal values Traveloka at around $2 billion, according to an executive familiar with the development and affiliated with the company, who did not wish to be named.
Traveloka will use part of the proceeds to enhance its focus on R&D projects through artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, the company said. It further added that it would focus closely on customer behaviour in each country, leveraging the data to provide them a better online travel experience.
Indonesia is witnessing growing competition in the online travel industry as its biggest players announce their latest manoeuvres.
Just last month, Traveloka's local competitor Tiket.com was acquired by GDP Venture-backed e-commerce site Blibli.com. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. For Blibli, the buyout was a strategic move to maximize revenues. For Tiket, which had never raised VC money since its inception, it was an opportunity to secure funding and long-term commitment from a large corporation.
Now, Traveloka's move to raise the largest funding since Go-Jek – Tencent is expected to heat things up further.
Ferry Unardi, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Traveloka, said partnering with Expedia will allow the company to focus on growth in the online travel space, meeting its goal of providing travellers the best travel options and highest quality booking experience.
"The expanded partnership gives Traveloka travelers access to a unique and diverse set of international accommodations and we are looking forward to working with Expedia to expand our services in Asia and beyond," Unardi said.
Expedia owns and operates several international global online travel brands including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Trivago, Venere.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, and HomeAway. The company operates more than 200 travel booking websites in more than 75 countries, and has listings for more than 350,000 hotels and 500 airlines.
For Expedia, which has annual revenues of over $9.1 billion clocking more than $80 billion in bookings year-to-date as of Q1 2017, the deal marks a big step towards getting a foothold in this region that offers massive potential. Regional tourism in and around Asean is set to rise from $75 billion in 2014 to $83 billion by the end of 2017.
"Traveloka is the clear online travel company leader in Indonesia, and is expanding aggressively throughout Southeast Asia. Our partnership will benefit from each side's expertise and local knowledge, and accelerate our mutual growth," said Dara Khosrowshahi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Expedia.
"We are incredibly excited to continue to expand our presence in Asia, to learn from the talented Traveloka team and to unlock a more diverse offering of travel choices for Traveloka and Expedia travelers around the globe."
Increasing Chinese presence
JD.com's entry into Traveloka marks another instance of Chinese firms' growing presence in Southeast Asia.
This week, DEALSTREETASIA learnt that China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd was in talks to make a significant investment in one of Indonesia's largest online retailers, Tokopedia.
The Chinese firm is in discussions with Tokopedia to lead a funding round that could be worth up to $500 million, sources said. Existing investors SoftBank Group Corp and Sequoia Capital are also expected to participate in the latest round.
Recently, Go-Jek raised $1.2 billion from China's Tencent, followed by Grab raising $2 billion from Didi Chuxing and SoftBank.
Outside of China and India, Indonesia is the hottest e-commerce market in Asia. It is expected to grow from $8 billion in 2016 to $21 billion by 2020. In addition to its presence in the country through Lazada, Alibaba has formed a joint venture with media firm Emtek to crack Indonesia's biggest pain point – digital payments. Together, the two companies plan to offer mobile payments solutions and other related services.
Traveloka's funding also marks the second major development in the travel space in Asia over the last few months as US and global players go head-to-head with Chinese majors for a share of the growing online travel market in this region.
Late last year, India's leading online travel firm MakeMyTrip Ltd had reached a deal to buyout Ibibo Group's travel business in the country for $720 million in stock. As reported by this portal earlier, that deal had brought all brands of the Nasper and Tencent-backed Ibibo Group such as Goibibo, redBus, Ryde and Rightstay under MakeMyTrip.
Put simply, the deal saw Cape Town-based Naspers Ltd. (through a holding company minority owned by Tencent) combine its India operations with MakeMyTrip Ltd. The deal also made Naspers and Tencent the largest shareholders in MakeMyTrip with a combined 40 per cent stake.
East Ventures Expedia Inc Hillhouse Capital Group JD.com Inc Sequoia Capital Traveloka


Hoad monument is one of the most recognisable features growing up around Ulverston, a sort of lighthouse shaped monument on the top of the hill above town which you can see from lots of points around the Lake District reminding you of where you come from.
I've photographed Hoad lots of times but it is quite tricky to mix it up and find something different. I quite enjoy climbing the hill at nighttime to watch the stars, plus you usually get the place to yourself. From the outside, I guess it's a weird thing to do but it's quite relaxing sitting at the top looking over the town as the stars fill the sky.
Once the lights eventually go out, it's like flicking a switch to turn the stars on. The sky behind the monument is filled with little specks of light and it's awesome to see.
Annoyingly one of the lights stayed on adding a touch of blue to the side of the monument, I waited a while to see if it would go out but the light was more stubborn than me this time around so I made do with what was available.
I liked how the track was being lit up by the moon light with the bench off to the right hand side creating a silhouette against the skyline as Hoad towered up into the sky on the right. The clouds rolled in as I took the photograph but it created a nice pattern in the sky with the stars filling in the gaps in the middle.
Overall I'm happy with the results. I usually photograph the monument from the front but a different angle helped make this photograph different.


text:
Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction: Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging
Wanda Acampa, Letizia Spinelli, Mario Petretta, Francesco De Lauro, Francesco Ibello, Alberto Cuocolo
IRCCS SDN
This study directly compared the prognostic value of predischarge dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and dobutamine myocardial SPECT perfusion imaging in patients with prior myocardial infarction. Methods: The study population consisted of 146 consecutive patients who underwent predischarge DSE and SPECT with 99mTc-sestamibi after a first acute uncomplicated myocardial infarction treated with thrombolysis. Fifty patients who underwent revascularization within 90 d from the imaging studies were excluded. Cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction were considered events. Follow-up was 98% complete in a mean period of 44 ± 19 mo. Results: Myocardial ischemia was detectable in 55 (58%) patients at SPECT and in 63 (67%) patients at DSE. Concordance between SPECT and DSE in detecting ischemia was observed in 68 (72%) of the 94 patients (κ value, 0.41). During the follow-up, there were 20 cardiac events (9 deaths and 11 nonfatal myocardial infarctions). Ischemia at SPECT was a significant predictor of events (hazards ratio = 4.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-16.3; P <0.01). However, ischemia at DSE (biphasic or worsening patterns) was not associated with events, whereas biphasic pattern alone was associated with a poor outcome compared with direct worsening (P <0.05). Finally, at Cox multivariate analysis, ischemia at SPECT but not biphasic pattern at DSE was a significant independent predictor of events (P <0.01). Conclusion: These results indicate that, after uncomplicated myocardial infarction, ischemia at SPECT is associated with an increased risk of cardiac events at long-term follow-up. However, ischemia at DSE was unable to stratify patients after myocardial infarction.
Myocardial ischemia
Myocardial perfusion
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction: Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Stress Echocardiography Medicine & Life Sciences
Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Medicine & Life Sciences
Single-Photon Emission-Computed Tomography Medicine & Life Sciences
Myocardial Ischemia Medicine & Life Sciences
Ischemia Medicine & Life Sciences
Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi Medicine & Life Sciences
Dobutamine Medicine & Life Sciences
Acampa, W., Spinelli, L., Petretta, M., De Lauro, F., Ibello, F., & Cuocolo, A. (2005). Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction: Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 46(3), 417-423.
Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction : Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging. / Acampa, Wanda; Spinelli, Letizia; Petretta, Mario; De Lauro, Francesco; Ibello, Francesco; Cuocolo, Alberto.
In: Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Vol. 46, No. 3, 2005, p. 417-423.
Acampa, W, Spinelli, L, Petretta, M, De Lauro, F, Ibello, F & Cuocolo, A 2005, 'Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction: Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging', Journal of Nuclear Medicine, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 417-423.
Acampa W, Spinelli L, Petretta M, De Lauro F, Ibello F, Cuocolo A. Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction: Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging. Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2005;46(3):417-423.
Acampa, Wanda ; Spinelli, Letizia ; Petretta, Mario ; De Lauro, Francesco ; Ibello, Francesco ; Cuocolo, Alberto. / Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction : Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging. In: Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2005 ; Vol. 46, No. 3. pp. 417-423.
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title = "Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction: Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging",
abstract = "This study directly compared the prognostic value of predischarge dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and dobutamine myocardial SPECT perfusion imaging in patients with prior myocardial infarction. Methods: The study population consisted of 146 consecutive patients who underwent predischarge DSE and SPECT with 99mTc-sestamibi after a first acute uncomplicated myocardial infarction treated with thrombolysis. Fifty patients who underwent revascularization within 90 d from the imaging studies were excluded. Cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction were considered events. Follow-up was 98% complete in a mean period of 44 ± 19 mo. Results: Myocardial ischemia was detectable in 55 (58%) patients at SPECT and in 63 (67%) patients at DSE. Concordance between SPECT and DSE in detecting ischemia was observed in 68 (72%) of the 94 patients (κ value, 0.41). During the follow-up, there were 20 cardiac events (9 deaths and 11 nonfatal myocardial infarctions). Ischemia at SPECT was a significant predictor of events (hazards ratio = 4.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-16.3; P <0.01). However, ischemia at DSE (biphasic or worsening patterns) was not associated with events, whereas biphasic pattern alone was associated with a poor outcome compared with direct worsening (P <0.05). Finally, at Cox multivariate analysis, ischemia at SPECT but not biphasic pattern at DSE was a significant independent predictor of events (P <0.01). Conclusion: These results indicate that, after uncomplicated myocardial infarction, ischemia at SPECT is associated with an increased risk of cardiac events at long-term follow-up. However, ischemia at DSE was unable to stratify patients after myocardial infarction.",
keywords = "Echocardiography, Myocardial infarction, Myocardial ischemia, Myocardial perfusion",
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T1 - Prognostic value of myocardial ischemia in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction
T2 - Direct comparison of stress echocardiography and myocardial perfusion imaging
AU - Acampa, Wanda
AU - Spinelli, Letizia
AU - Petretta, Mario
AU - De Lauro, Francesco
AU - Ibello, Francesco
AU - Cuocolo, Alberto
N2 - This study directly compared the prognostic value of predischarge dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and dobutamine myocardial SPECT perfusion imaging in patients with prior myocardial infarction. Methods: The study population consisted of 146 consecutive patients who underwent predischarge DSE and SPECT with 99mTc-sestamibi after a first acute uncomplicated myocardial infarction treated with thrombolysis. Fifty patients who underwent revascularization within 90 d from the imaging studies were excluded. Cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction were considered events. Follow-up was 98% complete in a mean period of 44 ± 19 mo. Results: Myocardial ischemia was detectable in 55 (58%) patients at SPECT and in 63 (67%) patients at DSE. Concordance between SPECT and DSE in detecting ischemia was observed in 68 (72%) of the 94 patients (κ value, 0.41). During the follow-up, there were 20 cardiac events (9 deaths and 11 nonfatal myocardial infarctions). Ischemia at SPECT was a significant predictor of events (hazards ratio = 4.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-16.3; P <0.01). However, ischemia at DSE (biphasic or worsening patterns) was not associated with events, whereas biphasic pattern alone was associated with a poor outcome compared with direct worsening (P <0.05). Finally, at Cox multivariate analysis, ischemia at SPECT but not biphasic pattern at DSE was a significant independent predictor of events (P <0.01). Conclusion: These results indicate that, after uncomplicated myocardial infarction, ischemia at SPECT is associated with an increased risk of cardiac events at long-term follow-up. However, ischemia at DSE was unable to stratify patients after myocardial infarction.
AB - This study directly compared the prognostic value of predischarge dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) and dobutamine myocardial SPECT perfusion imaging in patients with prior myocardial infarction. Methods: The study population consisted of 146 consecutive patients who underwent predischarge DSE and SPECT with 99mTc-sestamibi after a first acute uncomplicated myocardial infarction treated with thrombolysis. Fifty patients who underwent revascularization within 90 d from the imaging studies were excluded. Cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction were considered events. Follow-up was 98% complete in a mean period of 44 ± 19 mo. Results: Myocardial ischemia was detectable in 55 (58%) patients at SPECT and in 63 (67%) patients at DSE. Concordance between SPECT and DSE in detecting ischemia was observed in 68 (72%) of the 94 patients (κ value, 0.41). During the follow-up, there were 20 cardiac events (9 deaths and 11 nonfatal myocardial infarctions). Ischemia at SPECT was a significant predictor of events (hazards ratio = 4.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-16.3; P <0.01). However, ischemia at DSE (biphasic or worsening patterns) was not associated with events, whereas biphasic pattern alone was associated with a poor outcome compared with direct worsening (P <0.05). Finally, at Cox multivariate analysis, ischemia at SPECT but not biphasic pattern at DSE was a significant independent predictor of events (P <0.01). Conclusion: These results indicate that, after uncomplicated myocardial infarction, ischemia at SPECT is associated with an increased risk of cardiac events at long-term follow-up. However, ischemia at DSE was unable to stratify patients after myocardial infarction.
KW - Myocardial infarction
KW - Myocardial ischemia
KW - Myocardial perfusion
JO - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine


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Top 13: Volleyball Reaches NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Kansas Athletics and Jayhawk student-athletes had numerous successful athletic and academc accomplishments during the 2013 calendar year and will relive the top 13 moments in a nearly two week series leading up to New Years Eve. One crowning moment will be posted to KUAthletics.com and across the department's social media platforms. Like, favorite or vote for your favorite 2013 moment and a top three, based on fan votes, will be revealed on New Year's Eve. Check back daily for video highlights, a recap and your chance to weigh in on your favorite moments of 2013.
Junior outside hitter Chelsea Albers couldn't have picked a bigger stage to turn in a career-high 18 kills and 17 digs for her seventh double-double of the season as No. 23 Kansas defeated Creighton in four sets, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21 inside Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 7. The win gave the Jayhawks their first-ever berth into the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Albers finished the NCAA First and Second Rounds as the most consistent player for the Jayhawks, setting new career-highs in kills in both of Kansas' victories over Wichita State on Friday and Creighton Saturday. In the Jayhawks' five trips to the postseason, none of them ended in a Regional Round appearance – until now.
"Well I have been at it for quite a while and I guess if you stick around long enough it's going to happen eventually," laughed 16-year head coaching veteran Ray Bechard said. "It was tough last year and we didn't forget that feeling. That's what made it so cool tonight, the joy in that Fieldhouse. I can't tell you how proud I am of this group and this team. It wasn't always pretty there tonight, but the effort was always there. And we are proud of that."
It wasn't just Albers who came up big when Kansas needed to get something going on offense. Sophomore outside hitter Tiana Dockery provided much-needed ignition off of the bench. Her 14 kills sparked the 3,052 fans inside Allen Fieldhouse, giving the Jayhawks crucial momentum it needed to fend off Creighton late in the match.
The Kansas offense recorded 59 kills compared to Creighton's 49, in large part to receiving accurate passes from senior setter Erin McNorton. The Big 12 Setter of the Year dished-out 51 assists to the Jayhawks – becoming second all-time in Kansas Volleyball history for assists in a season with 1,488.
The Jayhawks turned in a stellar performance on the defensive side of the net, holding the Creighton offense to an attack percentage of .176. Kansas had five players record 10 or more digs in the victory while three Jayhawks dug-out 15 or more Bluejay kill-attempts, a feat that hadn't been accomplished since Sept. 26, 2012 vs. No. 19 Iowa State.
Creighton was paced on the night by freshman middle blocker Lauren Smith whose 12 kills led the Bluejays in that category. Junior outside hitter Leah McNary was the only other player for Creighton to record double-digits in the kill column. Creighton came into the tournament as the second-best blocking team in the country and although they outdid the Jayhawks at the net, 11.5 to 9.0, KU racked up 82 digs to CU's 69 – led by a career-high 19 digs from freshman Cassie Wait.
The match began with both teams experiencing their fair share of ups and downs until Creighton, who trailed 7-5 early, opened up a 5-0 run. Creighton held the lead until a surge from Kansas, led in large part by freshman middle blocker Tayler Soucie. Her three kills helped give the Jayhawks a 15-14 advantage going into the media timeout. With the score tied, 17-17, Wait recorded a diving save on a Bluejay kill attack and found McNorton who dished the ball to Dockery who slammed down a kill, sparking a 4-0 run to give the Jayhawks a 21-17 lead. Kansas was able to keep control through the end of the set, and much like the previous match, Albers answered, registering two of her five first-set kills during the last two points to give Kansas a 25-20 win.
Albers recorded the first three Jayhawk points in the second set, after two kills and a service ace, but Creighton was right on the Jayhawks' heels throughout the first part of the set. Tied at 7-7, the Bluejays used a 4-0 run to take a four point lead, while forcing Bechard into taking a timeout. With the Jayhawk deficit remaining at four, 13-9, midway through the set a long rally ensued only to see Albers knock down another kill, then freshman setter Maggie Anderson served her third ace of the tournament, followed up with a block from redshirt seniors Catherine Carmichael and Caroline Jarmoc to cut the lead to one, 13-12.
Creighton wouldn't surrender its lead. The Bluejays eventually pushed it back to four points, 23-19, going into a Kansas timeout. The Jayhawks resiliently never quit in the set, using a 3-0 run on a kill from Albers and two kills from Carmichael to cut the lead to one point, 23-22, only to see Creighton score two-straight to win the set 25-22 and tie the match at one set a piece.
The Jayhawks opened the set out of the intermission firing on all cylinders, scoring on four-straight points before Creighton got on the board, 4-1. The Bluejays answered with a 3-0 run of their own and cut the lead to one, 4-3, but a kill from Albers and consecutive kills from Carmichael pushed the Kansas lead back to four, 7-3, forcing Creighton into a timeout.
Creighton answered the out of the timeout with a 6-0 run, due in large part to four errors by the Jayhawks, to take its first lead of the third set 9-7 forcing Bechard into a timeout. The Kansas offense would come alive again by way of a 5-0 run to the set, 12-12. Two kills later, the Jayhawks had regained the lead. After battling back-and-forth for a few points the Jayhawk lead was two, 19-17 when senior defensive specialist Jaime Mathieu dove to keep a ball alive. She was successful and the ball found its way across the net. A Dockery kill later, Creighton found itself in a tough position trailing 21-17 late in the set.
The Bluejays would take the Allen Fieldhouse crowd out of the set, however, by scoring five of the next six points and tying the match at 22-22 going into a Kansas timeout. Creighton had its chance to capitalize with possession of the serve out of the timeout, but a service error gave the Jayhawks the ball along with a point to now lead 23-22. A kill from Dockery gave the Kansas a 24-22 lead heading into set point and Albers like she had done all tournament long, finished the set off with a kill giving Kansas a 25-22 set-win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Jayhawks took the momentum they built in the third set and feeding off of the energy from the crowd built up a 5-1 lead on two kills from junior outside hitter Sara McClinton, an ace from Wait and two kills from Jarmoc. When Kansas needed points to maintain its lead the team turned to two players off of the bench, Dockery and McClinton who had eight of the 15 Jayhawk points midway through the set, giving KU a 15-11 advantage.
Albers kept on the attack as her kill to give the Jayhawks a 19-13 lead was her 18th of the night setting a new career high for the outside hitter from Papillion, Neb. When it looked like Kansas was going to put Creighton away, holding a five-point lead, 22-17, Creighton cut into the deficit and found itself only trailing by two, 22-20. Kansas never faltered down the stretch, two points was the closest Creighton could get. Trailing 23-21, another Bluejay service error gave KU a three point lead, 24-21 and on the next point Albers and Soucie teamed up to block the final Bluejay attack, sealing a 25-21 set-win. The 3-1 victory in the match clinched a trip to Los Angeles, Calif. for the Jayhawks' first trip the NCAA Tournament Regional Round.


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Institutional Investment in Digital Assets
Gunnar Jaerv 1 June 2020
The market for digital assets has undergone several profound transformations since the 2009 release of the Bitcoin white paper.
Some have been technical, such as the proliferation of non-currency blockchain use cases and the simultaneous explosion of non-PoW consensus algorithms. Others have been in the sphere of business, initially blockchain-focused businesses but spreading out to affect other spaces; the ICO/ITO boom would be a good example of this. But none has been as serious, or had consequences as far-reaching, as the entry of institutional investors into the digital assets space.
Institutional investors can be thought of as investors whose investments themselves form a part of the financial infrastructure. They are organizations that pool funds on behalf of others and invest in a broad variety of financial instruments and asset classes. These include investment funds such as mutual funds and ETFs as well as insurance funds, pension plans, investment banks and hedge funds. Institutional investors include public and private pension funds, insurance companies, investment companies, savings institutions, endowments and foundations, and sovereign wealth funds.
Managed and guided by teams of highly-qualified professionals and disposing of millions or billions of dollars, they form a bellwether for future investment and industrial trends as well as a weathervane for the current state of a vertical.
For instance, the news that many developed countries were now seeing over half their energy produced from renewables came at around the time that over half of coal-fired power plants were declared unprofitable. But the clincher is the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund's announcement that it intends to divest from fossil fuels. While the Scandic countries might be more interested than most in renewables, the Norwegian fund is itself based on the country's oil wealth and, typically, does not make unprofitable investment decisions.
How institutions invest
Institutional investors approach investment differently from retail investors. They are strategic rather than tactical. Retail investors often seek to avoid losing money; institutional investors will accept losses now for likely later gains later, and view individual investments in context as a part of an overall investment strategy. Retail investors are often lured by the promise of either rapid wealth or reliable income, while institutional investors already wield considerable financial power and aren't unduly dismayed by losses.
For similar reasons, they're typically less interested in exposure to unproven technologies or enterprises, and more concerned with security and professionalism.
Institutions and digital assets
For the early years of the space, the typical digital assets investor was a tech-savvy individual investing his or her own money. Some were drawn by their fascination with the technology — especially in the earlier days of the space — or its social and technical implications. Others saw an opportunity to get rich quick, either by investing directly or by selling the same premise to others, with varying degrees of honesty. Gradually, businesses began to be interested in the digital assets space, seeing an opportunity to develop new products, services and revenue streams rather than investment opportunities per se, though their new offerings became opportunities for others.
Throughout this process, the lack of regulation and professionalism within the space has caused it to be dogged by suggestions that it is a bubble or a fraud. How seriously have institutional investors taken these accusations?
Why have institutional investors traditionally avoided digital assets?
While commentators have posited that security and technological concerns were major reasons why institutional investors avoided the space until recently, that seems unlikely to tell the whole story. Direct investment opportunities in digital assets per se have largely been fairly straightforward; exchanges allow you to purchase digital assets, wallets allow you to store them.
Beyond this, the explosion in ICOs and ITOs in 2017 let users buy into startups by purchasing tokens which would then be replaced with the startup's own coin when their project came to fruition, or entitle the holder to a share of the business' profits or services from its network.
These businesses received a bad press, with much reportage centering on the tendency to various types of fraud including vaporware, picaresque variations on exit fraud and open theft. And it is true that 80% of ICOs were scams — a damning figure on first reading. And investors lost almost $100m to fraudulent ICOs in 2017 alone.
However, the typical scam ICO was also typical of a low-risk/low-reward criminal enterprise: the ICO consisted of a website and a plagiarised white paper, costing little effort or expenditure, and generally won no reward for its perpetrators. Most vanished without trace and most of the money lost to scam ICOs was lost to just three.
Rather than the space's reputation — partially earned but as we have seen partially a product of sensationalist coverage — for larceny and disorder, the real reason institutional investors stayed away from it was the same reason that oil tankers don't dock at fishing jetties. There was nowhere for them to go.
Institutionalizing digital assets
Institutional investors have complex needs that center around security, volume and liquidity. Their standard investment pattern involves approximately 40% of assets to equity and 40% to fixed income, with a further 20% of total assets allocated to alternative investments including real estate, private equity, hedge funds, cash and other alternative investments.
These figures vary sharply between institutions and represent averages. In addition, changes in investment strategies can be seen across the institutional space — in 1980, just 18% of institutional investment was in equities.
Institutional investors often dispose of large sums of money belonging ultimately to clients and thus act under fiduciary duties not applicable to retail and hobby investors, limiting their activities. While technical concerns were noted, the principal obstacle to institutional investment in digital assets has been the lack of regulation and professionalism in the space. As this changes, we can see institutions increasingly turn to digital assets.
Digital assets are among the fastest-growing asset classes in the world today. In the years 2013-2017, the signature digital asset, Bitcoin, saw its market cap grow 1,700%. Other digital assets such as ETH typically track Bitcoin's value and investment volume increases. In the same period the underlying US economy grew by just 5.9%, and the stock market grew 280% from 2000 to 2020, finishing out the last year of the 2000s at 'the highest point of the index in the last two decades' — and still underperformed digital assets.
These reasons alone might not have been enough to tempt institutional investors into the space. But with new, greater regulatory clarity coming from multiple countries and agencies since 2017, institutional money has quietly but decisively poured into the digital assets space.
Capital inflows to Grayscale, a BTC investment trust, were just under $2 million in January 2019; six months later, they stood at $160 million. That's symptomatic of the direction investment is moving in, rather than a one-off. In 2019, Fidelity released a report indicating that 22% of institutional investors had some exposure to digital assets.
More recently, Bakkt Bitcoin Futures reached an all-time high of $45.56 million. Bakkt's physically-settled Bitcoin futures contracts are a direct indicator of institutional interest in the space, so the signs are that institutional interest is growing even during uncertain times. This may partly be a safe-haven effect, as well as being a result of low returns across the traditional asset market, but it's also an effect of the performance of digital assets in their own right. Prices may be volatile but the trend is unmistakable and institutional investors are looking at timeframes considerably higher than the five years investors are advised to hold assets for (to say nothing of the three-years-and-change that they actually retain them); monthly price fluctuations are of far less importance than long-term effects.
Regulation, professionalisation and technology As institutional investors move into the digital asset space, a new industry grows up to support them; when oil tankers start showing an interest in your fishing jetty, you start building, fast. The space has typically lacked three key components of a robust solution for institutional investors: clear unambiguous regulation, professionalism comparable to the traditional finance world, and technological solutions to the unique problems posed by holding and trading nonphysical assets in a 24/7, very rapid market.
All these areas have seen extremely rapid changes. Regulation is moving worldwide as existing regulators establish authority over some digital asset transactions and types, while new legislation establishes new areas of authority and new obligations.
Simultaneously, finance professionals from the traditional investment and banking world are moving into the digital assets space and transforming how possession, trading and managing are viewed.
The centuries-old trust-and-custody structure is used to manage custody and trading of Bitcoin, Ether and security tokens, using technology derived from the first generation of cold wallets for consumers, with additional security and collaborative and trading functionality baked in.
To learn more about how finance, technology and institutional investment are coming together in this unique and exciting space, get in touch with us.
Disclaimer: This publication is general in nature and is not intended to constitute any professional advice or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial or investment products. You should seek separate professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with in this publication. Please note our full disclaimer here.
Hong Kong's IRD Issues Guidance on Digital Asset Taxation
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This spectacular trip crosses three international borders and circles 15,770-foot Mont Blanc. But even armed with a handful of languages, you'll struggle for words to describe the ridiculously beautiful vistas gracing this tour as it dips into France, Italy, and Switzerland.
Hike through valleys with steep, snow-frosted mountains towering 10,000 feet mountains all around you. From ancient cobblestones to dirt trails, the route tops seven alpine passes. This amazing circuit straddles three countries, so you can enjoy the cheeses in Switzerland, fine wine of France and delicious pasta of Italy.
Cross over mountain passes that allow the avid hiker to enjoy the magnificent scenery on this long loop. Mont Blanc itself, the highest peak in the Alps, needs no introduction to hikers. Our circuit begins and ends in Martigny, Switzerland.
We use 3* hotels and for two nights we use guesthouses. You pass through and stay in traditional alpine villages in three countries in twelve days. This hike is reasonably demanding and suitable for the fit experienced hiker.


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Q: rails find created_on withing last 5 minutes I have the following code:
@gameRequests = GameRequest.find(:first, :conditions => ["created_on >= ?", created_on])

I'd like to find the oldest record within the last 5 minutes. How can I subtract the 5 minutes from created_on to do this? I cant seem to find any examples.
Thanks

A: gameRequests = GameRequest.find(:first, :conditions => ["created_on >= ?", created_on - 5.minute])

A: The code you want is:
@gameRequest = GameRequest.first(:conditions => ["created_on >= ?", DateTime.now - 5.minutes])

BTW, are you sure the field is named created_on and not created_at? Also, .first gets only the first record, not all of them. For that, you need .all

A: Try this:
@gameRequests = GameRequest.find(:first, :conditions => ["created_at >= ?", Time.now - 5.minutes], :order => "created_at ASC")

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The pitch is the preliminary gate-key to attaining your goal. The story you tell and how you tell it is everything to your pitch's success. Most people don't like public speaking at all-let alone formulate an effective pitch. There are plenty of perfectly good ideas, projects, and business ventures that should succeed, but don't-and vice versa. Persuader Pitches is a full-service agency that specializes in persuasive communication solutions. In this article, you find out everything you need to know about Persuader Pitches. Learn how Persuader Pitches helps to fine-tune your pitch and win-over your audience.
Persuader Pitches is a full-service agency specializing in content design and communications. It takes your project through a four-stage process, from exploration and definition, through creation and implementation. Each stage furthers the refinement of your pitch for maximum effectiveness. Business developers, salespeople of all kinds, and executives come to Persuader Pitches for help with sales presentations, submissions, pitch decks, and everything in-between. No matter whether you're working with PowerPoint, Google Slides, Prezi, or Keynote, Persuader Pitches enables the full potential of any presentation medium. Take your presentation high-tech and wow your audience with powerful content and spectacular designs that achieve the right business solution.
A pitch is where you present your solution to a problem and why it is important. Take some time to really dig into your gut as to why your pitch matters for your audience, the people they talk to, and the people they will never meet. But, communicating that effectively is where most people need help. When presenting your pitch to most parties the process contains three separate stages. Each stage of the pitch is a pitch within itself. Often, it starts with the equivalent to an elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch or 1-minute pitch is a short introduction that runs under sixty seconds. The main point is to arouse interest in the audience. If the 1-minute pitch is a success then you get to move to the short-form pitch. Persuader Pitches works with you to craft an elevator pitch that clearly and engagingly expresses the benefits of your solution by breaking your pitch down. A successful 1-minute pitch is concise, compelling, and irrefutable.
The 1-minute pitch leads to the short-form pitch. This is where agency help really comes in handy. The short-form pitch is between five to ten minutes and informs the audience on the major highlights of your venture. The key is to go beyond boring analytics, to exciting fact-based possibilities. Working with agency team members, you craft a story that conveys the necessary information, such as the problems you solve, team you work with, and financial highlights. By the end, your audience has a clear picture of your ventures founding, market, goals, competition, and potential.
Some ventures succeed after the short-form pitch, but many go onto a long-form pitch. The long-form pitch is standard with any investors or investment groups. A professional hand in the design and delivery of your pitch is crucial for you to adequately prepare for this stage. Investors want a formal pitch that informs them everything about the intricate workings of your venture. The long-form pitch is not an invitation to drone on about every specific detail. Instead, it is a 20-minute opportunity to inspire your audience through a clear and concise story. In 20 minutes, using no more than 10 slides, at a font no smaller than 30, you must entice your audience to want to know the details. The long-form pitch is where your audience involves themselves in your venture. The trick is to get them to accept your invitation. Persuader Pitches helps formulate a presentation that inspires a novel passion in your audience. By showing objective data that supports your ends, rather than self-interested claims, your audience remains engaged and interested. If the long-form pitch is a success, your audience will want to take a detailed look at everything. In the case of an investment pitch, they want to look at your books, business plan, earnings reports, and market data. Persuader Pitches helps you prepare all of the necessary documents and information in the most professional and engaging manner. So, what's the pitch?
To whom are you pitching?
Investors are a common target for business pitches. An investor is, both, looking for investments to make, and taking a sceptical look at the pitches presented to them. To impress a potential investor you must provide two things: The problem you are solving and the reason; And an insight into a compelling marketing opportunity therein. Investors care about the heart of the project, but they care more about the team doing it. Working with Persuader Pitches helps you highlight your team and goals in the manner that makes investors confident.
Pitching to a customer for a sale is one of the most common forms. It is also the most difficult to succeed with. Unlike the investor, customers are not, necessarily, looking to buy. Or are they? Customers are like investors, in that they live in a constant state of searching for the right investment or purchase. To be successful you must appeal to their values. Like any pitch, the story you tell is everything to your success. Crafting your story through text, video graphics, and interactive media makes the difference between a close call and a sale.
Organizations can make a huge difference in their employee's productivity and moral with a good pitch. A recruiting pitch carries a much different tone than that of an employee motivation pitch. An effective employee pitch conveys the vision of the organization, as well as, offers a view of the employee's future. The trick is to excite a prospective employee with attainable possibilities that are not easily achievable. Inspiration is the best motivator, so give it to them.
A business partner is a mixture of, both, a customer sales pitch and an investor pitch. The ice is thin with a partnership pitch. It is a bit like flirting. A business partner wants to be flattered, but not obsessed upon. To gain their interest a partner must feel that they, alone, have the missing link that will make the venture successful. But be careful-partners smell bull pretty quick. Persuader Pitches helps you focus your pitch on the partner's interaction. By centring the pitch around them, you allow them to see their contribution. And-most importantly-how the partnership benefits them. A partner wants to feel, both, needed and excited to interact.
Executive level management comes down to the relationships that are kept with competitors. Remember the ancient proverb, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". In conversation with competitors, everything is a pitch. Competitor pitches are the most delicate of all. You must format your pitch so as to gain information from what your audience does not tell you. Pitching for information to a competitor may seem like manipulation, but many corporate executives hold these relationships to be there most valuable. And, civil cooperation can come in handy when fighting a common enemy, like Walmart or Amazon.
Who Is served by persuader pitches?
Every level of business is served by professional communications agencies help. From start-ups to stockholders, a pitch serves as the introduction to your business growth. Persuader Pitches caters to the step your company is looking to take in terms of growth. ASX 200 companies use Persuader Pitches to instil a sense of confidence in their shareholders, through engaging and eye-catching pitch presentations. Executives come to the agency for fine-tuning of their board presentations and report presentations. Sales executives use Persuader Pitches to create stand-out presentations for clients. Persuasive storytelling is the key to making a powerful slide presentation. Or, create an inspirational training presentation to motivate your sales team. Business start-ups use Persuader Pitches to create their pitch deck and investor pitches. With the help of agency professionals, create a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation that proves your ability through objective fact and visual engagement.
What Is the persuader pitches method?
Persuader Pitches implements a proprietary methodology to find the right solution for your venture's presentation. Through four stages, your pitch is taken through exploration, definition, creation, and implementation.
The exploratory phase is where you and an agency team lay the framework for an effective presentation strategy. From the content and guidance that you supply, agency professionals extract commonalities, through-lines, and starting-points to build a solid pitch. Your team assesses the overall impact that the strategy will have on event collateral and outputs to discover the relevant factors to highlight.
The definition phase solidifies your engagement strategy and key messages. Your agency team works to build a visual conveyor to communicate your message to an audience. The end of this phase produces a prototype of your presentation, with conceptualized visuals and touch-points.
This is where your team works to create a fully functional presentation that attains full audience engagement and inspiration. Your team uses all their agency magic and persuasive skills to formulate an end-message that hits your target square between the eyes.
The only way to improve is to know what to look for. The implementation phase takes into account your user feedback and helps you improve your presentation. Your team helps to identify actionable improvement points and fine tunes your pitch. Depending on the nature of your venture, analytic software and qualitative surveys are used to achieve a better understanding of the output results.
How Is the pitch framed?
There are a few proven strategies for formulating a pitch. The standard model of a pitch identifies a problem, how to solve it, and the resources you need to accomplish the goal. But this is often a dull way to inspire an individual's full interest. Frame your pitch as to appeal to the strengths of your venture. For example, a traction pitch focuses on a business that is gaining traction quickly. It is a "get on or miss the train" message. A pretty common business pitch is a proven deliverable to a new market. This pitch strategy focuses on how your venture engages new customers or resources. The strategy that is overused in social conversation is that of the personal story. In this strategy, your pitch focuses on a personal problem which you found a solution to. Your solution becomes an idea for a business, and you think it is marketable. When crafted with care, the personal story can be a great motivator for savvy investors. A slightly more engaging method is to make the personal story a pivot pitch. In a pivot pitch, your journey begins trying to solve something that leads you to a much bigger discovery. Your discovery is an untapped resource that you have inside access to. For lofty ventures, you have to paint the future for your audience. This method is a great one for good storytellers, as you have to make the audience see the future as clearly as if you saw it yourself. Convince the audience of what the future holds, and why your venture is valuable to that end.
No matter the venture your presentation seeks to accomplish, Persuader Pitches offers the knowledge and expertise to achieve your goals through engaging presentations. Leave nothing to chance and always deliver an effective pitch that strikes the heart of your ventures aims. Persuader Pitches provides the insight and help to make all your business endeavours a success. If you think this article is right for someone you know, share it with them on social media. And subscribe to the newsletter for more resources on professional presentations. Thanks for reading!
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Mobile technology has facilitated access to information at any time, making commutes easier and generally just helping consumers take advantage of every spare second.
While that implies marketers now have more chances of reaching their ideal target audience, it means they have to change the way their approach. This should be driven by their consumers' behavior in this new channel.
Email marketers' greatest worry shouldn't be about what time of the day to send an email, or mobile-optimized templates, it should be all-device optimization. As this graph from a comScore study shows, consumers browse on different devices at different times of the day. And while they happily open emails, browse offers and look around ecommerce sites on their mobile devices, a lot of them still prefer to revert to their desktop to fill in their payment details and purchase.
So what should marketers do to appeal to their ideal audience?
Read more of Steve Denner's advice in the full article on Figaro Digital.


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Reduced sports budget, an embarrassment for players preparing for Tokyo Olympics: Rana Sodhi
IndiaSports
Punjab Sports and Youth Services Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, on Tuesday, termed 8.16% reduced union budget for sports as a sign of embarrassment, when there was a huge need for increased budgetary allocation in view of upcoming Tokyo Olympics-2021.
Rana Sodhi said that the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry has been allocated Rs. 2596.14 crore in the budget of 2021-22, around Rs.230 crore less than the original allocation of Rs.2826.92 crore of the previous year 2020-21, which is down by 8.16 per cent.
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Lashing out at union government's apathy towards its ambitious 'khelo India' schemes, the Sports Minister said that the Khelo India has taken a hit of approximately Rs.230 crore, with its allocation slashed to Rs.660.41 crore from 890.42 crore.
Pointing out another downside of the union budget, the Sports Minister said that a slight increase of Rs.17 crore in the allocation for incentives for sportspersons is also inadequate. The union government has also reduced the amount allocated for renovation and maintenance of the infrastructure constructed for the 2010 commonwealth games by 50%, which would now be only 30 crore. Likewise, the National Sports Development Fund budget has been down by Rs.25 crore from Rs.50 crore.
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